To know who is speaking:

Star

Phoenix

Both of us

Okay people, sorry about the wait!

Star, shush. We're not hyperactive like Sirius is. And what Star meant to say was, we are deeply sorry about the long wait, but our school just started up, and we are both adjusting.

Phoenix wrote half of this chapter, Star wrote the other half, and Phoenix edited it. Reviews are love!

Disclaimer: As much as we looooove it, we sadly do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. All we own is Adrian. Excuse us while we cry.

Star, we're not going to cry. Not me, at least. All hail the wonderful Phoenix! Kidding, kidding…jeez, can't people take a joke these days?

As much as he tried, sleep absolutely refused to come to Remus, even though he felt dead tired. Insomnia was a really horrible thing to have at times, he decided. It wasn't as if it were something new; he had had insomnia ever since the werewolf bite. Remus remembered how he would used to wake up screaming in the night, and how his mother would always come and comfort him, singing him songs and stroking his hair, staying with him until his fear had passed and he was asleep again. Sometimes she would even sleep with him for the night. He remembered how he was so scared of falling asleep that he would try to not go to sleep at all, and the result was always that he was dead tired. Romula (or Roma, as they often called her), Remus' little sister by one year, would always try to come in and comfort him, with varying results. Sometimes, when he was asleep and having a nightmare, he wouldn't wake up until someone actually knocked him from his bed onto the floor, yelling in his ear as they did so. They were terrifying, his nightmares, and they had only really started after he was bitten.

Remus remembered the night he had been bitten very, very clearly. It was full moon, obviously, and his mother, being the local Potions mistress in their village in France, often went out into the night to gather ingredients in the forest behind their house. Remus always went with her, ever since he could walk. And it had always only been the two of them, even after Roma was born. His mother had said that it was a special time just for them. They would run out into the moonlight, laughing and dancing along the way. Back then, Remus had loved the moon. It was always so beautiful and so warm and loving—at least, it seemed, to him.

But then came that night—his third birthday. His father was unusually jumpy and very, very nervous that day. His mother had berated him for not making Remus' birthday happier. It had also been the full moon that night, the best night to gather potion ingredients. His mother had wanted to go out that night, both to gather ingredients and to show her son some things about the forest for his birthday, but his father had refused to let her. And that night, they got into a quarrel—a loud and scary one. So Remus, being only three and not knowing any better, went out into the forest alone, laying under his favorite tree at the edge of the woods (it was very close to the house), looking up at the full moon, so bright and comforting. And that was when he heard the growl—so close to him, and he saw a pair of luminous, golden eyes staring right at him. Now, Remus, being three years old, thought the world was a good and wonderful place where nothing could hurt him, as long as him parents were near. So he didn't move, just smiled brightly at the pair of eyes.

That was possibly the worst mistake in his life. The werewolf, growling, leapt at him, tearing at him. Remus screamed just as the wolf bit down on his arm, tearing through muscles and flesh, its claws ripping at him. Remus screamed and screamed. His father came at some point and knocked the wolf off with a spell, and shot more spells at the wolf. The wolf ran off after a red beam of light hit it, leaving Remus' mauled body on the ground. Remus remembered being picked up by his father, but he had blacked out after that.

The next time Remus woke, he was in a white bed with white sheets and white walls and a white ceiling. Everything was white…except for the bandages around him. Remus could tell they had originally been white, too, but they were red now. He hurt everywhere, and he heard people whispering around him.

"He's awake…he looks so tiny and helpless…" his mother muttered.

"He's a werewolf now, though…nothing you can do or say will help him. It would be better to just put him down—" an unfamiliar voice said.

"HOW DARE YOU? HE IS MY SON! HOW DARE YOU EVEN SUGGEST SUCH A THING!" his father yelled.

"John, please, calm down," his mother said softly.

"Iris, they want to kill our son. Our son!"

"I know. And we won't let them. But you shouldn't just let go like that."

The Healer shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid he will no longer be accepted—anywhere. He is a monster."

And from then on, Remus was "the monster". After their friends in France found out, they abandoned the Lupin family. Beauxbatons refused to take in a werewolf, so they moved out of the country. But Remus supposed he should be thankful; his family had never turned their backs on him, and Roma was the best sister anyone could ever ask for. And yet, it was so hard to accept that just because he was a werewolf, everyone either pitied him or looked down on him. For his family, it was the former.

