Disclaimer: See the first chapter.... I don't own Hotaru Tomoe (Sailor Saturn, playing the part of the Divination teacher here) either. She's property of the great Naoko Takeuchi.
WARNINGS: Just to remind you, there's going to be Remus/Sirius slash soon!
Introducing: Remus and Sirius' families! I made them up myself, please don't steal them!
Most unfortunately, I had to add more Snapey-ness. Sorry about that. But by the next chapter, you'll see what I'm building up to.
~*~*~*~*~
Year 3 - Denial, Frustration, and Everything In Between
~August 23, 1977 - the Lupin house~
A steel-gray owl fluttered in through the open window of a bedroom on the second floor. It landed on the headboard of the bed and looked down at the person asleep in it. The person was, in fact, Remus Lupin.
Across the room, a tawny owl sitting on a perch had just noticed the presence of the newcomer. The tawny owl hooted loudly, hoping to get the attention of her owner. Remus stirred, then opened his eyes. He yawned, stretched, and sat up. The owl fluttered down into his lap.
"H'lo, Rose," Remus said sleepily, stroking his owl's head. Rose looked upward pointedly, and Remus turned to see a familiar gray owl sitting on his headboard. "Oberon!" Remus said, recognizing Sirius' owl. Oberon hooted and fluttered down to sit on his shoulder. Remus eagerly pulled the letter off the owl's leg, and began to read.
-Hey, Remmie!
Sorry it took me so long to answer you. We just got back from a vacation. Dad brought us to America to visit a cousin of his. We ended up going camping, which was really fun, 'cos we did it the Muggle way. And then my sis had to borrow Oberon to send a letter to her boyfriend - I'll be glad once they get married and OUT OF OUR HAIR. But anyway - I just wanted to know, are you coming to Diagon Alley with me and Jim and Pete next week, say, the 29th? Will your parents let you? They'd better, or we'll kidnap you! Nah, just kidding.
Hope to see you there!
Siri
P.S. I've got something to show you, too! -S -
Remus smiled, and jumped out of bed (upsetting both owls and making them hoot in indignation), and went to his desk. He grabbed a quill and some parchment and scribbled :
-H'lo, Siri!
It's all right, I asked my parents ages ago about meeting you guys in Diagon Alley, and they said we could go whenever I want! I'll meet you down there on the 29th. Can't wait to hear more about your camping trip - how many poor innocent Muggles did you scare?
See you soon,
Remmie-
He folded up the note, and Oberon landed on the desk and held out his leg obediently. Remus tied the note to Oberon's leg, took him to the window, and watched as the owl soared away.
"Remus! Breakfast!" his mother called from downstairs.
"In a minute, Mum," he called. Before he went downstairs, he paused to comb his hair. He studied his reflection in the mirror, pleased. He had been trying to grow his hair out for months, and only just now was it beginning to show some improvement. It wasn't quite shoulder-length, but it was long and shaggy enough for his mother to complain about it. Good enough.
When Remus trudged into the kitchen, it was to find his father, his sister, and his two brothers sitting at the table. His mother was at the stove. Remus sat down, and his mother placed a bowl of porridge in front of him. Remus *hated* porridge. Especially in the summer. Trying not to think of all the slimy, lumpy, terrible things porridge reminded him of, he began to eat.
"Have you heard from your friends yet?" his mother asked. She loved his friends, and Remus supposed it was because she had always thought no one would want to be friends with a werewolf. She didn't know that Remus' friends had figured out the truth, and certainly she didn't know that they were going to become Animagi to help her son.
"Just now, Mum," Remus said. "They wanted to know if the 29th sounded good."
"Of course, of course!" his mother said happily. "We can get Serena's things at the same time."
Remus gulped. He had forgotten that his sister was starting at Hogwarts this year. He glanced over at her.
Serena Lupin was eleven years old and a spoiled brat. Remus supposed this had something to do with being the youngest as well as the only girl. She had long, straight, light brown hair and hazel eyes. Often family and friends remarked on how much she and Remus looked like twins. Remus shuddered to think that he was anything like her. The kid was a complete psycho.
"Uh, okay," he muttered, taking his porridge bowl to the sink.
~August 29 - Diagon Alley~
"Now, Remus," Mrs. Lupin said, handing him his money, "Mind you keep a close eye on your sister. Don't let her wander off alone!"
"Yes Mum," Remus sighed. Just what he needed. To haul his little sister along shopping. He hoped his friends wouldn't mind.
"Come on, let's go," he said to Serena, tugging on her hand. They wandered past Quality Quidditch Supplies and Madame Malkin's Robes For All Occasions, but didn't see the rest of the Marauders. To escape from the crowd, they ducked into Flourish and Blotts.
"Remmie! Remmie! Oy, Remus Lupin!" an excited voice called, and Remus grinned when he saw James, Sirius, and Peter heading for him.
James seized him in a tight hug, then released him only to be pulled into the clutches of Sirius. "How've you been, mate?" Sirius asked.
"Bloody fantastic, Siri. Unhand me, I can't breathe."
Sirius let go, and Peter timidly held his hand out. Remus ignored it and hugged him instead. Peter flushed bright pink, but hugged back.
"Who's this?" Sirius asked, noticing Serena.
"This is my sister, Serena," Remus said. "She's starting at Hogwarts this year. Sere, these are my friends - James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew."
"How do you do?" Sirius asked daintily, making a poor attempt at a curtsey. They all laughed, Serena blushing furiously.
'Oh no,' Remus thought unhappily, noticing her flushed cheeks and the direction of her stare, 'She's got a crush. On Sirius!'
"You've got to see something, Remmie," James ordered. "Come on!"
He grabbed Remus by the arm and pulled him to the back of the store. A large cage had been set up, and in it was the strangest sight Remus had ever seen. Above the cage was a sign reading 'The Monster Book of Monsters'.
A group of large, green-bound books were in the cage, snapping at biting at each other. Astounded, Remus and Serena watched as two of the books started fighting. The manager came running over, and poked a cane in between the bars of the cage. "Stop it, stop it!" he cried. After separating the books, he glanced at Remus and Serena. "Hogwarts?" he asked. "How many copies do you need?"
Remus looked at his booklist, and saw the 'Monster Book of Monsters' was the book needed for Care of Magical Creatures. "Only one," he replied.
"Stand back," the manager said grimly, and took out a pair of fire tongs. He gingerly opened the top of the cage, reached in with the tongs, and finally captured a Monster Book. He held the book out to Remus, with the binding facing him. "Stroke it," he ordered.
Hesitantly, Remus reached out and ran a finger down the spine of the book.
The manager pulled it from between the tongs and handed it to him. Remus took it reluctantly, but was surprised to find it had stopped moving.
After getting the rest of Remus' and Serena's books, they left Flourish and Blotts for Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. On the way, Remus remembered something Sirius had mentioned in his letter.
"Siri?" he asked. "What did you want to show me?"
Sirius stopped, and grinned. "I can't believe I almost forgot! Take a look!"
He turned his head slightly, and pulled back a hank of hair. "I got my ear pierced!"
Sure enough, a small silver hoop dangled from his left ear.
"Wow, Siri, that's -" Remus began, but hesitated. The word that trembled on his lips was 'sexy', but since when had Sirius ever been sexy to him?
