#the maraders

“Oh.” Lily gasped in surprise. You pulled apart, breathing heavily. “S-sorry. I thought I heard voices and- well never mind.” Her face was a deep scarlet. “Carry on.” Lily ran back up the stairs and the others reappeared.

“Not what I meant.” James groaned, his head floating in the air. You and Sirius chuckled as he glared. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“You’re just jealous that it was them and not you and Evans.” Remus snickered and James threw a pillow at him. Peter scurried off, still trembling like a mouse. You sighed, letting Sirius wrap his arms around you from behind, resting his chin on your shoulder.

“Now what?” You wondered. “We have to get to the bottom of this or else we could all be in danger.”

“It’ll have to wait until morning.” Remus pointed out. “If any of us get caught out after curfew again we’ll have detention until Christmas.” When all for of you agreed, James and Remus went back up to the boys’ dormitory while Sirius grabbed your hand.

“You know… we could always head up to the Astronomy tower and-”

“Sirius, you heard what Remus said. If we can’t go investigate then we most definitely shouldn’t go snogging in the Astronomy tower.” You snorted. “Besides, learning that our fellow students could be dying doesn’t exactly put me in the mood.”

“That kiss said otherwise.” He grinned cheekily. You shook your head, a smile creeping onto your face. You grabbed the map and James’ cloak, motioning for him to follow you into the dark corridor.

You giggled as Sirius’ fingers tickled your skin as the two of you lay underneath the Invisibility Cloak. You had been doing… non-school approved activities in the Astronomy Tower for the past hour. Now you were lying with your head on Sirius’ chest, staring up at the sky.

“We should be getting back to the common room.” You sighed, drawing circles on his skin with your fingers. He lifted the map.

“Filch is on the other side of the school and everyone is in their rooms.” He placed a kiss behind your ear. “We won’t get caught.” You smirked at the mischief in his eyes and leaned in for another kiss. With his arms wrapped around you, it felt like the safest place in the world. Until you heard the sound of nails scraping across the floor. You both froze, Sirius’ looking at you with wide eyes.

A dark shape emerged from the doorway. The cloaked form searched the room, joined by a shining, white wolf. Its growl nearly made you whimper in fear. Sirius gripped your hand, holding you close to him. The wolf sniffed at the air and looked straight at you with its glowing red eyes. You both held your breath. Suddenly, the hooded figure whispered something and both turned and disappeared.

“What in bloody hell was that?” Sirius gasped, scrambling to find his pajamas as you did the same.

“I have no idea.” You pulled out your wand. “Lumos.” A small light lit up the room as Sirius gather the rest of the things. “But at least we know why students are going missing.”

You’d never been so happy to see the Gryffindor common room in your life. You collapsed onto the sofa, staring into the brightly burning fire. Sirius sat next to you, neither of you saying a word. Your eyes were heavy with exhaustion, but you knew there was no way you’d be getting any sleep after what you’d just witnessed.

“What are we supposed to tell the others?” You asked. Sirius shrugged.

“The truth.”

The halls of Hogwarts were lively with the sounds of chatting students and footsteps echoing down the corridors. You sluggishly walked to your next class. You hadn't slept a wink all night. Every time you closed your eyes, you saw that ghostly white wolf with its glowing red eyes and its cloaked owner.

“Someone didn't get any sleep last night,” Remus noted with a smirk. “I suppose Sirius had something to do with that.”

“No,” You ran your fingers through your hair. “Well, yes, but that's not the main reason.”

“If it has anything to do with you two going up to the Astronomy tower, I do not want to hear about it.” He groaned. You stopped walking and lowered your voice.

“We saw something, Remus.” Seeing the fear in your eyes, he led you out into the courtyard.

“What do you mean?” He asked, sitting down on one of the benches.

“Up in the Astronomy tower Sirius and I were… well, never mind what we were doing. When Sirius looked at the map, there was no one around. But then this... thing appeared.”

“Was it a person?” He took out a notebook and started to write down your description.

“It might have been. I don't know. It had this big black hood on. And there was this dog. Not a dog, really. It was white and its eyes were bright red.” You shivered at the memory and Remus took your hands in his. “It almost looked like one of those rats. You know, the albino ones. Can you transform one animal into a different animal?” He shrugged.

