Descent into Darkness

by She's So High

Herein lies the tale of deception that changed the lives of all who fell victim to it. (MWPP-11-01-81) "He who was living is now dead. We who were living are now dying with a little patience." - Eliot

Descent into Darkness

By: Lady DeathAngel

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Harry Potter or even the universe they reside in. I'm making no money off of this so don't sue me.

Warnings: language, violence and that's it so far

A/N: Well, this came out of freakin' no where. More so than any of my other 'out of nowhere' fics. I'm hoping to make this into a pretty long arc. Maybe not terribly long, but I want to focus on a lot of key points that haven't been detailed so far. Hopefully it'll be fairly original ::crosses fingers:: and there won't be too much OOCness. Keep in mind, though, that it has not yet been beta read so . . . if there are any inconsistencies or problems with grammar do forgive me. There will be slash relationships in this fic (I'm a stout believer in Sirius and Remus being together forever), and het (Lily and James forever!). No lemons are in the plan, but who knows? Umm . . . don't know what else . . . hope you like it! As always, read, enjoy and please review. Merry Christmas!

Chapter One:Shaky Start
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

- Semisonic

It was a rainy morning when news first began to reach the Hogwarts students that Voldemort was coming to power. It didn't mean anything immediately. After all, no one really knew much about this Voldemort person, and Dumbledore managed to convince them that there was nothing to worry about. But a few months after Voldemort's first attack on an innocent couple put his name on the lips of the professors and students, he had escalated into the most feared wizard of the modern times. And suddenly his name was too frightening a word to even think, let alone speak aloud.

It was, to Dumbledore, one of the first signs that things were going to spiral out of control.

He urged his colleagues to say Voldemort's name, not to allow it to manifest itself as something to be feared as much as the man it belonged to was to be feared. But they didn't listen. And the fear spread, like a virus. Students were now concerned for the health of their parents and other relatives. Muggleborn witches and wizards tried to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible. School work was interrupted time and again by the hushed murmurs of students discussing the latest attacks in the wizard world. There was nothing anyone could do at the time, nothing that even Dumbledore could do. Nothing but watch the terror become commonplace, as much as he hated it.

It was the sixth year of James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Lily Evans and many others when Voldemort became a serious issue. They were concerned about it, of course, but they had no way of knowing how greatly his power outside of Hogwarts would affect their school life. No way of knowing at all. And perhaps it was because they survived their sixth year with little conflict that when it all erupted in a molten hot river of chaos, they were taken by large degrees of surprise.

~*~

The night was a calm one. No gusty winds, no torrential downpours, and no scalding hot temperatures. It was probably the perfect night to end the summer. The sky was clear, the stars glittering in bright and sharp contrast to the blue-black sky. Enjoying the night were two young men, laying on the flat roof of the Potter home.

They were both dressed casually, if sparsely, for bed. Sirius Black was wearing a pair of pajama bottoms and a white tank-top that fitted him like a second skin. His black hair, usually in order, was in a bit of disarray, sticking up in a few different directions. His blue eyes were trained on his best friend. James Potter was laying beside him on his back, bare chested and in nothing else but a pair of shorts. His hair, also black, was, as was usual, in no semblance of order at all and his own eyes were glued to the object he had in his hands.

"I still can't believe they chose you to be Head Boy of all people." Sirius muttered.

James turned his badge over and over in his hands.

"I know . . . weird isn't it? Always thought it'd be Moony myself."

"Yeah. Lord knows he's better behaved than either of us combined. He probably deserved it more."

"Thanks." James said, glancing sideways at him with a lopsided grin.

"No offense." Sirius hastened to say.

"You know, if I hadn't already kicked your sorry arse a dozen times today, I'd seriously consider pushing you off this roof."

"Aren't we a bit bloodlusty this evening?" Sirius said with a smirk before laying on his own back, staring up at the sky.

They'd spent their last day of summer holiday doing nothing but wrestling and practicing quidditch and generally getting in Mrs. Potter's way. She'd simply rolled her eyes and said that boys would be boys, but more than that she understood that this was their last chance to have fun before they officially entered the wizarding world. Their seventh and final year at Hogwarts was just a few hours away and after that it was all over. No more school. No more castle walls to hide behind. They would be thrust out into the real world. And it was fast becoming more and more dangerous, what with Voldemort's current bid for power.

For their part they weren't so scared about that part of it. Personally, James couldn't wait until he could actually do something about the problems Voldemort and his Death Eaters were causing. He'd always considered being an Auror, now he couldn't wait to make it happen. He wasn't sure if Sirius was as eager as he was to get out and aid in the war against Voldemort, but he knew that he wasn't completely dreading it.

And yet they were also going to miss Hogwarts. After all, so much had happened there. They'd met, along with meeting Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, their two other best friends. Hell, they'd become animagi at that school. It held a lot of memories and the nostalgia of it all was already hitting them. It was what filled the silence between them as they gazed unseeing at the stars.

"So . . . given any thought to after Hogwarts?" Sirius asked finally.

"'Course I have. I'm going to become an auror. 'S the only thing I've wanted to be since fifth year."

"Yeah, that's what we all planned our courses around wasn't it? Not so sure if Wormtail is still into the idea though. He doesn't really try anymore."

