Messr Moony Included
Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter
"Well, this is a nice change of scenery," Lily Evans states as she looks around. Remus glares at her.
"It's a prison cell."
"I was being sarcastic."
"It doesn't suit you."
"Doesn't suit me?"
"Nope, doesn't match your hair."
"What the hell are you on about Lupin?" Remus blinks at her, his vision blurry, the nausea rising.
"I don't really know..." Lily frowns at her friend in concern. He's swaying now and quickly falls to the floor.
"Did they drug you?"
"Lils you've been with me since 8am, I think you'd be aware of it if they drugged me," Remus points out as he drags himself into the centre of the room, "Lily, there's something you don't know." Lily sits beside him on the floor, deciding to believe this is important, "Lily I'm not getting out of here."
"What?! What are you talking about? Of course you are, we both are, great blithering idiot." Remus giggles deliriously.
"You sound like Snape." Lilly's frown deepens. They all know better than to bring up Snape.
"What's wrong with you, Remus. Really." He laughs, only this time it turns into something akin to a sob before cutting off completely.
"All those absences, all these scars. Did you ever work it out?" Lily bites her lip nervously.
"No. James pulled me aside when he noticed me start paying attention. Told me to stop looking. First time he spoke to me in any sort of normal fashion. Last time for a couple of years too. So, I listened. If something could make James Potter be Seri...be focused, it must be important." Lily is rather horrified to see the tears that start falling down his face.
"Always told you he was a great friend, didn't I?" She sighs.
"I always thought he'd done something to make you feel like you owed him." Remus frowns at the ceiling.
"He did."
"Remus, we have to ask you something. But don't panic okay? We promise, we don't care." Twelve-year-old Remus looks at his friends fearfully. None speak for a moment before Sirius rolls his eyes.
"Are you a Werewolf?" Remus' face crumpled, his shoulders droop, his gaze dropping to his shoes. And really, what else does he deserve? Someone like him...no, he doesn't deserve to look them in the eye. Not when they are everything he can never be.
"Remus, you know how some people have a natural inclination to Ligilimency?" James asks, Remus doesn't look up as he nods, "I'm one of those people. I've known since I met you, I just didn't say anything until these two brought it up. My point is, I can hear what you're thinking right now, and you are wrong." Remus looks at him in confusion, "I don't try to do it but, people are easiest to read when they're hurting, and that's something you do a lot of."
"We don't want you to hurt anymore," Sirius explains.
"We want to help," Peter adds.
"And we have a plan."
"They all did."
"What do you mean? Remus, seriously, what is going on?" Remus wretches painfully but luckily does not actually vomit.
"This, this cell... It's either made for me or others of my kind."
"Your kind?" Lily asks, face scrunched in confusion as she feels Remus temperature, "You're burning up."
"Silver in the walls," Remus mutters weakly, a cold sweat breaking out.
"Silver?"
"I'm a Werewolf, Lily." Lilly's eyes widen almost comically before she jerks backwards in a panic. In his weakened state Remus just flops off her lap and onto the floor where he stays with a small grunt of pain.
"Y-You're a what?"
"A Wer..." Remus trails off, head drifting to the side.
"Remus!" Lily calls, rushing forwards and taking him back into her arms, "Dammit Remus, in case you have forgotten we have an important event to attend this afternoon, do not die on me. You'll make James cry and if James cries I'll cry and everything will be a mess and dammit Remus, hang in there. Please."
"Toldu, no gunn mke it outta hr." Lily shakes her head, tears in her eyes.
"Yes, yes you are. We just need to break out of this cell."
"Lils...tell Sirius...tell 'im m'sorry And..." Remus blinks up at the ceiling, tilting his head to the side slightly, "Wazzat?" Lily looks up, blinking past the tears. She finds a hole in the ceiling, Lily' s eyes widen.
"Our way out."
Lily stands.
"Remus, I know you feel like shit right now, but I need you to help me." Remus looks up blearily, "You spent months learning to cast wingardium leviosa without a wand. Do you remember how to do it?"
"Yeah but...Lils, I –"
"I know, Remus. But we don't have a choice. Please." Remus looks at her for a moment before nodding. He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath, then throws a hand out to her, focusing deeply.
"Wingardium Leviosa." It doesn't work, "Lily, I can't..."
"Remus, if we stay here we will both die. Today of all days I cannot let that happen. I am not dying today, and neither are you. Now lift me up."
