A/N: Let me start by apologizing. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, SO sorry. If anybody is still even reading this story, I want you to know that I have not forgotten about it! I just waited to put this up because I wanted to make sure it wasn't a pile of crap, because you guys all deserve better. You also deserve to throw some stuff at me. I'm a terrible updater. Anyways, you are all sick of my ramblings, so read on!

The boys returned to their dormitory quietly. The hangings around Remus' bed were drawn, and James and Sirius were uncharacteristically considerate of their friend, who they assumed was fast asleep. James tiptoed to his bed and pulled out The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and began to read.

"What're you—" said Sirius at normal volume, but James "shh-ed" him, gesturing at Remus' bed. Sirius lowered his voice. "What're you doing? You know this is a strictly study-free zone."

"I have to get this done," said James, pulling his quill and his parchment towards himself as well.

"Go do it downstairs," whispered Sirius, flopping down on his bed. "I don't want to have to watch you read that junk."

"I can't," James replied, "Evans is in the Common Room, and I don't want to deal with her."

"I thought you guys were ignoring each other?" piped up Peter from his own four-poster.

"Yeah, but she seems to just…radiate obnoxiousness. I don't want any of it to rub off on me."

"Too late for that, mate," smirked Sirius, and James crumpled up the first draft of his homework and threw it at him. They continued to bicker quietly, with Peter looking on, impressed by their wit, while Harry decided to do a little exploring of his own.

This memory had to contain more than just the two friend's banter; each memory from the Penseive was significant, and though amusing, this was not. So Harry glided over to Remus' bed, and forgetting that he was intangible, lifted a hand to pull back the curtains. It went straight through. Harry remembered his state and glided through the curtains to find himself faced with an empty bed.

The memory transitioned. This time, Harry was back in the Common Room, which was still relatively full. He checked a third-year boy's watch; it was a little after ten. Lily and her friends were in the corner of the room, packing up their books. It looked as though they were getting ready to go to bed. Harry glided over to the girls, who were animatedly discussing their Transfiguration papers—except for Marlene, who was mindlessly twirling her wand in boredom, causing things around the room to jump off the shelves. Harry waited, listening to their conversation impatiently for a full three minutes, feeling himself growing bored. The novelty of seeing his mother had not yet worn off, but the drabbles of eleven-year-old girls weren't exactly his favorite conversation. However, he didn't have to wait long for something to happen; McGonagall had entered the Common Room through the portrait hole, wearing her dressing gown and witches' hat and looking generally disheveled. Several people turned their heads at the sound; it was passed curfew, so only a student illegally out of bed would have been climbing in at that hour. Upon seeing their Head of House, whose presence in the Common Room was generally uncommon, most of the students stopped what they were doing and turned to look at her.

"Marianne McFadden," said McGonagall gravely, and Harry saw that her tone of voice was reflected in her grim expression. A hush fell over the Common Room after hearing her speak.

"She's upstairs," said Molly Weasley.

"Run and get her, will you, Ms. Prewett?" said McGonagall, gesturing towards the girls' staircase. Sensing the urgency in McGonagall's voice, Molly nodded, jumped up, and took the stairs two at a time.

Several people broke out into nervous whisperings. One brave student called out,

"What's going on, Professor?"

"That is between Ms. McFadden and myself," said McGonagall. Molly came back down the stairs, leading a pudgy, dark-haired, confused-looking girl. "Come with me, if you please," she said, looking down on Marianne with a mixture of pity and sadness. Marianne exited the Common Room with Professor McGonagall.

The chatter in the Common Room rose almost instantly.

"What was that?"

"Do you think she's okay?"

"Maybe she got a T on her last Transfiguration exam."

Harry felt himself being forcibly dragged backwards, and realized that Lily must be going up the stairs to her dormitory. He allowed himself to be dragged up to Lily's dormitory.

"What was that all about?" Marlene was asking. The other girls shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Mary.

"I've never seen McGonagall come up here before," Lily remarked. "Usually she and Dumbledore just send notes, right? It must be serious if she came to get her personally."

There was a tense silence as the four girls pondered what "serious" could mean, and Harry shuddered. He was already sure he knew the answer: a member of Marianne's family surely had been murdered by Lord Voldemort.

