[A/N: Hey you guys! I know I told some of you that this would be up last Friday... But Flameintheflood had tech week and performances so while I was at home doing nothing but cleaning, she was quite busy. If it's any consultation, the characters kept having more to say and think while I wrote, so this is quite long. I have classes starting again on Tuesday, but hopefully you'll get the next chapter by the end of next week. Thanks to all my readers and especially to SWaddict1986, cafin8sodaa, Fun-Sized Kirk, and RavenclawLupin11 for their fab reviews! I love you all!

Disclaimer: if this were mine and I was making money off of it, I would not have sent so many emails to my school's financial aid office to try and sort out my financial aid for next year.]

Chapter 25: Moving Forward

You went away
Cos you said that you can't stand me
So I went away
I was sure that you can't stand me
Well I don't think we have to be like this forever

Tegan and Sara, "You Went Away"

"Lily, we need to talk to you."

Lily looked up from the Charms essay she was working on to see Sirius and Remus standing over her, the former looking more serious than she'd ever seen him and the latter looking slightly nervous, but determined.

"Can it wait?" She asked impatiently. "I'm in the middle of my Charms essay and then I have to make a patrolling timetable before I finish the rest of my homework."

"No, it can't wait," Sirius said, shutting Lily's Charms book and looking her straight in the eyes. "This is important."

"Oh, like James missing patrolling last week was important?" Lily challenged. "Because I'm sick of hearing that. He thinks he can just blow things off and then apologise because we're friends now. Well, he's wrong."

"No, Lily," Sirius interrupted, "You're wrong."

"But, James," Lily started.

"James made a mistake, Lily," Remus agreed, "He should have told you earlier that he couldn't make the patrol, but he forgot about his prior engagement. He wasn't disregarding you and he wasn't skiving off his Head duties."

"I don't need you two to make excuses for him," Lily said with a sigh. "I shouldn't have been as upset as I was. I should have known something like that would happen."

"We're not making excuses," Sirius said crossly, "We're trying to tell you that James had a real reason for missing patrols."

"You're singing the same song as he was," Lily argued. "But, apparently, I don't get to know this reason. I'm Head Girl; I think I should know these things. And Potter couldn't even tell me!"

"That's because it wasn't his to tell," Remus said quietly.

Lily looked at him shrewdly. He had slight bags under his eyes and he looked tired and weak. But there was something else there, something Lily hadn't seen in the boy's eyes for quite some time. There was a shadow of the lost and forlorn boy she'd met on her first day at Hogwarts.

"What is it?" Lily asked, her voice softening.

"Not here," Sirius said, glancing around at the not-quite-empty common room. The few students who were there were shooting furtive glances at the three of them, clearly eager to watch Lily explode once again.

"Fine," Lily said, shoving her chair back and standing up.

The boys didn't say anything, but turned around and headed out of the portrait hole. Lily, with an exasperated sigh, followed them.

"You know," she said as she trailed behind them down the corridors, "It's after hours."

"And you're Head Girl," Sirius answered, not turning around.

"Trust me," Remus said. "It's important. Besides, we won't get caught. We Marauders have our ways. How do you think we managed to make it six full years without expulsion?"

Lily didn't answer but continued to follow the two boys for several more minutes. She wanted to stomp and huff to let them know exactly how put out she was, but she was afraid that would attract too much attention. And, despite Remus' reassurances and Sirius' simple "you're Head Girl," Lily didn't think that Filch would react kindly were he to spot them wandering the corridors over an hour after curfew.

"We're here," Sirius said.

"Where's here?" Lily asked, looking around. She thought the portraits on the walls looked familiar, but there was a door she had never seen before.

"Seventh floor corridor," Sirius answered. "Don't worry about it. It's a long story."

"No, it's not really," Remus corrected. He turned to Lily, "This is the Room of Requirement. I'm sure you've read about it. The room becomes whatever you need – require – it to be. Sirius, Peter, James, and I found out about it our second year during some exploration. It's a good place to have conversations that you don't want to be... overheard."

"Is it safe?" Lily asked, looking at the mysterious door with narrowed eyes.

"Of course it's safe, Evans, We've been coming here for years and we're fine," Sirius answered her with a sigh. He then pulled out his wand and tapped the Marauder's Map. "Mischief managed."

"What's that?" Lily asked, seeing the parchment for the first time.

"It's a long story," Sirius answered again.

