Chapter One: The Ears Have It

Page Two: Winter

"From now on, you are going to help me with this." Madam Pomphrey bent over Remus' arm, daubing at the angry scratches from the night before. It had been a particularly vicious full moon, and Remus' body was covered in a webbing of red lines and welts. She gave him an inscrutable look, almost as if she was going to cry or yell or scream, but she did none of them- preferring to return to her work. "I can't do all this myself, you know," she said huskily, her dark brows drawing together as her fingers flew across his skin with the potion, disinfecting and healing swiftly. "It's a lot of work. Every month for the rest of your-" she broke off and stood, her face turned away. "I need more..." and she left the room hurriedly.

Remus sighed, his body relaxing into the clean white pillows in exhaustion. Indeed it had been a difficult night in more ways than one. He had nearly exhausted his usual excuses for his friends, but had managed to get away with telling them his mother had died. This made Sirius stop in his pestering to look at him sadly, and James actually offered to go home with him while Peter had said he would get the next day's assignment ready. Now he would have to be careful not to mention anything about his mother, and to look decently depressed. It wasn't going to be hard to assume a silent, sad expression. He was like that after each moon.

Suddenly, just outside of his alcove, he heard voices. Straining his sensitive ears, he could hear them quite clearly.

"I can't do this, Albus. I just can't do this."

"Poppy...."

"He hurts! I see it... he hurts even when he is well enough. Between the moons, he is in pain, and now-" a sob "it's unbearable!"

"He needs you. He needs you to be the strong, reliable nurse."

"I can't...." Almost whispered.

"You must. There is no one else to do it for him. And he is too weak to do it himself."

"But the pain..."

"I know, Poppy, my dear. And you are helping to heal that pain. You are a constant for him. You and those three boys of his."

"It hurts me to see him like that."

"I know."

"He..." another little sob "he needs me."

"Yes."

A sigh. "Yes." A pause and then, "Albus, he isn't allergic to chocolate is he? I can give it to him?"

"No and yes." A chuckle. "Even if it's not for medical purposes, go ahead."

"All right."

There was the sound of clicking heels and Remus shut his eyes, trying to look as though he were asleep. It seemed to work, as Madam Pomphrey did not try to talk to him, but muttered several spells that buzzed over his body before leaving. Remus gave a little contented sigh at the warm, secure feelings. Vaguely, he knew he should not be so happy, but one of the whispered spells had relaxed him utterly. Giving a delicate yawn, Remus settled down under the covers to sleep. He was just beginning to doze off, when a thought struck him in a bittersweet manner. Madam Pomphrey cared about him enough to feel pain when he was hurt. It was nice... rather like a caring aunt. And it was at that point that he fell asleep.

In his dreams, Sirius was dancing down a wet sidewalk with him in the rain of a midsummer's day. They were talking about how Quidditch sounded like cabbage and if Quaffles ought to be made of cabbages. There was no rhythm or metre to their dances, just a simple summer elegance that filled their boy-limbs as the smell of the hot, wet pavement filled their noses. Peter was somewhere near, Remus thought in the bushes, and James was supposedly off in Uganda. Then suddenly, Remus' mother came riding in on a great red motorcycle and told him to get on. He obeyed and she flew off with him just as he woke up.

The evening was already upon the castle when Remus woke up. The sunset was streaming through the windows, lighting up the hospital room in an array of reds and golds. For a moment, the honey-haired boy lay back on his pillows, letting the warmth run down his body, filling him with a sort of lazy strength like a great tree in the forest. Then he opened his eyes fully, gave a huge sigh, and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His bare feet dangled above the cold stone floor as he reached for his robes and began to dress himself.

Remus didn't go back to the dorm. Instead, he made his way out onto the grounds, trudging through the glittering calf-deep snow towards the lake. It was frozen over, but out in the middle, a dark patch of water showed where the giant squid had broke the surface three days earlier. The moon showed nearly full and pale in the sky- like a ghost high above. Behind him, the light of the setting sun caught the tips of the trees in a wildfire embrace as the night drew nearer. They seemed to Remus like they were reaching towards the sun, grabbing for the warmth it gave. He sighed and his breath mushroomed out into the air, then was ripped apart by the breeze.

Closing his eyes, Remus breathed deeply before turning to head back to the dorms.

