Author's note: more discussion about the dagger in this chapter

/\/\/\/\/\

Remus didn't think he could do anymore walking, and when he realized they still needed to get out of the tunnels he felt like collapsing onto the ground and sobbing. Instead, he brushed himself off and lit his wand up, turning to go through the tunnels. He didn't even realize he was limping until Sirius quietly offered to carry him again. Remus stared up at Sirius who was covered in grime, dust, and blood, as somehow he had gotten a cut on his right arm too. It wasn't as bad as the first one he got, but now both arms were bloodied.

"It'll heal in a moment," Remus said, his voice a little hoarse.

His friends barely seemed able to walk themselves, and Remus offered to go get the broom. James shook his head, saying he didn't want them to split up 'in case'. Remus wondered vaguely in case of what, then realized James was worried there would be another cave-in.

"So was that safer than the stone door?" James asked as they tried to find their way through the tunnels.

"Yes," Remus replied immediately, ignoring the look his friend gave him. "Hopefully it was a dead-end chamber behind the stone door, and now whatever that thing was is buried forever."

"Remus," Sirius started.

"What?"

But Sirius shook his head. "Nothing."

They still don't believe me, he thought, too tired to feel any real annoyance over it. It didn't matter though. They were out, they were safe.

"The pit!" Peter cried out when they went down a long tunnel.

James took a few jogging steps, wincing in pain. "My broom!" He scooped his broom up, hugging it tightly. "Oh, darling, you're okay!" He kissed the handle. "I'm so happy to see you!"

After James carried everyone out of the pit, James and Peter got on the broom while Sirius and Remus inflated the one single LiftAway they had left, as Peter had dropped one in the water. They all wanted out of the passages as quickly as possible, not wanting to wait for multiple trips on the broom. While Sirius and Remus's weights combined didn't allow the LiftAway to float fully, it was enough lift that they could get across together, with Remus clinging to Sirius while James and Peter flew. When they touched down at the end of the passage and Remus let go of Sirius, his knees buckled and he let himself collapse to the floor, pressing his cheek against the wood.

We're completely out of there, we're completely safe now.

"Not completely safe," Sirius said, and Remus realized he had spoken the words out loud. "I need to get to Madame Pomfrey. Peter probably does too, with that scrape; could be infected too."

Remus got to his feet, almost falling over when he did from his legs barely working. Sirius caught him, which was embarrassing since Sirius was the injured one!

"Are—are we all going to Pomfrey first, or—or are some us going to Dumbledore?" he asked after straightening himself out.

"Dumbledore?!" James asked incredulously, his voice rising into a squeak. "Why in Merlin's name would we go to Dumbledore about the probably zillion rules we just broke?! Why would you even sugGEST THAT?! Do you WANT to be expelled?!"

Remus stared wide-eyed at his friend, mouth opening and shutting as he pointed back behind them. "The—body—there—the—the skeleton. James, there's a skeleton down there! We have to tell him!"

That took the wind out of his sails, and he shrank back a bit. "Oh. Right. That. I wasn't thinking of—er, sorry, yeah. Of course."

"I think we should all go to Dumbledore together," Sirius said.

Remus whipped around, eyes flashing a bit. "You are going right to Pomfrey."

Sirius gave a shrug. "He can summon her. I think we should all go to Dumbledore together. If he's not there, we can go to Pomfrey." With that he turned and began walking, not waiting for Remus to argue.

Remus spent the entire trip to Dumbledore's office begging Sirius to go see Pomfrey, except the few times they passed by other students. Thankfully, most students were off celebrating the end of exams still and there weren't many around the castle halls, but the few that were out stared at the Marauders. At their rumpled, torn, wet clothes, at all the things they were covered in (they all had dust, grime, and blood on them in some form), at Sirius's bloodied arms, at James's broken glasses, at the large scrape on Peter's forehead, and at the blood soaked into Remus's shirt and his bare foot.

After what felt like an eternity they ended up at the gargoyle where James told a nearby portrait they needed to see the headmaster, and that it was an emergency. The portrait took in their appearance and immediately disappeared. Within a minute the gargoyle was stepping aside to let them in.

"Enter," Dumbledore said when James knocked.

"Here goes nothing," James whispered then opened the door. The four of them trooped in, trying not to notice the surprised look on Dumbledore's face. As soon as he saw Sirius, he asked if Pomfrey was needed. When Sirius nodded, Dumbledore wrote something down on a piece of paper and tapped it with his wand.

