Author's Notes: action this chapter. I promise. It will be longer, too. I better get a whole lot of reviews! or maybe I won't update again! Ha! How would you like that, all you anonymous-readers-who-won't-bother-to-leave-a-review!

about the werewolf. my theory is that werewolves don't like to eat humans, they're threatened by them. therefor, they try to turn every human into one.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot.

Chapter 8: Full Moon

Remus was gently shaken awake. He groaned and turned over, his head feeling like it was about to split, andhis stomach churning. It's good thing he hadn't eaten anything today. He cracked his eyes open only to squeeze them shut again. Silently, he cursed the sun.

"Come now, Mr. Lupin," Madame Pomphrey said softly, "The moon rise approaches."

The first sensation of fear twisted his stomach. Blood draining from his face, he sat up slowly, so as not to make his head hurt worse. He was dimly aware that his friends were watching him worriedly from the foot of the hospital bed.

In a daze, he shakily got dressed. His fingers fumled with the clasp to his cloak until someone fastened it for him.

The walk down to the Shack passed in a blur. James, Sirius, and Peter walked silently beside him. At the tree, Madame Pomfrey stepped back and James and Sirius solemnly wished him luck. Peter was silent, and kept looking at his feet. Sirius whispered in his ear so the Mediwitch wouldn't hear.

"When we become animagi, everything'll get easier, you'll see." He graped his friends' shoulder. Then, he James and Peter walked back to the castle, where friendly and inviting lights twinkled in the dusk. Remus longed to be able to go back with them...

But he was left alone to walk down the dreary tunnel to the dilapidated house.

He began to feel the first tug of the moon and hurried down the passage way. The air grew colder and the light faded. Through the darkness, he looked up to see the trap door that led to the Shrieking Shack, his prison.

He stepped up into the dusty Shack; there was so much dust in the air, he felt suffocated. Coughing, he made his way upstairs to the bed room, where he took his clothes off and carefully folded them. He placed them in an old armoir, hoping his human sent wouldn't drive the wolf too crazy.

Resignedly, he sat on the dusty bed. All he had to do now was wait... He tried to sort out his thoughts as they became more and more muddled.

It wasn't the transformation itself that he dreaded the most. The pain, he could deal with. The sensation of bones reforming, his spine curving...he could deal with that. It was the horror of losing his mind to the daemon, the wolf, that frightened him more than anything. Losing control over his own body to something evil was more terrifiying to him than the thought of a hundred dementors.

He shivered, not from cold, but from fear. The moon would rise soon...

Unbidden, memories of the dreams resurfaced. He had a morbid feeling he knew what the next dream would hold. Everything seemed to be coming together. James and Sirius...the hireclaw...the fact that neither he nor his two best friends could remember anything before agesix was proof enough that the nightly visions were not simple fantasies.

The logical part of Remus' mind kicked in. There had to be a reason for this. The dreams were not random memories or visions. There had to be some reason he was being shone them...But what was it?

A silvery light cut through Remus' musings like a cruel dagger. He froze and slowly turned his head. The moon shone down on him, cruel, mocking, uncaring...Already, the first stage of the transformation was upon him.

Trying vainly not to cry out in pain, tears sprung from the young werewolf's eyes. His shoulders hunched forward. Hair sprouted along his back as his spine twisted...Oh how it iched...But he couldn't scratch. His hands were curling into balls, his fingers shrinking and the nails grew sharp. With a final yelp (he had given up being silent) a grey wolf collapsed on the bed in the boy's place. It blinked, confused for a moment by the torrent of smells assaulting it's newly formed nose. It howled. Human! It smelled fresh! There had been a human here...Fear gripped the monster as it tried desperately to try and find the source for the scent. But it seemed to be coming from everywhere, from him. Angry and still afraid, he howled again and desperately tried to bite himself...he had to get the human, even if the smell was coming from him.

James, Peter, and Sirius moodily walked back to the castle, lagging behind the nurse. James dimly heard a pained howl in the distance and froze, tears threatening. He turned and looked in the direction of the Whomping Willow, but could see nothing because of the dusk. Then, resolved, he began walking faster. The sooner they finished the potion, the better. Remus deserved better than this monthly torture, and if he, James, couldn't take it away from him, he should at least do everything in his power to make it easier for his friend. Sirius, understanding, sped up as well.

"James?" he asked an unspoken question. What are we going to do?

"Sirius, you have that dog hair you swiped from that farm near Hogsmeade?"

"Yes." answered Sirius.

"And Peter," asked James, "You have your rat hair, right?"

Peter nodded.

"Then we shall take the potion tonight. It's ready. And with luck, by next month, we'll be able to help Moony."

The three remaining Marauders made their way to their potion. Sirius glanced over his shoulder where the moon shone like a crystal ball.

The wolf howled in rage in pain. Giving up his self mutilation, he threw himself against the trap door to the Shrieking Shack, trying to get out. Something told him he'd have a better chance getting out that way. With a resounding crack, the wood buckled and split, sending the surprised animal falling into the musty tunnel. Dazed, the wolf shook his head. He got his bearings and triumphantly loped down the tunnel.

After a while, he saw the stars through a hole in the ceiling. Roots framed the little exit from the tunnel. Growling, the beast wriggled through the annoying roots only to be wacked in the head by a great branch.

Stars burst in front of his eyes, he felt warm, sticky blood flow down his back and matt his fur. Ignoring the pain in his head, he tried again, obtaining the same result, except, this time, the blow fell on his back, sending him flying. Howling with rage and pain, the wolf tried desperately to get back to the tunnel. But the branches wouldn't let him do that, either. A great knobby branch got him as he leaped for the tunnel, catching his unprotected stomach and chest. Winded, dazed, and in pain, Moony tried feebly to get up. Getting his second wind, he flung himself into the tunnel, just before a branch nearly decapitated him.

In the dark tunnel, he lay panting for what seemed like hours. Rallying, he picked himself up and limped back to the Shack.

Every breath and every step caused a new wave of pain. Rallying one last time, he managed to get through the trap door. Now in the dusty hall, Moony collapsed, immediately losing consciousness.

Everything was cloudy and foggy, colors and shapes blurred. He was dimly aware of a bright light and an exclamation. All went black.

Three young boys played in a moonlit field. Remus was suddenly aware that the smallest one was him. He watched, fascinated, as the boys played hide and seek in the tall, unkept grass of a field. A brilliant full moon shone overhead, and, from the little clouds forming from their breath, Remus could tell that it was quite cold.

His younger self, grinning childishly, hid near the edge of the grass where the forest started. Remus started. Two cruel eyes glinted through the trees. He wanted to cry out and warn his younger self, but no sound came from his lips.

James and Sirius laughed as they found him, but their gaiety was cur short when the monster pounced on the poor, unsuspecting child. A shrill cry escaped the young boy's lips as the sharp teeth of the beast closed around his leg.

James and Sirius were frozen with shock and fear. The werewolf turned to look at them, blood dripping from it's lips, feral eyes shining maliciously. James stumbled back, but Sirius was too stunned to move. Gasping for breath, he came to his senses and jumped back beside James, who had fainted. But a root from the huge oak at the edge of the forest tripped him, and he fell. In horror, Remus watched as the huge wolf approached his friends. He watched as Sirius closed his eyes, waiting for the end...but it never came.

"Noooooo! Avada Kedavra!" Someone jumped in front of Sirius as he fainted.

The night was turned green and the scene disappeared as the werewolf fell to the ground, dead.