Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Sorry for the long wait, life is very hectic right now. Hope you enjoy (if you're still reading..)

Part Two
V

The Easter Holidays made Sirius Black particularly anxious, especially because of the impending and much-anticipated family dinner with the Yaxleys.

His mother had written a forceful letter telling him of the plans she made involving the Yaxleys for when the summer next came. What was emphasised most in the letter was how Sirius had a duty to "woo" Serena, of which should take immediate effect.

In addition to that, McGonagall had sent a letter home to the parents of the four mischievous Marauders after the most recent prank involving exploding food on the Slytherin table.

He felt very stressed.

As a result of this, Sirius stood in the shower cubicle with steaming hot water stabbing at his skin, like dozens of needles all at once pricking and consuming him. He worried his lip between shimmering teeth as he washed the fruity shampoo out of his hair, silver eyes wedged shut.

It was almost instinctual … that a hand should fall to Sirius's stomach and trace the silky skin of his abdomen without another thought. He hummed under his breath and let his head lull forward lazily.

Sirius's right hand began circling his belly button and stroking the soft hairs down below. It felt very strange but very good too, like it had a few days ago in the shower.

'GUYS! WE HAVE TWENTY MINUTES TO GET DOWN-' bellowed Peter from the other side of the shower door.

James, who was also in one of their dorm's shower cubicles, shouted in a strained voice from somewhere left to Sirius: 'Gimme a few minutes.'

The haughty pureblood teenager clenched his eyes shut and cupped his balls with one hand as he stroked himself with the other.

'Merlin,' he whispered when a few minutes later, his lips trembled with the force of his orgasm. It took all his strength not to sag to the floor under the blisteringly hot water.

'GUYS! WE HAVE THIRTEEN MINUTES!'

It took him at least three of those thirteen minutes to compose himself, finish showering and make a hasty retreat.

xo

It was with his father and brother that Sirius went to Madam Malkin's to try on the new dress robes that his mother requested be made for him. London's weather, as he well knew at the age of fourteen, was capricious. What had started out as a dull, monotonous city morning was now fast approaching one of the hottest days of the year thus far.

What was worst was that his father refused to give his sons permission to strip down to their undergarments (merely the clothes they wore under their robes should the capricious weather send hurtling winds at them and lift their billowing robes into the air). Instead, he cast cooling charms on their robes which were unfortunately counteracted as soon as they stepped into Madam Malkin's store stuffy shop.

'Sirius,' murmured Regulus from behind his brother.

'Yes Reg?'

'Yaxley doesn't have any sisters, does she?'

He laughed but shrugged. 'No, why? Are you looking to get lucky tonight at the dinner?'

His brother narrowed his eyes and raised a soft brow. 'What does that mean?'

Sirius shrugged. 'Prongs always says it to Moony before his study sessions with McKinnon and them lot. I assume it pertains to finding and dating a girlfriend?'

His young brother blushed and shook his head. 'What is it like having a girlfriend?'

Sirius shrugged. Was it weird that he thought of Remus when confronted with such a question?

Yes it was.

He shook his head. The idea of Remus ever being something akin to a "girlfriend" was preposterous. Sirius liked him differently to how he liked James and Peter, yet he too also wondered when he would grow out of it.

Serena really was becoming more and more beautiful with each day. And she was a vital instrument which his parents planned to use to spawn a new generation of Blacks.

'I haven't had a girlfriend before,' he answered after a long pause. 'Just kissed girls.'

'What is that like?'

Sirius laughed. 'And what do you care for?'

Regulus indignantly narrowed his eyes. 'I was just curious. Why are you so defensive?'

Sirius sighed. 'Well, it depends on the girl you kiss. Some kiss like frogs and others kiss like veela-'

Regulus gasped. 'You've kissed a veela before?'

'No, but you can sort of tell that they kiss amazingly. You cannot be that beautiful and kiss like a frog-'

'How do you know what a frog kisses like?'

'Salazar, what is with all the questions?'

'Come here boys.' Orion Black called impatiently from beside the very narrow, cage-like desk that Madam Malkin stood at.

She looked like a vulture at best, Sirius thought dismissively. Her nose was much too long, forehead too broad but strangely and contradictorily short. Her mouth was also insultingly small with lips wafer-thin.

