L A U G H T E R
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The cloak was wrapped tightly around his tall, lanky body as he walked a few paces behind the woman inside the tunnel. It was a cold and unpleasant night for him, just as they all were, no matter the weather. His condition seemed to become harder for him to deal with every month, it really did.

The figure of the woman, Madam Pomfrey, turned as they neared the entrance to the shack up ahead. She nodded stiffly in his direction before telling him that she would arrive for him at dawn. Fear was sadly painted onto her eyes as she shifted uncomfortably. Remus was well aware the Madam Pomfrey did not fancy time spent in a dimly lit tunnel with a soon to be werewolf.

Remus didn't wait for her to turn back towards the castle. He stuck his hands in the pocket of the cloak that was more than likely going to be ripped to shreds later that night. With an unhopeful dread in the pit of his stomach, he opened the door to the shack and slid inside to await the transformation that was inevitably unavoidable.

As the last color began to fade from the sky, the door to the main entrance of the shack creaked as it was pushed open. To Remus's alarm, he heard the voice of one of his best mates, Sirius Black, coming from downstairs.

"Remus! Come here for a second!" he called.

"Shit! Get out of here!" Remus yelled while tugging on his hair from where he sat on the decaying wooden floor. Don't change. Don't change. Don't change. The two words repeated over and over in his mind that was growing slowly more insane as his condition neared.

"No can do, mate!" James called from downstairs. Remus grew more perturbed at the sound of another person he cared about near him when he knew he couldn't control what would happen next. "We didn't become animagi just for you to kick us out like we're rubbish! How rude!"

"You can't bloody talk if you're in your animagus form!" he numbly shouted.

He was barely aware of the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. The grip he had on his hair grew tighter as his other hand ripped at his cloak. From the window he saw that the last wisps of purple had vanished from the sky, leaving nothing but the pale moon in its place. The glowing white orb that taunted him silently from its position in the night.

He could make the shapes of his friends out in front of him, but they looked like blurry figures . . . ghosts. James, Sirius and Peter watched as their friend's head slammed back in an unnatural position, the veins in his neck protruding wildly.

The last thing that he remembered was James's quiet mutter from beside the large, black dog that Remus barely recognized as Sirius, "Always surprised at the nice place you've got here, Moony."

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When he awoke he was shaking from head to toe, his arm had a huge gash in it and he was half clothed. A dog and a stag stood in front of him as he attempted to sit up despite the fact that his body was screaming for him not too. Outside the window he saw that the sun was successfully conquering the horrible moon that had cursed him for eternity.

The dog carried a black cloak over to him in its mouth and dropped it in front of the boy. He quietly managed to slip the fabric over his body despite the searing burn that had erupted in his arm when the cloth brushed over the open wound.

More scars.

The stag suddenly transformed into James, the dog into Sirius and not too long after, a rat - that was so small and unnoticed across the room - turned into Peter. All boys stared at the werewolf with concern in their eyes, as if they were worried that he would suddenly start attacking them again.

He took their silence as fear, "I'm a monster, and I hate that you have to see it once a month."

The thing that happened next took him by surprise. James let out a loud snort that sent the other two into familiar hysterics. "What's so funny?" the wounded boy frowned as he watched the other three let out a few more laughs.

"Moony, how are we supposed to fear someone that spends their free time reading muggle cook books and fretting when they run out of coffee creamer?" James grinned ear to ear.

Remus couldn't help but let the two corners of his lips tug up into a small smile. As much as he wanted his friends to stay away from him in a time like this, he appreciated them more than they would ever know. Waking up at night and not knowing what he could've or did do only a few hours before scared him horribly. He'd been through this situation alone for far too long and it really encouraged him to know that he wasn't in it alone and to know that he wasn't thought to be a monster by the entire Wizarding world.

From outside the window he could see Madam Pomfrey's figure bustling towards the shack with a large medical bag in her hand. Peter seemed to see this as well because he exchanged a look with the others before they all changed back into their chosen animals and bounded out the back exit and into the shelter of the Forbidden Forest.

