Chapter 11
Sirius was going to be late, but he'd promised Barty he'd go for a smoke that evening, even though he'd previously said he wouldn't be able to.
"At least let us see your animagus form." Barty whined.
"Barty, I can't." Sirius sighed. "I really have to go."
"Sirius!" Barty pouted.
"Tell us what it is then." Evan bargained.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "A dog."
"Aww."
"See you tomorrow, yeah?" Evan asked. Sirius nodded.
"Course."
He walked quickly to the whomping willow, transforming to slip under the branches and press the knot with one paw. He trotted down the tunnel and transformed before pushing the door open and meeting his friends. Remus was sat by the window, but he looked up with a smile when he saw Sirius.
"I was beginning to think you weren't coming." He said. He held a hand out, Sirius took it, barely wincing as Remus gripped it tight, his body convulsing. The transformation always took a long time.
"I said I would." Sirius replied. "Sorry I was late."
"You're here now Pads." James grinned.
Remus let out a groan and lurched forward, Sirius caught him, letting him dig his fingers into his shoulders painfully.
"Moony?"
"I'm okay." Remus didn't sound convincing. Sirius frowned, pulling him close to his chest.
"I've got you."
"You have to let go of me, I don't want to hurt you." Remus whispered.
"Moons, I've faced a lot worse." Sirius whispered back.
Remus let out a yell, his bones cracking. The transformation kicking in.
"Pads you need to let go of him now." James said. Sirius nodded, even though he was hesitating.
"C'mon Sirius." Peter appeared by his side, prising Remus' hands off Sirius' shoulders.
"Remind me to tell Moony to cut his nails." James pulled Sirius away from Remus as he writhed on the floor and examining the marks Remus' nails had cut into Sirius' skin. The shoulder of his shirt blooming with blood.
Peter, James and Sirius always transformed when Remus' face began to change, which they did now.
Moony got up from the floor with a grunt, surveying them. He seemed happy to see Padfoot, bounding over to him, nudging him with his snout.
Padfoot nudged him back with his nose, and when one of Moony's big paws hit him too hard, he barked at him. Moony froze, as did Prongs and Wormtail, Padfoot never barked at Moony. Padfoot barked again, trying to break the tension, before whining and nuzzling his head into Moony's stomach.
Moony looked down at him, before swiping at him again. It took him off guard and he skidded into the wall with a yelp. Moony advanced, but Prongs stood in the way, antlers bared. Wormtail scampered over to Padfoot, to check he was okay. Padfoot licked the rats head gently to say thanks.
Prongs took a moment to glance at Padfoot, which gave Moony the opportunity to advance. Again he pounced on Padfoot, but this time the dog was ready for him. Picking Wormtail up in his mouth, he ran across the room, onto the bed, putting his friend down gently. Moony growled.
Jumping back down from the bed, Padfoot met Moony in the centre of the room, Moony snarled and hit him so hard he skidded out of the room and down the stairs.
Lying at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, Padfoot waited until he heard Moony getting tired, usually at around three am Moony would curl up and take a nap. However this was earlier than usual.
As the footsteps at the top of the stairs slowed, Padfoot limped up the stairs. Moony had curled up on the bed, Prongs sat beside him, but he was on alert. The worry in his eyes faded as he saw Padfoot enter the room.
Climbing onto the bed and curling beside Moony, feeling Wormtail climb onto his back and curl up in his soft fur, Padfoot closed his eyes and fell asleep, his body hurting, in a way he was less familiar with. These types of injuries weren't common from curses and charms.
Morning came and Remus was first to awake as always. He shifted and smiled at the cacaphony of animals surrounding him. He brushed a hand through the soft fur between Padfoots ears. "Hey Pads." His voice was soft. Padfoot raised his tired head and plonked it onto Remus' knee. "Tired?"
James awoke next, turning back at once. "How are you feeling Moons?"
"Not too bad, tired, heavy, but not injured." Remus smiled. He watched Wormtail climb off Padfoot and across the bed to transform. "Hey Pete."
"Hey Remus, you doing okay?"
"Not bad." Remus nodded. He ran another hand through Padfoots fur. "Hey Pads, wake up."
Padfoot just let out a whine and buried his head further into Remus' knee. Remus frowned.
"What's going on? Whats wrong with him?"
"You did a number on his last night, you threw him into the wall and down the stairs." James replied. "Maybe he's more injured than we realise."
"I did that?" Remus put a hand on Padfoots chest, earning a whine.
"Look at his back legs." Peter mumbled. All three did so, the limbs were swollen and one had bone sticking out of the ankle.
"We can't take him to Poppy if he's refusing to change back." James stressed.
"I don't blame him, his bones are broken, he doesn't want to deal with them reshaping on top of that, think about how painful that might be." Peter said. "Plus he's probably concussed."
"I'm shit at healing spells, how are we going to heal him?" James asked.
"I have an idea, but you're not going to like it." Remus said.
"What?" James asked.
"Regulus is good at healing spells." Remus told him. "Sirius mentioned it once."
"We can't tell Regulus!"
"He definitely knows everything already." Peter pointed out.
"Okay. Okay, I'll ask him." James sighed. "Moons, you wait here for Poppy, we'll take care of Pads."
"I'll be back as soon as I can." Remus promised.
Sirius whined.
"Pads is right, you stay with Poppy until you feel better." Peter replied, grabbing the cloak and watching as James carefully lifted Padfoot up. Peter covered them with the cloak and then they were gone, leaving Remus to pretend he'd spent the night alone.