A/N: I do not own, nor have ever owned, Harry Potter or any of its characters (much to my chagrin). I do, however, own the storyline (though not the ideology; love to whoever first thought "ooh, Remus/Sirius slash…") and lots of other things. Rated "M" for language, sexual circumstances, and maybe other things once I get going. Enjoy, my little Remus/Sirius shippers!

Chapter One

The first thing the sixteen year old acknowledged when he awoke was that it was cold. Not your run-of-the-mill, misty-breath, extra-layer cold – oh no. It was blindingly, groaningly, snuggle-back-underneath-frosty-blankets cold, and nothing he could do seemed to eliminate that hideous desire to set fire to his mattress simply for the warmth he craved.

Shuffling slightly so that the covers sheltered the tip of his nose, he shut his eyes once more and quite happily allowed himself to think that he had the rest of the morning to laze in bed, contemplating the fact that everyone else had to get up and go to lessons, whilst he, Remus Lupin, could spend as long as he wanted in the warm confinement of the 3 blankets draped over him. He couldn't quite tell what the time was, but by the way that the sunlight was streaming through the gap in the curtains of the Hospital Wing, he was pretty sure that it was at least 9am; this meant he had at least 2 hours until the Marauders insisted that Madame Rochelle let them in to see him. He smiled slightly to himself. Two whole hours…

"Moony! Moony you lazy git, we know you're in there!"

"Yeah Remus, let us in! Why's the door locked? Are you being a naughty boy?"

A snort followed this remark, as the familiar voices outside of the door came closer and louder. Remus groaned inwardly – so much for two hours! It was apparent from the rumpus outside that James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew had decided it was best (in the interest of their friend's health, of course) that they were to skip lessons and invade his napping time instead. This was a familiar story; Remus, sixteen going on thirty, was a werewolf, bitten as a young child by the infamously grotesque Fenrir Greyback. This left him in a rather vulnerable position after transformations, and generally had to take a day or two off in the hospital wing to regain strength after having a rather violent reaction to the change; it was normal occurrence for his best friends' to come and visit him when he was supposed to be "recuperating".

Remus sighed once again as someone, most probably Sirius, kicked the door in an effort to get in.

"Naughty boy or not, we're coming in Moony! Put it back in your pants and we'll pretend we don't know what you're up to!"

There was another kick, harder this time, a kick that pulled an irritated Madame Rochelle from her office with a frown. Her small eyes narrowed as she looked over at Lupin, who tried to keep his face carefully nonchalant as she marched over to the door and unlocked it silently with a flick of her wand. The door opened to reveal Sirius at the front, leg bent at the knee and preparing for another blow to the poor, defenceless door, James on his right standing slightly back, holding what could only be the Marauders map, and Peter looking slightly sheepish on Sirius's left. Each of them had bright pink cheeks from being outside, wearing their Gryffindor scarves tightly around their necks and wearing their heavy winter cloaks over their robes. Remus couldn't help but grin.

"Why, Mademoiselle Rochelle!" Sirius proclaimed, eyes widening in apparent delight at the sight before him (a very annoyed, overweight woman in beige, towel-like robes), "what a pleasure! I do hope we didn't wake you...?"

"Mr. Black, I do believe that you're quite aware that though I wasn't asleep, I am not pleased to be disturbed so rambunctiously in the morning," she replied imperiously, raising her eyebrow at him as he bowed slightly at her answer. "And I also believe that you are aware that my name is not, as you so often 'mistake' it, Mademoiselle – it is Madam, no more, no less."

Sirius smiled widely at her, exposing pearly white teeth and slight dimples as he did so. Few women could resist that smile. "Certainly no less. Would it be all right, perhaps, if we were to come in and visit Remus? We know how lonely he gets, and would hate to leave him here all on his own -"

" – though I'm quite sure Mr. Lupin would do well to have a few more hours sleep -" Remus silently agreed with her, but would not in any circumstances admit this to his friends, " – I will grant you permission to visit him for half an hour. Permitted that you don't try and set fire to the curtains this time, Mr. Potter," she continued, casting a look over Sirius's shoulder at James, who had the decency to look slightly ashamed. "And provided that there is no use of wands."

James, stepping forward, looked imploringly out of glittering hazel eyes. Remus allowed himself a small smile – he'd seen that smile before.

