Chapter 3

Ron and Ginny were playing their fourth game of chess when the sound of voices appeared in the kitchen and they quickly wrapped their game up to meet the others.

Ron still felt some resentment that Harry had left without him but upon seeing his friend´s happy and flustered face as he laughed with his godfather he tried to squash it down. It was his best friend´s birthday after all.

"Did you guys have fun?" Ginny asked, unable to keep the jealousy out of her voice.

"Don't worry Gin, we'll teach you the charm when we're back at Hogwarts," Fred and George promised her upon seeing her disappointment, making her smile a little.

"Where are Hermione and your mother?" Sirius asked as he looked around the kitchen.

"Hermione went to her bedroom to read and Mum's in her own bedroom," Ron answered. "Why?"

"Good, because I gave Harry a memory of teaching them the Silencing Charm. So he can share it with the two of you and you can practise it while watching the memory. I'm sorry I couldn't include you in the teaching but I didn't want to make your mother mad with you," Sirius said softly, his expression sincerely sorry and Ron immediately felt better, knowing he wasn't being left out on purpose.

"How would he be able to share it with us?" Ron asked confused.

"I'll put my father's Pensieve inside his trunk and I've already showed him how he can use it," Sirius explained.

"What about Hermione?" Ginny asked quietly.

"I don't want any of you to teach her that charm. She has to learn that not everything can go her way and quite frankly I am disappointed with how she's been treating Harry and Remus these last few days."

"Don't forget yourself. I'm more upset with how she's been talking and acting to you," Harry countered. "She's always telling Ron he's being rude but she's been nothing but rude to you since I've got here. I won't tell her about the charm or teach it to her," he promised.

"Same here. Harry's right, the way she's been treating you is abnormal. She's so stuck up on authority figures and adults yet she talks to you like you are an ignorant ten year old," Fred agreed.

"Not to mention that she refuses to listen to reason and only listens to what mum has to say," George continued.

Sirius snorted. "I don't care how she treats me. I've not exactly been kind to her in return either for that part. I just want to teach her a lesson."

"You've only treated her the same way she treated you." Ron protested.

"Yes, but unlike what she seems to believe, I am actually the older one. I should be wiser and not let myself be baited into reacting to her behaviour."

"Tact has never been your strong point Siri. Normally I am all for acting grown up and being the better man, but she's trying even my patience and you always claim I have the patience of a saint," Remus said to him.

"Just to be clear though. You'd let us learn that charm despite mum's objections?" Ron asked, going back to the original subject.

"Of course, I wouldn't be a Marauder if I let that stop me. I think it is useful to learn so I'm giving you the opportunity to do so," Sirius said with a shrug.

"Mum would skin you alive if she found out," Ginny said, not in the least bit sounding uncomfortable because of that.

"I'd say let her try. I'm only going behind her back for your sakes, not my own," Sirius said.

"I don't doubt that. You've been giving her hell since Harry's arrived." Fred said laughing.

"Yeah, how come you are suddenly standing up for yourself?" George continued, making Ron marvel at their courage to ask the very question he'd been dying to ask himself but hadn't dared.

"Because I have had enough of her behaviour and meddling." Sirius said with a sigh. "When you guys just arrived I didn't really care one way or another but I feel much happier with Harry here so I'm done with letting people walk all over me. No matter who it is."

Ron didn't need to see the small squeeze Harry gave his godfather's upper arm to realise how proud he was of him. His wide beaming smile and proud expression told him enough. He was happy to realise he had been right though, Harry did have something to do with the sudden change in the man.

"But enough about Hermione and Molly and their behaviour. I believe you promised Harry you'd let him help to make pizza." Remus said with a smile, he too was clearly proud of his best friend.

"Can we help too?" Four voices immediately rose up eagerly, making both Marauders chuckle.

"I had a feeling you guys would say something like that so I had Remus buy enough ingredients that everyone can make an assortment of small pizzas for themselves with whatever topping you'd like to try," Sirius said with a wink to Harry who laughed.

