Author's Note: I'm back! Apologies for my unexpected hiatus. I wasn't intending to take a break halfway through Remus's second year, but life has a way of affording distractions. Hopefully this two-chapter update makes up for my absence. That said, I'm hoping to wrap up this year quickly before going on a planned hiatus once more, so stay tuned for future installments! Happy reading.

Though Remus had been awake for the better part of an hour, he remained in bed, listening to the chatter of James, Sirius, and Peter as they dressed. Part of him wished that the previous day had been nothing more than a bad dream, that his secret had not been discovered, and that he could simply wait for the others to leave, then crawl out of bed and head down for another lonely breakfast. But another part of him, one louder and hungrier than the first, hoped he had not been mistaken.

What if the other boys had changed their minds? What if they decided they didn't want to be friends with a werewolf, after all? Remus didn't think he could face their rejection now. The memory of James's hands on his back, of Sirius's frantic apologies, even Peter's reassuring smile… It made him feel vulnerable. The thought of getting out of bed to confront them while his emotions were so raw seemed impossible. Especially when the other option was to hide under his blankets all day…

The decision was taken from him as the curtains around his bed snapped open and Sirius exclaimed, "Why are you still in bed, Moony? It's time for breakfast!"

Remus's instinct was to ignore him. He could claim that he wasn't feeling well, though his next transformation was ages away. It would be easy to avoid them in the safety of the hospital wing, though he dreaded Madam Pomfrey's questions. His mumbled protests were unheard by Sirius, however, who had called James to his aid, and soon the two of them had forcefully dragged Remus from his bed.

Frank Longbottom, who was busy fixing his tie in the mirror, looked with some surprise at Remus's reflection. Clearly, this was not a development he had expected.

"Some new prank of yours, Potter?" he asked in an offhand, disinterested way. "I'd leave him alone, if I were you."

"Don't be jealous, Frank," said Sirius with a cheeky grin. "You know you're welcome to join us, any time."

Frank smirked. Satisfied with his appearance, he turned and looked Sirius up and down, his brows raised. "Ah, yes. The Marauders, wasn't it? I think I'll stick to my own set, thanks. Don't need to land myself in detention like the rest of you."

Remus felt a fleeting sense of disappointment. Evidently, he hadn't been the only one invited to join their gang…

"Suit yourself!" called Sirius as Frank headed down the stairs toward the common room. He turned back to Remus with a shrug, commenting, "Wish that guy would loosen up."

Remus shifted uncomfortably. He was still pinned between James and Sirius, unable to move. "Can you let me go?"

"Why? Trying to run away again?"

"No…" Remus said hesitatingly, "Just… If we're getting breakfast, I need to put my robes on…"

"Oh!" cried James, dropping his arm instantly. Sirius's hand lingered a moment longer before he too released Remus, only to drop onto his bed and watch as he went to the wardrobe for his school robes.

He supposed there was no reason to change in private, anymore, now that his secret was out. Still, he was conscious of Sirius's eyes on him as he changed, no doubt tracing the lines of his scars. He tried to distract himself from his embarrassment by partaking in the conversation that was being carried on by James and Peter.

"You'll let me copy your essay for McGonagall, won't you?"

"You're kidding! You still owe me for helping you cheat on the Avifors spell, don't you?"

"McGonagall will kill me if I turn in another essay late! C'mon, I'll help you with the next Herbology assignment!"

"My marks are fine in Herbology, thank you…"

"If you're talking about the Reparifarge assignment," interjected Remus shyly, "Then I think I can help you there… I finished it weeks ago…"

His comment was directed toward Peter, but a soft chuckle from Sirius made Remus turn around. He was still sprawled across his bed, looking at Remus with an expression that could only be admiration.

"'Course you did, Moony," he said.

Remus turned away, his face reddening. "I wish you wouldn't call me that."

"You don't like it?" asked James, seeming genuinely surprised. Remus wondered if it was James who had decided on the nickname.

"Would you like it if people kept reminding you that… that…" Remus faltered, struggling to think of a suitable comparison that someone like James Potter could understand. Failing this, he settled for, "That your hair looks like the backside of a duck?"

