Little Miss Marauder

Chapter 26 - We All Have Secrets

Chapter 26 - We All Have Secrets

Pain. No matter how hard you try to avoid it, it always reaches you, physical or emotional. Sometimes it's so strong you can't distinguish between the two. Right now the youngest Potter twin was consumed by both. She laid in a bed in the hospital wing trying to piece together the night before. This had happened so many times in the past, but last night was different, it was worse. Cassadee had so much weighing down on her that when she transformed, every emotion she felt came out She had never been so aggressive, the numerous cuts littering her body proved that, but no matter how bad the night before was, seeing her brother sat beside her bed asleep, unharmed, calmed her substantially. Her biggest fear was hurting any of her loved ones, so knowing that James was okay, that he was right there, that he still loved her, that was all she needed for now.

Behind the curtain, right next to the two siblings, Remus laid awake, assessing the damage he had inflicted upon himself the night before, wondering how many of the new cuts he would be able to cover to ease the suspicion of their origin. He had managed to avoid all the questions so far, blaming his absences on his mother falling ill, but recently his friends had started to notice. Since the first full moon at Hogwarts, Cass had been sending him mysterious glances but neither of them had ever actually spoken about it to each other. Remus was too caught up in hiding his own secret that he had failed to notice that she was having the exact same issue. He dwelled on the conversation he overheard between the twins in first year for a few days, but he did not feel as though it was his place to ask. After all, he did only hear a name, nothing else.

Sirius bounded up to the hospital wing doors, swinging them open in his stride, ignoring the disapproving looks from other students he walked up to Remus' bed. "I knew you were in here!" the black boy shouted, his voice now trapped by the charmed curtains. "Are you okay mate? Why are you in the hospital wing? Why didn't you tell me before you came?" Remus wanted to laugh at the speed in which questions poured from his friends mouth, but the shock of him standing there was too much. That was, too much until he heard Sirius' recount of his morning, "Wait James was gone this morning?"

"Yeah, I thought he was in here seeing you, but judging by the look on your face I guess not." Sirius shrugged this off, assuming that he was off chasing Evans who knows where. "Stop trying to change the topic Remus Johnfrey Lupin!"

This Remus did laugh at, the group would always alter his middle name, claiming that such a simple name didn't fit the boy. "I'm fine Sirius just felt a little sick is all." Sirius knew this time that it wasn't true, whilst the boy in-front of him did not look well, he didn't look ill. "I know that's not it" at this Remus took in a breath of fear, did he know? What is h- The inner panic was silenced by Black's next words "but I'm not going to force it out of you. But all of the others and I will be right here when you are ready to tell us. No matter how long it takes." This was rare. Sirius being serious, it had only happened a few times in the years they had known each other. This had managed to stop the doubt in Remus, even for just a second, but he truly felt that in that moment his condition didn't matter. But that was only for a second. This was always going to be a problem. He was always going to be a problem.

Peter entered the hospital wing about fifteen minutes after Sirius. He too came to check on his friend, scared that anything had happened to one of the few people that cared for him. After finding out which bed Remus was in from Madame Pomfrey, he pulled open the curtain seeing two of his friends there, but not the two he was expecting. "James? Cass? Why are you two here?" This roused James from his slumber and shocked Cassadee out of her daydreaming state. "Pete. What... What are you doing here?" James glanced from him to his sister, scared of the thoughts running through her head. "I asked you first mate."

"Oh – erhm- well... Cass- she err..." James was flustered, it was clear to all three of them. "I didn't feel well this morning and, on my way, here I saw James in the common room so he came down with me." Cassadee lied.

"Oh- well how are you feeling now?" The short boy easily believed her, assuming that it was about a girl problem that he didn't want to know about. Cassadee smiled at his genuine concern, Peter was always sweet and cared deeply about his friends, "Yeah Pete, I'm good now buddy. I'll be out as soon as Poppy comes back again." "That's good. Anyway, I came to see Remus, he wasn't feeling well either so Sirius came down to check on him while I got some chocolate from his supply."

James smiled at this, calm knowing that Peter wasn't going to press any further. He didn't think there was anything wrong with Cassadee but knew that not everyone had the same outlook as him. He trusted his friends with his life, but Cassadee wasn't comfortable telling them yet and he had to respect her choice, no matter if it meant lying to them. "Chocolate does always make Remus feel better. I'll come with you to see him now, if that's good with you Cass?" James was calm but he still wanted to get Peter away to prevent him from asking more questions. "Yeah that's fine. I'll come join you guys when I can." And with that the two young boys left her alone.

Her secret was safe. At least that's what she thought. When one is friends with a nosy person such as Sirius Black, a secret is never safe, no matter how guarded you believe it is. Sirius wasn't oblivious. Two of his friends disappearing each month with pitiful excuses had previously led him into the one place he swore never to set foot. Hogwarts library. He already knew why the two were constantly in the hospital wing or always had new scratches they thought went unnoticed. Around a year ago he had a few theories and had managed to persuade Minnie into giving him a pass into the restricted section. Using a date to Hogsmeade as a cover he sat and did research until he was certain. It had been a year since Sirius Black discovered two of his best friends were werewolves but it had only been a matter of hours till he discovered a way he could potentially help both of them. Now he just had to wait for them to feel comfortable telling him. After all, it's not like he had told them all his full life story. Everyone has secrets, some deadlier than others.