"Are you going to teach us all how to make pizza?" Ginny asked excitedly, making Fred, George and Ron laugh. They all knew how much Ginny hated to cook. So for her to be so eager was very uncharacteristic for her. But Ron couldn't help but be excited too despite hating cooking himself. He had never had pizza, none of them ever had and to actually be involved in how it was made like this sounded like a lot of fun.

Harry chuckled. "That sounds like one of those birthday parties Dudley and the neighbourhood kids had while I was growing up."

Sirius nodded. "I know, that's the purpose of it. I know you've never had one of those so I thought you might like to do an activity like this with people you care about."

"So you're giving me a birthday party right now?" Harry asked surprised.

"If you'd like?" Sirius hesitated. He and Harry looked at each other for a long moment before Harry broke out into a wide smile, which Sirius answered slowly.

"I'd love it."

"Awesome! We're all guests at Harry's birthday party." Fred and George cheered before Fred looked at Harry.

"We should have a theme though. Parties always have themes. Like...everyone's got to be dressed really fancy."

"Or absolutely rubbish," George continued.

"Dressed up like something," Fred took over again, getting into the subject.

Harry laughed. "I don't have any fancy clothing."

"I do, I think you are about the same height I was at your age so you could take some of mine if you'd want to dress up," Sirius said with a chuckle. "Or we could just transfigure your current clothes into something else."

"Hm... that would be fun. Though I think it will be more fun if we changed our clothes in rubbish stuff. Oversized shirts, baggy pants and the like?" He ended.

Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment before grabbing his wand and pointing it at Ginny. Immediately her clothes changed into a baggy pair of brown pants and a blue shirt which slung around her frame. To make the look complete Sirius had given her a green cap which sat backwards on her head.

"Like that?" He asked, making everyone whistle loudly. Ginny admired herself in a mirror Remus conjured for her. "Cool!" She said.

"Yeah like that." Harry said in between his laughter.

"You've got to do us too!" They all called out and Sirius obeyed, teaming up with Remus to change everyone's clothing into baggy ones. Changing colours when asked until everyone looked absolutely ridiculous but how they wanted to look.

Remus looked at the bunch before turning to Sirius. "You know...we really stand out now compared to this bunch."

"Well that can't happen, can it." Sirius agreed, biting his lip to keep himself from laughing.

"So...what are we going to do about it?"

"Hm...Maybe we should have them decide for some new clothing for us too?" Sirius suggested.

"You should go Gryffindor style!" Harry exclaimed, grinning like an idiot in his baggy green pants and red shirt. He wore pink framed glasses and a purple baseball cap.

"Faded red pants with a golden shirt!" Fred called out in his own red faded pair of pants as his pink baggy shirt kept sliding over his left shoulder a bit as he moved. His orange cap clashed horribly with his hair but he looked to be having the time of his life.

"And a purple cap to match Harry´s!" George added, matching his twin perfectly only in reverse. His pants baggy and pink and his shirt tighter and red. But the same orange cap.

"With a lion on it" Harry added with a chuckle.

Sirius chuckled. "All right, shall I go first?" He asked as he took a step backwards and spread his arms a bit, making Remus laugh.

"Okay, how about this?" he asked as he changed Sirius' clothing into what was asked.

Everyone cheered as Sirius turned before Harry.

"Approved?"

Harry walked around him, trying to keep a straight face as he looked at his godfather's outfit. "It's not truly a shirt..But I think I can let it slide for once." He frowned. "I don't like the gold though, could you make it black instead but keep the lion?" He asked Remus, who obeyed with a chuckle.

Harry walked around Sirius once more before reaching up to turn Sirius' cap backwards. "Now it's perfect." He said with a grin.

"You look like a total bad boy!" Fred said while laughing hysterically.

"A good looking bad boy though. Can't deny that Harry was right about the shirt," George added.

