When Remus wakes, Anthony's things are gone. His bed has vanished too, and the five remaining ones are spaced evenly across the room. Remus is impressed the house-elves have managed that without waking any of the boys. Not that much would have woken him. He was still somewhat tired from the recent transformation, and the loyalty of his friends minimized any uneasiness in his sleep.

The morning passed without incident. Remus stuck close to his friends again. He received a lot of nervous looks, and was careful to avoid bumping other students in the hallways, but no one confronted him openly. His first class in the afternoon was Care of Magical Creatures. He was alone for this one, but the students were kept busy enough with individual work that it didn't much matter, although the others did keep a subtle distance from him as they all stood for the lecture at the beginning.

Walking back to the castle afterwards, the small group of returning Gryffindors, with Remus hanging at the back, passed a clump of Slytherin students on their way down to class. A moment later, Remus felt something nudging at his hand. He looked down; it was a small paper airplane, like those he'd seen flying around the Ministry of Magic during his visits as a child. He took hold of the paper, and as he did its motion stopped. Remus slipped it into his bag to look at once he got back to the castle.

He had a break period next, but he couldn't read it there. If a note had been sent to him in this odd way, it was probably intended to be private. He'd be joining the other three Marauders for the break, and nothing was private with Sirius around. He decided to slip off to the bathroom before meeting his friends.

A few minutes later, safely inside a restroom stall, he unfolded the paper. The message was short:

We need to talk. Meet me tonight at 8 in the Owlery. Come alone – Regulus Black

Why would Regulus Black want to talk to him? There were only two plausible options: it was a trap, or it was about Sirius. Should he go? It was an odd place for an ambush – dueling in a room full of panicked owls could only end badly. They might jump him on the way there, though… But if Regulus really did want to talk, Remus felt he owed him at least that much. At breakfast, he'd seemed to be genuinely concerned about his brother. And probably with good reason, knowing the Black family. You're more worried about him being in danger from his parents than from running around with a slavering monster every month? added Remus' inner voice. Nevertheless, Sirius' parents might be a real problem.

Speaking of parents, Remus realized with a jolt that his mother and father probably still didn't know what had happened. He needed to write. And if he was sending a letter anyway, well, he might as well do it at 8.

He arrived early, just in case it was a trap, but found Regulus already there. The other boy started when Remus came in, but quickly regained his composure. His face stiffened into the all-too-familiar pureblood mask, only his eyes, moving a little too quickly, betraying his nervousness.

When Regulus said nothing, Remus moved towards one of the school owls perched by the wall. It edged away from him, as most animals did in the days soon before and after the full moon, but he calmed it and tied the note to his father to the owl's foot.

He would need to pass Regulus to reach the window. The other boy seemed to realize this, and stepped aside to make room. Remus walked carefully past him, and released the bird into the night. He was no longer between Regulus and the exit, which would hopefully make this less nerve-wracking for the pureblood. Remus watched the owl fly off, took a deep breath, and turned to face Regulus.

"I appreciate that I'm not being jumped right now, but since it seems like you actually wanted to talk to me, can I ask what about?"

"About Sirius," Regulus said bitterly. "What else?" He paused, and the pureblood mask set more firmly. "You need to stay away from him."

Remus swallowed, forced himself to look at Regulus' eyes. "That's not something I can do."

"You don't understand. It's your fault he's like this!" As he spoke, Regulus became more and more hysterical. "He wasn't – before he came to Hogwarts, he was good. Not entirely – he'd get in trouble sometimes, but not much more than I did. And we were friends, and our parents didn't—But then he came here, and when he came back he was like a different person, more every time. He fights with our parents so much, he torments the house-elves, he says these crazy things, he won't talk to me…I didn't know what had happened, I thought it was being in Gryffindor, but it must be you!

"I-"

"Do you know what our parents are going to do to him? Next time he comes home?"

"I don't." said Remus quietly. "He never tells me what they do. He just comes back with nightmares for a month."

"What have you been telling him?" roared Regulus. Around them, owls panicked. "You've done something, you've made him crazy, tell me!" He grabbed Remus' collar, shoved him backward. "Why would he be friends with you, why would he even tolerate you?"

"I don't know," said Remus. "I never thought he would. I know I'm a monster, and I've never understood why he didn't care. But he didn't, from the moment he told me he knew. I haven't done anything to him, I swear."

Regulus had stepped back; he seemed oddly collapsed inward. After a long silence, he muttered, "I think they're going to disown him. Father's threatened it before, and something like this…I can't lose my brother, and I can't let that happen to him!"

Remus' guts wrenched. Disowned…? "I'm sorry. I don't know how much I can do. I doubt he'll agree to this, and even if he did…. I don't know if I can do this without him. He and James and Peter are the only reason I haven't left already."

Regulus bent to one knee, the self-loathing on his face clearly evident as he did. "Please. At least publicly, stay away from Sirius. If you're really his friend, you'll do it, to protect him."

Remus closed his eyes, thought of Sirius' face when he spoke about him family, the sudden rages, the shaking in the middle of the night, his head full of terrors he would never tell anyone about.

He nodded.

"I'll do my best."

Regulus stood slowly, let out a long breath of relief. As he pulled himself together, the mask was back as if it had never gone.

"Good," he said coldly. "Hopefully we won't have to speak again." He spun on his heel and strode away.