The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.

-Bob Marley

"That didn't look like self-preservation to me."

Severus's long strides faltered for a brief second on hearing Lily's voice, more at the tone of derision in it than the fact that it was her speaking. He had long since trained himself to show no indication of his regard for her when hearing her talk. That had been self-preservation. Lily didn't know it, but though he didn't stop walking when she spoke to him, he did change his destination. It was a shame that they weren't nearer to the moving staircases. If there was anything that killed a good angry confrontation, it was the moving staircases. No one could look self-righteous and noble when arguing on a marble Ferris Wheel.

Severus's steps faltered again, and stopped. Lily Evans was the only reason he even knew what a Ferris Wheel was in the first place.

"Lucius Malfoy is not the kind of person a good man wants to associate with," Lily said, coming up behind him. Reluctantly, he was impressed. Though he was taller than she, and he had been, well… stalking away with a fair bit of energy when she'd called out to him, she hadn't bothered to hurry, hadn't sped up her pace to come to him out of breath and at a disadvantage. She was angry, yes, but her breathing was even, her eyes flashing, ready to fight him. Lily was completely and utterly beautiful.

"What gave you the impression that I am a good man in the first place?" he asked.

"You have always been a good man in the making, Severus," Lily said, walking over to stand directly in his line of sight, rather than beside him. Now, if he wished to walk away, he would have to walk around her or ask her to move.

Severus wondered if the Sorting Hat had given Lily a choice.

"So all are born good, then?" he asked, stopping short of a sneer. "There is not one person born with evil inside them that can come to choose good, in the end? How disappointing," Severus said.

Lily looked confused, but stood her ground. "How could that possibly be disappointing?"

He leaned forward, pleased to see her remain still, unintimidated.

"Isn't the redemption of a truly evil person brought to see the value of goodness more valuable? Or are we all destined to fall from the goodness with which we are born?"

"I don't want to talk philosophy," Lily said, frowning.

"A casualty of your association with Potter, I'm sure," Severus said dismissively.

"No," Lily said, pointing at him with a finger, rather than a wand. "You seem determined to make this about the abstract, but I'm trying to talk about YOU." She pushed toward him, and without thinking, he took a half step back. "You, with all your intelligence and talent, willing somehow to turn your back on all of that to grovel at the feet of-"

Severus grabbed her shoulders and hissed at her, "Do not speak his name!"

"And there it is," Lily said, as if he didn't have his tainted hands on her at all. Untouched, unaffected. She shrugged him off and walked away, and Severus just stood there watching her, knowing he was moving farther away from redemption from something he hadn't even fully chosen to do, yet. His mind desperately sought through all of the words he knew the meanings of to find one that could turn back the pages of time to when they were children again.


Remus had come to a decision. He had initially intended to tell Hermione about his condition closer to an actual full moon, to benefit from being able to sense her reactions and feelings about what he would be saying. James's comments to Sirius the night before had served to remind Remus of just how much he'd come to care for her, however. She was a genuine friend, and he was certain that the affection and caring he sensed from her during the full moon would be mirrored, now, by his own toward her. He didn't want to wait another month.

"You've been awake a long time," Peter said to him, sitting up in his own bed and putting on his slippers.

"Too much thinking," Remus said. "What's your excuse?" he asked Peter, knowing his friend couldn't have known how long Remus himself had been awake unless he had been, too.

"Same," Peter said. He paused at Remus's bedpost on the way to the loo, and something about the way he fiddled with the curtain made Remus wonder if he was upset about something.

"Want to talk about it?" Remus offered.

"Not really," Peter said. "Thanks, though."

Remus got up and clapped Peter on his back with affection. "Fair warning, I've decided to let Hermia in on my furry little problem. There's a not-zero chance that Sirius may decide to let slip the real reason the rest of you lot have nicknames."

"What if I don't want to share that part of it?" Peter asked in a quiet voice. Remus was busy gathering his clothes to dress for breakfast, and he didn't look up at Peter's face.

"I can sense she's trustworthy, Wormtail, and besides," Remus said, "sharing a secret like this means it's got less power over you. Won't it be nice to be able to joke about it at lunch again?" James had told Lily about being Prongs during her visit with his parents and Sirius right before school started.

