A/N: Well, here we are, four years since the start of this fic. I couldn't just leave it. I've been trying really hard to get back into writing again, and jumping into some of my abandoned fanfics seemed like a good first step. Gonna try to get out at least one chapter a month, and write through seventh year and maybe into the war. Heavy on plot, but i'll make sure we've got some good Jily and Woflstar in there 3

"I've got it, Sirius," said James finally. It was a warm spring day, the weather was nice, it was a Saturday, almost everyone was outside, Remus and Peter were who-knows-where doing who-knows-what, and James and Sirius had shut themselves in the back corner of the library for the better part of the day.

"Are you sure?" responded Sirius.

"Positive. Look at the calendar. It matches almost exactly with ours. There isn't another explanation, Sirius. And now we have proof." James turned to watch as Sirius bent towards the pieces of parchement James was holding, studying them both carefully.

Over the past year, they had been carefully documenting whenever Remus had disappeared because of a "sick aunt" or whatever other excuse he had come up with. Sirius had had his suspicions. James had disagreed at first, but once they had documented it al and compared it with the lunar charts, he was convinced.

Remus was a werewolf.

"I told you so," said Sirius, although for once he didn't look very triumphant. "So, what do we do now?"

"Ask him about it, I guess." James shrugged. "It's not as if it bothers me. He hasn't killed anyone yet." There was strain in his attempt at a lighthearted tone, and he knew Sirius could hear it.

"I don't think there's a thing Remus could do that would bother me," said Sirius after a moment's silence. James thought he looked almost wistful. "Anyways, what better way to make my parents hate me more? Befriending the Hogwarts werewolf. Father would go mad if he knew."

James glanced at his friend with horror. "You can't tell, Sirius. You can't tell anyone! I'm not even sure we should tell Pete, really."

"Of course I'm not going to tell anyone," responded Sirius, looking highly affronted. He glanced around and lowered his voice quickly as some giggly first year Hufflepuffs entered their back corner of the library. "And of course we should tell Pete, you know he won't care either. We're Mauraders, for better or worse."

As it turned out, it was harder than they thought to get Peter alone to explain their revelation to him. Pete wasn't exactly known for his subtlety, and James was determined to avoid Remus figuring out that they knew until they were ready to speak to him.

Mostly, he reflected, he was worried Remus would realize what they knew and separate himself from them. He was sure Remus expected himself and Sirius to be anti-werewolf. They were raised by pure-blooded families, after all. Really, the idea had taken some getting used to. He and Sirius had spoken endlessly about it since their discovery. In that roundabout way discussions can go, they had come to the conclusion that Remus had been one as long as they had known him, and knowing what he was shouldn't change their freindship. It's not as though Remus was any different from the boy they were friends with the day before their discovery. What had changed wasn't him, it was them and their knowledge.

They weren't able to speak to Peter alone until the next full moon. Remus had left – this time claiming his mother was getting progressivley more ill and he would be visiting her once a month. They bid him farewell and gave their well-wishes to pass to his mother before abruptly dragging Peter back to their room to talk.

Sirius stretched out on James' bed, chocolate frogs in hand while Peter and James sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed. They sat in silence. James had no idea how to start the conversation, and it looked as though Sirius felt the same way.

"You blokes dragged me all the way up here just to sit in silence?" Peter finally asked. "What happened to your 'top secret conversation'?"

James glanced at Sirius, who suddenly looked very absorbed in his chocolate frog card. So much for his best mate helping him out, then.

James sighed, long and drawn out. "Sorry, Pete. I'm just not sure how to say this."

"James, at a loss for words?"grinned Sirius, briefly looking up from his chocolate. "Someone needs to alert The Daily Prophet."

"Git," James rolled his eyes. "You could be helpful, you know." Sirius merely shrugged and turned back to his chocolate frog card, so James turned back to Pete.

"You know how Remus disappears every month for some emergency or another?" he asked Peter. The other boy nodded readily.

"He told me he has bad genetics. I'm not really sure what that means, though."

James scrunched his nose and Sirius shrugged. "We've no idea, mate," Sirius piped up, "but we know it's not the actual reason."

"What d'you mean?" Peter asked. His eyebrows had shot up past his hairline. It gave him a wide-eyed, confused look about him. Usually, Sirius would take the mickey out of him for it, but today he just looked beseechingly at James to continue.

James pulled out the lunar chart he had in front of him and opened it. "This whole school year we've been tracking it. Sirius had the idea first, and I didn't believe it 'til now but – it's been consistent since we started paying attention. Plus, it would explain why he always looks so sick and tired when he comes back to school."

Peter's face had gone pale. "What are you saying?"

"He's a werewolf, Pete," Sirius piped up. "There's no other explanation."

James could see that Peter's hands were shaking. Sirius was never good at subtlety – or delicacy with information.

"A – a werewolf? How long have you both known? And you're still –" Peter's voice had risen to almost a shriek "- you're still friends with him? He's probably killed people."

"Cool it, honestly," grumbled James, glancing worriedly at the door to their dorm. If anyone had overheard Peter, James might just become a killer himself. "He hasn't killed anyone, Pete. There's no way they'd let him at Hogwarts if he had. Dumbledore wouldn't dare."

"Pete," Sirius had sat straight up and was looking intensely at Peter, "this is Remus were talking about. He folds his socks. He helps first years find their way around the castle. He offers chocolate to everyone he meets. He's the kindest person we know." His cheeks held the faintest blush and he looked away when James raised his eyebrows.

"I'm just saying," Sirius finally mumbled into the silent room. "He's always been one, it doesn't change how we knew him at all. He's still the same bloke."

"You're really serious," Peter finally sighed, looking at James for confirmation. "And it doesn't bug you?"

"We've had time to think it over," responded James. "And no, I don't think it does. It's like Sirius said," he glanced at his best mate bemusedly, "he's still the same Remus we've always known. Plus, we have an idea."

Sirius grinned, almost feraly, and ruffled James' hair affectionately. "James was looking for ways to help Remus," Sirius began. "We kept reading that the transformations were really painful and horrible for werewolves, especially when they don't have a pack."

That wide-eyed look had returned to Peter's face, and James had to laugh before Pete even said anything. "No, Pete," he chuckled, "we're not saying we need to become werewolves for him." Peter, for his part, at least had the grace to look embarassed.

"Sirius found some books his parents had over the break. They're all quite mean about werewolves and other part-humans, quite frankly, but some of it was helpful. We know werewolves need a pack, and some of the books even said that they would befriend animals they found –"

"I think it actually said bewitch," interjected Sirius with a cool smile. "Not that I think Remus is particularly capable of bewitching anyone, for that matter."

"Scemantics," James responded with an acompanying eyeroll. "The point is that I think we can help him by becoming his pack. We just have to learn how to be animagi!"

"You're kidding," said Pete in response. "We're in second year, James. That magic is advanced. We'll never learn it before we finish Hogwarts."

"So then we don't," said Sirius, "then we learn after. But we still have to try. And the sooner we start, the sooner we'll finish. We're Mauraders. We can do anything."

Peter looked up with a small grin. "I guess you're right. We're not telling Remus though, are we?"

"We have to tell him what we know," James said with a sigh. "I'm sure there are ways we can help in the meantime, like when he's tired after the transformation. But we can't tell him about becoming Animagi."

"You're right," said Sirius. "I want to – but if we told him and couldn't do it…"

Peter nodded in agreement. The three boys sat in comfortable silence, and James knew that he had, quite possibly, the greatest best mates a bloke could ever have