Just a little idea through a writer rush. Hope you enjoy
Warning: No proof-reading
It would be surprise to no one if they knew that the eagles were the first to figure it out.
It wasn't like they had nothing better to do than monitor a first year, eleven year old of course, so it took them almost half a year.
The first eyebrows had been raised at the announcement at the beginning of the year, when Albus Dumbledore told them not to get close to the newly planted Whopping Willow. The male Ravenclaw prefect had rubbed his temple at the announcement. He had no idea why they would even plant that tree there. It being rare didn't sound like good reasoning. But even if there was a good reason for it to be in the Hogwarts grounds, didn't the headmaster realize, that telling a bunch of children not to approach something forbidden was like underlining for them to do so? The forbidden forest was practically picnic material for older students.
The following week alone, twelve students had ended up in the hospital wing with bruises and scratches that they refused to admit where they got. A couple of them of course were betrayed by the leaves and branches tangled in their clothes or hair. After the thirteenth one, which got a nice concussion, the playtime and chases with the Willow settled and almost anyone who didn't want to practice their dexterity on a broom had lost interest.
It was the beginning of December when a fifth year Ravenclaw's eyes trained over to the Gryffindor table absently, while she waited for her friend to finish his meal. At first she wasn't sure why she couldn't pinpoint what was wrong with the picture in front of her. She had to bring herself back to the earth first, to realize what was missing from the scene.
"Where is the other one?"
It hadn't been long in the year, but the 'cliques' were already forming. And the specific one had been too troublesome not be noticed, so it was already odd to see the gang minus one at the table.
"Mhm?" asked her friend, his mouth currently filled with three different puddings.
"His mom is sick" she turned to her little sister, who sat on her other side. The first year girl swigged her legs and pointed tactfully at the Gryffindor table "Black, Pettigrew and Potter were really fidgety at Potions earlier, and I heard them mentioning that Lupin went home to see his mom again"
"Ow" frowned the older sister.
"Again?!" A sixth year boy, had lowered the Daily Prophet to interrupt with a scandalized look.
The first year shrugged nonchalantly "He visits her every month I think"
"Well that doesn't sound like too many missing lessons" the boy next to the scandalized one commented cheerfully and started massaging his friend's shoulders, to relax him "It's ok pal. It's ok. I am sure his friends will keep him updated. The legacy won't die like this!" he spoke dramatically, earning a few chuckles from around.
The next day Remus Lupin was once again sitting with his friends as usual.
The first day of the term after the Christmas Holidays, Remus Lupin looked like he had walked through hell.
Well, at least this is how a first year boy from Hufflepuff described it. Or to be more precise, this was the second hand description, a fourth year Ravenclaw caught from one of his own classmates.
As tactfully as possible he sneaked a glance at the lion's table. He couldn't see Lupin's face, but judging from how worried the other three looked it seemed pretty bad.
When he turned back to his table he noticed that he wasn't the only one of his house whose curiosity had gotten the best of him.
The girl who had asked about Lupin before the term was looking at the person of interest with furrowed eyebrows. Her little sister didn't seem as interested, but she observed curiously, glancing between the lion and her sister.
She was staring for quite a while, until the prefect told her that if she wanted to eat that chicken leg, she should hurry, cause in two minutes it would disappear, and the deserts would show up.
That seemed to snap her out of it as she proceeded in devouring her food.
The following days, the voice of reason among the Troublesome Quadrate seemed to get healthier and healthier until… He didn't. It went down from there, and the inevitable day that his seat was empty came again like a cycle.
It was met with a couple of weird reactions, the boy though, among the seventh years of his house. As soon as they noticed the seat was empty at breakfast, there were a few groans and for every groan there was mocking laughter.
"Called it" whispered a girl with curls as her and the others of her age gathered at the corner of the table, talking in low tones. The boy saw some coins being passed here and there. The groaning ones were the ones doing the passing.
Almost the whole Ravenclaw table had caught the activity. The seventh years were up to something and the speculations started right away.
Or to be more precise… Almost all of them caught on to the challenge. It was a closed rule between the Eagles to let no conspiracies pass and no riddle unsolved. The seniors were placing a riddle, you could see it on their side glances and their underclassmen were all supposed to solve it.
