Thursday 2nd November 1972, 12:30 pm

'Hi, Sirius.'

Looking up from packing away the sentient rope they'd been using in Defence to practise the revulsion jinx, Sirius forced a smile onto his face while internally groaning. 'Hey, Marls. What can I do for you?'

'I thought we could have lunch together? There's something I'd like to talk to you about.'

That sounded ominous. Sirius glanced over to where her friends were waiting for her. Evans was frowning at him, Meadowes was tapping her foot, and McDonald was ignoring them completely. He followed her line of sight and his eyes alighted on Peter, bending over to place his own coil of rope in the box. Interesting... But back to the matter at hand.

'Sure. In the Great Hall, or...'

'Somewhere more private, I think. Do you know anywhere?'

Sirius mentally flipped through all the private—and utterly secret—locations he knew of in the school. There was the Marauders' Cave, the Squib Wing, the Shrieking Shack, the Den—the decoration was really coming along nicely. He only had one wall left to paint, but he was thinking about leaving that white for contrast. Must remember to ask the others what they thought about it—what was he thinking about? He blinked and saw Marlene watching him expectantly. Right. Somewhere private they could talk. Well, there was that little room behind the cowardly portrait they hadn't been able to find a use for.

'Yeah, I know somewhere. Do you want to grab some food first?'

'Definitely. I'm starving. Where should I meet you?'

'Third-floor, east-wing,' he said, 'next to the portrait of Fulbert the Fearful.'

'I know the one. See you soon.' She smiled and wandered back over to her friends, who quickly surrounded her and began a whispered conversation.

The whole thing was bloody weird. Marlene's request to speak to him privately was odd, but she seemed friendly and not upset with him, so that eased his concerns. But then the way her friends reacted when she returned to them... What on earth could this possibly be about?

'Marlene wanting to steal you away from us again?' James asked, interrupting his thoughts.

'What? Oh, yeah. Wants to talk to me about something, apparently, but she didn't say what.'

'Uh-oh,' Peter said, joining them in time to overhear. 'What did you do?'

'Nothing I can think of.' Sirius shrugged. 'Guess I'll find out soon. Hey Pete, you'll never guess who I saw checking out your ass just now.'

Peter's face flushed crimson. 'What? Who? No, don't tell me. I don't want to know... ' he trailed off, fiddling with the end of his wand in its holster while absently staring off into the distance. Sirius waited a beat before Peter's eyes flicked back to him. 'Are you sure?'

Sirius nodded, smiling. Waiting for Peter to come to terms with the information.

'Who?'

Sirius' smile grew at the hopeful look in his friend's eyes. 'McDonald.'

Peter's eyes widened. 'Really? But... she's really pretty.'

'And? Why're you surprised?' Sirius shook his head. 'You're a catch, Bubbles, my man. You should ask her out.'

'Do you think?'

'Absolutely,' James said, slapping Peter on the back. 'What have you got to lose?'

'Oh, you know? Just my pride, my ability to hold my head up, the freedom to not be completely humiliated.'

'Exactly!' Sirius said. 'Nothing worthwhile. Go for it.'

'What's Peter going for?' Remus asked from behind him, making Sirius jump.

'He's going to ask out McDonald,' Sirius told him. 'She was staring at his ass.'

'Was she? Nice one, Pete. Mary's lovely.' Remus smiled at Peter as they headed for the classroom door and out into the corridor.

Sirius' chest burned. Did Remus like her? If she was Peter's girlfriend, though, Remus would have to stop liking her. All the more reason to encourage him.

'Yeah, she is. But I'm not, am I?' Peter said, gesturing to his body in general. 'I mean, look at me.'

Sirius looked him up and down, contemplating his words before responding. Not something he was used to doing. This was a delicate situation. Far too delicate for Sirius, really. Glancing sideways at James, he raised an eyebrow. Over to you, Sunshine. Self-esteem is your area of expertise.

James, being the wonderful human he was, immediately picked up on the unspoken hand-over of responsibility. 'If I may?' he said, gaining Peter's attention. 'It's true, you're not what most people would consider "mainstream attractive".'

Sirius gaped at James. Maybe he'd been mistaken handing the issue over to him.

