Ignorance is Bliss

by Jenna822

*One Shot* When Sirius Black planned a small get-together for his friends, the last thing he expected was a mystery package to arrive on his doorstep. No...the last thing he expected was for a seemingly ordinary box to unravel the ties of friendship holding them all together. *James/Lily, Remus/Dorcas, and Sirius/FemaleOC* Cᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ.

Ignorance is Bliss

.

The night air was heavy with the scent of fresh snow and garbage. Gusts of frigid wind raced down the darkened streets of London and pulled at the coat of a young witch. It tossed her coppery red hair into her face; strands stuck to her dried out lip gloss and singed on the end of her cigarette. She swore under her breath and fought to push the hair back out of her eyes while simultaneously keeping her coat pulled tight around her small frame. The young man escorting the witch wrapped his arm around her shoulders and ran his gloved hand up and down her arm. He only kept his hand there for a moment before promptly returning it to his pocket and curling his fingers around his wand. Constant vigilance.

"James, we should have stayed at mine tonight. I think it's going to storm again." The red-head frowned when another gust of wind nearly pulled the cigarette from between her fingers.

James snagged the smoke out of his date's hand and took the final drag before stomping it out in the snow. "Come on, don't be that way, darling." He kissed the side of the girl's head and smirked against her frigid hair. "You know Sirius has been planning this for weeks, he'd never forgive me if we didn't show up."

"It's a rubbish idea."

"It isn't rubbish, Lily." He dropped his arm from around the girl's shoulders to unlock the front door of the building where he and Sirius shared a flat. "Don't you want to see Peter with someone? I think it's about time he got himself a bird. And I happen to think Mary would be good for him."

"Yeah, she'd be real good for him. But he isn't good for her." Lily put her hands to her lips and warmed them with her breath. She hurried into the building behind her boyfriend and shivered off the cold. "I already told you...she fancies someone. She isn't going to fall over your mate just because you give her a few beers."

James looked back and gave her a cheeky grin. "That's why we have whiskey too, darling."

"You're awful." Lily rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand as the two hurried up five flights of stairs to the proper flat. She never hid her distaste for James and Sirius' flat. She found the place disgusting.

It was too small to begin with. James would argue that it had two bedrooms, which was fine for Sirius and himself, but Remus and Peter both crashed in the flat more nights than not, leaving them cramped on the busted sofa or sprawled out in the floor of one of the bedrooms. The shag carpeting always felt damp and the corners were tinted with black; she suspected mold, but James would have nothing of checking. The kitchen held a faint smell of burnt metal each time they used the stove, the pipes rattled each time they turned on the tap, and the neighbors could always be heard arguing through the walls. The worst part was, James' parents could afford a much better flat, but the guys had their hearts set on the place. Lily never understood why. She always did everything she could to make sure that James came to hers rather than the other way around. But there was nothing she could do this time; Sirius had planned the little 'party' all on his own.

"We all need a bit of fun right now. You know what's on Wednesday night. A few drinks and some music really help Remus lighten up before the moon." James knew he had Lily there. She'd never speak out against doing something for Remus' benefit. The two had always been close, ever since they started running Prefect rounds together. And he wouldn't lie...sometimes James was a bit jealous that they had a special bond, even if he knew only friendship lay between the two. "Try and have some fun, alright? And...don't be cold to Rebecca. Sirius really likes this one."

"Of course he does." Lily pursed her lips and gave a little nod, her eyes screaming yeah right at James. She let out a little sigh and put up her hands. "I'll be nice to her. I promise. Just don't leave me alone with her until I've had a drink or two."

James laughed quietly and promised. He gave the girl a quick kiss before pushing open the door and heading inside. Music washed over the two the moment they stepped over the threshold. James' face lit up into a bright smile at the sight spread out before him.

Remus was sprawled out in the overstuffed, beaten armchair that James had deemed 'his' the moment they brought it home. His long legs were dangled over one of the arms while his head lazily reclined back on the other. He was holding a beer in one hand; his fingers on the other twisted around strands of his shaggy brown hair. The young werewolf's pale blue eyes were trained on the two figures standing to the side of the chair. A smile seemed plastered across his face.

Sirius and Dorcas were making a small show of themselves. The Marauder had his arm wrapped around the young blonde girl. Together, they were swaying and singing—very badly—to the song Billy Don't Be A Hero, only each time the record chimed 'Billy' they would replace it with 'Remus'. James might have found the song choice more poignant if the two didn't look like they were three sheets to the wind already. Dorcas kept tossing her golden blonde curls back into Sirius' face, making the Marauder spit and cough like he were under attack. When the two spotted James and Lily come in, they merely smiled and continued with their serenade.

