Disclaimer: The characters, settings, names- nothing in the Harry Potter universe belongs to me. Thanks for the reminder :P Anyways, all rights go to J K. Rowling. Based loosely off of the song 'Superheroes' by the Script. Also not mine…

Sorry for the long wait... I had mass confusion posting this. Song suggested by my first reviewer (PurebloodGirl) so shout out to her! Offer still stands- first review to this chapter (or I guess next review) gets a shoutout and song suggestion. Character suggestions are always welcome, though I have some ideas of my own. I could go on and on now about why I'd love you to review, but you're here for the story- so here it is:

Sirius Black hadn't always acted out and rebelled against his parents, in fact he sometimes still wondered if the pranks he did would disappoint his family...yet when he saw their shining faces around him, Sirius knew that the Marauders had become his family. The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black had watched their heir grow up with disgust and hatred, and had seen many different sides of the boy; they had sent him to his weakest and yet they never saw his strength.

He had always been a quiet boy, yet his years before Hogwarts were quite different. He saw his parents in a new light, and he learnt how thin blood really was.

The more he realised how sick and twisted the inbreeding had left his parents, the more he acted out. Unfortunately for Sirius, the more he acted out the more his parents punished him with unmentionable, dark curses. These were the types of curses that left scars everywhere but on his body. His heart had become void of thoughts of friendship and relationships, and had focused on what he could've done to be part of the family. Well, not this family, perhaps, but a family. He could feel what was left of his heart turn to stone each time his cousins sent unforgivables his way, or his parents just watched and laughed. No not stone- steel; he would not corrode or fade over time.

When he was nine, Sirius actually began to believe all the horrible things his parents had screamed at him: that he was dumb, that he would become nothing, that he was useless- the list went on. They didn't seem to think that mental punishment was enough- his parents would hit him, kick him, and slowly -but surely- turn him into the unfeeling Black hier they wanted. The unfeeling look in his eyes whenever they hurt him only encouraged them to try harder, and that left him with barely enough strength to cast a silencing charm. Yet he always would, because Sirius would never let those monsters hear his pitiful heart wrenching wails. Although he would never let them know how much it really hurt, he couldn't bring himself to want to hurt them back. The blood in his family had thinned considerably, but at the tender age of nine Sirius still held the ones who once loved him dear to his heart.

Sirius was a strong boy, and the day that he was to leave for Hogwarts he found out how strong he'd have to be; not for his parents' love or his family's approval, but to stay alive. The curses had gotten worse and worse as the months to his departure dwindled and he realized that he didn't know what he did to deserve them...of course that never made him wish to stop fighting against the pureblood supremacy beliefs.

Summer after first year...

When Sirius returned to Grimmauld place after his fantastic year at Hogwarts, he felt himself flashback to his year before school where his parents had horribly mistreated him. He missed his friends. He missed the Cloak and it's mischief. Heck- he even missed old Sluggie! He sat down heavily on his bed and leant forward, resting his chin upon his interlocked fingers, thinking back to his year. He had accomplished all his dreams- he made friends, he had gotten into Gryffindor, and he had escaped this horrible life for a year. Sirius shuddered at the mere memory of his childhood, and looked down dejectedly at his trunk. He knew he wouldn't bother unpacking- he had no reason to. He knew he wanted to grow up and do the right things in life, and he was determined to start at Hogwarts.

Sirius had spent his life bending and shaping to a proper Pureblood, and once he saw the flaws, he wanted to fix them. He may have been bullied and tormented and struggled to stay alive whilst with his parents, but his dorm-mates still called him their friend. They could have excluded him by his name, but they didn't. He cared deeply for the three other boys, and he knew he could face the summer (and millions more) if that meant he would go back and spend a year with them. So far the summer had been spent mostly in his room, waiting for the owls to return (hopefully with letters). The boys told him all about their adventures, and it turned out that Remus lived surprisingly close to (none other than) Lily Evans.