'Good morning young masters,' she said in a quiet, timid voice. Then Malkin turned to face Orion. 'Which of them would you like measured and fitted first Lord Black?'

Sirius did not appreciate being told to strip down to his underwear in the changing cubicle, mainly because he was left to stand in plain sight of his father and brother.

He rolled his eyes when Regulus giggled. Sirius missed his friends.

xo

Was light merely an absence of darkness? Or was it the other way around? Dark being a loss of light? Theft of light!

Everything was dark but when Remus dared open his pretty golden brown eyes, he felt as though the lights flashing above him danced in a kaleidoscope of colours.

His head was hurting him terribly.

'Mum,' he managed to rasp out. The call for help sounded more like a whimper and suddenly the colourful patterns and shapes bursting before his eyes were eclipsed by a much more solid shape. A head.

'Remy baby,' Hope whispered, stroking his hair and pressing kisses on his cheek. 'How do you feel sweetheart?'

'Mum ,' this time more clear.

Hope tasted salt on her lips from kissing soft cheeks before her intellect caught up with her and noticed the tears he was weeping. She cradled his face. 'Don't be sad,' she hummed. 'We will get through this just as we always do, my beautiful boy.'

Remus's eyes were closed once more, partially because he didn't have the energy to keep them open.

But really … really he thought it was to protect himself from seeing her heartbroken expression.

'It h-hurts everywhere.'

'I know darling,' her voice trembled. 'But I will make sure that you get better just like you always do.'

Hope's voice was so melodic, so soothing that his fatigued eyes gradually … slowly … starting to-

Close.

When he next came to consciousness it was the morning of the following scorching day. Perhaps Remus felt so hot because he was wrapped tightly in layers of sheets and blankets that had been placed over him.

He heard soft muttering from somewhere off in the ether of silence and dull pain. Remus desperately desired a cold glass of water.

'Huh,' he moaned with burning golden eyes clenched shut. 'Gahh-'

'Shhh,' hushed the deep, calming voice of Lyall Lupin. 'Don't stress yourself son.'

'Water,' stammered Remus, flopping pathetically to his side and heaving in deep breaths. He was in agony. What could have possibly happened?

'Sure thing kid,' whispered his father, stroking a hand through his hair first before balancing his head up for him.

Remus would never admit it but he sort of enjoyed the comfortable routine of being babied around full moons. His parents were always so doting on him but especially so when he was frail and injured.

Maybe Remus just noticed it more due to having nothing to do but lie in bed recuperating, but it seemed as though his father's hands tousled his hair for longer and his mother kissed his cheek just a little harder when he emerged from another tuff with the moon, victorious but barely just.

He greedily gulped down the water, bit by bit gaining his strength and spirit.

'H-how long?' He immediately asked as soon as his throat felt lubricated enough.

Hope entered the room with three mugs of hot chocolate and some fruit for her son. She and her husband looked at one another.

'Four days,' his mother began.

'Merlin's beard,' panted Remus. 'That's ridiculous. Did you take me to St Mungo's?'

Lyall shook his head, so alike his son in vigour. 'No.'

'Is it because it's too expensive?' this time, his voice was so quiet that it almost seemed sad by default.

Hope seemed to slump from grief. 'I'm planning to get a job this holiday Remo,' she told him as she stroked golden hair away from his face. 'Your father and I have been working out how much it will cost to pay the Werewolf Registry Department to sign up your name for one year of treatment-'

'Mum,' her son cried, louder than his state suggested he possibly could. 'I'm sick of you and father running yourselves into bankruptcy just because I'm a werewolf. I'm sick of being such a burden. It's not fair that you have to do this-'

'But Remo,' Hope said with a puzzled expression on her face. She took a moment to answer whilst her son got his breath back. 'We're your parents baby.'

There was an eerie silence that followed the lovingly muttered term of endearment.

They were his parents. That was answer enough for now.

xo

Exams were around the corner. Remus had never felt less prepared in his life. His whole body ached with the consequences of the last moon.

He was so tired yet the hands buried in his hair and the lap that he was resting on reminded him that there were much more fun things to do than sleep. Sirius softly massaged his scalp, threading long fingers through Remus's hair. He bent down to bestow a kiss on the head he was massaging.

