Sunday, 10th June 1973

Peter watched as Remus lined up the six identical potion vials on the bathroom counter, pouring a single dose of unfinished polyjuice into each one before turning to face the crowd of Gryffindor second-years behind him. 'Your hairs, Peter?'

Wincing as he did so, Peter plucked three hairs from his head and handed them over. It only hurt a bit, but it was such a sharp kind of pain it made his eyes water. He watched as Remus added the hairs to the first bottle, peering into the neck and making a note of what colour it turned as if he didn't already know it would change to a very pale blue.

Taking hairs from each of them in turn, Remus added the finishing touch to each dose and stoppered them before telling them to all turn around while he mixed them up.

'All done,' he said after several seconds listening to the scrape of glass against varnished wood. 'You can look.'

'Who wants to go first?' James asked.

Marlene shrugged, stepping forward. 'I'll do it.'

'I'll go wait for you in the dorm,' Remus said, heading towards the door. 'Keep an eye on them, Dorcas. Make sure no one tries listening at the door.'

After inspecting each bottle, which was pointless because there was no way she could tell anything from the outside—Peter had chosen them because they were jet black, keeping the contents completely hidden—Marlene picked one and stepped back.

'Should I go? Or wait until everyone's got one?'

'Might as well go now,' James said. 'I don't see the point of waiting.'

They all agreed, and Marlene left the room to change her clothes and transform into another member of the group. While they waited for Remus to let them know she was done, each of them took a turn choosing a bottle. Despite drawing it out, they still had to wait another minute before Remus knocked on the door. 'She's gone. Who's next?'

Lily grinned. 'Does anyone mind if I go?'

'Go fo it,' James said, because of course he did. He'd give Lily his entire fortune if she asked for it, but Peter didn't argue. He had a plan, and it all hinged on Lily leaving before him.

Sirius went after Lily, and then James left, leaving just Peter, Mary, and Dorcas.

Finally, it was just Peter and Dorcas left in the bathroom, and when the knock came, they walked out together.

'I'm going to go now,' Dorcas said, heading towards the door. 'I've got some reading I want to do. See you later.'

Peter waited for her to leave before turning to Remus with raised eyebrows. 'Did you get them?'

'Of course,' Remus said, smirking and holding out his hand, which held three long red hairs.

Peter grinned back at him. 'Excellent. Nice work.'

'You better be quick. They'll get suspicious if you take too long to go down.'

Knowing he was right, Peter hurried over to his desk and pulled open the top drawer, reaching a hand all the way to the back to dig out the two vials of his own polyjuice he'd put there the day before. His brew lasted twice as long as Lily's did, and the extra time it would take to wear off was crucial to his plan.

With another wince, he pulled three more hairs from his head and added them to one bottle which he left on the bed to pocket once he'd changed, then he took the red hairs that Remus had procured while alone in the room with Lily, and added them to the other bottle. 'Right, let's see,' he said, pulling the stopper from the black bottle and peering into the neck.'

'Mary,' they both said at the same time. Peter rolled his eyes at Remus. 'I would get my girlfriend's, wouldn't I? This is going to be torture.'

'You keep those hands to yourself,' Remus said sternly. 'Or… don't. You know what I mean.'

Peter laughed. 'Very clear. Not at all confusing.'

'Shut up,' Remus said, throwing a bundle of clothes at him, 'and get changed. Mary's picked out a lovely flowery skirt for you.'

Peter sighed. 'Of course, she has. You know? I think you're enjoying this a little too much for someone who refused to play.'

'Secret lycanthropy does come in useful sometimes,' Remus said with a chuckle. 'I do wish I could be there when you all turn back, though. Maybe if I time it right, I can see the fallout and leave again before the noise gets to be too much.'

'Well, you know where the polyjuice is if you want to come watch in disguise.'

'I might just do that.'

Peter grinned, climbing onto his bed to change behind the curtains. It would be good if Remus could join in with the fun in some way, especially since he was the only one who knew about the joke he was planning to play on James.

'How long do you think it will take him to realise I'm not Lily?' Peter asked as he pulled off his own clothes and eyed the flowery skirt and the pale pink top that went with it. He was going to need to enlarge them before he put them on.

'I don't think he will,' Remus said. 'Not unless he spots the real Lily.'

'So I need to make sure she's nowhere near us when the potion wears off.'

'Concentrate on working out who James is first,' Remus said. 'But once you're sure, you can try to spot Lily.'

'Can't you just tell me who James is?' Peter pulled the curtains back in time to see Remus shaking his head.

'No. That's cheating. But wow! Looking good, Bubbles.'

'Shut up. I look ridiculous,' Peter said, tugging on the hem of the skirt to try to make it cover his ass better. 'Have you got your wand? You're going to need to shrink the skirt while I'm transforming or it'll fall off.'

Remus held up his wand to show he had it. 'I know the drill.'

A couple of minutes later, he was a little taller with long red hair flowing down his back, and a minute after that, he was shorter again, his hair still long, but only reaching his shoulders now, and a soft brown in colour. He grinned at Remus. 'Alright. Wish me luck.'

'Good luck, mate. This is going to be the best joke we've ever played on James if you can pull it off.'

Marlene in Peter's body

Marlene descended the stairs to the common room and crossed to the door, grabbing one of the glass beads from the dish sitting on a table by the exit as she went. The party was being held in the secret wing again, and since the door to get in was invisible, the Marauders had enchanted the beads to vibrate when you were standing in front of it.

Climbing through the portrait hole whilst short and plump was a feat in itself, and Marlene's respect for Peter increased with every step she took towards the invisible door. It was so much more difficult to walk with the additional weight to carry.

It was nice not to feel bloated and exhausted anymore, though. Gods, she hoped one of the boys got her potion. They wouldn't know what to do. She'd considered pulling out of the game when it had started the night before, but once she'd thought about it, she decided it wasn't necessary. If one of the girls got her potion, then it wasn't a big deal; Lily would know what to do, and it would be good practice for Mary, who hadn't started yet. But if one of the boys got it, it would be a little embarrassing, sure. They'd have to apply a sanitary strip to their underwear, and possibly even wipe the blood away, but it's not like she'd be there to see it, and it would be hilarious to watch them try to cope.

Despite the relief of no longer having period symptoms, as she approached the corridor where the invisible door was located, her stomach felt like it was tying itself in knots, her palms started to sweat, and nausea was climbing its way up her throat. The only time she'd ever felt this afraid before was last summer when she'd learned about her parents' plans for her. Why, in Merlin's name, was she feeling this scared when she was on her way to a party?

Was this what Peter felt like? She knew he suffered from anxiety—she'd seen Sirius, James, and Remus all offer him reassurance at various times—but she hadn't realised what that truly meant. This was horrible. How did he ever make himself do anything when he was feeling like this?

The bead vibrated in her hand, and she stopped, turning to face the wall. It was the last thing she wanted to do at that moment, but she forced herself to reach out and place her hand on the wall, moving it back and forth, and up and down until she found the handle and was able to push the door open. Everything inside her was screaming at her to turn around and go back to the Tower where it was safe, but gathering her willpower, she stepped through the doorway instead, pulling the door closed behind her.

There was a little table just inside, holding a dish for the glass beads, and she dropped hers in and continued on her way, following the decorations to the stairs and down to the dining hall on the ground floor. The lights that had lit the corridors at Christmas were off, replaced with magical lights, twinkling within flower garlands which were hung along the walls on either side and looped around the stair bannisters. The effect was lovely.

