Disclaimer: I don't anything of JKR's. I just get to rent them out for the afternoon.

Note: I've officially decided that this fic will have seven parts, just because it's the number that JKR seems to favor. Next up will be Hagrid and possibly McGonagall. They haven't told me yet what they want me to say for them. Have patience! And please, keep those lovely reviews coming. They mean everything to me.

Oh, and the two characters that Lupin mentions, Kaedi and Haylin, are OC's that don't belong to me. Kaedi belongs to my friend Legalien. She's a great character-you should read her stories. She's on this site, so do be sure and check her out.

Happy reading, and….reviewing!

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Remus Lupin wearily stumbled through the forest, eager to get to Hogwarts where Madame Pomfrey could mop him up. How ironic, that he would be cleaned up only so that he could return once again to those who had swept the floor with him. Werewolves aren't civilized by any stretch of the imagination, he thought wryly to himself. At least he had managed to escape from his peers so that he could transform in the place that Dumbledore had set up for him.

Lupin continued these thoughts as he limped wearily around a log, rather than merely stepping over it. He had given Albus only one condition when he had agreed to become a spy for the Order-Dumbledore must never ask him to place himself in a position that would possibly bring others to harm. He had been unable to take the Wolfsbane potion for months; the other werewolves would have despised him for it. So Dumbledore had complied by placing protective spells and wards over one area of the forest. That gave Lupin an excuse-when the full moon would begin to rise, he would Apparate to the Forbidden Forest and run amok there, instead of around the villages and farms that his fellow werewolves frequently haunted, biting all those who came across their paths.

He hadn't been quite fast enough this last time, though, and had received several wounds from his moonstruck companions before he had managed to Apparate into the forest, seconds before his transformation had been complete. It was a close call, one that he wasn't anxious to repeat.

He finally made it out of the trees, and shielded his eyes from the cruel glare of the mockingly cheerful sun. He was sick of this; he missed being a regular person, he missed being able to be honest to those he loved, and he missed his dependents, Kaedi and Haylin. That kind of companionship was severely lacking in the werewolf underground.

If he would have been honest with himself, Remus would have admitted that he missed Tonks most of all. Her loving concern for him always smote his heart, and kept it from becoming callous and hard. More than anything, he wanted to stay safe so that Dora would never have any more sorrow to bear. Her life had already been filled with caution and pain-he wasn't anxious to bring her more.

Continuing on his uneven way towards the spires of the castle that reached for the sky, a movement towards his left caught Lupin's eye and he halted, amazed and jolted by the sight.

Around the lake walked a black-haired boy and a red-headed girl, very like another couple that he had seen there, not so long ago. Lupin recognized the couple to be his former pupils, Harry and Ginny. Careworn as Lupin was, he was refreshed by their very youth and innocence as they explored the new relationship that was theirs now. Harry's arm, strong from all of his Quidditch exercises, was wrapped protectively around Ginny's waist. Ginny leaned confidingly against him, laughing gently at something Harry had just said.

Ah, young love, thought Remus with a touch of amusement. James would be proud of his son right now. He looks like a man, not like the frightened and confused boy I taught a few years ago. Our Harry is growing up, despite all of the times that Voldemort has tried to halt the process. It is too bad that I am the only Marauder that remains to appreciate the sight.

As Lupin began his weary progress back to the castle, he was faced with certain thoughts. First of all, he was struck anew with his longing for the best friends of his youth. James had been a good man, despite his occasional arrogance. Sirius had lived life with a passion that felled everyone with his reach-he had loved hard, lived strong, and died with pride. For that at least, Remus was grateful.

But at the moment, he found himself envying Harry the most. Here the boy was, faced with a future filled with uncertainty and possible torments, and yet he had the bravery to face what would come. Unwilling to allow Voldemort to rule his life, Harry was living for the moment, for the time that he had been given. It appeared that the boy and Tonks would agree.

Over and over again, Tonks had berated Lupin. "It doesn't matter if you and I die today, next week, or in fifty years!" she would cry out exasperatedly. "What would matter is those brief, shining moments when we could be together. Aren't a few minutes of love better than a lifetime of loneliness?"

Remus despised himself for his fear, his trepidation and self-doubt. The strange thing was, he knew that Tonks was right. If only he could have the same courage as his former pupil, who walked proudly around a lake with a young lady on his arm.

Maybe one day, Remus thought as he turned into the castle driveway and lost sight of the youthful couple, I can be as brave a man as he.