Full Moons Are Torture.

As Harry exits the fireplace, he arrives in a room full of angry and worried people's faces. Someone comes running up to him, wrapping their arms tightly around his torso. Harry looks down and is met with red hair. Lily looks up at his face and smiles at him before leading him to an armchair. Harry sits down just as the fireplace bursts into flames and 2 figures step out. Sirius immediately turns to Remus, who is sitting down on an armchair himself. Lily glances at the fireplace before whipping out her wand and pointing it at Draco. James joined her, who's standing next to Regulus. Draco puts his hands up and stands still, a frightened look on his face.

"Mr Potter, I'm just here to help Harry. Kingsley set me as his 'chaperone' for this year at Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione can vouch, and so can Sirius. They were all there." Draco blurts out.

Lily drops her wand, moving to the kitchen to get Harry some water. James glances at Sirius, who nods and drops his wand. James then summons another chair for Draco before sitting down himself in a chair next to Regulus. 

"Ron, Hermione. Will you two be returning to Hogwarts for your last year?" James asks. 

They both nod.

"Good. Can you two keep an eye on Harry? We won't be there to help him through his first transformation. You four do know how to get to the shrieking shack, correct? Severus can help you at Hogwarts. It's through the passage under the Whomping Willow. It's what we used for Remus when he transformed, then he can run free through the forest before returning to the Shack before transforming back. But of course, you three aren't Animgi so that will be harder-" He gets cut out by Ron.

"Sir, we could become Animagi. I cant say much for Draco, or Hermione, but if I can help Harry by becoming an Animagus, I'll do it." Ron looks at me, smiling before turning back to James. 

"I'll do it too sir, I want to help Harry as well," Hermione announces. Draco rolls his eyes before replying,

"I guess I'll do it too if I'm his chaperone, I'll need to keep an eye on him throughout the transformation. And, to be honest, I've always been a little curious about Animagi." Draco looks at James, who nods.

"I guess that is possible, you are, by law, permitted to be Animagi. I think it would be beneficial. I'll go inform the Ministry, you three come with me to get your instructions and so they have conformation." James leads them three through the fireplace back to the ministry. 

As they disappear in the flames, Lily returns with a glass of water, handing it to Harry before healing any leftover cuts. After she does this, Sirius and Remus help Harry walk up to his room and rest in his bed. After they leave to make sure no one is fighting downstairs, Harry grabs his book and begins to read. Ever since Remus bit him, his eyesight has gotten significantly better, causing him to not need his glasses anymore. He continues to read till he hears footsteps coming up the stairs, his hearing has also improved since the bite. His door opens and Ron, Hermione, and Draco all enter, holding identical packets. Hermione sits on his bed, Ron summons a chair to sit in and Draco walks to the window.

"How you doing Harry?" Hermione asks.

"Im good thanks 'Mione. What are those packets?" Harry replies.

"They are the instructions to become Animagi. I'm becoming a Jack Russell." Ron replies.

"Im becoming an owl. People who become Animagi normally choose their patronus animal to change." Hermione replies.

They all look at Draco, who is still standing at the window. 

"I dont have a patronus, so I chose my animal. I'm becoming a black dog, same as Sirius. He said having a canine was helpful, and I chose before Ron so.." Draco finishes speaking and turns back to the window. 

"Alright. Thanks, guys, you dont have to do this but I'm thankful." Harry says, looking back at Ron and Hermione. 

"No problem mate, just promise not to eat me and we're good." Ron jokes, yelping in shock when Hermione hits him on the arm.

They all laugh for a while before Ron Hermione and Draco all go downstairs to complete their transformation. Harry's becoming drowsy so he sleeps for a while, waking up about an hour later when he hears laughter downstairs. He gets out of bed, rubs his eyes, and walks downstairs where he enters the living room to chaos. There's a light brown owl perched on Lily's armchair and two black dogs lying down next to each other as a stag and a large Jack Russell jump around each other. Everyone stops when they see Harry enter the room. The owl lands on the floor and spins before turning into Hermione. She smiles at Harry before turning to the Jack Russell and glaring at it. The dog rolls its eyes before jumping up and turning into Ron. He grins sheepishly at Harry before looking at the stag, which stomped its hoof and then turned into James. Everyone turns to look at the two black dogs lying on the floor. The dogs look at each other before one jumps up and turns into Draco. The other one just lays his head on the ground. 

"Sirius cmon, theres still more to learn about this," Hermione says, walking over to where Sirius lies.

Sirius whines before jumping up and turning into himself. He looks at James, who just shrugs, before rolling his eyes and sitting down on a chair.

"Hermione, since you were whining like a little kid, you will now be treated like one. Hermione, Ron, Draco, and Harry, sit on the floor in front of me like you're in school." Sirius grins as the other adults laugh.

