Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the wonderful world he comes from.
AN: yes I just started a new story. I actually started this one first. Oops. Anyway, enjoy.
The halls of the ancient castle were cast in darkness as most of its residents were asleep in their beds or their frames. Even the familiar and resident owls were fast asleep. Well that is except for one Headmaster with too many names, and a penchant for manipulations and five students. Four of them being his favored Gryffindors and one Slytherin who was way too curious and smart for his own good. The Headmaster smirked at himself as he felt the Slytherin boy slip out of the castle. Two of the Gryffindors were racing down the halls under the invisibility cloak he pretended not to know about. One was heading his way. And the other was already nestled away in the streaking shack as it was a full moon. He waved his hand towards the entrance of his office as he felt one of the Gryffindors reach the gargoyle. The stone statue instantly obeyed and let the boy up the spiral staircase. He quickly placed a sleeping spell on the portraits behind him. Knowing most of them did not agree with the way he chose to go about a few things. And whatever this boy had come to inform him about, was one thing the portraits disagreed with.
"Come in." He said with a welcoming tone to his voice. The door opened and a squat, mousey looking boy scurried in.
"Head m..m..master." the boy squeaked.
"Aw, Peter, come in my boy." The Headmaster said with a smile. "I see things have gone as planned."
Peter nodded eagerly. The Headmaster nodded and smiled down at the boy. "You have done well. Go back to your room. I will handle things from this point on."
"Thank…Thank you s…s…sir." Peter said as he quickly headed back out the door.
Dumbledore sat back in his chair and smiled. His plan was sliding right into place.
Severus made his way down to the Whomping Willow. A ridiculous tree to have on the property of a school. There had already been enough student injuries to question why the tree was allowed to remain. He was also not surprised that his loathed Gryffindor year mates had figured out how to freeze the damn thing.
With a question of his sanity for listening to Black, Severus cast a spell at the knob of the tree. And just like Black had instructed, the tree branches froze and swayed lightly as if being blown by a breeze. He easily spotted the tunnel under the roots of the tree and slid down the tunnel. He sneered at the slimy walls as he slowly made his way through the tunnel. His way only lit by the tip of his wand. He tripped and slipped a few times as he found his way to the slippery steps, leading up to a wooden trap door. Severus shook off his nerves as he reached the door and lifted it. Just enough to glance around the dingy room above him. He couldn't tell where he had been led too, but he had a feeling he was no longer on the Hogwarts grounds. He slowly opened the door just wide enough for him to slide inside. He wrinkled his nose at the moldy stench coming from the room.
"What are you doing here?" A voice called from farther inside the structure. Severus turned to find a terrified Remus Lupin. Severus lowered his wand slightly. He had seen the other boy a bit scared to be on the other end of his wand. But never once had the boy been completely terrified.
"You need to leave!" Remus demanded, backing himself into the wall behind him. Trying to get as far from the other boy as possible.
"Lupin what in Merlin…" Severus snarled as he took a step towards the other boy.
"No! Please, Severus…. If you never listen to me again, just do it this once. Turn around and leave before…" Lupin's pleading was cut off as he felt the pain of his transformation start. "Run… Severus. Just run!"
But to his surprise, Severus didn't run. Instead he started to rummage through the multiple pockets in his moth-eaten robes. It had been a well known secret that the boy kept potions in his pockets for an array of incidents.
"Potions won't help!" Lupin growled.
Severus raised a dark eyebrow at him as he held out a potion bottle to the other boy. "Try it."
Lupin shook his head, but Severus moved faster than he expected and was soon by his side. He opened the stopper with his teeth and forced Remus to swallow whatever the potion was.
"It is only a tester, and may not work. But it will not have any side-effects if it does not work." Severus said as he quickly moved away from Remus, just as a black dog and a stag burst into the room. The stag quickly stood between Severus and Remus as the black dog whimpered at Severus's feet. It nudged his legs hard enough to nearly knock the boy off his feet.
Remus on the other hand looked horrified. "It is too late… the passage… will… be… blocked…"
The stag snorted and paled at the ground as he moved with his antlers down, pinning Remus to the spot he stood. The dog yipped and started to pull on Severus's robes as he seemed to try and drag Severus somewhere else.
