Sirius forced his face into a scowl. A not overly difficult feat considering James and Peter's early return from Quidditch practise had cut his alone time with Remus short by a full thirty minutes. 'He said my hair didn't feel as soft as usual.'

'Moony! For shame!' James said, laughing.

'I just wanted to know if you were using a different hair potion,' Remus said, playing along. 'Never mind that,' he looked at James, 'You said something happened. Is that why you're back early?'

James nodded. 'We were practising a new move, and I fell off my broom.'

Sirius had been lowering himself onto his bed, but he jumped back up at James' words. 'What! Are you okay?'

'He broke his arm, but Pomfrey fixed it,' Peter said. 'He managed to cast the Slowing charm on himself right before he hit the ground. It was pretty awesome, actually.'

'That's our Sunshine. Awesome even when he fucks up,' Remus said with a chuckle. 'But how did you manage to fall? When your alarm went off, I just assumed you'd had a close call with a Bludger.'

James explained the new manoeuvre the Chasers had been learning, and Sirius found it amusing that he could actually see Remus' face growing paler as he listened.

'That's so dangerous!' Remus said when James finished. 'What a ridiculous thing to make you do.'

'Yeah, but it'll look awesome if they pull it off during a match,' Sirius pointed out.

James grinned at him. 'That's exactly what I said!'

'You're both insane,' Remus said.

'Yeah, but you knew that already,' Sirius said, winking at Remus.

James went off to the bathroom to shower, and Sirius returned to his homework. That had been so close. Remus had heard them coming up the stairs mere seconds before they'd entered the room, and Sirius had been certain James would immediately know what they'd been doing. Thank Merlin, he'd caught them in a similar position before, when it had truly been innocent. Sirius wasn't quite ready to lose the thrill of keeping their relationship a secret. All the sneaking around was fun.

The next day passed quickly. They were so far ahead of the curriculum in their private projects that practical lessons were a breeze and they barely needed to lift a wand. Written work was harder, not because he didn't know the material, just because it was boring. Thankfully, the only written work they had on Tuesday was History, and Sirius never paid attention in that class, anyway. They learned everything they needed to know by reading the textbook aloud to Moony on full moons.

'Good evening, boys,' Professor Tenebris greeted them as they entered her classroom after dinner, acting as if there was nothing different that day than any other Tuesday evening.

Sirius and James both crossed their arms, standing in front of her, shoulder to shoulder.

Infuriatingly, Professor Tenebris smirked at them. 'Am I in trouble?'

'Yeah. You are,' Sirius said. 'We asked for lessons in how to protect ourselves and Remus from assholes. We didn't ask you to risk Remus' life.'

'Remus' life wasn't in any danger. Do you really think I'd risk killing him?'

'It bloody well was,' James said. 'We barely got the antidote brewed in time.'

'And I was standing right beside you the entire time, holding a bottle of the antidote in case you failed.'

Sirius blinked at her several times before he spoke. 'You were with Remus the whole time?'

She inclined her head. 'I was, but don't worry, I won't tell anyone about any of the things I saw or heard. Your many secrets are safe. Impressive secret room, by the way.'

Sirius was grateful for her subtlety, but also extremely embarrassed. He and Remus had been kissing heatedly for quite some time before James and Peter found them.

'You can't have been. I didn't smell you at all,' Remus said from behind them. His voice was a little higher than normal. He must be thinking about the kissing, too.

Professor Tenebris rolled her eyes. 'I know you're a werewolf, Remus. I took a potion to conceal my scent.'

James seemed to be losing his mind, silently, but still. 'You alright there, Sunshine?'

'She knows… everything.'

'Yes, yes, I know you're the infamous Marauders. I also know your activities under that name are sanctioned by the headmaster. You have an invisibility cloak, a secret Potion lab, and a knife that opens locked doors. I already said I won't tell anyone. What I'm most interested in, however, is the statement "Remus' tracker is connected to me." What could you have meant by that, James? What allowed you to find each other so easily? What does the incantation Reperio do?'

'Er,' James said.

'Um,' was Sirius' eloquent response.

'That's… hm,' Remus began before trailing off.

'Peter?' Tenebris asked. 'Are you any more verbal than this lot?'

'Yeah, that's gonna be a no,' Peter said.

Professor Tenebris rolled her eyes again. She was doing that a lot this evening. 'Look, my job is to make you safer. If you've done something to help with that goal, I'm not going to tell anyone.'

'Right. But it was kind of… reckless,' James said.

'I'm led to believe that is a trait of your House, so I'm not exactly surprised to hear it.'

