Standing There By You

Chapter 58- To Be a Marauder

A/N: Yeah. Um... Yeah. That was a long wait, wasn't it? Truly, honestly, terribly sorry. Please don't abandon me... I love you all forever. : )

---

Remus knew something was amiss when he reached his dormitory and a heavy fog was billowing beneath the door.

Fully prepared to shout at his unruly roommates for whatever senseless scheme they were pulling, Remus was mildly surprised when he found the room to be completely empty. Well, perhaps 'empty' wasn't the word for it.

Above him, wild purple swirls danced about the bedposts and the thick fog that had greeted him covered nearly every inch of the dormitory. Low, foreboding hoots and wails resonated throughout the room, completing the ominous atmosphere.

Remus shook his head. He knew his friends well enough to understand that walking through the unusual setting might very well turn him into an invertebrate animal or something of the like, but tired and requiring the Transfiguration book beneath his bed, he decided to take his chances. Cautiously he ventured to his bed, hardly able to see through the dense fog. When he finally reached it, a piercing howl nearly caused him to spring backwards into Sirius's bedpost; giving an irritated sigh of frustration, he regained his composure and made to search his bed once more-- only to again trigger the startling scream and to fall backwards in the exact same fashion. He immediately lunged forward, prepared this time for the shocking sound and determined to find the source of it. Waving away some of the persistent fog, he was able to catch a glimpse of a folded piece of paper resting on top of his pillow. Curiosity overpowering the sensible part of his mind screaming at him to run away while he was still physically capable, he reached toward the crisp parchment and found that tall script filled the inside.

To Maraud: To rove and raid in search of plunder.

Remus raised his brows in interest, wondering what his barmy mates had conspired this time. He read on,

To be a Marauder: Must enjoy, or at least pretend to enjoy roving and raiding in search of plunder, partake in at least two illegal activities once a month, and never, ever, under any circumstances break a promise or eagerly anticipated proposition made to a fellow Marauder (especially a stuffy old werewolf).

Redemption: You, Us, Midnight…

Be there.

Remus chuckled softly, allowing the parchment to drift back onto his bed- he only jumped a few feet when Sirius's voice cackled loudly in a malicious laugh and the parchment sprung closed on its own. Shaking his head, his smiled wavered. He was certainly glad his friends were still attempting his overdue birthday celebration, but he wondered what they were going to do when he reminded them the moon was full tonight and he had an unbreakable engagement elsewhere.

---

"Turn to page 53, Mr. Lupin," Professor McGonagall instructed the tardy student that was rushing to his designated seat. "We are comparing and contrasting Gelmet's Theory. I certainly hope you have an excellent reason for being late."

Remus shot his friends a look, but they merely gazed back with large, innocent eyes. He rolled his own and hurried to sit down. "Sorry professor," he apologized, "I forgot my book in my dormitory and I had a… difficult time getting to it."

"Very well," McGonagall frowned, returning to the head of the classroom and continuing her lecture. The next seat over, Grace shook her head.

"You're lucky you're an outstanding student," she informed him in a whisper. "That was an astoundingly lame excuse."

Remus raised his brow in Sirius's direction. "It was the truth," he replied quietly.

Sirius avoided his eyes. "Stop looking at me like that. I'm trying to learn Transfiguration."

"If I could have your complete attention," the professor raised her voice, shooting the chattering group an austere glare, "I do have a rather important announcement to make." Once everyone was silent, she picked up a few papers that had rested in a neat pile on her desk and looked around at the expectant students. "The Heads of the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin houses and I have decided to give several select students of Hogwarts a chance to partake in a project that is being presented to us by the Ministry of Magic. It will involve thorough research and experimental spell-work, and is an excellent opportunity to explore future careers and to show off your talent to many renowned figures. One student from each house in fifth or sixth year will be chosen through an application and individual interviews, and final decisions will be announced at the end of the month. Applications are available at the back of the classroom, along with a calendar to sign up for interviews…"

"Presenting for the Ministry?" Lily whispered, her excited comment one among many that sounded from the students. "Can you imagine that on a résumé?"

