fatal love

Chapter 66

Sirius crept up to Gryffindor Tower under the Cloak with James, falling into bed as soon as they reached the dorm. Thank Merlin it was a Sunday, he was bloody exhausted.

Fucking hell, what a night. He couldn't get Remus' screams out of his mind. They had pierced through the air, through his head, and through his heart. It was worse than he had even imagined. He had heard the bones snapping, and seen Remus fall to the floor in agony. He had frozen, unable to do anything but watch. He'd only just managed to remember to change in time.

How had Remus done that, every month since he was five? What did pain like that do to a person? What did you do with the knowledge that it would never end, that you had to keep going through it until you died? Remus was unbelievable, dealing with all of that. And still being the person he was, going on with his life, caring about everyone, kind and funny and driven.

Watching the transformation had been by far the worst part of the night, Sirius thought. The wolf had been suspicious at first, snapping its teeth at them threateningly. But Sirius' canine instincts had taken over, and he'd rolled over to show he meant no harm.

James had made an anxious bleating noise when he did that, obviously disapproving of the risk. But it had worked, and the wolf had seemingly accepted Sirius. He'd let Sirius jump around the room after that, causing a bit of a scene that the wolf was apparently happy to watch.

The wolf hadn't been calm, exactly. It obviously wanted to run around, but whenever it started throwing itself at the Shack walls, Sirius had intercepted it, nuzzling it and trying to engage it in something else.

James had been a bit useless, Pete even more so. The wolf seemed more wary of them than it had been of Sirius, maybe because it wasn't as easy for a stag or a rat to communicate with a wolf. Whatever the reason, they had mostly been on the sidelines, watching, as Sirius took up the bulk of the work. Not work though, not really. It was never work if it was for Moony.

Then the moon had set, and Sirius had to watch the transformation all over again in reverse. Remus was passed out by the time it was over, and he'd looked so pale, and his breathing was so shaky, Sirius had thought he was dying. And how terrifying that thought had been.

But Remus had woken up, and had actually been pleased. Apparently he normally woke up in a much worse state. Never again, Sirius thought firmly. He swore to himself, then and there, that Moony would never go through another full moon alone. Not on his life.

It was Tuesday morning, and the Marauders were all in the Great Hall eating breakfast when the morning post arrived, bringing news in the Prophet. The headline was splashed across the front page: Aurors Given Authorisation To Use Unforgivable Curses By Crouch In Effort To Crack Down On Death Eaters.

Yesterday, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Bartemius Crouch, gave all Aurors the powers to use Unforgivable Curses on their opponents if they deem it necessary. He does this with the hopes of the Aurors now being able to stop and capture more Death Eaters effectively, and properly protect the law-abiding citizens of magical Britain. In a statement to the Prophet, Crouch said that the new policy regarding Death Eaters was "kill rather than capture," and "attack first, question later."

Minister for Magic Minchum told the Prophet he fully supports Crouch's new policy. "We cannot let terrorists run this country," Minchum said to the Prophet, "these common-sense measures will protect good wizards and witches everywhere, and give us the tools we need in the fight against evil and lawlessness."

The move has been welcomed by many in the Wizengamot, who have grown tired of what has now been years of war, and who have long been demanding more aggressive tactics in the fight against You-Know-Who.