Hello everybody!
Okay so as usual I thank you all for your reviews, but I'm too excited to focus on it because I have wonderful news!
I'M A LICENSED DRIVER!
That may not seem like a big deal for some of you, so here's some context: I'm 29. I have suffered for years from severe anxiety and depression. Like, majorly so. It is so severe that for the past six years, I have been unable to get behind the wheel of a car without a panic attack. I never bothered learning to drive in high school because my father died my junior year and coping with that sort of took priority. Then in College, I lived on campus in a populated main street, so everything was in walking distance (and parking for campus was hell so most of us didn't bother with cars).
After graduation, I began my struggle to learn to drive but unexpectedly developed an irrational phobia of driving or even riding in the car. I started to become quite hysterical in a vehicle and terrified on highways. I didn't feel in control of the car while driving. I felt out of control, the car outweighed me, how could a little steering wheel keep it in line?
So for years I have struggled with this, failing every road test and further ruining my confidence. It has greatly limited my way of life, carpooling with my mother greatly restricting my job opportunities and leaving me stuck with a minimum wage, part time job because I can't go too far from my mother's job if we share a car (since I couldn't drive alone on just a learner's permit).
Then for some reason, it changed this year. I can't explain where the confidence came from, but suddenly I felt more assured of myself and my abilities. It could be that driving a bigger car made me feel like I had a better vantage point on the road and that I would better survive a crash. Either way, I finally passed my test!
So yeah, I'm over the moon with that right now, hard to think of much else. But I do appreciate everyone's reviews from the last chapter.
If Someone Cared Enough
Chapter Sixty-Eight: After the Fallout
True to the gossip in any school, word spread fast: the Marauders were on the outs. The 'Bathroom Brawl' between three-fourths of the infamous quartet and Severus Snape's diverse group of companions managed to acquire quite a number of witnesses and most were keen to recount the tale to anyone who would listen.
Many would recall the odd falling out the four boys had the previous year mid-way through second term. While James was reveling in the heroism of saving Snape from some perceived threat—though precisely what the school may never know—out by the Whomping Willow, Lupin had cast himself out from the group for quite some time. It lessened the satisfaction felt by Potter and Black to see their merry fourth so distant with them. All was right and well again eventually though, so the Marauders resumed their antics once again inseparable.
This time though, it seemed the severance may be for good.
Though all who bore witness to the fight were unclear on the actual cause—something about not trusting Snape; no surprise given the hostility between him and Potter—the general understanding was that it somehow broke some sort of promise. From what anyone could gather, Lupin apparently marked Snape off limits at the beginning of the school year and implored his friends to swear they'd do the same.
Unsurprisingly, Potter and Black could not resist a good fight and finally incited one at random in the bathroom—at least that's what word around the halls consisted of. No one had any idea why Snape and his gang were in the abandoned bathroom, but considering it was a whole group, it provided little scandal to gossip over. If it had been Snape and Lily Evans alone in the bathroom, or even that Davis fellow and Nesme, the subject would be entirely too titillating to pass up. A group of friends just…hanging around a bathroom came off more boring and weird than saucy and intriguing.
Thus the real scandal was the falling out of Gryffindor's dream team. When a fight was started by Potter, Black, and Pettigrew—though the latter hardly anyone counted since he was merely a tagalong—it apparently was the final nail in the vampires coffin for Lupin. In what many recounted as a tearful, heart rendering display, Lupin severed ties with his friends, specifically Potter and Black, citing their total lack of disregard for their promise as evidence of how little they cared for or respected Lupin.
Danica Patrice, vapid fourth year gossipmonger, claimed it to be the most moving and sorrowful display she'd seen since the all goblin rendition of 'The Hag and the Goatkeeper.'
While Snape and his friends turned themselves in and abashedly endured the finger wagging of McGonagall and the other House Heads, Lupin swore off friendship with his long time companions before pushing his way through the clamoring crowd of onlookers and fleeing in tears. What followed was a rather unseemly display of brother turned against brother as Black lashed out at Potter.
