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Remus entered his room and collapsed heavily onto the bed, burying his face in the pillows. He could feel the ache in his muscles, a dull throb in his head, and the persistent sting of the wound on his leg, still reminding him of the recent full moon. But the physical pain was nothing compared to what was tearing him up inside.
On Saturday, early in the morning, just before the Quidditch team tryouts, James, Sirius, and Peter had blindsided him with a confession: they knew about his transformations into a werewolf. Remus hadn’t had the time to grasp how they’d found out—they were already running late. Yet with every step towards the pitch, he’d felt his thoughts grow darker. He tried to figure out how they’d learned the truth, until he spotted Tonks. And the pieces fell into place. If only he’d known then. He’d blamed her, not even giving her the chance to defend herself, and broke off their friendship without letting her explain.
He regretted it almost immediately. Even if she had let it slip accidentally—could Tonks have truly betrayed him so knowingly? She’d always been kind, supportive, understanding him better than anyone else.
In the evening, as the noise of the day faded, Remus realised just how mistaken he’d been. Back in their room, his friends started discussing the morning’s conversation again, as though those eight hours of his silent turmoil had never happened.
"Well, where to begin…" James said thoughtfully, tossing his bag onto his bed. "We wanted to explain everything to you this morning, but, you know, there just wasn’t enough time."
"Yeah," Sirius chimed in, pacing back and forth, his hair slightly mussed from nerves. "We couldn’t just dump it all on you at once. We didn’t want you thinking we were against you or anything."
Remus nodded silently, sitting down on his bed. Anxiety twisted inside him, but he needed to hear their version. He had no idea what to expect.
"Remember last year when you kept having ‘family obligations’?" James began, tapping his knee thoughtfully. "Your mum’s birthday, your gran being ill… At first, we just believed you. We’re your friends, and if you tell us something, we trust you."
"But, you know, those excuses started seeming a bit odd," Sirius added, stopping to look at Remus. "Especially once we noticed that it happened on a regular basis—about once a month."
Peter, who was sitting on his own bed, raised a finger, as if picking up his friends’ train of thought.
"And do you remember that astronomy assignment?" he asked, squinting a little. "We were tracking the phases of the moon. That’s when we really started to wonder—because you ‘had to go to your mum’s birthday’ again right when it was a full moon."
Remus felt his heart clench even tighter. He’d always hoped that his lies had been convincing enough. But now, listening to them, he realised just how much they’d actually noticed.
"Then over the summer, when I was bored out of my mind at home," Sirius continued with a slight smirk, "I stumbled across this book about magical creatures. There was a section on werewolves. And you know, suddenly, everything clicked. I wrote to James straightaway."
James nodded, adding, "Yeah, once I read the letter, it all made sense. All your ‘trips,’ the way you’d get sick, how you’d look after those nights… it all fit. But we still needed proof."
Sirius sighed, as if recalling the decision had been one of the hardest he’d ever made.
"So we decided to check, Remus," he said, his voice softening a little. "The next time you went away for another ‘family obligation,’ we snuck into the hospital wing under the Invisibility Cloak. We heard Tonks talking behind the curtain and slipped inside."
"And there you were," James continued, "pale, bandaged up, exhausted. Tonks was sitting by your side, reading something to you. That’s when we knew for sure."
"We decided to question her after that," Sirius added, frowning slightly. "Still don’t get how she figured it out before we did! Why didn’t you tell us, Remus?"
Remus frowned. "She figured it out on her own last year too," he admitted quietly.
Peter rolled his eyes, smirking. "But Tonks didn’t tell us a thing! Not a single word! We tried to find out if she’d seen you, but she’d just dodge the question or flat-out say she hadn’t!"
Remus lowered his head, gripping his hair with both hands. Everything he’d put her through that day—the argument, the accusations—had been for nothing. She hadn’t told them anything.
"Hey, Remus," James said gently, coming over and patting his shoulder. "We’re not going to tell anyone. This is your secret, and we’ll keep it. You’re our friend, and that’s never going to change."
"Yeah," Sirius added, coming closer and sitting beside him. "We’re friends, right? We’ll get through this together."
Peter nodded, giving a small smile. "We’re not saying a word to anyone. We’re with you, Remus."
Remus looked up at his friends. They knew the truth, and yet they were still here, standing by him. A faint but genuine smile appeared on his face.
"Thanks, guys," he said quietly, feeling a heavy weight lifting from his shoulders.
Sirius nudged him, grinning. "Oh, come on, we’re all in this together. Even if we have to fight the moon itself."
