A/N I can't believe posting this chapter takes me past the 100k mark. I don't think I would have made it this far without the support of those few readers that comment on every chapter. There are no words for how much I appreciate you guys. Just hearing that you enjoyed the chapter gives me so much motivation. I love you all. That said, I appreciate my occasional commenters and silent readers too, you guys rock and I love watching my hit count go up when I post a new chapter. Knowing people are reading what I've written is an amazing feeling.

Okay, gushing over, I couldn't stop myself posting this, even though I'm trying to build up a reserve of chapters for when I start back at uni in October and don't have as much free time to write, but I want you all to find out what's behind the door too much to wait. Enjoy. :)

(Oh, and in the final part, underlined means crossed out.)

Friday, 15th October 1971, 5:55 pm

Remus climbed through the portrait hole after Sirius and stood up straight. 'Oh, my gods.'

'Yeah,' Sirius said.

James emerged from the portrait hole next. 'Merlin, is the whole school here?'

Sirius nodded. 'Looks like it.'

Peter climbed out last. 'Woah! How are we going to get to the door?'

That was a good question. The landing and the staircase were packed with students. There was barely an inch of space to be seen. The noise was horrendous, and Remus was glad it wasn't closer to the full moon.

'Like this,' James said, before cupping his hands around his mouth and screaming at the top of his voice. 'Make way! Make way! Finders of the birthday cake room, coming through!'

Those closest to them looked around, and the crowd began to part like a pair of curtains.

'Walk in between us, Remus,' Sirius said. Remus nodded and manoeuvred himself between Sirius and James, with James in the lead of course. Peter took up the rear of their procession through the dense crowd. When they reached the right painting, they stopped and James glanced around. The crowd had fallen silent in anticipation.

'We're looking for Alastor Moody. Has anyone seen Alastor Moody?' James yelled into the silence.

'I'm right here,' a deep voice said beside them. 'You should be more aware of your surroundings. Constant vigilance!'

James coughed and looked up at the towering seventh-year prefect. 'Yeah. Right. Um. We're just waiting for Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster. They want to be present when we unlock the reward room.'

Moody nodded solemnly. 'Very wise.'

The teachers arrived a few minutes later, having waded through the crowd to reach them from the other direction.

'Looks like the word spread,' Dumbledore said with a chuckle. 'Let the show begin.'

'Er, yeah. Moody, if you could tell the door it's your birthday.'

Moody turned to the door. 'It's my birthday.'

The door swung open with a quiet fanfare, and the four Marauders, the birthday boy and the two teachers proceeded into the room. Professor Dumbledore asked the crowd to please wait outside for a few minutes. His request was met with disappointed groans.

Once inside, Moody blew out the candle and the usual Happy Birthday message appeared on the wall along with the twenty-eighth glowing white light. The lights flashed a multitude of different colours in quick succession and blinked out. The fanfare sounded again, much louder than before, and a new message appeared on the wall.

Congratulations on completing the task! I hope you have learned the importance of hard work and perseverance and perhaps even made some new friends. This room will remain open for the rest of the current school year. All possible safety precautions are in place. It is not possible for anyone to be hurt inside this room. Have fun! - Helga Hufflepuff.

'A founder's secret. How very exciting,' Professor Dumbledore said. 'Shall we see what it is? I think you boys should lead the way since you did all the work.'

'Go on, Remus,' James said. 'You did all the hard stuff.'

Remus stepped forward, pushed the door open and walked through into… blazing sunshine? What?

'Fucking hell! It's a fucking beach!' Sirius yelled behind him.

'Language, Mister Black,' Professor McGonagall snapped. 'But you are correct, it does appear to be a beach. How peculiar.'

'I do believe this is the fabled hidden swimming pool,' Professor Dumbledore said, walking in to stand next to them. 'How wonderful. I'd always hoped I'd be privileged to see it. Helga really outdid herself, didn't she?'

