His Boy

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Moony

Harry sat up in his bed as the loud howl of the werewolf sounded throughout the winter night air. It had been a few days since Christmas and about twenty eight days since he'd heard the werewolf howl, though he hadn't been counting. It was another one of those nights when Sirius and Remus had had to go out and Lexie was staying with him, though she slept in Sirius's room now instead of the guest room. She was here a lot more than she used to be, a fact that Harry was quite happy with because he loved her very much.

The werewolf howled again as Harry slid out of bed, his footed pajama covered feet hitting the carpeted floor very quietly. He moved around his bed and over to the window where the world outside was pretty bright for it being the middle of the night. The sky was a very dark blue, but the full moon was large, shining brightly in the sky while the white snow below glistened in the yard. Harry felt a twang in his heart whenever the werewolf howled it's lonesome howl. Last time he'd heard the werewolf, Lexie had said that it was sad. He didn't like that the poor werewolf was sad…. Lexie had also said that werewolves weren't bad, just misunderstood.

Pondering it over in his four year old brain for a few moments, Harry decided he wanted to help make the werewolf feel better. Maybe it would feel better if it had something to play with or a book to read?

Harry grabbed the flashlight from beside his bed and turned it on, looking around his bedroom. He grabbed a book from his bookshelf, one about animals that Moony had given him. It was a really nice book with lots of pretty pictures and plenty of words to read. He was sure the werewolf would like it. But how was he going to carry both the flashlight and book?

An idea occurring to him, Harry left his bedroom with the book and went into his playroom where he dug into his toy chest. Aha! His toy headlamp with the changing colors, this would be perfect for seeing in the dark and holding the book at the same time.

Knowing he mustn't wake Lexie, Harry tiptoed from his playroom and down the stairs, carrying the animal book under one arm, headlamp in the other. He pulled on his snowsuit, zipping it up with ease. He'd gotten much better at getting the awkward suit on. He shoved his feet into his boots and then tugged on his hat. He struggled a bit with his mittens, usually needing help to get them on.

Mittens firmly on his hands, Harry put the headlamp on over his hat and picked up his book, heading from the hallway to the kitchen. The werewolf wasn't in the front yard, but rather, beyond the back garden.

Harry unlocked the back kitchen door and pressed it open, being very careful not to let it slam as he closed it and the screen door, behind him, a feat which was quite remarkable at his young age.

Harry made his way across the back garden illuminated by the moon on the snow and his headlamp. He knew that the whole of the back garden was surrounded by a fence, but that there was a gate way at the very back of it. He wasn't sure about the latch on it, but he had to try. The werewolf howled again, sounding so very sad… He had to try and cheer it up.

The fence was tall, at least to Harry it was. It actually was only about five feet, but at Harry's short stature, that was quite large. It took a couple of minutes for Harry to locate the gate in the back corner of the fence, but he did it, knowing it had to be either there or in the other corner.

The latch on the gate was a sliding one, the kind that had been on Harry's old cupboard under the stairs at the Dursleys. He knew exactly how to undo it, but it was high up, so he'd have to figure out how to reach it first.

Gazing around the garden, Harry ran back to the patio and grabbed up one of the plastic chairs still sitting there next to the plastic table. He dragged it, quite easily, over to the gate where he was able to climb up onto it (he had to set his book on the ground to do so) and slide the latch free.

Smiling at his success, Harry climbed down off of the chair and pressed at the gate. It was stuck in the snow, but with a couple of good shoves, Harry was able to get it moved forward enough so he and his book could slip right on through, which wasn't very much considering he was just a skinny four year old in a snowsuit.

The world beyond the gate was as big as it was from Harry's window! The snow stretched on across the hilly land, mostly treeless and clear of any footprints. Even as Harry walked, any trace of him remained unseen, for the snow had thickened on top into a crusty shell, making his light weight unlikely to crush foot prints into it unless he were to slip and fall. Thankfully though, Moony had placed a lovely non-slip tread spell on the bottom of Harry's boots, tired of watching the poor kid struggle when the walkway was covered in ice and he hadn't had the chance to go out and melt it yet.

