Warning: Bit of swearing in this chapter. The boys are 13, so it's going to be picking up from now on.

Chapter Four: Grim Circumstances

The next morning came faster than any of them anticipated, and by the time they had trooped into the Great Hall for breakfast James and Sirius had been complaining for ten minutes about classes starting. They sat down at the table and started piling food on their plate.

"I think we should have a week-long adjustment period," Sirius said. "You know, before classes, to get used to being at school again."

"Only you would need a whole week to get adjusted to school," Remus said, grabbing a piece of toast.

"I beg to differ," James said, motioning down the Gryffindor table. A group of sixth years were slumped over their porridge, exhausted. "Look at them. Those are the faces of true sufferers. We need some time to get adjusted!"

"They're only tired because they were up partying in the common room all night," Remus said. "I woke up in the middle of the night and heard them. It's their own fault they're exhausted."

McGonagall came around with their schedules. When Remus got his he looked down at it, reading through it. When he saw the first class, he groaned.

"Divination first!" James said cheerfully. "And then Defense. This day's going to be great!"

"Define 'great,'" Remus muttered, shoving his schedule into his bag. He had a bad feeling about Divination, but he hadn't said anything to the others because they would just claim that he was already getting 'psychic premonitions'.

Sirius put his fingers to either side of his head and screwed up his face. "Wait, wait- you guys, I see something… it's fuzzy… ah, the spirits have a message for us…" he dropped his hands and nodded. "The spirits say Remus is being a sarcastic little shit and needs to perk up."

Peter and James laughed. Remus rolled his eyes. "You can tell the spirits to shove that message up their-"

"Remy!" James shouted, clapping a hand over Remus's mouth. "There are children around!"

Remus shoved James's hand off his mouth, irritated. Sirius raised his eyebrows. "What's got your panties in a twist? You annoyed you're going to be missing classes on Thursday?"

The first full moon was two nights away, and truthfully Remus was annoyed about it. He would be missing the third day of school, and he hadn't wanted to be out this early in the year. That combined with his rising hormones from the actual change produced a very crabby Remus- not to mention he would be forced to sit through two hours of fortune telling that day.

"Don't worry," James said, "we'll make sure you don't miss anything."

"We don't have the same classes anymore," Remus said.

"Oh, yeah." James frowned. "We'll figure something out."

"We should get going," Peter said. "Class is going to be starting, and I don't know where the Divination room is."

"We'll find it," Sirius said, hopping up and grabbing a final sausage off of the plate. "Come on."

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"We're never going to find it," Sirius moaned, trudging up the stairs.

They had been looking for the Divination tower for fifteen minutes, and they still had no clue where it was.

"Hogwarts needs a map or something," James said. "Like, a map of the whole school. Sirius, put that on our ideas list."

"Done," Sirius said.

Remus frowned. "Okay, do you guys actually have a list?"

Sirius tapped his head. "In here!"

Remus rolled his eyes and turned back to the stairwell. "It has to be around here somewhere…"

"What-ho! Who trespasses on my land?" a tiny voice shouted off to the right.

Sirius frowned at Remus. "Sorry?"

"That wasn't me," said Remus, looking around wildly.

James walked over to a painting hanging on the wall. At first glance it appeared to be nothing but a landscape of a long stretch of grass, but on further inspection they could see a tiny figure in the corner, waving both stubby arms at them. It was a tiny little knight wearing a suit of armor, his face a bright cherry red. A stout gray pony was grazing behind him.

"Hey," James said, "did you say something?"

"Who goes there?" The knight tugged a sword out of his scabbard and waved it in the air, knocking himself off balance so he swayed where he stood. Behind Remus, Sirius's jaw dropped. "I'll make you think twice about trespassing on my land! Draw, I say, draw!"

James glanced back at his friends. "Er- sorry, sir," he said, "we didn't mean to… trespass."

"He's crazy," Sirius whispered to Remus.

