"So what happened?" Remus asked as Peter shoveled porridge into his mouth at breakfast on Friday morning. "How did things end?"

Remus took a sip of his coffee and tried to appear unconcerned, as if he were asking out of curiosity, nothing more. Peter had brought up the topic of Regulus and Sirius again when they sat down this morning.

Peter wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and then, realizing he'd gotten porridge on it, used his napkin to wipe off the sleeve. "Not much. Sirius went over to the Slytherin table," he said, gesturing behind him, "and they sat there for the longest time. I was expecting another fight – you know how they always yelled at each other last year – but no, they just talked."

"Hmm," murmured Remus. He took a bite of toast and watched Peter tuck into the bacon on his plate.

"They were still sitting there when James and I left." Peter spoke with his mouth full and continued to wipe absently at his sleeve with the napkin. "Sirius didn't say anything when he came to the Quidditch match later on."

"Interesting," said Remus.

"Strange, more like," said Peter. "You'd think after all this time not talking to him that he would have told us what happened." He took too large a swig of pumpkin juice and began coughing.

"Hmm."

"Yeah, it was weird," Peter continued in a strangled voice. "But the weirdest thing was, Regulus was at the big fight here in the Great Hall, but he disappeared halfway through. You'd think he'd – I mean he loves a duel as much as Sirius. So you'd wonder – I mean, wouldn't you think he'd want to – "

Remus saw movement to his left, and when he looked he saw Lily crossing the Great Hall. She smiled at the two friends, her eyes lingering on Remus for a moment. Remus returned her smile, then brought his gaze back to his plate. He wiped his hands on his napkin, hoping that his cheeks weren't too red. She sat down next to him and grinned across the table at Peter. Underneath the table, however, she squeezed Remus' knee briefly. If his cheeks weren't red before, they must be now. Damn you, sympathetic nervous system, he cursed silently.

Luckily, at that moment he spotted James and Sirius entering through the huge doors, and he felt a pinching inside his chest. Madam Pomfrey must have considered them well enough this morning to be approved to go back to class. "Hey, look, Peter," said Remus.

As Peter turned away and started waving at the two boys, Remus mouthed at Lily with a strained expression, "Don't." And he squeezed her knee in retaliation, letting his fingers linger a bit longer than he probably should have done.

"Sorry," she mouthed back with a smile, not looking sorry at all. Remus grinned at the blush rising on her cheeks. As distracted as he was by recent events, and by the break-in of the boys' bed tower, he was infinitely more distracted by Lily whenever she was around. And he had to admit he was pleased that he caused her a bit of distraction, too.

Greetings were exchanged in a rather stilted way, and James and Sirius apologized for missing the funeral of Remus' grandparents. He shrugged it off, trying not to think about the images of his grandparents' bodies again, and he realized that his friends must think he hadn't visited them in the infirmary because he was angry with them for the thoughtless brawling which had left them both incapacitated and unable to attend the funeral. He supposed they were right, partially. They asked how Remus was feeling, and if his parents were all right.

After Remus assured them that everyone was doing as well as could be expected, he saw James watching Lily. But no joke was forthcoming this morning. James hadn't made a joke or performed a prank for Lily's benefit in quite some time, since the afternoon Sirius and Peter released the Cornish pixies at Quidditch practice.

Perhaps he really was growing up, after all; perhaps he was beginning to recognize that his old methods of wooing were not to her liking. But James couldn't guess that, rightly or wrongly, and despite lack of evidence to the contrary, Lily considered James no better than Sirius in the area of romance. The thought was not comforting to Remus, and he wanted to tell James about their relationship right now, so that he'd stop looking at her like that once and for all. But suddenly he felt a pang of sympathy for James and his moon-eyes; after all, hadn't Remus worn that same expression for two years now? It was a fluke, a strange twist of fate, that it was he, Remus, sitting next to Lily, brushing her fingers with his under the table, rather than James. Still, though, James had to be told.

But not now, he thought. Not in front of everyone. He had to get him alone. Which was easier said than done with Sirius around. The two were inseparable.

Which would make it difficult to confront Sirius, as well. The accusation Remus was about to confront Sirius with could shatter their friendship, whether or not it was true. He tried to search his friend's eyes for some indication of the truth, but he couldn't catch a glimpse. He'd now learned for certain that Regulus wasn't injured and therefore never taken to the infirmary after the post-Quidditch fight, which meant that he was free to sneak into the Gryffindor bed tower that night. He was a good-looking kid, like Sirius; he could have gotten the password from any Gryffindor if he was charming enough … or if he threatened them with his ties to Death Eaters. And who else could have told him about the map but his own brother? If Peter only knew the seed he'd planted in Remus' brain, he'd probably hex himself. Remus gritted his teeth.