That was an understatement. The "room" was enormous. Swathes of soft white sand swept into the distance to meet a deep blue ocean, waves breaking gently against the shore. The "ceiling" looked exactly like the sky, complete with fluffy white clouds, and there was even a cliff face with a cave. The ocean flowed into the opening and ivy hung down over the entrance. Off to one side of the beach, there was a large building. A building inside a building. Hogwarts was so weird.

'Mister Potter, why don't you go and let the rest of the school know there's enough space in here for them all to join us. Be sure to tell them to proceed in an orderly fashion. We don't want anyone to be trampled.'

'Yes, sir.' James ran out of the door, and a moment later they heard his loud, confident voice relaying Dumbledore's message.

'Let's go over here so we don't get jostled,' Sirius said, leading Remus to the side of the door.

The students streamed inside and spread out across the sand, marvelling at the realism. A few went to investigate the building. They came back out a few minutes later wearing bathing suits.

'Hey, everyone, there's changing rooms in here and swimming costumes!'

It didn't take long before the majority of the students had changed and jumped into the ocean-swimming pool. Soon, water fights were in progress and several students who preferred to stay dry were building sandcastles or lying on the beach.

Remus was one of them. There was no way he could strip down to what was little more than a pair of pants and join in with everyone else. Even if his scars weren't horrifying, which they were, they marked him as a werewolf. They would be immediately recognised by anyone with the barest knowledge of lycanthropy. So he sat on the sand and he watched.

He watched Sirius and James jump into the water and swim out to the cave to investigate, and he watched Peter make the laborious climb to the top of the cliff to cannonball off of it. He watched as one boy got into difficulty in the waves and was magically levitated to the beach by the room, and he watched as the teachers decided it was safe and left them to their fun. Later, he watched as the fake sun began to set over the ocean, painting the sky in red and purple hues.

'Beautiful, isn't it?' Sirius asked, flopping down next to him. 'I'd love to paint it.'

'You should. We have the room until June.'

Sirius shook his damp hair out of his face and winked at him. 'I will if you come here with me.'

Remus smiled, thanking Merlin for the dim light that hid his blush for once. 'I'd love to.'

When it was nearly time for curfew, the prefects that were still present began ushering everyone into the changing rooms and, once dressed, off to their common rooms.

James and Peter appeared, out of breath and red-cheeked.

'We are so coming back here tomorrow,' James said.

Sirius lay in bed a few hours later, staring at the ceiling. Peter had been snoring for over an hour, and James had just let out a snort that told him he was finally asleep. He rolled over and eased himself out of bed before tiptoeing over to where Remus was sleeping.

He pulled back the edge of the curtain and whispered. 'Remus. Wake up.'

Remus stirred and blinked a few times. 'Sirius?'

'Yeah. It's me. Come downstairs? I want to talk to you.'

Remus blinked at him again. 'Okay.'

When they reached the common room, Sirius suddenly felt a bit foolish. He had no idea what he was going to say. There was only one course of action available. Stall.

'I wanted to see the beach at night. Will you come with me?'

Remus stared at him, his face confused, but then he shook his head and smiled. 'Yeah, alright.'

They snuck out of Gryffindor tower and down the landing to the hidden door. The painting had been removed, and the door left open for easier access, and they were able to slip straight inside.

The beach was beautiful in the dim light of the enchanted stars. There was a full moon hanging in the sky, gilding everything in sight with a silvery glow, which Sirius hadn't expected, and he saw Remus flinch out of the corner of his eye, but pretended he hadn't. Sirius wondered when Remus had last seen a full moon with his human eyes.

'We've met before, you know?' he said before he could lose his nerve.

Remus looked at him steadily for a moment. 'Yes, Sirius. I know. We met yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that.'

Sirius sat down, leant back on his elbows, and dug his fingers into the powdery sand. 'No, I mean before school. We met a long time ago. I don't know if you remember.'

Remus sat down next to him with his legs bent and wrapped his arms around his knees. He stared out at the star-spotted horizon for a few minutes, and Sirius started to think he was never going to respond.

'I don't think I do remember. How long ago was it? Are you sure it was me?'

