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Thanks to my reviewers: Tiania, redireas, MiSSxMELON, and Teutorion. You help a lot, really.

This chapter was originally both 8 and 9 but I decided to combine them. Now it'll take me a while to update cuz I have to write the new chapter 9. Thanks for reading!!!

Chapter 8- 1 year down, 6 to go

Our friendship only strengthened over the next few months. My excuse for being gone was, again, that my mom was sick and my dad needed my help.

The week before Christmas, Peter, James, Sirius, and I were sitting in the library, reading up on the charm: Wingardium Leviosa and trying to write an essay on what type of things it could be used for.

"We can use it to hover Malfoy and Snape over the lake, I hear there are some pretty nasty creatures in there," Sirius said, breaking the long silence, "Do you know if they're staying over break?"

The three of us shook our heads, "Oh, well, what about you three, are you staying?"

"I'm going home," I said, a full moon was to take place after Christmas and I'd rather spend it at home than in the overly cold shack. However James and Peter said they'd be staying, as did Sirius.

"Do you want us to come help you with your mom?" James asked,

"Oh, no, that's fine,"

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked,

I nodded, "Thanks, though," I added quickly, "You guys are great,"

"Oh, you flatter us," James pretended to blush.

Christmas was just like all the other ones. I loved seeing my parents again but I missed my friends. On Christmas morning after we all opened our presents, the three of us sat down to tons of food. Soon the conversation shifted to my friends.

"So, Remus, these friends of your, what are they like?"

"Sirius, he's got a sense of humor and he's smart. He was supposed to be in Slytherin and his mom was pretty angry. Sometimes he says he'd rather be a squib than be related to her. James is really smart. He's interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts more than I am, says he wants to be an Auror when he grows up. Peter...Peter is silent a lot, he likes Quidditch..."

Peter does everything Sirius and James does, I thought.

"What about enemy's have you got any of them yet?" Dad asked "John..." Mom said warily

"Yeah, I guess I do. Malfoy and Snape. They're both in Slytherin. They pick fights with us for no reason."

"Hey mom?" I sat down next to her after lunch.

"Hmm?" She answered, looking up from her book.

"I was wondering if I could go back to Hogwarts early,"

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, it's just, I miss my friends, please..."

"Oh, alright," I could tell she wasn't thrilled, "You can floo to Hogsmeade after the full moon."

"Thanks mom!" I kissed her on the cheek and went to my room.

I worked on my homework for a while before looking through some of the books I got for Christmas. I was just about to get into bed when I heard my mom talking, sounding very distressed.

"John, how can you not?"

"Elizabeth, Remus is a young man."

"But he's not like other people. He's fragile,"

"No, he's not. These are his first friends,"

"But they'll hurt him,"

"Liz, stop, don't ruin this for him. I know you love him but you have to let him live."

"Fine...fine." I heard my mom storm off in the direction of their bedroom.

I got up from where I was sitting and plopped down on my bed, turning off my light.

The dream I had was one of the worst.

I walked to my next class, everything was normal. I took my seat next to Peter as Professor Lynch came in.
"Good afternoon class, today we will be covering werewolves,"
I raised my hand, "Professor, we aren't supposed to study werewolves until out third year."
She turned to me, smiling, and performed the body bind charm on me. She grabbed the neck of my robes and pulled me up to the front of the class room.
"Mr. Potter, If you'll pull the curtains back," It had been light outside, the sun had been shining through the curtains but once James pulled them back the full moon rose.
I felt the symptoms and cried out in pain as I transformed, barely registering how the class was laughing hysterically.
The wolf took over my actions and I ran at the class. They stopped laughing as I tasted the blood of my first victim. I savored it. I knew who I was ripping apart, but couldn't stop.
Once Sirius was completely gone I looked up at the rest of the class, blood dripping off me.
Some were sobbing and screaming, others couldn't do anything except watch in terror as I advanced slowly on them. I heard Lynch say something and a flash of light filled my eyes.

I woke up panting, it took a few moments for me to realize that the blood around me was my own, not Sirius's. I got up and went into the bathroom, spitting blood into the sink. I examined my tongue. If I had been asleep for only a minute or two more, I probably would have bit a hole straight through.

I spat more of the blood out, thinking of the dream, of how I'd torn Sirius apart. I sat on the toilet for more than an hour, spitting out blood and dabbing my tongue.

This'll hurt tomorrow, I thought,
It hurts now, said another voice.

Great two voices in my head now.

I ended up falling asleep where I was, having a simple dream that'd I had for years: I sat in a small cage in the zoon with the sign in front of the cage that said: Remus Lupin Caution: Werewolf

"Remus?" I opened my eyes, and got up,

"Are you ok?" My dad asked, his eyes flickering to my blood stained towel and face.

