Chapter 2

Remus

He was hunched over his papers. He was sitting on his working desk in the dorms. He couldn't study or do homework. He was just looking at those papers and they were looking back at him.
He couldn't focus. His thoughts were filled with everything except for school. From his dad, to cycles, to his friends, to Sirius… He was so worried about what were they doing. Merlin knows how bad turning into an Animagus is. They could really hurt themselves.

"Well, Moony…" he heard voice beside him. It was James. He was standing beside him leaning against a desk. "What are you doing there?"
"Oh, you know, just our History assignment." Remus tried to brush him off.
"Bullshit. It's Friday afternoon and you are just staring at papers for over twenty minutes."
"How do you know that? Were you spying on me?" He asked, jokingly.
"I was emptying my bag, took a shower and changed my clothes. I was hovering around the room and you didn't even notice me. How could you?" James said, faking hurt. He just then noticed that he did change clothes. He wasn't wearing his robes, he was wearing a button up shirt and jeans.
"Sorry. I was kind of absent." He said.
"No big deal. Come on, Sirius and Peter are waiting for us." James said.
"Can I just get changed? I just want to take these stupid robes of." He said.
"Sure. And also, we don't even have a History assignment. Think of better lies next time!"

Remus got changed and followed James.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"We are going to Hogsmeade." James said. From fifth year, every student was allowed to spend their Friday afternoon at Hogsmeade.
"But I don't have a jacket with me. Or money!" he said.
"Oh, don't worry about that. We are not going to be there long, we will mostly be at Three Broomsticks and it's on me. Come on, Sirius told us to hurry up." They walked out of the castle. Sirius and Peter were waiting for them
"Finally!" Sirius said dramatically, throwing away the cigarette. He started smoking last year. Remus wasn't the biggest fan of it. But he saw that he wasn't addicted. He was just doing it from time to time. "How long did it took you?"
"Sorry, I had to convince Moony that we don't have any History assignments." James said.
"Huh, really? You like studying so much, you started making up assignments?" said Sirius.
"At least I am doing them." He said back.
"Burn!" James said in a high-pitched voice.
"You know I do yours too, right?"
"Okay, now you are just splitting hairs." James said.
"All right, gentlemen, let's go before curfew!" Sirius said.
"You sound like you care about curfew." Peter said quietly.
"Okay, then let's go before the gates close! I am not climbing over them again!" Sirius said exhaustedly and started walking.

After a twenty minute walk they got to Hogsmeade. Hogsmeade always had a different tone during autumn. All the leaves and pumpkins made it so pleasant.
"Have you heard that we are having a corn maze this year on Halloween?" Peter said.
"Really?" James asked.
"Yes! It's going to be a race! First group that leaves the maze on the other side wins." Peter explained.
"Sounds sick!" Sirius said. "Maybe we can do it. The four of us can sign up. Moony?"
"Yes. That sounds fun." He said.
"No, I mean, can we? Are you going to be able to be there?" Sirius asked, looking concerned.
"I am not sure. I don't have a calendar with me. But I think the full moon is before the Halloween." He said.
"Then tell us later, so we know if we are going to do it." Sirius said.
"Well, if I can't, do it without me." He said.
"Oh, hell no. We are not doing anything without you. And you know that." Sirius said while putting his hand around his shoulder. For some reason, he knew that nothing could hurt him in that moment. He felt safe under his arm. "All for one, one for all."
"Did you just quote Three Musketeers?" he asked.
"Quote what now?" Sirius looked him dead in the eye.
"Nothing." Remus said, shaking his head while laughing.

