Chapter Text
Harry startled awake, bolting up as cold sweat beaded at his brow. His lungs desperately gasped for air as the terror lining his body slowly sapped away. With a groan, he raised a hand to his aching head trying his hardest to remember just what had spooked him.
A snake sliding against decrepit wooden floors. The grumbled voice of an older man griping about vandals. Creaking of old stairs and the smell of rot-
Another nightmare that he could barely remember, then. Ugh. He rubbed his eyes, already imagining the comments he would receive at breakfast from Sirius. The older man was doing his best to give Harry space after he’d snapped at him for prodding him about his nightmares, but that didn’t save Harry from Sirius’s teasing about the dark circles that made him look like a raccoon. Honestly, Harry would take all the teasing if it meant no more nightmares. It felt like every few nights had been spent tossing and turning until he gave up and wandered the tomb of Grimmauld Place. Kreacher had been kind enough to keep him company at first, but after his sleepwalking incident…
Let’s just say there were more measures to keep Harry safely in his room now and Sirius had firmly put his foot down about when Kreacher could spend time with Harry. The teen had been bitter about it at first, but now he was just tired and resigned. If he thought Hermione was stubborn, she had nothing on Sirius when he was worried.
Harry nabbed his glasses from the nightstand and moved to get up. According to his glance out the window it was still night out. The rug that peeked out from under his bed was lit with moonlight from the outside, only disturbed as he padded towards the door. Unlocking the door with magic was easy now after all the practice he was getting. And boy, had being locked in his room led to an overwhelming surge of memories and emotions--he’d heard the clinking of locks and a cat flap until Sirius had explained that it would always be able to be unlocked with magic.
Creeping out into the hall was easier now that he knew where all the trick steps and creaks were. He oddly enough couldn’t make out the sound of Sirius or Remus snoring as he passed by their doors. Had they been woken up as well from their own nightmares? It was a common enough occurrence that they’d set up a room specifically for post-nightmare nights in the drawing room. The tapestry inside was even more destroyed now after the last full moon. Moony had been locked up in there with Padfoot while Harry was asked to stay upstairs just in case. While the wolfsbane potion that Professor Snape brewed did wonders to keep Moony docile and harmless, both Marauders had insisted that they be cautious.
The next full moon should be coming up, Harry mused tiredly, socked feet shuffling down the last few steps. Sure enough, there was a light on in the drawing room, which meant he would have company until he felt well enough to doze or it was time for breakfast.
He reached for the handle, surprised to find the door locked. It wasn’t usually locked… but maybe it was locked by accident? A soft alohomora later, and the door swung open. The rounded shape of the moon rested just above the sliver between the top of the curtain and the windowsill, clouds amazingly missing from the London night sky. A hulking canine figure was resting just below said window, breathing in and out in sleep.
Ah, Padfoot must have been able to fall back asleep once he’d calmed down enough. Harry hesitated for less than a minute before making his way towards the furry creature. He was tired and just wanted to sleep--and despite how he liked to wiggle around, Padfoot made an excellent sleeping buddy. As he drew closer and closer, the mass of fur became more and more clear. Had Padfoot always had grey streaks in his fur? Why was the moonlight making him look more brown than black? Harry rubbed at his eyes again, and decided he was too tired to deal with his own questions, abandoning them in favour of cuddling up to Pafoot.
The canine startled awake, tensing when it was touched, but Harry could not be bothered to care. Instead, he wiggled into Padfoot’s side and curled his fingers in the fur of the dog’s chest.
Wait…
Padfoot’s fur didn’t feel like this at all. The fur bristled between his fingers was coarse and almost rough to the touch. Dread pooled in Harry’s stomach as he forced his eyes open to look up at the amber, human-like eyes staring back at him, the full moon visible from this new angle.
Huh, Harry thought faintly, Moony doesn’t look that scary.
The two of them were frozen as they stared at each other. There was no recognition in Moony’s eyes, just the flinty gaze of a curious predator. He winced and braced himself for the sting of teeth or a claw as Moony moved closer, only to be surprised as a cold, wet nose brushed against his cheek instead, sniffing at him. There was a huff, not quite a growl, but bordering on one, before a heavy weight settled on Harry’s chest. Daring to peek his eyes open, Harry looked down to find Moony still staring back at him, but this time there was an almost knowing air to the wolf’s gaze. The tufted tail of brown and grey fur was slowly wagging back and forth against the ground, batting up against a much darker mass of fur.
So that’s where Padfoot was. The animagus was out for the count, completely unaware that the werewolf he was supposed to be watching was awake and staring down an innocent teenager. Warm breath puffed against his neck before a soft whine whistled in the space between Harry and Moony. The wolf seemed to almost be begging him for… something? Harry wasn’t sure what. Moony nosed and wiggled closer despite Harry’s attempts to slowly creep away. Before he knew it, Moony had him trapped half-underneath him and was fervently licking at his face and hair.
“Geroff,” Harry grumped, but did little to stop the werewolf from, well, whatever he was doing. He didn’t want to risk death by claws or sharp teeth--Remus would never forgive himself if anything happened when he was like this. Wait a second. Was- Was Moony grooming him?
Okay, no.
“I am not a puppy!” Harry hissed, shoving Moony’s face away from him. That earned him a low growl and Moony was getting up?
Whoosh .
Great, now Moony was actually laying on top of him.
Harry resigned himself to being Moony’s prisoner and pillow. Glancing Padfoot’s way, he saw that the animagus was still out for the count. So much for any assistance. Harry shuffled himself into a more comfortable position, doing his best to ignore the licking. After grabbing a pillow from the couch, he figured it was best to just try and go back to sleep. It wasn’t like he was going to be allowed up anytime soon.
***
Silly Cub, Moony hummed to themselves as their cub started to drift off under their loving care. Cub had come in smelling of anxiety and stress, and now they were all sweet and calm. Padfoot had been just as easy to soothe with some careful attention and play. Moony’s pack was so stressed, but Moony would do his best to be a good pack leader and watch over them. They deserved the rest that came from pack. Moony snuffled and shifted Cub so that the puppy could rest easier, snout over vulnerable neck--no one was getting to their puppy tonight. A slight stir from the Other One swelled from the back of Moony’s mind, earning a warning growl. This was their time. No strange tasting water could stop Moony, not even with the Other One asking nicely. The Other One was lucky enough to have Moony be understanding enough to recognize the Other One’s pack as his own. It had been so lonely to be a pack of one--no thanks to the Other One. They used to have Prongs, Wormtail, and Flower, but they had left. They were never coming back, following a trail that Moony could not find or follow. Then Padfoot left--taken away, Moony growled--and the Other One had run away like a bad packmate, not even bothering to take Stalker.
Other One was a disgrace until Stalker had found them again. Moony was giving the bad packmate one last chance, but no longer would the Other One be pack leader.
Moony was pack leader now.
And a good leader always watches after the pack.