Remus couldn't believe the change that had seemed to come over Sirius. He returned to the Common Room with a wide, happy smile, chatting easily to James. James replied, and Sirius laughed, sinking into a sofa opposite Remus.

"Hey," Sirius said. "You two still doing homework?"

"I'm putting Pete through his paces," Remus replied, uncurling his legs. "Just quizzing him on some Transfiguration stuff." He put down the book he had been holding, and glanced at James. He seemed to be deep in thought, his mouth making a sort of side-pout as he stared at the table. When his head jerked up, Remus almost flinched.

"We really need to get into the forbidden section of the library," he said, matter of fact. Peter glanced up from the parchment he was scribbling on. "Well, you know, that's where it's going to say how to become Animagi. If it's anywhere at all."

"You need a teacher's permission," Peter stated, shaking his head. "And who's going to give you and Sirius permission? Or me, for that matter."

"It's rare for them to give permission to anyone under fifth year." Remus sighed. "James, just leave it. It's fine, really."

James shook his head. "They may not give it to us." His gaze fell on Remus, and Remus felt himself squirming under it, knowing he was about to be pulled into something he would rather avoid.

"James…" he whined, shaking his head. "Nuh uh. No way, I am not going to lie to a professor to get books on something that could turn out to be potentially dangerous to all of you."

"Dangerous? Please," James drawled, though he couldn't help but notice Sirius' slight flinch at his side. "What could go wrong?"

A frown appeared on Remus' face, revealing the few premature lines in his forehead. "James, have you seriously looked at those books we've been looking at? Or have you just skipped ahead hoping to find a chapter called How to Become An Animagi?"

From the look on James' face, it was clear that was exactly what he had been doing.

"There's a reason it's not just available for you to pull from a shelf," Remus continued. "Those books show those reasons. People have been stuck halfway between animal and human when they try the spell, and the magic needed to get it exactly right is way beyond the level of even a seventh year."

Peter was looking terrified. "I don't want to be stuck as half animal."

"You won't," Remus said. "At least, not forever. The transformation itself is very taxing on the human body, whether you make it happen or it happens anyway. And if you get stuck…you'll last two hours, at the most."

Peter gulped.

"James, please," he said, turning to the dark haired boy with wide eyes. "Drop it. This is all there in the books, the same books you've been looking at. It's dangerous. And I don't want to see my three best friends throw away their lives because of me."

"I'm not dropping it," James replied, his voice steady.

"Me either." Sirius shook his head. "We promise not to try until we're totally ready but we have to do this, Remus. We have to try."

"And so what if it takes us years?" James continued. "We'll keep trying. We'll become better wizards until we can do it, and do it well. And when we've got mini-us running around our feet, we'll hire babysitters and go running under the moon with you. Even if we can't do it until we're old and grey, Remus. We will do it."

Remus let out a deep sigh, as Peter groaned.

"Peter?" Sirius said, and Peter's head jerked up. "What do you think?"

The smaller boy paled.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to." James' voice was soft, kind. "If you gets too hard, you can always say no."

"No." His voice was suddenly firm, and the three boys gaped at him. "No, I'm not going to give up, either. Friends don't give up on each other."

Remus sank down in his seat, shaking his head as James and Sirius grinned at Peter.

"Okay, Remus. It's three to one. Here's what you're going to have to do…"

X X X

They waited until later in the week to implement the plan. The first three days seemed to go by awfully fast for Remus, but Tuesday afternoon James was moaning about how slow the day was going. Remus suspected it also had something to do with Wednesday night's Quidditch practice, when for the first time, James would be alone with his fellow players. Clearly, he was expecting admiration and praise for the match.

It was the free periods that were previously taken up by Transfiguration that seemed to have the most effect. To Remus' surprise, James and Sirius diligently got on with their work, asking Remus for a bit of help whenever they were stuck. Rumours ran around the castle about why McGonagall couldn't teach them, and Remus thought all of them – including a bad douse of flu – were just not true. Others were more absurd; that she had been abducted and Dumbledore was trying to rescue her, that she had fallen off a tower, that she had run away with a wizard from Hogsmeade.

