Hi again!

I'll make the chapters shorter from now on, so that I can update more frequently.

Hope you enjoy this chapter; we're getting closer to the big reveal, so bear with me XD

Please let me know what you think. Reviews are GREATLY appreciated :D

Enjoy!

Remus's head was spinning and his body was hurting. Yesterday's full moon had been bad.

It was only January, yet this had been the second full moon of the year. The first full moon had been New Year's Eve, so there hadn't been much celebration for him - or for his parents for that matter – but at least he had been able to transform at home in the familiar surroundings and he hadn't been too beat up afterwards.

Here, back at Hogwarts, he seemed to be more violent during the full moons, at least he always woke up with bigger and more severe wounds than he was used to. Already during his second full moon at Hogwarts he had acquired a new scar to his face, it was only a short cut, but it went over the bridge of his nose, which was impossible to hide. He had had a hard time explaining it to his friends, who weren't at all satisfied with the explanation about an angry pixie.

This full moon luckily hadn't been too bad, except for a broken leg – which Madame Pomfrey more or less healed very quickly - and the usual minor cuts, but nothing major. It was Monday morning and he wasn't exactly happy about missing an entire day of classes, but it was necessary for him to rest up for a bit to regain some colour to his face and heal the small cuts.

Remus had told the others that his mother was ill and that she sometimes got worse very suddenly, so he would sometimes have to go home during the school days. He had been using this lie the last couple of full moons. He felt bad for lying and for the sympathy that the others showed him, but he reminded himself that it was for the greater good.

Remus stayed in the hospital wing until noon. The class schedule told him that the others was having Potions, feeling no urge to attend the last 10 minutes of Potions with a glaring teacher, Remus set off towards Gryffindor Tower.

As he walked past the corridor leading to the staircase to the dungeons, he almost bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorr…" he began.

"Remus!" A familiar voice exclaimed. Remus looked up surprised and scared.

"James and… oh my… Peter! Are you alright?

Peter was leaning heavily on James's shoulder, his face and hands were covered in red burn-like marks.

"I'm fine," Peter said.

"He just messed up his Boil Cure potion and ended up getting boiled. Madame Pomfrey will fix him right up." James agreed, before looking at Remus weirdly, "Wait. Why were you at the hospital wing?"

"Um…" Remus strained his mind to come up with an excuse, "I had a cold."

"A cold?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to get rid of it, before it got worse." Remus shrugged, hoping he sounded believable. "Now shouldn't you get Peter to Madame Pomfrey? Do you want me to come with you?"

"Nah, that's fine."

Remus nodded, "ok, see you later then." Remus continued down the corridor, while James and Peter looked after him.

"That was weird, wasn't it?" James asked after Remus was out of earshot. He was still looking after him and had realized that Remus was walking with a slight limp.

"Why?" Peter asked confused.

James glanced after Remus again, before he and Peter continued towards the hospital wing.

"You know Remus. He wouldn't miss classes for anything – especially not some beginning cold. And, he was limping."

"I think that you're overthinking again. I mean, why would he lie?" Peter asked as he looked over his shoulder to see if James was right about the limp, but Remus was already gone.

"I don't know."

It only took Madame Pomfrey a minute to find a cure for the boils. After Peter drank it, the marks on his face and hands disappeared within the next minute.

The two of them was walking back to the Gryffindor Tower afterwards. James was still going on about Remus's strange behaviour, while Peter tried to change the subject.

James just couldn't seem to make sense of it all. The last 6 month, Remus had disappeared once a month or so. He always looked sick and depressed the days before and after he left and he sometimes came back with a limp like today. The first month of Hogwarts he even came back with a cut across his nose bridge, he had told them some implausible tale of an angry Pixie, which had scratched him while he was home.

James just didn't get it. There must be an explanation.

When James and Peter came back to their dorm, Remus was reading on his bed as usual.

"Hi," He said, as he looked up, when they came in, "Feeling better, Peter?"

"Yeah, much. Thanks." Peter nodded, as he went back to his own bed.

"How was your mother, Remus?" James asked.

"She was better by the time I got there." Remus quickly busied himself with the task of reading.

