A/N: Okay, so a lot of stuff happened in this chapter. I apologise if it all seems a bit much, but I'm really just running with the idea as best as I can. I've introduced the idea of a possible canon in this, with the Duelling Club being formed, and that'll be developed. Also, there's mention in the later part of the chapter (Right near the end actually) of liking two people at once. I apologise if that seems a bit farfetched to some people, but I've had a similar experience with boys much like Sirius and my OC, Keiran. So, yes, I've put my own experience in, as I find that easiest to write from. Also, I plan to have at least 40,000 words on this fanfiction by the end of August, but I can only genuinely achieve that if people like you, reading this, shows interest, as it's very difficult to write if I think no-one gives a damn about it :P So please do review and favourite, if it's not too much trouble!


Part II - The Not-so-Secret Society


When the lessons were done the next day, the Marauders headed down to the lower courtyard. Admittedly, all four Marauders had been looking forward it all day, Remus being the only one who could concentrate. They met up with Marlene near the entrance. "Right. We'll start with stunners, we might as well." Marlene smiled softly at them all. "Plus, I'd quite like to see you mix Muggle fighting with magic." She said.
"I'm going to be needed, aren't I?" Remus asked, chuckling.
"I'd expect so, yes." Marlene grinned at him, seemingly forgetting the recent argument between them. All thoughts of the Christmas Party had disappeared, under the idea of a new vocation for them all. They all headed in, and immediately saw the sheer amount of people there. There was at least a quarter of the school. "Alright, guys! Listen up. We're gonna get everything ready, just talk amongst yourselves for a while." She said to the group at large. Keiran walked over, smiling at Remus before the others. "Pete, go and do your charms." Marlene smiled at him, and Peter went off, charming the entrance. Peter was rather skilled at charms, and Remus watched him for a small while. "Right... After that, we'll get everyone calmed down, and start." She said.
"Thinking of going into teaching, Marl?" James asked, smirking.
"Funny, Potter." Marlene rolled her eyes. "Right. Go and get whatever you need ready." She said, and all three of them strolled off, leaving Keiran and Remus.

"Hey there." Keiran smiled, leaning against the wall. Keiran was in Muggle wear, a t-shirt and jeans. Keiran was fairly tall, and Remus' forehead came up to his eyeline. The boy had rather dazzling blue eyes, and a mess of black hair atop his head. He was, Remus thought with some embarrassment, rather attractive. The clothes only heightened this.
"Hey." Remus tried to sound casual and light. In reality, he was feeling rather nervous, after James and Marlene's comments the previous night.
"You okay? You look a bit... Nervous?" Keiran asked, frowning softly. Great. Remus thought. He can read expressions.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Remus threw off the question with an airy laugh. "Just never helped teach a lesson before." It was a very easy lie, though Remus blushed slightly as he said it. He just hoped Keiran would attribute it to the cold.
"Hmm. You'll do a fine job. Professor Flitwick tells me that you're brilliant at wandwork." Keiran paid Remus the compliment easily, only increasing the shade of red colouring the latter's cheeks.
"Well..." Remus paused, nerves increased tenfold. "Thank you, Keiran."
"My pleasure, Remus." Keiran smiled brightly at him. There was something in that smile, though Remus couldn't quite place it. Before he had the chance to think, Marlene's voice rang out.
"Alright, quieten down!" She shouted above the crowd. "Pete's put the silencing and distraction charms on this place, so we should all be okay. We're going to be covering Stunning Spells today, so we've put some mats out." Marlene smiled. "I want you all to find a partner who you're comfortable... You know, knocking unconscious." She chuckled softly at this, as did several others. "When you do, don't do anything yet." Within seconds, there was a rush and, about a minute later, everyone was sorted. James and Sirius had formed a group, as had Peter and Marlene. Somehow, Remus knew why Peter and Marlene had formed an unlikely duo. Remus glanced sideways at Keiran, who smiled softly. Marlene, James and Sirius glanced at them, almost in unison and smirked between themselves. "Right. Remus and Keiran, would you like to do a demonstration for us?" Marlene asked, and Remus stepped gingerly forward, contrasting with Keiran's rather grand step forward. Keiran and Remus stood about three metres apart, with mats behind them. "Remus will stun Keiran first. Watch how his hand moves when he does. Verbally, if you don't mind, Rem." Marlene added, and Remus nodded, holding his wand tightly.
"Right." Remus mumbled. He began to speak a bit louder. "The wand movement for this is very simple. You just slash." Remus showed them the movement, and the tip of his wand lit up a tiny bit. Remus smiled. "The incantation, also simple: Stupefy. Everyone say that?" Remus asked to the group, and there was a chorus of the word. "Good. Now, the effect this has varies from wizard to wizard, depending on the wand, the emotion behind the spell and, of course, the power of the wizard or witch." Remus smiled. "I'll show you the most drastic." He looked at Keiran. "You ready?" Remus asked. Keiran nodded, showing a small amount of fear. Remus whipped his wand around himself a little bit, and the tip began to glow a bit. Gathering every bit of emotion he could muster, he bellowed 'Stupefy!' and sent the boy opposite flying backwards, landing softly on the mat. Several students laughed, and Remus ran over, quickly muttering 'Rennervate', creating a brilliant red light, and awakening the previously unconscious Keiran. Remus helped the boy up, chuckling. Keiran looked a bit surprised, and they wandered back over to the main group. "That, ladies and gentlemen, is a Stunning Spell when the wizard or witch cannot control themselves. I would not recommend that, as it takes a fair bit out of you, too."

