This is cool, I've gotten some reviews. So, they're all from my friend Mallory and Rena Lupin, but who cares? It's the thought that counts, eh? I guess I should reply. . .

Rena Lupin: Glad you like it so much! It's nice to see someone's been keeping up with it.

Mals (Winged Seraphin, duh!): Sorry I'm creeping you out. Honestly, I don't know how I know about all the different mutilation things. I think it was a movie. But I promise I won't go suicidal or anything on you! What I've done is enough, if you know what I mean. Glad you like this story, I do too, creepy as it is. I will not abandon it, no matter what. I have to finish at least ONE of my fics, why not this one? Okay, that's it.

There's the replies, and I WILL reply to you if you review. Is that an incentive? Probably not. But review anyways! I like them, I feed off them. . . Just review, okay? And do try to keep them nice, I'm depressed enough as it is because I just got a terrible score on an AP test. So, yeah.

And the chapter. . .*cue drumroll.* I wouldn't probably have ended it where I did, except that I really wanted to get it posted. I hope chapter eight will come soon, before my next bout of writer's block kicks in!

Chapter Seven

A Brush with Death

The Marauders stumbled back into their dorm room at roughly two in the morning. James muttered something like "Thank God it's Sunday" before dropping off to sleep. Sirius didn't even make it all the way to his bed before the large amount of alcohol in his blood caused him to collapse into a deep sleep; he ended up lying across his bed with his legs hanging off. Peter, who hadn't had much at all to drink, actually changed clothes before getting into bed. Remus let them all do this, then slipped out of the room and into the bathroom.

He pulled up his sleeve, a tricky business because it was smaller than the sleeves of his robes-after all, he was wearing a Muggle shirt. He was pleased to see that his charmed bandage had worked-no blood had leaked through, though the cloth was completely soaked. He carefully unwrapped it, stuck it under running water, and eventually tossed it out when it wouldn't come clean. His arm was covered in a thin layer of dried blood; he washed this off and placed a paper towel to the bleeding cut.

Why in hell won't this thing close up? he thought angrily. The paper towel was already soaking up his dark blood. With a sigh, he tiptoed back into the dorm room and grabbed another roll of gauze (he'd found some when getting ready for the karaoke night). He charmed it as he'd charmed the other one, dressed his arm with it, and charmed it to stay in place. This done, he collapsed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.



Sunday passed quickly for the Marauders. They all slept until after noon, then stumbled out of bed and into clean clothes just in time for the end of lunch. They stuffed themselves quickly and went back to the common room to get started on their neglected homework. They didn't have too much, which was good, because Sirius kept falling asleep on his paper and Remus found he couldn't focus at all. By the end of the day, he was starting to get really annoyed by this. He felt perfectly awake, but his eyes wouldn't focus on the paper and his muscles seemed to have melted into mush.

It was a very tired and relieved Remus that finally climbed into bed around ten o'clock that evening. He'd barely managed to finish his homework, though he wasn't confident about the quality. His arm had been throbbing dully all day, and was still bleeding as heavily as ever.

The following morning, James, Peter, and Sirius had a tough time waking their friend. It wasn't that he protested; on the contrary, he didn't seem to notice their shakes and yells. He slept through it all like a rock until finally, Sirius performed a spell that shot icy water at him from his wand. Remus sat up immediately, spluttering and shaking. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Finally! Geez, Moony, did you sleep at all last night?" Remus glared at him, then pulled himself out of bed to dry off and get dressed. He didn't have time to dry his hair before running to class, and was too tired to think of using magic. As a result, he was still shivering when they all arrived at Transfiguration.

"Remus, are you cold?" James asked incredulously. True, it was a chilly December day outside, but the school was wonderfully warm as of yet. Later in the season, it would cool down considerably, but for now the fires kept burning within were enough to keep all but the corridors warm.

"Just a bit," Remus replied with a shrug. "I think it's because of my wet hair." James rolled his eyes, pointed his wand at Remus, and muttered something. Immediately, his hair dried and fell loosely around his eyes. "Oh. Thanks."

They were learning to transfigure dogs into pigs that day, and Remus knew it was a very important lesson. McGonagall had been hinting for weeks that it would likely be on the final. But he found, to his annoyance, that he couldn't concentrate any better today than he'd been able to the day before. It was as if he kept falling asleep with his eyes open; one minute, he'd be uttering the spell and pointing his wand at the dog, the next he'd be staring blankly at Sirius' perfect pig, thinking it was his own and feeling very pleased with himself.

Sirius noticed this after about twenty minutes had passed and Remus' dog remained the same. His own dog/pig had long since been graded, and he'd just turned it back into a dog. He looked up to see Remus glaring at the newly returned dog.

"What's up, Moony?" Sirius asked. Remus stared at him blankly for a moment.

"Huh? Oh. . .my pig just turned back into a dog, and I don't know why."

"Uh. . .Remus?" Sirius said slowly. "That was my pig. Yours is still a dog." Remus looked from Sirius' dog to his own, then scratched his head.

"You're sure about that?" he mumbled. Then, with a sigh, he sank back into his chair.

"Remus, what's wrong?" James asked from nearby. Remus shook his head.

"I don't know. I can't seem to concentrate today. I think I'm still tired." James raised his eyebrows.

"How late did you get to bed last night?"

"About ten, I think." Sirius grunted.

"That should've been plenty of sleep, especially considering how much we all got Saturday night. Pull yourself together and get to work on this dog!" Remus glared at him half-heartedly, then held out a shaking hand, pointing his wand at his dog.

"Are you still cold?" James asked, indicating Remus' hand, which was shaking so much he couldn't keep his wand trained on his dog. Remus shrugged.

