FIFTH YEAR

Lily snorted and small chunks of stoat sandwich flew through the air towards a startled Remus and a chuckling Hagrid.

Remus had spent a fair portion of the last week being startled. The mere fact that Lily had accepted one of Hagrid's stoat specialities was one of the more unexpected occurrences of the day, but hardly rated a mention when compared to arrival of a prefect badge two days before the beginning of term.

At least Lily had made some effort to explain the sandwich – apparently any protein was welcome after a summer of her bony sister's health food fix. The badge was less easily explained away. As his white-faced mother had released the owl out the kitchen window, lines of incredulity creasing her forehead as a smile gradually formed on her face, Remus had sat at the small table and stared at the small metal pin, fingering it numbly.

A werewolf prefect? It sounded like some bizarre horror story that undoubtedly ended in mass carnage and a silver bullet piercing a school uniform. However, his lycanthropy was not the only factor that made the arrival of this badge nonsensical. Was Dumbledore somehow unaware that Remus was friends with the most troublesome duo in Hogwarts' history?

"You mean Sirius actually offered to remove the burden from you and become prefect himself?" Lily finally managed, looking completely unabashed at her small explosion of sandwich. Remus, far too used to his friends' repulsive eating habits to care about this lapse in ladylike manners, nodded his head wryly.

"I think I should really give him credit for his willingness to sacrifice his own happiness for mine," Remus said seriously, digging his fingers deeply into a blissful Fang's coat. "He really seemed to mean it."

"But it's an honour!" Hagrid broke in, unable to comprehend Remus' reaction to Sirius' offer.

"Is it really?" Remus moaned desolately, thinking back to his friends' stunned, disbelieving silence. "I'm a Marauder, Hagrid, I'm a magical mischief maker, and now I'm meant to deny my nature and become Dumbledore's stooge?"

"Was that James' reaction to your news?" Lily asked critically, raising an eyebrow at the despairing Remus.

"In those exact words? Yes."

"Well, you knew they weren't going to understand," Lily said airily, rubbing Remus lightly on the back and exchanging an amused smile with Hagrid, who was picking up his stoat sandwich for another enormous bite. "And anyway, I, for one, am extremely honoured to be a Gryffindor prefect. It's the first step to becoming Head Girl, you know."

Remus brightened a little at this, remembering that his disastrous appointment to such a disappointing position of responsibility was tempered by the fact that he was joined in his task by Lily.

"Yeah, at least I'm not alone," he conceded, offering a small, crooked smile to Hagrid and Lily, giving Fang an extra scratch behind the ears. "And hey, it might even give me something to do while Sirius and James are at Quidditch practice."

"You mean besides studying," Lily drawled, rolling her eyes in mock despair. "Oh, OWLS, plague of my life, curse of my studies, occupier of all spare time – remember all that, Remus?"

"Oh, please don't go there," Remus begged, and Hagrid nodded understandingly. Although Lily and Remus had never been able to find out why exactly Hagrid was expelled in his third year at Hogwarts, they understood that studying had never been his forte anyway. From Hagrid's glowing accounts of his school days, they had determined that the majority of their bearded friend's time was spent exploring the Forbidden Forest in pursuit of exciting magical creatures.

"Tha' reminds me," Hagrid put in, tapping an enormous finger on the table's wooden surface pensively. "Have Sirius and James been making more time for yeh recently? I was this close to talkin' to them about it, yeh know."

Remus flushed slightly as Lily slid him a questioning glance. Back before his birthday last year, when he had discovered the truth behind his friends' frequent mysterious disappearances, Remus had felt abandoned. Apart from becoming closer to Lily, Remus had eventually (and quite uncomfortably) responded to Hagrid's prompts, and they had talked stiltedly about the potential connection between his lycanthropy and his friends' odd behaviour.

"Well, er, it's only the third day of term," Remus hedged, twisting his wrist awkwardly in his hand. "But I'm sure they'll be normal now – I mean, we're all in fifth year, and presumably a bit more mature."

"Fifteen-year-old boys, mature?" Lily snorted, and Remus shot her a wounded look. "Not you, silly," she muttered, shaking her head. "You, unlike the rest, seem to have a brain."