'I was five. It was cold, so it must have been during the winter, or maybe early spring? And we were in Diagon Alley. I got into trouble, I don't remember what for, something stupid I'm sure.' Sirius shrugged. 'I ran away and hid in the apothecary. You found me there. You saw I was upset and invited me to your birthday party.'

Sirius paused because Remus' shoulders had stiffened. 'Remus? You okay?'

'I think I remember. Your mum came, and she called me a dirty little freak.'

'She did.' Sirius chuckled. 'Because you kicked her right in the shin defending me. She was furious.'

Remus turned his head to look at him. 'Did I? I don't remember that part.'

'I remembered it. Every single day. You were my hero,' Sirius said, looking Remus right in the eye and willing him to understand how important he was.

Remus was quiet for a few minutes, and Sirius didn't know what to think. Was that the wrong thing to say? Had he blown it?

'So, then, why did you say no when I asked to share your boat?' he asked at last.

Sirius sat up and leant forward so he could see Remus' face. 'You have no idea how many times I've kicked myself for that. Gods, Remus. I told you I was saving the seat for someone, right?'

Remus nodded.

'I was saving it for you! I looked for you on the train but didn't see you, and I was scanning the bank of the lake for you. And then you were right there in front of me and I didn't recognise you. When McGonagall called your name and you stepped forward. Merlin, I felt like the world's biggest idiot. I thought I'd ruined everything.'

Remus laughed. 'You very nearly did. I hated you for those first few days.'

'I deserved it.'

'You really did. But you've made up for it.'

'Have I?'

Remus paused. Sirius waited, holding his breath.

'Yes.'

Sirius let out the breath he was holding, and they sat in silence for a few minutes listening to the waves lap against the shore.

Remus turned his head. 'Why did you need a hero?'

Sirius huffed out a breath. Why indeed? 'You may have noticed my mother isn't very nice.'

Remus inclined his head. 'Is she like that a lot?'

'Every goddamn day of my life,' Sirius said with a humourless laugh. 'I'm the disappointment. The unworthy heir. The lion in the snakes' nest.'

'They're all Slytherins?'

Sirius nodded. 'The ones that weren't are no longer considered members of the family.'

'I'm glad you're a Gryffindor.'

Sirius snorted. 'Merlin, me too.'

'Even though they'll hate you for it?'

Sirius shook his head. 'They already hated me, Remus. I've been punished every day of my life simply for being me. Impulsive, energetic, can't keep his mouth shut, brightest goddamn star in the sky, me. How could being sorted into Gryffindor possibly make them hate me any more?'

Remus looked away.

'No. Don't do that. Please. Don't pity me,' Sirius said.

Remus' head shot back. 'Pity you?' He shook his head. 'I don't pity you. I think you're incredibly strong, to take so much all your life and refuse to bend.' He paused. 'At least they gave you one thing. They gave you the perfect name. You really are the brightest star.'

Sirius snorted. 'We're all named after stars or constellations. It's a family tradition.'

'Well, you got the best one,' Remus said.

Sirius went quiet for a moment. It seemed like a good time to bring up the real reason he'd bought Remus here. 'Will you come swimming with me?'

Remus stiffened again and Sirius hurried on before he could say no. 'You don't have to get undressed if that's what you're worried about. I've noticed how shy you are. We can swim in our pyjamas. I just don't want you to miss out when it's all thanks to you that we even have this.'

Remus stared at him for a minute and then his face relaxed into a smile. 'Yeah. Alright.'

Sirius whooped and leapt to his feet. 'Come on, you have got to see the cave. It's amazing.'

They ran across the sand and into the pleasantly warm water, laughing as their pyjamas became saturated and weighed them down, making it hard to swim. Sirius pulled back the curtain of ivy and waved Remus inside. Then he watched as Remus' face lit up with wonder.

The inside walls and ceiling of the cave shimmered with luminous blue crystals, giving everything a soft glow. Remus' skin sparkled in the light. And Sirius got a weird tingling in his stomach.

'It's beautiful,' Remus said, turning to look at Sirius.

'I knew you'd like it,' Sirius said.

