The forenoon air was still just a pale yellow but starting to warm with the promise of summer sun as they stumbled through the streets of Hogsmeade in a happy dissarray. Sirius was trying out the Blistering Burdocks which he'd just purchased at Zonko's by flicking them at Peter who was trying to hide behind James.

The messy-haired boy just laughed at the two, trying to eat his triple-chocolate ice cream that was melting on his fingers and making them sticky. He already knew that the Burdocks' effects were painless and easily reversed. Peter however didn't, so the boy looked every bit the panicky rat he turned into, dodging and scampering around James as the other black-haired boy did his best to hit him in the face.

"How can you laugh, Jim?!" Peter squeaked, covering behind James which was quite hard as he was both taller and wider than the other boy. "I've seen the blisters those make, and you're on the line of fire too!"

"Oh, Jimmy here is immune", Sirius panted, his long black hair flying around him in crazy swirls as he bombarded the light-haired boy. "We used the same spell on both of us so we could handle them easily."

Peter obviously believed the lie, grunted in panic and almost pushed James over by grabbing him by the shoulders and shoving him between himself and Sirius. The ice cream fell from it's cone in the prosess.

"Hey! That's my favorite flavor!" the Seeker cried out and was turning to play-fight the others when something caught his eye in the alley they were just about to pass. He didn't have his glasses on so he squinted, then turned to the other two who where scuffling. Sirius was trying to push Burdocks down Peter's shirt, the other boy shrieking in horror.

"Hey, can you see what that is?"

"What?" Sirius left Peter alone as soon as he heard James call - it was always like that.

"Down the alley, leaning against the wall next to the garbage cans", James continued, pointing.

Peter joined them, straightening his shirt and running a hand through his sandy hair.

"Looks like some dirty rags to me", Sirius shrugged and started turning away, but James grabbed him by the arm.

"I think that's a person. They might be hurt."

"More likely a drunk or a homeless person" Peter muttered uncomfortably.

He was always happier to walk past possible trouble, although he didn't manage that very often because of Sirius and James' constant thirst for mischief.

"Honestly, Prongs, let's get something to drink, I'm dying here", Sirius moaned.

He pulled himself out of the other boy's grasp, turning away and taking a few strides, than turning back impatiently when he wasn't immediately followed by the other two. He was obviously annoyed as he saw James enter and walk slowly further down the alley.

The air in the alleyway was thick with the smell of dust and garbage cans. The rays of sunshine didn't reach the ground, which made it seem like he'd walked into a cave or a forest. James carefully closed in on the shape on the ground. He was still quite far away but saw it was a smallish person in a dirty sweater and jeans, slumped against the wall with their face hidden by the hood of his shirt and waves of medium brown hair.

"Hey, are you all right?" James asked in a loud voice. "Hey you, can you hear me?"

The figure didn't react, so the animagus inched closer, followed by Sirius and Peter a few meters behind. He looked at the mud flecking the gray college shirt and light blue jeans - despite the dirt the clothes seemed pretty new. The figure, a boy he was pretty sure, wasn't wearing any shoes on his pale, muddy feet.

Something felt very wrong here, and a brooding silence filled the alley. The messy-haired boy gathered his courage and kneeled before the figure to shake him, but he froze in shock as he saw the boy's face.

"What's the matter?" Sirius whispered - even he was getting weirded out by the situation.

"I-it's Remus!" James finally managed to gasp, and in and instant Sirius was by his side, pushing him aside and shaking their friend frantically.

"Remus!" Sirius demanded, half panicked, half angry. "Moony, wake up for fuck's sake!"

For a while the werewolf looked like a rag doll, his head flopping from side to side and arms slumping against the dirty ground again and again, but then he lifted his hands and started whimpering and pushing Sirius away. The long-haired teen immediately stopped the shaking but didn't let go of his friends shoulder's. Remus gazed at the shocked trio, looking confused. He's face had a few bruises and cuts on it, and his upper lip was split.

Sirius was once again the first to get his voice back.

"Moony, what the fuck happened to you?"

"I-", Remus croaked, then cleared his throat for a bit, glancing away from them. "I think I got mugged."

James and Sirius looked at each other and frowned - Remus had always been a terrible liar, and he was showing clear signs.

"Weren't you supposed to be in France?" Peter piped in, making Remus stare at the ground more intently, clearly thinking of another lie.

"Never mind that, we need to get him indoors", Sirius snapped. "Prongs, let's get Remus to your place with the port key."

James nodded in agreement but the werewolf looked panicked.

"No, I'll be fine now!" he said, a little too quickly. "I'll get home alright and -"

His sentence was cut short by a groan of pain when he tried to get up from the alley floor.

"Port key it is", James said emphatically.

He and Sirius grabbed Remus by his arms, slowly lifting him to his unsteady feet.

"Peter, get the key from my right pocket. It's the small rubber duck. Don't squeeze it, that's what activates it!" the Seeker ordered.

