A/N: My writing schedule is serving me well so far, which is definitely a good thing! I might not be able to write in the next week, but I can resume the schedule afterwards. Hopefully the SAT's won't kill me.

This chapter is really more of a transition chapter, but in saying that, it's pretty crucial. The main focus is on the relationship with Remus and Faye, with side focus on Peter and Sirius. I know, finally a chapter without focus on Lily and James! They've been getting a little spoiled. I hope you guys enjoy!

d: Interesting... I've never seriously thought about the characters losing their "v-card" as you say because it all begs the question where would they have that much privacy. I don't think they need to to show maturity, but hey, you're right, they are normal tenagers too! So I'll think about it :)

And of couse, of course, I thank the readers and reviewers so much! Thanks to Cappygal116, brona (you'll see), living-is-easy-with-eyes-closed, Kates Master, Young Prewett, kendra-the hyper one, elise bentwin, miwako, Carmen Elizabeth, DSK, RitaSkeeterGossip, Phanthom (twice!), 3-Legged-Dog, and d! Thank you all so much, I feel so happy to have such wonderful reviewers.


December-January, 1976-1977


How to Deal

Peter stepped off the train with some trepidation and walked silently to a remote part of the train station after waving good-bye to his friends. He knew that his mother hadn't been feeling too well from that last couple of letters they've sent back and forth to each other. He knew that she was hurting, hurting from his father's death.

Peter only wished he could feel that way about his father.

He was allowed to apparate this time from the train station to his house, so his mother didn't have to get out of bed simply to retrieve him. In a way he was glad, because it was good for her health. And in a way, he selfishly knew that a long car ride home would delay his depressed looking house that contained haunting memories. That longevity he would give almost anything for.

Taking a deep breath, Peter held his trunk tightly in his hands. It was Christmastime. He was going home to see his mother, and his father wasn't around. It was alright. Everything would be alright. Peter felt himself being compressed from all side as he swirled into nothingness…and then the train station was gone to be replaced by a damp, gloomy living room that still, after his father had gone, smelled like alcohol.

Forcing his fingers to let of his trunk, Peter breathed in the familiar air. There was nothing here to comfort him. He hadn't heard from Lauren in months, and had be stoic as to expecting letters, though a deep part of him always wished for one. Letters to and from the school were being checked anyway. Peter sometimes told himself that the school might have confiscated some of her letters for no reason.

He thought every day back to the box in his trunk. Every single day, he wondered whether to go to one of the meetings or not, even if his invitation was long expired. He had secretly plotted to go to several meetings in Hogsmeade, but always backed out at the last second, lest James, Sirius or Remus should walk by. Peter knew what was right, but he couldn't help wondering what else there was to live for.

Shaking his head, Peter trekked upstairs to unpack his stuff. His mother was probably sleeping, and he didn't want to disturb her. As he dragged along his suitcase, he stopped suddenly. He could legally use magic now. Starting to beam widely, he took out his wand with a trembling hand. "Locomotor Trunk," he whispered excitedly, thinking of the spell Remus had taught him years back.

What pure joy he felt seeing that trunk move! Peter knew he was incompetent at spell-work, but gosh, who said spell-work was the most important aspect of being a great wizard?

After entering his room and unpacking his stuff, Peter sat down on the bed. He didn't want to be here. A part of him was itching to sign up to stay at Hogwarts during the holidays, but his mother needed him. Trembling, Peter opened the first compartment of his trunk and fished out about a dozen unfinished letters that he had written to Lauren. He knew that he might never see her again, but still. Hope was still alive.

"Peter, is that you?" a weak voice called from a few doors down.

Peter sprang up from his bed immediately. "Mum? Mum, are you awake?"

"Yes," Mrs. Pettigrew said.

Peter immediately rushed out of the door and flew into his mother's room. He felt weakened at the knees when he saw her lying in bed. Quietly, he pulled a chair up to her bed and held her hands in his own.

"Peter," she said, smiling. "I'm so glad you're back. I'm sorry I couldn't go get you from the station…"

"Mum, it's okay," Peter said, forcing a smile. "I'm allowed to apparate freely. You don't need to go to all that trouble anymore."

