No, I am not JK Rowling, so no, I don't own Harry Potter, his friends, or his teachers.

PREVIOUSLY:

The second they were out, they collapsed on the ground. Not the best idea, to lie beneath a whomping willow, and they figured out that fact quite quickly, as the branches threw them far from the passageway.

Only one thought ran through the four friends' minds: their friend was a werewolf.

Chapter Six

On their way back to the dormitory, the boys were quite nearly caught several times. They had forgotten about the invisibility cloak in their flustered states, and only remembered when they heard Mrs. Norris mewling for Filch. Filch, of course, appeared on the scene a few moments later, but not in time to see the four boys disappear under the cloak.

They sat in a circle on the floor of the dorms; none of them were planning to sleep anyway. They had all weekend to catch up on sleep.

"What the bloody hell was that about? Who would have guessed that… that Remi… Remi's a… shit, this is so weird." Sirius sounded bewildered.

"What exactly is he, Sirius? What happened? It's like he was turning into… into an animal!"

The others looked at Harry as if he was the stupidest thing in the world.

"It seems that Remus is a werewolf, Harry." James' voice was harsh. There was a darkness in his eyes that none of the boys had seen before.

Peter opened his mouth to say something, but shuddered involuntarily and closed his mouth. He was still visibly shaken.

"That… that lunatic has been lying to us all along! What the bloody hell was he playing at? We could have… he could have killed us just now! He let us stay, he let us… we could have died!"

"James, he told us to go. He warned us, it's our fault we didn't…"

"You're siding with him, Harry? Really?"

"Yeah, Harry's right. If he wanted to hurt us, he wouldn't have told us to get out of there."

"You too, Siri? He's a bloody werewolf! A monster! A killer! We've got to inform Dumbledore! McGonagall! Anyone!"

"I'm sure they know already, James, since it was Pomfrey who escorted him there tonight," Harry said coldly. He liked Remus, and hated the fact that James had suddenly turned on their friend.

"But he's a killer, Harry! You don't understand, being muggleborn and all. But Siri and Pete and me… We know the stories. They're not in control! They will sooner kill you as look at you! He's dangerous, and to think all this time, we've shared a dorm with him! He could have killed us in our sleep!"

"But he hasn't, Jamie," Sirius was glaring at his best friend. "Werewolves lose control once a month, mate. Once a month. When they're transformed, they become killers. But… unless they're in wolf form, they're in complete control. Remi's not dangerous, the wolf is."

"Siri and Harry are right, James," Peter's voice was barely over a whisper. All eyes were on him now. "Remus could have hurt us how many times over, but he hasn't."

"That doesn't explain why he's been lying to us though, does it?"

James was adamant to find some problem with Remus, but Harry wouldn't have any part of it. This may be his father, but if he was acting like a prat, Harry wouldn't be afraid to tell him so. "Maybe because he knew you'd act like a complete git over it, James."

James stared in shock at the normally quiet boy in front of him. Harry reminded him of himself sometimes, as the boy was fiercely loyal. But Harry couldn't possibly know the dangers of being around a werewolf. He looked to Sirius and Peter for support, but realized by their expressions, they agreed with Harry.

"James, mate, he was afraid to lose us. I probably wouldn't have told you either."

Sirius' voice took a few moments to penetrate James' mind. But when it did, James' face became an expression of horror. "Oh, Merlin. I'm a complete prat, aren't I? Remus is one of us… and I… shit, I am the world's biggest prat."

"No one's going to disagree with you there, mate. No offence." Everyone laughed at Sirius' comment, and they pulled themselves off the floor. They changed into their pyjamas and crawled into their beds, knowing it would only be a few hours before sunrise. They planned to visit Remus in the hospital wing in the morning.

"Hey guys... should we tell him we know?"

"Merlin, James, he knows we know! We were kind of there, mate. He talked to us. Remember?"

"Wasn't sure if he'd remember..."

"Even if he doesn't remember, he has to know he doesn't have to lie to us anymore," Harry said softly. "He has to know we're there for him no matter what."

"Hey guys... please don't tell him how much of a git I was tonight..."

"Of course we won't, Jamie."

"Thanks, Sirius."

"So... we ought to come up with a nickname... You know, show him that we really do accept him as who he is." Sirius sounded extremely excited about the nickname idea, so the others pondered it.

"How's Moons sound to you guys?" Peter's voice was still quivering, but none of the others mentioned it; they were still a little shaken up too.

