Changes

Chapter Nine

Remus Lupin

Remus watched his friends leave the infirmary and then dropped the show he'd been putting on slouching back into the bed, pushing the blanket off and rolling up his leg looking at the new scars there, fresh and still tender and healing under the surface.

"You think you'll be able to walk on it, that is the most I could do." Madam Pomphrey worried the most she could do was a lot, Remus had transformed back this morning screaming and crying, he was right about the wolf not liking a new cage. Like every time he moved from one location to another for full moons only this time the wolf hadn't just scratched and bitten, it nearly tore through his whole leg and broke the bone, Pomphrey had to set the bone in the shack before he could even limp here, she told him he had already used up one whole bottle of the powdered silver and dittany so she could seal all his wound, the leg was the worst of it, but not all of it, it had sliced up his side, bitten into his arm and more, thankfully the wolf had spared his face, but that was all he was thankful for.

"I have to." Remus rolled his pants back down and turned to put his feet on the floor testing his legs, it hurt, but he was pretty sure if he just walked slowly he could make it look like he wasn't limping. 

"And where do you think you're going?" Madam Pomphrey asked putting a hand on Remus's shoulder.

"I'm leaving," Remus replied simply brushing her hand from his shoulder and standing using the headboard.

"Remus." Pomphrey tried.

"I told them, I'm fine, if I stay any longer they'll get suspicious, it's your job to take care of me while attending Hogwarts, letting me walk out that door even when I'm still hurting, is going to be part of that job, because if you don't I'll be in more danger, you know what the ministry does to unregistered... and that is not when they're in a school with a bunch of their children." Remus insisted and Madam Pomphrey touched his cheek.

"You're a child too, Remus." She voiced sadly.

"I won't be to them. Dumbledore trusted you with my secret and keeping me alive, so keep me alive. Just don't worry about the pain, okay? I'm used to it." Remus assured her, but that just made her look more heartbroken for him, he smiled, taking her hands from his face and pocketing the chocolate, tucking all the homework under his arm.

"Your friends seem smart, Mr Lupin, they'll not be easily fooled, especially if you spend every day before and after the full moon here," Pomphrey warned Remus the first few steps were at a limp, but Remus got used to the weight and balance and made his strode as normal as possible and pushed the door opened.

"Remus, you discharged, Mate?" James asked the others looking towards him.

"Yeah, all cleared." Remus smiled at them holding his arms out at his sides like he was presenting himself.

"You sure you want to leave?" Lily worried.

"Definitely, for beds made for the sick and injured, they are dreadfully uncomfortable." Remus looked at all of them when they didn't move, "Do I truly look that terrible?" Remus questioned.

 "No, you're very handsome, we're just concerned." Lily voiced.

"I'm fine, it was just the..." Remus cut short.

"Flu." James voiced, "Yeah, I've had the flu, thought I was dying for five minutes until my mother, gave me a potion and got rid of it like that." James snapped his finger and Remus shifted looking between them then sighed leaning against the wall, think Remus think, lie, lie, lie.

"I have a weak constitution... when I get sick, It can get pretty bad," Remus explained.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Sirius questioned.

"I wanted to be normal, didn't want anyone to look at me differently anymore than they already do." those words were all true but the next was just going to be his way of stopping any more questions about any future disappearances and visits to the hospital wing because eventually they might see something. "It's genetic, my mother, well she has the same thing, only a lot worse, I actually had special permission to go see her during the times she's not well," Remus said looking at the floor, he felt like shit, he was a terrible person and now his mother would have to pretend to be sick anytime his friends saw her after he sent her a letter explaining all this.

"Damn, Remus, I mean damn. That sucks." James breathed leaning on the wall next to him.

"Yeah, I just don't even know what to say." Sirius voiced from his other side.

"I made the infamous, Sirius Black, speechless, some owl the Daily Prophet." Remus half-heartedly joked, "Listen, can we just keep this between us?" 

"Of course, I won't tell a soul," Lily assured and Remus smiled at her, she had a kind-hearted soul, reminding him a lot of his mother.

"Yeah, none of us will, Right, Pete, James." Sirius encouraged and the two others gave their consensus. Feeling guilty Remus gave them a small smile.

"Shall we go?" Remus suggested.

"Ladies first," James suggested gesturing and Lily raised a brow at him.

"You heard the man, Sirius." Lily gestured the same way James had.

"Beauty usually second after age, but I've never been one for tradition," Sirius replied walking through the two. Remus followed along with Pete. Lily and James look at each other and slowly follow at the same time.

"Wait, how do you know she's older than you?" Remus asked Sirius who grinned.

"Actually, I guarantee I'm the oldest," Sirius informed putting an arm around Remus who filtered for a second, but then kept walking ignoring the pain in his leg.

"Unlikely, I'm born January 30th," Lily informed.

"Huh,  3 of November, 1959." Sirius topped and Remus almost faltered again Madam Pomphrey showing him the moon cycle for the rest of this year reappearing in his mind, November 2nd was when the moon was full, he'd wake shredded to pieces on Sirius's birthday.

"Okay, so Sirius has to be the oldest then." James insisted.

"Actually, October 15, 1959." Peter raised his hand and they all looked at him blinking.

"No, I'm not the youngest, Remus?" James denied running to catch up with Remus who smiled.

"10th of March," Remus informed the grinned when James face fell.

"Oh, little Jamies wamies, is the youngest." Sirius pinched James's cheek.

"By like two weeks March 27th," James complained swatting Sirius's hand away.

"That just means you'll have the best birthday party out of all of us James, because once we have one we'll only keep trying to top it." Remus patted James' shoulder and he grinned, "Now can we get some dinner, I'm starving." Remus suggested walking with his friend to the Great Hall.