a/n: I wanted to upload this yesterday but the site wasn't letting me for some reason. Annoying. Anyway. Just wanted to give a shout-out to MoonytheMarauder1 who I think has reviewed all twenty chapters of this! This chapter is for you :)

Remus was struggling. He'd thought he'd come off lightly after his fight with Fenrir Greyback, but his recovery had been more troublesome than he'd thought. The combination of magical and non-magical injuries he'd sustained, on top of the others he'd got in the last year, was doing strange things to his body. A jagged cut on his arm was the biggest issue, mainly because it wouldn't close up. He wasn't sure if magic or Fenrir's nails had caused it, which didn't help. He and Anna had tried all kinds of remedies to try and stop the bleeding, but he'd ended up walking around with it bandaged most of the time, and taking Blood Replenishing Potions regularly .

It was on the cursed arm, from his incident a year ago now with the Fiendfyre, but he had decided against tell Anna that story. Not that it would help to tell her. If it was linked to that, he would need Molly or Snape to fix it.

The injuries were only about half of the problem. Adjusting back to life with his first pack was hard. He'd been used to hiding things in Great Yarmouth, not trusting people, and drinking far too much so he fitted in better. The first night he was out of his bed, he lurked in the corner with a can of beer for three hours, not understanding the baffled looks the rest of the pack were giving him.

It was only when William came over and dragged him out that he realised what he'd been doing. And most of him still wanted to go back in the corner, with its cosy red armchair and the fire not too far away, and ignore everyone.

And, as if that wasn't enough, the problem of Anna was stacked on top of the problem with Tonks. Anna had been awkward with him ever since revealing her feelings, and had rarely been in the same room apart from if she had discovered a new remedy that might help his arm. She'd delegated the bandage changing and potion supplying to Eugenia, who was weirdly smily all the time.

People were strange.

He still wanted to go and find Mike. The Werewolf House, once a place he loved and considered a safe haven, now seemed too small and too full. He'd taken to walking the grounds twice a day, going to the back where there was a small orchard and lying on the floor amongst the apple trees, and then trying not to think.

It wasn't that he didn't like the house, or the pack. The house was the most comfortable place he'd ever lived. His own room, with a nice bed and now much improved bedcovers. A library with maybe a couple of thousand books on all sorts of topics, and a room filled with games and entertainments. The grounds were extensive, and even had a fountain. The people he either considered friends, or very much liked. But it all felt like it was trapping him, and that he was somehow not supposed to be here.

Maybe it was that he wasn't doing anything. Remus' name and face would be known by every werewolf allied to Greyback and Voldemort by now , and the Death Eaters, even those who hadn't already been aware of him as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, would know it all too. Some of the others had been allowed out to find out the status of things, but Remus was stuck inside the beautiful, luxurious, prison-like house.

It had been weeks since he was allowed to be useful. All he'd done is write letters to the Order with the information others had gathered. At least he could owl from here rather than relying on the Muggle post. Stamps had been fun, but it was so slow.

He was lying under the trees in the afternoon sun, doing very badly at not thinking, when he became aware of someone watching him. Cautiously, holding his wand, he looked around. Ever used to wartime, and with months of not being able to use it, Remus found himself constantly clutching his wand in any slightly uncertain situation.

Death Eaters rarely wore bright pink shoes, so he was probably safe.

"Remus?" said Ottoline. She had taken a great liking to Muggle clothes during their time in the Great Yarmouth pack, and was sporting jeans and an oversized striped t-shirt with the eye-wateringly pink shoes. Her blonde hair was plaited back with a huge piece of fabric on the end of it. "There's an owl for you."

"Alright," he said. He pulled himself up to a standing position. "What's that in your hair?"

"Oh, this?" she said, holding it out towards him. It was the same shade of pink as her shoes. "It's a scrunchie. Muggle girls are mad for them. One of the women in Great Yarmouth gave it to me, I'd forgotten all about it."

"It's interesting," said Remus.

"I don't think you're supposed to like it at your age," said Ottoline. "Mum would hate it. Everything I know about Muggle fashion suggests that's the point."

They walked back to the house in a companionable silence, out of the orchard gate, across the lawn, through the fancy gardens with the fountain and into the back porch. Sam was in the kitchen, chatting away to the owl and feeding it bits of bread from his sandwich.

