(3) The Incident

('The incident' is based on a canon scene from the books, not shown in movies. Very few details were given, other than Sirius did something really stupid concerning Snape vs. Remus sometime towards the end of their fifth year close to the OWL's exams & we only know this timeline due to Sirius's birthday. He was 16 at this time, all Marauders were, as was Snape, which means it was BEFORE Sirius turned 17 & his birthday is late (November), making him one year older except in the end of terms when all would be the same age for a short time before he jumps ahead again, but also it would have to be AFTER everyone else's birthdays (from January to March). A couple days later, Snape/Lily are discussing Remus & in the books she said, "I heard what happened the other night." & then the end of their friendship happens soon after this, most likely in the start of sixth year.

It also makes NO sense that Sirius & James were in the school & not with Remus at the time. Snape apparently made it all the way to the Shack to find Remus ALREADY SHIFTED to his Moony wolf alter ego & ... James/Sirius were not already there? End of fifth year, they should know their animals by now but ok then. So here is my interpretation of how it may have gone, although the scene itself is not entirely mine.)

"Oh uh, I think I left my eagle quill up in the dorms," James stammered, turning away to head back.

Sirius blinked a few times. "You have an eagle quill?"

"Just go on," James called over his shoulder. "I'll catch up in a bit."

Sirius watched James disappear around the corner before following Remus into the library. Peter was sitting at a large table by one tall window, waiting for them & oddly, Lily Evans was at another table with some other girls, bent over some books. Sirius twitched his brow. "That girl, again."

"Something wrong?" Remus asked distractedly, flipping through a book as he headed to Peter's side.

"Ever notice since their date, James & Evans have been avoiding each other?" Sirius asked, sliding into the bench on the other side from Remus & Peter.

"Lily's always avoiding him," Remus shrugged.

"Yeah, but now James is doing it, too," Sirius insisted. "Do you know if he has an eagle quill?"

Remus finally looked up from his book. "Padfoot, no one can have eagle feathers unless they are natives from America, remember? So no, Jim doesn't have an eagle quill!" After a moment of silence, he finally realized it. James was making stuff up just to have an excuse to disappear without the use of his cloak. "You're right. Jim is avoiding Lily. That is so weird."

"Told you," Sirius gloated, ignoring a slightly golden glare before Remus dropped his eyes back to his book 'What To Do When Dark Wizards Catch You'.

"Look out, Moony," Peter whispered out the corner of his mouth. He nodded towards someone coming up to their table.

"What do you want, Snivelus?" Sirius snarled. Remus closed his eyes for a moment, trying to not take sides.

"I need that book," Snape glanced at the one Remus was reading.

"Well, he's busy with it, right now," Sirius replied rather tersely. "So clear off!"

"Actually, I'm done," Remus said, pointing his wand first at the page he was on & then swiping it to a blank piece of parchment, copying out several paragraphs of text. He closed the book & held it up. "Go on. You can have it now."

Snape hesitated before taking it. He & Remus never really bothered with each other. It was Sirius & James that were the worst while Peter seemed to be back & forth about it. Snape finally took the book. "I'm amazed you're still here."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked.

"You've missed quite a few classes," Snape said. "You always do & this year, you've missed some important ones. Yet you think you can do the OWL's with passing marks?"

Sirius was about to say something but Remus held up a hand. "I get sick sometimes. Something I inherited from my mother," he half lied. It wasn't from his mother but no one else needed to know that. "I appreciate your concern but Papa is helping me catch up. Besides, the whole school knows I study more than my three friends combined."

"HEY!" Sirius & Peter yelped at the same time but were ignored.

"I can afford to miss one class now & then."

Snape cast his eyes over the other two, dimly wondered if James wasn't lurking somewhere ready to jump out at him & then glanced once more at Remus. "Hmm, if you say so." He walked away towards Lily's table.

"He's been doing that a lot, lately," Peter said once Snape was out of ear shot.

"It can't be helped, Wormtail," Remus said. "I do disappear often. People notice. But I'm not the only sickly child on the planet, even if it is sort of a lie in my case. It's been believed all these years, might as well stick to it."

"I don't like it," Sirius grumbled, arms crossed. "He's getting too nosy."

