One more time
Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Harry potter but if you think I do, then I'm honored.
A/N: uh I don't think that one more night of our beloved marauders on their beloved Hogwarts grounds is too much to ask for, so yeah…..read on.
Two men sat across each other, one with his shoulders hunched in on himself as though they bore the weight of the world and the other with his head thrown back and leaning his chair on two legs, staring at the ceiling. They each held a bottle of butter beer but neither drank; their thoughts had carried them far away from the dark kitchen that they were currently in.
"Thirty five….." Remus lupin said his voice barely audible. The other marauder let his chair fall back on its four legs and stretched his arms.
"Thirty five" he said, repeating his friend's words just as quietly and lapsed into silence. A few seconds ticked by and Sirius black began to laugh, his bark like laughter echoing throughout the room. Remus looked sadder, if that was possible as he looked into the grey eyes that were no longer a burning flame but a burned out hearth.
"Don't look like that moony" Sirius said softly, "I'm partial to that pained expression of yours"
Remus tried to smile, but faltered and knowing there was no use in pretending, he let the smile fade off just as quickly as it had come. Sirius studied the changing expression on his friends face and smiled a sad smile.
"You were right, as usual" Sirius said as lightly as he could.
"And like always, I'm left wishing I was wrong" Remus replied, shaking his head.
"You rarely are" was the teasing reply and Remus could only sigh.
"Why did I have to end up being right?" he finally whined as he saw that Sirius was giving him the 'come on, the world wouldn't be right if you weren't' look that he had perfected so many years ago to wordlessly crush the werewolf's 'I can be wrong too' defenses. At this Sirius lost his smile and his expression switched too brooding.
"Probably because you were the only one who did not think the world of himself and was therefore more rational….as usual" he said
"That's not fair! I believed we were as indestructible as the two of you thought us to be" came the instant protest.
"You believed that we could survive the war and hold our own, we believed we could take down the darkness and uh conquer it…..there's quite a difference between that moony, and for once I can see why many called us naïve though arrogant, over confident jerks is more fitting, but we were too adorable to be called names weren't we?" Sirius asked, trying as usual to lighten the mood and make that faint smile tug at his best friends lip.
"Of course you were, if lily couldn't hold a grudge against the pair of you for more than a few hours I doubt anyone else ever can" Remus said, chuckling.
"Ah lily flower never could be angry with one as charming as me…." Sirius said instantly cheered.
"That wasn't being charming Sirius, it's called being a clown" Remus replied wryly
"Moony! You wound me….." Sirius said in mock hurt tones as Remus rolled his eyes.
Silence fell upon them again, but it was less suffocating this time as they waited for the minutes to pass.
"To be fair, prongs hadn't asked for much" Sirius said, thinking back on what James had said when lily had one day asked them what they thought they would be doing at thirty five.
"to be an auror and to receive letters from Hogwarts on a daily basis, complaining of the various maraudering activities of the child lily bore him" Remus said smiling "yes that wasn't much to ask at all…."he agreed before adding "you didn't ask for much either padfoot mate" Sirius laughed again, but there was a bitter edge to it this time.
"I wanted to be the best auror and fill Azkaban with blacks, but I sure as hell hadn't meant myself alright, I had seen myself sitting with my backside safely in my office, writing a letter to James's child offering pranking advice….." he said striving to seem casual.
"And when I said I would be missing the golden days, I hadn't ever thought it would be because we would be mourning one of our number…." Remus said, his voice breaking towards the end.
"Maybe we wouldn't be mourning anyone if it had just been the three of us…..if only it could be the three of us again….." Sirius said his voice drifting off wishfully.
"What wouldn't I give to have the old times again, just one more time…?" Remus asked his voice just as wishful. "To roam the Hogwarts grounds as a marauder once more" what Remus had missed when he closed his eyes was the flash of Sirius's as they stared at him with increasing resolve.
"We'll do it, this full moon…"Sirius said as Remus snapped his eyes open in shock.
"What Sirius you-" Remus started weakly as he stared into the determined grey eyes that held his gaze.
"No, its decided…..the marauders will be back in Hogwarts this full moon and wherever James is he can get his sorry ass there or he will be sorrier when I finally meet him" Sirius said, as he reached for his drink and downed it in one gulp.
Remus nodded slowly, he was only mortal and what chance did he have when even the god's above couldn't change Sirius blacks mind once he had set it to doing something?
And unseen to the two men, a third man nodded sadly before moving closer to his wife for solace as they together watched over their surviving friends.
So one more time it would be…..when a werewolf, dog and stag together prowled the grounds.
A/N: I'm done…and if you liked this and want me to put up its prequel, then do tell me! Reviews appreciated. Peace out!