Chapter 27: Full moon ritual
"I'm not sure what's changed," James told his friends as they sat together in Remus's cottage in the woods, waiting for the moon to rise.
Over the years, their full moon ritual had altered but little – even when the invention of Wolfsbane had made Remus's transformation that little bit less unbearable.
Before nightfall they would gather, strengthen the wards around Remus's property and sit together, month after month, year after year. And despite work and family responsibilities, James had only missed a dozen moonrises since the war.
Sure, Sirius and James now had to drink coffee strong enough to wake the dead instead of beers to make it through the night. (Remus, of course, drank hot chocolate, as he always had before the full moon.) Sure, they spent the follow day or two (or three) stiff and sore. But it was their night – and it was worth every minute of pain that followed.
"Hmm," Remus said, presumably in an encouragement for James to carry on his observations about Harry.
"It's like looking at a different boy altogether," James continued. "It's a bit like he's come to a decision – or a realisation, I'm not sure…"
He really did not know what to think. Had it been the revelation of the parental spell? The change in Anna and Vi's attitude? His conversation with Sam? Probably a mix of everything.
James looked up and caught the tail-end of the look that Sirius was exchanging with Remus.
"What?" James asked.
"Nothing," Sirius said, but his tone made James raise his eyebrows. Sirius sighed. "Fine, you know what already…"
"Do I?"
"Yes, you do. I still have some – ah, how did you phrase it again Moony? Oh yeah, 'reservations' about Harry. But," Sirius carried on loudly over James's scoff, "hearing some of his stories the other night… and all the stuff he wouldn't tell us… it made me sort of understand what you meant about him being trustworthy. There, that's what."
Sirius leaned back against the sofa, his arms crossed over his chest in a petulant gesture.
"I… Thank you," James said, his voice suddenly scratchy – and to his surprise, he found himself blinking away tears. With Sirius's words, it felt like the last piece of the jigsaw was falling into place. James hadn't quite realised how much it would mean, to have his friends on board again.
Sirius cleared his throat and carried on, and James could tell from his tone that he was trying hard to lighten the mood. "I mean, if even just half of what he told us so far is true, someone should really write a book about it. I bet it would fly off the shelves."
"Considering a career change, are you Padfoot?" Remus enquired, lifting his eyes from his beloved mug to spare his friend an amused glance.
"Ha! That would be the day! Don't you remember his essays, Remus?" James was glad to notice that his voice was steady again.
"Hey!"
"What was it that Slughorn used to say again? 'The ideas are there, but their expression leaves somewhat to be desired.'"
"I personally always preferred McGonagall's 'The style of Mr Black's essays would put the Mills & Boon collection to shame. Might I suggest limiting the use of adjectives to one or two a sentence?'"
"Which really begs the question of how Minnie knew enough about Mills & Boon to make that comparison in the first place," Sirius cut in.
"Those dark and stormy Hogwarts nights must get pretty lonely I suppose…" James said.
"You do know she was happily married for the better part of forty years, right?" Remus pointed out mildly.
"So you keep telling us…" Sirius rolled his eyes. "Fine – maybe she was a secret contributor then?"
"Professor by day, romance writer by night…" James mused, and Sirius snickered like a teenager.
Remus sighed. "I don't know why I bother… By my count, this is the twenty-fifth time we're having this exact same conversation."
"Yep," Sirius said happily. "One for each year since Minnie made the comment in the first place."
"Except for 1977, where we discussed the subject on three separate occasions," James said.
"Ah yes, that was a good year."
Remus sighed again – but James could see that he was trying to conceal a smile.
"And on that happy note," Remus said, standing and stretching painfully. "It's time gentlemen."
The three friends looked at each other, serious once more. Even after so many years, Remus preferred to transform alone. Even after so many years, James felt a mix of relief and distress at the thought…
When it was just James and Sirius left in the cottage, they no longer talked. Instead, they watched the clock and waited, waited, waited until at last a howl told them that the wolf was ready for them to join him.
A/N: Happy weekend everyone. Just a short chapter this time!