"-Really groovy," he finished.
"Thanks," said Sirius happily. "And I like your hair, Remmie."
He reached out and stroked Remus' shaggy hair, running his fingers through the honey-silver strands, and Remus blushed. He really wanted to freeze time right then - just to have Sirius' hand on him forever.....
"Come on, let's go!" Peter called, startling Remus. Sirius jumped too, and Remus was surprised to see a blush spreading across his friend's cheeks. Why was Sirius blushing?
"Remus, will you buy me a choco-nut sundae?" Serena begged, tugging on his arm. "Please?"
"Uh, sure, Sere," Remus said, glancing at Sirius from the corner of his eye. Sirius was looking across the street at Madame Malkin's, apparently very interested in a display of dress robes. Remus turned to follow Peter and James, and saw James looking suspiciously between him and Sirius. James grabbed Sirius by the arm.
"We'll be right along, save us seats," James said to Remus, Serena, and Peter.
James pulled Sirius into an alley to get out of the crowd.
"What was that about?" he asked curiously.
"What was what about?" Sirius replied innocently.
"You - and Remus!" said James. "You were looking at him like - well, like my dad looks at my mum."
Sirius spluttered with laughter. "Jim! You think - you think I *fancy* Remmie?"
James waited until Sirius had calmed down some, then nodded. "Yes, Sirius, I do."
Sirius sniggered. "Sure, Jim. And Snape has a thing for Pete. Come on, let's got get some ice cream."
James followed Sirius uncertainly into the ice cream parlour. Sirius had never been too good at denying things when he was around James; they had known each other since they were born, and James supposed their closeness had made it impossible for Sirius to lie to him. But the closeness may have been the only thing which helped James to see Sirius' feelings about Remus - it was so out of the ordinary, so non-Sirius, that it had been painfully obvious to James. But no one else had noticed it - no one in the world was as close to Sirius as James Potter was.
He sat down beside Sirius and poked at his choco-nut sundae, only half-listening to his friends' conversation. Before they left Florean Fortescue's, James had made up his mind. As soon as he could, he was going to get Sirius alone and give him a good talking-to.
~September 2 - the Great Hall~
"Oooh, we're starting new subjects today," Remus said happily, looking at his schedule. "Care of Magical Creatures, and Divination!"
"You're the only dorkus I know who gets excited over new subjects, Remmie," Sirius said, poking Remus in the ribs.
"And 'dorkus' isn't even a proper word, you moron," Remus said disdainfully. "Keep your hands to yourself."
James laughed, almost choking on his bacon. "And you're also the only person we know who corrects grammar at breakfast," he giggled. "Honestly, Remmie, you're going to be a professor when you grow up."
Sirius clutched his heart and pretended to faint. "A teacher! Heavens to Betsy! Following *rules* and giving students *detention*? Not dear, sweet Remmie!"
"At least I have a chance of growing up, unlike *some people*, who will be silly children forever," Remus replied, casting a meaningful glance at Sirius.
"Um, guys?" Peter asked timidly. "I think we ought to go..."
He was right; breakfast was nearly over. With a groan, the Marauders picked up their bags (Peter sneaking doughnuts into his pockets for later) and headed out across the grounds to a large paddock, where some of their fellow third-year Gryffindors were gathered. Lily Evans smiled and waved at James, who blushed furiously as he waved back (being elbowed by a sniggering Sirius).
"Wonder who we're having these lessons with?" Peter wondered out loud.
"As long as it's not-" James started, but cut himself off with a groan.
Severus Snape and his cronies were approaching, sneering at the sight of the Marauders.
"Well," he said silkily, "Fancy meeting *you* here."
He was obviously still furious over last year's hair-dyeing incident. The note of rage in his voice was too evident to be ignored. Sirius glared right back at Snape, and James couldn't help noticing the way Sirius edged a little closer to and in front of Remus, as if he wanted to shield Remus from Snape and his gang.
"Good morning, class!" a cheerful voice called, and everyone turned in surprise to see Professor Kettleburn, a tall, strong man with a bald head and long red beard, approaching.
"Are we ready?" Professor Kettleburn asked, his eyes twinkling in a way that reminded Remus forcefully of Dumbledore. "Come, now, follow me!" He led them around to a paddock close near the gamekeeper's hut. "Our first lesson - you'll love it - unicorns!"
The girls in the class (even the Slytherin girls) squealed loudly as Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper, appeared, leading a pearly-white unicorn across the paddock towards the class.
"'Ere you are, Professor," Hagrid grunted. "C'mon, you, get over 'ere," he said kindly to the unicorn, which tossed its head nervously, but approached the fence.
"Thank you, Hagrid," Professor Kettleburn said, beaming.
He turned to the class, and threw open his arms as if expecting a hug from an enthusiastic family member - a doting aunt, perhaps. "Unicorns!" he announced again in his booming voice. "Beautiful creatures, aren't they? But be cautious" - he held up one pudgy, sausage-sized finger - "For once they're grown, unicorns don't trust males as much. So, ladies, if you'd follow me-"
Professor Kettleburn led the girls into the paddock, and the unicorn approached them eagerly. The boys leaned on the fence and watched the girls petting the unicorn.
Remus was startled by Snape, who leaned on the fence beside him and said casually, "What's with your hair, Lupin? Forget where you kept the scissors? Or have you had your nose stuck in sissy romance novels all summer, and was too busy mooning over those to remember to cut it?"
Remus blushed, and shrank back. Sirius, however, glared at Snape, shaking his long hair out of his eyes and stepping forward. "Leave him alone, Snape," he snarled.
One of Snape's slender eyebrows arched. "Sticking up for him, are you, Black? Defending the honor of your boyfriend, are you?"
Remus felt his face going even redder; but to his surprise, Sirius had seemed to falter at Snape's last comment. Snape's smirk widened, and Remus looked at Sirius. A flush had begun to spread across his friend's cheeks.
"Just shut up, Snape," Sirius said hollowly. "Just shut the hell up."
He turned his back on them all, and went back to watching the unicorn.
Snape smirked. He knew what Sirius was thinking, even if Sirius didn't.
~*~*~*~*~
"Hurry up, we'll be late!" Remus panted, hurrying up the dizzying spiral staircase leading up to the Divination classroom.
"We've-still-got-two-minutes!" Peter panted, struggling to keep up. Remus was extremely fast when he knew he might be late for a class.
Remus skidded to an abrupt halt, making Peter, Sirius, and James crash into him.
"Ow!" James complained. "When you stop short, Remmie, you could tell a guy!"
"What's the holdup?" Sirius wanted to know.
The rest of the Gryffindors were all gathered on the landing, underneath a circular trapdoor. A sign on the door read, 'Hotaru Tomoe, Divination teacher'.
"What are we supposed to do, Apperate up there?" James asked grumpily.
"You can't Apperate inside the castle, Jim," Remus reminded him. "And we aren't old enough to Apperate yet."
"I was only kidding-" James started, but was cut off as the circular trapdoor opened, and a sparkly purple ladder lowered itself to the floor. The Gryffindors climbed up and emerged in a dim, circular room decorated mainly in purple and burgundy. The light came only from the fireplace and the small candles which stood on small tables around the room. The tables were surrounded by armchairs and small poufs. The Marauders sat down around the same table to wait.
