Full Moon Nights

Full Moon Nights

Everybody makes mistakes, right? Nobody goes by unscathed, there's no-one I can think of who has never made a bloody mistake...

"Mr. Black, were you listening at all to what I was saying?" McGonagall was furious. Sirius nodded, although he hadn't been listening, not really.

They were standing in Dumbledore's office, and the Headmaster had never looked so grave - a fact that only made Sirius feel worse.

"Why did you do that, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, his face showing how disappointed he felt towards his student.

Yes, Sirius - Why? There might be the fact that ugly, sniveling git had it coming... Or perhaps because of what he did last summer... Revenge, that's why I did it! He should know better than trying to get us all expelled every other day, and stop bullying Remus around - he can't take it, and I was not going to sit by and watch!

"What did he do for you to do - that?" Dumbledore rephrased his question.

"Would you like me to make a list?" Sirius muttered, staring at his shoes. He knew what was coming. He'd be expelled. And he also knew he deserved it.

Dumbledore's face softened, if only a little. Sirius Black, he knew, never did anything without a reason. Not even that time when he'd dyed Mr. Malfoy's robe a bright fuchsia, or that day Bellatrix Black was found locked in a broom-closet filled with dolls that sang love songs in shrill voices... He liked to solve his problems in his own, unorthodox way, and usually his pranks were creative, highly ridiculous, and essentially harmless - but this time someone could have been hurt, or even killed. And that was the part Dumbledore did not like. What could Mr. Snape have possibly done to deserve that?

The silence grew, and still Sirius stared at the floor.

"Mr. Black, you do realize the seriousness of your actions? Mr. Snape could have been bitten, or killed --" McGonagall asked crisply.

Sirius nodded glumly. Like that's a bad thing, he thought bitterly. Here it comes...

"And -- Mr. Lupin was seen! What on earth were you thinking?" Sirius flinched. He hadn't been thinking. He was aware of that much now. And so was McGonagall. "I have never before thought a student -- in Gryffindor... could have done such an atrocious -- thing." She stopped, apparently at a loss for words. Sirius thought that was a first.

"Do you have anything further to say regarding your behavior tonight?" she asked. Sirius shook his hair out of his eyes and looked straight at her.

"No, Professor McGonagall - I - I think I shall go and pack now."

"Pack?" It was Dumbledore who spoke next. "Are you going anywhere?"

"You're expelling me, aren't you?" Sirius looked taken aback.

"Not today, Mr. Black," McGonagall said dryly. "But I must impress on you that what you did is indeed worthy of expulsion... Instead of this, I shall take one hundred and fifty points from Gryffindor. You shall serve detention every evening from eight o'clock till midnight, starting Monday and until the Christmas holidays. You are also banned from all Hogsmeade visits this year. Do you understand?"

Another nod. Sirius' heart leapt. It could have been worse.

"And I want you to apologize to Mr. Snape for what you did," she said. Sirius glared at her, so suddenly, it seemed someone had set his eyes on fire.

"I beg. Your. Pardon?!?"

"You heard me. Unless, of course, that you would like it to be three hundred points?" she said silkily. Sirius's jaw twitched and clenched.

"No. Professor." he said flatly, back to glaring at his mud-covered shoes.

"Well, I suggest you retire to your dormitory, Mr. Black," Dumbledore said in a most unbecoming businesslike tone. "Although a visit to the Hospital Wing before bed would be more useful, I believe you received your share of tonight's blows. Your parents shall be notified tonight."

"Yes, Professor."

"Mr. Snape might still be awake - I shall be there shortly," McGonagall said, her mouth the thinnest of lines. "And I want to hear you apologized, unless you would like to do it in front of the entire school, that is. Kindly tell Mr. Potter he may come in now, will you?"

"Yes, Professor." Sirius stepped out of the office and unto the moving staircase.

Beside the stone gargoyle, James Potter stood, splattered with mud, still in his Quidditch uniform.

"How did it go?" he asked. Sirius shrugged haughtily. Suddenly he couldn't look his friend in the eye. "You weren't - expelled, were you?"

"No." Sirius growled. "They want to see you. Good luck." He walked away towards the Hospital Wing, where Snape was lying in a bed at the far end.

Madam Pomfrey bustled over to Sirius as soon as he entered.

"Here you are," she snapped angrily, throwing him a pair of pajamas and pointing to a bed near one of the windows. The same bed as in first year, Sirius thought. No way. I'm not staying there again.

"I feel - fine, Madam Pomfrey," Sirius lied in a small voice, handing back the pajamas. "I - I just came to - to apologize to Snape."

