The Marauders minus Remus but plus Lily were in Sirius, Peter and Remus's room, sprawled over the beds and gossiping.

'So I heard Molly and Arthur are getting married,' Peter had said.

'There's not much point waiting til the war's over,' Sirius remarked. 'After all, we could be dead tomorrow.'

Lily grimaced. 'Thanks Sir.'

'Are you guys getting married anytime?' asked Peter innocently. Sirius guffawed, and James and Lily looked at each other.

'We might,' Lily conceded.

Sirius whooped a few times. 'We could do with a really amazing party. You should do it soon!'

'It's a big decision, and not something we would want to rush into,' James lectured him, making Sirius laugh.

'It's be the biggest mistake you ever made,' Peter told Lily mischievously, and she reached out and poked him, annoyed but not enough to get up.

'You should have a kid, that would be so cool,' Sirius told James straight-faced.

Remus chose that moment to enter the room.

'Re, Re!' Sirius said, shaking off his torpor and bounding over to him. 'James and Lil are going to get married and have the first Marauder baby!'

Remus's jaw dropped open and he stuttered for a moment before seeing James and Lily's matching annoyed faces and realised it was just Sirius jumping the gun, as usual.

'If and when it happens, it will be lovely,' he said evenly, regaining his composure and shoving James over so there was room on his bed.

'It will,' agreed James. He looked over at Peter and Sirius, and purposely avoided Lily. 'How are you feeling today?'

'I feel fine.'

'Either you were just pretending to be laced last night, or someone rather skilful made you a hangover potion,' Peter said pointedly.

'So where did you go last night?' James asked. The room felt tense.

'I went out to a club,' Remus told him, lighting a cigarette. 'I didn't want to stay in. Yesterday was - I had a bad day.'

'Did you go with Snape?' asked Sirius languidly from where he was reclining.

Remus was suspicious of this calm question.

'Yes, actually. It was lucky; I don't think I could have got home by myself.'

'You didn't ought to drink so much,' Lily told him.

'I didn't mean to, I just - do you know where I went yesterday? Before?'

'Yes,' she said softly.

'Well then. And I'm glad I went out; I had a good time.'

'Did Severus?' she asked.

'I don't know. He seems a bit off today. I hope I didn't say anything bad.'

'Come on Re,' said Sirius, 'you wouldn't say anything bad.'

'I must have done something,' he said, more to himself than anyone else.

'Don't worry about it Re,' said James.

'Yeah, it's blatantly Snape just having one of his off-days,' Sirius told him.

Remus looked at him narrowly but it did not appear that his friend was going to indulge in some Snape-baiting right at that minute.

'I'm surprised though,' said Peter, 'because he seems to like you. At least, he's nicer to you than I thought he could ever be to anyone. He hasn't hexed you once, has he?'

'No. He's a good friend to me,' said Remus, and saw in his peripheral vision Sirius roll his eyes. 'What?'

'He's extremely friendly to you, isn't he?' Sirius said, in an exasperated tone.

'I wouldn't say - not - I don't think it's extreme!'

'Oh well,' James said, 'As long as you're getting on alright and he's shown no signs of planning to curse you or anything.'

'Definitely not,' Remus told him.

'And of course you're getting lots of lovely potions lessons,' said Lily teasingly.

'They're very useful.'

'An enjoyable way to pass the time, I would think,' said James.

'Well - yes, I suppose so.'

'Does Snape find them enjoyable too, I wonder?' asked Peter innocently.

Remus looked round suspiciously but the others' faces were completely straight.

'I hope Severus enjoys himself,' he told them, 'but I really couldn't say for sure.'

Sirius opened his mouth to say something then closed it again.

'He likes you, Remus,' Lily said. 'I'm sure of it. He wouldn't help you out like that if he didn't want to.'

'Do you think? Because sometimes I think yes, we get on so well, we're becoming friends, but then other times… like today…' his voice trailed off as he realised the eagerness of his tone.

'He's a weirdo and I'm not saying he's not a complete psychopath, but he's obviously got good judgment,' Peter said bluntly. 'He likes you.'

Sirius and James murmured assent, though apparently rather against their collective will.

Remus's lips twitched but he told himself furiously not to smile, there was no doubt some sting in the tail awaiting him. But the silence hung as the moments stretched out and he could hear the birds singing outside. He allowed himself a little grin.