"Good afternoon," a misty, moody voice said, and the class jumped. Out of the shadows came a woman whom Remus assumed to be Professor Tomoe. She was a short, slender woman with china-white skin and shoulder-length black hair. She was dressed in a purple kimono with embroidered silver butterflies and a burgundy obi. She had dark blue eyes, and gave off an air of fragility.
"Very good," she said, looking round at them, a ghost of a smile playing on her pale lips. "You have chosen to study Divination. Bravo! Divination is one of the most complex things you will ever study. Complex - yet fascinating."
She sat, and continued, "And yet, let me inform you that true Seers are rare. If you do not have the Sight, there is little I can teach you."
Sirius smirked and shook his head. Around the room, other students were looking as mystified as Remus felt.
"We will start with reading the tea leaves," Professor Tomoe said. "I want each of you to divide into pairs, fetch a teacup and bring it to me. I shall fill it, then you shall drink until only the leaves are left. Then swirl the dregs three times with the left hand; turn the cups over to drain and switch with your partner."
Well, this was a surprising lesson, Remus thought to himself as the class got up to retrieve teacups. Professor Tomoe filled them, and the Marauders went back to their table, trying to drink the tea quickly. Remus traded with Peter, sending an occasional glance at Sirius and James, who were giggling.
"Right, then," Sirius sniggered, looking into James' teacup. "You've got - um, it looks like - uh - hmm. It looks like a pile of crap." He pretended to consult 'Unfogging The Future'. "Sorry, Jim. A pile of crap means you're going to be stabbed to death by a midget in a wedding gown."
Remus choked back laughter as he tried to decipher the shapes in Peter's cup. James leaned across the table and smacked Sirius in the head. "You prat." He opened his own copy of 'Unfogging The Future'. "You've got a donkey. It means you're going to be a jackass when you grow up. *If* you grow up. But it's too late - you're already a jackass."
Sirius stuck his tongue out at James, then they started laughing. Peter smiled, looking down into Remus' cup. "You've got - it looks like - a banana?" he stopped, confused. Sirius giggled uncontrollably.
"A banana! Pete, what kind of fortune-telling is this?" Sirius giggled, leaning over to peer into the cup. "It looks more like a pencil," he said. "Who knows, Remmie. Maybe you'll be a writer." He stopped to consider this. "Or maybe you'll draw violent porn comics."
They all stopped, stared at each other, then began laughing again.
"Really, now!" Professor Tomoe said sharply, appearing at Peter's shoulder. "What is going on? Do you need some help?"
"Yes, please, Professor," said Peter seriously.
Professor Tomoe took Remus' cup from Peter and began to examine it. "Strange...." she mused. "The moon..... a change is in store for you. And - what looks like a star - a dark-haired lover awaits you..." - Remus blushed - "And...... a dagger... grave misfortune later in life.... An unusual cup, my dear....." she said, handing the cup back to Peter.
"Hmm. Quite the interesting future you're going to have, Remmie!" Sirius said cheerfully as Professor Tome drifted away to help the students at the next table. "But don't introduce me to that dark-haired lover of yours - I just might steal her away."
~*~*~*~*~
After Divination, they marched down to dinner, and had just sat down when Serena showed up.
"Hi Remus!" she said, plunking down next to him. Remus groaned inwardly. The last thing he needed at dinner was his insane sister bugging him.
Serena glanced shyly at the others. "Hi, James, Peter... hi, .... Sirius."
Now that was just too obvious. Remus almost laughed out loud. How could Sirius miss his sister's crush on him?
"H'lo, Serena," Sirius said, and his grin widened. "Hey, Jim, look!"
James nearly choked on his steak-and-kidney pie. Coming towards them was Lily Evans.
She paused, and her brilliantly green eyes moved from one of them to the other, finally resting on James. "Hello," she said, almost as shyly as Serena. "Mind if I sit here?"
"Sure, Lil," Sirius said, grinning widely (James looked petrified at the thought of Lily sitting next to him). Lily sat next to James, blushing almost as deeply as he was. She looked at Serena, then at Remus. "Is this your sister, Remus?"
"How could you tell?" Remus grumbled.
"You two look so much alike."
"So I've heard," Remus said grumpily.
Lily took the hint and turned to Serena, smiling. "You've just started at Hogwarts, right?"
"Yup!" Serena said proudly. "Now I can keep Remus out of trouble. Mum said I had to!"
Remus blushed. Oh, how he hated his sister at times.
~September 13 - Charms Corridor~
"Serena, isn't that your brother?" Usagi Chikamatsu asked, craning her neck to see over the heads of passing students.
Serena glanced up from her Charms text. "Yeah, that's Remus. Why, Bunny?"
Usagi (called 'Bunny' by her friends, since her name meant 'rabbit') shrugged. "I dunno. He seems awfully close with James Potter and - who's the guy with the long hair?"
"That's Sirius Black," Serena said, ducking her head and blushing. "He's one of Remus' friends."
Bunny frowned. "He's weird. You think he might be - well, I think he likes your brother."
Serena giggled. "Bunny!" she shrieked. "Remus - with *Sirius Black*?! Sirius is the most gorgeous guy in school - I don't think he's got his eye on my brother when he could have any girl he wanted!"
"You *like* him, don't you?" Bunny teased.
"Of course I like him, he's my brother," Serena said, playing innocent.
Bunny punched her in the arm. "You liar! You know I meant Sirius!"
Serena giggled, blushed deeper, and leaved over to whisper in Bunny's ear. "Don't you dare tell anyone - but I want to make him mine!"
~September 19 - Great Hall~
Remus sighed, poking at his beef stew. It was the sixth night in a row that his sister and Lily Evans had sat with them at dinner. Remus didn't mind Lily; in fact, she and Remus usually enjoyed serious discussions about schoolwork and classes while James and Sirius goofed off. But Serena - Remus was tired of her. Not a good way to feel towards your sister, but it was true. She was *annoying*. All she did at mealtimes was flirt with Sirius, who seemed to be enjoying it. Watching Serena flip her hair and flutter her eyelashes at Sirius got tiring in three minutes and made Remus feel ill. But there was more to it that that - whenever he looked at the two of them, laughing together (and James simultaneously elbowing Sirius and blushing whenever he glanced at Lily) made him feel weird. Was it jealousy?
~Remus' Journal - September 30~
-I've been having the strangest dreams lately. I don't understand them at all, but they make me feel so weird. Just last night, I dreamt I was walking across the Quidditch field, and then I saw a huge black dog sitting just under the goalposts. I thought it was a Grim, but it ran over to me, wagging its tail, with not a trace of menace. It jumped up on me, knocked me down, licked my face...... and then the dream changed - I was lying on my bed instead of the Quidditch field, and the dog was gone. Instead, Sirius was kneeling over me. He was smiling, but looking shy at the same time..... then he leaned down and kissed me. A real kiss, on the lips.......Does this mean anything? Could I be - in love with Sirius?-
~September 30 - Slytherin common room~
Severus Snape sat with his chin resting on his hand, staring into the fire with slightly glazed eyes. Lucius Malfoy, who was sitting beside him, studied his friend's expression and thought perhaps Snape was not really seeing the fire. He looked lost in thought.