"So I'm approved?" Sirius asked with a laugh.

"What do you think Remus?" Ginny asked as she looked at Sirius approvingly.

Everyone turned to look at Remus, who hadn't offered anything yet. But as they turned to him they noticed he was staring at Sirius with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"Remus?" Sirius asked, noticing Remus staring at him. "Are you all right?"

"Hm?...yes...it's just...its missing something." Remus cleared his throat before summoning something from another room and stepping up to Sirius to put something around his neck. Everyone leaned forward curiously but Remus' movements were hiding what he was doing, though Ron could see he was tightening something around Sirius' neck.

Finally he stepped away with a small nod. "Now it's complete."

Sirius looked at him confused before glancing in the mirror. "Where did you get that?" He asked, his voice full of emotion as he touched the item carefully.

"What is it?" Harry asked as they all saw Remus had attached a black dog collar to Sirius' neck.

"Christmas of fifth year I spent the full moon at Remus' childhood home. The morning after he took Padfoot outside to play a little and I got caught by a dog catcher, which is exactly what it sounds like by the way, who wanted to take me to a shelter. To save me from being taken away Remus was forced to buy Padfoot a tag and collar. Which dog and cat owners in the Muggle world are obligated to buy to be able to identify their pets. This is that tag and collar." He explained as he touched it again lightly.

"How did you get caught if you were with Remus?" Fred asked confused.

"We were playing tag and I threw the stick out of sight," Remus admitted.

"And you kept it?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yeah. We changed the back of the tag though. Where it is supposed to have the address of the owner it says The Marauders to anyone magical. But to Muggles it's supposed to read Remus' childhood address in case something like that ever happened again."

"But why did you keep it?" Ron asked, not understanding why Sirius would want to keep such a Muggle item. Especially one that seemed to claim him as someone's property.

"I kept it on for sentimental reasons. It gave me a constant touchable reminder that I would always have somewhere to belong no matter how rough things got. A true family that loved me and accepted me for who I was. It was a reminder of having a home," he explained with a small fond smile that made Remus smile in the same way as the two shared a glance that spoke more than words ever could. It made Ron see more than ever before just how close they were.

Harry moved closer to him and Sirius stood still as Harry reached out to see the tag from up close.

"Padfoot," he read with a smile. "I think it's brilliant. Somehow it suits you too. Why did you stop wearing it?"

"I didn't. It got taken from me when I was arrested. How did you get your hands on it? I thought it was lost," Sirius asked as he turned to Remus.

"When Kingsley gave me your wand to return to you he also gave me the other possessions you had on you. I've been waiting for a fitting moment to return this to you, knowing how much you cared about it. Now seemed the perfect time." Remus answered.

"What reminded you of it now?" Harry asked curiously.

"The look he is sporting now is exactly what he used to wear as a teenager. Faded jeans and either long sleeved shirts or three quarter ones with a cap or sunglasses," Remus said with a chuckle at the expressions of the others.

"You're kidding me," Ron said with a snort.

"I'm not. He was a total rebel in every sense of the word," Remus said with a laugh as Sirius stuck out his tongue.

"You and James dressed the same way and yet I was the only one being called a bad boy," Sirius complained half-heartedly.

"I think it were your dark looks and the rumours going around about you combined with your believed attitude that gave you that reputation," Remus said with a pat to his back, making Sirius chuckle.

"All right fine. So what do you guys want Remus to look like?" He asked.

"Like you only reversed." Harry decided as the others looked at him. Sirius nodded as he easily changed his friend's clothing.

"Cap?"

"Sunglasses!" Fred and George called out and Sirius complied with their request, giving Remus a pair of sunglasses on the top of his head instead of a cap.

Ginny giggled as Remus looked at his clothing approvingly.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen either of you in Muggle clothing," Harry suddenly said.

"He's right. You both usually wear robes. Why did you guys stop wearing them?" Ron asked.

