Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Yes, the disclaimer isn't funny or original. I'm tired. Deal with it.

Three more reviews! Love ya all!

Wow (again): Hello, Wow again! I love your reviews!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I am so evil, right? :D I don't know, I might make Remus die, might not…HIS LIFE IS IN MY HANDS! *evil laughter* And I am a sick and twisted person, I love putting my characters through misery…hehehehehe…
Thank you for the compliments! *happy dance* And enjoy the chapter!

Meow: You're very welcome! And ohhhh, ok, I thought so, I'll change that when I get the chance, thanks for bringing that to my attention! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

BlueBay144: Thanks! I'll try to make them longer, but my brain works in weird ways, so don't expect too much. ;) Enjoy the chapter!

Once again, thanks for all the reviews, this time I'm asking for FOUR to update! Pretty please? Ok now, enjoy the chapter! On with the show!

The bathroom looked like a battlefield. Blood was splattered all over the walls and ceiling and James nearly threw up as he recognized chunks of flesh all over the floor. However, the worst sight that met their eyes was Remus. He looked like a chunk of raw meat, torn and ripped and smeared with blood.

It didn't look like he was breathing.

"REMUS!"

Sirius nearly flew over to the limp body of his best friend, laying face down on the bathroom floor. "Remus…please don't be dead, please don't be dead…please don't be dead…"

James followed, slipping and sliding on the blood soaked tiles. "Is he…" James's voice cracked. "Is he alive?"

"I don't know," admitted Sirius, looking up at James, and James was startled to see the depth of despair that they held. "I can't even tell."

They heard a gasp from behind them, and the two boys whirled around, wands out, only to find Professor McGonagall staring at the scene of carnage that presented itself before her. She hurried over, placing her fingers on Remus's mangled wrist, before giving a sigh of relief.

"He's alive. But we need to get him to the hospital wing, and fast. Come here, you two," she ordered. The two boys obliged, and Sirius recognized the feeling of something cold trickling down his spine as a disillusionment charm. McGonagall did the same to herself and Remus, and then, gently lifting Remus onto a conjured stretcher, levitated the stretcher out of the common room. The two distraught third years followed behind her.

"Poppy!" McGonagall shouted once they reached the hospital wing. "Poppy, come quickly, it's Mr. Lupin!"

The young healer with auburn hair and warm brown eyes hurried over. "Yes, I've been waiting for him, I realized half-way through the night, but then I received your Patronus, so-"

Madam Pomfrey suppressed a scream as she caught sight of the battered body that lay on the stretcher, staining the cloth with red. "Oh, Dear Lord," she exclaimed. "Quickly, put him down over there. It's never been quite so bad before."

Sirius stared. "Before? You mean-"

James elbowed him. "Sirius, you bloody dolt! He goes through this every month, and-"

Sirius sank down onto one of the nearby hospital beds. "And he never told us, James. He hid this from us! Every month! And remember when we teased him about being too weak-"

"And tired-"

"And grumpy-"

"And fragile-"

"What must that have sounded like to Remus, James? He must have felt…"

Sirius trailed off, and both boys just sat in miserable silence until Professor McGonagall returned and was immediately bombarded with a flood of questions, all centering on Remus.

"He's gonna be ok, right?"

"What did Madam Pomfrey mean, it's never been this bad?"

"How bad has it been before?"

"But he's still gonna be ok, right?"

"I mean, Madam Pomfrey's a miracle worker. She'll fix him up, right?"

"And there's always St. Mungo's, I mean, they can fix anything!"

"Is there anything we can do to-"

"BOYS!"

The exasperated professor's voice rang throughout the hospital wing. The two Marauders immediately fell silent, looking up into the old witch's tired face.

"Mr. Lupin tears himself up every full moon rather than attack other humans. The cause of this one being particularly harsh is, I suspect, a combination of several factors. The blue moon is certainly one. It causes the werewolf to become particularly energized, and if there is nothing to take his frustration out on, the wolf targets itself."

Sirius flinched internally at the word "itself," but otherwise stayed silent.

McGonagall paused and took a deep breath. Somehow, seeing the normally unshakable professor lose her composure was one of the scariest things that the two boys had seen all night.

"Mr. Lupin usually has to stay in the hospital wing for three or four days after each transformation. As I said before, wounds inflicted by a werewolf cannot be healed fully using magic, so Madam Pomfrey often has to use Muggle means. And as for Saint Mungo's-" McGonagall spat the word out- "they do not accept werewolves into their care."

James exploded. "WHAT?! YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! HOW IS THAT RIGHT? JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE A BUNCH OF PREJUDICED BIGOTS-"

Sirius yanked him back down into his seat. "James, trust me on this one. I'm just as worried as you are, but right now I'm more concerned about Remus." The grey-eyed third year looked anxiously back up at McGonagall and repeated the question that had already been asked. "I mean, he is going to be ok, right?"

McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose with her forefinger and thumb. "Boys, I'm not going to lie to you. Mr. Lupin's injuries are very severe, and he is in critical condition." She looked back at the two of them, noting their worried faces and inwardly marveling at the fact that they did not seem to be at all frightened. "I am not sure if he is going to make it through the night."

James and Sirius felt their world collapsing around them. Dimly, Sirius heard himself ask, "Can we…can we go in and see him?"

McGonagall cocked her head to the side, studying them. "Very well. I do hope-" McGonagall's voice caught in her throat for a moment. "Mr. Lupin is one of my favorite students. I do hope that he will be alright."

With that, the dignified witch in the emerald green cloak swept out of the hospital wing, leaving the two boys alone to try and organize their world that had been thrown into chaos in a single evening. Sirius suddenly remembered something.

"Peter," he growled. "That little…how could he? Remus practically carried him through exams! Remus lied to keep the little prat out of detention! We thought he was our friend!"

James sighed. "I know, Sirius. I can't believe it either. But don't worry. He'll come around eventually. He just needs a little time, yeah?"

"What else can we do, Jamesie?" replied Sirius morosely.

"Don't call me Jamesie," James mock growled at Sirius in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Only Remus gets to call me-"

The truth of the situation suddenly dropped on the two boys like a bomb.

Remus might not call anyone anything again.