Author's note: CW emetophobia (quite a bit), unintentional self-harm (scratching)

X

"I feel sick."

"It's okay. We'll be okay."

"We're gonna die."

"We'll be fine."

Peter and Remus stood in a side corridor, peering out at Mulciber and Avery who were hassling a second year Hufflepuff. They were shoving her back and forth between them, and taunting her for her bloodline.

"Let's go."

"I'm gonna be sick."

Remus took Peter's hand and yanked him out. "St-stop hurting her!" he shouted, trying to sound braver than he felt.

The Slytherins stopped and looked at them, while the girl ran off crying. Hopefully she wouldn't get a teacher… that would be a very airtight alibi for the Slytherins.

"What do you want Loopy? Pokey?"

"Why do you hurt kids who've d-done nothing to—to you?" Remus demanded, heart feeling like it would leap out of his throat.

Mulciber and Avery exchanged looks then faced them fully, going for their wands. A really nasty smirk curled along Avery's face. "Pretty brave for someone who doesn't have Potter and Black with them."

Peter gave a whimper at that, which made the Slytherins laugh. "He looks like he's gonna wet himself," Mulciber said.

Avery twirled his wand. "Maybe we should help him with that."

Remus drew in a deep breath. He didn't want to do this, he felt as sick as Peter looked. James and Sirius better damn well appreciate their help! "Still trying to do-do—to d-to-to do that sp-spell after two years?"

"Dodododo what?" laughed Avery. "Tell you what, Loopy. I'm in a generous mood. If you can say one full sentence without st-stu-stuttering then we'll be on our way."

"G-g-g-good luck!" crowed Mulciber.

Remus swallowed, fingers curling around his wand. He felt his tongue thickening, but wanted desperately to say something to them without a stutter. To insult them clearly. However, he knew if he tried to say almost anything he'd stutter. Except for spells, he was good at saying spells.

"Pedesium Vivarras!"

Avery's feet were yanked out from under him and he landed on his bum with a loud 'ooof'. Mulciber nearly dropped his wand in surprise but managed to keep hold of it to shoot out a spell.

Soon the four of them were fighting, Remus doing his best not to simply set them on fire and finish it quickly. They needed time. They needed to keep the two of them held up for at least ten minutes, and it had only been two or three.

I could have just put the full-body bind on them and released them after half an hour, he thought as he ducked under one of Avery's spells and shot one back at him. Blasted Merlin's beard, why did I just go along with James's plan to fight them instead of trying to think of something else like that!

Peter went down pretty quickly, an invisible hand pulling hard at his hair and almost dragging him across the floor. He howled in pain, thrashing and kicking, trying to get free. Remus couldn't help him since it was two on one now and he was being backed up against the wall. Mulciber was doing a jig but somehow managed to keep a decent aim, while Avery's non-dominant hand was flapping all over the place from being jellified.

Then a spell struck Remus square in the chest and he began gagging as it felt like something bubbling up inside of him. He tried choking out a spell, but all that came out was a waterfall of mud. Then his wand went spinning through the air and he was held against the wall, mud pouring down his chin and onto his clothes as Avery shoved the tip of his wand into Remus's cheek.

"You will pay for this," he snarled. "You damned lunatic!"

That was the moment, Remus thought later, when in books someone else would show up. But of course it was real life and not a book, and Remus and Peter got the stinging jinx put all over them. Then they were shoved in a broom closet as Remus vomited mud and Peter writhed from his hair still being pulled everywhere. Bits of brownish-blonde tufts drifted to the ground and he began crying.

"Suuuggghhh!" Remus choked out more mud as he tried to apologize. "Finniugugh!" He couldn't even take the spell off Peter and only watched as more bits of hair were pulled from his scalp. His face also had bright red welts from the jinx; at least Mulciber and Avery were young and couldn't do too much damage with the spell. James and Sirius better be getting them into HUGE trouble, he thought as more mud spilled down across his lap.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the mud stopped enough for him to remove the spell from Peter. He had red, bald patches all over his head, and tears ran down his stung cheeks.