Remus managed a small smile, warmth spreading through him from the support of his friends. He wasn’t alone—they were with him, no matter what. But then, unbidden, the image of Tonks’s eyes filled his mind—hurt and full of confusion. The thought of how unfairly he’d treated her still stung, even with such loyal friends by his side.
The next day, Remus wanted to apologise, but he couldn’t find Tonks anywhere—not in the Great Hall, nor in the library. He even checked the hospital wing, just in case she’d somehow ended up there again, but she wasn’t there either. He decided he’d wait until Monday, but his body had other plans. His muscles ached and cramped, and he didn’t have the strength to even get out of bed. The thought crossed his mind to send a note through one of the lads, but knowing that Tonks might start worrying (even if Remus thought her concerns about Sirius were somewhat exaggerated), he decided it would be better to speak to her in person.
By Tuesday, right after the full moon, the loneliness had become almost unbearable. Nearly all of last year, he’d been used to recovering alone, but after Tonks had started visiting, he’d quickly grown accustomed to the comfort. His friends had come by after classes, chatting with him, trying to lift his spirits, but something was missing. He missed how Tonks would read to him or share funny stories. He remembered her bright laughter, the chocolate she always brought, and even the sandwiches she’d insist he eat.
By Wednesday, he was determined to talk to her. Before the lesson started, he sat with his friends, trying to distract himself with their conversation while he waited for her to arrive. Hearing familiar laugh, he turned around. Tonks was chatting happily with Alice, her hair a bright pink, the ends curling slightly, almost glowing with her good mood. Remus noticed that although she’d learned to control her hair colour better, it still tended to shift in shade and style whenever she felt strong emotions. Not wanting to spoil her mood with his apologies, he decided to hold off a little longer.
After the lesson, he asked his friends to go on without him and lingered by the classroom door, hoping to catch her on the way out. He waited for a long time as nearly everyone else left, but neither Alice nor Tonks seemed in any hurry. He began to wonder if maybe she was avoiding him, deliberately not wanting to talk. Accepting this thought with a heavy heart, he headed to the Great Hall for lunch.
There, Remus kept glancing at her from time to time, cautious and tentative, trying to read her mood, to catch even a hint of warmth or friendliness. He searched her expression, hoping to see some sign, however faint, that there was a chance for reconciliation.
Unable to gauge her mood, Remus decided to try a different approach. He wrote a short note, hoping she’d accept his apology and want to talk. But when Tonks read his message, she didn’t even look in his direction. All through the next lesson, Remus tried to catch her eye, but it was no use. Perhaps it was time to accept defeat and simply give her space.
With these heavy thoughts weighing on him, he went back to his room, collapsed onto the bed, and buried his face in the pillows.
"You haven’t looked too great lately. Is it because of the full moon?" James asked, following him into the room. Sirius and Peter came in behind him.
"Yeah," Remus answered briefly, rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling. He sighed. If anyone could help, it was his friends. Isn’t that what they were for? Gathering his courage, he quietly said, "No."
"What happened?" James looked at him closely.
"I thought… I thought it was Tonks who told you about me being a werewolf," Remus began, covering his face with his hands.
"Don’t be ridiculous! We couldn’t get that girl to admit her real name, let alone anything else!" Sirius scoffed, waving his hand. "Nym-pha-do-ra. That’s her actual name? Is her mum the Queen of the United Kingdom or something?"
Remus continued, ignoring Sirius. "I told her I didn’t want to see her anymore… and now I regret it."
"Then just apologise, and that’s the end of it," James replied, as if it were the simplest solution in the world.
"I tried, but…" Remus sighed heavily.
"So what did you say to her?" James asked, settling on the edge of his bed.
"Well… I wrote a note," Remus muttered, a bit embarrassed.
"A note?" Sirius raised an eyebrow, leaning toward him with a smirk. "Didn’t know you were such a romantic! What did you write? Love poems or an epic saga?"
Remus shot him a glare. "Nothing like that. I just wrote that I was sorry."
"Any specifics?" James asked, squinting at him.
"Well… that I was sorry, and that I shouldn’t have treated her that way. And that I was just in a bad mood because of the moon," Remus mumbled, turning red.
James gave him a dubious look. "Wait, hang on. You mean you wrote, like, two lines? Come on, Lupin, tell us everything. We’re your mates—we deserve details!"
"That’s all I wrote…" admitted Remus quietly, blushing even more.
