An Unforseen Complication

[megazostradon]

“I’ll be back soon,” the Gryffindor boy flicked his black hair back out of his eyes with a shake of his head. He grinned and continued, to drown out any protests his bookish friend might make. “Just imagine how impressed Professor Hemlock will be when we bring back a live Snidget!” Sirius clapped his hands together. “As Padfoot, I’ll be sure to be able to sniff one out.”

The sun had set within the hour before, and shades of purple and violet were still staining the sky. Sirius’ silver eyes seemed to catch the colors of the fading light, and it gave them a lavender hue. A cool wind that was just warm enough to suggest the last remnants of summer caused the two boys’ cloaks to ripple. The taller of the two turned towards the forest, and away from the quidditch pitch, which was only several yards from them.

“Hey, you guys!” a pudgy boy with mousy brown hair came bouncing towards them. “I couldn’t find James anywhere Sirius, I’m sorry!” Peter had searched the common room, and several of their favorite hidden passageways and shortcuts. He even had checked the library for their spectacled friend. His right hand still clutched the wand he had used to open up a shortcut from the third floor to the grounds.

“That’s okay, Wormtail,” Sirius called back, glancing over his shoulder momentarily. “He’ll just be missing out! ... Probably stalking Lily again,” he added in a slightly irritated undertone, before looking at Remus again. “Don’t wait up! For once, I’ll be helping you get extra credit!” He grinned and leapt forward. His ears began to tilt up to become pointed and wolflike and his hair spread into fur over them. Fingernails began to lengthen into dull claws, and in his smile, his canines lengthened into shining fangs. A tail covered in fluffy black fur twisted behind him.

At that moment, Peter tripped over the untied shoelaces of his sneakers. He toppled onto the grassy earth and landed ungracefully onto his hands. Green light shot from the end of his wand and he cringed as he heard a shout of pain from in front of him. What had he done? They were going to be furious with him! The boy forced himself to look up, and his brown eyes momentarily whisked over the form of Sirius crumpled on the ground. “I- I- I’ll find James!” He pushed himself back to his feet and turned back towards the castle, trying to put as much distance between himself and the friend he could have injured. Peter seemed to have forgotten he had just searched the castle for James only minutes before. James was the most forgiving! He would protect Peter from Sirius’ wrath.

[david]

Remus looked towards the forbidden Dark Forest with a look of trepidation clearly showing on his face. He wanted to say that this was a bad idea, and that he had a bad feeling about this whole thing. But Remus held his tongue. For he knew without a doubt that whatever he said would never change Sirius’s mind, not when it involved an excuse to transform into his animagus form. His eyes scanned the swaying trees within the forest’s boundaries. Watching the fading embers of the twilight’s last rays fade and die in a spectacular array of darkened hues that’s glistened off of the earthy colors of the forest.

The colors reflections made for a almost picturest setting that was in every way almost mesmerizing to behold. Remus paid no mind as his cloak was blown into a billowing cloud of dark fabric that whipped about his body from the wind that presented itself. With a glance directed away from the forest and back towards the castle Remus noted a familiar stalky figure walking towards them. In the faded light. Remus smiled brightly at the boy. Noting the worried look that seemed to always accompany a failed mission that was set for him by either James or Sirius. “Hey Wormtail!” He greeted the figure as it approached them.

With a casual motion, Remus unconsciously ran his hand through his graying brown hair. His vivid blue eyes turning once more towards the forest, yet his ears ever listening to the voices of Sirius and Peter. Remus had to agree with Sirius that stalking Lily was probably exactly where James was. He had seen very little of James of late, and Lily was as Remus suspected, the cause of it all. Not that Remus mined, not at all. Though he suspected that James would have better luck if he at least tried to act a bit more mature. More mature then he had currant been behaving around her for the last several years.

“Don‘t wait up?” Remus repeated looking at Sirius with the look of trepidation still lingering over his features. “Of course I‘m gonna wait up?” He smiled at the mention of extra credit. It was something that the teacher would be surprised to see coming from one such as Sirius.

Remus watched as Sirius ran forward and started the change that would turn him from a dark haired, silver eyed, Gryffindor student into a black, silver eyed, shaggy black dog. For the briefest of instanced Remus felt a pang of regret that he couldn’t join him. To be able to run through the night with mind in tacked would be such a marvelous thing. But it was a fleeting thought that was quickly quenched by the sounds of Peter tripping over himself, a flash of eerie green light, and the sounds of pain that emanated from Sirius who now lay crumpled on the ground in a heap.

