Author's notes: Hi peeps, this is my first attempt at writing and English isn't my first language, so please forgive my habit of using too many commas hehehe
Disclaimer: As you know, the world of Harry Potter and its characters belongs to JKR, the plot is mine, and a few other characters.


"Great Godric!" someone said loudly, and Sirius awoke with a start. He'd been falling asleep over his corn cereal at the Gryffindor table.

"What is it?" he asked, and Frank Longbottom passed the Prophet to him.

Sirius took one look at it and mumbled, "Whoa."

"What?" asked Peter, and Sirius showed them the article. On the front page of the Daily Prophet, there were some Ministry members holding up a large black and white photo of a vicious looking man snarling at the camera, above which, the headlines read, 'GREYBACK STRIKES AGAIN-Panic in Crawley.'

James's eyes widened as he took the paper and read it out loud.
"On Wednesday, the neighbourhood of Bluebridge, Crawley, was terrified to a degree of panic when the bodies of three young girls were discovered in the early hours of the morning. The girls, now identified as Melissa, Meryl and Molly Allerton of 31, Garrick lane, Bluebridge, were found in a public park, savaged to death by a werewolf. The theory primarily formed by the Magical Law Enforcement squad who had arrived at the scene, was that the unfortunate victims had first been killed in their own back garden, then dragged all the way to the park. There were some marks of blood observable in the victims' back garden. The bodies were discovered by a muggle by the name of Arnie Bellom of 34, Garrick Lane, on his morning walk-"

"Wait, how do they know it's a werewolf?" asked Peter, and James skipped to the gory details.

"Melissa, Meryl and Molly were only nine years old, and...blah blah blah… bloody paw prints the size of a werewolf...teeth marks on the victims...the way the muscles and tendons were ripped out of the shoulder and back of two of the girls..some parts missing, most likely ingested..." James read out, shuddering involuntarily. "...all clearly suggest the work of a vicious werewolf. This, coming within exactly a month of the discovery of the bodies of Terry Everleigh and Anna Barris - not to mention the fact that the girls' bodies were found just a short distance from the location where Everleigh's and Barris' bodies had been found, caused even the muggles in the area to speculate that something paranormal or occult-ish maybe occurring in Bluebridge...a man with features similar to prior descriptions of the werewolf, Greyback, sighted around the area during the past few weeks confirms…"

"Wait a second, I've heard of this Greyback!" exclaimed Sirius, suddenly remembering.

"Yeah, me too! Apparently he's so ruthless and bloodthirsty that he kills and eats people even when he isn't transformed!" said Frank, taking the newspaper back.

James and Peter were shocked. "Those poor girls," said James sadly, and the others nodded.

"It's these kind of people who give werewolves a bad name!" said Alice Finbok crossly, and the Marauders exchanged looks.

"Yeah, not all werewolves are like Greyback," said James, and Alice and Frank nodded.

The entire school was talking of nothing but the werewolf attacks, and the Marauders worried about Remus. He'd just been discharged from the Hospital Wing that morning, and he said he would skip breakfast and meet them directly at their first class, Transfiguration.

"We can't let Moony know about this," said James to the other two, as they walked through the secret passage from the Entrance Hall to the -fig corridor.

"It's sure to drive him off the deep end, remember what happened after the lesson on werewolves in our second year? He didn't speak to anyone for days," said Sirius, nodding.

"Yeah, it was terrifying when he broke that bedpost!" said Peter, and Sirius chuckled fondly at the memory. "But how?" continued Peter dolefully. "How do we prevent him from finding out? The whole school's talking about this. He's bound to find out sooner or later."

When they reached the Transfiguration corridor, Remus was waiting for them outside the classroom, and he waved cheerily at them as they approached. He sensed their fear and protectiveness as they got nearer and smiled reassuringly at them. "Madam Pomfrey says I'm all good. According to her, I can run a marathon now," he joked and they laughed.

"Yeah, let's just get through the day first," Peter said then, avoiding his eye, and Remus saw the other two glance at Peter briefly, and wondered what was up.

