Remus awoke one day in late May to find himself in bed with Sirius, tangled amongst his sheets with all his robes still on. Sirius, sound asleep, had an open textbook covering the top half of his face and an arm loosely draped around Remus's waist.

Gently Remus pried off the book—a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5—and traced his fingers along Sirius's exposed collarbone. With a soft groan, Sirius blinked slowly awake and yawned, sitting up against his pillows. "What—what're you doing here, Moony?" he murmured.

"You fell asleep in bed together," James said from across the room; Remus jumped a little at his voice, having momentarily forgotten that there were other people in the world besides him and Sirius. "Studying for O.W.L.s. Adorable." Sirius tossed a pillow at his head, which James deftly avoided with his Chaser-quick reflexes.

"You need to see what James did while you were sleeping in," Peter said excitedly.

Remus rubbed his eyes. "Oh, Merlin, what?"

James grinned. "Nothing bad, Mr Prefect, don't you worry." He brandished the parchment of the Marauder's Map. "I figured out the custom Revealing Charm we wanted for the map—come over here and marvel at my handiwork."

Remus and Sirius exchanged a glance; they'd been trying to learn how to modify the charm for weeks. Fixing their robes, they jumped out of bed to assess James's accomplishment. The map parchment appeared entirely blank in James's hand as he held it out for them. "You better not have charmed away everything I'd drawn on that thing," Sirius warned.

"It's all still there," James promised. "Watch this." He tapped the parchment with the tip of his wand, cleared his throat, and said imperiously, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Instantly the map began to unfold itself, revealing lines of ink that crossed and merged into an incomplete sketch of Hogwarts Castle. The Marauders' names appeared in green ink across the top: Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.

Sirius let out a whooping cheer. "Yes, James! Brilliant! And you can get it to go blank again?"

"Watch and learn, Padfoot." James tapped the map again and murmured "Mischief managed." The map collapsed in on itself and its ink faded away to nothingness, leaving a simple scrap of parchment in its wake.

James and Sirius high-fived, and Peter giggled excitedly. "You're a genius, James," Remus told him, very much meaning it.

"I know." James grinned. "I wonder what sort of job McGonagall's going to try to recruit me for today." The four of them had their career advisory appointments that evening with their Head of House. "Auror, maybe? I think I'd be good at that."

"Oh, I'd love to be an Auror," said Sirius, "if only they weren't controlled by the Ministry. I'd rather drink dragon piss than work for them."

Remus was silent as the Marauders delved into a conversation about their future career paths. He was keenly aware of the fact that his career options would be limited regardless of how his O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. grades turned out—he would always be constrained by the need to hide his monthly disappearances, which ruled out most any sort of stable job. Certainly not any career with the Ministry, where he'd be jailed if they were to discover he hadn't signed on to their Werewolf Register.

But he didn't say anything to his friends about it, because they were all glowing with the possibilities of becoming curse-breakers or Healers or Magizoologists. Not for the first time, they didn't realize how different things were for him. How could he expect them to?

Sirius elbowed Remus in the side, jostling him from his thoughts. "We should probably get dressed now, Moons," he said; "today's Defense Against the Dark Arts class is going to be our favorite lesson of the year."

"The Patronus Charm is an incredibly advanced piece of defensive magic," Professor Byrne said as he paced back and forth among his students. "It is the only truly effective spell against Dementors, and one that every wizard should learn to produce in a non-corporeal form at the very least." He dodged a jet of silver as he passed a trio of practicing Ravenclaws. "However, due to the spell's immense difficulty, you will not be asked to produce a Patronus on your O.W.L.s or any other standardized examination."

"What's the point of learning it now, then?" asked a Ravenclaw named Marlene McKinnon. She looked ready to snap her wand in half with frustration at the feeble tendrils of smoke spurting from its tip.

