The first night back at Hogwarts was more hectic than I believed it would be. The train ride back to the castle was fine. I managed to find a compartment to myself, and nobody ever bothered me. Not until Remus burst through the door with panicked eyes.

"The full moon is tonight!"

My mind went completely blank. The train ride would last a few more hours, and the sun was already setting. "Okay?"

Remus sat down on the opposite bench. "The full moon is tonight, and I don't know what to do about the others."

I took a deep breath to calm my heartbeat. His initial panic had worried me, but now I see there's no big deal. "I don't see how this needs to be different from any other full moon. When we get to Hogwarts you'll go to the Hospital Wing, and they'll do whatever it is they do when you're gone."

He squirmed in his seat. "You don't know them. They want to 'help' me and 'be there for me', and they don't understand that that's not possible."

I set aside the potions book I'd been flipping through. "Remus, just explain how it works, and that you're no longer in control. They can't be stupid enough to think they can do anything for you now."

His eye roll did nothing to reassure me. "It's not stupidity so much as stubbornness."

"Remus, you've known them for three years now. I'm sure you've learned how to manage them."

He huffed. "You're right. I just can't help worrying about it." Remus ran a hand through his hair.

I smiled. The auburn locks were long enough to touch his jawline. "Are you growing out your hair?"

He smiled sheepishly and ran his fingers through his hair a second time. "Yeah. You think it looks alright?"

"Yeah. I think the longer hair suits you."

Remus smiled in thanks, and leaned back in his seat. The door to the compartment chose that moment to open. The boy behind it was gangly, with black hair long enough to cover his neck. When he spoke, and his voice cracked at least twice, I knew he was hitting puberty. "Remus, why'd you run off?"

He rose his eyebrows. "Thought I'd get my exercise in. Why'd you chase me?"

The other boy offered a wide, fake smile. "I couldn't let the love of my life get away from me, now, could I?"

Remus kept a straight face for a couple seconds before snorting. His chuckles made the other boy pout. "I'm sorry, Sirius, but you sound ridiculous."

My lips curved up against my will, and I tried to hide it by turning to look out the window. Unfortunately I was too late to hide my mirth. "Look what you've done, Remy! The most beautiful girl on the train is laughing at me!"

I blinked, the only sign of my shock, unable to recall a time someone called me beautiful. I turned to look at the grey eyed boy, and Sirius smiled rather roguishly for a fourteen-year-old. "I'm ashamed to admit I don't know your name, but I won't be surprised if it's as beautiful as you."

It was flattering to hear a boy complimenting me so openly, but his cracking voice made it more comedic. "My name is Rosabell. You must be the infamous Sirius Black?"

"Merlin!" Sirius dramatically fell against the compartment door frame with a hand to his chest. "Remy, did you hear that? She knows my name!"

Remus stood up and grumbled, "Everyone in the castle knows your bloody name. And stop calling me Remy!" He moved to step out of the compartment, but Sirius got in his way.

"Whoa there, Howler," Remus tensed at the nickname while I rose an eyebrow. It was a very obvious jab at his werewolf side.

Sirius noticed his friend tense. "Howler's a 'no', then. One of these days I'll find a nickname for you, Remus. But for now," he sauntered into the compartment and sat beside me, so close I could hear him breathing, "let's stay a while! I'd like to get to know Miss Rosabell, here. You must be new, since I would've recognized a girl as striking as you."

My eyebrows rose incredulously. I shared a look with Remus, and he looked embarrassed for his friend. The werewolf sighed. "Come on, Sirius, let's go find the others."

Sirius suddenly pouted. "I don't want to."

Remus smiled. "You're just jealous because James' voice already stopped cracking." Both boys heard my rumbled laughter, and Remus winked at me.

Sirius growled and jumped up from the seat. He was half-a-head shorter than Remus, and his glare wasn't very intimidating. "Be careful, Remus, or you'll get the honors of this years first prank." Sirius huffed and pushed past his friend, finally leaving the two of us alone. Remus stared at his fellow Marauder as he walked away.

"You have such interesting friends," I commented.

Remus laughed. "Sirius is mad because he knows his squeaky voice will make getting girls impossible. You proved it by laughing at him."

We shared a laugh as Remus left the compartment to join the Marauder's. Remus already went through his squeaky-voice faze. Not to say it stopped happening, but Remus was an early bloomer compared to the rest of the Marauder's. I spent the rest of the train ride in silence, and when the intercom system announced the last five minutes, I put away my book and put on my school robe.

While everyone gathered on the platform I kept my eye out for Remus. I couldn't spot him, but I thought I saw Sirius. I followed them as best as I could and climbed into the nearest carriage. To my pleasant surprise I saw Severus and Lily inside, along with a Hufflepuff. She already looked worried with Severus there; the sight of another Slytherin put her more on edge.

