Saturday 9th December

The rest of the week was uneventful. All of their free time was taken up with preparations for the Christmas party, and that kept them secluded from the rest of the school. There was a lot to do, but Remus spent the majority of his time sitting cross-legged in the middle of his bed, surrounded by library books, researching ways to prevent access to the parts of the Squib Wing not being used for the party. In particular, they wanted to stop anyone from getting into the apartments and playing with the ovens. No one wanted the party to end early because of a fire.

Occasionally, he looked up from his book to see how the others were getting on and snicker at the sight of James, Sirius, and Peter slowly disappearing under piles of tinsel, baubles, and flower garlands.

After spending so much time cooped up in their dorm, when Saturday morning arrived, they were all excited to be doing something other than party prep, even if the activity was investigating the sight of a grisly murder. James, especially, was nervous about returning to their old Defence classroom. Remus was just hoping the smell would be gone. Every time he recalled how it had made his mouth water, he was overwhelmed by the cold feeling of shame.

Despite it being late enough that they were breaking no rules, they still used the invisibility cloak to reach the dungeon corridor. Rarely did students roam the halls at six on a Saturday morning, and they didn't want to arouse suspicion. It turned out to be a wise choice because they encountered both Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick on their way there, but both remained unaware of their presence.

'Check that the enchantments haven't changed first,' James said when they reached the door and pulled off the cloak. 'Don't want to get caught at the last minute because we were lazy.'

Remus pulled the magic detector from the pocket of his robes and checked the door, but the same runes lit up as before. 'Nothing's changed.'

James nodded. 'Guess it's up to me then.' He already had the lock-picking tools in hand, so Remus stepped back out of the way and let him get to work on the lock. Sirius sidled up next to him, and Remus felt his hand slip into his.

'You okay?' Sirius asked, squeezing his hand.

Remus let his head tip to the side until it rested against Sirius' shoulder and closed his eyes for a moment, remembering. 'Not really, no.'

'You can stay out here if you want. No one will think badly of you.'

'No,' Remus said, lifting his head and turning it to meet Sirius' eyes. 'I'm coming in. If I stayed out here, and you guys didn't find anything, and Emhio was executed, I'd never be able to stop wondering if my cowardice was the reason.'

'No one could ever call you a coward, Moons. But I know what you mean. I keep thinking about her being locked up for killing her friend. It must be horrible. And it feels like we're the only ones who care, doesn't it? Like, if we don't step up and do something, no one will.'

Remus nodded and returned his head to Sirius' shoulder. 'That's exactly how it feels. Not many people care about creatures enough to help them.'

'You'd think the people she's rescued from the Lake would care,' Peter said. 'Professor Hawthorne said she'd saved loads.'

'That's true,' Remus said, recalling his first Defence lesson. 'I wouldn't think you'd forget something like that.'

'What are you thinking?' Sirius asked.

'If we can't find any evidence, maybe there's another way we can help her. I'll need some money, though.'

Sirius rolled his eyes. 'Done. What's your plan?'

'Character witnesses. Testimonies. We can take out an ad in The Daily Prophet asking for anyone who fell in the Great Lake and was saved by the giant squid to come forward to defend her.'

'Do you think that will make a difference?' Sirius asked.

Remus shrugged. 'Anything's worth a try.'

'Got it!' James said. He stood up straight, pocketing his tools, and turned around. 'And I agree with your plan, too. We can look into that later. But right now,' he reached behind himself, twisting the doorknob and pushing the door open, 'we have a corridor to investigate.'

James' grin didn't quite hide the anxiety in his eyes. As much as he was trying to keep the mood light, it was obvious to Remus (and he was sure it was just as obvious to Sirus and Peter) that James was nervous about returning to the site of Professor Hawthorne's murder.

'Right, come on, then,' Sirius said, releasing Remus' hand and stepping forward to put his arm around James' shoulders. 'Sooner we get in there, the less chance there is of us being caught.'

Glad Sirius was taking charge, Remus followed them into the corridor, gently closing the door behind them before looking around. Everything looked exactly as it did the last time they were there.

'Let's check the corridor first,' James said, eyeing the classroom door warily. 'I don't want to go in there unless we have to.'

'What are we looking for, exactly?' Sirius asked, wandering down to the far end to begin his search.

'Anything that might be a clue,' James said. 'But mainly a secret passage. The murderer must have got in and out somehow.'

'Don't you think the aurors would have already looked?' Peter asked.

'Not if they'd decided Emhio did it,' Sirius said. 'Look how eager they were to pin it on Moony.'

James frowned at that. 'Yeah, actually, I need to apologise to you, Remus. I was a total arse to you after we were questioned.' He stopped and met Remus' eyes. 'You didn't deserve it, and I'm really sorry.'

Remus nodded. He'd forgiven James a long time ago, but it was nice to get a proper apology. 'It's alright. You were suspicious, and to be fair, I washiding something, so you had a good reason for it.'

'I knew there was something weird going on,' James said, wrinkling his nose and then pushing his glasses back up when the action made them slip down a little. 'It wasn't until Sirius asked that question about being friends with a werewolf or a vampire that I thought of lycanthropy, though.'

Remus laughed. 'Merlin, I was so mad at him for that. Talk about a complete lack of subtlety.'

'Hey,' Sirius yelled. 'It wasn't that bad.'

'Are you kidding me?'

'I just wanted you to see they wouldn't care. And to be fair, I kind of wanted them to guess.'

Remus cocked an eyebrow. 'And you thought forcing me to listen to two of my friends debate which would be less terrible, being friends with me or with a vampire, was the best way to do it?'

'I…' Sirius trailed off and frowned. 'Ah, shit. No, it was bloody stupid. I'm sorry, Moony. Forgive me?'

Remus looked at Sirius' pouting face and wished he could kiss him. But he couldn't, so he settled for a hug, tucking his face into Sirius' neck and breathing in his scent. 'I forgave you ages ago.'

'I didn't get a hug,' James said. 'Why didn't I get a hug? Favouritism is what it is.'

'I'm trying to think if there's any ancient history I need to apologise to Moony for,' Peter said. 'but I can't come up with anything.'

'Did you want a hug, too, Bubbles?' Remus asked, releasing Sirius and walking over to him. 'You don't need to apologise to me, you can have a free one.'

'Stop ignoring me,' James whined, stamping his foot. 'You lot are so mean to me.'

Remus laughed, letting go of Peter and opening his arms. 'Fine, you can have a hug too.'

James grinned and practically fell into him, squeezing his waist. 'For what it's worth, I'd want to be friends with you no matter what you happened to be,' he murmured in Remus' ear before letting go.

Remus felt a flush of warmth. 'Thanks, James.'

