Author's note: Sorry this is so late in the day I haven't been feeling well. This chapter had a lot of editing to do and it overwhelmed me. Also I apologize if some of the sentences seem off, my beta read the chapter before I edited it. It's still not great but hopefully it's not horrible. Also tw for brief mentions of feeling sick.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Oh no!"

Remus had slept in on Sunday morning, missing James's practice and meeting up with them after for lunch. He had just slapped together a sandwich when James's cry of dismay pulled him out of his thoughts.

"What's wrong?" Pete asked.

James got up, going a little ways down the table. "Excuse me, can I borrow this a minute?" he asked of an older student, indicating her paper. She handed it to him and James returned. "Look."

At first Remus looked at the main headline which was about a Quidditch team then he noticed one of the lower headlines. Finch in a Pinch! There was a photograph of Flossie and May's shopfront: absolutely vandalized.

"I don't—it was—it was fine yesterday!" Peter said.

"It happened last night," James said, sitting down, setting the paper. "An unknown amount of people broke into the shop and destroyed everything. The Muggle games were set on fire while everything else was blasted to smithereens. There was writing in the air and on the walls saying things about—about…" James bit his lip, motioning at the picture.

MUDBLOODS HAVE NO RIGHTS! was scrawled across the broken door. YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!

Peter shivered, while Remus clutched his stomach. Sirius stared at the picture in silence.

James returned the paper to the girl then sat back down, shaking his head. "Poor Aunt Flossie! Poor Miss Finch! It's so bloody ridiculous!"

"Who would do such a thing?" Peter whispered.

"Arseholes who believe only purebloods should exist in the world," James muttered, shooting an obvious look towards the Slytherin table. "Because of people talking about pureblood riots again."

"Do you think anyone was hurt?" Remus asked.

James blinked a few times. "I think if they were hurt the paper would have said something." But he sounded a little unsure and began messing up his hair in an anxious manner. "I'll send a letter to Mum right away."

"I'll go with you," Peter offered, following James out of the Great Hall.

Remus picked at his sandwich, not very hungry anymore. Sirius was silent, arms folded as he stared blankly at his plate. Remus picked off half his crust before he spoke.

"Sirius—"

"Don't." Sirius pushed his plate away, getting to his feet. "I know what you're thinking and I really don't want to talk about it." He left the Great Hall too.

Remus stared at the doors then turned his head to look at the girl reading the paper, at that awful picture. He heard Fawley's warnings from his first year about how awful the Blacks were and Sirius's voice saying how his cousin hated everyone who wasn't a pureblood. Then her voice, asking Sirius not to tell anyone she was in Hogsmeade. It—it was a very logical conclusion.

And he was probably right.

But what was he supposed to do about it? There was nothing he could do. What, tell someone 'hey Bellatrix Black was in Hogsmeade'. As if that would work. No, there was zero evidence. Only a gut instinct. One Remus knew was correct, but still just a gut instinct.

He sighed, pushing his plate away and leaving the Great Hall as well, heading to the owlery to join his friends.

/\/\/\/\/\

A few people seemed to be talking about the events in Hogsmeade, though mostly everyone was discussing the upcoming Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff game. There was also chatter about all the pranks James and Sirius had put around the school for April Fools. Though news about the attack certainly had gotten around, as when the Marauders returned to their dorm they found David sitting dejectedly on his bed and Spinnet next to him, hand on his back.

David glanced up when the door opened then looked back down. Spinnet stood up. "Could you go cause trouble somewhere else?" he asked rather angrily. "We're in no mood for your damn pranks today!"

"Did something happen?" Sirius asked.

"Merlin, 'did something happen'!" Spinnet scoffed. "As if someone like you didn't know."

"Andy," David said softly, getting up. "Don't, please?" He glanced over at the Marauders. "There was a shop in Hogsmeade attacked. A—a Muggleborn owned shop."

"Finch and Wild," James said, shoulders dropping a little. "Yeah, we know about that."

"Some dumbarse pureblood causing problems for Muggleborns," Spinnet muttered, giving obvious glances at Sirius.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Spinnet shrugged, turning his attention back to David. "No reason."

James said in a stage whisper, "Probably because he thinks we're dumbarse purebloods."

