Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter, much to my disappointment. The Marauders are one of my favorite groups in the Harry Potter series so I just had to write about them. Remus is my favorite, so he will be the main point of view, but the others will have their time to shine. Enjoy! Please review!

Chapter 1: Nightmares Come True

"Daddy, can I come pick up Romilda with you?" a little boy asked running after his father who was putting his traveling cloak on. His father laughed.

"What kind of father would I be not to allow a little boy to help pick up his sister from school? Put your shoes on Remus and you can come," Remus looked at his bare feet.

"You lost your shoes, didn't you?" John sighed.

"I don't like shoes, Daddy," Remus whined.

"Remus, if you don't keep your shoes where you can find them, I'm going to jinx them to your feet and they will never come off again," John said sternly. Remus's jaw dropped. He dashed off. A woman walked into the hall drying off a plate. She glared at her husband.

"Don't you dare jinx his shoes to his feet, John Lupin," Emma said sternly.

"Emma, dear, you know I would never do that, but he doesn't. I'm just trying to teach him. Whatever works, I say. It worked with Romilda."

"Look, they were in my closet right where I left them!" Remus said proudly showing his parents his be-shoed feet.

"Very good sweetheart, now hurry, the train's almost here," Emma said going back into the kitchen.

"We gotta hurry, Daddy, or we'll miss Mildy!" Remus shouted pulling on his father's sleeve.

"Remus, she can't go anywhere without us. She's under age, she can't do magic, she'd have to take a taxi," John said picking up his small son.

"Mildy hates taxis." Remus said making a face.

"Exactly, that's why she'll be there," John said. He opened the front door and went out the front gate before spinning on the spot and vanishing. The two reappeared on a platform where a big red steam engine had just pulled in and was being emptied of its occupants. Remus stretched his neck to see over all the grown-ups trying to find his sister.

"She's over there!" Remus shouted as his sister, her best friend and her boyfriend got off the train. Remus struggled out of his father's arms and off down the platform to his big sister. She was laughing at something Arita said when he finally reached them.

"Mildy!" Remus shouted. Romilda turned around and smiled. She bent down and picked up her little brother in a big hug.

"How are you? You are so big I can hardly pick you up anymore!" Romilda exclaimed.

"I grew three inches!" Remus said proudly.

"Aren't you the cutest thing ever?" Arita giggled. "How old are you?"

"Six!" Remus said excitedly.

"That's right; your sister told us that on your birthday," Thorfin said.

"What an adorable little boy. Too bad he's related to that thing. He has no chance then," a haughty girl sneered at Romilda and Remus. Remus didn't know who she was, but he didn't like her. She was scary-looking.

"Shut your big mouth Black. I could say the same thing about your poor little sisters," Romilda snarled, putting Remus down.

"There is nothing wrong with my sisters," Black said angrily.

"What about the one who hangs out with Mudbloods?" Romilda asked. Remus stared at his sister in shock. She had just used a bad word. Daddy had told them to never use it.

"That's rich coming from a filthy half-blood such as yourself," the haughty girl growled.

"I'm cleaner than Tonks," Romilda pointed out.

"Like it matters, it's just a fling…a phase if you will. She'll be over him soon enough. Then Tonks and your filthy mother will be taken care of. A new regime is starting and Muggles and Mudbloods won't stand a chance," the girl hissed before she stalked off to join her equally creepy family.

"What a bitch," Arita said.

"Ari, not with Remus around!" Romilda scolded her friend.

"Sorry," Arita muttered.

"Mildy, you said a bad word too, though," Remus said quietly. Romilda looked seriously at her brother.

"Remus, you must understand that I have to talk like that around members of my House. If I didn't, I'd be eaten alive," she whispered to her brother. Remus stared at her. She had changed. He wasn't sure he liked the change. He backed away from her and ran back to his father. He could hear his sister calling after him but he didn't care. He was too frightened to care.

"Where's Romilda?" John asked.

"Saying good-bye to her friends," Remus mumbled. John looked at his son curiously.

"Remus, what happened?" John asked softly.