They got on with searching after that, but when they'd found nothing an hour later, they were forced to admit defeat.

'We're going to have to go in there,' James said, finally. But it wasn't out loud.

Remus went over to him and took his hand to cancel the alarm, squeezing it gently. 'There's no danger in there. Not anymore.'

James offered him a faint smile. 'Yeah, I know. Try telling my heart that, though. I don't know what the fuck I'm so scared of.'

'I know what I'm scared of,' Remus said. 'I'm scared it'll still smell like his blood in there.'

'So that's how you knew where to look.'

Remus rolled his eyes. 'Yes, that's how I knew. I didn't know it was blood, though.'

'What did you think it was?'

Remus hesitated, the word "food" on the tip of his tongue. But he didn't want James to think differently about him. He glanced at Sirius, who smiled encouragingly, then he shrugged. 'I didn't know what it was. Just that it didn't belong there.'

Sirius sighed, but didn't say anything, for which Remus was grateful. Instead, he walked over to the classroom door and pushed it open. 'Let's get this over with then.'

Remus followed him inside, holding his breath, and looked around. It wasn't quite as untouched as the corridor had been. Emhio's pool was still there, but it was empty and bone dry. The desks were all skewed from their straight lines, and some of the chairs had been knocked over and never righted. The cupboard door was sitting open. Remus averted his eyes from it and dared to breathe.

There was nothing, no scent of blood or death. The air was clean.

'Need to leave,' James said in his head. And then out loud in a shaky voice, 'I don't think I can do this.'

Remus took his hand. 'You can wait outside.'

Pulling him to his chest, James hid his face in Remus' hair. 'Why am I so fucking scared, Moons?'

Remus hugged him back, hard. 'I don't know, but you don't have to be the strong one all the time. Let us take care of you for once.'

James nodded against the top of his head. 'You're right.' Then he kissed his hair. 'Thanks, Moony.' Remus gave him a smile he hoped would be reassuring, and James left the room to wait for them in the corridor.

'Pete, would you mind going and sitting with him?' Remus asked. 'I don't think he should be alone.' The truth was, Peter was looking a little pale and shaky, too. Not quite as bad as James, but close enough to cause Remus concern.

Peter nodded and left without an argument.

Sirius attempted a smirk, but it lacked something Remus couldn't put a finger on. 'Wanting to get me alone, Moonbeam?'

'Merlin, your timing is awful sometimes,' Remus said. However, the familiarity of it had reduced his anxiety somewhat.

Sirius shrugged. 'Just trying to lighten the mood. I'm not enjoying being here, either.'

'Easier for us, though, I suppose,' Remus said. 'We're more used to horror.'

'And being forced to return to places that we've had bad experiences.'

'Repeatedly.'

'With no option of saying no.' Sirius took Remus' hand and squeezed it, and they shared a look of mutual understanding. 'I'm glad I have you.

Remus squeezed back. 'Me too.' Merlin, he wanted to kiss him, but now was not the time for thoughts like that, especially when the spell could trigger at any moment. Remus kept hold of Sirius' hand, making certain Sirius wouldn't get an alarm, and forced his thoughts in a different direction. Where would he hide a secret passageway if he was building a school?

Well, honestly, he probably wouldn't include secret passageways in a school for children, but that was beside the point.

Thirty minutes later, after searching the classroom thoroughly, they were forced to admit defeat. If there was anything to find, it was beyond their abilities to uncover it.

But maybe not the abilities of something else.

'I have an idea,' Remus said as they trudged back upstairs for breakfast. In all the drama attempting to hide from Professor Tenebris, the tracking spell's unexpected bonus power had slipped Remus' mind. And Peter hadn't brought it up, either. Though, his reason for not mentioning it probably differed from Remus'.

James and Sirius both looked at him expectantly, but Peter's expression was more apprehensive. It seemed he'd had the same thought.

'Tuesday evening, when Pete and I were alerted that Tenebris had found you, the spell took us through a secret passage. One we didn't already know about.'

As expected, it didn't take more than a second for James to realise what that meant. He stopped dead and whirled around to face the others. 'Wait, we can use the spell to find hidden passages?'

Remus nodded. 'One of us just needs to go into Hogsmeade and give ourselves a scare while the rest of us wait by Professor Hawthorne's classroom. The spell should take us through the hidden passage nearby, if there is one.'

'And if it leads to Hogsmeade,' Sirius said. 'We don't know that it does.'

'Where else would it go?' James asked.

Sirius shrugged. 'Somewhere else in the school? Could have been a student who killed him, or even a teacher. I wouldn't put it past the Arithmancy Professor. She's always scowling.'

'It's more likely that it leads to Hogsmeade than to anywhere else,' James said. 'But if it doesn't work, we can try other places.'

'There's a Hogsmeade weekend next week,' Peter said, looking resigned. 'Probably best to do it when it's already packed with kids.'

After breakfast, they spent the rest of the day in the Squib Wing putting up the decorations that James brought them under the folds of the invisibility cloak. Several bands had signed up to perform at the party already, and the slots were filling up fast, so once James had finished bringing the decorations over, he spent an hour transfiguring a stage for them to perform on. It was taxing work as he could only do a small section at a time, and he needed to take frequent breaks to rest, but by the end of the day, the Hall was looking pretty spectacular.

They slept in on Sunday, all of them exhausted after expending so much magic during the week. After lunch (which was also breakfast), Sirius and Peter left to spend time with their girlfriends, while James spent a leisurely afternoon catching up on homework and drafting the advertisement they wanted to put in the Daily Prophet. Remus pretended to be working on his own homework but surreptitiously used the time to put the finishing touches on their Christmas presents. They were a masterful invention, even if he did say so himself, and he couldn't wait to use them.

When Sirius and Peter returned from their dates, James asked them to look over the ad he'd written, and they both made suggestions. Eventually, they had something they all agreed was good enough and posted it off with Remus' owl and the required payment.

Did you ever fall in the Great Lake at Hogwarts?

Were you saved by the giant squid?

Then we need you!

Hogwarts' beloved giant squid is under threat. Arrested for a murder she didn't commit, Emhio, a kelpie who has lived peacefully in the form of a giant squid in Hogwarts' Great Lake for over a hundred years, is due to go on trial next summer and she desperately needs your help. We are attempting to gather as many testimonies as possible from people who Emhio has saved from harm during her time living at Hogwarts. Please address all owls to Mr James Potter.

Professor Tenebris' lesson on Tuesday evening was unusually dull. There was no running, duelling, or crazy puzzles. Instead, she conjured a map of the United Kingdom, covering the floor of the classroom with it, and told them to find all the locations that would be suitable for Remus to transform in an emergency. It was truly a beautiful map. Topographically accurate from the highest peak to the deepest valley, including artificial structures, and rendered in full colour. The detail was remarkable.