"I like owls," said Sam when Remus entered, in way of explanation. "Wouldn't mind working with almost any animal, actually."

"William is a lot like an animal," said Ottoline, and began to expand on that theory while Remus carefully untied his letter.

Dear Remus,

I hope this letter finds you well. I'm sorry I have not had time to write to you personally after our little chat on that charming Scottish island last autumn, but my mind has been much occupied of late as I'm sure you'll understand. Molly Weasley informed me of your altercation with one Fenrir Greyback, and I must say I am proud of your efforts. Not many would have been as brave as to stand up to him as you did.

I do however have a request for you. I find myself needing to leave Hogwarts for a night, maybe a small amount longer, and will be requiring some extra security. I would not ask this of you, knowing your role is important to the Order, but I am in need of your services to patrol the school in my absence. Several others who would usually perform this job are unavailable, and naturally you were my first choice to replace them.

Please advise by return owl if you are available. I shall have need of you tonight.

Yours,

Albus Dumbledore

His role being important to the Order indeed, Remus thought. Half the werewolves here could write letters to Molly, and it wasn't the fault of the ones who couldn't. Not every werewolf was educated.

He'd go, of course. He was excited at the prospect of leaving this place, even for one night, already.

"Sam?" he asked. "Can you handle things here for a night? I've got to go do patrol duty."

"For your wizards?" asked Sam. "Of course."

"Can I come?" asked Ottoline. "I'm so fucking bored."

Associated with him as she was, she had also been banned from leaving the house. So had William. In his bout of self-pity, Remus had forgotten that. She would likely be feeling as he did.

"Sorry," he said. "When I get back, we'll work out something for us to do that doesn't involve us sitting around here."

"Excellent," said Ottoline. "I'll think of stuff we could do while you're gone."

He decided to leave as soon as he could. He could Apparate to Hogsmeade, and if he was lucky and the village looked safe, he could maybe get a drink in the Three Broomsticks before having to walk up to the castle.

When he arrived, the Three Broomsticks was spookily quiet. He stuck his head around the door, the hood of his cloak still up and partially shrouding his face. Madam Rosmerta, the landlady, who had never been anything but friendly to Remus, glared at him.

"Take that hood down if you want to be let in here!" she shouted. Remus left.

He wandered down the completely deserted main street. Several shopkeepers were alone in their shops, and most of the rest were closed. Only in the apocethary were there other wizards, and they were as nervous and twitchy as the shop owners. All of them refused to catch Remus' eye. The wizarding world wasn't having a great experience with men in hoods at the moment, Remus thought. He still didn't plan on taking it down.

Instead, he sought refuge in the Hogs Head, which as always welcomed everyone no matter their taste in headgear. Remus pulled the hood a bit further down as he crossed the threshold. Even if there were no Death Eaters in the bar, there was always a chance there would be someone there who would recognise him and be interested in his whereabouts. Greyback had put something of a price on his head.

The bar as usual was filled with the edges of wizarding society. Two heavily hooded men in the corner were clearly trading substances. Remus could tell that by the clinking of bottles, the jangle of coins, and the furtive looks the one in the deep red cloak was giving the bartender. A pair of what he thought were witches, although it was hard to tell, were arguing about the illegal breeding one of them was doing in her back yard. An elderly man, alone in not wearing anything on his head, was sipping a butterbeer in the corner, reading The Quibbler. Periodically, he flicked his long grey hair back over his shoulder, causing it to splash into the beer of a middle-aged warlock in purple who was getting increasingly angry.

Aberforth Dumbledore was surveying his pub from the bar. The man had clearly spotted the illegal traders, and likely the four wizards in the corner who were very obviously spoiling for a fight, too. He was simply watching them. Remus had no doubt Aberforth would throw anyone out who started to fight, but he would ignore almost anything else. That was why people came to the Hogs Head. It wasn't for the food, which was non-existant, the choice of drinks, of which there were few, or the clean, welcoming atmosphere, which also was not present.

"Firewhisky, please," said Remus, reaching the bar.

'Oh, it's you," said Aberforth, recognising him. "Still in with my brother?"

"Yes," said Remus.

"Man needs to know what's good for him, and it isn't this," said Aberforth, although whether he was talking about Remus, Albus or himself it wasn't clear. "Two sickles."