"That was the worst idea in the history of worst ideas," he sniffled, wiping his nose off. "How do I take that off you? Should I get Pomfrey? I'll get Pomfrey."

"Noouggh." More mud, though only a little. "Can't alibi theeuhggm."

"Oh. Right. We can't…" He pulled a face, looking very distressed. "She's good at secrets though."

Remus shook his head, more mud going everywhere. "Stauughfhff."

"I guess she would tell the teachers," he sighed.

"And we did starugugughtt it."

"They were the ones hurting that girl though!" Pete protested, picking up bits of hair from the floor. "What are we supposed to tell Pomfrey anyway? We hafta go get her, or go to her, cause I dunno if you're gonna stop that, and my head hurts so bad and my skin hurts too; least the stings on you faded, right?" Remus gave a miserable nod. "Can't we make something up? Say we accidentally did it to each other in a practice duel or something?!"

Remus reluctantly nodded again because he felt too guilty about how terrible Peter looked. "Just cry wheueughgn she asks you anything. I'll deal with her queuughggstions."

They left the room, leaving a trail of muddy footprints and random splatters as they went. Then suddenly he stopped and pulled Peter into a bathroom, locking the door. "We can't."

"But we can lie—"

He shook his head. "Averuuugghy can tell her what spells they used. Use us as an aaliighg… alibi even if we don't say anything."

Peter sagged. "Bloody hell."

Remus wiped his muddy hands off on his muddy trousers which didn't help much, trying to think. They needed someone they could trust. Someone like Miss Fawley, except of course she wasn't there. If this was the previous year he'd be tempted to go see Professor Prewett… but he wasn't sure if Professor Charlemagne would keep a secret or not.

They sank down to the floor, trying to figure out what to do until Remus at least came up with the idea to use a hair growth spell. Peter's hair shot out, some of it longer than Sirius's hair, and some spots down to his ears. Remus then did his best to trim it, doing a very shoddy job but at least it would be passable.

"We should clean the mud up too," he said when he was finished with Peter.

"Clean it?" Peter looked at the floor where there was a spreading puddle. "Everywhere?"

"Everywheruuugh."

At least they weren't forced to do it the Muggle way, and Remus was able to use scourgify. They stole cleaning supplies from one of Filch's storerooms and spent ages scrubbing up the closet where they had been stuck and the floors where Remus had left trails. By the time they were done, Remus wasn't throwing mud up anymore so at least there was that. Plus Peter was all muddy too which helped; they could claim they had been doing something outside if anyone asked.

They snuck back to the tower, knowing they were a long time past the meeting time. He hoped the others hadn't gone searching or done anything else. The dorms were empty which was worrisome. Remus first dug through James's trunk to find a pot of potion salve that would heal Pete's stings. That taken care of, they went to get a shower and by the time they were in clean clothes, James and Sirius were back.

"Where have you been?!" James shrieked as soon as they came in.

"What happened? Are you all right?" Sirius looked at both of them. "We searched everywhere for you and even went to Pomfrey."

"We couldn't go to Pomfrey," Peter said as he dried his shaggy hair off. "Cause Remus said Mulciber and Avery would be able to alibi with it."

"They could tell the teachers what we were hexed with and it would help give them evidence they were elsewhere when you two… errmm…" Remus tilted his head. "What did you two do?"

"You were hexed?!" Sirius half-yelled.

"We're fine now," Remus promised though he thought he'd be tasting mud for weeks.

"We were seen sneaking into Malfoy's room with a sack," James said proudly. "He should be finding the Devil's snare any minute now. Hopefully it strangles him."

"What did they do to you?" Sirius asked, staring intently at Remus. "Are you all right?"

"Stinging jinx. Also pulled his hair—ripped some of it out, that's why it looks weird, I had to grow it out and cut it again."

"Not him, you."

"Thanks," Peter said flatly.

"You look fine, Petey," Sirius said, folding his arms.

"So does he!"

"Yes but he heals quickly," he argued. "If something bad happened to you, we'd know it. If something bad happened to Remus, he would hide it."

Remus scowled. "I wouldn't lie about—"

"Yes you would," Sirius said quickly.