"Well, it is winter, y'know."

"Not inside," James muttered, putting a hand to his friend's forehead. "Moony, you've got a fever," he announced immediately. "You shouldn't be in class."

"And you're looking pretty pale," Peter pointed out, joining the conversation now that he'd finished transfiguring his dog. "Maybe you caught something at the pub." James nodded.

"That's possible. After class, we'll take you to Pomfrey. She'll give you something for your fever and probably let you skip the next class." Remus shrugged again, completely indifferent; he was having a hard time following the conversation. James exchanged a glance with Sirius, then turned to finish off his dog. A few minutes later, McGonagall came around to check on Peter and Remus' dogs.

"Good job, Mr. Pettigrew. Just make sure your tail is a little curlier for the final." She turned to the black lab sitting at Remus' feet. It looked up at her endearingly and thumped its tail on the stone floor. "Mr. Lupin, I thought I told you not to change your pig back to a dog until I'd come around to check it?" Remus stared at her for a moment, his mouth slightly open, trying to gather what she'd just said. Sirius saw his predicament and came to the rescue.

"He totally forgot, Professor," Sirius explained quickly. "He isn't feeling too well, and probably turned it back absent-mindedly." McGonagall stared at Sirius warily for a moment, then placed her quill against her grade sheet.

"Alright, I'll let it go this once-but only because I know you're good at this, and because you've done an excellent job changing your pig back to a dog. I will mark you down for not following directions, though." Remus had the sense to nod and smile, and the professor walked away.

James gaped at him.

"You are so lucky, Moony!" he breathed. Remus blinked slowly, then toppled out of his chair in a dead faint.

"Remus!" all three of them yelled, rushing forward to catch him before he hit the floor. From across the room, Lily and Jesse looked up to see what was going on. Most of the rest of the class did, too. McGonagall strictly ordered them to get back to work, then hastened forward.

"What is going on here?" she asked sternly. Her face went slightly pale when she saw Remus unconscious on the floor. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Pettigrew, take him to the hospital wing immediately! Mr. Black, explain to me what just happened." While James and Peter levitated their friend and led him out of the room, Sirius turned to the professor.

"Nothing really happened, exactly," he explained carefully. "He was just kind of staring at us, and then he fainted." McGonagall frowned.

"Any idea as to why?" Sirius shrugged.

"Like I said, Professor, he isn't feeling too well. He's got a fever, and we were actually going to take him to see Madam Pomfrey after class." McGonagall nodded.

"Well, Poppy will know what to do with him," she said confidently before turning and walking back to her desk. Seconds later, Lily and Jesse were at Sirius' side.

"What's going on?" Jesse asked quickly.

"Is Remus okay?" Lily breathed, wide-eyed. She was, as usual, imagining the worst.

"I don't really know," Sirius said quietly. "He's been acting funny all morning-really tired, like. I think he's just sick. He's got a fever, and of course you just saw him faint. Pomfrey will know what to do," he assured them, sitting down in James' seat. Lily sat next to him, Jesse leaned on the desk.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," she said with a shrug. Sirius knew she was just as worried as he, but there was no point in panicking just yet. Lily, apparently, didn't see things that way.

"D'you think it's some sort of disease?" she breathed. "What if someone slipped him something at the pub! Oh, I knew we shouldn't have gone!" She said this in a sort of wail. Jesse squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"There's no need to worry just yet," she reminded her friend. "It could just be the flu or something."

"Flu?" Sirius echoed. "What's that?" Lily quickly explained it to him, to Jesse's relief. The red-head tended to over-exaggerate things, and in this case it was totally unnecessary. She'd only make the others more upset.



"It's loss of blood," Madam Pomfrey diagnosed after a few minutes of checking Remus over. James and Peter exchanged a glance. The nurse had a slight frown on her face. "Has he been in any fights recently?" she wanted to know, holding up Remus' bandaged and bloody arm.

"No," James told her as she carefully cut the bandage off. He swallowed nervously; would she know right away how he'd gotten the cut? And what would she say? And why was it still bleeding? He felt his anger rise; he'd thought Remus had sorted all this out, but apparently he was still cutting. Sirius would not be happy to hear this.

The nurse peeled away the blood-soaked gauze and threw it in a nearby trash bin, then carefully washed Remus' arm. She seemed a little surprised at the clean cut, but said nothing while she inspected it.

"This is very odd indeed," she announced after a while. "This is an old cut, a few days at least, but it hasn't cauterized in the least. The skin has been trying to heal, it seems, but there's something stopping it." She looked up at the two boys in front of her. "Do either of you know where he got this injury?" Peter shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes. . ." he said slowly, looking to James for help.

"He's been cutting himself for a while," James finally explained, knowing hesitation wouldn't stop her from finding out. "We thought he'd stopped a few days ago, but apparently he didn't." He gestured at Remus' arm, which was dripping blood onto the clean hospital sheets.

"No, he probably did stop when you thought he did," Pomfrey corrected. "As I've said, this is an old cut. I don't know why it's still bleeding-yet. But he hasn't aggravated at all recently." James looked surprised, but said nothing. Madam Pomfrey pulled out her wand and quickly healed the wound. All that remained was a faint pink line on is skin. She washed away the last of the blood and placed a cool cloth on Remus' forehead.

"I want to keep him here for a day or two until he gets his strength up. You two may go back to class now." Reluctantly, James and Peter turned to leave. As they reached the doorway, Madam Pomfrey hailed them. "And one more thing! I'd like to see the knife he used to make this cut." James thought this a strange request, but nodded before leaving the hospital wing. He'd drop it off on his way to Quidditch practice.

