The term approached its end. James did not feel he would like doing exams for which he had to revise the whole year's lessons once more, but then again, the exams had kept Professor McGonagall from giving them too much of a detention for their latest mischief. That, of course, was to say in favour of them. For some reason, Remus seemed slightly more subdued than any of them. Even more than Snape, who had not been heard to contribute to a lesson ever since, not even Potions, nor had he spoken outside of classes or during their six hour detention, in which the four Gryffindors had tried to ignore his persistent silence, or indeed, his presence altogether. James did not care about Snape. He cared about Remus, who had obviously received more of a punishment than any of them. It was completely inconceivable. Naturally, James had tried to find out why his friend had been dragged to an unknown place while he, Sirius, Peter and Snape had been taken back to Hogwarts by Professor Vector and Madame Hooch. Naturally, he had made an effort of talking to Remus many, many times ever since, but it was no use. The slender, pale-looking boy had refused to give a statement on the matter. And so had Professor McGonagall.
'If this was any of your business, I would gladly tell ye, Potter,' she had simply informed him. 'But as it isnae, I would like ye tae stop pestering me about it. I am too busy for this sort of behaviour.'
And that had been it. No explanation, no horrible punishment, thank Merlin. Six hours in the library and that had been it. Everyone seemed too relieved that they were safely back at Hogwarts. James thought it curious, but did not give the matter much thought once the teachers had started talking more and more about the upcoming end-of-year exams.
One thing had changed, though. Whenever he met Sirius Black these days, the boy seemed to grin at him. Indeed, one could go as far as to say their mutual dislike had turned into appreciation of the commonly experienced adventure, and James secretly thought that it might be nice to have another one. Some other time. So the only thing left to deal with was Snape.
It was easier than James had thought. A private encounter in the deserted library on Thursday afternoon before their shared detention had been enough to convince the skinny Slytherin to not communicate their secret of the tunnel behind the mirror to any of the teachers. Snape was tiny. His fear of Sirius was obviously as big as his contempt for both of them.
'A useful combination,' James voiced to Remus on the evening before their first two practical exams (Transfiguration and Herbology), some three weeks after their little adventure. The two of them were sitting in their dormitory together, each trying to revise on a different subject. 'He won't cause problems that way.'
'It still seems wrong to sneer at him all the time,' said Remus thoughtfully. 'He might prove a dangerous enemy in later years.'
James let out his most derisive laugh. 'Enemy? Remus, have you seen the bloke? He couldn't transform a needle into a match if his life depended on it!'
'He is rather good at other subjects, though,' said Remus quietly. 'I have seen him revise for Defence Against the Dark Arts the other day. And his potions are perfect.'
'Potions is useless,' yawned James. 'I shall never understand what is so magical about a Sleeping Draught. Or a headache cure. Muggles have them, too, you know. They call them drugs.'
'It's not the same,' said Remus. But he did not sound convinced. Instead, he buried his face in the book he was holding, making James bend his head to read the title.
'Healing Spells,' he read. '101 ways of curing deep cuts and severe scratches. Remus? Not to invade your privacy or anything, but...'
'It's... nothing. I was just interested. My... aunt, you know. Violent temper.'
James stared at his pale friend who slammed the book together and thrust it under his blanket, seating himself on top of it with a most curious expression on his face.
'I was merely wondering why you were reading it upside down,' he said. Remus gave him a blank stare.
'I was... lost in thoughts,' muttered Remus, now thoroughly nervous. I haven't been sleeping well lately. Full-moon's approaching again.'
'Yeah, I can't seem to sleep as peacefully at full-moon either,' admitted James, intending to go back to his own book, but something kept him. 'Remus,' he said, 'why don't you just... tell us what's wrong with you? We're your friends, you know. You can trust us.'
'Don't be an idiot, Potter,' came a dark voice from the door and both boys jumped. 'If he doesn't want to tell us, leave him alone.'
James raised an eyebrow. 'And where have you been, Black? Out in the corridors at this time of the night?'
'Been practising Levitation,' replied Sirius, slamming himself squarely onto his bed, pulling up his T-Shirt and scratching his bare stomach as he did. 'No big deal, really. Dunno what everyone's fussing about.'
'Nor do I,' nodded James. 'Would you stop that?' he suddenly snapped, sounding rather irritable, 'You look like a dog.'
'What's wrong with that?' grinned Sirius. 'Most dogs are nicer than humans. Even the bigger ones usually are. Oh, incidentally...' he sat up and looked at Remus who had been eyeing him in a mixture of fascination and puzzlement till now. 'If I can guess where you went and what happened to you that night when we found Snape - will you tell us all about the rest?'
There was a short silence. James could feel that this was not a subject Remus would have chosen, but Sirius had posed his question. And Remus seemed to be thinking about it.
'Yes,' he said after a while. 'You won't be able to. And if, it won't matter if I tell you the rest.'
'Hang on,' said James, feeling slightly left out. 'I wanna have a go, too. I say - he's McGongall's illegitimate son, who's in for an extra treatment every time he breaks the school rules.' And he made a violent gesture with his fist. Remus blushed. Sirius laughed. Peter, on the other hand, chose this specific moment to enter the room.
'The whole common room can hear you,' he uttered and shut the door. 'What're you doing?'
'We're guessing what Remus is up to every month,' informed him James. 'Wanna have a go? I have made a suggestion already.'
'I heard,' said Peter vaguely. 'But I don't think so. McGonagall can't be a mother.'
'She's got a daughter in fifth year, you know,' said Sirius yawningly. 'But your theory is wrong. Remus isn't related to any of the teachers. It is much less spectacular, I am afraid. Remus -' He made a dramatic pause and looked into each of their faces. 'Remus is a werewolf.'