Remus remembered his first transformation. He was three and didn't understand the pain he was suffering. The wolf punished him badly, and when morning came, it found him broken and bloody on the floor in the cellar. He had cried and screamed when his father had come to pick him up, and Remus' father could only hope to heal the horrible wounds marring his son's body. Remus hadn't understood why he was subject to such pain. He had asked his father, "What have I done to make me hurt so bad?", and his father had cried then, stroking his son's hair, and murmured, "Nothing, love. You did nothing to deserve this." But from that time on, Remus hadn't ever cried, ever again. There were times when he had come close, but he had never, ever, ever cried again. It wasn't that he was against crying; it was just that after his first transformation, there had been nothing worth crying about. His friends had all left him even before then, and there was a huge empty hole where his heart should have been. And after hours of lying there in bed, he finally drifted off. And yet, even in his dreams, he found no peace.

He silently padded to the room where James and Sirius jabbered. They were joyously chattering about plans of pulling pranks on the many teachers of Hogwarts. Remus, growing closer and closer to the boys, bared his sharp, gleaming teeth. Suddenly growling, he lunged at them…

Remus awoke from his nightmare in a cold sweat. He nervously glanced around the room. James was sprawled across his bed, mumbling in his sleep about wanting to ride a unicorn, Sirius slept rather restlessly, twitching and tossing about, Peter snored very loudly as he clutched his pillow, and the Asian boy (what was his name, anyways?) slept soundly on his side. It was an hour before dawn broke, and so Remus got dressed in his shabby, secondhand robes. He didn't very much care, though; at least he had robes. Sighing, he sat on the windowsill, gazing down on the grounds. The Willow was visible from here…he hated that there were reminders of his lycanthropy everywhere. The lunar calendar in his trunk, the Willow standing mockingly outside the window, the moon in the sky, even common Sickles sent a pang through his heart, since he could not touch them because his lycanthropy caused silver to burn him badly. When he stared down at the Whomping Willow, it was almost like defying his lycanthropy, telling it that it couldn't hurt him anymore. Of course, that wasn't true, and it never would be, but it helped that it felt like that; for a little, anyways. And besides, watching the sun rise was always a nice experience, and he had the perfect vantage point—he could see both the sunset and sunrise perfectly. And for the three thousandth and ninety seventh time, Remus John Lupin watched the sunrise.

Sirius woke up just as the sun was rising. He couldn't help it, really; back home, his parents always forced him up as soon as the first glimpse of sun was visible. He thought he would be the first up and have some fun waking the others up, so imagine his surprise when he noticed the small figure dressed in oversized, shabby robes sitting on the windowsill. Hesitantly, he walked forward.

"Remus?" he asked tentatively. The boy, like on the train yesterday, did not reply. Sirius tried again. "Remus? Er…good morning?" The boy didn't move. It was as if in his world, Sirius did not exist and wasn't there at all. Sirius gave up and went back to plotting how to wake the others up. He thought maybe a glass of freezing water for Peter, jumping on James, and screaming in the ear and then pushing off the bed for Adrian, the other Asian boy. So he went to the bathroom and procured three cups of icy water and went to Peter's bed. Then he unceremoniously dumped one cup on Peter's head. Peter woke up screaming, except that Sirius had covered his mouth with his hand. Pressing a finger to his lips, Sirius released Peter.

"What was that for?" Peter asked. He did not appreciate chilly water dumped on him first thing in the morning.

"Time to wake up, Petey-bird!" Sirius chirped, frightfully happy. Peter groaned and turned back into his pillow, not wanting to wake up. Sirius only took the next cup and poured it on Peter too.

"What do you want?" Peter exclaimed after being doused with freezing water again.

"Time to get up!" Sirius sang. Mumbling, Peter lay down again—just in time to receive the third cup of water head on. He huffed and sat up.

"Fine! I'll get up! Just—no more water! Please!" Sirius beamed and went over to James, who was miraculously still asleep. This time, Sirius gagged James, and then bounced on his back. Bounced. Poor James. He was awakened to a feeling of a great big very heavy bouncy ball bouncing up and down on him. And he was unable to say a thing...

"Wakey wakey, Jamie-boy!" Sirius said, bouncing the entire time. Muffled cries emitted from James' gagged mouth. He struggled out from underneath Sirius, and shoved him off the bed. Then he tried to undo the gag, and succeeded after a few minutes.