When he reached the painting, he smiled at the Fat Lady. She smiled back. "Hello, Remus. Password?"

"Marbles."

The painting swung forward to allow him access to the Gryffindor common room. As he entered, the first thing he noticed was that it was rather crowded. The next thing he saw was that everyone was dressed in black. And then, his eyes fell on the banner.

A long white sheet hung across the center of the common room with the words "Our Sympathy, Remus Lupin" painted on it in dark red. Everyone seemed to have a concerned look on their face, and there was a small pile of silver-wrapped gifts by the fireplace. One of the Quidditch team members stepped forward and put his hand on Remus' arm. "I'm so sorry about your mother." And, like it was a charm, everyone soon followed- gathering around him in a little circle of hugging, sympathetic friendliness. Remus wasn't sure whether he should burst into laughter or tears.

Then suddenly, Sirius was at his elbow. "Hey, hey, give the boy some room to breathe," he said, pushing at some of the bodies. He turned to the smaller boy. "You all right? Want to sit down for a minute?" He moved to a chair in front of the pile of gifts. "Here."

Remus sat down, feeling dazed.

Peter stepped forward, holding out a package. "We all felt really bad for you, Rem." The blond bit his lip and shoved the package into Remus' hands. "Here."

"I... I..."

"Go on, open it." James appeared from the left, holding a glass of water. He squatted next to Remus, eyes trained on the package.

"I..." Remus shot James a terrified glance before standing. "I can't!"

"What d'you mean you can't?" One of the third year girls asked. "Are you all right? Do you need a tissue? You going to cry?"

"I can't accept these!" cried Remus, panicked. "Take them back!" he squealed, tripping over Peter and making a mad dash to escape up to the dorms. Sirius caught his arm to stay him, but the other boy gave him a wild look, ripping his arm out of Sirius' grip. He went careening up the steps, slipped once, caught himself, and flung his body heavily onto his bed, drawing the curtains and panting.

Oh bloody hell. Of all things to happen, this was the worst! He'd thought all he would come back to see was pitiful looks. But no- with someone like James, you couldn't escape the enormous sentiment, while Sirius provided the flashy party-style atmosphere. Remus buried his face in his pillow, trying to steady his breath. How, in Merlin's name, was he to get out of this one? Tears sprung to his eyes unbidden, and he rubbed his face against the soft pillowcase.

The door opened and three sets of footsteps came in.

"Remus?" That was Peter's timid voice.

"Shh, leave him alone. He's probably hurting." Sirius.

At least that was true.

"Maybe we should have waited to do the party." James sounded worried.

"I don't think so." Equally worried Sirius.

"I think he should sleep it off." Peter.

Someone moved closer to Remus' bed. "Goodnight, Remus. I'm sorry if that was uncomfortable." James sounded melancholy.

"Night, Rem. Sleep well." Peter's hand brushed the curtain, and Remus could see it billowing out inside.

"Sorry, Remus. Don't hate us. If you need anything, wake me up." That was Sirius.

The little werewolf sighed and curled into a fetal position, his blanket clutched in his fingers. He wasn't going to be able to get out of this one as easily as he had thought. Not to mention that some of his healing scratches itched like hell. Why, oh why had he told them his mother had died? Couldn't it have been something a bit less... dramatic? He gave another sigh. And, knowing his friends, they weren't about to stop trying to cheer him up.

Five days before Christmas, the list of who was staying at school was passed around. Remus held it in his hands, not sure whether or not he wanted to stay. It would be nice to go home to be with his parents, but the other three boys were staying. James had said something about his parents being on vacation, while Peter was staying because he wanted help in Flying from James. Sirius was staying because he said they served better food at Hogwarts than home, though he also hinted that he wanted to play some kind of prank on Marion Higgs.

Marion Higgs was a third year Ravenclaw who was highly despised by the underclassmen, as he had a tendency to throw his intelligence in their faces. Remus had never had a problem with him (or any other student for that matter), but was willing to assist in any pranks just because he didn't want to be left out. Peter, too, didn't like being alone, and often tagged along to be lookout on any jokes that were played.

Remus bit his lip. It would take some apologizing to his parents, but he really wanted to spend this time getting to know his friends better. And the thought of them having fun without him made him slightly jealous.

"So, you going to stay or not?" James asked from behind him.