They didn't go back to the beach room the following day because they needed to brew the animation potion for Halloween. If he were honest, Remus was a little relieved. It had been a lot of fun swimming with Sirius the night before, but he knew he couldn't swim in his clothes with other people present. It would draw too much attention. So he would end up alone again, watching everyone else have fun, unable to join in. Staying in the dorm and well out of the way while his friends brewed was far preferable to that.

They had set the cauldron up in the middle of the floor on a portable brewing stand they had "borrowed" from Slughorn. The stand had built-in fire control runes, so they didn't need to worry about casting any fire spells too far above their level and killing themselves. Always a plus.

Peter, as their Chief Potioneer, was in control of the project and had spent the day happily ordering James and Sirius around and grinning every time they obeyed his instructions. They had taken it in turns to eat, James and Peter going first while Sirius monitored the potion. When they returned, Sirius had joined Remus in the kitchen for their meals so he wouldn't have to eat alone in the Great Hall. It had been nice to have company.

'Okay, this just needs to simmer for a few hours,' Peter said, dusting his hands off.

'Excellent, that means we can go to Slughorn's party,' James said.

Sirius shook his head. 'Someone needs to stay here to prevent a dorm check.'

James deflated. 'Oh, yeah. Guess it wouldn't be fair to leave someone out whilst the rest of us go.'

Remus put down the book he was reading. 'I don't want to go, anyway. If it's just a case of being present in the room and I don't have to touch the potion, I don't mind staying while you three go to the party.'

Sirius and James looked to Peter, who nodded. 'The potion will be fine.'

'Thanks, Remus,' James said. 'We better get ready; it starts in fifteen minutes.'

Remus returned to his book while his friends changed into their best robes and preened in the mirror. The preening was mostly Sirius, although James got in his fair share. They were ready to leave ten minutes later, and Remus waved them off happily. He was quite looking forward to a little peace and quiet.

Remus had enjoyed swimming with Sirius the night before, but his revelation about them meeting before needed some analysing, and he'd been too tired to think about it when they returned to the dorm, falling asleep the moment his head touched the pillow. He wasn't sure how he felt about Sirius remembering the day he was bitten in such a fond light. The day was burned into both their minds, but for very different reasons. For Remus, it was the day his life changed forever. It was brutal and bloody and full of pain. For Sirius, it seemed to be a source of strength. A memory that he clung to during difficult moments and enjoyed recalling.

Could Remus use Sirius' positive feelings about that day to reduce his own negative ones? Change the way he thought about it? Instead of it being the day his life was changed forever, could it become the day he changed Sirius' life? It would make it easier to cope with the 16th of February in the future if he could learn to look at it that way.

He was half an hour into his alone time when he came across a useful passage in his book and he stood up to fetch a quill so he could make some notes. He was working on a way to add a second layer of enchantment to the belch powder. James still wasn't satisfied that the event would be magnificent enough, and he wanted to make it bigger. Remus bent over his trunk to get what he needed. And when he stood back up, disaster struck. He tried to lift his foot to turn around, but he happened to be standing on his untied shoelace and his foot wouldn't budge. Wobbling, he flailed his arms and lost his grip on the ink bottle he was holding. The bottle flew into the air towards the potion. Shit! Remus thought, and tried to make a grab for it, unbalancing himself even further. The ink bottle landed in the potion with a plop.

The potion bubbled ominously.

Remus fell.

The potion exploded.

The bright pink goo shot towards the ceiling and rained back down over Remus, lying prone on the floor. The next thing Remus knew was the strange feeling of his clothes wriggling around on his skin and pulling him in all directions.

Sirius waved goodbye to Remus and followed James and Peter down the stairs and through the common room. He was looking forward to letting his hair down and having some fun after the stress of potion-making all day. They exited through the portrait hole and made the long journey down to the dungeon where the party was being held.

As they approached the door, they heard the sound of music drifting out. They were playing something upbeat, with lots of bass. Sirius grinned. When they entered the room, the grin fell from his face. It was exactly like one of his mother's boring "parties." Lots of boring people standing around, talking. Not a single person was dancing to the music.

