Year 1: The Legend Unfolds
Chapter Seven: The Full Moon
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize.
A/N: Okay, so here is the next chapter! Thank you so much to my reviewers! You guys are awesome! I hope you like this chapter... it's got the full moon... poor Remy-poo! Ahem... so anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and please REVIEW at the end!
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"I told you to get it done earlier," said James, watching as Sirius and Peter rushed to finish their essays for transfiguration. It was 8:30 on Monday night, and since they hadn't had Transfiguration that day, Sirius and Peter hadn't considered the essay an issue over the weekend.
It wasn't, however, a very hard essay, and Sirius, who was skilled in transfiguration, had his nearly completed. Peter, on the other hand, was having trouble.
They had defense against the dark arts that day, and the professor had, once again, shown a strange interest in James. Whenever James raised his hand, he was instantly called on, and Professor Avery had asked him to stay after class, in order to congratulate him on the excellent job he had done on all of his assignments so far.
"I wonder where Remus is," Sirius said suddenly, looking up. None of the boys had seen Remus since after their last class, flying. He had skipped dinner in order to go to the hospital wing for a headache, but they had all expected him to be back by this time.
As if on cue, Remus walked in the room not even a minute later. He was pale and shaky, and looked as if he had just been violently ill. Peter, James, and Sirius all gasped at the sight of him.
"Oh my god, Remus. What happened to you?" James asked, staring in disbelief at his friend's condition.
"Nothing, I just... ate something that didn't agree with me, that's all," Remus said, not looking at any of the boys as he crawled into bed. He didn't, however, get the peace he had hoped for.
"But you skipped dinner. And when you went to the hospital wing, you said you had a headache, not a stomachache," Sirius pointed out, but Remus only answered him with a small snore. He had already fallen asleep.
The boys just shrugged it off. Sirius and Peter went back to their essays, and James began to read a book on Quiddich .
Sirius and Peter soon finished their essays, and the boys all went to bed, pushing Remus's illness to the corner of their minds. It was surely no big deal. Oh, how wrong they were.
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When James woke up the next morning, it was to see Remus huddled over his bed, packing a small suitcase. He looked just as sick as he had last night, and seemed to be in a rush.
"Remus?" James asked, putting his glasses on and sitting up.
"James!" Remus said, turning around sharply. He didn't seem to have noticed that James was awake.
"Are you going somewhere?" James asked, looking at the open suitcase lying on Remus's bed.
"Oh, uh, yeah. My mom is rather sick and I am going to visit her," Remus said, closing his suitcase and locking it, "Well, I'm going to go now, I should be back by Friday. Tell Peter and Sirius where I went. Bye," Remus said, grabbing his suitcase and heading for the door.
When Remus walked into the common room, he was pleased to see it was empty. It was still quite early after all. He quietly headed out the portrait hole, and toward the hospital wing. When he had gone there the night before, Madam Branche, the nurse there, had explained what would be happening over the next few days.
He was going to spend Tuesday and Wednesday in the infirmary's private ward. There, he was going to be treated until Wednesday evening when he would be taken somewhere to transform.
When he arrived, he was greeted by Madam Branche. He was led to his room, where he immediately lay down as he was overcome by a wave of dizziness. He was sure the next few days would feel dreadfully long.
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When Lily and her friends arrived at breakfast, they walked over to the boys. They were all surprised to see that Remus wasn't there.
"Where is Remus?" Marlene asked, sitting down and loading her plate with bacon and eggs.
"He went home to visit his mom who is sick," James explained, "He said he would be back by Friday."
"Oh," Lily said, also sitting down, "Wow, he is going to be missing almost a full week of school. Does he want someone to get his assignments for him?"
"He talked to me last night. I am going to do it for him," Alice said quickly, before James had a chance to answer.
They finished eating, and headed to their first class of the day, transfiguration with the Ravenclaws. When they walked in, the girls went to go sit with some Ravenclaws, and he boys headed in the direction of the twins.
When they walked over, James and Peter sat down. Sirius also tried to sit down, but ended up missing the chair. He fell down on top of his arm, and he hit his head hard on the floor. A faint crack was heard if you listened closely. Pain filled Sirius's arm as laughter filled the classroom around him.
"Oh, Mr. Black, are you okay?" Professor McGonnagal asked, rushing to his side.
"I think I heard a crack professor," James said. Sirius was still on the ground. His head was throbbing, and his arm was sticking out at an odd angle. However, once Sirius got over the initial shock of doing something so stupid, he actually found it quite funny.
"Very well. Mr. Potter, please take Mr. Black to the infirmary. Madam Branche should have something for him," Professor McGonnagal said, and with that, the two boys left the transfiguration classroom.
"I can't believe you just did that, Sirius," James said, trying to hold back a laugh.
"It wasn't my fault, I swear Mike moved my chair," Sirius replied, "Plus now my arm and head are killing me."
