A/N : Hello, my lovely readers, I apologize for the tardy update. I wasn't in town for a while and then studying and basically trying to stop freaking out got in the way. BUT i give to you Chapter Four! This is the longest chapter yet, as an apology for taking so long to update this story. I shall try to update sooner. I promise. Chapter five is already in the process of being written (yay). callmenoone is my savior.

Disclaimer : Characters are not mine.

Remus knew it was wrong. Intrinsically, he was aware he shouldn't have done it. But he had and the sight before him had him thoroughly confused.

It was two in the morning and Remus was standing behind a wall, it was all in bemusement that he watched his three roommates as they hunched around what looked to Remus like a map. Finally, after much of Sirius' exaggeratedly waving his hands about and Peter having to dodge every now and then to keep from being hit, they finally seemed to reach a decision and proceeded out of the Gryffindor Common room.

A tiny portion inside Remus told him to turn around and head back to the dormitory – to stop being some dare devil maniac with a thrill for the unknown and head back to his bed like the little bitch that he was – however this voice of rationality was quickly silenced by his inane idiosyncrasy to remain omniscient He had been awake reading when the trio's attempt at being discreet had alerted his curiosity. There had been some varying degrees of profanity and the ever-excited giggle before his roommates finally left the dormitory It had been an inner battle when deciding whether to follow them and see what they were up to or to aid at their attempt in remaining quiet and pretend he hadn't heard them sneaking out of the dorm. Remus' rational mind had argued that it would probably be a violation of their privacy if he followed them but his curiosity was an insatiable animal that demanded to be known. His curiosity argued that it wouldn't hurt either party if he were to follow them. He was sorted into Gryffindor after all – the home of the brave. It was bravery that would drive him to satisfy his curiosity by making him sneak out of bed at such an ungodly hour. After he had drawn and quartered his rationality his curiosity had gotten the best of him.

He stood a safe distance away and wondered as to what the hell his roommates were up to. Tailing the three had lead Remus out the dormitories, and through the twisted corridors and never ending stairs of the castle until he found himself standing in the courtyard scrabbling for a place to hide from the soft light that was emitted from the few sconces that had been arranged around the perimeter. Remus remained in the dark shadows of a hallway adjacent to the court where the light from the sconces didn't reach him – settling in comfortably in one of the various niches that were present in the hallway. The light from the full moon illuminated the entire courtyard making it easy for Remus to observe the scene. Sirius skipped cheerfully towards the centre of the courtyard his rucksack bouncing on his back with James lugging a tall step ladder that he had taken from one of the supply closets on their way down. Remus wondered if they were sneaking out of school but realised this would be illogical as they were still in their pyjamas, well, except for Sirius who had donned himself in black from head to toe, complete with a set of black stripes on his cheeks. Remus had to give the boy credit for his dedication.

The boys stopped in front of the four statues made in honour of the four founders of Hogwarts, their backs turned to Remus. Sirius clapped his hands delightedly before he brought his back pack towards his chest. James set the ladder in front of the figure that Remus knew to be Rowena Ravenclaw before Sirius climbed up until he was eye level with the statue. The boy unzipped his back pack and from its confines took out a small bottle.

Is that makeup?

Remus stared in stunned silence as Sirius proceeded to apply layers of the stuff onto the statues faces. As Remus carefully noted Sirius movements, he realised Sirius didn't just randomly paint each face but rather proceeded with the skill reminiscent of professional makeup artists. Remus couldn't see the result on each statue but he very nearly blew his cover just to see the hilarity of the situation as James and Peter were nearly doubled over in laughter after Sirius finished.

The three boys stood in front of the statues admiring Sirius handy work before they returned from the way they had come. Towards Remus.

His heart rate spiked up in fear as he realised they were making their way towards him and he flattened his body against the wall, hoping it would be dark enough that the boys would fail to notice Remus. He squeezed himself as close to the cold wall as he possibly could as if this would aid in his concealment. His heart thrummed painfully in his chest as the sound of footsteps approached him. In anticipation of being dragged out of the niche and confronted on his being a snoop Remus could have sworn his heart was about to jump out of his throat. At any second his roommates would pass by the niche and catch him red handed.