“Sirius!” Remus yelped in surprise. Disregarding Peter and his flight from the scene Remus ran forward and knelt down on the hard packed earth beside the prone form that was laying still. With voice full of concern and worry he called out to his long time friend. “Sirius are you alright.?” Remus wasn‘t sure exactly what it was that Peter had done to him. Which made it all the worse, as he gentle tried to maneuver Sirius into a better position to see what damage had been done. “Sirius?” He called again with his voice full of worry. Then as Remus’s vision adjusted and focused onto Sirius’s face in the darkness, his voice lost it’s capability to produce sound. “Oh Bloody HELL!?” He finally said with a voice that was dumb struck.

[megazostradon]

The fleeting heat of the spell hitting his body had been more surprising than actually painful, and it was fading quickly. A tingling sensation lingered in his head, hands, but it too slowly dissipated. As he was shifted, he opened up his eyes. They were working fine, and he could move, those were always good signs. He gazed up into Remus' blue eyes, and shook his head slightly to orient himself after the fall.

Remus' quizzical exclamation was just the slightest bit disconcerting. Sirius smiled up at his friend, to try to lighten the shadow that had fallen upon his friend’s face. “I’m fine!” he said, holding his hands up disarmingly. The black-haired boy stopped suddenly and stared at his hand. The nails of his fingers were elongated, and slightly opaque, halfway to becoming dog’s claws.

Sirius’ face flooded with horror and he sat up. As he did so, he felt the extension of his vertebra—also known as a tail—shift underneath him. He placed his hands on the sides of his head, and felt the fuzzy dog ears poking out of his silky hair. His tongue ran over his teeth, and he felt the lengthened canine fangs. “Oh my god…!” Panic coursed through him for another minute, then another completely different emotion flooded into Sirius’ face.
Panic coursed through him for another minute, and he looked up at Remus. However, after a moment of staring at his friend, another completely different emotion flooded into Sirius’ face.
The doglike Gryffindor boy started to laugh. Remus’ expression of confusion and worry was simply too much. Sirius had never been able to keep a straight face when Remus tried to point out flaws in marauding plans, or fretted about the danger of situations, and now was no different. The expression was priceless!

[david]

Remus knelt there with a look of horror on his face as in turn Sirius’s face framed by fluffy black ears also took on a look of horror. It would have been almost comical if it wasn’t for the fact that it was such a serious dilemma. What if someone saw him like this? The questions that would be asked could and probably would get them all expelled. So it was with these horrible thoughts that the unthinkable and un-expectant happened. After one brief exclamation of panic Sirius’s attitude took on a completely different turn. He laughed.

With a look of exasperation mingling in with the look of horror that was still etched onto his face full of worry and concern Remus said to his long time friend. “I really don‘t see the humor in this.” Truth be told Remus could very easily see James finding something like this to be extremely hilarious too, but Remus wasn’t amused by this turn of events. “Good god, what if someone see’s you like this?” The little bit of color that had been in his face drained and he felt cold and clammy at the thought of someone seeing this mess.

‘Leave it to Peter to do something like this, and leave it to Sirius to find it funny!’ He thought in exasperation. He racked his brain trying to think of someway to reverse the affects of the magical effect that had been placed over Sirius half transformed body. Fluffy tail and fluffy ears the most obvious of the effects. “I suppose a reversal charm and…” Remus’s voice trailed off, his face taking on a look of concentration. It was a spell he had never caste before and it was with some concern and trepidation that Remus thought of casting it on a friend.

‘What if I end up making it worse?’ He thought with a visible shutter.

[megazostradon]

"Calm down, Moony," Sirius said, concern mixing with the amusement in his face as he witnessed the color in his studious friend's face almost completely vanish. "I'm sure we can fix this!" he assured, continuing to smile. "No use stressing out quite so much." He placed a hand on Remus' arm, and shook it slightly for emphasis. "If anyone can do it, you can. You're the smartest wizard I've ever known!"

The half-transformed boy fought down another wave of panic, determined to keep calm. This really was a fix. It was a huge risk to even consider going to the hospital wing. Would the staff recognize an animagus transformation gone wrong? No, it wasn't an option to go there.

He smiled foolishly again. It really was quite funny. 'If only James could see!' he thought, his tail beating back and forth in a wag. "Besides," Sirius added. "They're cute, aren't they?" His canine ears twitched comically. "Betcha the girls will love them!"

