In Which Remus Hates Himself

"Padfoot," James said, waving his hand in front of his best friend's face. "Oi, Padfoot! Snap out of it!"

Sirius gave a little jump in his seat before turning to look at James. "Sorry, mate. I was just… thinking."

"You? Thinking?" James arched his eyebrows incredulously. "What about?"

"Nothing," Sirius answered, far too quickly to be believable. "Nothing important."

"You're lying, Pads," James stated. "I know you too well."

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"BOYS!" Mrs. Potter shouted from the kitchen. "Stop fighting!"

"Okay!" Sirius and James yelled back simultaneously. They burst out into laughter.

A few minutes later, the two friends had finished laughing, and were stretched out on the ground in James' room. "Seriously, mate- and don't you dare use that awful pun- what were you thinking about?" James asked slowly.

"It's nothing," Sirius insisted. "Really… it's no big deal. Can't a bloke just think once in a while?"

"A normal bloke can," James replied. "You, however, are far from a normal bloke."

"It's what I do best," Sirius grinned cheekily.

"I think everyone who knows you knows that by now," James laughed. The two were silent for another few minutes, both deep in thought, before James inquired slowly, "Were you thinking about Sasha?"

"Wh-what?" Sirius sat up, startled. "Of course not! Why would I be thinking about Sasha?"

James smirked, sitting up as well. "You called her Sasha," he pointed out.

"Damn," Sirius cursed under his breath before admitting, "Okay… you caught me. I was thinking about Sa- Berg."

"What about her?" James questioned curiously.

"Just… her. I dunno, mate, but for some reason… I can't get her out of my head," Sirius sighed. "What's wrong with me? She's my fucking enemy, for crying out loud! I shouldn't be thinking about her unless I'm thinking about ways to make her mad!"

"So I take it you're not thinking about her in a hateful way?"

"No, and it's bloody confusing!" Sirius exclaimed. "Ever since we stayed at her place…"

"…You've seen her differently?" James supplied.

"Exactly!" Sirius nodded fervently. "I mean, she's not my friend or anything like that, by any means, but… we got along, you know? It was… nice."

James chuckled. "To be honest, mate, I never thought I'd hear you say that."

"Neither did I," Sirius muttered. Groaning, he asked, "Prongs, what's going on with me? I'm not supposed to feel this way about her!"

"Feel what way about her?" James questioned. Please admit you fancy her, please admit you fancy her, it's so bloody obvious that you do, please just admit it already… he prayed inwardly.

"I- well-" The rest of what a blushing Sirius said was impossible to understand, seeing as it was extremely quiet and mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" James inquired, suppressing a smirk at his friend's blush and cupping his hand over his ear. "I couldn't hear you."

"I want to snog her!" Sirius admitted, quite loudly due to his despair hindering him from thinking straight, before putting his face in his hands desolately.

"Most of the blokes in Hogwarts do," James told him, patting him on the back consolingly, inwardly beaming. "It's not that unusual."

"It's not just that," Sirius started. "Sometimes, I just want to- to be with her, you know? Not necessarily snogging, but just…"

"I think I know how you feel," James said slowly. "You want to snog her, and do all that stuff, but you'd be perfectly happy just to spend time with her, doing anything at all; even if it wasn't snogging, or shagging, or even touching."

Sirius stared at him in wonder. "That's exactly how I feel… how'd you know?"

"That's how I feel about Lily."

It took a moment for what James was saying to click in Sirius' head. He leapt up and shook his head. "No. Nu-uh. No. Bloody. Way. I am not in love with Sasha!"

"You called her Sasha again," James pointed out. Sirius groaned, ran a hand through his hand, and rushed out the door to his own bedroom.

James chuckled. "Denial is the first step to acceptance!" he called down the hallway.

"Shut up! Remus already told me!" He vaguely heard Sirius shout back.

James chortled to himself, thinking, Oh, yeah. He is so whipped. Taking out his picture of Lily, he stared at it, sighing wistfully, before mentally adding, Then again, I am, too.

"I still can't believe that three quarters of the Marauders- including Black- stayed here with you for a whole two weeks and nobody died!" Lily exclaimed, shaking her head.

