The Marauders sat in the library, studying. They were one person short, however, because Remus had excused himself just an hour before. Sirius knew why, but no one else did. He figured it was time to hint at something.
"Do any of you notice a pattern?" Sirius asked.
"What do you mean, Siri?" Regulus asked.
"Well, Remus always seems to be… sick," Sirius said, choosing his words carefully.
"Oh, yeah, I've noticed," James replied. "It's weird."
"Do you think he has a weak immune system, and he just always catches colds?" Alice asked.
"No, I don't think so," Lily disagreed. "He seems to get sick every month. It's very strange."
"You're right," Severus said thoughtfully. "Could it be…"
"Be what?" Mary asked curiously.
"Just a moment," Severus suddenly stated, standing. "I'll be right back." He rushed to one of the many bookshelves, and pulled down a book.
"Severus, why are you reading about werewolves?" Capella asked.
Severus didn't answer right away. He flipped through the book, reading some pages of it before handing it to Lily.
"Read this," he urged. "What do you think?"
Lily read the paragraph he pointed to. She widened her eyes in realization.
"That's it!" she exclaimed.
"What? What is it?" James asked.
"He always seems to be sick on full moons!" Lily exclaimed.
"Wait, he's a… werewolf?" Sirius asked, pretending he didn't know the answer already.
"I think so," Severus and Lily said in unison. "Jinx!"
"That would explain everything," Regulus said, deep in thought. "I can't think of a single full moon that he wasn't sick this entire term."
"And last year, he was sick each full moon," Sirius pointed out.
"That must be it then!" James said excitedly. "Should we ask him tomorrow?"
"Yes, but let's ask him respectfully," Capella said with a warning glare at James.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," James defended himself.
"Oh, we didn't say you wouldn't," Sirius said hurriedly. Everyone laughed.
The next afternoon, Remus entered the Gryffindor Common Room looking tired, but still had a smile on his face.
"Hi," Remus greeted them. "What have I missed?"
"Not much," Sirius told him.
"Remus, we've noticed something," James started. He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "We've noticed that you're out once a month, that you are sick once a month."
"I just have a weak immune system," Remus said nervously.
"Remus, it's alright," Lily said gently. "We have noticed that you are always sick on full moons. We're here to support you."
"So… you know?" Remus asked quietly. "That I'm a… a…"
"A werewolf?" Sirius asked.
"Well, er, yes, I am a werewolf," Remus said fearfully, looking at each of them to see how they would react.
"Remus, it's alright if you're a werewolf," Regulus said. "We're not going to judge you for that. We're your friends."
"But I'm a monster once a month!" Remus exclaimed. "How are you NOT scared of me?"
"Because you haven't hurt anyone, so you must be in a safe place during your transformations," Severus spoke up.
"I just go into the Shrieking Shack," Remus admitted.
"What is it like? Transforming, I mean," James asked curiously.
"It's painful," Remus confessed. "And I lose my mind. I go from the mind of a human to the mind of a werewolf for an entire night. I always end up with scratches, because I'm alone, so I tend to scratch myself a lot. It's very lonely. But I should be lucky that Headmaster Black allows me to study here, so I should be grateful. I mean, he does fight for werewolf rights in the Wizengamot, so I should not be complaining about being lonely. It's better than not studying here or hurting people."
"Would it help if you had other people to play with in your werewolf form?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah! Like other animals to hang out with!" James exclaimed.
"Well, yes, but there's no animals around when I am in the Shrieking Shack," Remus said, disappointment clear in his tone.
"I know!" James exclaimed. "The animagus transformations!"
"Yeah!" Alice exclaimed. "Let's do it!"
"Yes, let's become animals, then we can be with you during the full moons, Remus," Sirius said with a grin.
"Y… you would do that for me?" Remus asked.
"Of course!" Lily piped in. "We're your friends!"
"And I know for a fact that Capella will join us in this as well," Regulus said.
"But it's hard work, I hear," Remus said worriedly. "And you need to be registered with the Ministry and everything."
"The Black family has the gift for it," Sirius revealed. "Ninety-five percent of the Black family have learned it. The only people in recent years who never learned it were my parents. They thought it was a waste of time. Aunt Lucretia can turn into a phoenix, Grandfather can turn into a gaboon viper, Grandmother can turn into a raven, and Bellatrix can turn into a Spanish fly. I don't know about everyone's animal forms, but those are just the ones I know."
"But shouldn't we have a professor teach us?" Severus asked.
"Actually, Grandfather told me that if we ever want to learn how to do it, he will teach all of us Blacks, James and Severus included," Sirius explained. "This is because Blacks always learn it faster, and Blacks tend to learn from another Black. The rest of you will have to learn from Professor McGonagall though."
"So, are ALL of you going to learn how to transform into animals?" Remus asked.
"Yes," all of them said at once.
"And Capella will too, I know she will," Regulus added.
"We'll talk to Capella about it tomorrow when we have our Saturday morning gathering," Sirius decided. "James, you might want to come with us tomorrow, because you'll be learning with the Blacks."
"Alright, I will," James agreed readily.
"The rest of us will go to McGonagall tomorrow," Mary declared.
Everyone was very excited for the rest of the day. Not only did Remus realize that his friends supported him no matter what he was, but the Marauders were all going to have animagus training. It was bound to be an adventure.