Full Moon
The first night in the dorm was odd. The four boys spent the night putting their things away. Peter and James sat on one of the beds talking the night away whilst Sirius chose to take comfort in his bed while the curtains are drawn. Remus tossed and turned, with the full moon approaching he was getting restless. The wolf in him, fighting to get out.
The next day classes started. The first year Gryffindors had Potions first with Ravenclaws, then defence against the dark arts with Slytherins, they then had a free period before heading to transfiguration with Slytherins as well.
Remus was woken by Peter yelping as James pushed him out of bed. He picked out Sirius's voice, the black-haired boy laughing loudly. He heard footsteps nearing him. Before he could react he was squished by the laughing boy.
"Sirius, geroff me," Remus struggled to say with his lungs being crushed by him.
'Nah, I'm good here," Sirius practically laid on top of him. Although he had moved to the side so only half of his body covered Remus.
Remus rolled his eyes before pushing the boy onto the floor.
With a heavy thump, the boy landed on the floor with wide eyes
"That was uncalled for Remus," he said with a laugh lacing his voice.
"You're dramatic." Remus shrugged before getting out of bed.
Sirius stood and attempted to tackle Remus once more. Remus stepped to the side leaving Sirius to fall into the nightstand.
"Nice one sirius," James called out. He was currently helping Peter, who couldn't find his wand.
The boys spent the next two weeks a chaotic mess. Sirius and James developed a bond like no other, Peter, whilst James' childhood best friend, couldn't compare to Sirius. Of course, James still cared deeply for the boy and considered him one of his best and closest friends, but Sirius was something else.
With the full moon approaching Remus' joints were hurting him. His hip was the worse, he had started limping more than before. He had always had a slight limp due to his hip but it worsened around the full moon. The other three had started to notice the limp more and more. They pestered him to go see Madam Pompfrey. He of course refused. He didn't know if she knew of his condition and he wasn't inclined to explain it. He knew Dumbledore has spoken with his parents and Professor McGonagall about the course of action for the full moon. His head of house had yet to speak with him about what he was supposed to do.
He was in potions when she walked in asking to see him. Slughorn motioned for him to follow her out the door
"Mr. Lupin, come with me, we need to talk."
"Is this about my condition?"
"Yes."
They walked to her office where Madam Pompfrey was sitting. Remus took the other seat facing McGonagall.
"Mr.Lupin, this is Madam Pompfrey, She'll be taking care of you after the full moons, Your parents said that as you've gotten older the wolf is tearing you apart. Is that true?"
"Sorta. I think he gets restless being copued up you know? So he turns his aggression on me. I've got scars all over, i'm just lucky he hasn't gone for my face, i don't know how i'd explain that to my friends."
"Ah yes, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, and Mr. Petteigrew if i'm correct?"
"And Lee Middleton, He's a friend from home. He actually is aware of my condition."
"Is he? That is very dangerous Mr. Lupin. You should not tell anyone else. Werewolves are technically not permitted here at Hogwarts. We took a great risk to bring you here."
"I know Professeor, I told him before I left home. I didn't know he'd be here. He didn't tell me."
" I see. "
"I'll make sure no one else finds out."
"Good. Now, on the night of the full moon I expect you to report to my office immediately after dinner, From there we will go to the womping willow. Theres a passage to an abandoned house. We've placed wards around the house to keep you from getting out, and to keep others from getting in. Only you, myself, and Madam Pompfrey will be able to get in. noone will dare to get close to the womping willow, and thats the only way in."
"Got it, May I go back to class?"
"Of course Mr. Lupin."
Remus bid goodbye to the two women and made his way back to Slughorn's classroom. When he made it back to his seat Sirius turned to him.
"What did McGonagall want?" He asked
"Nothing important, some stuff happened back home 'sall She just wanted to let me know" The lie rolled off his tongue with ease. It seemed to be believable because Sirius turned back around and continued his notes.
The next few days seemed to fly by. Before he knew it the full moon had approached. As he sat in the Great Hall for dinner he wondered what he could tell his friends to get away.
"Hey Remus, wanna play Snaps after dinner?" James asked.
"I don't feel good actually, I think I'll just go see Madam Pomfrey after dinner, Don't wanna get you guys sick."
Sirius looked at him with concern, "Is it something to do with your Hip?" he asked.
"Sorta." Remus left it at that and slowly made his way out of the great hall towards the infirmary. He didn't think he could make it up all those steps.
As he entered the room Madam Pomfrey was leaving, "Oh Remus! What are you still doing down here?" She asked.
"I don't think I can walk up those stairs, I figured my next best option was to come to you."
"Oh you poor thing, okay, let me send an owl to Professor McGonagall. "
She wrote out a note and sent the owl on his way, "Come Remus, Will make out way down there. She'l meet us."
The two walked slowly to the Willow, and McGonagall met them halfway.
"Are you going to be alright on your own Mr Lupin?" The professor asked him
"Yeah, I've done this 68 times before, I'll be alright."
McGonagall looked apprehensive at this but reductively left the topic alone. As they approached the tree She grabbed a long stick and hit a knob causing the tree to stop moving, upon closer looks there was a tunnel at the base of the tree. She motioned for Madam Pomfrey to enter then Remus followed behind. Once they were all inside they made their way down the tunnel towards the shrieking shack.
As they reached the end, they came to a door, stopping Professor McGonagall turned to look at Remus, "I hope you understand but this is as far as we can go, Madam Pompfrey will be back in the morning to escort you back to the castle.
Remus nodded and entered the room, there was a bed with fresh sheets on it in the corner. There was one window that looked onto the forbidden forest, and a door. Remus assumed that the building was warded and there was no chance of the wolf escaping, but that didn't stop the feeling as though something bad could happen.
Before he knew it the moon had fully risen. His shoulder dislocated causing him to yelp in pain. His bones, muscles, organs, his everything, hurt to the point he could barely breathe, of course, the screaming didn't help.
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The wolf paced around the room, he was angry, he wanted out. He wanted to hunt. He scratched at himself leaving deep red gashes everywhere. For the first time, he scratched his face too.