Romi moved to take a bite of the food but as soon as it touched her tongue she immediately pulled it away and covered her mouth as the putrid taste spread through her mouth. It wasn't as though it was an unexpected but that didn't mean she enjoyed it.

The four boys turned to look at her and Remus grimaced, placing his fork down as well, his appetite gone. The two had always been connected and he certainly didn't want to taste the food knowing how it would go. Remus and Romi looked to their left where a kid sat, unbathed.

And so it begins.

"I'm going to head back to the common room before Potions," she informed them as she stood up. Romi was always very big on isolation the week or so leading up to the shift, though, it wasn't that surprising. But resting didn't make anything easier, either. Her vision blurred slightly but she shook her head. Remus stood up as well. "We'll see you in class."

The twins made their way back to the common room, ignoring the looks their friends sent their way. This is how it tended to be for them before a full moon. When they were younger, it was more gradual. The symptoms and lashing out starting weeks prior and gradually getting worse as the time approached. Now, it was a sudden rush of symptoms and as soon as one occurred, all the rest came with it. And it was always at the same time for both of them.

"Caput Draconis," Romi muttered and the portrait swung open. She looked to her brother expectantly, "Do you have any-" she began but was cut off when he handed her a chocolate bar. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

"Quite the opposite really," he replied simply.

It was an unfortunate situation for Romi, really. As a werewolf, she was prone to mature early. In every single way. And because the universe was oh so very kind, ever since she started getting her other time of the month back in first year, the full moon was almost always right after.

She broke a piece of chocolate off and placed it on her tongue with a satisfied hum. The chocolate almost always made her feel better, if only a little.

Romi fell back on the couch and Remus sat across from her. She glanced over at him with a hopeful expression, "Can we skip Potions today?"

"No," he replied simply and she huffed. This was a conversation the pair often had. Remus didn't want to go to class either, as much as he hated missing content. But if their dad ever found out... "Remember what dad said-"

"Screw him," she interrupted, a scowl making its way onto her face. Romi didn't tolerate their father in the way that Remus did. If she had it her way, she would have nothing to do with him. "If it wasn't for him, we would have never had to go through this."

"He never wanted this for us."

"Maybe he should have learned to keep his mouth shut then," she pointed out. And it was true. If his dad hadn't run his mouth as he was so accustomed to, they never wouldn't have gotten attacked. And this never would have happened to them. "Then Greyback never would have come for us and this never would have happened."

Remus tapped his hand against the arm of the chair he sat on. He understood where she was coming from to an extent. He, too, was upset with his father for many reasons but there was only so much the man could do or say to make up for his previous actions. Then again, he also knew that it was mostly the full moon talking. It had always affected Romi worse than him which said quite a bit.

"We should head to Potions," Remus suggested as he stood up slowly. He reached his hand out for his sister to take and she did so he pulled her up. While she put up a good front, they both knew that Romi wasn't going to skip class.

Remus wrapped his arm over her shoulder and she rested her head on his shoulder as they made their way out of the common room, "I think I'm going to throw up."

He looked down at her with a frown, "Are you-"

She pushed away from him quickly but she wasn't fast enough, throwing up the small amount of contents she had for breakfast that morning on the ground. Remus grimaced, the smell no doubt strong. He pulled his wand out and waved it, "Scourgify."

Romi wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, "I could have taken care of it." He was always cleaning up her messes before she had the chance to do it herself.

He frowned, "Maybe you should go lay down. I'll tell Slughorn you aren't feeling well." And he was also always trying to help her when she didn't want his help.

She shook her head in protest, "No, no. I'm fine."

He raised an eyebrow, "Puking your guts out isn't exactly fine."

She waved her hand as she readjusted her books, "I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't go to class." Of course she had made the comment about skipping class but she hadn't truly meant it. She was already on her dad's bad side as is, skipping class during one of her more important years was basically suicide.

Remus frowned before nodding in agreement. They made their way to the Potions classroom, Romi spending the duration of their walk trying to think about anything other than throwing up again. If there was a way for her to eliminate either of her problems, she would.

"I think you should go see Pomfrey," Remus suggested warily.

"And I think you should shut your mouth before I shut it for you," she countered as they entered the Potions classroom.

He put his hands up as a gesture of surrender, "It was just a suggestion."

"Hmm," she replied before they parted ways.

Romi took a seat at the back table, immediately resting her head in her arms and allowing her eyes to flutter shut.

"Oi, Lupin," Marlene greeted as she dropped her textbook down on the table. Marlene was probably the Gryffindor in her year that she was closest with. Romi groaned and Marlene raised an eyebrow, "You look like shit."

