NOTE

Warning for anxiety, implied suicidal thoughts, and all that Remus's transformation entails.

85. The Mourning Moon

I didn't know this before, but each full moon has a name–or many possible names–according to the month it falls within. The "mourning moon" is one of November's.

When Luna woke me the cloudy sky was glowing purple with the setting sun. Sharply sitting up, I looked out the window to see the beacon of the white cutout moon hanging there inexplicably, like a diamond-laden lady showing her face in society at an hour when she ought to have been home.

"You were sleeping like the dead," Luna observed.

"Is it tomorrow night?" I said worriedly.

"Yes, if you fell asleep last night."

I shook my head to clear it. "What time is it?"

"It's just after six. The full moon isn't till tomorrow. But Remus isn't well. That's why I woke you."

My heart clenched and then released, the blood rushing through it. I was already swinging my legs over the side of the bed and picking up my wand, tightening the tie of my dressing gown. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's terribly anxious," Luna said, her eyes wide. "He's asking for you."

I dressed in warmer clothes to combat the cold temperature and hurried to the hospital wing.

Arthur and Minerva were both standing over Remus, trying to reason with him as Poppy sat nearby, a bowl of steaming broth on the bedside table and her forehead resting on her hand. Remus's eyes darted towards the archway when I stepped inside. His face was streaked with tears and his cheeks were pale and drawn. He was the very picture of one of the illustrations in the cruel werewolf books I remembered so vividly. A bedridden man, mouth twisted in pain. The lycanthrope bemoans his condition.

I shoved the image away and approached the bed. Minerva and Arthur both stepped aside to allow me closer and I sat carefully on the edge of the mattress, covering Remus's shaking hand with mine.

Nobody noticed but me, the moment his nostrils flared infinitesimally, the darkening of his eyes. I knew he could smell Severus on me, and the thought sent an unpleasant shiver down my spine.

I forced myself to look up at Minerva.

"What's the matter?"

"He won't eat," Poppy answered, her voice beyond impatience, frayed with exhaustion.

"That's normal, isn't it?" I remembered how he'd always lost his appetite leading up to the moon, and certainly couldn't blame him for it now.

Minerva spoke, looking at Remus as she did–but his eyes were glued on me, and no-one else, urging a silent message I couldn't quite decipher. "I'm sure it is, but with his body in this state it's absolutely necessary that he eats something."

"What about a nourishing potion?" I suggested.

Remus shook his head, the look in his eyes intensifying further as his hand turned palm-up to hold mine in a shaking grip.

"What is it?" I said to him, my voice lowering.

It took him a long time to answer, his body wracked by the smallest of tremors, sensitive to the pull of the moon. Already his blood must have been readying itself to fuel a larger form. Small whisperings in his muscles and bones as they prepared to stretch and split.

"I can't do it," he whispered.

"Of course you can," Arthur said, too quickly. There was a man-to-man tone in his voice that I found absurd.

Remus closed his eyes, and in that moment he looked near death. His voice was too weak to be a whisper. Air passing by tongue and teeth and lips; barely a breath.

"I don't want to anymore."

I felt myself drain and squeezed his hand harder, silently trying to change his mind. But he pressed on, his face quivering as he spoke, his voice the definition of hopelessness.

"Afterwards… If I'm going to die… then…"

Minerva and Poppy spoke at the same time.

"Don't you give up now, Remus–" Minerva exclaimed, her face white with shock.

Poppy lifted her head from her hand, her eyes shining like a soldier's or a saint's. Her voice shook, but it was strong. "Let me remind you, Mr. Lupin, that I am excellent at what I do. Your body is well prepared for tomorrow night and you are going to live whether you like it or not." She stood from her chair, holding out the bowl of broth almost threateningly. "Now let me do my job!"

My hand lifted of its own accord, my fingers steady though my insides trembled.

Poppy waited, and I held onto Remus's hand with both of my own, cocooning it in safe warmth.

