New Friend

Disclaimer. I can't think of an original one, so the usual, no characters are mine unless they are made up.

Remus was back on the way to Hogwarts, and strangely, although he was tired as he was, he was glad. Just after his miserable transformation he was going to school. And he wondered, what would this homecoming be like?

It was like he had never been away. But Sirius and James were wondering about something. And looking for something. He didn't know it, but they were.

It was great to put his clothes back into the dormitory, and then to see James and Sirius. And classes, and homework.

Damn homework.

Remus bailed Sirius, James and Peter so often he couldn't count. And this term was no different.

Remus sat down, his eyes laughing as he observed them moaning over the amount of homework. With a flourish, he continued to draw things onto the Marauders Map.

Suddenly, James threw down a quill, and began to complain.

"This is not fair! It's the first week of school, and already we have homework! Speaking of vacation though—how was yours Remus?"

Remus thought for a few seconds. A true account of his vacation would have taken too long. But he simplified it.

"Well nothing much. Visited a few cousins, read a few books, went to Diagon Alley, and nothing else."

James laughed. "Sounds nothing like our vacation. We however, spent the whole vacation playing pranks! We set our fireworks, and set them off, ate Christmas Dinner, great cake . . ."

He went on and on and on, as Remus noted lots of different rooms in the Gryffindor Tower.

Finally Sirius got a sly word in edgewise. "He didn't tell you though, how Lily slapped him because he attacked one of her friends, did he?"

"Shut up Sirius," muttered James, turning red.

"Oh James?" said Remus, twitching an eyebrow.

"Sirius is lying, you know that too," said James, looking like a beet, which didn't suit his eye colour.

Remus chuckled. "Don't forget James, that Lily is a very um, temperamental young lady, who slaps any guy that gets fresh with her."

James began to look worse.

"Or did he tell you how I caught him carving L.E. into a wall?"

"Sirius . . . "

"Or," squeaked Peter, "the time that he slipped a cookie on Lily's plate?"

"Shut up!" hissed James. Remus laughed.

This term would be even better.

&&&&&&&&&&&

Remus, sitting alone was getting very upset. His charms homework, though simple, was not very easy on his head now, one week to the full moon left. At constant battle with himself now, it was even worse to do battle with homework. James and Sirius weren't even there to distract him from his miserable headaches. They were in detention. Again. Peter, small and rather annoying though he was would have been half way decent.

Even more frustrated, he did something between a snarl and a growl. Trying to stop himself from tearing the paper, which seemed a great idea right now, he began to count to thirteen.

He was at nine, when he felt a touch on his shoulder.

He jumped, and very nearly snarled again.

"Calm down, sorry I scared you."

He looked up and saw Lily. "Hi." He said, cooling down.

Looking around her, she asked "Where is James?"

"Detention. Look can you understand Flitwick's homework? I'm just a teensy bit confused."

Lily looked at his messed up homework. "Are you ok?"

Confused, and just a little scared, he blinked. "Why shouldn't I be?"

"Well, it's just that you, well, never have problems with homework."

Remus smiled. "I'm just a little freaked."

Lily smiled back, and then said, "I'd be too, if James were my friend."

"He's not that bad, Lily, just thinks that you are fascinating."

She raised an eyebrow. "Right, so, I'll help you."

&&&&&&&&&&&

Remus, now that his miserable week was over, was tired, miserable, and again in need of a friend. Walking dejectedly along scuffing his feet and looking at them, he bumped right into somebody.

He helped her pick up her books, and she smiled.

"Thanks, Remus, so, feeling any better?"

"Um yeah. Thanks for the help with the homework. I did really well, thanks to you."

"No problem." She smiled lightly.

"Remus?" Sirius bounced along, hair swinging as he waved to some unknown girl.

"Well," said Lily, coolly, "I'll be gone."

Sirius stared at him. "Since when do you talk to Lily?"

"Since um a couple of days ago."

"When was this?" asked Sirius, amazed.

"When you two were in detention. And Peter had disappeared off the face of the earth. I was confused about Flitwick's homework, so she suddenly helped me." He shrugged. "I don't know why."

Sirius stared at Remus like he had never seen him before. "Two things: One, you, of all people, fuffing homework? And two, Lily, of all other people, helping you for no reason! You mean, s-she didn't attack you?"

He laughed. "Yes, I fuffed homework, and yes, Lily didn't attack me. She just happens to think that you are the lowest of the low, since the day you broke up with her friend. James she thinks is tarred with the same brush."

"Whoa," remarked Sirius.

They walked in silence. Screams suddenly erupted upstairs. Loud bangs, sputters and fizzes accompanied the screams.

Remus looked at Sirius. He was grinning, though, as he asked, "So. What did you do this time?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Nothing big. Just set off a crate of fireworks somewhere. I don't know."

"Well, I hope that you have done your homework."

"Sure. Let me check with James. See you."

&&&&&&&&&&

Sirius was confused. Why was Remus of all people, confused? James suddenly appeared.

"Hey, Sirius, what's up?"

Sirius stole his look left and right, and they entered a passage. "Listen—Lumos—something about Remus."

James nodded. "I know. He acts weird."

"No something else. He messed up his homework. Wait. He messes up his homework, Lily helps him. Yet why does she help him? Lately, he's been snappish. Every now and then, he becomes snappish and violent."

"I remember," said James, grimacing. "One day he almost twisted off my arm."

"Is there something about him that we don't know yet? It's strange—how he doesn't talk much about his family, or his vacation. How he keeps vanishing. I don't understand."

James suddenly snapped his fingers. "I know. It's something I've heard before—I don't know where. It's familiar, but I can't think where I know it—yet it's common. Something we know—but what is it? Something's missing."

Sirius nodded.

"Listen," he said. "Let's check it up in the library. I don't know what it is, but something tells me that he needs help with it."

They nodded, then planned it.

Seconds later though, they paused.

"What was that passage?!"