Calendar Girls

Summary: Sirius gets a room-decorating idea from Peter, and confirms a suspicion about Remus. The Marauders in fourth year, just after the Christmas vacation. Pre-slash. Small unimportant DH spoiler, doesn't really matter if you haven't read the book.

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter world or its characters. J. K. Rowling does.

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, known collectively as the Marauders, were rummaging in their trunks, taking out books and pictures to put on their bedside lockers, and chatting about what they had done in the holidays. Sirius was unreservedly happy to be back at Hogwarts; the other three had mixed feelings, because they actually liked their homes and families. But thoughts of home were rapidly fading as the boys settled into the familiar surroundings of the castle, the dormitory, their red-curtained beds.

"Hey, what's that?" James called out, as Peter threw a rectangular object across the room to land in a waste basket.

"Calendar. Last year's," replied Peter.

James, idly curious, picked up the object and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed. "Peter, you sly git, you! Look at this, Pads, it's girls!"

Sirius ambled over to James's bed and sat on it, looking over James's shoulder.

"Damn right. And in skimpy little bikini bathing suits, too. Where'd you get this, Wormy? Why'd you keep it to yourself? Why haven't I seen it before?"

"You have," Peter said, grinning. "I stuck it on the wall behind my bed."

"But I've seen that calendar you had there," said James. "And it was pictures of windmills, and tulip fields, and stuff."

"Yes," Peter agreed, "I charmed it so that if anyone but me looked at it, they would see Scenes of the Netherlands."

"Crafty bugger," Sirius said admiringly. "Look, do you think I could keep this?"

"Course you can. I was throwing it out anyway, I've got a new one. My uncle gives me them, he's in the garage business."

James and Sirius ogled the pictures together. "They're Muggles," James said suddenly.

"Course they're Muggles. That's what I like about them," Sirius answered. "I'm going to stick these pages up all around the walls of my room at home. My mum will be well pissed off, I'll use a permanent sticking charm so she can't take them down. She hates anything like that." He affected a high, querulous voice: "Young women flaunting themselves! It's disgusting!" Lowering his voice to its normal pitch, he added "And them being Muggles will make it all the worse. Which one do you think's the best-looking, Prongs?"

James studied the pictures again. "Can't decide between August and December," he said finally.

The only two redheads, thought Sirius. That figures. "What about you, Wormy?" he said aloud. "Who do you like best?"

"July. She's got the biggest knockers," Peter said. "Who's your favourite?"

"Oh, don't ask me to choose," said Sirius dramatically. "They're all so gorgeous, I can't pick just one. Tell you what, though, I don't like the colour of April's bikini. She'd look better without it."

James and Peter sniggered. "Wouldn't they all! But Moony, you haven't told us your choice yet. Come and look," James said.

Remus took the calendar and turned its pages slowly, looking at each pretty, smiling face in turn. "February," he said at last, and putting the calendar down on James's bed, he went back to his own.

Sirius picked up the calendar. February looked up at him, motionless as Muggle pictures are: black-haired, grey-eyed, with perfect skin and classically beautiful features. He looked across the room at Remus delving in his trunk again, and felt a mixture of affection, understanding, pity, and something indefinable, something like awe. He smiled. Dear Moony. So transparent.