Peter did as he was told, which was a bit awkward as he had to push his hand between Remus and James and then into the pocket of the latter's rather tight jeans. He managed the job anyway, and gave the duck to James.

"I-I'll just get home and inform your parents, Moony", the rat animagus suggested in a slightly unsure voice.

Remus leaned heavily against Sirius but managed to lift his head with amazingly quickly at this.

"No. My parents aren't home yet."

"Oh", the blonde boy said, a bit taken aback.

"Just fuck off Pete, we'll call you if we need anything", Sirius snapped in his usual considerate manner.

With that Peter flipped him the finger and was stomping off away from the alley, probably to floo himself home from some nearby cafe. James tried to throw him an apologetic smile but wasn't sure if the blond boy saw this.

"Let's get you out of here", James muttered and squeezed the duck.

They'd managed to get Remus to James' bedroom and bed with some difficulty - despite his assurances that he'd be fine on his own the werewolf couldn't even stay upright properly. Sirius was cursing the people who'd done this to his friend, and demanding to know what they had looked like so he could 'find them and rip their throats out'. It was typical Sirius, but James was being more observant and saw that Remus wasn't keeping his mouth shut just because of the pain.

"Did you recognize them?" Sirius demanded for the umpteenth time. "I swear I'll kill them, no-one touches a friend of a Black, no one -"

James saw Remus squeeze his eyes shut and his cracked lips move silently - he was making a list of something, a clear sign of him being distressed and wanting to escape the situation.

"Could the young master Black come off his high horse for a while and assess the situation with some real insight?" he mocked.

Sirius flipped him the bird but ceased his pacing and ranting.

"Could you go get the small blue vial from the medical cabinet in my parents' bathroom?" the messy-haired boy continued more sedately.

Sirius strode out of the room without a word, his long black hair billowing behind him. He was truly a man on a mission, he always was, be it a kitchen raid or saving his friend from an alley.

Remus's lips had stopped moving when James looked at him again. In the sunny room his bruises looked even starker. The dried mud was starting to rub on his Quidditch themed bedspread.

"We have to get you out of those clothes", he told the other boy who immediately opened his eyes and shook his head.

"No! Not while -"

"Remus, you're getting dirt everywhere and -"

"PRONGS! I found the vial! It's EMPTY!" Sirius suddenly bellowed, like he was at the far end of Grimmauld Place and not two doors down the hall.

"OKAY!" James answered just as loudly, just to annoy him. "GO – TO – THE – APO-THE-CA-RY! THERE – IS – A – PRESCRIPTION CHARM – ON - THE - BOTTLE! THEY SHOULD FILL IT AUTOMATICALLY!"

What he said wasn't true, but he needed some time alone with Remus so the werewolf could relax and maybe even open up a bit.

"OKAY!" Sirius yelled and then quick thumps could be heard going down the stairs. A 'swoosh' followed shortly, telling them the boy had flooed himself away from the living room.

James turned back to Remus, who had his eyes closed and was again muttering under his breath.

"Are you in a lot of pain?"

Remus didn't answer, but ceased his muttering and opened his eyes. James sat down next to him. He saw tears glimmer in the green-brown.

"You weren't mugged, were you?" No answer. "Was it a hate crime? Did someone find out you're a werewolf?"

No answer still, but James was sure he'd guessed right, so he decided not to pressure anymore. He absentmindedly scraped some mud of Remus' sweater with his fingernail.

"We really have to get these off you. I'll borrow you mine, were about the same built."

Remus still didn't say anything. He actually seemed as lifeless as in the alley, but didn't resist when James pulled him to a sitting position and started removing his sweater. There was a basic white vest under the it, even dirtier than the sweater, and ripped at the neckline. There were bruises on Remus' tan arms too, like someone had squeezed them, hard. James started pulling at the shirt, but Remus stopped him. The arms were smeared with mud.

"Don't", he simply said.

His voice sounded hollow.

"You have to change out of these. And clean yourself up. Honestly, you're dirtier than Padfoot after he's been let to roam in the rain!"

To his horror James saw tears run down Remus' still expressionless face. There was something really wrong, he'd never seen him cry, not even after full moons when he'd broken bones, or after he got the message that Sirius had sent Snape down the tunnel. Remus just didn't cry.

"Moony?"

"Yeah, I have to get cleaned up."

Hollow words, scary words. Remus shakily stood up, grabbing James for support. He left a lot of greyish brown dust on the bedspread where he'd lain. The werewolf stumbled towards the small bathroom accompanying James' room, and got to there with the help of his friend. There wasn't really space for both of them, but the Seeker seemed reluctant to leave the other alone.

"Do you mind?" the prefect asked tersely when the other didn't move from the doorway.

James finally backed away and pushed the door half shut. He wasn't comfortable enough to let the werewolf completely on his own, since it was clear the other boy was still unsteady on his feet.

