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Moony


Remus was exhausted. He got back to the castle late Wednesday afternoon, while the other Gryffindors were having their free period before supper. He was careful not to be spotted as he rushed across the grounds in the fading sunlight and through the doors to the entrance hall. Professor Dumbledore was just crossing from the staircase to the Great Hall as Remus entered. Dumbledore’s half moon spectacles reflected the candle lights as they puffed to life all around in their holders.

“Welcome back, Mr. Lupin,” Dumbledore greeted him, smiling kindly. He motioned for Remus to join him on the way into the Hall. “But my, you do look rather tired. I understand why, of course…” He paused by the Gryffindor table and rapped upon the wood with his knuckles three times in a pattern and a single plate of warm food appeared before Remus. Dumbledore bent low, “Perhaps get a little food into your belly before the others come and pummel you with questions of your whereabouts?”

“Thank you, sir,” yawned Remus.

Dumbledore smiled. “You are most welcome, indeed,” he answered. He squeezed Remus’s shoulder, then continued on his way up to the staff table, where Professors Viridi and Tutman were already seated, tearing at butter-soaked rolls as they discussed Devil’s Snare.

Remus ate some of his food, slowly, wanting nothing more than his bed upstairs in Gryffindor tower, and knowing he had some time before he would get to go and lie down in it.

The Hall doors burst open once more and the students began filing in for supper. Remus took a deep breath, preparing himself for the questions he knew Sirius, James, and Peter would be asking. To his great surprise, though, the first person to approach him was Lily Evans.

“Where have you been?” she hissed, pausing by him on her way to go sit with Alice Bell, like usual.

Remus replied, “I was ill, in the hospital wing.”

“Not according to James and Sirius, you weren’t,” she answered. “They said they went to visit you and Madam Pomfrey told them you hadn’t been.” Lily leaned closer, “I saw you leave the castle Sunday night. I know there is a secret; Dumbledore told me so. I just want to know what it is.”

Remus felt his face flush hot-hot-hot and his brain scrambled for something to say, some excuse to give. “There isn’t a secret,” he lied. “I was ill, that’s all.”

Lily stared at him. He got the impression she could tell by his eyes he wasn’t telling the whole truth. “Fine,” she said. “Don’t tell me then.” She stormed off to take her seat.

Remus could feel his insides crawling with nervousness. He’d expected questions, sure, but not from Lily. And if Sirius and James had gone to the hospital wing and discovered he hadn’t been there - well, he was in for quite a lot more questions than he’d prepared for. He looked longingly in the direction of Dumbledore, wishing he had asked what to tell everyone in this sort of situation. Dumbledore, though, was deep in conversation with Professor Flitwick and had his back turned to Remus.

“Well there you are at last,” Sirius’s voice came from behind Remus and he turned to look as James and Peter sat across the table and Sirius sank down beside him. “Been bloody wondering where you’ve been,” he added.

“And don’t say Madam Pomfrey’s either, we tried to visit you,” James said.

Peter was looking Remus over suspiciously. “You didn’t have Cauldron Pox, did you?” he asked.

“Cauldron Pox?” Remus exclaimed, “No! Galloping gargoyles, I’d look like that Mulciber bloke in Slytherin if I had!” James snickered and high-fived Remus for the burn against the notoriously nasty Slytherin student. “I just - I had to kip home for a bit, that’s all.”

“You went home?” Peter sounded surprised.

“Family emergency, then?” James asked.

“Yeah, something like that.”

James turned to Sirius, “I told you! You owe me a chocolate frog, mate.”

Remus blinked in surprise, “You were betting on where I was?”

James nodded as Sirius dug a chocolate frog from his bookbag and chucked it at James. But Sirius wasn’t ready to let the conversation go as easily as he had done the sweet. “So what was the emergency? Nobody died or anything, I hope?”

Remus shook his head, “Nobody died.” They had no idea how much of a relief that was to say that after a full moon cycle. Every month Remus worried - would this be the month that he killed? Would this be the time that the wolfish instincts completely controlled him?

“So what was so important that Dumbledore let you leave Hogwarts for?” Sirius demanded.

Luckily, it was at that moment that the headmaster stood up, waving his palms for silence in the Hall and Remus had the perfect excuse to turn away without answering.