Yet the three figures never did. Remus furrowed his brow and let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding. He popped his head out of the niche to only be met with a hallway that was empty, save for him. Had he missed them? He rationalised that he couldn't have. They had in all probability taken an alternate route as the hallway lead to numerous locations. But he could have sworn they had made their way towards him.

Remus stood amidst the thrombosis of students in the courtyard, staring at what he knew was the Marauders handiwork. Each statue of the founders' had on layers of make-up upon their visage so much as to rival the Whore of Babylon. Although Remus had to admit that the make-up had been put on flawlessly, each one complete with its variation of winged eyeliner. Remus especially took note of Salazar Slytherin's up do, with his bright pink, plush lips that had been made larger than their actual size with the aid of well applied lipstick.

The chatter around him rose as more students piled onto the courtyard to catch a glimpse of the statues. Some stared in abject shock at each of their houses namesake while other's revelled in the hilarity of their painted faces, taking out their phones to get a picture much to the teacher's dismay.

Remus craned his neck, trying to the see the three masterminds behind the prank but could not spot them among the throng of students. He couldn't help but think this was rather odd. Although he hadn't expected them to lay claim on their work – they obviously had more tact than to do such a reckless thing – Remus had thought they would be here to silently enjoy the upheaval that Sirius' artistic flourish had caused.

Over the din of laughter and excited babbling the intercom crackled which caused a collective silence to fall over the student body, even the teacher's that were trying to cart the students off the courtyard, stalled in the shouting. The stern and incensed voice of Professor McGonagall pierced through the intercom, "Would Black, Pettigrew and Potter report to my office at this instant."

Before Remus could properly process what was happening he found himself cutting through the crowd and running down the hall way. His mind screamed at him, asking him what in the world he was doing and Remus did not have a legitimate answer to the question, all he knew was that he had to make it to McGonagall's office.

Remus nearly lost his way as he had only been to her office once, but he wracked his brain for any sign of recall that was still present, it was on the first floor – that much Remus was sure of. But of the various rooms that were held in that floor how was he supposed to single in on the one that was her office? The fact that his limbs were complaining from the sudden exertion and his heart felt like it would come out of his mouth, didn't help either. Remus could feel desperation curdling in his blood, causing his hands to shake.

The boy growled in frustration and instinctively took a right near a staircase. He found himself standing in a corridor whose familiarity caught up to Remus' memory. He remembered this. Remus tentatively took a step forward. Why is he doing this? Why is he here? His hands are trembling. One hand is clasped so tightly around the strap of his satchel, he feels as though it would break apart in his hold. He's a tangle of nerves. Of nerves, so raw with an energy so powerful. He's a being made of adrenaline.

A piece of shit who can't even knock on the door that holds Mcgonagall's designation.

With the pit of his stomach doing somersaults so rapid he fears he might revisit this morning's breakfast, with his heart hammering in his chest and his breath came out in short bursts; his resolve drove him to knock on the door.

Three boys stood in front of their exasperated Deputy Headmistress. They had filed into the room with smiles plastered on their faces except for one who's countenance held what resembled a grimace.

"Good morning, Professor." Sirius said, offering Mcgonagall a nod of his head.

James brought his hands behind his back, "Yes, a good morning to you Professor, to what do we owe this invitation?"

Sirius' body was alive with the hum of excitement. His bones felt as though they are vibrating with an energy so powerful he could fly. This was one of his favourite parts of pranks, being suspected of having been the culprits. The banter that issued, the denial on their part, watching people admire or admonish their latest brain child. The Marauders had been caught plenty of times, obviously, but it was in times like these Sirius found his thrill. When they couldn't prove their guilt in the situation. It offered Sirius exhilaration in behaving like smug bastard who had no idea what was going on. Or maybe he just liked riling the teachers up.

He wanted to laugh, he could feel his chest straining from holding back his laughter as Mcgonagall looked at the three boys with her features held in a rigid vice, "You know exactly why you are here, Mister Potter."