"Ok, this is just unfair" stormed a third year boy, in the common room of Raveclaw. Blond wavy hair bounced as he stormed toward the gathering of seventh years studying. They looked amused.
"What is unfair?" asked an Asian-looking girl, smiling in an innocent manner that convinced no one.
"You" he pointed between the seniors "Have taken all the books relevant of the subject from the library. You must have!"
"What subject?" asked a redhead, who had her head on the Asian girl's lap.
"You know!"
The feign confusion between the group was frustrating.
"What is he talking about?" asked one of them, and they all looked baffled.
The blond boy, cursed loudly.
"Whatever it is, maybe you didn't look well?" suggested a very hesitant second year from behind him "The library is huge"
The third year glared at her, then back to the others. They stared at him with restrained anticipation.
"Maybe you didn't look at the right place?" It was a sixth year this time that tried to help.
The boy froze for a moment, before his whole face went red and he shuffled through his bag.
The couch with the upper classmates almost rolled over, as its occupants leaned over toward the blond kid, to see closely what he fished out of his bag.
It seemed to be the Astrology's Lunar Calendar. A few people in the common room, seemed a little embarrassed with themselves too, as they tactfully tried to unearth theirs, from wherever they kept them. A couple just didn't bother and just rushed to the boy's side, checking over his shoulder. There were a few eye-rolls from the remaining students who hadn't gone for their calendars.
The sister of the girl who had notified them first on Lupin's absence had approached the blond boy, but was too short to see.
"Could I borrow this, please?"
"Why?" it was the male prefect who asked. He was watching her over the back of the couch "Do you want it for anything important?" he asked softly.
The room seemed unusually quiet all of a sudden.
The little girl dropped her hand and shrugged, giving her senior a smile "Nah. Nothing important"
He smiled in return and watched as she went off to rejoin her friends.
The noise in the room resumed.
The prefect went on to re-reading his notes on Transfiguration only to pause and let out a huge groan, gaining questioning looks from his classmates.
"For real though" he mumbled to them "Who names their kid like that? What did they expect to happen with such irony!?"
A few cackles followed his statement.
It would have been impossible for at least some of the lions not to catch on.
(One of the sixth year boys, had a Ravenclaw girlfriend, who had put his attention in the riddle her house had solved. So he doesn't count)
The older ones had covered werewolves in both Care of Magical Creatures and DADA, so some of them did catch on. But not that many.
The carefree nature of the house of lions had helped Remus Lupin a ton. It was in fact the reason the hat had placed him in this house, instead of Ravenclaw. The old clothing article had whispered in his ear, at the sorting ceremony, that he could thrive in the house of the Eagles, but they would find out his secret too fast.
Remus hadn't wanted that. And the hat knew what the little wolf had needed. He could find it in both houses, but he could already see the playful spirit seeking for adventure, under all the insecurity. The loyalty of the badgers and the lions would heal him. And so he found himself in the house of red and gold. Because a messy haired kid helped him pass to platform 9 and ¾ , a grey eyed one told him to make himself comfortable in his train compartment and a watery eyed one offered him his first chocolate frog.
It also helped that it was evening whenever he had to use an excuse to leave the Gryffindor tower and most people in the common room didn't pay attention to that.
But some of them did do their Astronomy homework, and by the end of the first year, just two or three pair of eyes would glance his way as Lupin left for the night to visit his sick mother.
Sometimes those eyes would meet for a brief moment, before averting quickly.
The elephant in the room continued to sleep.
Lily Evans was pissed. She just wanted to stab her quill in Potter's and Black's eye. But for the moment she tried to pretend that she was reading her homework in the common room, while screams were echoing from the boy's dormitories.
"SERIOUSLY JAMES?! SERIOUSLY!? Peter is afraid of his own shadow, yet you- UGH!- Thanks a lot for the trust vote! I greatly appreciate it!"
All sounds in the room had ceased and Lily knew it was pointless to pretend she was still studying.
"I said I was sorry- Sirius!"
The voices were getting louder, accompanied with loud stomping. Soon enough, Black made his appearance. He was fuming as he headed toward the entrance hole. Lily hoped he wouldn't go outside in the middle of November in his pajamas, or Marauders would temporally lose another member… Now that she thought about it, it didn't sound too bad.
Potter strolled down the stairs, with a desperate look on his face. Weather he realized the attention they had drawn or not, he didn't seem to care. Pettigrew was on his tail, looking about as upset, but less guilty than his friend.
