Two weeks into the semester, Remus was definitely glad to be done with the package business. Hunting down Dumbledore was a task he never wanted to repeat if he didn't have to.

Currently, he sat toward the front of the History of Magic classroom with his face in his hands. The ghostly Professor Binns stood almost in front of Remus, lecturing about how wizards and witches used to learn before school buildings were established. Something about nomads wandering the British Isles, looking for those with similar talents. Real interesting stuff. Or, at least, it might have been in anyone else's competent hands. Because as callous as it sounded, the last thing Remus wanted to do right then was listen to Binns drone on about things only the ghost cared about.

The boy blinked.

The full moon was close. Within the next week, in fact. Fatigue, pallor, and worse, increased aggression or agitation. He didn't need a moon chart to tell him that. He shifted to a more comfortable position and pointedly looked to the front of the room, trying to ignore the weird looks his classmates gave him. If he didn't, he would probably end up punching one of them in the face. He'd done it to his dad once, after all. He'd been eight at the time.

This full moon would fall on a weekend, so he could ask for his assignments early this time, but the next one would be a different story. Luckily, all his professor had already been informed the boy had a chronic illness. They'd just not been told he had lycanthropy. Obviously.

But at least he didn't need to constantly explain his absences away.

Professor Binn's reedy voice cut through Remus's thoughts with the grace of a sledge hammer. It made Remus's head hurt. "Speaking of, I met Merlin once and he told me…"

Remus wished he could learn something in this class. He also wished one of his dormmates shared the class with him, to make the time more tolerable. Maybe Cokes. He was nice and usually took detailed notes, judging from his homework. Or Pettigrew. He told funny jokes on inappropriate subjects…. Probably not Potter or Black, though, as they didn't seem to take their studies seriously enough. At least, they acted like it. They'd definitely be too distracting and disruptive for Remus's liking.

He grasped his quill, determined to write some ending notes on anything of note Binns had to say. His fingers trembled and struggled to hold onto it. The transfiguration would be bad this month. Remus could already tell.

He looked up tiredly as Binns's lecture was supposed to come to a close. Not surprisingly, the ghost kept talking.

Remus considered going up there and punching and scratching through Binn's chest. But that would be a waste of time. Other students realised as well that the professor wasn't about to stop. They started standing one by one, some gathering their things and walking out the door as the lecture continued like a backing track.

"And I tried to tell Merlin that boy prince was no good, I really did, but he didn't listen. Something about deep connections to the boy." Binns chuckled, but whether it was good-natured or humour-less Remus didn't know. Nor did he really care, to be honest. "That was when everything…."

Remus sat where he was for a moment longer, wondering if it were worth it to follow his classmates or wait for dismissal.

Binns looked around in surprise at a nearly empty room. "…Oh, yes. Well, have a good day, class. Remember to study your book!" He turned and walked through the wall, muttering to himself.

"When did the students come in? I really must pay more attention when I…"

Remus slowly stood and put his things in his bag, sighing. His legs shook slightly beneath him and he dropped a couple of quills as he caught himself on his desk. He quickly glanced around and breathed a sigh of relief to see he was, in fact, alone in the classroom. He carefully bent down to pick up the quills and stuffed them into his bag.

He needed to hurry to Defence Against the Dark Arts.

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Since Defence Against the Dark Arts was his last Monday class, Remus decided to stop by the lake in the few minutes before dinner. Studying in the sun might help him focus more when the moon was this close. Besides, Remus didn't want to be in the Great Hall with everyone else when he was so irritable. He walked briskly down the corridor that would take him to the door he needed when someone suddenly blocked his path. They collided.

It was Sirius Black.

"Hey, Lupin, watch where you're going!"

Black must have meant it as a light-hearted tease more than a jab. Regardless, something in Remus's expression made the other boy pause.

"Sorry."

