I'm on a roooooolll :D

Hello my darlings! Here is another chapter right on time for you :D I don't have much to say right now except to respond to various reviews that I've gotten, and there were actually quite a few.

ReadingSpree, you're probably not up to this point in the story yet, but I'm glad you've been enjoying it so far! And when you do get here, obviously you see that James has stopped being a prick (mostly XD I think he can still be a prick sometimes). Also, thank you so much for your lovely compliments. ^^

Kam, always good to hear from you. I can't say too much else to you in regards to your review without revealing anything but I think you'll like where things go :]

FastTurtles40, welcome! I sooooo wish that JKR would do a Marauders series, but at the same time, I feel like if she did that everything we thought was true would turn out to be wrong T.T I just hope that I continue to do the boys justice in her stead XD

Alright, that's all for now! I'll see you in two weeks :D Love ya!

~SXS

FOR WARNINGS AND DISCLAIMER, SEE FIRST CHAPTER AN.


"Oh Merlin's panties, I forgot to tell you!" Sirius exclaimed one Sunday before the next full moon, when he and Remus were alone. Peter had insisted that James take him down the secret passage to Honeydukes and he complied, eager to show it to him. But Remus refused to have anything to do with it and Sirius stayed behind with him. Little did he know that Remus was going to drag him to the most boring place in the world, the library. However, it did give them a chance to work on their plans for the next strike in The Great Prank War.

Madam Pince gave Sirius a stern look and shushed him. "What?" Remus asked.

"James and Peter are getting suspicious," Sirius whispered.

"What?!" Now it was his turn to be glared at by the librarian and he shrunk behind his book. "When did you find this out and when were you going to tell me?"

"It slipped my mind. But at least I didn't tell you right before the you-know-what." Remus scrunched his eyebrows together in annoyance. "Look, I was thinking. Maybe we should just tell them."

Remus's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Absolutely not! You may not have cared, but this is James we're talking about. He wouldn't associate with you because of your last name for four months. Can you imagine how he would react?"

"That's true..." Sirius could see that Remus was looking extremely worried now and he wished he hadn't said anything in the first place. "Aw, come on, Moony. We'll think of something." He lifted his hand and hesitated a second before putting it on top of Remus's.

"I hope so," Remus said, and he pulled his hand away. Sirius felt his face go a little pink, and the hand that was now hovering just above the desk flew to his hair.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. They haven't actually figured anything out. We just have to lead them on the wrong path...Or maybe..." Suddenly his mischievous mind started to work and formulate a plan. "We have to tell them!"

"Did I not just tell you why we can't?"

"Oh we're not telling them. We're telling them." Sirius had a grin spreading wide on his face and his fingers tapped together in a way reminiscent of an evil genius.

"I don't follow." Remus looked at his friend sideways.

Sirius leaned in conspiratorially. "If we tell James and Peter the truth, but make it seem like a lie, that'll lead them off your tail. No pun intended."

"Hardy har. But what if they think about it and realize that it's actually entirely possible and one hundred percent true?" Remus pointed out in a deadpan.

"They won't. You-know-whats aren't allowed to go to school, remember? And you can always tell them about the 'skin condition' thing. It fooled me." Sirius put out his pinky. "Trust me on this one." Remus looked at it warily before grabbing it with his own.

"Alright, fine. But don't volunteer it. Only if they ask and you have no other options," Remus said, pointing at him. "Don't be too detailed either. The more you give them the more they might realize that it's all just too coincidental."

"Oh, relax, Moony. Have I let you down before?" Remus thought about it and realized that so far, he hadn't.

.:~I~S~S~:.

After taking Remus down to the hospital wing (under the stomach flu excuse again which caused James and Peter to fidget uncomfortably in their beds (it was an added, hilarious bonus that they got so worked up about it)), Sirius went to the library once again. It was a little less scary this time around but he still felt a knot in his stomach like something would pop out from behind him at any moment and try to eat his face. He pulled out a new transfiguration book this time, using the index to find the pages he was looking for.

"How to, how to..." he said quietly as he ran a finger down the page. "Aha! Oh bugger." Once again, the information on the process itself was vague, citing that the first step was to brew a potion, but not including any list of ingredients or brewing instructions. Sirius took the book back to the shelf and decided to look at a potions book instead, but the potion wasn't even listed. It wasn't a surprise really, as teachers obviously wouldn't want students trying to brew it in secret. Exactly why I must do it anyway. It seemed that he would have to expand to other libraries or invest in buying a book specifically for the task. He would check at home first, over the summer. If he ever went home again. If not he could always ask Regulus to send some books to wherever he was.

