[ c o n t a c t ]

[misterprongs]

i solemnly swear that i am up to no good.

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text;

[theshabbiestofmen]

Tell us when you come back to the ship. I want to talk to you about something.

text;

[misterprongs]

[ well. this isn't good. ]

Let me drop Sansa off. Be there in a minute.

What's wrong?

text;

[theshabbiestofmen]

Nothing. I just want your opinion on something, and I'd rather not wait.

text;

[misterprongs]

Meet me at my room on the Paisley?

[theshabbiestofmen]

Course.

[And he's waiting there, sitting on James' bed, reading distractedly from Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. Possibly he ought to have waited outside, but honestly, after seven years living with a man, you tend to think of his room as your own.]

[misterprongs]

[ james has absolutely no issue with remus just hanging out in his room, and doesn't look bothered when he finally turns up. and after yanking his scarf aside to catch his breath, he opens his mouth to talk when -- ]

... why in the hell are you reading that, of all things?

[ good lord, and james shrugs out of his coat, exasperated. ]

I think you know all there's to know about fantastic beasts and where they are, mate.

[theshabbiestofmen]

[He snorts.]

The fleet gave it to me last month. It's my copy too, actually-- it's got all your and Sirius' doodles in it. Very nostalgic. And I'm a bit hard-pressed for other books right now, so it's refreshing my knowledge of fantastic beasts and their locations.

All right visit down below?

[misterprongs]

[ -- well, james looks somewhat interested now that he knows it's remus' copy, but he frowns a bit at the mention of sirius. he misses sirius terribly -- there's just a void without him hanging around. they're practically inseparable.

but still -- can't be helped. and so james tosses his coat onto a chair, haphazardly so. ]

Bloody freezing, but generally speaking, fine. I didn't lose any limbs.

[theshabbiestofmen]

Thank god.

[But all of this is just idle chatter. Remus sits up, setting the book down, legs crossed beneath him.]

I met another werewolf. Isaac, his name is.

[misterprongs]

[ there's a pause at that, and james turns to face remus properly, arching his eyebrows. ]

Collection of you lot here, isn't there?

[ whether or not that's a good thing, james hasn't decided. he has no true prejudice against werewolves, but he also knows that quite a lot don't have the opportunity for control that remus has. ]

What'd he say?

[theshabbiestofmen]

Just-- comparisons, mostly. He's your age-- [Ooh, that sounds weird, but Remus plows on anyway] --and he can't transform fully, apparently? I think there's a lot of difference between worlds-- but he's quite charming, if not a bit mouthy. But . . .

[What he's honestly working towards.]

Everyone's been so accepting of it. They don't care what I am, just so long as I keep myself locked away. And I . . . I don't know, it's so bizarrely different from home, and--

[He shrugs sharply, not quite meeting James' gaze.]

I thought it might be interesting to not-- to not hide what I am. From anyone.

[misterprongs]

[ james' brow furrows as remus talks, and he opens his mouth to talk, but he seems to stop, to really think about it.

james is a pureblood wizard, but he's a bit... bizarre with most of the community. even the nicest of pureblooded folks are apprehensive of werewolves. sirius' family is the most extreme, but all have prejudice. and if james were honest with himself, he too was apprehensive of remus the werewolf until the first full moon had passed. the world is judgmental, and cruel.

here, it does seem to be better. but james still doesn't look convinced. ]

You know that everything you choose to do is up to you, Remus. So if that's what you want, I'm behind you.

[ that being said -- ]

But people expecting you to be locked away doesn't mean they accept what you are.

[theshabbiestofmen]

No, it doesn't. But . . .

[He smiles thinly.]

I told you about the Order of the Phoenix. About how Dumbledore sends us on missions. And my last one before I was taken here was-- for better or worse-- to talk to the outlying werewolf communities. The ones who live in the wilds-- Fenrir's pack, mostly. See if anyone had any interest in joining our side-- it's not as if the Death Eaters are particularly accepting of them, you know, I thought we might have a chance.

[He isn't avoiding James' eye, exactly, but he's glancing away, staring fixedly at the wall.]