"If that potion works…" Severus said calmly, as he allowed the dog to lead him away. "Lupin should keep his human mind… and possibly ease the pain of the transformation… you can not fight it Lupin. Allow the transformation to come."
The dog was finally able to drag Severus into another room. He headed for the door and barked. Severus rolled his eyes.
"I am not sure which one you are." Severus said with a slight hiss to his voice. "But I am guessing by your demanding barking that you would like me to lock the door as you go lick Lupin's broken ego."
The dog let out a slight growl at the stab and Severus smirked knowingly. "So you would be Black. Go to your friend mutt. I'll lock and ward the door."
The dog huffed and sauntered out. Severus closed the door behind him and did as he had said. He locked the door and warded it against werewolves. He glanced around the room he had been brought to and rolled his eyes. This had obviously been a secret hideout for the Mauraders. The room had been cleaned and decorated in annoyingly bright Gryffindor colors. There were wizarding and muggle posters on the wall from quidditch, to muggle sports cars to a mixture of wizard and muggle scandalously clad women and men.
Severus huffed and found a place to sit that seemed a bit less Gryffindor than the other seats and waited. He wasn't sure if they would come get him if the potion worked or keep him locked away in an attempt to keep their little secrets. He wasn't an idiot. He had figured out Lupin's ailments had always come around a full moon. He also had noticed the changes of the other Marauders at the beginning of the year. He just hadn't quite pin pointed them becoming animagus. It would explain how they had known about conversations being had in other common rooms. He suspected one of them was a small easily hidden animal or insect. He secretly hoped one of them was a bug.
A few minutes of silence had Severus standing up and walking around the room. He took in the multiple subjects of books sitting on the bookshelf. That would explain why they were never seen studying in the library. By the looks of some of them, he was guessing they came from either Black or Potter's personal family library. The newer ones had most likely been chosen by Remus. The more questionable ones, that looked to hold more risqué subjects were more likely brought by Peter. He cringed as he walked away from the book shelf and noticed the record player. Severus smirked as he headed over and went through the record collection. Soul, Lupin. Rock, Black. Jazz, Potter. Musical, Peter. Severus snorted at this but couldn't help but realize he was creepily too aware of the Marauders. If he could easily see what belonged to each Gryffindor, he had spent way too much of his time watching them. The worst part was he was sure they knew just as much about him.
Severus nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a knock at the door. He swished his wand towards the door, canceling the locking and warding charm. The door opened with a bang as a large wolf bounded into the room and headed his way.
"Remus! Don't just run at him! You'll get hexed!" Black cried out as he rushed in, soon followed by Potter.
Severus rolled his eye as the werewolf slowed his pace and walked calmly over to him. He sighed and held his hand out, allowing Lupinwolf to sniff his hand. "I had a feeling the potion had worked if you knocked on the door."
The wolf sneezed and nudged his hand with his large head. Severus scratched between his ears, then bent down to get a better look at the tawny wolf. "So, the potion worked? You have kept your human mind?"
The wolf tilted it's head to one side and lifted its ears. It was Sirius who answered. "More than that. He is basically an animagus. Before he was a sickly looking humanoid wolf. What was that potion you keep mentioning?"
"Hmmm. Interesting." Severus said as he walked around the wolf. Completely ignoring Black's question. "Was the transformation painful?"
Lupinwolf shook his head. Severus nodded. He came back to face the wolf so to be able to look him in the eye. "Yet you are not alone in there are you? The wolf is also very much awake as well."
The wolf hesitate as it glanced over at his friends then nodded.
"What the hell Remus!" James demanded ad he stomped his foot and bowed his head a bit to glare at the wolf.
Severus held his hand up to silence him, to James's annoyance. The Slytherin's attention never leaving the wolf in front of him. "Have you merged with your wolf?"
Again, Lupinwolf hesitated before he nodded. Severus smiled widely as his eyes brightened. "Interesting. I wonder if the potion will have made everything permanent, or if you will need to take it every month."
"Once again, what had you given him?" Black nearly snarled.