"You better. Unbelievable what you did - I see you weren't expelled..." Madam Pomfrey said, grabbing the pajamas.

Here goes nothing... He walked to Snape's bed, his hands clenched to fists. Snape looked quite shocked at the sight of him. Deep breath, and just say it... Can't possibly be that hard, can it?

"I - I am sorry for what I did, Snape." Yeah, I am sorry... for telling James about what I did, you slimy, greasy dirtbag!

Snape did not answer for a while. He had a stunned expression on his face, and Sirius sincerely doubted he had heard him at all, but he had apologized.

"You'll be sorry..." was all that greasy git brought forth. Sirius glared at him.

"Did he do it, Phyllis?" Dumbledore asked, a cup of tea in his hands. The witch in the painting nodded, grinning.

"He looked like he had a lockjaw, but he did apologize, Albus!"

"Well, no lasting harm done. What do you think of it, Minerva?"

"I believe we let him off too lightly. And why did you hand out two hundred points to Potter?"

"I think, my dear Minerva, that it will do us no good to draw attention to what happened. Besides, no punishment we could ever think out will be worse than what Mr. Lupin has in store for Mr. Black." Dumbledore said, smiling sadly. "Unless I am much mistaken, that boy lives solely for his friends, and the full impact of the danger he placed Mr. Lupin in will no doubt hit him in the morning."

Sirius did not go back to the Gryffindor Common Room that night. Instead he wandered the castle, and found himself a sufficiently uncomfortable hidden room to stay, when Filch and his dratted cat began their nightly patrol.

At the break of dawn, he saw Madam Pomfrey levitate Remus to the Hospital Wing, and he choked back some tears. It was the first time this year - the first time he ended up unconscious. And it was his, Sirius', fault. He banged his head against the wall. How could I have been such a stupid - idiot - arse? He thought, hitting his head at each thought.

He listened to the sounds of the students filing to the Great Hall for breakfast. It was a Saturday, and people had risen late. A half-hour later, James and Peter crossed the corridor he was hiding in, on their morning visit to Remus.

Sirius had never seen James so grim.

As soon they were out of hearing range, he emerged from his hiding place and made his solitary way to Gryffindor Tower. He wasn't hungry, or sleepy. The feeling of pain on his side was increasing, causing difficulty breathing. He deserved it, as he deserved the guilt, the remorse, which were eating him inside.

He wished he could turn back time, wished he could have shut his mouth. Remus was probably badly hurt, James was most likely seething, and they would not want to talk to him at all. He knew he wouldn't want to.

He gave the Fat Lady the password ("Bear strong"), and tried to ignore the glare she sent his way. The Common Room was empty. He climbed the spiral staircase leading to his dormitory, and made a beeline for his bed, when he heard a mournful note coming from it he had learned to dread.

Except he was so angry at himself he didn't care much about what happened right now. He parted the curtains, and sure enough, Wat, his mother's Augurey, was sitting on his pillow, a green envelope on the covers.

Sirius almost welcomed the sight.

The envelope began smoking around the edges, revealing a towering figure he'd learned to hate, to fear.

Mrs. Black did not yell at him too much this time. She went straight to the point.

"Flagelate!" she shrieked, and Sirius felt a hundred whips crack on his body. He fell to his knees -- "You idiot boy -- trying to kill a Snape! This deserves -- Crucio!"

"How're you feeling, Moony?" James said softly, placing a large bowl of vanilla-and-peanut ice cream next to his bed. Remus winced and opened an eye.

"Not too bad, considering - Where is Sirius?"

Peter looked fearfully from James to Remus, and back to James, who looked sadly at his friend.

"D'you remember anything from last night?"

"No... Wait... Snape was in the tunnel - Oh, no..." Remus' eyes opened wide. "I - didn't bite him, did I?"

"Almost. I got him out before you reached us...He's over there."

"Sirius?" James nodded. Remus stared at him, completely lost for words.

"But...why?" he breathed, his eyes wide in shock.

"Dunno..."

"What happened... after, I mean - when you got him out?" Remus urged, nodding in Snape's direction.

"Sirius wasn't expelled or anything, and I haven't seen him since last night. McGonagall took some hundred-fifty points from Gryffindor, and I believe I heard a painting muttering something about detentions with her till Christmas... And then Dumbledore gave me two hundred points. I looked for Sirius half the night, but I couldn't find him."

"Look for him, will you? If you find him, bring him over. I'd like to tell him a thing or two..." Remus yawned. It had been a long night.

