Onwards and upwards! Hope you enjoy.

Thanks as always for the great reviews. I've really enjoyed talking with some of my reviewers over PMs. If you ever feel like chatting, feel free to send me a PM!

No real warnings to speak of, save for mild language and mild violence.

Enjoy!

Remus was surprised by the guilt he could feel creeping up his spine as he set out to write his fake letter. Technically, he told himself, it was not a fake later, because he was, in fact, planning to send it to his mother. It wasn't his fault that he may happen to get locked in the owlrey while sending it. Unfortunate accidents like that happen to people all the time. Of course, they happen more regularly to people who do stupid things like try to put themselves in danger so their crush will save them.

He sighed, irritated that lying to himself wasn't working the way he'd hoped it would. He was making a very stupid choice, and he knew it. Reminding himself that he had resigned himself to his decision, he tried finishing his letter. The common room was moderately noisy where he shared a table with his friends, each of whom were working on an essay he'd finished several days ago.

He often distracted himself by observing the different faces they made and different techniques they used when concentrating on their homework. Peter was the worrying type. He would pull at his hair and gnaw his fingernails to stubs, all while huffing and sighing periodically. James was the blank-starer and spurt-writer type. When he was trying to recall information that had been lost somewhere in his head, he would grow exceedingly still and stare into space, then suddenly lunge at his paper when he'd finally caught it. Remus imagined sometimes that whatever it was he was trying to recall was a little snitch flying around his brain. You could see in his eyes when he would come close. The information would be at the tip of his fingers, but would zip away before he could really grab hold of it. He also saw the look of victory when he finally remembered what he was searching for, not unlike the excited look he had when he'd caught hold of the real snitch on the quidditch pitch. Remus often wondered why he didn't just look up the information instead of trying so hard to chase it down. Then again, he also wondered why, if everyone wanted the snitch so badly, they bothered to release it in the first place.

Remus turned his eyes to Sirius next. His crush was the most bothersome sort of study partner, though. He was quiet, but he was a bit of a fondler.At least that was what Remus called it. When he was concentrating he would touch himself in certain places. Sometimes he would roll his ear lobe between his fingers for several minutes. At other times he would run his finger along the arch of his eyebrow over and over. But what distracted Remus the most was when he would trace his lower lip with his finger tip, pausing to pinch it lightly every so often. This was precisely the reasons Remus did so much of his schoolwork in the library. When Sirius was around, he would spend all of his time trying to not watch him fondle his own softly looking lips instead of focusing on his assignment. He would try to ignore the little flash of pink as his tongue would slip out to touch his fingertip every so often, or the way he would rake his beautifully white teeth across the supple flesh. Remus hoped that Sirius had no idea what he was doing, because if he did, he was a very, very cruel man.

Taking note of the time, Remus realized that Lily would be at the owlrey to meet him very soon. Earlier on in their studying he'd nonchalantly placed his wand on the table where all three of his friends could clearly see it. He'd tried to seem irritated as he did so, hoping they would think it had been jabbing him in a way that made it uncomfortable to keep in his pocket. He'd also left his robes draped purposefully over the back of his chair. Clearing his throat, he stood up, letting his chair scrape annoyingly on the ground, to be sure that he had a certain boy's attention.

"Well, I'm off to send this." Remus said, trying to sound casual.

The only answers he received from his friends consisted of a few grunts or hums of acknowledgment, which he was fine with, as he'd not considered what to say if they reminded him to bring his wand. The walk to the main gate was quick, but Remus found himself stalling as he felt the cold radiating from the other side of the main doors, even before opening them. He was sure he'd lost his mind. Not only did he hate the cold, he was also far too level headed to be doing something so stupidly dangerous. But there he was, and after a moment of hesitation he pushed the doors open and exited the castle.

