Author's note: CW for Remus thinking something might feel like broken glass against his skin. Also a reminder since Remus's height is mentioned in this chapter: Remus in Shifting Lines is going to stay short. In the books Sirius is the tallest Marauder and I like me a height difference, and I've always imagined Remus to be on the shorter side. So sorry to break the hopes of anyone reading that he's grown and waiting for him to be the tallest, that won't happen. He will remain the shortest.

-x-

At least on Fridays Potions only lasted forty-five minutes instead of nearly two hours. Only forty-five minutes of listening to Alexander berate him into doing work, and hearing her exasperated sighs when things kept going wrong. He gave up trying to talk through his worsening stammer and instead fell into silence. Alexander didn't seem to mind, and simply gave him orders for the rest of the lesson.

Though the question she raised in his mind on Wednesday was still nagging at him… he didn't want to ask the other Marauders, so he waited until later when he was headed to Ancient Runes with Lily. Then he asked the question, and Lily gave him a strange look.

"Lazy?"

"In Potions," he mumbled. "Because when I'm partnered up I… try not to do too much with the actual potion, since I'm not very good."

After making a rather angry face, Lily tossed her hair back. It was still in shoulder-length soft curls, she hadn't done whatever she had planned for the concert to it yet. "No, I don't think there's anything wrong with it."

He considered asking about the face she made but instead said, "I wasn't asking if anything was wrong with it, I was asking if it made me lazy."

"No, of course not."

Hmm. He asked her if he had upset her with the question, and she seemed confused until he said she had seemed angry when he explained why he was asking. Lily sighed, shaking her head, explaining that no, it hadn't bothered her, she was just upset about the class in general.

"Did Mulciber do something today?"

Lily grit her teeth. "He's a twat." When she didn't continue, Remus asked if she wanted the Marauders to do something to him. She did smile at that. "Hah! Thanks, but no. I can handle it. He hasn't physically hurt me except for 'accidentally' dropping a jar on my foot. It's mostly been names and rude remarks. Calling me Mudblood whenever he can, insinuating I'm lesser because of my bloodline, that sort of thing."

Maybe we'll do something to him anyway, after this is over so he can't take it out on her in class... "He has no ground to stand on anyway, about Potions. You're the second-best in class and in the Slug Club. He isn't. He wasn't even invited!" Lily remained silent so he switched the conversation. "You're going to the party tonight, right?"

She perked up at that. "Yes! I'm going straight to my dorm after class, to get ready."

"It isn't for a few hours, is it?" Remus asked, confused.

She bumped against him. "It'll take me a while to get ready, silly!"

Like Sirius. He wondered what they spent so much time on to prepare for something like that. Did hair really take that long? Should he spend more time on his hair? Peter fussed a bit with his hair but James usually only ran a brush through his once or twice and called it a day. But maybe James wasn't the best to follow his lead when it came to hair. Remus reached up, self-consciously running his fingers through his limp hair. "Is it a fancy dress party?"

"Yes! David and I are going as Malginian and Liviniette. Oh, don't," she sighed when he wrinkled his nose up. "I know it's a little… basic… and probably half the couples there will be the same, but we wanted matching costumes that weren't something silly, and we were a little worried about our other costume ideas since they were very Muggle. We didn't want to…" She trailed off, raising one shoulder at him.

Didn't want to show off how Muggleborn they are, he finished. "Will you be taking most of the day tomorrow to get ready?" he asked in a quiet voice, so nobody around would hear.

"Not all day. Thank you," she added as he opened the door for him. "Why?"

"I… w-wanted to talk about… some things."

She gave him a look. "About tomorrow night?" He shook his head. "About… what we talked about last week?"

Remus swallowed, icy fear rooting him to the spot as if someone around them would know what she referred to. She hadn't said anything damning, yet it felt like she announced their secret to the entire class. He tried to keep his eyes on her, tried not to look around. That would probably be more suspicious. "Yes."

"All right, we can have lunch together if his highness James Potter is able to spare his minion for a moment or two."

