"Check it again," Remus said, pacing in front of the window. Sirius sighed. He could tell by the way his friend was pacing that the full moon was near: his movements were more canine than usual, his hair hanging limply in front of his eyes. He looked rather mysterious and dangerous, at least to Sirius. Sirius pulled out the folded parchment, murmuring, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Black blots appeared on the document, each with a tiny name above it. It had taken Sirius and his friends (mainly Remus, truth be told) almost all of their fifth year at Hogwarts to complete, and a lot of sucking up with Professor Flitwick to get the right spells and practice.

The Map (for a map of Hogwarts it was) had been dubbed "the Marauder's Map" by Pettigrew, of all people. He came up with the name as the four friends walked back to their room from Professor McGonagall's office. She had just chastised them for "Marauding around the castle grounds at unholy hours," and something about missing Slytherin quidditch gear. James, in his usual manner, was walking proudly into the Common Room, hoping Lily would be around to see him coming in so early.

The others liked the name, and it stuck.

Now, though, the Map was a nuisance. Every five minutes Remus was asking Sirius to check to see where the others were. No matter what Sirius did to assuage his friend's fears and convince him that no one was within 100 yards of the room, Remus would not settle down. Every time he would sit down on the bed, allowing Sirius to just reach out for his hand, he would be up on his feet again, nervously pacing and asking Sirius to check the Map.

Sirius got up and went to Remus, taking him by the shoulders to stop his constant movement. "You've got to stop moving, mate. You're making me sea sick!" Remus gave a tiny smile. "I know. I'm just, you know, nervous…" his voice trailed off. "About the others? There's no one around. Only Carol Crandyshuck is in the Common Room, and she's probably absorbed in Wizarding Weekly, as usual. I swear, a phoenix could burst into flames in her lap and she'd only notice enough to brush the ashes from the paper." Sirius reached out and brushed a few strands of hair from Remus' face. "Come on, we're alone here."

Sirius leaned forward, inclining his head so that he was more on Remus' level. Sirius had had a growth spurt and was suddenly much taller (and ganglier) than his friends. Remus let Sirius come close, but just before their lips met, he pulled away and turned to the window. Sirius, who had been leaning a bit too far into the attempted kiss, stumbled forward and lost his balance, falling onto a chair. He looked up at Remus, a small growl escaping his lips. "Bloody hell! What was that about?" He exclaimed, clambering to his feet again.

Remus blushed. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I'm just not comfortable with –" but Sirius cut him off. "Comfortable? Comfortable! You're the one who came on to me, if I remember correctly. You're the one who confessed love first, mate. Not comfortable!" Sirius was really angry now. He was a man of passions – one moment fiery with ardor, the next furious (and humiliated) with this rejection. Remus came over quickly, knowing that with Sirius, fast action was the best. He wrapped his arms around Sirius' waist, resting his head on his taller friend's chest. "No, no. Not us. With the others. With them finding out." He looked at Sirius. "They're not exactly the most accepting people, you know."

Sirius nodded. "You're right, as usual. I'm just tired of sneaking around. Snogging behind tapestries on the seventh floor isn't my idea of romantic, you know." Remus chuckled, a low rumble that only came in the week before the full moon. Sirius loved that noise. He had since Remus had told him about his "furry little problem" the previous year. Sirius had been the first person Remus told. Sirius had been touched, and had felt the beginnings of something deeper than friendship then.

Sirius inhaled deeply. "Now, can we try again?" Sirius leaned forward to kiss Remus. This time, Remus did not pull away. Instead, he lost himself in the kiss. In fact, they both were so intent on the other that they did not hear the door open. Only after James yelled, "Bloody hell!" did the two come back to reality. The quickly separated, each looking at opposite sides of the room. "I, uh, was just…" Remus began. "We were, um, practicing," Sirius stuttered. But both knew it was hopeless. Their secret was out.

James stared at the two. Pettigrew looked even more stunned, if that was possible. After what seemed an eternity to the two blushing youths, James muttered, "Finally!" Both looked up in shock and confusion. "What?" Sirius and Remus said in unison. ("What?" Pettigrew asked a moment later). "I've been waiting for two years for you two to finally come out!" Silence. "You knew?" Remus finally asked in a whisper. James threw his hands in the air in an exaggerated act of exasperation. "What, Remus, do you think you're the only smart one around here? You two were so obvious… sneaking out at night for "library studying," and "meetings" and what not. It's plain as day."

"It was?" Remus and Sirius asked together ("It was?" Pettigrew asked after). "Well. Fine, maybe Lily pointed it out to me the other day… don't worry, no one else knows!" he said quickly when he saw the color draining from the other boys' faces. "Alright, so I had no idea until she told me. And no one else knows. My girlfriend's just brilliant." He beamed. Pettigrew looked confused. "Oh, did Lily finally say yes to going out with you?" James darkened. "Well… not yet. But she will."

There was an awkward silence. "But… you're ok with us, then?" Sirius asked. James made a noise of dismissal. "Pfft, you have to ask? We're the Mauraders. We're friends for life. Just so long as you're not snogging any time we're together. I'm not a fan of man-on-wolf action all the time." James smiled. "I suppose I'll have to start changing in another room, then. Because one look at me and you'll forget about your pretty little puppy love, eh?" They all laughed.

Remus went over to Sirius, letting their hands intertwine. "You alright with this, then?" Sirius asked. In answer, Remus kissed his boyfriend (though James made mock gagging noises in the background). Pettigrew was still a bit confused. "So, what, you're poofters?" The room filled with laughter once more.