"Burpy- Burpy- wake up- we're going back, it's been long enough. I'm going to find Sirius myself," said Marlene, folding the fluffy blanket and picking up their sandwiches. 

Padfoot got up. As much as he wanted to stay and try to understand Marlene's feelings better, he knew it was time to leave. There was just this little- something connecting him to Marlene. It was a weird feeling, but he knew he had to act on it soon. Padfoot didn't even know WHAT he was feeling. 

It was still dark. The moonlight shimmered over the Great Lake and fish leaped in it. 

Marlene sighed and said, "As much as I hate Black, I might talk to him every now and then about playing with you sometimes. That might be fun, eh, Burpy?"

Padfoot paused. Then he nodded. 

As Marlene started to hike towards the castle, Padfoot grabbed onto her jeans with his teeth. 

Something was wrong. 

"Burpy," said Marlene sternly. "We're going. Now come on, I'll make you something to eat when we get back to my dorm."

Padfoot looked up. No. No. Not tonight. Why did it have to be tonight?

"Burpy?" asked Marlene again, but now she looked a bit concerned. "What's up?"

They heard a howl coming from the forest. But Padfoot recognized that certain howl. It was Remus.

Padfoot started towards the forest quickly. 

Marlene put her hands on her hips. "Burpy, come on. We gotta go back. NOW."

Padfoot completely ignored her. He just kept trotting down the hill as fast as possible. 

Marlene gave up calling him and instead she followed him. "Burpy, what's wrong? Where are you goi- Uh oh..."

"Awwooooooooo!" came a loud howl from behind them. 

Both Marlene and Padfoot stopped in their tracks. They didn't have to turn around to see what was behind them. It was a werewolf.

"Oh my sweet chesse and crackers," breathed Marlene, turning around slowly. "We are about to die."

A loud trotting noise came from behind them. 

Padfoot jumped around and growled a little.

It was a magnificent stag. And a little squeak came from behind the stag's horns. It was a rat. 

Padfoot ran towards the other animals and started to stop the werewolf from biting Marlene.

And at that moment, Marlene realized she had been blind to this whole thing the entire time. 

The animals were the Marauders. Marlene could see it in their faces. The stag was most definitely James, she could see the slightly arrogant, stupid expression. The rat was Peter, looking terrified but still trying to help. The werewolf was Remus. He had a pained expression which looked like he was trying to hide his true self behind his smile.

And the dog? Well... The dog was Sirius, of course. Shaggy black hair, dumb, but strong face and heart. Marlene wondered why she had never seen it before. 

The werewolf made a lunge for her. Marlene jumped back in fright. She knew Remus didn't mean to, he couldn't control it. 

Padfoot and Prongs seemed to have a very brief conversation with their eyes. 

Padfoot leaped away from Moony and towards Marlene. He tugged at the hem of her jeans and dragged her closer to the castle. 

Marlene freed herself from Padfoot's strong bite. "I wanna help Remus too, Sirius!"

Padfoot paused. Not only was he surprised that Marlene had figured it all out, he also realized that it was the first time she had ever called him Sirius. Not by his surname. But just as Sirius. And that one second of hesitance where he pondered this was enough for Remus to break loose of their hold.

And the last thing they saw was Moony charging towards them before they blacked out. 

A/N: AHHHHHHH TYSM FOR ALL THESE READS!!! You guys are awesome! And if you think this book is about to end, you're wrong. This book has only just started. insert my awkward maniacal laughter here...  So anyways I made a group for this book where you guys can chat about it. Here's the link! https://www.hogwartsishere.com/groups/71128 

With all my love, Jui W.