The first full moon of the break would occur the following day. I called Suller, Dash, Poppet, and Klaus to my office. Klaus definitely didn't mention his strong feelings toward mundane-borns like he used to. Unfortunately just because he didn't say anything didn't mean he didn't feel it.
Like I told Remus in my letter I sent Dash to collect him. The I sent Suller to get James, Poppet to Sirius, and Klaus for Peter. The elves were gone for half an hour. By the time one of them returned I'd made my way to the library to read some of the books stashed there.
Dash returned first. Holding onto his hand was a pale Remus. When we made eye contact we smiled. I set the book aside and got up to give him a hug. "It's good to see you, Remus. How are you feeling?"
I pulled away and Remus shrugged. "I've been better." He bit his lip uncertainly before asking, "Will it just be us two?"
"I sent Suller, Klaus, and Poppet to get the other Marauders. I'm not sure if they'll come since I didn't send a letter to warn them." I looked at Dash. "Thank you for getting Remus. Please take his trunk to his room." With a bow he grabbed said trunk and popped away.
James and Sirius arrived together. Apparently Sirius had been at Potter manor when my elves showed up. Peter came immediately after. He almost didn't because his mother was getting older. She needed someone to take care of her a more often then not.
The five of us sat down for lunch when James awkwardly cleared his throat. "I'm not sure if Sirius told you, but he ran away from home."
I blinked rapidly in surprise. "He did not." When I looked at Sirius he had his head ducked over his plate. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Sirius shifted uncomfortably. "It happened a week ago, and I wasn't sure if you would be okay with me, um, talking with you."
Sighing sadly I called his name until he connected his grey eyes with my blue. "We're still friends, Sirius. At least I think so. We just had our first large fight that went on for far too long. We should probably talk about it." He groaned, but the table seemed to have lost a heavy atmosphere nobody realized was there.
While Remus disappeared in the library and James and Peter messed around in the sitting room, I brought Sirius to my office for that talk. I sat behind the desk while he awkwardly in front of it. After a couple silent minutes I sighed and stood up.
"I'll start." He looked at me gratefully and I leaned my hands against the surface of the desk. "I'm sorry for everything. For yelling at you, and not talking to you for months. This could have been resolved so long ago but I'm a stubborn idiot." I closed my eyes and pressed my hands against them.
Like that I couldn't see Sirius slowly come around the desk to wrap a cautious arm around my shoulders. It startled me at first, but I quickly folded into his side.
"I'm sorry too." Sirius' warm breath fanned over the top of my head. "I should've apologized like you'd told me to, but like the bloody fool I am I didn't. This whole mess is my fault."
With a sigh close to contentment I turned my body so we could wrap both our arms around each other. With our heights I could easily rest my head beneath his chin. A fact Sirius took advantage of.
"I suppose this is both our fault. We each messed up in our own way and didn't do anything to fix it."
I felt his chest hum beneath my ear. "Mostly my fault." It earned a weak chuckle. "Can you ever forgive me?"
My arms tightened around him. "I'm not sure, but I would certainly like to move past this."
"I can certainly agree with that." He removed his chin from on top of my head and replaced it with his forehead.
We stood in each other's embrace for several minutes. The silence between us no longer felt awkward, instead it was content. Our friendship had a bit of a black mark on it, but in time it would fade away.
My heart suddenly ached at the thought of having Sirius so close, yet far enough that I could never be with him romantically. Realizing that had me pulling from the hug and changing topics. "What's this about you running away?"
Sirius grimaced. "You know what my family is like. This summer I've finally had enough. My mother…well, she tried to force me into behaving as a 'proper Black should'. No wasn't the right choice, but I chose it anyway. She…punished me, and I ran to the Potter's. They took me in."
I cringed when he said "punish". He definitely didn't mean being grounded. More along the lines of corporal punishment. Probably done with dark magic. "You're welcome to stay here whenever you want. I certainly have the room for it."
I smiled and Sirius barked out a laugh. "I can't argue with that. I'll send you a letter sometime."
The two of us left the office with light hearts. I didn't realize Sirius knew I loved him. Thoughts of asking me out raced through his mind while I never would have imagined he'd return those feelings.
I remained obvious to the fact the boys all knew my feelings for Sirius. When we all went to be for the night the four boys held a meeting in Remus' room while I slept in the master bedroom.
James started off the meeting by declaring, "We need to get them together."
