"Hey James, catch!"
But the warning wasn't heard, and the pillow hit the messy-haired boy straight in the face. Sirius's eyes widened- this was unheard of; James never missed the morning pillow!
"Huh? Wha- oof!" James exclaimed, as the soft object nearly knocked his glasses off. "Oi, Sirius!"
His dormmate was the picture of innocence.
"Hey... is something wrong?" Sirius cautiously asked- James hadn't said or done anything to avenge himself, and his angry expression had already been replaced with the concerned, thoughtful one he had been wearing all morning.
"What? Oh, yes, actually..."
"Well?" Sirius probed, mildly interested.
"I've been thinking... how many sick, dead, or betrothed relatives can Remus have? And why does he always go to see them around the same time every month, not in the weekend like most people would?"
Sirius frowned at this- truth be told, he had wondered about the same thing himself, and very often; but when ever either of the two boys confronted Remus about it, he deflected and changed the subject swiftly.
"You know, I've thought about the same thing..." Sirius said, "Where do you think he's really going?"
"I don't know, I don't know... but I think I have a theory."
Sirius raised a skeptical eyebrow- James Potter has a theory?
"And may I ask what that is?" he inquired, a smile playing on his lips.
"No, you may not, as a matter of fact."
This reply caught Sirius a little off-guard, but he was determined not to let it show.
"Oh? Any why?"
"Because I don't want to tell anybody until I'm sure that I'm right..." James replied, frowning. Sirius was shocked- the dark expression on James's face was... worrying, to say the least. The two of them had been friends since they were very little, and Sirius knew that when James got that look something was very wrong, and something very important.
"Well, okay. But when you do find out, you will tell me, right?"
"Of course!" James replied indignantly, standing up. "I'm going to..." he shuddered, "to the library."
Sirius's jaw dropped- this was just too much to take in.
"Did... did you just say... no, no, I must have miss-heard." he said, eyeing James suspiciously. James grinned, chuckling-
"You heard me- the library." he said, stretching out each syllable. The look on Sirius's face was precious.
"But Sirius- not a word to Remus okay? I don't want to frighten him."
Sirius wasn't quite sure what James meant by 'frighten'- how could their finding something out 'frighten' Remus? But he nodded all the same, smiling slyly-
"Naturally."
Slipping off the Invisibility Cloak, James reached towards the top shelf. Somewhere in the distance Filch's cat yowled, and James quickened his pace. The library's restricted section wasn't the best place to get caught in the middle of the night.
"Wandestry, Wand Curses, Wands of Dark Wizards, WDRA..." he muttered, fingering through the old, tattered books.
"Ah! Here- Werewolves And What You Need To Know." The black-haired boy swiftly grabbed the desired volume, quickly covering himself with his father's cloak, which had gotten the four Marauders out of trouble countless times. James sighed- theMarauders. The four Marauders. There had to be four Marauders. But how would Sirius and Peter react?
"What is it darling? Has my love spotted somebody?"
James stiffened- that was Filch's voice. He ran as quickly and quietly as the cloak and the heavy book in his hands would allow, making a bee-line for the door. But he stopped short- Filch was right in front of him. It was all James could do to not bump into him; they stood, eye to eye- Filch squinted, looking around among the dark, tall shelves. Finally, he seemed satisfied-
"Come on honey, there's nobody here." he said to Ms. Norris- a kitten he had recently acquired, and had gotten very attached to. The small tabby followed him out of the shadowy room, glancing back once- but soon continued on it's path, leaving the restricted section silent.
James breathed a sigh of relief. He waited for a few minutes, to make sure Filch had gone far enough, and left the large room as well- heading towards the Gryffindor common room.
"What?! Our Remus, our quiet, polite, kind Remus, a werewolf?"
"I'm telling you Sirius, it all fits! The disappearances once a month, the way he always looks ill before and after he leaves. And those scars, on his face- I'll willing to bet they aren't his only ones..." James continued, sadness in his eyes.
"But-but but he's... he's so..." Sirius stammered, looking completely shocked.
"I know, I know... here, read this-" James said, handing him the book when Sirius looked as though he was about to protest again. Sirius opened it, scrunching up his nose at the uprise of dust. A small scrap of paper fell from between two pages, the ones which James had read from. Sirius cleared his throat, which was now dry.
