When Remus awoke, all he was aware of was pain. In his muscles, his self-inflicted wounds, the pounding in his head...

"Come dear, you have to stand up- come on Remus."

Remus opened his eyes- the blurry, worried face of Madame Pomfrey flashed in front of him for a second, before Remus slipped back into unconsciousness.

"Come on Pete, you aren't backing out now are you?"

"But Sirius, what if he does try to kill us?"

"Then it would be three healthy Marauders against a weak, wounded werewolf." Sirius replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. But Peter seemed to take his words seriously- pun intended- which amused the taller boy.

"Come on you two, he'll be at the Hospital Wing any time now." James said, from his perch on the windowsill. "We should go, so he doesn't have time to get away."

Sirius nodded, and the three boys set off determinedly to see their- for now- friend.

Ten minutes later, James pushed open the giant doors of the Hospital Wing, walking in as quietly as possible- Madame Pomfrey rarely tolerated visitors.

"Ow! James, stay off my foot!" Sirius shrieked, earning a glare from his fellow Marauder.

"G-guys..."

Sirius and James turned towards Peter, who had come up to one of the beds and was staring, wide-eyed, at the person lying on it. All three boys let out startled gasps- Remus looked deathly pale, and the white sheets around him were stained with blood. Deep scratches ran across his torso, neck and face, which weren't covered with anything- the three Marauders could now see countless scars lacing his sides and chest, some deep, some mere scratches. Even a few bites were visible, bigger than anybody present had ever seen.

Peter whimpered, covering his mouth with shaking hands. James stared, disbelief and pity in his deep blue eyes. Sirius stood, frozen to the spot, unable to say a word, to move, to do anything. To think their friend went through this every month, and never told them? Sirius felt anger building in his chest, but it soon subsided- Remus had good reason for not revealing his secret.

Remus stirred, opening his eyes- he attempted to sit up, but yelped at the pain this caused and lay back down.

"R-Remus?" James asked, his voice quivering uncharacteristically. Remus's eyes shot open, and he looked like a startled... animal. Sirius thought with a sad smile.

Instantly the grimace of pain was gone from Remus's face, to be replaced with his usual calm, collected expression. He had learnt to hide almost anything in the last eight years.

"Guys?" he asked weakly, "What are you... what are you doing here?"

James and Sirius swallowed, exchanging a glance- now was not the time, and they both knew it.

"We just... we were here last night- Peter tripped again and we had to get Pomfrey to fix up his elbow." Sirius lied. It surprised him how easy it was- but the happy thought was ruined by a sad one, that it would be much harder for Remus, who never lied about anything.

"Is he okay now?" Remus asked, actually looking anxious. James smiled inwardly- this boy, who was currently held together only by a scrap of skin, was worrying about the scraped elbow of the friend that wanted to kill him.

Hilarious, James thought darkly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Peter answered, his voice still thin and shaky. Remus's eyes narrowed, and Sirius noticed a glint of panic in them- but it was gone as soon as it had appeared.

"Are those... claw and b-bite marks?" Peter asked quietly, pointing at Remus's injuries. Remus paused, almost unnoticeably, for a moment before answering-

"Yes- my aunt's dog didn't like me very much..." He grinned sheepishly, his hand unconsciously flicking towards his shoulder- where he had been bitten by Fenir Greyback over eight years ago. Not that his friends would ever know this, of course.

"Must have been some dog!" Peter exclaimed, earning a painful elbow from both Sirius and James, and causing Remus to shift uncomfortably.

"Yes, it was. Vicious too, almost monstrous..." Remus chuckled with an odd sort of smile, but for some reason his friends didn't do the same.

"We... we'll be waiting for you in the dorms, okay?" Sirius said awkwardly, avoiding Remus's gaze.

"Sure- but I probably wont be back until tomorrow, I..." but Remus didn't finish his sentence, for a reason unknown to the rest of the Marauders.

"Okay." James said and, Peter in tow, he and Sirius left the Hospital Wing- ironically only moments before Madame Pomfrey returned.

"Howling Hippogriffs." Remus said, loudly and clearly.

The portrait swung open- to reveal the warm, welcoming red and gold inside of the Gryffindor common room. Remus stepped in, and the door closed behind him. He had just escaped- after much pleading- from the clutches of Madame Pomfrey; trying to look inconspicuous, Remus made his way across the large room, towards the steps which led up to the boys' dorms, but a voice stopped him-

"Remus."

He turned, to see Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew- his best friends and fellow Marauders, on the couch in front of the fireplace.

"Come here, we want to talk to you." Sirius added, gesturing for Remus to sit down. Remus walked over to the three boys, but decided not to sit- he didn't know why, but something didn't feel right, something felt... off. Remus remembered the dream-

"Don't even bother denying it- you're a werewolf Lupin, a horrible, dangerous werewolf!"

"Y-yes?" he asked, cursing his voice for breaking.

"We've been doing some... research."

Remus stiffened- this was it. They knew. They would drive him away, just like in the dream.

"What k-kind of research?" Remus asked, rather shakily.

"We know Remus. We know." It was Sirius who spoke, looking directly into Remus's eyes, and leaning froward.

"Listen, Lupin, we know your little secret."

"What do you m-mean?" Remus mumbled, "Know what?"

"You know what we're talking about, don't you?" James asked, also leaning forward. Remus glanced at Peter, who was very quiet and looked absolutely terrified. There was no way back now. Remus set off at a run towards the portrait-hole, but with his injuries slowing him down it was easy for Sirius to block his path.

"Of course you do; we're talking about lycanthropy- surely you know what that is?"

"I-I'm sorry, I'll leave... pl-lease... I'll go... please... I'm so s-sorry..." Remus stammered, frantically backing into a corner.

"You didn't really think," Sirius spat, "that we would ever be friends with someone like you?"

He wrapped his bandaged arms around his torso protectively, remembering all too well what usually happens when his secret is uncovered. James and Sirius exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"I'll go get m-my things, I-I'll leave... please..."

"And to think, we've had a monster sleeping in the same room as us! A filthy, half-breed werewolf!"

Remus slid down to the floor, back against the wall, placing his head in trembling hands. Every once in a while a sob could be heard, and quiet, frantic pleas.

Sirius, James, and Peter looked at one another; they had never actually seen Remus cry- it was... oddly heart wrenching. Sirius was baffled- how could this boy, this kind, gentle boy, be a werewolf?

"Rem?" he asked quietly, crouching down next to his friend and placing an arm on his shoulder. "Remus, are you okay?"

Remus recoiled, curling into a tight ball-

"I'm so s-sorry! I'm going... I'm not d-dangerous right now... I swear! Please..."

Then Remus realized what Sirius had actually said, and he looked up- his face wet, dark bags under his eyes, a few stray tears rolling down his scarred cheeks:

"Wha... what did you say?"

"Are you okay, Rem?" Sirius asked again, concern in his voice. Remus looked so shocked that James nearly laughed. Nearly.

"Aren't y-you... aren't you..." Remus couldn't find a way to finish his question, so he just continued staring at each of the Marauders in turn, disbelief and a glimmer of hope in his tired brown eyes. James also sat down, looking at his friend-

"Remus, did you really think that we-" Remus breathed in sharply-"could desert you?" James finished, smiling. Remus almost gasped- that comment ended completely differently than he had expected.

"B-but I'm... I'm..."

"Yes Remus, we know." James interrupted, "And we don't care."

Remus allowed himself a small, barely noticeable smile, and as he continued staring at his three friends a strange feeling blossomed in his chest.

He couldn't quite place it at the time, but later he would learn that this was, indeed, belonging.