Pairings: Remus/Sirius, James/Lily
Rating/Warnings: Sexual situations, language, descriptions of violent acts/deaths
Notes: Magical AU written for the Marauder Big Bang at Livejournal. This is complete and will be posted in 10 parts. If you'd like to read the whole story at once, please see my profile for a link to my LJ page. From there, you can find the post leading to the Marauder Big Bang. Thank you to my beta and inspiration, dogsunderfoot for her help and support, and to brighty18 for going above and beyond the call of duty to get this fest back on track.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all characters, places, objects, ideas, and related material are the property of JK Rowling and her various publishing entities. Neither the author, the artists, nor the marauderbigbang are in any way making a monetary profit from this posting.

Sirius listened with half and ear as Frank relayed the results of their wasted night to Moody and Fabian Prewett. After managing a few hours sleep, he'd gone back into work to discuss strategy for the night's stakeout.

'The time of death coincides with closing time,' Moody told them, reading from the file. 'But if we believe Black's theory that this werewolf is going after a particular person rather than killing randomly, then we can't really rely on that as a clue. It could happen at any time. We'll search the club thoroughly as soon as the moon rises, looking for familiar faces, and we'll need to have people outside from open to close to watch the surrounding area.'

'I'd rather be outside this time,' Frank stuttered, and Sirius smirked.

'Too hot for you, Frank?'

Frank flushed and this time, Fabian joined in Sirius' mirth. 'We'll let you stay outside this time, Frank,' he said as he winked at Sirius. 'Why should you get all the fun? I'll come with you, Black.'

'Not on a first date,' Sirius retorted, batting his eyelashes dramatically. 'I'm not that kind of girl.'

'That's not what I hear,' Fabian said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

'Alright, that's enough of that,' Moody declared as Sirius and Fabian broke down in loud guffaws. 'Minds back on the job.'

They settled down to finish the arrangements for the night and, as the clock ticked closer to moon rise, Sirius fidgeted and squirmed with nervous energy, wishing he could go and work some of it off with Remus. He twirled his wand between his fingers, watching a rainbow of sparks cascade from the end as he thought about what James had said earlier. Why was Lily so set against him and Remus? Not that there was a 'him and Remus', but it irritated him that she was so adamantly opposed to the very idea of them. Was Sirius not good enough for her friend? She said Remus didn't do casual, but hell, Sirius wasn't incapable of commitment.

I just haven't found the right bloke yet.

Sirius bit at his lip, thinking. He and Remus had fun together – more fun than Sirius could recall having with someone other than James or Peter for a long time – and, as an incredible bonus, they also had mind-melting sex. Sirius couldn't stop the satisfied smile from forming, remembering the previous evening's explorations. He could almost feel Remus' mouth stretched around his shaft, could almost taste Remus' come on his own tongue as they licked and sucked each other to almost simultaneous completion. His cock hardened and he couldn't help himself, sliding his hand under the desk to palm the growing erection.

'Black!'

Sirius jumped, hand swiftly dropping from his crotch as Moody approached. 'Y...Yeah?' he stammered, cursing to himself as he felt his face heat up.

Moody frowned at him for a long moment then rolled his eyes. 'We're moving out in ten,' he told him, turning to leave. 'If you need to do anything – go to the bathroom, for instance - do it now.'

He strode away and Sirius groaned. 'Fuckfuckfuck,' he muttered, punctuating his words by hitting his head on his desk.

'Sirius?'

With a growl, Sirius looked up, expecting to see Moody with another snarky remark. 'James?' he said in surprise when he saw his friend staring at him in confusion.

'What were you doing?' James asked, but Sirius just shook his head.

'Don't worry about it,' he said hurriedly. 'What are you doing here?'

James' lips tightened – never a good sign. 'Can we talk somewhere? Now?'

'We're about to leave...'

'It's about Remus.'

Sirius felt an inexplicable frisson of fear and dread. 'Is he alright?'

'Yes. No. Um, can we just...?'

James waved towards the doors along the side of the room and Sirius nodded, standing and leading James to the conference room. He shut the door behind them and looked at James, bracing himself.

'Okay. Spill.'

James' face darkened, and he looked everywhere but at Sirius. 'I finally got Lily to tell me the real reason behind her insistence that you don't see Remus,' he said, watching his own shuffling feet. 'Sirius... Gods, I'm sorry...'

'James, for Merlin's sake...'

'Lily was worried you'd find out about him and turn him in.' James face looked pained and his words spilled quickly from his lips. 'He's a werewolf, Sirius. He... He's an unregistered werewolf.'

'Black? Did you finish your checks?'

Sirius blinked and straightened on his stool, nodding at Fabian before he reached for his drink.

'You're not supposed to actually drink that,' Fabian admonished before swiping the beer out of Sirius' hand and taking a sip himself. 'It's for show.'

'Well, I'm drinking it for show,' Sirius said grumpily, watching as the first flush of club goers fought to gain the barman's attention. 'Come on. There's nothing more we can do in here.'

'Not going to take me out the back?' Fabian pouted playfully, and Sirius rolled his eyes.

'You're not my type, Prewett,' Sirius retorted, pushing himself to his feet. 'Let's go.'

They exited into the cooler night air and took their places in the nearby alley, casting spells and charms to hide their scent and to help them blend into the shadows.

