◇ I feel the silver touch of moonlight coursing through my veins

[infelix]

Who: Remus Lupin and James Potter
Where: Fort Potter-Dixon (What. It's what Remus thinks it's called)
When: Full Moon (awoo)
Rating: PG-13 for werewolf transformation
Summary: James helps Remus out with his first transformation in Wonderland
The Story:

The walk to the Fort had been an interesting one for Remus. Most of his explorations so far had been limited to a few of the rooms just because there was an awful lot there to explore, and he liked to be thorough. Idle conversation between them was enough to keep the slightly antsy unpleasant feeling building up near the back of his mind. It had been a very long time since the last time he had the opportunity to just be around James. Or anyone he could call a friend.

It was a nice feeling to have back, and one he would hold on to for as long as he possibly could.

When they reached the Fort, Remus had to admit, he was actually impressed. They should have built something like this out in the Forbidden Forest in their Hogwarts days. Other than how quickly that would have been tracked down. But it was bigger on the inside. A trick wizards made use of, often, and should more, really. It made things so much more convenient, space wise, and easier to hide.

"And you built this place?" While he didn't mean James, specifically, at least not single-handedly, he had no doubt that much of it had James' touch. Spells and charms, and items that had the slightest magical familiarity. Hopefully he would not tear up anything too much in his transformation.

Comments

[pottershotter]

"Well, I didn't build it," James admitted. "A bloke named Daryl Dixon found it and camouflaged it the Muggle way first, and put it all together. Then I came along and put all the spells on it."

He would normally be sitting on the table, his usual seat. But tonight the circumstances were a bit different, and he would have to transform quickly and suddenly, in order to keep himself from being a target. It was not distrust, but practical precautions that had to be taken, unfortunately.

But James did not focus on that. He had always thought it was best to keep things as normal as possible. Ordinary talk, as if it were an ordinary night. He looked up at the natural ceiling above them.

"Yes, Fort Potter-Dixon is a work of art, if I do say so myself." He hadn't exactly cleared that name with the others, but it just sounded right. Especially with his name first. It just had a nicer ring to it than Dixon-Potter, in his not-at-all-humble opinion.

"The table and chairs definitely came from me though - they're just roots and rocks transfigured."

Which meant that while they were very impressive, particularly to the Muggles involved in the Resistance, they were ultimately replaceable. Most of the Fort was and the parts that weren't had tons of spells cast to protect them, so Remus would not have much to worry about. And even if he broke out, they're at the bottom of a ravine and would not be able to escape to the mansion as animals. It was a good place to keep Moony for the night, at least for now. Long term use might require actually, you know, mentioning it to the others. But it was deserted for the night, and it worked in a pinch.

[infelix]

Remus smiled at the name and James' pride in it as he trailed his hand over one of the chairs. It didn't help the guilt he felt that in a few minutes he'd be a wild monster within this 'work of art'. Hopefully nothing suffered much damage from his out-lashing.

The chairs might not have been James' best work, but they were efficient and far better than the muggles likely would have managed. And Replaceable. Which was good news for Remus latest guilt trip.

"You did a brilliant job with it." By you he really meant the resistance, but James was welcome to take it as a personal compliment. After all those years, Remus had no problem boosting his ego a bit. Even if James ego rarely needed the boost.

[pottershotter]

Of course James took it as a personal compliment. His ego always ate up comments like that like they were pumpkin pasties. It made his face light up and his ego inflate.

"Thanks," he said. "It was nothing, really."

But James always had this way of saying that so it actually meant something like "Yes, I know it was wonderful, do go on," and it was always accompanied by a grin to match. Maybe even a little exaggerated, to take some of the horror out of the wait.

There was still a looming uneasiness though - they were in a world with an unfamiliar moon, after all. Somehow, though time didn't pass in Wonderland, the moon still cycled. And if Remus had turned up in Wonderland just a week later...he would have probably transformed on arrival. And Remus never would have forgiven himself for it.

"...How are you doing?"

He asked this carefully. He had no idea how close Remus was to a full moon before he came to Wonderland, and he could never really understand, but...he imagined the first moon would be jarring, no matter what, simply because it did not fit into his regular moon cycles. Had he just gone through a full moon days ago? Was it a new moon? James didn't know. But he hoped it would go as well as it possibly could.

