AN: So I don't think updates will happen quite this quickly since I have a lot of finals coming up but I had some spare time today! Thanks for the reads and follows guys. This is the last Ch. that takes place in their first year.
"Jeeze, Remus," Sirius said while reading over his shoulder and smiling, "In trouble already? I knew I liked you." Lupin carefully folded up the letter from Dumbledore and turned to face the other boy, plastering on a smile. "No, I think I'll have to leave that to you and James," Remus replied, "My mother is quite ill at the moment so I have to go home every few weeks to see her. Dumbledore simply wants to make the arrangements with me."
"Do you want me to walk you over there? I have some time until I have to meet James," Sirius asked hopefully. He didn't like leaving his new friend alone. "No, no Sirius it's fine, I can manage," Remus responded. He didn't know what to do. He liked Sirius and James well enough (Peter he was still iffy about) but Sirius seemed pretty intent on not leaving him alone. He had been trying to hold back because he knew better than to get attached but he had never had someone so curious about his life before. This entire first week of classes Sirius had been hanging on him like a leaf on a branch and he had no idea how to shake him. Lupin could just hear the words of his father running through his head. What if he DOES kill someone one day? As much as he tried to put it from his mind every day, the threat was still there. He was always afraid of it. He would kill himself before he hurt someone else. It was his silent promise. But here he had Sirius, meaning no harm and just trying to make him feel included but Remus just couldn't handle it. The closer he was to other people, the stronger the threat was. He couldn't let Sirius, James or anyone else for that matter get any closer to him.
"Remus come on; just let me walk with you!"
"Sirius, you don't even know me. Please, just back off. It'll be better for the both of us."
Sirius looked hurt but Remus didn't care. He was doing it for Sirius' own good. "Okay, Remus, okay," and with that Sirius left the dormitories and headed down to the ground to sit alone. "Was I too obvious?" he thought to himself. He had just never met another kid like Remus. He seemed so smart and witty but for some reason Lupin just wouldn't let it show. There was so much buried deep beneath the surface it looked like it was boiling out of him most days. There would be glimpses of this charismatic boy who would go unmatched in an argument and was sure to be top of the year, as far as Sirius could see. But Remus wanted nothing to do with him. Sirius sighed and looked at the water. He knew exactly what he was feeling because he had felt it before. Crushes weren't foreign to young Sirius Black; he'd been in this exact situation so many times before. Never with a boy as mysterious and terrifying as Remus Lupin though. But now Remus hated him because he couldn't control himself, again. That always seemed to happen.
Sirius was an exuberant kid, he just couldn't help it. He'd been locked away for so long that all he could do most of the time was run around in circles speaking a mile a minute; the second he let go of the control required by his mother, a nerve in his brain snapped and for the life of him he couldn't get it back. He was tired of being quiet and reserved, having to pretend that he was concerned with the blood status of the people around him. He was tired of his mother barking orders and his father not standing up for him anymore. It had been easier when he was little; his father liked him a lot more back then. Or maybe he just screwed up a lot less. As hard as he tried to act like his mother wanted and believe what she spit into his ear, he just couldn't take it after a while and sometimes something slipped. Or as he got older he just found different ways of channeling the anger he felt inside. Pranks helped a lot in that way but his mother hated them. Sirius couldn't even count the broken ribs he'd gotten being kicked to the floor, feeling the crunch and snap as her boot met his bones. Remembering all of this got too much so he got up to go find James, vowing to himself to leave Lupin alone. Maybe then he'd begin to open up.
"Enter!" the Headmaster called after Lupin knocked on his door. Shuffling inside, Remus took a seat on the comfortable armchair opposite Dumbledore's desk. "I just wanted to thank you again, Professor, for giving me this opportunity. For not…"
"Believing all that your father says?" Lupin looked up at Dumbledore but then frowned and nodded his head.
"Mr. Lupin you do not have to thank me again. I'm not doing anything particularly special; I'm allowing a student into the safety of Hogwarts where he can grow away from, shall we say, negative influences.
"But my condition…"
"It's completely under control. It may not be very humble of me but from time to time I do have to congratulate myself on my excellent ability to come up with ideas. Now Mr. Lupin have you ever heard of something called a Whomping Willow?" Dumbledore asked, putting an end to Lupin's argument.