"Yeah, you would," Pete agreed.

"Yep, I'm with them," added James.

Remus sat straight up, glaring at each of them. "I'm fine. I got the stinging jinx put on me too and I just… threw mud up for a while. That's why it took us so long, we had to clean it all up so there wouldn't be any evidence."

James bounded across the room and flung his arms around Remus, kissing the side of his head before leaping over to Peter and doing the same. "You two are absolutely brilliant! I am so sorry you got hexed."

"You jolly well better be," Peter grumbled. "It hurt! My hair got ripped out! My face felt on fire! Mulciber and Avery better get in big, big trouble."

The next morning in Arithmancy, Aegis looked very cheerful; when Remus asked, Aegis gleefully told him that Malfoy had gotten attacked by a Devil's Snare the night before. It had wrapped around his arm and got tangled up in his hair. It had taken a long time to get him free since none of his roommates knew how to deal with the plant, which Remus thought was hilarious.

"It seems Mulciber and Avery are the ones who did it," he added, leaning across the aisle to whisper before class began. "They got into so much trouble! I hate to be happy we lost as many points as we did, however I don't mind. I wonder how they thought they'd get away with it? Several people saw them sneaking into Malfoy's dorm room carrying something."

Their plan worked perfectly.

"They said they didn't, they kept insisting they were—"

"LOOPY!"

Mulciber stormed into the classroom, fury etched across his face. Everyone jumped and then Remus yelped as Mulciber grabbed him by the collar, yanking him to his feet. There were several shouts of annoyance and some of the other students intervened. Tilden Toots and Felix Turpin of Ravenclaw practically tackled Mulciber, trying to get him away from Remus. Toots tugged at Mulciber while Turpin tugged at Remus.

"I just want to talk!" Mulciber roared, kicking out as he was pulled away. Remus fell back into Turpin and the two fell to the floor, Remus practically in Turpin's lap.

"Mr. MULCIBER!" Talkalot stormed over, face red. "Ten points from Slytherin—"

"WE DIDN'T DO IT!" Mulciber pulled from Toots, shoving him a little. "I'm sorry, Professor." He didn't sound apologetic at all. "I shouldn't have grabbed him, I only wanted to talk. Loopy, you—you and Pokey—"

"Mr. Mulciber, leave him alone," Talkalot said firmly. "Take your seat."

Mulciber's nostrils flared, glaring as Remus and Turpin got up, brushing themselves off. "Sol and I got into trouble this morning for—for putting something in Lucius Malfoy's room, and—and we didn't, not when everyone said we did. I told Slughorn that—we were—Loopy and Pokey ambushed us last night, when everyone said that we went to Malfoy's room and—"

"Mr. Mulciber, calm down, you're not making any sense. Take in a deep breath." Talkalot pulled a handkerchief out, wiping his forehead off. "Everyone please sit down. Take your seats."

Everyone obeyed him except for Mulciber.

"Professor," he said, a little calmer now. "Solonys and I are in trouble for something we did not do. It's—it's just like what happened with Blackwell!" Remus raised his eyebrows, not very surprised that the other situation was brought up. "I bet it's the same thing, Gryffindors trying to get Slytherins into trouble. Sir, you're—you know our rivalry, you know how much Gryffindor hates us. Alixan set up Blackwell and someone else—probably Black and Potter, since Loopy and Pokey were involved—set me and Solonys up!"

Talkalot held up a hand. "Mr. Mulciber, it sounds like you should be discussing this with Horace."

"I tried! He said since two Prefects saw me, they—"

"This is Arithmancy, Mr. Mulciber. We need to focus on our lesson. If you try to attack Mr. Lupin again, you will receive detention, do you understand?"

Mulciber swallowed, body shaking a little from anger. "Yes," he hissed out. "I'm sorry, sir." He took his seat, hands clenched into fists pressed down against his desk.

Ten minutes into class a note landed on Remus's desk. Mulciber's handwriting was a lot prettier than Remus would have expected, even if the contents weren't.

tell them what happened last night or ill fucking break all the bones in your body you peece of hipogriff shit

Remus was tempted to raise his hand and tell Talkalot about the note. Instead he wrote back, Why would the teachers be interested in the fact I did my homework last night?