"Romilda said the M-word," Remus whispered. "She said she had to."

John did not look pleased. He said nothing as he stood and left Remus by the wall to fetch his wayward daughter. Remus knew he'd gotten her in trouble, but he hoped she wouldn't be too mad. He was only looking out for her.

"Daddy, stop this!" Romilda shouted. John was levitating her trunk ahead of him and he held his daughter in a vice-like grip.

"Come on Remus, we're going home now," John said holding out his free hand for the boy. Remus grabbed his dad's hand as Romilda's trunk vanished. He spun on the spot and they were home. Romilda's trunk sat on the front porch.

"Remus, tell your mother to come fetch the trunk, will you? Romilda and I need to talk," John led Romilda away from the house, most likely toward the pond that the four mansions shared. Remus dashed inside and told his mother to get the trunk. Then he kicked off his shoes, whistled for his puppy, Thor, and ran out the back door. He laughed as he and Thor ran through the tall grass toward his friend, Ricky's house. Ricky was a wizard too. His family, Remus's and the other two were all wizarding families that worked for the same company.

Remus walked up to Ricky's front door and rang the bell. Ricky's mother, Ellen, opened the door. She smiled.

"Ricky, Remus is here to play!" she called. "Come in, it'll be a moment before Ricky comes down. He's still trying to get that bird to talk," Ellen shook her head and went into the kitchen. Remus stood in the open foyer waiting. He and Ricky were the best of friends. They even went to work with their dad's on the same day because their dad's worked in the same department.

Both Mr. Lupin and Mr. Patil worked for Willie's, a large company that supplied most other companies their products. They worked specifically in the jewelry department. Making sure they were getting the real deal and not fake jewels or gold and so on.

Willie Anderson, the owner of the company, lived on the other side of Ricky and also had the biggest house in the area. Nelson, his older son at twelve thought he knew everything simply because he had gone to Hogwarts for two years. He bossed all the younger kids around, except Remus because he was afraid of Romilda. Nelson's little brother, Kelvin, was a year older than Remus, but he was a cry baby. If he didn't get his way he went to Mummy and Daddy and made things go his way. Remus didn't like him.

On the other side of the Anderson's lived the Albertson's. Mr. Albertson worked in the clothing department. He had only one eye, but no one knew why. Ricky had once said that an angry client had his owl peck it out. Remus highly doubted that. Mr. Albertson had three sons. One was fifteen and Remus hardly ever saw him. He didn't even know his name. He never came out and his brothers never spoke of him. Remus had asked Romilda about him once. Romilda said she had seen him once when she was about Remus's age and that he was trying desperately to make a stick move by magic. She hadn't seen him get Sorted at school, so she deduced that he was a Squib. Remus felt sorry for him. He couldn't imagine not getting a Hogwarts letter. That was any wizarding child's worst fear: that the letter would never come.

Remus did play with the two younger boys though. Nader was eight and full of adventures. He liked pretending they were going to far off lands and fighting off dragons and werewolves and vampires. Gregor was not like Nader. He was only three, and he was very shy. Remus tried to help him, but he didn't have much patience so more than likely he just gave up.

Ricky was the one he spent most of his time with though. Ricky was his own age. The two got on a lot better than any of the others. Both liked animals and both had a Muggle relative or two that they lived with. Ricky had a cousin who was staying with him until she could get a job in town. She had quite the shock when she found out her family were wizards and their neighbors were too.

"Okay, what are we doing today?" Ricky asked running down the stairs. Remus shrugged.

"We could train Thor," Remus suggested.

"We could…or we could go swimming in the pond," Ricky said slyly.

"Can't, Dad's yelling at Romilda down there," Remus sighed. Ricky frowned.

"She's in trouble again?" he asked. "Does she ever not get in trouble?"

Remus shrugged. "I suppose it was my fault, but who knows."

"Let's go play in my new tree house!" Ricky shouted suddenly.

"You have a tree house?" Remus asked.

"Dad and I built it while you were at the train station. It didn't take long with magic. Erica was thrilled," Erica was his cousin. Ricky often thought his cousin found the strangest things were cool.