"I read about them once, they're quite rare. And dangerous. "
"That may be so, but I have decided it's our best course of action. I have acquired one through the means of a young wizard and it has been planted on the grounds. Below it, there is a tunnel that leads to an abandoned building in Hogsmeade. There is a small knot in the tree that as soon as it is pushed the tree will immobilize and it will be safe to approach. I must ask you not to tell any of your friends of this; if they knew how to immobilize the tree then you could be met with a very large problem one night. Every full moon, you will pack a bag as is needed to pretend you are returning home and then you must meet Madame Pomfrey in the infirmary. She will walk you down the tunnel each night and then the next morning she will attend to any wounds and bring you back to the infirmary to rest. . All of your professors have been informed of your condition with the approval of your parents and I trust them all to keep the secret. You can take as much time after each moon to recover as Madame Pomfrey commands and each Professor will bring the notes to you. Now Mr. Lupin, do you have any questions?"
"What if someone hears me? What are they going to think?" Remus asked. He was beginning to worry that someone might come to investigate to be sure there was no one in trouble.
"Ah I'm glad you asked," The Headmaster said with a slight twinkle in his eye, "Funny things, rumors are. They spread very quickly in a town the size of Hogsmeade. The other day I accidentally let it slip that I had heard from a very reliable source that it's the most haunted building in Britain. Now, everyone seems to be too afraid to approach it!"
Remus smiled, happy that Dumbledore seemed to have thought of everything. "Now, Remus my dear boy, there's no sense staying indoors on a beautiful day such as this. I've observed that young Sirius Black and James Potter seemed to have marked you as one of their own. I think you would do right by spending some time with them. There's no use spending the years ahead alone," and with that Dumbledore ushered Remus out of his office and down the stairs. Lupin had caught a look in the Headmaster's eyes that seemed to know exactly what Remus had been thinking. The electric blue had become slightly unnerving and he thought over Dumbledore's words as he walked away, realizing he had to go and talk to Sirius.
Remus quickly headed back to the common room to look for Sirius. He found him sitting in the corner talking to James quietly with a pained expression on his face. Lupin walked over tentatively, not wanting to upset Sirius even more. "Yes, Remus?" Sirius asked coldly, noticing the boy hovering nearby. "Sirius, can I—can I talk to you alone for a minute?" James started to push his chair back to stand up but Sirius grabbed his arm.
"James can stay," Sirius argued. He wasn't sure what he'd say to Remus if they were alone.
"Yeah, well, James doesn't want to stay," James countered back. He gave Remus a small smile and walked back up to the dormitories leaving the two boys alone.
"Look, Sirius, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean what I said before. I'm just…not used to having people want to be around me and I was taken off guard and it has nothing to do with you," Remus tried to explain it quickly, worried he was going to lose his nerve.
"Why wouldn't anyone want to be around you, Remus? I know I don't know you very well but, despite what you seem to think about yourself, you're a good guy. You're intelligent and witty and I want to be your friend. So do James and Pete. Are you willing to let us?"
Remus sighed, trying to figure out words to answer with that wouldn't give him away, "Sirius, I can't get into it. It's too complicated and I don't want to drag you down with me. But if you're offering, and willing, to be my friend, I don't want to look the other way. I just want you to realize what you're getting into. I don't have friends. My mother is probably the closest thing I have but my father doesn't like me very much. I don't want to be let down again."
With a small smile Sirius stood up and lifted up his shirt, showing a dark bruise covering his ribs. "Don't worry, my parents don't like me very much either. I can promise you that I don't have any intentions to desert you, and I think I can say that James doesn't either. I think we make a good group, the three of us. And Pete too, of course. But you have to trust us," and with that Sirius looked expectantly up at Lupin who couldn't stop staring at his new friend's ribcage. Sirius, noticing this, quickly tugged his shirt down wondering if he had ruined it again by sharing too much too quick. Lupin, however, quickly walked over to Sirius and put his arms around him.
"I trust you," Remus said softly. With that, they walked upstairs to find James and Peter to go get dinner.
