Call On Me
Chapter Nine-Deranged
James sprang into action and went to rush toward Caitlin, but Sirius threw out his arm, stopping James dead. From the force, James was knocked backward onto his back and he hit the back of his head on the edge of the coffee table.
I jumped to my feet.
"Stay out of this, wolfie," Sirius snarled turning to me.
"Leave them alone," I demanded narrowing my eyes.
Sirius went over to Caitlin's unmoving form and crouched down. He put his hands on her shoulders and went to roll her onto her back, putting her directly into the fire, when I pulled out my wand and aimed it at Sirius.
"Stand back," I hissed warningly.
Lily tore out of the common room. Sirius went to aim his wand at her but she luckily managed to escape just in time.
"Get away from her," I ordered angrily keeping my eyes on Sirius.
I slowly inched toward Caitlin's unmoving form.
"Why?" Sirius asked. "We all know you're hard on for her. We all see it."
"Step away from her, Sirius," I repeated in a steady tone.
This had to be the hardest thing I've ever done…pulling my wand on my best friend. Apparently, the Vocis Potion hadn't worked. He's even worse now than what he was earlier.
"Admit it," Sirius continued leaning down and grabbing a handful of Caitlin's hair. He turned her over onto her back, away from the fire. "You'd love a piece of this."
"Sirius, I'm warning you," I continued inching closer. "Step away from her!"
Sirius picked up her still, unmoving form and held her against him.
"After all, you took her from me," Sirius began angrily. "I had wanted to take her to the Christmas dance! YOU had to go and take her away!"
"She doesn't care for you that way!" I cried. "She told me she loves you like a brother! Besides, you told me it didn't bother you!"
"I LIED!" Sirius yelled back as Caitlin's head lolled to the side against his shoulder. He had one arm wrapped around her waist, pinning her against him.
Caitlin's upper body lolled forward slightly so that she was bent over slightly. Her hair dangled covering her face.
He then let Caitlin's body drop to the floor, her right arm landing in the fireplace.
"CAITLIN!" I roared.
My wand was aimed at Sirius and I yelled "Stupefy!" at him. The spell hit him right in the chest and he went down stunned.
I threw my wand down and flew over to Caitlin, dragging her body away from the fireplace. Her arm was on fire. I quickly pulled off my robe and wrapped it around her, extinguishing the fire.
I gently rolled her onto her back and hovered above her. I placed my two hands on either side of her shoulders.
CAITLIN.
I moaned and slowly opened my eyes to stare up into the face of Remus hovering above me.
"Caitlin? Are you alright?" he demanded anxiously.
Then, my right arm was in searing pain and my back.
"My arm! My back!" I cried cringing.
Tears began forming from the pain.
"Your right arm got burnt," Remus explained swallowing so that his Adams apple moved up and down. "Sirius threw you against the fireplace."
Just then, the portrait opened and Lily and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall entered.
Professor McGonagall hurried over to Remus and I. "Lily told us what happened with Mr. Black,"
Professor Dumbledore went over to Sirius' frozen form.
"I'm afraid the potion didn't work," he said quietly. "Sirius is no longer in control of himself anymore."
"What's going to happen?" Lily asked rushing over to James who was still unconscious. James moaned and came to.
"I'm afraid he's too dangerous to keep here," Dumbledore said. "Either he gets moved to the Ministry of Magic, or destroyed."
"Destroyed? You mean killed?" James asked rubbing the back of his head gingerly.
Dumbledore nodded.
"He's not himself anymore," he continued. "He's not normal."
"I'm not going to kill him," James croaked out. "I'd rather him be locked up somewhere than be killed."
Dumbledore nodded. "I will contact the Ministry and let them know he'll be arriving in the morning. For now, he'll be kept back down in the dungeon."
He magicked Sirius' body onto a stretcher and he left the common room.
"My back," I sobbed painfully.
"I'm afraid her back might be broken," McGonagall said. "I'm going to bring her to the hospital wing. You four will be allowed to come."
