A/N: Well, this story I do believe is two chapters ahead of my other one... so, GO HP! Since I have absolutely NO homework, I decided that before we start watching movies here, I'd at least start working on a chapter for this story. So, here it is. Hopefully you like it, and if not, tell me in your review WHY not. I'm going to make this story a little more interesting now, with more mysteries and twists happening. So, enough of my yackking... here is the chapter, and I hope everyone has a good New Years! (Ouch, wanna know something sad? It USED to say Thanksgiving... as in, CANADA'S time for Thanksgiving... ohhh double ouch)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter... as much as I wish I could say I did, I don't. So... yeah.

A Marauders Tale

EilayAdnayVolieay

Chapter Five: Remus 'Moony' Lupin

For as long as James could remember, Remus had always been... unusual. What made him so was, at first, unknown. What mysterious ailment did his mother have that was taking Remus away from school so often...? In fact, once a month... it wasn't until around their third year that James, Sirius and Peter came to the conclusion that Remus Lupin, their book-keen best friend, was a werewolf.

At first, Remus had been upset that his friends knew... he was so used to the reaction of others that when his friends found out about his... condition... he was devastated, ready to leave Hogwarts. Of course, his friends only accepted him more, and, although at first it was a general shock, Remus was glad his friends had discovered his secret. He had hated lying to them for so long, but he just wanted to be normal... LIVE a normal life, for a change. For the beginning of his life, things had been going great. It seemed as if he would be all set for Hogwarts, after another year and some before he would be eleven. There was always legends that his parents had told him to keep him from staying outside too late, and from going to far into the woods. "Don't stay out after dark and don't go further then the middle of the woods, or Fenrir Greyback will be dealing with you..." they had always said. Of course, Remus never realized that Fenrir was a real person... or werewolf. He had always thought that it was a mythical tale concocted by his parents to scare him into following their rules, like muggles and their 'boogeyman' tales. He believed none of it was true. So, when it was after dark and he was still in the middle of the forests and a man came out saying he was Fenrir Greyback, Remus had thought that it was all a prank that was made up by his parents to teach him a lesson. Sadly, that wasn't the case. He ignored the warnings he received from Fenrir, and continued walking through the forest. And the next thing Remus knew, the full moon was out, and he had been bitten. It was a horrible memory... one he hoped to never share with anyone. It still haunted him at night when he thought of every explicit detail, the blood... and he also remembered the very first transformation into a werewolf he had.

A lot of people often confused the desires of a werewolf and vampire. Sure, they'd know the difference between them if they saw them... a vampire was normally very pale, sensitive to light. They had the piercing look of desire in their eyes... desire for human blood. Of course, they could have animal blood if they desired, but to them human blood was better... more luscious... bitter sweet. It was to them as the richest of chocolates is to the average human. Werewolves, on the other hand, desired human flesh... the tearing of the skin, the smell of fear lingering in the air... the blood meant nothing to them, really. Some werewolves, such as Remus, did not like human flesh... sure, in their werewolf form they would, but they would do whatever it took to overcome that until the full moon was over. They shunned their lycanthrope side, whereas many others embraced it... welcomed the desire to kill... rip... to tear the flesh bit by bit. Fenrir Greyback was one of those werewolves. Often when people discovered Remus was a werewolf, they thought he was a danger ALL the time, like a vampire.

It was night time again, and Remus awoke with a start. He couldn't stop himself from crying out in his sleep, and, unknown to him, he had woke up a restless James. Still not realizing that James was awake, Remus got up out of bed and walked out of the dorm. It only took James a second to decide to follow with his cloak. He had to know what was bothering Remus... and since Remus refused to tell anyone, there was no other option but to follow him.

James silently followed behind Remus, who was so oblivious to the fact that there was someone following him, not even sensing that he was being watched, that James wondered for a moment if he was perhaps sleep walking. Remus, though, was not sleep walking, and was in fact wide awake.

"Why do I keep having that dream?" Remus muttered aloud. He expected no answer, as he walked to the couch in the common room. James, safely hidden under his cloak, moved closer. He saw Remus was simply staring into the fire, not even really seeing it, and James sighed. Obviously, there wasn't anything more to see. He started to walk away, when he heard Remus scream. A face had appeared in the fire, and all Remus got out was "Fenrir..." before he passed out. The face in the fire disappeared, and James rushed over to Remus. He threw his cloak off, and bolted into the halls. Even if Filch caught him, at least someone would be informed and coming to help.

