Becoming Moony: Found Out

Disclaimer: How many times…? Oh well. I do not own the puppies. I do not own Harry Potter. I do not own Daniel Radcliffe; if I did he would wear leather pants.

A/N: Again, again. Here is Number Three. I think that this is the longest I've ever spent on a story. Or a vignette, which is what this probably is. Enjoy yourselves!

The small explosion that rocked the second year boy's dorm did not cause any alarm. These small, but annoying, noises were nothing new. In fact, the residents of Gryffindor tower were so used to them, they didn't even jump at loud noises anymore. However, if anyone was to ask, they knew absolutely nothing about what the boys who lived in the dorm did up there. If a professor inquired about the noise, they replied with 'what noise?' and 'Oh, that. It's nothing.' It made people feel quite out of the loop. Nobody seemed to know what they did, and if they knew, nobody was telling.

Up in the dorm, James Potter coughed and blew smoke away from his sooty face. Sirius Black grinned like a maniac, coughing every so often. Remus Lupin rushed to the window and opened it, fearing for his brain cells. The newest member of their little group, Peter Pettigrew, sat on his bed wondering if every day was like this.

Peter Pettigrew, mused Remus, was an odd little boy. He had joined the Gryffindor tower halfway through the semester, no one knew too much about him. The small, mouse-like boy claimed that the school had not sent his letter and that was the reason for his year late arrival. Remus wasn't sure about that, McGonagall was very prompt and hated tardiness. For Peter to not receive his letter until nearly a year later was highly improbable. Remus thought that maybe this little boy had a secret like his. Well, not like his, but a secret nonetheless. The brown haired, brown-eyed boy was very plain, and seemed to know it. He was nearly silent and seemed to be almost ghost like.

It was very clear that Sirius was not overly fond of Peter. He went out of his way to make Peter miserable. James and Remus spent most of their time trying to keep Sirius from torturing Peter to suicide. It was a full time job, thought Remus, and we're only twelve years old. Sirius spent most of his time picking on Peter, annoying the professors with his laziness, and driving Severus insane.

Severus, thought Remus. Severus was a sore point. He still hadn't gotten over Severus' 'betrayal'. Oh Remus knew that it wasn't a true betrayal but his wolf didn't know the difference. The wolf viewed the loss of Severus as the loss of a pack member. His pack was small enough, Remus didn't know what he would do if another member was lost. Remus glanced around the round room, a smile breaking across his face. Sirius was busy laughing hysterically at James, who could not seem to get the putrid smelling soot off of his face and glasses. Peter smiled nervously at them both, obviously not getting exactly what was so funny.

"Sirius, if you don't get your sorry arse up and help me I will never forgive you." exclaimed James, rubbing frantically at his face.

"Sorry mate, this is pure gold. I can't just let you get away scotch free. I must taunt you to the full potential" said Sirius, throwing his arms dramatically into the air. Remus laughed, Sirius was a drama queen. A complete, and utter, drama queen. He delighted in causing a scandal, he gossiped with the best of them. He was often seen in the company of the notorious gossiper, Mariska Dawson. Mariska was a third year Hufflepuff and delighted in claiming that she was going to marry the hottest man in the entire fifth year class, Dante Patil. Whether this was true or not was completely irrelevant in the fact that she was one of the nosiest people in the entire school. The only one who could best her was Sirius' youngest cousin, Narcissa. Narcissa was a seventh year Slytherin. She was also the girl who was destined to marry Lucius Malfoy.

Remus scowled at the thought of Sirius' family. Sirius never said a thing about them, but he couldn't hide the bruises that littered his back. Remus would've thought that it was a discipline thing, but then he met Regulus. Regulus was Sirius's younger brother, a Slytherin. Regulus was so pampered that his snow-white skin had no blemishes and his hair was as dark as his name. He had the air of a pampered little prince, and if his clothing and school supplies were anything to go by, he was treated as royalty. Remus vaguely recalled Sirius looking like that, but the look had abruptly changed after the winter holidays. Remus also recalled a slightly pinched look, a look that summoned forth a barrage of emotions that Remus felt were not needed.

"Remus? Earth to Remus! Come in Remus!" called Sirius, poking at Remus' leg. Remus glanced down at him.

"Yes?"

"You alive up there? You didn't lose too many of your precious brain cells in the little explosion?" Sirius asked, leaning heavily on Remus' leg.

"No I didn't but you are going to make me fall over if you don't get up you great lump."

"Aw, are you calling me fat? Because I'm not fat you know, I'm perfect. Marlene Johnson said so."

"Oh, and Marlene Johnson is always right?" asked James, coming from the bathroom.