'But, not everyone wants that. A lot of people find that intimidating.' he continued.

Alright, maybe James did know what he was doing. Sirius closed his mouth and stayed quiet.

'The world would be a pretty boring place if everyone was as gorgeous as our Twinkles, wouldn't it? He's got the classic good looks, so he'll attract the confident type. People who know they measure up or at least think they do. But that's not necessarily a good thing.

Then there's our Moony,' James continued. Remus looked startled to be the next Marauder under analysis. 'He's not classically beautiful like Sirius, but he's got that whole nerd thing going for him. He'll attract the intelligent type, the ones that are looking for good conversation as well as a good time in the bedroom.' James winked at Remus, but Sirius wanted to punch him. How dare he say Remus wasn't beautiful?

'And that brings us to me. Again, not classically beautiful. And Merlin knows my hair is never going to look good. Trust me, my dad has tried! But I'm athletic and some girls like that.'

'Yeah, and I'm fat and ugly,' Peter said, staring at the floor.

Sirius bit his lip. What the hell was James thinking? He'd made things worse!

'No, Pete. You're the cute one. Girls love cute,' James said. 'You've got the beautiful blonde hair and the cheekiest smile. Your eyes are the bluest blue I've ever seen, and your freckles are adorable.'

Peter blushed.

James grinned. 'And your personality is every girl's dream.'

'Huh?'

'You know how to listen,' James said. 'My mum says that's all girls really want, someone who will listen to them.'

'I can do that,' Peter said.

'Exactly. So go ask her out.'

'Yeah, I think I will.' He smiled for a moment. His eyebrows drew together and he looked back at James. 'You'll stay nearby, though, right?'

'Course we will,' James said.

'I've got to go and meet Marls,' Sirius said. 'But I'll be with you in spirit. When she says yes, maybe the four of us can do something together?'

'That could be fun,' Peter agreed. 'If she says yes.'

'She will.' Sirius was sure of it. He knew what he'd seen.

When they reached the Hall, he grabbed some sandwiches and took the pear James shoved at him without a complaint—if you didn't eat the fruit James presented you with, you'd be subjected to disapproving looks for the rest of the day. It really wasn't worth the hassle—before waving goodbye to his friends and heading to the third floor to meet his girlfriend.

She was waiting opposite the portrait of Fulbert the Fearful, leaning back against the wall with one foot propped up behind her and her arms crossed.

Noticing that the portrait was already hanging open, Sirius chuckled. 'How long was it before you threatened him?'

'About thirty seconds,' Marlene said, laughing. 'He is really annoying.'

'Tell me about it.' Sirius leaned in to kiss her when he was close enough, but she jerked her head away. Sirius' heart skipped a beat. Right. Okay. Probably not a good sign. 'Er. Shall we go in then?'

Marlene didn't respond, merely nodding before pushing herself off of the wall and walking inside. Sirius followed and pulled the portrait closed behind him.

Eyeing her carefully where she stood with her arms crossed, he put his food on the only table in the room and pulled himself up to perch on the edge. 'Have I done something to piss you off?'

'You tell me,' she said, raising her eyebrows at him.

'... I don't think I've done anything?'

'Not been kissing anyone recently, then?'

Sirius froze for a second. Was she accusing him of cheating? He would never. '... Only you? Why? What have you heard?'

'I've heard,' she said, 'that you were seen kissing Lupin.'

Sirius' first instinct was to deny. 'I... What? That's not true!' he said, before backtracking. Honesty was important to him. 'I've only ever kissed him once, and that was before we got together, and it wasn't even a romantic thing.'

'Why would you kiss someone for any other reason?' Marlene asked, frowning. Then she waved her hand. 'Not important. I trust the person who told me, so why would they say that if it wasn't true?'

'I don't know? What did they say they saw?'

She hesitated. 'Remus had his back to her, and you leaned down and put your face close to his. She said it was definitely a kiss. Couldn't have been anything else.'

'Oh, for fuck's sake,' Sirius said, groaning as he realised what had been witnessed. 'I kiss him on the end of his nose sometimes. It's just a friend thing. We all do it.'

'You... kiss your friend's noses?' she asked.