"Down mutt, it was not harmful if it did not work." Severus said with a roll of his eyes. Lupinwolf seemed amused by the jab as it made a sort of purring noise that Severus could only translate as an amused sound. "I have been working on a less harmful version of the wolfsbane potion. Aconite is poisonous if consumed for long periods of time. Even with the healing abilities of lycanthropy, it will slowly kill the wolves."
"What… why has no one mentioned this… Dumbledore has been trying to convince Remus to take it since third year." James said as his face began to pale. "We all have been trying to convince him to take it."
Severus glanced up at him from under his fringe. "What do you think will happen in a few years to the wolf population, if this information is kept quiet."
James and Sirius paled and both sunk to the floor at the realization. "They would slowly be killed off by the potion that was to help them."
"And it will look like the body had just given up. Finally given into the pain of the transformation." Severus said calmly. "I… I have known what Lupin was since second year… I didn't come here tonight to try and catch you guys… I came here to test my potion. I had known if I had just confronted any of you, that it would be taken badly. So I waited for one of you to expose his full moon hiding spot."
Sirius bit his lip and guilty looked away. James had glared over at his best friend and Remus nudged Severus's hand, asking for pets. Severus huffed and obliged the wolf.
"Why… we have done nothing but torture you for the past five years." James asked suspiciously. "We even ruined your friendship with Lilly."
Severus snorted at that. "You did nothing but speed up the inevitable. Lilly had been pulling away since the day we came to Hogwarts. She just kept up appearances to make herself look better, keeping a pity friendship with her ugly, awkward, large nosed, Slytherin childhood friend. You gave her the perfect excuse to end things."
"How can you think so little of her?" James asked between gritted teeth.
Severus flinched a bit. "Tell me… have you ever left one of your friends to defend themselves?"
"Of course not!" Sirius growled as if he thought the idea was crazy. Lupin whined and seemed to cuddle up to Severus's side, realizing where the boy was going with this. He had witnessed it. He had seen what was happening to him and did nothing but turn the other way.
"When you realized that Lupin and Pettigrew had only made friends with each other… what did you do?" Severus asked quietly.
"Brought them into our group." James said with a roll of his eyes. "Where are you going with this?"
"If one of you had called Lupin a halfbreed in a bout of embarrassed anger, would you end your friendship with that person?" Severus asked as he looked away from the other two boys and found himself looking into the sad eyes of the wolf.
"No… we would have been angry but after a while, we would have forgiven them." Sirius said as the realization sunk in.
"And if you knew a group of people were bullying one of your friends out of misguided jealousy. Would you sit back and allow the abuse… or would you set the group straight?" Severus asked as he shot a look over towards James.
James looked at him confused. "Misguided jealousy? Everyone knows you are madly in love with Lilly. She's basically stated it before."
"James…" Sirius warned as he witnessed the Slytherin shut down and fold into himself. Remus seemed to panic as he nudged the boy's face. When Severus did not respond, Lupin licked him. That seemed to bring back to reality, but his response seemed to shake the whole room. The boy jumped with a yelp and scurried away from the wolf. Finding his way to the closest corner, hugging his knees to his chest and rocking back and forth trying to self soothe himself.
"Oh fuck." James whispered in shock and horror. He had seen that reaction from Sirius their first year when James had caught him off guard. James grabbed his hair and turned from the sight as he realized what he had been doing all this time. "Please tell me that she did not know."
Sirius walked up to Severus, only to find Lupin standing between them. His shackles raised and a low growl coming from deep in his throat. Sirius quickly raised his hands, knowing that Moony had taken over. "I will not hurt him, Moony… I maybe the only one that knows how to comfort him right now."
The wolf eyed him for a few more seconds before stepping aside. Sirius walked up to Severus and kneeled in front of him. Before the boy had the chance of react, Sirius brought him to his chest in a tight hold. The boy started to struggle against the hold, but broke down when Sirius's words finally registered.