Harry traipsed across the snowy land, sparkling in the light set off by the moon in the cloudless sky, led by the howls the werewolf let out fairly often, always sounding quite forlorn. He hugged the book to his chest, not wanting to lose it.

After walking for fifteen minutes, Harry stopped to rest, sitting down on the snow. It felt like he had been walking for forever and still, no werewolf, though it's howlings were getting much louder than they had been originally. Harry turned, looking back and he could barely see the cottage in the dark, mainly due to the moon glinting off of the roof, but all of the lights on this side of it were turned off. Hopefully Lexie was still asleep. She would probably be worried if she woke up and Harry wasn't there. Perhaps he should have left her a note?

Having rested enough, Harry got back onto his feet and started walking again. The howling was getting much louder now, and he was starting to feel a bit nervous, but Lexie had said the werewolf was just sad. And when someone was sad, well, Harry thought maybe it would be better to try and cheer them up instead of letting them stay sad. That was what his Padfoot and Moony did when he was sad, wasn't it?

Hey, there was the old garden shed that Padfoot had moved a while back! Wow, Harry couldn't think of why Padfoot had wanted to put the garden shed so far away from the house that one could barely see it, but that was a grown up for you. They were quite strange sometimes.

The werewolf howled again and Harry jumped. He was so very close now! It was like the werewolf was right inside the shed.

Picking up his pace, excited now, Harry got closer and closer tom the shed. Just as he was about to reach it, the door flew open, and a great, monstrous creature loomed out of it.

The werewolf was huge, towering over little Harry. It had long, pointed claws and horrendous gnashing teeth as it tilted it's head backwards and let out the loudest howl Harry had ever heard. He stepped back, finally frightened now that he had found it.

A black dog came barreling out of the shed after the werewolf and Harry stared in shock. A big black dog? Why, that was his Padfoot's animagus form! But, that dog couldn't be his Padfoot, could it?

The werewolf spotted Harry and let out a growl, stepping towards him like he'd just spotted a tasty treat. Harry held up the book.

"I… I bringed you…" His sentence was lost as the werewolf dove for him, but the dog was too quick. It slammed itself into the werewolf's side, sending him off course, landing five feet away from his intended target.

Harry screamed and stood there, too terrified to move as the werewolf grabbed hold of the dog and flung it away from him, returning it's gaze to Harry. It lunged again, but let out a loud yelping howl as the dog sunk it's teeth into the werewolf's ankle, causing him to falter and fall as he turned to try and kick the dog off of him.

The dog barked and growled at the wolf, getting himself between him and Harry. Harry backed up a couple of steps and tripped, falling to his bottom.

The werewolf was back on his feet. The dog spun around, transforming, arms raised out, grabbing hold of Harry as the werewolf lunged again, it's sharp claw's slashing Sirius's back just before he apparated with a loud crack, taking Harry with him, the book remaining forgotten on the ground.

"Harry James Potter, what the bloody hell did you think you were doing!" Sirius shouted once they had reappeared in front hallway of the house.

"I…I…" Sirius grabbed hold of Harry and shook him.

"You could have been killed! Do you understand that? You could have been killed!" Sirius faltered, staring at Harry, anger and fear all over his face. The little boy burst into tears. Sirius grabbed hold of him, tugging him to his chest, holding him so very tightly. "I could have lost you. Dammit, Harry. God fucking bloody dammit."

"I'm s-s-soooorrry!" Harry whimpered, not really over the shock of first the werewolf trying to kill him and then Sirius being so very angry. He had never seen Sirius get this angry, had never had him shout at him like that before. He had only been trying to help the werewolf, but he must had done something really bad, in order for Sirius to shout and look so scared and mad all at the same time. And Padfoot was one of the most fearless people Harry knew.

