From Yesterday

by Taste of Cinnamon

Remus gazed down at the small bottle in his hands, trying to remember where he had seen it before. Love potion... One shot. Lupin reminisces about Hogwarts.

I think I had an author's note here.

But I edited the fic.

And I lost it.

So.

You've been spared.

From Yesterday

(By Taste Of Cinnamon)

"Dragon scales! Fresh, authentic Dragon scales! Two galleons an ounce, three for five!"

Remus Lupin smiled warmly at the small witch balancing a heaping tray of luminous scales and looked past her into the busy street of Diagon Alley. Soft petals of snow fell gently upon the hodgepodge of shoppers all scrambling to make the last few purchases before the holidays. Tightly bundled witches dragged down by countless parcels laughed and gossiped and neatly dressed wizards bargained for prices and examined wares. Remus allowed himself to be absorbed in the cozy going-ons before peering down the street again. Though long finished with his own Christmas shopping, he needed to run a few errands before returning home again.

Duke's Serums, Poultices, and Potions, a modest wooden sign declared humbly, and Remus, brushing past a brown bearded wizard carrying a large barn owl, made his way into the shop, shaking the snow from his coat and pulling off his gloves as he did. It was dark and cluttered inside, saturated with the scent of hundreds of magical herbs and broths. Glass bottles of every size and shape were clustered upon wooden shelves, each filled with some sort of liquid. Some of these were clear and innocuous looking while others bubbled and frothed violently within their chambers. Others still were murky and dark toned, and there were some which didn't seem like liquids at all.

Remus strolled up to the dusty counter and rang the glass bell with the tiny hammer provided. "Be right with you!" a shrill voice called from the back of the store, and Remus leaned against the counter to wait, his eyes roaming the room. His gaze stopped on a small vial of blood red substance, and curiously he removed it from the shelf and examined it, turning it over and over in his hands.

There was no label of any sort save for a tag bearing the day and year it had been brewed, but somehow the simple bottle of potion evoked an astounding sense of familiarity in Remus, although he knew not why. It was almost as if he had seen this potion before, had seen it in use, as if…as if…

"Ah, Mr. Lupin!"

Remus looked up to see the shop owner tottering toward him on his skinny bird like legs. He was an elderly fellow, though still sprightly in his old years, his cranium covered with a sparse shock of snow white hair. He wore large round spectacles and had a slight limp.

"Good Morning, Donald. I hope you are well?"

"Well enough, well enough." The elder man waved the air with an indifferent gesture. "The usual, Remus?"

"No, I still have some to last me a few weeks. I was actually hoping you had something that will repel doxies. They are becoming quite intolerable."

The old man tapped his chin thoughtfully, then broke out into a grin. "This," he said, reaching for a large jar of lavender liquid. "The strongest doxy repellant money can buy. Sprinkle some on your sills and garden if you have one and they'll never pester you again."

"I'll take it," Remus said.

Donald's long legs stroked to the counter again where he wrapped the bottle in rough brown paper. "Two sickles," he told Remus. "Would you be wanting that as well?"

"Hmm?" said Remus absently. He flushed slightly as he realized he still held the jar of blood red liquid in his hands. "No," he replied, replacing the bottle on the shelf. He paused, "Could you tell me—that is, I'd like to know—what is it?"

Donald grinned, revealing blunt teeth. "That's love potion, that is," he boasted proudly, "not a particularly strong variety but it'll do you well enough. Brewed it just last month, and let me tell you, it was right difficult to do correctly. Had to start from scratch again five times before I managed it. It'll cost you four galleons, but I personally don't see why you'd need it, the way young Nymphadora has been eyeing you."

But Remus was too preoccupied to wonder how the old shopkeeper could possibly know of Tonks' and his going ons. He was gazing at the small bottle and trying to remember where it was that he had seen it before. Love potion…Love…Remus' eyes widened, and suddenly his mind was filled with the image of another, far younger, wizard holding the same potion proudly in his hands.

"Love potion!" the boy declared, extending it toward his companions, his hazel eyes twinkling in excitement. "Guaranteed to work or your money back!"

