The quidditch game
Mcgonnagal had left a few minutes ago and Remus body felt heavy, the weight of the full moon pressing him down like usually. It was like the Shrieking Shack was more terrible than he remembered each month and now in Novemebr, it was extraordinary scary, thoughts of Regulus, Sirius and Mary consu9his mind.
This night might be worse than usual…
The pain would come soon. Remus exhaled slowly, lying down on the bed. He hated this part the most- waiting. Knowing what was coming, knowing the pain and helplessness would consume him in jus a few minutes, but He couldn’t do anything to prevent it from happening.
Remsu wondered if he might feel better when he wouldn’t have to go through it alone every time. But he had to be by himself- he couldn’t risk someone getting hurt in the process.
The wind howled outside and the floorboards groaned under shifting weight.
Remus’ head snapped up.
That couldn’t be the wind.
A big fat rat moved around the room and Remus felt like throwing up at the sight. Maybe he didn’t imagine it after all.
“Damn, this place is becoming more horrific every month”, he mumbled to himself.
But then, the door of the closet creaked open and for a moment, he was too stunned to move. Something large and black came out. A massive dog, its dark fur blending into the shadows. The dog was unfamiliar , but his eyes- he would recognise these eyes everywhere.
“What the hell—?”
Before Remus could say something else, a third figure appeared on his right-it was a stag- so tall, that it’s antlers touched the ceiling.
“Fuck no…”, he murmured, his heart beating way to fast. “You Idiots- you didn’t-”
The dog, that Remus identified as Sirius, just barked at Remus before he changed- his bones shifted, his limbs lengthened and the fur melted away. It seemed almost graceful. For a moment, Remus hoped he looked like that too when transforming, but all the scars on his body proved him wrong.
Sirius was standing there, grinning like he hadn’t just committed the most reckless act of friendship Remus had ever witnessed.
“Surprise, Moony,” he then said, voice filled with pride. What an idiot. What a bloody brilliant idiot.
James changed next, putting on his glasses right away, like he hadn’t just been a stag. “Took us long enough, didn’t it?”
Then Peter, now too back to normal, grinned just as nervously as his other friends. Almost as if they were afraid of what Remus might say. “We wanted to tell you sooner, but…”
Remus could barely hear him. His ears were ringing and his mind was screaming. “You-”, he whispered, not knowing how to end the sentence properly. Swallowing hard, he again looked at his three friends, as if to check whether they were really there or not. “You absolute fools! Since when can you do that?!”
Sirius just smirked. “You’re welcome.”
Remus stood up, not noticing the way he was shaking. “You don’t understand—you could get hurt. We’ve never tried this before and-”
James interrupted him, smile still wide. “You don’t have to do this alone anymore.”
“We’re your friends, Moony. You didn’t think we’d let you suffer alone forever, did you?”, Sirius added.
He didn’t know what to think- or how to respond. The only thing he knew, was that the moon was rising higher and with that, the transformation came closer. He could feel it calling for him, making his bones ache.
“You have to go,” he whispered, his voice almost pleading “Please, just—”
“No.” Sirius was in front of him right away, gripping his shoulders tightly, and even though Remus tried his best, he couldn’t help himself but melt into the gesture. “We stay.”
James and Peter nodded, leaving no room for any more arguments. Remus’ vision blurred. His whole body was shaking now, not from fear, but from something entirely different. Something he knew quite too well.
Then the pain hit. Sirius caught him before he collapsed completely. Remus barely registered it. His skin was burning as the wolf fought to take over. They should have left. They still had time.
But they stayed.
Through the pain, Remus caught glimpses of movement—Sirius leaving his side again, fur growing out of his skin, limbs shortening. James beside him changed too, grew taller and stronger. Peter meanwhile shrinked down, his small form darting out of Remus’ sight.
And then the Moony, the real Moony, took control of not just Remus body, but also his mind.
The morning after, Remus woke up, expecting his body to be hurting just as much as usual, but it didn’t and when he looked up, seeing his three best friends curled up against each other on the cold wooden floor, Remus remembered why.
He used the bed sheets to cover his naked form before gently shaking James.
“Hey, James”, he whispered, still not believing how lucky he was to have these three as his mates. “You gotta go, Pomfrey will be here in a couple of minutes.”
James opened his eyes, then quickly put on his glasses and smiled as he noticed Remus state. “Merlin, look at you! You’ve never looked that good after a full moon!”
Remus couldn’t help but chuckle. They then woke up Peter and Sirius and Sirius was so thrilled that he just decided to hug Remus right there on the spot, with Remus still wearing nothing beneath the thin sheets. Remus couldn’t get his mind off of that stupid hug for days.
Even when he sneaked out of their dorm after curfew, meeting up with regulus in all sort of different places to smoke and snog, Remus thought about Sirius long curls and his hot breath on Remus neck.
It was on a Sunday morning, just an hour before the Quidditch game against Slytherin, when Remus and Regulus were sitting in an empty classroom. Regulus was already dressed in his Quidditch robes, and Remus did his best to braid his medium-length hair into one thick braid.
“Do I get a kiss if I win?” Regulus asked, pulling out a cigarette.
“Sure,” Remus replied, concentrating on finishing his work as a hair stylist. “But James has practiced so much, I doubt he’ll lose.”