"WHAT?" Sirius exclaimed, now fully invested in the drama. "Sorry, I must have misheard. You’re not a romantic; you’re an idiot."
"Why? Is a note really that bad?" Remus asked, genuinely concerned.
"It’s not bad if the note is a poetic confession of love," Sirius shrugged. "Although my uncle Alphard always says it’s better to do that face-to-face. That way you might at least get a kiss."
"Or a slap," Peter added. When everyone stared at him in surprise, he quietly explained, "Well… I saw it in films."
Remus rolled his eyes, steering the conversation back on track. "I wasn’t planning on confessing any love. I just wanted to apologise."
"You could have thrown in a confession," Sirius grinned.
"I’m not even sure if I like her… you know, in that way," Remus frowned, making vague circular gestures with his hand, as if trying to explain something invisible.
"Really? I think she’s rather cute," James said, leaning back on his bed. "Though I prefer redheads."
"Oh, we all know you’re obsessed with Evans," Sirius scoffed, rummaging through his trunk. "But we’re here to sort out Remus’s love life."
"I thought we were just trying to help him make up with Tonks?" Peter frowned, glancing between his friends.
"Exactly! Thank you, Pete!" Remus exclaimed, sitting up quickly, only to regret it as his head throbbed. He grimaced and lay back down, rubbing his temples. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Why don’t you just go up to her and talk?" Peter suggested, settling on his bed.
"Are you daft, Pete?" Sirius snorted. "You’re the one who said she might slap him! We need to be a bit more strategic here."
"Like what?" Remus asked doubtfully, attempting to sit up again—and managing it this time.
"Play a prank for her," James suggested, brightening. "She’s doing detention with Knox, isn’t she? Let’s prank him and dye his hair pink! Just imagine how much she’ll laugh!"
"And how exactly does that help my case?" Remus raised an eyebrow, clearly sceptical.
"Well, for one, it shows that you’re trying to make her laugh and lighten things up. And two, it's a great way to get back at him for the way he's been treating her.," James said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"And if it doesn’t work?" Remus muttered, considering.
"Then you could always confess your undying love," Sirius chimed in, unable to resist another jab.
Remus rolled his eyes, but a faint smile crept onto his face. "How will she even know the prank’s for her?"
"Didn’t I say? Dye it pink!" James winked.
"This is actually a brilliant idea!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He pulled a black leather notebook from his trunk, tore out a page, and, sitting down at the desk, began jotting something down quickly, dipping his quill into the inkwell with enthusiasm.
"What are you doing?" James asked, his curiosity piqued as he moved closer. "Oh, this is fantastic!"
Peter leaned over Sirius’s shoulder as well, and as soon as he caught sight of the writing, he burst out laughing.
"What’s going on?" Remus asked impatiently, still unsure what they were planning. But no one answered him. Reluctantly, he got up and joined them at the desk, where he saw a page covered in Sirius’s elegant, meticulous handwriting.
Plan for Reuniting a Dim-Witted Werewolf with a Rainbow Girl
1. Pink-haired Knox
"Why rainbow girl?" Remus frowned, reading aloud.
"Oh, so you don’t have any questions about dim-witted werewolf?" Sirius cackled.
"No, that part is perfectly logical and… accurate. But ‘rainbow’…" Remus muttered, glancing thoughtfully at his friends.
"Well, her hair’s bright, like a rainbow!" James explained, tapping himself on the head as if pointing out something obvious.
"Why not just write Tonks?" Remus raised an eyebrow, looking slightly perplexed.
"Because these are code names! In case someone finds our plan!" Sirius declared, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Right, because ‘rainbow girl’ is so original. Hogwarts is just full of people with multicoloured hair, isn’t it?" Remus replied dryly, folding his arms.
Peter, tentatively joining the conversation, quietly added, "Isn’t it more important to actually come up with the plan than to name it?"
The group collectively frowned at Peter, making him blush a little. But then they nodded and refocused on the plan.
"We need a backup plan, in case the first one doesn’t work," Sirius muttered, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
"If?" Remus thought to himself but decided not to voice his doubts. Maybe his friends really did know what they were doing.
"You could give her flowers," Sirius suggested. "That’s what my dad does when mum’s angry with him. Though she usually throws them out because he never remembers what flowers she actually likes…"
"Do you know what flowers Tonks likes?" James asked, glancing at Remus.
"No idea," Remus frowned, scratching the back of his head. He’d never thought about things like that.
"Then maybe you should go with chocolate?" Peter suggested. "That’s what they do in films."