Lily looked at Remus, hoping for an explanation, but he just shook his head.

"What is it with you four and secrecy?" She demanded. "All of your secrets, all of your lies. I'm sick of it. I'm leaving."

"No, you're not," Remus said forcefully. He grabbed her arm to prevent her from storming off, and dragged her through the door. "You're going to listen to what we have to say. Then, after you've heard everything, you can be as angry with us as you like, okay?"

"Fine," Lily snapped. "But only because you're my friend, Remus. I know I can trust you to not do anything too stupid, even if I can't trust your friends." She sat down on a large blue couch, crossed her arms, and looked up at them expectantly.

Sirius threw a quick glance at Remus, who nodded curtly. At this silent conversation, Lily almost smiled in spite of herself. For the first time since she'd met the boys, Sirius had seemed to be asking for Remus' permission. It was brief, but in that moment Lily saw a concerned and caring Sirius rather than the rowdy and arrogant boy she'd always known. After that moment, however, it was gone.

"Well," Sirius started cheerily, "now that you have finally given us your attention, Moony and I here have some things to say to you. First, and foremost, you owe James an apology."

"I owe him-"

"I suppose we can understand, if we really try, why you were upset," Sirius continued as though Lily hadn't said anything. "But, the thing is, you don't know James' side. You can't know James' side because he couldn't tell you. I know you don't have the best opinion of Prongs, but if there's one thing about him you should never doubt, it's his commitment to his friends. He's noble, chivalrous, and brave to the point of stupidity... the perfect Gryffindor. But he's got a streak of loyalty so strong that it would put the best Hufflepuff to shame. James will never turn his back on a friend. Trust me, I know. He's proven it to me several times over."

"So, he's a great friend," Lily said. She was trying to stay angry, trying to cling onto her annoyance with Potter for everything he'd shown himself to be. But Sirius' speech had softened her. For the second time in ten minutes she found herself seeing a whole new side of the arrogant Black.

And there was all this new information about James. Though, Lily realised, if she thought back to all her interactions with James, everything she'd seen him do, these revelations didn't surprise her. Despite his arrogant and seemingly careless attitude, she knew he wasn't a bad person. He'd defended Sirius as being different from the rest of the family when all the other Gryffindors wanted to shun him, he'd defended Peter when other students teased him, he'd hung out with Helen when her friends couldn't go to Hogsmeade, and he had always, no matter what Lily said or did to him, been nothing but nice to her, albeit slightly cocky.

Hadn't she accepted that over the summer? Hadn't she realised that she wanted him as a friend? Was it this James that Sirius was speaking about that had made its appearance during 6th year and over the summer? Perhaps.

Lily shook her head, trying to clear it. If she was honest with herself, she knew that Sirius was right. But that didn't change the fact that he'd kept secrets, ditched out of patrols, and shouted her down in the Common Room.

"So, he's a great friend," Lily repeated. "What does that have to do with any of this? It doesn't even make a difference."

"But it does," Remus said quietly. "It makes all the difference in the world, Lily. Now, listen. I'm going to tell you something. And I understand if you don't want to associate with me after you hear what I have to say. But it's important, because James doesn't deserve your anger and you deserve the truth."

"What is it?" Lily asked shakily.

Sirius grabbed his boyfriends' hand and squeezed it as Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm sure you've noticed that I leave for a couple days every month," Remus started, not opening his eyes. "I've been doing it every month that I've been here. In fact, I know you know because you've asked me about it. And I've told you all sorts of things: my mother is ill so I have to go visit her, I'm not feeling well so I need to spend the night in the hospital wing, and so on. Those... those excuses are not exactly true. Though, I suppose not feeling well is one way of putting it..."

Remus laughed bitterly and opened his eyes. He let Sirius' hand drop and pressed the heels of his own hands on his forehead above his eyes. He stood there, not saying anything, just breathing heavily.

Sirius reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but Remus shrugged it off and took a step away from Sirius, towards Lily.

Sirius tightened his lips, but didn't say anything or reach out again. After a couple of minutes of silence, Remus let his hands fall and looked at Lily. He looked older than Lily had ever seen him, older than she could have ever expected from a seventeen year old prankster. His eyes were tired, scared, and glistening with tears. He stood tense, his hands in tight fists at his sides, his jaw set firmly.