They all grumble before doing as they're told and sitting down in front of Sirius. He grins down at them. 

"So what do you wanna know?" He asks when they're all seated.

"How will we get past Filch and teachers in the halls?" Hermione questions.

"Harry still has the Marauder's map and his invisibility cloak, you can use those to not get caught. Use the Whomping Willow passage to get to the Shack before the transformation starts. As soon as the full moon is revealed to Harry he will start to transform. Hermione can fly through the branches and press the knob under the tree to stun it, then you all can crawl through. Harry will most likely be experiencing discomfort and fidgeting a lot, so be careful to not make any sound while leaving the castle. Minerva will be aware so she will most likely tell the necessary teachers. Severus already knows and he will be brewing the Wolfsbane potion that you can collect after dinner before you leave. No one else can know, we dont want the Daily Prophet figuring it out." James replies, walking over to sit by Sirius. 

Severus nods when he is mentioned, still perching on Lily's chair. 

"I should start now so I'm prepared for next month, and I'll ask Minerva if you four could arrive earlier. Maybe a few days before everyone else? Just to get used to the castle." The adults nod their agreement. 

"So should we all go pack? I mean term starts in a week, so we should leave tomorrow if possible." Ron says.

"That would be logical, I'll owl Minerva now. You four, go home and pack." Severus replies, walking to the fireplace and flooing wherever he lives. 

"You would be welcome to stay for a while Lils, James, and Reg are," Remus says, trying to be a good host as always. 

"I'm okay Remus, thanks. I need to go home anyways. I'll see you later Harry." Lily replies, walking over to the fireplace and flooing to where Severus went. 

"The guest bedroom is upstairs, you remember Reg. You can get your stuff tomorrow after we all have a rest." Sirius says, already looking tired, "Kreacher! Can you make dinner, please? It's for, are you three staying for dinner?" Sirius directs the question to Draco, Ron, and Hermione. 

"No thanks, Pansy is making something special. I just hope it's not poison." Hermione replies. 

"Yeah, mum's making her famous Meatballs with Onion Sauce. I can't miss that, thanks Sirius." Ron says.

"No thanks, Mother says she has something special for me tonight," Draco answered, walking towards the fireplace. He glances at Harry,

"See you tomorrow Potter," he says before stepping into the flames. 

Hermione and Ron follow suit after, leaving Harry, Sirius, Remus, James, and Regulus there. 

"Kreacher, the dinners for five, can you do that? Thank you. It's about half an hour before dinners ready so we can just relax till then." Sirius says, before walking up the stairs.

Remus follows him, and then James and Regulus go to their room. Harry goes to his and continues to read his book. A little while later he hears Remus calling him for dinner. He walks downstairs to see everyone staring at him.

"Everything alright?" He asks.

"Did you just hear Remus call you from upstairs?" Sirius asks, mouth dropping in surprise when Harry nods.

"Why? Is that bad?" 

"No just, Remus didn't shout Harry. He said it normally, and I know how soundproof these walls are." Sirius replies. 

Harry's eyes widen.

"So, how did I hear that then? I was two floors up!" 

"It's probably your werewolf skills. Even when it's not the full moon, or before it, your senses are still stronger than humans. For example, hearing, smell, taste, vision, to name a few. You've probably noticed that you dont need your glasses anymore." Remus replies, looking up from his plate. 

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Harry says, taking his seat next to Sirius. 

Remus helps Kreacher pass around the food. There is Cottage Pie, Baked Potatoes, Sausages, Mashes Potatoes, Stew and more. There are pitchers of pumpkin juice and some bottles of butterbeer. Everyone fills their plates and digs in, eating not even near half before everyone is full. Then for desserts, there are, Treacle Tart, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Butterbeer Cupcakes, Exploding Bonbons, and even some Crystallised Pineapple. Everyone eats as much as they can, laughing and joking as they do so. After they are full, they gather by the fire, just relaxing and chatting with each other, mugs of Remus' special Carmel hot chocolate in everyone's hands. After a while, when all the mugs are empty, everybody gets drowsy and decides to turn in for the night. As Harry walks up to his room after saying goodnight to everyone, he feels a sense of peace and happiness. He grabs his PJs and walks to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He turns on the shower, making sure the temperature is just right, before taking his clothes off and washing himself. He washes off all the dried blood and dirt, washing his hair too, before turning the water off and stepping out. He dries himself with a drying charm and changes into his pajamas. He brushes his teeth before walking to his bedroom, switching off the main light and lighting a candle on his bedside table. He gets out his book and reads for a little before feeling sleepy. He puts his book down, blows out the candle, and relaxes in his bed.

Harry closes his eyes and as he drifts off, he wonders,

How will his final year at Hogwarts go with Malfoy?