Disclaimer: Anything relating to the Harry Potter stories belongs to J. K. Rowling. She can have my characters and ideas as well.

CHAPTER 2

Twenty minutes later, Lily walked through the portrait hole looking very flushed. Sara and Nina got up and walked towards her.

"Oi! Where did you go, Lily?" Sara asked.

"Well, I tried to follow those guys to see where they were going." She saw the disapproving faces of her friends and began to explain,"I just wanted to make sure they weren't doing anything that would get them in trouble."

"So what were they doing then?" Nina asked her.

"I don't know. They met Peter near the dungeon hallway and kept going. I lost them half way through the castle. They just disappeared. Poof. Like that." Lily said waving a hand in the air.

"That's odd," Sara said, "where could those mental cases have gone?" Nina didn't say anything to her friends, but she had an idea of what might have happened to them. One late night last year, she was alone in the common room reading when she heard the portrait hole open, but didn't see anyone walk through the room. Just as she was about to continue reading her book, James appeared from underneath a cloak that had made him invisible. He didn't know she was sitting next to the fireplace. He walked straight up to the dorm without looking back. She never told anyone what she saw—she wasn't one to snitch on people. She had a certain suspicion about Remus and thought that maybe where the boys had gone had something to do with it, but she never dared say it out loud. Besides, she was sure he was trying to keep whatever it was a secret and she would never be the one to let anyone know what she thought for fear it was true.

The girls packed up their books and went back up to their dorm. As they were changing into their pajamas, they heard a noise—a howling sound.

"What was that?" Nina asked.

"Wait, shh," Lily said, "I heard something too."

"So did I," Sara added, "I hear it every month! Wait a minute, let me check something." She went to the window and looked outside. "I knew it!" she exclaimed, "There's a full moon tonight. I think it's a… werewolf."

Lily gasped and put her hand on her mouth and then said, "Oh my God! They're crazy. They went outside! They'll be killed!" Sara looked pale.

"Hold on guys," Nina began to say, "we don't know if they went outside. They're probably just in the castle somewhere. Besides, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would know if we had a werewolf on the grounds." That seemed to make sense to Sara and her face returned to its normal color.

"You're probably right." Lily said a little anxiously, "But what if they did go out there?"

"Why do you care if Potter gets killed or not, Lily?" Sara asked slyly.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, and Sara raised her eyebrows in reply, "Please Sara, I don't hate the guy that much that I'd want him killed. Besides, I like Remus and don't mind Sirius too much." Sara just shrugged her shoulders and they all went into their beds, each wondering what the boys were really up to.

The next morning, the girls got dressed and went out of their dorms to go down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Standing by the portrait door were Sirius and Peter, waiting for the rest of their friends. James walked briskly past the girls and joined Sirius and Peter. They started to walk out the hole when Sara asked, "Hey you guys. Where's Remus?"

"Remus? Oh, uh, he wasn't feeling so good last night so we took him to the hospital wing. He'll be back in the afternoon." James answered with rather shifty eyes. Nina knew that there was something amuck with his story. And, apparently, so did Sara for she blurted out, "Oh my goodness! I had a feeling you all went out. He was attacked wasn't he? Why did you guys go outside last night! There was a werewolf out there!" Sara gave Nina a quick furtive look, and Nina wondered what Sara was trying to do.

"Hey!" said Peter angrily, "who told you about that? I thought we weren't supposed to say anything!" Sirius and James gave Peter a look of painful death and he turned scarlet.

"Oh..." Sara said and began to reason out loud, "Last night was a full moon. Remus didn't look so good and he usually looks pretty pale and tired once a month. You guys all left last night and now Remus is in the hospital wing." The boys all looked at each other in uncomfortable silence. Nina felt uncomfortable too for some reason. She now knew that her friends had been thinking the same thing as she had, but she didn't think Sara would actually confront Remus's friends about it.

Lily broke the silence by saying very solemnly to the boys, "Okay from the looks on your faces, it seems like whatever the case is, Remus doesn't want anyone to know. I'm assuming the Headmaster knows about this?" The boys all nodded in acquiescence. "Okay then, whatever. Let's just go eat breakfast."

Breakfast was unusually quiet and when the girls went back up to their dorms to get ready to study for their exams they began to discuss Remus's problem.

"Well, obviously." Nina replied to Lily after she told them that Sirius asked her to tell them not to say anything to Remus or anyone for that matter, "Why would we tell anyone. He's been here for six years. He's not dangerous or anything. We know him. He's our friend. I already knew anyways."

"I had a hunch too, actually," Lily said, "I guess once you know it for a fact, it sort of sinks in. You lose that little bit of hope that maybe it's not true." They heard some sniffling coming from under the blankets on Sara's bed. Nina and Lily went and sat on her bed next to her and asked her if she was alright.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said in a very stuffy voice, "I don't know why I'm upset. I get emotional sometimes." Nina hugged her friend and said, "I knew you were a softy. You just have a big mouth sometimes so people think you're tough. You're a complete marshmallow inside."


That day during lunch, Remus came back and joined his friends at the table. The girls all smiled at Remus and kept passing him food. He thought maybe they were acting a bit odd, but figured it was just his imagination. It wasn't until Sara offered him her pumpkin pasty that he realized something really was odd. Pumpkin pasties were both of their favorites, and they always fought over the last one.

He looked at Sara straight in the eye and asked her, "Sara, are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" she asked him innocently.

"Why the heck are you giving me your pumpkin pasty?" he asked with some confusion.

"Oh, um…well, you look a little pale today. So I figured you might want uh…some extra…energy?" she said with a pathetic smile. He looked at her quizzically. And then he looked at everyone else around him. They were all smiling pathetically. He then turned to Sirius and James.

"What is going on?" he asked them. Nina saw them looking really uncomfortable, unsure of whether or not they should tell the truth. She didn't want Remus to be upset, he already had enough on his plate.

She felt he had to help them out so she said, "Yeah, what's going on guys? I thought you two said Remus had a stomach ache last night. Did something else really happen? Did you guys do something stupid and are trying to hide it with a lie?" Sirius and James looked surprised. They hardly ever heard Nina speak, and to hear her act so well had them stunned for a couple of seconds. Sara caught on to Nina's act.

"Well, whatever happened, I don't want to know. You guys are just weird." she said animatedly, "And gimme back my pasty if you're not gonna eat it, Lupin." She reached out to grab it when Remus grabbed her hand and said with a smile, "No, its okay. I'll keep it, thanks, Banana." Sara whacked Remus on the arm, "It's Bana, ass face."

Nina looked up after she was done eating and saw Sirius looking across at her with a slightly raised eyebrow and his hand on his chin, like he was trying to figure something out. Is he looking at me? she thought to herself. She squinted her eyes at him slowly and he squinted his gray eyes back. She quickly looked away. She could feel her face getting warm. What the hell was that? Geez, what's wrong with me. He just looks at me and I get so bloody embarrassed. Why does he have to be so damn hot? I better leave before he notices my face is the same color as the strawberries in his pie.


A/N: I changed this chapter a bit. I didn't like the old version at all...hope it's better.