Author's note: I am very close to finishing writing Remus's second year! I am currently writing chapter 151 and I am guessing I will probably be finishing it up by chapter 155/156! I'll definitely let you guys know when I finish the last chapter :)

Now on to the TW. Some cis teen boy problems mentioned after Remus goes to bed, and again when Remus is in Defense, as well as very vague internal homophobia.

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All three Marauders waited for a response while Remus silently panicked. In the moment he hadn't even thought about what he did though, in retrospect, he should have been a lot more careful. Had the Slytherins seen it? Slytherin, he corrected, as only one had been up at that point. But he couldn't 'be careful' when his friend was about to be thrown down one-and-a-half-stories and probably break all the bones in his body (or worse); he had needed to act fast. Which he did. And now this.

Then, They know now. They didn't look afraid or hateful, merely confused—waiting for an answer.

"Ah—"

He stepped back, tugging at the end of his sleeve, knowing he couldn't get out of this one. Aegis and Malfoy might have believed a strengthening solution, but not them! Perhaps he could get away with claiming it was adrenaline but…

"I—I'm—I'm st-strong," he forced out, the confession probably sounding very silly in such a small voice, from such a small person. Indeed, James and Peter both began giggling. Sirius kept up the frown and furrowed brow. "I am," he said, a little louder. "It—it's from—because I'm—you know."

"You're strong," James said, still amused. Remus nodded. "Right."

"Wait," Peter said, his amusement fading a little. "You are?"

"Yes."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked. "You—I wouldn't believe it if you hadn't—" He stopped, frowning even more. "You held me up. You lifted me up."

"I mean I…" Remus licked his lips, eyes darting around the corridor, figuring a show of strength would be the best way to prove to them. He went over to a large, very heavy stone bench and grasped the edge with his right hand. His left shoulder was probably completely healed, but he didn't want to risk anything. Grunting slightly, he pulled the bench halfway off the ground without much trouble at all. He kept it held up for a few seconds then dropped it with a very, very loud thud.

They were staring again, this time with huge eyes and a slack jaw in Peter's case.

James immediately went over and tried to lift it with one hand. Nothing happened. Grunting, he grasped the edge with both hands and pulled upwards; he managed to get it maybe an inch off the ground before giving up.

Remus rubbed his hands together a bit then sat down on another bench, the dizziness becoming too much. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as that night, in October. But this would change things. Hopefully… not too much.

"Damn," Sirius said.

He ducked a little, wrapping the hem of his shirt around his finger now. "I—I sh-should have told you sooner…" That sounded very awkward, and probably unconvincing.

"Why didn't you?" James asked, messing up his hair as he took in what just happened.

Remus shrugged. "When we—when you asked me all th-those questions about—about it, I guess I wasn't thinking about it. Then… you—you made it clear you didn't see me as a—a—a mon—monster, or some big evil thing. I guess I was afraid if you knew what I c-could do as a—a human you might… ch-change your minds about that." He hunched over, unable to look at them anymore. "That you'd be afraid of me."

Sirius had been pacing a bit while Remus spoke and when he finished, Sirius stared at him incredulously. "Afraid of you? What? Are you mad?!"

Remus tried not to flinch, halfway wanting to say, Well according to most the school, yes. Instead, he gave another small shrug, not saying anything.

"Bloody hell, Remy, that's—" Sirius yanked his fingers through his hair, giving a slight groan. "No. No! We'd never be afraid of you! Why would you even think that?"

"Yeah, you're—you're Remus," James added quickly. "Strong or not, you're still our Remus!"

"Plus it is kinda cool," Peter said, and when Remus gave him a slightly shocked look, Peter smiled rather crookedly. "Er, well, it is. I mean, you're super strong! That is so cool!"

Sirius was suddenly on the bench next to Remus. "You're not—we'd never see you as some big evil monster! Merlin, that's bloody ridiculous!"

Remus clenched his teeth at that, now irritated at his fears being called ridiculous. "Not that ridiculous," he said rather sharply. "I can pick up this damn bench, Sirius! Most people would be terrified!"

"I think we've made it pretty clear we're not most people," Sirius said.