---------------

Sirius was found, much later that day, by the lake. A First Year told James he'd seen a large black dog there that looked like it wanted to feed itself to the Giant Squid. Peter was still with Remus, so James went to find him.

He wandered the shore to a secluded spot, where he saw Sirius in his human form. He looked terrible, shivery and pale. James went to sit next to him.

He didn't feel angry at Sirius, but he did want some answers. Sirius would tell him eventually -- he always did -- and James understood this.

"I'm sorry, James..." Sirius whispered, burying his face in his hands. "I didn't think - why am I such a stupid ass?"

"I believe you were born that way," James answered. Sirius chuckled bitterly.

"True...How's Remus?"

"Why don't you go and ask him?"

"No...I don't really think he'll be too thrilled to see me. Merlin, James - I let that slimeball get so close...He saw him, too."

"I don't think Remus will throttle you... That's McGonagall's job."

"At the rate I'm going, they'll be standing line to get at me."

------------------------------------

"Why isn't Padfoot here?"

"He's got detention again, Wormtail..." James rolled his eyes. Sometimes, Peter got on his nerves.

"Isn't he going to join us tonight?"

"Guess not."

Remus looked out the window. One month had passed since the event that led him to be discovered, and he still couldn't see Sirius without feeling burning anger course through every fibre of his body.

It was a good thing Sirius had detention every day until midnight, too. That way, Remus didn't see him except during class, or meals - If Sirius showed up at all. They had mountains of homework piled on them every day, and Sirius also had Quidditch practice with James three times a week. What with that and detentions, he slept little and ate less. Not that Remus cared much about it anymore.

Sirius had, of course, apologized to Remus - he did it over and over again, too -- but they didn't talk much to each other, and whenever both happened to be in the same room, one would mutter something or other about needing to be somewhere else and leave. Their friendship was strained at best, and it drove the other two Marauders insane.

There had been that terrible first week after he'd nearly killed Snape, of course. Sirius had looked like he'd been in hell when it froze over. He was unrecognizable - He'd slept most of the weekend, and kept groaning in his sleep, wincing at odd moments. James suspected his mother had sent him a green letter, like in their first year -- He'd discovered some suspicious scorch marks on the wooden dormitory floor, but Sirius would not tell him what had happened.

Remus found he didn't care.

Then the detentions began. Sirius talked little, and kept to himself during class. He returned very late to the dormitories and was the first to rise. Somehow, he still managed to make the statue of Wilfred the Wistful follow the Slytherins around the school for two days in a row, glue Narcissa, his only cousin left at Hogwarts, to the toilet seat, and make the floating candles on the Slytherin end of the Great Hall spill themselves over their heads during dinner. Not to mention that incident with the dyed Demiguise, the suits of armor walking around the fourth floor challenging every student to a duel, or Regulus' sudden growth of snakes on his head. Remus had to admit he was beginning to feel slightly intrigued. Sirius still said nothing.

Sirius was not in the Common Room that evening, as usual. Dedalus Diggle, a short Hufflepuff Fourth Year, told James he'd last seen Sirius after Care of Magical Creatures, apparently stroking the air and talking to himself. James began to believe Sirius was loosing it and looked earnestly worried. Remus gave a grim little laugh. Peter... well, Peter did not volunteer his opinion at all.

They had finished their last load of homework, which included a three-foot essay on Vanishing Spells for McGonagall, and were getting ready for tonight's transformation. James was sitting on his Invisibility Cloak when the portrait hole revealed a tired-looking Sirius coming in.

Remus registered he looked pretty much exhausted, and realized with a pang that he might just as well care - Sirius was his friend, after all. His pride got the better of him, however, and he stood up, saying he had to see Madam Pomfrey.

Sirius threw himself on the couch Remus had just vacated, and looked inquiringly at James.

"We'll explore Hogwarts a bit tonight, Padfoot," James answered the unasked question. "Maybe even go to Hogsmeade." He gave Sirius the same kind of look.

"That's eerie," Peter chimed in. "Try and have a regular conversation, why don't you? You know, the type in which both speakers actually talk to each other..."

"I have detention with Hagrid tonight. Who knows what time I'll finish..." Sirius heaved a sigh. "I'll go to bed afterwards anyway, so you have a good time." He rose again and left the Common Room as the grandfather's clock chimed eight.

Detentions with Hagrid were more interesting than those with McGonagall or Filch, but Sirius never finished at midnight. And right now, he could have slept where he stood. Besides, he hadn't even started that essay for McGonagall yet. With luck, one of those thestrals he'd seen earlier would eat him up -- at least he would be able to sleep in the Hospital Wing...

