Hey hey everyone! I just got back from vacation so I thought now would be a good time to put up another chapter.
So, I've been kind of toying with the idea of making a spiritual kind of sequel to the story. I'm thinking a retelling of the books with Sirius and Remus raising Harry together, and all the differences that would bring. Plus I wanted possibly make it Drarry or possibly Harry/Luna, I haven't quite decided. I sort of wrote a pilot chapter, but I'm in the middle of finally getting my Sailor X sequel moving, so I want that to be done first before I embark on anything so huge. If you guys would be interested in that, there would be lots of Wolfstar weaved into it. ;)
Starrya47, I'm really sorry for making you sad! I promise, I'm not evil. I just felt like this was a sort of natural thing to happen in order to make things go the way that they do. I didn't want to kill them either, but that's the HP universe XD Also, things aren't going to quite pick up in tone just yet. You might have to wait until next chapter XD
Kam, thanks, I'm glad you like Ernie! He doesn't really pop up again for the rest of the story now that I'm ending it early, but I figured if I went through with writing a sequel, he'd have a bigger part.
Guest, I'm sorry! Things will start looking up again soon, I promise!
Alright guys, that's all for me. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, and I'll see you again soon. Love ya!
~SXS
FOR WARNINGS AND DISCLAIMER, SEE FIRST CHAPTER AN.
Fate wasn't through kicking Remus's arse quite yet, even after the loss of his parents. A full moon was waiting for him when he returned to school from the winter holidays, and the pre-moon symptoms were the strongest he could ever remember them being.
Sirius was worried. Moony tended to amplify Remus's human feelings, and thus his depression over the loss of his parents was sure to show in the wolf. He didn't know what that might do to Moony's behavior, or the boys' control over him, but he could only hope that a good game could distract him for the night. They had even been toying with the idea of a walk through the Forbidden Forest. If ever they were going to need to keep him busy, it was tonight.
The Marauders escorted their suffering friend to the hospital wing, as always, and then moved to their usual waiting place around the corner. "Get the cloak out, Pete," James said.
"What do you mean? I thought you had the cloak," Peter whispered back.
"I told you to get it!"
Sirius put his hands over both their mouths to shush them as the hospital wing door opened. Madam Pomfrey was using a levitating charm on Remus, who must have passed out completely after being dropped off. The other three boys ducked back, but needn't have as the Healer was fully focused on maneuvering Remus's limp form as she walked.
When she was out of earshot, Sirius said, "I'll run back and get the cloak. I'll meet you back here." James and Peter nodded, and then Sirius left to return to the Gryffindor Tower, hearing them muttering slightly about whose job it was to get the cloak in the first place.
The halls were dark and quiet, the only light was that of the very reason why Sirius was out of bed in the first place, shining brightly through the windows. It was a beautiful thing, really, the moon. He wished that Remus could enjoy it instead of having to fear it. Sirius paused just a moment to look out at the expansive grounds, the forest at the edge and the clear winter sky above. He could see Madam Pomfrey with Remus's floating body beside her, hurrying along the grass towards the Whomping Willow, and that had him turning to continue his journey.
And bumping right into the greasy nose of one Severus Snape.
"What are you doing out of bed, Black?" the Slytherin hissed.
"Hmph." Sirius wiped at his nose to rid himself of the oily feeling of having touched his worst enemy. "I could ask the same of you."
"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm on patrol," Severus told him, flashing his Prefect badge. "You, however, are not a Prefect, and it's within my duties to give you detention for wandering the halls after curfew."
Sirius could already feel his blood starting to boil, but he just pushed out a breath through his nose. He didn't have time to get into it with the slimy git. Remus needed him. "Whatever, Snivellus. Like I even give a toss." He started to walk away.
"Where is Madam Pomfrey going with Lupin?"
Sirius whipped back around and saw that Severus was looking out the window, watching Remus being taken to the Willow. He immediately grabbed Severus by the back of his robes and ripped him away, pressing him against the opposite wall and pinning him there. He couldn't let Severus see how to get under the tree.
Severus was looking over Sirius's shoulder, however, and while he couldn't see the grounds, he did notice the full moon hanging in the sky. "Oh, I see. This is why there's never been any howling."
Sirius's teeth bared in a growl, a very Padfoot-like gesture, and he pressed Severus even more tightly to the bricks. They had already suspected that the Slytherin had figured out the truth about Remus's condition, but he'd be damned if he let Severus try to spy on him. "Why don't you keep out of other people's business?"
"Let. Me. Go." Severus sneered and his cold black eyes stared up at Sirius in challenge, but the pureblood scoffed.
