James sat up immediately, as kids his age are most interested in these little secrets.
"Come on, tell me," he asked eagerly.
"Tell you what?" Little Sirius teased James, "What do you want me to say?"
"Hey, Little Sirius!"
James was displeased, flipped over, and pinned Little Sirius to the bed's edge, grabbing his collar and shaking his head nonstop.
Little Sirius stuck out his tongue and pretended to be dizzy from the shaking.
"Alright, alright, brother." After playing around for a while, Little Sirius said with a smile, "It's not a big deal, actually—have you noticed that Lemy disappears for a period every month?"
James thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Seems like it..."
"Yeah, haven't you ever wondered why this is?" Little Sirius asked with a chuckle.
James racked his mind, thought for a long time, and suddenly looked as if he had a revelation.
He clenched his right hand into a fist and struck it against his left palm, speaking very confidently, "I got it! Lemy is actually a girl—aha! I wondered why she leaves us for a period every month, turns out she's afraid we'll find out that he's—no, she's having her period!"
Little Sirius was stunned.
He never would've thought his good buddy James would be... so "smart."
"What should I say, James?" Little Sirius sighed helplessly, "Should I say you're smart, or..."
"Just assume I'm smart!" James lifted his head proudly, "Look, I think my guess is correct, Lemy is actually a girl dressed as a boy..."
"Oh, come on." Little Sirius sighed and said to James, "You know, just a couple of days ago, I followed Lemy to see where he was going—guess what I found out?"
"Found out what?" James asked, following his words.
"I followed him and Dumbledore all the way to Hogsmeade Village—you know, where the recently famous Screaming Shack is." Little Sirius laughed as he said.
James tried hard to recall, and remembered what Little Sirius was talking about.
He'd heard some recent rumors about Hogsmeade—after all, it was mentioned in the Prophet Daily. The newspaper had sent people there to investigate, but they ended up spouting gibberish after being scared by the "thing" in the Screaming Shack.
He had initially wanted to check it out with his friends but changed his mind after hearing about the terrifying experience those people had gone through.
He liked adventure but wasn't cocky enough to take it that far.
"Oh, I know that place," James replied, "It seems like since last year, there's been a rumor in Hogsmeade that there's a ghost causing trouble in that little house, with fierce monsters hiding inside, which is why you can hear screams... Don't tell me this has something to do with Lemy?"
Little Sirius clapped his hands and told James, "Guess what, buddy? It was actually Lemy's voice—I saw it myself... Guess what I saw?"
With his interest piqued, James even held his breath.
Could it be...
But after a long while without hearing more from Little Sirius, James, feeling teased, hurriedly shook Little Sirius and eagerly asked, "What? Come on, tell me!"
"Actually—" Little Sirius mysteriously whispered next to James, "Lemy is a werewolf! I saw him howling in the Screaming Shack, just like the sound from the legends. I guess the villagers mistook his howling for ghosts..."
Hearing this from Little Sirius, James' eyes widened.
He stood there, seemingly trying to process what Little Sirius had just said.
"What's wrong, buddy?" Little Sirius nudged James with his elbow.
James wiped his face with his hand, still in disbelief: "You're saying that Lemy, who's been living with us all this time, is actually—a werewolf?"
"What else?" Little Sirius said with a laugh, "Did you think he was a big dog?"
"Merlin..." James still couldn't believe it, mumbling Merlin's name, trying to process the fact his roommate was a werewolf.
Seeing James look like this, Little Sirius asked with concern, "What's the matter, James? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
"Uncomfortable?" James frowned at Little Sirius, "Why would I feel uncomfortable?"
"You know, just… the werewolf thing." Little Sirius made air quotes with his fingers.
Little did he expect, James didn't react like a typical kid who'd heard his roommate was a werewolf. Instead, he smacked the bed excitedly.
"Who said Lemy being a werewolf would make anyone uncomfortable?" James was thrilled, "This news is just great—don't you think it's awesome, Little Sirius? Just think, apart from being an Animagus, Lupin can actually turn into a wolf. That's the coolest thing ever..."
"If Lemy knew you think like this, he would definitely be happy." Little Sirius patted James on the shoulder with a smile, then called out, "Lemy—come on in!"
As soon as he finished, Harry and James both turned to the door.
In Harry's eyes, he saw a timid-faced young Lupin push open the door, a mixture of shyness and emotion on his face.
At the very beginning, Lupin had already prepared himself for being reported or complained about by his roommates, ready to leave Hogwarts at any moment.