"We were just looking for the Divination room. Our schedule says it's in the North Tower?"

"You're on a quest?" the knight asked, his face lighting up. He waddled over to his pony and leaped on. "Brave noblemen, allow Sir Cadogan to be of assistance. Come! We ride!"

He and the horse galloped off. The four friends looked at each other before turning and racing after him as he flew through portrait after portrait, upsetting a group of nuns and a pen full of pigs.

Eventually they reached the end of the stairwell, where a group of students were waiting. They turned curiously as the four boys came to a stop, panting.

"The North Tower!" Sir Cadogan declared.

"Thank you very much," James said, swiping at his forehead with the sleeve of his robe and breathing heavily.

"Anything for fellow adventurers!" Sir Cadogan said, hopping around on his feet. "Be sure to call on Sir Cadogan again if you ever need a brave heart!"

And he ran off, his pony ambling after him.

"Mental," Sirius said, watching him go. "Absolutely mental."

"And helpful," James said, looking around. "Everyone here is in Divination."

"Yes, but where's the classroom?" Remus asked.

There wasn't a door in sight. They joined the group of confused students and chatted for the next few minutes, all of them wondering what they would be learning on the first day of school.

"Class started five minutes ago," Remus said, cross. "What are we waiting for?"

As if in answer to his question, a trapdoor they hadn't previously spotted overhead opened and a silver ladder dropped down. All of them stared at it for a moment.

"Excellent," James said, striding forward and taking hold of it. "Let's go."

He and Sirius led the way up. Remus followed a few people after them, and when he poked his head into the classroom, he raised his eyebrows.

It was like stepping into a noxious cloud of incense and smoke. Remus waved his hand in front of his face to clear the smell as he clambered into the circular room. Candles burned on every spare surface, and in front of him, James and Sirius were already seated in big squashy poofs around a table.

"I'm going to choke in here," Remus said as he joined them.

"I think it's cozy," said James, bouncing up and down in his seat as if to test it.

Peter joined them and they looked around the room as the rest of the class filed in. There were no windows, making the room feel very closed off and claustrophobic. Multicolored scarves were draped everywhere, and in front of each of them was a teacup, all from different sets.

James was craning his neck to look as the last people clambered in.

"If you're looking for Lily, James, she's not coming," Remus said. "She did the smart thing and decided to not take this class."

"What's she taking?" James asked, disappointed.

"I think Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures," Remus said.

James frowned, but anything he was going to say was interrupted by a small "ahem."

They all looked to the front. A woman had appeared out of seemingly thin air, standing in front of the class with her bony hands clasped together in front of her. She reminded Remus of a praying mantis; tall and skinny, she looked out at all of them with wide brown eyes, as though she was sizing them up. She had tied a tie-dye scarf around her forehead and was dressed in the most ridiculous purple robes Remus had ever seen.

"Hello," she said, her voice soft and flowy, "welcome to Divination. My name is Professor Romanie, and I'll be leading you through this journey of time and spirit."

Remus shut his eyes, feeling a bit woozy because of the strong, musky scent. He immediately hated this class.

"Today we'll be starting with the basics." Professor Romanie swept over to her front desk, exaggerating her movements so her robes drifted from side to side with each move. "The art of reading tea leaves.

"Of course, if you do not already possess the gift of the Sight, I'm afraid there is very little I will be able to teach you. Today I will observe and assess your natural talents for this fine and noble art."

Remus snorted. James glared at him.

Professor Romanie walked around with a teapot, pouring cups of steaming tea for them and instructing them to drink until all that's left is the tea leaves. As she walked, she threw out passing comments and warnings to students.

"Watch over your trunk closely this week, dear," she told a startled Gryffindor girl. "And you, expect an owl by the end of the month bearing grave news."

When she reached their table, she grabbed James's cup and began to pour. "You," she said to Peter. Peter went white with fright. "Your parents. Are they well?"

"Y-yes?" Peter squeaked.

