Author's note: Alright, here is the seventh chapter like you have ordered. I hope you like it. It took me quite some time to write. It is one of the longer ones. I hope it does not get boring to you. Sometimes longer ones tend to do that (sorry if it is). Well, this chapter had to be long because it had important points in it. It had even more but I figured it would be too long. I shall put them into a shorter, next chapter! Thank you to all my reviewers! You really honestly truly make my day! Thank you so much!

Full Moon Rises

"I thought you said you were getting worse!" Severus shouted. She had just scored another ten points, if they had been keeping score, to add to her eighty. He had score a total of sixty in the first ten minutes. She had actually improved since their last practice. It seemed that she was not as bad as she had originally thought. Four practices had been enough for her to be Quidditch captain, though she still thought she was not ready.

She gave him a shrug and a dumbfounded look from her broom. "Maybe you are just out of practice. I don't know, I really do stink at Quidditch, though. Just a good day?"

They landed on the ground. Severus propped his broom on his shoulder as they walked to put the balls back in their case. She continued to mumble about what she could be doing that was not normal that would make her better. Closing the case she looked up at him, "I think it was just a good day."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Can't you just say that you are good at Quidditch and you have improved a lot." Picking up the case, which was fairly heavy, she started towards the locker rooms. Severus took the opposite side to help her.

"Do you really think so? That I should try out for the team?"

He nodded at her, "defiantly. You're good. Tryouts will be real soon, so you are going to have to make up your mind fast." Her stomach knotted up again. Every time someone mentioned the stupid tryouts her nerves started to wear. She had tried out for other things before but nothing like this! What if she made a complete fool of herself, and in front of her friends!

She shrugged with a grunt. "I suppose you're right."

"Course I am. Now," they set the crate in the locker room. He turned to her with a hint of a smile. "Do you think you need one more practice before tryouts?" She sat down on the bench. He rolled his eyes and sat next to her when she gave another shrug in reply. "Do you want me to have another practice with you or not? I am more than happy to help, you know."

"I know. You have helped me... loads. Maybe one more practice would be the best."

"Alright, we will have it the day before tryouts to make sure you are really ready. By the way," he stood up in front of her, "you did really well. Don't worry about it." He hesitated, reaching out his hand and placing it on her shoulder. He felt his heart flutter when she looked up with a big smile. Severus left the locker rooms with a small smile. He felt like he was floating. A content sigh escaped him as he made his was to the castle.

Courtney returned to the castle after showering and changing into her robes. She had a meeting with the guys soon. Actually, they had planned a meeting with every intention of keeping it from her. She could not let that go by without a good eavesdrop. They were her friends, what could possibly be so important to keep from her?

Before her hand reached the main door's handle it started to open. She jumped back in surprise, but offered the person a smile. A short Slytherin girl pushed her out of the way. "Move out of my way!" Lucius Malfoy smirked as he passed her. The girl seemed familiar. She had seen her somewhere before. It clicked.. Several weeks ago when she had an encounter with Regulus. She shivered involuntarily. That girl had been one of the people at the meeting. Even though she could associate her with the meeting she still seemed to stick out from something else.

Putting that thought in the back of her mind she headed up to the Gryffindor common room. Just as she had expected- Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were huddled together in a small circle in a corner. Propping her broom against the wall she quietly walked over to the group of boys.

"I think we should just let it go. It was going to happen eventually, Moony. Why not just tell-"

"I don't want you to tell! I don't think it is a good idea. Not just yet."

Sirius gasped and sat upright as two arms wrapped around his neck. "What are you guys talking about? And you didn't invite me?" She put on a pouty face.

"It's nothing, really," Remus quickly answered. It was too sudden, and he knew it. He glanced down at his hands that resting in his lap.

"You alright, Moony? You look sick." Courtney crawled away from Sirius and sat next to Remus. His face was even more pale than before. He almost looked like all the color had been drained from his face. His amber eyes were considerably more dull, as if they were just hanging onto life. If someone saw him they would have guessed that he was incredibly ill, or had just saw a ghost. The latter happened too often for him to get upset about it.