'Do you feel alright?' Sirius asked gently, resting his nose in Remus's hair and inhaling deeply. He loved the way the other teenage boy smelt.

'I guess.'

Sirius scoffed but resumed massaging Remus, this time his shoulders and neck. The other boy let out a low groan.

'Am I doing anything wrong?'

Remus swallowed and shook his head. His breathing was becoming more laboured and he felt like his stomach was burning and churning. 'Oh no,' he stuttered. 'Keep doing it.'

Sirius focused on getting out the kinks in Remus's shoulders, kneading them with his hands and gently soothing the muscles he could feel under his fingertips.

'Merlin, your shoulders are tense,' Sirius said quietly a few minutes later, when his hands fluttered to rest on Remus's shoulders.

'They always get tense after the full moon,' the blond answered with a yawn. 'I always feel so tense around the full moon.'

'You should start running. I could always run with you. It's supposed to be good.'

'Hmm,' hummed Remus as he shivered once more under the tentative, diligent hands working out all the knots in his muscles. 'What else?'

Sirius's hands seemed to leave hotter impressions on Remus's flaming skin. He was all of a sudden too warm.

'Kissing is supposed to help,' but he was interrupted by a breathless laugh.

'Kissing? And where did you hear of this Padfoot?'

'Well Mr Moons, you should know that I'm very knowledgable. I know quite a lot about ways to relax. I'm so used to hiding and relaxing in my room at home you see.'

Remus sat up in Sirius's lap, only then aware of just how close they were. He touched Sirius's cheek tentatively and stroked the soft skin.

'Oh yeah?'

Silver eyes darkened almost ominously. 'Yeah.' He kissed Remus quickly before continuing on. 'When you kiss someone you focus entirely on the activity. Your body relaxes because you're not stressed and you're not occupied with worrying over something-'

'That something being the ten inches due tomorrow for Binns?'

Sirius rose an eyebrow. 'That took a few minutes this morning-'

'You weren't sleeping again?'

'Think of it as a break from sleeping.'

'You know that sleeping is supposed to be the break in our lives?'

There was a pause before Sirius muttered, 'Sometimes sleeping is the chore that I need rest from.'

Remus squeezed his eyes shut when lips met his again. He loved the feel of Sirius's lips against his, so soft so sweet.

'Do you know when Prongs and Wormy are coming back?' Sirius whispered before gently tugging on Remus's bottom lip.

'They said they were going to get snacks from the kitchens so it'll probably take them about twenty minutes at most.'

Sirius looked at his watch. 'That was like half an hour ago,' then he reattached his arms around the body over his and kissed Remus hard, half panting into his mouth.

'Give them a few more minutes.' But a few more minutes turned into another half hour before they remembered that half of their group was missing.

'Why aren't they back yet?' Remus got up off the bed, clothes a little haphazard and a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. He went over to the writing desk opposite his bed where the Marauder's Map was resting. It had sketches on it with some moving footsteps and the names of a few buildings. Other than that however, it was dreadfully blank. They had worked out some of the animation enchantments to place on the map, this showing many of the footsteps on the lowest two floors of the castle. However they hadn't managed to get the enchantments to work on the other floors, a hurdle that they were yet to overcome.

Still-

'This is strange. Look,' Remus said, pointing at the corridors near the Hufflepuff common room. It was also very near to the entrance of the kitchens. Sure enough stood a large group cornering two others. It had to be them. They had no proof yet, they knew in their hearts that it had to be the other two Marauders.

'James!' Sirius shouted, pulling his shoes on and wrapping a cloak around himself. 'Come on Moony! It's got to be them.'

'But who are they surrounded by?' Yet even Remus knew the triviality of such a question.

'Snakes.'

The two Marauders grabbed their wands and stuffed the incomplete map inside the drawer of the writing desk.

They rushed through the corridors, following shortcuts that only extensive trips around the castle gave them knowledge of.

Sirius froze when coming to a halt in front of him was Filch and in his arms, a tiny tabby cat.

Filch's head, perfectly choreographed with his cat's, snapped forward. His eyes lit up with glee and he stretched his long thin lips into a malicious smile.

'What do we have here-'

'Crap,' Remus managed to pant before he grabbed Sirius's hand and started pulling him as he ran in the opposite direction.

'Which way can we go to the kitchens? Both routes are back there,' Sirius huffed.

