the marauders- an inseparable bond

[1] remus' secret

"That's it." said James, one night, shortly after the beginning of their second year. "I hate to go behind a friend's back, but there's something Remus is hiding from us, and we have to figure out what it is."

"I agree!" said Peter, nodding his head enthusiastically.

"You'll agree with anything James says," cut in Sirius, shooting a condescending look at the smaller boy, "Sure, he's not telling us everything, but maybe he has a reason. Shouldn't we respect his privacy?"

James sighed. "That's what I thought in the beginning, but honestly, every month? What if there's something wrong? Something we can help him with? You know he was never one to ask for help."

He glanced toward Sirius, but the other boy was staring out the window with a look in his eyes like he had just had an idea. "Once a month..." he muttered, and before James could say anything, Sirius had jumped to his feet and left the common room.

"Where did he go?" squeaked Peter

James shrugged, then glanced at the window his friend had been staring out of. There was nothing there but the bright, full moon.

***

Less than an hour later, Sirius returned. James looked up from the essay he had been trying unsuccessfully to write.

"There you are! What was that all about?"

"I know Remus' secret."

"What is it?" Peter said, eagerly leaning forward. Sirius just shook his head.

"Not here." The boys packed up their stuff and followed him up the staircase to their dormitory. As soon as the door shut behind them, he spoke.

"He's a werewolf."

"WHAT?" screeched Peter, falling off the bed, "How come he hasn't tried to eat us yet?"

"Don't be stupid." said James "Werewolves are regular people except for on full moons."

Sirius nodded. "He must have thought we wouldn't want to be his friends if we knew, which is ridiculous."

"We'll have to tell him we know." said James, while the other two agreed silently.

***

The next day, at breakfast, Lupin noticed his friends were incredibly quiet. Usually, they filled the great hall with their yells and rambunctious laughter, but today, they sat solemnly playing with their food, as though someone they cared for had died. Lupin himself was normally quiet, gentle and soft-spoken, so it was to their great surprise when he suddenly yelled, "Is there someone who wants to tell me what's going on?"

For a moment, no one said anything, but then Sirius pulled out a quill, some ink and a bit of parchment. He scribbled for a moment, then wordlessly slid the note across the table to Remus. Remus' mouth dropped open when he saw the paper. Getting up so suddenly that he knocked over his glass of pumpkin juice, he strode out of the great hall. His friends took after him. In the hallway, his stride had turned into a sprint. However, Remus had never been as athletic as James or Sirius, so they caught up to him and grabbed his arms.

"Let me go." said Lupin, firmly.

James shook his head.

"Not until we talk about this." They pulled him with them back to the Gryffindor common room and to their dorm.

"Remus," squeaked Peter, "do you think that we care? We're still your best mates."

"Honestly?" Lupin's eyes were filled with happiness.

"Honestly." said Sirius, and that was that.