"What's going on? Sirius?" Lexie appeared at the banister, looking down at them. "Merlin's pants, you're bleeding!" She ran down the stairs, clad only in her night shirt.

"Where the hell were you!" Sirius shouted, letting go of Harry and spinning around to face Lexie who jumped back in shock. "I ran into Harry wandering around in the middle of the night! He found us! Moony almost killed him! How in the bloodiest of hells do you explain that? You were supposed to be watching him!"

"Sirius, he was sound asleep… Normally I hear him if he gets up to go to the bathroom or get water, but I've just been so tired lately I must of…"

"Oh you've been tired. Yeah. Wonderful excuse as to why my kid was out wandering in the middle of the night and almost got murdered by a werewolf! I trusted you to keep him safe, Lexie! Is that too much too ask? Is it too hard to keep an eye on a four year old? No, but you were soooo tired you couldn't even manage that!"

"Sirius Black, don't you dare yell at me when you're the one who sleeps like the living dead most nights!" Lexie shouted right back, hands on her hips, chin set as she glared up at Sirius. "It's not like I dressed him and sent him out there!"

"Isn't it!"

"I care about him just as much as you do, so if you think for one minute that I would…"

"Argh…" But at that moment, Sirius fell to his knees, wincing.

"We need to get you to St. Mungo's. We can discuss this later… I could heal you here, but I'm afraid werewolf caused injuries take a specialist who has worked for years dealing with them." Lexie said, grabbing hold of Sirius's arm and tugging him to his feet. "C'mon Harry. Harry?"

Harry whimpered, his eyes full of tears. He had his hands clutched over his ears as though afraid they might start shouting again and Lexie reached a gentle hand out to him. "Harry, we need to take Sirius to the hospital right away. He's hurt."

Harry nodded and took her hand but had to let go again so she could better help Sirius over to the fireplace. She grabbed the pot of floo powder and ushered Harry forward. She held him with one arm to her side while keeping Sirius up with the other. He had gone very pale and the back of his shirt was drenched with blood now. Obviously the adrenaline that had kicked in to save Harry was wearing off quickly. She dropped the floo powder and shouted. "St. Mungo's!"

The fireplaces wooshed by. Harry shut his eyes, hating this way of traveling but knowing it was necessary to go very far in a short amount of time.

They came to a halt and stepped out of the fireplace into the lobby of the very white hospital. Lexie led Sirius and Harry into the waiting area. "Harry, you sit and stay." Harry nodded, not wanting to get into any more trouble and went to sit in the closest chair.

The room was pretty quiet due to it being fairly late at night, but there were still a few people here. The lady behind the desk shot up to help Lexie with Sirius. "He's been slashed by a werewolf, Morena. We need to get him to Garnes, before he bleeds to death."

The lady called Morena conjured up a stretcher. "We need some help over here!" She called and three more Healers came running. They got Sirius face down onto the stretcher and took him away, unconscious, behind a pair of double doors and down the hallway.

Lexie sighed, watching them go and turned around to look at Harry who was crying again and looking quite like he wanted to be anywhere else but here. She held her arms out to him and he shot forward into them, burying his face against her neck as she lifted him up and sat back down in the chair he had been occupying.

"Is paddy gonna be ok?" He sniffled, tearing his face away from Lexie's neck and staring up at her.

" Well, he's hurt pretty bad, Harry. Werewolves have really sharp claws and when they slash someone with them, the magic makes it hard to close up the slash. But Padfoot is being looked after by the very best doctor who has seen much worse, so he should be ok."

"Ok." Harry sniffled, resting his tired head against her shoulder.

"Harry? What were you doing out in the middle of the night chasing werewolves for?"

"I wanted to bring him a book. Because he always sounds sad. Books always make me feel better when I'm sad." Harry explained with a yawn, quite sleepy but still too shocked from his ordeal to actually fall asleep.

