Revised: March 3, 2022

Hi, people of the Wattpad. I have decided this revision is good enough to show its face to the public. Enjoy.

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The first Hogsmeade trip fell on Halloween. Harry would have loved to look forward to a magnificent feast after a day roaming Hogsmeade. Unfortunately, he could not.

"You coming, Harry?" said Terry. He and the other boys in the dorm were all dressed and ready for a fun day in town.

"Er... yeah." He followed them down to the Great Hall for breakfast and trailed after Terry as he went to stand in line. Filch was checking off names against a list; the last thing Harry needed was to make him crankier than usual.

He started to turn back and saw the twins and Lee Jordan heading his way.

"Where are you going?" asked George. "Hogsmeade is that way."

"Can't go," Harry said shortly.

"What?" Fred was looking at him like he just announced he was going to burn all the Quidditch brooms.

Harry shrugged like it was no big deal. "My uncle didn't sign the permission form."

Lee Jordan looked confused, but the twins' gazed darkened.

"Couldn't you ask Professor Flitwick if he'd make an exception?" Fred suggested. "He'd understand, surely."

"Already did. He said no. But I'll be fine. Really."

"We'll bring you something," said Fred. "And that's final," he added when Harry went to protest.

"Fine." Because Harry did really want to enjoy Hogsmeade in some capacity.

A group of Slytherins passed by, including Pansy Parkinson.

"Staying here, Potter?" Parkinson sneered. "Scared of passing the dementors?"

Fred opened his mouth to make a stinging remark, but Harry forestalled him. "Just leave it."

"Whatever." Fred sent one last scowl after Parkinson. "I'll see you later, Harry."

He gave Harry's shoulder a light squeeze and brushed by. Harry stood frozen, his shoulder tingling.

George and Lee exchanged a glance before following. Harry thought he heard Lee mutter, "What was that all about?" but if George replied, Harry didn't catch it.

Harry stood there awkwardly for a moment, trying to think of what to do. He was finished with his homework and he didn't feel like going to the library, so what should he do? He thought of Hedwig and started heading for the Owlery when he heard a voice. "Harry?"

It was Remus.

"What are you doing?"

"Not going to Hogsmeade because my uncle didn't sign the form," Harry told him.

"Ah," said Remus. "Why don't you come in? I've just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson."

A grindylow happened to be a water creature with green skin and horns.

"We shouldn't have much difficulty with him, not after the Kappas," Remus said. "The trick is to break his grip. You notice the abnormally long fingers? Strong, but very brittle."

The grindylow buried itself in the weeds.

"Cup of tea?" Remus said, looking around for his kettle. "I was just thinking of making one. "

"All right," said Harry.

Remus tapped the kettle with his wand and a blast of steam issued suddenly from the spout.

"Sit down," said Remus, taking the lid off a dusty tin. "I've only got teabags, I'm afraid — but I daresay you've had enough of tea leaves?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "You know about that?"

"I do. Professor McGonagall told me," said Remus, passing Harry a chipped mug of tea. "You're not worried, are you?"

"No," said Harry.

An awkward silence filled the air. Remus cleared his throat. "So how have your classes been, Harry?"

"Pretty good. D.A.D.A. this year isn't so bad," he added with a grin.

Remus let out an amused snort. "Really? How do?"

Harry tilted his head, pretending to think. "Well, the professor really seems to know what he's doing, for one thing. Actually makes the class interesting and doesn't talk about how great his hair is."

"Sounds like a cool guy."

"He is." Harry paused. Then, "You're all right, too, I guess."

Remus sniffed indignantly.

Harry took a sip as he contemplated what to say next. "Um, about Sirius Black —"

"You are not going to go after him, are you?" Remus said seriously. His grip on his mug had tightened.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? No! Did you know Mum and Dad had journals?"

For some reason, Remus tensed up even more. "No, why?"

"Draco told me that Black was inprisoned for telling Voldemort where my parents were. But it said here —" he flipped near the end of his mother's entries "— that they changed it at the last minute."

Remus read the passage over several times before whispering hoarsely, "Do you know what this means?"

"Black is innocent. At least of giving the location away. It makes sense that he would try to get revenge on Pettigrew, wouldn't it?"

"It would." Remus shook his head, shame and grief flashing in his eyes. "Merlin!" he exclaimed. "My own mate!"

"Mate?" Harry repeated. "As in 'friend' mate or —?" That was the unfortunate thing with being a werewolf living in Europe; mate could mean two different things.

"Erm, no. We are — were lovers."

"I didn't think it was accepted here." Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia certainly wouldn't have.

Remus glanced up at him, clearly picking up on the hesitant tone. "Oh, it is. The only downside is that we wouldn't be able to have children. Well, they've been working on a potion for to get around that and there's always adoption, but it's complicated." He shook his head. "Merlin!"

The door opened, and Snape came in, holding a goblet. He saw Harry and blinked. "Harry?"

"Hello, sir," said Harry.

"Ah, Severus," said Remus, smiling, though Harry could see he was still trying to recover from the shock. "Thanks very much. Could you leave it here on the desk for me?"

Snape set the goblet down.

Harry looked at the goblet, which was smoking faintly. "What's that?"

"Well, I haven't really been feeling well," Remus said evasively. "Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me."

"Not feeling well because of your furry little problem?" Harry said casually.

"I — yes." Remus looked away, resigned.

"Cool, what's it do?" Harry asked.

Remus looked up sharply at his casual tone, then at Snape in confusion. The Potions professor merely raised an amused eyebrow. "It helps me retain my mind during my transformations."

"Fascinating." Harry stared at the goblet with wide eyes.

Remus gazed at him for a few seconds. "You're taking this awfully well," he noted.

Harry shrugged. "So?"

"Most people would be frightened."

Harry snorted. "You grow fur out of your arse once a month. Forgive me for not wetting myself."

Remus chuckled and even Snape let out a small snort. "Watch your language," he said as he turned to leave.

"Sorry."

"Brat," was the muttered retort.

The thing about being an American writing in a British (or any non-American) setting is that, even after doing some research, some things may still slip through. Like the word "mate." But do not worry, I have fixed it — plus made other minor changes and additions.