It was two weeks into the term, and Gwen could tell that something was bothering Remus. He was hiding it, or at least trying to, but he was obviously anxious about something. There were dark marks under his eyes and his face was greyish with fatigue. It was a face Gwen had become accustomed to. Consequently, she wasn't entirely surprised when Remus informed her one night that his mother was sick and he was going home to visit her again.

Although the announcement didn't come as a surprise, the fact of Mrs. Lupin's continued illness seemed suspicious to Gwen. She hated to pry, but she wondered what exactly Remus's mother's condition was that required his presence every month or so.

But all she said was, "Oh, dear. I hope she'll be alright."

Remus nodded. "I hope so, too."

"You didn't say anything in your letters about her health," Gwen remembered. "She seemed quite well when she and your father came to pick you up at Platform 9 ¾. Did she have some sort of relapse?"

"Uh, yeah, a relapse," Remus mumbled quickly.

Sirius, who was sitting nearby, picked that moment to ask, "Are you ready for the dueling meet next week?"

"I hope so," Gwen said doubtfully. As she spoke, she almost thought for a moment that she had seen Remus shoot his friend a grateful look.

000

Despite Gwen's misgivings, she did as well at the meet as she usually did. In the last year, she had gained a reputation as an up-and-coming dueler, soon a force to be reckoned with. Remus had cheered for her until his throat ached. In fact, he hadn't done badly himself.

Gryffindor not only won their first dueling meet of the term, they also won their first Quidditch game. The inevitable party in the Gryffindor common room ensued, with James and Sirius right in the thick of things.

Remus hoped that the excitement would drive any lingering curiosity out of Gwen's mind. She had been particularly conscientious about asking after his mother lately, and it made him nervous. It was bad enough to be lying to her and covering up his own fear of his transformations, but it was much worse to be trying to fend off her questions. He thought she was a little suspicious.

It wasn't so bad when there were other people around, because if the conversation got into a dangerous area, James or Sirius usually jumped in and introduced a different subject. Consequently, Remus had been spending much less time alone with Gwen than he had before. He was beginning to wonder if their relationship could last if they only saw each other in the presence of his other friends.

At least this party would take his mind off things. It was too loud to have a very private conversation—which was just as well, since James and Sirius were too busy to come to his rescue should he get into deep waters. The two boisterous friends were soon surrounded by a circle of Gryffindors, laughing and talking. Remus and Gwen joined in from nearby, leaning back against one of the tables. When everyone laughed uproariously at one of Sirius' jokes, Remus noticed that Gwen didn't join in, but frowned and rubbed her forehead.

"Are you okay?" he asked in an undertone.

She smiled back at him. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just have a bit of a headache."

She didn't complain, but Remus watched her out of one eye. As the party went on, Gwen appeared to be in more pain. During one particularly loud gale of laughter, she suddenly put both her hands to her temples and doubled over in intense anguish.

"Jenny?" Remus took her elbow.

Sirius glanced over at them. "Are you okay, Gwen?" he asked—just as she passed out.

Remus caught her and saved her from hitting her head on the edge of the table. Sirius practically vaulted over the sofa. "James, get a pillow!" he said as they lowered Gwen to lie on the floor. There were gasps around the room; the party stopped dead.

In a minute, Gwen opened her eyes. "What happened?" she asked blearily.

"You fainted," Remus said. "Lie still a moment."

She suddenly seemed to remember everything. "I'm fine," she said, moving as if to sit up.

"He said lie still," Sirius said, pushing her gently back down again. James leaned over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I broke up the party," Gwen said.

"Don't be stupid," James reassured her with a smile.

Peter stood next to Remus. "Maybe we should go get Madame Rue?" he suggested.

"No," Gwen said forcefully, and sat up. "I'll walk. It'll clear my head."

"Are you sure?" James asked as she stood up.

"Yes," she said confidently. Remus jumped up.

"I'll go with you," he said, and followed her out of the common room.

Gwen moved perfectly steadily until the portrait hole closed behind her. Then she leaned against the wall, and took a shaky breath.

"You're not fine," Remus said.

"No," Gwen admitted, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. She crossed her arms on her knees and put her head down on them. Her voice came out muffled. "I didn't want to break up the party."

"Your health is more important than a party, Jenny," Remus said softly, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah, yeah," Gwen said with a chuckle, and leaned her head on his shoulder.

They didn't speak for a few minutes. Finally, Gwen said, "I feel a lot better. I don't want to go all the way down to the infirmary; do you think I could just go to bed?"

Remus shook his head. "Madame Rue'd be sure to hear about it."

Gwen sighed. "You're right." She stood up with the air of a martyr. "Let's go."

TBC