I'm a day late, which is still pretty good if I'm honest. However, I will say that with the holidays coming up, the next update will probably be a bit later than the 2-week deadline that I've been keeping up with. This is, in part, to the craziness that will be my work schedule (yay customer service!) and the utter insanity that is my family. But also, I need a little bit of time to rework the next few chapters because I noticed a gaping plothole. And while this story has a few already (aka their ages because math is not my strong suit), I'm trying to keep that from happening.
Anyways, please let me know how I'm doing and if you spot any further plot holes/grammar issues/etc. And Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers (or Indiginous People Day, whatever you prefer). I hope your holiday is full of delicious food and good times.
Sirius, James, and Peter trudged up the stairs towards their dormitory just after dawn, yawning and silent. The adventures deep in the Forest had started to become a chore for them all, though they'd never admit it to Remus. They still had fun, yes, but they were getting older and with the impending war that never seemed to be far from their minds, they grew wearier than a bunch of teenagers had any right to be. But they continued with an unspoken agreement to never bring up the tediousness of the task. After all, it was a small price to pay for their best friend's peace of mind. That being said, it was quite an unpleasant shock for Sirius to find Sage fast asleep in his bed, curled around one of his pillows with the map open next to her.
"Oh bloody hell," Sirius groaned, running a hand over his face, trying very hard to not notice that her skirt had ridden uncomfortably high in her sleep.
"What?" James mumbled, sidling over to see his sister barely stirring, closely followed by Peter. "Oy! What are you doing in here?" Sage's eyes sprung open and she darted up, looking around at the three boys staring at her in disbelief. Sage felt the breeze on her legs and hurriedly pulled her skirt down.
"I'll answer your question if you'll answer mine. Though I think yours will take much longer to explain," she grumbled, climbing off the bed.
"What are you on about?" James asked grumpily.
"Were any of you going to tell me that Remus is a werewolf?" Everyone froze, the Marauders staring at Sage and Sage staring at each of them in turn.
"What are you talking about? Of course he isn't a werewolf," James said unconvincingly.
"Don't try to lie to me Jamie, you're not good at it," Sage said stubbornly. After a few more moments of silence, she tried again. "Look, we all know he is a werewolf, so can we please skip the denials? Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Remus didn't even want to tell us," Sirius said, brushing past her to sit on the edge of his bed. He put his face in his hands before speaking. "He didn't want anyone else to know. Can you blame him?"
"Of course not," Sage said softly. "I just wish he would have realized that the people who actually know and love him wouldn't give a shit." Sirius raised his face to look at her and she flinched away from his intensely thoughtful expression.
"You mean, you don't care either?" Peter asked, staring at Sage with an expression that was part distrustful, part awe.
"Absolutely not," Sage confirmed quickly. "He's still the same Remus he was yesterday, just, more so."
"How did you find out?" James asked, face full of relief.
"I came in here because Marlene and I had a row and I just needed out. You lot were gone and after a while, I started to get worried. So I found that map-"
"How do you know about the Map?" Peter interjected.
"I showed it to her, the night we dueled those Slytherin gits," Sirius said. James and Peter stared at him and he went on defensively, "I didn't think it'd be a big deal. I mean, it's Sage. I didn't think she'd go poking around and find out about Remus."
"It's as if you don't even know me," Sage joked and he cracked a smile. "Anyway, I found that map and saw that he was with you lot and you were headed to the Forest. And then it clicked. The constant illnesses, the scars, the nickname. You lot really aren't as clever as you think you are."
"Yeah, so you keep saying," James grumbled. "I'm starting to think you're right."
"I'm always right," Sage said haughtily and the boys let out noises of skepticism. "Well usually, at least when it comes to you four."
"So what are you going to do about it now that you know?" James asked.
"Hang up signs around the castle, stand on the table and scream about it during dinner, the usual," Sage said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Nothing. I'm going to ream him a new one for being so thick but ultimately, nothing changes. I mean, you are safe, right? All of you?" She pinned them each with a stare.
"Werewolves are only a danger to humans. In animal form, he doesn't attack us. He actually seems," Sirius paused, searching for the right words. "More himself when we're around."
"Well then, keep doing it," Sage shrugged and the boys nodded. "Though I do still have a couple of questions. First off, I get why you two are Padfoot and Prongs," Sage said, gesturing towards James and Sirius before addressing Peter. "But why are you Wormtail. Are you a mouse?"
"Rat," Peter explained. "And how do you know…" he trailed off.
"Really, really not as clever as you think you are," Sage said with a smile. "Second, is this why he's being so stupid about Kylie?"
"I don't know what you mean," James said shiftily.
"Merlin help me," Sage grumbled. "Okay, this," she made a circling gesture with her arms. "Is a circle of honesty, okay? No more lies and no more secrets because it's stupid. And anything said in the Circle of Honesty stays in the Circle of Honesty." The boys stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Circle of Honesty, really? What are we, five?" Sirius said between giggles.
"Mentally? Yes," Sage said with a cheeky grin. "Now, we all know that Remus and Kylie want to make babies with each other but they're too thick to see that the other feels the same way. I was hoping that they had finally figured out that they were being stupid but Remus is still holding back. Is this why?"
