All of his life, James Potter had gotten what he wanted. Never had someone uttered the two letter word that is so beneficial for children to hear on occasions, ‘no’. He had gone through his first ten years of life without a care.
Some might call him spoilt, and they would probably be correct, though there was a complexity to James that even he was not fully aware of, and would not be until much later.

James had developed as any little boy should, showing healthy amounts of interest in athletic activities as well as learning things. It was clear very early on that despite his slightly small and skinny build, he would be an excellent candidate for Quidditch. He took to a broomstick easily and never ceased to enjoy impressing visitors with his tricks. Nor was his brain lacking. He was a quick learner, and always seemed to be asking questions.

Now, all this was wonderful, but what of his character? One would expect a child as pampered as he was to grow up haughty and indifferent to others. In the case of James, there was no doubt that he had, as some would call it, ‘a head similar to a hot air balloon’. However, James was not oblivious to other people’s pain, and he had a sensitivity about him that could only be hindered by his arrogance. Neither his conceit or his thoughtful streak was challenged at home, and it was not until he started school at age eleven that he would have any cause to consider them at all.
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Sirius Black had always been rambunctious. As a baby, he was always fussing, -as a young child, he was always talking out of turn. His mother was consistently badgering him to not do this, or to keep out of that. The situation was really out of his hands, however. No matter how hard he tried, he simply could not keep from being curious, loud, stubborn, or fidgety.

Though he was the eldest son, and thus had the largest bedroom, as well as the first and best of everything else by default, he was not the most loved. For as long as he could remember, he had been told how much smarter, how much sweeter, and how much better behaved his younger brother, Regulus, was. This hurt him more than he would let on, and he began to resent his family from an early age, pushing them away with as much ferocity as they pushed him.

When his letter from Hogwarts came, he became excited. He had no desire to make his family proud; that had faded at an early age. He wanted to rebel-- something he was good at. He wanted them to see how clever he was, but be unable to claim him. It was finally his turn to show them, and he had no intention of passing it up.
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If one were to pass by a certain house on the edge of a forest, and look through the trees, they would see a stream, most likely with the figure of a small boy beside it. Remus Lupin was a quiet boy, one who was apt to shut down or become passive, even cold, when upset. The traumas he had experienced had taught him that it did little good to convey feelings to others. They would not be able to help, and it would upset them needlessly. Even he, however, could not always keep himself in check, and the clearing in the woods was his only place to be alone.

He had never had friends, and he knew very little about what it would be like to have them. They didn’t live near anyone, and Remus declined all opportunities to interact with his parent’s friends children. He knew they would not like him. Even if he kept his lycanthropy a secret, he had convinced himself he was a rather dull and unlikeable person, and nobody would want to be around him anyways.

On the contrary, Remus was a very sweet, sensitive child, and he longed, desperately, for human companionship. However, he also had an unusual amount of self-control for a boy his age, and he would not leave himself open to it. He had been hurt too many times before; he couldn’t bear for it to happen again. Nevertheless, when he had been admitted to Hogwarts, against all odds, he could not help hoping that perhaps he would find a friend. That hope was something new to him, and he treasured it those last few months before the start of term.
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Peter Pettigrew was a short, rather chubby boy. His mother always told him he took after his father, who, when Peter was two, had run off with a pair of South American seers and an Arabian witch to search for the world’s hidden treasures. What exactly they were, Peter’s mother always said, she didn’t know. Apparently they had been unsuccessful, since Mr. Pettigrew never returned home laden with jewels as he had promised he would. Peter never gave up hope, though.

His father’s escapades gave Peter a sense of adventure that far outweighed his actual courage level. It is doubtful he would have truly found fighting a centaur enjoyable. He certainly did not really want to ride on a Muggle aeroplane. He fancied he did, however, and since nobody was there to challenge his bravery, he was quite full of it.

Being his mother’s pride and joy, he had almost not been allowed to go to school. She had wanted to teach him at home, but Hogwarts was an adventure Peter could not bear to pass up. She had relented eventually, and Peter began to prepare himself for what would surely be the most exciting thing that ever happened to him.
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Sirius had been waiting for the Sorting eagerly. He wanted to break the family tradition. Meeting James Potter had only made his resolve firmer. He was determined to be in a house other than Slytherin.

So, when he was called early on to be sorted (he was briefly grateful for the fact that his last name began with a ‘B’), he nearly ran to the stool. The hat began to speak almost as soon as he touched it to his head.

“A difficult choice, very difficult. You come from the Black family, which would point you towards Slytherin.”

Not Slytherin, please, anything but that, he thought.

“Oh! A rebel, I see. Plenty of courage and loyalty, that’ll be Gryffindor. Bright, though, very intelligent…Well, I think I’ve made my choice. GRYFFINDOR!”

Sirius didn’t see his cousin’s reactions from the Slytherin table. He was too busy delighting in the fact that he had actually done it. He had shown them all.
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Upon reaching the castle, Remus grew nervous. His parents had informed him of how you got sorted. His father had been in Ravenclaw and his mother in Hufflepuff. He didn’t know what house he would be in. He wasn’t sure if any of the houses would want him. He watched as many others were sorted, first the A’s and B’s, going through the E’s and F’s, and finally to the J’s and K’s. He was coming up. Sure enough, Professor McGonagall called his name. He went to the seat in the front of the room. The hat nearly fell over his eyes.

“Hmm….-you aren’t going to be easy, are you? You have a thirst for knowledge. There’s also a good deal of kindness and a willingness to work for the things you want. Certainly there is bravery, though there is also great discretion and insecurity. Do you have any ideas?”

I…I don’t know. My dad probably wants me to be a Ravenclaw.

“What do you want?”

Does that matter?

“More than anything else. However, I think I have it. You would fit well in several houses, but I think your best bet is GRYFFINDOR!”

Remus was shocked. He had never thought he would be a Gryffindor. It wasn’t until he sat down that he realized that was really what he had wanted all along.
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.
“Pettigrew, Peter.”

Peter shuffled over to the stool and placed the hat on his head, his hands shaking.

“Ah…another interesting mind. Not too much intellect, but a nature that yearns for adventure. You’ll want Gryffindor, I suppose?”

If it’s all right with you. I mean, if you think I’d be good enough.

“Being good enough has nothing to do with it. You have a desire to be brave, there’s no denying that. There’s a spark there, and it can easily grow, given the chance. But I wonder if you’re willing to give in to that chance.”

Oh, I am. Peter squeezed his eyes shut tightly, as if doing so would make the thought come through more clearly.

“Very well. If you truly want to be brave, then there’s really only one place for you, isn’t there? GRYFFINDOR!”

Peter’s heart swelled with pride as he made his way to the Gryffindor table.
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James had been sorted rather easily. The Sorting Hat had not said a word to him other than the loud “GRYFFINDOR!” that the whole school had heard. He had eaten with Sirius. They were getting along splendidly and James knew he had found a good friend in Sirius Black.

After the feast, James and the other newly initiated Gryffindors were led to their Common Room. As they settled into their dormitory, James looked around at the boys he would sharing a room with for the next seven years.

There was, of course, Sirius, who slept in the bed next to his. Next to him on the other side was a short, rather lumpy boy. On the other end was a pale, tired looking boy whose light brown hair fell into his eyes, almost as if to hide his face. Neither of them had identified themselves.

James watched as Sirius asked the small boy his name.

“Peter Pettigrew,” was the timid reply.

Having gotten the desired response, Sirius then turned to the other boy, who was writing on a piece of parchment. He didn’t notice Sirius sit on the edge of his bed and stare at him until Sirius gave a loud “Hey!” causing the sickly boy to jump.

“What’s your name?”

“Remus Lupin.” The boy’s voice shook slightly, though his face betrayed little emotion.

“What are you doing?” He ripped the piece of parchment out of Remus’ hands and began to read it.

“Dear Mother,
The train ride was fine. I got sorted into Gryffindor, which I didn’t expect. I hope Dad’s all right with that, I know he wanted me to be a Ravenclaw. The feast was delicious, but not as good as-”

He stopped and looked at Remus. “That’s all it says. Why do you need to write to your mum so bad?”

Remus stared at Sirius for a moment before answering. James didn’t know how Sirius could stand it. There was something in his eyes that was unnerving and intense, though his voice never changed its calm, steady tone. “Can I just have my letter back?”

Sirius handed the paper to him, grinning mischievously. “Fine, go on writing to your mum. I’m sure she’s worried about you. You’ve probably never been away from home before, have you? Always been close to your mummy and daddy, right?”

Remus glared at Sirius before returning to his letter. Sirius’s smiled faltered; he seemed upset at this lack of response. With a graceful turn of his head, he was staring back at the others.

“Well, I guess we should get some sleep. We’ll all sit together at breakfast tomorrow. Well, maybe Mummy’s Boy here won’t.”

Remus looked up. He didn’t say anything, but James watched him look down once more, his head dipping even closer to the parchment. His quill was shaking, and eventually he set it down, giving his head a small shake. He looked at the letter for a long while before picking his quill up again. This time, his hand was quite steady, though his other hand occasionally clenched and unclenched, almost convulsively. He didn’t look at anything beyond his parchment.

James felt something tighten in his stomach and chest. He didn’t know what exactly was making him feel so tense and worried, but he knew it had to do with Remus. While Sirius was engaged in a conversation with Peter, he walked over to the boy’s bed.

“Hey,” he said. “How’s your letter going?”

Remus didn’t look up. “Are you trying to be funny? Because you’re not.”

“No, I’m not. Actually, I’m supposed to be writing to my mum as well. I guess I probably should, she’ll worry if I don’t.”

Remus nodded. James didn’t know what to say; he still wasn’t looking up from his letter.

“You can sit with us tomorrow, if you want. Sirius is just kidding. It’s just that his mother isn’t very nice, I guess.”

Remus finally looked up. He stared at James for several seconds before responding. “Thanks, but you don't have to sit with me if you don't want to.”

“Trust me, if I didn’t like you, you’d know it. So, will you sit with us?”

Remus hesitated, looking at the others. “Yes. I’ll sit with you. Thanks for asking me.” And with that, he turned back to his parchment, leaving James somewhat bewildered. He wasn't sure when he had ever met such a strange boy before.
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James refrained from telling Sirius about inviting Remus to sit with them until they had gone to the Great Hall for breakfast, deciding to wait until they were seated.

“You know the boy in our dorm? Lupin? I asked him to sit with us.”

“What?” Sirius stopped in the middle of grabbing a piece of sausage. “What do you want with him? He’s obviously a loser.”

“Not anymore than that Pettigrew bloke.”

Sirius sighed. “Fine, be nice to him. I’m not talking to him, though, and you can’t make me.”

James grabbed his friend’s arm. “Sirius, would you please be nice to him? I think….I think something’s wrong with him. He looks so sick and sad. You don’t have to talk to him much, but would you please not make fun of him?”

Sirius didn’t respond. When Remus came down shortly after Peter, he hovered awkwardly over the table before James offered him a seat.

Sirius was horrified when he realized James had sat Remus down next to him. He turned and glared at him. James had been right; the boy was most certainly sad. He was biting his lip fiercely, almost drawing blood. His eyes were flickering nervously from person to person. Sirius didn’t know why he said what he did, but it came out regardless.

“I don’t know who you think you are, but I think I made it clear that I don’t like you. Are you so pathetic that you can’t find any friends to sit with?”

Remus stood up from the table, looking at the floor. He opened his mouth, but Sirius was quicker.

“Going to cry to Mummy? Some Gryffindor you turned out to be.”

Remus’s eyes widened. Sirius expected him to say something, but he didn’t. He only turned on his heel and walked out of the Great Hall. Though he didn’t run, there was an urgency to his step. Not once did he look back, and soon his slight figure had disappeared. In an instant, Sirius felt sickened by what he had said. James was shouting at him, but he couldn’t hear. He knew what he had said was wrong. It had been cruel. Worse, it had been something his cousin Bellatrix would say, something his mother would do. He didn’t want to be like them.

What if it was inevitable? What if, whatever house he was in, he turned out like them? It was, after all, in his blood.

“- asked you not to, and you did it anyways!” James voice was coming back into focus.

Sirius turned to look James. No. He wouldn’t let this happen. He had just found an amazing friend in James and he wasn’t going to lose him because of this. He wasn’t going to let his family be right.

He sprinted out of the Great Hall, ignoring James’s protests. He nearly got lost several times before finally reaching the common room, breathless and panting. Remus wasn’t there, but there was still the dormitory. Sirius clambered up the stairs, still out of breath. Sure enough, Remus was there, lying on his bed. His face was in his pillow and his shoulders were shaking. Sirius wondered if he would make it worse by announcing his presence; he knew personally that crying was not something a boy wanted to be caught doing.

He didn’t have to choose though; Remus looked up. He groaned when he saw who it was. Wiping his eyes, he turned away. Sirius went towards the bed, not sure exactly what he should say. He sat down on the bed and was about to say something when Remus’ head whipped around. His gaze was furious.

“What do you want? What could you possibly say that would make me feel worse? Don’t you have anything better to do?”

Besides the obvious anger behind his words, there was a slight tremor, one that Sirius would have given anything not to hear. He had finally broken the boy, and he didn’t know if it was within his power to put him back together.

“I- listen- I’m sorry.”

“I’m sure you are.”

“No, really. See, it’s just that I- I shouldn’t have said those things to you.”

Remus didn’t miss a beat. “Why not? They’re true. I don't belong in Gryffindor, and I don't know why the Sorting Hat put me here. I'm not brave at all.”

Sirius was taken aback. “No….no that’s not true. Even if it was, how would I know that? I don’t know anything about you. And it was horrible of me. I really am sorry.”