Taking the open seat beside the Hufflepuff, I thought about offering a smile, but decided against it. Ignoring her would probably put her more at ease.

"You're King, right?"

I looked up to see emerald green eyes. "Yes?"

Lily Evans blushed. "I'm sorry. I don't remember your first name."

She was obviously embarrassed by the admittance, so I smiled to try and reassure her. "It's Rosabell. Rosabell King."

Lily gasped. "That's right!" Her eyes sparkled with recognition. "You were that girl with Professor McGonagall when she gave me my letter. I always see you in class and at the library."

I nodded. "I remember that day. You already knew about magic."

She smiled. "Yeah. Severus told me."

We both looked at the pale boy. He returned my stare with a blank expression, but when he looked at Lily his expression changed. It wasn't obvious. To the untrained eye nothing changed, but I saw his black iris' warm to a dark brown. The sight made me smile softly.

Lily and Severus spent the rest of the ride talking about their summer's. Sometimes Lily included me, and even the Hufflepuff, in the conversation. Her and I kept to ourselves for most of the ride.

When the carriage stopped we all climbed out, and the four of us got separated. I didn't mind since my focus was on finding Remus. Since I was a virtual nobody to the entire student body, I could lean against the Entrance Hall wall without anyone taking a second glance.

It took a good ten minutes for every student to enter the castle. I waited until the voices faded to a low murmur before slipping outside. Even though I couldn't see anybody, I stayed as close to the castle as possible. It provided enough shadows to keep me out of sight.

About halfway to the Whomping Willow I changed into my Animagus. After changing so many times the previous year the changes were barely noticeable. Nowadays I only felt my spine grow and my internal organs rearrange themselves.

As soon as all four of my paws hit the grass I broke into a sprint. It took a second for my limbs to remember how to function in this form, but it was a lot like riding a bicycle, meaning I could still do it, but it took a moment to remember.

The Whomping Willow was no more than a dark silhouette under the moonlight. I eyed the still branches while tensing my muscles. A beat later I launched my body into another sprint, going too fast for the tree to react, and allowing me safe passage to the tunnel beneath its roots.

The next few hours were spent waiting for Remus. I laid on the dust-covered bed on the second floor, trying to get some relaxation since I knew I wouldn't be getting any sleep that night. This would possibly be the worst full moon considering it was a Sunday, and classes started the next morning.

When I heard someone walking up the Shack's staircase I inhaled deeply. Remus' sweet scent of chocolate and hazelnut filled my nostrils. I changed back to my normal self once Remus entered the room. When he spotted me he smiled. "I wondered where you went."

I shrugged. "I'm not very hungry right now, so I figured I'd eat in the morning." My lips stretched into a smile. "And I'm assuming you took care of your Marauder friends?"

He smiled sheepishly in return. "Yeah. I just worry about them, you know? If they were to come out here while I was like this?" He didn't have to answer the question. From the look in his eyes I could tell he was thinking about what his wolf would do to his friends.

"Remus, stop." He looked at me questioningly. "You have got to stop beating yourself up about this. Have you ever hurt anybody in your entire life, werewolf or not?" Remus shook his head in the negative. "You're hurting yourself for things that have never happened to you. You're thinking of what could happen, and you're basing things off of stories you've heard about other wolves. I won't lie, werewolves are vicious, but have I ever told you what you're wolf is like?"

Remus pursed his lips. "No. I always assumed he's dangerous since I always hurt myself on the full moon."

"But you haven't had so much as a splinter since I've joined you. And I think I know why."

His eyebrows furrowed. "It's because of you, right?"

"Right," I agreed. "Your wolf considers me pack. Before me, your wolf was all alone. Your wolf is so playful, Remus, it's ridiculous. He's boundless. I can't imagine what it was like for him when he was alone."

Remus hummed. "That's true. I haven't had more than bruises since you started running around with my other half, and even those aren't bad."

"I honestly have no idea what werewolves are like when they're around humans, but from what I can see with you, pack keeps them tame."

He rubbed his jaw. "I know what he would be like when he's faced with people, but with you there?" I wasn't able to answer before Remus started his change. I morphed back into a leopard while Remus sprouted fur all over his body.

As usual the two of us spent the entire night running around the room and tackling one another. While the experience left me exhausted in the end, it was very freeing. Any worries I might've had didn't apply in these moments. The werewolf only cared about having fun, so that was what we did.

The two of us were taking a moment to relax on the bed. While laying there I could only hope that the rest of my fourth-year would be as relaxing as this moment. But in reality I knew my time in Hogwarts would never be easy while I wore the Slytherin crest.

Edited: 1/23/2019