James sighed. He'd noticed the change in their friend too. The end of sixth year had hit him hard. Voldemort's climb to power had scared him witless and he'd made not attempts at hiding it. Since then, where Sirius, himself and Remus had practically doubled their efforts to get good enough N.E.W.T.s to pursue careers as Aurors, Peter had stopped caring about his marks at all. A fact that the professors hadn't seemed to let slip past them.

"What about you?" James asked. "Still interested in becoming an auror?"

"Yeah." Sirius answered.

Another silence lapsed.

"So . . ." Sirius said, his tone overly casual. "How about you and Evans this year?"

James sat up quickly and glanced sideways at him.

"You're joking right? Are we forgetting the fact that she hates the very air I breathe?"

Sirius sat up as well, a grin lighting his face.

"Of course not. But she didn't seem to hate you quite so much last year."

James shrugged. That much was true. After a disastrous fifth year and an even worse early part of their sixth year, Remus and Lily had become good friends by chance by being frequently paired up in everything from Charms to Defense Against the Dark Arts. From their they'd formed a tentative study group that Remus insisted Sirius and James and Peter attend, if only for appearances sake. It had definitely looked good with more observant (and delusional) professors who thought that maybe the wicked foursome that they made up was finally settling down to take school seriously. But more than that, it had brought Lily and James a bit closer and led them into an extremely volatile friendship.

"Sure, I guess . . ."

"Well she didn't, you stupid git. And I'm of the opinion that you two are meant for each other."

James lifted an eyebrow.

"And how, pray tell, do you explain the huge rows we end up in whenever one of us breathes too loudly?"

Sirius laughed.

"That, my friend, is what we like to call unabashed sexual awareness of a person. Makes you downright cranky, doesn't it?"

"Please."

"I'm serious." He looked at him curiously for a moment before smiling. "You know, I'm almost positive you two'll end up married sometime in the future."

James glowered at him.

"You dropped Divination third year you prat."

"Yeah. For that damned Muggle Studies class . . ."

"The point being," James interrupted loudly. "That you don't know anything about my future with Lily."

"Yes well, I may not be a Seer, but I tell you I know this for a fact."

James cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah? Well, it would be kinda nice wouldn't it?"

Sirius laughed.

"You're in a right state over her, mate." He announced before laying back again.

"Yeah, well what about you? Found your soul mate yet?"

Sirius snorted.

"Please. Out of any of the girls at Hogwarts? Hate to say it Prongs, but I think you're well on your way to taking the only one that's worth it."

James' smile was sardonic.

"As much as I think I may be flattered, I don't get it. There're plenty of nice girls . . ."

"Yeah, and I'd already attempted dating enough of them by sixth year to convince me they're not worth it. Face it mate, it's hopeless."

James smirked.

"Well, not if you abandon the female species completely."

Sirius glanced sideways at him.

"You're not serious are you?"

"Maybe. I'm just saying, you know, there are always other options. Plenty of perfectly nice guys out there with ambiguous sexual preferences. Look at Moony."

"As nice as Moony is," Sirius started with a snort. "He's no poof."

His friend was silent and, curious, Sirius leaned up on elbow and faced him.

"Wait a sec . . . he's not is he?"

James shrugged.

"You know something, don't you?"

"Could be . . ."

"James you arrogant bastard, you'd better tell me right now!" Sirius said.

James just laughed.

"Don't worry about it, Padfoot." He said between chuckles.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Either way, I'm telling you that I, for one, am not like that."

James sobered up quickly and sat up.

"You know, even if you were, it wouldn't make anything different." He said.

Sirius frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that no matter what we'll always be friends." He said. "I mean, it isn't going to be easy. But whatever happens, we'll always be friends. You, me, Remus and Peter, but especially you and me."

Sirius grinned.

"Marauders forever?"

"Nah. It's more than that. Brothers. We're brothers forever."

"Thanks James. Really. But . . . now who sounds like a poof?"

And then the once near-silent night was filled with the sounds of two best friends wrestling on a rooftop. Their last summer as children coming to a hesitant close.

~*~

A young man of about sixteen or seventeen was busy alternating pushing his trolley and greeting classmates when two of his best friends arrived on the platform. Loudly. As usual. He rolled his eyes, shaking his lengthy mane of sandy-brown hair out of his face and turning a gold tinged hazel gaze on James and Sirius.

"Make way! Head Boy, coming through!" The deep voice of the latter called over the din of the many students milling about the platform.

Heads turned in the direction of the shout, eyebrows raised at the audacity of whoever was announcing his presence so arrogantly. But then they saw who it was and they simply rolled their eyes, a few in anger and annoyance but most in good humor. After all, it was to be expected from the two of them, cocky gits that they were.

As the two made their way toward the Hogwarts Express, Remus caught up to them with a mocking sigh.

"You just can't go somewhere without making a loud entrance, can you?" He said, looking sideways at his best friends.

Sirius laughed and ruffled his hair.

"'Course not. We're too full of ourselves to ever enter quietly." He answered as Remus tried to squirm out from beneath his hand.

"Speak for yourself." James muttered, scanning the crowd.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Please. You know you love it."

"Sod off."

