A/N: I'm trying to get back into some serious writing now that my English revision & exam is over; I should be able to update in gluts between exams and such. Thanks for sticking with me with this! It's only the second time that I've ever gotten over chapter 6 in any story, apart from in my book. And I'm completely rewriting it now. Ah well.

Dedication: Thanks to all of you for reviewing! That's seafeather-ono (wow, thanks for the massive love list! The 'squeak' thing was intentional, yes, and I explained in my PM about the whole Josiah/Lance mix-up :s Also, your theories about Peter and the Slytherins amused me. It sounds like a better plot than the one I've got planned, that's for sure LOL. Thanks again for your reviews!), LeilaTheRainbowNinja (it seems that you like Vixie! She is one of my favourites, actually, right now. Josiah is a newer sort of one; I might put him in TEH, actually.) And Future's-Past (thanks for all your reviews! Your CC about the name thing has been taken on board and will be considered in future chapters. Thanks for your input and advice!)

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own anything in the Potterverse except for Ylana, Sebastian, Josiah, Vixie and Leilani. This may be sad, but hey, at least they get to stay there. I don't.

Chapter Seven

If you believe what's said in secret

-'Gloria', Canterbury

Marlene's conversation with the Headmaster passed by in an agonisingly slow fashion; she sat there for what seemed like hours, retelling the same story over and over again. It felt to her as if she was on a carousel, spinning around on a cycle that she couldn't get off of.

She fidgeted in her chair, first fiddling with the hem of her school cardigan, then straightening out her robes, crossing and uncrossing her legs and glancing out of the windows frequently, half wishing that she could be outside with her friends, but not wanting the risk the fact that she could walk past her attacker and never know about it.

Professor Dumbledore, noticing Marlene's restlessness, released her at twenty past eleven. She hurried from the office quickly, negotiating the winding maze of corridors that was Hogwarts efficiently. She knew that she was supposed to go to Transfiguration, but she didn't feel like she could stand sitting in a classroom surrounded by the people who could have been the one to Crucio her. Instead of taking a turn at the tapestry of Doom the Blisterfull, a particularly angry-looking Goblin, Marlene walked straight ahead slowly, taking her time to get to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Ten minutes later, she found the room mercifully empty. The sixth years that had a free period were all out enjoying the last few rays of truly summery sunshine that 1977 had to offer. Marlene made her slow way up to her dormitory and pushed the door open; she glanced inside the room and caught a glimpse of Wizarding band 'The Seductive Serpents's latest record. She knew that there was a Wizarding record player in the Common Room below and made a point to pick the record up. She could guess that it was Alice's, as she was always up on the latest fashions and music. Pulling her school bag onto her shoulder from where it still lay on her bed from the evening before, she exited the dormitory and, when she had entered the Common Room, settled herself into the comfiest armchair by the fire.

Using a Levitating Charm, Marlene floated the record to the record player and when the needle settled on the large round disk, rock music began to echo around the room. Snatches of the lyrics of the various songs floated to Marlene as she attempted to write her Charms essay.

'The Fidelius Charm is possibly the most advanced protection charm that has come of the last two centuries as it uses human mids as opposed to magical vessels...'

'And when you take my hand, baby, I just can't concentrate; I can't wait for the Dementors to suck the memories from my lifeless soul...'

Marlene frowned as her focus slipped to the 'Seductive Serpents' song that was playing, 'Dementor's Kiss (My Lifeless Soul)', and blinked a few times to clear her mind. She dipped the nib of her handsome Eagle Owl feather quill into the inkpot that was balanced precariously on the arm of the chair and tried again with her essay.

'Similarly, the Muggle Repelling Charm is also beneficial to envoke when in areas where Muggles might be a problem. 'Protego Horriblis' is another Charm that most campers cast when wild animals are near...'

'There's no way that I can live without you, baby, I can't wait this out; I can't wait for the Dementors to take it away, take it away, free my lifeless soul...'

