Disclaimer: The characters in this story, at least so far, do not belong to me, and, unforunately, never will. T-T So depressing. And you people better be happy, because this is the second time I've had to write this.

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"Snape snuck into the Shrieking Shack. He knows you're a werewolf."

Those two sentences numbed Remus' whole body. His shoulders slumped, his mind shut down. James, who was sitting next his obscenely clean hospital bed, sat uncomfortably as Remus stared at him.

"How?"

James was shocked out of his own stupor as Remus whispered that word. He looked back to find that Remus was no longer staring at him, but instead at the blinding white sheets covering his bandaged legs.

"Um, well, you see... Sirius, he well, he was in a kinda bad mood last night, as you had seen, and remember how he had left before you had? Well, he had kinda gone to Hogsmeade and gotten his hands on some firewhiskey and got a bit drunk, and well, when he got back he ran into Snape, and well, Snape got him really mad, and... he let it slip."

James, who had been avoiding Remus' gaze throughout the retelling, even though it hadn't been on him, now looked up to find Remus in almost the exact position he had been in before. If he hadn't have known better, James would've thought he was. But he could see the tenseness in Remus' shoulders and his hands now clenched on those stark white bed sheets they both were really starting to hate.

"Remus?" James whispered, reaching out to touch his shoulder, but when Remus felt a hand on his shoulder, he flinched, jerking it away.

One would think that thoughts would be racing through Remus' head, but in fact, it was empty except for one sentence. Unfortunately, it was that one sentence that was tearing him apart.

"'He let it slip'?" Remus asked, finally turning his gaze to his friend again.

James winced. Remus' eyes were so cold and distant and... lifeless. It literally pained him to comfirm the horrible statement that he knew was killing his friend inside. Remus returned his gaze to his covered knees; all but forgetting James was there. After a while, James stood up and left the Hospital Wing, knowing that Remus would want some time alone.

Remus barely registered the fact that James' presence was gone and that the door leading out into the hall had just slammed shut as it always did when he burst into tears, pulling his knees up to his chest. He curled his arms around his legs and settled his head on the little indent between his kneecaps, letting the silent tears stain those now soiled sheets.

Out in the hall, James couldn't hear Remus cry, as Remus never seemed to cry loudly, or do anything too loud for that matter, but that made it all the more deafening.