"When it comes to matters of the flesh, yes. Everyone says so."

"Oh and if everyone said it was cool to jump into the great lake in December, would you do it?"

"It depends."

"It depends?" exclaimed Remus.

"Yes it depends."

"On what?"

"Whether or not I would survive."

"Sirius, you are too much." laughed James.

"Yeah, too much for you." retorted Sirius, smacking James with the wet towel James had dropped on the floor. James gave a yelp and proceeded to chase Sirius around the dorm, slipping over the pink and purple dust that lay scattered across everything.

/page break/

It was a full moon again. Remus was once again in the Shrieking Shack and the desolate place was maddening. As the cracking of his bones signaled that the change was upon him, Remus gave a moment of thanks that his friends didn't have to go through this madness.

The grass crunched gently beneath his paws. His golden eyes scanned the foliage for easy prey. A sudden rustling caught his attention, a rabbit bounded into the glen. He crouched low, waiting for the precise moment. Now!

As the bones crunched beneath his jaws, blood dripping down his muzzle, he turned pensive. He was so very lonely. A pack was what he needed. Someone to run with, to hunt with, to care for. He thumped his tail against the ground, the thought of a pack making him excited.

He raised his furry head and howled at the Goddess that had placed this dreaded curse upon him. Curse me all you wish, he thought, but give me someone to be with. A friend, a mate even.

When Remus climbed to his feet the ext morning, aided by Madam Pomphrey, a sense of determination had come over him. A feeling that Remus could not recall having felt since he was invited to attend Hogwarts, so long as he kept his grades up and never told anyone about his dreadful disease.

/page break/

Sirius sat, a pensive look upon his visage. He wondered where Remus was, where he really was. Because, in all honesty, his flimsy excuse that his mother was sick was odd. I mean how many times can one person be sick? thought Sirius, banging his head against the window he was leaning on. His mother had been sick with everything; mumps, chicken pox, shingles, influenza, pneumonia, everything except death. Which in itself wasn't really a disease. Sirius wondered why Remus felt the need to lie when he disappeared, if he didn't want to tell them where he went, he didn't have to.

Remus disappeared at the oddest of times as well. It was almost always at sunset, or just before. It was at least once a month as well. He was gone for twenty-four hours at a time, sometimes longer. He was a very 'night' person also, he loved sitting up at night with a god book.

It was strange but it almost seemed as if he disappeared around the same time each month. It was clockwork, or a…lunar cycle.

Sirius jumped up from his spot on the windowsill and rushed to Remus' trunk. Remus kept a very detailed lunar chart in his trunk, Sirius had seen it once or twice. As Sirius swept his hands through the organized trunk, James came stumbling into the room.

"I have met love, and she has a great right hook." sighed James, sitting on his bed, a dazzled look on his face.

"Lily hit you again didn't she?" asked Sirius, still frantically searching for the chart.

"Yes. One day she will see reason. What are you doing?" asked James, peering at the mess Sirius was making of Remus's trunk.

"I'm trying to prove a theory."

"A theory that requires going through Remus's things? Great theory." said James, sarcasm evident in his tone.

"It's just…haven't you noticed that he always disappears around the same time every month. And that he seems to be exhausted when he comes back?"

"Well, if my mom was sick all the time, I probably wouldn't feel so great either."

"It's not that. What is his mom sick with this time?"

"Erm….strep throat wasn't it?"

"But didn't she have that last year? And didn't Remus say that she had gotten her tonsils out the month after that?"

"So?"

"So, its extremely difficult to get strep throat if you do not have tonsils!" Sirius finished with a yell. James glanced down at the ground, thinking.

"I guess you're right. What else could he be doing then?"

"I have a hunch, I just don't like it." Sirius said, pulling out the elusive chart and holding it close to his face.

"What is this hunch then?" asked James, coming to sit on the floor next to the deliberating Black.

"I'm not going to tell you just yet. I need more proof." claimed Sirius, rolling up the chart. Sirius didn't want to create a panic if there wasn't anything wrong. Calling 'fire' in a crowded room never had anything good come from it. Maybe nothing was wrong; maybe Sirius was adding two and two and, for some reason, getting five. Still what would happen if he was right? Sirius didn't want to think about it.

He was raised to hate such things. They were foul and evil animals. But Remus wasn't, he wasn't some animal that deserved to be put down. Remus was nice and smart. He certainly didn't have fleas. Sirius thought hard, what would happen if Remus Lupin really was a werewolf?

/page break/

Remus stumbled tiredly into the Charms classroom, ten minutes late. As he collapsed into a chair next to Peter, he saw Sirius glance at him, a strange look upon his face. What was that for, wondered Remus, Sirius had never looked at him like that before.