"Well, for one thing, McKinnon, the Wizarding Examinations Authority has been known to offer extra credit to any student able to cast a corporeal Patronus," Byrne said sharply. "For another thing, there is much more to this class than preparing for an exam, as you would do well to remember." Remus caught Marlene rolling her eyes behind the professor's back in response.

James, Sirius and Peter summoned their three Patronuses almost lazily, stunning the class and Byrne. Peter in particular seemed to bask in the professor's praise at his feat; he was very much unused to being the center of attention in class unless he'd accidentally blown something up or set someone's hair on fire. Remus smiled at his delight.

For his own part, Remus briefly cast a non-corporeal Patronus by calling up the memory of his first time in the hospital wing after the other Marauders became Animagi before allowing it to fizzle out. James and Sirius side-eyed him at the sight of it, but Remus ignored them, instead going over to assist a struggling Lily Evans and Mary Macdonald. Both girls were gritting their teeth and shouting the charm's incantation at each other to no avail.

"God, Remus, this is hard," Lily said when she noticed him over her shoulder. "How did your friends all manage it so easily? I'm usually better than them when it comes to charmwork." She shot the Marauders' Patronuses, cantering and loping and scurrying around the classroom, a jealous glance.

"I think they just got lucky," Remus replied. He thought back to how the Marauders had first learned to cast their Patronuses by fighting off a Boggart. "Patronuses are meant to fight Dementors, right? They're like a…an explosion of happiness to fend off the sadness. So to cast one, you've got to feel the sadness first."

"Byrne said to think of a happy memory, Remus," Mary said.

"Yes, but…try to think of a sad one first. Or something that frightens you, or…or I don't know. Then eclipse it with your happy memory, and it'll make it all the more powerful. Like what you'd have to do if you really were facing a Dementor."

"That makes sense," Lily said thoughtfully. "When did you become so smart, Remus?" Remus shrugged.

"I'll try it." Mary stepped forward, closing her eyes to dig into her memories. Remus and Lily watched her as she concentrated, a muscle jumping in her jaw; then she waved her wand and murmured, "Expecto Patronum."

A silver bird burst free from the tip of Mary's wand and swooped around the room—a falcon, Remus thought. The rest of the struggling class craned their necks to watch as it circled a few times above them before coming to rest atop Mary's shoulder. "Excellent, Macdonald!" Professor Byrne called. Mary grinned.

Lily gave her friend a quick hug, then jumped away excitedly to try the spell herself. "You're amazing, Remus," she said to him. "I've got the perfect memory to use, I think."

"Go for it, Lils," Mary said, stepping back with Remus to give her some space.

Lily cleared her throat, her wand drawn. For a second she stood statue-still, summoning up her memory and letting it play through her mind. A small smile spread across her face as she straightened up; she flicked her wand and cried "Expecto Patronum!"

The animal that emerged from Lily's wand was much larger than Mary's, something four-legged and tall. It resolved itself into a hooved creature with slender limbs, perky ears, and large eyes. A doe.

Remus turned immediately to James. The other boy's mouth had fallen open as he took in Lily's Patronus, the perfect female complement to his own stag. James's Patronus left his side and strode over to the doe, touching her nose gently with his. Remus looked back to Lily—her face had gone chalk-white. Her Patronus dissolved quickly into a breath of silver smoke.

Lily was deliberately avoiding James's eyes, and Remus's. "That was great, Miss Evans," said Professor Byrne. "What a Patronus—"

"Can I go to the bathroom, Professor?" Lily interrupted. Her expression was difficult for Remus to read, especially since she wouldn't turn to face him.

"Of course, Miss Evans."

"Lily," Remus tried to say. But Lily had already turned away, leaving the classroom without another word.

When their class was over, Professor Byrne asked Remus to see him in his office. Having no idea what the professor would want to talk with him for, Remus waved nervously to his friends as they left for Muggle Studies and followed Byrne across the hall and into his cramped little office space filled with books and gadgets.

"Sit down," Byrne instructed, pulling out a chair across from his untidy desk. Remus obeyed.

