So here is the next chapter. I hope you all like! Thank to the following reviewers:

Teacher123 and Werewolf93.

Your thoughts are appreciated!

Chapter Two: Graduation

The remainder of the school year went by relatively slowly for the three Marauders that were left behind. The school was slightly nervous when pranks practically stopped all together; apparently suspicious something big was planned for the future. In truth, the Marauders found that it wasn't fun without their fourth member.

Instead, they seemed to throw themselves into their studies. All three admitted, if only to themselves, that they wanted to make Remus proud of them. Lily and James seemed to grow closer, and even Sirius and Peter found girlfriends.

The first full moon without Remus being there was hard on all three of them. The headed to the Shrieking Shack anyways, and stayed up all night.

"I wonder what he's doing now," Sirius said quietly. They all knew that Sirius blamed himself for Remus choosing to leave as he did.

"I hope he is okay, and that he healed from what happened during that last moon. We were pretty rough on him," James replied.

"I hate thinking about him being out there by himself! He didn't even tell us his mum died," Peter said in distress.

"I hope he'll let us back in one day. Remember how hard it was for him to open up to us the first time?" Sirius said. The three Marauders stared up at the full moon, thoughts on their quiet, studious friend.

ooOoo

Remus Lupin woke up in the basement of the run down little house he had grown up in. His father had built the room to keep him in when he transformed. Remus groaned as he tried to sit up. Once again, he couldn't remember anything that happened in the night, but his aching, bleeding body told him that Moony had been furious at being locked up.

Shaking, Remus crawled to the trunk that was in the corner, and thanks to his father, werewolf-proof. He opened the lid and pulled out a potion, drinking it quickly. It was a pain reliever, which he followed with a blood-replenishing potion and one to help the gashes heal. Then he pulled out a rough blanket, covering his naked body, and curled up on the floor to get a few hours of sleep while his body tried to heal. His last thought before losing consciousness, having the Marauders with me sure makes this more bearable.

ooOoo

N.E.W.T.S were finally over, much to the relief of the seventh year students a Hogwarts. They could finally relax. In one week, they would get the results, and then they would graduate. The emotions of the final year students were mixed. They were thrilled to be going out into the world to become self-

sufficient adults, but terrified of the thought of supporting themselves. They were also sad that they would be leaving the place that had become a home to so many of them.

James and Sirius had already been accepted to the Auror training program, provided they did decently on their tests. Lily was taking an apprenticeship to become a Healer at St. Mungo's. Peter had surprised them all when he decided to accept a job working for Gringotts. He would be spending a lot of time travelling the world once he completed his training.

The group, along with most of the other seventh years from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, were sitting down by the lake enjoying the freedom of classes and homework. As the reminisced about their years, Professor McGonagall approached James, Sirius, Peter, and Lily. She sat in the grass beside them.

"I just thought the four of you would like to know that I saw Remus yesterday. I took him to the Ministry to take his tests. He passed them all with high scores," she said. They all leaned forward eagerly.

"He did? That is great! How is he doing, Professor?" James asked. Minerva sighed,

"Honestly, he looks sick. He mentioned that he is having a bit of trouble adjusting to being alone on the moons again, but assured me that each time it is getting better. He muttered something about Moony not appreciating being locked up in a room.

"I asked him if he managed to get a job, and he was a bit vague about it, but insisted that he was okay. I think he has trouble keeping a job for very long. No matter how much trouble he is having, he was smiling, and acting like his usual self," she told them. They all seemed slightly downcast at the news.

"I just wish he would answer our letters, or agree to meet up this summer, or something!" Sirius exclaimed. "We don't want him to hurt so much."

"Well I think you all will have the perfect opportunity," Dumbledore said quietly, having decided to join them.

"What do you mean, sir?" Lily asked, startled when the Headmaster sat down on the ground beside them. Dumbledore briefly cast a silencing charm, and then looked at them all.

"You all have heard the rumors of Voldemort gaining strength, correct?" he asked. The students nodded in some confusion.

"Yeah, my mother goes on and on about him all the time," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, the rumors are true, and he has begun attacking Muggles and Muggleborns. It is quickly becoming a concern as he gains more followers. Several Light wizards and witches, along with myself have started a group to counter his attacks. He will need to be taken down and I fear he may be even worse than Grindewald. I wanted to ask each of you to join the group, called the Order of the Phoenix. You would join planning sessions, but would continue your training and normal lives as well.