'I don't know. Was thinking we can make a U-turn when he's closer, maybe distract him by causing some explosions.'

They could hear Filch calling after them, profanities adorning each protest he cried more than appropriate enunciation and fluid sentence structures.

'Lets go up here then,' Sirius said, 'we'll go through the West Courtyard' and he dragged Remus even faster, this time barrelling towards the moving staircase. They hopped on and laughed manically together when the screech of Filch's cat was left ringing after them.

'We have a good head start,' Remus muttered but Sirius interrupted him.

'Should we hide?'

Remus nodded quickly. 'Yes. Good idea-'

He was quickly pulled over towards a small alcove between the fountain and the archway of the courtyard. It would have been more obvious had the sun been illuminating the sky but the sun was gone and the moon was out. The shadows cast by the archway dragged darkness even deeper into the alcove.

'What do you think happened?' Sirius whispered. The sound of footsteps was getting clearer with each second that passed. Filch was heading their way!

'Hopefully nothing but worst case scenario they're surrounded by snakes and skilfully throwing dungbombs at them...' It almost came out like a question.

Sirius nodded and a tumble of tresses fell forward to veil his face. 'Do you know what I think?' His voice was getting softer just as Filch's barking calls for them were so near now he simply had to be in the courtyard already.

'What?'

'That they are in a fight already,' the smile on his face was too endearing to be malicious.

'And you're happy because?'

'Well if Prongs is there then that means Snivellus will definitely be there. James wanted a word or two with him after the whole Evans mess last week and Snape is not the person to pass up the opportunity to have a go at hexing James.'

The Evans Mess had really taken a blow on James's self esteem. He had attempted to flirt with Evans and ask her to accompany him on the next Hogsmeade weekend. He had been less insufferable than usual and even called her Lily once or twice in the conversation. Then Snivellus had come to sit beside her in Potions and drawled a rude comment, spurring James into a flurry of curses and insults.

Lily had started attacking him verbally, calling him a "ponce", "idiot" and "show-off". Of course, knowing Prongs, he would go out of his way to make life a misery for Snape and inadvertently, Evans too.

This all meant that James needed, craved, lusted for some revenge.

'Shhh,' Remus panted, squeezing into the alcove even more and pulling Sirius against him. Remus was still a little shorter, little more slender. He eagerly awaited the commencement of puberty in full force.

'Is your mum still buying you the lotion that smells like strawberries,' asked Sirius, leaning forward to take a quick whiff of Remus's neck.

'Yes,' said Remus. 'Although I've found that I quite like the smell of strawberries.'

'Me too-'

Filch appeared in front of them, facing their direction yet, irrevocably blind to them. The shadow was their friend tonight.

'Come on kit, the sneaky bastards might've gone 'round,' but before he finished his sentence, Remus let out the tiniest little yawn that he could not suppress for the life of him.

The tabby cat's head snapped up.

'Did you hear that?' filch screeched.

He definitely heard the answering yawn from a pissed Sirius- cursing the infectious nature of yawns and all.

Filch looked straight at them and like the cat, began to stalk forward. 'Is that-'

Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius and felt something behind him open up, pull him in like Devil's Snare, entwine him and his friend in darkness.

And poop them out the other end.

Where was this other end, one might wonder. Well the boys had just discovered an escape route which deposited them metres from the kitchen entrance. Coincidence?

'Merlin's fucking beard,' Sirius cried. 'That was uncanny Remus. Did you know that would happen? Oh Moons! You're amazing! You're absolutely amazing!'

'After you and Moony have gotten off on the floor, you might want to help me and Wormy.'

'Prongs!' Sirius cried, jumping up and running towards his injured friend. He had a bruised eye, blackening by the second and a bust lip but other than that appeared well off. Peter however was clutching him stomach and moaning in a low voice. He was also missing his nose.

The sounds of Slytherins getting nearer seemed to send Peter into a fit of fear. 'They took my nose guys!'

'Merlin Pete, you look ridiculous,' said Sirius before he was elbowed in the stomach by Remus. He really did look ridiculous. Sirius had first hand experience of what it was like to have one's nose taken. Luckily, with that experience came knowledge of how to restore a nose.

'Don't worry Wormtail. I know how to get your nose back for you. Who did it?'

