Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 22: Confronting the Truth
Early the next morning James and Sirius were hiding under the invisibility cloak about a hundred feet from the base of the Whomping Willow. They had woken up early and snuck down to wait for Remus' return. After about an hour they saw a faint glow in the east that signaled the approach of dawn. Except for the occasional growl from Sirius' stomach, it was very quiet.
"Merlin, Sirius!" James hissed. "Can't you keep it down? I think people as far as Hogsmeade can hear your stomach."
Sirius rolled his eyes and whined, "It was your bright idea to get up this early. If Remus doesn't get back soon we may miss breakfast!"
James was about to retort when he saw some movement near the entrance to the castle. He poked Sirius and they stared at the approaching figure. It was Madame Pomfrey. When she made it to the Whomping Willow she again conjured a pole and poked at the base of the tree, stopping the flailing branches.
"Come now, dear," they heard her whisper. "We had better get you back to the wing before the students start to wake."
Sirius and James watched in sympathy as they saw Remus hobbling slowly out of the base of the tree, looking paler than ever. Once he was a safe distance the nurse vanished the pole and helped support him as they slowly made their way toward the castle. Remus' robes were torn and although the light from the approaching dawn was still dim, James was sure he saw blood caked onto the tattered fabric.
As the two boys followed unseen they heard the nurse whisper, "It looks like last night was particularly bad. I haven't seen you so bruised and torn." Remus simply nodded in response.
As they walked through the corridors toward the hospital wing Remus asked the nurse, "Madame Pomfrey, is there anyone else in the hospital wing this morning?"
"No, dear. As always, I left a note saying that I was away and for people to see Professor Pilon if they are ill. You will have at least a few hours to rest and recuperate." Madame Pomfrey turned to Remus and studied him as they continued forward. "It must be difficult having to lie to your friends."
Remus wearily replied, "I don't have a choice. They would never understand. You and Professor Dumbledore are the only people who know the truth and don't treat me like I'm some sort of monster. I really want to thank you for that."
"Oh, you don't have to thank me," she said with a wobble to her voice.
They disappeared into the hospital wing and the two boys who had followed stood in the corridor not knowing what to say for several minutes. Finally, they made their way in silence back to their dormitory where James packed his invisibility cloak away.
"Where were you guys?" Peter squeakily asked, startling James and Sirius. He was coming out of the bathroom.
Sirius quickly said, "We went for a walk."
Peter looked at them dubiously. "With the invisibility cloak?"
"Well, uh, Sirius and I decided to sneak into the shed and 'borrow' some brooms for an early morning flight around the Quidditch pitch," said James.
Sirius nodded and said, "Well, I'm starving! Let's go before all the food is eaten!"
James chuckled. "Sirius, you always think with your stomach, don't you? You do realize that even if, for some odd reason, all the food was gone from our table - we could sneak into the kitchens and grab something?"
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Classes that day could not go by fast enough for several students who wanted to be outside enjoying the spring weather. The grass was greener and the trees in the Forbidden forest were filling with leaves and flowers. It left a fresh scent in the crisp spring air that called out to the students.
In Charms, Professor Flitwick surprised the students by holding class outdoors. They had been practicing charming objects to move from one location to another. He decided to hold a contest to see who could charm the largest object and who could move it the furthest. To no one's surprise Lily won the contest, earning 50 points for Gryffindor.
As they walked to their next class Lily noticed that Potter and Sirius were quieter than usual, not causing the usual ruckus they made in class. They had been withdrawn from the other students, whispering back and forth to each other. Marlene attributed it to them planning their next act of mischief, but Lily thought there could be something more going on.
After their last class Lily decided to see if she could find out what was happening. She told Emm that she'd catch up with her in the library and walked over to where Potter and Sirius were.
"Hi Potter, hi Sirius!" she said.
The two boys turned to her, surprised that she had been standing there. Sirius said, "Hey, Evans. Didn't see you standing there. Erm, how long were you standing there?"
Lily studied the two boys for a moment. They looked, well…nervous. Was it possible for Sirius Black to be nervous? What were they up to? "Not long," she replied. "What were you two talking about?"