"Okay, sounds fun," Remus agreed.

"Come in," John said when he heard a knock on his office door. The door opened and a filthy man entered. He looked like he hadn't had a proper bath in years. His nails were yellow and sharp; his teeth were yellow and cracked…even his skin seemed a bit yellow. John set down his pen looking at the man suspiciously. The man shut the door behind him and locked it. John reached for his wand.

"No need for that Mr. Lupin," the man said. "I just wanted to ensure our privacy. You see, you've been quite a nuisance the past couple of weeks."

"I don't even know you," John said. The man leered.

"Oh I think you do…and I know you. You may work for this company but I know you also work for a group who believes the Ministry isn't taking the group known as the Knights of Walpurgis seriously enough. I believe Dumbledore started the group. What is it called? Oh yes, the Order of the Phoenix."

John's eyes widened. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've never heard of this Order."

The laughed in a raspy voice. "Don't lie to me. You and a woman named Dorcas Meadows have been hunting down members of my pack for weeks."

John felt himself pale. "You're a…"

"A werewolf, yes very good Mr. Lupin," the man said sarcastically. "My name is Fenrir Greyback. Ah, so you've heard of me."

John was on his feet, his wand in hand. Greyback laughed again.

"I'm giving you one chance: leave my pack alone. You do this and I won't kill you."

"I'd like to see you try," John spat.

"Be careful where you tread, Lupin," Greyback said picking up one of the photos sitting on John's desk. "You may be willing to give your life but I may just target your little family."

"You should leave before I call security."

Greyback set the picture down but didn't leave.

"I'm warning you, we have very skilled security wizards on the premises…"

"I'm sure you do but that doesn't change my request. Leave my pack alone."

"Only if your pack leaves innocent people alone and somehow I don't think that's going to happen. Dangerous half-breeds need to be controlled."

"I'm afraid you have crossed a very dangerous line, Mr. Lupin," Greyback whispered clearly angered from the last statement.

"I beg your pardon?" John asked incredulously. Greyback picked up a photo of John's kids from the desk.

"What a sweet girl…and such a precious little boy, you wouldn't want to see them get hurt, would you?" Greyback asked. John snatched the photo away and placed it back where it belonged. He hit a button on his desk.

"Security to the second floor. We have a half-breed up here attempting a business scam and threatening the life of an employee," John spoke sharply.

"Coming," came a voice. Greyback laughed.

"You've been warned Lupin. I've taken a liking to that little boy. I'd keep him inside from now on…" he headed for the door. "…or you may find a monster under your roof."

"Okay, behave you two. I don't want to come back and find my office in shambles," Mr. Patil said. Ricky and Remus nodded enthusiastically. They were playing with their stuffed animals under the lunch table in Mr. Patil's office at work. Remus had a Chinese Fireball and a hippogriff in his hands. Ricky had a unicorn and a griffin. The two were making quite a lot of noise and Mr. Patil had finally had enough. He had decided to go and get the boys some food so that maybe he could have some peace and quiet.

Mr. Patil walked down the hall only to stop at the sound of shouting. It was coming from Mr. Lupin's room. Mr. Patil was about to go past when the door opened and a very filthy man was thrown bodily out of Lupin's office.

"I told you already. We don't do business with people like you. I don't know why you keep coming to me, but this is the last time I'm telling you to leave. Next time it'll be Azkaban!" John shouted. The man stood and looked Lupin straight in the eye.

"You must really hate your children, Mr. Lupin. I've given you several chances to do what I ask, but still you refuse. Consider yourself an outsider in society," The man walked past Patil and trudged down the hall and around the corner.

"Stay the hell away from my family you bastard!" John called after the man. He was breathing heavily when he realized that Devin was there. "Sorry you had to hear that," he apologized.

"That's the werewolf that keeps giving you problems, isn't it?" Devin asked.

"Yes, and he's becoming a real nuisance. He seems to think I'm part of some secret group hunting werewolves and then he tells me that his boss wants to know my stand on Muggles and Muggle-borns as if that has anything to do with anything! Now he's threatening my children because I'm pro-Muggle," John said in exasperation.