"Well done, Remus!" James grinned. Their was a round of applause, and Remus bowed, fairly embarrassed. "Now, I think Keiran would like a go?" James smirked.
"Indeed, I would." Keiran grinned, and whispered in Remus' ear: "Oh, I'm going to get you back for that." The voice was playful, and Remus laughed.
"Tell you what. If you can hit me, go ahead. This is a good way to show how to block it." Remus smirked, and Keiran winked, before heading back opposite him. Keiran shouted 'Stupefy', and send a jet of red light at Remus, which he easily deflected, the spell hitting a wall, causing red sparks to fall from the impact. Another stunner, this time absorbed by Remus' shield charm, after a louder-than-needed 'Protego!'. Keiran grinned at him, loving the challenge, and sent another at him, this time non-verbal. Remus barely twisted his body out of the way, causing the spell to hit the wall behind him. Unfortunately, Remus did not have time to react to the Stunning Spell that hit him in the chest. He fell to the ground, landing on the mat, unconscious.

He was resuscitated only a few seconds later, and helped off the floor by Keiran. Keiran grinned at him, and bowed to the applause. Remus play-glared at him, and chuckled, shaking his head. "Alright, now we've seen how it should be done, it's your turn. This courtyard's big enough to comfortably hold you all. We've put mats down everywhere we want people to duel and, of course, be safe. Your Heads of Houses won't be too pleased if we end up killing one of you." James laughed at his last comment, and smiled, continuing. "Right, hop to it." He said, and the students did. Walking around the groups, Remus was delighted to see Houses paired with other Houses, and was very surprised to see even a few Slytherins in the mix. The Slytherins stayed mostly paired with themselves, being only four of them. Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors and Ravenclaws mixed together, though, and all were chatting politely, in-between rounds of stunning each other. Remus wandered back to the front of the courtyard, where the other leaders were. Marlene was talking to James and Peter, while Sirius and Keiran were laughing. Marlene turned to Remus as he came over.
"I've been thinking. I know we've only just started, but we could legitimise this." She told him, and Remus blinked. "I could talk to Professor Lorkiss about making this a duelling club. That could mean it would be official, allowed and be in a safer environment. Also, Lorkiss could give us a hand to run it. I think we could get more people interested, and we could probably keep the bullying to a minimum." She explained.
"That sounds like a good idea." Remus nodded. "How do we stop it from attracting the... 'Wrong lot'?" Remus asked, glancing around.
"Easy. We only put up the sign-up sheets in the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Common Rooms." Marlene shrugged, as if this was an easy thing.
"No." Remus shook his head, and the others looked at him. "I've seen some Slytherins here. They're enjoying it, and they're pleasant. It isn't right to segregate the Houses."
"Hmm." Marlene frowned. "Alright. Well, tell those Slytherins to bring their friends, and only those who wouldn't make trouble." Marlene reasoned, and Remus nodded, heading over to one of the Slytherins. He waited patiently, until the Slytherin turned to him. The boy smiled. He was in the year below the Marauders, and introduced himself as David. Remus told him the plan, and he nodded, seemingly understanding.
"Right. So tell only the people who are sick of the bullying?" David asked, and Remus nodded. "Okay. There's a few of us." The boy grinned, and went back to practicing. Remus went back to the others, smiling brightly.

