Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
The Marauders Year 1
Chapter 21: Not so Perfect Lives
"What the hell is wrong with teachers?" James grumbled as he threw his Defense book onto the table. He leaned back in his seat, crossed his arms, and glared at all the parchments full of notes and books on the table in front of him.
Remus rolled his eyes and kept writing notes on his parchment. It was the same thing going on for the last two hours. Every five minutes or so James or Sirius would decide to throw the book or parchment they were looking over onto the table and say something, then have Remus snap at them, and they would go back to studying. It was starting to get on Remus's nerves.
"I mean, honestly," James continued when Remus decided to ignore him this time, "there are five weeks left until exams. Who begins to study this early in advance?"
"Not all of us are as smart as you and Sirius. Some of us actually have to study to pass tests and get the grades we get." Remus snapped before opening his Potions book.
James frowned. "What's got your knickers in a twist?"
Remus slammed his book shut and ignoring the librarian's glare, he looked up at James with narrowed eyes. "I'm sick of hearing you and Sirius complain about studying. It's getting on my nerves. But what is really annoying me is that you two can get the best grades of our year without even trying, while I have to study my arse off just to pass."
"It isn't my fault that everything just comes to me easily." James replied.
"Of course, because nothing is ever James Chrysanthos Potter fault. He is just too perfect. He can do no wrong!" Remus retorted.
Sirius looked up from his parchment, deciding it was time to intervene. "Remus, I think it's time to take a break. You seem a little stressed."
"It's no surprise really. All he's been doing for the past three days is studying." Peter said without looking up from his notes. "Class and studying! He's barely eaten anything since he's studying while he eats. The food very rarely makes it way in his mouth because he is so focused on his book.
"Why don't we stop studying today and go outside? It's a nice day and we could all do with a break." James suggested.
Remus's eyes narrowed. "You guys go. I need to continue studying and it will be so much easier without you guys here."
James glared at him. "No, you're the one who needs the break most of all. Don't think I haven't noticed you sneaking out of the dorm in the middle of the night when you should be sleeping. Maybe you should take a nap."
"I don't need you telling me what I should and shouldn't do, James." Remus hissed. "I can decide what to do on my own."
"No, I don't think you can, Remus. You're not getting a lot of sleep and it is showing because you have been so easy to get riled up these past couple weeks." James retorted. He shoved his books in his bag before grabbing Remus's things and shoving them inside his bag. He threw both bags over his shoulder and left the library with an angry and annoyed Remus following him.
"JAMES!" Remus yelled angrily in the corridor.
James stopped and turned around to face Remus. "Yes?"
"Give me my books back." Remus growled.
"There are five weeks left, Remus. You don't need to study every freakin free moment you have." James moved closer to Remus and poked him in the chest. "You need to learn to relax and have fun. If you study every moment you get and not relax and have fun, you'll just freak out during the test, get all nervous, and probably forget everything during the test."
Remus pushed James's hand away. "I'll study the way I want and you can study the way you want."
"It doesn't work that way, Remus, not when you are getting up in the middle of the night to sneak out of the dorm to go study." James growled.
"I'm not studying when I'm sneaking out of the dorm." Remus replied.
James raised a brow. "Then what are you doing?"
Remus blushed and looked at the ground.
"Don't look at the ground. What have Sirius and I told you about this? You never look at the ground when talking with someone. You have to show confidence; otherwise people are just going to walk all over you." James said. He put his hand under Remus's chin and lifted his head. "Don't drop it again."
Remus sighed. "Sorry."
"Firstly, stop apologizing for everything. How many times am I going to have to tell you that? And secondly, if you are not studying at night, then what are you doing?" James asked again.
Remus shook his head and blushed, but didn't bow his head again.
James sighed. He tightened his grip on the book bags and turned around to walk away. "When you've learned to relax, taken a nap, and told me what you are doing in the middle of the night, I will give you your books back so you can continue to study."
"You act so much like a parent that it's scary." Sirius said, coming up from behind Remus with his book bag swung over his shoulder.
James rolled his eyes and walked away with Peter and Sirius, leaving Remus standing in the middle of the hallway, glaring at his back. He turned his head to look at Remus again so that Remus could see that he was serious.
Sighing when his friends rounded the corner, Remus turned around and headed in the opposite direction to go to the Gryffindor common room. With his friends going outside and his books confiscated BY A FRIEND, if that wasn't weird then Remus didn't know what weird was, then Remus had time to work on the project he's been working on for the past few weeks.