"My tongue," I hadn't thought about it, a pain shot through my mouth,

"Let me see," Dad said, sitting down so we were the same height. I stuck out my tongue. Dad cringed before getting up and leaving. I thought that he had gone to get mom and felt a sinking feeling in my stomach, if mom saw this, I doubted she'd let me leave the house for a year.

But he came back only with his wand. He mumbled something and pointed it at my face. At once all the pain that had started vanished. "Best we don't talk about this in front of your mother," I nodded and he continued, "Mind talking about what happened?"

We went into my room and while my dad cleaned my bed with a spell, I told him my dream. When I was done, dad sat down next to me and pulled me into his infamous one armed hug.

We didn't speak and eventually I dropped off to sleep.

The next day was the day of the full moon so I stayed in bed, watching a television, a very entertaining piece of muggle work that had pictures moving around inside it. Before night fall, dad brought me downstairs and chained my ankles to the wall.

"I love you, dad," I said before he left.

"I love you, too," He smiled sadly and closed the door.

I returned to school 2 weeks earlier than everyone else. James and Sirius were both there but Peter had had to go home when his grandma really did get sick.

We spent a lot of time on the school brooms after getting permission from Madame Hooch and played catch with a Quaffle James had gotten for Christmas.

The night Peter came back, James shut us in our dormitory, he took out a silky blanket-type thing.

"What is that?" I asked,

"This, my friends, is an invisibility cloak. Really rare. Look." He swung the cloak over his body and disappeared.

For almost an hour the four of us passed it around, trying to scare one another, Peter jumped every time.

When school started, James and Sirius suggested we use the cloak to scare Malfoy and Snape.

"Bad idea," I said, "What if something happens and the cloak falls off or something. Filch would confiscate it."

But they didn't listen. One night about a week later. I was trying to get my work done when the portrait hole opened on it's own accord, a minute later the candle I had been using flickered and died, "James...Sirius..."

"Yours truly," Sirius laughed, taking the cloak off,

"May I ask what you did?"

"Well, we couldn't find Malfoy or Snape so we messed with Filch. I guess he thought we were Peeves." James said proudly.

I laughed a little, not feeling too sorry for him, mainly because he was always rude to the students.

"What time is it?" I asked, stretching,

"Just past midnight," Sirius yawned as he looked at his watch, "We'd better get to bed, I suppose Peter already is..."

I nodded as we made our way to our dorm. We changed in the darkness and got into out beds,

"Night," Sirius yawned,

"G'night," I said, the same time as James.

"THAT'S IT!" I looked up at Sirius stormed into the common room, he sat down next to Peter and I, huffing, "If one more person calls me Siri, I'll jinx them into oblivion!"

I grinned at Peter as he asked, "What happened, Sirius?"

"Malfoy found out what some of the girls call me," He snarled.

When James got to the common room and told them that Malfoy and Snape were walking around talking about 'Siri and his bitches,', Sirius growled loudly and stormed upstairs, causing several to stop and look over.

Easter came and went, I had had to stay to catch up on my work, which had piled up increasingly since exams were so close. Peter also had to stay so he could study and Sirius insisted that he wanted to be as far away from his family as possible.

James, however had to go home. His parents had gone on vacation for Christmas, so wanted to see him.

When I finished my work I helped Peter study by quizzing him.

Once the exams were over, we spent the remainder of the term days relaxing. Sirius had jinxed a Slytherin second year when she called him Siri, which made most think twice before bugging him.

The last night of term passed all too quickly. Ravenclaw had won the house cup narrowly, only 10 points more than Gryffindor.

After the feast, the four of us snuck up to our dorm and grabbed the invisibility cloak. We went out onto the balcony, under the cloak and dropped half a dozen dung bombs into the common room.

We hid in our dorm watching some people come in, trying to find the culprit and fresh air while we tried hard not to laugh.

"Keep in touch, alright?" James said, as we got off the train at King's Cross Station.

I nodded as I put my trunk on a trolley,

"Yeah, if you need any help taking care of your mom, just send us an owl," Sirius said while he helped Peter with his trolley.

"Thanks, see you guys next term," I waved as I walked through the barrier.

Mom and Dad were already there. We took the next train home and I talked nonstop quietly about the exams and my friends, occasionally when a muggle would look up, mom and dad would act like I was mentally ill, but I didn't care, I could keep my excitement contained.

2 months, it was too long.

I'd lasted a year at Hogwarts. I had three great friends and, as far as I knew, good grades. I don't think I could've been happier.

"1 year down, 6 to go," Dad said as we walked into the house

Alrighty then...see the button...yeah that one...push it...yep...there you go... ;-)