Author's note: Thank you to everyone who has read this story so far, and thank you to Lupinesence and Nimbus Llewelyn for reviewing the last chapter!

I just started an internship, so I'm not sure how often I will be able to update this summer. But I will do my best!

I own nothing you recognize. Unfortunately.

"Harry James! Julian Charles! Get yourselves down here right now!"

Lily's voice rang in his ears as James stepped out of the Floo. He was half tempted to turn around and go back to work. But he was also curious as to what his sons had done this time.

Harry and Julian had both inherited their father's mischief-making capabilities. It didn't help matters that their godfathers encouraged them. James had thought that Remus would have a calming influence on his godson. But he hadn't counted on the fact that, while by far the most sensible one of them, Remus was still a Marauder.

The last time James and Lily had left the boys with their godfathers, they had come home to Sirius hanging upside from the ceiling, his hair and clothes Slytherin green. Remus had been reading while Harry and Julian had been laughing hysterically. The werewolf had since been put on babysitting probation, although James suspected that wouldn't last long. He was one of the few people that the Potters trusted to watch the boys.

With some hesitation, James made his way to the kitchen. There, he found his sons standing with guilty expressions in front of his wife. She had her hands on her hips, and while she was trying to look stern, he could tell that she was fighting a smile.

"What's this all about, love?" he asked cautiously.

Lily's eyes twinkled in amusement. "Boys, would you like to tell your father what you did?"

Harry, who was the usual spokesperson for the duo, shook his head.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Your sons-"

"Why are they always my sons whenever they are in trouble?"
"Your sons," Lily began again with a glare at James, "decided to put dungbombs underneath the cushions of Sirius' dining chair."

James laughed.

"James! This isn't funny!" But Lily's lips were slowly curving into a smile. "This could've ruined dinner for everybody."

James personally thought that Sirius and Remus would find it just as humorous as he had, but he wisely refrained from saying so. "Of course, Lily. Harry, Julian, you know you're not supposed to play pranks at dinner. Go up to your rooms."

"Sorry," the boys mumbled, but he could tell that they didn't truly mean it. The boys shuffled out of the room and up the stairs.

A moment of silence descended upon the two Potters before they both started chuckling. Lily tried to smother the laughter with her hand.

"We really… shouldn't be laughing."

"You're right," James said, "but can you imagine the look on Padfoot's face if the dungbombs had gone off?"

That set them to laughing again.

"We really shouldn't encourage them, you know," Lily said, laughter fading into seriousness.

"I know," James said, sighing. "It's just so hard for me to discipline them when they remind me so much of myself."

Lily nodded, moving back to the stove to put the finishing touches on dinner. "I understand, but we don't want them to be too out of control."

"They're not out of control, though. Not really. They're just… rambunctious."

Lily opened her mouth to reply when they heard the Floo fire roar to life. Seconds later, Sirius entered the kitchen.

"Hello there, Lilykins! Aren't you looking lovely today?"

"Don't you have a girlfriend to annoy, Black?"

"I do, but Zara had to go out of town. So, I'll just have to pester you instead!"

"Oh joy."

"The boys tried to play a prank on you, Pads," James said as the two men sat at the dining table. He quickly recounted his sons' antics, and, like he expected, his friend laughed.

"You should've let 'em! Merlin, that would've been hysterical!"

"Of course you would think that," Lily said with a shake of her head. "James, you should go change. By the time you're done, dinner will be ready. Let the boys know, will you?"

James nodded and went to change out of his Auror robes. Before heading back downstairs, he went to find the boys.

He found them in Harry's room, playing gobstones. He entered the room and sat down next to them.

"Is Mum mad at us?" Harry asked quietly.

"Mmm, not really," James responded.

"Good. I don't like it when Mummy's mad at us," Julian stated, and James chuckled.

"I don't like it either." He sighed. "Listen, I love that you two play pranks. I used to do the same thing when I was younger. But you have to know the right time and place for pranks. And setting off dungbombs in the dining room in the middle of a nice dinner that your Mum just cooked is neither the right time nor the right place. Understand?"

Harry and Julian nodded.

"Now," James continued, "if you want to put to put some under Uncle Padfoot's pillow the next time you are over at his apartment, then feel free." He winked at his sons, and they laughed.

"Boys, dinner!" Lily's voice echoed up the stairs.

James and his sons stood, and the boys rushed down into the dining room. He followed more slowly behind and took his seat next to Lily.