McGonagall stood behind her desk, her hands clasped in front of her. Sirius had lost count of how many times they had been in this position. He had lost count of how many times she had looked at him and his best friends the way she did. But every single time, it gave Sirius the very inconvenient task of holding back his laughter. She stared at the three boys with one eyebrows raised and Sirius swore if her eyebrow rose any higher his resolve would fail and he would explode with laughter. It was like the matron purposely did it, to cause Sirius to die of laughter or to lengthen his sentence in detention because, she was obviously in love with him.

She levelled her gaze on Peter and Sirius could feel Peter's trembling body next to his as he begun to crack under the intense eyes before them. She always targeted Peter when in need of a confession. Peter, bless his little heart, had stood fairly strong under her unwavering gazes but Sirius could see through the corner of his eye that Peter's face was close to crimson.

Oh fuck.

Sirius took in a deep breath and waited for the verbal incontinence to tumble out of Peter's mouth when a knock broke through the palpable tension in the room. He would have gotten down on his knees and proclaimed his reinstated belief in God had McGonagall not seemed so close to wringing someone's neck.

"Aren't you going to answer that, Professor?" Sirius queried innocently.

McGonagall inhaled sharply and walked from behind her desk, "One more word form you, Black and you get detention for a month."

Sirius gasped exaggeratedly, "Oh mon Dieu! The horror!" Sirius clutched at his heart to earn a snicker form James.

The three boys turned to see who had been their saving grace and the door opened to the pale form of Remus Lupin who was breathing heavily as he stood in front of McGonagall with one hand clasped tightly around the strap of his satchel.

"Mister Lupin," McGonagall said, the surprise imminent in her tone. "What on earth are you doing here."

Remus' green eyes landed on Sirius' which earned a smirk from the black haired boy. The other boy loosened his grip on his satchel and faced McGonagall. "I'm here to talk to you Professor."

Sirius could hear the frown in McGonagall's voice, "I'm in the middle of something Mister Lupin. If you could come back in a while."

"This regards them, Professor." Remus blurted out, his eyes again meeting Sirius'.

McGonagall paused and finally nodded, "Very well, then." She said and ushered Remus inside.

Sirius could feel his heart catch in his throat. He wasn't one to be scared so easily but being unaware of what was happening caused a stitch to form in his gut. Alas their Macbeth after having saved them had stabbed their Duncan and Sirius was eager to get the bastard's head.

The door still stood open as McGonagall looked at the three expectedly, "If you would be so kind as to wait out in the hallway, gentlemen."

Sirius sputtered, "But- but, Professor."

"One week detention for Black." McGonagall said, her voice straining with lividity.

His mouth fell open but before he could protest he was pushed out of the office by James and Peter.

After the door shut behind them, Peter slumped against the wall, "What was that?"

James patted Peter's back in mutual confusion and the two boys resigned themselves to sitting in two of the chairs that were arranged along the length of the corridor. However, Sirius was enraged. His skin felt hot even though his palms were icy cold. His chest was tightening with anger, he wanted to scream, he wanted to throw something. Or someone against a wall. He couldn't breathe properly; his sight was clouded as the anger took over every fibre in his body. He could spontaneously combust and he wouldn't be surprised.

Now, having had the family that he did, Sirius had developed a high level of tolerance for various forms of loathsome dispositions however his tractability in accepting the situation as it was had had its reserves exploited and he felt close to exploding.

"That. Little. Bastard." Sirius' voice was deathly soft. "We take him under our wing, show him around, we let him eat with us and this is how we're repaid!?" His voice rose to a crescendo which alerted Peter and James as to his state.

"Mate, come on, it's not like we haven't been caught before or something." James ventured.

"But never before has it been through betrayal, James!" Sirius argued.

Sirius ran his hands through his hair, trying to get his heart to beat at a slower pace. He couldn't believe that Remus would tell on them. He had been awake when the three had come into the dorm and had asked them where they were. And since Sirius didn't know he would be such a conniving bastard, he had told him their first prank of term had been executed. In all honesty, Sirius had trusted the boy.