"It is a lot of responsibility and risk, but we are going to need all the powerful, good people we can get. I have spoken to Remus already, and he has agreed to join, in order to help us keep the werewolves from joining the Dark Lord."



"Professor, I would be honored to help with this Order. I have already heard a lot of bad things about this Voldemort jerk, and I agree that he must be stopped," Sirius said, solemnly. They others in the group nodded in agreement.

"I am glad to hear that. I will inform you all when we have our first formal meeting, as soon as I can find somewhere to hold it at," Albus said.

"Sir, I have a suggestion," Sirius said, a smile on his face. Dumbledore looked at him in curiosity.

"Really?"

"Yes, every member of the Black family, whether disowned or not, receives one of the properties of the family. The wards and such on each property are set to the new owner when they are born, so the magic grows and develops along with the child. No one can get into the building without permission from the individual, even other members of the family.

"My place would work out very good, though it probably needs some cleaning. I've never actually stepped foot in the place. My family is known for their, Dark inclinations. God knows what sort of traps there are for the unwary. I am sure if you worked with me and set up your own protections, like the Fidelius Charm, then the place would be as safe, if not safer, than Hogwarts."

"That is an excellent suggestion Mr. Black. Perhaps when school is out, you will show it to me?" Dumbledore said, looking very happy.

"I would love to," Sirius said with a smirk, "I can't think of a better use for a Black house, than to help the Light. My mother would have fits!" he said. James laughed at that, knowing it was true. He had once met Mrs. Black. Not an experience he wanted to try again.

"Excellent, well I will let you all get back to your day. Minerva, join me for a cup of tea?" Dumbledore asked, offering a hand to help her up off the ground. She smiled and agreed, following him back up to the castle.

"Wow, this war is getting serious," Lily said in concern. James nodded in agreement, holding her hand.

"I have a feeling that we are going to be in need for Healer's, Lily," he said softly. Lily sighed leaning up against him, her thoughts, and those of her friends, on what the future might hold.

ooOoo

Remus sat outside his home, underneath a tree, contemplating the results of his exams. He had done very well, earning top scores in all his subjects, despite being absent from school for most of the last year. He had to admit that he was proud of himself.

When he had first been bitten, his family had lost hope of ever gaining a fully trained wizard. His father had been taught basic magic by his parents, as had happened in his family for a long time. His mother had gone to school, but had very limited magical abilities, leaving her able to do only basic magic as well.

He hoped that they would have been proud of him, and he had proved to himself that despite the Lycanthropy, he was capable of mastering magic, and perhaps one day making a living in the wizarding world. He wasn't holding out for a cure, but perhaps his time at school would go far in getting humans to understand that not all werewolves were monsters.



Not all werewolves are monsters. That is a sentence it took Remus a long time to be able to say. In the last months, he had done a great deal of research about his kind, talking to werewolves all over the country, and some all over the world.

He had enough research to write several books. He had learned that those werewolves that accepted what they were, and focused on living their lives, were indeed relatively normal. The packs he'd spent time with had come up with many ingenious ways to be sure that they didn't harm anyone during the full moon.

Though they were exiled from the human world, they seemed content with their lot. Remus learned that for that reason, their transformations weren't nearly the battle his were. Remus knew that he had a long way to go before he could accept the wolf, but he was well on his way to learning and he fully intended on exploring it.

With a sigh, he stood up. It was about time to go to Hogwarts. He had asked Professor Dumbledore to explain to his classmates why he went missing during the year. He was interested in their reactions, and he wanted to be there for his friends.

He honestly missed them, and there was much he wanted to say. Closing his eyes, he Apparated to Hogsmede and began the walk up to the castle. The graduation ceremony was taking place outside by the lake, and Remus could see quite the crowd gathered around.

Remus smiled as he walked up and saw all his classmates, and their friends and family. He couldn't help laugh quietly, as he knew that the teachers had something up their sleeves. In fact, they had gotten Remus in on it, in an effort to shock the students.

