Marauders to the End: Year One, Chapter Six
TITLE: Mercy for the Werewolf
FANDOM: Harry Potter
CHARACTERS: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Albus Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: None
SUMMARY: The full moon has come. Remus is frightened and Sirius is suspicious.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY: This chapter came off as very serious, and entirely pretentious. But at least I got the continuity down...
As is was, Remus’s question was answered the very next day when a very ruffled owl fluttered down and handed him a note. Remus gulped. He’d forgotten, in all his excitement, that there was a full moon tonight. He read the note under the table and quickly re-rolled it. His instructions were clear: go to the hospital wing at three o’clock.
He must have looked paler than usual when he turned back to his breakfast, because James immediately asked if everything was all right.
“What? Oh, yes! I just have to, er, get home for a very important family function tonight. But I should be back tomorrow.”
“What sort of important family function do you have to get home for on short notice?” Sirius asked.
“My cousin Mercy’s wedding,” Remus answered. Of course he was lying. Weddings are planned months in advance and there was no way Remus could go to Mercy’s and be back by tomorrow. (She was a cousin on his mother’s side and lived in Italy.)
“Aren’t weddings usually planned months in advance?” Peter asked.
“Well, she needs to be married in a hurry.”
His friends asked for more details, but Remus managed to shake them off with the lame excuse of having to pack.
Finally, alone in the dormitory, Remus could think about what he’d have to do that night. He didn’t know where he was going to be taken, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be pleasant.
How long he sat brooding, he didn’t know. All he knew was that the door suddenly opened (despite begging the other boys to knock first, Remus’s roommates insisted on just barging in without warning) and Sirius came in. Remus immediately hastened to look busy and like he was actually packing.
“Remus?” Sirius began.
“Yeah?”
“Er... is it essential that you actually be at this wedding today?”
“Well, she is my cousin...”
“Yeah, but, you just got here, and wouldn’t it be better if you got through your first week of school before charging off at the slightest need?”
“No,” Remus said shortly. He glanced at the clock. Noon. Only three hours.
“Ok,” Sirius said. “But if you ask me...”
“I didn’t,” Remus snapped. Then he relented. “Look, it’s just something I have to do.”
Sirius raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
It was with a heavy heart and a mind full of doubts that Remus went to the hospital wing at three o’clock. He couldn’t imagine what Dumbledore had cooked up for him.
When he reached the hospital wing, the headmaster was there waiting for him. “Ah, good,” Dumbledore said when Remus came in. “We’re ready. Madame Pomfrey, please listen to the instructions I give Remus so you can assist him if needed.”
Madame Pomfrey, the nurse, nodded.
“Now, Remus,” Dumbledore began. “Every month at this time, you will go onto the grounds and go to the Whomping Willow. There is a certain knot you will prod to freeze the tree long enough for you to go down the passage beside that knot. You will follow that passage. It will lead you to a shabby house recently built in Hogsmeade. You will transform there.”
Remus nodded, although he still wondered about one thing.
As though Dumbledore could read minds, he answered the unasked question. “I’m afraid we couldn’t get a good shipment of livestock for you. There is furniture for you to tear apart, but...”
“That’s not enough,” Remus finished. He had been afraid of this. One thing he knew was that when there was nothing to bite, he had to bite himself.
“So... are you ready?”
“Yes.” Remus hesitated a moment. “I won’t be missing any classes, will I?”
“If you need time to recover, you will do it here. Your make up work will be sent up to you.”
Remus nodded.
“Then come.” Dumbledore swept out of the hospital wing with Remus following.
“Do you think Remus is telling the truth?” Sirius asked.
James shrugged. “I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t be. Why do you think he isn’t?”
“He didn’t seem to do much in the way of ‘packing,’” Sirius pointed out.
“He’ll only be gone for one night,” Peter said. “He didn’t have to pack very much.”
“Even so...”
“If he’s lying, it’s none of our business,” James cut in. “If he doesn’t want us to know, he doesn’t want us to know, and that’s the end of it. We’re his friends. We should respect his privacy.”
“But we’re his friends,” Sirius responded. “He owes us the truth. If he doesn’t want us to know, he could just say that it’s none of our business.”
“How do you know he’s lying?” Peter asked. “He left an hour ago. He should be back tomorrow. I think he should be able to go to a wedding without a lot of hassle.”
Sirius shrugged but didn’t say anything. He’d figure out the truth eventually.
Remus was back the next morning, looking very tired and pale. He didn’t say anything about the “wedding,” and ignored any questions asked about it. Sirius’s suspicions deepened, but since James had ordered him and Peter not to mention it, he didn’t ask any questions.
Remus didn’t know that James had forbidden any question of his goings, but he was grateful none were asked beyond the usual “How was the wedding?” stuff, although he did notice Sirius said it with a slight bit of sarcasm. He decided to ignore this. Maybe if he didn’t give any indications of the truth, Sirius wouldn’t find out, but even as he thought this, he knew that wasn’t the case. One of the things Remus had determined from one week of knowing Sirius was that both of them were smart and Sirius was (although Remus hated to admit it) a bit smarter than all his friends.
Still, Remus was glad he didn’t have to answer stupid questions. He was exhausted and aching from the night before. He didn’t have a very clear memory of it, although when the moon had waned he found he had several new bite marks and scratches, which he charmed into invisibility before going down to meet his friends. By his calculations, he’d be nothing but scars by the time he graduated.