Remus managed a giggle at that, sliding into his seat, wondering if he'd have the nerve to ask what he wanted to ask the next day.

-x-

James and Sirius disappeared shortly before the Slug Club party started, which wasn't surprising. Neither had said anything to the other two, but Remus figured they were planning on doing something to the get-together. But when they came back, both boys insisted they had not pranked the dinner at all. They swore up and down on their Marauder name that they didn't bother the Slug Club party.

But when David returned from the supper, unbuttoning the fancy cloak he was wearing as the tragic wizarding fictional hero, he asked wearily if the Marauders had anything to do with the slugs that filled up the lavatories near the party. James and Sirius both said they hadn't, however they didn't swear on anything this time, let alone the Marauder name.

"Slugs?" Peter asked after the four of them went down to the common room at around midnight, their arms full of snacks, board games, cards, and blankets.

"Hundreds of them," giggled James.

"All over the floors, loos, sinks, everything!" Sirius spread his arms out wide as he flopped back into a couch. "Oozing out the pipes."

"You said you didn't," Peter said.

James held up a finger, smirking. "Tut, tut, my dear Peter. We said we didn't prank the party. Last time I checked, the loos aren't part of the party. They just happen to be where the party-goers would need to go if they had to pee."

"We wanted to put little mustaches on them but didn't have time," Sirius lamented.

They stayed up very late, playing games and chatting until they were alone in the common room; then James put on music and they sprawled out across the furniture by the fireplace. Eventually, the other three began dancing, trying to convince Remus to join them. Remus shook his head, drawing his feet up onto the couch and insisting he was fine watching them.

"What about the concert tomorrow?" Sirius asked. "Are you going to dance there?"

"Absolutely not."

"Boring," James said, sticking out his tongue.

Sirius began tugging at Remus's hands. "Come on, dance with us!"

Remus expected Sirius's touch to make him wobbly and hot. It did to an extent, but not as bad as it used to. Was he getting over his wro—his feelings? Did telling Lily about what he was make dealing with this easier?

With much groaning, arguing, and complaining Remus unfolded his legs and got up, awkwardly shaking his hips while his friends danced wildly around him. After one song he retreated back to his couch, pulling a book out to show them that he wasn't dancing anymore. He did enjoy watching them, though. Their differences. Peter was a happy but awkward dancer, not quite as bad as Remus. He did his best to move to the beat. Sirius was very fluid and graceful, like the music was part of him. James… well. Remus wasn't sure if what he was doing could even be called dancing or if it was more like hopping up and down while jerking his head, but it was interesting.

-x-

They had stayed up quite late, so Remus slept in for most of the morning. By the time he woke up, got showered, got dressed, and went downstairs it was almost time to meet Lily. He found the Marauders in a hallway on the way to the Great Hall, disappointing them when he said he had somewhere to be. They reminded him about the concert and he promised he'd be back in time.

"I'll only be gone for an hour or so, and it's not until this evening," he said, almost telling them he was hanging out with Lily before changing his mind. He wasn't really in the mood for their teasing.

Lily was in the Great Hall, playing cards with her friends. Remus waited until they finished the game and then he and Lily went down to the kitchens to get some food before going outside. It was chilly but not too cold, so there were plenty of people milling about. They managed to find an empty pavilion far enough away from everyone where they wouldn't be heard. Remus would have felt better inside somewhere, but Lily had really wanted to be outside.

"Do you ever feel suffocated in the castle?" she asked after they unpacked the basket the house-elves had made for them. "Don't get me wrong, I love Hogwarts. Only sometimes it feels…" She picked up a sandwich, staring at the bread. "It's exhausting. Being Muggleborn."

"Did something happen last night?" Remus asked since he hadn't seen her after the party. He figured if something had happened to her, David would have said something. Right?

Lily set her sandwich down. "No. Yes. I don't know." She put her fingertips against her temples, closing her eyes. "It's nothing."

"You can tell me."