"Hmm," is all she said. She set down James's full cup and picked up Remus's, turning her wide eyes onto him.

"Remus Lupin," she murmured, "I've been expecting to see you in my class for years."

Remus blinked, startled. "Oh?"

"Yes," she said, steam rising into her face as she poured his tea. "Yes, I know much about you. Keep a sharp eye on your friends, dear, in the upcoming year."

She spun around and floated over to the next table. All four of them watched her go, eyebrows raised.

"She knew your name," Peter whispered, looking awe-struck.

"Of course she knew my name," Remus said, squinting down into his cup. He gave it a sniff, the perfumed drink making him recoil. "Yuck, I hate floral tea. Dumbledore told all the teachers about me. I'll bet she's going to be using that against me all year." He grinned at his friends. "I suppose I'd better 'keep a sharp eye' on you guys, though. What, are you hiding something?"

They all laughed, but when Remus was occupied Sirius glanced at James. Last night they had discussed their plans for sneaking into the library and nicking all the books on Animagi so they could begin training. They had penciled out what they were planning to do over the summer whenever Remus had been busy, and they were ready to start cracking down on it during the next full moon.

They all gulped down the tea and swirled their cup around, staring down at the tea leaves. They began consulting their book to find out what the goop meant.

"Mine's just a blob," Sirius said, studying his. "D'you reckon I'm gonna grow a third arm or something?"

"I've got a tree-like thing," Remus said, flipping through his book. "Oh, here- apparently I'm going to be spending a lot of time in nature in the upcoming year. Great."

"Mine's kinda like a hand," James said, twisting his cup to see it from a different angle. "What does that mean?"

"Hand…" Remus said, looking through his book. "Hands mean you're going to be constructing something soon."

James scoffed. "Boring! I wanted something cool, like a death omen."

"You want a death omen?" asked Sirius.

"Yeah, it'd make things interesting! Remus, what's the symbol for death?"

"The Grim," Remus said. "It's not in our textbook, but I read about it in the History of Divination. It's shaped like a dog."

James looked back into his cup. "Do you think this could pass as a dog?"

Sirius glanced at it. "No."

"Hmm." James glanced over his shoulder to make sure Professor Romanie wasn't looking, then stuck his finger into the cup and started pushing the tea leaves around. After a moment he looked down into it and grinned. "There! Dog?"

"It looks like the picture I saw in the book," Remus said, a smile growing on his face as he realized what James was about to do.

"Perfect." He turned in his seat and his hand shot into the air, waving it around wildly. "Professor Romanie! Professor Romanie! What does mine mean?"

Professor Romanie turned around, a look of exaggerated surprise on her face. She swept over to James and plucked the cup out of his hand. "Well, let me see, dear…" she frowned down into it. Her eyes widened, and she let out a large gasp that made the class fall silent.

"Oh, my dear…" she said, shaking her head at the cup. "My dear, my dear…"

"What is it, Professor?" James asked, looking at her with wide, innocent eyes.

Professor Romanie pressed a hand to her heart, still shaking her head. "I shouldn't… no, it's best… but you must know…" She turned to James. "My dear… you have the Grim."

The class broke into whispers. "Isn't that the symbol for death?" Remus asked.

Professor Romanie nodded gravely. "Oh, yes, almost certainly…"

"I'm going to die?" James asked, fear painted onto his face.

"The Grim could mean many things," said Professor Romanie, looking at him sadly. "There should be no need to worry, dear… but it would be wise to be cautious, very cautious, in the upcoming months… oh, the Grim…"

She walked away, still shaking her head. The rest of the class was staring at James, horrified. His friends were impressed with his acting. He had just the right amount of fear on his face, and was staring down at his cup with wide eyes.

"What a load of poppycock," James whispered to his friends, turning back around. "This class is going to be easier than I thought."

"Did you see her face?" Sirius snickered. "She loved that."

"Got to make the first class interesting," James said with a grin. "Watch what I do next."