"She's got a point there, Remus," Hagrid said seriously, pushing back on a flimsy-looking kitchen chair, which teetered threateningly on its shaky hind legs. "But yeh gotta know they don't mean any of it. From what this young lady 'ere tells me, James isn't the sort who'd abandon a friend because of what they are."

Remus paled slightly and attempted to convey a clear warning to Hagrid with only his eyes, but the rough, well-meaning voice continued:

"Friendship doesn't stop at six feet, and it certainly doesn't stop at a full moon."

There came a slight movement from Remus' left as Lily dropped her sandwich (into a perfectly situated Fang's mouth). He clawed a hand over his eyes and refused to look at the last close friend that he'd had who thought he was just a normal human.

Remus felt the table shift slightly as Hagrid whipped his head to stare at Lily and then Remus, and back to Lily in confusion.

"Yeh didn't know?" Hagrid asked a little too loudly, a note of panic evident in his voice.

"I knew."

Remus jerked his head out of his hand as Lily's quiet voice filtered through, and stared wildly into calm green eyes.

"I've known since last year, Remus, when you missed one too many Astronomy classes for it to be a coincidence."

Remus laughed hollowly. "I hate that class."

"That little fact also helped to key me in," Lily said quietly, reaching over and grasping Remus' arm soothingly. "I don't care, Remus. Exactly like Hagrid said. And if your friends deserve to hang around you – which I often doubt – then they will mature up fast."

Lily smiled reassuringly at a distraught Hagrid, who flushed and calmed instantly at her praise.

"We'd better leave, Hagrid – afternoon classes are about to begin."

As soon as the two students were outside Hagrid's cabin, they began walking towards the castle. Remus kept his eyes on the grass as he shoved his hands in his deep robe pockets. An uncomfortable silence fell between the pair. Finally, Lily broke through the awkwardness:

"Really, Remus, it was just silly of you to think that I would avoid you because of your lycanthropy. I mean, if anyone is going to understand how it feels to be incapacitated with pain once a month, it's going to be a girl."

Lily achieved her intended effect; Remus' white face began to billow with bright red embarrassment as he deciphered her rationale. Glancing across to her mortified friend, Lily broke into giggles, which served only to deepen Remus' flush. She shook her head in exasperation.

"Don't tell me that you're more freaked out about my 'monthly issue' than I am of yours!"

She continued giggling quietly all the way across the sweeping lawn, attracting a few curious glances from passing students, and ignoring Remus' despondent mutterings about "the problem with girls".

It was only when Lily came to a sudden halt in the Entrance Hall that Remus emerged from his little bubble of horror. His head jerked up violently as his shoe caught Lily's heel, and he made to apologise, but was interrupted by a familiar, unwelcome voice.

"Lily."

Remus' eyes shifted forward, knowing exactly who that slimy voice belonged to. It wasn't exactly that he had any personal issue with Severus Snape – it was just that after all these years, James and Sirius' distaste for the Slytherin seemed to have rubbed off on Remus. However, aware of his current company, he swallowed his scowl, and set his face in a blank stare.

"Snape," Lily replied coolly, keeping her eyes fixed on those of the boy in front of her. Remus stared a little harder; could Snape be nervous? He certainly seemed to be twisting his robes in his fingers with a little more pressure than necessary.

"Evans," Snape replied finally, his tone low, his face distorted in an uneasy frown. "It's been a while."

"I'll say," Lily snapped, her fists clenching slightly at her sides. "Though I assumed you'd been too busy spending time with Malfoy and Goyle and that lot to notice."

Remus' eyes widened. Lily and Snape, spend time together? A Slytherin and a Gryffindor with a friendship worth whatever current resentment this was? Well, this would be something to tell the others about.

Right now, however, he just felt vaguely worried for Lily, and increasingly uneasy about the scene before him that had begun to attract a bit of attention from other students. Snape had stepped forward almost menacingly at Lily's words, waving his hand dismissively.

"They're in my House, Lily. That's how it works. And – and we share a lot of interests, you know."

"Oh, I know," Lily said softly, shaking her head in apparent disgust. "Sinking into the Dark Arts like I said you would? You should have stayed my friend, Severus."