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A red and yellow scarf was wrapped loosely around her neck, despite the warm, humid weather of the early school year. Lily had insisted that she wore it no matter the month to support the team, but Freya couldn't care less about Quidditch, or any sport at that statement. Her parents, being muggles, had encouraged her from a young age to play football.

Normally when James and Sirius were forced to spend moments without each other, both boys would act abnormally pitiful. However, the enthusiasm aura of the upcoming match against Hufflepuff had excited Sirius so much that the absence of his best friend (who was at last minute practice) was temporarily unnoticed. Instead, the boy spent breakfast in the Great Hall taunting every student who sat at the Hufflepuff table or even wore the team colors.

"Freya!" he yelled upon her entrance. The blonde noticeably blushed as he rushed towards her. "Why the hell are you wearing yellow?"

Remus interrupted the two, "Our colors are yellow and red, dumbass. You get too caught up in sporting events, I swear."

"You solemnly swear?"

Remus rolled his eyes as if the boy was stupid. The pun had actually been quite exceptional, but Remus was trying his hardest to make Freya no longer attracted to Sirius. When Freya sat down next to Remus, he couldn't help but notice that their legs brushed slightly together. Her gaze was directed towards Sirius, and her soft laugh gave the Black descendant whatever validation he needed.

"Ah," Sirius smirked madly, "See, Moony? Two against one."

"Wonderful," he mumbled to the piece of french toast that sat discarded on his plate. Sending daggers to his food seemed to be the only alternative to directing them at his friends. He loved Sirius, and knew he was being unfair.. But sometimes being unfair came so easily. Jealousy tended to creep in quietly up the back of your throat and across your body like a wildfire - faster than the effects of whiskey, quieter than a looming full moon.

When the trio were finally ready to leave the Great Hall and walk to the Quidditch stadium, Peter arrived. After another five minutes of delay to watch the mousey boy wolf down six muffins (in two's) they finally exited the crowded room and escaped to the sunny grounds of Hogwarts. Freya's scarf was soon unwrapped from her neck and instead used as a shield for her pale face from the harsh sun. Although it was a nastily bright morning, it was far better than the days where storms cursed the Quidditch games that Lily forced her to go too.

When they arrived in the stands, Lily and Mary were already seated with a giant red banner that the redhead drug out every year since their fourth Quidditch match at the school. Just like every other time, a charm was placed on it so the golden lion that served as the letter 'O' in the word 'Gryffindor' opened its mouth to let out a great and powerful "roar." Last year, to Lily's devastation, a Ravenclaw jinxed it so instead of a growl it squealed softly.

Sirius stood on the edge of his seat, immaturely loud as always, and screamed until his voice was hoarse at the passing Hufflepuffs. Peter began pulling snacks from the small pouch he had brought and passed them around the group.

"How'd you manage to fit all that in there?" Sirius asked. Freya noted that his voice slightly raspier from his yells, and her stomach danced.

The crinkling sound of the Every Flavor Beans box being opened couldn't be heard over the crowed. Peter popped a few in his mouth before responding, "Undetectable Extension Charm."

Remus looked slightly impressed, "Didn't know you knew how to do that, Wormtail."

"For food, I can and will do anything and besides —" But whatever else Peter planned to say became muffled out by a sudden shout from Sirius which involved numerous colorful words as the opposing team in yellow walked onto the field.

"And you wonder why James didn't let you play beater this year," Remus commented out of the corner of his mouth. Lily hid her giggles behind the banner.

Before long, the game began and Sirius's harassment temporarily ended as James walked onto the field. The group of friends hollered louder than any other student in the stands. Despite her disinterest in most sports, Freya's cheers were as loud as any other as she supported James and Marlene. It was easy to enjoy something if the ones you loved were running the show.

The game began with a good start. A seventh year chaser named Talon scored a goal for Gryffindor rather quickly. The banner lion ferociously growled, Peter spilled the remaining candy, Freya jumped clumsily on the bleachers and Remus watched her with a huge smile. She looked so completely and utterly beautiful this way. A few of her blonde locks had fallen down around her face from the hair tie that struggled to keep them up. The lines underneath her eyes that she loathed but he adored became visible as the smile on her face grew wider when James made his first goal of the game.