"Now," he said once he finished with that, "what exactly is going on?"

None of them spoke. James seemed at loss for words how to even begin explaining. Remus squirmed in his seat, not wanting to talk. Peter gave quiet whimpers. Finally it was Sirius who spoke up first.

"It seems there's a skeleton under the school."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "There are many skeletons in and around the school, Mr. Black."

"No," James got out. "No. A—a—it—a skeleton. One that… I don't think anyone… has ever found. Or if they have, I don't know why the hell they left it there."

"A murdered skeleton," Peter explained.

James waved his hand at Pete. "Yeah. There—there's a knife. In her."

Dumbledore sat back, piercing them all with his icy blue gaze until he settled back on James. "Her? You know it's a female skeleton?"

James shifted uncomfortably. "There was a—a—a figure."

"Vinctum," Remus said.

Dumbledore switched his gaze to him. "I beg your pardon?"

Remus ducked his head, feeling very sick. "Vinctum Spirit-t-tus, sir."

Dumbledore started to ask him what he meant again, but the door opened as Pomfrey came in. She gasped when she saw all of them and rushed to Sirius's side, checking his arms over before opening her little traveling kit. She asked how he got them, and Sirius said it had been from some rusty metal. Pomfrey's face blanched.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous—" she started then stopped, nostrils flaring a bit. "I see. You'll have to come with me to take some potions to prevent blood poisoning and other possible infections."

"I—I need to talk to Dumbledore first," Sirius protested. "I doubt I'll keel over in five minutes." He paused, frowning. "Will I?"

"I think I should check over all of you," she said, eyeing the other boys. "What happened?"

"That is what I am trying to find out," Dumbledore said evenly. "If Mr. Black is not in dire need of medical attention, I will send them to you after they explain themselves."

Pomfrey's pinched face grew more pinched. "Make it quick!" With that she huffed out of the room.

"Now then." Dumbledore folded his hands together, leaning forward onto his desk. "A skeleton?"

"On the—the third floor there is a large passageway full of… holes," James said.

Dumbledore gave him a look. "Yes, I am aware of this passage. I was not aware that you were. That is a very dangerous place to be."

James leaned forward too. "Yes, well, we found it, and went down into some of the pits. There's a tunnel—several, actually—in one of the pits and there's a skeleton there. With a knife in it. When we found it there was a figure."

"Ah yes, the figure. Mr. Lupin you said it was… what?"

Remus moved his head slightly so his fringe would cover his eyes. "Vinctum Spiritus."

"Vinctum," Dumbledore repeated softly. "You are aware that is merely a myth—"

He straightened up at that. "It was! It had all the—all the—the—all the signs!" He began ticking them off his fingers. "She was very opaque, she was in color, she didn't act like ghosts typically do, she didn't sound like ghosts typically do, and she disappeared!"

Then the worst thing possible happened. Dumbledore gave them a benign smile and said, "It sounds as though someone has pranked you."

All four boys stared at him absolutely aghast, then they all began speaking at once. Their angry voices rose until the smile disappeared from Dumbledore's face and he had to whistle to make them quiet down.

"Sir," James said in a strained voice, "not many people know about the passage. None of them know we've gone into the pits! Who—who would set that up when there was no indication we were going down there!"

Dumbledore was quiet. Then slowly Sirius's head swung around until he looked right at Remus.

"I—I d-d-d-didn't do it!" he squeaked out.

"No," Sirius said. "I know perfectly well if you had you would have said something. But… you said Silverlocke knew. About the tunnels. And—and that you wanted to go back down. And that he didn't want you exploring the tunnels. Right?"

"Aegis Silverlocke?" Dumbledore asked, and Sirius nodded.

Remus couldn't believe his ears. "He—he—he would never do—do—he'd never—never! That—that is not like Aegis at all!"

"What if Dumbledore is right? What if it was a fake skeleton?" Sirius asked, ignoring Remus's splutterings. "What if it was… a prank? Or… something to stop Remus from… exploring more?"

"How could you even think that?!" Remus shrieked. "Aegis wouldn't—"

"Mr. Silverlocke was made aware of these pits?" Dumbledore inquired, cutting Remus off.

"Apparently," Sirius said before Remus could say anything. "We didn't know until Remus said something today. Today?" He tilted his head, looking at the clock. "Shit, it's not even six."