"Leave it alone, Paddy," Remus shot him a glare before looking down at his notes.

Sirius huffed & sat back in his seat. He let it drop for the moment but now that Peter had mentioned it, Sirius realized how often Snape had been asking about Remus. There was nothing to be done about it now. Once they were finished studying for the next few classes, it was time for the final game of Quidditch: Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw.

It was a very close game with Ravenclaw nearly winning but at the last moment, James had appeared right behind the Ravenclaw Seeker, slamming them both into a flagpole to get at the Snitch. As they fell to the ground, James managed to grab it before pulling up his broom just enough to graze the dirt. He tipped over & landed on his side, one hand up clutching fluttering wings while the Ravenclaw Seeker slammed down beside him, knocked out.

The next clear memory James had was feeling very sore as the Gryffindor Team lifted him up to carry him away. He ended up leaning on Sirius as he watched the Ravenclaw Seeker being lifted up in a stretcher.

"I didn't mean to hit him so hard!" James exclaimed. "I hope he's ok."

"Who cares? We won!" Sirius pulled James closer, out of the group swarming them. He whispered in his distant cousin's ear. "Didn't you steal something a while ago?"

"Ohh yeah," James all but purred.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright, Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall gasped as she came charging in. "What excellent flying, as usual!" She went on, proud that her House won again. "I've put in a word. We'll be adding your name to the Seeker's Shield down in the trophy room later today!"

"Oh!" James stared in surprise. "Thank you, Ma'am. Sirius, you can let go now. I'm fine." Sirius did so & James turned from him to face McGonagall completely. Unfortunately, in the process he tripped over some discarded armguards & ended up face first into her chest before crashing to his knees at her feet. James gasped in pain, feeling the blow to the ground from earlier all over again. However, he could not look up into her eyes. "I am so sorry!" Was all that he could say.

"Perhaps you should go to the hospital wing, first," McGonagall said after a moment before walking away.

Sirius helped James up. "Are you alright?"

James glanced around at the others getting changed before leaning close to Sirius. "I just face-planted her breasts! Do you REALLY think I'm alright?" Sirius clapped a hand over his mouth, trying to keep from laughing.

Clutching each other, they stumbled outside. They walked in silence back to the castle until they were almost at the doors. Sirius finally asked, "So ... uh ... how did they feel?"

James kept his eyes forward, not looking at Sirius. "Surprisingly firm for an old woman."

"Oh God!" Sirius moaned, burying his face in both hands for a moment as James wrenched open the large doors to go inside.

James hesitated to enter. "I only hope Lily's is just as firm."

"Why am I friends with you?" Sirius gasped in alarm.

"We're not friends, we're family," James reminded him.

"Oh right," Sirius groaned as he marched forward quickly to get away from James who was suddenly laughing hard.

There was a wild party in the dorms that went on into the night. Gryffindor had not only won that final game, it had also won the Quidditch House Cup as well. James kept the Firewhiskey hidden until the next day when things had quieted down. He got the bottle out in the evening after classes for everyone to share a few rounds before heading out for the next full moon.

Remus took the bottle first & pour out a cup for himself. "UGH!" He gasped, holding his cup away. "Yuk!"

"First time?" James smirked before taking the bottle from Remus's other hand. He promptly guzzled down a large helping, then passed the bottle to Peter. "What? I steal from Dad's home bar all the time. Been drinking since I was like nine or something."

Peter had a sip. "Merlin, this stuff is bland." Everyone stared at him. Even some of the pictures on the walls. He shrugged & handed the bottle back to Sirius. "I prefer Dragon's Breath."

"Dude, that's illegal in the U.K.!" Sirius stared in surprise.

"Only in the U.K.," Peter smiled mischievously, blue eyes dancing wildly.

"I've heard of it," said James. "If you drink three shots, you can actually die."

"There is no way you can get that stuff, Pete," Remus said, raising a brow. "I know Brits don't care about kids drinking or smoking, but other countries have high fines for underage things."

"I can't get it," Peter said, taking the bottle back from Sirius & having another sip. He passed it back to James. "But my uncle over in Canada makes it."

"Can you get him to send us some?" James asked after another drink before attempting to pour a bit more into Remus's glass.

