Leave your reactions and comments down below!
Hayley's pov
I approached Neville after I returned from the library, he was the best at herbology in our year. If anyone had a mandrake leaf it was him. George had reluctantly given me a few sickles to buy the leaf of neville. The twins were not fond of this plan especially George. Neville was sitting in the common room labelling bottles of leaves from herbology. Luckily tonight is a full moon so if I could get the leaf I would be well under way.
"Hey Neville can I have a mandrake leaf? I can offer you a few sickles," I said in my best attempt at bargaining, Neville gave me a confused look,
"Sure Hayley here but why do you need a mandrake leaf?" He handed me the leaf and I passed him four sickles for his troubles. I hadn't prepared an excuse for why i needed the leaves. That probably would've been smart.
"Potion practice," I responded as casually as I could hoping he would buy it.
I hightailed it out of there and straight to Severus's office he would have a phial. On the way I decided to think of an excuse ahead of time, there was no way Severus would approve of my endeavour his disdain for Remus mixed with the danger wasn't a recipe for approval but as much as his disapproval worries me I cant let Remus be alone. I knocked on the office door and he opened it with a look of surprise.
"Hayley what do I owe this visit?"
"Do you have a small crystal phial?" He raised his eye brows before narrowing his eyes at me. His lips formed a line, my heart pounded in my ears. He knows. A part of me feared he could hear my heart beat.
"Yes Hayley what for,"
"Herbology,"
He nodded and summoned the phial handing it to me. He still looked suspicious but I brushed it off.
After a month of struggling to eat and barely sleeping it was finally the next full moon. Remus had gradually begun looking at me with more and more concern. Severus had been doing the same. Both had been inviting me to dinners in their offices and to sleep in their offices. As their concern grew the more I had to avoid them. the only people who knew of my plan was George and Fred. I sat in a clearing at the edge of the forbidden forest, no one came here so I had collected the dew here. The cold night air enveloped my form, I slipped the drenched Mandrake leaf into the phial while holding the phial in the moonlight. I added the strand of hair and the dew. Finally I pulled out the chrysalis that I had stolen from severus's stores, carefully I added it into the phial. I quickly walked back to the castle making my way to the attic of the astronomy tower. I moved some boxes I vanished the screws in one of the floor boards and lifted the board underneath was the perfect hiding spot for the potion. Placing the potion carefully in the hiding spot I replaced the floorboard and pushed the boxes over the board.
Over the coming week I would have many conversations with Remus about the marauders I found out where he goes to transform... the shrieking shack. He still invited me to dinner and concern still etched his features soon he would understand. Slowly I stopped avoiding Severus but whenever I was with him I could practically feel worry radiating off of him.
Every night and morning I repeated the incantation when Hermione asked I lied and said it was for my blocked sinus. I got lucky she was too stressed with school to check whether i was doing the correct thing or not. George checked on me every day and reminded me to do the incantation he was worried that if I missed something horrible would happen. He started worrying after he found a a book on animagi and saw the warnings. After one week I was awoken by an electrical storm I rushed to get the phial. I lifted the floorboards and found that the phial now contained a red liquid this was working. Despite my apparent success I didn't dwell on it instead heading to the one eye witch tunnel no one would disturb me there. I locked the door behind me i held my wand to my chest and hurriedly said the incantation downing the potion. For a moment nothing happened then an animal appeared in my minds eye a small wolf like creature with a grey coat that had been dusted with a rusted orange. A coyote. the room spun a little as my bones shifted and I felt myself become a coyote.
I looked down My feet had been replaced with paws, I had done it. I let out a happy bark, my wand was resting at my feet. Carefully I picked it up in my mouth and darted out of the passage heading straight for the shrieking shack. I jumped the fence and quietly but swiftly slipped into the building through a cracked window that was just big enough for me to jump through. I crept through the shack looking for Remus I rounded a corner to find a door that was ajar. I hid my wand under a chair then I peaked inside and saw a massive wolf but didn't look like a regular wolf. Long lanky but powerful arms and it was thin with greying brown fur. Without thinking I darted into the room Moony looked startled and whirled around scratching my side. I yelped and made eye contact with him, realisation seemed to wash over his face. He slowly stalked towards me his gaze softened and filled with regret. I took a chance and licked his cheek, a gesture that seemed right in my head but felt very odd in practice.