the_debt_of_time

"That's great, but how did you know?" James asked.
"I'm surprised Sirius hasn't figured it out yet," she admitted with a soft laugh.
"Remus either, to be honest. Though he might just be too polite to ask why my scent has
changed."
Sirius stared at her curiously and then inhaled deep and slow, his eyes darkening.
"Wait, why do you smell... canine... ish. How?"
She smiled wryly. "How'd you do it?"
His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How long?"
"Six months, give or take."
"Bloody hell! It's taken us three years to get this far! Are you at full shift?" Sirius
demanded bitterly. When Mia shrugged her shoulders lightly, he stomped his foot. "Fuck!"
James blinked, confused. "What's going on?"
"She's an Animagus too!"
"Keep it down! What's the matter with you?" James glared at Sirius. "Filch could be
just around the corner, and if so, we're all buggered, you bell end!"
"You're having trouble with the final shift, right?" she asked, amused. "Keeping the
form at will?"
"Yes," Sirius snapped, enviously. "I was the first to fully shift. Prongs can get there
as well, but neither of us can hold it for more than a few minutes. Won't be much help
with a werewolf if we turn into snacks ten minutes past moonrise."
"You have to find something to ground you. An image to keep in your mind. Your
reason for doing this," she offered politely.
"We use the shack," James admitted.
Mia shook her head. "Not strong enough. A shack can be knocked down; also,
outside of the shack, Remus is still the wolf. You need something permanent."
"What do you use?" Peter asked quietly.
"The moon," she admitted, and all three boys grimaced as though they could sense
how Remus himself would react. "It's morbid, I know, but it'll never go away, and as long
as it's there, he'll turn. He's connected to the moon, and we're connected to him through the
moon. It's all tied together."
"So what are you?" Sirius finally asked. "I smelled canine, or something like it, but I
can't tell what."