"I tried, but-" Snape began almost earnestly, but seemed to stop himself before making too many excuses. Pausing, momentarily at a loss for words, he scanned the curious eyes peering from around the Entrance Hall and finally settled on Remus. His dark eyes narrowed.

"Why are you wasting time with him, anyway?" Snape sneered, glaring now at a surprised Remus. "Where are your friends, Lupin?"

From beside Remus, Lily began to rile dangerously, but before she could spit out a retort, he answered calmly:

"I don't know, Snape, if you're referring to James, Sirius and Peter. But you shouldn't worry about me so much. I was just walking with a close friend," he gestured to Lily, "and we were about to go to Transfiguration."

Remus put a reassuring hand on Lily's shoulder and made to walk past Snape, but he was stopped forcibly by the greasy-haired boy's outstretched arm. Trying very hard to conceal his pain – for Snape had inadvertently knocked one of Remus' many bruises – Remus paused, grimacing inwardly.

Yet it seemed Snape had noticed the fleeting expression of pain darkening Remus' face.

"What's wrong, Lupin? Did you fall over on your way to your poor aunt's bedside during the holidays?"

A couple of watching Slytherins laughed as Snape stared down at Remus, who struggled to keep his face neutral. In truth, Remus wasn't sure what emotion to display. Certainly, Snape had failed to insult his nonexistent aunt, but then again, shouldn't Remus appear angry to keep up with his pretence? It was all so confusing. Somewhere amid the jumble of his mind, Remus had to remind himself not to look too perplexed, and almost laughed out loud in pure anxiety.

Finally, he allowed his natural reaction to carry through somewhat, and coughed out what he hoped was offhand laughter.

"What's it to you, Snape? It looks like you're the one with a bruised ego here."

Remus was mildly pleased with himself. That was a comeback Sirius would probably have been proud of.

Snape glowered now, towering over Remus with his wand suddenly in his hand. Nerves clawed at Remus' stomach, reminding him of his utter inability to both defend himself and effectively curse an enemy. Nonetheless, with a quiet sigh, he removed his own wand from his robes, and pointed it with false confidence at the Slytherin before him.

"What are those scratches on your face, then?" Snape asked quietly, his voice becoming dangerously silky, and the murmuring of spectators ceased for a moment. "Did you get into some trouble during summer?"

Lily's voice suddenly broke through to the pair, a shrill note of warning evident in her words. "Leave him alone, Snape. What's he ever done to you?"

"I'll leave him alone when he leaves you alone, Evans," Snape said with more volume, his eyes still fixed on Remus'. "Does your daddy leave you alone, Lupin? Or does he beat you during the holidays? Is that why you've got so many scars?"

Remus' face whitened considerably. He could feel the burn of hundreds of eyes on his back, and he had absolutely no response for this malicious question.

"You go to hell, Snivellus," a familiar voice suddenly announced from the direction of the staircase.

Remus swung around, his wand still extended before him, his chest swelling with relief. Finally; the cavalry arrives. From his peripheral vision, he saw Lily move towards him, and felt her hands gently press on his shoulders as she attempted to move the two boys apart.

Snape snarled under his breath. He, like Remus, had turned abruptly to see a glowering Sirius begin to stalk towards the pair, James closely following. Remus absently noted, with some faint beat of humour, that Peter had stayed safely at the foot of the staircase.

"Everyone knows that your mum hits you, why take it out on Remus?" Sirius continued dangerously. Remus shook his head slightly, willing his friend to play fair. Be better than your enemy, that's the Gryffindor way, right?

When no immediately retort was shot back at Sirius, Remus turned his head slightly to glance at Snape, and immediately knew he shouldn't have. Snape was visibly trembling with anger. His narrow shoulders heaved as if the Slytherin was trying to control himself, maybe to preserve some dignity, Remus didn't know. As Remus met Snape's eyes, he realised that some boundary had been overstepped. He leg twitched as he felt the instinctual urge to step back, but before he could move-

"Let's see whose bruises have to be explained here!" Snape shrieked, raising his wand over his shoulder, bringing it crashing down with a curse whose words were muffled by a sudden crescendo in the watching crowd's pitch.

