Disclaimer: Not mine.

His Calling

Chapter 27

Cigars and New Freedoms

Professor McGonagall held onto James' ear despite his protests and howls, pleased that he followed her so easily. It was also a technique that kept the other three scurrying behind her, and ensured she did not have to talk to them as she crisply strode down the hallway toward the spiral staircase that would take them up to the Headmaster's office.

"Step lively," she snipped as they entered the room at the top of the stairs, releasing James and pointing to the four chairs Albus had already set up for them opposite his at the massive desk. "Don't be shy now, you were not shy about getting here, now is no time for modesty."

Albus stood with his hands clasped behind his back peering over his spectacles as the four third-year boys rushed towards the chairs, each wanting the one at the end. He raised his eyebrow at Minerva as a ghost of a smile played across his face.

"Headmaster, it seems we have four boys that think they are much older than their years and are hell bent on setting their chambers on fire."

"I see," he chuckled. "I did the same thing once myself. I never did like those curtains on the bed. However, I somehow feel this is more than a spell gone astray."

Remus swallowed hard, and looked to his right only to see Peter studying the carpet. Leaning forward he looked over Peter at Sirius and saw his grin. Not now, he thought, please just shut up. James elbowed him in the ribs and turning to the left he saw James jerk his head back, telling him to sit back in his chair and stop looking at Sirius.

He quickly complied, knowing that all Sirius needed was a little encouragement and a simple night's detention would stretch out to a month. He swallowed again, feeling his mouth go dry and looked up to see the Headmaster's eyes looking directly at him.

"Well, Mr. Lupin," Albus said kindly, leaning over the desk and staring into his eyes. "I would say I am surprised to see you here, but as of late I seem to be seeing a lot of you."

"Thank you sir?" he squeaked. "It is good to see you too?"

Remus heard a strangled snort from the chair next to Peter at the same time James' foot found his shin. "Or not," he added, trying to recover and sending Sirius into uncontrolled laughter.

"Mr. Black." The Headmaster changed his focus at once. "Would you care to share the joke with the rest of us?"

"No," Sirius snorted. "But… it's good to see you too sir."

James dropped his head and bit his lip as Minerva walked to the window, putting her back to the desk, unable to keep a straight face watching Albus struggle to keep his own. A simple "Fuck" came from Peter's chair.

"Mr. Pettigrew, would you repeat that for all to hear?" Albus said sternly.

"Suck, sir. I meant to say this sucks, sir?" Peter snapped his head up and tried to look contrite.

"I thought that was what you said. Although equally as impolite." He looked up at Minerva who had turned back to stare at Peter, horrified that he would say what he did in the Headmaster's presence. "Professor McGonagall, perhaps you would like to join us."

He sat down at the desk seeing each boy suddenly grow sober as Minerva began the story of her recent bed check, the unmistakable smell of cigars and later the wastebasket bursting into flames. Remus grimaced as the Headmaster opened his desk drawer and pulled out five cigars, which he placed on the desktop and offered to them. Upon hearing their refusal, Albus smiled and lovingly picked one up, held it under his nose and inhaled deeply.

"This has a subtle hint of cherry," he sighed, then snipped off the end and using a candle to light it, dragged great puffs of smoke into his cheeks then blew a cloud towards the boys. "Are you sure you won't join me?"

Remus felt his already queasy stomach begin to roll and turned quickly to Peter who looked as green as he felt. He swallowed and realized too late it was the wrong thing to do. Even as the saliva was building back up in his mouth, he felt the last swallow trying to come back. Another cloud of smoke encircled his head before he clamped his hand over his mouth and bolted out of the door, elbowing Peter out of his way as they both ran pall-mall down the stairs.

James lasted two more puffs, and Sirius feeling his head begin to spin staggered out shortly after, falling down the last four steps and barely making it outside before his dinner landed on the ground.

"You are evil," Minerva chuckled as Albus used his wand to clean the air.