"Nah, how about Moony?"

"Awesome one, Harry, mate! Now to get him to agree to it."

"Well, if we don't go to sleep now, we won't see him until he comes to us. Which I doubt he'll do before curfew. I don't want to be hunting down a distraught Re... Moony tomorrow. Merlin knows, if he doesn't want to be found, he isn't found."

And with that, the four friends closed their eyes, but none could sleep. They could still hear Remus' pleading for them to leave, the sound of his screams as his transformation hit him.

The next morning, the four friends got up early. None of them slept much; only one or two hours each. But they refused to sleep in, as they normally would on a Saturday morning. They all wanted to meet up with Remus in the Hospital Wing.

They went to the kitchens rather than wait for breakfast to be served in the Great Hall. Carrying a couple slices of toast each, the four crept into the Infirmary to wait for Remus' return. But they saw Madame Pomfrey already had their friend in a bed and was talking to him softly. She looked up as they closed the door, stood up, and came over to them.

"What are you four doing here?"

"We came to see Remus."

"That much is obvious, Mr. Black. I am fully aware of your escapades last night." The matron's voice lowered. "I have asked the headmaster to meet us here; I was right in my assumption that the morning would find you all here. You're here to see Remus you said?" The Gryffindors nodded. "Why?"

"Because... we wanted to talk to him." James sounded agitated, but the others said nothing.

The matron started to say something, but a soft voice from the other end of the room interrupted her. "It's all right. I can... they can say whatever they came to say. I expect this will be..." the werewolf broke off, sounding choked up, and Madame Pomfrey gestured for the boys to go to their friend, but not before bestowing a threatening look on each of them.

"Hey, Remi! How're you doing?"

Remus' eyes snapped to Sirius in shock. "What?"

Sirius rolled his eyes in mock-exasperation. "I said, how're you doing?"

"I... I don't... I don't understand."

"Gosh, Remi, he spoke English you know," James was grinning at Remus, who still looked shocked.

"Gods, this is insane. Remus, we don't care. You're our best friend, and last night changed nothing." Harry laid his hand on Remus' in an attempt to comfort the werewolf.

"Yeah, Rem. We love you."

Remus' eyes filled with tears as he stared at Sirius. He looked to the others, and they were smiling at him now.

"Yeah, you've got a... a furry little problem. But it doesn't change anything," James was grinning widely at the phrase, and the other three laughed lightly.

Remus smiled timidly. "You guys... you really... don't care? You... you know and..."

"We don't care, Moony," Peter said.

"What?" Remus was staring at Peter now.

"Moony. It's your new nickname. You don't mind, do you?"

"Pete... I... You guys are amazing."

The five friends crowded around and all shared an enormous hug. Remus had never felt more accepted, more loved, than in that moment.

But a moment later, the headmaster and Madame Pomfrey made their way over to them. A small smile was on the matron's face, and the blue eyes of Dumbledore were twinkling madly.

"Well, I came here this morning to make your four swear to secrecy," Dumbledore began, "but it seems I won't have to explain very much to the four of you. You must agree to never tell a soul of Mr. Lupin's condition. Do you all agree?"

There was a collective "Of course, sir," from the four boys, who were still crowded around Remus' bed. Remus' eyes were glowing with happiness.

"This is good news, because I did not wish to have to obliviate the four of you." James shivered; he knew he would have been the only one obliviated, had the others not gotten through to him the night before. "I want to wish the five of you a good day." He turned to the matron. "I will be in my office, Poppy. Good day to you all." And with that, the headmaster left the Hospital Wing, his eyes still twinkling.

"Remus, dear, you need to rest. You can all come back to see your friend around lunch time. I expect I can allow him to leave around then."

The boys said their goodbyes to Remus and made their way out of the Hospital Wing. They headed outside, planning to sit under their favorite tree and discuss everything which had transpired.

What they ended up doing, however, was playing exploding snap and watching the Giant Squid splash the girls who were sitting too near the lake. They laughed as Lily Evans, Alice Prewett, and Mary McDonald ran back toward the castle, their robes drenched in water. Harry noticed, though the others did not, that James was watching Lily the whole way to the castle. A small smile on his face, he succumbed to being thoroughly thrashed by Sirius at their game.

Well, that went well for Remi and the others. Since a few people have been mentioning it, Sev will make another appearance soon, not to worry.

Hope you enjoyed! Please Review. I'm open to ideas.