"Severus?" Lucius asked curiously. "Are you alright?"
Snape shook himself and turned to Lucius. "What?" he snapped, sounding more like his easily-irritated self.
"I asked if you were alright, is all," Lucius replied crossly. "Sorry to disturb your inner peace." Though he doubted Severus Snape had any peace of any kind.
Snape grumbled and went back to staring moodily into the depths of the fire, allowing himself to return to his daydreams of soft kisses, pleading eyes, and honey-silvery hair....
~October 2 - the Library~
"Boy, this is going to be complicated," Peter said, wide-eyed, peering over James' shoulder at the heavy book on Transfiguration which James' aunt had sent him.
"Dangerous, too," Remus said with worry. "Look at this. Who knew it could go so *wrong*?" He pointed to a picture of a wizard with a horse's head.
Sirius chuckled and gave Remus' shoulder a squeeze. "Relax, Remmie. These people are a bunch of prats who probably can't tell if they're holding their wand right way up. We'll be okay."
"But something could happen..." Remus trailed off, thinking of what a shame it would be if Sirius had to go through the rest of his life with the head of an animal - especially if it was the head of something like - like a platypus or something.
"Well, we've just got to try, haven't we?" James said, closing the book. "Don't panic, Remmie, we'll be careful and all. Trust me."
Remus knew he could trust James - but it didn't ease his fear. "But what if you get caught? You'd get expelled or something!"
"You worry too much, Remmie," Sirius said cheerfully. "Trust me, it'll be okay!"
"I wonder what we should be?" Peter mused.
"It says the form chooses the wizard, Pete," James said. "I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."
"Maybe I'll be a giant squid," Sirius sniggered. "That'd be fun, don't you think?"
"No!" said Remus, "You'd wouldn't look so-"
There it was again, the word 'sexy', trembling on his lips. It had almost slipped out again! He had to control himself.
"-So much like Sirius," he finished lamely, and bent back over his homework.
Sirius shrugged. "I was only kidding. And isn't that the point - *not* to look like ourselves?"
Remus didn't answer. A thought had just occurred to him - what if Sirius became a wolf? He was surprised and a little scared to find that the idea excited him.
He shouldn't be thinking like that! Another wolf being around might wake up his territorial instincts and make him angry. He might even try to fight Sirius, and hurt him.
'I can't let that happen!' he thought forcefully to himself.
~Sirius' Journal - October 17~
-Something weird's going on with Remmie, I think. He was acting really strange in the library the other day. And come to think about it, he's been avoiding being alone with me. When it's me and him, and Pete and Jim, or just three of us, he's just like always. But when he's alone with me, he gets really quiet and shy. I wonder why. Quiet and shy - a trait not shared by his sister! I mean, she's a cute bird, but not really my type. She flirts with me a lot at mealtimes and in the common room. I wonder if that's Remmie's problem? Does he think I'm going to elope with his sister or something? Ha-ha, there's an idea. Yeah, and maybe Jim'll elope with Lily Evans. Ha-ha, I don't think so, kid.
Oops. I hear Pete coming. I'd better hide this thing.-
~October 25~
Sirius and James were in trouble again.
It was Transfiguration, and right now Professor McGonagall was yelling at Sirius and James for turning their desk into a cow, which was now wandering around the room, mooing loudly.
"THIS IS NO TIME FOR TOMFOOLERY!" McGonagall shrieked at them. "TRANSFIGURATION IS SERIOUS!"
Well, Remus thought to himself, it wasn't too many third years who could Transfigure the furniture into animals; you had to admit, James and Sirius were clever indeed. He stifled a laugh as the cow mistook Sally Parks' hair for hay and attempted to take a bite. Sally shrieked and leaned away, nearly toppling over in her chair. Professor McGonagall ran over to the cow and shouted, "Finite Incantatem!" The cow turned back into a desk, levitated back across the room, and landed back in front of Sirius and James.
"Detention, both of you," Professor McGonagall said through gritted teeth.
Remus could tell that the threat of detention didn't bother James and Sirius in the slightest. Not much did.
"What a grouch," Peter whispered. Thankfully, McGonagall didn't hear him. Instead, she sent another piercing glare at James and Sirius before going to see if Sally was alright.
"Be glad she didn't decide to hold you back from Hogsmeade," Remus hissed to them. "You know how easily McGonagall gets mad."
Sirius smiled charmingly. "Don't fret, Remmie, dear," he said sweetly, patting Remus on the head. "Even old McGonagall can't keep the great Sirius Black from Hogsmeade!"
James laughed, but when the class had calmed down and gone back to copying notes off the board, he glanced over at Sirius every now and then. What he saw made him curious - Sirius kept shooting secretive glances at Remus (who hadn't noticed, his head bent studiously over his notebook), and blushing. James shook his head. Sirius could deny it all he wanted - he liked Remus! Now, if there was only something he could do about it - because, in James' humble opinion, Sirius and Remus would be perfect for each other.
~Halloween - first Hogsmeade weekend - the Three Broomsticks~
"I don't know how we ever lived without it," Sirius said dreamily, taking a deep draught from his tankard of butterbeer. "Great stuff, this."
"You watch it, Sirius, or you'll be one drunk wizard," Remus said in that mother-hen way they had all become accustomed to.
"Remmie's right," James said. "If you turn up drunk at detention tonight, Siri, McGonagall will make it worse for you!"
Sirius pulled a face and said sourly, "Thanks, Jim. Great way to ruin my Halloween feast - picturing McGonagall's mug. I don't see why we had to get detention anyway. I bet we're the only third years who turn tables into cows."
"That's the *point*, Siri," Remus sighed.
"Shows we're learning, love!" Sirius giggled.
James shook his head, Remus sighed, and Peter shrugged. Sirius was one weird guy at times.
"Hello, Sirius," a syrup-sweet voice said, and the Marauders all looked up at once to see Serena standing there. Remus recognized the annoyingly superior look on his sister's face. No doubt she was going to try something stupid.
"Hello, Sere," Sirius said cheerfully. "Pull up a chair."
Remus glowered as Serena pushed a chair in between him and Sirius and sat down, sitting so far over in her chair that she was in danger of falling into Sirius' lap. There was enough room on her chair for another person to sit in it.
Peter hid a smirk behind his tankard. Remus glared at him, and then glanced at James, who was fiddling with his napkin and looking up at the ceiling. No help there.
"I'll be right back," Remus excused himself, getting up. He was feeling rather ill at the sight of Serena cuddling up to Sirius.
He went outside and leaned against the wall beside the window, breathing a sigh of relief, and was surprised when James followed him out.
"Can I talk to you a minute, Remmie?" James asked, leaning casually against the wall beside him.
"Of course." Remus was surprised. He couldn't ever recall being alone with James - usually he and Sirius stuck together like glue.
"Are you jealous of your sister?"
The question was so out of the ordinary, and it took Remus by surprise. He stared at James. "Jealous?"
"Yeah. You know, because she's been so- so close to him lately?"
Remus snorted. "Please. Close? She doesn't know anything about him."
"I mean - you know, physically close."