The sweater he wore was no match for the cold wind that shot straight through the knitting, immediately raising goose bumps on his skin. Reminding himself what the reward would be, Remus folded his arms tightly across his chest and started his way up the stone path that lead to the west tower, and to the owlrey. The walk seemed to take ages, and he slipped several times on the ice that had formed on the stone stairs that wound up the outside of the tower. By the time he reached the top he was feeling miserable, and a might irritable.

"There you are." Lily said happily as she saw him round the last corner on his way to the entrance of the owlrey proper.

"Don't you look cozy?" Remus asked, hating the look of Lily bundled up in her winter coat.

"You'll be alright." Lily said sympathetically. "Its actually a bit warmer inside. Why don't you go on in?"

Remus did as she asked, though he refused to look happy about it. Once he was inside he noticed that Lilyhad removed the handle from that side of the door, effectively making it impossible to open from his end without the use of magic. Ceremony aside, Lily closed the door, leaving him trapped.

"It shouldn't take me long." Lily called through the heavy wood of the door.

"Just hurry up! It smells like shit in here!" He called back.

Lily finally felt a small churning in her stomach, feeling guilty for leaving him in the cold like she was, but she knew that her plan would work. And even if it didn't, a hot bath would solve all of Remus' problems. While she felt slightly reassured, she still wasted no time in getting back to the common room, wanting to send Sirius out to get him as soon as she could.

The warmth of the fire in the small space seemed almost too intense after spending time outdoors, and she immediately shed her heavy coat. The room had grown noisier since Remus had left, as students were returning from the great hall. Students were gathered in small groups, usually centered around tables or collections of cushy armchairs. The remaining members of the marauders were in the same place Remus had left them. Putting on an air of indifference she made her way over to their table.

"Have you lot seen Remus?" She asked.

While the others ignored her mostly, she at least had James' attention, but she knew that wasn't hard to acquire. She had always found it annoying how James fawned over her. She thought the way he groveled and tried to impress her meant that he'd thrown away all of his dignity, but now that she realized how eerily similar his grin was to the one she'd seen on Remus' face, she felt slightly embarrassed.

"Remus?" James asked a bit distantly, glancing around. "Huh, he was here just a minute ago."

"No! He can't have gone! I need him to proof read my essay!" Peter said as he suddenly realized their quieter friend was gone. "Maybe he's just gone to the loo."

"He's gone to send a letter." Sirius said distractedly, still paying attention to his paper.

"He has?" Peter asked. "How d'you know that?"

"Because, rat brain, he just told us that's where he'd gone." Sirius said with a sigh, rubbing between his brows with one finger; concentrating on homework really didn't suit him.

"Really?" James asked, as he'd not paid any more attention than Peter had.

"Oh." Peter said distantly.

Lily suppressed her grin when she realized Sirius was the only one paying close enough attention to Remus to know where he'd gone. She was feeling more and more that they would not have to work as hard as they thought to catch Sirius' interest.

"Odd for him to send it now." Lily said, trying to sound casual.

"Why's that?" James asked, grinning stupidly at her. "Oh! You should sit down!" He said, suddenly getting up to pull Remus' chair out for her to sit.

"It's odd," She said while rolling her eyes at James' attitude, though she still took the seat, "Because its freezing outside, isn't it? Don't you usually have to twist his arm to get him out in the cold?"

"Not always." Peter said contemplatively, realizing how odd it was that Remus loved making snow forts and participating in snowball fights, even while cursing the cold in rather colorful language; Peter also realized that ninety percent of all cussing he'd heard from their bookish friend was cold induced.

"Anyway," James interrupted, scooting his chair closer to Lily. "He's fine in the cold as long as he's got something warm on." James propped his chin up with his elbow and grinned stupidly at her. "But I'm going to start getting jealous if you keep talking about other men like that."

"The answer's still 'no,' Potter." Lily said with a roll of her eyes, annoyed that this was taking so much work. "And by 'something warm' do you mean this?" She asked, holding up the robes that were draped over the back of the chair.

"Huh." Peter said, "Well that's a bit odd."