'We cast a ritual spell on ourselves,' Sirius said. They were wasting time with all the evasion. She was going to find out, eventually. 'It links us together so we're alerted if one of us is in danger, and we can find each other.'

Professor Tenebris frowned. 'A permanent spell?'

'Yeah,' James said. 'It said it was for couples. It was used in Bonding ceremonies centuries ago. We… adapted it.'

'I see.' Professor Tenebris was quiet for a minute, and they all glanced at each other, wondering how much trouble they were in. 'You already said it was reckless, so I'm assuming you realise it was a stupid thing to do, and I don't need to lecture you about this.' They all nodded. 'Alright, well, since the damage is already done, I'll see what I can do to help you live with it. I was going to have you duel tonight, but instead, you're going to tell me everything about this spell and how it works.'

Sirius took a seat on the floor with his back against the mirrored wall, and the others joined him. It seemed like they were going to be talking for a while.

'It's interesting that it sends thoughts,' she mused several minutes later. 'We might be able to use that. What we need to do is work on your emotional and mental control.'

Sirius and James both groaned.

Professor Tenebris chuckled. 'Yes, it's probably going to be hardest for the two of you. But if you can get control of your emotions, you can control the link, and if you control the link, well, how do you feel about telepathic communication?'

Alright. Now Sirius was interested.

The full moon arrived in its perpetual cycle of pain two days later. Remus' magical exertion that month had been low, and he was pretty sure it was going to be an easy one. He hadn't begun feeling unwell until that morning, and it was barely there after spending the night in Sirius' arms. Waking up to his kisses didn't hurt either. He didn't know if it was caused by the impending full moon, or just the strength of Sirius' scent and what it did to his head, but kissing him felt even better than usual (and it had already been indescribably wonderful). Remus had barely been able to make himself stop when he heard James waking up.

He'd made it through the morning without too much difficulty. Herbology was fine, and they were working on removing enchantments in Defence, so the Marauders unanimously decided Remus would be the enchanted one of their group. He'd merely sat there and waited for them to lift it, which they pretended to be struggling with when James and Sirius weren't making asses of themselves to keep everyone's attention off Remus.

They had the afternoon off of classes so they could nap for Astronomy that night, which they would all be skipping. The last time James, Sirius, and Peter had missed a class hadn't been so bad, or so he was told. A stern lecture and detention. Nothing they didn't get on a weekly basis. Remus had spent the afternoon blissfully wrapped up in Sirius' scent, but at ten to three, Sirius gave him a kiss on the top of his head.

'Time to go, Moonbeam.'

Remus grumbled. 'Don't want to move.'

'I know, but you have to. Come on. Up you get.' Sirius helped him to his feet. 'You good to walk?'

Remus tried, but he stumbled, giggling, and leant against Sirius to stay upright. 'Nope. Think you made me drunk.'

Sirius chuckled, stroking his back gently. 'James, can you go cause a distraction so I can get Moons through the common room?'

'I've got just the thing,' James said, grinning and grabbing a box from his trunk. Peter followed him out the door.

'Do we have time for a kiss, do you think?' Remus asked, peeking up at Sirius from his position with his head on Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius hummed. 'I think we have time for one.'

Their lips had barely connected before there was a series of bangs from below and a yell of, 'James Potter!'

'Damn. Think that's our cue.'

Remus laughed. 'He doesn't do things halfway, does he?'

They made it through the common room without a hitch—James had set off an entire box of Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks right in the middle of the room and the place was in chaos—and they were halfway down to the first floor by the time James and Peter caught up with them, both breathless with laughter.

'Hey,' James said as he skidded to a stop beside them. 'Pete and I are going to go get dinner from the kitchens. We'll meet you in the tunnel, yeah?'

'Yeah, good idea,' Sirius agreed.

'Cool. See you in a bit.'

As James and Peter hurried on ahead, Remus and Sirius continued their slow walk to the Hospital Wing. It wasn't that Remus was feeling particularly bad. He just felt weirdly light-headed and dizzy. And he didn't quite have full control of his legs for some reason.

'Almost there, Moons,' Sirius murmured as they turned into the corridor that housed the Hospital Wing.

There was an alarming amount of groaning coming from the room. The noises drifted down the corridor, faint due to the heavy doors, but clear as a bell to Remus' moon-sensitive ears. 'I think something's wrong.'

Sirius' voice sounded concerned when he answered. 'What do you mean? Because of the poison?'

