Author's Note:  Up until now, I'd avoided doing a "how Remus's friends found out he was a werewolf" story since there were already some out there that I liked enough to consider pseudo-canon.  (I'm particularly fond of "Cub Scout" by Moon.  "'Don't do anything stupid.'  Sirius did something stupid.")  However, since this story doesn't go with my other stories anyway—and since this is a "how MWPP became friends" story, it just seemed required.

Disclaimer:  Hogwarts, the characters, and everything else belong to J.K. Rowling.

Lions and Snakes Chapter Two: Guarding the Secret

Remus knew that he shouldn't ride back to school in the same train compartment as James, Sirius, and Peter.  He really shouldn't.  They were trying to be friends with him, and friends were a luxury he couldn't afford.  "Besides, it isn't like we'd really be friends, anyway.  They'd be friends with an illusion, with the person they think I am, not who I really am."

            On the other hand, Remus couldn't see a way out of it without appearing to disapprove of Sirius's presence in the compartment.  "They kicked Snape out because of how he acted toward me.  If I refuse to sit with them too, it just wouldn't be fair to Sirius."

            In the end, he came to three decisions.  First, since the train he and his mother were taking to Kings Cross Station would get them there quite early, he would board the Hogwarts Express as early as he could.  It would then be up to the others—and chance—to find him.  Second, if the others did find him and sit with him, he would interact with them only enough to be polite, but no more.  That actually wouldn't be difficult.  With the full moon just two nights before, he'd probably have trouble keeping his eyes open on the swaying train.  The last resolution was one that Remus was determined to keep.  Once they got back to school, he would redouble his efforts to keep to himself.  James had Sirius for a friend, and now he had Peter to be his friend within Gryffindor.  Remus wasn't needed; he could continue as before.

            As he awaited the Hogwarts Express's departure at eleven o'clock, Remus tried to lose himself in a book.  It wasn't working very well.  In spite of his resolutions, he kept looking out of the compartment window for his would-be friends.  Finally, at five of eleven, he heard laughter and a shout of  "I'll get you for that, Potter!"  He looked out of the window in time to see Sirius hug one of two women standing side by side and then dash onto the train.  Remus tried to feel relieved that he was boarding at the far end of the train.  His relief was short-lived.  Another voice, a panicked voice, nearer to his compartment caught his attention.

            "I didn't do it!  I swear!"  It sounded like Peter.  Remus slid his compartment door open and peeked into the corridor.  Peter stood not far away with his back to Remus.  He was facing a very angry Severus Snape. 

"One of you damn Gryffindors did it, and I don't much care which," Snape snarled.  Snape had Evan Rosier with him, but Peter was alone.  Remus stepped out into the narrow corridor and took his place at Peter's side. 

"Mind if I join in?" he asked.  "Two against one isn't quite fair."

"He thinks I put dung bombs in his bag," Peter said nervously.  "But I didn't."

"I know you didn't, Peter," Remus reassured him.  He noticed a slight movement of Snape's arm; he was pulling his wand from his robe pocket.  Remus did the same.

"Oh, and how do you 'know' Pettigrew didn't do it?" Snape asked.  "Did you?"

Remus shrugged.  "Maybe, or perhaps it was done on my behalf.  It's pretty much the same thing, isn't it?"  With a sudden movement, Snape raised and aimed his wand, but the movement wasn't swift enough.  Remus was aiming directly between his eyes.  "We don't want to go through this again, do we, Severus?  If anything in your bag was ruined, I'll pay for it."

Snape hesitated a moment and then lowered his wand.  "This isn't over."  He turned away sharply and headed toward the front of the train.  Rosier sneered at Peter for a moment before following.  Remus waited until the doors between the cars closed before he lowered his wand.

"C'mon, Peter," Remus said as he turned back toward his compartment.  "Do you want to come sit in here with me?  It might not be a good idea for either of us to wander around the train right now."

"Yeah, I was looking for you and James and Sirius.  Do you know where they are?"

"I saw them board near the back just before I heard your voice in the corridor.  Maybe they'll find us, or—" The train suddenly lurched forward and began its journey.  "Or maybe they'll sit down since the train started."

