Sunday, 6th May 1973

As the time ticked closer to midnight, Peter watched from the commentator's box as groups of students strolled out onto the pitch, congregating in the middle. The Slytherins had been the first to arrive, but they were soon joined by the Ravenclaws (who had made it without being caught this year), and the Gryffindors had barrelled in a few minutes later, James, Sirius, Dorcas, and Marlene among them, so they were only waiting on the Hufflepuffs to put in an appearance. But if they didn't hurry up, Peter would be forced to start without them.

The stands were filling up too. They were nowhere near as packed as they were during a Quidditch match, but there were a decent amount of students turning up just to watch the competition, and seeing them all was making Peter's anxiety bubble over. He had to go out in front of all those people and speak without messing up and saying the wrong thing. It was definitely going to go badly. He was going to make a complete fool of himself.

Or maybe it wasn't the talking that would be the problem. He also had to fly one-handed while casting spells from the back of his broom. Maybe he'd fall. His heart, which was already racing, picked up speed even more as he watched the Hufflepuffs filing onto the pitch. Everyone was there and he couldn't wait much longer, but he could spare another minute or two while he tried to calm his nerves.

James glanced up at the commentator's box briefly and then leant in close to Sirius, whispering something. Sirius nodded, and a minute later, Peter heard his voice in his head. You've got this, Bubbles.

The words brought a smile to his face, and with one last deep breath, he mounted his broom, checking his pocket for the miniaturised brooms they'd collected in case any competitors didn't have their own, before taking off and flying down to the pitch.

It had taken a lot of practice to get used to flying in Polly's body. She was much taller and slimmer than him which affected the way he needed to hold himself to stay balanced, but he'd got the hang of it after a few low-altitude tumbles onto the grass, and he made a perfect landing in front of the waiting crowd, dismounting and giving them a cheerful wave.

'Hi, everyone. It's great to see all the Houses made it this year,' he said, earning a few chuckles, which helped to boost his confidence. 'Alright, first things first. Does anyone need to borrow a broom?'

A few hands went up, and Peter returned the brooms to their original size before handing them out. Once everyone had the necessary equipment, he announced the first event, casting the spell to bring the magical rings into being, and reciting the instructions he'd memorised, causing the students to take off and fly to the starting position for the race.

There were no surprises regarding who won. Though Marlene gave him a run for his money, James was back in top form since the return of his magic, and he beat her by a foot. The ring marking the finish line was mere inches above the ground, and they both went tumbling onto the grass, one after the other after soaring through it at top speed as they'd fought for first place during the final dive, neither of them willing to decelerate despite the approaching ground.

'You're a fucking maniac, James,' Marlene declared once she'd caught her breath.

James climbed to his feet and reached out a hand to help Marlene up. 'Look who's talking.'

'You're both insane,' Sirius said, joining them with laughter in his eyes. He'd come in third, having actually slowed down when he was getting close to the ground. 'I thought for sure you were going to be pancakes.'

James' personal combination of slight build and utter recklessness gave him an advantage in most of the flying events, and if he wasn't first, he was second. While James was busy showing off and having the time of his life, Peter worked through his mental list of spells and speeches with barely a hiccup in the proceedings. As the night wore on, he kept an eye on the sky. It was too dark to see much of anything, but the lack of stars gave away the presence of clouds, and something in the air was telling him they were the kind that carried rain.

Making a snap decision, he reordered the events in his mind to hold the water fight early. They'd scheduled it for the end, so everyone could get dried off immediately afterwards, but while none of the other events would be affected by the rain, the water fight would be ruined by it.

James gave him a funny look when he announced it and brought out the pre-prepared crates of water-filled balloons, but he went along with it as Peter moved through the crowd, casting the spell on everyone that would keep track of how wet they became during the game. Not that James could really say anything if he did want to question the change in the plan.

The game was simple. Twelve crates were spread out evenly across the pitch, and the players had to swoop down, grab a balloon (without popping it), and launch it at another player, all while avoiding any balloons being targeted at them. Needless to say, it was pandemonium. By the end, everyone was absolutely drenched and shivering, but some of the older students took it upon themselves to cast drought and warming charms on the younger ones, far more powerful than what they'd be able to manage themselves. Peter gave them a grateful nod.

The rain started less than ten minutes after the water fight ended, and Peter couldn't help but grin when he saw understanding wash across James' face, followed by a nod of acknowledgement that seemed to say good choice. Well done.

Everything went just as smoothly with the last two events, and Peter was feeling thoroughly pleased with himself when he said goodbye to everyone and flew off, landing back in the commentators' box to watch everyone leave. Though there was one person in particular that he was really keeping an eye on. Lily Evans.

He scanned the crowd flocking around the exit to the stands for her distinctive red hair, but he couldn't see her anywhere. That was a problem because it meant she had left early. There were several innocent reasons which could explain that, illness, boredom, tiredness, but there was one not so innocent reason too, and Peter was positive it was the correct one. She had found herself a good vantage point, and planned to watch which way the Marauder went when he left.