"What if she doesn’t like chocolate?" Sirius asked, raising a sceptical eyebrow.
"People who don’t like chocolate?" James looked as if he’d heard something unbelievable. "Is that even a thing?"
"She might have other favourite sweets. And if you give her chocolate, she could take it as a sign that Remus doesn’t know her well enough, which would just make her even more upset," Sirius pointed out with surprising seriousness.
"You don’t know what sweets she likes?" James looked at Remus with interest. Remus just shook his head. "Then Sirius is right—let’s not risk it."
A silence fell over the group as everyone plunged into intense thought, as though they were solving the greatest puzzle in existence. In Remus’s opinion, trying to understand a girl’s thoughts really was an impossible task.
"We could… accidentally arrange for you two to bump into each other somewhere and then lock you in a room. You’d have no choice but to talk," James suggested, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"And what about the slap?" Peter reminded them cautiously.
"Right, I forgot. We don’t need any extra injuries—he’s already got enough," James muttered, giving Remus a scrutinising look from head to toe, which made him feel a bit uneasy.
"Unless… an injury is exactly what we need!" Sirius suddenly exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.
"Well, maybe I deserve it…" Remus mumbled, blushing a bit.
"No, not you!" Sirius hurried to clarify. "We’ll tell Tonks that you’re feeling unwell—maybe even dying! And that you want to talk to her one last time!"
"Oh, that’s brilliant!" James agreed enthusiastically. "Write it down!"
Sirius immediately returned to the plan, adding the new idea to the list.
"Are you sure manipulation is the best way to earn forgiveness?" Remus grimaced, watching their enthusiasm with growing doubt.
"Of course! Isn’t that how we get out of trouble with McGonagall every time?" Sirius smirked.
"What about a sticking charm?" James suddenly suggested.
"Oh-ho, you mean stick them together so they have to spend the whole day glued to each other?" Sirius jumped in, eyes lighting up.
"Yes! Just think—they’d be stuck together all day! They’d have no choice but to talk!" James said, looking thrilled with his own idea.
"And we could glue Tonks’s hands so she wouldn’t be able to hit him!" Sirius clapped his hands and reached for the quill to jot down the idea.
"What? No!!" Remus exclaimed, grabbing the quill away from Sirius. "I don’t want to spend the whole day stuck to her. What if she doesn’t even want to talk to me? Or if I need the loo? This is a ridiculous idea!"
"Fine, we’ll save it for later," James muttered, and Sirius nodded in agreement, looking slightly deflated.
Remus rolled his eyes. They’re absolutely no help. He turned to Peter. "Pete, do you have any ideas?"
"Maybe… a peace potion?" Peter suggested hesitantly.
"What’s that? What does it do?" Remus frowned, not quite sure where this was going.
Potions had never been his favourite subject. His heightened sensitivity to smells made it hard for him to breathe during practical lessons, and he struggled to remember all the precise steps from lectures.
"A peace potion calms a person for a short while. It would give you the chance to explain yourself calmly, without too many emotions," James mused thoughtfully.
"And it would lower the odds of her wanting to slap you," Sirius agreed, though he frowned as he looked at the list. "But we’re already brewing something for Knox…"
"Right, and this would mean brewing another one," James muttered, looking glum.
Remus understood his frustration. Brewing a hair-colour-changing potion meant keeping an eye on it for an entire week, gradually adding different ingredients. At least the result was good for a laugh. But the idea of making another complex potion—spending all that time and effort on something that might not even work…
"Then that’s a definite no," Remus confirmed. "Any other ideas?"
"Maybe we should support Hufflepuff at the Quidditch match next week?" James suggested.
"Brilliant! She loves Quidditch, right? We could show up in Hufflepuff scarves and with banners. She’ll melt when she sees our support and forgive you on the spot!" Sirius perked up, eagerly adding this to the plan.
"I’d forgive anyone for that!" James agreed with a satisfied nod.
"We could send her an owl with an apology," Peter suggested quietly, trying not to draw too much attention to himself.
"But I already left a note…" Remus replied uncertainly.
"You left a pathetic note," Sirius reminded him, making Remus’s cheeks turn pink. "Pete’s talking about a proper note, aren’t you, Pete?"
"Yes, exactly!" Peter nodded enthusiastically, thrilled that his idea was gaining support.
"What if we don’t send just one note, but several?" James suggested, gesturing excitedly. "Imagine: the first owl swoops in and drops a note, then a second one, then a third, and another! All the notes land right in front of Tonks. She’s bound to read at least one!"