Remus just shook his head, getting up now. Mostly to get away from Sirius. You hated me for the scent thing, he wanted to accuse. You got so mad! "Yes, you—you are, but—I was still worried, all right? I can't help it! I—I'm not normal, and every time I do something or say something I'm so scared of being—of being—being—"

"Weird and wrong," Sirius said, rather flatly.

Remus wrapped his arms around his middle, turning his head away, silent again.

"Shit."

"Sirius—"

He got up, hands curled into fists. "No, it—I—it's—it's because I said—"

"It's not because of what you said," Remus growled. "This has been something I've been afraid of telling you three since you found out I was one!"

Sirius wasn't going to let it go. "Except I didn't help anything at all, did I? I messed up, I totally messed up—"

"It's nothing to do with that, I promise! I was afraid before!"

The two stared at each other while James and Peter tried to pretend they weren't in the middle of the argument, quite literally as they were standing between the two of them. James was rubbing the back of his head while Peter looked awkwardly down at his shoes.

"I'm sorry," Sirius said, the word he barely ever used.

Remus felt his nose burning as tears threatened to well up. He bit down on his tongue, trying not to cry like a baby. "You're fine," he whispered, since speaking at a regular volume felt like it would release the waterworks.

Sirius crossed the hall, putting his hands on Remus's shoulder. "I am though."

"I know. I forgive you, I do. It's—it's fine, it really is." Remus wanted to push Sirius away and go and hide somewhere. This was too much. Way too much. "As I said, I've been scared to tell you guys since October. It—it was nice… you three not thinking of me as some brute and I thought if I told you about this, it would change everything."

James snorted. "Remy, I don't think anyone would ever think of you as a brute."

Remus tugged at his sleeve, chewing at his bottom lip. "I can pick up—"

"Yes, you can pick up that bench," Sirius cut him off. "You can also grab me when I'm about to fall and break all the bones in my body, and lift me up with a dislocated shoulder." Remus averted his gaze. "There is no possible way we'd ever think poorly of you. Okay? Okay?" he drew out when Remus didn't answer.

"Okay," Remus whispered.

They looked into one anothers' eyes for probably far too long that was sensible, then Remus jumped as James lightly smacked his back.

"I agree with what Petey said earlier," he said cheerfully as Sirius and Remus pulled apart. "It is cool."

"Yes!" Peter said excitedly. "I mean, look what you can do! How is that not cool? Do it again! I mean, um, that sounded rude. Only if you want."

Remus couldn't help but smile at Peter's exuberance and went over to pull the stone bench up again. Peter clapped, clearly very impressed. This time Remus set the bench down gently.

"You could pick us up," Sirius murmured, rubbing his chin.

"I—I could, probably," he said, not sure why Sirius brought that up. "I did technically, earlier."

"No, I meant—"

"Yes, I know," Remus said. "But—but c-could we… tomorrow? I'm pretty wiped emotionally and mentally with what happened." He couldn't believe they weren't absolutely exhausted, but when he looked at them he realized James and Sirius both were too. Of course Peter wasn't, he hadn't been involved with the duel.

"Yeah, we should get back to the dorms," James agreed.

Going the rest of the way to the tower didn't even register in Remus's head, and before he knew it they were in the dorm. He collapsed down on his bed, beyond fatigued. Everything was rushing through his body, which should have made him all keyed up and anxious, but he was simply too tired to be all keyed up. He was anxious, though; very anxious.

Since David and Spinnet were still down in the common room, Remus rolled out of bed in order to wriggle underneath, curling up with a blanket and pillow. Peter started doing homework while James and Sirius went into James's bed, whispering to each other about what happened.

I can't keep more secrets from them, he realized, but didn't think he wanted to confess another weird fact. He'd tell them tomorrow, about how his hearing was better than they probably realized.

Sighing, he rolled onto his side, burying his head under his pillow as he tried to relax. When he closed his eyes all he saw was Sirius flipping over the balcony. Then he remembered they had left the paralyzed Slytherins on the sixth floor. Oops. Surely someone would come across them, right? They'd be found. It was a well-used corridor.

Remus fidgeted, growing more and more nervous until he couldn't handle it another minute. "Merlin," he moaned, sliding out from under his bed.

"What is it?" Peter asked. "Are you okay?"