And already, the residents of Hogsmead were beginning to fear the shack off the high road.
FANDOM: Harry Potter
CHARACTERS: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Albus Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: None
SUMMARY: The full moon has come. Remus is frightened and Sirius is suspicious.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY: This chapter came off as very serious, and entirely pretentious. But at least I got the continuity down...
As is was, Remus’s question was answered the very next day when a very ruffled owl fluttered down and handed him a note. Remus gulped. He’d forgotten, in all his excitement, that there was a full moon tonight. He read the note under the table and quickly re-rolled it. His instructions were clear: go to the hospital wing at three o’clock.
He must have looked paler than usual when he turned back to his breakfast, because James immediately asked if everything was all right.
“What? Oh, yes! I just have to, er, get home for a very important family function tonight. But I should be back tomorrow.”
“What sort of important family function do you have to get home for on short notice?” Sirius asked.
“My cousin Mercy’s wedding,” Remus answered. Of course he was lying. Weddings are planned months in advance and there was no way Remus could go to Mercy’s and be back by tomorrow. (She was a cousin on his mother’s side and lived in Italy.)
“Aren’t weddings usually planned months in advance?” Peter asked.
“Well, she needs to be married in a hurry.”
His friends asked for more details, but Remus managed to shake them off with the lame excuse of having to pack.
Finally, alone in the dormitory, Remus could think about what he’d have to do that night. He didn’t know where he was going to be taken, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be pleasant.
How long he sat brooding, he didn’t know. All he knew was that the door suddenly opened (despite begging the other boys to knock first, Remus’s roommates insisted on just barging in without warning) and Sirius came in. Remus immediately hastened to look busy and like he was actually packing.
“Remus?” Sirius began.
“Yeah?”
“Er... is it essential that you actually be at this wedding today?”
“Well, she is my cousin...”
“Yeah, but, you just got here, and wouldn’t it be better if you got through your first week of school before charging off at the slightest need?”
“No,” Remus said shortly. He glanced at the clock. Noon. Only three hours.
“Ok,” Sirius said. “But if you ask me...”
“I didn’t,” Remus snapped. Then he relented. “Look, it’s just something I have to do.”
Sirius raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
It was with a heavy heart and a mind full of doubts that Remus went to the hospital wing at three o’clock. He couldn’t imagine what Dumbledore had cooked up for him.
When he reached the hospital wing, the headmaster was there waiting for him. “Ah, good,” Dumbledore said when Remus came in. “We’re ready. Madame Pomfrey, please listen to the instructions I give Remus so you can assist him if needed.”
Madame Pomfrey, the nurse, nodded.
“Now, Remus,” Dumbledore began. “Every month at this time, you will go onto the grounds and go to the Whomping Willow. There is a certain knot you will prod to freeze the tree long enough for you to go down the passage beside that knot. You will follow that passage. It will lead you to a shabby house recently built in Hogsmeade. You will transform there.”
Remus nodded, although he still wondered about one thing.
As though Dumbledore could read minds, he answered the unasked question. “I’m afraid we couldn’t get a good shipment of livestock for you. There is furniture for you to tear apart, but...”
“That’s not enough,” Remus finished. He had been afraid of this. One thing he knew was that when there was nothing to bite, he had to bite himself.
“So... are you ready?”
“Yes.” Remus hesitated a moment. “I won’t be missing any classes, will I?”
“If you need time to recover, you will do it here. Your make up work will be sent up to you.”
Remus nodded.
“Then come.” Dumbledore swept out of the hospital wing with Remus following.
“Do you think Remus is telling the truth?” Sirius asked.
James shrugged. “I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t be. Why do you think he isn’t?”
“He didn’t seem to do much in the way of ‘packing,’” Sirius pointed out.
“He’ll only be gone for one night,” Peter said. “He didn’t have to pack very much.”
“Even so...”
“If he’s lying, it’s none of our business,” James cut in. “If he doesn’t want us to know, he doesn’t want us to know, and that’s the end of it. We’re his friends. We should respect his privacy.”
“But we’re his friends,” Sirius responded. “He owes us the truth. If he doesn’t want us to know, he could just say that it’s none of our business.”
“How do you know he’s lying?” Peter asked. “He left an hour ago. He should be back tomorrow. I think he should be able to go to a wedding without a lot of hassle.”
Sirius shrugged but didn’t say anything. He’d figure out the truth eventually.
Remus was back the next morning, looking very tired and pale. He didn’t say anything about the “wedding,” and ignored any questions asked about it. Sirius’s suspicions deepened, but since James had ordered him and Peter not to mention it, he didn’t ask any questions.
Remus didn’t know that James had forbidden any question of his goings, but he was grateful none were asked beyond the usual “How was the wedding?” stuff, although he did notice Sirius said it with a slight bit of sarcasm. He decided to ignore this. Maybe if he didn’t give any indications of the truth, Sirius wouldn’t find out, but even as he thought this, he knew that wasn’t the case. One of the things Remus had determined from one week of knowing Sirius was that both of them were smart and Sirius was (although Remus hated to admit it) a bit smarter than all his friends.
Still, Remus was glad he didn’t have to answer stupid questions. He was exhausted and aching from the night before. He didn’t have a very clear memory of it, although when the moon had waned he found he had several new bite marks and scratches, which he charmed into invisibility before going down to meet his friends. By his calculations, he’d be nothing but scars by the time he graduated.
And already, the residents of Hogsmead were beginning to fear the shack off the high road.