"HA!" Peter scoffed. "No. Absolutely not!"

"No thanks, Jim," Remus pulled his glass away. "This is enough. Full moon's in a couple hours." He had a sip of his stuff, made another face & then grinned at Peter. "Well, I know what I'm going to dare you to do in our next game."

"I'll just ask for Truth from now on," Peter returned evenly. "Or bow out. I don't want to be responsible for getting all my friends killed."

"That's the last thing you'd ever do," James said, taking another sip. He offered the bottle to Peter who shook his head. James smirked at him. "Oh right, I forgot. Too bland. You're soooooo special!"

"Shut up," Peter ordered.

Sirius took the bottle. "Never thought I'd hear anyone say Firewhiskey is too bland."

"Ok, I'm gonna do this," Remus glared into his cup that was still pretty much full.

"Ohh chug!" James exclaimed. Soon, Peter & Sirius joined in the chant.

"I truly hate you all," Remus shot them a dark look before gazing into his cup again. "Ohh, Moony's going to have fun tonight," he groaned before promptly putting his head back & gulping it down in one go. He slammed the bottom of the empty cup down onto the nightstand. "WHOO! I am NOT doing that again! See you in the Shack."

"You will do it again, I'll make sure of it!" James clapped hands against Peter & Sirius. "That was awesome, Moony. Didn't think you had it in you."

Remus stuck up the V-sign over his head as he marched down the stairs.

"Yeah, that's very classy, Moonhead!" Peter yelled down after him, laughing. He looked back at the Black cousins. "Well, I'm already out of school uniform AND done all my homework. I'll go follow him."

"Rub it in, Wormtail," James grumbled. After Peter left, James said to Sirius, "We have GOT to finish that essay. It's due first thing & we won't have the energy for it in the morning."

"We're going to miss his transformation," Sirius tried.

"Peter's with him & if we hurry, it will only be a few minutes," James said. "Half hour, tops. You know I'm right."

"Unfortunately," Sirius sighed, taking another swig.

"Keep that up, you'll be too drunk to go," James said as he pulled out his ink & quill.

"I can hold my liquor," Sirius defended, putting the half-empty bottle aside before getting out his own homework. After spreading everything out on the floor, Sirius moved his eyes dejectedly over it all. James was much nearer to completion than he was.

James took the bottle. "You 'siriusly'" he made some air quotes with his free hand. "didn't even start that essay?"

"I started it," Sirius lied. "Some notes. Give me a break. I've got other things on my mind lately."

After another short drink, James set it aside. "Hmm, like Remus all nice & naked now?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "We literally just started the kissing phase. Besides, we can't mate until next year."

"WHAT? Why ever not?" James stared.

"Do you want me in Azkaban for six months?"

"Maybe?"

Sirius threw his quill at his insufferable stupid, distant cousin. "You never really were good at math. But you DO know when my birthday is, right?"

"Somewhere after Halloween."

"Which will make Remus a minor to me in just a few months," Sirius pointed out. "I gotta wait. I hate it. So does he, but the magical world doesn't have a Romeo & Juliet bylaw."

"Oh, I guess so," James finally clued in. Sort of. "What's a Romeo & Juliet bylaw?"

God & Merlin both have mercy on the pureblood exclusive culture. "Prongs, we don't have time to teach you Shakespeare right now. I'll tell you tomorrow."

"Fine," James bent over his essay. "What's a Shakespeare?"

Sirius snatched the bottle & took a long draught of it. "Filthy purebloods & their lack of knowledge of the simplest of things! James!" He slammed the nearly empty bottle down. "Shut up & write. We're running out of time."

"Ok so it's a muggle thing," James grinned, checking over his essay on the Polyjuice Potion before adding in a closing paragraph.

"Yes, it's a muggle thing," Sirius snapped, also trying to write. He knew more about muggles than even some of the muggleborns in the school.