"Y—yes, I—well, um, we did leave those Slytherins," he said.

James's curtains pulled back, his and Sirius's faces peering out. "So?" Sirius asked. "They nearly killed me, let them stay there."

Remus sat up, rubbing his forehead. "Leaving them there could get us in more trouble."

Sirius swung his legs out, eyes narrowed. "They could have killed me. Honestly, we should have stuck them in a secret passage or something."

"You want to go rescue them, don't you?" James sighed, adjusting his glasses. Remus nodded. "Bloody hell. Fine."

"I can go by myself—"

"And when they spring up and attack you?" Sirius asked, putting his shoes back on.

"I w-was going to remove the spells from a distance," Remus muttered.

"Zap and run," giggled James.

Peter frowned but got his shoes on too. "I'm not gonna let you guys risk another fight like that," he said when Remus said he didn't need to go too. "Least maybe I can do something to help."

It was pretty much at curfew by that point so they needed to hurry. They went down to the sixth floor, going to where the Slytherins had been left—but they were gone. The only signs of the fight were some of James's blood on the floor and a burnt mark where Remus had won his fight. The four Marauders exchanged looks then returned to the dorms, just as curfew hit.

"Welp, looks like we'll be in more trouble then," James said as they got back into their own beds. Their dormmates were there now, which meant Remus had to get into his bed instead of under it.

"More trouble?" Spinnet asked. "What did you do this time?"

"Defend ourselves," James replied haughtily.

"Sure, of course," Spinnet mumbled, rolling his eyes.

Remus disappeared into the bathroom to get ready for bed, zero intention of leaving the dorm again. He crawled under his covers, shut his curtains, and curled up with Gwyllgi. Everyone else was wide awake, but he had no energy for conversation or social interactions of any kind. He didn't even have the energy to read or study.

Eventually, he drifted into an uneasy sleep full of nightmares of his friends being flung off cliffs. He thrashed in bed, waking up when Lily's body was dashed into pieces. Music was still playing. Everyone else was still up. He glanced out the curtains to see it was only a little after nine.

Groaning, he fell back, covering his face. It took a while to get back to sleep and this time he slept for longer, waking up not from nightmares but the sound of someone doing something, someone making noise. It was very dark now, and everyone else sounded asleep, so it was late. Thinking that perhaps Lily was there to play another prank on James, he peeked out from behind the curtains.

Sirius was yanking the blanket off his bed, muttering under his breath as he did so.

"Sirius?" Remus whispered.

Sirius jumped about fifty feet in the air, dropping the blanket. "What the—?" He turned, eyes huge. "Re—Remus!" His voice was very squeaky, and he quickly turned back around, messing with the sheets. "Wh-what are you—why are you—"

"Is everything okay?"

Sirius shoved his bedclothes behind his curtains, keeping his back to Remus. "Yes, fine. I—I had a nightmare."

"Oh—"

"Got sweaty is all. Very sweaty. Want to change the—um, anyway, yeah, it's fine. Everything's fine. Go back to sleep."

"Do you need help?"

"No!"

Remus frowned. "Is—"

"Fine," Sirius said quickly, dumping his blanket into the laundry bin, shoving it down to the bottom. He then got into their shared wardrobe, yanking out pajamas. "Fine, go back to sleep."

Then before Remus could say anything else, Sirius darted out of the room. Within a minute Remus heard a shower going.

He then realized there was a vaguely familiar scent in the air, one he was starting to smell more often in the dorm room. It had taken him some time to figure out what it was and once he did… he most definitely did not want to smell it. Oh Merlin, oh no, he thought miserably, quickly shutting his curtains and diving under his pillow, wishing he didn't have to smell that! It was just as bad knowing when girls were—were having the—their problem. Both were extremely awkward, personal things he most definitely didn't want to sense.

/\/\/\/\/\

Remus had no idea how to act the next day. All he really could do was act like nothing happened. Sirius seemed really awkward too, though hopefully he didn't know Remus figured out the… er, problem. He certainly tried to seem like nothing was wrong. Still, he didn't talk as much to Remus as usual, and looked uncomfortable whenever their eyes met.

