Author's note: Regarding the last chapter I made a mistake! A guest account on FFN pointed out I sort of dropped the scent-blocking smell bit and they were right. What happened was I was unhappy with the chapter and rearranged some scenes. I deleted the resolving of that part from one scene and forgot to add it back in to the proper part. So I've added a couple lines to the last chapter. When Remus leaves the flowers to go back to the school it says he hopes the spell will wear off, and then the next morning it mentions that the spell has. Sorry for any confusion, it's fixed now! Thank you, guest account haha

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

Monday morning Remus woke up a bit tired, as he had stayed up a little later than he intended, then had light nightmares all night about the exams. Nothing that really woke him up, but enough to make his sleep troubled. The other Marauders cast suspicious glances his way as he yawned through breakfast until he told them about the nightmares, leaving out the staying-up bit.

"I had nightmares too," moaned Peter. "This week is going to be awful, then the holidays are going to be miserable too!"

"We'll get through 'em," James promised.

Sirius remained silent as he poked at his eggs.

After breakfast they headed to the dungeon. Remus excused himself for a moment, ducking into a bathroom so he could put the spell on his nose. It took a few tries and when he finished he could still sorta smell things, however blocking out most of the smells would definitely come in handy! He cheerfully hurried off to Potions class, feeling excited when he went in and could hardly smell the ingredients.

"Someone's in a good mood," Lily whispered from behind him. Remus just grinned at her. Even though his potion wouldn't be, say, James or Peter level, he might be able to scrape together a Sirius level potion! Maybe a low E!

Slughorn talked briefly about the potion they'd be working on then had them begin. Remus took his cauldron to the faucets, carefully filling it to the correct amount, then returned to his desk to put it over the fire.

Right, he thought, opening his book and getting his kit out. Slughorn had supplied the rarer ingredients that weren't in the kit the students had. The first one was a smelly liquid that Remus hardly smelled at all! He easily measured out two tablespoons and dumped them into the water, stirring it until it became the correct translucent sort of purple color. Yes! He then measured in one ounce of powdered griffin claw and let it bubble while he crushed up the bitterroot. Once that was added and stirred in, he had to boil it for a couple of minutes so he took the time to write down his process.

Remus picked up the quill provided by Slughorn and pressed the tip against the parchment. He intended to write his name, as he was supposed to do, but instead the quill jerked and began writing on its own, pulling his hand with him.

CHEATER

Remus stared in disbelief at the word scrawled out of the quill. Before he could do anything about it, the quill wrote another cheater down, and then another. His hand jerked across the page as he was forced to write the word down until he finally managed to yank the quill away from the paper, having to rely on his werewolf strength to do so.

What the hell?! He looked down at the parchment in horror. Cheater was written down over a dozen times and the quill twitched in his hand, obviously wanting to keep writing it.

Next to him, Sirius looked over and Remus pulled the parchment closer, not wanting him to see.

"You all right?" Sirius whispered.

"Y—yes."

He turned his body a bit, setting the paper back down on the desk. What the hell? he thought again, panic bubbling inside of him more than his potion was in the cauldron. What the absolute and utter hell?!

It didn't make any sense whatsoever. His brain could not comprehend the words written down. Or why it happened. Or continued to happen, since he knew if he let the quill get too close to the parchment it would start again.

"Remus!" Sirius yelped.

"Mr. Lupin!" Slughorn snapped.

Remus jumped back to see his potion boiling over. Swearing, he grabbed for the handle without thinking then cried out from the heat. There was a lot of snickering from the Slytherins over the sound he made.

"S-sorry!" He tried to put on his gloves but the quill would not be removed from his right hand.

Slughorn came over, swinging the cauldron away from the fire. "Mr. Lupin, is there a problem?" he asked, frowning at the quill Remus was still holding.

Remus opened and shut his mouth, trying not to break down. He thought if he tried to talk all that would happen was he'd wind up crying. It only got worse when Slughorn's eyes drifted to the parchment. Remus bowed his head, fighting off the urge to throw up as Slughorn picked the paper up, seeing the cheater. There were whispers from the other students as they worked on their potions, wondering what was going on. The other Marauders, Lily, and Aegis all looked very concerned. Remus shrank down, wanting to die.