Sirius opened his mouth to retort when a happy cry reached them and the next thing any of them knew Peter Pettigrew, the fourth Marauder, launched himself at them, grabbing them each in a hard hug.

"Oi, get off!" Sirius coughed as Peter grabbed him tightly around the neck.

"What're you so happy about?" James asked curiously.

Peter just shrugged and grinned.

"Oh nothing." He replied vaguely.

"Nothing?" Remus said, looking at him with good-natured suspicion in his eyes. "I'd hardly equate being on the receiving end of a very rare Pettigrew Bear-hug with nothing."

"Tell you later." He said as James' parents worked their way through the thick crowd.

The resemblance between James and his parents was fairly obvious to anyone. He had his mother's jet-black hair and hazel eyes with his father's facial features. As far as temperament went, he'd gotten his cockiness from his mother, as shocking as that was, but his sense of adventure and humor were from his father. The one thing that the three of them shared in common, besides a strong love for one another, was their absolute dislike of the Dark Arts. James had been raised by his parents to do the right thing, that included saying no to anything that had to do with the Dark Arts. As far as Remus knew, the Potters were already doing everything they could to help the effort against Voldemort, and in reality none of the Marauders could wait until they could help too.

"So . . ." Mr. Potter said as he drew up in front of them. "It's your last year."

They all nodded, somewhat gravely as that fact was not completely lost on any of them.

"I'm surprised you made it this far myself." His mother added with a cheeky grin. "What with all of the trouble you caused. Honestly, how you managed to stick it out . . ."

"Mum!" James said with a chuckle.

"What?" She asked in an innocent tone.

"What you're mother means to say," Mr. Potter said, slipping his arm around his wife's waist. "Is that we're proud of you. All four of you." He added. "I doubt my miscreant son could have made it this far without the three of you keeping him out of trouble."

Sirius coughed guiltily.

"Actually, all that particular credit should go to Rem." He said, nudging the boy next to him with his shoulder.

"Yeah, actually it should." Remus said, pretending to think about it a bit. "Don't worry Mrs. Potter, Mr. Potter, I won't shirk my duties just because it's our last year. I'll see the three of them through to the end if it kills me."

Mr. Potter laughed.

"That's the spirit." He said.

A warning whistle split the air, sending several children scurrying to the train.

"Well, that's it then." James said. "By Mum, Dad."

"Thanks for everything." Sirius said earnestly.

Mrs. Potter sniffed slightly and then embraced him.

"Oh it was nothing, Sirius. Nothing at all." She moved to give her son a long hug as well, and then gave a quick one each to Remus and Peter. "If any of you need anything to hesitate to owl us." She said.

"Take care of yourselves." Mr. Potter said, giving them all a significant look.

"Don't worry. We will." James told him.

And with that the four of them made their way onto the train.

~*~

"Well, I've finally figured out my living situation after this year." Sirius announced after they had seated themselves in the one empty compartment they managed to find.

On one seat sat Remus with a book open next to him, although he wasn't reading. Instead he was watching Peter, who was sitting across from him, with a curious expression. James was busy staring out of the window and didn't seem to be paying much attention. Sirius, who was laying sprawled out on the seat with Remus, his head against the window pane and his feet in his friend's lap, looked at them all with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, I have decided that after this year I will prostitute myself off in this nifty little bar on Knockturn Alley so that I can afford my flat payments."

"That sounds good to me." James muttered absently.

"Right." Sirius said slowly. "Well, I've also decided that if that doesn't work I'll just leave the wizarding world behind me and submerge myself in the horrible existence that is a muggle's."

"Good plan." Peter said.

Sirius sighed.

"Is anyone even listening to a bloody word I'm saying?" He said loudly.

Remus glanced sideways at him and then picked up his book.

"Actually, Padfoot, I thought your first plan was rather ideal for you. You're good looking, you've got a moderately fit body . . . and you won't even need to use that rusty brain of yours. It's perfect."

Sirius growled at him.

"Well, at least I listened." Remus told him with a grin, never looking up from his book.

"Anyway," Sirius said with a sigh. "Since my uncle's left me a fair amount of money, I won't need to become a whore to pay off my flat."

"Pity." Remus muttered. "It really was perfect for you."

"Oh shut up."

There were a few minutes of silence in which Remus attempted to read his book and Sirius stared at his fingernails, completely bored, before Remus spoke.

"I can't take it anymore." He said, setting his book down and looking at Peter.

Sirius followed his gaze and was a bit shocked to realize the little git still had a happily smug look on his face. He'd noticed it earlier but hadn't commented. Now it looked like Remus was going to tackle the issue.

"What in the hell happened to you this summer to make you so . . ." He fought for a word. "I don't even know. It's just a bit odd is all."

"A bit?" Sirius retorted with a snort.

Remus shot him a warning look and Sirius stopped himself from saying anything more.

"Well . . ." Peter started, leaning back with a smile on his boyish face. "I have a girlfriend." He said.

"What?!" James demanded, turning in his seat to gape at his friend. "What d'you *mean* you've got a girlfriend?"

"I think he means he has a girlfriend." Remus said with a grin.

"Yeah, you know, a piece of arm candy you can conveniently snog whenever you want?"

Remus looked at him in amused disgust.

"Arm candy?"

"So who is she?" James asked before Sirius could answer.