Peter groaned with annoyance. He really wanted to go back to the dorm and celebrate his success with a butterbeer before climbing into bed and sleeping until noon. Instead, he was going to have to enact Operation Merry Dance and lead Lily on a pointless trek around the castle. It only took him a minute to raise his anxiety levels enough to send James a message.

Operation Merry Dance is a go.

He watched James lean close to Sirius again, and sure that his message had been received, he set off to begin his part of the plan. Using the stairs, he made his way slowly down to the ground. Slowly, because he needed to give James enough time to get into position. Fortunately for them, meandering was Peter's speciality. Thinking of Lily crouched somewhere in the cold, waiting, while he took his time, stopping now and then to look out the window and admire the view, made him giggle. If she insisted on continuing to be a nosy cow, then she deserved what she got. Remus had enough to deal with right then, without having to worry about being outed.

When he finally reached the ground, he checked the ring on his finger—a new design of the Snitch-o-Scope Remus had made him. The stone set in the band worked the same as the glass orb had before, but it was much subtler—and finding the stone glowing orange, he smiled. There was a student nearby, and he'd be willing to bet he knew which one it was.

Heading to the castle with a shadow.

Acting naturally, Peter strolled to the castle doors, a little faster now he was out in the open, but still not rushing. There were no adults nearby, so he was safe enough, but he didn't want to risk staying out there too long. When he walked into the Entrance Hall, he glanced at the Great Hall, and one of the doors was ajar—the signal that James was in place—so he continued onto the Grand Staircase, making his way up. His ring was still glowing orange, meaning Lily was still on his tail, but he kept his pace slow, needing to allow James time to speak to her without losing sight of him.

As he rounded the bend onto the third floor, he heard Sirius' voice in his head, James and Lily are right behind you, and he grinned. Knowing they were close meant he could speed up and get this over with quicker. They'd decided on Ravenclaw because they didn't want to lead her to Gryffindor, and the other two House common rooms were underground, making exiting through a window impossible. But Ravenclaw gave them another unique advantage. The riddle required for entry created a natural delay, and they were hoping James would be able to persuade Lily to leave before Peter actually needed to walk in.

Finally reaching his destination, Peter stepped up to the door and lifted the eagle-shaped knocker, tapping just once, and the usual soft, musical voice filled the silence.

When the body, mind, and soul are not matched, what do you call the person?

Peter swallowed. Had Rowena Ravenclaw enchanted her door to detect people who weren't who they appeared to be? Because that question sounded ominously like the door knew he was an imposter. Oh. That was probably the answer, wasn't it? He didn't want to give it yet, though, so he glanced at his ring again while he pretended to be thinking about it. Still orange. Come on, James.

'Time for Operation Merry Dance,' James murmured to Sirius after receiving Peter's message. They'd suspected Lily might use the Flying Competition as an opportunity to follow one of the Marauders back to their common room, and it looked like they'd been right. He mounted his broom at the same time as Sirius and they both soared into the sky, not levelling off until they were too high to be seen from the ground, before pointing their brooms in the direction of their dorm room.

Of course, Peter could have used the same tactic to avoid Lily entirely, but they wanted to use her decision to snoop as an opportunity for misdirection, and their first task was retrieving the Invisibility Cloak from their dorm. James hadn't wanted to bring it to the competition in case it fell out of his pocket, and he wasn't willing to leave it hidden anywhere. It was too rare and valuable to risk it being stolen.

When they flew in through the dorm window, Sirius went to check on Remus, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully, and James went to grab the cloak from his trunk. It was sitting, neatly folded, right at the top. He didn't remember folding it, but he often forgot doing things, so he shrugged it off and went to the door.

'Let's go,' he whispered, and Sirius gave one last soppy glance at Remus and joined him.

No one else was back yet, so they were able to cross the common room and exit through the portrait without a hitch. Peter's voice sounded in his head as they headed down the corridor, Heading to the castle with a shadow.

'Pete's left the Quidditch pitch, and Lily's following him.'

With so little time left, they didn't bother with the Grand Staircase, choosing to take the much quicker slide to the ground floor, and when they reached the Entrance Hall, James kept the cloak, pushing open one of the doors to the Great Hall, while Sirius hid himself behind a conveniently positioned statue to wait.

James couldn't tell you how much time had passed before one of the enormous doors cracked open and Peter squeezed in through the gap—he wasn't great with time—but it felt like an age. He hated waiting. Peter was out of sight, past the first turn in the Staircase before the door cracked open again. This time the person entering had long red hair, and she looked around before stomping her foot in annoyance.

'Dammit.'

James stifled a chuckle and crossed the room to her, still under the Cloak. 'Lily?'

She jumped about a mile in the air before glancing around. 'James?'

He pulled the Cloak off and grinned at her. 'Saw you leaving the stands early. Thought I'd help you out.'