Deciding to call it a night, Sirius headed back up to the dorm room. He quietly opened the door and slipped inside, but as he was heading for his bed, a voice suddenly sounded from the dark. "Hello, Sirius." A Lumos was cast. In the wandlight, Sirius could see that James and Peter were both sitting up in bed.

Waiting for him.
"Evening, mates," Sirius tried his best to be nonchalant. "It's past midnight. I thought you'd be sleeping." Actually he had been counting on it.

"I'll bet you did," James said. "Pete was too worked up to go to sleep for a bit- don't make that face, you almost had a baby when Remus puked- but then we realized how long you were taking. So we decided to wait for you. Who knew it would be so late when you finally got back?" Peter just nodded emphatically. "So tell us, Sirius. What is going on?"

"I was just...checking for some more secret passageways. I figured, why not? I was already out of bed after curfew and I had the cloak. Made sense." He smiled in what he hoped was a dashing and not nervous way.

"But what about Remus?" Peter asked.

"What about him?"

"Come on, Sirius! He's sick again? And it's only been a month since the last time he left." Sirius gulped upon hearing that James had realized the amount of time that had passed. "You have to know something, so tell us. We're your friends too, and we're his friends. We have a right to know."

Sirius looked from James to Peter and back again. He hadn't expected that he would have to break out their plan so soon, but he supposed that now was better than never. He just hoped that everything would work out like he thought it would. He took a deep breath and looked James square in the eye, revealing nothing on his face.

"Alright, you caught us. But I have to warn you, what I'm about to tell you is not pretty. And you can't tell anyone! That includes your mother, Peter." Peter made a zipping and locking motion on his mouth and threw the key away. "Do you want to know why Remus leaves a lot?" James and Peter leaned forward, captivated by Sirius's tone which suddenly sounded as if he were telling a horror story. "He's a werewolf." To add emphasis, the dark-haired boy jumped up on his bed and made claws out of his hands.

Peter gasped and fell backwards on the bed, eyes wide and bewildered. James looked at Sirius in disbelief. "No way...That can't be right."

"Oh but it is," Sirius continued it a misty voice. "The fact that he's always leaving, always coming back looking ragged. All those scars that he has on his face. The fact that he never looks very healthy. Doesn't it all add up?"

James and Peter looked to each other and then back at Sirius. "Now that you say it, it does."

"All except for the fact that...it's not true!" James, who had his mouth open as if to say something else, let his jaw drop fully, then huffed and angrily crossed his arms over his chest. Sirius just laughed and jumped, crossing his legs in midair and landing on his bum on the bed. "I really had you going there, didn't I?" he said as he bounced to a standstill.

"Oh, bugger off!" James said indignantly and threw a pillow at him. "It does make sense when you put all the pieces together." Though now he didn't look entirely sure of himself. Sirius cheered in his head. It's working!

"Of course it doesn't, you silly twat. Werewolves aren't allowed to go to school. That in itself makes it impossible."

"B-but what about the scars? And why does he leave?" Peter asked.

Sirius let his smile fade a bit, looking at Peter and James more stoically. "I don't know about the leaving; I'm pretty sure that you two are over analyzing that. But there is a reason for the scars. Just promise you won't mention it to him because Remus is rather sensitive about it." The two other boys nodded. "He has a skin condition that tends to flare up when he's stressed out. There's no explanation or cure, and he gets scared that people will think he's weird when they see him."

"Oh. I always noticed but I didn't think...Now I feel kind of jerkish." James scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"As you should," Sirius said with a firm nod. "You pestered your best friend for information about your other best friend in the middle of the night when we should all be asleep."

"Not about that. I have no guilt for making you lose your beauty sleep." Sirius looked aghast at that ("Not that I need it," he muttered). "I meant about finding out that Remus is insecure about his skin thing. Before we were friends, we used to make fun of him a lot behind his back about that."

"Yeah. I feel jerkish too," Peter agreed.

"You two should be ashamed of yourselves!" Sirius wagged his finger at them. "That's it. Get in bed right now and go to sleep. Lights out."

"Pft, when did you become my mother?" The three boys laughed. "But, seriously, don't tell him that we used to tease him."

"Of course not. I don't want to make him feel worse about it." Sirius had a feeling that Remus really was self-conscious about the scars even though he'd never said so. "Now can we please go to sleep? This is already much later than I had planned to be awake and I want to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow in class."

