Author's Notes: Contains just a bit of unwanted groping. Also, Remus is only 16.

Remus was fairly used to being overlooked. Spending all his time around Sirius Black and James Potter had forced him to get used to never being in the limelight. And Remus, quite honestly, preferred it that way. He didn't want to be the centre of attention. He didn't like it when people had expectations of him that he knew he was unlikely to ever match.

He wished he'd been overlooked when it came to the choosing of the Gryffindor prefects. He just knew that McGonagall had hoped and prayed he would exercise his power to rein his friends in. He'd known it, and he'd tried to speak up, to tell them that he knew they were wrong. Yet, he'd still failed quite spectacularly. The way his Head of House's lips pursed every time she glanced in his direction was evidence enough of that.

He wasn't surprised, then, when he was the only Prefect in his year that didn't get invited into Professor Slughorn's 'Slug Club'. He hadn't expected to be, of course. On top of being a disappointment as a leader, he was hardly one of the more talented wizards in the school. And Slughorn only had to look at the state of Remus's school robes to tell that he was anything but well-connected.

Sirius and James had both warranted an invite, of course, but they'd fobbed it off, giving excuse after excuse about why they couldn't attend. Sirius had admitted that Slughorn creeped him out, especially considering the way he was always talking about how sorry he was that Sirius hadn't made it into Slytherin.

"Like I'd want to be sorted there," Sirius scoffed.

James had stuck by him in a show of solidarity, at first. And then when they'd both realised that Slughorn had no intention of ever inviting Remus and Peter along to the parties, that had been the end of that. Although that had been about the same time that James had started grumbling about why Evans should be invited to go to a party that he and his friends couldn't all attend.

Remus, personally, had been pleased. The fact that they'd made that decision at least partly for his benefit made him feel warm inside.

But then Slughorn had started noticing him in Potions. He complimented Remus on his Draught of Peace even though Remus was quite certain that he'd done something wrong; it seemed much thicker than it should be, for starters. He'd even winked at Remus once as Remus was trailing his friends out of the classroom.

Remus thought he might be imagining the change, though. He was dead on his feet half the time as a result of his change at the full moon, and he'd certainly heard other people saying they inadvertently invented things in their mind when they grew particularly tired, so it would hardly be unheard of.

But then, part of the way through his sixth year, Slughorn waved Remus over to his desk after class. That was certainly a new development, and one that he couldn't possibly have imagined.

"Remus Lupin, isn't it?" he asked jovially.

Remus raised an eyebrow. He'd been in the man's class for almost six years and Slughorn still wasn't entirely certain as to his name?

"I can call you Remus, can't I?" Slughorn asked.

If you can remember to, Remus thought bitterly. But he could hardly say no. Slughorn was his teacher. He could call Remus whatever he liked, within reason, whether Remus wanted him to or not.

Slughorn didn't really give Remus a chance to object anyway. "Splendid! I've been meaning to have a little chat with you for a while now. I hear you're a prefect."

Remus nodded, his eye level dropping to the ground. "Yes, sir. For a little over a year now."

"Good, good. It's one of the indications of good things to come, you know, being made a prefect. There's a book published somewhere about it. Can't remember the name of the title, exactly, but it details the way that a number of prefects used their position to do well for themselves once they left Hogwarts. Might I ask what you're planning on doing once you graduate?"

Opposing Ministry propaganda about werewolves, Remus would have liked to have said, but didn't. While he knew that was probably the sort of initiative that might have impressed his teachers, it had the potential to give away much more information about himself than he was comfortable with.

And besides, he was unlikely to make that ambition a reality. If the climate of the wizarding world grew any tenser than it already was – with its new dark force emerging and the rest of its citizens becoming even more scared out of their wits each passing day – by the time Remus left school there would probably be laws warranting arrest if someone so much as mentioned the word 'werewolf'.

"I'm not exactly certain yet," Remus admitted instead. He'd told McGonagall the same thing last year when they'd discussed it. She hadn't been particularly impressed.