Slughorn sighed. "Mr. Lupin. Please go to my office and wait there." He flicked his wand at the fire on Remus's desk, making it go out. "Misters Black, Pettigrew, and Potter, please continue your work," Slughorn added, since they had completely stopped what they were doing.

Remus put his things in his bag, trying harder now not to cry. He rose to his feet, going to Slughorn's office with trembling knees. Once inside he collapsed onto a chair and began crying into his hands (and quill).

I don't understand, he thought, sniffling into his sleeve. I don't understand what happened! Had someone put something in his breakfast? Snape, perhaps? To get revenge? Would Snape go that far? Remus didn't think he had been affected by any potions, but Snape was a mastermind when it came to potions; he'd probably be able to figure out a good potion that wasn't easily detected.

Shit, he thought, wiping his face off. All right, it probably wasn't that. But what else could it be? Remus didn't cheat! He wasn't a cheater! Why did the anti-cheat quill react that way? Was the quill defective? Could that be possible?

Remus sat there feeling nauseated and terrified for several long minutes until Slughorn's office door opened; the one connected to the hallway, not the classroom. He came in with Professor McGonagall who looked very put out.

"—accusing one of my students of doing such a—" McGonagall stopped, staring in disbelief at Remus. "Mr. Lupin? Wh—what are you doing in here?"

"He was cheating." Slughorn went to his desk, pushing a piece of paper closer to Remus. "Put the quill to the paper, Mr. Lupin."

Remus grit his teeth. "S—sir, I—"

"Now," Slughorn ordered.

Remus swallowed and as soon as the quill was within two inches of the paper it yanked forward, writing cheater down over and over.

McGonagall gave a slight gasp. "Enough!" She flicked her wand and the quill zipped out of Remus's hand. He slumped back, wondering if maybe he could just jump out a window—except, they were underground, that wouldn't work.

Oh God, oh Merlin! He covered his face again.

"Mr. Lupin… Remus…" McGonagall sat down next to him. "Could you please explain yourself?"

"Nnn-n-n-no, P-Professor," he stammered out. "I d-d-don't know what—I don't understand—I don't know! M-maybe the—the q-quill is—is defective?"

Slughorn made a harrumphing sound. "These quills have all been checked out by the Ministry of Magic. They are most certainly not defective!"

Remus shook his head, staring down at his hands twisting around in his lap. "P—Professor, I—I d-d-d-don't know—I don't—I—"

"The punishment for cheating on an exam is suspension," Slughorn said.

It was like a wave of icy blackness slamming into him, pulling him into some sort of abyss.

"NO!" he cried out. "No, p—please, I—I don't know wh-why this—I don't—I never ch-ch-cheated, I s-swear I never—I w-w-wouldn't!" He looked up at McGonagall with blurry eyes, as more tears were forming and dripping down his cheek.s. "Profes—Professor, I sss-s-swear, I w-w-wouldn't!"

"How about we try a different quill," McGonagall said.

Slughorn scoffed. "I never! Minerva, you know I would never allow—"

"I know, Horace, however Remus Lupin is the last of my students I would ever expect to cheat," she said stiffly.

"He does not do well with the practical side of potions," Slughorn grumbled as he yanked open his desk, pulling out another quill. "Will this one suffice?"

McGonagall tapped it with her wand and it glowed a faint red. "Yes, thank you. Here." She put it in Remus's hand. "Please write something down."

Remus had a split-second of hope until the tip touched the paper. CHEATER CHEATER CHEATER CHE

The quill was yanked away, back to McGonagall. Slughorn looked vaguely pleased. McGonagall simply stared at Remus.

"I—I d-d-d—I w-wou—wo—wouldn't—" he whispered, voice hitching with his sobs. "I wouldn't!"

"Obviously you've taken some sort of potion or performed some sort of spell on yourself in order to do better," Slughorn said, hands stretched across his belly.