"You don't think…" said Alice, trailing off.

"What?" asked Mary.

"Well…" Alice shifted uncomfortably. "It's horrible to think about, of course, but you don't think…could it have something to do with all these strange deaths that have been happening lately?"

Mary, Lily, and Marlene looked solemn.

"Don't say that," said Lily. "For all we know, she just…missed a detention."

Harry could tell that Lily didn't even believe herself.

"First Jordana, now Marianne," said Marlene in a low voice. "At this rate, everyone in Hogwarts will be orphans."

The four girls looked at each other, unaware of the weight Marlene's statement held.

The next memory materialized, and Harry found himself in the Great Hall, seated at the Gryffindor table, between James and Sirius. Harry scanned the table briefly, but saw no sign of Marianne McFadden. His worst fears were confirmed. Also missing from the table was Remus, and this did not go unnoticed by the others.

"He wasn't in bed this morning, and he's not at breakfast," said Sirius. "Where else could he be?"

"Hospital wing?" suggested Peter through a mouthful of toast.

"Maybe," said James. "You guys done? We could go look in on him. He looked pretty ill yesterday…"

"Hold on, just a bit more," said Sirius, shoveling eggs into his mouth with renewed gusto. Just then, the familiar sound of hundreds of owls beating their wings filled the hall; it was time for mail. James, Sirius, and Peter scanned the ceiling for sightings of their own owls. A large tawny owl landed gracefully in front of Sirius, and he untied the package attached to its foot. Harry read the included note over Sirius' shoulder:

Pass this package along to dear Regulus. He forgot to pack some things we are only just getting around to sending.

Harry saw Sirius mouth the phrase, "dear Regulus" with disgust. He shoved the letter into his bag the moment he finished reading it.

"Be right back," said Sirius to James and Peter, who nodded. Harry watched him make his way to the Slytherin table, drop the package in front of his younger brother and walk quickly back to the Gryffindor table.

"What was that about?" James wanted to know.

"Little brother forgot to pack," grumbled Sirius. He pushed his plate away, as though finally done eating. "Let's go visit Remus."

James nodded, but Peter was engrossed in the latest issue of The Daily Prophet.

"C'mon, Peter," said James, tugging at his robes, but Peter shook his head.

"Look at this." He flattened the newspaper on the table in front of them. James adjusted his glasses and read the headline:

"Muggle Death Toll Rises. Real positive way to start the day, Peter."

"Wait a minute," Sirius snatched up the paper and pointing to a set of captioned, unmoving photographs. "Joseph McFadden…isn't there a McFadden in Gryffindor?"

"Oh yeah," said James. "She's that Prefect who took points off us for setting off all those dungbombs in the library! Mary-Sue or something."

"I don't see her," said Sirius, scanning the table. "They must have sent her home."

James nodded. "To the Hospital Wing, then?"

Sirius and Peter followed James out of the Great Hall, and they made it to the Hospital Wing without another word about Marianne McFadden. All the beds were empty, except for one in the corner.

"Potter!" said the girl inhabiting it. "Come for a visit?"

"Hey, Natalia," said James. "What happened?"

"Broken arm," she said, grimacing. "Madame Burton mended it in about a second, but the old hag wanted me to stay the night anyways."

"Be more careful next time," said James. "We've got our first match in three weeks—we can't afford to be down a player."

"Where's Remus?" Peter asked Natalia, cutting across James.

"Remus…?"

"Lupin," Peter clarified. "Tall, brown hair, likes to read…"

"Right, right," said Natalia. "Yeah, he came in here last night looking like hell, but McGonagall came and got him after about half an hour. I thought she sent him back to his dormitory."

"Well, he wasn't there when we woke up, and he wasn't at breakfast," said Sirius. "Sounds like he wasn't even in bed when we came up."

"C'mon," said James suddenly, turning towards the door. "We have to go. Now."

"James, wha-?" said Sirius, but he followed anyways, with Peter in tow.

"Bye!" Natalia called sarcastically before the door shut. James paid her no mind.

"What was that about?" Sirius demanded.

