Author's Note: Okay, I know this chapter is short, but I hope you enjoy anyways. This is the way I always pictured one of my very favorite characters, Moony. I hope that you enjoy! This is my third update in less than a week, so I think I've been on a roll :)
Chapter Seven: Moony
Lily watched the scene in front of her in horror, a sick feeling in her stomach, as Remus made the gruesome transformation from man to wolf. It was nothing at all like Muggle movies portrayed, and despite having been warned, she still had a difficult time watching.
Remus' friends could only watch helplessly as they heard the sickening sounds of bones snapping, crunching, and shattering as the rearranged themselves into a wolf body. The moving bones ripped through skin and muscle, covering him with blood, only to be healed, and then immediately ripped apart again.
Grey and white fur slowly began to cover the nearly wolf-shaped body. Paws and a snout formed, and he was suddenly down on all fours.
The worst thing about the entire process was listening to their friend's screams. Remus could not stop the cries of pain that slowly transformed into howls as he changed into the wolf. In less than two minutes, a panting grey and white wolf stood before them, slight whimpers coming from him as his head hung low. His body was trembling violently with the shock of transforming
James readied himself, knowing that it wouldn't take the wolf long to recover. For some reason, it never did. He also knew that the change back to human was worse and longer than the change into the wolf. James wiped the tears that were on his face, then forced himself to present a calm, yet commanding presence. It was the only way that he would get out of this alive, and without a bite on him.
Alice looked as though she was going to be sick, as did Minerva. Neither witch had ever seen anything so horrifying in their lives. Even Albus looked rather shaken by the experience, and it took quite a lot to disturb the normally twinkly disposition. They watched as Sirius carefully approached Moony, his head lowered, making no aggressive movements. Though Moony usually deferred to him, he tended to react violently when he was in pain.
The large black dog gently nuzzled the wolf's head, attempting to get his attention. A few more gasps for air and Moony finally looked up, shaking himself out and stretching slightly. Moony looked around with interest and noted Sirius, his pack brother, and was glad to see him again. He liked playing with his large friend. The next pack member he saw was an enormous bear. He didn't quite know how to react to this new presence.
Moony's ears went flat against his head as he cautiously walked towards the huge, dark brown grizzly bear. Moony was quite confused by the scents he was getting. One told him that this was a bigger predator, and he should stay back out of his way. Another scent was telling him that this was pack, and he should approach the bear to play. Moony also thought that he had quite a strange pack. No wolfs! Instead, bears, dogs, and worse rats and stag! They should be dinner, not pack!
Moony approached the bear cautiously, then lay down on his side, rolling over slightly, exposing his neck and his belly. Fortunately, James and Sirius had told Frank how to react to this response. Moony, it seemed, was willing to submit to this new pack member. In fact, he was doing so without a fight, which Sirius guessed was due to Frank's size. Well, it was that or all of the chocolate they'd stuffed Remus with earlier.
The bear walked over and smelled Moony, as he had been told. Frank was finding this all very strange, and a bit embarrassing, but he did not know Moony well enough to want to try to break protocol. When Moony finally got to his feet, he let out a playful yip, satisfied with this new member.
Sirius chuckled to himself. Apparently the chocolate had put the wolf in a very good mood this night. He was docile and playful, for now. Sirius felt Padfoot, his dog side, suddenly let out an instinctive growl as Moony nipped his tail playfully. Letting out a breath, Sirius turned his attention back to the wolf. They were all watching him closely when he suddenly caught the scent of a man.
Moony's head shot up in the air, prey! Man was definitely food! He whirled around and spotted James standing on the other side of the room. Sirius and Frank tensed when they heard him growl lowly, baring his teeth, all playfulness gone from his stance.
ooOoo
Lily was twisting the edge of her cloak in anxiety as she watched Moony spot James. Albus rested a hand on her shoulder, "Easy, child. Frank and Sirius will look after him. He can change forms if he needs too."
