Hello again. I love this chapter. Wait…haven't I said that about the last 3 chapters? Oh well…I love this chapter. Umm…this chapter is dedicated to…to…the moon. Yes, this chapter is dedicated to the moon.

Chapter Eight

Luna's Curse

The next morning, Madame Pomfrey came in to wake Cara. Poppy threatened to give Cara a detention, but they both knew it was an empty threat. On Thursday, Sirius was released and he and Cara went to Hogsmeade together that Saturday. Then, one night in the Common Room, a perfect relationship hit a rocky point.

"Hey, Remus?" Madison asked as she worked on an essay.

"Yeah?" Remus replied tiredly. The full moon was the next day.

"Would you like to take that walk tomorrow night?" Madison asked, remembering the walk Remus planned nearly three weeks ago.

"No, sorry. I…have to visit my mother. She's ill." Remus said quickly.

"I thought she was sick last month." Madison said, setting her quill down.

"She was…she's…sick again." Remus said, hoping she would buy it. Madison noticed this.

"What are you hiding from me?" She asked.

"Nothing. Nothing at all…how long is your essay?" He said, changing the subject.

"Remus! Don't lie to me." Madison demanded.

"I can't tell you…"

"You mean you can't trust me." Madison replied coldly.

"No, Madi. It's not that…I just can't tell you!"

"I can't be with someone who doesn't trust me, Remus. We are over." Madison said coldly as she stood up and made the way up to her room. Remus put his head in his hands and didn't try to stop her. He wasn't sure if he was ready to tell her about his disease. Remus pulled himself off the couch and ran up the stairs to his dorm.

"Padfoot!" Remus called as he entered his room.

"Yeah Moony?" Sirius asked as he pulled the curtains back on his bed. A book was resting in his lap.

"Get Prongs." Remus said shortly. Sirius pulled the mirror off of his bedside table and called James's name into it.

"What's going on?" James asked.

"I have to tell Madi about Moony." Remus said.

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked.

"She needs to know. They all need to know." James said.

"Well, I have to tell Madison now or things will be beyond repair. She thinks I don't trust her." Remus replied.

"We'll talk to the girls tomorrow morning, okay?" James asked.

"Alright. We can trust them…I hope." Sirius said as he ran a shaky hand through his hair.

"But how can I get Madison back? I can't just walk up the stairs." Remus said as James's face disappeared.

"Right. You can't walk…but you can fly." Sirius said as he pulled his broom out from under his bed.

"Thanks mate. Wait…how did you…never mind. I don't want to know." Remus said as he took off.

"Remus! You've got a dirty mind!" Sirius called as Remus shut the door. Remus got to the bottom of the girls' staircase and mounted the broom. He gently glided up the stairs until he came to her room. He opened the door and gracefully landed. He saw the back of Madison's head and walked over to her bed.

"Madison, we need to talk." Remus said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"About what?" She asked coldly as she sat up in her bed.

"About my secret." He replied as he put silencing charms around her bed.

"Well, go on." She said, staring blankly at him.

"This is hard for me to get out. And I need you to promise me that you won't tell a soul."

"I promise."

"I'm a monster. I am a cruel vicious monster." Remus began.

"No you're not! You are one of the most kind-hearted souls I have ever met."

"No! When I was a young boy, I was playing outside after dark one night and I was bitten." Madison gasped and Remus continued. "It was a full moon and I was bitten by a werewolf." Remus explained as Madison's eyes went wide.

"So…you mean to tell me that…you are a…" Madison choked, unable to finish her thoughts.

"Yes. I am a werewolf." Remus finished. Madison raised her hand and Remus flinched, expecting her to slap him. When he opened his eyes, he saw her hand over her mouth and tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I am so sorry for being so rude earlier." She whispered.

"Don't be. You didn't know." Remus said softly, he was scared to touch her, afraid she would hit him. "Do things have to change between us?"

"Well, they can't stay the same. But maybe they don't have to change for the worst. Have you ever attacked anyone?"

"No."

"Are you ever a direct threat to me or other humans?"

"No."

"Are you the same Remus I fell in love with?"

"Yes."

"Then things can change for the better." Madison said softly as she pulled his head down to hers and kissed him. After a few minutes, he pulled away.