"She's a Ravenclaw." Peter announced. "Her name's Sarah and she's great."

He went on to tell them how great she was. In fact, he told them how great she was for a solid hour before Sirius finally got fed up and decided to go look for something to do.

"I'm bored out of my mind in here." He said, standing up. "I'm going for a walk or something." He looked down at Remus. "Going to tag along and keep me out of trouble, Moony?"

The young man in question heaved a long suffering sigh.

"Must I? Can't you stay out of trouble for a few minutes?"

Sirius thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

"Actually . . . no probably not."

"Fine. As it is my duty and all . . ." He trailed off and frowned. "Did you hear something?"

Sirius looked at him curiously.

"Like what?"

Remus shook his head slowly.

"Not quite sure. A scream I think."

James frowned and Peter looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Is it, you know, PWS?" He asked in a lowered tone.

PWS was what they commonly used to refer to Remus' pre-werewolf syndrome, at which time his senses would be attuned to ridiculous heights and after about two days he'd begin to look peaky at the pull of the moon. If it was almost Remus' 'time of the month' then he'd could have heard something that hadn't even taken place on the train, his hearing became that powerful. Remus nodded but didn't say anything, instead listening hard. The other three boys stared at him with looks of worry etched into their features until he finally shot up and blew past Sirius, sliding open the door to their car.

"Who was it?" Sirius asked, following him out and into the aisles.

Remus glanced over at him.

"Not sure."

Sirius didn't see the need to ask anymore questions because it was pretty evident that even if Remus did know for sure, he was more keen on helping then disclosing information. They followed Remus through the train aisles until they finally reached an area of complete and total chaos. The first group they reached were a cluster of four seven year Hufflepuff girls arguing about who should go get help.

"I don't want to go!" One girl with blonde hair and brown eyes whined. Sirius recognized her instantly as Caroline Brown. He'd dated her for a full two days before he got tired of her. "You go!"

The girl she shoved, none to gently, in the direction of where she assumed help was coming from, had long black hair, tied back in a braid and she looked shocked.

"We shouldn't be fighting over this for Merlin's sake!" She shouted at Caroline. "I'll go."

She steeled her back and breezed past the girls. She stopped short when she saw Remus and looked past him to see that Sirius, Peter and James were there as well. She grinned then and continued on.

"The Slytherins are being bastards. The lot of them. I'll hold off the help if you promise to take care of them."

"Amelia, my dear," Remus called after her with a wink. "I do believe it's our pleasure."

Remus shared a look with Sirius who turned to James and Peter with raised eyebrows. And then the four of them made their way through the throng of people, all whispering about the injustices of what was being done to whoever it was being done to, but doing nothing about it. That had always made Sirius sick. Anyone who had an opinion they felt strongly about should, in his opinion, either act on it or shut up about it. But they were dealing with Slytherins. Possible Death Eaters. He couldn't really blame them if they were scared.

It still bugged him though.

"It figures that you'd show up." A snide voice said that made Sirius' hackles raise. "I was waiting for you four heroes actually."

His brother stood between them and a crowd of several other Slytherins and a few frightened first and second years. His hair was a lighter shade of black than Sirius', his eyes a lighter shade of blue, but the resemblance was still there. Sirius rather wished he could obliterate it completely. He hated the thought of breathing the same air as Regulus sometimes, let alone having his blood running through his veins.

"Out of the way." Sirius said, stepping forward until he and Remus were standing almost shoulder to shoulder.

Regulus made a tutting noise and crossed his arms over his chest.

"How rude of you." He said, one corner of his mouth curling up into a smirky smile that Sirius was all too familiar with. "Didn't Mother teach you any matters at all?"

Sirius stiffened.

"I don't have a mother." He said coldly. "I was raised by a bitch that taught me the same things she taught you. I just wasn't stupid enough to buy into them."

"Don't you dare talk about her that way!" He yelled, scaring most of the spectators, including a few Slytherins. "She was too kind to you, you know. She must have been bloody pissed when she decided not to kill you when you showed signs of becoming a blood traitor. I mean look at you." He sneered. "Of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black and you lower yourself to cavorting yourself with a pathetic poof," he pointed at Remus. "A fat coward," he pointed at Peter. "And an arrogant arse who has let all the hero worship of idiotic little girls go to his head."

"You'd better lower that damn finger of yours before I break it off." James said in a low voice.

Regulus simply laughed.

"Please. Like you could."

James took a step forward but Sirius held a hand out to stop him.

"Look you little bastard, just because you can scare all of them doesn't mean you can intimidate us. Now out of the way or by the time we're done hexing you even mummy dearest won't be able to see you for a puddle of mud in a garden."

Regulus raised his wand and pointed it at his brother, who growled in return. But when he might have cursed him, a smooth and rather sinister voice interrupted him.

"Stop this at once you stupid fool." Severus Snape ordered, gliding forward in all of his slimy-haired, hook nosed glory. "You did your job by aiding in luring them here."

"Luring us here?" Remus repeated, staring hard at Snape.

"Yes. You see, it's no great secret that the four of you fancy yourselves the saviors of just about anyone who isn't in Slytherin. We figured that if we caused enough of a commotion you'd find out and coming rushing to their aid sooner or later."