Black reportedly blamed Potter for the entire mess due to his unending rivalry with Snape. In the ensuing argument he brought forth several other occasions in the past year were they had tracked, followed, and outright stalked Snape solely on Potter's orders, though many dispute the validity of such a claim since Black was not one to follow orders. If Black was party to any plan against Snape, it was due to his own desire to suspect and target the guy.
Many witnesses claimed Sirius stated he and his friends targeted the reformed Slytherin due to Potter's jealousy over the latter's closeness with Lily Evans. This however, was dismissed as nonsense by many as anyone with eyes could see Jessica and James were the new 'It' couple—and anyone who did believe the rumors were loudly berated by Jess and Meldonna for their apparent idiocy.
Either way, Black was quick to lay the blame at Potter's feet for the dissolving of their friendship with Lupin. For whatever reason, he took losing Lupin's camaraderie worst than his friends. As most saw Potter and Black thick as thieves while Lupin and Pettigrew came off as little more than sidekicks, no one could fathom why Lupin turning his back on the Marauders would be such a heavy blow to Black. Regardless, the boy blamed Potter.
Not one to be accused of wrongdoing under any circumstances, James did not take the turn of events very well at all. He turned the tables on Black, citing the boy's tendency to go after Snape harder than the rest of them, in doing so alluding that unknown danger Potter rescued Snape from the previous year at the Whomping Willow was somehow the result of Black's machinations to begin with. That little reveal did not sit well with Black in the slightest.
By the time the screaming and finger pointing was broken up by McGonagall—still furious from chewing out Snape's group for their shared destruction of the bathroom—Potter and Black had severed ties as well, leaving the Marauders group in shambles.
Since then the once inseparably friends were little more than strangers in the halls. Upturned noses were exchanged in passing between Potter and Black, desperate longing and cold indifference between Black and Lupin, and Pettigrew stuck in the middle of it all desperately trying to remain friends with both of his groups enigmatic leaders while trying to salvage any sort of friendship with Lupin.
Severus would love to say that the recent turn of events made him the happiest man on earth, but he'd be lying if he did. For some odd reason, the Marauders disbanding didn't bring Severus the joy he thought it would. He should be thanking the heavens, cheering through a bullhorn, proclaiming to the world his elation over the insufferable gits' misery…but instead he felt hollow.
There was a time where the thought of Potter and his friends miserable and lonely would put a smile on Severus face. After the werewolf incident that had Severus sworn to silence, the only consolation Severus found in the indignity of his situation was that Potter and his friends had become divide. Of course that failed to last as Severus hoped it would. Ever since the day the wretched gaggle of buffoons reconciled Severus had been praying for something, anything really, to come along and break them up for good.
Now he had exactly what he wanted and the victory tasted bland and unappealing.
It truly made no sense. He'd watched the foundation of Potter and Black's friendship crumble and give way beneath their feat, watched reality humble them with the figurative slap in the face they so rightly deserved. But it brought him no happiness, only a weird—and in his opinion misplaced—sense of guilt.
Perhaps it was that Potter and Black being at odds with one another came at the expense of Lupin's feelings. Severus was begrudged to admit he'd gotten along fairly decently with the unfortunate lycanthrope since their visit over the summer. He wouldn't necessarily called the boy a friend, but cordial acquaintances fit rather nicely. As hard as it was to let go of hard feelings in regards to Lupin's complacency to his friend's cruel antics, Severus would be hard pressed to say he hated the boy now.
If anything, Severus felt an underlying sense of pity towards Lupin. Despite his infuriating cowardice in the face of his friends over the years, there was the overpowering sadness to Lupin's situation now that Severus looked closely. You couldn't argue that Lupin's plight was a harsh one, being cursed with a condition that yielded so little happiness for its suffers. He certainly didn't ask for the life he led no more than Severus had his. Given how pitiful Lupin's circumstances truly were, seeing him fighting back tears was discomforting to say the least. It was as if looking at a kicked puppy, though given the nature of Lupin's affliction one could argue that comparison demeaning.