"He has no right to do that. You should take it to the Ministry. He's breaking the law just being here…" he stopped, his face showing his dawning horror.

"Devin?" John asked in concern.

"The children…I brought them with me and he just went past my…"

John didn't even wait. He dashed off.

"Well, what sweet little children."

Remus and Ricky looked up. There was an ugly, dirty man standing in the doorway wearing what he must have thought was a friendly smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Who are you?" Ricky asked suspiciously.

"No, Ricky, we're not supposed to talk to strangers!" Remus said quickly. Ricky ignored his friend.

"I'm Fen, just Fen. Do your daddies work here?" he asked. Remus said nothing. He didn't like this man. He didn't like him at all. Ricky didn't seem to feel as frightened.

"Yes, both of our daddies work here. Mine works here and Remus's daddy works down the hall," he said. The man smiled in a way that made the hairs on Remus's neck stand up.

"Are you Mr. Lupin's son?" he asked with an unmistakable leer. Ricky must have been really dense, because he continued to talk.

"Yes, he is Mr. Lupin's son. His only son."

Remus shirked away as the man looked hungrily at him. The corners of his mouth were watering. Remus stood up.

"I think I hear my daddy calling me," he said dashing out of the room. He ran down the hall in a blind panic until he came in contact with something rather hard.

"Remus, are you okay?" John asked. His son said nothing, he just clung to him. Devin ran past him and into his office.

"He's not here," Devin said. John glared. He looked down at Remus.

"Son, did a man come and talk to you?" he asked gently. Remus nodded. John noticed that Remus was crying.

"Did you talk to him? Tell him anything like your name?" John asked. Remus shook his head.

"But he did," Remus pointed at Ricky. Ricky looked at his dad. Devin looked angry.

"Richard Charles Patil, what did I tell you about talking to strangers? You are going home and you are not to leave your room for anything but the bathroom and meals, understand?" Devin asked. Ricky nodded glumly.

"Come on Remus, let's go home," John said picking up Remus and Flooing home.

Remus ate the last piece of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich and began to lick the peanut butter off his pudgy fingers. Romilda took his plate and stuck it in the sink. She kept looking out the window as if waiting for something.

"Romilda, your father and I are going to the market. Can you handle Remus?" Emma asked as she checked her purse for her wallet.

"I would think so, he's only six," Romilda said a bit miffed. Emma looked curiously at her daughter.

"No friends over while we're gone, we'll be back in an hour or so," She kissed Remus and Romilda on the cheek and left the room. Once the car's engine had faded away, Romilda smiled. She got up from the windowsill and went to the back door.

"Hey stranger, sorry it took so long, I didn't think they'd ever leave," Romilda kissed Thorfin thoroughly. Remus made a face.

"Get a room," he said copying what he'd heard older kids say to each other. Romilda looked grumpily at him.

"It's time for bed, Remus," she said. Remus stared at her.

"It's not even dark! Mummy and Daddy let me stay up until it's dark!" he argued. Romilda glared at him.

"Who's in charge here? Go to bed!"

"I want to play outside!"

"BED!"

Remus glared but didn't argue anymore. He trudged angrily toward the stairs. Romilda and Thorfin passed him on their way to the sitting room where they shut the door. Remus paused. He tiptoed over to the door and cracked it a bit.

"So, I was thinking I'd sneak in later tonight and we could charm your room like we did two nights ago," he heard Thorfin say. Romilda giggled.

"They still have no idea that I'm not their innocent little girl. They are so naïve."

"Wait until they find out your plans after graduation…"

Whatever her plans were, Remus didn't hear. He was disgusted. His sister was letting that boy into her room at night? That couldn't be good. He knew his parents would be angry. He was about to go upstairs when he saw the back door was still wide open. He went to go close it, but got distracted. Thor had gotten out and bounding into the night. Knowing his dog's awful sense of direction, Remus followed him. Soon he reached the edge of the woods.

"Thor? Where are you boy?" he asked.