"Right," Sirius agreed with a nod. "I forgot, he judges people by their bloodlines and family." He rubbed his chin in fake thought. "Hmm, now why does that sound familiar?"

Spinnet jerked forward and James stepped between them, but it was David who prevented anything from anything happening.

"Stop it," he said. "I'm not in the mood." He shook his head and slumped forward, putting his face in his hands. "I get shit about the color of my skin and now I gotta worry about my blood too. It's so damn—" He stopped, taking in a deep breath, then muttered under his breath.

"Hey." James went over, sitting next to him. "You know that's all they are, right? Dumbarse purebloods. Pathetic and cowardly." He put a hand on David's shoulder. "If anyone gives you trouble, Spinnet's not the only one who has your back, okay? You're our dormmate. A Gryffindor. We're here for you."

David looked into James's face and gave a faint smile. "Thanks," he said. "I appreciate that."

The Marauders left the dorm, figuring it'd be best to leave them alone. They wandered around the castle, checking nooks and crannies, doing small tricks and japes, and getting yelled at by prefects when they were found where they weren't supposed to be. James and Sirius dragged Peter and Remus to hang out near the Slytherin dorms just to annoy any Slytherin that passed by with their mere existence. Remus buried his nose in a book, trying to pretend like he wasn't there.

At supper James and Sirius set off fireworks as the meal started, firecrackers that exploded with whistles and cheers. During the distraction James, Sirius, and Remus all spongified the tables and floor as best they could without being noticed. Remus wasn't really feeling it, but he was best at the spell so he agreed. Nothing happened until students started moving again, mostly doing things like setting down cups and silverware. Soon dishes were bouncing everywhere, food and drinks going everywhere. There was pandemonium as students began shrieking; most of them directed said shrieks at James and Sirius who didn't even bother hiding their laughter, getting twenty points removed from Gryffindor as well as detention. Which was very immediate: they would have to clean up the mess their prank caused.

"There will be food available in your common rooms," Dumbledore said once everyone calmed down enough to hear him. "Have a good evening!"

Peter and Remus weren't in trouble at all, so they said goodbye to James and Sirius once McGonagall made it clear they weren't allowed to stay and help. There were tables with fresh food set up in the common room when they returned to the tower which was very awkward for Peter and Remus, as most the Gryffindors glared at them as they gathered their food. Rather than dealing with the probability of being complained at while eating, the two of them took plates up to their dorm to eat in private.

/\/\/\/\/\

On Monday two things happened. First of all, James's voice began changing. It wasn't as all over the place as Sirius initially had been (and still sometimes was), but it was quite humorous. And second, the papers announced there was no evidence found at all to indicate who destroyed the game shop. Despite what happened, Finch and Wildwand were planning on reopening as soon as they could which really angered some people, as Remus found out later in the day.

After Charms James and Sirius wanted to go do some 'fun', which translated to 'causing mischief', so Remus and Peter were left alone. They got a quick lunch then went to one of the courtyards since the weather was pretty fair, sitting under a tree as they chattered. Then Peter climbed up in the tree, goading Remus to join him. The lower branches weren't too high so he pulled himself up with the help of Peter, and soon the two were hanging out in the branches. Peter sat on his branch with his legs on the same side, while Remus straddled his branch, clutching it nervously and trying not to think about being in a tree.

"It's weird to think you're scared of something I'm not," Pete said, kicking his feet cheerfully.

Remus made a face. "Mmm. Heights are, er, not exactly the easiest thing for me to deal with—ahhhh!" he yelped as the wind kicked up. He fell forward, wrapping his arms around the branch.

Peter shrieked with laughter. "Sorry! Sorrryyy! I don't mean to laugh…!"

"Yeah, yeah." He pushed himself back up, taking in a deep breath.

"Oh no," Peter moaned.

"No, I'm fine—"

"Not that." Peter nodded past Remus. "Slytherins. Ooh, I don't think they saw us. Maybe they'll go away."

Remus got the courage to twist a little so he could see the Slytherins nearby. They were sixth years, lost in their own little world. He recognized them as some of the bullying sort of Slytherins that gave the house its bad name.