I found out that he was the one who changed me. Fenrir. He was so . . .

[His mouth twists in disgust.]

So proud. He'd thought I'd come to join them, you see, take my rightful place. And-- the things they do, it's awful, but-- I stayed, to see if I could talk to some of them. And they're not all bad-- most are, but some are just scared. They can't find work, and they don't know what else to do, so--

Anyway.

[He shakes his head.]

The one . . . the one thing that stuck out was how . . . how relaxed they were. The mission was shite, of course, but-- none of them looked hunted, or scared, and-- I just thought-- it must be nice, to not have to hide, to not have to lie all the time.

[He sighs and rubs his face.]

Sorry. That's all I was driving at.

[misterprongs]

[ james is silent as remus talks, and his stomach turns as he goes into detail. fenrir greyback. remus doesn't need to say the last name for james to know who he's talking about. the werewolf with a kill count; his name's passed around pureblood communities like the muggle boogeyman. and to think remus infiltrated that organization and was forced to spend time with someone like that --

it's also a stark reminder that james hasn't done any of that yet. there's a war, yeah, and james is fully aware of how awful it's getting. voldemort is extending his influence further, and further, and more and more of their friends at school are losing parents and siblings. sirius' family is so far deep into voldemort's insanity that sirius is convinced regulus is going to join up next, and james had spent the entire summer reassuring him that that wouldn't happen. surely voldemort would be stopped before that.

but, obviously, that hadn't happened. the war was coming, and he would fight in it. that's it.

he clears his throat. ]

What do you want to do?

[theshabbiestofmen]

[He's four years younger, not yet exposed to all the horrors and battles he will-- but right then, Remus feels closer than ever to James. His stupid thick glasses and his fiercely concerned expression, his willingness not to blindly go along with his friends, but to try and make them happy--

Thank god for James Potter, he thinks, because there's few better people in the world.]

Tell them.

[A dry little laugh, the self-loathing there evident.]

And I suppose have you agree wholeheartedly, so if it goes bad I can come running.

[misterprongs]

So tell them.

[ it's said at once, and james offers him a lopsided grin -- almost instantly at ease, comforting. but then james pauses and reaches out to shove the werewolf's shoulder lightly, his tone turning slightly scolding. ]

You know I'd be here even if I didn't agree, Moony. Don't be stupid.

[ daring, nerve, and chivalry set gryffindors apart, and all that. ]

[theshabbiestofmen]

I know.

[He does, actually, and Remus shoots him a little smile.]

Suppose I'll camp out in your room when I finally make the announcement.

[misterprongs]

If that's what you want.

[ though james is hesitant and suspicious, he also believes the best in people. he doesn't believe remus will have much difficulty at all in telling the fleet about his secret. ]

You can tell them you've got me to help manage it, if you like.

[ james gives approx zero shits if people know he can turn into a deer. it's not like the wizengamot is going to fine him here. ]

[theshabbiestofmen]

Are you sure?

[He glances over at him.]

It's a big secret, Prongs.

[misterprongs]

Not as big as yours.

[ james shrugs slightly. ]

Besides, people will just chalk it up to being magic. Nothing special about it.

[theshabbiestofmen]

Well. I'll keep it in mind, anyway.

[It's one thing to reveal his secret; another to toss James' into the wind. Though the Paisley is already aware of Prongs-- but it still feels odd, throwing it out there. He supposes he'll see, when the time comes.]

Perhaps I'll just blurt it all out at four in the morning.

[misterprongs]

I always make my best decisions when I blurt nonsense out at four in the morning.

[ of the utmost seriousness ]

Fairly certain that's when Padfoot and I came up with the Animagus idea, anyway.

[theshabbiestofmen]

Sounds about right. You can blame that or the fact we were all thirteen at the time.

[misterprongs]

It worked, didn't it?

[ through a lot of hard work, and practice, and effort, and risk -- but it worked. ]

[theshabbiestofmen]

Yeah.

[He gives him a slight smile, rueful and grateful all at once.]

Anyway. I'll give you a heads up before I post anything.