Harry nodded and made the change, causing Remus's eyes to widen in recognition.
"That's bloody impressive" he declared. "It makes me feel safer about going out there too" he added sincerely gesturing towards the forest.
"You'll be fine Moony" Sirius assured him. "We wouldn't let anything happen to you or anyone else".
"I know Padfoot" Remus sighed. "I just wish we didn't have to do this". "Well we do, so let's make the best of it as we always have" James suggested patting his friend firmly on the back.
"Thank you guys, you know it means everything to me that you do this right?" he asked.
"Something you tell us every month" James pointed out. "But yes, we know" he added softly.
The boy began trembling a little more violently and James stepped away.
"Change" he instructed and soon enough the four others were in their forms.
Harry watched in a mixture of horror and complete sympathy as Remus fell to the ground and began screaming as his body began convulsing and changing from that of a sixteen year old boy, to one of a grotesque human-wolf hybrid. Once the change was complete the creature simply trembled on the ground for a moment and whimpered, clearly in a lot of pain.
Sirius whined sadly as James began to paw the ground irritably, waiting for him to stand.
It was several moments later that he did so and released a howl of both anger and hurt before turning his attention to the others in the room, his eyes freezing in a calculating glare on Harry.
The werewolf approached him and began sniffing curiously in attempt to discern if the scent was familiar and if the animal in front of him was a threat in any way. Evidently it decided that it wasn't as it turned away and decided that it wanted to roughhouse with Sirius, who happily complied.
After sometime they exited into the grounds of the school and led the werewolf into the forest where they spent the night simply running through the trees and enjoying the crisp, night time air in their forms, making sure they returned to the shack in plenty of time before the sun came up.
Harry was as happy as he could ever remember being in his entire life. He had heard from both Sirius and Remus how special these moments were, but the description in no way did the actual experience justice and he reveled in that feeling as the boy's returned to the dormitory, under the guise of the cloaks, to get some much needed rest.
(BREAK)
The weekend came and went with the group mostly relaxing and recovering from their night in the forest. Remus in particular was exhausted, as he always was after the full moon but he was in very good spirits. Something had definitely changed within them and they had grown closer than ever having experienced the most sacred thing to them and Harry now being a part of that had formed a new kind of bond.
Although they had all been welcoming towards him, it was clear to Harry that they had now moved on in their relationship both as a unit and with each member individually.
Remus was so grateful that Harry had not changed his mind about him after seeing him at his worst, something that had worried him. But Harry had come through and shown him the kind of person he was. He was loyal, caring and even as protective of the boy as he was his own brother and just as much as the others were.
Sirius had known him the longest but even he had been surprised how well Harry had dealt with everything and had not even hesitated to join them and promised that the secret would stay with him. Sirius could be dense at times when it came to emotions but he had no doubt that Harry had meant every word and genuinely cared for them all the same way they cared for each other before he had even come along.
Peter too could not be happier with how everything had turned out and even looked up to Harry considerably. He was more gifted than all of them but he did not have any of the arrogance that both James and Sirius still had, though he had more right to boast than any of them. He not only respected the boy but he actually liked him and always felt safe around him, even when they were around the Slytherin's during and after Defense classes.
James was simply proud of the other boy and he swelled with that pride as he watched Harry interacting with his other friends. He truly belonged with them and it felt as though he had always been a part of the group.
Harry just absorbed every moment and detail he spent with them knowing how special it truly was to be a part of everything they shared, something he had dreamed about since he was a child when he would lie in bed at night and wish he had a family. He had one now and it meant everything to him and he would not allow anything or anyone to take that away again. This time he was ready to prevent it, and he would do it, no matter what it took.
Charms passed in the usual fashion as Flitwick had them practicing concealment charms and having each student attempt it in front of the class. The charms themselves were not particularly difficult to cast but they could be tiring to maintain if one had little experience with them.
Harry had demonstrated a perfect Disillusionment Charm that rendered him near invisible, much to Professor Flitwick's delight. He had been given 20 points for his effort and promised a much more difficult set of spells to attempt if he continued to impress the way he was. Creatures passed similarly with the class studying a baby unicorn that was simply stunning. It was bright gold and glowed gently in the dull, late September morning.
They had been instructed to take notes on the properties of the animal and the differences and similarities it shared with its adult counterpart; a rather relaxed and enjoyable lesson for all.
Defense as usual was spent discussing a creature of sorts, this week being werewolves, and being glared at by the Slytherin's.
Harry had grown rather bored by them all but couldn't help the itch he felt to just simply curse them, Rudolphus, Rabastan and Snape in particular were really trying his patience at times but he found that if he smiled at them it would really get under their skin, so he made sure he did it often.
He was relieved when Tuesday morning came along and he knew he only had potions to attend and then he could spend his day training before he had to complete the Defense work with Bellatrix in the evening as he had for the three weeks prior.
Slughorn had the class brewing a Blood Replenishing Potion, one that Harry had become familiar with throughout his training with the unspeakables and lessons with Croaker who had insisted he learnt the most useful medical potions, should the need to brew them ever arise.
Once he had completed that he made his way to the room of requirement to work on his spells. He had been focusing on his power and had managed to make some improvement, though he knew there was little else he could do to dampen it on physical and impact spells, not that he would really need to as he would only be using them in combat situations and he certainly was not planning on taking prisoners.
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