"It's an absolute disgrace," one of the girls was saying. "I mean, one of the other villages or communities I can understand. Those are shared with their kind. But Hogsmeade is the only fully wizarding village in our country. They don't belong."

"It isn't fair that some Mudblood can waltz in, snatch up our rightful property, and act like it owns the world," sighed one of the boys. "Honestly, what was Rookwand thinking?"

"Poor Ewart, it's a shame his cousin lost his damn mind," said another girl.

The first girl snorted. "I think Ewart is ready to end that side of his family. Selling property to a Mudblood?" She made a scoffing sound.

"Not all the Rookwands are traitors, there's plenty of'em who still believe in what's right," said the final boy, sounding a little irritated.

The others looked a little unamused. "I suppose," admitted the other boy, "but Galba Rookwand is definitely a traitor. He deserves to be blasted to pieces as much as the muddies do."

All the Slytherins walked away, laughing. Peter and Remus were silent, watching them go. Finally they looked at each other.

"Were they talking 'bout…?" Pete asked.

Remus nodded. "Yes." He knew his voice was tense, knew he couldn't hide it. "The game shop. Miss Finch."

"Bugger."

"Yes, I agree." He slowly shifted his weight so both legs were dangling over the same side as he stared at the doorway the Slytherins went through.

Peter climbed down off his branch and sat next to Remus on his. "Know what I'm thinking, Remy?"

"What's that?"

Peter grinned. "I think we should suggest to James and Sirius that we prank some Slytherin sixth years."

Remus grinned back. "That, Peter, is a most excellent idea."

Unfortunately they both began snickering at that, and Remus automatically put his hand over his mouth which caused him to lose his balance. Peter failed to grab him, and Remus went crashing to the ground. A couple students nearby noticed and ran over to help him. One student took hold of his hand, helping him up, ignoring his stutterings that he was fine. In all honesty, he was fairly sure he had broken his elbow. It was difficult not to scream at the pain splintering in his body from the student's attempt to help! His vision was extremely wonky and he felt like he might throw up, however by the time Peter climbed down, the pain was beginning to fade a little.

"You all right?" Peter asked, noticing he was holding his arm at an awkward angle.

"Yes, I'll be fine," he promised. "But next time you make a comment about me not liking heights—"

"You're right." Peter put an arm around him. "You're too clumsy for heights. Come on, let's find the others."

/\/\/\/\/\

James and Sirius were absolutely on board for getting the sixth year Slytherins; James really wanted to do something big and awful to the Slytherins for their slander against Miss Finch. Unfortunately due to their plans for Easter they didn't have much time to work on two big pranks, so they decided to save the Slytherins for after Easter. That way they could do something very big without distractions.

In two weeks I'll be home again, Remus realized, wondering where the time had gone. Nine weeks till final exams! He began muttering under his breath, plucking at his sleeve, not noticing much of anything until Sirius practically shook him. He blinked several times, jerking his chin up.

"Exams," he explained.

James made a face. "Ew, don't remind me. Maybe I can be sick all next week."

"N—no… not those ones. The final exams."

All three of them groaned.

"For Merlin's sake!" Sirius cried out. "You've got exams in a week but you're fussing over the ones three months away?!"

"Two months," Remus reminded him. "And yes. The exams before Easter holidays aren't too terrible. I mean, I'll be revising hard all week however—"

James put a hand over his mouth. "You talk about exams that are two bloody months away, Remus Lupin, and I'll throw up. Next week's exams? Fine. But one more word about final exams and I'll be sick."

"Nooo!" Peter wailed. "I don't even want to think about next week's exams. It's gonna be horrible. I'll fail everything! I—" He stopped when Sirius pointed a finger at him. "Er, maybe—maybe not Potions?" he asked, and Sirius nodded then pat his head. "Fine, not everything. I'll do okay in Potions. Everything else will suck!"

"They don't matter!" James sang out, voice pitching up and down. "Now, no more exams talk. Forget what I said about the upcoming ones, any exam talk is making me queasy! Let's work on our Easter prank—" his voice had squeaked for that then suddenly dropped down to a deep, masculine voice to say, "shall we?"

At least James didn't pout too much as his friends almost died laughing over it.