TELL THE TRUTH LOOPEY

Remus ignored it, focusing on his notes instead, trying to keep up with what Talkalot was saying while also doing his best to ignore the pounding in his chest or the fact he felt as though his bladder might give any moment. Another note hit his desk which he didn't even open, didn't even glance at. What was worse was today's lecture was something that actually interested him, unlike most of Arithmancy. It was about the connection between Arithmancy and spells, the possibility of using numbers to help create spells or make them stronger.

There were five more notes by the time class ended. Remus swept them into his bag with everything else before taking off, knowing Mulciber was coming after him. Sure enough, there were hurried footsteps and when he glanced back, Mulciber was running at him in a dead sprint. Remus panicked and began running faster, only to trip over his shoelaces and slam down into the ground. He twisted himself so he didn't land face first but hit his elbow so hard that he practically saw stars.

Mulciber loomed above him, sneering. He put one foot on Remus's stomach, pushing down. "Why you running, Loopy? Hmm? Something to hide?"

"Get off of him!" Lily had come running after them, thank Merlin. "What did you do to him? He looks so pale!"

"He's always pale, Mudblood, shut up."

Remus felt pale. His elbow was throbbing while splintering pain went through his arm. Only for a moment, though. Soon the pain faded and he suspected he had broken something in his arm since it felt like bones were being knit back together. It took a lot of effort to keep the bile down because emptying his cauldron onto Mulciber's foot would be embarrassing enough to kill him. Well, in front of other people; if they were alone it'd probably be funny.

"Don't call me that, Mulciber."

Mulciber stared at Lily—no, past her. There were other students too. Some of which had their wands out. He was outmatched. Grunting, he pushed his foot against Remus before lifting it off. "Loopy is a liar," he sneered, grabbing Remus and yanking him to his feet. He grabbed him by the arm that had been hurt which made him dizzy with more pain and his breakfast almost came up. "He and Pettigrew attacked me last night."

There was some laughter at that.

"Pettigrew?" asked one of the Vasileiou twins, the one without glasses. "Potter or Black we'd believe, but Pettigrew?"

"Shut up!" Mulciber let Remus go and he scurried over to Lily. "They did, and while they did Potter and Black pretended to be me and Sol and—and left that plant in Malfoy's wardrobe."

Aegis's eyes flickered briefly to Remus, a questioning look in them. Remus didn't meet his eyes, keeping his gaze on Mulciber. He hoped Aegis wouldn't ask him about this later. He didn't want to lie. He would, he just didn't want to.

"Are you saying that Potter and Black can access the Slytherin common room?" asked Jha, his hands flying accusingly.

Mulciber opened and closed his mouth several times, looking like a fish. Everyone stared at him, waiting for a reply. He scanned the crowd before looking rather pleadingly at the other Slytherins: Snape, Crabbe, Jacknife, Nott, and Wicket; he was purposely ignoring Aegis and Alexander.

None of the Slytherins moved or spoke.

"I thought the Slytherin common room was the most secure one," added the other Vasileiou twin, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Isn't that what you Slytherins brag about all the time?"

More silence.

Then, "Yes." Mulciber squared his shoulders. "It's true, of course it's true. Your common rooms are pathetically easy to get in, ours is—is secure."

"So." Buckling took a step forward. "How did they pretend to be you? In your secure common room?"

More fish gaping and then Mulciber's face went red. "Forget it, forget it, just forget it!" He whirled around and stormed off without another word.

"It is secure," said Nott, tossing her hair back. "Mulciber is just a twat, so is Avery. Malfoy snubbed them a week or two ago so they wanted to get back at them."

Really? Remus wondered, hoping that was true. It would further cement them into being the guilty party.

"Mulciber just wanted someone to blame," Crabbe said, wrinkling her nose as she glared at Remus. "Of course he's going to pick on the insane one and the coward."

"Don't call him insane," Lily said protectively.