Sirius had always hated magical nonsense. Being born into the Ancient & Most Noble House Of Black, pureblood supremacy had been rammed down his throat since he was born. He hated everything to do with it. He swore off his pureblood magical bind to a pureblood witch (earning him a hefty round of Crucio from his stubborn pureblood father) & he had promised to never touch 'pureblood filth' as he often called the whole mess, sneering down his nose at the culture. It was one of a few reasons why he thought he may have fallen for Remus. A halfblood, mud to his family. A werewolf. Halfbreed ... to his family. A MAN! No little pures to produce. (Not that magic kind had a thing against sexual orientations. It was just more pureblood culture Sirius was trying to dodge.) Case in point, Remus was the epitome of everything Sirius's parents hated.

The only exception about purebloods to Sirius was Andromeda Black (a much more near cousin to him than James) & the Potter family & don't even get him started on the bloody Potters. He had grown up with James. They had always been close. So close that some people probably thought they were an item. But Sirius knew there was some ... THING ... about the Potters. They had a secret or two. He could feel it. Lurking there.

But ... it was not the pureblood cult mindset Sirius had grown up to hate. Potters themselves seemed to be indifferent to muggleborns & now James had his eyes set on a pretty lassie who was as muddy as they come that Sirius's parents would reject. But Charlus & Dorea didn't even bat an eye when James had prattled on & on & on & ON! about her to them last summer. They found him amusing but that was it.

An interesting reaction from pureblood parents that Sirius wasn't used to. Had he been in James's place, Sirius knew he would have been tortured. In fact, he probably would have been killed.

"Padfoot, are you done?" James asked, his voice bring Sirius out of his dark thoughts to find his quill bent in his hand, almost to the point of breaking.

Sirius shook his head, feeling a little dizzy. "I can't focus."

"You nearly finished the Firewhiskey," James said. "That's probably why."

"We need to get to Remus," Sirius glanced up to the window. "He's shifted by now."

"Sirius, if you fail this class, you won't be an Auror!"

"Go on," Sirius said. "I'll finish it."

"No, I'll help you," James moved over to sit beside him. "Come on. We have to get this done. Go get my notes in my bag & we can rework it to make it look like a different essay."

"Ok," Sirius got up & sat on the bed with James's bag. He began digging through. He found a brown envelope & opened it to check the pages inside to see if they were notes. They weren't. It was a few letters James had kept from his parents. Each letter had a symbol at the top center. A triangle-circle-straight-sort of arrow-sort of P-shape kind of thing. Sirius shoved the envelope back into the bag & didn't give it a second thought. He had unwittingly just found the 'Potter' secret but didn't understand what he was seeing. He found a crumpled up mess of parchments & pulled that out. "Found them."

James took the mess & spread them out as Sirius plopped down beside him again. "Alright, I need to sort these & make a fresh copy." In a few minutes, he had a fresh set of notes all written neatly through a copying spell. He then pulled his own essay over & made a fresh copy of that. Finally, he made notes on himself & remixed it with his own stuff to produce a fresh set. "Here. Now write quickly!"

"Thank you!" Sirius gasped.

"I'll get changed & start heading down," James said. "I'll meet you by the Entrance Gates via our tunnel."

"Alright, give me like ten minutes," Sirius said, writing furiously.

"Hurry, Padfoot," James said, switching out of the school robes into some plain black robes. He started down the stairs, running a hand through his hair, feeling points slowly rising. "Not now, Prongs. We need to get there, first." James exited the Portrait to find himself at the top of the stairs. Not good! When the hallway was in place, they had access to a secret tunnel. "Oh, it's going to be like that, is it?" James snarled under breath, pulling out the Death Cloak. Covering himself, he started down the Great Staircase. When he reached the bottom, he cut through a tapestry & ducked under to find a hidden tunnel. The tapestry resewed itself, obscuring him from view.

Twenty minutes later, Sirius finally finished writing. He shot back the last bit of the Firewhiskey, then shoved everything under the bed, got changed & stampeded down to the Portrait, only to find the stairs. "Great!" Looking over, down the shaft from the Tower to the base, he felt queasy all of a sudden. It was way too high. Sirius groaned, shaking his head. The Firewhiskey was starting to grab hold of him.

He switched to Padfoot & slunk down, getting caught on a few stairs changing his direction. He eventually came out on the second floor. He switched back to Sirius & checked the map. No Prefects or Professors at the moment, but a pair of Slytherins was ahead of him, one of whom was Snape.