"Lily," he continued, his brown eyes piercing into her. "There's no easy way to say this. There's nothing I can do to make this easier. But every night I disappeared from Gryffindor tower was the night of a full moon. Every time I was"visiting my ill mother" was a full moon. Each full moon I have to leave the castle and go to an isolated place away from any students or teachers."

"No..." Lily said quietly. She didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it. "You're not. Remus, you're kidding. This is some sick joke you two devised to make me forget about James. No."

"I wish it were a joke," Remus said bitterly. "Oh, how I wish I could joke about this. No, Lily. I'm a werewolf."

"Remus..." Lily whispered, standing up. "Oh God..."

"Don't," Remus whispered back. "Don't leave. You have to listen to the rest of what Sirius has to say. That's why I told you. It's important. I'll leave. Stay here."

He turned to leave.

"Remus, wait!" Lily called, stopping him. "I don't... I mean... You don't have to leave, Remus. It's okay. It's... I don't care."

"I'm a monster, Lily," Remus shouted, rounding on her. "I'm a monster that wants to hurt people and kill them and make them what I am."

"You're not a monster, Remus," Lily said softly. "You're Remus. You're a Hogwarts prefect, a Marauder, and my friend."

"Don't forget werewolf," Remus spat.

"Just one night a month, Moony," Sirius said quietly.

"Remus, listen," Lily said, taking his hands in hers. "I remember what Professor Mansfield said last year, about werewolves, how they are just normal people with a curse, how they aren't all bad. It's not what you are but who you are that matters. I've never known you to be malicious or hurt anybody. You may be a werewolf, but you're Remus, too. And that's what matters. Does it scare me a little? Yes. But, do you scare me? Not at all."

"That's what James and I have been trying to tell him for years, Lily," Sirius said, looking at her with newfound admiration. He turned to his boyfriend. "See, Moony? I told you it would be okay. Lily's not half bad, or James' wouldn't be so crazy about her."

"Right," Remus said, straightening himself up, "which brings us to the point, Lily, to the reason I told you all this."

"Last Thursday," Sirius continued, "the night James was supposed to patrol, was a full moon. When we figured out in second year that Remus was a werewolf, we vowed that we would find a way to make the transformations more bearable for Remus. We thought that if we were with Remus while he transformed it would be less painful and Remus would be able to be more himself than was he alone."

"After a year of research," Remus continued, "James came up with the stupid, most foolhardy solution. He knew that werewolves were of no harm to animals and so he got it into his stubborn head that he, Peter, and Sirius would become animagi."

"What? That's impossible! It's so dangerous," Lily exclaimed. "So many things can go wrong. Not to mention how illegal it is."

"Trust me," Remus agreed, "I know. You have no idea how guilty I felt – feel – knowing that those three have been risking everything for me since third year. I tried to convince them that it was a bad idea, I tried to convince them to not do it, but you know James. You know Sirius. Those two are stubborn to a fault, and Peter was just as into the idea as they were. The three of them were determined to do everything they could to help me."

"We had to," Sirius explained. "We couldn't just sit and watch Remus go through this alone. It wasn't fair. And it took until fifth year, but we finally managed it. All three of us could become animagi. And, since then, every full moon we've snuck out and joined Remus."

"It's helped," Remus told Lily, "I don't think any of them really know or can even imagine the extent to which it's helped."

"We made a vow," Sirius interjected. "We made a vow that we would never miss a full moon for Remus, that we would never let him suffer alone. And we have missed less than a handful of full moons since then. And that is why James couldn't patrol on Thursday. He was helping Remus keep his sanity, keeping a promise he made years ago."

"He feels really bad about it, Lily," Remus said with a sigh. "He has been trying so hard to be a good Head Boy, to not let Dumbledore down – to not let you down. He didn't even remember it was going to be the full moon until Wednesday. He wasn't blowing you off."

"One last thing, and then we're going back to the common room," Sirius said, looking directly into Lily's eyes. "The friendship that he managed to form with you means the world to him. If you do anything, anything at all to hurt him, I personally will see that you become incapable of hurting anybody else ever again. James is a good guy. Don't mess this up."

With one last significant look at Lily, Sirius grabbed Remus hand and the two of them left the Room of Requirement.

After the door shut behind them, Lily sank back into the sofa and buried her face in her hands. Everything was changing so fast and she didn't know what to make of it. James and she were friends and Head students and getting along great and then they were fighting. Sirius was more than just the arrogant prat she'd known. There was more to Peter than the sweet short boy she'd spent so much time with. And Remus, her friend and co-prefect was a werewolf.