"What the hell!" James exclaimed.

"Time to get up!"

"It's barely dawn!"

"Don't care! Now shh!" Sirius tiptoed over to Adrian's bed. The Asian boy seemed asleep (but how could he be, with all the noise?), but as soon as Sirius leaned down…

"ACK! ACK! THERE'S A CRAZY MURDERER IN THE ROOM! HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME! JAMES! HELP! ASIAN BOY IS INSANE! HE'S MURDERING ME! HE'S MOLESTING ME!" Sirius screeched. Adrian looked bemused, letting go of Sirius' throat.

"All I did was touch him," the boy said in his Asian accent.

"You wrapped your hands around my throat! You were trying to kill me! MURDERER!" Sirius yelled, unaware that Adrian was gesturing helplessly at James, who shrugged.

"Sirius, no one ever tried to kill you, now shut up. Breakfast starts at dawn, anyways, and ends at…seven thirty? Yeah…I'm hungry. Let's get dressed," James said, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Ooo! Food! Let's go now!"

"Sirius, you haven't gotten dressed yet," Peter pointed out.

"Oh yeah, right. Um…let's get changed, then! And then food!" Sirius dove into his trunk, throwing out items. The Asian boy went over to Remus to make introductions.

"Hello there. You weren't here last night. What's your name?"

"He's Sleeping Skeleton," James yelled from the bathroom.

" Sleeping Skeleton, the lovely lady assisting you is Adrianna."The boy was quick and sharp in his reply.

"ADRIAN! It's Adrian!"

"Whatever, Adrianna," Sirius chirpily shot back.

"Ugh. Well, anyways, it's Adrian. Nice to meet you." He then scurried off to get ready. Remus was quite shaken by all this. Nobody ever tried to befriend him. He was scared of losing them if he ever befriended them, so he kept to himself. He wasn't ever going to go through that torture again, of gaining a friend then losing them to something he couldn't help.

At this point, Sirius and James had come out of the bathroom and started making quite a mess—everywhere. Remus slipped silently out of the dorm and into the common room, where he proceeded to go to the Great Hall.

Meanwhile, back in the boys' dorm, it was pandemonium. James and Sirius were engaged in a fierce argument about whether or not Sirius could just wear boxers and robes; Sirius said that he needed to be decent, James said it didn't matter. They started throwing clothes and other items at each other, laughing and yelling the entire time. Adrian groaned and left the dorm, leaving the other three boys. He wanted to check up on his twin sister (who was also a Gryffindor), anyways.

Peter joined the fight, and soon, they forgot what they were fighting about. They just enjoyed hurling random objects and tackling each other to the ground. Half an hour later, they lay panting in a heap on the ground. James poked his head out and said, "Hey, what happened to Adrian and Remus?" Sirius looked around; the two were indeed gone.

"Dunno. Probably went down to breakfast already," Sirius replied, not really caring. The three boys finished dressing and went down to breakfast together, laughing and joking all the while.

By the time they arrived, Remus had left already and Adrian was sitting with his sister down the table, finishing up. The three boys sat together at the table while Professor McGonagall handed them their timetables. Sirius took one look at his and let it flutter to the ground. Peter, however, looked through the classes.

"Eh, look, we've got Transfiguration first—"

"MINNIE! We get MINNIE first? Really? Oh, oh, let me see!" Sirius said, every ounce the big bouncy ball of hyperactivity. James grinned.

"Yup, McGoogles first period." Sirius got up, jumped on the table, and started dancing a happy dance right there on all the plates and food.

"MR. BLACK!"

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"So, Remus, are you excited? I know I sure am! This is our first class, after all. Have you ever studied Transfiguration? I rather enjoy watching my father Transfigure things. Why, this one time, he…" Lily, the redhead, was following Remus around, trying to get him to converse. This bothered James, and he showed it.

"Why don't you talk to me at all? I've heard of Transfiguration. I'd actually say something, unlike this little nipper." Lily huffed in annoyance and dashed off to try and crack Remus.

"Wait, Remy, I wasn't done telling my story!" Sirius and Peter laughed mirthfully as they approached a very miffed James.

"Did you see that, Peter?"

"Who woulda thunk it: the great James Potter, rejected!" They chortled some more.

"You'd best give up, you git! She obviously favors Sleeping Skeleton Remus!" Peter hooted. James then boxed the offending boy's ears.

