Heeeeeey!

My god this heat is something rotten. All weekend, I SWEAR I was covered in this layer of sweat the entire time! And even worse, I would drench my face with cold water, towel it off, and seconds later (I mean SECONDS) I would be sweating again. It was disgusting! And it's still horrible!

Fires of Black Chaos: Don't worry, I've always known you were a bloke. Aaaannd, you can trust me on saying that this story will be going on for a while (we're barely into second year!). But that doesn't mean I won't try to make you cry. Mwhahahaha . . . .

Earth. bound. wolf: Yeah, I get it. But you see, I was roasting alive, flopping about and moaning on the couch in the front room and writing a chapter for the other story. It took time, okay?

Thota Sadhvika Brahmani: I'm Australian, aaaaand my name is so horrible it's not worth repeating, so call me Ice or Unicorn. Both are way better.

Guest: Haha! Yes! Purple is the supreme colour! It over-rules all!

Karolz101: Read on!

Okay, guys, there's something really important I want to talk to you about.

WE'RE NEARING 100 REVIEWS!

I really want to hit it as soon as possible, okay? For me? Please?

Cheers!

~Ice.

21 – Revelations

Kayla

'You're crazy.'

Kayla shook her head. 'No. I'm not. We have to talk to him about this. It's the only way.'

'Shortie's actually right, James,' Sirius said. 'If the prat thinks he can hide something like that from us for the whole of the seven years, he's mad.'

'I just want to know why he didn't trust us enough to tell us,' James muttered.

'Come on,' Kayla said, scooping the charts together into a neat pile. 'Let's go find him.'

They found Remus, who was back in the common room again. Upon seeing them, his eyes widened an alarm and he shut his book, getting to his feet and bolting back up the staircase.

'I'm sick of this crap,' Kayla muttered. She held her head high and charged on after him, the Marauders following in suit.

She ran up the spiral staircase, running her hand along the stone wall as she did so. Just as they were nearing the dormitory, there was the telltale sound of something opening and slamming shut again. They reached the door and Kayla threw it open, her irritation really starting to build up. Remus, who had just thrown himself onto his bed, sat bolt upright.

'REMUS LUPIN! STOP BLOODY RUNNING AWAY FROM ME! I HAVE TO FREAKING TALK TO YOU!'

Even the boys that followed her in shrunk back slightly, her yelling was that intimidating.

Remus took a shaky breath. 'Look, Kayla, I -'

'You've what, huh? Been avoiding me for the most stupid of reasons? Driving me absolutely insane?' She quieted down. 'We need to ask you about something, Remus.'

His face paled, and he mouthed something along the lines of oh no.

'We've been looking into this since last year,' James said, striding forward. 'And I don't know how it's only just hit us now -'

'I told you I had theories,' Sirius interjected.

'And you made them sound really daft,' James shot back. 'Anyway, the point is . . . we know, Remus. You don't have to hide it anymore.'

'You'd be stupid if you tried to hide it,' Peter said as Remus opened his mouth to defend himself.

'I – what are you on about?' Remus asked nervously, getting to his feet. 'I mean, come on –'

'Rem,' Kayla said flatly. 'You know what we're talking about.'

That cut him short. There was a conflicting war in his eyes, one side of his head fighting with the other. It seemed to go back and forth. There were five seconds of silence before Remus threw his hands up in exasperation. 'You know what? Fine! So what? I mean, it's not as if it's something horrible or anything. And, yeah, I could just as easily kill any of you if you got in the road without thinking twice about it -'

'REMUS!'

The shout came from all four of them, each looking particularly brassed off. Kayla took a steady breath.

'We don't care, okay? We don't care what you are. You're still Remus. You're still our friend. That's never going to change.'

Remus' eye twitched. 'I'm a monster, Kaye. Don't you get that? A vicious, bloodthirsty monster.'

'You fold your socks,' James said flatly. 'Yeah, you're really terrifying.'

'You wear stupid sweaters,' Sirius put in.

'And you're an absolute dork,' Peter added.

'Thanks, guys,' Remus muttered.

'Don't you get it, Rem?' Kayla asked softly. 'We don't care. You have to realise that.'

'But I care! As long as I'm around, I'm putting you all in danger. And I'm not sure if I can deal with that.'

'Well, you're going to have to. Because we're not leaving you. Not now, not ever. Okay?'

'No.' Remus shook his head. 'No. I just can't.'

