Sorry for the wait. My uncle passed away just last week, and his funeral was Tuesday, so I've been with my dad, stepmother, aunts, and other uncles for the past few days.

Episode 14

REQUEST: brokenblackangel wanted the Marauders to discover Remus' secret

Summary: In which Remus' secret comes out

Werewolf

Remus hurried out of the classroom, his head down and his books nearly spilling out of his bag as he tried to stuff them in. He felt his strength waning with each second, and he knew tomorrow he would not be in class. Not that Remus ever liked his awful secret, but there were times when he really hated it! Ever since he befriended the Marauders two years ago, his first year at Hogwarts, he had begun to wish it had been someone else who's father angered Fenrir Greyback.

The idea that anyone else would have to suffer his horrible curse made him sick once he grew used to the idea that he would become furry three days out of the month, the day before, of, and after the full moon, but making friends and knowing they would leave him should they ever discover his secret made his selfish wish return. Why couldn't he be normal? What had he done to anger the gods so?

With a sigh, he scurried towards the hospital wing. It had taken much pleading for Madame Pomfrey to give him the Pepper Up Potion so he could make it to class today. She hadn't been pleased with his decision, but he didn't want his friends to grow too suspicious. Sirius and James were smarter than they acted, and Hermione didn't even bother acting stupid to begin with. Peter was another story entirely, but that was beside the point. Remus knew they were growing suspicious, had probably been suspicious since the third time, when Hermione would've disregarded coincidence that his mother had gotten ill at the same time each month, he gave the age old excuse.

"Why?" he whispered softly, finally freeing himself from the herd of students heading towards the Great Hall in the opposite direction. "Why did this happen to me?"

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Sirius furrowed his brow as he, James, and Hermione followed their friend. Peter would have been with them, but he was more interested in lunch. Hermione wanted to scold him for his lack of concern, but his loud stomach grumbling would've given them away to Remus' seemingly ultra-sensitive hearing, so they allowed him to leave. Though, she was pleased to note that even Sirius seemed disgusted by his oblivious attitude towards Remus' obvious dismay.

A blush spread across Hermione's face as she thought of Sirius. They had been best friends since first year, and now they were in their third year at Hogwarts. She knew she wasn't the only girl that found him attractive, and even though they were young, he had already dated multiple girls for small periods of time. The sight of him with another always broke her heart, but she at least had the pleasure of knowing he was only truly thoughtful with her and the other Marauders. The knowledge of that comforted her when she saw him with his new girl-of-the-week.

"Subject has turned left!" James whispered, bringing her out of her reverie. Hermione felt like slapping her forehead. They were right there, he didn't need to tell them every move Remus made! Of course, she knew there would be a problem with introducing James and Sirius to spy novels, but they had looked so intrigued by her Sherlock Holmes book.

"James," she said blandly, standing to her full height from where they had been crouched behind the corner, "I can see that."

"Get. Down!" Sirius hissed, making the command two words. He looked nervously left and right, as though he expected Remus to jump out and yell 'BOO!' Hermione rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the thought that Sirius looked really cute when he was worried.

"Sirius, Remus went into the infirmary about two minutes ago. I don't think he's going to see me right now. Besides that, James has his invisibility cloak, and we won't get anywhere if we don't don the cloak and go in there!"

"Hermione is right!" James shouted, holding a finger in the air. Hermione raised a brow that clearly said 'duh!', and Sirius allowed a small blush to grace his features. He smiled at Hermione, enjoying the matching pink that covered her cheeks. Merlin, he loved it when she blushed!

The invisibility cloak swung over their shoulders, hiding all three students from sight. They quietly shuffled towards the hospital wing, and carefully pushed the door open so that no one would notice them entering. Pushing the door back to its original position, the trio quietly headed towards Remus' bed.

He was sitting there, talking to Madame Pomfrey about something. She was watching him with an expression they had not seen too often in the normally strict medi-witch's eyes. Pity.

"I just wish they would make a potion for it!" Remus shouted suddenly. "Is that so much to ask? A cure?"

With a sigh, he fell back on the bed. His pale complexion and dull, grey eyes made him look like he belonged here. But that wasn't right. He had looked fine earlier, though the Marauders wouldn't put it past the effects of a Pepper Up Potion. They had all taken enough of the potion to know that, when they wore off, the peaky look returned full force as though whatever exhaustion or sickness they had was taking some twisted form of revenge.

"I'm sorry, Mister Lupin," Madame Pomfrey said, sounding truly regretful. "I too wish they had some cure, but you know that may never happen. I find it best not to wish for the impossible."