A bark sounded from the woods. Remus hesitated. He wasn't supposed to wander in there without his parents. On the other hand he didn't want to lose his dog. He carefully walked into the woods. The further in he went, the darker it got. He eventually made it to a clearing. Thor wasn't there. The man he had seen at his father's office was. Remus stumbled back. The man leered.

"Silly little boy, didn't your parents ever tell you it's dangerous to be out on the night of a full moon?" the man laughed. He looked up and Remus followed his gaze. The moon was coming out from behind a cloud right above them. Remus looked at the man as he continued to laugh. Remus gasped. He was changing. Fur was sprouting all over the man's body as he howled in pain. His face elongated into a snout and his hands and feet turned into paws. Remus screamed and bolted. He wasn't going to let the werewolf get him. Just as he thought he'd gotten away, he heard a series of howls. There was more than one.

Panicked, Remus hid in a deep hollow tree. There was no way he could outrun a pack of werewolves. He could hear them sniffing him out. Remus held his breath as it seemed to fade away. Just as he thought he might be safe, a snout found its way to him and growled. Remus screamed.

Romilda ripped her mouth away from Thorfin's. She sat bolt upright. Thorfin looked at her curiously.

"Did you hear that?" she asked quietly, still listening.

"Hear what, Romilda?" Thorfin asked confused.

"A scream," Romilda whispered. "I better check on my brother," she said suddenly, getting off Thorfin and putting her top back on. She was about to dash up the stairs when she saw moonlight drifting in through the open backdoor. She gasped. She ran to the door.

"Remus!" she shouted. There was no response. She grabbed her wand from the kitchen table and proceeded to leave. Thorfin grabbed her wrist.

"Where are you going? You sent him to bed," he said reasonably.

"You know as well as I do he didn't listen. He went outside, the door was wide open!" she was on the brink of hysteria. If something happened to her little brother, she'd be in so much trouble.

"He's not in trouble," Thorfin insisted.

"Why are you preventing me from helping my brother?" Romilda asked.

"Your father is a disgrace to the wizarding world. He's being punished," At that pronouncement, a vicious howl came their way followed by a terrified scream. Romilda suddenly understood. Thorfin was a distraction. Remus was a target in some dreadful scheme to get back at her father and she had fallen for the trap. She spat in Thorfin's face before struggling free and running toward the woods.

"Consider us through you jackass! You and Bellatrix will make a lovely couple!" She disappeared. Thorfin smiled cunningly. He locked the back door and shut it. He lifted up the carpet and picked up the spare key, flinging it far from the door. He chuckled and went around to the front to repeat the process before he Disapparated.

Romilda ran until she reached the clearing before the creek. There were four werewolves trying to pry open a hollow tree. She could barely make out Remus scrunched up inside looking more terrified than she had ever seen him. Romilda picked up a pebble and threw it hard at the nearest wolf. It yelped and turned around. So did the other three.

"Remus, run home and write to Mum and Dad! Stay inside, shut the door behind you!" Romilda ordered.

"What about you?" Remus asked.

"Don't worry about me! I have a wand, I'll be okay," She was lying and she hoped he didn't know that. She was never going to see her sweet, innocent little brother again.

"Remus, I want you to know that I'm sorry. I've been horrible to you ever since we got home. I hope you forgive me. I love you."

"I love you too, but why are you telling me this?" Remus asked.

"Run!" Romilda dashed away and four werewolves bounded after her. Remus was taken aback but he heeded his sister's final wishes. He made a mad dash for his house. Once he made it there, he tried frantically to open the door. It was locked. Remus bent down to look for the spare key, but it was gone. Remus froze. There was snarl and he was thrown into the back door. The fourth werewolf hadn't followed Romilda. Remus tried to get up but the werewolf pinned him down. Remus whimpered and tried to kick the wolf, but it dodged and sunk its teeth deep into his left shoulder. Remus screamed.

It was not like being bitten by Thor. This was a hundred times worse. He could feel the warm blood trickling down his arm. He could feel all of the monster's teeth sinking deep into his flesh. He could smell its rancid breath. It felt like a thousand tiny needles were injecting him with some sort of lethal disease. Then, he passed out.