Crabbe rolled her eyes. "If the wand chooses the wizard, Evans." With that she and the other Slytherins walked off, muttering about Mulciber and Avery being 'almost' as crazy as Remus.

The crowd dispensed at that, everyone going their own way for their next class. Aegis approached Remus, since they both had Muggle Studies together which meant he had ample time to quiz Remus about the truth. He didn't, though, not even mentioning what happened the entire way there. Instead, he talked about how glorious it was to see Malfoy flailing around everywhere with the snare attached to him.

Then just as they reached the Muggle Studies hallway, Aegis's arm shot out, blocking Remus from walking. "You did do it, didn't you?"

"Do what?"

"Pretend to be them."

"No, I didn't," Remus said honestly. He hadn't pretended, it was James and Sirius.

Aegis, however, could tell there was something off and said, "Fine. It was them, wasn't it? James and Sirius." Remus licked his lips, glancing past Aegis at the other Marauders who were waiting by the door to the classroom. "Never mind," Aegis sighed before Remus could say anything. "I do not think I really wish to know, or that it would benefit me to know."

"I—I don't know what you mean."

Aegis lowered his arm, a half-smile on his face. "Of course. Come on, Muggle Studies is about to begin."

X

Remus didn't tell his friends about what happened in Arithmancy, although they soon found out since Cassie took Arithmancy and had witnessed everything. She told Sirius who burst into rage during lunch, practically scrambling over the table to Remus, demanding to know if it was the truth. He reluctantly confirmed it was, indeed, the truth, and then had to seize Sirius's arm to stop him from going to war right there in the Great Hall.

"It doesn't matter, it's over," he hissed, yanking Sirius back down to a sitting position. "All the Slytherins agreed it couldn't have happened that way, because the Slytherin common room is so secure."

"How secure is it?" Lily asked, listening in to all of this.

"We've never been in," James lied easily. "I don't think you can even go through the entrance unless you've been Sorted there. It's unfortunately very secure." Lily stared at him for several seconds, eyes narrowed. James put on a brilliant smile. "If we could get into the dorms, don't you think we'd be doing something to Snivellus every weekend? Besides, we'd be seen. How could we manage? From what I've heard the portraits in the Slytherin common room are all too happy to be snitches. Especially since half of them are related to Sirius, and know he's a Gryffindor."

"I suppose that is true," Lily agreed. "I've heard the same. About them snitching, I mean, not the… Black thing."

"It wasn't right for Mulciber to attack you," Sirius said, not dropping that subject.

"I am fine," Remus promised, realizing only then he was still holding onto Sirius's arm. He quickly let go, hoping he wasn't blushing. Also hoping Lily hadn't noticed. "It's over. I don't want to stir up any tr—any more trouble. Please. We have other things to worry about anyway."

"Like what?" Pete asked.

The end-of-term prank. "The exams coming up," Remus said, which caused every single one of them to groan loudly. Cassie even threw a piece of bread at him. "What? We don't have much time—"

"It's a month away," said James.

"Eighteen days," Remus argued. "Eighteen days, that's all, and then—"

"And then we'll worry about it then," James said, patting Remus's hand. "Don't get yourself into a big ol' bubbling cauldron full of panic there, Remy. Even Red doesn't look panicked."

Lily gave a shrug. "They're not as frightening as the end-of-year exams."

Remus frowned. "Our—our grades on the end-of-term exams still matter. They effect our final grades."

"Did we have trouble last December?"

He pressed his lips together tightly. "No, but—"

"Our first December?"

"That isn't—"

"No," she said for him. "I agree they are important. But this year I am going to try to take a more… relaxed approach to them. Getting myself worked up doesn't do me any good."

"Didja hear that?" Sirius put his arm around Remus, yanking him in too close. "Getting yourself worked up doesn't do you any good."

"Getting yourself hexed doesn't do you any good either," Remus grumbled as he wriggled free. "Very well, I shan't mention the exams coming up with only a little over two weeks to prepare for them on top of all the other assignments we have to—"

"Good," James interrupted, cheerfully stabbing a piece of fish and stuffing it into his mouth. "Cauv if foo oo I mi' gommid."