"No!" Remus cried. "No, I—I'd never—I w-w-wouldn't, I wouldn't—"

Except realization dawned on him.

Spell.

Spell.

The anti-cheat quill detected any kind of magic in or on a person. Whether it was a cheating potion/spell or not.

Remus paled, pressing a hand to his mouth, eyes going huge.

"A-hah," Slughorn said rather triumphantly.

"Remus?" McGonagall demanded.

"I—I—I—" He couldn't get any other syllables out, and he stopped to take a deep breath. It sounded a bit more like a gasping wail. "Sp—spell," he forced out in a tiny voice. "I—a—a sp—spell."

"Remus!" McGonagall gasped.

He burst into a fresh wave of tears, curling forward, pressing his face hard against his hands. "I d-d-didn't—I d-didn't—not—not to—not to ch-ch—cheat, I s-s-sss-s-swear! I swear!" He felt terrified, like he was going to pass out or die any second. His vision and head both pulsed with each heavy heartbeat. "I only—it w-w-was only—t-t-to—it only—"

"Any magic used to aid a student other than sanctioned excuses due to disability is cheating," Slughorn said, reciting from the rules of Hogwarts.

McGonagall had a hand pressed to her chest and she had gone a little pale herself. "Remus. What spell did you use?"

"C—ca—car—ca—c-c-c—cari—ca—c—c—ca—" he tried, to no avail. Everything was becoming increasingly harder to do. Speaking. Breathing. Existing. He was getting hot and dizzy, and it felt like something was squeezing his chest tightly. His hands were shaking hard. "C—caaaaaa—aaaaa—" He broke into sobs.

"Was it the last spell you used?" McGonagall asked, and Remus managed a nod. "Give me your wand, please."

As soon as he got his wand out of his pocket, it fell to the floor due to his hand trembling so much. He bent forward to pick it up and pitched right out of his seat, smacking his head against his desk. McGonagall and Slughorn both made loud noises of concern as Remus slid to the floor.

"We need to get him to Poppy," McGonagall said, her voice distant and fuzzy.

"N—n—nnn—n—"

Remus tried to say no, unable to get the whole word out for some reason. The next thing he knew he was in McGonagall's arms being carried down a corridor. He felt oddly weak and was unable to pull away from her firm grip. Beyond her, Slughorn was following as fast as he could.

"Remus, are you with me?" McGonagall asked, seeing his eyes opening.

"P—ple—plea—p—p—"

"Shh, it's going to be okay."

Then he was in a hospital bed with Madame Pomfrey doing diagnostic spells on him. He heard something about increased heart rate and blood pressure, but he wasn't sure what exactly was being said. Then he was on his back with a cold, damp cloth over his head and a potion being poured into his mouth. It was cool on his tongue, and almost immediately the panic began subsiding. His body relaxed and the shaking stopped.

"—extreme anxiety and panic—" he heard Pomfrey telling McGonagall and Slughorn beyond the now-closed curtains. Then she asked what happened, and Slughorn said Remus had been caught cheating. Pomfrey gave a sharp laugh at that. "Remus? Cheat?"

"Unfortunately that is how the anti-cheat quills reacted," McGonagall said. "Horace, you grabbed his wand, didn't you? Let me see it, please. Prior incantato! Hmm. I'm not quite sure I know what this spell is—"

"Something to make potions easier, no doubt," Slughorn sighed. "Minerva, I am sorry, Mr. Lupin is a good student but—"

"It blocks scents," Pomfrey said flatly. "I learned it at Saint Mungo's during my training to become a Healer."

"Deletrius," McGonagall muttered. "Block smells? You're certain?"

"Yes," Pomfrey replied. "Absolutely and one hundred percent certain. It helps us get up close and personal with patients who have odorous diseases, as well as dealing with corpses, without issue. Now, excuse me, I need to see how he's doing."

Pomfrey did some spells on him, glad to see his body was calming down. She gave him some more calming potion then tucked him into bed, telling him he'd need to rest for a while.

"C—classes," he whispered. "I—I have exams—"

"We can see about any other morning exam you may have being given to you at a different point," Pomfrey said. "You need to rest. Perhaps you can go to your afternoon exams, depending."