Peter made a beeline for the buffet table, and Sirius joined him for something to do. The food was at least good. The house-elves had outdone themselves. Unfortunately, Sirius had already eaten.

'Ah, Mister Black. So glad you could make it. I used to teach your mother, you know. Delightful woman. Brilliant with a cauldron,' Professor Slughorn said, appearing at his side.

'You must be thinking of someone else, sir. My mother is far from delightful,' Sirius said.

Slughorn chortled. 'Ah, teenage boys and their mothers. You'll change your mind about her when you have children of your own.' He patted Sirius on the shoulder patronisingly, and Sirius scowled.

'Ah. Mister Pettigrew,' Slughorn said, spotting Peter helping himself to a third chocolate eclair. 'I wanted to discuss a potential career in potion-making with you. You show a remarkable aptitude for the subject. Let me introduce you to…' Sirius took that opportunity to slip away and look for James.

He found his friend and fellow Marauder talking to an annoyed looking Evans in the corner of the room. Sirius didn't want to interrupt while James was trying his luck with the girl, so he slinked away and slouched against the wall, observing the party. It really was boring. Lots of important people, full of their own importance, talking about pointlessly important things. He'd rather be back in the dorm with Remus.

Never one to deny his impulses, Sirius pushed himself off the wall and strolled out of the room. As he climbed back up to the seventh floor, he pulled off his tie and undid the front of his robes, instantly feeling better without the restrictive clothes. He hated being dressed up.

He pushed the door open and quickly closed it behind him when he saw the state of the room. There was bright pink goo splattered on the ceiling and floor. Something had gone wrong with the potion. How? He'd only been gone for forty minutes. More importantly…

'Remus?' he called.

Remus' voice answered from the bathroom. 'Oh, Sirius. Thank Merlin you're back. Help me!'

Sirius rushed into the bathroom and was met with the sight of Remus, floating in midair, trying to fight his way out of his clothes, which seemed to have a mind of their own.

'What happened?'

'Potion exploded. Clothes animated. Can't breathe,' Remus said as his jumper, having managed to detach itself from Remus' arms, wrapped itself around his neck.

'Shit, okay, hang on,' Sirius said, reaching for the jumper.

'No! Gloves first!'

'Right, sorry.' Sirius ran back into the dorm to fetch his Herbology gloves and sped back again. He put them on as fast as he could and then ripped the jumper from Remus' neck and threw it into the dorm so it wouldn't attack them again. Then he paused. Remus was not going to like this.

'Remus, I can't do anything about the clothes, we just have to wait for the potion to wear off. You're going to have to take them off.'

Remus struggled against his shirt. 'I can't move my arms, the clothes are stronger than me.'

'Do you want me to help? I can probably do it with my eyes closed. Do you trust me?'

Remus stared at him for a long moment and then nodded. 'Yes, I trust you.'

Sirius felt a thrill at that. Maybe Remus would tell him his secret soon so Sirius could stop pretending he didn't know.

He closed his eyes and reached for the front of Remus' shirt. There was no way he was going to be able to manage buttons with these gloves on, so he just yanked on the edges, causing the buttons to ping off. He kept his eyes shut tight as he moved around behind Remus. As tempting as it was to look, and it was tempting—he desperately wanted to know what Remus was hiding, how bad it was—there was no way he was going to betray the trust Remus had placed in him.

He grabbed hold of the collar and pulled it down, and back so it released his arms.

'I think I can get the trousers myself now,' Remus said. His voice sounded scared and shaky.

Sirius kept his eyes closed and moved back in front of Remus. 'Okay, but I'm going to hold on to your arms, when you get them off you're going to fall.'

'No, don't. Just stand back and let me fall. It'll only be bruises.'

Sirius hesitated. 'Are you sure?'

'Yes.' Remus' voice was firm now, all signs of fear had vanished.

'Okay.' Sirius moved back until his back hit the wall.

'Thank you.'

There was the sound of material rustling and then a loud crash and a cry of pain.

'Are you okay?'