/\/\/\/\/\

Remus was having vague nightmares that sent him tossing and turning, though not waking upuntil someone shook him. He sat upright, nearly banging into James.

"Sirius has an idea, says it can't wait till morning," he whispered, tugging at Remus's arm. "Come on."

Remus groaned, sliding out of bed as he rubbed his eyes. He put on slippers and a dressing gown before following the others down into the common room. It was three in the morning. What couldn't wait until daylight? Though he was a little bit relieved to be out of the nightmares, despite not being sure what they were about…

"The Slytherins," Sirius said after they all took seats around the fire. "I have a terrific revenge plan."

"I thought that was going to wait till after the holidays?" Peter yawned.

Sirius shook his head. "That's if we do something elaborate. I have an idea that's fairly simple, yet really fun—plus it hits them where their mouth is." He rubbed his hands together rather gleefully. "Mud."

Remus yawned, wrapping his robe tighter around himself, while Peter put his head against Remus's shoulder.

"Mud," James said in disbelief. "You woke us up at three in the morning for mud."

"Yes!" Sirius stood up and began pacing. "We fill their dorm with mud. Mud covering their beds, in their sheets, in their wardrobes, filling their drawers, filling their shoes, spread all across the floor, on the walls… mud! Show them who the real filth is. If they're going to use that term, then they can deal with real mud."

"I don't know… I don't want to get any Muggleborn into trouble," Remus said, sleepily scooting closer to Peter. It was very cozy, and he felt himself almost drifting off cuddled up like that.

"There are no Muggleborns in Slytherin," Sirius pointed out. "Besides, I doubt they'd connect the mud everywhere to them complaining about—about, you know, those words. We can wait until after the holidays to put more time between it but you know, they probably say that word all the time…"

Whatever else was said was lost as Remus fell asleep. He woke up several minutes later when Sirius woke him and Peter up, a little annoyed they had fallen asleep during his Brilliant Plan Explanation. They agreed to discuss the mud thing further—when they were all awake. Then they trooped back to their dorm and Remus fell into bed, asleep without taking the time to remove the robes and slippers.

/\/\/\/\/\

Sirius wasn't annoyed anymore once morning came. He told them he felt bad for waking them all up, he had just been very excited about the whole thing which they all understood.

"Can't let prank ideas slip out of the mind," James said at breakfast, tapping the side of his head. "You know, we should all start keeping prank notebooks like Remy, that way when we're struck with inspiration and can't talk about… bam, write it down."

"Oh, I had a question." Peter folded his arms on the table, leaning over towards Sirius. "Last night you said there are no Muggleborns in Slytherin. Is that—is that true?"

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Yes, at the moment." When he said that Peter and Remus glanced towards the Slytherin table. "The last time a Muggleborn was in Slytherin, as far as I know at least, was… 1947, I believe." He stirred his porridge slowly, looking uncomfortable. "Uncle Alphard told me about it."

"What happened?" Peter asked.

Sirius sighed. "It was his fifth year, when the Muggleborn came to school, and his seventh when the Muggleborn dropped out due to harassment. Er, Uncle Alphard's seventh, I mean; the Muggleborn's third, obviously."

Remus's chest squeezed at those words though it shouldn't have surprised him.

"How come nobody did anything?" James demanded. "The teachers, I mean."

Sirius shrugged one shoulder. "What could they have done? Uncle Alphard said they tried to interfere. Slughorn tried to protect the boy, except it didn't… all right, so, if you repeat what I am about to say to anyone I will personally murder each of you." He pointed his porridge-filled spoon at each of them. "Not all Slytherins are horrible, all right? There's ones like Uncle Alphard, or Andromeda, or Regulus. Or…" Sirius shot Remus a rather dark look. "Or Silverlocke, I suppose. There are some decent ones. But most? Most are so hateful and cling to the old ways of Salazar Slytherin. Uncle Alphard said he was surprised the kid lasted as long as he did." He sighed, and scooped up more porridge. "I guess Slytherins like to prove themselves."

"And—and there hasn't been any Muggleborns in there since?" Pete asked, eyes wide.

"As far as I know there hasn't, though I could be wrong," Sirius replied.