Remus didn't mean the flat apology. And he certainly didn't need Black using him for laughs so close to a transformation. He was tired and in pain. He just wanted to go outside and enjoy the sunlight while it lasted. He wasn't sure why Black was even doing this teasing-you-but-not-maliciously thing in the first place. They were dormmates, sure, but in the two weeks they'd attended Hogwarts, their paths didn't cross enough to justify the familiarity.

"It's fine," Black said, trying to maintain a cool air now that Remus's personality changed. He regarded the sandy-haired boy's face and grimaced. "Bloody hell, it doesn't have to be Monday every day, you know."

Remus shrugged to mask his enflamed anger at Black's flippancy. He opened his mouth to say it was, in fact, Monday, but closed it again. He had nothing to say. Nothing he could pass off as nice, and he didn't want to start a fight right then. Remus would have thought Black looked concerned if he wasn't so sure he'd imagined it.

"Anyroad, you should smile more. You don't do it often."

Remus's mouth fell slightly open, gobsmacked. He wasn't used to people other than his parents taking much notice of him. "Sure."

"…"

"…"

Remus fiddled with his clothes. He was acutely aware that the silence was only truly awkward on his side. That didn't stop it from being awkward, though, and it didn't stop his teeth from grinding.

He saw Potter watching around the corner at the end of the corridor. He wondered why the boy chose to act questionably rather than being beside Black where he usually was. Remus turned his attention back to the raven-haired boy, only to find him whispering and flicking his wand above Remus's head.

Remus cocked his head.

"What are you doing?" No sooner had the question left his mouth than he flinched. Rainwater fell over his hair and robes, causing them to stick to his skin. Remus looked up and a raincloud hovered above his head. Right.

Black barely held back his laughter. "Now your appearance matches your mood lately."

Potter laughed hard and crashed gracelessly to the floor. He held his sides, crying as he tried to catch his breath.

Remus didn't think it was that funny, to be honest.

"Okay," he said through gritted teeth. Color bloomed in his cheeks. Anger bubbled from his stomach to his chest. Remus ran off to find Friedman and thereby the hospital wing before he did anything rash to the other two boys.

He ignored them calling after him.

Remus eventually found Friedman by the clock tower, talking with a group of Gryffindor girls her age. Awkwardly he hung back, waiting for a lull in the conversation he could slip into to ask for the Prefect's help.

As one in the group, a girl with a large bulb for a nose, told Friedman about a Ravenclaw she thought might be flirting with her in Double Potions, another nudged Friedman in the ribs.

"Isn't that one of your first years?" The girl's voice was high-pitched enough that it would give Remus a headache if he had to listen to it any more today.

Friedman groaned loudly. Then she turned toward the eleven-year-old and saw the raincloud charmed to stay above him. She immediately made her way over.

"What happened?" she asked.

Remus shrugged. "I don't know where the hospital wing is."

It was true, but Remus wanted to kick himself for sounding so pathetic.

She frowned. "You want me to take care of it myself?"

Remus shook his head, remembering what his parents told him. "I want to see Madame Pomfrey." To his relief, Freidman nodded with no further questions.

"I'll take you there."

They didn't talk on the way over there, but soon enough arrived at the hospital wing.

The school nurse, a tall, lanky woman who seemed to have lost some of her beauty to frown lines, immediately waved her wand and the cloud disappeared. Remus couldn't believe his stupidity. The solution was so simple. He tried to reason that as someone barely into his first semester, he couldn't be expected to know the counter charms. He distinctly chose not to think about the fact that Black knew the jinx in the first place and the wand movement to go with it.

"What happened?" Pomfrey echoed Friedman's earlier query once the raincloud was gone. She looked over Remus's to Friedman.

The Prefect shrugged. "He didn't say. He just wanted to know how to get to you."

They both turned their attention to Remus then and the eleven-year-old coughed. He didn't want to do this right now. He wanted to be outside at his tree by the lake, thinking about literally anything else.

"Sirius Black and James Potter…pranked me," he told the nurse reluctantly. He didn't want to make a big production out of the situation.