A moment later, with a slight ringing in his ears, Remus opened his eyes to stare out into the silent Entrance Hall. What had happened? What had Snape done to him? Why did Sirius and James look so appalled, and why was Lily rushing towards him with her face halfway averted, ripping her cloak hurriedly from around her shoulders?

As a cold draught washed over his chest, Remus glanced down and swayed in horror. His robe and shirt had disappeared. The torn, pale skin of his torso was exposed to the whole school, and nothing, not an abusive father, not his sick aunt, could possibly explain away the jagged lines that claws had torn through his flesh.

As Lily threw her cloak about his shoulders, Remus buried his face in the warm folds. He couldn't bear to look at anyone. He hoped Snape would finish the job right then and there.

"Merlin," came a stunned voice from beside his ear, but Remus refused to raise his head to confirm the obvious truth. "I know you said your rabbit was vicious, but this is something else, Moony."

Remus' heart stopped beating in sudden confusion. Sirius? What was he talking about?

"Yeah," James contributed, stopping very close to where Remus presumed Lily to be standing. "Talk about a furry little problem, eh, Remus?"

Hardly daring to believe his friends' (crazy) ingenuity, Remus slowly pulled his flushed face from its material seclusion and stared as Sirius gave him a rather slow and obvious wink.

"Oi," he choked dazedly, "don't insult Mr Carrot."

He exchanged a startled glance with Lily, who looked like she was about to burst from a mixture of anger, fright, worry, annoyance and laughter, and allowed Sirius to wrap a reassuring arm around his shoulders.

"Snivellus will pay for this," Sirius muttered, antagonism etched into his tone. Snape had obviously departed promptly after throwing his curse; Remus couldn't say he was sorry about that.

Remus watched as James nodded his affirmation. Remus continued watching, with a growing puzzlement, as James stepped around his two friends in a would-be casual manner to reach for Lily's shoulder.

"You alright, Evans?" he asked loudly, in what was evidently supposed to be a calming and mature manner.

"Of course I am," Lily snapped, looking a little taken aback. "And don't do anything to Snape, okay? You know full well that Black provoked him."

"Are you defending that nutter?" James demanded incredulously, his hand falling off Lily's shoulder in his amazement. "Did you see what he just did to Remus?"

Lily glared right into James' spectacles and nodded fiercely. "Of course I did. But how could he know what Remus had on his back?"

Sirius' eyes widened as he seemed to realise something. "How could you know-"

James interrupted him. "You're right, Evans, I'm sorry. Snape was completely justified. Would you like to discuss this matter further on Saturday night with me?"

Three sets of eyes darted to James' grinning face as he waited for Lily's response. Privately, Remus wondered if his friend had somehow lost his mind, and whether it had joined his shirt and robe.

"N-no," Lily spluttered, then, "wait. You were just asking me out, weren't you?"

James nodded, seemingly undeterred.

"Then no!" Lily said forcefully, turning on her heel and beginning to walk towards the staircase.

"Almost," James said wistfully, presumably to himself, and Sirius snapped his fingers questioningly in front of his bespectacled friend.

"Is it just me, or are you the nutter here, Potter?" Sirius laughed incredulously. "Can anyone say 'bad timing'?"

James' face twisted into an expression of hope. "You think she would have said yes if I'd asked her at some other time?"

Remus shook his head, pleased at least that attention had been taken away from him. What a day. He sincerely hoped that he wouldn't be startled for a little while after this, at least until McGonagall's first surprise test.

A/N: So. A little darker this time, perhaps. But oh, alas, dark times plague me in this period of due dates and important assessments. I hope you'll forgive the slight delay in producing this chapter!

Don't worry too much about this latest little slip in time – I'm going to be staying in Fifth Year for quite a while. Fifth year is definitely the most exciting/traumatic year for the Marauders, so I'm quite looking forward to the next few challenges!

Please review, guys – help maintain my motivation and all that through this painful time assessment. Unlike my French lecturers, give me some positive feedback!

Thanks so much for reading. Hope you enjoyed.

xx Froody