Braving the Past

Chapter 32: Spilling the Beans

Remus and Hermione sat in the brightening Shrieking Shack, both in small puddles of blood that still leaked from their wounds. Hermione was covered with a spare cloak Peter had given her.

"So," Remus said tiredly. "The future, huh?"

"Yep," Hermione answered with equal enthusiasm.

"Am I still a...?"

"Yes."

"And have you always been a...?"

"No."

"So this is a new development for you, then?"

"Uh-huh."

James, Sirius and Peter all sat on the edge of the bed, watching their friends anxiously as they quietly conversed. Sirius had been a little upset that Hermione had kept this large detail from him, while the other two were in a mute shock about everything else they had to take in. Remus had been, one could almost say, excited to find someone else like him (despite the fact that she tore him to shreds and forced him to bow to her, according to James).

Now they all sat, uncaring that the school day would be starting in just a few hours.

"Shouldn't you guys see Madam – "

"No!" Hermione and Remus shouted in unison. Hermione's reasoning was that she didn't want yet another person discovering her condition, whether it was the matron who cared for Remus for years or not. She figured Remus simply wanted to know more about her and how she came to be a werewolf.

He could never get that word out, though.

"And the past, as well, huh?" Remus asked.

"It's complicated," Hermione sighed.

Sirius chuckled from across the room. "I'll say."

"So how did you actually become a were – "

Remus cleared his throat and coughed loudly.

"Er...this, again?" James finished.

"She never actually said," Sirius said with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione would have shifted uncomfortably if her entire front weren't currently bleeding.

"I, um...it's kind of a long and confusing story." She avoided Remus's gaze and instead focused hers on the entirely messed up floor.

Sirius cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy. "How about we get you two to the hospital wing then, before one of you bleeds out?"

Hermione nodded enthusiastically, and began helping herself up. Sirius hurried over to help in her endeavor, while James and Peter went to a still hesitant Remus.

"Has he always been this light?" Peter commented as they hoisted Remus up with ease.

James looked worriedly from Peter to Remus. "I think you've lost too much blood, mate."

It was a difficult endeavor, getting two profusely injured students to the Hospital Wing without anyone seeing. The invisibility cloak covered them both well, but they couldn't walk on their own. There ended up being a mostly-invisible Peter struggling with something unseen as the other two boys tried their best to watch out for any students milling about.

Though Peter wasn't as strong as James or Sirius, they had all decided he was the best fit to go under the cloak since he was the smallest.

James shoved the double doors open, surprising Madam Pomfrey.

"Oh! Don't you boys ever knock?" she cried, holding a hand over her heart. "It's not like I keep a lunar calendar."

"Sorry, ma'am, but we're in a bit of an urgent situation." Sirius wasted no time in ripping off the invisibility cloak with flair, to reveal Hermione, Remus and a red-faced Peter.