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.

Four days later, Remus blinked as he and Sirius materialized in the garden of a beautiful, homey cottage. He frowned in confusion, and turned to look at Sirius.

'Where are we?'

Sirius looked a little guilty. 'James and Lily's place,' he mumbled.

'Why did you...?'

'Just... trust me, okay?' Sirius pleaded.

He gave Remus a muted smile, and Remus became very aware of the fact Sirius was still holding his arm from their Apparation. He looked down at the long, elegant fingers braceleting his wrist then glanced up at Sirius. Sirius seemed to realise he was still hanging onto Remus and let go, his fingertips brushing lingeringly over the inside of Remus' wrist before the contact was lost.

'Come on,' he said quietly, pinching the sleeve of Remus' jacket between his fingers and giving an encouraging tug. 'Please?'

Remus clamped his jaw shut, fighting the urge to ask the million questions that were on the tip of his tongue, and followed, groaning inwardly when he realised he was checking out Sirius' arse as they went.

Lily appeared in the doorway before they reached the wraparound porch, smiling tentatively at Remus. 'Remus,' she murmured as they reached her. She held out a hand pleadingly. 'I'm sorry. I...'

Remus took her hand, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. 'It's okay, Lily,' he said reassuringly. 'I should have insisted you tell James before I agreed to tutor Harry. I'm sorry if I've caused trouble between you two.'

Lily shook her head. 'It's fine,' she said. Her gaze shifted to include Sirius. 'You'd better come in.'

She turned and led the way into the house. Remus hesitated at the entrance, uncertain of the reception he was about to receive.

'James won't bite,' Sirius said in his ear, his body so close that his chest was brushing Remus' back. 'He might be pissed off, but he knows why Lily chose not to tell him.'

Remus nodded, wishing he could lean back into the warmth and security of Sirius' solid presence. He jumped when, as if Sirius had read his thoughts, a hand pressed reassuringly against his lower back. 'I'll protect you,' Sirius murmured, shifting closer.

Remus closed his eyes as raw want suffused his every cell. His breath escaped in a quiet rush and he slumped back against Sirius before he could stop himself. The hand on his back shifted, sliding smoothly around his body to close over his hip.

'My hero,' Remus whispered.

Sirius groaned softly and let his forehead drop to Remus' shoulder. Remus' hand moved to cover Sirius', and he struggled to open his heavy eyelids. 'We should...'

'Yeah,' Sirius said, voice muffled against Remus' shoulder blade. 'Gods, I'm completely fucking hard. How do you do this to me?'

Remus' breathing hitched, his own throbbing erection straining against his zipper. 'Talent,' he retorted before, with superhuman strength and willpower, he straightened and stepped out of Sirius' reach. 'After you.'

With a sigh and a blatant adjustment of his jeans, Sirius led the way to the living area, turning to face Remus as he came through the door behind him.

'Remus, you've met James...'

Remus took in the bespectacled man's stony face and wanted to turn right back around. At least that's taken care of my erection. Instead, he held out his hand. 'Yes,' he said, eyes on James. 'We've met. I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you from the beginning. I... have a lot to lose, but you had the right to know who was tutoring your son.'

James' hazel eyes flared behind his lenses, but he took the offered hand and shook it perfunctorily. 'Yes,' he said curtly. 'I did.' Lily made a small sound, and James' jaw clenched. 'But I trust Lily's judgment. She would never place Harry in danger.'

'Neither would I,' Remus said and, after a long, searching look, James nodded.

'And this is Peter Pettigrew,' Sirius said, diffusing the tension. 'Peter's a Healer, and he works with the Ministry. He's been helping us out with the victims.'

Peter shot Remus a quick smile and shook his hand quickly. His eyes lingered, though, appraising Remus. Sirius cleared his throat pointedly and Peter, shaken out of his contemplation, said hastily, 'Oh, yeah. Right...' as he bent to pick up a leather briefcase.