Kayla grabbed both of his hands, looking him urgently in the eyes. 'Yes, you can. And you will. We're going to help you.'

'Say it out loud,' Remus whispered. 'I want to see if you really know.'

One second.

Two.

They dragged on

And on

And on

On

On

On . . .

Her heart was pounding violently in her chest. She could tell the others were thinking the same as her. She just couldn't say it. Voicing the word would put reality to the concept.

A shadow passed over Remus' eyes. 'Thought so.' He wrenched his hands out of hers.

'Werewolf,' she burst out. 'You're a werewolf.'

Halfway through turning around, Remus paused. 'And . . . what does that mean?'

'We know perfectly well what it means,' James said. 'And you know that. You're just having trouble accepting that we're not running away screaming. Aren't you.'

'Accepting?' Remus choked out. He turned back around. 'James, I've had to move homes a ridiculous amount of times. All because the neighbours were getting suspicious about what they heard. Do you know what they heard?'

James didn't respond.

'A werewolf,' he started, 'with nothing to attack; to bite. A werewolf that had to resort to attacking itself to deal with the frenzy. It took me ages to accept that I'm stuck with this for the rest of my life. I came to terms with it, my mother did, my dad took a while, but he's began dealing with it just now. But other people don't. Because when they think about werewolves, they think about rampant beasts, which are what we really are. But what they don't know is that behind all of that is a terrified twelve-year old who has had to deal with it since he was seven.'

'Seven?' Kayla repeated in a harsh whisper.

'Seven. And there was nothing I could do about it.'

'But . . . Remus. Why didn't you tell us? Do you –' Her voice broke slightly. 'Do you not trust us or something?'

'No,' Remus murmured. 'I was just worried that you would hate me. I mean, I deserve it –'

Sirius took two giant steps forward and clamped a hand over Remus' mouth. 'Shut. Up,' he growled. 'If I hear one more bloody comment about you being a monster and all that rubbish, I will toss you out the window. Got it?'

Remus' eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything.

'He's right, Rem,' Kayla echoed. 'You really need to stop it.'

'And whatever the hell it takes to prove this to you-' James started.

'I'm hungry,' Peter said quietly.

'-we will freaking do it. Got it?'

Remus didn't say anything, and a number of silent seconds passed. Kayla's heart was pounding violently in her chest. She didn't understand why he wasn't believing them when they told him they didn't care. It was stupid, really. He had to see that.

Then again, maybe it was because he couldn't see what they saw; a boy with the constant need to study, who always did what he felt was right, who barged his way right into Kayla's life just so she could live it properly . . .

Damn it, she really hoped that he wasn't developing an inferiority complex. Because that wouldn't be any good.

Werewolves weren't all bad. Kayla had proof, and that proof was standing right in front of her. Who would have known that werewolves had cheeky smiles and wore jumpers slightly too big for them. Who would have known that they were so endearing and caring – that they put the well-being of others before themselves. Who would have known that they had a stupid sense of humour, naming cats after fried chicken and complaining when the animal hated them. And who would have known that they were absolutely perfect, despite the popular opinion . . .

Why didn't the world see this side to them? Why didn't they give them a chance? Why didn't they see that the sometimes savage nature couldn't be helped; that it was in their blood?

For God's sake, why didn't anyone find a cure?

This prejudice wizards had against werewolves was just wrong. Kayla could see that now, and a resolution had formed that if anyone hurt Remus, they would have hell to pay.

'I'm dangerous,' Remus whispered. 'Don't you get it?'

'But you haven't hurt anyone!' James burst out. Remus' eyes shot up to meet his, a fierce light burning in them. 'Haven't I, James?'

James' eyes narrowed. 'Remus . . . what are you talking about?'

'You think I haven't hurt someone.' Remus' voice cracked on haven't. 'You think that it's been fine this whole time, just me and my madness?'

'Remus -'

'BECAUSE IT HASN'T, ALRIGHT? IT BLOODY HASN'T AND I DON'T THINK I WILL EVER BE OKAY AGAIN! I KNOW WHAT I'M CAPABLE OF! I KNOW WHAT I CAN DO TO YOU!'

His eyes were glossy, and he stopped, taking a deep breath. 'I don't want to hurt you. But I'm afraid I will. I don't want to risk it.'

'What are you risking, Remus?' Kayla asked. 'You're not even here when you're a wolf. How can you hurt us?'

