Disclaimer: To the demise of myself and advantage of Ms. Rowling, Harry Potter (and all characters not as important) do not belong to me.

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(About) One Month Later

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Remus shifted restlessly in his seat. The History of Magic lesson today was especially boring, and with the full moon tonight he found it hard to keep his attention from wandering. For the third time that period, he observed that Professor Binns was so old and boring that he really should be dead. (Which, he also observed, was a kinda harsh thing to think, but every time Binns opened his mouth to speak he found the statement more and more true).

He sighed and turned his attention to James. As usual, he was staring at the back of Lily's head in the seat in front of him, with both an admiring and upset look on his face. Remus really did feel sorry for him. He could tell that James was head-over-heels in love with her, and that the fact that she was Snape's girlfriend was driving him mad. He barely ate or slept anymore, except for when one of his friends forced him to. It was three times that week, Remus counted, that he was woken from his sleep to the sound of James rustling around in the bed across from him (of course, Remus was a light sleeper anyway). Eventually, after many soothing words from Remus, he did calm down enough to sleep. However, if that was what happened to you when you were rejected by the one you loved, Remus knew he was doing the right thing in protecting himself.

His eyes wandered to Peter, who was as usual trying to keep up with the notes Professor Binns was handing out, and then to Sirius. Sirius, he had noticed, was acting very strangely these past few weeks too. But whenever Remus questioned him about it, Sirius would just shrug it off and change the topic quickly. Now, he looked thoughtful, chewing on the tip of his quill. He was obviously plotting something, but what that was he'd just have to wait and see. /I wish he'd tell me,/ thought Remus,/it would be nice to have some secrets shared between us/. Remus blushed. He had always been jealous of James because he was better friends with Sirius, and spent so much time with him. But when James had started playing Quidditch, Remus and Sirius were left with really only each other, and their relationship had grown from there. Still, they weren't as close as Remus would like them to be. /And just how close is that?/ whispered the malicious voice in the back of his head. /He has a girlfriend, you know. He doesn't like *you*. And besides, you're a werewolf. You can't afford to be close with anyone./ Remus shook his head. /Shut up!/ he hissed back at it.

"…emus? Remus!" Remus was jolted from his reverie at the sound of Sirius' voice. "You okay? You look a little out of it."

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"Oh. Well, the class is over." Remus looked around for the first time and realized that everyone else was gone. "Let's go." Sirius picked up Remus' books and he followed him out of the classroom. Sirius turned to look at him again, concern in his eyes "You sure you're okay?" Sirius was always concerned for him, especially when he knew it was around the full moon.

"Yes, I…"

But he never finished his statement, as an exceedingly cheerful voice rang out from down the hallway. "Sirius! There you are!"

Remus groaned inwardly. /Not Arabella…/ Arabella Figg was a seventh year in Ravenclaw, and Sirius' current love interest. Although she was a bright girl, she had a reputation for being the gossip of the school and enjoyed talking about mundane things, especially her pet cats. Remus suspected the only reason Sirius put up with her was because she was very pretty, and very well endowed.

"Hi, Arabella," said Sirius.

"Are you going to the Quidditch game? Oh, hi Remus."

"Hi," he managed to say, without any trace of loathing. He had become very good at covering up his true emotions over the years.

"Of course I'm going!" cried Sirius. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Although you know Gryffindor is going to win."

"Well, we'll just see about that. Ravenclaw has a new Seeker this year, and they're really very good. Might even give James a run for his money." Arabella glanced at them, a smirk on her face "Especially with him all out of sorts."

Sirius looked as if he were going to say something nasty, but instead answered with "Well, once he gets out on the field, I'm sure his head'll clear up."

"Yes, well…" Arabella frowned "Why are you carrying Remus' books?"

"Uhh…" said Sirius

"I wasn't feeling well," Remus covered up quickly.

"Oh. But you'll still come to the game won't you?"

"Sure."

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A few hours later, Remus was cheering next to Lily, Sirius and Peter, waving his Gryffindor-colored flag madly.

"And another ten points to Gryffindor!" cried the announcer, a boy by the name of Mundungus Fletcher (a sixth year Gryffindor himself). Currently, Gryffindor was leading by twenty to ten. The game had been going on for at least half an hour, and still the Snitch had not been spotted. The score was very close, as was the game.

"Ravenclaw chaser Johnson now in possession of the Quaffle… passes it to Green, and…OOO! That had to hurt… Green knocked in the head with a Bludger, nice play for Gryffindor…"

But Remus' attention was taken from the Chasers and up to James. He had begun to dive, with Ravenclaw's seeker right on his tail. Katie Bell, was her name, and Arabella had not been bluffing when she said that Katie was good. She was. She had kept right up with James the whole game.

"And the Snitch is spotted! Captain James Potter and new addition Katie Bell are neck in neck…going into a steep dive now…"

Remus' heart was in his throat as he watched them get closer and closer to the ground. "Oh my God…pull up…"

Katie pulled out, and James leapt from the broom, tumbling onto the ground. He lay there, prone, for a few seconds, before holding up his hand and revealing a glint of gold. The Gryffindor side of the stadium erupted into cheers.

"AND GRYFFINDOR WINS! ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY TO TEN!" cried Fletcher. "TAKE THAT RAVENCLAW!"

"Fletcher…" sighed Professor McGonagall, but she couldn't be really mad at him since she was the newly appointed Gryffindor house head.

While the rest of the stadium cheered, Remus, Lily, Sirius, and Peter stood still and pale. "That looked like a bad fall," said Sirius, voicing all their thoughts. As James' teammates landed and began to crowd about him, they raced from the risers to the field.

About halfway there, Sirius broke from the rest of them.

