Title: Transforming Thoughts
Author Name: DarkForest214
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: none really…
Summery: Another full moon, a difficult decision, a surprise answer. It's the Marauders at their best!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or Hogwarts School. I did not write this to try and make money. I am not stealing from JKR and the publishing companies and whatnot… I own nothing!
Author's Note: I started this as a short One-shot...several pages later and I decided I'll turn this bad boy into a chaptered fic.
Chapter Six
The three Marauders waited in the common room, talking quietly as one by one their fellow Gryffindors went to bed.
"I wish they'd hurry up," Sirius mumbled under his breath as he glared at a group of third years that was huddled in a corner. "Why can't we just tell them to all bugger off?"
"Because Lily will be mad at us," said James. "Not to mention suspicious."
"I can't move my bloody arm," said Sirius through clenched teeth, sounding very agitated. "And since when do you care if Lils gets mad at you?!"
"I want her to take me serious next time I ask her," said James, sounding confident and ignoring Sirius's agitated and pained expression.
Ten minutes later the third years gave up on their studies and trudged upstairs to bed. "All right, let's go," said Sirius irritably. The pain in his shoulder was past the point of being annoying and was now downright painful.
"Coming Peter?" James asked as he took his invisibility cloak from his bag. But Peter was fast asleep, using his History of Magic book as a pillow. The only answer James received was a rather loud snort as Peter began to snore.
"Good, it's getting hard to keep him covered with the cloak," Sirius muttered. "Unless he turns into a rat…" James agreed and covered Sirius and himself with the cloak.
When the two reached the Hospital Wing they looked to their map to make sure the coast was clear before slipping in through the double doors.
"Psst, Remus?" James whispered. Remus looked around for the body that he knew belonged to the voice.
"Over here, Rem," said Sirius as he used his good arm to lift the cloak off of himself.
"What took you two so long?" Remus asked as a little smile spread across his pale face.
"Damn third years," Sirius hissed. "James, can you get me the—"
"Way ahead of you, mate," said James, cutting him off. He came forward with a bundle of medical goods in his arms.
"I wish you would stop stealing Pomfrey's supplies," whispered Remus.
"Then you better stop using those claws of yours," Sirius joked.
"Oh! I'm sorry," said Remus, his voice full of remorse.
"Don't worry, you've done worse," said Sirius with a shrug. He immediately regretted the movement when pain shot through his shoulder, causing him to flinch.
"Robe and shirt off," said James.
"What, no foreplay?" Sirius teased as he shrugged his injured arm out of his robes.
"I've got your foreplay right here!" James said as he held up his clenched fist.
"You know I like it rough," Sirius smirked as he unbuttoned his shirt. "You'll be ripping those bandages off soon, I hope."
"Oh you know it!" James said with a wink.
Remus watched this exchange and smiled. He knew they did it for him. They were trying to cheer him up after his monthly transformation. But his smile faded as James peeled back the blood-soaked bandages off of Sirius's shoulder.
Sirius saw the smile fall from Remus' face and knew what he was thinking. "Your bark is worse then your bite," Sirius said lightheartedly. "Or in this case, your scratch," he added.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Remus asked cautiously.
"I'll be fine," said Sirius reassuringly. "It looks worse than it—Merlin's Beard Prongs!" he nearly shouted. "Warn me next time, that stuff burns!" he added through clenched teeth.
"Sorry," James muttered with a smirk. "He's just being a big baby," he said to Remus as he once more spread a green-brown concoction over the wound.
"Bloody hell," Sirius hissed through clenched teeth.
"Well, you don't want it to get infected, do you?" said James in a very motherly tone. Sirius shook his head 'no.' "Good, because it would be horrible for such a young, active man to lose an arm."
"You forgot attractive," Sirius managed to joke.
"Keep it up and you won't be," said James, sounding just like his mother. "You keep it up and not even an old hag will look at you!"
"Yes, Mrs. Potter," said Sirius, sounding defiant but slipping into the role easily.
"Remus, is that you dear?" Madame Pomfrey's sleepy voice drifted from her office.
"Quick hide," Remus hissed. "Er…yes Madame Pomfrey," he said aloud. "I was muttering to myself while changing the dressing on my leg wound," he lied.
"All right deer. Go back to sleep when you're done. I'll check on you in the morning to see if you're ready to go back to class."
"Thanks Madame Pomfrey, goodnight," Remus called out.
"Goodnight," her tired voice called.
Remus waited until he heard her door click shut before hissing at James and Sirius. "Would you two keep it down, that was a close one. You're lucky she didn't remember that I don't have a cut on my leg!"
"Sorry Moony," James whispered.
"It won't happen again," said Sirius.
"That's what you said last time," said Moony, rolling his eyes.
"We know," James and Sirius said together with goofy grins.
"Remus laughed silently while shaking his head. 'Those two…' he thought, unable to come up with what exactly 'those two' were.
"Well, if you're done stealing medical supplies I suggest you get back to bed," said Remus.
"And leave you here all alone?!" James said as if it was the worst idea in the world.
"Yes, so I can get some sleep!" said Remus sarcastically.
"Do you hear that Padfoot? Good old Moony doesn't love us anymore," said James, trying to sound hurt.
"I don't blame him! Look at that mess on your head you call hair!" Sirius laughed then swiftly ducked as James took a swing at his head. "Don't hurt the cripple!" he laughed. "Besides, it was all in good fun…"
"Well, we're off," said James, ignoring Sirius.
"Don't forget to bring some extra supplies back to the dorm with you for that leg of yours," Sirius said with a wink.
"Will do," said Remus. "Just don't get caught in the halls."
"Do we ever?" said Sirius.
"Don't worry, we won't," said James and with that his two friends disappeared under the invisibility cloak.
Remus listened as the muffled footsteps left the Hospital Wing and the door quietly clicked shut behind them. Unfortunately Remus was now left alone with his thoughts.
Every full moon he worried that he would bite someone, and it was always a great relief when a transformation occurred without incident. He hated that he hurt his friends and couldn't remember how. The pain and burden of being a werewolf was not only physical, but emotional as well.
Remus thought of how he reacted differently than his friends to his condition as he lie back down and snuggled under the covers. The only light in the wing was coming from a candle near Madame Pomfrey's office and the waning, not so full moon.
On the bright side he had 28, no 27 more days until the next full moon. Unfortunately, he had only 27 more days until the next full moon. He could look at it either way, it didn't change anything. He was still a werewolf.
His thoughts could run circles in his mind for hours if he let them, but he forced himself to think about schoolwork as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. The last thing he thought before slipping into a dreamless sleep was 'What if I wasn't a werewolf?'
A/N: Hope ya'll enjoyed, the next one is a bit long and I'll add it in a few days (aka, the next time I'm online). In the meantime...R&R please. I know there are more than two people reading this story...continued thanks to DD and Becky