"Eager, are we? What's the special occasion?" James asked.

Sirius laid back in his bed. "Oh nothing. Just need to study the inside of my eyelids a bit more before History of Magic. I think we're having a test."

.:~I~S~S~:.

Remus returned to the common room in the evening the next day. Sirius, James, and Peter were on their stomachs in front of the fire playing Exploding Snap, and they looked up when they heard their friend come in.

"Hey, Moony! Feeling better?" Sirius called and Remus froze in his tracks. If he could see his reflection, it would surely be shooting daggers back at him. He should have never let Sirius utter that nickname even in private. How stupid was he to have taken that risk? James and Peter scooted away as he walked closer to their spot, fearing his controlled, but furious expression. Sirius seemed unfazed.

"What did you call me?" Remus asked, trying to stay calm.

"I said Moony. You know, like full moon because you're a werewolf." Sirius winked up at him and Remus realized that he must have told James and Peter the 'truth' the night before. He let himself relax but by no means was completely comfortable.

"Oh...Right. Roar." He puts his hands up like claws but there was barely any enthusiasm behind it. "So, I'm Moony, now? Is that it?"

"Actually, that's a kind of cute nickname," Peter commented. The other three looked at him with their eyebrows raised. "What?"

Remus shook his head. "I suppose it's not too bad." He looked at Sirius who was grinning. He should have known that the other would take the opportunity to introduce the nickname safely in mixed company. Though he couldn't say he minded all that much.

Sirius patted the floor next to himself in offering. "Come on. We'll deal you in."

"Actually, I'm still kind of tired. I think I'm just going to go up to bed," Remus said. Tired was an understatement; he was exhausted. The moons were taking more of a toll on him since he was back in the Shack and not at home. He sincerely hoped that this wouldn't be the case every time he went home and came back to school because he didn't know if he could handle this for five more years.

"Alright," Sirius said, concern tinting his eyes more blue. "Goodnight then, Rem."

"Night. Night boys."

"Goodnight Remus," James and Peter said.

The werewolf made his way up the steps to the boy's dorms and disappeared. "Are we really calling him Moony now?" Peter asked, sounding hopeful.

"I certainly am. I don't care what you two do," Sirius said. He looked to the stairs and hoped that Remus wasn't upset at his sudden revelation. "Maybe we should come up with funny nicknames for each other too, so he doesn't feel weird being the only one."

"Hm..." James put a hand to his chin and eyed Sirius thoughtfully. "I think I'll call you 'pudding face'."

The other boy looked bewildered. "Why?"

"I don't know," James said with a shrug. "I just think that it fits for some reason."

Sirius frowned and then swept his hands out on both sides. "Alright, new plan. No nicknames."

.:~I~S~S~:.

It's the full moon and Remus goes through the transformation as he usually does, but it is much quicker and less painful this time. He wonders how he has gotten this stroke of luck, and realizes that he can still think in his own mind. His senses tell him that this cannot be reality.

And they prove to be right when suddenly he is outside of the wolf body and looking at himself. He takes in what a horrible creature he is, so terrifying and menacing. The wolf stares back at him with its eyes glinting gold in the moonlight. It seems to contemplate for a moment, as if it realizes that they are one in the same. But then it shifts and becomes a larger, gray-furred and raggedy looking wolf that Remus has only seen once before in his life.

This wolf fixes him with a vicious stare, hungry. It prowls to his left, licking its lips, and Remus finds himself frozen to the spot, wishing right now that he were the wolf so that he might stand a chance against this one, though he knows that he still wouldn't be big or strong enough.

And suddenly he is the wolf again. But now there are people everywhere. Every face is one he recognizes; James, Peter, Anjanette, the other Gryffindors. Even Severus Snape has made an appearance. They all look horrified, and they're running away and screaming in terror. Sirius is there too, and he just looks on in disgust. Then his parents are there and they shake their heads in disappointment.

The big gray wolf is still there and watches all this with a glint of amusement in its eyes. Finally it lunges at Remus and he screams-

And jolts up in bed.

Remus looked wildly about and realized he was safe in bed in the Gryffindor dorms. He was drenched in a cold sweat and shaking. He hadn't had a nightmare like that for a while and couldn't imagine what had triggered it.

I'll never get back to sleep, he thought, as he tried to calm himself down. After a few moments of fruitless tossing and turning, someone whispered, "Moony?" Sirius had woken up. "Moooony. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Sirius. Go back to sleep." The quavering in his voice betrayed him.

"You don't sound fine. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Really." He couldn't hold back a sniffle.

