Sanctuary

Chapter 57

Monday, 20th November 1972

After spending the night wrapped in Sirius' scent, Remus got through the morning without too much difficulty. Charms was fine. Professor Flitwick always cut him some slack around the full moon, and the spell they were practising—Deletrius, a charm used to disperse the lingering visible effects of spell work—wasn't particularly taxing. Defence was tougher. Moonrise was closer by then, and the class was more physical. They were practising the tripping jinx, though, and with everyone else stumbling around, Remus' weakness wasn't as noticeable. He wondered if Professor Tenebris had timed it that way on purpose, or if it was a lucky coincidence.

By the time class broke for lunch, he was dead on his feet and trying very hard not to show it. Everyone was preparing to leave when Professor Tenebris cleared her throat. 'Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew, a word before you leave, please.'

Remus got a sinking feeling in his stomach. Was she about to insist on pre-moon training? They walked over to her desk, but she waited for the room to clear before speaking. 'There won't be a lesson tomorrow evening. I thought you'd all need a rest after tonight. We'll carry on next week, okay?'

No one argued. None of them had been looking forward to one of her strenuous, high-pressure lessons after a sleepless night, least of all Remus.

Outside the classroom, though, James stopped them. 'What do you think she meant by we'd "all" need a rest? Does she know we go with you?'

'Maybe she just assumes we'll be up all night worrying,' Sirius said. 'I know I was before I found out where Remus goes.'

'You were?' Remus asked, surprised. He hadn't known that, but thinking back, Sirius did always look knackered when he returned after a transformation.

'Yeah, course.' Sirius said, bumping his shoulder. 'Never knew if you were going to make it through the night, did I? It's a lot easier now I can be right there and hear what's going on.'

'Even the time I was tearing myself apart?'

'Well, no. That was horrible. But that's not going to happen again.'

''Let's hope not,' Remus said. They'd reached the first floor, so Remus stopped. 'I'll see you guys tomorrow, then.'

'What?' all three said together.

'I'm not hungry, and I'm not going to potions, so I'm just going to head to the Hospital Wing now.'

'Well, yeah,' James said. 'We guessed that, but why're you saying goodbye now? We're coming with you.' He shook his head. 'Honestly, Moony. For a smart guy, you can be so stupid sometimes.'

Not giving Remus a chance to argue, James and Sirius retook their positions on either side of him, helping him down the corridor, while Peter went ahead, getting the doors.

'Delivery!' James called as they walked into the empty ward. 'It's fragile, so be gentle with it.'

Madam Pomfrey bustled out of her office. 'Hello, Remus dear. How're you feeling?'

'I'm not fragile,' Remus said, looking at James.

'You won't be in a few hours, that's for sure,' James said with a snort at his own wit.

Remus shoved him, then looked at madam Pomfrey. 'I'm okay. Nothing worse than usual.'

'Alright, you three can go. Lunch time isn't it?'

They all hugged Remus and wished him a good night, for real this month. None of them would see him again until morning. The moon would rise a full hour before class ended and James would be even later than that. He had a Quidditch practice he couldn't get out of. They'd all been extremely apologetic about it, and Remus had told them repeatedly it was fine, but in all honesty, he was scared of how Moony would react to their absence. An hour was a long time when teeth and claws were involved.