She folded her arms on the table and laid her cheek against them, green eyes staring at nothing in particular. "Malfoy. He said something."

Remus's hands curled into fists by his side and a muscle twitched in his cheek. "What did he say?"

"That he was glad to see I was learning my place. Being with another Muggleborn. He said at least that won't risk dirtying any lines. No, Remus!" she cried out as he jumped to his feet. "Please." She reached out, seizing his sleeve. "He's not worth it. Besides, Severus already got revenge."

Remus slowly sank back down. "Snape did something to Malfoy?"

"Used the tripping jinx, making him spill his juice all over his fancy costume," Lily giggled. "Oh, don't tell anyone, especially not your idiot friends."

"I won't." Remus was, for once in his life, grateful for Snape. He wished they got along so he could say something to him. "I'm glad he stood up for you."

"He didn't really stand up for me," she admitted. "Not like you would have. He didn't say anything. He just did the jinx. Nobody knew."

I bet he made sure nobody could see it was him that did it except for Lily. All traces of warmth towards the other boy quickly faded. "I'm glad Malfoy got a little comeuppance. Are you okay?"

"Yes." She sat up straight, smiling again. "I just didn't want to be in the castle right now. I needed some fresh air. Though I guess I'll get plenty tonight." She began giggling at that. "I'll need to work on my hair soon."

Hair again. "What are you doing with it?"

Her eyes danced mischievously. "You'll see. Now!" She picked up her sandwich again. "What is it that you wanted to talk about?"

All appetite disappeared and he frowned at the food on his plate. "I dunno." He began picking at the crust, letting little crumbs fall through the cracks of the picnic table.

"About boys?"

He jerked as if she had shoved a red hot poker against his heart. "Lily!" He looked around, almost expecting someone to be lurking nearby. "You c-can't say that like that."

"Nobody's here." She bent in towards him. "Is that what you meant, though? If you do, I'm here. If you don't, that's all right too. I want you to be comfortable."

Comfortable. Could he ever be comfortable talking about this? I never expected to be comfortable talking about werewolf-related things, yet sometimes it doesn't feel awful to talk to the Marauders about it. Remus began nibbling at his thumbnail.

"Does it ever scare you?" he finally asked in a whisper.

Lily tilted her head. "What, liking girls?" He flinched at her saying those words so carelessly. "Yes. It does, actually. Most of the time." She took a bite and began chewing. Once she swallowed she said, "You're the only person who knows about me. I've never told anyone else. I don't know if I ever will tell anyone."

"Same here," he croaked out, pushing his plate away. "Sss… s-sometimes I feel… p-paralyzed by… by…" He couldn't finish.

She nodded. "I understand that. And with the way you've thought of things, I imagine it's hard for you."

"The way I think?"

"About homosexuality."

"Lily!" Remus slid down on the bench, heart leaping into his throat. His hands began to shake and he knew for sure someone had overheard them somehow. "I—I can't do this."

"I'm sorry—"

"No. It's—you—it isn't—you're f-f-f-fine." He stood up, nearly tripping over the bench. "I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't." He wanted to say he couldn't talk about this, couldn't deal with this, couldn't have anything to do with this but the only words that he could get out were those two.

Lily clamored over the table, reminiscent of something James would do. "Remus, look at me!" She seized his shoulders, forcing him to face her; she was very blurry. That's when Remus realized tears had sprung into his eyes. He also realized he was breathing hard and fast. "Sit down. Put your head between your knees." She forced him into position and grabbed the thermos of water, dumping it onto a napkin. She placed the cold, wet cloth against the back of his neck. "Breathe deeply, come on." She rubbed his back gently as he began crying, feeling utterly pathetic.

Why did Lily have to keep seeing him like this? A crybaby, sobbing over something she obviously didn't cry about. He was a boy. Boys weren't supposed to cry! He cried too much… thankfully not as much as he used to, but still this was ridiculous. He should not be crying over this!