The Marauders had this indescribable bond she couldn't wrap her head around. The inner-weavings and complexities of their friendship astounded her. The devotion and the loyalty and the stupid stubbornness. In one evening, so much of what she thought she knew about those four boys was gone. And, in its place, was a large hole of confusion and yearning.

And, for once, Lily didn't know what she was yearning for.

It wasn't that Maia didn't want to have the book that Allie had suggested she use in order to complete her Herbology essay, Helpful Herbology by Negam Walsh, but rather that she didn't mind not having it. She had honestly tried to be disappointed when Madam Pince had said that the book was already checked out, but really, she had been relieved. So, instead of asking around for another copy or, heaven forbid, using a different reference than the one that Allie had suggested, Maia practically skipped out of the library and onto the school grounds.

The sun was shining and the leaves were still green, despite the coming of autumn. Maia knew that this might very well be her last opportunity to enjoy summer weather before autumn fell upon the castle. She kicked off her sandals and made her way over down the lake with every intent to lie in the green grass and soak up the sun and, maybe, wade a bit in the cool water.

The light hearted girl plopped down on the grass under the large tree and laid back to feel the rays of sunlight tickle her eyelids. After a moment of silence, she heard a noise to her right. Opening her eyes and turning onto her side, she saw a familiar looking 6th year girl with thick dark brown hair and dozens of freckles reading a book on the grass a couple meters away from her.

"Oh," Maia grinned at the almost regal looking girl. "I didn't see you. Is it okay if I just...

I'm not in your space, am I?"

"Hmm?" The girl looked up from her book. Her eyes flickered to the spunky girl sprawled on the grass. "Oh, no. It's fine."

The girl returned to her book, and Maia remained on her side and stared blankly at the girl.

The sun seemed to be making her mildly loopy because she couldn't stop staring at the girl. The sleeves of the girl's white oxford were rolled up to the elbows and her yellow and black tie was loose around her neck. Maia noticed that the girl wore uniform pants rather than a skirt, and had them rolled up to just below her knees.

"Won't your shirt get grass stained?" Maia asked, noting that the girl was on her stomach, with her white shirt pressed against the grass.

"I guess so," the girl smiled, unconcerned. "But I know a pretty good stain removing charm."

"Yeah?" Maia asked sleepily. The girl's nose reminded Maia of a more feminine version of Sirius': incredibly straight and slightly small, but not unattractively so. It was the perfect size and shape to allow her dark blue-green eyes to pop from beneath thick lashes.

"Can I help you?" The girl asked, causing Maia to jump to a sitting position on the grass.

"What?"

"You're staring?" The girl closed the book she was reading and sat up to look questioningly at Maia.

"Oh," Maia giggled. "It's just that your nose is incredibly straight."

"Excuse me?" The 6th year frowned.

"Um," Maia internally slapped herself. Too much sunlight couldn't be healthy for a person.

"And, that charm. With the stain removing. It sounds particularly helpful. Do you think, maybe you could teach me?"

"Oh," The girl smiled. She whipped out her wand and demonstrated a slow, sweeping movement. "luere clotham"

"Cool," Maia smiled. "I'll try to remember that. So... what are you reading?"

"Helpful Herbology by Negam Walsh. It's a bit boring, to be honest," The girl shrugged, holding up the book. "I just went into the library and grabbed a random book off the shelf. I didn't even look at the title before checking it out. Sometimes I do that, just to learn something new and sometimes, it's even like fate is telling me something from the book that I choose. I was almost a Ravenclaw... but not quite."

"What's fate telling you this time?" Maia chuckled. "That the plants will help you and that you will become very bored with life soon?"

"Maybe, look, I know it's silly. It's just fun, I guess. " The Hufflepuff blushed and shrugged.

"Once, though, I picked up a book on Witches Safety Spells, right before that one creep,

Mulciber, called me a blood traitor and tried to hex me. He couldn't sit for a week."

The two girls shared a smile. Then Maia remembered something and nearly choked on air.

"That's the book I needed!" She exclaimed. "Allie told me it would be helpful for this Herbology Essay I have to write!"

"Oh, here," the Hufflepuff tossed the book over to Maia. "I guess I accidently picked up your fate."

