The Wolf's Tail

by myheadsgonenumb

A Marauders Era long fic. 4 boys grow up in a Golden Age of fun, feasts and friendship. These are their glory days; white Christmases and hazy summers, stretching ahead of them for an eternity, and them the kings of their own magical castle. But outside their walls, their little world is growing more dangerous. Dark wizards are on the move- and, year by year, war creeps ever closer

88. Jaws of Defeat

Chapter Eleven: Jaws of Defeat

Panic has set into our magical community as not one but two wizarding families have been found dead on the same day.

The boys read, once they had escaped the celebratory atmosphere of the common room and gone to hide up in their dorm.

Although we have seen entire muggle settlements flattered by giants, so far during The Current Emergency Situation, and although The Night of the Glass Shards, not to mention the attack on The Leaky Cauldron a couple of months ago, has shown us something of the scale of violence the Death Eaters are capable of, this has been the first attack which has targeted two separate families, each in their own homes, during the same day.

Kitty Rowntree, 42, her husband, Xerxes, and their children: Matilda and Horatio were found dead under the Dark Lord's Mark in their Essex home early this morning. Less than an hour later Dilys and Desmond Dorking, both 82, were found by their muggle neighbours - lying side by side on their kitchen floor. The Rowntrees and the Dorkings lived not half a mile down the road from each other and twin Dark Marks were seen in the sky over South-End on Sea - a sight none of us imagined was possible.

The Obliviators had been out in force for much of the afternoon, removing the memories of an entire muggle town, so none remember what they saw shining above their rooftops but, though the Ministry has swung into action to contain the situation, there are growing fears among the magical community that this is not enough. As the number of disappearances and deaths continue to increase, a real sense of alarm is rising and we are perhaps no more than a wand's width away from hysteria.

'Well of course there will be hysteria if you report that, you stupid woman,' says Minister for Magic, Harold Minchum. 'If you tell everyone the time to panic is now, they will do it - but I tell them the situation is under control and that as long as they take basic safety precautions they have nothing to fear.'

When asked if he was accusing the Rowntrees and the Dorkings of failing to take basic safety precautions, in these troubled times, the Minister had nothing to say.

…

By breakfast time, the news had circulated around the castle and - although the Hall was full to bursting - it was unusually quiet that morning. Students glanced up as the post owls arrived and circled above them, watching to see if there was a letter from home - some reassurance - headed their way. Others waited for newspapers, which they caught as the post owls dropped them, snatching them up to read the front page and see if there had been any more developments.

Even Chester Chadwick was unusually quiet that morning (much to Sirius's relief), and wore a downcast expression on his handsome face. 'I knew you guys had some kind of war on but… boy, I didn't think we'd hear about it here at school, you know?'

'It's been this way for years,' Remus told him. 'A lot of people here have lost family.' He lowered his voice and nodded down to the table to where Petra was sitting. 'Petra's uncle was one of the first to disappear, back when we were first years and didn't know what was happening. He still hasn't been found. My grandparents - they were muggles - they were killed in the first giant massacre…'

'Oh my gosh!'

Remus shrugged. 'That's war. People die. And you can't hide from it.'

James leaned across the table, a dark look on his face. 'And then over on the Slytherin table you have the gits whose parents are committing all these murders. Stuff like this happens,' he indicated the front page of Sirius's newspaper, 'and then we're expected to go to Charms class with them, right after hearing about it.'

Chadwick peered over his shoulder at the Slytherins. They shared their table with Durmstrang, Koldovstoretz and Vimoksha and - while the foreign students looked very subdued and some of the less loathsome Slytherins, like Evander Upwin and Giles Pryce looked suitably upset - there was no escaping the fact that a fair few of the Slytherins, Reg and Snape among them, seemed more excited than scared by what they had read in the paper.

'Gits,' Sirius said moodily, digging his spoon into his porridge rather savagely.

'I'm not sure what the adults were thinking,' Chester said, starting to frown, 'bringing us all over here while this was going on…'

As if to answer his question, up at the teacher's table Dumbledore suddenly rose to his feet and looked around at them. The Hall fell silent, and he gave them a small, rather sad smile.

'I am afraid once again we find ourselves starting out our morning to the news of fresh death and disaster, and a grim reminder that the war is never far away. To our foreign guests, this must seem very frightening - strange and surreal, a most unwelcome new experience. I cannot tell you how much it breaks my heart that, for my own Hogwarts students, this is an occurrence we are becoming used to. I pray we never become inured to it.

'For some of our visitors, this will be a time when you wonder why it is you have come here - I fear some of you may have come to regret the decision to leave the safety of your own home, to cast yourselves straight into the danger of ours. But to you I say, that on a morning like this, your being here is more important than ever .

'Our home was safe once, as yours still is, and there was a time when the children in my care did not know death as their constant companion. What we have seen over these past few years is how quickly that stability can be taken away from all of us. But still we do not despair! For there are greater things in this world than fear and hate, and one power and one power alone which is greater than death. There is friendship and joy and - above all else - there is love.

'You may be wondering why you have been brought here in a time of war. This morning I am here to tell you you are here because of the war, not in spite of it. Mr. Scrabble, who has worked so hard to organise this tournament for us and bring us all together, has done so because he understands the importance of making friendships and forging alliances that cross language boundaries and national borders. He understands that we are stronger if we stand together, we are stronger when we learn that - though we may live in different lands and speak in different tongues - our goals can be the same, we can work as one.