"It sounds amazing," Julie responded, her eyes still following McGonagall as she continued to explain the event.

Grace wrinkled her nose. "Yes, but did you hear her? You'd have to work with a one person from each house… in case you don't recall, that would include a Slytherin."

"It's a scandal," Sirius added his input to their conversation, craning his neck to peer around Remus. "I hope they come to their senses and realize two Gryffindors would achieve much more than a Gryffindor and a Slytherin any day."

"One Gryffindor could achieve more than a thousand Slytherins," James contended from his seat beside Sirius. "I'm not even certain I would want to participate at all if I was forced to work with one of those disgusting blokes every day."

"Well that's all right, Potter," Lily smirked at him above the three people between them, "because you would certainly never get in."

James shrugged calmly. "It isn't as if you should be so sure of yourself," he replied. "You are only second in the class, after all."

Grace sighed as she prepared herself for one of Lily's outrageous rants- she was very touchy about James's reigning rank of first in the class. "I--," Lily drummed her fingers heatedly against the table as she searched frantically for a retort. "Shut up," she finished lamely.

The boy raised a curious brow at the unusually lacking response. "Losing your bite, Evans? I hope not, it was one of your most striking attributes."

Lily turned away from him huffily, returning her gaze to McGonagall. "He's so exasperating," she said under her breath to Julie, but her friend was preoccupied with their teacher's instructions.

"C'mon," Julie said, standing up. "She said we could have the rest of class to start on the applications."

Most of the students stood up to retrieve an application, but before James, Sirius, and Peter could, Remus stopped them. "Wait," he told them, stepping close so no outsiders could hear him speaking. "I got the letter… but I can't make it tonight."

"Make it where?" Sirius asked dumbly.

Remus rolled his eyes. "I know you know what I'm talking about," he insisted. "But listen, tonight…" he nodded his head pointedly toward the window and continued in a voice that was barely audible. "It's a full moon."

James nodded his head slowly. "Right…" Crossing his arms, he continued, "We still have no idea what you're talking about."

Peter shook his head quickly. "Not a clue," he chirped.

"But--,"

"Hurry up or there won't be any applications left," Sirius said, and they began to make their way to the back of the room.

"Urgh," Remus responded meekly. Relenting, he followed the curious acting boys to claim an application at the table surrounded by many anxious others.

---

When Remus returned to the dormitory that afternoon, all of the foreign adornments had disappeared and none of the startling sounds remained. Slightly relieved, he pushed the door open all the way and entered the room.

Sirius looked up when he heard someone make their way across the dormitory. "James--? Oh, hey Remus."

Remus raised his eyes in interest toward his friend. "Nice to be so cordially greeted," he sardonically replied.

"Sorry," Sirius picked up a sugar quill and took to sucking the end of it distractedly. "Have you seen him around? James, I mean."

Walking to his bed and heaving his heavy bag onto it, Remus shook his head. "Has detention after school for the week, doesn't he?"

"Ah, right," Sirius nodded. "Forgot about his Minnie marathon."

Remus perched onto his mattress, still cautious of any alarming noises sounding from his bed. Gazing across the room at Sirius, he noticed his friend donned a rather peculiar expression. "If you really need to speak with James you could use those little mirror gadgets, couldn't you?" he suggested.

Sirius's eyes brightened for a moment, but then the same perplexed look reappeared. "No," he shook his head, straightening against his headboard. "It wouldn't really be… appropriate."

"Ah," Remus inclined his head, still utterly confused.

After a short lapse of silence, Sirius flipped onto his stomach and crawled to the end of his bed to face Remus. "Have you noticed anything different about Lily lately?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" Remus stared at him, clearly not expecting that question. "No, not really… I don't know. Why do you ask?"

Leaning against his palm, Sirius stared blankly at the simple carvings in his bedpost. "So you didn't know her parents were murdered either," he said it as more of a statement than a question.

Across from him, Remus froze. "What?" he finally whispered.

