Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers

October 17

White light.

Piercing. Bright. Harsh.

The exact opposite of what Remus needed. Remus wanted soft browns and dark greens; something nurturing and soothing. Something the hospital wing couldn't always provide.

Unfortunately, Remus found himself there often; stuck in a lumpy bed with a scratchy comforter and surrounded by noises that didn't feel quite right. It was nothing like his bed where he felt safe and loved. The bed in the hospital wing made him feel ashamed.

Remus took a moment to take note of his surroundings; there were three other students whom Madam Pomfrey was tending to. Remus also noticed that he was not covered head to toe in disgusting bandages or lacerations. Remus smiled. He had absolutely no idea what happened last night, but it wasn't terrible, so Remus smiled.

He rolled to his side to pick up his watch and winced a little, apparently he had bruised some ribs; not entirely shocking. His watch (which was always so kindly delivered to him by Peter) read 4:47, which meant that he'd slept through an entire day of classes.

"Remus, dear," the healer said, rushing to his bedside, "oh, I am so glad you're finally awake. I and your friends have been incredibly worried."

Remus looked at his watch again as if he'd read it incorrectly the first time, it now read 4:48. "I'm sorry, I don't exactly follow, it's only been a handful of hours since my transformation."

"Oh dear," Madam Pomfrey cooed as she ran her hand along Remus' face, "your transformation was two days ago, it is currently Friday, October 17th."

Remus felt nothing. He'd just missed an entire day of life (nearly two), and more importantly an entire day he could have spent with Sirius without worrying about the symptoms of his desire for companionship.

"Do you have any idea what happened?" she asked him.

Remus shook his head.

"Well, I found you at the foot of the stairs with a small cut on the back of your head; I'd reckon you fell down them. And, eh, you'd freed yourself by breaking your appendages I imagine."

"Okay." Remus replied, entirely unimpressed, the damage he inflicted on himself no longer surprised him. "Can you send for my friends?"

The healer hesitated, "is your head feeling alright?"

"Yes," Remus said as patiently as he could; he desperately needed to see them, "please send for them."

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and nodded before summoning an aide to fetch the four Gryffindors.

***

Not long after, Lily, Peter, James, and Sirius came bustling into the hospital wing.

"Remus!" Lily exclaimed, nearly bounding into Remus' bed, "Merlin, I was so worried. We were so worried."

"I'm fine," he reassured her, squeezing her hand. Remus surveyed his friends; they all looked as though they hadn't slept last night. Remus would eventually come to know that Sirius spent all of yesterday pacing outside the hospital wing and James and Peter stayed up all night playing Gobstones because they couldn't sleep. "I'm alright," Remus stressed while he maintained eye contact with Sirius. Remus knew that Sirius worried about him nearly as much as Remus did Sirius, and that having nothing to do help yesterday probably destroyed Sirius.

"I'd have to kill you if you weren't." Sirius teased as he swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Of course he was happy, but he was also extremely overwhelmed. He barely knew what to do with his feelings on a normal day, much less on a day when the person he has the most intense feelings he's ever experienced, became lucid for the first time in over 24 hours. "You can't do that Remus, you can't do that to me."