The Moon and Star

Chapter Seven

Remus

I knew it was going to be a while before Wren was truly comfortable around us… or them at least. I felt as if we had bonded over our… similarities. At least it was going to be a while before the next full moon; then, we would find out who Wren Callaghan really was, and how dangerous she could be. The real question, however, was if she would become… our fifth Marauder.

"Right then," Sirius began, "Who's first?" We stood in a circle in the deserted common room, Sirius in the centre. His long black hair was darker and messier than ever, making me want to run my fingers through it, to feel it… focus, man! Honestly. My annoying inner voice was right, and I mentally shook myself.

"Me." A surprisingly defiant voice rose from the corner.

"Uh… sure, come on up, Peter." Sirius smiled, recovering quickly from his initial shock. Peter stood, striding into the centre.

"Right," Sirius began, "What we need to do is make an exemption so strong that you'll just… kind of pop into an animal, you know?" James sniggered, but Peter nodded seriously. "Alright… how about fear?"

Long story short, we spent the next hour basically trying to scare Peter so much he'd change, but to no avail. We gave up in the end, stomachs growling, figuring that it would happen when the right moment presented itself.

Sirius

"That went well," I said miserably as I picked at my mashed potato. I knew I should eat, but I just had this dejected feeling that was… inconsolable.

"Eat," Remus smiled at me, "You'll feel better." I returned his smile, even if it was a little weak, and began to properly dig into my food. When I glanced back at Remus, he was gazing almost wistfully at me, but hurriedly looked away when I looked at him. I grinned, pulling his gaze back to mine with a finger under his chin.

"Chin up, Moony," I said softly, "I don't mind if you stare at me." He blushed, dropping his gaze. I knew this was my chance but… I was still an insecure little boy when it came to relationships… any kind of relationship really. I was just that selfish person who couldn't handle any more rejection, even if I was used to it. "Hey, don't worry, I know I'm fabulous." I laughed, taking my hand from his face. He laughed an almost genuine laugh, but I could hear the sadness behind it. I suddenly realised… he knows me. He knew why I couldn't be sincere around anyone, not really, because I didn't want them to have any emotional ammunition to use against me. I'm sure I wasn't the only person Moony had met who felt that way, but with me… it was different. I could tell that he really didn't want me to feel that way, but I couldn't help myself. You can't just erase an entire childhood because one person believed in you.

First Quidditch match of the season; the one everyone had been waiting for. Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Everyone gathered in the stands while the teams prepared themselves, excited voices ringing out. I sat myself down next to Marlene and Dorcas, who were sat very close to each other. I mentally shipped them, I'm not going to lie. Remus sat next to me, his Gryffindor scarf tied around his scarred neck. I sighed internally, knowing the pain he had unknowingly caused himself. My attention was soon turned to the match, as the players zoomed onto the pitch, the cheering almost deafening. Soon, I was caught up in the excitement of the game, cheering and whooping along with the rest of the crowd. Halfway through, it was 60-40 to Slytherin, and we were all feeling a little downhearted, but hadn't lost hope all the same. I had lost sigh of James a few minutes before, and wished he had seen the Snitch. If he didn't catch it sooner or later, I imagined the game wouldn't turn out in our favour. It was nearly the end of the game; 80-50 to Slytherin. Most of us Gryffindors had given up on the match, but Remus and I were silently begging James to fly in out of nowhere with the Snitch in his hand. There were a mere thirty seconds left; I covered my eyes with my hands.

James

It was tantalisingly close, just beyond my fingertips. In the corner of my eye, Wren lifted her bat, zooming towards me. I felt her hand graze my face as she beat away the Bludger that had been so close to breaking my jaw. I made a split-second decision to thank her later as I took a chance, and launched myself off my broom, feeling the cool metal underneath my fingertips. I rolling on the floor, landing sprawled on my back. I opened my hand; there sat the Golden Snitch in all it's glory.

"And James Potter has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor wins!"

I was celebrating with my fellow Marauders, practically bounding down the corridor to get to the common room. On our way there, I spotted Wren sitting alone, still in her Slytherin Quidditch uniform, her nose buried in her book.

"Hey, Wren?" I said, stopping before her. She looked up at me, her eyes wide. "Thanks for what you did back there, you… you must have got some grief for that. You basically saved the match for us." The realisation hit me as my eyes wandered to her cheek, where a red mark was blossoming. She nodded shyly, looking away.

"Yeah, they… they weren't too happy with me, to say the least." She smiled, but her eyes held no mirth. I took her hand in mine.

"Thank you." I whispered. A crash startled me, and I let go of Wren's hand. Lily Evans stood just along the corridor, her face a picture of rage and jealousy. The door she had presumably just come out of looked a little worse for wear, it's hinges screeching in protest at the weight of it. I guessed she was so angry at something, she had slammed in in her exit. I frowned; what would make her do that? She glared at me, and stormed off in the opposite direction.

"What's got into her?" Sirius asked, bewildered.

My reply was cut short as an ugly trio of Ravenclaw boys strolled arrogantly past us, and something in their conversation made Wren's head snap up.

"She's such a nerd, always carrying a book around, she's not even clever." The largest of them sniggered, glancing at her maliciously.

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt," I tensed as Wren sauntered over to the group, a smirk on her face. "Couldn't help but overhead your little conversation there. I mean, no one here is that nerdy, right? But, you know, you could be talking about a friend of mine, so uh… you see, I tend to polish my wand a lot, a girl gotta keep her wand clean, you know? We have Transfiguration together, right?" The three nodded hesitantly, clearly confused. "Yeah, that tends to make my old wand a little dirty, you see." Wren stepped forward slightly, her eyes suddenly cold. "If I was to find you mouthing off about me or one of my friends, my hand could just… slip… who knows what would happen then?" She winked, somehow making it threatening. Wren was significantly smaller than the three boys, but did that stop them from shaking in their boots? Hell no, it did not. They were frankly tripping over themselves to get away from her, terror in their eyes. I was truly in awe of her in that moment, until a frantic tapping on my arm distracted me. Sirius was standing there, wide eyed with a huge grin on his face.

"It's her!" He breathed, too excited to do anything else but just stand there.

"What's her?" I rubbed my arm where he had been backhanding me before.

"The fifth Marauder, James," He muttered madly, "Our fifth!" A fog cleared in my mind, and his ravings didn't seem quite so mad. Five was my lucky number, after all.

Wren

"You're what?" I was possibly the most bewildered I had ever been in my life. Sirius sighed; he'd probably gone through this before for the others.

"Marauders," James repeated for him, "And we want you to be our fifth."

"So, we're like a little family inside the supposed 'Hogwarts family'." Peter piped up, only to receive a withering look from Sirius, causing him to…

"AAARRRRRGGGGHHH!" I shrieked, stumbling back, almost falling over my own feet. "Why is Peter a mouse?"

"He's not a mouse," James said, looking vaguely offended, "He's a …rat, by the looks of it. Congrats, mate!"

"Oh, of course, how silly of me." I glared at him, composing myself. I had seen weirder, after all. James grinned at Sirius, and his former joyful glow returned.

"Peter's kind of right, though," Sirius said, "We are like a little family." I had no idea what I was doing, but all of a sudden, I was squeezing him in my arms, and my tear ducts were threatening to ruin my makeup. Sirius laughed lightly, and hugged me back. I felt James step up behind me, joining in the hug, alongside Remus and a now human Peter, who was grinning almost madly. We were all crushed together, laughing in our little group hug. I realised then that these boys would be my family from then on, and wouldn't take that for granted… as many others had done before.