The closer she got to the dining hall, the more she regretted going first. There would be no one there that she could talk to, especially since she wasn't in her own body. She knew a few people outside of the Gryffindors, but not the same people that Peter knew. And what if someone that knew Peter but not her came to speak to her? What would she say? Oh, this was a terrible idea. Why had she thought it would be fun?

'Get a grip,' she whispered to herself. 'You're Marlene McKinnon and you're not scared of anything, especially not a party.'

The music reached her ears as she started down the final staircase, and she realised she was rhythmically tapping her hands against her legs and it was making her feel calmer. Weird. She tried to stop, but the anxiety rose again, so she let her hands do what they wanted and headed into the party, cringing at how loud the music was. Another weird experience. She usually loved loud music.

There were a lot of people there already, but it wasn't packed yet. It wasn't quite eleven in the morning, and the party was an all-day affair, not scheduled to end until eleven that night, so a lot of people wouldn't be coming until later. What the teachers would think when all the students disappeared all day, Marlene didn't know, but the thought made her laugh and that eased the anxiety a little.

Glancing around, she spotted the refreshments area taking up the full length of the wall opposite the entrance. Eating would give her something to do while she waited for the next person from their group to arrive, and having something to do would make her less conspicuous, so she crossed the room to see what was available. As it turned out, the answer to that question was pretty much every food you could think of, from tiny snacks like bite-size sausage rolls to full meals like cottage pie. The house elves always went a little overboard, but this was extreme even for them. Marlene picked at a plate of cocktail sausages while she kept her eye on the doors, waiting for someone she recognised to walk in.

Five minutes passed, and Marlene's anxiety was becoming unbearable, before James appeared in the doorway, scanning the room for a familiar face. When he spotted her, he grinned and headed in her direction. It wasn't actually James. Marlene could tell by the way he was walking—his usual strut was over-emphasised, not relaxed enough—but she wasn't sure who it was.

'You doing okay there, Pete?' James asked as he reached her, and then lowering his voice and winking, 'Or should I say, Marlene?'

'I'm not Marlene,' Marlene said, knowing it was futile.

'Yeah, you are. Marlene's the only person who went before me,' the James lookalike said, pulling his piece of parchment from his pocket along with a muggle pen to write her name next to Peter. 'You can't be anyone else.'

'Dammit. Why did I volunteer to go first?'

Lily in James' body.

Lily laughed at Marlene's annoyance with herself. 'That's what you get for not thinking it through. You should have been smarter about it.'

Marlene hummed, tilting her head to the side. 'Cocky and arrogant. Either you're Mary or Peter, and you're doing a fantastic impression of James, or you're Lily or Sirius. But that sounded too genuine to be acting, so I'm going with the latter.'

The music was having a strange effect on Lily, making her feel joyful and restless. She was having a hard time staying still, and an even harder time focusing on what Marlene was saying over the noise, to the point that her eyes kept darting around to look at things seemingly of their own accord, but the sound of her own name caught her attention and her eyes flicked back to Marlene as her brain went back over the conversation, trying to work out what was said.

There was an awkward pause as she stared at Marlene and then, all at once, understanding dawned and she knew what she'd said. It was the weirdest thing, but she grinned and pushed James' spare glasses up her nose, which he'd kindly left with his chosen outfit of jeans paired with a bright red shirt. 'I'm saying nothing.'

Marlene laughed. 'Well, let's see if I can change your mind about that. I know secrets about both Lily and Sirius that they wouldn't want known. I could try telling them to the next person who arrives. Neither of us will know who it is, so if it's your secret, you'll have to stop me…'

Lily narrowed her eyes. 'You wouldn't do that. I know you wouldn't. You were going to take the forfeit in truth or dare until Sirius said you could tell us his secret.'

'You're right, I wouldn't. But you just told me what I needed to know, anyway. Sirius would have called my bluff. You're Lily.'

'How sure are you about that?'

'Sure enough to do this,' Marlene said, pulling out her parchment and writing Lily next to James. 'So, what's it like being James?'

'Weird,' Lily said. 'My brain won't shut up. I've never had so many thoughts at once before. It's hard to concentrate on anything. What's it like being Peter?'

'Terrifying.'

Lily frowned. 'What? Why?'

'He's scared of everything. I'm so anxious right now, I want to die.'

'So you don't want to do something super embarrassing, then?' Lily asked.

'Not really, no. Why? What are you thinking?'

Lily shrugged. 'Not sure. What would be the most embarrassing thing for James and Peter to be seen doing?'

'James isn't embarrassed by much of anything,' Marlene pointed out. 'You've got your work cut out for you there.'

Lily hummed. 'True. And I really want to dance. Why do I want to dance so much?'

'I guess James likes dancing?'

'Come and dance with me?'

'Not a chance,' Marlene said, shaking her head with wide eyes. 'Peter's brain does not like that idea at all. But they might.' She nodded towards the door and Lily looked around to see Sirius walking towards them. His shoulders were hunched as if he was trying to make himself less noticeable, but it was pointless because heads were turning towards him anyway. He looked fantastic in tight, flared jeans and a black t-shirt.

'Hi,' he greeted when he arrived. 'This is awful. Why did we do this again?'

'We thought it would be fun?' Marlene suggested.

'It is fun,' Lily said. 'Are you not having fun?'

'Everyone's looking at me.'

'So you're either Mary or Peter, then,' Lily said. 'You're definitely not actually Sirius, and James loves attention.'

'Dammit. I completely forgot I was supposed to be hiding who I am. How does Sirius stand this?'

'What? The attention?' Lily asked, and the Sirius lookalike nodded, so she continued. 'I think he enjoys it.'

'I don't see how that's possible.'

Lily shrugged. 'Everyone's different. I don't mind attention.'

The Sirius lookalike narrowed his eyes. 'Was that you being James, or was that an honest remark? I notice you didn't mention Lily or Marlene when you were trying to guess who I am.'

Fortunately, Lily was saved from responding by the interruption of the last person she would have expected to approach her in public, but considering she looked like James at the moment and she was with people that looked like Sirius and Peter it shouldn't have been that big a surprise.

'Hello, Twinkles. Enjoying the party?' Regulus was looking at the Sirius lookalike when he spoke, but he nodded to Lily and Marlene, too. 'James, Peter.'

'Er, yeah,' the Sirius lookalike said. 'It's brilliant. You?'

A crease formed between the boy's eyebrows for barely a second before it smoothed out as he smiled. 'Can I have a word? In private?'

'Of course,' the Sirius lookalike said, but he shot them both a nervous smile as he followed the boy out of the dining hall.

Marlene smirked as they watched them walk away. 'I'm so calling Sirius "Twinkles" next time I see him.'

'You and me both,' Lily agreed, laughing.

'How long do you think they can fool him for?'

Lily shrugged. 'It's his brother. I doubt it will take him long to realise he's acting weird, but no one's first thought is going to be polyjuice, is it?'

'I wouldn't think so, no,' Marlene agreed.

'Anyway, if you don't mind, I'm going to go dance now.'

'Alone?'

'Sure, why not? It wouldn't stop James.'

Marlene laughed. 'You're not wrong there. Go on then. Abandon me. I'm going to stay here and wait for the others.'

Lily grinned and spun on her heel, heading for the stage–where the school bands were taking turns to play for them–to join the other people dancing. The music was fast and upbeat, and she threw herself into dancing, trying to burn off the excess energy that was thrumming through her body. It was no wonder James was so energetic if he felt like this all the time.