Peter sat silently for moment, staring at the door and fidgeting with the zipper of his jacket.  "Do you think it's safe here?  I mean there are a lot of Slytherins in the car just ahead, and Snape is pretty pissed about that stupid dung bomb you put in his bag."

"Just between us, James did that, but he did it because of the stuff Snape said about my mum and Muggle-borns in general."

"Oh."

"And if it will make you feel safer—"  Remus pulled his wand out of his pocket for the second time and went to the door.  He concentrated on one of the locking spells his father had taught him to use on the nights of the full moon—not that his parents entrusted him to perform them himself—and gestured to the four corners of the door to weave a spell to lock the door securely.  "They might know how to undo that locking spell, but they probably don't."

The locking spell only partially reassured Peter.  Although Remus tried to hold his attention by asking extensive questions about his holiday, Peter kept glancing at the door to ensure that the Slytherins weren't about to break in.  When Sirius and James suddenly appeared in the window and rattled the door, Peter squeaked and jumped in fright.

            Remus pulled out his wand in order to release the locking spell, but waited when he saw that James wanted a go at unlocking it himself. 
            "Alohomora," James tried.  Then, "Disengio."  He looked at Sirius, who shrugged, and then he looked in at Remus and Peter.  "We give up.  Can we come in?"  Remus reversed the wand movement that had set the spell, and the door unlatched with a click.

            "Cool spell," Sirius said as he flopped onto the seat beside Remus.  "Don't teach it to my mum or I'll never be able to sneak a peak at my Christmas and birthday presents again.  You weren't trying to keep us out were you?"

            "No," Peter answered with a fervent shake of his head.  "We were keeping out the—uh—"  He stumbled to stop as he realized that he was about to tell a Slytherin that they were keeping out the Slytherins.

            "We were keeping out Snape," Remus explained.  "He's really angry about James's little Christmas gift,"—Sirius and James got matching devilish grins—"and he tried to take it out on Peter.  I thought a locking spell might help keep everyone apart until either tempers cool or we get to school."

            "Are you O.K., Peter?" James asked quickly.  His eyes raked up and down Peter swiftly as if checking for injuries or hexes.

            "Yeah, thanks to Remus."

            "Well, I'm going to have a pleasant time of it in the dormitory tonight," Sirius said sardonically.

            "Sorry," James said.

            Sirius dismissed the apology with a wave of the hand.  "I let you do it.  He deserved it.  If he hadn't, I would've stopped you."

            "But you're expected to stop it from happening to a housemate whether he deserves it or not, aren't you?" Remus observed.

            "Like I said, I'm going to have an interesting night."

* * * * *

            James glanced at his watch yet again.  "O.K., gents," he announced to Peter and Remus.  "It's time to go meet Sirius and then onto Peter's big surprise."  Peter tucked his Charms homework into his textbook and hopped off his bed.  Remus, on the other hand continued to work as he lay facedown on his bed.

"Aren't you coming, Remus?" Peter asked. 

Remus looked up in surprise.  "I thought you said this was a present for James and Sirius."

"It is, but we want you to come too."

"C'mon, Remus," James urged.  "Peter's been saying for three days that I'll really like this.  We want you to see it too."

"I don't know.  It might be better if I just stay here."

"Still aren't feeling well yet?" James asked.  Remus hadn't looked well on the train; he had been pale and had had dark circles under his eyes.  Due to their late night on New Year's Eve, they had all taken naps on the train, but Remus had slept the longest, almost the entire trip.  While he slept, the other three had all agreed that Peter's surprise—whatever it was—would have to wait an evening or two until Remus felt well enough to come with them.

"I feel fine!" Remus insisted.  His eyes grew wide and frightened.  "I never said I was sick.  I—I just have a lot of homework to do."  James and Peter glanced at each other.  They all had the same classes; they all had the same homework.  James was already done his, and Peter was almost done.

"Would you rather wait until tomorrow night, or the weekend?" James asked.

"No, you guys go without me," Remus said as he returned to work.  "Sirius will be waiting for you."

