Taming the True Fire (HP)

The midnight revelation hunted the four friends in the following days. None of them seemed to be very focused on the exams anymore. Catherine's thoughts were a compete mess, which she was trying to sort out while simultaneously writing about Goblin rebellions and magical decrees. A few desks away from her, Sirius was absentmindedly staring out the window. 

The last exam was on Defence Against the Dark Arts. Catherine realised her wand skills had improved significantly because she felt Professor Thorne put some extra power into his jinxes directed towards her. Thankfully, the young witch was able to successfully deflect them all. 

Finally, the exams were over, and the castle grounds were filled with the joyous chatter of liberated students, all dreaming of the upcoming summer. Near Hagrid's hut, hidden in the shade of tall pine trees, sat four boys and one girl, sipping chilled pumpkin juice. 

"Blasted Bludgers! I can hardly believe this year's over." – exclaimed Sirius.

"It's not over until we get our results." – said Remus, frowning.

"Nothing there to worry about." – laughed James happily.

"Speak for yourself." – sighed Remus – "I think I'm getting sick again."

A silence fell among the group of children. Remus looked at their tensed faces and scowled. 

"I don't think it's contagious if that's what you are worried about." – he said trying to force a smile.

"Remus, that's enough." – said Catherine – "We know everything."

"What do you mean?" – asked Remus cautiously. 

"We know, you're a werewolf, mate." – said Sirius.

Remus' face turned pale as a ghost. His eyes went wide with horror and his lower lip started trembling. 

"Way to go, Sirius!" – snapped Catherine and moved closer to the boy who was shaking in mixture of fear and hysteria – "Are you alright, sweetie?"

"Since when is he sweetie?" – Sirius protested. 

"Since you're an insensitive jerk." – retorted the girl and turned back towards the pitiful sight that was Remus Lupin – "Remus, please, listen to us! We won't tell anyone. You're still our friend!"

"Absolutely!" – joined James – "You just have a furry little problem, so to say."

Remus looked at his friends as if it was the first time, he's been seeing them. 

"For how long you have known?" – he mumbled.

"About a week." – answered James – "Catherine discovered it while revising moon charts."

Remus smiled sorrowfully. 

"You're truly the most brilliant person I've ever met, Flame. I assure you that Professor Dumbledore took all the necessary safety measures and I'm not dangerous for you. I'll understand if you don't want to be around me anymore, though." – he finished, fighting the upcoming tears. 

"I didn't know that being a werewolf also caused hearing loss." – chuckled Sirius – "Didn't you hear what Catherine and James have just said?"

"No, I do appreciate it," – said Remus, rubbing his eyes – "but I know that it feels uneasy to sit next to someone like me and wonder what I did last full moon or how far I gave in to my beast instincts."

"Remus Lupin!" – shouted Catherine angrily and jumped on her feet – "Stop that pity party this instance! Instead of telling us how we feel about you, wake up and realise that you finally have people around you who do not give a fuck about… how furry you become come full moon!"

"Hear, hear!" – shouted Sirius.

"I… don't know what to say." – muttered Remus looking around, his face expressing a myriad of emotions from happiness to guilt and back to wholehearted gratitude. 

"Don't say anything, mate! Just rest assure that after the full moon is over, we're gonna be waiting for you and we're all going to go together to the End-of-Term Feast." – James said, smiling, and patted him on the back. 

Remus felt his fatigue and anxiety melting away. He finally grasped that regardless of the circumstances, these extraordinary group of Hogwarts students were his friends, and they were not going anywhere without dragging him with them if needed.