"'Chapter Five- How to Identify and K-K-'" He choked, unable to finish his sentence. But, regaining his composure, he sent James a weak, though determined smile and carried on-
"Identify and Kill a Werewolf. To protect yourself from these dark creatures,-'"
James growled.
"'-you must be able to recognize them. Most of the time, werewolves appear as normal as you and me, which is why they are so dangerous and hard to find. The following signs are the basics for finding out a werewolf- one; in the days before the full moon, they will become irritable and moody, prone to violent outbursts if provoked.'"
"Well, I know what that feels like- I reckon my nose will never be the same..." James trailed off, smirking.
Sirius scoffed, and continued reading-
"'Before a full moon, a werewolf will become very sickly, with symptoms such as fever, nausea, irritability, joint pain, muscle pain, skeletal pain, headaches, and overall malaise.'"
"Well, that's pretty much a description of Remus right there!" James laughed.
Sirius smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"James?" he said, quietly, "Do you remember, last month, when we teased him about being so sickly and... and weak?"
James looked down- yes, he did remember.
"Merlin Sirius, imagine what that must have really sounded like to Remus..."
Sirius nodded, guilt swelling inside him and clawing at his chest. He carried on reading.
"'And lastly- a werewolf will have numerous scars and wounds, as the pain from the transformations is such that the wolf will scratch and bite itself, especially if separated from humans. The wounds never completely heal, as they are cursed with lycanthropy.'"
The dorm was filled with silence- both boys were awkwardly staring at their feet, not knowing what to say. Sirius read on, still stubbornly clinging to the hope that they were wrong, that this was all just a misunderstanding...
"'A werewolf will keep it's secret close to it's heart, and would never reveal it to anyone, even at the end of a wand. Warning- werewolves are dark creatures, not to be approached, and not to be included in society for the safety of others. They are dangerous beings, and will kill you whenever a chance is presented.'" Sirius finished, anger now creeping into his voice.
"Dark creatures?"
James and Sirius jumped- Peter had just entered the room, looking very worried and fidgety.
"Peter!" the two boys exclaimed simultaneously, gulping.
"Is it true? Is Remus a... a... a dark creature?" Peter asked quietly, looking at the two boys. Sirius and Peter exchanged a glance, and nodded. Peter gasped-
"We've got to tell Dumbledore," he cried, "we've got to get as far away from it as possible, we've got to kill it, we've got to-" but he was cut off by Sirius, who was up and had his wand pointed at the smaller boys chest in a matter of milliseconds.
"Call Remus an 'it' or a 'dark creature' again, and you won't live to see the next full moon!" he hissed, his voice dangerously low. James stood up, putting a hand on Sirius's shoulder and turning to Peter:
"Are you suggesting that we kill Remus, Peter? Are you suggesting that we kill the boy who has practically done you exams for you, that always stands up for you, that has looked after you, that has-"
"James!" Sirius interrupted. James closed his mouth, but was glaring at Peter in a way that could have made a Dementor drop dead.
"Let him be, James. If he wants to leave the Marauders, he may do so. I wouldn't want to have someone like him here anyway." Sirius said calmly, but he sounded easily as intimidating as James.
"B-but guys, it-"
Sirius growled.
"he's d-dangerous, and ev-vil... we can't be a-around it..." Peter stammered, and James held Sirius back once more-
"SHUT UP!" Sirius roared, "SHUT UP! You're not half the man Remus is, and you never will be! How can you say that about your friend, Peter? How can you call Remus evil? HOW?"
It took all of James's strength and Quidditch-toned muscles to keep Sirius from disemboweling Peter, and he shouted over his friend's furious ranting-
"No Sirius, this wont help- he have to show him!"
At this, Sirius stopped- James was right, they had to prove to Peter that Remus isn't dangerous; if his secret got out, Remus would probably be expelled.
Sirius shook himself free from James, adjusting his robes.
"Fine." he said, "We'll ask Rem about it after the next full moon- when he's not so irritable but wont be up to avoiding us."
James nodded, and both boys looked at Peter- who squeaked out a shaky "okay".
"Good." James said coldly. "If Remus is... dangerous... then when we tell him that we know, he'll try to..." James swallowed, "he'll try to kill us." he finished.
Sirius and Peter nodded- Sirius's face showing determination, Peter's fear.
"So, what now?" James asked.
"Now, we wait. Only three weeks until the next full moon- we'll confront him then. Now, we wait." Sirius repeated, feeling as ready as he would ever be.