The first full moon
It was still early in the morning but Remus had decided after almost getting caught by Sirius in the library, to head to the hospital wing early. His head was already pounding and his body ached anyway.
Madame Pomfrey scolded him for not coming sooner. Normally Remus would spend the days before the full moon bedridden from feeling quite ill. But he wasn't at home now and he had been unsure of how he could get away with staying in bed all day when he now shared a room with three others. Especially given the fact that those three were determined to hang around him. He wasn't sure how to answer all of their questions as he was sure they would come up. It most certainly wasn't something he would be able to do every single month.
Tonight was his first full moon at Hogwarts.
And he felt entirely unprepared for it.
Madame Pomfrey let him lay in a bed in a secluded back corner of the hospital wing. She drew the curtains that hung around the bed closed to allow for him to have some privacy. He vomited in the nearby kidney fish on the bedside table. He cried himself to sleep.
—
Madame Pomfrey woke him up just as the sun was beginning to set. She gave him a grand pepperup potion, it didn't help much. She led him out of the castle and across the grounds quite a ways away towards the edge of the forbidden forest to a funny nubby looking tree. Well it looked funny to Remus only for a moment until a branch swung down and whacked the ground underneath and uncomfortably close to where he and Madame Pomfrey stood. He gulped.
"Now there is a way to stop the tree, watch carefully," Madame Pomfrey said.
And silently he watched as she pulled out a wand. With a swish and a flick a twig floated through the air and pressed a little knot at the base of the tree's trunk. The branches immediately froze and gave the tree a now innocent look.
"No student would be able to figure that out and I trust you not to tell anyone." Madame Pomfrey said sternly. She looked down at Remus and he nodded, still staying silent. "As for when you're a werewolf you'll be much too large to touch it to get out without being whacked by a branch. Follow please me."
She led him through a hidden passageway just behind the knot of the tree. There would be no way to see it if one didn't already know it was there. For it was under the trunk and well hidden from view. It was also small and Remus wasn't sure how they were supposed to get in there. His eyes widened in shock as madam Pomfrey crouched down and wiggled her way through it.
"Come along now!" She called after him. He followed hesitantly.
The small entry led to a long passage. It was dark and had several turns. They still had to crouch or crawl to get through it. Eventually it started to open up. He found himself in a little room. Fresh wallpaper covered the walls and the room was filled with new furniture. It looked like a brand new house. It was surprisingly welcoming, except for the windows that were boarded up.
"What is this place?" Remus wondered out loud.
"It's a shack on the outskirts of Hogsmeade Village." Madame Pomfrey answered.
"A village? No. No. No!" He started to panic. "I can't be close to a village! I could hurt somebody!"
"I can assure you that this place is perfectly safe for you. Dumbledore himself has placed protective charms around the place. You will not be able to get out without someone letting you out." She said calmly.
That didn't exactly make him feel any better. But he followed her through a nearby door anyway. It led to a narrow Hallway and a freshly polished staircase. The place was dark so madame Pomfrey lit her wand as they walked up the stairs. She opened another door and Remus found himself in a nice bedroom. A large four poster bed stood proudly in the middle.
"Alright then," Madame Pomfrey said. "Here you are. I'll be back to get you in the morning. Is there anything else you need before I go?"
Remus looked around the room in confused awe. When she spoke he turned to blink at her. She acted like she had welcomed him into an inn rather than a werewolf trap. From what he could tell from the inside this was a nice little house rather than a shed like his Father would chain him up in at home. But she had already insisted it was safe and Both Dumbledore and McGonagall had said that they had made arrangements. It was so close to the moon rising that this had to be what they were talking about. The school nurse wouldn't disobey them would she?
"Aren't you going to tie me up?" He said and held out his hands.
"Oh goodness no!" Madame Pomfrey said. "Why on earth would I do that?"
"Because I'm a monster!" He exclaimed. He was beginning to question the healer's credibility. "I could get out and hurt somebody!"
"You are not a monster!" She said, "You are a boy! Why I'll have to have some words with your parents. Thinking to chain up a boy?"