Lily smiled back and pulled away from James so she could find her best friend. She knew that they had arrived late; Mary had to be there already. For Mary, being late was not an option. Ever. So it was no surprise when the red-head spotted her friend by the stack of records in the corner of the living room. The brunette was doing her best not to disturb Sirius' precious 'ordering method' of his records. To everyone else, it looked like chaos and nonsense, but to Sirius, each record had a proper place. In five months, no one else had been able to figure out his method. They had all given up and resorted to taking only one record at a time so as to spare themselves the lecture.

Beside Mary stood a short, dirty-blonde-haired, pudgy Marauder. Peter had his hands twisted in the hem of his shirt and was rattling off random facts about each record Mary touched. Each bit of information the young man offered up was preceded with "Sirius told me that" as though he were afraid to claim the knowledge as his own. The girl was simply responding with "uh huh" to everything he said and Lily wondered if Peter could tell he was being ignored.

Lily hurried over to spare her friend any more facts and politely asked Peter if they could be alone. It was all for the best, because Sirius and Dorcas had finished their song and drinks were being demanded all around. The messy, black-haired Marauder pressed a beer into Lily's hand and offered up another for Mary even though she hadn't finished the first.

"And where's mine?" James laughed and took the beer that was to be Mary's from his friend. "We have something a little stronger, don't we, mate?"

"That we do, Prongs. That we do. Come; shots for all!" Sirius threw up his hands and pointed to the kitchen. "Peter, Remus." He snapped his fingers and headed for the kitchen, expecting the other Marauders to follow without any further prompting.

James gave his girlfriend a little wink before trailing Sirius into the kitchen. Peter was right on James' heels. Remus—once he untangled himself from Dorcas' embrace—was the last to drift in behind them.

"Wotcher, Evans?" Dorcas slowly made her way over to Mary and Lily with a goofy grin on her face. She only stumbled once, which she was thankful for. The blonde hated making a fool of herself in front of the other two. She'd been dating Remus for nearly three months but she hadn't really felt like a welcome member of their little group yet. It wasn't fair; Lily and Mary had been in the same House all through Hogwarts, they were so close to each, they were practically the same person sometimes; hurt one – hurt both. Dorcas couldn't help that she was a Ravenclaw and—in her opinion—much more attractive than both of the other girls.

"How are you, Dorcas?" Lily put on her most friendly smile possible. No one believed her when she said it, but she didn't dislike the other girl. She just didn't like her either. There was a difference, no matter what James said. But if she had to choose between people for company that night, she'd much rather have Dorcas around than... "I thought Rebecca was supposed to be here tonight."

As if on cue, summoned by her very name, a girl emerged from the hallway. She stood out from the others. Where Lily, Mary, and Dorcas all chose to flaunt their femininity with their hair and jewelry, this girl took the opposite approach. Her black hair was very short and the ends spiked with pomade, the only jewelry she wore was leather bands around both wrists, her tights were ripped, her skirt was down to her calves, and she was in a pair of dirty combat boots. "Miss me already?" Rebecca let out a small laugh and shuffled her way over to the other girls.

"Merely inquiring to your whereabouts," Lily answered, tucking her hair back behind her ears.

"Right." Rebecca half pushed Mary out of her way to search through Sirius' records.

The only sounds that passed between the four were hands shuffling from place to place, someone scratching their arm, a little sniffle, an unneeded throat clearing, and a small hum. None of them dared walk away and be deemed the weakest of the group, the one who couldn't handle the tension as long as the others. An unspoken challenge hung over the girls. From the kitchen, the sound of laughter and a slamming refrigerator door echoed through the flat.

Just as Lily was about to break the silence, something beat her to it. A heavy pounding laid against the front door. The red-head frowned at the excessive knocking and jerked the door open. "There's no one here." She peeked her head out of the flat and looked both ways down the hall. "That's...odd." Her eye was caught by a box, resting on the floor just in front of the door. The girl didn't consider that there could be anything wrong with the package, she just instinctively picked it up and carried it inside. "James...Sirius, you guys have a package!" she called out, but none of the guys answered her.

"What's that?" Mary sauntered over and eyed the large box in Lily's hands. "There's no name on it. No delivery slip..."

