It was two days after the full moon and Remus was still exhausted. His body felt weak and old and he was tired deep in his bones. He had a new scar on his arm, curtesy of his last transformation that, by the looks of it, would stay with him for the rest of his life.

Remus was in the astronomy tower, the only place where he could get away form everyone and everything and just think. It was a place where he didn't have to pretend to be the rebel without a cause. Here he could just be Remus. He sat on a window ledge, his back leaning on one side, while his feet were propped against the opposite wall. The moonlight cast his silhouette on the cold stone floor. His calloused hand, which rested on his knees, held a newly lit cigarette. He laughed quietly as he thought, "even when I'm alone I have to keep up the charade of bad boy."

His thoughts slowly drifted back to their first year at Hogwarts. The four boys had met on the Hogwarts express. As if by fate, all four of them had ended up in the same compartment. Remus remembered timidly checking every single compartment, as if it were yesterday. He felt more isolated with every full or Slytherin contained room. Finally he reached the last door, near tears. He opened it, expecting it to be full like all the others. Instead it contained a single boy with wild brown hair. He quickly welcomed Remus in and the two soon began to talk about their favorite Quidditch teams. Moments after, Sirius showed up, dragging a heavy trunk that they would later find out was full of prank supplies. And last, came Peter, who fell through the door as the train hit a bump. They had immediately connected and had become close friends before the train had even made it to Hogwarts. The boys were ecstatic and slightly unbelieving when they were all sorted into Gryffindor.

It was later that night when the craziest plan Remus had ever heard was created. It was James' idea. They always were. They were going to form a secret group, the likes of which Hogwarts had never seen. They would go down in history as the greatest pranksters ever to live. Remus couldn't believe how naive they were. Peter was the one who brought up the point of expulsion. For a moment the thought stumped them, until James made the suggestion. What if they make Hogwarts believe they hated each other? No one would ever suspect four boys who couldn't stand the sight of each other. Sirius thought it was great. "It will be our greatest prank," he said his eyes twinkling.

So that night they picked their fate. James, thinking it would be hysterical, volunteered for the nerd. James had always been outgoing and popular. The innocent first year, that barely resembled the present James, thought it was a game. He had no idea that it would last as long as it did and have such an affect on their lives, James' especially. They voted Sirius to be the popular stud. Remus had no doubt that he could pull it off with his charming smile and boyish good looks. So Sirius became the preppy Quidditch player that he was destined to be. Peter would be the class clown instead of his quiet, meek self. At first he wasn't sure that he could do it, but Sirius convinced him that it would be nothing more than a prank. A huge prank. "You get to be someone your not," he explained, smile reaching almost to his ears, "How much fun is that." That left Remus the part of the bad boy.

Looking back on it the boys had no idea what they were getting themselves into. The plan had worked perfectly and what should have been a blessing was slowly turning into a curse.

The next morning the four boys staged a huge fight. The story of the fight was still told to scare first years. They spent the next four months convincing everyone how much they hated each other. Lily Evens had been the hardest to convince. She had sat with them at the feast and saw how well they got along. How well their personalities fit. Sometimes Remus thought that she still didn't believe that they all hated each other.

Remus took another drag form his cigarette. From his position in the window he could easily see the Whomping Willow. The tree swayed peacefully in the wind, peaceful and serene until the first chance it got to attack an innocent passerby. "Just like me," Remus thought darkly, his thoughts immediately turning from the past to the present.

James and Sirius were planning something. They had been for the last year. He knew that much. They had checked out strange books from the library and had repeatedly broken into the restricted section in the middle of the night. He also knew that the three of them were brewing a potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He knew that it had something to do with his werewolf form, but he couldn't fathom what it was. The boys had discovered his 'condition ' in the middle of first year.

When he moved into the dorm, Remus immediately knew that they were much too smart for the 'My grandma's sick and I have to go visit her' excuse. But he had prayed that his often absences would slip by unnoticed. However, they were too good of friends not to notice or not to care.

Remus' deepest fear was that they would find out about his other half and shun him forever because they were afraid of the monster in him or the monster that he was. They were the best friends he had ever had. The guys he had formed a secret society, The Marauders, with. Remus admitted to himself that he had underestimated them and their friendship. When they finally figured it out, they hadn't run away screaming in fear. Instead they accepted him, treating him no differently than they had before. Except now they had, in Remus' opinion, an un-accomplishable task. They had decided that they were going to keep him company in his wolf form. The thought that they would do that for him warmed his heart, but he never believed it possible.