The two of them laughed again and there was a comfortably awkward silence while they looked at each other. Maia cleared her throat.

"I'm Maia. Maia Regarne," she introduced herself.

"I know. Most people know the 7th year Gryffindors. It's not as if you're quiet,"

Maia shrugged in agreement, although she was a bit embarrassed.

The Hufflepuff girl continued: "And I've seen you around a couple times. But I don't blame you for not remembering me. My name is Emmaline Vance."

Rachel and Helen were wandering through the library, escaping the last waves of heat before autumn took grip upon the castle. The young students felt as though they should have procrastinated more, since all their homework was done and they now had nothing much to do. Rachel didn't even really like books, but had somehow been bored enough to tag along with Helen to the coolest part of the castle.

"So," Rachel began, running her fingers along the spines of the old books. "Why do you think those Slytherins targeted us last spring? I know you hate talking about it, but—"

"Yeah," Helen sighed. "I do hate talking about it. And I honestly don't have any clue."

"I hate bringing up your Dad again," Rachel persisted as Helen opened a random book just to avoid looking at her friend. "But do you think, that maybe now that he's gone… they are expecting somebody to… I don't know… fill in, or something?"

Helen bit back a groan. She understood why Rachel wanted to talk about the event of the previous spring, but she, personally, just wanted to forget all about it.

"I hate you bringing up my father. Again."

Helen closed the book she had been holding and put it back on the shelf. As she turned to face Rachel and tell her off, she noticed the red haired girl leaning over a table of books. Seeing Lily had reminded the fourth year of something that she had wanted to say to her.

"Look," she said to her friend, "I know you don't like the library. You can leave. I see Lily over there and I wanted to talk to her anyways."

Rachel rolled her eyes at Helen's difficultness and, saying goodbye, walked out of the library.

Helen knew that Rachel was irritated, but she knew it would blow over, as it always did. Rachel was her best friend and would always be. Maybe, Helen would be able to talk about her father some day, but right now, she still couldn't stand to.

But she had quite a few things to say to Lily Evans, her role model and big sister-like figure.

"Hi, Lily," she said, sitting down at the table where Lily sat studying.

"Hey, Helen," Lily smiled and closed her book. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Helen smiled, pushing all thoughts of her Dad and Rachel's suspicions out of her head. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I was working on an Arithmancy essay, but it's not due until Friday and I think I need a well deserved break," Lily smiled.

"Yeah, seriously," Helen chuckled. "You work so hard. No wonder you blew up like that in the common room the other night. What was that about anyways? Did James ask you out again?"

"No," Lily sighed. "Really, it was a big misunderstanding. I actually kind of made a mistake and regret freaking out like that. It made sense at the time, but now James is mad at me and I really don't want him to be."

"Why can't you just talk to him?" Helen asked, tucking a strand of straight brown hair behind her mildly large ears. "I mean, I don't think he's actually capable of hating you."

"I'm not so sure." Lily had once thought that nothing could possibly make James Potter stop badgering her with attempts at romance, but now it seemed as if he hardly wanted anything to do with her. He had been so adamant about the 'friends' thing, that Lily had started to think that he wasn't even interested in her at all anymore. He hadn't even asked her out for over a year.

They had had huge fights in the past, always about small things. She knew that James would forgive her for calling him names, for rejecting him, even for bruising his big man ego. It was only recently that they had started fighting about things that mattered and Lily wasn't so sure that James would be so forgiving of something like this.

"How can you not be sure?" Helen furrowed her eyebrows. "Being Peter's sister, I've heard a lot of things I'm sure those boys wouldn't want me to have heard. I also know the four of them better than they realise. James has loved you since before I met him. I know that one serious fight couldn't crush that. He isa stubborn Gryffindor, after all."

"I'm not sure I would forgive me for this," Lily answered, her eyes starting to itch. "I was really unfair."

"You're Lily Evans," Helen reassured her, taking her hand. "You're fiery and self righteous and beautiful. If James wanted somebody who was fair, he would've chosen a Hufflepuff, but no. He wants you and always has. Just talk to him. Tell him you're sorry and that you understand now."

"Thanks, sweetie," Lily blinked the tears forming in her eyes away. She wasn't sure why she was letting Helen see how much she cared, how much this bothered her. But there was something about the slightly awkward young teen that made the prospect of talking about James less scary. "You're the coolest 4th year I know. Actually, one of the coolest people as well. Do you really think he'll be willing to talk to me?"