Remus handed over the coins, careful not to touch the bar. It just looked as though it was going to be sticky. He climbed onto a bar stool with his drink and sipped at it.

"That Sirius Black and you stole a whole barrel of that stuff when you were at Hogwarts, didn't you?"

Remus tried not to look shifty. He hadn't thought Aberforth had known about that. Well, at least not known it was him.

They'd gone down one of the secret passages into Hogshead the night before James' 17th birthday, and stolen the barrel from the Hogs Head before rolling it back up the hill into the castle. Peter had been meant to join them, but he'd got detention for not running away fast enough after pranking Severus Snape. They'd tried the Three Broomsticks first, but it was much more secure than the Hogs Head had been.

"Yeah, my brother told me that your lot had been found hungover like dogs with the empty barrel the day after. Decided not to press charges. Did the same myself when I was at Hogwarts."

"Nice of you."

"Ain't no nice about it, boy, you've come in this pub enough times to know the last thing I want is Ministry officials nosing round. They'd scare away all my best customers."

It was true. Even down to Remus himself, likely every customer here would flee immediately if anyone from the Ministry came in.

Aberforth was not a man of words, and having done his talking he wandered off to stare more closely at the wizards spoiling for a fight. Remus finished his glass and decided to start the walk to the castle.

On arrival, he reported to Minerva's office as he'd been instructed. The Deputy Headmistress was busying herself with the kettle, and Bill Weasley stood by her desk, reading a copy of Transfiguration Today.

"Ah, good evening Remus," said Minerva. "Tea?"

He was about to accept when he was interrupted by the door slamming into the backs of his legs. Remus fell forward, saved only by Bill Weasley throwing aside the magazine and catching Remus in his arms.

"Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry!" started Tonks, before realising who she'd knocked down and going silent.

"Alright, Remus?" asked Bill.

Remus felt sure Tonks felt the exact same as he did, judging by the blush on her cheeks. This was about as embarrassing as reunions got.

"Okay, everybody," said Minerva, her crisp tone breaking the awkward silence. "As Albus is gone, you will be assisting me and a few other trusted staff members in patrolling the corridors. We do not expect any disturbances, but Albus felt as do I that you cannot be too careful with students' safety in these troubled times. Bill, if you pair with Filius when he gets here, Remus, you and Miss Tonks…"

"No," said Remus and Tonks, at exactly the same time.

"Very well," said Minerva, unflustered, as Bill's eyes goggled at them, "Remus, you can come with me. Miss Tonks, with

They set off when the other staff arrived. Minerva and Remus took the ground floor first, checking and re-spelling each of the entrances to the castle with spells that warned of anyone opening them and spells that froze intruders in their tracks. They did some windows on the fourth floor, the second and third having been dealt with by other pairs, and did the rounds of the secret passageways that were still passable.

"Dare I ask what was so wrong with Miss Tonks?" asked Minerva, as they ascended the stairs to the top floor of the castle to check on Gryffindor Tower.

"I daresay you do," said Remus. He still felt a strong sense of naughtiness when being anything other than deferential to his former teacher.

"Molly Weasley has given me all the information I require," said Minerva. "I was wanting to know whether you would tell me yourself."

"Is there anyone Molly Weasley hasn't told?" asked Remus, not intentionally aloud.

"With the exception of Harry Potter and his friends, I suspect not," said Minerva. To Remus' relief, she didn't push the matter further.

They had checked on Gryffindor Tower and were moving along the corridor towards the North Tower when they heard crashing noises from ahead. Remus dashed forward, followed by Minerva only slightly behind. As they rounded the corner, they found Ginny and Ron Weasley, and Neville Longbottom. All three had drawn wands and a look of intense fear on their faces.

"Death Eaters! Death Eaters in the castle!" shouted Neville, as Minerva opened her mouth to tell them off. It remained open.

"Where?" asked Remus.

"Came in through the Room of Requirement, threw Peruvian Darkness Powder, fucking Fred and George sold it to Malfoy no doubt!" said Ginny. It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that Minerva didn't even try to tell her off for the swearing. "Couldn't see where they went."

"Malfoy let them in, he was there!" said Ron.

"We couldn't get any of them, sorry professors," said Neville.

"You've done well to alert us," said Minerva. With a wave of her wand, her cat Patronus slipped off to alert the other Order members in the castle. "And I won't take any points for being out of bounds at night time. Please now go back to your dormitories."