"Well that's just brilliant, Evans." Rebecca plucked the package from the red-head's hands and held it above her head to check the bottom. "You might have just dragged a bit of dark magic right into the flat." She threw the other girl a reproachful glare and carried the box to the wobbly coffee table in the middle of the living room.

As much as Lily disliked Rebecca, she had to admit the girl was right. She watched on with a frown as the other girl started waving her wand over the mysterious package. Dorcas joined in along side her and Lily decided to go ahead and dislike the blonde as well.

"What's that?" Sirius boomed as he hurried back into the living room and dove backwards onto the couch. He kicked his feet up and tilted his head at the strange new arrival.

Rebecca laid herself across Sirius' lap and shrugged. "Don't know. Evans just carried it in here. I checked though...it's all safe. Just an ordinary package. No magic on it." She flashed a smug smile at the other returning Marauders and crossed her legs.

"No magic on what?" James wrapped his arms around Lily from behind and breathed the scent of whiskey onto her neck. "Did you bring Sirius a present, darling?" He met his girlfriend's eyes and smirked at her.

"I didn't bring it." Lily folded her arms across her chest and huffed. "I just answered the door."

"Let's open it!" Sirius sat up, discarding Rebecca onto the couch beside him without a single thought. He whipped his wand across the top of the box and sliced the tape from it. He threw back the flaps and reached inside. "Odd..." He began to pull out several thick envelopes, eight to be exact, each one bearing the name of someone at the small party. "Oh, there's a note."

Remus and Dorcas slid into the ratty armchair where they had been previously lounging. Rebecca scooted over to allow Peter to join herself and Sirius on the couch. Lily and Mary deposited themselves on the small love seat and James took a place on the floor between his girlfriend's legs.

Sirius held up the note, being as dramatic as he could in his drunken state, and began to read. "It's time to play a game! Oh, I like games. Do you think it's black jack?" He smiled over at Rebecca only to cringe at her disapproving stare. "Sorry. Okay...It's time to play a game! You all consider yourselves to be good little Order members -"

"Order members?" James leaned forward and grabbed the box. He searched over it for a sign of a mailing slip and shook his head when he found nothing.

"Yeah, that's what it says, Prongs." Sirius waved the note at his friend and cleared his throat. "...good little Order members...but you're not. Each of you is hiding something from the others. Do you dare to open the envelopes and discover the deceit that lies inside each of your hearts...or will you remain forever in your blissful ignorance?" The young man sat up straighter and read the letter over again in his head. "Hmm, sounds like rubbish to me."

James leaned forward and snatched the letter out of Sirius' hands. Once he assured himself that his friend hadn't read it wrong, he laid it back on the table. "Open one up then, mate. Let's see how much rubbish it really is." He waved his hand towards the pile of envelopes in Sirius' lap and leaned back against Lily's legs.

"Yeah, alright." Sirius picked up the first thick envelope and fingered it all over. "Feels weird. There's something lumpy in it."

"What's the name?"

"Just open it, Pads."

"Go on then, get to it."

Sirius frowned at the others and flipped it over. "Oh-ho, Dorcas is up first." He teasingly waved the envelope at the blonde and tore into it.

Dorcas sat up straight and stared at Sirius' hands with a wide-eyed worry. She let out a sharp breath when two pieces of silver wrapped chocolate tumbled out of the envelope into the Marauder's open palm. Sirius held up the tiny chocolates and showed them around. The ordinary logo was painted over with a bright red circle bearing a thick slash across it. Everyone eyed the blonde with curiosity and her face flushed bright red. She cast a sheepish glance over at Remus and bit down on her bottom lip.

"What's this about?" Remus held out his hand to take the chocolates from his friend. The moment he got them, he pocketed the candy and looked back to his girlfriend for an explanation.

Dorcas shifted in her seat and looked at the floor. "I...I don't like them, Remus. I'm metal about you so I never wanted to tell you but I don't...I don't like chocolates. And you just keep buying them for me and I've been giving them to my mum."

The room fell eerily silent for a full minute before Sirius bust into a fit of barking laughter, which soon had the entire room roaring along with him. Even Remus was wiping tears out of the corner of his eyes from laughing so hard. Dorcas buried her face in her hands and whimpered pathetically until the group stopped their teasing. Remus pulled the blonde into his arms and cuddled her close to him. He whispered into her ear and she relaxed into his embrace, all traces of shame fading away from her face.