His movement seemed to release everyone from their stasis, James and Lily shifting to sit side-by-side on the couch as Peter sank into an armchair. That left a small two-seater love seat for Remus and Sirius, and Remus sat down on the edge, acutely aware of Sirius' denim-clad thigh pressing against his.

'I brought the photographs,' Peter said, reaching into the briefcase and pulling out a sheaf of papers. 'And the initial autopsy report.' He handed the papers to Sirius with a grim expression. 'It was a quick death, but... unpleasant.' His eyes shifted to Remus briefly then he looked away.

Sirius handed Remus a photograph of the second victim. 'Do you recognise him?' he asked softly.

Remus reluctantly took the photo, taking a deep breath before looking at it. 'Oh, Gods,' he breathed, the air rushing from his lungs with a whoosh when he saw the jagged slashes littering the dead man's body. He bit his lip then glanced at the man's face. 'He... Yes.' He looked up at Sirius, face pained. 'He was at the club that night that we... met.'

He heard a snort, a muffled chuckle, and Peter's muttered, 'Is that what they're calling it these days?', and flushed.

Sirius shot a fierce glare in their general direction then turned back to Remus. 'It is him,' he confirmed as he attempted to pry the photograph from Remus' tight grip. 'I recognised him as well.' He tugged on the photo and frowned. 'Remus, you can let...'

'I smelled him,' Remus whispered, finally looking up. His stomach roiled nauseatingly. 'Gods, I could smell him...'

Sirius' eyes widened as he quickly caught on. He clutched at Remus' hand, fingers digging into his flesh. 'You smelled him?' he hissed urgently. 'That's why you stopped to look at them? That bloke with him was...?'

Remus nodded haltingly, wincing when Sirius' nails scratched him. He twisted his hand out of Sirius' grip as he explained in an unsteady voice to the others, 'Werewolves have an enhanced olfactory sense. Everyone's scent is unique – including a werewolf's. I couldn't smell him at first – too many other... factors.' He felt himself flushing when Peter and James exchanged a knowing glance. 'But when I was leaving, I caught a whiff of him.'

He turned to Sirius whose eyes were burning with a fierce intensity that made Remus' whole body tingle with awareness. His breath caught for a moment then he cleared his throat and concentrated on Sirius' words.

'You can identify him?'

Remus frowned. 'Not his face, I'm not sure I remember his features very well,' he said, 'and he can change his appearance anyway, but his scent... He can't alter that with any kind of Glamour spell.' He nodded at Sirius. 'Yeah, I can identify him.'

Sirius' face split into a wide grin. 'You are a fucking marvel, Remus Lupin!'

And then, to Remus' surprise, Sirius cupped his face and kissed him hard.

'So, you're saying it is possible for a werewolf to mark it's prey? To hunt a specific target?'

Remus nodded in answer to Peter's question, smiling his thanks as James handed him a cup of tea. 'My father believed so,' he replied, taking a sip of the hot, sweet brew then letting the heated china warm his hands. 'When I was bitten, it was generally thought that the werewolf that did it placed himself nearby to scare my father. It was decided that he went mad with moon lust and attacked the house, and that I was just unlucky enough to be the first warm body he found when he forced his way through the window.'

He cleared his throat, uneasy talking about this at any time, but especially with Sirius watching him from across the room, those grey eyes inscrutable. 'But they could never explain why he stopped at me,' he said, every inch of him aware of the gaze that was searing into his head, into his heart, seeing everything he had so carefully hidden. 'Why my parents weren't savaged as well when they were sleeping just down the hall.'

'They think the werewolf was after you in particular?' James asked dubiously, shooting Sirius a look before he turned back to Remus. 'Why? From what Sirius told us, your father was the one Greyback thought had slighted him.'

'If I wanted you to hurt, James,' Sirius interrupted quietly, 'I mean really, really crush you, what would be the most effective way to do it?'

James just stared at him; it was Lily who answered. 'You'd hurt Harry or Lottie,' she said tremulously, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes as she clutched James' arm. 'You'd hurt our children.'