He dragged himself outside, and crossed the dark grounds. He saw Madam Pomfrey and Remus a little ways ahead, on their way to the Whomping Willow. For the first time in his life, he didn't feel particularly keen to join in the Marauders' monthly adventure. Moony'd tear him to bits, and however appealing he currently found the idea, he decided against it. He reached Hagrid's cabin and knocked.

"Hullo, Sirius!" the Gamekeeper said cheerfully, but stopped instantly at the sight of the boy. He looked terrible, and Hagrid pointed it out in his blunt, yet straightforward way. "Yeh look like yeh've bin run over by a dragon, lad."

"Yeah, that sort of sums it up, Hagrid - what're we up to tonight?"

"Tea... an' a bit o'cake, too. I reckon yeh've had enough detentions ter last yeh a lifetime." Hagrid smiled kindly. "Jus' be grateful if yeh didn' bring it up in front of McGonagall - she'd skin me alive."

Sirius had never felt so grateful in his life. He sipped his tea by the fire, listening to Hagrid's stories...and promptly fell asleep.

A hand the size of a trash can lid shook him awake.

"Midnight, Sirius - best be on yer way." Hagrid said, yawning.

"Cheers, Hagrid," Sirius mumbled sleepily, getting to his feet and shaking his hair out of his eyes. "Best detention I ever had - hope I can get more like this." He stumbled to the door, bade Hagrid good night, and faced the chill outside.

He woke up a little as the cold autumn air hit his face, and resolved to take the longer path to the castle. The four-hour nap he'd taken had refreshed him considerably, and a stroll across the grounds felt like the right thing to do. Behind him, Hagrid had extinguished his lamps, and the grounds were bathed in silvery moonlight.

He could never tell how long he'd been walking, but he stopped upon hearing a high-pitched, bloodcurdling shriek. His stomach plummeted. Peter! They were in the Forbidden Forest!

He didn't stop to think. In a split second, a huge black dog bounded into the forest as fast as it could, its nose brushing against the ground, following a recent trail.

"Moony, it's the third time you make us return tonight," Prongs snorted, his antlers gleaming in the silver moonlight. "D'you reckon we're lost?"

"Nonsense, Prongs. Have you ever heard of a Werewolf getting himself lost?" Moony banged his tail impatiently on the ground.

"No, this is my first." James pranced. "But then, I don't know many werewolves..."

"What're you looking for, anyway?" Wormtail squeaked. "Moo--" He stopped short. A long, hairy leg had landed right in front of him and nearly squashed him flat. He jumped aside, just in time to be picked up by the stag's antlers. The stag and the wolf fled the astonished giant spider at breakneck speed.

"Something Aragog will be thrilled to hear...A stag... in this part of the country..." it muttered, clicking its pincers with every word.

"Acromantulas," Wormtail said weakly, shaking like mad. "There are acromantulas in here!"

They had stopped in the middle of a clearing, not too far from the edge of the Forest. Wormtail was squeaking shrilly, but Prongs and Moony looked downright excited. For a while, that was. Soon the wolf also known as Moony began to trot to the right, his nose following the evasive scent of freshly-spilled blood he found so intriguing. Men had been here, and he couldn't help following.

They had been in the Forbidden Forest since after the moon rose, their plan of exploring Hogsmeade forgotten.

They walked to a densely overgrown cluster of trees, where the scent of blood was thickest, and Wormtail felt something invisible knock him aside - something heavy. He let out a loud shriek, and turned into a chubby, blond boy again. He screamed loudly.

Moony turned to shut him up, but the sight made his senses reel.

A man! A man to bite! He'd longed for this for as long as he'd been a werewolf, and here it was at last. He lunged at the cowering figure not ten feet away -- but a deer-thing came at him from nowhere. He avoided a collision by inches and backed off, growling, the hair on his back bristling menacingly.

"Change back, you idiot!" Prongs pranced urgently, but Wormtail stared at the werewolf trying to get at him and didn't move. I'm never going to be able to hold him off long enough, Prongs thought desperately. If only Padfoot were here -- He warded off another attack from his left, rearing up and kicking out at the furious wolf. Climb onto my back, Peter! Now!

Moony was sent flying into the next tree. He backed off a little, readying himself for a leap. That deer-thing was trying to get the short, fat man on its back, it was busy. The werewolf charged -- he leapt six feet in the air, his fangs bared --

Out of nowhere, a huge black dog caught him mid-jump, howling madly at the stag to get the bloody hell out of there.

