Please report to the Hospital Wing after Defense Against the Dark Arts today.

Remus looked at his note in confusion, rereading it multiple times to try and glean anymore information from it. It wasn't his detention, it said nothing about detention... so what did it mean? It gave him something else to think besides the mandrake prank which they were doing after Herbology.

Because of this, none of them could pay much attention to Professor Sprout. Not even Remus, hard as he tried to take notes and do what she asked. Sirius, James and Peter were just flat out goofing off to expend some of their pent up excitement while Remus just kept his inside, feeling it build up. He also felt incredibly nervous. If they were caught...

We won't be, he told himself as he scribbled down some information Sprout gave. We managed to get away with the Bat-Bogey prank, plus Dedenne's underwear... dozens of other small things... we'll get away with it...

After class the four of them went to one of the bathrooms on the ground floor. Sirius banged open every stall to make sure they were alone while Remus locked the door. James pulled out the cloak, carefully shaking it out.

"Okay," he said, a slight tremble in his voice betraying his own nerves. This was a Big One. Not just sneaking around after hours but breaking into another common room! "Here's the plan." He glanced at Remus who suddenly felt even worse. Something was going on they didn't share with him. "Sirius, Remus, and I will be sneaking in—"

"What?!" Remus yelped. "Wa—wait a moment, since when was I sneaking in?!"

"We need a lookout," Sirius said, studiously avoiding Remus's gaze. "We voted last night for it to be you."

Remus's jaw dropped then anger boiled up. "When was this vote? Why wasn't I part of it?"

"You were at study group thingie," James answered. "Besides, even if you were there it'd be three against one."

"No!" Remus snapped.

"I'm crap at being lookout!" Peter said anxiously. "You're the best."

Remus folded his arms, glowering at his friends. "I never agreed to this." They all just gave him pathetic, pleading looks. He knew he'd give in, but wanted to hold out a little bit longer. "You never even asked."

"Will you be lookout?" James asked then dropped to his knees, clasping his hands together. "Please?"

Remus fought off the urge to smile. "Wellll..."

Now Sirius got on his knees as well, hands together. "Plleeeeaaaseeee?" both boys chorused.

Remus gave in to the giggles. "Fine, fine."

"Yay!" James and Sirius both bounced to their feet.

"Now," James said, continuing on as though none of that happened, "Sirius, Remus, and I will be sneaking in. Peter, you have potentionally the most dangerous job..."

"Potentially?" Remus asked quietly but nobody heard him.

"I know," sighed Peter, shivering. "I'll be standing down the hall," he explained to a curious Remus, "and if Mulciber, Avery, or Bulstrode come by I need to... distract them."

"As in you're going to end up in the hospital wing," Remus said flatly, wishing his friends had talked over this when he was around.

Peter cringed back. "P—probably..."

"They have class, though," Sirius said. "Anyway, so the plan is..."

/\/\/\/\/\

James, Sirius, and Remus crowded under the invisibility cloak. They left Peter near the entrance to the dungeons, sitting down with a comic book, wishing him luck before creeping down. Remus huddled close to Sirius who, as the tallest, was in the middle holding the cloak up. They got to a blank section of wall then James said, "Phineas Black."

Sirius gagged slightly as a door slid open. The three hurried in, just slipping past a Slytherin prefect who was giving the door a weird look, probably since it had opened without anyone coming in.

James and Sirius faltered slightly when they got into the common room properly, Remus nearly walking out from under the cloak. James grabbed hold of his arm, jerking him back. Remus started to ask why did you stop?! then quickly held his tongue. They seemed pretty interested in seeing what the Slytherin common room looked like. Remus looked around too.

It was a very long room, narrower than it was long so it formed a rectangle. The walls were rough stone with the occasional window of reinforced glass. At least, Remus assumed it was reinforced glass due to the fact the windows all looked out into the lake. They could see some of the long weeds growing, and fish swimming around. Remus wondered how often they could see the giant squid.