One month into vacation...

Sirius liked to consider himself a survivor, however, years later he knew that Remus was the true survivor. And fighter. And Marauder. In the months before the Potters death, Sirius had truly begun to suspect Remus, and for that he knew that he could never forgive himself- even if Remus did. The thoughts plagued him throughout his stint in Azkaban, and he would've cried had he known what the poor boy went through whilst at school. Remus was his brother, and at the tender age of almost-twelve he never would've considered that any of them could betrayed them all.

Sirius was stronger with his friends, and he knew that in less than a month he'd be back to school (probably in detention already) and he'd feel whole. He sometimes wished someone besides the Marauders would send him a letter- he loved them to bits, but he wished to receive news from someone new...kinda like how Remus got letters from Evans. But the letters they did send soon made him forget those thoughts as they were filled with absolutely devilish pranks they could pull this coming fall. Remus told him about a quaint little bookstore in a letter, and with it came a book full of Muggle prank ideas that he'd spike with magic. James talked about Quiditch and told him he was looking in the Potter Library for ways to turn the Slytherin's broomsticks into wonderful shades of gold and scarlet. Peter had sent Ice Mice (their personal favourite) and a letter about using the same spell from the treat on the Slytherins' food during the Halloween feast. In all, he knew his friends cared, and that made it all the easier to stand up to his parents idealistics.

The Marauders were his family, however he couldn't deny the possible madness that came with the Black family name. He couldn't count how many times since Remus' birthday (when he finally gave up avoiding them) that Remus would need to stop him before he did something too awful to an unsuspecting student. Sirius tried to convince himself that it was all in good fun, however he knew deep down that Remus had always swooped in just in time to save what little innocence and sanity Sirius still had. However, it had been Sirius who had come up with the idea of illegal animagi, so he felt the favor returned.

Two weeks until school starts again...

When Sirius saw the boys standing in a small group in Diagon Alley with their backs facing him, he couldn't help the audible sigh of relief. Remus's astounding sense of hearing was what gave him away, and the tawny haired boy turned to face Sirius. A large smile had appeared on the boy's face, and his other dorm-mates soon followed as their bookworm made his way towards Sirius. Finally….Sirius had his family back again.

Sorting feast and the following weeks...

Going back to Hogwarts was very easy for him, as though sliding onto your favourite broom. However, after two weeks back, Sirius began to notice something wrong with Remus. Why had the boy disappeared on them? Why did he tell them all these (dare he say) lies? Sirius knew he was in the dark about something, and planned to ask James. Unfortunately, the Potter heir knew nothing of Remus' disappearances...James went as far as telling him that, "Sweet Quaffles- enough! If you bug me about Remus one more time, not even Merlin could save you!".

Sirius didn't understand how the other boys didn't notice anything- couldn't they tell every time Remus got back he looked like he had been run over by an angry Hungarian Horntail? He just wanted to help Remus...be his friends 'knight in shining robes' to help him like he would've wanted someone to help him. Friends didn't keep secrets from each other- right?

After the second full moon of year two (October)...

Sirius began to channel his frustration about Remus' situation through pranks and (not that he told his friends) homework. He had tried everything he could, but no new knowledge came about Remus' symptoms. Sirius believed he was deathly ill with some kind of magical disease, not his mother, and was determined to figure out his mate's situation. However it was not during that research which lead to his answer, it was actually when he was reading 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' for homework that his solution actually crossed his mind. Could Remus (their loving, sweet, nerdy, bookworm) actually be a werewolf?

