The Marauders: Moony

Remus And The Curse

It was the day of the full moon.

Remus managed to drag himself out of bed, although his bones ached with every movement.

His droopy eyes caught Freya's as he entered the great hall, James's hand on his back, guiding him through the crowd of people that all seemed to move in a slow-motion blur. Freya's eyebrows furrowed in worry. Remus was paler than she had ever seen him before, and his once tall and elegant frame was hunched over in pain.

"Good heavens! Are you alright Remus?" Aerwyna Thompson, a fellow Gryffindor student asked him as the four boys sat down for breakfast.

"He's alright Aerwyna, I just passed my cold onto him that's all. I told him no tongue as I was ill but he just couldn't resist. Puny immune system on this one." Sirius told her, putting on a show, and patting Remus on the shoulder.

Aerwyna rolled her eyes at Sirius's comments, not taking him seriously but knowing not to ask again.

Remus closed his eyes and rested his chin on his palm. Breakfast was the last thing on his mind this morning. All he could think about was the full moon. The pain and suffering that he would go through, once again.

Then he remembered the girl. The she-wolf, and his spirits lifted a little. Would she make another appearance tonight? Would he finally find a clue to reveal who she was?

"Not wolfing down your breakfast this morning ey Moony?" James joked with a smile.

Peter let out a small laugh at James's joke, choking a little on his toast.

After breakfast, they began to make their way to potions. Remus's feet dragged along the hard stones of the corridor, making shuffling noises with every step. They finally made it to class, where Remus lay his head down on the desk. As pupils entered the class, his heightened senses meant that the vibrations of their footsteps on the floor, travelling up through the legs of the desk and directly to his pounding head sent him over the edge.

He felt the anger build up inside him. He was especially irritable this full moon.

"Arghh! I can't do this!" He exclaimed, throwing his chair back and getting up. 

As he began to head for the door, Freya walked in.

"Come on Remus." She smiled gently, pulling his arm and turning him back around. He sat back down and she came and sat next to him, brushing her hand over his shoulder in reassurance.

He usually listened to every word in class, but today, his eyes glazed over as he stared ahead at the board. Freya noticed his vacant expression but didn't say anything. She wondered why he was in class when he looked so ill.

"Mr Lupin, could you give me the answer to number five?"

Remus's eyes snapped down to his blank parchment. He had written nothing. Freya heard his breathing increase, and she slid her parchment in front of him, pointing to her answer.

"Uhh lacewing flies." He answered.

"Correct."

"Thank you." He whispered to Freya, before resting his head on the desk once more.

***

Remus was glad when he was finally released from his last class of the day. Throughout the day he had gotten worse and worse, as the full moon had approached, getting closer and closer with every passing hour.

Remus sat on a cushion in the shrieking shack, clutching a bowl of warm soup with Peter had just brought him up from the kitchens.

"Thank you Pete." He said, closing his eyes as the warm liquid seeped down his throat.

He hadn't realised how hungry he had been all day, he was going to need his strength for the transformation.

"You know you don't have to stay with me, right? You'll be tired for our transfiguration test tomorrow." Remus said, his eyes closing as he lay back on the floor.

"Don't be silly Moony." said James, shaking his head.

They all sat in silence for a moment before Remus sat up, his eyes wide.

"I just... I just wanted to say sorry." He said, liquid gathering in his eyes.

"What for?" Peter asked, pressing a reassuring hand to his shoulder.

"For being what I am. I know how this can't be nice for you all."

Sirius got up and walked over to Remus, dropping to his knees and grasping him tightly in a hug.

"It doesn't matter mate, for all we care you could be a pygmy puff or a bloody dragon. We'd still love you the same! You daft dope!" He said, giving Remus a playful shove. 

The sweet moment was broken by a pain-stricken scream from Remus as the transformation began.

Quickly, the three other boys transformed into their animagi forms, not wanting to be bitten whilst in human form.

The transformation had sped up over the years. It used to take Remus hours, but now it took less than ten minutes to complete the change. They still winced in pain as they visibly saw his bones break and reshape themselves under his skin, but within ten minutes, Remus let out a howl and the transformation was complete.

As they had all been anticipating, his howl was matched with that of another.

This time Remus bounded through the shack, and within moments, was out in the open air. The cold breeze blew through his fur, and he caught a glimpse of the natural satellite of the earth glowing a ghostly white in the dark blanket of the sky above.

Remus felt a little more aware of his wolf form this time. This full moon felt intense, bright, burning, and he remembered his task. He needed to find the girl.

He took a deep breath, and his friends joined him at his side, the stag, the dog and the rat. He glimpsed at them, his orange eyes glowing in his transformed state, before heading off into the forest, with them close behind.

He could smell her. Sense her. She was close. And she could sense him too.

They met in the clearing, Remus in his wolf form stopped for a moment, hesitating before heading over to her. Their noses touched and they took in each other's scents. Remus growled, and she rolled over onto her back, showing that she wasn't a threat, before they headed off into the forest under the pale white light of the full moon.