Sirius looked at Remus who sighed. "It is easier to wear robes because it lets me fit in a little more. If you as an adult wear Muggle clothing you stand out. And unwanted attention is the last thing I need with my condition."

"And what's your excuse?" Fred asked teasingly to Sirius.

"Clothing wasn't exactly a priority while I was locked up. And on the run clothing still hasn't been much of a priority for me. For the time being Remus' old robes fit well enough to use," answered Sirius with a shrug.

"With a double shrinking spell though so you could use some pizza to try and fatten you up," Remus ordered as he took a hold of Sirius´ shoulders and steered him to the kitchen table.

"Tough challenge. But accepted," Fred said with a nod as they followed them.

"Should we get Hermione to join us?" Harry asked a bit reluctant.

"It would be fair if we did," Ron agreed with the same hesitation. He knew that if she joined it would only be a matter of time before another argument broke out, especially with the way she had been acting today. Was it really worth calling her if it only meant a possibly fun activity would be ruined?

"I'll go ask her," Ginny decided for them as she left the room.

They all waited quietly for her to return, most unconsciously holding their breath until Ginny rushed back into the kitchen.

"She says pizza is greasy and fat junk that no one should eat. She doesn't want to be involved in us ruining our health."

"Good riddance," Fred let slip before he glanced at Harry. "Sorry..I…"

"Don't be. You are right, with the way she's been behaving it is probably better than she doesn't join," he admitted with a sigh. "Besides, truthfully I just want to have a lot of fun, not have her berate me for anything I do."

He turned to Sirius, who had been leaning against the counter patiently. "So…how are we going to make these?"

"Well, we can do it the easy and quick way or we can make them from scratch, which will take a lot longer," he answered as picked up Harry´s cap so he could ruffle his hair.

"We aren't in a hurry are we?" Harry batted his godfather's hand away with a mock glare and putting his cap back on.

"Not at all."

"Then I'd like to make them from scratch. What about you guys?" Everyone agreed immediately, curious to what would happen.

Sirius smiled at their enthusiasm. "Now, it's been a long time since either of us made pizza so it's probably going to be a bit rusty at times, bear with us. Gather the ingredients you need from the counter." He said as he waved his wand and the ingredients they needed appeared on one of the cupboards, making everyone chuckle at his improvised school board. Remus had already measured the needed ingredients for each person in small sandwich bags earlier so it didn't take too long for them to collect their necessary items.

"All right, does everyone have their ingredients?" Sirius asked with a grin, when after a few minutes of noisy teenage movements they had all returned to their spots with a bowl and their packed ingredients in front of them, most of them having washed their hands. Remus had in the meantime given Sirius the ingredients he originally set aside for Hermione so he could make pizza's for him too. Slipping on a latex glove over his bandaged hand to keep it clean, Sirius smiled.

"Right then. First you need to put the water inside the bowl so move your packed ingredients out." He waited until they'd done just that. "Now pour the yeast into the water and just leave it until it begins to bubble. This can take a few minutes so don't worry if nothing happens."

Everyone did as they were told and then stared intensely at their bowl to see what happened. Sirius suppressed a chuckle as he shared a glance with Remus and nodded to him. Quickly Remus produced a camera from a drawer and made a few photos of the group as they worked.

Harry chuckled as he realised what they were doing and smiled in gratitude at Remus who winked at him.

"So, is everyone's bowl bubbling yet?" Sirius asked as others had begun to notice Remus' action and stuck out their tongue to the camera before simply refocusing on their bowl.

Making sure he got murmurs of agreement from everyone and a nod from Remus who was walking around to check he continued.

"Next thing you need to do is add the ingredients to make the actual dough. Which by the way is what will make the base of your pizza. Take the flour, olive oil, sugar and salt and throw it into the bowl. Not literally Harry!" Sirius gave a yelp as Harry dumped the flour into his bowl, making a large cloud of white powder explode around him and Sirius who was standing next to him.