November…

Sirius had spent a fair amount of his months trying to study Remus. Nothing seemed different now, but then again, had he been a werewolf when he came to Hogwarts? Sirius just didn't know enough to know how close he may or may not be, but he knew he couldn't ask Remus straight forward. Pranking, classes, studies, Marauders, Lily, Library- Remus was a little mechanism on auto drive, not adapting in his activities. Sirius had been watching him especially close in the days before the full moon, and he could tell Remus was getting nervous at his close scrutiny; Remus didn't like being alone in the same room as Sirius, and went out of his way not to be alone with the Black heir. That was fine by Sirius- it meant he was on the right track about Remus hiding something from them...but for the life of him he couldn't understand why. Remus was normal every other day, he just had a...furry little problem. But Sirius was nothing if not determined, so he waited patiently and plotted how to broach the subject.

December…

That first cold, dreary weekend, Sirius sat crumpled in a heap on the cold floorboards absently fiddling with his wand. He hissed the air through his clenched teeth in annoyance as his wand sent sparks towards his books. He had done everything he could to help Remus, when in reality he had been trying impossibly hard to remain composed and focused. They had been partnered together for their Potions assignment and Sirius was quite pleased but he felt hurt when he saw Remus' frown whilst James was partnered with Lily. Sirius was just as good, if not better, at Potions than James- so why was Remus upset? Sirius was very insecure under his flamboyance and boisterous facade and when Remus (one of his very best friends) would rather partner with James than him he felt a little more broken inside. He couldn't even be first choice to his mate? Not that he begrudged James- the boys were brothers in all but blood, but those thoughts were replaced by a million others. Sirius didn't notice Remus come into the dorm, or walk across the room; he only noticed once Remus sat down dejectedly beside him.

"What's got your wand in a knot, mate?" Remus' soothing voice asked.

"Do you want to be my partner in the Potions project? Be honest." Sirius rushed, worried he'd lose his courage and not ask Remus what was on his mind if he waited.

"Of course Siri! Why wouldn't I?" Remus' head cocked to the side in confusion, and he leant forward to look past Sirius' dark curls and into his grey eyes.

"It's just...you seemed upset when you weren't with James…"He felt himself trail, his voice abnormally quiet.

"What? Don't tell him, but James is rubbish in Potions. Why would I want to be with him, he's too busy mooning over Lily to do any work?" Sirius did not miss the note of well-hidden bitterness, as he contemplated what Remus had told him. Sirius scoffed at his own stupidity- of course he must've just imagined that. Remus was much too nice to have favourites.

One day, during a one sided screaming match with Professor McGonagall about some prank (which Sirius was sure they hadn't pulled), Sirius noticed than Lily had been staring down particularly guilty. The Animagus had demanded to know who had charmed the suits of armor to sing Muggle Christmas songs, and Sirius suspected that their little redhead was behind it. It seemed that their Professor thought the boys had done it, and was looking for blood. Evans looked about to stand up and declare herself guilt, but Remus beat her to it.

"It was me Professor! I wanted to bring some Muggle culture to Hogwarts, as most Purebloods are unaware of the muggle traditions. It wasn't the others." Remus spoke up, gesturing to them.

"Mister Lupin?" Their teacher asked, as though questioning who he was. He nodded mutely.

While most people chuckled good-naturedly at the softening look on their teachers face, Sirius saw the surprised blush creep onto Lily's cheeks. Since he had so little love in his life with his family, Sirius had always wondered what it might feel like to have an inexplicable sense of attraction for someone, an attraction that would be more than just a tender curiosity. He had wanted more than just a stirring of the heart, and he felt right in his bones that Remus felt that attraction for Lily. That would explain everything: lying to cover up for the prank, the whole Potions incident- everything! But did that mean that Remus wasn't a werewolf? That he went on rendezvous with Evans all the time? The situation had simultaneously gotten clearer and more confusing.

Christmas break…

Sirius composed a list for himself that Christmas. It was a list of reasons why Remus might not want to tell them his secret (be it werewolf related or not).