"Ah, Madame Rochelle, surely you don't expect us to stay tee-total? We need to teach him a few things from Charms yesterday -"

" – just as I need to see a note of permission from whichever Professor you have right now. Do you really wish to play this game, Mr. Potter?"

A few moments silence greeted this question, before he grinned at her.

"Well… when you say it like that, I can hardly argue, can I?"

She half-smiled back. "No Mr. Potter, you can't. Half an hour." Turning away, she walked back to her office and shut the door – she was all right really, Rochelle. Better than a certain Professor Rushmore, their bitchy Herbology Professor, hated by the general public of Hogwarts.

Remus watched wearily as James and Sirius wandered in, Peter following them with a little smile and wave. He really wasn't prepared for company of any kind – but still, he couldn't really complain. He was lucky to have friends like these: clever, black-haired James with a sparkle in his eye that made you feel glad to be included; handsome, cheeky Sirius with that smile that melted every girl's heart within a 2 mile radius, one of the most popular students at school; and Peter, quiet, generous little Peter who only wished to please and did all he could to stay your friend. Five years ago, he was lucky to be spoken to by anyone. He had been a hermit of a boy, terrified of letting anyone see into those grey eyes tainted by a horrific past… he had no pride and no real reason to make friends. Who would have wanted to be friends with him anyway? He had been plain and boring, no particular talent and a habit of disappearing once a month – a friend who offered nothing but unanswered questions. It wasn't until his second year, when James and Peter had approached him with hands to shake, smiles to share – and an understanding of what he was, who he was – that he truly had friends. Sirius had been slightly more hesitant, it seemed. He was already in a group with James and Peter, and seemed a little put out that someone else was joining them – someone who, in his opinion, wasn't really worth his time.

That had changed, however. Somehow Remus had won him over, and Remus (though he tried not to pick favourites) would say, if tortured to answer, that Sirius was his closest friend. He was a very fair friend, he knew that; he was equally close to them all, and spoke to them all the same amount – it was just that he and Sirius seemed to compliment each other. Brash, good-looking, witty Sirius and quiet, plain, good-natured Remus.

Now, they were grouped as a four, stronger together. That was the way it had always been since he could remember; he was truly lucky to have such friends as these.

"So Remus," Sirius interrupted his thoughts loudly, a cheeky grin on his face. "You got yourself tidied up pretty quickly, huh? I wasn't expecting to get in for at least another two minutes."

"Ah, leave him alone Padfoot," James protested lazily, flicking his wand so that the water jug next to Remus began to quiver. "You're just jealous 'cos he can keep it in his pants for longer than you."

"Why would that make me jealous?" was the reply, a wicked grin appearing as Sirius winked at them, "I wouldn't want to be as frigid as Remus!"

"Hey!" Remus interjected, sitting up and reaching over for the quivering water jug and trying to remove it from the charm. Dryness had begun to prickle the back of his throat. "I'm not frigid. I just think -"

"- sex is not a way of getting acquainted with someone, yeah yeah," Sirius finished for him. "We know. Anyway, what are you doing in here? We thought you'd be out by now."

James lifted the charm from the jug, allowing Remus to lift it and pour himself a glass of the ice-cold water. Peter clumsily conjured a glass with his wand and eagerly held it out for Remus to pour him one; he rewarded his tired friend with a pleased smile. It still seemed to shock Wormtail that he actually had friends – much as it did Remus.

"Are you all right?" Peter asked anxiously, peering at him from the rim of his glass. "You look thinner than last week."

"Yeah, Remus, what are you, anorexic?" James mocked Peter's consideration, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling. "I mean, Christ, have you lost half a pound?"

"Quick Peter, feed him whatever you've been eating!" Sirius said nastily, using the same tone he used for Snape, a boy that the Marauders (disregarding Moony; he had always been very neutral towards him) for Peter. He was often quite cruel to Peter, regardless to the fact that Peter did absolutely nothing wrong. Perhaps that was what annoyed him… Peter was always very careful not to annoy them, and in the process, annoyed the hell out of them. "Let's see if he can put on 8 pounds in a week like you did last week!"

Peter crossed his arms across his body self consciously, pale blue eyes defensive.

