Author's Note: I'm going to try out writing shorter chapters, but publishing twice a week. As usual, let me know what you think! :)
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I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or anything else resembling what J.K Rowling introduced us all to. Just the plot and OC are mine.
Chapter 23
The next morning Ava didn't feel any better. If anything, she felt worse. Even though the fever hadn't gone away and her bones felt as though they were about to snap every time she moved, she was avoiding the Hospital Wing like the plague. Ava couldn't stand the thought of missing any classes, feeling the added pressure of succeeding now that Severus, Sirius, and Aunt Minerva knew more of the truth. Currently, she was sitting at the Gryffindor table, attempting to eat her breakfast without hinting to Lily that she still felt unwell. However, that was proving to be difficult considering that Ava's fever decided to start giving her chills every now and then, causing her whole body to tremble and her teeth to chatter. The witch kept her eyes downcast, having a staring contest with her plate to the outside observer. I will NOT look at him, she commanded herself. Ava could feel her magic pushing the compulsion to look at Remus upon her, but she refused, not wanting to bend to the whim of her magic. Thinking over her symptoms, Ava considered that she could just be plain old sick, or it could be a side effect of the latest potion Severus created for her. I did take another dose this morning, she thought as a shiver wracked her body.
"Cold?" Sirius asked quietly, wrapping an arm around her. He rubbed her hand up and down the outside of her arm in an effort to warm her up.
With her mind too fuzzy from the fever, Ava instinctively leaned into Sirius's side, seeking more warmth. She relaxed into her friend only for a moment before hearing a growl, causing her to sigh and slowly withdraw herself from the Animagus's heat.
"Ava?" Lily asked in a drawn out manner.
"Yes, Lily?" she asked in a similar tone. Ava looked to the redhead who had her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She waved Lily off. "I'm fine," she said in a tone that she hoped brokered no argument.
Lily opened her mouth to respond, but James whispered something to her, causing the redhead to merely sigh and resume her conversation with Alice and Mary.
Thankful that Lily dropped the subject, Ava returned to her meal. Still ruminating over the werewolf's date with Allison Clover, Ava steeled her resolve and directed her gaze towards her breakfast plate rather than Remus, regardless of how much her magic kept sending a slight pain pulsing throughout her body. She mentally rolled her eyes. You'll have to try harder than that, she thought, considering how much pain she had already endured from her magic. Ava frowned at her plate, recalling the fact that she told her aunt, Mrs. Potter, and Madame Pomfrey that she would try to be Remus's friend in an effort to alleviate the consequences her magic decided to dish out. I feel like shit. Remus going on a date is bullshit. And this whole situation is a clusterfuck. I'll be his friend when I'm feeling up for the challenge. Her frown deepened when she finished her last few bites of her usual morning meal—scrambled eggs, sausage, and a piece of toast. I'm starving, she thought before shrugging to herself, assuming that her hunger may just be another side effect of the newer pain potion. Not wasting another moment, Ava loaded up her plate with another helping of eggs and sausage links.
Mercifully, James and Sirius seemed to pick up on the fact that she wasn't in the mood to be bothered, so they accepted her early departure from the table without any resistance. In a feverish fog, she made her way down to the dungeons for her second year Potions class, hoping that they didn't have to do much thinking yet. Halfway through class, her drowsiness seemed to disappear and was replaced with restlessness. Her legs were bouncing with excess energy and she shot up from her worktable when Professor Slughorn instructed them to begin brewing. She struggled to calm her nerves when it came time for preparing the ingredients, but thankfully, Ava's partner was a sweet Hufflepuff that offered to do all of the cutting when she noticed Ava's shaky hands. She kindly suggested that Ava could take care of the insects that needed to be ground up using the pestle and mortar. Once Ava finished, she could feel her fingers itching to move and do something else, but she kept getting in her partner's way. Realizing she was doing more harm than good, Ava sat down and rewrote her first-year Potions notes in a more concise manner just to keep her hands and mind busy. It's like I'm going stir-crazy, she thought.