'I have asked your schools to send you here - now, at this time, in this war - to spread the message far and wide, and to every corner of the world, that with friendship - and, above all else, love - we can beat back the rising dark.

'What happened yesterday is a reminder of what we must all fight against. Seeing you all sitting here together, in your different uniforms, at your different house tables - many schools but one community - you are a reminder of what we are fighting for . For the meantime, you all have my assurances that you are safe as long as you are within this castle. We grieve for the families who died yesterday, as we grieve for every death in this war and every family touched by it, but we will endure. So - to you all - enjoy your Saturday, continue to enjoy this tournament, and if you ever find yourself wondering why you are here, remember it is so that events like yesterday need never happen again.'

He sat back down, and a buzz of conversation broke out across the Hall. 'Boy - that was some speech,' Chadwick said.

'He does them a lot,' Remus shrugged. 'He's big on the concept of love.'

'Can't say I disagree with him there, Remy,' and Chadwick actually winked at Remus… who spilled his tea and did not know what to think.

Sirius, who had a face like thunder, slapped Pete around the back of the head.

'Ow! What was that for ?'

'Nothing… I'll tell you when you're older.'

'Nutter.'

…

'We have studied the theory of many major curses, their applications, their effects and the sanctions which can be earned by their use,' Professor Carnarvon said to the OWL class that Monday, after lunch. 'But the time has now come for us to move away from theory and do some practical work. I want you to get into pairs.'

There was a general shuffle around. James tried to catch Lily's eye but settled for Sirius, when she ignored him in order to work with Petra; Remus and Peter teamed up (Remus heartily hoping that they would not be called upon to use the freezing charm, as Pete's wand did tend to explode every time he tried that one) and the Ravenclaws sorted themselves out between themselves, as well.

Once they were grouped, Carnarvon walked around the room placing a small snuff box on the table in front of each pair. 'I am setting you a project,' she told them. 'Behold the snuff box you see before you - do not open it, Stebbins, if you value your life! - (Stebbins guiltily retracted his fingers). 'Inside each of these boxes is a curse, which will detonate upon your opening it… I am sure you are all quite anxious to avoid the consequences of that. Your project then, which you will have three months to complete, is to identify the curse you have been given and find a way to break it, thus enabling you to open the box safely. You may start.'

She sat back down behind her desk, opened up an ancient spell book of her own and began to read silently. Everyone stared at her. A couple of people began to whisper to their partners. Mandy reached out to pick up her snuff box, but Mary slapped her hand back. No one did very much at all.

Eventually, Professor Carnarvon looked up, saw them all sitting there, blinking in stupefaction, and sighed. 'We made notes a few weeks ago about how Dark Magic always leaves traces,' she said to them - as if she was explaining something very simple to someone very stupid - 'I suggest you look over those to help you begin the process of identifying your curse.'

There was an outbreak of murmuring, the sound of stools being scraped back, parchment shuffling as notes were retrieved from bags, and then everyone settled down to business. Silence reigned until the end of the lesson, when Carnarvon told them they could take the snuff boxes with them, but under no circumstances must they leave them lying around or try to open them themselves.

'It's all very well and good her telling us this,' Sirius muttered darkly, as they made their way to lunch. 'But once she's given a cursed snuff box to Mulciber, there's no telling what foul thing he'll do with it.'

…

That evening, James had Quidditch practice. Hogwarts' first match was now only two days away and an atmosphere of barely contained hysterical excitement seemed to weigh heavy in the air and crackle in the corridors. Although the weekend had been overshadowed by the deaths at South-End, as the week began, talk began to turn exclusively to Quidditch once more, and Quidditch fever was running rampant through the castle.

For all James was at the epicentre of it, and having to spend almost every spare moment out on the pitch running drills and practising penalties, there was something else that was causing the boys a mixture of panic, heart palpitations and glee.

The November full moon was the night before the Quidditch match, Remus was already feeling the aches and pains and worrying he would be in no fit state to watch the game, but the real anxiety and excitement was caused by the fact that this full moon would be the first since the other boys had become animagi. It would be the first moon they spent together… Three years of hard work, and secrets kept, multiple setbacks and the risk of being stuck with a head of a naked mole rat for all eternity … and it all boiled down to this. Peter trembled, Sirius fidgeted, James used Quidditch to burn off his nerves.. And Remus just quietly hoped they did not all get caught, expelled and chucked in Azkaban.

When James returned to the dorm after Quidditch practice that Monday, soaking wet, covered in mud, and cursing Reg for the useless git he was, he found the other three going over plans, logistics and pressure points for the following night.

Remus - who by this point was feeling really quite dreadful - was lying on his bed, not contributing very much to the discussion, but Sirius and Peter were sitting on James's bed and poring over what appeared to be a hastily drawn map of the grounds.

When James had returned from the shower and kicked them off his bed so he could get into his pajamas, he asked them what they were looking at.

'Here,' Sirius held the scrap of parchment up, 'Pete has drawn this.' Rough as it was, the walls of the castle, the lake, the forest and the Whomping Willow were all clearly marked and the distances were to scale. 'It will be dark, when we head out tomorrow - and probably raining which will reduce visibility. But with a git like Snape in the castle, we can't run the risk of being seen out in the grounds.'

'So we use my invisibility cloak,' James said, shrugging on his dressing gown and then settling down beside the other two, who had relocated to Pete's bed.

