[R (language)] Crawling in the Dark

[Remus Lupin]

Remus rushed towards the tree, bag in hand, his hazel eyes, now shimmering darkly, flickering around, desperately making sure no one was watching from anywhere. If someone found out about his secret, then he would be expelled for sure. He wouldn't be able to bear that - not now that he was accepted and had friends like James and Sirius.

He approached the tree, crawling down on his stomach to reach the small knot without being hit. Why the headmaster had to put it in such a dangerous place, Remus would never know. He assumed it was to deter people from trying to touch it, if they ever spotted it. Pressing it was practiced ease, Remus watched as the moving branches slowed to a stop so that he could find the tunnel to the Shack.

He hated this, having to sneak around and hide himself. Remus wished above everything else that he could be normal - a normal teenage boy, with a normal life. To be able to walk around with his girlfriend without worrying about hurting her, to laugh with his friends without wondering if, one day, he might cut them open without realizing. It was a shadow over the normally content life he lead, and Remus hated every second.

The young Gryffindor slid down the tunnel, landing in a heap at the bottom. He brushed himself off, throwing his back over to one side. He moved over to the old, tatty bed and sat down, just waiting. It wouldn't be long, five minutes at most, and then he would be gone - a dangerous animal locked away without any hope.

A tear gathered in his eye and he didn't have the will to brush it away.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius leaned back against an old, practically dead tree on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. His arms were folded across his chest in a half frustrated, half amused, sort of way. “Look, if it didn’t work last time, what the hell makes you think it’s going to work now?” He said to James, who stood a few feet away. Sirius raised an eyebrow as he watched his friend scrunch up his face and wave his wand around violently.

“Oy, watch it, will you?” He said, staring indignantly with his eyebrows raised. “Before you poke an eye out.” With a casual glance back at the castle, Sirius let out a burdened sigh. Every month was exactly the same thing… Schlep out to the forest with James under his cloak, wave their wands around a bit, get bored, get hungry, sneak into the kitchens, and go to bed. Not once in four and a half years had either of them come remotely close to turning into an animal.

Sirius let out a barking laugh that rang through the darkness. “Why don’t we just head back, mate? Moony’ll catch us up in the morning. I’m sure we haven’t missed much,” he said, yawning and stretching, scratching his head as he brought his arms back down. Sirius was starting to get bored, and that was never a good sign. “You look like an idiot, by the way.”

[James Potter]

James sighed and shook his head at Sirius, "This time it is going to work. I have faith, and I don't care if I look like an idiot. You know how bored and lonely Moony gets when he goes through this. He needs someone around for entertainment," James finished with a shrug and waved his wand a bit more, concentraiting as hard as he could.

For a second he thought he felt something, but when he looked down at himself he was still...well..himself. James sighed loudly. They said it was hard, but they had been working on it for so long, they were the three smartest students in their year. They had to be able to do it.

James looked over at Sirius and said, "Alright...this is the last time then we'll go in, kay?"

James closed his eyes and tried to focus all of this magic. He felt a slight tingling in his fingers and toes and concentrated harder, his eyes squeezed shut with the effort. Suddenly a horrible pain ripped through him. He felt his bones moving and bending into shapes that they shouldn't be allowed to bend. Without thinking a sound of pain escaped him, but it wasn't human sounding. It sounded more like how a deer sounds and it was loud. James felt his clothes melt into his body, wand included. Suddenly he knew he couldn't stand on his two legs anymore and he fell forward onto his hands that were no longer hands, but hooves.

The movement inside of him stopped all at once. He was breathing heavily and it came out as a snort. He shook his head, but didn't feel any hair there...though his head was heavier than normal. If he could see himself he would see that around the stags eyes there were the markings of glasses, the ones he always wore, but he couldn't see his own face. All he could see was his legs that weren't legs.

Holy crap, he tried to say aloud, but he couldn't speak. He just made an odd animal noise, This is crazy.. James looked over at Sirius, the question of, What the hell am I, in his eyes.

[Sirius Black]

The only thing Sirius could do was stare at the large animal that stood before him, confusion in its large, luminous eyes. “Bloody f**king hell…” he said softly, unable to contain the awe in his voice. He stood up straight and strode over, hesitant about this creature. “James?” Sirius blinked and poked his friend in the side. It was most certainly James. A bloody deer wouldn’t just materialize in front of him. And wouldn’t be wearing what looked like James’s glasses.

He laughed. “What are you, like a reindeer?” Sirius touched the antlers that protruded from the thing’s head. Wait a moment… It worked! James was standing here, and he was a reindeer! That meant… “You did it!” He exclaimed excitedly, raising his voice. “You’re a… whatever you are! But you did it!” Sirius motioned to high five James, but remembered his friend didn’t exactly have hands.

“Right.” He turned the gesture into running a hand through his hair. If James could do it, so could he… easily. Sirius kept his eyes on James as he pulled his own wand out of his pocket and mimicked James’s look of concentration. Alright. Focus. James is a reindeer and Remus is in the Shrieking Shack. He imagined the look on his friend’s face when he would see James and Sirius by his side as animals. The thought kept his mind harbored on his goal. Become an animal. But what animal?

He pictured a huge dragon landing on the edge of the forest, tail slashing and taking down trees. Focus. The sounds of the forest became more pronounced, and Sirius closed his eyes. It was as though he could hear every cricket, every twig snapping, every hoot of every owl within the damned place. He could smell the night, it seemed.

A severe tingling sensation shot through his spine, and Sirius felt himself double over. Pain shot through his limbs and he collapsed onto the leaf strewn ground with a thud. It was the oddest sensation of growing warmer and colder at the same time, thrown into the mix of cracking joints. He tried to lift himself up, but found his hands and feet sensitive to the touch. Sirius looked down… Shit! Where are my hands!?

He saw gleaming black fur the same color as his hair and shook himself, his entire body. Ahhh, that feels good. He looked around. So, not quite a dragon… In fact, he was too close to the ground for comfort. Sirius felt his tongue loll out of his mouth. No f**king way! I’m a dog! He laughed, but as anticipated it resounded as a bark, that sounded oddly like it would have in his human form.