Just when Ava felt like she was going to burst from containing her restless energy, class ended and she made her way towards second year Transfiguration. While passing Severus in the corridor, he gently pulled her aside, reminding her about their study group that afternoon with Benedict and the other first-year Slytherins she invited along. Grinning, Ava nodded enthusiastically and could barely keep herself from bouncing on her toes. Severus eyed her warily, but stalked off without a comment. That day, Professor McGonagall had the class practice turning teacups into tortoises, and after a while, Ava could feel her body draining of its previous energy. She slowly became more lethargic, with the feverish feelings all returning. She shook off her school robes and rolled up the sleeves of her button-down shirt, trying to cool herself off. Regardless, she occasionally had to wipe sweat from her brow, and she could see her aunt eyeing her with concern.
Ava continued practicing the spell, attempting to make the tortoise more detailed each time, like the professor had suggested. Right now, she was focusing on the pattern of the shell, but the spell didn't seem to be working. What the hell? I literally just did this. She frowned and lifted her wand to inspect it, as though that would provide her with answers. Shaking her head at herself, Ava lowered her wand and took a deep breath. However, pronouncing the spell correctly and performing the wand work precisely didn't result in her teacup turning into a tortoise. No, instead, the teacup flipped through the air and smashed against the table, startling the entire class. Ava could feel her cheeks reddening in embarrassment as everyone, including her aunt, turned to look at her in surprise and confusion. What. The. Fuck. She offered them a sheepish smile as she gathered the broken ceramic pieces of the teacup, trying to hide her panic. What is happening to me? Maybe this is it. Like Madame Pomfrey said, my magic is struggling. Shit. It's like that Potter guy wrote in his diary. Maybe my magical core is starting to go out. Ava was drawn from her thoughts by the clearing of a throat. She glanced up to see Professor McGonagall standing in front of her.
"May I?" the older witch offered, lifting her wand and eyeing the destroyed teacup.
Ava nodded. While she realized that her aunt was assisting with only a third-year Charm, Ava also realized that she couldn't exactly trust her magic at the moment.
"Reparo," McGonagall said firmly, bringing together the pieces of the teacup to reform into its original form.
"Thank you," Ava said in a small voice.
"Perhaps you should rest and review your notes for the remainder of class," the professor suggested, looking worried.
Ava pressed her lips together in a thin line. Part of her agreed, thinking that she should allow her magic a reprieve, but she couldn't just bury her head in the sand and hope that it was just a one time occurrence. "I'm going to try one more time," she said.
McGonagall nodded silently and walked away to attend to other students.
Ava took several slow, deep breaths, mentally running herself through the wand movement and enunciation of the spell. Picturing the tortoise in her mind, Ava performed the spell, and her teacup slowly reshaped itself in a small tortoise. A wide grin broke out on her face, but fell when she noticed the little creature quivering. Suddenly, it was a teacup again. With wide eyes, Ava collapsed in her chair. She placed her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. Oh God. My magic's failing. It's not stable, at all. I need to take a better look at that Potter diary and see if I can figure out a time line for when his magic started to really become unstable. I don't want to hurt anyone. Maybe I should talk with Remus. She could feel tears pricking at her eyes and immediately pressed the palms of her hands up against them. I refuse to cry in front of a bunch of twelve-year-olds. Thankfully, class ended only a minute later and Ava was able to regain her composure. She made sure to take longer packing up her schoolbag so she could be alone with Professor McGonagall.
Approaching the teacher's desk, she huffed and said, "Well, I think my magic is becoming unstable."
McGonagall's eyes widened slightly, but then her expression relaxed. "It might not be that, dear child. You could be merely exhausting yourself. You are learning at quite the accelerated rate. That's likely what the cause is, Ava. Don't fret. Just make sure to rest plenty and only cast magic in class for now."
Ava eyed the older witch. Is she serious? "Okay," she said quietly before turning to leave the classroom. I suppose she could be right, but still. It could be that my magical core is becoming more unstable as well. Lost in her worrisome thoughts, Ava made her way to the Great Hall for lunch.