"Oh. Well, while that was very thoughtful of you, Harry, you really must never, ever go anywhere near a werewolf during the full moon, because it can't control what it does. Do you understand?"

"Yeah…" Harry nodded. "Lexie, why did Paddy call the werewolf 'Moony'?"

"Well, Harry, I guess we were going to tell you sooner or later. That werewolf was Moony."

"But… Moony is nice and he'd never hurt me or Paddy!" Harry stated in shock, his green eyes going wide behind his wire rimed glasses. "He can't be a werewolf!"

"That's why we call him Moony. He's been a werewolf since another werewolf bit him when he was a little boy."

"But… can't the Healers fix his bite?"

"No, Harry. Being a werewolf isn't like having a cold that you can take medicine for and get better. There's no medicine that would stop Moony from being a werewolf, but thankfully he only has to change once a month, on the full moon. And then he's tired for a few days."

"Does it hurt him?"

"Yes." Lexie nodded, knowing it was better to tell him the truth than to lie about it. If she lied, well… Harry would be studying werewolves in school when he was older and he would know she'd lied. He had a right to know the truth after what he'd been through tonight. "But Harry, the important thing to remember, is that even though Moony is a werewolf, it doesn't mean he loves you any less. It's not his fault he has a bit of a problem, he's still Moony. Your dad used to call it his 'furry little problem'. He and Sirius stay away from the house and the village to keep everyone safe when he has to turn into a wolf. When he's a wolf, he thinks like a wolf and wolves are always hunting and looking for food. But that's one night a month. For the rest of the time, he's just a person who loves you very, very much. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Harry nodded and relaxed a bit more in Lexie's lap. He was really tired now…

…...

It was dawn when Harry woke up, the noise of the waiting room having increased now that it was light out. Apparently a lot of mishaps with magic were possible to have when you were trying to cook breakfast. Lexie had gotten Harry out of his outdoor clothes, not wanting him to overheat in the warm waiting room. He was left in just his footed pajamas.

"Lexie? Harry?" Remus appeared, limping and looking absolutely exhausted, his hair a mess. His robes were torn and dirty and he looked about ready to keel over, but he kept his distance, not sure as to what Harry would do or what he had been told. He was sure though, by the look on Lexie's face, that Harry knew. He could feel it. "Harry, I am so sorry."

"Moony." Harry smiled and reached his arms out to him and Remus heaved a sigh of relief, picking him up and hugging him as he took a seat next to Lexie. "Lexie said it's not your fault you're a werewolf." A couple of people nearby moved several more seats down.

"Oh, Harry." Remus hugged him tightly, so glad he wasn't scared of him like most people were. Normally when people found out he was a werewolf they would avert their eyes and move a couple of feet back, as though afraid he might suddenly try to bite them or something. But he'd never do that. He was only dangerous during a full moon.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing…" A woman a couple of seats down stated. "And I think, for the comfort of the rest of us, you should probably go wait somewhere else."

"It's not his fault he has a furry little problem!" Harry glared at her, sliding down from Remus's lap, his hands on his hips. The woman looked taken aback. "You… you be quiet! Or I'm gonna bite chu, cause I'm a werewolf too!" Harry growled and gnashed his teeth. He raised his little hands up and started towards the lady.

"Harry!" Lexie laughed and scooped him up by the waist. "He's always a bit cranky after the full moon. Isn't that right my little wolf pup?" Harry laughed and gave a bark. The woman rose completely from her chair and hurried across to room to sit at a much safer distance.

"Owans?" A man in Healer robes came out of the double doors Sirius had disappeared through hours ago. He snorted, looking Lexie up and down, still just in her night shirt. "Nice outfit, Owans."

"How is he, Garnes?"