When they returned to the dorm after the lesson, James took out a notebook and slipped the parchment containing the list between the pages to keep it safe. 'Might need it one day,' was all he said to Remus' look.

Faster than Remus would have liked, it was Saturday again and time for them to return to Professor Hawthorne's classroom. Considering James and Peter's reluctance to step foot in the room, it was quickly decided that they would be the ones to go into Hogsmeade, while Remus and Sirius waited in the old Defence corridor for Remus' alarm to go off.

'Hope it hasn't been locked back up,' Remus said after they waved James and Peter off in the Entrance Hall after breakfast. They were heading to the Honeydukes' passage on the third floor and had taken the invisibility cloak with them, leaving Remus and Sirius with no way to hide if they were caught attempting to pick the lock.

Luckily, it seemed no one was making regular checks on the forbidden corridor, and the door opened easily when Remus tried it.

Once inside, there was nothing for them to do but wait, so they sat side by side in the corridor and leaned against the wall. Remus let his head rest on Sirius' shoulder, and Sirius reached out and took his hand, intertwining their fingers.

'Are you looking forward to seeing your mum next weekend?' he asked, letting his cheek rest against the top of Remus' head. The weight felt nice.

'Yeah. It'll be the first Christmas that it's just her and me, but it should be good, I think.'

Sirius hummed. 'Do you miss him? Your dad?'

'No. But I know my mum does. It'll be even worse for her at Christmas.'

'I think she'll just be happy to have you there.'

Remus shrugged. He wasn't sure about that. 'Maybe. What about you?'

'I'm always happy to have you with me, Moonbeam.'

Remus shoved him, and Sirius laughed.

'You know what I mean. Are you nervous about going home?'

'Crapping myself,' Sirius said. 'If I want to keep Reg safe, I'll have to pretend not to care about you and Pete anymore, and she'll be testing me. And I won't be able to write to you the whole time, either.'

Remus smiled to himself; thankful Sirius couldn't see his face. 'It's only two weeks. It'll be over before you know it. And you have the ring James gave you, so you'll be safe from your mum.'

'Peter's going to have a tough two weeks, though,' Sirius said. 'Think he's regretting taking my token yet?'

'I think we're all regretting it a bit, to be honest. It's a lot more intrusive than we expected.'

'It is. But I don't regret it. I like knowing you're safe.'

'What about knowing I'm not safe but not being able to do anything about it?'

Sirius squeezed his hand. 'I'll let you know how I feel about that when it's happened.'

'You won't have long to wait. Full moon's next week.'

'That's different. I can't stop you from transforming, but I am doing something to keep you safe. I befriended a werewolf for you.'

Remus laughed. 'Bet he'd still rip your face off if you were in the same room.'

'Obviously. That's why I'm learning how to turn into an animal.'

'What if you find out you'll be something completely useless to me, like a fish? Will you still do it?'

Sirius made a thinking noise. 'I don't know. Maybe. I mean, it's an experience, isn't it? And being a fish might be pretty cool. I bet it's quiet in the ocean.'

'I never thought I'd hear you talk about quiet like it's a good thing.'

'Are you saying I'm loud, Moons?'

'So very, very loud,' Remus said, tilting his head to look up at Sirius with a smile on his lips. 'But that's not a bad thing. Being around you makes me feel… I don't know,' he flapped his hand in the air, searching for words to explain. 'more present, I guess. In my own body and in the world. More real. That sounds stupid, doesn't it?'

Sirius shook his head. 'Not at all. You make me different, too. Sort of… calmer. Like I can slow my thoughts down and think before doing things.'

'That's right. You told me before that your head gets too full.' Remus put his head back on Sirius' shoulder. 'Is that why you like the thought of quiet?'

Sirius hummed. 'Real silence would be bliss. It's never quiet in my head. But fish? I bet they can't think too much.'

'True.' Remus said with a chuckle. 'But let's hope for something a little bigger and able to breathe on land, yeah?'

'Kind of hoping for a wolf, to be honest.'

Remus snorted. 'Considering the massive variety of animals you could potentially be, the chances of you being any kind of canine are pretty remote.'

'Never say never, Moonbeam. I can hope.'

They settled into a companionable silence after that. Remus was close to dozing off when he heard James' voice in his head. 'Oh, fuck!' That was it. It told him nothing about the danger or how urgent it was. James' tone of voice sounded alarmed but not terrified. But he couldn't be certain it was only a minor issue. They really needed to have a conversation about training their thoughts to be more elaborate on the details. Learning how to think in run-on sentences might be useful too.

'It's time,' Remus said aloud, making Sirius jump. Apparently, he hadn't been the only one dozing off while they waited.

'What'd he say?' Sirius asked as Remus stretched before climbing to his feet.

'Oh, fuck.'

'How descriptive.'

'Reperio,' Remus said, gripping his wand. 'Yes, completely useless. We better hurry, just in case it's actually a real danger.'

Sirius nodded and stretched, making his t-shirt ride up and revealing a strip of pale skin. Remus swallowed and looked away.

'You getting anything useful?' Sirius asked once he was on his feet.

'It's pulling me towards the other end of the corridor.'

'Not in the classroom, then? That's something at least.'

Remus nodded. He wasn't as afraid of the place as James and Peter, but he hadn't been looking forward to going in there again. Following the tugging at his chest, he walked slowly down the corridor until the sensation changed, pulling him to the right. He turned and regarded the blank stretch of wall. It was no different from any other part of the corridor. There were no distinguishing features. Nothing to indicate there was anything hidden there at all.

'Aperimihi.' The word appeared in his mind and he spoke it aloud without thinking. Instantly, a section of the stone bricks in the shape of a doorway glowed bright white and vanished, revealing a tunnel behind them.

'How did you know the password?' Sirius was staring at him with wide eyes.

Stepping into the dark tunnel, Remus lit his wand with a whispered Lumos. 'It was just there, in my head. I don't know.'

'Any idea how to close it back up again?' Sirius asked, following him inside.

'I think, maybe, clauditemihi,' Remus said, and the stone bricks reappeared, still glowing white. The light slowly dimmed to nothing over the course of a few seconds, leaving them with nothing but Remus' wand to light the way.

'Lumos,' Sirius said, lighting his own wand. 'That was freaky as fuck.'

Remus nodded, following the corridor as it took a sharp turn to the left. 'Yeah. It was so strange. One second, I had no idea how to open or close the door, and the next, I just knew the right word to say.'

'James is going to go nuts.'

Remus laughed. 'Thank Merlin that we're all going home for two weeks. It'll give him time to calm down.'