Remus sat up, unwilling to look Sirius in the eye, and Sirius felt a wave of sympathy for his classmate. If only he would say something, he thought. The silence became unbearable, and Sirius forced himself to speak.

“If you want, you can come back and sit with us. You didn’t eat anything yet.”

Remus looked up at him, hesitant. For the first time, Sirius saw fear in his eyes. He didn’t trust Sirius at all. Perhaps he never would. But Sirius knew he couldn’t just leave him there.

“Come on,” he said. “James will kill me if I don’t come back with you.”

Remus followed Sirius back to the Great Hall, hovering behind him like a lost dog. Sirius saw James staring with his mouth open at them. Ignoring him, Sirius sat down, motioning for Remus to do the same. The two were civil to each other, but nothing more. Sirius still wasn’t sure if he liked Remus or not. He didn’t seem to find anything he said funny, as James and Peter did. He didn’t talk much, either.

When Transfiguration started, their first class of the day, they were partnered up. Peter had asked to be with James. Sirius protested slightly, until James motioned to Remus, who was still standing behind them.

Sirius turned to Remus. “Do you want to be my partner?”

Remus looked about the room before answering. “Sure.”

At first, things weren’t going any better between them than before. Then Sirius made his matchstick, which they were supposed to be turning into needles, set on fire. It had been entirely on accident, but McGonagall had scolded him all the same. Remus had not laughed, or even smiled. He had only looked at Sirius.

“Good job,” he said dryly.

Without looking at his face, Sirius might have thought he was being genuine. While his mouth was set in a straight line, his eyes were sparkling. Sirius let out a laugh, and Remus smiled. It suited his face well. From that moment on, Sirius didn’t dare consider Remus dull. He had a wit about him that, while far less obvious than Sirius’s own, was entertaining. By the end of class, they were getting along well; by the end of the day, they were laughing together as though that morning had never happened.
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That night, Remus pulled out his book for some reading before bed. Sirius ripped the book out of his hands.

“So, are we friends, Lupin?”

Before Remus could answer, James spoke up. “I think we’re all friends now, aren’t we?”

Remus nodded. Though his demeanour was calm, inside he was delighted. He had finally gotten what he wanted. He had friends. He had started the day off hopeful, then miserable, and now he couldn’t be happier. He smiled and reached for his book, which Sirius handed back to him.

“Go on and read your book, Lupin. I know how important it is to you.”

By his smile, though, Remus knew he was kidding. They were indeed friends, though perhaps they were destined to clash more than any of the others. Such would be the nature of their friendship, but neither of them cared much. Certainly Remus didn’t. He had friends, and thus far, no enemies. He went to bed, eager for the new day. He had no way of knowing what was in store for him and his newly found friends.

The faint sunlight shining through the curtains woke James early the next morning. He sat up, eager to start a new day. Beside him, Sirius was stirring. He half opened his eyes, groaned, and shoved his face into his pillow. Both Peter and Remus were still as could be. Frank was already sitting up, reading a book. Hearing James, he looked up.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” James said. “What time is it?”

“About seven.”

“Potions is at nine, isn’t it?”

Frank frowned. “Yeah, it is. You might want to wake them up pretty soon.”

James got out of bed and crept over to his trunk. As he got dressed, he saw Sirius turn his head. Smiling faintly, he rolled over onto his back.

“Well,” he whispered. “I guess I should get up now.”

“Probably.”

In a series of motions that looked remarkably like a drunken man, he got himself out of bed. Grinning, he walked over to Peter’s bed.

“Watch this.” He leaned close to his ear and motioned for James to be silent. Waiting a few breaths, he finally sucked in his breath and let out a shout straight into Peter’s ear. The noise was enough to get Peter to scream and fall off the bed. Sirius and James began to laugh hysterically.

Frank looked as though he was trying not to laugh. James turned to Remus’ bed, and realized he was still fast asleep.

“Hey, Remus is still sleeping. Try him, Sirius.”

Hardly able to contain his laughter, Sirius knelt down next to Remus’ sleeping form. Sucking in his breath, he let out an obnoxious, “HEY!” Remus’ eyes fluttered open, but he didn’t jump at all.

“Yes?”

Seeing the shocked look on Sirius’ face, Remus sat up.

“What is it? What happened?”

James burst out laughing again. Remus looked at everyone, still confused.

“It’s all right, Lupin,” Sirius stood up. “Just trying to wake you up is all. Making sure you weren’t dead. Your face is so bloody pale it’s hard to tell the difference.”
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Remus had been the quickest to get ready, and he had gone down to the Common Room to wait for the others. He had hoped it would be early enough where he would get some quiet, but several first year girls were also there, giggling and talking as girls were prone to do. He went to the armchair closest to the fireplace. It was the farthest place away from them. He had a headache, and he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Even if he had felt well, he had had little interaction with females, and they intimidated him more than he would have liked to admit.

The girls must not have taken his hints, for three of them sat down on the couch next to him. One was slender and had deep red hair and green eyes. Another was somewhat plain looking, but had a fair smile. The last girl was the shortest and was a little plump, though it suited her well. Remus smiled at them, but didn’t say anything.
The red haired girl spoke first.

“Hi”

Remus managed a soft reply and then looked down. The plain girl laughed, and he felt himself blushing.

“What’s your name?” The girl with the red hair was not going to let him get away with his silence. “I’m Lily Evans.”

“Remus Lupin.” He still wasn’t looking at any of them. He hated himself for being so nervous, but he couldn’t help it.

She smiled softly. “You’re shy, aren’t you?”

“I…I guess.”

“Well, this is Mary,” she gestured to the plain girl, “and this is Alice.” The short girl waved at him.

“Hello.” This time he hazarded a gaze upward, and found his head staying there. None of them seemed to be annoyed by him. They would have left by now if they hated me, he thought.

“So, do you want to go to breakfast with us?”

“I’m waiting for people.”

No sooner had he said it then Sirius and James came sprinting down the stairs, carrying Peter’s trousers between them. They slammed into the couch, and fell over it onto the horrified laps of the three girls. Peter came down a few seconds later, panting, wearing only his shirt and underwear.

“They….give me my pants….Remus…do something…..Sirius….stole…my…”

Alice and Mary began to laugh once they realized what was going on. Sirius and James sat up and dusted themselves off.

“We are very sorry, ladies,” Sirius gave a mock bow. “We did not mean to infringe upon your sitting space.”

“Oh, you are just so funny, aren’t you?”

It was then that Remus realized that Lily wasn’t laughing. She was glaring at the two boys.

“Give him back his pants.”

James looked at Sirius and they both snickered.

“Listen…Evans, was that your name? It was what normal people like to call a joke.”

Sirius laughed. “Yeah, but James, you can’t expect everyone to know what it means. My mother, for instance, has no idea what it is. Maybe she needs a lesson. So, first we will start off with the spelling. J, that’s first, very important, don’t forget it. The O, that’s the vowel, makes it a word. Now we’ve got to JO, and-“

“Oh, shut up!” Lily stood up and got into Sirius’ face. “You are an obnoxious pig, Black. You and Potter think you’re all that, and you aren’t! You are just a couple of bullies with nothing better to do than sit and make fun of other people!”
She stormed out of the room, leaving a brief silence that was broken by Sirius.

“Well, that was rude.”
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James heard Sirius, but he didn’t laugh. He watched the two other girls walk out of the room after Lily, looking somewhat reluctant to do so, but he didn’t care. Peter, who had finally retrieved his pants, was complaining loudly to all who would listen, but he blocked it out.

Sirius waved his hand in front of James’ face. “Hello?”

James started and pushed his glasses up. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. So, should we go down to breakfast now?”

“I-sure.”

Of course they had to go down to breakfast. That was where she was. She was beautiful. She was clever. She was everything he ever wanted. She hated him.

Great, he thought. My first real crush is a girl that can’t stand the sight of me. He had no intention of changing however. He was, after all, only eleven. A girl, however attractive she may be, was no reason to give up having a laugh for.

When she saw him, she rolled her eyes and turned away. They sat on the other end of the table, but James couldn’t help but look at her every once in a while. She ignored his glances, but he knew she felt them.

“Hey,” Sirius nudged him. “You done? We had better get going. Potions starts in forty-five minutes, and I have no idea where the dungeons are.”

Lily was already standing up and leaving, some of the girls following her. She glared at him as she passed, and James, not knowing why, shouted after her.

“Hey! Evans!”

She turned around, doubtful.

“You know, you’d be much cuter if you didn’t spend so much time with your face screwed up like that.”

Her face reddened and she turned on her heel so quick James was worried the floor might set on fire. Laughing, he turned around. Sirius was staring at him.

“Now… did you just say that it is possible for her to be cute?”

“I didn’t-“
Sirius’ face lit up. “You fancy her, don’t you? You like Lily Evans. I can’t believe it.”

“I do not-“

“Yes you do. But never mind, let’s get to Potions. Evans will be there, you know.”
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Peter, who was still embarrassed in regard to the stolen pants incident that morning, trailed just behind the other four boys. He was glad they let him stand around them, but he wasn’t sure if he was an official part of the group. He wanted them to like him more than anything, and he would do anything for them. If that meant letting James and Sirius kidnap his pants on a regular basis, he didn’t mind.

Upon reaching the Potions classroom, they found that the desks were in rows of three. Sirius motioned for James and Remus to sit with him. Peter went with Frank, who sat at an empty table. By the time class started, a Slytherin girl had sat in the previously empty seat. She was attractive, but she said nothing to either of the boys, pulling out her book and quill.

At the start of class, a short, rather fat, man with an enormous moustache that made him resemble a walrus entered the room. He looked like a friendly sort of person, and his wide smile reassured Peter, who was more than a bit nervous about the class.

“Hello, all. I see most of you have already found seats that I am sure suit you well. However, Professor Dumbledore has asked the staff to please encourage cooperation between the houses, so I am going to have to split some of you up. I already have a seating chart, so if you would all stand up…”

The students all stood up, some less willingly than others. The teacher beamed.

“Well, I see some familiar faces already, but we will get to that later. I must introduce myself first. I am Professor Slughorn, and I have been working here for many years. You may have heard of me. I could never stand fame myself, of course, but I have a talent of seeing potential in others. So, work hard, and if you catch my eye, when the time comes, I will be more than happy to recommend you to a higher authority. I have an excellent relationship with many influential wizards and witches in the community. Of course, I am also Head of Slytherin, a title I hold near and dear to my heart. I am the Potions Master as well, which would be why I am standing here talking to you. Now, let me get you all seated and we will begin our lesson.”

He picked up a roll of parchment, cleared his throat, and began to read off names. He ignored many of them, hardly even looking up from his parchment to give them a seat. When he reached Sirius, however, he glanced up.

“Ah, Sirius Black. I wondered about you. I was sure I was going to get you in my house, but I suppose that isn’t going to happen now. Decided to rebel, eh?”

Sirius didn’t answer. It was clear he didn’t like Professor Slughorn. He was put in the front of the room; something that Slughorn made clear by his expression was an honor. Slughorn stopped several times to comment on names that were familiar to him. Many of them were Slytherins, though Frank’s family was apparently influential in the Ministry. He too was put in the front.

“Remus Lupin.” Slughorn paused. He looked up and his eyes flickered across the room until they landed on Remus.
“Ah. Yes. Mr. Lupin. You can, er, sit in the back with Miss Evans.”

He watched Remus take his seat and shook his head as if trying to clear it before continuing. When he called Peter, he was placed in the back, at the table next to Remus’. Sitting next to him were two large and terrifying looking Slytherin boys. Peter tried not to make eye contact with either of them, instead focusing on the rest of the names being called. When Slughorn was finally finished, he clapped his hands together, causing the tables to fill with supplies.

“I would like you to open your books to page five. There you will find the Boil-Cure Potion. By the end of class, I hope that each individual will have a full cauldron of useable potion. However, this being your first class, I will be grading lightly, and effort is all I am really looking for today. Of course, if you are a good potion brewer, I encourage you not to hold back.”

Opening his book, Peter felt his insides turn over and his chest clench. He had no idea what half of the ingredients were, let alone how to put them together to form a potion. The two boys next to him had started to work already, but Peter knew it wouldn’t do any good to ask them. He turned and looked at Remus, who was also frowning. He looked up at Peter, his eyes wide.

“How do I do this?”

Peter shook his head. “I don’t know. I-I’ve never tried to make a potion before.”

Remus looked back at the book, his eyes scanning the page as if hoping for some sort of revelation that would make him capable of brewing the potion. He looked back up and his look was enough to tell Peter that the second glance had not helped. Peter was partially relieved. At least Remus, who seemed smart, didn’t know how to start either. On the other hand, he now had nobody to help him, and he would have much rather have gotten it right with Remus than to have them both get it wrong.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sirius and James were already starting, working together to complete their potions. Sirius had done some potion making at home, though none of it had been exactly allowed. James had no experience, but he was keeping up well.

“So, do we put the quills in after we stir, or before? Does it matter?”

James looked up from his potion, which, like Sirius’ was a bubbling, blue liquid. “I think it does…hold on…it says five stirs to the left….after the porcupine quills.”

“Alright then,” Sirius said, pulling his cauldron off the fire. “Here, let me see some of those.”

James was a step behind, and was still struggling to crush the dried nettles. Sirius took a handful of them, and began to help.

James looked up. “Thanks.”

Sirius smiled. “It’s fine. I have to wait a minute before adding the quills anyways. You have to let it cool, or it will backfire.”

Sirius had never had a friend like James before. He had gotten along with other children, of course, and had never been lacking in playmates. He had never had a friend, though, that he could help, or that would be willing to help him. It had always been about playing Exploding Snap and then going home. He had never really cared about another person before. James problems would mean something to him, though, he realized. It was a new, but certainly not unpleasant, feeling.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
After Remus had sat for fifteen long minutes staring at his cauldron, Lily finally had nudged him.