James watched Remus's head bent over a textbook for a moment and tried to figure out the real reason why Remus refused to accompany them.  He couldn't really have that much homework, he claimed he wasn't sick (although he claimed that a bit too vehemently), and he wasn't afraid of being caught out after curfew (they still had two hours until then).  He felt Peter pluck at his sleeve, nodded, and followed the shorter boy down the stairs.

James felt many pairs of eyes watching him as they passed through the common room, but he was spared the hissing and snide comments that often accompanied his visits to Sirius.  He presumed that Peter's presence with him was the reason.  When James left alone, everyone could guess where he was going.  When he left with another Gryffindor, it seemed less likely.

"We're meeting Sirius outside the library, right?" Peter asked as he headed in that direction. 

"Yeah, he said that he'd get some work done until it was time to meet us."  Although Sirius had not said so, James suspected that Sirius was finding it even more difficult to leave his common room for meetings than James was.  Sirius had probably decided to go to the library to satisfy the curiosity of anyone inordinately interested in his comings and goings.

            "Why do think Remus wouldn't come?" Peter asked, giving voice to the thoughts in James's head.

            "No idea."  James thought for a moment longer.  "Was Remus's mum with him at Kings Cross Station?"

            "No.  I mean, I didn't see her.  He was already on board the train when I found him.  Why?"

            "I was just wondering if her illness has gotten worse.  Maybe he's really worried about her."

            Peter glanced over at James with wide eyes.  "You don't think she's—you know—dying, do you?" 

James didn't answer.  He wanted to say, "No, of course not," but he wasn't quite that confident.  It would explain a lot of things: why Remus was permitted to go home to visit her regularly, why he was so touchy when accused of being ill, and why he was reluctant to leave the dormitory, the place where word could reach him if—

"My mum drives me up a wall sometimes," Peter continued, "but if she—poor Remus."

"Poor Remus what?" Sirius asked from behind them.  James and Peter whirled around just as Sirius stepped out from behind a suit of armor.  "And where is he?"

"If you're trying to scare me, Black, you'll have to try harder than that."

Sirius grinned as he picked up the bookbag beside the suit of armor.  "Trust me, Potter, if I had been trying to scare you, you would have pissed your pants."  James and Peter grinned at the memory deliberately evoked.  "I was just waiting for you, and one of the Slytherin prefects came by, and I thought it might be a good idea to find a comfy seat out of sight.  Now what were you saying about Remus?"

"He didn't want to come, and we were just trying to figure out why," James said.

"We think his mum might be dying," Peter whispered the last word, as if saying it too loudly would make it come true.

            "Oh, that sucks."

            "We're just guessing," James pointed out.  "We just know that he refused to come with us.  Now, where are we going, Peter?"   

            "The sixth floor corridor, I think," Peter said as he pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket and consulted it.  "Yeah, sixth floor."

            "Draco titillandus," Peter said solemnly.  The stones under his hand shimmered and darkened to a deep bronze.  The bronze colour spread outward to form a large door.  Peter grinned back at the other two before turning the doorknob that had appeared near his hip.    Inside the room, candles in sconces lit themselves as the door opened.  Peter stepped back to allow James and Sirius an unimpeded view.  "Go on in."

            Sirius stepped in first, closely followed by James.  They continued into the center of the room before slowly turning and looking around.  The room had the peculiar appearance of a classroom turned into a sitting room.  A blackboard covered most of one wall and a few desks were pushed up along another.  A moth eaten Persian carpet covered most of the floor, and numerous sofas, small tables, and armchairs sat here and there.  Most of the upholstery was yellow with black stripes, or checks, or dots.  A yellow banner with a black badger rampant hung over the fireplace.

"Does this room belong to the Hufflepuffs?" Sirius asked. 

"It used to, sort of," Peter replied.  "My older brother and his two best friends used it at their private place when they here.  They were Hufflepuffs.  But Andrew said that it's mine now—ours now.  That is, if you like it.  You did say that you wished you had a place where you two could hang out together.  Do you like it?"

James could hear the note of pleading in Peter's voice, the appeal for acceptance.  "Wow, Peter.  You said I'd like this surprise, but—Wow!  This is even better than, than—anything!"  He grinned at Peter, and Peter grinned back.