They were sitting in Three Broomsticks, waiting for their drinks.
"I called this meeting…" Sirius started talking.
"Meeting?" Peter repeated.
"Called?" James repeated.
"Will you just let me have this?" Sirius said. "I have another idea that will not only just help with Moony's problem, but also help all of regarding our future."
"Okay, what do you have in mind?" James asked, actually interested.
"A map." Sirius said. "A map that always shows everyone in the castle. Where are they, what are they doing and where are they going. In any time of day or night. What do you say?"
"Sirius, that is a genius idea." He instantly said. "But that sounds very hard to do. How are we going to create that?"
"Well…" Sirius said. "I feel like we are going to have to figure that out together."
"Yes. But we will." James said.
"Okay, Sirius, do you have a paper and a pencil with you?" he asked. He had some ideas in his head. Sirius handed him a paper and a pencil. He instantly started writing down his ideas. They got their drinks. After five minutes he had them all written down.
"Okay, guys." He said. They were all eagerly looking at him. He placed his leg on the seat. "These are my ideas. Maybe they don't work, but we will try. There must be a map of Hogwarts in Hogwarts: A History. I will find it. We can maybe use some spell to put the map on another parchment. We will also need a big piece of parchment. Very big. We will also need a spell that recognizes everyone entering the castle and being able to track them."
"That sounds tricky." Peter said.
"It doesn't sound tricky. It is tricky." He said and went back to his ideas on the paper. "We will need a spell or a way for the map to show the person's name. We need to know who are running away from. We also need a way for no one to be able to see the map except for us. This is going to be complicated."
"This is how are we going to do this." James said and leaned on the table. "We need this map. We really do. We need this map to help Moony and to not get caught as much. Peter and I will do the research on the enchanted maps. I am pretty sure we are not the first ones doing this. The library is huge, there should be at least one book on that. This is not illegal, I think, so we are not going to need a pass for a restricted section this time. Moony is doing the spells. He is going to make the map work, once we find a way to make it. And you, Sirius, are doing the drawing part. Deal?" James finished and put his glass in the air. They all toasted in the form of agreement.

And that was the start of what will later be known as the Marauders Map.

Sirius

He was in his bedroom. His bedroom at his family's house. He was wearing his jeans and his leather jacket. That is what he would usually wear outside of classes at Hogwarts. He loved that jacket. Remus gave it to him last year for his birthday. Remus told him he saw it in some muggle shop at London and that it instantly reminded it of him. Soon it became the only jacket he wore.

His mother walked into the room. She was skinny and had long blond hair. He was always glad that he didn't look like her child. He had black hair and dark eyes.

"How did you became this?" she asked.
"How did I become what?" he asked back. He didn't know where did he found the courage to talk back at her.
She went up to him and slapped him. He was used to it. He was used to even far worse.
"When are you going to start acting like a pureblood? Like someone worthy of your name?" she said in a poisonous voice he knew is going to haunt him forever.
"When are you going to treat me like I am your son?" he said. She took out her wand and waved with it. Soon, a wooden plank was in her hand. He knew what was going to happen. He was trying to grab his wand from his pocket, but before he could that, she was swinging that wooden plank at him. She hit his head with it, disorienting him. He almost fell. He was seeing blurry, but then he got another swing which knocked him out. She probably took something else because he started to feel the hits on his ribs, on his thighs, on his shoulders. She was hitting him until he became numb. After what she thought was enough, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, making him look at her.
"You are going to stay here." She said. "For days, months, years, decades… However long does it take for you to be normal, realize what you are doing is wrong and start acting like a Black. And I promise you. You will never see your friends ever again. Including your worthless little werewolf."

He woke up. He was sweating, not being able to recognize the room he woke up in. And then he remembered. "You are in your dorm, in Hogwarts. Your mother is hundreds kilometers away from you. She can't hurt you." He started mumbling to himself.
It wasn't the first time he had these dreams. He didn't have them often, but every time he did, it fucked him up for at least a day.

A light beside him showed up.
"Sirius?" It was Remus. He turned on a lamp on his night stand.
"Sorry, I just… I just had a bad dream. Nothing important. Go back to sleep."
"No." he said back, plain and simple. "I am not going back to sleep until you tell me what's wrong."
"I don't want to wake up the boys." He said in respond.
"I have an idea." Remus said. "Get dressed. Wear something warm."

They both dressed up in their pants, long sleeved shirts and jackets.
"Give me your shoes for a moment." Remus said.
"What?" Sirius asked, pretty confused.
"Trust me." He said, plain and simple. He took his shoes and with drew two circles at bottom of each one. "It's for sound proofing. Now if there is someone in the hallway, they won't be able to hear us."
"You know a spell for sound proofing and you never gave it to any of us?" Sirius said.
"I only learned it few weeks ago. I don't even know how long it's going to last." Remus explained himself. "Let's go, before we wake anyone up."
He quietly followed Remus out of their dorms and outside of the common room. He was still careful with his steps, despite knowing that his steps didn't make any noise. Probably force of a habit. Remus took out the invisibility cloak.
"You stole James's cloak?" Sirius whispered.
"I didn't steal it." Remus said, shrugging. "I borrowed it."
"What happened to you? You used to be a good school boy. Doing everything in time, avoiding trouble… Now you are running toward it." He said. Remus grinned, looked down, shaking his head. Sirius was dying of the wish to poke his dimples. This was his favorite Remus. Completely relaxed and completely himself. His smile was a bit crooked, but it was his. He liked that it wasn't perfect. Because most things don't have to be perfect to be beautiful. Just like Remus himself.
"I guess you happened to me." He said and covered them in the invisibility cloak.