"Quite the observation," she grumbled as she sat up. "Cramps are being a bitch."

"You and me both," Marlene replied.

She hadn't completely lied, of course. She did have cramps but that wasn't exactly why she was feeling awful.

"Marlene," Lily hissed under her breath. Romi gritted her teeth together as she dug her nails into her palm, stopping herself from snapping at the girl. "You were supposed to sit with me." She turned to Romi hastily, "Nothing against you, I swear it, but-"

"You don't want to sit next to Potter, I get it," Romi nodded understandingly. "Normally I would offer to but I'm afraid if I stand up, I might pass out."

Lily's eyes widened slightly and she nodded quickly in response. "No, it's fine," she turned to look at Marlene. "Please?"

"I'm fine right here," the blonde replied and Lily grimaced. "Tell Potter I said hello, would you?

"You could tell him yourself," she pointed out, clutching her book to her chest.

"Let's have a seat everyone," Slughorn announced and Lily turned away from the pair. She was the only one standing up so it had to be about her. "Today we'll be working with our table partners on a potion."

Lily reluctantly sat down next to James, pushing her chair as close to the opposite end of the table. James seemed surprised by the girl's presence and he turned to look at where Marlene and Romi sat. Marlene waved at him with a grin on her face. He seemed confused but raised his hand, waving slightly.

"Romulus," Slughorn called out and Romi cringed at the use of her full name. She had always hated her name more than anything else. "Would you come up here and explain to the class what potion this is?"

Romi grimaced as she forced herself to her feet. She braced herself on the table for a moment before starting forward. She stopped in front of his desk and he lifted the lid. A strong scent of sandalwood and broom polish. She covered her nose and mouth quickly, fighting back the urge to throw up.

"Are you alright, Ms. Lupin?" Slughorn asked with a look of worry on his face.

She shook her head slightly before throwing herself at the trash bin by his desk and bracing herself on the edge of it as she retched into the bin. The whole class was watching her now and she wanted nothing more than to disappear.

"Oh, dear," Slughorn muttered as he awkwardly patted her back. "How about you head on down to Pomfrey?" She nodded in agreement and stood up, stumbling slightly, growing light headed at the sudden movement.

"Mr. Potter," Slughorn spoke up and James looked up from where he had been setting up his things with Lily. "Would you help Ms. Lupin to the infirmary please?"

James looked over at Romi and then down at the cauldron in front of him, his gaze flickering over to Lily for a brief moment. It was clear that he was elated to work with Lily and Romi didn't want to ruin that for him. He started to nod when Romi quickly spoke up, "It's alright. I can manage."

"Are you sure, dear?" the Professor inquired. "I'm afraid if I send you on your own, we'll find you passed out in a hall somewhere."

"It's okay-" she began but James cut her off.

"Let's get you to Pomfrey," he suggested and she looked over to see he was already making his way over to her. "Come on."

She nodded reluctantly before following him out of the classroom. "I'm sorry," she apologized as they made their way to the infirmary. And she was. As much as she teased the boy, she knew that his one on one time with Lily was valuable to him.

"It's alright," he replied with a shrug.

"Lily was working with you," she pointed out, "And she didn't seem to be hating it."

"That's not all that important," he replied. She wanted the counter his claim but she was far to exhausted to do so. The more she let the fact that her body was giving up on her get to her, the worse she felt. "You're important." He watched her for a moment, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, ignoring the pounding in her head, "Just the full moon."

"What happened to your hands?"

She grew confused at this before she looked at the palms of her hand. She closed her hand into a fist and the marks matched up with her nails. "I was trying not to yell at Lily."

"Did she do something?"

"No, not really," she replied as her grip tightened and her hands fell to her side. It was something she did often as a means of not snapping at someone for something underserved. "I'm just irritable."

"When are you not?" he inquired. Her eye twitched and he put his hands up, "Only joking."

"Hmm," she replied, "We're almost there. I think I can manage the rest of the way."

"Yeah and then when you end up passed out in an abandoned hallway, I'll be the one in trouble," he reminded her. He was not going to give her a reason for her to rip him a new one. "I'd never hear the end of. I'll leave once I know Pomfrey has you under control."

"Under control?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow. "What exactly are you implying, Potter?"

"Merlin's beard," he huffed. While he was used to her 'I can handle myself and I don't need anyone' attitude, it didn't make it any less annoying to be on the other side of. "I'm not implying anything. I just want to make sure you're okay, alright? You're not going to bite my head off for that, are you?"