"Yeah, but it was actually pretty funny when you think about it. I mean how many people actually do that?" James said. Then, as an afterthought, added, "It's also pretty cool that we get to skip transfiguration."
"Yeah, and it's especially good for me since I never did finish that essay," Sirius replied, and together they walked up to the hospital wing, quickly being greeted by the energetic nurse.
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"Here is your potion Mr. Lupin," Madam Branche said, handing Remus a goblet full of steamy, nasty smelling potion. As Remus drank it, a bell rang from somewhere on the other side of the ward.
"Oh dear, I have another patient. I'll right back honey," Madam Branche said, and quickly left.
Remus lay back against his pillows, but soon sat back up. A familiar voice had floated into the room.
"...and he just sort of… fell down, hitting his head and breaking his arm," came the voice of none other than James Potter. Remus remembered something Madam Branche had told him the day before. She had said that even though he could see people in the other ward, they could not see him. Because this thought came to him, he got up to see what James was talking about. He saw that Sirius was with James, and his arm looked broken.
"It wasn't my fault. I'm really not as dumb as James makes me sound," Sirius protested and Remus had to try very hard to hold back a laugh.
"Oh, Mr. Black, you poor dear. Come sit down here, and I will be right back," Madam Branche said, leading Sirius to a bed, and then hurrying out into her office.
"Man, I still can't believe you did that," James said, grinning. He was standing next to the bed that Sirius was sitting on.
I wonder what he did to break his arm, Remus thought.
"Yeah. Too bad Remus wasn't there to see it. Falling off of a chair is not something you see every day," Sirius said, smiling also.
Ha! He fell off of his chair! Wait, now they are talking about me, Remus thought, continuing to eavesdrop.
"I wonder what Mrs. Lupin has," James was saying. Remus made a mental note to think of a disease before he returned to school.
"Same. You said he would be getting back on Friday, right?" Sirius asked, James nodded, so Sirius continued, "Maybe we should owl a get well card to her." Remus's heart sunk.
"No, we don't even know what she has. We'll ask Remus when he gets back and send one later," James said. Remus made another mental note not to tell them anything about his mother's 'disease'.
"Ok. But isn't it so ironic that he was sick when he went to go visit his sick mom? I wonder if he is better by now," Sirius said. James opened his mouth to respond, but was stopped by Madam Branche, who had hurried in, carrying several assorted potion bottles and a wand.
As Madam Branche treated Sirius, Remus was overcome by nausea, and had to lie down. Before Madam Branche had finished treating Sirius, Remus had already drifted off to sleep.
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Sirius had, in fact, broken his arm, but the head injury was slightly more complicated. It turned out that he had a mild concussion, which had become evident as he had fainted while walking out of the hospital wing.
James carried Sirius back to his bed, and Madam Branche gave him a few potions.
"Concussions are easy enough to cure, but now that he has fainted, it is best to let him come to on his own, rather than wake him with magic. I'm afraid he will have to stay here until he wakes up," Madam Branche had said before sending James back to classes.
James was now sitting in History of Magic, passing notes with Peter. He looked up and saw Lily, writing furiously on a sheet of parchment, pausing every now and then to look at the teacher.
What a nerd, he thought, Evans is actually taking notes in History of Magic.
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Lily was sitting in History of Magic, passing notes with Marlene when she felt eyes on her. She turned around to see James writing on a piece of parchment, pausing briefly to look at the teacher.
Wow, what a nerd, she thought, Potter is actually taking notes in History of Magic.
When History of Magic was over, Lily walked down to the dungeons for potions. She loved the potions class itself, she actually excelled greatly in it, but she couldn't stand having to take a class with the Slytherins. Bella Black was simply unbearable.
As she, Alice, Marlene and Melanie walked down the dungeon corridor, they saw James and Peter talking to Snape. James had just said something when the girls walked up that caused Sirius to laugh nervously and Snape to get red in the face.
The girls just ignored it. If James wasn't bugging Snape, he was taunting him. It didn't seem like that big of a deal; no one ever got hurt, so people just let it be.
A few minutes after Lily arrived, the door opened, and the class filed in. Lily set up her cauldron in the front row next to Alice.
"Welcome," came the cheery voice of Professor Slughorn, "Today we are going to be making our first real potion. The potion we are making is the confusion draft. It is rather simple, but if you need assistance, just raise your hand and I will come help you. The directions are in pg. 21 of your book, and the ingredients are in the store cupboard. Off you go,"
Lily opened her book and looked at the ingredients. Alice went up to get the necessary ingredients. Lily lit the fire just like they had been taught, and when Alice returned with the ingredients, the two girls began to chop up roots.
"This potions seems pretty easy," Alice said, beginning to measure the Armadillo bile, "There aren't many ingredients in it." Lily agreed, and once everything was measured and cut, the girls put the ingredients into the cauldron, exactly as directed. First 1 3/4 cups of Armadillo bile, then five ounces of crushed dung beetles... the potion went on, listing about three more ingredients. The girls then had to stir it five times clockwise and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
"Is everything going well?" came a voice from behind Alice. The girls turned around to see Professor Slughorn, smile through his bushy, ginger moustache.
