They were at a loss for how to start. James drummed his fingers. Peter's eyes nervously darted around the room. Sirius found the floor a very interesting specimen.

Remus, too, was nervous. This was not at all like his friends.

"You said you wanted to talk?" Remus prompted timidly.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, so…." James trailed off.

"You disappear a lot," Peter blurted, "and you always come back with scratches and whatnot. We were worried."

The color began to drain out of Remus' face.

"We copied the days that you left," James said guiltily.

"Look, there's no good way to say this, but we know you're a werewolf," Sirius said.

Whatever color was left in his face vanished. His breathing turned shallow. "I- I should go," Remus said suddenly. He jumped up from his bed and hurriedly left the dorm.

"Remus, wait!" James shouted. There was no reply. "We have to follow him."

"Library," Peter said instantly.

"Let's go," James said.

"It's all my fault, I shouldn't have said it like that," Sirius whispered angrily and they made their way to the library.

"You were right, there wasn't a good way to say it," James said, peeking around a corner. "No one, it's all clear."

"He's right, don't blame yourself," Peter said sympathetically.

They walked in silence for the rest of the way.

The library appeared to be empty at first glance.

"We should split up," Peter suggested.

"I'll go left," Sirius offered.

"Right," James said.

"I'll take the back, then."

The three began their search. It was hard to see in the darkness, but their eyes adjusted.

Peter had little luck. The back was empty but for the shelves of books that towered above him.

James didn't find him either. The right side of the library was quite similar to the back, only with the temptation of the Restricted Section.

Sirius had given up hope. The library was dark and there was no sign of Remus.

A quarter of an hour later, the library had been searched. They met back up at the entrance. None had had any luck.

"What do we do now?" Peter asked helplessly.

"Minnie," said Sirius, "She might be able to help us, right after she docks a few points."

"She'll give us detentions for breaking curfew," said Peter.

"What's more important- finding Remus or staying out of detention? And anyway, we're in it every week, what's another hour?" James argued.

"Her office is only a few flights up, it won't take long. She also stays up really late grading at stuff, so she'll be up," Sirius assured them.

They ran to McGonagall's office, expecting her to be up grading papers or just settling into bed. They did not expect to hear voices.

"I have to leave, don't I?" Remus said behind the door.

McGonagall answered, "If they tell anyone, then yes. That's probably what will happen."

His voice broke and became quite small. "I tried really hard, Professor, I promise. I swear I did. Maybe I shouldn't have come in the first place..."

"Nonsense! You are one of the best students here!" McGonagall protested.

"Being a good student doesn't mean I'm not a monster, though."

James, Sirius, and Peter chose that moment to barge in.

Remus's face was red and his eyes were wet, as though on the verge of tears. He took a step back when he saw who it was.

McGonagall blinked twice, then she seemed to realize what had happened. "Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, Mr. Pettigrew! You cannot just barge into ones' office, much less after hours!"

"Before you give us detentions and send us back to our Common Room, could we have a minute with Remus?" James asked.

McGonagall sighed. "I assume that's why you're breaking curfew."

"Yeah, we were looking for him," Peter said.

"In that case, I'll step outside," McGonagall said. "I'm sure you have a lot to discuss."

"Thanks, Minnie!" Sirius called after her.

McGonagall shook her head as she walked out the door and into the hallway.

They were silent for a minute.

"We didn't finish earlier, you know," James said finally.

"What? Come to tell me I'm a monster?" Remus asked, looking away from them.

"No," Peter said.

"You didn't tell us because you thought we'd go public," Sirius said.

"I didn't tell you, because you would hate me," Remus said.

"We don't hate you," James told him.

"How could you not? Everyone hates… everyone hates werewolves. Why would you think any differently?"

"Because we're your friends," Sirius said forcefully, "and we know you. You aren't like the rest of them. You are not a monster."

"Everyone else left because of what I am," Remus started, "and-"

"Well, we aren't leaving!" Sirius said, a little more loudly. "We are your friends, and we are going to stick by you, no matter what."

James agreed, "It's going to take more than that to get us to leave."

"Really?" Remus asked weakly.

"Yeah," Peter said.

"How do I know you aren't just getting my hopes up?"

"Because we broke curfew to look for you. We spent the whole day in the library trying to find actual information on werewolves rather than that biased trash Umbridge made us read. We broke into the library half an hour ago because we thought you were there," James listed.

"The other day, in D.A.D.A, when Umbridge gave everyone a hard time, you had more reason to be upset than anyone, but you came back to help me. You're here for us, it's time for us to do the same to you," Sirius finished.

"Seriously?" Remus asked, disbelieving.

Rather than answering, the boys wrapped him into a hug.

"We'll be here for you, no matter what," James assured him.

Remus allowed himself a smile through the tears.