Some Day | Wolfstar

Eighteen

It was Sirius and James who worked their heads off to become Animagi. Peter too, had been desperate to help Remus. They managed to help him with his procedure, so that they could all four of them be together even when Remus was rendered helpless, trapped in the body of a mindless beast.

Peter's animal form was by no means nearly as grand or flattering as the other two. James, of course, was the most majestic. A beautiful stag. It suited him. Sirius turned into a dog, his silky fur as black as charcoal. Peter was stuck with the form of a common garden rat, as well as the rather frivolous nickname of Wormtail.

Sirius had never actually seen Remus transform. They only came to see him after dinner, when he would already be in his wolf form. Werewolves were no threat to animals, so they would all turn into their animal forms before entering the Shack.

On this night, however, Sirius dared to remain himself until Remus was completely gone. He watched, frozen, when Remus' eyes widened. In the eerie blue light of the moon, they deepened into wells of pitch black, infernal in their lack of human conscience. Remus pushed himself off of the bed and stumbled back into the far end of the room, voice cracking as he roared at Sirius to turn himself, "Sirius, do it, now! It's not... safe..." he dropped to his knees.

But Sirius stayed still, unable to move as he watched Remus cry out, clawing at his face. He watched his friend morph into something completely different, something strange and monstrous. His back hunched, his face distorted and gave rise to a long snout, and his fingers sharpened into deadly claws.

Sirius knew that Remus was completely gone when the wolf looked at him, teeth bared. He wasted no time in turning to his canine form. He jumped off the bed, but kept his distance until the wolf stopped growling.

James and Peter appeared a while later in their respective animal forms. It was freezing inside the run down building.

Why hadn't Sirius cast a warming charm?

The wolf raised its head to look at them. It watched the two newcomers join the black dog. A small while later, it stalked a little closer. Then a little more. And then a little more. At some point, all four of them were huddled together to keep the cold away.

They spent the night that way, and left the wolf in the morning.

The following night, they ventured outside into Hogwarts premises. Around its non-human friends, the wolf had a disposition surprisingly mild, almost mirroring the camaraderie among the other three animals. It was as close to safe as the wolf would ever be, but not for a human. They roamed the Forbidden Forest under the silver moonlight, a strange party of assorted creatures.

On the third night, the three Animagi went to sleep in the Shack, knowing the beast in the room would turn back to their beloved friend the following morning.

They woke up to the sound of howling, which gradually faded into gasps, and then quiet whimpers. Remus was back; pale, weak and exhausted. His friends turned back to their human forms.

"Hey, Moony," James smiled at him. Remus gave him a weak smile in response. Peter fetched him a glass of water from the jug at the bedside. "Good to see your pretty face again," Sirius whispered so that only Remus heard him, and handed him a little bit of chocolate.

They couldn't do anything more, lest they should be discovered. Animagi unregistered at the Ministry of Magic, like themselves, were liable to severe punishment. Even imprisonment. Hesitating, and promising to come see him as soon as they could, they rushed outside and sneaked back into their beds at the dormitory. Hagrid the gamekeeper would fetch him to Madam Pomfrey by first period.

James and Sirius had Study of Ancient Runes. Peter had Divination, which he seemed to be quite reluctant to miss. James gave Sirius a smirk. They told Peter to go for his lesson, and sneaked into the Hospital Tower.

"There's a certain Felicity from Hufflepuff," James smirked, crouching behind a large chest. The hospital wing was in the fourth floor. The rest of the space was mostly unused, with the exception of the Prefects' Bathrooms and some classrooms here and there.

The Marauder's Map was open, and James was watching for anyone who might be coming there way. The map showed that only the two of them were there in the second floor.

"It's about time Peter found someone." Sirius kept his eyes glued on the map. "How's it going with Lily?"

"She's... talking to me."

Sirius clapped loudly in mock amazement. "Congratulations, James. What a stunning accomplishment on your behalf," he laughed.

James grinned out of pure bliss. It felt so good to see Sirius acting cheerful. He knew that Sirius was not happy, of course not. But being happy and allowing oneself to feel happiness were quite different things. And even if the former was unattainable, the latter sufficed, for the time being at least.

"You know, Padfoot," James started. He paused to adjust his spectacles on his nose. "You're the only one of us who's never dated anyone." He leaned against the back of the chest.

Sirius shrugged. "All in due time, Prongsie."

"Are you ever going to tell him?"

Sirius shrugged again, and shot him one of his signature lazy smiles. "As I already said, all in due time."

James rolled his eyes. He'd been waiting for them to get together since fifth year. Even Peter, clueless as a postbox, had secretly raved about how great they would be for each other.

"He's here!" James gasped, pointing at the staircase on the map. Two dots were moving up, Rubeus Hagrid and Remus Lupin.

The two boys watched the dots enter the hospital wing, where a third dot called Madam Pomfrey joined them. They waited until Hagrid left, and ran up the stairs.

Madam Pomfrey raised her eyebrows when they rushed in. Sirius' shoulders tensed when he saw Regulus. His chest constricted as the guilt of having laughed earlier set in. James pulled him over to Remus.

"Be quick about it, boys." Madam Pomfrey moved away. She knew better than to tell them to go back to class. She had given up on them somewhere in fifth year.

"Hey, Moony. How are you feeling?" Sirius asked gently. Remus looked extremely pale, but his smile was bright as he said, "Quite good. It only hurts a little bit today."

After a moment's pause he added, "You can go back to class now. I'm fine."

Of course they didn't listen.

Sirius helped him take the soup Madam Pomfrey ordered from the kitchens while James wrapped a scarf around his neck.

"Well, boys, now you really should go. Mister Lupin is in good shape, and he will be with you by dinner."

Sirius stopped to give Regulus a small kiss on the forehead before they left. He'd find a cure, soon. Severus was the best at Hogwarts for potions. Better than even Slughorn. They would find a way. And they would get Regulus back.