About five minutes later, as Professor Romanie was analyzing the cups of the last table, James started coughing. It was small, at first, and his friends shot him confused expressions. Then it got louder and louder, until everyone at the tables around them looked at him.

James stood up, doubled over with coughs, and dropped his teacup to the ground. Now he had the entire class as an audience, and took advantage of it, grabbing at his neck and gagging. His face was turning red, although Remus suspected it was from trying not to laugh.

"Sirius- Sirius-" he choked, his hand flapping towards Sirius.

Sirius stood and grabbed his hand, an imploring look on his face. "What is it, James? What is it?"

"The- Grim-" James said. "It's coming, I can sense it, I can see it in my mind's eye-"

"Oh, no!" Sirius wailed. "No, James, don't look at it! You're too young!"

"I can't, it's coming!" James swooned and landed in Sirius's outstretched arms, his hand thrown across his forehead dramatically. Still seated at the table, Remus rolled his eyes at the theatrics.

"Oh, my dear!" cried Professor Romanie, flying over. The rest of the class was standing, looking scared. "Are you alright?"

"He's seen the Grim, Professor!" said Sirius. "Please, can you foresee the future? Will he make it?"

Professor Romanie shut her eyes. "The future looks grave, my dear, very grave. Get him to Madam Pomfrey, quickly!" She collapsed into a pouf, looking exhausted. "Oh, I foresee a dark future if you don't hurry!"

"James, we need to go!" Sirius said, shaking James. James remained where he was, limp in his arms. Sirius's eyes narrowed. "I said, we need to go!"

"Can't- move-" James said, his voice weak. "Carry- me-"

"You're bloody kidding me," Sirius muttered so no one else would hear, "I'm not carrying you."

"The light!" James suddenly wailed, thrashing his legs. "Oh, the light-"

"Fine!" Sirius lifted James, straining under the weight of him. James flopped back, his tongue sticking out of his mouth.

"Wait-" he said as Sirius took a step towards the trap door. He reached back towards Peter and Remus, who were still sitting. "My- friends- need them- with me-"

"Yes, yes, go," said Professor Romanie. "Hurry!"

Remus and Peter hurried to their feet, grabbing all of their things. Together they helped James to the trapdoor and climbed down to help lower him down. James moaned every once in a while, his foot twitching, and the entire class watched fearfully as he disappeared down the trapdoor.

When they reached the bottom, they helped carry James down the stairs. As soon as they knew they were out of sight Sirius dropped James and he crashed to the floor with a muffled "Ouch!"

"I can't believe you made me carry you," Sirius said as James sat up, rubbing his head.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" James said, grinning up at them as he fixed his glasses. "Now we've got the rest of the block free!"

"Could you be any more over-dramatic?" Remus asked, helping James to his feet. Normally he would be annoyed at them skipping classes, but he was so relieved to be breathing fresh air again he decided to let this one slide.

"Is that a challenge?"

Sirius suddenly burst into laughter. "Did you see her face?" he asked. "'I foresee dark things, very dark things'- I can't believe that actually worked!"

James doubled over with laughter. "That's it, we're doing that every class. I foresee a lot of Grims in the future…"

They were still laughing as they walked through the empty corridors. All the other students would be in class for the next hour, leaving them free to do whatever they wanted.

"Let's go to the kitchens!" James said. "Or we could head down to the lake?"

"Probably the kitchens," Remus said. "If we go anywhere else we'll get caught."

"Us? Caught?" James scoffed. "There's no one here, who's going to catch us?"

"Who indeed?"

All four of them stopped. They slowly turned around to find Professor McGonagall standing there, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed.

Remus felt his breath catch like it always did when he was in trouble. He hated it so much, yet he always found himself in it because of his friends.

Sirius was the first to snap out of his shock. He smiled. "Professor McGonagall!" he said. "You look lovely today. Did you get a new haircut over the summer?"

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "What are you four doing out of class?"