'Who do you think? That slimeball Snivellus. Either him or one of the First Year twats he was with.'

Blood drained from Sirius's face. He knew the spell that had been cast on Peter's face. His own mother and father had cast it several times on him and his brother when they were too nosy.

'Regulus cast it didn't he.'

'I don't know!' Peter cried. 'I just know they took it.'

'Is he with them James?'

When James nodded, Sirius left his friends and began to look for them. He followed the sounds of their voices, seemingly four people perhaps. Snape was definitely there, as was Rosier and another boy. But Sirius couldn't hear Regulus, perhaps he wasn't there.

Coincidence!

Nose tricks were funny, weren't they? Anyone could've done it, especially Snape.

'Reg,' said Sirius. 'What are you doing here?'

Sure enough stood five, not four, in front of him. Snape, Rosier, Macnair, Flint and Reg. His baby brother with boys two or three years older.

'Sirius,' his brother said back. He hurried forward, silver eyes wide and alert. He had a cut on his cheek and his bottom lip was also bleeding.

Sirius touched the blood on his chin and shook his head. 'What the hell are you doing here?'

He tapped both injuries with his wand and watched as the skin laced and stitched itself up. Then he cuffed his brother on the back of the head.

'Go to bed,'

'Oooh, is that Sirius acting like a grown up for once? Telling your little brother to go to bed. Stitching him up like you're his mother.' Rosier was laughing.

'Shut the fuck up Rosier, you oaf . No one was speaking to you.' He looked down at his brother, surprised at how small Reg was, how tall Sirius had gotten. 'These are not the sort of people you want as friends Reg.'

'What do you know about the sorts of people I should have as friends? You think I want friends like yours?' He said, pointing at the three boys who had come to stand behind Sirius. 'I'm happy finding my own friends thanks.'

Sirius grabbed his brother's collar and pulled him away from the Slytherins. 'You don't know what kind of people they are Reg. They're Slytherins, nasty and evil and'

'I'm a Slytherin.' Regulus quietly replied. His eyes were all of a sudden very watery, glazed with tears and grazed with pain. He shook his brother's hand off his shoulder and threw a dragon hide satchel, nicer than Sirius's might he add, over his shoulder.

Regulus left the group and Sirius hardly noticed hitting Rosier when he heard laughing.

xo

Filch eventually came across the group of boys fighting that night and took them all to Professor McGonagall. She was not lenient in doling punishments and the only consolation for Sirius was that Reg was not in trouble.

Having one letter sent home to Grimmauld Place was more than enough punishment without adding Regulus to the disgrace.

It was during one of the Marauders' Animagus Inducing Meditation (MAIM) sessions that Peter brought up a very controversial topic.

That topic being that even though at least six different girls had made it known that they wanted Sirius to be their boyfriend.

'Six?'

'Yes. Six. I thought you already knew.'

Sirius uncrossed his legs and stretched them with a grown. 'No. I didn't know already Worms. I mean I guessed that one or two girls fancied me but six?'

'Merlin you're stupid Padfoot. I'm sure more than six girls fancy you. Six have just made it known that they want to be in a relationship with you.' James added. 'I can think of at least four girls in our Transfig class that want to go out with you.'

Sirius shrugged, meeting Remus's eyes for a fleeting second before going back to hazel orbs and staying there. 'Well girls are stupid. They hardly know me enough to want to go out with me. They just like how I look.'

'It's more than that though,' Peter contributed excitedly. 'I heard a bunch of them in the East Courtyard on my way to Divination speaking about how nice your voice is and how beautiful your hair is. They didn't stop there though!' He laughed. 'They were then talking about how smart you are and the money your family have.'

That seemed to bring a bitter taste to Sirius's mouth, for he coiled like he was in pain. 'Money? Is it always about money with girls?'

'Did you not just hear all the other stuff he mentioned?' James asked in surprise but Sirius drowned him out.

'I mean girls are so annoying! I'm so tired of them only wanting stuff from me but not wanting the whole thing. Like Yaxley for example. She just wants the family name and good genes, not my inner prankster or my extensive knowledge about different curses to give one a painful wedgie.' He flicked hair back onto his shoulders and continued on with meditating, clearly marking an end to the conversation.

Peter whispered behind his hand to the other two, 'What's up with him?'