Sirius exhaled. "I overheard some people discussing it at my parents' Christmas party," he told him. "It must've happened last year, by the way they were talking."

Remus continued to stare at him, searching for a sign it was all some twisted joke. When his friend's face remained unusually grave, he shook his head, horrified. "I had no idea… It wasn't in the papers or anything."

"They were both muggles," said Sirius. "Supposedly it was that Voldemort guy we've heard mentioned several times in the news that was behind it… but I only know that because the men talking about it were Dark Art scum." Looking up at Remus, he asked, "How should I act around her, exactly? I've never really… I'm not around this much."

"Me either," Remus said, shaking his head. "I suppose the best thing would be to act a bit kinder… If she hasn't mentioned it for this long she probably doesn't want to talk about it at all."

"Kinder," Sirius nodded intently. "Right."

Remus leaned back onto his elbows. "It's weird," he said slowly. "Being with someone for the majority of your time, and not really knowing them at all."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed, nodding slowly as he remained lost in his own thoughts. "It is."

---

"This thing is enormous…" Grace complained, tossing the large application aside and flopping onto a couch by the common room fire. "I think I'm going to wait to fill it out when I have a full stomach. I wonder what we're having for dinner..."

"We have to have them completed by our interviews," Lily said, continuing to write as she spoke. "I signed up for the earliest one I could- to show initiative- and besides, it's all quite basic information."

Grace gave a heavy sigh in response and rolled over onto her stomach. "Oh no," she mourned, frowning at Julie as she sat hunched over her own application. "Don't tell me you're joining this frenzy too."

"I am," she replied, not breaking away from her determined effort. She finished a response to one of the prompts slowly and meticulously, and then put her quill aside to examine it several times.

"Hmm…" Grace said lazily, settling into the cushions. "Well, to each her own."

"Are you saying you're not even going to try?" Lily admonished. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime, this is the greatest chance we have at success, this is--,"

"Don't get too excited, Evans," a familiar voice advised from the other side of the common room.

Lily's head whipped up and she scowled as she viewed James Potter heading in her direction. "Shove off, Potter," she said, returning to one of the many short response questions.

"It's all right, I can see why you would be so anxious about getting the position," James said in a feigned voice of understanding, as he sank into a dingy gold-trimmed armchair.

"James," Sirius called from the staircase that led to the boys' dormitory, motioning him upwards. "Come here for a second--,"

"I mean, it is your only chance at success, after all." Peering at her papers, James clicked his tongue reprovingly. Sirius raced down the staircase when his friend didn't show signs of joining him anytime soon. "Although you might not want to write six paragraphs for a short response question; you're going to want to hide your pitiful desperation for as long as possible."

Lily opened her mouth as she prepared to launch a hefty rebuke, but was distracted as Sirius hurried over and lifted up her application. "I think it's wonderful," he said with forced and unexpected cheerfulness, smiling encouragingly. "Your thoughts are beautifully composed and- and fantastic handwriting."

James and Lily gazed at him in wonder. "I don't need your sarcasm, Black," she responded uncertainly.

"I'm not being sarcastic," he quickly assured her. "It's really great. Your work is really great. You're really great. I like your robes, they're very flattering--,"

"What's wrong with you?" James asked, furrowing his brows at his strangely acting friend. "Are you under a curse?"

"No," Sirius shook his head, laughing tentatively. "I'm just giving her the flattery she deserves. Because, you know, she's really great--,"

"Ugh," James interrupted, cradling his head. "Sorry to suspend your sickening prattle, but I have to set up for Quidditch practice." With one last bewildered glance at Sirius, he spun around and headed back out of the common room. With a quick smile at Lily and an encouraging quip to keep up the good work, he hastily followed James's lead and headed towards the Portrait.

The moment his feet touched the ground Sirius made to catch up with his best friend, but before he could someone held him back. Twisting around to see who was tugging on his arm, he came face to face with Lily.