Slughorn chuckled. "Never mind, never mind. It's probably just as well. You'll plan for an array of possibilities. Better than those poor students who choose their classes intending to go into one field and then change their minds later and haven't the qualifications for what they'd really like to do. Particularly those that don't have someone back at Hogwarts to pull a few strings for them."

"Someone like you, sir?"

"Just so," Slughorn beamed. "You know, I'd be happy to be there like that for you as well, Remus. In case you need assistance once you get into the real world."

Remus stared at him, stunned. "Oh… er, thank you, sir."

Slughorn nodded. "Yes. I realise, of course, that your means likely don't offer an easy way to repay me for such kindness," he looked pointedly at the fraying hem of Remus' cloak, "but I'm sure we would be able to work something out."

It took Remus's brain a little while to catch up to him and decode what happened in those following few moments.

A smooth caress down his arm was followed by one hand gripping his waist. The other hand circled behind him and squeezed his arse.

Slughorn's dry lips rasped clumsily across his cheek, and Remus pushed his teacher away from him. Doing so was a definite effort, since the man was probably twice Remus's body weight, though Remus was thankfully taller than Slughorn.

Slughorn quirked his eyebrows at him. Remus simply gaped back.

Professor Slughorn had just hit on him. He had, in fact, groped him. Remus thought he might never feel properly clean again.

"I'm your student!" Remus gasped. "I'm not even properly of age yet!"

"Oh, come now. Don't tell me you don't like it. I've seen the way you look at young Sirius Black when he's not paying attention."

It was Remus's turn to raise his eyebrows, taking in Slughorn's pot belly and bald head.

Even if Slughorn was right, it was one thing to fancy Sirius Black – everyone looked at him with interest, whether they intended to or not, even the boys – but it was quite another thing altogether to welcome an advance made by Slughorn. There was nothing remotely desirable about him.

But Remus could hardly say as much out loud and to the man's face. Putting Gryffindor into negative points would only skim the surface of his punishment if he acted that rashly.

"I'm sorry, but I think you may have misinterpreted the situation," Remus said instead.

Slughorn looked very put out. "I doubt that very much."

Remus shook his head. "No, you really have. And I think I'm going to leave now."

Slughorn stopped him by grabbing him firmly around the wrist. "I can make things very difficult for you, you realise Mr Lupin," he murmured. "And I won't hesitate to, if you try to tell anyone about this."

Remus nodded. "I know. But I also know a thing or two about difficulty, Professor Slughorn. I doubt anything, even your say-so, could make it worse for me."

"They wouldn't believe your word over mine."

He was a sixteen year old half-blood werewolf whose parents were barely over the poverty line living in a world where money and purity of blood equalled power, no matter what Professor Dumbledore would have them believe. It didn't take a genius to know that Slughorn was right on that count.

"No," Remus agreed, "they wouldn't. I know that as well."

"Good," Slughorn said. "I'm glad we understand one another."

Remus practically bolted out of the Potions classroom after that.

"What'd old Slughorn want with you?" James asked when Remus arrived back at the Gryffindor Common Room.

"He invited me to join his Slug Club," Remus said nonchalantly, trying to hide how flustered he really was.

"Oh?" Sirius said. "What'd you say to that?"

Remus grinned half-heartedly. "I told him that, as Gryffindor prefect, it's my duty to stay behind and keep an eye on the trouble-makers who don't go to the parties. The whole house would fall apart without me here to keep order."

Sirius ruffled his hair while Peter laughed wildly.

"Prefect Lupin," Sirius said fondly. "Defending Hogwarts from the unruly marauders. What would we do without you?"

Remus tried very hard not to blush at the feeling of Sirius's hands touching him. His thoughts flashed back to the way Slughorn had traced his hands over his back and arse earlier, and he secretly imagined what it would have been like if it had been Sirius who had propositioned him instead.

Slughorn was right on that count, at least. Had it been Sirius who was touching him, the idea of pushing him away would never have entered into Remus's mind. He doubted that would ever happen, though. Slughorn may have suddenly noticed his appeal, but to Sirius he would never be seen as more than just a friend.

Sirius grinned at him. Remus couldn't stop himself from imagining pressing his lips to that mouth, even though he knew it was mere fantasy.

He smiled back shyly.

~FIN~