So yes, Lupin's hurt feelings might be what put a damper on Severus reveling in the Marauders end. He'd feel better if Potter and Black had simply turned on one another and Lupin had simply spent his time flitting between the two to maintain both friendships. Surely such go between would prove tiresome—if Pettigrew's efforts to do so were any indication—but at least then Lupin wouldn't be the one who got hurt.
Hell, if Lupin had just up and said, "You know what? I can do better than friends like them," and ditch them it would be a better alternative to the crying, broken display Severus witnessed in the bathroom.
Of course, with little else for true companionship in his life—not entirely anyone's fault but his own since Lupin pushed people away from discovering his furry little problem—Lupin was quickly adopted by Snape's group. Lily and Thea, bleeding hearts through and through, wasted little time in consoling Lupin for his brave choice, hoping to ease the poor boy's broken spirit. It changed little dynamic in their group with how easy going most of Severus's friends were.
Davis remained cautious around Lupin, not fully willing to welcome the boy into their fold given his previous ties to Potter and Black. However, he could be persuaded to play chess with Lupin or work on assignments together, his studious nature winning out over most grudges.
Nesme never turned down the friendship of anyone, it turned out, provided they were kind and friendly. Chances are, she could even befriend Potter, but probably only if the latter was truly very sorry and promised to never do a mean spirited thing ever again.
Lily and Mary, having the closest ties to Lupin as fellow Gryffidors, had no trouble whatsoever making Lupin feel welcomed. Already friends to a degree with him beforehand, the girls acted as they always had with Lupin, though with more inclusion to their various past times and hang outs.
Severus had heard about the thorough tongue-lashing Thea had given Lupin for his culpability in the Marauders mistreatment of others—particularly Severus—so it came as a surprise to him that Thea was so open to befriending Lupin. Despite her initial disdain, Thea easily buried the hatchet out of respect for Lupin taking a stand against his friends. The quiet girl made it her priority to involve Lupin in any given activity she and her friends enjoyed, from Gobstones, to study sessions. She took to inviting him to eat at the Hufflepuff table with her and Nesme whenever possible and regularly reached out to him to ensure he never felt lonely.
Of course, Lupin wasn't included in anything related to their research on Riddle and his cursed trinkets. Severus still maintained that it was better to involve as few people as possible.
Simone for her part accepted Lupin as their newest addition, but it was apparent her acceptance came begrudgingly. She certainly took some sort of issue with Thea spending so much time with Lupin.
Pettigrew frequently stopped by to make small talk with Lupin in an effort to rebuild the broken trust. Lupin bore little contempt for the watery-eyed boy given that he had no say one way or another over attacking Severus. While their exchanges were frosty at present, it was possible Lupin might eventually reform some sort of friendship with Pettigrew.
It was for this reason that the others tolerated the boy's presence, though their suspicion didn't wane after seeing him with the diary, convinced he really had intended to swipe it on Potter's orders.
Apart from Simone, Severus was the only person to have a difficult time with Lupin's inclusion. He didn't hate the boy anymore and truthfully they had a lot in common academically, but it was odd to interact with someone knowing that they have essentially witnessed or played part in some of your most miserable experiences at school.
The blame rested squarely on Potter and Black's shoulders for the most part, but you couldn't deny that Lupin could have spoken out against them sooner. In addition, Severus knew that Lupin had found some amusement in Severus's torment, if only because he had biasedly assumed his friends' claims about Severus alignment to evil to be true. It would be hard to let go of the past. Severus supposed he couldn't truly fault Lupin for that last part, considering everyone from the other three Houses seemed to paint Slytherin with the same brush.
