Remus woke up to the sound of twittering birds. The sweet sound went well with the sunlight flittering through the cracks of the boarded up wall of the Shrieking Shack. He sat up as a familiar wave of nausea curdled his stomach. As always, each transformation left him drained and dizzy, yet, his discomfort paled in the face of overwhelming relief.
'The wolf is gone. I am back.'
He shut his eyes, exhausted. And remembered.
'Sweet Merlin,' the wolf's memories of the previous night flooded him. 'Padfoot, Prongs, Wormtail…' Pushing himself off on trembling legs, he weaved his way up the tunnel, not waiting for Madam Pomfrey who usually came down with a tonic.
"They are alright," he told himself as he tried to run. " They have to be…"
He stumbled up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. Straight into Lily Evans.
"Remus, have you seen…?" Lily started to ask. He leaned against thewall, trying not to groan. Her question turned into concern. "Are you alright? What happened?" She pulled his arm gently, supporting him. It was all he could do not to collapse on her. "Lean on me."
"Oceanus", she said to the Fat Lady who looked away from her mirror to peer curiously at Remus.
" Dear me, you look terrible," she said cheerfully.
" Thanks, " muttered Remus under his breath. The portrait swung open to admit them.
He sank into a chair. Lily conjured up a wet cloth which flew to him and gently wiped his face. Refreshed slightly by the coool water against his face, Remus sat up, avoiding Lily's eyes. It was difficult not to feel embarrassed when he had practically swooned at a girl's feet. "Thank you," he said rather formally. "Have you seen James?"
"I was just about to ask you that," she said, a frowm puckering her brow. " He was supposed to met me in the Hall for breakfast but he didn't turn up. Neither did Sirius, for that matter. Or Peter. Weren't you with them?"
Remus' stomach clenched with fear. "I-"
The portrait swung open again.
" I reckon we got off light," Sirius was saying as the three of them entered. "Two weeks dentention…"
James jabbed his side, naturally being the first to notice Lily. Sirius fell silent.
"Sweetheart," he said, an ingratiating smile. "I looked for you downstairs but Dora said you were up here." He tried to put his arm around Lily but she moved quickly out of his reach.
'Uh oh,' Remus thought, pretending to inspect his feet. 'Not a good sign.' He scented trouble. Sirius caught Remus' eyes, his lips curving in a slight smirk. 'Boy, our mate's in trouble,' he seemed to say.
"Where were you?" Lily asked evenly.
"With Dumbledore," he replied uneasily. "Look, I am sorry I kept you waiting but .."
"I am not asking for an apology," she cut him off. " I just want to know why."
"I just told you why," he said, bewildered. "Can we talk about this later? Its been a really rough night."
Lily could have asked exactly what he had been doing that was so rough but his fatigued, dishevelled countenance supported his words. Lily's green eyes softened, leaving only hurt.
"Alright, I'll leave you three alone," said Lily. Spinning around, she headed towards the portrait hole.
"Lily," James began but she didn't let him finish.
"Get some rest before Charms," she said without turning around. The portrait clanged shut behind her.
"What a mess," James groaned, flinging himself into a chair next to Remus. "Why do girls always insist on knowing every move you make?"
"I'd say that's a sign that hey actually care about you. And Lily obviously does," Remus said. " Maybe we should tell her."
Sirius, who had lost his smirk when Lily left the room, looked at James sympathetically. "She'll come around. They always do once they cool off."
James shrugged but looked worried. Remus knew that he was used to Lily flaring up and rapidly down but she never froze him out. "Forget it, I'll deal with it," said James with a confidence he clearly didn't feel.
Remus glanced at him. "Where's Peter?"
"In the hospital wing. He was so tired when we left Dumbledore, he tripped over the gargoyle and broke his leg," Sirius answered.
Remus winced. "Is he alright? What did Dumbledore say?"
James and Sirius filled him in.
"So, its two weeks detention for us. You are off the hook, as far as Dumbledore's concerned, you know nothing," Sirius finished.
Remus frowned. "You shouldn't have done that. I ahould get detention too."
James yawned. "One Marauder free is better than none at all."
Sirius sat up. "There's one more thing. D'you remember what the man said before he died?"
Remus nodded. "About Dumbledore and some Order? He must be the leader of a movement against Voldemort. It would all fit."
"That's what we thought," Sirius agreed. "Anyway, we.."
"Don't tell me you asked him about it," Remus muttered.
"Of course we did," James grinned. "We wanted to show him we wholeheartedly support him. IN fact, we would even join."
"I take it he declined the offer," Remus hazarded watching Sirius' face darken slightly.
"Yeah," Sirius affirmed. "He said we had no idea what we were up against and that the Order is only for wizards out of school." He didn't mention the words he remembered most.
"I think you might find that loyalty to a cause is quite different from loyalty to a friend. Fighting for something you believe in tears all other claims to loyalty apart. Think about it. "
"He's right too," said James. "What do we know about Voldemort besides that from the Daily Prophet he sounds like a crazy bugger who thinks pure blood is best and that he should dominate the world? "
"Anyway," Sirius continued. "That's not the most interesting part. Apparently, what most people don't know is that he has been training his followers into a private army. There are giants and some of the undead among them but the elite are wizards known as Death Eaters. Ministry wants to keep it all quiet. Don't want a panic, do they? Until Death Eaters appear at the door with masks and hoods.."
"And fires skull Marks into the air," Remus finished for him." I see," His brow creased. "If its all kept quiet so far, why did Dumbledore tell you?"
Sirius and James exchanged looks.
" I don't think Dumbledore necessarily agrees with the Ministry about this," he said slowly. "but he might not have told us but for the fact that there are signs pointing towards efforts by Voldemort to recruit more Death Eaters. And he had no scruples about using underage wizards."
Remus gray eyes widened. "You mean, there might be Death Eaters already here?"