As soon as she was within shouting distance of her soulmate, Ava could feel her magic recreating the compulsion to interact with Remus, even just to look at him. It was as though the magic was swirling inside her body, nudging her repeatedly, pestering her to take notice of him. She sat down, trying to maintain her resolve as she gathered food onto her plate. However, her magic had other ideas. It battered against her ribs in protest, causing her to gasp in pain. She quickly brought her hand to her mouth, hoping to muffle the sound. Ava slowly looked up to her table-mates, and judging by the concerned looks on James's and Sirius's faces, she hadn't been quiet enough. Releasing a heavy sigh, she crept one hand towards Sirius and gripped his robes tightly when her fingers came into contact with it. With reluctance, she raised her head to look at Remus. Taking in his unusually pale complexion and dark circles under his eyes caused Ava to frown in concern. After roving over his face, her eyes traveled down to his plate, which was piled high with a mountain of food. Over the next few minutes, Ava decided to observe the werewolf subtly since Sirius was now grasping her hand in an effort to keep her grounded. Remus cringed, as if in pain, every time someone shouted, and he grimaced whenever vegetables of any kind are mentioned or passed in front of him. She could've sworn that he drooled as he placed two large pieces of a thick chocolate cake onto his plate.
Ava leaned forward slightly and asked, "Remus, are you feeling okay?"
He glanced up at her with a startled look before his eyes flashed amber. He shook his head quickly and flashed her a smile before scarfing down the cake.
Well, then, she thought with a small smile. That chocolate cake must be really good for him to practically ignore me. She was thinking about how Remus's affinity for chocolate was ironic because dogs are allergic to chocolate, which made her realize—the full moon. She could've smacked herself. Of course, that's why he's looking kinda sick and eating a ridiculous amount of food. Ava shook her head at herself and waved James off when he looked at her for an explanation. Stupid, Ava. C'mon. A look of sadness overcame her face at the thought of Remus enduring the transformation every month. It was awful enough watching him return to his human form, and she couldn't imagine it would be any easier turning into a werewolf.
Noticing her plate was empty and her stomach demanded more food, Ava began eyeing the different dishes on the table, trying to decide what to eat next. James offered her the bowl of green beans, knowing that they were one of her favorite vegetables. Ava took the bowl from him, but wrinkled her nose in disgust once they were close enough to smell. "These smell absolutely horrid," she exclaimed, pushing the dish back towards James. "They must've gone bad or something."
James raised his brows in surprise but shrugged, grabbing a hold of the dish. "They tasted fine to me."
Ava turned to her other side, checking to see what her options were on Sirius's side of the table. Her vision seemed to hone in on the chocolate cake that Remus had earlier. Just at the sight, Ava's mouth watered. She quickly smacked Sirius on the arm, gaining his attention. "Cake. Get the cake. Before someone else gets it," she ordered him. It didn't dawn on Ava until she snatched the plate from her friend and shoveled a piece of the cake into her mouth that something was wrong with her behavior. With wide eyes, still chewing the massive chunk of cake in her mouth, she looked up at Sirius.
His brows were raised with a look of amusement spread across his face. "Hungry?" he asked.
She turned slightly to look at James, who was staring at her with his mouth hanging open.
Sighing around the delicious chocolate morsel in her mouth, Ava looked across the table to Remus, who was too preoccupied with his food to notice anything amiss.
Looks like the full moon doesn't just affect him, she thought morosely.
Once her second-year Astronomy class was over, Ava immediately packed up her things and sped to the library, hoping to talk with Severus before the younger boys got there. She mentally ran through the pieces of advice that James and Sirius briefed her on after lunch. Lots of protein, keep performing magic to a minimum, sleep, exercise to work off excess energy, and Pepper-Up Potion if necessary. Jesus Christ. Never thought I'd have to be aware of how to stave off side effects that I'm getting from my soulmate because he's transforming for the full moon. She shook her head and smiled. This whole situation was so insane, but incredible at the same time. Sometimes when Ava would wake up in the morning, she had to still remind herself of where she was. She would reach out for her wand resting on her nightstand and just hold it, feeling the magic flowing between herself and the Blackthorn.
She marched up to their usual table in the library, plopping down noisily into her seat, demanding Severus's attention. She leaned forward and whispered, "I've got some..important news to share with you." At his expectant look, she opened her mouth to continue, but before she could launch into her explanation, she heard Benedict's giggle. She let out a sound of annoyance and said, "Nevermind, I'll tell you later. The boys are here already."
A look of confusion passed over Severus's face once he peeked over her shoulder and saw absolutely no one headed towards them.
Ava turned in her seat to see what the Slytherin was frowning about and quickly realized the boys were no where in sight. Huh. Just a moment later, the group of first-years came around the corner, causing her to smile. I guess sensitive hearing is a side effect too. She looked back at Severus and shrugged, hoping to play off the fact that she heard them way before they arrived. His eyes narrowed in return, but he didn't broach the subject considering that Benedict and his friends were already upon their table.