"Where's Moony?" James asked as Lily set the food on the table.

"He had an interview," Sirius said. "He said to go ahead and get started without him."

The boys needed no further prompting and quickly began filling their plates.

Halfway through their meal, Remus appeared. He had obviously come straight from his interview, because he was wearing the dress robes that James and Sirius had bought for him. He greeted them before he sat down at the table and began eating.

"So?" Sirius asked Remus.

Remus paused in his eating before waving away the question. "Later."


Despite the many questioning looks thrown his way, Remus refused to talk about the interview until after dinner. Finally, when the boys were back up in their rooms playing, he started to talk.

"I got the job, if I want it."

"That's great!"

"Excellent!"

"Congratulations!"

When Remus looked hesitant, James asked, "What sort of job is this?"

"Well… I'd be working for this… researcher, I suppose you could call him. He wants to travel around the world, studying different magical creatures. He wants an expert in dark creatures to travel with him. Dumbledore recommended me."

There was silence for a moment.

"So, you'd be traveling abroad?" When Remus nodded, Sirius continued, "How long would you be gone?"

"A year."

"That seems like an incredible opportunity," Lily said slowly. "Does he know…?"
"He does." Remus met Lily's gaze. "He actually seemed a bit excited about my condition."

James wondered how this man was expecting the full moons to be handled and voiced his concerns.

"There's a relatively new potion. Wolfsbane potion. It is supposed to allow me to keep my mind while transformed."

"Have you heard of this potion, Lily?" James asked in surprise.

Lily nodded and shifted uncomfortably. "I have, but I wanted to wait a bit before making it for Remus. I didn't want a repeat of last time."

James shuddered at the thought. During the war, Lily had made Remus a new potion, probably a precursor of the Wolfsbane. This potion was rumored to greatly calm the transformed werewolf. However, it had only succeeded in making Remus violently ill hours before moonrise. It had been one of the worst full moons the Marauders had ever experienced, and it had landed the werewolf in St. Mungo's for nearly a week. Lily had felt horrible about it.

"I understand," Remus said. "I haven't been too eager to try it, either." He paused. "But, Lily, if I wanted to try it, would you make it for me? This researcher said that he would supply it for me, but I would want to make sure it actually works before leaving."

Lily looked hesitant before nodding. "Of course. Does that mean that you're going to accept the job?"

Remus sat staring at his hands for a moment. "I'm not sure."
"What are you unsure about?" Sirius asked.

"I'd be gone for a whole year. I'd… I'd miss out on so much."

"You'd be back before Harry left for Hogwarts," James stated. "What else?"

Remus shrugged. "Other than the possibility of the Wolfsbane potion not working, that was the main negative."

"And what are the positives?" Lily asked softly.

"Well, it's a job."

That elicited strained chuckles from all of the adults in the room. It had been over six months since the werewolf's last job.

"It pays well," Remus said, sighing. He paused for a moment before looking at his friends. "There's new legislation that some in the Ministry are trying to pass. This might be my last chance to have a real job, to make good money. And it's something that I would enjoy, I think. It wouldn't be like my other jobs. Menial labor. It would be academic, and, well," Remus chuckled, "you all know how much I love that type of work."

James smiled, but Remus' gaze returned to his hands.

"I know that it is foolish, but it seems wrong to leave you all for that long."

James didn't think it was foolish at all. For so long, ever since they were eleven, the Marauders had stuck together. They were brothers, the only family that they had left. They had been separated at times during the war, and it had been an extremely difficult time for all of them.

"You should do it," Sirius said, surprising James.

Sirius would be the one who would miss Remus the most. They saw each other everyday. If Remus took the job, it would mean that Sirius would be alone in the apartment for the first time in years.

"It's a great opportunity. You can't pass it up," Sirius continued.

"I agree. Take it, Moony," James encouraged.

"I'll make the Wolfsbane potion. You can try it this next full moon, and when it works, because I'm sure it will, you can accept the job," Lily added.

Remus still looked hesitant, but he nodded.

James smiled. Things wouldn't be the same without their friend, but this was the first real chance that he had ever been given. They couldn't let him pass it up.


"Here," Lily said, holding a bottle of potion out to James.

He thanked her and carefully placed it among the bandages and potions already in his bag. He muttered under his breath as he double-checked to make sure that everything was ready.

"Nervous?"