Outside James was lounging on a branch in the beech tree with Sirius and Peter sitting on the ground below him. They were very few people outside. The others students were either eating an early dinner or were studying. Nothing exciting has happened in a couple weeks since students were starting to settle down to study their brains out for the next few weeks.
"I'm actually surprised." Sirius was saying as he looked towards the castle doors.
"About?" Peter asked.
"Well, doesn't Remus usually chase and yell at us when we take his school books? He didn't even attempt to get his books back. He just yelled and that is all." Sirius replied. He looked up at James with a raised brow.
James frowned at him. "You're right. That prat is up to something!"
Peter rolled his eyes. "You always think someone is up to something when they do something different, but then you find out that nothing is up. They just don't want to follow the ordinary routine."
"I bet it has to do with why he's been getting up in the middle of the night." James said, ignoring what Peter said. He jumped out of the tree and landed on his feet in front of his friends. "I'm going to find out what he is up too!"
Sirius grinned. "Well, tell us what you find out."
"Will do!" James waved to them as he walked away. "Meet you in the Great Hall!"
James walked into the Entrance Hall and stopped. Where was he supposed to go to find Remus? The last time he saw him was outside in the corridor and James was sure that Remus wasn't going to still be there. So, where was he to go?
"Potter!" A sharp voice yelled at him.
James looked around to see McGonagall approaching him. "Yes Professor?" He readjusted the bags on his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" McGonagall asked suspiciously.
"I'm looking for Remus." James explained. "Would you know where he is?"
"I saw him heading in the direction of Gryffindor Tower, but I don't know if he is there." McGonagall replied.
James smiled. "Well, thanks. I'll check there."
James ran up the stairs, ignoring the yells from McGonagall to walk. He was going to figure out what was going on with Remus even if it took him years.
Remus was sitting on his bed with markers, quills, paint, wood, and paper surrounding him. He was almost done with his project. He just had a few more things to do and his project would be completed.
After a few more minutes of work, Remus held his project out in front of him and nodded satisfied just as the door to his room was slammed open. Startled, Remus dropped his project on his bed and looked up to see James marching into the room. James threw the book bags on his bed and looked at Remus.
"I see you aren't taking a nap like I suggested." James said nonchalantly.
Remus shrugged.
"What is that?" James pointed to everything on Remus's bed.
Remus blushed and jumped off his bed. He pulled the curtains shut and smiled. "Nothing for you to worry about. What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were going outside."
"I was, but I noticed something suspicious about you. You didn't come chasing after us to get your books back like you usually do. I see it's because of a project you were working on." James looked at the curtains around Remus's bed. "Now, what is this project?"
"Nothing!" Remus said quickly.
James took a few steps towards Remus. "Then let me see it."
"It's nothing! Go away, James!" Remus replied.
James smirked. He pulled his wand out. "Petrificus Totalus!"
Remus's limbs snapped together and he fell to the ground, unable to move so he just glared at James as he pulled the curtains apart around Remus's bed. He picked up the completed project and stared at it, his mouth hanging open. "Remus, what is this?"
James released Remus.
"James, I…." Remus stopped and blushed.
James looked at the painting. It was of the Marauders. He was lounging in the beech tree. Sirius was leaning against the tree with one of his legs bent and resting on the trunk of the tree. Peter was lying on the ground and Remus was sitting against the tree, reading a book. It was them spending a normal day outside. The frame of the painting had a raven, lion, snake, and a badger in each corner of the frame. Between the cravings of the animals was the name of each house at Hogwarts.
James looked up from the painting and stared at Remus.
Remus looked at the ground and shuffled his feet. "I know it's not really good."
"Not good?" James asked slowly. "Remus, this is awesome. I didn't know you could draw. Why did you draw this?"
"Well, you know how I didn't give you a gift for your birthday?" Remus asked. He looked up and smiled at James.
James nodded his head. He found that strange. When asked why he didn't get James anything for his birthday, Remus just blushed and said he didn't have anything to give yet or he would runaway after being asked. James was a little offended that his friend hadn't given him anything for his birthday. He got something for Sirius and Peter, but him nothing. It made James think that Remus didn't really think of him as a friend.
