CHAPTER 8

"I, Maia Germain, vow to keep your knowledge a secret from those who would want to do our cause harm." She spoke, tightly grasping Remus' forearm. She wasn't the biggest fan of taking these vows, the next was always more painful than the last. "I vow to protect you from any harm I have the power to prevent."

"I, Remus John Lupin, vow to keep all knowledge I gain a secret from those who would do our circle harm." He spoke, staring deeply into Maia's eyes. "I vow to protect our cause and do everything in my power to see it through."

"I vow this on my magic, lest I die." Maia spoke, her gaze intense.

"I vow this on my magic." Remus repeated. "Lest I die."

"The vow was complete, leaving a circle of four symbols on Remus' forearm, under the space Maia's hand had been. He stared at it, committing the white symbols to memory.

One was of the full moon, which obviously represented himself. Another was a fox, whom it symbolised he did not know, as was true of the hourglass. The final symbol was of a phoenix. Dumbledore.

"It's to warn us if someone is in danger. It will glow white, and the one of us in danger will glow red." Maia explained as the symbols faded. "Nobody else will be able to see it unless they've taken the vow as well."

Regulus burst through the door, startling the occupants, immediately sighing. "Maia was glowing red." He panted, suddenly noticing Remus in the room. "And that would explain why."

"Sorry." Maia winced. "I didn't think it would be that sensitive to pain."

"We will just have to gather our circle when a new vow is taken." Dumbledore smiled. "I would expect the rest of the marauders to be inducted before this is all over."

"I don't plan on it." Maia spoke, sharing a look with Regulus. "It's too dangerous."

"I understand." Remus nodded. "Though I don't see how they present more danger than I do."

"Your PMS isn't what we're concerned about." Regulus rolled his eyes, causing Maia to chuckle.

"How eloquently put." Maia smiled, trying her hardest to suppress her laughter.

"How much does he know?" Remus asked nervously, eyeing Regulus. He was uncomfortable, incredibly so.

"I told you how he found out, he knows everything I do." Maia smiled sympathetically. "And I know more about you than you think I do."

Remus' eyes went wide and Maia simply nodded, Regulus snorting at the scene.

"What is it with Gryffindors?" He muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"We're scarily perceptive?" Maia asked, trying to suppress a laugh.

"You're all dumb as a doornail and terrible at keeping a secret." Regulus corrected, no hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"This is where I share your sympathy Mr Lupin." Dumbledore spoke. "Mr Black knows far more than I do about the situation. She has refused to tell me who sent her back in time."

Maia rolled her eyes, shooting an angry look at the professor.

"You're from the future?" Remus exclaimed, his eyes going far wider than Maia thought was humanly possible.

"It seems Mr Lupin wasn't aware of that." Dumbledore frowned, though his eye was twinkling.

"You were well aware of that Professor." Regulus frowned, ignoring Remus' gaping.

"Yes Remus, I'm from the future. That's how I know so much." Maia smiled at the lycanthrope, hoping he would calm down enough not to draw attention to himself when he rejoined the marauders, though his expression didn't give her hope.

"You knew us, that's how you knew about the full moon." He gaped, apparently struggling to process the new information.

"While that much is true, I would have known if I wasn't from the future." She tried to soothe, though it wasn't working.

"I think we may need Madam Pomfrey to give him a calming draught." Professor Dumbledore observed, apparently realising his poor idea.

"I've got this." Maia shrugged, pushing her way into Remus' mind as sensitively as she could.

He was a mess, his thoughts running wild. She hadn't meant to see, but he was replaying his entire life speculating whether or not she knew. She didn't want to see him as a child, locked in a cage during the full moon, chains around his wrists, ankles and neck. She didn't want to see his mother terrified of him whenever he was upset, nor did she want to know that his father called him a monster. He was an isolated child, taught to fear himself, taught to hide from the world rather than accept who he was. She also didn't want to see a semi-drunken night he spent in Sirius' bed but she saw that too, followed by several repeat performances over the years. No, she definitely didn't want to see that. She tried her best to calm his nerves, selecting happy memories for him to reminisce on. The day the marauders showed him they were animagi was the strongest memory he had, so she brought it to the forefront of his mind, pushing his worry as far back as she could. She could feel his mind trying to fight back the strange presence, which meant that what she was doing was working. She tugged every happy memory she could find and pulled them to his awareness, noting that he was fighting her less. She was shocked to see that one of the rather powerful memories was of their conversation several weeks ago. She'd accepted him without a second thought, she'd even pressed a kiss to his cheek which he was particularly giddy about. She didn't speculate as to why, not wanting to know why it was such a strong memory, only caring that it wasn't a bad one.

She pulled back from his mind, gladly accepting the peace she felt when she did so. Being in another person's mind was a strange feeling to get used to, especially when you would feel what they did, the sad memories being the hardest to detach from. She'd thought she'd done a good job until she saw a tear running down his cheek.

"Sorry, Remus." She immediately apologised, taking a few steps back from him. "I hadn't meant to see that much."

"It's okay." He nodded, wiping the tear away. "It was just strange, suddenly feeling the happiest I've ever been."

"I wish you'd reacted like that." Regulus huffed, crossing his arms. "I also wish you'd been as gentle. You're a force to be reckoned with when you're angry."

Maia simply shrugged, loosely wrapping her arms around Regulus. "You started it." She teased, leaning her head on his shoulder, something she knew he didn't enjoy.

"Infuriating witch." He grumbled, not bothering to fight the hug.

"She prefers the phrase 'infuriating nymph'." Remus joked, rubbing his hands over his face. "And believe me, she corrects us on it a lot."

"I can imagine." Regulus rolled his eyes.

"While I love seeing inter house unity blossoming." Dumbledore smiled, cutting through their conversation. "It is almost curfew and you should return to your dormitories."

"They can come to my room, we still have a lot to bring Remus up to speed on." Maia nodded, letting Regulus free.

"Do make sure that they are respectful." Dumbledore spoke, the twinkle in his eye returning.

"They're both old enough to be my father." Maia frowned, not particularly enjoying the image in her mind.

"This just gets better and better." Remus sighed, following Maia from the headmaster's office.

"Oh, it's going to get worse." Regulus smiled devilishly, enjoying Remus' discomfort far too much.

"Play nice boys." Maia frowned at the pair, marching them to Gryffindor Tower. She was going to have a fun time of explaining their late night meeting to the rest of her house in the morning.