The Bonds of Spirit are stronger than the Bonds of Blood

Chapter Eighteen

The day had finally come. The first full moon the Marauders would spend together. Remus warned Sirius that the full moon would be tonight, so he and James worked out a plan to sneak him out of the castle. Sirius would help Remus get to the Shrieking Shack before breakfast, James would make up excuses for his absence, and Peter would sneak food out of the Great Hall for each meal and deliver it to Remus while the James and Sirius would keep any on lookers distracted. First thing that morning, Sirius helped Remus out of bed, and helped his friend get ready for the long day and night ahead. Sirius was pained, seeing his friend so sickly looking, clearly in pain as the dreaded full moon drew nearer to rising. Hooking Remus' right arm over his shoulder, and wrapping his left arm around Remus' waist for support, Sirius slipped the invisibility cloak over them and began to carefully leave the dorms. The stairs were tricky to navigate, as a narrow winding staircase tends to be, leaving Sirius mentally wishing they had been sorted into a house nearer to the ground. Remus was clearly in pain, as he tried desperately not to cry out with each movement. Sirius hated seeing his friend like this. As they walked, he kept offing small comforting sounds, hoping they would make it through the storm of Remus' mind and offer him some relief in this time of torment. It took them far longer than usual to reach the ground floor, making Sirius grateful that he had managed to wake up on time for once. Leaving this early was the only way the two could possibly make it to the Shrieking Shack before anyone could notice their absence. When he neared the Whomping Willow, he carefully sat Remus down and approached the guardian tree on his own. He mimicked Remus' movements, carefully dodging each branch that tried to strike him, and pushed on the knot at the base of the trunk. He was thankful that Remus had forced them all to memorize which knot was the correct knot. One of the branches had been dangerously close to hitting him when he deactivated the tree's defences! Helping Remus stand again, the pair made their way down the trap door, along the secret passage, and into the Shrieking Shack. Sirius cursed the necessity of stairs as he kept a watchful eye over Remus, before finally making it to the bedroom headquarters they had set up. Ever so gently, he helped Remus lay down on the designated werewolf bed and covered him with a blanket they had stashed. "Just hang on a little while longer, Moony! Peter will be here with breakfast soon! And before you know it the full moon will be over!" He said, gently stroking Remus' hair in an effort to comfort him. When Peter arrived with the food, Sirius hesitatingly left the Shack to begin running interference. One thing was certain; this was going to be a really long day.

Meeting up with James in the Great Hall, the two began planning out what excuses to use. "We could just say he's sick... Say he decided to stay up in our dorm and try to sleep it off?" James suggested, trying to avoid any really ridiculous excuses. Sirius thought for a moment then said "That could work, but what if someone wants to go up and check on him?" James had to think about that for a while. Absentmindedly eating his breakfast, he tried to find a simple solution. James was known for convoluted plans, convoluted stories, and very convoluted lies. But even he understood that sometimes the simplest plan was the best option. Finally he came up with an idea. "Alright, what if we say he's sensitive to light and sound right now? Get everyone to be quiet and tell them it's best to just leave him alone to rest!" He said, excited at having a chance to see a simple plan actually work out. Sirius thought on this. It could work; it might be just believable enough that people would leave their dorm alone. With a smile he said "That just might work! Way to go Prongs! You start explaining to people why Moony isn't here; I have to go grab my bag from the dorm!" James gave him a mock salute and returned to eating while Sirius rushed out of the Great Hall and headed back toward Gryffindor Tower. After dodging several rushing students on their way towards breakfast, he managed to find the Portrait of the Fat Lady. He hurriedly gave her the password, tapping his foot anxiously as she laughed at her own joke, and practically leaping through the hole as soon as she moved aside. He just about flew up the stairs, grabbed his bag, and locked the door behind him. As he raced down the stairs, he nearly crashed into Lily. Luckily the Common Room was entirely empty aside from the two of them. With a grin he said "Ah! Lily! Just the person I was looking for!" Lily looked back at him, utterly confused. "Me? Why would you be looking for me?" She said, tilting her head at his odd behaviour. Sirius did a quick double take of the room, making sure no one had slipped into the Common Room while he was greeting Lily, before saying "I need your help. Moony-er Remus is feeling really ill today, but we didn't want to drag him off to the Hospital Wing. He's sleeping up in our dorm, but we need to make sure no one disturbs him. Can you help us keep people away from him for the night?" His eyes pleaded with her, clearly begging that she not question his request. Shocked she said "He's ill? I hope it's nothing serious!" Sirius shook his head, mentally retorting 'No, I'm Sirius!' before responding with "Not at all! He just needs to sleep it off and relax for the day. Lily thought there was more to this situation than Sirius was admitting, but if it involved Remus then Lily wouldn't pry. With a determined nod she said "Alright, just leave it to me!" Sirius thanked her before rushing out of the Common Room and heading off to his first class of the day.