The black-haired youth sat down on his bed, and flecks of dust puffed around him. He realized there was no use leaving the bed spread on - it had to be washed too. He pulled it off and folded it as neatly as a 16-year-old teenage boy usually folds anything, and stuffed the bundle in the wicker laundry basket beside his door.

James moved his weight from one foot to the other for a while, pondering what to do next. Finally he went to the chest of drawers and started pulling out some clothes that would fit Remus. The other boy was a bit taller than him, but not much bigger otherwise, so he settled on a garish Bowie t-shirt he'd gotten from Sirius (rebelling by loving anything muggle) and a pair of dark red pajama bottoms, since it seemed that the other boy was in no condition to leave anytime soon.

He heard the shower being turned on in the bathroom and thought he'd slip in and replace Remus' dirty clothes with the ones he'd picked out. He slid the door open and tip-toed in, placed the clean shirt and PJ-bottom on the toilet seat cover, then crouched to gather the dirty ones from the floor. There was no point trying to repair the ripped vest, it was nothing special, but he'd throw the jeans in the laundry - he knew Remus didn't have many clothes and these seemed pretty new.

When he picked them up the other boy's pants slipped from the leg. Something on the worn blue fabric made James pause. He'd lived with other boys in the dormitory for six years now, so dirty underwear was nothing new to him, but there was something sinister about the stains on these, and they made his throat tighten and heart plummet to the pit of his stomach.

He slowly picked them up and was still holding them as Remus peeked from behind the striped shower curtain, an annoyed look on his face.

"James would just fuck off and -"

He froze when he saw the underwear. His wet hair clinged to his battered face in dark wisps. The look of annoyance changed to one of pain and desperation.

The sound of beating water seemed deafening all of a sudden.

"You have blood on your underwear", James stated blankly. "Either you've started menstruating or you definitely weren't just mugged."

The joke had no humor to it. Even with the water James could've sworn that Remus had tears in his eyes again. When Remus didn't react in any way James crossed the short distance between them and yanked the shower curtain to the side, ripping it from a couple of it's loops.

He stared at the naked body of his friend, a body he'd seen battered after so many full moons they'd spent with him in their animal forms. He was still shocked.

It wasn't like he was covered in bruises or welts, but the type of bruising was what made James feel sick. There were visible fingerprints on his hands and thighs where someone had held him down. He had bite marks on the flesh at his shoulder, and his knees were badly scraped, like he'd fallen down or tried to get up from a hard, rough surface.

Remus hung his head and was clenching his hands into fists so tight that his knuckles were white. His shoulders shook silently, with silent sobs or just plain humiliation, James wasn't sure.

"I think there's some healing potions in the medical cabinet. Dry yourself up, I'll be right back."

With that James turned away and left the bathroom, walking out to the hall and into the master bath at the end of the hall. Behind him he heard the water being turned off.

He clicked the light on and opened the white metal cabinet adorned by a red cross, starting read through the labels. Finally he chose one bottle and one jar from it's shelves before closing the door and returning to his room, where the werewolf sat on the edge of his bed, still hanging his head, with a fluffy towel wrapped around his torso.

Now that his skin was clean the bruises stood out starkly against the light tan he had. James sat besides him and offered the bottle of Instant PainRelief -potion, which the werewolf took without lifting his gaze. After a while the dark-haired boy cleared his throat.

"You know, it's probably gonna work better if you take the top off and drink some -"

"I'm a dirty faggot whore and deserve the pain", Remus interrupted with a stern and harsh voice that made James loose his focus completely.

He just stared at the other boy, his split lip and the tip of his nose. The rest of his face was hidden under the mess of towel dried hair. After a moment of heavy silence the werewolf unscrewed the bottle and lifted it to his mouth, taking a big swig.

"So why aren't you in France like you told us you'd be?" James asked tentatively when Remus had lowered the bottle and started toying with it.

He wasn't sure if the werewolf was going to answer him when the silence continued for a while.

"I came back on Sunday", the brown-haired boy finally said, his voice quiet and calm. "I didn't call you guys, 'cause... I didn't call you straight away 'cause I needed some time to myself."

Somewhere under the concern for his friend James felt slightly offended. It wasn't that he thought a couple of days without seeing each other was terrible, but the thought of Remus intentionally staying away from them felt bad. He was so used to Peter following him everywhere all the time, and it seemed like he'd been glued to Sirius by the hip for most of his life, so from the day they'd figured out Remus' condition he'd assumed he was just as much a part of their tightly knit group. Even though he didn't approve of all their pranks, and was a prefect, Moony was still a Marauder.

"You could've called", James said with a hint of accusation in his voice.

"You would've wanted to meet up. I had things to do", Remus answered, toying with the bottle uneasily.

"What things? And more importantly, how did you end up in an alley in the middle of Hogsmeade?"

Remus sighed again, clearly thinking of what to say. He seemed to settle on telling the truth since his shoulders slumped and his voice was even, if a bit defeated, when he spoke.