She'd been dancing alone for maybe fifteen minutes when she was joined by the person that was impersonating her.

'Alright, James? Having a good time?'

'Brilliant,' Lily said, grinning at herself. It wasn't the first time she'd seen herself face-to-face, but it was still weird. 'You want to dance with me?'

Sirius in Lily's body

Realising that being the third person to leave the bathroom and transform put him at a disadvantage, Sirius took a detour on the way to the Squib Wing and spent ten minutes lurking in a corridor before actually heading to the party. Hopefully, the rest of them would have already arrived by the time he got there, so they wouldn't be able to narrow down his identity based on when he arrived. Obviously, he wouldn't be able to do that either, but he didn't think he'd need to. If Sirius was good at anything, it was observing people. And art. And acting. And… okay, so he was good at a lot of things, but observing people was one of them.

When he finally did arrive at the dining hall of the Squib Wing, it didn't take him long to spot one of the other players, the one impersonating James, making a complete ass of themselves on the dance floor. In other words, they were doing a spot-on impression of his best friend, and it looked like so much fun, the urge to join in was impossible to resist, not that he tried particularly hard.

'Alright, James? Having a good time?' he said in greeting, knowing full well it wasn't actually James.

The imposter grinned at him, still doing an impressively good impression. 'Brilliant. You want to dance with me?'

'Sure,' Sirius said. It had to be Lily or Marlene. There was no way Peter or Mary would be making this much of a spectacle of themselves, even if they were in someone else's body. However, there was no harm in fishing. 'Are you enjoying being James?'

'It's… different.

'How so?'

'Just different. Everything is so distracting. The music, the lights, the talking. I can't keep my attention on anything. What about you? Are you enjoying being Lily?'

'It's not that different to being me,' Sirius lied. It was always strange being in someone else's body. Being James had been the only time it felt normal. Everyone else he'd been had such quiet minds, letting him control his thoughts with ease, instead of his thoughts controlling him like they usually did. And as much as he craved the silence, when he had it, he wasn't sure he liked it. It felt unnatural.

The James lookalike narrowed his eyes. 'I'm not sure if I should believe you.'

Sirius shrugged. 'Maybe I'm actually Lily and I got my own potion.'

'No, you're definitely not Lily.'

'How do you know?'

'I can tell. I know Lily, and you're not her.'

It wasn't enough. The statement could mean this was Lily, but there was still an equal chance it was Marlene. They were best friends, and Marlene could feasibly spot a fake Lily as easily as he could spot a fake James, Remus, or Peter. 'Who do you think I am, then?'

'You're dancing with me, so you're not Mary or Peter, and I already know who Marlene is. That leaves Sirius or James. And—'

Sirius laughed, interrupting her. 'You realise you literally just told me that you're Lily?'

'No, I didn't, did I?' She paused, and then, 'Fuck. James' brain is so hard to control. There's no filter at all.'

'Yeah, I know,' Sirius agreed, because it was true. He had to work hard to think before he spoke when he was impersonating James, but he was used to doing that anyway.

'Ha!' Lily said. 'I knew it. You're James. I thought you seemed to be acting the same way you did when you met Sunshine for me.'

'Dammit,' Sirius said, doing a wonderful job of acting like he'd accidentally given himself away if he did say so himself. 'We're both terrible at this.'

'What are the chances of us both getting each other?' Lily asked, laughing as she pulled out her parchment to make a note of his name.

'Quite low, I would think.'

As she was shoving the parchment back into her pocket, a voice Sirius would recognise anywhere came from beside them.

'Hello, Lily. James. Sorry to intrude on your date, but I'm looking for Severus. Have you seen him?'

Sirius' eyes widened in surprise as he turned. He hadn't known Lily was on first-name terms with his brother, but they both knew Snivellus, so it made sense.

'We're not on a date,' Lily said before Sirius could respond.

Regulus blinked. 'My apologies.'

'I've not seen him, Reggie, sorry,' Sirius said quickly, wanting to get rid of him as fast as possible, and then he cringed. Lily definitely wouldn't call him that.

'Not to worry,' Regulus said, not reacting to the nickname at all, which was suspicious. 'I'm sure I'll find him.'

'That was weird,' Lily said when he'd left. 'He's never spoken to me first before.'

'What did he want?' the person that was impersonating Sirius asked, appearing next to them and making the real Sirius jump a little. Sirius had to admit, it was a very good impression of him, so it must be James or Peter.

'He was looking for Severus,' Lily told him. 'Did you manage to fool him?'

The person impersonating Sirius shot Lily an annoyed look. 'Did you have to give me away? I was being convincingly Sirius then. But yes, I fooled him. He completely believed I was his brother.'

Sirius didn't believe that for a moment. If James couldn't fool Regulus, then whoever this was wouldn't be able to. Unless this was James and he'd learnt from his previous mistakes, but he didn't think it was, because right now, he looked like Lily, and there was no hint of adoration in this person's eyes when they looked at him.

'Thank god for that,' Lily said.

'Yeah, it was pretty scary,' the Sirius lookalike said. 'Anyway, I'm going to go talk to some of the others. We're running out of time. See you later.'

'Who do you think that was?' Sirius asked, watching himself walk away. Damn, he looked good from the back.

'Right. Like I'm going to tell you my suspicions.'

Sirius' mind was still working through the problem of Regulus—he was really missing his own brain right then—so he just shrugged at Lily's comment. 'It was worth a shot. Whoever it was, they were right. We are running out of time. I'm going to find someone else. Are you coming?'

'Sure. I left "Peter" over by the refreshments. We should try there first.'

Mary in Sirius' body.

Mary followed the boy, who she was sure was Sirius' brother, out of the dining hall and tried to remember what Peter had said his name was. It began with an R; she was sure of that. And the whole family were named after stars or constellations, which narrowed it down quite a lot. Rigel? Revati? Regulus? Yes! Regulus. That was it.

The pleasant feeling of having recalled this crucial piece of information in time didn't last long, because the moment they were alone, Regulus whirled around and drew his wand, pointing it at her throat and walking towards her until she'd backed into the wall. 'So, who are you then?'

Mary put on the best haughty expression she could manage and tried to imitate Sirius' posh way of speaking. 'Don't tell me you don't recognise your own brother, Regulus.'

'You're not my brother. Are you James again?'

'No,' Mary said. 'Why would I be James?'

Regulus raised an eyebrow. 'Why, indeed. Shall I tell you how I know you're not my brother? For one, you didn't get mad when I called you Twinkles. If anything, you looked confused. Why would you be confused by your own nickname?' Continuing without giving her a chance to respond, he took a step closer and used the tip of his wand to drag down the collar of the t-shirt she was wearing. 'Two, you're not wearing his necklace, which Sirius never takes off. And three, you've not attempted to defend yourself at all. You're really very bad at pretending to be Sirius. So I'll ask you one more time before I stun you and drag you to Professor Dumbledore. Who are you?'

Mary swallowed. With her back to the wall, she had nowhere to go, and there didn't seem to be any point in further denying it. 'I'm Mary. Mary McDonald.'

'And why, McDonald, are you pretending to be my brother?'

'It's a game. It's just a game, I swear.'

Regulus lowered his wand a little. 'A game? Sirius knows you're pretending to be him?'

She nodded. 'Well, sort of. He knows someone is. There are six of us. We all took a random dose of polyjuice and we have to guess who's who before it wears off.'

'Interesting,' Regulus said, lowering his wand to his side. 'Who's playing?'

'Sirius' friends, James and Peter?' Regulus inclined his head to show he knew who they were, so Mary continued. 'And my friends, Lily and Marlene.'