"Yeah," Remus sighed, "I know. Thank you for the potion, Madame Pomfrey, I'll be here first thing tomorrow."

The medi-witch nodded and hurried into her office as Remus climbed off the bed. He had just downed another Pepper Up Potion, and he could already feel it taking effect. His pale face returned to its usual tanned color, and his eyes brightened as he felt his exhaustion being pushed off for a later time. Now, he had to find the other Marauders before they realized his missing presence in the Great Hall. Assuming, of course, that the ever perceptive Hermione Granger hadn't already noticed something.

When he was gone, the invisibility cloak fell off. The trio looked curiously at one another. They had hoped that by following Remus they would get some answers, but instead they found more questions. What needed a cure? What was wrong with Remus? Was he dieing? No! The idea was too ridiculous to think about. They refused to believe their friend was going to...to...die.

"We have to go!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed, coming back to reality. "We need to get to the Great Hall before Remus!"

"Right!" the boys agreed in unison. James folded the cloak, and the three hurried out of the infirmary, taking every shortcut they knew to get to the dining area of Hogwarts.

Back in the infirmary, Madame Pomfrey watched them run out. She sighed softly to herself and hoped the Marauders soon discovered Remus' secret. While they might have been troublemakers, she felt she knew them well enough to know they would not abandon the poor boy as he seemed to think. Maybe, with friends to help him through, the idea that there might never be a cure for lycanthropy would not seem so bad to him. Smiling softly, she bid them good luck, then ducked back in her office before another student was brought to her.

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The next day

Remus looked sick; Remus felt sick. It had been like this since he was five, but every time felt like the first time. The only consolation was that this would be nothing later on. Of course, it wasn't all that comforting since he knew the only reason it wouldn't feel like anything to worry about later was because of the pain he would be feeling from transforming. The breaking and rearranging of bones was an excruciating pain he would never get used too.

The Marauders didn't seem to notice anything odd about him. Remus wasn't sure he felt relief that they hadn't noticed anything, or upset because they didn't seem to care about his obvious illness. He decided for relief since he didn't want them discovering the secret he'd had since he was five. He also reminded himself that he looked sick around the same time every month, and after two years it had probably become like second nature to them to see him looking green.

"Hey Remus," Hermione said casually, digging through her bag. "You'd better get a move on if you want to get to classes on time!"

"Oh, uh, my mother has taken ill," he lied. Looking away from the girl he considered his closest friend out of all the Marauders, mostly due to their shared love for books, he felt guilt for lying to her. He couldn't tell her the truth though, he couldn't tell any of them the truth.

"Oh?" Hermione turned her attention to him, concern glittering in her brown orbs. It wasn't the first time he'd used the excuse, nor would it be the last time, and even if she did suspect something, she always worried he might be telling the truth. "Is she alright?"

"Yeah, but I have to go visit her for the next few days. I'll be back in about three days though." Remus smiled what he hoped was comfortingly, and Hermione nodded before turning back to her stuffed bag. Shouldering it, she started for the portrait.

"I'll tell the boys then," she promised as she stepped out of the Gryffindor common room.

"Thanks!" Remus smiled. When she was gone, his expression faltered. His green complexion worsened as guilt added on to his sickness. Why did he have to lie? Oh yeah, because no one could ever accept a werewolf. "Might as well find Professor Dumbledore," he muttered as he too stepped out of the Gryffindor common room.

Behind the tapestry, Hermione, Sirius, James, and Peter watched as their close friend passed them, muttering about how unfair life was and hating to lie to his friends. They shared a look of disbelief. True, the quartet knew it was a strong possibility Remus was lying to them; hell, they knew he was, but to hear him say it aloud made the fact all the more real, and it just didn't seem possible that Remus would lie.

"C'mon!" James urged them in a harsh whisper. "He's getting away!"

Bringing out his cloak, which Sirius had aggrandized with a simple enlargement charm, the four friends were covered by the silky material. As soon as they were sure every part of their body was covered, the Marauders hurried after the elusive fifth prankster. There was no way he was getting away from them today!

Remus had the oddest feeling he was being followed, but whenever he turned around, he didn't see anyone there. More than once, he swore his friends were hiding under James' invisibility cloak, but he had often thought that during his first year at Hogwarts, when he was frightened the first people to be his friends would find out his secret. So, he pushed it off to the usual paranoia and continued on his way. The Shrieking Shack was waiting.