Black turned around. He was practically trembling from anger "Like- seriously! What did you think I was going to do? Have him flogged!?"
Lily's, as well as a few more, eyes widened. She felt her blood rise up her face. How reckless could they possibly be?!
"N-No of course not, it is just- You're-…" he didn't seem to find any way to finish this sentence that would be… Non lethal. Black was challenging him with his eyes to finish it.
Pettigrew made some shaky steps forward, to stand to Potter's side.
"Sirius he didn't mea-"
"A Black" Black finished Potter's sentence.
Lily dared to glance up. She had never seen any of these expressions in the Hogwart's tricksters. Pettigrew flinched visibly at the word and now looked anywhere but Black. Potter looked ashamed but was keeping his eyes on his friend. Black was still shaking with anger, but underneath that, you could see the betrayal.
When Potter finally spoke, it was hardly heard "This is not how I see you"
"Yes or No?" Black demanded.
Potter dared to look at him for a while more before lowering his head in shame. It had been enough of an answer.
Black's wand slipped in his hand, and by the shifting sounds, Lily grasped that some others in the room did the same. For a second she considered drawing hers too, but if Gryffindor raised its wands against him right now, Black would see it in a very wrong way. He was only twelve, it wasn't like he could actually harm Potter, and even if he could, they all knew he wouldnt. Plus it was an unspoken rule, that whenever those two fought no one would interfere, since they always made up in record time. But it was the first time it was this bad.
She was so going to regret this…
"Ok, that's enough" she demanded as she stood and walked between them, her wand had slipped in her hand, but was pointed to the ground.
"Stay out of this, Evans" Black growled.
"You brought me into this, Black" she motioned to show the room "Some of us, are trying to study, how about you two solve your marriage problems in your room?" she suggested.
Potter let out a sound like he wanted to protest, but as soon as Black's glare returned to him, he kept quiet.
Black stared at Lily intensely, until finally he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, seeming to relax. Then, without a warning and before anyone could react, two spells blasted from Black's wand, one hitting Lily and one Potter. They both gasped, as huge sunflowers started sprouting from Lily's hair and Potter seemed to have gone bald.
The tension in the room was broken at once and a chorus of laughter echoed in the common room.
"Piss off Evans, and you-" hissed Black, pointing at Potter with his wand "- don't follow me" with that he turned and headed out.
The prefect yelped and rushed to stop him "You can't! It is beyond curfew!" she protested loudly.
"I am in my sleepwear!" replied Black, in a loud tone, not slowing down "If Filtch catches me, I was sleepwalking" the door closed after him and all eyes turned to Potter.
Lily's lips twitched at the sight. Potter had brought the collar of his shirt over the head to hide his baldness. Even the look he traded with Pettigrew, which she guessed was a serious one, before they both rushed upstairs, looked pretty ridiculous with him like this.
The residents of the common room went back to what they were doing and Lily pretended not to notice the door opening and closing with no apparent reason a while later. She kept chatting with Alice, as the other girl picked sunflowers from her hair.
As soon as Remus returned, the little company was going back to normal. Sirius was still glaring James at times, but the sight of the other having to wear a cap to hide the results of Sirius's hex seemed to cheer him. It was probably the price he had to pay for not trusting him.
But now that they were quite open with each other, they were… Even more reckless. Frank Longbottom felt like they had almost given away Remus' secret at the night of the fight. But now half of the things they talked about felt like they were putting a huge sign over their friend.
He considered that this was probably the paranoia of somebody who already knew. No one else seemed to think twice of the whole 'Moony' nickname, except of Evans, who he was sure, had already figured out that they had a bloodthirsty puppy in their dorm.
It didn't take him long to realize though that this wasn't entirely true.
A sixth year started speaking a little louder to his friends when the Marauders started to whisper. A fourth year changed diplomatically the subject, when someone questioned twice on Remus's absence. And a seventh year, hexed two third years, that were making 'werewolf impressions' using food as props. His excuse had been that food wasn't a game and hid behind the Daily Prophet.
Lupin had looked grateful, even if he believed it had been a coincidence.
The snakes would have found out before anyone, had they paid attention.
But they didn't.
