INVISIBLE STRING, marauders era

CHAPTER THREE - We Find Out That Remus' Furry Little Secret Isn't So Secret

- 1975 -

October 11th 75' : Hogwarts - fifth year

It took Remus just over a month to realise that no matter what he said or did, the marauders were going to go ahead with their plan to become animagi. It took the same amount of time for the marauders to admit that for their plan to succeed, they needed help.

The book's Sirius found back at the Black manor were incredibly detailed and proved particularly useful with Nashira's annotations in the margin. However, one of the pages had been messily torn, resulting in the group being unsure if they were missing any steps in the process. They had spent numerous nights in the library reading every book they could get their hands on regarding animagi, however it seemed the school purposely excluded textbooks detailing the process on how to become an animagus. So, the group were at a dead end.

The self-proclaimed marauders currently found themselves sprawled around the boy's dorm in complete silence. None of them wanted to admit the obvious

Peter was the first to break the silence. "So, are we not going to address the elephant in the room? We need help".

"No, we just need more time. We will sort something out, we always do." James dismissed.

"No, Pete is right. We have been trying at this for over a month now and we have gotten nowhere." Annabelle lifted her head from James' mattress, "We need to ask Nashira."

"Are you taking the piss? We aren't getting Sirius' sister involved in this." James continued to throw the quaffle he had stolen earlier that day into the air. He hadn't moved from his position on his bed, almost as if the conversation wasn't worth his attention.

Remus shifted uncomfortably. Without help he knew his friends would end up killing themselves, but he refused to allow yet another person in on his furry little secret. Not that he believed his friends weren't smart enough to find a way, hell they were geniuses when they wanted to be, but Godric did they have a tendency to be reckless. And Nashira seemed nice enough, but the truth was, she was just another Slytherin, and no bone in his body would ever come to trust her.

"No, this stays between us. Peter is right, you lot definitely need help, but we are not getting anyone else involved. Especially not her, she asks to many questions." What Remus didn't say was that he knew the girl was a genius. Asking her for help to turn them all, bar him, into animagus would certainly raise questions. Give her a week, not even, and Remus was sure she would figure his secret out.

Annabelle rolled her eyes. As if Nashira would ask questions. Sure, she would think the lot of them were a bunch of idiots, but she wouldn't question them. Even if she had questions, she was never the type to confront people. Instead staring an argument, she moved her glaze to Sirius who remained uncharacteristically quiet. He too lay on his bed, staring at the canopy, almost as if he was deep in thought.

"She knows." His voice was faint, and if Annabelle wasn't already paying attention to Sirius she probably would have missed it.

"Mate, you're gonna have to speak up. Not all of us have the ears of a dog." James poked, chucking his quaffle at Sirius. He did not catch it, instead letting it bounce off him and onto the floor.

Sirius sat up to look at Remus. "She knows. She found out in second year. I swear I didn't tell her. I didn't even know she knew until last year. She gave me this potion, told me to give it to you to help with your scars." He got up and started ruffling through his trunk, pulling out mountains of clothes, skincare, and random prank items he had stuffed in there. "Apparently she had made it on accident trying to come up with something for my scars. She made me swear not to tell you she knew. I never gave it to you because I knew you would ask where I got it." He finally pulled out a small, slightly dented tin, passing it to a silent Remus. Remus just stared at the tin as if it was filled with a poison designed specifically to burn his skin, making no moves to take it.

"Remus, its safe, I promise. I know my sister, she would never say anything. As much as I hate to admit it, if you could trust anyone to keep a secret, it's her."

Anabelle remained frozen also. Nashira... knew? All this time her best friend knew Remus' struggles and yet she had never said a word. She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be mad at Nashira for, yet again, failing to tell her something important. Now was the time to try and defuse what appeared to be a ticking time bomb two beds over.

"Rem, she's known for 4 years and none of us even realised. If she wanted to tell someone she would have done so by now"

Remus continued to make no attempt in grabbing the tin, so Sirius, fed up, pushed it into his lap. "Look mate, like it or not she knows. You can't change that now. You're just going to have to learn to trust her. Be glad it was her and not someone else."

Remus was spiralling. How did she know? How did she know? How did she know? How did she know? How did she know? How did she know? How did she know?

And why did it take him so long to learn that she knew?

"How did she find out?" His voice cracked and he finally moved to pick up the tin. Inside was a smooth, cream paste, and a folded note.

"I'm not sure, why don't you ask her." Sirius dismissed, picking up the discarded quaffle and chucking it at a concerned James.

"Why are we only finding out about this now? Why did neither of you two tell us."

"God Potter, could you be any thicker? What makes you think I knew anything about this? And if you were actually listening, perhaps you would have heard that Sirius promised her he wouldn't say anything." Annabelle rolled her eyes at the boy next to her.

"And? You claim to be her best friend, you should know this stuff. And who cares if Sirius promised her, it's Remus' life that this concerns. He had a right to know."

"You guys do realise I'm right here?" Remus interrupted. Annabelle looked back at Remus, watching as he carefully refolded the letter and slid it in his pocket along with the tin. His face was unreadable, and Annabelle made a note to ask Nashira what she had written in that letter. It was just one of the many questions she currently saved for the girl. He stayed silent for a moment longer, until it appeared he finally came to a decision.

"I will talk to her before dinner, and I will ask about the Animagus idea. If what you're saying is true, then it can't hurt for you guys to get a little help."