Stacie Redmond and the Room of Requirement

Chapter 11 - Begin the Transformations

I wake up the morning of the full moon feeling clammy. I roll out of bed and groan in pain. "Owwwww!" I slowly rise to my feet and pull on my robes, fingers shaking. I stumble halfway down the stairs, but quickly right myself. I feel like I'm going to be sick.

Remus is sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace. I look at my watch and see that we still have a while before we have to be in the Great Hall. I walk over and sit down next to him, and we sit in silence for a few minutes.

Just now, Remus breaks the silence. "You feeling okay?" he asks me, concerned. I'm a bit confused because he's never asked until now, but I decide to tell him the truth.

"No, I feel lousy. You?"

He groans. "Achy all over! It's like I'm coming down with the flu."

I fall silent, and stare at the crackling fire. I must have drifted off for a bit, because next thing I know, the light is considerably brighter in the room and James is yelling, "Oi! What're you doing?"

I jerk my head up from Remus' shoulder and glare at James. "What do you care?" I know I've been a bit harsh, but I don't care right now. I'll just apologize later.

James shrugs and goes back up the stairs. Sirius comes downstairs and says, "Everything alright? I heard yelling."

"No, everything's fine," I say, falsely cheery. The girls dormitory doors open up and people come pouring down the stairs. I stand up and head with them to the Great Hall.

At the table, I hand the boys their Mandrake leaves. "Keep them in and don't chew the leaves or take them out for anything," I tell the boys. "Keep them in until the next full moon."

They dutifully place the leaves in their mouths and proceed to nearly choke. They shove the leaves to the side of their mouths, and James says," Thish shucksh! Merlin'sh beard, ith hard tho shpeak!"

I laugh and walk away for breakfast.

***

I walk down the deserted corridors to the hospital wing. The shadows loom out at me, and my imagination runs wild. I imagine the shadows to be people, waiting to ambush me.

In all the time I've been part werewolf, I still haven't gotten used to the corridors without students. It feels strangely apocalyptic, as if everyone has been dead a long time, and I'm the sole survivor of a world-ending disaster.

Remus is waiting for me with Madam Pomfrey. I walk out the doors with them and to the Whomping Willow. The Healer grabs a long branch and pokes the knot that freezes the tree. We are ushered inside the passageway to the Shrieking Shack. She finds rooms for us and locks them.

I can hear her bustling away when I begin my painful transformation.