"Brilliant! Writing it down!" Sirius grinned, hastily adding the idea to the plan.
"Are you sure this will work?" Remus asked, feeling a growing sense of dread, though it seemed no one was really listening.
"What if we got Peeves to make up a song for Tonks?" Sirius suggested, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "Something so catchy, she’d want to forgive Remus on the spot."
"Oh, that would be fantastic! We could even help Peeves with the lyrics! He’d follow Tonks everywhere, singing until she gives in and forgives Remus!" James chimed in, his enthusiasm growing.
Sirius immediately jotted down the new point and set the quill aside. "Right, let’s start with the last one! I think I saw Peeves on our floor just now."
He sprang to his feet and headed for the door, with James and Peter close behind.
"Guys, maybe we could think of something else?" Remus suggested uncertainly, but no one seemed to hear him.
With a sigh, he sat back down at the desk to reread their "brilliant" plan.
Plan for Reuniting a Dim-Witted Werewolf with a Rainbow Girl
1. Pink-Haired Knox
2. Dying Werewolf
3. Hufflepuff Supporters
4. Apology Owls
5. Song by Peeves
"Well." thought Remus "Confiding in James, Sirius, and Peter was probably the worst idea of his life. Second only to that note he left for Tonks, of course."
A few hours later, James, Sirius, and Peter returned to the room soaked to the skin, muttering things like, "Looks like Peeves is now going to be singing about what losers we are," and "Guess we’ll have to move on to the next item." They collapsed into bed without another word.
The next day, Remus tried to relax and hope that at least one point from their plan would work, but it wasn’t helping. He found himself constantly distracted in class, feeling an odd tension—his hands trembled slightly, and his heart raced whenever he saw her across the room. Thoughts of Tonks refused to leave him alone, and each time someone passed by, he caught himself flinching and glancing around, hoping it might be her.
Over the weekend, he ran into Tonks by accident in the library, in their usual spot—the Muggle Studies section. He almost gathered the courage to speak to her, but then remembered the possibility of injury and the fact that he had absolutely no prepared speech. Embarrassed, he quickly averted his eyes and walked past as if he hadn’t seen her.
The next step in the plan was the apology owls. But Tonks rarely came to breakfast, and it was tricky to find the right moment to pull off a true “parade” of owls. So they decided to put this part on hold until the timing was better.
Tonks was indeed acting strangely, and Remus had even started to worry—was she all right? In class, although she seemed more engaged than usual, she looked pale and exhausted. Her hair often sported muted colours, and dark circles shadowed her eyes. She rarely came to the Great Hall to eat, and whenever she was in the library, she would leave as soon as she’d gathered the books she needed. Remus couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that she might be unwell, but there was nothing he could do to find out more—other than watching and waiting.
When it came time for the next point on the plan—making peace at the Quidditch match—his friends approached it with full seriousness. Dressed head-to-toe in Hufflepuff’s yellow and black, they looked more like oversized bees than supporters. Sirius complained the entire way there, claiming that his reputation would be irreparably ruined and that Remus would owe him forever for this. But Remus didn’t dare remind him that this had been their idea. He barely listened to Sirius’s grumbling, focused instead on scanning the stands, hoping to see Tonks and maybe even make her smile.
But, to his disappointment, Tonks never appeared. Instead, Alice showed up and couldn’t stop laughing at their outfits, managing between fits of giggles to say, "You lot really do make excellent Hufflepuffs!" After a bit of persuasion from James, who used every ounce of charm he had (Sirius refused, declaring his allure had been crushed by the ridiculous costume), Alice agreed not to mention their transformation to anyone. Especially Tonks.
"This has to stop!" Sirius exclaimed the moment they returned to their room. He yanked off the black-and-yellow sweater as if it were his mortal enemy and pulled on a black T-shirt with a satisfied sigh. “First Peeves with those awful songs! Now this dreadful bumblebee costume! My reputation’s in shambles, and it’s all your fault, Lupin!” Sirius huffed, dropping dramatically onto his bed with an exaggerated sigh.
"I think it’s time to move on to the more serious, well-thought-out parts of our plan," James agreed, scratching under his itchy sweater.
"A conversation?" Peter suggested tentatively.
"Pink hair!" Sirius proclaimed, raising his index finger dramatically.
"Pink hair!" James echoed, nodding with enthusiasm.
Remus could only sigh, realising that his friends were dead set on seeing this absurd plan through to the very end.
