***
Author's Note: Thank you to all those who have reviewed and have been waiting a long time for this chapter. I can blame it on a lot of things (bad computer, bad Microsoft. Bad viruses and bad coffee) but at the end of the day, it's here so let's all share a group hug and wish our poor little pups the best.
This has to be dedicated to my beautiful, talented and diligent beta, Abinikai. Who managed to beta this even though she had so much else to do. I thank you.
Anyone interested in receiving an email when I update this story, just send a message to lovegrrl_in@hotmail.com or – even better – review the story and leave me your email address.
Lastly to Queen P, who thinks I have become too obsessed... Never!
***
The morning sun spiked through the boarded windows of the Shack, causing strips of harsh light to paint its battered walls. On the large bed in the upstairs room, Remus J. Lupin was slowly waking up. His body screamed in pain before he had even opened his eyes. Behind his eyelids, his head was swimming and dizzy.
This had been a bad one.
He tried to stay still for as long as possible, but his mind knew it was no good. He had to move! He had to wake up, and stumble back to school. He was in masses of pain.
Something was wrong.
He reached a tentative hand across the bed to stir one of his companions. Cold, wet sheets met his touch. He frowned instinctively, before the action stabbed pain into his forehead. Had they gone back to the castle already? A sniff of the air revealed only the stale smell of dog and nothing more. He had been alone last night!
A noise downstairs reminded him that Madam Pomfrey would be in the room in mere moments. He managed to turn his body slightly, even as his muscles throbbed and clawed at him to stop, so that the sheet covered him completely. The last thing he wanted, even in his current state, was to be completely starkers when the Hogwarts' nurse made it to the room.
His body felt like it had been pulled through a meat grinder. It was worse then it had been in a long time, but then, if he had been alone it was hardly unexpected. But it was surprising.
He fought against the groaning stiffness in his right shoulder to pull the sheets up his chest, just as he heard Madam Pomfrey reaching the top steps. It was strange that after nearly seven years, he was still shy in front of her. She had seen him at his worst; when the pain was so unbearable that he had been unable to stay conscious. She had treated him through torn ligaments and broken bones, and still he couldn't willingly let her see what she had come to expect every month.
As his hand fell onto his chest, he found a sticky warmness. Confused, he lifted it up and, for the first time that morning, opened his eyes.
Blood!
He gasped at the sight, feeling his eyes swim before him. How could there be blood? His eyes scanned the bed sheets and the room around him. They were all coated with the drying redness.
The door scratched open, and Remus's eyes fell onto the usually efficient face of his nurse. What met his gaze was not the face he had become accustomed to. Her eyes were glistening with tears as she looked at the sight in front of her. She clamped her hand to her mouth, trying to stifle a gasp. Her face was pale and shocked.
Did he look that bad?
Madam Pomfrey took a moment to steady herself. She lowered her gaze from Remus, and used her hands to straighten her already perfect uniform. A moment later, she was standing besides the bed, casting various charms over her patient. Her face, however, was still pale, and she wore a pained expression as the charms took effect.
Remus looked down at his chest and realised why. Her first charm had simply removed the sticky blood from his body. Now, plainly visible, were the gashes that ran across his chest. From the stains on the sheet, he could tell his lower half was probably just as mutilated. He looked up at the women by his bedside. The sunlight was behind her, and it was difficult to make out her expression.
"Madam Pomfrey...?" Remus whispered hoarsely through the pain. She turned to look at him for a moment, her lips tight, but soon turned away to retrieve his robes.
"Quickly," she said, as she helped his damaged body to its feet and into his clothes. "We need to get you to the castle." Remus understood the words, but could hardly process them. He was weak and tired. "I'm going to perform Mobilicorpus."
"No!" Remus gasped. "I can walk."