'Right… but if we leave the tower under the invisibility cloak, people might notice the portrait opening up by itself. This isn't just us sneaking out to the kitchens or off to Hogsmeade - this is us breaking Dumbledore's most carefully laid down rule for all our safety, and the law to boot.'

From over on his own bed, Remus gave a moan. 'We're all going to Azkaban!'

Sirius shook his head. 'No one's going to Akaban. But we have to make sure no one suspects a thing.'

'So were thinking a late tea,' Pete told James, who blinked at him and said:

'Come again - what's that got to do with anything?'

'Well for one,' a scowl passed across Sirius's face, 'we can't afford "Remy's" fancy man wondering what he's up to.'

(As it was almost the full moon, Remus already felt like his bones were on fire but - at Sirius's words - everything else flushed with mortified heat. 'I don't know what you're talking about,' he protested feebly, but no one listened.)

'Which is why we're going for a late tea,' Peter said. 'Let everyone - including Chadwick…'

(Remus went so hot he thought he might be about to burst into flames)

'... finish eating before we head down.'

'Sniv's a worry,' Sirius added. 'Because when he sees us come in late, he'll know something's up… I think we have to allow for the fact that we might just have to hex him and stash him in a broom cupboard if it comes to it.'

'But we can't do anything too awful to him - because then Slughorn or Bg Macca will come looking for us and…'

'We'll be with Moony,' Sirius finished Pete's sentence. They all considered getting caught for a moment - and then shuddered.

'So… we take the cloak down to tea, which we're eating late, Hall nice and empty, and then we'll walk Remus up to the Hospital Wing,' Peter told James. 'Check for Sniv - hex as necessary - and then duck under the cloak and wait for Remus to leave again.'

'This means we don't have to come back out of the tower and no one will notice us leave. If anyone ever asks where we were… we'll say we stayed late at the library, or went to the kitchens or something.'

'So then we leave the castle under the cloak and we're fine, right?' James asked.

But Peter and Sirius shook their heads. 'Look at the map,' Peter told him. 'Now, like we said, it will be dark and visibility will be poor - but you can see the Whomping Willow from any castle window which faces that way.'

'Meaning?' James furrowed his brow.

'Meaning someone could potentially spot us trying to freeze the willow. That will be too hard for us to do all crammed under the cloak… and anyway, they might notice a floating stick, if someone invisible is holding it. Hagrid might come out of his hut, there might be some poor tosser serving detention in the forest - it's a moment where we run a big risk of getting caught. '

'So… what do we do?' James asked.

James and Sirius looked stumped. Remus moaned feebly again. Peter shuffled rather awkwardly on the bed.

'Do you have worms, Pete?' Sirius asked him after a moment, casting him an irritated glance.

Peter flushed. 'No… Oh alright, I'll tell you… I can press the knot and freeze the willow so that no one at the castle, or Hagrid, or anyone can possibly know what we're doing.'

'How?' James and Sirius asked in unison. (Remus moaned feebly again.)

Blushing bright red, twisting his hands together and looking anywhere but Sirius, Peter said, 'well - er - well, my animagus form is only very small, you see.'

'You are a naked mole rat!'

Peter cringed. 'Not a naked one,' he said. 'But …I-I am a rat, yeah.'

'Let's see!' Both James and Sirius looked eager, even Remus lifted his head from his pillow to peer blearily at the goings on.

Peter shuffled. 'Do I have to?'

'Yes!'

'Oh - oh well…' and with a sudden pop Peter vanished and a large, brown rat - with little pink ears and paws and a long, bald tail - was left sitting where once Pete had sat. The rat squeaked.

'Ha!' James cried.

'He can do it!' Sirius said, incredulously. 'You know, I just assumed he was lying…'

The rat squeaked once more, this time indignantly. And then there was another pop, and Peter had returned. 'There,' he said - still blushing and trying to hide the fact. 'So I can transform, slip out from under the cloak and press the knot without the tree realising I'm there, or anyone at the castle spotting me.'

'Brilliant… but, James, mate, will there be room for your antlers in the tunnel?'

James only waved a rather blasé hand, however. 'It will all be fine - and once we're in the tunnel, we just have to…'

'You just have to survive a night with a werewolf,' Remus groaned from his sickbed.

Sirius looked over at him and grinned, 'Oh come on, Moony, it won't be that bad. Your howling can't be any worse than your snoring!'

'I should take five points from Gryffindor for that.'

…

The next evening, the first part of their plan went off without a hitch. James stuffed his invisibility cloak in his pocket before they left the dorm, which they did rather later than usual. As they headed down the marble staircase, they saw Chester Chadwick and Bertram Aubrey leaving the Hall and making their way outside to the Quidditch village. (Sirius scowled as he noted that Chadwick seemed disappointed, as he left the castle, as if he had hoped to catch up with someone at tea and had been denied the chance.)

Once the two Americans were out of the way, they dashed down the rest of the stairs and took a place at the end of the Gryffindor table, trying to keep out of the eyeline of Snivellus Snape.

Of course that was too much to ask for and Snape spent the whole of pudding casting them suspicious looks over his peach cobbler. Luck was on their side, however, rather surprisingly in the form of Mulciber and Avery. Now released from their solitary confinement and allowed to attend classes and meals, Severus was not as alone during the days as much as he had been, and this evening he was eating with them. When the pair of them got up to leave for the Slytherin common room, Snape cast one final agonised look at the Gryffindors, as if wishing he was still free to snoop and spy after them, and then followed his friends back down to the dungeon.