'What? Remus lifted his head and looked at him, confused. 'No. In there.' He nodded at the doors to the Hospital Wing. 'There's a lot of moaning going on.'

'Oh. Well, that doesn't sound good.'

When Sirius pushed the doors open and guided Remus inside, Madam Pomfrey glanced over and the frown she was already sporting deepened. Remus would have sworn on everything he owned that she mouthed the words "oh crap," if anyone had cared to ask. To be fair to her, the ward was packed.

Every bed but one held a patient in various states of suffering, though Remus couldn't tell what was wrong with them, but whatever it was, it was definitely painful. Madam Pomfrey was bent over one of the beds, wand in hand, lips moving as she cast spells over the unlucky student.

'Think we better just wait here,' Sirius whispered.

Remus nodded. 'Yeah, I doubt anyone is taking any notice of us.'

Madam Pomfrey kept them waiting for a good five minutes before hurrying over. She looked frantic. 'Oh, Remus, I completely forgot it was tonight. I'll have to call another member of staff to take you down.'

'I can take him,' Sirius said.

Madam Pomfrey looked dubious. 'I'm not sure that's a good idea, Mister Black.'

'Why not? I bring him here every month. What's the difference?'

That was a pretty persuasive argument, actually. Madam Pomfrey apparently thought so, too, because she said, 'Alright. Straight there. No detours.'

'Yes, Ma'am,' Sirius said.

Madam Pomfrey gave them one more hesitant look before nodding and turning back to her ward. Sirius guided him back out to the stairs, and they made their way down. They crossed the grounds as quickly as they could—Remus' head clearing a little in the open air—concerned about onlookers without the usual disillusionment charm hiding him, though two students heading towards the Forest would look far less strange than a student with the school Healer.

They relaxed once they were under the cover of the passage, and they found James and Peter waiting for them at the bottom of the ladder, cosy, in a heap of cushions and blankets, a pile of books beside them.

'You could really use some light in here, couldn't you?' Remus said, pulling his wand out. He cast the sunlight charm he used to light-up his favourite library nook and the end of the tunnel lit up like it was an open field at noon.

'Nice one,' James said, grinning. 'I was starting to get eye-strain reading to Moony.'

'Anything to help with your mission to teach the wolf the entire History of Magic curriculum,' Remus said with a chuckle. He was feeling strangely relaxed for a full moon night. Not that he wasn't still afraid of the pain to come, but he'd had an idea, and the excitement of experimenting, of discovery, was keeping him from wallowing in his fear.

'Before you go up, Moony,' Peter said, suddenly. 'Can I get a couple of samples from you? It's for my apprenticeship.'

'What sort of samples?'

'Bit of saliva. Bit of…' Peter glanced at Sirius. 'Um, a bit of blood. Not much! Just a few drops. I'm trying to make a potion to cure your moonsickness.'

Remus' chest filled with warmth. 'Yeah, sure, Bubbles. No problem.'

Peter's smile looked relieved. 'Thanks. I'll just…' He pulled a knife, a swab, and two tiny vials from his bag, taking the saliva sample first, before giving the knife to Remus. 'Here, you do it. I just need a couple of drops.'

Remus used the tip of the blade to prick his finger and squeezed a couple of drops of blood into the vial while Peter held it still.

'I'll need to take another sample of each after the moon, too. As soon as possible. Do you mind if I do it while you're sleeping?'

Remus shook his head. 'No. That's fine.'

'Great. Thanks, Moony.'

Remus said goodbye to his friends (and boyfriend) and climbed the ladder, stripping off and stuffing his clothes into his bag before dropping it down into the tunnel and locking the trapdoor with his wand. After stowing it on the mantelpiece, behind the wards keeping the wolf from burning itself on the fire, Remus climbed the stairs and curled up on the mattress. It was time to try his idea. He closed his eyes and thought hard.

I wish I was kissing you right now. I wish I was kissing you right now. I wish I was kissing you right now. I wish I was kissing you right now.

James checked his watch. It was coming up to ten o'clock, which meant the moon would be high enough soon. 'We should get going,' he said to Peter, putting down the essay he'd been working on to the background sound of Sirius reading aloud.

Sirius paused, looking up from the book. 'Be as quick as you can, yeah? He's not going to like you both leaving.'

'Yeah, of course.' James pulled the cloak out of the bag containing the potion and other ritual supplies before swinging it onto his back and checking his hip for his wand. 'I'll leave everything else here. See you in a bit.'

