James shot upright, his curiosity piqued as only a boy his age could be by the hint of a secret.
"Spill it, quick," he demanded eagerly.
"Spill what?" Sirius teased, deliberately dangling the bait. "What do you want me to say?"
"Hey, Sirius!"
James, not amused, rolled over and pinned Sirius to the edge of the bed, grabbing his collar and shaking him playfully.
Sirius, caught in James's grip, stuck out his tongue, pretending to be dazed and disoriented by the shaking.
"Alright, alright, mate," Sirius said with a laugh after their brief tussle. "It's not a huge deal, really—just… have you ever noticed Remus disappears for a bit every month?"
James thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, seems like it…"
"Right, so have you ever wondered why?" Sirius asked with a sly grin.
James racked his brain, pondering hard. Suddenly, his face lit up with a revelation. He smacked his right fist into his left palm, declaring with utmost confidence, "I've got it! Remus is secretly a girl—aha! That's why she vanishes every month, to hide that she's… you know, on her period!"
Sirius froze.
He hadn't expected his best mate, James, to come up with… that kind of brilliance.
"What am I supposed to say, James?" Sirius sighed, exasperated. "Should I call you a genius or…?"
"Just call me a genius!" James said, puffing out his chest proudly. "See, I'm sure I'm right. Remus is a girl disguised as a boy…"
"Oh, come off it," Sirius groaned, cutting him off. "You know, two days ago, I followed Remus to see what he was up to. Guess what I found?"
"What?" James asked, leaning in.
"I tailed him and Dumbledore all the way to Hogsmeade—you know, to that Shrieking Shack everyone's been talking about," Sirius said with a grin.
James furrowed his brow, trying to recall what Sirius was referring to.
The Hogsmeade rumors had been hard to miss lately—they'd even made The Daily Prophet. The paper had sent reporters to investigate, only for them to come back babbling nonsense, terrified by whatever was in the Shack.
James had half a mind to drag his friends there to check it out himself, but after hearing how shaken those reporters were, he'd scrapped the idea. He loved adventure, but he wasn't that reckless.
"Oh, yeah, I know the place," James said. "Started last year, didn't it? Word is, the Shack's haunted, with some ferocious ghost or creature inside, letting out those screams… Wait, don't tell me this has something to do with Remus?"
Sirius clapped his hands together. "Guess what, mate? It is Remus making those noises. I saw it with my own eyes… Want to know what?"
James, now fully hooked, held his breath.
Could it be…?
When Sirius didn't continue, James grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "What? Come on, say it already!"
"Well," Sirius leaned in, his voice low and conspiratorial, "Remus is a werewolf! I saw him in the Shrieking Shack, howling just like the rumors say. I reckon the villagers mistook his howls for some ghost."
James's eyes went wide.
He stood frozen, processing Sirius's words.
"You okay, mate?" Sirius nudged him with an elbow.
James ran a hand over his face, still reeling. "You're saying… Remus, who's been living with us this whole time… is a werewolf?"
"What else?" Sirius said with a cheeky grin. "Did you think he was just a big puppy or something?"
"Merlin's beard…" James muttered, still grappling with the fact that his dormmate was a werewolf. He kept whispering Merlin's name under his breath, as if it could help him process.
Seeing James's stunned expression, Sirius asked with concern, "What's wrong, James? You feeling off?"
"Off?" James frowned at Sirius. "Why would I feel off?"
"You know… the whole werewolf thing," Sirius said, air-quoting with his fingers.
But instead of reacting with fear or disgust like most kids might, James slammed his hand on the bed, his face lighting up with excitement.
"Who says Remus being a werewolf is a problem? This is brilliant! Don't you think it's cool, Sirius? I mean, besides being an Animagus, Remus can turn into a wolf! That's just… wicked!"
"If Remus heard you say that, he'd be thrilled," Sirius said, chuckling as he clapped James on the shoulder. Then he called out, "Remus! Come on in!"
At his words, both Harry and James turned toward the door.
In Harry's eyes, a timid Remus Lupin pushed it open, his face a mix of nervousness and gratitude.
From the moment this conversation began, Remus had braced himself for the worst—ready to be reported, expelled, cast out of Hogwarts.
But to his surprise, neither Sirius nor James seemed to care that he was a werewolf. It was as if he wasn't a monster but just an Animagus who could turn into a wolf—or, better yet, a harmless, fluffy stuffed toy.
"James…" Remus shuffled forward, head bowed, standing in front of his friend.
He didn't dare look up, terrified this was all a dream.
Who would want a werewolf as a friend, let alone a dormmate?
"Oi, mate," James said with a grin. "If Sirius hadn't told me, I'd swear you were a shy little girl with that bashful look. Merlin, if you were a girl, you could sneak into the girls' dorms and help me win over Evans!"
Harry wasn't sure whether to be touched or exasperated by his dad's words. Sometimes, James could be… well, a bit of an idiot.