Remus jumped and then smiled. "Yeah, I'm going to stay."

James lifted one of his eyebrows and his glasses scootched down his nose a bit. "You aren't going to be with your dad? After what happened?"

A flash of guilt ran through the little werewolf's heart. Oops. He had forgotten about his supposedly dead mother. "N-no. He's... ah... visiting his parents," he lied awkwardly.

James frowned a bit. "Look, Remus, I understand if you don't want to tell me what's going on, but don't lie to me. You're terrible at it." He sniffed pompously and shoved his glasses back up. "I don't need you to lie to me. Just tell me you don't want me to know." He smiled a bit and patted Remus on the shoulder. "If you want to stay with us... well, we'd all be delighted."

"Delighted?" Remus gave a tiny laugh.

"Yes. Delighted." James put an arm around Remus' shoulders as the shorter boy signed the sheet.

Remus felt a warm feeling rush through him. Delighted. They were delighted. James with his confident stride, Sirius with his playful laugh, and Peter with his gentle nervousness. They were his. His.

Five days later, Remus woke to "gentle Peter" jumping up and down on his bed in excitement.

"Wake up! Wake up! The presents are here!!!" The blond noticed his eyes had opened, laughed himself silly, fell off the bed, and moved on to Sirius'. "Wake up! Wake up!"

James was already blinking sleepily at Remus. "Hyperactive little guy, isn't he?" He slid off his bed and onto the floor, leaning his head against the frame. "Peter, why couldn't you wake us up at a decent hour?" Despite his moaning, James reached out and grabbed the nearest gift, ripping off the green paper to reveal a pair of Quidditch gloves. He raised his eyebrows and read the note out loud. "Dear James, I know you can't play on the Gryffindor team as a first year, but these might help in practice games. Love, Mum." He looked suitably impressed and moved on to the next gift.

Peter had given up pestering Sirius and was now sitting on his bed, surrounded by his throng of gifts- most of them color-coded to Gryffindor. He had some fudge in one hand, and was trying to eat it and unwrap his packages at the same time.

Remus sat watching as his friends opened their gifts, fascinated by their antics. Then, suddenly, he remembered his own. Glancing at the foot of his bed, he nearly groaned out loud. Alongside the usual purple-wrapped packages from his parents, there was the same pile of gifts that had awaited him after the supposed death of his mother. Apparently, all the students felt that they should still give them to him, but had waited until a holiday to do so. He began opening them carefully.

Chocolate Frogs. A pair of black snow boots. A self-stirring cocoa mug. A miniature dragon. More Chocolate Frogs. Jelly Slugs. A huge box of strawberry and apple lollies. A book on color charmwork. More lollies, some fudge, and a scarf. A teddy bear (A teddy bear?). A glow-lantern. A pair of ever-dry socks. A velvet wand bag. The list went on for ages. Remus sat, dizzy with delight, in the pile of his unwrapped gifts, unconsciously clutching the white teddy to his chest.

Across the room, Sirius suddenly sat up. "Hey, you guys, look at this!" He held up a flat silvery thing that looked like a mirror. The other boys gathered around him. "This has a charm on it so that you can watch whoever you want for exactly thirty-two hours!"

"Guaranteed," added James, who had purchased the object for him. "It's not exactly a crystal ball, but it should work."

Sirius grinned. "So who wants to watch Marion Higgs open his gift from us?"

James grinned back. "That's why I got it for you!" He leaned over. "Here, just tap your wand on it and say his name."

Sirius did so, and a watery version of Marion Higgs swam into view. Unfortunately for the eagerly waiting boys, he was still asleep. But the four were not going anywhere, so they waited around- munching on candy and laughing about what would happen. In fifteen minutes, the red haired boy slid out of bed and, chatting with his roommates, began to unwrap his gifts. He had gotten through six before he happened upon theirs. Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter all leaned closer for a better look.

The Ravenclaw unwrapped his gift and pulled out a flat stone tablet. He held it up, squinted at it, and read the writing on it out loud. Well, supposedly out loud, because in the Gryffindor room, none of the boys could hear what he said. But they could tell what was going on. One minute, he was reading off the tablet, and the next, his face had turned into that of a large green frog.

Sirius could not stop laughing.

Remus smiled. This was shaping up to be a great Christmas.l

~~

To be continued in: Page Three: Spring