✧MOONLIGHT MADDNESS✧
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Aurora had been sentenced for distraction by the boys, as Remus demanded that near the moon they would distract her from figuring out the truth. However she had the upper hand in knowing the terrain better than the rest as she set up shop in the attic, pouncing on a few mice to ready her character.

"Are you sure Rory is—" 

"Moony for the hundredth time, she is in the library. Besides we have the map, she wouldn't be able to find this place anyhow...Just relax mate." Sirius offered, and James popped up on his own.

"Yeah, we've gone a night without seeing her before." It didn't necessarily calm his nerves but he found his room and explained that just allowed it to happen in the would've been studying and then attack any and everything in the bloody house.

So the lads waited and discussed normals things before the countdown had finally hit zero.

Sirius...Or Padfoot, in this case, had whined entirely after hearing his friend go through something so horrific and damaging, granted it was all their first in hearing it. 

He'd broken a bone after falling off his broom, but it had been a quick fix with some skeleton-grow and he had been good as new.

This wasn't bones breaking, this was bones shifting and reforming to recreate a new creature from within.

"Calm down Pads, he'll be alright. He's done this before." James whispered, and Aurora had smiled knowing that they switched. So in knowing that she had slowly made her way to watch them from the second floor, laying on the railing rather perfectly as she had been very in tune with her balance. After mastering the weight of her tail it was smooth sailing from there.

She watched, ready to pounce as Moony had started recuperating from waking up for the first time in this lunar form, but it was up to the boys to start off the night. So they sent Wormtail to peek into the room and share what he saw.

"He's sniffing around the room, how do we start?" That voice followed by squeaks turned Moony alert, as it was a matter of predator vs prey.

Something Rory didn't have to think about for herself, nor did James and Sirius. 

But for how small Peter is, it turned into a problem rather quickly.

Moony charged at the rat at a very unnormal speed, only to be greeted by two other large and very loud scented beings. 

Where was Salem? 

He sniffed the air knowing that she was still in the building, and he wondered to what extent the humans were dangerous to the point of the rest having to come here for shelter.

But the second Wormtail turned up in his peripherals it turned south once again, Peter had gotten roughed up, probably would've been worse had he not found a rodent hole to hide in.

Both Prongs and Padfoot rounded up and used their surroundings to slam and pin him down, even if it was for the smallest moment. So it was up to Aurora, to had managed to lean forward from the perch and swing her tail around.

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The boys needed to learn themselves, she couldn't hold their hand for each and every god damn thing. So here she is...Letting out a pure roar before pouncing down to ground level, her head lowered to the ground as she bared her teeth, hissing and growling hoping for Moony to question.

"Salem." And that had been the end of it, Sirius wasn't the smartest of Gryffindor's, but it didn't make him thick. He knew that his sister called her leopard 'Salem' due to her school and the joke that muggles usually call their cats it out of spite and ignorance.

"Friends...Are you okay?" She called out, but in reality the questions was directed towards Moony himself as her eyes did not debate from his own. 

"Cassiopeia Aurora Black I cannot BELIEVE YOU BLOODY LIED TO ME!" She narrowed her gaze towards her brother and he stopped in the instant, remembering where they were and that they had to act.

"Humans outside?" Salem had nodded her head. "Humans looking for Prongs...Padfoot was helping him cross over the town." She explained, keeping up with the lie. And so the Werewolf had sat down on his bum and licked his chops, waiting for Salem to go up to him and purr her heart out. 

Which she had done just as he predicted.

"Aurora—" 

"Salem." James interrupted, knowing that they had to keep up appearance. 

"...Right, Salem...What bloody possessed you to do this?" She meowed out loud, not having any words counter to his question until she laid down.

"I've been doing this since last year, coming to see Moony...He's great company." Okay perhaps she was sweetening up to the werewolf's ego, but who could blame her. When he sat on his hind legs he'd be about the same high as Prongs with just a bit of his antlers above the wolf's head.

The night however had been drastically different from the others, Aurora was always calm and collected. A well-seasoned feline, but the rest weren't staying to Moony's standards.

When he wanted to play, he'd play. Scratch the walls, one needed to distract him. Whether that be from making clatter in another room or another version of it to pull him away from hurting himself.

This wasn't a social call, but there was nothing Aurora could tell them to understand that...

With morning following in pursuit did Salem have her clothes in her mouth as she looked to the boys. Huffing but also explaining this is the time she usually leaves and gets the last two hours of sleep.

They nodded, but Padfoot had managed to come towards her and nip her side. "We're talking today...Even if I have to fly to your tower." She nodded, knowing her fate all too well before managed to her own bed and sewing herself over picking sleep over a shower.

***

As the sun rose up, and Remus returned to his human form. He was more awake than normal, and that had been a surprise. But he did warn them that he has no recollection of what he had done the night before, and Aurora must've known that all this time as he never mentioned a black cat on his own account.

On another note, it made so much sense as to why Aurora chose to become an animaigus, but it made her brother beyond furious that she had been doing this behind his back. Doing it alone out of everything, so Aurora didn't try to hide, instead she was practicing in the 'come and go' room as there were a few spells she wanted to learn without saying the enchantment.

"What possessed you to—" 

"My dear...Dear brother, do you know how much time I spent reading on animals, magical creatures, studying the ways of wolves to make sure that I at least know the cues of Remus when he is like that? Because I doubt you even thought past mastering your change." She challenged, but her head fell down as well.

