The area around the restricted section of the library was deathly quiet. Students avoided sitting near it. Those who tried often moved away quickly, saying there was something about the area that just wasn't right. It was darker than the rest of the library, too, with fewer candles around those particular bookshelves.

The librarian looked at him over the top of the parchment, looking suspicious as she gazed at him.

She put the slip down and waved her wand over it, muttering something under her breath, too quiet for Remus to catch the spell. A green line came from her wand, winding in the air and forming words.

Gabrielle Harpo.

She sighed, put the slip in a drawer, and waved Remus towards the restricted section.

As he approached, the air grew colder. He felt like a ghost had gone through him. But he pushed onwards, until he was standing between the shelves that very few students were allowed access to. From behind, he could feel her eyes on him.

He began to study the books, gazing at their spines. He did not want to read the wrong one, did not want to pick something out that could actually physically do something to him.

Remus eyes were drawn to a book with a moon on the spine. A full moon. A perfect, silver orb. He reached out, taking the book and turning to stare at its cover.

The Truth Behind Our Darkest Fears.

He opened the book, eyes scanning the author's introduction.

For centuries we have used dark creatures to scare our children. We have taken real life tales and twisted them, so our children would not misbehave. But when they ask challenging questions, we often have no answer for them. How is a dementor made? What happens if a person is turned into a vampire? What is a werewolf like during the rest of the month?

We cannot answer these because they scare us. We refuse to seek out the truth because we are terrified of what we could so easily become. We, as humans, as wizards and witches, are all too fearful of what we don't understand.

Between these pages, dear reader, you will find the answers to these questions. And many more. Read interviews with those who live the lives we know nothing about. Hear Elizabeth's tale of how her brother's innocent soul was taken, and twisted into a guard of Azkaban. Read an interview with John, a former Auror who fought darkness at every turn, only to be fired from his position when it was discovered he was a werewolf. And listen, as Gareth goes into great detail of his struggles as a vampire and how he survives without human blood.

Remus smiled, gripping the book tight as he continued to look. Why was a book like that in the restricted section? Surely the other students could have benefited from reading the real life tales of people affected by that sort of thing?

What if one of them faced it one day?

What if a vampire or a werewolf attacked them?

From first-hand experience, he knew the world was not kind to those who were seen as dark creatures. Not even if it was something they were unable to help. Part of him hoped that, one day, if there was a child who had the misfortune of becoming like him, he could help them.

Like Marcus had helped him.

Teaching, becoming a Ministry Hunter…both of them could lead him to that.

Or, he thought, he could set up some sort of agency for those affected to seek help. A support group. He chuckled at the idea, drawing the eyes of the librarian towards him.

His eyes roamed over book after book after book, but none of them looked even remotely like they could help their own situation.

Remus put the book on the floor, and got to his knees, squinting as he read the titles on the very bottom shelf. Dark curses, dark magic, how to create dark potions…

Advanced curses, ingredient books that listed the properties of living animals and blood, advanced transfiguration.

He grabbed the last one, scanning the cover.

Be Anything.

Remus opened the book, flicking through the pages. There were rapidly changing pictures, hurting his eyes as he saw a wizard turn into an inanimate object, as he saw a lion turn into a sofa and back and, finally, right in the middle, a man turn into a hawk.

He looked at the top of the page.

Animagus.

Remus grinned, drawing the book tight to his chest and grabbing the other one.

His heart beat hard in his chest, and excitement bubbled up inside as he got to his feet and took the books to the desk.

X X X

With every day, they got just a little bit closer.

The potion, as far as Remus could tell, was going well. When he and Sirius were down in the dungeons working on it, James would sit in the dorm and read through the transfiguration book, making notes as he went and summing up what he had found when Remus and Sirius returned. Peter worked hard, practicing basic spells and charms that the other three had already mastered, with a bit of help from James.

Even the teachers were surprised.

None more so than McGonagall, who found a changed James and Sirius when she returned to class. The first class she took with the second year Gryffindors, she stared in open mouthed surprise when both of them put their hands up to answer a question.

Gone were the boys who sat at the back of the class, laughing and talking, remaining silent when she told them off. Now, they were quiet when they had to be, focused when she spoke, and answered questions almost as much as Remus and Lily.

On top of that, their enthusiasm even infected Peter.

All four were working hard, in class and out. The other three combined their efforts to help Peter, and together they managed to rack up a fair number of points for Gryffindor.

James mused that it was, perhaps, because the professors were collectively stunned at their new efforts.

"We're going to need those points," he said, one evening, when Sirius and Remus returned from the dungeons. "I mean, if we get caught doing this, they're going to take a load of points off us."

The three nodded their agreement.

The day the potion was ready, Remus went to see Slughorn.

"Ah, Mr Lupin." He seemed happy to see the student, and ushered him into the office. "What can I do for you? The potion not giving you any trouble, I hope?" His eyes twinkled.

Remus sighed. "I'm sorry, sir. Something went wrong. It…well, it didn't explode, in so much as…well, it just kind of…" He paused, frowning as if he was trying to think of the right word. "Imploded. There's nothing left." He had been careful. Remus had dug out books about the potion, had read up on the signs that it was going wrong, and worked out that it was more than likely to implode if one didn't let the ingredients sit for the right amount of time.