I wonder what happened to the kid, Remus thought, absentmindedly chewing on some bacon. He gazed at the Slytherin table, wondering what it would have been like if he had been put there. A half-and-half. Snape's half-and-half, he thought, gaze drifting over to Snape. He was sitting by himself, reading a book while he ate. Suddenly his eyes snapped up, meeting Remus's eyes. Remus quickly looked away, wishing Snape hadn't caught him looking.

/\/\/\/\/\

That afternoon they got their project results back from Professor Prewett. He had made multiple copies of each project so everyone in the group could have a copy with their grade.

Sirius and Inkwood were very happy.

Remus was not.

E? he thought, clutching the papers. AN E?! It made no sense! The research was good, the essay was well-written, every point had been hit. What was the problem? He scanned through, barely listening to Prewett. After multiple read-throughs he still couldn't see anything wrong, still couldn't figure out why an E?! He looked up at Prewett, wanting to raise his hand, wanting to ask why? He couldn't—it made no sense! It's good work, it's O-worthy work! Perhaps he was getting a bit of an ego, but he knew his work was good enough. He knew it was better than an E. It made no sense.

Remus agonized all through class, hardly able to pay any attention to Prewett's words. When they finished up with practicing a spell, he had trouble getting it right.

Remus had already planned on staying behind to discuss the grade issue however it seemed like Prewett had the same thing in mind as he said, when class was over, "Would Miss Inkwood, Misters Black and Lupin stay behind? Everyone else dismissed."

Remus, Sirius, and Inkwood exchanged glances but stayed in their seats. James and Peter both hesitated until Prewett shooed them out to where Lily and Colgate were trying to peer in.

"Your friends will only be a moment," he promised. "Nobody's in trouble." He shut the door then turned, smiling at the three remaining students.

"Is th—this about the—the E?" Remus blurted out.

"Yes." Prewett returned to his desk, leaning back against it, arms folded as he surveyed the three of them. "As a matter of fact it is."

"What's wrong with an E?" Inkwood asked. "It's a great grade."

"We sh-should have g-g-gotten an O," Remus mumbled, tugging at the hem of his jumper.

Prewett sighed. "Again, you are correct. What I was given was… at the very least worth a hundred percent, if not more."

"Why didn't we get an O, then?" Sirius asked. He was leaning his chair on their back legs, the chair wobbling.

Prewett's blue eyes swept across the three of them, landing on Remus. "Why do you think?"

Remus looked down, having a sinking feeling but not wanting to admit it. Sirius and Inkwood were silent too, so Prewett began speaking again. "This was a group project. Cassandra, Sirius, I know you both did a fair amount of research as well as worked on the art—which, by the way, was wonderful. The scale was genius. Remus, you did most of the research and wrote the essay. The entire essay. I did not see the others in it at all."

Remus slowly looked up, feeling guilty. "I—I th—I thought—I thought—"

"Sir, it's my fault," Sirius said, letting his chair smack down onto the ground with a bang. "I didn't want to do much. I just wanted to do the art, with Cassie. I asked Remus to do everything and convinced Cassie to as well. If the work's good you should give them Os, and lower mine to an A."

Prewett raised an eyebrow. "You… didn't want to do the work? And asked Remus to do everything?"

"Yup." Sirius put his hands behind his head, smiling. "What can I say, I get put on a team with a genius, let him do all the work."

"Is this true, Miss Inkwood?"

Inkwood was breathing a little rapidly and her hands were curled into fists tight against her thighs. "Y—yes," she squeaked out.

"Mr. Lupin?"

Remus looked at Sirius who grinned back. "No." He shook his head, ignoring the fading smile on his friend's face. "I—I w-w-wanted to do as much—I—it was me. I divided the—the work up unfairly. It w—it was me. No—not them. I—I thought I was… doing the—the r-right thing. I rewrote all—all their research. It was—it was my decision."

"Oh come on, Professor!" Sirius stood up. "Who are you going to believe? Me or him?" He paused then gave a chuckle. "Okay, I know he generally seems like the most trustworthy one but that proves you should believe me. I'm lazy and no good. Come on. How many times have I not done the work? Remy's just lying to keep me out of trouble."

"Or you're lying to keep him out of trouble," Prewett said.

