37.
The winter months passed in cold misery mixed with the pulling of many pranks. By early spring, the teachers were jumping at small noises and confiscating any object which was not needed for classwork; the students were wary of anything being handed to them by anyone…even the teachers. The Marauders were in their element. Never before had the school of Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry, known such chaos. Peter had left Remus alone for the most part—Sirius had not left Peter alone though—Remus attempted to include the boy in things now and again, but to no avail. James and Sirius had been rather secretive of late, and no amount of questioning on Remus's part could get either of the boys to tell him what was going on. Remus didn't let it bother him too much though; after all he had kept secrets from them before, so why shouldn't they be entitled to some of their own? All in all, Remus thought that third year was much better than second year had been. Yet it was not to last.
'Twas mid-April and Remus was quite frustrated by the other two boys and their odd disappearances and hushed conversations which came to an abrupt halt whenever they saw him. Since they were so busy all the time, Remus had taken to spending more and more time with Lily and Severus. They spent a great deal of their time in the library, or out on the grounds…sometimes they could be found in the kitchens, laughing together over a plate of fruit or biscuits. Although Remus loved spending time with those two, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened; Sirius, James, and Remus had been so close to finishing their map and then they had suddenly become distracted by something and wanted to spend all their time on that instead.
Remus had his book bag over his shoulder and he was walking towards the library—taking a rather indirect route so he could get an idea of the layout of a side corridor which they hadn't fully mapped out yet. He had parchment and quill out, marking down the entrances to different rooms, side corridors, and any hidden passageways he came across. Remus had just found a new staircase and was adding it to the parchment, when he felt a shove from behind and he went tumbling down the stairs. He didn't see the bottom of the stairs, he wasn't conscious when he landed on the floor in a heap.
Peter had only been wandering the corridors—bored out of his skull and feeling rather alone, when he quite literally stumbled upon Remus Lupin—the werewolf freak. He was lying on the floor with his books and supplies scattered around him. Peter stopped in his tracks, glaring down at the prone figure ahead of him.
What prank was the freak pulling now that had him sprawled on the floor pretending he needed help? Peter grumbled and strode forward; it was then that Peter stepped in something wet. Cursing loudly, he looked down and saw that the liquid which he had stepped in was blood. His eyes followed the blood stream until they came to rest on the prone figure of the freak. It took quite a few minutes for the scene to sink in, and finally Peter realized that this was no prank. Peter stepped forward through the puddle of blood, until he was standing over the werewolf; he studied him for a moment and noticed that he was paler than Peter thought it possible for anyone to be. Something made Peter bend down and pick up the freak, that same something had Peter running to the hospital wing with the half-blooded monster in his arms. Leaving behind the puddle of blood spread over the stone floor, seeping into the books and parchment upon the stones, and staining the floor as it sat there glinting darkly in the torchlight.
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!
I know it is an appallingly short chapter, and I apologize most profusely. I will hopefully make the chapters longer again soon, in the meantime I am afraid that this is all I can offer you. Once again, I am so sorry about this.