Of Mouse And Man

*******November 1972*******

Peter slid into his seat with only a second to spare. Panting, Sirius slumped down next to him. They caught their breath and looked around the classroom. Peter did a double take, staring at the occupant of the front row. There, calmly flipping through his notes, was James. Wasn't he behind us? He's not even out of breath.

As if he had heard Peter, James turned around. He grinned and mouthed "Tell you later" as Flitwick came into the classroom. The tiny professor glared at Peter and Sirius, and both cringed. Peter slumped down as far as possible, trying to hide behind his stack of books. Sirius merely imitated a turtle. Unfortunately, his collar wasn't quite large enough to complete the effect.

"That's the second time this week, isn't it? Late again and I'll have to give you two detention. I see Mr Potter has managed to be punctual for once." At this James looked like he wanted to crawl under his desk. Flitwick continued, with no trace of his usual cheery demeanour. "Perhaps he has discovered a faster route, since the rest of you have proved that it is impossible to get to class on time from Gryffindor Tower." Now half the class was staring at the floor guiltily. Sighing, Flitwick began to demonstrate Summoning Charms. The rest of the class passed uneventfully, though Peter had a slight mishap involving a heavy book.

After class, Sirius and Peter stood in the hallway until James gathered his books. As always, James drew it out as long as possible. "When you didn't come down for breakfast, we waited for ages. Then you finally showed up, and somehow got to class before us. What's going on?" Sirius demanded, for the first time showing just a bit of impatience.

James smiled mischievously. "Come on, I'll show you." Slightly annoyed, they followed him to a large statue on the third floor. Checking to see that no one was around, James crouched over near the base and pulled out his wand. He tapped it and said something that Peter didn't quite catch. The base opened, revealing a bit of a small passageway.

Sirius gaped. "Where does it go to? Other than right by the Charms classroom?" The dim light of the hallway kept the passage in shadow. To Hogwart's fantastic four, it was tantalising. Sirius braced himself on the statue, his eyes the size of Snitches. James gestured impatiently.

"Only one way to find out," Peter pushed Sirius into the entrance. "Lumos," he muttered, lighting up the small passageway. He turned around to see the stone slab closing. Of all the places to get trapped in. But James did come out by the Charms classroom--I wonder if there are any other exits?

"Think of the possibilities," said James grandly. "That one," with a theatrical gesture he indicated a dark opening on his left, "leads to a staircase near the kitchens. Straight ahead goes by Charms, and presumably the trophy room. I didn't have time to explore the rest." The poor light from Peter's wand distorted James' good-natured grin, turning it into a faintly sinister smirk. Peter's hand quivered, and he hid the gesture by pushing a strand of hair out of his face. Scared of the dark?

"This is going to be a good year," Sirius said, with an actual and intentional smirk. Peter supposed that theoretically, it was possible for Sirius to look frightening. Still, he couldn't imagine such a scenario. "All those wonderful pranks we can play. I wonder if there's a way to get to Hogsmeade." The light from Peter's wand caught his wristwatch, and they were suddenly reminded of the time. "We've got to go to dinner. Meet back here after curfew?"

James and Peter nodded in agreement. "It's too bad Remus isn't here. I know his mum's not well, but he's gone every month. We had an important lesson today. I bet Summoning Charms'll be on the exam."

"He'll be fine. He always catches up."

They walked back to the Great Hall for dinner. Passing a window on the way back to the dorm, Peter noticed the brightness of the moon, very convenient for their midnight excursion.

*******Several Weeks Later*******

Peter sat in the corner of the common room carefully going over his history of magic essay. Next to him, Remus flipped through a large book while groaning about the large amount of homework the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher gave--wouldn't a practical lesson be more useful than endless papers? He was interrupted by Sirius, who had decided that his friends had forgotten that all work and no play makes a dull wizard, and that the best way of reminding them would be a show of Filibuster's Fireworks.

Peter sighed noisily and looked up in annoyance. Brightly coloured sparks filled the room, nearly setting a pile of parchments aflame. The table was quickly surrounded by a group of their classmates coming over to join in the excitement, and Peter gave up all hope of finishing his essay that night. He glared at Sirius who, as usual, grinned back.

"I've already finished mine," Sirius said, in answer to the unspoken question. And it's perfect, Peter thought with irritation. At this point, Remus finally noticed the activity around him. He scowled at Sirius, and turned back to the book. A minute later, he threw his quill down vehemently. Uncooperatively, it slowly wafted down.

"Fine, what exciting activity do you have planned for tonight? And may I remind you that curfew is in half an hour? Believe it or not, some of us lack your brilliance and actually need time to study," Remus said sharply.

"James suggested a trip to the library. Haven't you always wanted to see what was in the Restricted Section?" Sirius looked at Peter for support.

"Well . . ."