A third year Slytherin wondered how many people Fenir Greyback had destroyed, as he watched a very tired looking couple see their son off as he boarded the train for his third year. What a burden he must be, yet they seemed to love him nevertheless. It was obvious at how they looked at him and how gentle their hands were when they touched him, as if not to hurt him further.
The boy sighed and closed the curtain of his compartment.
Severus Snape appeared at some point and asked for permission to sit with him. The boy let him, preparing himself for a very silent trip.
Snape had been hard to distract from Lupin's absence. He always glanced suspiciously at the missing boy's seat in the classes they had with Gryffindor. If it weren't for Evan's own distractions, he would have gone deeper and learnt about the wolf roaming in the halls of Hogwarts.
Thankfully, many Slytherins thought it bellow them to even spare a glance at Lupin and ignored both his existence and absence. It had been a wise choice of the wolf to not actively be part of the pranks Potter and Black played on the snakes. That would have gotten some unwanted eyes on him.
The boy assumed he wouldn't have noticed either if it wasn't for the notes that came to him from St. Mungo's after each of Lupin's disappearances.
'She survived'
The note was always so brief, he didn't even know why his father bothered to use an envelope.
He had been seven years old when his mother had been bitten and declared dead. His father paid for secrecy in St. Mungo's. They would keep her there, alive, and tell no soul about her.
He would never register her as a werewolf. For all the world he was widowed. The werewolf had killed her, he had said. He shouldn't have married a half-blood he said. This was his punishment he had said. If it wasn't for his son begging, he would have killed her himself, he had said.
The thirteen year old snake closed his eyes as the train took off.
The Marauder's pandering had already started just a few doors next to them. A disapproving sound came from where Snape sat. But he didn't pay attention. He enjoyed it. He enjoyed those crazy Gryffindors, their pranks and their loyalty. They had found out about Lupin last year, he could tell. He didn't know if they had managed to find the books about werewolves, even if he had scattered them into the most random sections of the library, back in the first year, but they certainly had found out.
Lupin wasn't hunching anymore and seemed so much more relaxed, like a weight had left his shoulders. And the other three were twice as protective as they were before.
He would choke on his tongue before outing Lupin.
Someone like his mom got to be happy.
It was a little bit of cheating, she had to admit, that she had found out about Lupin's secret in such a way.
The sixth year Slytherin had just needed a couple of painkillers, for her time of the month. It had been a cranky morning when she entered the Hospital Wing. She didn't need the nurse's permission for them (the box only dropped one pill at the time), so she headed to the cupboard, when a pained whine caught her attention.
For a second she thought it had been a dog, but then she heard Pomfrey's voice.
"I am sorry Remus, dear. We can't risk infection. Are you sure you don't wanna sleep through it?"
"Yeah" the voice came pained, and the girl couldn't resist her curiosity and stepped closer to the source "James will be bringing Honeydukes chocolate, I can't miss that" there was a weak chuckle.
The girl cast a silencing spell over herself and leaped closer to peek through the curtains around the bed. She was glad she had cast that spell, or her gasp would have alerted them. She didn't know who had put Remus Lupin through a meat machine, but gee, this must have hurt.
Her eyes finally landed on the bite-mark on the kid's shoulder and she grasped what was up.
Most pure blood families, especially old Slytherin ones gave the 'dark creature, filth and mudbloods' talk to their children at a young age. Hell, some even hunted down werewolves for sports. Her parents weren't that much of fanatics, but still they had told her how to recognize the so called 'dark creatures'.
Well, the little, torn up boy didn't look so much of that. In fact, he was the tamest in his little gang.
She retreated and picked up her pills nonchalantly.
She wouldn't have even bothered to mention the fact to anyone, except of a fun little night when she got to have a brief exchange about it.
There had been steps down the corridor, so they had kept quiet, when they heard people talk.
"Ouch! Damn it, Peter! That is a foot! Specifically, my foot!"
"Sorry! I can hardly walk under here"
"Maybe we could shrink you and carry you around in a pocket"
"Eeep!"
"Relax, Peter. We wouldn't do that to you"
"Why are we sneaking out at night anyway? He is still in the Shack"
"We could go visit him"
"Are you insane, Sirius!? I mean- I know he would never hurt us. I mean- Remus wouldn't. But right now he is- well, not himself"
"Shhh! Keep it down you two"
"We'll offer you as a peace offering"
"Why me…?"