((Sorry for the short length, I have a spot of writer's block. x_x))

[foxyfoxychibi]

{{ OOC: I hope it's alright for others to now post in here! If not pleasecontact me and I'll remove my post... }}

Kole Wulfe started towards the edge of the Quidditch pitch, a light breeze playing through her hair as she walked. No the Quidditch pitch was not a place you could usually find this little bookworm, far from in fact seeing as she usually ditched the games and slept during those times, but she could think of no where else to read. Everywhere else she had gone had been so full of people, and while the bookworm-ish young woman was admittedly coming out of her shell she still required timed to herself in which she would read or quietly plot…

Kole started to hum lightly as one of her thumbs gently stroked the pages of the book held in her hands. It was The Birds on the Trees by Nina Bawden, strangely a favorite of hers. The book was only six years old and already it had been lost among the pages of time. The Birds on the Trees by Nina Bawden was about a middle-class English family whose 19 year-old son does not live up to his parents' expectations.

Toby Flower is a shy, reticent youth who has grown his hair long and who has started wearing a burnous. His father, an editor, and his mother, a novelist, are thrown into despair when Toby is expelled from school because he has been taking drugs. At a loss as to what to do in order to help their son, Charlie and Maggie Flower keep projecting their own goals and aspirations onto their son. They still talk about his going to university despite Toby's assertion that he is not interested in further education. Toby eventually breaks out of that stifling atmosphere, leaves home and moves to London, where he lives in a basement flat without keeping in touch with his parents.

Charlie and Maggie Flower finally turn to a psychiatrist friend of theirs who agrees to have Toby hospitalised and treated for mental illness. As it happens, in London Toby associates with Hermia, the psychiatrist's young but rather unattractive daughter, and makes her pregnant. When their parents conspire and talk Hermia into having an abortion, they unwittingly cut the last remaining bond with their son. Toby fetches Hermia from her parents' home, and the young couple move in with Toby's maternal grandmother, a frail old woman who all along has been sympathetic to the young people's needs.

Yes, it was very strange that it was one of Kole’s favorite books, especially seeing as she couldn’t really connect with anything in it….

Suddenly, Kole was ripped from her thoughts of the familiar plot that lay within the pages as her eyes caught a green flash and the sound of someone crying out in pain caught her ears. In surprise Kole dropped her beloved book and rushed forward towards where the sight and sound had originated from.

“Hello?! Is anyone out there?! I saw a green flash and heard someone call out!! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!” she called worriedly as she ran, hoping whoever had been hit was alright and only sustained minor damage.

[david]

The answer of obvious to Remus or at least the answer to what he had to do right now. The only question was. ‘Leave him here and go alone, or try and smuggle Sirius into the castle.’ The smuggling him into the castle seemed extremely risky, much more so then just leaving him here and going to ‘The Library.’ That most magical of places for Remus. Filled with books, and books and yes… more books. Remus could tell that Sirius was trying to fight off the panic that seemed to be threatening to engulf him again, and Remus mentally shook himself. ‘Must not panic… must think clearly.’ The thought trying to calm himself.

‘Betcha the girls will love them!’

Remus couldn’t help but crack a grin at Sirius’s flippant words of humor. I need to go to the library to figure something out. “Maybe it would be best if you stayed here while I…” A noise distracted Lupin from what he was going to say, and he looked up towards the sound. “Bloody hell, who’s that?!” Remus exclaimed as he hurt a voice and footsteps funning towards them. “Think… Think… Think.” Remus muttered as his eyes widened in renewed panic at the thought of someone seeing the unusual condition that Sirius had found himself in.

“Someone‘s coming… bloody…” Ripping off his cloak Remus did the only thing that he could think of doing. He threw the fabric over top of Sirius’s head, in one swift movement. Jumping up off the ground he then scrambled off towards the invader and tried to head off whoever it was that was charging their way. “Hello?” Remus asked, his eyes darting around looking for the person. It was a Ravenclaw student named Kole, and Remus quickly went to intercept her.

[megazostradon]

"Uh-oh," Sirius looked in the direction of the worried call. It didn't sound like a teacher, that was a good thing. They were, however, coming rapidly closer. His sensitive canine ears picked up the sounds of their footsteps. It was a dainty, delicate pace. He grinned stupidly and his tail wagged as he thought of what sort of a cute beauty might be coming.

"Ah-!" the canine boy was pulled from his fantasies by the cloak being tossed over him like a net on a fish. He struggled in the black fabric. "Wait, Moony!" Sirius called, as he heard Remus dashing off. With an irritated movement, he pulled the cloak off of his face. He fixed it over his head and felt ridiculously like a nun. The summer cloaks didn't have hoods. "I knew I should have started wearing my winter cloak..."

