"What happened to my broom?" Harry asked.
Ron and Hermione shared a look, and Remus refused to meet his eye. He, Ron and Hermione were sat in Remus' office, each one of them holding a large mug of hot chocolate. Hermione had given him a very shrewd look when he'd suggested the idea, but Harry maintained that it was not an attempt at procrastination, regardless of the fact that he had transfiguration, herbology and divination homework to do. Honestly, he wanted to see if Remus was really all right. He'd assured Harry that he was, but there was something about the pallor of his skin and the dark circles under his eyes that made Harry unsure.
Hermione eventually broke the slightly awkward silence that had fallen among them. "Well, when you fell off, it was blown away by the wind…" She stopped awkwardly. "It was blown into the Whomping Willow"
Harry felt like something had punched him in the stomach. He didn't need anybody to continue speaking. The Willow was a particularly vicious tree on the grounds. He'd ran afoul of it last year, and he'd only got away because of Ron's quick thinking. His broom wouldn't have been so lucky. It would have been smashed to smithereens. Harry felt that same dull blow to his stomach. His broom was gone. He'd loved that broom – it had been a gift from Sirius and Remus when he made the Gryffindor team.
"Don't worry about it now, Harry," Remus said quietly. "We'll get you a new one"
Harry looked away and sighed bitterly. It all came down to the dementors. He hated them, hated them with such intensity that it almost hurt. Remus had told him that he would teach Harry to fight them off, but, as Fred had told him earlier, they'd lost the match. George and Angelina had both assured him that it wasn't his fault, and that they weren't out of the running for the cup, but Harry was unconvinced. They'd lost the match, and potentially the cup, all because of his own stupid weakness to the dementors. The loss of his broom then, was just the icing on the cake.
OoOoOo
The rest of November passed in a haze of rain. Malfoy finally removed his bandages and celebrated by imitating Harry falling off his broom every time they were in the same room. He'd also taken to pulling his hood up and waving his arms in an attempt to imitate a dementor. Ron was apparently more annoyed by it than he was, as he managed to get another detention from Snape for throwing a crocodile heart at Malfoy in the middle of potions. It had hit the blonde haired Slytherin directly in the face, but Snape had failed to see the funny side and had taken fifty points from Gryffindor as well.
Ravenclaw had beaten Hufflepuff at the end of the month, and, as Wood had told them all excitedly, it meant that they weren't out of the running for the cup after all. As per usual, he'd resumed his Quidditch obsession and was demanding that they practice six nights a week. Harry was stuck on one of the school brooms – Remus' promise had proven false. However, Sirius became strangely tight lipped when Harry mentioned broomsticks. He was sure there was something going on that he didn't know about. Come to think of it, he was sure there were lots of things going on that he didn't know about.
Like his current situation. He always went to see Remus on a Thursday afternoon after divination, so that Harry could moan about Trelawney and Remus could reassure him that she was just making it all up. Except this week, Remus wasn't there. Harry had hammered on his office door for at least a minute and had then checked the Hospital Wing. As Harry had expected, he hadn't been there either. These disappearances were happening a bit too often to be sheer coincidence. Truth be told, he was incredibly worried about Remus. Without Remus, there was only one person Harry knew well enough to feel comfortable with. Only one other person he could go to for help.
"Sirius Black" Harry called into the mirror after barricading himself in an empty classroom. He didn't want anybody walking in on him. The mirror remained blank for a minute and then Alex's face appeared.
"Harry, hello. What can I do for you?"
Harry tried not to let the disappointment show on his face. He loved Alex fiercely, but she wasn't Sirius. "Do you know where Sirius is? I want to talk to him"
Alex looked down for a moment and then met Harry's eyes. She shook her head slightly. "He's at work, Harry. They got a lead on the Pettigrew case, somewhere near Glasgow. He's gone up to check. If something's wrong though, I'm more than happy to help"
Harry smiled at the offer. Normally he loved talking to Alex, but he couldn't today. He needed to find out what was going on with Remus. He was sure now that Sirius was involved, he'd spoken to him only yesterday and he'd told Harry that the case wasn't going anywhere. Harry found it quite unlikely that so much had happened in one day. "Oh it's nothing, I just wanted to talk to Sirius. It's nothing major"
Alex gave him a piercing look that made Harry suspect she knew something about what was going on. Harry suppressed a sigh. Did everybody know what was going on, except for him? "Well, if you're sure Harry. We'll see you soon though; I think Sirius is planning something for the next Hogsmeade trip. Bye Harry"
Harry bid her farewell and stowed the mirror in his pocket. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was people lying to him. It wasn't so much the actual lie; it was more the fact that they obviously didn't trust him enough to tell him the truth. And that hurt.
OoOoOo
Harry walked into Remus' office calmly enough, but when he looked up at Remus sat in his chair, sipping at a large mug of hot chocolate, he lost it. He was tired of people keeping things from him, people thinking he was stupid. Remus frowned as he caught the furious look in Harry's eyes.
"What's wrong Harry? Has something happened?"
Remus spoke calmly, but it just made Harry angrier. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you"
"Harry, I've been ill. I was in the h-"
"Don't lie Remus. I know you weren't in the Hospital Wing, I checked. Do you think I'm an idiot? Did you think I wouldn't notice that something was going on?"