The study session went just fine, Ava thought. The older pair helped the boys refine their notes for Potions and then answered any questions when the boys needed a little bit of extra help. All in all, she considered it to be a success since the boys loosened up after a while and Severus didn't lose his temper the entire time. Ava stood to help the boys gather their belongings once they were finished, and Benedict held back as his friends walked to the front of the library. He was acting fidgety and kept glancing at Severus out of the corner of his eye.
"Thank you, both of you, for helping us study," he muttered, looking from Ava to Severus.
Severus merely nodded, but Ava could tell that he was appreciative of the boy's show of gratitude.
Ava smiled at the older Slytherin before turning her gaze back onto Benedict. She reached out to ruffle his hair and said, "No problem. Same time next week?"
Benedict looked pleasantly surprised and exclaimed, "Yes!" and then looked at his tutors with wide eyes, seemingly embarrassed over his excitement.
"You know it's okay to enjoy learning, right?" Ava said.
The boy nodded vigorously and turned to walk away, but hesitated. He quickly glanced at Severus before determination set on his face, and then threw himself at Ava, wrapping her up in a hug. "Thank you for not forgetting about me," he told her in a small voice.
Ava hugged him back, but frowned slightly and looked at Severus. She pulled back from Benedict and said, "I would never." Returning his subsequent smile, she added, "Go catch up with your friends, I'll see you around." Ava watched the little Slytherin run through the stacks before turning to Severus. "Dinner in the Kitchens?" He nodded, so they packed up in silence and continued that way until they were sitting down for their meal.
"What did you want to tell me?" he asked.
Ava gulped, suddenly nervous about what Severus might think. "Um, can we just talk about it when we get to the Potions Lab?" she asked, eyeing the house elves.
For a moment, she thought Severus was going to argue with her, but his expression relaxed. "Alright." A moment later, he said, "So, I'll bottle up the rest of the potion for you to use, and I think it'd be a good idea to go ahead and brew another cauldron of that particular recipe tonight as well since it's the most effective potion yet."
"Yeah, okay. Thanks again, Severus." He gave her an almost smile and nodded. I'll take it, she thought while returning his grin. When a house elf brought over their food, Ava was bringing Severus up-to-date on which classes she was taking since her schedule was recently changed. "I know that I've got to learn more than just the classes that I'm interested in, even though they're the most useful, but I feel like I'll be taking History of Magic and Astronomy forever! I only just started second-year in those," she complained.
He scoffed. "Please, Ava. Save your grumbling for someone who cares." At her affronted expression, he added, "You're moving through the curriculum faster than any regular seventh-year did."
"I suppose that's true," she mumbled before continuing to eat her dinner.
Once the pair finished their meal, they descended into the dungeons. As they got closer to the Potions Lab, Ava grew more anxious. She felt as though her side effects from being connected to a werewolf might be difficult for Severus to handle and she didn't want to ruin the work that she had put into their friendship thus far. She waited silently while Severus prepared the potion, her anxiety starting to eat her alive. By the time he was nearly finished with the potion, Ava was struggling to keep her news to herself. Finally, the potion was ready to simmer unattended and Severus turned his attention to Ava.
Unable to help herself, she quickly blurted out, "My connection with Remus is causing me to have side effects because the full moon is tomorrow." Severus was silent for so long that Ava thought she'd have to repeat herself when he spoke.
"What side effects are you currently experiencing?" he asked her as he began to pace.
"Well, I keep feeling either feverish or full of energy, my appetite is outrageous, and I can hear super well. Oh, and my magic is a little wonky right now."
"How so?" he questioned with a frown.
"It's not exactly…working properly," she told him with a grimace. "I performed a spell perfectly in Transfiguration earlier today a few times, but then it became more difficult and then the spell wouldn't work for me."
Severus looked thoughtful as he continued walking across the lab.
"I don't think it'll really be an issue because James and Sirius gave me some pointers on what helps. It seems like I'm having almost the same side effects as Remus."
Severus froze in his steps. He spoke so low that Ava wasn't sure that she would've heard him, had it not been for her temporarily enhanced hearing. "Do you know if you'll transform?"