"Jim!" Remus said, shocked. Was it that obvious? "You think I'm jealous of Sere just because she gets to play with his hair?"
James shook his head. "That's not what I meant," he said, and looked around at the crowded street. "Come on." He grabbed Remus' arm and pulled him behind the Three Broomsticks.
Once they were out of sight, James gave Remus a stern look. "Just tell me, Remus - are you in love with Siri, or not?"
Remus gaped at him. "Jim!"
"Just answer me. I promise not to mention a word to anyone. Not even Siri."
Remus hung his head. "I guess I am."
James fought the urge to whoop. "Really?"
"You don't hate me, do you, Jim?" Remus asked tearfully.
James shook his head and gave Remus' shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Why should I? I don't care if you love Siri - if you ask me you two are made for each other."
"Sure. But Sirius doesn't think so," Remus said bitterly, thinking of how much Sirius seemed to enjoy flirting with Serena - and he sure didn't mind ogling any other girls, either. "I think I'm going to go back in, Jim."
He went back into the pub to get his cloak, meaning to head back to the school. He was deeply displeased to see that Serena's best friend Bunny had taken his seat, and was giggling along with Serena and Sirius. Peter was blushing, obviously not comfortable with the girls. He looked relieved when Remus turned up, James trailing behind. Remus took his cloak off the back of his chair, and put it on. James cleared his throat significantly and glared at Sirius, who got the hint. He bid Serena and Bunny goodbye and followed James, Remus and Peter outside.
James glanced at Remus as they climbed the steps of the castle. Noting the unhappy look in the young werewolf's eyes, James vowed he'd give Sirius a talking-to tonight in detention.
~That night - Hospital Wing~
Sirius and James were in the hospital wing, scrubbing the floor. It was hard work, but James' mind wasn't on it.
"Siri?" he asked. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Do you like Remus' sister?"
Sirius laughed. "You're not taking it seriously, are you? His sister's sweet, but not my type. I'm only playing."
"Only playing," James repeated. "Playing with her affection? And if she's in love with you? Are you really going to break her heart just for a little fun?"
Sirius shrugged. "I'm not *trying* to hurt her, Jim," he said evenly. "It's her fault she's so stuck on me. And what brought this about in the first place?"
James paused. He didn't want to let Sirius know how Remus felt. He could pull this off - with a little discretion. And as long as he kept his temper. "I, um, think it's not right for you to do that to her. I think you might be - um, destined for someone else. I can tell."
Sirius smiled, tossing his ponytail over his shoulder. "Really, now. Are you a love psychic?"
"Goddammit, Sirius!" James swore, running a hand through his untidy hair in frustration. "Why do you have to be so frigging *stupid*? Can't you just *admit* it?"
Sirius smiled sweetly. "Admit *what*, dearest James?"
"You're in love - with Remus!" shouted James.
"You're still on about that?" Sirius asked in frank amazement. "Jim, old boy, you're cracking up."
"Do you think I don't notice?" James hissed, sounding so angry that Sirius stopped laughing. "Come on- I can't believe everyone else is so blind! It's bloody obvious, I see you looking at him all the time! Last year, on the camping trip, you *said* so- " he stopped, wondering how to proceed. Sirius wasn't supposed to know that James had been eavesdropping on him. But he had finally captured all of Sirius' attention. Sirius was now staring at him, looking utterly - excuse the unintentional pun - serious.
"How do you know that?" Sirius whispered. "Just how in the *hell* do you know that?"
James met his best friend's eyes a tad defiantly. "I heard you, you bloody prat. I was looking for you, Pete and Remmie and I were wondering where you had gotten off to - and I overheard you talking to yourself."
The color had faded from Sirius' face, and he sat down weakly on a bed. "I can't believe you heard that......" He looked down at the floor, and murmured, "I didn't want to let anyone know." Then he looked up, and said angrily, "And it's none of your business anyway, Jim. You're my best mate and I love you a lot - but my love life - what little I *have* at thirteen - shouldn't bother you."
"But Remus' well-being *does*," James retorted. "I hate to see him so depressed. Haven't you noticed how much he's been changing?"
Sirius had noticed, and figured it was just part of being a werewolf, but he didn't think mentioning that to James would improve the situation any. "No, I haven't, or at least not to such a drastic degree," he replied. "Come off it, Jim - it's just a phase he's going through."
Well, that seemed unlikely to James, but he could see that arguing was getting him nowhere fast. Sirius was so stubborn when he wanted to be.....
~Remus' Journal - November 1~
-Jim tells me Siri's being impossible again. I can see that much for myself - he and Jim seem to be having a bit of a fight. They must have had a blazing row at detention on Halloween.... they're acting pretty cool to each other lately. I asked Jim why, and he just shrugged and said, 'Because he's Sirius.' My guess is that Jim tried to ask him a few questions about me - I *know* Jim didn't tell him how I felt, Jim swore on his life he hadn't breathed a word - and Sirius refused to answer. In some ways, Sirius Black is the most puzzling, enigmatic person I've ever known....
~November 9 - Potions~
"I hate Potions, I hate Snape...." Sirius sang softly under his breath as he stirred. "I hate Professor Kirk, I hate Slytherins......"
James ignored Sirius' singing, and added the stewed slugs to the potion. Only part of his mind was concentrated on the potion (hopefully a big enough part to keep him from screwing it up and getting himself and Sirius in trouble). The rest of his mind was thinking furiously. How to get Remus and Sirius together? He needed help. But who could he ask? Peter would probably faint dead away at the possibility of Sirius being gay, and James knew he *WOULD* faint if he found out about Remus. There wasn't really anyone else to ask for help. Certainly not Snape! If Snape knew anything, Sirius just might as well tattoo 'I want to date Remus Lupin' on his forehead and take out an ad in the 'Daily Prophet'. Besides, involving Snape in anything made James feel ill. Hmm.
Professor Kirk startled James out of his thoughts. He was yelling at Peter again, who had somehow burned a hole in the marble top of his desk. Remus, who was partnering Peter, was holding his robes to his nose and waving smoke away with his other hand.
"Fool!" Professor Kirk snarled at Peter, who looked close to tears. "Didn't I *tell* you the dragon saliva was acidic? Detention, and five points from Gryffindor for not paying attention."
He swept back to his desk after fixing the hole in Peter's desk. Snape turned around to smirk at Peter, who was being comforted by Remus.
"Have you *ever* gotten anything right, Pettigrew?" he sneered.
"You're one to talk," Sirius snapped. "The only thing *you* can do perfectly is act like an evil, slimy git."
"Keep your insults to yourself, Black," Snape retorted.
"Then keep your ugly nose out of other people's business."
Snape's eyes narrowed, but then he smiled, a particularly nasty smile that James didn't like. "So used to protecting people, are you, Black? Well, then, how are you at protecting yourself?"
Remus mentally pleaded with Sirius not to take Snape's bait, but it didn't work.
"What do you mean? Sirius asked.
"How about a midnight duel, tonight, Trophy Room?" Snape suggested, an evil glint in his eyes. "Or are you too chicken?"
"I'll be there," growled Sirius. "Jim's my second; who's yours?"
"Lucius Malfoy," Snape said smoothly. "See you there."
He turned back to his work, and James looked at Sirius, an eyebrow raised.
