The Full Moon
It was the night of the full moon.
That morning the Marauders had dropped Remus off at the Hospital Wing. He was looking particularly peaky. More than usual. They knew that this was going to be a rough one.
Another thing would be trying to get away from the girls. Ever since they had become friends they had been hanging out in the common room doing homework, playing chess, and talking after dinner.
Today the guys needed to be with Remus so they had to get out of it. This hadn't been a problem before because they hadn't been friends with them. But now they had to plan for this.
It would be easier to tell the girls about Remus's condition but Remus had refused outright. They knew why. Remus liked Meg. It was a new thing so it was easy to see why he didn't want her to know.
Remus had always been insecure about his condition because he knew that a lot of people in the wizarding community didn't accept werewolves. It was a wonder that he trusted James, Sirius, and Sean.
In reality they hadn't given him much of an option. They had found out in their first year and given him a good talking to.
They couldn't believe that he had tried to hide this from them because they would have found out eventually. Of course, I mean really, how could you not see that your classmate and friend would go missing once a month around the time of a full moon.
Remus didn't want to tell Meg because he didn't want to risk any chances that he had for a relationship with her.
That night the boys and girls minus Remus were sitting around the fire.
When the girls had asked where Remus had gone they told them that he had gotten sick and was in the Hospital Wing. They had believed this since he had looked bad yesterday.
James gave Sirius and Sean a discreet glance and nodded his head towards the clock on the mantle place.
They both nodded and the three guys stood up, making a big deal of yawning widely.
'Guys, I am so tired.' Sean said slowly.
Sirius nodded. 'Yea, Wormtail, me too. Aren't you Prongs?'
James nodded. 'Let's go to bed.'
Lily looked at the clock. 'Guys, it's only nine.' she said.
Ari was looking at them suspiciously but let them disappear up the stairs.
When she was sure they were gone she turned to the girls.
'They are up to something. Let's wait here and look to see if any of them come down.'
The other girls nodded and they continued to talk. All four of them were continually throwing glances at the boys dormitory.
Around ten Meg heard a noise. She motioned for the girls to speak softer.
They head soft footsteps. Then the common room door opened about a crack and then it shut.
'What was that?' Addy cried.
'The door can't open on its own.' Lily said.
Ari shook her head amazed.
'He has the cloak.' she whispered.
'What cloak?' Meg asked confused.
Ari looked at the girls.
'Okay so our parents always used to tell us this story along with Auntie Sarah. They used to say that there was a cloak that their parents had given Uncle Charles. He wasn't allowed to tell anyone but his friends until he gave the cloak away. Our ancestors said that we were supposed to use it to make mischief. Uncle Charles must have given it to James and he can't tell anyone unless they have to know.'
The girls were still confused.
'Yea, but what does the cloak do?' Lily asked.
Ari grinned. 'That's the greatest thing. The cloak is an invisibility cloak.'
The girls gasped. 'He has one?' Meg said in awe.
Ari nodded. 'That's what it looks like.'
Meg looked at the clock. 'Why don't we just wait here and we can ask them about it when they come back. They are probably off planning some sort of Marauder prank.'
They agreed with her and they all sat down and waited.
As twelve o'clock rolled by the girls were pretty much asleep. They were trying to stay awake but it was impossible.
At one they were all sleeping soundly until they were startled out of their sleep by a loud sound.
The girls looked towards the common room door which had burst open with a bang.
They were shocked to see what was on the other side.
It was Sirius and Sean who were carrying James who looked in pain.
Ari jumped up and ran over.
'Oh My God! What happened to him?' she asked.
Sirius grunted. Him and Sean carried him over the couch and laid him down.
James tried to smile at the girls' pale faces that were looking at him to let them know he was okay but all that came out was a painful grimace.
Sean turned to Addy. 'Quick Addy, you are training to be a Healer. Please go get your kit and help him.'
Addy nodded and turned and ran up the stairs.
Sean and Sirius collapsed in chairs. Ari wasn't done with them though.
'What happened? You have to tell us. What happened to James?' She was nearly in tears.
Sirius got up and gave her a hug. 'Don't worry, he'll be fine. Of course, now we have to tell you. Just let Addy fix James first.'
Ari nodded through her tears.
Addy returned with her kit. 'Take off his shirt.' she told Meg and Lily.
They both bent down and started to unbutton his shirt, trying not to hurt him in the process.
They both gasped as they looked down at his torso.
His chest had two scratches that made some sort of X and his abs were marked with deep scratches from what looked like claws.
Ari was getting paler by the second. James reached out and gave her hand a squeeze.
Addy applied ointment to his wounds and wrapped a special bandage around his abs. They were hurt the most. 'You have to keep your shirt off for the next 12 hours or you will disturb your wound.' she told him softly.
James nodded. Sirius grinned a little. 'The girls are going to have a field day.' he said quietly.
He looked at the girls who were looking at him expectantly. They wanted an explanation.
'Can I talk to the guys first. This is a big thing and we kind of need to phrase it carefully.' Sirius said cautiously.
The girls nodded in unison and the two guys gathered around James.
The conversed for ten minutes. Occasionally there would be a outburst from Sirius.
'I call first!' he yelled.
'Second!' Sean yelled next.
James sighed. 'Yea, thanks guys, give the injured the one that could cause me damage.'
Sirius sat down and looked at the girls who were seated on the floor and said, 'Gather around the armchair. It's story time with Uncle Sirius.'
The giggling girls surrounded him. When they saw Sirius's serious face they stopped.
'Okay, funny part over. I will tell the first part, Sean will tell the second, and James will tell the last part.'
Sirius launched into his part of the story.
'You all know Mr. Lupin right?' Sirius asked to start of his segment.