"Wingardium LEVIOSA!" Lily jolts into the air, shaky but rising up to the hole. She grabs onto it, using it as leverage to kick around it with her feet, breaking the hole wider and wider. Then she falls as the spell cuts out rather suddenly.
"Rem!" She cries, running over to check on him.
"M'sorry, jus...jus needa brk," He tells her, eyes fluttering shut.
"Hey, don't you dare fall asleep!" She's not stupid. She knows if he sleeps now he won't wake up. His eyes open again, and he looks up at her.
"Y'know when Pongs first saw-ou he sd you look like'n angel. First thin' I evr 'eard'im say." She smiles.
"What's the first thing you ever heard me say?" Remus chuckles.
Flashback
"A Mandrake or Mandragora," Severus says, answering the herbology Professor's question.
"Show off," James mutters unhappily. He just lost his chance to show how smart he is to the red-headed angel.
"Do you even know her name?" Sirius asks, pouting at how much attention James is showing to this girl.
"I know it'll end in Potter one day." Silence.
"All right, even I have to give you that one, that was pretty smooth," Remus says, Peter chuckles, Sirius looks even more put out.
"Only problem is that Snivellus fellow."
"Severus," Remus corrects.
"I meant what I said." Sirius and Peter snicker while Remus rolls his eyes, though he too looks slightly amused.
When they pull the Mandrakes out of the pots, James levitates Severus' earmuffs off his head. He's out cold in seconds. James and Sirius high-five as they laugh.
"Now that's magic," James says. The red-headed angel glares at him.
"That's my best friend," She tells him, Sirius laughs harder as James' eyes widen, "And you'll never be as good as him."
Lily's eyes tear up as Remus slurringly replies.
"So, you're a Werewolf." He nods weakly, "And the silver in the walls, that's what's affecting you?" He nods again, "Well, while you spent forever perfecting a spell for a prank, I spent forever perfecting my transfiguration skills."
"S'hard wivout a wan." Lily strokes his face gently.
"I'm the brightest witch of my age, just you watch me."
Lily tries to transfigure the walls for a few minutes before she turns back and sees Remus fading again.
"How many people know?"
"Wha-?"
"That you're a Werewolf."
"How'd you...oh right, I toldu." Lily bites her lip and screws her eyes shut against the onslaught of emotion. This is supposed to be such a happy day for her. It should have been perfect.
"So how many?"
"Um, Maraurs, you 'n' the Professrsss," He responds, she nods.
"When did the Marauders work it Out?"
"Third year." She nods.
"Bet Sirius kept coming up with stupid plans to help you, none of which would help." Remus chuckles.
"You'd be surprised," He replies, shocking her with the clarity of speech, but his eyes are glazed over, lost in a memory.
"Erm, James. Why is there a dog on my bed?" Remus asks as he and James enter the room, James' eyes widen.
"YOU DID IT?! NO DAMMIT I'M SO CLOSE!"
"James?" Remus asks again.
"Wait, which one of you is that?" The dog tips and gets off Remus' bed, running and jumping on Sirius'.
"Sirius, you're a legend."
"James...please tell me the giant dog is not actually Sirius..."
The dog transforms back into human form, Sirius grins cheekily from his bed as James rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.
"So you remember that plan I mentioned, about helping you with your...err...furry little problem...?"
"...Remus are you crying?" James and Sirius exchange worried looks as Remus walks over to Sirius and collapses in front of him, throwing his arms around him and sobbing.
"You idiot you could go to Azkaban this was so dangerous," He tells them, "...thank you," He says quietly.
"Hey, I'm trying too!"
"REMUS!" Remus jolts out of his daydream, focusing back on the present situation, just stay with me...hey I think I..." Remus gasps out a big breath as he suddenly feels as though the prison that had encased him and been squeezing him tighter was lifted.
"Oh god," He moans before throwing up the contents of his stomach.
"How are you feeling?" Lily asks after he finishes, rubbing his back soothingly all the while.
"Like I have the world's worst flu, but it's a step up from the Ebola I was feeling before." Lily chuckles at her friend's dry humour.
"Shall we try this again then?" She asks. Remus drags himself over to a wall, touching it jitterily and finding it safe. He sits back against it.
"Let's do this. Wingardium leviosa!"
Lily gains height, retaking her place and kicking at the ceiling until more falls apart, then Remus successfully levitates her out. She looks around for a way to get Remus out as well.
"Lily, just go. Today...it's too important to miss. You have to be there."