"It wasn't 13 pounds, it was 5. Besides, that isn't important," he spluttered, shaking his head slightly. "I really mean it, Moony, you look really ill, cuts and bruises all over your face." He leant forward, looking at his friend in wonder as if he was an interesting sort of animal. "Was it really bad this time?"

The other two, seeing a point to his words, turned to gaze at Remus. It was true, and he knew it; he was covered in cuts from his most recent transformation – he had known it would be a violent one this month, he could always tell, and had warned his friends away from coming with him. He couldn't remember much of it; the most he remembered was throwing himself against the bed that sat in there, hitting his head on the bed frame, blood seeping from the wound. It had been a superficial wound as Madame Rochelle had informed him, but it still bloody hurt. He automatically reached up to touch it, hissing slightly as he felt the sting of it from the contact with his fingertips. He let his hand drop to his side, suddenly feeling extremely aware of the attention he was getting from his friends.

"Guys, come on," he pleaded gently, looking at them each in turn, but looking away quickly – eye contact was not something he was accustomed to. "I'm not an animal."

"That's not what I've been hearing," Sirius commented with a wink, folding his arms across his chest. Remus blinked, looking at him suspiciously. Sirius made comments like this often, to see how much he could get out of his friends with minimal effort for his enjoyment. Was it another stupid remark? It must be, he mused, narrowing his eyes at his friend. He has nowhere to hear that from.

"What?" he protested feebly, unsure of where this was heading. "Have you been listening to Harriet Harsham again? You know she's lying, we only ever kis-"

"-you really think we'd listen to that moose?" James cut in, shaking his head, looking disappointed. "Really, Remus, you'd think you'd have more faith in us. Tut tut."

"Yeah, Remus. We've been listening to a much more reliable source," Sirius continued, looking as if he were thoroughly enjoying himself. Remus deciphered that it was because it was usually his sex life they were discussing rather than anyone else's – most definitely it was never Remus's. It was a well known fact that Remus never EVER kissed and told. "But don't worry; we won't talk about that now. You're ill, you need rest -"

"Should've thought of that before you all came barging in here whilst I was quite happily hiding from the cold," Remus replied irritably, pulling his blankets up a little to make his point. "And you can't just do that, you have to tell me who's been telling you what. It's a lie, whatever it is."

Peter suddenly flushed bright red, his eyes widening as he looked from James to Sirius. It was clear that he had just figured out what they were talking about, and was desperate for them to shut up. His eyes flitted to Remus, who was looking at him, confused, which only made him flush even brighter.

"James, Sirius, let's, umm, leave Remus alone now. Don't you think he's tired? I think we should, err, go."

His voice was just less than a squeak; were James and Sirius not so focused upon enjoying Remus's uncomfortable confusion, they would have definitely mocked him heavily. Their eyes, however, were focused upon Remus, whose cheeks had begun to flush despite him having no idea what they were talking about.

"No, no, the party's only just getting started!" Sirius crowed, leaping onto the end of Moony's bed. "But like I said, this isn't a conversation for now – nope!" he held up his hand to ward off Remus and his protest, "I will NOT allow interruptions. Let's, instead, discuss MY latest gossip!"

Remus raised his eyebrow, reaching up to brush away a lock of his pale brown hair from his eye. "You have gossip? I've been away for two nights and you have gossip? You complete and utter woman, Sirius."

"But I beg to differ," Sirius replied quickly, a devious smile appearing on his handsome face. Remus, despite feeling a little irritated at his friend for deliberately annoying him, couldn't help but smile at the look on his friend's face. He had likened it to a little boy who had just done something very naughty, and it was extremely endearing. "I am quite the man, my dear friend, and I have two reasons why. Number one," he touched one of his fingers, "I am officially shagging Grace Raymond, Ravenclaw Virgin-Extraordinaire. And number two," he held a second finger, "I managed to give her seven, yes, that magical number seven, earth shattering orgasms in the space of three hours." He grinned. He was clearly pleased with himself, and though Remus wanted to congratulate this cheeky looking boy, he was secretly annoyed at him for bragging about it. His face obviously said as much, as Sirius reached over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey, don't look at me like that, you know you actually want to hear every little detail," he teased lightly, winking again. "And if it makes you feel any better, it wasn't on your bed." He cast a side glance over to James. "It was James's."