'You can turn Invisible? What is that? A cloak?'

'Cloak of Invisibility,' James told her. 'Come on, get under. He won't be able to see us following him.'

'I don't think that's Sunshine,' Lily said, allowing him to drape the cloak over her head. 'I'm pretty sure it's one of the others. They didn't talk right.'

'Does it matter?' James asked, secretly thrilled she could tell the difference between him and someone else, even when they were wearing the same body. 'Whoever it is. They went up.'

'So a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw, then,' Lily said, grinning at him.

'Looks that way.'

They caught up with Peter on the second floor, and when Peter reached the third floor and picked up his pace, James knew Sirius had completed his task and let Peter know they were following. So long as Lily's attention stayed on the Marauder they were following, she would never notice the one that was following them. They were too close to Peter to risk talking, but Lily kept turning her head to smile at him as they made their way up to the seventh floor, turning off towards Ravenclaw at the top of the Staircase. When their destination was confirmed, Lily gave him a significant look but continued to follow the Marauder ahead of them, right up to the door to Ravenclaw's Common Room.

'We should go,' James whispered. There was enough distance between them that Peter shouldn't be able to hear, and even if he did, it didn't matter. He knew they were there.

Lily shook her head. 'I want to make sure they actually go in. It might be a trick.'

Managing not to groan, James shook his head. 'There's no way they know we're here.'

'What if they've got something like your glass balls?'

James couldn't think of a single argument for that, but lucky for him, he didn't need to because Sirius had decided it was time to enact Contingency Plan Catcall and an almighty crash sounded from the next corridor.

'Shit. Now we have to go. Filch will be here any second, and the Cloak won't stop his cat from smelling us.'

'Alright, come on, then,' she said, right as the door to Ravenclaw opened. 'Looks like he's going in.'

They turned and walked quickly back the way they'd come, and a moment later, James heard the door slam closed. It didn't take them long to reach Gryffindor Tower, and the Fat Lady, thankfully, kept her thoughts on their late-night excursion to herself for once. More than likely because half the House had broken curfew that night and she couldn't be bothered.

'So,' Lily said, once they were safely inside the empty Common Room, 'the Marauders are Ravenclaws, then.'

'At least one of them is,' James said. 'But it seems likely they all are, yeah.'

'We need to find out for sure, though. And that cloak of yours could be useful.'

'It's very useful.'

'I need to think about this some more.'

'You should probably sleep first,' James said. He really wanted to get upstairs and make sure Peter and Sirius had made it back safely.

She laughed. 'Yeah, you're probably right. See you in the morning?'

'Yeah. Of course. Goodnight, Lily.'

'Night, James.' She smiled at him before disappearing up the girl's staircase, and James grinned as he jogged up to his own dorm.

Peter and Sirius were both there, grinning at him with triumph.

'The plan worked perfectly,' he told them. 'She's utterly convinced at least one of the Marauders is a Ravenclaw.'

'Brilliant,' Peter said. 'Did it help that I opened the door right after Sirius did the Catcall?'

'Yeah, it really did,' James said, slapping him on the back. 'Well done for working out the riddle. What was it?'

'When the body, mind, and soul are not matched, what do you call the person? The answer was an imposter.'

'Genius,' James said, grinning. 'I keep saying it, but you're a genius, Bubbles.'

'I'm guessing it went well, then?' Remus asked, his voice coming from behind Sirius' closed bed curtains.

'Shit, did we wake you, Moonbeam?'

'Yeah, but don't worry about it,' Remus said, pulling back the curtain at the end of Sirius' bed so he could see out. 'What happened?'

'Operation Merry Dance was a resounding success,' James said. 'Lily fell for it completely.'

'You're sure?'

'There's no reason for her to pretend, so yeah, I'm sure.'

Remus let out a breath and relaxed back against Sirius' pillows. 'That's such a relief.'

'She wants to make sure all the Marauders are Ravenclaws, though, but she doesn't have anything planned yet. She's going to tell me when she's thought of something.'

'I have to admit,' Remus said with a chuckle. 'it's extremely helpful to have a spy on the inside of the investigation.'

'That's me,' James said, grinning and taking a bow. 'James Potter: Spy extraordinaire.'

It was stupid to keep worrying about it. Sirius knew it was stupid. But that didn't keep his anxiety from building. Blacks didn't get spots. It was just a fact. And not just spots, either. Blemishes of any kind did not dare to sully the body of a Black. It was unheard of. James' suggestion that it was just his family trying to make themselves seem special had convinced him for a time, but when he woke up on Sunday morning with another spot, this one even bigger than the first, his anxiety returned a hundredfold. Something was wrong.

Sirius knew better than to say anything to the other Marauders, though. They'd just laugh at him again and tell him he was being ridiculous. No, there was only one person who would understand why he was concerned, but to speak to that person required careful planning and subterfuge.

The pop announcing Peony's arrival in the bathroom made Sirius jump a little. He'd been waiting for her, but he hadn't known exactly when she'd arrive.