“You need some help?”

“Yes,” he said, not even attempting to disguise his desperation. “I have no idea what to do…”

“There are directions on the page.” The voice had come from Lily’s other side. A boy almost as pale as Remus had spoken, his thin face surrounded by thick, greasy, black hair. His black eyes were boring into Remus’ very soul, it seemed, and it was clear he saw nothing good there.

“I know that,” Remus said. “I’m just not sure how exactly to do half the things.”

Lily turned to the boy. “Sev, stop it. I didn’t know what to do either, until you helped me, and you didn’t make fun of me.”
The boy turned back to his potion wordlessly. Lily leaned over towards Remus.

“See, what you have to do is turn the heat on like this…”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“Why does she like him?”

Sirius looked at James. “Who likes who?”

“Evans. Why does she like Remus so much?”

James had been observing the interactions between Remus and Lily for several minutes, and had grown exceedingly jealous.

Sirius shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s nice, I guess.”

“I could be nice, if I wanted to be.”

Sirius laughed. “I guess it’s because you don’t want to be.”

James ran his fingers through his messy hair. “Well, if she wants to hate me, fine. I’m not changing for her. She’ll just have to get over it.”

Sirius shook his head. “You know what, James? I think we should just get back to the assignment. You’re starting to annoy me. I honestly don’t care about her.”

James looked at his friend before replying. “Oh, yeah. She’s stupid. I’ll get over it. It’s just that she’s so-“

“All right, James, I get it.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“Are you completely incapable of doing anything on your own?”

The boy who was sitting with Lily was once again criticizing Remus’ less than impressive potion making abilities. Lily had introduced him as Severus Snape, and he had turned out to be the least pleasant person that Remus had ever been around. He was a natural at potions, and expected everyone else to be the same way. Already done with his potion, he had begun to spend the rest of the class period harassing an already overwhelmed Remus. Lily had gone over to show Slughorn her potion, and had been at his desk for a while, chatting with the Professor. She had no way of knowing that Severus had been terrorizing Remus the entire time.

“So, are you as incompetent in every class, or is it just Potions?”

“Could you leave me alone please? I just want to finish this.”

“Oh, that’s never going to happen the way you’re doing it, I promise you. Just give up now; you’ve already ruined it beyond repair.” He looked delighted about this, and prodded Remus’ cauldron with his wand for emphasis.

“You could have helped me.” Remus was beginning to get angry, and was relieved when Professor Slughorn returned to the table with Lily.

“Well, what do you have here, Mr. Snape? Ah, excellent! Almost a perfect replica. Nearly as good as Miss Evans. Now, erm, Mr. Lupin. Can I see-?”

Remus didn’t look up, embarrassed not only by his potion, but by the obvious discomfort his being werewolf was causing Slughorn. He had almost forgot about his condition, but Slughorn’s stiff gestures and nervous tone of voice when addressing him reminded him that he was not normal, no matter how much he might pretend to be.

“Well, you certainly tried…not nearly good enough, though, I’m afraid.”

Severus smirked from behind Slughorn’s back at Remus. He longed to punch him in his gigantic nose, but Remus held back. He couldn’t let himself be bothered by someone who would sink so low.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
When Peter had joined the rest of the boys after class, he had been pleased to find out that although his potion had failed miserably, Remus’ had been worse. He knew it was wrong to feel that way, but he couldn’t help it. Remus had already established himself as being competent in Charms yesterday; he wouldn’t suffer much from being the worst potioneer.

“So, we have Defense Against the Dark Arts next.” Sirius turned a corner ahead of the others. “I think it’s this way.”

They reached the classroom early, and took their seats next to each other in the third row. Frank had already decided to sit down with several of the females in the class, who he had begun to be quite friendly towards.
Seated at the front of the classroom behind a desk was a tall, thin man. He looked to be in his late thirties, and his posture revealed him to be a strict man, but not entirely without humor. When the class had all seated themselves, he stood up, his long fingers intertwining in front of him.

“Good morning, I am Professor Calhan. This year, you will be learning the principles and basic concepts of Defense Against the Dark Arts. This class will not be overly difficult, though I do expect you to put forth effort. Once we get through all I need to teach you, I will be taking requests, so think about what sort of things interest you, and when spring starts, we may be able to learn about it. This class should be fun for you, and I try to make things as interesting as possible.”

He smiled broadly at the class, and picked up a clipboard off his desk. “Let me just call roll.”

Peter liked Professor Calhan already. He seemed like a friendly teacher who might be willing to help him more than others would be. He turned to Remus.

“I like him.”

Remus nodded. “So do I.”

“Lupin?”

Remus looked up. “Here.”

“Lupin, I want you to sit right here.” Professor Calhan, without looking up from his paper, pointed to the desk that was in the first row in the very center.

“I-“

Professor Calhan looked up, and Peter was shocked to see that his eyes were cold. “Lupin, I want you up here, are you going to argue with me?”

“N-No, sir.”

Remus’ face had turned red, and as he picked up his bag and sat down in the seat Calhan had motioned to, Peter felt sorry for him. He didn’t know why the teacher hated Remus so much. He looked over at James and Sirius, who were both exchanging furious looks. Sirius spoke up.

“Why does he have to sit up there?”

Professor Calhan looked up and stared at Sirius. “I want him to, Mr. Black.”

“Can I go up there, then?”

“No.”

Sirius turned to James and Peter. “What do you think he has against Remus?”

“I don’t know.” James shrugged. “Maybe his parents have a bad reputation, or something.”

Sirius shook his head. “No, it can’t be something that stupid. I mean, there isn’t any good reason to be like that, but it has to be something better than that.”

“It can’t be anything Remus did to him personally, though. Slughorn didn’t seem to like him either, remember?”

Peter wasn’t sure if he should say anything, if his comment would only be stating the obvious, but he forced himself to speak.

“Maybe Remus isn’t telling us something.”

Remus wasn’t sure what he was going to do. The full moon was quickly approaching, and he knew he had to make up some excuse for his friends. He had no idea what to tell them, however, and it wasn’t until Sirius asked him, the day preceding the full moon, what they should do that weekend that he brought it up at all.

“I can’t do anything; I’ll be gone.”

Sirius frowned. “Gone? Where?”

“I- my mum is sick.”

At first it seemed the perfect excuse. Then Sirius told James and Peter, and they asked all sorts of questions Remus didn’t have an answer to.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t really know.”

“You don’t even know what’s wrong with your own mum?”

“I mean…the healers don’t know either. Nobody’s really sure. I know it’s something to do with her….with her…skin.”

“Her skin?” James blinked. “What do you mean her skin? Is there a rash or something?”

“Maybe he doesn’t want to talk about it,” Peter said quietly. “I’m sure she’ll be alright, Remus.”

Remus almost sighed with relief. “Yeah, I’d rather not talk about her right now, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, sure,” James said. “We didn’t mean to…you know. I get it. My mum’s getting on a bit, and she sometimes gets real sick too. I wouldn’t want everyone asking questions about her.”

“It’s fine.” Remus now felt guilty. James’ mother actually had health troubles, and here he was, using his mother as an excuse to hide his own illness. He knew it wasn’t right, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t tell them the truth.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

James was still trying to get Lily Evans to pay attention to him. He had failed miserably each time. That is to say, she had indeed noticed him, but her attentions had never been positive. James couldn’t count how many times she had told him he had a large head, or indeed, how many different ways she had come up with to say it.

“A hairy pig’s bladder bursting with hot air is my favorite,” Sirius said as they sat down for breakfast that morning.

“I quite like grotesque bobble-head myself,” Remus replied.

“Shut up,” James said, hitting Sirius only half jokingly. Though he would never admit it, Evans’ scorn hurt him. Accustomed to getting everything he wanted, her refusal to even speak civilly to him was a huge blow to his ego. Of course, James did nothing to help the situation. Not without trying of course, but he failed to realize that what the girl really wanted was for him to let his pride take a backseat for once.

“Hey, you know what we could do this weekend, Sirius? We could play a prank on Snape. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. We could lure him out of his dorm at night, and then get him lost in the castle. He’d get into so much trouble, it would be hilarious.”

Sirius smiled, but then wrinkled his brow. “Won’t we get into trouble, though, if he tells the teacher’s we did it?”

“He won’t know it’s us, that’s the thing.”

“How will we manage that?”

James frowned. “Haven’t figured that part out yet. That’s your job, mate.”

“Give me till the end of the day, and I’ll have something,” Sirius said, grinning and looking at the Slytherin table where a sulking Snape was picking at a plate of eggs.

“What’ll I do?” Peter had half a sausage in his mouth, and shook the other half in his hand while saying this.

“Oh, I’ll come up with something for you to do, Peter, don’t worry,” Sirius said, raising his eyebrows. He turned and winked at James, who couldn’t help but laugh. He liked Peter well enough, but he was useless. He and Sirius were often teasing him for his slow wit and clumsy ways. He had no way of knowing that Peter was far more perceptive than he, Sirius, or even Remus gave him credit for.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Peter had some idea of what the others thought of him. He knew they thought he was an idiot, but he didn’t care too much, as long as he had a spot in the group. For a while he had thought Frank Longbottom would take his place, but Frank had never connected with the others the same way Peter had. He was awkward and stupid, but he had an innocent nature that the other boys had liked.

Of course, it did hurt Peter when James or Sirius called him a name or teased him about his performance in class. He was willing to put up with it as long as he had the group. He needed them, and they all knew it. Besides, it wasn’t as though they tormented him. Most of the time Sirius and James treated him like a friend. Even when they poked fun at him, he knew it wasn’t vicious. Nevertheless, he was determined not to mess up whatever job Sirius gave him for their prank. A little more respect was something Peter would do anything to get.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
At six o’clock Remus went to Madam Pomfrey’s office as he had been instructed to do. She was waiting for him in the front of the Hospital Wing, and upon seeing him began to briskly walk towards the Entrance Hall, motioning him to follow. Without saying a word to him, she walked out of the castle and made her way towards what Remus had been told was the Whomping Willow. When she had reached the tree, she took a stick and prodded a knob on the tree, causing its previously flailing branches to lie still. Remus caught sight of a small hole at the base of the tree. She turned to Remus and finally spoke.

“Now, you’ll go into that tunnel and keep going until you reach the house. When you get into the room, you’ll wait there until morning. I’ll get the tree moving again, which will keep anyone from getting in, or you from getting out. I’ll be back in the morning to help you, all right?”

Remus noticed her face looked worried. She reached her hand out and put it on his shoulder, not saying anything. She smiled softly. Stepping back, she motioned towards the hole.

“Go on,” she said. “It’ll be all right.”

He crouched down and entered the tunnel, his heart racing as he made his way down it. It wouldn’t be long now, he could feel it. His hands and feet were trembling. He quickened his pace, his eyes searching for the end of the tunnel. When he came to it, he stepped into the room, looking around. The place actually had furniture, though it looked as though it hadn’t been used in many years. Remus sat down on the floor, waiting for the moon to rise.

He didn’t have to wait long. Soon he felt the burning sensation that started in his arms and legs and then spread to his torso and, finally, his head. His bones snapped one by one, reforming themselves in an unnatural position, tearing his skin and muscles with their new positions. They would grow back in a matter of seconds, however, along with fur. All of it was painful, but by far the worst part was the transformation of his brain, which always happened last. Just as his claws had finished forming, he would feel an intense pain in his head that then would course through his spine outwards to his extremities. His heart would race, his new body would writhe in agony, and then….he wasn’t. It was forgetting that frightened Remus most. Up until that one moment, he could bear the pain; he was used to it. But how could one ever get used to losing their memories, their morals, themselves, every month?

It happened again, however, as he knew it would. With that forgetting came a new identity. One had to be something. So he became a monster. That monster only wanted one thing: human flesh. It clawed at the walls, hoping to find some trace of human activity, a scent, anything. It ran out through the tunnel, but halted at the entrance, seeing the wild branches of the tree. Besides, it didn’t need to go any further. It had smelled something. A human had been here. A child. Following the scent back into the shack, wondering why it hadn’t smelled it before, the wolf once again searched the room. Again, nothing. It wasn’t possible. If they had come this way, they had to be here. Then, as always, the wolf would catch on that the scent was coming from its own fur. It would claw to get at the scent, tearing its own limbs to get to the warm blood and tender meat it so desperately needed. Of course, the beast didn’t do this without suffering a great deal of pain. It would scream in a way that sounded unnervingly like a human.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sirius had come up with a perfect plan to get Snape out of his dormitory. After Remus had left, the three remaining boys had gathered in the bedroom to discuss the plan. Sirius was quite proud of it, and he couldn’t wait to put it into motion. The other boys agreed, and everything was set up for the next day.

As they were going to sleep, Sirius sat up, hearing a noise. He got out of bed and shook James awake. James sat up, rubbing his eyes.

“What?”

“Did you hear that? Someone’s screaming.”

James didn’t say anything, listening intently. He looked up at Sirius after a few seconds.

“You’re crazy,” he said, lying back down.

“I’m telling you, James! I heard something.”

“There is nobody screaming, Sirius. Just go back to sleep.”

Sirius went back to his bed. “I heard it,” he said. “Just wait, it’ll do it again.”

“Sure,” James said, his voice muffled.

Not two minutes later, Sirius was vindicated. James’ head shot up. He looked at Sirius, who had also sat up at the sound.

“I told you,” Sirius said, gloating.

“It’s coming from outside,” James said, his brow furrowed. “Do you think it could be something from the Forbidden Forest?”

Sirius’ eyes widened. “Probably. God, I bet it’s the coolest thing ever! Only dangerous things live in there.”