It was just weird having Lupin as part of the gang. Weirder still was having Lupin, even in his wallowing self-pity, was showing concern for Severus over his house burning down. It was odd enough of a feeling to have people Severus cared for showing him concern in the face of their own troubles; his own parents rarely managed to shake themselves out of their self-absorb sorrows to even ask about Severus's day.
That lack of awareness for others made it awkward for Severus to accept Lily's worry and doting when he awoke at St. Mungos; she'd forgone acknowledging her own hardships at the hands of Avery in order to care for her oldest friend.
Severus was still growing used to the concept of familiar care and nurturing. Having parental figures like Hank and Willow in his life to look after him even when they were having a bad day was still nearly foreign to him. And they were his caretakers. It was even stranger to have Lupin do it when for someone hardly even a friend.
So Lupin inquiring to have Severus was—how he was coping, was his mother alright, etc—felt surreal and frankly uncomfortable when one factored in the near constant tired and red eyes Lupin sported lately. Severus wanted to yell, "Quit asking after me and worry about yourself!" because it was honestly becoming unnerving.
"Sev," Someone prodded Severus with a finger, "Sev are you listening?"
Severus glanced up from the book he was pretending to read. He'd started off with real intent when he sat down in the library with the book, but wandering thoughts about how peculiar his life had become left him rereading the same line over and over without taking any information in.
"What was that?" Severus asked, turning to the person who called for his attention.
Mary frowned, a bit of a pout forming on her face, "So you weren't listening."
"Sorry," Severus apologized, closing his book, "I've got a lot on my mind."
Mary nodded in understanding, "Well that's sort of what I was trying to talk to you about. I know things are tough for you right now, what with all the drama that's sprung up concerning your home…"
Wasn't that the truth. Aside from gossip about the Marauders, word of Severus's house burning down spread, ironically, like a wildfire. According to Mary, the day Severus left for home, all anyone could talk about was the arson. Many brought their copies of the Daily Prophet into class, the haunting image of the Dark Mark swirling in the clouds of a photo on the front page.
"So I was wondering," Mary continued, drawing Severus from his thoughts, "If you had sent any letters out? You know, to your relatives?"
Severus sighed, "I have, thought I hardly expect to hear anything back. I sent one of the school owls out days ago; I said Prince Manor and it seemed to understand what I meant. Took off like it knew where it was heading, anyway. Still, don't get your hopes up; I doubt my grandparents are dying to hear from me."
"You're related to the Princes?" Lupin asked, surprised, "My dad says they're a reclusive bunch, especially since their daughter ran off."
Severus eyed Lupin warily.
"That daughter is my mother," he said stiffly.
Further surprise spread across Lupin's face, edged with a hint of embarrassment, "Oh, I didn't know."
"I hardly would expect you to," Severus replied, "I only really used my mother's pureblood title around my Housemates. Not that it matters; I'm not an acknowledge member of the house of Prince anyway. You sort of lose that birthright when you're half muggle."
Lupin blinked, "Oh, so they're those kind of folks. Sorry, Severus."
Severus shrugged, not committing to a response.
"So…" Lupin said hesitantly, "You don't think they'll write you back?"
"It's unlikely," Severus said,not even sure why he was sharing this with Lupin. Maybe he enjoyed how uncomfortable it apparently made the other boy, "They disowned my mum for marrying a muggle. It seems farfetched that they would want anything to do with the product of that union."
"But you don't know that for sure," Mary interjected, "Maybe they've changed over the years. People change."
Severus snorted, "Yes, but changing usually comes with some sort of effort to show others that you have. They've never reached out to me or my mum. If their stance on mixed marriages were any different, I suspect they would have sought us out by now."
"Besides," Severus went on, "They hated muggles, or at the very least thought they didn't belong as part of our world. I don't particularly want to face them knowing they've heard how awful Tobias was and thinking it proves their prejudice right."
Lupin winced, "Yeah, can't say I blame you for wanting to avoid that."
Mary frowned again, eyes fixed on Severus, "So what, if they respond you're going to ignore them?"
