Summary: A collection of short stories focusing on the Marauders, with more Remus and Sirius in it than the others.

Rating: Teen

A/N: I wrote these a few years back, and they aren't the greatest thing I've ever written. But I like them alright. I'm thinking about retyping some of them and improving on them. Let me know what you think. And I'm thinking about making this slash of the RL/SB kind, but, once again, I want to know what you guys think of the idea.

Disclaimer: Yadayadayada, you know the drill. Don't own. Wish I could say I owned Remus, at least. But I don't.

Chapter One- What Are Friends For?

Everyone in the room was talking about their plans for the holidays. Everyone was looking forward to going home to spend time with their families. Everyone had loved ones waiting for them to come home for Christmas. That is, everyone except one.

Remus Lupin sat alone, away from the hustle and bustle of everyone else in the Gryffindor Common Room as they joked happily among their friends, waiting to leave. He had no friends, none that would want to talk to him for anything besides help on homework, anyway. He couldn't see the point of getting involved in a conversation where he'd be blatantly ignored. That is, until he heard the voice of a fellow first year who was standing near him.

"This is stupid!" The kid complained. Remus recognized him to be Sirius Black, a trickster and a trouble-maker. He seemed rather upset to be leaving Hogwarts. At least he has a home to go to where he's wanted, Remus thought bitterly. "Why do they care if I come home or not? Since when do they give a crap what I do, as long as it doesn't affect them? I mean it James, I hate them!"

"Hate's a strong word," Remus said quietly. Sirius and his friend, the infamous James Potter, jumped and looked up at him where he sat on a windowsill.

"But not necessarily too strong in this case," Sirius spat back furiously, obviously looking for a fight. Remus sighed and hopped down to the floor.

"How can you hate family?" He asked, though his heart wrenched as he said it. He knew only too well how. How people turn on someone in the family who is different, who is dangerous. Remus Lupin was a werewolf. That was why his parents didn't want him to come home. They had screamed, shouted at him that they didn't want to be associated with someone like him. He bit his lip and looked at the floor, blocking out the other boy's voice, as he felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"Are you listen- Hey, you okay?" Sirius' voice turned to one of concern as Remus sniffed loudly. Remus didn't answer. How could he have asked a question like that when he fully hated his own family? NO! That was not true! He loved them! And that was why he hated them, because he had always thought that deep down, his parents could love him back, could overlook his condition. But they couldn't, and for that, he could never forgive them. Finally, he looked up, teary amber eyes meeting soft gray ones.

"Why do they hate you? What did you do that made them hate and despise you?" He asked quietly, shaking. "How are you different from them? Why do they hate you for something you can't help, something they can't even begin to comprehend?" As if realizing what he had just said, he tore his eyes away and pushed his way through the crowds to his dormitory.

He sat on his bed and buried his face in his hands. It wasn't fair! He thought about the first time he transformed, how he had attacked his own mother. The next morning he was hit and screamed at for something he couldn't even remember doing. Ever since then, they had locked him in the shed outside during the full moon. They left him alone, completely alone. When he had broken his own arm one night, his father had complained about how much money it would cost to go to the hospital and left Remus to deal with it on his own. At the time, he had been seven years old.

"Remus?" A quiet voice called from somewhere close by. He didn't move, even when he felt the weight of someone else sitting down next to him on his bed. "Remus?" Still, he ignored the person next to him. He heard a sigh and felt said person put his arm around his shoulders. Remus sniffed and leaned closer to the boy next to him without thinking. There was another sigh before he felt a hand running through his hair.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," he said in a small, shaky voice. The hand in his hair stopped for a second before continuing to move again.

"For what?" Remus opened his eyes and looked up into Sirius' face.

"I had no right to ask you all those things. It wasn't fair. Your family is your business, not mine, and I'm sorry if I upset you."

"Upset- Remus, it's okay. It was no big deal! I just overreacted a little! The only one you upset was yourself," Sirius added the last part quietly, but Remus still heard him. They were silent for a while, just sitting there, before Sirius asked, "Why did you get so upset? You don't get along with your family, either?" Remus shook his head. "Why not?"

"I-It's complicated," Remus said hesitantly. He hardly knew this boy, he wasn't about to tell him about his problem! "Let's just say... I'm not like them. I... I'm more dangerous than them. They're afraid of anyone finding out that someone like me is their son." He looked up at Sirius again. "What about you?"

"My family is one of those old pureblood families that thinks they're better than people who are half-blood or less. It drives me crazy! I'm always out playing with Muggles, just to spite them! They seem to think there's still hope for me... Yeah, right! They'll never make me like them, never!" He grinned down at Remus, though his eyes were full of pain. "You and I are sorta alike, aren't we?" Remus smiled back. Just then, a voice echoed throughout the room.

"Students, please make your way down to the Entrance Hall to be taken to the train. All students who are going home for the holidays, report to the Entrance Hall."

"You better go," Remus muttered, sitting up and trying to pull away from the other boy, but Sirius didn't let go.

"Aren't you going?" He asked. Remus shook his head. "Then neither am I!"

"Sirius, my parents told me to stay here for Christmas! Your family wants you home!" Remus argued. A dark, closed expression came to Sirius' face.

"Hogwarts is my home. The only one I've got," Sirius fixed Remus with a steady look. "I'm staying, too. They have no control over what I do! They don't own me!"

"Sirius-"

"Besides," Sirius grinned again, this time all signs of his earlier emotions gone. It wasn't until later that Remus got used to him masking his emotions from everyone else. "Who'd keep you company, the ghosts? Or, dare I say it, the teachers?!" He shuddered at the thought. "Come on, let's go for a walk or something!" Remus laughed at the boy's eagerness and allowed himself to be dragged outside.

The snow was deeper than it looked. Sirius was wading through it when Remus tackled him from behind and shoved him face first into it. Sirius retaliated by shoving a handful of snow down Remus' shirt. An hour later, the boys made their way back up to the school, freezing and dripping wet. After quickly changing their clothes, they headed down to the Great Hall for dinner. They were the only ones there, besides the teachers.

"Mr. Black, I thought you were leaving today!" McGonagall exclaimed. Remus noted that she sounded frightened of all the terrifying things that having Sirius Black stay at Hogwarts would most likely guarantee to happen.

"Yeah, well," Sirius grinned and threw his arm around Remus' shoulders. "What are friends for? I wasn't about to let him be all alone with you, he might get ideas!" With a roguish wink at Remus, the two sat down and started eating. Remus chewed happily as he thought about Sirius' words. Friends. He smiled as he realized how much that one word meant to him. Something must have shown on his face, because at that moment, Sirius gave him an odd look and asked with a smirk, "What are you so happy about?"

"Nothing," Remus replied airily. Sirius could never understand what his friendship meant to him.

"You're just thinking about what I said about you and McGonagall," Sirius winked. "Say, speaking of our dear professor," he lowered his voice. "Would you help me with a little, er, surprise I have in store for her? She'd never expect you..."

"What do you want me to do?" Remus asked quietly, grinning. This was going to be the greatest Christmas ever!