Mrs. Pettigrew simply smiled as if to reassure herself that her son was going to be alright. After a while, Peter knew that she had drifted off to sleep again. Even more quietly than before, Peter got up, gently let go of her hand, and removed the chair from her bedside. Then he silently left the room and went into his own, holding back tears for the only person left on this earth, other than the fading Lauren, that he truly loved.

The next few days Peter threw himself into housework. It was all made easier by the presence of magic, but still. Peter could never remember much of the housework spells. It didn't make his day go faster. Instead, every moment he was awake, he thought of his mother, likely dying of grief.

On the third day into vacation, the house was still damp and gloomy, but at least it was clean. Peter breathed deeply, and smiled grimly at his accomplishments. "Unbelievable," he said out loud. And he laughed lightly, something he hadn't done in what felt like forever.

Though he had been purposely avoiding his mother's room, going in there only to help her out of bed or to bring her food, Peter couldn't help it on the fourth day. He trekked lightly into her room past dinnertime. Mrs. Pettigrew looked genuinely happy to see him.

"Peter," she croaked out. "My son…"

"Mum, it's okay," Peter said. "I'm here for you. I'm here."

Mrs. Pettigrew attempted to get up, but couldn't.

"No, mum, don't," Peter said quietly. "Just rest. It's going to be alright." He looked at her, hoping his pain didn't show on his face. He could tell that she was growing weaker by the day. He didn't want to think about how much longer she had to live.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Mrs. Pettigrew said, smiling weakly. "When you went back to Hogwarts after summertime, I thought I'd never see you again."

Peter felt a chill up his spine.

"But you are here," Mrs. Pettigrew said, the smile growing wider.

"I'm here," Peter repeated faintly, as if he couldn't hear his own voice. He just wanted to get out. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

"Peter," Mrs. Pettigrew said, reaching out her hand for his. Peter offered it subconsciously. "In case I die in the near future, there's just something I need you to know."

Peter gripped her hand tighter. He wanted to leave. He couldn't leave. His head hurt in all directions. His head felt shriveled and cold. Tears were pushing their way out of his eyelids. He had to keep them in. His mother couldn't see them.

"I am so proud of you," Mrs. Pettigrew whispered, mouth trembling.

Peter closed his eyes. He almost couldn't bear to look at her.

"You are everything I have left," Mrs. Pettigrew continued softly. "I've lost your father. I've lost both our parents. I've lost my health, and I'm losing myself."

Peter felt as if he had been doused in cold water. He reopened his eyes. "Mum, no," he said slowly, painfully.

"I'm dying, my son, I know it," Mrs. Pettigrew nodded. "But you…you stay alive at all costs, do you hear me?"

Peter stared at her.

"You stay alive," she repeated. "I want you to stay alive. Live, Peter. Don't go the same way as me and my father. Live your life. Live the life we gave you. Do you promise me that?"

Peter nodded slowly. He wasn't even aware of his body functions anymore.

"Good," Mrs. Pettigrew said, relaxing on her bed. "I love you, Peter. I know you'll do what's right."

His whole body trembling, Peter removed himself from her bedside and quickly sped out of the room. He leaned against the wall as if his body couldn't support itself. Slumping down on the ground, Peter looked at his clenched fists, and for the first time in a long while, he really did cry.


Faye dragged her trunk up to her room slowly, trying her hardest not to think about what had happened in the last month. There was a gnawing pain against her sides whenever she thought about Remus. Her Remus.

He was a werewolf.

Of all the things he possibly could have been, he was a werewolf! She would have been okay with maybe a vampire or something, not that that wouldn't have been gross, but still. Faye sighed, flung her trunk down, and plopped face-first on her bed.

She stayed like that for what seemed like forever, until it was late into the night and she felt hungry.

"Faye, honey, dinner!" she heard her mother call. Faye sprung up from the bed and immediately flew out of her room.

She entered the familiar living room with some trepidation. She hadn't truly looked around the house since her return, and she didn't want to. Her father was still at the hospital. Faye knew that her mother had tried to get him back home for Christmas, but with a heart condition like his, the hospital deemed it almost impossible.