"So who trashed our room?" mused James to no one in particular. He had heard about the infiltration from Peter while they were in the infirmary. "And why did they demolish Remus' trunk, in particular?"

"Well," said Lily, "all the girls think it was Adderton and Cromwell." They were the two most obviously hateful Slytherins, and Remus had given them more than a few detentions over the past year; it was a reasonable assumption that it might be them.

"Maybe," James replied. "But it'd be hard enough for one to sneak in, much less two."

"I guess," she said, sipping thoughtfully from her teacup.

"Besides," added Remus, "they're not the brightest bulbs. I doubt they could pull it off."

"Could be Snivellus," James went on.

"Could be," agreed Sirius, raising his coffee to his lips while keeping his eyes on the table.

"Not his style, though," Remus said. "Too heavy-handed."

"And again, why Remus' trunk?" shrugged James. "He'd go after mine, or Sirius', more like."

Unless he knew about the map, thought Remus. But he still thought it was unlikely.

Sirius spoke to Peter. "Didn't the Fat Lady see anything?"

"She's not talking," Peter responded.

"What do you mean, she's not talking?" asked James, wrinkling his brow. "Isn't she, you know, required to talk?"

"That's just it," said Remus. "She won't talk about it. McGonagall interrogated her, and the Fat Lady just stood there with her mouth gaping open." He'd questioned her himself with the same result, and his Legilimency didn't seem to work with figures in paintings.

"It's almost like she couldn't say anything," Peter supplied.

While the conversation went on, Remus tried again several times to make eye contact with Sirius, to see if he could prove or disprove his suspicions about Regulus. But Sirius didn't once look at Remus. Did Sirius suspect at all that his brother had done the deed? If so, had he any idea why Regulus had tried to get in? Was Sirius perhaps feeling guilty about his part in the destruction of the bedchamber, of Remus' trunk? Was that why he wouldn't look at Remus?

As he took a final sip of his coffee, another thought burrowed its way into his brain like a worm into an apple, a thought so horrible that he had to excuse himself immediately, leaving Lily and his friends behind. Absorbed in his dark thoughts, he walked to class alone, wondering if he was crazy for thinking such a thing: If Sirius had told Regulus about the Marauder's Map and which people, exactly, were involved in the making of it, but not where it was, could Regulus have told his Death Eater friends about it? Remus' grandfather had helped him create the map, and his friends knew it. Could the Death Eaters and Fenrir Greyback have started searching for the map, not at Hogwarts, but at his grandparents' house?

No, it couldn't be, Remus thought. It can't be.

Remus darted into an empty classroom and stood against the wall, heart pounding and palms sweating, until his shaking knees forced him to sit down. He remained there for several minutes and was late to his first class. And after brooding through his first class, he was late to his second one because of sending a cryptic, rushed owl to his parents, asking them to please, please reinforce the protections on the house.

Later that afternoon Remus found Sirius in Study Hall and, surprisingly, he was alone. Remus' blood coursed faster as he approached him.

"Padfoot," he murmured.

"Moony."

Remus set his book bag down on the table across from his friend, who appeared to be writing a note to a girl rather than studying. He didn't even glance up at Remus as he sat. Remus absently pulled out a book and some parchment, adrenaline rushing sickeningly into his extremities as he considered what he was about to do. He looked around at the rest of the students, many of whom he knew. Severus Snape sat near the wall next to the door, his nose buried in a book, as usual. The nearest students were two tables away. Here and there in the hall were several study groups whose members spoke in low tones, so thankfully the buzzing room wasn't entirely quiet.

"Sirius," Remus began softly, "we need to talk."

Sirius raised his eyes and looked up at Remus. He smiled wryly. "Yes, I'd say we do."

Remus glanced at the other students at the nearby desks and swallowed. "Can we go somewhere else?"

Sirius cocked his head, looking at him matter-of-factly. "Why, are you going to cry?"

Merlin, he can be so callous. Surely he wasn't referring to his grandparents' deaths. "No," Remus said levelly. "But this is rather a sensitive matter, and I'd – "

Sirius leaned back in his chair so that he was balanced on the rear legs. He crossed his arms and chuckled. "Spit it out, young man."

What was he on about? Remus felt his face grow hot. "Not here."

"Why not here?" Sirius' eyes glinted dangerously.

Now that he held his direct gaze, Remus tried to search for a conversation with Regulus in Sirius' steely eyes, but all he could see was James.

James.

Oh no, thought Remus.

