You'll be fine

Remus ran as fast as he could from the Slughorn's office. Students passed by in a blur as Remus weaved between them and pushed them out the way despite Peeves' attempts of waylaying him. Breathing erratically, Remus reached Gryffindor tower in record time, and hurriedly rushed up the stairs and burst into his dorm room.

"Moony?" Sirius was lounging on his bed, with a muggle magazine opened to a page with an indecently-clad woman upon it. Sirius' grey eyes were a mixture of concern and shock as he stared at his friend. "What happened to you at breakfast? You ran out of there like a Dementor after a condemned man."

"I…" Remus glanced nervously at his best-friend, before hurriedly pulling parchment and inkwell from his bedside drawer. "I've got to write a letter."

Sirius' eyebrows rose in confusion and he put his Muggle magazine down. "I can see that, Mooney. But what's the rush?"

Remus' hands were shaking as he dipped a quill into the inkwell. Silently, Sirius rose from the bed and placed a comforting hand upon Remus' shoulder. "Mooney, has something bad happened?" he questioned in an unusually serious voice.

Slowly, Remus' green eyes rose to meet Sirius' and he swallowed nervously. "I've done something bad, Padfoot," he admitted quietly. "I've ruined him, broken him beyond repair." Remus trailed off into incomprehensible mumbling.

Sirius stared at his friend in concern. "What are you talking about, Mooney?" he said loudly and frantically, "What have you done?"

"He," Remus gripped the quill tighter in his hand, "He loved me, Sirius. He told me he was in love with me," he murmured. Sirius reared back as if he was struck and stared aghast at his friend. "And I, oh Gods," Remus pulled his shaking fingers through his hair. "I told him I hated him!"

"Good!" Sirius declared approvingly, "It's not natural for men to love other men. You reacted in the right way by telling that queer where to go."

Remus froze at Sirius' words and he slowly turned to look Sirius in the eyes. "What? You're homophobic?" Remus questioned quietly, and he unsteadily rose to his feet and backed away from the Black. "I thought purebloods thought it was okay?"

Sirius watched Remus's actions in confusion. "Of course purebloods think it's okay," he sneered. "They just use illegal blood magic to adopt any children. But that's wrong Remus. You know that," Sirius said and frowned at his friend. "You've experienced it first-hand the natural reaction of hatred towards faggots."

"Don't say that.." Remus commanded in a hard tone, "Don't say that word."

"Faggot?" Sirius scrunched his face in confusion. "Why not? It's what they are."

Remus caught Sirius' gaze in a hard stare. Pausing, the werewolf took a steadying breath. "If he's a faggot for being gay... then I'm a faggot as well," Remus declared and watched with sadness as Sirius recoiled in shock.

"No," Sirius was ashen-faced as he edged further away from his friend. "You're having me on. You must be! You said you hated him!" he accused angrily.

"I could never hate him, Sirius," Remus said softly "I'm in love with him."

"No! No, no, no, no," repeated the word as if it would somehow right the world once again whilst agitatedly pacing the floor of the dormitory. "It's just a phase. You're just confused. Can't you see it, Remus?" Sirius grasped Remus by the arms and shook him slightly. "You're just confused, all this stress from the N.E.W.T.s is getting to you. You just need a lie-down."

Sirius' gaze was wild, and he forced Remus backwards onto the bed. "Just go to sleep, Mooney. You'll feel all better in the morning," Sirius was almost crooning the words, trying to soothe both Remus and himself.

"Stop it, Sirius!" Remus demanded loudly, struggling under Sirius' grip. "It's not a phase. I am gay! I'm in love with another man and there's nothing you can do to change that!"

Something dangerous flashed in Sirius' grey eyes and all Remus knew before the world went black was Sirius' cold voice. "We'll see, Mooney."

"-you cast the silencing wards?"

"Of course I have, Wormtail!"

Slowly, Remus became aware of the world. The loud, incessant ringing in his ears was deafening, and blinding lights danced across his vision. The pounding sensation in his head, gradually caused his eyes to open and groggily look upon his surroundings.