"Peter, do you still have that newspaper?" James disregarded his best friend.

"Yeah." Peter fished through his messy bag and pulled out the Prophet. James took it from him and scanned the article about the Muggle killings.

"What are you doing?" Sirius repeated.

"Looking for someone."

"James." Sirius took the newspaper from James. "You're freaking out. Relax. Remus is a half-blood, not a muggle-born."

"Then where is he?" James exclaimed. "He's not in the Hospital Wing. He didn't sleep in our dormitory last night. He's not at breakfast this morning, and Natalia says that McGonagall took him somewhere last night."

"No idea, mate," said Sirius. The halls were starting to flood with students on their way to their first classes of the day. "Maybe he's in Charms."

But Lupin wasn't in Charms, nor was he in Transfiguration. At the end of the lesson, James, Sirius, and Peter approached Professor McGonagall.

"Professor?" said Sirius.

"Yes, Black?"

"We were just wondering…where's Remus?" he asked.

"Mr. Lupin is…currently indisposed," said McGonagall, sounding as though she was carefully choosing her words.

The three boys exchanged worried looks.

"Is he alright?" asked Peter.

"Yes. He will be back in lessons tomorrow," said McGonagall. "Now, get moving you three or you'll be late to your next class." She shooed them out of the classroom as groups of seventh years began to make their way to their seats.

"Oh, yeah, wouldn't want to be late to potions," grumbled James, and he led his friends out of the classroom. The memory dissolved into blackness.

The memory resurfaced in the dark. As Harry's eyes adjusted to the light, he realized he was back in the boy's dormitory. James was sprawled out on his back atop the middle bed, muttering things in his sleep, Remus' bed was empty, and Peter was on the bed closest to Harry, curled up into the fetal position. He could hear Sirius snoring from the bed on the far left.

The semi-silence was broken by the dormitory door creaking open. Harry saw Lupin's frail frame tip-toe quietly through the darkness, as he tried not to wake his friends. Unfortunately, as he came upon his bed, he misjudged the distance of his foot from his trunk, and stubbed his toe painfully.

"OUCH!" he exclaimed loudly. Peter shot up in bed.

"Wuzgoingon?" he demanded groggily, squinting around the room for the source of the disturbance.

"SH!" hissed Lupin. "Pete, go back to bed."

"Remus?" said Peter, scrambling out of his covers.

"Peter, shut up," James groaned across the room while Sirius gave an exceptionally loud snore.

"James, it's Remus!" Peter squealed.

"What?" he fumbled with his glasses and slammed them on his face, so the room came into clearer view. "I don't see him—oh, for Merlin's sake—Lumos!"

James' wandlight illuminated Remus, who still looked gaunt and tired, though less so than before his transformation.

"Uh, hi," said Remus awkwardly, getting into bed.

"Sirius!" James tossed his pillow at Sirius, who simply rolled over on top of it. "Siri—oh, never mind." He turned his attention back to Remus.

"Where were you?" Peter demanded.

"I've been sick," said Remus simply, climbing into bed. "And I'm still a bit under the weather, so if you don't mind I'll—"

"But I do mind!" James said. "You liar, you have not been sick!"

"Do I look like the picture of health to you?" grumbled Remus sarcastically.

"We went up to the Hospital Wing this morning, and you weren't there," Peter added. Remus hesitated.

"I…was probably in the bathroom," Remus replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

"We talked to Natalia Moore," said James, sounding thoroughly unconvinced, "and she said McGonagall took you away last night."

Remus didn't have an answer for that one.

"I'm going to bed," he snapped.

"Not until you tell us where you were!" James exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

"Mind your own damn business," Remus said, wrenching the hangings around his bed, leaving Peter and James standing across from each other, looking bewildered.

"And then he just went to bed? Just like that?" Sirius was asking. The memory had resurfaced in the library, where James, Sirius, and Peter were sitting around a table and not studying. Lily was sitting at a nearby table, buried in Transfiguration notes, and glaring in their direction every time one of them raised their voice above a whisper.

"Just like that," said James grimly.

"And he didn't even come down to breakfast with us," said Peter.

"Pete, you dolt, I know that. I was with you," said Sirius.