'Master called?'

'Yeah, thanks for coming so fast,' he said, smiling at her. 'I need you to let Regulus know I need to talk to him.'

'Peony can do that,' Peony said, nodding her head before peeking up at him nervously. 'Master wishes Peony to say if Peony has a better idea?'

'Yes. Always.'

Peony smiled. 'The arrangements could be made faster if Master Sirius provides some times he would be available for Master Regulus to pick from.'

Sirius grinned at the elf. 'Excellent idea. Hold on, I'll get some parchment.'

Peony clicked her fingers, conjuring a small sheet of parchment and a pre-inked quill onto the counter beside Sirius. 'No need.'

'You really are the best idea my brother's ever had,' Sirius said, grabbing up the quill and jotting down his schedule before handing the parchment to Peony. 'Thanks.'

With a beaming smile, Peony took it and clicked her fingers again, making it vanish to Godric knows where—probably some magical storage location only she could access. 'Peony is happy to serve the masters. Did Master need anything else?'

'No, that's all, thank you, Peony. Do something nice for yourself, won't you?'

Peony nodded vigorously. 'Master Regulus has ordered Peony to do something nice for herself at least once a day.'

'Oh,' Sirius said, a little surprised. 'That's good.'

'Peony is very happy. And she will be back with Master Regulus' reply as soon as possible.' With that, she popped out of existence.

Sirius smiled to himself as he returned to the dorm room, crawling back into bed next to a still sleeping Remus. She was getting bolder every time he saw her, and it was satisfying to witness.

The day was almost over by the time Peony returned, giving no explanation as to what had taken so long, which meant it was Regulus' fault. If the elf had been delayed for any other reason, she'd be full of apologies. Unfortunately, the soonest his brother was available to meet him was after classes the following day. Sirius couldn't imagine what had him so busy that he couldn't manage to spare five minutes on a Sunday, but he accepted the offered time and told Peony, 'thank you,' before sending her on her way.

Monday dragged by slowly, not just because he was waiting for it to be over so he could meet his brother, but because it was the final few weeks before the end-of-year exams, and the teachers were all turning their attention to revision. Sirius hated revision with a burning passion. It was infuriatingly repetitive, and he didn't understand the point of it. If you learned it properly the first time around, why did you need to relearn it right before the exam?

Thankfully, Slughorn didn't feel the need to have them make all the potions a third time, announcing that they would be putting what they'd learned that year into practice with an end-of-year project.

'We'll be spending this week's double-period in the library where I expect you all to choose a potion that uses some of the ingredients we've studied this year, but also some new ones. You will then spend the next three weeks learning about the ingredients in your chosen potion, its brewing process, and the ways in which it can go wrong or be improved. And for the final week, after the exams, you will have the opportunity to brew it yourselves. So,' Slughorn clapped his hands together, 'gather your things and let's be off, shall we?'

Sirius wasn't watching Remus as carefully as he had been at the beginning of the previous week, after the Aconite Incident. Being back in classes seemed to have helped him enormously, and he appeared to be back to his normal self most of the time, although he was spending a lot more time meditating in the evenings than he used to. Sirius, James, and Peter had spoken about it privately, and they'd agreed not to bring up the Easter Incident unless Remus did. But that didn't mean Sirius wasn't still watching him a lot, and when he glanced at Remus as they all stood up and grabbed their bags, he couldn't help the chuckle that emerged. His boyfriend looked intensely relieved to be getting out of the classroom two hours earlier than expected.

'Nothing makes you smile more than an unexpected trip to the library, does it?' Sirius asked, sidling up to him as they exited the classroom following Professor Slughorn.

'I can think of a few things,' Remus replied, smirking at him and sending a thrill down his spine.

'Do any of them involve me?'

'They all involve you.' Remus smiled and moved his face closer to Sirius' ear. 'Maybe I'll show you what they are later.'

'Sounds exciting,' Sirius said, wiggling his eyebrows.

'I'd be wary if I were you,' James said, coming up behind them and swinging an arm around each of their shoulders. 'Our Remus has a twisted sense of humour.'

'Do I?' Remus asked.

James nodded. 'One of those things could involve ropes and a silencing spell. I'm sure that would make Remus smile.'

Sirius snorted, and James looked at him with a frown for a moment before realisation dawned in his eyes.

'Wait! That came out wrong. I didn't mean—'

'Too late,' Sirius said, laughing. 'You're a dirty boy, James Potter.'

Letting his arms fall to his sides, he gave Sirius a gentle shove. 'That's not what I… Oh, never mind. Who cares?' he said, laughing. 'What sort of potion are you going to make?'

'The simplest thing I can find,' Remus said with a self-deprecating smile. 'If I can actually brew it, I might be able to get my grade up a bit.'

'And if you can't, it doesn't matter,' Peter said. 'You're getting top marks in everything else, and you'll always have me to brew your potions.'