'Yeah, just a bump. I'm going to go and get dressed.'

'Alright.'

Sirius waited until he heard the door close before opening his eyes. He was immediately attacked by Remus' trousers and forced to wrestle them into surrender.

'You can come in now,' Remus called from the dorm.

Sirius kept a firm grip on Remus' trousers as he pulled the bathroom door open and entered the dorm. Remus was maintaining an equally firm grip on his shirt and jumper.

'What shall we do with them?' he asked.

'Stuff them in James' trunk?' Sirius suggested.

Remus grinned wickedly. It lit up his entire face, and Sirius thought he should grin like that more often. 'That is an excellent idea.'

'Well, I'm not just a pretty face,' Sirius said, tossing his long hair like Evans did all the time.

'Clearly,' Remus said, not denying that Sirius was pretty, he noticed with a thrill.

They stuffed the animated clothes into James' trunk and slammed the lid closed. The trunk rattled for a few minutes and then went silent. James was going to get a big surprise when he next opened it.

Extract from The Official Marauders Notebook

Animation potion recipe

- Cowbane infusion

- 25 Yellow rose petals

- Crushed snake fangs - frog liver

- Essence of squill bulbs

- Tincture of knotgrass

- Dried billywig stings

- Moondew drops

- Caterpillars - powdered chrysalis

- Powdered beetle eyes

- Fluxweed

- Flobberworm mucus

Step one: Pour cowbane infusion into the cauldron. Bring to the boil.

Step two: Sprinkle rose petals across the surface and leave to simmer for 1 hour. Remove from the heat.

Step three: The rose petals should have completely dissolved and the potion should now be a pale yellow colour with a faint pink sheen. Add the crushed snake fangs, sprinkling around the edge of the cauldron. - Replace with chopped frog liver, add to the centre of the potion. Leave to simmer for thirty minutes. Remove from the heat.

Step four: The potion should now be faintly orange. Add four drops of squill bulb essence and stir anticlockwise three times, followed by four times clockwise and one figure-eight. The potion should turn bright orange.

Step five: Add one measure of knotgrass tincture to the exact centre of the cauldron and immediately apply high heat, bring to the boil and turn the heat down to simmer for two hours, stirring once clockwise every five minutes.

Step six: The potion should now be bright red. Add six billywig stings. One at a time. Stirring three times clockwise in between each addition. Boil for five minutes and simmer for thirty.

Step seven: The potion should be bright pink. Add twelve moondew drops evenly spaced around the circumference of the cauldron. Leave to simmer for three hours.

Step eight: The potion should be pale lilac and have reduced by half. Add four chopped caterpillars and stir vigorously until the potion turns deep purple. - Add four powdered chrysalis and stir gently until the potion turns purple.

Step nine: Add one measure of powdered beetle eyes and boil for two hours or until the potion turns bright blue.

Step ten: Add two measures of finely chopped fluxweed. Bring to the boil and reduce heat. Simmer for three hours. The potion should now be a deep turquoise. Bottle immediately and leave to stand for three days until the liquid has turned into smoke.

- After the potion has turned turquoise, apply a targeting spell and add target. Simmer for thirty minutes and then bottle. The potion should be green.

Whatever you do, do not add a bottle of ink to the potion when it's pink - Remus Lupin, Chief Researcher and Safety Monitor.

But if you do, definitely don't then hide the resultant sentient clothing in your best mate's trunk for him to find first thing in the morning when he's sleepy and not thinking straight - James Potter, Chief Imaginator

Do do that, because the result is hysterically funny - Sirius Black, Chief Artist and Charmer of Teachers.

It was not funny, Sirius! - James Potter, Chief Imaginator.

When you fell over and the trousers wrapped themselves around your head? Mate, that was classic comedy! - Sirius Black, Chief Artist and Charmer of Teachers.

I banged my head! - James Potter, Chief Imaginator.

That's what made it so funny. And stop crossing out my second title! - Sirius Black, Chief Artist and Charmer of Teachers.

You don't have a second title! - James Potter, Chief Imaginator.