early 1973
Remus had just come back from the infirmary. This month, like the few before it, had felt easier. Knowing that his friends knew why he disappeared every month and didn't mind was an incredible relief. Not only did Remus feel better on the inside, but he had been able to return to class much sooner as a result of his injuries not being nearly what they were—though still severe by anyone's standards. Entering the Gryffindor common room, Remus had half expected his friends to be lounging about waiting for him. While the fellow pranksters were nowhere to be found, Lily Evans, who had been sitting in one of the plush armchairs reading, closed her book.
"Looking for your friends?" She asked kindly, seeming to be reading Remus' mind. "They're in your room. They were waiting out here, but James was being such a…such a…"
"Git?" Remus suggested, eliciting a smile from Lily.
"A git," She confirmed. "They wouldn't stop yelling and dancing around while I was trying to read, so I sent them away. Don't worry, they are eagerly waiting for you. Frank is with them too, I believe." Remus scrunched up his face a bit.
"Frank Longbottom?" He asked. What would Frank be doing with his friends? It wasn't that he didn't like Frank—far from it. He just had never seen him talk to James, Sirius, or Peter.
"I thought it was odd too," Lily admitted. "Though no stranger to me than you hanging out with them, Remus. You're bright, kind, innocent—"
"I'm more like them than you know," Remus said a bit darkly. Innocent, he thought to himself, if only. "Anyway, thanks for letting me know where they are," Remus said with a smile, walking slowly to his room. He had mangled his ankle a bit, and the bandage and pain made it a bit difficult to walk.
"Are you alright?" Lily asked, "You look a bit pale, and your leg…"
"A nasty fall down the hill in the backyard," Remus assured Lily, lying through his teeth. "I was visiting my mum and dad this weekend." He hated lying to Lily, who never pestered, was always kind to him, but it was for the best. Even though she was muggle born, Remus still worried about losing her friendship.
He continued on his way, almost opening the door to his room but pausing when he heard muffled voices.
"Frank, he'll appreciate this—really," James said from inside.
"You think?" That was Frank. "I didn't mean to overhear, but my mum has the same thing…"
Remus' eyes widened. Frank's mum…had what? He had to assume they were talking about him—Why else would they be talking specifically when Remus wasn't there?
"I would've never thought," Sirius said. "Mrs. Longbottom, with a furry little—"
Remus opened the door in a hurry, eyes wide, face gone paler than usual. He saw Peter, James, and Sirius talking to Frank, who was holding a small parcel.
"Remus!" James exclaimed. "You're back. How are your mum and dad?"
"Good…" Remus said, a bit hesitant. He attempted eye contact with his friends, looking for any signs of stress, but found none. Sirius had been about to say furry little problem. He had said Frank's mum, she had the same problem…Did they tell Frank about him? About what he was?
"And your mum?" Frank asked. "She's feeling better?" Seeing the shock on Remus' face, Frank hastily continued. "Your mates told me—dragon pox, bloody awful that is. Had it last year, was sick for months."
Dragon pox. Remus was confused, but felt some of the color return to his face. Frank didn't know why he was gone. Then why…?
"He overheard us talk about your furry little problem," Sirius began. "Your rabbit, Mr. Testy?"
"My rabbit…" Remus whispered, not quite understanding.
"Technically your mum's," Peter squeaked. "But we explained you had to take care of it, because—"
"—Well, Mr. Testy got his name somehow, didn't he?" James chuckled. "Seems to get in such a mood sometimes, hard to explain why. Isn't as snuggly—"
"—won't share food," Peter added.
"—you get too close, I swear spittle flies out of its mouth—"
"—my rabbit," Remus finished, shooting a glare at his friends. He knew what they were getting at. "Yes, Mr. Testy can be…testy, at times, but he's mostly a good rabbit," Remus defended.
"Oh yes," James agreed. "Nine times out of ten, fantastic rabbit, but every now and then—"
"—A furry little problem," Frank finished with a smile. "My mum says the same thing about her rabbit—something about rabbits being exposed to magic, she says, alters their brains. I think its rubbish, her explanation, but it's true that Brandy—her rabbit, that is—can be a real nuisance." Frank rolled up his sleeve, handing the parcel to Peter. "See?"
Remus' eyes widened. Frank had quite a few scars on his arm. "And that's all from your mum's rabbit?" Frank nodded.
"I assumed—I mean, you've got a couple of scars…" Frank said sheepishly. Remus smiled.
"Oh, yes, mostly from Mr. Testy, or my own clumsiness." Remus then shifted his gaze towards his friends. "Peter, what have you got there?"
"Carrots," Frank said. "From my garden. I had my mum owl them to me—I quite enjoy herbology, and I found a way to grow carrots that have a sort of calming effect on rabbits—well, at least on Brandy. I thought that maybe, if you wanted, you could bring some home with you next time you go and try feeding them to Mr. Testy," Frank said with a smile. "It would be a great help to me too—if they work on another rabbit, I might've really caught onto something."
Remus tried his absolute best not to chuckle. "That sounds brilliant, Frank," Remus said kindly. "I'm glad you thought of me; this is really quite kind."
"Oh, it's no problem at all really," Frank assured him. "Those furry little creatures can be quite a bother, nasty bites too. Anyway, I better be off—I need to find Alice, but let me know if they work," Frank added.
"Of course," Remus said softly. "And thank you."
Frank grabbed his things and walked out of their room. As soon as Remus knew he was out of earshot, he turned to his friends.
"Mr. Testy the rabbit? Really?" He inquired.
"Well, it was the best we could come up with," Sirius explained. "You're normally there to help us out of these sticky situations, but seeing as how you left us this weekend—"
"—which is entirely understandable," James added, shooting Sirius a look.
"—we had to come up with our own explanation. It was the first thing I could think of, a rabbit, since it's furry and small, but it was James who came up with the name—"
"—Hey! I had to make it seem like a troublesome rabbit. You don't go calling troublesome things by cutesy names, like Bubbles, or Sandy, or—"
"Moony?" Remus quipped, smiling.
"Well you're hardly troublesome," Sirius insisted. "You've got a bit of trouble, sure, but you aren't nearly as troublesome as the rest of us lot. Anyway, Frank really seems to have bought it, so we're all in the clear."
Remus rolled his eyes. Only his friends would insist he was 'hardly troublesome.' "So, tell me, what do we do with these carrots? We don't exactly have a rabbit to test them out on, and Frank will be suspicious if don't let him know if they worked or not."
"One step ahead of you," James grinned. "We've got an idea."
Sirius rolled out some parchment, and the four boys grabbed quills. James explained how they would sneak down into the kitchens and make a little carrot cupcake for Professor Slughorn. He was always accepting of gifts from 'collectable' students, Sirius added, saying that he would drop the cupcake off at his office. Then, when Slughorn was all calm and loopy—assuming Frank's herbology skills were what he said—he'd be much more likely to look the other way while the boys grabbed the bit of Erumpent horn from his stores. The horn contained an exploding fluid that would be perfect for causing distractions, breaking things, but most importantly—"
"—For Snivellus," Sirius smirked. Remus chuckled. Of course, if it was mischief related, his friends had a quick answer. But when it came to clever lies, it was nice to know that they still needed Remus. The boys wrapped up their planning session—Remus needed his rest, Peter and Sirius needed to finish their schoolwork, and James had some unfinished business with Lily Evans…