Peter said goodbye too, and they made their way out of the tunnel, dashing away from the tree after James froze it, before covering themselves with the cloak. The air was crisp and cold, but it was a dry night, and a quick warming charm soon stopped their shivering. James didn't want to be away from Moony any longer than necessary, so he kept up a fast pace as they crossed the short stretch of grass between the Willow and the Forest. Once under the cover of the trees, they pulled the cloak back off. It wasn't needed and would only slow them down.

James' worries about taking too long proved unnecessary when they reached Hagrid's house. 'Feodair! Hi, again! And you brought a friend. Hi!'

'James Potter. This is my son, Firenze. Firenze, this is James Potter, and his friend Peter Pettigrew.'

'It's good to meet you at last, James Potter. And you, too, Peter Pettigrew.' Firenze was blonde like his father, but his hair was shorter, only just reaching his human shoulders. His face appeared the age of a human teenager, maybe fifteen? But James wasn't sure how that translated to a centaur's development. He knew their young grew faster than humans did. He might only be a few years old.

'It's good to meet you, too. Your dad told us you're a bit of a rule-breaker. I'd love to stay and chat, but we're in a bit of hurry tonight.' James paused. Feodair already knew what they were doing that night. 'Or is that why you're here?'

Feodair inclined his head. 'I thought you might need an escort. And Firenze was eager to meet you.'

'Did you have to say that?' Firenze groaned, his face flushing in the moonlight.

'Why not? It's the truth.' Feodair turned back to James. 'But why are you in a hurry? The moon will be in the sky for several hours yet.'

'Yeah, but we need to get back to Remus.'

'Your werewolf friend? He is dangerous for you to be around this night.'

'We're not with him, with him. Just outside the door. He can't smell us, so he doesn't want to hurt us, and he gets lonely if we're not there. Then he hurts himself.'

'We could get them there faster than they can walk,' Firenze said.

'Odas would not approve.'

'Is it not noble to assist one who is assisting another? They wish to be fast to keep a creature from unnecessary suffering.'

'Yes. But they are human.'

'One who is bonded to our family and his friend. An exception can be made, surely?'

James thought he might know what they were arguing about, and he was excited to see Feodair's resolve crumbling under the force of his son's arguments. Not many people got to experience riding on the back of a centaur.

'A rule-breaker, indeed,' Feodair said. 'Alright, Firenze, you win. James Potter and Peter Pettigrew, would you like a faster journey?'

'That would literally be amazing,' James said. 'Thank you for the honour.'

It was nothing like riding a broomstick. Or even a horse. It was something else entirely. Firenze and Feodair had knelt down to allow James and Peter to climb onto their backs before telling them to hold on tight. The only place to hold on, though, was around the human part of their bodies. James found himself scooting up to the point where Firenze's human and horse bodies blurred together and wrapping his arms around his human waist. This gave him the wholly bizarre feeling of getting a piggyback ride from someone after an engorgement charm had been cast on their ass.

Actually, that would be a pretty funny spell to cast on the next bully they encountered.

'Are you ready, James Potter? This is going to be a bumpy ride for you.'

'I was born ready,' James said.

'We will see,' Firenze said with a chuckle. And then he shot off through the trees as if an acromantula was on their heels.

'Bloody hell, you're fast!' James yelled into the wind. He knew the grin on his face probably made him look crazy, but, fuck, this was better than flying! It was just as bumpy as Firenze had warned, but the jolts came at regular enough intervals that James soon got used to the rhythm. The backs of his hands were frozen from the icy wind, but the rest of his body was protected behind Firenze's, and the centaur radiated warmth.

James knew the moment they were getting close; it was like his skin was being doused in ice water while simultaneously being set afire with a flame that didn't burn. Or, you know, like he was entering a sacred site filled to bursting with ancient powerful magic.

Firenze skidded to a halt at the edge of the clearing. 'So, were you ready, James Potter?'

'Oh hell, yeah,' James said, feeling giddy as he slid to the ground. 'That was brilliant!'

Firenze laughed, turning to face him. 'If you were a centaur, I think we would be good friends.'

'Can't we be friends anyway?'

'Friendship with a human would make things difficult for me in the herd.'

It sounded a bit prejudiced to James, but Firenze looked genuinely sad about it so he didn't press the issue. 'There's no reason it can't be a secret,' he said, lowering his voice and lacing it with a tone of mischief.

Firenze grinned. 'That could be fun.'

At that moment, Feodair arrived, with Peter clinging to his back like Remus clinging to Sirius before the full moon. 'You alright, Bubbles, mate?' He'd heard Peter's voice proclaim he was about to die in his head about a minute into the ride, so he already knew he hadn't enjoyed the experience as much as James had.

