Echo | Harry Potter - George Weasley

Chapter 39: The Full Moon

Helping Hermione get Ron back onto his feet again, Shaye kept a cautious distance away from Sirius and Peter as they filed out of the Shrieking Shack and back through the Whomping Willow tunnel. 

Snape had been left behind, still knocked out on the bed in the shack. Not only would he have been too much for anyone to carry—what with the adults already focusing all of their attention on keeping Peter in check—but it was also a good idea to be as far away from him as possible when he eventually woke up. Knowing Snape, he would be beyond angry and would be looking for the closest possible person to take it out on.

"Sorry about the bite," Sirius apologized to Ron. "I reckon that twinges a bit."

"A bit?" Ron scoffed. "You almost tore my leg off!"

"I was going for the rat." Sirius tried to defend himself. "Normally, I have a very sweet disposition as a dog. In fact, more than once, James suggested that I make the change permanent. The tail, I could live with. But the fleas, they're murder."

Harry smiled at the anecdote; more than likely because it involved his dad. Shaye recognized that smile—it was the same one she had plastered across her face every time Hattie was telling a story about Lorelei.

By the time all seven of the group had crawled out of the tunnel and back up to where the Whomping Willow sat dormant, the sun had completely set and the sky was dark. A loon called from somewhere in the Black Lake, but other than that, it was silent and calm outside.

Carefully, Shaye and Hermione set Ron down so he could rest his injured leg a little before they trekked the rest of the way back up to the castle. During the downtime, Harry took advantage of the opportunity to speak properly with his father's friend, Sirius.

"That looks painful." Hermione looked down at the bite mark on Ron's shin.

"So painful." Ron nodded. "They might chop it."

Hermione smirked. "I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will fix it in a heartbeat."

"It's too late," Ron joked. "It's ruined. It'll have to be chopped off."

"Well, at least we know your sense of humour is still intact." Shaye rolled her eyes, only half paying attention to Ron and Hermione despite the rare occurrence of them getting along. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Shaye watched as Harry and Sirius stood side by side, staring up at the castle in the distance, the many windows illuminated with a warm glow and a low fog hanging over the tallest peaks.

Shaye remembered Harry saying something before about Sirius being his godfather. He had mentioned it quickly when retelling what he had heard in the pub, but at the time, he had been so outraged with the belief that Sirius was the reason his parents were dead that he hadn't even bothered to dwell on it. Now, however, Shaye could tell he was really considering that implication. 

The wholesome moment didn't last long, however, because it was soon ruined by Peter's incessant blubbering. "Turn me into a flobberworm. Anything but the dementors!" he begged before turning to Ron. "Ron! Haven't I been a good friend, a good pet? You won't let them give me to the dementors, will you? I was your rat!" He then turned to Shaye and Hermione. "Oh, sweet girls. Clever girls. Surely you won't-"

"Get away from them!" Lupin dragged Peter away from the children. 

Then, all of a sudden, Hermione jumped up and pointed at the moon, which had just began to emerge from a mountain peak in the distance. Lupin turned to the moon and his face paled. Fear flickered in his eyes. That was when Shaye remembered what Hermione had mentioned about him being a werewolf. And just their luck, it was a full moon.