'Confinement doesn't last forever,' he whispered. 'And I know mine won't. I'm still growing, and as I do, I get even more savage. It won't be long. I can feel it.'

There were several long seconds of silence before Sirius spoke. 'You attacked someone, didn't you? What happened?'

Remus sat back down, looking sickened. 'I never meant to,' he started quietly. 'I really didn't, and I didn't know until the next day . . .'

He didn't continue though, but sat there, starting at his feet quite like he was going to vomit. So Kayla tried to make it easier for him. 'When?'

He chewed his lip and closed his eyes, taking a long, steady inhale. When he opened them again, he looked her straight in the eyes. 'The holidays.'

That made her freeze in place. What? But, he had been writing to her the whole time . . . he didn't sound like something of the sort had happened . . .

'But you didn't -'

'Of course I didn't say anything!' he burst out, throwing his arms out in exasperation. 'What was I supposed to say? Was I supposed to reveal that I was a werewolf, had savaged a Muggle and had been called to court?'

Kayla nearly fell over. 'You went to COURT?'

Remus froze, suddenly realising that he had said too much. 'No – no I didn't . . . what are you on about, Kaye?' He gave a nervous laugh. 'I was joking, that didn't really happen -'

'Or didn't it?' she inquired with a raised eyebrow, her voice dangerously low. 'Didn't it, Remus?'

He swallowed lightly. Behind Kayla, the Marauders were looking mutinous.

'Remus,' Sirius said. His voice had a sharp edge to it. James crossed his arms, his face hard. Peter looked unamused, his blue eyes studying Remus in quiet anger.

'What. Happened?' James' asked in a steely voice.

'I – nothing. Nothing happened, James.'

James' eyes narrowed, and he slipped his wand out of his jeans.

'Don't you d – argh!'

One minute, Remus was standing solidly on his two feet, the next James had shouted 'Levicorpus!' and he had gone up into the air, hoisted by his ankle.

'My patience is wearing thin, Remus,' James said, striding forward. 'Sorry that it's come to this, but you gave me no bloody damn choice.'

Remus was going red as the blood rushed to his face, choking slightly and flailing his arms about. 'James! Let me –' He broke off and groaned as his face started going purple.

'I'll let you down if you tell us,' James said flatly.

'Fine! Just – just – oomph!'

In a tangled mess, Remus tumbled to the ground. He got to his feet hurriedly and brushed himself off, glaring at James. His face slowly started returning to its normal colour.

'Thanks a lot, you prat,' he grumbled.

James ignored this comment and shoved his wand back in his pocket. 'I do believe you have a story to tell, Remus.'

Remus took a breath, looking irritable. 'Fine. For god's sake, if you really want bloody "Story Time with Remus", just shut up and let me get it out, okay?'

Sirius grinned, liking this idea. He promptly sat down on the floor at Remus' feet, looking straight up at him. 'If it's Story Time, we might as well do it properly.' He grabbed James by his pant leg and tugged him down beside him. The unsuspecting boy went down with a crash as he hit the floor a lot harder than he should have. Peter just flopped down beside them both. All three of them looked at Kayla expectantly. She rolled her eyes and gave a dramatic sigh before sitting down where she was. Sirius grabbed her by the arm and pulled her over to the rest of the group. She slid along the floor with an exclamation of complaint before pulling a face and crossing her arms.

Nobody did anything. Seconds passed in silence, before Sirius waved his arms about. 'Well? You've got a bloody story to tell us, don't you, Moony?'

Remus blinked. 'Moony?'

'It's fitting. Don't you lot reckon so?'

The other two Marauders made noises of agreement, nodding their heads. Kayla just sighed.

'Right,' Remus started. 'Well . . . I've only been told what happened. I don't remember it for myself. But . . . apparently one night I broke out of the woodshed in the backyard . . .'

'So that's what you mean by "confinement doesn't last forever",' Kayla said slowly. Remus nodded, looking slightly green.

If he broke out, he must have been really strong . . . or really savage. The thought worried Kayla. And to think, he wasn't a fully grown werewolf yet . . . What would he be capable of when he was?

'Well, I got out onto the street . . . and there were Muggles there . . .'

Oh no. Oh no.

The other three were also looking slightly worried.

'In short, I attacked one and put them in St Mungo's,' he said, all in one breath. He stopped and watched them carefully.