When the first session had finally finished, they all went back up to the castle. Marlene went to talk to Lorkiss, who would be in her office, while everyone else ventured back to the Great Hall, for dinner. James, Sirius and Peter walked in front, each of the boys in deep conversation, laughing all the while. Remus and Keiran walked slightly behind, having a similarly fun conversation. However, instead of raucous laughter and jokes, their conversation involved rather ethical subjects, including goblin rights, the idea of 'magical blood', and the fearful prospect of one day running out of magic. "What if it does have matter, though?" Remus asked, frowning. "One day we'll just run out. If there's such thing as magical blood, then surely it has matter. Otherwise, what would make us different to Muggles and Squibs?" Remus asked, and Keiran nodded.
"I guess. But we've been using magic since the dawn of time, Remus. We're hardly likely to run out now." Keiran reasoned but, he had to admit, the idea unnerved him.
"Hmm... I suppose." Remus frowned, then smiled brightly at Keiran. "Anyway. Moving off the subject of our world ending." He chuckled, as did Keiran.
"Yeah, probably best." Keiran looked down, and thought for a minute. They entered the Great Hall, and Marlene came running back.
"Good news and bad news!" Marlene seemed breathless. "Erm... Come with me!" She told them all, and they all followed her to Lorkiss' office. The Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was sat behind her desk. A tall, rather thin woman, she was surprisingly inviting.
"So, Miss McKinnon's told me all about this little club you're all planning." The woman's eyes were hard, and they all felt a horrible sense of foreboding. "I must say, it's a fantastic idea. Really, I don't know why we haven't thought of it. Especially with the war, and whatnot." Professor Lorkiss smiled brightly. "Unfortunately, school policies prevent me from allowing you all to run it by yourselves."
"Right. Couldn't you help us run it?" Remus asked hopefully.
"Unfortunately, such clubs require two teachers. If you were willing to put in the legwork, it could very easily work." Professor Lorkiss smiled kindly at them. "I'm definitely in, though. Your best bets are Professors Flitwick, Sprout and, possibly, Slughorn. Professor Flitwick himself was once a duelling champion." Professor Lorkiss informed them. Shortly after, they excused themselves.
"Right. I think the first teacher we should try is Sprout." Remus said, and the other Marauders nodded. "She's the least likely to say no. She's always had a soft spot for us." Remus smiled.
"Yeah, Remus is right. We'll go and do that. Marl, you and Keiran... Get Evans and Emm, see if they're interested." James frowned, and Marlene nodded.
"Will do. Come on, Keiran." She began to walk off, and Keiran caught up quickly.
"He definitely likes you, Remmy." James grinned, after they were out of earshot.

They arrived at the Herbology Greenhouses not ten minutes later. They were all teasing Remus, though Sirius seemed fairly reserved on the subject. When they got to the door to go in, they entered one by one. Professor Sprout was behind a closed door, with a pair of bright pink earmuffs on. Thankfully, Professor Sprout had placed silencing charms on the windows as Remus saw, with a grimace, she was repotting Mandrakes. When she saw them, she finished potting the one she was holding, and opened the door to them, removing the earmuffs. "Hello, boys!" The plump Herbology professor smiled brightly at them. "Have you come to bring me the essay I asked for homework?" She asked. They all glanced quickly at each other."
"Not quite, no." James answered, smiling a bit nervously. "Actually, we came to make you a bit of an offer, Professor."
"Oh, really?" Professor Sprout's interest seemed piqued. "Go on?"
"Well..." Sirius stepped forward. "Seeming as we're at war, and all..." He chuckled nervously, "We thought that we'd try and set up a duelling club." Sirius smiled at Sprout, who looked thoughtful. "We've got Professor Lorkiss, and we thought we'd ask you to be the second member of staff involved."
"Hmm." Sprout smiled widely. "I'd love to. I know it might infringe on your own authority in the group, but you might consider asking the other Heads of Houses, especially Professor Flitwick and Professor Slughorn. I've heard them talking about how we need some other competition between houses, rather than Quidditch."
"Oh..." Sirius' smile seemed to falter.
"That's a great idea." Remus chimed up, grinning. "We already have a fair few people from your house involved in the idea. Spread the word, if you can, please Professor." Remus smiled.
"Of course, Mr. Lupin." Sprout smiled back, and the Marauders left.

