The next few weeks brought with it several awkward meeting with Headmaster Dumbledore. These meetings involved lots of planning and preparing for the next full moon. There were a lot of little details that needed to be worked out. This included coming up with explanations for Harry's disappearance for the night and where he was actually going to go for the first full moon.
Because they weren't 100 percent that Harry was going to turn, they didn't want to risk locking him in with Remus in case he didn't turn. But of course, this meant they had to come up with an alternative location for him to go. This was complicated because of how hard it was to find a somewhere for someone to safely shift into a werewolf without going too far away from the castle.
"Trust me, the morning after, you will be thankful we kept you close to the school," Dumbledore said to Harry in a knowing tone. Apparently, the werewolf transformation was quite draining and Dumbledore was trying to spare Harry from having to travel too far after going through such a painful night.
On January ninth, Eileen sent some treats and gifts for Severus' birthday. Severus had been quite impressed with the new cauldron and both boys found the cauldron cakes inside to be hilarious.
Eileen had been informed of Harry's possible infliction and had replied almost immediately with a letter voicing concern for his well-being and what was going to be done to ensure his safety. It was the first time someone had expressed concern for how Harry was feeling and if he was safe and it made him feel happy to know someone cared enough to bother. If the Dursleys had have replied to such letter, it would be to tell Harry not to come home at all. Eileen had gone as far as to say that if a reply wasn't sent out within the next couple days, her next letter would be a howler.
Though he was unsure what a howler was, Harry could tell Dumbledore didn't want to receive one because of how fast he came up with a reply for her. It was odd to see Dumbledore appear nervous but Eileen was a force of nature when she wanted to be. Severus told him a few days later that Dumbledore was a little bit scared of the woman.
Between meetings with Dumbledore and doing his homework, Harry also spent time researching werewolves; he learned a lot about their nature and what he could come to expect within the next few months. The first few months as a werewolf brought on a lot of intense changes to the body. It would change the way his body processed food, his senses, and even his temperament during certain times of the lunar cycle. He could expect mood swings, changes in his sense of smell and sudden bursts of energy usually followed by crashes.
If that wasn't intimidating enough, it was obvious that the actual transformation would be painful; not that he hadn't figured that out for himself. Harry had trouble believing that the transformation from human to wolf would tickle but to see words like 'bones breaking' and 'screams of agony' did not bring a comforting feeling to Harry's mind. It was moments like this.
"How are you doing?" Remus asked, approaching Harry's table in the library quietly. He had just taken a brief break from his werewolf studies and was staring at a book about different elves when Remus came over. Harry had actually learned a lot about werewolves and how they functioned in society, the burdens placed on them and the difference between them and normal wizards. It was intriguing and terrifying at the same time.
"I'll survive," Harry said honestly, meeting Remus' eyes.
Harry hadn't given himself a lot of time to think about what was going to happen because he didn't think he could handle thinking about the changes in relation to himself. He was still going under the pretense that they weren't '100 percent' sure yet and it was that distinction that let him sleep at night.
"They found a place for you to go tomorrow. The owner of the Leaky Cauldron had a friend who's a werewolf and the basement is set up to accommodate a werewolf. Becuase I've been tutoring the owner's son, I was able to get the room for you. I spoke to Dumbledore and he's fine with it," Remus said, giving him an assuring smile. Harry struggled to return the smile, nervous butterflies had taken over his stomach; he hadn't realised the full moon was so close.
Harry struggled to return the smile, nervous butterflies had taken over his stomach; he hadn't realised the full moon was so close. He'd thrown himself into his studies and everything else he could to keep his mind occupied and he lost track of time completely. He mentally smacked himself on the head for not keeping better track of the days. If he actually was a werewolf, mistakes like this could have terrible results.
"It helps if you take a hot shower beforehand; it relaxes the muscles and mind. It might help with the pain a little bit but most of the pain is bone-deep," Remus offered suddenly bringing Harry out of his thoughts.
"Hot shower; got it," he repeated, taking a mental note to take a hot shower around supper time tomorrow.
"Try not to panic and whatever you do; do not fight the change. It only makes it hurt more if you fight it. Just try to relax and let your body do what it's going to do," Remus said seriously. It was obvious he was speaking from experience and Harry was beyond thankful to receive such helpful advice.
"Will people notice we're missing?"
"Nah, if you tell them that you're not feeling well and are going to bed early, people think nothing of it. But, you'll come up with different excuses each time just to keep people from catching on that something is off."