"You can hardly stand, Mr. Lupin!" she snapped in her usual bossy tone, and before Remus knew it, he was floating gently off the floor. Part of him felt relieved, he really couldn't make it all the way to the castle without inflicting even further damage on his body, but it was embarrassing to be in such a vulnerable state.
"Wait," he said before lapsing to the darkness, "my necklace."
Madam Pomfrey looked around the room before her eyes fell onto a small figure of a dog. He was sitting on a table right next to the bed, completely unharmed. She picked up the necklace and placed it in her pocket.
Soon they were making their way down the long tunnel that led to the Whomping Willow entrance. Maybe it was the bobbing motion of the Mobilicorpus spell, or the fact that Remus's body was already so tired, but within a few moments, he had fallen asleep.
***
"Erm... Madam Pomfrey?" The sound of a young voice stirred Remus from his slumber.
"What is it, William? Why are you out of bed?"
"Professor McGonagall sent me." The boy explained quickly, and then stopped. He was obviously uncomfortable under the nurse's firm gaze. "She said... once Remus was feeling better... h-he was to go to the headmaster office." Remus's eyes snapped open and stared at the boy. He couldn't be more than a second year. The youngster's face was turning scarlet with worry under hair of the same colour.
"What! That is ridiculous."
"S-she said it was important," he stammered, wringing the corner of his robes in his hands. Remus would have laughed if he'd had the energy. His fate lay in hands of a child. It was hilarious.
Madam Pomfrey sighed despairingly, "Very well." She shooed the young Gryffindor out of the room, and handed Remus a small vile of liquid. "This won't last long." She said as he swallowed back the cerulean draught. "But it will give you some strength to walk, at least."
She still had to support him as they made their way to the headmaster's office, but Remus felt better than he had all morning. Borrowed strength was better then none at all.
On walking into Dumbledore's office, however, any sense of happiness fell from his face and a leaden weight dropped into his stomach.
There were three chairs facing the old wizard. In them sat the forms of James, Sirius, and... Snape!
Why the hell was Snape here… and where was Peter?
Remus's mind snapped back to the Shrieking Shack.
Blood!
Oh God... the blood had been everywhere. Why hadn't he realised it at the time? It was too much blood to be from just once person. Maybe he had ripped himself apart, but not before he had done it to...
"Peter." It came out in a whisper. Remus felt his body begin to crumble. He must have... there was no other explanation. He must have... killed Peter.
He fell back, and unexpectedly there was a chair behind him, but it gave him no comfort. "Oh God."
"Ah yes... Mr. Pettigrew," Dumbledore's voice reached his ears with its usual calm. "I believe he is in the Gryffindor Tower, no doubt resting."
Dumbledore's eyes fell onto James, who nodded a short reply.
Remus felt his body collapse in relief. Peter was safe. The young werewolf's hands reached up to his eyes trying to hold back the release they needed. Madam Pomfrey fussed at the gesture.
"Albus, I must insist. The boy is not well." She held the back of Remus's chair in a further effort to support the weak Gryffindor.
"Indeed, Poppy, but I fear this must be dealt with sooner rather then later." Remus looked up at the grey hair wizard, his curiosity sparked.
Something had happened. Something involving James, Sirius, and Snape, that was obvious. A prank, perhaps, but what would this have to do with him?
"There was an incident last night," Dumbledore began, "an incident which we have all tried to prevent, myself included, but nonetheless it came to pass." Dumbledore rose from his seat and walked around his desk. "A student became aware of the purpose of the Whomping Willow. That it was not just a violent shrub, but masks a secret passageway. That student, unfortunately, acted on this information, putting not only himself at danger, but a great many others as well."
Remus noticed the sneer on Snape's face. He did it! Remus felt himself recoil at the thought. Snape was not his closest friend, but Remus never wanted him dead. He never wanted the Slytherin's blood on his hands.
"Had it not been for Mr. Potter's speed, the disaster may not have been avoided." Dumbledore's voice did not show pleasure at this thought. "Nonetheless, the fact still remains that three more students have knowledge that should never have been divulged to them. The question must be asked of what else has been revealed."
