This oneshot is an impromptu present for Artemis Teilor - my best friend in real life - and it's based on her Harry Potter fanfiction 'Meddling in Mayhem'. This shot is set in the summer between fifth and sixth year, when Sirius is already living with James. (Seriously, go read her fanfiction, it's awesome.)
Remus kept his eyes on the ground, careful not to trip over any of the protruding roots. This was a difficult task given that their only source of illumination was the gibbous moon, and Peter had already fallen over thrice. He briefly debated suggesting that they turn back, but refrained from voicing his opinion lest he be shot down and teased by James and Sirius again. However, upon catching sight of a sprawling mansion through the thinning trees, the werewolf found that he could no longer hold his tongue. "You said this place was deserted, James."
The gangly boy turned his head back, shrugging. Tiny squares of light shimmered on the lenses of his spectacles; candlelight reflected from the building's lit windows. "I thought it was," he said defensively.
"Leave 'im alone, Moony," Sirius interjected, looping an arm around the teen's scarred shoulders. "'S not like we're actually going inside the place."
"Why?" Peter piped up. "You usually wanna go straight into places like that."
Remus noticed both James and Sirius stiffen at the shorter boy's remark, and mentally filed the information away for later. "Us, break into the Heir of Ravenclaw's house?" James chuckled. "Not bloody likely, Wormtail – we don't have a death wish."
"Let's keep going," Sirius suggested, removing his arm and stepping away from the others. "Lead the way, Prongs."
"Do you guys know the Heir of Ravenclaw?" Peter pressed with his customary bluntness.
"Leave it alone, Pete," James suggested as Sirius tensed, kicking at a dandelion.
The smaller boy grumbled incoherently before falling silent, and the four teens continued on their journey, ensuring that they remained beneath the trees' protection.
A frantic shout split the air, followed by a peal of delighted laughter. The boys paused, heads turning towards the expansive lawn as two lithe figures sprinted down the mansion steps. The girl in the lead waved a book over her head, running across the lawn as though her life depended on it. Her long brown hair streamed like a banner behind her, moonlight gently illuminating her fleeing form as she raced across the damp lawn.
"Give it back, Maree!" her pursuer shouted, wild brown curls springing free from their pins as Alexa raced after the thief. Maree simply laughed once again, and Remus found himself reminded of the paintings his mother was fond of – almost surreal depictions of girls in white dresses frolicking in the moonlight, they were a series of paintings by one of the most renowned magical artists of the century. He blinked, and the recollection vanished as the Ravenclaws with wild hair and dark clothing disappeared into the trees at the end of the lawn, the troublemaker's delighted laughter the only hint as to their whereabouts.
"T-that was-"
"Shut it, Pete," James whispered as Sirius took a step backwards, bumping into Remus.
The dazed Black shook his head like a dog – a habit only recently acquired – before regaining his balance, swinging around to face James. "Well, are we going swimming or not?" he demanded, rubbing at the back of his neck.
James nodded, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "Follow me," he rasped, before clearing his throat and continuing in their circumnavigation of the lawn, keeping just behind the tree line. The boys shortly came to a path of misshaped stepping stones leading through the forest, and Remus realised that this was where the girls had disappeared.
"What if they come back this way?" he whispered.
"Don't worry, we'll hear them," James responded. Sirius, for once, remained silent, following his best friend down the path.
The stones were cool beneath Remus' bare feet, dappled moonlight falling across the path as the warm summer breeze rustled the leaves above him. His mind flitting back to the scene that he had just witnessed, the teen recalled the two slim figures racing across the grass, illuminated by nothing more than moonlight and the golden glow of the mansion behind them. For the first time he could remember, the werewolf realised that the light of a waxing moon could be something to bring beauty, not fear. Giving the waist of his swimming trunks a tug to ensure that they remained snugly around his hips, the teen sighed as the girls' shouts became louder.
"Come on," James hissed, tugging Peter off the path and into the cover of the trees. Remus dragged Sirius in a similar manner, glancing around the bend to where a crystal-clear pond was ringed with a border of mossy stones. Maree hopped daintily from stone to stone, the less graceful figure of Alexa scrambling after her.
"I was reading that!" the shorter brunette whined, pushing her glasses up her nose.
"You were ignoring me," Maree taunted, poking out her tongue and dangling the leather-bound tome above the water.
"You wouldn't dare," Alexa hissed, her voice gaining an edge that promised imminent suffering.
Peter guffawed into his hands as Maree pouted prettily. "Nah, I'm not that mean." She tossed the book into a pile of leaves relatively far from the water's edge. "Go get it."