"You are safe. You did not deserve it. You are safe. We know now and won't let you be hurt again. You are safe." Sirius said over and over as the smaller boy allowed himself to be held. A second later, another body pressed to his other side and he felt the warm fur of Lupin. The wolf making a comforting sound next to his other ear as he pressed himself as close to Severus as he could get. And a few seconds after that he felt someone slide in behind him, he was engulfed in a hug around his waist, which caused him to panic. But the moment they realized, their arms moved and he felt them wrap around Sirius and Lupin to bring them all against a hard chest.
"I'm sorry. You are safe now. I am so sorry." Severus was a bit startled when he realized the person behind him had been James. He shuttered and allowed himself to slip into a deep sleep.
Severus woke with a start the next morning. He wasn't used to having friendly arms wrapped around him. He quickly separated himself from the three Gryffindors and moved as far away from them as he could.
"Hey, Sev. It's ok." Sirius said as he too had woken with a start and noticed the other boys panic. He slowly got to his feet and held his arms out to him. "You are safe. What we said last night was the truth. You are sage. We will help you get through this, ok. Just like they helped me."
Severus's eyes snapped up to meet sad blue ones. There wasn't pity in those eyes. No. It was understanding. Sirius just nodded and gestured for Severus to come to him. "You are safe. You can come to me when you are ready."
Severus didn't make any sign of moving, so neither did Sirius. Eventually Severus slowly moved closer to Sirius till he was just within arms reach. Sirius smiled and wrapped his arms around the frightened boy. "I know it is scary. We will not ask. But it gets better after you talk about it. You need to be able to talk in your own time. And we don't need you to tell all of us. You can talk to any one of us and we will never tell a soul unless you give us permission to. James and Remus are really good listeners and have never exposed a thing I have told them. Not even to each other."
Severus eased into the hug awkwardly and nodded against Sirius's chest. Sirius chuckled and tightened his hold. "Good… Now… there are a couple others who are feeling a bit left out right now."
Severus chuckled and that seemed to be the que for the other two to join the hug.
"Um… this is going to sound really weird… But Moony is requesting to sniff every one." Remus said with a blush, but that seemed to catch Severus's attention.
"So he is still merged with you?" Severus asked and Remus nodded.
"Um… yeah… he… um, he is wanting to um… scent
… his pack." Remus said. Then groaned in embarrassment as he covered his face with his hands.
"Here." Severus said lifting his hand and placing his wrist in front of Remus. He rolled his eyes at the three shocked expressions he received from the boy's surrounding him.
"The wrist is the least embarrassing part of the body that a wolf can scent." Severus said with a shrug. Remus smiled up at him then slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again they were glowing Amber. Mooney leaned into Severus's waiting wrist and sniffed at it. He then took the wrist in his hand and gently tugged till it was pressed against the side of his neck. Severus couldn't help but play with the hairs in the back of his neck. Moony seemed to smile proudly back at him, as he rubbed the wrist against his neck. He then sniffed it again to make sure the wrist had a decent mix of both scents. He then did the same thing to James and Sirius.
"Maybe we should have waited for Peter." James said, feeling a bit guilty for leaving their other friend out of everything.
"Not pack." Moony growled lowly in his throat. "Rat smells of shame, perversion and betrayal. Not pack."
"Ok Moony. Peter isn't pack." James said as he could see the wolf was becoming agitated. "But he is still a friend."
"Not Pack!" Moony demanded.
"Your right. Not pack. But humans have friends. Pack to humans mean family. Friends are just other humans we get along with." Sirius said with a shrug. Moony seemed to think about it for a moment then nodded.
"Thanks bud. Now come on. We should get back to the school before people realize we are missing." James said as he placed an arm around Severus's shoulders and smiled at him. "I saw that look in your eye Sev. You are one of us now. Moony scented you. That basically means adoption. You are stuck with us."
Severus groaned, but didn't pull away from James as the four headed to the school. Once he realized they were heading for the Great Hall, he attempted to escape, but James just brought him closer to himself. He tried once again to go to his house table, but this time it was Remus to block his escape and lead him to their favorite spot at the Gryffindor table. James sat first and drug Severus down with him. Remus then took a seat and Sirius sat down next to Remus.