Sirius was saved further attempts at cajoling by the appearance of his sisters. Adhara, known to all as Addie, waved her Prefect badge in his face and told him to be a little quieter while Aludra, who also refused to go by her full name, told him off for depleting her store of Filibuster's Fireworks. Sirius looked appropriately remorseful and tried to sneak a Dungbomb into Addie's satchel as soon as her back was turned. She noticed and grinned, but felt duty bound to give a lecture.

"Some of us need to study," she bawled, disturbing anyone who had miraculously managed to retain concentration throughout Sirius' entertainment. "I'm not going to owl Mum this time, but--"

"But he went through my stuff!" interrupted Allie, also in an Outdoor Voice. Addie just yelled louder, so Allie decided to change tactics. "You know there's no way he could've snuck Dungbombs into his trunk. Mum packed it; remember when she--"

"Shut up!" Sirius bellowed. Addie dropped the Prefect air of authority, and a full-fledged family row nearly began. Peter almost dove under the table, but settled for hiding behind his book. Hearing the noise, the Head Girl (who most certainly did NOT agree with some of Addie's policies) poked her head and the combatants cooled off.

Sirius apologised for calling Allie several unpleasant but creative things, and Addie slipped her some money for her next purchase from Zonko's Mail Order, with strict orders not to get caught. She wouldn't know exactly what her sister bought without going through Allie's stuff, and Addie was a strict believer in privacy; what right did she have to go snooping around the other students' stuff? As long as Addie didn't see her sister's stuff, how was she supposed to know about it? Anyway, what the teachers didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

Needless to say, Addie was everyone's favourite Prefect, though how she ever achieved the position was a bit of a mystery. Though her order keeping skills left something to be desired, there were some things she wouldn't tolerate, and it was generally agreed upon that McGonagall had made a good decision. Among other things, the first years worshipped her. Addie could be amazingly harsh when she felt that someone had crossed the line but these times were few and far between. At the moment, she cheerfully gave Sirius a few tips on smuggling in contraband and ruffled his hair rather vigorously before going off to study.

James, disappointed at having missed the excitement, slunk out of the corner, carrying an overstuffed book bag. He pushed past a red-haired girl in their year, ignored her annoyed look, and slung the bag down on the table. One of the bulges overflowed, exposing a large selection of food pilfered from the kitchens. Also revealed was a silvery swatch of fabric, which James quickly stuffed back into the bag. Everyone else had gone back to their own amusements, so he surreptitiously pulled out a few muffins.

Sirius and Peter ravenously attacked the food, scuffling over the cranberry ones. After a moment's hesitation, Remus joined them. James grabbed a pastry of his own, and realised that maybe even the shadowy corner table of the crowded common room was not the safest for his most prized possession. He picked up the bag to return to its hiding place under his bed. Trying to sneak unobtrusively, he bumped into Peter, who looked up suddenly and knocked his papers to the floor.

Sighing, Peter gathered up the sheets of parchment. Five inches, that's enough for one night. Might as well put it up before Sirius decides to fold it into a paper broomstick. He walked across the room, mumbling apologies after running into the group of fifth years playing a game of Exploding Snap by the staircase. After successfully navigating the common room, Peter faced the challenge of going up the winding and uneven staircase with an armload of loose paper.

After taking an absurdly long time to climb the stairs, he dumped the papers on his bed after nearly tripping over the red curtains. Out of breath, he turned around to see James sitting on the floor with a worried look on his face. Huh?

"Are you sure about him?" James asked out of the blue.

"Sure about who?"

"Remus."

"What about Remus?"

"Being," his voice dropped to a whisper, "a werewolf."

"What??"

"Can you say anything else?" James said with exasperation. "You've commented on how he's always gone with the full moon, wrote your Defence Against the Dark Arts essay on werewolves. We wouldn't have figured it out so soon without you."

"Oh. Um . . . yeah, now that you mention it, I guess it does apply to Remus." I am such an idiot. Could I be more dense? Well, what does James plan to do about it now, confront him?

"If you've noticed, other people must have, or will soon."

"So we'll go to Dumbledore?"

"Sirius and I think we should talk to him first. Remus is our friend."

Peter nodded. So what do we say? Hey Remus, bitten anyone lately? Isn't the moon pretty? No wonder he's done so well in DADA. Then it hit him. He began to hyperventilate. I've been best friends with a werewolf. He's been sleeping in the bed next to me for the last two years. WHAT IF HE'D FELT THE NEED FOR A MIDNIGHT SNACK?

Fine, if James wants to talk to him, we will. Then, it's straight to Dumbledore. He started ransacking his trunk. Clothing and books flew everywhere until he finally uncovered what he'd been looking for--his cloak. With some difficulty, Peter ripped the silver chain from around the neck. He triumphantly held it up, trying to calculate Remus' weight and determine the amount of silver it would take to subdue him.