“Yeah. Hey, maybe when Remus gets back, we could go in there.”

“Yeah, unless his mum dies or something.”

“Do you think she might?”

Sirius shrugged. “I don’t know. But if she’s sick enough for Remus to have to go home to see her, it must be bad.”

James shook his head. “Let’s not talk about it.”

“All right, then. I’m going to go to sleep now, okay?”

In truth, Sirius didn’t fall asleep for a long while. Though James’ theory about the sound being some sort of creature in the forest had sounded good at the time, he couldn’t help but think it was too human to be that. Then the conversation about Remus and his mother had also upset him. He had never loved his mother. All of his friends seemed to have good mothers that they loved, and that cared for them in return. Remus had gone home to see his when she was sick. He knew he wouldn’t have done that for his own mother. What was wrong with him? For the first time in his life, he wondered if his relationship with his family was his fault. Clearly he was supposed to love his mother. Maybe if I had just listened when she scolded me, she’d love me, and then I’d love her back. Maybe that was how mothers worked. He couldn’t bear to think that it was his own fault, and even after he had fallen asleep, his mind was uneasy.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Remus groaned. He opened his eyes slowly, taking in his surroundings. Every part of him ached, and he couldn’t move at all. He breathed in deeply, trying to flex his fingers. He couldn’t. Closing his eyes and trying to keep from crying, he waited, praying that Madam Pomfrey would come quickly. Despite himself, tears leaked out of his eyes, mingling with the still wet blood he could feel on his face. As the minutes passed, the pain became more acute. He heard footsteps and voices, but he couldn’t respond. He cried out as someone tried to lift him up. Water hit his lips, and he finally forced his eyes to open again. The room spun, and he couldn’t make out anything. He looked down and, his eyes focusing, saw his leg, or rather, what was left of it. The bone was hanging out at the knee, and his foot was hanging on by a few strands of skin. He vomited, and then, feeling himself grow dizzy once again, blacked out.

He awoke in the Hospital Wing several hours later. His head still throbbed, but the pain had significantly lessened. He saw Madam Pomfrey at the edge of his bed, bandaging up his leg. She looked up and, seeing he was awake, smiled.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Remus said.

“You’ll be here all weekend, but I’m hoping you’ll be better by Monday. You’ll be limping for a few weeks, but other than that you should be fine. Now, get some rest. I’ll be back in a bit.”

She stood up and left. Remus, exhausted, fell back asleep in a matter of minutes, and wouldn’t wake until that evening.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The first part of Sirius’ plot involved provoking Snape that very morning. Sirius himself had taken the job of setting the plan in motion, and he walked over to the Slytherin table with a grin already spreading on his face. He walked behind Snape and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hello,” he said.

“What do you want, Black?”

“You know what I’m here for, Snivellus. I know it was you.”

“What are you talking about?” Snape turned his body completely around and stood up.

“You stole him.”

“Stole who?”

“You know what I’m talking about, Snape. Don’t act stupid. I know you were there last night. I told James not to hide it there, but he didn’t listen to me.”

“Hide what where?” Snape looked eager; Sirius smiled. It was working just as he wanted it to.

“You know very well what I’m talking about,” Sirius bent towards Snape’s ear. “I know you did it. Know how I know? Because you told Evans yesterday you’d been to the fifth corridor. Why would you go there; we don’t have any classes there. The only question I have is how did you find out about it? They’re really rare. You even knew to go there at night. If I didn’t hate you so much, I’d say it was brilliant.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about, Black,” Snape said, but he could hardly control the smile creeping across his face.

“Well, then, you have to the end of the day to figure it out.”
Without another word, Sirius walked away. He sat back down at the Gryffindor table.

“We’ve got him now.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was Peter’s job to complete the next part of the plan. He had been told by some obliging Ravenclaws how to get to the fifth corridor. There was an empty room there that Peter had to get to. Holding a small bunny, Peter opened the door to the unused closet. James had gotten the animal from Hagrid’s pumpkin patch that morning. James had already transfigured the animal to have a horrifying face, and, when it was provoked, it made a terrifying growling sound. It was harmless, but frightening to look at. Peter avoided looking at it as he put it in a bucket on the corner of the room. Covering it with a cloth, he closed the door carefully. If all went well, the rabbit would wake up at Snape’s arrival, attack him, and wake someone up. Peter laughed to himself as he went back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

“Did you do it?” Sirius and James were sitting by the fireplace, anxiously waiting his arrival.

“Yes,” Peter said.

“Did what?” Lily Evans looked up from her book across the room. “What stupid thing are you planning now, Potter?”

“Oh, nothing, Evans,” James grinned winningly at her. “We were talking about his homework. Poor Peter is terribly behind on his Transfiguration.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “As if you cared about school.”

James pretended to be offended. “Ah, now, Evans, that wasn’t very nice of you. I love learning.”

Lily glared at him, but said nothing. Shaking her head, she turned back to her book. Sirius looked at James, who shrugged.

“Maybe we should go upstairs,” Sirius said loudly in Lily’s direction. “So that people who insist upon being hostile to us cannot interfere with our discussion.”

Lily snorted. “Do whatever you want, Black. Just don’t bother me with your rubbish.”

“There you go again with the insults, Evans. Come on, James, Peter, let’s leave the nasty little girl alone.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The next morning they were all called to Dumbledore’s office. A scratched up Snape was sitting in a chair, seething, with Slughorn and McGonagall standing behind him. Thought James was still confident, part of him wanted to confess upon seeing Dumbledore. The man had inspired awe in James from the first time he had seen him. James very rarely had any respect for his elders, so this admiration was nothing to look over. Sitting down, he could barely make any eye contact with the headmaster. Luckily, Sirius seemed to be keeping his cool.

Dumbledore didn’t seem overly concerned, though both Slughorn and McGonagall looked upset about what had happened. He looked straight at Snape and began to speak.

“Now, Mr. Snape, could you please tell me what exactly happened?”

Snape glared at the three boys before speaking. “They were hiding something up there, Black told me. He accused me of stealing it, which I didn’t. So, I went there to look for what it was, and it attacked me.”

Dumbledore frowned. “Why didn’t you just tell a teacher, instead of looking for this thing yourself?”

Snape squirmed in his seat. “I just wanted to make sure they weren’t lying to make me look like an idiot.”

Dumbledore nodded. “Now, would one of you like to tell me what happened?” He looked at Sirius, James, and Peter. Sirius spoke up.

“Well, you see headmaster, I thought Snape had stolen my rabbit, Jackson. I was hiding him up there because Peter here is allergic to rabbit fur, and my mother wouldn’t keep it at our house. She says he stinks. And, for some reason, Snape hates me. So, I thought he had stolen it out of spite. It turns out he only ran away after all. I’m just glad he found his way home.”

“I don’t what you think a rabbit is supposed to look like, but that thing was no rabbit. It looked like the devil.” Snape retorted.

“He does not,” Sirius said. “He is adorable. Do you have him, Professor McGonagall?”

Professor McGonagall walked over to the corner of the room and picked up a cage with a cute, tiny bunny in it. It was nibbling at the bars of the cage gently.

“Jackson!” Sirius stood up. “Let me hold him, Professor. I’ll show you how gentle he is. Snape here probably just scared him.”

Sure enough, the rabbit sat in his arms calmly. Snape scowled.

“It didn’t look like that, Professor. They’ve done something to it or…something.”

“Yeah? What proof do you have of that?” Sirius pretended to look upset, but James knew he could barely contain his smile.

Snape didn’t say anything else, but slouched down in his seat. Sirius turned to the headmaster.

“May we go now, Professor Dumbledore? Obviously this was a misunderstanding.”

Dumbledore looked at the boys. James knew he sensed a plot. Sure enough, when Dumbledore spoke, he looked severely at Sirius.

“Now, regardless of whether or not you did anything wrong outright, you provoked Mr. Snape into thinking you did. Something tells me you did this purposefully, so each of you will receive a detention with Professor McGonagall, which she will schedule with you later. Mr. Snape, you were out of bed at night, breaking a very established rule. You will receive three detentions with Professor Slughorn. I will also take fifteen points from Slytherin. Be sure it does not happen again, any of you.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Can you believe he did that?” Sirius wasn’t so much upset about the detention as he was about his act not fooling Dumbledore.

James smiled. “It was worth it, though. He was humiliated.”

“Oh, yeah, that part was executed perfectly. I think we all deserve a pat on the back. Even Peter didn’t mess anything up.”

Even Peter laughed at the joke. “Next time, we’ll have to make sure Remus is there.”

“Speaking of Remus, when do you think he’ll get back?”

“I don’t know,” James said. “Hopefully soon, I want to tell him what happened.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

When Remus returned Monday, pale and limping, James was instantly worried.

“Bloody hell, Remus, I thought you said your mum was the sick one.”

“I’m fine,” Remus said. “I just fell down the stairs.”

“And they couldn’t fix it?”

“No,” Remus looked down. “I have…well, I heal differently. I don’t know why.”

“Is your whole family just a bunch of sickly people with mysterious illnesses?”

Remus didn’t say anything, and James didn’t press the subject any further. Slughorn went easy on Remus, but when they got to Professor Calhan’s class, James was horrified to see that the man still persisted on being cruel to Remus. His glares and snide comments did not go unnoticed by James, and when they left the class he pulled Remus aside.

“Why is he so mean to you?”

Remus shrugged. “I don’t know.”

James thought for a moment. “I’m glad you’re back, Remus. I wish you’d been there to see Snape’s face. It was hilarious.”

Remus smiled. “I bet it was.”

Months passed by, and the four boys became closer. As they began to form new pranks and plots, unspoken roles were assigned to each boy. James was the idea creator and Sirius made himself in charge of creating distractions, alibis, and various other types of manipulation and lying. Remus handled all the finer points of plans, such as what spells were required, where it should take place, and what route of escape they were going to use. With only Peter left, his jobs fell into the miscellaneous category, though they often were similar in theme. He put things in place, he was the bait, and he checked to see if everything was running smoothly. In short, he did all the things the others had no desire to do. In spite of this, he enjoyed it, as did all the others. Very rarely did they clash with each other, and when they did, one of them always reminded the others to get on task. This was often James, the unofficial leader of the group. He liked it this way, and none of the others challenged his authority. In this way, the four individuals became a group.

They had to part, however. The winter holidays were upon them, and all of them were going home to their families. James had proposed that they all come to his house, and they all said they would ask, but that would have to wait until after Christmas.

“My cousins will be there during Christmas, so maybe you can come at New Year’s,” James suggested. “I’ll ask my parents, owl you, and then you can ask yours if they say yes.”

“I’ll try, but I don’t know if mine will let me,” Sirius said glumly. “You know how they are. Then again, they hate me, so maybe they won’t want me around.”

James frowned. He had never been comfortable hearing Sirius complain about his family, but he supposed that not everyone had to love their parents. He turned to the others.

“Well, just ask, alright?”

They agreed that they would, and when they all departed to their respective families, they each hoped that they would be able to see each other before school started again.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Peter’s mother was waiting for him, and, as she always did, she fussed over him the whole way home, asking him so many questions that Peter’s head began to spin. She was delighted to hear that he had made friends, and, walking into the house, she suggested he invite them over.

“Actually, James was going to ask his parents if we could all come over to his house around New Year’s.”

Mrs. Pettigrew looked wary. “I don’t know…I’ve never met him or his parents before.”

“Mum, it’ll be fine. It will just be me and two other boys with them. His dad used to work for the Ministry.”

“Used to?”

“He’s getting old, James says. But he was high up…I can’t remember where exactly he worked, but James told me he was real important.”

His mother sighed. “What was his last name?”

“Potter. Mum, please let me go, I promise nothing will happen. I’ve never gotten to go anywhere before. Please?”

“Alright, if his parents say you can come, you may go.”

“Thanks Mum!” Peter ran up the stairs, not hearing his mother call after him:

“But when I drop you off there, I’m going to talk to his parents, okay, sweetie?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sirius had been picked up by his father, who didn’t say so much as a hello to him. They didn’t speak at all on the way home, but when they entered the house, Sirius dragging his trunk behind him, his father turned around abruptly.

“Your mother has a headache. Be quiet.”

“I didn’t make any noise.”

“Keep it that way. This house has been chaos-free for the last few months, and I will not have you disrupting it.” His father turned back around and walked away.

Sirius had the urge to stick his tongue out at his father’s back, but decided not too. Lugging his trunk up the stairs, he tried not to make a sound, not for his mother’s sake, but for his own. He knew she would throw a fit if he woke her, and he had no desire for a fight at the moment. He got up to his room easily enough, and distributed his belongings with no trouble. On the way down, however, he was stopped by his brother, Regulus, who was, in Sirius’ opinion, the most annoying nine year-old that had ever existed.

“Hi,” Regulus said rather loudly.

“Hello,” Sirius said. “Could you shut up? She’s sleeping.”

Sirius jerked his head in the direction of Mrs. Black’s bedroom.

“So?”

“So, if you don’t shut your fat mouth, she’ll wake up, and guess who will be in trouble? Me. So shut it.”

He pushed past his brother to get back down the stairs. He should have known better. Regulus let out a wail that far exceeded anything one would expect from such a small boy. Sirius contemplated running, and, hearing footsteps from both ends of the stairs, decided it was futile. His father beat his mother there, but only barely. He grabbed Sirius by the arm and shook him.

“What the hell is going on here?”

“I didn’t do it! He’s the one that screamed!”

Regulus, who had run to his mother’s side, whimpered. “He pushed me, Mama!”

“Did not!”

“You did too!” Regulus looked up at his mother pleadingly. “He did, Mama.”