Remus rolled his eyes. "They just apologized to each other. Alex needs time to get over that whole mess before getting into a relationship."
Sirius sighed sadly. "How long will that be?"
"It can't be that long." Peter said dismissively. "You guys worked it out and she already loves you. Just tell her you love her back."
"You don't know a thing about girls, Wormtail." James stated.
Sirius backed him up. "They remember things and hold them over your head for a long time. Alex said she didn't forgive me for what happened, but she'd like to move past it."
"She needs time so she can heal from your fight." Remus said thoughtfully. "It was a pretty bad argument, even though I think her anger was justified."
"Gee thanks." Sirius rolled his eyes, but internally he couldn't help but agree.
James broke in loudly. "I think, when the time comes, you should confess your love during dinner."
"I've learned from you and Lily that that's the last thing I should do." Sirius replied wryly.
Indignant, the messy haired boy tackled Sirius onto the bed. Remus rolled his eyes at the wrestling boys while Peter laughed. Soon enough Remus forced them all out so he could sleep and recover as much strength as he could for the full moon. Sirius, James and Peter all followed his lead.
The next day was quiet between the five of us. Knowing the full moon would be that night made Remus edgy. The rest of us didn't want to bother him any further. He seemed to appreciate the quiet.
After dinner we went into the woods surrounding the property. While Remus sat in wait for the full moon to take effect, Sirius shifted into Padfoot, James into Prongs, and Peter into Wormtail. Seeing the three in their animal forms reminded me of what else I'd missed while Sirius and I had been on the outs.
When I shifted into my bear form I padded over to Padfoot and nudged his side with my nose. He returned the gesture and we sat back and watched with sad eyes as the painful change took over our gentle friends body.
All five of us slept through the day once the full moon was over. It wasn't until the day after that everybody dragged themselves to the dining room to eat as a group.
After several minutes silence I confessed, "I think I want a tattoo."
The four boys stopped eating to look at me in varying degrees of surprise. Peter seemed the most surprised. "Why?"
I moved my food around my plate thoughtfully. "I was thinking about it yesterday. I want to get something in memory of all of us." Looking around the table I met each of their eyes with a smile. "We may have hard time, but we get through them. I'd like to think the five of us will always stick together. Even after we finish Hogwarts."
James nodded. "You're right. Do you think we should get matching tattoo's?"
I blinked rapidly from shock. "Oh. I didn't mean you guys had to get any."
"I've still got those things you gave me for getting muggle tattoos!" Sirius interjected excitedly. "I've wanted to use them for ages."
"I can't get mine from the mundane world because my emancipation only applies to the magical world. I'd have to wait until next year to get it, and I'm not sure if I want to wait or not."
Peter shuddered. "I don't like needles. Don't tattoo's hurt?"
Remus pursed his lips. "I think it depends on where you get them on your body."
"I think that should match." Sirius shoveled some eggs into his mouth after his declaration.
I shrugged. "I'm not opposed to the idea."
"Mum might not let me get one," Remus said regretfully.
James waved off his concerns. "Ask your dad then. He's cool."
"I'd say don't tell them at all, but you have to be at least seventeen to get a magical tattoo and eighteen for a mundane one."
Sirius raised his eyebrows at me. "Telling him to go against his parents, Switch? I'm proud of you."
Laughing lightly I smiled down at my breakfast. "I think we should get tattoos from the magical world. We'll get mundane tattoos later."
"The tattoo could just say 'The Marauders'." We all looked at Peter who was gazing at the far wall thoughtfully. "Then we could have everyone's animal form but your own running around the letters. Like I would have Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, and Swift while James has Moony, Padfoot, Swift and my rat form on him."
Peter noticed all of us staring at him and he blushed. He quickly looked down at his nearly empty plate and mumbled, "Just a suggestion."
I nodded slowly with a thoughtful frown. "I kind of like the idea."
Remus nodded. "Me too. What about you guys?"
Sirius and James looked at each other and communicated through small facial expressions. "I'm cool with it."
James nodded. "Yeah. And if anyone thinks of another idea share it. Then we'll have a couple to chose from, or add it to Peter's idea."
Peter's blush didn't fade at all until breakfast was over. Knowing we all appreciated one of his ideas made him feel extremely proud of himself.
The tattoo idea didn't come up again for the rest of the day. After lunch all the boys left, and I was alone in Fox Manor with the elves and my legs for company.