Faye loved Hogwarts with all her heart, but she was ready to give that up and work if her family needed her that much. Faye knew that her mother was always tired, always stressed. Three jobs would put a strain on anybody, but her mother valued her education more than anything else.

The small house that they lived in was cramped together with many other houses. They had been forced to sell their spacious lakeside home to pay for Mr. Taten's treatments. That fund had held out for a while, but Faye could see it deteriorating. One look around the living room convinced her of everything. Several prized possessions of her mother were missing, and several expensive paintings were as well. Faye didn't know how much more of their house her mother could sell before selling the entire thing.

"Hi, honey," Mrs. Taten said as Faye walked into the dining room.

"Hi, mummy," Faye said, engulfing her mother in a big hug.

"How was Hogwarts?" Mrs. Taten asked.

"Yeah, how was it?" Faye's little brother, Evan, asked.

Faye laughed. Evan could never wait to go to Hogwarts.

"Brilliant," she responded.

"Good," Mrs. Taten asked, now spreading out the dishes on the table. "And how's Remus?"

Faye stopped short. "Oh, uh, great," she said airily. "We're great. Do you need any help with setting the table?"

"Thank you, honey," Mrs. Taten smiled.

"Sure," Faye said, glad to have any reason to change the subject.

After a filling dinner, in which Faye's mother had made all her favorites, the family sat down in front of the small television. "We had to get rid of cable," Mrs. Taten said apologetically. "But I thought, for your return, that we could all watch a movie, as a family."

"That sounds great," Faye said truthfully.

"Great," Evan said excitedly. "I picked out a movie all by myself!"

"Did you really?" Faye grinned.

"He did," Mrs. Taten laughed. "He wouldn't even let me see it."

Faye laughed as well. "Well, then, let's play it. I'm dying to see it."

Evan pushed the play button, and an old-fashioned black and white movie zoomed onto the screen. The credits rolled by slowly. Faye and her mother smiled merrily at each other.

Then, the first character came onto the screen. He was a dark-looking man, and he held a deadly-looking axe in his hand.

Faye frowned. What on earth were they watching? "Evan," she said out loud. "What kind of movie is this?"

"It's a horror movie," he said excitedly. "Some friends at school told me about all the cool gory parts, and I knew I wanted to see it."

"Okay," Faye said uneasily.

Then, as if out of nowhere, a large creature leaped out of a huge bush and at the man with the axe. Faye gasped. She recognized the creature, and it made her sick to her stomach.

The creature snapped and bit at the man, clawing, clawing, clawing…Faye's world seemed to swirl before her…the man with the axe regained use of his arm and started hacking, hacking, hacking…Faye screamed out loud…

"STOP THE MOVIE!" Mrs. Taten thundered.

Evan, now standing in fright, quickly turned off the television.

"Faye, honey!" Mrs. Taten said, alarmed. "Come, we'll get you up to your room. Evan, get the movie out of the television this instant! Put it back in its box, we are returning it first thing tomorrow morning!"

Evan obeyed her, still with a scared look on his face.

Faye's mom helped her daughter up to Faye's bedroom. "I'm sorry, honey," Mrs. Taten said, shutting the door. Faye collapsed on the bed.

"It's okay, mum," she shuddered. She thought about telling her mother about Remus.

"I know it must be hard for you to see something like that, especially after what happened to your brother," Mrs. Taten whispered.

Faye nodded. She couldn't tell her mother about Remus. She couldn't.

"That's exactly why," Faye said, referring back to the movie. "I'm sorry about that. Maybe I shouldn't have overreacted."

Mrs. Taten sighed. "You didn't. I was screaming like that on the inside, too."

"Don't blame Evan," Faye said.

"I won't," Mrs. Taten smiled sadly. "It's not like he knew about his brother…"

Faye sat silently. Her mother had always been of the opinion that they should keep Faye's brother's death away from Evan. She didn't want him to go through life scarred.

"Are you going to be alright?" Mrs. Taten said worriedly.

"I'm fine, mum," Faye nodded. "It's okay."

"Okay," Mrs. Taten smiled. "I guess I'll leave you to yourself, then. I have housework to do."

"Do you need any help?"

"I'm okay," Mrs. Taten said reassuringly.

She planted a kiss on Faye's forehead, then left the room, closing the door behind her.