Remus woke up, groggy. His vision was blurry and all over the place. When it finally focused, Remus saw James asleep in one of the armchairs. Shocked, he realized he was in the Hospital Wing. But... why would he..?

"You passed out last night, Mr Lupin." Dumbledore's voice sounded from behind the curtain, and he moved it out of the way. Remus sat up in his bed, and nodded towards James. "Ahh, Mr Potter? He found you last night, saw you just as you passed out," Dumbledore smiled, "And, I suspect, possibly before. He was raving on and on about how a face appeared in the fire, and you only muttered 'Fenrir' before passing out. Remus," Dumbledore began, much more serious now, "I have to ask you... did you see Fenrir Greyback in the fire last night in the Gryffindor Common Room?"

"Fen... Fenrir? I... I think I remember seeing him... but... I'm sorry, I can't— I can't remember." Remus lied. He remembered too well seeing Fenrir in the fire, but he just couldn't bring himself to admit it. Not now... it COULD have been a mistake. But if James described what he looked like...

"Very well, Mr Lupin... that is all that I wanted to know. Do try and feel better, with any luck, Madanm Pomfrey may release you today. And, be prepared... I do believe when she learns that Mr Potter has slept here all night, she will possibly get a little... loud." Dumbledore smiled one of his weird, yet comforting smiles. Remus nodded, and leaned back in his bed. Had it been Fenrir that he saw in the fire? Or was it just... a dream? No, he told himself, it couldn't have been just a dream. James saw a face too, so the only question is... was it Fenrir that I saw in the fire.

"UNHEARD OF! A STUDENT SPENDING THE NIGHT IN THE HOSPITAL WING, SLEEPING IN AN ARM CHAIR OF ALL THINGS! I WON'T HAVE IT, NOT IN THIS SCHOOL!" Madame Pomfrey shouted. James was still sleeping, so she did a levitation spell and took him to the common room, muttering under her breath how the students couldn't care less about rules anymore.

"Are you sure? If I remember correctly," Ali began, "that's the... thing... that bit him." James' head shot straight up. That made him think for a moment... he had heard about someone named Fenrir before.

"Not... surely, not Fenrir GREYBACK?" James questioned. Ali looked at him oddly, and nodded. "Yes... didn't you know that?" she replied. He shook his head. So... that... thing... was responsible for Remus'... furry little problem? Then what does he want with him now... and what dream was Remus talking about? I think perhaps its time I have a little talk with him. James thought. He thanked Ali and headed for the Hospital wing. Sirius and Peter followed him.

"Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?" James asked. Remus looked at him, confused... he was acting a little peculiar.

"As fine as I usually do. I don't understand why I have to stay here, but Madame Pomfrey thinks that it is in my best interest to make me stay an extra day. Then, she added that because a certain time of the month is fast approaching, I might as well stay in here until I have to... go." Remus sighed, and leaned back in his bed.

"Hey, Remus? Can I ask you a question... about last night?" James asked cautiously. Now Sirius and Peter looked at him confused, but he ignored that.

"Er, I... I suppose it would be alright if you asked one— "

"What dream is it that you keep having?" James asked. Remus looked shocked for a moment. He had expected a question about homework, maybe, or even a question about why he passed out, but not of his dream.

"Er, what dream are you referring?" Remus asked, trying not to sound panicky or unusual. No such luck. The words came out of his mouth as a loud squeak, and he knew he was doomed to be forced to answer. "Wait... how do you even know about me having a dream repeatedly? I never told— Were you spying on me!" Remus demanded. James looked at the ground, and muttered, "Guilty as charged..."

"WHAT? I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT MY BEST FRIEND WOULD SPY ON ME!" Remus shouted. James flinched. It was only a matter of time now before Madame Pomfrey came and kicked them out of the Hospital Wing for disturbing one of her patients.

"I... well, see I... well what kind of a friend doesn't confide in his friends? What kind of a friend doesn't tell his friends that he's having the same dream over and over again?" James demanded. He had taken the easy way out... he had never been that great at apologizing, especially if he couldn't see what he had done wrong. Just like that time McGonnagol demanded he apologize to Lily because he had turned here hair bubblegum pink... he couldn't see what he had done wrong, so he instead said, "Sorry your so ugly that your hair has to be pink just to get people to take a chance and look at you." Obviously, at least to everyone except for James, he had gotten detention.

"You know what James? I'll give you an answer to that when you grow up." Remus replied, and turned over. It was clear he wasn't going to talk anymore. James, angry, stormed out of the Hospital Wing. Remus turned back over and sat up in the hospital bed.