"John, change the station, I don't like this song," Emma complained as another song from the Troggs came on.

"Okay…" he didn't though. He was distracted by the lights coming from their driveway. "What in the world…" He parked the car and hopped out. Emma didn't seem to realize they'd stopped. She was busy fixing her knitting. John walked up to the nearest group of people.

"What's going on here?" John asked. A tall man looked at him.

"I'm sorry, Sir. We're not at liberty to tell you. This is a crime scene," the man said importantly.

"Crime scene? This is my home! Where are my children?" John was panicking. If something had happened to them…what would Emma say?

"Are you John Lupin?" the woman in the group asked.

"Yes, where are my kids?"

"Your son is at the Patils home getting his minor injuries healed."

"Minor?" John yelped. "You mean he's been seriously hurt?"

"We're not sure, the healer wouldn't say. We have yet to find your daughter," the woman explained sympathetically.

"John, what in the world is going on?" Emma asked as she approached them.

"Mrs. Lupin?" the other man asked. He resembled a lion. Emma nodded.

"Your house was under attack. Your neighbors reported that they heard screaming and howling."

"Oh no…" John said horror dawning on him. "No, no, no, no, no…" He suddenly dashed off toward the Patils mansion. Dear Merlin, if Remus was…no, he wouldn't think like that. It wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be Remus was fine, he just had a run in with a pack of ordinary wolves. He knocked on the door. Ellen opened the door.

"John! Oh, I'm so sorry! He's in the lounge with the healer," she said quickly leading John to the lounge. When he entered, he had to stifle a gasp. His little boy was covered in blood. The healer looked up and smiled sadly.

"Are you the boy's father?" she asked softly. John nodded unable to speak. He walked over to the couch his son was laying down on. He seemed to be sleeping.

"I gave him a Sleeping Draught so that I could heal him without hurting him," the healer explained. John gently touched his son's bloodied cheek.

"Is this all his?" he whispered. The healer nodded.

"I'm sorry, but there's not much more I can do but clear the blood away. He'll have that scar the rest of his life."

John didn't know what she was talking about. Then he realized that Remus wasn't wearing a shirt. There was a horrible scar on his left shoulder that unmistakably belonged to teeth. He stifled a sob. This couldn't be happening. Remus didn't deserve this. He was much too young to bear this. Maybe he would wake up and it would all be a horrible nightmare.

"I must warn you, Sir, transformations at his age generally kill them. Their little bodies can't handle the abusive change. It might be better to put him down now," the healer said sadly. John looked at her incredulously. Remus was his son, not an animal with rabies. How dare she talk about him like that!

"Excuse me? This is a little boy we are discussing, not some animal. Would you kill your child?" John asked in a dangerous voice that frightened the healer. He ignored the fact that when he had woken up this morning he would have said the same thing.

"No, of course not, but it is not as cruel as making him go through a painful transformation once a month just to become an animal!" the healer defended herself.

"Get out. I don't want you tending to my son anymore. Leave and never come back," John demanded. The healer frowned, but said nothing as she gathered her thinks and left. Ellen entered a little later.

"You should just listen to her, John. You don't need this," she said quietly. John glared at her.

"If this were Ricky, would you kill him?" he asked.

"If it meant he wouldn't have to suffer and be shunned by society, yes," Ellen said. John frowned. He gently picked up his son and left without another word. He was able to get into his house without much difficulty. He put Remus on the sofa and went back outside just as a young auror appeared carrying something small in his hand.

"Mr. Scrimgeour, we found something," he said holding out the item to the lion man. Scrimgeour looked at John.

"Does this look familiar?" he asked handing a necklace to him. John's lip trembled. It was the necklace that he and Emma hadn't gotten Romilda for Christmas the year before.

"It's Romilda's," he finally managed. The young auror suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Well?" Scrimgeour asked impatiently. "Where did you find it?"

"By the lake, Sir. With a pile of…" he trailed off looking at John. The world seemed to fall apart. It went completely black. All his nightmares were coming true.