"Peter, get in and close the door already."
"Sorry, James."
There had to be a meeting, James had decided it. He had figured it all out, the prolonged absences, and the fact that somehow, Remus had missed two Quidditch matches in two months. Both of which, had been held around the same time.
"Why are we here, James?"
"Peter," James snapped, glaring at him. "Did you bring the calendar like I asked? Please say you did."
"I'm not stupid," Peter snaps right back, throwing the battered desk calendar at James. Sirius shakes his head, exasperated.
"Can we start this?" he asks, flopping down on one of the cushions on the floor. They were in the Room of Requirement, as James had requested in the notes he had passed them all in Defense. He'd explained to Sirius later; that Remus' note had the wrong time written, for reasons James had promised to tell him.
And here they were.
"What is it, James dearest?"
"Shut up, this is serious."
"So am I."
"Sirius, stop arguing with James already."
"Whatever. Go ahead, sir."
"I've figured it out." James announced, standing proudly with his hands on his hips. Sirius thinks he looks rather strange, and it seems Peter agrees with him.
"What have you figured out?"
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Sirius." James sits down between Peter and Sirius, holding the calendar in his hands. With a quick wave of his wand, the pages flicked backwards to September, the twelfth glowing faintly gold.
He turned the pages, showing the same glow on October twelve, and then again on November ten. Sirius looked up at Peter, who stared back at him, the same dumbfounded expression that Sirius was sure he was wearing at the same time.
"James," Peter starts softly. "What are we meant to be noticing about the calendar?"
"Every day that was glowing was a day that Remus wasn't at school at all." James whispered, voice cracking slightly. "And the night before that was the full moon."
"What are you suggesting here?" Sirius growled, snatching the calendar and throwing it across the room. Peter looked at his hands.
"Fucking hell, Sirius!" James yelled, getting to his feet, Peter and Sirius following suit not long after. "Don't you get it? The scars, the 'visits' to his mother every month?"
"Shut it, James. Remus isn't a werewolf." Sirius shoved James' shoulder hard, before Peter stood between them, arms spread out.
"Guys, quit it!" He whimpered for a moment at James' murderous look, before continuing. "Who cares if Remus is a werewolf? We won't know for sure unless we ask him."
Sirius and James looked at their feet, and Peter cautiously lowered his hands.
"I don't care." He announced. "Remus can be a werewolf. He's still the one who helps me with my charms essays."
Sirius nodded. "We need to ask him... to make sure." James sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more.
"Either way, I told him to meet us here at nine. It's almost time for him to show up – he's not late for anything."
"But I am, however, early a lot."
All three heads spun to look to the doorway, where a pale Remus Lupin now stood. Sirius thought he was shaking slightly, holding onto the shelf by the door for support.
"Who figured it out?" he whispered, refusing to look at any of them. Sirius waved his hand forward, urging James onward. James looked down for a moment, before coughing into his hand.
"I did. It wasn't hard, after that defense lesson. I just marked whenever you were away and—"
"That's enough."
Remus was standing a few meters away from Sirius now, and if he left it would be the end of everything, even if Sirius' didn't exactly know what everything was yet. He made a move to step forwards, but Peter glared him down.
"Remus," James started, but Remus held a hand up.
"Do you want me to leave the dorm?" He asked, looking at the floor. "I can understand if you don't want me to—"
"Oh, Merlin." Sirius shook his head. "Remus, you bloody prat. We don't care. We'll find a way to help with this."
"Yeah!" Peter agreed, James nodding enthusiastically. Remus looked up at each of them, seeming to grow smaller in the space of the room. He scratched the back of his neck, thinking.
"You honestly don't care that you share a room with a slavering beast." Remus stated, not bothering to voice his comment as a question, like it was an important fact.
James walked forward and placed an arm around Remus' shoulders. "Once a month, you turn into some inhuman dog. It's no different than most girls in our year, mate, except their beast lasts for a week."
Remus laughed, Sirius and Peter walked over and stood around him, and for one simple moment, nothing would ever be able to hurt them.