Her nose wrinkled slightly but she shook her head. She squeezed her eyes shut as another wave of nausea came over her. James caught her arm as she stumbled, "Ro?"

"I'm fine," she replied as she opened her eyes. She tried to pull her arm from him but he didn't let go, "I can walk myself."

"You sure about that?" She narrowed her eyes but said nothing in response, allowing James to lead her to the infirmary.

"Romi, dear," Pomfrey frowned as she helped the girl onto a bed. "Slughorn said you were heading my way." She held something out, "Here, it'll help you feel better."

Romi downed the potion in seconds, trusting that Pomfrey knew what she was doing without a second thought.

"While you're here..." Pomfrey trailed off and Romi raised a curious eyebrow. "I've already discussed this with your brother but he was adamant that you get the potion. As of right now, we only have enough ingredients for one of you, Dumbledore is working on getting more but it will take time so we don't arouse any suspicion."

Romi shook her head, "What potion?"

"A Wolfsbane potion," she answered. "It's new but it should work to make the transformations not so bad."

"Give it to Remus."

"He wants you to have it because you have it worse," she explained. "And Ms. Lupin, I'm inclined to agree."

"The odds of it actually being able to do what it's supposed to do on me is unlikely. It won't be strong enough," she replied simply. "Give it to him. At least then it won't go to waste."

"The two of you will be the death of me."

Romi grinned, "We try." The headache was not nearly as bad and as far as she could tell, she wasn't going to throw up again.

"If you're feeling better, feel free to leave," Pomfrey suggested. "Mr. Potter looks like he's about to explode if he stays put any longer."

Romi glanced behind her to see that James was leaning against the door frame and waiting for her. She rolled her eyes before hopping off the bed. She said a quick goodbye before making her way over to the boy.

"I thought you left," she informed him. She assumed that he would immediately ran back to Potions to work with Lily.

James watched her for a second, clearly reading the line of thought she had. He shrugged, "No point in me going back to Potions."

"Not even Lily?" she asked curiously.

"I'm sure she's paired up with Marlene," he replied, tucking his hands in his pockets. "And that means it's your lucky day."

She snorted, "Sure, lucky is what it's called. More like fu-"

"Okay, okay," he cut her off swiftly and the two of them made their way through the halls of the school. "What's a few classes stuck next to me?"

"Hell."

The bell rang, indicating the end of class and the pair made their way to the Gryffindor common room. They entered to find that their friends had already been there.

"I'm going to go change," Romi announced with a huff. "I'll see you guys in a little." She stopped halfway up the stairs, "Oh, and Remus? Go and see Pomfrey before the day is up, would you?"

He looked up at her, his eyes narrowed, "No."

"You don't have a choice."

"I'm not doing it."

"Seems an awful waste of you ask me," she shrugged before making her way up the stairs and to her room.

Sirius leaned over toward James in confusion, "What are they talking about?"

James waved his hand, "Some potion thing. Supposed to make the transformation not too bad. They only have enough ingredients for one and you know how those two get."

Sirius turned to Remus, "Romi is stubborn, you should just suck it up and take the potion."

"No, she's always sacrificing things for me," he shook his head, "Not this time."

James rolled his eyes, "And they're both dramatic too."

"Merlin," Romi huffed as she plopped back down on the couch next to her brother, now in far more comfortable clothes, "Why is everyone staring at me?" Sirius stifled a laugh and James leaned back in his chair, fighting down a laugh as well. Romi looked at the two, "What?"

"There are..." James trailed off warily, trying to figure out the best way to explain the situation. "Well, there are rumors going around that you're pregnant."

Romi snorted at this, "Pregnant?"

"You have to admit, the symptoms of lycanthropy are similar to that of a pregnant woman," Sirius pointed out.

"I would rather be pregnant," she announced. "Guess we'll find out in nine months if it's true or not."

"You're not going to do anything to dispel the rumors?" James asked in confusion.

She shrugged, "Is there a point? At least this way, people ask less questions." She paused after a moment and turned to face the boys, "Who do they think the father is?"

"There is currently a bet going on as to whether it belongs to Sirius or James," Remus explained, barely containing his laughter. "So far, most people think it belongs to James. Especially after him helping you today."

Romi looked over at James, "Congratulations then, you're going to be a father."

"My mother will be thrilled," he replied with an amused expression on his face.

"I vote we let it slip out that it's actually Peter's," Romi announced and Peter's head shot up. "That'll mess up their little gambling game."