Faye snuggled up in her bed, enclosing the covers around her. The clawing of the wolf resonated in her brain, and the hacking of the axe kept replaying over and over again in her head. Faye buried her head in her pillow.

She kept imagining Remus in the place of the movie-wolf, being hacked to death by the axe. And that's what she saw, on the screen. She had screamed, not only in horror, but in fear. She was scared for him. She didn't want him to die. He didn't deserve to die. He couldn't help what he was.

She knew Remus.

She thought she did.

She loved Remus.

Remus loved her.

Could she still love a werewolf?

Could she love a creature that had killed her brother?


The Hogwarts Expressed loomed ahead just like any other year to take them back into Hogwarts. Because the war was getting worse, and a few more families of Hogwarts students had been killed, Lily and James thought it fitting to have another meeting with the prefects on how to deal with upcoming losses.

Peter ascended the train slowly, his trunk getting heavier by the second. He wanted to leave home, he really did. With his mother dying, where was he supposed to go? She had left everything to him, and there was a faint glimmer of hope that she could make it through. But there wasn't much left. There was too much that reminded him of sadness and grief.

The first one Peter saw was Sirius. "Padfoot," he called out.

Sirius turned toward his friend and wordlessly abandoned his trunk, strode over, and placed a reassuring hand on Peter's shoulder. "Mate, are you alright? I got your letter."

"I'm fine," Peter said, forcing a smile.

"Alright," Sirius said, still looking a bit concerned. "Is she okay?" He never knew what it would feel like to lose a mother, but he did know how it would feel if he had lost Mrs. Potter, who was so much of a mother to him.

"She's okay, I suppose. Alive but very weak. How-how are you?" Peter managed.

To his surprise, Sirius smiled bitterly. "Not great. I need to talk to James, I guess."

"About what?" Peter asked curiously.

Sirius sighed. "Lily."

"Oh," Peter said, scolded into silence. "Well I'm sure you two will work it out. You always do."

"Thanks, mate," Sirius said, managing a grin. "D'you need some help with the trunk?"

"I'm fine," Peter said. "I keep forgetting that I can do magic now."

Sirius laughed his dog-like laugh. "I know what you mean. Come on, let's go find our compartment."

The two friends ascended the train and entered what would be the last time, their compartment. Sirius and Peter stowed their luggage, then sat down, waiting for the others. Impatiently, Sirius peered through the window. James had left his side to go find Lily, but he saw Remus boarding the train as well.

"Moony's coming," Sirius said happily.

Sure enough, a couple minutes later, Remus entered the compartment. "A little help here, guys?" he said, dragging his trunk along.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You are a wizard, you know."

Remus grinned. "How could I forget?" Whipping out his wand, he muttered a spell, and his trunk rose into the air and deposited itself between Peter and Sirius's trunks. "I would love to stay and chat," he said, pocketing his wand. "However, our Head Boy and Girl want to talk to the Prefects, so I guess I'll see you guys later, then."

"Did you already see them?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, I saw them heading toward the large compartment," Remus nodded.

A dark shadow passed over Sirius's face. "Prongs didn't even want to say hello?"

"I'm both of them are quite busy," Remus said. "They do have to prepare a speech after all."

"Yeah, yeah," Sirius said, slouching deeper into his seat. Both Remus and Peter looked at him.

"Think about what I said," Remus said calmly. "I'm not going to be the mediator. You two need to work it out, alright? Just do it." He gave Sirius one last meaningful look before striding out of the compartment.

"What was that all about?" Peter asked quietly after Remus had gone.

"Our friend is going over to the dark side," Sirius growled.

Peter's eyes widened, and he looked shocked.

Sirius looked at him, eyes betraying both his annoyance. "No, not like that, Wormtail," he snapped impatiently. "By dark side I mean Evans. Lily Evans."

"Oh," Peter said in a small voice. He never knew quite how to deal with Sirius when he was in a mood like this.

"It's just as well," Sirius said bitterly to no one in particular. "Next thing you know Snape'll become a saint. What the hell is the world coming to?"