'And cheeks, foreheads, hands sometimes. It's not weird... Alright, it's kind of weird, but I don't care. My friends are important to me and I like to show that with kisses. If you've got a problem with that, then—'

She cut him off. 'That is freaking adorable.'

He paused in issuing his ultimatum. 'It is?'

'Yeah. As long as that's all it was.' She smiled at him and took a bite of the sandwich she was holding.

Taking that as his cue, Sirius picked up his own food and started eating. As he chewed, his mind ran over all the times he'd kissed Remus recently, trying to figure out which time they'd been seen. But he never did it in a public space. He'd kissed him in the private hospital room he stayed in after the full, the passage to the Shrieking Shack, the Den, and their dorm room. That was it. If someone had been spying on them in any one of those locations, he needed to know. They had important secrets to protect.

He swallowed and cleared his throat. 'Where exactly did your friend see us?'

She held up a finger as she finished chewing her own food. 'Oh, you know?' she said. 'Some corridor or something.'

Sirius frowned at the vagueness of her answer and shook his head. 'Impossible. I've never done it in a corridor. Wherever it was, it was somewhere your friend shouldn't have been.'

She winced. 'Yeah, alright. It was your dorm room.'

'What the fuck?' he said. 'How did she that? We always close the door.'

Marlene looked away from him and mumbled, 'She used a mirror. Under the door.'

'She used a...' Sirius jumped to his feet, balling his hands into fists, and glared at her. 'The fuck, Marls? That's not fucking okay!'

'Calm the fuck down, Sirius! I'm not the one you're mad at, alright?' She stared him down until he relaxed his stance. 'You're right, it's not okay, and I already told her that. Lily went mental at her.'

'So it was McDonald or Meadowes then? Can't see McDonald doing that, so—'

'Yes, alright. It was Dorcas. But don't go yelling at her for it. We already did. She won't do it again.'

'She better fucking not.'

'She won't. I promise.'

Sirius thought back to the conversation he'd had with Remus in the dorm during the party on Halloween night. Had they said anything about the full moon or lycanthropy? He didn't think so, but he couldn't be sure.

'Did... er... did Meadowes hear anything while she was spying on us?'

'No, the doors have soundproofing charms on them,' Marlene said. Her eyes narrowed. 'Why? Got something to hide?'

Yes, Sirius thought, rolling his eyes, Remus is a werewolf. 'No. Just wondered.'

Marlene made a disbelieving hum and collected her bag from the floor. 'Sure. I believe you. So just to be clear. You don't fancy Lupin and you only kiss him out of friendship, yes?'

Sirius felt his face warming up and ducked his head on the pretext of looking for his own bag to hide his blush. 'Yes, that's right.'

'Woah, what's with the blush there? Sirius? Do you...' She paused and took a deep breath. 'Are you secretly gay?'

Sirius' head shot back up. 'What? No! Why on Earth would you jump to that conclusion?'

'Because... Seriously, though. I won't be mad. Are you? Do you like Lupin?'

'You won't be mad that your boyfriend's secretly gay and fancies one of his best mates?' Sirius asked, disbelieving. 'Yeah, that sounds likely.'

'I won't, I swear.'

Sirius stared at her. Her eyes were wide, and she was biting her lip. If he was forced to name an emotion, he'd say she looked anxiously hopeful. The fuck?

'Marls... What?' Sirius frowned. Often, when people accuse you of something, it's something they're guilty of themselves. He licked his lips. 'Marls, are you secretly gay?'

'Oh Gods!' she said, before dramatically dropping to the floor and pulling her knees up to her chest, burying her face in her lap. Sirius bit back a grin at the sight. She was like a female version of him. No wonder they got on so well.

'Hey, it's alright,' he said, moving to sit beside her. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. 'I'm not mad.'

'I know,' she mumbled. 'You're not mad because you're gay, too. You fancy Lupin and I like Dorcas, and we're both fucked, so we might as well be fucked together, right?'

Sirius chuckled. Didn't seem like there was much point in continuing to deny it. 'Yeah. That's about right.'

Marlene lifted her head and grinned at him. 'I fucking knew it!'

'You can't tell anyone.'

'No, of course not,' Marlene said. 'And I can trust you to keep my secret too, right?'