"Alright, that was just ridiculous. If the rest of you are hiding some deep distaste for beer you had best hand yours over now and let's end this." Sirius' chuckles died down and he picked up the second envelope in his lap. "Oh, Miss Evans..." He held up the front for everyone to see Lily's name and gave it a wiggle. "Shall we see what devilish secret lies behind those pretty green eyes of yours?" He tore into the envelope and pulled free a photograph. "I don't understand it."

James grabbed the photo from Sirius' hands and stared down at it. It was a black and white of a tall, burly, Hufflepuff emblazoned Beater. The young Marauder instantly recognized him as Davey Gudgeon. The boy in the photo didn't bother James as much as the bright red lipstick-like kiss print across the boy's face. "Lily?" He held up the photo for her to see and raised a brow.

The red-head paled. She ripped the photo out of James' hand and crumpled it up, her fingers digging hard into the stiff paper as though she could squeeze away the memory of it. "James, I'm sorry." She was barely audible, but the entire room had gone quiet so there was no mistaking her words. "It was in sixth year. And it was only once and I didn't even want him to he just sort of surprised me."

"You..." James looked between the clenched photo and Lily's face several times. "You kissed him?" When the girl nodded, James made an inhuman sound of distress. "You kissed him? Lily, you told me...you told me that I was your first time."

"I know." Lily put out her hand, trying to urge James not to get so worked up and loud. She laid her hand on his shoulder but he shrugged out from under it. "James, please. I told you I didn't mean for it to happen. He came up behind me and before I knew what was happening, he just -"

"I don't need details." James put his hand over his mouth and pulled a face like he was about to be sick. He turned away from Lily's gaze and closed his eyes. When the girl called out his name again he just snorted. "Stop talking for a little bit...alright? We can discuss this later. Alone."

Lily nodded, even though James couldn't see her, and leaned back on the cushion. Mary laid her hand over her friend's and gave it a comforting squeeze of solidarity. She mouthed the words it'll be okay and Lily just gave a weak smile in answer.

Sirius had to pry his gaze away from Lily's tear-threatening eyes. He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked down at the other envelopes in his lap. "Maybe we should just toss the lot out. This isn't really much of a game. I think I have some cards in the bedroom." He fumbled with the envelope on the top of the remaining stack and licked his lips. Part of him wanted to toss them all back into the box and set fire to it, but the other part was aching to know what was concealed in the others. He glanced around at the other faces in the room and could read their expressions clearly: they wanted to know what was in the others as well. "Mary."

"No!" Mary jumped to her feet and clapped her hand over her mouth, shocked at her sharp tone. The brunette shook her head and held out her hand towards Sirius. "P-please, Sirius." Her face contorted and looked like the girl could burst into tears at any moment. Her fingers were shaking as the Marauder slowly handed the envelope to her. The moment it was in her possession, Mary clutched it to her chest, threw a fearful look back at Lily, cast a quick glance at Remus, and headed for the door.

"Mary, don't go!" Peter scrambled to his feet, but Sirius grabbed him by the arm, keeping him from chasing the girl as she tore out of the flat.

"Let her go, mate." Sirius tugged on his friend's arm until the young man conceded to sit back down. "She's got something pretty bad to hide, doesn't she?" His question was directed at Lily. "Don't think we all didn't see the way she looked at him." He nodded towards Remus and started thumbing through envelopes again. "She fancy Remus or something?"

"No, she doesn't," Lily snapped. The red-head looked over at Remus and shook her head. "She doesn't. Not anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dorcas sat up and met Lily's eyes with defiance. "So she used to have a little crush did she? Big deal. If she's over it, then what's got her so shaken up that she can't share it with the rest of us."

"It's none of your bloody business," Lily argued, her eyes narrowing at the blonde. "This little game is disgusting. It isn't anyone's business what any of those envelopes say. Who the hell even sent that thing?" She gestured wildly towards the box and threw herself back against the couch again.

James snorted from the floor and got up to take Mary's abandoned place on the couch. "Someone with a lot more honesty than half the people in this room apparently." He leaned forward so he could get a good look at Remus and raised a brow at him. "Any idea what that was about?"

"I really don't have a clue." Remus pulled a squished pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one up. He shrugged his shoulders and took a long drag before repeating once more that he had no idea what Mary was hiding from anyone.

"You don't like her, do you Remus?" Peter squeaked from the couch. He chewed nervously on his bottom lip and gave his friend a pleading glance.

"Mary and I went out once. In seventh year. And it was...look, it just didn't work out, alright? Drop it."

