𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗭𝗞𝗔𝗕𝗔𝗡 [𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍]

Chapter Twenty Three: Serendipity

‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ ･⋆✵⋆･ ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾

"Oh." said James. "It's a book."

"Yes, James. It's a book." Sirius said, pulling Astronomer's Almanac out of his trunk. "Why do you sound so disappointed?"

"I was just expecting something darker. More mysterious, you know." he shrugged.

"Anyway." Sirius continued as he propped the heavy book open on his lap. "I was slouching in the family library when I found this. I wasn't even looking for it. It was like the universe just wanted me to find it."

"Get to the point, Sirius." groaned James. "I'm dying of curiosity here."

Sirius frowned. Some people just don't know how to appreciate a good presentation. "It's an almanac." he clarified. ". . . full of information about the moon and you wouldn't believe what I found." Sirius paused here for a bit of dramatic effect and it was working because both James and Peter looked like they were about to wet themselves. "Every full moon corresponds to the days Remus supposedly 'goes to visit his sick mother'. It all makes sense. There was a full moon a few days before school started. There was another one almost a months after we came to Hogwarts. One just before Halloween and another one a few days before Easter break. There was one during Christmas break too when Remus disappeared for a week. Do you know what this means?"

"Remus doesn't like full moons." said James, sounding less interested now. He slouched back in his seat.

"Your almost there." Sirius promoted. "But who else do you know that doesn't like full moons?"

James and Peter gasped.

"Merlin's beard! So you're telling me that Remus Lupin's . . ." exclaimed Peter. ". . .mother is a werewolf?"

"No, you dimwit." said James, finally catching up. "If she was the werewolf they wouldn't let him anywhere near her. He is the werewolf. He goes somewhere to transform every month so he wouldn't bite people."

"That's why he always comes back with all these scratches and bruises." Sirius nodded. "I thought he was being abused or something. But I saw this book and everything clicked into place. Our friend is a werewolf."

A sort of heavy silence fell in the compartment after that, the only sound being the chugging of the train as it zipped by grassy hills and small cottages.

"How could they let a werewolf into school?" asked Peter in a shaky voice, finally breaking the silence. "And let him sleep in our room?"

"Don't say that, Peter. Remus is still our friend." James warned in a low voice. "People are so prejudiced. No wonder he wanted to keep it a secret. Even form us. We must be really dense, though. It took us a whole year to figure that out. And we've been spending almost every second with him."

"In our defense, we started investigating only a few months ago." Sirius reasoned. "Should we tell him we found out?" he asked, snapping the book shut and forcing it into his over-stuffed trunk.

"Maybe. Yeah." said James uncertainly, his hand subconsciously flying to his hair to mess it up even more. "I think we should. It would make life a whole lot easier for Remus if he doesn't feel like he has to hide something from us."

"Or he'll just hate us for not respecting his privacy and butting in." Sirius pointed out. "I know I would."

"I still think we should just tell him. And I'm not good at keeping secrets so it's better if we tell him properly before I spill it insensitively." said James.

"You just want to gloat, don't you?"

James made an indignant noise at the back of his throat. "No."

"Well . . . Incase you get any ideas, I'd like to remind you that I was the one who made the discovery."