"Well, we were in Divination, Professor," Sirius said, "and we were looking at our tea leaves and James got some omen that's supposed to be really bad. Professor Romanie told us it was some sort of a death omen, and James got really freaked out. I don't know if you've been in that classroom, but it's covered in incense, it's really quite claustrophobic, so that combined with the newfound knowledge that he's supposed to die soon made James here a bit woozy. Professor Romanie told us that we could take him outside for some fresh air."

McGonagall looked at James, who put on a pained expression and swayed slightly where he stood. Remus grabbed his arm to mime support.

"I don't suppose you got the Grim?" McGonagall asked him.

James screwed up his face and nodded. "Yes, Professor. Professor Romanie said I'm going to die."

McGonagall snorted. "You have nothing to worry about, Potter. Professor Romanie predicts a student's death every semester; no, you have nothing to worry about."

James frowned. "If you say so, Professor."

"Now, take him outside, get some fresh air, and head back to class," McGonagall said. "No dawdling."

"Of course, Professor," Sirius said, putting an arm around James's shoulders. "Thank you. Come on, James."

They turned and slowly shuffled down the hall. McGonagall watched them go, and when they rounded the corner she stepped back into her classroom.

When they had gone around the corner James collapsed onto the ground, holding his stomach and laughing. Remus leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

"You just lied to McGonagall," he said, still in shock.

"Yes, and it was a rather good lie, if I do say so myself," Sirius said, proud of himself. He tossed his hair back with a grin.

"That was brilliant!" said James. "Merlin, I thought we were going to get detention."

"You just lied to McGonagall," repeated Remus, running a hand through his hair.

"I think Remus might actually need that fresh air," James said, getting to his feet. "You alright there, Remy?"

"Get used to lying," Sirius said, "because we are getting into our pranks this year, guys. The last two years were just warm-ups for this one."

James high-fived him. Remus took a deep breath. This was going to be a stressful year.

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They spent the rest of the block outside, messing around. When it was time to head to Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were in great spirits.

"Can't wait to see how this teacher mucks up the class," Sirius said as they sat down at their desks in the Defense classroom.

"Try to be positive, Sirius," Remus said. "I'm sure he's going to be just fine."

"Has to be an improvement from last year, right?" James asked.

"True," said Sirius.

They had class with the Slytherins, much to Sirius's disgust. Lily walked in with Severus; the two were talking about something. James pursed his lips as they passed, obviously irritated.

"Why?" he asked. "Why does she hang out with him?"

"If you don't stop asking yourself that your head's gonna explode, mate," Sirius said.

Remus pulled out his textbook and a piece of parchment, getting them set up on his desk. Then he waited as the rest of the class came in and sat down in their seats.

The moment that class started, the door flew open. The tall, stoic teacher that Remus had seen at the feast last night strode in. The class went silent as he marched to the front and turned to face them, his thick eyebrows raised.

"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts," he said. His voice was loud and resounded around the tiny classroom. "My name is Professor Baines. Say 'here' when I call your name."

He picked up a list and started reading out their names in alphabetical order. When Sirius's name was called he waved cheerfully, but Professor Baines didn't even look at him. He moved steadily through the list before pausing for the first time at one name.

"Lupin?"

"Here," said Remus.

Professor Baines looked up and fixed him in a stare. Remus stared back at him, startled, and breathed a sigh of relief when he looked back down at the list.

"Potter?"

"Ahoy!" James said with a grin.

Professor Baines stopped. He looked up at James, who was still smiling. "Excuse me?"

"I said ahoy," James said, oblivious to the fearful looks he was getting from his classmates. "It's sailor talk for hello."

"Did I ask you to say hello?" Professor Baines said, his jaw set.

James blinked. "Well, no, but-"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor," barked Professor Baines. "When I give you instructions I expect them to be followed the first time. That goes for all of you."

James stared at him, taken aback. When Professor Baines went back to his list, he muttered, "Touchy," to Sirius and Remus.