Dorcas wrapped her arms around Remus' neck and nuzzled against him. "I trust you, baby."

"Moving on!" Sirius' voice cut through Peter's attempt at continued questioning. "Why don't we see what Peter's hiding, shall we?" The young man was clearly getting agitated at the entire situation. He snapped his fingers commandingly at Remus and pointed at the young werewolf's pack of cigarettes. Once he received what he wanted, he let it hang from his lips as he pulled open the envelope marked with Peter Pettigrew on the front.

Sirius held the envelope above the table and gave it a shake to dislodge its contents. A hospital bracelet, bearing the St Mungos mark, dropped onto the coffee table with a tiny thud. Everyone in the room leaned closer to get a better look at the item. Once it registered to them, each set of eyes turned on Peter, waiting for him to shed some light on the situation.

The dirty-blonde-haired Marauder looked as though a train had just smacked him in the backside. He stared down at the bracelet with a look of disbelief on his face. "Oh..." Peter darted his blue eyes across each of his friends and twisted his hands up in the hem of his shirt. "I um, well I can...I can explain...that." He shifted uneasily in his seat and pulled his feet up underneath him. "I didn't – I didn't want to tell anyone because I'm fine. Or that is I will be fine. I just have to keep going in for treatments and taking these tablets and then I'll be fine." He narrowed his eyes at the hospital bracelet like it had personally betrayed his trust. "They said – they said that I'll be fine and I didn't want to worry anybody or bother anybody with it because...I'm fine."

"Peter!" James slammed his hand on the arm of the couch and pointed at his flustered friend. "What – is – wrong – with – you?" he demanded, his voice growing sharper with each word he forced out. "Don't you give me any I'm fine shit, either. You tell me why you've been in the bloody hospital!"

The confronted Marauder recoiled at James' tone and ducked his head. "It's called um...well it's called cere...cerebro-cerebrovascular d-disease." He scrubbed his hand through his hair and refused to look up at anyone. "It just basically means that the blood -" he tapped himself on the side of his head and made a nervous laughing sound "- up here, it doesn't quite flow the way – the way it's supposed to. But I'm getting treatments. And there's someone helping me out. They're taking care of me."

"You son of a bitch." Sirius reached around his girlfriend and pulled Peter into a tight, albeit angry, hug. "What the hell are you thinking keeping something like that from us?" He had the urge to punch Peter right in his arm for keeping it a secret that he was sick. "Don't you ever -"

"Ever!" James echoed.

"- keep something like that a secret again!" Sirius shoved his friend away and turned his back on him. "Stupid little prat. We would have gone with you; you know that." He flicked the lengthening ashes of his cigarette onto the carpet and rubbed at his eyes with the tips of his fingers. "I need another drink."

"I think we all do." James got to his feet and started for the kitchen. "Peter, come with me, will ya?"

The younger Marauder followed after James and the two vanished from sight. Lily excused herself to the bathroom while Remus and Dorcas began a whispered conversation about what sort of candies the blonde did enjoy.

Sirius nursed at his beer and fingered through the remaining envelopes. His grey eyes narrowed when he came to the one bearing Remus' name on it. He brushed his fingertips over the edge of the envelope and glanced up at the happy couple across from him. He knew Remus. He knew that if anything was in that envelope, it would be about his lycanthropy. He also knew that it was the last thing Remus would want getting out. Even to his other friends. The young werewolf had been a mess for weeks when Lily discovered his secret and Sirius would not watch his friend go through that again. Not when it could potentially cost him his girlfriend and his privacy.

With one quick peek over at Rebecca, to make sure she wasn't watching him, Sirius slipped Remus' envelope into his pocket. No sooner than the paper left his hands, James and Peter reappeared, each loaded down with drinks. New beers and shots were passed around as Lily returned and everyone settled into their seats. Sirius knocked back his shot before picking up the envelope with his own name on it. He looked it over back and front and shrugged.

"Give it here." Lily held out her hand for it and wiggled her fingers. "You know you'll just throw out whatever is in there."

Sirius handed it over with a glare. "There's nothing to throw out. I'm not keeping any secrets." His shaky voice didn't back up his claim. Nor did the fact that he stole Rebecca's shot off her right away.

The red-head carefully opened the envelope and pulled a slip of paper from it. "Looks like a receipt. For...flowers. Aww, Sirius, you bought someone flowers?" She smiled up at the young man, but the look of abject horror on Sirius' face made the girl's expression drop. "What's wrong?"