The tunnel was flat for most of the forty-five-minute journey, during which Remus had to listen to James' voice proclaiming, 'Oh, fuck!' every few minutes. But eventually they found themselves on a slight incline which steepened into stairs at the very end, all culminating in yet another trapdoor. 'Guess the shop?' Remus asked with his hand on the latch.

'Please be Zonko's. Please be Zonko's.'

Remus chuckled and twisted the latch, pushing the door up an inch so he could peek through. 'It's a bit dark. Can you nox your wand?' he whispered before putting out his own light. Sirius obliged, and with the deeper darkness surrounding them, his eyes adjusted, and he was able to make out the interior of the room on the other side of the trapdoor.

The entirety of one wall was taken up by a rack. It had a pattern of interlocking, diamond-shaped spaces, most of which were filled, but he couldn't tell what with. The other walls all had boxes stacked up against them, and all the top boxes in the stacks were open. When there was no sign of movement after a few seconds, Remus pushed the trapdoor open all the way and climbed into the room. After relighting his wand, he took another look at the boxes.

Ogden's Old Firewhiskey was written on the sides of the first stack he looked at. The second bore the label, Butterbeer, and a third, Batty's Best Brandy.

'I think we're in the Three Broomsticks.'

Sirius climbed up behind him and lit his own wand, shining the light on the boxes. 'Or the Hog's Head. Definitely a pub. This is awesome.'

The tracking spell was insistently trying to tug Remus towards the door, and the longer he ignored it, the more it hurt. But as used to pain as he was, it didn't bother him all that much.

'How are we going to sneak out?' Sirius asked. 'James has the cloak.'

'I don't know,' Remus said, shrugging. 'I suppose it's too much to hope that the spell will help with that, too. I doubt it understands the concept of trespassing.'

'Considering it was probably created hundreds of years ago, yeah, I doubt it, too.'

'We'll just have to be careful.' Remus approached the only door in the room and cracked it open. 'Stairs,' he said after peeking through. 'There's another door at the top.'

'Let's hurry it up. The longer we're down here, the more chance there is we'll be caught.'

Remus nodded and pushed the door open all the way. They hurried up the stairs, and Remus repeated the action with the next door. 'It's a corridor. Empty'

'Go, go, go.' Sirius gently shoved him between the shoulder blades with each word.

'Alright, keep your hair on.'

There was no choice but to make a run for it and hope for the best, so Remus did just that. At the end of the corridor, he peeked around the corner. Sirius came up behind him, gripping Remus' waist while he peered over his shoulder.

'Rosmerta looks swamped. She's never going to notice us.'

Sirius was right. The young barmaid looked rushed off her feet by the crowd of Hogwarts' students huddled around the bar. Every table in the place was full, and even the standing room was packed with people.

'We should just walk out and join the crowd,' Sirius said. 'Act normal, and no one will take any notice of us. Which way do we need to go?'

'I think it's pulling me straight forward. But it might change once we leave the corridor.'

Sirius was standing on tiptoes, trying to see over the heads of the crowd. 'No, I don't think so. I think James and Pete are sitting at the back, under the window.'

Remus looked in the direction Sirius was pointing but couldn't see past the people milling around the bar. 'I don't see them.'

'That's because you're short.'

'Dick,' Remus said, laughing. He glanced back towards Rosmerta, who turned her back to them to speak to a customer at the end of the bar. 'She's looking the other way. Let's go.'

Walking swiftly but calmly, they broke from the cover of the wall and headed towards the dense crowd. Remus held his breath, waiting for a shout from the barmaid, but nothing happened. They reached the edge of the public area without being spotted and slipped into the mob, blending in with ease.

As it turned out, Sirius had been right. James and Peter were occupying the table under the window, and judging by the number of empty glasses on the table, they'd been there a while. Remus would have been a little put-out, but there were also two full glasses of butterbeer next to the half-finished ones the boys were drinking from.

'Are those for us?' Sirius asked, slipping into the seat next to Peter.

'Sure are,' James said, letting Remus take his hand for a second when he sat down beside him. 'Thought you'd need it after the trip to get here.'

Remus took a long swig of the warm, sweet drink. 'Still not as good as a nice mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream, but it's a close second.'

'I have to disagree with you there,' Sirius said. He'd downed half of his own glass in one go and had a froth moustache along his top lip. Remus kind of wanted to lick it off. 'Butterbeer is way better than hot chocolate.'

'Never mind that,' James said. 'Did you find it?'

Remus nodded. 'Comes out in the basement here.'

James' face lit up with excitement for a moment, then he frowned. 'Shit. You don't think it was Rosmerta, do you?'

'No way,' Sirius said. 'She's lovely. She wouldn't kill anyone.'

'No, I can't see her as a murderer either,' Remus agreed.

James looked relieved. 'I'd really hate for it to be her.'

'Let's finish these drinks and get back. We can grab some alcohol for the party on the way through,' Sirius said.

'We're not stealing alcohol,' Remus said.

Sirius rolled his eyes. 'I'll leave the money, Moons. I'm not a thief.'

On the way back to Hogwarts, each of them lugging a heavy box of clinking bottles, James explained why they'd been sitting in the Three Broomsticks for so long. 'Just as we got to the top of the cellar stairs, Pete tripped on the end of the cloak. Nearly sent us tumbling all the way back down again.' He shrugged. 'I figured that'd be enough to set off your alarm, Moons, so we went for a drink.'

With the moon falling just two days before the party, they wanted to get everything set up in advance. So they spent all of Sunday finishing their preparations. James took charge of moving the alcohol from the dungeon passage to Squib Hall (as they had taken to calling it). Sirius, with Peter's obedient assistance, worked on decorating the stairs and the corridors that would be used, while Remus slowly moved through the area, blocking off the places they didn't want people going with a charm that created a brick wall. It wasn't a particularly strong spell, easily breakable with a little effort, but they hoped it would be enough to dissuade party-goers from exploring.

Looking back after, Remus wasn't sure how he made it through the next few days. The moon sickness had never hit him so early before, but then he'd never expended so much magic in such a short amount of time before. His bones were already aching when he went to bed Sunday night, and when he woke on Monday morning, it felt like he hadn't slept at all, and every nerve ending in his body was on fire.

Sirius took one look at his pained grimace and pulled off the t-shirt he'd slept in, handing it to Remus to wear under his robes, then he crawled into Remus' bed and pulled him into a cuddle while they waited for James and Peter to stir. It worked a little, reducing the crippling pain to something manageable, and Remus made it through Charms. The next thing he knew, he was back in bed, wrapped up in Sirius, but he didn't remember getting there. His friends kept trying to persuade him to go to the Hospital Wing early, but he didn't want to miss that much class. It was only pain.

