Remus returned to his dorm room glowing inside and out. He couldn't help the huge grin on his face as he entered the room and made his way to bed.
"Someone seems happy, considering the fact that they just had detention." James commented, tilting his head to one side and watching Remus closely.
"A very long detention." Sirius added, glancing at his watch, and then back up at Remus.
"Or perhaps he went somewhere else afterwards?" Peter suggested, totalling missing the insinuations of James and Sirius's comments.
"Stop it." Remus smiled, rolling his eyes.
Remus pulled the curtains around his bed closed as he got changed into his pyjamas.
After lifting his jumper over his head, he stretched out his arms and looked over them. He looked down at his torso.
'Have I always been this scrawny?' He wondered.
He looked down at his body, his slender frame, the scars scattered across his skin.
He wrapped his arms around himself uncomfortably.
Remus wondered if Freya was also covered in scars like him. He doubted it.
He felt self conscious. Now that she was his girlfriend, at some point, she would see his body. What would she think of it? Would she pull away, repulsed? Would she be afraid to touch him?
Remus pushed his thoughts away, pulling his pyjama shirt over his head.
Once he was dressed, Remus opened up his curtains, and got under the duvet.
Remus wondered if his friends were already asleep. He wanted to tell them. He wanted to share his excitement.
"I did it." Remus told them quietly, his voice coming out barely a whisper.
Sirius sat up at once.
"Moony." He said, his eyes wide and glowing in the dim light, a devilish grin breaking out on his lips.
"Did what?" Peter asked in a mumble, half asleep.
"I asked Freya to be my girlfriend." Remus responded.
"Aww our little Moony! I'm so proud!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Well done Moony." James added, sitting up rubbing his eyes and reaching for his glasses on his bedside table.
"I thought she was already your girlfriend?" Peter asked, a little confused.
The four boys stayed up talking for a while, but then one by one they fell asleep. First of all Peter, then James. When Sirius and Remus were the only ones left, Sirius got up and moved across the room, sitting on the bottom of Remus's bed so he could whisper and not wake the other two boys up.
Remus and Sirius talked until the early hours of the morning. When James and Peter awoke at 7am, they found Sirius curled up asleep at the bottom of Remus's bed.
<><><>
Remus loved Saturdays. He loved the sense of freedom. The start of the weekend. Two whole days to do whatever he pleased. No lessons. No work to be done, not at this time of year anyway.
Remus had just left the library after spending the morning with Freya. The pair had sat in front of the window for a change. The winter sun had been low in the sky, and hence streamed in through the large pane of glass. Remus had found it difficult to keep his thoughts on his book. His girlfriend was sat next to him. His first girlfriend.
He had wondered what would happen at the next full moon. It was just over a week away. Would they spend it together like old times? Old times, where he hadn't known that she was the other werewolf.
After walking out into the grounds, Remus saw someone in the lake.
It was February. It was freezing cold. Why were they in the lake?
Wait.
Why was Peter in the lake?
Remus stopped in his tracks, taking the sight in.
Why was Sirius pushing Peter back into the lake?
Peter turned and his eyes locked on Remus.
"Mooooony!! I need your help!" He laughed as he dragged Sirius under the water with him. James was sat on the bank laughing and shaking his head.
Sirius emerged from the water and shook like a wet dog, sending droplets of icy lake water flying in every direction.
Remus walked over to join James on the bank.
"Do I even want to know?" Remus asked him, a smile playing on the edges of his lips.
James laughed as Peter slipped and went under once more, before shaking his head in response to Remus's question.
Once Sirius and Peter were out of the lake, they quickly started to shiver, so the four boys decided to head back into the castle.
Sirius and Peter's feet squelched in their shoes as they walked along the stoned floor of the corridors. Remus glanced behind and noticed that they had left a trail of watery footprints. Just as he was about to comment, Argus Filch appeared from around the corner. Filch had only been the caretaker of Hogwarts for a couple of years, but he had already earned himself a reputation.
Remus's eyes widened. He didn't want another detention any time soon.
"Run!" He shouted, making a break for it.
Remus ran down the corridor as quickly as he could. He had the longest legs out of the four boys, and hence held the lead. Remus was so far ahead that he didn't notice Peter slip in his own puddle of water.
When Remus reached the portrait of the fat lady, he leaned against a wall to catch his breath. He could hear fast footsteps approaching, and moments later, James and Sirius were beside him.
"Where's Wormtail?" Remus asked.
The three boys sat down in the common room to wait for him. About half an hour later, when they were just about to go out to look for him, Peter arrived, still soaked from the black lake, with his head hung in shame.
"He caught me. I've got detention on Monday." Peter groaned as he threw himself down on the sofa in front of the fire.
"Peter! You're leaving puddles on the sofa!" Marlene shouted from the other side of the common room.
Peter sighed and stood up. He walked towards their dorm to get changed out of his damp clothes.
The afternoon flew by, and before long, it was 10pm and the four boys were sat in front of the fire, each with a bottle of firewhisky.
"So... Moony... What are you plans for Valentines Day?" Sirius asked, taking a large swig from his bottle.
"Is that you asking me out? Because I'm officially a taken man." Remus responded sarcastically.
"Oh damn, I missed my chance!" Sirius joked.
The four boys laughed and joked, warming themselves in front of the fire.
"In all seriousness, I don't have any. And it's next week. I need to think of something." Remus added, starting to worry a little.