"So do you," She tells him offhandedly as she continues looking around for inspiration.
"I'm expendable, always have been. None of you need me but losing you would destroy them. Please Lily, go. Bring help if you must but don't stay here and get caught."
"DO YOU WANT TO DIE?!" She screeches at him, he seems shocked, "No really, Remus, do you?!"
"No Lils, of course not. I'm just trying to be realistic –"
"This isn't realism Remus. This is you not wanting to be saved." Remus looks at her, bewilderment fading to understanding and desolation.
"Maybe you're right Lily. Merlin, I'm tired okay?! I'm tired of pain and fighting and hiding and hatred and fear and I'm just tired. So maybe I don't want to make it out of here. Has it occurred to you that out there isn't much better for me?! I'm nothing but a monster Lily. A cage is where I belong. Die here, die there, what does it matter? It'll be celebrated as another beast that's been put down." Lily gasps, but he's too far gone now to care, "Soulless, evil, deserving of nothing but death," He says quietly, remembering being told of his Father's words.
"Remus, if I ever hear you talk that way again I am going to bitch slap you so hard that is the only pain you will ever be able to feel again, are we clear?" She asks, Remus looks at her in shock, so used to his moments of self-hatred being met with kind words from people who don't understand.
"W-What?"
"You are one of my best friends Remus John Lupin, for God's sake do you honestly not know you mean the world to me? How can someone look at my face, at all our faces, and not see how much you mean to us? You think they'd fall apart without me? They'd die without you. You're a Marauder."
"So are you, Mrs Prongs," Remus tells her, "Better one than I have ever been." Lily huffs at him.
"I'm going to let them deal with that one. Until then, I'm going to get you out of here. No don't you argue with me, Marauder's first, right?" He smiles sadly.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me," He says, she smiles back.
"Nothing Remus, nothing at all. You are as you are and that is how we love you. Now wait here, I think I have an idea."
"Not like'm going anywhere," Remus mutters sleepily. As he does, he thinks on the last time he ran into silver.
"I'm just going to go in and take a na..." Remus trails off as he and Lily enter the common room, He stumbles slightly.
"Remus?" He blinks.
"M'fine, just more tired than I thought," He claims. He says goodbye and heads up the stairs, but as soon as he enters the dorm, he collapses.
"REMUS?!" Sirius and Peter rush over to him.
"Moony, what's going on?" Sirius asks him desperately, "Pete go get Madam Pomfrey."
"...Silll..."
"Sill? Window sill? Are you overheating?"
"Sill...ver," He murmurs quietly, darkness overwhelming him.
"Oops..."
"He's waking up," A voice calls as Remus blinks his eyes open, he finds James' worried face hovering over him.
"I must say Prongs, I've woken up to prettier sights." He scoffs.
"There is nothing prettier than this face."
"What happened?" James glares at something on the other side of the room, Remus can't be bothered to check what.
"Well, our roommates didn't do the reading I assigned and seem to have missed the part where silver has some seriously adverse affects on Lycanthropes. Sometimes lethal effects."
"We are so sorry Moons," Sirius' voice comes, James glares in that direction again.
"We'll read all those books, Minnie's just gone to borrow them from the restricted section for us so that James doesn't nick them again," Peter adds.
"Blasted dolts," James huffs, wiping hair out of Remus' face. And he may have just almost died because of his friends' foolishness, but honestly, Remus has never felt safer. He'll find out the specifics of what happened later, but for now, he's going to sleep, knowing someone's watching over him.
Remus chuckles to himself, he never did find out what happened, but he found out something else.
"Lily?" Remus falls, her head comes over the edge of the hole, "Did I ever tell you about that solid year I had a crush on James?" Lily looks at him for a second, and then bursts out laughing.
"No, no you did not," She says, still laughing. He laughs too, "Does he knowing?"
"Oh yeah. And if you're hoping he was chilled about it, you are very wrong." Lily laughs more.
"What happened?"
James walks in after Quidditch practice, wearing the robes of Remus' best dreams and simultaneously his nightmares. Remus can't help but look him over, a fact that is, unfortunately, picked up by James.
"Enjoying the view?" He asks cockily, Remus blushes furiously and buries his face back in his book as Sirius and Peter laugh at him, "Oh it's okay Remus, I don't mind. Drink in your fill," He says, opening his arms wide.
"Oh sod off," Remus tells him. All three laugh, but it's with him as he laughs too, Not at him.
