((AN: Wrote this as a Valentine's gift for an exchange on the Remus/Sirius DA club. :3 The prompt was to write a fanfic based on the song "Crystal Ball" by Keane. I sort of failed at the prompt, but I did listen to that song alot, sooo... haha. Also, abrupt ending is abrupt, sorry.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter))
The end had come too soon. Remus could have sworn that just the other day he had met these three troublemakers. Just the other day they had taken their OWLs, comforted James after Lily rejected him yet again, raced in the forest as animals for the first time...
And what were they doing now? Packing. Packing for the seventh and final time. Remus wanted it all back, wanted to relive the last seven years all over again for eternity. He wasn't ready to lose every one of his friends. It was inevitable that the four of them would part ways. It had been happening already in the last few months.
James had finally gotten a date with Lily and eventually became her boyfriend. As a result he spent far less time with the rest of them. Lily did not approve of jokes and tricks. Though Remus liked her quite a bit and found her to be a good influence on James, he couldn't help but resent her a little. It was she who had started unraveling them.
With James frequently absent from their lives, Sirius became more vicious. Without James to keep him in check, the jokes got less funny. Some pranks were just downright cruel. Remus had tried to talk to him on several occasions, but Sirius didn't want to hear it. It hurt Remus to see the other boy in such a state, as he knew Sirius was just acting out because he missed James. All the poor werewolf could do was apologize to to dog's victims, hoping they would understand.
There was also a rather ugly incident involving the Marauder's map. Sirius had been using it extensively at this time and, consequently, it had been discovered by Filch. James had been livid when he found out. The two didn't talk for a week after that.
And then there was Peter. With James in love, Sirius on a rampage, and Remus trying to keep the peace, there was no time left for the boy. Remus made an extra effort to spend time with him, but over time Peter grew irritated with this arrangement. He felt as though he was being pitied. "And how pathetic is that? Being pitied by the same bloke who gets everyone else's pity." The words still stung.
"Oi Moony, you're standing on my socks."
This roused Remus out of his melancholy thoughts with a start. He took a step back off of Sirius' socks and quickly returned to folding his own clothes. It was then that he regretted moving. What if he would have stayed? Standing on Sirius' socks for all eternity. Sirius wouldn't have left without his socks. Peter wouldn't have left without Sirius. And James? Well Remus hoped he wouldn't have left without Sirius, though he wasn't entirely sure.
That was ridiculous. Of course Sirius would leave without his socks. And without Remus.
He was expendable. He brought nothing to the group except for his affliction. It was only his disease that kept the group together. Without the burden of having to keep him company, they all could have parted ways long ago. Remus feared that this would keep them together after Hogwarts. Everyone would feel obligated to watch over him during the full moon. It would turn into a chore, their monthly outings. Then everyone would come to resent Remus for forcing the lot of them to spend time together when it was so obvious that they didn't want to.
"I think it's folded enough mate."
James was at his shoulder now, looking a bit worried. Remus hadn't realized that he'd been folding the same pair of pants for several minutes and they were quite wrinkled now. "Oh... yeah thanks."
"Something's wrong with you." It was Sirius who spoke this time. He was sitting on his trunk, attempting to get it shut. Of course nothing in there was folded, so it didn't fit properly. There was a spell for that, but Sirius hadn't even bothered with magic. Remus simply preferred to fold his clothes by hand, as he never felt that they were folded correctly with magic.
"It's not the full moon is it?" Peter asked, looking up from his messy pile. He was sorting through his things, deciding what to keep and what could be thrown away. A large pile of candy wrappers sat in the throw away pile. They had no doubt come from under his bed.
"Don't be thick Wormtail, it's not 'till next week," Sirius chided.
"I'm fine, really," Remus insisted, turning to face all of them. "It's just that it's our last day together. I was just... I don't know, expecting a grander farewell."
Three pairs of eyes were staring at him now, making him feel slightly uncomfortable. He watched as their expressions gradually changed into something that resembled guilt. It was true, under normal circumstances the Marauders would have gone out with a bang, something extravagant to leave their mark on the school.