"They what?" Friedman screeched. Remus wondered briefly if she were angry for his sake or if she were frustrated that they'd managed to prank a fellow student while she was probably on duty. Ultimately, though, he let the question pass. He didn't really care about the reason, to be honest.

"Black said I should smile more." Remus tried to be as nonchalant as possible.

Pomfrey tutted, "They need to be reported to their Head of House. You're all Gryffindors, correct? That's why you brought Miss Friedman with you?"

Remus nodded.

"That's what I thought. Minerva will straighten them out."

"Please, ma'am," the boy pleaded. "I'd rather not get them into trouble. They didn't do it maliciously." He hoped the last bit, at least. Really, Remus just didn't want to deal with the stress of it all and he didn't want to make enemies at school.

"Well, are you alright now?" Pomfrey asked, suspicious.

"Yes, ma'am."

Pomfrey pursed her lips and studied his face for a long moment.

Remus smiled to reassure her, but it was still wavered slightly. At the same time, he tried to keep his hands as inconspicuous as possible as they twisted his robes. Regardless, the smile seemed to do its job because after what felt like an eternity, Promfrey's face relaxed into a weary sigh.

"Alright, but if those two continue, I'll not keep turning a blind eye," she warned.

Remus nodded quickly to show he understood.

"Alright, Miss Friedman." Pomfrey straightened her apron with her hands. "If you would, please escort Mr Lupin back to his dorm."

Suddenly, Remus's unease melted away into a calm he could only associate with the ever-nearing full moon.

"Actually," he said, lifting his chin. "I was on my way to the lake when I met with Black and Potter. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you take me there instead?"

Friedman looked at Pomfrey, silently asking what she thought. The nurse shrugged in response and the Prefect turned to Remus.

She sighed, "Let's go, then."

And they were off.

Later that evening, Remus sat at the head of his bed as he did his homework. Pettigrew and Cokes were on their respective beds, with Cokes doing productive things by studying his reading materials, and Pettigrew lazily tracing simple, invisible patterns with his wand. Remus jumped slightly as a little brown toad hopped from his nightstand to the bed.

For the past week, Pettigrew graciously offered to let Remus borrow his toad, Ribbit, to practice levitation. Pettigrew wouldn't even listen to Remus's original plan of using parchment paper instead, saying Remus needed something with more weight. Eventually, Ribbit had gotten over hiding from Remus's presence as the werewolf roomed with the other four boys, but Ribbit's breathing still quickened around him.

Absentmindedly, Remus told Pettigrew about the prank earlier that day.

"He said he just wanted to put a smile on my face. Wingardium Leviosa," he said, flicking his wand. Ribbit stared at Remus challengingly, not moving. He sighed, running a hand through his sandy hair. "I don't know. I've been in a sour mood lately."

Pettigrew hummed to himself. "I've been thinking about their pranks for a while now, myself." He drew an imaginary square as he continued. "Something has to be done."

Almost as if they heard the conversation about them, Potter and Black noisily entered the dorm. They were complaining about something to do with Slytherins, but Remus couldn't really make out what they were saying from the sudden blood rushing to his face when seeing Black's face. Remus glared at nothing in particular on Pettigrew's bed. Ribbit hopped closer to the foot of Remus's bed.

In Remus's peripheral vision, Pettigrew turned his head toward the new arrivals. "What's going on?"

Black and Potter looked at the other three as if they weren't aware their conversation could be heard by anyone else. Remus got the impression they were used to having conversations only with each other. Not even their families included in their discussions.

Potter was the first to recover. "Some Slytherins were talking about blood purity," he said. "I mean, I'm a pureblood too, but I don't see a problem with muggleborns. Or muggles, for that matter." He walked over to his bed and flopped onto it, the springs protesting loudly against the weight.