The professor opened the door and everyone filed in. The class was exciting as usual, and due to Professor McGonagall's strict nature, no one mentioned Greyback at all. It was the same through Defence against the Dark Arts, but the three Marauders were nervous as they walked down to the dungeons for Potions. They had Potions with the Slytherins, and Professor Slughorn always indulged them instead of telling them off. They were sure to bring up the topic. As expected, halfway through class, some of the Slytherins were whispering together and James thought he saw a copy of the Prophet change hands. He and Peter exchanged resigned looks.

"What is going on there? Gladstone, Altham? What is that you're holding?" asked the Professor. James saw Sirius turn and look past Remus worriedly in the direction of the Slytherins.

"It's just today's Prophet, Sir," said Brent Altham, politely handing it over to the teacher, but he waved it away.

"Keep it, Keep it. I understand that today's news has got everyone on edge, it's alright," he told them. Remus looked at Sirius curiously, but before he could reply, someone asked the professor to elaborate. "Another attack by Fenrir Greyback. He is one of the most vicious and monstrous werewolves alive today. He….he attacks only children. Most of these children die, but if they live, they of course, become werewolves just like him!" said the Professor savagely.

Sirius nervously glanced at Remus again, who was mouthing the word 'Greyback' to himself, while staring at the professor.

"Why hasn't he been captured and put down, Sir?" asked Altham eagerly.

"He's very clever, and eludes capture every time. The last time he was arrested, he pretended to be a Muggle tramp. By the time the Ministry officials realised who he was, they'd already let him go," the Professor explained.

"So he's just gonna keeping killing people or turning them, and no one's gonna do anything about it?!" asked Frank, horrified.

"Well as the article says, the MLE are onto it, but Greyback must be long gone by now, they won't find him," the professor said with a certainty that Remus felt, reeked of hatred.

He turned to look at Sirius and saw that Sirius was adding moonstone powder to Remus's cauldron using a tiny bronze spoon. "Thanks," he said. "I literally forgot we were still brewing…" Sirius nodded and smiled.

The questions continued about Greyback, and slowly the topic expanded to werewolves in general, to whether they should be allowed things, whether they were beast or human, etc. Remus went back to his potion, but the Marauders knew he was listening hard. He couldn't help it.

"Sir, what is your opinion on werewolves?" Remus heard Severus Snape ask.

"Personally, I dislike the beasts in general. But Greyback? He should be put down as soon as possible," Slughorn replied.

"Why not put all the werewolves down, Sir?" asked a boy in the back. Some students exclaimed.

"What's that fuckwit's name again?" Remus heard Sirius ask James and Peter.

"Walden Macnair. I once saw him kill five bramblings for fun," said Peter.

"That bastard will kill anything that moves!" muttered James through gritted teeth.

"Now now, Macnair, to go to such an extent is unthinkable. We want Greyback put down because he has attacked children!" Slughorn said.

"Macnair should be put down!" Alice whispered vehemently to Frank, who nodded at her.

The Marauders smiled at each other. "Maybe Alice has a relative who's a werewolf," Remus whispered to the other Marauders, they nodded.

"Are you saying that's it's okay if a werewolf attacks an adult?" asked Snape immediately, and the class started whispering to each other.

"No, no, my boy, that's not what I'm saying!" Slughorn explained hastily. He didn't want the class to get the wrong impression of him. "What I mean is, there are some werewolves who have never attacked anyone, their families take proper precautions, you know."

"You mean they've never had a chance to attack, otherwise they would've," said Snape, satisfied.

"Er, yes I would assume so," said Slughorn.

"No they wouldn't!" said Alice loudly. "There are many werewolves who don't want to attack anyone! They take precautions themselves for the full moon!"

Some Slytherins in the back tables made chicken noises, 'Bok Bok bok!' and everyone laughed, including many Gryffindors. Alice's last name was Finbok, and it was a constant source of amusement for the Slytherins. She was used to it, but now it felt like everything she'd just said had been ignored and invalidated, and she fumed. Her boyfriend patted her arm comfortingly.