When James and Peter got back to the Transfiguration room, they were bombarded with questions. Sirius, Lily, and Jesse surrounded them and immediately began interrogating them about Remus.

"Is he okay?"

"What was wrong?"

"Was it the flu?"

"Has he woken up yet?"

"It was the flu, wasn't it?"

"What did Pomfrey say?"

James quickly hushed them all, then sank into his chair. Peter sat next to him, and the remaining three stood eagerly in front of them, waiting for answers.

"Pomfrey said it was loss of blood," he explained quietly, avoiding Sirius' gaze. "It's from when he was cutting himself. The cut never healed, even though he left it alone. Of course, the idiot never told anyone, so he just kept bleeding. Obviously, he got weaker as time went on, until it led up to today." There was a short silence, then the questions came bursting out again.

"Is it still bleeding?"

"Did she heal it?"

"It wasn't the flu, then?"

"Why didn't it heal up?"

Peter stopped them this time.

"Geez, how do you expect us to answer so many questions all at once?" he muttered angrily. "Pomfrey healed it up easy as pie, but we don't know exactly why it never healed. She must think it has something to do with the knife he used, 'cause she asked to see it." Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"Well, well," he said softly. "Perhaps we should have let it rust, after all." James sighed.

"Sirius, Remus didn't know what was going to happen. Just be glad he stopped when he did, or maybe it would be worse. This isn't his fault, not entirely." Sirius shrugged and leaned on the desk. There was a short silence, and then the bell rang. The five stood and gathered their things, then walked to their next class. No one spoke; they were all absorbed in their own thoughts.



James went straight to the Quidditch field after dinner. He was nearly there when he remembered Remus' knife. With a sigh, he turned and ran back to the common room, up the spiral staircase, and into the boys' dorm. He threw aside the curtains to Remus' bed and was relieved to find the ivory knife right where it should be, on the shelf above his friend's bed. He grabbed it and ran for the hospital wing, praying he wouldn't be late for practice.

Madam Pomfrey was holding a bucket for some poor first year, who was emptying his stomach into it. James caught her eye, indicated the knife, and placed it on Remus' bedside table for her to retrieve later, then ran outside again. He thought with a smile that he would at least be more warmed up than the other players.

The rest of the team was just arriving as James joined them, panting heavily. He got a few odd looks from the beaters, but ignored them and turned to listen to the captain's speech.

It was a hard practice that day, and seemed to last longer than usual. By the end of it, James was absolutely beat. He'd been hit by a bludger twice, the quaffle at least six times, and had almost fallen from his broom during a particularly frantic lunge. Being keeper was certainly not easy.

So when he stumbled into the common room after practice, the last thing he felt like doing was staying up to talk. But Peter obviously had something important to say, so James sank onto the couch to listen. Lily got up from her chair and sat behind him, massaging his shoulders gently; Jesse took Lily's abandoned seat next to Peter.

"What's up, then, Wormtail?" James asked wearily when they were all settled.

"Lily and I just went to see how Remus was doing," Peter explained. "He's awake, and seems to be doing fine. Pomfrey came over when we were talking to him and told us she'd just figured out why his cut wouldn't heal." James perked up slightly.

"And?"

"And, it had to do with the knife, after all. There was a spell placed on the blade that rubbed off on Remus' skin when he made the cut, and it prevented his blood from cauterizing."

"Just like Pomfrey thought," James mused. "So that leaves us with a few questions, I suppose. Who put the spell on the knife, and why? Is there really someone in this school who wants Remus dead?" Though they all gave the matter some thought, no one could come up with a theory. When James began to snore in Lily's lap, everyone decided it was time to go to bed. They left James to sleep on the couch and tiptoed upstairs to their dorms.

James was still on the couch, fast asleep, when Remus entered the common room the next morning. He'd spent the night in the hospital wing against his will, and had left as early as possible the next morning. He didn't expect anyone to be sleeping downstairs, so he didn't bother trying to be quiet. As a result, James woke up when Remus walked past and began climbing up the stairs to the dorm room.

"Moony?" James called out hoarsely. "What're you doing up so early?" Remus looked around in surprise.

"Oh, didn't see you there. I just got back from the hospital wing, thought I'd get my stuff before going to breakfast." James nodded. Something was prickling at the back of his mind. Something he'd meant to talk to Remus about.

"Oh! I almost forgot," he said finally. "I suppose Pomfrey told you about the spell on your knife?" Remus nodded. "We were wondering-d'you know how it got on there?" Remus paused. He hadn't given the matter much thought.

"No, I don't think so. No one's touched that knife but me and Sirius, and I know Padfoot wouldn't have done that." James nodded.

"Think on it real hard. It would've had to have been after you stopped cutting your hand and switched to your arm, otherwise your hand wouldn't have healed either."

"Okay, I'll think about it. But I honestly can't think of anyone." He continued up the stairs, leaving James to drift off to sleep again.



It was the night directly after the full moon. The incident involving the knife had been all but forgotten. No one could think of who might have put the spell on Remus' knife, or for what reason, but it didn't seem all that important now that the wound was healed. Even Madam Pomfrey didn't appear too concerned about it. The spell had been lifted, Remus had his knife back as it was supposed to be, and the matter was dropped.

Remus had gotten his strength back long before the full moon, to his relief. He didn't know how long his weakness from loss of blood would last, and hadn't been looking forward to transforming when he felt more like vomiting. The transformation had gone smoothly, though. The Marauders had accompanied him as usual and they'd all explored the grounds for as long as they dared. It was great fun for Moony-possibly more fun than he'd had in a long time.

Remus glared out the window. He was sitting on the window seat within the curtained alcove in the common room, watching rain streak down the glass in long silver rivers. It was literally pouring outside, the rain coming down with a vengeance.