Sirius nodded. 'Cross my heart. I won't tell a soul. But your parents won't care, will they? It's not like you're expected to provide an heir.'

'You'd think not, wouldn't you?' She looked up then, meeting his eyes, her face deadly serious. 'You really can't tell anyone this, alright? Promise me?'

'I promise.'

'My older brother, the heir, he got married three years ago. Turns out his wife can't have kids.'

'Shit,' Sirius said.

She nodded. 'Exactly. And he's refusing to divorce her. So during the summer, my parents signed a betrothal contract between me and his wife's brother. I'm to get married as soon as I graduate, and our firstborn will be given to my brother to raise as the McKinnon heir.'

Sirius sucked in a breath through his teeth. 'Shit, Marls. That's...' He trailed off, unable to think of a word awful enough to describe the situation she was in.

'Yeah,' she said. 'So, you see, I'm just as fucked as you are.'

'I'd say you're even more fucked. At least I'm not being forced to give my kid away.'

She let out a humourless laugh. 'True. But you never know, maybe something will happen in the next five and a half years to get me out of it. His wife might die...'

'Or she might miraculously get pregnant,' Sirius suggested.

'To be honest, I'd rather she died. She's kind of a bitch.'

Sirius chuckled. 'I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.'

'Thanks.' She looked up at him. 'So, what do you want to do about... us?'

Sirius thought about it. 'Would you object to just... carrying on? Until one of us is ready to...'

'I was hoping you'd say that.'

Sirius smiled and then pulled her tighter against him, wrapping his other arm around her front and kissed the top of her head. 'We're going to be fine,' he said, wishing with his entire being for it to be true.

The next day was Sirius' birthday, but as per Marauder tradition, the day passed without acknowledgement from his friends. Though, he did receive a parcel from home containing an expensive new cloak—precharmed with warming and waterproofing charms—in a heavy, velvety material and embroidered with green and silver thread, which he promptly transfigured red and gold with a derisive snort. The package came with a letter informing him that he was expected home for Christmas. Apparently, he was back in his Mother's good graces, which meant presents were back in, but so was enforced family time.

His thoughts immediately went to scheming ways to get out of the obligation, but then he reminded himself that he was doing this for Reggie, and he had to maintain the charade that the summer's punishment had been effective. With a heavy sigh, he resigned himself to two weeks at home. At least there was no full moon during the holidays, and Remus would likely be going home for it too.

A second owl arrived at his dorm window that evening while James and Peter were away at an emergency quidditch practice. Sirius didn't recognise the bird, but he coaxed it through the window and relieved it of its burden. The owl hooted at him, and Sirius watched it leave back through the open window and fly out of sight before turning his attention to the package. Recognising his brother's handwriting on the label, his heart did a somersault, and he ripped the paper off, opening the box inside as soon as it was revealed.

It was a tiny silver charm, shaped like a lion on the prowl. There was no chain with it, but when Sirius pulled it out, dislodging the cushion it rested on, he spotted the edge of a piece of parchment tucked underneath. In Regulus' distinctive hand, the note read:

Happy birthday, Siri. I thought you could add this to that necklace you always wear to remind you that, no matter what happens, I am, and will always be, your brother.

Fuck you, mother, Sirius thought, wiping the burning from his eyes. No matter how hard you try, you're never going to come between us. It took him a few tries to get his pendant unclasped before he could thread the charm onto the chain, but he was pleased with how it looked once he'd put it back on. The silver lion settled into place in front of the shield and its size fit perfectly into the empty space between the ends of Sirius' paintbrush and James' broomstick.

'A present?' Remus asked from across the room.

Sirius looked up to find Remus had stopped reading and was watching him. 'Yeah, from Reggie. Look.' He walked over and showed Remus the charm.

'A lion...' Remus said, stroking his thumb over the animal gently. 'Oh, for the Leo constellation?'

Sirius nodded. 'Said it's to remind me he'll always be my brother, even if he's pretending to hate me right now.'

'That's lovely,' Remus said, smiling up at him. He still had a hold of Sirius' pendant, and his face was so close. A few inches and Sirius could kiss his smiling mouth. He forced himself to stay where he was. Remus would shove him away in disgust if he acted on his urge, and he didn't think he could take that.

