I followed Sirius and Peter as they walked out of the castle and to the courtyard. They walked towards the Whomping Willow or the giant tree that thrashes around and likes to hurt people...

Someone was waiting for them there. I followed them, careful not to make a sound or go too close. They walked up to the person and my eyes widened.

"Hey Moony!" Sirius said rather loudly. It was Remus. He sat in front of the Whomping Willow, looking exhausted and pale... Again.

"Be quiet!" Remus hissed and stood up. "Where's James?"

"Detention. Shall we go?" Peter asked. Remus and Sirius nodded. Then suddenly, Peter disappeared and the giant tree froze. Soon, Sirius and Remus walked to the Whomping Willow and disappeared as well.

They said Remus had to leave... but now he's here. They just disappeared into the Willow... what the bloody hell are those three up to?

I walked cautiously to the Willow. I'll just stand here and wait for them. The tree started thrashing around and I stepped back. Maybe I could wait somewhere else... I looked at the full moon, which shone brightly in the night sky.

I turned around to walk away when a loud howl filled the air. My eyes widened and I looked around. I looked back at the Whomping Willow. Suddenly a creature jumped from inside it. The werewolf looked at me with it's dark grey eyes, which had a hint of sadness. My eyes widened and I was about to scream but someone's hand had covered my mouth, making the scream muffled. They grabbed my arm and forced it behind my back.

"Merlin's beard Fall!!" I heard the voice of James Potter from behind me. "You're going to scare it!!" He removed his hand from my mouth.

"I'm going to scare it?!" I demanded. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?! That's a werewolf!!" The werewolf growled and moved towards us. James walked back, pulling me with him.

"Moony... remember who you are... you're not a mon-"

"You're talking to it!? Why are you-"

"I'm trying to save your life!!"

"I can look after myself Potter-" The werewolf growled and lunged at us. I screamed and James pushed me to the ground. "Get off me!" I yelled and pushed him off me. I stood up and grabbed my wand, before pointing it at the werewolf. James's eyes widened.

"No! Don't kill it!!" He shouted while trying to grab my wand and still looking at the werewolf.

"It's trying to kill us!!"

A black dog and rat jumped from the Whomping Willow. I recognised the black dog as the stray from Hogsmede, the one that was playing with Marlene. The dog saw my wand and snarled at me, before attacking me to the ground. I screamed and tried to get the dog off me. It snapped at my arm, I moved my wand out of the way. The dog bared its teeth and started scratching my arm. I screamed, seeing small lines of blood on my wrist. James grabbed the dog's collar and pulled it off me, making me drop my wand which fell down the hill.

"Sirius!! She doesn't know!!" James yelled at the dog. My eyes widened and I gasped.

"That's Sirius?!?!" James nodded and placed the dog down. Now it makes sense why he dragged the stray away when he was playing with Lily... The stray looked at me innocently. "Don't look innocent!!!" I shouted and looked at my wrist.

The rat ran to the dog... or Sirius and jumped on its back. Sirius started running around the werewolf. I blinked rapidly.

"Oi! Stop mucking around!" James said. "We have to get-" The werewolf turned around furiously to him. It ran towards him quickly.

"James! Watch out!" I shouted. I blinked and suddenly, James wasn't there. I frowned. Instead there was a stag in his place. "What?! You're a stag?!" The stag nodded and trotted towards me, before turning back to James Potter. "Y-you're an animagus... you and Sirius are animagi!!"

James nodded. "Yes we are. Now you know our secret. Let's go back to the castle, before the werewolf decides to-"

"I'm not leaving until you tell me who the rat and werewolf is!!" The dog barked at James.

"She's already seen him though..." James said to Sirius. I looked at the two, then looked at the rat on Sirius's back.

"The rat... is Peter isn't it?" James sighed and nodded, looking at the floor. My eyes widened and I stared at the werewolf. "Oh... my Merlin... Remus-"

"Now that you know our secret... I'll take you back to the castle." James grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the Whomping Willow. He grabbed my wand when we were at the end of the hill and gave it to me. I pulled my arm away from him and sighed.