'Not Remus?'

Mary shook her head. 'He doesn't like parties.'

'No, I'm not much of a fan of them, either. My friend insisted we come and then left me so she could dance with some boy from Hufflepuff.' He said Hufflepuff like it was a dirty word. 'But this promises to make the event more interesting. Are there any rules about enlisting help?'

'You want to help me?'

Regulus smirked. 'Anything to keep my dear brother from winning.'

Mary allowed a sly smile to break across her face. 'Specifically, we're not allowed to team up with each other. Nothing was said about getting help from outsiders.'

'Excellent. I won't be much help with your friends, but I'm familiar enough with James and Peter, I think. And I'd be able to recognise Sirius even if he was transfigured into an animal. What do you have so far?'

'Not much,' Mary admitted. 'I'm pretty sure Lily and Marlene are impersonating James and Peter, but I don't know which is which. We've only just started the game.'

'Regulus nodded. 'Well, let's get back in there, then. You'll have to point out your friends to me, and yourself. I've never met any of you before.'

When they went back in, Mary scanned the room and spotted Marlene talking to Peter over by the refreshments table, and pointed her out to Regulus, then noticed James and Lily dancing together near the stage, both of them looking like they were having a blast.

'Ah, Lily Evans. Severus' Gryffindor friend,' Regulus said. 'She certainly has the energy to be my brother, but I'd need to hear her talking to be sure.

They made a circuit of the room, trying to find the person impersonating Mary, and eventually spotted her walking in, as if she'd only just arrived.

'Mary!' Mary called, to get their attention. 'Hey! Have you met my little brother?'

The Mary lookalike's eyes widened in surprise, but she composed herself quickly. 'Er. No. No, I don't think I have.'

'Regulus, this is Mary. Mary, Regulus.'

'It's nice to meet you,' the Mary lookalike said politely. 'Sirius has mentioned you a few times.'

'Can't say he's ever mentioned you to me.'

'Ah, well, we haven't been friends for long, have we Sirius?'

Mary shook her head. 'No, just a few months.'

'Well, it was nice to meet you, Mary. Sirius and I have something to discuss, though. So, if you don't mind…'

'Oh, no, of course. I should go and find Lily and Marlene, anyway.'

Regulus walked off without saying goodbye, and Mary followed him. 'There was no need to be so rude.'

'There was every need if you want me to figure out who they are. That was Peter, by the way. If you're right that your friends are impersonating James and Peter.'

'How do you know?' Mary asked, pulling out her parchment to write it down. 'I mean, I agree, but what makes you think so?'

'The shifty eyes and complete lack of temper,' Regulus said.

Mary laughed. 'Yeah, Pete is very calm. That's what I like about him.'

'He needs to learn how to stand up for himself,' Regulus said dismissively. 'If he keeps letting the fear of confrontation get the better of him, people will take advantage. Shall we go and break up the dance party next, or get something to eat?'

'The dance party, I think,' Mary answered, starting to wonder if teaming up with Regulus had been a good move. She didn't like the way he talked about Peter, even if he did have a point, but it was too late to change her mind. Regulus was already plotting.

'I'll speak to them first. You keep out of sight, and when I leave, go and ask them what I wanted. Be belligerent.'

'I don't know what that means.'

'Behave as though you're annoyed that I would dare speak to your friends.'

'Is that how Sirius treats you?' Mary asked. There really wasn't much point in her trying to act like Sirius. Whoever was impersonating James already knew she wasn't him, but it wasn't worth the hassle of explaining that to Regulus.

'Of course, we're brothers. I know he doesn't mean it.' And with that, he whirled around, heading for the dancing couple that looked like James and Lily, his dress robes billowing around him.

When they met back up after taking their turns speaking to the pair, they were both smiling. 'Lily is Sirius,' they said at the same time.

'I'm not sure about James, though,' Regulus added. 'He's definitely not James, but you know your friends better than me. When I suggested they were on a date, the person was very adamant they weren't. Does that help?'

Mary grinned. 'It's Lily. Marlene would have gone along with it.' She pulled her parchment out and wrote it down. 'So that means Marlene is Peter, and that just leaves James. So he must be Marlene.'

'You've won?'

She nodded.

'Excellent.' Regulus held out a hand. 'It was a pleasure working with you, Mary.'

Mary shook it with a smile. 'Likewise.'

James in Marlene's body.

The pain came in waves. One moment nothing and the next James was bent over double, trying to keep from moaning out loud.

When the first wave hit him, he'd assumed it was lingering transformation pain, and he'd stopped on the stairs down to the common room to ride it out. None of them had ever suffered anything like it before after taking polyjuice, but there was a first time for everything.

He'd made it through the common room, stopping to grab a glass bead on his way—he didn't need it, but someone could happen to be on the other side of the invisible door when he got there—and he'd just closed the portrait of the Fat Lady when the second wave hit him.

Something had gone horribly wrong with the polyjuice potion. James was sure of it. It must have because there was no way in hell Marlene could have been in such pain when she donated the hairs for the potion. She'd been smiling, for Merlin's sake. No one could smile with stomach pain like he was suffering at that moment.

The Fat Lady tutted. 'Bad cramps, dear? Maybe you should go back to bed.'

'What?' James asked, squinting at her through tear-blurred eyes.

'There's no need to be embarrassed, dear. We all have them. Well, I don't anymore, but when I was alive, oh, they were agony. I'd be laid up in bed for three days every month.'

Every month?

Oh.

Oh shit.

It was… that.

Oh, Merlin. Trust Marlene to think that would be funny. No wonder she'd been grinning when she added her hairs to the potion. James needed to find a bathroom fast. He could feel the dampness… down there, drawing his attention to the one part of his borrowed body that he was trying not to think about, and if he didn't do something, the jeans Marlene had provided for him would be ruined. And they were really nice jeans, which he was grateful for because he didn't like wearing skirts.

The closest bathrooms were a few corridors away, so he hurried there as fast as he could, tensing the muscles in his pelvis to try to keep the blood in. Would that work? He had no idea, but it was worth a try.

Another wave of cramps hit him halfway there, and he leant up against the wall, just breathing through it. Gods, how did they do this every month? It was horrible. And they just carried on like normal, going to class, playing games, and, when they were older, going to work like nothing was happening. They were heroes. Every single one of them.

When the pain eased enough for him to move, he hurried the rest of the way, hesitating at the door to the girls' bathroom for a second before shaking his head and walking in. He couldn't very well go into the boys' when he looked like Marlene.

Shutting himself in a cubicle, he hesitated again, chewing his lip as he contemplated his next step. This violated every rule he'd set for polyjuice transformations, but what else could he do? He didn't have any of his own hairs on hand to transform back, and if he did that, he'd forfeit the game, which wasn't an option. Maybe he could find Marlene and get her to help, but he had no idea which of them she was impersonating, and by the time he figured it out, it would probably be too late. The damp feeling was growing.

Marlene must have known whoever got her potion would have to do this. That was consent, right?

It was going to have to be enough because he couldn't wait any longer. Taking a deep breath, James closed his eyes, unbuttoned the jeans and pushed them down before taking a seat on the toilet. The jeans were safe. Now what? He peeled open one eye and took a peek. The top he was wearing was quite long, and it blocked his view of anything important. All he could see was Marlene's thighs, and he'd seen those before. She had a thing for short skirts. He let out a breath and opened the other eye.

