Monster - [Marauder Era] {Remus Lupin}

Chapter Twenty-Three ~ Under the Full Moon

"Calicoooooooooo," came a very irritating voice from behind me. "Where are you taking me, I want lunch......."

Buttery, mid-afternoon sunlight shone in through the archway I had dragged a certain bespectacled boy to, deep within the castle. The light was oddly comforting, and was the only reason I was able to control the urge to grab my wand and kill my companion.

That, and the plan I had been constructing for weeks that required compliance from the messy-haired Marauder.

Ever since our spat at breakfast, I had been monitoring Remus so closely it felt the slightest bit invasive. At meals, in class, while studying - whenever I was with him, it was like I was waiting for a change in his health, as if a sudden storm would gather, trading his usual sunshine with dark clouds and rain. If he had noticed the extra attention, he didn't say anything about it, and that was lucky for me, because how exactly does one explain that they're stalking their best friend to try to find out when they'll disappear again?

For a while, no change occurred - Remus was regular, lovely Remus.

My observations had paid off when I noticed he had started looking ill again days ago - very slightly, but there was a definite difference, and I had to start my more intense phase of preparation.

I had to think back to the last few times this had happened, and based on discarded drafts of letters to my parents, along with testimony from Lily, I pieced together the time between when Remus first got sick and when the Marauders would disappear. If my calculations were correct, three days passed before I would find Remus in the Hospital Wing.

Which meant that tonight was the night.

Of course, I had to take in Remus's state this morning, which was, in all honesty, quite dreadful, but not nearly as bad as the last few times. But from the nervous glint in his eyes, the uneasy tension in his shoulders, I knew that it was happening.

"Calico, I'll have you know that if you're going to hex me for some wrongdoing I surely have wrongly done, I have report you to Remus and Lily for harassment." James glanced around, as if trying to find an exit. "You could kill me in here, and no one would ever know. It's creepy."

I roll my eyes so hard that I wouldn't be surprised if they rolled back in my head. "Even if I did bring you here to hex you, Remus and Lily would both be on my side, you realize?"

"Merlin's beard, Calico, you're on a power trip," he laughed, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "But if you didn't bring me here to punish me for something, then... why are we here?"

"James, I am requesting use of the two sacred artifacts tonight."

The bespectacled whirled around so quickly that he might have given himself whiplash. "Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight," I grumble, fiddling with the buttons on my cardigan nervously.

It had taken careful consideration to decide when to ask James for the artifacts, as there were many risks. Other than not even knowing what they were, if I asked too early, and my actions seemed too premeditated, then there would be time for James to grow suspicious. I had chosen to ask him the day of, hoping it would lead to success, but now I wasn't too sure.

"Is there a reason you'd like to use them tonight?"

I crossed my arms over my chest, frustration blazing in my heart. "I was not under the impression that I have to provide reasoning."

James looked like an acromantula was about to devour him. I had never seen him so - nervous. For a moment, I wondered if he wasn't such a complete git to guess at what I might do tonight.