Mischief Managed Year One: Mayhem of the Moon

Chapter Thirty-Nine- Incriminating Evidence and A Different Kind of Monster

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The next morning by the time classes were over Remus was no closer to a believable story about what he had seen. Therefore, he decided to avoid his friends, not at all ready to explain. Instead, he went to the library and looked over old newspapers, desperate to find a picture of Greyback which he was sure he would be able to find in a copy of one of the old Daily Prophets that the library had an extensive collection of.

"What are you doing?" Sirius barked angrily from behind him making Remus jump slightly and turn around to face him habitually trying to hide the Daily Prophets as he did so.

"Ah! Sirius! Oh, I was um..." Remus should have been able to come up with something, but the sharp look Sirius had stopped him from lying before he could come up with a believable excuse.

"Where are the others?" he asked instead, not wanting to bring up the way his roommates had been ignoring him, but the need to have a topic to discuss alone with Sirius winning out.

"Back in the dorm."Sirius sat down giving Remus a rather chilling smile,"So it's just you and me."

There was a very slight threat ringing behind his friend's words and once more Remus knew he had to play on the truth just enough to be believable, yet get out of this without letting his roommates know what was really going on.

"Have you come to bring me back to the dorm?" Remus began.

"Well, I figured you'd hide out here all night if I didn't."

Remus didn't refute that, he knew just how true it was, he had in fact been contemplating it before Sirius had snuck up on him and scared him. His roommates had been kind enough to let it go until after Lily's birthday as Remus had wished, but the young werewolf wasn't dumb enough to think they would let it go even more.

"Then I guess we should go back?" Remus tried.

"I'm not letting you have more time to come up with a lie!" Sirius huffed, sounding more hurt than angry. This was worse, and Remus hung his head in shame. He really was a terrible friend and he wasn't going to be able to call himself one at all anymore if he wasn't careful.

"I saw something that really scared me," Remus admitted in a small voice. Sirius was regarding him carefully, the distrust apparent.

"What did you see?" he asked coldly, and Remus flinched again. Even if he concocted some sort of half-truth, would it be enough? Was it too late to be forgiven? Had he really messed up that badly?

"I'm ready to talk but I'd rather not repeat it," Remus admitted.

Sirius took him in carefully and suddenly his hand darted out. For one terrible second Remus thought he would hit him and nearly tumbled out of his chair. Instead, Sirius only gripped his shoulder, and Remus was surprised to find he was trembling.

"I wouldn't hurt you. I'd never hurt you," he heard Sirius whisper and looked up to those dark fog-colored eyes filled with hurt and tears."Tell us or don't Remus. I don't care anymore," he responded so flatly, so cooly, that Remus flinched.

Sirius let him go and walked away, looking more lonely than Remus had seen him look since the beginning of the school year. Remus wanted to chase after him, nearly did, but he still had to come up with something to tell his friends. Because he could no longer pretend he didn't want them as his friends, and didn't need them to be.

So he watched Sirius leave, his cheeks feeling damp and he put a pause to his hunt for what Greyback looked like and spent a long time coming up with what to tell them.