"Well, I was making you this, but it wasn't done yet. I've been so busy with homework, hanging with you guys, classes, and having to go home, that I haven't had time to work on it to get it done. I've been sneaking out at night to work on this so I could get it done so I could give it to you." Remus explained.
"This is for me?" James asked.
Remus nodded his head.
James broke into a grin. "Thanks Remus. This is awesome! You shouldn't keep your skills at drawing a secret. Come on; let's go to dinner so we can show Sirius and Peter."
James practically ran out of the dorm with the painting. Remus rolled his eyes, but smiled a little and ran after James.
Sirius looked up from his dinner when James and Remus ran into the Great Hall. He swallowed the food in his mouth and put his fork down. "What are you so happy about, James?"
"Sirius, you have to see this painting!" James said excitedly.
"It's not that good." Remus added.
"Shut it, Remus. It's awesome." James waved a hand at him as he looked at Sirius. "He's just being modest."
Sirius smiled. "Well, don't hold out. Show me it."
James passed the picture to Sirius. Peter bent over Sirius's arm to look at the painting too. They stared at the picture for a few minutes before looking up at Remus. "You made this?"
Remus nodded his head. "I know it's doesn't look really good."
"Remus, shut up!" Sirius ordered. "You need to stop being modest. This is awesome! How come you never told us you could draw?"
"I'm not a good artist." Remus replied.
Sirius raised a brow. "But you are!"
"You guys are just being good friends by saying that." Remus mumbled.
James threw his hands into the air. "Since he won't believe us, let's go ask someone else to give their opinion." He looked up and down the table. "Who should we ask?"
"Let's just ask random people!" Sirius declared and stood up.
James grabbed Remus's arm and dragged him down the table. "Hey Angel, Shawn, can we ask you something?"
"Sure," Angel replied, looking at the first years with a gentle smile.
Sirius showed her the painting. "What do you think of this painting? Is it good or bad?"
Angel examined the painting and smiled. "It's great. Where did you get it?"
"Remus drew it, but he keeps insisting that it's horrible." James replied, rolling his eyes.
Shawn leaned over Angel's shoulder to look at the painting. "I can't see why he would keep saying that. This is really good. I've never seen anyone draw this well."
"See Remus?" James turned to Remus. "I told you it was great."
Remus made a sound of disagreement but was ignored by his friends and the two fifth years as they examined the picture more thoroughly.
Clicking shoes made the boys and Angel look up to see McGonagall approaching them with a suspicious look on her face. "What are you boys up to?"
"Professor, why must you always suspect we are up to something?" Remus sighed.
"Because you boys are always up to something," McGonagall replied.
"That is not true. We are not always planning something. We have better things to do then plan pranks all the time." Remus said.
Sirius grunted. "I guess Remus has a point. We do have other things to do."
"We aren't doing anything, Professor." James said, looking at her.
McGonagall eyed the picture that James was holding and raised a brow.
"This?" James raised the painting and smiled. "This isn't anything dangerous. It's from Remus so it can't be dangerous."
"Not necessary true, James. Don't you remember that he got me Fanged Frisbees for my birthday? Remus does give dangerous things away." Sirius objected.
James nodded his head. "Good point, Sirius." He turned to Remus. "Why didn't you get me anything that can cause mayhem for my birthday?"
Remus's eyes widened and he blushed. He shook his head.
James frowned, but didn't press the matter any farther. He would just figure it out later when they weren't so many people around to see his friend's discomfort. James would never make his friends uncomfortable in front of others if it was about something serious or if it was a personal matter. He turned back to Professor McGonagall. "It's just a painting."
McGonagall raised a brow so James showed her it to prove his point. "That is a really going painting. I didn't know you could draw, Mr. Lupin."
Remus nodded his head.
"But would you boys please sit down and eat." McGonagall continued.
"Of course, Professor."
For the rest of the month life went on normally for the Marauders, well as normal as things can get for the Marauders. A few things were different though.
Sirius was always in a bad mood now. He pulled a lot more pranks and studied very little. The pranks against the Slytherins became a lot more embarrassing and some of them were really dangerous. His sour mood caused him to snap at anyone who annoyed him, even his friends. He eventually stopped pulling pranks altogether.
Remus was becoming more withdrawn and spending all his time studying for his exams. He avoided his friends like the plague and when asked why he didn't want to hang with them anymore he would just say that he had to study. He no longer wanted to prank nor do anything fun. Without him to help with the pranks, they were becoming a lot more dangerous, but he didn't seem to care.