"Probably," Helen shrugged, blushing at the compliment. "I guess it depends… what were you two even fighting about?"

"I'm sorry, I can't actually tell you. Just…. Head Duties, I guess."

"Okay, well then," Helen stood up. "I'll put my money on him forgiving you. Nobody can be that serious about Head Duties."

"Thanks," Lily smiled, packing up her things and also standing up. "You know what I could go for right about now?"

"What?"

"Ice cream. You wouldn't by any chance know how to get to the kitchens, would you?"

"You don't know?" Helen scoffed.

"No," Lily admitted, "I don't. That's what you get for being a rule-following bore for six years. You end up with no idea where the kitchens are. But, does that mean you know?"

"I'm not Peter's little sister for nothing," Helen winked and grabbed Lily's arm, pulling her out of the library. "And I could go for some ice cream right about now, too."

Lily was trying to take Helen's advice. The fourteen year old girl had had a point, even if it was muddled by not completely understanding the situation between herself and James. But the advice was proving much harder for Lily to follow than she had anticipated.

James, it seemed, was avoiding her. She hadn't noticed previous week, before her conversation with Remus and Sirius. She'd been too angry with him, then, and too determined to ignore him to realise that there wasn't much to avoid. He was never in the common room during evenings and at meals he was too occupied with his friends to pay any attention to Lily.

Finally, the next Tuesday, nearly two weeks after their explosive fight in the common room, Lily had the chance she'd been waiting for. The patrol schedule, once again, had her patrolling with James.

"Hey," Lily said as James approached her where she stood waiting for him at the portrait hole. "Shall we get started then?"

James nodded and the two of them set off down the corridor.

"What, not shocked that I managed to show up?" he asked as they walked, his voice cold and sarcastic. "I'm not late, am I? Sorry if my watch doesn't match up perfectly with yours."

"No," Lily said quietly, looking at the floor. She hadn't expected this coldness. "Look, James. I'm sorry."

"Sorry, Evans," James said, his voice still cold, "Did I just hear right? Did you get down off your throne long enough to apologise?"

"Yes!" Lily exclaimed. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for not trusting you, for assuming the worst in you, for yelling at you in front of the entire house."

"Why this sudden change of heart? I thought I was a promise-breaking, arrogant toe-rag."

"Remus and Sirius talked to me," Lily answered.

"Oh, so you'll believe them but not me? Great."

"No, James, listen," Lily demanded. She stopped walking and grabbed James' wrist. "They told me what you were doing, why you couldn't patrol Thursday night."

"They told you what?" James blanched. "Merlin... Those idiots!"

"You mean... you mean, they didn't tell you they were going to talk to me? You didn't ask them to?"

"No," James said, "They didn't. I had no idea. What exactly did they tell you?'

"Well," Lily hesitated. She'd expected James to take her apologies, not to ask questions. And while she was sure that Remus and Sirius wouldn't mind her talking to James about this, she wasn't sure she wanted to. It would be so much easier to pretend they'd been joking and just forget the whole ordeal. She didn't want to think of her one friend as a werewolf and her other friends gallivanting around as animals once a month.

But James was looking at her so intensely she wanted to look away but couldn't. He looked panicked, eyes wide behind his glasses and mouth slightly open. He didn't ask her again but stood, one arm against the wall, almost for support.

"They told me about Remus," Lily said in a small voice. "They told me what happens when he... visits his ill mother... And they told me how you guys – you, Peter, and Sirius – help him out. Don't get mad at them, James. They were just trying to help."

"Lily," James said, his voice in an urgent whisper, "this absolutely has to stay a secret. I'm dead serious. Nobody, nobody, can know about this. That includes Maia, Allie, Kate, everybody. It could jeopardise Remus' education here. It could sentence me, Peter, and Sirius to expulsion, up to fifteen years in Azkaban, and thousands of galleons in fines. Do you understand?"

"So...It's true, then. It wasn't some stupid joke after all."

"Do you think we could joke about something like this, Lily?"

Lily shook her head and took a deep breath before speaking, "Yes, I understand. I promise that I won't tell anybody, James. You can trust me."

James looked at her through slightly narrow eyes, searching and calculating. Lily looked back into his eyes, pleading, begging him to trust her even though she hadn't trusted him. Finally he nodded and smiled slightly.

