~Disclaimer: You should know by now that J.K. Rowling owns them.
~A/N: Don't be too harsh, though; I wrote this in the early morning hours. *'s around certain words are for emphasis, of course.
~Summary: Even though this is rather cliche, the MWPP gang find out that Remus is a werewolf. I did it from Remus's POV, though, which not too many people have. Ever wonder how *he* felt about all this?
~PG, for some language. Damn potty mouth teenagers. heh

~They Know~
by: Amethystia


Again. It happened again last night. Of course it did; I can't exactly stop it. But I always wonder, on the days after, why me? Wasn't I nice? Didn't I try hard and help people? Apparently, that's wasn't good enough. Cursed with this...this manifestation of my body and mind on each full moon. If only someone would release me.

No, no. I shouldn't think like that. There are people waiting for me back at Hogwarts, people that give a damn. At least I hope they do. You see, they don't know, and if I can help it, I intend to keep it that way. To see the look of utter disgust on their faces if they ever found out--

But they *don't* know, and they *won't* know.

But I really should be getting back to Hogwarts now that it's morning time, just as soon as I get the dry blood off of my arms. How I manage to hurt myself like this everytime, is beyond me...

Pulling on a change of robes, I made the lonely journey through the tunnel to Hogwarts. I went immediately to the hospital wing to have my wounds tended to; it tingled a little, but Madam Pomprey was excellent at healing wounds.

After that, I was rather hungry, so I headed to the kitchens, knowing it was well past breakfast time. The house-elves greeted me, giving me a little of everything; see, it pays off to sneak around at night.

So, after my usual post-full moon routine, I headed to the Gryffindor common room to relax a bit. God knows I needed it. Only this time, things were different. As I scrambled through the portrait hole, I was greeted by my angst-ridden friends. I dropped the remaining food I was carrying.

"Uhh..he--hello," I managed to choke out. They looked rather odd. Surely they didn't know...did they?

"Hey, Remus," Sirius answered, looking a mixture of angry, pleased, and relieved. "Mind telling us where *you* were last night?"

"Yea!" Lily chimed in, "You have no damn clue how worried everyone was. Why do you just up and disappear once a month?" Her green eyes were blazing. If they were red, they'd have been a perfect clone of fire.

Wait, this is a serious case of deja-vu. Wasn't I just thinking that they wouldn't ever find out...?

"I--I had to go home and make sure--my dad and little sister are getting along alright!" I blurted out. Oh boy, *that* really sounded convincing.

"You don't come back looking like you've fronted an army from visiting home! Why the hell do you insist on making up these weird stories? We're your friends, for crying out loud!" James spat out. His forehead was turning red, like it always did when he was frustrated.

Really, I didn't like having to face these question sessions. If only they knew how much I'd like to tell them. If only they knew how much it ate at me that I couldn't. If only they knew, if only they *could* know without judging me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied in a shakey voice. How was I going to worm my way out of this one? They seemed so intent on getting the truth out of me. 'Play dumb, just play dumb,' I thought rapidly to myself.

"Maybe..," Peter's frail voice broke in, "we should just leave him alone." He finished with a wince.

'Ah, yes, Peter. That's it...do it, get them to drop it,' my mind was screaming.

"What?!" Sirius, James, and Lily exclaimed in unison.

"How can you be such an idiot, Peter? He's obviously not doing what he says he's doing, and I think as his friends we *deserve* to know," Sirius retorted, while shooting a meaningful glance at me.

"I just thought that..," Peter began again, "..nevermind, then."

'Nooo!' I thought to myself. 'Keeping fighting them, Peter. You're my last hope at this point.' Some hope *that* was. Damn it, they had to be so stubborn, so concerned. I...how could I tell him?

But then, it happened. Oh, if only I'd seen it coming, I would've ran away then...

"Remus," James started with a look of worry creasing his once-red forehead, "well, we've kind of noticed a pattern here and--well--we--," but he trailed off.

"We think we know what's *really* wrong with you, Remus," Lily finished, although I was sure that's not what James was going to say. "You see, when we noticed, I just so happened to be doing Defense Against the Dark Arts homework, and you know," however, she trailed off, too.

No, no, no, no; they can't know. Tell me this is a dream. They're all going to turn mutinious against me. No, no, no, no...NO!

Sirius was obviously growing impatient with their loss of words, as he blurted out, "We think you're a werewolf!" He then looked suddenly regretful, as he hadn't meant it to come out so abruptly.

I did the only thing I could do; no, not run. I stood there, mouth gaping, color flushed out of me, fighting back tears. They knew. They really knew! I didn't want them to find out *at all*, much-less this way. I was waiting for the disgusted stares, the shouting and yelling, the words declaring that I was a monster.

They seemed to be looking at me to confirm their suspicions, which I did in my own way, collasping to the floor with a fit of sobs. Any minute, they'd surely be turning on me, any minute now...

"Why--," I began, barely audible through my sobs, "why aren't you attacking me, laughing at me? Go ahead, I'm used to it!" Then another wave of tears hit me. How pathetic I must've looked.

Instead of blows or insults as I lay there, crumbled on the common room floor, I felt sets of arms wrapping around me, more than that of just one person. They...they were embracing me. Comforting me.

"Oh, Remus," Sirius began, "don't be a git! You should know we're not biggots." He was positively beaming at me, in a way that only Sirius could.

"Yea, damn it. Haven't we taught you anything?" James said grinning. He looked like he'd cry at any second, too.

"We love you, Remus. Nothing would ever change that." Lily said, while sofly patting my shoulder.

"I wouldn't go that far," Sirius stated, obviously joking.

I didn't fully understand it, nor did I want to at the time. The feeling of acceptance, how it made my heart soar. For once in my life, in my lonely life, people didn't run and treat me like an over-sized plague.

"And you know what, Remus?" James asked, but he didn't wait for me to answer. "We're going to find a way to help you." The most mischieviously grin I've ever seen broke across his face, lighting up his eyes with excitement.

"I--I don't know what to say," I managed to stammer.

"Then don't say anything," Sirius remarked, trying to sound somewhat intellectual. "Just accept us accepting you."

I couldn't help but grin. People...that cared? Yes, it was true. And oh, how they did help me, more than I'll ever be able to relay to them. But that, dear friend, is for another time.

~To be continued??~

A/N: Bah, if I feel like writing the Animagi stuff I may; that'd obviously be what this was leading up to. It also depends on whether people like this or not. *shrugs*