Hi everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update. I really don't have an excuse, beyond the fact that I started watching a new anime that sucked up all my writing time. I'd also like to say thank you to all my readers who have stuck with me for so long and have put up with my somewhat erratic update schedule recently. I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait, and I'll do my best not to take so long next time!

PS: Excuse the misspellings at the beginning. Our favorite Marauders are still sick :D

Chapter 30 Return of the Marauders

Harry woke late that evening absolutely covered in sweat. He felt a lot better, so he figured his fever must have broken sometime during the day. They were lucky it was Sunday, another day with no classes (and Harry was lucky he'd already finished his homework). He only heard one set of snoring and only sensed one other person in the room, so he figured James and Sirius were down in the common room. Carefully, Harry maneuvered into a sitting position from the tight ball he'd been curled into. His muscles protested fiercely. Wincing, Harry wondered just how tense he'd been while he'd slept. Gingerly he got to his feet and saw that Peter was still sleeping, shifting restlessly. Stretching out a hand, Harry could feel an inch from Peter's forehead that he still had a high fever. Harry tucked the quilt more tightly around the other boy and readjusted the rest of the blankets, then he went to take a shower.

When he finished, he felt refreshed, though he was still exhausted and sore and his throat still hurt. Sleeping for so long, even if it was supposedly a healing sleep, had left him with a headache, too, and he still felt a little unsteady on his feet. Looking at his reflection showed Harry that he was pale, with dark shadows under his eyes. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a croak. Harry grimaced at his reflection, knowing James and Sirius would take full advantage of him having lost his voice. They'd tease him mercilessly, knowing he couldn't defend himself. At least he'd get lots of practice with nonverbal casting.

Harry glanced back at Peter, who seemed to be all right, all things considered. So Harry pulled on a clean sweatshirt and headed down to the common room. Considering it was Sunday night, there were still quite a few people downstairs. Most of them were goofing off, taking advantage of their last homework-free hours before classes began again the following day. There were a few that were studying. Harry spotted Tonks and Lily and their roommates at their usual spot, and nearby were James and Sirius. They had their heads together and were talking quietly. To anyone else, it would appear they were planning a prank. Harry, however, caught the anxious look on James's face and Sirius's shoulders were stiff, tense.

Harry waved at Tonks, who gave him a look that said she'd be talking to him soon to find out where he'd been the last two days—he'd conveniently forgotten to mention that he'd gotten sick, knowing she'd worry needlessly. Then he approached James and Sirius. They both looked up as he sat down across from them and their relief was palpable.

"I didn't think you'd eber wake up," Sirius said. He was still congested, and at the grimace he made as he spoke it was clear Sirius was rather annoyed about it.

"How are you feeling?" James asked. Harry shrugged and waved his hand dismissively, basically implying that he was fine. "And Pete?" Harry shrugged again, this time with a concerned expression.

"Did you actually lose your voice?" Sirius's eyes glinted dangerously. Harry shot him a warning look, raising his hand and letting sparks jump between his fingers (he'd left his wand upstairs). Sirius grinned triumphantly. "I knew it. I'm going to have so much fun—ouch!" Harry had hit him with a stinging jinx. "Lighten ub, Russet!" Sirius complained. "Wait. I was goig to call you Quiver. 'Cause, you know, you wouldn't stop shakig all last night or today."

"Snuffles," Harry retorted hoarsely, his voice closer to a breathy sigh. But it got the point across, and James snickered.

"I like that. Snuffles."

"If you call be that, I'm callig you Bambi," Sirius retorted.

"What's Bambi?" James asked. Harry snorted in laughter but let Sirius explain.

"Joselyn told be. It's what buggles call a boo-vee, about a baby deer that has adbentures in the forest with his little anibal friends."

"When?" Harry asked, then he coughed. Luckily Sirius understood.

"It was ober Christmas, when we told her about Boony and our formbs since she seembed to know anyway."

"You sound awful, Snuffles," James quipped. "Maybe you should pretend you lost your voice, too, to spare us your terrible pronunciation."

"Shut up, Bambi," Sirius retorted, and Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"Moony?" Harry asked.

"We went to see him earlier. It looks like he caught your fever, but he should be—"

"No, no. He wants to know what our new nicknamb for hib will be," Sirius interrupted.