Slughorn nodded, slowly. "Yes, my boy, it's unfortunate but that can happen. Are you looking forward to my Christmas party?"

"Yes, sir. I think I've managed to convince James and Sirius to attend, too."

"Good, good. It's always nice to see students mingling. Especially with others not of their houses." He smiled. "If you do feel up for attempting the potion again, just come see me. I may be able to lend an extra helping hand, if you need it."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

Remus left, darting into the spare room on his way out of the dungeons, gathering up everything he and Sirius had brought down.

As he made his way back up the tower, James was making his way up to the dorm, mentally going through the next steps in his head.

He opened the door and stood, stunned, staring at his bed.

Folded on it was his invisibility cloak.

With a grin, he darted forward and picked it up, throwing it over himself before glancing in the mirror.

It would make sneaking into the kitchens a lot easier.

He waited in the dorm for the others, and before long was joined by Remus, Sirius and Peter. Remus had the potion, ready in a vial, and he handed it to James.

"Two drops. Okay?"

James nodded. "Two drops. Got it." He held up the invisibility cloak. A grin appeared on Sirius' face, before James threw the cloak over both of them and they vanished from sight. Remus and Peter led them down to the common room, leaving the tower with them and heading off the library, while James and Sirius followed the stairs down to the floor directly underneath the Great Hall.

They didn't speak a word as they went down, scared of alerting passing students or teachers to their presence. Instead, they shuffled along, ducking out of the way when someone appeared quickly around a corner.

Sirius was the first to speak, when they came into a corridor that was empty.

"Do you think he knows?"

"Who?" James replied, keeping his voice to a whisper despite the lack of anyone else.

"Dumbledore. I mean…he practically told us to do a prank, didn't he? And he returned the cloak on the day we're planning to do it…"

"Sure he knows. Dumbledore knows everything."

They reached the painting that led into the kitchen. James glanced up and down the corridor, before giving a quick nod to Sirius. Reaching out, Sirius tickled the pear, and the painting swung forward.

The pair scrambled inside.

The house elves ran around, doing various tasks for the meal they were in the midst of preparing. None of them seemed to notice the entrance had opened and closed, and none seemed to sense the two boys under the invisibility cloak in their presence.

Sirius stifled a giggle.

Each of the tables were laid out to mimic the tables upstairs. It was close enough to dinner that food was already on there, waiting for the students to arrive so the elves could send it up.

And the goblets already contained pumpkin juice.

The two boys went to each table, tipping the vial and putting two drops in each cup. Sirius was almost ready to burst by the time they got to the Slytherin table, and as soon as they were done James rushed them both out, the vial now empty.

Once they were in the corridor, they broke into a run, moving quickly back through the castle and upstairs. They burst into the common room, sprinted towards the dorms, and threw off the cloak.

Sirius burst into laughter, clutching his stomach as he fell back on the bed.

"This is going to be awesome," he said, between bursts.

James nodded his agreement, grinning as he eagerly looked forward to dinner.

X X X

Remus had already explained that the potion would take around ten minutes to kick in. The time depended on the length that certain ingredients were allowed to stew; he'd managed to stretch it out to ten so that a group wouldn't get affected, alerting the others.

James' eyes darted around the hall, paying careful attention to those who drank deeply from their goblets. He made sure to drink as well, nudging Peter to do the same.

The chatter in the hall, as always, was loud.

James glanced at the teacher's table. Dumbledore was leaning towards McGonagall, listening intently to something she was saying. But his eyes landed on the four boys, and he winked at James.

From the Hufflepuff table, came a loud squawking. Everyone glanced at each other, looking confused, as growls began to emit from the Ravenclaw table. The hall burst into noise. Roars, barks, neighing…

A few people began to laugh, before they started meowing or squeaking.

Remus let out a howl, his hand clamping tightly over his mouth as he stared wide-eyed at James. James laughed, along with Sirius, before both were overcome. Sirius let out a bark, James snorted. Peter began squeaking. The teachers gaped around the hall, as each student began to let out animal-like noises.

Some of the students began to panic, standing and stumbling towards the doors of the halls. Others just gazed around. A few had smiles on their faces, as they tried out the new noises coming from their mouths.

"Calm down." Dumbledore's voice boomed out across the hall, and the standing students stopped, turning to look at him. His eyes glanced, briefly, to the four Gryffindor boys, and they swore he smiled at them. But the smile quickly disappeared. "If this is what I believe it is…" He turned to Slughorn, leant into him and asked something. Slughorn nodded. His eyes were wide, staring in disbelief at the hall. McGonagall and a few of the other teachers were trying to hide giggles behind their hands. "The effects will last half an hour. Perhaps forty five minutes at most. Although I gather it will be…unfortunate for you if you are unable to catch up with your friends, I ask that you return to your seats and finish dinner. If, after an hour, you are still suffering from the effects of this, then please go to the hospital wing."

The students returned to their seats, looking embarrassed. James did a quick thumbs up to Remus, as everyone continued eating, the sounds making almost every student feel like they were in a zoo.

A/N: A massive thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed or added this story to their favourites. It really means a lot to me. Your support keeps me writing. As always, I love to hear your thoughts; just drop me a review. Thanks, again.