"Flowers? I've never gotten flowers." Rebecca jerked the receipt out of Lily's hand. "Oh, this is before we were dating. It's from last May."

"May?" Dorcas pulled her arms from around Remus' neck and scooted to the front of her seat. "Did you say May?"

Rebecca nodded and handed over the slip to the blonde.

"It's nothing," Sirius squeaked out. "Just give it to me. It's really nothing." He made to grab for the receipt, but Dorcas was too quick for him.

The blonde jumped back and crawled off the side of the armchair. She stood out of Sirius' reach and peered down at the receipt with confusion on her face. "May nineteenth."

"Wait, that's your birthday," Remus started, sitting upright.

"Yes, it is. And I remember getting these." Dorcas waved the slip of paper and looked down at Sirius with lips pursed. "You sent me these? And the card...with the poem on it?"

Sirius hung his head and rubbed his hands down over his face. He didn't need to answer, his actions were enough to confirm it.

Dorcas folded and unfolded the slip in her fingers, her eyes never leaving Sirius. "If you sent these flowers -" she waved the receipt at him "- then did you send the others too?"

"Others?" Remus couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Sirius' arm and forced the young man to look at him. "You sent her flowers?"

"And poetry," Dorcas added.

"And...poetry?" Remus parroted.

"It's not what you think, Moony." Sirius didn't speak above a whisper. "It was before you two started dating. I swear to you."

The blonde cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her chest. "He's not lying there. I did get them all before we started dating." Dorcas let out a small sigh and sank back onto the edge of the seat. "In fact, the last ones I got were the day before you asked me out." Her blue gaze fell onto the slip in her hands and she spoke each word like it pained her to say. "Nearly three months I'd been getting the damn things. It was driving me mental trying to figure out who was sending them. And then...and then you came into the shop and you asked me to dinner and I thought that -" she shook her head. "I thought that it was you."

Remus swore and put his hand over his mouth. "I asked you." He turned towards Sirius and closed his eyes. "I asked you if you thought I should ask her out and you looked me right – in – the – eyes and you said...you said that it was a great idea."

"It was! Look at you two." Sirius gestured wildly between Remus and Dorcas. "You're mad about each other. Remus, I wasn't going to stand in your way if you liked her."

"No; you'll just let me stand in yours." Remus was struggling to keep his anger under control. Even under normal conditions, he'd be furious at that moment, but his senses were on high alert because of the impending moon. "Was this some kind of game? See how long it'll take her to ditch me so you can go back to sending her flowers and bloody poetry?"

"Remus!" Lily hated snapping at her friends, but she couldn't sit there and let accusations start flying. She might never have been particularly close to Sirius, but she knew with all her heart that he'd never do something so malicious to one of his friends. "Stop. You know very well that he never meant to lie to you. I'm sure this is all just -"

A snort from James ended the red-head's intervention. "You know, sometimes not telling the truth is just as bad as lying, Lily. And this is just as bad."

"James?" Sirius looked at the other man like he'd been slapped in the face.

"Don't look at me like that, Sirius. This is really messed up!"

"I didn't know what to do. He came to me and asked me if I thought he stood a chance with her. I couldn't stand there and tell him that I wanted her." Sirius cringed at the look that flashed across Rebecca's face. He would have to deal with that later though; his friends were much more important.

"I need some air." Dorcas got to her feet and stumbled towards the door.

"I'll come with you." Remus started to get up, but his girlfriend waved her hand at him.

"No. I just need some time to think, okay? I wanna be alone right now."

Remus watched with wide eyes as his blonde-haired beauty picked up her coat and walked out of the flat. He turned an angry gaze on Sirius and held his hand tightly against his mouth to keep from saying anything he'd regret the next day.

"I can't believe you didn't even tell me," James muttered. "Who all did you tell?"

"No one. I've never told anyone about it."

"Then how did someone else know?" James snatched the delivery box out of the floor and started ripping it apart in a desperate attempt to find clues about the sender. "Who sent it? Who the hell could possibly know all these lies that you people have been telling?"

"You people?" Sirius jumped up and waved an envelope in James' face. "I think you're forgetting that there's an envelope here with your name on it too!"

"Open it!" James flailed at the young man's hand. "Go ahead! I have nothing to be afraid of. Because I know—know—for a fact that there is nothing inside that envelop that you don't already know; that Lily doesn't already know; that Peter and Remus don't already know." He pointed towards each party as he called out their names and met Sirius' eyes.