"Don't make me come over there." But Remus didn't get a chance to move before Sirius had yanked the curtains open and sat on the edge of his bed. "Come on, tell me what's wrong."

Remus sighed and lifted himself up enough to prop onto his elbows. "Just a bad dream."

"Wanna talk about it?" He shook his head miserably. "It would help get your mind off of it."

"How would talking about it get my mind off of it?"

"Dunno. But it usually works for me." When Remus refused to say anything Sirius shrugged. "Suit yourself. But if you change your mind, you know where to find me." Sirius climbed back into his own bed and snuggled in.

Remus let his head hit his pillow and closed his eyes, but all he saw were the shadows of his nightmare. He was definitely not going back to sleep tonight. "Alright, I'll tell you." In the waning moonlight, he could just barely make out the grin of triumph on Sirius's face. Too lazy to get up again, he patted the edge of his bed, and Remus got up and moved over.

He recounted the nightmare and finished by rubbing his face with his hands. "It was just really awful."

"I believe you." There was a silent pause, then Sirius said, "That big gray wolf..."

"Fenrir Greyback," Remus spat the name. "The sole person responsible for ruining my life. I try not to hate anyone, but I make a special exception for him."
"I hate him too then," Sirius agreed.

Another silence, then Remus took a deep breath. "I was only five years old when it happened. It was the summertime, I remember, because I loved going outside at night during the summer. Mum and I would lay down in the grass and she'd tell me stories about the constellations. One night Mum was out late, though, so I decided to go out on my own, even though Dad had said that there was a dangerous person that he had been chasing at the Ministry. I thought if I saw anything strange that I would just run back inside.

"I didn't see a person. I saw a wolf. A huge gray wolf, just sitting at the edge of the trees in my backyard and looking at me. I knew wolves weren't exactly friendly so I got up to go inside. But the moment I moved, the wolf…" Remus winced and closed his eyes, having to take a moment to breathe before continuing. "I screamed for Dad. He came rushing out with his wand and chased the wolf into the forest. I ran inside and my hand was bleeding like crazy and I just cried and cried..." He ran a finger absently over the most prominent scar on his body, carved into the skin of left hand.

"Mum came home eventually, I don't know how long it was. She saw my hand and asked what happened but I was so upset I couldn't tell her, so she rushed me to St. Mungo's. When they finished fixing me up, they asked what happened and I still wouldn't talk. They looked very worried but they sent us home and Mum asked me again. That's when I finally told her, and she looked terrified.

"Dad didn't come back for three days. When he finally did, he was a ragged mess. He told Mum it was Fenrir Greyback and they both looked at me…They tried to explain as best as they could what had happened, what I had become. I didn't really feel any different at first. Then the first full moon came…" Remus trailed off staring at the wall with haunted eyes as what Sirius assumed were the memories of his first transformation passed through his mind.

"Remus..." was all the he could manage.

"After the first time I had nightmares every night. But slowly they started to come at intervals. This is the longest I've gone without one, but I should have known that they would never be gone for good. Just like this damned curse."

"Remus," Sirius said again, but still couldn't think of anything else.

Remus smiled ruefully. "You don't have to say anything, Siri. I'm just grateful that you don't think I'm a freak."

"Of course I don't." Sirius sat up and looked at him, eyes burning with intensity. "If I promise you one of those things in that dream won't come true, it's that I will never think that you are disgusting. You're my best friend."

"Thank you." Remus's mouth became a small, but more genuine grin, and it was enough to satisfy Sirius that he'd done a good job in reassuring him.

"No need. That's what friends do." Sirius grinned back at him. "But now, I think it's time we went back to sleep. One of us has to be awake tomorrow to get the other up and it's not going to be me."

Remus chuckled. "I'm only too happy to serve as your personal alarm clock, Messr. Black," he said with a flourish as he went back to his own bed.

"Alarm clock?"

"Never mind. Goodnight Sirius." And as Remus laid down and closed his eyes, he realized that he did feel better, and might actually be able to sleep peacefully.

.:~I~S~S~:.

It was a frosty November Saturday when Sirius decided to unleash the next attack in the Great Prank War. It was another potion to be slipped into James's drink, so they needed the perfect distraction. And though it meant sitting near one Severus Snape, it was decided that it would be worth it in the end.

He even made sure that he woke up extra early, which he thought was a sin on a weekend, but it was all for the name of marauding. He and Remus needed to make sure that they could get down to the Great Hall and seat themselves before James, and therefore be able to make the choice of where to sit. Thankfully, they weren't so early that they were ahead of Lily Evans, and they took seats side by side to her left. Both Lily, and Severus on her right side, looked at the two in suspicion.