Sirius let out a bark of laughter as James tried desperately to flatten his hair.

"Don't bother!" Peter cried, laughing at James, "We both know you like it when your hair looks all mussed like that!" He turned with a grin toward Remus, explaining, "James thinks it makes him look debonair, don't you James?"

"I don't even know what that means," said James loftily before taking Remus by the arm and directing him toward the door. "All finished? Good, I'm starving!"

The sight of Remus Lupin walking arm and arm with James Potter, flanked by Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, was not something his curious classmates could ignore. Remus had turned being ignored into an art form, and he was not used to having this many eyes on him. He blushed as they walked into the Great Hall, and the mouths of several other Gryffindors fell open in surprise.

While Remus squirmed under the scrutiny, James and Sirius acted as though they didn't notice the attention. They were too busy piling their plates with whatever dishes were within reach. Perhaps they were used to being looked at. Only Peter seemed aware of more stares than usual, though he stated only, "Blimey, you'd think they'd never seen someone swallow a sausage roll whole before."

"What was that?" asked Sirius, his cheeks full to bursting.

"I said chew your food, you animal!" Peter retorted, tossing a roll at him.

"Eat something," James commanded, pushing his own plate toward Remus. "You're too skinny."

"You sound like my mum," Peter teased.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Pete, no one, not even your mother, has ever accused you of being skinny."

"Ok, rude."

Remus didn't know how to behave. It was perfectly normal banter for a group of young boys, full of playful jabs and senseless chatter. But Remus, unaccustomed to having friends, wasn't sure how he fit in. He settled for picking at the food James saw fit to place before him, hoping that if he ate something, he wouldn't be expected to speak.

Unfortunately, the others took this as an opportunity to invent a new game. The goal seemed to be discovering which of the breakfast foods they offered him he fancied the most. Since Remus's answers to their questions inevitably ended in "it's fine," they had to press him to take a bite of everything, and do their best to guess if he really liked it by his expressions. Remus marveled that anyone could find such a farcical activity entertaining, and was on the point of denying the pastry Sirius pressed upon him, pleading that he was full, when they were interrupted.

Lily Evans, her arms crossed over her chest, stood behind James and Sirius, staring pointedly at Remus as she spoke, "Alright, what's going on here?"

"Morning, Evans," said James. "We call this 'breakfast.' Maybe you've heard of it?"

Lily pointedly ignored him. Her gaze was still on Remus as she asked, "Are these guys bothering you?"

James, Sirius, and Peter all turned toward Remus. He expected one of them to speak for him, but they were waiting for his answer. He could feel his face turning red. For one, fleeting moment, he considered making his escape. With Lily there to rescue him, he could turn down their offer, and forever lose any chance of becoming a Marauder.

But again, he thought of their conversation the night before. He thought of how James had helped him, of Peter and Sirius's welcoming smiles, even the misguided nickname they had given him. They knew what he was, and yet they hadn't pushed him away. They weren't treating him like some fragile thing, nor like he was dangerous.

"It's alright, Lily." Remus said after this brief struggle, "We were just having breakfast."

Lily's arms fell to her sides. She still looked skeptical, but she relented, saying, "Okay… So long as there's no trouble…"

"Do we look like trouble to you?" James asked, just as Sirius added, "When have we ever been in trouble?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" asked Lily with an arch look. "Didn't Squabs dock points from Gryffindor last week because of you?"

"I still maintain that 'ugly as my aunt' is a perfectly respectable way to describe a troll," said Sirius. "You've never met her, but trust me, the comparison is dead-on."

"It's not too late to have breakfast with us, Evans," James added hopefully.

"I was just leaving, actually," said Lily. She turned her attention to Remus once more and asked, "You're still joining Sev and I for a study session this weekend, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Remus replied without thought.

Lily eyed him carefully, her expression implying that she doubted his word in light of the company he now kept. She offered him a smile, however, and concluded their conversation by saying, "You'd better get a move on. Transfiguration starts in five minutes."

