"He's not here," said James, looking up and down the Gryffindor table for the third time that evening. Sirius trailed behind him, eating a chocolate frog he had clearly just taken from Peter, who was protesting loudly—and fruitlessly—behind him.

"That was mine—no, look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"Look again," said Sirius through a mouthful of frog, sitting down in front of an empty plate across from where James was standing. The Gryffindor table was only three-quarters full, as students were still filing into the Great Hall.

"Sirius, you can't just take stuff from other people, you had every opportunity—" Peter was saying, but nobody paid him any attention. James stood on his seat and scoured the Great Hall.

"He's not here," James repeated. "He wasn't on the train, either…"

"—I bought those with my own money—"

"Maybe we just didn't see him," said Sirius.

"—you know I collect the cards—"

"We looked everywhere, though," James replied. The Gryffindor table was almost full.

"—and it's not my fault you ate all of yours in fifteen minutes—"

"Maybe he—Peter, shut up already," said Sirius, turning to his small, tubby friend, who muttered darkly under his breath but did not say anything more. "Maybe he missed the train."

"Remus Lupin, miss a deadline?" said James incredulously. "Yeah, right." James sat down, staring at his plate and thinking hard. "Is he sick?" Harry looked up at the enchanted ceiling—sure enough, the moon was full.

"Is who sick?"

Lily had just sat down next to Sirius with Alice, Marlene, and Mary. James' head snapped up.

"Mind your own business, Evans," said Sirius.

"Fine, excuse me for being polite," said Lily acidly, turning back to her friends.

"We can write him tomorrow," suggested Peter, and James nodded.

"He's probably just sick," James decided, just as food magically appeared on all the plates. All three boys eagerly piled food on their plates, eating as much as they could fit in their mouths.

"Oi, James!" A tall girl much older than James—she had to have been in sixth or seventh year—was standing behind him. James choked in an attempt to respond and Sirius snorted. With difficulty, James swallowed and looked up at the girl, who Harry recognized the Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"What's up, Linnea?" he asked.

"Did you hear about Jordana's mum?" asked Linnea.

"Oh. Yeah," said James, his tone more subdued and his eyes downcast. "The Lesters'—"

"Lester?" Lily interrupted suddenly, abandoning her conversation with Mary Macdonald and turning to James and Linnea. "Are you talking about Julianna Lester?"

"Yeah," said James, looking as though he was unsure why (or how) Lily had entered this conversation.

"How did you hear about that?"

"It was all over the news," James told her, raising his eyebrows and looking a little bewildered.

"It was all over the Muggle news. You're a pureblood, you don't have a television. Why would it be news in the Wizarding world?" Lily asked, while Peter mouthed, "What's a television?" at Sirius, who shrugged.

"Because the Lesters are wizards," said James as though this was obvious. "Mr. Lester works with Dad at the Ministry." James turned away from Lily. "Is Jordana okay?"

"I dunno," said Linnea. "She hasn't come back to school."

"You're kidding!" exclaimed James. "What are we going to do without a Captain or a Seeker?"

"Her mother just died and all you care about is a Quidditch match?" exclaimed Lily, spitting potatoes all over Mary, apparently unable to contain herself. James rolled his eyes.

"Please go away," he said. Now it was Lily's turn to roll her eyes, turning back to her potatoes.

" McGonagall says I'm Captain, for now, and we're going to hold Seeker tryouts on Saturday, just in case Jordana doesn't come back," said Linnea. "So be at the pitch at one o'clock." James nodded and turned back to his chicken, filling his fork with a large bite. The fork had just reached his lips when—

"Why would her death be on the Muggle news?" Lily asked.

"Because the Lesters live in a Muggle neighborhood," said James shortly, who now looked thouroughly annoyed that Lily was talking to him (and distracting him from his meal), but didn't seem to find a reason to be nasty to her. Instead he simply turned back to his chicken and struck up a conversation with Sirius. Lily turned back to her friends.

"I didn't know wizards lived in Muggle neighborhoods," said Lily.

"Most don't," said Alice. "But Mrs. Lester's a Muggle, so I suppose it makes sense. And murder's pretty big news, no matter who it's happened to, if you ask—"

"Murder? What?" Lily interrupted. "Nobody knows why she died!"

"The Muggles don't," Marlene corrected through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "Everyone else does, though. Julianna Lester was murdered." Lily looked horrified

"But the news report said there was no obvious cause of death!" said Lily. "If she was murdered, she would have had to be…I dunno…shot, or stabbed, or poisoned, or something. Even Muggles can recognize a gunshot wound."

"Lily, you don't get it," said Marlene impatiently. "She was murdered by another wizard. Wizards don't need knives or guns or poison—that's too crude. Whoever did it used the Killing Curse. You know, Avada Kedavra."

"Who did it?" she asked quietly.

"Nobody knows," said Marlene. "But who ever it was left this mark thing above their house. A skull, with this snake coming out of its mouth."

