i really loved him

chapter 26

Wednesday, 14th April – It was time for their fourth trip to the Shrieking Shack. They were more excited than nervous by now, buzzing with the success of it all so far.

Something they had been pondering was whether or not to leave the shack at some point, prowl the grounds instead. James and Sirius were all for this idea, whilst Remus and Peter were reluctant. Plenty could go wrong. They could be seen, they could get lost or, the risk none of them really wanted to think about, they could lose control of Remus in his wolf form.

Eventually, however, Sirius' literal puppy-dog eyes prevailed.

19:50 – "Don't open the door straight away..." Remus warned as they sat in the desolate room with no lights, no music, waiting for the transformation to begin.

They had only just come in, having waited until Remus was inside to enter. Last time, when on the way to the shack, they'd had a close call. Peter, ever ailed by merciless hay fever, had failed to effectively stifle a sneeze, which instantly roused suspicion in Pomfrey. So now, to be safe, the three of them waited by the entrance of the castle for her to return from the Whomping Willow before heading up there themselves. And James kept an abundant stash of tissues on him at all times.

"...Wait for me to calm down a bit first. And don't go anywhere near the castle. Or Hogsmeade."

"'Course we won't," Peter assured him.

"And if we go in the forest," Remus went on quickly. "Don't go too far in. And stay out of sight in the grounds. And—"

"—Moony," Sirius interrupted in a soothing voice. "It's gonna be fine. We know what to do. This'll be better anyway. I think you got a bit... restless last time."

That was true. A couple of times in the first nights here, the wolf had slinked over to the boarded window and reared on his hind legs, whining and pawing at the wooden panels until he realised his new pack, of sorts, was not there to release him.

"Yeah," Remus nodded gratefully. "I trust you lot. But if something... goes wrong," he locked eyes with James. "You have to stop me."

"We won't have to," James said softly.

"James."

"I know. Sorry," he shook his head. "If something goes wrong, we'll stop you. I promise."

"Thank you."

As it turned out, they needn't have worried. Once the transition was over, the wolf recognised the three of them immediately. He growled playfully and wagged his tail, then sniffed at each of them one by one in greeting.

They stayed inside for a bit, like Remus had asked. When they were sure the time was right, James used his antlers to wrench open the barred door and allow the four of them to race into the night.

And it was better than any of them could have imagined. As soon as they were out, the wolf raised his snout, deeply inhaled the frosty air and gave a great howl of joy. Then, they were off; bounding across the grass towards the entrance to the forbidden forest.

Being the biggest and strongest in his Animagus form, James took the responsibility of steering them in the right direction, making use of his wide band of hyper-sensitive vision to keep them safe and hidden as they ran.

Though the wolf made it clear that he was in charge of the pack, he was more inclined to listen to James than the others. Figuratively, of course. James was still working out the most effective ways to communicate with his friends as animals, and found that a combination of snorts and exaggerated head movements generally got the right message across.

It was lucky that at least one of them became such a large and stately creature, he thought, otherwise it would be a lot harder to keep Remus out of trouble in his werewolf form. Whilst James held a certain authority in this pack of theirs, it was evident that Sirius was the best at keeping the wolf entertained. Both of them chased each other through the forest, often ending up play-fighting, and even appeared to converse through series of yaps and barks. James was pretty sure that Sirius had no idea what he was saying in canine-speak, but it worked out just fine.