It all made sense now. That's why he was sick once a month. That's why James, Sirius and Peter had a Mandrake leaf in their mouth for a month. That's why he had all some scars. That's why James was so defensive over werewolves.

We walked past the giant door and I looked at James. "Oh my gosh. Remus is a werewolf!!" I exclaimed.

"Yes I know..."

"And you're an animagus! You're all animagi. Illegal animagi!!!"

"Shush! We wanted to help!"

"Oh my gosh. I cannot- Remus is a werewolf. I cannot believe this!! Remus is a werewolf!"

"Fall-"

"Out of all people! Remus! Oh no! Poor Remus! That's why he's always sick once a month?!"

"Well yes-"

"And he has those scars!"

"Yes..."

"Oh my Merlin!! I insulted werewolves when we met!" I remembered.

"What?!"

"When Remus gave me back my book and glasses!! I said I was reading about werewolves and called them dangerous..."

"You said this in front of Remus?!" James yelled, who looked rather angry. I stepped back.

"Maybe..."

"No wonder he was quiet afterwards..."

"He was quiet afterwards?? And that's my fault!"

"No wonder he didn't tell us! We would've sent you to the Hospital Wing..."

"What?!"

"And not to mention in a Defence against the Dark Arts class!!" James yelled.

"Hey! I feel really guilty now! I was talking about werewolves like Greyback-"

"Shut up!! Don't insult werewolves! Got it?!"

"Well I'm not insulting them now!! And that's why you all have those nicknames! They suit your animagus! Moony because Remus is a werewolf and that relates to the moon-"

"Wow..."

"Wormtail because Peter is a rat and his tail kind of looked like a worm...."

"Well yeah-"

"Padfoot, because Sirius is a giant black dog and there's the Grim, the death omen and that mythical monster Padfoot that shows up as a black dog or a black sheep before someone dies-"

"Yeah, wait really?"

"Which is also known as the Grim but obviously being you four you chose Padfoot-"

"You scare me with all this information... Especially with-"

"And you're Prongs because you're a deer. Wow you four actually did something smart."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't meant to be a complement."

"I know." He grinned and I rolled my eyes.

"I still can't believe this though! Remus is a werewolf!" I said again.

"Can you shut up?" James asked with annoyance. "Do you want all of Hogwarts to hear?"

"Well no..."

"Exactly. You can't tell anyone, Remus hates being a werewolf-"

"Well of course he does!! Oh my-"

"Fall! Just listen!"

"Oh fine but-"

"Shut up. Now you can't tell anyone, not even the girls. Got it?" I nodded. "Now go to your dormitory, I have to go." I sighed and walked off to my dormitory.

I sat down on the edge of my bed and sighed. I put my head in my hands and tried to process what just happened. I know there Secret now... but I wasn't exactly happy with the result. In fact, I felt guilty, thinking about what I said in Defence against the Dark Arts. All I hoped, was that Remus didn't think I was insulting him. I was talking about werewolves like Greyback... if I had known...

I lay down and sighed. James, Sirius and Peter were all animagi. How did they do it? It's very hard to do... They had to learn their Patronuses - which is past the Ordinary Wizarding Level -, keep a Mandrake leaf in their mouth - which all made sense now... and to think their only in their fifth year. And they had to register to the Ministry, if not then it's counted as illegal.

I didn't care that Remus was a werewolf. It did come as a shock. But, one of the nicest guys, one of my friends is suddenly a werewolf, it obviously would. I guess James was right, about werewolves being like the rest of us. They were after all, just normal wizards and muggles that had a monthly problem.

A loud howl filled the air and I jumped. I sighed, now knowing who it was. I walked over to the window where I got the perfect view of the Whomping Willow. I saw a black dog, a stag, a rat, and a werewolf. I sighed and walked back to my bed. I still couldn't believe it though. Out of all people, Remus Lupin is a werewolf.