Kayla sat silently for a moment, letting that all sink in.

I attacked one and put them in St Mungo's . . .

He had actually attacked someone. That was why he was so anxious since term started. Granted, he had only lasted two weeks before they found out, but . . . wow. Just wow.

'So . . . what happened?' she pressed, dreading the answer.

'Got called for a hearing,' Remus said matter-of-factly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. 'I got off, but . . . that lady really didn't like me.'

'Who?'

'Whoever was running it. The hearing, I mean. I don't remember her name – Elizabeth or something? – but she really seemed to have something against werewolves. She tried to get me . . .'

'She tried to what?' James pressed.

'She – she tried to get me sent to an asylum.'

There was a collective gasp, just like in the classic story-tellings.

'Right, where is she?' Kayla growled, going to get to her feet. 'I am going to hunt down that -'

'At the present moment I am really thinking that is unnecessary,' Sirius said, grabbing her by the wrist and reining her back in. Kayla gave him a heavy glare. He shrugged, giving her an it's true sort of look. She sighed in irritation and gestured for Remus to continue.

'That's it,' Remus said. 'Seriously, nothing else really happened. I got off, came back to school paranoid as hell and started hoping I could distance myself from the lot of you to keep you safe – you know, standard stuff.'

Kayla's eyes narrowed. 'So you were trying to avoid us! You weren't just being stupid for no reason whatsoever?'

Remus shook his head. 'No, that came out wrong, I -'

'No, I get it,' Kayla said, getting to her feet. 'You thought that we would judge you, or that we would . . . who knows what you would come up with, but that's not the point!'

She was fuming, her fists clenching and unclenching. She was seeing it all now. And it was starting to really sting.

'You weren't thinking about the fact that we were your friends!' she very nearly shouted, her voice rising. 'So even when you were worried about our safety, which is really stupid, you wouldn't tell us why you were being a prat like you were! That was why I had to go looking into it!'

'Wait, no.' Remus' brow was furrowing as his own face lined itself with anger. 'So you wouldn't have even known by now if you hadn't been looking into it? All because I was trying to protect you?'

'Would you stop it with this "protecting us" rubbish? Why won't you see that we don't need you to do that? You wouldn't let us in on all of this, just because you were afraid we would judge you, hate you, even! You didn't have any faith in us, did you?'

'Yes I did!' Remus shouted back. 'You just don't get it! Do you know what this sort of thing is like for me, Kayla? Do you?'

'Yes, I get that! What I don't get is why you had that view on us! Why did you think that we would judge you?'

'Because I've grown up knowing that it was the only thing that would ever happen to me! I had to realise that I was going to deal with stuff like that for the rest of my life, and that I was going to have to come to terms with is and get used to it! I'm used to it now, and it's a reflex action for me!'

His face trembled with anger. Kayla ignored the violent beating of her heart and instead focused on the rage pumping through her veins. She was good at fighting. Just like her mum.

'Well sometimes you have to think and take control of those reflex actions! Because sometimes they will screw up and you will be stuck, Remus, you will be stuck!'

That was a Caroline Edwards quote, taken straight from one of her battles . . . against one of her late boyfriends, actually. She really was a nice woman, and Kayla loved her, but for some people . . . relationships just never work out for them, no matter how hard they try. They just constantly crack and crumble. But like the soldier she was, Caroline continued on, trying to find someone she cared for and got along with, just so Kayla could have a father again. Kayla had been especially grateful to her grandparents for looking after her while her mother was working, as they did their best to fulfil the role a father generally would; coming on holiday trips and taking her around England, but it was never quite the same.

Remus took a steady breath, trying to control his anger. 'I'll be stuck, will I?'

'Mum and Dad are fighting,' Peter whispered in a weak attempt to add humour to the heated argument.

'Yes you will!' Kayla shouted back, completely ignoring the blonde boy and still focusing on Remus. 'And I wish you would see that!'

'Well maybe -!'

'As a return question, do you know what this is like for us? Never knowing what's going on and wanting to help you?' she snapped, turning around and walking to the door. As she pulled it open, Remus shouted, 'well maybe I don't, but I really try!'

Not even turning to look at him, she walked out and slammed the door.

And ending it on that note . . .

Question: Summer or winter?

My Answer: I'm a winter child, because it gives me an excuse to bundle up under a million blankets. I live for blankets.

Leave your answers in the reviews!