Peter was even acting weird. He got a letter from home and has been acting strange ever since then. James always found him sitting in the common room, staring mindlessly out the window or studying. Like Remus, he didn't want to do anything besides schoolwork now.
For the life of him, James could not figure out what was wrong with his friends. When he tried to ask one of them what was wrong, he got yelled at or ignored. He was beginning to get annoyed with all three of them and their horrible attitudes. So, he started to ignore all of them and they all ignored each other in return.
The silent game among them became noticed by a lot of people and teachers when no pranks were played by the boys and the fact that the boys no longer sat together in class or at meals. They each sat by themselves and sulked.
After two weeks of the silent game amongst them, James got even more agitated with his friends. He just wanted to know what was wrong with them. They were all friends. Friends shouldn't keep things from each other. So, because he was sick of the silent treatment, James took his friends' wands in the middle of the night and locked all four of them in their dorm. Then he locked his friends' wand in his trunk and sat on his bed to wait for them to wake up.
Sirius was the first to wake up and after getting reading for class, he realized that he couldn't find his wand so he turned to James. "Do you know where my wand is?" He growled.
James nodded his head.
"Where is it?" Sirius asked annoyed.
"Locked in my trunk and it's going to stay there until we all talk." James replied.
Sirius turned around to face his friend completely. "Why can't you mind your own business?"
"Because you are my best friend! Your business is my business. I just want to know what is wrong." James snarled. He stood up and glared at Sirius.
"There is nothing wrong!" Sirius retorted, taking a threatening step towards James. "Now give me my wand."
James shook his head. "Don't you lie to me! I know something is wrong. You haven't been acting like yourself for the past few weeks. I don't want another friend lying to me."
Sirius and James both looked over at Remus then back at each other.
"What are you two prats yelling about?" Peter growled from his bed. He sat up and glared at them.
"Good, you're up!" Sirius hissed. He pointed at James. "This prat took our wands and locked them in his trunk. He refuses to relinquish our wands to us until we tell him all that is wrong in our lives. Nosy little…."
James glared at him. "You don't have to tell me everything. We've got years to learn about each other. I just want to know what is going on with you three. You all have been strange for the past few weeks. You guys are my friends and none of us are leaving this room until we have spoken about whatever is wrong."
Sirius growled and sat on his bed with his arms crossed.
Ignoring him, James moved over to Remus's bed. "Remus, get up! Remus!"
Remus mumbled something and rolled over in his sleep.
"Damn it, Remus, GET UP!" James yelled and he kicked the smaller boy out of his bed.
Remus growled and lifted his head over the bed to glare at James. "What the hell did you do that for?"
"We need to talk." James replied.
"Now?" Remus looked at his clock. "We have to get to class. We can talk later."
"No, we are talking now." James hissed. He went back to his bed and sat down. He stared at his friends. "So, who wants to say what is wrong first?"
The boys sat in silence for twenty minutes. Peter and Remus silently got ready for school in that time, while Sirius glared at James, who was examining his nails as if he didn't have a care in the world.
"I can spend all day here. I don't care about class right now." James told them.
Three glares were the reply he received.
"So, Remus how is the studying?" James asked.
"Fine." Remus grunted.
James smiled and nodded his head. "You know that our pranks are getting more dangerous without you there to help us and we are getting caught more times without you. It would be nice if you began to help us again. We could really use your planning skills. Sirius is becoming more reckless."
Remus leaned back on his bed and crossed his arms.
"Peter, how is your studying? Do you need help with anything?" James turned to face Peter.
Peter twitched a little. "I need some help in Potions, Transfiguration, and Defense."
"Well, why didn't you say anything?" James sighed. "Sirius can help you in Potions, Remus in Defense, and I'll help with Transfiguration, okay?"
"Thanks." Peter replied.
James turned to Sirius. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Sirius.
"Oh, stop it, already!" Sirius screamed and jumped to his feet. "You want to know what's wrong? Well, I'll tell you. School is ending soon and I'll have to go back home!"
The other three boys looked confused.
"I know you hate your family, but why is going home a problem?" James asked.
Sirius glared at him. "I'm a Gryffindor. Things at my house are going to be horrible during the summer. My parents will hate me for being a Gryffindor. In case you didn't notice they didn't want me home for Christmas or Easter. And now I have to go back there for two months."