"Shut up! Oh, you'll be sorry someday, when I—" James stopped as he saw two towering figures looming over him. One was a tall boy and the other was a girl, and both were very obviously Slytherin.

The tall boy was slim, pale, and ghost-like. His light blonde hair was cut short, making his already long, white neck seem longer. He had to be at least a 5th year, if not older. Accompanying him was a slightly shorter girl with snow-white skin and deep ebony hair. She was very beautiful (it would be folly to deny that), but in there was something that marred that beauty. Perhaps it was the maniac gleam in her eye and the heavy scowl, but Sirius thought, "She looks almost like…Snivellus! Ah, Bella, what have you done to yourself?" Amused at this thought, he started laughing as he took in her features. This obviously provoked Bella, who nodded at her accomplice as if to signal something. "Well, well, what do we have here, Bellatrix?" the boy started. "Looks like a few first years, all happy-go-lucky with their first year books, headed to their first year classes." Sirius was still laughing, but a very nervous Peter hit his shoulder, provoking a "Hey!" and silence. "Remember when you first came here, Lucius, what happened to you?" Bellatrix asked her friend. "Yes, and I believe that those little brats deserve it much more than I do." If James was intimidated, then he didn't show it. He strode up to the pair, smoothly saying, "I apologize, dears, but I do not believe we are acquainted."

"Oh, I'm tight with one of your little friends, isn't that right, Sirius?" said Lucius, casting a glare to Sirius. The brash child cast one right back. With a flip of his hair, he hoarsely whispered, "Lucius, we have no time for this right now." With faux sweetness, Bellatrix stated," I agree. Lucius, get the fat one." Peter, realizing that was him, gave a yelp and started to run off, but Lucius caught him by his ear and pulled him back.

"Mr. Malfoy! Just what do you think you're doing!" A male teacher's scandalized voice rang out.

"Oh, Professor Jenkins, I was just helping these first years to their classes—" Professor Jenkins cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it, Mr. Malfoy! Let the first years go! Twenty points from Slytherin! And you a prefect…shame on you, Lucius, shame!" Growling, Lucius let go of Peter and stalked off, Bellatrix following him. The professor sighed.

"Good, they're gone. I don't even want to know how Malfoy made prefect…anyways, do you need help getting to your class?" Professor Jenkins asked.

"Er…yeah, we need to get to Transfiguration…d'you know where that is?" Peter said.

"Oh yes, just go straight on down from here, turn left, walk forward, take the second staircase down, go until the second right corridor, go to the end of the hallway, turn left, go down that staircase to the third corridor, turn at the first left turn, walk down that hallway, turn left again, you should get to some more staircases. Go to the first floor from there, walk to your right for a hundred paces, then turn into the right corridor. At the fourth corridor, turn left and continue walking there until you see a green door. Go through there and continue walking until you come upon a right turn. Turn, and then go down that corridor, where you take the third left. Go down the corridor…"

And so Professor continued for fifteen minutes, and by the time he finished, the boys were thoroughly confused. Professor Jenkins walked away as soon as he was done, humming. Peter looked around wildly, confused. Sirius scratched his head, and James looked simply bewildered.

"Let's at least try to follow his instructions…" Sirius said.

And so that was how, half an hour later, they found themselves in front of a yellow door with a lion painted on it.

"Did he ever mention a yellow door?" Peter asked.

"Er…yeah, right after something about a rose…" James replied.

"Okay. That's it. We are officially lost," Sirius announced.

"Arrrgh…" Peter groaned.

And so, after a good hour of being lost, they finally arrived at Transfiguration. The rest of the class was working on turning straws into needles. Professor McGonagall had been making rounds around the room, but as soon as she saw the three b0ys, huffing and puffing with exertion, she walked over, a very stern expression on her face.

"Mr. Potter, Black, and Pettigrew. You are an entire hour late to Transfiguration. What have you got to say about yourselves?"

"We're very sorry, Professor McGonagall. You see, we got lost at first, and then we ran into Professor Jenkins—" James began.

"Say no more," Professor McGonagall said. "I know where this is going…Professor Jenkins went and gave you obscure instructions to wander all over the castle, and you got completely lost due to his complete and utter idiocy when it comes to going in straight lines."

"Erm…yeah, that's pretty much what happened," Sirius said. Professor McGonagall sighed.

