Disclaimer- sing this to any tune you have in mind It is not mine, no, no, it is not mine, no, no, it is not mine, it is not mine, it is not mine, la la la…

Chapter 7: Plans, Revelations and a Troubled Mind

Previously: 'Oh. OK. Well, before you start waxing lyrical and saying "They're meant to be" and all that rubbish, we need to meet the Marauders. This needs some careful handling, so we'd be better of coming at it from both sides. They're over there.'

Sarah stood, dragging Suzie and Caroline over to where the Marauders sat.

'Potter!'

James looked up and saw Sarah, Caroline and Suzie looming over him.

'Yes?'

It was Sarah who had spoken first, but Caroline replied.

'We wanted to thank you for taking care of Lily last night.' She was smirking. James found himself blushing at what she was implying. It was one thing coming from his mates, but from a girl, it was embarrassing.

'Caroline!' scolded Sarah, jabbing her in the ribs. 'If you can't behave yourself, you'll have to go and sit on the naughty stair.'

James snorted at that. Sarah and Caroline were acting just like Moony and Padfoot. He saw Suzie rolling her eyes exasperatedly.

'Actually,' she said, 'that was pretty decent of you, taking care of her for us. That's why we're here to talk to you, really. We've decided that, based on your honourable, gentlemanly behaviour, when you could so easily have taken advantage of the situation, that you have proven yourself worthy.'

'Worthy? Worthy of what?'

'Lily, of course,' answered Suzie, 'We want to help you two get together.'

'Well, that is a pleasant coincidence,' said Remus, who had been observing the conversation with interest. 'We were just saying we should try to enlist your help to get Lily and James together.'

'Brilliant. See, Sarah, you and Lupin are thinking on the same wavelength,' grinned Caroline, making Sarah blush furiously for some reason.

'Actually, it was Sirius' idea,' said Remus.

Caroline smiled. 'More than just a pretty face, then, Black.'

Sirius smirked back. 'Much more, I assure you, Hawling.'

'Anyway,' interrupted James, 'We were talking about me and Evans.'

'Evans?' said Peter with his eyebrows raised. 'She spent last night in your bed and you're still calling her "Evans"?'

'She hasn't told me I could use her given name,' James said, with his nose in the air, 'It would be improper to without permission.'

'Whoa, Potter, don't let your new status as chivalrous gent go to your head, or anything,' said Caroline with a knowing air.'Lily doesn't like it when you're big-headed. She says it makes you act like a prat. Not attractive.'

Remusstood up, saying, 'We should take this somewhere more private. Our dorm?'

After noises of general agreement from the girls, they adjourned to the boys' dorm, sitting on Remus and Peter's beds, which were next to each other, so they could converse in comfort. Once they had done this, there was something more business-like about the whole thing.

No-one was talking, until James, seemingly unable to take it any longer, spoke, stuttered slightly, 'Do you know if, well, you know, um, Lily, she, um well, she umm, you know, likes me?'

'I told you before, James, she has liked you for a long time,' said Remus in a slightly annoyed voice.

Sarah added her two-pennyworth as soon as she could understand what James was saying, taking the lead because she knew she would be best at this. Suzie was too shy, and Caroline would just flirt with Black and make inappropriate comments.

'Yeah, Remus isright. She has done for a while now. But she tries to hide it. She doesn't want you to start being all cocky.'

Remus, looking very pleased with himself, smiled and said, 'Well James, that clears that up for you, then?'

James nodded, looking immensely relieved that Remus now seemed to be doing all the talking. He hadn't been shy about discussing Lily with his friends, but he really didn't want to say the wrong thing to her mates and risk them deciding he wasn't worthy after all.

Sirius, who had been unusually quiet for the entire duration of the conversation, said, 'Um, Remus?'

'Yes?'

'Can I say something?'

'You're not in class, Sirius.'

'Oh. OK. I had an Idea.' Remus could hear the capital. It must be a pretty good idea, he thought.

'In stories, the girl always falls for the guy if he saves her from a monster, or a dragon, mm? So I thought if James saved Lily from something, she'd be really pleased. Especially if it cost him something to do it, like getting hurt.'

James paled slightly. Monster? Hurt? Just how hurt was Sirius thinking about?

'So what if a huge, black, grim-like dog attacks Lily while James is talking to her about, oh, you know, Quidditch-'

'Novels,' interjected James.

'Not important. And then James turns into a stag and fights off the black dog, away from Lily, and then when they are both away, the dog mauls the stag's front leg.'

Mauls? thought James. He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. But if it would help him get Lily, he would do anything, no matter how painful.

'And then the dog runs away. The stag, you, changes back, goes back to Lily and asks her if she's ok. She'll say yes, probably, but I might scratch her up a bit to make it more realistic, and then she'll like you even more because you rescued her with no thought to personal safety and she might even say so.'

James stared at Sirius. Sirius Black had said that. Sirius who only liked food, pranks, and, erm, food. Sirius who always brought up the time in first year when . . . moving on. That wasn't important. What was important, or more like unbelievable, was that… well, Sirius had said that!

Out loud he said, 'By Merlin, Sirius, I didn't know you had it in you! That was downright clever. If you were in class you would have got probably your first ever 'O'.'

'Hey! I got one in transfiguration, in third year!'

Caroline suddenly broke in on the conversation. Something had clicked. 'You did! Black got an 'O' when we did animagi! McGonagall was practically purring she was so pleased. She gave me an 'A', but I'm not one of her favourites. But how do you know a whopping great black dog's going to attack Lily? What do you mean 'change back'? You're animagi, aren't you! All of you!'

Suzie gasped, 'Hey! Really? How cool!'

Sarah snorted and said, 'Well done keeping that secret, Black, it was obvious two sentences into your plan.'

But Remus said, in a small, quiet voice, 'Nearly right, Hawling. We're not all animagi. James is a stag, Sirius is a dog, Peter's a rat, but I'm . . . I'm a werewolf.'

'Remus!'

'You're joking!'

'Oh! Poor, poor you!' Sarah hugged Remus, completely unexpectedly. Then, still hugging him, she started crying into his robes. 'W-who knows?' she choked out between sobs.

Remus, completely taken aback, put his arm gingerly around Sarah's shoulders and said, 'James, Sirius, and Peter, obviously, Professor Dumbledore, the other professors and Severus Snape. In Slytherin.'

Sarah, still crying, but now even more shocked, wailed, 'But he'll te-e-ell!'

'Of course not. He was sworn to secrecy. And he'd only tell a professor and they all know already.'

'But if any-anyone else knew they-they'd take you away!'

'What?'

'My s-sister was one! She was very little, about two,really small, and she got bitten! And, and, and they took her away. She was consid… consid… considered dangerous! And then they had to … pu … pu … put her down.' A fresh wave of wails broke out.

Suzie and Caroline were shocked. They never knew Sarah had had a sister.

James and Sirius were appalled. They put her sister down, like some kind of diseased animal! That was far too cruel. If anyone did anything like that to Remus . . . It made their blood boil. Sarah just kept on crying, with Remus, looking slightly nonplussed, stroked her hair soothingly, and kept saying softly, 'It's alright, it's alright.'

Though it was far from alright. They all knew why Sarah's sister had been put down. Werewolves were common followers of Voldemort. Even if it was just a little girl, no-one wanted them around. But Remus was safe, of course, right? Suzie, Caroline, Sirius and James left quietly, leaving Remus to deal with Sarah.

Slightly depressing end to the chapter, that. Anyway, please review. It doesn't have to be about the chapter, as I've said before, but let's hear your opinions on screwdrivers.

Larka :)