They got to the astronomy tower.
"Why did you bring me here?" Sirius asked, kind of confused.
"Because this is my favorite place in Hogwarts." Remus answered immediately. "It's quiet. No one is here most of the time. You can see all the stars." He was looking at the sky amazed. The moon was on its half. "Come. Sit down."
They both sat down on the ground, on the spaces that looked like windows without glass. They both sat down facing each other, stars above them.
"You can tell me. Tell me what is bothering you. Tell me what were you dreaming about." He pushed for answers, but gently. He didn't know where to start.
"You know that I don't have the best family." He started at the bases. "I don't know how my mother hasn't disowned me yet. She is constantly telling me that I am not enough. That I am worthless. That I don't know or use the power of my name. That she wished I was never born." He felt tears coming. He took a deep breath.
"I knew you family was bad, but I didn't…"
"I never told you. It's not your fault. It wasn't only that she is telling me these things. She also… Every time I get home for break… Almost every week she… She is beating me. And I dreamed of that tonight." That was the first time he ever said it to someone. No one knew about that. Remus was looking at him, mortified.
"Oh, my… Sirius… Why haven't you told me about it?" he asked, after a long silence.
"I haven't told anyone about it." He answered, plain and simple.
"Is that where the scars are from? The scars on your nose?"
"You are the first person ever that noticed them." He said, kind of astonished, feeling a tear running down his cheek.
"I notice a lot of things about you." He said back, the conversation clearly changing the tone.
"Like?" he asked.
"I noticed that you are always holding your quill or a pen weirdly. I noticed how you always have a finger resting on your nose when you are reading something. How you subconsciously play with your hair when you are concentrated on something." He said, looking at the stars. His voice was calm and reassuring. Sirius could fall asleep listening to his voice. Not because it's boring. It just felt like a lullaby. "Is there anything you noticed about me?" that question caught him off guard. If he didn't know any better, he would think that Remus was flirting with him. Not that Sirius would mind that.
He didn't have to think of the answers. He instantly knew them.
"I noticed that you always look down and shake your head when you laugh. I noticed that when you don't know what to do with your hands, you always touch your shirt. I noticed how you always turn your quill or wand between fingers when you are thinking" he said.
"Sirius, will you promise me something?" Remus asked, looking like he blushed.
"What?" He asked. Then, against all odds, Remus took his hand. He felt electricity in his whole body.
"Don't keep secrets like this from me. Ever. If you are having some trouble that you can't handle yourself, come to me. You always can." He said, giving him the look of all the cares in this world.
"I promise you, baby." He said. A second later, he realized what he actually said. He looked at Remus who looked flustered. He was seriously considering jumping from the astronomy tower at that moment. They were looking at each other. That gaze felt like an eternity. And Sirius thought he could spend his entire life just looking at him and he wouldn't complain for a second. They were still holding hands.

"I… I… I think we should go back." Remus said, breaking the silence. They released each other's hand, but their fingers were still overlapping.
"Yes, we should." He said. One part of him wanted to get out of this situation as quickly as possible. Other part of him wanted to spend the rest of his life on this astronomy tower, with Remus's hand in his.

They got back to the common room. They haven't talked on their way back. "I am an idiot." He was thinking to himself. "Why do I speak without thinking? If I haven't just…"
"Do you want to talk about it more?" Remus asked, stopping his scolding at himself.
"Talk about what?" he asked.
"Your mother? Do you need to talk about it more?"
"No. I am just very tired." He said. "Things will be awkward between us forever." He thought to himself.
They got back to their dorm. James and Peter were sleeping like logs. They changed back into their pajamas.
"You sure you're going to be okay?" Remus asked him one more time.
"Yes, I am. Thank you." He said and really meant it. He needed that conversation on the astronomy tower.
And then Remus kissed him on the cheek, leaving his feet stuck to that floor. Thank Merlin, it was dark in the room, so he couldn't see how his face probably went completely red.
"Good night." Remus said and went back to sleep. He even made him forget that he was going to sleep in the first place.

He went to his bed, touching a place on his cheek that Remus's lips touched just few moments ago. He fell asleep without any nightmares.