Somehow they got away. Prongs galloped out of the forest, with Peter hanging on for dear life, and did not stop until they were at a safe distance from Moony and Padfoot.

Prongs let Wormtail slide off his back, his coat glistening with sweat.

"D'you think Padfoot's -- alright?"Peter squeaked shakily.

"Dunno..." James had transformed back to his human form. "Last thing I saw was Padfoot grabbing Moony by the neck..." He rounded on Wormtail, who flinched. "What in Merlin's name were you thinking?!?"

There was a yelp of pain coming from the thicket, not too far from where they were standing (or in Peter's case, sitting).

"Quick, transform!" James hissed, and the next moment, a stag and a large rat were standing where the two schoolboys had been.

The rat clambered on the stag's back, and the stag dashed back into the Forest, following the loud noises of the fight.

It took them a long while, but after what seemed hours, they saw them, still fighting in an unknown clearing.

Padfoot was bleeding freely from the neck and shoulder, and was trying to shake Moony off, who nevertheless clung on to his back with claws and fangs. Padfoot reared up onto his hindquarters and twisted around, making Moony loose his balance. They fell backwards with a crash, Padfoot on top of Moony -- He got hold of Moony's neck with his own fangs, and pinned him to the ground with his front paws, breathing heavily.

Prongs approached them, snorting something neither could understand.

They remained in this position, both baring their fangs at each other, Moony trying desperately to free himself.

A while later, Moony quieted down. Slowly, Padfoot backed off, and Moony got to his feet.

"Sorry." Moony managed in a low growl. Padfoot staggered in front of him, looking at the thestrals that were approaching them, drawn by the scent of blood. Hagrid had fed them earlier, he remembered dimly, panting for breath.

"There are a couple of thestrals here," Padfoot growled, backing off. "Not overly fond of bleeding animals... Except for dinner."

"Let's get out of here," Prongs suggested, and they stumbled away as fast as they could.

They stepped out of the Forbidden Forest as the first birds began to sing, and Moony stretched out on the grass by the lake, while Prongs and Padfoot took long draughts of water.

A low gasp made them turn around. Remus was transforming again. He shook madly for a while, the fur left his face and arms -- his bones shifted their position, making him curl up in pain -- and after a few moments, he lay unconscious on the wet grass, back to his normal self again.

"Let's get him to the Willow," Sirius said, turning back to his human form. James carried him on his back, while Peter went ahead and prodded the knot at the base of the Whomping Willow, thus allowing Sirius and James, who had transformed back by now, to carry him inside.

They laid him on a torn couch, and left the way they had come. Madam Pomfrey would be there soon, and they could not afford to be found at the Shrieking Shack, not even as animals.

Dawn broke, as cold and mirthless as the day before. It was not until they were outside that James and Peter could see Sirius properly. He was bleeding from great gashes all over his arms and back, and an ugly cut went all the way from his brow to his cheeks.

"Oh no, Sirius..." James groaned.

"Leave it to me -- I'll go and let Hagrid find me or such... Tell him a wild dog bit me last night or something." Sirius said, sounding almost nonchalant. "You get your bums back to bed, before Pomfrey comes along."

Madam Pomfrey crossed the grounds, a blanket in her hands. She walked as fast as she could -- Mere minutes ago, a very distressed Hagrid had brought Sirius Black to the Hospital Wing, stammering something about wild dogs loose on the grounds last night, when the boy had been serving detention -- and she was sincerely worried this time. It looked like a pack of them had tried to tear him to bits.

To add to her woes, Mr. Lupin didn't look much better, either.

She wrapped him gently in the blanket and levitated him all the way to a bed. This time, they were side by side.

----------------

"McGonagall said you don't have to serve any more detentions, and she's giving you some extra time to hand in that essay," James said, leaning back on the chair he'd been sitting on for the past few hours. Remus sat on Sirius' bed -- he'd always healed faster, maybe because he actually tried to lie still -- and Peter was presently copying down last lesson's Care of Magical Creatures notes down for Sirius.

Sirius had woken two days after their last adventure, and the weekend had come. James and Peter had been in the Hospital Wing all morning, playing chess or Exploding Snap with Remus and Sirius.

Remus had remained there, mainly to keep Sirius company (Madam Pomfrey had released him early on Friday), and both seemed to have reached a silent agreement regarding the past events. All was forgiven, no grudges held.

Forever, Remus thought, watching Sirius truly smile for the first time in weeks. We're friends...Forever.