Peter didn't respond, and by the time Remus had finished pulling his shirt on over his head, he was gone.


Hermione was going to miss 1976 for many, many reasons, but right now, Professor Vera Sapiens was at the top of the list. Every single class she'd had with the blonde witch had been memorable, and when she and her fellow students entered the room today, Hermione knew that this class would be no exception.

Professor Sapiens wasn't alone at the front of the room when they arrived. There with her at the front of the room was a short, sturdy looking man in faded Quidditch robes and a willowy blonde that reminded Hermione immediately of Fleur. The figure that caused the most stir in the room, though, was a centaur.

Hermione looked across the room to see how her friends were reacting to the visitors. James was talking to Remus, excitement and anticipation written on his face, but Remus looked a little sick. Immediately, Hermione decided get up and sit closer to him.

"Hey, Remus," Hermione said, sliding into the desk beside him. "Should we send some sort of warning to Lily that James was exposed to a Veela?" She hadn't 100% sure of this at first, but after watching the reactions of her male classmates, Hermione would have bet house points on the blonde witch being at least part Veela.

"I wonder if we'll be able to talk to them after," James mused, clearly not paying attention given his surprise when he saw Remus and Hermione's shocked expressions. "No, no, the centaur," James said hastily. "Always wanted to meet one."

"Yes, but would what about a werewolf?" Remus said, sounding nervous. He wasn't looking around at his classmates, but his knuckles were white where he was gripping the edge of his desk.

"Definitely," Hermione said in a voice that brooked no opposition. It was one of those moments whose importance in the scheme of things felt so powerful that she could almost feel her magic simmering under her skin. Remus would spend so much time alone in his future, thinking of his friends as dead or as traitors. No matter how her absence would be explained, she hoped her opinion would stick with him nevertheless.

"Do you think the man up there is a werewolf, Remus?" James asked with interest. Remus didn't have a chance to react to either of them, as their professor clapped her hands and started the lesson.


Hermione cast a warming charm on herself and pulled her blanket closer around herself. She had decided to come outside to finish up her Transfiguration practice because her heart was so full since lesson she'd just had for DADA that she actually worried about letting something important about the future slip.

The lesson had been about recognizing that fear, propaganda, and misinformation regarding magical creatures could cause people to hurt themselves as well as the magical creatures. Professor Sapiens had harped on the fact that being magical didn't mean evil, and that while there were plenty of evil creatures in the world, assuming the worst was actually a very bad practice in defending against them. The centaur had commanded their attention with his story about being a young centaur and coming across a family in the woods. The father figure of the family had immediately cast a body-bind curse on him that had knocked him over, and his hooves had flailed in his fear, nearly injuring a human child. He was very grateful that nothing worse had happened, and that a young Professor Dumbledore had happened upon the scene and smoothed things over.

"Hone your senses, and you'll learn when to curse first and ask questions later!" Professor Sapiens had told them.

"I would pay money to have forced Dolores Umbridge to sit and listen to that class under a silencing charm," Hermione said to herself, giggling.

"Oh, hello Hermione," Remus said, coming toward her from the right. "Who needs a silencing charm?"

"Merlin, Remus," Hermione said, rubbing the goosebumps down along her arms. "Nice to hear my proper name out loud, though. Sit?"

Remus sat down across her, stretching his long legs out and reclining on his elbows, all ease and familiarity. "Silencing charm?" he reminded her.

"Oh, a very distasteful acquaintance of mine," Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Has frankly awful opinions of pretty much every kind of magical creature, especially werewolves. I'd love to watch her turn apoplectic at being taught, rightly, that most werewolves aren't any danger to anyone."

It was a subject that Hermione was particularly passionate about, and she'd managed to forget exactly who her audience was as she'd warmed to her subject. Her hair shook free from its bindings as she'd spoken, and she stopped to cram it back into the Muggle hairband she'd conjured up for it that morning. After she'd done this, she looked over to see Remus smiling at her, a hint of vulnerability in his eyes.

She told herself she'd been absolutely correct in staying away, given that she'd basically done exactly what she'd promised herself not to do: given away some of her 1997 opinions. In my defense, though, Hermione thought to herself, Our professor also shares them!

"Speaking of," Remus said, pulling his legs up and sitting cross-legged, slightly leaning in her direction. "I'm a werewolf. Nice to meet you."