His friends were watching him intently. Remus must have made some groan of pain, because James' face hovered above him.

He looked worried.

Remus narrowed his gaze and attempted to move.

It was then that Remus realised that he was bound to the ground with the incarcerous spell. Thick vines wrapped loosely around his limbs, yet Remus was unable to free himself even with his increased strength. Fruitlessly, he struggled against the binds and turned a murderous glare onto his supposed friends.

A movement from behind him and Sirius shuffled into view and knelt beside him. "Shhh," he murmured softly, "Don't struggle. It'll be over soon. We'll make everything better." Pale fingers petted Remus' head affectionately as Sirius smiled a strained smile.

"Just calm down, Mooney," James' baritone voice was struggling to maintain calm, and he smiled crookedly. "Sirius told us that you're…gay," James faltered for a second, "But we've found something that will cure you. You won't have to live like this any longer."

Remus felt as if his heart had dropped into his stomach. The need to escape increased tenfold and he tugged uselessly against the bindings.

Peter smiled encouragingly down at him, "Don't worry about the ritual, Mooney. We're doing it for a good cause."

Then, the three Marauders' opened their mouths to speak. "Mother Magic, hear our prayer," they intoned as one, "We, James Charlus Potter, Sirius Orion Black, Peter Percy Pettigrew, request you heal our brother, Remus John Lupin, in his time of need! We give you flames," a small candle was hurriedly lit by James, "and blood of the devoted," hesitantly they pricked their thumb and dripped a minuscule amount of blood onto the carpet. "To return our brother, Remus John Lupin, whole.

Seconds passed in silence before visible tendrils of magic oozed from the walls and sank into Remus' skin. Swarming through his blood, they bypassed most organs until they pierced his heart. Remus squirmed in slight discomfort at the sensation, and then Mooney began howling in protest from within, begging to be released and to fight off this foreign attacker. Slowly, Mooney's howls died down into yelps of pain and an overwhelming agony struck Remus as the Mother began her healing.

The tendrils tugged harshly at his heart, whilst poison leaked into his veins and seared his blood. Thrashing against the bindings, Remus opened his mouth in an endless animalistic roar of pain until he felt as if his throat was torn apart with his screams.

Snap!

The bindings broke from the pressure Remus was exuding, and his fingers clawed aimlessly at his throat. Something burning hot and wet slid down over his chest and seeped into the carpet below him. Curling into the foetal position, Remus clawed uselessly at his arms. Flesh tore open, and the heavy tang of iron flooded his nose and set his eyes watering.

Distantly, Remus could make out the frantic voices of the Marauders as they stared aghast at their friend. Sirius slid to the ground and desperately made his way towards the tortured Remus, yet one of those tendrils lashed out and flung him into the wall.

Eventually, the tendrils retreated back inside Remus' skin, and his entire body convulsed with the movement. Distantly, he heard Sirius scream his name. The tendrils ravaged his body. Scarring, bruising, desperately searching for something Remus couldn't name. The tendrils gave one last yank at his heart before withdrawing from his skin and hovering above him.

Remus writhed on the floor as something bright and beautiful floated from his opened mouth and into the waiting tendrils above him. The tendrils glowed with power before, seemingly satisfied, they dissipated back into the walls.

Something was missing inside him. Something vital but Mooney's small whimpers were so persistent and distracting that Remus couldn't name it. He knew he should be doing something apart from lying on the ground, but moving seemed like such a difficult task at this moment in time.

Actually, Remus wasn't even sure if he was breathing let alone capable of moving.

Slowly. Ever so slowly, the world began to lose focus. Fuzzily, he could make out the black leather shoes that James persisted on wearing, and the faint peppermint scent of his breath as fingers hesitantly fumbled for a pulse.

Moments passed by slowly. "He's alive," James gasp was full of relief and happiness, and instantly the other two Gryffindors scrambled to lift Remus off the ground.

"Quick! Grab the cloak!" James hissed impatiently.

Tiredly, Remus let his eyes fall shut.