The blood drained from Remus' face. It was quite frightening how ill he suddenly looked. "Harry, I…." He trailed off, apparently at a loss for words. Harry was having none of it.
"Answer my question! What on earth is going on?"
Remus looked him straight in the eye. Harry could see the conflict and doubt there. All of a sudden, he felt awfully guilty over coming in and shouting at him. Remus sighed and beckoned Harry closer. He struggled to his feet, Harry moved forward worriedly to help him, but Remus shook him off. He led Harry into the small lounge that was part of his private chambers. He gingerly sat on the sofa and patted the seat next to him, with an attempt at a reassuring smile. Harry took the seat slightly awkwardly, still feeling slightly guilty.
"Harry, I'm going to tell you something I should have told you a very long time ago," Remus took a deep breath. "I've always told you that I was ill. That's not strictly true… I'm a werewolf"
Harry's eyes widened. He was about to joke, to laugh off what Remus had said, but there was something about the sadness in his eyes as he watched Harry that convinced him Remus was telling the truth. He was staggered. A werewolf? As he thought about it, it all made sense. But still… Remus? He'd been taught at school that werewolves were savage beasts, who took great joy in mauling people, and yet, he couldn't connect that image with kind, caring Remus. It didn't make sense.
Remus looked at him sadly. "It's alright if you're scared of me. Hell, sometimes I'm scared of myself," He suddenly became serious again. "I can leave" He began to struggle to his feet. Harry laid a hand on his arm.
"I'm not scared. You are the kindest, most gentle person I know," Remus gave him a lopsided, sarcastic smile. "You're Remus. Just Remus. It doesn't matter to me"
Remus looked at him for a long time, almost as if searching for something. Harry stared back, refusing to break eye contact. Eventually, and very slowly, Remus moved his arms forward and enveloped Harry in a hug. Harry smiled and hugged Remus back fiercely. Looking back, he could never be sure if he heard it or not, but Harry could swear he heard Remus whisper "Thank you"
OoOoOo
"I'm incredibly proud of you," Sirius told Harry as they sat in Remus' office. He was at a staff meeting, so Sirius had capitalised on his absence and told Harry to meet him in Remus' office. Harry looked at him quizzically. "For how you handled Remus' secret yesterday"
"How else was I meant to have handled it? It's Remus. It's not like he's suddenly changed" Harry replied quickly. Sirius smiled softly.
"And that is why I'm so proud, Harry. Not many people would have been so calm," Sirius smiled at him again, before turning serious once again. "There is a lot of prejudice against werewolves in our world"
"Why? It's not like it's his fault! I'm sure he doesn't choose to be a werewolf!"
"Of course he doesn't. But some werewolves, not Remus, can be very dangerous," He looked at Harry's indignant face. "There are those who deliberately attack people. There was one, during the war, who used to attack children when their parents refused Voldemort."
Harry's mouth dropped open. "That's horrible. But Remus isn't like that!"
Sirius shook his head. "No, he's not. But it doesn't matter. As soon as most people know what he is, they normally run a mile. That's why he doesn't tell anybody," Sirius stared into the distance. "That's why he didn't tell any of us at school. He thought we'd be scared of him and that we wouldn't want to be his friends"
Harry stared at him. Sirius and Remus were so close now that Harry had difficulty imagining that. Sirius continued speaking. "That's why he didn't tell you, Harry. He was scared that you wouldn't love him anymore"
Harry scoffed loudly. "Of course I still love him! That's not going to change just because he's got a…problem"
Sirius looked at him for a second and then burst out laughing. Harry looked at him strangely. Sirius eventually calmed down. "You are so like your dad. He called it Remus' furry little problem. At school, most people were under the impression he had a badly behaved rabbit"
Harry sniggered. An idea came to him then, an idea so strange, and that had been stored in the back of his mind for so long that he marvelled that he'd even come up with it. "Is that why you became animagi?"
Sirius gave him a strange look. "Yes it is. He used to come back so beaten up that we wanted to help him. Lily mentioned in class one day that werewolves couldn't infect other animals, and we just kind of ran with the idea"
It was all making sense. All the pieces of the puzzle that he'd had for years were falling into place. "Moony" He breathed. That nickname finally made sense now.
"You can't tell anyone, Harry. You have to promise" Sirius said, suddenly serious again.
Harry nodded slowly. "Of course I won't tell anyone," Sirius relaxed again, slumping back into his seat. "Wait, Snape knows, doesn't he? I mean, when he covered – The essay!"
"Relax Harry! No one did the essay, Remus made sure of that. And I've, er, dealt with Snape. We had a little chat"
Harry raised his eyebrows suspiciously. Sirius and Snape hated each other. He had a distinct impression, which was confirmed by the way that Sirius refused to meet his eye, that this 'chat' very quickly deteorated into shouting and threats. Harry looked at Sirius again and shivered slightly. He definitely would not want to be on the receiving end of a threat from Sirius. Or Snape, come to think of it. They were both scary when they wanted to be.
AN: I am so sorry for the wait for this chapter – I was watching the Olympics. As a Brit, they made me incredibly proud. Anyway, I know a lot of people have wanted this revelation, and I hope I did it justice. Please let me know what you think.