The girls nodded as they remembered seeing him on the platform.
'Before when Voldemort was just coming to power he was starting to look for supporters. He already had a lot and most of them were people that wizarding folk consider outcasts. Mr. Lupin had a high ministry position then and he was the one that Voldemort wanted on his side. When he asked Mr. Lupin he refused. Voldemort had sent this man named Greyback to relay the proposal. When Mr. Lupin said no he offended Greyback. One day, for revenge, Greyback saw Remus playing in the front yard around eight. Greyback attacked him.' Sirius took a pause there.
He looked down at the girls' terrified faces and prepared himself for what he was about to say next. He hoped against hope that they wouldn't hold something against Remus.
'It was a full moon. Greyback is a werewolf.'
He waited for the sentence to sink in. He saw their eyes widen in horror.
'Poor Remus.' was the first thing that came out of anybody's mouth.
They all turned to look at Meg. She had tears in her eyes. 'He has to turn into a monster unwillingly.'
The guys looked at her gratefully.
Ari sniffed. 'I can't believe I couldn't tell after all the times I have seen him get sick.'
James shook his head. 'Don't worry. We didn't figure it out until almost the end of…'
He was cut off by Sean. 'That's my part!' he cried in order to drown out James's voice.
The girls shifted their attention from Sirius to Sean and waited for him to continue.
"Remus thought that he had no chance of ever getting into Hogwarts. He didn't know Dumbledore. When Dumbledore was informed of Remus's condition he welcomed Remus. He also had the Whomping Willow planted so that Remus could go somewhere during his transformations. There is a tunnel that leads to the Shrieking Shack. That's where Remus goes every full moon. We didn't figure this out until almost the end of first year. Remus was still out best friend and we never made him feel different. But we did decide to do something that would help Remus.' Sean stopped there.
The girls immediately shifted their gaze to James who rolled his eyes.
'When Sean said that we did something to help Remus it also means that we did something that would get us landed in Azkaban for the rest of out lives.'
The girls gasped.
'What did you do?' Lily asked, horrified at the thought that the boys could go to Azkaban.
James took a deep breath.
'We became Animagi, and before you blow up let me explain.' he added, looking at the girls' furious faces.
'We found that a werewolf can be dangerous to humans on the full moon but cannot be dangerous to animals. We became Animagi in fourth year and we have been accompanying Remus on his monthly visits every time. We keep him under control. Tonight, however, he was too wild. He was about to bite Sean when I interfered which is why I have these big scars. Now I know you guys want to see what animals we are so… Sirius.'
The girls looked at Sirius. He grinned at them once before transforming. The girls stared in awe as a big black dog pranced around, seemingly grinning at them all.
He turned back and smiled. 'Cool, huh?'
Ari nodded speechlessly.
'What about Sean?' Addy asked.
Sean stood up and transformed. Instead of a tall, seventh year boy, there was a small pure white rat. Sean turned in a circle while squeaking and then turned back.
'Why a rat?' Ari asked confused.
'To get into the Whomping Willow you need to press a knot on the tree and the only way is for a small animal. We had no choice about our animal but Sean is dead useful.' James answered.
He stood up and was about to transform when Lily held her hand up. 'No way, nuh-uh, there is no way that you are going to transform when you are injured.'
Sirius grinned. 'Let him. You really want to see his. It is the best one out of all of ours.'
Lily finally gave in and let James transform.
They all stared at the pure gold stag that was gleaming in front of them.
'Oh my god.' Ari breathed. She reached up and petted James on the neck.
He threw his head and leaned in. The girls saw that James's familiar hazel eyes were peering out of the body of the stag.
'That was amazing!' Addy cried once James had transformed back.
Sean looked at the clock. 'Let's go to sleep so that we can see Remus in the morning.'
James slept on the couch with Sean and Sirius on the others and the girls curled up in arm chairs. The last thought before they went to sleep was that, 'Man, those boys know much more than you give them credit for. They are the most loyal people I will ever meet.'
Early the next morning, they all walked down to the Hospital Wing, James still being shirtless.
Sirius told the girls to stay outside and they went through the curtains that surrounded Remus's bed.
When Remus saw James with his middle covered in bandages he automatically lowered his eyes to the ground.
'I am so sorry, Prongs.' he said.
James clapped him on the back softly. 'Don't worry about it Moony. We did this for you.'
All of a sudden there was a shout from outside. 'I GOT IT!' someone yelled.
Remus tried to see over the guys. 'Who else is there?' he asked.
James stepped back and allowed the girls to come in.
Remus's eyes widened as he saw the girls coming in.
Meg hung back while the other three girls hugged Remus.
'We would never leave you.' Ari said.
'Remus you are our friend and nothing can change that.' Addy said.
'Not even your condition.' Lily added.
Meg lastly approached Remus.
She bent down so she was level with him. 'Remus, there is nothing to be ashamed of because I like you just the way you are, condition and all.' Then Meg did the one thing that surprised them all. She kissed Remus.
They were still kissing until six other voices coughed uncomfortably. They both pulled away blushing.
'Ummmm,' Remus stammered.
Sean grinned. 'No need to explain.'
Everyone minus Remus then headed down the Great Hall for breakfast.
'Who yelled back there?' Sirius asked suddenly.
Addy blushed. 'That would be me. It was just that I figured something out.'
'What?' James asked.
'I know why you have those nicknames.'
One by one each of the girls got a look of dawning on their face.
Soon they were standing in front of the doors to the Great Hall. Most of the school was there.
James gulped and walked in with the others followed smirking.
As soon he stepped in there was a shriek.
'SHE LIKES YOU!' Sirius yelled.
Soon the whole student body was entertained by James chasing a screaming Sirius around the hall.