Chapter 4:
The early morning sun streamed through cracks in the wall of the Shrieking Shack, shining gently on Remus's face. He carefully opened one eye...
And quickly shut it again with a groan; the light burned strongly as a dragon's breath.
Eyes still tightly closed, he attempted to raise his head off the ground, but slumped against the floor again. Remus felt something warm and wet dripping down his face, as well as on his skinny body and over his arms and legs. His nostrils were filled with the scent of blood. The werewolf sighed, and curled up tightly on the deeply-scratched floor.
"I must have gone berserk!" He thought. "What happened last night? What made me hurt myself so badly?"
Memories of the night before hit Remus like a slap: the horror on his friends faces, the shouting, the fear he sensed when they realized what he really was.
Remus curled up tighter on the floor, holding back tears.
"I'm in so much trouble," he thought despairingly. "No one is supposed to know. And now they'll hate me!"
"What if they tell everybody? I'll have to leave Hogwarts!"
Remus carefully wiped his eyes with the frayed sleeve of the raggedy, oversized clothing he always wore for his transformations. He just stared at the torn, bloodstained fabric for a moment. Then, he snarled.
"Stupid bloody monster!"
A creak in the passageway—too quiet for any human to hear from that distance, but perfectly clear to Remus—altered him to the presence of someone in the hall.
"Madam Pomfrey?" He muttered weakly.
The door flew open with a "BANG," and in burst Peter, Sirius, and James.
Each boy was clutching a silver knife, and all of their wands were pointed at Remus.
"This is it, werewolf. We're done with your charades and your lies." Sirius said coldly. Peter, standing closely behind the two larger boys managed to whimper "Get out of our school!"
James's mouth was tightly closed; he didn't trust himself not to flip out at his friend—former friend—if he opened it, and he didn't want the werewolf to see that his trick had worked. He spat, "Get up yourself, or we'll make you."
Slowly, the boy on the floor uncurled his body, and pushed himself up into a sitting position.
And James dropped his knife.
The front of Remus's shirt was stained dark red with blood; some old, some fresh. The deep marks of claws covered his face, his arms, his legs—everything.
What shocked James the most, though, were the tears that shone in Remus's eyes.
The angry and fearful expressions melted off of Peter and Sirius's faces as they watched Remus struggle unsteadily to his feet, hands pressed to a nasty gash on his chest.
"I'm sorry." Remus whispered. "I'll leave. You never have to be near me again."
A tear rolled down his cheek.
"I'm so sorry."
James couldn't take it anymore. He rushed to his friend's side, grabbed him under the armpits, and carefully lowered the skinnier boy to the floor once more. Remus, crouching in a sitting position, shied away from James. He couldn't meet his eyes.
"Remus..."
A clatter arose; Sirius and Peter had dropped their knives as well, and kneeled in front of their friend.
Sirius whispered in shock: "You...you weren't pretending so that you could eat us, were you? You were never pretending..."
Remus shook his head.
"I'm so stupid. I shouldn't have come to this school at all. I'm a freak, I don't deserve friends."
It was Peter who first struck up the courage to put a comforting hand on Remus's arm.
James and Sirius followed Peter's example, each wrapping an arm around the boy's bony shoulders.
"Shut up, you git."
"We're the ones who should be sorry. We were stupid, we thought you wanted to...well, hurt us."
Remus scowled slightly.
"How do you know that I'm not dangerous? I'm a bloody werewolf! A monster!"
Sirius's eyebrows raised.
"No offense, mate, but you don't exactly look up to doing us any harm."
James nodded in agreement.
"And the Remus we know wouldn't hurt a fly."
"I'm a were-"
"Oh, so what if you turn into a bloodthirsty beast every month?! You're clearly trying to stay under control, and it isn't your fault you have a...furry little problem!"
"You're Remus." Peter chimed in. "That's what matters to us—not the werewolf. You."
Remus glanced up at the others in disbelief.
"Really...?"
They smiled.
"Really."
"Of course."
"Heck yes!"
"Now, come on!" James stood up, and pulled Remus to his feet. "We need to get you to the hospital wing."
"Blimey, you're a mess!"
Remus glanced at his friends sheepishly.
"I guess I smelled you lot nearby. Made me lose it."
Peter blanched.
"We made you do this to yourself?"
Remus nodded, the grimaced slightly as Sirius and James began walking him down the passage. "I'm calm near animals—well, relatively calm—but the scent of humans drives me mad."
"Well, we'll have to do something about that," muttered James thoughtfully.
When Remus shot a sharp glance at him, the other boy just grinned.
After a moment's pause, Remus smiled back, and the four friends continued walking away from the nightmarish shack together.