And me without an ark, Remus thought dryly. He sighed and leaned his head against the wall, closing his eyes against the moonlit rain. Now that he wasn't watching it drench the grounds, the rain actually sounded quite nice. Soothing. Repetitive. He felt himself dropping off to sleep.

A sharp tap on the window brought him quickly from his doze. Remus looked up to see something just outside the window, flapping its wings hard against the driving rain. Expecting an owl, Remus pushed the window open and allowed the poor, drenched creature entrance. He closed the window and turned to see if the owl had a letter for him, but there was no bird nearby. Instead, there was Alyssa Mant.

"You! How did you get in here?" he asked in shock. She smiled, her teeth uncannily white against her bright red lips.

"You've forgotten that I'm a vampire," she said softly. "Or hadn't you figured that out yet?" She laughed lightly. So it had been a bat, not an owl, outside the window.

"What do you want this late at night?" Remus asked, slightly annoyed. What right did she have to be sitting in the Gryffindor common room, talking with him as though she'd never cheated on him, as though he hadn't been avoiding her for the past few weeks?

"It's not really what I want," she explained quietly. "It's more what I need." Before Remus could reply, she'd drawn her wand and uttered something Remus had never heard before. He felt a peculiar floating feeling, and then all was black.

Hard drops fell on Remus' face, waking him from his stupor. He noticed vaguely that he was wet, and very cold. Rain was hitting him in the face, blinding him with its heavy droplets. But there was no rain falling on his body. He looked up and saw, through watery eyes, that someone was lying on top of him.

That explains it, he thought nonchalantly. It took a moment for him to realize what he'd just seen. What? Who the fuck- But his question was answered before it was fully formed. Alyssa Mant placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward, holding her face close to his. The rain stopped falling into his eyes, and he blinked them clear.

"I hadn't expected you to wake up so soon," she whispered. Her eyes were very bright. Remus realized she was holding his right wrist in her hand. "But no matter, now you can explain to me how this cut healed." Remus stared at his right arm, which was exposed to the wind and rain. He was still feeling groggy from whatever spell she'd used against him.

"Uh. . .oh, Pomfrey," he muttered. Something clicked in his brain, but he couldn't quite focus on it. It slipped away when Alyssa spoke again.

"Of course, I should have known you'd go running to her. Well, what's done is done. I won't need that particular source again anyway." She grinned at Remus, and he was again struck by how white her teeth were. Her canine teeth were particularly long, something he'd never noticed before.

Well, they should be if she's a vampire, he told himself. His thoughts suddenly hit him. She's a vampire! And she has me completely overpowered, alone, outside and away from the others, at night. What the hell was I thinking, letting this happen? But he was thinking too slowly to realize that as he thought these things, Alyssa was caressing his neck with her lips. She moved closer and closer to that hollow behind his jaw, just under his ear. He finally noticed what she was doing when he felt something sharp, something quite unlike lips, against his skin.

"Stop, don't! What are you doing!" he yelled, finally finding his voice. She paused long enough to laugh lightly and say:

"I thought that was obvious enough." Then she pressed more firmly on his shoulders, settled her body weight against him, made sure he couldn't move away or overpower her. Her sharp canine teeth pressed against his skin again. She gave a soft hiss of anticipation and sank them into his neck, puncturing his jugular vein. Bright blood, thick and red, came spilling out of Remus' neck. He gave a kind of whine and Alyssa began to drink the liquid as it pumped into her waiting mouth.

Remus suddenly felt his heartbeat more vividly than ever before. He could hear and feel every beat, could sense the blood pumping through his veins and into Alyssa's mouth. There was no pain, only the feeling that his life was slipping away as he watched. He began to feel lightheaded, then that familiar sensation of wanting to vomit. As his heart pumped still more blood out of his body, he turned his head a fraction of an inch and retched. His dinner ended up all over his cheek and the stone floor next to him, but he didn't notice. He didn't notice much of anything; just the rain on his face and the beating of his heart. Everything was faded to nothingness except those two things, and soon they, too, began to disappear. His heartbeat slowed, his breathing became shallow, his senses dulled. Not for the first time in his life, Remus felt death's claws take hold of him.

But this time they did not let go.

Finally, he couldn't even feel the rain on his face. The feeling of Alyssa's teeth in his neck disappeared, his heart stopped, and he couldn't breathe at all. For a split second, panic gripped him, and fear. Then these were gone and there was nothing at all.



Sirius woke the next morning to the sound of rain on the window. He groaned as he sat up to look out the window. It was raining even harder than it had been the day before, if that was possible, and the grounds looked soggy and unappealing. He wondered if CMC and Astronomy had been moved inside. They'd better have been.

He stumbled out of bed and changed quickly, then went into the bathroom. After splashing water on his face, he felt considerably more awake and willing to go through his morning routine.

By the time Sirius was done with the bathroom, James was up and waiting for his turn. Sirius greeted him as they passed, then went back to the dorm room to grab his books before breakfast. Peter was still asleep, so Sirius shook him awake.

"C'mon, up, you don't have a whole lot of time before breakfast," Sirius told his friend. Peter groaned, but got out of bed. It was something Sirius had never understood about Peter; he always seemed so willing to do whatever was asked of him, no matter how he felt at the time. Sirius supposed it was a good quality, but at times Peter bordered on being totally subservient.

Remus was already out of bed. In fact, from the looks of his sheets, he hadn't slept in the dorm room that night. It was common for Moony to spend the whole night downstairs near the full moon, so Sirius didn't think twice about his friend's absence. They'd find him at breakfast, certainly.

