Remus smacked his head when he woke up, forgetting he was under his bed. He rubbed the sore spot and then lay back down, blinking angrily at the bottom of his bed. Then, remembering everything, he lifted his shirt and peeled back the bloodied bandage to see a pink scar on his midriff. Good. He rolled over to exit his nest then froze when he saw something near his head. A distinctly shaped box... a chocolate frog. Who put that there? He pulled the box close and examined it all over for any indication but it as just a regular chocolate frog. Nothing special. Did someone drop it? He stuck it in his pocket as he got out from under his bed and then went to the bathroom so he could throw the bandage away there and wash off the dried blood.
When he returned to the dorm he put the chocolate frog on the little table near the middle of the room, by the heater. It was still warm out so the heater wasn't on yet, so he felt the chocolate safe enough. Hopefully whoever dropped it would find it before someone else did.
*
Despite it being suppertime, Remus stayed in the dorm. He felt rather hungry and knew it would help ease up some of his weakness however he was worried about being assaulted if he went into the Great Hall. The image of Potter and Black rushing to him in the common room filled his head. So he ate the last of his candy (that was supposed to last the entire month) and redid his History essay. Then he heard voices out in the hall and he scrambled back under the bed, slipping completely underneath just as the door opened.
Three sets of shoes. In addition to Potter's expensive trainers and Black's shiny loafers there was a scuffed pair of trainers Remus realized belonged to Pettigrew.
"My chocolate frog!" Pettigrew said, going over to the table.
"Told you he wouldn't want it," Potter said.
"Chocolate always makes me feel better when I'm sick," Pettigrew complained.
"I've seen the way you eat candy, it's probably how you get sick in the first place!" Potter teased.
"If he's come out from under the bed, why did he miss dinner?" Black asked and then Remus cried out, pushing backwards as Black knelt by his bed and looked underneath. "Oh, you're still there."
"You scared him!" Potter said then knelt down to look too. Remus pushed back even more, blushing lightly. "You feeling better?" Potter asked. "You're still really white."
Now Pettigrew knelt and looked. "Why didn't you want the chocolate frog?" he asked, clutching the box in one chubby hand.
"Is that... blood?" Black's eyes landed on Remus's shirt, at the stain that he had gotten from the gash on his side.
"No," Remus said quickly, pulling the blanket up to hide his middle. Why did I forget to change my shirt? He felt very stupid... of course he hadn't really expected anyone to see him for a while. They saw me under here earlier... He wondered what they thought, him hiding out like this. It wasn't something he thought regular people did but it was so much better, made him feel protected.
"You still look pretty sick," Black said, eyes returning to Remus's face. "What happened? What did you get?"
"I thought healers could fix almost anything," Potter mused.
"D--d--doesn't m--matter," Remus mumbled.
"Is it your stomach? Cause if it's not you can still have my chocolate frog." Pettigrew put the box on the floor and pushed it under the bed.
He began to panic, all three boys blocking one side of his bed, looking at him, seeing how awful he looked, sort of seeing the blood. I should have stayed in the hospital wing...! His breathing got a little funny which caused Black and Potter to both frown.
"Do you need to go back?" Black asked.
"N...no..." He pushed back a little more, close to the other side of his bed now.
"I think he wants us to leave," Potter said, a flash of understanding in his face. "Come on, let him be." Potter got up and Pettigrew followed suit. "Come on then, Sirius."
Black gave Remus one more look--much like he had after Remus woke up the dorm with his nightmare--then stood up. Then Pettigrew doubled over to looked under the bed again. "If you prefer fruity candy I have a jelly sl--uuggg!" He croaked the last bit out as Potter yanked him back upright, then the three of them left the dorm.
Remus's hand snaked out and he snatched up the chocolate frog. Why is he giving me this? Why did they seem so concerned? He opened the box and the frog jumped on his face then tried jumping away. Remus got hold of it very quickly and held it until the magic faded and it stopped wriggling. He loved chocolate but hated chocolate frogs because they hopped and moved like a real frog. It made him feel more like a monster for eating it even though everyone else ate them with no issue. Once a few minutes passed since the last time the frog moved, Remus ate it. Mostly because Pettigrew gave it to him.
Pomfrey called them my friends but we're not friends so why are they being like this? He had figured it would be easy to avoid making friends since he figured nobody would want to talk to him. The fact they were actively seeking him out just... bewildered him. I guess they're just trying to be nice since I'm their dorm-mate...
He crawled out from under his bed and put the chocolate frog card on Pettigrew's pillow, then went to get another shower and clean clothes on.
*
Dear Remus, 5/9/71
Please be very safe, sweetheart. I'm so worried about you being there during this time. I know they've ensured your safety however I cannot stop worrying. You said you have a whole house? That really doesn't seem very safe either. Please write back as soon as you can. I want to sen this letter immediately but I know you won't get it till Wednesday morning anyway.