Until now.

He was stupid to underestimate Sirius and James. If they wanted something they got it.

Whatever their plan was, it was obviously highly dangerous and probably slightly illegal. They were keeping the plan a secret. James and Sirius thought if Remus knew he would try and talk them out of it. They knew him too well. He was terrified that they would kill themselves while trying to help him. Or that he would kill them. And that was something that he could never live with. He was going to have to convince them that it was too dangerous. No matter what it took.

He hated to admit it to himself but a part of him wanted them to do it. To succeed. To keep him company. A big part. But he couldn't allow that to affect his decision. He wasn't going to allow them to kill themselves just for him. He wasn't worth that.

Then with a harsh laugh he realized what he was thinking. Who he was talking about. Him? Stop James and Sirius form doing something they had set their minds too? He might as well try and stop the world from turning.

He bought the cigarette to his lips and took a deep breath. He just hoped they weren't doing anything too illegal.

These and many more thoughts flashed through his head as he sat watching the night sky. They were having, or supposed to be having, a secret meeting in their dorm right now, but Remus needed to be alone. Needed to think.

Again he breathed in deep form the cigarette and slowly let it out. He felt his body begin to relax.

He couldn't believe that it had been five years. Five years. It seemed like only yesterday they were planning their first prank. Sirius and James laughing maniacally and Peter shaking slightly but joining in. "And me," he though, "just so happy to be included." He was still amazed that their plan had actually worked. James had called it the prank of the century and maybe that's what it was. After all, everyone in the school thought he was James Dean. And the funniest part of all was that they were getting away with it. Hell, James was looking good for head boy. He laughed at that. A Marauder, head boy.

James, the leader of their little group, was known throughout Hogwarts as a nerd. If only they knew. The girls would be falling into his lap, swooning at his confidence and handsome looks, while guys praising him for his Quidditch skills. And Remus, quiet, shy little Remus had to pretend he was a bad boy, a rebel. They would die if they knew he was a vegetarian that liked to read Shakespeare. But the act fit his lifestyle well. He didn't have to get close to anyone and wasn't in the public eye like Sirius. He could disappear anytime he wanted and people assume he just snuck out or skipped classes a few days. A new scar showed up on his arm. No big deal, he probably just got into a fight. He was looking tired? Well, he must have spent the night roaming the castle. After four years, he had grown used to playing the part. They all had.

He ran a hand though his dirty blond hair as he stared at the stars. Each one was reflected in the flat surface of the lake. As he watched the slight sway of the trees in the blue blackness of the night he felt a peace wash over him. And he couldn't help but hope that everything would turn out alright.

Just as he finished this thought the door to the tower opened. Remus jumped and almost fell out of the window, having to grab hold of both sides to steady himself. He silently cursed his stupidity for leaving the Invisibility Cloak, which he had used to get up there lying conspicuously in a pool on the floor. As a girl with gleaming red hair stepped into the room, Remus tensed.

Lily jumped as she saw the silhouette of someone sitting on the window, knees tucked close to his chin.

She cringed at the tone of his voice as he said, "Great, are you going to run off and tell the head boy that I'm up after hours and wondering the campus," as he said this he took a drag from his cigarette.

Lily knew that she was viewed as somewhat of a goody-goody and a teachers pet. "If only they knew," she thought to herself.

"No," Lily said and then after a pause, "Not if you let me bum one of those off of you," she said nodding her head toward towards the cigarette.

Lily almost laughed at the look of shock on his face. She always found it humorous when people were shocked because she did something out of 'character.'

Remus pulled out his box of cigarettes and motioned for her to take one. She did and used the fire on his to light her own. He watched as she took a deep drag. He still couldn't believe that she smoked and he expected her to begin coughing. Something that would prove she was only trying to be cool. Instead she gave a content sigh.

"I've been craving one of those," she said with a smile, pushing his legs down so they hung over the edge. It gave her enough room to squish in. She sat down next to him and examined the cigarette, "Sirius read in some muggle magazine that they're bad for you and now he's trying to make me quit."