"Aw, James, that's rubbish. No way that's real love potion."

"You don't believe me?"

"Nah. In fact, I'd bet you a sickle that it's just cranberry juice."

"Leave it alone Padfoot," was the good natured return, "You've already lost all your Christmas money to me."

"Ah," said Sirius, holding up a finger. He dug around in the pocket of his robes and produced a dusty silver coin. "One sickle, perfect condition."

James let out a chortle and extracted a sickle of his own. "All right then, it's a bet. Be our witness, Remus?"

The sandy haired boy grinned and held out his hand into which the two sickles were dropped. "I have a feeling you're in for another loss, Sirius," he said, "That looks like love potion to me."

"Remus would know, he's used it before." Sirius laughed at his own joke, slapping Peter Pettigrew hard on the back. Peter fell forward slightly and gave a small, weak chuckle. "Where'd you get that, James?" he asked, admiration in his watery blue eyes."

"Diagon Alley, over the break," James replied. "I've been meaning to buy some for a while."

Remus lifted an eyebrow. "And just who are you planning to use it on? Not Mabeline again?"

James grinned. "No."

"Annabelle Wood?" Sirius guessed.

"You know she's dating Alex Bourbon."

Peter scrunched his pudgy face up in thought. "Is it…Helen Grant?"

"Nope!" James exclaimed triumphantly. "Someone else."

"Who, James?" asked Peter eagerly while Sirius and Remus nodded encouragingly.

James smiled mischievously before revealing the answer: "Lily Evans!"

"Yes?"

Four heads shot up guiltily to see Lily herself staring at them, her eyebrows raised. She had obviously been passing by when she'd heard her name.

"Well?" she questioned impatiently.

"Er…Hullo, Lily," James replied, "Nice…shirt you're wearing."

She looked down. " This is the school uniform, Potter," she informed him, looking at him strangely.

"Yes. Well, it's nice on you."

Lily stared at him inquiringly for a few moments longer, then—"What's that you're holding?"

James' gaze dropped down to the bottle in his hands. "Oh, it's nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing to me."

"I really don't see how this is any of your business, Evans," James replied in an attempt at digression, "but if you must know, it's only—"

"Cranberry Juice," interjected Sirius, grinning widely. "It's only cranberry juice."

Lily brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Cranberry juice?" she repeated, disbelief marring her tone. "Really then? Well, let's see."

"Pardon?"

"If it's just cranberry juice, then it shouldn't be at all valuable. Here." And before any of the boys could protest, she had grabbed the bottle from James' surprised grasp, uncorked it, and thrust it into Sirius' hands.

Sirius looked down to the potion in his hands and back to Lily. "Well? Go on then," she urged.

"You…you want me to drink this?" the dark eyed boy said uncertainly while Remus and James exchanged a look that said "what do we do now?"

"Unless you have a problem with cranberry juice."

"Er…no. No problem." Sirius looked for help to James, who hastily reached for the bottle. "Sirius isn't thirsty just yet, Lily," he tried to say, "And I don't think—"

"It's only just a little mouthful," she replied scathingly, folding her arms and staring at him nonchalantly.

"Not to worry, mate," Sirius said after a moment, "It is, after all, just cranberry juice." He didn't look particularly convinced, but he took a deep breath, eyeing the small bottle carefully. "All right then, Lily," he said finally, and downed the contents in one gulp.

Peter gasped unwillingly and Remus, who was sitting beside him, could still remember the pain in James' eyes as he watched his hopes disappear down Sirius' throat. There was a moment of silence, then James spoke nervously.

"Well?" he said quickly, "how is it?"

Sirius wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve. "Tastes remarkably like cranberry juice, actually," he replied, "And…woah, Lily, that really is a nice shirt you're wearing."

"You sure you wouldn't want that as well Remus? For you I'll take off a galleon."

Remus broke out into a huge grin that obviously shocked the old store keeper. He quickly tried vainly to dampen it.

"Er, no thank you Donald. I'd best be going."