There was blood in his underwear, but when he checked, it hadn't soaked through to the jeans, so that was good. He'd probably need to throw out the pants, though.

What was he supposed to do now? Didn't girls have things they used for this? Marlene knew this was going to happen, so…

James pushed his hand into the pocket of the jeans, and his fingers brushed against parchment. Grabbing onto it, he pulled it out and unfolded it, causing a strip of fabric to fall into his lap.

If you're one of the girls, you know what to do.

If you're one of the boys, you're going to need this. Just press it to the inside of your pants and it will stick in place. It vanishes the blood on contact. Hope you're having a good time being me right now. -evil laugh-

James' breath left him in a rush of relief. Alright, that was simple enough, and apparently, there was no need to wipe up the dampness; the fabric strip would take care of it. That was good. That was very, very good. He really didn't want to touch anything down there.

When he picked it up, the fabric strip was incredibly soft, and the magic embedded within it thrummed gently with a cool, refreshing energy. James followed the instructions Marlene had given, pressing it to his pants, and it stuck in place just like she said it would. Brilliant.

Closing his eyes again, just in case, he stood and pulled his clothes back into place, breathing a sigh of relief when he felt the dampness disappear. The magic felt nice against… the area, soothing. The stomach cramps were still agony, though. Surely there was some kind of remedy for that? Maybe he should go to the Hospital Wing and ask for something. But what if there wasn't a potion for it? He'd give himself away.

No, the smart thing to do would be to go to the party, figure out who Marlene was, and then fall to his knees and beg her for help. It shouldn't be hard to work out, really. She'd be the one who looked at him with an evil glint in her eye.

The first person he spotted when he got there, after a painful journey with many rest breaks, was Sirius, talking to Regulus. It probably wasn't actually Sirius, and going by past experience, it wouldn't take Regulus long to realise that, but James was in far too much pain to even think about dealing with it right then. The second person he spotted was Peter, standing alone near the refreshments table and looking directly at him, a smirk playing on his lips.

'Got to be Marlene,' he muttered before moving in their direction.

'Hey,' Peter, who was probably Marlene, said when he was close enough to hear. 'Having a good time being Marlene right now?' And that sealed it. This was definitely Marlene.

'You know I'm not,' he said. 'Is there a potion I can take for this?'

'There is,' she said, pulling a small vial out of Peter's pocket, 'and I have it right here, but,' she moved her hand out of reach when James went to take it from her, 'you have to tell me who you are first.'

'James. I'm James. Merlin, just give me the bloody potion, Marls.'

Marlene's cackle sounded truly bizarre coming out of Peter's mouth, but she handed over the vial, pulling out the parchment to no doubt write his name next to her own. He didn't care, entirely focused on pulling the stopper from the potion and swallowing it down. It was barely a mouthful, and tasted sweet and rich, almost like chocolate. But the best part was, it worked immediately. The pain in his stomach vanished in an instant.

'Oh my gods, thank you.'

Marlene grinned. 'You're welcome.'

'You're evil.'

'Yes. Yes, I am.'

'I thought I was dying.'

'Horrible, isn't it?'

James nodded, his face serious. 'The worst.' And it was true. Even now, the pain was gone but he still felt… yucky. His stomach felt uncomfortably full, and he had no energy at all. The only thing he wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep. 'I don't know how you do this every month.'

'We don't really have a choice in the matter.'

'No, that's true.' James made a mental note to do something nice for the girls as soon as he got the chance. They deserved it. 'How are you getting on, anyway? Your little joke has cost me so much time.'

Marlene grinned. 'I've figured out you and Lily, and I'm pretty sure I know which one is Mary, too.

'Not bad, not bad.'

'Better than you.'

'I'd be disappointed if you weren't all doing better than me, considering I've spent all my time in the bathroom so far.'

That made a flush creep up Marlene's cheeks, or Peter's, depending on how you thought about it. 'Whatever happened, I don't want to know.'

James held his hands up in surrender. 'I won't tell you, then. But there really isn't much to tell, anyway.'

'That's… reassuring. Thank you. But don't say anything else.'

'Hey, this was your choice. You could have backed out of the game if you wanted.'

'No, I know. I just don't want to hear about it.'

'Hi, guys. How's the food?' Mary asked, coming to a stop next to them and eyeing the refreshments table.

'Delicious,' Marlene said, at the same time as James replied, 'No idea. Haven't had any.'

Peter in Mary's body.

Peter eyed the food, but he didn't feel the usual urge to try everything in sight, so he turned back to Marlene's and his own lookalikes. 'Maybe I'll have some later.'

It was interesting being Mary. No one really took any notice of him if he didn't speak, and he'd been lurking near the two of them long enough to work out that the Marlene lookalike was really James, and he knew exactly how to get him away from whoever was wearing his own body.

'I saw Sirius with his brother just now,' he said, hiding his smile as James' eyes widened in concern.

'Fuck, I forgot. That's really not good. Does anyone know who Sirius is?'

'Oh, you're not getting my information that easily,' Peter's lookalike said.

'It's not Lily, is it? Tell me it's not Lily.'

'It's not Lily,' Peter's lookalike confirmed. 'But that's all I'm saying.'

'Well, the only other one you thought you knew was Mary. Is it Mary?'

'Why are you so frantic about it?'

'Because Regulus is not going to be fooled for a second, and he's probably going to flip when he realises that someone is impersonating his brother. He's an attack first, ask questions later kind of person. We have to find them.'

'Shit. Alright. Let's split up.'

Peter hid his smile again. His plan was going perfectly. The Peter lookalike sped off in one direction, and James took off in the other, so Peter followed after him, keeping his distance for the time being.

It didn't take James long to locate the Sirius lookalike, but when he got there, Regulus was nowhere to be seen. They talked for a few minutes, but Peter wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, and he waited until they separated before approaching James again, linking their arms together.

'I couldn't find them. What about you?'

'Oh, hi. Yeah. I found Mary. She's the Sirius lookalike. She's fine, though. Said she fooled Regulus, but I can't see how that's possible. You're Peter, right?'

'I might be. Also, might not be.'

'You must be. You recognised Regulus, and if you were Sirius, you would have intervened when you saw them together.'

'That is logical, yes,' Peter said.

James rolled his eyes. 'Just tell me. I told you who Mary was.'

'I didn't ask you to give me information. You volunteered it.'

'You're so stubborn.'

'It's a game. I want to win.'

'There are only a few minutes left.'

'All the more reason not to tell you. Want to go somewhere else before we turn back? Or are you happy for everyone here to see you in Marlene's clothes?'

'Yeah, actually, let's go somewhere else.'

They slipped out of the dining hall and crossed the entrance hall to the small room marked staff only, taking a quick look around for witnesses before sneaking inside.

Now that he had James alone, the plan was straightforward. Wait for Mary's polyjuice to wear off, so he turned into Lily, flirt with James until he asked her to go out with him, and then reveal he was really Peter. Was it cruel? Maybe a little. But it wasn't like James didn't actually have a chance with Lily. Not anymore. He just needed to find the courage to ask her, and this might actually help him. So really, Peter was doing him a favour.

'So you're really not going to admit you're Peter.'

'I'm admitting nothing.'

James pulled his parchment out. 'I'm writing it down, anyway. I know I'm right.'

'Go for it,' Peter said, smirking, which made James hesitate, pen hovering over the page.

'Wait… I think your hair is turning red.'

'Really? Isn't that strange?'

'No way,' James said, staring at him while his own hair rapidly shrank back into his head, turning darker as it went. 'I was so sure you were Pete.'