She magicked me onto a stretcher as well.
REMUS.
Caitlin was magicked onto a stretcher and McGonagall led her out of the common room. Lily helped James out and I followed.
Caitlin was gently put on a cot in the hospital wing. Madam Elkin checked her over.
"Well, the good news is, her back isn't broken just bruised," she said. "I'll but a Healing Salve on that arm and it should be as good as new in 2 days and a Lamtriot Potion for the bruising."
"I'm staying with her," I said firmly.
"Mr. Lupin, I assure you, Miss Andrews will be quite safe here," Professor McGonagall said.
"I'm staying with her," I insisted.
"I'll keep a watch over her," Madam Elkin said reassuringly.
"I'm staying with her," I repeated firmly again.
At that moment, Professor Dumbledore entered the hospital wing.
"They will be allowed to stay," he said to McGonagall and Madam Elkin.
I gingerly sat down beside Caitlin. She looked up at me and smiled.
Lily and James got two separate cots across from Caitlin's and climbed in. Shortly, Lily and James were sound asleep. Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Madam Elkin left the hospital wing. Madam Elkin had to get the salve from Professor Rowe's office.
I gently leaned down close to her.
"Sirius isn't normal," she said as tears formed in her honey brown eyes. "We've lost him."
The tears streaked out of the corners of her eyes.
"I know," I said quietly. "We thought the potion had worked."
Caitlin began sobbing.
I gently put a hand on the side of her face and stroked her cheek with my thumb.
"The Ministry will take care of him," I said reassuringly looking at her with a pained expression on my face. I really hated seeing her upset like this. I leaned down even closer so that our faces were inches apart.
"We'll get through this…trust me," I said quietly and softly.
She offered me a weak smile as the tears continued to streak out of the corners of her eyes.
She glanced down at my lips and then looked directly into my eyes again. I moved my face closer and our lips just barely met when a sharp pain shot across my abdomen. I cried out and pulled away.
CAITLIN.
Remus pulled away just as our lips barely met and he slid off the cot.
"Remus," I cried alarmed.
I looked out the window. It was a full moon out. James was so deep in sleep that he didn't even wake up.
Remus had dropped to his hands and knees on the floor and began changing. His back lengthened and narrowed; his legs bent into haunches; gray and white fur sprouted all over his body; his hands and feet grew into paws with long deadly claws that grew from where his fingernails and toenails were; his ears grew and tapered into points; his nose and mouth pulled forward into a snout with white canines and incisors that slid down under violet lips; his eyes changed into the amber/gold color; and a tail grew at the base of his spine and curled up slightly over his back.
Before long, Remus was gone and the wolf was in his place.
The wolf shook his body as if shaking rain water from the fur and jumped up onto the cot.
It tucked its hind legs beneath it and stretched out his front forelegs, resting his head on my thigh.
The wolf stayed with me for quite some time.
I managed to doze off, feeling safe and secure until 4 AM.
I woke up to the wolf sitting on his haunches on my lap, facing the entranceway to the hospital wing. The tail was swinging back and forth menacingly but it was beating against my face.
I woke up and spit out two strands of fur.
"Moony? What's wrong?" I asked painfully propping myself up onto my elbows. Pain shot up and down my back. The wolfs body was rigid and attentive. I heard him growling. I looked toward the entranceway.
A pair of brown eyes reflected the moonlight and it stepped further into the hospital wing. A black dog…Sirius.
"How'd he escape this time?" I whispered terrified.
The wolf got up on all fours at this point and snarled at Sirius threateningly.
The black dog continued to approach, clearly not afraid of the gray wolf.
The wolf sprang into action. He charged at the black dog. They began fighting and snarling.
"LILY! JAMES!" I screamed.
They immediately woke up.
"Oh shit!" James cried. "I was so exhausted I had no idea it was a full moon out! I can't change now!"
Lily watched the wolf and dog fighting with an anxious and worried expression on her face. She was also scared.