At first, the plan seemed simple: brew a potion, sneak it into Knox’s food, and hope that Tonks would be more forgiving and willing to talk to Remus. But as they began putting it into action, everything turned out to be far more complicated.
They dug out the recipe for a potion they’d used last Halloween and, after confirming they had all the necessary ingredients, got to work. Last time, they’d brewed it in the girls’ bathroom on the second floor. Back then, it seemed like the perfect spot—no one ever went in there, and they’d had hours of peace. But they soon discovered why it was so quiet: Moaning Myrtle was a frequent "visitor." She endlessly lamented her tragic fate, often soaking Remus’s shirt with her tears, and had a habit of flirting either with James or Sirius, which irritated both of them to no end.
This time, they decided to brew the potion in their dorm—a plan that seemed brilliant at first. However, they quickly learned that the mandrake juice, required to make the pink hair colour last, had an unbearable smell when left to steep for too long. Some strong masking charms helped the others tolerate it, but for Remus, with his heightened sense of smell, it was pure torture. As a result, he spent an entire week sleeping in the common room, where he had to put up with the noise from older students whispering or snogging in dark corners late into the night. Still, he figured he deserved a little discomfort over his failure.
But when they finally finished brewing the potion, they were met with an unpleasant surprise. Instead of being clear, it had turned a murky greenish-brown, resembling swamp sludge.
"Is it supposed to look like that?" Remus asked, eyeing the potion warily and wincing at the smell.
"I don’t think so," James replied, scratching his head, clearly puzzled. "Did you definitely add the dried arachnid shells before the ghost heliotrope pollen?"
"Yeah, I think so…" Peter nodded, though there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
"Wasn’t it supposed to go in after?" Sirius called from the bathroom, where he was trying to rid himself of the potion’s stench.
"Right… Looks like it was supposed to be after," Remus said, peering at the recipe, his face going a bit pale.
"Oh well, no big deal. I doubt it’ll make much difference," James said thoughtfully, stirring the murky potion with caution.
"You’re sure about that?" Peter asked doubtfully, edging away from the cauldron.
"We just need to test it on someone," Sirius said, stepping back into the room and grimacing at the sight of the slimy concoction. "But just to be clear, I’m not drinking that."
"Me neither," James said firmly, casting a meaningful look at Peter.
"I…" Peter started, but Remus cut him off.
"I’ll do it. After all, this is all because of me," Remus said calmly, looking resolutely at the potion.
"Now that’s what I call real courage! If she doesn’t forgive you after this, I’ll have a word with her myself," Sirius declared confidently, clapping a hand on Remus’s shoulder.
Remus just rolled his eyes. If only Sirius knew that Tonks wouldn’t even consider talking to him.
James poured a small amount of the potion into a cup and handed it to Remus, who took a few sips and immediately grimaced.
"Well, it tastes… as awful as usual," he coughed. "Let’s hope this works."
He looked at his friends and, judging by the widening grin on Sirius’s face, realised that the potion was already taking effect. Turning to the mirror, Remus froze: his hair, now far longer than usual and tumbling down to his shoulders in loose curls, shimmered in a bright pink hue.
"It suits you," Sirius smirked, eyeing him up and down.
"Looks like it’s your natural colour!" Peter added, barely holding back his laughter. "But… how are you planning to show up at dinner like this?"
The room erupted in laughter—all except Remus, who was still staring at his new "hairstyle." He, honestly, didn’t find it funny at all.
"Don’t worry, we’ll bring you something to eat," James said, patting him on the shoulder. "What are friends for, after all?"
The whole weekend, the boys stayed holed up in their room, debating the best way to slip the potion to Professor Knox. James was sitting on the floor with his back against the bed, idly twirling something in his hands. Sirius lay sprawled on his bed, propped up on one elbow, while Peter settled in the armchair. Remus, frowning, sat on the edge of his bed, scrutinising the plan as if it were the most difficult exam he’d ever faced.
"We’ll just add it to Knox’s tea, and that’s it!" Sirius declared confidently, leaning back even further and clasping his hands behind his head.
"And how are we supposed to sneak over to the staff table without anyone noticing?" Remus asked, giving him a sceptical look.
"Under the Invisibility Cloak, of course!" Sirius waved his hand dismissively, as if everything had already been decided.
"And you don’t think anyone will notice a floating hand adding something to his tea?" Remus raised an eyebrow, clearly doubting the logic of this plan.
There was no response, and silence settled over the room as they all pondered the problem.