Remus walked slowly to the front of the train, deep in thought. He had debated with himself over the winter as if whether he should intervene in the rift between James and Sirius. On the one hand, James wasn't doing it on purpose. He was so head over heels in love that he seemed oblivious to anything that smacked him in the face, except for Lily's hand, maybe.

On the other hand, Remus had almost never seen Sirius this moody. He felt that Sirius could explode at any moment, and it was therefore not safe to have him around anybody else. He specifically told Marcella not to ask him how his vacation was. He would blow up at her and maybe damage their relationship, and seeing as how James and Lily got closer every day, a breakup was not what Sirius needed on his plate.

Remus was so preoccupied in his thinking that he felt his body slam into another, which jolted him out of his reverie. He found himself and the person he had bumped on the ground. "I'm so sorry, it was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going," he said at once.

He found himself looking into the shocked face of Faye Taten.

"Oh, um, it's quite alright," she said uncomfortably. "I should probably take partial responsibility as well."

"It is a rather small corridor," Remus joked. To him, his words sounded dry.

The two laughed nervously. Remus sprang up from the floor and offered out a hand to her.

"I'm okay," Faye said, and made to get up. The train jolted unexpectedly at that second. Instinctively, Remus reached over and grabbed her arm to keep her from hitting the floor.

Once she stood up and looked at him, he immediately withdrew his hand.

"Thanks," she breathed.

"Uh, no problem," Remus said, shifting his foot a bit.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Are you headed for the meeting?" the two said together. They both stopped in shock, and laughed.

"I guess I forgot how much we think alike," Remus said, giving her a genuine smile. "I guess if we're going, we're going together. No use escaping in this corridor."

Faye smiled back weakly, and Remus wanted to smack himself for saying that last line.

Awkwardly, the two headed to the front of the train, where they found the same seats they sat in their first day as prefects. "Brings back memories, doesn't it," Faye said, smiling.

Remus laughed. "Yeah. I guess it does."

The compartment was only half-filled. Remus could faintly make out the figures of James and Lily in the front of the room, being very cozy with one another.

Remus looked sideways at Faye. He knew that he still loved her, but he knew that he had to get over her. Something as tragic as what happened to her brother still haunted Remus at night, and knowing that he was one of them…

Remus knew she was right. She couldn't love him.

He had to stay away from her. He had to stay away for as long as it took until these wounds in his heart could heal. It may be never, but Remus had to try. He couldn't go on like this.

Before he knew it, the compartment had filled up with people. James and Lily were in the front of the room, getting ready to make their speech. He held her hand in his. Remus remembered faintly how James was jealous of Remus's strong relationship with Faye, and wishing that he and Lily could be like that. Now, the situation was reversed. Remus found himself jealous of James's situation.

He knew James was right. Faye didn't accept him. And even with good reason, Remus knew that maybe they just weren't meant to be.

"It's been a tough year," James said loudly, snapping Remus back to reality.

"Most definitely," Lily nodded, addressing all the prefects that were assembled. "I'm sure you all have friends who have been-er-harmed by Lord V-I mean, You-Know-Who. "

"Exactly," James nodded. "But there will be no fear here. The best way we can show our support is through courage. We will not be scared off. We will be strong. As prefects and Heads, we have a duty to protect those who are younger, and who may not fully comprehend what is going on. We need to set examples for them, to show them courage, show them the light at the end of the tunnel. This war will be over." James clenched his fists in his hands. "It will end. We will live to see it end."

Sitting through James and Lily's speech, Remus felt slightly mollified. There was something about James that was definitely different. He spoke with an air of credulity. A year ago, if somebody had asked James to stand up in front of a row of prefects and make a speech, likely he would have been kind enough to leave you still standing on a good day after some nasty spell-work. Now he seemed much more mature, much more able. Remus smiled sadly. Maybe Sirius was right. Maybe James really did change more than Remus thought.

He was only slightly aware when the meeting was over, and only when Faye tapped him on the shoulder. A familiar swoop made its way through his stomach, but he held it back. He couldn't feel like that anymore. He was done.

"I guess I'll see you around, then," Faye said, standing up.

"I guess," Remus echoed. They exchanged small smiles.

"Bye," Faye said finally. She drifted away, out of the compartment and out of sight.

"Hey Moony," the voice of James called out as Faye walked away.