"Just stop talking, Padfoot," James said, rolling his eyes. "Your voice is giving me a headache."

Harry smirked. "Join the club, Snuffles," he rasped, then he started coughing again.

"You stop talking, too. Or I'll put silencing spells on the pair of you and not remove them for a whole day."

Harry made a motion of locking his lips together and tossing away the key, giving James a playful smirk. Sirius frowned but didn't speak. Then he yawned widely.

"Looks like it's time for bed," James said with a faint smile, getting to his feet. Sirius and Harry followed suit. "Off you go. A good night's sleep will do wonders for your health."

Harry elbowed James in the ribs to protest his patronizing tone. James scowled playfully and shoved Harry back. Harry was still a little unsteady on his feet, though, and lost his balance. He fell backward, narrowly missing the table with his head. But he whacked the edge of it with his elbow.

"Ow," Harry complained, rubbing said elbow. Sirius helped him up and made a show of pushing past James in a huff and guiding Harry up the stairs. Harry let him, enjoying the chance to wind James up. Indeed, the panic on his face when Harry fell was entertaining to say the least. But he was still pretty tired, even if he had already literally slept the day away. The short time downstairs coupled with going down and then back up the steps to the sixth year dorm left Harry pretty wiped. He was more than happy to fall across the bed again and he was quickly asleep.

Monday Harry felt almost at one hundred percent, but he still couldn't talk. So he decided he'd share secret smirks with the other Marauders, especially Sirius who was also beginning to lose his voice. Let them all think they were planning a huge prank, when really the prank was already happening. Peter's fever had broken in the night, though beforehand he'd woken all of them at least once with his shivering and quiet moans. When the sun rose, Peter was still stuffy and the cut across his back looked pretty bad, despite having been smeared with dittany salve, but he seemed chipper enough so they let him come to class with them. He was more than happy to participate in the prank, too.

Monday went by as normal, though they made quite a few people uneasy by being unusually quiet. James gladly appointed himself the spokesman for any and all of the Marauders, but each time he abused said privilege Harry hit him with a mild stinging hex, usually wandless and always nonverbal. By the end of the day James had learned his lesson, though he had a few welts on his arms and legs and one on his shoulder from Harry's hexes. He also seemed determined to learn how to mimic the feat so he could pay Harry back in kind when he wasn't expecting it. And when Harry beat him in a practice duel in DADA, even without being able to speak and being more tired than usual, James was determined to learn that, too. He even reminded Harry of his and Tonks's sort-of promise to teach him dueling, which they'd made over Christmas break. The others jumped on the chance and demanded Harry teach them, too. He relented, though they'd have to wait until he got his voice back.

When classes ended for the day, four-fifths of the Marauders went to visit their last member in the hospital wing. Remus was awake but not entirely coherent. He had indeed caught a fever and a nasty cough. Luckily, though, he hadn't acquired many injuries from the full moon so his recovery would be quicker. Seeing Harry and Peter up and about, even though Harry had lost his voice, gave him hope that he'd recover quickly as well. He also insisted on being included in Harry's lessons.

Peter, James, Harry, and Sirius had left the hospital wing around dinnertime, but returned immediately after and stayed until curfew. Remus was a little more coherent then and he mentioned—too casually, in Harry's opinion—that Tonks had been by to see him after noticing he wasn't in class all day. By herself. Harry made a mental note to tease her about it as soon as possible. Right after he escaped her wrath at not telling her he'd gotten sick, which Remus had unfortunately let slip in his less-than-coherent state. Finally, Madame Pomphrey kicked them out and the four boys returned to their dorm in order to let Remus rest.

By Wednesday all of them had more or less recovered from their ordeals in the last few days. Remus got over his fever, though the cough still lingered as it tended to do. Harry nearly had his voice back, though it was still hoarse, and Sirius was the same. Thankfully, though, the congestion had gone away so even though he spoke hoarsely, he was intelligible. Peter fully recovered, though the cut on his back would take another few days before it fully scarred over. James had (so far) avoided catching any of it. Harry had gotten a firm talking-to from his surrogate big sister and she all but ordered him to tell her the next time he got sick. Harry was just glad he had still been recovering when she caught him, or he would have been her next prank victim. And Remus's birthday was nearly upon them.