Albus stood on a raised stage in front of everyone, and began speaking. "Welcome friends and family, to Hogwarts graduation ceremony. This is a day that I am sure you have anxiously waited for the last seven years. There are many speeches planned, but first I would like to talk with you all.

"In dark and troubled times, something we all must remember is that we still must lead our lives. A big part of doing this is to remember to laugh at the little things. I would like to introduce you all formally to a group of students that has made this their goal in school,"

Remus pulled out his wand, making sure he was still hidden in the back of the crowd. Albus continued, "Please welcome James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, more commonly known as the Marauders!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands, his eyes twinkling brightly. If one looked at the teachers, it would be noticeable that there were many barely concealed smirks as the three Marauders walked up onto the stage.

When they were standing there, Remus gave a little wave of his wand. Behind the Marauders, several rather large balloons began to float, hovering just over their heads, causing the crowd to laugh loudly.

Immediately suspicious, the Marauders began to look around, but could see nothing alarming. Besides, they were relatively confident that they had put enough anti-jinxing spells on themselves, prepared for any thoughts of revenge. However, they did not realize that the member who had designed the series of spells was softly removing them.

"As you all know, we Marauders have made a great deal of mischief over the years. When we first got together, we came up with several goals for our time in school. First, we wanted to see which of us could get the most detentions," Sirius started.



"James won by two!" Peter announced. There was a great deal of laughter at the scowl Sirius gave his best friend. Suddenly there was a roar of laughter, as the background of the stage was suddenly lit up with photographs of the Marauders doing various tasks during detention, including James scrubbing dungeon floors, Sirius gagging as he cleaned hospital bedpans, and Peter being forced to alphabetize a massive quantity of books for Professor Flitwick.

The three young men whirled behind them, and gaped at the pictures. The only people who had been in the room at the time for those moments were the teachers themselves. All three men exchanged suspicious looks, not even noticing the ever-expanding balloons above their heads. They struggled to ignore the photographs flashing behind them.

"Our second goal was to pull off as many pranks as we could, without getting caught. I say we did fairly well at that. We were only caught in the act about a quarter of the time," James said. With those words, the pictures changed from detentions, to the boys being chased, shouted at, and hexed by the victims of various pranks. The laughter of the crowd roared, and the balloons got bigger, and suddenly had animated faces on them, mimicking the person talking.

Peter was starting to look a bit nervous, wondering were exactly this was going. However, he raised his voice to speak as well. "Our last major goal was to make friendships that would last far beyond our days at school. We wanted to find a way to bring together people from many different walks of life, and to have fun with it. I believe we succeeded," he said.

Remus smiled, and made the pictures suddenly disappear. A loud noise behind them made the guys quickly turn around. A message began to write on the screen.

Messrs. Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs:

Congratulations on a job well done. You have succeeded in all of your tasks. Your careers have been illustrious and your pranks well known. You have likely inspired future troublemakers for many generations to come. It has come to my attention that while you have pranked many times, you have yet to have anyone return the favor. Well, unless you count that time Lily glued you all to your beds, or the time Severus managed to convinced you that Professor McGonagall had a secret life as a biker, causing you to pester her enough for a month's worth of detentions, or the time that the house elves refused to feed you anything besides vegetables and followed you around with them for weeks. Not that I am planning on Mapping them all out for the entire school. The staff (and some of your other classmates) feel that it is the last chance for a bit of revenge.

Ah, I can see that you are all looking a bit nervous. You should be! After all, how does anyone possibly know this much about you three? You'll note that everyone here is finding this vastly entertaining, judging by the giggles. Now on to the main show. If you gentlemen would look behind you, you will see three of your most common prank victims. On the left, would be the lovely girls from the Gryffindor Seventh years. In the middle, you will find the astronomy club. And way, way on your right would be practically all of the Slytherins.

Nervous yet? I would be too. Don't worry; they aren't going to hurt you. They just want front row seats. Now if you'll notice that directly above you are three rather large balloons. It is filled with a substance that you have been working on for a while, but have yet to test on anyone. Now, now Padfoot, swearing at it won't help! I am proud to show you all what said mysterious potion does. Everyone, on the count of three… one, two, THREE! Mischief Managed.