Sirius hurried forward & ducked in behind a statue of a Knight. He put a hand to his head, feeling an ache starting. Snape & Regulus, who was one year under his brother Sirius, walked by.

"I'm telling you, something is going on," Snape was saying. "A sickness inherited from his mother."

"That happens," Regulus said. "AIDs or cancer. Literally anything."

"Ok but explain the scars?" Snape pointed out. "You don't inherit scars unless your parents are abusing you."

"I know that, Sev," Regulus said. "Believe me, I know. Although, I have a much easier time than Sirius does. He basically asks for it."

Sirius groaned to himself. He never asked for the abuse. His little brother was the favoured child but there was a time both were treated equally as bad. Regulus eventually learned that to not follow Sirius meant to be treated fairly by his parents & they had not spoken kindly to each other ever since.

"I think Lupin's gone out again," Snape said as they stopped just beyond the statue Sirius was hiding behind. Snape got an odd look on his face as he glanced around, looking for a longer moment at the Knight before turning back to Regulus. "I saw him just walk out the front doors earlier tonight. No concern for curfews or Prefects. I mean, I know his Dad is a Professor this year, but Lupin's been doing this since our first year."

"Just right out the main entrance? Just like that?" Regulus asked.

"Yeah."

"Have you reported him?"

"Once in First Year," Snape said. "They said they already knew & to not mention it again. So I didn't. I expected he would be expelled back then but nothing ever happened & he continues to do it. I'm telling you, there is something weird about that Lupin kid! He's always doing this, well after curfews & nothing happens."

"We're kind of out after curfew as well," said Regulus.

"I don't know about you but I have permission," Snape said. "I'm just returning from a detention that Potter should be doing. I got blamed for it but it was Potter!"

"I got turned around with the Grand Staircase," Regulus muttered, making Snape laugh.

"Still haven't figured that out yet?" Snape teased.

"I've got ninety percent of it figured it," Regulus defended.

"Only ninety percent, hmm?" Snape laughed again. "Well stick to this hall & you'll find some narrow stairs that don't move that will go down to the dungeons. I need to return this book back to Professor McGonagall & then I'll join you in the common room."

"Thanks for that!" Regulus breathed in relief as he hurried to the narrow stairwell.

Snape started moving again but Sirius swaggered out from his hiding place. Snape stopped short. "What are you doing here?" He reached for his wand.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Sirius said, before stumbling a little. He was certainly a bit tipsy by now.

"Are you drunk?" Snape raised a brow as well as his wand.

Sirius slowly held an index finger up. "Little bit."

"You're pathetic!" Snape shot a spell at Sirius, flipping him back into the wall.

"Me?" Sirius fumbled in his robes until he located his own wand. "Do you want to attract attention? We're both out after curfew!"

"You're the only one who would get in trouble for it," Snape shot back. "I'm just out of detention, courtesy of Potter."

"Good!" Sirius laughed. "James always meant for you to take the heat."

"I know!" Snape snapped. "I'll be sure to repay your little gang & pin whatever I do next on your halfblood friend! It's no less than what Remus deserves, going above the rules all the time & they made HIM a Prefect?"

"You really won't let this go, will you?" Sirius shot his own hex, sending Snape sliding back until he landed on the top of the narrow stairs.

"Let what go?"

"Remus," Sirius stated.

"No, I won't," Snape said. "Mark my words. I'll get him expelled. Missing all his classes. Going outside in the night all the time. Yet no consequences? What are the Professors playing at? What makes Remus fucking Lupin so special?"

"He is special!" Sirius seethed. "Don't you dare talk about him."

"Oh, I know all about THAT!" Snape said with a gleeful look in his eyes. "You're in love with him. An impure guy who is also lower class than you! Wait until your father finds out!"

"I don't give a DAMN about what Orion Black has to say!" Sirius cast another hex.

Snape dodged, putting up a shield. "Your father would deal with Remus Lupin pretty quick."

"That does it!" Sirius raged in a low dangerous breath. "If you really want to know what's going on, just follow the path under the Whomping Willow tree."

"The Whomping ... you can't ... there's no path!"

