No Better Mistake

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, or any other related characters from the world of Harry Potter. I also don't own the setting, plot lines, relationships, etc. ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH HARRY POTTER BELONGS TO J.K. ROWLING. : )

Notes:

Thank you guys SO MUCH for the alerts and comments and stuff! I'm so happy to see that people are interested, because I've been working on this fanfiction for a long time! It's actually completed - I'll just be posting a new chapter every couple days.

If you have any questions about the story or me, or anything, just let me know!

Thanks again guys! 3

2

Lifting his eyes skyward, Remus Lupin gazed resentfully toward the shimmering, hazy ball of light above him. The sun was beating down hard on his pale skin, burning holes as it mocked him. Remus sighed, scuffing the toe of his trainer along the warped wood of his back deck, averting his gaze from the object of his hatred and using dirty nails to pull and tear at the peeling wood. As he rolled a pale splinter between his fingers, he sighed again. There was no doubt about it; Remus was growing bored and frustrated of the summer holidays. It had been fun for awhile, relaxing, reading, and seeing his parents, but now he was irritated by the fact he couldn't perform magic, and he was itching to get back to Hogwarts; his true home, and the Marauders; his family.

Remus brushed off the back of his jeans, which, several summers ago had become too short and had been chopped viciously to knee length, and rose, shoving his hands in his pockets as he began, yet again, to stride across his family's expansive land. They didn't own it all because they were particularly wealthy, or even because they needed it to farm or raise animals; in fact, the several acres of rolling, grassy fields and tangled forests served another purpose entirely. At the age of ten, Remus' parents had told him, with tight smiles, that the home they were buying was a quaint, countryside cottage, and "a little fresh air and space would be good for them all". The real reason they moved, they all knew, was for Remus—or, rather, because of him. The family's suburban home had quickly become impractical after Remus' attack, and the open land, away from possible werewolf prey, provided a secretive and evasive space. And, Remus mused, as he slowly trod along the worn paths, it wasn't that this was a bad thing (he quite agreed with it on a practical sense), but it certainly made interactions with other wizards difficult.

Remus was ever grateful for owl post. At the thought, he let his eyes glance skyward again, as if expecting to see an army of owls come swooping down, but the clear, cerulean sky showed nothing of the sort. The letters from his friends helped ease the complete solitude of his living situation, but Remus yearned for his school four-poster and the constant companion of his three best friends: Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, and Sirius Black. Remus' mother, a ministry worker, Apparated out early every morning, and his father, the successful owner of a small bookshop, did the same, leaving Remus alone in the vast expanse of land from dawn until late evening. The family did not argue or bicker, but they were certainly not as close as they could be. There was, and always would be, a certain discomfort over Remus' "problem", as both parents could never seem to find the words to discuss it. Family dinners were regular, and smiles and light laughter were exchanged over the passing of peas and carrots, but no real substance was ever discussed, and the Lupins knew very little of Remus' friends or work at Hogwarts. As a result of this disconnect and solitude, Remus spent his days wandering the grass; his nights reading; and his monthly transformations far away from the small cottage.

At the present moment, it was late afternoon, and as Remus wandered and pondered, he desperately wished for something: a prank to play on Snape, a Quidditch match, a fierce debate with James, or a biting joke from Sirius, funny only because it was aimed at someone else. The four friends were about to enter their seventh year (Remus would turn seventeen just before the cutoff; the youngest of the group), and were finally maturing, but still, Remus hung on to the spontaneity and pranks of their younger years. Although James and Sirius took the forefront of most of their trysts, Remus was often the brains behind them. He didn't always agree with their methods or motives, but, after six years together, the thought process behind new spells to dye Snape's hair or trick younger Gryffindors into taking the wrong staircase were almost second nature. He contemplated his position in the group as he picked off blades of grass, splitting them down their center. He didn't feel sorry for himself—he never did, he was only irritated, and wishing…

In the thick heat and stillness of the day, a breeze suddenly rippled across the lush green ocean, making waves that bent and broke at Remus' feet. Surprised, he looked around, wiping his hair (which was in need of a trim by now) off of his sweaty brow; searching for the cause of movement. In a fraction of a second, a deep, dragon's rumble filled the air, and Remus squinted his eyes as something large, black, and loud came hurtling directly toward his head.

Shocked, he dove to avoid the intruding, flying object—as much as he could at least, because it was only a matter of moments as a huge, black motorbike hovered, then landed, mere inches away from him. Remus didn't move from his crouched position within the grass; feeling the blades scratch against his shins and tickle his chin. The figure on the bike jumped off, and that was when Remus stood up and ran toward him, because pulling off a black helmet and rucksack and shaking out his long hair was none other than Sirius Black.

"Hey!" Sirius called over the dying roar of the machine's engine. The two momentarily embraced; Remus felt Sirius' sweat-soaked back underneath his palms during their brief hug, and he knew his own sticky t-shirt felt the same. He felt awkward about this, but only slightly, because the touch ended almost as soon as it began. Breaking apart, the two grinned. Sirius was handsome, with proud, lean features and a contrasting wide smile that was genuine always around his best friends. Remus' face was flooded with color, and the sun reflected off of his caramel-colored eyes as if the light burst from inside of him, struggling to get out. With a long arm, Sirius gestured widely to the shining bike before them, which glittered in the afternoon sun. "What do you think?" he asked.