Peter twirled a strand of Lily's hair around his finger and looked up at James through her eyelashes. 'Shame. I recognised you immediately. I think I'd always know you, no matter what body you were in.'

James looked a little stunned by that statement, but he shook it off quickly and Peter could see he was working hard to keep from laughing. 'You're obviously just a great actress. It was clever pretending to be someone different from the body you were in.'

'Well, it helped that you forgot that I know Regulus.'

'Oh, damn. You're both friends with Sniv… Severus, aren't you?'

Peter frowned because he knew Lily would at the use of Snape's unflattering nickname. 'Why do you still keep calling him that?'

'It's a habit. I'm really trying to stop. I swear.'

James was absolutely not trying to stop, but Peter pretended to believe him. 'I really hope that's true because I can't have a boyfriend that calls my friends horrible names, can I?'

'You… What? Did you say..?'

Peter just smiled, and James looked completely stunned for about three seconds, and then all of a sudden, he sprang to life, grabbing Peter's hand and pulling him closer, before cupping the side of his face and pressing their lips together in a kiss.

Peter jerked back immediately, pushing James away. 'Oh my Gods, James! What the hell was that? You don't just go straight for a kiss!'

'What? But you..? I thought..? Fuck. I'm sorry. I thought you wanted to…'

'Oh, bloody hell. I can't believe you did that.' Peter wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. 'I'm Peter, you complete prat.'

'What?'

'I'm Peter. I took a double dose of polyjuice.'

'Why would you do that?' James looked utterly bewildered.

'It was supposed to be a joke, but you buggered it up and ruined it. You were supposed to ask me out, not kiss me!' Peter pulled the vial containing his own potion from his pocket and drank it with one hand while pointing his wand at his skirt with the other. 'Engorgio,' he muttered, making his clothes expand with his widening frame as he melted back into his own body, and not a second too soon.

The door to the room swung open and the real Lily was standing in the opening wearing James' clothes, with Sirius, in a skirt, and Marlene, gripping the waist of Peter's trousers with both hands to keep them from falling down, on either side of her.

'There you are,' Lily said. 'We've been looking for you everywhere.'

'This is literally the first place we looked,' Sirius said, giving her a sideways glance.

'Everywhere,' Lily repeated.

'Peter!' Marlene said. 'Can I give you a hug?'

'What?' Peter asked, startled. Marlene had never offered him a hug before. 'I mean, yeah, but why?'

'I just feel like you need a hug.'

They all crowded into the room and Marlene wrapped Peter in a tight, squeezing hug that was almost suffocating in its intensity.

'I don't know what's got into you,' Peter said when she finally released him, 'but I'm not going to question it.'

'Best not,' she told him. 'You'd only be embarrassed.'

After Marlene had adjusted her clothes so she no longer had to hold them up, they left the staff-only room and found Mary, lurking self-consciously in a shadowed corner of the Entrance Hall before heading back to Gryffindor Tower in a group to exchange results and change back into their own clothes. Remus was waiting for them, having decided not to go and watch them revert to normal, and he greeted them with a wolf whistle of appreciation at their various outfits. He seemed most interested in staring at Sirius, of course, who, Peter was forced to admit, actually managed to make his skirt look like a personal fashion choice rather than an incidental part of a game.

When the results were tallied, Mary had won, having correctly guessed the identities of all participants, and she gave a pleased smile when Peter kissed her in congratulations. Lily, on the other hand, was shocked to discover that Sirius had been the one to get her potion. She'd been certain it was James, apparently. Peter couldn't think why she might have thought that.

Overall, the game was declared a great success, and once they were changed, they all returned to the party to celebrate the end of the year with everyone else. All of them, except for Remus and Dorcas, that is. At some point during the afternoon, James disappeared for an hour, and the following day, he presented the girls with a large box of chocolates at breakfast, refusing to say why but winking at Marlene, who just laughed in response and helped herself to a chocolate.

The next time James and Peter were alone, they both agreed never to mention the polyjuice joke or its consequences again.

Two days after the end-of-term party, Remus and the rest of the Marauders made their way to Professor Tenebris' classroom for their last ever private lesson, and they were all fairly subdued about it. They still had two official lessons with her before the end of the week, but it wasn't the same as when it was just the five of them, which might explain why they were arriving a good fifteen minutes early. At least they'd be able to keep in touch, though. She had the notebook Remus had given her, and they were all determined to write often and let her know what they were getting up to.

As they approached the door, Remus caught a whiff of Regulus' scent in the air and, inhaled deeply through his nose, wanting to confirm it. Yes, it was definitely him. Before he could tell anyone, though, Sirius pushed the door open and walked in.

'Oh, hey, Reggie. What are you doing here?'

Regulus was walking down the stairs from Professor Tenebris' office and his eyebrows drew together in a frown at Sirius' question, or maybe at the sight of all four Marauders; it was difficult to tell.

'Mind your own business, Twinkles,' he said as he reached the bottom of the stairs, glaring at them. Without another word, he marched across the room, pushing his way past them to get to the door, and Remus got another lungful of his scent. He smelled strange again.

But his attention was drawn back to the room when Professor Tenebris appeared at the top of the stairs. She smiled at them, but it wasn't as warm as it usually was. Something in her eyes hinted at sadness, but she covered it with a cheerful tone when she greeted them. 'Hello, boys. You're a bit early. I was just finishing detention.'

'What did my little brother do this time?'

'I caught him out of bed after curfew last night. Such a nuisance having to give detention for such trivial things, but Professor McGonagall was with me, so I didn't have a choice.'

'Huh, wonder what he was up to. I'll have to remember to ask.'

'Never mind that. We're wasting all this extra time you've provided us by getting here early. Let's get started. How are you finding the Soul magic, James?'

'I think I understand it, but it's difficult to know for sure without trying it out.'

Remus didn't like the sound of that one bit. 'The only way to do that is to put Moony in control of my body for however long it lasts. I'm not sure that's a good idea. Unless you want to try it on the next full moon again?'

'No,' Sirius said in his "don't fuck with me" voice. 'We're not doing that again. Moony was so pissed at us last month. And I don't see why putting Moony in control would be a problem. We wouldn't smell like we usually do to him, so he wouldn't want to attack us, and he'd probably be too confused to do much of anything.'

'Yes, that's what I thought, too,' Professor Tenebris said. 'And if something goes wrong, we can always stun you. He wouldn't be immune to that in your body.'

'You know we wouldn't let anything bad happen, Moons,' Peter said.

Remus could see he wasn't going to win this argument, and so he gave in with a, 'Fine, we'll do it your way.' But it wasn't fine. He was already forced to give his body over to a monster that had attached itself to his soul like a parasite for one night of every month to do whatever it wanted with it. So why did he have to hand over control to it even more? It wasn't fair, but the whole point was to give his friends a way to protect themselves from said monster if it ever escaped its prison again, so he would do it. He'd do anything to keep his friends safe.

Professor Tenebris conjured a weird-looking chair for Remus—like an armchair, but the heavily padded arms were as high as the back, making him feel cocooned when he sat in it—and a second, much more normal chair, for Sirius, opposite it.

'That should stop you from toppling over if it doesn't work and you go limp again,' she told him from behind his chair. 'Right, is everyone ready?'

James and Peter had taken positions on either side of Sirius' seat and all three of them had their wands out, nodding at Professor Tenebris' question. It was extremely unnerving to have all three of his friends' wands pointed at him, but he didn't have time to dwell on it because a moment later, he found himself inside a familiar book-lined room.

