Remus was the last to enter their dormitory, smiling slightly at the welcome familiarity. The four-poster beds, the tall windows and red curtains. Their trunks had been brought up for them: half of Sirius' belongings were already scattered around the room as he tossed them around to get to his pajamas. Remus smiled gently at the friendly, yawn-punctuated banter.

"Budge over, Rem," James ordered, advancing on the door brandishing his wand and a bit of parchment. Remus stood aside and watched as James reattached the Sticking Charm between the door and the back of the paper. It wasn't the neatest piece of work, a scrap of parchment covered in the handwriting of four third-year boys, but it was very nearly their dearest and most prized collective possession — another secret between the four Marauders.

This is the Code of the Marauders. While the undersigned are Marauders, they hold to this Code and the rules stated below, above all other forms of agreement. Failure to hold to this Code will result in at minimum a vengeance prank on the offending Marauder, and at maximum the revocation of Marauder status.

1. The Marauders must always be up to no good.

2. The Marauders must hold loyalty and friendship to each other above all else. No one comes between the Marauders.

3. Marauders must never blame each other for something beyond their control.

4. The Marauders are not allowed to ditch each other. If a Marauder is skipping something important, there had better be a watertight reason.

5. The Marauders will not keep secrets from each other. That being said, the Marauders shall keep every secret told to them in confidence by another Marauder, unless explicit permission is given to reveal the secret.

6. While pranking is part of the job description, no Marauder should ever act with the intention of grievously harming anyone.

7. If one Marauder is in trouble / insulted / hurt / struggling in any way, it is the duty of all Marauders to come to their aid and/or assist in their revenge.

8. Marauders will not air their personal grievances to the general public. The other Marauders must listen and help in whatever way they can.

9. The Marauders hold to the traits of Godric Gryffindor: bravery, daring, loyalty, chivalry.

10. The Marauders shall never, ever betray each other.

We henceforth give our signatures and our solemn oaths that we will uphold this code as long as we remain Marauders — which is to say, forever.

James Potter Sirius Black Remus Lupin Peter Pettigrew

"We'll be adding our codenames this year," James said confidently. "We're going to work on our Patronuses every chance we get — and I borrowed one of Dad's books on Occlumency and Legilimency."

"May I borrow it?" Remus asked, intrigued. Since he would not be focusing on becoming an Animagus, he'd decided that he was going to be good at the rest of it. James and Sirius could be naturally brilliant all they wanted, but Remus was going to know this stuff inside and out.

"Sure. What d'you think of this year's DADA teacher?"

Remus recalled the middle-aged, whipcord witch in crisp dark blue robes, regarding the Welcome Feast with sharp eyes. "I don't want to cross her," he said honestly. "Reminds me of McGonagall." James grinned, the grin that made Remus sigh with resignation. "You know, if she could really teach us stuff, you might want to leave her alone."

"I'm not looking for trouble," James said airily, his eyes wide and innocent. Remus snorted.

"We just want to know if she's got a sense of humor," Sirius supplied from across the room."

"Don't worry so much, Rem, we'll be her favorites," James promised." He admired his handiwork on the back of the door for another moment, then turned and looked at Remus. "You alright?" he asked, lowering his voice.

Remus fought down a confused surge of both irritation and gratitude. "I'm not made of glass, James," he said shortly. Then he sighed. "I'm fine. Trust me."

James quirked an eyebrow, but he didn't say anything more; he clapped Remus on the shoulder and then walked past him, headed for his four-poster bed. Remus remained standing there for a moment, studying their Code hung on the back of the door. The most important scrap of paper in the world, he'd called it last year when they'd written it. And that it was — especially when he needed a corporeal reminder that somebody knew him and cared about him.

"You gonna stand there all night?" Sirius queried from across the room.

Remus turned, startled. "Oh — of course not."

"Couldn't close the curtains while you're up, could you?" Peter mumbled from the depths of his blankets.

Out of habit, Remus glanced at the moon as he stood at the window. A waning half-moon, meaning that he still had quite a bit of time before the next transformation. That would fall a few weeks into classes, then, so he'd have time to settle in but he'd have to make sure his homework was finished early…

Remus caught himself, and yanked the curtains shut.

Author's note: I've only had about eight thousand too many things going on at once lately, but I do apologize for the length of my absence. I've had to go find a Risen Mitten for my muse (those of you who understand that reference will know where my scraps of free time have been wasted lately). Even the characters I'm borrowing seem to be pissed at my negligence, so I had trouble brushing the dust off. Gah. Anyway. So sorry for how long it's been. Fingers crossed that I'll be quicker with the next one, and leave some suggestions if you have them — could help to get some new inspiration for moments.