Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They are J.K.Rowling's creation. I just corrupt them to my fancy.

Rating: M just to be safe and it will go in the M area later on

Summery: A story about Remus' days at Hogwarts starting at day one. It will mostly be about him and Sirius. It will be Slashed in later years. Will contain Slash if you do not like slash do not read.

A/N: I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed. And thanks to the reviewer that pointed out my tense error :o)

Phases 2.17

It was the day of the talent show. Disaster was neigh! Students everywhere meandered aimlessly through the corridors. Looks of pure fear etched across their faces. Various curses were muttered that were aimed at their absolutely nutter Headmaster. Who else but a nutter would subject students to performing? And what of the poor professors who had to sit through it all.

Sure at first glance it seemed like a good idea. It was a chance to make fun of all the horrid performances. But then 'they' realized they too would be part of the horrid performances.

Peter cornered Remus every chance he had. He wanted to make sure his performance of the witch was flawless. He didn't want people laughing at him; he didn't want to be the fool. He couldn't handle that. Remus was more than happy to oblige, he knew it meant a lot to Peter.

Remus felt confident that their version of Macbeth wouldn't utterly and completely suck. He just hoped Macbeth remembered he was to lose. Sirius sauntered about as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening. He emitted an air of confidence no one could match. A bit of arrogance was thrown in to complete the effect. He took the opportunity to poke fun at the other Houses, none so much as the Slytherin House.

James was confident as well. He was only truly put off by Lady Macbeth. She seemed to think his performance was lacking. She had the gall to suggest that he, James Potter, should concentrate more on his role and not poke fun at the other participants. Like that would ever happen.

Remus wasn't worried about the play –which was odd. Granted he knew all his lines and it was a small part compared to those of James and Sirius. But he normally wasn't too fond of being in the lime light in any way shape or form. He liked to be in the shadows.

He was however very tired. The full moon had just passed and he was still suffering from its effects. Perhaps that's why he really could care less about the play. His wounds were mostly healed. Only one was being stubborn and not healing correctly. It had been deep and if he wasn't careful would start to ooze. But, ever the optimist, Remus figured if he could stay awake everything would be fine.

The Great Hall was transformed into a theater. Several cushy seats filled the area where the House tables had been. A large stage took the place of the head table. Heavy deep red curtains shielded the stage.

The Hufflepuffs were the first to take the stage. They had pooled all their students to perform one play – The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy was splendid, her voice radiated through out the hall. It was truly captivating. The first years played the munchkins – all the girls were commenting on how cute they were. A pincushion had been transformed to be Toto. McGonagall beamed at the spell work. Sadly, Toto didn't want to follow the yellow brick road and instead darted off the stage. It yipped and chased its tail before heading out the doors. Professor Flitwick ran after it. The Hufflepuffs recovered and had a wonderful Toto-less show. Everyone (except the Slytherins) clapped and rose from their seats when they finished.

The Ravenclaws took the stage next. The older students partook in a recital. They played several classical numbers, much to the relief of the faculty. The students in the audience, however, mostly fell asleep. Remus enjoyed their rendition of Beethoven's fifth. He had hoped they would play some Mozart as well. The younger Ravenclaws were going to act out a popular muggle fairy tale. It was The Three Little Pigs.

Remus' stomach turned. Their 'big bad wolf' was portrayed as a hideous monster. He knew it was just a fairy tale- but it still hurt. He wasn't that monster- was he? Even his inner wolf stirred in protest. He struggled daily to prove he wasn't, but in the end did it really matter? Remus was startled out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Sirius smiling warmly at him. That smile conveyed so much – he knew Sirius did not see him as a monster.

The audience cheered the young claws. They seemed to have loved how the mean nasty wolf was disposed of at the end. Remus scanned the audience – studied all the laughing faces, all but two –Emily and Mortimer. Neither of them looked to happy with what they just witnessed. They clapped politely.

