Mischief Managed Year One: Mayhem of the Moon

Chapter Forty-Seven- Becoming What One Hates

TW: Mentions of Abuse

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The next day it took both James and Sirius to get Remus through classes. By dinner, which Remus wasn't eating a single bite of, it was clear that their friend wasn't hearing a single thing any of them were saying.

"Remus Lupin is a real wanker. And his deepest desire is to snog Lily Evans~" James teased, waving his hand in front of the pale boys' face.

"I'm beginning to think that's your deepest desire," Sirius scoffed, quite pleased when James' neck went a bit pink.

Poor Remus seemed to just be trying not to pass out where he sat. His face nearly fell into the bowl of soup that he'd only taken a single bite of the whole time they sat there.

"Guys, do you think we ought to take him to the matron?" Peter asked for the third time that evening, glancing at Remus with wide eyes.

"Mn, no. Not time yet," Remus whispered with a pained expression. This caused Sirius to slam his cutlery down a bit too loud, wondering what the hell that meant!

When Remus didn't even flinch at his nonverbal outburst, Sirius motioned James to try and help Remus up as inconspicuous as possible. It was much harder than it should have been. Despite being quite out of it, the bloody stubborn fool seemed to be fighting them to stay.

"What's going on here, you four?" Frank Longbottom asked, coming over with a concerned Alice and Patricia on his heels. Sirius immediately felt protective of Remus and didn't want any of the three to know what was wrong with him. James seemed to have a different idea.

"Hi, Frank. Remus isn't feeling well," James said casually.

Patricia looked alarmed, then worried. But James had said it with such a matter-of-fact openness that Frank merely nodded, thinking nothing of it. He went over to Remus hunching down and placed a hand on his arm. "Not feeling good, huh? Come on, then. Let's take you to Madam Pomfrey lad."

Remus looked like he was going to protest. But at Frank's gentle tug, he followed his lead and the two of them left the Great Hall. The rest of them got up to trail behind but Patricia stopped them from following.

"Why can't we go? Alice is going!" Sirius protested loudly.

"That's because she's Frank's girlfriend. Besides, more than four is a crowd. Remus sure gets sick a lot, huh?"

Sirius glowered at her wanting to go along. James sighed and nodded. "Yes, he sure does..."

Patricia seemed a bit surprised that James didn't sound like a lovesick puppy. She nodded, ruffling his hair. "Cheer up. I'm sure he'll be feeling better in no time."

She looked them all over as if making sure they weren't keeping something from her, which they were. For a second, Sirius considered telling her about Remus' uncle. Afterall, Patricia was quite a bit older than them. But Sirius said nothing and she gave them a few more words of encouragement before going back to her half-eaten dinner.

As Sirius watched her leave he realized he did have an older student he was close to, someone he could trust, someone nearby. Someone who would probably know what to do, considering she'd be a mother soon and that meant some sort of innate wisdom, or so he'd been told. He sat back down and leaned in, Peter and James following suit.

"I'm going to talk to Drommie. I mean...I think she'll know what to do."

"Better than nothing, I suppose," James sighed, still looking upset. Peter nodded eagerly.