"Believe it or not, Lily, Black and I actually got along while he was here," Sasha said. "Most of the time, anyways."

"What about Potter?" Lily questioned. Sasha was happy to note that, for once, the redhead didn't say "Potter" like it was the name of some sort of large, poisonous insect.

"Actually, James and I got on real well. He's not that bad once you get to know him," Sasha declared. "In fact, we're actually friends now."

"Traitor," Lily accused, glaring at her- but Sasha knew she didn't mean it.

"Aw, c'mon, Lily; even you have to admit that he was pretty nice those last few months at Hogwarts!" Sasha pointed out.

"Well, I suppose you have a point there," Lily mumbled, blushing slightly. "I still don't like him, though!"

"I never said you did," Sasha spoke, smiling. "You were the one who brought it up…"

"Wh- bu- I mean- th- that doesn't mean anything!" Lily spluttered.

"Sure it doesn't, Lily," Sasha smirked sarcastically. "Sure it doesn't."

"Anyway, what about you and Black?" Lily changed the topic quickly.

"What about me and Black?" Sasha asked, a faint blush coloring her cheeks in memory of their almost-kiss.

"You two never get along. Not even for a day. Why the sudden change?"

Sasha shrugged. "I didn't see too much of him, really. He, Remus and James woke up a good few hours earlier than me, and this place is so big that when they were off doing whatever they were up to, I generally didn't see them."

Lily arched her eyebrows skeptically. "You must have seen him at meal times and such. What about then? I find it hard to believe that you went through a whole two weeks of him staying here without talking to him."

"Well, I talked to him, but I made sure to be civil; that's all," Sasha explained, taking care to edit out… certain points. "Nothing more, nothing less; just civil."

"Oh, really?" Lily asked, clearly still not believing her.

"Yes, really."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Are you sure you're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure I'm sure!"

"Are you sure you're sure you're sure?"

"Merlin, Lily! What's with all the bloody 'sure's?"

The redhead shrugged. "I dunno. It was fun, though."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "I beg to differ; it was more annoying than anything else."

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"…I missed you, Lily," Sasha said suddenly, grinning.

"I missed you too, Sasha," Lily told her. "You know… and please, don't hurt me for saying this… but I honestly think that you don't hate Black anymore." Actually, I don't think you've really hated him since the ball, she added inwardly, remembering how Sasha and Sirius had danced together, not even noticing when the song ended.

"What? That's impossible! Of course I still hate him!" Sasha exclaimed, much faster than normal, before burying her face in her hands. "Merlin, I can't even convince myself."

Lily squeezed her friend's shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay, Sasha," she said. "So… if you don't hate him, then how do you feel about him?"

"…I don't know," Sasha replied. "I mean, part of me- I think I'll call it the 'sane part'- still thinks he's an annoying git. But the other part of me… doesn't really know what to make of him."

"Well, when you think of him, what's the first thing you think of?"

"Word or incident?"

"Hmm… both. Word first."

"Okay, then: Funny."

"You do realize that means you think he's funny, right?" Lily made sure, suppressing a smile. "And that that's a good characteristic?"

"Ugh. Don't remind me," Sasha moaned.

Lily chuckled. "Okay. Incident now."

Sasha thought for a moment. The first incident that came to mind was her and Sirius very nearly kissing, but being caught by Remus and James. She would not tell Lily that, though. She knew that she would never hear the end of it. After a second, she remembered another incident, one that she was sure the redhead would find amusing. She chuckled just thinking about it.

"Well," she began, "The day the boys were leaving, I woke up early to say goodbye. I showered- just like I always do when I wake up- and was drying off, with my towel around me, when in walks Black."

Lily gasped, right on cue. "Oh, Merlin! What happened next?"

"He stared at me for the longest time," Sasha laughed. "The look on his face… it was bloody hilarious, I'll tell you that. He couldn't take his eyes off of me."

"Well, what do you expect?" Lily chortled. "Which part of you couldn't he take his eyes off of?"