Remus wasn't sure what James said, nor did he particularly care, so he simply nodded and returned to his own meal, panicking silently over how little time he had before the exams and hoping that things wouldn't escalate with the Slytherins.

X

Peter and Remus were questioned by Slughorn later that day. Both boys told him they had no idea what Mulciber and Avery were talking about, they didn't fight with them the night before. Slughorn asked Peter why he missed Photography club and Remus spoke up, saying he had been helping Peter study. Slughorn thanked them and sent them on their way. Believing them.

Peter let out a relieved sigh as soon as they were down the hall, while Remus scratched at his wrist under his sleeve. He felt sick for lying to a Professor's face, especially while he still felt conflicted about the whole thing due to the Alixan versus Blackwell incident. He felt hypocritical, and awful. McGonagall had just praised him for being a good person and doing the right thing, then he turned around and did the exact thing he had snitched on!

Why did he let his friends convince him? Why did he give in? He shouldn't have. Except if he didn't, they might get upset. Plus he did owe them, he always owed them, he would forever owe them for all the love and friendship! Not that that was what friendship was about but still.

At least he'd see Miss Fawley in a few days and perhaps she'd be able to help him with his dilemma.

X

Remus had nightmares that night, of Alixan finding out he was the 'traitor' and putting the Burning Pimple hex on him. He tossed and turned, waking up with a faint gasp and panting for air as he touched his face to make sure there weren't literal eruptions. He hadn't been loud enough to wake Sirius, thankfully. After a moment or two he tossed his blanket aside and got out of bed, putting his slippers on and going down to the common room to pace around to try to relieve some of the pressure on his soul.

He liked causing mischief and pulling pranks! And if he had to be completely honest with himself, he wasn't really that fussed about getting Mulciber and Avery in trouble. Some of the things James and Sirius did were too much and maybe he should speak up about it, but he didn't want to risk losing their friendship or being left out.

He stood in front of a window, arms wrapped around himself as he watched the snow fall.

Because of being up so late, he was the only one who wasn't surprised to see it snowing in the morning. There was at least an inch or two on the ground, and after History the Marauders went outside. They had put their gloves and hats in their bags, though didn't have anything extra on other than their uniform so it didn't take long for them to get cold as they lobbed snowballs at one another and pushed each other down hills.

They trooped into Defense Against the Dark Arts freezing cold and soaking wet, but very red-cheeked and bright-eyed. Remus was in the middle of peeling off his gloves when Sirius nudged him. He glanced up and Sirius gave a very slight nod towards the front of the room, his smile stiff now. Remus followed his gaze and it felt like a punch to the gut to see WEREWOLVES written on the blackboard. He quickly looked back down at his hands, having a harder time removing his gloves now.

"My hands are so cold," he said, giving a fake laugh, saying it for the benefit of anyone who could see his hands shaking. Get control, deep breath, it's fine.

Sirius seized his hands, squeezing. "I'll warm them up for you," he teased.

Remus rolled his eyes, trying to get his hands away even though he didn't want to. Sirius's hands were somehow very, very warm and it felt so very, very nice. Finally, his hands got free and he sat down.

"Oh!" Peter squeaked when he sat down and saw the blackboard. His eyes went huge. "That—"

"Hey, Petey," James said, leaning towards him. "Do you still have my gold quill?"

"Your—your what?" Peter asked, still staring at the blackboard.

James poked him, rather hard. "My gold quill, the one you borrowed last night? The one I asked you to be careful with? I was going to write a letter home today and I like using it."

Peter finally looked at James, frowning. "I know. It's, um, in our dorm. I wasn't going to just—err—I was careful. With it. I wasn't going to—"

James gave him a look. "It's fine, I just wanted to make sure."

Peter gave Remus a brief glance before turning back to his desk, his head down. "Sorry."

The air felt full of electricity. The hairs on the back of Remus's neck were standing up as he got his Defense books out and arranged them on his desk, followed by a notebook and quill. He managed to get his hands to stop shaking so much at least. Please don't let any of them say anything, he thought, crossing his legs at the ankles and squeezing a bit to try to keep himself steady. But he did jump a little when a note landed on his desk.