"Whose aid?" Peter asked from somewhere behind Sirius.

Snape's smile was a rather sick thing behold. His teeth all rather straight, not brilliantly white, but not yellow either, gleamed in the dim lighting of the aisles. It wasn't, then, that the smile was ugly aesthetically speaking. It was the fact that he found such pure joy in such a thing as tormenting fellow schoolmates. It was all Sirius could do not to lay into him right there. Forget wands, he'd rather rip Snape's limbs from his body with his bare hands.

"Why, the aid of them of course." He said, moving smoothly to the side.

Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Remus go white, and he felt the sudden inflaming of James anger, and quite possible his hatred. Peter was probably still in shock and his fair share of anger as well. As for his part Sirius was livid. Because walking toward him, holding an incoming student in each hand were Narcissa, Bellatrix, Barty Crouch and a few other Slytherins that he recognized but couldn't name. The first years were white, an unhealthy shade of white. Their eyes were wide and red rimmed, their pupils so dilated that he couldn't have named the color of any set of them. They were shaking visibly, one girl still hiccupping occasionally with a sob. They were done fighting though, it seemed. Instead they simply walked in a servile fashion alongside their tormentors.

"What did you do to them?" James asked.

Snape simply smiled and with a flick of his wrist the first years were thrust toward them. Remus caught one small boy and then pulled him against his body as he broke into tears. Sirius knelt next to a girl who was in a ball at his feet. Peter rushed toward a young boy who was standing stock still, rigid and probably in shock.

"Have a good long look at them." He said. "They're mudbloods. They knew it coming here. They probably thought they were safe." He laughed. "Surprise, surprise." He said, before turning.

"You think you can save them all?" He asked as he walked away. "You couldn't even save them. Maybe next time it'll be different, you're thinking. But only time will tell if you'll be able to save a single one of them."

Regulus shook his head.

"They're pathetic." He said. "And they're tainted. They'll all get what's coming to them, just watch."

Sirius had heard enough. He carefully stepped over the girl after brushing her hair out of her eyes and muttering a reassurance, and walked calmly up to his brother.

"Pass this message on to your slimy leader for us." He hissed, his nose scant inches away from eyes so like his mother's it chilled him. "For every one of them that you hurt, we will get you back. Even if we can't save them all. That makes five so far." He took a step back.

Regulus didn't see it coming but his friends did. Sirius hit his brother with a right hook so hard that he hit the wall with a loud thud. His brother cried out and Sirius stepped toward him, yanked him up by the fabric of his robes, and kneed him in the solar plexus.

"Remember, that's not even close to what you inflicted on them, and that's only a taste of what we'll inflict on you."

He let go and Regulus fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

Sirius turned to the girl who was sitting up now, and staring at him with big brown eyes swimming with tears.

"Come on," He said, holding out a hand to her. "We'll get you to someone who'll watch over you, okay?"

She took his hand and stood shakily.

"I . . . I want you to watch over me." She said softly.

He glanced over at James, who was busy with a pair of twins, one boy and one girl. He raised his eyebrows beneath his messy dark fringe and then returned to the two children before him. Sirius looked back down at the girl who was staring down at a scrape on her palm.

"Will you?" She asked, without looking up at him.

Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair, wondering what the devil to say. He was saved from saying anything, however, when Amelia rushed toward them, a new professor in tow. She looked at them each questioningly, but they all simply turned the children over to the care of the professor, ignoring her questions and moving back to their cabin with lead feet.

~*~

"So, I suppose we're going to be interrogated once we get to Hogwarts." James said.

"Not by the great Headmaster in all likelihood." Sirius said, his voice frigid. "He's too busy to even notice his students are still alive more than three times a bloody year."

"Sirius." Remus said a warning tone.

"Well it's true." He cried, standing up. "Just because Voldemort's supposedly scared stiff of him," Peter flinched slightly at the name. "He assumes all his followers are too. But they're not. What happened just now is proof of that. He probably won't even care."

A heavy silence filled the air of the cabin. They'd all always known how Sirius felt about the headmaster. He respected him, for the most part. After all, if it weren't for him Remus would never have gotten into Hogwarts. But whereas Peter had a respect for him bordering on fear, Remus felt grateful to him for giving him an opportunity that he would never have had otherwise, and James regarded him almost as a second father figure, Sirius' feelings for him varied. Some days he almost liked the old man, others he couldn't stand him. It was obvious that today was one of the latter.

"Anyway," Peter said in a small voice. "Prongs is right. They'll probably ask us all sorts of questions once we get to the castle."

"You're damn right they will." A female voice said.

They all looked up to see Lily Evans standing just inside, looking at them all with an unreadable expression on her face.

"What are you doing here?" James asked, a small frown marring his brow.

"Like it isn't as obvious as the nose on your face." She said, rolling her eyes. "The whole train's buzzing about what happened, I just wanted to make sure you're all okay."

"We handled it." James said.

"Yes, I'm sure you did. But are you *okay*? I mean, the rumors flying around . . ."

"I said," James told her in a hard voice. "That we handled it."

Lily narrowed her eyes at him.

"I was only worried about the lot of you. Can't imagine why, seeing as how your collective emotions only run the gamut from A to B."