Though Poppy was right–he was much stronger than he'd been when we found him in the deepest caverns below the castle–he remained worn thin from months of starvation. I was afraid to push him too hard, but I had to speak the truth.

"Open your eyes," I urged.

He managed to, the misery in his soul evident in the dullness of his irises.

"You are not a monster."

"I am."

"You are not."

Tears sat in his eyelashes like water droplets on winter trees. "Didn't you see?"

"You didn't want to do any of it. You're nothing like them. You couldn't be if you tried."

I knew I was disappointing him. He'd been surrounded by the deepest darkness of the world for so long that he was ready for the misery to end. But I was not going to let that happen. I watched the change in his eyes when he understood this, and more tears ran down his face as his shoulders shook.

He let out a sound of frustration and self-loathing at the tears, and his body gave a jolt that made him hiss in pain.

What was the only thing I knew might reignite his will to carry on? Whose existence had convinced him to seek protection during the first full moon of our marriage?

"Remus. I'll send a patronus to Fleur and she can have Teddy talk. Would you like that?"

He didn't speak, turning his face away, but his body seemed to calm ever so slightly at the mention of his son. Holding onto his hand still, I conjured my raven then and there.

"I hope you all are well, Fleur. Would you ask Teddy to speak? It would be good to hear his voice."

We were all quiet while we waited, and in that time the sun sank completely beneath the cloudy horizon, the shades of purple leached from the sky and the moon left to reign over the blackness.

Fleur's patronus arrived, non-corporeal, a repeatedly blooming flower or a sphere of blue flames. Her voice came from it quietly, murmuring in French, and then came Teddy's laughter, his thoughtfully babbling voice.

Remus let out a slow breath, and some of the pain in him seemed to deflate. The patronus lingered a bit longer and then faded away, leaving him silent and as calmed as he could have been given the circumstances.

Poppy offered the bowl to him again, the fragrant steam rising from it making my own stomach stir. "For his sake if not your own."

With the slightest nod, he agreed.

I stood up so Poppy could be closer to him, and lingered nearby with a serviette while she gave him the broth, one spoonful at a time.

He drifted off soon after the bowl was emptied.

"He never would have settled if it weren't for you," Poppy told me. "I thought we would be up all night." She stood, holding the bowl in her hands, and looked down at Remus with deep concern. "He never got like this," she said, almost to herself. "Not even in his teens. Never."

I tried to think of something to say, but instead my stomach gave an ungracious growl.

"I saved dinner for you," Poppy remembered aloud, and went into her office.

I pulled the blankets up to Remus's chin and extinguished the lamp, lighting a candle instead.

Minerva looked on, her eyes beady with shock and sympathy. "What happened, exactly?"

Remus's face was wan in the wavering candlelight.

"They made him hurt people."

I thought from the trembling of her mouth that she might cry, and found myself staring. But she went still as soon as she noticed the weakness in herself, and buried her softness inside. "I thought as much."

Minerva left quietly, and Arthur went to sit by George in the shadows.

Poppy emerged with a bowl of soup and a bright orange, and set them on the table. She pointed at the chair, the gesture brooking no dissent, and I sat obediently. "I'm going to make sure you're eating properly from now on. Did you sleep all night and day?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Poppy stood over me with an expectant look and under her watchful eyes I took two slow bites of the soup. My limbs tingled warmly, and I felt the energy from the food go right into my belly.

I looked up at her, her steel-grey hair, her sharp eyes and hardened face. I'd never considered her age but she must have been in her sixties. For the first time I wondered about her life. What had she been like when she was my age? What had she seen?

"Poppy? How do you take care of everyone?"

She took a simple pause.

"It's what I'm supposed to do. You finish that. I'm going to bed."

My eyes followed her across the room, until the door of her office closed behind her.

I ate the whole bowl of soup, then peeled the orange, releasing the sharp mist of citrus into the air. I took one slice at a time into my mouth, the flavour lighting up my body.