"Well, because James is all bones, and I am too beautiful to get eaten"
"Thanks a lot, Sirius…"
"Shh!" the steps halted "Did you hear that?"
There was a long silence and then they started moving again, with a 'nevermind'.
"Well, technically if James is all bones, wouldn't Moony prefer him?"
"Ah- true! James, I am sorry it had to end this way"
"Thanks, Peter"
"Sorry…"
The voices vanished down the hallway, along with the steps, when the broomstick cupboard opened and the girl rolled out, finally releasing her laughter. She was heaving to breathe through it, while also keeping it as silent as she could.
A boy stepped out of the cupboard too, hardly keeping back a smile as he buttoned up his shirt "Don't laugh"
"I am too beautiful to get eaten!" she repeated and continued roaring with laughter.
"Well, can't argue there. It is like the whole Black family is blessed with good looks. Have you seen his cous- Ok, I am stopping now" he smiled sheepish as the end of a wand pressed on his nose.
The girl's eyes had narrowed into two dangerous slits and she made the 'I am watching you' gesture with her free hand. The boy looked amused.
"So, that was interesting" he said. The girl strolled to the window and half hanged over the edge, to look at the sky.
"Yup, full moon" she declared.
"And?" he asked, fiddling with his tie.
She sat up at the window ledge and stared at him "They were talking about Lupin. He is a werewolf. And that is my tie, you are trying to wear"
He blinked and looked down. Indeed, it was green and silver. He casted lumos in the cupboard and pulled his yellow and black one from under a mop bucket, tossing the other to her.
"Really? Tough… Well, that explains why once a month, those three look like they lost the Quidditch cup"
"Just that?" she raised an eyebrow.
The boy grinned at her "Just that"
"My house would have his head"
"Would you have his head?"
"Nah"
"Would you have anyone else have his head?"
"Naaaah"
"Splendid. Me neither. Wanna get anything from the kitchens before we go sleep?"
Severus Snape would find out ahead, in fifth year, in an unpleasant way, and swear to Dumbledore not to tell a soul.
But before that, there was Regulus Black. It seemed he would have a future to finding out dark secrets. Although for now, Lupin's Lycanthropy hadn't been that hard to crack.
No matter how much it was being drilled into his head to not talk with Sirius, he couldn't help stealing some glances at his brother. Every month he saw them fall under the gloom of worry at their missing friend. Sometimes he felt like telling the world, just to punish the werewolf for getting the attention that once belonged to him.
The gap started ever since Sirius got sorted into Gryffindor. His family was pissed at the disgrace of the family that he called brother. Regulus didn't mind much, but the gap was growing between them, he could see it. Sirius passed most of his holidays at Potter's anymore to escape their parent's mistreatment. They hardly talked to each other.
Sirius' fourth year passed and the loneliness inside his brother grew more and more bitter, but he knew his lips were sealed every time the Marauders passed and Sirius shone with joy.
He couldn't protect Sirius from his parents, or being on the wrong side of the upcoming war, he couldn't protect him from the hate of the Slytherins. But he could at least let him keep his precious friends.
That was the unsigned gift he allowed himself to offer his brother.
The badgers liked Remus Lupin.
A fifth year Hufflepuff had a great headache after a bludger had knocked him off his broom at the last game. In fact it had knocked his jaw off place. Black had claimed it had been an accident and that he hadn't been looking where it went after he hit it, but he wasn't certain he believed it.
Thankfully, it was in a much better condition now, but there was still pain. Lots of it.
According to Madame Pomfrey, he would be fine by the morning, but she hadn't provided him with any sleeping draught. So now he was left staring at the sky, through the window. The moon was almost full.
Behind the curtains next to him, someone was shuffling, letting out little gasps of pain.
"Lemme help, Moony"
"Thanks…"
"Tough night huh?"
He closed his eyes and hoped to sleep.
"Peter said you knocked someone out of their broom" Lupin chastised even through his pain.
"It wasn't on purpose!"
"You need to be more careful, you could have broken his head"
"They equip us with bats and crazy balls. There will be casualties"
A low growl was his reply.
"No, but seriously, I didn't do it on purpose… Did you get up just to give me the disapproving eye? McGonagall offers plenty of this already!"