"Well, he's no longer bleeding and we've gotten him patched up. Due to it being werewolf related, the wounds won't ever properly go away, but they will heal and he'll have some nasty scarring and we had to reattach some of the muscular tissue to his spine, but other than that, he should be fine. He's awake and should be able to go home after we run a couple more tests. There was a bit of fur in one of the gashes, so we're going to test that as well and see which werewolf is responsible for the attack so that if Black wishes to press charges he can."

"No need." Remus rose from his seat, arm raised.

"Ah, Remus Lupin. I didn't think it was time for your bi-monthly check in. Was this your doing?"

"Unfortunately." Remus sighed sadly, taking Harry from Lexie and shifting him to his hip.

"Well, you all can go in and see him now if you want." Garnes opened the door, and Lexie led the way down the hallway, her feet bare. "Owans, do you want to borrow one of my robes or some patient booties?"

"I'm fine, Garnes. A little skin never hurt anyone." Lexie waved him off and they headed upstairs to the first floor where everyone with Creature-Induced Injuries was kept.

There was a special ward here for dangerous bites, but also one for attacks, which was were Sirius was located. He hadn't been bitten, only slashed. They entered the ward. It contained Sirius in a bed at the far end by the window and a couple of teenage kids who looked as though they had irritated a whole tree full of bow truckles.

"Heeeey, there's my boy." Sirius smiled, sitting up and reaching his arms out for Harry. Remus handed him over and Harry happily snuggled up to Sirius, glad he was alright.

"Paddy, I was so scared you was gonna die."

"Me? Die? Never." Sirius laughed and cuddled Harry close to his side. He winced a little bit but bent his head down to kiss the top of those unruly black locks.

"Padfoot… I am so sorry… I never…" Remus started but Sirius held up a hand, shaking his head.

"Moony, I know you aren't yourself when you're in wolf form. It's not your fault. However, Harry you are officially grounded for a week for leaving the house in the middle of the night. No toy broomstick, no Burrow, and no rainbow colored baths."

"Yes Paddy." Harry nodded. He knew he had been wrong in what he'd done for certain now. Padfoot only punished him when he'd really done something bad. Normally it was just a time out thought. Not being able to play with his broomstick for a whole week? Boy, was he in trouble! "How come you didn't tell me Moony was the werewolf?"

"Well, I didn't want you to be scared. Werewolves aren't exactly thought of as being very nice creatures like fairies are." Sirius explained, letting out a groan as he shifted slightly on the bed.

"Oh." Harry nodded. He had been very scared when Moony had been a werewolf and had tried to eat him, but he wasn't a wolf anymore, he was human and Harry wasn't scared now. It wasn't Moony's fault at all. "I dun like it when you're scary, Moony."

"I know, Harry." Remus smiled and lifted him up off the bed to give Sirius a bit more space to sink into. "I don't like being a werewolf at all, but there's nothing that can be done to help it, so we're just going to have to do our best to deal with it, ok?"

"Okay!" Harry smiled and hugged Remus about the neck, kissing his cheek. He loved his Moony very much. "Hey, Moony?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Can you just not try to eat me again?"

"So long a you stay in the house at night unless one of us grown ups says otherwise, then yeah, I think I can promise that I won't try to eat you again."

"Ok, good." Harry nodded and hugged him again before wriggling to get down. "Can we go home now?"

"Soon. Padfoot needs to stay for a bit longer."

"Awwwww…."

…...

Several hours later Sirius was released from the hospital under strict instructions that he was to remain in bed unless absolutely necessary. They didn't normally release werewolf slash victims so soon, but since he would be under Lexie's watchful eye, Garnes had okayed it. He had to take three separate, disgusting potions every morning and night and have a special balm rubbed over his wounds every six hours.

"This is ruddy ridiculous. All because I got a little scratched up." Sirius groaned as he was transported from a stretcher to his bed.

"Sirius, they had to reattach some of your muscular tissue. It's not just a little scratch. Damn, Remus. You have some sharp claws." Lexie stated, giving Sirius a pat on the cheek and placing a bowl of soup in front of him on a tray.