"I met someone. We went partying."

The werewolf paused, lifted his face toward the ceiling so James could see the intent look in his eyes, and how his Adam's apple moved when he swallowed before continuing.

"We got into an argument and he kind of roughed me up. The bouncer threw us out."

"Who was he?" James demanded. "Moony, if you know the guy who did this to you you have to report it."

The prefect huffed unhappily.

"No-one cares if a werewolf's beaten up. Besides, it wasn't him who did this. He just, he got angry and slapped me and then I was running away. He just shouted after me and I thought I'd go home, but then I... I..."

The werewolf had been speaking more rapidly toward the end, but now he stopped again, seemingly unable to continue. James wanted to ask him, but sensed that pressure would only make the other boy stop talking altogether.

"I ran into some men. From the bar, actually, they'd seen me been thrown out so I think they might have followed me. One of them was in front of me suddenly, so he must have apparated, and two were behind me."

Remus sounded a bit drowsy - maybe it was the potion, or maybe he was just reliving the moment. James still didn't dare to speak. He was squeezing the glass jar in his hand without noticing it.

"They asked me if I wanted to have some fun. I told them to piss off and tried to walk past them."

"What's the matter doll, sad your boyfriend bitch slapped you?" Remus drawled, obviously mimicking one of the men. "They wouldn't let me pass. There was no-one around."

His voice was hollow once again, and the Seeker shivered violently, scared of what was to come.

"One of them grabbed me before I could run. I panicked, but when I yelled the third one, he hit me in the stomach and told me to shut up. Told me to 'shut up, Lupin'."

"They knew you?" James gasped. "Did you recognize them?"

Remus glanced at him with pain and shame shadowing his eyes.

"I think the one who called me by my name left Hogwarts a few years back. He recognized me because, well, because -"

"Because you're a Marauder, for sure", James blurted out.

Still, the pained eyes stared.

"No, Prongs... I think he recognized because I... Shit. Shit, shit, shit shit shit shit", the werewolf suddenly cursed between his teeth, balling James' covers in his hands, turning his head to stare at the ceiling.

"Does it still hurt?" the black-haired boy quickly asked.

Remus didn't instantly reply and continued to stare upwards.

"He knew me because I was turning tricks back then."

There was a pregnant pause.

"You what?" James asked as calmly as he could - surely he'd heard wrong.

"You know, turning tricks. Nothing major, just wanking people off or giving the odd blowjob to get some cigarettes or Fire Whiskey."

"You didn't drink back then", James said like that was the thing that bothered him the most about the werewolf's confession.

"Oh yes I did, just not with you", Remus smiled - it was a sad, broken smile that cracked his upper lip again, making it bleed a bit of bright red to his otherwise pale lips. "When you guys drank I had to make sure you were safe. Sometimes I had to get away from it all, so I got the booze from older students, and drank it in secret. I mostly hid it at the Shack, got drunk during full moons. You weren't around yet, and it was. Well, you know how it was."

James let it all sink in for a while. He just couldn't see it. Bookish Remus offering his services to older students. To male students. Not Remus. Sirius maybe, who was always playing with fire and flamboyantly declaring free love and worshiping male pop stars who kissed each other on stage, Sirius with his long black tresses and lashes.

But Remus was so. Asexual. James hadn't even known he was interested in boys, but when he thought about it, he hadn't shown much interest in girls either. The couple of girls that had asked him out so far had gently but firmly been turned down. James had always thought it was because of the whole werewolf thing, but here he was, trying to envision Remus having sex with older boys at the tender age of 14. The idea was disturbing and somehow exciting at the time, a thought James quickly pushed from his mind.

"You could've gotten the booze and fags from us."

"You would've wanted to drink with me, and Sirius smoked like a chimney back then. He would've snapped my neck if I'd gotten to his stash. And to be honest, in a sick way I enjoyed the attention", Remus stated.

He was studying his hands again, looking like the calm, collected Remus he usually was.

"How did you. I mean. How did it start?"

"Not that it really matters but a sixth year boy asked me out. When I told him no he asked if wanted to have sex, and when I again told him no he offered me a bottle of whiskey for a hand-job. That seemed like a good enough deal. We had a brief ...fling, and he told someone and a couple of other students made similar propositions. To be honest I probably had a bigger stash of smokes than Pads since I didn't smoke as much. I felt a bit ashamed when I bummed from him but I thought I had to keep up appearances."

Remus fell silent. James looked at him with a whole new set of eyes for a while without talking.

"Those bites on your shoulder look pretty bad, and the scrapes on your knees could use some attention too. Mum always puts this on cuts, it makes them heal quicker and hurt less."

He held the jar up before popping the lid off and sticking his fingers in the grayish goo. Remus didn't have time to object before he was rubbing the salve on his shoulder, which made the other boy wince and than stay still.

