The Secret (Marauder one-shot)

"There he goes-"

"-to see his ill aunt-"

"-again-"

Three twelve year old boys sat in their Gryffindor dormitory, gazing at the spot by the door their friend had just gone through, wearing frowns on their faces. One of the boys had a mop of messy, jet black hair with hazel eyes behind round glasses. Another boy had slightly long, black hair, developing handsome features with gray eyes and the last one had rather mousy brown hair and watery eyes. The reason for their disquiet was that the last member of their group of friends, Remus Lupin, had proclaimed mere moments ago that his aunt was critically ill and that he had special permission to go visit her for the night.

"Marauders," James Potter began solemnly, inching closer to his friends so as to not be heard by two other boys sharing their dorm who were peacefully snoring into oblivion. "I think it's time to confront him about it."

"I agree with you, James," said Sirius Black equally seriously.

"Me too," said Peter Pettigrew determinedly.

"I mean, it's bound to be true. We've checked all the lunar charts, and he always disppears during full moon claiming that one or another of his never ending list of relatives is ill!" said James, shaking his head to vent out his aggravation.

"The theory is definitely plausible, I don't think there is any other explanation," said Sirius thoughtfully. The theory that Remus Lupin was a werewolf would provide a logical explanation to account for his weird disappearances, his lame excuses to cover for it, and the numerous cuts and scratches that appeared overnight every month.

The three of them jumped when one boy gave a particularly large grunt in his sleep. They shook their heads and carried on with their discussion.

"But why d'you reckon he's so secretive about it?" pondered Peter, chewing his bottom lip. "I mean, it's either him going travelling, his relatives being ill, his relatives dying..."

"That's true," said Sirius, chuckling. "No one can be cursed with a family that keeps getting terminally ill every month."

"It's obvious!" said James matter-of-factly

"What's obvious?" asked Sirius and Peter together.

"Remus," began James in a low voice, "is ashamed to tell us."

"Pshh," said Sirius, snickering. "You're not serious, are you?''

"No, you are," said James, grinning. But when Sirius merely grunted at the pun, he continued quickly, "Then you come up with an explanation! Remus is afraid to tell us about it!"

"I think James is right, mate," said Peter, directing his words at Sirius. "Werewolves don't really have a good reputation in the society."

"But he's our Remus Lupin!" said Sirius indignantly. "We're his friends!"

"I bet he thinks that we'll stop being his friends," said Peter logically.

"Nonsense," said Sirius airily, wondering why his two best friends were harbouring such false delusions.

"But he doesn't think that, does he?" said James earnestly. "We have to talk to him about it.''

"That'll work out lovely!" said Sirius sarcastically, getting up from his seat on the bed and pretending to talk to an imaginary Remus Lupin. "We'll go up to him and say, 'Why, Remus, are you a werewolf?'"

"He'll be mortified," said Peter shuddering, trying to imagine the conversation. "Not to mention affronted. I mean, what if it weren't true?"

"We have to catch him at it. Just for a bit of solid evidence," said James, mulling over the thought. They had done a lot of research on werewolf symptoms, and Remus's monthly disappearances fuelled their assumptions. All they needed now was some actual, visual confirmation.