A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters, places etc. within it… All hail Queen Rowling :). This is my very first fanfic which I've recently edited (just because I wrote it a while ago), Thanks for reading! Reviews are to me what chocolate is to Remus :D!
"Pre-lunar effects of Lycanthropy can most strongly be noted one to two days before the rise of the full moon where the werewolf may experience joint pain, sickness and fever. It may also experience mood changes and extreme lethargy. It is at this time that the werewolves mind digresses in to that of the wolf and it develops a strong taste for human flesh, often viciously attacking humans who cross their path" Dangerous Dark Creatures, p179
Sirius scoffed as he looked over at a sleeping Remus who looked as if standing up would need considerable effort. He also noted that Remus' cheeks were a burning red and dark circles rimmed his tired eyes. He lay perfectly still, as if the slightest movement would cause him pain. Of course, by this point, Sirius knew that Remus was a werewolf. He had spoken with James and Peter two weeks ago and convinced them of his theory. They had all agreed that it would be best to wait until after this month's full moon to confront him, just to be absolutely sure. He thought back to the conversation between the three of them:
"James?" Sirius bounded in to the dorm, with rather serious news to share. The dorm was strewn with clothes and pieces of parchment and trying to make his way over to James was like making his way through a dangerous obstacle course.
"Hmm?" James replied, not looking up.
"I found out what's up with Remus" Sirius told him, breathless from running all the way from the library to Gryffindor tower.
"Enlighten me" James said sarcastically with a look of complete disbelief on his face.
"He's a werewolf" Sirius told him seriously.
James looked at him like he'd grown an extra nose. "You're insane, Black!" he laughed heartily, rolling his eyes. He shook his head, which made his messy black hair fall in front of his face. Sirius sighed.
"Really? Well think about it James. He leaves once every month at the full moon, looking all ill and pale, comes back the next day looking even worse and has loads of cuts and scars all over him and he always looks really guilty when we ask where he was. Pretty obvious, really" Sirius explained, quite determined to prove his point to the other boy.
Of course, at first he hadn't believed it. But he'd been marking the days Remus was leaving in order to solve the mystery of his constant disappearances. Then, when he was discreetly trying to copy Evans' Astronomy homework, he'd noticed the pattern of the full moon matched the pattern of Remus leaving. He had rushed to the library to find out more about werewolves. It was the first (and possibly, last) time Sirius Black had ever rushed to the library.
James looked over at Sirius thoughtfully. "I didn't realise he left every full moon…" he said, an expression of curiosity on his face.
"No, neither did I! Until I started writing the dates when he left and then I noticed it when Evans was doing Astronomy homework" Sirius explained quickly. He noticed that James was starting to believe his theory.
"Evans? Where did you see her?" James asked, suddenly intrigued just by the mere mention of Lily Evans.
"Erm, hello James, more important matters to attend to right now…" Sirius said in disbelief. Why the hell would James care about bloody Evans in a time like this?
"Lily's hair was nice today" James said, smiling a bit and looking quite entranced in his thoughts about Lily.
"JAMES!" Sirius shouted shaking the boys shoulder as he attempted to bring James back to the matter at hand. James looked over quickly and Sirius raised his eyebrows at him.
"Sorry, sorry. Right, what are we going to do about Remus then?" James said, seemingly focussed now.
"What'd you mean?" Sirius questioned.
"Well, I think we should tell him we know. In fact, why hasn't he told us anyway?" James said. There was a sudden flash of annoyance apparent in his voice.
"He thinks we'd hate him" Sirius sighed, and he suddenly felt guilty for the endless questions they'd asked Remus when he appeared after each full moon, knowing now why he was reluctant to tell them the truth.
"How'd you know that?" James asked in disbelief.
"James, do you actually have a brain or has it been mushed by our dear Lilykins? Werewolves… y'know, not generally liked by witches and wizards… Does that ring a bell at all?" Sirius stated, his voice dripping in sarcasm and this realisation seemed to suddenly dawn on James.
"Yes but we're his friends! Merlin, I can't believe he's a werewolf. I mean, out of all of us, it's Remus, the quiet one!" James told him, looking quite awed.
"Well, y'know what they say, James, it's the quiet ones you have to watch" Sirius said, grinning.
