Disclaimer: All characters belong solely to JK Rowling. If you recognize a scene or a name, it is hers.

Chapter Five: The Dare

By the time Remus got through of the Portrait Hole and out of Gryffindor Tower, Peter was nowhere to be found. Worried for his friend – yet knowing, well praying, the boy would be back on his own time – Remus turned back and reentered the common room. He would wait for Peter there, as well as give James and Sirius a few minutes to gather their bearings enough to face their friends.

Five minutes later, the two had entered the common room nervously, both looking extremely disheveled. Remus looked up at his dark haired friends and rolled his eyes, fixing his eyes back on the door to the portrait hole, as if expecting the fourth Marauder to enter.

"Hey, umm... Moony, we… uh… Siri and I…" James started, but Remus cut him off.

"Don't explain it to me. Pete's the one upset right now. Not sure if he's upset, per se, but he definitely took off, he's definitely not come back yet, and he definitely will be the one needing an explanation. Not me."

Sirius stared at the werewolf in surprise. "You were the one who took off, Remi. Weren't you?"

Remus sighed, looking exasperated. "You didn't see him; you were too busy with each other to notice we had come in the room. Pete immediately ran off, and you two looked up and only saw me when he slammed the door. I'm going to go find him. You… you should wait here. I'll talk to him."

Remus had literally no idea where to find his friend, but after leaving through the portrait hole, a thought struck him. Maybe Peter would hide out in the very last place anyone would think to look for him. This idea carried Remus to the library, knowing full well that Peter only ever went there to avoid his friends, and even then only in desperation.

Upon entering the library, Remus expected several possible outcomes. He expected to have wasted a trip, as Peter wouldn't even be there. But he also expected to find his friend hiding from Remus behind a bookshelf. Or maybe he expected Peter to be taunting a few first years. He even half expected to find the boy scanning a book to find a way to get back at his friends.

What he had not expected was to find a mildly excited-looking Peter sitting at a table in the center of the library, accompanied by a small handful of Slytherin sixth and seventh year students.

In his surprise at seeing his friend's present company, he hadn't noticed the close proximity of another student. As he backed behind a bookshelf, so as to avoid being seen by Peter's group, he backed directly into none other than Severus Snape, who was absently scanning the titles on the shelf.

The werewolf spun around immediately, knowing he had most likely knocked over the person he had hit in his distracted haste. Seeing who it was, Remus reached a hand out to the Slytherin. The boy took the hand, clearly not noticing who was offering it. Once the dark haired boy had stood and looked up, he backed quickly up, but in doing so, knocked into the shelf behind him.

"Snape, calm down. I'm only here because…" He hesitated. He couldn't possibly convey to the Slytherin the situation he was currently in, primarily because the idea of Peter Pettigrew discussing anything with a group of Slytherins was unthinkable.

Snape glared at Remus. "Because what?" The glare turned into a sneer. "Because your precious little boyfriend is too busy talking with other dirty Slytherins like myself?"

Remus knew that the other boy was baiting him, and refused to react. "First off, Pete's not my boyfriend. Best friend, but not my boyfriend. And no, that has nothing to do with it. Pete can talk to whoever he wants to talk to. The reason I'm here is, I'm trying to figure out a potion to cure… never mind. James would kill me if I told you. I'm here to do research. Leave it at that."

Snape's eyes narrowed. "Potions research? Don't make me laugh. You four are abysmal at potion making. And you prove so every class." The dark haired Slytherin turned back to the shelf, scanning the titles once more.

"I'm not abysmal at potions. I just… get distracted by a certain two morons who keep trying to throw things into my cauldron." The Slytherin looked up again, knowing exactly who the 'two morons' were in this case. "I'll prove it to you if you'd like. Up to you."

Snape looked at Remus and, seeing that there was a plan formulating in Remus' mind on how to do so, raised his eyebrows. "Do enlighten me to your brilliance, oh all-knowing werewolf," the Slytherin muttered, the sneer returning.

"Work with me tomorrow in class. Pair with me, on the opposite side of the dungeon from James and Sirius, and you will eat your words." Remus matched the other boy's smirk with one of his own. He knew the Slytherin could see the dare and would probably take the bait. And it would allow Remus to keep his other two friends from doing anything stupid. He felt bad for abandoning Peter like that, but he'd pair with Lily Evans anyway, so no harm done. Pete would actually get a good mark out of this one, so he'd thank Remus later.

"Deal. You'd better prepare to look a fool, Lupin." And with that, the Slytherin grabbed a book off the shelf and stalked off to find the librarian. Remus watched the boy walk away, a growing excitement in the back of his mind, a feeling that he could not explain.

He walked out from behind the bookshelf, and Peter caught sight of his friend. His meeting with the Slytherins was over, and he knew he'd have to face his friends anyway, so he called over to the werewolf.

"Hey, Remy, what're you doing in here?" He looked slightly apprehensive, but kept his voice in check.

"Looking for you, Pete. You ran off, and I've been looking everywhere for you."

Peter's face cleared and he let out a slight grin. "Yeah, that was… disturbing to say the least."

"You okay then, Pete?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. It's just… You know how… Never mind."

"Come on, Peter, you can tell me."

"I kind of…" the boy hesitated. "I sort of fancied Sirius. Stupid, I know. But I did. Go ahead, laugh. I don't care."

Remus formed his face into a serious expression. "Not laughing. I had that much worked out for myself from your reaction. Hey, they want to talk to you. They saw you freak out and felt awful. Come on, let's go back." Seeing the boy hesitate, he added, "You can't avoid them forever. We share a dorm."

Peter allowed himself to be steered toward Gryffindor Tower by his friend. No one even noticed that, even throughout the long conversation between the Marauders in their dormitory, Remus barely said a word. Nor did his face lose the expression of excitement present since his discussion with a certain dark-haired Slytherin.

Sorry for the delay, everyone. I've been really busy. I'm only updating because there's a few people who like this story who've been asking me to update. Was going to end quit writing, but I was talked back into writing more. Blackmailed more like. But I guess I'll finish it. Just for all you Remy/Sev fans...

Potions class next chapter, and I wonder if Remy will prove himself... I'll start writing it now. Any ideas for future chapters, please send! And review, of course... xD