James snorted. "He's our friend, Peter."

"And he's also a werewolf. They're known for being irrational. I'm not taking any chances."

*****

"Don't step on my foot."

"Well don't put your foot where I'm stepping."

"How can you two tell? I can't see a thing."

"You aren't supposed to. It would defeat the purpose of an invisibility cloak if you could."

"Sorry. Aren't you cranky when you haven't gotten enough sleep."

"We're here."

"Alohomora," James pocketed his wand and pulled the door open. Inside the library, the boys threw off the cloak. Sirius rubbed his injured foot, and shot glares over at Peter. After a few charms (Filch's security system being incredibly easy for a group of intelligent and resourceful young students to break), they began exploring the Restricted shelves. Dusty old volumes were pulled off the shelves and thrown around in a way that would make Madame Pince cringe. Peter found an intriguing book of potions, and began thinking about a way he could get permission to check it out. Maybe Prof. Pennifold could be convinced to give me a slip for advanced study of restoration potions, and free access to this shelf. That's a possibility. What's Sirius doing?

After a quick glance at James, Sirius pulled an antique text from a stand. A relic of the Middle Ages, it was held closed with a large silver chain. He browsed through it (and made quite an effort to look interested in an epic poem about the founding of Hogwarts, proving yet again that acting was not among Sirius' many talents), then tossed it at the unsuspecting Remus, who caught the book with one hand. Not surprisingly, Remus dropped it. He then cradled his left hand in the other as if it were burned, which confirmed his friends' suspicions.

James swore quietly, while Sirius and Peter went for their wands. "We were hoping we were wrong," he said slowly.

"Wrong about what?" Remus snapped. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."

"I told you werewolves are irrational," muttered Peter. "Throw a book at him, there's a cunning plan. Now what are we supposed to do, wait for him to transform, tear us into pieces and hide our bodies in the magical theory section where no one even goes, so no one will ever know what happened to us and we'll become a scary story they tell first years to keep them from wandering around after dark?" He stopped short, realising that he was speaking out loud.

"You think I'm a werewolf?" Remus said scornfully, ignoring Peter, who was holding his very tiny silver chain out in front of him. Peter also tried to pick a splinter off the shelves, and nearly panicked, realising that it wouldn't be big enough. Wait, isn't that for vampires? The whole situation would have been quite funny if Remus didn't look so . . . psychotic. Peter stifled a nervous giggle as Sirius spoke.

"Um . . .yes. You're gone around the full moon, can't touch silver, and have an interesting scar on your arm that looks suspiciously like a bite mark. If you have another explanation, we'd be very interested in hearing it." Sirius brandished his wand, trying desperately to remember some useful spells from his infrequent attendance of the duelling club.

"It's the only possibility." Peter looked thoughtful. "Well, I guess your Mum could be a werewolf and you have some traits of one, but I'm not sure if it works that way--"

Remus lunged at Peter, knocking over a large stand. In the moment it took Remus to disentangle himself, Peter fumbled for his wand. It had fallen out of his sleeve and, along with the silver chain, was somewhere on the dark floor. It took him what seemed like a century to locate it. Think of a spell, any spell.

"Lumos!" His wand lit up the library. That was useful. Remus did stop in amazement (probably at my stupidity), and then reached for his own wand. So he's decided not to tear me apart with his bare hands. Hurrah. Back on task.

"Furunculus!" Unfortunately, Remus was not suddenly covered with boils. Peter decided to try again. Concentrate- why can't you do a simple spell? Well, actually I can do that spell very nicely, just not when I need to. There was the time in Charms when I covered that Hufflepuff . . . which really doesn't matter right now. He raised his arm, took a deep breath, and . . .

"Relashio!" Fiery sparks came out of Remus' wand and singed Peter's robe. He jumped up and down, trying to put them out. Think of something, buy some time. Whirling around trying to put out the flame, he caught sight of James and Sirius standing to one side with bewildered expressions. Why aren't they helping? Now really isn't the time to insist on following proper duelling protocol.

"St . . .stupi... stupefy," Peter attempted to yell.

But Remus was quicker. "Expelliarmus!" Peter's wand flew one way and he went the other. He hit the wall hard, and saw Snitches. When the room stopped spinning, he was sprawled on the floor watching Sirius and James attempt to disarm Remus. Fighting a wild desire to yell 'I told you so', Peter pulled himself to his feet and started looking for his wand again. Found it; I'm adding a tracking charm tomorrow morning. Now maybe I can sneak off and get one of the teachers. No, I can't leave them. Think, Peter, THINK.

"Restringo, " Peter said. Sirius and James started at the ropes that had suddenly appeared around Remus' arms and legs. He furiously struggled, but soon gave up the pointless exercise in favour of glaring at his captors. If looks could kill . . .

"I'll go get Dumbledore," Peter said meekly, as he ran for the door.