Ava paled and broke into a nervous sweat, her mind whirling. What? Transform? Her vision blurred as she began to breathe rapidly. How did I not think about this? I might transform into a werewolf. She reached out to grip the edge of the worktable and missed, falling to the floor. The tears gathering in her eyes trailed down her face as her knees made contact with the stone floor. No, no, no, no, no.
"Ava!" Severus gripped her shoulders in an attempt to keep her from collapsing entirely. Her eyes were glazed over and she wouldn't look at him. "Ava," he repeated. She clung onto his robes, chest heaving from her panicked breathing. "Ava," he said once more, shaking her slightly. When she didn't respond, he held her face between his hands and forced her to look at him. "Ava!" he yelled, startling her. "That's it, look at me. Take a deep breath."
Ava listened to Severus once she was pulled from her thoughts. Taking several deep breaths, she began to calm down. "I might be a werewolf?" she asked, eyes still tearing. She looked to him for answers, even knowing he wouldn't have them.
He scowled. "I don't know, but you're going to be just fine." He pulled Ava close and hugged her. "That goddamn wolf better hope to Merlin that you'll be fine. Otherwise, I'll eviscerate him," he growled into her hair.
Ava gave a watery laugh and pulled back from her friend. "Please don't, Severus. It's not his fault." Severus clenched his jaw. "You know it's not his fault. He doesn't even know that we're soulmates. He can't help what's happening any more than I can," she said softly. Ava picked at her robes nervously. "Are we still friends?" she asked without looking up at Severus.
"What? What kind of question is that?" he asked, voice sounding full of genuine confusion.
Slowly, Ava raised her head. His dark eyes seemed to be scanning her face for an answer. "Well, I, uh, I didn't know if—if you'd still want to be friends. Now that, you know, I might be a werewolf," her voice trailed off at the end of her sentence.
Severus pressed his lips together in a firm line. "While I may not like this situation, it's like you said. It's not your fault." Both of them were silent for a minute. "Also, I may have done some thinking after our argument about your wolf."
Ava flashed him a look of surprise.
He scoffed. "I know. But Lupin is not the one I should be placing blame on for that night. It was all Black's idea."
Ava flinched, silently agreeing with Severus.
He let out a long breath. "Anyway, I've learned over the years that I need to value my friendships a little more."
She stayed silent, but nodded once to show him that she was listening.
He began to wring his hands together for a few moments, before pulling them apart and pressing them flat on the cold, stone floor. "In any case, I'm not going to just stop being your friend, Ava."
She could feel tears forming in her eyes again, but blinked rapidly. Severus probably wouldn't appreciate her crying over his declaration of friendship. She reached out and grasped his hand, giving it a good squeeze. "Thank you. Just so you know, I'm not going to just stop being your friend either. No matter what."
The pair sat in silence for some time before Severus stood and offered a hand to Ava. Pulling her up, he said, "We need to come up with a plan for you during the full moon."
Ava gulped, desperately hoping she wouldn't transform. "I'll talk with Aunt Minerva about it. I won't be loose in the castle, but I also don't think I should be outside just running around. Remus goes to the shack, but I don't know if that's where I can go too."
"Don't be ridiculous," he snapped. "If you don't transform, he'll devour you."
Ava shook he head. "No, Moony actually likes me. I was there last month when Remus transformed, remember?"
Severus paled. "You were? I—I guess my mind glossed over that fact when you first informed me of how you arrived here."
"Everything was fine though, I promise," she reassured him. "Moony acted just like a big dog with me."
Severus raised his brows silently and nodded, obviously deferring to her on this subject.
Ava sighed. "Why don't we do some work while we wait for the potion to finish, and then you can walk me back?"
"Yeah, alright." He hesitated. "Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"
She smiled at her friend. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm good for now."
He nodded before checking the timer on the potion. The pair completed their homework in near silence, with the exception of Ava occasionally asking Severus clarifying questions about her Defense essay. Once the potion was finished brewing, the future Potions Master bottled it and transfigured a piece of parchment into a bag for Ava to carry all of the vials back to her quarters. They chatted amiably on the walk to her rooms, saying their goodbyes at the door and parting ways for the night.
Had anyone thought to ask, Remus would've told them that this full moon had been the oddest one yet. In the days leading up to the night of his transformation, he was showing his typical symptoms: insatiable hunger, irritability, senses on overdrive, magic being more draining than usual, but there were others. He struggled to maintain his composure around Ava. Especially today. Yesterday wasn't so bad though. He could smell her more acutely, but that wasn't too difficult to resist when he only saw her during meal times and they were both surrounded by plenty of other smells and sounds. However, today was another story.