"No, you don't." James said quietly.
"What?" Sirius snapped.
James stood up. "You don't have to spend two months there. You can come to my place for a few weeks. My parents won't mind. In fact, all of you can come over. They would love to meet my friends. Honestly, mate, was that all that was bothering you? I wasn't going to let us spend two whole months apart. I would die of boredom."
Sirius smiled. "Thanks mate. Let's just hope that my parents won't care about you being a Gryffindor. They don't want me hanging out with anyone but Pure-bloods, so maybe they'll look pass you being a Gryffindor."
"They must hate me then." Remus muttered.
Sirius frowned. "Probably, but I don't care what they think. You're my friend too, Remus."
James sat back down. "We got one problem fix. Who wants to go next?"
Peter and Remus glanced at each other.
"Come on, guys." James sighed.
Peter dipped his head. "I got a letter from my aunt a couple weeks ago. She said that my dad tortured my mom into insanity. I never told you guys because I was scared, but…my d-dad has been…..a-abusing me and my mom since I was five. He just lost it then when…my older sister was killed. He loved her so much." Peter sniffed and rubbed his eyes.
"Peter….." James looked at Sirius and Remus. "You're not going back there, are you?"
"My dad was found guilty for doing that to mom. He's in Azkaban now and I'm to live with my aunt now. I love my aunt, but my mom…." Peter fell quiet.
"I'm so sorry, Peter." James said compassionately.
Peter shook his head. "I'm just glad I don't have to worry about my dad anymore. I miss my old dad. He was great."
The boys fell into an uncomfortable silence. None of them knew what to say to this.
James cleared his throat and tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Remus?"
"I don't have a problem." Remus replied. "Let's just go to class. We already missed our first class."
"No, Remus!" James growled. "Just tell us what is wrong."
Remus glared at him. "There is nothing wrong. I don't see why you think there is a problem."
"Because when you gave me that painting and I asked you why you didn't get me something dangerous that we can use for chaos like you did for Sirius and Peter, you blushed and wouldn't look at me. Then after that you started to avoid us. Now what is wrong?" James asked angrily.
"Nothing for you to worry about." Remus said scathingly. "Now, let me out."
James crossed his arms and shook his head.
"Open the damn door!" Remus growled.
"Remus, you are my friend and I want to help you with whatever is wrong, so you are staying in here until you tell me." James replied.
Remus glared at him and sat down. He grabbed his potions book and started studying.
James sighed and moved over to Peter's bed to help him study for Transfiguration.
The only sound in the room for the next few hours was James explaining Transfiguration to Peter. Sirius was sitting on his bed quietly, waiting for Remus to talk so he could get out of the room.
It wasn't until Sirius's stomach started to grumble that the boys acknowledge each other at all.
"James, how about you let Peter and me out so we can go get some food?" Sirius suggested, rubbing his stomach.
James nodded his head and moved to his trunk. He unlocked it and pulled out two wands and his invisibility cloak. "You don't want to be seen sneaking food to us." He said as he tossed their wands back.
When Sirius and Peter left, James locked the door and sat on his bed and looked at Remus. Remus looked back at him with narrowed eyes.
"Why won't you talk to me?" James asked.
"You don't need to know everything about everyone, James." Remus snapped. "I'm allowed to keep some things to myself. You are so nosy."
James stood up. "I'm being a friend. There is something wrong and I just want to know what. I want to help you. Is it so wrong to accept help from a friend?"
"You can't help me so just let it go." Remus hissed. He slammed his book shut and pulled the curtains closed around his bed.
"Oh, no you don't." James growled. He wrenched the curtains open and pulled Remus out of the bed. "Why is it so hard for you to accept help from others?"
"I don't need help." Remus said angrily.
James narrowed his eyes. "Potions."
"What?" Remus snapped.
"You need help in Potions. It's your worst class. Sirius and I keep offering to help you with it, but you keep refusing. Why won't you let us help you with anything?" James asked. He crossed his arms and glared at his friend.
Remus crossed his arms and glared back. "I don't need help in Potions and if I did, I wouldn't want your help."
"And why is that?" James asked.
"Because you're an arrogant jerk!" Remus said.
"How so?" James questioned.