"You can't!" Remus shouted in protest. "He'll make me leave Hogwarts! You have to tie me up! If I hurt somebody I won't get to stay either!"
"Mr. Lupin! I can promise you," she said in a stern yet reassuring voice. "You will not hurt anyone while you are here. There are numerous of the most powerful wards. There is absolutely no way for your werewolf self to come out. I cannot promise that you yourself will come away completely unhurt. As you know when a werewolf is on his own with no one to attack he will try to attack himself. I have some rare meat freshly prepared in another room. During the night in your werewolf form you might find it. It's been magically scented to imitate the smell of human flesh but I promise it is not. Water is placed in every room as well. In the morning as soon as the moon sets I will be back to transport you back to the hospital wing and tend to your wounds then. I say again it is your own safety that is MY priority. Are we clear?"
"Yes ma'am," he said. He looked down at his shoes, unable to meet her in the eye.
"Now get some rest." She said a soft reassuring voice. She ushered him towards the bed. "It'll be a long night in a new place for you."
He sat awkwardly on the bed until Madame Pomfrey gently pushed him to lay down and with a wave of her wand he found himself under the covers and tucked into bed like his mom used to on nights that weren't the full moon. She continued to act as if he was not about to turn into a bloodthirsty creature.
And suddenly she was gone.
Remus found himself unable to sleep. He didn't dare leave the bed or the room. Perhaps there were protective charms on the bed to stop him from getting out. He waited until the full moon rose.
He knew it had risen when his bones started to break. The transformation was painful and he couldn't help the tears in his eyes or the screams that escaped him. It happened every month and yet he couldn't help it.
Eventually a large wolf-like creature replaced the small screaming boy. The wolf looked around the unfamiliar room and growled. This was not the shed he had been in before. He ran around the room and attacked the boarded up windows. But they would budge. But the curtains did. The wolf clawed angrily at it and it started to fray and shred.
The wolf began to sniff around. He found himself facing the door and tried to get out. It opened much to his surprise. The wolf ran down the dim polished hallway, leaving a claw mark on the wall paper as he went. Bowls of water and food were left out for him. The raw meat that smelled like human flesh but wasn't (not that the wolf knew it wasn't actually human flesh). All of it was quickly devoured.
Repeatedly the wolf quickly attempted to find a way out. But to no avail.
Outside the shack villages were woken but a fierce how and by the morning the rumors would start. The boy who was the wolf wouldn't know and his teachers would avoid telling him.
—
The next morning, Remus found himself curled up on the floor of the kitchen in the shack, His clothes shredded. He blinked himself awake and attempted to sit up. But his body ached and the arm he tried to push up from gave a yelp of pain. He looked at it and found it twisted at an odd angle. It was broken, then.
He looked around once he finally sat up. There was a gash on the kitchen curtains. A table with a broken leg. The bowls of water flipped over and soaking the wooden floor. He saw blood by the broken table and let out a cry of fright.
Please let it be mine. Please let it be mine, he begged in his thoughts.
The door swung upon and in cake Madame Pomfrey.
"Oh my dear poor boy!" She said as soon as she saw him.
She wasted no time in rushing to his side. But as soon as she got there Remus shoved her off.
"I hurt someone!" He sobbed and pointed at the blood all over the room. "Stay away from me."
Madame Pomfrey waved her wand over the blood and cleaned it up. Then looked over at the young boy who had now hid himself in a corner.
"The only person who was hurt last night was you," she said as gently as she could. "Now let me heal you, come on."
She egged him out of the corner and immediately began wrapping a bandage around his back where a nasty gash had found itself. She took a look at his broken arm and decided that it would be best fixed in the hospital wing and conjured up a splint for it. She conjured a stretcher and tried to get him on it.
Remus squirmed and protested. Still shaky from the night before and the unfamiliar surroundings. He wanted his mother. Or his father. Perhaps coming to Hogwarts was a bad idea.
AN: I know I've been slow at updates. but my finals just ended so hopefully there will be more frequent chapters now . thank you for your patience. and stay safe everyone!
