thattimeofthemonth | Open RP Post

Remus was silent for a moment as well, but a thought occurred to him and he glanced to the young man at his side. "Did you know the Whomping Willow was put in place because of me? It gave me a place I could be near school during the full moon. Put over the entrance - but don't give that about to anyone." He chuckled quietly.

"I was wondering what he had done to help. Isn't there some trick to by pass it so the tree doesn't hurt you?" Draco asked, surprised by this news.

"Professor Snape had been furious when Harry and Ron crashed into the tree. I would never had known the tree was there for a reason. He had said it was an old an expensive tree."

"To be fair, that is true. Old and they aren't easy to come by. They injured a living thing but also almost revealed that little secret." He chuckled quietly at that.

But he winked to Draco. "Of course there's ways past it, but I'm not about to reveal all of its secrets. I had to get in there somehow, didn't i?"

It had been so easy with Wormtail, who could sneak in and press the knot to stop the tree for them. Sometimes it was painfully easier to think of Wormtail and Pettigrew as two different people.

Draco pouted slightly. Remus and his many secrets.

" So, the tree helped but how did you manage to keep it a seceret while you were a student? Wouldn't people start to wonder where you disappeared all the time?"

So many funny stories there that all carried a twinge of sadness now, but Remus did his best to remember the good times over the bad. "It started with Dumbledore making up a lie for me - that I actually had a blood borne illness thanks to my half-blood that often made me very sick. Only he, McGonagall, and the head nurse before Madam Pomfrey knew the truth. He arranged for me to get work ahead of time and make it up after with no penalties though they ended up working me harder than most students."

He smiled, something fond and warm and older than his years. "I had no friends at first. No one had ever seen me before of course. But then I made one odd friend - Sirius Black. He decided I was a challenge or something because even though I tried to stay away from him at first, he wasn't going to have it. Be introduced me quickly to James Potter, and we picked up Peter after that. ...That was when all the lying started."

He gave a small smile in return as he found the stories fascinating. They were so different from what he heard from Professor Snape and his father. He was slowly getting to learn both sides of things.

"Did they start to investigate them?" he questioned. If anything they really reminded him a lot like Harry and his gang.

It was interesting that the next generation were the ones hearing all this. Harry had all the hatred of Snape inherited by his side and Draco had heard Severus' hatred of the Marauders, but both were getting to know the other side of the coin much too late.

"They did." Remus gave a quiet laugh. "I was in my second year when they started calling my lies. Telling them I was sick wasn't entirely untrue but they weren't buying it. Sirius kept up the pressure until one particularly bad full moon. I came back... much worse than usual."

He reached up and traced an old scar on his face, more prominent than most. "I came back with this. He said no one got that from the illness I had. I started to panic. I hid from them as much as possible, thought I should transfer or leave or tell Dumbledore - then one night, they cornered me. We shared a floor of the dorms all to ourselves, the four of us, so they waited until I was in bed and wouldn't let me leave. Then Sirius said the magic words 'You're a werewolf'. With complete certainty. He knew. James said they researched it and figured it out based on when I was sick and my symptoms and why I wasn't being magically healed."

"They didn't abandon you after they learned your secret." Draco quietly commented.

It was clear that they didn't go around telling everyone about Remus's secret. He knew that Sirius Black didn't work that way and that James Potter sounded very similar to Harry. He was unsure about Peter though. They were very loyal to him. He was a little jealous at the loyalty. None of his friends were that way.

"What did they do to help you deal with it?"

"No. In fact, the exact opposite. We became as good of friends as anyone could ever be. Inseparable, except at the full moon." Then, suddenly, he laughed. An honest real laugh. "You have no idea how determined or resourceful they were. They hated that I had to deal with the full moon alone and were determined idiots to figure out something to help me - which they did in complete secrecy. I had no idea."

Draco couldn't help but be impressed. It was also nice to hear Remus laughing as well. He was always so serious or depressed.

"What did they do?" This held Draco's attention as he was unsure of what could be done. The way Remus had explained things it seemed all they could do was wait it out.

"They put together two facts that I believe no wizard ever put together before, then accomplished something incredibly difficult that wizards many times their ages haven't always the patience or skill to manage." Remus' voice was so fond, the smile remaining.

He looked to Draco, a brow raised. "Do you remember much about werewolves? I know Professor Snape decided to hold an entire class about them thanks to me. Do you know what werewolves /don't/ go after?"

That earned a frown as Draco tried to remember the class and the essay they were forced to write. It seemed so long ago. "Other animals," Draco replied with some hesitation.

"Are you saying that your friends learned to be Animagi?" Such a transformation was difficult and not often successful. And to learn something like that on their own? Draco thought was foolish and dangerous.

So clever! Remus laughed and gave a nod. "Quick to put that together. Yes, they learned to be Animagi, on their own, with no help other than each other. I didn't know about it for a long time, not until we were in late third year! Then one day, they showed me and told me their plan. I was against it - there was no proof it would even work! But then they told me they would find me even if I said no... and that was that. I had no way to fight them on it and j couldn't tell anyone my friends had performed illegal magic and were unregistered."