Potter and Sirius glanced at each other quickly before Sirius replied, "Oh, you wouldn't want to know."
Lily looked into his dark eyes and felt that he was telling the truth yet holding something back. She turned to Potter, who for once was avoiding her eyes.
Sensing her doubt, he threw on a grin and said, "Yeah, Evans. We know how you aren't crazy about some of the pranks we pull. Better that you not know." She stared at him for a moment before deciding to let it go.
"Oh, okay then," she said. "Just as long as no one gets hurt." She smiled and they started to walk back to the common room. When they rounded the corner they almost collided with Professor Riddle.
"Whoa! Sorry about that Professor!" exclaimed Sirius.
Professor Riddle smiled and looked at the three students, his gaze pausing for a moment on James. "It's quite all right. No harm done."
Sirius and James were starting to walk around the professor when James noticed that Evans had not moved. She was still standing in front of Professor Riddle. James followed her gaze to the silver tie tack that Riddle was wearing. It was the silver serpent tie tack that James had seen him wear a few times. He noticed how the emerald that formed the eye of the serpent seemed to sparkle brightly.
"That's an interesting tie tack you have, Professor," said James. "Where did you get it?"
Riddle studied James for a moment and answered, "It's a family heirloom." He looked down at Lily and said, "I must be off. I have a meeting I need to attend." He disappeared around the corner.
"You guys coming?" asked Sirius, indicating the corridor that led toward Gryffindor tower. James turned to follow him but noticed Evans was still lingering behind them.
"Evans?" he asked.
She looked up at him and said, "I just realized I have to be somewhere. I'll see you guys later." She turned and walked away while James stared after her, wondering where she was going, or who she was meeting.
Sirius poked James in the arm and said, "Come on, you can think about Evans later. Right now we have to track down Remus and figure out what we're going to say to him.
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It did not take a lot of effort to find Remus. He was in the dorm room unpacking when James and Sirius arrived a few minutes later. He looked much better than he had that morning. Madame Pomfrey had done a good job fixing his bruises and wounds, as well as his robes. James wondered with worry if Remus tore himself up like that every month.
"Hi, guys!" Remus said to his two friends. He smiled with what looked like some effort.
"Hi, Remus!" replied James, looking around the room. "Where's Peter?"
"He went down to dinner with Frank," replied Remus.
"So how's your mum?" asked Sirius.
Remus gulped and replied, "Oh, she's hanging in there."
"Was she surprised by our 'get-well' letter?" asked Sirius.
"Oh, yes! She was surprised, but she loved it," said Remus as he pulled a few books out of his travel bag.
James and Sirius glanced at each other before James said, "Uh…Remus? We never sent that letter."
Remus froze, the books slipping out of his hand and hitting the floor. His eyes drew on a look of panic yet he tried to cover it by saying, "Oh, well, erm - maybe I, uh…that is, maybe it was a different letter s-she had r-received. I-I-I must have j-just assumed it was your l-letter." He glanced at his friends, hoping they had accepted his explanation.
To his dismay James and Sirius shook their heads. Sirius finally spoke. "We know, Remus."
Remus' breathing was quickening as his eyes darted back and forth between James and Sirius. "W-W-What are you t-talking about?"
James spoke this time while Remus tried to throw out excuses. "You're gone once every month…"
"---to see my sick mum!"
"…you're gone during the full moon…"
"---that's just a coincidence!"
"…you always look pale and sickly during that time…"
"---b-because I'm worried about m-my mum!"
"…we've seen the faded bruises and healing scratches…"
"I-I-I…I tripped, I've been in accidents, I-"
"Remus!" Sirius said. "We followed you last night to the Whomping Willow and again this morning when Madame Pomfrey led you to the hospital wing."
Remus froze again, closing his eyes. His shoulders drooped and he turned away.
"We saw your wounds. Did you do those to yourself?" asked James.
After a few moments, Remus slowly nodded. "So," he said, his throat tight. "You know…about my transformations, about my being…."