Marlene inadvertently wrote the next line from the chorus of 'Dementor's Kiss (My Lifeless Soul)' and scratched it out irritably. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to attempt homework while listening to her favourite band's new releases. He threw her quill down and, with her wand, stopped the record player. Sighing, she set her wand down again and shifted in her seat, reading through what she had written so far and then she raised her quill, ready to add more.

'Furthermore, the use of such advanced Charms as the Fidelius Charm requires a lot of magical knowledge and exceptional strength to perform the Charm. The caster must remember to...'

But what the caster must remember to do eluded Marlene's overwrought brain. She finally threw all of her books onto the floor in front of her and curled up into a tiny ball in the armchair.

"I give up!" she huffed and then, for some reason that Marlene couldn't really comprehend, tears began to drip down her cheeks, falling onto the neat red and gold Gryffindor tie at her throat.

(Lying alone feels wrong but it's all for the best)

In Transfiguration, Lily Evans' eyes kept flickering towards the door. She willed it to open, to admit Marlene to the room, but it stayed firmly shut. It seemed to mock Lily's hope. She felt herself that it was stupid to think that Marlene would want to come back to lessons the day after she had been attacked by an unknown person with an Unforgivable Curse.

Beside Lily sat the dark-haired Dorcas Meaddowes; Dorcas had to fight to keep her attention on Professor McGonagall, who was showing the class how to Transfigure a large monkey into a turtle without an incantation and using will alone. Dorcas was the third best in her year at Transfiguration, coming below James Potter and Sirius Black by mere millimetres. She convinced herself that Marlene's conspicuous absence from their midst was only to be expected and that Marlene hadn't been attacked on the way back from Professor Dumbledore's office. Her worrying wouldn't do anybody any good, least of all Marlene. 'I can check on her at break,' Dorcas told herself firmly. 'And break is only in twenty minutes.'

To Dorcas' right sat the tiny Alice Prewett. Alice was exuding the air of someone who wanted to escape the room as fast as they possibly could. She glanced around her at her friends and then looked to Professor McGonagall, looked down at her wand clutched in her own hands, and then averted her eyes back to the closed door. She couldn't wait until break when the Gryffindors could go and find Marlene and ask her about what had happened last night when she was attacked. Not in a gossip-y way, not at all like that, but to make sure that they knew all the information so that they could protect themselves and the others in Hogwarts.

Ylana sat at a far-off desk, removed from her usual circle of friends; the mousy-haired Ravenclaw that was sat beside her kept sniffing as though he had a cold and the incessant scratching of his quill as he copied out notes for Full Bodily Transfiguration was making her head spin. She just wanted to escape the tomb that the Transfiguration room had become to her and get some fresh air. In fact, she couldn't wait until she could feel freedom soar through her hair and her fingertips when she had Quidditch training that night with the rest of the Gryffindor team. And she wanted to be as far away from a certain Sebastian Prince as possible.

The Gryffindor girls endured the torturous lesson in silence and when the bell finally rang, it felt like the sound of freedom. The four friends scrambled out of the room as quickly as they could without running and took off towards the Hospital Wing. When they were told by an extremely busy Madam Pomfrey that Marlene had been released earlier in the morning, they changed direction and hurried up to Gryffindor Tower instead. After giving the password to the Fat Lady ('Dirigible') the four friends entered the red and gold Common Room and found Marlene curled up in a ball sobbing her heart out, textbooks and random sheets of parchment littered all around the foot of her chair.

Without saying a word, Lily walked over to the blonde and put her arms around her. "It'll be okay," she whispered to her friend, casting a worried look to her other friends. They all understood the meaning of this glance; Marlene never cried.

"Marlene, you need to know that we're here for you, and if you want to talk, we're here for you." Alice blurted out in a garbled rush; it was as if she couldn't hold in her speech any longer.

Ylana frowned. "You said 'we're here for you' twice in that sentence," she informed the shorter girl.