Grinning at Remus, he gently pulled the pendant away from his clutches before flopping down onto the bed beside him and settling his head in Remus' lap. 'So what have you all got planned for Sirius day, then?'

Remus chuckled. 'That's a secret.'

'Fine, don't tell me.' Sirius reached over and grabbed Remus' hand, guiding it to his head. 'But you have to stroke my hair instead.'

'That doesn't seem very fair,' Remus said, but despite his objection, he began threading his fingers through his hair. Sirius closed his eyes to better enjoy the feeling. 'You love surprises, and you'd be mad if I told you. So why am I being punished?'

Sirius' eyes shot open, and he gaped at Remus. 'Stroking my hair is a punishment to you?'

Remus laughed. 'It is when I'm trying to read.'

Sitting up, Sirius narrowed his eyes at him. 'Oh, my little Wolf Boy, it could be so much worse, you know? I don't think you realise how lightly you're getting off here. Maybe I should teach you a lesson.'

Remus began inching away from him, and Sirius wasn't about to let him escape, so he twisted onto his knees and pounced, pinning Remus to the bed by his arms. He swung his leg over and shook his hair out of his face.

Remus was breathless with laughter. 'What the fuck, Sirius?'

'Now you're my prisoner,' Sirius said, grinning down at him.

Remus got control of himself and shot Sirius a challenging look, raising his eyebrows and smirking. 'Yeah? So what are you going to do with me?'

The words "snog you senseless" were on the tip of his tongue when the door flew open and James marched in, covered in mud and laughing, Peter trailing after him also laughing. They both stopped when they saw the scene before them.

'Er. Are we interrupting something?' James asked, his eyes darting back and forth between them. 'We can leave. Come on Pete. Let's go hang out in the Common Room for an hour.'

'Don't be daft,' Sirius said, his chest filling with a strange mixture of disappointment and relief. 'I was just teaching our Moony here what happens to people who insult my hair.'

'I didn't insult your hair,' Remus said, laughing. 'Just wondered why I was being forced to stroke it.'

'He called it a punishment,' Sirius said, looking at James and pouting.

'Oh Moony, how could you?' James said. 'You know how touchy Twinkles is about his hair.'

'It was a rare lapse in judgement. I promise it won't happen again.'

'It better not, Moonbeam,' Sirius said. 'Or next time I'll have to tickle you.'

Remus' eyes flashed with fear.

'Or not.' Sirius said, letting go of Remus' arms and sitting back on his heels. 'I guess you've never been tickled, have you?'

Remus shook his head and tried to sit up, refusing to meet Sirius' eyes. 'No. Can you get off my legs, please?'

'Yeah. Of course.' Sirius scrambled off of him and stood beside the bed. 'I'm sorry, Moons. I won't tickle you if you don't want me to.' How could he make Remus believe him? It was obvious, really. There was one phrase they always used to prove their sincerity. He put his hand on his heart. 'I solemnly swear.'

Remus looked up, startled. 'I don't think that really required a solemn swear. But thanks, anyway, I guess.'

'You're not mad at me?'

'No.'

Sirius grinned. 'Thank Merlin. How was practice, Sunshine?'

'Awesome!' James said, finally dropping his broom onto his bed and pulling off his gear. 'Slytherin won't know what hit them on Sunday,'

Peter was nodding. 'The team's on fire. Slytherin don't stand a chance.'

Sirius rubbed his hands together. 'This is going to be the best weekend ever. Sirius day, followed by Slytherin's complete humiliation. I can't wait.'

It was a sleepy-eyed Remus, James, and Peter that woke Sirius the next morning with the now-standard chorus of Happy Sirius Day accompanied by a shower of glitter.

'What's up with you lot?' Sirius asked, blinking up at them from the folds of his quilt, grinning happily despite the concerned tone of his voice.

'Been up half the night setting up your birthday surprise, haven't we?' James said, offering Sirius a hand to pull him upright.

'Really?' Sirius asked, perking up. 'What is it?'

Remus chuckled. 'Yes, really. And let me tell you, it was a bloody nightmare getting out of bed without waking you up. You did not want to let me go.'

Sirius suddenly leapt forward and grabbed Remus around the waist, tugging him down onto the bed next to him. 'Better make up for the lost cuddle time, then.'