"Then we’ll do it during class!" James said confidently, springing to his feet. Seeing the others staring at him expectantly, he sighed and elaborated, "We’ll set off a small explosion nearby; he’ll start coughing, and then we’ll offer him the tea to ‘soothe his throat.’"
"Brilliant!" Sirius shouted, leaping up from the bed, his eyes alight with excitement. "I think I’ve got a thermos somewhere. We’ll pour the potion into that!"
"A thermos? Where did you even get that?" Peter asked, narrowing his eyes in surprise; he hadn’t expected that from Sirius.
"I bought it last summer. Thought it’d annoy my mum, bringing something Muggle home. Only recently figured out what it’s actually for," Sirius explained with a smirk.
"So… we just set off an explosion and then offer Knox this ‘tea’?" Remus clarified, still sounding unconvinced.
"Exactly!" his friends confirmed in unison.
Remus leaned back on the bed, covering his eyes with his hand. Here’s hoping the gods of luck are on our side.
But luck abandoned them right from the start. Nearly everything went awry. Peter, who was supposed to cast a light sand charm to create a bit of coughing around the professor, accidentally spread it over the entire classroom, making everyone sneeze and cough uncontrollably. In the ensuing chaos, James nearly dropped the thermos, spilling part of its contents, but Remus reacted just in time and managed to catch it before it fell.
With all his charm, Sirius offered Professor Knox a "cup of tea." Who would have guessed that Knox’s sense of smell was as sharp as Remus’s? The professor immediately sensed something was amiss, quickly uncovered their scheme, and assigned all four of them two weeks of detention.
"Well, maybe we’ll run into Tonks there, and we can come up with a way for you two to make up," James muttered as they walked to their first detention.
But Tonks wasn’t there. It seemed she’d stopped coming to detentions altogether.
Instead, she’d begun showing up in the Great Hall again, spending more time in the library or outdoors surrounded by friends, looking happy and carefree. She even seemed healthier and more vibrant than ever. Remus was genuinely glad for her, but his heart ached at the thought that she seemed better off without him—better than he was without her.
Even so, he wasn’t ready to give up. In truth, he didn’t have much choice. His friends were determined, and giving up simply wasn’t in their nature.
They sneaked into the Owlery and selected fifteen owls—four of their own and eleven Hogwarts owls—and bribed them with treats to each deliver two letters to Tonks on Friday. Together, they composed an apology letter, which ended up being ten whole lines long, with the word "idiot" used seven times. Remus wasn’t convinced it was the best apology, but honestly, who was he to judge?
On Friday, they arrived at the Great Hall earlier than usual, seating themselves where they had a clear view of the Hufflepuff table. To their dismay, Tonks didn’t show up for breakfast. Instead, thirty letters suddenly rained down directly in front of Alice.
At first, a faint rustling of wings filled the air above the table. Heads turned, and soon the first owl swooped in, gracefully dropping a letter right into Alice’s bowl of porridge. Alice blinked, barely processing what had happened, when another owl swooped down with a heavy flap of wings, dropping its letter directly into her pumpkin juice, sending splashes everywhere. The next owl collided with the fruit bowl, its crooked claws scraping desperately at the wood before it finally unloaded its message onto Alice’s roll.
Each successive owl seemed to compete with the last, aiming for her plate or anything close by. Porridge splattered, pumpkin juice spilled, and the once-stale toast seemed to exist solely to be ruined further. Alice’s patience wore thin quickly, her face turning a deeper shade of red with each new letter. Remus was certain that if her hair could change colour like Tonks’s, it would be bright crimson by now.
One by one, fifteen owls swooped down, either diving sharply or clumsily landing, dropping letters without a care for the food below. Eggs, porridge, toast, and even a few slices of ham now decorated Alice’s robes, while her plate was nearly buried under the chaos of scattered envelopes. Each owl’s landing sent another splash of food her way, and her face quickly shifted from irritation to outright disgust.
Opening a few envelopes and finding the same letter inside each one, Alice gritted her teeth, her gaze snapping toward the Gryffindor table. She was livid. Casting a scathing glare in their direction, she stood up abruptly, shaking the remains of food and sticky letters off her robes. Her eyes flashed with anger, and in seconds, she was in front of them, cheeks blazing and eyes dangerously narrowed.
"And what was that?" she demanded, hands on her hips. "Do you have any idea how awkward you just made things for me?"
"Those were actually meant for Tonks, not you," James mumbled, looking down like he’d been caught red-handed.