He might think we'd tell ol' Dumbles

He might think he'd get kicked out of Hogwarts if we let it slip

He might think we'd hate him

He might not be a werewolf at all…

Sirius wanted to help Remus, because it broke his heart to see his best mate winching at everything and looking so weary day after day. It always seemed Remus spent the whole month regaining his strength and catching up (and exceeding) at all his work, before the full moon came and Remus couldn't leave the hospital wing...not that Sirius had gone to the hospital wing himself and found his friend sleeping in the last bed farthest from everyone else. But seeing his friend so weak only reminded him of when he had been so weak himself, and Sirius was determined to help Remus in some way shape or form.

January…

Sirius liked Lily Evans well enough- she seemed nice and was quite friendly to all but James (which always received a laugh), and very studious. What finally made him fully appreciate the redhead was Remus. He seemed so alone without the Marauders, because he wouldn't get too close to anyone else at all. But Evans was a different story- she wouldn't stand for Remus wallowing in his thoughts alone and would often interrupt them. Remus had obviously bristled during the first few months last year whenever she came over to be with him, but now? The pair were thick as thieves. She cared about him, and Sirius was immensely grateful that it was a Muggleborn who appreciated him. She knew that hardships of the Wizarding World and how anyone different could be treated in this society, and if she ever did learn Remus' secrets he knew to count on Evans to stay with the boy.

First day of February...

It was a beautiful day, so Sirius didn't mind walking. When the Marauders (minus Remus) reached the library after their Magical Creatures class, they marveled at how little time it had taken. Determination was something that made people do and say unusual things… but then again, so was brotherhood. As quick as they had come to the Library, finding what they were looking for was a different matter. James didn't know why Sirius hadn't done this before- but it made sense to try and find out about Remus' mysterious circumstances with all his friends. So he didn't say anything, and just got started.

After much toil, asking, and searching, he had finally found a selection of books which all seemed werewolf based. There wasn't much in the section the boys were in, but it was something and he knew they'd probably just use the Cloak to check out the Restricted Section later that evening.

Sirius read on and on about how hard the wolf inside was for Remus to control, and knew that Remus would have no memory of what happened except for the new scars every month. He had never seem Remus too angry, and when the boy (with the patience of a muggle saint) got perturbed, he knew to back off. However Peter didn't…

Later that week…

Remus still wasn't speaking to the boys after the incident with Peter. He had continually pressed his presence upon Remus so to see if their dorm-mate was indeed a werewolf, however Remus thought he was being pranked when Peter had continuously knocked over his ink pot and sat on still drying parchment. And so the tawny-haired boy spent his days in the Library with Lily Evans, who the boys knew well enough now not to bug.

March...

One day, Sirius just knew there was something wrong. So by the time Remus had slammed the door to their shared dorm and stomped his way through the winding stone path to his bed (the small part of the room which didn't look like it had been through a hurricane), the aristocratic boy was already waiting on an old wooden trunk. He had sensed Remus' growing anger and had stopped working, leaving various quills and books open strewn across his bed. He held one in his hand- a small contraption used to erase mistakes in ink (a gift from Remus which he called a magical eraser- whatever that was)- and had taken to rolling it back and forth across his ink smeared hands.

Sirius felt an understanding smile touch his face, as he watched the possible-werewolf's tornado of fury fly towards him. He wore his crinkled Gryffindor tie (obviously still dressed in his uniform) and hauled a tan satchel over his shoulder. Fists formed at his sides, hair refusing to flatten-and he looked incredibly annoyed. His body was tense and his face clearly said that all was not well.

"What's up?" he offered, that smile still playing on his lips. But that smile disappeared when the Marauder saw the splotty blotches that ran across ink stained cheeks.

In reply, he flung his bag off and whipped it at the dorm wall. It hit the nearest bed post on it's way with a smack and fell into a pile of wrappers (undoubtedly Peter's). He then sunk onto the ground -ignoring the bed- and stared into the ceiling. Frowning he said,

"I hate the Slytherins!" The boy sighed in response and eased off the bed and onto the ground beside his friend.

