I returned to the common room, my expression befuddled. James and Sirius were, as ever, goofing around. Sirius nudged James when he saw me. James grinned, yelled "Remus!" and beckoned me over to where he sat. I walked over to them, then held up my hand as they started to open their mouths.
"I need to tell you something." I muttered. "Upstairs, now."
"Bet you got in detention." Sirius joked, getting up and following me to the spiral staircase. "Only a detention would make our Moony so glum."
"It's not a detention." I said shortly. We reached the stairs, the sounds if the common room getting slowly softer. "So be quiet."
James snorted, though he did as I asked. I pushed open the dorm door, ushering Sirius and James in.
"Where's Peter?" I asked, looking around. Most of the time, If he wasn't following James around, he was in the dorm, puzzling over some piece of homework.
"We sent him off to research more stuff. We still can't work out what the last ingredient in the Animagus potion is." I frowned, disapproving of the way Peter was constantly being ignored and shoved away. Sirius, who either did not see or did not care about my displeasure, sat down on the floor with a half eager, half irritated expression on his face. "Are you going to tell us what's got you in a twist?" he asked.
For the past 20 minutes I had debated whether or not to tell my friends about the information I had gleaned. It was not mine to give away, and I am sure I would not have been happy had I been the subject. Then again, I reasoned, my friends would no doubt uncover the piece of news anyway, and ask why I did not share it immediately. I was being cowardly, I told myself, but surely being cowardly is preferable to losing one's friends.
"There's another werewolf at Hogwarts." I said at last. A hushed, disbelieving silence followed. "I don't know who it is." I added, responding to James's unasked question. "McGonagall told me 20 minutes ago. She took me into her office and told me there was another Lycanthrope in the school."
"D'you think it could be a first year?" Sirius looked worried, as did James. I shrugged, troubled. I knew how scary it had been in my first year, always terrified someone would discover my secret, always having to invent up stories.
We heard hurried footsteps outside, coming up the staircase. James and I stood up quickly. The door burst open, an excited Peter stopping mid-step as he noticed our tense posture and the way relief washed over us. He blinked as James and I looked at each other. I cleared my throat.
"There's another werewolf in the school." I said.