"Awww, Sirius," James groaned, running his fingers through his untidy black hair. "I don't care who you shag, really, but I really do care if you do it on my bed. I was meant to be studying with Lily tonight, remember?"

Sirius grinned. "Don't have a cow, James. It's not like she returned the favour on yours." His eyes now slid to watch Peter squirm, having already figured out where this was heading. "I saved that treat for Peter."

"Don't," Peter moaned, covering his eyes. "That's disgusting, Sirius. Can't you take your conquests into her dorm?"

"No can do," was the reply as Sirius looked sheepishly at all of them, his grey eyes a little ashamed. "McGonagall caught me there the other day. She's bloody put a spell on the stairs so that no male or phallus-bearing creature can go up there."

"So that's how many girls now, Padfoot?" James asked, flopping onto the bed opposite Remus's. Sirius grinned, shrugging.

"I dunno… four, five?" At everyone's surprised expressions, Sirius raised his hands in protest. "Hey, hey, you just expect me to shag everything that moves? I pick and choose, pick and choose."

"Well no offence, Sirius, but I don't really want to listen to your latest conquests right now," Remus said, trying to inject a hint of apology into his tone. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much; recently he and Sirius seemed to have drifted apart, round about the same time that Sirius had begun to discover the delight that was girls. Remus figured that when Sirius was ready to talk about something other than his latest sex objects he would. He only hoped it would be sooner than later. Maybe if he himself had actually had sex, he could actually relate to his friend and talk to him about it – but he hadn't. He was as virgin as Grace had been the day before, and didn't think that would change anytime soon. Not that it bothered him. Better to wait for someone he really liked. "Maybe later, though, when I'm not so prone to exhaustion," he added, smiling weakly to show there was no animosity. "So what's this about you and Lily, James? She's finally agreed to spend some time with you on her own?"

"Yep," James answered happily, eyes sparkling at the mere mention of the redheads name. "Study buddies for the next four weeks, Tuesdays and Thursdays. And guess what?" Moony shrugged, reaching for his wand and summoning a liquorice wand from the pocket of his robes that hung over a chair by his bed. "She asked me. Can you believe it? I've been pursuing this girl for years and when we finally spend some time alone, it's her that wants to spend it with me!"

It was moments like this when Remus couldn't help but adore James; it had been his honesty and determination that had made him such an attractive friend to begin with, and he had never changed. Now, seeing him lazing on the bed with such a victorious, happy look on his face made all those years of moaning and longing completely worth it. He smiled.

"Well, just promise us that when the time comes, you'll use protection," Sirius warned, though they all knew that James had slept with one other girl already – Jenna Thorwood from their own house, the year above them. A particularly confident redhead, it was obvious that he had gone out with her simply because she reminded him of Lily. "And if you knock her up first time -"

"That is quite enough Mr. Black!" a shrill voice interrupted them, as Madame Rochelle stood in the doorway of her office. It wasn't clear how long she had been standing there, but by the flush in her cheeks, it could have been for at least five minutes. "I would think that with the state that Mr. Lupin is in, you'd at least speak with better taste than usual!"

"I taste just fine," Sirius replied, looking over at Remus and winking. Apparently his wink was in full throttle today. "But you're right. We'd best be going anyway, ma chérie," he continued, focusing his attention directly on Remus. "Will we see you later on today?"

Remus glanced at Madame Rochelle, who nodded curtly.

"I'll spend the rest of the day in the dorm," he said after some thought. "Don't worry about coming up to meet me before Lunch, I won't be hungry."

The other three Marauders stood, each of them patting their friend on the shoulder. Peter almost looked as if he were about to hug Remus, but though better of it as James and Sirius walked out of the door, calling "bye Moony" as they exited – Remus gave him an extra smile, before snuggling back under his blankets a little. It was still devastatingly cold. Madame Rochelle looked down at him with a small smile on her face.

"Despite Mr. Black being a complete rogue, they're nice boys," she said, patting him on the shoulder the same way that his friends had. "Dumbledore reckons they'd fall apart without you though. Must say, I quite agree. You're quite the neutralist!"

Lupin smiled faintly, thinking not for the first time that Dumbledore had it completely wrong.