"There is more, but it is not my secret to tell. All will be revealed tomorrow morning before breakfast."

"Alright." Madison answered, kissing him again. "Sleep with me tonight?" Madison asked.

"Okay, hold on." Remus said as he stepped out of the bed and took off all of his clothes with the exception of a t-shirt and boxers. Madison was already in her nightclothes. He slipped back into the covers and wrapped his arms around Madison. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you, too." He replied, kissing her temple and closing his eyes as well.

The next morning, Remus woke up and got dressed after kissing Madison goodbye. The Marauders had decided to meet in the Head's Dorm at 7:30. Shortly after 7:30, Cara and Peter entered and they were ready to begin.

"First things first, we need you to promise you shall not tell a soul, because we need to explain to you why we are the Marauders." James began. "Today you will find the meaning behind our nicknames. Of course, three of them make sense, you need to know what the most important one is…Moony." James said as Remus stood up to tell his tale.

"When I was a young boy, I loved to play outside under the stars. One night, on a full moon, a werewolf by the name of Greyback came to our house to seek revenge against my parents. He saw me playing outside and he attacked me. Because of him, every full moon, I become a monster. I become a werewolf." Remus explained. Cara seemed shocked but not Lily.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Lily said, excitedly.

"I figured someone would have discovered my secret without me telling them." Remus said, smiling slightly. "Cara?"

"You…I mean…wow. But, where do the other Marauders come in?" Cara asked.

"Well, during our second year, we figured out Moony's 'furry little problem'." Sirius explained. "And we couldn't abandon him. Plus, werewolves are only dangerous to humans."

"By our fifth year, we had perfected it." Peter interjected.

"Every full moon, Sirius, Peter, and myself transform as well. We are all illegal Animagi." James finished. All three girls had looks of shock on their faces.

"As Padfoot, I become a dog." Sirius said as he transformed. Cara gasped.

"As Prongs, I become a stag." James said as he transformed. Lily jumped back.

"And as Wormtail, I become a rat." Peter said as he transformed. Madison laughed.

"They did all this…for me." Remus explained, looking at the three animals in front of him.

Cara slowly put her hand out towards the dog. Padfoot took a step towards her and licked her hand. She laughed slightly and then began rubbing the dog behind the ears. Prongs came up to Lily and nudged her cheek. Lily stared into the stag's eyes and saw James's eyes staring back at her. She ran her hand over the stag's head and smiled. Remus wrapped his arms around Madison.

"We better get to class." Remus said as the Marauders changed back. They all gathered their things and headed straight to the dungeons for their first class, Potions.

"Where do you go? On the full moon, I mean." Madison asked.

"You know the Whomping Willow? Well, there is a hole that leads to a tunnel. The Willow will not let you into the hole unless you find a way to freeze it. There is a not by the hole, if you press it, it opens. If you follow the tunnel, you come out in the Shrieking Shack." Remus answered.

"But I thought the Shrieking Shack was haunted." Madison replied

"By me and me alone." Remus whispered in her ear.

"Okay." Madison said, looking thoughtful.

"Don't you dare come tonight. Don't put yourself in Moony's way." Remus said firmly.

"I wasn't going to. I just wanted to know." Madison said as she entered Slughorn's class.

The Marauders always headed out at eight o'clock every month. It was seven-thirty when James was leaving his room. Lily was sitting on the couch doing some homework.

"Well, I'm off. I should be back by breakfast, maybe earlier." James said as Lily got up and gave him a hug.

"Be careful." She said, kissing him lightly.

"Don't worry, I will." James said as he turned to leave. It was now or never. Lily had no choice. If she didn't do this one thing, she would die…well, not literally.

"I love you." Lily called to him. James stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned to her. His eyes were wide and unblinking and his mouth was hanging open. Lily couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face. She was soon silenced as James came to her and pressed his lips against hers while lifting her and twirling her around.

"Lily, I love you so much." He said, breaking away but not setting her down.

"I know. When I saw you as a stag, I knew I was in love. I don't know how, I just knew." Lily said. He squeezed her again.