Severus was very aware of the silence around the hall. All eyes were on the four of them, yet the other boys didn't seem to have even noticed as they filled their plates and also filled Severus's since he had yet to move. And he didn't move till James held a fork to his mouth. Severus opened his mouth with out even thinking and James placed the food in his mouth. Once he had chewed Rumus held a cup of pumpkin juice to him. And then Sirius leaned over and held a piece of toast with jam on it in front of his mouth. It wasn't till after he took a bite that he realized they had fed him three items he ate nearly every morning. He looked down at his plate stacked with untouched favorites and realized they had fed him off their plates. The absurdity of the act caused him to burst into laughter.
"You good Sev?" Remus asked in a bit of concern. "If we get to be too much, just tell us to cool it."
Severus shook his head as he finally picked up his own fork. "No, I just realized that you knew my favorites. Just like I knew what items had come from you in the room."
The other three boys thought about it for a moment then shrugged as they went back to their plates and eat, wondering who was going to be the first brave soul to approach and ask questions.
What they weren't expecting was for the brave soul to be a Slytherin. The boy walked over to stand directly behind Severus. The other three tensed as they waited for the inevitable fall out.
"Regulus." Severus said quietly without even turning to see who was standing behind him. He was the only one other than Lilly who would confront him rather than the others.
"So your little group of hooligans are just taking Slytherin in now?" Regulus snarled and Severus flinched at the tone. The boy wasn't angry at Severus. He was feeling betrayed by his brother for ignoring him the past four years.
"That we are Reg, have a seat." James said as he smiled up at the youngest Black. The boy looked completely startled by the invitation to sit.
Sirius snorted and pulled Regulus down between himself and Remus. At once Sirius and Remus started to fill an extra plate like they had done to Severus, with James throwing things to Sirius from the to time. Regulus looked back and forth from each boy in complete silence.
Severus smiled around Remus at his house mate and winked.
"It worked." Severus whispered. Regulus's eyes lit up as he glanced at Remus then turned his attention back towards Severus.
"No pain? Stayed himself?" Regulus asked and the smile of Severus's face widened.
"Better. Merged. Realistic transfiguration." Severus explained excitedly. He then nodded towards Remus, whose eyes where glowing a bright amber. "Regulus, meet Moony."
Regulus met Remus's eyes and smiled brightly at the wolf. "Holy hell! Severus this is amazing! Hello Moony."
The wolf seemed to puff up proudly as he reached over and took his arm. "Pack."
Sirius smiled proudly at his baby brother and ruffled his hair. "Do your thing Moony."
Moony seemed to rumble in delight as he brought Regulus's wrist to his nose and sniffed it. Then just like the others rubbed his wrist against his neck. Regulus seemed to be vibrating in excitement as he watched every movement of Moony. Once the wolf was done he closed his eyes and Remus seemed to be in control again. He smiled shyly at Regulus with a slight blush to his cheeks.
"That was amazing to watch. Did he do that to the rest of you?" Regulus asked as he held his wrist to his chest as if it was a prized possession.
"All but Peter. Apparently Moony doesn't see him as pack." James said with a shrug and Regulus snorted.
Sirius pinched his side and Regulus hissed. "Sorry. I just figured you had kicked him out of your little group after he was caught down in the dungeons."
"Peter was caught in the dungeons?" James asked with a bit of a pout. "Why hadn't he told us?"
Regulus looked at all four shocked faces and shook his head. "How do none of you know this. Severus I understand. He avoids the gossip in the common room. But you three are practically inseparable with him. How do you think mostly everyone in Slytherin knows about his rat animagus? He has been hanging around Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers."
Severus's mouth dropped open. "But… Rudolphus is basically marked. He has been trying to recruit people for months."
"How do you know this?" Sirius said as he tensed and eyed his brother and Severus suspiciously.
"Every one associated with the Dark Lord has been after Severus since the marriage contract between Lucius and Narcissa became public." Regulus said with a roll of the eyes.
"Regulus." Severus hissed in warning Regulus looked at him in confusion, them paled when he realized who he was talking too.
"You all have really been living under a rock." Regulus said then turned to Severus. "You need to tell them."
Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. "Lucius basically claimed me in my first year after he saw me brewing. People assumed we were together. So they stayed away. He was attempting to groom me for the Dark Lord. Once the contract became public, others have approached me to join. It is making the dorm a bit uncomfortable "
Regulus rolled his eyes. "You are giving them the watered down version. You haven't slept in the dorm since the start of term. The reason you were by the tree when they found you was because you had gone to heal after what our house mates had done. Then the assholes decided to be assholes again."
"Why haven't you gone to Dumbledore about this?" James asked. Both Slytherins rolled their eyes.
"The old coot knows." Regulus said with a shrug. "He does not care what happens to the Slytherins. You three are proof of that. You have terrorized Severus for years. Severus stopped retaliating after threat of expulsion."
All three looked T Severus in horror. James ran a hand down his face. "Is that true?"
Severus bit his lip and nodded.
"Damn it." James said as he reached over and brought Severus to him. Laying the boy's head on his shoulder and rubbing the back of his neck.
"You and Regulus will be moved to a new space. I don't want you going near that common room." James said Sirius put an arm around Regulus's shoulders.
"What are you doing here?" Severus tensed at the sound of that voice. James at once looked up to see the girl he had been obsessed with for the past five years. Her angry green eyes bore into Severus's bowed head. Her fists balled at her sides as if holding back from hexing him.
"Did you know?" James growled out dangerously as he tightened his grip on Severus. The girl looked up at James as if seeing him there for the first time.
"Know what?" Lilly huffed as she took a seat across from them. She flipped her long red hair over her shoulder and smiled sweetly at James.
"What bet did he lose to have to come sit with you?" Lilly asked as she leaned forwards and twirling a piece of gain in her fingers.
"Did… you… know?" James hissed out.
"James… please…" Severus started. But James held a hand up to silence him. His eyes never leaving Lilly.
"You are going to have to be more specific." Lilly said with a huff. "Use your vocabulary. I don't understand simple words."
Severus rolled his eyes and held his breath as he felt James start to shake in his anger.
"You want big words you selfish cow. Go sit with the Ravenclaws." James snarled. "Now did you deliberately lie to me about Severus to try and keep me interested in you? Knowing what he was going through?"
"You mean becoming a Death Eater?" Lilly snarled back. "Why would you care?"
James looked at the girl dumbfounded. What ever delusional bubble he had placed around her shattered. "You lied to me. You told me he was madly in love with you. You made me believe he was basically stalking you!"
Regulus snorted and shook his head. "I can tell you right now that Severus wasn't the one to seek her out. Not once have I ever seen him go to her unless she called him to her. And he can't be madly in love with her. He doesn't even…"
"Sirius can you please shut the loud mouth up before he decides to spill all my secrets." Severus scowled as Lilly huffed and rolled her eyes.
"I felt sorry for him. He doesn't have a single decent friend other than me." Lilly said as she scrunched up her nose.
"You are avoiding my question." James said and Severus quickly grabbed his arm.
"That's enough. You are causing a scene. And I know better than any one that your mouth runs away from you when you get angry. " Severus said as he got to his feet and attempted to pull the boy up with him. Sirius quickly nudged his brother to his feet and took a hold of Rus, who was clearly having a battle of control with Moony.
"What the hell James?" Lilly asked as she threw up her hands. "You never cared before."
James turned on her once again and leaned over the table to glare her down. "That was before I realized what was happening to him. Something I have realized you bloody well knew. Stay away from him Evens. He is one of us now. Something that could have happened our first year if you hadn't interfered. And that I will not forgive."
James stood up straight, flung an arm around Severus's shoulders and placed his free hand on the back of Remus's neck to guide his new family out of the Great Hall and up to the seventh floor.
From the head table Dumbledore was seething. How could such a well placed plan blow up so violently in his face. Severus Snape should not have survived the night. Remus Lupin should be on his way to the executioners. Sirius Black should be expelled for murder and James Potter should be ridden with grief. Seeking comfort from Lilly Evens. And where the hell was the perverted little rat. How could the four of them come out so strong and united? This wouldn't do. He needed a strong halfblooded child to be born to a family he could control. He needed to be rid of Tom Riddle before the little bastard became too powerful. He had already had the prophecy reworded to suit his needs. No.. this new development would work. He needed James Potter in his control.