Now alone, panic flared up within him again. Having Remus there, by nature, was a solid, comforting fact. Two pairs of eyes and ears looking out was more effective than one. He glanced about, and then stood up. His tail swished once to beat off the bits of dirt on the fur and he cautiously started after Remus.

[foxyfoxychibi]

Kole’s ears vaguely caught the sounds of voices, lower and more calm sounding. She slowed as she neared; hoping that what she was nearing wasn’t two students snogging in the woods or something of the like. Her mind just wouldn’t be able to handle coming across something like that you see…

Kole was pulled from her thoughts just before they started to wander into a dark and perverted corned in her mind marked forbidden at the sight of a certain Gryffindor. Of all the people she could’ve come across in the woods Kole most certainly didn’t expect to see Remus Lupin, especially alone. Usually he was with some of his equally well know pals…

“ I-I saw a bright light and what sounded like someone being hurt…” Kole was able to some how get out without a single one of her nervous hiccups making their way into her words. Somewhere in her mind she was able to decide that she wasn’t hiccupping because she was more concerned about what she’d seen and heard than who she was talking to “Is everything alright? Did something happen out here?”

[david]

Remus who was more worried about Sirius then he was about his usually shyness around girls answered just a little too quickly. “Oh yes, everything’s just fine. Nothing at all to worry about.” His eyes darted around the area to make sure that no one else had heard the commotion, and just had to investigate. A bead of sweat trickled down his back. ‘What are we gonna do, someone is bound to see it, to see him and then what will happen? Will we all end up getting chucked in Azkaban?… Don’t be stupid!’ An internal voice told him calmly.

Wishing he was feeling as calm of his internal voice, he nervously ran a hand through his graying hair. The air was taking on the chill of colder weather that was sure to come in the following months that lay ahead. Months of snow covered forests and playful romps in the snow, during the late night hours during the full-moon. The absents of his cloak brought his thoughts back to the present.

“Peter just tripped with his wand in his hand, that‘s all.” he said, as calmness started to settle over his nervous state. “Everything’s just fine.” Remus knew that it probably sounded more like wishful thinking that everything was alright. Then it being fact, although there was no help for it. Remus heard the tell tale sounds of foot steps coming up from behind him. 'Please let that not be Sirius, she’ll notice, I just know it.’ He though as he gave Kole a reassuring smile that he didn’t in the least feel.

[dog8mihomwork]

His eyes were numb. Was that possible? Potter contemplated this as his sneakers trudged through the rather moist grass. He kicked rather playfully at certain tufts of vegetation quite proud of himself. The boy was beaming. His calloused hands were shoved quite deeply into his warm pockets, while his hazel eyes averted towards the ground before him.

It had been a rather strange day. The day had consisted of no mischief, no detentions. Truth be told it was rather dull. Well, that is until a short while ago. Earlier he had spotted Peter running in the direction of the castle. He watched his friend quite curiously, not so sure as to why he was so hasty. He nearly laughed at how many times the pudgy boy tripped over various natural objects: a rock and two roots. His clumsiness sort of sparked a curiosity in Potter to investigate what he could have possibly gotten into this time. Without too much thought, he figured the epicenter to Wormtail's problems were in his opposite direction.

"Peter you bloody coward." He laughed, visualizing his friend's terrified face, most likely the result of some brilliantly casted shadows. As James neared the Qudditch Pitch he spotted signs of life: two people chatting away in front of a rather radiant sunset. He squinted his eyes, the lenses of his glasses serving little help to identify the two conversationalists. Gradually a smile befell his thin lips recognizing the two scholars: Remus and Kole.

"A sunset, two smart people, a girl and boy. What on earth could be going on?" He grinned as he made a rather strong assumption. As he walked up behind Remus anticipation sunk in,a grin befell him. The type of grin of pure mischief and amusement. Roughly his hand clapped down on Remus's shoulder, "Well isn't this romantic?"

[foxyfoxychibi]

Kole gave a small yelp in surprise as the Marauder know as James Potter made his way onto the scene. A light blush crept onto her cheeks at what he said about the situation being romantic and she was a bit to quick to inform him of the negative.

“ N-no! Nothing of the sort really! It was just that I was walking trying to find a spot to read when suddenly I saw a bright light and what sounded like someone calling out in pain but Remus was quick to inform me that I was wrong and….” Kole paused, realizing she’d both been ramble and not taking any chances to pause and take a breath “S-sorry, I’m rambling aren’t I…?” she said as she realized this fact with a sigh.

“ To summarize what I was saying…” she said in a much calmer voice “There’s nothing romantic here, I just thought there was a problem but according to Remus there isn’t.” she explained simply with a light smile.

And then Kole realized something.