"I'll be back before you wake up. I promise." James said as he set her down. He kissed her cheek and left. Lily sighed and sat back down to continue her homework.

Around four in the morning, James dragged himself through the Portrait Hole. He didn't have the energy to make it to his room so he went to Lily's. He took off his clothes, with the exception of a shirt and boxers. Lily was a light sleeper and did not notice James crawling into bed with her until she woke up that morning. When she woke up at 6, she was a bit surprised to find her boyfriend sleeping so peacefully next to her. James had a free period first so Lily let him sleep in. He was very thankful for that.

Remus lay sore and exhausted in the Shrieking Shack. He had a blanket around his waist as he lay on one of the ton beds. Other than the blanket, he was nude. It was always like this. He didn't want to tear his clothes so he would remove them and put them in a drawer. After the transformation, James and Sirius would carry him to a bed and make sure he was alright. Usually, Madame Pomfrey would come to check on him after lunch. He was in a state of semi-consciousness when he felt someone dabbing a warm liquid on his wounds. He assumed it was Madame Pomfrey until he felt someone softly kiss his forehead. Then, he felt droplets on his forehead, he knew they were tears. Remus opened his eyes to see Madison sitting on the bed, next to him, dabbing his wounds with a mixture out of a bowl. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He closed his mouth and swallowed.

"Madi." He choked out. She looked up at him and smiled weakly, wiping her eyes.

"Hey, you're awake." She said softly.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Remus asked.

"I have a free period next, and it's lunch." Madison explained, still dabbing his wounds.

"Oh. What is that stuff?" Remus asked, noting the bowl of liquid.

"Essence of Murtlap." Madison said, moving the cloth and bowl to the floor. "How did it go last night?" She asked, turning back to him.

"Just fine…or as fine as it gets. The Marauders came about eight-thirty, I think, it was just after my transformation. They left about three-thirty. I've been asleep ever since." Remus said, sitting up slightly.

"That's good." Madison said as tears welled up in her eyes again.

"Why are you crying?" Remus asked, sitting up fully.

"I hate this." She said, putting her head in her hands. Remus assumed she hated that he was a monster.

"I understand. I was afraid to tell you because of this, but at least you told me." Remus said, solemnly.

"NO! It's not that!" Madison cried. "I just hate seeing you in pain."

"Oh. I hate to put you through this." Remus said, sincerely.

"Don't you dare blame yourself. I'm just being stupid." Madison said.

"You are not stupid. You are brilliant and I love you." Remus said as he leaned forward and kissed her. Madison leaned forward until Remus was lying down so he wouldn't strain himself. Finally, she broke away.

"I love you, too." She said softly.

"I think I am ready to go back to school. It's class time so I shouldn't be stopped." Remus said.

"Alright, I'll help you." Madison said, standing up.

"Uh, Madi. In case you haven't noticed, I have no clothes on." Remus said, shyly. Madison blushed furiously.

"Oh…yeah…I'll just wait outside." Madison said as she quickly turned to leave.

"Could you hand me my clothes? They're in the drawer." Remus asked. Madison opened the drawer and got out a sweater, a pair of khaki pants, and boxers. She blushed again and left the room.

When he was finished getting dressed, he limped overt to the door. Madison turned as he entered the hall and he wrapped his arm around her. He tightened his grip on her shoulders partly out of affection, and partly for support. She wrapped her arm around his waist and slowly led him through the house and into the tunnel. James had loaned Madison his cloak and she used that to get him to the Hospital Wing undiscovered.

Madame Pomfrey was a bit surprised to see Remus walking in. Madison had actually asked Madame Pomfrey to go to Remus instead of her. Poppy had given her the Murtlap essence. Remus laid down on a bed as Madame Pomfrey checked him as usual. By the time she was done, Madi's free period was nearly over so she kissed Remus good bye and left for her class.

Remus smiled as she left and laid his head down and closed his eyes. He was happy. For the first time in years, he was truly happy. He did not think of the future. The future was scary. The real world was scary. He thought only of his life at that very moment in Hogwarts. He laid there purposely in blissful ignorance.

Well, there is another chapter. I hope all of you take the time to read my newest one-shot, Civil Blood. Please, read and review both. I love you all. REVIEW OR DIE!