Remus clenched his fists. "You have such a perfect life. There is nothing wrong in your life. Nothing could ruin it. You always get the best grades without trying. There's nothing wrong in your family. You act like you're the best thing in the world. You just a spoiled brat. Your parents give you everything you want. I bet they don't care about anything you do. You can do no wrong in their eyes. You are their precious little boy. Everyone always has to give you their attention when you are doing something. You are just an attention seeking prat! I hate the fact that you can get your grades without even trying. I always have to work hard at everything I do to get it perfect. And you come and just do it. It annoys the hell out of me."
"Feel better?" James asked when Remus finished.
"NO!" Remus yelled. He moved away from James and towards the wall. He rested his forehead against it.
James moved a little closer to his friend. "Remus?"
Tears filled up in Remus's eyes. "I have to go back home where my dad isn't waiting for me. He would be waiting for me if I just ran when he told me too."
"Remus, I thought you moved pass this." James said quietly.
Remus whipped around to face him. "Moved passed it? HE WAS MY FATHER! How can you expect me to move pass it."
"I'm sorry, Remus. I didn't…" James struggled to find the right words.
"Without my dad around who had a steady job, my mom had to get two part time jobs just so she could pay all the bills." Remus said angrily. He turned back to face the wall again so James wouldn't see that the tears in his eyes started flowing down his face. "She's having so much trouble keeping up with the bills and keeping food in the house. And that's my fault because I didn't move when I was told to. She won't even have enough money for my school things either I bet. But then again, what does that matter? I only promised my dad and Professor Dumbledore that I would attend one year at Hogwarts. I don't want to come back for another year here. There's no point in me coming to Hogwarts anyway."
James stared at his friend in shock. "Remus…"
"Why am I such an idiot?" Remus screamed. He punched the wall with as much strength as he could muster up.
"REMUS, WHAT THE HELL?" James yelled. He grabbed Remus's arm to stop him from punching the wall again. "Damn it, you broke your hand. Why the hell did you do that?"
"Let go." Remus growled, tears still flowing down his face. "LET ME GO!"
"Remus, you need to calm down!" James said. "Remus!"
James slammed his friend against the wall. "Remus, I want you to calm down and listen to me."
Remus nodded his head. He took a few calming breaths.
"First of all, I can't help that everything comes easily to me. I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do about that. People are just different that way. Same with my family. We are all born into different families. Envy is not your thing, Remus. Secondly, you need to stop blaming yourself for your father's death. That is not your fault. He died protecting you. That's the way a parent would want to die, protecting his child. Your mom has two jobs because she wants to get enough money to be able to send you back to Hogwarts. She wants you to continue you education. And thirdly, what the hell do you mean by saying you don't want to come back to Hogwarts?" James was holding Remus's shoulders roughly as he said all this.
Remus shook his head. "I don't want to deal with this anymore. I don't want my mom have to use money that she needs for me to continue Hogwarts. I'm tired of being a burden on everyone."
"You are not a burden." James hissed. "And you are not quitting Hogwarts. Sirius, Peter, and I won't let you. You are going to pass your exams with top marks, you are going to spend the summer hanging with us, and you are going to come back to Hogwarts for your second year. You are not going to be a coward and drop out. Your father wouldn't want you to run from your problems. He wants you to face them and he wants you to continue to learn magic. Understand?" James growled.
Remus stared at his friend, surprise shining in his eyes.
"Remus, do you understand? I'm not leaving any of my friends behind." James said.
"What's going on in here?" Sirius asked as the door swung open.
James turned to face him. "Remus is just being an idiot again."
Sirius looked at Remus. He noticed the tears trailing down his face, but chose not to say anything for his friend's dignity. Remus never cried and probably didn't want his friends to see that he was, so it was best to just ignore it now.
"Remus and I are going to the Hospital Wing. We'll be right back to join in the feast you brought." James eyed all the food in Peter's and Sirius's arm. "There are only four of us. I don't see why you had to bring that much food."
"I'm starving!" Sirius cried.
James laughed and got Remus's wand out of his trunk. He tossed it to its owner. "Just don't eat all the food. Remus and I are starving too."
"Why are you going to the Hospital Wing anyway?" Peter asked.
"I already told you. Remus was an idiot." James replied, rolling his eyes. "The idiot punched the wall."
Sirius snorted. "Nice one, Remus."
Remus glared at him as James dragged him out of the dorm.