"No one else knows about this?  This is—SO—COOL!" Sirius enthused as began to roam around the room, looking up the chimney, opening up the drawers of tables, settling into one chair and then another.  "Once we learn enough transfiguration, though, we're redecorating."

James put his arm around Peter's shoulders and stared down at Sirius sternly.  "We won't object to some green and silver in here, but NO snakes.  Right, Peter?"
            "Definitely not.  Nasty things."

Although he was sitting, Sirius did his best to appear as if he were looking down at the two boys standing before him.  "Snakes are an ancient symbol of learning and wisdom," he said haughtily.

"They're also cold-blooded and creepy," James said.

* * * * *

Remus had tried to allow things to go back to the way they were during first term; he really had.  Unfortunately, Peter, James, and even Sirius wouldn't cooperate.  They decided that Remus was someone they wanted to be friends with, and wouldn't accept being "polite acquaintances" as an acceptable substitute.

When Peter had first become Remus's shadow between classes, Remus had hoped that it was temporary.  Snape and Rosier had given Peter a fright on the train, and Remus had rescued him.  Remus thought that Peter might just be afraid to walk in the hallways alone.  But as the weeks stretched on, and Snape refrained from even saying, "Boo!" to Peter, Remus could no longer explain away Peter's presence at his side as a desire for a bodyguard.  Peter desired a friend. Remus understood that desire all too well.  He realized that it wouldn't be fair to begrudge Peter his friendship.  Within Gryffindor, Marcus and Matthew had become best friends almost immediately.  James had his interhouse friendship.  And that left Remus and Peter.   If Remus kept to himself, two of them would be denied a friend.

James and Sirius also demonstrated great affection for their two new friends.  Remus and Peter were not ideal Potions partners.  Remus made mistakes as often as he got his concoctions correct.  Peter could hold his own and follow directions, but he didn't understand the underlying theories well enough to correct a potion that Remus had bungled.  When James and Sirius insisted on partnering Peter and Remus respectively, Remus knew that the other boys had claimed them as friends.  Nothing less could have induced the two black-haired boys to sacrifice partnering each other in Potions.

The advantages of having friends were clear.  With Sirius as his Potions partner, Remus's grades in that subject improved substantially.  James kept scrupulously careful notes in all the classes Remus missed after the full moons and taught him all the spells that he had missed in those lessons.  Most intangible, but most important, Remus felt less alone.  Remus had not realized that he had been lonely until he wasn't anymore.  Everything in his life seemed somehow brighter and more fun.

The disadvantage was equally clear.  The closer he became with the other three boys, the more curious they were bound to be about his disappearances.  After he "went home" at the end of January, they were so solicitous about his mother's health that he realized he had to tone down the sick mother story before they started planning her funeral.   In February, an outbreak of flu running through the school gave him the idea to pretend he had the same and that he needed to go to the hospital wing.  That had not been an ideal excuse either.   James and Peter had shown up in the hospital wing to visit him, and Madam Pomfrey had to shoo them away by saying that Remus was too contagious to have visitors.

* * * * *

"I think I forgot my gloves," Peter said as he searched through his bag. 

"Too late to go back for them now," Remus noted.  "We're almost to the greenhouse.  Besides, Professor Artemisia has a few extra pairs.  You can just borrow some."

"They're too big, and they have holes in them."

"Should I try summoning them for you?" James asked from the other side of Peter.

"NO!" Remus and Peter exclaimed together.  Although it was only March, James and Sirius had already mastered all the charms that first-years were expected to learn.  Now they were challenging each other to learn various more advanced charms.  James's most recent attempt at the summoning charm, trying to pull a textbook across a library table, had resulted in an entire bookcase's worth of books flying at them.  He was due to serve his detention with Madam Pince that evening.

As the Ravenclaws walking just ahead of them opened the greenhouse door, warm scent-laden air wafted out over them all.  James took a deep breath.  The scents of flowers and compost reminded him of the greenhouse at home.  Peter followed the Ravenclaws in, and James was about to go in as well.  Remus, on the other hand, backed away from the door and bumped into Lily and Susannah.

