Remus shivered as he pushed open the door to the bedroom he shared
with his three best friends. Finally, the full moon was over. Looking at
his arm, he sighed nervously. There were scratch marks on his forearms,
like there always were during the waning moon. He fervently hoped that his
friends would not see.
They were waiting in their room, like they always were the day he got back. "So, how's your mother?" James asked with a friendly smile.
Almost retching with disgust that he had to lie to his best friends, Remus put on an unconvincing half-smile. "She's doing better. The doctors say she could get sick again soon, but she looked fine this visit." That's what he always told them. That his mother was sick.
***
"James, you don't buy that excuse of Remus's, do you?" Sirius whispered. They were in the library, and there was no one around, but the three were still afraid to be overheard.
James just sighed and shook his head. "I don't know why he won't tell us what it is."
Peter frowned. "Maybe HE'S the one who's sick."
"Maybe," James replied. "Or maybe he is in some kind of trouble."
Sirius looked at his two friends. "Now, how do we get him to tell us? Hmm, what if we just told him we don't believe that story about his mother?"
"Sirius, that's way too obvious!" James whispered harshly. Seeing the dejected look on his best friend's face, he laughed. "It's so obvious that it just might work!"
***
Remus was sitting alone, studying in the common room. The three boys approached him silently, almost like they were stalking prey. This caused Remus to look up immediately, spoiling the surprise.
"So, Remus, what are you doing?" Peter asked, trying to look innocent. Unfortunately, Peter looked anything BUT, with his beady dark eyes and constant laughing.
Remus put his gaze back to his book. "Oh, just studying. History, of course. I hate history," he finished in a whispered grumble as he went back to the book. He had just missed three days and he did not want to be behind.
"How's your mum?" James asked. Fortunately, James was a better actor than Peter, and he looked truly concerned.
"Oh, she's doing much better. She looked fine when I was there," Remus replied, trying to look casual. Of course, James noticed that Remus was gripping the book tightly enough for his knuckles to turn white.
Finally, Sirius broke in impatiently. "Remus, what's really going on? None of us really believe that story about your mum being sick."
Remus just hung his head, then snapped his book shut. Without warning, he ran up the stairs to the boys dormitory, the book tucked under his arm. James thought he saw a tear in his friend's eye before the dormitory door slammed shut, stunning everyone in Gryffindor.
"Oh great," Sirius whispered. "That was my fault, wasn't it?"
James just nodded dully. This wasn't going at all like they had hoped. Now what?
***
James was taking a nap in the dormitory, a few days after the unfortunate incident with Remus. Their friend had been avoiding all three of them ever since, and all four Marauders were extremely nervous as a result.
Suddenly, he was jolted awake. "Whadisid?" he mumbled, or something sounding vaguely similar.
"James, you numbskull, get up!" Sirius whispered urgently, roughly shaking his best friend.
"God, can't a guy get any sleep around here?"
Sirius just sighed impatiently. "I figured it out, James! I finally figured it out!"
"What, Sirius? This had better be good..." James grumbled, sitting up and putting on his glasses. What he saw disturbed him. His best friend looked terrible, haunted, scared. Sirius's hair was messy, his lips were pursed, his face was pale. Even his eyes were not laughing like they usually were; instead, they were dark with worry.
"It's Remus, James."
James blinked. "What about Remus? Is he okay?"
Sirius laughed dryly. "Yeah, I suppose. At least, until next Tuesday."
"What's so special about Tuesday?"
Sirius just looked at James, said in a whisper. "Tuesday is the first day of the full moon."
"What does that have to do with anything?" James asked, utterly confused. Then it hit him. "NO! Sirius, that can't be! You woke me up to make up stories? I'm going back to bed." With that, James started to lie back down.
Unfortunately, his best friend was not only bigger, but stronger. He pulled James to a sitting position, and held his shoulders, looking James in the eye. "Every 'visit to his mother' has been on a full moon. Have you noticed that?"
James shook his head, clearly doubting Sirius's suggestion.
Sirius sighed. "I know, coincidence, right? I thought of that too. So I did a little bit of research on werewolves. It's funny what the DADA book has in it. Ever noticed that Remus hates fire, almost always refuses to make it in class, even when it's the subject of the lesson? Well, fire kills werewolves."
"I dunno, Sirius. Still rather far-fetched."
Sirius laughed shakily. "Did you ever see Remus try amazingly hard not to go near the suits of armor in the hallways? Well, those are made of solid silver. I asked Remus once why he went out of his way to avoid the things, and he said he was allergic to silver. Guess what else kills werewolves?"