The four boys were not so green as to not keep a wary eye out for him on the way to the Hospital Wing, however, but they saw no sign of him. Perhaps, after his near death experience of last month, he was no longer quite so keen to follow Remus around on a full moon. Much like he had, though, Sirius, James and Peter lurked behind the statue of Aelfgytha the Unimpressed while Moony went into the infirmary and spoke with Madam Pomfrey.

Once Remus and the Matron had left and started making their way out of the castle, James threw the invisibility cloak over the three of them and - quietly and cautiously so they did not give themselves away by making a sound - they crept their way down to the entrance hall.

It seemed like forever before Madam Pomfrey returned to school alone, but - once she was back inside and vanished up the marble staircase - the boys checked the coast was clear, eased open the front doors, slipped outside and then - still beneath the cloak - began to hurry their way towards the Whomping Willow.

The full moon seemed to rise in the sky as they ran, and they knew - alone in the shack - Remus would be suffering through his transformation. 'We need to get there quickly,' Sirius hissed. They pulled up just short of where the branches of the Whomping Willow could reach them. It creaked ominously though, as if it could already sense their presence. 'Alright then, Pete, go on.'

Peter vanished from beside the pair of them; there was a rustle in the grass and a worm-like tail whipping through it, and then the willow ceased to creak and groan. It stood there, frozen, its boughs not even swaying in the breeze.

'Right, this is it,' Sirius said, and he seized James by the sleeve and tugged him towards the opening in the roots. He slid down the hole, landing with a bump in the tunnel beneath, and only just had time to scrabble out of the way before James landed beside him. Then a rat came hurtling through the air, squeaking in fright, only to transform back into Peter - with a loud pop - just before it smashed to earth. Peter landed rather heavily on his backside and groaned.

'Right, we're not going to need the cloak down here, men,' James said, digging into his pocket to bring out his wand and shoving the cloak in instead. 'Wands lit - and watch out for the dead end. That's what gave me the black eyes last month.'

They each muttered 'Lumos' . The sparks of light cast eerie shadows on the walls, and only illuminated the path a few feet ahead of them. Somehow this seemed to make the darkness beyond seem even darker than it had before. In the distance, they heard Remus howl.

'We need to hurry,' Sirius whispered, picking up the pace. The ground was uneven and they stumbled and tripped their way along, twisting and turning (and Sirius growing ever more impatient) until all of sudden (and before Pete was ready to be there) the dead end of the tunnel loomed up in front of them, telling them they had reached their goal.

They looked upwards at the trapdoor, which was currently the only thing standing between them and their getting ripped apart by their best friend.

'James, mate - there's no way you can get through that with your antlers,' Sirius said, keeping his voice low in the hope Moony would not hear him and become enraged.

'So what do I do?'

Sirius stared upwards for a moment - thinking fast. 'I'll go first, as a dog. I'll keep Moony out of the way. Pete, you transform and get into James' pocket, that way you're safe. James - you'll have to climb up as you are and transform the moment you get into the shack. I'll - I'll bark three times when the coast is clear, alright?'

He stared at the others in the wandlight, their faces were pale and sweaty, their expressions nervous - and he wondered if he looked the same. Indeed, his heart was beating very fast, banging against his rib cage even more uncomfortably than it had done the night he had become an animagus… But he did not want to show any fear. So, with a final nod at the others, he unlatched the hatch, transformed into a dog and then scrambled his way upwards into the shack.

…

The world seemed a different place when he was in his animagus form; the anticipation (and terror - though he was loathe to admit he felt it) became more muted, his emotions were blunted and simpler; his eyesight was suddenly less important because his hearing and - above all else - his sense of smell was much much keener.

This sense of smell opened up a whole new world for him, where he could see what had been and what now was, using the scents that lingered in the air. He could smell Remus - the boy - and follow his journey from the trapdoor, up the stairs, right to the bedroom, where he then vanished completely … Only this was a Remus that was all minty toothpaste and teenage boy musk, details of him which Sirius - the boy - would not recognise or register.

And then, thickly layered over the traces of Remus, was the current stink of wolf which lay hot and heavy on the air and seeped into every corner of the shack. Following his nose, Sirius padded on silent paws through the hallway and into what appeared to be some form of living room. Unknowingly following in Snape's footsteps, he nosed the door open and then froze as he came face to face with Moony unleashed.

The dog stared.

The wolf stared.

The dog stared.

… And then the wolf pounced .

…

Waiting down in the tunnel, James stared breathlessly up at the trapdoor and tried not to think about this time last month; about the terror of scrambling up there before, not knowing if he would find Snape dead or mauled, not knowing if he was about to be dead or mauled. His heart still beat too fast in his chest though, and his palms were slippery with sweat. Curled up in his breast pocket, he could feel the little rat which was really Peter trembling away, and he wondered if Peter could feel him trembling, or if his heartbeat was deafening to something so small and that close.

His mouth was dry. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to remember the Moony he had seen in October - fur and drool and rage, fangs and no trace of humanity… He tried not to imagine what Sirius was finding, as he went up there all alone.

And then the howling started. James shuddered. He heard growling and yapping - from two different animals, and the sound of tumbling and things getting knocked over… and he knew Sirius and Remus were fighting.