'I might not be able to afford you when you're a famous world-renowned Potions Master,' Remus said.

Peter scoffed and rolled his eyes. 'As if I would charge you for anything.'

'Pete, you know I don't like—'

'It's not a handout. It's a friends and family privilege. Everyone does it, and I'm not arguing with you about it. I won't be charging James, Sirius, Bella, or my mum for anything either, so don't think you're special.'

Remus laughed and held up his hands in defence. 'Alright, I know there's no point arguing with you when you take that tone. I'm shutting up.'

'Good.' Peter nodded firmly, looking quite pleased with himself as well he should. Getting Remus to accept financial help of any kind was almost impossible, not that Peter was much better. Sirius and James had discussed leaving some coins in Remus and Peter's pockets or desk drawers, but they somehow always knew how much money they had at any time, so the plan was doomed to failure before it even began.

Their library lesson went smoothly enough. Madam Pince seemed less than pleased when Slughorn led the class inside and directed them towards the extensive Potions section, but he was apparently prepared for that, because he immediately strolled to her desk, pulling out a packet of sweets and offering the bag to her as he struck up a conversation. Sirius was reluctantly impressed by his cunning.

With the librarian safely distracted, the students were able to peruse the shelves without fear of her swooping down on them to present a lecture on the proper handling of books, and they quickly spread out. The Marauders found themselves separating as they searched for something that interested them (or in Remus' case, something simple enough to successfully brew) but they came back together again at a table to go through the books they'd picked out.

Remus ended up picking a basic hair cleansing potion. It wasn't something Sirius would ever dream of putting on his own head, but the recipe was simple, and it used ingredients they'd been learning about that year as well as a couple of new ones, so it fit the brief they'd been given. James went for a Befuddlement draught because he was hoping to sneak some of the finished potion into his bag to spike his dad's tea with it on the first day of the holidays. And, deciding he wanted to get ahead of the curriculum so he could focus on his apprenticeship, Peter settled on the Calming draught which they'd be making in fourth year. For his choice, though, Sirius wanted to do something useful, and not in the same way James' potion would be. The blood replenishing potion was one they'd be making the following year, but if he could get the hang of brewing it now, Remus could take some home with him, just in case. It had saved his life last year, and even though Remus said Moony liked the Lunar Lodge, Sirius was still worried about how he would react to being alone after having at least one member of his 'pack' with him for ten moons straight. It was also an important potion for Healers to know, and the more he thought about it, the more the career appealed to him.

It didn't take Sirius long to reach the portrait of Fulbert the Fearful after waving the others off on the third floor with a cheery, 'I'll meet you in the dorm.' And he regarded the portrait for a moment before telling him to open the door before he cast an Incineration Charm on him. It was an empty threat. Sirius hadn't learned the Incineration Charm yet, but it worked and the portrait swung open, letting him inside.

'Afternoon, Twinkles,' Regulus said, smiling widely at him from where he sat with his feet up on the table, looking utterly relaxed. Sirius blinked twice at the unusual sight before stepping into the room, pulling the portrait closed behind him.

'Fuck off. And what's got into you?' Sirius asked, waving his hand at Regulus' legs as he took a seat on the desk, back against the wall with his knees bent.

He shrugged. 'It may have been pointed out to me that I need to relax more, so I'm giving it a try.' He peered at Sirius thoughtfully. 'Either you are actually Sirius, or James is getting better at impressions.'

'I am actually Sirius,' Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

'Yes, but that's exactly what a Polyjuiced James would say, isn't it? What was your crime the first time Mother left you in the cellar overnight?'

Sirius felt his face warm. 'I wet the bed,' he muttered. 'Did you have to pick that question?'

'I had to make sure it was something you wouldn't have told your friends, didn't I? Anyway, I believe you now. So, why did you want to see me? Peony didn't say.'

'I didn't tell her,' Sirius said, pulling out his wand, so he'd have something to fiddle with. 'Have you ever had a spot?'

Regulus raised an eyebrow. 'I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't that. No, I've never had a spot. Why?'

'I've had two, in the space of five days.'

Regulus' eyebrows rose even further, and he lowered his legs to the floor, making the tension in Sirius' muscles ease a little. That was the reaction he was expecting, not James' trivialisation.

'That's… odd.'

Sirius nodded. 'I know. I'm worried, Reg.'

'I don't blame you. That's extremely concerning.'

'James thinks I'm being dramatic.'

Regulus snorted. 'Well, you can hardly blame him for that. You do have a prior record.'

'Yeah,' Sirius said, giving his joke a small smile. 'But I tried explaining that Blacks don't get spots, you know?' Regulus nodded, so Sirius continued. 'But he thought that was probably just something our family made up to make themselves look special.'

'But that doesn't make sense,' Regulus said with a frown. 'It's not like they go around talking about it at parties.' He paused, cocking his head to the side in thought. 'You know, I don't actually remember where I learned that? I just know it.'

