"Moony, duck!"
"Wha- oof! Who threw that?"
"Well I told you to duck, didn't I?"
Remus's only reply was to growl, coughing as the red smoke surrounding him cleared.
"What was that James?!"
"What makes you think it was me? Alright, alright, stow the skeptical brow."
Only then realizing that every pair of eyes in the potions classroom was on them, Remus and James grinned sheepishly, and the werewolf hid the- now broken- vial of potion behind his back.
Remus Lupin was a good two inches taller than his fellow Marauders, and looked years older than them too. Out of habit he gently rubbed his temple, feeling a headache coming on- the full moon was a mere couple of days away, and he was already feeling it's dreaded pull. He brushed out of his eyes his light, sandy hair, which was nowhere near as messy as James's, but could never hope to be as attractive as Sirius's. His gold-flecked, deep brown eyes were soft and kind, but when hardened could intimidate a Hippogriff- Remus was known to be the only person capable of making a Marauder feel guilty, or be quiet, and this alone earned him a great deal of respect and admiration. His shirt was buttoned almost to the very top, in an attempt to hide his daunting collection of scars- sadly not an easy task. Remus managed to pull it off, with the help of long-sleeved sweaters, but there was little he could do about the marks on his face and neck- Madame Pomfrey could not heal or conceal them, as werewolf wounds are cursed with lycanthropy. Remus was mostly known as the 'brains' of the four friends, and not many girls gave him much thought- not that he minded, of course. Although, underneath the robes, his body was lean and muscular, and could have easily matched the strength of James and Sirius.
Professor Slughorn, their potions master, was smiling slightly.
"Off to the Hospital Wing with you, Mr. Lupin!" he instructed. "And you go with him, Mr. Potter, to make sure he gets there," the professor interrupted when Remus opened his mouth to protest.
James Potter, looking as innocently adorable and overly cheerful as always, skipped away at Remus's side, winking at Sirius on his way out. His black, unruly hair stuck out in all directions, and looked as though it could defy gravity; many theories were floating around the school, but his fellow students had yet to solve the great mystery of James's hair. The ever-present spark in his brilliant blue eyes could be seen through the round glasses perched precariously on the bridge of his nose. His shirt and tie hung loosely on his toned body, and many girls would pay ten galleons to get within three feet of the Quidditch star- with the exception of Lily Evans, of course, who would pay twice as much just to make him stay away from her.
Remus and James made it out into the hallway, pausing when out of sight to wait for the inevitable. It was only seconds before they heard two more pairs of footsteps behind them, and were approached by a panting Sirius and Peter.
"Sluggy let us go-" explained Sirius, somewhat smugly, "probably realized we would just keep asking."
The handsome, raven-haired boy was wearing the ever present Black smirk; something which, even though he would never admit it, he had in common with his relatives. He heartily despised the lot of them, and would sooner die than agree with their deranged
'pure-blood', 'mud-blood', 'half-breed' views. Occasionally he would flick back his night-black hair, a few strands of which fell elegantly over his eyes. Sirius was, perhaps, the most desired boy in Hogwarts- his high cheek bones, flawless features, winning smile, and lean body appeared in the dreams of the whole female population; with, again, only the exception of Lily Evans. And perhaps Professor McGonagall. One could easily get lost in his sparkling, silvery-grey eyes, which would lure in anybody daring to get close enough.
"What was that potion, Remus?" asked Peter quietly.
The small, blonde-haired boy was slightly on the chubby side, with a painfully short tie and ink-stained, wrinkled robes. He had big, baby-blue eyes, which were constantly looking up at either James, Sirius, or Remus; his up-turned nose had a splash of freckles, and his complexion was a constant rosy-red. Peter's fan-club was considerably smaller that Sirius's, and few people actually knew his name- he was usually referred to as "that boy who hangs around those three." Not that this bothered him though- if they were happy, he was happy. It seemed Peter's primary goal in life was to please the three boys he so eagerly looked up to- he rarely had his own opinion, and if he did he never voiced it; he always agreed with the other boys, no matter what it was about. A small strand of hair stuck up stubbornly on Peter's head, and wouldn't lie back down under any sort of spell- magic or muggle.
"Dunno- well, James?" Remus replied, glaring expectantly at his grinning friend. "Care to explain?"
"I didn't mean to hit you, honest!"
Remus threw him a skeptical look.
"It's true! I was aiming for Snivellus!"
Remus groaned-
"Honestly, when will you two give him a break? He hasn't done anything to you!"
Sirius mock-gasped, replying-
"Yes, he did! He hexed Prongs, and he turned your hair gr-"
"Yes, yes, we all remember that, let's move on!" Remus interrupted, blushing slightly. This earned him a smirk from James and Sirius, and a giggle from Peter.
"It really was an accident though," James insisted, "I swear!"
Remus rolled his eyes, something which had turned from a rare display of emotion to somewhat of a habit, since meeting the three boys he know called his best friends.
"I know, and it's okay. Accidents happen."
James smiled with relief, trying his best to ignore the tugging feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew that feeling well, but if even if he was right about it he didn't want to worry his fellow Marauders.
The four Gryffindors, having fallen into comforting silence, made their way through the school's winding halls, with a sense of direction which had been perfected over the two and a half years they had attended Hogwarts; this was absolutely necessary, as any thoroughly lost and confused first-year would tell you. At last they made it to the Hospital Wing, where they were greeted by the familiar, scornful, yet at the same time gentle face of Madame Pomfrey.
"What have you boys done to yourselves this time?" she chided, hands on hips. Sirius and James grin manically, while Remus sent them a half-hearted glare.
"Oh, just a little... accident, Ms. P," Sirius explained nonchalantly, draping his arm over James's shoulders.
"Yeah, exactly, an accident," confirmed James, crossing his arms defensively. The nurse rolled her eyes in annoyance, but truthfully, she rather enjoyed the playful antics of her four most frequent visitors; the troublemakers may be a nuisance, but she had seen them sit by Remus's bed with an uncharacteristic tenderness and concern for hours on end, and it was a thought she liked to summon up whenever sadness or loneliness crept up on her.
But suddenly, interrupting her train of thought, a sharp cry of pain escaped Remus's lips, and the werewolf collapsed without warning onto the cold white floor. The four other occupants of the Hospital Wing crowded around him, Madame Pomfrey worriedly checking his pulse.
"Remus?" she tried, looking into the Marauder's half-closed eyes, "can you hear me?"
She received no answer, and a black cloud of dizziness and fatigue slowly took over Remus's mind. The last thing he was aware of were the blurry, concerned faces of his fellow Marauders and Madame Pomfrey looking down at him, eyes full of distress, before he finally, blissfully blacked out, welcoming a reprieve from the pain of the moon's curse.