Remus ran a hand down the bike's smooth, onyx surface. "Where did you get a flying motorcycle?" he asked, not really answering Sirius' question. He knew the boy was intrigued, had always been intrigued with Muggle automobiles. Sirius had confessed to him once that the home he lived in, though it was one of a strict pureblood heritage, stood secretly between dozens of Muggle homes, and Sirius had spent long hours of his childhood watching the cars and bikes outside, counting the different colors. For a long time, Sirius had spoken of his desire to obtain a driver's license, and the past year he had plastered their dormitory with stationary photos and clippings of motorcycles. However, as he and Sirius both knew, no motorcycles flew in the Muggle world, so it could only be inferred that…

"I… modified it, a little," Sirius admitted, still grinning, "and used a good bit of the money from my parents." Two summers before, Sirius had, in a wild rage, ran away from the home where his infatuation had begun, and he had been living with James' much more tolerant family in Godric's Hollow ever since. James parents, though pureblood like Sirius' were happy to accept Sirius' love for Muggle inventions, and doted over Remus, despite knowing that he was a werewolf. They would have been happy to support Sirius, however, prior to outbreak, he had emptied as much as he could from the Black family's vault, despite the fact that his (also dubbed "traitor") uncle had left him a considerable sum of money, and Remus assumed that was what he was talking about when he said "from my parents". As far as the "modifications" went, Sirius may have been stingy with schoolwork in the past, but he was no idiot—and the combined efforts of himself, James, who was quite keen on Transfiguration, and Lily Evans (who had finally become quite friendly with the group, and, as Remus knew, spent a large portion of her time with both in Godric's Hollow), a stellar Charms student, would probably have produced some very neat and well-executed additions to the bike. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Remus, although he was no real judge of any vehicles, especially not flying ones (he didn't even enjoy being up on a broomstick), had to agree. The bike was indeed impressive, but the way it lit up Sirius' face was the real beauty. Remus spent so many hours longing for their younger days for several reasons now; one of them being the changes in Sirius as the group of four approached their seventh, and final year of school. After the close, and very horrifying brush with death and expulsion they had all experienced with Snape, the group had changed in a way Remus had not foreseen, and this change had caused both good and bad. James had indeed saved Severus Snape from certain death, and the act of saving one of Lily's oldest (and strangest) friends had not gone unnoticed by the redhead, despite her apparent anger with the Slytherin. James had finally learned to stop performing tricks and shows around her, and now strove to impress her with his knowledge, and loyalty—traits he had always possessed, but now, they had earned him the position of Head Boy for their upcoming year. Sirius had grown more solemn as well as he aged; the grinning, cocky Gryffindor still existed, but the incident with Snape and then the removal from his home had been the final straws to Sirius, no matter how much he had hated Grimmauld Place. Sirius was no longer a boy who messed around with dangerous jokes; he was a man: hardened, experienced, and more determined than ever to stand for what he thought was right in the world. Remus had not seen such a pure joy shine in Sirius' eyes in a very long time, and he, for one, was glad.

"It is, " he finally agreed, looking up at his older friend, "It's really cool, Padfoot."

Content, Sirius now gazed off toward the direction of Remus' distant home, squinting in the bright light. The Marauders had never been to his place for obvious reasons, and so Remus could only guess that Sirius had installed some sort of directional system in the very changed bike. Sirius cast wide glances over the fields, a smile playing across his face, and Remus wondered if he was thinking of Quidditch, where he had formally played beater, or perhaps all the open space he could have had to ride or fly his new motorcycle.

"Great space, Moony," Sirius commented, "it's huge out here." He turned with a knowing look at Remus, and, for some reason, Remus felt his face grow even hotter under the midday sun. He knew Sirius had made the connection between open space and werewolf transformations. All three of Remus' friends had successfully (but illegally) become Animagi, Sirius' form being a large, black dog. Sirius knew quite well how violent Remus could become during his transformations, and still, Remus was embarrassed.

"Where's James?" he asked, changing the subject.

Sirius laughed, bark-like. "Oh… with Lily. Where else?"

"They're certainly friendly now, aren't they?" Remus and Lily had been prefects together in addition to classmates, and Remus had known all too well her early annoyance with his friend. The past year had yielded many changes, however, and he was not at all surprised to hear that the boy was busy with Lily.

"They're… visiting someone… or something," Sirius shrugged, "anyway, I wanted to come and see your place. I was hoping I could stay for a while." He looked hopefully at Remus, and then pressed on as he saw Remus beginning to open his mouth in protest. "They're going to be a few days on their little trip, see," he explained, "and you know I love the Potters, but there's only so much tea I can drink with those two… and you love spending time with me, admit it…"

Sirius did look pitiful as he gazed upon Remus, his expression puppy-like. The sun was finally beginning to set, and Remus knew his parents would be home soon, but, if he were to be honest with himself, he knew the two would have no problem with his fellow Gryffindor staying over. They did like the idea of Remus having friends, and he knew their guilt in leaving him daily would be lessened if they thought he weren't alone. Besides that, Sirius' handsome smile and outgoing personality had charmed many before, and Remus was sure his parents would be no exception.

"Sure," he finally answered, breaking into a true smile. This is what he had desired, after all: company, someone to relieve his loneliness. He took Sirius' bag from him as Sirius walked his bike back to the small cottage, wondering what they would find to occupy their time for the next couple days.

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