This story came to me in a couple of scenes one day when I was taking a nap and I decided to write them down and see what happened. Slowly the rest of the story came through. I've always wanted to write something from one of the Marauders' perspectives, though a story never came to me. Until now. Still have a bit more writing to do, though I've plotted out everything to the end. But things could change, so not going to update every day.

Hope you enjoy!

Prologue

June 1994

Remus Lupin made his way towards the front door of his cottage, rubbing his face in the hopes of getting rid of the vestiges of sleep. While it wasn't incredibly late, it was still late enough that he wasn't sure just who would be pounding on his door at that time. He was hoping that it wasn't Sirius - he made it very clear that the best way to stay safe was for the two of them to be in contact as little as possible after Sirius' grand escape from Hogwarts. Once things died down, then they could contact each other more regularly. In fact, he was supposed to be out of the country at this very minute.

Though he wouldn't put it past his old friend to show up on his doorstep in the middle of the night, the damn hippogriff in tow.

Pulling his wand out, he reached out for the doorknob and turned, pulling it open just a crack and peering out into the night. Rather than Sirius standing on his doorstep, it was a woman in a dark cloak, the hood pulled up so that her face was masked in darkness. Even in the dark, he could tell she was dressed expensively.

"What do you want?" he asked gruffly.

"For god's sake, let me in, Remus," the woman said, her irritation clear. Remus frowned at the sound of her voice. He hadn't spoken to her in years - roughly 13 - though he had a fairly good idea why she was there. He was actually surprised they hadn't spoken before now, though part of him knew why. Once he had seen her wedding notice in The Prophet, he knew he had lost his old friend.

Silently, he stepped back, opening the door and allowing her entrance. She quickly walked in, pulling the hood down to reveal dark, wavy hair pulled up in what had been a smooth french twist, though some of it had fallen out. He quickly shut the door and waved his wand, the small cottage now filled with light.

She stepped into the living room and turned, facing him. Despite the years, she still looked much as she did back then - the same deep blue eyes and clear, pale skin. But rather than the ever present smile on her face, her brow was furrowed in such a way that it appeared she had been frowning more than she smiled over the past years. She was already wringing her hands, the large ring on her left hand glinting in the candlelight.

"Where is he?" she asked, getting right into it.

"I don't know," Remus replied. She took a step towards him.

"Don't lie to me, Remus. He's out there and if anyone knows where he is, it's you," she said. "For Merlin's sake, he was at Hogwarts at the same time you were!" Remus sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm telling the truth, Aurora. I don't know where he is now," he said. "It's that way by design. The best way to keep him safe."

"Then you must know how to contact him," she then said. "Please, Remus… I must speak to him." Remus frowned as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"Why is that?" he asked. "You haven't tried to contact him before." A wince of pain came over her face as she looked away, the tears teeming in her eyes.

"I did try," she said. "I've been searching for him this whole time." She looked back at him. "You of all people should know that I never once believed that he did what they said he did."

"You have a funny way of showing it," Remus replied. Aurora just blinked.

"I did what I had to do," she said, twisting the ring around on her finger. "And I did it for my own reasons."

"Forgive me if I don't completely understand why," he said dryly. Aurora swallowed and walked over to him.

"Please, Remus. Help me with this," she whispered. "I need to speak with him. I need to… I have to tell him why."

"I'm not sure that it'll make all that much of a difference. You abandoned him, Aurora," he said.

"I didn't want to!" she shouted, the desperation clear in her voice. "It's not like I had much choice!"

"You had a choice!" Remus said, raising his own voice.

"Like you chose any better!" she shot back, the old fire appearing in her eyes. "It's not like you stood up and said anything! Not then and certainly not now!"

For a moment, Remus was transported all those years ago. Back then she had been fearless. They all had. But they were young and foolish in a lot of ways as well. He had assumed that was what she thought and why she had taken the path that she did. The path that her family expected her to take.

He almost wouldn't have recognized the woman standing before him, dressed in a smart, expensive dress and high heels underneath her cloak. The Aurora he knew hated anything designer, opting for more comfortable attire back then.

"You didn't just turn your back on him. You turned your back on all of us," he said. Aurora swallowed hard again.

"I didn't want to," she said softly, the fight starting to leave her. "But I couldn't see any other way…" Her hands stopped playing with the ring and went to a delicate gold chain around her neck that she gripped tightly, whatever was on it hidden beneath the bodice of her dress. "Ever since that day… I've regretted that I… that I had to walk away from… but… I had to think about more than just myself. You have to believe that I wanted to stay…"

"How long did you wait? A couple months?" Remus asked, his voice cutting. Aurora just stared at him. "How long did you wait before you sank your claws into the next eligible bachelor? And what was all that talk about how blood purity didn't matter? How long before you ran back to your mother, begging to be let back into their twisted circle?!"

Aurora took a step back from him, the tears now silently pouring down her cheeks. Part of him regretted his words - it was true that he didn't know why she had done what she did. But he couldn't stop the word as they continued to pour out of his mouth. Sirius wasn't the only one she had abandoned.

"I don't even know you anymore. Back then, you stood for something. And now…" his voice trailed off. Aurora sniffed slightly, then quietly wiped her fingers across her cheeks.

"I see I've made a mistake coming here," she said, straightening her back and becoming the epitome of a high society witch. "You won't help me… so I'll just continue to look for him on my own." She started towards the door, though Remus reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"Tell me why. Why do you want to speak to him so badly?" he asked. She looked up at him, defiance entering her eyes.

"I never once stopping loving him, Remus," she said, her voice calm and clear. "Never. I need him to know that." She then yanked her arm out of his grip and continued walking, leaving Remus alone in the quiet cottage.

Sighing, he shook his head and then walked over to his desk, pulling out a piece of parchment and a quill. He wasn't completely sure what to say just yet, but he knew that Sirius should know that his long-lost love was seeking him out.

Though he paused before he started writing, his thoughts turning to his short stint as a professor at Hogwarts. He swore he had seen her once in Hogsmeade, but before he could reach her, she was gone as though she hadn't been there at all.

He then looked towards the door and immediately ran towards it, the realization of why she had married dawning on him. He was suddenly ashamed that he hadn't put it together until now.

But it was too late. She had already disappeared into the night.