Dumbledore's eyes fell on Remus, they did not hold the usual calm that most people associated with the headmaster, but a hardness that was difficult to withstand. This is it, Remus thought; he'd endured seven years only to fail in his last term.
"I -" Remus started, but was unable to tell the truth. He couldn't say those words and feel the trust in Dumbledore's eye die. Remus looked away.
"He should be expelled," Snape snarled, his voice dripping with anger. "They all..." The headmaster's eyes snapped onto the Slytherin and he stopped mid sentence. Once Snape was silenced, Dumbledore turned back to Remus.
"I would like an answer, Remus," the headmaster directed. "Your fellow students seem unwilling to divulge more then what I witnessed myself, and I am rather against deciding a punishment unless I have all the facts in my posess-"
"We figured it out," James blurted suddenly, "Remus never told us anything. We – we just put it all together, then confronted him with it." James stopped and looked at Remus. "He's our friend, Professor. We were worried about him."
Behind him, Remus heard Madam Pomfrey sniff at these words. Dumbledore nodded and seemed to believe the explanation.
"Accepted, but that does not explain why Mr. Black felt the need to pass on the information."
Remus jerked in his seat. Up until now, he hadn't thought of how Snape had figured it out, but he realised that the Slytherin must have been told. No one in their right mind would go near the Whomping Willow otherwise. But no, not Sirius...
Remus's eyes flew to the downcast head of black hair on the far side of James. Dumbledore had gotten it wrong. Sirius would never do that. 'But Dumbledore never gets it wrong!' a little voice said inside his head.
Well, he bloody well had this time!
"It..." Sirius started, his gaze transfixed by the floor of the headmaster's office. "It was a mistake."
Remus stared at him. Willing Sirius to raise his head and smile like it had all been a joke. Hoping he was in some post transformation nightmare, that he would wake from any moment.
"Sirius...?" he said lightly. Just meet my eyes. Meet my eyes and I'll know it's all a lie. I'll know that you never told Snape.
James looked from Sirius to Remus. "I'm sorry, Remus," he said softly. Remus heard Snape let out an exasperated sound, but he couldn't focus. He felt his stomach jump into his mouth.
"I think I'm going to be sick." It was all he could say as his hand shot to his mouth. A moment later, he was retching all over Professor Dumbledore's rug.
"Albus, please," Madam Pomfrey declared, "this is too much."
Dumbledore allowed her to take him, releasing James in the same breath.
Remus felt James's arm wrap around his waist as they descended the staircase. The tired boy was grateful for the support, even if he was confused.
"What was Sirius thinking?" Remus managed as they reached the last step.
"That's just it, I don't think he was," James answered. "He hasn't said a word to anyone since last night."
"Except to Dumbledore," Remus corrected, just as he stumbled over the stone corridor.
"Well, yeah, but you can't exactly ignore Dumbledore, can you?"
The three carried on in silence until they reached the corridor leading to the Gryffindor Tower. Madam Pomfrey stopped and turned to James.
"I think I can handle it from here, Mr. Potter."
"I'm going to the infirmary," James said easily, turning to take another step.
"Mr. Potter, I hardly think..."
"After what has happened in the last twenty four hours, I don't think another reprimand is going to make me feel any worse," James said and almost single-handedly supported Remus's weight on his shoulders. "I'm going to the infirmary!
"Well, really!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, but took her position on Remus's other side without further protest.
***
Remus was so badly injured that it took days for the healing spells to do their work. During it all, Remus lay in his hospital bed trying not to think about what happened. James would bring his homework. Peter would smuggle in extra food from the kitchens, but Sirius wasn't by his side, and that hurt more than Remus wanted to admit.
"He wants to come," Lily told Remus on the third day, "I've even caught him hanging around outside the door, but I think he's worried about what happened."