The house is so empty without you. I miss your laughter and the sound of you running around and the sound of pages turning. When you were a baby and Lyall told me you'd be going to Hogwarts one day I knew it would be hard. I just never realized it would be this hard. I've cried myself to sleep every night. I'm not going to lie, when you sent your letter I really hoped you were writing to say you wanted to come home. Don't get me wrong, darling, I am so glad you are happy there with your classes. I just miss you. It feels like now you are out of my arms there is no way I can protect you. That is all I want... to protect you...
Please keep yourself quiet and safe. If anyone found out you know what they'd do. Write to me as often as you can, baby. I miss you.
Love,
Mum
PS Lyall showed me a picture of an imp and your drawing is perfectly fine!
*
Wednesday morning, and he could thankfully go back to classes! He hoped he wouldn't be in trouble for taking his homework in so late though figured the teachers would be lenient. All his teachers today knew the truth. Dedenne might not be lenient, he thought at breakfast. She thinks I'm stupid. He had gone over the DADA work a dozen times the previous evening to make sure everything was perfect. He wanted to prove himself to her.
Evans sat down across from him, a bright smile on her face. "You're out of the hospital wing!"
"Ooh, er, y--yeah," he said, choking a bit on his toast. "Th--th--thank... s... f---for... card..."
"I'm glad you got it," Evans said as she gathered food onto her plate. "Madame Pomfrey didn't seem like she wanted anyone seeing you so I wasn't sure if she'd give you the card or not."
"You d--d---didn't--n--need..." He trailed off and angrily stabbed at some sausage, wishing he could bring back the easy, normal way he spoke with Pomfrey.
Evans shrugged. "I know I'd be gutted if I got sick right away." After a couple minutes she cleared her throat and said, "A few other students and I have started meeting up in the library after supper to work on our assignments together--er, we just started last night but we're meeting again tonight. Do you want to come? It's me, Twycross, and two Hufflepuffs from Herbology. Erm... Bones and Pierce. Though Bones said he might invite one of his Ravenclaw friends."
Remus popped the sausage in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. It's not friendship... Mum and Dad never said anything about not studying with other students... "M... maybe."
"If you'd like my notes from Monday and yesterday you're welcome to them," she offered. "You can also copy down the assignments they gave."
"Oh. Th--thank you."
During lunch the two of them sat together so Remus could do just that, carefully copying down the notes she took. They were fairly in depth and written in a much neater writing than his own. He also wrote down the homework he needed to do, even though some of it was due today. While he did all this he felt eyes on him and thought perhaps it was Dedenne but she wasn't even in the Great Hall. He looked around until his eyes met a pair of silvery grey ones that were watching him. Black gave a wave then turned back to his own lunch. Remus frowned and then bent low over the parchment as he finished all the copying he needed to do.
"Oi, Lupin!" On the way to Defense, Black and Potter ran over and Black offered some parchment. "Here's the assignments we got while you were sick."
Remus glanced down at the paper then back up. "Th... thank...s..." He decided not to say that Evans already helped him there, and accepted the parchment.
"Come on!" Potter put his arm around Black's shoulders and Remus thought he saw Black faintly wince, but then Black was grinning and running with Potter so it must have been his imagination. "HEY LUPIN, COME ON!" Potter shouted. "PETE, HURRY UP!"
Pettigrew bolted past Remus, and Remus got the urge to run as well. He wanted to join them but managed to keep his feet at a steady walking pace until the lot of them disappeared up a flight of stairs. By the time he got to the third-floor classroom, all three were in their seats. Remus set his homework from Friday down on Dedenne's desk then took the same seat as last time. Dedenne launched into a lecture about hags.
"Despite the fact they are classified as beings and not beasts, hags are, without a doubt, part of the dark arts. Can anyone tell me why?" She looked around the room, ignoring Remus's hand. "Miss Evans?"
"They... supposedly eat children?" Evans asked.
"Correct." Dedenne flicked her wand so the chalk began writing on the board. "Hags have a taste for flesh. They also can perform simple magic. They are... very similar to humans, however, and you've probably come across one or two in your life. At least those from a magical background." She gave a smile at that. "Can anyone else give an example of beings also considered part of the dark arts?" Hands shot up. "Miss Colgate?"
"Vampires?"
"Yes, good. Mr. Spinnet?"
"Giants."
"Miss McNab?"
"Sirens?"
"Good guess however incorrect. Sirens and other species of merfolk have declined being status, due to the fact that hags and vampires are classified as beings. Merfolk and centaurs both have been offered the being status though have refused it..."
Dedenne continued talking about being versus beast while Remus angrily took notes. It hurt that vampires were considered beings while werewolves were beasts. He had read an article a little over a year ago from someone who was lobbying for werewolves to be considered beings when it wasn't a full moon, but there was quite a lot of opposition to it. He recalled there had been a line about vampires in it. Something about how vampires and werewolves were a lot alike however it was the full transformation that caused werewolves to lose their humanity while vampires remained humanoid no matter what time of the month it was.