"Sounds cruel, even for what he was like back then." Remus shakes his head.
"They were careful. They'd laugh at me for it, but it, along with my lycanthropy, was one of the very few things they made sure was still funny and not being taken too far. Sirius kicked James out of the dorm once when they walked in to find me beached on my bed with my face in my pillow and then listened to me whinge about some perfect thing he did, I don't remember what. James didn't even try to come back until Sirius gave him a signal that it was okay. He didn't bring it up, just gave me that soft smile of his and went about his day. He was in love with you, he knew it was hard sometimes."
"He really is one of a kind," Lily says with a smile, Remus nods, "How'd you go from that to dating Sirius?"
"Well, We were in a sticky situation and he had a plan which I did not know. All he said was "Trust me Moons" and then asked me to jump off the cliff we were on." Lily raises an eyebrow at him, "I did it without hesitation. Turns out he'd used the mirror, James heard everything that happened, He and Marlene caught us on their broomsticks. When we landed..."
"Remus!" Sirius calls, jogging over to where Remus was literally hugging the ground. Marlene laughing at his antics.
"Yeah?"
"You trusted me," He states. Remus stands up in front of him.
"Of course I did." Sirius looks him over for a second before he snogs him.
Remus does not complain.
"I thought you two got together in school," Lily says in confusion, Remus shakes his head.
"No, first mission for the Order."
"But you guys used to go on dates once a mo- ohhhhhhh," She says, he laughs. He hears a bang and looks over to see a swing, "get in the seat." He doesn't question it, just drags himself over, pushing from the exertion of that alone. He pulls himself into the seat. She starts pulling him up, for once glad he's ridiculously thin.
"Where'd you get a swing?" He asks her as she pulls him out of the hole.
"Backyard. Whoever's house we were being kept in, they had kids at some point." Remus looks around, eyes wide.
"This looks like every haunted house ever." Lily grimaces, nodding.
"I'm going to help you get to those trees, then go get our wands, and then apparate us out of here." He doesn't bother to argue this time.
It's less than fifteen minutes before she returns, holding both wands.
"How are you feeling?" Lily asks as she hands over his wand and helps him to stand.
"Weak, but better."
"Right, straight to St Mungos," She declares.
"No. We have plans we can't miss." She glares at him, "I'll go afterwards. I promise." She frowns, then nods, apparating them to their destination.
"...so if we could just be patient while we sort out this, erm, small snag," They hear Marlene saying from inside. The two hurry in, Remus' arm slung over Lily's shoulder.
"Wait! I'm here!" Lily calls, pushing open the door.
"Lily? Remus?!"
"We're fine, let's do this," She tells them, leading Remus over to Sirius. He, Sirius, and Peter are supposed to be standing at James' side. She has Marlene, Alice, and Dorcas standing by hers.
"You know, I'm sure that's not the outfit we got for you for this occasion," Dorcas comments, Lily rolls her eyes.
"I think it's perfect," James tells her. He takes off his boetie, Sirius whimpers, probably having spent ages trying to fix it. He undies the top two buttons of his shirt, takes off his jacket, and rolls up his sleeves, "We've never really been ones for tradition, right?" Lily grins at him, taking her place beside him at the altar.
"You okay Moony?" Sirius asks, Remus nods.
"Yeah, She got here, that's the important thing." Sirius frowns at him.
"No, it's not." Remus frowns too, Lily coughs an unsubtle 'Told you so'.
It's during the reception that Lily suddenly turns to him.
"Ohhh, Moony, oh I get it!"
"I'm sorry, you get what now?" James asks, Lily smiles at him lovingly.
"I get that I was wrong about you Potter. Turns out you've never been quite as self-centred as I thought."
"Why thank you, Potter." Lily grins, "And thank you Remus, for getting her here." Remus smiles.
"Wouldn't have missed it for the world." Lily frowns slightly.
"We'd have missed it for you." The Marauder's all look at him, clearly agreeing. Remus smiles lightly.
"I know." All their eyes widen hopefully, "Marauder's first. Messr Moony included." Sirius kisses him passionately.
"Bout time you got that through your head, Love."
"You, my dear, are a miracle," James tells Lily.
"Thought I was a red-headed angel," Lily replies, James seems confused, Remus laughs.
"What exactly have you been telling her?"
"Better question is, what else are you keeping from me? Because I know where he's disappearing to, but what about you lot?" James scratches the back of his head awkwardly.
"Well, you see, we had this plan..."