Besides the view of the water the common room was adorned with green lamps hanging off chains, several portraits and tapestries of famous Slytherins including one Remus noticed was labeled Phineas Nigellus Black which was where they got their password; he wondered how he was related to Sirius. Then Remus realized he recognized the portrait being the same man whose portrait hung in Dumbledore's office. He was one of the old headmasters!

There were several students hanging around, some sitting in low-backed chairs chatting to each other, there were several playing games such as chess or cards. One student was standing near one of the windows watching the fish. The back of his head seemed so familiar and Remus jerked when he realized it was the same as Sirius's glorious waves. It was Regulus.

Sirius noticed him too, moving to get closer. Since he was holding up the cloak James and Remus were forced to follow. They got into position to see his face. He was just staring out at the lake with sad eyes, lips down in a frown, forehead slightly wrinkled. His arms were stiff at his sides. He just looked so sad it hurt Remus's heart.

"Black!"

Sirius jerked and the three of them stumbled back to avoid another first year jogging over.

"We're going to play Sphinxes, want to join? We need a fourth."

Remus felt a stab of memory from the previous year when the other Marauders would ask him to be their fourth in sphinxes. Regulus faced the boy with a rather startled look. His hand fluttered to his chest, tugging at his tie.

"Me?"

"What other Black is there? I don't see your cousin anywhere," laughed the boy. "Come on."

Regulus hesitated then went after the boy, to a table with two other first years. Sirius just stood there watching his brother until James elbowed him. Sirius shook himself then they went over to the two staircases. They weren't labeled. Of course they weren't. They weren't in the Gryffindor common room. They just stood there staring at the two entrances, no idea which to go up, which would set off the alarm.

"Didn't think this part through," James whispered.

"Let's wait a moment and see if anyone uses them," suggested Remus so they backed away to a corner, waiting. After about three minutes a girl descended from one side, so the three Marauders headed up the other. They reached two doors labeled Second Year. James chose one, knocking at the door. They waited a moment then James opened it up, the three of them leaning in to take a peek. Four beds. Wrong dorm. They knocked at the other one then peered in. Three beds.

James and Sirius ducked out from under the cloak, shutting the door behind them while Remus waited nervously in the hall under the cloak. If any of the second years came up he'd knock at the door in a certain pattern to warn his friends. He could hear rustling in the dorm, and faint giggles. He wrapped his arms around himself, letting the cloak cover him without holding it up. He paced a little then sucked in some air as he heard footsteps. They sounded too heavy to be a second year, so Remus waited another moment, pressing back against the door, blood pounding in his ears as he saw someone approaching, then felt relieved as he saw it was a much older student, probably a sixth year. Remus pressed harder into the little recess of the doorway, holding his breath, holding the door shut behind him. The Slytherin walked right past him without noticing at all, disappearing around a corner. Remus soon heard a door open and shut.

He let out his breath and backed away. Come on, he thought, shifting his weight from foot to foot, chewing probably too violently at his bottom lip. Finally after what felt like an eternity the door cracked open. Remus held up the cloak so the others could duck underneath, shutting the door behind them.

"It's all set," James snickered. "Next person to open that door will send the pot shattering to the ground, and the mandrake will start crying knocking out whoever it is."

They started to head down the stairs then had to back up against a door as another student passed them. Then they hurried down the stairs, a little breathless, trying not to laugh. Sirius hesitated when they passed Regulus but kept going. They had to dodge a couple Slytherins then reached the entrance. James opened the door and they slipped out as quickly as they could, hurrying back to Peter.

"C'mon!" Sirius whispered, kicking at Peter's foot. Pete yelped, dropping the comic then quickly scooped it up. "Bathroom."

Back in the bathroom, Peter checked out the stalls to make sure they were in the clear before they ripped the cloak off.

"We DID it!" James shrieked, jumping, punching the air. "Oh man, oh man!"

"Merlin, I was so scared!" Peter said, grabbing James's hands. "I kept waiting for the shouts that you were caught!"