"That's good." James sensed that Remus wasn't exactly in a talkative mood, so he decided to let him be. They had a Charms assignment due tomorrow and neither James, Sirius nor Peter had begun yet, so he decided to get started on that.

Peter also followed his example and took out the charms book and a piece of parchment.

"Ugh, this is so hard." James whined after only 5 minutes, "Remus couldn't I read yours quickly?"

"You could have begun sooner." Remus scolded, "I'll proofread it when you're done, but I don't want to help you cheat like the last 57 times."

"Could you proofread mine too then?" Peter asked.

"Sure." Remus nodded. "I think I'll quickly change into Hogwarts robes." Remus said, he was still wearing his 'muggle-clothes'.

Remus opened his trunk and pulled out his robes, before he closed the curtains around his bed.

A few seconds later the door was slung open and a very displeased Sirius stepped inside.

"Next time I'll be the one to follow Peter to the Hospital Wing, and then you can stay and have potions alone." Sirius looked at James.

"Next time?" Peter asked confused.

"Oh, are you making the Charms assignment?" Sirius looked over James's shoulder at the assignment he was working on. "Not a very good one I see." He commented sarcastically

James aimed a blow at him, but Sirius dodged with a grin.

"Not to worry, we'll just borrow Remus's, right?" Sirius suggested, and before anyone had time to say anything, Sirius had ripped open the curtain to Remus's bed.

James and Peter couldn't see Remus, but judging from his yelp and Sirius stiff posture and shocked expression, they knew that something was wrong.

"Sirius!" Remus sounded accusing and almost scared for some reason, as the curtain was shut again most likely by Remus.

"What's wrong?" James looked curiously and confused at Sirius, who was still staring dumbfounded at the curtain, "Did you see him naked or something?" He grinned.

"No… I… Remus, are you… alright?" Sirius stuttered sounding very worried, when Remus didn't reply, he continued, "Where… How did you get all… all those…"

Before Sirius was able to finish, Remus suddenly opened the curtain fully dressed and brushed past Sirius towards the door.

"I'm going to the library." He informed them quickly, before rushing out through the door.

"Remus, wait!" Sirius called after him, just as the door shut.

Sirius looked like he wanted to follow him, but he just stayed frozen in place.

"What did you see!" James asked impatiently.

"He… he was covered in scars!" Sirius said horrified.

"What?!" Peter exclaimed, looking at Sirius wide-eyed.

"Ha, I told you guys that something was wrong!" James looked at both of the others with a triumphant look on his face.

"James!" Sirius almost sounded angry, "Focus."

"Right, sorry. What do you reckon has happened to him?"

"I dunno. It looked pretty serious. I wonder why he hasn't gotten them removed by Madam Pomfrey or something." Sirius mused, "Guess he doesn't want to explain how he got them – however that is."

"He was at the Hospital Wing today." Peter said, "we ran into him on our way there."

"Really? Do you think Pomfrey knows what's wrong?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Nah, wouldn't she have healed him then?" James put in.

"Maybe he also got them from the potion accident he had when he was little." Peter suggested.

"Maybe," James said thoughtfully.

"I don't think so guys." Sirius said, as he sat down on his bed with a hand holding up his head, "He was covered, as in COVERED, in scars, chest, stomach, shoulders, besides… some of the cuts were fresh…"

"Seriously!" James exclaimed, now growing really worried, "You don't think… he cuts himself… do you?"

"No! I can't believe he would do that." Peter said firmly not leaving room for arguments.

"Then who…"

"Maybe… ok this is just a thought, but doesn't he always look sick and sad before he leaves to visit his 'sick' mother? And doesn't he always look even more sick and hurt when he comes back?"

"You don't think…" James trailed off.

"What?" Peter asked blankly.

"Maybe… It's his parents!"

The three boys looked towards the door with worried expressions.

"You think so?" Peter asked confused, "But why? And why does he keep visiting them every month then?"

"I have no idea." Sirius said.

"We don't KNOW anything yet. We can only guess. Let's not mention what just happened again and then just watch him for a while." James suggested.

"Why don't we just ask him?" Peter questioned.

"If he wanted us to know he'd have told us, besides judging by the way he ran off, he probably don't want us to know anything."

Thanks for reading, I'll update asap.

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