For the last few weeks the Marauders, minus Remus, had been tossing ideas around. Sirius was all for getting him as badly as they'd gotten Sirius, but after the full moon and the rough week they all had, he reluctantly backed down and agreed to tone it down a bit. For Sirius, that meant there would be less pranks directly on his person, but plenty on his belongings and surroundings. Harry hoped Remus was prepared.

Thursday, March 10, and Remus's seventeenth birthday, seemed to dawn much earlier than usual. Harry was up before the sun, as were the others, and reluctantly but cheerfully participated in the first prank of the day. They didn't want to wake Remus on purpose, because he was grumpy in the mornings. Today was bound to be especially bad because he was still recovering from the full moon and being sick. So Peter had found a charm that would mimic the sunrise in a limited area, and they'd cast it on their dorm, centered on the curtains over the window. The others hurried to dress, being deliberately sloppy, and spoke in loud voices.

"Why'd you let me sleep in?" Harry complained loudly.

"Because you're a hellbeast when we wake you up!" Sirius retorted.

"I still have marks from Tuesday!" James added.

'That's because you kept saying stupid things, not because you woke me up," Harry retorted.

"You could have set an alarm," Peter cut in. "Instead of waiting for the sun to shine in your eyes."

"Hmph. What's your secret, then?" Harry shot at Peter. "Why're you up on time and all cheery?"

"I trust my body clock," he retorted. "See you guys in class." Then he made a show of banging the door into the dorm open and closed as though he'd left. Then a small brown rat, with a new streak of silvery grey down his back that hadn't been there a week ago, climbed up Harry's trouser leg and up his arm to rest on his shoulder.

"Do you think Remus would kill us if we woke him?" Harry asked, pitching his voice so it carried across the dorm easily. He could feel the huffing breaths of the rat on his shoulder and knew Peter was laughing.

"I think he's more likely to kill us if we let him miss class." James frowned at Remus's closed curtains. "But I'd rather not get cursed."

"Open the curtains. Let the sun wake him; then he can't blame us!"

James nodded and hurried to comply. (Artificial) sunlight blazed through the window, conveniently falling directly across Remus's sleeping face.

"You do realize class starts in thirty minutes, right?" Sirius said from the doorway. "We're already missing breakfast as it is."

"What?"

Remus shot out of bed, banging his head on his bed post in his hurry to get up. He saw the sunlight and cursed loudly, then hurried into the bathroom. Harry barely held in his laughter and James snorted. Sirius made a show of shutting the door as well, then he swept James's invisibility cloak over himself. The last thing Harry saw before his head disappeared was a huge smirk.

"James! What did you do with my bookbag?" Harry exclaimed, loud enough to be heard even over the running water in the bathroom. They might have put a few charms on the door and the shower stalls to ensure their conversation was audible.

"I haven't seen it!"

"But I gave it to you last night; you wanted to borrow my DADA book!"

"I don't know where it is! Maybe Padfoot did something to it."

"Padfoot! It's doomed!" Harry lamented, trying very hard not to laugh. They really were a bunch of drama queens. The rat on his shoulder squeaked in delight. The original plan was to have Peter and Sirius actually leave the dorm, but they wanted to see and hear Remus's reaction when they revealed their prank. So they were staying in the dorm, as unobtrusively as possible.

The shower shut off and Remus all but flew back into the dorm, still dripping wet. He'd barely taken the time to wrap a towel around his waist. "Why the hell didn't you guys wake me earlier?" he exclaimed, frantically digging through his trunk for his clothes.

"Because you have a tendency of cursing first and talking later," Harry said, frowning. James poorly concealed a snort at the irony of Harry making that statement.

"Some mates you are," Remus grumbled. He yanked on trousers and a shirt and hastily cast a drying charm on his hair, which was still dripping. Then he searched the dorm for his socks and shoes.

"At least we haven't abandoned you like Padfoot and Silverback," Harry said, the nickname coming to mind even as he spoke. He sensed more than saw James's raised eyebrow. Remus didn't seem to register it. The rat on his shoulder squeaked in surprise and delight.

"Hurry up, though, Moony. We only have about fifteen minutes before class starts."

"Fifteen minutes!" Remus's voice pitched high in panic. He grabbed the nearest bookbag (which was pre-prepared not by Remus, but by Sirius and Peter) and fled the dorm in a rush. The rat jumped off Harry's shoulder and streaked out the dorm after him, and Harry glimpsed a large black form take off as well.

