Sirius didn't know how to help Remus. He desperately wanted to do something for him but he didn't know what to do. He couldn't tell James, he had promised to Remus not to tell anyone. He and James told each other almost everything. Well, Sirius had a few secrets of his own but he told himself they were not important enough to burden James with. He could deal with his own family. But he saw Remus everyday. He was constantly thinking of the secret Remus had to carry with him. He just wanted to help him. It felt almost impossible to hide this from James but he knew it was not his secret to tell.
Even though Sirius had assured him many times that Peter and James wouldn't mind his secret, Remus still felt reluctant to tell them about it. Since he had told Sirius it felt like he treated him differently. Like he had just taken pity on him. It also didn't help that Sirius kept trying to find ways to help him even though that was impossible. He didn't want Peter and James to feel the same way about him. He just had to deal with this on his own. He didn't need their help. He always had been fine on his own.
As the weeks progressed Remus could feel the full moon coming closer. The monster in him growing stronger. The end of year exams were coming up as well. His days were filled with studying. He had to do well on his final exams. He was supposed to have his astronomy exam on the eve of the full moon. but McGonnagal had arranged for him to take it a week beforehand. Remus didn't know how to explain to his friends that he would be absent for an exam. His excuse of visiting his grandmother wouldn't work in the middle of exam week.
Remus just left right before they were supposed to leave for the exam with the excuse of going to the bathroom. Sirius knew it was the full moon and that Remus would have to go through the agonizing process of turning into a werewolf that night. He had insisted he should go with him, at least to the shrieking shack but Remus had refused. But when Remus left he still felt guilty. He should at least be able to help his friend. During the entire exam Sirius couldn't focus. He was worried about Remus.
The wind was blowing from Hogsmeade and Sirius could hear some of Remus' screams coming from the shrieking shack every now and then. He wondered if the other students noticed them as well, or if he just imagined them.
The sun was already coming up as they finished their exam. By the time everyone was done it was already 5 o'clock in the morning and they went straight to the dining hall to eat something before they went to bed. The next test wasn't until the next day so they had time to catch up on some sleep and study a bit.
Peter and James kept talking about Remus's absence and Sirius found it almost impossible to keep his mouth shut. James noticed that Sirius was trying to avoid talking about Remus and he wondered why. James knew Sirius like the back of his hand and knew he was hiding something.
Sirius was itching to go to the hospital wing to check if Remus was okay. So he told James and Peter he was going back to their common room and excused himself as soon as possible. When he had gotten to the hospital wing Remus had already been there. He had looked worse than he had expected. Madam Pomfrey was patching him up. On one of his arms there was a chunk of meat missing. The teeth of the wolf had torn through skin and muscle. The bone underneath was visible. Sirius almost gagged at the site of it. How could the boy have done that to himself. He looked so innocent lying there, sleeping. Almost Peaceful, but the numerous wounds on his body told a different story.
James and Peter had decided to follow Sirius when he left at breakfast. James suspected he was hiding something. They arrived a few minutes later at the hospital wing. As soon as they walked in they saw Remus, unconscious on one of the beds. Sirius standing at the bedside.
James demanded to know what was going on. Sirius couldn't tell him. He had promised not to tell. He just stood there silently, he would not break his promise to Remus. The boy had looked so scared when he had asked him not to tell. Whatever his parents might have told him he was not a traitor. He would not betray one of his best friends. James kept asking him what happened to Remus and Sirius just stood there until Madam Pomfrey ushered them out. They were being too loud for the infirmary.
Later that day, Remus was allowed out of the hospital wing. James would not leave him alone. He was very concerned for Remus and he knew he couldn't get out of telling him. James wouldn't believe him. He had to tell them. He was sure they already knew. Sirius must have told them. They just wanted him to confess so the could kick him out of the school. It had been inevitable. He was lucky he had at least gotten two years of education. So when James asked him for the hundredth time what happened he just blurted out: 'I am a werewolf" and ran to the bathroom to lock himself in before he vomited.
Remus stayed in the bathroom for the next four hours. He didn dare to come out to confront his friends. He just sat there quietly crying and panicking. Sirius tried to get him to come out but to no avail. He explained everything to James and Peter who tried to assure Remus they were fine with it and wouldn't tell anyone. But Remus was too trapped in his own mind to believe them. He came out of the bathroom when he thought they had all gone to bed but they were waiting for him in their dorm. That night they all just talked and assured Remus everything was gonna be okay.
The next day they had their final exam of the year, Transfiguration. None of them had slept well last night and Peter even fell asleep midway through the exam. But after the exam hey were free for the rest of the afternoon and they had the weekend to pack before they went home for the summer. That afternoon they all went to the great lake and sat in the shade and just talked. At that moment they all felt like they could take on the world and everything would be fine. Only Sirius was dreading returning to home but even that felt manageable that afternoon. The world was perfect for a moment.