Arthur had fallen asleep, snoring a little in the wooden chair. I sat down beside Remus's bed, wondering where Pouncer was. Probably hunting mice.

The moon rose higher and higher, and the wind was quick enough to keep the clouds from hiding the sky. Stars were strewn across the heavens, contorted by the wavy glass of the windows.

Arthur woke up some time later and rose from the chair, the wooden legs creaking. He touched George's forehead and sighed. "I'm going to bed."

"I'll stay here."

He gave me a kind farwell, walking to me slowly and putting his hand on my shoulder. "This will end," he said. "It will."

I rested my hand over his for a moment, feeling the cool gold of his wedding band. Then he sighed again and went out.

As I watched Remus sleeping, I realised it had been more than a week since I'd had a vision. I could sense inside of myself that another would come soon. Not tonight, but soon. The way animals can sense a storm.

For now, I sat in the chair with a blanket around my shoulders, my hands folded. I sat up deep into the night, like a woman keeping a bedside vigil. I thought of what I might have looked like to a stranger, if my current pose were painted onto canvas, and smiled with twisted amusement. They would never guess the fathoms inside.

Remus's voice pulled me out of a dense bog of sleep. He was shivering, and I could see from the sweat on his brow that he'd suffered in silence for a while before trying to wake me. At once I stood and leaned over him, pressing my hand to his burning hot forehead. "I don't feel well," he moaned.

Not knowing what to do but acting on instinct, I stripped the blankets off of him and, seeing his clothes soaked through with sweat, set about making ice with my wand. I sat close to him and wrapped the ice in my handkerchief, pressing it against his temples, then his wrists.

He shook silently and I hushed him, stroking his hair. But everything I did seemed to make it worse and after another minute all his muscles clenched in a paroxysm of anguish. I couldn't do anything to console him, too panicked by his state. Hands shaking, I left the bedside and rapped on Poppy's door.

She was there in moments, rushing past me in her nightgown. "Hold him up," she instructed me, opening the potions cabinet.

I pulled Remus against my side, pressing the ice again to his temple. He was sweltering.

"No ice!" Poppy said.

I set the ice down and froze, fearing I'd done something wrong. Seeing him so ill had me in shock. It was all I could do to hold his head against my neck, my arm around his torso and my nose pressing into the dampness of his hair.

"You're okay," I whispered, my eyes two wells of tears.

A threadbare sound struggled forth from his lips, and I felt his hot breath against my neck. I hugged him tighter.

"Keep breathing," I begged him.

He shivered again and inhaled, his breath sharpening as he held it. I felt the pause deeply, my awareness peaking as his lip brushed against my pulse point. Again he trembled, and I stiffened as his dark groan filled my ear.

"Get away–" he gasped.

I didn't protest as he flung himself off of me, slumping onto his side and covering his nose and mouth with his hand. Poppy was coming and she waved me out of the way. I stood back, touching my neck self-consciously, unsure if I should leave the room entirely.

In the end it wasn't necessary. Deftly, Poppy gave him two potions, first something to ease the fever and then purple Dreamless Sleep. He slipped away with a shaky moan, and then was still.

Poppy guided his head down onto the pillow and replaced the blankets over him. "It's only going to get worse now."

"I…"

I didn't know whether I should tell her about the intense moment, and hesitated. But Poppy heard something in my tone, and turned to me expectantly.

"I think… he… He wanted..." I was at a loss for words, and pressed my fingers to my neck again.

Poppy understood.

"I was going to ask you to stay with me through his transformation. But now I'm not so sure. Perhaps it would be better for you to keep your distance."

"I don't want to leave him."

Poppy looked at me, as though sizing me up, and let out a long-suffering sigh. "Alright. He'll be in chains, so you won't be harmed. But if it becomes too much for him you'll have to leave."

I paled.

"Chains?"

"They're a necessary precaution whenever anyone stays with him."

My stomach sank and I looked down at Remus again. Tears threatened, but none fell.

Poppy looked at me and I met her gaze as my heartbeat slowed.