"We don't really talk about our feelings with each other, Sagey," Sirius said. "Well, aside from James torturing us for the past seven years about Evans."
"Then give me your best guess," Sage said stubbornly, ignoring James' indignant noise.
"Probably, yeah," Sirius said.
"Well good, I have another thing to ream him about. Kylie is so love-blind that he could wind up being a turtle in a man-suit and she'd somehow make it work."
"A turtle in a man-suit?" James asked with a laugh.
"Hey, I haven't had much more sleep than you have," Sage said, defensively. "Now I'm going to get a few hours of sleep and then I'm going to go see Remus. You lot can come with me or not, but if you try to stop me, I will make your lives living Hell for as long as I live. It's time that these stupid secrets are gone because they make absolutely no sense and frankly, we'll all be much happier without them," Sage said definitively, a fierce gleam in her eyes. The boys looked exchanged apprehensive looks.
"Sage?" Sirius asked timidly.
"Yeah?"
"Sometimes, you scare me."
"It's for your own good."
"I know and, honestly, that makes it even more terrifying."
True to her word, Sage led the boys down to the Hospital Wing shortly after lunch. As she expected, Remus was awake and reading his Charms textbook, looking tired but not unhappy. His head whirled when he heard the group come into the wing and his face fell into apprehensive lines.
"Uh, hi," Remus said tentatively as Sage flopped into the chair next to his bed. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you think I'm doing here?" She asked fiercely as the other three boys gathered behind her.
"Um, seeing how I'm feeling? I'm doing much better, seems like it was just a stomach bug," Remus said with a timid smile.
"Remus, I know," Sage said shortly.
"You know?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I know about you being a werewolf," Sage said softly, even though there was nobody else in the ward. All the color drained from Remus' face as his mouth opened, then closed. "And I just want to say that you're an idiot if you truly thought that I would care."
"But-" Sage held up a hand to stop him.
"No buts," she said. "You being a werewolf changes absolutely nothing. You're family and I love you. I love you not despite you being a werewolf, but because of it. It's a part of what makes you, you, and you never need to be ashamed of it."
"You don't see how people treat werewolves," Remus countered. "It's like we're not even human."
"But that doesn't make it right. It's the same poisonous thinking that started this whole damn war, to begin with," Sage argued. "You want to fight against the injustice muggle-borns face, right?" He nodded vehemently. "Then why wouldn't you fight against the injustice werewolves face? You deserve the world, Remus, and you can have it. But you have to believe that you're worth it." By the end of this spiel, Sage's chest was heaving and she felt tears prick her eyes for the second time in two days. "You're smart, you're strong, you're brave, and you're kind. You are a fantastic bloody person and if I ever hear you say anything otherwise, I will smack the shit out of you."
"Only you could threaten a person and make it sound like a motivational speech," He laughed.
"Actually, I learned that from Kylie," Sage shrugged. "Which brings me to my next point: why are you so afraid to let her in?" Remus heaved a great sigh.
"Don't hit me," he started with a weary look, "but I think she deserves better. Even if I were to fight against the prejudice against werewolves, how could I ask her to do that as well? What is our future together? She'd have to deal with the judgment and she'd always be at risk, not only from the world, but from me. My transformations are not easy. What if I attacked her? What if I infected her? What if we had kids and they turned out to be like me?"
"I think I have the right to make that choice for myself," Sage whirled around to see Kylie standing just behind James, Sirius, and Peter, holding a large chunk of Honeyduke's best chocolate. Sage's jaw dropped as she looked back at Remus, who looked part horrified, part livid, and part sheepish. His eyes flicked back to Sage, who held up her hands quickly.
"Don't look at me, I didn't tell her I was coming down here."
"I thought I'd come down to see how you were," Kylie said, striding towards the bed. James and Sirius leapt out of her way, looking bemused at the expression on her face and Sage, being very familiar with that expression, opened her mouth to warn Remus just as a resounding smack filled the wing.
"What the hell was that for?" Remus asked, cupping his stinging red cheek.
"For being a bloody idiot!" Kylie tossed the bar of chocolate on the bedside cabinet and grabbed the back of his head to pull his lips to hers. After a few moments, she pulled back and said, "And that was something I should have done years ago."
"Uh, I think we should leave now," James said awkwardly and Sage nodded quickly.
"Right, you two have a lot to talk about," Sage said, bouncing up from her chair. "Remus? Try not to be an idiot. Kylie? Try not to hit him again."
"I can't promise anything," Kylie said, barely glancing at Sage as she and the three boys left the wing.
"Merlin, he's got his work cut out with that one," Sirius grumbled, throwing a look over his shoulder at the closed door behind them.
"Well, I guess it's better that she smacked him. If it was me, I wouldn't have snogged him afterward," Sage stated, shrugging.
"I don't think I've ever seen Moony that gobsmacked," James giggled.
"They've had what, six years of sexual tension building up? I think it's lucky we left when we did. I'd really hate to have to rinse my eyeballs with lye this early in the day," Sage laughed.
"Think we should warn Pomfrey?" Sirius asked.
"Nah, they should be able to keep their lips to themselves until she stops yelling at him, at least."