Remus laughed as he snapped a picture at the exact right moment while the rest cheered before adding their own ingredients a bit more carefully.

Sirius coughed into his elbow before giving Harry's cap a tap to make some flour rise from it. "Silly," he said fondly as Harry grinned at him.

"Right, once you've added the ingredients stir it all together until it becomes smooth and hard to stir through."

"This is though, how do Muggles get through that?" Fred asked as he almost pushed his bowl from the table in his attempt to stir. Sirius only prevented that from happening by quickly grabbing it.

"Once it gets too difficult to stir we get to the fun part. You get to knead everything together with your bare hands, which I hope you've washed before you even think of touching your bowl." Sirius added in a stern voice, smiling knowingly as Ron and Ginny turn red and rushed to the sink, to the amusement of the rest.

"It's supposed to become a firm mash ball then right?" Harry asked as he held up a large ball of dough.

"Yeah." Sirius placed his own ball of dough onto the table so they others could see it before he walked around to see how they were doing.

"Add a bit more flour if your mixture doesn't become solid enough George," he suggested as he saw George struggle. The tip of his tongue was between his teeth as he did as Sirius suggested and whooped when after a few moments he saw it began to work.

"Who taught you how to make pizza anyway? Mum?" Harry asked as he watched Sirius help the others where needed.

"No. Your mum introduced us to pizza but Auntie Hope taught us how to make it," Sirius said.

"Auntie Hope?" Ginny asked curiously as she too had finished and was waiting for the rest now.

"My mother always insisted the Marauders called her Auntie Hope as Mrs. Lupin made her feel old. And she felt any friend of mine should call her Auntie if they wouldn't call her by her first name," Remus explained.

"And she taught you how to make pizza?"

"She taught me when I was little so when I explained that people made pizzas by hand and told them my mum had taught me how to make it they practically begged her to teach them too," Remus said with a smile.

"Which she did, with a lot of trial and error I must add. You guys are amazingly good, especially for a first try," Sirius complimented the bunch.

"We have a good teacher. That makes it easy to follow instructions," Harry praised him back.

"So did we, but we still made a lot of mistakes. Your dad actually managed to make a mash of something not even Auntie Hope could identify."

"Dad really wasn't much of a cook was he?" Harry fondly shook his head.

"No…he was good at eating food though," Remus chuckled, making Harry laugh.

"Everyone's ready. Now, normally the dough needs to rise now until it's at least double its size. We are going to speed that part up a little with magic because I am too hungry to wait two to four hours for that to happen. Anyone any objections?" Sirius wiggled his wand between his fingers.

Immediately five pair of hands held their dough out.

"Though so," Sirius muttered an incarnation and all the dough´s doubled slowly but steadily.

"Do remember that this is actually cheating. Muggles need to have the patience of a saint to be able to prepare any food," Sirius lectured them half-heartedly. "But while we are cheating anyway, let's see whose dough rises quickest shall we?"

They all placed their dough on the table before them before beginning to urge and cheer it on as they all slowly rose magically.

Harry cheered as his stopped rising first and he did a little weird jive on the spot as the others laughed and congratulated him.

Sirius conjured a small paper crown and placed it on his cap to indicate his victory, making everyone laugh even harder.

"Now that we've cheated time, it's time to form the crusts. Normally you have to divide the dough into two equal balls. But since we are going to make several small pizzas divide them in four instead. Try to make them around the same size though."

Sirius smirked as he looked at them work before looking at Remus who openly grinned, knowing what was to come. "That done? Good, put a lot of flour on your work space and roll out one of the balls of dough into a circular shape. Or simply use your fingers to stretch it out to until it's equally flattened."

He shared another mischievous look with Remus before picking up one of his own balls and tossed it into the air before catching it and shaping it in the air with his fingers while spinning it around quickly; not at all troubled by the latex glove.

"Wow! How did you do that?" Ron exclaimed as everyone looked at his action in shock.