James looked up at his wife. If anything, she looked nervous. She was biting her lower lip and shifting in discomfort. He sighed and took her in his arms.

"It'll be fine, sweetheart," James reassured. "I just talked to Padfoot. Moony isn't puking his guts up."

"James!" Lily pushed away from him with an indignant look on her face. "That isn't funny!"

His smile dropped off his face. "I know it's not. But it's not going to do anybody any good to worry. Padfoot and I will be with him the entire night. If something goes wrong, we'll get him to St. Mungo's as soon as he transforms back. It's better for him that we try it now, before he leaves the country."

Lily nodded, but she still looked uneasy. "Just… be careful, all right?"

"Of course," James said and kissed her head. "I should get going."

He kissed her again before grabbing the bag. He dropped into the boys' rooms to kiss them good-bye before apparating over to Sirius and Remus' apartment.

"Hey, how is he?" he asked Sirius, who was standing in the kitchen, making a cup of tea.

Sirius shrugged. "Just about normal. He has a bad headache. But he's not near death, so that's good at least."

"I can hear you, you know!" Remus' voice called from the sitting room.

"He's also very irritable," Sirius said with a smirk, and James chuckled. They were well experienced in dealing with pre-full moon Remus. They had gotten to the point where they found their normally cool tempered friend's behavior entertaining.

James entered the sitting room and sat down in a chair by Remus, who was lying on the couch, covered in a blanket.

"All right, Moony?"

"Never better," the werewolf bit out sarcastically.


About an hour before moonrise, the Marauders apparated to the edge of the forest that they had been using for full moons ever since they had graduated from Hogwarts. They always came early so that Remus could relax a bit before the transformation. Like every other month, the three friends sat with their backs against trees, talking.

"I think I'm going to propose to Zara," Sirius said suddenly. The other two Marauders stared at him. "What?"

"I didn't realize you were that serious about her," James said. He could tell that Remus was thinking the same thing.

"Of course I'm Sirius about her."

James and Remus groaned loudly. That pun had gotten old about halfway through their first term at Hogwarts. But that hadn't stopped Sirius from using it. James suspected that his friend continued with it only because he knew how much it annoyed others.

"Padfoot."

"Fine." Sirius sighed. "I am serious about her. Very."

"Are you sure?"

"What do you mean by that, Prongs?"

James held up his hands at the defensive tone in his friend's voice. "I just mean that you haven't been with her for very long."

"Really? How long were you and Lily together before getting married?"

"That was different! We'd known each other since we were eleven."

"And she hated you for at least five years!"
"Will both of you shut up?!" Remus shouted, and James and Sirius immediately stopped. "Sorry, Moony," they said simultaneously.

Silence descended on the trio for a moment before James sighed. "Listen, Pads, if you love Zara and want to propose, I'll support you. I like her, okay? I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Thanks, Prongs," Sirius responded.

"Just don't get married without me, Padfoot," Remus joked, his eyes closed.

The Marauders chuckled softly before Remus stiffened. "I'd better get ready."

Sirius withdrew a blanket from his bag, and he and James turned their backs while Remus undressed. Once the werewolf was wrapped up in the blanket and his clothes were folded and placed in a bag, the other Marauders turned back around.

"So what's the plan, Moony?" James asked. In almost every other situation, James and Sirius took charge. They had always decided what to do and how to do it. But when it came to the full moon, they let Remus dictate what they did. They gave him as much control as they could before he lost all control completely.

"You need to change. Wait until… I give you some sort of signal… before changing back. And only one of you change… at first. You have to… have to be careful."

James could tell that Remus was in pain. His breaths were coming in short gasps. But this wasn't like other full moons. Usually by this time, the Remus that they knew would be slipping away from them to be slowly replaced by the wolf. He would be disoriented and barely capable of speech. But this full moon, he seemed to be holding on longer.

A sharp gasp filled the air. Remus slumped onto his side on the ground and curled into a tight ball. His face was contorted in pain. He bit his bottom lip to keep in the pain-filled screams, but he couldn't prevent the groans that signaled how much he was hurting.

James and Sirius changed into their Animagus forms as Remus' hand clawed at the ground. When he had first mastered the Animagus transformation, James had been amazed at how different he felt as a stag. He had looked ridiculous as he had tried to master walking on four legs with a massive set of antlers atop his head. Now, however, it all seemed completely natural.