"Sorry, Jim," Sirius muttered apologetically. "I shouldn't have made you do it if you're still mad at me."
But James grinned at him. "You think I can stay mad at you for long? The temptation of seeing Snape getting shown up is too great to resist."
Sirius grinned back. "Thanks, Jim." He looked around, then said softly, "I'm sorry, ok?"
"Apology accepted." said James, punching him in the shoulder. "Now, about this duel..."
Remus breathed a silent sigh of relief as he watched James and Sirius scheming over their potion. Looked like things would be back to normal for a while, or at least as close to normal things could get when James Potter and Sirius Black were your friends......
~11:30 - Gryffindor Tower, Third Year Boys' Dorm~
"I can't believe you're going through with this," Peter said, shaking his head. "What if you get caught?"
"We won't," James said, a sneaky look on his face. "You've got to see what I scored this summer."
He crossed to his trunk and rummaged around inside it. He extracted a package wrapped in brown paper, and carried it back over to the others, who were sitting on Peter's bed. "I wasn't going to bring it to school," he admitted with a shrug. "But then I said, 'why not?' and packed it at the last minute. My uncle sent it to me from Romania."
He untied the string around the package and pulled off the brown paper. Inside was a long, silvery cloak.
Sirius' jaw dropped. "Jim! Your *uncle* gave you that?!"
"It's an Invisibility Cloak!" Remus breathed in awe, running a finger across the silky material.
James grinned. "And it's *our* ticket to getting around without being seen," he said to Sirius. "I mean, look at it - it could probably fit all four of us under it, no problem."
Sirius grinned back. "Let me guess - we're the only ones who know about it, right?"
"Exactly. So if Snape's just setting us up for Filch, we'll still have a great chance of getting back without getting caught."
"Groovy," Sirius said, glancing at the clock. "Almost quarter of, Jim, we'd better go."
"Right," said James. He and Sirius tugged the cloak over themselves, then after Peter and Remus checked to make sure nothing was visible, they left the dorm, crossed the common room, and climbed through the portrait hole.
The school was pitch black, with a torch lit every ten feet or so. James and Sirius crept along silently, trying their best not to make any noise. They got to the Trophy Room without meeting anyone, even one of the ghosts. They pulled off the cloak, and waited for Snape.
Snape and Malfoy showed up a couple of minutes later, panting and sweaty. They must have run all the way up from the dungeons at top speed to avoid being seen.
Snape's eyes narrowed. "How'd you get up here without anyone seeing you?" he demanded.
"Just lucky, I guess," James said airily. "Are we going to get on with this or not?"
"Fine," Snape said shortly, drawing his wand. "Let's go, Black."
The next few minutes were tense. Sirius and Snape kept shooting curses at each other and dodging them. James kept an eye on Lucius Malfoy, in case he decided to attack Sirius while Sirius wasn't looking. Sirius dodged a curse, pointed his wand at Snape, and cried, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Snape hit the floor with a thud, unable to move. Lucius turned to Sirius with a snarl, and raised his wand. But before he could even begin a spell, Filch's voice rang out:
"Who's there?"
Lucius whirled around to look at the door, his eyes wide with fear. While his back was turned, James and Sirius slipped out one of the back doors of the Trophy Room and pulled on the cloak.
They found themselves in a hallway they'd never been down before. Looking every which way for a sign of Filch, they crept down the hallway.
"Where *are* we?" Sirius whispered five minutes later.
"I don't know..." James muttered. "I can't see a thing, it's pitch dark..."
They took a left turn down another corridor and found themselves in a slightly brighter corridor decorated with pictures of food. They looked around curiously, and then they heard something that made them jump: Filch.
"Where are they?" Filch growled. They couldn't see him yet, but his voice and footsteps were getting closer. "Potter and Black again..... I'll get them this time, I will!"
Sirius gulped, and he and James broke into a run. Filch was right behind them, almost around the corner - a few more steps and he'd be right behind them - they took another turn and found themselves at a dead end, facing a huge painting of a bowl of fruit.
"We're done for!" Sirius moaned, resting his head against the wall. "He can't see us, but he knows we're here!"
James backed against the painting, wondering what to do. The cloak brushed a pear in the painting, and suddenly, it squirmed, giggling, and turned into a doorknob!
They stared at it in shock for a minute, then James grabbed the knob and turned it. The painting swung open, and they ducked into the room behind it, and not a moment too soon. The painting had barely swung shut when they heard Filch come down the dead-end corridor. They held their breath, waiting, and miraculously, Filch grumbled something incoherent and moved away.
James heaved a great sigh of relief, and pulled off the cloak. "Thank Merlin. I thought we were doomed."
"Me too," Sirius said, pulling his sweaty hair back into a ponytail.
"Greetings, sirs!" a voice suddenly squeaked from around their knees, making them jump. They looked around quickly, and saw who had spoken - a small, brown elf wearing a tea towel, tied toga-style, with the Hogwarts crest on it. It was a house-elf.
"Um, hi," Sirius said weakly. "D'you mind telling us where we are?"
"You is in Hogwarts' kitchens, sirs!" squeaked the elf. "My name is Bubby - may I help you?"
(A/N: Don't laugh! Bubby is my mum's nickname for our dog. His name is really Max... oh well....)
James looked around. "We're in the kitchens? Wow. Looks like we found something new, Siri." He looked down at the house-elf. "I'm James Potter, and this is my friend Sirius Black - we were trying to escape from Filch. D'you know how to get back to Gryffindor Tower from here?"
"Certainly, James Potter, sir!" Bubby said. "Follow me!"
He led them through the kitchens, to the fireplace. "Tap the third brick under the mantle, sirs! It will give you a secret passage up to Gryffindor Tower!"
James took out his wand and tapped the brick. A section of wall beside the fireplace slid open, revealing the foot of a staircase.
"Wow, thanks Bubby," Sirius said to the elf. "You've got us out of a tight spot."
"Would sirs like to take some food with you?" the elf asked hopefully.
"Sure!" said James. "I'm starving."
Almost immediately, six elves appeared, carrying a tray filled with eclairs, doughnuts, and pasties left from dessert. James and Sirius filled their pockets, then thanked the elves.
"Would sirs like to come back and visit?" Bubby asked hopefully as they entered the secret passage.
"Sure," said James, thinking of Remus and Peter. "We'll bring a couple of our other friends to meet you, too."
"All right! Goodbye, sirs!" Bubby replied cheerfully, and they started climbing the stairs.
It took a long time to climb the spiraling staircase, and they were both sweaty and dizzy when they reached the top. They emerged on a small landing, and sat down to rest.
"Should've asked for some pumpkin juice," Sirius said, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. James was examining the wall behind them, looking for a door.
"Siri, help me with this," he said, noting a large crate pushed against the wall. They pushed it aside, revealing a hole in the wall large enough to crawl through. They crawled through and found themselves in the hallway leading to Gryffindor Tower. As soon as they stepped away from the wall, a suit of armor slid back into place, hiding the hole they had crawled through.
"Wow," Sirius said as they hurried down the hall. "We could use that passage for great things, Jim."
James shot him a warning look as they approached the painting of the Fat Lady.
