1974

Remus Lupin loved the water. When he was young, growing up in the cottage in Surrey with the pond out back, he had been practically aquatic. Remus also enjoyed warm, sunny days, and books, and on this particularly pleasant day in March, the third-year was enjoying all of these things at once. He sat on the dock, lazily eating an apple as he dipped his toes into the water, parsing through the pages of his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. His hair ruffled in the breeze, and it was warm enough to go without large robes—he wore just a jumper and his pants.

But there was one thing Remus Lupin did not love: being pushed into the water.

SPLASH!

Sirius Black sniggered, with James and Peter close behind. Several other students turned their heads towards the noise, but most turned back to whatever it was they were doing before the splash: it was the Marauders. They always caused problems. Lily Evans, however, would not turn a blind eye.

"Sirius Black you prat!" She yelled, running from her conversation with Dorcas. "He's going to freeze!"

"Freeze?" Sirius asked, incredulously, "It's the warmest day we've had all year!"

"Exactly!" Lily snapped. "The water is freezing still, get him out!" She yelled, pointing to the water. Remus had found his way to the shoreline, teeth chattering, soaking wet. But the cold in his bones made it hard to stand. Sirius saw this, eyes wide, and ran over to help his friend.

"Moony—"

"G-g-geroff!" Remus spat, eyes animalistic. He had never looked so mad in front of his friends. "D-d-don't t-t-touch me," He muttered, standing up but immediately taking a few steps away.

"Remus, I'm sorry—I didn't know, I didn't think—"

"—you d-d-didn't," Remus finished, furious.

"Remus!" Lily called out. "Remus, we have to get your clothes off, they're making you colder—"

"NO!" Remus yelled, eyes panicked. Everyone was looking at him. Sure, this was normal Marauder stuff. But they didn't normally cause this much trouble with their own.

"Remus," Lily pleaded, walking closer, "Please." Shivering, cold, and nervous, Remus begrudgingly unbuttoned his pants, took off his sweater, and thrust his sopping clothes on the ground. Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, and others let out audible gasps.

Across Remus' chest was a large gash, that ran from his abdomen up to his neck. It hadn't healed well from the previous moon, and as cold and pale as Remus' skin was, it made the wound look all the worse. Remus felt his ears grow hot, and his nostrils flare, lips pulling back into something of a snarl.

"Remus," Sirius pleaded, "I—"

"You're an arse, Sirius Black," Remus snarled, finding his voice. His eyes narrowed, and for a brief moment, Remus felt as monstrous as the world told him he was. The full moon was just days away. Then, realizing how many eyes were on him, Remus dashed as fast he could into the woods. His friends simply stood in shock.

"Well?" Lily demanded. "Go after him! You lot are his friends, aren't you?"

"I'll go," Sirius said meekly. "It's my fault—"

"—Which is why he won't talk to you," James whispered. "Let me." James picked up the book that had washed ashore and glared at Sirius. "You fix this, I'll work on Remus."

James ran into the woods where he had soon Remus.

"Moony! Moony, it's James," He called out, "I'm sorry! I didn't know Sirius would push you in…he was supposed to tap you on the shoulder," James explained. He stopped for a moment, trying to see which way Remus had gone. In the distance, he heard a faint whimper. Remus.

The young werewolf had found a tree to sit under, soaking boxers collecting dirt. He wasn't shivering, but his teeth chattered from the sobs. Eventually, James found him, and Remus looked up, eyes red and puffy.

"Oh Moony," James whispered, "Moony, I'm so sorry…"

"What good is that," Remus huffed, wiping at his eyes. "Sirius, he—"

"—he doesn't think. Ever, really. We know this about him. Believe me," James said, kneeling beside his friend, placing his hand on his shoulder. "He's got penance to do. You've got every right to be angry."

Remus looked crestfallen. His anger…

"You don't think I was…too angry, do you?" Remus asked softly.

"No," James said forcefully. "He should know better. We should know better…" He lowered his voice. "The full moon is only days away. I can't possibly know what that feels like, but if you had hexed him on the spot he would've deserved it." James paused, looking at Remus' chest.

"It never really healed right," Remus said darkly. "I'm worried…If it gets worse, what will happen."

James paused. He hadn't thought about that. Instinctively, he took off his own shirt. "Here," He said, "Put this on. You must be freezing." Remus wouldn't argue with that. He was cold. Slipping on James' shirt, which was far larger and nicer than anything he owned, Remus felt better. But he was still crying.

"They all saw," He said softly. "They'll know—"

"Know? Bullocks," James said. "It's one piece of the puzzle. We spent two years figuring it out, and we see you every day."

"No, James," Remus whispered. "It's not one piece." The boy sighed, looking at James with pain in his eyes. "The full moon falls on a Friday. I'm going to miss class, Defense class, and this week we're learning….We're learning…"

"Werewolves," James said slowly. "And you'll be missing class."

"Exactly," Remus said, a bit hoarse. "Remus has a gash over his entire body. Remus is gone the day of the full moon. Everyone in class will be learning about how to spot me, and before I know it—"

"No," said James, gripping Remus' shoulders. "We won't let that happen. It's not just you anymore, Remus. You have friends, and we can help you. Maybe you're not visiting your mum this weekend, but you'll be doing something—something ordinary."

James' eyes lit up.

"You got this last month. That's true. But no one knows how—I mean, you could've gotten hurt at home, and it looks bad enough that if anyone asked—"

"I went back to get it checked on," Remus said, feeling the tension slip away. "Brilliant, James. And the evidence is all there—I was doing my readings early, down by the lake, because I knew I had an appointment at St. Mungos. No one would question why I need to be checked out—I loo bloody awful most of the time—and with you and Peter and…" He sighed. "And Sirius, all backing me up…"

"No one will question it," James said firmly. "I swear. Solemnly," He added.

"Solemnly…" Remus repeated. He even smiled, ever so faintly.

"There you have it, mate! It's all solved. And don't worry," James said seriously. "I'll be giving Sirius hell for this."

Remus had a mischievous glint in his eyes. James knew what that meant—the gears in his head were turning. A prank was forming in Remus' sharp mind. James chuckled.

"Alright, alright—we'll give him hell."

And that's how Sirius Black spent the whole of the next month scraping a nasty fungus off his feet. And absolutely no one questioned Remus' absence. No one, that is, except for Lily Evans—but that was a story for another day.