"I don't care!" Alice declared and hurried over to Marlene aswell. Dorcas and Ylana held back, watching as Marlene pulled herself together. She dried her tears with the sleeve of her robes and straightened her uniform before stuffing her work back into her school bag. She sniffed once, twice, three times and patted her hair into something that resembled a mass of golden waves and looked directly at Dorcas.

"Is it Care of Magical Creatures next?" she asked in a thick voice. Dorcas nodded and the two walked out of the Common Room together, leaving Lily and Alice clustered around a now empty armchair. The three girls shared a long look that was heavy with concern and then they grouped together in the middle of the room as younger Gryffindor students began to file in around them.

(Let me in and sail away for you)

A small and astonishingly ratlike boy hurried through the corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, turning corners quickly and keeping his sandy-coloured head down. He didn't meet any of the other student's eyes and felt that if he kept this up, nobody would care to stop him.

Not for the first time in his life, Peter Pettigrew was wrong.

Just as he got to the large oak doors that meant the fresh outdoors air and a quick walk in order to find his friends, Peter was stopped by a tall girl. She had short black hair and coffee-coloured skin with icy brown-grey eyes. Her arms were folded across her chest, her default pose, and she glared down at Peter with double concentrated animosity.

"Ex - Excuse me," Peter stuttered, edging sideways in order to find a way past the Slytherin girl.

"I don't think so," Vixie Brown told him. With no further ado, she gripped the collar of his white shirt and tugged him into a concealed hallway just inside the doors. She didn't let go of him as she spoke; she was determined to make him understand where he stood.

"You saw Marlene McKinnon Cursed last night."

Peter let out an involuntary nod, although Vixie's words were a statement, not a question.

"You need to know this, you snivelling, unworthy piece of shit: the person who cursed McKinnon knows who you are. They know all about you and your little tricks with those idiotic Gryffindors you call 'friends'," Vixie's voice twisted into a sneer as she said the last word. "And they'll know if you tell anyone about who you saw that night. And if you tell, they will kill you and your family. Do you understand me?" She spoke slowly and clearly, showing no emotions at all. This was something that scared Peter the most.

"I - I understand," he muttered, shaking where he stood. He just wanted to get out of there and be around his friends, his friends that were more like big brothers than anything else. They would protect him.

Vixie suddenly showed a disgusted expression as she let go of his shirt. "Don't wet yourself," she told him with distaste, seeming suddenly so like Ylana and Sirius, yet so different to them in the most important ways. She swept out of the concealed hallway, leaving Peter on his own, shaking in the semi-darkness.

So it had been Vixie that had Cursed Marlene, Peter's brain said rationally. He hadn't been sure until that moment. But knowing that Vixie had used the Cruciatus curse on one of his friends didn't make his situation any better, because now Vixie knew that he knew about her (if that even made sense), and that meant that the Slytherin would be personally making Peter's life a living hell. The main reason that he had become part of the Marauders in the first place was that he be protected from people like Vixie Brown.

Peter leaned against the rough stone wall, breathing slowly and deeply, waiting for himself to calm down enough to go and find the other three Marauders. He pushed away from the wall and walked into the packed Entrance Hall. The sunlight that greeted him in the doorway of the front doors seemed to mock his predicament.

(From down here I see the line's looking blurry tonight)

Remus Lupin wasn't a particularly violent person (apart from once a month), and on the third of September, was sitting in his bed in the Gryffindor Seventh year boys dormitory reading a book about Defence Against the Dark Arts. As many knew at Hogwarts, that night would be the first Full Moon of the school year, and while the Astronomy students were excited about seeing the effects of the Full Moon on the creatures in the Forbidden Forest, Remus found that he could only feel a mixture of dread and morbid anticipation.

The wolf inside of him clawed at his stomach to get out, to escape. Remus squirmed uncomfortably, feeling his breakfast churn inside him; it wasn't all too unusual for him to get sick during the day before his transformation, but no matter how many times it happened, no matter how many times Remus went through the same old routine, he could never get used to how ill it made him feel.