'You okay?' Fabian whispered, as they tried to get comfortable in the tight nook. 'You haven't tried to cop a feel yet.'

Sirius snorted. 'Yeah, I'm... I'm fine.'

He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes tight. When he was small, his uncle Alphard used to tell him that if he just closed his eyes and wished hard enough, anything was possible. Perhaps if he wished hard enough now, the last few hours would turn out to be nothing but a terrible nightmare.

Sirius' second thought after James told him about Remus' secret was that it was all too plausible that Remus - sweet, cheeky, so-good-in-bed Remus – could be the man the entire Ministry Auror squad was hunting, the man that, in his animal form, had ripped apart two innocent men. Sirius found it hard to wrap his head around the idea that someone he knew, someone he'd spent time with and was growing to trust, could do something so hideous.

His first thought, however, had been 'How could he do this to me?'

Sirius' fists clenched and he fought the urge to slam them into the unforgiving brick just so he'd feel something other than betrayed. Hell, he doubted simply pounding the wall with his fists would accomplish the level of oblivion he needed right now. Perhaps if he used his head instead? Anything to avoid the epiphany he could feel coming, but that he was fighting with every ounce of strength he had.

I have feelings for Remus Lupin.

Damn it.

There was a shuffling noise off to the left, and Sirius' eyes snapped open in time to see a rat scurry across the alley. He shook off the haze of hurt surrounding him and refocused his attention on the job at hand. As James had worriedly pointed out earlier, if the rogue werewolf was indeed Remus, and he was hunting specific men, Sirius himself could very well be his next target.

Trying to keep himself alive would be a great way of avoiding thinking about why he felt like his world had shattered.

Lily bit her lip, watching as James paced the room. 'You'll wear a hole in the carpet,' she said lightly, her hesitant smile fading at the dark look she received. 'James, I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say...'

'You seem to have had a lot of trouble saying anything of actual importance lately, Lily,' he snarled, whirling around and stalking over to the foot of the bed. 'You forgot to tell me that Harry's teacher was a werewolf, you forgot to tell me that he was unregistered, you forgot to tell me that you were contributing to the concealment of a dark creature, and you forgot to tell me that you knew my best mate was shagging a werewolf without knowing it. Anything else? Are you keeping a vampire in Lottie's bedroom to watch over her at night?'

'Don't be so bloody ridiculous,' Lily snapped. 'Remus is not a danger to anyone. You're right, I should have told you, but you would have turned him in and, God, James... You've never heard him talk about those holding cells, the stories about what they do to the werewolves in there...'

'Lily, if you don't mind, I really don't want to talk about your precious Remus right now,' James said acidly, turning back towards the bedroom window and staring out at the swollen moon. 'I'm too busy worrying that he's out there ripping my best friend to pieces. Alright?'

Lily opened her mouth, but before she could apologise again for withholding the truth from her husband, she heard Lottie grizzling. Silently, she stood and pulled on her dressing gown before opening their bedroom door. She glanced over her shoulder, sighing in regret at the sight of James standing stiffly, hands in his pockets, staring out at the glowing moon.

There would be no rest in the Potter house tonight.

Sirius put his hand to his head, hissing when it came away wet and red. 'Give me a look,' Emmeline Vance said, appearing at Sirius' side. When he resisted, she slapped the back of his hand. 'Stop being such a bloody pain. Let me heal the damn thing.'

Sirius gave her an incredulous look, but did as she asked. 'I'm too scared not to obey,' he said, wincing when she poked at his head wound. 'If I was into women, I'd be all over you right now, Em.'

Emmeline snorted and cast a mild Cleansing spell, the tingle making Sirius shiver. 'Thought I scared you?' she retorted, and Sirius grinned.

'How do you know that isn't what turns me on?'

Emmeline laughed and quickly healed the cut. The werewolf had knocked Sirius flying as it leaped out of the way of his, Fabian's, and Moody's combined Lupus spell, invented specifically for the capture of werewolves. They'd chased the chestnut-coloured animal for several very long minutes before it managed to escape amidst a hail of spells and hexes.

But not before it had done what it came to do.

Sirius put a hand on the wet ground and struggled to his feet. The world tilted a little and his fingers scraped painfully against the wall as he rode out the dizzying waves.

'Take it easy,' Emmeline warned, grasping his arm. 'You were knocked out for a minute or two.'

'I'm fine,' he muttered, trailing his fingers along the wall as he walked unsteadily towards the circle of Aurors further up the alley, their red cloaks vibrant in the dim, grey early morning light. It wasn't until he got closer, that Sirius was able to catch a glimpse of the muddied, bloody body sprawled across the filthy ground.

Fabian looked up as he approached and he shifted, making space for Sirius to join the group. 'Gods,' Sirius whispered as he stared down at the latest victim. 'How did it have time to do this?'

'I've never seen anything move so fast,' Kingsley Shacklebolt said, his face troubled. 'It was like the werewolf was playing with him. He wasn't interested in eating him, this wasn't about food. He just...' He shook his head and gestured towards the body.

Sirius looked across the mutilated body to Alastor Moody, who met his pointed gaze with pained eyes. 'Black,' he grunted. 'You and Prewett... Fabian, that is, organise the transfer of the body to the morgue. I've contacted Pettigrew. He'll meet you there.'

Sirius nodded, taking one more look at the blood-soaked black hair of the dead man before he cast the spells for transportation.

TBC