Severus shrugged, "I never said that. But if you think I won't be reading between the lines of whatever polished little correspondence they send back—if they send anything at all—you're mad. Purebloods never say exactly what's on their mind, whether in public or on parchment. It's all about subtext and connotations. Whatever they send back—once again, if they write at all—is not going to be what they mean, good or bad."
Mary rolled her eyes, "You know, not everyone is sneaky and distant like your housemates. I imagine people with less biased views of those around them are more forth coming on their feelings, regardless of their 'refined' upbringing. Look at my House; all the purebloods there say whatever is on their mind."
"And remain uncouth and uncultured for it," Severus quipped.
Lupin chuckled, "Yeah, Gryffindors are a rowdy bunch, but that's part of our appeal. Life of the party, James always said—" Lupin cut himself off abruptly, instantly disheartened by the name that passed his lips.
"You okay, Remus?" Mary asked gently.
Lupin nodded, shoulders slumping, "…yeah. It's just more difficult than I thought. I never realized just how much my life revolved around those guys. Can't even reminisce about good times without every memory being somehow connected to them; they were the good times."
"Well you can make new memories," Severus said offhandedly, "Ones that aren't dependent upon them for your happiness. No man is an island, but no man is hive; you have to find things in life about yourself that can make you happy from time to time. You can't rely on others to be the sole reason you get up in the morning."
"What Sev is trying to say," Mary said, giving Severus a scolding glance for his harshness, "Is that it's important to have friends, but you need to be able to like yourself too. Some of who you are comes from yourself, not other people. What you liked about James and the others was that they made you feel good about yourself. But you have to do that on your own too."
"Not quiet the direction I was going," Severus said casually, "I just meant he should work on being an individual instead of one of Potter's sheep."
Mary thwacked Severus with a rolled up parchment.
"You are terrible at advice," she declared.
"I'd like to think I'm practical," Severus said in turn.
Mary continued to frown at him, while Severus pretended to be very interested in figuring out what sort of wood grain the table was made out of.
After a few minutes, Lupin laughed softly, "You two seem to be getting along well."
Mary beamed, "We just fit, don't we?" she looped her arm with Severus's squeezing tightly.
Lupin smiled, "I'll be honest, I never imagined you two would ever be friends, let alone so close."
"It's funny how things work out, isn't it?" Mary sighed dreamily, "To think I never would have known what a nice person Sev was if I'd actually listened to Jess and Mel."
"If you don't mind me asking," Severus spoke up suddenly, "Why didn't you?"
Mary shrugged one shoulder, "Honestly, I didn't really want to get sucked into all the drama. Everyone seemed to get so wrapped up in house rivalries and I thought it took the fun out of everything. Think about it: All you ever see from Gryffindor is red, red red. People get so up in arms if you wear the color of a different house, but my favorite color is blue! Now I can't wear my best sweater on the day of a Quidditch game or I get accuse of supporting the wrong team? Ridiculous."
"House politics," Lupin snickered, "It'll drive you mad."
Mary huffed, "Tell me about it. Anyway, I never bought into the whole idea that our house determines everything about us. I don't actually have much in common with most of the girls in my dorm aside from Lily, and yet supposedly we're all the exemplary traits of Gryffidor. Seems like a poorly concealed way of tricking students into behaving better; by setting up hatreds between houses so you'll always want to outshine them and be a better student to show them up."
"A tactful concept," Severus mused, "Though flawed in design. If they had simply arranged the points system by year rather than house, there could be unity and still a motivation for students to improve themselves. It's sort of weird how every year Dumbledore talks about harmony between the houses and yet still instates an archaic system designed to pit the house against one another.
"Totally barmy, right?" Mary asked.
Severus nodded, "Indeed."
