30.
Sirius:
James was so unbelievably thick sometimes; honestly it was amazing how he could even think through the thickness of his skull.
Sirius had about had it with James and his unaccepting attitude towards Remus. Sure they hadn't expected him to get loose and actually attack someone, but it wasn't Remus who had attacked Peter, it was the wolf. Remus couldn't control the wolf, and he had no idea what the wolf did when it was out…why couldn't James understand that? Did James not see the torment, and the horror in his eyes; the slump of Remus's shoulders when he had been told that it was him who had attacked Peter? Of course not, all James-holier-than-though-Potter, could see was the wolf, the beast inside the boy who was there friend. The boy who had had no idea what had even happened until he had been told and then immediately run from the room, clearly hating himself and what he was.
Sirius had spent the better part of two hours trying to talk some sense into James, but to no avail. He simply refused to see that Remus had not known what the wolf had done, that he had no control of himself on the full-moon. Sirius wasn't all that upset over what had happened to Peter, it was well deserved and long overdue, yet now he would have to wait awhile before he was able to put more of his plan into action.
Indeed, Sirius Black was feeling rather friendless at the moment. Peter was an annoying-fat-thick-bullying-lump, James refused to see reason and had resumed his attitude of always being correct on everything, and Remus…Remus was somewhere in the castle, distancing himself from everyone and loathing himself for what had happened. Sirius would have to find Remus first, James could wait to be reconciled with…Remus was more important right now. Hopefully he could find the other boy; why couldn't the map have been done already. Searching the entire castle for his friend would be so much easier if the map had been completed.
Remus:
Remus wasn't sure how long he cried, or even how long he was there in the corridor with Lily's arms around him. He knew that Severus had been there the whole time, watching them, watching for other students who may appear, and occasionally awkwardly patting Remus' shoulder. As much as their actions were helping him and made him feel as though he might actually belong again, he had to tell them, he couldn't let them think that he'd had nothing to do with what had happened to Peter. He had to tell them. Then he would have to commit himself to staying away from everyone, if only to keep them safe from him. it was too late to keep them safe from the monster he could become, he would have to try to keep them safe from the monster that had gotten out.
Though it was the last thing that he wanted to do, he pulled out of Lily's arms and sat with his back against the cold stone wall of the castle. Remus didn't think that he could stand to look at them as he began to speak, so he stared at his knees and hunched his shoulders as he spoke quietly.
"P-Peter was attacked last night…attacked by a werewolf…attacked by me. I-I got out somehow and into the school, I attacked someone."
Neither of them said anything, for a long while. Severus's face was a carefully blank mask, while Lilly seemed to be confused about something. Several minutes passed while Remus stared at his knees, not able to bring himself to look up and see the disgust on their faces. Then something happened which he had not expected. Lily's arms once again encircled him, hugging him tightly, not asking anything only holding him close. After a few minutes, Severus spoke in his calm and smooth voice, which was beginning to deepen.
"Peter was attacked by you—as a werewolf—he is in the hospital wing at this moment, suffering from whatever injury you gave him…and this for some reason, upsets you? Am I missing some vital piece of information?"
Remus's head shot up and he stared at Severus in shock. He struggled for a moment to find his voice, when he did manage to speak it was nearly a croak.
"I got out and attacked someone. Somehow I managed to escape, make it to the castle and then attack a student. How is that a good thing? It was my fault, even James says so. I could break out and attack again, I could hurt anyone."
Severus simply stared at him, his face the blank mask as he spoke four small words.
"James is an idiot."
Lily attempted to hide a smile behind her hand, but failed miserably. She moved to sit beside Remus, yet kept an arm around him, not wanting to let him go until he felt better.
"Be that as it may, Sev. Remus does have a right to be upset about this; it must be terrifying to think that you could get out again and hurt someone else. I certainly don't blame you for what happened to Peter. I didn't even know something had happened until you told us, the teachers haven't said anything about an attack. I don't think that you should be too worried about this, Remus; I am sure that further precautions will be taken to make ensure that this doesn't happen again."
Remus looked at her at first with bewilderment and then with utter disbelief at what he was hearing, she didn't blame him? The teachers hadn't even told the students what had happened…what was wrong with them? He looked at Severus and saw him nod in agreement of what Lily was saying, he couldn't believe it; neither Lily nor Severus was angry at him and they still wanted to be his friends. What had he done to have such amazing friends? Remus wrapped his arms first around Lily, and then around a startled Severus, whispering a quiet, yet heartfelt "Thank-you".
Right then and there he resolved to try harder to control the monster within him, to attempt to keep it as under control as possible, so his friends would not be hurt.
Thank you for reading, this latest chapter. Please review, and I hope that this story will continue to be at least interesting. Thanks again and you are all awesome!