The Marauders: Moony

Remus And The Sunrise

It was definitely broken.

How had she been so clumsy?

Her vision started to blur as tears welled in her lower eyelids and threatened to tumble down her cheeks.

She was broken out of her self pity by the sound of voices nearby.

She froze. Nobody could see her out here at dawn after the full moon. Nobody could find out. She had done well so far at keeping it a secret, and it was going to stay that way.

She remained as still as possible, still holding her broken right wrist in her left hand, as her eyes darted around, looking for the source of the sound.

She could see three boys a short distance away. James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. They were making their way to the clearing to Remus, carrying two large blankets and two flasks brimmed with hot drinks.

They were laughing and joking and passed by without noticing her concealed under the canopy of the trees a short distance away.

Once they were out of view and earshot, she let out the breath that she had been holding. She pushed herself up from the cold, muddy grass, and made her way back to the castle.

***

Remus could hear the familiar voices of his three best friends as they approached him.

He shivered. It was cold. He was damp.

He heard them getting closer, still laughing and joking. Then they stopped.

"Where is she?" Peter whispered.

Remus opened his eyes. The long grass covered his modesty whilst James threw him a blanket from a short distance away.

"Here you go, Moony." He said, and then bit his bottom lip. James was frowning and looked deep in thought.

Remus picked up the thick blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders before pushing himself to his feet.

Peter approached him and handed him a flask of hot coffee. Remus opened the lid and watched the steam rise up into the frosty winter air. He took a sip and let the liquid warm him from the inside. He noticed that Peter had another flask in his hand. He looked to James and realised that James also had a second blanket.

The three boys were awkwardly quiet. They were never quiet. What was wrong?

Remus thought back to the night before. 

He remembered his final moments before he fell asleep. They had both been laying in this very clearing, surrounded by the tall strands of grass, under the bright light of the full moon.

He felt a pang of disappointment that she had gone. He was hoping that she would be there when he woke up, that way he would finally find out who she was.

He looked up and noticed that his three best friends were all looking at him with sad expressions on their faces.

"It doesn't matter." He croaked. His voice was quiet, strained. He felt embarrassed.

"It's bloody freezing! Has anyone brought me some clothes?" He asked cheerily, trying to lighten the mood and change the subject.

Sirius Black handed him a ball of clothes and dropped his old leather shoes onto the floor in front of him. The three boys turned around to give him some privacy to put his clothes on. He could hear them whispering but chose to ignore it.

As Remus pulled on his socks, he noticed how good he felt. Usually after the full moon, he would be achy and covered in injuries, but this time was different. He had embraced the change and frolicked in the moonlight, drinking it in like sweet wine, unlike the usual full moon, where he would lock himself away, and shy away from the moonlight and the monster within.

The four boys started to walk back towards the castle.

Remus looked up at the small pink whisps in the sky.

"Has anyone else noticed how the clouds look like candy floss?" He asked.

"It would be you, thinking about sugar before we've even had breakfast!" James exclaimed with a grin.

"I'm really looking forward to some breakfast." Peter chimed in.

"Me too, I'm going to wolf mine down!" Sirius joked.

The four boys laughed and joked as they made their way into the castle, none of them noticing the small trail of muddy footprints from the girl that had ran in less than ten minutes before them.