It was James who had spoken first, but Remus really wished he wouldn't have. "I'm up for anything that doesn't involve getting in trouble." Sirius visibly flinched at this, but Remus was sure that he was the only one who noticed.
"Then you're not invited," Sirius said simply, appearing at Remus' side. "Moony, Wormtail, we're going to steal everyone's left shoe."
"Everyone's? Where are we going to put them all?!" Sirius had one arm around Remus and the other around the excitable Peter, obviously set on excluding James, who looked quite put out. This wasn't what Remus wanted. Not at all.
"Sirius. I'd like to have a word with you." Remus pulled away from his grasp and gave him a long, hard look. The dog looked the picture of innocence, as if he had no idea what he had done wrong. This look only further irritated Remus as he pulled him into the bathroom. This was the only place for privacy in the dormitory.
"What is Moony? We have some shoes to steal! I think we should start with Prongs. Merlin knows he doesn't even need shoes anymore. He floats now you know. Just yesterd--"
"Sirius. Stop it," Remus said sharply, startling the other boy. "I've been letting you take out your frustration on everyone for weeks now, but it stops now. I know how much you miss James, but you're going to have to get over it. We're all going to part ways now, and I'd rather not do it on bad terms. Call me selfish if you wish, but I'd rather my last memory of you wasn't you pouting like a child."
"...Last memory? But we're not-- Moony we're still going to be friends after Hogwarts," Sirius insisted, frowning now and leaning against the door.
"Are we even friends now? Lately the four of us haven't exactly been speaking on a regular basis." Remus shifted rather uncomfortably, avoiding Sirius' eyes. He didn't want to be looking when the other boy realized that they were indeed no longer friends. The silence from Sirius wasn't helping.
"Its just James. I still like you and Peter," he said after a long moment. Remus' words had really hit him hard. They hadn't been very good friends lately, and now they were graduating. Leaving on such bad terms really would split them up...
"You've hardly said two words to Peter since last week," Remus pointed out skeptically. "And the last time you and I talked you called me a git and told me to mind my own business."
"I did... didn't I?" Sirius shook his head and let out a long sigh. "Sorry Moony. It's just that James--" Remus held up his hands to stop the other boy. He knew.
"James is happy, and I know that you're secretly happy for him too, no matter how miserable you are." Sirius was ready to protest furiously, but Remus stopped him again. "I also know that you do still like James very much. Now, we're going back out there and you are going to tell everyone that we're going to the Hog's Head."
Remus knew he was going to regret this statement when Sirius' eyes lit up. "The Hog's Head? Moony I could kiss you right now. You never let us go to the Hog's Head."
There were a few good reasons that the Marauders were not allowed to go to the Hog's Head. One, they had no problem giving hard drinks to minors. Not that it mattered much anymore, as they were all of age. Two, they had to sneak out to get there. Again, not an issue anymore. But the last and most important reason was that Sirius was the most annoying drunk in the world.
"I'd really rather you didn't kiss me," he retorted, moving to the door. Unfortunately Sirius happened to be blocking it and he didn't look like he was willing to move. Remus glanced up at him in irritation. "We can't very well go to the Hog's Head if we're going to stand around in a bathroom all day."
There were many things that Remus Lupin would never understand about Sirius Black. This list included his ownership of a flying motor bike and ability to waste an entire hour washing his hair. It also included the kiss Sirius gave him at that moment.
It was a simple peck, though it had the power to turn Remus' entire face red. He stood there gaping as Sirius simply shrugged at him, looking as casual as ever. "You know when girls say no, it really mean yes."
"W-well I happen to be male. If you've forgotten," he huffed, still rather shocked about the whole thing. It wasn't an unpleasant experience, just an extremely confusing one.
"Whatever you say Moony, whatever you say." Sirius slung an arm around his friend's shoulder. "Now let's go get bloody plastered."
No one could say for sure what happened that night, as they all had little memory of it the next day, but it reunited the Marauders.