'He almost fell off,' Feodair said. 'I had to slow down.'

James walked over to help Peter back to the ground. He was pale and there was a slight tremor in his hands that James didn't think was caused by the cold air. Peter never did well with potential death, and falling from the back of a centaur galloping at full speed through a dense forest would definitely cause more than minor injuries.

'It's alright. You're safe. Everything's fine,' he said, wrapping Peter in a hug and rubbing his back until his shaking subsided. 'You okay, now?'

Peter nodded. 'Yeah, sorry.'

'Nothing to apologise for.' James turned back to the waiting centaurs. 'Thank you for getting us here so quickly. But—'

Feodair interrupted him. 'Your ritual requires us to leave the area. I know. We will return when it's finished.'

'Oh, great. Thank you,' James said, surprised. 'You'll be able to tell?'

Feodair nodded. 'We will know. Goodbye for now, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew.'

Once enough time had passed that James was sure they weren't in range of the magic they were about to cast, James approached the tree stump in the centre of the ruins, shrugging off the backpack before placing it on the floor and crouching to open it. Focusing on the task at hand would keep him from thinking about how dark and quiet it was out there, all alone, in the middle of the night.

He pulled the potion out first—thankfully, the bottle was still in one piece after their mad dash through the trees—and handed it to Peter. Next were the candles, four fat white pillars which he placed equidistant around the edge of the tree stump, those were followed by the bottle containing water from the Forest stream and a stone dish.

'Alright, are you ready?' he whispered.

Peter's voice mirrored his volume when he answered, 'Not really, but let's do it, anyway.'

James grinned. 'That's the spirit.' He pulled out his wand and turned to the tree stump. 'Okay, I only got the hang of this yesterday, so bear with me.'

Pointing his wand at the wick of the candle nearest the back of the stump, he focused on his magic, willing it to gather in the tip of his wand and burn, 'Incendio!' Nothing happened. 'Dammit.' James shook his arms out and lined up again, trying to clear his mind first, as he did for that meditation stuff. He focused, feeling the magic build as it travelled down his arm. 'Incendio!'

A red spark shot from the end of his wand, impacting the candle wick with a burst of white light and leaving behind a perfect flickering flame. 'Impervius!' he immediately cast to protect it from the wind. Lighting the other three was easy once the first was lit, and when he had them all spread out, he turned to the next task.

Digging his hand into the frozen ground was harder than he'd anticipated, (he should've thought to bring something to dig with, and his fingers were going to fall off from the cold soon) but eventually, he managed to scrape up a handful of earth and pile it in the centre of the stump, placing the stone dish on top and filling it with the stream water. The wind would be provided by the weather.

'Does that all look right to you?' he asked, stepping back.

Peter looked it over. 'Yeah, I think so.'

'Great. Time for the potion then.'

'Wasn't there a chant first?'

'Oh right, yeah. I forgot. Shit.'

Peter handed James his dose of the potion and moved around to the other side of the stump. James shoved the vial in his pocket before reaching across the stump to clasp his left hand with Peter's above the dish of water, their wands held in their right hands.

'Potentia manet aperta, colligentes creo scaturigo, potentia manet aperta, colligentes creo scaturigo, potentia manet aperta, colligentes creo scaturigo… '

A golden glow slowly built at the tips of their wands before streaming out in a waterfall of light and coalescing in a cloud above the tree stump. James' mouth gaped open as he watched. All his concerns about the cold, and the dark, and the full moon were forgotten in that moment. It was breathtaking.

Literally.

James couldn't breathe.

'I can't breathe,' Peter's voice said in his head.

He shared a panicked look with Peter, and then he remembered the potion. Fuck, how did he forget? He shoved his hand in his pocket, pulling the vial out and holding it up so Peter could see. When realisation burst across his face, James yanked the cork out and downed it in one. The relief was instantaneous, and he gulped in several desperate breaths before he felt his heart calm down. Fuck, he hoped Moony hadn't felt his panic.

The golden light was swirling above their heads and they both looked up in time to see it separate into two distinct clouds. Each cloud shrank, growing brighter and more opaque as it did, until they were painful to look at. It was through slitted eyes as he squinted against the force of the light that James saw the two balls, now the size of Bludgers, suddenly swoop towards them.

The impact knocked him off his feet. Which was probably for the best, because the sensation that followed would have brought him to his knees had he still been standing. The golden light had flown right into his chest and he could feel his magic burning. What the fuck?