It was a good thing that the teachers generally left him alone after a full moon; he was so out of it. Remus floated through Charms on a golden-laced cloud. He barely heard a word that Flitwick said and when the bell chimed he sat like a rock, not comprehending. It was only when James poked his arm did he respond to anything.

"You alright Remus? Your mum's okay right?" asked James as they walked toward Herbology.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, she's fine." replied Remus; almost making the mistake of asking James what he was talking about.

"That's good. We wouldn't want her to be really sick or anything."

"Yeah." said Remus, the guilt coming back full force.

"Your mum seems to be sick a lot." commented Sirius, almost accusingly. Remus flinched; he sincerely hoped that Sirius had not cottoned on. It did not bode well for Remus if he had. Sirius may not like his pureblood roots, but everyone fell back upon their childhood teachings at some point.

"Come on Sirius, leave him alone about it. You and your stupid 'theories'. Oi vey." mumbled James, punching Sirius' shoulder. Remus's blood ran cold. Theories? Theories were not good, especially from the mind of Sirius Black.

"Shut up James." said Sirius, glaring daggers at the boy. Remus wasn't supposed to know about the theories, it would mess everything up. But the look upon Remus' face held a small form of terror in it. Sirius wondered if Remus knew that Sirius knew.

"What do you mean James? What theories?" piped up Peter, coming up on James's other side. Remus winced, just what he needed.

"Nothing Peter. He doesn't mean anything." snarled Sirius, verbally warning James not to say anything more on the subject.

/page break/

Remus folded his towel and slung it over the shower wall. The warm water of the dorm showers was relaxing after a transformation. The lingering pain in his bones was chased away by the soothing water that cascaded down from the pewter showerhead.

The sudden creaking of the bathroom door had Remus's attention. He had thought that everyone was asleep by now. Remus hated showering or changing in front of the others. His many scars made him feel very insecure, and often got embarrassing questions asked. Remus couldn't explain them obviously; so many people thought that he was either abused or self-mutilating. The self-mutilating was the closest observation, so Remus generally told people that he wasn't abused and let the people use their imaginations.

"Remus?" It was Sirius, Remus thought as he slunk down the side of the tiled wall, praying that Sirius wouldn't start anything. That he would give up if Remus didn't answer him.

"Remus, I know you're here. I can hear you breathing. Can we talk?"

Remus sighed, "About what?"

"A little of this, a little of that. You know, bonding stuff." Sirius said, a small chuckle escaping him.

Remus rolled his eyes. Even when he was trying to be serious, he was a nut. Remus decided that talking couldn't hurt; maybe he was worrying about nothing.

"I'll be out in a minute Sirius."

"Okay. I'll meet you down in the Common room, alright?"

"Alright."

The door closed again and Remus sighed. Hopefully Sirius was just being silly and didn't really know anything.

/page break/

As Remus stepped into the Common room, he saw Sirius sitting in front of the large fireplace that dominated the room. He was running his hand through his hair and shuffling around, something he only did when he was extremely nervous, or had to go to the loo. Remus stopped on the last stair, wishing that he had stayed in the shower.

"Sirius? What's the matter?" asked Remus cautiously, finally going to sit next to his friend. Sirius looked at him and then looked away.

"If you had a friend who, maybe, had a….a problem. Would you confront them about it?"

Remus's blood froze, "Why do you ask?"

Sirius looked at Remus once more. A small smile crossed his face, as if saying 'Remus you idiot.'

"Remus, I know what you are."

"Wha-"

"I know you're a werewolf Remus. I put it all together. The disappearances once a month, the scars, the lunar chart in your trunk."

"I….I…Sirius…"

"Don't bother trying to deny it Remus. I know."

Remus felt like crying. He was about to lose one of the only friends he had ever had. He knew it. What would happen when Sirius told James and Peter? What if he told the entire school? Remus would have to leave; he would have to disappoint his parents. He would let Dumbledore down, which was almost worse than letting his parents down.

Sirius, as if sensing Remus' inner turmoil, put a cautious arm around Remus. He smiled a tiny grin at Remus, confusing Remus to no end.

"It's alright Remus. I don't mind."

"What? How can you not mind? Don't play with me Sirius Black! I don't…"

"Shut up Remy. Just be quiet. I really don't mind. Really." said Sirius, sliding closer to his friend, who looked dangerously close to a mental meltdown.

"Have you told anyone else?"

"No Remus, I haven't. I wanted to talk to you first."

"Thank you." replied Remus, a watery smile gracing his features.

"You're welcome Remy. Are you going to tell James? Peter?"

"I don't know Sirius. Do you think I should?"