"Yes sir, everything is fine," Lily said politely.
"Good. Lily, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a few moments in private?" Professor Slughorn said.
"Oh, sure," Lily said, getting up from her seat. She followed Professor Slughorn into a shadowy corner, curiosity getting the better of her.
"What is it sir? Did I do something wrong?" She asked nervously.
"Oh, no! I just wanted to tell you that you are doing very well in this class, and I was wondering if you wanted to come to a little party I am having this Friday night," Professor Slughorn said merrily.
"A party?" Lily said. Were teachers allowed to throw parties?
"Well, maybe party wasn't the best word. I have a club here at Hogwarts called the Slug club, and Friday is something of a back to school celebration. The Slug club provides support for talented witches and wizards, and you, Miss Evans, are very talented. Think it over, and hopefully I will see you on Friday," Professor Slughorn said. He then walked away, leaving Lily standing alone in the corner.
Lily made her way back to her desk just as Alice was ladling the thick, orange potion into a jar.
"What was that all about?" Alice asked.
"I'll tell you later," Lily said as she and Alice went up to turn their potion into Professor Slughorn.
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"How are you feeling Mr. Lupin?" Madam Branche asked kindly as Remus woke from his slumber. It was about 9:00 in the morning on Wednesday, the day of the full moon.
"Fine," Remus said weakly. He tried to sit up, but was unable to, "Is Sirius still here?"
"Yes, he is still unconscious. If he doesn't wake up before tonight, I'm afraid I will have to wake him myself. No one else can be here when I take you to where you'll transform," Madam Branche replied. She got up and walked into her office.
Remus read for most of the day, and slept a bit as well. Sirius regained consciousness on his own accord at about 2:45, and Madam Branche happily sent him on his way. As the day wore on, Remus's symptoms began to worsen. He vomited a few times, and was itchy all over his body, due to the fact that hair would be growing there in a few hours.
At 6:35, Madam Branche explained that Remus would be transforming in a small shack located in Hogsmeade. She told Remus that there was a passageway from the Hogwarts grounds into the shack. She then cast a spell on him, taking him by surprise.
"What did you just do?" Remus asked as Madam Branche placed her wand back in her pocket. He felt like she had just cracked a raw egg on his head. He looked down, only to see that his legs were gone.
"I cast a disillusionment charm on you," Madam Branch told a shocked Remus. His shock soon turned into confusion, so she continued, "It makes it so you blend in with your surroundings. That way, no one will see you and get suspicious. Also, I will be taking you down during dinner, so no one will even see me."
A few minutes later, Remus found himself in the dark corridors, following Madam Branche down to the grounds. He was silent most of the trip, but when he saw that Madam Branche was headed toward the Whomping Willow, he spoke up.
"Why are we going toward the Whomping Willow?" Remus nervously asked, increasing his pace. The moon was due to come out soon, and he wanted to make it to the shack in time,
"The secret passage is guarded by that tree," Madam Branche replied. When they arrived at the tree, it began to flail its branches threateningly. Madame Branche reached forward and grabbed a long stick from the ground. She gently pressed a knot at the base of the trunk, and the tree instantly froze. Before Remus could even question her next move, she got down and slid into a gap in the tree roots.
"Come on down Remus, and I'll take that charm off of you," came the soft voice of Madam Branche. Remus looked down and saw her face through the roots. He jumped down and landed at the beginning of what looked like a long tunnel. Madam Branche took the spell off him, and he felt like she had, once again, cracked an egg on his head.
Madam Branche lit her wand, and set off down the tunnel, Remus on her heels. After what felt like at least 10 minutes, they came to a stop. Remus looked up and saw stairs leading up to... somewhere. Madam Branche climbed them, and at the very top, she opened a trap door. She climbed up through it, into a room. Remus appeared moments later, and looked around the room.
It was very neat and organized, but also pretty plain. The walls, floor, and ceiling were just wood, and the furniture had a Victorian air about it.
"This is where you will be transforming each month. The shack has many strengthening charms on it, so there is no need to worry about anything. I will come back here and get you at about 8:00, 30 minutes after sunrise. Good night," Madam Branche said, leaving the shack and locking the trap-door securely.
Remus sat down on the love seat, as sharp pains shot through his legs. Remus was used to the transforming by now, and knew right when everything would come.
He fell off the couch, and his skin began to burn as he grew hair all over his body. He was convulsing on the ground, screaming in pain as he slowly transformed into a mindless beast. Once the transformation was complete, he let out a howl, and began to tear up the furniture. His mind was a victim of the wolf.
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So, there you go! Sirius is a dummy and fell off his chair! Woot!
So, next chapter will be... the Slug Club, among other things... so REIVEW! And I'll update soon! And now comes the REVIVAL of my poem... hee hee...
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