"Love, if you aren't ready to talk about it, that is all right," she murmured, hand going back and forth across his back, pressing gently against him. "Don't force yourself to do anything. That will only make it harder. What was that?" She leaned in as he mumbled something. "Don't be sorry! You have nothing to be sorry for." She bent in closer and kissed his cheek. "I'm the one who should be sorry, and I am. I shouldn't have said—that word. I'll be more careful in the future."

"—shouldn't—haaa—hhha—have—to—"

She began scratching his back, very lightly. "Talking so… openly about this obviously upsets you, and I don't want to do anything to upset you. There isn't anything wrong about being upset about it, either. You're still… figuring things out. It's bound to be hard. I don't know what I would have done or how I would have reacted a year ago when I started realizing things, if someone talked to me about it."

He knew that she wouldn't have cried, wouldn't have flinched at That Word. She'd be a true Gryffindor.

"Come on." She tilted him back up, pressing a cup of water to his lips. "Sip. There you go. Does that help?"

"A little." He took the cup from her, drinking on his own as her fingers smoothed back his fringe. She'd make a great mother someday, he thought, not saying that out loud since he wasn't sure how Lily felt about that sort of thing. "I—"

"Don't apologize." She pulled her hand away, giving him a smile. "I know that's what you were going to say. Look. How about we try this later? In a few days, or after Halloween."

He thought about all the questions he had wanted to ask her then dismissed them, nodding in agreement with her idea. "Th-that might b-b-be good."

"Okay." She put her arms around him, resting her forehead against his shoulder. "I love you."

He couldn't help but stiffen a little at those words.

"You know I'm meaning it as friends, right? I'm not trying to… Erm. Well. Is it okay for me to say that?"

"Yes," he said without any hesitation even though he hadn't intended on bursting out with the word. "We said it before, for the pinky promise." He wiped his face off then bent his head against hers. Love. It just wasn't something he expected to say to her casually. That would be okay to say to her outside a big moment like the pinky promise. But… all things considering… he realized it was okay. "I love you too, Lily."

They sat like that for several minutes, the wind blowing through their hair as they held onto each other as if they were all that was left in the world, their lunch long forgotten.

-x-

A few hours later,Remus was staring at the wardrobe he and Sirius shared. It was mostly full of Sirius's clothes; in their first year it had mostly been dark, somber colors and swanky fabric. Over the years the traditional Black clothing had been replaced with James Potter-y clothes. Bright colors, lots of paisley, and denim jeans. Remus's clothes that were hanging up were crowded on one side, and he had two small drawers. Sirius had offered more room but Remus didn't need it.

What do I wear? He stared at his clothes, frowning. He didn't have much that was nice. Was he supposed to dress up nice? He had never been to a concert before. He slyly glanced around the room, wondering what his friends were wearing. The only one dressed already was James and he was in black trousers and a bright yellow paisley shirt. Remus swore that with every passing week, James's pointy collars grew bigger and pointier. Sirius wasn't around (still in the shower) but Peter was in front of the wardrobe he and James shared, obviously wondering the same thing as Remus.

"What's wrong, lads?" James asked as he spun in a circle and quickly stopped, making a showy flourish of his arm into a pose.

"What do I wear?" Pete asked.

"That is my question as well," Remus admitted.

James beamed. "Remus, you're easier." James bounced over, seizing some clothes from the wardrobe and tossing them into Remus's arms. "What else? You haven't worn them since I got them, least not together."

Remus flushed a little. In his arms were the brown trousers and brown paisley shirt that James had bought him the previous spring. Of course. "Thank you."

James winked at him before bouncing over to Peter. "Now you have a few more options, let's see…."

Remus scrambled to the bathroom, hearing Sirius still in the shower. He went into another stall and began undressing; he had showered earlier in the day and didn't think he needed another yet. When he was shirtless he sniffed under his arm to make sure. It was hairy, but didn't stink. Remus kept his arm up, staring at the blondish hair nestled in his armpit. It had grown a lot since summer, and it made him feel weird. Seeing body hair on others didn't bother him. But on himself it only reminded him of the wolf inside, for some reason.