His parents were both livid; Sirius couldn’t tell which one he should start trying to placate. His mother had just woken, and doted on Regulus. His father was largely disinterested. Sirius, already knowing he had lost, fought anyways.

“Father,” the word slipped awkwardly off of his tongue. “I didn’t hurt him. I just sort of…nudged him. He isn’t hurt at all; he just wants to get me into trouble.”

“You get into enough of that on your own,” Mrs. Black spoke, her voice as cold as Sirius remembered it. “Your brother has caused little to no trouble while you were away. You, on the other hand, are deceitful, selfish, and a bully. I was hoping some schooling would straighten you out, but not five minutes after entering this house, you have to cause another problem. I won’t have it, and neither will your father. Your cousins will be here tomorrow, and if you cannot behave appropriately, you will sit in your room.”

“So, if I get into trouble, I can’t see the rest of the family? Come here, Regulus, I want to punch you in the face.” This was the wrong thing to say. Mrs. Black stiffened.

“Go to your room now. You’ll be there all night. I don’t want to hear a sound. Do you hear me? Not. A. Sound.”

“What about dinner? You can’t starve me, you know.”

“We’ll have something brought up. Now go.”

Sirius didn’t argue any longer. For the rest of the year, he was resolved to behave himself. He couldn’t miss going to James’ house. His chances were already slim, and he couldn’t afford to make them any worse.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Perhaps out of all of the boys, Remus had missed his parents the most. When he got off the train, he searched eagerly for the faces of his parents. To his disappointment, he saw only his mother there. She was beaming, however, and they embraced warmly.

“I’ve missed you so much.” His mother kissed his head.

“I missed you too, Mum.”

He waited to ask where his father was until they got into the car. Having one set of Muggle grandparents on his mother’s side, Remus had grown up with at least a basic knowledge of Muggle appliances. His mother, though she had magic, had never been comfortable with wizarding transportation, and she drove a car whenever she had the excuse to.

“Where’s Dad?”

Mrs. Lupin took her time answering. When she finally spoke, her voice was tense.

“He found himself incapable of going anywhere today.”

Remus didn’t say anything after that. He knew what she meant. His father had been drinking for as long as Remus could remember. He was depressed, and although neither of his parents would ever dare to say it, Remus knew he had done it to his father. Ever since he contracted lycanthropy, Mr. Lupin had sunk into a deep state of depression, and though he had rallied several times, he failed to drag himself out of the pit each time.

When they reached the house, Remus entered quietly. His father was by no means a violent drunk, but what he did become was often times even worse. His mother followed behind him, her hand on his shoulder.

“He’s sleeping upstairs,” she explained. “Come into the kitchen, and we’ll talk.”

Remus nodded. He’d put his things away later. When he stepped into the kitchen, he stopped and smelled the air. Mrs. Lupin had just pulled out a pan of brownies, and was searching the cluttered drawers for a knife. She looked up.

“I made them for you. I know they’re your favorite.”

“Thanks, Mum.”

“So,” his mother said, cutting the brownies. “I haven’t even asked you about school yet. How is it going?”

“Great. I made friends.”

The knife halted in the middle of slicing. His mother turned around.

“You did? But you never said anything in your letters…Oh, Remus, sweetheart, I knew you would. I told you that you would, didn’t I? Oh, that’s wonderful. You’ll have to invite them over, I want to meet them. What are their names?”

Before Remus could answer, he heard footsteps. His father was standing in the doorway. Remus could tell he wasn’t drunk. He looked like he was just recovering from a hangover. He was tall man, with soft brown eyes and kind features. He smiled at Remus before looking accusingly at his wife.

“You didn’t tell me he was coming home today.”

Mrs. Lupin had turned back to her brownies. “I don’t think it is my responsibility to tell you when your own son is coming home.”

“You could have at least told me you got him. I haven’t seen him in months; you weren’t going to tell me he was home?”

His mother bit her lip. “You were asleep.”

Mr. Lupin opened his mouth to say something, but, catching Remus’ eye, his gaze softened. He sat down next to him.

“How are you, son?”

Remus tried to smile. He loved his father, but he couldn’t help but be angry with him. Before he could answer, his father embraced him. After a few seconds, he released him, searching him over.

“You’ve grown.”

“Have I?”

Mr. Lupin nodded. He tugged at his collar awkwardly before speaking.

“Remus, I’m sorry. I should have been there today.”

“It’s okay.” Remus looked down, uncomfortable.

“No, it isn’t. But you’re home now, and I’m glad. I’ve missed you so much, son, you know that?”

Remus nodded. His mother interrupted them with a plate full with brownies. She sat down, and, looking at her husband with a forced smile, said:

“Remus was just telling me about the friends he made, John.”

“Friends? Did he say anything about friends in his letters?”

“No, he didn’t.”

Remus began to wring his hands in his lap. “I didn’t want to get your hopes up. I mean, sometimes you can be friends with someone for a little bit, but they aren’t really your friends, they are more like…people you get on with. You know?”

It wasn’t a convincing excuse, and Remus knew it, but he couldn’t tell them the truth. He didn’t say it was really because he wanted his parents to be happy, to be united in their joy for his success. He wanted them to not argue for once. Then he could pretend he was normal, that he didn’t live in a family where the child was sickly, the father a drunk, and the parents eternally arguing. Right now, the Lupin family was more content then they had been in a long while, and Remus wanted that feeling to stay always.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

James wasted no time in asking his parents to let him invite his friends over. As soon as he had released himself from his mother’s grasp, he began speaking very rapidly.

“Mum, you know the friends I made at school? Well, I told them I’d ask you and Dad if they could come over after Christmas, maybe at New Year’s, after everyone leaves. Can they come? Please?”

Mr. Potter, a tall man with graying hair, laughed. “You’ve hardly gotten home, son. Just settle down, I’m sure we can arrange something, but we’ll talk about it later.”

“Alright,” James said reluctantly. He let the subject drop, knowing his parents would let them come. They had given him virtually everything he wanted, and he didn’t expect this to be any different.

Mrs. Potter led him into the kitchen. “I’m making treacle tart, your favorite.”

“Awesome!” He sat down at the table, anxious to tell his parents all about his Hogwarts experience. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed his parents until that very moment.

“So,” his father said, sitting himself next to him. “How’s school?”

“It’s great.”

“Classes okay?”

“Yeah, I guess. I like Transfiguration a lot. And Charms.”

“Your father was a Charms genius,” Mrs. Potter turned briefly from the stove.

James rolled his eyes. He had spent hours listening to his parents talk about their own adventures at Hogwarts, and he was sick of it. His father, seeing his expression, shook his head.

“All right, James, I get it. It’s your turn to finally talk about your time at school. Go on. Tell us about these friends of yours you are so anxious to bring over here.”

“Well, there’s Sirius Black, and-“

“Black? Is his father Orion Black?”

James shrugged. “How should I know? What does it matter?”

“He’s a Gryffindor, though?”

“Yeah.”

“Odd. Anyways, go on. How is he?”

“He’s really funny, and we get on great. Then there’s Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.”

“Lupin…never heard the name before. Where does his father work?”

“I don’t ask my friends these questions, Dad.”

“Well, I’m sure they are very nice boys,” Mrs. Potter sat down with her husband and son. “And I hope we will be able to meet them soon.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“If I have to go down and talk to them, I will kill myself.” Sirius was sitting stubbornly on his bed, looking at the ceiling.

Regulus smiled. “But they all are asking for you. And Mummy will be mad at you if you don’t.”

“You know why they want to see me? They want to yell at me again because I wasn’t in Slytherin. Just go down there and look cute and they’ll forget about me. Go on.”

Regulus practically pranced out of the room, eager to deliver the news of his brother’s disobedience to the family. It was the Black’s annual Christmas Eve dinner for the family, and while his cousins had been there for several days, most of the relatives were only just showing up now. Sirius had not desire to see any of them. A few minutes later, a young woman’s head peeked around the door.

“So, I heard you’d rather die than come talk to me. And I thought we were friends.”

The girl was only about seventeen. She had brown hair, and large, shining eyes. She sat down at the edge of the bed with her cousin.

“Hi, Andromeda. I didn’t mean you. You’re all right.”

“Well, thanks. You, know, you really should come down. It will be so dull if you aren’t down there. Besides, Uncle Alphard will be here soon. You like him, don’t you?”

Sirius sighed and stood up. “You had better stay with me.”

The rooms were filled with people, most of whom Sirius knew at least by sight. There was his Great-Aunt Cassiopeia, a woman who had always hated Sirius, his Grandfather Arcturus, who doted on Regulus and ignored Sirius’ very existence, and his Grandmother Irma, a fat and daft old woman who also despised her eldest grandson. By far the worst were his cousins and their parents, excepting Andromeda. The other two girls, sixteen year old Narcissa and nineteen year old Bellatrix, were the bane of Sirius’ existence. He got away with only seeing them a few times a year, but he could hardly stomach them then. At least Bellatrix avoided him, but Narcissa took pleasure in pestering him.

“Come on,” Andromeda led Sirius through the maze of people. “We can go into the yard; it isn’t so bad out there.”

They were stopped, however, by Narcissa, a thin, pale girl with long blonde hair. Behind her was Regulus, who was particularly fond of his cousin.

“Where are you going? Mummy said she wanted to see Sirius. Grandmama said so too.”

“I’ll see them at dinner.” Sirius tried to push her aside, but she shoved him back. They had long ago abandoned any pretense of being civil towards each other unless, of course, they were under the watchful eyes of their parents, who expected them all to get along splendidly.

“Stop it, Cissy. Just let us alone, alright? We’ll talk to them later; they’ll be here long enough.” Andromeda took Sirius’ arm and began to walk away.

Narcissa scowled. “Fine. Go off and be silly. See if I care.”

“I hate her, no offense,” Sirius said when they were safely away.

“None taken. If I were you, I’d hate her too. I already do some of the time.”

They sat outside. It was cold, but the air was clear and still, so they were fairly comfortable. A few people came and went, but they were alone most of the time. They talked about many things: school, friends, how miserable they both were, until Andromeda stopped talking for a moment, and stared into space.

“What’s the matter?”

“I’m trying to think if I should tell you something. It is really important, see, that nobody else finds out, but I have to tell someone. Might as well be you.”

“What is it?”

She sighed. “I’m in love.”

“That’s it?”

“No, you prat, just listen. His name is Ted Tonks. His parents are Muggles.”

“Oh.” Sirius knew now what the problem was. Her parents would never allow her to be with a Muggleborn. It wasn’t done in the Black family.

“We are planning on getting married after graduation. But you can’t tell anyone, understand? Nobody.”

Sirius nodded. “I get it. I won’t tell anybody, Andromeda, I promise.”

She grinned. “Well, we should see if Uncle Alphard’s here.”

They sprang up. Sirius was anxious to see his uncle. Although he was his mother’s brother, he was as unlike her as he could be. He, for one, liked Sirius. This was probably because he had a sense of humor, something much of the family lacked. While he still held many of the pureblood sentiments that the Black family was known for, he was much less concerned about the legal side of things, claiming that “people had the right to whatever they damn well pleased”. While others fought to ban marriages between Muggles and wizards, Uncle Alphard would simply shrug his shoulders.

“If they want to waste their magical blood, then I suppose we can’t do anything about it. I’ve got better things to do then worry about who’s getting married to who. Doesn’t matter to me any, and I don’t see what the fuss is.”

This didn’t make him the most popular in the family, but he had yet to do anything foolish enough to get him officially disowned, though Sirius knew his father in particular was waiting for the chance to blast him off their legendary family tapestry. He turned out to be in the dining room, where dinner was just beginning to be served. Seeing Sirius and Andromeda enter, Uncle Alphard motioned to two empty seats beside him.

“How are you?” He said as they sat down. “I haven’t seen you since last Christmas, Andromeda. My, but you’ve turned into a pretty young woman. And Sirius, I heard you’ve insulted the family. A Gryffindor! I’ll bet that’s got your mother’s blood boiling, eh?”

“Yeah, she’s upset.”

Alphard shrugged. “Ah, well. You got Gryffindor, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. There have been plenty of decent Gryffindors. Just because they don’t come from this family doesn’t mean anything. Dumbledore, for one. Now, I don’t pretend to agree with him on most things, but he is undeniably a great wizard. An occasional fool, perhaps, but a phenomenal wizard. Of course, nobody else here will admit to that, though they all know it’s true.”

Sirius knew his uncle was right, and he wished everyone else would see it that way. He had wanted to upset things by getting Gryffindor, but that didn’t mean he wanted everyone harassing him about it. He was glad when the evening was finally over, and he was permitted to go to bed. He had gone the entire day without any mishaps, and he was finally ready to tell his parents about the letter he had received from James the day before telling him that he was invited to spend New Year’s Eve at his house. He could only pray that they would say yes.

Sirius waited until dinner the next day to ask his parents. All of his relatives besides his cousins had gone, and the family was enjoying the leftovers from the night before. Sirius patiently waited for a lull in the conversation. When it finally came, he spoke up, speaking quickly so as not to be interrupted.

“Mother, can I go to James Potter’s house for New Years? He asked me, and I really want to go. I’ve behaved ever since I got home, and I promise that if you let me go, I’ll do anything.”

His mother frowned. “Your cousins will be here still. I don’t want you away from the family.”

“Potter, did you say?” Mr. Black straightened up. “I don’t want you over there.”

“But they’re pureblood.” Sirius tried to keep his voice level.

“Doesn’t matter. The Potters are not the sort of family I want you associating with.”

“Why not?”

“They don’t hold views that I believe are appropriate for you to be learning about.”

Sirius sucked in his breath, trying desperately not to get upset.

“Well, I won’t listen to them, then. Now that I know, I won’t take them seriously. Besides, why would they talk to me about…whatever you don’t want them to tell me about?”