"No, I got up to visit the restroom. And by chance, give you the disapproving eye"
"Well, I told James to trade places with me for the night, just so I wouldn't have to deal with this. But he just went like 'Oh no, Sirius, I gotta go ruffle my hair and practice flipping it in front of the mirror to impress Lily~'"
"…Did he really say that?"
"Well no. He just said that he wanted to catch up on sleep, since yesterday he snuck to Honeydukes to get you chocolate"
"He didn't have to do that. Neither do I need someone to watch over me every night I am here"
"I didn't see you complaining. These chocolates disappeared faster than Evan's patience when she sees James!"
"… Just help me up"
When they returned, they paused over Hufflepuff's seeker bed.
"Oh, is that him?"
"Yeah. See, he seems fine!"
Lupin approached quietly, getting a better look, then walked away.
"He seems alright. Just be careful, Sirius. Don't hurt anyone else, he was in real pain when they brought him in!"
"Aye aye…"
Lupin was certainly the most considerate from the pack. He appreciated the concern.
"Would you like me to repeat it?"
"If you can…?"
Lupin chuckled, and repeated the wand movement. The two third year Hufflepuff girls stood at each of his sides, trying to mimic the movement he was doing.
"No, no. It is like a square, you are doing a circle" he said politely and gently led the hands of one of the girls "like this. Try again"
Finally after twenty minutes they seemed to have at least gotten the movement. The pronunciation sounded much more simple, so they tried it all together.
Supposedly, that should have turned their platters to mice. It wasn't really working, but one of them had managed to carve the picture of a mouse on the platter.
"It's ok. Don't let it get you down. Transfiguration from non living to living is hard, the opposite is much easier. So give it time"
The girl on the left huffed and crossed her arms, looking at an albino rat, sitting on the boy's shoulder. He had claimed that his friend, James, was better at this, but he had transfigured his animal just fine. Still, he was disappointed that it was a rat and not a mouse. She wouldn't have minded a rat.
The girl on his right tried again, glaring daggers at the platter. It had started to squeak and grow a fur. But it was still obviously a platter.
"You are getting there"
The girl on the right nodded and continued, the left one had turned red from frustration.
"I can't do it!" she declared.
"Be patient, you are gonna get there" he reassured her. One of the two was certainly being patient here "Come on, don't give up. Your house prides its hard work and patience and you need both right now"
"We are last in everything" she hissed, pouting, and drawing more into her crossed posture.
"Hufflepuffs aren't very competitive. So you don't bother to try come first. Just to enjoy yourselves and learn from it"
"Sounds like a cheap excuse"
"I find it humble and admirable" Remus didn't sound patronizing, he smiled softly and spoke his mind with honesty. He would have made a good Hufflepuff thought the two girls.
Finally she unfolded and tried again.
It was late afternoon but both girls had a mouse in their hands by then. One of them was silver without fur and the other was a little flat, but they looked ok.
The girls were pleased and Lupin congratulated them. He seemed tired as he glanced outside. He had found them trying to get this spell right and spent his afternoon there, so he had skipped meal and in a while he would have to head to the Shrieking Shack.
He waved them off and left.
When he woke up from the full moon, there were two chocolate frogs on his night stand at the hospital wing. He assumed the Marauders had passed by.
In the fifth year something went wrong.
It had been Black who did it. The others ostracized him.
No one knew what had happened. Some guessed, some speculated and none of them spoke a word about it. But Severus Snape seemed to hold his tongue with difficulty.
A spell had hit him. It was a tongue-tying spell, within a week after Black was cast aside.
The word monster had been uttered and Snape had been hexed. Lupin had been as surprised as Snape and wondered if someone was under the invisibility cloak, because clearly they had been alone in the hallway. When a seventh year Hufflepuff appeared to suggest the Slytherin to visit the hospital wing for his tongue, Lupin didn't dwell on it.
Snape could have sworn the badgers in school had multiplied. They popped up from everywhere in the weeks that followed. He didn't think much of it.
Nobody thought much of what the badgers did and neither did they think much in return.
For what was worth it, Hufflepuff knew that Remus Lupin was patient, he was generous and considerate. Remus Lupin was a very kind person.
That was all the badgers thought about him.
The Marauders were back together and there was someone at every house who had to hide a smile. The mayhem would return soon enough. Many would welcome it.
~The end~
Thank you for reading