Remus leaned forward, glaring at Sirius. "He wouldn't do anything like that!"

Sirius avoided his eyes. "Perhaps someone else got the information from him, and they set up a prank? There's a lot of Slytherins that hate us. Silverlocke might have—"

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I suggest the four of you go see Madame Pomfrey and then take me to this skeleton. I can ascertain whether it is a real skeleton or fake. Then we can go from there." The way he spoke made it clear he thought it was a prank. "However before we go I would like to know how Mr. Black got hurt on rusty metal, and why the four of you appear so…" He trailed off, letting the words hang in the air. "I doubt seeing a skeleton put you in such disarray."

The Marauders gave each other uneasy glances, except Remus didn't look at Sirius. Couldn't look at him.

Dumbledore looked down his long nose at them. "I think it's imperative you tell me everything."

None of them spoke then suddenly they all began speaking at once.

"—skeleton really scared me and I took off running—"

"—was this broke pipe that went down through the floor and—"

"—far down into this underground lake and Remus almost drowned—"

"—passageways with no doors or anything—"

Dumbledore had to whistle again to get them to stop, and then asked them one at a time, starting with James. He explained about Peter running from the skeleton, the big pipe, and their fall down into the cavern with the lake. Peter spoke next, talking about the half-submerged corridor leading to the passages but all they found was a giant maze. Remus talked about how he thought there were hidden rooms but they couldn't find anything. Sirius made it clear they did find something, they found a big stone door that Remus refused to open. Then Remus quietly explained how he got them out of the cavern, and Peter finished with,

"And I knew there would be a cave-in, I told them before, and it happened!"

Dumbledore listened to all of this in silence, and Remus could tell that he did not believe them. "I see," he said, clearly not seeing at all.

He probably thinks it's all a big elaborate prank from us, Remus realized with a sinking feeling.

"Thank you for telling me. Now, we should get you to Poppy and then we will go into the pit to see this… skeleton. Mr. Lupin," he added as they all got up. "What happened to your shoe?"

"It fell off in the water," Remus said stiffly.

"The underground lake?"

"Yes, sir."

Dumbledore flicked his wand and conjured a shoe. It was a little big on Remus's tiny foot but at least it helped. The five of them went to the hospital wing, where Pomfrey got several potions down Sirius's throat before doing checkups on the other three. Thankfully, Peter didn't have any real injuries other than a few minor bruises and scrapes, though James did also have a torn muscle in his shoulder which he hadn't even realized. Pomfrey pretended that Remus had some bruises too. He also stated that the blood on his clothes was from Sirius. Part of him wished he could tell the truth, that he didn't have to do this stupid thing of lying to the adults by pretending to lie to his friends since the adults didn't know his friends knew. It was exhausting.

Once all of that was taken care of, the Marauders awkwardly led Dumbledore to the trophy room, since that was the exit they had taken.

"We got over the pits with my broom," James explained.

Remus wondered briefly what Dumbledore would do to get them all across and the answer was to create a bridge. They walked over the pits until they got to the one with the tunnel and there Dumbledore conjured a staircase that spiraled around the inside of the pit, taking them down.

"I—can I stay up here?" Peter asked as Dumbledore began to go down the stairs. "Please? I r-really don't wanna go back down."

"That is fine, Mr. Pettigrew," Dumbledore promised, leaving a magelight up for Peter.

"I can stay with you," Sirius offered, and Peter's face flooded with relief.

James and Remus led Dumbledore through the tunnels. Remus felt on edge, terrified that more of them would collapse. Dumbledore didn't seem overly concerned though; in fact, Remus couldn't even tell if he knew about the tunnels or not. If he did, how come the skeleton wasn't found until they found it? Surely if Dumbledore knew about the tunnels he would have found the skeleton, right?

"Down here," James said, and the three of them went around the U-shaped tunnel.

Remus sucked in a quick breath when the light fell on the skeleton. He had been slightly afraid it would be gone, somehow. But there it was. This time he could see raggedy, decaying yellow robes clinging to the skeleton, and a necklace dangling between the ribs. The dagger was still stuck in the chest though he couldn't see any runes on it. Not properly, not like the ghostly version; he could see faint lines where runes probably had been before fading out. Though that didn't make sense.

"Well? Is it fake, Sir?" James asked in a rather sarcastic voice that made Remus tremble a little at the use of it being directed at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore stood there with his wand raised up, his eyes locked on the necklace. "Mildritha," he whispered so quietly Remus knew it wasn't meant for their ears. Then he cleared his throat, turning to face the two boys. He had gone a little pale, revealing the answer before he said it. "This is a real… skeleton," he said carefully. "You said there was a ghost?"