Bellatrix rolled her eyes, scoffing. “Oh, please. You don’t think they’ll fall for that, do you? You’re just looking for an excuse to get involved with people like them.”

“I don’t even know what ‘people like them’ even means, so shut up!”

“Sirius!” Mrs. Black glared at her son. “You apologize to your cousin now.”

Sirius looked into his lap. “Sorry.” His voice was barely audible.

“Anyways,” Mr. Black looked pointedly at his son. “I do understand that it is necessary to make you understand that some people do not have the same values as us. Only this exposure will make you ready to resist them. Will anyone else be there?”

“Yeah. Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.”

“Pettigrew…I’ve heard the name before…where does his father work?”

“Does it really matter what his dad does? I promise I’ll behave myself, please let me go. It’s just for one night.”

His parents exchanged glances. Mrs. Black nodded.

“You may go as long as you behave yourself. That means no back talking, no harassing your little brother, and no messes.”

Sirius beamed. “I’ll just go and write James, then.” He jumped out of his seat, only to be stopped by his mother.

“Just one moment, Sirius. You haven’t been excused. Sit back down; we are eating dinner as a family. Family is the most important thing; without it we have nothing. You should be grateful. Not everyone has a family they can be proud of.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“John! You are going to be late! Do you just want me to take him?”

Remus was standing in the doorway of his house, waiting for his father. While his mother had originally planned to take him to James’, his father had offered to. However, now it seemed like his mother would take him after all.
His father poked his head out of the bedroom. “Don’t shout, Lisa. One minute, I need my shoes.”

“They are out here, John. You know, I would think that knowing you had something to do today would keep you from getting like this, but apparently taking your son to see his friends isn’t a good enough reason to lay off alcohol. Now he will be late! And you looking a mess too. I don’t know what they will think of us. But, of course, you don’t care.”

“I asked you not to shout,” Mr. Lupin picked his shoes up.

“I think I have a reason to shout. Remus has been looking forward to this, and you don’t even care. How do you think he feels?”

Remus opened the door and walked out to the car, not wanting to hear the rest of the argument. He sat in the front seat and waited for his father to come. He stared into the distance, trying not to be too angry with his father.
When his father finally came shuffling out of the house, they were fifteen minutes behind schedule. To top it off, Mr. Lupin was not as confident a driver as his wife. He had only learned to drive after meeting her, and being hung over did nothing to help the situation. The ride was silent; his parent’s argument had not put Mr. Lupin in a good mood. Remus could see that he was hurt. Sometimes he felt his mother was too hard on him. Then he would remember how much trouble his father’s drinking caused her, and he couldn’t blame her.

They pulled up to the house, a full twenty minutes late. Remus had known that James came from a wealthy family, but the house astonished him all the same. It was not only huge, it was beautiful. Remus pulled his bag out of the car and was about to walk up to the door when he heard his father’s door open. He looked back, alarmed. His father was getting out. His hair was disheveled and his face unshaven. Remus bit his lip. He wouldn’t come up to the door looking like that. He couldn’t. What would they say?

“I’m all right, Dad, really. You don’t need to-“

“I want to meet his parents. Your mother will want to know what they are like.”

“I can tell her.” Remus was now behind his father. “Dad, you can go home. I know you have a headache; you don’t have to stay here. I can do it on my-“

“Hey! He’s here! James, Peter, he’s here! Hey! Remus! Can you see me?! Up here!”

Remus looked up and saw Sirius waving from the upstairs window. Remus waved back, and Sirius’ head disappeared. A moment later, the three boys were out on the lawn, racing towards him.

“Blimey, Remus, you took your time.”

“Sorry I’m late,” Remus looked at the open doorway where his father was now standing and talking to who he assumed was James’ mother.

“It’s all right. Come on.”

Remus followed the others up to the house. They were stopped in the doorway by Mrs. Potter, a woman who Remus could tell was kind.

“Hello, dear. I’m glad you were able to come. Your father was just telling me you got a late start.”

“Well, we’re going to go now, Mum.” James started up the stairs, but Mrs. Potter stopped him.

“Remus hasn’t said goodbye to his father yet, James.” She looked at Mr. Lupin, laughing. “I don’t understand what it is about young boys, but they can’t sit still.”

“Remus has always been good at keeping still, actually. His mother and I are very lucky, I suppose.”

“Perhaps he'll have a good influence on James. He has the patience of a-"

"Mum!" James was clearly embarrassed by his mother's comments.

"Patience, James. Well, it was nice meeting you. I’m sorry you couldn’t meet my husband; he’s out right now getting some things for dinner.”

“It’s quite all right. Thank you for having Remus over.”

Remus thanked the heavens that at least his father was an intelligent and charismatic man. One wouldn’t think him a drunk. At the worst, the Potters would think he was a little careless with his hygiene.

“Well, I’m going. Goodbye, Remus. Your mother or I will be here in the morning to pick you up.”

Remus nodded. “See you.”

His father clapped him on the shoulder. “Have fun. I love you.”

Remus winced. “Love you,” he whispered. He just knew the others were snickering behind him. He waited for his father to leave before turning back to his friends. None of them seemed amused, but he didn’t feel any less embarrassed.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Peter turned to Remus as they climbed the stairs.

“Why were you late?”

“Oh, nothing. My dad lost track of time is all.”

“You’re lucky,” Peter frowned. “My mother got here with me early. She spent almost fifteen minutes talking to James’ mum about me. It was horrible.”

They reached the top of the stairs. James led them into his room, which was the first door on the right. The room was large and decorated with numerous Quidditch posters. A broom polishing kit resided in a corner of the room. There was also a small bookshelf and a large bed. James sat down on it.

“You can put your things there, Remus.” He pointed to a space beside the bed. “Did you bring something to sleep on?”

“Just a pillow.”

“That’s all right. We’ve got loads of blankets, and a couple of sleeping bags. Mum will get them later.”

He looked out the window.

“Still light outside. Hey, do you want to see my broom?”

James was not an intentional showoff, but he couldn’t help but brag about his possessions. The other boys didn’t mind, for James, while proud, was not greedy. He allowed even Peter to try his broom, which proved to be a disaster. Poor Peter found himself flying through the air and landing in a heap on the grass. Luckily, he was unhurt, though it was difficult to tell what stung more, his bottom or his pride.
At about six thirty, Mrs. Potter called them in for dinner. At this point, Mr. Potter had arrived home, and he greeted the boys with enthusiasm. During dinner, he asked questions of all of the boys, something that made Peter incredibly uncomfortable.

“What does your father do?”

“I…um…well…he doesn’t…I don’t know.”

Mr. Potter’s brow furrowed. “He’s alive, then?”

“I…think so.”

Mrs. Potter glared at her husband, and he coughed and turned to Remus.

“Now, I know my wife met your father. What does he do?”

Peter noted Remus’ hands, which he was wringing violently under the table.

“He’s…well, he did work for the Prophet. Not now, though.”

Mr. Potter nodded. “So, he doesn’t do anything now?”

Remus was looking at his lap. “No.”

Mr. Potter seemed about to say something when Mrs. Potter interrupted.

“I met Mr. Lupin this afternoon. He seemed like a very nice man.”

“I’m sure he is.” Mr. Potter smiled reassuringly at Remus, who looked paler than usual.

The food was delicious, and despite his many questions, Mr. Potter was a pleasant and engaging man. It was easy to tell that James was his son. Peter found himself growing more comfortable by the second, and by the time he was finished eating, Mr. Potter had become friends with all the boys. Even Remus seemed to have loosened up. Then his parents had said they wished to speak to James alone. Confused, Peter followed the others up to James’ room.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Mr. Potter sat down on the sofa, motioning his wife and son to sit as well. Looking at James, he spoke.

“I have to say, I’m surprised.”

James frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Your friends. They aren’t at all what I expected they would be.”

“Can we talk about this tomorrow after they leave?”

“Why not now?”

“I don’t know, Dad. Maybe because they are here now, and waiting for me.”

“I just think you should know what you are getting into, and to start thinking about it tonight. Friendships are connections, and who you choose to befriend can mean a lot for your future. None of those boys have anything to offer at all.”

“That doesn’t mean they aren’t nice boys, Charles.” Mrs. Potter grasped her husband’s shoulder. “I think they are all very sweet, very well mannered.”

“I’m not saying he can’t be their friend. All I am saying, James, is that they won’t contribute anything to you or your future. That Peter, he isn’t bright, and he never will be-“

“Charles!”

“It’s the truth!”

“Again, why are we having this conversation now?” James had stood up out of his seat. “I’m going to see my friends, Dad. We can talk tomorrow, if you want, but not now.”

He stormed out of the room, hoping that none of his friends ever found out what his father had just said about them. Whether it was true or not, he had not business saying it.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Remus wanted to go home. He knew they were talking about him. He felt sick to his stomach, and he knew a headache was coming on. Mr. Potter hadn't liked him after all. He sat away from the other boys, his head bent, his hair falling into his eyes.

Sirius and Peter talked for a while before they noticed Remus’ absence. Sirius asked him if he was okay. Remus had replied, somewhat sharply, that he was fine, and Sirius had turned back to Peter with a shrug. He had remained solitary until James returned, looking upset. Seeing Remus, he sat down next to him.

“You okay?”

Remus nodded, and then shook, his head. He felt too sick to speak.

“Are you sick?”

Remus nodded again, closing his eyes. James stood up, holding out his hand.

“Come on. We’ll go see my mum.”

Pulling Remus onto his feet, they went downstairs, James keeping a cautionary hand on his friend’s back. Mrs. Potter was in the kitchen, and she ran to the boys upon seeing Remus’ face.

“Oh, my. You poor thing.” She felt his forehead. “No fever, but you’re paler than a corpse.”

“He said he felt sick.” James sat Remus down.

“Does anything hurt?”

“My head,” Remus concentrated on his breathing, and not on the extreme embarrassment of what was happening.

“Are you nauseous?”

“Not anymore.”

“Just a headache?”

“Yes.”

“He gets headaches all the time, Mum. Usually he just sleeps them off.”

Mrs. Potter looked Remus over again.

“Do you want to stay, sweetheart? Because if you want to go home, my husband will be more than happy to take you.”

Remus shook his head. He didn’t want Mr. Potter to think any less of him than he already did.

“I’m all right. I feel better now.”

“Well, if you’re sure… James, you watch him.”

“I will.”

He helped Remus back up the stairs. They went back into the bedroom. Remus made to sit on the floor again, but James stopped him.

“You can have the bed if you want.”

“I’m fine.”

James grimaced, but didn’t argue, letting Remus sit back down. He sat down next to him, ignoring Sirius, who was telling him to come over with them.

“One minute,” he said, not turning around. He was staring at Remus intently. Remus looked back at him, and was grateful to see that James didn’t find his plight humorous in the least. On the contrary, he looked concerned.

“Will you be okay?”

Remus tried to smile. Though he still felt ill, things were starting to improve. He knew that whatever Mr. Potter had told James hadn’t affected their friendship. James smiled back.

“Come on and sit with us, Remus.”

Moving just the couple of yards from his own solitary corner to the group of friends made a difference in Remus’ attitude. By the time Mrs. Potter called for lights out, Remus’ headache had nearly gone, and he was laughing and talking as much as any of the others were.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Remus was also the first to fall asleep, leaving the other boys free to discuss him. Sirius in particular was anxious to hear the other’s theories on why Remus was gone so often. None of them really believed it was because of his mother, or that he had visiting relatives.

“So, what do you reckon is the matter with him?”

James shrugged. “I don’t know. He gets sick a lot, we know that.”

Sirius strained to think of a clue, something that would help them figure out what Remus was up to.

“Does he leave regularly?”

“About every month.”

“Maybe that means something.”

“I don’t know if we should be doing this,” Peter whined. “Remus doesn’t want us to know, or he would have told us.”

Sirius ignored him. “Maybe he has a rare illness, and he’s going to see a healer.”

“He was late today because of his dad, and he said his dad doesn’t have a job,” Peter offered.

“So, his dad’s a bum. What does that have to do with it?”

“Hey,” Sirius sat up straighter. “You know another thing? He always comes back beat up and sick.”

James was silent for a minute. “You don’t think his dad…?”

“Abuses him? I don’t know. Maybe he does. Still doesn’t explain why he leaves in the first place.”

James lay down. “I’m tired. What we’ll do is check the dates that he leaves when we get back to school, and see if they are significant or mean something. That’s bound to tell us something.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Did you have fun?” Mrs. Pettigrew took her son’s bag as they walked into the kitchen.

“Yeah.” Peter grabbed a cookie from the plate his mother had set out for him.

“Your friends seemed nice.”

“Yeah, they are.” Peter seemed to only be half listening to his mother.

“Well, I hope you got enough rest, because today you are coming shopping with me.”

Peter sighed. “All right. When are we leaving?”

“Oh, not for a while. But Peter, sweetie, you really should comb your hair before we leave. It is a mess.”

Peter didn’t answer, biting into his second cookie. He longed to be back at school, free from the restraint of his mother. Remus’ disappearances and finding out what they meant was like a mystery he had read about in books. He couldn’t wait to begin what he was sure would be a marvelous adventure.

School began again and Peter found himself once again struggling in each of his classes. It hadn't gotten any easier for him; if anything, he had more trouble now than ever before. Luckily, Remus had offered to help him. This gave Peter the perfect chance to observe Remus's behavior. That was what James and Sirius wanted him to do.

"Try and see if you can get anything out of him," James had said. "He's bound to let something slip. You're good at that sort of thing, Peter."

So Peter had agreed, and while he sat in the library with Remus, he looked for an opportunity to get some clue out of him.