The wolf clamped his jaws around the black dogs' neck and bit down. The dog howled in pain and tried to retaliate.
The black dog flipped the wolf from his neck. The wolf crashed down on my cot on his side.
Ignoring the searing pain that shot up my back, I pulled myself into a sitting position. I cried in pain but I didn't care.
The wolf jumped down off my bed and went to charge at the black dog again, but the dog charged at me and jumped onto my bed and tried to clamp his jaws around my throat.
"HELP!" I screamed trying to toss the dog off of me, but he was too heavy. I had both hands on his neck trying to push him off of me.
James got up and came over to me.
He put two hands on either side of the dogs' ribcage, preparing to pull him off but the dog arched his neck around, clamping his jaws on James' wrists. Blood began flowing. James let go and stumbled back, dropping to his knees.
"JAMES!" Lily screamed as she rushed to his side.
James was bleeding profusely and was getting paler and paler by the minute as Lily tried to stop the bleeding.
Lily cradled James against her and sobbed hysterically.
The gray wolf charged at the black wolf this time, and knocked him off of me. They continued to fight.
Both the wolf and the dog fought so much they headed toward the window.
"REMUS!" I screamed at the wolf.
The black dog and the wolf reared up on their hind legs and fought with their front paws, but that resulted in both of them going out the window. The glass shattered and fell, scattering on the floor inside the hospital wing and the ground below.
I got to my feet, completely and utterly in pain but I staggered toward the window and peered out. The gray wolf had all his nails digging into the side of the castle. His hind legs slipping a bit as he tried to dig his nails deep into the bricks and cement.
I reached out and grabbed his forelegs.
"Hang on Remus," I pleaded as tears streamed down my cheeks. "Lily help me!"
But Lily was with James who had slumped against her and wasn't moving. A large puddle of blood pooled around on the floor.
Using all the strength I could muster, I began slowly pulling him back inside.
Finally I just fell onto my back on the floor breathing heavily as the wolf landed on top of me.
"WHAT ON EARTH…?" a voice cried from the doorway. It was Madam Elkin.
"Get Dumbledore," I said trying to catch my breath.
I heard her hurrying away.
The wolf was lying on top of me.
The sun began coming up at this point. Remus changed back into his human form on top of me.
He pushed himself off of me, accidentally putting his hands on my breasts.
"Sorry," he apologized immediately blushing furiously.
Dumbledore and Madam Elkin arrived soon.
Madam Elkin helped me back onto the cot and gave me the potion for the bruising. It started to feel better already.
REMUS.
I felt embarrassed for accidentally touching Caitlin like that. She didn't say anything though. But right now, we had to tell Dumbledore what had happened.
"He somehow managed to escape from the dungeon," I said. "He attacked me and James."
Madam Elkin went to James.
"He's gone," she said softly and quietly. "I'm so sorry."
Lily burst into hysterics as Madam Elkin wrapped her arms around her and comforted her. I felt my throat aching with grief.
"We went out the window, but I managed to dig my nails into the side of the castle. Caitlin pulled me back in," I continued as tears formed in my eyes.
Dumbledore sighed and went over to the window.
"I see the black dogs' body," he said quietly. "I'll have Professor Anicks retrieve him."
Caitlin began sobbing as well.
"And we'll take good care of James as well." Dumbledore said kindly and softly putting a hand on Lily's shoulder.
He gestured for me to come with him.
I got up and followed him out into the corridor.
"Did any of this seem familiar?" he asked.
I frowned.
"Yeah," I said. "I had some sort of similar dream a few weeks ago. Why?"
Dumbledore looked at me.
"Because it wasn't a dream, Remus,"
I looked at him quizzically.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you didn't dream that," he continued. "It actually happened."
I was still completely confused.
"Yeah just now," I said.
Dumbledore shook his head.
"No. You see, after you cradled Caitlin's body against you, I sent you backing time and modified your memory a bit so it would seem like a dream."