Dedenne had everyone draw a picture of a hag and she must have graded Remus's essay during this time since after class she gave him papers back. He stared at the A in horror. Acceptable?! His eyes ran down the paper. Looks more like a garden gnome than an imp. There were also red slashes over some of the written bits. Close but incorrect. Remus bit his lip and wanted to go back into the classroom and point out in the book where it proved it was not incorrect, however he figured that would be a bad idea. Points taken off for turning in late. I don't think she's being fair... He pushed the paper in his bag and angrily walked down the corridor. Maybe she's just as strict with everyone else. She wouldn't make up arbitrary reasons for cutting down my grade just because I'm a werewolf, would she? He rather wished he had the guts to ask Evans about her grade...
*
Remus was too afraid to go to the library after dinner as much as he wanted to, so he spent his entire evening in his dorm working tirelessly on the homework he needed to catch up on. He was still working when the other boys came up to the dorm. Struthers and Spinnet first, then Pettigrew, and finally Black and Potter. The first three boys were taking a nap before Astronomy, while Black and Potter stayed awake playing a game of chess which teetered a bit on Potter's bed. Remus half-listened in and then ended up watching. Black was clearly better than Potter and it didn't take him long to get close to a checkmate.
"Urrrgh," Potter moaned, studying the board carefully.
"Bishop to B5," Remus suggested and both boys looked over at him.
"Bishop to B5," Potter repeated and his bishop moved, while Black frowned.
Remus guided Potter's pieces around for a couple turns while Black grew visibly annoyed at now losing. "Knight to F6," Remus said. "Check."
"Yeeessss!" Potter laughed.
"Hey, this isn't fair," Black complained as Potter moved his knight. He took the knight, as Remus suspected he would.
Potter looked at Remus expectantly. Remus blushed and ducked his head down. "Queen to F6. Checkmate."
"HAH!" Potter shouted, waking up the other three boys. "Thanks Lupin!"
Remus drew his knees up and went back to working on his essay as the other two started up a card game. Black asked Remus to join and Remus just shook his head, not even looking over. Pettigrew sleepily joined though, while the other two went back to sleep.
At eleven-forty everyone was awake and back in their uniforms as they went as a group out of the common room, along with the girls. They were all whispering about where the Astronomy tower might be. Remus wanted to ask a painting but didn't dare with everyone else there.
"It's the tallest tower, isn't it?" Evans asked nervously. "That's near the front of the school..."
"Goodness," said the Fat Lady behind them. "Go down the corridor, down the stairs to the sixth floor main corridor, take the large corridor to your right--not the first one, the one after that, it's bigger--and take that one all the way to the end. The stairs are there. It's not that difficult."
Evans thanked her and the group went together, finding themselves meeting up with the first-year Ravenclaws at the base of a tall flight of stairs. This was the first time the two houses really interacted, and everyone gave each other wary looks. Then the Ravenclaws began climbing, followed by the Gryffindors. Remus was in the very back, rather excited for this class. He adored the night sky--the stars, at least. The moon he could do without. That was his enemy.
Professor Spring was a rather ancient and spindly wizard who didn't seem like he could climb those stairs every night and survive. Though when he took roll call he spat out the names so quickly the students hardly had any time to answer before he moved on to the next one. Then he tossed the parchment onto his desk and began talking about what they'd be learning. Mostly names of stars, constellations, understanding the planets and their movements, and cartography.
"Does anyone here know what cartography is?" Spring asked. Remus and a couple others raised their hands and Spring called on a Ravenclaw who answered that it was the term for map making. "And what does cartography have to do the stars?" He pointed at Remus now who lowered his hand.
"Celestial cartography, the study and practice of mapping the celestial sphere. S--sir."
"What's the celestial sphere?" Spring asked while looking directly at Remus, ignoring the other hands that went up.
Remus gulped and bowed his head, ignoring all the looks he was getting. "An imaginary--er, sphere around the earth with earth at the center. It gives astronomers a way to give coordinates and locations for everything in the night sky. Similar to longitude and latitude on earth."
Spring nodded and then launched into a lecture about the celestial sphere and coordinates and the importance of calculations and memorizing certain points to calculate other points... He asked loads of questions and Remus was pretty much the only Gryffindor to answer anything though the Ravenclaws answered quite a few as well. Mostly just one of the girls who knew quite a lot. Spring asked about various constellations in the sky and Evans raised her hand for one of them though Spring called on a Ravenclaw to answer. Then he allowed everyone to look through the super powerful magical telescope once before they left. Remus was one of the last ones and he didn't want to stop, it was so beautiful!
They were given a simple star chart to copy as well as an essay about the constellations they discussed, and told to go to bed.