Thankfully, Professor Tenebris wasn't making them duel that week. Instead, they were working on concealing information, and for once, the classroom contained desks and chairs. Remus practically melted into his seat at the back of the room, barely glancing at the parchment he was supposed to be casting revelio on. Towards the end of the lesson, Sirius leaned over and cast the spell on Remus' parchment so he wouldn't be burdened with unnecessary homework.

Potions after lunch was torture. Everyone was finishing up brewing their burn-healing paste, and the classroom was so full of fumes, Remus could barely breathe. But he still wouldn't relent and seek medical assistance. The moon forced him to miss at least a day and a half every month. Taking more time off than that would be akin to giving in. And Remus wasn't weak.

Sirius insisted on sleeping in his bed that night, and Remus inhaled his scent like it was oxygen.

He didn't remember much of Tuesday. The day was nothing but a blur of images, sounds, and smells. Soil and flowers filled his nose while Professor Sprout droned on about mistletoe. Then there was noise, so many voices at once, Professor McGonagall's louder than the rest. The noise level lessened, and McGonagall's face swam in front of his eyes, asking if he wanted to leave. He didn't remember what he said. The clearest part of the day was the free period before lunch, which he knew he definitely spent in Sirius' arms, probably in the dorm. Flitwick's high-pitched voice hurt his ears, and he had to close his eyes against the flashing lights, wishing he could shut out the noise of shouted incantations as easily. History was a complete blank. He probably fell asleep.

Another night spent in Sirius' arms, this one restless, but Sirius made no complaints.

On Wednesday morning, though, his friends had had enough. Refusing to take no for an answer, they marched him to the Hospital Wing and left him to Madam Pomfrey's tender care, promising they would see him later with a wink.

Remus spent the day sleeping fitfully. He woke up at one point to find himself on a stretcher, floating across the grounds. The next time, he was at the bottom of the ladder, and Madam Pomfrey was gently shaking him to wake him up.

'I'm so sorry, dear. But it'll be better for you in the long run if you climb up than if I take you in myself.'

Remus wasn't sure how he mustered the strength to haul himself up that ladder, but he did, collapsing to the floor when he reached the top and curling into a ball.

'Can you undress?' Pomfrey asked. 'I'm sorry to keep bothering you, but we only have ten minutes. It took me a while to wake you up.'

Groaning with the effort, Remus peeled off his robes and shoved them over the edge of the trapdoor.

'Well done. I'll put these with the rest of your things,' Madam Pomfrey told him. She paused and then, with a hint of concern in her tone, 'Good luck tonight, Remus.'

The trapdoor closed with a bang, and the last thing Remus heard was the click of the lock.

The wolf opened his eyes and yawned widely before stretching his sore muscles. His pack-mates weren't there, but he wasn't too worried. They seemed to come and go, but they always came back, eventually.

The fire that never seemed to grow was still burning, so he decided to curl up in front of it while he waited for them. It was quite enjoyable, basking in the heat, but he wished for something more interesting to do. His feet itched to run.

He was right not to be worried. His pack-mates arrived a short time later, howling their greetings. The wolf leapt to his feet excitedly, his tail wagging behind him, and howled back. As much as he loved their company—their presence made him feel less alone—he wished he could see them, smell them, play with them, curl up with them next to the fire. The thought made him whine.

His pack-mates all made noises to him, so he barked to let them know he was okay. There were some sounds that made him think they were eating, and then the Watcher left for a while, but he came back, and they all stayed with him for a long time.

Sometime before he began to feel tired, they left and didn't return. But he wasn't worried. He was sure they'd be back the next day, and he fell asleep right next to the fire.

The only thing keeping Sirius awake during Herbology on Thursday morning was his worry for Remus, that, and the intermittent sound of Remus' voice in his head saying, 'I've never been this bad before.' which had started at moonrise and continued all night.

They'd been forced to leave the tunnel under the Whomping Willow to attend class hours before the moon set, and Sirius was concerned about how Moony would take being abandoned and whether Remus would pay the price for it.

When class finished at nine-thirty, the boys returned to the Whomping Willow to wait for Madam Pomfrey. Under the cover of the cloak, they froze the tree and snuck down the passage, reaching the end of the tunnel five minutes later. Moony didn't make a sound at their arrival, and the silence sent a shiver down Sirius' spine. Either he was badly injured, or he was asleep.

Sirius was desperate to open the trapdoor and check, but knowing what a bad idea that was, he refrained.

Pomfrey arrived ten minutes after they did. If she was surprised to find them there, she didn't show it, merely asking them to stay in the tunnel and keep out of the way of the ladder while she treated Remus.

Sirius waited anxiously while she unlocked the trapdoor and climbed up, barely breathing until she called down, 'He's absolutely fine, boys. Not a mark on him.' Her head appeared in the opening. 'He'll be asleep for a while yet, though. There's no point in you sticking around. But you're welcome to visit him this afternoon.'

It was a clear dismissal, so they thanked her and left, returning to their dorm for a quick nap before Defence.

When they arrived at the Hospital Wing halfway through the lunch period, Madam Pomfrey was busy treating some older Ravenclaw students who looked to be suffering from some kind of rash. It was bright purple, scaly, and periodically shimmered before releasing a stream of bubbles.

'Oh, boys, you're here for detention, yes?' she said, looking up from her patient at their arrival. Then, continuing without waiting for an answer, 'Go and wait in my office. I'll be with you in a minute.'

'Madam Pomfrey's excuse game is top-notch,' James said once they were inside her office. 'Even I believed her.'

'Should we wait here, or are we allowed to go in, do you think?' Sirius asked. He wanted to say "to hell with it" and go in, but the last thing he needed was to piss off Madam Pomfrey and be banned from visiting Remus.

'Probably best to wait,' Peter said. 'She might get mad at us if we go in.'

It was twenty minutes before she finally joined them. 'Sorry about that,' she said, walking in and tucking a few stray hairs back under her cap. 'He was still asleep last time I checked. Let me have a peek.' She moved aside the bookcase that hid Remus' door with a tap of her wand and cracked the door open before quickly closing it again. 'Yes, he's still fast asleep. Why don't you come back in an hour?'

'We'd like to stay if that's okay?' Sirius said. He was desperate to get a hand on Remus and make the alarm stop. 'We won't wake him.'

She made a disbelieving noise. 'I'm not sure that's a good idea. You'd need to be very quiet.'

'We can be quiet,' James said. 'We do it every month when he's sick before the moon.'

'Still, three of you crowded in that tiny room…'

'What if just one of us stays?' James suggested.

'Well, alright, just one of you, though. Who's it going to be?'

'Me,' Sirius said. 'I'll see you guys later.'

James nodded, and the two left, waving goodbye to Sirius.

