The Moon and Star

Chapter Five

Remus

I was up and running again within the week, and was eager to return to my lessons and friends. I mean, I was worried about what I was going to tell them if they asked about it; they always did, and I was just about out of excuses. Maybe… maybe I should just tell them this time.

I walked into the Gryffindor common room, and was immediately shocked by Sirius screaming "LUPIN!", and hurling himself at me with a rib-crushing hug. I laughed, hugging him back, and walked over to where James and Peter were sitting next to the fire.

"Look who's back!" He exclaimed, joy lighting up his face. I laughed happily alongside James and Peter as they welcomed me.

"What's with the 'Lupin', eh, Sirius?" Peter asked, grinning.

"You'll see." he chuckled, shaking his head. He quickly sombre though, and the mood between the four of us changed. "Let's… let's go to the dorm."

We hastily sat on our respective beds, eager to hear what was troubling him. He paced in front of us all, frowning.

"I think this has gone on long enough." He said ventrally, and my blood ran cold.

"What… what's going on, Sirius?" James asked warily. Sirius took a deep breath.

"Well, that's just what I want to know. Remus… what's going on with you? Where have you been going every month? What have you been doing?" I slowly expelled the breath I'd been holding, closing my eyes. I knew it had been coming; I had just been putting it in the back of my mind.

"I…" Sirius tensed, his eyes wide as I began, "I go to the… the Shrieking Shack-"

"The Shrieking Shack? As in the most haunted building in Britain?" James interrupted, awe written all over his face. Peter and Sirius simultaneously shushed him, and they all turned back to me.

"Well, it certainly is haunted now," I laughed mirthlessly, my heart cold, "I go there to… transform." There. You said it. Well, just about.

"To… to transform? Into what?" Sirius whispered, agape.

"A… a… argh, I can't do it! I can't. You'll… you'll hate me, you'll f-fear me, I…" Sirius rushed over to me, and took my face in his hands.

"We would never hate you, Remus. Never." His voice was so sincere, so genuine, that I almost believed him.

"You have to swear not to tell anyone," I breathed, "No one else can know."

"Of course," He said, moving to sit beside me. "James, Peter? You swear it too, right?" They nodded enthusiastically, and I believed them.

"I'm a… I'm a werewolf."

Sirius

"Oh." I said simply, blinking rapidly. I was not expecting that. Remus looked at me, desperation and fear in his eyes.

"Oh? Nothing else, just oh?" He said, a flicker of a smile threatening to break onto his face.

"Yes, I… I didn't expect that, but…"

"But?" He shifted in his seat, hope overcoming the fear on his face.

"But it doesn't matter at all to me." I finished boldly, knowing in my heart it was true. Remus finally allowed himself to smile, a small, relieved laugh escaping from his mouth. I glanced at James to see an expression of nonchalance on his face, an Peter was merely smiling kindly at Remus, not at all fazed.

"Y-You're not-"

"What? Scared?" James interjected, chuckling, "Oh, don't be dramatic, mate, not in the slightest. Okay, Remus. See this arm? It's actually shorter than my other arm, but you can't really tell, exempt when I twirl, which I never, EVER, do."

"I'm lactose intolerant." Peter added innocently.

"And I'm obnoxious," Sirius laughed, "You fold your socks and stack your quills. Forgive me if I'm not trembling at the sight of you."

"You just have a furry little problem," Peter giggled, "And I think I have a solution."

"What?" Remus gasped, disbelief evident in his eyes.

"Yes, um…" Peter avoided eye contact, suddenly self-conscious, "If we all became unregistered animagi then you would never had to go through a full moon alone, Remus." He continued, his eyes flicking to Remus and back to the floor.

"Right. I'm going to see McGonagall." James stood suddenly, and marched out of the door, a determined look on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

James

Peter. Was. A. Genius. I strode off down the corridor with the others scampering behind me, protesting and asking if I was mad. I simply laughed, and decided to keep them in the dark for a little longer. I knew that ever since out very first day, Professor McGonagall had a little soft spot for us four, and I wasn't about to let that pass. I stopped outside her office, and doubt began to peck at me, a small, weedy voice whispering to me.

What if she's not as understanding as you think? What if she doesn't know about Remus and gets him kicked out?

Of course she knows about Remus, how else would he have known to use the Shrieking Shack? I thought back angrily. I took a deep breath, and knocked bravely on the door.

"Yes?" The brisk Scottish voice of McGonagall called from inside. I pushed the door open to find her with a large book open on her desk, her reading glasses perched on the end of her hooked nose. "What is it, Potter?"

"Professor, how do you become an animagus?" I rushed.

"Hypothetically!" Sirius hissed in my ear.

"Hypothetically." I parroted, mentally slapping myself. McGonagall gave me a knowing look, and replied,

"I cannot tell you that, I'm sorry." My heart sank.

"Oh, I… I understand." I murmured.

"I also cannot tell you that there is a book in the retracted section of the library…" hope built in my chest, "…about becoming and animagus called True Animagus Transformation. It is also strictly inappropriate for me to tell you that Filch will be absent this Saturday from one to three o'clock in the morning." I almost laughed in both amusement and relief. A scratching behind me caught my attention, and turned around. Sirius had extracted a quill and a ragged piece of parchment from his bag, and was scribbling furiously. I turned back around and saw McGonagall chuckling quietly, her eyes sparkling. "You boys do understand that I have not told you these things, was they are strictly prohibited, yes?"

"Yes, Professor, we completely understand." I laughed softly, the professor's good-naturedness rubbing off on me. We thanked Professor McGonagall and bounded off back to the dorm, her laughter ringing after us, excitement fuelling our steps. We talked all through the night, planning and scheming, wondering about what our animagus forms would be, what it would be like to be a animal. By the morning, we were closer than ever.