And to think that Sirius was the mysterious, black stray in Hogsmede. I was playing with that stray. That stray licked me. My eyes widened. Then that means Sirius... who was the dog... I groaned and tried not to think of it in that way.

~~~~~~~~~~~

We had Astronomy in the Astronomy Tower. We were looking at the Planets and their moons, revising over and over again for OWLS.

"Hey, can you test me?" Lily asked and handed me her Astronomy flash cards. I nodded and took the cards from her.

"List the moons of Jupiter." I quizzed her.

"Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Io, Adrastea-"

"How the bloody hell do you know all this?"

"Because I pay attention."

"Huh..." I sighed and looked around, my eyes landing on the Marauders. They had been ignoring me all day. Except for in Potions, but James hardly annoyed me. Which was weird and surprisingly unsettling. And through out the whole day, they were practically carrying Remus, who had new scars on his face. I wondered why they didn't just take him to the Hospital Wing.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked. "You seem off?"

"I'm fine. I'm just... worried about the OWL exams." I lied. She looked at me then the Marauders.

"Are you still going to find out they Secret?"

"I-I've given up on that..."

"Really?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "Besides, I would like to focus on OWLS."

"I'm glad. Do you know what career choice you want to choose?" I thought for a minute.

"I never really thought about it. You?"

"Well, an Auror sounds alright. I guess." I nodded in agreement and sighed. The bell rang and Lily and I walked over to Marlene and Alice.

"Library?" Alice questioned. We nodded and headed to the library. I glanced at the Marauders and found them looking at me. But they sighed and looked away, before walking off.

Upon arriving to the library, we sat in our usual spots. I placed all my books down and sighed. I didn't want to study. There was one topic, I was rather interested in. Especially now.

I walked over to one of the shelves and took out many books. I placed them near my stuff. I opened a book titled, Everything to Know About Werewolves. I sat down and started reading.

"You know what's weird?" Marlene started. "We haven't seen the Marauders all day."

"Thank Merlin." Lily said.

"We saw them in class." Alice stated.

"Yeah but they stayed far away from us." Marlene added. "And Remus was so sick, they were practically carrying him..."

"Well you hang out with them the most, Izzy what do you think?"

"Uh-huh." I mumbled, not really paying attention to their conversation. They glanced at each other.

"Izzy." Lily said.

"Hmm?"

"Are you paying attention?"

"No..." They sighed.

"What are you reading?" Alice asked. I frowned, reading about the transformations and how they are extremely painful...

"A book..."

"Um okay." I turned the page to find a photo of a man, transforming, he had many scars on his back and looked rather thin and pale. I closed the book furiously and the girls looked at me. "Are you okay?" Remus had to go through all that every single month...

"I have to go." I stood up and started packing all my stuff.

"Where?" Marlene questioned. I grabbed all the books I took out.

"I have to find James." I walked past them.

"Why do you want to see James?" I looked at them and thought for a minute.

"Potions... Potions help."

"You need help?"

"Yeah I know, shocking. Bye!" I ran off. I borrowed out all the books about werewolves, which caused Madam Pince, the librarian to be confused and ran out of the library.

I ran to the Black Lake, ignoring all the weight of books on my back. I saw the four boys sitting under the tree. I ran over to them. They looked up and the colour drained from Remus's face. He grabbed a book and covered his face with it. I sighed.

"Okay look." I started. "I know you're trying to avoid me because of last night. But I just want to clarify, Remus, I do not care if you're a werewolf or not. I don't see any difference and you're still... well Remus. And also I am terribly sorry about what I said to you when we first met and in Defence against the Dark Arts. If I had known, I wouldn't have said anything and let James answer - actually no, I wouldn't have let James answer. But you don't know how guilty I feel and I don't think you're vicious and violent and-"

"Isabel." Remus said.

"And monstrous and insane and all the other things I had said. I wasn't talking about you but I was talking about other werewolves, like more specific ones like-"