"I do hope *I'm* not included in that." Remus said with a raised eyebrow.

Lily chose to ignore him.

"So in the future," she finished. "I guess I won't bother checking up on you, since you can so aptly *handle* yourselves."

James simply rolled his eyes and turned his gaze out of the window. Sirius sighed.

"Do forgive our good friend James." Sirius said in a hushed, but still audible voice. "He's a bit . . . highly strung at the moment and that tends to make him a bit testy. He doesn't mean anything by it. He's just being dense."

"Sod off." His friend shot back.

"You'll see he didn't deny it." Remus told her with a grin.

She smiled back and then looked at Peter significantly. Without question he slid over and she settled herself next to him, tucking a strand of fiery red hair behind one ear.

"So?"

James looked up to see her staring at him.

"So what?"

She rolled green eyes up toward the ceiling.

"So, aren't you going to apologize for yourself? Granted Sirius did a fairly good job on your behalf, but . . ." She trailed off, raising her eyebrows encouragingly at him.

He glanced over at Sirius.

"Well, since Padfoot over there did such a *smashing* job of apologizing for me, I don't see why I have to."

His friends just stared at him and when he glanced over, Lily was staring too. This was how it had been since last year. Now that Lily was kind of an honorary sister, he couldn't get away with anything. Especially not with her.

"Fine. I'm sorry for biting your head off."

She smiled.

"Well, I forgive you. So, that having been taken care of . . . how was everyone's holiday?"

~*~

Remus rubbed his temples wearily as they made their way to the castle. His senses were so heightened that the slightest smells and sounds were overpowering. It was going to rain, he could smell it on the air and it was overpowering. The sounds of the wind rustling the leaves and of other young men and women chatting in the carriages next to them made his ears ring. He sighed and leaned back in his seat, trying to massage away the throbbing in his skull.

"You okay, Moony?" Sirius' concerned voice asked.

He shook his head.

"Not really. I swear there are a bunch of beaters pounding bludgers against my brain right now."

"Maybe you should go the infirmary once we get to the castle." Peter suggested.

Remus shook his head once more and lowered his hands.

"It's all right. I'm sure it'll go away."

They all gave him skeptical looks but didn't say anything more, as they were coming up on the castle. Remus looked up at the stone walls and felt a bit of nostalgia creeping into his system. He still had another year. Not very long, objectively speaking, but long enough to cap off the wonderful memories he already had. But he was already wanting to reminisce about the past. He shook off the desire and reminded himself that there would be plenty for that when he was old and gray. Now was for making enough memories to last him that long.

James hopped out of the carriage first, took a deep breath and then exhaled dramatically.

"To think, after this year we won't be assailed by the stench of the dragon dung they use for fertilizer anymore."

Sirius hopped off as well.

"To think, after this year we won't be forced to confine ourselves to the school grounds during the year anymore."

"Like we ever did that before." Peter said, walking over to where they were standing.

"It's the principal of the thing, Wormtail." Sirius said. "Whether we did or not, after this year they won't tell us where not to go anymore."

Remus rolled his eyes and made his way out of the carriage.

"To think, after this year you will still be as immature as ever." He informed his friend.

Sirius narrowed his eyes.

"Moony, you'd better watch what you say, lest I have to kick your furry arse."

"Whose arse are you calling furry, Padfoot?" Remus inquired.

"Besides," James interjected. "You really think you could take him?" He said, before lifting one of Remus' arms. "I mean, he may be a scrawny looking fellow, but he's nothing to sneeze at."

Remus yanked his arm away.

"Scrawny?"

James just shrugged as if to say, 'Well, you are.'

"Personally," Peter said as they made their way into the castle. "My money's on Moony." He said. "No offense Padfoot, but I've seen you two wrestle and somehow you always end up on the bottom."

Sirius grinned lasciviously.

"Yeah? Maybe it's just because Moony like's being on top."

The double entendre was hard to miss, and not a one of them did. James and Peter looked at the werewolf in question, who in turn simply smiled.

"Hey, he said it, not me."

They all rolled their eyes at that and chuckled.

"Oi! Wait! You four! No not *you*, you other four! Not *you*! The one with the glasses! Stop!"

They all looked at each other and then turned to see two witches, anywhere from their mid-twenties to their mid-thirties, chasing after them. The first one had silver hair and yellow eyes and was the one yelling. Behind her was a witch with hazel eyes and brown hair tied up in a bun. It was obvious that the first one was the more athletic of the two, since the second was having trouble breathing when they reached them.

"Yes?" Remus said.

"You're the four who saved the first years, aren't you?"

Peter frowned.

"Saved who?"

"Back on the train, boy, the train! Miss Evans and Miss Rhodes informed me that you were the ones who saved them."

One more look was shared before they all nodded.

"Yeah, I guess that was us." Sirius said.

"You guess?!" The second witch exclaimed. "You guess?! You either know or you don't young man, now which is it?"

"I fail to understand why you two see the need to question these students." A new voice interrupted.

It had the effect of cold water on the four boys. Peter shivered, Remus twitched unpleasantly, Sirius made a face and James' lip curled. The professor's name was Augeania Cyprian, her subject, Defense Against the Dark Arts. She was also the head of the house of Slytherin, and she was unpleasant as anyone in said house. It certainly didn't help matters that she happened to hate the Marauders, all four of them. And so Remus knew that if she had come to seek them out, as he guessed was the case, than this didn't bode well for them.