Frowning in confusion as Remus met up with Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall at the entrance to Hogwarts, the Marauders exchanged curious looks under the cloak. Maybe he wasn't lying to them after all? Maybe he really did leave every time each month? No, that just wasn't logical. While coincidence was possible, the same event happening for the past two years at the exact same time every single month wasn't mere coincidence.

"Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked, a sad smile in place of his usual cheerful one. Remus nodded morosely and followed the old professors out of the school, his friends close behind.

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Remus entered the Shrieking Shack while Dumbledore stayed in front of the entrance. He wondered why the old man was acting as a guard, but shrugged it off to just another quirk the headmaster had. Nodding his thanks, Dumbledore returned the nod, and McGonagall sent the boy a sympathetic smile before she started back towards the school.

Meanwhile, the Marauders were anxious for Dumbledore to leave. His position had blocked all possible entrance into the room. They could walk past him, but one of them would bump against him – most likely Peter since he was the largest – and that would alert him to their presence. Though, the Marauders were getting a sinking feeling he already knew of their presence, especially when he didn't follow McGonagall after the doors had closed on Remus.

"I think it's time you came out now," Dumbledore told the four stalk...er, spies.

Yeah, he knew they were there. Big surprise. What didn't Albus Dumbledore know?

The invisibility cloak slid off of the curious friends, and they looked guiltily at the older man. He was not smiling, but the usual twinkle in his blue eyes was there, as though it had never left. He gestured for them to follow him without another word, and with one last longing look at the doors that hid their friend from view, they followed their favorite (and only) headmaster back to Hogwarts.

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"Years ago, Thomas Lupin insulted Fenrir Greyback – a cruel, dangerous werewolf with a taste for children. In retaliation for his insolence, I suppose you could say, Greyback bit his five-year-old son, your friend – Remus."

"So, what you're saying is...Remus is a werewolf?" Hermione asked, trying to wrap her mind around the concept of her best friend turning furry three days out of the month. Dumbledore nodded.

"Since he was five?" Sirius added, leaning against Hermione, despite them being in separate armchairs, for support. She didn't even bother blushing at the proximity, too busy being shocked about her friend's secret. She had no idea, but now that she thought about it, it did make sense. Every time he left he looked sick, and it was always around the full moon too! Why hadn't she noticed that little detail before?

"Correct," Dumbledore confirmed with a nod. He looked at each of them seriously, awaiting their initial shock to wear off. When he was sure they could at least think rationally, not that any except Remus and Hermione ever did think rationally, he cleared his throat to garner their attention. Once they were looking at him again, he spoke. "Now, I think the big question is, is this going to change your views on Mister Lupin?"

"What? No way!" James shouted, outraged by the mere idea. "Remus has been our best friend for two years, why should this change anything?"

"Yeah!" Sirius agreed full heartedly. "He's a Marauder, and Marauders stick together!"

"So what if he turns furry?" Hermione joined. "It's not like he asked for it, and he's still the same Remus he always was!"

Peter looked like he wanted to protest their defense, but hearing all three of his friends protest, he clamped his mouth shut and nodded almost frantically in agreement. Dumbledore smiled at the vicious response to his question. He had hoped for just such a response, for if they were sickened by the mere idea of leaving Remus, even knowing his secret, it meant they were truly his friends.

"Very well then," he said, clasping his hands together. "I shall inform Mister Lupin of your discovery upon his return, and we will see where it goes from there. In the meantime, I believe you four should take the day off to process this information. I will inform your professors that I gave you permission to rest today."

"Thanks, professor," the four mumbled in response as they walked slowly out of his office.

"So," Sirius started.

"So," James agreed.

"Remus is a werewolf," Hermione breathed. "I know what I said in there, and I stand by it, but I just can't believe it!"

"I know," Peter squeaked in agreement.

"Who would have thought? Remus of all people. He's too nice to suffer like that!" Sirius spoke with a slightly angry gleam in his eye. If he could, he would've ripped Fenrir Greyback apart in that instant for daring to harm his friend, no matter how many years ago it was!

"Well, I think we should set up the room of requirements for a little party," James suggested. "I know the room gives you stuff too easily, and so we don't really care for it much, but I doubt the common room is a good idea for a 'we know you're a werewolf, but we accept it and hope you'll stay friends with us' party."

"Yeah!" Sirius, Hermione, and Peter shouted in agreement. They ran after James, laughing and chatting about all they could do. One thing was for sure, Remus was NOT going to be alone in his suffering anymore! The Marauders would make sure of that!

END