There could be no worse feelings than the one he felt now. He was sure this was hell: It was exactly the way he had imagined the place. Alone. The thing he hated the most. He felt like an anchor was dragging him under the relentless waves, except he wasn't dying. He felt the rain pour down on him, soaking him. He didn't care though. He felt so alone, he would've welcomed anything.

You're a werewolf!?

These words kept ringing in his ears. The horrified expressions on their faces almost broke him on the spot. He proceeded to grab James' invisibility cloak and run as far as he could from his friends. His former friends. He had only just begun his second year, too…

He was breathing heavily. The thought of being alone again made him want to kill himself.

Killing himself… Very tempting.

He didn't know what to do with himself. In a matter of days, the entire school would know Remus Lupin's secret, and he wouldn't be Remus Lupin, but the disgusting, filthy, nameless monster who endangered the students by coming near them. He'd be back at home wishing he hadn't slipped up. It was starting to hit him.

He was a freak.

He couldn't move. It was hard to believe that he was a perfectly happy child when he woke up this morning. He had laughed and joked along with his friends all morning and through the entire, beautiful day. Why did being alone have to suck so much?

This morning, there was a yellow brick-road stretching in front of him. Now there was nothing.

Remus found himself blaming everybody else for this. His father, for having a son, Dumbledore for letting him come here, for the werewolf who attacked him, because it was all his fault, and now he was a selfish, pitiful freak who had lost his only friends.

Remus had never felt this kind of pain before.

He heard something behind him. He made no move to see what it was. He didn't have the strength to open his eyes. All he could hope for was that whatever was behind him was dangerous and capable of killing him, fast. He had no more desire to live anymore. He was damn sure of it.

'Yo James, he's over here!'

It was Sirius, and he wasn't alone.

The three boys who had once been his friends walked in front of the werewolf, who only heard them: his eyes were shut. He couldn't look at the expressions of disgust that he knew were plastered to their faces. He could hear them breathing.

They stayed there for a moment, not talking.

'So this is where you ran off to.'

The smile had disappeared from James' voice. He sounded much more serious than Remus was used to. The werewolf wasn't going to wait for them to shout their disgust at him.

'I'm a monster.'

'No, you're just very stupid. Is that common in werewolves?'

He flinched at James' remark. Yeah, the disgust was here.

'He's a retard, seriously.'

'A very smart retard, Sirius, he's helped me with Transfiguration loads of times,' came Peter's voice. Their conversation wasn't helping him feel better, and he didn't know whether or not they were making fun of him or joking with him. Then came Sirius again.

'See James? Now he's a stupid, smart, fluffy retard!'

This wasn't what Remus was expecting.

His eyes opened in a flash, and at the same moment the three boys in front of him gave him the most unexpected, bone-crushing, wonderful hug the young lycanthrope had ever experienced. His eyes were wider than he thought possible and he was more confused than he had ever been in his life. Sirius said the most comforting thing he had heard all night.

And he realized that he had never lost his friends, that his secret was safe, and that he had the best friends in the whole wide, wonderful world.

Remus Lupin burst into tears and Sirius spoke again.

'Stop crying man, we look gay enough already.'