Remus stared at Lily. "Oh well, why should he be worried? He only tried to turn me into a murderer."
"Remus!"
She didn't get a reply. Remus turned his back on Lily and pushed his face into the pillow. They all wanted him to forgive Sirius. All of them!
A week went by, and Remus was still in his sickbed. That was until Madam Pomfrey came marching down the isle, pulled back the covers, and threw his robes at him.
"Up you get," she ordered, before turning away.
"What?" Remus panicked. "But I'm not better."
"You are perfectly fine," she replied, "physically at least, and I won't have you taking any longer recovering in my ward. Now you either go back to your dorm or explain to Professor McGonagall why exactly you think you warrant any longer under my care." She turned on her heels and marched away.
Remus dragged on his robes. It was true he felt a lot better, but he couldn't stand the thought of having to go back to classes. Not now that Snape knew. Dumbledore had assured him of Snape's silence, but what was that worth?... The promise of a Slytherin...
***
A few heads raised as Remus clambered back into the Gryffindor common room. He didn't want to talk to any of them. He was glad when he reached his dorm to find only James and Peter talking to each other. They welcomed him back, like a long lost brother, before Remus sat wearily on his own bed. He was glad Sirius wasn't here. He couldn't face the black haired boy just yet.
It was not Remus's day, however, because a few minutes later, Sirius pushed open the door.
He was grunting under his breath about something Professor Balatro had done, when his eyes fell onto Remus's form. His face instantly brightened – he didn't smile, but it was hiding under the surface nonetheless.
"Remus!" Sirius said breathlessly, hoping it didn't sound too impassioned.
Remus's eyes snapped up and met his friend's, anger flashing in them before he turned away.
"Aren't – aren't you going to talk to me?" Sirius stumbled, taking a few steps into the room.
"Why?" Remus questioned harshly. "So you can tell Snape about it?"
Sirius's face fell and his eyes creased with confusion.
"Jesus, Remus, do you think I did that on purpose?"
"I don't know," Remus spat, standing to face Sirius, "did you?"
Sirius looked liked he'd been slapped in the face. It took him a moment to recover, but when he did, he was riled.
"You little prick," Sirius took another step. "What do you think? I'm sneaking off to cavort with the Slytherins?
"I've heard of worse secrets."
"Secrets!" Sirius repeated, his eyes wide. "I've kept more secrets for you than anyone I know, Remus Lupin."
"Not the one's that count."
"Guys," James tried to interrupt, but it was impossible.
"What... so some secrets don't count?" Sirius asked angrily. "Some, you can just forget about?"
"They only count when they mean something." Remus barked. "Obviously, you never meant it."
"You bloody know that's not true," Sirius said, pushing James away from them. "I meant every word."
"You know what, Black," Remus hit back; "you can kiss my ass for all it means now."
"Fuck you, Remus!"
Remus was panting heavily, his blood boiled and his hands were clenched to fists. Remus was going to hit him. He was going to kick the shit out of him.
Remus lurched forward and ripped open the dorm-room door. It smashed against the wall as Remus crashed down the stairs. Moments later, he heard fast, heavy footsteps following him. That bloody idiot wanted more. Remus spun around, anger corsing through his whole body.
"Fuck off, Black!" Remus shouted at the black haired boy in front of him, causing everyone in the common room to jump in fright. But this black haired boy was wearing glasses, and a worried expression.
"Remus...?"
"I'm sorry, James." Remus managed through clenched teeth. "He's just a bloody..." bastard went unsaid.
"You want to talk?"
"No." Remus replied. His hands were still shaking.
"Well I think you need to," James said, pulling him over to a table in the corner and waiting until everyone's attention had left them. "Can I ask what just happened?"
"You were there, James," Remus answered pointedly.
"Doesn't mean I know what happened."
Remus didn't reply. The argument had been about a lot more than he was willing to talk about. Sirius had thrown their... their relationship back in his face. He had used it as a bargaining chip.