Sighing, he finished undressing (trying not to feel weird about the fact his legs were getting hairier too) and then put on clean pants followed by the outfit. Remus wriggled a little, brow furrowing as he buttoned the trousers. They weren't tight around his waist really but there was something wrong…

He stepped out of the shower, looking down, trying to figure out the problem. It wasn't until he was back in his dorm and pulling on socks that he realized: his trousers were a little small. The bottoms rose up, showing off quite a bit of ankle. Remus stared at his white socks (were you supposed to wear brown socks with this outfit, or was white okay?) until he jumped to his feet, running to the door to measure himself against it. He couldn't really tell…

"PETER!" Remus dove for his friend, yanking him to his feet. Peter cried out in surprise as Remus spun him around and stood back-to-back, holding his hand up.

"We're the same height…" Remus whirled back around, grinning at Peter. "We're the same height! More or less. Maybe an inch off."

"Yeah, I think we've been about the same height for a while now," Peter said, rubbing his arm where Remus had gripped. "You only now noticed?"

"How have you not noticed?" laughed James, coming over to stand back-to-back with Remus. "Sirius said the other day you've gotten a couple of inches."

"When? I don't remember him saying it."

"Nah, it was to me."

Remus went over to the door, peering at his reflection. After scrutinizing carefully, he judged himself to be four foot eleven now, or maybe even five foot even. "Pete, how tall are you?"

"I don't know."

It took ages to decide on which shoes to wear and finally he settled on his nicest pair of trainers. By this point, Sirius had swaggered back in, and half an hour later everyone was ready to go. Hopefully nobody really notices how dressed up we are, Remus thought as they left the dorms, heading to where they were meeting the girls. The girls weren't there yet so Remus took the opportunity to go ahead and put his earplugs in, fluffing his hair out to make sure they were hidden.

Ten minutes after their meetup time the girls showed up, all three with their school robes wrapped tightly around them and hats on.

"Do we have to be blindfolded?" Alice asked when James pulled out the three Gryffindor ties.

"Yes, we don't want you knowing where the passage is," James complained. "Trade secret."

They blindfolded the girls and Sirius took Cassie, Peter took Alice, and Remus took Lily, while James led the way. They wove in and out of passages more for the sake of keeping hidden from other people than confusing the girls, though there weren't as many students around as usual. Remus wondered how many were going to the concert. Would they be spotted by someone who knew they didn't have a chaperon? His stomach began knotting itself up, and Lily yelped in pain as his fingers accidentally squeezed her shoulders too tightly. He murmured an apology, loosening his grip.

James opened up the mirror passage, keeping it open as the boys took the girls in; they went a good ways down the passage, away from the huge room behind the mirror, until James decided it was safe enough. The boys' wands were lit and the girls took their blindfolds off.

"That was uncomfortable," grumbled Cassie.

"You didn't like my hands on your shoulders?" Sirius asked flirtatiously.

Cassie managed a smile. "That part was fine. Not knowing where I was stepping was not."

The girls began shedding their disguises and Remus gaped in shock at Lily. He wasn't the only one. All four Marauders stared at Lily's hair.

The top part of her hair was short, only an inch or two sticking out. The rest was still somewhat long—ending at about at the tops of her shoulders—and slicked way back behind her.

"Merlin's half-shaved beard, Evans, what did you do to your head?" James asked.

Lily tossed her hair. "Dianthus has her hair in a similar style," she said, referring to the bass player of the group, though later she told Remus she had actually been inspired by David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust.

"Yeah, but she doesn't look like a plucked chicken—OWWW!" James howled when Lily stamped on his foot. "Damn it, Red, what are you wearing, daggers on your shoes?"