The curtains opened again. "May we speak to him?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, he's doing a little better, but don't push him too much," said Pomfrey.

McGonagall and Slughorn approached the bed. Remus glanced away, not wanting to—not able to—look at McGonagall's face.

"Did you use cariabsenium on yourself?" McGonagall asked. Remus slowly nodded, still not looking at her or Slughorn. "Can you tell us why?"

"I—I h-have a—a s-sensitive n-nn-nose," he whispered, a heavy lump pressing down in his stomach. "I h-have t-trouble with—with the—the sc-scents in—in c-c-class. I—I sw-swear I d-d-didn't m-mean it to—to—to ch-cheat! I n-never even c-c-considered it t-to be—be ch-cheating!"

"You only wanted to… even the playing field, so to speak?" McGonagall suggested. Remus gave another nod. "I see."

"I'm afraid—" Slughorn began, but McGonagall interrupted him with, "A word, please."

They went past the curtains again, voices dropping. He could still hear them, though; their words were very clear. He clutched as his blanket, breathing a little raggedly as they spoke. The calming potion definitely helped make things easier, at least.

"We give assistance to special cases, Horace. If a child has difficulties due to a disability, we allow them aid."

Slughorn frowned, smoothing down his mustache. "This is not a disability."

"It is causing him trouble in class," McGonagall argued. "It is giving him a disadvantage due to a—a medical condition he has. I say that is an issue we need to resolve."

"Medical condition," Slughorn repeated, then snorted. "He's a werewolf—"

"He is a student."

"Let me finish. He is a werewolf, which is vastly different from being unable to walk or being deaf! It is not a disability. If this were a Slytherin I wonder if you would be so charitable—"

"I cannot believe my ears!" McGonagall snapped. "I would grant extenuating circumstances to any child regardless of house in this case, and I would hope you would do the same!"

Slughorn tutted. "Ah, Minerva, I didn't mean it like that. I mean… this hasn't been mentioned or brought up until now. If it is such an issue, why wait? It's been a year and a half. He has had ample time to—hrmm—mention it to one of us."

"Perhaps it is something he does not wish to discuss or admit."

"He's told me before he has a sensitive nose, he never once mentioned it giving him problems with my class!"

"I think this is something we should discuss with Albus over the holidays," McGonagall said, clearly irritated. "In the meantime, we should find a time for him to do a makeup exam—"

"No. I'm sorry. That is going too far. Even if he was not using it with the intentions of cheating, it does not change the fact he used a spell on himself to help him in class without permission," Slughorn said angrily. "Even if we end up allowing it, it does not change what happened today. Now. All things considered, I will not push for suspension. I do understand his plight. I will give him an incomplete, and normally he would need to receive ninety percent on the written portion if he wishes to get a passing grade for these exams alongside the incomplete, however I will drop that to an eighty percent. Which should be easy for him, as his theoretical potion work is outstanding. I also believe he should be punished, but I will leave that up to you. I must return to my class. Good day."

Remus heard him leave then McGonagall came back through the curtains, pulling a chair up to his bedside.

"Professor…" Except he didn't know what to say, besides apologize again.

McGonagall looked down her nose at him. "You are aware of the rules, correct?"

"Y—yes." He began squirming a little on the bed, feeling strange since he knew normally he'd be panicking badly but the potion wasn't really letting him.

"I wish you had brought this up with me or Professor Slughorn sooner," she sighed, pushing her glasses up. "I am going to speak with Professor Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn over the holiday to perhaps see if there is something we can do. Professor Slughorn said you will need to get at least an eighty percent on Friday's written exam in order not to fail. Is this something manageable for you?"

"Yes," he whispered hoarsely. "I—I do d-decent with the—the written parts."

"That is good to know. Now, normally cheating on exams is grounds for suspension." He cringed back, stomach twisting up even more. "I will not be suspending you," she said gently. "You clearly did not have any intentions of cheating. But you know you are not permitted to use magic on yourself for class in that manner. You will be given a week of detention."