"Um...Hello, boys," Lily said, unsure. "What brings you here?"

"Just needed a change of scenery," Sirius replied casually. "Can't sit in the same spot all the time. You don't mind, do you?"

"I suppose not." Severus just sniffed and buried his face deeper into his plate of food. Sirius and Remus, satisfied that they wouldn't be removed, began dishing some breakfast for themselves. It wasn't long before James stumbled in, hair messier than ever and looking groggy. On the weekends, he practically shut his brain down because he knew he wouldn't have to use it for two days.

"Any particular reason we're sitting near Snivellus?" he asked, still sleepy enough not to be able to come up with a proper insult. He took the seat across from Lily. "Though I think it's tolerable if you're here. Good morning, my darling." James winked in what he hoped was a seductive way.

Lily gave him a look that read 'drop dead' but politely replied, "Morning." through gritted teeth.

"Sorry, James. There were no seats," Remus said, lying easily. Lily and Severus looked over at him quickly, seeing as Sirius had told them something completely different, but they said nothing. James was still dazed enough to not really take in what he was seeing and just nodded dumbly, plating himself some eggs.

Remus, Sirius, and Lily fell into a conversation while James stared at her dreamily. Severus was so distracted by James's ogling that he barely ate anything and seemed to be trying to bore a hole through his head with his mind. Eventually the group was joined by Anjanette, and finally Peter who was always the latest sleeper on the weekends. Sirius grinned wickedly. A full audience. He only wished Regulus were there to see such genius in action but he knew that he had probably eaten much earlier and was off doing something productive somewhere.

Sirius elbowed Remus softly and scratched his nose; the signal. Remus tilted his head up and slowly brought it down to acknowledge that he understood. Sirius's smile only spread further.

"Hey, do you think it'll snow today?" he suddenly asked, disregarding whatever it was that Lily and Anjanette had been discussing. Everyone looked up and Remus took the opportunity to dump the vial of potion which was hidden in his sleeve into James's cup. He only had a second to withdraw his arm before everyone was bringing their heads down again.

"Maybe. It's certainly cloudy enough," Lily said.

"Not storm clouds," Anjanette commented.

"Oh. Too bad. I love the snow, I can't wait for it to start," Sirius said. He looked at Remus and the werewolf tucked hair behind his ear. Now all that was left to do was wait.

As the group began to talk again, Sirius found himself watching James's goblet intently. He knew that the one or two sips he had been taking wasn't going to do the job. It would have to be almost the whole thing for the potion to take effect, and he didn't know if they would be sitting at the table for that long. But by a stroke of dumb luck, James started to choke and guzzled most of his juice to wash down the stray piece of bacon.

James, completely unaware of what was to come, had barely taken his eyes off of Lily. So it was no surprise that the first thing that they heard as he was staring longingly at her across the table was, "-So beautiful...-" It sounded like James's voice and had come from James's direction, but his lips hadn't moved.

Lily, who had been trying to ignore her admirer, paused with her spoon part way to her mouth, which was open slightly. Her green eyes swung towards him and regarded him skeptically. She almost looked as if she were blushing, but it could have been the lighting.

None of the others seemed to realize just yet what was happening, but Remus and Sirius were already struggling to keep straight faces, knowing that the potion was taking effect. The next thing they heard couldn't be as easily ignored. "-If only I could get her to like me. Maybe if she stopped listening to what Snivellus says.-"

"Excuse me?" Severus snapped. Sirius curled his lips in on his teeth to keep himself from laughing.

James turned to the Slytherin boy with a look of superiority. "Bugger off, Snivelly. No one's talking to you."

"You just said my name," he retorted.

James looked at him in bewilderment. "No I didn't. Crazy nutter..."

"Takes one to know one," Severus muttered.

Ignoring his rival, James turned his attention back to Lily. "-Why does she hang out with that greasy git?-"

Lily's hands hit the table. "For your information, you arrogant toe-rag, Severus is worth a thousand of you!"

"What?" James started to wake up mentally and looked at his friends each in turn as if they would tell him what was going on. Remus was trying so hard to look unassuming and he shrugged. Sirius did the same. Peter put his hands up, palms facing out. "-That was weird...It's like she could read my mind.-" Anjanette suddenly caught on to what was going on and looked at Sirius and Remus with a quirked eyebrow. They stayed as stoic as possible.