"Oh. Right."

"SHH!" Lily hushed them from her table. The boys paid her no mind.

"What do you think has gotten into him lately?" James wanted to know. Sirius and Peter shook their heads.

"No idea, mate," said Sirius.

"Maybe it's his family," said James, thinking aloud. "Both his grandparents died recently, you know, so I suppose he's a little sensitive."

"That explains why he's touchy, but not why he's so sick, or what he was doing with McGonagall."

"Maybe he's been made Prefect, and he was doing patrols," Peter added hopefully, looking as though he wanted nothing more than praise from his much cooler friends.

"Prefects have to be fifth year," James reminded him. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Excuse me," Lily interjected, her voice low. "But some of us are trying to get some work done!"

"Yeah, we're trying to get stuff done too," said Sirius seriously, "but this annoying girl keeps interrupting us."

Lily huffed, and returned to her homework, clearly annoyed.

"What private business could he possibly have with McGonagall in the middle of the night?" Peter asked the other two.

"Maybe they're having an affair," James joked, and Sirius and Peter laughed loudly. So loudly, in fact, that Lily seemed to lose it. She slammed her book on her table, threw her notes into her bag, and walked right up to them.

"Going somewhere, Evans?" asked James, still giggling.

"Isn't it obvious?" she hissed at them.

"That you're leaving?"

"No, about Remus!"

"Isn't what obvious?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, never mind," she said exasperatedly, and she stalked out of the library.

The three boys looked at each other.

"What was that about?" asked Sirius. James merely shook his head.

"Mad as a hatter, that one."

Harry tumbled into the next memory. James and Sirius were sitting in the Common Room, bent over a table strewn with star charts.

"I hate Astronomy," Sirius complained, pushing his chart away. Harry noticed that he had notated the full moon on his parchment. "I wish Remus were here; he never leaves his work to the last minute."

"Too bad he hasn't talked to us in weeks," said James. "Guess we have to do our own work for now."

"I don't care if Sinistra gives me a thousand detentions. If I have to look at one more planet, I'm going to eat my hand."

"Speaking of detention," said James, rolling up his parchment and stretching. "I have one with McGonagall at eight o'clock." He stuffed his homework in his bag.

"Ahhh, what am I supposed to do here by myself?" whined Sirius.

"Finish your homework. Talk to Peter. Mess with the girls. I don't care, honestly." Sirius rolled his eyes as James exited the portrait hole. He made his way to McGonagall's classroom, where he was set to write, "I must use Transfiguration appropriately" one hundred times. Harry was riddled with boredom. James may have been his father, but watching someone write lines is almost as tedious as doing them yourself. Finally, James rolled up his parchment and turned it in to McGonagall, said "good night," and left the classroom.

He started up the staircase, but then heard voices. James looked confused; it was almost nine, which meant all students had to be in their Houses, or risk detention. Who was out of bed? James' curiosity seemed to get the better of him and he jumped behind a statue just in time to see none other than Remus Lupin, accompanied by Madame Burton, coming down the steps. Harry saw James' eyes widen. He allowed Lupin and Madame Burton to get a hundred yards ahead of him before following on tip-toe.

He followed them down three more flights of stairs, and, to James' confusion, out the giant oak doors and onto the castle grounds. James hesitated only slightly before following them down the grounds. He hid behind a tree and watched Madame Burton and Lupin stop in front of the Whomping Willow. Madame Burton waved her wand, and the branches stilled. Lupin crept to the trunk, pushed the knot, and disappeared down the tunnel.

James stayed hidden behind the tree until Madame Burton had traipsed up the grounds passed him, and back into the school. The instant the oak doors closed, however, James ran down the lawn at full speed. The tree was still frozen, but James guessed that wouldn't last long. He wasted no time in pushing the knot, and following Remus down the tunnel. Harry's stomach twisted; his father was unprepared for what he was about to find.

A/N: Thank you to nwyd, Helen, starlessnight777, Jessluvsharry, and FallingForFootie for your awesome reviews! Especially Helen…girl, that is one of the sweetest things I've ever heard! I will have another update for you guys before Christmas, so you won't have to wait in suspense for long!