"You're a good woman," she said quietly. "Perhaps too good. Try to get some sleep."

Then she turned and disappeared into her office, leaving me to wonder what on earth she meant.

Morning brought more cold rain, roaring down from the sky and slashing against the windows. Remus remained asleep thanks to the strength of the dreamless sleep, and still hadn't stirred when Severus stepped into the hospital wing.

He carried the final goblet of Wolfsbane in his hands and I stood to receive him, keeping my blanket pulled taut around myself. In the centre of the room he came to a stop and pinioned me with his cold eyes.

"I thought you might have run away," he said, keeping his voice to a low hiss.

I realised that, when I hadn't come to collect the dose the previous morning, he must have assumed I was avoiding him because of the sex. Had he been frank about his feelings I might have been gentle with him now. But his statement was contrived to sting me, so I remained blank.

"I didn't."

"Of course not."

He looked at me harder, but somehow included Remus in his glare.

"Let me guess. You're planning to stay with him tonight."

My silence was my only shield, and I held onto it tightly.

There was a flash of annoyance in his eyes. "Your misplaced mothering instinct is turning you into an idiot."

I turned my head away in warning, still denying the rapidly boiling rage inside me. "Stop this, Severus."

"I do hope this won't be the last time we see each other. I would be very disappointed if he bit your head off."

I stared at him in disbelief, my hands shaking with tightly bridled fury.

"If you'd rather that way out, I could easily drop this goblet here and now. I've mastered the measurements over the years so there's not a drop left in the cauldron downstairs. It would be a shame. But perhaps we can use Lupin's howls of grief to lure his comrades in."

I spoke through gritted teeth, my fists tightening around the blanket. "I cannot handle this. Please go."

"You can't deny it would be easier than mimicking their calls ourselves."

"Go away."

"Why?"

All he had to do to snap me was to stand there a single moment longer, that unyielding bitterness in his eyes.

My anger poured out of me in a waterfall of sound, my voice making my whole body vibrate with its desperation to be heard. "Because I can't face you when you hurt me like this! You're making me so tired!"

"Tired of what?" he demanded.

"TIRED OF LOVING YOU."

Shockwaves rippled outward from my body, the candle flame guttering and going out, Severus's hair shifting as though in response to a sudden breeze.

His expression was tense with shock, and for a moment I thought he might really drop the Wolfsbane.

Shaking from the force of my outburst, I sat down on the bed beside Remus's, my hands shaking and the blanket falling off my shoulders like a shed skin.

Severus's eyes had changed. He looked deeply hurt, and his walls weren't even trying to rebuild themselves anymore. I stared at him, like prey trapped beneath his gaze.

It seemed I'd aged decades in the last few seconds.

Severus seemed able to read my thoughts, though I felt no probing of Legilimency in my brain. "The truth is always exhausting."

"What would you know about the truth," I whispered.

"The night of the Pensieve."

It flooded back. The rainstorm, my run through the woods, the water pouring down at the edge of the lake, his confession and our embrace. "I love you."

My eyes filled with tears as I looked at him, heartbroken. My voice was reduced to a shallow, shaking thing. "You admit it now?"

"I was waiting for you to make a decision."

"I haven't made a decision!"

"It's the right one."

I shook my head, completely spent. "You're not listening to me. I'm tired. But I haven't stopped."

"Put your mind to it."

Tears flooded down my face but I refused to hide. My fingers went to my lips and then trembled in the cold air, wet from my devastation.

"I love both of you," I whispered, the painful truth driving through me like a sword. He made no response, more motionless than a statue, and his gaze as lifeless.

"Sev," I pleaded, tears obscuring my vision. "Can you hear me? I love both of you."

Still he said nothing, and I could no longer see him.

"It's not my fault… It's my heart!" My voice broke, and I pressed my hand to my chest, which was aching more than it had when Fred died. "It's my heart."