He clenched his hands into fists around the book that he was holding as a painful wrench in his gut claimed him. It was like his body was preparing itself for the transformation by sending the same feelings of being torn apart through his body hours before the sun set.

Breathing deeply, Remus leaned over to his bedside table and downed a small vile of cloudy pea green Potion, grimacing at the vile taste and then gulped down a goblet full of water afterwards to chase the nasty taste away. The Potion was a painkiller that Madam Pomfrey always prescribed for him just before and after the Full Moon to dull the pain that always battered him like punches. It also, thankfully, got rid of the most visible bruises and scratches so that the other students didn't get too suspicious.

The door of the dormitory opened slowly with a creak and three other boys entered the room.

Remus sighed heavily at his three best friends. "Hey guys. Did you get my notes and homework from Transfiguration?"

Sirius mimed being hurt and slammed a hand over his heart, a look of pure horror on his face. "Remy, how could you insult us so?" he asked in a gasp. "When have we ever let you down?"

Remus raised an eyebrow at the long-haired seventeen year-old in front of him. "Well, there was that time in sixth year with the rabbit and the Full Body Bind spell, that detention was particularly nasty. And if you want to go even further back, in third year, you-"

"Yeah, yeah, no need to state them all," Sirius grumbled. "You're making us out to be right awful mates,"

Remus smiled somewhat viciously at his friend while James snorted from his seat on top of a pile of laundry while Peter guffawed loudly, doubling over.

"And while we're on the subject of awful friends," Remus continued. "Don't call me 'Remy'."

"Can't argue with the man, Padfoot," James said, a grin on his face, as he pushed his thin-framed glasses up his nose and ran a hand through his already ruffled hair.

Remus knew what his friends were doing; they were trying to distract him from the fact that the approaching night would bring the part of himself that he hated so much, the wolf inside of him that held all the violence and hatred that he was determined to never let himself show when he was firmly human. For a moment, he felt a little overwhelmed as he looked around him at the three boys who had stuck by him for seven years, even when they knew what he was and what he could do to others. He didn't deserve friends like his, he thought to himself. He must have done something really good to deserve them.

Distantly, the bell rang and James, Sirius and Peter groaned simultaneously, looking more like the brothers they claimed to be than they understood.

"Sorry, Moony, mate," James told Remus. "We're going to have to go to Charms now."

Remus had to work to keep the disappointment off his face; he didn't want his friends to leave him alone now. "Oh, okay. Don't forget to get my homework and notes."

"Yeah, okay, Moony," Sirius agreed sarcastically, rolling his eyes at James who smirked. Peter let out a high-pitched trill of a laugh, but his eyes were slightly too wide and he looked slightly wild.

"I'm serious this time, Padfoot," Remus warned, wagging a finger at his long-haired friend. James groaned as Sirius grinned, baring his teeth like an animal.

"I thought I was Sirius, Moony!" he raged mockingly. "Prongs, he's stolen my identity!"

"Let me correct that statement: I mean it this time, Padfoot!" Remus amended with a small tired smile on his face at his friend's antics. The other three boys tittered as they gathered up their bags and pulled their ties down a bit further, their shirts still untucked rebelliously. They shouted goodbyes as they piled out of the dormitory noisily and clomped down the staircase. Remus smiled for a second, frozen, before the grin slid off his face like mud from tile. He looked down at his book for a moment, eyes unfocused before grimacing at a pain in his stomach.

Yes, Remus Lupin wasn't a particularly violent person (apart from once a month), nor did he hate much, but his life always came down to long, cold nights in the Shrieking Shack. He hated the full moon.

A/N: So I hope you liked it and I'm so sorry that it took so long to get posted! Life is hectic at the moment and it might be a while before chapter 8 is up, but rest assured, it will be posted at some point before my birthday (April 14th, if any of you want to wish me a Happy Birthday lol).

-Lauren