Sirius nodded. 'Yeah, me too. It's a bit like knowing how to walk or read. I don't remember learning how to do those things, I just know how.'

'We must have been told it when we were really young,' Regulus said. 'And if they were lying, then why would they lie to us? They'd tell us the truth so we could make sure to keep up the pretence.'

'Like with the whole Blacks don't feel strong emotions,' Sirius said. 'Anything goes behind closed doors, but in public, we have to be calm at all times.'

'Except for Mother when you were little,' Regulus said, chuckling. 'You made her lose her shit in public… How many times?'

'Too many to count. It's a skill. But you're right. It doesn't make sense for it to be a lie. So why the fuck am I getting spots?' Sirius chewed his lip before adding in a quiet voice. 'What if there's something really wrong with me?'

Regulus wrinkled his nose. 'If it's just spots, then I don't think it's anything to worry about in any significant way. Are there any other symptoms? Fatigue maybe? Or dizziness? Headaches?'

'No. I feel fine. Why? What are you thinking?'

'Nothing. They're just common symptoms, aren't they? You're probably not sick then if you feel fine. I don't know, Sirius. Just keep an eye on it, and if anything else happens, let me know? Maybe I could ask Mother about it in the summer if you're still worried.'

'No,' Sirius said. 'Merlin.'

Regulus rolled his eyes. 'I wouldn't mention you, obviously. I'd just raise the topic and ask about the why of it. You know I can be subtle.'

'Right, yeah,' Sirius said. 'That could work. I could ask Father, too. He's… not as much of an arsehole as he seems.'

'Really?' Regulus asked. 'This I need to hear. Do you have time?'

'Yeah, plenty,' Sirius said with a grin, and he settled back to tell Regulus everything he'd learned about their father at Christmas. 'You remember the speech we went to at the end of December? Well, after Father and I finished at Gringotts, he took me to Fortescue's…'

There was a series of loud bangs that hurt his ears and he flattened them against his head for a moment. Another bang had him moving towards the trapdoor that kept him separated from his pack. Whatever the danger was, he would not let it pass him.

Suddenly the wall exploded, the door flew towards him, landing at his feet, and a delicious smell filled his nose, making him growl. It was coming from the man standing in the doorway. His wand was pointed at him, and he crouched low over the trapdoor, growling at the man to stay back. If he threatened his pack, he would regret it.

'Stupefy,' the man said, shooting a red light from the end of his wand. It hit his front leg, sending burning pain down to his toes, and he leapt from his crouch in response. It only took two bounds across the room to reach him. The man didn't even have time to react before his teeth sank into the meat of his arm and he screamed.

I'm sorry. So sorry. For what I did, and for forgetting you every day. But I have to. I'm so sorry.

As he moved his attention from the man's arm to his stomach, the distant sound of quiet voices on the edge of his awareness stopped, replaced with a familiar musical humming, and Remus withdrew from the memory, locking everything up before opening his eyes. Sirius was sitting on the edge of the mattress, smiling at him.

Remus forced the corners of his mouth up and hoped his smile didn't look too fake. 'Hi.'

'Hey.' Sirius leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. 'It's time to go.'

'Alright.' Remus stretched his muscles as he climbed off the bed, enjoying the sensation for once. With just under two weeks until the next full moon, his pain was at its lowest level and stretching actually felt good, though his joints still twinged a little. They always did. Despite everything, he was actually looking forward to their session with Professor Tenebris that evening. He hadn't said anything, but he was anxious about returning to the Shrieking Shack for his next transformation. Knowing his friends had a way to bring his human mind back into control for a short time would go a long way to making him feel safe there again.

Grabbing his bag—which he'd already packed with the books he'd brought back with him the previous week, and the notes he'd made since—he joined the others, and they filed out, each of them pausing to say something to the blank parchment as they passed through the door, but none of their attempts were successful. At some point, he really needed to get around to making the detector for that, but it was going to be so much more complicated than the more general one he'd already made, and just thinking about it made his head hurt.

They escaped the common room, telling the girls they had another detention, and reached Professor Tenebris' classroom ten minutes later. The door was sitting open, and she called them inside when she heard them approach.

'No traps, I promise. I don't want to waste any time. This is too important.'

Despite her reassurances, they entered the room cautiously, and Peter used his foot to shove the door closed behind him.

'You don't trust me at all, do you?' she asked, watching them with laughter in her eyes.

'Can you blame us?' Sirius asked.

James nodded. 'You really haven't given us much reason to.'

'And every reason not to.' Peter agreed with a shrug.

'And yet we still keep coming here,' Remus said, shooting the others a frown of confusion. 'I'm not sure what that says about us.'

'That we enjoy a challenge?' James suggested.

'Yeah,' Sirius said, laughing. 'That must be it.'

'Well, that's convenient,' Professor Tenebris said. 'Because we have quite a challenge on our hands here. I've had some thoughts…' She beckoned them over to the table she'd set up for them, and they all took a seat before she continued. 'So, I think the best way to get the results we're looking for is with a combination of transcendental magic with a touch of cerebral magic.'