"Run, guys! You have to make to the classroom first!" James whisper-shouted at the two animagi. A short bark was all the acknowledgment he got. Then the two of them exchanged a look and took off after Remus.

The five all but flew through the (nearly empty) corridors toward the Transfiguration classroom, the first class of the day. Remus skidded to a stop in front of the closed door, his face flushed from his panicked run and his shoulders heaving. James and Harry slid to a stop beside him just seconds later, making a show of bending over and struggling to catch their breath (though neither of them were all that winded; James's Quidditch practices and Harry's morning runs had upped their stamina considerably).

"What are you waiting for?" Harry gasped. "Go in before we're late!"

Remus yanked the door open in reply and ran inside. The two animagi had made it first, as planned, and though both were a little out of breath, they sat (in their human forms) in their usual seats. Remus made it halfway to the front of the room before he realized it was empty but for them. He stopped short and looked around in panicked confusion.

"Did we get the day wrong? Are we so late everyone's already left? Oh no. Please, please tell me we didn't actually have Ancient Runes first!" Remus pulled at his hair in worry. Professor Babbling was very strict when it came to being on time, nearly as strict as McGonagall, except instead of losing points or getting detention, she assigned extra work that was always far beyond the level the class was at.

James and Harry exchanged a look while Peter and Sirius did the same. As one they raised their wands and banners fell from the ceiling, with lots of confetti, and they shouted, "Happy birthday, Moony!"

Remus looked at them in disbelief for a moment, then exclaimed, "You guys were having me on!"

They all grinned. "And it worked wonderfully."

"What time is it, really?" Remus asked suspiciously. Harry, grinning still, checked his watch.

"Half past six," he said with a shrug. "In the morning."

"What the hell? Class doesn't start until nine!" Remus exclaimed.

"Plenty of time for a birthday breakfast, then," Sirius said with a grin. "To the kitchens we go!"

Grumbling and swearing revenge, Remus followed the others down to the basement where the kitchens were. Breakfast had started in the Great Hall already, but they wanted to keep Remus away from there until classes really did start. It was the next phase of their prank.

Breakfast was uneventful, though it was funny to watch Remus eye everything suspiciously before he actually touched it. Twice he actually checked for spells and potions with his wand. When they came up empty, he grew even more suspicious.

The Marauders finished breakfast with time to spare; it was barely seven-thirty. Remus was still put out at them, but he realized that he would have to take everything in stride that day. The group returned to their common room for the extra hour until classes start, to be greeted by half of Gryffindor, returned from breakfast already, wishing Remus a happy birthday in complete and perfect unison. Remus, who disliked being the center of attention unless it was for a prank, flushed in embarrassment and gave his friends a halfhearted glare. They just grinned back and joined in.

The amusing part was, Remus had assumed they'd just encouraged all of Gryffindor to wish him happy birthday in the common room that morning. So he wasn't expecting every single student who passed him to give him their birthday wishes, some in more elaborate and humorous ways than one. One could tell who was reluctant or grudging versus those who wanted to make a scene, because a number of the Slytherins grumbled it under their breath, barely audible, while other Gryffindors and even a handful of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs went all out. Some sang the song, others shouted it, and others used magic to make their birthday wish flashier or more impressive. Harry and Peter exchanged a grin and a triumphant high-five—the mild compulsion potion they'd spiked everyone's food with in the Great Hall had worked just as planned.

The next part of their birthday prank was revealed in Transfiguration that morning. Remus's quills had been charmed to write in a different neon color depending on which one he used, and he found out quite humorously when he started taking notes from McGonagall's lecture and his quill wrote not in black but in a blinding shade of neon yellow. He switched inkpots before he switched quills, and went through half of them before he gave up. Harry's favorite was the peacock blue. It reminded him of that ponce Lockhart, and Peter got the joke, too. While they shared a laugh over the pompousness of said fourth-year Ravenclaw, Sirius and James looked on in confusion while Remus gave the four of them a look of resignation.