"A werewolf?" said Sirius, causing Remus to flinch. "Yeah, we figured it out."
Remus nodded again, his back still turned to his friends. He stooped to the floor and picked up the books he had dropped and started to put them back into his travel bag. James and Sirius watched, puzzled, as Remus started to repack the things he had just taken out.
"What are you doing?" asked James.
Remus' hands started to shake as he hurriedly threw his possessions into the bag. He opened his trunk and started to throw in his text books.
"Remus?" James asked again.
Remus turned around sharply with a pained look in his eyes. "Well, isn't it obvious? I'm packing! I can't stay in school with students knowing what I am!" He looked back at the textbooks he had been packing. His voice, anguished said, "Guess it doesn't matter if I pack those. I won't be needing them!"
James and Sirius looked at Remus in shock. They had expected him to be upset, but they hadn't expected him to react so strongly. James opened his mouth but Remus stopped him.
"Just save it, will you James?! I don't need to hear about how I've been lying to you! I don't need to witness the fear that will come into your eyes every time you look at me!" Remus pushed past James and Sirius and rushed out of the dormitory.
The two boys stood there in shock, not sure what to do. Sirius finally said, "I can't believe he expected us to fear him. After hanging out with him all year how could he expect us to suddenly hate him or fear him?!"
James stood there thoughtfully before replying, "I suspect people have treated him poorly, people he had thought of as friends, maybe even family."
"We had better find him," said Sirius.
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Remus felt like his chest was going to explode. So many emotions were coursing through him. He was upset that his friends had discovered his secret, and he was also angry at how they had snooped around to find the truth. His 'friends,' he thought almost laughing. 'I guess I shouldn't think of them that way, anymore. I'm sure they hate me,' he thought, as more feelings of anguish rushed into him. He pounded his way along the corridors, not sure where he was going but needing to blow off steam.
Eventually the feelings of anger and sadness melted into weariness. He was still tired and sore from his transformation the previous night. He found that he was near the library. He decided to find a table in the back away from other students and hide there for a while so he could try to gather his thoughts.
When he walked into the library he saw Emm standing in one of the aisles looking for a book in the Transfiguration section. He paused, gazing at her and thinking about how she still didn't know what he was. He sadly thought to himself how she would hate him when she found out, just like Sirius and James now did. Emm sensed someone's gaze and looked up to see Remus standing there. She smiled, about to say hi when she noticed how sad he looked.
Remus was about to force a smile when he sensed movement from one of the bookcases by Emm. He glanced up and saw the bookcase suddenly start to tilt toward where Emm was standing.
"EMM!!" Remus ran toward her as books started to fall off the shelf. He grabbed Emm and pushed her out of the way just as the bookcase came crashing down where she had just been standing. He looked down at her and saw she had a nasty gash on her forehead where one of the falling books had hit her. "Emm! Are you alright?"
Madame Pince and several other students came rushing over to see what had caused the commotion. "What happened, here?" the librarian asked.
Remus looked up and answered, "That bookcase fell over and almost crushed Emm."
"It just fell?" she asked.
Remus nodded.
"That's impossible. These bookcases are sturdy and would not just fall on their own," said Madame Pince.
"This one did," said Emm. Remus looked at her, relieved to see she was able to speak.
All of a sudden they heard a scream from one of the students who was standing near the pile of felled books. Madame Pince and Remus rushed over to the student, who was pointing at a piece of glowing parchment on top of the pile of books. They leaned over and to their horror saw a drawing of a skull with a snake crawling through it. There was a message underneath the picture that read, 'No muggle-born is safe.'
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Thanks to the latest batch of reviewers: sweetie513, itsme63, Remus'sweetie, Potter, James Potter, and Watermelon! The replies are where they usually are - the review section (except for the person who didn't want one). It's fun to see your thought processes about what's happening.
So, Sirius and James caught Remus in a lie - he couldn't explain his way out of that one! Poor Remus! What did you think of his reaction to the confrontation with Sirius and James?
Next chapter: Aftermath of the attack in the library. Sirius and James find Remus and make him talk.