'Like legilimency?' Sirius asked.

'Similar, yes. But instead of looking at the wolf's memories, you'll be going in with the express purpose of suppressing his consciousness so Remus can take over. Or whichever one of you is casting that part.'

'That part?' James asked. 'What do you mean?'

'This is going to be a two-part spell. One person needs to enter the wolf's mind and suppress him, while the other is casting the spell to link Remus' consciousness to the body so he can control it. And whoever does the mind part will need to be able to communicate when it's time to the other caster without breaking the chant, altering the wand movements, or breaking eye contact. And both your hands will be in use.'

'Right, not much then,' Sirius said.

'For most people, it would seem impossible,' Professor Tenebris said. 'But you have this rather special connection between you.'

Remus' eyes widened as he realised what she was saying. 'So it needs to be either Sirius doing the mind part with Peter, or Peter doing the mind part with James?'

'Exactly.'

Peter pulled a face. 'Mind magic sounds hard. Can I do the other part?'

Sirius laughed. 'Sure, I don't mind learning a bit of mind magic.'

Professor Tenebris pushed a hefty book across the table at him. 'Get stuck into this, then, while we work out the other part.'

Remus expected Sirius to protest at the size of the book, but he opened it without complaint, shooting Remus a grin before pulling it closer and focusing his attention on the pages. But then, he was the one that had come face-to-face with the wolf. Maybe he was just eager to make sure he had a way to defend himself if that ever happened again. With one last glance at Sirius' bent head, Remus pulled a book from the stack in the middle of the table and opened it to start his own reading.

By the time curfew rolled around, they were well into the development stages of their work, and all of them were thoroughly absorbed in the task. Even Sirius had made progress, retreating to a corner of the room after half an hour to do some mental exercises which would prepare his mind to perform the necessary magic. A glance around the table had Remus thinking no one else had noticed the time, until Peter caught his eye, his eyes flicking to the watch on his wrist for a moment before he raised his eyebrows in question. Remus shrugged in reply, and Peter nodded. Neither of them were going to point out how late it was.

They continued working for another half an hour until Professor Tenebris suddenly slammed her hand down on the table, making them jump.

'I've got it! Love magic! We need love magic! Hold on!' Standing from her chair, she hurried up the stairs to her office, returning a moment later with yet another book. She must have forgotten summoning charms existed in her excitement, or maybe that particular book had been made unsummonable for some reason. As she retook her seat, she opened the book, running her finger down what Remus assumed was the contents page, before flicking through to somewhere near the middle, her eyes flitting back and forth rapidly as she scanned the information.

'I thought love magic was only used in bonding ceremonies,' James said. 'I don't understand how that's going to help.'

Professor Tenebris looked up and shook her head. 'Oh no, there's much more to it than that. It's fallen out of fashion in modern times, and you're right that it's only really used in bonding ceremonies now, which is a shame because it's an extremely versatile branch of magic.'

'I used it for Sirius' dreamcatcher,' Remus pointed out.

'Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten about that,' James said. 'So how's going to help us with this?'

'It comes down to trust,' Professor Tenebris explained. 'We can't get the link between Remus' consciousness and the wolf's body to take without trust. And the love magic will remind both entities that they trust the caster.'

'Makes sense,' James said, nodding. 'Friend love will be enough, right?'

'Yes, absolutely. It's different from romantic love but just as powerful. The caster will need to love Remus in both his forms, though.'

Peter shrugged. 'Not a problem. I love Moony just as much as Remus.'

Why? Remus wondered. Moony was a monster. He didn't say anything, though. Peter needed to love the monster to be able to control it, and he didn't want to jeopardise that.

Professor Tenebris smiled. 'I thought as much. Alright. I think we've almost cracked this part. How long do we have left?' She glanced at the clock and cringed. 'Oh, I didn't realise it was so late. You all need to get back to your common room.'

'But you said we're almost done,' James said. 'We're already breaking curfew. What's another half an hour going to change? We might as well finish this now, while we're on a roll.'

Professor Tenebris chuckled, glancing at Remus and Peter. 'Are you happy to stay too?'

They both nodded, and she looked over her shoulder at Sirius, who was still sitting in the corner. He had his eyes closed and a look of deep concentration on his face.

'He won't care about the time,' James said. 'Probably best not to disturb him. He looks like he's pretty focused.'

Professor Tenebris turned back to them. 'I think you might be right. Do you have your Cloak with you to get back without being caught? I can escort you, but if any students saw us, it would raise questions.'

James nodded. 'I have the Cloak. We'll be fine.'

'Alright, let's get this finished then.'

They settled back into the work, discussing the intricacies of love magic and how they could weave it into the spell they'd already partially crafted. It took another hour, but eventually, they had something they were fairly certain would work, and Remus brought Sirius out of his mind exercises by humming the tune they used to bring them out of meditation. He grinned and congratulated them when they told him how much progress they'd made and he promised to work hard on learning the mind magic so he'd be ready to try it out the following week.