Lily nodded, and allowed Minerva and Alice to hold her hands. She watched the confrontation in the room with bated breath. She wanted to do everything she could to help Remus, but she would definitely rather not have her husband receive a bite.
ooOoo
Moony stalked towards James at a slow, stalking pace, Frank and Sirius right up close to him. He did not like this invasion of space at all. He snarled, and snapped at Sirius, who promptly bit his neck until he was suddenly on the ground. It was a form of discipline that he knew well. He also knew that dog would not release him until he was behaving correctly.
When Moony finally let out a defeated whine, and had stopped growling, Sirius let him back up, but kept a close eye on his friend. They had never really been with the wolf when he was close to a human. It was unnerving. While Moony was willing to eat any type of prey, humans were part of his instincts and were clearly a highly desirable meal for him.
James was watching everything, remaining as stoic as he could. It was hard not to be nervous when a wolf larger than yourself was trying to charge in hopes to make you into lunch. He held a long thin piece of wood in his hand that he would use to discipline Moony if he needed too. He hoped that he didn't need to. Despite Remus saying that it would be necessary, James thought it was pushing things for a man to discipline a wolf.
Moony was now sitting about twenty feet away from James, his head tilted slightly, clearly looking confused. His nose was telling him lunch while his brain was telling him alpha. He was torn with indecision on what to do. He'd never been in such a situation. Alpha was not man and was not lunch. Yet, here was lunch, smelling like alpha. How confusing!
Startling all of them, he laid down on the ground, his eyes on James. He looked as though he wasn't going anywhere for the time being. Padfoot let out a snort, rolling his eyes and glancing at James. It was going to be a very long night.
Over the next several hours, Moony seemed content to creep a little closer, then watch James patiently. It was as if he was waiting for the man to do something. James didn't take his eyes off the wolf, despite the slowness of the interactions. Nor did he move, even though his muscles were cramping up on him. Sirius and Frank remained alert even though they were both rather bored with the slow proceedings.
Finally, about an hour before the moon was due to set, Moony was about three feet away from James. He did not lay down, but sat there, his hackles raised. He did not growl, since Padfoot bit him every time he did. He was staring intently at James, would periodically raise his nose to take a sniff. He'd cock his head slightly, then go back to staring again.
Of course, things seemed to be going too well and the night of peace and quiet ended very abruptly. James suddenly let out a very loud sneeze, causing his eyes to close as he did so. In an instant, Moony pounced, revealing that he was indeed a hunter, and far better at it than the rest of his pack. Despite their attention, he had the advantage this close.
Large paws hit James in the chest, knock him to the ground and before he knew it, there were several gleaming teeth right in his face. Sirius and Frank didn't know what to do. They wouldn't be able to move Moony quick enough to keep him from biting James. The both froze, not wanting to antagonize the wolf. They waited, holding their breath, hoping fervently that they would not have two werewolves on their hands the next moon.
James was not moving an inch. He knew that one wrong move could get him killed. He was wearing thick dragon leather clothing that covered him everywhere but his face and head. The would deflect a gentle nip, but would probably be useless if Moony really wanted to make him into lunch.
James stared into the wild amber eyes of one of his best friends. Showing no fear, he did not back down, nor did he look away. If he did, he would lose immediately. Soft growls were coming from deep in Moony's chest. Sirius and Frank watched closely, waiting for either of them to move.
ooOoo
Lily was watching the situation, her eyes very wide. She had no idea how to respond to this fiasco. She wanted to scream, cry, and faint, all at the same time. All she could do was murmur for them to please be okay, under her breath.
ooOoo
Everyone's eyes got even wider when Moony lay down on top of James complete, his tail wagging slightly. He began to sniff the man, his ears perked forward. James still didn't move, not sure what he was doing.
Quite suddenly, Moony raised his head and let out a hair-raising howl, causing everyone to shiver a bit. Then to everyone's astonishment, Moony sat up, still on James, and looked at his alpha, head tilted slightly, his tongue hanging out. He looked decidedly amused.
Motion from Sirius caught everyone's attention. The dog was clearly laughing, and in fact, had fallen to the ground, rolling in the grass. Padfoot leapt to his feet and let out a little yip. Moony looked over at him, still looking amused, and charged the black dog, clearly wanting to play after so long of sitting still.