“Not that I know of.”

“Remus, I…” You took a shaking breath. “I thought it was going to kill us.” Your eyes were filled with a terror Remus had never seen in you before. “And if we didn't have James’ cloak it would have.” He pulled you into his arms, trying to calm you down.

“It’s going to be alright.” He soothed. “I’m going to the library today and I’ll find out as much as I can.” He pulled back to give you a small smile. “Okay?” You nodded. “Come on now, where’s that smile?”  He tickled your side and you giggled. Remus had always been like family to you. Whenever you were upset, he knew how to cheer you up and whenever there was a full moon, you never left his side.

“Not trying to steal my girl, are you Remus?” Sirius teased, crossing the courtyard with James, Peter trailing behind them. You rolled your eye and Sirius leaned in for a kiss.

“You okay?” He asked. You ruffled your fingers through his long dark hair.

“Yeah.”

For the rest of the day, you looked over your shoulder every time you heard footsteps. Every time you saw a shadow, your heart stopped. Professor McGonagall seemed to notice your distress during Transfiguration.

“Something on your mind, Miss Y/L/N?” You snapped out of your trance and looked up at her.

“I was just thinking, Professor,” You started. “Can you turn one creature into a completely different one?” Remus shot you a look and started whispering to Sirius. McGonagall narrowed her eyes.

“I can’t imagine why you would want to.” She lowered her voice into a whisper. “Why don’t we discuss this after class?”  You could tell by the nervous look on her face that she knew something that she wasn’t telling you. Something about the missing students. Sirius and Remus shook their heads.

“Have you gone mad? What happened to not getting the teachers involved?” Sirius whispered.

“After what we saw, we need all of the information we can get.” You whispered back.

“Would the two of you like to share with the class?” McGonagall snapped.

“No Professor.” Sirius sank back in his chair, both he and Remus watching you cautiously.

As soon as class was over, you walked up to McGonagall’s desk, Sirius waiting for you at the door as Remus hurried to the library.

“Now,” McGonagall set down the paper she was grading and looking up at you, “what has sparked your interest in dark transfiguration?” You crossed your arms.

“I think you know, Professor.” She raised an eyebrow. “Something is happening at Hogwarts and you know about it.” She took a deep breath.

“Miss Y/L/N, I would strongly advise you to let the adults handle this situation.”  Her tone was stern. “That goes for you too, Mr. Black.” She glanced and Sirius, who held up his hands innocently.

“I don’t know what you mean.” He motioned for you to drop it. You glared at her.

“The students deserve to know that they’re in danger.”

“Until we know more about the situation, it will just cause panic and disorder.” She reasoned. “I’m sorry, Miss Y/L/N, but there is nothing I can do. Now please,  go back to your common room and whatever you do, do not go looking for this creature. That is my final word on the matter.” You scoffed and stormed off.

“I told you, the teachers aren’t going to help us,” Sirius muttered, lacing his fingers through yours as you walked back to Gryffindor Tower. You both froze, stumbling in upon James, his eyes red and worried as he knocked over the table.

“James?” Sirius rushed over to him to stop him from breaking a vase. “What is it?”

“Remus is gone.” James seethed. “One minute he was in the library and the next his name just… vanished.” Your heart dropped, your hand falling to your stomach. You felt sick. This couldn’t be happening. Not Remus.

“No.” Sirius shook his head in disbelief. “No, that’s not possible. He was just with us. He-” He turned to you, his eyes filled with tears. He collapsed into your arms and buried his face in your hair. You looked at James with a fire in your eyes.

“We find this thing.” You swore. “Tonight.”

As soon as the rest of the castle was asleep, the three of you crammed together underneath the Invisibility Cloak and used one of the secret passageways out of the castle. When it seemed safe, you gook of the cloak and used your wands to light the path. James led the way with the map tucked into his back pocket. Sirius never let go of your hand.

“Over there!” You exclaimed, pointing the large shape entering the Forbidden Forest. In its arms, it carried a boy. “Remus!” You screamed and ran after it.

“Y/N!” James and Sirius shouted, both running behind you. The forest was dark, even with the light coming from the tip of your wand. You were deep into the woods now and the figure was nowhere to be seen.