He glanced up at her before adverting his eyes. "I'm fine. I just..." he trailed off, wringing his hands together. The silence was enough to hear a pin drop. Courtney bit her lower lip. Something was terribly wrong. Why wouldn't they tell her?

"So, how was practice with Snivellus? Do I need to beat the living-"

"It went really well, thanks. I think I might actually tryout."

Sirius gave a brief look of disappointment. "Oh, I really wanted to..." he trailed off as he looked at his open palm. He brought his other hand up and started to jab his pointer finger to his palm like he was swashing an ant or bug."Stupid little..." he growled as he continued to squish the invisible bug.

Courtney's eyes searched the other's faces. Remus, who had done a wonderful job of avoiding her gaze, looked at her with concern. She wondered if it had to do with Sirius' weird behavior or the subject that they had previously been talking about.

"Anywho, do you guys know the name of the black-haired Slytherin fifth-year?"

Sirius looked up from his hands, "which one?"

"I'm not sure. I want to know her name that's why I asked."

"There are few Slytherin girls with black hair. I guess you are just going to have to point her out to us," James said leaning against the wall to get more comfortable. She just noticed that he had also been acting strange. He had a smug look on his face, his arms crossed behind his head against the wall.

"What are we going to do tonight? Have any fun plans?" She watched as they all silently swapped looks. James shook his head, Sirius replied with a "nope", Peter gazed off into the distance, and Remus looked at the floor. Damn them!, she thought to herself. "Well, seeing that you lot have done nothing to create plans, then I suppose I will have to. Let's see, we could..."

"Actually, you look really tired. You have been working hard and with practice and all. Don't you think you ought to go to bed. We were going to head to bed anyway." Sirius nodded to her, trying to get her to agree.

Just then the portrait hole opened and in stepped Dumbledore. He smiled at all the students as they looked up at him expectantly. There was a small twinkle in his eye that spelt out 'trouble' for Courtney. "Mister Lupin, may I have a word with you please?"

Courtney looked at Moony. He had almost been expecting Dumbledore's arrival. Grudgingly, he walked over to the bearded man. They walked out of the portrait hole, Dumbledore talking about his grade in potions. James, Sirius, and Peter looked about excitedly.

Sirius got to his feet. He turned from where Remus had left to Courtney. "Best you be getting to bed. Don't want you getting sick, do you?" Without waiting for her reply he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet.

"What is this about, Padfoot. You all know something and are not telling me," she whispered as he led her towards the girls dorms.

"It's nothing to worry about, Elf. I promise, it's-"

She stopped, planting her feet into the ground. Spinning away from his hold she faced him. All patience had left, leaving a very miffed Courtney. "You are all talking in hushed voices, Remus looks like he is going to die, and you are all on about something or another! I want to know what in the bloody hell is going on!" The few remaining students in the room looked up at her shouts. She felt her cheeks flush. Feeling the piercing glares, she looked at the floor.

Sirius slipped his hand under her chin and lift it up. "I don't want you to worry. Neither would Moony. I promise you, it is all fine. Okay?" he whispered as he leaned down to look at her closer. She bit her lower lip and nodded. He wrapped her in a tight hug, "don't worry." She walked up to the dorms quietly. She had no intention of going to bed, just yet.

It had been no more than fifteen minutes before the three of them had wandered off through the portrait. They had waited until everyone had left the common room for bed. Slowly she opened the girls' dorm door. All the other girls were fast asleep in their beds. Courtney descended the stairs and went through the portrait. She checked her butt pocket for her wand. It was right were she had put it hours before.

She had allowed the boys to get a minute head start. There was no point in following them if she was going to be caught within the first few seconds. The castle was mostly empty except a few prefects here and there. She held her breath and pressed her body up against the stone statue. A red-haired prefect passed by her in the dark corridor. Lucky for her the man was too busy talking to another prefect.