'Quietly, then,' Madam Pomfrey said, pushing the door back open. Sirius slipped inside, and the door closed behind him.

The curtains were drawn across the window, but there was still enough light coming in to see Remus' pale form in the bed. Sirius tiptoed over. He had a choice, sit in the chair, or try to lie down next to him without disturbing him?

As Sirius stared at him, trying to decide what to do, Remus' face turned towards him, and he hummed, the corners of his mouth turning up in the smallest of smiles. 'Sirius?' he whispered, his voice barely there at all.

'I'm right here, Moonbeam,' Sirius said quietly, taking a step closer. 'Sorry for waking you.'

'Didn't,' Remus said. Without opening his eyes, he rolled onto his side to face Sirius and patted the bed. 'Come.'

Sirius quickly unlaced his boots and kicked them off before pulling back the covers and climbing into bed next to him. Remus snuggled up, laying his head on Sirius' chest and hummed. 'Where others?'

'Madam Pomfrey would only let one of us in because you were still sleeping. They'll be here later. Go back to sleep.'

'M'kay,' Remus breathed.

It didn't take long for Sirius to fall asleep, too, once the voice in his head was finally quiet. Remus was already awake when he woke up, still cuddled up to him and fiddling with the buttons on his robes.

'Hi,' Sirius said. 'You feeling better?'

Remus tilted his head back to look at him. 'Hmm. Think so.'

It sounded like he was still struggling to speak, his voice coming out deeper than usual, and he was obviously limiting his words. 'Have you had your milkshake thing yet?'

Remus shook his head.

'Alright, let me get that for you.' Sirius slid out of bed, stretching before moving to the door and cracking it open. Madam Pomfrey was sitting at the desk in her office, but she looked up when he opened the door.

'Hey,' he said. 'Remus is awake. Can he have his potion?'

'Of course. I have it right here.' She picked up a goblet from a tray on her desk and handed it to him. 'I'll be there in a moment to speak to him. Make sure he drinks all of that.'

'I will. Have James and Peter been back?'

She shook her head. 'Not yet.'

Sirius thought they had probably fallen asleep. 'Alright. Thanks.' He closed the door and took the goblet to Remus, holding it steady for him while he took a long drink.

'Merlin, I needed that.'

'She said you have to drink it all.'

'I will. Come sit back down?'

Sirius retook his seat on the bed, and Remus leaned against him, taking the goblet and sipping the contents.

'That was a really bad moon,' he said after a minute. 'I wasn't sure I was going to make it through.'

'We were really worried, especially when you kept insisting on going to class. We had to force you to come here yesterday.'

'I remember.' Remus wrinkled his nose adorably. 'Kind of. It's all a bit of a blur, actually.'

'I'm not surprised. You were really out of it.'

The door opened, and Madam Pomfrey walked in. 'Off the bed, please, Mister Black,' she said in such a no-nonsense tone that Sirius obeyed without even thinking about it. Turning to Remus, her voice softened. 'How are you feeling, dear?'

'Weaker than normal, and my head hurts a bit.'

She hummed. 'Do you want Mister Black to leave while we discuss your condition?'

Remus glanced at Sirius, a smile pulling at his lips, before looking back to Madam Pomfrey and shaking his head. 'No, it's fine. I'm going to tell him what you say, anyway.'

'Alright. Well, bearing in mind that anything you tell me is confidential unless I believe you pose a danger to yourself or others. Have you perhaps been performing magic outside of class and homework?'

Remus hesitated, glancing at Sirius again. Sirius gave him a nod he was hoping Remus would interpret as tell the truth.

'The truth, Remus, because if you lie to me and cause me a tonne of unnecessary research, I will be cross.'

Remus nodded. 'Yeah. I have.'

'A lot?'

'Yes.'

'That's a relief,' Madam Pomfrey said. 'It fully explains the state you were in when your friends carried you here yesterday. However, I am a little cross with you. We've had this conversation before, haven't we?'

'Yes, ma'am,' Remus said, looking down at his hands. Sirius didn't envy him for being the focus of Madam Pomfrey's disappointment. She was just the type of person you didn't want to disappoint. But he was a little confused.

'What conversation?'

Remus looked at him. 'The more magic I do during the month, the harder the moon is on me.'

'Shit, Moony,' Sirius breathed. 'Why didn't you say? We would have done more of the—' he glanced at Madam Pomfrey, who raised her eyebrows at him. '—stuff,' he finished lamely.

'Well,' Madam Pomfrey said, her lips twitching like she was holding back a laugh. 'I can see you're in good hands, Moony,' Remus blushed red at her using his nickname, 'You can leave when you're ready.'

Getting Remus back to the dorm was a task and a half. They used secret passages as much as possible, but when forced to walk the corridors, they had to pretend Remus was fine and Sirius wasn't the only thing holding him upright. Getting through the busy common room was the hardest part of the journey, and it was with an immense sense of relief that Sirius finally pushed their dormitory door open and staggered inside.

And he was completely unsurprised to find James and Peter both fast asleep.

'Lazy fuckers,' Sirius muttered, half carrying Remus to the bed. 'Lay down for a minute, and I'll get your bath ready,' he said, attempting to lower him down gently. He wasn't quite strong enough, though, and Remus sort of just fell onto the mattress face-first, bouncing twice before going still. 'Shit, sorry.'

'S'all right. Bed's soft,' Remus said, his voice muffled by the quilt.

Sirius grabbed Remus' ankles and pulled them onto the bed, turning him a little in the process. 'There. You rest. I'll be back in a few minutes.'

Giving the sleeping boys one last annoyed glower, Sirius marched into the bathroom to find the bath already full of hot, lavender-scented water. The steam rising off it and curling into the air proved they had placed it under stasis to keep it hot. Well, that took the fire out of him. He returned to the dorm feeling a little guilty for thinking badly of James and Peter.

'Your bath's ready, Moonbeam,' Sirius whispered, shaking him a little. 'Do you want to get in now or sleep a bit more first?'

'Mmm, sleep.' Remus' voice was thick with fatigue. 'You, too.'

'You want me to sleep?'

'Mmm. Here.'

Sirius chuckled. 'Alright, I insist we use the pillows, though.'

Remus grumbled but reached up with one hand, patting the bed until he found the pillows and then scooted up the mattress. 'There,' he said, smiling in a way that suggested he was proud of himself.

Sirius took his boots off and climbed in next to him, pulling him close, and Remus buried his nose in his chest, inhaling deeply before humming with pleasure. Sirius smirked and closed his eyes.

Despite Remus' pleading, the Marauders point blank refused to let him join them for Astronomy at midnight. James even went so far as to threaten to bodybind him if he didn't stop arguing. Sirius felt the tactic to be entirely justified when Remus woke up on Friday morning feeling a whole lot better.