"I guess I also never got caught up on hating you like the others because," Mary looked down, "Well, I guess I felt Lily was capable of making her own choices. If she saw some good in you, what did I gain by siding with the others and trying to force her to see differently? I was pretty neutral about you. I wanted to be a good friend to Lily because I could see how much it bothered her to be constantly picked at by others for her choice."
"Well…thanks for standing by her," Severus gave Mary a genuine smile. He couldn't help but wonder if Mary's unwillingness to jump on the bandwagon with everyone else and hate him had somehow helped Lily not write him off for good that day. Sure, Simone's words had an impact on Lily, but if she hadn't already been questioning her decision to end things, she probably wouldn't have put as much weight in what Simone had to say.
Walking back to a dorm of people who had already made up their mind on Severus would be like an echo chamber for Lily: all a bunch of biased idiots telling her over and over that she was right and he was awful, better off cast aside and forgotten. Maybe Mary's lack of commitment to the hate made it easier for Lily to question what she really wanted instead of what she thought she needed to hear.
Before Severus could dwell on it any longer, a hand slammed down on their table, drawing a glare from Pince on the otherside of the room.
Marlene loomed over the trio, one hand on her hip.
"Have you guys seen Peter," she asked in lieu of a greeting, "I've looked for him everywhere."
Lupin shook his head, a sad look on his face, "I haven't really been speaking to him much. Though, he does still try from time to time."
"He does miss you, you know," Marlene said. Her tone of voice seemed to indicate she wasn't entirely pleased with Lupin giving Pettigrew the cold shoulder, "Freeze out the other two idiots, sure, but Peter isn't actually responsible for their actions."
"Still he could have told me they were up to something," Lupin insisted.
"And what? Get Potter's next line of pranks be all on him?" Marlene scowled. She shook her head, "Whatever, I'm not here to argue. Point is, Peter was supposed to come watch me at Quidditch practice, but I can't seem to find him. Practice is in ten minutes and I'd really like him to be there."
"He could be hiding in his dorm," Severus suggested, "I don't exactly think he'd be keen on watching Potter and Black try and knock each other off their brooms out of spite."
"He's not going to be there for them, he'll be there for me," Marlene said firmly, arms crossed over her chest.
"Maybe he's in one of the boy's bathrooms," Mary theorized.
"Already looked," at the blank stares she got, Marlene raised an eyebrow, "What? You lot always go in the girl's loo."
"Yes, but we're not doing it with the intent to drag someone out with their pants around their ankles," Severus drawled.
Marlene rolled her eyes, "Look, I'm going to check out the pitch. If you see Peter, send him my way." She stormed off.
"He's in the kitchen," Lupin admitted after Marlene was gone, "That's where he always goes when he's sad."
"Why didn't you tell her then?" Severus asked.
"Because it's where he goes to be alone," Lupin explained, "I doubt he wants a girl to see him moping. I may not be friends with him, but that doesn't mean I am going to give away his secrets."
Severus cocked a brow, "Admirable sentiments. I suppose I can appreciate your respect for other's privacy even after they've disrespected you. My own housemates took my severing of ties with them rather poorly and I imagine if they had any of my secrets, would not be so kind as to guard them. Though, I can't help but wonder if your kindness is simply because your former friends have much greater secrets about you that you'd like kept."
Lupin glared at Severus, "That's not why I'm doing this. I may not trust those guys to actually listen to what I have to say, but I do trust their principals on…delicate subjects." His eyes darted cautiously over to Mary.
Mary tilted her head, "Wait…secrets…" she snapped her fingers, "So you are a werewolf?"
Lupin practically flew across the table to clamp a hand over Mary's mouth, shushing her while sending surreptitious glances around the library.
Severus quickly waved his wand, Muffliato descending over them.
"Okay, first off," Severus began, looking to Mary in suspicion, "How, in Salazar's name, do you know that?"
Mary batted Lupin's hand away with a huff.