"We very nearly were," said Sirius. Remus raised his eyebrows, wondering when exactly that happened. "An older student almost walked into us," he said gravely. Peter gasped out while Remus snorted, covering his mouth. Sirius glared at him which just made Remus giggle more. "Well. Nearly almost walked into us."

They spent what little remained of the morning in the Great Hall playing Sphinxes thanks to those first year Slytherins, and once noon hit they were on the edge of their seats, wondering if any of the jerks had gone into their dorm... but then Mulciber, Avery, and Bulstrode all came in so obviously they hadn't.

"We'll probably hear about it at supper," James said as they went to Defense.

In Defense there was a lot of lecturing about some creatures then a little bit about dueling at the end. They were paired with training dummies as they focused on offensive spells. After class Remus hung about behind to hand in the rest of his essays then tried to make his escape however Prewett cleared his throat, asking him to wait a moment. Remus froze then turned, waiting for whatever his teacher had to say.

"I've skimmed your other essays, I have not looked through them thoroughly yet... however I did see that they're good." Prewett stood up, tapping his finger against one of the scrolls on his desk. "Very good. Very impressive. I just wish to know why you've done them all already when I clearly said you have until the end of the month?"

He hugged his bag to his chest tightly. "Um. W—well, I—I knew I c-could. It's fine. I mean, I've done all my other ho—homework. I made sure to do those first, I promise."

Prewett cocked his head to one side. "That isn't an answer to my question of why."

Remus swallowed, ducking his head so his hair fell across his eyes. "I... wanted to?"

"Is that a definite answer, or one you think I want to hear?"

"I wanted to," he repeated, this time firmly. He still looked at the ground though. "I w—wanted to prove to myself that—that I could." He dug his nails into the satchel, not sure why Prewett wanted to know all this. He did the work as asked. What was the problem? "I... enjoy doing this sort of—of thing."

"I see." Prewett tugged the scrolls closer though didn't open them. "I gave you the month so you wouldn't feel pressured. I don't wish you to overly exert yourself."

"N-no, sir."

Prewett eyed him carefully then smiled. "Very well. I'll let you know when I have more assignments for you."

Remus left, a little disappointed he wasn't given more yet. The other Marauders were waiting for him which made him feel a little bad to say he had something he needed to do. That piqued their curiosity, wanting to know what. He mumbled incoherently about 'things' then quickly left, dodging down corridors to make sure they weren't following him. At the hospital wing he found Madame Pomfrey in deep conversation with Professor McGonagall. Remus hesitated, feeling fear creeping up through his body. He wondered wildly if she somehow knew about the mandrake thing.

"Ah, Mr. Lupin." Pomfrey gave him a gentle smile upon seeing him.

Professor McGonagall turned around, also smiling albeit not as widely. "Thank you for coming, Mr. Lupin. There are a few things we need to discuss if you will come with me."

Huh? Remus followed her out of the hospital wing. "Um, where—where are we g-going?"

"To your house in Hogsmeade," she replied in a calm voice. "I would have met you at the main doors however Poppy needed to know when we were leaving."

Remus's heart began going faster. Why? he wanted to ask. What's going on? He shuffled after her, glancing wildly around in worry that the other Marauders might see him. They got out of the school without seeming to raise any suspicions, heading across the grounds towards the Whomping Willow. "D... don't... you have class?" he inquired, very curious.

"One of the substitutes is teaching for me at the moment," she explained.

"Sub...stitutes?"

"Yes, we employ a handful of other teachers who can step in if need be," she said. "You may have seen them at the High Table on occasion."

Remus did recall a small variety of teachers he didn't recognize, and nodded. "I thought there were too many to cover the electives."

"They typically do not stay at Hogwarts. You will probably be meeting them sooner or later. We try to prioritize first, fifth, and seventh year classes which is why you have not met any of the substitutes yet. Here we are. Go ahead."

It took him a second to realize she meant to open the secret passageway. He scooped up a couple rocks, chucking them as hard as he could at the trunk. It took several tries before he hit the mark causing the tree to freeze up. They quickly ducked into the passage and began making their way towards Hogsmeade.

