35.
Peter did not return to their dorm until Saturday—Madam Pomfrey had wanted to keep him under observation in case any adverse effects arose from the deep gouges on his leg—and he stormed into the dorm without a word or even a glance at the other three. James and Sirius barely acknowledged Peter's existence, merely moving closer to Remus and continuing with their plans for mayhem. Remus watched Peter's movements through the room, searching for any indication that perhaps the other boy had forgiven him or at least would be semi-friendly. However, there was no such indication; Remus sighed and looked back at the parchment which contained their plans and schemes for the next month. There was barely a break in conversation, as Peter pulled his curtains shut and presumably went to sleep; the three boys stayed in the dorm for a couple more hours before they went traipsing through the castle to the kitchens for a midnightish snack. Afterwards they wandered aimlessly for a while, making not of rooms, secret passageways, and corridors for their map. They did not make it back to the tower until nearly three in the morning, at which point they all tumbled into their beds and promptly fell asleep.
The following morning dawned dark drizzly, Peter walked calmly over to Remus's bed and punched him square on the nose. Remus jolted awake, his hand flying to his nose and his eyes widening as he noticed that Peter stood above him, his fist rising again. Remus scrambled backwards, backing against the headboard until he could go no further; he really, really did not want to do this again. Peter's fist swung forward and connected with Remus's jaw, sending him toppling over the end of his bed with a crash and jolting the other boys awake.
Remus scrambled to his feet and scurried out of Peter's reach, just as Sirius tackled Peter to the ground and began punching him. Remus stood there, watching Sirius start to beat the tar out of Peter, then he sighed and with great difficulty, pulled Sirius off of him.
"As much as he deserves it, you really shouldn't stoop to his level. You are so much better than he is, Sirius. Don't forget that."
Sirius stood there, seething. His chest rising and falling heavily as he struggled to take deep breaths and calm himself enough to attempt to be reasonable. He glared at Peter and nearly spat his words at him.
"Do you see this Peter? Do you see that even now, Remus is protecting you? Do you see that Remus is the one who wants to spare you, neither James nor I would hesitate to give back exactly what you did to him, yet he won't let us hurt you? Can you still honestly say that he is the monster?"
Peter wiped at the blood running from his temple, hatred coating his words even as he got shakily to his feet. "I don't need or want help from a freak like that, that thing. It attacked me! The werewolf freak attacked me and you protect it. You say that I am the monster, that thing should be put down so the rest of us are safe from it."
Both James and Sirius let out angry roars and lunged forward, however Remus got there first and he slammed Peter against the wall, anger flowing through his veins and seeming to light them on fire.
"I may be a monster, but I am only a monster once a month. I apologized for what happened, I told you that I have no control over the wolf, yet you either refuse to listen or don't understand. Hear me now Peter, and remember…I will not lay down and take what you want to give me, I will not let you hurt me simply for what I am. I cannot help being a werewolf any more than you can help being a pig-headed-bigoted-idiot who enjoys tormenting those you see as lower than yourself. This is your only warning Peter; leave me alone!" Remus did not punch Peter, he did not even slam him backwards into the wall. He barely raised his voice to the boy, yet he had spoken those words with such coldness, such absolute calm and force that it left the other three shocked and slightly scared of the boy.
Remus turned and stormed out of the dorm, fixing his nose on his own as he strode down the stairs, out the portrait hole, and to the Great Hall for breakfast. He did not react as James and Sirius joined him a while later, he simply continued to eat in silence, missing the looks of shock and awe which the other two kept shooting at him.
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!