When Ava first approached the table for breakfast, she seemed to hesitate while locking eyes with him. She looked completely dazed as she took a step onto the bench, as though she was about to walk right over the table in his direction. Sirius managed to grab her and pull her back to the floor, causing an unconscious growl to erupt from his chest. He shook his head and tried to listen to Ava, now appearing more aware, speaking in hushed whispers to James and Sirius. He frowned, only hearing a faint buzzing sound. She must've cast some sort of silencing spell, he thought, considering that the trio was directly across the table from him. Once they sat down, he immediately noticed Ava subtly holding James's hand, and Sirius placing his arm gently around Ava, looking as though he was ready to hold her tight at any moment.
Remus could feel another growl growing in the back of his throat and pinched himself on the leg to stay in control. He couldn't let Moony take over in the middle of the Great Hall for Godric's sake. Moony tensed in the back of his mind, adamant that Remus separate Sirius and James from Ava. She shouldn't be sitting between the two of them. She belongs with us, the wolf thought. Remus couldn't keep his thoughts from drifting to a daydream of where he would demand such a thing and Ava would come to him willingly. She would sit on his lap, and he could run his fingers through her hair. He pictured moving her hair gently to the side, exposing her neck. At that image, Moony possessively growled, Mark our mate, snapping Remus out of his wonderful daydream.
Throughout the day, he began to realize that the usual side effects the day before the full moon decreased in intensity whenever Ava was around. He felt remarkably better during meals, but he had attributed that to merely eating until he passed Ava in the hallway between classes. He had struggled to get through Defense, and was feeling lethargic when he suddenly began to feel more energized. He perked up, recognizing that this wasn't just the typical shift into restlessness that he always experienced. Ava's scent wafted towards him, alerting Moony as well. Sure enough, the Marauders approached a group of younger Gryffindors that Ava was walking with. Once she spotted James, she headed in their direction, resulting in Remus feeling lighter and healthier than he had since lunch. After a quick glance his way, Ava blushed and gave her goodbyes before continuing down the hall. The further she walked away, the worse Remus felt once again. He looked after her with a contemplative expression that drew the attention of his friends.
"Ooo, someone's got a crush," Peter teased him while elbowing him in the ribs.
Remus waved him off, but stayed silent. In an unspoken agreement, Sirius and James hadn't discussed the whole revelation of Ava being his mate with Peter. And he certainly wasn't going to bring it up.
Later that night, Remus was tossing and turning in bed, trying to fall asleep. He knew that he needed the rest for the following days, but he couldn't seem to settle down knowing that Ava wasn't with him. He mentally scoffed. She's not even mine to be possessive about. He rolled over with a huff of annoyance. Maybe I should have James check on her for me. He frowned to himself in the dark, realizing how ridiculous that request would sound. I haven't felt this strong of a pull to her this entire time. Why now? he bemoaned, just wanting to sleep. Regardless of his desire to rest, Moony paced, not willing to relent until he was with his mate. Remus knew that outcome was impossible because not only did he not want to scare off the witch, but how was he supposed to get into McGonagall's sleeping quarters? For another thirty minutes or so, he tried to settle Moony and his own thoughts of Ava, but he whipped off the bedsheets, having had enough. He stood, wearing only sleep pants, and headed to the door.
James suddenly appeared before him, blocking his way out of the dorm. "You might want to reconsider whatever you're about to do, Moony," he whispered.
Remus glowered at his friend and clenched his fists in defiance. I don't even know how I plan to get close to Ava, he lamented.
Sirius popped up over his right shoulder and calmly said, "C'mon, Moony. I know you're probably wanting to go to her, but now's not the time." The Animagus gripped his shoulders and led him over to James's bed, and the werewolf let out a breath of relief. Moony stopped pacing and let out a noise of approval as Sirius enlarged James's bed and climbed in it.
"Let's go to sleep you big ball of fluff," James said as he grabbed Remus's hand and pulled him towards the bed.
Remus laid on his back between his friends, and slowly took a deep breath, inhaling each of their calming scents. Pack, Moony announced, pleased. Surrounded by his pack mates, Remus was eventually able to soothe himself and Moony into a deep slumber.