"What happened?" was foolishly asked.

"Malfoy, that's what!" he replied, clearly believing it to be the most obvious thing in the world. Rolling onto his side, the amber-eyed boy looked at Sirius. Sirius looked into his eyes, and saw his reflection; shoulder-length raven locks, grey eyes, sun-deprived skin that was masked by ink and faded handprints where his head had rested hopelessly.

"The headmaster called Minnie- she's furious. I don't what to do, I don't know why they believe that toerag over me….." he trailed off and was met by confused silence. Remus sighed, as though this was not what he wanted to be explaining on a Friday afternoon. They both rolled back onto their backs and faced the ceiling, one of the only thing he could rely on always being there.

"I was with Sluggie doing extra work and someone hexed his cauldron to explode all over him. I've detention for two weeks! Yet I didn't do it!" he confessed, almost as though having trouble wrapping his head around what had passed. His confession was met with a sigh, disappointed in him for not including the other boy (as Sirius secretly thought the boy had done the prank). Remus sighed, disappointed in having someone else disappointed in him.

At first he didn't reply, just looking out at the catastrophe in front of them. Many thoughts were going through his head, the most obvious was: why? Remus was always so calm and collected, and Sirius had learnt to appreciate that in the past year. Something he had said or done must have been awful, because Remus had obviously exploded.

"Oh Remus- what are we to do with you? I thought we were friends- and you don't exclude friends from pranks!"

Finally, Remus' surprised laughter broke the silence.

"I don't see what's so funny about that- do you know what that could mean for your future?" Sirius cried, mock baffled by his audacity.

"You can finally accept your rightful place as the brains behind us!"

Remus just sat there smiling, and Sirius knew that it was good for the boy to release some of his pent up frustration. The full moon was tomorrow night, and he knew that the boy had some terrible things to deal with.

"I'm telling you- I didn't do it!"

"Bollocks! I won't hear it- pranking is an art, not something to be ashamed of!" The boy preached his philosophy. He would help Remus, and distracting the boy was something he was more than happy to do.

The day after the full moon during March…

His eyelids fluttered, was he dreaming? Can he hear Sirius talking to him about the newest homework? Did he know they were all there? Sirius closed his eyes and waited for Remus to wake up. The Marauders and Lily had all come, yet after a short while the boys left with promises to return. Sirius, however left momentarily to use the loo- he wanted be there when the boy woke, however he really needed to use the loo.

"Hey Lils," a voice whispered. Sirius had been just about to return to the room when he heard Remus speak. He peeked through the curtains just in time to see Lily look up, wiping tears from her eyes and give the patient a small smile.

"How do you feel Remus?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"I could be better," he replied, also trying to sound casual, but his voice was strained. Sirius often looked back and wondered if he did the right thing by not entering, but he knew that something in Remus' eyes had been so happy to have a moment alone with his friend.

"Do you know how long I'll be in the hospital for?" he heard Remus ask quietly.

"I don't know when you'll leave," the female voice replied hesitantly. The Marauder looked so tired in his unflattering hospital gown, his hair everywhere, potion bottles lay strewn about the room. Remus told them he had had been in a muggle car accident on the way back from visiting his mum, however it had finally proved Sirius' suspicions: Remus was a werewolf. Muggle cars don't leave bite marks- or at least he didn't think they did. Remus was a werewolf, and Sirius found himself not caring in the slightest. Remus would just be sick every now and then, and what kind of person would he be to not help a sick friend in his time of need?

"Oh Remus, I always thought Sirius would be the one who would get injured," Lily teased. He must have been remembering the many times Sirius had in fact been hurt, just too proud to go to the Hospital wing, because Remus smiled and chuckled lightly. That smile turned into a grimace and the werewolf held his side in pain. Remus looked like death-warmed over, not the fun, kind boy the Black heir had come to have thought of as a brother. But he knew deep down Remus would be okay, and they'd all help him. Evans sat in the chair beside the bed and held Remus' bandaged hand in her own. With that, Sirius crept from the depressing ward quietly, a small smile plastered on his features.