Lily stripped off her robe to reveal boots with really pointy heels. "Close enough," she said, brushing off her clothes which consisted of a blouse, a sparkly waistcoat, and the shortest skirt Remus thought he had ever seen in his life. Before he could say anything—before any of the boys could say anything—Cassie and Alice peeled off their robes, revealing similar outfits. Even Alice who usually wore drab, earth-colored jumpers and long skirts. Now she was in a short skirt (a little longer than Lily's) and a very sparkly blouse, and her curly hair had been straightened, hanging down like a sheet with streaks of glowing yellow mixed in with the regular brown. Cassie had an opposite outfit: her skirt was sparkly and her blouse wasn't, though the skirt was almost as short as Lily's. Her hair was in a large poofy ball on top of her head.

"Oh—"

"My—"

"Merlin." The other three boys choked out.

The girls all began giggling, batting their eyelashes at the boys. All their clothes were black and gold, and they also had little badgers in one ear and little puffskeins in the other. The special earrings Lily had mentioned.

"We have time to do our makeup, don't we?" Cassie asked.

"Hrrhhhaa," was all Sirius managed.

"Oaaauuu," Peter got out.

"Uh. Well. Erm. Yes," James said. "If you don't take too much time."

The girls began fussing at each other's faces. Brushes, pots of colored powder, and tubes of paint flashed between their hands. When they were done they had various shades of pinks on their lips, yellow and black stuff on their eyelids, and smears of sparkles on their cheeks.

Remus didn't know much about the Hufflepuffskeins, but from what little he had seen, the girls would have fit in perfectly looking like this.

"Can you even walk in those things?" James asked, eyeing all their boots.

"We've walked this far," snapped Lily. "Now let's go, I don't want to miss anything."

They began walking through the tunnel; James led the way followed by Sirius, Cassie, Lily, Alice, Peter, and Remus in the rear. The boys had their wands lit while the girls chattered excitedly about the concert for about five or six minutes. Then Cassie wanted to know how long it would take. James reminded her it took a while even by carriage, and that's why they left so early. So the girls sang a few of the Hufflepuffskein's songs.

"We have to climb that?" Alice squeaked out when they reached the ladder.

"You boys go first," Cassie snapped. "I'm not having any of you look up my skirt."

"Not even me?" Sirius asked with a smile.

Cassie gave him a shove. "No!"

The boys climbed up, followed by the girls who began complaining about being in the middle of nowhere. Lily accused James of taking them to some random spot but Remus assured her they were near Hogsmeade. They began hiking, the girls wobbling quite a bit since they weren't used to wearing such high heels and the ground was rather soft. Lily ended up grabbing Remus's arm to steady herself.

As they neared the village they saw immediately where the concert was; in the park there were loads of bright lights and the sound of dozens if not hundreds of people. Remus began shivering with fear and when they got close enough to see the crowd, he reached up to crank up his earplugs to block out the max amount of sound.

"Wowww!"

There was a stage set up, various colors of lights floating around the sky with a few beaming directly onto the stage where there were instruments set up. Lily wanted to get closer to the stage but James suggested they stay near the edges.

"Less likely chance of being spotted by someone we shouldn't," he said. Lily frowned. "Come on, you asked us because we're masterminds at this sort of thing, didn't you?"

"I guess."

They went over to the right side of the crowd, which consisted mostly of older witches and wizards instead of students. Remus eyed a bench, wondering if he could go and sit down for the concert though he supposed that might be too suspicious. What kid would be off by himself instead of trying to watch the rock group? Sighing, he faced the stage again.

Suddenly the crowd went quiet as all the lights facing the stage dimmed. When they flashed on again, the Hufflepuffskeins were at their instruments and the crowd began screaming. Remus covered his ears, mentally thanking James for the millionth time for the earplugs.

The girls on stage were dressed how Lily, Alice, and Cassie were dressed. Remus noticed one of the guitar players had shorter hair on top with long hair in the back. It didn't look exactly like Lily's style, but somewhat close.

Ginger, the lead singer, stood at the center front, belting out the lyrics to one of their popular songs, her voice carrying over the crowd and into the darkness beyond.

The girls screamed, clinging to each other and jumping up and down. They nearly fell over from the high heels but managed to stay upright.

