Remus had to visit Dumbledore's office before dinner the following day, once he'd finally woken up. Madam Pomfrey escorted him there so she could explain the situation, but unexpectedly, Hagrid was there as well. Remus supposed this was because he knew more about the centaurs than anyone else, so he could advise Dumbledore on what they should do.
As was usually the case, Remus didn't really listen to the details of the conversation, tuning in only when something significant came up, which wasn't until they neared the end and the common consensus seemed to be that Remus should go back to transforming inside the Shrieking Shack. It was a suggestion he didn't argue with, since he could deal with the claustrophobia if it meant he didn't have to worry about being fatally shot with an arrow without even remembering it happening. He just hoped this weird, sudden restlessness of his wolf form didn't cause him to escape the Shack again and end up at square one.
It turned out, however, that he didn't have to worry about that, since Dumbledore suggested they put a protective charm around the Shack to keep Remus from being able to escape. A specific charm so that he could still enter and leave the Shack when he was in his human form, but his wolf form was stuck inside. It sounded like a ridiculously complicated charm for it to differentiate between his human and wolf form, but it was nothing to Dumbledore's skill set. Once again, Remus got the impression that Dumbledore was thinking along the lines of some sort of cage, but in this instance Remus had no option but to resign to the idea. Besides, it wasn't as if it was a death sentence; as long as he disconnected his wolf form from himself he could pretend the claustrophobia didn't happen to him, that it didn't bother him, and it was just something he had to deal with.
He thought that would be the end of his problems, a blip in his transformations and he could eventually get back to normal, returning to the Shrieking Shack. As it turned out, however, it was just the start.
The protective charm around the Shack was simply a physical barrier, and did not include a silencing charm. Remus didn't think this would ever be a problem, since even if his howling during the night reached the castle, it wouldn't reach as far as the dorm rooms, where everyone was sleeping anyway. But he hadn't foreseen that someone would be up late at night, sneaking down to the Quidditch pitch after hours and practicing their Quidditch skills at every opportunity they got.
James hadn't even got the chaser position yet, but he saw no harm in extra practice, because either he got the position and could practice for the first match, or he could start practicing now for the next available opportunity to try out. He was completely obsessed with it, and somehow it affected Remus in an inconceivable way. The Quidditch pitch wasn't that near to the Shack at all, but it was so quiet at night that any sound travelled for miles. Unbeknownst to Remus, James had been clearly able to hear him howling, and it hadn't gone unnoticed.
It was the end of October, and James had already spread round a rumour that the Shrieking Shack was haunted before Remus had even returned to the common room after his meeting with Dumbledore. When he joined midway through a conversation between James, Sirius and Peter it took him some time to realise what was being discussed. Something about a haunting, which didn't strike him as anything special, considering Hogwarts itself was haunted. But then James mentioned the Shrieking Shack, and the realisation finally dawned on him. Remus fell instantly silent.
"What do you mean it's haunted?" asked Remus, keeping his voice level.
"Well, I don't know if it's haunted, but there was definitely something there last night. It was howling. So it might be a poltergeist."
"It was a full moon last night," pointed out Sirius, which made Remus's breath hitch in his throat. "Are you sure it didn't come from the forest? I've heard there are werewolves in there."
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Boys Will Be Bugs
Fanfiction[REUPLOAD] Remus Lupin has more than one secret, and there's no way of knowing who he can trust. All he has are his parents, but they can't protect him when he goes off to Hogwarts. But then Remus meets a boy and his two other friends, and soon real...