"Nothing bad has happened, has it?" he asked.

"We'll talk at the house. But no, nothing bad," she promised. "How are classes going?"

"Um—good. I've, um, finished the essay you set yesterday."

She glanced over her shoulder, giving him a rather long look. "That was quick. Was it too easy?"

He couldn't help but smile. "N... not exactly easy, I know none of... I mean, James, Sirius, and Peter haven't done it yet. I like Transfiguration."

"I'm glad to hear it."

They made light conversation until they finally reached the end of the tunnel. McGonagall pushed open the trapdoor, allowing Remus to climb up first before following him into the house. Remus hadn't seen the house since the end of May. It had grown quite dusty, needing a good cleaning. There was dried blood all over the place (which made him cringe) as well as destroyed fabric and furniture. McGonagall swept past him into the first floor bathroom where something new had been put up over the summer.

A chalkboard?

"After much discussion..." McGonagall adjusted her rectangular glasses, frowning a little as she spoke, "...the decision has been made to allow a trial period of you remaining in this house for the entire duration of the full moon."

Remus perked up immediately. "What? R-really?"

"Yes," she said in a tone that he suspected meant she had been against it. "This board is connected to one that is in Madame Pomfrey's office. Every morning within an hour of sunrise you are to leave a message for her." She picked up a piece of chalk and wrote we're here, are you receiving this message? "If you are well enough, you will tell her. If you need help, you must tell her. If she does not receive a message from you within the hour she will come and get you."

Writing began appearing under McGonagall's handwriting. everything is good on this end. McGonagall wrote a quick note saying it worked on this end too.

"You will also leave a message sometime before sunset," McGonagall said as they left the bathroom. She went over to sit down on one of the broken up couches while Remus just stood there, a little stunned.. "Just to let us know how the day went. If you do not, Madame Pomfrey will come in the morning regardless of what you write after—... after waking up." After turning human again, he thought, looking towards the bathroom. "Understand?" she pressed.

He nodded. "Yes ma'am. Within an hour of sunrise I'm to leave a message for her. If I'm okay, I say that, if I need help, I say that. Then at the end of the day before I'm transformed again I need to let her know again."

"Good. This is..." McGonagall trailed off, smoothing her robes out. "This isn't something I agree with. You're only twelve. I don't believe you should be left alone. Professor Dumbledore believes otherwise." She gave a slight sniffle then glanced over at one of the tables whose legs had been chewed on. "It depends on how this upcoming moon goes for you. If it doesn't go well, we will once more be bringing you back to the castle every morning. Also... if it does work out perfectly fine then someone might be coming to check up on you once in a while."

"I understand." He wanted to argue he was perfectly mature enough to be left alone! What could possibly happen? "I—I am alone here in human form when I don't transform some nights," he pointed out then suddenly was very glad none of them knew he had viciously burned the flesh off his own arm one of those nights.

"Yes," McGonagall reluctantly agreed.

"Um... m—may I ask why we came here now?" he asked and she gave him a vaguely confused look. "Instead of just coming a little early on the first night of the moon?"

"Ah, yes. That was my decision. I could have merely told you about the chalkboard however I wanted you to see it, in action so to speak. Also I wished to give you time to think." She stood up again, flourishing one arm. "Do you really want to stay here every day during the full moon phase?"

Remus gave the room a cursory glance. The broken furniture, the dried blood, the smell of wolf urine which hopefully McGonagall couldn't really smell since it had been so long. "I think it will be easier than coming and going," he said.

McGonagall gave a sigh. "As I thought you might say. In any case, you need to report to Madame Pomfrey tonight. She says you have to learn how to better take care of your... ah, wounds, as you will be needing to bandage yourself now."

"I have Occlumency tonight," he mumbled.

"It ends at seven?" she asked to which he nodded. "You can go to her after, and if you wind up staying past curfew she can write you a note." She approached Remus, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Please don't just dismiss this, Mr. Lupin. I don't think it's a safe idea for you to remain here daily."