"There was an incident on the train . . ." the second one started.

"As I am aware." Cyprian said, cutting her off. "But I am an official member of this staff therefore I actually have the right to interrogate them."

"We're a part of this staff too." The first said, glaring daggers at Cyprian.

Although she was still behind them, Remus had no problem imagining the sneer on her face.

"And you are?"

"I am Madam Hooch." The first said.

"And I'm Madam Pomfrey." Added the second.

"Oh." The word held a cornucopia of meaning, all of it degrading. "Nonetheless, the Headmaster granted *me* permission to question them. So you may go to the feast and you," she addressed the four of them. "May follow me to my office."

Any smart comments any of them may have said were snubbed. Now was neither the time nor the place, and they all were aware of that. Cyprian led them to her office, which may have been a cozy place at one time. Now however it was full of books, books filled to the brim with Dark Arts, supposedly for research, although that seemed like a lie to them. There was only one picture on the wall and it was quite possible the eeriest Remus had ever seen.

In a gilded frame of garish silver was a portrait of a tattered veil. I swayed in a breeze that must have been nonexistent, since the veil was apparently in an enclosed room. But the veil itself wasn't eerie. The voices were eerie. Several of them, all soft and indiscernible from the rustling of a piece of paper. But they were voices nonetheless, and they were bemoaning their deaths. He could hear it in his times of heightened sensory. He'd been called to her office so many times it made sense that at least once or twice he'd be caught during PWS. And every time was as creepy as the first. Creepier still being the insane urge he had to launch himself at that portrait and join those voices.

He mentally shook himself as she made her way to her desk and indicated four, straight backed chairs before it.

"Sit." She said, leaving no room for argument.

They settled themselves into the uncomfortable chairs and stared at her in silence.

"So." Her voice was steely. "So, there's a rumor going about. A rumor that several young men and women from Slytherin tortured a group of first years and you were the ones that rescued them."

Remus sighed inwardly. This couldn't be good. He had expected to be questioned, just as they all had. But not by Cyprian. By Flitwick or McGonagall perhaps, but not by Cyprian. It didn't take a genius to figure out that with the school's resident wicked witch interrogating them, the real story would be ignored and somehow they would be turned into the wrongdoers.

"Firstly, James Potter, you are Head Boy. How you got that position I don't know, given your . . . less than impressive record with not only me but nearly every other professor here. Why, then, you would allow such an act to happen I don't know."

His hands clenched on the armrests of the chair.

"I didn't *allow* anything to happen." He bit out. "We were trying to stop it."

She laughed, a sound that was about as filled with joy as the sobs of a dying man's wife.

"Oh, no, no, no. You misunderstand me, Mister Potter. Of course I'm not talking about this rumored attack on the first years. I'm talking about your lying to a gullible group of students and defacing the names of Severus Snape, Regulus Black and several other, fine, upstanding students."

Remus glanced over at James, who seemed to be having a hard time not reaching for his wand and hexing the figurative hell out of her. Sirius, who was on James' other side, seemed to be having the same problem. Pete, who Remus could barely see around Sirius and James, was simply sitting in his chair, staring off into space. It was a look that had become all to familiar on Wormtail of late. Sometimes, like he'd been less than an hour before, he was the same old Peter Pettigrew they'd grown up with. Others, like now, he was an apathetic stranger in Pete's body.

"And you, Mister Lupin," She said, knocking him out of his reverie. His gaze skittered away from his friends and to her face. "You who managed to be named prefect two years in a row, despite your association with these hooligans, I'd have thought better of you.

"Mister Pettigrew, I'm not entirely sure what to say to you. You are who your friends are, I suppose. Perhaps, if you don't want to end up dead someday, you should find new friends."

"You don't know what the bloody hell you're talking about!" Sirius exploded.

She simply sneered.

"Don't I? Let me tell you something, Mister Black. Your brother has the right idea. He will go places in the world, unlike yourself who will end up as nothing more than an overaged miscreant. Mister Pettigrew would serve himself better to follow his example instead of yours. Now, I will discuss this with the headmaster. In the meantime . . . you all will serve detention with me this weekend."

It was a customary dismissal. They all stood and stalked out, Sirius and James throwing her more than a few dirty looks along the way. Silence marked their progress to the Great Hall, interrupted only by the dark mutterings of James and Sirius under their breath. Remus couldn't help but smile at the familiar reactions of his friends. They found places at their table, ignoring the questioning looks thrown at them from Lily and settling down to eat.

"You guys missed the Sorting." A young man, one of their casual friends named Leopold, informed them. "The Hat sang about peace and love again."

"If we hadn't just been run through an inquiry by Cyprian, I wouldn't mind missing the song so much." James said with a disgusted sigh.

Leo raised an eyebrow at them, but they waved him off, instead turning the topic toward quidditch. Now, Remus liked the sport as much as anyone else, but he wasn't as obsessed a James, Sirius and Leo. So instead he listened to them rehash the season from last year, wondering what they'd do now that one of Gryffindor's star beaters had graduated.

"You should go out for the team." Leo said to Sirius.