Knowing there wouldn't be time, he didn't even bother trying to get a look at the books lining the walls of shelves. Instead, he stood and moved towards the door, reaching it just as it swung open and Sirius burst in.

'Hey! You ready?'

'Not in the slightest, but let's go, anyway.'

'That's the spirit,' Sirius said, grabbing his hand and pulling him into a run as he whispered the incantation for the tracking spell.

'Why are we running? There's no real need to rush.'

'Want to see if I've got any faster.'

Remus rolled his eyes but didn't say anything further, allowing Sirius to drag him along by his hand as they ran at full speed through the castle, down the stairs, and into the dungeons, skidding to a stop in front of Moony's door. Without a second's hesitation, Sirius stepped forward and pressed his hand to the door, triggering the series of locks to unlatch—were there less of them now? It didn't seem like there were as many clicks as there were last time before the door cracked open.

The cage was still missing and Moony growled at them as they walked in, ears flat and teeth bared, but Sirius didn't hesitate at the sight, moving towards him with his hand outstretched.

'Hello, Moony. How are you doi—. Woah,' Sirius jerked his hand back out of harm's way as Moony snapped his jaw, trying to bite him.

'The love magic, Sirius.'

'I'm casting it! It's not working.'

'Fuck,' Remus said, keeping his eyes on the wolf who was slowly stepping towards them—stalking them. 'Maybe we should leave?'

'Wait, let me try again. Hey, Moony, it's okay. I'm your friend, remember? Good boy. We're not going to hurt you.'

Moony's ears perked up, but then he shook his head and flattened them again. He was fighting the magic. This was not good. 'Keep going.'

'Come on. You don't want to hurt us. Everything is fine.' Sirius took a step closer, reaching out his hand again, and Moony continued to growl, but he didn't snap at him this time. 'Good boy. I'm your friend. I won't hurt you.'

It was a visible battle of wills, Moony trying to fight off the magic while Sirius continued to blanket him with it. The wolf's demeanour alternated between aggressive and relaxed and back again, and each time, the periods of aggression were shorter, until finally, he sat back on his haunches, panting as he watched Sirius.

'Merlin, that was hard. He must still be angry with us. I guess it hasn't even been a full day for him.'

'Let's get this done before he fights it off again.'

'Right, yeah. Come on, Moony,' Sirius said, and the wolf stood and trotted to his side, following when he turned and walked out. 'See you soon, Moonbeam.'

The wolf was angry, but something was preventing him from acting on it. It felt like a warm blanket of safety, wrapped tightly around him, controlling his movements and making him follow the Fighter out of the space they were in. He didn't like it, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get rid of it. He didn't know how he came to be there, or why he was there, but he had a vague memory of being there before.

There were a series of clicks from the wall after the Fighter closed it and then he was suddenly somewhere else, a small space with strange-looking walls, but he was only there for a second before he was transported yet again, and this time was even stranger.

His body felt wrong. Contorted. He was sitting in a way that shouldn't be possible and he blinked, confused. Directly in front of him were his pack-mates, and they all held their pain sticks, pointed straight at him, so he growled in warning, but it didn't sound right.

'Moony?' The Fighter said, and it was strange. He recognised the sound from all the days his packmates had kept him company from under his floor, but it sounded different, full of meaning. It was him. Somehow, he knew that the meaning of the sound was him.

Moony whined, but again, it sounded wrong, and he tilted his chin forward, looking down at himself.

Oh.

What was happening?

His body was all wrong. His paws were grotesquely deformed and the rest of his body, which was covered in some kind of material, was completely the wrong shape. He looked like one of them; the same type of creature his packmates were. Had they turned him into one of them somehow?

'It's okay, Moony. You're going to be fine,' the Fighter said, and Moony found he understood the sounds. Each sound had a meaning, and he knew the meanings. Why did he suddenly understand? And if he understood the sounds, could he make them?

Focusing on his desire to know what was happening to him, he opened his mouth and his tongue and lips shaped themselves in unfamiliar ways of their own accord. 'Fighter,' he said, but somehow he knew it didn't sound right. It was slurred, the sounds blending together instead of forming distinct syllables. He tried again, and this time it sounded better. Not perfect, but good enough. 'Fighter… what… is… happening… to me?'

His packmates' eyes widened as their heads turned to look at each other and Moony instantly knew that expression meant surprise. He wasn't sure how he knew. He just did. They were surprised by something. Because he could… talk? That was the sound for what he was doing. He was talking.

The Fighter turned his head back to face him. 'I… We… um. I don't know how to explain.'

'Try,' Moony said. It still didn't sound quite right, but it was clear enough that the Fighter would understand. 'Am I… like you now?'

The Fighter shook his head. No. That gesture meant no. 'Only for a minute. It's… a spell? Magic. It's magic.'

Spell. Magic. Using sounds… no. Words. Using words and the pain sticks—they were called wands—using words and wands to make things happen. Yes, he understood what magic was. 'Why? You did this… to me? Why?'

'Yes, we did it. Do you remember when you… hurt someone?'

When he bit the creature and it stopped moving. Unconscious. He had made the creature unconscious. Were his packmates angry at him for it? Is that why they were doing this to him? 'Yes. It smelled like… like I had to bite it. You smell like that, too…' he sniffed, and then tilted his head in confusion, 'but not now? Now you smell like… I have to touch you.'

The Fighter made a noise that Moony knew meant he was uncomfortable while the Protected and the Watcher made sounds indicating amusement. They found his words funny.

'Um. Okay, moving on,' the Fighter said. The skin on his face was pinker than before. Embarrassment? This was an unfamiliar emotion to Moony, but he understood it now.

'You should not be embar… embarrassed.' He stumbled over the long word, the end turning into a hiss when he finally got his tongue around it. 'You smell… wonderful.'

'Um, thanks. But we don't have much time. The reason we're making this spell is so if you try to hurt someone again, we can stop you,' Sirius was saying as Remus returned to his own body.

It seemed like the experiment had gone well. Remus was still sitting in his chair, so was Sirius, and James and Peter hadn't moved. Professor Tenebris was still out of sight, behind his chair. He could smell her.

'What happened?'

'It worked,' Sirius told him. 'And Moony was talking.'

'He said Sirius smelled wonderful and he wanted to touch him,' James said, waggling his eyebrows with a chuckle.

Remus pushed back at the flash of heat that burned in his chest and tried to focus on what was important. 'How could he talk?'

Stepping around from behind his chair, Professor Tenebris leaned against the side of it and hummed in thought. 'He must have access to your knowledge while the spell is active. The room you described, with all the books, is where his consciousness resides during the spell, so it makes sense. And speech is mostly muscle memory. If he's inhabiting your body, he would have access to that too.'

'He didn't speak like you,' Sirius said. 'It was all slurred and garbled like he didn't quite know exactly how to do it.'

'It seemed like he had to think hard to find the right words at times, too,' James said. 'But that was so cool.'

'It was,' Sirius agreed. 'But we didn't get a chance to explain anything. We need to do it again. He's going to be so confused.'

Remus' initial reaction was to refuse. They knew the spell worked, and that's what was important. But a second later, logic squashed it down. This was an opportunity to bring the monster to heel. 'What are you going to tell him?'

'We only have a minute at a time,' James said. 'It's going to be hard to explain everything.'

'I'm not sure you'll need to,' Professor Tenebris said. 'He's got access to everything Remus knows. All you should need to do is trigger the information recall. Tell him he's the wolf part of a werewolf, and he'll know what that means. What I don't know is how much he'll remember when he's back in his own body. This might be entirely pointless.'

