Five Maladies of Remus J Lupin

by Bedraggled Atelier 2

AU At 15, I had only four concerns (my lycanthropy being the obvious first). That is, until Sirius Black approached me at Platform 9 and 3/4. We've met at St. Mungo's during the summer, he said. Imagine if a pureblood knew my secret? SLASH Wolfstar SBRL

11. Chapter 11

As per usual, I was sitting on my bed with my knees drawn up, finishing readings for my extra classes. Cornish pixies, I read, were blue in color, about 8 inches tall, and wingless with shrill voices. They had a penchant for kidnapping witches and wizards.

"Why are you absent so often?" Peter wondered aloud, interrupting my reading.

"Er…" I stammered, unprepared for the question. My pulse raced from the sudden inquiry.

"You've been ill, haven't you?" James said rather quickly.

My eyes flicked towards James at the far side of the room. Sirius, in the bed beside me, was turned away from me, appearing to be fast asleep. "Yes, I've been ill most of my life," I said. "It's the reason I started Hogwarts late."

I hoped that was a good enough excuse to satisfy Peter's curiosity. It wasn't entirely a lie either.

"What do you have?" Peter continued.

"Well…" I began and then paused. "I…"

I was at a lost. My pulse raced again.

"Give it a rest!" Sirius mumbled. "He probably doesn't want to talk about it."

"Yes," I nodded, relieved to be given a way out of the questionings. "I'm sorry, Peter, but it's a rather private matter. I prefer not to speak about it."