"We can't get other teachers involved!" James protested. "This is meant to be our thing."
"James, from the sounds of it, they don't want to be running it." Remus grinned at him. "They want to be involved." At his words, the other three looked confused. "Listen, I'm going to find Keiran and Marl, see if they've managed to convince Lily and Emmeline. You three try and convince the other teachers." Remus instructed, and James looked reluctant.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" James asked hesitantly.
"Yes, I'm sure." Remus nodded. "Now go!" He said, and walked off in the other direction, towards Gryffindor tower. On the way there, a few people of the duelling club nodded at him, and he smiled back. He saw the familiar red hair of Lily Evans. She was leant against the wall, next to the portrait hole of Gryffindor tower. Keiran was opposite her, and Marlene was stood to the side. They seemed to be in deep conversation. Lily was frowning and, seeming as Remus could only see Keiran's back, Remus could only guess at his expression but, coming from the voice now reaching his ears, Keiran was getting stressed.
"Come on, Lily! It'll be fun." Marlene insisted, smiling. "We had our first meeting earlier and-"
"You did what?" Lily asked incredulously. "What if someone had got hurt? What if someone had found out? You could have all been expell-"
"But we weren't." Remus butted in. "Marlene, Sprout's in. The others are working on getting the other Heads involved." Remus quickly explained his reasoning why this was a good idea, to which Keiran nodded enthusiastically.
"That'll be brilliant! Give something for the Houses to compete at, that isn't Quidditch." The tall, dark-haired boy grinned at Remus. Remus nodded slowly.
"See, Lily?" Marlene asked. "It's teacher-approved. Everything'll be safe. Plus, we have a Head Boy," Marlene nodded at Keiran, "A prefect," She nodded at Remus, "A Defence teacher, and at least one Head of House."
"I don't know, Marl." Lily looked extremely conflicted.
"Listen, Lily. I can do healing spells, but you're way better than I am at them. Plus... This is a chance to stop bullying." Remus shrugged casually. "Come on. It'll be fun, I promise."
"Ugh." Lily said, after a moment of consideration. "Fine. I'll join your club."

The next time they all met was half an hour later, as they all entered the Great Hall. "Flitwick's in, and so's Slughorn." Sirius informed them, as they all sat at a table, Keiran included. "Next one we need to convince is McGonagall. Slughorn was very enthusiastic, but Flitwick was a bit reluctant. We convinced him when we told him about the competition element of it." Sirius chuckled.
"Right. We'd better try tonight. She'll be in her office." Marlene reasoned. "If we don't try, the other teachers will tell her first... We don't really want that."
"I agree." Keiran nodded. "Unfortunately, I have duties to attend to. I'll see you all later, okay?" Keiran and smiled at all of them, though he lingered on Remus for a while, before walking briskly out of the hall. Sirius frowned tightly.
"Right... We're all in Gryffindor and... Well, strength in numbers, right?" Marlene continued. "Plus, she's unlikely to refuse her favourite students." She rolled her eyes at James and Sirius. "Come on, you lot."