"I know," he said, running his hands through his hair.

"And you're not mad, are you?"

"No," James sighed. "I suppose not. After all, it really is Remus' to tell. It was all for him."

"Good," Lily said. There was a moment's quiet, both of them not sure what to say. Finally, Lily broke the silence. "Well, we should probably actually start patrolling. It's getting late and the castle isn't getting smaller."

"Right," James said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and began walking along side Lily. "So, um, Lily?"

"Yes?"

"What exactly is it that we do on these patrols?" James asked timidly.

Lily laughed.

"Hey, Evans," James exclaimed, "I've never done this before. I wasn't a prefect or anything. I really don't know how this Head thing works."

"Sorry," Lily said, trying to hold back her giggles. "I'm not laughing at your lack of knowledge."

"Yes you are," James replied flatly.

"Okay," Lily teased, "maybe a little. But it's fine. All we do is walk around the corridors and make sure that no students are out of bed or making mischief. If we find anybody, we have to deduct points and give a detention. But, I don't like doing that, really."

"You don't?" James asked, looking at her in surprise. "The amount of times you've threatened me with detention I figured you loved it."

"You're a special case," Lily smiled. "You just really know how to bug me. No, but if you give out punishments you have to fill out more paperwork at the end of the patrol and deal with Filch. Plus, the kids always look at you like you're ruining their lives when, really, you're just doing your job. I like it better when I can just walk around the castle in peace."

"Well, then," James smirked, "I also hope we don't find anybody out of bed. I have the feeling that I would hate filling out the paperwork for Filch more than you would. Not to mention, me chastising students for being out after hours would just be damn hypocritical."

"You know, Lily," James said as they entered the common room at the end of their patrols. It was two hours later and they had successfully managed to make it through the entire castle without any bickering or explosive fights. As Lily had hoped, there were no roaming students to punish, but both Lily and James were exhausted.

"Yes, James?" Lily looked up at him questioningly.

"You never asked what I turn into," he stated. "You know, as an animagus."

"Oh, I didn't think about it, really," Lily said slowly. "I guess the idea that you could actually turn into an animal at will seems so unbelievable."

"Underestimating my talent, Evans?" James teased. "You know, I'm the top student in Transfiguration and McGonagall's favourite. If anybody could do it, it'd be me."

"Always cocky and arrogant, aren't you, Potter," Lily shot back.

James was about to shoot something back in defence before he saw that she was grinning. It was a different grin than he had seen on her before. It wasn't the bright, excited smile that crossed her face when she was laughing with her friends nor was it the slightly smug yet embarrassed smile that flitted across her lips after she performed a spell or charm especially well. No, this one was slightly cheeky and almost flirtatious.

"But its okay, since it's the truth," James said, returning her grin.

"Whatever you say, Potter," Lily said, the smile still on her face. "So, what's your animagus form?"

"That's for me to know," James said slyly, turning away from her and heading towards the staircase up to the boys' dormitory, "and you to find out. Maybe."

"You know, James," Lily said as he walked up the stairs.

"Yes, Lily?" he asked, stopping to turn around and look at her, standing alone in the fire lit room.

"You're not half bad at this patrolling thing. Even if you are too sure of yourself for your own good."

"I know," James said in the cockiest voice he could muster. But the normally cocky grin on his face had been replaced with a genuine smile at Lily's compliment. "And don't you forget it."

"I love you, Moony," Sirius sighed into his lover's hair as they sat near the edge of the forbidden forest.

Remus grinned and snuggled closer against his boyfriend.

"I love you too," Remus mumbled, his face pressed against Sirius' chest. "You know I'm sorry, right? About not trusting you."

"I guess it makes sense," Sirius whispered, his arms squeezing Remus against him tighter as the sun cast long shadows from behind the trees.

The afternoon heat was fading and evening birds were just starting to sing. There were students littering the grounds, joking and relaxing before they were forced inside by curfew. However, Remus and Sirius had managed to find this place, decently far away from the other students. Here they could be alone together.

"No," Remus shook his head, "It doesn't make sense. I should've trusted you. You've made mistakes before and you've been rash and stupid. I mean, it's not like you've always been the most grounded person ever-"

"Yeah, I get it Moony," Sirius growled through a laugh.