There was more howling, more crashing, more frantic barking, more crashing… and then a whining sort of whimper, followed by three (rather triumphant) barks.

The coast was clear.

And, feeling light headed with nerves and thinking this was probably the stupidest thing he had ever done, James pulled himself through the trapdoor and up into the shack.

The stench of werewolf hit the back of his throat, and he choked, his eyes watering. But Peter was squeaking inside his pocket and - not wanting to be caught out by Moony ever again, James hastily dropped Pete to the floor and transformed into a stag.

It was still a bit of a crush with his antlers, even here in the hallway.

He glanced down at Pete. Shall we go find them? He bleated.

Pete squeaked something that was mostly unintelligible but which could have contained a Yes, and so - on careful hooves - James trod his way towards the living room, trying once again not to think of what he had seen last month and what was waiting for him beyond the door.

The sight which met him could not be more different. Whereas last month the wolf had stood tall, ten stone of snarling fury bearing down on two defenceless boys - one frozen in horror, one brandishing a wand which had never felt more like a useless twig, tonight Moony seemed oddly diminished.

The room was all smashed up, where dog and wolf had rolled over and over crashing into furniture as each struggled to subdue the other, but Sirius seemed to have won because he was now standing in the centre of the room (a few red gashes on his muzzle but otherwise unharmed) and Remus was curled up in a corner, his snout resting on his paws, and whimpering to himself in an aggrieved sort of manner. He too bore signs of the struggle; streaks of dark red shone in his matted fur.

Sirius barked excitedly, when he saw James, a long string of woofs from which James could only make out a few words of English woof woof woof… nearly bit my nose off… woof… got him… woof … in the end… woof woof woof … good as gold. He then turned his head and barked at Remus, who barked back… and James couldn't help but notice that, although he was having trouble understanding Sirius and Pete, and could barely follow the conversation between the dog and the wolf - it was so fast and fluent - Remus and Sirius seemed to understand each other perfectly.

So James asked the others (he pawed at the floor, and was not quite sure why he did it) what are we going to do now?

…

The night was long, and Moony was not always as subdued as he had appeared when James and Peter first entered the room. There were times when he would rear up, snapping his jaws and howling at the moon he could not see, and there were other times when he would hurl himself bodily against the boarded up windows and the locked doors, as if desperately trying to escape.

When he got violent and angry, Sirius would bark again, and pounce on him, and they would roll over and over, snapping at each other - until Sirius would inevitably land on the top and would pin Remus down. Then James and Peter would approach them cautiously and peer down at him.

It's us, Moony. You know us. You remember who you are…

And sometimes it seemed like he did, for there were moments, after Sirius had managed to calm him, where the rage and bloodlust would fade from Moony's slitted pupils and a trace of humanity and recognition would seep in. And then, rather than fight, they would play (though the playing did not look all that different to the fighting).

They romped around the house, racing through the rooms and up the stairs, clambering on furniture, bouncing on the bed (James had to sit that one out, but Peter squealed like a mad thing as the bouncing of the two massive canines flung him up to the ceiling and back down again).

Maybe next time we should bring him something to eat Sirius barked… but James only heard woof woof woof … and then something about feet .

Remus understood though, Yes he yelped back so hungry. Need meat. Raw, bloody, quivering meat…

You're not quite yourself yet, are you, Moony? You sound a bit… bloodthirsty. Maybe I should pin you again?

Try it and I'll take five points from Gryffindor.

Ha! You are Moony!

And James, who had managed to follow very little of this rapid fire conversation of howls and barks, was mystified when Sirius suddenly yelped in joy and pounced on Remus (who had been perfectly calm) and they fell off the bed and tumbled over and over not so much biting each other as… nuzzling each other.

If it was possible for a stag to frown, James frowned. He glanced across at where Pete was stranded in the middle of the bed. Do you have any idea what's going on?

But he didn't understand Pete anymore than he understood Sirius and so - If Peter was able to follow the conversation (and whatever this rolling around was) - James would have to wait until the morning to find out.

…

After hours of playing, and fighting, and playing at fighting, it seemed like they (and mostly Sirius) had finally managed to tire the wolf out. Moony's howls became laboured whines and then exhausted whimpers, and eventually he curled up on the floor, with his nose tucked under his tail and fell asleep.

I don't believe it, he even snores as a wolf, Sirius said, and - though James did not understand the words, he could guess the meaning - and gave a deerish sort of laugh. Then Sirius settled down beside the sleeping wolf, curling up into an identical pose - as if sleeping as a dog was the most natural thing in the world - and, rather more awkwardly, James lowered himself down from his spindly legs, tucked them underneath himself and tried to sleep that way. Pete - lucky git - had curled up on the cushion of the armchair and seemed as comfortable as if he was on his four poster back in the dorm.

James was not sure how long this part of the night lasted. Everyone else seemed peaceful - sparked out like a light - while his head drooped and his antlers weighed him down, and he would jerk awake and his legs went numb from being trapped underneath him. After what seemed like a very long time indeed, he struggled back to his feet and then clip clopped across the room, hoping not to wake anyone, and settled back down nearer the wall, hoping to lean against it for support.

This proved to be a little better, but his antlers got in the way.

Outside, the moon began to sink, the blackness became navy blue and then grey and finally rays of light began to shine through the cracks in the boards.