After that the little pranks James, Sirius, Harry, and Peter had set up began snowballing. Remus discovered the switching charms they'd used on the books he carried in DADA, the second class of the day. They'd switched covers, then, knowing Remus would see through that in an instant, they switched random pages throughout each book (though they made sure to get pages from right around where they were in each class). It was quite amusing when Remus volunteered to read a section of the text during DADA only to find the page he was on covered arithmancy equations, not an alternate explanation of a counter-jinx. When Professor Dean moved on, Remus, with an exasperated look at the other four, pulled out the Arithmancy book, only to find that page detailed advanced human transfiguration.

In Charms, Harry switched Remus's wand out for a fake one (courtesy of Fred and George's birthday package from last year and twenty years into the future). They all had a good laugh when it turned into a rubber chicken in the middle of class, then Harry was subject to a fierce look that cowed him into returning Remus's wand earlier than planned. This combined with the color-changing spells on Remus's quills made for an interesting and eventful morning.

Lunch was normal until the end, when the birthday cake they'd planned for appeared on the table in front of Remus. Sirius gladly led most of the Great Hall in a chorus of the happy birthday song. Remus had rolled his eyes, but he was still grinning when he blew out the candles on top. Said grin turned into a look of shock when the cake exploded in his face and all over everyone within a five-foot radius, and most of the Hall burst into laughter.

"My cake!" Remus exclaimed, disappointed. But the laughter was contagious and soon enough he joined in. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry spotted Tonks, with icing in her hair and cake crumbs on her face, suddenly turn away, blushing. He glanced back and Remus and grinned. Of course, Remus looked as ridiculous as everyone else, with most of the cake all over his face and in his hair. But he was laughing harder than Harry had ever seen him laugh before. His eyes were bright and for one of the only times Harry had ever seen, present and future, he looked happy just to be alive and to have such good friends.

"Mmm," Sirius said, grinning. He'd swiped some cake directly off Remus's face with his fingers and licked it off. "Turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself." That only made Remus laugh even harder, which set the rest of them off again. Harry couldn't breathe, Peter was wheezing, Sirius was nearly choking on the cake he'd barely finished eating, and James was pounding the table, breathless with helpless laughter.

"Make…make it stop," Remus gasped, clutching his stomach and still laughing. "I can't…can't breathe!"

"Oh, Merlin. Your…face, Moony!" James exclaimed breathlessly.

"Exploding…cake. Best…idea ever!" Sirius gasped triumphantly.

"I don't think…the rest of our pranks…can top this one." Peter was slowly getting his breath back, though he was still grinning widely. Harry's face hurt from smiling and laughing so hard.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," Lily huffed from nearby. She was just passing them with Mary (who was doing her best not to laugh; Lily paid her no mind). Harry barely caught the wand motion, but suddenly it felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. He choked, but the laughter stopped. The wand motion was repeated and the others followed suit.

"Don't ruin the fun, Lils!" Sirius complained, calling after her.

"The only way to ruin your fun is to put all of you to sleep," Lily retorted. "And even that might not be enough." Then she turned her attention to her fellow prefect. "Remus, you should probably get that off your face."

"Why should I?" Remus quirked an eyebrow as though puzzled by the request. Sirius snickered when some crumbs fell off Remus's forehead.

"Yeah, haven't you heard?" James put in.

"Cake and frosting is a great moisturizer," Peter finished, grinning. Mary laughed, but Lily ignored her. Instead, she huffed and stalked off.

"Ha! Good one, Pete!" Sirius exclaimed, clapping him on the shoulder. James cast Lily's retreating form a longing glance before turning back to the rest of them. He then helped himself to the cake on Remus's face.

"Yeah, great comeback, Silverback," Harry said with a smile, bumping Peter with his shoulder.

"Huh?"

"Yeah. What?" Remus asked.

"Well, Sirius wants to call me Quiver, and I've now dubbed him Snuffles." Sirius snorted, but Harry ignored him and continued. "And James is apparently Bambi. So I came up with a new name for you, too."

"Why that one?" Peter asked.

"Well, that new scar of yours is a new distinguishing feature on your form, a line of greyish silver from neck to tail. So I thought, Silverback."

Peter smiled. "I like it."

"Mmm…" Sirius trailed off thoughtfully. "It'll take a while to catch on."

"What about me? Don't I get a new name?" Remus asked, pulling a pouty face that made Harry snort in amusement. Despite his annoyance earlier in the day, he was now in full Marauder mode—which meant he was in an unusually good (and playful) mood and itching for mischief.