One week later (now April)…

Sirius lived a year a minute- Remus was getting released from the hospital and he was stuck in History. His head felt like a demolition site, and he couldn't concentrate on Binns as he droned on and on about some long lost law that nobody cared about. He laughed and talked and horsed around with James, but his mind kept going back to the boy in the Hospital wing and how he truly believed Remus fancied Lily Evans. However this complicated things, because in a letter over the Easter holidays (all but Remus and himself from the boys had returned home) James had confided in him telling him how he thought he may or may not fancy the redheaded bookworm. What could he do? The answer was nothing- but that didn't stop him from racing from the classroom to the secluded wing where Remus would be being released the moment a bell resounded, ending lessons for the day. Sirius decided then and there that now that he knew Remus was a werewolf, he'd do whatever he could to keep his brother alive. The last moon had been dreadful, and the Marauders decided that never again would they let anyone hurt Remus- not even himself. Now all they needed was a plan... and sweet Merlin he'd retire his title of being a Marauder if he couldn't think of something! They would save his brother- him, James, Peter and Lily all cared far too much about the boy to let him wither away. And though Sirius didn't know it, all the others had similar thoughts in mind and were determined that the'd all fight along side their brother who (they knew) would do the same for them.

Author's Note: Hello! Sorry for the wait- I intended to update a few days ago but I didn't know how to add a new chapter. Tried to pick up the speed of my plot- please let me know your thoughts. Once again, my apologies for the tardiness. I will try my best to update on time next time (as I now know how to I don't have any excuses), and would like to thank several people:

PurebloodGirl (My first reviewer, favourite, PM, followed me, bounced ideas off of, etc.):

Thank you so much! Your review was heartwarming and I truly appreciate having someone to spit ideas out to and getting feedback. I loved the song suggestion, and wrote this for you. I didn't know who's pov, or what year to do, or if I should even do it so let's raise our wands for you! Thanks a ton- this update probably wouldn't have come had it not been for my first review ;) You kept me writing and it means a lot! My writing format was also kinda wonky, so thanks for the advice on fixing it!

TheShulesLovinPsycho:

Thank you for your review- I had a fair amount done but was feeling fairly stuck. Your review renewed my love for this so thanks a ton! I'll keep that in mind, and I hope you like this chappie too!

catspats31:

Thank you for your review. I'm new to ff and still figuring things out, so I appreciate you letting me know my problem so I could fix it. I'm working hard on this story so it means a lot.

Kaloge11:

Thanks a ton my dear- I'm glad you liked it. Stories can be heartfelt and have great dialogue and plot lines, but this is fanfiction. I do my very best to try and make the characters as believable and not OOC as I can. Thanks!

Da duck mastah:

I'm so pleased you liked my story, and appreciate the amount of grammar editing I've put in. I tend to think faster than I type, leaving my grammar a complete mess (but you already know that ;)). I've put a lot of work so thanks for acknowledging it. Don't worry, all will be revealed in good time. Thanks for the questions, as I will try to think about them and incorporate them into my work. This will be a MC (maybe 7-8 chappies), so I'm glad you think so.

El Reino:

Thank you for your PMs- I really appreciate your words of inspiration. Yes- your story did inspire me to join. When I read your work, it made me think about how much I enjoyed the clever twist and overall plot, and knew I'd like to motivate someone like you motivated me. I'm really grateful and would like to thank you so very much!

Wuestenkrieger:

Thanks for following this story- I'm really glad you liked it enough to want to keep up with this. I hope you liked this chappie, and expect one by the weekend (my time)! I'm doing my best to strive for weekly updates!

Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, PMed, favourited, followed, and I apologize if I missed anyone. Untill next time!

-ForensicGeek2-