But they didn't. This was enough to get Sirius worried; it wasn't like Remus to miss a meal shortly after a full moon-he was usually famished at this time of the month. Sirius voiced his thoughts to James, but the latter told him not to worry so much. Remus had probably gone down earlier, or would be there later. Or perhaps he was stuffing himself in the kitchens.

That sounded like something Remus would do, so Sirius forced himself to concentrate on an unfinished essay that was due for Astronomy that afternoon. He had just finished it when Professor Dumbledore stood up and announced that Care of Magical Creatures had been moved to the classroom to the right of the library due to weather. Information on Astronomy classes would be given to the students later, in case the weather cleared up.

Sirius followed his friends when they all grabbed their things and headed for the temporary CMC classroom. Breakfast wasn't quite over yet, but they were all finished eating and there was no harm in getting to class early when it was a different classroom than usual. Sometimes temporary classrooms decided to have fun with their students and move around the corridor.

The Marauders, Lily, and Jesse were lucky that morning; the CMC classroom was just where Dumbledore had said it would be. They seated themselves near the back and began talking about various things. Without realizing it, Sirius sat with one eye on the door so he could keep watch for Remus.

But the bell rang and the missing Marauder didn't show. The professor began his lecture and the students began falling asleep, but still Remus didn't appear. Important notes went up on the board and the students copied them down, but still no sign of Moony.

"Where do you suppose he is?" Sirius whispered for the fifth time. James glared at him.

"Sirius, honestly! A guy can miss a class once in a while!"

"Yeah, but usually he tells us when he's skipping!"

"Maybe it was a spur-of-the-moment thing."

"Well, you can't blame me for being worried. Last time Moony skipped class without telling us first, it was to cut himself." James considered this.

"True. . .but I still say you're overreacting. He's probably in the Three Broomsticks right now, laughing at us all." Sirius chuckled and turned to copy down the latest notes.

The class finally ended and they all made their way to History of Magic, where they spent another class period sleeping and whispering. Remus still didn't join them, but Sirius had accepted James' theories and stopped worrying about it.

Lunch went quickly-too quickly. Sirius was dreading Astronomy; the weather had cleared enough that they would be using their regular space atop the Astronomy tower. Professor Sinistra told them that if the rain picked up again, they'd simply move inside the tower.

"Really, I don't see the point of studying Astronomy outside," Peter grumbled as they dragged themselves upstairs after lunch. "It's not like we can see the stars in daylight anyways."

"Probably for the same reason we study CMC outside. It makes for a nice change of pace!" Lily said brightly. Peter rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, when the weather's nice!" They pushed open the door at the top of the tower and emerged into the watery sunlight. In front of them, there was a large crowd of upset students, gathered in a circle and staring at something on the ground. Professor Sinistra, who'd arrived moments after the Marauders, pushed through them.

"What's going on here?" she asked irritably, separating the students and trying to see what they were so agitated about. She finally broke through the crowd and gave a kind of scream. She sank to her knees on the stone floor, and Sirius thought she'd fainted. But no, she was kneeling in front of something. Someone. His breath left him suddenly as a student moved aside, giving him a clear view of what had caused the commotion. His mind spun, and he felt dizzy. Remus was sprawled on the wet stone floor, his skin very pale against a bright red patch on his neck. A puddle of watery blood partially encircled his head.

Beside him, Sirius heard James talking quietly to Lily, who had fainted. James' voice was shaking, and he seemed on the verge of tears. With a start, Sirius realized that tears were running down his own face. It was the second time in his life he'd cried.

Then the professor was standing, Remus floating beside her. Her face was very pale, her eyes somewhat dead. She didn't look at her students as she passed them, taking Remus with her downstairs. Sirius watched her go, watched as a single drop of blood fell from Remus' neck and splattered onto the rain-soaked stone floor of the Astronomy tower.

There was complete silence for a few minutes as everyone stared from the Marauders to each other. Sirius was still watching the door the professor had just gone through, his mind numb. James was holding Lily tightly, more for his own comfort than hers; Lily was sobbing into his shoulder. Peter had sunk to the ground and was staring at his hands in shock. Jesse was leaning against the battlements, a hand clapped over her mouth and tears streaming from her closed eyes.

Finally, the inevitable gossip began. Students began asking each other questions, telling each other what they'd seen and what they thought must have happened. One boy yelled that he'd seen bite marks on Remus' neck, and this stirred Sirius from his stupor. He quietly moved to stand next to Jesse and touched her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open and she lowered her hand.

"Yes?" she whispered.

"Did you hear that kid just now?" Sirius asked quietly. She nodded.

"I know. . .but it seems so strange. How could it have been her? She's a student. Our age. Not capable of m-murder." She swallowed a few times, trying to keep the contents of her stomach where they belonged. James, Peter, and Lily joined them by the battlements.

"We should go," James said softly. Sirius nodded, and the five left their classmates to gossip atop the tower while they made their way downstairs and to the hospital wing. When they got there, they heard Madam Pomfrey talking to Professor Sinistra. Dumbledore was there, as well, though he said little. They slipped in and hid within the curtains of a vacant hospital bed to listen.

"Honestly, Professors, it's the strangest thing. By all means, Mr. Lupin should be dead," Madam Pomfrey said, disbelief in her voice. Lily buried her face in James' shoulder again and Peter flinched. "But he's not," she went on. "He's still breathing, but his heart has all but stopped and he's cold as ice. I've never seen anything like it. His jugular vein has been punctured, and if he was lying out there even just today, he should have bled to death long ago. By the looks of it, he's been out there all night, too. There's no way he should be alive," she repeated. Professor Sinistra muttered something.