The grey-eyed young man tore his gaze away from James and slid his finger along the white crease. He parted the folds and frowned. "It's...empty." He swallowed back a lump in his throat and ran his fingers along the inside of the envelope. "There's nothing in here, James."

"No? You know why that is?" James was looking more smug than usual as he leaned towards Sirius. "That's because I don't keep secrets from my friends," he whispered. The muscles in his jaw tightened visibly and he turned away from the rest of the group. The young man marched into the kitchen and the sound of a slamming refrigerator door soon followed.

"I'm gonna go talk to him." Sirius dropped the empty envelope onto the table and rubbed his hands down his trousers. He glanced back at Remus, but wished he hadn't when the other man gave him a scathing look. With a heavy sigh, he trailed into the kitchen after James.

Lily shifted in her seat and looked around the room at the remaining guests: just her, Peter, Rebecca, and Remus remained. She carefully picked up the only envelope left sitting on the table. "I guess that note was right," she mused as she traced Rebecca's name. "Ignorance really is bliss." Lily slowly turned the envelope around for Rebecca to see and raised her brow at the girl. "Shall we?"

Rebecca cleared her throat and held out her hand. The girl didn't actually expect Lily to hand over the goods so easily, so she looked shell-shocked when the envelope was delivered into her waiting fingers. "I'm sure it's nothing." She pulled it closer and glanced towards the kitchen. "I'm not a bad person, but we're not exactly close. I don't want all of you knowing things about me." When she was met with silence from the others, she gave a nervous laugh and tucked the envelope into her pocket. "I think I should go."

"I think you should too," Lily agreed.

"I'm just gonna -" the dark-haired girl pointed over her shoulder at the door. She stood up, gathered her coat, stepped over Peter, and made her way to the exit. "Could you tell Sirius that I left?"

"You really think he's going to care now that she's back on the market?" Remus hadn't meant to be so cold; he knew that it wasn't Rebecca's fault any of that was happening. But he couldn't help himself. He gave the girl an apologetic look but she was gone in an instant. He swore at himself and dragged his hands back through his hair.

Lily moved over to the spot where Sirius had been sitting and patted Remus' knee. "She'll get over it." The girl didn't even feign a tone of concern. She got into the floor on her knees and started looking under the table and the couch. When she found nothing, she began to stuff her hands into the couch cushions. "That's odd."

"What are you looking for?" Peter sounded near hollow when he finally spoke up. He looked visibly shaken from the explosive, disaster of a night.

"Um...nothing. Just the – well." She looked over at Remus and bit down on her bottom lip. "There's not one here for you."

Remus sat up in his chair and looked around the floor in his line of sight. "Doesn't matter I guess. You all know my only secret. I'm kinda glad that it didn't get out when the others were here though."

"Well, yes, we all know." She waved towards Peter and took a seat beside him. "But shouldn't it still be here? Wasn't the point to out all of our secrets?"

"Yeah, I don't know." Remus got up and picked up the mutilated box. "Maybe it fell out or something."

Lily nodded slowly and pulled a throw pillow into her arms. "It's just odd, I guess." She played with a loose thread on the hem of her sweater sleeve and dropped her voice. "Maybe I should have listened to you and told James the truth about Davey kissing me." The girl let out a small, forced laugh. "I just never thought it would come out. After all, the only people that knew about it were me, him, and you."

"I highly doubt that Gudgeon sent this thing, so apparently someone else knew too." Remus shook the box as he mentioned it.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't really know how they could though."

"Lily, what the hell are you implying?"

"What? I'm not implying anything." Lily tucked her hair back and shook her head. "I'm only saying how odd it is because you were the only person that knew about the kiss, I didn't even tell Mary about it, and there's no envelope for you either..."

"Lily?" Remus took a step forward and gripped the edges of the box. "Do you think that I sent this bloody package?"

"No, of course not." Lily shook her head, but her tone was so high and forced it was hard to believe.

"I thought we were friends."

"We are!"

"No. No, we aren't." Remus laughed with shock and dropped the box. "You think that I knew about Sirius having a thing for my girlfriend? You think I knew that Peter was sick?"

"No, Remus stop," Lily begged. "I don't think you did this. I didn't mean to accuse you. I was just upset and it...slipped out."

"Slipped out?" Remus dropped his gaze to the ground. "It just slipped out? Things like that don't just slip out, Lily." He kicked the box in the red-head's general direction and frowned heavily. "Whoever did this is twisted. And you think...that it was me."