James and Peter both snorted and took seats at the end of Sirius' bed.

'Presents?' James asked.

Sirius immediately released Remus and sat back up. 'Yes!'

'Alright. Remus is going first this year.'

Free from Sirius' clutches, Remus slid back off the bed and attempted to hide his anxiety while he fetched the gift from his trunk. After what just happened, he wasn't at all sure how his present would be received. It had seemed like a good idea when he'd seen it in the library book, but now he was having second thoughts.

Sirius seemed oblivious to Remus' reluctance as he took the small package and tore the paper open, revealing the contents.

'What is it?' he asked, lifting the willow ring by the string attached to the top and stroking the intricate webbing that filled it before fingering the feathers that dangled from the bottom.

'It's a dream-catcher,' Remus said. 'They keep you from having nightmares.' When Sirius' only reaction was a slight frown, Remus started to babble. 'People over here generally use the dreamless sleep potion, but these are more popular among the indigenous tribes in America. It's not addictive for starters. But you can't make them for yourself. The charms have to be cast by someone who feels philia, storge or pragma towards you—'

'Love?' Sirius asked, finally looking up from the package. The expression on his face was unreadable.

Remus blinked. 'You know Ancient Greek philosophy? Stupid question. Of course you do. Yes, the... er... love of a friend, parent or, you know, a romantic partner...' Remus trailed off, feeling his face heating up.

James shot Remus an impish grin. 'So which one is it you feel for Sirius?'

'Storge, obviously.' He smirked and jumped out of the way of Sirius' attempt to slap his arm, before explaining for James and Peter. 'The love of a parent for their child.'

They both laughed. 'He's got you there, Twinkles.'

'It's Sirius day. You're supposed to be nice to me!'

Appearing to sense the need (for dramatic support) of her favourite (there was no point denying it) human, Cosmo leapt down from the dorm windowsill, where she liked to hang out much of the day, and jumped onto the bed, nuzzling Sirius' knee and purring.

'At least Cosmo knows how to make a person feel special on their birthday,' he said, picking her up and settling her in his lap with a scratch behind the ears. She curled into a ball and closed her eyes. All the better to enjoy the attention, Remus supposed.

Rolling his eyes, Remus sat back down next to him and reached over to tickle Cosmo. 'You know I was joking.' He nodded at the dream catcher. 'Do you like it? The feathers are from Rieka.'

'It's brilliant. Thank you,' Sirius said, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. It was clear he'd spotted the ulterior motive behind the gift and was possibly hurt that Remus didn't want to sleep with him anymore. But it was unavoidable. Recently he'd been waking in the morning with a rather... embarrassing problem in his pyjama trousers. And with the way Sirius clung to him all night, he was uncomfortably aware that Sirius was having the same issue. Remus had needed to put a stop to it before it got awkward, but not wanting to leave Sirius to suffer, he'd looked for a new solution for his nightmares first.

'My turn!' James cried, clapping his hands together and earning a reproachful look from Cosmo. 'I think you're going to love this, mate.' He handed over his extravagantly wrapped gift and Sirius grinned, looking more himself now, but there was still a slight sadness in his eyes that made Remus' stomach squirm.

Once he'd torn the paper off, Sirius looked up at James with his full wolfish grin back in place. 'Ha! Brilliant! Thanks, mate!'

Remus stifled a groan. Inside the wrappings was a large selection of Zonko's merchandise, which would no doubt be used to cause all manner of havoc around the school. Despite its suitability, however, the present seemed rather tame by James' usual standards, and—dare he think it?—cheap.

James didn't allow them time to dwell on it, though. Quickly ushering Pete to hand over his gift, which turned out to be home-brewed hair potions, much to Sirius' delighted gratitude.

With the present exchange complete, the boys all showered and dressed before making their way down to breakfast. The Hall was already pretty full by the time they got there, but their usual seats at the far end of the table were free. The other Gryffindors were used to the four of them sitting there for every meal and never filled them. By the time they'd finished eating, though, the Hall was about as full as it ever got on a weekend morning, and James winked at Remus. That was the signal.