Slughorn realised that things were escalating. "Er, Ms..er.. Please continue with your-" he tried.

"But Greyback likes eating children even when it's not a full moon!" Clarice Gladstone said loudly to Alice.

"I'm not talking about Greyback!" she yelled.

"If Greyback is a cannibal, we can assume that all werewolves are!" said Macnair.

"They are not!" Remus heard himself yell.

"How do you know? They're all dangerous!" Macnair yelled back.

But before Remus or Alice or anyone could reply, Slughorn yelled, "Enough! Anyone who has anything else to add to this discussion can do so after class! Now please continue with your brewing!"

The other students hastily went back to their cauldrons. Remus felt a hand on his own as he tried to steady his breathing, and turned to look at it's owner's face.

"Are you alright?" asked Sirius.

Remus rolled his eyes. What do you expect?
"Peachy," he replied sarcastically and quickly lowered the flame under his bubbling cauldron. Sirius made an exasperated face. He'd only been trying to help.

"Can I borrow your textbook?" he asked Sirius.

Sirius wordlessly handed him the book. It said he was supposed to mix it clockwise and add chicken spleen. He started mixing it clockwise.

"Moony, are you okay?" he heard James ask quietly after a while, poking his back.

Remus sighed. "I'm fine," said Remus, adding the chicken spleen. It was supposed to simmer for a minute, so he turned around to face James and Peter. "I swear I'm not a cannibal," he said, attempting a grin, and the others chuckled. "Don't worry, boys. I'm used to it now. I hear it all the time. I can't educate them all, but I'm not going to wallow in misery because of it," he added, and James and Peter nodded.

Remus turned back to his potion. He added some more ingredients and looked up to find Lily staring at him. She turned away as soon as he spotted her, and it made him nervous. Did she hear me? Of course not, she doesn't have furry little hearing!

"What?" asked Sirius, he had been observing his expression.

"Evans just looked at me oddly, but I don't want to be paranoid. It's probably nothing," Remus said, trying to sound casual.

"I don't think it's nothing, you just yelled at Macnair. You supported her friend," Sirius told Remus, but he could see that Remus was only half-listening. "What is it?" he asked Remus again.

"This name... Greyback. It sounds very familiar for some reason," murmured Remus. He thought back to his childhood, Greyback had been mentioned sometime by someone.

"He's been in the papers a few times. My family are always talking about these things. They love scandals of all sorts, unless of course, it's one of their own," said Sirius, remembering what happened with his cousin, Andromeda.

Remus glanced at Sirius sideways. "I can imagine," he said drily. He knew exactly what these old Pureblood families thought of half-breeds such as vampires and werewolves i.e, less than human, so he knew how the discussions would go. Often, people gossip about other people so easily, never thinking about how devastating these things were to the people who actually experienced them.

Sirius looked guilty. That was obviously the wrong thing to say.
He wanted to explain properly what he had meant, but suddenly, Remus's potion started smoking. "Shit!" he said instead. "What did you do, Remus?"

"Ugh!" said Remus. He was distracted.

"Did you add the stag beetle eyes?" asked Sirius quickly checking the recipe.

"Er... yes!" Remus replied.

"The dried fig?"

"Um, no. Bollocks!" said Remus, as they spotted Slughorn approaching.

"What happened?" he asked them exasperatedly. Remus was perpetually terrible at potion brewing.

"I forgot the fig, sir," Remus told him sheepishly.

Slughorn sighed. "Add double the amount of fig, plus two fig leaves, they're in the store. Go, get them quick!" he said and Remus jumped up quickly, then almost lost his balance and Sirius grabbed his arm to steady him. Remus glanced at him in thanks and walked to the store, all the while, feeling the Marauders' eyes on him, as well as Lily's. He quickly found the leaves and stepped out of the store again and closed the door. He turned to walk back to his seat, and he saw Lily watching him again. He walked directly up to her and asked, "What?"

