His parents had agreed wholeheartedly that it would be worth it to at least try. When they'd contacted the research institution, they'd been less enthusiastic. It would mean selling their house and taking Remus out of school to be able to pay for it.

It had taken convincing but eventually, they reluctantly agreed to Sirius' donation and Remus found himself counting down the days to the end of summer when the treatments would happen begin and take place every fortnight.

Apparently the spells had to be done at the institution in certain conditions. Like an equivalent to muggle chemotherapy, it killed the lycanthropy cells in his body until there weren't enough to transform him and the remaining ones died off. It would make him feel sick and tired during the treatments, but he'd decided it would be worth it in the end.

The teachers knew what he was going through and were supportive of him, accepting late homework assignments and his days off when he didn't want to get out of bed. His friends were better, helping him with the smallest of tasks.

But nobody was quite as helpful as Sirius, even going as far as cancelling his date for the first Hogsmeade visit when Remus was suffering from a migraine. James had a day out with Evans planned while Peter had to stock up Honeydukes so they couldn't stay with him. Instead, Sirius had sat next to his best, offering comforting words and support.

Coming in from the bathroom, Sirius placed a cloth on Remus' forehead, the werewolf staring up at him groggily as he woke up.

"Morning again Moony. How you feeling?" Remus groaned.

"Like every one of my bones has turned to mush." Sirius looked at him sympathetically, giving a small smile and brushing a bit of hair off of his face. Remus didn't tell ever tell him how much better that simple gesture made him feel. He looked around. "Where is everyone? Did you skip class?"

"It's Saturday Moony, they're at Hogsmeade."

"Why aren't you with them? I thought you had a date with Abigail?"

"I did. I cancelled it." He saw the shocked look and shrugged, not waiting for the why. "I figured you'd need the company more than she would…"

He'd been levitated out to the shrieking shack by Madam Pomfrey, his legs too weak to walk when the next full moon came around. He'd never felt worse than when he had still transformed and had fallen onto the bed tiredly, not even bothering to leave the shack.

Another two treatments and even his friends' attempts to keep his moral up were failing (Even pulling silly faces at him to make him smile). He stopped attending classes and rarely left the room, a house elf bringing him meals.

Three days before the end of October, the second full moon approached. When he'd looked at the calendar and saw the red-circled date, he couldn't help it. He started crying. That's how the other three had found him two hours later.

He knew he was being foolish when the day came, but he refused to leave his bed. It wouldn't stop the transformation and he could quite possibly hurt someone, but he didn't care. Reluctantly, James, Sirius and Peter had slipped him the sedative from Madam Pomfrey and he woke with a crick in his neck in the shack late that night, three guilty faces staring at him from the floor.

He'd frowned before remembering it all. A beep on Peter's watch told them it was time and he watched as a stag, a dog and a rat appeared before him. His heart sank and a dreaded feeling settled over him. He bit his lip and closed his eyes as he waited. When it didn't come, he opened them again, staring at the ceiling. A low neighing sound and stamping of a hoof and he looked around.

Padfoot had started to approach him cautiously, ignoring Prongs' warnings, sniffed his hand and licked the hairless skin. He gave a bark, his tail wagging and Remus gasped. Was this because of the potion? Did it work?

The marauders, in human form, trooped out of the shack into the moonlight before going out into Hogsmeade. As they sat on the wet grass early in the morning, watching the full moon disappear and the sun start to rise, Remus couldn't hold back tears once again.

He could still feel the effects of the treatment and a slight shiver in his skin, but he couldn't, and wouldn't be able to for the rest of his life, recall ever feeling happier…