Remus looked up at that. Sirius, for his love of the sport, hadn't gone out for the team the past five years. He didn't know why not, but no one brought it up with him. Until now that is.

"You're joking, aren't you?" Sirius said. "Me? A beater?"

Leo rolled his eyes.

"You filled in at a few practices last year." He pointed out.

Remus cocked his head to the side, wondering what Sirius' rebuttal would be to that.

"Well, yeah, sure I did last year, but . . ."

"Well, it'd be no different if you actually got on the team. Really, what would you be doing with your time otherwise, except getting fat and lazy?" James asked.

"I do not get fat!" Sirius exclaimed. "I have the body of a god, as you well know."

Leo snorted at that.

"You don't want to know how wrong that sounded, mate." He said.

Remus chuckled and shook his head, looking over to see what Peter thought. But the boy wasn't there. He frowned and looked around the Great Hall. When he didn't see a sign of him anywhere, he looked to Sirius and James.

"Have you seen Pete?" He asked. "He was here a minute ago . . ."

"He left with a girl." Lily said, walking over and taking his place. "A few minutes ago. Honestly, didn't you even notice?"

They all grudgingly admitted that they had not.

"Well, it probably doesn't matter. I think he wanted to be alone with her anyway."

Remus grimaced.

"I hate to say it, but it's hard to imagine him with a girlfriend. Especially being alone with a girlfriend. Or snogging a girlfriend. Or shagging a girlfriend . . ."

Sirius sighed dramatically and looked glumly down at his food.

"Dammit, Moony. Now I've gone and lost my appetite. Why'd you have to go and give me those horrid mental images, huh?"

"Oh knock it off." Lily said. "He's got a girlfriend. Get over it. What I want to know is, what happened?"

"Happened?" Sirius repeated.

"Yes happened. Why'd you miss the Sorting?"

"Oh that!" James said. "It was nothing really. Just Cyprian being her usual self. A vindictive bitch."

Lily looked at him reproachfully before turning to Remus.

"What'd she say?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Too much to recount now. But basically her story is that what happened on the train was made up by the four of us and we should be ashamed of ourselves. Except for Sirius. He was doomed from birth."

The young man in question made a rude hand gesture at his sandy-haired friend.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, can't you two be a bit more gentlemanly when a lady's around?"

"Of course we can." James said.

"But there are no ladies around, Lil. Only you." Sirius finished.

She glared at them.

"Oh you two haven't changed a bit. Still as immature as ever. Probably always will be."

"That's the second time I've heard that tonight." Sirius mused.

"Wonder why." James said drily.

Remus simply smiled and they all quieted as Dumbledore rose and addressed the students. Remus really only listened with half an ear as his headache from earlier came back full force. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for it to pass. Only one more week until the full moon, which he was almost looking forward to. Running with his friends was always an enjoyable experience. But he looked forward to the two weeks after, to be honest. No annoying headaches, backaches or other assorted pains he could feel straight to the marrow. No smelling scents from seventy paces off, and no hearing every little sound anything made. He'd be back to normal.

At least, as normal as a werewolf ever got.

~*~

They found Peter snogging his girlfriend in the room behind the painting of the courtesan (though any professor would try and explain that she was simply a very scandalously clad lady, not an expert in the art of lovemaking). The room was seldom used, but it was always clean and hidden away. And so it was the headquarters for all Marauder . . . liaisons. Remus had used the room twice, James five times, and Sirius seven. This, as far as they knew, was Peter's first time there.

They'd long ago decided that any time spent with girlfriends should be spent alone. None of them wanted to watch the other kissing his girl, or making lovey-dovey faces at her. Hand holding and slightly more than friendly hugging was all that was allowed in the presence of one another. So private time was sought in the Courtesan's Room, as they called it. Remus had only had two girlfriends in the past seven years, so he wasn't well acquainted with the room at all. However, James and Sirius were chronic visitors, and it was the first place they thought to look when Peter didn't show up in their dorm right after the feast.

"I tell you, he'll be there." James said.

"You only want to get out your damn cloak and go wandering the halls." Sirius grumbled, tired and a bit irritable.

"You're the one who was just saying how bored he was a few minutes ago." Remus pointed out.

"That was before I realized how bloody knackered I am." He retorted before heaving a long suffering sigh and telling James to lead the way.

And so he did.

"You haven't seen our friend, have you?" Sirius asked the portrait.

The courtesan stopped rouging her cheeks to look down at them with a sultry smile.

"The little one?" She asked before giggling. "Oh, he's in here all right." She answered.

So they opened the door. But Pete didn't notice them and neither did his girlfriend. James shuddered while Remus looked away. Sirius, however, seemed to be transfixed, his eyes glued to the scene in a mix of horror and amusement. Finally they left, deciding to leave him be.

"I swear, that wasn't something I needed to see right before bed." Sirius said.

James simply nodded and Remus snorted.

"Believe me, it's no fun to watch either of you play tonsil quidditch with a girl either."

They both looked at him with raised eyebrows before bursting into laughter. And with a day that defined their lives at Hogwarts for the past seven years: drama, drama and more drama (with a few laughs along the way), they went to sleep, thinking this year would be no different than the last. Looking forward to what it would bring.