"Where have you been?" the Fat Lady asked, taking in their sweaty faces.
"Never mind, let us in - grindylow!" James said, and the Fat Lady swung open to let them in.
Exhausted, they climbed the stairs to their dorm. Opening the door, they found Peter, dozing on his bed, and Remus sprawled on his own bed, reading a huge, heavy book.
"You're back!" Remus said, closing his book and sitting up. "What happened?"
"Let me wake Pete up first," James said, and went to shake Peter awake while Sirius emptied all the pastries out of his pockets. Remus watched with wide eyes. "Where did you get all *that*?"
"The kitchens," responded Sirius, sitting down on Remus' bed. "Want anything?"
"I do," said Peter, who had finally gotten up. He took an eclair and began to eat, and James and Sirius told their story.
"Wow," said Remus when they were finished. "Sounds to me like you were operating on pure dumb luck - but it's still groovy."
"I can't wait to go," Peter said excitedly as they got into their beds. "But let's make sure Filch isn't nearby, okay?"
~December 24 - Christmas Eve~
The Marauders were sprawled about the Gryffindor common room, eating snacks they had gotten from the kitchens earlier that day and listening to Sirius' Beatles records. They were the only ones left in Gryffindor Tower; every other student had gone home. Most thankfully, Serena had decided to go at the last minute. Remus figured it was because Sirius had been slowly cooling towards her over the last few weeks. Frankly, Remus was glad. Now that Serena and Bunny had begun leaving them alone, things were back to normal. Lily still sat with them at dinner, but she was much more fun to be around.
Remus was scribbling madly away at a Transfiguration essay, wanting to get his homework done. James and Sirius were lying side by side on the carpet in front of the fire, reading thick books on Animagus transformations and taking notes. Peter was writing a letter home. It was very cozy and peaceful, and the only thing that could spoil it was the full moon... which was tonight.
"Hey, look at this," Sirius said suddenly. Remus put down his quill and went to kneel beside Sirius, and Peter followed.
Sirius was pointing out a section entitled 'Animagi Rules And Regulations'. Skimming it, Remus saw it was mainly a paragraph explaining the importance of registering yourself once you became an Animagus. It only made him worry more.
"I told you you'd be breaking a lot of rules," he said. "Are you *sure* you want to do this?"
Sirius punched him playfully in the arm. "Yes, we do!"
"We knew what we're getting into when we started planning this," James said. "We're willing to go through with it, and damn the consequences."
Remus was touched, and probably would have started to cry if the portrait hole hadn't swung open just then. Professor McGonagall entered with Madame Pomfrey.
Remus heaved a shuddery sigh, and got up. He put his homework away in the dorm and came back downstairs, trying to ignore the looks of pity on McGonagall's and Pomfrey's faces. "See you later," he said unhappily to Peter, James, and Sirius, and allowed himself to be led out of the common room.
As soon as the portrait closed, Sirius sighed sadly, running a hand through his long hair. "Poor Remmie," he said. "We've really got to get cracking on this.... I don't like to think of him being alone like that."
~Christmas - 5 A.M.~
The exhausted wolf laid down on the foot of the bed, trembling. It licked a bleeding paw gingerly, whimpering deep in its throat at the pain. Another long night of pain and rage. The wolf closed its eyes, still whimpering. Not even the promise of sunrise made it feel any better. Last night had been especially hard. The transformation had been awful, even worse than usual, and he had been in a blind rage for most of the night, tearing paper from the walls, breaking furniture, howling and screaming in anger. Now the wolf was completely worn out, and it finally slept, stirring uneasily during terrible, unspeakable dreams.
~Christmas - 10 A.M.~
"Happy Christmas, Remmie."
Remus opened his eyes to see James, Sirius, and Peter sitting beside his bed. He blinked a few times, looking blearily around the hospital wing, then smiled. "Happy Christmas, guys."
"How do you feel?" Sirius asked anxiously, and Remus had to smile. Sirius sounded just like his mother.
"I've been better," he said. "But I'll be okay."
James smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. "We brought your presents down for you, if you want to open them now, but you don't have to. We can wait if you want to."
Remus smiled back at him. "Thanks. But I think I'd better wait a while. You didn't buy me anything that would go bad, did you?" he said, glancing at Peter, who had been known to try and give cheese samplers to people - only to have them go bad long before Christmas.
They all shook their heads, and then Sirius asked, "You don't want your homework, do you? Because, if I have to -" he grimaced - "I'll bring it to you...."
Remus laughed out loud. It never failed - his friends always managed to cheer him up after his transformations. "No, Siri, I don't want my homework. You don't have to touch it and contaminate yourself. Even though that might be a good idea."
Sirius mock-growled at him, then lowered his voice so Madame Pomfrey couldn't hear. "We read some more last night after you left. It's getting pretty complicated. But we *did* find a whole step-by-step process to show us what to do.... Can you believe it? *Anyone* in this school can become an Animagus if they just feel like looking it up."
"It's going to take a long time, though...." Peter said.
"I know," Sirius sighed heavily. "But we'll get it in the end - we have to."
~January 4 - Divination~
Remus was back in classes by now, starting only a day late. He had missed Herbology this morning, because Madame Pomfrey had taken so long fussing over him, but had gotten to Divination just in time.
Professor Tomoe was sitting in her usual armchair near the fire, back in her purple kimono. Nearly everything she wore was either purple or burgundy. She looked dreamily round the class and said, "Today, we're going to begin palmistry. Split up into pairs, and then I'll give you further instructions."
James saw his possibility at once. "Remmie, why don't you work with Siri?" he muttered to Remus.
Remus gulped. "You expect me to ask him?"
James shook his head in exasperation. "Never mind, I'll do it - Pete, work with me. Siri, you and Remmie."
Sirius raised an eyebrow, already guessing James' motive, but he didn't say a word. He and Peter switched seats, and waited for Professor Tomoe's instructions.
"Palmistry is really quite simple," she began. "Follow the guide on Page 577 of 'Unfogging The Future' to help you decipher the lines in your partner's hand, and to see the significance of each line. I will be coming round to help you if you need it."
Sirius looked at Remus and raised an eyebrow. "Pretty dodgy, if you ask me," he said, as they flipped through their copies of 'Unfogging the Future' to find the right page. "Why did we take Divination, anyway?"
"Because I thought it was interesting, Jim agreed, you always tag along with Jim, and Pete always does whatever you and Jim do." Remus responded.
"Cheeky..." Sirius grumbled. "Okay, here we are. Palmistry. Gimme your hand, Remmie."
Remus held out his hand, a trifle nervously, and Sirius took it. He was very aware of the butterflies in his stomach as Sirius ran a finger along his palm, muttering to himself and glancing frequently at his book.
"Um, okay." said Sirius uncertainly. "I'm not sure I'm doing this right, but let's try this - I think you have a long lifeline. So, you're gonna live for a while. I think. Unless I have the wrong line."
"How comforting," Remus said sarcastically.
Sirius laughed, and said, "Um, let's see. This line here - is this a heart line? I'm not sure. Guh. Remmie, you've got too many lines in your hand."
"You buffoon," Remus said, giggling. "Let me try."