"No," said Neville, looking startled at his own daring. "I mean, Professor, we want to stay and fight. There's a lot of them, and you might need the help. Professor."

"Ordinarily I would say that we do not need students to help us fight our battles," said Minerva. "But in this case, and considering the three of you more than proved your skills last summer, I will allow you to help us. Neville and Ginevra, if you and Remus go down one floor and check there, myself and Mr Weasley will take this one. Duel to incapacitate, and alert me as soon as is practical if you come across any Death Eaters. If possible, do not engage without backup. Good luck."

Without further words, the older witch turned and swept away, in the direction the students had run from. Her wand was raised, and her back straight and proud. Minerva always rose to the occasion, and in fact looked in her element. There was something about the set of her shoulders, the jut of her chin, and the way she stared down an opponent that made you just know Minerva McGonagall would survive this and that she would enjoy the process of ridding the world of Lord Voldemort and his followers.

Ron was entirely less convincing, but he followed her all the same.

"Come on, then," said Remus, and set off towards the stairs with Neville and Ginny in tow.

They found almost nothing on the next level down, except for Peeves. Remus was pondering cursing the poltergeist when he heard a crash and a bellowed curse from the floor above. Turning to the two students and beckoning them to follow, he ran towards the nearest staircase.

Minerva was battling two Death Eaters at once with her characteristic speed and style, while next to her Ron competently dealt with another. Remus threw a Stunning Spell at a fourth from halfway up the stairs, and the Death Eater hit the floor with a satisfying thunk.

There was little time to think after that. More Death Eaters appeared, but thankfully so did more Order members. Amongst them was a student, a Slytherin, Lucius Malfoy's son. Draco, Remus thought. Remus was closest, but reluctant to curse the boy, and so were the teachers. It was left to Ginny to try, who narrowly missed as Malfoy dashed up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower.

"Harry says he's a Death Eater!" she shouted to Remus and Bill. She dodged as a jet of bright blue light shot towards her, landing behind a suit of armour. The Death Eaters had used some kind of spell, or perhaps the powder Ginny and the others had mentioned earlier, and although it was not quite dark visibility was certainly impaired. Across the hallway, Remus thought he could make out Minerva, Hermione and Ron on their feet and battling away. He heard Tonks shout a hex from the other end of the hall, and the answering bellow of whichever Death Eater she was fighting.

A second jet of light flew past Remus, and the suit of armour Ginny was still behind began to topple precariously. Bill turned his wand onto the armour, stopping it mid-fall and pulling Ginny out, and Remus span to look for the attacker. He couldn't see anyone, except a vicious-looking blond Death Eater firing curse after curse at Neville Longbottom as he valiantly held up a Shield Charm. Remus ran forward to assist, not wanting to fire a spell in the semi-darkness from a distance, but arrived slightly too late; Neville's shield charm failed just as another spell shot at him and the boy fell down.

Remus half-growled and immediately cursed the Death Eater back. He'd always had a soft spot for Neville. Before he could do much damage, the blond man had disappeared and another was attacking Remus from behind. It was impossible. There was more of them, and they had no qualms about causing serious injury or death. Remus had never used an Unforgiveable Curse, and never intended to, but these Death Eaters fired them off with an abandon he hadn't seen since the first war.

He managed to curse a dark-haired Death Eater down to the floor, giving him a moment to breathe, and looked around to check on Neville. He was back on his feet, bleeding slightly and looking dazed but relatively unhurt.

"Are you alright?" Remus called.

"I think so," said Neville, with a shake in his voice. There was a scream from across the hall. "Fucking hell, who is that?"

Neville and Remus ran forwards together towards the sound, arriving alongside Minerva whose hat was now missing. Bill Weasley was on the floor, blood pooling around him. On top of him was a man in Death Eater robes, but without the mask.

"Depulso!" shouted Remus, and the Death Eater flew backwards off Bill and hit the suit of armour behind with a crash of metal. He looked up to see his attacker, and a nasty grin spread across the man's face.

"Oh, Lupin. Little wizard's pet tries to take me on again. Got any teenagers to rescue you this time?" he leered.

"No," said Remus.

"I'll help you!" shouted Neville, spectacularly missing the point. Remus felt a little rush of affection for him, anyway. He hadn't had to say that.