Draco knew that his grades often didn't show it, but he was pretty quick to pick up on things. Laziness or lack of interest often got in his way. He and his father often argued a lot about his school work.

"On top of that they did this in their second year? They're lucky nothing bad happened to them. Professor McGonagall had stressed how dangerous it was and why not many people attempted it." Draco replied. He couldn't help but realize he sounded a little like Granger there and felt his face flush.

"So you did listen to your teachers," Remus teased lightly. "It was ridiculously dangerous and they were all idiots... but brilliant idiots. It worked. They became animals and the wolf thought they were pack. A very odd pack, but a pack. It never attacked them."

"When it held my interest..." Draco muttered more embarrassed with himself. Then the image he had at school was quickly fading as he spent more time with Remus.

"So by having them as your pack...it helped you during those times?"

"They could distract it. The wolf was much more interested in playing tag with them or hide and seek or even hunting with Padfoot- ah, Sirius. They could even distract it from humans, or so they told me." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't remember anything that happens. I black out at some point and then wake up later."

"At least having them...helped give you a better purpose and made it more fun." Draco said. He felt bad though that now Remus will be confined to that basement where it was going to be harder on him.

At this point, Draco could hear Teddy beginning to fuss. Then he realized how much time had passed since he came downstairs.

Remus glanced to the clock and smiled a little. "Right on time," he said, standing up. He paused, then said quietly, "they gave me back the childhood I wouldn't have had otherwise. For all they did after, good and bad, I owe their younger selves for saving me." His lips thinned before he went to get his son.

Draco found himself a little torn. He had heard what they had done to his godfather and now he had heard what they did for Remus. Did Snape do something to provoke such attacks or was it simply just kids being kids?

He had been a bully as well with the idea that he was better then all of them backing him up. But that attitude had cost him a lot as well. He had no loyal friends. Harry had only saved him because that was something Harry did.

While Remus went to go take care of Teddy, he took the time to shower and change. He stuck to his regular clothes since they were expecting Melinda and then having to stop by his parents later.

Everything would be generally quiet until later that day, just before tea. Then suddenly, there would be a head in the Fire and Remus smiling, telling Melinda to come through.

Melinda Solvens was a strange one. Her hair was long, falling in a silver waterfall down her back, held near the end with a bright purple leather wrap that nearly matched her eyes. Despite her hair color she looked younger, probably about forty, but with her makeup she looked fiercer as well. Her clothing was strange at first, like a Muggle doctor's scrubs, but it melted away into dark grey robes that had hints of purple and held a braid of amythest gems.

Quickly she dusted herself off, letting go of her carpet bag satchel to give a wicked smile towards Remus before hugging him. "Remmy! You look awful- more scars. Are they still treating you like shit here in England? I told you, you need to come back to the U.S. "

Remus staggered a bit before chuckling. "I wouldn't be happier staying there away from home, no more than you'd be here."

"Probably," she agreed, then looked past him to Tonks and her slanted eyes narrowed before she laughed. "It's been too long, you know. Far too long."

....Draco couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when Melinda arrived. Despite all the warnings Remus had left of her...nothing had prepared him for her arrival. Everything seemed to be loud now. The household was already loud from the start.

He could already tell his parents were going to give her a hard time...but judging by the way Melinda was holding herself now...she would give it right back.

She seemed to be very loud in nature and the way she dressed. And that his family was extremely old fashioned...

"Melinda!" Tonks greeted happily as she reached over to hug her old friend. "It really has been too long...but a lot has happened too. You can finally get to see Teddy."

With her free hand she offered her friend some tea and some pastries with it. She held Teddy in her other arm.

"No, no, the wee one first!" Melinda laughed and gently took Teddy, crooning softly to him. Draco might catch how almost immediately, Teddy started to go still and stare up at Melinda, almost in wonder, as she... hummed? Sang, it was hard to tell. It was rather beautiful though...

Then she stopped and Teddy burst out into a giggle, looking entirely pleased.

"None of that on a baby!" Remus said with a shake of his head. "He's too young for it."

"Sorry, Remmy, you know it comes naturally. Oh, Tonks, Remmy, he's perfect..."

So...that was the trick. Draco quietly watched from his chair as she handled Teddy and noted right away how she got him to be calm. Was that how she managed to deal with her patients..at least to calm down then enough so they were on the same level?

"I bet he's going to have silver hair next." Tonks commented as she watched the way Teddy seemed to enjoy Melinda.

"We're not quite sure what to tell the neighbors with how his hair is always changing colors. The other day it was platinum blonde to match Draco's. For the longest time it was cyan before it."

"Oh! He's an metamorphmagus?!" Melinda cried before she laughed. "Who's a special little boy, then?" She tapped him on the nose before her gaze went to Draco. Her eyes were decidedly slanted, yet much larger than those of the East, and that striking color.

"This is the one you mentioned then? Draco..." She studied him before she gave him what suddenly seemed very tender of a smile. "We'll take a look at your father, see what we can do to ease him."

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