Sirius sniffled slightly. "That's too much effort—"

"Sirius, stop." Remus rubbed his head, wishing Prewett had talked to him alone and he didn't have to deal with this. It was nice of Sirius to try but completely ridiculous. "I made the choice. They—they d-did the work, they d-deserve a b-better grade."

"You all did good work," Prewett said, pushing himself away from the desk. "Excellent work. However, there is not enough 'group' in the group project."

"Could—could we have—could we do it again?" Remus blurted out.

Inkwood groaned softly, covering her face.

"No, Mr. Lupin," Prewett said gently. "Now, don't worry. Your overall grade has most certainly not been dragged down if that's what's gotten you concerned." He began walking towards the door. "I just wanted to speak to the three of you regarding the grade since it was a rather unique circumstance. Most of the groups, everyone did their work. One group, it was obvious some students were slacking. Yours… well, it was obvious it wasn't a slacking issue but an overeager mind. So don't forget. Group… means group. I want to hear everyone's voice." He opened the door, smiling. "Have a good afternoon."

The three of them trooped out, Remus hunched over, stomach twisting into knots. Before any of their waiting friends could say anything, Inkwood grabbed Remus's arm.

"Do it again?" she demanded. "A—a month long project and you—do it again?"

Remus stepped away, pulling his satchel up almost as if it were a shield. "I—I wanted—I wanted—I—"

"An E is a great grade," she said, hand dropping. "What's the problem?"

"N-nothing," he muttered. His worst since—since her. Of course it was better than anything he ever got with Dedenne, but it still brought back bad memories. He had been getting Os, perfect Os, perfect grades up until now!

It was my fault, I should have let them do more He barely focused as they walked, needing to be yanked back into reality twice. The first when he almost walked into a statue, and the other when he almost walked off a stairwell.

"Maybe look where you're going?" James teased.

"Y—yeah, sorry," he muttered.

Then promptly stopped paying attention again as he thought, All because I had to make sure everything was perfect. He had truly thought it was the right thing to do. Utilizing the team, and all that. But… it was wrong. He was wrong. And now his grades were going to—well, all right, maybe an E wouldn't bring down his overall grade. But it still hurt.

Stop fussing over it, it's done with, you can't change it, and everyone else is right. It's not a bad grade. Except he couldn't stop thinking about it. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop, and that it would be a little blade digging into him for a long time. Which was probably pathetic, but he couldn't help it. He just hoped that the next time he got a big partner project that included an essay that he'd be able to get the balance right.

/\/\/\/\/\

Remus sulked about the E for the rest of the day. He tried not to sulk when he was with Fawley, though wound up telling her everything. She commiserated with him over not getting an O, though reminded him it was a group project and that Prewett was only trying to be fair. Remus sighed, knowing she was right—knowing Prewett was right—but still felt pretty miserable.

"I know I deserved it. I—I did. I do. I… it just hurts." He twisted his hands in his lap, unable to get thoughts of Dedenne out of his head. And when Fawley entered his mind, that's all they saw. Dedenne. Telling him if he failed he wouldn't get a second chance.

When they emerged, Fawley's hand went to his back. "Oh, Remus, it isn't like that," she said, rubbing his back.

Remus flinched, and forced himself to stay put. He had been feeling yucky with touch as the day wore on, and Fawley's hand on his back hurt him, the movements sending a cascade of pain through his body. It was going to make Occlumency very difficult.

"I know," he said, trying not to grimace. "I know it's not. It—it was just a memory, that's all."

Fawley opened her mouth then shut up, fingers curling against the back of his jumper. "Of course. Shall we continue?"

Most of his memories that night were of Dedenne. Her yelling at him, giving him poor grades, punishing him for doing what she asked him to. The big explosion at the end of the year that got her fired. Or… caused her to quit, Remus still wasn't quite sure.

Fawley ended the session early due to his emotions, and when he got to the dorms he curled up in bed with Gwyllgi. Sirius and Peter were both at James's practice and Dave and Spinnet were elsewhere so he was able to be completely alone with his thoughts. With the memory of Dedenne. The things she said.

The E didn't mean anything like that. He knew it didn't.

But…

He rolled over, burying his face into Gwyllgi, unable to stop the feelings and fears overwhelming him.