That night, I stayed up almost all night sitting in the common room, and finished my own essay at almost five in the morning.

Yawning, I looked out the window at the moon. Fear shot through me at the sight of it being almost completely full.

I took my eyes off the sight that haunted me, and read through my essay. It seemed good enough. And now that I had the base, I could base the other's off my own, just slightly different. So, off I went, starting on Sirius's.

It's for friends, I thought. Even if you go two nights in a row without sleep now, you're being a good friend.

I was just finishing Sirius's assignment as my three friends came rushing into the common room later that morning.

"Here you go," I muttered, throwing Sirius his essay. "Take notes from now on, because this is never happening again!"

"Thank you so much, Remus, I swear to god, you're the best person in the whole world," Sirius said. He did sound very grateful.

"Let's go have some breakfast," said Peter.

I nodded, deciding I'd do Peter and James's essays tomorrow afternoon after the Slug Club.

We arrived at the Great Hall, the route there familiar to us now. There were waffles with chocolate sauce for breakfast. The Great Hall wasn't as full as it usually was in the morning, as a lot of students were sleeping in as it was Saturday.

The four of us ate our waffles, talking about plans for today.

"We could hang out in the courtyard," James suggested. "Play that muggle game hide-and-seek."

"Hide and what?" Sirius asked. Peter, James, and I all stared at him. "What? My parents don't let me do anything that has anything to do with muggles, mudbl- sorry, muggle-borns, or half-bloods."

"I'm half-blood," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah — I don't agree with their views at all though," Sirius said. "Anyway, tell me about this game."

"So, one person counts to a hundred and one, then everyone else hides, then the seeker has to find them," James explained.

"It's a game generally played by younger children, but hey, its fun," I added. "Also… I…" I was trying to think of an excuse to leave, when Dumbledore approached the table.

"Mr Lupin, may I have a word?" he said.

"Of course, sir," I said, standing up. Then I said to my friends, "see you later."

Dumbledore led me out of the Great Hall, then out of the castle, all the way to the Whomping Willow.

"Thank you, sir," I said.

"You should think ahead for your excuses," he told me.

"Yes, I will," I said. "Sorry, and — and thank you, again."

"It's alright, Remus, but before you go, I want to talk to you about one other thing," he said.

"Yes?" I prompted.

"Well — Professor Slughorn tells me he's invited you to a Slug Club meeting tomorrow," he said gently. "And, while I'm sure you want to go, I'm not sure if it's the best idea to go right after a rough night like tonight. You're going to be sick and exhausted… so, I am asking you not to attend tomorrow's meeting."

"But, Professor-"

"You heard me, Remus," he said. "I'm sorry, but it's for your own good."

"I- OK," I said.

"Good luck," he nodded, then he disappeared.

"Ugh," I said, kicking a rock. I drew my wand. "Immobulus."

The Whomping Willow stopped swaying violently, and I caught sight of a hole, which I clambered into. I followed the dark tunnel until I came out into a small, wooden shack.

I closed the door behind me, then tried banging on it. Nothing happened.

There must have been many spells around the shack.

There was a bed with a note on it, saying:

Hey Remus, get some sleep today before the moon comes out. Dumbledore.

I smiled, glad for some sleep I climbed onto the bed, and my head had barely touched the pillow before I was completely out to it.

I woke up around sunset to a familiar pain shooting through my body.

I was letting out screams, which turned into growls. And then I was in my I need to kill someonemode. As usual, at first I tried destroying the area I was in, then resorted to scratching at myself. I felt more restless than usual, as it was an unfamiliar environment tonight.

The sun rose around seven that morning, and I collapsed on the floor. Every time I was in a new place, my werewolf form was more aggressive than usual.

My shirt was drenched in my blood, and I walked over to the medical box and grabbed out some bandages. There was a bar of chocolate there with a note on it.

The chocolate will make you feel better.

Smiling, I unwrapped the bar and popped it in my mouth. Dumbledore was right — it made the pain in my wounds go down an enormous amount.

I looked in a small mirror that was on the wall next to the bed. I looked horrible — there were fresh cuts all up my arms, face chest. I cleaned up the bleeding wounds on my chest and arms, and got into some clean clothes I had brought along with me. I put a jumper on over the top of the shirt to hide my arms, bleeding in only one spot would seem less suspicious. I held the tissues to my face until the bleeding stopped, then checked my watch. 7:45.

You're going to be sick and exhausted… so, I am asking you not to attend tomorrow's meeting.

Come on… I could make it… fifteen minutes… I wasn't feeling that bad, honestly.

"Sorry, Dumbledore,"I whispered.

Then, I opened the door to the shack and emerged from under the Whomping Willow.

7:50.

I ran up to the castle and rushed inside. Where could Slughorn's office be?

A bunch of older students walked past.

"Uh — excuse me, where's Professor Slughorn's office…?" I asked.

"Ugh, first-years," one of them muttered, and pushed me over.

"Wait… please!" I stumbled to my feet, but they were already walking away. "UGH!"

I walked through the castle, trying to think. But then I bumped into someone. No, not someone — Sirius Black.

"Remus!" he said. "Where have you — holy shit, what happened to your face!"

"What? Nothing," I said quickly.

"Mate, you're bleeding!" he cried. "Where are you going, and where have you been?"

"The — the slug club," I said.

"No, you are not," he said. For the few days I'd known Sirius I'd seen him as nothing but irresponsible and impulsive. But now I suppose I was seeing the other side of him. "You're going to the Hospital Wing and I am taking you."

"NO!" I shouted, unexpectedly. "I mean… no."

If I went to the Hospital Wing, the doctor there would probably be able to tell what my wounds were from, then they'd know… the truth…

"I'll go… later," I said.

"No, you'll go now," Sirius said angrily.

"OK, I'll go now," I lied. "See you later."

"Remus, stop acting so suspicious, and maybe I'd let you go on your own," Sirius said. He sounded angry and upset. "You disappear for a full day AND night, and you come back bleeding? That's next level suspicious. Tell me where you've been."

"My… my mother was ill," I said. I wasn't sure if he could tell that I was lying through my teeth. He probably could, because he raised an eyebrow at this.

"So how does your mother being ill make your face bleed like crazy?" Sirius asked.

"Sirius… just stop," I said. "Just go back to being your irresponsible self."

"Oh, so you think I'm irresponsible?" he said. He had his hands on his hips, and looked so much like a mother.

"Stop this nonsense," I said. "Just be yourself. Stop worrying about me."

"Remus!" he snapped. "I'm just trying to help you — that's what friends are meant to do. Oh, wait, you probably didn't know that because you've spent your whole life being a LONER! So fine. Go to the stupid Slug Club and have everyone stare at you — good luck getting friends with that attitude."

He turned around and stormed away from me.

"Wait — Sirius! I'm sorry!" I tried calling out, but he was gone. I let out a long groan. He was right. There was no way I could go to the Slug Club in this state. I was just desperate for friends, and my selfish attitude had possibly hurt my friendship with Sirius.

I walked back out of the castle and through the whomping willow to the shack. I plopped down and put a bandage to my bleeding face, then laid down on the bed. I'd have to apologise to Sirius later today. I started thinking of what I would say — Hi Sirius, sorry I lied to you, I'm actually just a werewolf, so I was bleeding because of my sharp claws and teeth, and I disappeared last night because I didn't want to kill anyone, and I was also tired as hell this morning, and in a lot of pain because I'm technically a danger to you.

I laughed at the thought of saying this. I really needed a distraction right now…