“Before we begin eating,” Dumbledore said, his voice magically amplified throughout the Great Hall, “I do have an announcement to make. In light of recent discoveries, the school will be shutting down access to the floo network as a form of communication within house common rooms until further notice.” A great deal of complaint rippled through the Hall and Dumbledore raised his voice to carry over it until the protests had died down. “Floo network access will be limited to just a few rooms of the castle, and will require the use of a network pass, which can be obtained from your head of house. The network will be monitored. There are dark wizards in this world, and I must caution those whose wishes are to communicate with them that there is much at risk. Much indeed. Do think twice before joining the ranks of those who must request your allegiance, rather than earn it.” Dumbledore stared around the room carefully, then clapped his palms together. “Let’s eat!”

Sirius grinned, “Well there’s my excuse for not flooing home to Mother.”

“Who do you suppose was talking to dark wizards on the school’s floo network? The prat!” James exclaimed. Unlike Sirius, he was a bit more disappointed by the extra work he would need to put in to call home.

“Probably some git from Slytherin,” said Sirius darkly, looking over at the table across the hall. “Perhaps it was Snivellus. He looks awful guilty.”

Peter and James turned ‘round in their seats to look at Severus Snape. Remus sucked on the bone of the chicken leg he had just finished.

“That Lucius bloke seems mighty smug, too, doesn’t he?” James commented.

“I’m sure he’s involved somehow. His family’s close to the Dark Lord,” said Sirius lowly. “He’s cousins on one side and his girlfriend, Narcissa, she’s my cousin, too. They’re both quite nasty.” Sirius scowled.

“They should chuck the lot of Slytherin out,” boasted James in a carrying voice, “Filthy lot they are; too keen on blood purity to give a damn about being any good!” The words were out of his mouth before he noticed Lily staring at him with a disapproving look. He shrugged guitily at her, but it was better she know. “Lot of traitors, they are, only interested in power and being better than everybody else. Well they aren’t any better.” He turned away, trying to push the way Lily had looked at him out of his head.

While the subject of blood purity wasn’t the best topic that Remus could think of to be discussing, it was certainly a relief to have the spotlight off himself and so he ate in silence while James and Sirius went on about the Slytherins and their bloodlines.





At midnight, the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw first years were huddled on the top of the astronomy tower with Professor Zosma, setting up their telescopes, preparing to begin their star charts. Remus stared up at the waxing moon and frowned. It was too close to full for his liking. The hairs on his arms stood up and reached for it and he felt itchy all over, as though every pore in his body could feel the light hitting it. He wouldn’t turn, though, it was safe, but it felt strange being out in it. He hated the moon. It was his enemy.

Lily had separated herself a few feet from any of the boys, annoyed by their secrets and their contempt for other houses. She had already assembled her scope completely before any of the others had done. Remus was a far second, but still had completed his before James and Sirius, not to mention poor Peter, who Remus finally leant a hand to.

Zosma walked along behind them instructing them in the degrees to which their telescopes needed to be aimed. “Tonight, we will be talking about Uranus…”

Sirius cackled.

“...and the meaning if it’s placement in the sky,” Zosma finished, ignoring Sirius. “Have you all correctly aimed your scopes? You should see Uranus to the left.

James glanced back to be sure Zosma was facing the other way then aimed his telescope at Sirius’s rear end. “I see Uranus, Sirius,” he giggled.

Sirius laughed so hard he snorted.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Really!” she said in indignation.

“Really,” snickered James.

Sirius helped him realign the scope to find the planet as Zosma continued lecturing them. Remus tried to ignore them, they were quite immature. He understood why Lily was always so annoyed by them. He glanced over to give her an apologetic look but she scowled back, still angry at him for not telling her where he had been.

He wondered if she had told Sirius, James, and Peter she’d seen him leave the castle on Sunday.

“Who’s that down on the lawn?” asked Peter suddenly.

Remus pulled back from his scope to look. Peter’s scope wasn’t even aimed at the sky. In copying Sirius and James jokes, he’d managed to throw off the aim of the scope so abysmally that he was looking down past the whomping willow towards the shore of the lake. Sure enough, there was a dark figure there, walking along in the shadows of the forest.

“Can I see?” Remus asked.

Peter moved for Remus to peer through his scope. Adjusting the focus for his eyes, he watched the figure moving, skulking along. It looked rather familiar, he thought, and he waited for the figure to step into relief of the moonlight.

“I think it’s Professor Tutman!” said Remus in surprise.

“What would Tutman be doing on the grounds at this hour?” hissed James. He’s whirled his scope to take a look, too, and Sirius peered into James’s scope.

“Does look like him, though,” said Sirius.

“Funny,” muttered Remus. “I wonder what he’s up to.” He gave Peter back his scope, looking at James with a puzzled expression.

James shrugged.

Peter continued watching Tutman, though, long after the other boys had returned to looking at Uranus.