"Whack the knot, it will stop," Sirius said with a laugh. "That rhymed. Hey. I'm a poet & don't even know it. Hey that rhymed, too!"

"Oh, shut up!" Snape glowered, throwing another curse, making Sirius flip upside down & land on his head. It knocked him out. Snape waited a moment but Sirius didn't move. He turned & marched away.

With a groan, Sirius stirred & slowly sat up. His head was really pounding now, not just from the Firewhiskey but also the knock onto the stone floor. He put his aching head in his hands as the memory of the fight came flooding back. Ignoring the pain, he suddenly snapped his eyes up. "Oh God! What have I done?!"

Sirius got up & ran down the stairs to the main floor. Ahead, he could just see the Entrance doors banging shut, a slip of robes sparkling with silver & green hem just disappearing. "No. NO! SNIVELUS NO!" Sirius shot forward, not caring if he was caught. He wrenched the large doors open. "SNIVELUS! SNAPE! SEVERUS!" He was screaming every name in the book.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" James appeared by his side, clamping a hand over his mouth. "I was waiting in our secret passage way & I could still hear you."

"I did it!" Sirius fell to his knees. "I didn't mean to but I did! I hate him so much! I-I-I-"

"Calm down!" James cut in. "What did you do?"

"I just turned Moony into a murderer!"

"What?"

Sirius rocked back & forth on his knees, sobbing. "I didn't mean to. I was drunk. Angry! I ran into Snape. For a moment, I wanted him dead! He was going on & on about things against Remus. I just wanted him to stop it!" He suddenly burst out laughing. "I went & told him about the path of the Willow."

"YOU WHAT?!" James took several steps back from him. "I don't think this is funny ... Black!"

"Neither do I!" Sirius was still laughing & crying. "James, I don't! You KNOW I laugh when I'm nervous! I don't mean it!" He stood up & looked at James through tears. "Jim, if he gets to the other end. If Moony! James, please!"

"YOU FUCKING ARSE!" James swung his fist hard, punching Sirius on the nose, breaking it. He spun around & shifted to Prongs.

He bounded into the night, instinctively whistling loudly for help, even though no one would come. As he reached the bottom of the hill, he shifted back just in time to see Snape disappear under the Willow. "SNAPE! NO!" James ran & dived into the hole like a swimmer from a platform. He picked himself up underneath & using the eyes of Prongs, he could see clearly in the dim tunnel, lit by the Lumos spell ahead from Snape's wandtip.

Snape hurried on until he went up a few stones & hit his head on the trap door. He felt around for the latch & began raising it. His head came up & he looked into the golden eyes shot through with red of a large husky-like dog.

Moony stood up an all fours, baring his fangs & growled ferociously.

"WEREWOLF?" Snape's eyes went wide. Moony lunged forward.

"SNAPE!"

"OOF!"

The trap door banged shut & Moony landed on it. Snape felt himself being broadsided & went tumbling into the wall of the tunnel, James landing on top of him. Winded, he lay quite still.

"Were ... were ..."

"Yes, I know he's a bloody werewolf!" James screamed at him. "We ALL do! He was bitten by Fenrir when he was five & YOU nearly turned him mad! If he had tasted human blood!" James got up. "My God! Snivelus! Why did you listen to Sirius, of all people? You should have just gone back to your dorm!"

Snape pulled himself up. Both glanced up to the base of the trap door, hearing thudding & snarling. Snape looked back at James. "I will tell everyone!"

"You'll tell no one!"

"The school needs to know!" Snape exclaimed. "I'll owl the Ministry."

"Snape, if you want to get out of here alive, I suggest you shut the hell up!" James pulled out his own wand & flicked it into a knifeblade.

Snape glanced at the blade. "You would kill me over your stupid pet?"

"Only in defence," James said. "Do not give me a reason to harm you. I've literally just saved your damn life."

"I'm going to Dumbledore with this," Snape said. "I'll do it in ghost form if I have to."

"I already know," Dumbledore's voice sounded in the tunnel. James released his spell & put his wand away. Dumbledore came up to them, Sirius following close behind, his nose still bloody but no longer bent. Pomfrey must have fixed the break.

"At least you did something right tonight," James seethed at Sirius.