"Ow!  You stepped on my toe."

"Watch it, Remus."

"Sorry," Remus murmured to the girls.

"Is something wrong, Remus?" James asked.

"No, it's just—" Remus looked about nervously, and James got the sudden impression that he should grab hold of the elusive boy's sleeve before he could escape.  Instead, he stood very still and waited.  Another group of students went in and for a moment, they were alone.  "Could you ask Professor Artemisia to step out here?  I need to speak to her privately."

James nodded and went inside.  Professor Artemisia was directing two enchanted brooms that were cleaning up after the previous class, second-year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. When James delivered his message, she behaved very oddly.  Instead of going outside, she slapped her forehead with a gloved hand—getting dirt in her hair in the process—and saying, "Oh, I'm so forgetful.  Potter, Pettigrew, Twiggle, O'Connor, Patil, Ulfin, and Longstreth, front and center."  When the seven boys all drew near, she pointed at some pots with tall dark-green plants in them.  "These pots need to be returned to Greenhouse Two immediately.  Please each grab two, go through that side door, and hurry back when you're done.  We have a lot to do today."

As he carried the pots, James thought the plant looked familiar, but couldn't be certain without seeing the flowers.  "Does anyone know what these are?" He asked the other boys.

"I'm pretty sure it's wolfsbane," one of the Ravenclaws answered.  "If it was in bloom, I'd know for sure."

When they returned, Remus was sitting at the table he usually shared with James and Peter.  He didn't offer an explanation of his earlier behavior, nor did James ask.

* * * * *

More than once, Sirius had told James that he was "a lucky bastard," and his detention seemed to prove it once again.  Of all the sections of the library that Madam Pince could have assigned him to dust during his detention, she had chosen the Herbology section.  James glanced around to ensure that the sharp-eyed librarian wasn't watching before he pulled The Illustrated Guide to Magical Plants off the shelf and opened it.  He flipped through a few pages to find wolfsbane.  The illustration was an exact match for the plant he had carried out of Greenhouse One today.  He began to read.

"Wolfsbane (Aconitum Fischeri) Also known as Monkshood.  This magical plant is known to Muggles who grow it for the bell-shaped blue flowers.  Wolfsbane is used in several potions, both medicinal and poisonous.  It's best-known use, however, is to repel werewolves.  Although to humans, the flowers have only a faint scent and the foliage has no scent at all, to werewolves, the plant has a very strong scent.  Werewolves, whether in their wolf form or their human form, seem to find it impossible to approach this plant closely.  Both the foliage and the flowers seem equally able to repel the monsters.  Both fresh and dried wolfsbane seem to work, but fresh seems to be slightly more efficacious than dried."

James didn't know what he had hoped to learn.  He already knew that wolfsbane repelled werewolves.  "Everyone knows that," James thought.  Perhaps he had hoped to discover that many people were highly allergic to it.  "Remus could have severe hay fever or something, but I guess the plant would need to be in bloom.  Which means either sending the wolfsbane out of the greenhouse was completely unrelated to the way Remus acted, or Remus is a werewolf.  And if you think that, Potter, you've finally gone completely around the bend."  Everything James had ever learned about werewolves—they were vicious, dangerous, and violent—did not match the quiet, calm, introverted boy who shared his dormitory.

"Someday, I'll tell Remus about the day I thought he was a werewolf and we'll both laugh," James decided.

* * * * *

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Sirius babbled as he jogged alongside the stretcher carrying James.  The first Quidditch scrimmage between the Slytherin and Gryffindor first-year flying classes had come to an abrupt end when James's leg had been broken and Mr. Parkin, the flying and Quidditch teacher, had to conjure a stretcher to take him to the hospital wing.  The other students were ordered to stay out of the air and return to their common rooms, but Sirius insisted on accompanying James.
            "Shut up, Sirius.  It's my own fault."

"But I'm the one who hit the damn bludger at you."

"Watch your language, Mr. Black, or Madam Pomfrey won't let you set foot in the hospital wing," Mr. Parkin warned.

"You were supposed to hit it at me.  I should've gotten out of the way."  James winced as the floating stretcher tilted to go up the stairs into the school. 

