Disclaimer: Neither Mindy, nor Katie, nor Remy owns Harry Potter although someday very soon Mindy and Remy will save up enough money to buy Remus and Sirius. So far we have 10.09 feel free to contribute. If you do you can have either of them for a night…
Lily hurried onto platform nine and three quarters, pushing her flame like hair behind her ear absently. Muttering to herself she didn't notice the figure standing in front of her until it was to late. She slammed into him full force and fell with a loud groan onto her butt. She heard a nasally voice sneer at her "Well, well, well if it isn't the pesky mud blood, it's about time you realized where you belonged. Now why don't you just stay there." She glanced up into the nostrils of an overly large nose. Shuddering she righted herself.
"Yes, Yes it's nice to see you to Severus. How was your summer? Really well that's nice but I really must be going now." Brushing past him she continued on her way trying desperately to find an empty seat on the crowded Hogwarts express.
Sounds issued from a nearby compartment. Sounds that sounded suspiciously like a bull had trampled the luggage of every student at Hogwarts. Lily pulled the door open and quirked an amused eyebrow at the scene before her. "Whatever are you doing in here?" she asked.
James jumped, blushing, from his perch on Sirius's shoulders. "I was, erm, trying to see if he could lift me." He paused. "It turns out he can." He finished lamely.
"Aw, mate." Sirius shook his head sadly and put an arm around his friend's shoulders. "That's not what we were doing at all." He looked at Lily. "See, I asked him when he was planning on getting into your knickers and he got all upset for some reason." James attacked him again, screaming words that Lily was sure his mother would have boxed his ears for. Lily rolled her eyes and walked away. Boys.
As Lily turned her back James cast a withering glare at Sirius who just looked about innocently. "Well, bloody hell mate look what you've done! We haven't even arrived at school yet and she's already mad at me."
Sirius blinked innocently once again before whining "But James, you spent this whole summer telling me not to lie. So I finally understood and did what you've been telling me to do, and now you're yelling at me? You sure do know how to confuse a bloke." James groaned and put his head into his hands.
"You can cut the innocent act mate. We both know that you never pay any attention to anything I say unless it suits your purposes."
"Now James, why would you say such an awful thing? You make my heart weep tears of blood!" James's only reply was another glare to which Sirius countered with his own. The two sat glaring at each other until the door to their compartment swung open.
"Oh my, I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Remus questioned the hint of mocking laughter hid expertly under a concerned façade. As both his friends hastened to deny what he had inferred he allowed his amusement to show in the form of a low chuckle that immediately had them ceasing their fervent denials and trapping him in a headlock.
Remus fought the double headlock really he did. And he wanted to fight fair really. But the smell of their armpits drove him to desperate measures. He turned his head slightly so that Sirius's robed arm was in his sights and promptly bit down as hard as he could. As can be expected Sirius quickly let him go while screeching at the top of his lungs. "He bit me! That bloody bugger bit me!" Hit him James, Hit him!"
James dropped his arm long enough to do what Sirius asked and Remus took that opportunity to lunge for Sirius. He tackled him to the floor and for one brief second sat on top of him, before Sirius who was bigger and stronger flipped him over and pinned his legs down. Enclosing his wrists in one gigantic palm he raised them over Remus's head and whispered his breath hot on Remus's neck. "Do you yield?"
"Yes!" Remus shouted. "I yield. Just get the hell off me."
The larger boy grinned in satisfaction. "Promise to be a good boy?"
"I promise to not attack you for the rest of the train ride if you'll get your sodding paws off me!" Remus hissed through clenched teeth.
Sirius released Remus's hands and jumped up. Remus pulled himself unsteadily to his feet and, grumbling brushed himself off. The door to the compartment burst open yet again, this time admitting a small, plump boy. "Sorry I'm late." Peter panted, leaning heavily on the doorframe. "I overslept and nearly missed the train. Mum threw a fit when she realized I'd barely begun packing my trunk. I was going to be on time this year, really I was- did I miss anything?"
The other three boys looked at each other briefly and smiled. "Not a thing" the three said in unison.
Peter looked at the three boys curiously, but he knew from the looks on their faces that they weren't going to reveal anything. Shrugging, he placed his suitcase away and collapsed onto the closest seat to him. The other three boys followed suit, giving each other private looks. When Sirius caught Remus's eye, the two slightly flushed and looked away. Feeling odd, Remus looked out the window, trying to clear his jumbled thoughts.
James broke through the odd silence, not seeming to have noticed the cloud that had unexpectedly fallen over the compartment. "So, how was everyone's summer?"