“Remus!” You yelled again, your voice echoing through the trees. A flash of white knocked you off your feet. The white wolf snarled its great fangs at you as you tried to push it off of you. It snapped his jaw around your wrist and you screamed out in pain, your blood the same color as its menacing eyes. There was a loud bark and a large black dog lunged at the white wolf, knocking it off of you. James helped to your feet as Sirius battled the wolf in dog form. The wolf bit at his neck and James had to hold you back from getting between the two massive animals.

“Go find Remus!” He shouted over the growls and gnashing teeth. “I’ll watch over him.” Just as you turned, the cloaked figure appeared, swooping down over you from the trees.

“Stupify!” You shouted, but it dodged the spell, the red flash lighting up the trees, revealing several bodies bound to branches. James cast another curse at the figure, but it countered it effortlessly.

“Free the students!” James drew the creature away from you. You started to climb, and carefully untied the first student from their restraints, careful not to let them fall from the tree.  As soon as they were free, they started to wake up. Soon there were seven terrified students all huddled together in the tree.

“Go to the school and find Professor Dumbledore!” You ordered and all scrambled down and sprinted back to the castle. You finally reached Remus and started to untie him when you heard a pained yelp and looked down to see the wolf’s teeth buried deep in the black dog’s shoulder.

“Sirius!” You shouted and your foot slipped off the branch. You surely would have plummeted down to the forest floor below had a hand not latched onto your arm at just the right moment. Remus clutched the tree branch with one hand and held onto you with the other. James still fought the looming creature, but he wasn’t going to be able to hold it off much longer. You pointed your wand at the pale wolf. “Immobulus!” The wolf froze and Sirius was able to shake it off of him. He transformed back into a boy and stood, but his legs gave out underneath him and he collapsed. “No!” You screamed.

Your hand slipped out of Remus and you felt the air rush around you as you fell.

“Arresto Momentum!” A voice shouted just as your vision went black.

The Hospital Wing was quiet as Remus and James sat beside your bed as you eyes slowly opened. Remus’ eyes had dark circles and James had a cut on his forehead, but other than that, they looked okay.

“You’re alright!” You sighed with relief, gathering them both into a hug. “What happened?”

“Professor Dumbledore showed up after you told the others to go find him,” Remus explained.

“Just in time too,” James added. “Or else you’d probably be a pancake right now.”  

“Did he stop it? That thing?”

“It got away.” Remus sighed. “But there are dozens of Auror’s hunting it down as we speak. They think it might have been a vampire.”

“A vampire?” You gasped. Sure, you’d heard stories but you never thought one would come to the school.

“Apparently it was gathering students for a feast on Halloween.” Remus shuttered. “If it wasn’t for you three, I’d be the appetizer.” You sat up suddenly.

“Where’s Sirius?” You asked. They both looked down. “Is he alright?”

“He’s pretty beat up, Y/N,” James warned. You swung your legs over the side of the bed.

“Where is he?” They both pointed to a bed in the corner of the room, shrouded with curtains. You rushed over, still a little wobbly on your feet but you didn’t care. You drew the curtain aside with a shaking hand. There was a large bandage wrapped around his shoulder and cuts covering his face and neck. “Sirius?” You whispered, gently taking his hand. “Sirius, can you hear me?”

“Is that you, God?” A smirk crept onto his face. “If this is about that  chocolate frog I stole from Marlene McKinnon second year, I swear  James made me do it.”  His eyes opened and he smiled. “Oh, it’s you. Hello gorgeous.” You gently put your hand behind his head and lifted his lips up to yours.

“I was so worried when I saw you fighting that beast.” You cried, a tear streaming down your face. He laid his hand on your cheek and wiped it away.

“It’s alright, love.” He laughed, placing a kiss on your forehead. “You saved me.”

“And me,” Remus added, he and James standing at the edge of the bed.

“I think it’s about time that we make her a Marauder,” James announced. Your jaw dropped.

“You’re kidding.” He shook his head.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.” Sirius beamed.

“So do I.” Remus agreed. “But what should we call you?”

“Y/N!” A voice shouted and Remus appeared over you, his eyes filled with panic. “Oh my god.” You let out a scream as pain ripped through your body, blood seeping through your uniform. The crowd of people started to file out in panic, despite Sirius’ desperate pleas to get help.

