While I strived to avoid my roommates, particularly a Black family heir, Sirius made his presence known whenever he could. While I was hunched over one evening by the Common Room's fireplace, searching for the answer to a Charms essay in the assigned readings, I felt a shadow over me. Sirius Black was leaning against the back of the chair while looking over my shoulders. His friend James had strolled over and leaned over my reading, skimming the passages.
"Think I remember this," said James.
"You should be reading up on the Skurge Charm," Black suggested, his dark hair coming down in waves.
"I didn't ask for your help," I wanted to say. Instead, I muttered a thank you, trying not to engage with him more than I needed to or anger him, lest he decided then to expose my lycanthropy.
Our interactions continued like that, if not punctuated mostly by long silences and tension, whereby I sought to distract myself from his gaze in any way I could, with him offering me unsolicited tips now and then for homework. It reminded me just how much catching up I had to do before I could take my OWLs and NEWTs.
I knew I wouldn't be able to take my OWLs this year with the rest of the fifth years, but I wasn't entirely sure when I was expected to take them. So, I approached Professor McGonagall one day after Charms class.
"You'll take them both your final year," she said, clasping her hands together.
I wasn't looking forward to preparing for two comprehensive exams in one year.
"Along with the seventh years then?" I assumed.
"If that's how long your studies take you," she replied promptly. With a flick of her wand, a parchment floated out from a bureau and landed on her desk. After glancing over the sheet of parchment, she resumed, "I see you've already made some progress in your work. With the exception of Potions, I'm sure you'll be ready by then."
Of course, it was Potions.
By October, the leaves had begun to take on a dark orange hue, and the floating candles had been replaced by levitating Jack O' Lanterns. The chill of the season had me wishing I had worn sweaters underneath the robes this morning or at least a warmer robe. It was made chillier by the deceased Professor Binns gliding through a line of students on his way towards the front of the class to begin lecturing on magical history. As he swept past me, I felt my body run cold again.
History of Magic was one of the classes I took with other fifth years, having read innumerable textbooks in anticipation of my time at Hogwarts. It was one of the many classes with no assigned seats, with the exception of House-based seating. Yet somehow that day, I found myself sitting beside my roommates.
I had arrived early to class and taken a seat near the entrance when Sirius Black had come bounding in with his friend James, out of breath as if they were running late. Except they weren't late at all.
Sirius spotted me in the back and his grin widened, giving off a look akin to the Cheshire cat.
"Remus, mind if we sit here?" Sirius asked, still out of breath.
I picked up my sachet and moved down the row, leaving behind two empty seats. By now, I was less concerned with him exposing me for being a werewolf. If that was his intention to begin with, he would have already done it. And he had promised me at the beginning of the year that he wouldn't tell anyone. But I knew that the closer I got to him, the more conditional his promise could become. One moment, he could promise to keep my secret to himself. The next, he could reveal it to hundreds of Hogwarts students, should I misstep.
The lesson that day was on the Goblin Rebellion of 1752, which led to the resignation of Minister for Magic Albert Boot, followed by his successor Basil Flack when the werewolves had joined the uprising. I stiffened when werewolves were mentioned, unconsciously glancing at Sirius Black, who raised his eyebrows.
At the end of class, I hastily gathered my scrolls and prepared to leave for the next lesson.
"Did you like the lesson, Remus?" Sirius stretched in his seat. "A bit boring. Don't you think?"
"No," I said, standing up. "I quite liked it."
Truth to be told, the lesson even mentioning werewolves bothered me. Being sure not to make eye contact with my classmates, lest I gave away my secret, I left the auditorium in a hurry.