A hushed silence befell the audience as the Slytherins took the stage. They too combined their students to do one play. It was 'The Life and Times of Salazar Slytherin'. Severus, Narcissa and Lucius each had major parts.

Remus should have known then that things were going to take a turn for the worse.

Mayhem ensued. Everything that was to resemble a snake was transformed to look like a caterpillar. Narcissa's hair turned a putrid shade of pink. Lucius' voice resembled that of a parrot on steroids. Severus kept tripping over invisible obstacles. Professor Slughorn was irate; James and Sirius could barely contain their laughter. It did make for a very entertaining play. Who knew the life and times of Salazar Slytherin could be so much fun.

Remus rubbed his temples –this wasn't going to be pretty.

The retaliation had started. The cauldron the witches were using toppled over, spilling its green goo all over the stage. Banquo couldn't move fast enough. He slipped and slid across the stage on his bum. Remus did move quickly and grabbed a hold of Peter –saving him from the same fate. A lot of obstacles popped up on stage, Remus had to do a lot of fancy footwork to avoid them. He felt a pain in his side, but he shoved it in the far recesses of his mind. He had more important things to worry about –like getting off the stage in one piece.

Lady Macbeth was also included in the Slytherin revenge plot. During her important 'out damn spot' speech her hands instead of turning red, turned a vibrant shade of lime green. It did not go well with the brilliant red of her face. She cast a murderous look towards Macbeth and McDuff.

Remus managed to make through the rest of the play. He had to dodge slick spots and airborne projectiles that were thrown from he could only guess the Slytherins. He was tired, very tired, he really just wanted to lie down somewhere –anywhere.

Macbeth and McDuff made it to their grand finale relatively unscathed. But that's when things turned for the worse. McDuff tripped and fell on his arse. Macbeth's sword broke – before it was even drawn. McDuff fell into a laughing fit when Macbeth was suddenly dressed in a spiffing floral gown. And once again Sirius McDuff sprouted a set of antlers –no where near as nice as the ones Remus cast on him.

All in all it was a wonder they were able to finish the play at all. But they all took to the stage for one final bow. And that's when Remus passed out. He didn't even remember hitting the stage floor.

Sirius and James were the first to reach Remus. They tried to revive him to no avail. O'Brien and Emily stood over Remus. Emily whispered something to Mortimer, and without a word he gathered Remus in his arms and fled the hall. Emily, Sirius and James followed. Emily led them to the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey was treating Remus. His wound had opened and he had lost a lot of blood. She was amazed he had lasted as long as he did. When she was done she tucked him in. James questioned Pomfrey. He wanted to know how best to treat Remus when he got back to the dorm. James did not want the wound opening up again; frankly, he detested the sight of blood.

Sirius was watching Mortimer and Emily. Mortimer was sitting in the chair by the bed. Emily was sitting on the bed next to Remus. Remus was whimpering in his sleep. Sirius thinks that under different circumstances it might be cute. But now it is a reminder of pain –pain he can not heal.

He watched as the sleeping Remus moved closer to Emily and stopped whimpering. Emily brushed the damp hair from his face. She leaned in close and whispered something to the sleeping boy. Emily saw Remus' leg twitch and started to gently massage it. She explained that the transformations take their toll on the muscles and they are still strained. She went on to explain that massages do a world of good. Sirius walked over to her and replaced her hands with his. Emily smiled and nodded in approval.

Sirius looked over at O'Brien and searched for what to say. He wanted to ask him everything he knows about werewolves and how to help them. Sirius, who is usually full of confidence, was unsure of himself. He thought maybe the hospital wing wasn't the best place to have this conversation.

Mortimer smiled at Sirius, as if he knew what Sirius was thinking. He got up and told Emily that they should leave –Remus was in good hands. Mortimer turned to Sirius and told him that he may want to stop by his office sometime.

Sirius watched them leave. He thought to himself that he will definitely take O'Brien up on that offer, as soon as he can.

TBC...