As he made his way back through the throng of Christmas shoppers, Remus had trouble not chuckling in memory—indeed, several people had already shot him half amused, half wary glances. He couldn't believe he had almost forgotten that day; now it came back so clearly he could still see every smile and gesture made. James, needless to say, had not been happy that his potion had been wasted on Sirius. He was even more taken aback to see just how potent that potion was. It had taken the entire afternoon and several near brushes with detention to pry Sirius off the very frightened Lily, and James—a bit unfairly—had not spoken to either of them for a week. Sirius, for his part, had found himself another sickle poorer.

Remus, now in the process of choosing an owl to mail a package to his good friend in Scotland, still found it a little difficult to believe that James and Sirius, arguably the two most prominent students ever to inhabit Hogwarts Castle, had taken him in as one of them, especially seeing as they shared almost nothing in common save wittiness and a good sense of humor.

Indeed Remus had trouble imagining his years at Hogwarts without his two best friends. Especially touching was their first ever gesture of friendship; where most would have scorned and shied far away from him, Sirius and James had only seen a companion and great potential.

"Woah."

Remus, having just made the painful transformation back into his human form, was curled up in the corner of the Shrieking Shack, sobbing quietly, when the awestruck voice permeated the dusty air. He looked up.

Standing just inside the door to the Shack was a pair of figures, one a few inches taller than the other, their exact features blurred by Remus' tears. A rivulet of fear ran through him, and he blinked, lifting an arm to wipe his eyes with his sleeve.

As his vision cleared, the taller of the figures crossed the shack, presumably to get a better look, and at once Remus recognized the shaggy dark hair and piercing black eyes to be those of Sirius Black, which left no doubt in his mind as to who the remaining figure was.

The dynamic duo. The troublesome twins. Sirius Black and James Potter. Remus had never particularly liked either.

"You're really…a werewolf?" One of them asked. Remus didn't know and didn't care which.

"Go away," he said.

"I never thought I'd ever meet one."

"I had always thought werewolves were big and hulky." James now joined Sirius almost two feet away from where Remus was still crouched.

"Go away," he repeated, not sharing in their mood, "I'll hurt you."

"You cant," Sirius pointed out. "You're human now."

Remus couldn't believe this. These two had snuck here, invading his privacy to witness something that made his live a misery, and now they were mocking him? Anger flared up inside him, and for a moment the usually mild and quiet spoken youth wished he still had the deadly claws of the wolf.

"I have my wand," he said, coming out of his fetal position to look them in the eye.

James pointed to the other corner. "Your wand is over there." Indeed it was. It must have been thrown across the floor during the transformation.

Remus swallowed hard. He didn't know what else to say.

"How is it?" James asked eagerly, crouching down beside him, "You know, being a werewolf and all."

Silence.

"I mean, it looks to be right painful, but after that it's gotta be pretty amazing. All that brute strength. How fast can you go?"

Remus gave him a disbelieving look. Did the airhead not see just see him clawing and scratching at himself in agony? Did he not notice the bags under his eyes?

Sirius was scratching his chin thoughtfully. "He doesn't seem to like you much, mate."

"Of course he does," James looked to the sandy haired boy for confirmation. Seeing none, "I was only joking when I asked you how fast you go."

Remus said nothing.

"I bet you know all sorts of passageways in and out of school," Sirius was saying. "I bet you could teach us."

Remus actually didn't know anything of the sort, but he didn't see what was to be gained by pointing it out.

James gave a huge grin. "What do you say, mate?"

"To what?"

"Why, to being one of us? You teach us all you know about the school, and we'll…well, we'll find you a better way than this." He waved at their surroundings.

"What?" Remus looked doubtful.

The two looked at him eagerly. "You know, make it a bit easier. We'll…I dunno, sing you soothing melodies while you change or something. James will even get out his harmonica We'll think of something."

"Er…well, I can't," he replied, a little shocked at the offer.

They exchanged a look. "Why not?"

"Well…I'm a…a werewolf,"

They looked taken aback. "But that's no trouble. All the better. You could get rid of dirty Slytherins for us."