Before Remus knew it, someone grabbed his arm. He started to yank free, terrified a Prefect had caught him… but looked up into Sirius's concerned eyes. His mouth was moving and Remus could faintly hear his voice. Remus pointed to his ear and shook his head. Sirius bent in closer and shouted right into his ear.

"Are you all right?"

Remus nodded, giving Sirius a rather weak thumbs up.

A couple of songs in and Ginger jumped on a broomstick and began flying around sidesaddle, crooning a sad love song.

My love he was so sweet, his love was like the ocean, my love he was so gentle… until he took the potion…

It was about a guy who accidentally drank a memory erasure potion and forgot about his girlfriend. Remus tried not to roll his eyes, thinking the guy was stupid for not knowing what he was drinking. But he noticed tears trickling down Lily's face and knew he shouldn't ever say anything about the song.

After another song Remus wrapped his arms around himself, shivering a bit, realizing how stupid he was not to bring a jacket. None of his friends had bought a jacket and the scantily-clad girls seemed fine however the girls were dancing and jumping to the music so they were working up a sweat.

Another song, and Remus felt yanking on his arm again. It was Sirius once more, pointing at Remus and then shivering with a questioning look. Remus nodded and Sirius stepped behind him, wrapping his arms around Remus's upper body. Remus stiffened, staring wide-eyed at the stage, unable to move.

What?

"Better?" Sirius shouted into his ear, made dull from the concert and earplugs.

Remus resisted the urge to shove him away. "Y-yes," he shouted back. He also resisted the urge to nestle back against Sirius's chest. But he'd be okay, there wasn't anything bad about this; Sirius would have done the same for James or Peter. There was nothing weird or wrong or anything like that, it was fine. Right?

Ginger began singing another love song, and Remus felt flames eating him from the inside out. Sirius kept his arms around Remus until it was too much—way too much. He wriggled a bit then pulled Sirius's arms apart.

"I'm okay now," he lied.

Sirius frowned at him but shrugged, keeping his arms to himself. Remus faced the stage again, his own arms pinned to his side as his head and chest ached from what just happened.

About halfway through the concert there was an incident. A robed wizard had made his way near the stage and chucked a dung bomb right at the witch who played the Spinnerwind, a magical instrument that sounded like a mix between a flute and a harp. Before it hit her, the drummer jumped up and blasted a spell at it, sending it spiraling into the night, well away from the crowd. The rest of the music stopped in time for everyone to hear the man scream about how the M-words shouldn't be allowed in public.

The band's guards went for the robed man, who disapparated with a loud crack, sending shocked murmurs through the crowd; it was rude and dangerous to disapparate with so many people around. In a crowd like this there was every chance you could accidentally pull part of someone else with you, splinching them.

The other Hufflepuffskeins were gathered around the Spinnerwind player who Remus remembered now was indeed a Muggleborn. All except the drummer, who had dove towards the front of the stage and was trying to climb down, her wand waving wildly above her.

"I'LL KILL HIM!" she screeched.

"Lacey!" Ginger shouted. "Get back up here! It's okay everyone," she added, turning to face the crowd. "He's gone, and Susan is all right."

Susan Ward was pale, but gave the crowd two thumbs up. "I'm fine!" she promised.

"Oh my God," Lily whispered, hands clutched to her chest. She looked just as pale as the musician. "What was that?"

"Some idiot." Sirius slid forward and protectively put an arm around her. "They'll find him."

Lily didn't seem to hear him. "He attacked her, right in front of everyone."

"Throwing a dung bomb isn't exactly an attack," Cassie said.

"What do you mean, of course it is!" James said. "He threw something at her, whether it's something that could have hurt her or not doesn't change the fact he threw something at her with mean intent."

Cassie clenched her teeth. "I KNOW that, James! I mean it wasn't like he tried to hit her with a spell. Throwing a dung bomb is more immature and dumb, and doesn't seem as thought out as a planned attack. It wasn't a hex or… or something worse. That's what I meant."