The smile disappeared, however, when Hufflepuff's points crept up.

No matter how upset Freya looked, she in no way looked as emotional as Sirius. The boy was attempting to break out of Peter's surprisingly sturdy hold to charge at some poor Hufflepuff third year that made the mistake of cheering a little too loudly for his now winning team.

"Sirius, get your shit together. McGonagall is looking over here," Lily barked. The boy unwillingly sat down on the stands dramatically with his arms crossed, but the glares sent to his would-be-victim were not ceased. 

Another goal was made by Talon, and before long the points were dwindling. The red and yellow team became barely in the lead, much to their delight.

"Ha! Ha! Might as well call the bloody game now! We're winning this bitch!" Sirius yelled at the anxious looking Hufflepuffs. A passing Slytherin snorted to his friend, "He must have forgotten about third year."

"Don't bring up third year," Sirius hissed. The boy simply walked away with a smug look and a slight hop in his step, reminiscing over the game in third year and the idea of it still upsetting Sirius.

"We did lose pretty badly that year," Freya mumbled.

Sirius averted his eyes from the match momentarily, "It was raining."

"They had a good team," Freya self consciously wondered if her red lipstick had smeared and hoped that if it had, Sirius wouldn't notice.

"Name one."

"Marcus Bingham, seeker. He was brilliant. He was actually my partner in charms class a few times after that and never seemed to not be able to mention it to me."

An extremely bubbly feeling filled her stomach when his eyebrows raised and an impressed look etched to his handsome features. "I didn't know you cared much about Quidditch."

She began to tell him that she didn't, and that she really could care less if they won in third year or not, but his next words stripped the thoughts from her mind with one swipe. Technically, it wouldn't be entirely a lie for her to love Quidditch. She loved watching Marlene and James play it, the banter that followed, and the Common Room celebrations that sometimes lasted all night.

That annoying red tint rose onto her cheeks as turned her head left so he wouldn't see the blush. Remus, who had been attempting to ignore the situation beside him, popped his knuckles in annoyance.

When she became confident that the blush had faded from her face, the blonde looked back at Sirius who had begun yelling again, "Yeah I love Quidditch."

The snort that escaped Remus's mouth and the words after were unstoppable, "Oh really now, do you?"

Freya reached her hand behind her to shove his arm slightly as if she was telling him to shove off. Although accidental, her hand accidentally brushed the bandaged injury on his arm that had yet to heal.

"Shit," he hissed quietly, tugging his arm away.

"Are you okay, Remus?" Lily lowly asked, barely heard over the rumble of students.

He casually tugged his sweater farther down his arm, "Fine."

Remus couldn't help but feel an undeniable anger, and he resented this. Quidditch matches were usually something he looked forward to more than any other event in the year. The time with his friends was irreplaceable. He knew he was lucky to be there. He knew Dumbledore bent the rules to have him accepted into Hogwarts. He knew an uprising was brewing in the Wizarding community and dark magic threatened to spill into the walls of Hogwarts some days. He knew the future was uncertain, and that this game was treasured time. Remus so desperately wanted to let this feeling go and be happy for his friends.

Eventually, much to the group's joy, Gryffindor won their first game of the season. Marlene had finally located the snitch after two excruciating hours of searching and managed to seize it into her palm. Sirius attempted to cheer, but there wasn't much left of his voice. Surprisingly, Peter flung down the rest of his sweets to run down the bleachers and congratulate James. The others weren't far behind them.

Two out of the friend group, Remus and Freya, offered to go back to the common room and prepare the party that was to be held when the others returned. It didn't surprise him that Freya said the same comment she made every year after a match, "Remind me to never go to one of these again."

"Remind me to get Sirius drunk enough before the next game that he wakes up with a giant hangover. Then maybe he won't be so damn loud," he nudged her with the elbow of his unhurt arm lightly.

"Deal," she laughed. The sound alone made Remus's lips tug up into a smile. When he turned towards her and saw those damn laughter lines, his heart seemed to melt in his chest.

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a/n: hi

qotd: what form would your animagus take?

aotd: I think I'd be an owl or a fox.