The grounds were lit with an eerie whitish light from the full moon. Her eyes squinted to focus on a clump of black in the distance. Near the Whomping Willow was the unmistakable figures of the boys. Courtney watched as Sirius (she could tell from his long hair and height) transformed into a large dog. Peter seemed to vanish into the air but reappeared next to the froze tree. The three dashed down a hole without a backwards glance, all yelling and shouting with excitement.

"Oh, really? Well, two can play that game."

There was absolutely no one on the grounds to her relief. Closing her eyes, she cleared her mind of all thoughts. She found that it was rather hard from being out of practice. As she cleared her mind of all rubbish she concentrated on her animagus form. The sound of bones popping and muscles expanding filled her ears. When she opened her eyes again she saw the world from a whole new prospective. Perking her ears forward she could still hear the faded shouts of the boys.

The willow's branches began to make the slightest movements. She had taken too long. Sucking in a deep breath she ran full speed at the large tree. Large branches hurtled down at her charging form, missing her by inches. For as large of an animal that she was, she was pretty agile. Still running as fast as her legs would carry her she closed her eyes again. This time she thought of her human form. Just in time her large bulky form transformed into her human self. She had no time to stop. She found herself going through a large sized hole and landing with a dull thump on a dirt floor.

"Just wonderful," she muttered as she spat out dirt.

Unknown to her, a pair of glittering eyes watched from a distance.

Sirius watched as Prongs, in his stage form, clipped around on the wooden floor. A large and tired werewolf laid on the dust covered floor. He felt bad for Moony. His transformations looked unbearable. He would hate to go through them himself. He vaguely wondered what he would have done if he were put in Moony's situation.

The great wolf-like creature shot its head up. A low grow emitted from its throat as it slowly got to its feet. Sirius turned to Peter and James who were intently listening.

"Ouch! Stupid little..."

Sirius' felt faint. She had followed them! Prongs had already started to hold down the large beast. Sirius took this as his cue to get her out. He could hear James bleat as he struggled with the overgrown dog. Courtney screamed as Sirius rounded the corner, almost smacking into her. He forced the fur on his back to stand up on end, teeth bared in a snarl.

"Oh my!" she slowly back towards a door. Her hand groped for the old door knob as it shook. Sirius heard another louder bleat from James. He would not be able to hold him off much longer. This tactic was not going to work on her. Finding all his courage, he changed back into his human form.

"Courtney, you need to get out of here. I will explain later it is not safe!" She started at him. She put on a look of mock disbelief. He had the feeling that she knew more than she let on.

"What are you doing here? You are going to get in so much trouble if you get caught. Where is everyone else?" She tried to peer around him.

There was a loud bang. It seemed that since the werewolf could smell two humans its urge to kill and eat had gone up drastically. Sirius roughly grabbed her by the shoulders. "Listen to me! You need to leave now or-"

A slamming echoed through the house followed by a pained blat. The sound of large claws clicking against the wooden floor reached their ears. Sirius felt his stomach tighten. Damn it! Why now! The look on Courtney's face confirmed what he had feared. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a large paw swat at their legs. Wrapping her close to him, he ducked through the door behind her. He flung her to the floor, she let out a painful scream, as he slammed the door behind him. The old worn door banged against the rusted hinges.

"Courtney, get out! Find some way out of here! Now!" He noticed that she clasped her right leg close to her chest. A thick trail of deep red blood flowed down her leg, her pant leg torn terribly.

A final slam sent Sirius flying away from the door. A split second later he was a large black dog, the only thing between her and a larger, hungry wolf creature. His snarls and growls fazed the beast only slightly It took a step towards the dog and girl on the floor. The fresh smell of blood taking over its senses.

"Oh, shit."

Sirius barked at her roughly. Why hadn't she moved! She was going to be wolf chow in a second!