"So, when Muggles first came to America, they found Natives, who were actually witches and wizards, but they didn't know that. In fact, the Americas were entirely populated with magical people until the European Muggles settled in … did you get that?"

"I- yeah, sure. Remus?"

"Mhm…?" Remus had already turned to the next question, poring over the pages of his history book.

"Do you…you know…love your dad?"

"Why?" Remus looked up, frowning.

"I don't know," Peter shrugged. "It's just; I don't really remember mine…are they worth having?"

"I guess it depends." Remus turned back to his book. Peter knew he had found something. He pressed on.

"But what about your dad? How's he?"

"Why do you need to know about my dad?"

"I just wondered." Peter tried his best to look as though he had no other intention than learning more about fathers in general, hoping his gestures and voice would cause Remus to open up out of sympathy.

"Well, he's nice. And smart. And, yes, I do love him." Remus looked back at book, avoiding Peter's gaze. "Can we get on with our work, please?"

"Does he ever get mad?"

Remus sighed. "Not really…just sad."

"Oh…so, he doesn't hit you?"

He bit his lip. He had said too much. Remus glared at Peter.

"No, he doesn't. Why would you think that?"

"No reason…I just wondered, because Sirius said his dad hits him with a belt sometimes…I didn't know if that was normal."

Remus's features relaxed somewhat.

"Let's just get back to the lesson, all right?"

….....................................................................................................

"So, he's not abusing Remus. Or at least, Remus won't admit to it."

"I think he told the truth," Peter sat on his bed next to James and Sirius. They had taken advantage of Remus's absence to discuss him.

"Well, that tells us what it can't be. Then where does he go?" James looked at Sirius, who shrugged.

"I checked the library, and nothing happens on those dates. No historical significance, no holidays…he always gets back on the second day of the moon waning, but that's it."

"Anything happen on that day?"

"Nope," Sirius sighed. "It can't have anything to do with the dates, then. At least, not something you can just look up. It has to be personal."

James nodded. "Well, we'll figure it out. It's the three of us against him, and he's not that good of a liar."

"Where did he say he was going this time?"

"To his cousin's house. Apparently she's having her first baby."

Sirius snorted. "Is that the best he can come up with?"

James stood up. "Let me talk to him when he gets back. I'll see if I can get anything out of him."

…..................................................................................................

Remus returned to school, looking as pale and sickly as he usually did. James sat next to him at breakfast, motioning the others to sit elsewhere. They did, and James proceeded with his investigation.

"So, how did your aunt's birth go?"

Remus looked up. "My cousin's."

"Oh, right," Frustrated that Remus hadn't fallen for his trick, he pressed onward. "So, how did it go?"

"Well. I wasn't actually in the room, but I saw the baby afterwards."

"Boy or girl?"

"A girl."

"What's her name?" James leaned forward.

"Her name? Uh…Rose."

James nodded. "Took you long enough to remember that."

Remus looked down at his lap, not saying anything.

"Hey, you okay?"

"I have to go," Remus stood up, practically running out of the Great Hall.

Sirius looked across the table at James, who shook his head. They discussed it later as they went to Charms.

"He knows that we know he's hiding something, but he won't give us a clue to what it is."

"Then I guess questioning him is out?"

"Yeah, we'll have to look for things on our own from now on."

Sirius sighed, opening the Charms door. He saw Remus already sitting at a table, the other seat occupied by Lily. James shrugged.

"Guess he's avoiding us now, then. Ah, well, once we find out what's up, he'll have to talk to us."

Sirius frowned. "Will we find out, do you think?"

"Of course," James pulled out his book, looking completely unconcerned. "Because I'm not giving up until I do."

…........................................................................................................

Months passed, and as the three other boys became increasingly obsessed with finding out what was wrong with Remus, he in turn drifted apart from them. He wasn't angry with them for wondering what happened to him; he understood completely. He just didn't want to get too close, in case they did find out. It was easier to sever ties slowly, before they found out he was a monster. It would save him a lot of pain and trouble. What would have saved him even more trouble was not befriending them in the first place. He should have never trusted them; he should never have trusted himself. But it was unavoidable now, and his only option was to face it as best as he could. At least he had Lily. She had been his main companion over the last few months. She often would seek him out, whether he was sitting alone in the common room or studying in the library. Though she was occasionally accompanied by Severus Snape, she often came alone. She brought comfort to Remus, and he knew that she wouldn't care what he was. He found himself confiding in her, not deep secrets, such as his condition or his father's alcoholism, but smaller things that he often found just as hard to express, such as his anxieties about Professor Calhan, and his worries about not being able to pass Potions.

"You'll be fine," Lily promised. "I'll tutor you if you want. Besides, Slughorn won't fail you. He knows you understand the concepts; you just don't always get the timing right. He's a good teacher, I think."

Remus shrugged. "I guess he is. I don't think he likes me much, though."

"I never noticed that," Lily said. "But Calhan is absolutely awful to you. You should really do something about it."

"What can I do? He's a teacher."

"He's not the only teacher at the school, Remus. Tell McGonagall or something. She'll make him stop."

"I'd rather not."

Lily sighed. "Remus, you have to do something. He is tormenting you, and he shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. Tell him to stop yourself."

Remus looked horrified at the very idea. "Me? I can't tell him to stop…I'd get into trouble."

"Dumbledore would understand. Teachers can't go around being mean to students like that. Just fight back."

Remus looked at Lily for a moment, not saying anything. He wondered if it would work. Of course, the bigger question was if he could stand up to Calhan in the first place. But with Lily behind him, he felt that perhaps he could. After all, what could Calhan possibly do that was worse than what he already did?

….....................................................................................................

Sirius had gone back to researching the dates of Remus's disappearances, eager to find something out, if only because he wanted James to finally calm down. For the past few months, he had had little interest in anything but finding out what Remus was up to. Up until the day before little progress had been made, but Sirius had finally found something.

"Hey," he said to James as they hurried to Defense Against the Dark Arts. "I think I know what's up with Remus."

"You what?" James stopped in his tracks, staring at Sirius, his mouth wide open. "You found out? But…what is it? Where is he-"

"I'll tell you after class," Sirius motioned for James to keep walking. "It's not something we need to blurt out all through the halls."

James entered the classroom practically skipping with excitement. Professor Calhan watched them, frowning slightly. When class began, he stood up from his desk and began to speak.

"Today we will be reviewing for your final exam, which is next Wednesday. I trust that you all did your essays on common hexes?"

There was a shuffling of papers and unzipping of bags as students pulled out their essays. Professor Calhan walked down each row of desks, picking up each essay and examining it for a moment before putting it in his other hand. When he reached Remus, he wrinkled his nose and snatched up the paper, hardly looking at it before handing it back to Remus.

"I can't grade that," he said. "It doesn't have the right margins."

Sirius looked at James, whose eyes were glowing furiously. This was a common occurrence, and usually Remus did nothing about it, resigning himself to a failing grade. This time though, Sirius was surprised to hear Remus's voice, quiet but firm.

"You never said anything about the margins, Professor."

Professor Calhan glared at Remus. "What are you saying? Are you suggesting that I am wrong, and you're right?"

"No, sir, I'm just saying that I wrote a paper the same as everyone else, and it deserves to get graded like everyone else's."

"Fine then," Professor Calhan picked Remus's paper back up, and, putting it in the large pile of papers, ripped the entire stack in half. "Now nobody gets a grade. Maybe next time you'll learn to keep your mouth shut, Lupin. It isn't fair to the other students that you hold them back with your stupid comments."

"I'm not stupid," Remus's voice shook, but whether it was with fear or anger Sirius couldn't tell. "And you aren't allowed to say so."

The classroom had gone completely silent in anticipation. Even James resisted making a comment. Everyone wanted to know who would end up having the last word.

"Children like you shouldn't be at this school. You're stupid and incapable of learning, and it wouldn't matter if I graded your paper or not, because you'd fail it anyways."

"If I fail, it's only because you're a rubbish teacher."

The class didn't dare laugh, and, indeed, there was little humor in the comment. Remus looked furious now, and though his voice had not risen, everyone could tell he was on the verge of breaking down.

"You insolent, filthy little-" Professor Calhan picked up Remus's book and slammed it forcefully on his head. Half of the students cried out as Remus collapsed onto the floor, knocked out cold. James had stood up from his seat, and was running to the front of the classroom where Professor Calhan was still hitting Remus brutally.

"Someone stop-" James grabbed Calhan's arm. "Sirius, get McGonagall!"

Sirius stood at his seat, looking at the bleeding Remus on the ground, unable to move.

"Go!" James shouted, still struggling with Professor Calhan.

Sirius raced out of the room, running to McGonagall as fast as he possibly could. Breathlessly, he entered her classroom, alarming both her and her students.

"Mr. Black, what is going on?"

"Calhan…he's…he's killing Remus…"

"Killing…?" McGonagall hurried back with Sirius, telling her class sternly to behave in her absence.

Upon entering the classroom, she saw Professor Calhan knocked out on the floor, James and Lily standing over him. Lily was crying. Remus also lay on the floor, his head and nose bleeding.

"My God," McGonagall knelt beside the unconscious Remus, inspecting his head. She looked at James.

"Get Madam Pomfrey. The rest of you are to go back to your common rooms. Now!"

The class scrambled out of the doorway. Some were talking amongst themselves about the strange and terrible incident that had just occurred, and others walked back alone, wishing to contemplate the horror of the scene by themselves. Sirius went back calmly, not speaking to anyone. It was only when he reached the solitary of the boy's dormitory and his own four poster bed that he began to cry.

…...........................................................................................................

James and Peter found Sirius alone in the bedroom, sitting on his bed. His eyes were red, but James didn't dare mention it. He knew Sirius would violently deny it, and they didn't need an argument now. James sat down next to him, causing Sirius to look up.

"Will he be okay?"

James shrugged. "I don't know…Madam Pomfrey can stop the bleeding well enough, but she said she doesn't know about how his head will be on the inside. He got hit pretty hard."

"But can't she fix that?"

"Brains are tricky when it comes to healing. Nobody's brain is exactly the same. I heard one time that there's a whole secret room in the Ministry where they study real brains. Only I don't if that's actually true. But anyways, she said she won't know until tomorrow at least."

Sirius looked down again. "He's a werewolf."

James blinked. "What?"

"Remus is a werewolf. I found out that no matter what, he is always gone on the full moon. And he comes back sick and tired, which are symptoms of lycanthropy. That would also explain why some of the teachers don't like him; they're prejudiced."

"A werewolf!" James shot up. "Oh my God, he can't be a werewolf! Werewolves are… not like Remus."

"That's why Calhan hurt him with a book instead of using his wand," Sirius's voice shook. "He thought he wasn't worth any more than some animal."

James didn't know what to think. He had never thought he could ever befriend a werewolf. Werewolves were nasty, evil monsters that stole you out of your bed if you weren't good. At least, that's what his mother had told him. His father called them the lice of society, a breed that should be eradicated at all costs. And Remus, one of his best friends, was a werewolf. But now that he knew, he found that it wasn't difficult to dismiss that fact. After all, it was still Remus. Shy, intelligent, kind, funny, Remus. His friend, who at that moment lay in the Hospital Wing, a victim of a crime fueled by hatred. How could he abandon him now? He looked at Sirius and Peter, and they both expressed the same sentiment in their own eyes.

"Well, I guess we'll tell him when he wakes up then." James said softly. "Hopefully he'll start hanging around us again."

"You think he'll be okay then?" Peter's worried voice was hardly audible.

"Of course he will. After all, he's a werewolf; he's gone through a lot worse than a couple of hits to the head."

James smiled after saying it. He truly did believe everything would be all right.

The first thing Remus heard was his mother’s voice. His head felt like it was about to explode and he had no desire to open his eyes, but he clung to his mother’s hand which had been lying on his stomach. She gave a small gasp.

“John! John, he grabbed my hand!”

He heard his father’s voice. “I know, I saw. Remus, it’s all right, it’s okay. You can wake up now.”

“Oh, darling,” Mrs. Lupin squeezed his hand. “I’m so sorry.”

Remus forced himself to open his eyes slowly, ignoring his aching head. His mother’s pale face looked down at him. His father sat on the other side of the bed. Both stared anxiously at their son. Remus knew he had to say something.

“Mum,” was all he managed to get out before his mother burst into tears and began to kiss him repeatedly.

“Oh, sweetheart! I thought-“
“Easy, Lisa. He’s confused; let him breathe for a minute.”

Mrs. Lupin moved away, her hand still clutching Remus’s.

“Of course, of course. I’m sorry, it’s just…Oh, Remus!”

She brushed his hair out of his eyes, her eyes still bright with tears. Remus mustered a small smile to reassure her.

“I’m fine, Mum. It’s okay.”

She nodded. Remus looked at his father who had put his hand on Remus’s leg and was watching him.

“I’m all right, Dad.”

Mr. Lupin smiled gently at Remus before turning away. He stood up abruptly.

“I’ll get Madam Pomfrey,” he said in a strangled voice.

“Your father was very upset,” Mrs. Lupin seemed unable to keep her hands off of Remus. She was currently readjusting his blankets. “He seems to think it was his fault. Of course, that’s ridiculous, but your father…he’d blame world hunger on himself if he could get away with it…”

She trailed off, her hands suddenly dropping into her lap. Sensing Remus’s discomfort, she smiled again.

“But, of course, it doesn’t matter now because you’re fine. You know, you’ve been unconscious for nearly a day and half. For a while, Madam Pomfrey wasn’t sure if she could fix you.”

Remus was about to respond when he heard several sets of feet thundering towards his bed. They were halted by Madam Pomfrey who had just emerged from her office with Mr. Lupin.

“Boys! This is not a playground!”