James was about to interrupt, but Sirius continued, "And then there's all the stuff he's known in DADA that no one else has. About wolfsbane, for example. Most kids didn't know there WAS a plant called wolfsbane, and he knew all its properties. Remus, a kid who is getting average marks. How does that work?"
"Well, maybe his mum has it, not him. Maybe Remus isn't lying at all," James countered.
"Hmm," Sirius thought. "I had considered that too. Except that Remus leaves a lot of his stuff here when he leaves. Wouldn't he bring a textbook or two to catch up on the lessons he was missing, or even just a pair of pajamas?"
"I'm sure he has another pair at home," James replied.
Sirius just shook his head. "Well, don't you normally bring things like this," he added, holding up a bag with a hairbrush, toothbrush, and other toiletries, "when you go on a trip? It seems like it's ready to go with him on his three day excursions, but he never brings it with him. How does that work, James?"
"Fine, I'm convinced. We'll talk with Remus about it later."
***
The three again cornered Remus, this time in the boys' communal bedroom. "So, Remus, how are you doing?" Peter asked hesitantly.
Remus did not even bother to look up from his books. "Fine, thanks," he said shortly, continuing to read.
"So, ah, when's the full moon again, Sirius?" James asked. "I need to know for Divination."
Sirius smiled. "Oh, this Tuesday through thursday."
"It's this week?" Remus asked, a note of panic in his voice. Sirius nodded. "Um, I have to go take care of something, guys." Then, Remus stopped in his tracks. "Wait, no! It's next Tuesday!" He sat back down, went back to his reading.
All three friends exchanged glances. It looked like Sirius was right. "Is he a werewolf?" Peter whispered, quietly as he could, so Remus wouldn't hear.
Remus said, "Lycanthropy."
"God bless you!" Peter replied.
"I didn't sneeze," Remus replied with a sigh. "Lycanthropy is the technical term. It tends to give you sharper hearing. Don't bother whispering." Still, he was reading.
"So, are you?" Sirius asked.
Remus nodded, quietly muttering, "I was wondering when you would find out."
"Who knows about it?" James asked.
Remus still refused to meet their gazes. "Just the teachers, my family...you."
"What about the girls?" Peter added.
Remus sighed, added sarcastically, "I have a feeling they'll know by this time tomorrow."
"We won't tell if you don't want us to, you know that." Sirius said. For once, the humor was out of his dark eyes.
Remus shook his head. "Go ahead, tell them. Worse comes to worse, I'll be alone again. I don't mind. I have been by myself for long enough, it won't bother me to be lonely."
James was flabbergasted. "Are you kidding? Why would you be alone? We're here!"
"You mean that?" Remus whispered, his bottom jaw drooping several inches below his upper one, his soft grey eyes pleading.
Peter just looked at him. "Of course we do. Why wouldn't we?"
"Because I'm a monster, a beast, a killer. I'm a werewolf!" Remus said harshly, filled with self loathing.
"No you are NOT!" Sirius practically shouted. "You're one of us, a Marauder! "Friends don't ditch friends, not now, not ever!" Peter added. "Honestly, Remus, you should know that already."
"Yeah, Moony," James said with a grin. "Friends forever, you know that." Sirius and Peter kept looking back and forth, from James to Remus. James had called him Moony! Was Remus offended?
After a second, Remus smiled, and the other boys sighed in relief. "You guys need nicknames too."
"What'll we nickname ourselves after?" Peter asked.
James looked at his three best friends. "What if we name ourselves after animals, animals that we'd like to change into, maybe?"
"What, as animagi?" Sirius asked. They had learned about animagi from Professor McGonagall, wizards capable of turning into a certain animal at will. McGonagall herself was an animagus, a tabby cat.
Remus looked at them. "So you want to become animagi?"
"Why not?" Sirius asked. "Then we could all be animals together."
"Yeah," Peter said slowly. "What animals should we be?"
James put his chin in his hand, obviously as deep in thought as a twelve-year-old could be. "I want to be a stag. They're really amazing creatures, handsome too."
"A big dog," Sirius said with a little smile. "Dogs go everywhere, so humans don't notice them." It was clear that the potential for marauding was too great already.
Peter looked at all three of his friends. "You three all become big animals. We need a small one too. What about, say, a rat?"
"A rat?" Sirius gawked.
Peter nodded with a smile. "Well, no one at Hogwarts is allowed a pet dog or stag or wolf, but even first years can have rats."
All four boys nodded. "We just need names now, something about our animal," James mused aloud. "I think my name is going to be Prongs, for my antlers."
Sirius grinned wickedly. "Something quiet, stealthy. How about Padfoot?" They all nodded. It suited him.