“I’m gonna kill him.” Sirius spat, trying to stop the blood from one of your multiple new wounds. “I swear, Y/N, I’m gonna kill him.”

“You can plan your revenge later Sirius,” Remus commanded. “Help me carry her to the hospital wing. He lightly ran his finger over your cheek, wiping away a tear that had landed there. He scooped you up in his arms and you cried out. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“I-I guess I should have listened to you.” You laugh lightly, the action sending more pain coursing through you.

“Shhhh,” Remus half ran through the hall, trying to move you as little as possible as Sirius ran ahead to find the nurse. James and Lily walked beside you, trying to stop the blood as much as they could. The nurse came scrambling down the hallway, Sirius sprinting back to you and the rest of the group.

“Merlin’s beard, what happened?” The nurse exclaimed.

“Dueling Club.” You and Lily answered at the same time the three boys said, “Severus Snape.” Lily sighed and you vaguely remember her and Severus being friends. Maybe that was what all of this was about. He was still angry because you had taken Lily away from him.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Can you help her?” Remus asked, looking down at you in his arms, desperately wishing he could help you.

“I said I’d never seen it, not that I couldn’t treat it.” The nurse ushered them into the hospital wing. “Set her down over here.” Remus laid you on one of the beds, but he laced his fingers with yours, gripping your hand gently.

“Mooney,” James whispered and pointed out the window. “Look.” Remus gripped your hand tighter, staring out at the setting sun as the full moon started to rise into the sky. In all of the commotion he had forgotten that tonight was a full moon.

“Not tonight, any night but tonight.” He pleaded to himself. But he knew there was no use. The wolf inside couldn’t be stopped, not even for you.

“I’ll stay in for the night, mate.” Sirius put a hand on Remus’ shoulder. “I’ll make sure she’s alright.” Remus hastily pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“I love you.” He whispered. “Try not to do anything stupid while I’m gone.” He laughed sadly before him and James rushed out the door. Lily pushed a hair out of your face and watched her best friend tremble, the blood oozing from the slits around your body. Sirius kicked the hospital bed across from you, screaming angrily. The nurse brought out a potion in a dark bottle.

“I’m going to need the two of you to hold her down. This will sting.” Sirius and Lily took hold of your arms and the nurse poured the liquid into one of the cuts, a feeling like fire shooting up your torso. You cried out and wanted to get up, to run from the concoction sending white hot flames into your stomach, but Lily and Sirius kept you down. Black circles formed around the edges of your vision until the darkness completely took over.

After you passed out, Sirius broke the table next to the bed and threw one of the pieces across the room before Lily had the chance to try and calm him down. After an hour or so the nurse advised the two to get some sleep, and after a lot of persuading, Lily got Sirius to come back to the common room with her. Little did she know that as soon as she was behind the door of the girls dormitory, Sirius snuck back down to the hospital wing, only to find that Y/N was no longer alone.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here Snivellus.” Sirius spat.

“Just came to make sure she wasn’t dead.” Severus muttered and began to walk out of the room. Sirius shoved him back.

“I bet you think you're tough now, don’t you? Attacking an innocent girl?”

“I wouldn’t necessarily say she’s innocent.” Severus said to himself. Sirius then decided to do the absolutely worst thing he could think of.

“Lily’s distraught.” He said and Severus glared at him suspiciously. “Couldn’t believe that you would do such a thing to her best friend. In fact, she’s so upset she ran off the Shrieking Shack and I don’t think she’s back yet.” He grabbed Severus by the robe and pulled him so that his face was inches away from his. “Now would be the time to apologize, wouldn’t you say mate? Wouldn’t want her to hate you forever.” Sirius pushed him back again and Severus rushed out of the room. Sirius could just imagine his surprise when he found that Lily was gone. He thought about Severus being torn to shreds, Y/N’s injuries looking like kitten scratches compared to what he’d have.

You slowly sat up, the pain not nearly as bad as it had been. You’re mind began to process the conversation you had just overheard and the panic settled in.

“Sirius?” You said, anger and worry lacing your voice. “What have you done?” Just then, James ran into the room.

“Remus made me promise to come and check on you before the night was over.” He was breathing heavily.