James gasped, clutching at his chest, clawing at it, digging his fingernails into his skin. And then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. He didn't move immediately. Just sat there, panting, gripping the front of his jumper in his fist.

'What the fuck was that?' Peter asked, his voice sounding just as freaked out as James felt.

'I don't know. But I feel all kinds of weird.'

'Yeah, me too.'

They both went quiet again. James was trying to figure out what he was feeling, and he guessed Peter was doing the same. It was strange. There was an emptiness. Like he'd been hollowed out. Something was missing.

'James?' Peter's voice was shaky.

'What?'

'I don't think I can access my magic.'

'What?' That couldn't be right. He still held his wand in his hand, so he gripped it harder, and focused on bringing his magic out, but nothing happened. There was no rush of power, no thrill of energy. 'Lumos,' he said anyway. But his wand tip stayed stubbornly dark. 'I can't either. Shit.'

'Are you ready to go?' Feodair's voice came to them on the wind. James looked in the direction it had come from and saw the two centaurs standing on the edge of the clearing.

'Yeah,' James called back, sharing a glance with Peter. They'd talk about this when they didn't have an audience.

Minerva was preparing for sleep, brushing out her hair in front of the bathroom mirror and thinking about how good it was going to be to curl up in her soft, warm bed, when Purly popped into the room, making her jump.

'Mistress Minerva, Purly has a message for you from Mistress Aurora.'

'Yes, what is it?'

'Misters Potter, Black, and Pettigrew have not arrived for Astronomy.'

Minerva sighed, the fantasy of her bed dissolving with the sound. 'Thank you, Purly. I'll look for them.' She'd seen Potter and Pettigrew being dropped off at the edge of the Forest by their centaur escort an hour ago (she'd love to hear the story of how that friendship had come about), but Black hadn't been with them, most likely engaged in some other activity in preparation for the annual Creature Hunt. It wouldn't surprise her if they'd all fallen asleep after their tasks were complete. It was tempting to just leave them be, but they'd agreed to take on the responsibilities of Hogwarts' Entertainers in Chief, and sometimes that included punishments. Especially this month of the year.

After pulling a dressing gown on over her nightgown and shoving her feet into her slippers, she climbed the stairs to Gryffindor Tower, knocking hard when she reached their door. There was no answer. After knocking twice more and getting no response, she pushed the door open slowly, prepared to slam it closed again if she saw something she shouldn't. But the room was empty. None of the bed curtains were drawn, and the beds were all still made. No one had slept there that night.

She groaned. This was going to take much longer than she'd thought.

Morphing into her cat form as soon as she was out of the Tower, she sniffed around but could find only traces of their scents, nothing clear enough to follow. They must have been out since before curfew. The best place to pick up the trail would be the edge of the forest where she'd left them earlier, and it didn't take her long to reach the spot; her cat form was quick. She found Potter and Pettigrew's scents easily, but no sign of Black. Hopefully, they'd since met up with him.

She should have known, really, she thought, staring up at the Whomping Willow. The clues had all been there; their tiredness after the full moons, the way they often skipped dinner the night before and breakfast the morning after. She dashed between the tree's thrashing branches and into the tunnel, before slowing down and creeping down the passage.

She heard them long before she saw them, their voices drifting down the tunnel to her ears. Were they discussing History of Magic? It sounded like she'd arrived during a heated argument about the causes of the duel that had brought an end to the International Warlock Convention of 1289.

'No, listen,' Black was saying. 'I know that's what the textbook says, but my great, great, great, whatever grandfather was there.'

'That doesn't mean what your family says happened is true, though,' Potter said.

There was a loud bark from above.

'Yeah, you're right, Moony. That was rude,' Black said.

'Guys,' Pettigrew said. 'It doesn't really matter, does it? We need to learn the textbook because they're the answers we have to give on the exam, so…'

Minerva rounded the final bend and stopped dead. She wasn't sure what she'd expected, but it certainly wasn't what she found. For starters, there was no need to worry about them spotting her because they had lit the area they were sitting in with a powerful Sunlight charm. Spotting her skulking in the shadows would be impossible. The cosy nest made up of plump red cushions and fluffy gold blankets they were buried in was equally surprising. Comfort during their night time vigil was clearly a priority for them. The biggest surprise, though, was the pile of books sat to the side of Potter, and the parchment and quills scattered around.

There was no doubt about it. They were doing their homework while camping in a tunnel on the full moon while their friend turned into a wolf. She felt a rush of pride for the wee troublemakers.