'Maybe he's horny,' James suggested.

Remus, who had chosen the precisely wrong moment to drink from his water, choked on it when he heard James's suggestion. 'What?'

'Yeah. What's that?' Peter said slowly.

'I can hear everything you guys are saying you know,' huffed Sirius. 'And no it's not because I'm horny. I don't feel the need to kiss any girls around this whole school. I'm scared they'll try to eat me first.'

'What's horny?' Peter asked.

A wicked smile flashed across James's face. 'You know when you're lying in bed thinking about girls and you kinda want to kiss them a lot, that's you being horny.'

The bright pink face of Peter's reddened. 'But I'm always thinking about what it'd be like to kiss a girl.'

'That means, Wormy mate, that you're always horny,' James laughed. 'But lay off it mate. How can't you be horny when so many girls just wanna make out with you and stuff. I sure get horny just thinking about kissing Evans for a few good hours.'

Remus couldn't take it. 'Guys! This is ridiculous! Can we stop talking about being horny.'

James elbowed Sirius playfully and rose an eyebrow. 'Maybe he's horny too.'

'Do you guys even know what being horny means? A damn lot more than wanting to kiss some girl.'

'The precise meaning of the word horny is when you want to kiss girls.' James drifted off. 'Maybe that's why she got me when I said she makes me horny.'

Remus froze. 'Who taught you that word James?'

The other boy shrugged. 'One of the Troublesome Ferret Twins,' he said. 'Maybe Gideon…'

'Merlin James they told you the completely wrong meaning.' Remus said, shaking his head.

'What exactly does it mean then?' The other boy cried, clearly affronted by the fact that he had been given the false meaning of such a word.

Remus's cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink. 'Lemme show you,' and he summoned a dictionary from the utmost shelf above the fireplace. 'Define horny,' he told the dictionary and pages started whizzing by, pausing on the word and flashing the paragraph in several different colours before dulling.

'Here,' he said softly to James, passing the small book over. He watched his friend's expression turn increasingly sour before he cried aloud. 'This is horrible!' Tears of frustration stung in his eyes.

'Why?' Sirius slowly asked. 'What happened?'

'Well, McGonagall must have said to me a few days ago during Transfiguration that I should start focusing more in lessons, especially because she thinks I could do really well in it. And…'

'Prongs,' warned Sirius in a dark voice, eyebrow wistfully raised. 'Keep going.'

'And I said that I can't because Evans makes me horny!'

'Merlin's balls James!' Remus laughed. 'You're bloody mad.'

'Now McGonagall probably thinks I'm a wanton child with no morals and,' he whispered the last part, 'no boundaries. Merlin, what must she think of me.'

Sirius had uncrossed his legs and had focused on every single word James uttered. But now James was finished, he said his part.

'Whilst I think what you said to McGoggles is disgraceful,' the others giggled at his nickname for their Head of House. 'What I think remains more disgraceful still is the fact that FabGid dared to lie to you about something like this.

Peter muttered darkly 'Blasted FabGid.'

'That's right Wormy,' Sirius cheered. 'Now, I think this is a clear breech of commandment number…' The young boy drifted off and all of a sudden jumped up and hurried over to his writing desk. From within the confines of a small drawer he whipped out a crinkled role of parchment. A quick handsome smile graced his mouth before he cleared his voice standoffishly. Both Peter and James giggled in their clenched fists but Remus stared with his mouth slightly agape.

Sirius began to read. 'Commandment number seven. Thou shalt not disrespect any of the Marauders, whether lone nor combined. They clearly disrespected you and that calls for an all-out war. Now what I think…' Remus got carried away half way through Sirius's speech, too caught up in his friend's radiance.

The young blond boy wasn't quite sure when it had started to unfold and blossom but he had descended without warning nor with moment to brace him into the misty lake waters of love.

Waters with stunning lilies shaped like stars and with murky waters in hues of silvery grey.

Sirius's voice was increasing in its volume by the time Remus registered his name being called. He looked up with his mouth slightly ajar.

'What?'

Eyes sparkled. 'Are you in this with me Moony?'

Remus nodded without knowing why. 'Yes.'

'Really?'

He did not even bother replying.

Next chapter, the boys are a little older and they're in for a surprise.

Hope you enjoyed! Please review :)))