Title: Hatred
Summary: James Potter hated him with every fiber of his being. That slimy git had ruined the Marauders. They just weren't the same anymore. And he wanted to hate him for it, ruin him...so why was it so hard?
Just a Note: I don't have much to say... First Harry Potter fic on this account. Really just a drabble... I hope you enjoy it, though! It's a bit different from the usual stuff I write, the style is odd, but seeing as I haven't really posted anything yet and the only posted fic I have is a RENT one that is also not in my usual style, I guess you don't have a good view of that... Anyhow, enjoy! I'd love feedback!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter! Though I wish I owned Remus Lupin...
The first time I saw him, I hated him. I hated him with every bone in my body, every cell of flesh. My blood boiled when I saw his black hair, his over confident smile, his mother who thought she was better than anyone else, a Slytherin. I hated her.
I hated him every time we landed in detention together. I hated how he handled it with ease, how his parents didn't scold him and send Howlers because he got in trouble. I hated it.
I hated how he was a risk to my friend's secret, to his happiness. I hated how he went and ruined it all, ruined the privacy that he had enjoyed for years. How he might be the reason that he could no longer have that peace, that Remus might walk down the halls of school one day to receive scowls and taunts and hatred for just being who he was.
"I hate him," I voiced several times in the common room. My friends all shook their heads and tuned me out, but I persisted. "I hate him."
"We know you hate him," Peter said, exasperated. "Can you be quiet now?"
"But I hate him." I paused, unsure suddenly. Did I hate him? Or was I just angry? "Right?"
Remus looked up from his book. I almost forgot he had been sitting there. He had always been quieter than the rest of us, but ever since the incident, he had gone invisible. I suppose he figured that if he disappeared into the background, if the secret ever got out, he could continue acting so. But we all knew he wouldn't be able to.
He bit his lip, thinking just as silently as he had been sitting before. "I don't think you could ever hate Sirius."
I bit my lip and looked him in the eye. He held up a good front – he was an excellent actor. His face was masked, expressions guarded. "Do you hate him?" I asked.
Remus didn't answer at first. He frowned as he contemplated an answer. He did that a lot now. He never spoke without first thinking about his words. When I wasn't ranting about Black, I was trying to snap him out of this funk.
"No," he finally replied. "He made a mistake, but we all do… don't we?"
I hated him. I hated Sirius Black.
But if I hated him, then I'd have to hate myself. Because we were one in the same, brothers separated at birth, practically. Because we were rarely seen without the other. Because we did everything together.
And these weeks with Padfoot had been the worst ever. The Marauders weren't the same without him. We were falling apart. Peter was hanging out with other people, Remus wasn't hanging out with anyone at all…
Sirius had made the mistake of telling Snape. But me… I had made the mistake of dropping him, of… of hating him.
Did I hate my best friend?
No. I couldn't.
Thanks for reading! Again, feedback is awesome, I'd really like to hear what you liked and what you didn't, what hit you and what just missed the mark, etc. What did you think of the twist, in particular? I wrote it, intending for it be Snape, but sort of changed my mind halfway through and figured a nice twist might be cool. Do you think it was well done or weak? Honestly, please!
