Yes yes, I don't own anything in the Potterverse, yada yada...
"D'you think he knew it was us?" said Peter in his nervous squeak.
"Of course he did, genius here showed his face to the little git," Sirius said, jerking his head at James.
"Well why the hell did you tell him to go, then?" James snapped back.
Sirius shrugged. "For a laugh."
At that moment Snape entered the Hall and seated himself at the Slytherin table.
"For a laugh?" James asked incredulously. "A laugh? Padfoot, we could have gotten expelled!"
"Or Snape could've died," said Peter, though his comment went unnoticed as a disturbance from the Slytherin table caught their attention
The four marauders watched in disbelief as Snape recounted loudly to the rest of his house, and any others willing to listen (so in other words, everybody), his encounter with Lupin the Werewolf, which he twisted and exaggerated to the point where his story barely had a shred of truth to it.
The crowd listened carefully, whilethe students threw looks of fright at Remus. Then, all eyes on him, he silently removed himself from Gryffindor table and hurried out of the Hall.
The Slytherin table erupted with jeers and laughter as he passed.
Once the other three hastily finished eating, they decided to check for Remus in the common-room… surely he would be hiding out there…
But Remus was nowhere to be found. James asked some third years if they had seen Remus Lupin, but they shook their heads with looks of fear and disgust on their faces.
"News spreads fast," said Sirius quietly.
Just then, Lily burst through the portrait hole, looking angry and worried.
"Lily! How wonderful to see y—"
"Can it, Potter," she snapped. "I just want to know what's wrong with Remus, he hurried out of the Great Hall today at breakfast and I've been trying to find him…"
Sirius surveyed Lily, deciding if she could be trusted.
"Evans," he said suddenly, reaching a decision. "Can we trust you?"
"Of course!" cried Lily, her eyes widening with curiosity.
"Alright, well, Moony, er, Remus, is a… well, he's…"
"A werewolf?" she asked helpfully.
"Wh-yeah! How did—"
"Guessed. So that's why he's off every month…"
"Right," James interjected. "Well, he's a werewolf and last night Snape saw him, and well… you know Snape."
Lily listened to this with a look of horror upon her face.
"What if he'd been bitten!" gasped Lily.
"I'd rather not think about it.A slimy git and a werewolf... a crime against nature, I'd say," replied James.
"Listen," said Sirius. "I think that right now, Moony wants to be alone."
"Alone?" said Lily. "Do you really think that he wants to feel desertetd by everyone, even his own friends?"
"Listen, Lily," said James. "Imagine how he feels! Would you really want to feel that guilt, that shame, around people? How fond of the human race would you be just then, eh?"
Lily bit her lip.
"I just… don't want him to feel alone… that's all..."
She made to go through the portrait hole.
"Evans, hang on… where are you going?" asked James.
"To find Remus!" replied Lily.
And, ignoring Sirius' and James' protests, she turned on her heel and marched out of the common room.
"What's she playing at…" wondered James.
"Honestly, don't you think his best friends would know him a little better than her?" said Sirius, shaking his head.