"Oh I'm sure we can think of something!" James exclaimed mischievously.
"Why don't you make her a card?" Peter suggested innocently.
Sirius started to laugh with a mouth full of firewhisky.
"Good idea, Pete." Remus responded, giving Sirius a harsh glare.
The common room was now empty apart from the four boys, which was unusual for this time on a Saturday night.
"It could say... Are you a dementor? Because you take my breath away." James suggested.
Peter snorted at the suggestion and Sirius once again started to choke on a mouth full of firewhisky.
"Yes I am... And souls aren't the only thing I suck." Responded Remus, throwing a wink at James.
"Damn Moony, where did that come from? Is that girl a bad influence on you? Absolute filth!" Sirius scolded him playfully.
"What about... Owl be sad if you won't be mine?" Peter suggested innocently.
Remus nodded in approval.
"That's a bit sweeter." Remus responded, thankful for Peter's suggestion.
The four boys fell silent while they all tried to think of the next playful pun for Remus's Valentines Day card.
"Interested in making some magic together? My wand is at the ready!" James suggested, wiggling his eyebrows poking his tongue out.
Remus groaned, and Peter burst into fits of laughter.
"You're like a bottle of Skele-Gro... Making me grow bones." Added Sirius with a smirk.
"Want to head to the shrieking shack? We can do some shrieking of our own." Remus responded playfully.
The four boys were now in fits of laughter so loud that they threatened to wake the entirety of Gryffindor house. Once they all finished their drinks, and the embers of the fire were dying down, they headed up to their dorm to go to sleep.
On Monday, Remus started to feel the affects of the upcoming full moon. He wondered how Freya was coping. He wondered if she was feeling the affects too.
It started off with a general ache and tiredness, but Remus got worse as the day progressed.
That afternoon, he sat in the potions classroom with his head on the desk and his eyes closed. He could smell her approaching without even opening his eyes.
"Hey." Remus managed to whisper, sensing that she was stood opposite him.
His own words echoed around inside his head, bouncing off the inside of his skull and making his head thud with pain. He winced and furrowed his eyebrows.
"Damn... I meant to give you some... It's too late now." She mumbled, stroking his hair.
Remus was confused, but then he remembered the potion that she had mentioned previously. He wished that he had asked her about it sooner. She seemed totally fine, whereas Remus knew that he would be suffering for the next couple of days.
Remus remained with his head on the desk for the majority of the lesson. Thankfully, Professor Slughorn didn't mind too much.
"Why don't you head off to bed, dear boy?" Slughorn suggested half way through the lesson.
Remus was thankful for the sympathy. He lugged his satchel onto his shoulder and left the classroom.
Even the trudge up to the Gryffindor common room felt like a chore.
The following day was Valentines Day. Remus was feeling even worse. He didn't really want to see Freya like this, but he knew that he had to.
After a day struggling through his lessons, Remus met Freya outside the Ravenclaw common room. The sun was setting, and they had decided to go for a walk around the grounds.
Remus thought that fresh air may help him, but the sun made him squint in pain. Luckily, he had brought a pair of Sirius's sunglasses with him, which eased the pain from the bright light a little.
"Happy Valentines Day." Remus said, passing Freya the card that he had made as they sat beside the Black Lake.
"Aww thank you!" Freya said, opening up the envelope.
Remus had opted to make a card with a wand on it that swished occasionally, scattering sparkles across the page. At the top of the card, it said 'You are wand-erful'. He was quite proud of it.
Freya pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek and handed him an envelope in return. Remus carefully opened it to reveal a card with two wolves running across the front that said 'I'm wild about you'. He smiled and thanked her, tucking the card into his jacket pocket.
"I'm sorry I forgot about the wolfsbane potion." Freya said, looking down at her fingers.
"That's okay." He said, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
"You have to take it for a week before the full moon. I'll make sure to get you some next time." She responded.
The next couple of days passed in a messy blur. Remus could barely concentrate on his lessons, let alone seeing Freya. At the end of every day, he felt burnt out and would return to his dorm to sleep. James, Sirius and Peter would bring him food from the Great Hall, which he would wolf down before returning to bed, only waking the next morning for his lessons again. He was relieved when the day of the full moon finally came around, knowing that soon he would be over it, until it came around again next month.
"Please get Freya." Remus begged as he squirmed on the cold hard floor of the shrieking shack.
His friends watched him anxiously. Peter gnawed at his fingers, and James kept running his fingers through his messy black hair.
"You guys can meet me in the morning. I'll be fine with her." He added, groaning in agony.
He managed to open his eyes to give them a pleading look.
His friends left. It felt as though he was on his own for an eternity before Freya finally turned up. She knelt down on the floor next to him and ran her fingers through his hair.
Remus opened his eyes, and they quickly met hers. She gave him a reassuring smile and ran her thumb over his cheek affectionately.
"Not long now Remus." She said softly.
He closed his eyes, breathing heavily from the pain. He couldn't wait for it to be over.
Over the course of the next hour, his pain increased exponentially.
Remus cried out in pain, as his body contorted and his bones snapped.
"Get out of here!" He shouted to her, worried that she wasn't safe.
"No. I'm with you Remus. I'm here for you." She said, still by his side.
He growled in pain through gritted teeth in response.
His mind hazed over from the pain. He felt his limbs change shape. He felt his pores rip as thick hairs sprouted from them. He felt his teeth grow, and his nose elongate.
Then everything went dark.