"You said it out loud!" Lily said.

"I did? No I didn't! Or maybe I did by accident...Well, it's true! What do you want to spend time with a slimeball like him for? Especially when I am all yours." James gestured to himself up and down and Lily just rolled her eyes.

"We don't have to sit here and take this. Come on, Sev, let's go." She grabbed his arm to get him up.
"No wait!" Sirius reached across Remus and grabbed her wrist before she could stand. Everyone looked at him in surprise and he let go quickly. "It's just...James doesn't know what he's saying. You shouldn't have to leave just because he's being stupid. Ignore him." Remus mouthed 'smooth recovery' to him and Sirius winked subtly.

Lily looked between Sirius and James and then sighed. "Fine. But he better keep his great big trap shut."

Sirius smiled to his friend. "You heard her, mate." He couldn't keep the snicker out of his voice when he thought of how impossible it was going to be for him.

The other pureblood still looked incredibly confused. "I didn't say anything…"

Everyone returned to their meals, but there was a palpable air of suspense between them. It wouldn't last long, however, once Lily had plated herself some fruit. James watched as she ate each piece, juice running down her chin. "-Who knew someone could make something trivial like eating look so good? That's right. Eat that strawberry.-"

Many things happened at once.

Sirius and Remus couldn't hold back any longer and burst into hysterical laughter, practically falling off the bench. They were joined by Anjanette, and had they not been so wrapped up in the moment, they might have marveled as it was the first time they had heard her really laugh. Severus jumped up with his wand at the ready, only to be beaten out by Lily smacking James across the face. Peter stared at the scene with his mouth hanging open, not understanding exactly what was going on. But no one was more bewildered than James himself who was clutching at his cheek and spluttering.

"But- What?- I didn't- How did-"

"Don't you ever come near me again, James Potter. Do you understand?" The fiery girl stormed out of the Great Hall, red hair swishing behind her. Severus gave James an icy glare coupled with his perfected sneer, enough of a warning in itself, before following Lily.

"-What just happened?-" James asked, though his lips didn't move. "What just happened?" he asked again through his mouth.

Sirius clutched the table and tried to stop his cackling. "Oh good Godric's golden socks! That was priceless!" he cried between laughs. "I mean of all the things to think, I never expected that!"

"You should have seen your face when she hit you!" Anjanette said.

"Right?" Sirius agreed and they started laughing again arms around each other's shoulders.

"What? What do you mean? -How did they know what I was thinking? Unless...- SIRIUS!" The other dark-headed boy continued in his fits of hysteria, holding his stomach and leaning on Remus's shoulder.

"I really am sorry, James. But your thoughts are being projected out through your ears!" Remus explained.

"WHAT?! -Oh no! They can hear everything! What if they hear about my dream about the bunny tea party? WAIT! Why am I thinking? I should be stopping myself from thinking!- LA LA LA LA LA I'm not thinking except of a way that I can kill you later, Sirius! LA LA LA LA LA!" James plugged his ears with his fingers and ran out of the Great Hall.

"Wait. So you two did that?" Peter asked.

"Yes, Pete. Wake up, will you?" Sirius snapped his fingers in front of his face. "That was incredible. Let's see him come back from that one!"

"That was the funniest thing I've ever seen," Anjanette said, settling back into her calm demeanor.

"I can't believe you laughed like that," Sirius said. She shrugged and turned back to her breakfast, though the smile didn't leave her face. "You should help us out. You can be on our side in the Great Prank War and lead us to victory."

"No way!" Peter cried. "If anyone's getting her it's us. You've got Moony, you don't need another smart person." At the new nickname the Ravenclaw looked at Remus questioningly and he shook his head once.

"Don't I get a say?" Anjanette asked.

"Stay out of this," Sirius and Peter said together.

"Now, now children, let's learn to share. Perhaps Anjanette doesn't want to be involved in the first place," Remus said.

Anjanette nodded. "I'd rather be neutral. It's more fun to watch."

"Fine, have it your way. Rem and I can handle it, right?" Sirius slung an arm over his shoulder and shook him.

"This is going to be a long year," Remus said with a fond smile. "By the way, Sirius, you should probably go bring James the antidote. He'll have a breakdown if he thinks people are listening to him all day."

"Eh, alright fine." Sirius stood reluctantly and went to find James.

Remus, Peter, and Anjanette continued to eat for a while longer, the werewolf still smiling at their prank. Sometimes he couldn't believe that he actually had friends to do things like this when a little more than a year before, he'd feared being alone and judged.