Surprise evident on his face, Remus was at a loss for words. "But…I don't know any secret passageways."

Sirius and James exchanged a glance. "Ah," James said, "That's quite unfortunate. But you could help us make our own."

"We could use filthy Snape as a drill," Sirius agreed.

Despite himself Remus cracked a hesitant smile while his two companions broke out into laughter.

And from then on they had become friends, the three of them. Remus had had a hard time opening up around the two at first, but their laid back air was hard to feel uncomfortable around. Soon they were embarking on adventures—"quests", as Sirius liked to call them—each one more complicated and dangerous than the next. Plenty of detentions and rebukes had ensued, but nothing could quell the boys' determination to explore every inch of Hogwarts, and over time Remus found himself laughing easier, and his life no longer seemed so bleak.

Later on the trio was joined by Peter Pettigrew, a nervous, portly Gryffindor, and although they became close, nothing could match the friendship the three of them shared. Sirius and James, for their part, remained true to their word that they would find a way to make Remus' transformations to a were easier, and it was in their fourth year that they came across the way.

"Animagi," James declared proudly, waving his book around.

Remus looked up from his Charms essay. "Pardon?"

"Animagi," James said again, reading from the book this time, "wizards or witches who possess the ability to transform into a beast of their choosing. Animagi, whose skills take years to develop, must register with the ministry in order to—"

"I think we know what an Animagus is," Sirius interrupted. "The question is…what does that have to do with anything?"

James shot him an incredulous look. "Everything!" he cried, looking pointedly at the assembled group.

Eyebrows furrowed, Sirius grabbed the book and read the definition again. "That's impossible, mate. We couldn't possibly…"

"Oh, but we can. Don't you see? And then we could go anywhere we want, and when Remus here goes wolf on us, we could still be one big happy family, just with more fur.."

Peter, who had been listening doubtfully, raised his hand. "I don't think I can do it," he said.

"Of course you can—" James grinned mischievously—"If you just believe in yourself, you can do anything." Peter looked as if he didn't know whether he was supposed to laugh or not. He settled on a weak chuckle.

"Don't pay attention to James," Sirius broke in, "He just wants an excuse to turn into a pretty birdy so's he can sneak into the girls' dormitories."

James gave his best friend a pained look. "You say that now, mate, but just wait until I tell Jane Carter what you tried to do last week."

Sirius sputtered. "You wouldn't!" His best friend just waggled his eyebrows at him and they both burst into laughter at the exact same time. A thoughtful silence then settled over the group until it was finally broken by Sirius.

"So…Animagi…" he mused

"I'm serious, guys," Peter repeated, "I don't think I can do it."

And he couldn't. Not at first, anyway. In fact, it had taken Sirius and James almost a year to get it down, and another few months to help Peter to transform as well. From then on Remus' full moons were no longer so lonesome.

Now, he selected a hostile looking eagle owl and brought it to the mail counter, digging around in his spacious pockets for his package. After paying the proper fee, Remus stood for a few moments watching his owl fly off before sighing and continuing on his way.

A group of teenage wizards swaggered past, laughing loudly at a joke the apparent leader, a tall blond, had made. Remus gave them a hesitant smile.

"Hullo, sir!" one greeted jovially as their paths crossed.

"Good morning," he returned, unable to resist the boy's charm.

"I wouldn't go that way, sir," the youth said, grinning. He lowered his voice, "Old lady Campton has been trying to force every bloke passing by to sample some of her baked goods. I heard she clubs everyone who refuses."

Remus smiled. "I'll take my chances. Thank you, though."

Sure enough, before he had even turned the corner, his ears had picked up the sound of Lucy Campton's shrill voice berating some hapless shopper. He picked up his pace, wedging himself into a group of stern faced wizards.

Fine boys, those had been. They reminded Remus a lot of his own friends at Hogwarts, though he doubted anyone could ever match James and Sirius' talent at troublemaking. They'd left a "legacy", as they liked to call it, that still lingered about the castle's many corridors and stairways. Few students knew what they were really hearing when rattles and bangs shook the towers at night, and even less were aware that many of the rules they had to abide by were only recently implemented, "inspired" by the four Gryffindors that traversed the halls a generation ago.