Remus gave a weak smile, still twisting the hem of his shirt nervously. "You… you really don't mind that I'm a werewolf? You know, during the full moon, I transform, and I… I lose control. I could attack anyone I see…"
"Oh, that sounds terrifying. I'm practically in tears," James said dryly, reaching out to pinch Remus's cheeks and force a reluctant smile.
"Listen, Remus," he continued, his tone turning serious. "I don't care if you're a werewolf or a bloody hippogriff. You're my friend. Those furry little problems you're worried about? They're nothing. We're not going to ditch you over something like that."
James turned to Sirius, kicking him lightly. "Oi, Sirius. This is your big issue?"
"It's pretty cool, right, mate?" Sirius struck a dramatic pose in response.
James gagged at the sight. "Merlin, we're in our dorm, mate. Save that pose for someone else. What, you think we're shallow girls swooning over your dashing looks?"
Sirius let out a booming laugh.
"But, Remus," James said, propping his chin in his hand, deep in thought, "you've got a point. It is a bit of a problem."
Remus's heart, which had just started to settle, leapt back into his throat.
"I mean, I… well…"
Before he could finish, James turned to Sirius. "Think about it, Sirius. Remus is all alone in the Shrieking Shack every time he transforms. That's got to be lonely. What if we learned to become Animagi? I've heard werewolves don't attack animals when they're transformed. Maybe we could… keep him company in the Shack. What do you think?"
"That's bloody brilliant!" Sirius's eyes gleamed. "Animagi! That's a cracking idea…"
"Yeah," James said, glancing around. "Where's Peter, anyway?"
"I'm right here…" came a timid voice. Harry followed the sound and saw a small, scrawny boy.
"Oh, Peter," Sirius said, flicking his fringe. "What about him? He's so hopeless, can he even manage to become an Animagus?"
"Don't worry, we've got this," James said with a sigh, glancing at Peter. "He's got to learn something. He's so timid and, well, not the sharpest. What's he going to do if he runs into dark wizards? Maybe he could turn into something small, so he can hide and not get himself killed."
Peter looked up and gave a shy smile at James's words.
"That's what friends are for," James said, clapping Sirius on the back with a grin. "We'll handle You-Know-Who and his brainless followers, and Peter… Peter can stay in the back, maybe pass messages or something."
"I'll do whatever you say, James," Peter said obediently.
"Hey, mate," James said, kicking Peter's bed lightly. "Can you not always be like that? Merlin, we're friends! You don't have to be so cautious all the time. If you run into Snivellus and his lot alone, they'll eat you alive."
At the mention of "Snivellus," Sirius's face darkened.
"That greasy git, Snivellus…"
Before he could finish, James cut him off. "You're wrong there, Sirius," he said seriously. "Snivellus is a git, sure, but he's not just a thing. Look at him, strutting around with those wannabe Death Eaters, acting like Gryffindor's beneath him. We've got to take him down a peg or two!"
The scene abruptly ended, and Harry felt the world spin around him, his feet landing firmly back on solid ground.
"That's James," Lupin said with a smile. "He's not perfect, but he's the best friend I could ask for."
Harry nodded, agreeing with Lupin's words.
He wasn't a kid anymore. The world wasn't black and white, not like a magnet with just two poles.
As Professor Lupin had said, at least his father had worked to overcome his flaws.
"But one more thing, Harry," Lupin added. "Like that incident by the Black Lake you saw in the memory—Severus wasn't blameless. The spell your father used to hoist him up? Severus invented it himself."
"He wasn't innocent," Lupin continued. "There was a group of Slytherins back then who idolized You-Know-Who, and Severus was one of his biggest fans. Lily didn't just cut him off because of that 'Mudblood' comment. She warned him over and over to stay away from that path, but he was dead set on diving headfirst into You-Know-Who's arms."
"And while Severus rarely used his spells on others himself, the curses he created were picked up by those wannabe Death Eaters and used on innocent Gryffindors," Lupin added.
Harry recalled the memory of his mother's, where two Slytherins had used a nasty curse on Marlene McKinnon.
"That makes sense," Harry said, offering Snape a faint smile. Knowing this, he felt less sympathy for the man.
No one was an innocent little flower. Fooling yourself was one thing, but fooling others was another.
"Of course, I won't deny Severus is a genius," Lupin said with a smile. "I've got a list of some of the spells he invented back then. You might want to take a look. But I don't recommend pulling a James and using them on Severus."
"Why not?" Harry asked, curious.
"He'd lose it," Lupin said simply.
Harry could almost picture it—Snape, fuming, snarling, "You dare use my own spells against me, Potter?"
The thought made Harry chuckle.
"You can imagine it, can't you?" Lupin said with a grin. "That's why I wouldn't advise it."
After chatting with Lupin a bit longer, Harry said his goodbyes, heading off to meet Mr. Flamel.
Tonight, they were summoning Death itself. Harry hoped everything would go smoothly.
--
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