Chapter 39
Sirius had mixed feelings about the full moon. On one hand, he detested how it made Remus suffer. That so much of the pain in his good friend’s life was caused by a simply denoted day every month. That the reason so many people would blindly hate one of the best people Sirius had ever met was because of what happened for roughly 12 hours once every approximately 30 days. Not to mention the physical pain it caused his friend.
However, there was simply nothing like sprinting through the forest at top speed in his animagus form with his mates by his side.
The air in his fur, the ground beneath his paws, the rush of it all. Even Remus had once admitted that the flashes of memory he got from the full moon were a damn good time ever since they’d been able to join him.
Sure, it was a bit of a risk sneaking Remus in his wolf form out of the shrieking shack, but out in the woods he wouldn’t hurt himself clawing for freedom. Besides, he and James were plenty big enough to handle the wolf, and it wasn’t like many people were stupid enough to be out in the Dark Forest at night, especially on a full moon. Honestly, the biggest threat was other creatures, those rare few who wouldn’t see a werewolf and immediately turn tail. Few and far between.
The only real danger was to the squirrels and other small game who couldn’t get away fast enough. Actually, scratch that. The biggest danger was Moony coming across another skunk. Which (they’d found out afterwards) don’t even live in Scotland! That little tidbit made the stench all the worse. Only one in the whole country and somehow the wolf managed to tick it off.
Sirius was glad when Moony’s galop slowed and eventually paused. They’d been going for a while, and he wasn’t against a rest, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted a bit.
Moony’s nose twitched. He went up on his hind legs the way werewolves could, one way to tell the difference from an actual wolf, to catch a stronger whiff. Sirius didn’t bother trying to figure out exactly what scent caught the wolf’s attention, something he’d later regret, instead stealing himself to continue the run that was sure to follow. Chasing whatever poor creature the wolf decided was lunch.
<Squirl?> James guessed in Sirius and Peter’s minds.
<Could be a bird,> Peter suggested.
That was the moment Moony took off through the woods again, full on hunting mode.
<I guess we’ll find out,> Sirius answered as he took off after Remus, James with Peter on his back following behind.
They were headed towards the castle from where they’d been in the forest, but Sirius wasn’t worried. He knew this path, it led to a clearing not too far from the Hogwarts grounds where all kinds of small animals lived and larger ones hunted. He should have been worried.
When Sirius cleared the trees he didn’t see some squirrel or bird or rodent about to meet its maker. Instead, he saw Cousin Bella standing in the center of the clearing, looking calmly at the werewolf currently charging her.
Time slowed to a honey drip. Bella wasn’t moving, running away, grabbing her wand, anything! She wasn’t reacting at all to the clear and imminent danger.
Sirius didn’t think, he didn’t have time to. Sirius charged with all the speed his legs could give him. Barreling into Remus’s side just as his claws raked across Bella’s chest.
Bella seemed to snap out of her stupor, falling to the ground and screaming in pain. Crawling backwards away from the threat as Sirius tried to keep Remus back without hurting him. At least not too badly.
James was close, he’d join the fray in just a moment, but it was still too long. The wolf got past Sirius, heading towards Bellatrix with the opposite intensity of a field mouse sleeping peacefully under a flower.
Bella wasn’t helpless this time. She had her wand in her hand, and even though she was still on the ground, when the wolf charged her this time she responded with a well timed, “Bombarda!” that yeeted Remus across the clearing and back into the trees.
That would hurt in the morning.
She didn’t waste time. Turning and pushing herself up to her feet she began to run in the opposite direction that she’d thrown him, up towards the castle.
<You check Remus!> Sirius thought-yelled at James, and then turned to go after Bella himself. She was his cousin after all.
She was moving fast, but not as fast as he could. Especially with her scent everywhere because of the blood dripping from her wound. A concerning amount of blood. How deep were those scratches anyway?
He let her get to the edge of the forest, almost out of it, before transforming back into his human self and grabbing her roughly by the shoulder and spinning her to face him.
“What the fuck was that?!” he demanded. “Did you think because you’re dating he wouldn’t attack you or something?! Are you insane?!”
Bella was breathing hard, her face stark white. Either from fear or blood loss he couldn’t tell, probably a mix of both.
But, considering she was his Cousin Bella, she met him with anger. “No! Of course not! One second I was in my bed and then I blinked and suddenly there’s a werewolf in front of me!”
“What?” Sirius hissed, shaking his head.
“I don’t know! I was writing in my diary and then this!” she gestured to the four very deep gouges running from one collar bone to the top of her opposite breast. Magical wounds. Caused by a werewolf.
No wonder she looked unsteady on her feet.
“Let’s get you to Madam Pompfrey,” Sirius said, his anger gone. The fear was starting to overtake it--fear of all the different ways this night could continue to go wrong. Fear for his cousin. For Remus. For him, and James, and Peter. His throat was tight, which really didn’t help as he tried to hurry Bella across the grounds and into the castle. She made it to the front steps before he had to put his arm around her to help keep her steady, but he was practically carrying her by the time he pounded on the door to the hospital wing.
It was a good thing he lied to his family so much. The practice would help him think of some way to explain this that didn’t end with multiple expulsions.