Still asleep on the floor, the wolf suddenly stiffened up - it trembled and shuddered - waking Sirius from his sleep, who began to bark, as bones snapped and stretched and fur and fangs retracted and then… as if he had been there all along, Remus was suddenly lying face down on the floorboards. There were a few red scratches gleaming on his skin, but nowhere near as many as usual and, though the rings beneath his eyes were deep and dark, his breathing was regular and unlaboured.

Relieved to change back and get out of his uncomfy position, James transformed back into himself with a small pop (and with far less pain than Remus had felt) and scrambled to his feet.

'What should we do now?' he asked.

A small pop over by the armchair told him Pete had changed back and then, after a final sniff at the sleeping boy, the massive dog transformed back into Sirius.

'I'll take him up to bed,' he said to the others. 'He might as well wake up there as face down on the floor,' and he bent down and carefully lifted Remus into his arms (Peter and James averted their eyes, as Remus was naked and they seemed far more uncomfortable with this than Sirius was).

When Sirius came back down the stairs, dusting his hands off, he seemed surprised that neither James or Peter had moved. 'We need to get under the cloak,' he told them. 'We can't go back through the tunnel in case we bump into Madam Pomfrey - there isn't room to pass her, so we'll have to stay hidden until she's taken Remus back.'

This seemed to make sense and so, yawning hugely and wondering how on earth he was going to win a Quidditch match this afternoon on no sleep, James pulled out the cloak and threw it over the three of them.

…

When Remus woke up, face down in a feather pillow and covered by a warm blanket, it took him a while to work out what was different. He didn't hurt half as much as normal for a start, he realised, there were nowhere near as many bruises and scrapes as he normally sustained and - although his bones still ached - his body was missing that fresh pain which came from a night of scratching and clawing at himself.

He was also in bed, he registered eventually. He didn't remember going to bed, though he did remember getting more and more tired as the night went on (which in itself was unusual - on a normal night the wolf raged from dusk until dawn) and he must have settled here when he felt ready to sleep (he was surprised the wolf had had the sense to crawl under the covers).

He sat up, wondering if the others were also asleep in the room with him, and only just remembered in time that he would be naked, and to clutch the covers to himself so his friends would not get an eyeful of more than they had bargained for when they agreed to spend the night with him.

But there was no one there and - after whispering their names to satisfy himself they were not hidden under the cloak - he got out of bed (marvelling at how well he felt) and got dressed, before climbing back under the covers to wait for Madam Pomfrey.

He fell asleep again the moment his head hit the pillow, and was snoring loudly when the matron found him there a few minutes later.

'What's this?' she asked in surprise. 'You've never been sound asleep before!'

Remus woke up with a startled snort, and surreptitiously wiped some drool from his chin. 'I- I'm just so… so sleepy,' he told her, yawning hugely.

'Are you able to make it back to the castle?'

'Y-yes,' (he yawned again). 'I'm fine just … exhau…exhaus… tired.'

'Well you certainly did a lot of damage last night,' she said crisply.

He broke off another yawn to look at her in surprise. 'I'm not hurt.'

' You might not be, but I don't know what you were doing to the furniture. The place looked like a herd of erumpments in mating season had been though.'

He thought of himself and Sirius rolling over and over, and blushed.

'Sorry.'

'No harm done - it's all fixed now.' And she led him back to the trapdoor, into the tunnel and back towards school.

Once the trapdoor had closed behind them, James pulled the cloak off the three of them and looked around the now spick and span shack. 'Come on then, men,' he said. 'It should be safe now. Let's get back to bed before anyone misses us.' And - making sure they stayed a safe distance behind Madam Pomfrey - the three of them crept their cautious way back to the castle.

…

That morning's edition of Sabrina13 was a Quidditch extravaganza, with an interview with all ten team captains, a write up of the two matches already played and a letters section where excited fans wrote in their predictions for the rest of the tournament (though Lily's own was not included; no matter how many times she ran the numbers on her Arithmancy equations she could not make them say anything other than Hogwarts would lose their first match).

The boys missed out on reading it this month, though, as - shattered after their night of mischief in the shack - they crept back into their beds and slept through until lunch. Remus also slept for much of the morning, but argued with Madam Pomfrey - before he got into bed - that he felt fine and that she must wake him up in time for the match and let him watch it.

'Young man, there is no "must" about it.'

'I'll get up and go in my pajamas if there's no other way.'

She gave a snort and said they would see how he was. But - despite being exhausted - he felt fine, much better than normal. He was far less beaten up and felt more healthy than he usually did the day after the moon and, though Pomfrey herself could not account for it, Remus knew it was thanks to the companionship of his friends.

When he woke up around lunchtime, argued with the matron again, and then left the Infirmary, fully recovered, he found that the very air of the castle was crackling with anticipation and excitement. He entered the Hall to find that half the school had painted dabs of red, yellow, green and blue on their cheeks, and spirits were high.

Peeves the poltergeist was bouncing around the ceiling, juggling bludgers and singing the school song, but everyone else was so exuberant that they took no notice of him.

James was awake now, and sitting with the rest of the team - where Petra was ordering them all to eat a good lunch and eating nothing herself. As they stood up to leave the Hall and head out to the pitch, the whole school burst into a round of applause, which made James flush and Petra turn sheet white.

'How are you feeling?' Sirius whispered into Remus's ear, beneath the hubbub and hullabaloo.

'Much better than normal… thanks to you.'