"I'm sorry," Sirius muttered.

"Yeah, wait until he," James pointed above at the thudding. "finds out. Then you'll be sorry. You'll be dead, most likely, but certainly sorry. I suggest you forget about kissing your soon-to-be ex boyfriend goodbye as well, 'cause I certainly won't be allowing you any where near him again & I highly doubt he will trust you any time soon after tonight!"

Sirius's eyes went wide before he broke down in a fresh wave of tears.

"Oh, NOW you remember that you claim to be in love with him?" James continued to rage at him, angry tears stinging his eyes. "How dare you? If you truly had any shred of feelings for him, you would have NEVER done this!"

"That's quite enough," Dumbledore interjected. "I ask all three of you to come with me. Leave Moony alone to deal with his curse. Come now."

"With pleasure!" James snapped, shoving Snape ahead so that the Slytherin was between Dumbledore & James. He put a hand on Sirius's collar & threw him back against the wall before going on.

Sirius waited until the others were climbing out from under the tree before catching up. He trailed behind until they reached the spiral staircase & then he had no choice but to crowd onto the stairs with the others. It was a silent ride up.

James never once looked at Sirius. He kept his eyes firmly on the back of Snape's head & when they entered the office, he sat closer to Snape & consistently avoided Sirius.

An awkward moment of silence hung in the air while Dumbledore looked at each student in turn before ending on Sirius. "Mr. Black," Dumbledore finally spoke. "What have you done?"

"He got drunk, that's what he did!" James answered.

"Silence!" Dumbledore shot him a glare. "I am speaking to Mr. Black right now. You will both wait your turns." He turned back to Sirius, pointedly ignoring James as he scoffed under breath & shook his head. "Well?"

"Jim is right," Sirius said quietly. "I was drunk ... & I was goaded ... & I was angry ... & I'm under a lot of pressure with the OWL end of terms. It's not a good mix for me."

"Do you understand the seriousness of what you did?" Dumbledore asked.

"ALMOST did!" James couldn't help himself.

"Mr. Potter, one more word from you & I'll have you waiting downstairs!" Dumbledore shot him a dark glare. He tried with Sirius again. "You exposed your friend's condition to someone without his permission & you nearly got a fellow student killed because of it." James leaned forward in his seat, hand on mouth. He really wanted to say something else.

"I-I know, I'm sorry," Sirius replied, keeping his eyes on the floor. He lifted a hand to wipe away a tear.

"Stop it, already!" James gave up. "What you actually almost did was nearly turn MOONY into a murderer! You said so yourself so quit wiping away those tears. I don't feel sorry for you. When Remus returns tomorrow? That is what I'm waiting for! Yes, I'm going!" He got up & went out the door, only to take a few steps back as Professor Lupin came in.

"Mr. Potter," Lupin glanced at him before looking at Sirius. "Mr. Black. Well well, now. I've warned Little Ray about making friends with the Black family & what does he do? Go & make two of them his best mates. Hopefully, this will open his eyes."

"Sir, I didn't do anything!" James gasped.

"You're associated with him," Lupin pointed at Sirius. "Good enough for me. Now," he turned to Dumbledore as James just gaped in shock. "where is my son? Still in the Shack?"

"Yes, he is dealing with his Lunar shift as we speak," Dumbledore replied. "We are currently deciding on what to with Mr. Black."

"Well for starters, Remus is forbidden from hanging out with him ever again," Lupin replied.

"That is acceptable," Sirius said. He knew he deserved worse & he felt the worse was yet to come. What the hell would Remus do with him once he righted himself in the morning?

"Mr. Black," Dumbledore went on. "You will also be moved down to the guest dorms in Gryffindor Tower. If Mr. Potter's attitude is anything to go by, I can not even imagine how Remus will react to this. You will also be in detention for the rest of this year & for every single day of Year Six as well."

"Every night?" Sirius gasped.

"You deserve it!" James snapped. "Personally, I'd suspend you."

"Suspend? Not expel?" Sirius shot back at him.

"We're at war. I'm not stupid. We need Aurors. Otherwise, yeah I'd expel you." James crossed his arms.

Sirius turned back to Dumbledore. "I'll take the detentions."