"Hi guys" Peter suddenly walks in to the dorm, eating a bar of chocolate as he made his way through the obstacle course to sit on the bed next to them.
"Hey Peter" James said, smiling.
"Hi Peter" Sirius grinned.
"We better tell him as well" James said and Sirius nodded.
"Oh well, yeah. Peter, Remus is a werewolf" Sirius stated simply and James rolled his eyes.
"W-what!?" Peter said; his watery blue eyes were wide in disbelief.
"Yeah, right? Who'd have thought it!" James said. They were all still in a state of shock.
"W-well what are we going to do?" Peter asked hurriedly, looking between the two of them for guidance.
"Well… Nothing. We'll wait till after the next full moon and then we'll tell him we know" Sirius said and both James and Peter nod in agreement.
"Then what?" Peter asked, waiting for more information.
"What do you mean?" James said, confused.
"Werewolves are dangerous…" Peter said.
"Don't be stupid, Peter. This is Remus Lupin we're talking about" Sirius said, annoyed.
"Yes, I know that but…" Peter started but James interrupted.
"But nothing! He's our friend. End of discussion"
"Right, of course. Your right." Peter said.
"Werewolves are pretty cool" James stated.
"Right, James. What's cool about the state he comes back in every month?" Sirius said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
"Shut up, that's not what I mean… There must be something we can do to help him…" James said thoughtfully. There must have been something, right? Because Remus did look pretty awful after the full moon and there must be something that could help him. If they could help him, they would help him.
"We could keep him company then, at the full moon…" Peter said, looking rather guilty about his previous statement. Sirius smiled. Peter was alright, he just sometimes needed a push in the right direction. However, he rolled his eyes at his friends comment.
"You're mental, Peter. You do realise he'd kill us? And I mean literally kill us!" Sirius said incredulously.
"He might be on to something there actually…" James said thoughtfully and both Sirius and Peter look at him with their eyebrows raised.
"Are you crazy, James?" Sirius asked and he was genuinely wondering if James had gone insane.
"No… I mean, animals aren't in any danger from werewolves. So what if we were animals, y'know, like Animagi?" James said with an enthusiastic grin on his face.
"Ohh" Sirius hadn't thought of that, but now that James had suggested it, it really did seem like a great idea. And animals can't really be hurt by werewolves.
"It is illegal" Sirius said, though he was grinning now.
"So what!" James rolled his eyes.
"So it's a great idea! You realise we can't tell him though?" Sirius said.
"Why not?" Peter asked curiously.
"Come on, Remus would freak out. He's already going to freak out that we know" Sirius told them as he rolled his eyes.
"That's true" James agreed, laughing slightly.
"Hey, Sirius?" James asked, suddenly.
"Yeah?" Sirius replied.
"You do think Lily's hair was nice today, don't you?" he asked. Sirius rolled his eyes and sighed.
"It was stunning, yes. Thinking of it for myself actually, need a bit of a change" he smirked, running his fingers through his hair.
It was almost the next full moon and the three of them were prepared to tell Remus that they knew about his secret. And although Sirius was disappointed that Remus had kept this a secret from his best friends for so long, he thought he could understand why. In wizarding society, werewolves aren't trusted and are regarded by most as monsters, dark creatures whose hunger for human flesh made them extremely dangerous. What, Remus, seriously!? Sirius' own family regarded werewolves as nothing more than "filthy half breeds" who were vastly inferior to "normal" wizards. Not that he cared about what they thought, in fact if the Blacks hated you, it was usually a sign that you were doing well in life. Besides, normal's boring, right?
Having spent over a year and a half with Remus Lupin, he could never regard him as a monster. More so, Sirius really wished their plans to become Animagi would come to fruition and he hoped beyond hope that this would help Remus. The full moon was tonight and though it was only two in the afternoon, the effect on Remus was rather obvious. For a twelve year old boy, he looked so tired and frail. His usual positive demeanour was gone and he was quiet and withdrawn. Scars criss-crossed his pale skin, a mixture of old and fresh, each symbolic of the ferocious hold of the full moons curse.
"You're not actually reading, are you Sirius?" Remus croaked sleepily, his voice a mixture of amusement and concern, a soft smile playing on his lips. Sirius, glad his somber thoughts had been interrupted, shut the open book on his lap and shook his head mournfully. "Of course not Loopy, what'd you take me for, you?"