"And I'll be Wormtail," Peter finished. All four boys were smiling, Remus the most of all. He had expected his friends to abandon him; instead, they wanted to help him. For the first time in quite a while, Remus felt truly happy and safe.
They were waiting in their room, like they always were the day he got back. "So, how's your mother?" James asked with a friendly smile.
Almost retching with disgust that he had to lie to his best friends, Remus put on an unconvincing half-smile. "She's doing better. The doctors say she could get sick again soon, but she looked fine this visit." That's what he always told them. That his mother was sick.
***
"James, you don't buy that excuse of Remus's, do you?" Sirius whispered. They were in the library, and there was no one around, but the three were still afraid to be overheard.
James just sighed and shook his head. "I don't know why he won't tell us what it is."
Peter frowned. "Maybe HE'S the one who's sick."
"Maybe," James replied. "Or maybe he is in some kind of trouble."
Sirius looked at his two friends. "Now, how do we get him to tell us? Hmm, what if we just told him we don't believe that story about his mother?"
"Sirius, that's way too obvious!" James whispered harshly. Seeing the dejected look on his best friend's face, he laughed. "It's so obvious that it just might work!"
***
Remus was sitting alone, studying in the common room. The three boys approached him silently, almost like they were stalking prey. This caused Remus to look up immediately, spoiling the surprise.
"So, Remus, what are you doing?" Peter asked, trying to look innocent. Unfortunately, Peter looked anything BUT, with his beady dark eyes and constant laughing.
Remus put his gaze back to his book. "Oh, just studying. History, of course. I hate history," he finished in a whispered grumble as he went back to the book. He had just missed three days and he did not want to be behind.
"How's your mum?" James asked. Fortunately, James was a better actor than Peter, and he looked truly concerned.
"Oh, she's doing much better. She looked fine when I was there," Remus replied, trying to look casual. Of course, James noticed that Remus was gripping the book tightly enough for his knuckles to turn white.
Finally, Sirius broke in impatiently. "Remus, what's really going on? None of us really believe that story about your mum being sick."
Remus just hung his head, then snapped his book shut. Without warning, he ran up the stairs to the boys dormitory, the book tucked under his arm. James thought he saw a tear in his friend's eye before the dormitory door slammed shut, stunning everyone in Gryffindor.
"Oh great," Sirius whispered. "That was my fault, wasn't it?"
James just nodded dully. This wasn't going at all like they had hoped. Now what?
***
James was taking a nap in the dormitory, a few days after the unfortunate incident with Remus. Their friend had been avoiding all three of them ever since, and all four Marauders were extremely nervous as a result.
Suddenly, he was jolted awake. "Whadisid?" he mumbled, or something sounding vaguely similar.
"James, you numbskull, get up!" Sirius whispered urgently, roughly shaking his best friend.
"God, can't a guy get any sleep around here?"
Sirius just sighed impatiently. "I figured it out, James! I finally figured it out!"
"What, Sirius? This had better be good..." James grumbled, sitting up and putting on his glasses. What he saw disturbed him. His best friend looked terrible, haunted, scared. Sirius's hair was messy, his lips were pursed, his face was pale. Even his eyes were not laughing like they usually were; instead, they were dark with worry.
"It's Remus, James."
James blinked. "What about Remus? Is he okay?"
Sirius laughed dryly. "Yeah, I suppose. At least, until next Tuesday."
"What's so special about Tuesday?"
Sirius just looked at James, said in a whisper. "Tuesday is the first day of the full moon."
"What does that have to do with anything?" James asked, utterly confused. Then it hit him. "NO! Sirius, that can't be! You woke me up to make up stories? I'm going back to bed." With that, James started to lie back down.
Unfortunately, his best friend was not only bigger, but stronger. He pulled James to a sitting position, and held his shoulders, looking James in the eye. "Every 'visit to his mother' has been on a full moon. Have you noticed that?"
James shook his head, clearly doubting Sirius's suggestion.
Sirius sighed. "I know, coincidence, right? I thought of that too. So I did a little bit of research on werewolves. It's funny what the DADA book has in it. Ever noticed that Remus hates fire, almost always refuses to make it in class, even when it's the subject of the lesson? Well, fire kills werewolves."
"I dunno, Sirius. Still rather far-fetched."
Sirius laughed shakily. "Did you ever see Remus try amazingly hard not to go near the suits of armor in the hallways? Well, those are made of solid silver. I asked Remus once why he went out of his way to avoid the things, and he said he was allergic to silver. Guess what else kills werewolves?"
James was about to interrupt, but Sirius continued, "And then there's all the stuff he's known in DADA that no one else has. About wolfsbane, for example. Most kids didn't know there WAS a plant called wolfsbane, and he knew all its properties. Remus, a kid who is getting average marks. How does that work?"