For an eternity there was nothing but the pounding in my brain, the tears falling everywhere, leaving no part of me unshaken, unashamed. My grief only deepened when Severus's numb voice squeezed through the red clouds that pressed in on my head.

"Good morning, Lupin. Sorry to wake you, but it appears something needed to be said."

There was a terrible pause, and I pressed my eyes deeper into the darkness of my palms.

"Anything else?" he said to me. There was an added depth in his voice, an added tension that told me he himself was on the edge of tears.

"Go," I whispered.

He did not answer again, but I heard the sound of him leaving the goblet on a table and walking out of the room.

I shook my head to myself, all the air of the world squeezing me into a ball of pain. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think, and for a long time there was only darkness.

"Come here."

It was Remus's voice, and I could sense his eyes on my back.

"No," I breathed.

"Please, come here."

Too weak to protest any longer, I stood up and went to him. Sinking down onto the bed, I surrendered and let myself rest against his chest. If my weight was painful to him he didn't mention it, only wrapped his arm around me as best he could while I cried into his shoulder.

Had he stroked my hair as he had done before, it would have undone me. But his touch was strictly chaste, and he laid there patiently until my sobs abated.

"Has it always been like this?" he said, an edge of dismay in his voice.

"No," I whispered.

"Only because of me?"

It was true, of course. The root of the struggles between Severus and me had always been my lingering devotion to Remus, and Severus's resentment thereof. Now here Remus was; Severus's living, breathing worst fear.

My silence revealed the truth and Remus didn't speak again. I stayed there until the moment he tensed, much as he had last night, and I felt him holding his breath. I stood up, restoring the distance between us, wiping my tears and blowing my nose into my handkerchief.

The goblet of Wolfsbane sat on the table three beds down, and I went to retrieve it. I came back and set it beside Remus, who had gotten himself under control, breathing shallowly with his mouth firmly closed.

"Are you in pain?" I asked, as though nothing of note had happened.

To my relief, he played along. "A bit."

"I'll give you some broth before the potion, and then more dreamless sleep before pain resurfaces."

"I don't want you to stay with me."

I winced. So he'd heard much more of my exchange with Severus than I'd realised.

"I'm going to."

He fixed me with a yearning gaze. "If I hurt you…"

"You won't. I'll leave if I think you will."

"He will kill me if I hurt you."

Under different circumstances the words might have been an exaggeration. But one glance into Remus's eyes revealed that he firmly believed them.

"So I'll make sure you don't."

I turned away, making for the office to quietly prepare the broth. But Remus's voice stopped me.

"Will there be chains?"

His voice wavered slightly and I knew he was in more pain than he wanted to let on.

"Poppy said there should be. I'll check the Room of Requirement after you've eaten."

Just then the office door opened and Poppy herself emerged, fully dressed. There was no possibility that she hadn't been woken by the shouting, and I thanked her silently for her courtesy in waiting so long before leaving her room.

She was already holding the bowl of warm broth in her hands, and passed me the serviette as she sat down in the chair.

"Let's get you fed."

After the broth and the Wolfsbane he was sent to sleep, and I made good on my promise.

I climbed the stairs to the seventh floor and walked to the Astronomy wing, finding the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. I stood there for a moment in the grey light, watching the poor man try to avoid being trampled by trolls in tutus.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I walked past the opposite wall thinking of the perfect room–a room where Remus could be safe–until a door appeared.

It was a normal-sized door, no taller or wider than it needed to be, made of wide oak boards with bands and bolts of steel holding them together. I pushed it open and stepped in.

The room was circular, like a turret chamber. A small window stood straight ahead, just large enough to look out. But what drew my eye first were the chains mounted on the wall. They hung down from their anchoring bolts, thick cuffs resting on the stone floor. I approached them and touched the links. At once my fingers buzzed with the powerful magic in them. They would be more than strong enough to keep Remus restrained if necessary.

Leaving the chains, I went to the window and looked out, past the grounds and over the vast expanse of the forest. A dense fog lingered after the rain, and hung over the tops of the pines like a menacing entity. Waiting.

