Marauders' Sixth Year (Wolfstar, Marauders)

Chances

James was the first to react, out of his seat immediately and looking at Remus while cuping his face in his hands.
„REMUS!" His voice was filled with joy and excitement. „OH MY GOD REMUS!"

Peter got up as well, his eyes filling with tears.
„Oh, thank god you're alright!"
The boy grabbed Remus' hand which the other clung to immediately.
The two boys along with their teachers realized that something was very wrong in that moment.

Remus was awfully pale, his eyes suddenly pressed together as he curled up on his side in the hospital bed, his arms crossed in front of his abdomen.
James and Peter had both let go of him, looking around helplessly and with wide eyes as they watched their friend's body twist in awful ways.

Remus' mouth was open, his face distorted in pain but there weren't any screams to be heard.
The tall boy's body was curled together in pain, cold sweat running down his cheeks and his forehead.
It was an awful sight.
Remus' face was pulled into horrible grimaces which made his scars even more prominent, his eyes still pressed together as he was trying to handle the pain all over his body.
His intestines felt as if they were being turned inside out, his head was buzzing with pain and every single muscle in his body was visibly twitching and cramping.

If Sirius -who was still outside, crying and believing Remus was gone forever- had been there, he probably would've broken down all over again.

„It's his body." It was McGonagall who spoke up, breaking the silence which was only disturbed by Remus' occasional groans of pain and him pulling the mattress' cover.
„The eclipse ended, but the full moon's still up for 30 more minutes.
His body is trying to follow it's regulation by turning into a werewolf again. But he's too weak.
It's like his body is fighting itself.
One cannot go through such a terrible transformation twice in one night."

James and Peter looked at her with wide eyes while Dumbledore and Pomfrey nodded in agreement.
„But you can't let him stay like this...!" Peter cried out, frantic at seeing Remus in such pain.

„We won't." It was Dumbledore who stepped forward calmly, his footsteps light and his voice calm as usual.
He raised his wand, waving it in front of Remus' bed and mumbling a silent spell.

Remus was quiet right away, calm and with closed eyes. He was asleep.
Everyone in the room signed in relief, the headmaster being the one to speak up.
„We shall let him rest. He's suffered more than enough.
The spell I used on him will make him feel exhausted for the next few days, no matter how much he sleeps. But it's better than having him suffer."

McGonagall walked up to James and Peter who had just loosened a hug, the two boys facing her with tired and scarred faces.
„Maybe you shall go looking for Mister Black. We will make sure Mister Lupin gets to rest."
She gave a slight smile, relieved that Remus had survived the night against all expectations.

James slowly nodded, looking at Remus who was sleeping and Peter who grabbed their jackets along with Sirius' which he had left behind earlier.
Peter handed James his jacket, putting his own on while walking. „Let's go."

They left the hospital wing in silence and started walking through basically every hallway, calling out for Sirius over and over again. Since the castle had been evacuated, they didn't need to be silent of course.
As they didn't find Sirius anywhere inside, they started walking around the grounds as the moon finally went down behind the horizon.

Sirius had stopped crying, his eyes glazed and bloodshot. He watched the moon go down, feeling empty and completely unable to do anything.
He just wanted to stay there and die. He didn't realize that it was only around 5° Celsius outside. He felt numb, his face pale as small clouds of hot breath in the morning air rose up in front of his eyes.
At the crack of dawn, with the sun slowly shedding some light in the area, he looked around himself. The grass was covered in slight ice crystals which reflected the first rays of sunshine glistering through the edge of the forbidden forest to Sirius' right. He was facing the castle with his back, relatively close to it even though it felt as though he had ran much further.