"What is it with you?" she demanded, glaring at him. "Did James stick a dungbomb in my bag while you were acting so strange to distract me? Or is it a Charms assignment you need me to bail you out of--,"

"No," Sirius promised, "it's nothing bad, I swear. I was just being… kind."

Lily stepped threateningly closer. "Sirius--,"

"Honestly," he insisted, "I'm being 100 genuine. 110, even. 150 if it was possible."

Taking matters into her own hands, or rather, the front of Sirius's robes into her own hands, Lily shook him aggressively and commanded, "Tell me what you're up to or I'll turn you into a giant toad."

Deflating, Sirius's forcibly optimistic expression descended into a frown. "I just-- I don't think I've treated you as kindly as I should have. Especially because…" he cut off, hesitating.

Lily's eyes narrowed. "Because why?"

"Well, you know…" Sirius started resignedly, "With your parents and all."

Silence followed his answer, as Lily merely blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I heard over Christmas break," he said, looking at the floor instead of at Lily. "I'm sorry."

"Oh," she said softly, her gaze flicking across the hall in contemplation. "That's- It's all right."

"James doesn't know yet," Sirius told her. "Otherwise I'm sure he wouldn't have… Well I'll tell him as soon as I get him to have a chat with me, so he won't--,"

"No," Lily interrupted.

Sirius looked up. "No? But Lily, I--,"

"I don't want you to tell anyone else, all right? Just keep it between you and me."

Frowning, Sirius crossed his arms. "I think it'd be better if I at least told James… then he wouldn't pester you so much."

"I know," Lily nodded. "That's exactly why I don't want you to tell him." When Sirius remained confused, she continued, "I've discovered that the worst thing in the world when something like this happens is to be constantly reminded of it." She laughed softly. "If he was to stop bothering me all the time, that's exactly what would happen. It's odd to admit… but it's sort of a constant in my life, you and him annoying me to my wit's end."

Sirius considered her reasoning, still appearing unsure. "Are you positive? He would definitely want to know, I'm sure…"

"Positive," Lily ascertained. "I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell him."

"All right," Sirius conceded. "I did already tell Remus though, sorry."

Lily smiled slightly. "That's okay. Remus was always nice to me, anyway."

Submitting to a soft chuckle himself, Sirius nodded his head in agreement. "Okay then," Lily said, feeling a tad awkward. She shifted her weight, glancing up at him. "No more of those '150 genuine' lapses, right?"

"Right," he ensured. "I'll see you around, you… barmy know-it-all."

Lily smiled. "See ya, prat."

---

As many times as Remus endeavored to make his friends understand he was undoubtedly preoccupied that night, they adamantly responded with an unknowing shrug and after awhile took to ignoring him completely. Significantly frustrated, he finally gave up and tried not to think too much about what they were up to. At half past four he routinely gathered a few things and headed to Madame Pomfrey's office so she could guide him as she always did to the Shrieking Shack.

The walk there was always uncomfortable; even though they had been doing this for five years, there was always a pitying glint in the nurse's eyes that knew what pain he was about to endure. It was unsettling- and made for horrible conversation.

"Here we are," Madame Pomfrey spoke in her mechanically cheerful tone. Ushering him inside the decrepit house, her protective trait prevailed as she benevolently patted him on the shoulders and led him to a tattered chair. "Try to have a good night dear," she retreated to the door, "I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodbye," said Remus, as the door clicked shut and the clanking sound of metal signified the large locks the nurse was fiddling with on the door's exterior. Settling into the wrecked chair as best he could, he opened the book he had brought with him and began to read. The full moon wouldn't come up for a good hour or so- Madame Pomfrey always took him early just to be safe. With the security of the sunlight he became engrossed in The Sound and the Fury, rather happy to be reading about people who actually had more problems than he.

---

When the sun ventured on the edge of the sky, threatening to be replaced by its luminescent counterpart, Remus put down his book and stood up to set it in the small metal safe that rested inside a large cupboard. He learned from personal experience that an item left within the grasp of a werewolf was certain not to last very long. As he clicked the metal door shut, the sky grew darker and a tingling beneath his skin signaled a transformation was not far away.