Strangely, neither James nor Sirius commented on any of them.

He thought, at first, that maybe they were becoming so dedicated to Transfiguration to build up the essential blocks needed to become animagi. But, as Tuesday slipped into Wednesday, he realised that, taking it all together, there was a different reason.

Because they knew what had happened.

They, unlike every other student in the castle, knew why McGonagall wasn't up to teaching.

Wednesday, after classes but before dinner, Remus headed back to Professor Harpo's office. As he was leaving the Common Room, Lily caught up with him.

"We need to hang out," she said, imitating his strides.

"Not now, Lily."

"I don't mean right now!" She rolled her eyes. "But Potter has Quidditch practice tonight, right? How about an Exploding Snap tournament? Me, you, Peter and Alice."

She was grinning, and he wondered what she had her sleeve.

"Yeah, okay."

Her grin grew wider. "Good."

"What about Sirius?"

She shrugged, before her face changed. "Is he okay? He seems…quiet. And three days without a prank in the castle." She shuddered. "It doesn't feel quite right, does it?"

Remus laughed, almost wishing he could tell her what he had been thinking. But, he figured, there must have been a reason Sirius and James were staying quiet, and he didn't want to give them a reason not to tell him anything.

"Where you going anyway?"

"Professor Harpo's. You?"

"The library. Got a bit stuck on the History stuff, thought maybe I'd find some answers there." She smiled, lancing sideways at him. "Why are you going to Harpo's?"

"She's giving me some extra reading," he told her. "I told her I was considering maybe going into hunting when I got out of school."

Lily stopped, staring at him. "Nuh uh, you're way too nice for that."

"Lily, it's more subduing than killing. Helping people and that."

She seemed to consider it for a moment, then sighed. "Okay, well, if I was going to guess a job for you, helping people would be on the list of criteria. God knows you help Potter and Black enough." She flashed him a wide smile. "See you later, Remus." With that, she whirled around and darted off, quickly disappearing around the corner. Remus shook his head, before turning in the opposite direction, once more heading for the tower where the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor lived.

As he walked, his steps grew slower, heavier. He dragged his feet, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, wondering if she really would give him what he wanted.

No, what James and Sirius and Peter wanted.

Eventually, as he inevitably would, he reached the door.

James' argument had been that Harpo already liked him. She already knew he had an interest in subjects beyond his level, and he had endeared himself to her by expressing a desire to follow her career-path. Therefore, James said, she would be more than happy to help him achieve that.

Remus knocked.

It swung open. Professor Harpo looked much better than the last time he had seen her. Her hair was tied back again, but in a tight ponytail, all strands kept back by the band or, he thought, perhaps magic. He had already seen some of the older girls use magic to keep their hair exactly how they liked it. Lily had told him their Muggle counterparts used something called hairspray.

"Remus." She sounded surprised, but smiled all the same. She seemed filled with some renewed energy, and she ushered him in. "You haven't finished that book already, have you?"

A sheepish smile came on his face. "Almost. But I actually wanted to ask you about something else."

She frowned. "Haven't changed your mind already, have you?"

"No. It's just, well, I'm going to have to make myself stand out, aren't I? Even more so than anyone else. I'm going to be at a disadvantage enough as it is."

"You'll stand out, Remus. Trust me. You're way beyond your level already. Not just in my classes." Her eyes twinkled. "The other teachers speak highly of you. I'm surprised you're not in Slughorn's club."

"James and Sirius were invited to it. They didn't seem too interested, though."

She smiled. "I can see why. Slughorn is a fan of long lines of pure-blooded families. He'll try again for Sirius soon enough, don't worry. As for the rest, well, once you prove yourself, you'll be invited."