"Like you don't already know," Sasha elbowed her friend playfully, her cheeks reddening. "Anyways, so he was staring at me, and I told him to snap out of it. He did, but he still looked dazed. So then, I went to my room, and he thought I didn't notice him staring at my arse as I walked."

Lily roared with laughter. "Merlin," she panted between laughs, "that sounds like exactly the type of thing Black would do!"

"I know!" Sasha laughed.

"You do realize this means that he thinks you're hot, right?" Lily asked once she had finally stopped laughing.

"Doesn't everyone?" Sasha chuckled playfully, grinning broadly at the thought of Sirius thinking she was hot- why that made her so happy, she didn't know for the life of her. She had a hunch, but it was impossible. There was no way she would say it out loud.

Lily rolled her eyes. "And you call Black and Potter conceited!"

"Oi! I resent that!" Sasha exclaimed, playfully pushing her friend lightly.

"Don't worry, Sasha, I'm kidding," Lily assured her friend.

"Good. So was I."

The two friends were silent for a moment until Sasha asked, "Want to go to the kitchen? We can get Tita to make us some cocoa!"

"Yum! Let's go!" Lily grinned enthusiastically, and she and Sasha went to the kitchen, both immensely glad that they had each other.

Why are they here again? Mary wondered to herself. She had come back to the Swedish café- without her sleepy parents, this time- in hopes of getting a coffee, or something equally refreshing, and upon arriving there, had seen none other than Mulciber and Avery again. This time, however, they had three more people with them: Mallory Goyle, her older brother Roger, and- to Mary's great surprise- Peter Pettigrew.

She had to assume that Peter was only there because his girlfriend was. He did look quite nervous and out-of-place, making Mary think that he wasn't at all used to his girlfriend's friends. Then again, what could they be talking about that could possibly involve Peter, of all people?

Pulling the hood on her jacket over her head to reduce the chance of her being recognized, she quietly took a seat at a table not too far away from them. In fact, it was close enough that she could hear snippets of their conversation, which was exactly what she had been aiming for. However, as soon as she sat down, the chatter amongst the group ended with a sudden halt. Mary frowned at this, but continued to pretend to read the newspaper she brought with her.

Suddenly, someone sat down across from her. Mary looked up and smiled at Peter. "Hello, Peter," she greeted him quietly. "What brings you to Sweden?"

"My grandmother lives here," the nervous-looking boy answered. "She suggested I go to this café for a quick meal if I got hungry. What about you, Mary?"

"My parents and I always go here during the summer vacation- for sentimental reasons," Mary explained. "My parents met here."

"That's cool," Peter said.

Abruptly, surprising even herself, Mary asked, "Peter, why are you here with Mulciber, Avery and Goyle?"

Peter tittered nervously. "Well, you see, I came here to meet Mallory, and… they were with her." Mary nodded understandingly, and Peter added, "Do you think you could… you know… not tell the others about this? You know, James, Remus, Sirius? And your friends, too?"

"Why?"

"I really like Mallory, but I'm afraid if James and Sirius and Remus found out about me hanging out with Mulciber and Avery- even if it's only once- as a result of being with her, they'd try to break us up," Peter spoke. "I know they're not the nicest people, and I swear, I never planned to meet up with them."

"Don't worry, Peter, I believe you," Mary assured the nervous boy. "I won't tell the others. Just… be careful, okay? I have nothing against Mallory; she's never done anything to me. But Mulciber and Avery…" Mary shuddered subconsciously, remembering what the awful boys had done to her.

"Thanks for your concern, Mary," Peter smiled genuinely. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"Good," Mary said. Standing up, she decided, "I'll leave you to your girlfriend now. See you at Hogwarts."

"Bye, Mary," Peter waved to her as she left the shop before going back to sit by his girlfriend. Looking around himself once more to make sure that Mary had really left, he told the Slytherins in an undertone, "She believed me," and they continued their conversation.

"You can't catch me!" Delilah screamed, laughing, running around her neighborhood's Muggle playground. Kids and their parents stared at her as she passed them, but she didn't care; she was having too much fun.

"Yes I can!" Dexter declared in response, also laughing. "I'll get you, Delilah McPhee!"