He braced himself for the inevitable change, but was caught off-guard when a rustling noise sounded behind him. Spinning around, he nearly fell over in shock at the sight of three unmistakable figures.

"What are you doing?" he shouted frantically, backing as far away as he could. "Get out of here!"

"You worry too much," James chided, and before Remus could respond he, Sirius and Peter raised their wands and waved them around rapidly until distinguished, glowing patterns that looked as if they were straight out of his Ancient Runes book filled the darkening air.

Remus tried to protest further, but before he could a gnawing, manic sense came over him and threatened to overpower any thoughts of reason. He was blind to his surroundings as his eyes involuntarily shut at the pain that comes with the conversion of boy to wolf; his limbs lengthened gradually and painfully and nails changed to claws, teeth to fangs. His horror at the presence of his friends was replaced by wild thoughts and the uncontrolled beating of his throbbing heart. His eyelids snapped open, completing the transformation as it revealed the yellow glow of a werewolf instead of the soft brown of Remus.

Searching the room with wild vigor, he found that an odd variety of animals stood before him rather than three human boys. His predatory trait was triggered immediately and he launched himself toward the closest creature- a brazen, strikingly white stag whose height nearly matched his own. The magnificent animal was caught unaware by the blow and collapsed instantly beneath the wolf, but recovered quickly and leaped up to fend him off. Being the first time the werewolf was able to unleash some of his anger onto an actual animate thing, he continued to bound forward and latch his claws into the stag with an unrestrained fervor.

A panicked rat squeaked frantically below, attempting eagerly to find a way out; booming barks from an unusually large black dog added to the chaos. Finally, a desperate kick from the stag propelled the werewolf off of him and onto his back. The werewolf quickly scrambled back up, glaring at the heavily breathing animal that stood now as his foe.

The stag returned the glare with a determined stare of his own, trying desperately to search for the Remus he knew was hidden somewhere deep inside the vicious monster. Silence ensued until it was punctured by the werewolf's low, menacing growl, but instead of pouncing on the stag as expected, he took a pace backwards and examined the three creatures in an unusually subdued manner.

After a few minutes of this tense yet strangely calming silence, the big black dog ventured a brave step forward, tentatively swinging its tail and butting the werewolf playfully with its nose. The werewolf was defensive at first, but when the dog leaped away and indicated for him to follow with an affable incline of its head, he complied with intrigue rather than violence.

The stag seemed to exhale with relief as he followed the strange pair bounding up the wooden staircase, and the frantic rat scurried squeakily behind.

---

"Stealth," a distant voice vehemently whispered. "To represent the cunning, crafty, shrewd…"

Remus shifted beneath the crisp white sheets of the hospital wing, half-listening to the hushed argument taking place around him; although not quite awake, he was able distinguish the voices.

"What in the world are you talking about?" a second person responded, whom Remus determined to be James. "If we're going with characteristics then yours should definitely be slobber-boy, or something along those lines. I'm still shuddering to think of how you soaked me with that disgusting saliva."

"You're off your trolley," the first contended, voice growing louder with resentment; Remus easily spotted Sirius's defensive tone. "If I had to--,"

"You are all nutters," Remus mumbled, rolling onto his stomach and placing the ends of the pillows over his ears. "And loud. You're loud nutters."

"Remus is up!" Sirius exclaimed jovially, abandoning his cross conduct and hopping on the end of the hospital bed.

"That's because you make it impossible to sleep," Remus complained, rubbing his eyes groggily. Last night's events wandered hazily in his mind, and when he strained to recall them the only conclusion he came to was that they had been immensely strange.