She was surprised. "I just think it's nice that you supported Alice," she said and smiled up at him.

"Oh. Yeah, couldn't help myself," he said and smiled back.

"You know, I like to think of myself as good at potions, I could help you prepare for it, if you'd like," she offered.

Remus smiled. "I'd like that very much! Thank you!" he said.

"Mr. Lupin, what are you doing?! Fig leaves! Now!" Slughorn shouted, and Remus jumped. He saw Slughorn glaring at him, and the Marauders watching him curiously, and hurried back and added the leaves to his potion.

"Good, now keep stirring clockwise till you get a lighter shade of pink, then follow the rest of the instructions as usual," Slughorn told him. "Properly this time," he added, wagging his finger at Remus. Remus nodded at him and the professor walked away to inspect the next row. He looked up and saw Lily grinning at him, and he smiled back.

"Excuse me, what's happening here?" asked Sirius indignantly, looking between him and Lily.

"Yeah, what did Evans want? Why is she smiling at you?" asked James from behind him.

Remus chuckled and half turned in his seat. "Evans offered to help me study for Potions," he told them, and Peter's jaw dropped.

"Wow, she's so nice!" said James, looking over at Lily.

"Either one of us could have helped you with Potions," said Sirius crossly, pointing at James and himself.

Remus turned back to his cauldron and grabbed Sirius' textbook again to check the next set of instructions. "Yes, but she offered, you didn't," he said.

He heard James and Peter chuckle, but Sirius said nothing. He just roughly snatched his book back, but the book had metal filigree corners and it scratched Remus' hand.

"Ow!" said Remus, blowing on his ring finger. It was bleeding, but not too much.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry," said Sirius, taking his hand and examining the cut.

"It's fine, it doesn't hurt really," Remus assured him, taking his hand back. He looked at his cut for a moment, and then put his finger in his mouth.

"Don't!" said Sirius and Remus froze with the finger still in his mouth. Then he quickly removed it.

"I'm not a cannibal, I swear!" he said again hurriedly, trying to ignore the fact that he actually liked the taste of the blood, even though it was his own.
Maybe I am a cannibal and I just don't know it yet...

"It's not that, Moony, you've been handling all these nasty ingredients, that's why I said 'don't'," he explained.

"Oh... right," Remus said, relaxing a little.

Sirius nodded, but he felt a little ashamed at the way he was behaving this morning. He didn't think he was being a very supportive friend, it looked like everything he wanted to say or do was coming out wrong, and he didn't know why.

Then Remus suddenly remembered where he had heard the name 'Greyback' before. "It was around the time I was bitten, dad had come home frustrated with a case…" his voice trailed away.

"Huh?" asked Sirius, and he looked around at the other two, they leaned in to listen.

"The case my dad was talking about… what if it's the same case Slughorn mentioned about Greyback pretending to be a tramp?" said Remus, his potion forgotten again. Sirius hurriedly read the recipe and added some ingredients to both their potions.

"So what?" asked Peter.

"He was on that case!" Remus whispered, and Peter suddenly got it.

"You don't think…" Peter began, but couldn't go on. Remus looked back at him with the most distressed face.

"What? What are you saying?" James asked Peter, but Peter covered his mouth with both hands in shock and stared at Remus. Sirius didn't understand either, and he was too busy handling both the potions to ask them anything.

Peter and Remus remained silent for the rest of the class, and when the bell rang, signalling lunchtime, Peter went up to the professor and asked him something, the Marauders watched as the Professor replied, and he nodded and walked back. They packed their stuff up and then followed the flow of students to the Great Hall.

"He said Hogwarts doesn't have old Prophets," Peter told Remus, who nodded.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," agreed James.

Peter sighed. "Remus thinks his father may have been on one of Greyback's trials back in the day... you know, when..." he said, raising his eyebrows.

"Merlin!" whispered James, and it sounded like an unfeigned prayer. Remus glanced at him and swallowed fearfully.