After a few more hours speaking to Remus, Harry felt a little more relaxed about the next day. After all, he'd survived worse than this when he was a baby; it was going to take more than a werewolf bite to kill him.
Morning came much too quickly and despite the fear bubbling in Harry's stomach, he was hungry and restless. He wasn't certain what would happen if he actually ate because his stomach felt like an odd combination of nauseated and hungry. Unsure how the two managed to combine themselves, he ate a few pieces of dry toast and sipped some warm ginger tea.
Severus didn't bother trying to mask his concern as he watched the younger boy tensely pick at his food. It was obvious he was nervous; his pale, sweaty complexion gave him away but Severus knew there'd be nothing he could say or do to help besides simply being there.
When breakfast was over, Harry went the Slytherin common room and worked on homework until a few hours after lunch.
Finally deciding it was time to start getting ready, Harry made his way into the bathroom to shower. Upon catching a glimpse in the mirror it became clear that he was going to have no difficulty faking sick. His face was pale and clammy, and his eyes looked glossy.
But it probably had something to do with the fact that he had hardly slept that night and was exhausted. It didn't help that the one time he was about to fall asleep his roommate chose that moment to loudly get sick; of course, this would also make it easier for everyone to believe that he wasn't feeling well that evening. Both boys had decided to skip supper; Harry was too nervous to eat and Severus simply wanted to keep Harry company.
After showering and packing a change of clothes, Harry let Severus walk him down to Dumbledore's office where he'd be flooing to the Leaky Cauldron. It was nice having someone to keep his mind from drifting towards the dark and scary parts of his brain.
"Are you ready, Harry?" Dumbledore said, nodding in Severus' direction. The younger boy nodded and silently followed Dumbledore into the fireplace with a grim look on his face.
Unsure what to do for the rest of the night, Severus made his way to the library to study. Not only was he caught up on his homework but he was far ahead; not that he'd really be able to focus on work while he was so worried about his friend and what was happening to him. If Harry turned, he was going to be in pain and there'd be nothing anyone could do to make it better.
"Sev!"
Turning around, Severus found Lily smiling happily in his direction. He felt a large smile taking over his face; it didn't matter what was happening, being around Lily just seemed to make everything better and more cheerful.
"Lily! What are you doing this way?"
"The library is this way; where's Harry?" Lily asked, noticing that Harry wasn't anywhere in sight. Severus felt his worries for his friend returning; was Harry okay.
"He's not feeling well; he ate something that didn't agree with him."
Severus felt bad for lying to Lily but for now until they knew anything for sure, they had agreed to tell only those who absolutely needed to know.
"Oh no, I hope he hasn't caught the bug that has been going around lately. Stomach flues are tricky to deal with," Lily said, her face filled with concern for the younger boy.
"He'll be fine, I'm sure. He's in bed resting; the elves brought him some soup and crackers to eat and the last I saw, he was asleep." His attempts to comfort Lily seemed to work but he found himself wishing that his words were true. A simple upset stomach would be much easier to manage than what Harry was actually going through. Heck, projectile vomiting from one end of the common room to the other would probably be easier than what he was going through right now.
"Do you want to study for Slughorn's test on Monday?" Lily asked, watching Severus' expression with her wide green eyes. His face flushed bright red as they always did when Lily looked at him like this. She could have asked him if he wanted to run across the Great Hall in nothing but his underwear and he'd agree without hesitation. She had such power over him but he couldn't bring himself to even try to fight it.
"Sure, how did your potion from his last class turn out. My whistling jelly turned out fine, except it came out more potent than I had originally planned. It would probably keep someone whistling for and hour and a half instead of an hour like it was supposed to," he said with a shrug, unsure whether that was a good thing or not. Yes, he completed the assignment and made the potion better than instructed but it wasn't what the teacher had asked for. Slughorn wouldn't have had a problem with it but he wondered if any other potions master would have taken points of not.
"Hey, most of the class got the potion wrong completely. At least yours didn't blow up, melt your cauldron or send any students to the Hospital Wing."
"This is true," Severus agreed, laughing as he wondered how these things still managed to happen every class, despite the fact that they had been taking the class for a year and a half. It made him appreciate the fact that there was only a few years until NEWT level potions started and soon only those who were serious about potions would be in the class.
It wasn't until a few hours later when Severus was getting ready for bed, that he allowed himself to worry about Harry. It was obvious what had happened; if Harry hadn't turned into a werewolf, he would have been back at the school by now.
I will not be going into full detail about Harry's transformation because those details aren't really important to the story just yet. For now, it will just be a few minor details here and there. Of course, the plot will start to thicken now that things are in motion.