I wasnt going to say anything I promiss I realy wasnt

I know you would never do anything like that, Remus wrote back and then, like any other note that might somehow incriminate him, he swiped ink across Peter's words to get rid of them. He knew there could be a million reasons why Pete wrote that note however he was too paranoid, and always made sure to get rid of anything the Marauders sent him that came too close to his secret just in case.

All too soon Charlemagne was taking register and beginning class. First he went over some of the things they learned in the previous lesson, talking a little about some of the answers given on the essay that had been turned in on Wednesday that a lot of people got wrong. Then he said, "Werewolves."

Remus glanced up, keeping his face passive but also glancing to the side to check on his friends. James and Sirius were both doodling instead of taking notes like usual, while Peter was a little pale but watching Charlemagne.

"Can anyone tell me what they are?" Charlemagne asked and several hands shot up. Remus put his hand up simply because he knew it would look extremely strange if he didn't. He knew Charlemagne wouldn't call on him and sure enough, he called on Twycross.

Twycross lowered her hand, looking smug. "Werewolves are a different species who look like humans and who turn into a wolf when the moon is full. The wolf looks a little different than most wolves. They're bigger and more violent. They are very dangerous beasts who can rip a person apart in seconds. If you somehow survive being bitten by one—which isn't very likely since they'll most likely maul you to pieces and eat you—then you'll become one too."

Remus tightened his grip on his quill.

"More or less correct," Charlemagne said. "They—"

"That is correct," Twycross said.

Charlemagne raised his eyebrows. "Werewolves are not, ah, not a different species of human, is what I was going to say. They are humans who are cursed."

"But they're not really human," Twycross pressed. "They're beasts. The Ministry classifies them as beasts. Right?"

Charlemagne tugged at his beard. "Yes. That is true. They are classified as beasts. However no one is born a werewolf. They are all humans who have been bitten."

Remus wondered how true that was. Wondered if girl werewolves ever had babies and if so… were they afflicted with the curse as well? It wasn't something he thought much about before, and made a mental note to ask Fawley sometime if he could.

Charlemagne went on to explain the differences between a regular wolf and a werewolf in wolf form, putting pictures up on the wall to point things out: the size, the snout, the tail, the eyes. He talked about how powerful spells were needed to knock werewolves back as they were extremely strong in wolf form and could even tear through some metals as if it was nothing.

"They're strong in human form too," Twycross said. "They're brutes in human form."

Remus stilled, reminding himself to stay calm over and over. His knuckles were going a little white from clutching his quill and he tried to loosen his grip.

"They're horrible even as so-called humans," Twycross went on, as if she were in charge of the class. "They don't even know right from wrong."

James, Sirius, and Peter were all tensing up and Remus 'accidentally' knocked his quill over so he could bend down to get it, shooting Sirius a look as he did since he knew out of all of them Sirius would be the most likely one to lose his temper.

"And why do you say that?" Charlemagne asked.

Twycross looked surprised. "It's obvious, isn't it? Half the books on werewolves say the same thing. They're just… inhuman. Beasts, like we said earlier. There's a whole unit at the Ministry to find and capture werewolves. The Werewolf Capture Unit. If they weren't monsters, why would that exist?" She gave her desk a thump, triumphantly smug. Remus wanted to hex her simply for that look she was giving everyone.

Charlemagne steepled his fingers, dark eyes on Twycross. "I am not saying you are right or wrong. There are many beliefs about werewolves. Many rumors. Many myths. Many truths. How one person will see a werewolf is not the same way another will see one."

Remus stared at his teacher, trying to convey with his eyes not to get into that. Not to even risk it. He wanted everyone to be told werewolves were simply people but for his own safety that couldn't happen!

Charlemagne didn't even look at him. "Some people will see werewolves as monstrous beasts while others will see something that can live somewhat freely among us. That is what the Werewolf Register is for. There are werewolves who exist in society that do not go around mauling and eating everyone they see. They must be closely watched and monitored, however they are not an immediate danger. Unless you are saying that the Ministry is wrong for that?"

