"I told you I would be accepted into the team." Isabella finished her first training session and dawdled in the changing room, leaving her alone. Which she wasn't really alone. Regulus emerged from the closet where he had been hiding. Both agreed that it was better not to make their friendship public. That would only cause problems, which they both would like to avoid.
"It's all right, I'm looking forward to a worthy opponent," Regulus replied with a grin. "And if I win, will you go out with me?" he asked.
"You win first," she replied, shouldering her broom.
Regulus couldn't help himself. He was very fond of being friends with her. She was confident, funny, almost always in a good mood, a very good friend and damn pretty, with her black long hair and brown eyes radiating such a joy for life that he had rarely seen in anyone. He simply wanted more from her. But she wouldn't let him, even though he put a love letter in her pocket after every hour of caring for magical creatures. She didn't mention it with a word and kept him nicely in the friend zone. But Regulus put up with that, the main thing was that he was with her. He wished he could talk to someone about it. But he didn't feel he could confide in anyone about this.
Meanwhile, the marauders used the time Remus was with Lily to help Peter transform. It took a while, but just before the full moon he managed it.
"Very good, then we can finally surprise Remus," Sirius said with satisfaction.
When the moon was full, they went to the whomping willow in the afternoon. Peter turned into a rat, plodded to the knot and squeezed it so that the three friends could comfortably climb to the cave under the tree without getting hit by the branches.
Remus was already sitting in the hut, huddled under the window with the blanket wrapped around him, when his three friends came in.
His eyes widened at the sight of them. "W - What are you doing here?" he asked through chattering teeth "This is far too dangerous ..." Why were they here? Was this a stupid dare? "It's not," Sirius objected cheerfully. "We have a little surprise for you!" With the words, they turned into animals. Remus was speechless. "W-when... How...?" he stammered.
Remus had read that werewolves were harmless to animals. But he had never dreamed that his three friends would take the trouble to learn Animagi. But now they stood before him as animals. He was simply overwhelmed and deeply touched. "Thank you ..." he breathed chokingly. The black dog trotted over to him, settled down by him and laid his head on his lap. With a smile, he stroked his fur. For the moment, he forgot his suffering.
But unfortunately, his friends could not take away his pain. As the full moon rose in the sky, Remus doubled over with an agonised cry. He clutched his body until his transformation was complete.
A grey wolf with green eyes stood before them. He appraised the other animals and sniffed them curiously. Peter climbed onto James' head in fear and crouched between his antlers. Remus perceived the three animals as his three friends and ran panting to the door and scratched against it.
With a little help from the dog, they opened the door and marched into the tunnel. Once outside, a cool night with clear skies awaited them. The four friends ran into the forest. Remus kept close to Sirius and playfully scuffled with him. He howled at the moon and rejoiced in his acquired freedom. They found a clearing in the forest and the four animals stayed there for a while.
They walked through the forest all night, but Remus shooed them back to the hut before the sun rose.
And just in time. For no sooner had they returned than dawn broke and Remus changed back.
He was less injured than usual that morning, but had sunk into a deep sleep due to exhaustion. After the other marauders had also transformed back, James hoisted Remus onto Sirius' back. Remus woke up from this briefly. "You don't have to ..." he mumbled weakly, resting his hands on his shoulders. "I want to," Sirius replied, carrying him piggyback all the way to the castle. It wasn't until they reached the hospital wing that he set him down on the bed and covered him up. James took Peter outside so they could sneak into the kitchen to get food for Remus. Sirius decided to stay with Remus. Without thinking, Sirius slipped under the covers with him and put an arm around him. Remus opened his eyes a crack. He was a little puzzled by his friend's action but said nothing about it. The warmth and smell of Sirius had a calming effect on him. A pleasant feeling spread through him.
And with the thoughts that this full moon night was somehow beautiful despite the pain, he contentedly fell asleep again.