It being the last day before the holidays, most of the teachers let them play games, except Binn's who lectured while they all played games, anyway. When the ghost finally released them from the last class of the day, the boys went directly to the Squib Wing to check on the preparations, followed by the kitchens to confirm the plans with the house-elves, and give them their Christmas present—a case of butterbeer, and a board-game similar to Merlin's Adventure but designed to played in teams. Teely thanked them enthusiastically on behalf of all the elves and promised to play it on their night off on Christmas Eve.

The plan for the evening was simple, Remus and Peter (being the Marauders whose absence from a party would be least likely to be noticed) would polyjuice into Pete's cousin and some random guy they'd stolen hair from at the Three Broomsticks, and wait by the ground and seventh floor doors for the party-goers. The seventh-year volunteers would collect everyone who wanted to attend Hogwarts' First Annual Super Secret Christmas Party in their Common Rooms and lead them to the invisible door, where Remus or Peter would let them in. Once all four Houses had arrived, Remus and Peter would wait for the polyjuice to wear off in one of the Squib dorms and then join the party.

The fifth years and under would be evicted from the party at ten pm. At which point, the stash of alcohol would be revealed for anyone who wanted to indulge. James and Sirius would then take their own dose of polyjuice so they could oversee the rest of the party and keep anything from going wrong.

The boys got ready in their dorm after the end-of-year feast, each of them preparing two outfits, one for themselves and one for their polyjuiced alter-egos.

'Do you think your cousin would look better in ice-blue, or blush-pink?' Sirius asked, flicking his wand repeatedly to transfigure the dress back and forth between the two options he was deliberating.

'She's my cousin. I don't look at her like that,' Peter said, wrinkling his nose.

Sirius rolled his eyes. 'Just because you're related doesn't mean you can't appreciate someone's beauty. Andy's my cousin, and I don't mind saying she looked gorgeous at her bonding.'

'She did,' James agreed. 'And I think you should go with the blue.'

'Thank you, Sunshine. At least someone here understands the importance of looking good, no matter what body you happen to be wearing.' Sirius tossed his hair over his shoulder dramatically. 'Now, what am I going to wear…'

Eventually, they were all ready, and Remus and Peter snuck downstairs under the cover of the invisibility cloak. After giving them ample time to reach the portrait, James and Sirius went down to cause a distraction so they could get out without being seen.

Sirius jumped up onto the nearest table when he reached the bottom of the stairs and screamed at the top of his lungs, 'Who's ready to party?'

Immediately, as if they'd rehearsed it, which they definitely hadn't, James jumped up beside him and screamed just as loudly, 'I'm ready to party!'

Most of the first, second, and third years in the room cheered, the majority of the older students just laughed, but Sirius saw the portrait door open and then close again on the other side of the room. They were out.

Ten minutes later, the seventh year volunteers led the group out of the Common Room. They didn't have far to go, so it didn't seem worth it to go in smaller groups. They crept along the corridor as quietly as they could manage, which, since they were a bunch of children as young as eleven, wasn't all that quiet.

The group reached the section of wall Sirius knew the door to be located on without incident, however, and one of the seventh-years used his wand to knock on the stone. Immediately, a doorway appeared in the wall to a few whispers of 'cool' and 'awesome,' and a tall, dark-haired man with a moustache who was really Remus waved them inside.

'Welcome to Hogwarts' First Annual Super Secret Christmas Party. Please follow the decorations to the party room.'

Sirius and James shot him a smirk as they passed.

The Gryffindors had the shortest trip, so they were the first to arrive in the Hall, and a small group broke away to set up on the stage. By the time the Hufflepuffs arrived, the music was blaring, and the party was in full swing. The Slytherins were next to arrive, and Sirius was pleased to see Regulus among them, less so to see Snivellus was with him. Five minutes later, the Ravenclaws arrived, meaning Remus was now free to leave the door unattended, but it would be a while before the polyjuice wore off and he could join the party.

While he waited, Sirius danced with Marlene, then Mary, since Peter wasn't there yet, though when she asked, he told her he was around somewhere. Lily declined James' request for a dance, and he was then forced to watch as she danced with several other people, including Snape. The poor boy looked murderous while that was happening. Sirius felt bad for him.

To take his mind off it, Sirius pulled him onto the dance floor, and they showed off some of the crazy dance moves they'd choreographed at Andromeda's wedding until Sirius spotted Peter over near the stage.

'Hey, where's Remus?' he asked, joining him.

Peter looked up from the plate of chicken wings he was munching his way through. 'He went back to the dorm. His hearing's still a bit sensitive because of… you know. Didn't think he could cope with the noise.'

'Why didn't he say earlier?'

Peter shrugged. 'Dunno. Maybe he thought it'd be okay and then changed his mind?'

A deafening crash from the other side of the room interrupted their conversation, and they both turned their heads towards the noise in alarm.

'What the fuck was that?' Sirius asked. He didn't wait for an answer; he didn't expect Peter to have one, anyway. Shouldering his way through the crowd, he moved towards where the noise had originated. A group of seven first-years were arguing near the refreshments area. Their speech was slurred as they shouted insults and shoved at each other. An eighth boy was lying flat out behind an overturned table on a pile of smashed bowls. His legs hung over the edge of the table, and there was food in his hair.

'Are they drunk?' Peter asked from beside him.

'Yep,' Sirius said.

'Shit.'

They were joined by a few older students then, who thankfully took charge of the situation, putting the drunken first-years in body binds and levitating them out of the hall.

'Where did they get the drink?' Peter whispered. 'We hid it all for later.'

Sirius eyed the enormous bowl of fruit punch in the centre of the refreshments area. 'Wait here.'

He ladled himself out a gobletful of the bright pink liquid and took a sip, coughing as he swallowed it. It burned on the way down but left him feeling a pleasant warm glow on the inside. Taking another sip, he returned to Peter's side.

'Not the punch then?'

'No, it's the punch. Someone's spiked it.'

'Then why are you still drinking it?' Peter asked, aghast.

Sirius shrugged. 'It's nice. You want to try?' He offered the goblet to Peter, who shook his head vehemently.

'No. No, thank you. And I don't think you should drink any more of it, either.'

'Suit yourself,' Sirius said, taking another gulp. He probably would have stopped if Peter hadn't told him he should, but he hated being told what to do.

Peter sighed. 'I'm going to find James. I bet they weren't the only ones drinking the punch.'

Sirius waved him off, downing the rest of his goblet as he walked back to the table for a refill. James would probably get the house-elves to replace it, so he needed to drink as much as he could before that happened. It really was a marvellous feeling.