Peter having noticed the awkwardness that appeared between two of his best friends jumped happily onto the new subject. "My summer was great. I went to America with Mum (who was getting over the divorce). Those Yanks are bloody rude. But they know how to cook and everything is so much cheaper! We went to New York, the yanks call it the big apple but I forgot to ask why and they have this huge green statue that takes up almost the whole of an island. And then we went to Los Angeles and Mum went to this casino and lost a whole lot of money so we had to come back. But I met this wonderful girl. She was standing on the street corner wearing almost nothing, and I thought it was because she was hot so I offered to let her come to the hotel room with me, because it was air conditioned."
"Hold-up mate, what the bloody hell is air conditioning?" Sirius interrupted his friend.
"Oh that, Mum decided that we were going as muggles the entire summer so that's what we did. Air conditioning is this rather brilliant invention that keeps a room all cold even when it's hot inside. Now back to my story. The girl, whose name was Scarlet, said o.k. so we went back to the hotel room. And then I guess she was still hot because she started to take off her clothes, and then she wanted me to take off mine, but I wasn't hot so I said no. So she just told me that she was so grateful for what I'd done and wouldn't I let her reward me. So I said yes of course. And then we did… it…" He blushed profusely at the mention of "it" and his already bright red face turned puce. "Then I fell asleep and when I woke up my wallet was missing. I guess I must have dropped it somewhere. And Scarlet was gone too."
The others all muffled a snort and had a quick eye conversation deciding whether or not to tell Peter that the woman he lost his innocence to was a hooker. Before deciding that it would be kinder (and easier to let him believe otherwise).
"So," Sirius said awkwardly, "Anyone else meet a scantily clad woman this summer?" The other two grinned nastily.
Peter frowned. "I'm sure she doesn't always dress like that." He said. "She was just hot."
"Of course, Pete." Sirius said, winking. "And even if she never was fully clothed, you'd never hear me complaining."
"Say, I wonder when the cart of food is coming?" Remus changed the subject briskly.
"Dunno, but I hope it's soon." Sirius replied. "I'm famished."
"Of course you are." James replied smoothly. "You'll eat anything. Ever."
"Not peas." Sirius answered amicably. "I never eat peas." Remus sighed, ignoring the banter behind him.
As if called, the witch pushing the cart of snacks knocked on the door to the compartment. "Caramel Cauldrons, two sickles." She called. "Any of you dear students want some?"
"Oh!" Peter said, eyes wide with delight. "I'll take two Caramel Cauldrons, four Pumpkin Pasties, and a Chocolate Frog." He doled out enough metal coins to build a small model train.
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Should you be getting so much?" he asked. "You just had lunch, and the beginning of term feast is in a few hours. You'll ruin your dinner."
"And your point is?" Sirius piped up, sitting back in his seat with his package of Chocolate Frogs. "C'mon, let him eat it. I bet his Mum's had him eating vegetables, of all things."
"Actually-"
"Quiet, Peter. I'm getting Mister Power-Mad Prefect here to let you eat your snacks."
"Oh." Peter said.
"Anyway, I'm sure the poor thing's desperately hungry, what with not having eaten anything but vegetables all summer-"
"I am! I am! Lunch seems hours ago, and it'll be a long train ride without anything to eat." Peter moaned.
"Your Mum packed us a picnic basket full of sandwiches." Remus observed dryly.
"I mean, it'll be a long train ride without anything good to eat." Peter blundered.
"Of course." Remus replied skeptically, watching with amusement as Peter struggled with the wrappings on a Pumpkin Pasty.
"'Sides." Sirius said, mouth full of his own confection, "It would seem a bit hypocritical of you to not let him have his cakes when you're going to eat a Chocolate Frog."
"I am not." Remus answered hotly. "I didn't buy any, see?"
"Yes, but I'm giving you one of mine." Sirius explained patiently, like Remus was a mentally slow younger brother he was teaching something new. "Unless of course you don't want it…"
Remus groaned into his hands. He appeared to be waging an internal battle, which lasted exactly 7.65 seconds by James's count. Which was actually a new record for Remus, James figured that he had worked on his self-control over the summer. "You fight dirty." Remus snarled at Sirius before snatching the chocolate frog out of his outstretched hand and slowly, reverently unwrapping it. As soon as the frog hopped out of the package and he tossed the card (Agrippa) to James before snatching it in midair.
He stared at the squirming frog for a minute before gently lifting it to his lips and inserting it slowly into his mouth and chomping down hard on it. His mouth closed and he appeared to be in that perfect bliss that so many people find their lives searching for. He was in fact so caught up in his own one guilty pleasure that he didn't notice the proud glance that Sirius shot towards Peter.
Remus reluctantly opened his eyes and licked his lips hoping to catch a lingering taste of the chocolate, an action that Sirius followed eagerly with his eyes. James slowly held out his hand "Here mate, you can have one of mine too. If you want it." Remus didn't even last two seconds before he snatched it out of James's hand and the whole process began over again.
