Remus was suddenly jolted awake by a searing pain in his leg. He shifted slightly to roll off of it and groaned as he did so. Remus willed himself to open his eyes to look at his leg, only to quickly close them again and turn his head away in disgust when he saw what the wolf had done to it. Every inch of his body hurt. What had he done last night? That thought slammed into him like a Bludger, bringing everything back; his friends had been there during his transformation!
"Please, no. Godric, no." He muttered as he tried to force himself to sit up to get a better look around the Shack. Too weak, Remus was forced to lay back down, but even from the floor, he could see the trail of blood and destruction the wolf had left behind. Nausea took hold of him, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut to try to still the room as it danced before him.
"Godric, please." He whispered again. All he could think of was his friends. Horrified at what he might find, Remus propped himself up on his elbows to look around the room as he silently prayed he wouldn't find any sign of his friends there. 'Friends,' he would have laughed at the word if he wasn't so terrified and in so much pain. 'If they are still alive, they're not your friends anymore. Not after last night. You will be lucky if you are even allowed to stay at Hogwarts now. You'll be even luckier if you didn't hurt anyone. Your secret is out.'
Remus slowly took in the blood splattered room that lay in shambles around him. Bit by bit he scanned the room and breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw no sign of anyone else there. The room started to blur as tears filled his eyes. 'They made it out. But did I hurt them? Have I turned them? Are they still alive?' Remus was too weak to do anything but sit there and cry as a barrage of questions flooded his mind. After what felt like hours he heard foot steps approaching and wondered if it was an Auror come to take him to Azkaban.
"Remus? Oh, my," Madam Pomfrey said as she saw him and hurried into the room, "You were late, so I thought I would come and check on you." Of all the times she had tended to Remus after the moon, she had never once seen him cry over his injures; seeing him cry now startled her more than seeing the state he was in.
A small sob escaped Remus as he lowered himself to lay back down to the rough wooden floor.
"I'm sorry. I know you want your privacy, but your health is more important." She said as she immediately set to work cleaning and healing the worst of his wounds, " There, there, now, you'll be alright." She said trying to calm the boy not knowing he was crying for his friends and not himself. "The rest will have to wait till we get back to the hospital wing," she continued, "You did quite the number on yourself last night...I wonder why?"
Remus opened his mouth to answer but stopped as his thoughts took hold again, 'That means James, Peter, and Sirius must be safe!' A wave of relief washes over him. 'If they had been hurt, they would have been sent to Madam Pomfrey. And if she doesn't know anything, then they are okay! And if Madam Pomfrey doesn't know, then maybe no one else does? Maybe they didn't run back to the castle to tell everyone I'm a monster.' This slim sliver of hope allowed Remus to relax a bit as Madam Pomfrey helped him onto a conjured stretcher. Remus winced in pain, and he noticed his leg now hung at an impossibly awkward angle.
Madam Pomfrey quickly but gently moved to reposition his leg and offered Remus a small vial of potion. "Here Remus," Remus recognized it as his usual sleeping and pain draught, "something told me to bring it with me this time."
Remus gratefully drank the potion. Normally he didn't like to take it, but he was in so much pain and was overwhelmed by his thoughts that this time he welcomed the escape, even if it was only temporary.
Pomfrey smiled kindly at him as she floated the stretcher out of the Shack and down the tunnel, "Just lay down and relax, dear; you will be fine in no time."
Remus relaxed into the stretcher as the potion started to take effect, and he slowly drifted off.