He was on his fourth goblet when it occurred to him that Moony might like some. His Moonbeam. The biggest source of light in the darkness that was his life. It was a brilliant idea, actually. Possibly the best idea he'd ever had. And he'd had some pretty incredible ideas in his time. He nodded, confirming his decision. Get another gobletful and take it to his Moonbeam.

It was a little more difficult to fill the goblet that time, mainly because the punch bowl seemed to dance away from him, but he managed it with only slight drippage on his hand. This truly was a most fantastic idea. He weaved his way through the dancers and out to the Entrance Hall, tripping a couple of times because the floor had become inexplicably bumpy, but he only spilt a small amount of his Moonbeam's drink. He took a quick swig to check, and, yes, there was still plenty left.

The stairs had become weirdly uneven at some point during the night, and Sirius stumbled a few times while climbing them, spilling a little more of his Moonbeam's drink, but when he tested it, there was still plenty left.

'Which way is it?' he muttered to himself when he reached the top. Then he laughed. 'Right. Follow the decorations.' It was weird, but everything seemed especially funny right then.

When he reached the door, he discovered someone had cast a featherlight charm on it, resulting in him pulling it open much harder than necessary and making it bang against the wall. 'Whoops,' he said out loud. Then he giggled. No, laughed, manlily. Manleelily. He laughed in a manly way.

The corridor to Gryffindor tower had become just as inexplicably bumpy as the Squib Wing's floor, and Sirius still tripped a couple of times, even though he was trying exceedingly hard to avoid the bumps. The difficulty was that the sneaky things were invisible.

He checked his Moonbeam's drink again, and there was still some left so he wouldn't need to go back.

'Baubles,' he said to the Fat Lady. She hiccuped and said, 'Quite right too.' Which was odd, but she let him in, so he didn't let it bother him.

The Common Room was empty, of course, because everyone was at the party. Everyone except his Moonbeam, who was upstairs waiting for his drink.

'I'm coming, Moonbeam,' he yelled. 'Don't worry!'

The room was wobbly, and it was hard to cross it, but nothing would keep him from his Moonbeam, not even the nasty furniture that kept jumping in his path. And then he was there, in front of him.

'Moonbeam! I brought you a drink!' He handed the goblet to his Moonbeam, who was frowning. Why was he frowning? 'What's the matter?'

'This is empty.'

'Oh,' Sirius said, his smile falling from his face. 'Oh, no. It must have jumped out on the way here. I'll go back and get you another one.'

He turned, but Remus grabbed his arm. 'Sirius, are you drunk?'

'What? No. Well, maybe a little,' Sirius admitted. 'Someone spiked the punch. And I had a few goblets. Three, I think, or was it four?'

'Come on, let's get you to bed.' Remus said, putting his arm around his waist and leading him towards the stairs.

Sirius grinned. 'Oh, now you're talking, Moonbeam.'

'To sleep,' Remus said, helping him climb the stairs.

'Spoilsport.'

Remus rolled his eyes and opened the dormitory door, guiding Sirius through and closing it behind them. 'Here, sit down,' Remus said when they reached Sirius' bed.

The furniture was behaving itself with Remus there and the bed didn't move from under him as he sat on the edge of the mattress. Crouching in front of him, Remus unlaced his boots and pulled them off one by one, then placed them neatly side-by-side next to his bed before looking up with a smile.

Sirius' favourite smile.

He wanted to kiss that smile.

Now that was a truly breathtaking idea.

Sirius started to lean towards him, but Remus stood up, taking his lovely smile with him out of Sirius' reach, and moved to Sirius' trunk. He returned a moment later with some nightclothes.

'Here, put these on.'

Sirius smirked and didn't take the proffered clothing. 'Not sure I can, Moonbeam. Think I'm too drunk. Going to need some help.'

Remus rolled his eyes. 'I'm sure you can manage.'

Sirius shrugged and started fiddling with the buttons on his shirt, purposefully failing to undo them.

'Oh, for Merlin's sake,' Remus said with an irritated sigh. 'Leave it. I'll do it.'

Sirius beamed. 'Thanks, Moonbeam.'

Remus threw the nightclothes onto Sirius' bed as he approached, stopping right in front of him, just between his parted knees. From his seated position, Sirius had to tilt his head back a little to meet Remus' eyes. Remus, though, was looking down at Sirius' chest, his fingers manipulating the top button on his shirt, his golden curls falling forward and hiding his face. And that was no good at all. Sirius liked Remus' face. It shouldn't be hidden.

With both hands, Sirius reached up and pushed the offending hair behind Remus' ears, and Remus' eyes flicked up to meet his, widening with surprise.

'Fuck, you're so pretty,' Sirius said, stroking a thumb down Remus' cheek.

Remus laughed, which was rude, and shook his head, returning his attention to Sirius' buttons. He'd finished with the first one and was working on the second. 'You're really drunk, aren't you, Twinkles?'

Sirius hummed. 'Yeah. Doesn't mean you're not pretty, though.'

Remus moved his hands to the third button, his fingers brushing Sirius' bare skin as they went, causing a thrill of pleasure to shoot through him and making him inhale sharply. Without another thought, Sirius pulled Remus' head closer to him and pressed their lips together.

And, oh, it was just as extraordinary as the first time. Better even. Because this time Remus kissed him back. He didn't imagine it. Remus' lips were definitely moving against his, sliding in the most delicious way that sent shivers of pleasure through his body. Then Remus' hands were in his hair, and that felt incredible. Sirius tilted his head a little more and opened his mouth, running his tongue along Remus' bottom lip. And Remus gasped, opening his own mouth, his tongue flicking out to meet Sirius'…

Then suddenly, he was gone.

Sirius opened his eyes. 'What..?'

Remus had his hands in his hair, looking thoroughly distraught. 'You're drunk, Sirius. Shit. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. Fuck.'

'Moony,' Sirius said, standing up (with some difficulty. The room was definitely spinning.) 'Listen.' He tugged Remus hands from his hair and held them so he couldn't continue pulling at his poor abused curls. 'I'm drunk, yes. That's true. And that's probably why I kissed you.' Remus groaned, but Sirius ignored him. 'But it's not why I wanted to kiss you.'

'What?'

Sirius let go of one of Remus' hands so he could stroke his cheek. He really was very pretty. 'I always want to kiss you.'

Remus blinked at him three times before he answered. 'I think we should have this conversation when you're not drunk.'

'I think,' Sirius said, letting his head drop forward, so his forehead was pressed against Remus', 'that's probably a good idea. But,' and he looked back up, giving Remus a cheeky grin, 'can I have one more kiss first?'

Remus rolled his eyes, but he leaned forward and kissed Sirius very gently on the lips. It was barely there, but Sirius could still feel it when he woke up with a pounding headache several hours later.