All of a sudden the wolf above their heads let out a loud howl, making all Minerva's fur stand on end. But the boys were unfazed, all three of them throwing their heads back and howling back at the wolf. The sight was so comical, Minerva would have laughed had she been human.

'I don't understand why he's not calming down,' Black said when they were done. 'I thought he'd settle when you came back.'

'Are you sure he didn't hurt himself?'

'I don't think so. He seems to have got the message that we're always coming back. Just sucks that the ritual has to be done on a full moon.'

'Yeah, it does,' Potter said. 'But at least there's enough of us that we can do both.'

They carried on reading from the History of Magic textbook after that, and Minerva was torn. The three boys were breaking several school rules, and by rights she should take them back to the dorm and punish them severely, but from what she'd heard, Lupin would suffer terribly if she did. They were perfectly safe, and she knew they were smart enough not to unlock the trapdoor. No harm would come to them other than a lack of sleep, and that was clearly a sacrifice they were willing to make.

With a swish of her tail, she turned and started back up the passage. She'd give them detention in the morning for skipping class and forget everything she'd seen tonight. After all, when it came to protecting others from harm, she'd been known to break a few rules herself. She didn't want to be a hypocrite.

Peter slid off of Feodair's back to the beautifully stationary ground and breathed a sigh of relief. He really would have preferred to walk back, but he knew they couldn't waste time. Especially after that moment of panic when they couldn't breathe. They didn't know if the tracking spell still worked when Remus was in wolf form, but if it did. Well. There was no telling how Moony might react. The sooner they let him know James was fine, the better.

'Thanks, Feodair. You've been a great help,' James said, shaking hands with the older centaur, before turning to the younger with a grin. 'So, that was the most fun I've ever had in my life. Hope we can do it again sometime.'

James was crazy. It had been terrifying. When Feodair had taken a particularly sharp turn around a tree and Peter had felt himself slipping off to the side, he'd thought for sure he was about to die. And who would look after his mum, then?

'I don't think Peter Pettigrew agrees,' Firenze said with a chuckle. 'But we'll be here again on the next full moon.'

It was kind of weird how they said their full names every time. Jarring. Peter felt like he was in trouble when someone used his full name. 'I can't say I enjoyed it. But I'm glad it was so quick,' Peter said, trying to be diplomatic. He didn't want to offend the centaurs, and it was good that they could get back to Moony faster.

'Until then, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew,' Feodair said. 'Farewell.' With that, the centaurs turned and disappeared back into the Forest.

'Let's go,' James said, pulling the cloak from his bag and throwing it over them. 'Do you still feel weird?'

'Yeah. It's like my magic's… blocked?'

'Fucking uncomfortable, isn't it?' James said. 'There's this weird… emptiness, too? Like, I've been hollowed out.'

'The Journal didn't say anything about it?'

James shook his head, making the hood of the cloak shift against Peter's ear, and he reached up to scratch it. 'Not a word. Just the instructions for the chant and to take the potion immediately after. There was nothing about what would happen.'

'Weird. Why wouldn't Fab and Gid warn us?'

'Unless this isn't supposed to happen,' James said. 'What if it went wrong? Maybe we didn't drink the potion fast enough?'

'Oh Gods, don't say that.'

'We'll write to them,' James decided. 'Ask about it.' They were approaching the edge of the Willow's reach, then, and James paused. 'How are we going to get in?'

'Shit.'

James stared at the problem for a moment, then he started scanning the nearby ground before walking a few steps and bending down. 'Time to put my Chaser skills to the ultimate test,' James said, holding up a fist-sized stone.

He threw it up in the air and caught it a few times, testing its weight, before lining up with his target. Peter prepared himself for the run. Surprisingly, James actually missed the first three attempts, but the fourth hit home, and they dashed across, sliding down into the tunnel.

As they neared the end, Peter heard distressed whining coming from above. Exchanging a glance with James, they hurried their pace, calling out as they rounded the last corner.

'It's okay, Moony. We're here.'

'Thank the gods you're back,' Sirius said. 'He's been howling and whining like that for the last fifteen minutes. I can't calm him down.'

'Did he hurt himself?' James asked, looking up at the trapdoor with a frown.

'No, I don't think so. Did something happen to you?'

James opened his mouth, paused, and then shook his head. 'I tripped over. He must be able to sense the alarm. We'll have to be more careful next month.'

Peter wasn't sure why James was lying, but he wasn't going to call him on it, so he kept his mouth shut.

Moony let out another howl and they paused their conversation to answer him in the same manner before resuming as if no interruption had happened.

'So what happened? You were much quicker than I thought.'