"A Vinctum," Remus said.

"Vinctums are myths, Remus," Dumbledore said sharply.

Remus quailed a little under those eyes but instead of backing down, he straightened a little. "Look into my memory, Professor. You'll see."

Dumbledore gave him a brief glance before shifting his weight, putting himself between the boys and the skeleton. "We need to go back. I must take care of… this."

"Sir—"

Dumbledore motioned for them to start walking. "Let us go."

"Do you want to see the cave-in?" James asked as they began walking.

"No need. Come along."

James and Remus exchanged unhappy looks at how they were being treated, but they obediently went, winding through the tunnels till they returned to the pit. Peter exclaimed happily when they came into view and hugged them both when they came up the stairs, saying how he had been so afraid that there'd be another collapse.

"Did you see it?" Sirius asked.

Dumbledore gave him a grim look. "Yes. I will take care of it."

"So… it's real?" Sirius glanced at Remus then back at Dumbledore.

"Yes. Come on."

They returned across the pits where Dumbledore told the painting of Brutus Scrimgeour not to let anyone through unless they were with him, even if they had the password. "Now," Dumbledore said as they went through the trophy room, "I think perhaps the four of you should go take a hot shower and get some food in you. If you like, I'll have the house-elves send some food up to your dorms in a little bit." He gave them a kind smile, as if he were doing some grand gesture.

All four boys stared blankly back.

"I think I don't need to add that it is best not to tell anyone about any of this," Dumbledore continued when none of the boys spoke. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," they chorused.

Dumbledore nodded and they realized he was waiting for them to go first. Slowly they turned away, shuffling off towards the nearest staircase. They remained silent as they went, nobody speaking at all until the fifth floor when Sirius apologized to Remus about what he had said about Aegis.

"When Dumbledore suggested it might be a prank, I—" Sirius ran his fingers nervously through his hair. "I shouldn't have done that. Shouldn't have said that."

"Aegis wouldn't do that," Remus said, wrapping his arms around himself, wishing they could simply Apparate to their dorms. He was sick of walking. He never wanted to walk again.

"No," Sirius quietly agreed. "I guess I thought… maybe someone got the information from him. Like Malfoy, or even Snape. Bullied it out of him."

"I trust him," Remus said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Silence. Then, "I'm sorry."

Remus hesitated, since Sirius rarely actually said the 's' word. He glanced up into Sirius's eyes.

"I am," he said. "I am sorry I ever said anything, or suspected Silverlocke. I shouldn't have."

"Thank you," Remus whispered. Then he gently bumped against Sirius to show that he wasn't really mad (he was too tired to be properly mad), though part of him was still hurt that Sirius had accused his friend.

Another flight of stairs up and then Peter began talking. "I don't think he believed us."

"Nooo," James drew out, turning around to look at him. "Whatever made you think that?"

Peter stuck his lower lip out. "I wasn't—I meant—"

James sighed, shoulders slumping. "Sorry. Yeah, he definitely didn't believe us. About the figure out the… cavern and all of that."

"I don't understand why he wouldn't verify our story by using legilimancy," Remus muttered.

"Yeah, that is strange," James said. Then for the sake of the others, "Remus told him to look in his memories, but he didn't."

"Unless he did and just didn't say anything," Remus said, lifting his chin. "That's a possibility."

Peter's brow furrowed. "Can't you tell if someone is looking in your head?"

"Not… necessarily…" Remus tugged at the hem of his shirt which was a total mess. He wasn't sure if the house-elves would be able to get it clean. "If they're powerful enough then they can enter minds without the person noticing. Professor Dumbledore is certainly powerful enough."

"If he did that then why didn't he—he—" James struggled to find the right words. "How come he acted like we were making it all up? How come he didn't believe you that it was a Vincky-whatever."

Remus shrugged. "I don't know. I… really can't think right now."

"I don't think any of us can," Sirius said.

They reached the tower and went in, ignoring the stares they got from everyone there. Lily was playing cards with Colgate and Inkwood and when she got to her feet Remus gave her a small shake of his head. She sank back down, green eyes huge.