[infelix]

"Mhm."

Remus' noncommittal reply was coupled with a nervous glance up at the ceiling, as if he could see the moon through the roof. He could certainly feel it, getting under his skin in the worst way. Making him tense and restless.

"I have had worse nights."

Lonely ones where the wolf ripped at itself in madness and frustration. With any luck this would not be that night, but he was nervous if the time apart would have changed anything in his reaction to Prongs.

"You had better go on. It won't be long, now."

And the moon seemed to want to prove him right, as he had to reach a hand out to catch himself on the table, a low, agonized groan in the back of his throat. The faint crack of bones accompanying the sound.

James had better go about being his stag sure self, and soon.

[pottershotter]

James would deal with it if there was a difference. It was a risk entirely worth taking, and a risk he took without a second thought.

He didn't argue with Remus - he just nodded, moved back away from the table, and transformed. Unlike Remus' transformation, it was swift and painless. Hands to hooves, skin and clothes to fur, two legs to four. And when it was all over, Prongs was there, standing proud as always.

Prongs did not approach Remus, despite the fact that he wanted to. That crack of bone...he couldn't even imagine how much it hurt. But what he needed was space to transform - getting in the way was a good way to get himself hurt.

Instead, he nodded at Remus, as if to say I'm fine. I'm ready. It's going to be okay. From there, all that was left was to wait for Remus' transformation to complete.

[infelix]

Whether Remus noticed the nod or not was hard to say. He had doubled over, shortly after Jame's transformation, dropping to his knees and struggling out of his shirt before another groan that was nearly a growl left his lips. His arms curled in, gripping his sides as a louder crack sounded from his body, twisting in on itself.

His hands hit the floor. He had waited too long to get the rest of his clothes off smoothly, the action forgotten as bare human nails clawed into the floor, his back arching and then contorting painfully, the wolf rushing to the surface. The transformation was never as agonizingly slow as it felt to Remus, but unlike the much kinder magic which shaped James into a Stag, Remus' entire being rearranged.

His cry of pain half howl already, fingers curling in on themselves, hands changing into paws, every bone having to go the slower path, barely aided by the magic, the curse over him. He had once likened the process to being packed in a trunk that someone jumped on until everything fit more easily inside.

Some nights that felt too kind of a comparison. Fabric tore and skin gave way to fur and glistening, sharp teeth. Claws splitting skin to scrape claw marks into the floor, the wolf bodily smashing into a chair in his attempts to find his balance on limbs not properly reformed yet.

By the time the transformation was complete, Remus' lips were curled back in a pained snarl, breath coming in heavy pants while his organs finished rearranging themselves to the proper sizes and positions. Wild, frustrated eyes fixed on the stag, but Remus did not attack him, shaking off constricting fabric and the stiffness of 'new' limbs, instead.

[pottershotter]

The most difficult thing was forcing himself not to be scared.

As a person, James was not scared at all. This was Remus, and he had done this dozens of times. But once he transformed, that rational thought had to contend with the physical memory of what happened a few months ago. What little memory he had of being ripped apart. In the space between those two thoughts, a question lurked - what's going to happen if the wolf doesn't remember Prongs?

The answer, of course, was that he would die.

In order to get out of a dangerous situation, he would have to transform and open the door - he can't apparate in and out and they didn't have tiny Wormtail there to figure out things like doors. It was likely that by the time it got dangerous, he would not have time to run.

But Remus was always worth that risk, and he had spent enough time alone. And he would only be putting himself in more danger if he was scared.

Showing he wasn't scared was more complicated though. In other circumstances that would require standing tall and proud, but not here or now. Prongs instead bowed his head and lowered himself accordingly. He did not tremble or seem like he might bolt and any moment, but submission was a matter of safety. The concept didn't perfectly translate into the mentality of deer herds, but he always did his best. It was important to make it clear immediately that the wolf was the alpha. The wolf was always and forever the alpha. Even after all this time had passed and all those moons they had been apart, the wolf was still the alpha.