Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
"I can't believe him."
Remus Lupin froze with his hand on the doorknob of the second year Gryffindor dormitory when he heard James Potter's voice on the other side.
I really shouldn't eavesdrop on them, Remus thought, but he had an uneasy feeling those on the other side of the door were talking about him.
They were talking in whispers so anyone passing would not be able to hear them, since they had not learned any silencing charms yet. For any normal person this would not be a problem, but Remus Lupin was not a normal person. When Remus was very young, his father angered the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback. The next full moon, Greyback got revenge on his father by attacking and biting Remus. Ever since Remus has had to suffer through the painful transformation into a werewolf once a month at the full moon.
During the times when he was not a werewolf, Remus still carried some of the traits of one. He was stronger than most humans and had enhanced senses that far exceeded the capability of any normal human. He was currently putting the latter to use as he listened to his friends' whispers on the other side of the door.
"I know," Remus' other friend Sirius Black responded to James, "he can't seriously," Sirius paused and Remus rolled his eyes at the annoyingly overused pun, "think that we'd believe he had to go home because his 'cat died'."
Remus' eyes widened at the mention of the pathetic excuse he used the night before when he had to leave for the shrieking shack so he could transform safely. As he proceeded into his second year, it started to become harder and harder to come up with excuses for his sudden disappearances, resulting in them becoming less believable and more suspicious as each month passed.
"What are we going to do?" little Peter Pettigrew squeaked.
Do about what? Remus' eyebrows scrunched in confusion.
James' voice suddenly became solemn, "We have to tell him."
Remus drew in a sharp breath, No. They couldn't have figured it out. They can't know I'm a werewolf.
"And how do you suppose we do that?" Sirius' voice was dripping with sarcasm, "Just walk up to Remus and say 'Hey, Remus, old buddy, old pal. What's up? Didn't scratch yourself up too much last full moon, did you?'"
No, no, no, no. Remus started to panic. They knew. He had to get out of there. He could not bear to see the looks of hatred in their faces whenthey saw him. He turned and stumbled towards the stairs, dropping his book in his haste.
"Sirius!" James smacked Sirius' head for not taking the situation seriously, "Can't you just…" he stopped abruptly when he heard a thump outside the door. "Did you hear that?"
Sirius and Peter looked at him quizzically, oblivious to the noise while James jumped off the bed and opened the door to their dorm. Sirius looked at Peter and shrugged, getting up to follow his fellow marauder, Peter not too far behind.
James poked his head out the door and looked around. Seeing no one, he made to close the door when he spotted something on the ground. He stepped into the hallway and picked up the book, figuring someone must have dropped it in one the way up or down the stairs. James frowned as he read the title.
"A History of Magic…" he trailed off as he opened the front cover and looked inside. "Oh no…"
"What's wrong?" Peter asked.
"It's Remus'. He must have been listening to our conversation through the door. He probably heard what we said and ran off."
Sirius looked at James, not quite believing him, "How do you know it's his? It could be someone else's."
James faced Sirius and held up the book, "Sirius, how many people do we know that would actually read A History of Magic in their spare time?" He questioned with his eyebrows raised.
James snickered at his friend's look of defeat, "Plus," he added, "his name's on the inside cover."
Sirius smacked James on the shoulder annoyed at him for making him look like an idiot. James continued to laugh as Sirius pouted.
"Um, guys?" Peter pointed at the book, reminding his friends why the book was there in the first place.
James looked down at the book in his hand, then back at his friends with a look of fierce determination, "We have to find him."
"Mr. Lupin!" Professor McGonagall yelled after the fleeing Gryffindor, "No running in the halls!"
Remus ignored his head of house and kept running, not even caring where he was going, while tears continued to stream down his face. It was not fair. Not only were his friends going to hate him now, but they were sure to tell their parents and the rest of the school and he was going to get kicked out. No one would want to go to school with a werewolf, nonetheless be friends with one.
He would go back to the dorm and collect his school things soon enough. For now, though, he needed a place to be alone until he was ready to face his roommates. He stopped for a moment and wiped the tears from his eyes so he could see where he was more clearly. Looking around, he noticed he was just one corridor away from the one-eyed witch passage to Hogsmeade. He quickly ran there.
"Dissendium," he whispered and watched the statue slide away.
"Where is he?" James wondered as he dashed down a third floor corridor. His friends and him had quickly split up in their search for Remus. He was going to look in the secret passageways and other hidden rooms the marauders had found in their two years at Hogwarts. Sirius was headed towards the library, thinking that he may have hidden away amongst the many books. Peter opted to stay behind in the common room in case Remus returned.
James had already checked the Kitchens and was now headed towards the secret passageway that led to Honeydukes in Hogsmeade.
"Please be here," James whispered as he turned the corner and came face to face with the statue of the one-eyed witch.
"Remus?"
Remus jumped when he heard his name being called. He leapt to his feet and fumbled in his pocket for his wand.
"Remus?" the voice called again, "Are you there?"
Remus pointed his wand in the direction of the voice, his hand shaking, as James turned the corner.
"Remus?" James asked apprehensively. He looked at the wand pointed at him and then back at Remus.
"D-don't step any closer!" Remus yelled as James froze.
"Wh-wh-what do you want with me?" Remus accused, hi voice stuttering with fear.
"Remus," James approached him cautiously, watching as Remus backed away, "you need to calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. See?" James lifted up his hands, "No wand."
"But-but you found out I'm a- a-"
"Werewolf?" James supplied.
Remus visibly tensed. "And now you hate me," he said softly. His fear was finally gone, but it was replaced by an overwhelming sadness. Remus lowered his wand and brushed past James, headed back to the second year Gryffindor dormitory to pack his things.
James stood there, completely dumbfounded. He could not believe Remus just said that. He shook his head to clear it.
"What?" James yelled. He turned around and ran after Remus. Grabbing Remus' arm, James sun him around so they would be face to face.
"Why in the world would you think we would hate you?" James accused, offended Remus would think so low of them, "I mean, yeah, you have a 'furry little problem'," James said, putting air quotes around "furry little problem", "but, so what? We all have problems we have to deal with. Sirius has a family of pureblood worshipers, Peter has troubles in every class, and I have to deal with Sirius. That's a job in itself." Remus couldn't help but crack a smile at the last one.
"So you really don't hate me now that you know I'm a…" Remus gulped and whispered, "werewolf?" He looked at James with hope.
"Of course not!" James exclaimed, "How could you even think that? You're a marauder, Remus. Marauders never turn their backs on each other, especially for a small problem like being a werewolf."
Remus snorted. He wouldn't consider being a werewolf as a "small" problem. He then smiled, "Thanks." A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes as his smile turned into a smirk. "Race you to the common room!" Remus yelled as he took off, leaving a stunned James behind.
"Lupin!" James shouted as he took off after his friend.