"I find a little additive to the smoke always does the trick my dear. Let's hope it is a while before they have a taste for smoking again."

"Yes, well… I am sure sleeping in their beds should drive it home. I have instructed the elves not to clean their room until tomorrow and it reeks. Whatever was in that waste bin has left a mess in the room."

"Have you decided on detention?"

"Sending them to Hagrid does not work. I think Remus actually enjoys the time out of doors and Peter has taken a liking to those things Hagrid calls cakes."

"Which one supplied the contraband?"

"We both would say Black, but Potter was rather quiet which leads me in his direction."

"Mr. Lupin would not have the funds and Mr. Pettigrew would have purchased Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans instead of cigars. I think it is time to let Mr. Potter and Black stew this one out themselves. Whichever one made the purchase I am sure the second was at his side."

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Sirius picked up the next trophy cup and handed it to Potter who sat on the floor polishing one after another, stacking the ones that he finished to the side and sighing as he looked down at the row yet undone.

"She could have given us a detention for the night instead of saying to polish all of them," James complained. "This could take all week."

"How did he know it was us?" Sirius muttered. "I don't see Lupin and Pettigrew working their arses off."

"You think it was him and not her? I don't know Sirius, she seems to know more than I gave her credit for. Like last time, she knew right off who set the Doxy loose in the owlery."

They both jumped as a rat scurried by, only to round back and sit up on its haunches, twitching its nose as it smelled the air.

"Fuck, Peter, knock it off," James sighed. "You keep doing this and you're going to get caught."

Peter morphed back into his normal self, wearing his pyjama bottoms and grinning. "I can almost change with my regular clothes, scary hey?"

Sirius frowned and handed the next trophy to James. "I haven't got it yet. I think I should have picked a smaller dog."

"Where's Lupin?" James asked seeing Peter pick up a rag and start polishing with him.

"He had to see Pomfrey," Peter looked at Sirius solemnly. "They are going to give him Wolfsbane Potion."

"What?" Sirius turned back from the glass case he was emptying and stared at Peter. "It can kill him."

"He said it was a special brew, one his Mum and Dad found, not one of St. Mungo's. He said it was safe."

"Why tonight?" James asked.

"He takes it three nights, two before and then when he starts to change."

"That sucks," James muttered, bending back to his polishing.

They all turned at the sound of footsteps and saw Remus walking towards them grinning. "You have to do all these?"

"How'd it go?" Peter called out.

"I don't know yet," Remus sat down next to James and started polishing.

"Remus?" Sirius questioned, seeing Remus lower his head he knew not to push. "Okay, you guys polish and Peter and I will do the cases."

"Most of these are for Quidditch." James held up the last trophy he had polished. "If I got one I wouldn't want it hidden down here. I'd want it up in the main hall for everyone to see."

"Right, try outs are in three days. We will still be down here polishing." Sirius shot him a look. "Ya know, if you learned keep your mouth shut we wouldn't be here."

"Yeah," Remus laughed, "I think the fire would have done it even if we didn't have the cigars. Did you see McGonagall's face?"

Peter snorted, "She can out scare my Gram's face and that's saying a lot. Why do you think she thought it was the cigars that set the fire anyway?"

"Shut up, Peter." James swatted him with the polishing rag. "If she finds out we were setting off fireworks it could be worse."

In the corner of the trophy room, a small tabby cat sat quietly in the shadows. Her pupils enlarged to adjust to the dim light. She laid her ears forward to hear better, as she rested her head on her paws. Just like the damn fools, she thought to herself, punish two and the whole lot show up. Then realizing she would have felt disappointed if they had not, she silently crept away.

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Madam Pomfrey stopped halfway down the path, gave Remus his potion, then walked with him until they stood near the Whomping Willow where she cast diagnostic spells, taking a final reading on his heart and pulse rate for comparison to the ones she would take in the morning.