Before they could continue arguing about this, the Hufflepuffskeins began playing again; however some of the crowd was obviously shaken up by what happened and it was apparent the mood had shifted. The Hufflepuffskeins decided to play their newest song which cheered the crowd up as the song hadn't even been released yet. Even Lily managed to start dancing again.

Remus was glad when the concert finally ended. His head was hurting from all the noise and his skin felt tight. His soul was vibrating out of his body, drifting somewhere beyond. He knew if anyone touched him again it would be like broken glass on his skin. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for a week or two. The Hufflepuffskeins were hanging around, signing autographs and talking to some fans, but James reminded them that they needed to be back at the school as soon as possible.

"We can't hang around, we might be seen by someone who knows us if we go up there."

Reluctantly the girls left, following the boys back out of town. They slithered down the ladder into the secret tunnel first so nobody could see up their skirts, and after only a few minutes of walking Alice took off her high-heeled boots, followed soon by both Lily and Cassie. Not long after, Alice started limping so Sirius gave her a piggyback ride most of the way back.

"I think those boots hurt my ankle," she complained.

Sirius carried her in the school, too. The girls were blindfolded again as the seven of them quietly made their way out of the mirror and up one of the floors. Then James decided they could take the blindfolds off. Lily and Cassie were carrying the robes the girls had abandoned in the tunnels earlier, none of them bothering to put them back on or even put their boots on. They looked very out of place. If they were caught, Remus knew whoever found them would know immediately they had snuck into the concert. He said this, as they approached the Fat Lady, and the girls agreed.

Alice slithered off of Sirius's back and she, Lily, and Cassie pulled their robes and hats on again. It was way after their curfew but nobody in the common room seemed to care. The concert-goers were back already, since the carriages were loads faster than walking, and it seemed like half of Gryffindor was still up, listening to details about the concert.

"Thank you, guys," Lily said when they reached the stairs. "I appreciate the help with—"

"Appreciate what?" James interrupted. "We have a deal, Red. You're wearing that shirt for my first game."

Lily made a face. "Fine, you twat. I was trying to be nice—"

"Doesn't come natural to you, eh?"

"OH!" Lily whirled around and stormed up the stairs.

Remus wanted to tell James off but was too tired and too overwhelmed from everything. He didn't even bother waiting for everyone else to say goodnight. He just went up the stairs and into the dorm, ignoring David's questions about where they had been. He flopped into his bed, relishing in the feeling of his warm blanket. He kicked his shoes off and curled up underneath the blanket, clutching it around his shoulders as he closed his eyes.

Sleep didn't come easily. The Marauders were soon back in the dorm, making noise, and obviously not ready for sleep. They tried to get Remus to join them for some board games but Remus refused. His head wasn't hurting anymore, but his body still felt wrong.

After they left, sleep still didn't come. Remus lay there, staring at his curtains, thinking about the moment when Sirius put his arms around him. He kept trying to convince himself there wasn't anything wrong with it, yet part of him suspected it was wrong. Or was it? Sirius wasn't doing it in that sort of manner, so did it matter that Remus was—

Like that, he thought, still unable to say that word. An uncomfortable shudder went down his spine as he thought back to the conversation he and Lily had earlier.

Was it wrong of Remus to let Sirius do things like that? Or James to share his bed? Or Peter to hug him? Should he try to put some physical distance between them? Or would that just hurt their feelings? Because they did the same to each other, so it shouldn't matter. The only difference was Remus was wron—Remus was like that, instead of liking girls like he was supposed to.

But it wasn't like he was gonna do anything about it. He wasn't gonna suddenly burst out with his weirdness and treat them differently. Even Sirius. His painful feelings for the other boy hadn't changed their relationship before Remus had realized, so should it now that he knew—and accepted—the truth?

Remus filed this away into a folder he mentally labeled Questions To Ask Lily… Eventually. Then he rolled over, pulled Gwyllgi out from under his pillow, and drifted into an uneasy sleep.