Thank Merlin their dorm was empty. Remus stared at his bed, wanting nothing more than to fall into it and never get back out. But… he also really wanted a shower. The others seemed to be on the same page, as they all gathered their wash bags and clean clothes. Clean pajamas. None of them had any intention to leave their dorm again. It was only an hour before curfew in any case.

In the bathroom they were presented with a problem: there were only three shower stalls. They all stood there staring until Remus said he could wait.

"Nah," Sirius said. "I'll go use the third years' bathroom. If they don't like it, they can go kiss a dementor." With that he went back through the door.

Remus felt a little bad, but also very grateful. He went into one of the stalls, turning on the hot water as he stripped his disgusting clothes off. Once naked he took a step under the shower head and let out a loud moan. He tipped his head back, letting the hot water wash over his body. It felt so good to sort've let everything that happened wash off his body, in a manner of speaking. In the next stall over James was giving off similar sounds, and in the third stall it was apparent that Peter was crying.

Remus sank down onto the floor, wrapping his arms around his knees and putting his face against them. He didn't move for the longest of times, simply let the water spray down on him. He turned his feet in a bit then stretched them the other way. He did this a few times then began stretching the rest of his body, curving his spine in then stretching it back out. After he finished stretching both arms way above his head, he pushed himself to his feet, grabbing his bag so he could properly wash off.

Soap had never felt so good.

/\/\/\

True to his word, Dumbledore had talked to the house-elves and when James, Peter, and Remus returned to the dorm they found a table full of food waiting for them. A few minutes later Sirius padded in, letting out a happy sound when he saw the food. They didn't even bother with plates. James dragged the table over to his bed and the four sat on the edge, digging into the food, all of them eating straight from the dishes. None of them cared, they all just shoveled the food into their mouths until there wasn't any food left and they were all very full.

James flopped back and the others followed suit, staring silently up at the canopy roof of James's bed as they each tried to process everything that happened in their own way. All Remus could think of was how he had very nearly gotten his friends killed, knowing everything that happened was because of him; James insisted it had been an accident but… it wouldn't have happened if Remus had simply… listened to Aegis. Not gone down there. Not dragged his friends into unstable tunnels to follow some creepy whispering he heard.

What if we hadn't gotten out? He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes, the food growing heavy in his stomach. The full moon was less than a week away. With access to lake water, they'd still be alive when the full moon hit. They'd be alive and trapped with a werewolf.

And even if they did manage to escape before that happened, the fact was what happened was so dangerous! What one of them had died in the fall or down in the passages? Why did I do that? Why aren't they mad at me? Why don't they BLAME me?!

"Remus?" James reached out, curling an arm around one of his. "You're crying."

"I'm not."

"You are," Peter said.

Remus sniffled, lowering his hands. "I'm sorry—"

Sirius at upright. "You don't need to apologize."

"Yes I do!" he cried out, pulling away from James. "I know you said it was an accident, James, but it's an accident that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for me! I—"

He stopped at the sound of strange footsteps outside in the hallway. He didn't quite recognize them. They definitely didn't belong to David or Spinnet, nor did they sound particularly young. When there was a tapping at the door, James got up to open it while Remus rubbed his face off on his shirt, and everyone was surprised to see Dumbledore.

"Did you enjoy your supper?" he asked, eyeing the empty dishes.

"Uh, yeah," James said, shutting the door.

Dumbledore looked around the room, at all the mess on the floor and the pictures stuck haphazardly everywhere. "I wanted to speak to you further about what happened." He gave the room another glance before sitting down on Sirius's bed, across from the Marauders. "First of all, what you did was extremely dangerous. I can't even begin to stress how dangerous it is that you entered those tunnels. It was dangerous and wrong, and you should have come to me about finding the tunnels in the first place."

None of them spoke. Remus ducked his head, looking miserably down at his shoes. Going to the headmaster about the pits hadn't even occurred to him!

"However, I do want to thank you for coming to me about what you found," Dumbledore continued. "The Ministry has come and retrieved the bones. There is a family that will be able to put a loved one to rest, thanks to you."

James and Peter smiled a little at that, Sirius looked expressionless, while Remus frowned. "The Young family?"

Dumbledore was barely able to conceal his surprise. "Why do you say that?"

"You—you said 'Mildritha' when you saw the—the bones." He began fidgeting under Dumbledore's scrutinizing gaze. "Mildritha Young?"

"How do you know that name, Mr. Lupin?" Dumbledore asked.

