James sat cross legged at his desk. He frantically flipped through a herbology book. Around the room, two of his best friends were similarly engaged. Sirius leaned against the wall, head bowed, dark hair falling into his eyes as he poured over a cookbook borrowed from James' mum. Peter lay on the floor, eyes narrowed and slowly turning pages. James glanced at Remus' most recent letter, half obscured by transfiguration notes.
…moving to a small village in Whales. Mum wants to be closer to her parents, and a smaller town means less curious neighbours…
They were so close. They couldn't let Remus spend another full moon alone.
Peter sat up, finger held to the upper right page. "Though a vital ingredient in many potent elixirs," he read aloud, "Mandragora alone produces no effect. Until combined with other ingredients, the roots and leaves, while certainly unpalatable, are harmless."
"Oh, thank God." James closed his book. "Remus warned us we'd swallow those damn leaves,"
"Yeah, well, we don't have to tell him he was right," Sirius said, tossing Mrs. Potter's potion book aside. "I want to get this done by the time term starts."
"I don't know if I can," Peter began.
Sirius waved a hand, "What, do you think we'd just leave you behind, Pete?"
"You're getting it, and we'll continue to help you." James reassured him.
"So, again?" Peter said.
James pulled a jar of mandrake leaves out of his school trunk.
Remus looked around, assessing his new neighbourhood. Hopefully this would be their last move. The three of them started to unload the moving van. In the middle of a muggle village, magic was out of the question. Sure enough, it didn't take long for one of the muggle neighbours to show up. The balding man introduced himself as Rob Cohen, invited the Lupins over for a barbecue that night, and proceeded to help them move in.
"You know, I have a few daughters around your age," Mr. Cohen told Remus.
Remus didn't answer. He had no intention of befriending Mr. Cohen's daughters. It was hard enough concealing his condition from his classmates at school, but having to explain his disappearances and injuries over the summer as well would be more than a little inconvenient.
"There's one of them, now," Mr. Cohen waved to a girl riding a bicycle down the street. She waved back, and, spotting Remus, waved at him too.
Remus waved reluctantly back. It was just his luck that Alexandra Stuart, a fellow fifth year Gryffindor, was his neighbour. He certainly liked her well enough; he had just been looking forward to a quiet summer of not having to explain away his lycanthropy.
"You know my step-daughter?" Mr. Cohen asked, noting the teenagers' greeting.
"Sure, we go to the same school," Alexandra called out, running over from her dropped bike.
"Ah, the mysterious boarding school," he replied, shaking his head.
Like her step-father, Alexandra wasted no time in introducing herself to the other Lupins and offering to help unpack.
"We're keeping my step-family in the dark about all the magic business," she whispered to Remus when Mr. Cohen was out of ear shot. "My mum insists it's easier for her."
Remus had never known Alexandra to be this energetic. She was over most afternoons, dragging Remus around the village with her. Her energy seemed to come in spurts. Some days she insisted she wanted to hang out, but didn't want to do anything. So she would borrow one of Hope's books and read while Remus answered letters from James, Sirius, and Peter.
She didn't say anything when he disappeared for a couple of days in July. She didn't question anything about his life until she knocked on his door shortly after August's full moon. Her eyes widened as she took in the purple bruises painting the left side of his neck and the fresh claw marks on his arms.
"God, Remus, what happened to you?"
Remus tried to stammer out some sort of explanation as Alexandra let herself in.
Oh shit.
She collapsed on the sofa expectantly. Remus reluctantly joined her.
Shit. Shit shit shit shit. "I…I fell. From the tree." The tree out back was probably high enough to explain away most of his injuries. He prayed she wouldn't notice the red marks where the chains had rubbed his skin raw.
"Liar."
They were going to have to move again. But she would be at Hogwarts, and, suspicions aroused, how long would it take her to uncover his secret? He would just have to stick to his lie and convince her that he did in fact fall from the tree. He met her eyes and remembered a similar, determined look during exams last term.
"Remus, can I take a look at your transfiguration essay?"
"You're going to copy my answers?"
"Come on, Lupin. No questions, just let me see it." she had cajoled.
"Alright, no questions." He handed over the essay. "Just don't make it obvious."
"You know what?" he said, "My turn for a 'no questions' thing, okay?"
"Wha-," she pursed her lips. Remus held his breath as Alexandra remained silent. Finally, she sighed. "No questions," she agreed. Shrugging, she added, "That must have been a pretty bad fall, I'm sorry that happened to you."