"We'll think on it, but we'll be sure to give you one by tonight, birthday boy," James replied with a smile.

"Hmph," Remus pouted, which set the group of them into laughter once again—pouts did not suit Remus at all.

The group was still chuckling when they finally made it to Potions. Remus had, reluctantly, washed the cake off his face (after the rest of the Marauders had their share). The rest of them got the cake and icing off their faces, too, though Sirius still had a little in his hair and Harry was fairly sure he'd missed some, too.

The Marauders knew better than to pull pranks in Potions class. The first (and last) time they'd tried, they'd ended up with a month's worth of detentions, fifty points lost from Gryffindor, and a very stern talking-to by both Slughorn and McGonagall. Apparently newt eyes did not belong in a forgetfulness potion, and salamander blood was not supposed to be used as a dye—at least not on skin. According to James, the rash was painful and long-lasting, and burn cream didn't help.

Either way, Potions class was mostly peaceful. And since only Harry and James were in Arithmancy with Remus, and he would murder them if they interrupted one of his favorite classes, they let it go with just the pranks they'd already set in motion—namely, the textbooks and the ink. Halfway through Arithmancy, the alternate colors kicked in and Remus, who had been writing with blue (as the least of several evils, namely neon pink and blinding green), suddenly found himself writing in neon yellow. He narrowed his eyes at James and Harry, but didn't try to switch quills. Harry noticed, however, that his notes were far messier than usual after that, probably due to Remus's reluctance to look down at his parchment.

When classes were over, Harry could tell Remus was tense, probably dreading what waited for him in the dorm or in the Great Hall. He'd been a pretty good sport so far. Hopefully he'd take it well. It was fun, though, when nothing happened all throughout dinner and watching Remus get more and more tense. Then, at the signal, just a few minutes before the end of the meal, Harry snapped his fingers (for show) and suddenly the Hall was filled with fireworks. Harry had snuck a few more Weasley products into the prank, and after the mini dragons had run their course, one perching on Remus's head and singing his hair, the rest exploded in a bright, lasting "Happy Birthday."

Remus had jumped at the initial noise, then rolled his eyes and gave his friends a fond look. When the fireworks continued, though, for a good ten minutes, it looked like he got a little misty-eyed. The compulsion potion kicked in again, and almost in unison, the entire Great Hall wished Remus one last happy birthday before the exploding lights fizzled out. However, the words lingered. The show over, most of the students filed out as well as the professors (that also might have been part of the potion). Finally, when it was just the Marauders left in the Hall, the fiery words hanging in the air exploded again and reformed to read, "to Moony, our brother."

"Happy Birthday, Moony," the four boys chorused. This time Harry knew he saw moisture in Remus's eyes, but then it was gone and a wide grin split his face.

"Or should we say, Imp," they corrected themselves, bestowing the new nickname they'd decided on earlier in the day.

"From Bambi, Snuffles, Quiver, and Silverback," Harry cut in, rolling his eyes at the ridiculous names.

"But only for poking fun," James interjected. "The Marauders are, and always will be: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Russet, and Prongs."

Harry buried the flush of pleasure at hearing his own nicknamed included, and tried to ignore the nagging at the back of his mind that he couldn't stay here forever. This was Remus's day, and he was hardly going to ruin it because he was being selfish.

"Ready for presents?" Sirius asked urgently as the last of the fireworks fizzled away. They left nothing but a puff of smoke before that, too, dispersed and disappeared.

"They're my presents, Snuffles," Remus retorted, grinning.

"Well, excuse me, Imp, for being impatient!"

"Shut it, both of you," James said fondly.

"Quiet, Bambi," Sirius retorted. Harry couldn't help a snort of laughter as he recalled the muggle movie by that name. He couldn't picture James in it at all, not even in his animagus form. "I'm busy bothering the birthday boy."

"Well, so long as it doesn't get out of hand…" Harry trailed off, smirking.

"No one asked you, Quiver," Remus shot back, his eyes glinting with mischief. Harry made a show of being offended.

"Fine. I can see when I'm not wanted. Come on, Silverback, let's leave them to their bickering."

"Maybe we can get a peek at his presents if we're quick," Peter agreed.

"Oi!" Remus exclaimed. Peter and Harry grinned and took off running. The other three made chase, their laughter echoing down the corridors.