There was a crash and another, this time muffled, scream from the other end of the hallway, then the sound of thundering footsteps. Tonks was being pursued by the huge blond Death Eater who'd attacked Neville. Minerva was crouched down next to Bill Weasley, muttering spells to try and stem the flow of blood from his face and chest.

Remus needed to keep Greyback distracted. The wolf was climbing to his feet. His clothes were ripped and stained with the blood that was dripping from his mouth, long yellow nails on his outstretched hands. He stood in a half-crouching position, assessing Remus with his eyes and ready to pounce.

"Hey," said Greyback. "That witch of yours here? How about that little girl werewolf you were shagging before? Do they know about each other? I thought you were a tame werewolf, but perhaps you are just as bad as the rest of us."

"Fuck off, Greyback," said Remus, and wordlessly volleyed three hexes at Greyback in a row. He dodged all of them, crashing backwards into the wall again. He seemed to be almost impervious to pain, as he was back on his feet and advancing towards Remus and Neville in seconds. They ducked as a green curse, almost certainly a Killing Curse, shot past them from the Death Eater who was pursuing Tonks back in the other direction. Neville recovered first, and floored the man with a shout of "Stupefy!"

"Good one, Neville!" said Tonks, stopping to pause for breath. As soon as she'd done so, she clocked Greyback, and turned her wand on him too.

"Ooh, I recognise you," he said, licking his lips. "The pet's witch. Tasty, you look. Bit older than I'd go for, in a woman, but if it's good enough for him… I'll just kill him first, mind. Unless you'd rather he watch?"

Greyback didn't wait for an answer and launched himself at Remus. Tonks, Remus and Neville acted simultaneously, and a fraction of a second after so did Minerva from the floor next to Bill. A couple of the spells collided in mid-air, but enough hit Greyback that he was slammed into the wall for a third time. This only seemed to slow him down, and Remus was ready to throw spells again when a woman in Death Eater robes shouted "Greyback! The tower! We need you!". With a final swipe at Remus, the werewolf turned to run towards the tower.

"Bite you again later," he said to Remus.

"Fucking hell," said Tonks, and the three of them rejoined the battle.

Neville ran at the staircase after Greyback, but was thrown back. Remus was trying to get there to follow, perhaps curse Greyback in his back and take him out the fight completely. He was almost ready to cast an Unforgivable Curse. How dare that man say that to Tonks? He threw his anger at the other werewolf into the battle, and at least managed to avoid any further harm coming to any Order members.

The battle was a blur from that point. Snape was there, and then he wasn't. Remus felt a surge of relief, more help was here, and then a sense of the inevitable. Snape was not here to help them. He was finally able to get to the stairs, and made to run up them before he too was thrown back almost the whole width of the hallway. He skidded the last part, and began duelling another Death Eater before he'd stopped moving backwards.

Snape past again. Remus threw a hex his direction, but missed. The rest of the Death Eaters started leaving, and Harry, where had he come from?, was chasing them. Remus tried to follow, to help and protect, but was prevented from doing so by a final curse from a departing Death Eater which brought down a large amount of masonry in the corridor. He narrowly avoided getting squashed with it, alongside Minerva and Tonks. The three of them screeched to a halt just short of the falling debris, wands outstretched.

They looked at each other. The look on the face of both witches mirrored what he felt. Exhaustion, and a feeling of having lost the battle. As one, they turned to check on their troops. Remus' thoughts turned instantly to Bill.

Greyback was on the ground, paralysed with a spell. He seemed to have abandoned the wand he'd been given, perhaps he'd struggled to use it. Remus thought he probably preferred to fight his usual way. The werewolf he knew wouldn't have liked to be at a distance from his prey, but to get up close and to smell the fear as he attacked. Despicable.

"You alright?" asked Tonks. "Bill's on his way to the Hospital Wing. Neville's there too. Everyone else is okay."

"Yeah," said Remus, unconvincingly.

"What the hell went on between you two?" asked Tonks, indicating Greyback on the floor.

"He tried to kill me," said Remus, binding the werewolf firmly with ropes from his wand and suppressing the urge to cause him lasting damage. "Almost succeeded. Ottoline says I wasn't being smart, but I'd like to have seen a better way to get out the situation I was in."

Tonks opened her mouth as if to say something, thought better of it, and walked away