And with that, she turned and hurried out the door. James gave a yelp as he realized what time it was, abandoning his half-empty plate of food and nearly upsetting a goblet full of orange juice as he leapt out of his seat.

"Merlin's Beard! She's right! C'mon! If we're late for class again, McGonagall will give us detention for another week, at least!"

"James, wait up!" called Peter as he struggled to follow in his friend's wake.

Sirius remained with Remus, taking his time as he gathered his things and followed at a leisurely pace, as though he wasn't already flunking Transfiguration.

"What's your hurry, James?" he called, giving Remus a covert wink, "We've already got a months' worth of detentions from McGonagall. What's one more week?"

James had paused at the entrance to the Great Hall, doing an exaggerated jog in place, hopping from one foot to the next with impatience while he waited for his friends to catch up.

"Sure, but at the rate we're going, we'll be in detention for the rest of the year!"

Remus had an idea. While James and Peter pushed onward, followed closely by Sirius, he paused and reached into his bookbag. He found his folded map of the stairs, perfected late last year, but rarely used now that he had their patterns nearly memorized.

"James!" he called, his practiced eye glancing over the diagram. "James, slow down! We ought to take the north staircase! The east corridor is blocked at this time of day!"

"What?!" James shouted, skittering to a halt and nearly toppling to the floor as Peter, still puffing behind him, collided with his backside.

"I said we should go around," Remus repeated, pointing down an opposite corridor. "I know it seems strange, but trust me. It'll be faster if we take the stairs."

James groaned in frustration as he helped Peter to his feet. Remus smiled. While he shook his head at his friend's folly, Sirius glanced over his shoulder at the scrap of paper he still clutched in his hand.

"What's that, Moony?" he asked, breaking into Remus's reverie.

"This? It's a map of the moving staircases," Remus explained absently. "That's how I knew that corridor would be blocked. See? The stairs that usually lead to McGonagall's classroom are loitering near the astronomy tower entrance right now. They like to do that. Probably be at least another half hour before they trade places with the bottom stairs…"

"Say that again?" James said. All of his haste to get to class on time seemed to vanish in an instant, and he had doubled back to peer at the parchment with Sirius. Without waiting for an invitation, he had snatched the map from Remus's hands and gazed at the diagram with interest.

"You drew this?" he asked, his eyes darting toward Remus for a second, then back down at the page.

"Yeah, last year," Remus replied, wondering why James looked so impressed, "I kept missing classes because the staircases would change, so I thought it'd be helpful to have a guide…"

"I just saw one of them move!" Peter exclaimed, staring at the page from under James's arm.

"Well, yes. That's sort of the point. Since the stairs move around, the map needs to move, too…"

James tore his gaze away from the map to glance at Sirius. Remus wasn't sure he trusted the look that passed between them as Sirius asked, "This is really cool, Moony. I don't suppose you could make another map like this?"

The uneasy feeling he had grew. Not so much worry as it was suspicion.

"You mean you want me to make a copy for you?" Remus asked.

"Well…" said James thoughtfully, "This is just a map of the staircases, isn't it? It'd be really helpful if we had a map of the hidden passageways, too. You know, so we know the shortcuts."

"You want a map of the whole school?" Remus asked. It was a big request. The castle was massive. On the other hand…

"Well, the rooms don't move as much as those stupid staircases…" said Remus after consideration, "So… Yeah. I can probably do that. But I don't know any of the secret passageways…"

"Don't you worry about that!" Sirius interrupted cheerfully, "James and I will help you!"

"And me!" insisted Peter, "I'm the one who found the passage behind the tapestry on the fourth floor!"

"Now, hang on just a second!" said Remus, "Just to clarify, you want to map out the whole school? Because that'll take a pretty large bit of parchment. And ink. And not just standard ink, either. It has to be enchanted…"

"Say no more!" said James happily, dragging Remus along the corridor at the nagging ringing of the school bell. Their Transfiguration class was, apparently, completely forgotten. "We'll help you get everything together. I figure between the three of us, we know all the ins and outs of the school by now…"

Remus still wasn't sure he liked where this project was going, but for the moment, he couldn't see any harm in creating a simple map.