Sirius grinned in delight. 'This is normal now. This is how it's always going to be every month - forever and ever.'

And Remus flushed as deeply as James had.

…

The team changed into their Quidditch robes in near silence (apart from James who, in his nervousness, was talking a mile a minute). The all house team would be wearing black - with the four house colours embroidered around the neckline and cuffs, and with the school crest emblazoned on the back, and Petra felt a mixture of immense pride and blood freezing terror as she pulled hers over her head and then fixed her captain's armband in place.

Once everyone was ready, and sitting on the benches, she looked around at them all. They gazed up at her expectantly.

'Well,' she managed to croak at last (her mouth was suddenly very dry). 'This is it. Everyone out there is rooting for us… This is like nothing we've ever done before. The whole of Hogwarts on our side… And we can't let them down!'

James cast a dark look at Regulus, thinking he was not sure the Slytherins would really be rooting for the rest of them, and caught Regulus giving him an equally dark look back. He stuck his middle finger up at him.

But Petra did not notice. 'We know how good we are - I know how good you all are, how hard we've worked. And I know we can do this. So let's - let's go out there and fly like we've never flown before. Let's give the home crowd what they want… And let's show those yanks where Quidditch was invented!'

The whole team yelled their approval, and beat a drumroll against the bench, before jumping to their feet and grabbing their brooms - ready to go. But James noticed there was still a dangerous glint in Regulus's eyes…

…

They came out onto the pitch to a deafening wall of noise - a thunderous roar that threatened to knock them off their feet. The screens were already switched on and - back on Mount Greylock, Massachusetts - the Ilvermorny crowd were cheering for their own team just as loudly.

James caught sight of his three friends high up the stand (the winter sunlight was gleaming off the lenses on the omnioculars) and he gave them a wave… He then scanned the crowd for any sign of red hair and green eyes, hoping that he might have the pleasure of seeing Evans look impressed at his achievements… But he frowned when, instead, he caught sight of Diego Di Marco of Ilvermorny blowing her a kiss.

Ilvermorny were playing in robes of light blue with cranberry piping… and James was dispirited to note that the chasers all seemed very tall and very handsome and - if their wide grins were anything to go by - very self assured. 'We'll have to watch out for the sunlight glinting off their teeth,' he muttered to Angus MacDougal, who snorted in response.

Petra and Chadwick shook hands, Petra won the coin toss (the Hogwarts crowd screamed in approval) and then they mounted their brooms, flying into the air on Madam Larrikin's whistle.

As soon as he felt the rush of wind in his hair, and the familiar soaring sensation in his stomach, as the ground fell away from him and the sky rushed up to meet him, all of James' nerves melted away. The roaring of the crowd became distant and unimportant and all that mattered was the bright red quaffle, and the golden hoops glinting at the other end of the pitch.

Petra threw the ball to him, he caught it and zoomed away, Moran keeping close, ready to take it from him if he was tackled. A bludger came hurtling towards him, he ducked - and then heard the dull thud of leather on metal as Gwenog Jones was there to send it rocketing away. It smashed into Bertram Aubrey, who had been flying in to intercept the quaffle; he was knocked sideways and James flew on.

The hoops were getting bigger, as was Ezadore Ouellette, the Ilvermorny keeper, and James was getting nearer and nearer. He swerved around Chadwick, dodged Di Marco and ducked under Aubrey , the quaffle clasped close beneath his arm the whole time. And then the goal was there, he pulled to a stop and launched the ball forward…

'AND THAT'S THE FIRST GOAL OF THE GAME!' Scrabble yelled over the sound of the screaming crowd. 'NOT ONE MINUTE IN AND POTTER SCORES FOR HOGWARTS! THIS IS YET MORE TOP QUALITY QUIDDITCH WE ARE SEEING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!'

High up in the stands, Remus, Sirius and Peter jumped up and down, waved their scarves and yelled like mad things.

'AND THERE'S THE WHISTLE. RESUME PLAY. THE SCORE IS TEN-ZERO… LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.'

What happened next was James scored again, and then again, followed by a goal by Petra, one from Moran and another by James. The Hogwarts crowd screamed, and danced in the stand; Sirius had Pete in a celebratory headlock; Lily was jumping up and down on her seat, wolf whistling at Petra and even Dumbledore was clapping approvingly.

Meanwhile Scrabble was yelling out the score for the whole crowd (not that they needed it!) 'AND THAT'S SIXTY- ZERO TO HOGWARTS. MY GOODNESS I'VE NOT SEEN CHASING LIKE THIS BEFORE. POTTER IS A REVELATION! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING HIM? THE BRITISH AND IRISH QUIDDITCH LEAGUE WON'T KNOW WHAT'S HIT IT WHEN HE GOES PRO…'

Sirius, Remus and Peter screamed and whooped their agreement until their throats hurt.

'AND ILVERMORNY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO UP THEIR GAME IF THEY WANT TO GET BACK IN IT. QUIDDITCH'S COMING HOME BY THE LOOKS OF THINGS!'

The quaffle returned to the centre, Madam Larrikin's whistle blew, Chadwick flew up the pitch, the ball under his arm and a look of grim determination on his face - the smile had been well and truly wiped from it now.

In the stands, the crowd had taken up Scrabble's words and were chanting:

Quidditch's coming home!

It's coming home!