Pettigrew nodded agreeably. "Same here. Pureblood with morals." He laughed as he jumped off his own bed, crossing over to Remus's and grabbing his toad. "If you don't mind, and if you're done with him today, it's about Ribbit's bedtime."

Remus nodded silently.

Ribbit squirmed in the blond boy's grasp, but Pettigrew just grinned and kissed the top of the upset toad's head. "Everyone has to go to bed some time, Ribbit."

Remus stayed silent, putting his homework materials away. When no one filled the conversation gap, he looked up to see what had everyone distracted. Instead, he found everyone but Cokes looking at him. He realised they were waiting for his input.

"Hm? Yeah, pureblood. Though, I don't think I'm superior in any way." He left it at that. His parents hadn't really discussed things like politics around him.

"Half-blood myself. Wizard dad, muggle mum," Cokes said through gritted teeth. Remus could see building tension in Cokes's shoulders. He wondered if the others could, or if the tense muscles were too subtle for others to see.

Black snorted. "Muggles and muggleborns are people, same as us. They just don't have magickal bloodlines."

Potter nodded curtly.

"Why do people hate others for things they can't control?" Once again, Remus was unaware he'd spoken at all until they all turned their attention to him. He shifted on the bed, bringing his knees closer. "Sorry, just…thinking aloud."

He didn't understand any of what they were talking about. His parents hadn't told him there was a power struggle between muggles and wizards. But he did know what would happen if him being a werewolf were discovered. And he knew how frightening and isolating it felt to be different.

Potter scrunched up his nose. "No, I wonder the same thing, actually."

Pettigrew made a noise of agreement.

Cokes, however, shifted heavily on his bed, flopping back down and roughly dropping his books on his bedside table. "Maybe we don't need to discuss why—"

"It's because muggles persecuted us before."

It was Black who spoke. When everyone gave him their attention, he continued. "Well, it was back when that big muggle religion—Christianity—first appeared. Their holy book of requirements didn't like witches and wizards." His eyes looked down at the floor, but they seemed far from repentant. More like his mind was centuries away, remembering horrors he himself hadn't personally experienced.

"They hunted us. Attacked us. Killed us. We had to hide away and lie about who we were when we used to be respected. We were like rats." When Black looked around at four shocked faces, he changed his tone; he coughed. "At least, that's what my parents say. They're daft, though." He looked to Potter for reassurance and the latter shrugged.

"I know they are, Sirius, you don't have to tell me."

Remus might have only imagined it, but to the werewolf's ears, Potter's tone sounded little too bright, a little too forgiving. Meanwhile, Pettigrew seemed set on keeping up the discussion with his thoughts on the matter. Potter and Black were only too eager to continue gossiping about wizards and witches with superiority complexes.

Cokes turned to lie on his side, facing the wall. He said goodnight, but wasn't heard over Pettigrew and Potter's chortles to some mocking tone Black adopted to poorly imitate what Remus assumed was a Slytherin student.

For his part, Remus wondered what that was all about with Black's small speech. Had Black ever believed what his parents told him about muggles? And did Potter's reaction mean Black hadn't truly stopped, or that Potter was worried that was the case? As a person with offensive blood running in his own veins, Remus couldn't help the thought that someone he knew potentially thinking like that was…unsettling.

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theflawintheplan: I'm so sorry this is so late! I'm terrible to you guys, I know. I hope this chapter makes it up to you.

Also, the boys' views on Slytherins and Christianity and the war are not necessarily my views. But I did think if one of them would know the most about the "blood traitor" side of it, it would be James. Same with Sirius knowing the most about the purity arguments and history of frustrations purebloods have with muggles, and same with Remus knowing so little about in general because of his parents. I do love Slytherins and I do think these boys don't know enough about the political mess that must have gone on for centuries before they even stepped inside Hogwarts. At least, not enough to have so many stauch positions as to the natures of purebloods or muggles.

I also wanted Cokes to be the only one with actual, true contact with non-magical people on a day-to-day basis.

Let me know what you guys think!