Sanctuary

Chapter 15

Wednesday, 15th September 1971, 2.10 pm

After tip-toeing out of the dorm so he wouldn't wake the others, Sirius hurried down the stairs and across the common room. He was using the pre-Astronomy-class afternoon nap to visit the library because he didn't want his friends to catch him with the type of book he needed to look at. Especially not Remus, if he could still call him a friend. Remus hadn't spoken to him since Sirius had snapped at him in Transfiguration. Knowing what he now did, he couldn't blame him either. If anyone had real, actual problems, it was Remus. He hoped he would give him a chance to apologise soon.

Sirius reached the library and hurried to the Creatures and Beings section, pulling down two books with titles relevant to werewolves and sitting on the floor to look at them. He didn't have long.

What he found was horrifying.

The first book he looked at was titled The Curse of the Moon. He flicked through the pages, looking at the illustrations of transforming werewolves, their faces contorted in pain, and cringed. It looked agonising. Was that what Remus had to go through every month? Were these books accurate? Merlin, he hoped the pictures were exaggerated. The text talked about the effect of the moon on the infected individual, forcing them to morph into a wolf every month, from moon-rise to moon-set, through a painful process of transformation. Sirius already knew that.

The second book was more useful: The Short Life of a Lycanthrope. Sirius had hoped the title was misleading, but it wasn't. The book began with the information that people infected with lycanthropy rarely live for more than ten years. The most common cause of death was suicide, either by the man or the wolf. Sirius didn't know how long Remus had been infected, but even if it had happened days before starting school, that would only make him twenty-one at the most when he died. The thought was unbearable. He had to find a way to help.

The book offered a number of useful snippets.

Chocolate is good at easing the pain after transformation. That would be easy to achieve. Sirius could make a habit of handing chocolate out in the dorm, so they wouldn't notice anything strange when he did it after a full moon.

A lycanthrope's senses become extra sensitive close to the full moon. Sirius made a mental note to be less exuberant around Remus at those times. He didn't want to cause him more suffering on top of the transformations.

The infection can only be passed on if the wolf's saliva enters an open wound, so lycanthropes are only dangerous when in wolf form. Remus' issues with touch must be unrelated, Sirius thought. As if lycanthropy wasn't enough, he had to get a phobia on top. Life really hadn't been fair to him.

Werewolves are only dangerous to humans. They have no digestive system and, therefore, no need to eat and have been observed behaving in a friendly and playful manner towards animals. That might be useful to explore. Could they get him a pet to keep him company?

Lycanthropes are often short-tempered and volatile. Sirius had seen no evidence that was true. Sure, Remus had been angry at him a couple of times, but considering the circumstances, those outbursts had been understandable. Sirius wasn't so vain he couldn't admit he was often annoying.

Lycanthropes often lack intelligence and self-control. Okay, this book was getting insulting, Sirius thought, slamming it closed. There was nothing wrong with Remus' intelligence or his self-control.

Sirius scrambled to his feet and replaced the books where he'd found them. He mused over what he'd learned as he made his way back to the dorm to pretend he'd been asleep the whole time. Remus was suffering. Every month he was forced to endure horrible pain that he couldn't avoid, but there were things Sirius could do to help. Should he tell Remus that he knew, though? It might make things easier for him if he knew there was one person he didn't have to hide it from. Then again, how would he feel if someone found out his secrets when he didn't trust them? Most likely scared and upset.