"I think that James would want to know. He'll be okay with it. I don't know about Peter."

"I'll think about it. I've never told anyone before. I don't know how."

"I know Remy. It'll be okay, I'll help you." said Sirius, wrapping his arm more firmly around Remus.

"But what happens if…"

"But nothing. Come on, lets get to sleep, we have school in the morning."

"Wait, am I hearing this right? Sirius Black wants to go to sleep, because he has school in the morning?" asked Remus incredulously.

"Oh shut up wolf-boy."

Remus laughed and went to bed with a smile on his face. He couldn't believe that someone knew his secret. Knew his secret and didn't care, didn't care that he friend turned into a frothing monster once a month.

/page break/

As Remus woke the next morning he remembered what had occurred the night before. He grinned and glanced over to the bed placed next to his. Sirius was still asleep, the lazy lump. It was time to remedy that.

"Wake up Sirius! Time to get up!" called Remus, as he jumped up and down on the end of Sirius's bed. Sirius snorted and rolled over. Remus laughed and flopped down next to the boy.

"If you want breakfast you'll get up Sirius." cajoled Remus.

"Breakfast?" asked Sirius, cracking open one grey eye. Remus smiled, the only thing guaranteed to wake Sirius.

"Yes Sirius, breakfast. You know the one, lots of food like waffles and toast. That meal you eat when you get up in the morning."

"I like breakfast."

"Of course you like breakfast. If there's food, Sirius will find it." commented James, stumbling from the warm, red comforter.

"Shut up."

"So eloquent in the morning." joked James, padding into the bathroom.

"Do you even know what that word means, you great bespecled git?" asked Sirius, as he fell, quite literally, out of bed.

"Sure. Who doesn't?" said James, leaning around the doorframe. His eyes, however, told a different story. His eyes lied; they told that James had no idea what he was going on about.

Once they got into the Great Hall, things quieted down a bit. The other boys were too busy stuffing their faces to notice anything going on around them. The way they munched and gorged themselves was a spectacle.

Remus sat next to Sirius for the first time in months, generally Remus was next to Peter, and James next to Sirius. The subtle changed had many people on edge. Did something happen to the Dangerous Duo? Were they coming apart at the seams? No. It was nothing of the sort. The change was simply because they wanted to.

Sirius turned and grinned at Remus. He had noticed how happy and free the boy had seemed this morning. Puppy like, he had been truly happy. It was wonderful to see, he knew that Remus had precious little to be happy for. So to give him this little pleasure made Sirius feel great.

Remus's good mood continued well into the day. He was the most active anyone had seen him. Many people wondered what type of medication he was on, and where could they get some? The teachers were glad that he seemed so energetic. The poor boy was always so downtrodden.

/page break/

Remus stood next to James's bed, trepidation evident in his face. He knew that he had to tell them, if they were to remain friends, there would be no secrets.

"James? Can I talk to you for a minute?" asked Remus, pulling the curtains back from the bed.

"Sure. Have a seat. What's on your mind?" asked James, moving his legs so that Remus could sit.

"Well I wanted to talk to you about why I disappear every month."

"Oh, you mean the fact that you disappear for almost twenty-four hours, give us some crack-pot lie, and oh….that you're a werewolf?"

Remus gaped, "Uh…"

"Oh, by the way I could care less if you're a werewolf."

"Uh…"

"You could be a green polka dotted purple people eater and I wouldn't care."

"Uh…."

"I've known for about a month now, so if you think this is new, think again! But it's okay, I really don't care. I mean, you're still you right."

"Uh…"

"It's great that we've had this little chat. I feel so much better don't you? Well, have a great night."

"Uh, great. Night." said Remus, a little bewildered as to what had just happened. He thought that he would be spending all this time trying to get one little sentence out. Instead, it seemed like James was the one giving the life-altering confession. Life at Hogwarts was decidedly odd.

"Hey Remus."

"Peter. What can I do for you?"

"I…uh…heard what James said."

"Oh…and?"

"And, I think that its okay that you're a werewolf. I mean like James said, 'you're still you', right?"

"Right."

"So, yeah…it's fine with me."

"Great. Thanks a lot Peter."

"No problem."

As Remus worked on his Transfiguration homework, he pondered the happenings of the week. His friends knew his dark secret and were okay with it. They didn't mind that he turned into a slobbering, mindless animal once a month. They didn't care that he wasn't what most people consider normal. They liked because of his personality. Because they thought he was fun to be around. Even Sirius, who was very pureblooded, didn't care. For now, life was doing pretty good.

A/N: Well, there you go. Another chapter. Sorry for the later update, the story called 'Life' got in the way. Review if you want to make my day.