Forever Young

November 5th, 1977

Tonight was the full moon.

Sirius had a habit of checking when the next full moons were, and even to be excited for them, so when Moony started eating the reddest steak he could find at supper, Sirius was not surprised.

He glanced at James, who was staring at the other end of the hall, presumably at Regulus. Sirius didn't really mind that James and Reggie were dating, but he did mind that Prongs was always distracted and always staring at his brother.

Sirius felt an odd sense of protectiveness for his younger brother. It wasn't that he didn't trust James-- far from that actually, but he didn't want his baby brother getting hurt, even if their relationship had grown a little tense over the years at Hogwarts.

He felt a pressure on his shoulder and looked over to Remus who was staring at Sirius with a concerned look on his scarred face.

"Hey, t'sup?"

Sirius smiled. He loved Moony's direct way of speaking he got from his father. Walburga would've sneered and said low-class brats, but Sirius thought it was quite charming.

"I don't know, I was just thinking."

"Congratulations, I know you don't do that a whole lot." Peter said from the other side of the table.

Moony snickered and Padfoot rolled his eyes.

"Wormy don't eat to much you know hurts your stomach when you transform." Remus said, eyeing the plate Peter had piled for himself. Sausages, potatoes, beans, pasta, and well cooked steak.

Sirius thought that was a strange combination of food, but didn't comment.

The four Marauders finished up their plates and exited the great hall. Sirius, James, and Peter slipped under the invisibility cloak James had summoned, and trailed Remus all the way to the infirmary.

Sirius admired his boyfriend all the way there. He loved the polite smile he gave Lily when she greeted him, or the glare he shot at a group of Slytherin students leering at him.

Finally they arrived at the healing wing, where Madam Pomfrey opened the oak doors at the first touch of Remus' knuckles.

"My dear, are you ready? Minerva won't be able to join us tonight, so we'll have to go by ourselves."

"Okay." Remus breathed.

The three Marauders once again followed Remus and Madam Pomfrey through the school grounds, to the Whomping Willow standing proudly, its branches devoid of leaves in this early November night.

Sirius and his two friends stopped out of reach of the tree's aggressive branches, watching as Madam Pomfrey enchanted a stick to smack the nub that would calm the willow.

Padfoot watched as Remus walked into the entrance and disappear into the dept of the tunnel.

The Marauders had done this a hundred times before, and so they waited for Madam Pomfrey to resurface and walk away before getting rid of the cloak.

"Your turn Wormy." Sirius said, anxious to get to Remus. He hoped he would get there before the transformation.

Peter transformed into his animagus form, quickly darting through the sweeping branches of the guarding tree, making it freeze for the second time of the evening.

The sun was almost set now, the sky dimming every passing minute.

As soon as the tunnel opened, Sirius rushed in, passing in front of Peter and James. They let him.

Racing through the tunnel, Sirius transformed, his two legs forming into four, fur growing and senses sharpening. He could sense Remus at the other end, as well as the distinct smell of damp earth and the two other animals behind him.

They finally arrived at the shack. The smell of dust and old wood assaulted Sirius' nostrils, shards from the run-down planks digging into the pads of his paws. He ignored all of this, prancing to the boy sitting cross-legged in the center of the room.

He sniffed and licked eagerly at the boy's face, tail wagging excitedly. He liked this boy, Remus, his name was.

Remus petted his head, laughing at the dog's excitement.

Behind him, Prongs and Wormtail had emerged, closing the trap behind themselves.

Pads head-butted the boy, wanting a scratch. Remus complied, chuckling slightly. Sirius practically purred when the lovely boy scratched under his chin, right where he liked it.

The deer and the rat were going around the shack, sniffing things here and there.

Pads simply enjoyed the scratches and cuddled in the arms of his master.

As the last rays of light disappeared in the horizon, the boy beneath him stiffened, his scent changing slightly, becoming a little more blood-thirsty, more primal.

Padfoot knew this was his queue. He pranced off of his boy, joining Prongs and Wormy where they waited on the side for Moony's transformation.

They watched as the boy's writhed in pain, his face elongating, canines growing. His body grew a fur coat, his back arched forward, his eyes turned from kind to malevolent.

The transformation done, the werewolf sniffed, turning his head their way. It howled, a hungry, evil thing, and leaped for James, the easiest and biggest pray.

Pads leaped in his trajectory, tackling his beloved boy to the ground. It was like this every full-moon. Once the savage wolf accepted that they weren't prey, it would be calmer.

Rolling and fighting with Moony, Pads finally wrestled him to the ground, with nothing more than a scratch that was probably caused by the uneven floor.

The werewolf growled and curled in on itself.

Sirius couldn't help but admire the beautiful force of nature that his master was.

As the night progressed, the wolf calmed a bit. Prongs could be near him without to much risk, and Wormy could climb on the werewolf's head without being thrown in the first minute.

They ventured out of the shack for an hour or so, roaming through the woods, Padfoot making sure to change their trajectory when Moony tried to go near the village.

Even in his beast form, Sirius thought Remus was magnificent. And, as they pranced together through the woods, Sirius found himself more free and more happy than he'd been in a while.

He barked happily, howling when Moony did, just for fun. He play-chased the little rat and ran circles around the deer, who never seemed to be tired of his wagging tail and drooling tongue.

Unfortunately, the sun was starting to rise, and the boys were getting tired. They looped back to the shack, ushering in.

Sirius whined, trying to communicate to Prongs and Wormtail that they could go. They got the gist of the message and exited by the tunnel.

The werewolf didn't even try to escape or get a bite of Prong's butt before he left.

His master simply curled in a tight ball of the wooden floor, shivering as his animal strength left him.

Padfoot trotted upstairs to get a blanket that wasn't too shredded and heaved it over the shivering boy. He crawled under as well, cuddling in between the wolf's changing arms.

Padfoot could sniffed, sensing his smell changing from beast to the soft boy he loved. He smelled, like old books and peppermint tea.

Pads stood, still in his dog form and nuzzled his master in the neck waking him up. He watched the boy's eyes blink open, his face cracking into a small smile when he felt Sirius lick his face.

Sirius quickly sniffed for any new cuts. There was a tiny gash on his master's forearm, which he licked. It wasn't bleeding that much, so he left it alone.

He sat next to Remus, enjoying the scratches under his chin and behind his ears.

He sensed a new smell approaching, and apparently Remus did too because they both turned in the direction of the trap door.

Mere seconds later, Madam Pomfrey popped her head up from the tunnel, her eyes softening as she saw Remus healthy and smiling.

The gentle nurse never questioned the presence of Sirius in his animagus form. She probably thought he was a stray dog who Remus took a liking to. Or maybe she knew it was Sirius.

Anyways, she always carefully pushed away to tend to Remus, paying him no mind.

With one last lick, particularly slobbery to make Moony laugh, he left through the tunnel, going back to the school, where he was going to spend the day sleeping in class.