James held his breath as Remus' tremors stopped and the wolf emerged from the blanket. They stood staring at each other for a moment. The wolf's appearance hadn't changed at all, but something seemed to be different about him.

Still, he wondered if the potion had worked. Until the wolf sat on his haunches and seemingly smiled at them.

James and Sirius shared a look before nodding. Sirius moved forward to stand in front of James. They had decided that he would stay a canine, in case something went wrong.

James' heart pounded in his chest. Remus was one of his closest friends. And while he had never been afraid exactly of his friend, he had also never underestimated the wolf's capability to harm him. Remus had made sure of that. Before he had allowed his friends to join him during the full moon, the werewolf had made sure that the others were taking it all seriously. So, transforming back into a human in front of him during the full moon had James uneasy.

He took a deep breath before making the change. His eyes were trained on the werewolf. The wolf looked at him for a second before dropping to his stomach and covering his snout with a paw.

Sirius barked before transforming back into a human himself. "Well, will you look at that?" He threw a smile over his shoulder at James and moved forward.

"Padfoot…" James cautioned. The potion had obviously worked or the wolf would have already tried to tear them apart. But he still didn't think they should push it.

"It'll be fine, Prongs."

He rolled his eyes at Sirius' blasé attitude. His friend had matured greatly over the years, but he still had the tendency to take undue risks. James watched with bated breath as Sirius approached the wolf.

Apparently, Remus didn't think too highly of this idea either, because as the Animagus moved forward, the wolf growled.

"Padfoot, be careful," James said, but Sirius didn't listen. He continued forward.

The wolf stood suddenly and backed away from the Animagus.

"Oh, come on, Moony. It's fine."

The wolf snapped his jaws, and Sirius finally stopped his approach.

"Okay, okay. We'll do things your way."

The wolf paused for a second before nodding his head.

"So… now that we know that you're not going to tear us apart, let's see what you can do," Sirius said, before changing back into a dog and lunging at the wolf.

James laughed when Sirius yelped as Remus chased him through the trees. He changed into a stag and joined in on the chase.


"We've been doing this for over ten years, and I've never seen Moony sleep during the full moon."

Sirius dropped down next to James, who was sitting with his back against a tree. The two took a moment to look across the clearing at Remus, who was curled up in a ball, fast asleep. The wolf gave a snort, and his friends laughed.

James was tempted to close his eyes to sleep. It had been a long day and night, but there was too much adrenaline running through his veins.

"I'm glad the potion worked," James said. Remus had been fully in control the entire night. It was a welcome change to the usual full moon routine. James and Sirius had never minded keeping the wolf distracted, but it had taken its toll on Remus over the years.

Sirius nodded but didn't say anything.

"Padfoot?"

"Do you really think it's too soon for me to propose to Zara?"

James looked at his friend in surprise. He hadn't realized that Sirius had been so upset by their earlier conversation. His question was innocent enough, but James had spent years deciphering the hidden meanings behind his friend's tone.

"What do you think, Pads?" James said quietly so they didn't wake up Remus.

Sirius shrugged.

"Don't just shrug. What do you think?"

"I thought it was a good idea, but obviously you think differently." The defensiveness in his tone was apparent.

James sighed. He was one of the only people who had ever been able to discourage Sirius against doing something. His words held more weight than anybody else's.

"You have to do what you think is best, Padfoot. This is something that you have to decide for yourself."

"But I want your opinion."

The two stared at each other for a moment before James turned away. "I think you haven't known each other long enough. I mean, she's great, but you haven't even been dating for a year. But in the end, that doesn't matter if you love her. I had quite a few people tell me that Lily and I were too young, and look at us now. It's all just really subjective."

Sirius nodded.

"Do you love her?"

"Yes."

"Do you see yourself spending the rest of your life with her?"

"Yes."

"Then propose."

"You think so?"

James wasn't used to seeing Sirius so unsure of himself. He realized then how important this was to his friend. "Yes, I do."


"James?"

He sighed as he crawled into bed. He had been hoping that he wouldn't wake up his wife, but that obviously hadn't happened.

"Yeah, love?"

"Is everything all right?" Lily rolled over, and the two lay nearly nose-to-nose.

"Everything went perfectly," James said.

"Really?"

"Really. Go to sleep, Lils," James said, kissing her lips.

She nodded before burrowing her head into James' shoulder.

As James' eyes drifted close, he decided that this was the best full moon that the Marauders had spent together.