While Remus was preoccupied with his chocolate Peter was trying to steal one of Sirius's pumpkin pasties having already finished his own. And Sirius was holding it tauntingly out of reach. Finally, tired of his futile attempts at jumping Peter lunged at Sirius and knocked him into James who fell into Remus who had the chocolate frog knocked out of his mouth. He turned around to send a deadly glare at Peter and promptly tackled him wrapping his hands around Peter's thick neck and slowly tightening while watching with savage pleasure as Peter's face turned red, then blue, then purple and he started clawing desperately at his hands. Sirius slowly approached the crazed Remus, holding yet another chocolate frog in his hands.
"Remus" His voice was low and soothing "Common mate, I have another one. Yes that's a bloke, come on let Peter go now. Yes just like that. Now I'm going to put the chocolate down and then it's all yours." Remus slowly released his grip on Peter's neck and, getting off Peter, started his chocolate ritual all over again.
Waiting until Remus got the blissful look on his face again, Peter went searching for his chocolate frog. Only to discover it missing. He glanced at Sirius "Hey mate, do you happen to know where my chocolate frog went?" Sirius only glanced meaningfully at Remus. "Oh, right then." Peter mumbled before sitting back down.
As Remus's mind cleared from the chocolate induced fog the realization of what he had done dawned on him. Well it wasn't really dawning because dawning happens sort of slowly but with Remus it happened rather quickly. So perhaps it would be better to say that the realization of what he had done crashed down upon him as Dorothy's house crashed upon the wicked witch. And with this realization came a kind of sick remorse. "Peter" his voice was made hoarse by the regret that flooded him. "I am so sorry. So very sorry, it's just that tonight is the full moon and my control has been so shaky lately. Please forgive me." Peter looked at his friends whose eyes were filled with regret.
He rubbed absently at the bruises forming at his neck and watched his friend wince. His mouth opened to speak but Sirius interrupted him "That's alright mate, Peter forgives you he understands damn time of the month makes you just like a woman." Peter just nodded his head as Sirius spoke. And Remus looked like a heavy weight was lifted off his chest and he went back to staring out the window.
Around five minutes later a tall teen walked into the room. His dark hair was greasy and he sneered at the Marauders. His beady black eyes narrowed in on the too pale Remus. "What's the matter werewolf you're looking a little pale. Are you feeling alright? After all we want you in perfect health so you can go howl at the moon and reaffirm the townspeople's belief in the haunted shrieking shack."
Sirius snarled and the intruder but remained silent as Remus stood up dusting off his robes. "Go away Snape, I refuse to have a battle of wits with someone who is unarmed. Surely by now you realize that." Snape snarled and raised his wand and instantly Sirius and James were at Remus's side. They each swung an arm around Remus's shoulders and spoke in falsely cheerful tones.
"That's our Remus for you, so damn noble. Now James and I have no such reservations. Do we mate?"
"Not a one. I in fact have found myself in a rotten mood and I think I know just the cure for it." James grinned maliciously at Snape.
"Butt out Potter, Black." Snape snarled at the boys who seemed to be ignoring him.
"Say Sirius do you happen to know the sexual position that produces the ugliest children?"
"No, can't say that I do." He flashed a grin at James. "Why don't we send an owl to Mrs. Snape. I'm sure she would get over her dislike of Gryffindors if only to prevent another disaster like that" he gestured vaguely in Snape's direction "from happening. She is such an obliging broad you know."
"Oh I do. She's always so eager to help out with any problem" He winked lewdly. They watched with great amusement as Snape raised his wand again.
"Don't ever speak of my mother that way again!" He shouted at the two boys who were, once again, ignoring him.
"So James do you want to take him or shall I?"
"I would be much obliged if I could. I still don't feel quite peachy yet."
"Alright then be my guest." James took one step forward and sent a strong right hook at Snape. It landed with a satisfying crack and Snape flew out the door. Sirius shut the door to the compartment with a snap and grinned at his companions.
"You know I suddenly feel so much better." James commented.
"Yeah, there is nothing like a good old fashioned Snape beating to lift a blokes spirits up."
"You know. Maybe we aren't being quite fair to him. It isn't his fault his mother liked to experiment with sexual positions and then seeing the result dropped him dozens of times on his head in hope of seeing an improvement."
"I could have handled him. There was no need to get so violent." Remus commented.
"But Remus, it's so fun!" Sirius told him and Remus just smiled indulgently at his friend.
"Well, it wouldn't be fair of me to take away your fun would it?"
"No, not fair at all."
"We're so glad you agree with us!" Sirius threw his arms around Remus for a second before hopping over to James and discussing the various merits of a flying motorcycle as opposed to a broom.