16.
Remus decided that he didn't resent any of the professors, he knew that at least one had noticed, yet with him keeping to himself, sitting silently in the back and leaving as soon as class was over…he wasn't that surprised that they hadn't talked to him about it. The one that had noticed, he almost wished hadn't, for this particular teacher already thought him weak and the recent events had solidified that opinion for said teacher. No, Remus didn't resent his teachers at all. Besides why should they care what happened to the werewolf anyway?
He thought about this among other things as he lay awake that night, listening to the others as they slept and wondering if even Lily and Severus would turn away from him if they knew the truth of what he was. He understood Peter's reaction and his hatred towards him, it was the normal response to finding a monster in your midst…harder to understand were James and Sirius's responses of not doing anything other than looking at him with a mixture of hurt and pity. Even more confusing were the notes from someone who knew his secret and wanted to help, yet didn't want him to know who it was. Though perhaps that was because they didn't want to be associated with a werewolf even if they were the only one to know about it.
Remus sighed in frustration, tugging slightly on the ropes that bound his wrists to the bed and hoping that the rather loud growl his stomach gave would not awaken the others, as he thought about the odd occurrence of earlier that night.
Peter had only been able to hit him once before the other two had stormed into the dormitory. James had pulled Peter away and then stood between in front of him so that Peter could no longer see Remus; Sirius had come striding over with a look close to fury on his face. Remus had flinched when Sirius's hand appeared before him, then giving a sigh; Sirius had taken his hand and pulled him to his feet; glaring at Peter and looking at Remus with what appeared to be concern. He had been in a state of shock, looking first at Sirius and then at James—who were both looking at him with a mixture of pity and worry—then he had noticed Peter's murderous expression and had promptly backed away and whipped out some parchment to hurry and do Peter's homework in the hopes that maybe he would be left alone for a while. That strategy had worked until the other two had gone to bed. Then Peter had kicked him, broke his right hand so badly that it looked as twisted as the left had been before it was healed, and then tied him to the bedpost.
Remus was worried about what would happen tomorrow, for not only were Sirius and James behaving oddly, but Peter was sure to be angry again. At least he had been allowed a couple rolls and some water…perhaps tomorrow he could sneak down to the kitchens and get some fruit. Except that Peter would know, he seemed to know everything that Remus did and that was one of the more scary things about him. Twisting his back against the post as he tried to get more comfortable and at least try to sleep before classes tomorrow.
Being woken at the crack of dawn by a kick to the ribs is never a pleasant experience, yet that is how Remus was awoken the next morning. He jolted awake, coughing as he was kicked in the stomach. Not looking up at his assailant, for he knew that doing so would get him more of the same, so he kept his head down and waited as Peter landed blow after blow on him until he was done. When Peter had finished hitting him, he unbound his wrists from the bed, tossed him some breakfast—bread and water—and then left the room to go down to the Great Hall for his own breakfast. Remus devoured his breakfast quickly and silently went into the bathroom to sneak a shower while Peter was gone and the others were asleep.
Reveling in the warm water, he looked at the bruises forming on his: torso, legs, and back. He studied his broken and twisted hand and his heart sank; how was he supposed to hold a wand with his hand this way? Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad if he used his left for everything, would that affect his ability to cast spells? Remus stared down at his stomach and tried to conceal the agony that the burning feeling produced inside him, feeling as though flames were shooting out from his belly and into the rest of his body, slowly burning away at his insides until there would be nothing but ash.
Upon emerging from the bathroom, Remus noticed that the other two were awake and he hurriedly dropped off his pj's, grabbed his book bag and edged towards the door. He didn't really have a reason to be afraid of them, yet he was wary of their strange behavior from the night before…it confused him and he wasn't sure what it meant. They both watched him, neither of them moving towards him nor speaking, only watching with an indiscernible expression as he turned and ran down the stairs and out of the common room. He didn't stop running until he got to the potions classroom and slumped against the wall as he waited for the rest of the class to arrive.
Remus managed to smile a little at Severus and Lily that day as they spent time together after their classes and studied for the upcoming exams. They had both been furious when they had seen his hand and realized that he was still being hurt even after his long stay in the hospital; both of them were determined to put a stop to this, no matter who was behind this. No one was going to hurt Lupin for much longer, not if they could do anything about it.
There were times when he almost felt like a normal child, and the time that he managed to spend with Lily and Severus were some of the better ones; he felt as though he were nearly normal and not some monster who they would turn against the minute that they found out. He knew that he really should tell them, except that he wasn't supposed to tell anyone what he was, even if they were his friends. It was as he was helping Severus with a particularly difficult charms essay that he decided that they had to know, even if they decided not to be around him and turned on him as the others had. They had to know what they were spending their time around and what they had decided to befriend; he was going to tell them the next day, no matter the outcome.
Thank you for reading, I do hope that you are enjoying the story so far. Please R&R.