"What did you boys do now?" Madam Pomfrey asked when she heard the Hospital Wing's door open and saw the two enter. "I swear I've had you and your friends in here more times than students who have been here for seven years."
James grinned. "Remus broke his hand, ma'am."
"And how did he do that?" Madam Pomfrey asked, raising a brow.
"Oh, he and the wall just had a disagreement." James replied cheekily.
Madam Pomfrey sighed and chose to ignore James cheek. "Mr. Lupin, sit on one of the beds."
James watched the nurse leave before turning to Remus. "I know you are going to disappear soon."
"What?" Remus's eyes snapped to James, fear in his eyes. "W-what are y-you talking a-about?"
"You disappear every month. You're going to disappear soon. I'm going to find out why you leave school once a month, Remus. You can count on that. You can either tell me why or I can find out on my own, but either way I will find out." James said.
Remus's eyes widened. "I…my family just has a lot of health problems."
James shook his head. "Stop lying, Remus."
Remus gulped. His friends couldn't figure out why he disappeared each month. They would hate him and not want him here anymore. As soon as they figure it out they will tell everyone what he is. James will retract his statement from earlier and say that he doesn't what Remus at Hogwarts anymore.
"I'm not hiding anything!" Remus said frantically.
"Sure you aren't." James replied nonchalantly, looking around the Hospital Wing.
Madam Pomfrey coming back over to them stopped Remus from replying. She was carrying a smoking goblet with bright green potion inside. "Drink this, Mr. Lupin and your hand will heal."
Remus grabbed the goblet in his unbroken hand and grimaced as he looked at the potion.
"Drink all of it." Madam Pomfrey said sternly.
Scowling, Remus drank the potion, shuddering as the nasty tasting potion slid down his throat.
"Now give me your hand." Madam Pomfrey ordered.
Remus lifted his hand and Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over it while muttering a few words to complete the healing process.
"Thanks Madam Pomfrey." James said and grabbed Remus's hand to drag the boy out of the Hospital Wing.
Remus looked at his friend nervously, waiting to see if he would continue the conversation he started in the Hospital Wing. But James acted as if no conversation took place as he chatted about a new prank idea for the Marauders to pull on the last day of school when they revealed that they are the Marauders.
The next Sunday Remus spent the whole day in the library studying away. An hour before the full moon was to rise, Remus left the library and went to Hospital Wing. After what James said last week, Remus was too nervous to tell his friends that he was leaving again. They would probably yell at him when he returned for not telling them that he was leaving, but he would rather that then have to face them right now with another lie.
As soon as he got to the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey hustled him out and to the Shrieking Shack, where he looked around. This was his last full moon at Hogwarts for this year. He would have to spend three full moons locked in his basement after tonight. Since he began at Hogwarts, everything in the shack was broken and covered in blood. The bed in one of the rooms was all torn up and had springs sticking out of it. A chair had two of its legs demolished and the stuffing from it was all over the living room. One of the steps on the stairs had a big chunk missing out of it like the wolf took a big bite out of it. There were scratch marks on the walls and floors all around the house.
Remus grimaced as he looked around the shack. He hated seeing all the damage he caused as a wolf. It was a horrible sight. Remus could understand why people were so scared of werewolves when he looked at the damage that he causes when transformed. Just think of what he would do if he wasn't confined! It was a scary thought for him.
The young wizard froze in examining the house. A jet of pain went through his body, making him stiffen in his step. Another jet came after the first and Remus fell to his knees. He screamed out in pain as his limbs broke and reformed in the shape of a wolf. His hands and feet changed to claws as Remus howled in pain. His insides began to change as he grew fur and his head lengthened.
The beast let out a painful howl as the transformation finished. It fell to all fours and whined in pain for a few minutes. When it felt better, the werewolf stood up and started to run around the shack, wanting to find prey.
There was no prey in the shock, though, and that angered the wolf. It wanted flesh and the taste of blood in its mouth. It needed to attack something. The wolf craved the thrill of the chase of its prey as much as it loved the blood in its mouth.
All night the wolf attacked itself since there was no other prey in the shack. It tried to break out of the shack by ramming its head against the wall, door, and window, but no matter how hard it tried, the wolf could not get out.
Not soon enough, the moon lowered and the sun took its place. The wolf howled in pain as it shrunk and its bones broke and reformed as human bones. Its insides rearranged to that of a human and the claws retracted and became human hands and feet.