“Is he awake yet?” It was James.

“He just woke up about five minutes ago, according to his father. I’m afraid you can’t see him right now, though.”

There was a great deal of protest to this proclamation. Remus heard Sirius and Peter as well. He wished Madam Pomfrey would let them see him. But she was firm in her resolve, and the boys were forced to leave.

“You can visit him after dinner tonight,” she said, apparently hoping to cheer them up. It hadn’t worked; Remus could hear the boys grumbling as they exited the Hospital Wing.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“At least he’s okay,” James said.

“I don’t know why we can’t just see him now.” Sirius didn’t seem comforted by James’s comment. “What difference do a couple of hours make?”

“He probably wants to spend time with his parents.” Peter looked hesitantly at Sirius.

“Oh.” Sirius fell silent. Of course Remus wanted to spend time with his parents; he loved them. He couldn’t relate, for he knew he would never want to spend alone time with his own parents no matter how hard his head had been hit.

The boys went upstairs to try and find something to do to pass the time away before dinner. When they entered the Common Room Sirius saw Lily Evans eying them. She was sitting alone with her Transfiguration text book on her lap.

“He’s fine, Madam Pomfrey says,” James said, saving Lily the trouble of asking. She smiled and looked back down at her book.

“Well, you’re welcome anyways, Evans.” James glared at Lily, who was blatantly ignoring him. Sirius nudged him.

“Come on.”

James sighed, but he followed Sirius and Peter up to the boys’ dormitory. Sirius understood his frustration. It seemed that no matter what he did, he would never be able to get Lily to tolerate, let alone like, him.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

James hadn’t decided yet how they were going to tell Remus that they knew his secret. Even now, as they entered the Hospital Wing, he was debating with himself whether to just say it right away, or if it would be better to ease into it. At this point, the only thing to do was to wait and see which course would be smoother.

Remus’s mother and father were about to go home. Now that they knew Remus would be all right, there was no reason to say another night.

“But we’ll come back tomorrow if you want,” James heard Mrs. Lupin say. He watched them walk out of the Hospital Wing. Unlike his own mother, Mrs. Lupin was a young, rather pretty woman, though she had fine lines around her eyes that gave her a tired appearance. Mr. Lupin, seeing them, nodded and smiled. Mrs. Lupin looked at the boys, taking them in for a moment. Then she smiled.

“He’ll be so happy to see you, he’s been asking for you. Just…be gentle with him.”

After a few more words, the Lupins left. James led the way to Remus’s bed. He was propped up on several pillows, nudging the rest of his dinner with his fork. He heard them and looked up. James could tell he was trying to contain his excitement, but Remus had eyes that were all too expressive and would not cooperate with his desire to look calm.

“Hey,” James sat down at the chair next to Remus’s bed. Sirius took the other side and Peter was left to stand awkwardly over James’s shoulder.

“Hi.” Remus had never looked very healthy, but James didn’t think he had ever seen Remus so pale and weak. Of course, it made sense. The full moon was coming up in only a few days. Paired with Remus’s injuries, the whole effect was rather horrible.

“How are you feeling?” Sirius asked.

“Better,” Remus said. “My head still hurts a little, but it isn’t so bad.”

James looked at Sirius who raised his eyebrows. James nodded. He had to just say it. There was no use in beating around the bush.

“Remus...we know what’s going on.”

“What?” Remus looked at them all, clearly wary. “I don’t know-“

“You’re a werewolf.”

Remus didn’t respond and instead stared blankly at his sheets. Peter squirmed behind James; the silence was becoming incredibly awkward. Finally, Sirius spoke up.

“Remus, we aren’t mad at you.”

Remus looked up. “You just don’t want to hang around me anymore.” He said it quietly and as if it was simply a matter of fact.

“We didn’t say that!” James stood up from his chair. “Of course we still want to hang around you, you’re our friend.”

Remus stared disbelievingly at Sirius and then Peter, who both nodded.

“Is that why you lied to us?” Peter asked. “You thought we wouldn’t like you anymore?”

“I…well, yeah.” Remus looked down again. “I’ve never had any real friends before, see, because nobody wants to be friends with a werewolf. So, I didn’t want to tell you. I thought you’d stop wanting to talk to me.”

“Well, glad to know what you think of us,” Sirius said sarcastically. “Apparently we’re a bunch of snobs.”

“Well, you are sometimes,” Remus said quietly. “Like with Snape. I thought maybe…once you found out…you’d start to make fun of me…”

Sirius and James exchanged glances. James didn’t know
what to say. Sure, he and Sirius could be bullies when they wanted to be. But he had never had any desire to be that way with Remus, and while Sirius had initially disliked him, James knew that he wouldn’t want to bully him either. James just couldn’t see how anyone who knew Remus could possibly be cruel to him. There was no reason to be. He was shy and reserved, but once you got past his barriers you saw the other side of him: the side that was intelligent, funny, and kind. They wouldn’t make fun of someone like that; he had always assumed Remus knew that. James felt an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach he had never really felt before. It hurt, and it wasn’t clear whether it was guilt or pity that was causing it.

“We wouldn’t do that.” Sirius looked at Remus, and James knew he was feeling the same way. “I mean, we only mess with people that deserve it. You aren’t…we wouldn’t do that.” He looked down at his lap.

There was a long silence. Sirius had always been the one who was never fazed, who always had something clever to say. Once he had found himself lost for words, nobody else had the nerve to speak. Sirius still stared at his hands. Peter was biting his lip and looking nervously at the other boys, clearly waiting for a cue on what they were to do next. James looked at Remus, who looked back at him. James smiled at Remus, who beamed and let out a small laugh, almost accidentally. At the sound, Sirius looked up.

"We're all all right then, are we?"

In a matter of moments all of the boys were laughing and talking as though nothing had happened at all. Everything was back to normal, and James couldn't be happier.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Remus had been so relieved and heartened at finding out he would not be losing his friends that he nearly forgot what had landed him in the Hospital Wing in the first place. However, Dumbledore’s visit the next morning reminded him.

He had only personally spoken to the headmaster twice before. Once was when Dumbledore had personally come to his home to speak with him and his parents about coming to Hogwarts. The second time Dumbledore had come he was joined by Madam Pomfrey. Together, they had gone over what Remus was to do each full moon. From the first time Remus had set eyes on the old man, he had felt a deep respect for him. There was no question in Remus’s mind that he was, as his parents had always said, the greatest wizard of all time. But Dumbledore was not only great; he was also incredibly perceptive and kind. He had treated Remus like his opinion was worth something and with respect. As a child and a werewolf, this treatment had shocked him. It had only made his trust in Dumbledore firmer.

Dumbledore greeted Remus kindly, inquiring how he was feeling. Remus felt himself grow uneasy. Despite the gentle look on the Headmaster’s face, he couldn’t help but feel that he was about to be told something unpleasant. Would he have to leave school? Perhaps Dumbledore didn’t want him there and thought he was too much trouble.

“Now Mr. Lupin, before we get to what I wish to speak with you about, I think it is important that you know that Professor Calhan has been fired. Unfortunately, we cannot press any charges since your status as a werewolf does not give you the same rights as your classmates. He can harm you without any legal repercussions.”

Dumbledore looked at Remus, apparently waiting for a response. When none came, he continued.

“What I came to speak with you about, though, is whether or not you would like to continue here at Hogwarts.”

Remus’s heart leaped. Dumbledore was giving him the choice of whether he wanted to stay. Of course he is, he’s the greatest, the best…But then, what would happen if he did stay? Calhan couldn’t be the only teacher who hated him. He knew Slughorn wasn’t very keen on him. Besides, other students would find out. How long, really, could they keep it up? Perhaps it would be better if he simply left.

“Now, before you answer, let me tell you that your mother wishes for you to stay home regardless of what you want and your father is firmly set on you going back if that is what you want to do. And I have been told in no uncertain terms by several teachers, your Head of House included, that they have no desire for you to leave. Even Professor Slughorn, who I daresay you have noticed has not been entirely comfortable with you being here, has told me that in no way does he support what Professor Calhan did to you. In fact, he told me to tell you that he thinks you have made a good deal of improvement this year, far beyond what he would have expected. I assure you, Mr. Lupin, that every staff member here is willing to let you learn here, even if they are not all eager about it. And I will see to it that this is not something that happens again.

“As for me personally, I would quite like for you to return next year. All of your teachers have said that you are polite, kind, and intelligent. You have clearly made friends as evidenced by the three boys I had to tell to wait outside while I spoke to you. Miss Evans was also with them, though she made it clear to me that she was only here to see you and was in no way associated with Mr. Potter and his friends. You have been given the opportunity to have an education and it would be a shame to give that up because of an incident that, sadly, will repeat itself, not here at Hogwarts, but in the real world. There are many people that will hate you purely for being a werewolf. It is regrettable and I wish that it was not the case, but your life will be more difficult than that of your classmates because of that prejudice. Staying at home now will not change that fact.

“Well, I’ve said enough. Do you have any questions, any concerns? There is no need to make a decision now, in fact, I would like for you to think about it.”

Remus knew he didn’t need to think about it. Of course he had to come back. He had friends, and if what Dumbledore said was true, the teachers all thought he would make a good student. And Dumbledore would make sure it was all right, that everything worked out.

“I think I do want to come back. There’s no use in hiding at home, is there?”

Dumbledore smiled.

“I'm glad to hear you say that. All the same, you will have to discuss it with your parents. But I think that your mother will come around. She only wants you to be happy, after all.”

After saying his goodbyes, Dumbledore departed. Only a few moments later, James, Sirius, and Peter all came racing in, follow by a clearly disgruntled Lily.

“Honestly, we are in the Hospital Wing,” she said. When she saw Remus, her expression softened.

“Hi, Remus.”

“Hi”

“I’m really glad you’re okay.” Lily pushed past Sirius to sit down next to Remus.

“‘I’m really glad you’re okay’ “, Sirius repeated a breathy, high voice imitating Lily’s own. “Maybe we should leave...give Evans some alone time with Remus.”

Peter laughed, but stopped abruptly when he saw glares on both Lily and James’s faces.

“Shut it, Black.” Lily didn’t even turn around. She smiled at Remus and shook her head.

“They’re just being stupid.”

“Yeah,” Remus nodded. “Just keep ignoring them, they’ll leave you alone.”

"Thanks for the support, Remus," Sirius stood up. “Well, I’m going to go wait outside until Evans has left. You coming?”

Peter began to follow Sirius, but James looked hesitant. Sirius rolled his eyes.

“Come on, James. I was just kidding about Remus and Evans. Remus is too nice to like such a-“

“I’m going,” James left with the others.

Lily sighed. “I don’t know how you hang out with them. They are so...stupid”

“They can be, I guess. But they aren’t always. I mean, they came to visit me. They aren’t as bad as you think.”

Lily nodded. “Well, I don’t suppose anyone could act the way they do all the time. They’d explode”

There was a pause, and then:

“Remus?”

The tone of her voice made Remus uncomfortable. He didn’t know that he wanted to answer her. Hesitantly, he replied.

“Yes?”

“You know what Black said? About me liking you?”

It took Remus even longer to answer. He didn’t want her to think that he had suggested something to Sirius, which he was sure she was about to accuse him of doing. He didn’t want to lose Lily as a friend, not when everything was going so well.

“Yeah.”

“Well…see…I sort of…Remus?”

“What?”

Why was she stuttering? Remus was becoming more confused by the second, and he wished that Lily would just say what she was going to say.

“Have you ever kissed someone?”

Remus didn’t speak. She couldn’t mean…? But James…James would kill him. James liked Lily, and he couldn’t kiss her. Besides, he didn’t know if he even wanted to. She was attractive and he liked her quite a bit. But he couldn’t kiss her. He didn’t even know how.

“N-no. Lily, I-“

“Oh, I understand. Sorry.” Lily’s cheeks blushed until they were as deep a red as her hair. “You don’t have to…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“No, it’s not that I don’t want to…you’re really pretty and nice…and smart…but I don’t know if I…”

“Oh!” Lily nodded in comprehension. “I get it. Potter likes me, doesn’t he? And you’re afraid he’ll find out.”

Remus knew that if he told her James fancied her, James would personally murder him. Probably in a very painful, gruesome way. He also knew that Lily expected an answer, and likely already knew that James liked her.

“Well, I-“

That was all he got out before her lips touched his. It was barely a second, just a quick peck, but it startled him all the same. He stared at her for a moment. She only frowned.

“That wasn’t what I thought was going to happen.”

What was that supposed to mean? Remus instantly felt self conscious and defensive.

“Why did you-?”

“Did you like it?”

“Not-not really.” Remus didn’t know what was happening. Why on earth had she kissed him? He wasn’t sure if all girls were like her, but if they were, he didn’t know how he was ever going to have a girlfriend. You didn’t just randomly kiss someone, did you? She hadn’t even asked him.

“Me neither. I guess we shouldn’t kiss anymore.”

Remus nodded, feeling relief in the pit of stomach. “Probably not.”

“We can still be friends, though, can’t we?”

“Of course.” Remus just hoped he could put the image of her kissing him out of his mind.

“Good. I’m glad I got to have my first kiss with you though. You were really sweet, telling me I was pretty.”

“You are,” Remus said. It was true, and he knew it. Perhaps he should have been more excited that she kissed him. But as it was, he only felt a little bit awkward.

Lily beamed. “Well, I guess I should go now. You probably want to talk to your other friends. I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Bye, Remus.”

“Bye.”

The other boys came in and although they teased Remus about what had happened while they were out, Remus didn’t even hint at what had really gone on. Perhaps he would tell them later, but not today. Right now he just wanted to enjoy the company of his friends. After what had happened, he would never forget how lucky he was to have them.