'Yeah, Feodair turned up with his son Firenze and they gave us a ride there, and back again after.'

Peter shuddered. 'It was awful. I nearly fell off.'

'It was brilliant. They run so fast.'

Sirius' eyes were sparkling in the enchanted light. 'I. Am. So. Jealous.'

James laughed. 'Yeah, you would love it.'

Moony was still whining above them, but it was less frantic than it had been when they first arrived back, so they settled themselves down on the cushions and spread the blankets out over their legs.

'You still haven't said what happened?'

James wasn't answering, so Peter opened his mouth to tell him about the terrifying seconds of not being able to breathe, the punch of magic passing into his chest, the horrible burning, and the discomfort of his magic being blocked somehow. But his tongue glued itself to the roof of his mouth, and he couldn't say a word.

Sirius frowned at them. 'Guys?'

'Not much. Bit of a light show is all. I guess the big stuff will happen after the second half,' James said.

Peter nodded, because what else could he do? They couldn't do any magic, and they couldn't even tell their friends about it. Or could they? Peter tried to say it, but the same thing happened again. That would be a no, then.

'We should get some homework done,' James said. 'You want to do History first? Maybe that'll help Moony settle down.'

They spent an hour on the History homework, but the only reason it took that long was the frequent disagreements Sirius and James had about the facts. One of them would read a paragraph out loud, and then Sirius would argue with it, and James would argue with Sirius, and Peter would have to break it up. It was a little annoying, but it did help him remember things better, so he couldn't really complain about it. By the time that was done, Moony was quieter, and they were able to get on with some of the written work, only needing to offer reassurances every so often when he whined.

At one o'clock, they took it in turns to take a two-hour nap, which involved an elaborate pattern of coin tossing to fairly determine the order. James ended up going first, and Sirius last. After waking Sirius at seven, they enjoyed a peculiar breakfast of cold meat and potatoes left from the previous night's dinner, and packed up their things.

'Can you shrink the pillows and blankets, Twinkles, while I get the books?' James asked.

Sirius happily complied, but how long could they get away with passing magical tasks on to Sirius and Remus before they started to question it?

Since the moon didn't set until half-past eight, and they had a free period first thing, there was no need for them to leave before Madam Pomfrey arrived that morning. They could easily pretend they'd gone down there after breakfast. That's if she arrived at all. From what Sirius had told them, she'd been rushed off her feet the night before.

Peter needn't have worried. Madam Pomfrey arrived a few minutes after moonset and greeted them warmly.

'He's fine, boys,' she called down a minute after disappearing through the hatch.

'That's great,' James called back. 'Can we stay, though? We have a free period first and lessons for the rest of the day. We want him to see us if he wakes up a little.'

She didn't answer until she'd brought Remus down through the trapdoor on a conjured stretcher. Then she eyed them all. 'You'll be quiet?'

They all nodded.

'Hmm. Well, Mister Black didn't cause any problems last month, and Remus isn't hurt, so I'll allow it. But any silliness and it will not happen again. Understand?' Her voice was stern, but her eyes were smiling at them.

They all agreed, obviously, and she disillusioned them before leading them back to the castle and up to Hospital Wing, making them wait in her office while she got Remus settled in his bed and dressed. When she waved them in, they found she'd conjured them a squishy beanbag each, all smooshed together in the corner of the room. Merlin, they were comfortable. Peter sank into his with a stifled moan.

'You should take your samples, Bubbles,' James reminded him when Madam Pomfrey left.

'Oh, right. Yeah.' Peter pulled himself back to his feet with some difficulty—the beanbag didn't seem to want to let him go—and grabbed what he needed from his bag. 'Watch the door, will you? Don't want Pomfrey to catch me cutting him.'

James took up a position by the door so he could stall Pomfrey long enough for Peter to hide the knife if she tried to enter. But, as so often happened, their contingency plans proved unnecessary. Peter took both samples without a hitch. Remus only stirred a little when he pricked his finger and squeezed it over the vial, but he never fully woke.

Peter was on the verge of dozing off himself, when Sirius suddenly sat up straight, startling him back awake.

'I can't believe I forgot!' He whispered the words, but with enough emphasis, they sounded like a shout. 'My father gave me something right before I left. Said I had to figure out what it was to prove I deserved it.'

'What is it?' James said. 'Get it out.'

It took Sirius a minute of hunting through his bag, which was full of loose parchment and other detritus before he pulled out what looked like a blank sheet of parchment.

James took it, turning it over in his hands a few times. 'We'll have to use Moony's magic detector on it. See what it's hiding.'