"Even worse! First, you upset her" she shot a pointed glare at Remus "and now you make her endure these humiliating attempts to make up?" She shook the stack of letters at them before dropping them on the table in disgust.
"You see, it’s just…" Sirius began, tossing his hair back and mustering up all his confidence as he looked Alice squarely in the eye. "Remus is ill. Possibly… gravely ill. And he wanted to make things right with Tonks, just once, before…"
And there it was—the last item on the list, as if things could get any worse.
Alice crossed her arms and gave Sirius a look that made something twist uncomfortably inside Remus. She opened her mouth a few times, as if searching for the right words, then slowly shifted her gaze from James to Peter, then to Remus, and finally back to Sirius.
"Black, what utter nonsense are you spouting?" she said in a dangerously quiet voice that sent chills down their spines. "Are you seriously trying to pull off some pity act, manipulating Tonks’s feelings?"
“Something like that…” James mumbled, scratching the back of his head.
Alice shot him an exasperated look, and he immediately straightened up, eyes dropping to the floor.
“It’s just… you see…” Remus began, hoping to salvage the situation somehow.
"Oh, I see," Alice cut him off, crossing her arms even tighter. "Your friends possess endless imagination and an absolute lack of basic social skills when it comes to talking to girls."
She looked Remus over appraisingly, then sighed, her expression softening slightly. "Merlin sees, I’m not doing this for you," she muttered, mostly to herself. Then, louder, she added, "Come on, Remus. I need to talk to you."
She turned and headed for the exit of the Great Hall. Remus stared after her, a bit stunned and, if he was honest, slightly terrified. He glanced at his friends, who looked just as shocked—which, of course, did nothing to calm his nerves.
"Well, are you coming?" Alice called, glancing back over her shoulder.
"Yes…" Remus mumbled, standing up abruptly and following her. He had no idea what to expect, but her ideas couldn’t possibly be worse than his friends’… could they?
Alice led him out of the Great Hall, down the corridor to a quiet spot where no one could overhear them.
"All right, start talking," Alice said, crossing her arms and giving Remus a pointed look, her impatience evident in the way her foot tapped against the floor. There was disappointment in her eyes too, as if she were already bracing for the worst.
"Talking about what?" Remus blinked, his mind racing, unsure where to even begin. His heart seemed to skip a beat at the intensity of her gaze.
"From the start." Alice's eyes bore into him, searching for answers, for any hint of his real intentions. "Those owls, this whole show—do you actually want to make up with Tonks? And, more importantly, what happened between you two in the first place?"
Remus swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a wave of uncertainty wash over him. How much could he really tell her? He hesitated, feeling the weight of Alice's scrutiny. Summoning what little courage he had left, he finally answered, "I accused Tonks of something she didn’t do. I know I really hurt her, and I’m truly sorry. Honestly, I feel awful about it."
Alice narrowed her eyes, her gaze growing sharper, as though trying to read his thoughts. "And why do you want to make up with her? Just to soothe your own guilt, or...?"
Remus felt a knot tighten in his chest. "I... I miss her," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. His gaze dropped to his shoes, the weight of his regret almost crushing. "I’d like to have our friendship back."
Alice studied him for a long moment, her eyes flickering with a mix of emotions—doubt, curiosity, perhaps even a sliver of hope. She bit her lip thoughtfully, as if weighing his words. Finally, she nodded. "All right. After the match tomorrow, I’ll bring her to the changing rooms. Wait for us there."
Remus's stomach twisted at the thought. "What if... what if she doesn’t want to talk to me?" he asked, his voice tinged with a rising sense of anxiety. He lifted his head, searching her face for any sign of reassurance.
Alice's expression softened, but only slightly. "I’ll do my best to convince her," she replied, her tone calm, almost matter-of-fact, as though the outcome were already decided.
Remus bit his lip, his thoughts spiraling. "And if..." He hesitated, feeling his face grow hot. "Never mind."
Alice's eyes narrowed, her curiosity piqued. "If what?"
Remus's mouth felt dry. "What if she... slaps me?" he managed, the words tumbling out in a rush, sounding both doubtful and scared.
Alice's lips twitched, almost as if she were holding back a smile. She rolled her eyes. "Then don’t give her a reason to, Lupin."
She turned sharply, her footsteps echoing as she moved toward the door. But just as she reached it, she paused, glancing back over her shoulder. Her eyes darkened, and her voice dropped, carrying a hint of menace that made Remus's heart skip.
"But if you hurt her again, you'll get that slap from me. Personally."