Remus turned around and smiled at Lily and James, who were walking toward him, hand in hand. "Hi, guys. Where are you headed?"

"We're headed back to me and Marci's compartment," Lily said, smiling. "James said he would come. Isn't that right?"

"Exactly," James grinned.

Remus had the fleeting impression of Sirius mimicking throwing up if he were to witness this scene. "Uh, Prongs, aren't you going to tell Sirius and Peter where you're headed?"

"They'll understand," James said easily. "I'll check in on you guys later. Can you tell them for me?"

"Sure," Remus said, smiling on the surface. He wanted to grab James's arm and shake sense into him that Sirius was hurting from all this, but instead he watched James walk away with Lily, hand in hand, laughing gaily as if nothing could stop them.

Remus shook his head. Slowly, he walked back to their compartment. The Marauders' compartment, as it had come to be called. But they were missing a marauder, and that made all the difference.

"Hey Moony," Sirius called out as Remus entered the room. His spirits seemed to have lifted a bit since Remus left. "Where's Prongs?"

Remus would have lied. He would have said that James was in the bathroom, or he was attacked by Snape. Anything. Everything. But he didn't. He couldn't.

"He's with Lily," he said quietly. "In Lily and Marcella's compartment."

The look of hope and happiness was replaced by an extremely ugly look. "That's it," Sirius growled. "I'm going to curse the hell out of Evans."

"She's not the problem!" Remus snapped.

So rarely did Remus snap at anyone, that both Peter and Sirius stopped and looked at him in shock.

"Sirius, you are avoiding what needs to be done," Remus said impatiently. "Talk to James, for Christ's sake! Lily's not the problem! It's you and James that have a problem."

"Are you saying that I'm mental?" Sirius said heatedly.

"Maybe I am," Remus said, his eyes narrowed. "What difference does that make?"

The two glared at each other for another minute, Peter looking back and forth at both of them, wide-eyed.

"Moony, I-" Sirius started.

"Please don't say you're sorry," Remus interrupted, knowing what Sirius was going to say. "At least, not to me. Talk to James, Sirius. In fact, why don't you go now? You can talk to him and be with Marcella at the same time. She misses you. You haven't seen her all vacation."

"I would go if she wasn't in the same room as James and Lily," Sirius said darkly.

Remus shook his head. "You are unbelievable," he said irritably. "Fine, Sirius. I'm just going to sit here and watch you rot away, all because you can't talk to your best friend."

Sirius glared at him, but didn't say another word.


"I can't do this anymore," Faye said out loud.

No one heard her, and she didn't expect anyone to. After all, she was alone in her dormitory. She didn't know where her dorm-mates were, and she didn't care. Every single night in her dreams, that one scene from the movie and Remus kept flashing into her head, usually causing her to scream out loud. Her dorm mates were worried, but didn't say anything to her, though she heard them talking when they thought she was asleep.

A week back into the school year, Faye was desperately seeking somebody to talk out her problems with. She had hoped that she could talk to her mother, but she was too scared to after that movie. She knew what her mother would think. Her mother had found her brother's mangled body in the back yard, the moonlight illuminating the deep gashes and open wounds that led to his death. Cries echoed in her head; her mother tried to resurrect him…he wasn't moving… She couldn't trouble her mother with something like this, especially at this time.

Faye was glad that it was a Sunday, as it gave her an excuse to roam around the castle without classes. But she was feeling more alone than ever. Aside from being mixed in all aspects of feelings for Remus, Faye felt frustrated that she couldn't talk this out with anybody. She respected Remus's secret, and didn't want to spill, but how long would she hold it in before she spilled it out accidentally?

Sirius, James and Peter already knew about Remus, but what had they been doing in the shack? Faye shook her head. She didn't know any of the three well enough to discuss her problems with.

Sighing, Faye stood up from her bed and left the room. Departing from the common room altogether, she entered the hallways of Hogwarts. The winter sun shone through brilliantly through the windows, but Faye didn't notice anything around her.

"Can I still love him?" Faye said out loud, turning into a deserted corridor.

"Talking to yourself?" came the cackle of Peeves.

Faye turned to face the Poltergeist, who was grinning evilly at her, balancing two very large water balloons in his hand. "Go flush yourself down a toilet," she snapped.