In her haste to turn and retrieve her book, Alexa slipped on the surface of the stone that she was perched upon. Giving a shriek, she fell directly into the pool, surfacing with a choking cough and glasses askew.
"You alright, Lexie?"
"You're dead!" the girl shrieked, hauling herself out of the water as Maree sprinted away with a peal of delight.
Pausing next to her book, the Ravenclaw removed her glasses and placed them on its cover as Maree darted beneath the trees. The boys pulled back in alarm as the Heir of Ravenclaw headed in their direction, before breathing a collective sigh of relief as she scaled the tree several feet in front of them.
Alexa ran straight past the tree, bumping into James. Without pause, she grasped him by the hair and flipped him over her hip with a cry, sitting on his back where he landed. "Now I've got…" she trailed off, staring at the short black hair that she grasped.
"Geroff, Piper!" he shouted, wriggling helplessly in the carpet of leaves.
"Potter?"
"Wear your damned glasses, maybe you'd attack the right person next time!" he huffed.
"I took them off so they wouldn't get broken. Wait… what are you doing here?" she demanded, glancing up at the other three boys. "Remus?"
The werewolf slumped his shoulders. "We were just going for a midnight swim," he confessed, trying to keep his eyes on Alexa's face and away from the dripping Beatles shirt and blue pyjama shorts that clung to her slim form.
"Aha!" a voice shouted, and Maree dropped from the branches above them. "So Lexie's muggle ninja skills take down the spies!"
Alexa rolled her eyes, finally freeing James' hair and getting to her feet. She turned to Maree with a wicked grin, and the taller girl's grin faltered before disappearing completely. Grasping the thief's ear, the curly-haired girl led her to the edge of the pond before throwing her into the water. "Vengeance!" she shouted, flipping dripping curls over her shoulder and moving away from the edge of the water.
Lupin stared at her as Sirius rushed to the edge of the pond, eager to help Maree climb out. With a strangled shriek, the boy was pulled into the pool by the very girl he had so chivalrously been trying to save. Alexa chuckled, making her way back to the spot where her possessions rested. The moonlight traced the curve of her back as she bent down, flashing off the square-framed spectacles as she pushed them onto her face and straightened up. Laughter and splashing came from the direction of the water, and Remus noted that he was once again the odd one out as James and Peter joined the frolicking pair.
Alexa seated herself on the ground, wringing out her waterlogged curls. "He really likes her, doesn't he?"
"What?" Remus spluttered inarticulately, feeling his cheeks heat up. Smooth, Lupin.
Blue eyes glanced in his direction before focusing on the pond again. "Sirius. He really likes Maree, right?"
Remus lowered himself to the ground beside her. "I'm surprised you noticed, but I guess that he does if it's that obvious."
"I watch people," the girl confessed, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping slender arms around them. "I know Maree likes him back, even though she won't admit it yet. She really used to hate him, you know?" Blowing a wayward curl out of her face, she glanced at Remus again. "Did you know that?"
"After the flying incident, right?"
"Mmm," she hummed, shaking her head. "That's the funny thing – I hated him more than she did after that. She actually loathed him shortly after they made the bet, but he became decent in her eyes fairly quickly. I just can't believe she destroyed so many roses to get her message across."
"She actually destroyed them?" he chuckled. "And there Sirius was, thinking that she kept them in a vase beside her bed."
Alexa snorted. "Not bloody likely – I'm the one who loves roses, whilst Maree's more of a chocolate girl."
The splashing from the pond intensified, and the Ravenclaw sent the Gryffindor another unreadable glance. "We should probably join them before they steal my book again," she groaned, placing her glasses on the cover of said item and getting to her feet. "You coming?"
Remus glanced at the water in time to see Sirius tackle James for splashing Maree. "What'd she mean, when she said you could keep me?" he blurted, eyes widening and cheeks turning scarlet as his stunned brain registered what he had just said.
Alexa stopped walking, her own cheeks reddening as blue eyes widened in surprise. "What?"
"W-when Maree spied… in the library… and s-she said-"
Alexa rolled her eyes. "Maree says things a lot, but they don't always mean what it sounds like. You're not a pet, Remus, you're a human being. It's your choice if you hang around."
The teen started, feeling heat flush his ears and travel down his neck. "Oh," he choked, scrambling to his feet.
Alexa smiled bashfully. "Swimming?" she chirped, motioning to the water.
Remus nodded. "Let's go," he sputtered, allowing her to lead him to where moonlight traced the myriad of ripples lapping at the rim of stones. Damn, if only I was a human, he thought, watching as Alexa flipped a spray of curls over her shoulder and leaped into the pond.
Thanks for reading!