Regulus scoffed, exhaling smoke through his nose. “Nah, you Gryffindors don’t know how to play properly, Lupin. Confidence is good, but overconfidence will get him thrown off his broom..”
Remus tugged his braid sharply in response, making Regulus hiss. “Prat.” Then Regulus shifted, pulling Remus closer, pressing their foreheads together.
“I mean it, though,” he murmured. “If I win, I want more than a kiss.”
Remus swallowed, his hands still in Regulus’ hair. “We’ll see.” He didn’t want to think about how things would be once they were on opposite sides of the pitch. It was easy to forget, in stolen moments like this, that Regulus was a Black, a Slytherin, and someone he wasn’t supposed to be kissing in dimly lit classrooms. But out there, where the school would be watching, they were just two boys. They were enemies, in a way. And Sirius…
Sirius.
Remus pushed the thought aside. He had enough to worry about already.
James had been hyping the team up for days, his confidence infectious, while Sirius had been more aggressive than usual, taking out whatever emotions he wasn’t talking about on the field. The stands were packed. The tension was thick in the air as Gryffindor and Slytherin took their positions, brooms hovering over the field. Sirius was grinning wildly, already throwing cocky remarks towards the Slytherin team.
Remus could hear the insults even from the stand. He was with Peter and Mary, who was thrilled to see Sirius play. She even wore his practice Trikot, Sirius O. Black spelled on the back. Remus tried to distracted himself by staring at Regulus, who smiled at him from time to time. He looked cool and composed, his expression betraying nothing.
Remus wasn’t sure what they were, if they were anything at all. And if Sirius noticed the way his little brother kept glancing toward their group during meal times, he didn’t say anything. Maybe he was sensing something, but Remus really hoped he didn’t know anything at all. They wouldn’t be able to be friends after this.
Then the whistle blew, and the game was on.
The match itself was a blur of motion, red and green flashing through the sky. Sirius played recklessly, scoring countless points and shouting at his teammates. Regulus was quieter, more calculated, his skill as a Seeker undeniable.
The brothers had clashed more than once during the match, like they wanted to prove something they couldn’t sort out otherwise They didn’t exchange words, but they didn’t need to—each movement was a challenge, an unspoken dare.
And then it happened.
Thirty minutes in, Gryffindor was leading by twenty points, and the crowd was going wild. James had just scored another goal when Regulus, determined not to lose, flew through the air, trying to get the snitch. Sirius was right behind him, close enough to reach out.
A blur of red and green. A harsh, violent crash. The moment Sirius slammed into Regulus, Remus stood up.
It wasn’t an accident, not the kind that happened in the chaos of a match. This was different.
Regulus' broom broke against one of the stands. The speed was too much, the angle too sharp. His grip faltered, Remus could see it. And then, in an instant Regulus lost hold completely.
A collective gasp went through the stadium while Regulus fell to the ground.
Remus felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore, so he started running.
He barely registered the people around him, the shocked whispers, the yells from the commentator's booth. His feet hit the stairs, then the grass, his hip protesting in pain.
By the time he reached Regulus, the younger Black brother was surrendered by other Slytherin players, his dark hair covering part of his face.
Remus hesitated, his instincts screaming at him to do something—anything—but he couldn’t get himself to act. He couldn't touch him, nor show how deeply affected he was. Not here. Not with so many people watching them.
“Is he—” Remus started, his voice shaking.
“He’s breathing,” Evan said quickly, not looking up.
Remus exhaled, but the relief barely had time to settle before another figure dropped onto the ground.
Remus snapped his head up to see Sirius walking towards them, his face full of something ugly and defensive. Remus was on his feet in seconds.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”, he yelled, his voice sharper than intended, but Remus didn’t care.
“It was a legal hit”, Sirisu scoffed, clearly nervous.
“A fair—” Remus let out a short, bitter laugh, stepping closer. “You nearly killed him, Sirius!”
“Oh, don’t be dramatic,” Sirius replied. “He’ll be fine. I….I have taken worse falls.”
“He fell fifteen fucking feet, Sirius!” Remus barely noticed the heads turning to them, the whispers spreading through the crowd that was beginning to gather. Remus reminded himself that he couldn’t be like that, he was way too shaken for a boy who’s supposed to be nothing more but an acquaintance.
“Well, maybe if the innocent little Regulus could handle himself better—”, Sirius shot back angrily, making Remus furious.
He didn’t think. He just acted. His hands shoved Sirius back, hard enough that he stumbled. If it wouldn’t have been for James, maybe he would’ve thrown a punch.
“Remus, stop!” He screamed, but Remus wasn’t listening.
“You’re unbelievable,” Remus spat. “This isn’t just about the game, is it? You can’t stand the fact that he’s better than you.”
Sirius’ face darkened. “Better than me?” he scoffed. “At what, exactly? Lying to himself? Playing perfect little heir for our fucked up family?”
“You act like you’re nothing like them, but then you do shit like this.” He gestured to Regulus’ unmoving form. “You think you’re so different, but you’re just as cruel.”
Sirius punched Remus in the face with immersive force, blood dripping onto the pitch.
Before Remus could respond, Madam Hooch and Professor McGonagall finally reached them, both looking furious. “Enough,” McGonagall said sharply. “Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, stop it. Now.”
Madam Hooch was already kneeling beside Regulus. “We need to get him to the hospital wing immediately.”
As they left, neither Sirius nor Remus said another word. But they both knew the damage was done.