Twycross looked stony. "Actually, I do. I know exactly what werewolves are capable of."

"And how do you know that?"

"My father is a member of the Werewolf Capture Unit," she said and Remus felt all the oxygen leaving his body, hoping he wasn't going as white as he felt. "He's told me stories. Everyone here knows that my boggart turns into a werewolf. That's because I know what they were. Monsters. They're monsters and they shouldn't be allowed to be in society. They are a danger."

"Oh, shut up," Sirius snarled and all the heads swiveled to him. He looked a little surprised, apparently not meaning to speak out.

"Sirius? Is there something you wish to add?" Charlemagne asked.

Sirius gave a smile. "Everyone knows the real danger about werewolves is—" What is he doing, what is he doing, what in Merlin's name is he DOING?! "—the fact nobody can see them. That's why they're called where-wolves, isn't it?" He bust up laughing at his own joke and James laughed too. A few others giggled, while Twycross looked furious and Charlemagne rolled his eyes, though did look a little amused.

"Thank you for that essential and crucial addition to my lesson."

The lesson then continued, Charlemagne talking about various rumors about what werewolves were like. He never confirmed any of them, and never pressed the subject about werewolves being part of society. When one of the Hufflepuffs asked about it, Charlemagne simply said that they needed to trust the Ministry workers, and that they were doing their best to keep everyone safe.

"What if a werewolf isn't on the registry?" Yardley asked.

"Then they are found and either sent to a reservation or else executed," Charlemagne replied easily. "That is what the Capture Unit is for."

He also skirted around what werewolves actually looked like in human form, instead reading from books that mostly described them as being, like Twycross claimed, big brutes. Talking about how it was easy to see they weren't as human. He never mentioned how sick they looked or how exhausted they seemed, or how small and sad and lonely they could be.

He assigned them a small essay on the comparisons between wolves and werewolves in wolf form as well as to list out the best spells to use in an emergency, then dismissed class.

"I should hex her," James muttered as Twycross passed them.

"Don't," Remus said with a tired sigh.

James looked angry, starting to say something until Sirius dragged all of them to a nearby bathroom. "How could you stand that?" he asked after making sure the loo was empty. "I just wanted to slug her! And Charlemagne! Doesn't he know? I thought he knew! You said—"

"He does," Remus replied calmly, or trying to be calm. He still felt buzzy and uncomfortable, and wanted to claw at his skin until the feeling went away. "He's doing what his job requires."

Sirius kicked at one of the sinks. "I wanted to slug him too."

"He said you need to be monitored," Peter said, eyes huge. "He said—"

"I know, it's—it's fine." Remus leaned against the wall, rubbing his forehead.

"How can it be?" James demanded. "And Twycross calling you a monster—"

"It's what most people believe and you know it." He slid down to the ground, too tired to even stand. "That's what the books teach. That we don't have any humanity. We've gone over this, you know this, you said you knew this!" All three just looked at him. He pushed his fringe back, wishing they'd stop. "I knew this was coming, all right? This lesson. What he did in there was very good."

That certainly stopped them. All three mouths were hanging open.

"WHAT?!" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Good?!" James shook his head. "He was a wanker!"

"He let Twycross say those things!" added Peter furiously. "He said awful things!"

"Yes, and he didn't explain the signs of lycanthropy in human form," he snapped back. "It's not in the curriculum, but he could have easily gone over it. Disappearing around the full moon, exhaustion before and after, sickly looking, basically look at Remus Lupin and write that down and—and—and—and—and—"

James reached out, taking Remus's hand as a few tears slid down his cheeks. "You're right," James said softly. "We weren't thinking."

Sirius pushed James aside so he could hug Remus. "I'm sorry," he breathed into Remus's hair. James and Peter joined the hug, all four of them clinging to each other. The hug was nice even though it felt terrible on his skin; he had dived right into being in a no-touch mood, but didn't want to ruin the moment. He decided to keep it to himself even after they finished the hug.

"I did like the pun though," he told Sirius after he got his breath back. "Where-wolves."

Sirius hesitated, then grinned, punching Remus's shoulder gently.