"Lily used to tell me you had this 'ridiculous theory' about Remus," she explained, making quotation marks with her hands, "When you two had a particularly bad argument, she'd usually come and vent to me. That was one of the topics that came up," Mary shrugged, "I honestly thought you were just barmy at first, but then I started paying attention to the moon and things did seem to match. Still, I figure it could be a coincidence; I mean it wasn't like I had any reason to believe Dumbledore was breaking the law to smuggle someone into school."
"Plus," she added with a wry smile, "Remus here may have said more than he should when letting Potter and Black have it. I'm sure most people have no clue in the slightest what you meant, Remus, but I couldn't help but wonder what Black could have possible done at the Whomping Willow to endanger Sev that would somehow get you in trouble. As far as I had been led to believe, you and Pettigrew were supposedly inside when Potter went to stop Black."
Lupin flushed, mortified that he gave so much away in the heat of his anger.
Mary grinned, "So it got me thinking…what connection could you have to a prank you weren't apart of that would somehow make you the greatest perpetrator if Sev had actually gotten hurt…during a full moon no less?"
"H-how," Lupin stammered, "How would you even remember what part of the moon cycle it was? It's been almost a year since it happened."
Mary jerked a thumb at Severus, "This one here had Lily in quite the tizzy when she heard he'd been by the Willow. Her biggest issue was that he was out at night. She still didn't think Sev's theory about you could hold water, but she did believe the rumors of werewolves being in the Forbidden Forest. She was raving for hours about how reckless it was for Sev to go 'gallivanting around' on a full moon by himself."
Severus scoffed, "It was hardly like I was taking a leisurely stroll. Black lured me!"
"And you, despite knowing what you did, went out fully expecting to see proof of a full grown werewolf," Mary pointed out, head in her hand, "I'm baffled as to why you thought that was a good idea. You knew exactly what you would find…yet you still went down there alone."
It was Severus's turn to flush, "I-I wanted proof. Black was goading me, mocking me. I wanted evidence once and for all."
"Sirius should have been more considerate," Lupin mumbled, "Given that you could have been killed and I'd have to live with that for the rest of my life. If I wasn't put down by the ministry."
"I'm sure Dumbledore would have covered my death up to protect you," Severus said sourly.
Lupin gawked at him, "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
Severus blinked, "Doesn't it?"
"No!"
"Anyway," Mary cut in, "The point is I've had my suspicions for a little while now and you two have just confirmed it."
Lupin shrunk down in his chair, abashed.
Severus crossed his arms, "To be fair, I neither confirmed nor denied it. Lupin filled in the blanks."
Mary cuffed him, "Regardless, I was going to say that it doesn't bother me what Remus is. It's not like I'm ever going to be wandering alone under a full moon, unlike some people."
Severus grumbled, looking away.
"Your secret's safe with me, Remus," Mary assured her friend with a kind smile, "I wouldn't rat out a friend."
Lupin relaxed marginally, "Thanks, Mary."
"I take it Lily already knows?" Mary inquired.
"I know what?" Lily asked, plopping down beside Severus, "Sorry I'm late, got caught in a conversation with Jess."
"Which was enthralling, I'm sure," Mary drawled in a very convincing impression of Severus.
Lily grinned, nudging Severus in the ribs with her elbow, "Stop rubbing off on her. Anyway, what's this about things I know?"
Severus breathed out a short laughed, "Well, you've missed an interesting conversation," he began, proceeding to fill Lily in to the amusement of her friends.
If any of you have noticed, I find it very hard to believe that only James, Sirius, Peter, and Hermione ever discovered Lupin's condition. Seriously, he's gone every full moon and the school teaches Astronomy! Don't some of those classes, considering they take place at night, occur during full moons? You mean to tell me no other classmates of his ever noticed the absences, never questioned the growing injuries on his person upon his return? And as much as I love Snape, he's spiteful as all hell. He definitely was telling other people besides Lily about his theory. So others would have had to have heard about the rumor of Lupin's ailment and started to get curious about the coincidence of it landing on full moons.
Well, review if you would be so kind :)