The deer shoved its large antlers into the beast's side. The beast lashed out at the deer. Sirius turned to bark at the girl again but could not. His eyes set on a large, muscular, black horse. It looked down at him with a snort. Sirius' jaw dropped. He had remembered her saying that it was a big horse, but this was a big horse.

He jumped as the werewolf came skidding back to the open door. The human scent must still have been lingering in the air, but there was not a human in sight. This confused the creature to no end. It took it upon itself to examine every inch of the room. James followed Moony around like a parent would to a toddler searching a possibly dangerous play area. All five of them settled down in the room they had been in before her arrival.

Sirius curled up into a ball on the floor. He glanced at the large horse. She swished her tail uncomfortably. The back leg she was favoring bled freely. A small puddle sat on the floor. She let out a low grunt as she gingerly moved it. Her large black ears perked forward as the werewolf approached her. Sirius got to his haunches, just incase. She breathed a moan as the wolf started to lap up the growing puddle of blood. Gathering her strength, she forced herself onto her feet. With every other step she limped and her head wobbled a little upwards.

Facing the wall, she curled up on the floor. Sirius glanced over at James who gave a nod towards Courtney. Getting to his feet he padded over to the horse. She gave him a look of: "yeah, I know... you told me." He rolled his eyes. She winced with a small shriek as he attempted to lick the wound. She snorted at him, purposefully sending wetness his way. She knew she was wrong in following, she did not need his sympathy at the moment.

James, Peter, and Sirius had fallen asleep shortly before sunrise. She smirked as James' back leg kicked in the air while he slept. His pink deer tongue hung out to touch the dusty floor. Sirius was lying several feet away from her. His black head curled up with the rest of his body, a snore sounded every once in a while. Peter had found a nice old box and had curled up in that for the night.

She watched as the werewolf laid on the floor. Its amber eyes not leaving her black ones. It was almost a staring contest with no end. She broke the gaze as the first golden orange rays of morning splashed through the broken windows.

The werewolf began to twist and turn on the ground. Pain filled its body as it gave small whimpers. As fur turned to flesh several scratches and bruises became more visible. The beaten form of Remus Lupin lay unconscious on the floor. Courtney transformed to her usual self. Dragging her injured leg behind her, she crawled over to his sleeping form. She smile down at him as he squinted from the sunlight.

He moaned as his eyes fluttered open. A blurred figure was next to him. It took quite some time for his eyes to adjust. His heart stopped. Courtney was sitting next to him, a sweet broad smile on her face.

"Hey, morning sweetie."

He closed his eyes, a small smile playing at his lips. Damn, if only I could wake up to that every morning. His thoughts were interrupted by a deeper voice. "We have to get him to the hospital wing. He is going to be sore. You have to have your leg looked at, too."

What! Why am I not in the hospital wing already? What is she doing here! She was not suppose to find out! I'm going to kill him...

Courtney assisted the others with an extremely angry and sore Remus. To their relief no one was close to being up, yet. As they entered the hospital wing the nurse came rushing out. "I was hoping you would show up alone this time, young man." She showed him to a bed. "I want you all to leave now, I will not have you bothering my patients. Go, shoo." Remus started to protest but she silenced him with a glare.

"She needs help, too," Sirius piped up. He turned behind him to indicate Courtney.

The nurse looked at the questionable man before looking at the smaller girl behind him. She gasped. "What in Merlin's name happened to you? How did this happen?"

Remus sat up wanting to know the answer just as much as the woman. He felt a sudden pang of guilt fill him as she glanced at him for a second.

"I fell on a large, sharp rock on the way here." Her mumble barley audible, as her gaze was on the floor, unable to meet the nurse's or Remus' eyes.

Did you like it? I hope so. I will be writing the next chapter very shortly. Seeing that I have plans for it, since they would not fit into this one. Oh well. Please review if you get the chance. I love reading them and post a reply to all my reviews! Thanks so much! Loves you all!