It was Saturday evening, and Sadie, James, Sirius, and Peter were gathered in the boys' dormitory. Sirius was lounging comfortably on his bed and watching as Sadie paced back and forth across the room. Peter was sitting on his own bed and wringing his hands anxiously, his eyes wide. James was seated at the window overlooking the Whomping Willow, watching calmly.
Sadie let out a deep breath and collapsed next to Sirius. "What's taking so long?" She frowned. "All this waiting around is making my anxiety so much worse."
Sirius grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It'll be fine, Sadie Mae. James and I aren't about to let anything happen to you."
"I'm not worried about me!" She rolled her eyes in response. "It's you two reckless yahoo's that I'm concerned about! Peter and I will be just fine!"
Sirius threw his head back and barked a laugh. "Don't stress about us. We may be reckless, but we're not stupid."
"That's debatable," Sadie muttered. He stuck his tongue out at her and shoved her off the bed. She landed on the ground with a thud and a cry of indignation. Peter giggled nervously.
"Shut up, " James ordered quietly. "There they are." The other three scrambled to the window, barely able to make out the dark figures of Remus and Madam Pomfrey hurrying toward the Whomping Willow. "Alright, let's go over the plan one more time."
"We've been over the plan so many times, Prongs," Sirius rolled his eyes exasperatedly.
Peter piped up. "I would appreciate running through it again..." Sadie was nodding in agreement, eyes wide. Sirius sighed resignedly.
"Alright," James started quietly. "Sadie and Peter, you two are going to transform here. Your forms are small, so that will make it easier to fit us all under the cloak. Once we get outside, Peter, you'll scurry ahead and touch the knot on the tree so that the rest of us can safely make it to the tunnel. Sirius, you should be able to transform at that point too, but I don't think Prongs will fit in the tunnel. I'll transform as soon as we get into the shack. Then, Padfoot and I will go ahead to test the waters a bit; Moony will have a harder time actually hurting us than he will the two of you. Once we've confirmed that he's not going to attack us, then you can come in as well. And, well, from there I guess we are just kind of winging it..."
"What happens if he does attack you?" Peter asked hesitantly.
"Then we'll hold him off while the two of you run to safety," Sirius answered firmly. "Once you're safe, then we'll get out of there as quickly as we can. Sadie, you've got a good stash of healing supplies, right?" Sadie nodded, jaw clenched. "Then we'll be fine. You can patch up any injuries we might get in the process."
James reached over to his bed and grabbed the invisibility cloak. "Alright. I think we're about as prepared as we possibly can be."
Sadie and Peter looked at each other and nodded. Sadie closed her eyes and focused, feeling the ever-strange tingling sensation that accompanied her transformations. When she opened her eyes, James was scooping up the orange rat that was Peter, and Sirius was crouching down to let her hop into his hand, a huge grin on his face.
"A house finch," he chuckled, shaking his head as he gently transferred her to his shoulder. "I swear, it gets cuter every time I see it." Sadie nipped at his finger affectionately and settled down against the side of his neck. James approached them and threw the cloak over the four of them, nodding at Sirius before they cautiously exited the room and began the trek to the Whomping Willow.
Luck seemed to be on their side that night as they didn't encounter a single other person until they had reached the tree. Peter had just frozen the branches when Sadie caught movement out of the corner of her eye.
Four figures were hurrying toward the edge of the forest. It was too dark and too far away for Sadie to see who they were, and she didn't have time to dwell on it before Sirius had ducked into the passage beneath the Whomping Willow, bringing her with him. James pulled the cloak off of them, and Sadie spread her wings to flutter off of Sirius' shoulder so that he could transform. Once he had done so, James beckoned silently for them to follow him.
They made an interesting entourage with James leading the way, an orange rat perched on his shoulder, a huge shaggy black dog trotting along behind him, and a small, speckled bird darting around their heads. It wasn't long before they heard mournful howls echoing from the other end of the tunnel. James and Sirius exchanged glances before carrying on.
When they reached the entrance to the Shrieking Shack, James set Peter down on the ground and gave him and Sadie stern looks. "Wait, here," he told them firmly. Then he nodded at Sirius, and the two of them walked into the shack, James transforming into a stag as he went. Sadie and Peter stood side-by-side, listening nervously. All they could hear were some shuffles, growls, and the occasional snort.
Peter let out a squeal, and Sadie jumped when a stag head suddenly appeared in front of them. Prongs jerked his head in a gesture to come with him. Sadie's heart soared at the sign that things with Moony had gone well. She took flight for just a moment to perch on one of James' antlers. He moved back toward a room down the hall, Peter following hesitantly.
They had studied werewolves in Defense Against the Dark Arts back in their third year, so seeing the wolf with silvery fur and a tufted tail didn't come as much of a shock. Nothing, however, could have prepared Sadie for the sight of the creature's eyes. They were so familiar to her that she wondered if she might have recognized them even had she not known who she was looking at.
