Title: Secret Uncovered
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Remus, Sirius, James, Peter
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 956
Summary: The Marauders discover Remus's secret.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Muggle Studies Class – Amity –Write a friendship fic.
All Those Characters Challenge: Marauders
Dance Competition: Round 4 – The Medieval Dance – Write about two close friends or a group of close friends.
Taming the Muse: Prompt Used – Sordid
Represent the Character II
Anything You Can
Feedback: Yes
Remus felt his sordid secret around every full moon. He hated having the secret. It made him feel like a weirdo and no one but Professor Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey knew about it.
He wished he could tell his friends sometimes. He wondered how they'd react. He wondered if they'd accept him or show the prejudice of the rest of the wizarding world. He wondered if they'd tell the whole school, and if he'd be kicked out due to being a danger to the students.
Remus liked to think they wouldn't go that far to hurt him, but one could never know the truth, not until it actually happened. Maybe it was for the best that they didn't know. Remus didn't want to leave Hogwarts after all.
But then it happened. Sirius found out because he heard Remus and Madame Pomfrey talking the day after the full moon. Usually Remus's room was warded so no one could see or hear anything that happened in it. Remus wasn't sure how it happened, but the room wasn't taken care of like always. And Sirius heard everything.
The Black heir ran into the room, his eyes wide.
Remus's heart stopped at the sheer terror that was in Sirius's eyes, and Remus was sure he'd be going home and never coming back to school. "S-Sirius, please, let me explain –"
Sirius didn't let him finish. Instead he ran out of the room.
Remus wanted to go after him, but Madame Pomfrey made him stay. "The full moon was last night, Mr. Lupin. You need to rest and recover. You can talk to him tomorrow."
"It might be too late by then," Remus said despondently, but he did what he was told and stayed in bed.
After dinnertime, he was paid a visit. Sirius and James walked confidently into the room and Peter trailed behind them uncertainly.
"Hey, guys?" Remus said, but it sounded more like a question.
"Hey, guys? Is that all you can say?!" Sirius demanded.
"How are you?" Remus tried.
James shook his head, pushing his glasses up off of his nose when they slid down slightly. "How could you not tell us you were a werewolf?" James demanded.
"It's was Professor Dumbledore's idea."
"So, if Professor Dumbledore said it was okay, you would have told us the truth?" Sirius asked.
"Yes?" Remus paused, looked at their disbelieving stares. "Okay, no."
"W-Why n-not?" Peter stammered.
Maybe Remus was hearing things, but Peter sounded even more nervous around him. Probably because he now knew Remus was a werewolf. Remus hated the thought of one of his best friends being nervous around him, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Guys, you need to understand why I might not want to tell you. Being a werewolf..." He paused, trying to put his thoughts into words. "Most people look at werewolves as monsters, and I'm –"
"Stop!" James forcibly interrupted. "You are not a monster. The werewolf is a monster, and you only become it one part of the month. The rest of the time you're regular, smart, normal Remus. And how can you believe we'd feel any differently about you? You've been a werewolf this whole time. The only difference is that now we know."
Remus stared at his hands. "James, most people don't feel the way you do about it. To them, I'm nothing more than a monstrous freak."
"Then they're freaks who don't know any better," Sirius said. He moved and sat on the bed, prompting Remus to move his legs out of the way. "Most people believe all Blacks are dark, evil witches and wizards. Is that what I am?"
"Of course not," Remus said, aghast.
"And you're not a monstrous freak," James said. "Same thing. Sirius can't help that he was born a Black, and you can't help that you were bitten by a werewolf."
Remus felt like he was going to cry. "I thought you guys would hate me. I never had any friends as a kid because I was a werewolf. No one wanted anything to do with me. You are the first friends I ever had, and I was so afraid I was going to lose you guys if you knew the truth."
James moved so he was on the other side of Remus, the side that Sirius wasn't on. "Well, you aren't losing us anytime soon, and we have a surprise for you."
"What?" Remus asked, eyes moving over the three.
Peter finally spoke up. "W-When Sirius told u-us, we started looking through books, trying to find ways to make full moons easier on werewolves."
"There's no way," Remus said.
"Yeah, there is," James argued. "There's a thing call an animagus."
"An animagus is when a witch or wizard transforms themselves into an animal. A tricky part of Transfiguration," Remus explained.
"Right!" Sirius nodded. "We were thinking that if we become animagus, we can run around with you when you're a wolf so you won't have to be alone."
"It's too difficult to master it, especially for third year students," Remus argued.
"We'll do it," James stated confidently. "It might take awhile, but we'll definitely do it."
Sirius rested his head on Remus's shoulder. "That way, you'll never have to be alone on the full moon again."
"That would be nice," Remus whispered.
"I promise, we'll make it happen," James said. The usual cockiness in his voice was gone, replaced with sincerity.
Peter came and sat on the foot of the bed. "Y-You're not alone, Remus."
"You'll never be alone again," Sirius whispered.
Remus hoped with all of his heart that was true. He hoped he'd never have to say goodbye to the best friends that he has ever had.
