A/N: So this is my second story on here, this follows on from my first, 'His Eyes Knew Only Fear', but you don't need to have read that one to understand what's going on in this. I'm going to try and keep more on top of getting the updates out with this one, but as ever, I can't promise anything. I'll never abandon it entirely, but well... my last one took nearly a year to get up in whole. It will get finished though, just bear with me if you can.

In 'His Eyes Knew Only Fear' I asked which POV people would prefer for this, and the general consensus was another one from Remus' POV. I know most people wanted it from Remus, and I know it's about him, but I can't see it working for what I want to do, so I'll have to give you second best and give you Sirius. I'm sorry. I hope you'll still read it though, you'll be seeing plenty of Remus, I promise!

Enjoy.

-o0o-

PROLOGUE

Remus John Lupin was a lycanthropic twelve year old pupil at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. To his utmost amazement he had successfully made it through his first year of school without anyone knowing of the fact he turned into a bloody thirsty, murderous creature once every month. That and the fact that not one of the three other boys he shared a dormitory room with had been expelled. Those three boys had become his friends in the past year, the only friends that Remus had ever had, and the best ones that he could ever have wished for.

Over the holidays they had kept in touch, devising a plan to allow Remus to communicate with them, despite not owning an owl. If Remus wanted to send a letter to James or Sirius he was to post it, via Muggle post, to Peter, who would then forward it on to the intended recipient, being the only other half-blood with a house muggle enough not to cause the unsuspecting postmen to think they had gone out of their minds at the sight of a self-mowing lawn. James, Sirius and Peter would all reply to him in the normal method, owls, and if they could spare it, instruct their owls to wait for Remus to reply.

Upon arriving back at the school – this year they were transported across the Great Lake by flying carriages – Remus felt like he had never left. It had been a relief not to have to worry about the patterns in his disappearances, or with catching up on the schoolwork he missed while incarcerated in the hospital wing, but the awkward atmosphere at home was never enough to make up for that. That said, his father had warmed to him somewhat, there was now an acknowledgement of his existence, but there was never a healthy father-son relationship, there hadn't been since the realisation that Remus would have a wolf inside him for the rest of his life.

Being back at the school made Remus realise that although it had taken lies and deceit to avoid being discovered, he still loved the place and would do anything to avoid being taken away from it. There were pangs of pain still whenever he had to lie to his friends, coming up with yet another story as to why he had gone missing for several days, and it never got any easier, but at least they had started to accept that it was the way he was, and had begun to ignore it.

Or so he thought.