I watch as the shimmering, silver material cascades down my disappearing body. I had never lost my awe for the fabric's ability to hide me from sight. I glance over to see Sirius and Peter making the same face as we all vanish from sight. Peter stands in the middle; Sirius and I hunch slightly to not expose our legs.
"Ready?" I ask. They both nod at me giving me the go ahead. I quietly open the door to our room, and we all ease out the door, shutting it carefully behind us.
I take a deep breath looking at the stairs below us; this is always the hardest part. We make our way down the steps one at a time, careful not to send each other tumbling. I celebrate silently when we make it to the bottom.
We practically tiptoe through the common room, trying to reach the portrait hole as quickly and quietly as possible. I watch Lily talk to Marlene in a quiet conversation, and I notice the worry lines stretched across Lily's forehead. I feel a twist of guilt knowing she's worried about us. The guilt deepens knowing we've asked her to keep a very large secret from her best friend.
I shake the thoughts from my head and push us through the portrait hole. Once we are out in the corridor, walking is made slightly easier. We make our way to the secret passageway that has become so familiar to us in the past few years.
When we are in the safety of the tunnel, we shed the cloak, and I pull it through one of my belt loops for safe keeping. The walk to the shack is a brisk one as we silently make our way towards Remus.
"Do you think he's transformed yet?" Sirius asks slightly out of breath, pushing his long hair from his eyes.
"Dunno," I shrug.
As we crawl into the filthy building, I stash the cloak in its normal hiding place for safe keeping. I listen for the sound of clawing or howling, but it is silent inside.
"Moony?" Sirius calls out.
"Are you crazy?" I demand, shoving his chest. "If he has transformed he can't hear us."
"I'll go check," Peter nods. Before either of us can comment, Peter's body contorts into that of a rat's. He scurries up the stairs, his small claws making scratching noises against the wooden floors. We wait patiently and quietly as Peter checks the upstairs bedroom.
SQUEAK. SQUEAK. SQUEAK. Peter's rat form comes rushing down the stairs frantically squealing as he does so. The bedroom door burst open at the top of the stairs, releasing a cloud of dust and debris with the small explosion. A large werewolf throws himself from the room, against the wall of the hallway.
"Fuck!" Sirius cries. The werewolf turns it's unnatural shade of green eyes on us; an aggressive snarl rips through its teeth. More squealing fills the small room. Peter is warning us to get out. We have to get out.
"Sirius, go now!" I yell, pushing against his side. A howl so shrill echoes through the shack, it raises goose flesh along the lengths of my arms. "Go, go, go!"
Sirius and I push through the door leading into the downstairs bedroom, just as clawing sound begins on the stairs. We push a chest of drawers against the door to buy us a small amount of time.
A sound like nails on a chalkboard sounds as the dresser bounces against the door. "Change, James!"
I watch as Sirius shrinks slightly, and his bones contort into that of a large dog's. Another howl sounds, and I allow myself to change as well. Just as my vision is beginning to clarify and the noises around me become sharper, the piece of furniture falls to the floor and a large crack appears in the middle of the door.
A loud cracking noise sounds as the werewolf heaves himself through the door. Sirius and I stand still as the growling persists. Remus runs his muzzle over our fur, and I can't seem to slow my heartbeat. A small whine sounds from his lips as he backs away with his head bowed.
Peter scurries into the room and makes his way up Sirius' leg and perches on his neck, gripping the fur for support. Remus backs away some more and finally turns leaving the room through the hole in the middle of the door.
We follow quickly, but he seems extra fast tonight. He tears the soil of the grounds as he makes his way towards the castle. An ominous felling swirls in my gut- something is off tonight. He flattens shrubs in his path, tearing around the trees of the dark forest. Suddenly, Remus stops and leans back on his haunches and releases a viscous howl into the night.
He seems very aggressive tonight. It is April, I remind myself. Towards the end of every school year, this happens. Stress levels seem to affect his transformation; it seems to make it worse. Tomorrow is going to be bad when he recovers.
The strangest sound pulls me from my thoughts. It sounds like people talking- like girls talking. My blood becomes ice in my veins. Who the hell is out here at this time of night? I glance over at Sirius, and by the look on his face, he can hear it too.
Remus bursts through the trees, full speed. "MARLENE! RUN!"
Oh no, no, no. Not again. Sirius and I follow quickly to see our friend running from Remus, tearing her way across the grounds of Hogwarts toward the Black Lake. The wolf stops though distracted by the other person out her- Lily. My stomach heaves, and I will myself to run faster.
"R-R-Remus," she stutters, backing away slowly, arm outstretched. "Remus, it's me." Her green eyes shine with tears as she stares at one of her best friends, waiting for him to kill her.
NO. I put my head down, allowing my antlers to act as a weapon, and collide with Remus, throwing him several feet away. I turn to Lily, silently screaming at her to run the hell away from here. I her my head towards the castle before running back towards a howling Remus.