"Just treat him as best you can, Poppy," Dumbledore said slowly. His voice held a melancholy tone that chilled the five eavesdroppers to the marrow. "That's all we can do for now. There is someone I need to talk to now, so if you'll excuse me." He slipped quietly from the hospital wing and down the corridor.

"I'd best be getting back to my class," Sinistra said after a moment. "If Mr. Lupin's friends come by, tell them they need not return today. I hardly expect them to be able to learn anything." Madam Pomfrey said she'd do that, and the Astronomy professor left the wing as well. The nurse puttered around for a while. The eavesdroppers couldn't see what she was doing through the curtains, but they heard vials clink together and the occasional scuff of her shoe on the tile. They were comforting noises; they meant something was being done to help Remus.

Sirius realized he was crying again and hurriedly brushed away the tears. There was no need to upset the others even more. But he soon saw there was no need; every face he looked at was shining with silent tears.

"Let's get out of here," he whispered, quietly slipping through the curtains. His friends followed him and they all tiptoed out of the hospital wing and away from the dreaded place, back to the Gryffindor common room. Madam Pomfrey saw them go, but said nothing. She'd expected as much.



In the common room, things didn't look much better. Lily still sobbed into James' shoulder, James still stared straight ahead in shock, Peter still remained uncannily motionless, Jesse still cried silently, and Sirius still found tears running down his face. As often as he brushed them away, they came back every time. The memory of Remus' cold, pale, blank face haunted him.

The fire was no comfort today, either. The flickering flames only reminded Sirius of little death demons, reaching up to engulf the log that had taken Remus' shape. It was a sickening sight, but nowhere near as bad as the one that flashed before Sirius' eyes every time he blinked.

When the bell rang signifying the end of class, they all jumped. None of them had realized how long they'd been sitting there. As it stopped ringing, James stood up and stretched. Lily dried her eyes and took a few shuddering breaths.

"We can't just sit here and dwell on this," James announced in a surprisingly clear voice. "We all heard Pomfrey, Remus is alive. There's no need to sit around mourning if there's nothing to mourn. If we want to help him, we've got to get moving." The others nodded, relieved at the prospect of doing something about all this. Sirius exchanged a glance with Jesse. Now was as good a time as any to tell the others what they knew.

"Remus was bit by a vampire," Sirius said suddenly, the loudness of his voice shocking everyone, including himself. Jesse nodded.

"And Alyssa Mant is a vampire," she said slowly. James, Peter, and Lily looked at her in shock. She nodded again. "Remus told us, sort of, about a month ago. When he found out she'd been cheating on him." Peter frowned.

"So you think she's the one who did it?" he asked dubiously.

"Of course she was!" James yelled, startling everyone again. His fists were clenched at his sides, his face contorted with anger. Lily put a hand on his arm, but he ignored her. "She was probably pissed at Remus for ditching her, or maybe she figured he didn't have enough to deal with, being a werewolf. Or maybe Snape put her up to it!" At this suggestion, Sirius felt anger swell in him, also. Of course, that was just the thing Snape would do!

"James," Lily said softly, still hiccupping slightly. "James, you know that isn't true. Snape doesn't know about Remus being a werewolf, and I doubt Alyssa does either. And as for getting back at him for breaking up with her. . .wouldn't she have done that a little sooner after the break- up?" There was a moment of silence as everyone thought about these things. Lily was right, of course. James had been rather irrational in his accusations.

"Alright, then why did she do it?" he asked finally, some of his anger seeping away under his girlfriend's gentle touch. Lily shrugged.

"Maybe being a vampire is like being a werewolf," she suggested. "If Remus ever bites someone, it won't be because he dislikes the person. I mean, he almost bit you on Thanksgiving! Maybe Alyssa just needed the blood." Jesse looked up at James.

"By the way, James. I had been meaning to ask you. . .did you really turn into a stag on Thanksgiving? I only saw you for a second, and I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or what." James shifted uncomfortably.

"I guess you might as well know. Sirius, Peter, and I are all Animagi. Illegally, of course. . .we just completed the process this year, shortly before you transferred here. I am a stag, yes. Sirius is a dog, Peter is a rat."

"That explains Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail," Jesse said with a nod. "Okay, thanks for clearing that up." Sirius smiled at her; he'd long since explained their Animagi forms, but she'd brought up the subject again to make them think about something besides Remus for a little while. "Hey, how come you didn't become an Animagus, Lily?" she asked a moment later, hoping it wasn't something Lily didn't like to talk about. To her relief, Lily gave a small smile.

"And break the law? I don't think so." Everyone laughed lightly, and the depression slowly lifted from each of them. Soon they were all talking happily about their Animagus forms, and the adventures they'd had with Moony. Lily and Jesse speculated about what animals they would be as Animagi, and everyone laughed heartily when Jesse said she'd like to be a mosquito eater.

"I live by a lake, and the mosquitoes are vicious!" she explained defensively. "I'd love to get rid of them all!" This got them talking about her home in America, which was in California, and she promised to take them there someday. Sirius reminded James that he still hadn't shown them his house like he'd promised, and so they started to plan their summer. Remus was on everyone's mind, of course, but they were happy to talk of other things for the time being.



Two agonizingly slow days later, Remus woke up. He was feeling terribly weak from having lost so much blood; Madam Pomfrey wanted him to make it all back on his own if possible. He had a month left to get his strength back, and if he wasn't better by then she'd simply have to step in and help him out. He squinted against the bright lights in the hospital wing and took a few deep breaths. Oh, to breathe again! He felt as if he'd just come back to life: every little thing was so wonderful, every heartbeat made him feel stronger, every breath made him happier. He flexed his fingers just to feel them move and swallowed to see how it felt. He brought a hand up and touched his face, then blinked to feel his eyelashes move against his coarse fingers.