Unsure of how WolfsBane Potion worked, she had scoured the library and every medical tome she had for information. However, the books only spoke of theories and how adult werewolves responded, never making mention of one as young as Remus. Halfway through her reading she had thrown the book into the bin when she realized none of the case studies contained first person accounts, or more then physical descriptions of the potions effects, when what she sorely needed was data on the mental changes.

She had tried to explain to Remus what would happen, but had watched as he looked out the window, swinging his legs over the edge of the examining table, pretending he was not paying attention, and knew that he was afraid to hope. Afraid to let his mother down again, afraid that if this did not work he would be lost, afraid that if he could not find himself in the wolf, the animal would take more and more control of his everyday life until it was gone as well.

Tonight was the Hunter's Moon, the moon that he feared above all others. The moon that could control him even before it showed, and let the wolf live under his skin for three days more. He sometimes thought if he were to lose control, he would do so during a Hunter's Moon. Because of this, he had convinced Madam Pomfrey to test the potion now. If he could make it through tonight, if he could see the sky and know the names of the stars, he knew he could always make it back.

Remus had learned not to fight the change. It has hard enough without holding it back, tensing his body against the invasion and screaming in anger. The screams wrung from his body now, were from the pain of change and the rage he felt each time it started. No longer did he scream and cry as a child, no longer from the ripping of sinew or the grinding of bone. Now, he yelled in anger, anger that Greyback was allowed to do this to him. That he was not hunted down and killed. That every moon, Greyback was free to kill again, while he sat near the tunnel under a willow, in a windowless room, and cried for what was lost.

The change was fast. Faster then he remembered it had ever been before. The pain intense, but fast, quickly gone. The wolf sat in the middle of the empty room and raised its snout to the ceiling, smelling the damp and moss and the woman that stood above. Remus' mind raced as the new sensations assailed him. He felt the cool floor beneath the pads of his paws and on his nose, but the rest of his body felt dull, not warm or cold, not open to the breeze of the wind or the cold of the night. The wolf opened its mouth and began to pant as Remus' felt anxious, felt the need to move, to run, to find the moon and open fields.

The wolf stood and began to stalk through the room, Remus seeing the floor clearly and smelling the tunnel knew what the wolf had not. Remus turned his head toward the tunnel and let the wolf know how to leave. Together they rushed to the open air. Freedom beat in their chest, as they ran onto the gently sloping grounds of Hogwarts.

The wolf looked up instinctively as Remus searched the sky. One saw the mighty hunter Orion and his dog, Sirius, waiting for the hunt, as the other sniffed the air and watched for danger. Remus sought the proud Queen Cassiopeia sitting regally on her throne, and in finding her; he knew he was not lost. The wolf sniffed out the woman and forced Remus' eyes to find her and then together they walked toward the still figure bright in the wolf's eyes, although standing in shadow.

Remus forced the wolf down on its stomach, and whining in submission, crawled to her, wanting to talk but unable to make a sound.

"Remus?" Madam Pomfrey squatted before him, and hesitantly stretched out her hand, seeing the wolf creep toward her on its stomach. "Shhh, run lad. Go, tis alright now."

She stood up and slipped her hand in her pocket, remembering too late Rhea's warning. Stepping back, she saw the wolf's lip curl, then suddenly it turned and ran from her. She watched as it ran across the grounds, going ever higher onto the misty plains, and thought that maybe, just maybe it was Remus that ran.

Turning back to the castle, she felt her eyes begin to tear and swiped her hand across her face angrily. She could not afford to cry now. Now that Remus' work had just begun. The argument with the Headmaster had been postponed. Until the night was over and the test completed. Now, she had to chart the results to take it to him. Stubborn old fool, she thought.

Madam Pomfrey argued that the wolf should be allowed to control the boy, be chained, contained and shut away. Hidden from the boy's mind. It was his parents and the Headmaster that insisted on this foolishness. Damned fools, she had called them. Damned fools to think he could control the wolf's body. Damned fools to think a hunter's gun would not find him, or Greyback's pack not lure him back as their own.