Hermione's heart stopped for a moment, and then she melted internally at how loveable Remus Lupin was, in any time period. He was just so genuine, and in the years before Harry's parents' death, he was more openly clever and fun.

"Oh!" Hermione said, a beat too late to sound legitimately surprised. "You're-" She stopped, completely defeated by the task of seeming dismayed, staggered, or concerned.

"-not the first werewolf of your acquaintance," Remus finished for her cheerfully. "I'd guessed."

"Fair enough," Hermione conceded. "Definitely my favorite one, though," she said.

Remus burst into startled laughter.

"Don't feel too honored," Hermione teased. "You don't know what the other ones might be like."


Hermia and Remus came in to the great hall for dinner arm in arm, laughing and talking in a way that would have made Sirius quite jealous if he hadn't have known both of them so well. He made eye contact with Remus over the heads of Hufflepuff house as the two made their way toward the Gryffindor table, and mouthed 'Did you tell her?'

Remus had already been smiling, but his grin grew wider and more confident as he mouthed back, 'Yep, she's brilliant.'

"I heard there was a Veela in your class today, James," Peter said, looking jealous. Sirius watched James facepalm as Lily shot a look between James and Peter.

"James was a perfect gentleman," Hermia said as she settled into her place beside Sirius. "He only drooled twice."

Interestingly, Lily seemed to take this as confirmation that all was well during class, so she nodded her approval and ruffled James's already wild hair. "Quidditch tonight?" she asked.

"No," James said, slumping a bit in his seat. "Half of them have detention with Filch."

"Bad luck, Prongs," Remus said. Everyone looked up at him, then over at Hermia. "What?"

"They're worried because they think I don't know your secret, Remus," Hermia said. Sirius could tell by the look in her eye that she was about to say something outrageous, and he loved having that kind of an 'in' with how she was thinking. He wondered if she had a special look in her eyes for when she was about to kiss him, and resolved to find out, right after dinner.

"Yes, your terrible secret," he said to Remus, elbowing Hermia and winking.

"The secret from Defense class," James said, joining in. He winked too, but at Remus. "You dog!"

"Kissing a Veela," Hermia tsked, "then breaking her heart, all in twenty minutes."

"Remus, you are now a Man," Sirius announced, reaching over to shake his hand.

"He is, and remains one, and I'll hex anyone who says differently," Hermia said in a soft, caring voice.

The mood at the table changed, and Remus's face turned red as Sirius and the others all smiled at him, their affection showing on their faces.

"All right, knock it off," Remus finally said, grabbing a cup of chocolate mousse. "I love you all, too."

Beside him, Sirius heard Hermia let out a little satisfied sigh, and he hugged her against him.

"Thanks, love," he said, kissing her temple.

"He's a good person," Hermia said, resting her head against his shoulder. "Being a you-know-what doesn't change that. I trust him."

"Mmhmm," Sirius said, his nose in her hair. "Me too." Suddenly, Hermia pulled away, turning to face him and placing her hands on his shoulders. She looked determined.

"Please don't ever let that trust change, Sirius," she told him.

He could hear the chatter of their friends start to quieten, their gazes turning to his girlfriend and the strange expression on her face. She was so focused on him that he didn't think she noticed she was the center of attention.

"Of course not," he said, looking her directly in her eyes so she could see his sincerity. She held his gaze for a long moment, emotions flickering across her expression in a way that would have daunted him had he not known how sweetly he cared for and worried about himself and his friends. She looked alternatively sad, then determined again, and finally, finally, embarrassed. Her gaze shot over to the rest of the Gryffindors staring at her, and she shut her eyes for a brief moment as though regretting her strange behavior. When she opened them again, she was back to her normal self.

"You're a good person, too, you know," Hermia said, the tone of her voice lifting into amusement and affection rather than the previous forceful pleading.

"Not so sure about that, just now," Sirius said, answering her tone with a playful one of his own. "I'm thinking about tricking you out of studying tonight," he whispered to her conspiratorially.

"I'm considering letting you," she said in her own whisper. The rest of dinner was uneventful, and afterwards, everyone drifted off in singles or pairs. Sirius took Hermia's hand and pulled her towards the stairs to the astronomy tower, and true to her word, she didn't resist a bit.