"No, you won't!" Delilah shouted back, ducking under the slide. She darted through and around the playground equipment, hearing her boyfriend's footsteps behind her.

She stopped to catch her breath, looking around for Dexter. To her surprise, she couldn't see him. Not taking any chances, she resumed her running…

…Only to be caught around the waist.

"You're it," Dexter whispered in her ear.

"No fair!" Delilah exclaimed. "I stopped for a breath!"

"And then I tagged you," Dexter said. "Merlin, Delilah, it's just a game!"

"So?" Delilah asked, whirling around, angry. "I lost! I never lose!"

"Everyone loses sometime, Delilah," Dexter chuckled. "Even someone as good as you is no exception." Delilah stayed stonily silent, pouting, and Dexter chuckled again. "I think someone's a bit of a sore loser."

"I am not a sore loser!" Delilah protested. "I just… like winning."

"It's the same thing, love," Dexter said kindly. Seeing his girlfriend was still angry, he continued, "Don't worry; there's nothing wrong with being a sore loser. Plenty of people are."

Delilah, however, seemed not to hear him, and was instead muttering heatedly under her breath to herself, "Hate losing… He's not faster than me, he's not… Just a slip-up… Won't happen again…"

Dexter sighed and swiftly planted his lips on Delilah's, effectively quieting her. She felt her bad mood evaporating as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck, and by the time they broke apart from their embrace, she was smiling. "Sorry about… before," she apologized sheepishly. "I guess I am a bit of a sore loser."

"It's okay," Dexter assured her. "There's nothing wrong with that as long as you know you can't win at everything."

"I know that- and I hate it," Delilah admitted.

Dexter just kissed her again.

Frank sat on a towel on the beach with his arms around his girlfriend, who was all but sitting on his lap, inwardly wishing for the moment to last forever. Their parents, in an act of surprising trust, had gone back to the hotel and told their children that they could stay at the beach together as long as they wanted to.

It had been nearly five hours since that, and the couple was now watching the sunset.

"It's beautiful," Alice sighed, marveling at the colors arrayed in the sky.

"You are," Frank agreed, kissing her shoulder. Alice smiled and leaned back into his bare chest.

"You know," Alice said after a little while, "this is the best summer I've ever had."

"I have to agree with you there," Frank spoke. "I've been waiting for this for years."

"Chicken!" Alice laughed, slapping his hand playfully and not at all hard. "Why didn't you ask me out sooner? We could've had years of this!"

"I thought you'd turn me down," Frank admitted.

"Are you kidding me? I've fancied you since Fourth Year!"

"Really?"

"Really."

"…I'm an idiot."

Alice chuckled. "Yes, but you're my idiot, and that's all that matters."

Frank kissed her forehead softly. "As long as I'm your idiot, I'll be happy." Summoning all of his Gryffindor courage, he continued, "…I love you, Alice Prewett."

To his surprise and joy, his girlfriend turned to face him with her face positively beaming. She leant in and kissed him passionately before breaking apart and, still smiling, saying, "Frank Longbottom, I love you, too."

The couple grinned at each other and resumed watching the sunset. It was the best day of both of their lives.

Remus howled- literally- as his spine elongated, ripping his clothes in half. They fell to the floor of the metal room he was in; the Ministry had designed it and put it under his house in place of a basement so during his transformations, he would have somewhere he could go where he would be safe; and more importantly, where he couldn't hurt anyone.

It was these times when Remus wished, with all his might, which he was back at Hogwarts. At Hogwarts, his friends could help him through the transformations; at Hogwarts, he wouldn't have to hear his parents crying as they heard the terrible screams belonging to their son.

He let loose another scream as the transformation continued. So, so painful… Remus thought.

It was his last human thought before the transformation was complete, and Remus Lupin was no more. Instead, a werewolf sat on its haunches and howled at the out-of-sight full moon.

In the morning, Remus would turn human again, and hate himself for finding his parents' scent so delicious, for wanting to attack, to eat, to destroy.

It was a cycle just as much as the full moon cycle was.

Another look at everyone else's summers! So, what do you think? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! I only need 6 more to get to 350!

Thanks for reading!

-Joelle8