"Very well, I won't count off this time. But be aware that next time, there will be consequences. You may take a seat." The boys sighed with relief. Professor McGonagall gave them each a piece of straw, and the boys attempted to turn it into needles. James succeeded on his third try, Sirius on his fourth. They noticed that out of the rest of the class, only little Remus Lupin had managed to turn his piece of straw into a needle as well, and was currently doing it again and again.

Sirius thought again of the petite boy and his utter shyness around people. He had never spoken to anyone unless forced to, and even then, it was quiet and almost inaudible. And his eyes…beautiful and large and apparently, color changing. He looked lonely too, and so, Sirius resolved to be his first friend at Hogwarts.

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After Transfiguration, the boys had Herbology. They recognized the professor as Professor Jenkins the wacko professor who had gotten them hopelessly lost. It was an enjoyable lesson; Professor Jenkins acted like a seven year old in an adult's body.

Then came lunch. Remus sat detached from everyone else—until Lily came along and plopped down next to him, jabbering his ear off.

"And then, you know, Tuney went and got a perm, so for once, Sev and I were left alone to play with. And then, so we tried to control our magic, and you know what, Remy? I did it! Sev had done it first, but it was so fun…we made little blades of grass grow all around us…" Remus just ate his lunch. He required more food than most humans because of his werewolf metabolism, but he didn't show it. He rarely ate enough to support his metabolism. Lily just kept talking…and talking…it sounded like she wasn't ever going to stop. But Remus didn't mind; the more chatter Lily came up with, the less he would have to talk.

James watched the duo of Lily and Remus silently and furiously. How come he—a little squirt who didn't talk at all—could make Lily Evans like him so much, but James couldn't even get her to look at him civilly? He really, really liked her…couldn't she see that? And yet…why in the world did she not pay attention to him? He growled softly. She was his!

After lunch, the Gryffindors had Defense Against the Dark Arts. Remus was excited for this class above all others. His lycanthropy…maybe there was a possibility that in this class, he could find a way to make it better!

But his hopes were dashed as soon as the professor began talking. Professor Alpine clearly abhorred every dark creature that existed—including werewolves. And maybe even especially werewolves. During his introduction of himself, he made it very clear that he thought werewolves the most despicable of creatures.

"And in all my travels all over the world, I have found that there is no more vicious creature, no more inhuman beast than the werewolf. Although it may appear human, it is no more human than a rat. It is cunning and wily, but it has no human emotion. Be aware that if you ever meet a werewolf, its ulterior motive will be to rip you apart during the full moon. It may appear friendly and human, but rest assured that no werewolf is human. The best thing to do as soon as you meet one of these creatures is to slay it, though if you are unable, you should get away from it as fast as you possibly can. And then you need to stay away from the creature," Professor Alpine went on. Remus shifted uncomfortably. The professor had to know Remus was a werewolf. He was prejudiced and hateful against them. And so, when the lesson ended, Remus ran out of there as fast as he was able without attracting attention.

Peter was the first to find Remus, huddling in the dormitory on his bed, quivering. He called James and Sirius over, but Remus, like he had for the past two days, refused to speak. He just sat there on his bed, shaking, until the others finally left him alone. All three of them were worried by this display.

Peter was confused. Why in the world was Remus this unwilling to speak? Even Peter wasn't this horribly shy and nervous. Remus seemed like a hypersensitive, jumpy bundle of nerves. Even the tiniest little small thing could send the boy into wide eyed nervousness and running off. Peter wanted to help the other boy, but he couldn't see a way to.

James sighed. It had been quite a long first day. He was concerned about Remus, and was confused about the way their DADA professor had treated him—he had been shooting venomous looks at Remus all lesson. It was quite confusing, honestly. What did he have against Remus? James felt a rush of protectiveness engulfing him, and briefly wondered why he felt it, before realizing that thinking about Remus had brought it on. He sighed again. There was something different about that boy. James vowed to help him however he could.

Sirius wondered briefly what had happened to Remus to make him this pathologically shy, and then decided that whatever it was, he was going to do his best to make sure it didn't happen again. There was just something about the other boy that invoked a powerfully protective feeling in him. He wasn't sure what it was, but he was pretty sure that if he could help it, Remus wouldn't be alone. Of course, that was a long way to go, seeing as Remus hadn't spoken more than a dozen words to him altogether and refused all attempts to socialize. But still…Sirius was absolutely determined to help him.