The room went silent for a second or two.
'You are an ass, Sirius' said James after a while. 'That's not a nice thing to say. Even for something - sorry, someone like you.'
Sirius smirked. James felt his knuckles itch. He would have liked to punch him right into his face for insulting their friend in such a gross manner, but something about Remus's facial expression kept him. It had gone exceedingly quiet and his eyes were glittering strangely all of a sudden - as if...
'It's true,' the silent halfblood said quietly after a while. 'Sirius is right. I am a werewolf.'
James felt his jaw drop. 'But... but you can't be. You haven't... uhm... haven't bitten any of us.'
He watched Sirius roll his eyes and felt hot anger flush inside him.
'What?! Mr. Know-It-All? You think you're so clever? How did you find out about it? Checked Remus's diary, did you?'
'But I don't have -'
'Idiot,' muttered Sirius. 'He disappears every month - at full moon. He looks horrible afterwards. He keeps quiet about it. Haven't you realized by now what's behind all that? You can be such a jerk, Potter.'
James fiercely searched his mind for a witty reply to this, but found that he could not really think of anything suitable to say, so he shut his mouth again, glared at Sirius and said, looking as dignified as possible, 'I am not.'
James Potter was one of the most unusual boys he had ever met, Remus thought, apart from the fact that he had been the first person at Hogwarts to actually befriend him, of course. After he had recovered from the shock of sitting in the same room with one of the most dangerous beasts of their time (not counting that full moon was not due for another week), he became exceedingly curious and started asking all sorts of questions. Whether this was really, actually, quite honestly true, when Remus had been bitten and how it had felt. And how lacerating human beings between your fanged jaws felt like.
At this last remark, Sirius snorted impatiently and boxed James's shoulder, apparently with more force than intended.
'Who's an ass now, Potter?' he snapped. 'Stop pestering Remus about this. It's an illness. It's absolutely nothing to be excited about. Am I right?'
Remus stared at him for a while, unable to gather his thoughts at first and needing quite some time to understand that neither of his friends seemed to feel the urge of leaving the room because of what they had just heard.
Even Peter, the coward of the group, was staring at him with big, curious eyes, rather than leaving the dormitory in disgust. Remus looked at him, then at James, and finally at Sirius, well aware that his expression was one of utter puzzlement and suppressed awe.
'Yes,' he forced himself to say. 'It's... considered to be an illness. By some at least.'
'Professor Dumbledore, for example,' nodded Sirius. 'He has told the Ministry that some of the guidelines restricting the werewolves' liberty of action have sprung from the heads of the more old-fashioned warlocks in the 18th century. I remember mother being livid for at least a week.' He grinned.
'Do the staff know?' asked Peter curiously.
Remus nodded. 'Some don't like the idea of me being here, but they cannot go against Dumbledore and McGonagall.'
'And Professor Spout,' grinned James. 'I think she has taken a liking to you.'
'She's friends with my mother,' replied Remus. 'And so is Professor Dumbledore. That's how I came to be here in the first place. Mother knows him well and trusts him to...' He hesitated for a second, '...keep me under control.'
'So... how big d'you get?' asked James curiously.
'The average size of a wolf, I suppose,' shrugged Remus. 'Can't tell for sure, though. I am not quite mature yet, of course. I might grow slightly above the average in a few years' time.'
'Excellent,' said James, his face displaying tension and quite a bit of enthusiasm.
'Idiot,' muttered Sirius and Remus gave him a shy smile, whereas James turned and punched Sirius's shoulder, in a surprisingly friendly manner though.
'I am not. Stop acting a complete jerk and tell us what else you know about werewolves. You seem rather well-informed.'
Now it was Sirius's turn to smile. Knowingly. With just a dash of arrogance perhaps.
'Books, Potter. I like to keep informed.'
'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' moaned James. 'Don't tell me you -'
'Don't be ridiculous,' snapped Sirius. 'There's as good as nothing written in there. No, I prefer to choose my own literature. My cousin knows many books worth reading, you know. An excellent person. And almost in my league, talent-wise.'
James frowned. Peter, too, set up an uncomfortable expression. 'The big, black-haired one you mean? Bellatrix or whatever she's called?'
'No,' said Sirius darkly. 'We're not on speaking terms at the moment. Guess again.'
'Ah. There's such a broad choice,' shrugged James. 'I don't know. That small girl? Blonde? A bit slow?'
'The one in third year? That is Narcissa. Certainly not.'
'The one that's supposed to be such an excellent flyer?' guessed Remus.
'Vega? No. She doesn't read. In fact - I'm not sure she can.'
'Snape,' said Peter after a while, looking pensive.
Within seconds Sirius was at his throat and pinned him against the dormitory wall.
'Suggest that I have anything to do with that git and you'll die a horrible death!' he snarled. 'You're striving for an AK, you know!'
Remus gave him a puzzled expression, and even James seemed confused for a change. After they had disentangled Peter from their impulsive friend's murdering hands and James had shouted at him for quite a while Remus used a short, exhausted silence to tap Sirius's shoulder somewhat timidly.
'What do you mean... AK?' he said politely. Sirius snorted.
'Never mind. It's not important. But if this one's suggesting I'm in league with... with...'
'We got it,' said James yawningly. 'You don't like Snape. Still, that is no reason to kill Peter, you know. He didn't... count on you being so sensitive to the subject.'
'I am not sensitive,' growled Sirius. 'And you are an idiot, Pete.'
He was addressing Peter. Directly and with nickname.
Since they all considered this to be not only a sign of truce but actually almost an offer of friendship, the matter was not spoken further of. Instead, after making sure that he was not the only one keen on passing the exams, Remus suggested they should continue with their work. The others agreed gladly. There was not much time left until exam week now, and there was still a lot to do.