"Look, I don't expect you to forgive Sirius straight away, but give the guy a break. He really is sorry about it."
"Yeah, I can tell," Remus said dryly. "On his knees, isn't he?"
"Okay, so upstairs wasn't the best example, but I really don't think he realised what he'd done," James explained. "Sirius is an impulsive guy, clever as hell, but reckless with it. We know that."
"Great!" Remus falsely enthused, trying to scratch his anger into the table. "So now I'm in debt to Severus Snape because Sirius couldn't control his mouth."
"You're not in debt to him."
"You think he's going to keep his mouth shut, out of the goodness of his heart?"
"No," James corrected bluntly, "He'll keep it shut, because if he doesn't, he'll end up in Azkaban."
Remus's head snapped up to look at James. He was sure James had gotten it wrong. Remus would end up in Azkaban, not Snape. The look on James's face, however, was resolute.
"What are you talking about?" Remus asked slowly.
James seemed to swallow back a lump in his throat before he continued.
"When I pulled him out of the Willow, he was really pissed. He thought it had been a joke." James shook his head in disbelief. "Before I knew it, he had pulled his wand, and, well..." James swallowed again. "That kind of magic... it must have shaken the wards around the castle because a moment later Dumbledore was there; disarming him."
"What kind of magic, James?" Remus asked, his voice shaking, but he knew the answer. It didn't take a genius to figure out what side of the war Snape would be fighting on.
"Cruciatus." The word came out in barely a whisper from James's lips, but the impact was immeasurable.
"Oh Jesus, James," Remus took a sharp breath and his eyes filled, "I'm so sorry."
James waved the apology. "It's not your fault, Remus."
"Yes, it is," Remus said softly, "he was frightened. He'd just seen... he'd seen me!"
"Don't try to tell me you just turned Snape into a twisted evil bastard, Moony, because he was always that."
Remus sighed, there was no point telling James how he felt about it. Not that his friend wouldn't listen. James would listen until the owls came home, but no one could understand the workings of Remus's mind.
"I can't believe he did that," Remus said eventually. "On school grounds and everything."
"I know," James replied. "But you know what it means?"
"What?"
"I know how effective it can be. So, if you and Sirius don't at least act civilly around me, I'm going to use it on you two."
It was meant as a joke, but Remus couldn't even raise his lips in a curve across his face. His friends had already done so much for him, and now this. It wasn't fair! They were meant to be safe here. Hogwarts was the one place dark magic couldn't get to.
One thing Remus knew for sure, his life would never be the same again.
***
And so things continued for weeks. A full moon came and went, and still Remus and Sirius weren't talking. James and Peter were reduced to playing arbitrator to their friends' moods. On more then one occasion, it looked like the incident had almost been forgotten. When the Gryffindor beat Hufflepuff, making the Quidditch Cup a sure thing for Gryffindor, the House had celebrated well into the night. James was confident that such a victory would persuade his two friends to make up their differences, but come the next morning everything was back to normal – normal in the sense that Remus and Sirius were being as pig headed as before. It was infuriating.
Remus, on the other hand had hardly noticed his friend's concern. As far as he was concerned, James was, just as always, wrapped up with Lily and Quidditch and even studying for his NEWTs. Easter holidays were fast approaching and after that, it was only a few weeks until exams. This was an easy excuse for Remus to spend most of his time in the library. He wasn't avoiding Sirius, he was studying.
"Remus?"
"Hmm," Remus replied, trying not to sound annoyed at his friend's fifth interruption in an hour.
"What is an... Occ-a-my?" Peter asked, his finger following the word as he spoke.
"It's like a snake," Remus answered, not looking up from his own page, "but with feathers and wings."
"Oh," Peter replied, impressed, "You must have read every book here." Peter looked around the towering shelves of books. "I don't know how you get through it all."