Madam Pomfrey came towards him with a potion in her hand. He relished the sound of her shoes on the floor, the smell of her breath and of the potion she held. When she saw him awake, she cried out in delight and he drank in the noise happily. These were the signs that he was alive, and they were sweeter than anything Honeydukes could ever dream up.

The potion the nurse gave him was vile, but he loved the taste. It slid down his throat like a slimy frog, but he relished the sensation. Everything was so perfect, there was nothing that smelled or felt or tasted bad. No person was ugly, no fabric was coarse. Everything was perfect.

Before moving away, the nurse helped Remus to sit up against his pillows. He sank back against them, feeling more comfortable than he had in his entire life. He kept his eyes open despite how tired he felt, reluctant to look away from the beautiful world around him. Not five minutes later, the best thing that could have happened to him, did.

The Marauders arrived.

They were on their way back to the common room after dinner. It was routine now to check in on their friend whenever possible, and this was no exception. They paused outside the door and peered into the hospital wing. A great shout erupted from Sirius' throat when he saw Remus sitting up in bed, a bottle of potion in his hand.

In seconds, James, Sirius, Lily, Peter, and Jesse were standing around his bed, looking at him happily and chatting excitedly. Remus was too tired and weak to gather a word of it, but he didn't care. Their faces, the sounds of their voices, their specific and familiar scents, were enough to keep him happy. He was surrounded by his friends, and he was alive.

They finally calmed down and decided to take turns talking. They seemed to have realized that Remus wasn't saying anything, but was just staring at them happily.

"How are you feeling, Moony?" Sirius asked casually. Remus smiled widely.

"Never better!" he said hoarsely. His voice surprised him; it was so unlike his own, so harsh and quiet. But it felt so good to talk again, to feel sound come from his own mouth! He took another sip of his potion in an attempt to clear his throat. "Honestly," he reassured them, for they were looking rather dubious, "I don't think I've ever been happier in my whole life." James grinned and clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"Well, as soon as you're up and about, we'll have to beat this record, too!" Remus smiled to humor James, but knew nothing would ever feel quite like this. It was like being born anew, but knowing it. He knew he'd never have trouble with a Patronus again.

"What day is it?" he asked. Peter chuckled.

"That's an interesting question. You've been out for two days, so that makes today a Friday," he informed his friend. "We just got back from dinner, but there's still some left if you want anything." Remus shook his head. As wonderful as it sounded to taste food again, he knew his stomach couldn't handle it. He downed the rest of his potion and set the vial on the bedside table.

"So what's happened in the past two days? You guys have to tell me everything, even if it's not interesting." Remus just wanted to hear them talk. They all drew up chairs except James.

"I'm really sorry Moony, but-"

"Quidditch practice?" Remus interrupted with a laugh. "No problem. Have a good time." James grinned back and ran from the room, waving good-bye.

"Remus, you honestly didn't miss anything," Sirius informed him when James had gone. "We all missed Astronomy of course-" Remus noticed that Sirius' voice had gotten very tight, but he didn't know what to say to comfort his friend. "-and dinner was just kind of slow that evening. The whole school had heard about you by then, of course, and we all expected Dumbledore to say something. But he didn't, which was really strange, and set off more rumors than ever. Next day, we had Transfiguration, Charms, and CMC-"

"No we didn't, we had Transfiguration, history, and CMC!" Lily interrupted. Sirius looked at her quizzically.

"Are you sure?" he asked carefully. She nodded, but Peter frowned.

"I thought it was history, Transfiguration, then Charms." Jesse laughed, and Remus was surprised that he thoroughly enjoyed the sound. In fact, he found that he liked having her there just as much as he liked the company of the others.

"Does it matter?" she interrupted them all. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Not for you, you skipped first period that day!" Jesse shot him a look.

"Well, it was on your suggestion, Padfoot," she said defensively. He laughed half-heartedly, remembering why he'd sent her back to the common room after breakfast. She'd looked so awful, with dark circles under her red and puffy eyes. Her normally tanned skin was very pale, and there was no hint of a smile on her face.

"You need some rest," Sirius told her sternly. "Get back to your dorm room and sleep for this class-I'll come get you before our next one." She'd protested, but only slightly. It was obvious that she needed the sleep.

"Well, the other girls were up all night whispering about Remus," she said quietly. "I don't think Lily slept either." Sirius glanced at the red- head, and she did indeed look almost as bad as Jesse.

"I'll have James work on her," he assured her. "You just worry about you. We don't need two people falling sick!" She smiled slightly, but something flickered in her eyes and Sirius knew it had been an inappropriate comment. "Sorry," he said quietly. "Do you want me to walk you back up there?" Jesse shook her head.

"I can make it on my own. I don't want you late for class."

"Sirius? Padfoot!" Someone snapped their fingers directly in front of Sirius' eyes, and he came out of his reverie with a start. Everyone laughed as he stared blankly around.

"Sorry, I must be tired," he said with a shrug. Remus grinned.

"Would you rather someone else continued telling me about your exciting two days?" Sirius chuckled.

"Sure, have at it Lily." She sat forward a bit and leaned her elbows on her knees.

"Sirius was right, there's nothing to tell. Professor Binns fell through the floor yesterday, that was kind of funny. I guess he's still getting used to being a ghost." She paused, then shook her head. "Unless you want to see all my notes from classes, that's about it!" Remus looked at each of them in turn, a bit dismayed.

"You mean, no one played any pranks or discovered anything new? What about Snape, didn't anything happen with him?" Sirius looked at his friend with an odd expression on his face.