"I know. I've seen what they can do." Remus nodded, looking down at his hands as though expecting his fingernails to have elongated and gone all pointy. "Believe me, I know it's not pretty… Sirius, I'm still really sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yeah. Stop apologizing. I think this is around the eleventh time you've said you're sorry. Don't worry so much, I'll be fine." Sirius smiled and sipped at his soup, wincing as he leaned forward over the bowl. "Argh…"

"I'll help!" Harry hopped up onto the bed and took the spoon from him. He dipped it into the soup, blew on it rather hard (most of the soup went from the spoon back into the bowl) and then brought it to Sirius's mouth.

"Thank you, Prongslet. You're such a good helper." Sirius smiled and stroked his hair back from his eyes. It was getting quite long and could probably use a trim soon so that Harry could see past his fringe.

"I'm just so sorry." Remus said again and Sirius grabbed up a pillow and chucked it at him.

"One more time, and I swear, Moony, it won't matter if I'm injured, I will get out of this bed and noogie you so hard you won't feel bad about it anymore."

"Right." Remus forced a smile and left the room. He started up the stairs, Lexie trailing after him to make sure he was ok. He still looked pretty put out.

"Remus? Where are you going?"

"To pack my things. I can't live here anymore. It's just not safe. Not for Harry, not for Sirius, not for you when you're here. I'm a monster and I should live by myself, away from people so I don't do anymore damage." Remus stated, tugging open the hall closet to look for the boxes he had used to move here in the first place. Hmm, maybe he could just use an extension charm on one of his bags and put everything in it…

"Remus Lupin, don't you dare ever think like that." Lexie shooked her head, glaring at him. "There hasn't been a single problem up until now. Harry knows it's not safe for him to go out at night now. And Sirius doesn't care that he's hurt. We'd all be really sad if you left, especially now."

Remus blinked, turning to look at her and she bit her lip. "What d;you mean… 'especially now'?"

"I…" Lexie sighed and leaned forward, whispering in his ear. When she pulled back, his eyes were wide and he shook his head as though trying to clear it for a moment before he burst out grinning.

"You're kidding. There's no way that…"

"No, I'm serious." Lexie shook her head, her face set. "Honest."

"Merlin's pants!" Remus shouted, and he hugged her, dancing about in a circle for a moment before he stopped, looking more grim than he had before. "I really need to leave."

"No… please… I haven't… I haven't had to chance to tell Sirius yet and I really need your support right now. I don't know what he'll think." Lexie bit her lip again, eying the door at the end of the hallway apprehensively.

"Well, then, let's go tell him." Moony grabbed her hand and led her down the hallway, but she paused, halfway there.

"I can't... I just… I only think, I'm not for certain if… I was wondering if maybe you'd help me? I can check at my office."

"'course I will." Remus smiled happily and hugged her again. "But don't you think we should tell Sirius?"

"What if he doesn't… I mean, he already has Harry. And he hasn't been out of Azkaban for very long… I'm sure he just wants a regular life right now. "

"Lexie, trust me. Sirius is going to be thrilled." Remus laughed and headed over to the door, peering in. "Hey, I've got to head out for a bit and Lexie's got some stuff she'[s got to do. D'you think you guys will be alright for a little while?"

"I'm Dr. Potter." Harry grinned, spooning more soup into Sirius's mouth.

"We'll be good, mate. I'm well looked after." Sirius smiled and Remus nodded, heading back out into the hallway.

"Alright, well, Dr. Potter has Sirius in good hands. So let's go do what we've gotta do."

Booyah, another one! Some of you have been wanting more conflict, so this came to mind. I hope you like it, it's particularly one of my more favorite chapters already. The ending is a bit choppy because I didn't want to give away the surprise, however, you've probably already guessed correctly as to what's going on. Anyway, I hope you liked it! Lemme know what you thought, and as always,

Love you!

S.Q.O.