Reaching into his pocket, Remus pulled out a scrap of parchment with a series of six runes carefully etched on it. He nudged Sirius' leg with his own, gaining his attention, and passed him the parchment.

'When you're ready to begin,' he whispered. 'Tap the first one with your wand. Do them in the order they're drawn, though. That's very important. And the first four need to be done in quick succession.'

Sirius glanced down at the parchment, then back at Remus. 'You figured out how to do the charm activation runes? Moons, you're brilliant!' he whispered back.

Remus merely smiled. 'Go on. I'm looking forward to this.'

Needing no further encouragement, Sirius unsheathed his wand as surreptitiously as possible and tapped the first rune. The table—and the bench seat attached to it—sagged beneath the weight of food and students as it softened. Remus bit back a grin as the Hall filled with startled cries. Sirius tapped the second rune immediately, before looking back up so he wouldn't miss the effect. Suddenly the floor beneath them bowed dangerously, as if it was about to collapse into a hole.

Sirius looked at Remus. 'Is this—'

'Yes, yes. Quick, the next two,' Remus interrupted him. The teachers were getting to their feet and that would ruin everything if Sirius didn't hurry.

Sirius obediently tapped the next rune, and then immediately tapped the fourth one. It was perfect. The music started up and an explosion of bass echoed through the room at the exact moment the tables vanished, taking all the food and the benches with them, and sending students and faculty to the floor.

Remus looked towards the teachers as he fell; he didn't want to miss it. Unfortunately, Professors Slughorn, Flitwick, and Tenebris had already been standing when the furniture vanished, but Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore were both seated and joined the rest in their rapid descent to the ground, before bouncing back up six feet into the air.

'Ooh, the floor's bouncy!' a Hufflepuff girl shouted. 'Brilliant!'

'Hit the next one,' James said to Sirius, nodding at the parchment as they soared back into the air. Sirius looked around at his voice. He'd been watching the teachers attempting to bounce their way to the doors. Professor McGonagall looked particularly funny in Remus' opinion.

'Wheeee,' someone yelled, delighted.

Sirius grinned. 'This is awesome.' He tapped the next rune and foam swords appeared, scattered across the floor. The students lost no time in grabbing them, and it was mere seconds before bouncing sword fights broke out across the room.

Remus still had his eyes on the teachers, and Professor McGonagall had almost reached the door. 'Quick, Sirius. The last one, before she turns everything back.'

Sirius tapped the last rune and tucked the parchment into his pocket, sheathing his wand. A message blazed to life on the wall opposite the doors. Just in time. Professor McGonagall had her wand out, pointed at the floor of the Hall, but at the sight of the words on the wall, Professor Dumbledore put his hand on her arm, and shook his head. Let them have their fun. It all looks safe enough to me, he seemed to be saying.

Happy Birthday, Sirius!

Enjoy your bounce party

From James, Peter and Remus.

Thanks to Dumbledore's intervention, the Great Hall trampoline was allowed to remain in place until lunchtime, and the student body had a blast bouncing, sword fighting and attempting to do tricks. When Professor McGonagall arrived to put the room to rights, she was met with many a groan of protestation, but she was insistent and the floor was re-hardened and the tables returned in time for lunch.

After the meal, Peter was pulled away by his new girlfriend Mary (Sirius just smiled proudly as he watched him disappear around the corner), and James was forced to leave for quidditch practice, for which he was ridiculously apologetic. Sirius just waved his apologies away, not bothered in the slightest that his friends were ditching him on Sirius Day.

'I want our team to beat the Slytherins as much as you do, Sunshine. Go practice. I've got Moony here to entertain me.'

The moment the door closed behind James, Sirius whirled around and grabbed the dream catcher from his bedside table. 'Help me put this up?' he asked.

Well, if that wasn't the least subtle introduction to a topic he'd ever seen. It was obvious Sirius wanted to talk about the reasons behind his gift. 'It's not that I dislike sleeping with you. You know that, right?' Remus said, walking over to Sirius' bed to help, though he didn't think the task really required two people.

Sirius used the excuse of tying the dream catcher to his bed canopy to avoid looking at him. 'What is it then?'

'I just realised I wouldn't be able to do it forever and thought it best to find a more consistent solution to your nightmares. I mean, you have to go home at some point, and I can't come with you.'