“James you have to go back. Sirius- he…” You covered your mouth before you could finish. Realization settled over Sirius and he closed his eyes tightly, the regret seeping into him.

“I sent Snivellus to the shack.” He muttered, ashamed of what he had done.

“You did what?” James shouted.

“I-I was just so angry.”

“Are you that thick? Who do you think you’re really hurting? What do you think Remus would do if he hurts anybody, even if it is Severus Snape?” James sprinted back out of the room, and with a new found strength, you leaped from the bed and followed him, despite Sirius’ pleading calls.

The night was almost unbearably cold, and the two of you still had to get past the Whomping Willow. Without a second to lose, you ducked under its thrashing branches, one of them knocking you off your feet. James quickly helped you up and the two of you crawled into the passage to the Shrieking Shack.

“Severus!” you called out.

“Are you mad?” James said, throwing a hand in front of your mouth. “Do you want us to become dog food?” You shook your head and he dropped his hand, bringing his finger to his lips. The passage fell into a deadly quiet. A scream pierced the silence.

“Shit,” James muttered. The two of you quickened the pace until you stumbled upon a terrified Severus running towards you.

“How-” He started.

“No time to explain.” James said and grabbed Severus, forcefully, but not rudely, pushing him toward the exit. “Let’s go.” You didn’t move, biting your lip. “What are you doing?”

“Someone has to stay here with him.” You sighed.

“Y/N, you can’t-”

“I have to, James. I can’t leave him here alone.”

“If anything happens-”

“I know, James.” You sighed. He nodded and left safely with Severus angrily questioning him. You took a deep breath and stepped further into the house. A howl shook the entire house and you flinched, focusing on anything but the impending doom of being ripped apart by your boyfriend. You distracted yourself with memories of the two of you. The time when you convinced him to sneak into the library with you, and he insisted on bringing a blanket since he knew you would eventually fall asleep even though you swore you pulled all nighters all the time. The two of you laid on the blanket in one of the darkest parts of the library and he had to use his wand to read to you until you inevitably fell asleep in his arms. You thought of the sound of his heart beat that night, and the feeling of his finger tips lightly tracing circles on your stomach.

Another pained howl echoed through the crumbling hall way and you peeked into a room, immediately drawing back when you saw him. You shut your eyes tightly, imagining a smiling Remus in the room beside you instead of the half-wolf creature inside. You replaced the fanged muzzle with his goofy lopsided grin and the sharp claws with his large, warm hands. You stood completely still and silent until you heard a faint whimper.

“Remus?” You whispered. Another whimper followed and you slowly glanced around the corner, finding the wolfish creature lying on the ground, an almost pained expression on its face. He looked up at you and a growl came from its throat. “Remus, it’s me.” It stood, snarling and walking towards you. You were frozen in place, fear keeping you still as it raised its claw to strike. “Remus don’t!” You shouted and it seem taken aback. It turned around and cover its face with its claws.

The wolf began to shift, the cracking of bones moving and the pained screams accompanying the terrible scene. When the transformation completed, Remus fell to the ground and you rushed to help him.

“Trousers.” He croaked, pointing to a spot in the corner. You quickly moved and grabbed the pair of dark trousers off the floor and handed it to him, facing away from him to give him some privacy.  A soft groan signalled that it was okay to turn around. You immediately took him in your arms, causing the both of you to wince, the remaining ache from the spell hitting you like a wall. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I had to come. Sirius, he- well he wanted revenge I guess on Severus and he sort of sent him hear.” You said quickly, hoping that Remus wouldn’t catch every word.

“He did what? That little bastard-”

“Don’t blame him.” You pleaded. “It was a terrible thing to do, yes. But he feels just awful. Please don’t be too angry with him.” Remus nodded and sighed. “Besides, this is all my fault anyway.”

“What in Merlin’s name are you talking about?”

“If I hadn’t gone to the duel, like you asked, then this whole mess never would have happened. I don’t know why I can’t get it though my thick skull that I should just listen hmph.” Your words were cut short, your lips having found another obligation as Remus pulled you closer to him, his lips gently moving against yours . He pushed your tangled mass of hair away from your face and grinned. “I wasn’t finished.” You whined, but he touched his finger to your lips, hushing any thought of future words.