Werewolf Love - Sixth Year

CHAPTER SIX
Things between Remus and Lessah began to go a lot smoother than they had on their first date. Soon, Remus was giving up the crazy adventures of his friends and spending the time with Lessah. Severus Snape was also spending more time around Remus, following him and Lessah from a distance. He had also tried to expose Remus' secret to Lessah. Sirius and James had taken care of the matter, though the wouldn't tell Remus what they had done. Clearly though, Severus Snape stayed his tongue.

In May, Remus had begged to be allowed to escort himself to the Womping Willow, instead of being led to the tree by Madam Pomfrey. He didn't say that it was because he wanted to spend as much time with Lessah as possible before he had to suffer the pain of his transformation. Eventually permission was given, if only to shut Remus up.

"It's great guys," Remus said with more energy than usual. "For the first time since, well, ever, I don't have to be escorted out to the Womping Willow. I can go alone. You guys just don't understand the significance of this!"

"No, probably not. But we do understand the danger," said Sirius, being grimmer than usual. "What if you forget?"

"How am I supposed to forget something that has been a part of me for as long as I can remember?"

"That's just it though Remus," James interjected. "Things like that get forgotten. We know you say that you won't, but that's why they call them accidents."

"Yeah, okay mum."

"I'm serious. We've already had a few close calls. Remember when you got it into your wolfish head to make a dash for the school? There were still a few people wandering around outside. I don't know how you got past Sirius and I, but you're damn lucky that we caught you before you got too far."

"Hey, nobody got hurt. Stop riding me you guys!"

Sirius and James gave Remus stern looks and blocked the door as he was about to head out of the dormitory.

"Peter is going to follow you. You had better get to the Womping Willow on time Remus," James said. "I'm dead serious man. If anything goes wrong, anything at all, Sirius and I will be all over you as soon as we get outside."

"Guys, everything will be fine. I promise," Remus said firmly. "That is, if I don't die during potions. I swear that Severus Snape is putting wolfsbane in my hair when he walks past me."

"See that nothing goes wrong then."

The boys agreed to leave the subject alone and go to their classes. Exams were drawing near and they spent their classes studying. Remus and Lessah, who usually sat together in Charms, were sitting a few rows away from each other. Each of them were deeply involved with long scrolls of notes. Sirius leaned over to Remus.

"Hey," he whispered. "Why aren't you over there with Lessah? Why are you studying? Nobody else is."

Remus looked around the room. Sirius' statement was not wholly accurate. Some students where studying, but most were not. James and Lily certainly weren't, with James re-braidding her hair. Several other couples were more involved with each other than they were with their notes. Sirius was just harassing any girl who would give him a moment.

"I have to study Sirius. I want to pass."

"Hey, I wanna pass too. I'm just saying, you could be doing other things instead."

Remus ignored Sirius and went back to revising his notes. He was aware that Sirius had gone off somewhere, but he returned a few minutes later.

"You guys are made for each other. All she wants to do is study too," Sirius said, jerking his thumb at the Lessah. "But, she says she has something naughty for you after classes. You lucky wolf you."

Remus rolled his eyes and ignored Sirius for the rest of the class, though it was very hard because he had some amusing pick up lines and the rejections were even more amusing. Remus made it through that class, but he failed to be so studious in History of Magic class, the last class of the day. Sirius was stirring up more trouble than usual with the girls. At one point one of the girls had hit Sirius with a small hex, making his face turn green with pink spots. It faded quickly, but it had the whole class in tears with laughter. After that, Remus wasn't able to study if his life depended on it.

Remus met Lessah on the way to dinner. He hooked her under the arm and pulled her away from the doors that lead into the Great Hall. He put his arms around her and smelled her hair.

"You smell like peaches," Remus whispered in Lessah's ear.

"Remus, you're acting a little silly," Lessah said, giggling a little.

"I have something special for you outside."

"Don't you want to save the something specials for the weekend?"

"No. After tonight you won't be seeing me around much because I have to devote the next two weeks to studying."

"You don't have to Remus. Be a bad boy, don't study."

"No, I have to study. Come outside with me."