"I can do it my self", the werewolf hissed through his teeth - James had left out that the salve stung like a bitch before taking effect.

"It's easier for me to reach them, and besides I already started", the other boy replied with the brisk manner of someone used to taking care of others.

They fell silent, Remus trying not to flinch away or whimper every time his friend moved to a new cut in his skin, and James trying to be quick and thorough with his motions at the same time.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, James was done with rubbing the salve on his friends scraped up knees. He got up from his kneeling position and peered at the werewolf, who had visibly relaxed, eyes closed, breathing deep. James absentmindedly brushed a bit of the salve on the cut on his friend's lips, making the darkened eyes open immediately. A tense moment passed before James managed to open his mouth.

"Does anything hurt anymore?" he breathed.

"Just – I mean, no, that's all", Remus stuttered.

James frowned but felt a surge of heat flare up his neck as he blushed in horrified realization. He pushed the jar into Remus' hand and the brown-haired boy quickly got up, almost knocking the other teen over. He hurried to the bathroom, slamming the door shut and locking it.

James sat down on the bed heavily and buried his face hands, trying not to think about what had just happened. He wasn't sure how much time passed before he came aware of the sounds coming from the bathroom. He could hear low whimpers, followed by some muffled gasping. His friend was crying. He got up and moved to the door. He could hear some quiet sobs and a few hiccups now.

"Moony."

No answer, the hiccups continued.

"Moony, are you alright?"

When he still got no answer to that either he thought 'fuck it' and muttered 'Alohomora'. He pulled the door open and froze at what he saw.

Remus was leaning against the tiled wall straight in front of him, his back to the door. He was naked, his legs were spread. The werewolf hung his head between his hands that were pushing against the white tiles, and the muscles of his back convulsed. The jar of salve was open on the edge of the sink, half empty - James saw salve smeared on the tiles below Remus' right hand, and some on his buttocks.

The other boy looked almost wanton in this position, and again the idea of Remus with the older boys came to him, giving him a jolt. He pushed it aside more aggressively than before, reminded himself angrily that the other boy was in pain and needed help.

"I can't do it", Remus whimpered, almost to himself. "It hurts too much, I can't bloody do it."

"Come back to the bed", James told him, but Remus just shook his head and sobbed more audibly.

James picked the towel that was thrown on the toilet seat and wrapped it around his friend's trembling shoulders.

"Come back to bed or I'll get Sirius to come back and hold you down while I call your parents."

With that Remus ceased sobbing, and slowly lifted his left hand to grab the towel and drape it more securely around himself. Still hanging his head, he turned and pushed past James. The shorter boy grabbed the salve and returned yet again to his room, where the werewolf had returned to the bed and looked almost identical to how he had before, only the towel was on his shoulders and his messy hair was almost dry now.

"Lay down", James told the other boy, which made the werewolf shake his head again. "I will send for Sirius if necessary, you know?"

Remus tentatively lay down on his side, trying to wrap the towel around himself like a blanket. James sighed and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"On your back. Or stomach, I'm not sure which way is easier."

"Please don't James. Please. Just don't."

"I'm gonna help you whether you like it or not. Even if I have to petrify you, and then there's gonna be a ton of Ministry officers here and I'll get in trouble and this is gonna get done by some medical staff you don't even know."

James knew he wasn't playing fair, but he never did if bending the rules was necessary to help his loved ones. And sometimes in Quidditch. All is fair in love and war.

Slowly the brown-haired teen turned onto his stomach. James hesitated for a bit but than climbed to straddle the other boy's bare legs with the jar in his left hand. Remus tensed and buried his face into James' pillow, and shivered as the other boy pulled the towel aside.

"It's gonna hurt, but only for a while", James said, trying to sound calming but his voice broke in the middle of the sentence.

He had no idea why he was doing this, he should just force Remus to see a doctor or a nurse.

He's in pain. He needs me, he told himself over and over again as he dipped his index finger in the salve.

The Seeker then placed the finger at the start of the werewolf's cleft, and started sliding it down, pushing and searching. He found what he was looking for but Remus groaned and tensed all his muscles, making it impossible for James to continue.

"I can't reach", James muttered. "You'll have to, I mean..."

When the words didn't come to him he just grabbed his friend's hips and yanked so that the other boy had his arse up in the air. Then he took more salve and pushed his finger straight to the puckered hole, rubbing around it. Remus whimpered and tensed, but James kept one hand at his hip so that the prefect would stay in place.

After a while he felt pretty sure the pain was subsiding, and trying not to think about it too much he took more salve and continued rubbing, now tentatively pushing against the ring of muscle.

"No!" Remus gasped, but James was already pushing his finger in, and the burning salve made Remus yelp and start cursing in a high-pitched voice against the pillow.

James pushed the finger all the way in, then drew it back and at an impulse pushed it back in again. He then withdrew the digit completely, covered it with more salve and repeated the motions, all the while trying to think of other things, about Quidditch and the ice cream he'd eaten earlier, about Lily Evan's flame red hair, anything but the fact that he had his finger up one of his best friends' arse.