"So, guys, what's up?" he asked them, as if nothing had just happened. Sirius, deciding to play it safe, pretended as if nothing had happened as well, and told him about his latest idea for a prank. Frowning, Remus listened anyways.

Lily, Ali, and Megan were in the common room doing their homework when James walked in, red faced. Lily looked up for only a second, hearing the portrait slam and the Fat Lady screaming, "CAREFUL! Do you want me to fall off the wall?", and then seeing it was only James who walked in, she decided to pass it off as not important. After all, it was only James. She jumped when he swore at a 3rd year, and decided to take action.

"Listen Potter just because you can't get a date for the dance doesn't mean that you should go swearing at innocent bystanders! I mean, really, its quite pathetic." Lily added. James glared at her, sending a shiver down her spine. Since when does he glare at her? Usually, it was the other way around.

"Whatever," he muttered and began walking away. Lily stood up.

"'Whatever' is that the best you can do, Potter? You do realize, I'm sure, that 'whatever' is the lamest, most pathetic retort of last century, right?"

"FINE, firstly I don't know about a dance, and secondly, I'm not mad because I got turned down. If I get turned down I get turned down. I'm mad because... oh what do you care anyway!" James stormed up the stairs and slammed the boys dormitory door shut. Ali raised her eyebrows at Lily.

"What was with you trying to get him started? Usually you ignore him, today you went out of your way to try and get to him." Lily ignored the question and started her homework again.

"Okay, so your cornered by a gang of Death Eaters— " Lily continues. Megan, who had been trying to stifle a yawn for 10 minutes, finally couldn't help it.

"No offense, Lils, but this is the most boring homework that I have ever gotten. I mean, in all honesty, why include Death Eaters?" Megan asked. Lily shrugged.

"Dunno. I do know that this years Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has gone to many hearings about going against the Ministry intentionally. I suppose that's why he's always trying to do things for teaching that the Ministry wouldn't approve of." Lily replied. She looked at Ali, waiting for an answer. Ali sighed and closed her book.

"Sorry guys, but I think I'm going to head it for Hogsmeade. I've had enough of the homework for today, I think. Anyone else coming?" she asked. Lily was shocked... Ali was usually a little more patient with homework, it tended to be Megan who was always trying to get out of doing homework. Ali ran up the stairs and left Lily and Megan behind looking startled.

"Oh, yeah, she gets to leave, I get stuck here! Where's the fairness in this? What about human rights? No, not human rights, STUDENT rights!" Megan said, standing up and pounding her fist in her palm. She scribbled something on a piece of paper and jumped up on the desk holding the paper in the air.

"NO MORE HOMEWORK! NO MORE UNFAIRNESS TO STUDENTS!" Megan shouted, holding the paper in the air. Sirius and Peter walked in, and Sirius pretended to wipe a tear away from his face.

"My hero," he replied jokingly. Megan glared at him and threw the paper at him sticking her tongue out. She turned on her heels, leapt off the table and went right after Ali to the girls dormitory. Lily threw her hands up in frustration.

"Okay, okay! I give!" she replied, and closed her books.

After getting to the girls dorm, Ali looked in her closet at her dress robes... basically, a dress with a cloak... and sighed. The dance was just 2 weeks away, and she didn't have a date, nor did she even think that she was going to bother going. At this rate, what was the point? A boy's image popped into her head, and she laid back on her bed daydreaming. Lily and Megan both stormed in talking, but stopped when they saw Ali's face.

"Ali... what's up with you?" Megan asked. Lily walked over and sat on Ali's bed, and looked to see what she was staring at. It was her dress robes.

"OH... never mind, I get it." Lily said to Ali. Megan looked from Ali to Lily suspiciously.

"What do you guys know that I don't?" she whined. Lily motioned for her to be quiet and looked at Ali, who had returned to a semi-normal state.

"Why don't you just ask him Ali? I'm sure he'd want to go if you did," Lily added. Ali looked horrified at the suggestion and furiously shook her head. Megan groaned loudly, still being kept in the dark. She opened her mouth to complain again, so Lily whispered in her ear.

"What? SHE LIKES REMUS! I KNEW IT!"

A/N: Well, a little short, I just kinda threw that dance idea in there from thin air. I really should do what JK does to prevent Writer's Block... actually plan the whole story out ahead of time. I'm kind of doing that with my new story, but not exactly like what she did. Please read and review, let me know what you think about this story!