"Listen Remus," Sirius continued, "James is being rather ridiculous and doesn't agree I should be called Stealth or anything of the sort, but when I salvaged the night in my cunning canine form--,"

"Your what?" Remus asked distractedly, still vying to remember why the previous night had been so unusual. As Sirius opened his mouth to respond, however, everything came rushing back to him; he sprung up to kneel on his bed to face his friends. "You were there," he whispered slowly, "before I transformed, I saw you… and then those animals appeared--," Comprehension settling in, his eyes widened to an abnormal width as he choked, "You didn't…"

"Happy Birthday," Peter sang happily, smiling. "Wasn't that a great present? Worth the wait, eh? I mean, who else gets three Animagi for their birthday!"

Remus's lips were far from transforming to a grin. "No," he said, "I-- I thought that was just a fruitless notion of three foolish 12 year olds… You can't-- You didn't…"

"We can," Sirius grinned.

"We did," James affirmed.

Remus sank back into his bed, his face white with shock. "What if it didn't work?" he uttered, voice strangled and stunned. At that moment his gaze fell on James and his clumsily, yet heavily bandaged arm. "Oh Merlin, I hurt you…"

"Nah," James shook his head dismissively. "Just a few scratches… I'm fine."

Remus frowned, certain he was lying. For one, he was leaning all of his weight on the bed beside them because of what looked like an injured knee, and for another, traces of blood were seeping through the thin and poorly wrapped bandage that covered his arm, and when Remus looked closer, a good portion of his chest as well. "You were the stag," he determined softly, recalling the violent brawl.

"Yeah," James nodded. Catching Remus's contrite eyes examining his wounds, he continued firmly, "It's not your fault. And besides, once you got over the shock of having company everything was fine. Better than fine, even; look, you hardly have any scratches at all."

It was true- Remus's normally injured body was the most unharmed it had been in years. Aside from the sudden fear of knowing his friends had put themselves in such certain danger, he felt more relaxed than ever after a night in the Shrieking Shack, which was usually made worse by extreme loneliness. "Yeah," he said, looking back up at his friends. He shifted uncomfortably. "So, you finally met the Full Moon Remus."

"Eh, I'm rather fond of ol' Moony," Sirius responded, smirking. "Once you get past the claws and fangs he's really quite amiable."

Remus's mouth twitched into a slight smile. "I'm sure Moony was rather fond of you, as well. As soon as he got past the urge to consume you, of course."

"Of course," Sirius nodded. His eyes widened. "That's what we'll call you-- Moony. Simple… yet intriguing."

James filled Remus in. "We've decided that if we're going to do something as remarkable… and illegal… as this, code names are essential."

Sirius huffed grumpily. "We would have my name picked out as well, but James is being an arse about it."

"Sirius," James groaned, staring at him exasperatedly, "I'm not going to call you Stealth Master."

A smile that threatened to appear at their childish banter was quickly replace by a frown, as Remus remained fixed on the seriousness of the situation. "You're not registered," he reasoned, making sure to keep his voice down. "You could go to Azkaban if someone found out."

"Remus," Sirius said earnestly, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, "we're not going to get caught. And even if we did, we'd rather risk being roomies with those warmhearted dementors for a couple years than have you spend the rest of your life lonely in that horrid state. If we're able to help, there's no way we're not going to."

James inclined his head to confirm the triviality of the consequences, "Cold accommodations and inhospitable hosts… I think we could handle it."

Remus finally allowed himself a reluctant bit of laughter. No matter how stupid, senseless, or irrational their arguments were, it still heartened him significantly to hear their attempt at reassurance. "I'm fairly certain," he began, still smiling, "I have the three most idiotic friends on the entire planet." He looked up, gazing at them sincerely. "Thanks."

James smiled. "No problem. It is what we're best at."

---

A/N: Hmm... Just curious, does anyone have any preference for what's to come next? I have some things necessary for the plot to put in, but I was just wondering what you'd like to see.

Ah... So, I received an e-mail telling me that review responses were no longer allowed. I was of course distraught, but then I decided to just create an livejournal account dedicated to responding to your reviews instead of posting them in the actual chapter. I already have your responses ready, so check out my home page in a couple of days to viewthem if you so desire. Thanks!

Also, wish beta luck! She moved off to a frighteningly large college (leaving me physically but still contributing her wonderful beta-ing abilities).