"Greyback."

"Yes like Greyback. Honestly, if I had known I wouldn't have said anything. I can't believe that you had to go through all that-"

"Izzy."

"Let Me finish." Remus chuckled with amusement. "And you had to go through all that pain once a month and I was researching about it and it seems rather painful. But now everything makes sense, with you being sick, you having scars on your face, your nicknames and the other Marauders having Mandrake leaves in their mouths. I also want to help you with your transformations but I don't know how." I inhaled deeply and sighed. They stayed quiet for a moment.

"Wow..." Sirius mumbled.

"Um... are you finished?" Remus asked.

"Yep." I nodded and sat down in front of them.

"Okay, um... that was rather long..."

"Yeah, it was... I just realised that..."

"And also, its fine, with the whole insulting thing-"

"Really? Oh thank Merlin because I was really-"

"And I am rather surprised that you took that rather well."

"What surprised me is how James, Sirius and Peter are animagi. I mean it was pretty surprising when you were a werewolf. But how the bloody hell did you figure out how to become animagi?? Illegal animagi, I might add." Sirius, James and Peter shrugged.

"Yeah I was shocked too. But you don't hate me?"

"Why would I hate you?"

"But don't you see? I'm a monster!"

"Forgive me if I'm not trembling at the very sight of you."

Remus managed a smile. "But werewolves-"

"Also, I just said a three minute speech about how sorry I am and you think I hate you? Honestly Remus, I thought you were meant to be the smart one."

"I am the smart one. But you don't... I mean... werewolves, they're not exactly... popular... And, for all you know, I could be dangerous!"

"Remus, I've met people worse then werewolves." I said, thinking about my father. "Much worse. More dangerous... more evil-"

"Worse? Dangerous? Evil? Who the bloody hell did you meet?" James asked. My eyes widened and I sighed. I looked around making sure no one was watching.

"Um... I guess, I found out your secret. You find out mine." They looked at me with confusion as I rolled up the sleeves of my Robes.

"Cuts and bruises." Peter said. "How did you get them?"

I sighed. "My father..."

"How did your father do that..?" James asked, pointing at my arms.

"Isabel..." Sirius began quietly, as if this was rather familiar to him. "Does your father abuse you?" I looked at him and nodded. Their eyes widened.

"Bloody hell! That's why you always wear long sleeve shirts!" Remus said. I nodded.

"And you're insecure, and hate the topic of families." Sirius added. I nodded.

"The red marks on your wrists as well!"

"And when someone grabs your arm you react by almost punching them in the face..."

"Merlin's beard it all makes sense."

"How bad is it?" James asked. "Is it like normal abuse? Or like Black Family abuse?" Sirius glared at James.

"Um... what's 'Black Family abuse'?" I questioned.

"The stupid pure-blood mania family." Sirius said bitterly. "What he means is, does your father use the Cruciatus Curse, tie you up, starve you? That sort of thing. It's worse then abuse it's torture." I thought for a minute and sighed.

"Yeah it's like that."

"WHAT?!" The four exclaimed loudly, making me jump.

"Why does he do that?!" Remus asked. I sighed and told them all about Sophia, the car crash, the aftermath and everything else from there.

"Bloody hell..." Sirius muttered and lay down on the grass. "That's like my family, except for the loosing a sister part, and a muggle thing called a car, and the pure-blood mania- What the hell that's nothing like my family." I sighed.

"If you need anything you can always send a letter, and you're welcome to stay at my house." James said. "My parents won't mind. But you're a girl so that might be a bit different-"

"Thanks, but Marlene offered for me to stay at her house already." I said. James nodded.

"Well that was interesting." Peter said. They nodded. I sighed and grabbed my book from the library. I lay down and started reading.

"What book are you?" Remus asked, making James and Sirius groan. I showed him the cover. "Oh yeah, already know a lot about werewolves. Don't need to learn anymore."

I sat back up and looked at him. "Since you're a werewolf then... can you help me with my Defence against the Dark Arts homework?" Remus nodded, smiling slightly.

"Alright."

"Hey! Me too Moony!" Sirius said.

"And me!"

"And me!" Three rolls of parchment were thrown in front of Remus. I laughed slightly.

"Merlin's beard! I should've seen this coming..."