"Dumbledore?" Remus did something no one expected--he started laughing. "You want to go to Dumbledore!"

Peter stopped and stared at him. Run! Now! But for some reason he couldn't, just stood there looking at Remus anxiously. James and Sirius also seemed rooted to the spot.

"You twits. Dumbledore knows. He's known the entire time. It's because of him that I'm allowed to attend Hogwarts. Notice that I turned thirteen in September?"

"Why didn't you tell us, then?" ventured Sirius.

"Hmm . . . I wonder. Let's see, how did you react when you figured it out for yourself after knowing me for over a year? What was I supposed to say--hi, I'm Remus Lupin and I'm a werewolf?"

"Maybe not then," James conceded. " But if you'd just told us now . . .you're our friend. Now we know you aren't dangerous--"

"Not dangerous! Try telling that to all the other students and their parents. If you'd be kind enough to tell the houselves to pack my stuff, since they'll probably insist on leaving me tied up until I can be taken to the train station . . . no, I can't wait for them to find out. You have no idea what it's like, the way others react. I've been shunned ever since I was stupid enough to sneak off to play in the woods after dark."

"See, that's what happens when you don't tell the truth. Imagine if you had been told why you weren't supposed to go into the woods during the full moon."

"Shut it Peter. Anyway, we aren't going to tell."

"I'm supposed to believe that?"

"James is right, we won't tell."

"It's obvious that we don't trust each other, which is stupid. We've been best friends for a year, and I think I know you well enough that . . . well. We should've talked to you," James said, and Peter nodded in agreement. Reluctantly, he came over and sat down next to Sirius. Dumbledore knows what's going on. If he thinks we're safe, we are. Anyway, if Remus were going to go berserk and attack someone, it would've happened before now.

Having made up his mind, Peter concentrated on the counterspell and removed the bindings. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. Glaring at the group, Remus got up and stalked out of the room. The trio sat still for quite a while, not looking at each other.

Finally, Sirius broke the silence. "That didn't go quite as planned, did it?"

*******Mid-December, 1972*******

Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James sat around the fire late one night. For once the room was empty--probably due to the fact that most of the teachers felt the holidays were a waste and the only way to prevent the students from turning into mindless flobberworms while they were home would be to cram three weeks of teaching (and homework) into one. The group sat there lazily, enjoying the rare experience of snagging several chairs by the fire, a spot usually claimed by the fifth years.

Remus stared moodily into the fire. Sirius began talking to him, and then discovered that he wasn't brooding, but asleep. Sighing, he poked the fire with his wand wondering if it would be worth the effort to cause some excitement. Not surprisingly, Remus had been a little touchy lately--otherwise Sirius wouldn't have given it a thought before rudely awakening him.

Peter sat on the rug near the fire, eating a sugar quill and ignoring the large number of books spread out around him. Perched on a footstool nearby, James was actually staring into the fire; the look of concentration on his face made it obvious that he was awake. I'm glad things are back to normal, Peter thought contentedly. Odd--I'd never seen Remus angry before. At least he's decided we are to be trusted. I guess I was scared of him at first, but not now. He's one of us. Musing on the joys of belonging to a group, especially one so admired by fellow classmates (Peter smiled a bit, remembering a certain prank played on a certain obnoxious Slytherin), he was startled when James began to speak.

"Sirius, you wrote your last essay for Transfiguration on animagi, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Well, how do you do it?"

Sirius shrugged. "It's not like it's second-year magic. I didn't find any instruction manuals, and I doubt there'd even be some in the Restricted Section. Why?"

"It's interesting, and I've read some on my own. As far as I know, it's incredibly complicated and can go very wrong . . . humans are the only ones who are at risk of being bitten" Where did that come from? Peter thought. Oh.

James bit his lip- it was now or never. "Remus!" James said loudly. The other boy woke up with a start. "I've just had a brilliant idea."

"You don't mean what I think you do?" asked Sirius, and James nodded "Well, it might work. It would take a while and we'd have to be very careful," Sirius conceded.

"You aren't serious!" Peter squeaked.

In response to Remus' odd look, James elaborated: "Werewolves aren't a danger to other animals." He looked happily at Remus, who still looked puzzled. "What if we could join you when you transform?"

Remus goggled. "Do you realise how difficult it would be? And dangerous?"

"I don't think it's a good--" Peter began.

James cut him off. "We'll need to start over the holiday."

"Are you deaf? This is powerful magic. Most adult wizards can't do it."

"Most adult wizards don't have the four smartest students in Hogwarts working on it. They also aren't as motivated."

Looking around at the three excited faces of his friends, Peter gave in reluctantly. He was unable to vanish mental images of himself half-transformed.

Remus looked at them oddly. He started to say something, but stopped. The group sat in a companionable silence for half an hour, then all but Remus quietly returned to the dorm.