Remus slowly grew still and silent, but didn't argue when James dipped his fingers in the jar for the third time and pushed in once again, now adding a second one. Thinking of Evans didn't help much anymore, and when Remus moaned it stopped working altogether. James paused the rubbing.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked nonchalantly, even though he knew that wasn't it.

Remus trembled under his hands, and the feeling of power was immense. Having another person on their knees, trembling and naked in front of you...

"No, you can stop no-ow!" the werewolf groaned the last part as the black-haired boy pushed again at the spot that he had before.

He did it again, smirking. Remus moaned and started getting on his hands and knees, and James pulled his fingers out, grabbing the other boy and half-turning, half wrestling him onto his back. Remus had a wild look in his dark eyes, now getting flecked with the gold of the wolf as they sometimes did when he was feeling something intense.

"I told you to sto-" he started darkly, but James interrupted him by climbing on top of him and crushing his lips against the other boy's.

It wasn't a sweet kiss, James wasn't even sure if it was a kiss at all - they just stayed there without moving. Even so, he felt his jeans starting to feel tight as he tasted the menthol of the salve and the dried blood on the werewolf's lips, and when he pulled away and glanced down between them he saw he wasn't the only one affected. Remus' cock was half-erect, pulsating as he stared at it like he never had before any other man.

Lust fogged his mind and without thinking he drawled:

"There's half a bottle of firewhiskey in my parents' liquor cabinet, and I'm sure Sirius has stashed some cigarettes here somewhere. Is that enough for a blowjob?"

The werewolf struck him so hard and quick he almost didn't see it coming, and he actually saw stars for a split second. The pain somehow just made him want this more.

"Prongs, I'm so sorry!" the werewolf gasped, and James almost felt like laughing - how could the boy blame himself in a situation like this?

"Hit me again, I deserve it. I want you to", he told the werewolf, but Remus shook his head in horror. "Fine, I'll just have to try to push you over the edge again. I'll throw in ten galleons. Now will you suck me off?"

This time the prefect didn't hit him, instead, he sat up and grabbed the messy-haired boy by his chin, hissing in a low voice that sent shivers down James' spine.

"You're playing with fire, Prongs. You sure you want to do that with a werewolf?"

James could only nod. The roles were reversed but he found himself turned on none the less.

"Okay, I'll give you your blowjob, Potter", Remus told him with a voice so dark and smooth that it made James think of black silk. "If you'll let me fuck you afterwards."

The werewolf might've thought that this would make James back off, but the black-haired teen was ready to do just about anything at this point. So he leaned in again, and kissed Remus more softly this time.

"A kiss to seal the deal" he said when he pulled back, then layed down next to the prefect and started unbuttoning his fly.

The werewolf watched him for a while, face unreadable, before swatting his fingers away from his crotch and continuing the task himself. When done, he yanked James' jeans and pants down, finally freeing his erection. James pushed himself in a half-sitting position, his heart racing as the werewolf crouched over him, sniffling and then speaking in the same low and silky voice.

"Well well, what have we here?"

James was pretty sure it was a rhetorical question, and even more so as his friend pushed his face against the black curls at the base of his cock and took in a deep breath.

"You smell musky, but sweet at the same time", Remus muttered against his groin. "Like a virgin."

A flicker of tongue against his cock made James jump as if he'd been hit again. Remus chuckled quietly before giving the member a good swipe of his warm, wet tongue, starting at the bottom but ending torturingly close to the throbbing head. Then he breathed on the wet spot, making the black-haired boy shiver, and licked it again, and again, like it was a thick and long lollipop he was truly savoring. When the werewolf finally got to the tip he sucked it into his mouth, making James' arms fail him so that he flopped onto his back. To his dismay the warm mouth soon left him.

"Oh, definitely a virgin", Remus whispered.

James opened his mouth to say something but all words were swept away by a gasp that escaped him when the werewolf wrapped nimble fingers around his shaft and pumped it slowly, again twirling his hot, wet tongue against the tip of it. He sucked in a breath with great difficulty and gasped again as his friend engulfed most of his length in the moist cavern of his mouth, and all he could do was marvel at how talented that mouth was, sucking and licking and gently scraping teeth against him, never hurting, just giving him a jolt now and then.

When he felt his climax growing closer he felt a tiny bit of disappointment at how quickly it was over, but then the fingers squeezed the base of his cock and the mouth retreated. James hesitantly lifted himself so that he could see the other boy, but Remus' face was hidden by his wavy hair.

"Is everything alright?" James whispered, trying to sound calm even when close to the edge.

The werewolf slowly lifted his head and James was transfixed by his smile, a wicked, slick, red expression. White teeth gleamed dangerously, and eyes glimmered with the yellow of the wolf.