"Well, maybe his mum has it, not him. Maybe Remus isn't lying at all," James countered.
"Hmm," Sirius thought. "I had considered that too. Except that Remus leaves a lot of his stuff here when he leaves. Wouldn't he bring a textbook or two to catch up on the lessons he was missing, or even just a pair of pajamas?"
"I'm sure he has another pair at home," James replied.
Sirius just shook his head. "Well, don't you normally bring things like this," he added, holding up a bag with a hairbrush, toothbrush, and other toiletries, "when you go on a trip? It seems like it's ready to go with him on his three day excursions, but he never brings it with him. How does that work, James?"
"Fine, I'm convinced. We'll talk with Remus about it later."
***
The three again cornered Remus, this time in the boys' communal bedroom. "So, Remus, how are you doing?" Peter asked hesitantly.
Remus did not even bother to look up from his books. "Fine, thanks," he said shortly, continuing to read.
"So, ah, when's the full moon again, Sirius?" James asked. "I need to know for Divination."
Sirius smiled. "Oh, this Tuesday through thursday."
"It's this week?" Remus asked, a note of panic in his voice. Sirius nodded. "Um, I have to go take care of something, guys." Then, Remus stopped in his tracks. "Wait, no! It's next Tuesday!" He sat back down, went back to his reading.
All three friends exchanged glances. It looked like Sirius was right. "Is he a werewolf?" Peter whispered, quietly as he could, so Remus wouldn't hear.
Remus said, "Lycanthropy."
"God bless you!" Peter replied.
"I didn't sneeze," Remus replied with a sigh. "Lycanthropy is the technical term. It tends to give you sharper hearing. Don't bother whispering." Still, he was reading.
"So, are you?" Sirius asked.
Remus nodded, quietly muttering, "I was wondering when you would find out."
"Who knows about it?" James asked.
Remus still refused to meet their gazes. "Just the teachers, my family...you."
"What about the girls?" Peter added.
Remus sighed, added sarcastically, "I have a feeling they'll know by this time tomorrow."
"We won't tell if you don't want us to, you know that." Sirius said. For once, the humor was out of his dark eyes.
Remus shook his head. "Go ahead, tell them. Worse comes to worse, I'll be alone again. I don't mind. I have been by myself for long enough, it won't bother me to be lonely."
James was flabbergasted. "Are you kidding? Why would you be alone? We're here!"
"You mean that?" Remus whispered, his bottom jaw drooping several inches below his upper one, his soft grey eyes pleading.
Peter just looked at him. "Of course we do. Why wouldn't we?"
"Because I'm a monster, a beast, a killer. I'm a werewolf!" Remus said harshly, filled with self loathing.
"No you are NOT!" Sirius practically shouted. "You're one of us, a Marauder! "Friends don't ditch friends, not now, not ever!" Peter added. "Honestly, Remus, you should know that already."
"Yeah, Moony," James said with a grin. "Friends forever, you know that." Sirius and Peter kept looking back and forth, from James to Remus. James had called him Moony! Was Remus offended?
After a second, Remus smiled, and the other boys sighed in relief. "You guys need nicknames too."
"What'll we nickname ourselves after?" Peter asked.
James looked at his three best friends. "What if we name ourselves after animals, animals that we'd like to change into, maybe?"
"What, as animagi?" Sirius asked. They had learned about animagi from Professor McGonagall, wizards capable of turning into a certain animal at will. McGonagall herself was an animagus, a tabby cat.
Remus looked at them. "So you want to become animagi?"
"Why not?" Sirius asked. "Then we could all be animals together."
"Yeah," Peter said slowly. "What animals should we be?"
James put his chin in his hand, obviously as deep in thought as a twelve-year-old could be. "I want to be a stag. They're really amazing creatures, handsome too."
"A big dog," Sirius said with a little smile. "Dogs go everywhere, so humans don't notice them." It was clear that the potential for marauding was too great already.
Peter looked at all three of his friends. "You three all become big animals. We need a small one too. What about, say, a rat?"
"A rat?" Sirius gawked.
Peter nodded with a smile. "Well, no one at Hogwarts is allowed a pet dog or stag or wolf, but even first years can have rats."
All four boys nodded. "We just need names now, something about our animal," James mused aloud. "I think my name is going to be Prongs, for my antlers."
Sirius grinned wickedly. "Something quiet, stealthy. How about Padfoot?" They all nodded. It suited him.
"And I'll be Wormtail," Peter finished. All four boys were smiling, Remus the most of all. He had expected his friends to abandon him; instead, they wanted to help him. For the first time in quite a while, Remus felt truly happy and safe.