Shivering, I turned from the window and glanced at the chains once more before leaving the room, shutting the door firmly behind me. I walked away, not staying to watch it shrink and disappear.

Walking back to the hospital wing I heard voices in the stairway below, Severus's among them. I flattened myself against the wall, hiding like a child. Luckily they turned into a different corridor and didn't see me, too focused on their preparations for the evening's plot. Still, it took far too long for my heart rate to return to normal again.

The day slipped away like sand through a sieve. Remus suffered more and more with every hour, continually waking up despite the sedatives Poppy gave him, his mind useless under the crushing weight of the pain and nausea.

My stomach was turning by evening, but Poppy still herded me into her office and sat me at her desk with dinner, demanding that I eat. I did, and managed to keep it down in spite of everything.

What little light had palely glowed through the clouds that day began to retreat, and Euphemius brought his sheep into the castle, penning them safely in the Transfiguration courtyard.

The wolves were locked into an empty classroom and their howls of confusion made Remus moan in his feverish sleep.

Pouncer returned from wherever he'd been prowling, and sat vigilantly at the foot of the bed.

Night was falling.

Before I knew it nine o'clock came, and Poppy declared it time to go.

Together we brought Remus to the seventh floor, carrying him between us on a weight-reducing stretcher. Pouncer walked behind us on the stairs. Though Poppy attempted to shoo him away, he insisted on following, his green eyes seeming to produce their own light. When we arrived at the Room of Requirement–the exact same door as before appeared, to my relief–he ran inside before he could be stopped, and planted himself decisively beside the chains.

"Very well," Poppy said. "He wouldn't hurt another animal. Even without the potion. Set him down now, easy…"

After lowering the stretcher to the floor we knelt to ease Remus off of it. The stone was very cold beneath my knees–but the moment I noticed it, it warmed slightly, the room adapting to our needs.

Remus was covered in sweat and he whimpered, curling in on himself as we moved him onto the floor. Poppy fastened the cuffs around his wrists while I leaned the stretcher against the wall and bolted the door.

Then it was only a matter of waiting.

Time stretched out like an ocean. Somewhere in the middle the last of the sedatives wore off and Remus's breathing became hoarse with pain, his body shaking like a leaf. I sat near him, his agony filling my stomach like thick hot blood.

The sky was still blocked by grey fog and the moon itself could not be seen. But it must have been a bright one, for there was a haunting light coming from behind the clouds, weaker than the sun, casting everything in eerie shadows. I stared out the window, entranced.

Pouncer gave a loud warning meow.

Remus's body had stiffened, and was shuddering harder than ever. For a moment there was no sound, and then a hair-raising moan of agony filled the stone room. My body froze but Poppy pulled me to my feet and took me to the opposite end of the room.

His body looked so small from here, huddled in the shadows like something newly born, so lonely and in need of help.

"You might want to look away," Poppy said, raising her voice over Remus's lengthening cries.

I took her advice and covered my eyes with my hands. Having witnessed the brutal transformation in the pensieve only made it worse to hear his screams. My brain was attacked by the terrible images–bones unjointing and stretching, face elongating, fur replacing tortured skin.

Soon his screams gave way to low, mournful howls that made my whole body rigid. The howls quieted into whimpers and whines that sounded almost relieved, and then I lowered my hands and saw him.

I knew how he'd resented this side of himself before, and was certain that resentment had only grown. Yet there was something of Remus's essence in the large grey wolf I saw before me. In the pensieve I'd seen him transform into a bloodthirsty beast. But the creature in front of me was nothing like that. Broken, but soft. Strong, but gentle. I was not intimidated or frightened. I was in awe.

I looked into his eyes, a quiet yellow amber, and he ducked his head in shame. He was still whimpering, and when I took my first step forward he let out a bark of warning.

For a few seconds I paused, my hands in the air in front of me. Then I continued, going slowly. He didn't protest again, only pressing himself closer to the wall as I approached, his chains dragging on the floor.