If he had been asked fifteen years ago, Remus would never in his most pessimistic hours imagine that the four of them would be separated someday. He would have laughed politely at whoever would have been rash enough to claim that two of the group would die before their time and another would be the cause of their deaths. It still left him reeling and disorientated. Indeed, from time to time when Remus was faced with a particularly difficult problem, or if he was, perhaps, greatly excited, he would on instinct turn to his right to ask the opinion of James or Sirius.

"Amazing isn't it, James?" or "What would you say, Sirius?" he would ask excitedly. Then he would catch himself, looking stunned for a few moments as he remembered that his best friends were no longer available to share their opinions.

At other times he would break out into laughter at the most inopportune moments as he recalled something they had done or something they would do in a situation. Just last month at Tonk's birthday dinner (a small, inelaborate celebration) he had suddenly burst into laughter as he imagined another birthday party years ago, in which Sirius had charmed the cake to look like Severus Snape's face, hooked nose and all. He had been reliving the party-goers' surprised expressions at the cake's suddenly breaking out into song when Tonks had used an exorcising spell on him because she thought he had been possessed.

They'd had great times at Hogwarts, the four of them, more than they had ever thought possible, and the sadness at graduation day had been alleviated only by the prospect of unsupervised adventuring once they were free from the nine o'clock curfew.

They sat slouched in their chairs at the back of the Great Hall, bored half to death with the excruciatingly long graduation ceremony, which involved each graduate kneeling down before the headmaster and extending his or her wand horizontal to the ground in both hands. Then began a complicated procedure which greatly resembled a medieval knighting process.

"D'you think we'll ever see each other again?" Peter inquired, his blue eyes filling with tears.

"Aw, of course, Wormtail." Sirius replied optimistically, wrapping an arm around the shorter boy. "Hell couldn't keep us apart." He considered a moment. "Well, actually, it may pose a fair threat, seeing as Remus here will be going up." He gave a low whistle and pointed toward the ceiling. "And the rest of us"—he looked pointedly at the floor—"Always knew you would betray us, Moony."

"I dunno, Sirius," Remus said seriously, "You may have a fair chance. I don't see as even Hell would want you."

Peter, for his part, looked nervously at the ground as James, having just finished his Head Boy speech, slumped down next to them.

"It's torture, that's what it is," he muttered angrily. "You'd think after a year of herding around first years, keeping them from getting themselves killed, and wiping their noses for them McGonagall would at least let us a little free rein in our speeches." James paused and glanced over at Peter. "What's the matter with him?"

"Wormtail is worried that he wont be going to Hell like the rest of us," Sirius said.

"Ah. Well, you know Heaven can't be too bad. You get, I dunno, harps and little floaty clouds and everything…c'mon, mate, harps."

"And angels." Sirius chimed in.

"Female angels."

"With soothing hands and calming voices."

They went on for quite a bit while onstage, Lily was making her speech.

"We've all enjoyed a wonderful seven years here at Hogwarts," she was saying, looking a bit flushed, "Some may not be worth remembering, and some may still bring back painful memories, but through it all we've made friends and each had our fair share of laughs. As the curtain closes on our final days here at the castle we should all take the time to say goodbye to even the most distant of companions we've worked with throughout the years, even the people we've only said half a word to. Take five minutes off your day to track them down and say "Goodbye, you've made a difference in my life'…"

"Goodbye Sirius," James said in a mock serious tone, "You've made a difference in my life."

"Goodbye James," Sirius replied, "I shall surely miss you."

James grinned, turning to Remus now. "Goodbye Remus, I will never forget your studious ways."

"Goodbye James, you will never leave my thoughts."

"Goodbye Peter, my good friend who has made my world a better place."

"Goodbye James, you have been a true friend."

Sirius now took up the torch. "Goodbye, Remus. I think I shall never meet another werewolf quite as intriguing as you."