"I didn't read them all," Remus said, giving up the pretence of study. "Occamy's eggs are pure silver. They used to be bred by the Ministry and given to registered werewolf hunters."
Peter's face was pale at this. "Jesus."
"I know," Remus replied, his face closed from emotion. He was used to this. Perhaps the Ministry of Magic didn't hunt his kind for sport any more, but the Werewolf Registry wasn't much better.
Peter seemed to gather some of his emotion. "Full moon in another week," he said, to which Remus gave an unnecessary nod. "Are you, I mean, it falls during the holidays, so, are you going home?" It was strange, but Remus thought he saw a glimmer of hope in Peter's eyes before he answered.
"No," Remus said, turning back to his book. "It's easier if I stay here."
"Oh, right," Peter answered. "It's just, well, you know my birthday's coming, and my mum – you met her, remember – well, she wanted to throw me a party. The thing is, well, she wants to invite my aunts and that, and really, it'd be too late to wait until I finished school. So, she wants me to go home at Easter. You know, just for like a week or something. So she could have the party while I'm still like... on my birthday."
"So you're going home?"
"Well, yeah, I mean, if you don't mind. I couldn't exactly say no to my mum."
"Peter, it's okay. You're not tied to me. You can do what ever you want."
"Really?"
"Yes!" Remus said, nodding his head. Peter looked a lot more relieved. It's not like he really needed to be there anyway. The others could just use a stick to get through the Whomping Willow.
"Okay, I'll go owl her now," Peter said, pulling his books from the table. "Thanks, Remus."
Remus smiled slowly at the retreating boy. It was sweet that he'd asked permission, but Remus hated that they felt obligated to him, like a sick relative.
***
When Remus got to the corridor outside the hospital wing, he could already hear the howls of pain coming from inside. He grimaced as he turned the corner to see three Gryffindors waiting outside the door. Madam Pomfrey had obviously locked them out.
Sirius was straining to see through the small circular window beside the door, while Peter jumped nervously from one foot to the other, wringing his hands together. Sirius turned when he heard Remus's footsteps and the boys' eyes met for a moment. Both were put off guard by each other, if only for a moment, before Remus looked away. Don't look in those eyes, Remus told himself, they don't mean anything anymore.
He sat down on the bench next to another Gryffindor.
"So what happened?" Remus asked.
"His new broom," Lily spat. "Bloody Nimbus One Thousand... Had to try it out, didn't he, but he couldn't just ride it like a normal person. Oh no, not James Potter. Had to take off the safety charms first. It's not fun if it's not dangerous!"
Remus held back a laugh. He had seen his friend de-charming the broom only last night, and James had said the same thing; only without the venom in his voice.
"So... will he be okay?"
Lily threw up her hands.
"What do you think?!" Lily exasperated. "It's so typical of him. Two days before end of term and he does this! I swear it's deliberate. He promised he'd behave over the Easter. What will my parents think if he comes in with a broken arm or leg... or both?"
"Y'know," Peter butted in, "I read that they have some new kind of potion that can heal bones over night."
"Yeah right!" Sirius interjected from his position at the window.
"It's true," Peter defended, "I read it in Magical Medicinal Monthly... M-maybe Madam Pomfrey got some."
Remus shook off his friends' conversation and turned back to Lily.
"So James is meeting your parents?" he asked in a pleased tone.
"Yeah," she nodded, "I am... I was worried about it, but now..." her hand indicated the infirmary door before she shook her head. "Bloody idiot," she said again, but it was a resigned sigh compared to her earlier anger.
"It'll be okay," Remus comforted, putting his arm around her shoulder and giving her a squeeze. "I'm sure James'll be up and about by the time they get here."
"That's just it!" Lily said, annoyed again, "We were meant to be on the train tomorrow evening."
"What?!" Sirius jumped down from his position and faced Remus and Lily for the first time. "James is going with you? Since when? What about the full moon?"