Chadwick passed to Di Marco who threw to Aubrey, who passed back to Chadwick… but the whistling sound of an incoming bludger told him he needed to swerve. James was not the only world class player on the pitch though, and Gwenog Jones had hit the bludger not at Chadwick but where he would dodge to. He collided with it, made a small 'Oof' sound, and only just managed to throw the quaffle to Aubrey, before he collapsed against his broom.

But Emrys Jones was there with a bludger of his own, he whacked Aubrey who dropped the quaffle, the bludger then ricocheted off Di Marco who was knocked off course. James snatched up the quaffle and flew unheeded at the Ilvermorny goal where he easily put the ball past Ouellette.

'SEVENTY - ZERO,' Scrabble yelled, while the crowd sang "Hogwarts!" (clap clap clap) "Hogwarts!" (clap clap clap)

Once again they went back to the centre, Chadwick started out - and had more luck this time - making it all the way to the Hogwarts goal, where he took aim and was immediately rebuffed by MacDougal, punching the quaffle out to Moran who soared off down the pitch and promptly put it past Ouellette.

'EIGHTY-ZERO AND THIS IS GETTING DIFFICULT TO WATCH!'

'No it isn't!' Sirius yelled. 'This is brilliant!'

'STILL NO SIGN OF THE SNITCH!'

And Scrabble was right, although Hogwarts was making mincemeat of Ilvermorny, pulverising them into the ground, the golden ball which would end the match (and put Ilvermorny out of their misery) was still nowhere to be seen. Memengwaa Campbell, the Ilvermorny seeker, was scouring the stadium high and low - hoping to catch it before too long, as - provided she could finish the game early - her team were still in with a chance.

Regulus, however, seemed to be doing his own thing. Rather than looking for the snitch he seemed to be dedicating his time to irritating one of the Ilvermorny beaters, Beau Rogers, and annoying him into spending all his time hitting bludgers at Regulus and no one else.

The whole stadium and the rest of the team were so wrapped up in what the chasers were doing that no one else seemed to notice that Regulus was continually buzzing around Rogers like a fly that wouldn't be swatted. He flew straight at him, and then swerved at the last minute; he dogged him around the pitch; he looped around him so many times that Rogers went cross eyed and all in all he did everything he could to make sure that every time Rogers came within striking distance of a bludger, he would always choose to aim at Regulus, to vent his frustration if nothing else.

The rest of the game continued with another goal. 'NINETY - ZERO,' until eventually: 'NINETY-TEN,' but then almost immediately 'HOGWARTS LEADS ONE HUNDRED TO TEN.'

The Ilvermorny chasers were getting grim and determined now, taking more risks, flying more wildly. They clawed back a few more goals, but for everyone they scored the Hogwarts chasers would score another two.

The game raged on, the sky began to darken. And still the snitch did not put in an appearance… And still Regulus seemed taken up with playing cat and mouse with Rogers.

'AND THE SCORE IS 240 - 100' Scrabble told the crowd (who were more than capable of keeping count and were excitedly shrieking the score into each others faces), 'AND POTTER HAS THE QUAFFLE, HE'S FLYING DOWN THE PITCH. LOOK A HIM GO. OUELLETTE DOES NOT STAND A CHANCE!'

As James flew towards the goal, his head down against the wind, Regulus veered into Rogers, brushing against him, knocking him off course and then zipping down the pitch - as if following James. With a look of intense irritation, Rogers sped after him, wielding his beater's bat.

Regulus caught up with James, flying beside him - as if expecting to assist the goal - James ignored him and Regulus glanced sidewards, just in time to see Rogers swing his bat as hard as he could sending the bludger hurtling towards the seeker that kept pestering him, venting all his frustration in that one blow.

Regulus smirked.

And ducked.

And the bludger hit James full in the face. His nose exploded in a cloud of blood, the quaffle dropped from his hands, he smashed face forward into his own broom and was knocked out, Chadwick snatched the quaffle from the air, as James' broom plummeted to earth and crashed onto the pitch.

Madam Larrikin blew her whistle to call a timeout so Madam Pomfrey could tend to James.

'AND THAT WAS A NASTY HIT!' Scrabble said, while the Hogwarts crowd groaned and Peter watched from behind his hands. 'BUT HE'S UP!' The three boys cheered as James - looking slightly dazed - sat back up, and hopped back on his broom. The whistle blew, play resumed, but they had been flying less than a minute when there was a flutter of gold, an intake of breath, and Scrabble shouted 'WAS THAT THE SNITCH?'

And indeed it was, hovering about twenty feet above the centre line. The whole crowd was on their feet screaming, as Regulus and Memengwaa zoomed towards it from opposite ends of the field.

'Come on,' Sirius muttered, his eyes trained on his brother, 'come on, you useless git.'

'THIS IS TOO CLOSE TO CALL … IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS … WHO CAN GET THERE FIRST, BLACK OR CAMPBELL? THEY'RE GETTING THERE, THEY'RE REACHING IT … AND I DON'T BELIEVE IT! MEMENGWAA CAMPBELL SNATCHES THE SNITCH! SHE LEAVES BLACK IN THE DUST AND ILVERMORNY WIN 250-240… WELL DONE ILVERMORNY…'

On the screens, the Americans went wild, but in the stands the Hogwarts crowd watched in silent horror. The whistle blew, Chadwick punched the air and hugged Bertram Aubrey… And Sirius slumped to his seat, the hollow sound of defeat ringing in his ears.