“ Those footsteps earlier… The one coming from the woods I mean. They must have belonged to either Sirius or Peter correct? Because you four are nearly inseparable I mean…” she pointed out “ Or were they you James, and you were just sneaking about…?” just said, giving a guess.

[david]

He really needed to get Sirius turned back to normal. But he didn’t want to seem rude or seem as if there was suspicious activity afoot. Which of course there was. He unconsciously shuffled his feet in a nervous fashion. Trying to look everywhere and anywhere but directly into her face and into her eyes. He just knew that if he did she would see right through him. She would just know that something was wrong.

His nervousness was inflamed more by the unrepentant addition to the little gathering. He had lost track of the sounds behind him. Because of the high tension that he was feeling and the distracted way his mind was racing he about jumped out of his skin when a hand touched his shoulder.

Remus’s eyes flew open in surprise and his eyes flashed with a mixture of startled surprise and, confusion. Quickly followed by relief as he realized that it was only James.

As Kole spoke Remus tried to give James a look that tried to convey the fact that something was wrong without saying it. Although Remus pretty much figured that the futile looks were in vain. “Yes, Sirius and Peter… In the woods.” Remus said in a distracted way trying to figure out how best to get out of this situation.

“And there is nothing romantic going on!” Remus added almost as an after thought.

[megazostradon]

Sirius lowered to the ground as he came within sight range of Remus and Kole, and his canine ears flicked up to catch their words. From the sounds of it, Remus was keeping his coo and doing a good job of explaining the incident. “That’s right, Kole, it was just clumsy Wormtail...” Sirius coaxed in a low whisper. “You can go back up to the castle. Go up and leave Moony here with me. Good job Moony, at this rate, we’ll be out of this in no ti-”

“ A sunset, two smart people, a girl and boy.,” another jovial voice added to those of Remus and Kole.
Sirius smacked his forehead with his palm and dragged it down his face to stare over at the new member of the discussion party. “Damn it, Prongs!” He gripped at the ground, ripping up some grass with his clawed hand. “Don’t shoo Moony away with Kole, I need him!” He crawled forward a few paces. “I’m all for Moony having a girl, dating, snogging, the works; just not right now.”

“Prongs!” Sirius hissed, trying to get his most prevalent partner-in-crime to look over at him, but to no avail. “ Yes, Sirius and Peter… In the woods,” the canine boy heard Remus groping for an explination. “Damn it, he was doing just fine until you bloody interrupted him, Prongs!” His claws dug deeper into the soft earth. “I’m going to be chucked in Azkaban!” He let his head fall onto the cool grass. “No... No, I can find a way out... Think Sirius... Why would a couple wizards be out by the Forbidden Forest just before dark...”

“Moony, we can’t deny it any longer!” Arms flung about Remus’s shoulders, and Sirius’s cloak-covered head came to rest upon Remus’s right shoulder. “We cannot hide our rendezvous!” Each of Sirius’s hands were conveniently placed within the opposite sleeve as he held onto the young werewolf. He lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper for his bookish friend to hear, “Play along. This should get her to leave.” The canine boy nuzzled Remus’s neck, and spoke in his clear, loud voice again. “We already shooed Peter away, but I’m tired of hiding our secret!”

[david]

Remus heard a sound behind him. It was the sound of someone walking from the woods. But that sound alone wasn’t enough to make him panic. It was the voice that had followed the sounds of footsteps detaching themselves from the wooded area. Remus froze, his eyes going wide in shock and his face taking on a look that was characteristic of a deer’s eyes trapped in the headlights of an on-coming truck that was going to run him over and squish him like a bug on the windshield.

His mouth went slack and his face completely drained of all color. Becoming the color of parchment that had been sun bleached. His throat went dry and his mind dumb. Thought proceed completely gone from his blank mind. Then something happened that made Remus about jump out of his skin for the third time that evening. “Moony, we can’t deny it any longer?” Sirius had said followed by, “We cannot hide our rendezvous?”

‘What the bloody hell Sirius, it sounds almost like your saying…’ he started to think. But then Sirius’s next whispered words put it into perspective. ‘Oh My … The things I do for my… friends!’ He thought with apprehension. But none the less his shocked look was quickly replaced with one that was a mixture of guilt and relief. “Oh yes, the cat is now out of the bag.” Remus said in a voice that only shook slightly, not knowing if he wanted to scream, crawl in a hole or laugh at the situation he had found himself in.

“But Sirius!? I thought you wanted to keep it secret? What will everyone say? Your reputation will forever be tarnished.” Remus said in a voice that was slightly surprised.