January, 1978
It was cold and the only thing breaking the silence were feet pacing the floor. The fire had died, only the dim embers and the light of the moon offering light to the Gryffindor common room.
I sat on the couch, keeping busy by sketching in my notebook. Beside me Lydia was biting her nails and bouncing her leg. Lily paced the floor, pulling at her tangled hair. Marlene seemed to be the only one who was calm, but even she was nervous. She stood by the fireplace, her eyes reflecting the dying fire. All of us wore our pajamas as we had been in a deep sleep before we heard it.
We all stopped what we were doing and looking up in alarm when we heard in again: a wolf's howl. Lily and Marlene glanced at each other worriedly while Lydia squeeezed my hand. They were worried. I was worried. It was the first full moon since the Marauders told Lily and Marlene about Remus's furry little problem and none of us could sleep when we heard it.
In fact, it was I who found the invisibility cloak and fetched Lydia. I knew she wouldn't want to be alone.
And so we waited, worrying about Remus and our respective boyfriends. All except for Marlene. She was worrying about everyone, though she desperately tried to hide it.
When we heard the howl again, Lily slammed her foot against the floor in frustration. "When will it end?"
"When the full moon ends," Lydia replied quietly, fumbling with the rings around her fingers. "Some nights go by quickly. Others last forever."
I glanced at Lydia, closing my sketchbook. Lydia would know. She knew about Remus's little problem dor two years now and from what Remus told me, she had always been awake on the full moon, always there to welcome him and the Marauders back. So Lydia would know better than any of us.
"They'll be okay," Marlene assured Lily. "Besides, Madam Pomfrey will be at the infirmary to help them should they need it."
"I still can't believe it," Lily said, running a hand through her red hair. "Remus, a Werewolf."
"Shush," Marlene hissed. "Somebody will hear."
Another howl stopped any future reply. At this point I was fed up. Placing my art supplies aside, I got up and closed the window, locking the hatch.
"There," I said, looking back at the girls. "Now we can wait in silence."
And so we waited, the four of us girls waiting for Remus and three little helpers. We waited long into the night and into the early morning. Once the full moon had fully set, I jumped to my feet. The other girls followed my lead as I quickly got changed (Lydia borrowed one of Lily's things) and left the Gryffindor common room. All of us raced to the infirmary, Flich growling at us as we ran past him. There was nothing he could do. We were within curfew.
When we reached the doors we were let in my Madam Pomfrey, who sighed and crossed her arms. "I just got those boys to leave and now I have you four to deal with?"
Marlene nodded, somehow managing to push past her. We three followed suit, all very quiet as to not wake Remus up.
"Were any of them badly hurt?"I whispered, glancing up at Madam Pomfrey.
She shook her head. "No, thank Merlin. But he needs his rest. Go on. See him later."
None of us wanted to go but finally Lily left. Once she did all of us followed her out into the corridor. It was already late enough for breakfast so we all made out way to the eating hall. The only problem was that we were up all night. I was surprised we were even still alive.
The other Marauders weren't there at breakfast but they were there as the day went on and we showed up for Transfiguration class. They were clearly more exhausted than we were, but all seven of us got an equal look of worry from Professor McGonnagal.
We all sat down next to each other, with Lydia next to Peter, Lily next to James, and Marlene and I next to Sirius. As the class began, I leaned in close and whispered,
"Are you okay?"
Sirius flashed me a lopsidedly grin, which was impressive considering how exhausted he looked. "Perfect, Kaiser."
I gave him a small smile and held his hand under the desk while the class continued on. Once it finally ended, we all got together and then raced over to the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey let us in immediately and we were all relieved to see Remus sitting up on his bed, eating chocolate.
"Remus!" Marlene exclaims, running over to him. She glanced down at his bandages with concern. "Are you all right?"
Remus nodded and smiled as he glanced at all of us. "I'm fine. I didn't realize I was so popular."
"You're our friend," Lydia told him, taking his hand in hers. "We'll always be there for you."
"No matter what," Lily added proudly.
Remus chuckled. "No matter what?"
All seven of us glanced at each other before simultaneously crossing our arms, smilings, and replying, "No matter what."
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A filler chapter, but fun to write nonetheless. Anyway, read and review!! Thanks for reading!