"Oh no, nothing's wrong, James", Remus breathed, making the shorter boy shudder. "but if we're going to go through with the deal, I suggest you get on your elbows and knees. It feels much better before you've come."

"You said you only gave blow jobs", James gasped as the hand moved again teasingly, the pressure making it impossible for him to reach his high point.

"To the boys who gave me goods, yeah, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been some more ...special."

The werewolf whispered this more hesitantly, and James didn't dare to push it. Instead he cleared his throat and sat up.

"So... on my elbows and knees?" he said simply, wrapping on arm around Remus' shoulders and pulling the other boy closer so that their faces were inches apart.

"Yeah", Remus breathed again, softer this time, and looked the other boy straight in the eyes. "If you really want to."

The black-haired boy tried not to think about it too much when he nodded, brushed his lips against Remus' and then slowly turned to face away and arranged himself in a similar position Remus had been before. His heart thumped loudly in his chest as he heard the rustling of fabric. He was starting to feel a bit scared as he felt the mattress dip behind him when the other boy moved, but all the while he felt his erection strain close to his stomach.

Finally Remus broke the silence that had stretched for a while.

"I'm gonna touch you now."

Even with the warning the black-haired boy jumped a bit when slender fingers smoothed over the small of his back and then to his buttocks, spreading them apart. It was hard to stay relaxed when the fingers where followed by that oh-so-talented tongue, which dipped into his cleft and searched, much like his own fingers with Remus, for the little puckered opening.

When it found it's target the the Seeker felt both shame and lust flush his body hot, the feeling of being licked and prodded so intimately making the moment dirty and pleasurable at the same time. He moaned into his pillow when Remus penetrated the tight ring of muscle with his tongue, reaching as deep as he could. After what felt like an eternity of hot flesh on flesh he pulled both his mouth and hands away, and James wondered what was gonna happen next until he heard the unscrewing of the jar lid.

"Ah!"

He shuddered as he felt a finger push past the ring of muscle, spreading a cool feeling inside him. It took a while for him to realize the werewolf was using the healing cream as a lubricant. He fought hard to get adjusted to the feeling of getting penetrated, the feeling he knew he'd caused the other boy to feel just moments ago.

"Just relax..." the other boy murmured and pushed deeper, his digit seeking.

James shivered again, braising himself and pushed himself slightly back onto the finger. After a while the intrusion started to feel kind of good, and the tingling of the healing lotion added to being stretched. Just as he was about to ask for more, the werewolf hit a spot in him that made him gasp and jolt with white hot pleasure.

"Good", Remus murmured and added another finger, rending the other boy speechless yet again, unable to do anything else but moan.

The fingers scissored and stretched carefully before finally pulling away, and James felt a tinge of panic when the mattress dipped again as Remus crawled closer, taking hold of his hips again.

"Ready?" the brunette asked, apparently rhetorically again, since he started slowly pushing before getting an answer.

The head of his leaking cock strained against the black-haired youth's entrance, and it felt impossible that it would ever fit. James was just about to cancel their deal as he felt the himself yield and take a bit of the member inside him. The feeling was so much more intense, so much more uncomfortable but pleasurable at the same time than anything he'd ever felt before that he pushed back instinctively. It was Remus' turn to gasp.

"Slow down", the werewolf whispered in a strained voice and squeezed his friend's hips harder, making it impossible for James to impale himself more. "You're gonna ...hurt yourself."

"More like make you cum", James chuckled breathlessly and Remus groaned and pushed in a full inch, making them both moan and shudder.

From then on the boys were silent apart from labored breathing and occasional whining and moaning, as the werewolf slowly worked his way deeper into the other's tight canal, until his shaft was sheathed in it completely.

The brown-haired boy took a deep, shuddering breath before starting to slowly pull away and then push back, leaning over James and snaking his arms around him, pulling him flush against himself. Remus' left hand closed around James' cock and started pumping as he picked up his speed, trying hard to listen to the other boy's body as he got used to the new sensations.

James cursed violently as Remus' cock brushed against the same spot inside him as his fingers had before. The werewolf angled himself better so that he was constantly rubbing in just the right way, making James squirm and moan. When he felt confident enough that the other boy was feeling only pleasure, he allowed himself to loose himself in the moment, too. Skin rubbed against hot, sweaty skin as the boys immersed themselves in the carnal rhythm, both making desperate sounds and trying to keep from tumbling over the edge too quickly.

Despite their efforts it didn't take long for them both to be near completion. Remus' nimble fingers were working on James hard on and occasionally slipping from it to fondle his tightening sack as he pushed against his prostate again and again, making the other boy whimper helplessly.

"Moony, I'm gonna -"

But that was all James managed before his climax rendered him speechless and sightless for a fleeting moment that seemed like eternity. He slumped against his mattress, taking the werewolf down with him.

