' Sirius, I-I'm a wer-I'm a werewolf.' Suddenly Sirius couldn't breathe properly, like a Hippogriff was standing on his chest. Remus was a werewolf. He was in love with a werewolf. He turned his head away for fear he might laugh if he continued to look at Remus, or he would cry. If there had been any other way to disappoint his parents he had just found it. And he couldn't have been happier. Remus was different too. They were both outcasts, secretly. Maybe this meant he could finally tell Remus his feelings...
He turned his head back and opened his mouth, but Remus had turned away. Away from him.
Remus must have fallen asleep like that because he woke up in near complete darkness, save for the light torches in the corridor. All the other beds were empty, including the one Sirius had vacated. But he hadn't really expected him to want to stay anywhere near him had he? Or perhaps that tiny part of him had hoped Sirius had actually understood and NOT cared? How thick was that little part of him? Almost as thick as the larger part that had thought Remus was finally getting his life back, no, getting a life. He felt alright, which was peculiar because he normally felt terrible for at least three days after waking up. Small mercy really.
He went into the Matron's office and wrote a short note thanking her and signing himself out. Not that she would like it but he couldn't really have cared less.
As he was trudging back to the dormitory a horrid thought struck him. Sirius would have told James and Peter. And if James knew that meant the rest of Gryffindor tower would know (he had a rather poor habit of shouting out secrets randomly) and if every Gryffindor knew, it would barely take until breakfast tomorrow for everyone to know. They would all know he was a werewolf. He couldn't face that. What could he do? There was no alternative. He would have to leave Hogwarts. His only real home. But it would never feel like home again if everyone was suddenly afraid of him.
It was well past midnight so he felt sure no one would be downstairs and his suspicion was proved correct, the common room was deserted. From there he crept up the boys spiral staircase and checked his dormitory. Three of the four four-poster beds had their curtains drawn. Sirius, Peter and James were all concealed behind them. He silently packed the bare essentials into a bag and left all in a matter of minutes, but not before drawing the curtains on his own bed, it simply seemed right.
He crept downstairs and on through the castle unseen, right up to the front gates of Hogwarts Grounds, once he passed through these gates he would never get back through again. Passing a hand over the bars of the gates he felt a tingle of electricity, magic. He knew all about the charms upon those gates being one of the very few people who had actually read 'Hogwarts, a history'. 'Here it goes' He thought and stepped towards them.
'Remus!' A voice exclaimed. He whipped round and once again saw the person he felt sure it couldn't possibly be.