On the other hand, Peter was really excited about Remus's strength. When they ate lunch in the Pits Passages, Remus demonstrated by picking up the heavy pots without any trouble. Then he also picked Peter up who laughed, clapping when he was set back down.

That's when Remus admitted how good his hearing was, cautiously bringing up the fact that when James and Sirius talked behind their curtains—even James's curtains—he could hear.

"It—it's like whispering, in James's bed," he explained. "When you're talking at a normal level. If you whisper quietly enough I shouldn't be able to hear. I—I'm sorry for not saying sooner…"

"It's fine," James said, though he seemed a bit annoyed.

Remus looked down at his food, guilty flowing through him. "I never listened in. I mean, I heard some things however whenever you started talking I'd put my earplugs in or put my head under my pillow to avoid hearing you."

"Anything else you're not telling us?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry!" He picked at his sandwich, feeling frustrated. "It's not that—that I don't trust you it's… I've said before all I've been told is to keep everything secret because otherwise I'll be killed—"

"Remus," Sirius tried.

Remus ignored him. "Talking about my abilities is new to me. I know you wouldn't hate me—" of course he knew no such thing, as he suspected one day something would happen to make them hate him, "—I'm just scared easily! And yes, actually, I can see in the dark very well."

He slumped back miserably. Peter reached out to touch his arm in comfort, and it took a lot of effort not to flinch since it was definitely a 'no touch' sort of day.

"Er, sorry, I didn't—I shouldn't have put it like that," James said, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I sounded rude."

"Sometimes it's hard to talk about certain things," Sirius mumbled. "Whether you trust someone or not. There are things… we prefer to keep to ourselves."

Remus tore apart his sandwich, his body practically vibrating from those words, knowing perfectly well Sirius was subtly referring to his family and his secrets that he kept close.

"Or information that I'm afraid would change everything despite your reassurance it wouldn't," he added after a few seconds.

"Well, being strong is definitely cool and not scary," Peter promised.

"I am sorry if I sounded rude," James said with a sheepish smile, and Remus shrugged, saying it was fine. He understood their side of things.

The conversation changed, thankfully, and the others discussed James's upcoming game while Remus continued dismantling his sandwich until it was nothing but crumbs. He pushed his plate away, not really hungry anyway. At least his friends were all caught up with his lycanthropic abilities… unless he was forgetting something else, which was very possible.

Remus pretty much checked out for the rest of their lunch, only coming back mentally when it was time to go. As he got up, brushing the crumbs off him onto the plate, he froze up. There was a sound coming from down the corridor. He tilted his head, peering at the darkness beyond the pits—then realized the sound was coming from downward. From inside one of the pits. Tentatively he went over. It was the pit just beyond the one they were next to, and it sorta sounded like whispering.

"What's going on?" James asked.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

The sound stopped. He waited for a moment, then shook his head. "Nothing, I thought I heard something."

"Like a snake?" Sirius asked, prodding Peter in the ribs.

Peter jumped, swatting at Sirius's hand. "Bloody hell, Sirius, I know what I saw!" He hesitated, then frowned. "Okay, I think I know what I saw."

"I believe you," Remus said.

"Thank you," Peter said, glowering at Sirius who giggled.

The Marauders hadn't taken into account returning James's broom to the dorms, so they were a couple of minutes late hurrying into Defense Against the Dark Arts. Prewett took two points off from each of them, giving them disapproving looks as they sat down. Lily frowned at them too, and Remus noticed Twycross rolling her eyes.

Prewett cleared his throat and started on his lecture. Remus quickly got everything out to take notes, feeling a little bad for being so late; he could have gotten to class in time if he had abandoned the others, but that would have been wrong.

Re'ems can be found in N.A. and Eastern regions of Asia. Remus chewed at his quill, squinting at what he wrote down. Are they native to both regions? he added, thinking. Were they brought to one from the other? He tried to think of any other creatures that were native to both regions but before he could a note landed on his desk.

Re'em is your new nickname – SB

Remus scowled at Sirius, giving a small shake of his head. Sirius nodded. Remus crumpled the note up, tossing it at him. It hit his leg, falling to the ground while he tried not to laugh.

