Oh…. Why do I keep starting things and not finishing them you ask? Simple. I lose chapters and become too lazy to rewrite them and then no longer have the gumption to write that plot anymore. But I felt like writing a new story, set in the Marauders era and yeah…. . Enjoy.

I don't own Harry Potter.

So for some help on seeing these characters better I picked some people who I think would look good as them. Andrew Garfield as Remus Lupin, Phoebe Tonkin as Rina Cauldwell, Ben Barnes as Sirius Black, Emma Stone as Lily Evans, Aaron Johnson (younger) as James Potter, Jamie Bell as Peter Pettigrew and those are the only ones I cared to try and create faces for.

Before Tonks, Remus mused over another glass of fire whisky, there was another. A girl with fire in her veins and a passion for a mean violin solo. They spent quite a few years together, up until they were twenty five. And even today, though granted it is the anniversary of her death, it still hurt to even think about her. He snapped at Tonks too often, yes he knew it, but it was entirely her own fault. If only she would go about loving someone her age, someone less used, someone who wasn't a monster.

Remus looked over at Sirius, his hands full of papers that he took out of a hat box, a longing look on his face. She had been a sister to him is some way, more than Lily probably ever would have been if she and James had lived. Rina had been a girl who understood, she was also the victim to her mother's game. Alive only so Mother Cauldwell could live out dreams she had no talent to do. Sirius missed her as well, but who didn't? Remus was sure even Severus missed her and the only thing those two did was have a complete bitch fest every time Slughorn paired them up. She was disastrous at potions.

He can recall the thick dark hair that cascaded in waves passed her shoulders, the way her lips would pull into a tight line when she wasn't amused and the way her green eyes glittered in the light of the moon. He loved the way she hated the moon as he did; she often said it was much too overrated for her taste. Just a giant rock that reflected the light of the sun. There was nothing romantic about it, unless it was a secret picnic near the lake, under the new moon. Remus loved those moments when she'd fall onto her back, legs on his lap and she sang a most wonderful song in French or German or Greek. It didn't matter what language she spoke in, as long as she was speaking Remus could have listened for hours.

He misses being called a 'silly bastard', an affectionate term for him on her part that no one else ever really understood. Remus curls up on the chair, wishing she'd come running down the stairs, crouch in front of his seated body and nuzzle her nose against his. He wishes her laughter would float around him and calm him after the moon. But no, there is only him and Sirius and Tonks and the rest and no Rina. No pointless laughter, none of that spicy Mexican hot chocolate she was so fond of and no more of that lingering scent of her wild berry and green apple's shampoo.

"Remus." Tonks calls to him from her seat at the table where everyone else is. Is it too much for him to wish she would just disappear for at least a few hours? She is always there. She calls again but this time it's Sirius' name. He grunts to her in response. "Don't you want some dinner?" He expects Molly to have asked that, not Tonks. Not the girl who seems to be in wife training. Remus hasn't agreed to even date her yet, her hopes are much too high for his taste.

He picks up the half empty bottle of fire whisky, jiggles it above his head so everyone else can see that it's still mostly full. "I have dinner…" He calls back in a rough, gravelly voice. He no longer sounds like himself, not surprising since he's been drinking since noon this morning and it's already six. Remus hasn't spoken to anyone either, not even Sirius who looks like he needs to say something but he doesn't have the heart to.

He doesn't even flinch when Severus grabs the bottle from his weak hands and glares full on at him. Remus knows, he can see it in those dark eyes that Severus understands and somewhere in his heart he is in pain too, Rina was the only person not in Slytherin ever willing to have a conversation with him after what he called Lily all those years ago. Rina was his friend is a bizarre sense but Remus wasn't her friend. Not like Snape. Not like Sirius or James and God forbid, Peter. Or even Lily. He was her lover, her best friend, her protector. Her fiancé. No. Severus didn't actually understand.

"Pathetic mutt, get over yourself." Severus growls but drops the bottle back into Remus' awaiting hands and leaves as quickly as he came, leaving a veil on the stand next to him. He chuckles, a dreamless drought. Quite a thoughtful gift really, but he doesn't need it. What he needs are the dreams. The dreams of his memories of Rina and before everything went south. He needs them, he can't truly let go. If he let go he'd have nothing left to hold onto.