"No," Remus shook his head sternly and pulling away from his boyfriend just enough so that they could look each other in the eye. "I wasn't finished. You might not be the most grounded person ever, but you love me. I don't know why, but you do. And even though Greggor is... incredibly handsome and charming and... well to be honest, a lot more like you-"

"Don't compare me to that git! Handsome and charming my arse. He's a right pig."

"Well, perhaps better a pig than the big bad wolf," Remus chuckled.

Sirius looked confused, but shrugged.

"Big Bad Wolf... really, Remus. I never thought you were the kind to give yourself an egotistical bad boy nickname."

Remus groaned and explained.

"It's a muggle fairy tale thing. Don't worry about it." He kissed Sirius softly on the lips and tucked back a strand of his black hair.

"What I was trying to say, Sirius, is that next time, I know you'll hex whoever comes on to you before they have your hands down your pants and I walk in on such a traumatizing scene."

"Somehow, that seemed more like a reprimand than a declaration of trust," Sirius commented, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well," Remus gave his boyfriend a small smile. "I love you."

Before Sirius could respond, Remus leaned back against him and pressed their lips together in a sweet, yet hungry way. Remus crawled forward so that they were leaning against each other, they're chest rising and falling in unison as they kissed.

Sirius sighed against Remus' mouth, loving every sensation in his body, from the cool grass tickling his bare feet to the earthy scent of Remus.

When they had been apart over the summer, Sirius had felt such as though part of him was missing; An important part, like, perhaps his tongue. It was as if he wasn't whole and had this intense craving to taste something, anything, again. He couldn't talk, he couldn't eat, he didn't even feel like himself. And that had scared him. It worried him that he was so dependent on another human being, not to mention it made him feel like a lovesick girl.

Of course, as soon as he had Remus again, he was okay and didn't care that he was dependent. That's why their recent moments of intimacy had been so intensely beautiful. From the way Remus would gently bite his lips and grasp at his hair, Sirius could tell that Remus needed him in exactly the same way.

Remus pulled back, blushing and looking around at the not entirely empty grounds. Nobody had been watching them, however, and it was now too dark for anyone to see them properly so his blush faded and he kissed Sirius once more, softly on the lips before standing up and brushing off his clothing.

"We should probably get back," Remus sighed. "Curfew is in ten minutes, after all."

Sirius groaned. "Only because we don't have the map or the cloak on us, will I agree to such arbitrary rules."

"And because you would feel stupid sitting outside by yourself," Remus smirked.

Sirius shrugged and stood up, intertwining their fingers together. They walked leisurely across the grounds, talking softly about, nothing in particular: the colour of the sky, the coldness of Remus' hands and the craving for marshmallows.

"Damn faggots."

Their conversation stopped abruptly and they looked around them. A group of Hufflepuff boys walked past them, glancing their way with disgusted looks on their faces.

"Nasty," one of them muttered.

Sirius eyes narrowed and his hand twitched for his wand, but when he looked at Remus' frozen expression, he stopped, concerned.

The Hufflepuffs continued walking, but Remus and Sirius stood still, Sirius trying to gage Remus' expression, and Remus staring blankly ahead.

"Hey, you want me to go hex them?" Sirius asked, uneasy.

Remus shook his head, his mouth dry and head foggy.

"Moony, you okay?" Sirius asked, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend's waste only to be shaken off.

"I'm just..." Remus started, "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

"Uh..." Sirius started, but Remus was already walking full speed away from him. Sirius had rarely seen Remus react like that to anything and he didn't really get it. What did it matter what some stupid ass Hufflepuffs thought? And since when was being called names a new thing?

That's when he realised: nobody really called Moony names. He was the quiet, good Marauder that people always had a soft respect for. He rarely got negative attention, even from Slytherins, as the limelight was always on James and Sirius. Sirius used to hear homophobic slurs nearly every week after he came out, but by now everyone was pretty much over it. Not to mention that Sirius almost got off on being hated by close minded people.

But now, Sirius was standing alone, outside after curfew, feeling angrier than he had felt in a long time.

[A/N: So... I think it'd be awesome if I could get past the milestone of 150 reviews... Please, let me know what you thought of this chapter. What was your favourite part/line/moment? What sentences seemed a bit off? Which part made you happiest? Which part made you want to kill us? Please, let me know what you think! It's not that hard, really, to drop a line and I appreciate it so much. We love this story and we know where it's going... but writing is about communication and telling a story... so what does this story say to you? Much love 3]