Before having enough time to process this new development, Harry was thrown into the next memory. The sun was rising, and a chink of light that had found its way through the mostly-curtained window lit the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. The usual mess littered the floor—school books, parchment, clothing, and bits of food, and the door of the dormitory was not locked, as it usually was at night.

Someone was stirring in the bed on the far left—James. He groaned, fumbled with his glasses on his bedside table, checked his watch, and groaned again, flopping back down on his back. One of the other boys snored loudly, and James turned over, tossing the first thing he got his hands on—his Charms textbook—at Sirius' bed.

"Mmph!" came Sirius' muffled reply. He pulled the hangings back slightly. "What the hell, J-J-James?" he yawned.

"Stop snoring," groaned James drowsily as another snore wracked the dormitory.

"'S not me, you prat," Sirius moaned. "Don't throw this shit at me." He threw the Charms book back, but not having James' spot-on aim, it hit the bathroom door.

Peter yelped and sat up straight.

"Get a grip," said Sirius, annoyed. "Next person to—for the love of all things holy, who is snoring?" Sirius' voice had risen to a shout, waking the fourth boy in the dormitory in the bed next to his.

"Sirius, wha--?" said Remus groggily.

"Remus?" James asked, pushing his glasses up his nose and trying to squint around Sirius' bed. "That you?"

"It is seven. In the morning. On a Saturday." Remus groaned. "Go back to sleep and leave me alone."

"When did you get back?" said James.

"What part of 'go back to sleep and leave me alone' are you not getting?" Remus groaned.

"You woke us up with your infernal snoring," Sirius said darkly, rolling out of bed and opening Remus's hangings. He groaned loudly as he was thrown into the light. Harry saw a faint expression of alarm flash across Sirius's face; Remus looked pale and sickly, with dark circles under his eyes and cuts down his arms. Harry suspected that he harbored more than just those cuts and scratches.

"Well, then I apologize on behalf of my sinuses," said Remus acidly, shielding his eyes and sounding more annoyed than Harry had ever heard him.

"What happened to you?" Sirius demanded.

"You never answered my question," James reminded him.

"I'll answer whatever you want in four hours," Remus told him flatly. He wrenched his hangings shut, and Harry heard the rustle of blankets as he pulled them up over his head. James, Sirius, and Peter exchanged confused glances as they got back into their beds.

"Remus, where—"

"I will hex you, James," Remus cut him off, and James, looking taken aback, curled back into his four-poster and shut his eyes.

The next memory emerged. Harry guessed that this was the same day, as the room was as messy as ever and James' Charms book was lying on the floor near the bathroom. All the Gryffindor boys were now awake. James was pulling on socks, Sirius was pulling on a shirt, and Peter was looking for something in his trunk. Harry could hear the shower on in the bathroom.

The shower was switched off, and a few minutes later, Remus Lupin emerged, fully dressed and towel-drying his hair, which had grown since Harry had last seen him in a memory. Despite his shower and being slightly more alert, he still looked frighteningly gaunt.

"So?" said James expectantly. "Where were you?"

"My grandfather died," said Remus simply, looking for his shoes under his bed. James and Sirius seemed to buy this, but Peter looked a little confused.

"Didn't your grandfather die back in November?" asked Peter. James and Sirius both looked at Remus, who had stopped moving momentarily. However, he regained his composure soon enough and resurfaced, trainers in hand.

"My other grandfather died," he invented, trying to keep his voice steady and convincing. "I got back late last night. You guys were already asleep."

"That doesn't explain why you look like shit," said Sirius.

"Stop it, you're making me blush," said Remus sarcastically.

"Mate, you look like you haven't eaten or seen daylight in months," said Peter.

"I haven't eaten much," said Remus. "With him dying it was just too…upsetting."

"And all those scratches on your arm?" James prompted, rolling up Remus' sleeve, presumably so he couldn't protest their existence.

"Hey, let go," said Remus, jerking his arm away and rolling down the sleeves of his sweater self-consciously. "I…mum got into a car crash. That's how my grandfather died. In a car crash. Which I was also in."

Sirius and James exchanged suspicious looks and Remus was rolling his eyes at himself as though annoyed with his own bad cover story.

"Let's get some breakfast," said Remus hastily, and the other three hesitated, but mercifully did not ask any more questions. Harry saw Remus exhale slightly before exiting the dormitory, closing the door behind him.

A/N: Alright, shout-outs to all my lovely reviewers: -EHWIES, the sudoku kid, deisegirl, FallingForFootie, CoolDuck, DistractedButSerious, prongster, Jessluvsharry, and wishfulthinking123! I so love you guys, and thanks for all your wonderful recommendations! To return the favor, I would definitely recommend NeverAPrefect's Only if you go out with me, Evans, Points In The Right Direction by CONTERRA-SANandBLACKVELVETBAND, and Broom Cupboard by Zayz. On another note, I totally just noticed with this chapter that Lily is turning into a kind of mini-Hermione...do not worry, I have more plans for her characterization! And I hope that Remus did not come off too mean in this chapter...he's just not a morning person.

Oh, and review! Complain or offer criticism or tell me that you just plain love/hate it, I don't care. I love hearing from you guys!

-Dem