Arcturus jerked awake suddenly to the loud banging of a door slamming shut.
"Shh! Sirius, you'll wake up Arcturus!" James' voice whispered urgently in the dark.
"Aw shit. I forgot." Sirius whispered back.
Arcturus lay perfectly still in his bed, wondering if he'd hear why they were coming into the dorm this late. He'd thought they were all in bed already. There were shuffling noises and the sounds of curtains opening and closing.
"I'm really worried about Moony." James whispered,
"So am i, Prongs. He gets worse every month." Sirius responded in hushed tones.
"Is Remmy gonna be okay?" Peter's voice could be heard suddenly. He sounded almost like a scared child, and he was a little louder than James and Sirius when they had spoken.
"Shh, Wormtail. Arcturus is sleeping!" James hushed his friend.
"I think he'll be fine, man. He's been dealing with it since he was a kid, so i think he's got this." Sirius sounded unsure himself.
"If only there was some spell or potion that made it easier. It must hurt a lot." Peter whispered back.
"It would be amazing if there was." James said quietly. There was a long pause, before James broke the silence. "Goodnight guys." He whispered,
"Goodnight."
"Night."
The other two replied. Soon enough, their breathing became even as they drifted off to sleep, and Peter began to snore loudly. Arcturus meanwhile, was unable to get back to sleep. His mind was whirring and ticking over, thinking hard. Remus was feeling very unwell tonight, and went up to the hospital wing early in the evening. He 'gets worse every month', and 'it must hurt a lot'. There is no known remedy, which is what Peter had been wishing for, and Sirius said Remus had been dealing with this since he was a kid.... Arcturus mulled it over in his head. He went back over the details of the conversation he had just heard, and replayed what he had seen down at the lake with Kyra.
The three people at the tree, one slightly shorter and stumpier. That could have been Peter with Sirius and James, making their way down the lawn. How 'Peter' managed to disappear suddenly was questionable, though. You can't apparate within Hogwarts, and he doubted Peter would be able to apparate even if you could. He thought it over a few times... He remembered the sight of Kyra standing by the lake with her back to him. The light of the full moon gave her hair that beautiful raven sheen. That's when it occured to him.
It was full moon tonight!
Remus was unwell!
And there was no known remedy for his painful condition.
Was Remus a..... Werewolf?
No way. No way.
Arcturus' knuckles turned white from clutching his blankets so hard. His eyes were wide with shock at his sudden realisation. Remus Lupin was a werewolf? The slight gap in the curtains around his four poster let him know that the sun was rising... There was only one way to find out if his suspicions were true.
He quietly crept out of bed and tiptoed away towards the hospital wing. He made it to the moving staircase without trouble. Cassandra must have been asleep. Down the stairs, carefully... He made it down to the corridor just off the hospital wing, and heard the doors open and footsteps in the corridor. He dived into an alcove in the wall and hid behind the suit of armour that stood within it. Madam Pomfrey appeared and sidled past him. Arcturus got comfy. He knew he might have to wait a while for her to come back, but that was fine. He could be patient. He sat down behind the statue, legs pulled up to his chest. This was a good hiding spot, as it didn't look like there was much room behind the armour suit from the front, but there was.
It was only twenty minutes before he heard more footsteps, and he waited in anticipation, but it was only the caretaker doing his rounds. He didn't notice Arcturus, thank Merlin. The young Griffindor shivered at the thought of what would happen if he had spotted him in his hiding place.
Finally, he heard someone coming along down the corridor. Madam Pomfrey clicked her tongue disappointedly.
"You hurt yourself worse every time." She said quietly. There was no response, but they continued to shuffle along slowly. "Nearly there now, dear, and then we can treat the worst of the wounds and put you to bed." The nurse assured him. They came past his hiding place, and from the fresh sunlight shining through a nearby window, Arcturus was able to see clearly the extent of Remus' injuries. He was badly scarred, clothes torn, and bleeding in places. Remus looked deathly pale as he limped along, propped up by the nurse. Arcturus fought the urge to gasp. They disappeared into the hospital wing and the doors banged closed. Arcturus sat there for a while in the slowly brightening corridor, thinking about what he had just seen.
Remus Lupin was a werewolf.
Arcturus rose from where he sat, and carefully made his way back down the corridor, up the moving staircases, all the way to the Griffindor dorms, and to bed. He drifted off to sleep with the knowledge that his new friend was a werewolf, and he liked him no more or less than he did before he knew that, because to Arcturus, Remus was still Remus, even with his condition.