The muscle in Sirius' jaw leaped as he stared back at James, his expression carefully guarded. 'It would kill you if they were hurt,' he said simply then he glanced at Remus. 'It was the perfect revenge. He turned you into the very thing your father was trying to protect the wizarding world from.'

There was a moment of silence – as thick as pea soup – then Peter asked quietly, 'How did he mark you? How did he know to go after you? Was it your scent or...?'

'I met him,' Remus broke in. 'Once, just before that month's full moon. My mother had to go into work early so she dropped me off at my father's office. I heard arguing and when Greyback came out, he...' Remus raised his hand to his head. 'He asked if I was John Lupin's son, and when I said I was, he ruffled my hair and...' The hand moved to his cheek. '...he touched my face.'

Remus' voice faltered. Sirius stepped away from the wall he'd been leaning on since their awkward, spontaneous kiss earlier. 'He marked you,' he said, putting it together. 'He rubbed his scent on you, left his signature. That's how he identified you. That's how he identified his victims at the club. He marked them.'

'He arranged to meet them the night of the full moon then waited for them to turn up and killed them,' Peter said almost to himself as he nodded. 'That would explain why no one else was harmed. Why, though? If he has a grudge against Muggles, why not just...' He made a moue of distaste, '... attack the first person he saw?'

'Unless it isn't so much a Muggle thing as a gay thing,' Sirius suggested, sidling past James and Lily to perch on the couch next to Remus. 'Gay bashing is much more common in the Muggle world because, even though the wizarding world accepts homosexuality more readily, it's done behind closed doors to avoid accusations of disloyalty, of contributing to the declining wizarding community. Muggles don't seem to accept it as easily, but they are so much more open about it, with their clubs and pro-rights groups, than we've been allowed to be. Maybe it's an anti-gay thing? A wizard pissed off about Muggles flaunting their sexuality?'

'Didn't you say the werewolf was with that last victim?' James asked, frowning at Sirius. 'If he is gay, why would he be bashing them?'

'Fancying men and accepting and being at peace with being gay are two completely different things,' Remus said softly, but firmly. 'A lot of the most strident gay declaimers are actually repressed queens.'

Sirius snorted and smirked at Remus, the others snickering in the background. Remus grinned at Sirius then shook his head. 'Motive doesn't really matter right now anyway, does it?' he said with a shrug. 'The important thing is catching him.'

He looked at Sirius, all trace of amusement fading. 'And I want to help. Everyone has their own unique scent. I can come to the club with you and...'

'Sniff him out?' James suggested with a raised eyebrow.

Remus gave him a half-smile, but nodded. 'Yeah, something like that.'

'We'll help too,' Peter offered enthusiastically, getting an alarmed glance from James.

'You want me to go to a gay bar?'

Peter smirked at him. 'You can be my bitch, Potter.'

'There is no way you lot are going.'

Remus frowned at Sirius, surprised by the tension threaded through his voice. 'Why not? It was dark that night, Sirius, and the werewolf's back was to me. I couldn't give a positive ID based on that, and neither could you. This is the only way to be sure.'

'And we'll be an extra set of eyes and ears,' Peter piped up, flapping his hand at James in a shushing gesture when he hissed, 'Peter!' at him.

'We'll figure out a way,' Sirius insisted, his expression mulish as he ignored the others in favour of glaring at Remus. 'I'm not dragging you along. You'll be hurt.' Now, he looked over at Peter and James. 'You could all be hurt.'

'I'll be with you,' Remus retorted. 'And it's not like he'll spontaneously transform right then and there. I'm not helpless. Sirius.'

'Neither are we,' said James, his alarm at Peter volunteering him fading in the face of Sirius' doubt.

Sirius shook his head. 'No,' he refused. 'I don't want you anywhere near the Ministry's investigation. Any of you.' He glared at Remus, ignoring the stubborn set to his jaw. 'You're not coming and that's my final word.'

TBC