"Goodbye Sirius, no matter how old I get I'll never forget the feel of your wand jabbed continuously into my ribs during class."

"Goodbye Peter. I'll forever remember the time our carriage overturned and I felt your rear end on my knee."

"Good bye Sirius, it's been a blast crawling around with you in dark tunnels."

Remus hesitated, while James gave him a prodding nod. "Goodbye Peter," he said, "I still don't think I'll ever forgive you for melting my best cauldron in third year."

"Goodbye Remus, I'm still thankful that you never did decide to eat me on the full moons."

"And that's that," James wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.

"…Shake their hand, or perhaps give them a hug. Express your thanks…" Lily was saying on the pedestal.

James stood up. "Bloody Hell, Lily. You demanding little wench." He shook his head disbelievingly at Sirius, who smiled back at him. Then, before a bewildered Lily and confused class of seventh years, the pair proceeded to give hugs to each and every person in the room, whether they were willing or not, and finally to each other.

Of course, that hadn't been their last prank of the year, no. James and Sirius were determined to go off with a bang and leave a final imprint. When the graduates were finally dismissed, they were greeted in the Entrance Hall by a complete celebration committee, complete with fireworks and Ferris wheel (how they managed to fit one into the hall was still a mystery). And as a final gesture of "goodwill", when each graduate unrolled their diploma in the relative safety of their homes, each was greeted with the words:

Messer's Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew

Hereby declare

Mr. or Miss. Such-and-such

An official graduate of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

By accepting this diploma you do so acknowledge that Severus Snape is a slimy git and solemnly vow to express to him your disapproval by owl, through Muggle mail, or (preferably) in person.

We express our most profound thanks and beg you to please feel free to make the aforementioned slimeball's life a living Hell.

Chaos had, of course, insured, but as graduates, the marauders were no longer under the jurisdiction of the school, and most agreed that it was a fine joke anyway.

And now James and Sirius were dead (creating chaos up in Heaven—or down in Hell—most like) and Peter was…well, he was suffering from difficulties. Remus had learned to put most of his sadness aside—Padfoot and Prongs wouldn't have wanted to see their best friend weighed down by sorrow—and he felt he had enough fine memories to get him through the rest of his life. They would have told him to laugh and to not worry.

"Death be damned," Sirius would say, "nothing could keep good ol' Moony from us."

"We'll pull him straight down from the Pearly Gates if need be," James would add, a twinkle in his eye.

Remus didn't possess any optimism that the three of them would ever actually meet again, and though that saddened him, he felt that he'd gotten more than his fair share when he'd made friends with Sirius and James. He had had that much, and he was grateful.

Smiling now, Remus was startled to find that someone had been calling his name for the good part of a minute now. He turned.

Standing a fair distance behind him and looking as if she were about ready to grab a Christmas shopper to throw at him was Tonks, looking deliciously rosy (if a bit plain) in light brown hair and eyes. She held out her hands as if to say "What the Hell?" and jogged up to him, pulling her scarf up.

"One would think you've just discovered the hiding place of the Holy Grail, the way you've been carrying on," she said gruffly.

"Sorry."

Tonks frowned thoughtfully at him. "Reminiscing?"

He smiled. "Just running some errands."

"Hmm."

Taking her elbow, Remus lead her to a less busy part of the street. "But I'm finished now," he said. "Shall we go get some drinks?"

"Hot chocolate would be good," she replied, looking at him as if he were her savior.

Remus' grin widened, and he took the lead, bustling them to the nearest pub. The corners of his eyes crinkled in humor; he could just feel his two best friends standing beside him.

"Whoo, Moony finally got himself a girl," James would say, giving a low whistle.

"Our little werewolf is finally growing up," Sirius would add, wiping a false tear from his eye.

Remus smiled, wrapped a tentative arm around Tonks, and strode off, pretending that they weren't there.

Which, of course, they weren't…but that all depends on which way one looked at it. The way Remus saw it, James and Sirius wouldn't be contented with not being there; they'd fight tooth and nail to be by his side. Yeah, they were there alright.

He heard them loud and clear.

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