Peeves's grin turned ugly. "I can get you wet another way," he sang, lobbing one water balloon into the air and catching it with his hand.

On a normal day, Faye would have run for her life. But this day, she didn't care whatsoever about getting a little wet. Maybe she needed the shock of icy water to bring her back to reality. "Hit me with your best shot," she challenged.

Peeves looked surprised at first, but then transfigured that look into a demonic grin. He cackled loudly and threw back his arm. Faye braced herself…

"Impedimenta!"

Faye opened her eyes in shock and saw Peeves zooming away, cursing loudly. The water balloons dropped to the group and exploded nowhere near Faye.

"Are you alright?" Marcella said, rushing over, her wand still raised. Lily was right at her heels.

"I guess," Faye said, forcing a grin. "You guys didn't need to do that."

Marcella looked at her friend closely. Something about Faye wasn't quite right. The three girls hadn't talked privately in a long time, and Lily had always suspected that something was wrong. Now, looking at Faye's darkened eyes, Marcella knew Lily was right.

"Nah, I've always wanted to do that," Marcella said lightly.

Faye laughed. Lily noticed how forced it was.

"Is there something that's bothering you?" Lily asked gently.

"No," Faye said quickly.

Marcella could tell by the tone of her voice that she was lying. "Well, alright," she said, shrugging. "Now that Peeves is gone, I guess our job here is done. Let's go, Lils."

Lily stared at Marcella. Marcella gave her a look that plainly said 'don't contradict me'.

"Right," Lily said, smiling at Faye. "I guess we'll see you around."

"Wait," Faye said quickly, wringing her hands. She sighed. "I guess there is something bothering me, but I don't know if I should say anything…"

"We're here to listen if you want to talk," Marcella said gently. "We're not forcing anything. We're worried about you, Faye. You just seem so…out of it. But again, if you don't feel like talking, then that's alright too."

Faye took a shuddering breath. "It's about Remus," she said, biting her lip.

"Did you two break up?" Lily frowned. "I never see you two together anymore."

"Not officially," Faye said quietly.

Lily and Marcella waited patiently.

"He told me something…" Faye said. Then, she paused. She couldn't spill Remus's secret.

Lily and Marcella looked at each other. "Well, go on," Lily said.

Faye started to pace. "He-he told me something that I didn't want to hear, and I panicked. I mean, he was finally telling me the truth, but he had waited so long to do it, and the truth was just so horrible…" She was rambling, and she knew it.

Faye shook her head and started to pace even faster. She was beginning to sweat. "And I just didn't know what to do! Because my brother, I mean, you guys don't know, but he-well, anyways, what Remus said just caught me off guard…"

Her voice was rising, slowly but surely. "And then he said that he was- and I was-I didn't know what to do, I felt sad and confused and betrayed and angry, my mind stopped, and my brain felt like it was malfunctioning, but my heart felt like it had been stabbed a thousand times over, but I was still so confused…"

Faye's voice had now risen to a shrill shriek. Tears were fighting their way out of her eyelids. "And I told him I couldn't love him, and maybe I was right, but I don't know…"

"Faye," Marcella said, alarmed at the hysterical routine of her friend. "It's okay. I'm sure whatever it is you two can work it out."

"It's not okay!" Faye screamed, turning to look at her with a wild look in her eyes. "He's a WEREWOLF!"

As soon as she uttered the last words, Faye collapsed on the ground, shocked, with her hands over her mouth. "Oh my God," she whispered. "I shouldn't have said that…"

Both Lily and Marcella stared at her, unable to speak.

"He's a what?" Lily whispered finally, breaking the silence.

Faye was sobbing freely now. "He's a werewolf," she said, ashamed at herself. "A werewolf. One of the kind that killed my little brother."

Lily and Marcella immediately sat down on the floor beside Faye. They were both too shocked to speak.

"Am I not allowed to be a little afraid?" Faye whispered slowly.

Wordlessly, Marcella and Lily leaned in to hug her. As they let go, Lily's mind was reeling. She didn't know what to say. She wasn't prepared for something like this. How do you just tell your friend that everything is going to be okay when her boyfriend is a werewolf?