Remus looked back up at Prewett, wondering what he had missed during that little exchange. Prewett was pacing back and forth, his slender hands waving through the air as he spoke. Remus put his elbow on the desk, resting his chin on his hand as he watched Prewett. He really was a good-looking man. There was something about his slender frame and broad shoulders, and the shape of his nose with his broad forehead…

Remus blinked a few times then returned to his notes, burning a little with the shame of his wrong thoughts. Not wrong thoughts, he debated to himself. Only facts.

He glanced back up, since Prewett was writing on the blackboard. His back was to the class, and he wasn't wearing robes or a cape so the class had a good view of his backside, clad in well-fitted brown trousers.

Another note. Remus was grateful this time for the distraction because he did not want to think about—about—

Re'em Lupin, the golden Gryffindor. Fits you you know – SB (along with a winky face).

Remus carefully drew a big frowning face over the whole thing and sent it back. What happened to Sirius being uncomfortable with interacting with him like he had been all morning?! Obviously the embarrassment of what had happened the night before had worn off.

Remus shuddered a little, going back to his notes again as he tried not to think about it. Tried not to think about Sirius—Sirius—having that issue. Tried not to think of the fact most likely sooner or later he'd have the same issue. He wondered vaguely what girl Sirius had been dreaming about. He wondered what girl he'd dream about, when the time came. Not that he wanted it to happen, but from what he read in Your Body it was bound to happen.

His eyes drifted back to Professor Prewett. He's had the issue too, his brain whispered, and Remus dropped his quill at the sudden, shocking thought that invaded his head.

NO! he thought desperately as he reached down to pick his quill up. He nearly banged heads with James who was reaching down to pick the quill up. Remus mouthed a 'thanks', hoping he wasn't too red, and then ducked his head over his desk as he hurriedly scribbled down information about re'ems.

Professor Prewett has had that happen, his brain continued. He's probably done things.

No, stop, oh Merlin, no!

He has, he's probably done sex things—

Remus scrambled for a mental distraction. Oh my darling knock three times on the ceiling if you want me, twice on the pipe if the answer is no! Oh my sweetness thump thump thump means you'll meet me in the hallway. Twice on the pipe—tap tap—means you ain't gonna show.

But then he couldn't remember the rest of the lyrics so well, as it had been a long time since he heard the song. Then he vaguely recalled there was a line about being in someone's dreams, which wasn't exactly the most helpful considering why he needed the distraction in the first place.

Why is my brain doing this? he thought miserably, resisting the urge to bang his face against the desk. All he wanted to do was get through one lesson—ONE LESSON!—without thinking about Prewett like… like that! Let alone with those thoughts! It wasn't fair, it really wasn't.

Unfortunately, every time he tried paying attention to what Prewett said, his brain would whisper those awful things so Remus had to spend pretty much the entire lecture time singing songs in his head. By the time Prewett had everyone standing up to practice spells, Remus basically had zero notes and very little idea of what Prewett said. Thank Merlin Lily took good notes!

"Re'em," Sirius said as soon as class (mercifully) ended.

"No!" Remus snapped.

"Er, what?" Pete asked.

Sirius grinned. "Re'emus," he explained, which caused James and Peter to both giggle.

Remus angrily yanked his bag over his shoulder. "I hate all of you!"

"Glad to hear you've come to your senses," Lily teased as she walked by, and Remus gave her a vague smile. "What did they do now?"

Sirius pointed at Remus. "Re'emus Lupin," he said proudly.

Lily snorted, clapping her hand over her mouth while Remus glowered at her. "Er, th—that's very rude, if he doesn't like it," she said, her giggles betraying her.

"I hate you too," Remus informed her.

"So what are we doing now?" Peter asked.

"Pranks!" James laughed, stretching his arms behind his head. "Wanna come with us, Red?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "No, I have much more important things to do with my time other than spend time with you! I'll see you later, Remus."

"Re'emus!" Sirius shouted after her as she left.

Remus gave him a light smack on the arm, though he wasn't really that upset about it. The nickname was a little irritating but at least he was getting away from Prewett! He was just glad he didn't have any detention with him tonight; he had detention with Prewett on Saturday which he was dreading, but at least that was a couple days away and hopefully by then these weird, unwanted thoughts would go away.