"Where are you going?" asked Remus, spinning about to face him.

"I just spotted someone I need to talk to," said Sirius, indicating Snape hovering in the background with a toss of his head. "I'll catch up with you later."

Remus stood shocked for a few seconds. Why would Sirius ever want to talk with Snape? As he watched him walk off, he was suddenly torn between checking to see if James was all right and spying on Sirius. Peter made up his mind for him.

"You coming, Remus?" he called.

"Yea, I'm coming."

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"I'm here, Black. Now hurry up and say what you need to. I don't have that much time to waste with you," sneered Snape, as Sirius approached him.

"Oh, believe me, the feeling's mutual, Snake. I just have a piece of information I think you'll be interested in." If he didn't know that all this would be so worth it later on, Sirius would have left right then and there. Every time he saw Snape, he was reminded of just how much he hated him.

"And what's that?"

"Well, since you're *so* interested in what it is we do after hours, I thought I might offer you a bit of help."

"Hnnn. What's the catch?" said Snape, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Oh, no catch," said Sirius, his voice sugary sweet, "but if you don't want to know…" He knew Snape wouldn't be able to resist.

"Fine. What?"

"After Remus leaves the grounds with Madam Pomfrey, head up to the Whomping Willow and prod the knot of the tree with a long stick. You'll be able to get in after him."

"Now why would you tell me that? You think I'm so stupid, Black. I don't believe you."

"Well, whether you believe me or not is up to you. I've said what I need to say. Pleasure talking to you." And with that, Sirius turned and began to walk down to the field. He knew Snape might be suspicious now, but eventually his curiosity (and his interest in getting them all into trouble) would compel him to act. And when he did, Sirius would be there to enjoy it. A smirk appeared on his face. Oh yes, this'll be good indeed.

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Remus looked up into the stands and saw Sirius finally begin to make his way down to the field. A sense of foreboding washed over him. Whatever Sirius had been talking to Snape about, he knew it couldn't have been good.

He returned his attention to James. He was now being escorted by two of his teammates up to the hospital wing. The fall had indeed been bad; he had broken a leg.

"I hope he'll be alright," murmured Lily, a hand covering her mouth, her face still pale and drawn.

"He'll be fine," assured Remus, "just needs a little rest, that's all. Madam Pomfrey will take care of him."

Lily nodded and began to relax "I suppose you're right."

"What happened?" called Sirius, running up to meet them.

"James broke his leg," answered Peter.

"Really? Poor guy," Sirius said, a look of pity crossing his face. "But he'll get over it. You know James," he added with a mischievous grin. "I was just afraid he'd seriously hurt himself."

"Well, for being so concerned, you certainly took your time getting down here," said Lily, a reproachful look on her face. "Let's go."

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After waiting an hour for Madam Pomfrey to finish with him, they had finally been admitted to the hospital wing. Pomfrey had insisted that James stay the night in the wing, just to be safe. As soon as they were left alone, James looked to Remus.

"I'm sorry, Remus, but she's making me stay. I can't go with you tonight."

"Me, neither," said Peter. "We have that big transfiguration test tomorrow, and I have to do good or else McGonagall says I won't be able to do the rest of the year's work."

"I forgot, I still have to serve detention with Filch for using magic in the hallways," said Sirius. "Will you be alright alone?"

"Sure, I'll be fine, don't worry about it," said Remus, not quite able to hide his disappointment. Sirius looked as if he were about to say something, but was interrupted by Madam Pomfrey.

At that moment, she stuck her head into the room. "Are you ready, dear?"

Remus nodded, and followed Pomfrey out into the hallway.

"Oh, you have visitors," she called back to James.

Arabella and the announcer, Mundungus, entered the room.

"Hi," said Mundungus, "that looked like a pretty bad fall earlier. I just wanted to stop by and see how you're doing."

"Me too," said Arabella.

"Thanks for your concern," said James. "Really, I'm fine."

They looked relieved. "That's good," sighed Arabella. "I was afraid that you'd really hurt y…"

"Where is he?" interrupted Sirius. He was rocking back and forth, staring anxiously out of the window.

"Where is who?" asked James suspiciously.

Sirius glanced back at him. "Uh…nobody."

This made James even more suspicious. "What did you do?" he cried.

"Nothing!"

"Like hell, nothing. Tell me, Sirius."

Sirius fidgeted under James' stare, looking like a child who had just smashed his mother's favorite vase after playing baseball indoors.

"I kinda…uh…"

"What?"

"I told Snape how to get in after Remus…"

"YOU WHAT?!"

"He deserves what he gets! Sneaking around, spying on us, trying to get us expelled!"

"What's going on?" said Arabella, a confused look on her face.

But she went unheeded as James leapt from the bed and over to the window.

"You shouldn't be up! James!" scolded Lily.

James ignored her, too, as he gazed intently out of the window. Finally, he spotted Snape, about halfway across the grounds to the Whomping Willow. It was almost nightfall; the sun was blood red on the horizon of the sky.

"No!" he cried, and began to dash out of the room.

Sirius stepped in front of the doorway, blocking his path. "James! Leave him! He's not worth it!" he cried.

"Get out of the way, you prat! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Reluctantly, Sirius stepped from the door, and James began the chase of his life.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! I've included Arabella and Mundungus because of what Dumbledore said in the fourth book: "You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher- the old crowd." But does anyone have specifics on them? I know there's a Mrs. Figg who lives down the street from Harry. Anyway, there wasn't much about L/J this chapter, but I'll start doing more on them soon! Luvya!

P.S.: Nicole Kidman won best actress for Moulin Rouge! It won 3 awards! However, I don't think Harry Potter was even *nominated*. What's up with that?