"With a whole lot of practice. This is how the professional Italians, where pizza originates from, make their pizzas. They toss them into the air and then shape them with their hands in the air."

"Can we try that?" Fred asked eagerly.

"I erected some charms to prevent your dough from falling to the ground so go right ahead," Remus permitted them with a smile.

"Show us again!" Harry asked eagerly and they all watched intently and had him repeat the trick with his other six pieces until he had eight medium sized flat round shapes laying on the table before him.

Eagerly they all picked up a ball to try it themselves and soon dough was flying around in their attempts. None of them managed to do it, but they had a lot of fun trying while Remus took pictures and Sirius attempted to help them.

Finally though they had enough of trying and became serious again and shaped their dough the slower way before turning to Sirius again.

"Ready?" After five affirmative nods he continued. "Use your brush to spread a thin coating of olive oil over the surface of your crusts. Not too thickly though or your pizza will become really greasy."

He clasped his hands. "Now comes a preference. Pizza sauce. The most generally used is tomato sauce, which I am not a big fan of. So I usually only add a very small amount."

He showed them how to spread the sauce over the crusts and they all set to work again.

"You like the sauce don't you Rem?" he asked as he glanced at Remus.

"A bit more than that please," he said with a nod as Sirius indicated how much he was about to add.

"You're making pizza for Remus?" Ron asked, only now truly realising Sirius was making eight small pizzas instead of the four they were making.

"Yes. He asked so that he can be free to make pictures and keep an eye on you guys while you work," Sirius answered before glancing around. "Everyone added their sauce?"

More nods.

"Then now comes the funniest part. Choosing your toppings." He used the wand to move several bowls from the counter to the middle of the table.

"In these bowls there are things you can use to put on your pizza. Add what you'd like but don't go overboard. The more you add the harder it will be for the pizza to bake. Finish it off with sprinkling on a small layer of cheese."

"What's all in there?" Ginny asked as she glanced in the bowls.

"A lot of things actually. I didn't know what you all liked so I had Remus get some of the most traditional and popular toppings. We've got mushrooms, red and green peppers, onions, salami, ham, cheese, some garlic etcetera etcetera."

Harry looked into the bowls a bit lost. "How do I know what I will like and what I won't?" he asked.

"You don't, that's the fun part. And that's why you each have four small pizzas. So you can make four different ones and trade among yourselves to see other combinations if you'd like. Finding your personal favourite pizza is a quest one can only conquer by tasting it all," Sirius said with a cheeky grin. "Though I do have to warn you, the more cheese you add to it, the greasier it will probably get once it's baked."

They glanced at one another before starting to collect ingredients in their bowl to use.

Sirius turned to Remus. "I can't remember if you liked mushrooms or if it was Lily."

"Lily. I like them a lot, but not on pizza. I would like different kinds of cheese though." Remus added with a nod towards the different kind of cheeses spread out.

Sirius smiled. "I'd better make you a cheesy one then."

"Or two," Remus said mischievous, making Sirius laugh as he did what was suggested.

When he finished his toppings he washed his hands again before moving around the table to see how everyone was doing.

"You are a big fan of meat, aren't you Ron?" He asked teasingly as all four of Ron's pizzas were covered in a double layer of ham and bacon and he was still adding.

"Is it too much?" Ron asked as he coloured.

"Only if you don't like a thick layer. I only suggest spreading it out over the whole pizza a bit more. Now you basically only covered the middle of your pizza, leaving the edges bare of added flavour."

"Like George did?" Ron asked as he nodded to his brother who had systematically placed mushrooms and cheese over his entire pizza.

"Yes. It ensures that everything heats evenly and the first layer won't remain raw in the oven because it's all piled up."

"Will we get to taste each other's?" Ginny asked from beside Ron as she carefully added some anchovies to two of her own and pineapple to the rest.

"You will just have to ask to find out. I would love to try this one of yours though. It looks good," Sirius commented.

