3: A revelation
James was in trouble again. It was a certain talent he had. He was a clever boy and did well in lessons, but somehow always managed to find what people liked to call 'alternative outlets' as well.
He had rather hoped that Snape would have come down the Great Hall and shown off his marvellous creation but he had stayed in the Slytherin dorms and only Slytherin house had got to see it. That was enough though. Within minutes rumours were circulating of the spectacle of Severus and his bright pink hair. Once the knowledge was out, it was only a matter of time before they traced the spell back to him. He had been duly sentenced to an extra three days of library duty which meant he was staying behind today when the other three went back to the common room. Just over a week had passed since that day in the library and he was still laughing every time he saw Snape.
Remus really was the strangest of people, he thought to himself. One day he would be all smiles and ingenious pranks, and then a few days later he would be moody and self-absorbed. It seemed to be a cycle that went round and round, with Remus taking days off school in the middle of the grumpy period. And he always came back looking ill and unhappy. James did worry about him sometimes. He always seemed so secretive and preoccupied but at the same time Remus was one of the nicest people he knew. He just never let anyone get close enough to him to really see it.
"Mister Potter! Pay attention, if you would!" said the librarian crossly. "Now, we are doing an inventory of all the books in the library over the next few weeks and I expect you, Mister Potter, to start over there and to have documented the title, author and publisher of all the books up to that point there by the time you leave on the third day. Do you understand?" He nodded glumly and a scroll of parchment and a quill appeared in the air before him. He took them and began to write.
When he finally got back to the dormitory after what seemed an age of perpetual writing, his fingers were killing him, he had writers cramp in both arms from where he'd switched when one became too tired, and he was up to his elbows in ink.
"How'd it go?" asked Sirius.
"Ouch," said James in answer, and fell into bed.
He went back the next day and continued writing. He was past the sections on charms, hexes and mythical water beasts and was now beginning the shelves entitled, 'Nocturnal Creatures'. He hoped that it would be vaguely more interesting. The section spanned several book cases and ended up in a dark corner of the library, where pupils too lazy to put their books back properly had piled them up on the shelves, blocking his view of the titles on the spines of the books. Standing on his toes, he tried to push aside a stack of them, only to overbalance and have the whole lot descend on his head. He threw up his arms for protection as they rained down on him, stepped backwards, slipped on another pile and ended up on his backside with several books lying open on his lap. He rubbed his shoulder where a particularly heavy book had struck him and began to pick them up, jotting down their details as he went. Remus would have loved this, he thought morosely. He was never happier than when he had a book in one hand and a chocolate frog in the other. Those were probably the only two things that would cheer him up during his monthly moods-
He stopped short, staring at the title of the book before him. Several thoughts dashed through his mind in the space of a few seconds. Monthly…ill…moonrise…evening…hidden…frightened…waxing…lunar chart…once a month…bitten…Remus?...
The book's title read, in bold silver letters, 'The Young Wizards guide to Nocturnal Creatures: Volume 4: Werewolf- The Monthly Monster'. It was a terrible title but it made it's point. The picture on the front was of half a man and half a large wolf, baring its fangs, split down the middle of the page. It almost looked a little like Remus, James thought. Something about the eyes; the hunted look he had seen in Remus when they ambushed him the corridor.
On one hand, it couldn't be true. It made no sense at all. Dumbledore wouldn't even consider having a werewolf in the school, surely it was too dangerous.
But then, on the other hand it made perfect sense. He flicked through the book. When had Remus last disappeared? That night they had seen someone by the Whomping Willow. That would have been full moon, wouldn't it? He was sure he could remember Remus' chart glowing in the light of the bright sphere of the moon in the final box. It had been full moon! And symptoms… He kept flicking until he found a page, read it twice and then slammed the book closed, his brain bulging with more information than he really wanted to know. It helped, but it still didn't answer his question. He needed more proof, and there was only one way to get it.
The rest of the moth passed uneventfully, although Severus gave them murderous glares every time they passed him in a corridor. His hair hadn't quite returned to its normal greasy black yet and glowed with a faint pink sheen. The other three shared their lesson notes with Remus and he caught up with his homework and life continued as normal. But James was constantly watching Remus and his chart with growing anticipation. He hadn't even tried to tell Sirius about his suspicions, and he normally told Sirius everything. If he was wrong, well that was fine, but if he was right… He didn't even know what he was going to do if he was right. He hadn't dared to think about it yet. As the month went on he began to think that maybe he'd made a mistake. Although Remus did seem to get a little more withdrawn for a few days, he made no signs of leaving. Then suddenly, on the seventeenth, he disappeared without any explanation. James checked the chart. Full Moon. He mulled it over for a while and then called an emergency conference in the dormitory.
"No way!" said Sirius. "You've got to be joking. You can't be serious, James, that's ridiculous!"
"That's what I thought at first, but look at the facts. He vanishes without a trace for a day or two. He always turns up looking like he's going to faint at the drop of a hat. He's ill for a few days, and then everything is fine. For one month. Exactly one. And he always seems to disappear when it's a full moon. Haven't you noticed?"
"Well I never thought to check," said Sirius. "Do you mean you've been waiting a whole month, just to see if he'd vanish?"
"Yes! And where is he now? It's a full moon tonight, Sirius, and he's not here. Again."
"James, there could be another explanation," said Peter.
"Yes, there could be. Or I could be right and our friend is a werewolf! Last month he disappeared on a full moon. Before that, he missed that Potions test. I checked and it was on a full moon. The month before that he said he had to go home because his mother was sick. That was a full moon too. He's got all the signs. Look, here's the book. Read it!" He tossed the volume on werewolves across to Peter. He'd got it out from the library the day after he'd discovered it and had been reading it through when the others weren't around. The librarian had nearly had a fit, claiming that she never thought she'd see the day when James Potter actually went to the library to read.
Peter picked it up and skimmed the pages James had marked as important. Finally he closed it again and passed it to Sirius, who was waving his hand impatiently for it. He too, skimmed through James' notes and closed it with a snap.
"You've really done your homework on this."
"And it does fit, doesn't it?"
"It does."
"I don't know if I like that," Peter continued. "If he is a werewolf, isn't that… dangerous?"
"Oh come on Peter, think!" said James. "He'd only be dangerous when he transformed at full moon and he's never here, is he? My guess is he hides out somewhere for a few days and then comes back again when he's safe. I mean, if he was dangerous to us, he'd be dangerous whether we knew about it or not. Us knowing the truth won't make a scrap of difference to what he has to do."
"That's true." Sirius went and sat in his favourite spot by the window. A slow grin spread across his face. "It's actually kind of cool," he said slowly. "I mean, how many people could say they're friends with a werewolf?"
"If I'm right," James added.
"What do you mean, if you're right? It's your brainwave. Are you sure about it or not?"
"Well we'll all have to watch him like hawks over the next month for any sort of sign. But in the end there's only one way to know for certain… We need to talk to Remus." Peter winced and Sirius drew in a long hissing breath.
"He won't like that."
"I know, but we have to know the truth."
"How are we going to get him to talk?" Peter asked anxiously.
"Well…" Sirius grinned, the mischievous glint coming into his eyes. "That ambush thing did seem to work well last time."