Remus and Lessah went outside. It was a beautiful first day of June. Remus, through his usual top-secret channels, had acquired a picnic dinner from the House Elves who worked in the kitchens of Hogwarts. For it's own protection, Remus had stashed by the Whomping Willow. Unfortunately he now had the dangerous task of fetching it.

"Why did you do such a stupid thing?" Lessah laughed as Remus walked around the willow, trying to figure out how to get his basket back.

"Well, you know, I didn't think about getting it back, I just wanted to make sure that nobody ate it but us. I had to pull a lot of strings to get this dinner from the kitchen elves."

"How did you do that?"

"Trade secret. You can learn anything if you're adventurous enough."

"Accio!"

Remus looked at Lessah as the picnic basket shot over to her. Unfortunately for him the speed of the moving basket had provoked the Womping Willow into attacking and Remus was knocked off his feet by a particularly large branch. He scrambled to his feet as fast as he could and ran back to Lessah's side. After a brief look over of Remus, Lessah told him that he wasn't hurt and that he should enjoy the dinner which he had conned out of the house elves. After dinner they lay down on the blanket and watched the clouds roll by, occasionally pointing out various shapes in the clouds. Remus was vaguely aware that the rat called Wormtail, actually Peter Pettigrew, was moving around in the vicinity. Time passed, the sun was slowly beginning to set.

"What about that one there?" Lessah asked, pointing to a cloud.

Remus looked at the cloud. It looked like it would, given the right wind conditions, be two clouds. Half of it was long and stretched from north to south. The other half was shorter, but was stretched along east and west. Remus thought for a moment.

"It looks like someone trying to forcibly wash Severus Snape's hair," he answered.

"I don't think so," Lessah said, laughing.

"Oh, then what is it?"

"I looks to me like someone being attacked by a dog, or maybe a wolf."

Suddenly, Remus remembered what day it was. He sat up and looked at the sky, which was now all shades of orange, fading into purple. Remus blood ran cold, he had no time to get Lessah back to the school and himself to the Shrieking Shack. There was a tingling sensation in his ears, fingers and toes. Soon it would become the pain of transformation. Remus leapt to his feet.

"Lessah, you have to back to the school, right now," he said, panicking.

"Remus, what's wrong?" Lessah asked, confused by his sudden erratic behavior.

"Just go. Run! And don't follow me!"

Remus ran as fast as he could toward the forest on the edge of the school grounds. He could hear Lessah calling to him. Ignoring her, he ran on. He almost fell when the first wave of pain came. He reached the forest and collapsed, letting the pain of his transformation wash over him. He stood again, this time on four legs, and howled at the rising moon. He began to make his way into the forest when the the scent of peaches and humans drifted toward him. He turned around to see the form of Lessah Ismorah walking along the edge of the forest.

"Remus, where are you? Come out of there, you're scaring me."

Remus the wolf moved slowly to the edge of the forest again, until he was behind Lessah. The lowered his head and growled, ready to attack her. She turned around and looked at him, shocked.

"Oh... this must be why you didn't want me to follow you..."

Run dammit! Remus thought, struggling to control his mind. Must not... can't... Lessah... must not... KILL!!

The wolf side won and Remus launched himself at Lessah. She tried to run, but he over powered her, sinking his teeth into her thigh. It was the first time he had tasted human blood, but not the first time he had craved it. The taste excited him and drove him to attack her again. This time he caught her fist in his jaws as she tried to fight him off. Then something hard came up into his chest. He let go of Lessah and tried to catch his breath. When he looked up again she was running away. He chased after her and jumped at her for a third attack. Suddenly he found himself caught on a pair of antlers. The stag lifted him off the ground.

James! Help me James! Remus said, regaining his thoughts for a moment.

James, the stag, lifted his head hard and fast, tossing Remus toward the forest. It wasn't enough. Remus ran past James, still pursuing Lessah. He was set upon by a large black dog, and Irish Wolfhound. The hound seized him by the throat and started dragging him toward the forest. Remus fought back, but the hound was more than a match for the wolf. Once in the forest, the hound release Remus. He was chased deep into the forest.

Sirius, what have I done!?

Don't worry Moony, James is with her. She'll be alright... I hope...

Remus howled long into the night. He didn't sleep until some time after he had changed back intoa human, when he passed out.