"I know.  It's just—I'm not used to being on a different team than you." 

"Get used to it, Snake-boy."  James said quietly.  He was now quite pale and had not reopened his eyes since entering the school.  Sirius decided to stay silent and spare James the need to reply.

Madam Pomfrey bustled over as Mr. Parkin positioned the stretcher over an empty bed.  As Mr. Parkin explained that James's leg had been broken by a bludger, she looked very deliberately at Sirius.  Sirius realized that he was still clutching his beater's bat and tried to hide it behind his back.

Madam Pomfrey tsked and tutted as she examined James's leg.  "A compound fracture.  That complicates things a bit.  I'm afraid you'll be in here until tomorrow, Mr. Potter, but you'll be back in classes on Monday." 

Sirius edged away from them.  James and he had gotten their share of injuries in their childhood.  No matter how crooked the break or how gory or the wound, Sirius found it "interesting" if it was his own, but hated seeing it if it was James's—especially if it was his fault (and it usually was).  He wandered over to the window and looked out.  He could see just little bit of the lake from here.  It looked grey under the cloudy late April sky, but Sirius could already imagine it sparkling and blue. 

"Madam Pomfrey?" a voice called from a curtained bed.  Sirius glanced over and saw her disappear into her potions pantry.  He decided to lend a hand and see what the ill student needed.

"Madam Pomfrey is kind of busy right—"  His explanation died on his lips as he stepped around the curtained partition and saw Remus lying in the bed.  He was pale with dark hollows around his eyes, his hands were bandaged, and he seemed just as surprised to see Sirius as Sirius was to see him.  "What are you doing here?  James said you went home for the weekend."

"Um—I was supposed to, but—where's Madam Pomfrey?"  Remus's eyes were wide and darting around as if searching for a rescuer or a way to escape.

"Oh, I'm sorry.  You needed something, right?  She's taking care of James right now.  I broke his leg."  Sirius gestured a swing with the bat by way of explanation.  "Is there anything I can do, or should I get Pomfrey for you?"

"I—I just woke up, and I was thirsty," Remus explained as looked at the bedside table holding a glass and a pitcher of water.  He gestured helplessly with his bandaged hands.  "I can manage holding the glass, but I can't pour."  Sirius poured a glass half full and held it just in front of Remus so he could more easily hold it between his hands.  Remus drank it all and Sirius took back the glass to pour more. 

"Did you burn your hands?" he asked when Remus had finally drunk his fill and allowed Sirius to put the glass back on the table.  When Sirius was a toddler, he had tried to Floo using sugar instead of Floo Powder.  His parents said that he had to wear bandages for a few days so a magical salve could heal his legs without leaving scars. 

Remus blinked and then nodded.  "Yeah, just before I was supposed to go home.  I burned my hands and that's why I stayed here."

"We would have visited you if we knew you were here." 

"That's O.K.  I'm used to being alone."

"Well James isn't used to it.  Maybe when Pomfrey's done patching him up, she'll let you move into the bed next to him.  He'll go mad without someone to talk to."

"That's funny," Remus said with a smile, his first smile since Sirius had come over.  "I thought you were the one with the need to talk incessantly."

The curtains were suddenly pulled back revealing a rather annoyed matron.  "Mr. Black," Madam Pomfrey said sternly, "in this hospital, curtains are generally an indication that a patient requires privacy.  I'll thank you NOT to poke your nose where it doesn't belong."

Sirius hopped up from his chair.  "Yes, ma'am."

"I gave Mr. Potter a sleeping potion before resetting his leg.  You may return after supper to visit your friend."

"Yes ma'am.  See you after supper, Remus!"  He gave Remus a quick wave as he slipped between the partitions and ran for the door out of the infirmary.  Madam Pomfrey took a seat in the chair and smiled at her favorite patient.

"I meant that he could visit James, but it seems that Sirius considers you one of his friends, Remus," she observed.

Remus groaned and let his head fall back against the pillow.  "Yeah, but for how much longer?  Sirius and James are too smart not to figure it out."

Author's Note:  Throughout the first half of1972, full moons fell near the ends of the months.