'It's worth a try, though,' Sirius said. 'If we can make him understand why we can't let him out, he won't be mad at us anymore, at the very least.'

'Yes, it's definitely worth a try,' Professor Tenebris agreed.

'Is that okay with you, Remus?' Peter asked.

Remus nodded. 'Can you ask him not to hurt himself?'

'I was already going to,' Sirius said, raising his wand. 'Sit back.'

Everything had disappeared and then Moony found himself back in the stone space, his body back to normal, alone. What a strange experience that had been, being one of the creatures that walked on two legs. They understood many things that Moony couldn't make sense of anymore, but he knew more than he had before. The pain sticks were not only for causing pain. They could do much more than that, including giving him a new, different body. And his packmates did not like that he had hurt another creature like them. But there was still much that he didn't know.

So when the wall opened again a short time later, and the Fighter walked in with the creature that hated him, he went willingly, not waiting to be forced into it by the power of the creation sticks.

A moment later, he was back in the temporary body, looking at his packmates, and he didn't waste a moment. He had questions, and he started with the most important one. 'Why won't you… let me… out?'

The Fighter sat forward in his chair. 'Do you know what you are, Moony?'

The question triggered a deluge of information.

Werewolf. Two beings sharing one soul, taking turns to be present.

Remus. The being who shared his soul. The same creature who hated him. He was present most of the time.

The moon. When it was full in the sky, it was the wolf's turn to live.

Dangerous. When the moon was full and he was about to give control over to Moony, Remus locked himself up so the wolf couldn't hurt anyone. That was why they wouldn't let him out.

Pain. Transforming into the wolf was agony, and the injuries the wolf sustained remained when he changed back into Remus. That's why Remus hated him.

'I am a wolf. One… half? Yes, one half of a werewolf. This body…' he looked down at himself, 'this body… belongs… to Remus? He is your packmate? No. He's your… friend?'

'Packmate works,' The Watcher said, baring his teeth. But the expression didn't mean "stay away" for these creatures. They called it a smile, and it was supposed to communicate happiness.

Moony bared his own teeth in return. 'You are my packmates, too, Watcher?'

'Yes,' The Fighter said. 'Do you understand why we can't let you out now?'

'Because… I would… hurt others?' he asked, covering his teeth back up because this did not make him happy.

'That's right. But we're working on a way to make it safe for us to be with you, and when it's ready, we can go running together. Would you like that?'

'I would. How many… days… will it take?'

'We don't know. But we're not going to give up. You have to be patient, Moony.'

'Patient,' Moony repeated, feeling out the meaning of the word. Waiting for something without making a fuss. 'I can be patient.'

'And you can't hurt yourself,' The Fighter added.

'Because it hurts Remus too,' Moony said. 'I understand… Will he… stop hating me if I stop… making him hurt?'

'He doesn't hate you,' the Protected said, speaking for the first time.

Moony growled, his anger making the words come much easier. 'Do not lie to me, Protected. Remus does hate me. I know this to be true.'

'I'm sorry,' the Protected said. 'It's just you hurt someone, and Remus would be punished for it if anyone found out. That's why he's angry with you, but he doesn't hate you. Not really.'

The words felt true, and Moony lowered his gaze. Shame. He was feeling shame. 'I will try not to hurt… anyone… again, but it is hard to… resist.'

'You didn't hurt me,' The Fighter said.

Moony met his eyes. 'You are… important. I would rather… tear myself to shreds… than hurt you. Any of you.'

Remus returned to his own body in time to see all three of his friends smiling, which he took to be a good sign. 'I'm guessing it went well?'

'Very well,' Sirius answered. 'He understands why he has to stay locked up, and he agreed to stop hurting himself.'

Professor Tenebris cleared her throat and rounded the chair so Remus could see her, but she was looking at Sirius. 'We're working on a way to make it safe for us to be with you?'

Sirius chewed his lip, wrinkling his nose. 'Er… It's a secret?'

She sighed, pinching her nose for a moment before returning her gaze to Sirius. 'Is whatever you're doing guaranteed to prevent you from being attacked?'

'Yes?'

'Then I'll forget I heard that. Remus, do you feel okay?'

'I feel fine.'

'Good, then I think we can call this a success. The spell works, and if Moony escapes again, you'll be able to control him long enough to find safety.'

'I can't believe we did it,' James said. 'Thank you so much, Storm. We never could have figured this out without you.'

'I'm glad I could help,' she said, smiling, but her eyes were sad. 'I've enjoyed teaching you.'

'Then stay,' James said. 'Come back next year.'

'I can't. I told you, I have things I have to do. Everything has to end sometime, and this is the end of our time together. I'm sorry, but that's how it has to be.'

'Yeah, I know. It was worth a try, though.'

Professor Tenebris laughed lightly. 'Never lose that optimism, Sunshine. The world would be a darker place without it.' She gave them another smile, but it looked more than a little forced. 'Right, I think it's time you all went to bed. I'll see you in class on Thursday.'

Taking the hint, the Marauders all made for the door, saying goodbyes as they went, and left, returning to the dorm to discuss what had happened.

'Moony has names for us. Did you notice?' Sirius said the moment they were alone in their private space. 'He kept calling me Fighter.'

'He called me Watcher. What do you think that means?'

'That you're boring and never join in?' Sirius suggested.

'Dick,' James said, laughing. 'What about Peter? "Protected" is kind of weird.'

Peter frowned, looking upset. 'Guess he knows I'm the weakest somehow.'

'Or maybe he just cares about you so much he wants to keep you safe,' Sirius said.

'What do you think, Moons?' James asked. 'You're really quiet.'

Remus had made his way over to his bed while they were talking, making himself comfortable against the pillows, but he looked up at James' question. 'I think it's nice that you're so excited,' he said, trying to suppress the jealousy curling around his heart like a vice. 'I don't know about the names. Maybe it's just the feeling he gets from you?'

'We'll have to ask him next time,' Sirius said, happily, moving to join Remus on the bed. 'I'm just glad he's not mad at us anymore.'

'If he's able to remember anything,' Remus reminded him, his stomach lurching at the idea of next time. 'He might not.'

They only had to wait three days to find out, though, and they passed quickly. None of the teachers were really bothering to teach anything during the last week of term. Professor Flitwick let them play games in his lessons, Professor Tenebris had them competing in a duelling tournament for the crown of Best Dueller, and Professor McGonagall handed out rose bushes in little pots and told them to transfigure them into whatever style they preferred to take home with them.

As Friday drew closer, the wildness Remus had struggled with the previous full moon reared its head again, and he found himself making any excuse he could think of to be close to Sirius. Not that he really needed an excuse, but it helped with the embarrassment if he pretended there was a reason for it other than animalistic instinct, especially with the knowledge that the wolf wanted to touch Sirius. He tried really hard not to think about that.

The moonsickness kicked in late on Thursday and by Friday morning he was in enough pain to need help getting out of bed, but the moon wouldn't rise until ten o'clock that night and he didn't want to waste Peter's potion by taking it too early and having it wear off before the worst of the pain hit, so he waited until mid-afternoon to take it.

The effect was immediate. His nausea vanished, and he felt just as energetic as he had on the Invigoration Draught the previous month, possibly even more so. The best part, though, was the pain disappearing as if it had never been there to begin with.

'How do you feel?' Peter asked, taking the empty vial and squinting at him.

'Fantastic!' Remus said, grinning broadly. 'Let's do something fun!'