The rest of the pub lost all pretences of having other things to do, of having other stories to tell that might somehow be more important than what Remus had to say. Hearing him speak was a rare enough occurrence, so none of them were stupid enough to miss the chance of a lifetime to hear him relate an entire story. They had all heard rumors, through the grapevine so to speak, of him and this Sirius fellow. Speculation abounded on the few days a month when he was not at his usual seat. Who was the old friend he had to apologise to? Was he really a werewolf or was that just something a few of the guys had made up? What was his relation to the infamous Sirius Black? The new information was greeted with rapt attention and none of them paid any mind to the ticking of the clock. Even the bartender gave up his post and wended his way over to listen to the tale.
Remus looked up, amused at the effect his story was having. Then again, he thought, fresh tales were hard to come by in a town as small as this one. While he wasn't exactly fresh off the boat most anything he had to say was new and that was a welcome change for most of the people in the room. He took another swig of his beer and continued.
"Well, soon enough I was part of their group. We picked up another stray near the end of the year too. Peter was his name, a short chubby fellow who followed James around like it was his job. He wasn't a bad sort of fellow, just a little annoying at times. I'm ashamed to say I was soon an integral part of their pranks, though there was little love lost between me and the slytherins anyway."
"I've got a bad feeling about this, James."
"Oh, shut up, Remus. You planned it anyway."
"I did not. I was doing my homework, proper as you please, when you came over and kidnapped me and dragged me over and made me tell you how to do these horrible things."
"You're joking, right? That was last year, anyway. We planned this one last night. Your memory's going, buddy. Besides, this one's much better."
"I should never have told you about invisibility charms. Never. Ever."
"Remus, Remus, relax." Sirus sat on the edge of the plush chair and slid an arm over Remus's shoulder. "We can do this tomorrow night if you want." Remus tensed. Tomorrow night… tomorrow night was not good. Not good at all. It had almost sounded like a challenge, though.
"No, tonight's fine. I'm just jittery."
"No, no." James was in on it too, moving a little closer as he spoke. "Tomorrow. It'll give us some time to work on the fine points of technique, won't it?"
"I'm not sure. I uh… forgot to tell you, but my mom. She's feeling ill. Again. A relapse, I think. I might have to go home tomorrow night. Just to see her. So, uh…yeah. Tomorrow's not good." Remus was a horrible liar and he knew it.
Peter leaned in. "What's she got?"
"Um... she's… s-s-she's…" Remus stammered.
"It's all right." Sirius leaned closer still, his arm still around Remus's shoulders. "You can stop lying now."
"I'm not lying." He blurted it out instinctively, years' worth of training getting this lie out smoother than any he might make up on the spot.
"Remus. It's fine. We know you're a…"
Remus hung his head ashamedly, cheeks burning. "Werewolf…" he whispered the word as if that would soften its meaning.
"WHAT?" Jack started backwards in surprise and there were a few shocked murmurs, though most of the people in attendance were unsurprised.
"Oh dear. Maybe I shouldn't have said –"
"You're a what?"
"I'd rather not say it again, if it's all the same to you."
"You're a… a monster!"
Remus looked at him placidly, amber eyes meeting blue, resignation meeting shock. "Thank you. Just what I needed to make my night complete." He stood and looked around at the gathered crowd. "Maybe we can finish this another time."
Strong hands pushed Jack down, tacitly threatening, though no one made a move to touch Remus. "Please, ignore him," begged Dan.
He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "I don't know if I can." He opened them again and looked over at the bartender. "I almost wish you'd done it when you had the chance. I suppose you get another one now." He walked over to the door and opened it, letting in a night breeze. A voice called out from behind him.
"Tomorrow?"
He turned and smiled sadly. "Tomorrow's not good."
There was silence until the door slammed shut, after which the tavern erupted into a sea of talk, all on one subject. Remus.