Dinner went by quickly, Sirius had disappeared sometime ago to his bedroom and everyone else is also gone leaving Remus to rifle through the hat boxes Sirius had brought down by himself. The fire whisky is gone, his head is spinning and his hands are shaking but he slips the lid off the first god awful ugly box and reaches in, pulling out a muggle photograph. He doesn't remember when it was taken but he knows he took it, since Rina didn't allow anyone else besides him see her in just a pair of his boxers and one of his t-shirts. Her hair was undone, day old make-up still in place. She was on "their" bed in the dorms. 7th year maybe, since that was when she just moved her stuff into his dorm.

TIME SKIP TO MARAUDERS ERA (6th year)

"Mr. Black, am I going to have to move your seat away from Mr. Potter?" McGonagall stood in front of the boy's table, arms crossed stiffly over her chest, head held high and a ice melting glare was fixed on Sirius. He grinned that boyish grin and leaned back on his stood, sizing McGonagall up before shrugging.

"We weren't doing anything wrong, Minnie. Just checking out the girls. Okay, correction, I was checking out the girls and James here was checking out Evans." An annoyed huff sounded from the red head in front of the table and Remus sighed, laying his head down on his and Peter's table, his friends were so stupid.

Minerva scowled and taking James' parchment from the table, whacked Sirius upside the head with it before dropping it back down. "It is Professor McGonagall to you Mr. Black and if you don't start showing some respect for myself and my class you will find yourself in Headmaster Dumbledore's office instead of in my class for now on. Understood?"

Sirius chuckled but nodded anyway, it was an empty threat and everyone knew it. No matter how annoying Sirius was McGonagall would never kick him out of class, even if he needed to be. She had a soft spot for her house, she was the pride mother and they were all her cubs but Sirius was probably her least and most favorite. Remus always wondered how their relationship actually worked. It didn't make sense, that was for sure but it was there, this mother trying to teach her cub the ropes but too secretly lenient on him. Or something like that.

"Like a mother and her disobedient cub." Remus quickly turned his head to the right, staring straight into a river of emerald. A girl? Who the… He could have sworn Peter was sitting next to him a few seconds ago. The girl must have noticed his questioning gaze because she shrugged and pointed over towards a different table. "He's got the hots for that hufflepuff girl I was sitting next to. Hope he knows he doesn't have a chance, she's a prude whose older brother is a the Slytherin seeker. He'll end up dead if he tries anything."

Remus nodded and gulped a bit. "Not to be rude or anything but who are you?" Obviously she was in his house but for the life of him he couldn't figure out who she was. Was she new? No… He'd met quite a few new people this year and they all held this air of uncertainty around them. She was calm and collected and seemed to already have a place in Gryffindor.

The girl rolled her eyes but chuckled. "Rina Cauldwell, we've had classes together since first year Lupin. But I never really attended many of them so I can forgive you for being ignorant." She put out her hand and he hesitantly shook it, surprised by the tight grip, and smooth skin. So different from his shaky and calloused hands. Rina smiled and dropped her hand. "Calluses? Signs of a hard working man. Or so my mother says."

"How very thoughtful of you…" He replies, not really fazed by being forgiven at all and ignoring her last comment since he has nothing to say to it. He folds his hands back in front of him and watches her from the corner of his eyes. Her handwriting, he notes is feminine and neat, falling into the curves and loops that are a sure sign that she's practiced her handwriting quite a bit. He can tell because she isn't even paying attention to her writing as McGonagall talks and her hands is steady, not faltering as she writes the correct words and letters without thinking twice.

Rina catches his eye and smiles, more of a side-ways smirk really and winks. Remus chuckles to himself and looks back towards the front of the class. He didn't really mind his new table partner and judging from the nervous chuckles coming for Peter across the room neither did he. Though Remus knew that the fake amusement of Melody Graves would soon fade and Peter would be back sitting with him in no time.

Remember to review and whatnot and tell me what you think. I'd love to hear your ideas for what should happen later as well.

Tata!