I held out my hand for him, and felt his damp breath on my skin. The fur along his back was raised and stiff, and his nose trembled as he sniffed me once, warily.

Then he seemed to relax, his eyes lifting to mine as he allowed me even closer. I hesitated, holding my hand near his fur, and he gave me a small nod. Closing the distance, my fingers sank into his soft grey pelt, and I let out a gasp of surprise.

His eyes slipped closed and he panted quietly, his hot breath on my arm. A wave of relief washed through me, vanishing the tension I'd built up from dreading this moment. I felt a surge of tenderness as I caressed his fur and rubbed his ears, kissing his warm, soft forehead.

"There," I murmured, as he nuzzled the side of his face against my chest. "You're alright."

Poppy's footsteps startled me–I'd forgotten we were not alone–and Remus pulled away slightly at the sudden racing of my heart.

"We can take these off now," she said, beginning to crouch towards the chains.

But Remus gave a growl, meaning he wanted them on, and Poppy relented.

Though the worst was over his body was still shaking from the stress of the transformation, and he exhaustedly sank to the floor, curling up with much clinking of the chains. I looked down at him, his breath whistling out of him as he surrendered his weight to gravity and rested at last.

I knelt down beside him and stroked his fur gently as his torso rose and fell with his breath. Pouncer drew near and I watched in fascination as he licked Remus's paws with his soft pink tongue.

The first minutes were very peaceful. I sat there and didn't move even when my leg cramped and went numb. Remus was so quiet that I thought he was asleep–until his ears pricked up very suddenly, and he pushed himself up to standing, his legs shaking and his tail between his legs.

"What is it?" Poppy said, as he began walking in circles, giving agitated whines.

But of course he could not answer in words.

Pouncer meowed questioningly, and when Remus gave another whimper I was almost certain they could understand each other.

I tried to get close enough to console him but every time I did he turned the other way, and eventually I stood back. His eyes kept glancing around the room, and I wondered if he was afraid that Greyback would somehow find him and hurt him again.

Only then did I hear the howls.

He'd heard them sooner, of course, thanks to his much sharper hearing. But now my face turned towards the window, and Poppy's did too. Howls in the distance, coming from the depths of the dark forest.

Promptly there came an answer, closer. A magically amplified imitation of a howl. The sound was so chilling that I barely recognised the voice as Ginny's. It would surely lure the werewolves to the castle.

I stood at the window keeping watch while Poppy stayed by Remus, telling him we were all safe. But he was unconsolable, the encroaching howls too much for him to bear. My ears were full of his dreadful cries and even Pouncer gave up, sitting very still by the door with wide eyes.

I saw the slight ripple in the cold grey air as the wards were deactivated.

A minute later the werewolves emerged from the forest.

Magnus was instantly recognisable by his dominant gait and the advantage of size he lorded over the others. A cacophony of howls clashed in the frozen night air and Remus gave a pitch-black growl of hatred.

The air shimmered again as the wards were reinforced, and I began counting the werewolves on my fingers as they spread out. I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering if I had miscounted in the confusion–but I hadn't. One of the twelve captives was missing.

My blood ran cold as I imagined one of the wolves staying behind to make the two small boys their feast.

Movement at the edge of the forest drew my eye.

It was the twelfth wolf, dragging something from the black shadows.

At first I assumed it was an animal.

On closer inspection I saw it was a man.

Cold adrenalin dripped down my spine. I pressed my hand to the glass and stared out in disbelief. My shock was such that frost formed at my fingertips.

Another chorus of howls filled the air and the wolf brought the man closer to its comrades, dragging him over the ground, his leg clamped in its jaws.

Even I could hear my heart hammering.

Remus gave an anxious whine.

"What is it?" Poppy said.

I stared harder, unable to believe my eyes.

But as I took in the twisting body, the writhing arms, the long blond hair, I could no longer deny it. And the recognition infused my heart with a sick triumph.

"It's Malfoy."