"Now for you, Mr. Snape," Dumbledore went on. "You are to be formally sworn on your magic to not speak* about the condition of the Professor's son to anyone. Only the Professors here know, these two here & Mr. Pettigrew & Gryffindor Prefect Evans."

"Evans!" Snape gasped under breath. She knew this?

James heard just fine, thanks to the sharper hearing of Prongs. "Yes, she knows. Got a problem with that?" Snape didn't answer.

"Mr. Potter, due to your heroic actions tonight," Dumbledore was now speaking to James. "You & Mr. Snape now share a life bond which Snape will have to repay some day in his own life."

"WHAT?" Sirius, James & Snape all screamed.

"I didn't do it for him," James added. "If it was any other werewolf, I'd have let Snape die. I did it for Remus!"

"Either way, you still saved Mr. Snape's life," Dumbledore pointed out.

James shot another glare at his cousin. "Just another tick on the list that I now hate you for! I don't want any stupid bond with Snivelus."

"Mr. Potter, you will join Sirius in detention for the rest of this year," Dumbledore said. "Do you want to keep going?"

"No, Sir," James grumbled.

"Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore went on. "I have called you here to discuss points for Gryffindor. If you read my note from my owl, you know my suggestion & you can decide on what to do."

Lupin cast a dark look at Sirius. "For your lack of judgment & your carelessness involving my son, nearly getting him killed—you do know he would have been taken by the Ministry & executed had he managed to kill Mr. Snape tonight, right?—387 points from Gryffindor!"

"SIR THAT'S ALL OF THEM!" James yelped.

"Another 50 points," Lupin added.

Minus fifty! Gryffindor was not getting the House Cup this year.

"Sir, please!" James was now nearly in tears himself. "That's a little harsh! You're Gryffindor as well."

"No, Mr. Potter," Lupin said. "Harsh would be me having to watch my son executed with silver tomorrow had you not stepped in. Do you know how painful a death that is? THAT is harsh. Seeing my son betrayed by someone he insists was one of his best friends? THAT is harsh! A few measly points is nothing as compared to the life of my son!"

"You do know Sirius & Remus are lovers, right?" Snape put in.

James mouthed 'fuck you' to Snape, knowing Remus was now going to get in trouble on top of it all.

Lupin grabbed Sirius by his arm. "You mated with him? I can have you in Azkaban in November for that!"

"We were waiting for next year," Sirius said. "We never mated."

"See that you never do!" Lupin shoved Sirius away. "My son taking a Black for a mate? What is wrong with him?"

"Wait until Remus finds out tomorrow," James said. "I wonder what he'll do to you?"

"What will you tell him?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing," James grinned. Evil. "YOU are the one who is going to march into that hospital room tomorrow, look him in the eye & tell him. Then, if he doesn't manually throw you out the damn window, you will turn around & walk out of ALL our lives!"

"I don't want him going to—"

"NO!" James cut Professor Lupin off. "HE!" He shoved a finger into Sirius's face. "Needs to do it. As Snape said, they were not exactly friends. Do you not know how wolf bonds work? Sirius is the one that needs to explain it. You have to let it happen for the sake of the wolf or it could get even more dangerous."

"Fine, but I'll be there as well."

"That's fine," James said, still glaring at Sirius.

"Very well," Dumbledore stepped in before everyone could start hexing each other. "Mr. Snape, you should return to your dorm & try to get some sleep. I will rearrange your classes for today. As for the rest of you, I suggest you all get settled. It is nearly morning & Remus will be in the hospital wing resting very soon."

James glanced out the window. Sun up! They've been fighting all night. "Remus!" He gasped, turning away & running out.

Remus had to suffer that Lunar shift alone with only a small animal to keep him company.

*The wording is very specific here due to a line in the Prisoner Of Azkaban book & movie: "Someone let slip the nature of my condition," Remus told Harry Potter. This someone is Snape, but the how of it is not revealed. Could be a note & not spoken.

(The use of silver was never openly discussed in books or movies & although Rowling once mentioned she wasn't using that lore, I have always had my werewolves allergic to silver so I use it in my Harry Potter fics as it neither goes against or supports book or movie canon.)