With a laugh Remus said, "Yeah, me too," Sirius had searched through all his drawers and his trunk, throwing out all his packs. They had almost come to blows over it.

Lily looked at him in surprise, "Hun?"

Remus immediately realized his mistake. Your supposed to hate him remember, "My mother, she's a muggle and she heard somewhere that they cause cancer and now she's trying to make me quit," he never missed a beat, never batted an eye. "Yeah right, these things cause cancer?"

"I know, how absolutely ridiculous," Lily said with a small laugh and a friendly smile in Remus' direction. Lily inhaled, held her breath for a moment, and finally exhaled. The smoke coming out in rings. Remus laughed loudly at them.

"Speaking of the prick," Remus said slipping back into his bad ass attitude, "Don't you belong to Sirius? Isn't this like breaking some law or moral code or something?"

"First of all," Lily said her sparkling green eyes darkening dangerously, "I don't belong to anyone, least of all Sirius Black and no, I can talk to who ever the hell I want to talk to."

"You know," Remus said smiling at her, "You're nothing like I thought you were."

"People seldom are," was her only reply. With a small smile she turned to the sky and silently examined the stars as she listened to Remus' deep laugh.

Lily was beautiful. There was no other way to describe her. However, she didn't have the striking beauty that made you stop on the street. You couldn't get the full scope of her beauty without knowing her, sharing time with her. Because with every smile and every laugh her beauty grew until finally it was inescapable. Her red hair was soft and it shown even in the dim light of the astronomy tower. He green eyes were entrancing. That was the only way to describe them. They trapped you with one glance. She had a tiny body, with all the right curves in all the right places. This was something, however, that she would forcefully deny. She believed that she should loose a few pounds in the stomach area and gain a few in the chest.

Besides her physical features, there was her personality. Very few people who met her didn't get along with her, although few really knew her. Even fewer realized that she broke almost as many rules as Sirius and could, if called upon, drink him under the table. She had, somewhere in the past four years, become popular, something that she secretly despised. She hadn't wanted it, she wasn't one of those people who sought it out, stepping on anyone that got in their way. It was a burden she was forced to bare. She tried her best to be nice to everyone, although she often found herself snapping at people. A trait that she blamed on her read hair. Sirius, who knew her faults better than anyone, often teased her about her ability to change her mind about something more than anyone he had ever met. Lily never showed her emotions, she kept everything bottled up until one day she snaps and spends two hours sobbing and eating chocolate with Sirius.

She was smart, but was a horrible procrastinator. But this fault didn't affect her chances at prefect, she was a shoe in. She got in the top marks in all of her classes besides history of magic, which she used as a time to ketch up her reading, "When in the real world am I going to need history?" Her grades also lagged in potions even though Sirius, who excelled in it, was tutoring her. Because of her sweet personality and her good grades people often believed her to be a goody-two-shoes. Her reputation often had people believing they could walk all over her. Something that, they quickly learned, was far from the truth.

"So why are you here?" Remus finally broke the silence not taking his eyes away form the stars. Lily looked at him before she answered. The moon reflected in his deep eyes which reminded Lily of storm clouds. They reflected pain and loneliness just under the surface of his cool exterior. His lips were full and she understood why so many girls found him irresistible, though as she looked at his lips, so kissably smooth, she had no desire to do so. His jaw clinched tightly as he watched her examine his from the corner of his eye.

Finally she answered, "I got in a fight with Sirius," she explained, "He thinks that I'm lying to him about something stupid."

"He's an idiot."

"You're more like him than you realize," Lily said softly.

Remus remained silent. Realizing that she had touched a sore spot she quickly change the subject, "So why are you here?"

"Thinking," he said, refusing to elaborate any further.

After a long pause Remus continued, a wolf like grin on his face, "Can you imagine what everyone would say if they saw us right now?"

They shared a small smile. Remus had sparked Lily's curiosity. As they continued to talk she realized that he was nothing like the image he presented himself to be. He tried to be so tuff and cold hearted but it was easy to see that he was exactly the opposite. The two talked for about an hour, finally returning to the common room when Lily had started shaking from the cold. Letting down his act, he let her borrow his cloak. Remus folded the invisibility cloak under his arm and carried it back unused. He was thankful that Lily didn't ask what it was, although she glanced at it curiously a few times. As they went their separate ways, Lily couldn't help but think that she had made a new friend.