In the place of the wolf, a small boy lied on the floor, curled into a ball, crying out in pain with no one there to comfort or help him. He was alone for half an hour before the trap door to the shack was opened and a kind looking woman came inside. She smiled sadly at the small boy on the ground. She wrapped him in a cloak and conjured a stretcher up for him.
"But Madam Pomfrey, I only have a week left until exams. I need to go to the library." Remus whined later that night. "And my friends are going to want to know where I am. I didn't tell them I was leaving last night."
"Yes, I realized that when I had the three of them in here for half an hour demanding to know where you are." Madam Pomfrey replied. She handed the young wizard a smoking goblet. "Drink up."
Remus glared at the potion. He hated the way they tasted. He shuddered as the foul tasting potion made its way down his throat. "Can I please leave? I have to study!"
"Oh, honestly, Mr. Lupin! You are worrying too much about these exams." Madam Pomfrey responded.
"But I feel fine, honest, Madam Pomfrey. I don't have to stay." Remus replied, giving her his puppy dog eyes.
Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Fine, go, but don't do anything stupid or dangerous."
Remus grinned and jumped out of bed. After getting dressed into his school uniform and grabbing his wand and bag, he ran out of the Hospital Wing.
"REMUS!"
Remus heard his name being yelled as soon as he left the Hospital Wing. He stopped running and looked around for who was yelling for him. Three boys wearing Gryffindor uniforms were racing towards him. The two black haired boys skidded to a halt in front of him, while the third knocked over a suit of armor.
"You okay, Pete?" Remus asked as James and Sirius burst out laughing.
"Yeah." Peter struggled to his feet and smiled at Remus.
"So, Remus, why didn't you tell us?" Sirius demanded after he finished laughing at Peter.
"Tell you what?" Remus asked, sighing.
James rolled his eyes. "That you were leaving."
Remus shrugged.
"What did you have to go home for anyway?" Peter asked.
Remus turned around so his friends wouldn't see him getting nervous. He started to walk away towards the Great Hall for dinner, knowing that his friends would follow him. "….I had to go home for my cousin, Selene's wedding. She really wanted me there so I got permission from the Headmaster to leave to go there."
"You still should have told us that you were leaving. We were worried that something happened to you." Sirius said.
"And not without reason it seems." James added. He stepped in front of Remus to stop him. "What happened to your cheek?"
Remus blinked. "What?"
"You have this huge cut on your cheek. It looks like it going to leave a scar. What happened?" James demanded.
Remus lifted a hand to touch his halfway healed cut. "I….there was alcohol at the wedding and one of the people there got really drunk and broke a glass. One of the shards from the glass hit me and cut my face. It's no big deal."
"Must have been a very sharp piece of glass," Sirius replied as the group started walking again. "That's a very nasty cut."
"Now you can tell people some heroic story for how you got that scar!" James grinned.
Remus rolled his eyes. "No thanks."
James pouted. "Why not?"
"Because I'm not egotistical like you?" Remus suggested.
"I'm not egotistical!" James protested.
Remus patted his arm sympathetically. "Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better, but you're going to have to face the truth eventually."
"But I'm not!" James replied.
"It does no good to hide from the truth." Remus told his friend before entering the Great Hall.
James followed him with narrowed eyes. "I'M NOT EGOTISTICAL, LUPIN!"
Half the students and pretty much all the teachers in the Great Hall snorted.
Remus turned back to James with a smirk on his face. "Ha! You just proved that I'm right!"
"What?" James stopped, confused.
"Only an egotistical bighead like yourself would yell that for the whole Great Hall to hear because you want attention." Remus explained.
James stared at his friend, open mouthed as he sat down.
"He's got you there, mate." Sirius said as he went to sit with Remus.
"You're just as much egotistical as him, Sirius." Remus said without looking up from his plate.
"You wound me, Remus!" Sirius said dramatically, falling onto Remus's shoulder.
Remus looked at Sirius with a raised a brow. "That just proves my point."
"I'm not denying that I'm not egotistical, only James is." Sirius replied as he sat on. He looked down by the Great Hall doors where James was still standing, looking like a fish out of water. "OI, WAKE UP, JAMES! IT'S TIME FOR DINNER!"
James snapped out of his trance and shook his head. He walked towards his friends, glaring at the laughing Remus.
A/N: I finally got it to where James is the only one with a perfect life!
Please review!