Remus frowned at the new professor. He was getting a bad feeling about this class.

As soon as Professor Baines had finished with roll, he set down the paper and stared out at them. There was an awkward silence where no one quite knew what to do. Remus glanced at Sirius, who shrugged.

"Lupin," Professor Baines barked. Remus jumped a little and looked up at him to find him glaring at him. "What do you know about Boggarts?"

"Boggarts?" Remus asked blankly.

"That's what I said," Professor Baines sneered. "What, are you deaf?"

Remus flushed. "No, sorry, um- boggarts are shape-shifting creatures that take on the worst fear of whoever's viewing them?" It came out as a question, because he wasn't really sure what was going on. He hadn't expected to be tested like this the first day.

"And?" Professor Baines demanded.

Remus's palms were sweaty. He knew the entire class was looking at him. "Well, it's best to face a Boggart with multiple people because then it can't decide on a form to take."

"And?"

Sirius and James were frowning. Remus was fishing for another fact about Boggarts, which was tough as he'd only ever read brief passages about them. They had never studied them before.

"They hide in dark, confined spaces?" his voice was shaking by now. He hated being put on the spot.

Professor Baines snorted. "Obvious. And?"

"We haven't learned about them, Professor," Sirius said, unable to take it any longer.

Professor Baines turned to him with a glare. "Was I asking you, Black? Five points from Gryffindor for interrupting. And another ten for incompetence, Lupin. When I accepted this job I assumed my students would have learned a thing or two by now."

Remus ducked his head, his cheeks bright red. Sirius was glaring at Professor Baines, and James just looked confused and a little worried.

"Turn to page fourteen in your book and begin reading," Professor Baines said, sitting at his desk. "I hope you will all learn faster than Lupin."

Remus swallowed heavily. Now James was glaring at Professor Baines, and across the room Remus saw Lily trying to meet his eyes. Remus ignored her and opened his book, burying his face in it.

The rest of the class was a nightmare for Remus. They spent most of it reading silently, and even though it wasn't that long of a section Professor Baines seemed oblivious to the fact that they were all finished, so they were forced to sit there silently and wait. Everyone was too nervous to speak up.

Finally, Professor Baines got to his feet and started quizzing them. He didn't address Remus, to his relief, but made other students answer, putting them on the spot and grilling them on the reading. When he was pleased with their responses, he turned back to Remus.

"There, Lupin. I hope you picked up a thing or two."

Remus had to force himself to speak. "Yes, sir."

"Your homework for tonight is a ten inch essay on boggarts," Professor Baines announced. No one dared to groan, but they all shot each other looks.

There were only a few minutes left of class. Professor Baines spent it quizzing them. He seemed to enjoy putting students on the spot.

"Potter, tell me about merfolk."

"Evans, bandicoots."

"Haze, flesh-eating slugs."

And finally, "Lupin, what do you know about werewolves?"

Remus looked up. Class was about to end, and he had just breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't going to get picked on again. Now he felt his blood run cold.

"Well?" Professor Baines pushed. The corners of his lips were lifted slightly into a smile.

"I don't know much about werewolves, sir," Remus said quietly. "We haven't studied them."

"That's something we'll be fixing," Professor Baines said. "I plan to devote a large unit of lessons to werewolves. How to identify, protect yourselves from, and kill them, if the need arises. One can never be too cautious around them."

Remus stared at him. The inside of his mouth was dry.

"Class dismissed," Professor Baines said, turning away.

Everyone leaped up, shoved their things in their bags, and practically ran out of the classroom. Remus was the first out the door, scooping his things into his arms and sprinting out of their before his friends could say anything.

Sirius and James glared at Professor Baines on the way out. In the hall, they looked around, but couldn't spot Remus anywhere. "Remus?" they called.

"He ran off," said James, peering over the crowd.

"That prick!" said Sirius, glaring at the Defense classroom. "What was that all about? He was way too hard on him!"