It took a moment for Remus to get his hands from under his friend's limp body, but then he pulled out gently and rolled over, finishing himself off by the same, cum-sticky hand that had been on James a moment before. They stayed like that for a while, James on his stomach and Remus on his back next to him, both trying to get their breaths back and come to terms with the situation. Remus was the first to sit up. He threw his feet over the edge of the bed, turning his back to James and swiping his hand on his sheets in the process.

"How about that whiskey, James?" he murmured, all the cockiness, all the sex talk just a distant memory. James nodded dumbly before realizing his friend couldn't see him. He cleared his throat and hoped he sounded a bit more reassured.

"I'll go get it", he managed to mumble, having no luck with sounding sure of himself at all. He slid out of the bed with a mild twinge of pain, grabbed his clothes and stumbled out of the room. He pulled his jeans and shirt on in the hall before gingerly going down the stairs, feeling the evidence of what had just happened on every step.

He felt the embarrassment and confusion fill his mind again, and he crossed the living room to the liquor cabinet, violently trying to push the feelings aside. The black-haired boy tried not to think about what he had said to Remus, what he had done, tried not to think about how good the other boy had felt.

When this all failed he felt tears sting his eyes. He was glaring at the bottle of whiskey like the beverage was to blame when a 'swoosh' from the fireplace made him jump. To his horror Sirius stumbled out of the flames and into the room, holding the blue vial in his hand.

"There was no fucking prescription charm -" he started at James angrily but stopped dead on his track when he saw the other boy's face. "What's wrong? Is it Moony?"

He started for the stairs when he didn't get an answer and James panicked.

"Seer, don't!"

He tried to think of a lie when the other boy turned to him, confused.

"He's sleeping. He's alright. I mean -"

James' breath hitched as flashes of the werewolf's bruises and story flooded his mind, combining with the shame of their actions after that. It became too much. The tears started falling and he slumped in a nearby armchair, hiding his face in the hand that wasn't holding the liquor bottle. Sirius was by his side instantly, like the loyal dog he was.

"Tell me", he demanded.

"He was r-", James struggled with the word.

The long-haired boy stared at him, eyes impossibly wide, waiting.

"The men, they, they didn't just beat him up, they -", the Seeker tried and failed again.

He didn't realize that his silence spoke louder than words until he saw Sirius' anguished face as the other boy slumped to the floor.

"He's gonna be okay", James instantly told him, even if he didn't know if that was true.

He felt horrible for Sirius and even worse for being kind of relieved he had an excuse for not going back upstairs to Remus. Sirius just shook his head and tears welled up in his eyes too.

"He's been through so much" he whimpered.

James shushed him in what he hoped to be a soothing way and unscrewed the cork. He took a swig and then offered it to his friend, who willingly took it. They exchanged the bottle back and forth for a long time, both staring at the stairs but not daring to say anything.

"We should go up there", Sirius finally slurred, his voice thick with alcohol and emotion.

They stumbled up and leaned on each other for both emotional and physical support, drunkenly making their way to the upper floor. James' heart was beating almost painfully hard as he pushed the door open and walked in the darkened room.

"Moony?" Sirius whispered inquisitively.

There was no answer, so they James took a few steps forward and clicked on his nightlight. In the dim light he saw Remus' slight shape tucked under the covers. He breathed out in relief - all the signs of their previous escapades had disappeared, the werewolf had even opened the window slightly so the air in the room was fresh.

Sirius tiptoed to his side and bend over the sleeping werewolf, who had his back to them. The bite marks were healing but still visible on his bared shoulder.

"Bastards", Sirius breathed and gingerly sat on the mattress. James followed suit and took another swig from the nearly empty bottle. They fell silent for a long moment.

"I have to tell you something", Sirius whispered but pain was still evident in his quiet voice. "I never told because it was over before it really started, because I fucked it all up."

James turned his head towards his friend in a drunken daze. It was rare for Sirius to sound this hesitant and vulnerable.

"Before the, the Prank", Sirius' whispers were hard to make out since he was also slurring pretty badly. "I was, I mean, we had a, a thing." He gestured towards the sleeping figure behind them. James gaped at him but still managed to lift the bottle to his lips.

"I wanted to tell you!" Sirius misinterpreted his silence. James shushed him and pushed the bottle to his friend's hands. "Remus was afraid..."

"Someone special", James muttered, remembering what Remus had said.

"He is. I think I love him, Prongs", he whimpered and buried his head in his hands. "And I'll never get him back, not after what I did, and now, he's probably never gonna let anyone touch himself after what he's been through..."

The youth started to sob quietly.

"Shh", James murmured and rubbed soothing circles on his best friend's back, guilt and sorrow weighing his heart.

"It's gonna be alright", he lied and tried not to think how twisted it all was.

He tried not to think about what Remus had done at 14, or what had been done to Remus. He tried not to think how fucked up it was to listen to Sirius' confession, and then comfort him on the very same bed he'd had sex with his friend's love, not an hour earlier, tried not to think at all as the night and their innocence seemed to slip further and further away...