That evening, James, Sirius, and Peter snuck out of their dorm and began to make their way down stairs. They hid under the invisibility cloak, moving as quickly as they dared while trying to dodge the nightly patrols. After what felt like an eternity of walking, they finally made their way towards the Whomping Willow. Once there, they swiftly transformed into their animagus forms. Peter, as the agile and swift rat, raced to the knot before the Whomping Willow could unleash the force of its branches. Giving a squeak of assurance he darted down the trap door, followed by a shaggy black dog, and a lithe stag. The trio of creatures swiftly navigated the secret passage and darted up the stairs of the Shrieking Shack. The rat jumped onto the stag's horns, gripping the bone appendages for balance. Making their way into the room, they noticed their friend, lying on his designated bed, breathing heavily and clearly still in pain. The shaggy dog gave a sympathetic whimper, moving closer to Remus and nuzzling his neck. The rat watched the moon rise through the boarded up window, giving a squeak of warning when it neared its zenith. The stag tapped the ground twice with his front left hoof, alerting the dog to back away. The time of transformation nearing, the three took their posts in the corners of the room and watched. All at once, everything changed. Remus grew deathly still for a moment, barely even breathing. Then, just as suddenly, he began to writhe in pain. His bones shifted, changing shape from humanoid to werewolf shape, as he howled with pain. Each of the three other creatures in the room had to restrain themselves from rushing to him. He had been certain to warn them all that approaching him as he transformed could get them killed very quickly. It hurt them all to watch this, but they knew it would only hurt Remus more if they tried to take action. After what seemed like an eternity, the transformation was complete. The lanky werewolf sat on his bedding, breathing heavily after the painful transition. Noticing he was not alone, the instincts took over, causing him to lunge for the shaggy dog across from him. Noticing his movement, the dog leapt forward and head butted the werewolf. The rat scampered towards the door, ready to lead the others in the escape if necessary, while the Stag took a protective stance in front of the rat, eyes watching the werewolf. The werewolf sat up, shaking his head, then eyed the dog. At first he seemed confused, as the dog showed no signs of attacking or fleeing, then he seemed to understand. He shook his head, trying to gain control once more. The dog signalled the Stag and Rat to remain in their positions. The werewolf shook, swinging his great canine-like head to and fro, nearly smacking into the wall. The dog leaned forward, front left paw raised as if to reach out and console the werewolf. But the dog made no further movement. He was trying to avoid triggering the werewolf's instincts. After quite a while of struggle, the werewolf seemed to find his control. Through his eyes it was clear to see Remus was in control. The dog gave a lopsided grin and loped forward to nuzzle the werewolf. The stag followed behind, giving him a gentle head but, while the rat leapt onto his shoulder and gave gentle pats with his small hand-like paws. The four ended up curling up on the werewolf's bed, sleeping until the dawn. In the morning, the four returned to their dorm, human once more, and feeling a lot more confident in their own abilities.