"Or what? You'll give me detention?" He even pulled back a bit to cross his arms over his chest. By now, Remus and Madam Pomfrey were safely past the Willow. "I'm soooo scared. You know, Snivs, the only reason that they chose you for being a Prefect is because you have nothing better to do on a Saturday night than to roam around the castle and try to intimidate people with the threat of untreatable grease stains. So why don't you sulk your way back to the dungeons now?"
Severus's sour expression only increased in unpleasantness, until suddenly a malicious smirk appeared on his lips. "You're only upset because I know the truth about your little pet monster." Sirius literally felt his eye twitch, his stomach burning with rage. "He doesn't even belong here. Dumbledore is a fool to allow such a dangerous creature to walk freely among the students."
"You shut your bloody mouth, Snape!" Sirius snapped, hands curling into tight fists.
"Then again," Severus continued as if Sirius wasn't even there, "there haven't been any incidents to speak of. And he does trail after you and Potter like a little lost puppy. Very well trained. Or perhaps just a sorry excuse for a werewolf."
Sirius had Severus pinned to the wall again in an instant, getting in his face. "Shut UP!"
Severus just continued to smugly grin, and now locked eyes with Sirius as he delivered his final blow. "His parents must be relieved to be dead. Having a werewolf for a son surely ruined their lives."
Sirius hadn't thought it was possible to truly be angry enough to see red, but he swore in that moment that there was a filter of blood before his eyes. He pulled Severus back by the shoulders and slammed him into the wall. "You want to spy on him so badly? Why don't you go use your big, fat nose to touch the knot in the Whomping Willow and see if you come back to tell the tale?"
Instantly, he froze, as he realized just what he'd said. There was a silent pause, in which neither knew if the other would move first. Then both broke out into a dash, arms pushing at each other as they scrambled down the halls. Just when Sirius thought he might be able to tackle Severus to the ground until someone else could come along and help him, he saw the Slytherin draw his wand. Before he could react, the tip was pointed his way, and he saw a flash of red.
Sirius was Stunned into a running stance, and Severus stopped moving for a moment to admire his handiwork. He came closer to the statue-like boy and smirked. "I think I'll take some pictures and tomorrow I'll let the whole school know of the monster that's been trying to hide among them." Satisfied, Severus moved away and disappeared around a corner.
Sirius could feel his heart hammering in panic. What had he done!? The whole school was going to find out about Remus, and it was all his fault. After everything that his best friend had already been through, and his painstaking measures to keep his condition a secret, his entire world was to come crashing down. All of Remus's fears became his own in that moment; that he would be expelled, or taken away by the Ministry to a reserve. And if Severus accidentally got hurt in the process, it would only give them more of a right.
He had no idea how long he was stuck there, the dark silence of the halls making time seem to stop altogether, when finally, he heard a pair of footsteps coming his way. He made grunting noises in his throat, the most he could manage in this state. He didn't care who it was that had found him, he just needed them to unfreeze him so he could try to stop Severus.
By some miracle, it was James and Peter who appeared in front of him. "Padfoot, what happened?" the former asked, looking at him in shock. Sirius rolled his eyes, the only part of him that was still mobile, and grunted again. James cast the counterspell and the other boy fell into him, grabbing his shoulders for support.
"I accidentally told Snivellus how to get past the Willow and now he's going down there to try to take pictures of Moony and tell the whole school he's a werewolf!" The words spilled out of him, barely having any space between them.
"WHAT!?" James and Peter both cried.
"There's no time to explain. We've got to do something!" Sirius was holding so tightly to James's shoulders he thought the bones might crack under his fingers, but in the heat of the moment, the other didn't seem to notice.
"Okay. Okay, um…Peter and I will go down there and see if we can stop him. You get Professor Dumbledore. Tell him what happened. He'll know what to do."
Sirius hesitated. He didn't want his friends to face Moony alone when he was possibly more volatile than ever. "But James-"
"Just go!" James ordered, pushing him away and snagging Peter's arm so they could run. Partway down the hall, the smaller boy turned into Wormtail and scrambled up onto James's shoulder so that they were both at the same speed.
Sirius watched them disappear, shaking with fear for all parties involved, even Severus just the tiniest bit. He may have been an instigator and a horrible person in general, but not even he deserved a death like this. "Please, if someone is out there, please help!" Then he sprinted down the hall to go to Dumbledore's office.
.:~I~S~S~:.
James bolted out the front door of the castle and onto the grounds, where in the light of the full moon, he could spot the Willow at the edge of the forest. There was no sign of Severus, which meant that he was likely in the tunnel already. "Hold tight, Wormtail," he said to the rat on his shoulder, and he felt tiny claws dig through his shirt into his skin.