'It's all got a bit strange in here all of a sudden,' Sirius remarked with an eyebrow raised at Remus.

'Tell me about these wedding plans of yours,' Remus said hurriedly to James and Lily, but now was not the time. The door burst open and Snape stood panting on the threshold, his face unnaturally white.

'Remus, I've just been speaking to the Headmaster; he needs you to go out again. He didn't have time to tell you himself, he's off to Hogwarts.'

'What's happened?'

'The Dark Lord has called some sort of meeting of the werewolves… I think it's for some sort of test of loyalty, he told me only to tell werewolves who I trusted to go along. I think he might tell you something, ah, noteworthy, or ask you to perform some sort of ordeal.'

'Where?'

'Inside the Hogwarts grounds! That's why Dumbledore had to go, he thinks that the Dark Lord may ask your pack to attack the school.'

Remus was already pulling on his shoes. He stood up and threw his cloak around his shoulders.

'Do you know where exactly?' he asked. 'Should I apparate right to the border of the grounds? Whereabouts?'

'I know the place. I'll apparate you there.'

Sirius and James exchanged dark glances, but Remus had already taken Snape's hand, and Snape had turned on the spot, and they were gone.


They arrived, and Remus dropped Snape's hand.

They were in the Forbidden Forest. It was quiet, only birdsong disturbing the silence, the occasional persistent finger of sunlight finding its way to the forest floor.

'I cannot come with you,' Snape said softly. 'But I was informed that the meeting place was on the fringe of the Forest, close to the Whomping Willow.' He pointed.

Remus nodded and walked away. He felt the castle's magical wards slip over him like a shiver. He turned back once to see Severus, but he had vanished.

Snape had not left. The Forest filled him with unease, a lifetime of betrayal leaving him unable to take things as they seemed. The quietness, the dark. The sense that any moment a hidden footstep could snap a twig, leave him whirling and fumbling for his wand. Menace seemed to hide behind every tree. He was not safe here. He was not safe anywhere…

His mind was filled with all the treachery and hurts of his life. He sank to the floor, buried his head in his hands, every cruelty he had received and every one he had dealt out. The people he had murdered. The screams and pleads he had ignored or laughed at. The torment of his schooldays. Numerous taunts. Rejections. His mind was hazy with pain but something nagged away at him.

He was shocked out of his reverie by the appearance of Remus's patronus, a silvery cat.

'Help,' it said, and vanished.

Of course. He sat up. Dementors.

He hurtled off in the direction he had sent Lupin, blind with panic but just about managing to avoid the trees that loomed through the perpetual twilight to knock him off his feet.

He ran towards the clearing he had directed Lupin to. He gazed about wildly. Where was he?

There were bodies.

He almost stumbled over one before wheeling back to light his wand and stare at their dead face.

Not dead. Kissed. Eyes open, chest rising and falling, cheeks pink, but no life, no soul, no remnant of the person who had inhabited this shell. He choked back nausea and ran on. The person, he knew her. A werewolf.

He found Lupin in a grassy circle surrounded by trees. He was supine. His eyes were closed. Snape ran to him.

The Dementors circled closer. Remus carried on breathing deeply, face pale. He would not wake, and Severus was alone.

He tried and tried to cast his patronus, concentrating as hard as he could but over and again it failed, shimmers of silver his only reward.

He drew in another sobbing breath. He could feel his strength fail as the memories of a life not happily lived began to overwhelm him. He sank to his knees, feeling his frightened heartbeat that hammered in his ears begin to slow.

I didn't want to die like this, he thought as his hand sought the vial of release from around his neck. I didn't want to die on my knees at the hands of the Dementors.

He fell forwards onto his hands, his wand still clasped uncomfortably in one muddy hand. He could barely think now, the Dementors were so close, and there were so many of them.

His vision was failing, but he saw the still body of his companion lying on the tree roots and earth and inspiration struck him. Knowing that two lives depended on it, he lifted his head and thought of the night when Lupin - Remus - was drunk.

He picked up Remus's cold lifeless hand, his own shaking as he brought it palm upwards to his mouth and kissed it softly.

'I think you meant me,' he said.

A strange sort of shudder ran through him and the patronus that he created with this new recollection was so bright and dazzling that though he squinted, he could not see it clearly. His vision began to grown dark and he let himself collapse to the floor as the Dementors were scattered all around him.