The betrayal stung all the more because Sirius had truly developed a liking for the boy. His incessant love for reading was one Sirius was curious of. He had never in his life met anyone who read as much as the boy did and Sirius wanted to know why. It wasn't something he could explain but Sirius seemed to have a certain proclivity in delving into the mystery that was Remus Lupin.

To hell with that.

"But why would he tell on us?" Peter, began uncertainly.

"If this is because I punched his pathetic mug—" Sirius began but was promptly cut off by the door opening.

James and Peter each stood by Sirius' side ready to tackle him if he were to launch at Remus. The boy stepped out with McGonagall and he seemed smug.

Sirius was ready to face the strife of imprisonment for the murder of Remus Lupin.

McGonagall turned to the three boys waiting expectedly and sighed, "Well, you're free to go then."

The drop of all three jaws would prove as fuel for amusement for the Marauders subsequently but in that moment, all they could do was stare at their Biology professor – unable to comprehend what she was going on about. Sirius felt his anger deflate just as quickly as it had risen.

When the three boys failed to respond, Mcgonagall continued, "It appears I also owe the three of you an apology for false accusations." Her eyes twinkled behind her glasses, "But really, could you blame me." She finished and walked away from the boys.

After her form has disappeared down the staircase the three boys turned to Remus who smiled triumphantly at them, "I could get a 'thank you' at least."

James broke into a grin, "Oh, you bastard, we thought you'd outed us."

"I'm many things, James, a snitch is not one of those things." Remus would have said had he not been tackled by one very excited Sirius Black.

"My hero! My saviour!" Sirius proclaimed, his voice was muffled as it was buried in Remus' shirt.

Remus stood paralysed under Sirius' hug, he felt strange.

1…

2…

3 seconds pass.

His stomach was doing backflips and his hands were abuzz, the blood had flowed to his cheeks. He could feel his temperature rising and falling all at the same time. What is coherent thinking anyway?

"Get off him Padfoot, you'll smother the sod." James said, pulling Sirius off Remus.

Remus took in a deep breath. Realising he hadn't breathed the entire time he was in Sirius' embrace. He'd gladly die of asphyxiation for that to happen again though.

Oh, shut up, Lupin. Don't read into it.

"What did you say to her?" Peter asked excitedly, knocking Remus from his thoughts.

Remus straightened his shirt and willed his cheeks to assume a less outrageous shade, "Well, I told her that it couldn't have been the three of you who executed the prank seeing as Sirius was with me in the boys' lavatory the entire night as I was ill and James and Peter were sound asleep."

When the boys failed to say anything, Remus continued despite the fact that his temperature was rising from having three pairs of eyes trained on him, "She said you could have snuck out after I had gone to bed but I told her I barely got any sleep the entire night and yes, I'm certain James' snores never ceased once."

James laughed at this and clapped Remus on the back, "My faith in the world has been restored, you cheeky little shite."

Remus beamed at James' words and could feel his chest swell in pride. "By the way," Remus said, turning to Sirius who had a small smile playing on his lips. "I didn't know you were so skilled in the art of make-up application."

Sirius smirked, "I watched, like, a bajillion make up tutorials on YouTube and basically made a home at Sephora. It was worth it."

"Wow," Remus nodded appreciatively.

Sirius slapped Remus' arm and again assume the state of one excited puppy, "Did you notice the Kylie Jenner look I gave Sally?"

"Ah, that's who he resembled. He's prettier though." Remus said earning laughter from the three.

"Let's go watch Filch trying to get the stuff off Sally's pretty face." James said, straightening his uniform.

Sirius scoffed, casually looking at his nails, "With the setting spray I used, it better not come off so easily."

As the four boys made their way down the stairs, Sirius couldn't help but look at Remus and zero in on the fact that he had chosen to tell McGonagall that Sirius had been the one to aid him in his bout of sickness. Sirius shook his head.

Don't you dare read into it, Black.

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you for reading it, heh. Please leave a review eh? eh.

- Nym