"You would?"

"Of course."

"All right, but only if I get a bite from yours," Ginny bargained with him.

Sirius chuckled. "Oh, that won't be a problem; you'll see once they are done," he cryptically said as he continued his round.

Passing Harry he stopped and stood next to him, sneaking some ham from his bowl before popping it into his mouth.

"You really are hungry, aren't you?" Harry teased.

"We haven't eaten since that cake this morning. I am actually surprised you lot aren't stealing bites."

"You didn't say we could!" they all exclaimed.

"I didn't? My bad. Though don't ruin your appetite now as the pizzas only need fifteen to twenty minutes in the oven."

He glanced around again. "Is everyone done?"

Affirmative murmurs were given as Remus slid several baking sheets onto the table after taking the bowls away.

"Good, now comes the tricky part. Take the paper Remus is giving you and spread it over your personal baking sheet."

"That's tricky?" Ron asked confused.

"Yes, very tricky," Sirius said seriously before he chuckled. "No, the tricky part is getting your pizzas on the plate without destroying them."

He picked up his spatula and slowly and carefully slid it underneath one of his pizzas, lifted it up and placed it onto the baking sheet.

"Be careful, as you can see they aren't very steady." He warned them as he repeated his action before moving to aid the others in their attempts. It wasn't too hard as their pizzas were only small though.

"And now?" Ginny asked eagerly looking at her pizzas.

"Now we bake them in the oven."

He picked up his baking sheet and slid it into the huge oven, standing aside to let the others do the same. "Careful, it's hot," he warned Ron as he stumbled to get his plate into the oven.

After everyone had placed their plate in Remus closed the oven and assigned the time.

They gathered around the table again to clean up their mess before chatting excitedly about what they had done while they waited.

"Do we need to tell mum and Hermione that dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes?" Ginny asked Sirius.

"Sure. Though should I make some soup for them instead since Hermione didn´t want pizza?" he asked as Ginny left the room to warn them.

"Can you make soup that quickly?" Ron asked surprised as he glanced at the pots and pans behind Sirius, half expecting the man to pull a perfect soup out of his sleeve.

"No, but I can have a pot of soup heated in five minutes." Sirius he opened a cupboard to show them the contents, which contained various bottled cans.

"Why do you have so much soup?" Fred asked curiously.

"Because it's an easy meal for when I'm alone."

"But Remus is with you!" Ron exclaimed.

"Not all the time, he goes on Order missions regularly and I'm on my own then. It's not fun to cook for yourself," Sirius admitted as he closed the cupboard again.

"What's that smell?" A new voice suddenly greeted them and they all turned to see Moody stand in the door opening. "And more importantly what are you guys wearing?" he asked as both of his eyes took them in and his eyebrow rose.

"We're holding a birthday party for Harry," Remus looked down at his clothing, as if only now remembering they were dressed up.

"Congratulations. And that is the dress code?" Moody's eyebrow rose even more, despite how impossible that seemed.

"Yes. If you wish to have dinner with us you have to dress like this," Sirius said with a wink to the children.

"I have no plans to stay for dinner. What are you making anyway?" Moody looked at the oven to see for himself.

"Sirius is teaching us how to make pizza," Ginny said as she re-entered the kitchen again. "They'll be down in a few minutes but don't want you to make anything for them," she added to Sirius who shrugged and sat down beside Remus.

"Their choice," he simply said.

"Idiots," Moody growled.

"Why are Mum and Hermione idiots?" Ron asked curiously.

"You are teaching these lads how to cook?" Moody asked Sirius for confirmation.

"Yeah."

"Hm..." moving further into the kitchen, Moody drew his wand and pointed it at himself changing his plain clothes into a copy of what Remus was wearing, except his pants were black and his shirt neon blue with an yellow bow tie above it. On his head appeared an old fashioned pink bowler hat.

"Change of plan. I am staying for dinner after all," he sat himself down at the kitchen table immediately.