"I'll think about it," he lied. McGonagall could tell it was a lie too, he knew.

She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze then the two of them returned to Hogwarts.

/\/\/\/\/\

It was almost supper by the time Remus returned to the school and he didn't really feel like finding the Marauders for a little bit then disappearing again, so he snuck into the kitchens to get some food which he took up to the empty classroom where he and Fawley met for Occlumency. When she showed up he told her the exciting news although she just frowned and informed him that she had been asked as well, and had agreed with McGonagall that he was too young.

"I'm... mature enough," he grumbled.

"And what prank are you lot planning now?" she asked, noticing the slight hesitation.

"N—none!" he protested then began blushing. "Well... I mean, we did one... earlier today..."

Fawley chuckled, shaking her head. "How bad is it?"

"Er, well..." He wrung his hands nervously. "It involves a mandrake. And the Slytherin dorm."

"Mandrake!?" she demanded.

"A v—very y-y-young one I p—promise!" he spluttered. "Very young! Baby."

"Remus Lupin I am shocked that you'd ever even... consider such a dangerous idea!" Her face had gone very pale, the muscles in her cheeks twitching. "The cry of the mandrake—"

"Is f-fatal, yes, b—but not when they're so young," he mumbled, tugging hard at his vest, stomach hurting so bad he thought he might vomit. "It wasn't my idea. I tried to talk them out of it, but trying to talk James and Sirius out of anything is—"

"An impossible chore," she said. "I know. How did you get into the dorm, may I ask? Without being noticed?"

She hadn't seen James's invisibility cloak the previous week. "Um, well, we—we managed..."

"Remus, dear, I'm going to see it, whatever it is."

He let out a miserable sigh. He hated giving away their secrets, wished he didn't need to... wished he already knew Occlumency. If he was better, he could! But he wasn't good enough, he was crap. "James has an invisibility cloak. P—please don't tell anyone. Please."

Miss Fawley put her face in her hands. "An invisibility cloak? Dear Merlin, you lot are going to wreak absolute havoc!"

"Please?" he whispered.

"I won't." Her face was still in her hands but Remus thought he detected the hint of a smile. "What happens between us is private, unless I find something that truly needs reporting like... when your father..." Remus looked away, fiddling more with the hem of his vest. Fawley coughed. "Well, in any case, unless you four are planning on irreparable harm on another student, I won't give away your pranks. Knocking them out for a short while is not exceedingly harmful so I shall let this one slide, though I do disapprove."

"Do you think because I help pull pranks I'm not mature enough to remain on my own for a few days?" Remus asked, returning to what began the whole conversation.

"It's got nothing to do with your mischievous nature, my dear, and everything to do with your youth. You are remarkably mature in some ways for a boy of twelve, however it doesn't change the fact you are twelve. But, it's out of my hands. What is in my hands is your head. Let's practice."

She saw them sneaking into the Slytherin dorm, as well as a multitude of other small memories flitting through. They separated while Remus tried his best to empty himself out. I managed a bit a few months ago, I can do it again. He sucked in some air then bent forward for Fawley to brush her fingers against his temples. He felt an intense stab of pain and fell back with a yelp.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"It hurts," he mumbled, rubbing his forehead.

"You fought against me."

"I—I did?"

"A little," she assured him, lips twisting into a big smile. "Like you had before. I wasn't expecting that."

"Let's try again!"

"No, no, you should rest a few minutes."

He sulked until she was willing to try again but unfortunately he couldn't replicate what he had just done though his head began hurting even more. They tried on and off until Fawley decided enough was enough, cutting the lesson a little bit short. They said their goodbyes and Remus almost just went back to the common room before remembering he was supposed to report to Pomfrey. Sighing, he turned around to trudge to the hospital wing. He had a massive on-and-off headache and was beginning to feel a little itchy, however he'd have to pretend to be fine because if he didn't they might change their mind about letting him be alone. He'd have to really do his best to prove to them he was mature enough, and was able to do what they asked without complaint. He just really hoped they didn't take his pranks into account!