His heart plummeted. A week?! A full week of detention? For a split second he thought about how horrible that was, then realized it was vastly kinder than suspension and he had no room to complain. "Yes, Professor."

McGonagall stood back up. "If you are unable to attend your afternoon classes we will figure out times to make them up."

"Th—thank you."

He watched her leave then rolled over, pressing his face into the pillow feeling extremely, extremely, extremely stupid. He knew the rule about potions and spells for classes! He should have known, should have remembered, should have realized! He hadn't thought… since it was so—so innocuous it never crossed his mind. Now he was going to have a barely passing Potions grade for an exam, have to do at least one makeup exam, and was facing a whole week of detention. He didn't think James or Sirius ever even got a whole week all at once for one thing!

At least Slughorn seemed really annoyed about what happened. Maybe he'll leave me alone now, Remus thought. At least there was a—

Silver lining, he thought with a bitter laugh. Yeah. Great.

/\/\/\/\/\

Madame Pomfrey gave Remus another dose of the calming potion shortly before eleven, just before he'd be going to Charms. It was a good thing she did, as even with the help of the potion he worked himself into an anxious fit. It was worse missing exams for this than it was missing them for full moon reasons.

"W—will the calming potion c-cause issues for my T—Transfiguration exam?" Remus asked, flexing his right hand, terrified of touching another anti-cheat quill. He kept seeing cheater in his head.

"No," she said. "Minerva told me that you'll be taking your practical exams this afternoon, and she knows you'll have the potion in you. You'll be fine, if you go. You don't have any others?"

Remus shook his head. Due to the exams, today's History lesson was canceled and McGonagall's class was extended so everyone would have time to perform their spells.

"All right. Lay back down. Get some rest, you were in a lot of distress earlier."

Remus obediently lay back down, sleeping on and off until around twelve-thirty when she brought him lunch. He wondered what his friends had been told, what they were thinking—where they were. He didn't have long to wait, as the hospital doors burst open soon after he began eating. His curtains were open so he could see the Marauders tumbling over themselves to get to his bed.

"What the bloody hell happened?!"

"Sluggy didn't say a damn word, he just kept saying it was between you and him, the bastard!"

"We've been so worried! McGonagall finally said you were here…"

They crowded around his bed, eyes wide and full of concern.

"I'm f-fine," he said, moving his food tray to the side table then pushed himself into an even better sitting position. "It—it wasn't anything b-big."

Peter frowned, James narrowed his eyes, and Sirius looked like Remus had just confessed to being a Slytherin.

"NOT ANYTHING BIG?!" Sirius exploded, and Remus cringed. "NOT ANYTHING BIG?! SLUGHORN HAULED YOU INTO HIS OFFICE AND—"

"Mr. Black!" Pomfrey came running over at his shouts. "Keep your voice down!"

"Remus, obviously something big happened!" James said, while Sirius kept shrieking.

"—YOU NEVER CAME BACK THEN THE NEXT THING WE KNOW—"

"Mr. Black, stop shouting!"

"—MCGONAGALL SAYS YOU'RE IN THE HOSPITAL WING—"

"You wouldn't be here if it wasn't anything big," Peter pointed out.

Pomfrey folded her arms, standing in front of Sirius. "If you cannot remain quiet you will be asked to leave!"

But then someone else was coming through the doors: Lily. She ran over to them, panting heavily. "Remus, what's going on?"

"—AND YOU LAY THERE AND SAY IT'S NOTHING BIG—"

Sirius was shouting, Pomfrey was talking, James, Peter, and Lily kept saying things, and then Aegis came in as well, though he was silent.

Remus clamped his hands over his ears, all the voices turning into a horrific cacophony in his head, making his skin itch and his soul shudder. Please stop, please! He couldn't handle it, not after everything that happened earlier. He wanted to scream at everyone to be quiet, but didn't dare speak. His body began shaking and he was worried he'd end up like he had in Slughorn's office, but instead he just felt ill and shuddery, with sharp pinpricks all over his skin at each word spoken.

