The Project | Sirius Black x reader | ✔

Realization

Before you could answer, a groan came from somewhere inside the shrieking shack, followed by faint cries. Instinctively, you gripped your wand and jumped over to Sirius' side, hiding a little bit behind his shoulder. 

He chuckled and cocked one of his eyebrows. " Shut up, Black." You scowled and adjusted your posture, stepping away from him.

The three Marauders walked out of the room and towards the provenience of the sound, of course, you didn't want to get anywhere near the whimpers, afraid it might be the werewolf weeping over a possible injury your charm had inflicted.

 Maybe it left. Or maybe the super moon is over. You took in deep breaths, walking between Sirius and Peter. The closer the sounds became, the faster the three boys would advance towards it, to much of your dismay, but you followed silently. 

If these goons get me killed before the first Hogsmeade trip of winter, I'll haunt them for the rest of their lives as a ghost. You rolled your eyes, using sarcasm as a way to block how frightened you really were. 

Laying between piles of destroyed wood planks was a familiar boy. His clothing were torn apart and his arms as well as his chest were bloodied. The three marauders didn't hesitate and ran towards the whimpering boy that was slowly loosing consciousness due to his wounds. 

" R- Remus?!" You whispered to yourself, covering your mouth with your hands as you watched the Gryffindor lying unconscious on the floor. 

James and Sirius picked him up and threw one of his arms on their shoulders while Peter skidded behind. You were frozen in place, your mind buzzing in all different directions. Did the werewolf attack Remus? It can't be. I didn't see him go into the Whomping Willow alongside James and Sirius.

That's when it all fell into place.

His not too visible yet still present scars, his nervousness every once a month, and the unease of James during yesterday's Defense Against the Dark Arts class about werewolves. " Remus is a werewolf." You mumbled to yourself, but it had been loud enough for the Marauders to hear.

The three boys turned around in shock and nervousness. But it was meant to be discovered sooner or later, you weren't clueless. " It's better if we talk about this when we get Remus to the hospital wing." James said, pushing his glasses up the bride of his nose with his free hand. 

You complied silently and followed the four boys out of the Shrieking Shack, they knew their way around the place unlike you, so no chance in getting rid of the band of goons. 

Remus is a werewolf... You kept repeating to yourself. How could I be so stupid and not notice that before?! That student with Madam Pomfrey, it was Remus! And that's why the rest of his band followed him in. You grumbled, shoving your hands in the pockets of Regulus' sweatshirt. 

Suddenly you stopped walking because of a realization. That's why Sirius couldn't come. This was the important thing he had to do. He wanted to be there for his friend while he transformed. And all I did was judge and make him feel bad! Oh by Merlin's beard! I'm such a horrible person! Tears threatened to spill due to the stress of the whole situation. 

" Are you alright, (y/n)?" Peter mumbled, it was obvious in his tone of voice that he found your presence imposing, almost as if he were scared of you. 

You frowned, trying to get rid of the teary eyes. " Yes." You answered bluntly and continued walking, catching up with the other two Marauders that held the still unconscious Remus.

You usually weren't an emotional person in most cases, but this time, the guilt overwhelmed you with a bunch of different emotions you couldn't distinguish, and for some reason: it made you want to cry, which is something you rarely did, especially in front of people. Even worse if by accident, those people would be the Marauders.

They traveled down the same torn down corridor you had landed in and entered the same passage that led out of the shack towards the Whomping Willow, you followed, having Peter constantly bump into you because Sirius would often stop to help Remus. 

" Wait, but won't the willo-" You murmured, but you were interrupted by the swishing of one of the Whomping Willow's dangerous branches in front of the three boys in front of you. 

" Ah. I hadn't thought about that. Wormtail, would you do the honors?" Sirius turned around to look at Peter, who nodded nervously. 

Before your eyes, the chubby mousy brown- haired boy shrink shorter than he already was, and at the same time, transfigure into a rat. You let out a small yelp but covered your mouth with your hand, eyeing the rat that scurried out of the hole and towards the branches of the tree. 

So that's Wormtail... You huffed mentally. " We've got a lot to explain..." Sirius side smiled your way, placing a reassuring hand on your shoulder.

" That, you do. A lot of explaining." You returned the smile nervously, not sure how you were feeling about all of this: That now you had to bear the secret of Remus having Lycanthropy, and also that if Peter could turn into a rat, his two other comrades are all most likely unregistered animagi as well. 

The branches of the Whomping Willow stopped spiraling out of control, and the tree seemed to go back to normal. The rat hopped on top of James' shoulder as you four made your way out of the hole between the roots. 

When the five of you, including Peter that was still transfigured as a rat and was now perched on James' shoulder, sighed in relief when the familiar castle stood before you. Without giving it much thought, you began walking the way you had arrived yesterday late at night, towards the astronomy tower to gather the things you had abandoned, but someone caught your wrist. 

You were met by the stormy grey eyes of Sirius looking directly into yours. " Where do you think you're going?" He said bluntly. 

You yanked your hand away and scowled at him, but suddenly softened your expression. " Sorry. I just thought you four would like some alone time after all this. I wouldn't like to intrude." You mumbled shyly. 

It wasn't like you to act like that, especially around someone like Sirius, but the whole werewolf situation had flipped your emotions upside down, and at any second, you still felt you could break down crying for no good reason. 

" Plus, I left some stuff in the astronomy tower before following the three of you into that bloody shack. I need to gather them." You cleared your throat, your tone becoming more imposing. 

" Why were you in the astr-" Sirius began, but suddenly realized the answer by himself. " Oh." Was all he said as he scratched the back of his neck. You began walking away towards the original destination you wanted to take once more.

" She's coming with us, Pads. She knows too much now. We need to talk to her." James interrupted, making you stop in your tracks. 

For some odd reason, your gaze shifted towards Sirius, like you were looking for some sort of confirmation that you could tag along. He smiled sheepishly and the both of you walked towards James and a now semi conscious, whimpering Remus.

You wanted to help get him to the hospital wing, but you were unsure the two boys would let you, and you didn't want to risk causing him more pain because of his external injuries. So when the big doors came into view, you skidded in front of the group and opened them for the three boys and the rat on James' shoulder to walk in. 

Madam Pomfrey immediately came to aid, seeming a bit surprised when she saw you, but moved all her attention to Remus not a second later. The Marauders seemed to know what to do, because they stepped out of the way of the nurse after helping Remus into a hospital bed.

You watched from a safe distance, not wanting to get in the way of the work. Remus looked in bad shape, with cuts and scratches all over his skin. After some minutes, James jogged over to you, with a serious face and not his typical care free grin. 

" (l/n). "

" Potter."

" We've got some things to discuss."