"We weren't really in the mood for that, Moony," he said quietly. The others nodded solemnly. "I don't think you realize-you really looked. . ." he swallowed a few times. "You looked dead, Remus. According to Pomfrey, you should have been."

There was a long pause during which Remus let this sink in. He'd felt death, two nights ago. He'd felt his life slip away in a pool of blood. He knew then that he must have looked like he'd felt, and that was enough to subdue most anyone.

"I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely. Peter looked shocked.

"Why are you sorry?"

"For putting you through this, making you all upset. . ."

"None of this was your fault, Remus!" said a soft voice by his elbow. He looked up into Jesse's clear blue eyes. She seemed so different, now that he was alive again. He found it hard to waste his energy hating her when he'd just discovered how short life really was. "It's Alyssa Mant who should be sorry!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Jesse knew she'd said the wrong thing. It had been a random comment, something she hadn't even thought about before saying it. And it had been a mistake.

Remus stiffened at the sound of that name, the memory of what she'd done coming back to him quite suddenly. He felt drenched again, as though he were still lying atop the Astronomy tower in the rain. Her lips against his skin, so soft and warm, but replaced by those cold, sharp daggers that had sucked the very life from his body. . .

He shivered and closed his eyes. That wasn't something he wanted to think about just then.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, it just slipped out," Jesse was murmuring, a light hand on his elbow. She glanced up at Sirius, fearful that she'd done something terrible. But Sirius only shrugged.

Finally Remus looked back at her.

"No problem," he said with a smile. She heard in his voice that he meant it. He knew she hadn't meant any harm. He looked around at the others. "I guess you're all waiting to hear what happened, then," he said slowly. Reluctantly, almost as if they were ashamed of their curiosity, they nodded. He smiled. "Well, I'm sorry. I don't really feel like talking about that right now. . .but I will tell you that you're right in thinking it was. . .her." He didn't know why, but something stopped him from saying her name. Maybe it was the thought of hearing it again, and seeing and feeling what had happened that night. That made sense. No one would want to relive that experience.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but Remus cut him off with a yell. They all looked at him in shock as he brought his knees up to his chest and clutched them tightly, his face contorted with pain. Madam Pomfrey came running over.

"What's happened?" she asked quickly, looking to Lily for her answer. The red-head shrugged, surprise plain on her face.

"I don't know! Nothing happened, he just yelled and-" She was interrupted by a whine of pain from Remus. He was pressing his forehead into his knees and clenching his teeth against some unspeakable pain. Everyone looked at him in shock, half expecting him to explode.

"Mr. Lupin!" the nurse said loudly, placing a steady hand on his shoulder. At her touch, Remus did explode in a way. He jumped up from the bed, knocking Jesse out of her chair, and slapped the nurse's hand away. His eyes grew large and flashed yellow. He hissed, and his teeth shone brightly in the hospital light. His canine teeth were longer than the others.

Despite her efforts to keep quiet, Jesse let out a small, dry sob from where she lay on the floor. The fear instilled in her by his face, so ferocious and unlike the Remus she knew, could not be quieted. Her noise attracted Remus' attention, and he stared down on her with his baleful yellow eyes. He bared his sharp teeth and reached down to grip her by the arm. The others, even Madam Pomfrey, were watching numbly, frozen with fear. Remus pulled Jesse up until her face was level with his own, held her close to him, and brought his open mouth against her neck.

Sirius jumped up suddenly, startling Madam Pomfrey out of her daze as well. They both lunged for Remus while Lily tore Jesse out of his grasp. He hissed, growled, whined, and screamed eerily, but they held him down against the cold tiles. Peter jumped up to hold down his flailing feet, but was soon sent to fetch Dumbledore. He nodded and set off for the Headmaster's office at a dead run.

By the time Dumbledore came back with Peter, Remus had calmed down some. Once, he'd screamed horribly-a human scream, one that spoke of terrible pain-and then had fallen silent. After that, he'd been fairly still and easy to keep pinned to the floor.

Dumbledore kneeled beside his pupil, worry etched on his face, and looked Remus over. His eyes lingered on the boy's sharp teeth and wild yellow eyes. A few minutes later, he looked up to address the others.

"I've never seen this before, so I may be wrong," he began. "I believe the werewolf and the vampire are both inside Mr. Lupin, and they don't like each other much at all. They are warring for ownership of his body, and neither will rest until the other is defeated." Sirius exchanged a shocked glance with Peter. It made sense, he supposed, but it was frightening to think about.

"I don't believe there is anything we can do to help him," the Headmaster continued. "We can't simply purge him of one of the monsters, or we would have gotten rid of his werewolf long ago. The only ways of our defeating the vampire are unacceptable." He sighed heavily. "We will just have to wait." He looked around at the students gathered nearby. "In the meantime, Mr. Lupin is highly dangerous-but only at night. In the daytime, the vampire is dormant. As for the wolf, it is dormant most of the time- but when the vampire awakens at night and tries to fight it, the wolf will do as it has done now-it will wake up and fight back. Therefore, I forbid each and every one of you-and Mr. Potter, too-from visiting or coming anywhere near Mr. Lupin after dark." Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but Dumbledore held up a hand. "It is for your own safety, Mr. Black. And for Mr. Lupin's as well. And yes, this means he will be spending his nights in the hospital wing. I want you all to be very careful about getting him up here before dark every single evening. Do I make myself clear?"

The students nodded, quite subdued. The thought of Remus' body battling against itself was not a pleasant one.

Professor Dumbledore sadly aided Madam Pomfrey in tying Remus to his bed to prevent him from hurting himself or others, then escorted the others out of the hospital wing. When they were almost to the entrance hall, they heard one of Remus' awful screams echoing through the corridors.