Sirius shuddered—at the thought of going home, Remus assumed—and finally looked down at him, letting his arms drop to his sides. 'You're sure that's all it is?'

Remus reached out and took Sirius' hands, pulling him off the bed to stand in front of him. 'What else would it be?'

Sirius shrugged. 'I don't know. It was just a surprise, I guess. Thought maybe you didn't like me anymore.'

'Silly, Star Boy,' Remus said, shaking his head with amusement when Sirius' eyes lit up at the nickname. 'I won't ever stop liking you.'

James was exhausted after a morning of bouncing and an afternoon of brutal quidditch practice. King had worked the team hard to prepare for the match against Slytherin the following day, and James was more aware of his muscles than he ever had been before because every single one of them hurt. Was this what Remus felt like the day of the moon? If so, James could do with being a bit more understanding about his slow walking speed on those days.

Despite the pain, though, he still had one more task to complete before he could crawl into the blissful softness of his bed. He caught Remus' eye and jerked his head at the door. Remus nodded in response before calling to Peter to ask him if he wanted to make a trip to the kitchen. Peter, having been expecting this, immediately agreed, and they left quickly, grabbing the cloak on their way out.

'Wanting a chat, Sunshine?' Sirius asked, smirking.

James laughed, grabbing the box from his trunk before joining Sirius on his bed. 'How d'you know?'

'Moony never suggests kitchen raids. You should have had Peter ask if you wanted it to be subtle.'

'Ah, well. It doesn't really matter. You'd have known why they left as soon as you opened this, anyway.' James offered Sirius the box. 'It's from all of us, but we thought it would be better if you didn't have all three of us gawking at you when you open it.'

Sirius raised an eyebrow in question. 'Okay?'

'Go on.'

Sirius did as he was told and looked even more confused when he saw what was inside. 'Why would you give me a Slytherin ring?'

'So your delightful mother won't make you take it off,' James said.

'Right,' Sirius said, frowning at him. He pulled the ring out and examined it, his eyes widening in the process. James guessed he'd spotted the runes engraved around the inside of the band. 'Is this what I think it is?'

'That depends. If you think it's a protection ring, then yes.'

'Who's it keyed to?' Sirius asked.

'Your mother.'

'How?' Sirius' tone was incredulous. 'You'd need part of her body to do that.'

'Ah, that would be thanks to my mother,' James said. 'I think you'll find your mother to be in high spirits this Christmas after Mrs Potter deigned to attend her Samhain celebration. She nabbed a couple of hairs off the back of her robes during the party.'

'Effie did that for me?' Sirius breathed the words, sounding shocked that anyone would put themselves out for his sake. 'Why? Did you tell her about...?'

James nodded, feeling apprehensive. 'Don't be mad at me. I tell my parents everything. And she wanted to help.'

'I'm not mad,' Sirius said. 'How could I be? Mother won't be able to hurt me at all while I'm wearing this. Not unless she goes for the really dark shit, but as long as I pretend I'm in pain, that won't happen. Fuck. Thank you! This is incredible.'

'Hey,' James said, holding his hands up. 'I just paid for the ring. Moony did the charms work, and Bubbles brewed the potion.'

'I'll thank them, too. And I'll write to your mum. Fucking incredible woman. Can't believe she attended one of Mother's parties. She's always refused the invitations before.'

'She usually incinerates them at the breakfast table,' James said, laughing. 'And then throws the ashes on the fire to burn them again. She really dislikes your mother. Can't think why.'

'Probably because she's an evil troll in disguise,' Remus said, walking back through the door. 'All done?'

'Yes, and thank you. Both of you. I was wondering why you wouldn't let me in the Den all last week.'

'I'm impressed that you didn't try to sneak in and find out,' Peter said. 'And you're welcome. If it stops a repeat of last summer, then it was worth it.'

'I guessed it was something to do with my birthday. Didn't want to spoil the surprise, did I?'

'Admirable restraint,' Remus said. 'If only you could show similar willpower when it comes to not accosting me every time I'm reading.'

'Ah, sorry, Moonbeam. That's impossible. You just look way too cute to resist when you're reading.'

James rolled his eyes. When would these two figure it out? It was so bloody obvious.