Once they'd said their goodbyes to Professor Tenebris, they huddled together under James' cloak—it wouldn't be long until they could no longer all fit, but for now, it just about covered them still—and they made their way back to their dorm, falling into bed with groans of satisfaction. The last thing Remus remembered that day was James' voice calling out a goodnight from the darkness, Sirius' lips pressed to the back of his neck, and the overwhelming guilt at his own contentment.

The following afternoon, they finally had an opportunity to disappear down to the cave to test their transfigured cauldron. The girls were busy with homework—Lily was still banned from the library, so the others had borrowed the books they needed and they were holed up in their dorm for the afternoon—but Remus and Peter had already finished theirs, and James and Sirius wouldn't even start until the day before it was due, so they had the afternoon free.

They stopped by the Den on their way downstairs to collect the ingredients they would need, before making the long journey to the cave. Remus was feeling good. They'd made great progress the previous evening with their spell to subdue Moony if he ever broke out, or Remus didn't make it to a secure location in time to transform—both scenarios were extremely unlikely, but it would be nice to have a backup plan ready if they ever did happen. Not only that, but Peter seemed confident that his most recent formula was going to work, and the thought of not having to suffer the moonsickness every month was making his stomach squirm, though he was really trying not to get his hopes up too much.

The transfigured cauldron was right where they'd left it, gleaming bright white in the light from their wands next to the wall they'd taken the mica from to make it. James went to grab it while Sirius and Peter laid out the ingredients on the table that was still there from the Spectral Essence project. Knowing he wouldn't be of much use with his complete lack of brewing skills, Remus had brought along a project of his own and he grabbed a chair from the tent, making himself comfortable at a point close enough to talk to the others but far enough away not to be bothered by any fumes.

Once he was settled, he glanced back at his friends—they had the fire going and were all working on the preparation of the ingredients—and reached into his bag, pulling out one of the three books he would need to study, before reaching back in for a notebook, his hand settling on a black one first, but then he decided he'd rather use the blue one and he pulled that one out instead.

A few minutes later, a sizzling sound made him look up from his book on communication magic, but it was nothing to worry about. Peter had added the first ingredient to the cauldron, and he didn't look concerned about the noise. In fact, he was smiling and when he noticed Remus looking, he gave him a thumbs-up.

'It seems to be holding up well.'

Remus grinned back at him. 'That's great,' he called before turning his attention back to his book.

He was hoping to upgrade the notebooks a little. They worked wonderfully, but when the messages were urgent, writing them could take too long, and none of them really enjoyed using the telepathic link—it sometimes took a while to calm back down after making themselves anxious and it was unpleasant, to say the least. Not to mention, they were each limited to only one recipient. What he wanted was a sort of combination of the two. A way to send messages at will, to whomever they chose, as quickly as speaking, and without any need for fear.

He was deeply engrossed in a passage about transcription spells when he heard James' voice in his head shout oh fuck at exactly the same time as Peter's voice shouted, 'Run!'

He didn't hesitate for a second, immediately jumping to his feet and sprinting for the cave entrance with the sound of running footsteps behind him and a high-pitched whistling sound filling his ears. He'd rounded the first bend of the passage when the whistle became a shriek and a moment later, he was forced to cover his ears as a deafening boom came from the cave.

'Fuck,' Peter said breathlessly from beside him. 'Everyone okay?'

'Yeah,' James said, grabbing Peter's hand.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair. 'Think so.'

'I'm fine,' Remus said, accepting James' hand when he offered it, to cancel the alarm, before peering around the corner into the cave. There was still a lot of smoke, but it didn't look like anything was on fire, so it could wait. He turned back to Peter. 'What happened?'

'Cauldron reverted to its original state when I added the salamander blood, and that stuff's explosive, so…'

'So it exploded. Shit.'

'Yeah,' Peter said. 'So, either we need to actually make a cauldron from scratch the right way, or I need to find another method that doesn't involve electricity.'

Peter's words triggered a memory and Remus' mind went back to the first time he'd visited Professor Tenebris' office, thinking he was about to be punished only to find out she was a vampire who wanted to train him to survive. He'd scanned the room when he walked in, looking for anything to help explain the weird feeling he got from her, anything out of place, and he remembered one thing that had caught his attention. It was a book, innocuous enough, but odd for a teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts to own, Cauldron Making for Beginners, it was called. They could always just ask to borrow it, of course, but where was the fun in that? And Professor Tenebris always seemed impressed when they showed daring or initiative.

'You know? I think I might know where we can find step-by-step instructions on how to make a cauldron, but getting it might be dangerous.'

James and Sirius' faces lit up with identical grins, while Peter looked a little less enthused but still hopeful.

'Tell us more, Moony,' James said. 'The danger only makes it more fun.'