With those final words, it suddenly dawned on the boys who exactly was responsible for the prank. They exchanged resigned looks, and waved to the crowd, as the balloons finally burst, showering them in a silvery looking liquid.

When the liquid touched them, all three boys began to sing the school song at the top of their lungs, while mysterious sparkles began shooting off them. The crowd laughed loudly, and the Marauders began to get not it, and started dancing to their own music. Finally when they finished the song, there was a loud bang, and the three boys were turned to their normal state, earning a round of applause from everyone. All three boys bowed, waved to the crowed and returned to their seats.

Laughing, Remus cancelled all of his charms, and watched the Headmaster walk back up to the front.

"Excellent, job well done. Now many of you are wondering, I am sure, about the fourth member of the Marauders. I specifically asked these young men not to mention him, as I wished to do it myself.

"Nearly each and every one of you knew Remus Lupin, the final member of the Marauders. You have plagued James, Sirius, Peter, and all of the teachers with questions to his whereabouts. Early this year an incident prompted him to leave the school, feeling that he was putting everyone here in danger."

A roar of shock was the response to the Headmaster at these words. Albus held up his hands for quiet.

"You are surprised I see. Remus was a very studious young man, who was always willing to help a fellow student, regardless of their House, or friends. He had a penchant for mischief as is obvious by his association with the other Marauders, and I have heard from nearly everyone he was the brains of the operation. However, none of you realize that he had quite a bit stacked against him. It is with his permission, and at his request that I reveal this information to his old friends.

"When I first met Remus, he didn't think there was any chance that he would be able to attend this school. By working with the faculty, I came up with a way that would be safe for him to be here. Remus was always very careful, and never wanted to put any student or teacher in danger. An incident that was much too close for comfort is what caused him to leave the school, refusing to risk putting anyone else in danger.

"Students, your class mate was bitten, and infected, with Lycanthropy when he was four years old. In other words, he was in fact a werewolf." Total shocked silence met this statement. Albus continued, hoping that this would affect each of their outlooks on werewolves in general. "Yes, I allowed a werewolf into the school, however, I also allowed Remus Lupin into the school. A child, a student, and a friend. Magical folk are brought up to fear and hate what they don't understand. Many of you hear the word werewolf and automatically associate it with the word, monster. However, when you think of the words Remus Lupin, do you also associate that with the word monster?

"Many of you will find that you do not. Werewolves are in fact still human, but for one single night of the month. It is a traumatic and rather horrific experience that happened to a person, a human being, which they had absolutely no control over. Prejudice in the wizarding world will not allow anyone to see past the speculation and rumors about so-called 'bloodthirsty' beast.

"But each of you knew Remus, by association at least. Did he seem at all bloodthirsty, or violent? Did he behave like an animal or a monster? The answer is no, he did not. In fact, when he realized you could all be in danger once a month, he insisted on giving up his schooling, so his friends could be safe.



"I want you all to know that Remus completed his schooling on his own and did very well, scoring higher on his exams than any student here. Despite that fact, he will find that his status in the wizarding world will not rise much above 'animal'. His skills, personality, and magical ability will mean very little to anyone he would apply to for a job. They will see one thing only, and that is 'werewolf'. I want each of you to think very hard about how magical creatures, sentient magical creatures are treated in this world. Even ones who are only technically a creature one night a month, are treated a subhuman.

"Such a thing could happen to any of you at any time, and I wonder how it will feel to you then to be refused a job, a home, and even a family because of something you had no control over. I hope you join me in wishing Remus the best of luck in proving to wizards that all werewolves are not bad, much like all people are not bad."

Albus looked around at the thoughtful students, his gaze stopping on Remus. The young werewolf gave him a small smile, and a nod. Albus introduced the Head Boy and Girl to come make their speeches.

Finally, everyone received their certificates, and scattered to speak with their friends and family. James, Sirius, and Peter gathered a short distance away.

"He's here," James announced, and the others nodded in agreement. "That blasted note made to references to our map, and several things no one but us knew about."

All three men seemed to think about this, when a voice from behind them caused them to jump and spin around.

"Of course I am here. I had to see the miracle that is the Marauders graduating from school," Remus said. When the guys turned toward him, they found their old friend leaning up against a tree, a decidedly wolfish grin on his face.