"Come on, maybe Remus is in the Great Hall already," James said, pulling Sirius and Peter after him.

But Remus didn't show up to lunch, and they didn't see him that afternoon because Sirius, James, and Peter had Muggle studies while Remus was in Arithmancy. Then they had to wait another few hours because he had Ancient Runes after that, and by the time he was finished it was dinner time. They waited for him in the Great Hall, and realized halfway through that he wasn't coming.

"Right, then," Sirius said, grabbing an empty plate and loading it with chicken and vegetables. "Let's head up to the dorm and see if he's there."

They marched out of the hall, carrying the plate of food, and headed through the empty corridors up to the common room. They didn't bother knocking on their bedroom door and walked in to find Remus on his bed, reading a book.

He looked up when they came in, his face blank. "Why aren't you guys at dinner?"

"Because you haven't eaten all day," Sirius said, shoving the plate of food at him. "Where've you been?"

"Class." Remus set the plate on his bedside table and went back to his book. "Now, if you could leave me alone, I'm trying to study."

James grabbed the book out of his hands. Remus stared at his lap, not bothering to get annoyed.

"Don't let that stupid professor get to you," Sirius said, plopping down on Remus's bed. "He just had a bad day and decided to take it out on us."

"On me," Remus muttered.

"He identified you as the smart one," James said. "Teachers always try and test the smart ones first."

"No, he identified me as the werewolf," Remus snapped. "Dumbledore told him I'm a werewolf and now he's going to treat me like this for the rest of the year."

His friends stared at him, shocked, as he lifted his covers and ducked under them, unable to meet their eyes.

"Remus-"

"Don't try and make me feel better, James, you know it's true," Remus said in a muffled voice. Under the covers, he buried his face in his hands. "He's going to make sure everyone finds out I'm a monster."

Sirius narrowed his eyes and reached out to grab the covers. He jerked them sharply off of Remus, who looked up at him in surprise. "Remus Lupin," he said, "you are not a monster. Say it with me: I'm not a monster."

Remus turned and stared at the wall.

"Remus…" Sirius warned.

"I'm not a monster," Remus muttered.

"Good. Now then, no one's going to know anything because you're going to go to Professor Dumbledore and tell him what's going on," Sirius said.

"No, I'm not," Remus said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the headboard.

"Why not?" asked James. "He'll probably fire him."

"I don't want to cause any more trouble than I have to," said Remus. "I'm not going to Professor Dumbledore."

"Then we are!" said Sirius.

Remus rolled his eyes. "No, you're not, because then you'd have to tell him that you know I'm a werewolf, and then I'd probably be kicked out of the school because I wasn't supposed to tell anyone."

Sirius frowned and looked at James, trying to find a loophole.

"We don't need to tell Dumbledore," James said, "because we're going to protect you, Remus."

Remus looked at him doubtfully. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," said Sirius, catching on. "We'll stick up for you in class, disrupt things if bitch-face Baines- I like that one, don't you?- gets any funny ideas, the works. He's not going to be able to pick on you."

"You'll get in trouble," said Remus, sitting up.

"We don't care," James said. "All in favor of launching the Remus Protection Program say 'aye!'"

"Aye!" chorused Sirius, James, and Peter.

Remus stared at them, a small smile on his face. "Guys…"

"No arguments," Sirius said, "just eating." He grabbed the plate of food and shoved it at Remus, who sighed and picked up the fork.

"Thanks," he said quietly. "You guys are good friends."

"I know we are," James said, getting to his feet. "Now who wants to play Gobstones? My dad gave me a new set before we left."

A/N: I hate Professor Baines already, but he's going to be fun to work with. Ah, the struggles of writing.

Thanks for all the great reviews on all three of my stories. Please leave one and tell me what you think! I appreciate each and every one of you, especially those of you who leave a review every chapter. Even if I don't have the time to respond, my face lights up when I see familiar usernames, and it really does make my day.

Thanks for reading!

-Kayla