"What house were you in?" he asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all. I was in Hufflepuff, when I started. Then I transferred to Beuxbaton for my sixth year." She shuddered. "My parents moved to France and wanted me close. Their education is impressive, but it was…overwhelming. And if you weren't part of the right group…" She seemed to consider this. "Well, not so different to here, really. But Hogwarts was where my friends were, and I begged my parents to let me come back for my seventh year."

"I couldn't imagine going somewhere else."

"You've made some good friends, haven't you?"

He nodded.

"Good. Don't ever underestimate the value of friendship. It can save your life. And destroy it if you forget that. I sound like Dumbledore, don't I? Anyway, so, what's your plan to make yourself stand out even more?"

"I think…" He took a deep breath, his mind whirling as he struggled to drag the words out of his mouth. He didn't want to lie to her, didn't want to lie to any teacher but Professor Harpo had been so kind to him.

And then he remembered the looks on his friend's faces, and thought of what she had said only moments before.

"I want to do some more reading," he said. "I'm getting through the books in the library, but some of them are just…too easy. I want something more advanced."

She studied him carefully. "So what do you have in mind? Raiding my shelves? Or just recommendations?"

Another deep breath. The words tumbled out now, rushed. He just wanted to get it over with. "I wanted to see the books in the forbidden section."

She said nothing for a few moments, just stared at him, and he thought she was going to outright refuse. She looked on the verge of it. Not that it would have surprised him. There were rumours of some books there that could drive an unprepared student mad.

There were very good reasons why the section was reserved for those who had permission from a teacher. And Remus suspected it was because the teachers would know exactly who could handle it and who couldn't.

"Let me think about it," she said, slowly, drawing the words out almost as if she regretted not just saying no. He wished she had, wished she would have dashed the hopes of James and Sirius there and then.

Why couldn't they have just gone in James' invisibility cloak?

"Okay." He wouldn't mention that to them. He just thanked her, turned and headed out, making his way back to the tower and deciding, on the way, that he would tell his friends what they didn't want to hear.

He would tell them she had just said no.

X X X

Every so often, Sirius' eyes flickered to them from his seat nearby. He had his nose buried in a book, and Remus swore he had seen him read more since Saturday than he'd read since Remus had met him. Still, he couldn't ignore the gaze whenever it fell on him, as beside him Peter played Exploding Snap against Alice, and Remus played against Lily.

Lily cheered Alice on when Alice's hand slammed down on the pile of cards. Those in front of Remus and Lily burst into flames, and Remus felt something brush against him. Out of the corner of his eye, something left the common room. He looked over his other shoulder, to see that Sirius had gone.

"I'll be back," he promised Lily, scrambling to his feet and walking quickly after his friend. He didn't pay attention to the look on her face, as he dived out and the portrait swung close behind him. Sirius disappeared around the corridor, and Remus dug into his pocket.

He'd been testing the map, trying out various spells on it. One of them involved taking the hair of someone and binding it into the parchment. It was easily removable, but if the person whose hair it was drank a certain potion, they would appear on the map.

And Sirius always left his hair brush lying around. It hadn't been too hard, not when the boys often got each other drinks if they were in the common room and dorm.

He grinned to himself as he and Sirius both appeared, in the form of dots, on the map.

Remus leant against the wall, watching Sirius. The other boy was moving quickly, and he soon stopped near the closest boy's bathroom. So far, Remus had only been able to etch out part of the school; he'd managed to get a few corridors near the Common Room, and the Great Hall, library…but much of it was missing.

Still, it served for now.

Remus frowned as Sirius headed into the bathroom. They had toilets and showers right next to the bedrooms; why would he need to be in there?

The map was soon stuffed back in his pocket, as he strolled towards the bathroom. It wouldn't be shown to anyone until he had finished experimenting with it. For now, it was his own little project, his own secret, something he could work on when the others were busy – playing Quidditch, catching up on homework or combining their efforts in researching animagi.

He reached the bathroom and stepped inside, pausing near the door and listening.

From the only closed stall, he heard the sound of muffled sobs.

A/N: What do you think? Liking it? Hating it? More importantly, why? As always, would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on the chapter.