"I don't."

"I just heard you, Lily."

"Stop, no," the girl begged. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"Yeah?" Remus shook his head slowly and draped his battered old coat over his arm; he didn't need to actually wear it, even in the weather, not with his body running so hot. "Sorry's not good enough for this." He turned away from her shocked gaze and tore out of the flat without another word.

The sound of the slamming door brought Sirius and James running into the living room. They looked less hostile with each other, a feat that always amazed Lily; she could never grasp how the guys could be fighting one minute and laughing their hind quarters off the next. "What happened?" Sirius asked at the same time James inquired, "Where's Remus?"

"He left." Lily hung her head until a drape of red shielded her from view.

"He's pretty steamed at me huh?" Sirius flopped over onto the abandoned love seat and put up his feet.

"No, he left cause Lily accused him of sending the box." Peter pointed over at the red-head and shrugged like it was no big deal.

"I didn't accuse him!"

"You did what?" Sirius sat up rigid and gaped at Lily.

"I didn't accuse him," she repeated. "I just – I – only -"

"She said that he was the only one who knew her secret." Peter leaned forward and took on a commanding tone. "Then she told him it was really suspicious that there was no envelope in the box for him when there was for all of us."

"Peter!"

"What?" The Marauder gave Lily a look of complete uncaring. "You expect me to take your side over Moony's? You were completely out of line."

"No, there are no sides here. I wasn't accusing him." Lily put her head in her hands and huffed. "I was just saying how odd it was that he didn't have an envelope. And it is odd."

"He did have one." Sirius shifted on the spot and pulled Remus' envelope back out of his pocket. "I took it because I knew that he wouldn't want Dorcas and Rebecca knowing about his furry little problem." He blinked at his own words and glanced around the room. "Hey wait...where's Rebecca?"

"She left too," Peter answered.

"Oh." Sirius slapped the envelope against his hand and sat back against the cushions. "But yeah...I was just looking out for him."

James dropped into the seat beside Sirius and squeezed his friend's shoulder. "Of course you were. You always do." He gave the other Marauder a small smile and pointed to the envelope. "So you think it's just about him being a werewolf?"

"Of course it is." Sirius' voice held no doubt. "He wouldn't keep anything from us." The young man ripped open the envelope with an 'I'll prove it' expression on his face. Inside lay a photograph. It was a Muggle photo of Remus, still and eerie. He was standing in front of a darkened alleyway; Sirius recognized it as the Apparation point he and Remus always met at to go to a local Muggle pub. Remus' eyes were fixed in the distance and beside him stood a shadowed figure. The edge of the photo was too dark to make out who second person was. Stretching across the photo, written in bright red ink, was the word TRAITOR.

Sirius stared down at the word, his eyes fixed and focused. It took James three times of calling the young man's name before he finally snapped out of it. He looked around at the others and folded the photograph in his hand. "Just like I said," he started, his words a bit forced and heavy. "Says werewolf on it. Bright red letters and everything." The Marauder rubbed his fingers over his lips and jumped to his feet. "I'm bloody starving. I'm gonna get some money and go grab us all a burger."

Peter threw a quick glance at Lily and James before following Sirius into the other man's bedroom. "Mind if I come along?"

"Course not." Sirius picked up Peter's coat off his bed and tossed it to him. "I could go for the company." He pulled on his own coat and wrapped his old Gryffindor scarf tight around his neck. "And just so you know...we're gonna talk about that cerebro...whatsit tomorrow. When I'm not feeling so out of it." He wagged his fingers towards Peter's head and tossed the other young man a knit cap.

Peter nodded and pulled the cap down over his dirty-blonde hair. "Hey, Pads, can I ask you something?" He looked towards the door to make sure they weren't being listened in on. "Did that picture in Remus' envelope really say werewolf?"

"What else would it have said?" Sirius looked challengingly down at Peter and raised a single brow.

"I dunno." Peter rubbed over the back of his neck and shrugged. "Your face was just...nah, forget it. I'm just being silly." He waved his hand at Sirius and turned his back on him.

"Yeah, you are. Let's go." Sirius walked out of the bedroom and slapped his hand on the door frame to make Peter hurry up.

The remaining Marauder took a deep breath and licked his lips. "Werewolf huh?" He tugged at the ends of the knit cap; his lips pulled into a crooked, satisfied smile. "Oh Sirius...you'll think he's a traitor soon enough. And it'll be too late by the time you figure it out."