"I'm not going to play games with you," said Remus evenly, over the pounding of the pulse in his ears. "Come on, let's – "

"No? No games with me?" Sirius leaned forward again with his elbows on the desk and spoke quietly, his voice bitter. "How about with James?" His gaze was as ruthless as Remus had ever seen it, and it shook him more than a little.

He felt the rest of the room fall away, and all he could see was Sirius glaring at him. A series of images of himself and Lily, from Sirius' point of view, crowded his mind. This was not happening here, not now, not before he'd had a chance to talk to James. Remus stared back at him, wondering how much he should say, and if he could keep his face from revealing anything before he found James. He, of all people, had a right to know first.

But Sirius kept speaking. "I don't know what's going on between you and Little Red, and I don't want to know." His jaw clenched several times before he went on. "But I'd like to suggest that it stop."

Remus blinked. Then his brow twitched. A moment passed before the gall of what had just come out of his friend's mouth hit him. When it did, he nearly laughed out loud. "You'd – you'd like to suggest – "

"This isn't a negotiation," Sirius snapped in a hiss. "Like I said, I don't want to know. I don't need to know. And neither does James, if that's what you're after."

Remus felt himself reddening and his heart pounded faster. "Who do you think you are to sit there and tell me – "

"Shut up," Sirius spat. He glowered at him steadily for several seconds. "You're going to ruin" – he pressed his lips together and inhaled sharply – "everything."

Remus stood and stuffed his book and parchment back into his bag, but Sirius quickly crossed around the desk, blocking his path to the door. He went on in a furious whisper. "Do you think there's any chance in hell that this could end well? What are you going to do, ride off into the sunset together?"

"Move, Sirius," said Remus in a low voice, looking past his shoulder at the door.

"Have a nice little wedding?"

"Shut your mouth," growled Remus.

"Squeeze out a few pups – "

Remus shot his eyes back at Sirius. "You've no idea how I feel about her!"

"Neither do you, mate," smirked Sirius. "The first one's always – "

Remus' arm shot out and he shoved past him toward the door. But Sirius grabbed his elbow and spun him around. Remus dropped his satchel and shoved him, but Sirius seized his arms and pushed him to the floor, sitting on him and pinning his arms down. Remus was acutely aware of everyone in the study hall now staring at them, including Severus; and he had a sudden and unexpected twinge of empathy for the Slytherin, who had been overpowered by Sirius more times than probably even Remus knew. He had the odd sensation of being outside his body looking in, and he thought that this was likely to be the most embarrassing moment of all his years at Hogwarts. He didn't struggle; that would only make it worse. So he looked into his friend's face and waited. Minutes seemed to tick by – but surely it was only seconds – while he felt his uneven breath, in and out, in and out.

"Silence is golden," remarked Sirius sagely, his eyes boring into Remus', his nose mere centimeters away.

But even in his vulnerable position, Remus couldn't let Sirius have the last word, not when he was so wrong. He spoke harshly through clenched teeth, a ragged whisper. "Why does it scare you so much that I might actually be in lo – "

Suddenly Remus felt his throat close up. For a split second he couldn't breathe. Then his breath hitched and he started coughing violently. It went on for some time. Sirius looked at him, concern twitching on his brow; finally he stood up and watched him until the coughing ceased. He offered his hand to help him up. Remus ignored it, shouldered his bag and stalked toward the door, still clearing his throat as he went. As he neared the doorway, he noticed Severus watching him with a thoughtful expression.

Remus stared at him. He tried briefly to pry into Severus' thoughts, to see if somehow he, unlikely as it was, knew about the map, if he'd somehow seen it when he'd gotten into Remus' mind, if it actually could have been Severus who stole into the Gryffindor tower that night rather than Regulus; but it was as if there was a barrier behind his flat, black eyes that he couldn't get past. The corners of Severus' mouth twitched, although his eyes remained sober, almost grave.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Severus intoned.

The two of them peered at each other for several, almost surreal, seconds, then Severus lowered his gaze to his book once more. Shivering, Remus stepped into the hallway and headed back toward the Common Room.

A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing. Here's a little tidbit that may entice you if you like Remus and Lily fics, or Marauder fics in general. Lady Bracknell and I have started a new LJ community for Remus, Lily, and Remus/Lily fics. It's called Red and The Wolf, and you can find it here: redandthewolf dot livejournal dot com. Of course you'd have to take out the spaces and put real dots where the word "dot" appears. ;) So if you're looking for a place to read and/or write some new Remus/Lily fic, go sign up! We'll be having our first fic challenge soon! I look forward to seeing you there:D