He dashed down the grounds and Wormtail scrambled down his shoulder when they came closer, ducking under the swinging branches to hit the knot in the tree and freeze it. James slid into the tunnel with Wormtail staying behind, and he ran as fast as he could to try to catch Severus.
The tunnel seemed to stretch on forever, and every second that passed made James's heart pound harder. He couldn't let Remus become a killer. He couldn't let someone else's mistake ruin his life.
As he finally reached the sloping ground, there was a feral scream, signifying that Remus was transforming. He was running out of time! Then suddenly, there was a shaft of light filtering in up ahead, and a silhouette disappeared through the door into the Shrieking Shack. James put everything he had into running to that door, and when he threw it open, Severus was just on the other side, a camera in hand. He spun around upon hearing someone come through the door.
"Don't bother trying to stop me, Potter," Severus said with a sneer. "Your little lapdog is about to be exposed for the true horror that he is."
James's jaw dropped, not in shock or surprise, but utter disbelief that Severus was being so unnecessarily cruel. "What has Remus ever done to you? He's always trying to stick up for you and you're ready to destroy his life for no reason!"
In the weak light, James almost thought that Severus's eyes softened, but his jaw was set. He turned away with his camera at the ready. "He tries to act like he's so high and mighty, as if he can talk me into making nice with you and Black. But he's never stood up for me when it's counted, because he's too afraid to disobey his masters. He's no better than either of you, and if this hurts all of you then I've finally gotten the revenge I deserve."
James could only stare for a moment at the back of Severus's greasy head, the weight of his words sinking slowly to the pit of his stomach. Had their silly pranks and teasing really driven him to this? He didn't have time to dwell on these thoughts, however, as he realized that Remus had stopped screaming and was now howling. He had fully become Moony.
Knowing there was no point in trying to reason with Severus, he simply grabbed him by the arm and tried to drag him back towards the door. "Get off me!" the Slytherin snapped, attempting to shake James off.
"You're being a fool! Do you really care enough about exposing Remus to risk your life?!" There was a sound of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. "Merlin's overgrown tits."
Moony prowled slowly into the room, sniffing around curiously. James and Severus were frozen to their spots, the latter unable to even lift his camera now to snap a shot. They remained still, hoping that perhaps the lack of movement would allow them to blend into the wall.
It didn't.
Moony's head suddenly whipped around to face them, and he snarled, mouth visibly watering at the sight and smell of a human meal. Later, James wouldn't recall how he managed to do it, but he pressed Severus back behind him with force before transforming into Prongs. He kept his head down so that his antlers made a protective barrier, and he scuffed his back hoof towards Severus to tell him to leave.
Moony want human! Prongs move! Moony growled out, raising his hackles.
No. Moony leave him alone. Prongs pushed forward, his antlers gently prodding at Moony to try to push him back.
Moony hungry! Moony need human! Moony was crouched now, his tail flicking, then he pounced, releasing a sound close to a roar. He tried to jump over Prongs, and he might have succeeded if it wasn't for the fact that the stag bucked his head up and cut Moony's journey short. The wolf crashed into Prongs's raised antlers, and flopped to the floor. Prongs didn't waste any time in turning tail and running, scooping the unmoving Severus by the robes with his antlers, and galloping back down the tunnel. Moony could be heard howling in anger and anguish, but he must have been injured enough to stop him from following. Even still, Prongs didn't slow, even when they were well into the underground passage.
As they approached the exit under the Willow, Prongs finally set Severus down onto his feet and transformed back into James. He was panting heavily from the running and shaking with adrenaline, but at least he knew that they were safe.
Severus had been silent the entire time, and was paler than usual, but now that he was face to face with James again, he lifted a trembling hand and pointed at him. "Y-You're an Animagus!"
"Yeah. And if I wasn't then you'd be dead right now, so you better not say a fucking word about it," James snapped, fixing him with a fierce glare. "I can't believe how stupid you are! Haven't you ever paid attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts, or do you just think that you're above all that because you're a Death Eater wannabee?"
Severus was starting to regain his color, and his confidence. "Don't test me, Potter. You may have saved my life, but that doesn't mean that I won't still tell the entire school that your sidekick tried to kill me with his pet monster!"
"I'm afraid, Mr. Snape, that you are incorrect in that," a new voice joined them, and both turned to see Professor Dumbledore standing with his hands behind his back and the most severe look on his face that either had ever seen. Without a word, he turned and climbed back out of the tunnel, expecting the boys to follow, which they did at a brisk pace, not wanting to incur the wrath of their Headmaster when he already seemed on edge.