Lily eyes jerked up and she stared at Sirius.
"I..." she looked lost. "I thought he told you. I mean... I'd never..." She looked from Sirius to Peter to Remus and back again. "He said it would be okay."
"Well it's not!" Sirius boiled, clenching his fist by his side.
"Yes, it is," Remus spat angrily at Sirius. "It is okay." He shot daggers at Sirius before turning softer eyes to Lily. "It's fine... honestly. It's important... James meeting your parents. I wouldn't want to deprive him of that... experience." Remus smiled cheekily.
"Are you sure?" Lily asked again. "I mean, Peter is going home as well so..."
"I told you Lily, it's fine. I've been on my own for the full moon before, you know." He smiled, trying to hide how painful those times had been.
"You won't be on your own!" Sirius said, stepping forward.
It took all of Remus's self-control to stop himself lashing out at Sirius. How dare he? After what he put Snape through and James and, even Remus, How dare he act like it would all be the same.
"I will be on my own!" Remus corrected, his voice low but resolute. Lily and Peter looked from one boy to the other. "Do not think that I would forgive you just to prevent myself some physical pain." Remus raised his eyes and met Sirius's with cold steel shining through. "Physical pain means nothing to a werewolf."
The two boys seemed to be facing each other down. Remus could feel his chest rise and fall as the anger coursed through him.
"It means something to you," Sirius countered, knowing what he had seen with his own two eyes. Sirius was the one person who had seen Remus in pain, not completely, but still...
"I'm used to it." Remus stared back, but he wasn't fighting anger in Sirius's eyes anymore. The fury had given way to something else completely. What it was, Remus couldn't figure out; guilt, maybe... or pity.
"I'm not having you two fighting when James isn't even here to break it up," Lily said, breaking both Remus and Sirius from there gaze. They looked at her with a slight confusion on their faces. "You think he didn't tell me?" she asked, a teasing look on her face. "Honestly, what do you think we do all the time?"
"You talk about us?" Sirius asked, puffing his chest out.
"Don't get excited, Black," she warned, "you're hardly top of my list."
Sirius's chest deflated a little but a smile still played on his lips when they were finally let into the infirmary.
***
Remus pulled his eyes from the classroom window when he felt someone looking at him again. Unfortunately, it was Professor Lentus. That was the third time today his mind had drifted off out the window and each time he had turned around to see the professor looking at him. He was usually very focused in class, especially Defence Against the Dark Arts, but it was the last day of term and his mind wasn't on the work.
He should be looking forward to the break; he knew that, even though after the holiday it would only be a few weeks until their NEWTs. In the back of his head, however, Remus couldn't imagine what the holidays would be like. Two weeks alone with Sirius. Not exactly his idea of a carefree vacation. A few months ago, he would have welcomed the time alone gladly.
He looked up again to see Professor Lentus staring at him. No, not staring at him, it was like she was looking right through him. I guess no one can concentrate today, Remus thought.
When the bell ran Remus grudgingly stood up and stuffed his books in his bag. Peter was at his side at once.
"Only two more classes," Peter said happily before his tone turned. "Of course Potions will be a bi..."
Just then, Professor Lentus called Remus over.
"If you don't mind, I'd like a word. I'll excuse you from your next class."
"But we have a test," Peter butted in. Remus could have hit him.
"On the last day of term?" the professor raised her eyebrows. Peter nodded Remus's answer.
"Let me guess... Potions." The sharpness was obvious, but then she sighed. "Very well, I suppose I mustn't keep you, but can you come and see me after classes?"
"Well, Professor... if it's important..." Remus started, taking a step forward to stay.
"Mr. Lupin," she smiled, "I will not have you missing an important Potions examination. You can see me at the end of the day... unless you're going home?"
Remus shook his head to the question and slowly left the classroom mumbling unsuccessful hexes at Peter's back.
He might have acted a little differently if he had know what the professor was about to tell him.
***