A low whine came from Moony's throat as he eyed her warily. James walked forward cautiously and slowly lowered his head so that Sadie was at eye-level with the werewolf. She felt his hot breath rustle through her feathers, and she held her breath, heart pounding nervously as he sniffed her. She could see Sirius over Remus' shoulder watching carefully and poised to pounce if the introduction went awry.
It was unnecessary, however, as Moony quickly decided that she was of no threat to him and moved on to Peter, who quivered in fear until the wolf accepted him as well. Remus watched them all curiously as he prowled back and forth across the length of the room. They waited patiently to see what he would do, and eventually he settled down on a tattered blanket in the corner. Sirius hesitantly approached him and, when the wolf made no move to prevent it, curled up in a ball next to him. James, Sadie and Peter followed his lead. Soon, Remus' eyes fluttered shut, and his breathing indicated that he was fast asleep.
The other four friends exchanged wide-eyed looks. From what Remus had told them, he never slept during the full moon. It was one part of why he was always so exhausted in the days following his transformations. Rather than sleep, the wolf side of him would howl and claw at himself, the walls and furniture, and anything else he could reach. This response from him was definitely a victory, and the animagi silently cheered to themselves before slowly nodding off one by one.
Sadie startled and felt herself instinctively transform back into her own body as her brother jostled her awake. Light was pouring in through the windows, and James, Sirius, and Peter were frantically ushering her under the cloak with them. It took her a moment to register what was going on, but then she heard the distinct sound of footsteps approaching. With a dive, she ducked under the cloak just in time, tripping and nearly face-planting, but Sirius caught her and pulled her tightly against his chest. All four of them held as still as possible.
Madam Pomfrey walked briskly into the room. Remus had transformed back into himself and was sitting calmly on a chair. The healer did a double take when she saw him.
"Goodness, Mister Lupin! An easy one, as far as full moons go, was it?"
Remus smiled and shot a subtle glance at the spot where he knew his friends were concealed. "Not too bad at all, ma'am."
Madam Pomfrey patted him on the shoulder. "Well, you're still looking a bit peaky, and you've got a few new scratches, so let's get you up to the hospital wing. I imagine we will have you out of there by this afternoon though!" He nodded in satisfaction and followed her from the room.
His friends waited several moments before deeming it safe to come out from under the cloak. James gave a loud whoop of victory and began dancing around the room while Peter laughed and applauded. Sirius cleared his throat and reluctantly released his hold on Sadie, who immediately threw her arms around his neck elatedly. The sudden movement caused her to take notice of a dull headache, but she shook it off and pulled away from Sirius.
"We may as well go check on Rhea before we head up to the castle," she suggested. Sirius nodded in agreement. They had seen a lot of improvement in their little unicorn over the past couple of days, and they were eager to spend more time with her. Bidding quick farewells to James and Peter, they made their way back through the tunnel and toward to edge of the forest, chatting gaily as they went.
The further they walked, however, the worse Sadie's headache became, and her vision started swimming. She could hear Sirius continuing to talk to her, but his words weren't registering in her mind. Her hands started to shake, and her palms became sweaty as they reached the forest.
Sirius was just telling her that he was almost disappointed that nothing more exciting had happened the night before when he noticed that she was no longer walking next to him. He turned around with a frown to see her leaning with one hand against the trunk of a tree. Her face was deathly pale, and he could see her body trembling as she took deep, controlled breaths. He hurried to her side, a look of deep concern on his face.
"Sadie Mae?" He reached out and gently placed his hand on her back. She gave a start and looked at him with wide eyes only to immediately turn away and double over, retching violently. Sirius grabbed her upper arms as she stumbled, and he carefully helped her lower to her knees, rubbing her back soothingly as she dry-heaved, finally letting up a small amount of stomach acid.
With a whimper, she let herself fall against his chest. His arms went around her, and he placed his hand against her forehead with a frown. Her skin was cold and clammy, and she was still shivering. Sirius gently pulled away and grabbed her face, drawing it up to meet his gaze.
"We need to get you up to the hospital wing," he told her calmly. "Are you able to stand?"
"Yeah..." Sadie answered, though her voice sounded distant. Sirius bit his lip uncertainly and kept his arms around her as they stood up, which ended up being a wise course of action. She wavered on her feet for a moment before going limp and collapsing against him. Sirius felt his heart hammering in panic as he scooped her up and hurried as quickly as he could toward the castle.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!
12esheffield: Oh, my heart just hurts for him! Poor baby! Pretty sure my most dominant personality trait is adoring Sirius Black with my entire heart and soul though, so there is hope for him. I couldn't stand to torture him forever, after all. ;)