"Is there a problem, Professor?" Remus asked once Byrne had settled himself behind his desk. Byrne had never been Remus's biggest fan, but he couldn't image he'd done anything to provoke the professor into needing to speak with him.

"I just had a question for you, Mr Lupin," Byrne replied. He fixed Remus with dark, probing eyes. "Why did you not attempt to cast a corporeal Patronus?"

That was not what Remus had been expecting. "I—I tried, Professor," he stammered. "I couldn't do it."

"Rubbish," said Byrne. Remus blinked. "I was watching you, you know. You cast a non-corporeal Patronus at the very beginning of class with almost no effort—abnormally bright and strong for a non-corporeal, I must say—and then never attempted the spell again, instead busying yourself with Miss Evans and Miss Macdonald." Professor Byrne leaned forward, lacing his fingers together. "I suspect this was not the first time that you and your friends have cast Patronuses."

"Professor—"

"I do not mean to punish you," Byrne assured him. "Students learning such advanced magic on their own is quite exceptional, in fact. I only wished to know why you would not reveal your own Patronus."

Remus stared at the professor for a moment. Then, calling a flurry of his happiest memories to the forefront of his mind, he drew his wand and flicked it. "Expecto Patronum."

Remus's Patronus, the silver wolf, materialized from scattered bits of light and loped around Byrne's office, drawing back its head in a silent howl. Byrne fixed his eyes on it, frowning a little. Remus waved his wand again, and the Patronus disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"It's not a werewolf," Byrne said eventually.

"I know."

"Remus…." The words seemed to catch in Byrne's throat. He shook his head. "You are an incredibly talented student, Remus. One of the best I've ever had the pleasure of teaching. And I was wrong about you."

"Professor—"

"I'll admit I was skeptical about bringing a werewolf into Hogwarts," Byrne said. "I did my best to convince Dumbledore that such a thing was astronomically foolish, that he'd be putting the safety of the entire school in jeopardy by admitting you—but he wouldn't listen, of course. Dumbledore never does." He gave a thin smile. "I was sure there'd be some terrible accident within your first year here, some poor student mauled to death by a roaming werewolf, but nothing of the sort ever happened. You've been exceptionally careful with your condition, and you've proven yourself to be a driven, gifted wizard worthy of the school." Byrne cleared his throat, glancing away. "I say all this as an apology for how I've treated you over the years. I've harbored suspicions of you that you'd done nothing to warrant, and it was wrong of me, Remus."

Remus didn't know what to say. His thoughts drifted to the Marauders' last full moon wandering the grounds, and he felt a wave of guilt rise up to crush him. Roaming werewolf…exceptionally careful with his condition…none of it was true.

"Th—thank you, Professor," he murmured. His hands were shaking.

"Certainly no need for you to thank me, Mr Lupin." Professor Byrne rose from his seat and escorted Remus promptly to his door. He rested a light hand on Remus's elbow before he could leave. "You did a fantastic job teaching Evans and Macdonald how to cast their Patronuses today. You do a fantastic job every time I have you tutor one of your classmates." Remus looked up at him; Byrne dropped his hand. "I know you've got your career counselling coming up—just something for you to keep in mind. You could make a brilliant professor one day, Mr Lupin, and who knows? Someday, you might be the one replacing me here at Hogwarts."

Remus felt heat rushing into his cheeks. A professor at Hogwarts…it seemed almost too good to be true. It was too good to be true, he corrected himself—even if Dumbledore were willing to let a werewolf attend Hogwarts as a student, fulfilling his obligation to instruct all the young witches and wizards of the country, he certainly wouldn't allow a werewolf to teach at his school. Not even Dumbledore would accept that sort of risk.

But just as he had that morning, Remus kept silent about his doubts. "I'll be sure to consider it, Professor," he told Byrne instead. Then he took his leave of the office, feeling happy and guilty and hopeful and hopeless all at the same time.