"MAR! GO!" Sirius screams in his human form, pushing her towards Lily. Her eyes are wide in shock. "Lily! Take her!"
Lily quickly runs to Marlene's side, gripping each of her forearms and giving a sharp shake. Sirius' body warps and shudders until a large, black dog stands in his place. Marlene lets out a garbled sound of fear, as lily continues to tug on her arms. The werewolf stalks towards them, a viscous growl rumbling in his chest.
I charge towards him again, panic rising in my chest, suffocating me. I dip my head to do what I did last time, but this time he sees me coming. He turns and grabs an antler, throwing me to the side like a rag doll. My body collides with something hard and firm, and I fall to the chilly, April grass.
My left side aches in pain. I let out a groan, and I can't tell if I'm human or stag. I open my eyes and all I can see are stars; I take a deep breath, and my ribs scream in protest. Oh god. I can't breathe. Pain begins to trickle into my veins.
"JAMES!" Someone screams, but it sounds as if it is coming from underwater. I need to get out of here. I'm vulnerable just lying here. Lily has to get out of here. Marlene has to get out of here. We have to leave right now, but everything is spinning and everything hurts.
"James?" Someone mutters through tears. I open my mouth, but all I can manage is a moan.
"James, where is the cloak? Where is your cloak?"
I open my mouth again, taking a shallow breath. "Shack." I guess I am human again.
"If anyone asks, you fell. Understand?" I take another deep breath, to find my voice, and my ribs feels as if they will puncture right through my skin. A yell rips through my lungs, and then everything goes black.
Everything is really bright when I open my eyes again. Light streams in through the arching windows of the infirmary and bounce off the white sheets. I squint at my surroundings until my eyes adjust. The first thing I notice is a sleeping Lily. She's sitting in a chair next to my bed, laid across the side of my bed, my right hand gripped tightly in hers.
The accounts of last night slowly seep back into my memory. I wince at the pain that coursed through my body as I laid on the ground. I look to my left side and hesitantly wiggle the fingers on my left hand and grin when I feel no pain. I take a deep breath and almost laugh in relief when my ribs don't protest against my lungs.
"Prongs!" Sirius yells as he burst through the doors.
"Shush," I whisper harshly. "You'll wake up Lils."
"Too late," the red head mumbles, sitting up straight. "Ow," She complains with a wrinkle of her nose, rubbing her hand against the back of her neck.
"How are you, love?" I ask, running a finger across her cheek.
Her eyes go wide. "Never mind me! How are you?"
"All healed up," I reassure her with a grin.
My eyes widen as she jumps onto my bed, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck and crushing her lips against mine. "Merlin, we don't need to see PDA so early in the morning," Sirius complains.
She pecks my lips one more time before getting down. "Shove off, Black," she responds.
He gives Lily a wink. Pete lowers himself into the chair, and Remus stands off to the side, immense sadness burning in his eyes. "Remus?" she asks hesitantly.
He looks at her, eyes shining. "I'm so sorry, Lily," he says softly.
"Remus, it is so not your fault," she says quickly. "I should have tried better to keep Marlene away."
"But, if I wasn't what I am, this wouldn't be a problem," he says bitterly, looking at his feet.
Lily walks swiftly to his side and throws her arms around him. "You can't help that, Remus. We all love you, okay?"
"Thanks, Lil," he says with a ghost of a smile. She pecks his cheek and steps away.
"Oi, Moony! I already have to worry about Padfoot seducing my girl, and now you too? I can't catch a break!" I exclaim.
The room is cheery for a moment; Marlene walks in with careful steps and shy eyes. Remus sucks in a sharp breath and stands up straighter, preparing himself for the rejection he has become so accustomed to.
"Hi, Mars!" Lily greets her brightly.
"Hi," she says shyly, not moving towards any of us.
"Come on, Mar," says Sirius. "We don't bite. Well...most of us don't." He laughs at his own joke. Lily reaches over and slaps the back of his head. I roll my eyes at his horrible timing.
I look up to see Marlene crack a smile. She walks over to join us, looking Remus right in the eye, she says, "You know I couldn't care less that you're a werewolf, right?"
He smiles at her, body sagging with relief, and says, "Thanks." He wraps his long arms around her, pulling her in for a hug.
"Well, I care," I say dramatically. "No longer friends."
"Thank, Merlin," he exclaims.
"That's rude mate," I respond. "Very rude."
"Learned from the best," he winks.
A/N*
Okay, y'all. I am out for Thanksgiving, and I plan on finishing limerence while I'm on break because I only have two chapters left. (Crazy right?) Anyways I hope y'all enjoyed this. Thank you so much for being patient with me. School hit hard all of my Pre-Med classes are killer man.
Also, I am working on my next story so please stick around. I am a;almost down guys.
Love you guys! Y'all re the bomb. Keep reading and voting and commenting.