Then Sirius was complaining as Pomfrey hauled him out of the wing, shoving him out the door. "If anyone else wishes to cause a ruckus, you may leave as well!" she snapped, and nobody spoke which meant they could all hear Sirius grumbling through the door. "You have five minutes, then he may have one visitor. He needs to rest."

"So what happened?" James asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Peter sat as well, leaving Lily and Aegis to pull up chairs. The words still grated Remus though having only one person speaking made it a bit easier to bear.

"I—" He looked at their concerned faces, his stomach feeling even worse. "I d-don't w-w-want to talk about it."

"Remus—" James began.

"If he doesn't want to talk about it he doesn't need to," Lily interrupted.

James glared at her. "So you don't care Slughorn practically kidnapped him, now suddenly he's in the hospital wing?"

"Are you accusing Professor Slughorn of hurting Remus?!"

"All I'm saying is he was fine, then Slughorn took him away for no reason, and now he's not fine," James replied, shoving his glasses back into position.

"Yeah, it's definitely weird what happened," agreed Peter.

Lily gasped. "Professor Slughorn is our teacher! How dare you accuse him of doing anything like that!"

"I'm not accusing him, exactly, only pointing out it's suspicious—"

"What if it was Professor Flitwick? Or Sprout? Would you be accusing them?" she demanded angrily. "Or is it only because he's Head of Slytherin—"

"Yeah, actually," James cut her off. "I'd accuse any teacher, except maybe McGonsie. I'm sorry but it's weird what happened. He was fine. Perfectly fine! Then Slughorn took him to his office now look at him—"

"You cheated," Aegis said, speaking up for the first time. Even though his voice was soft, his words cut through everything else and caused James and Lily to fall silent. Peter's eyes got big.

Before Remus could say anything, James was on his feet with his wand pointed right at Aegis's face. "How dare you?!" James snarled out.

"James, st—stop!" Remus cried out, swinging his legs around to sit up, reaching for James's arm.

"Potter, don't hex him!" Lily snapped.

James ignored both of them. "How dare you, you damn Slytherin!"

"I can't believe you'd say something like that," Peter squeaked out. "Remus? Cheat? Remus?"

Aegis was pressed back in the chair. "I am not meaning he cheated on purpose!" His eyes flickered over to Remus. "It was the spell, wasn't it?"

"You little—"

Now Remus interrupted James. "Yes."

James jerked back, jaw slack. Peter and Lily made noises of shock, looking at Remus in disbelief. Remus squirmed a little, very uncomfortable.

"You did what?" James asked, voice faltering.

Remus sucked in a deep breath. "I—I accidentally… well, not—not accidentally… see, the thing is, you—you know I am sensitive to smells and—and I thought—but the—the thing is, I wasn't thinking about the fact one of the rules is not to use—use sp-spells on ourselves for lessons and exams…"

"I found a spell that blocks out scents," Aegis explained, looking exceedingly anxious. "It is my fault—"

"No," Remus said quickly. "No, if you hadn't giv—given it to me, I would have f-found it eventually on my own and I still would have b-been in this—this mess."

Lily stood up, eyes fixated on Remus. "You used a spell on yourself? Before an exam?"

Remus slid back into bed, wanting to disappear. "Y—yes."

"REMUS—LUPIN—HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID?!" she screamed. "WHAT, ARE POTTER AND BLACK INFECTING YOU NOW?!"

"Don't yell at him!" Peter said protectively.

"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU'D EVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU—YOU—YOU—" Lily spluttered, trying to figure out a word that Remus assumed would boil down to 'idiot'. Before she could find one, Pomfrey was back and this time she kicked everyone out.

"Aegis, please don't b-blame yourself!" Remus called out. "And James, please don't hex him!"

The doors shut and Pomfrey stormed back to his bedside. "Your friends are more trouble than they are worth! Though I did not expect Miss Evans to—well. Lay back down. You need to eat your lunch and get some rest if you expect to be up to going to your Transfiguration exam."

Remus pulled the tray of food back onto his lap but couldn't really eat, feeling too sick with worry what the Marauders might be doing to Aegis.