"He probably sent it out from somewhere else. I know Pomfrey has sent mail for him before." Sirius said. "Besides, we all know he wouldn't be stupid enough to go out there without his coat. You guys are worrying too much."

Lily felt suddenly nervous. Apparently his friends were so used to him being bright and capable that they weren't even considering the possibility of him being in trouble. This was not something that she had anticipated.

"Well what about this?" She asked, holding up his wand. "It's not like him to wander off without his wand. He could be in trouble."

"He doesn't need his wand to mail a letter." Sirius said, sounding a bit offended. "Why are you talking about him like he's some stupid child? We all know that he's probably the most capable out of the lot of us. He's not going to do anything that would land him in trouble. You're being stupid." He finished, glaring a bit at Lily.

"Hey!" James said, jumping to Lily's defense, but Lily stood before he could continue.

"You're the one that's too bloody dense to see what's right in front of you, Black." She snapped at him, "I'm going to find Remus."

With an unintentional flip of her hair as she spun toward the portrait hole, she stalked away from the table. Before she could make it to the exit, however, her path was blocked by another girl with straw colored waves of hair falling over her shoulders. Lily could see the group of girls she'd stepped away from, all of them looking as though they had put her up to the confrontation.

"And where are you running off to?" Debbie asked, jutting out one hip and folding her arms over her stomach.

"Excuse me?" Lily asked, not seeming very impressed by the other girl's attitude.

"Are you off to try and make out with my boyfriend again?" She said, venom clear in her voice.

"What?" Lily asked, rolling her eyes, feeling like the whole room was full of idiots.

"What?" She heard James' voice, which was at a comically high pitch, from the table behind her, though she ignored it; he was obviously upset for a wholly different reason.

"And who is your boyfriend, exactly?" She asked in a bored voice.

"You know I'm talking about Remus, you twat!" Debbie raged, stomping her foot childishly..

Lily's couldn't keep the surprise from her face as she realized who she was speaking with. She pitied Remus even more now, knowing that he would not be happy to hear her referring to him as her boyfriend.

"What?" She repeated, and this time heard a different voice echo hers.

"What?" Sirius blurted out, his chair scrapping loudly on the floor as he stood.

"Oh don't act so surprised, Sirius." Debbie said, looking past Lily to turn her nose up at her ex-boyfriend. "He's a far better man than you ever were."

"Remus is not your boyfriend." Lily said, stepping between Debbie and Sirius, the latter of whom was suddenly walking toward them as though on a war path.

"Don't be so full of yourself, Evans!" Debbie sneered, obviously drawing on some long held insecurities. "You think just because he studies with you he's interested? Don't make me laugh. And now here you are, flirting with Sirius behind his back?"

"Now hold on a minute!" James said, suddenly joining the small circle that was forming around the two girls. "She was flirting with me!"

"I wasn't flirting with anyone!" Lily said, obviously exasperated by James' attention to the wrong issue.

"And you aren't dating Remus." Sirius added, practically spatting the words at her.

"What's wrong, Sirius?" Debbie asked, planting a hand on her hip, "Jealous now that I'm over you? I hate to burst your little ego bubble, but Remus asked me on a second date before he was called away by the headmaster."

Sirius couldn't stop the rude laughter at her comment, and Lily finally realized what had lead this girl to believe she and Remus had something together. Remus, while he could be unintentionally rude at times, was never good at being rude purposefully. She had likely taken his attempts to be polite the wrong way, and soon she was laughing as well, the sheer improbability of Remus ever going for a girl like Debbie being too much for her.

"You really are thick, aren't you?" Lily said, both hands coming to her hips in a sign of superiority. "You have absolutely no chance of being with him." She said soberly, "He was just trying to be polite to you so he wouldn't ruin Peter's date."

She felt a thrill of victory as she saw the insult on the other girl's features and watched her turn her attention to her friends, as though to gauge what it was she should do.

"Give up on him. Trust me, you have no chance. Now if you'll excuse me, I have someplace to go." Lily finished and walked past Debbie, as though she had been a waste of her time.