"I just wanted to help him, please don't be mad." It caught him off guard that her entire demeanor had changed. So he shook his head. 

"I'm not angry, part of me is yeah...But the three of us signed up knowing we'd get hurt." 

"And you almost did if I wasn't there...Read that book, actually read it. Taking notes since the beginning of the year. His favorite snacks, stories to tell, lies I've told him. We have to keep up with the story to keep him calm." Sirius continued to read and read, asking questions as Aurora continued to practice on the dummies set before her.

"Moony's going to kill us when he knows." She shrugs and continues off, so much so that it sends the dummy to the far wall and shatters at the fact that it had been iced.

"I like working from the shadows...Besides, I think Moony is fond of me." Sirius laughed, but looking to last night it was definitely the case. Why ever Dumbledore thought it best that Remus be in there without a bloody dog or something was beyond him.

Aurora had hit the nail on the hand, however just not entirely right as Remus wasn't just fond of her, he thought the same feelings if not stronger than that of first year.

It just ruined his chances that she was his mate's sister, almost everything about it would be wrong and uninvited. The thought of breaking her heart or her worse, her breaking his own heart...And having Sirius choose sides?

This always left him worse for wear, but the idea of her sitting with him when he was healing always sparked when he was forced to look at the dull ceiling for the next few hours. Luckily his friends had supplied him with books and chocolate, but he knew all too well that he wouldn't be allowed to eat the chocolate until midday.

So with the days counting down, and the added bonus of Remus healing the fastest he's ever had. He was able to enjoy the last few days with his mates, not that he wouldn't see James or Peter over the holiday. But seeing Sirius was almost as likely as him creating a wolfsbane potion.

The four of them had been making a ruckus in the hallway as they had yet made a name for their group. But they weren't doing anything harmful, they were just singing for the joys of it all.

"And what the devils doing are you four marauders doing?" Professor McGonagall shrieked, and Sirius who was all for the women and calling her Minnie smiled politely and talked out of his arse. Not even earning a detention but more with a smirk on her face as she always found herself amused by their antics.

But the repeat of 'marauder' said by Peter had named the group. So the four Marauders went off to the kitchens to celebrate a roaring success up in their room with the taken snacks as well as a bottle of whiskey.

Aurora had been outside spending the time under the tree reading with the rest of her flock, enjoying the last few days of good weather with her friends. She and her brothers would be going to the Lestranges for the first week of the summer, and she was struggling to get the courage she needed to be with him, in his home for so long.

She'd done it before but now, after expressing feelings? They weren't necessarily dating just yet, or perhaps they were. Aurora just didn't know how to ask or assuming so felt wrong.

Victoria attempted at apologizing a few times over, and it had been in front of her other brother which he forced her to hear the story of almost being kicked out of the Slytherin common room.

Although Sirius demanded to know what she was doing in there anyway, but hearing that she was helping Regulus was enough to calm his mind. And she didn't bother continuing the story to her staying with Rabastan for another few hours either.

Yet the elder witch went out of her way in attempting to get back in the good graces of the prestige purebloods. She knew of the Lestranges, and with how young Regulus was she couldn't get with him. But Aurora? This woman started to dig up the dirt in trying to attempt at reasoning with herself for being the better girl for Rabastan or just in general.

Only she was met with the unfortunate discovery of Salem, of her grades. Which sent her in a fit of rage at the perfect little pureblood witch.

The next day Aurora had been returning back to her common room with Harper and Clem as Isabella was saying goodbye to her year fling as she was going to frolic this summer through another summer boyfriend.

However it had been Remus rushing towards the common room door that had the girls stop and stare. Course it wasn't until he came up closer that they knew who it was. 

"Rory, may I borrow you for a moment?" She nodded, bitting her friends goodbye and stating that she'll be at dinner.

Remus tried to explain in terms of code of what happened, but she caught up on the whole 'Marauders' title. Only to discover that her dumb mess of a brother had decided to eat chocolate as a dog.

And was suffering terrible cramps and shifts in his stomach, but the boy was balling his eyes out at the fact that he could be dying over the idea of eating his favorite sweets, but in dog form.

"Pads but you're not really a dog though, right Rory...Tell him." Aurora huffed as she dropped her bag to the floor and put her hand onto her brother's forehead. He wasn't warm, it's probably was just his stomach confused as it was digesting as a dog than human.

"Not only do you lot smell like firewhiskey, but why in Merlin's name would you try something like this?!" She shouted, slapping James upside the head for allowing Sirius to even do something like this.

"Rory pleeeaaasseee. Make it stopppp!" He groaned, and she asked Peter to get him water as she dug into her bag for a few things.

"I'm going to die, this isn't a laughing matter Remus!" He shouted, something Sirius had mistakenly took for being laughed at. But it was the artillery that she had with her, secretly she never emptied it from the full moon so her brother was in luck.

However when they did get the water, Aurora put a few drops as she asked what he had eaten. Before adding another five, all things considering the unhealthy masses aren't doing the best just sitting in his stomach either.

So she offered up the cup and hurried to give it to him, which he downed in just three seconds. "What did you give me?" She chuckled now, shaking her head in disarray. 

"You ask after? Next time I'll give you versectuserme...Just give this to him every three or four hours, it'll help with digestion. Nothing's wrong, his body is just confused as it was eating with one stomach and then switches to another." Her explanation was straightforward and poor Sirius calmed down enough to fall asleep comfortably and only waking for the next dose.

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Date Posted: 03-03-19

Time: 7:08

Words: 2498