He trotted around, and periodically, would run back to James, who was being guarded by Frank, and nuzzle his hand, clearly wanting him to join in. Frustrated with his alpha's lack of motion, he gave him a firm head-butt to the back.
Smiling, James picked up a thick piece of rope, and wagged it at the wolf, causing Lily to yelp in alarm. Moony's eyes narrowed, as he looked at James for a long moment. He glanced at the rope, then back to James. The expression was rather calculating. In the next instant, he showed them all that even the werewolf was a prankster at heart. He grabbed the rope then gave a hard tug, and was suddenly running, James being drug behind him through the grass.
Padfoot let out a happy bark and chased after them, clearly enjoying James' predicament. James knew that if he let go, the wolf would lord it over him for a long time. Albus, Minerva, Alice, and Lily watched them all play in bemusement.
Padfoot and Moony changed games, and seemed to be trying very hard to knock Frank down, but were having a difficult time with it.
ooOoo
As they all watched, clearly pleased with the results of the experiment, Peter walked into the room. He smiled at his friends antics, then looked at Albus.
"Sir, the Wizengamot decided wait until the full moon for December 21st to test him out. I think they want to kill him on Christmas if he fails," he said soflty, looking extremely angry.
"What!" Lily yelled. "What a horrid group of people! How can they do that to someone?"
"Lily, they don't think of Remus as a 'someone', but rather, a 'something'," Peter said solemnly. "They don't care."
"The moon is about to set," Minerva said suddenly, staring at the room. They all turned to look. Sure enough, Moony was backing away from the others, his ears back, and his tail between his legs. He was letting out pained whines and shivering violently.
The others backed off, knowing that Moony would snap at anyone close when he was in pain. James had his arms around Padfoot's neck, looking very upset as he watched his friend. It was hard to watch the change back, though it didn't look nearly as bloody, since the fur was the last thing to go.
They watched as the process went in reverse, and Moony slowly turned back into Remus. It seemed to take so much longer, and then in the blink of an eye, Remus was back, tears on his face as he collapsed to his side, unconscious. Sirius and Frank immediately changed back and rushed over to Remus. James pulled out his wand and conjured a blanket and pillow right underneath his friend. When he was covered, the others entered the room.
"Can we move him to his room?" Lily asked, tears on her face. James shook his head regretfully,
"No, it is a bad idea to move him while he is still unconscious. Sometimes, he doesn't return to human form quite right. Moving him can make it worse. If there are no noticeable problems, we leave him alone until he is awake. He'll tell us if there is something wrong."
"How long until he wakes up?" Albus asked.
"Well, it takes him longer each time. He said that when he was a child, it took him only a few minutes. The last moon, it took him over an hour," Sirius told them.
Albus and Minerva conjured some blankets, pillows, and tea so they could all be comfortable while they waited. They watched the shallow breathing of their friend while quietly talking about what had happened.
It took nearly an hour and a half for Remus to finally open his eyes, and he did so with a groan. Peter gently helped the man sit up, leaning against him.
"Hey Remy, are you put together right?" Sirius asked gently. Remus cautiously moved the rest of his body parts, then nodded slightly.
"Yeah, I'm good," he mumbled. He looked around and rested his gaze on James, relaxing when he saw that his friend was still in one piece. He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.
"Let's get him to bed," James said soflty. Albus cast a spell that put Remus on an invisible stretcher, and they took him upstairs to his room. Lily took care of what bruises she could and left a potion to relieve pain on the side table.
The group headed off to get a few hours of sleep, so they could talk about what they were going to do with the Ministry when they were more alert.
It was going to be a long battle, but it was one they were willing to commit to for a friend. Besides the fact that losing would mean Moony's death, it would also probably mean the loss of the war. They needed the werewolves to stay neutral at the very least. Joining Voldemort would prove disastrous.
ooOoo
Alice did not immediately fall asleep. As she watched Frank breathing easily, she was lost in thought. The night had been very informative. She was determined to come up with a complete cure for lycanthropy, no matter how long it too. Potions were being developed to help control the wolf, but she didn't want to settle for that. She had a feeling that they answers lay in a different direction, and by Merlin, she would find it!