They all wandered to McGonagall's office, on the first floor of the school. There were six of them, the Marauders, and Lily and Marlene. They wandered together in a group, though not in any kind of organised fashion. They were talking, rather loudly, and laughing along the way. "You did do a marvellous job of stunning the poor guy, Rem." Marlene chuckled. "I've never seen the smirk wiped so quickly off his face."
"What do you mean?" Remus asked, frowning.
"Well, he looked all confident and brash and... Well, you showed him what you could do. I think he assumed you'd be easy." Marlene laughed again. "But you, err... You showed him."
"Well..." Remus smiled softly, "I'm glad I did then."
"Do you like him, Remus?" James asked, turning to him. Remus froze. This was not the conversation he wanted to have right now.
"Erm..." Remus stammered a small bit. He looked outside. "It's getting dark, we should hurry up."
"Don't change the subject, Moony." James grinned at him. "Do you like him or not?" He asked. Remus looked around the faces. Lily looked a tiny bit confused, but smiled at him nonetheless; Marlene was looking at him expectantly; James was grinning from ear to ear, as was Peter; and Sirius looked... Sad? Remus frowned at his friend, but turned back to James.
"No. Why would I?" Remus asked, hoping he sounded convincing. There was a horrible feeling in his gut, and his first instinct was to bolt. He refrained from doing so, however, and kept walking.
"I dunno." James shrugged sarcastically. "Maybe because you can't stop looking at him?"
"I do not keep looking at him!" Remus protested. "Plus, I'm not gay anyway, Prongs. Sorry to disappoint you, and all." Remus decided to turn it back on his friend. There was a burst of laughter from Marlene.
"Funny, Moony." James rolled his eyes, and turned away. Sirius looked at him weirdly, but flashed him an amused smile, before turning away too. As they walked, Remus lagged a bit behind, and Lily joined him.
"Do you like him?" Lily whispered, nudging him.
"I... I don't know, Lily." Remus sighed. "Yes... No!" He sighed in frustration. "I just don't know."
"Don't worry. You don't have to know. That's the fun of it." Lily winked at him, and Remus smiled brightly at her. They rejoined the main group. James seemed to have recovered from Remus' comeback, and was now laughing with Sirius and Marlene. Peter was standing loyally by their side. They reached the office door, and James knocked. Hearing the command to enter, they all did. Professor McGonagall looked a bit surprised to see them all in her office. Especially since she'd been roaring at three of them not three days previous.
"Good evening, all of you. Can I help?" She asked, frowning at them in turn. She seemed very confused.
"Erm... We have an offer." James was the one to speak, and smiled confidently at the witch behind the desk.
"Hmm?" McGonagall inquired, before James explained the idea, and informed her of the teachers already involved. At the mention of a competition between the Houses, McGonagall's eyes seemed to light up. "Well, Mr. Potter... This certainly is a well thought-out proposal. I trust this will not impede the Quidditch team at all?"
"Of course not, Professor!" James grinned. "I'll keep training them as hard as ever. It's just that we'll now be able to beat Slytherin in two things, not just one!"
"Then... Yes, I think I would be prepared to attend this club. I'm sure I can convince the Headmaster to allow us the Great Hall for one evening every... Fortnight?" McGonagall asked and, in answer to James' enthusiastic nod. "Very well. I shall talk to him about it tomorrow."

"Every fortnight?" Sirius asked when they got outside. "Merlin's beard... That's gonna be difficult to pull off." He laughed slightly.
"Yeah, well. We can do it." James grinned around. "This should be good."
"It'll definitely be interesting." Remus smiled. "People will definitely be interested."
"Ever thought of going into teaching, Moony?" Sirius asked, turning to Remus.
"Like they'd have me." Remus snorted, then blinked as he looked at Marlene, who looked utterly confused. "I'm a bit too... Practical for conventional methods." He made the excuse, having thought extremely quickly. She nodded in understanding.
"You were really good today. Gave Keiran a good old shock, too." James grinned. "And us, I think. I've never seen a Stunner performed so... Powerfully." James admitted.
"Yeah, well." Remus shrugged modestly. "One-off, I guess." James gave a snort of disbelief, but said nothing. They went back to the Common Room, where there were very few people.

James and Sirius immediately slumped onto the couch together. Remus sat in an armchair, and Lily plopped herself on the arm of it. Marlene sat in the opposite armchair, while Peter sat on the floor. Emmeline came down when she heard them, and sat on the arm of Marlene's armchair. Remus was deep in thought, and barely registered her. It wasn't out of ignorance, simply out of the dilemma he now faced. Keiran was... Different, and he struck a completely new chord with Remus. Remus was sure he felt something for him. But... There was Sirius. Remus had liked Sirius for a long time. But this felt different. It didn't feel like it did with Sirius. It felt lighter. Less like a void in his stomach. It felt... Good. Remus liked Sirius. He was one of his best friends but, as he'd considered before, there was no hope of a relationship with him. Remus couldn't let go of the feeling, however. Keiran, however... Was a fitting distraction. No, he's more than that. Remus inwardly chided himself. He's more than a distraction. Remus sat in the chair for a while, frowning, the feeling of butterflies in his stomach growing. He knew what he had to do. And he wasn't prepared to wait. He stood, and excused himself abruptly. Fully aware of everyone staring at him, he ran out of the Common Room, towards the Ravenclaw Common Room.