Remus swallowed, sliding his hands under his thighs as they began shaking, not liking the tone in his voice. He didn't sound angry or upset, but there was something a little unnerving. "I—I've read Hogwarts, a History a couple dozen times," he squeaked out. "That was Mildritha Young, wasn't it?"

"Who's that?" James asked.

"The last Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to last more than a year," Sirius said. "Right?"

"Yes," Remus whispered. "She went missing in '66. She had been—been the Defense teacher for seven years before that."

Dumbledore let out a faint sigh. "As it will be in the Daily Prophet tomorrow… yes. I recognized the necklace. It belonged to Mildritha."

Remus frowned deeply at that. "Sir…?"

"Yes?"

"If—" He stopped quickly, changing his mind about offering up his theory. "I was only wondering if… you knew… who might have done it?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No. That is something the Ministry will be looking into."

"You didn't tell them who found it, did you?" Sirius asked.

"No. I thought it best to keep your names out of it." Dumbledore stood up. "I am a little conflicted on what to do. I should remove points for going into places you should not have gone into, yet it was good that you did in this case. I shall settle on telling you not to go into the pits, nor the passageway above them again. If I find that you have, you will be in severe trouble, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," they promised.

"Have a good night." The headmaster left their dorm though not before flicking his wand to make the table and dishes disappear.

She was a Vinctum, Remus thought stubbornly, mind whirling. She said her death was used. I thought the… cursed job was just a joke but what if it's not? What if someone killed her to put a curse on the job?

That seemed so wildly ridiculous he almost wanted to laugh, yet it didn't seem that far fetched. Sacrificial magic, he then thought, body jerking a little as he remembered the book he had found in the room behind the dragon painting. I think I need to read the whole thing someday soon…

"I am exhausted!" James moaned, collapsing back onto his bed. "I don't care that it's early, I'm going to sleep."

"I think I will too," Peter said, rubbing his eyes. "My whole body feels like…" He trailed off then began laughing a joyless laugh. "Like I've been walking in circles for hours."

Sirius gave a grunt of agreement as he fell onto James's bed. "I'm so tired."

James pushed himself up a little, eyes narrowing. "Hey Pete, Remy, come here."

They both went over, climbing onto James's bed. He closed the curtains and Remus thought he was going to tell them a secret or something; he was not expecting James to say what he did.

"I don't think I'm going to sleep well." James rested his hands on his knees, his brow furrowed. "I—I don't want to sleep alone."

Remus wasn't sure what James meant. Or rather, he wasn't sure why James had wanted Peter and Remus to be there too. James and Sirius often shared, it wasn't that unusual.

"Do you… I—" James hesitated, licking his lips. "Why don't we all sleep here? Tonight? Remus, you—you're probably going to have nightmares, right? And Pete you sometimes do, and after that well… I just thought maybe if we were all together it might not be… as bad."

Remus stared at James, body stiffening. Share a bed? With all of them? The bed was big enough for the four of them to cram onto, but… they'd definitely be squashed together.

James took his glasses off then slipped his legs under the covers. "You don't have to," he said a little awkwardly. "Only if you want." With that he wriggled his way down so he was laying down.

Remus looked up at Peter as Sirius got under the covers too. Then Peter got under the covers on James's other side. Remus had no idea what to do. Part of him wanted so badly to join them, to curl up with them and have them there with him. The other part of him was afraid of doing that, of sharing a bed with others when he might… lash out in his sleep. Plus, he had never shared a bed before. Yet they were all willing. James and Sirius shared all the time, would it be that weird for the four of them to now?

Slowly he started to get under the covers but Sirius asked to switch since he wanted to be on the outside, so Remus wound up between Sirius and James. James was on his side, his back to Remus. Remus cautiously got closer, to give Sirius room. James's body was very warm and when Remus rested his head on a pillow, his face was close to the back of James's head, breathing in his scent of fresh air, grass, and the soap he used in the shower. Behind him, Sirius snuggled up behind Remus. He was slightly squashed between his two friends.

It was so weird.

But also so good.

It felt so warm and safe and comforting.

Remus breathed in James's scent, feeling his and Sirius's bodies on either side of him, hearing all their hearts beating, hearing their breathing. Knowing Peter was right there, right on James's other side. He thought it would be uncomfortable and unwanted, something awful that he wanted to pull away from.

Instead his brain dredged up a word he didn't expect.

Pack.

Remus curved a bit more into James, closing his eyes.

My pack, he thought sleepily.

It felt very good.