Lily was amused by the other girl's delusions of romance, finding it shocking that the other girl had not been able to read Remus' behavior correctly. She found herself wishing she'd been a fly on the wall for their 'date' and couldn't wait to relay what had happened to Remus, whom she hoped would find it laughably ridiculous, and not frustratingly annoying. Any amusement Lily felt for the moment was gone very quickly though.

Most of the students in the common room had stopped what they were doing to watch the noisy confrontation, and just as she was approaching the portrait hole, she heard a sudden surge in the volume of the room. Over the shouting she heard James' voice shouting her name, but before she could turn to see what the crowd was carrying on about she felt a hard blow to her head. Her legs suddenly felt as though they'd turned to liquid, and later she would vaguely recall hitting the floor before she lost consciousness.

James felt panic spear him as he saw Debbie grab up the heavy glass dish that kept an assortment of candies from the table near her friends, who were cheering her on. Before any of them could stop her she'd caught up to Lily, bringing it down hard over the prefect's head. They watched Lily crumple under the blow, shards of glass and bits of candy spreading over the floor.

"I can't believe you dated that crazy broad." James said as they made their way back to the common room, pulling his robes more tightely around himself, as even the corridors of the castle had grown chilly since the sun had set.

"I'll be the first to admit that my taste in women is shit." Sirius sighed, wanting to get back to their room and snuggle up under his blankets.

They had both been in Professor McGonagall's office giving statements. Luckily for Debbie, a second year had been unnerved by the argument and had gone to fetch the head of their house. Had she not entered the common room when she did, several of the students, two marauders in particular, might have extracted a bit of revenge for the assault on their favorite prefect. Lily had been taken immediately to the hospital wing, and while neither of them had been able to see her, they were reassured by Professor McGonagall that she would be fine and would regain consciousness by morning.

"Do you think any of what she said about her and Moony was true?" James asked, looking uneasy at the thought, and slightly nauseated.

"Absolutely not. Remus is far too bright to make the kinds of stupid mistakes I do." Sirius said, grinning as his friend laughed at the recognition of his less that intelligent choice making skills.

They were both glad to enter the warmth of the common room, which had nearly emptied since they left at the end of the quarrel, though there were still a few stragglers. They had both been in McGonagall's office for several hours, and most of the students had likely gone to bed. When they'd finally made it to their dorm, however, they were surprised to see Peter laying in his bed with his magazines, as was his nightly routine, but Remus' bed still empty.

"Where's Moony?" Sirius asked their blonde friend.

"Huh?" He asked, looking up from his mag, then over at their missing friend's bed. "Oh, I thought he'd come back with the two of you."

"Has he been back at all?" James asked, going to look inside the bathroom for good measure.

"I haven't seen him." Peter said, going back to what he was doing. "He's probably in the library."

"No." Sirius said, suddenly sounding worried. "It's already past curfew. He wouldn't have stayed out on purpose without one of us with him."

It was true; Remus, while he was willing to break rules for the sake of a good prank, would never do so on his own. Even when they all had separate tasks to accomplish, would very rarely head out alone to do so. They often thought that it was a guilt issue. He felt less guilty for breaking the rules if he had a partner in crime.

" I don't like this." Sirius said after a moment.

"Well, there must be an explanation." James offered, trying to stay level headed. "He could have heard about Lily and stopped to check on her."

Sirius was quiet a minute, pacing between the beds, shaking his head periodically. Finally, when it seemed he'd made his mind up, he went to his trunk and pulled out his heavy coat, pulling it on over his jumper.

"I'm going to look for him." Sirius said.

"Outside?" James asked incredulously, still sticking by the knowledge that Remus would never leave the castle without his coat, especially in the winter.

"I'm gonna check the owlrey." Sirius said, and was gone before the other boys could respond.

James and Peter exchanged glances.

"I think they're both mad." Peter said, snuggling further into his blankets.

TBC

Evil place for a chapter break, I know! Sorry!