Now it was Sirius' turn to feel nervous, as Remus began carefully examining his palm, murmuring things here and there. Sirius barely heard what he said. He felt like he was going to pass out very soon - but *why*?! It was Remmie, for Pete's sake! One of his best friends! There shouldn't be any reason why some stupid Divination thing should make him feel like this. Unless Jim was right?
~Sirius' Journal - January 5, 2 A.M.~
-I just don't feel like sleeping tonight. I feel so wide awake. I finished all my homework and even got a jump start on the next chapter in Charms - this isn't like me. Okay, yeah, I always get my work done, but usually at the last minute. What's wrong with me? It's been like this all day. I feel kind of like I'm in a dream or something. I can't really remember much of what I did after Divination this morning. It's all kind of hazy in my head. Goddammit! It's Remmie again. He really screws me up sometimes. I wonder why? Jim still thinks I'm in love with him, but Jim's daft. I'm not in love with Remmie! He's a *guy*, for pity's sake. No way. Sometimes I think -
Sirius stopped writing, listening intently. Someone was coming down into the common room. He hastily closed his journal and hid it under his Transfiguration book, and just in time. A split second later, Serena Lupin entered the room.
"Hello, Sirius," she said coyly.
"Hello, Serena," Sirius said warily. He didn't much like the look on Serena's face. She hadn't spoken to him in weeks - since before Christmas, actually. So what did she want now?
"Still up?" she asked in mild surprise. "Doing homework?"
"I can't sleep," he said stiffly.
She smiled sweetly at him. "Neither can I."
Sirius really didn't like where this was going. "Um, I think I'm going to go put this away," he mumbled, packing up his books.
"Stay here with me for a while," Serena pleaded, resting a hand on his arm. "Please, Sirius..."
Sirius shook his head and started to walk away. Serena jumped up and called to him, "Sirius, please come back! I - I love you!"
Sirius stopped on the stairs and turned to look at her. "Serena," he said quietly, "Don't waste your time on me."
"Waste?" she laughed, and followed him up the stairs. She caught him by the sleeve. "I couldn't waste anything on you!"
He looked at her sorrowfully. "Are you doing this to annoy Remus?"
She started at him in disbelief. "What does *he* have to do with *us*?"
"There is no *us*," Sirius said, opening the door to his dorm. "Goodnight, Serena."
Serena stood outside the closed door for several minutes, open-mouthed and stunned. She finally shook herself out of her daze and headed to her dorm, getting angrier and angrier by the minute.
"I swear, I'll make him pay," she vowed as she got into bed.
~February 5 - Care of Magical Creatures~
The Marauders were shivering out on the grounds, standing as close to the fire as they could. Professor Kettleburn had them all collecting wood for the fire, which was home to the creatures they were now studying - salamanders. This was a good thing, because Care of Magical Creatures was less than pleasant outside in the icy winds and ankle-deep snow. "Just you wait," Peter had predicted darkly. "March comes next - rain and sleet. I hate winter!"
"I'm cold, I'm cold, I'm cold...." Remus sang under his breath, rubbing his hands together. They were like ice, even with his mittens on. Peter was right. Winter was terrible.
"Me too, me too, affirmative and ditto," Sirius sang back, sticking his hands in his armpits to keep them warm. "Can't we stay inside and study - house-elves or something?"
"When I grow up, I'm moving to Alcopoco," Peter mumbled.
Snape passed them, glowering at James, who had been making jokes about grease fires since the lesson began. Well, he had. Right now, he felt like an ice cube, and he didn't feel like making any jokes. He'd have to open his mouth and let out hot air.
Sirius looked furtively around then muttered, "Remus? I think your sister's a nutzoid."
Remus snorted. "Be happy you don't have to live with her."
"I am, actually," he grumbled. "She might try to rape me or something if I did."
Peter blanched. "What?!"
Sirius waved a hand at him. "I was only kidding, Pete," he said. "But not about how obsessed she is. I mean, last night - she cornered me in the common room and was going on and on about me being her boyfriend or something like that."
"I told you something like this would happen," James scowled.
"What did you do?" Peter asked.
Sirius shook his head and dumped another armload of wood on the fire. "I told her the truth - I'm not in love with her."
"How did she react?" Remus asked suspiciously.
"I don't know, actually," Sirius admitted. "To be honest, I really didn't want to stick around and see."
Remus groaned. "This is bad. If I know my sister - which I do - she's going to make life miserable for you, Siri. And for me too, actually," he grumbled. "All summer long I'll have to listen to her plotting revenge."
James shook his head. "I told you so," he said to Sirius. "You daft sod. I hope she makes you really miserable."
Sirius grumbled something incoherent at him. Something that sounded like "My life is already miserable", but the bell rang at the same moment, drowning out Sirius' words.
~April 4 - Hogsmeade~
"You were right, Remmie!" Sirius wailed, burying his head in his hands. "Your sister is a *nightmare*! Make her go away!"
"I can't," Remus said. "Unfortunately. You're just going to have to apologize and hope for the best."
"I tried that," Sirius said as they entered Honeydukes'. "She's impossible to reason with!"
Well, Remus knew that, he had lived with the girl for eleven years. James punched Sirius on the arm. "What did I tell you?"
"Jim, you've been saying 'I told you so' for months here," Sirius moaned. "Give it up, already."
While Peter, Remus, and Sirius browsed through the shelves and barrels and crates of sweets, James hung back a bit, thinking hard. How to get rid of Remus' sister? Okay, maybe Sirius had been a prat to her, but even Sirius didn't need some maniac first-year trailing him around for the rest of his life. If only he was a girl. That might help some, he might understand Serena's crazy motives. But there was no way James could become a girl (good, he thought). Hmm.
He went to join his friends, still thinking. If only he could....... His eyes fell on a group of Gryffindor girls nearby. Lily Evans was one of them, and suddenly James had an idea. That just night work.....
~May 12, Gryffindor Common Room~
"I'll be right back," James said, getting up. The Marauders had all taken to studying in their dorm every night, seeing as it was the only place Serena wouldn't dare to follow them ('If you're sleeping there, Remus, all the dirty socks might attack me,' she had said in disgust one time).
"'Kay, Jim," Remus mumbled from behind an enormous book.
James went downstairs to the common room, hoping like mad that Lily would still be there. To his relief, she was, sitting with a group of her friends near the fire. If there was one thing James hated, it was approaching a girl with thousands of others giggling around her, but he summoned his courage and marched up to them.
"Lily?" he asked, sighing mentally when all her friends started to giggle. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure," she replied, getting up and following him to a corner.
"I need to ask you a favor, if you don't mind," James said.
"What is it?"
James hesitated, then took the plunge. "I need you to help me to get Remus' sister to leave Sirius alone."
One of Lily's eyebrows quirked. "Serena? What's she doing to Sirius? I thought he was the one all hung up on her."
James shook his head. "It's a long story..."
Lily smiled. "Hold on a minute."
She went over to her friends, said something, then took her books upstairs. She came back a minute later, and went back over to James. "Okay," she said with a grin. "What's going on?"
So James ended up telling her the whole story, about Serena's crush, and Sirius not taking it serio- err, at face value, and now how Serena wouldn't leave Sirius alone.
"...And now she won't stop bugging him," grumbled James, shaking his unruly bangs out of his eyes. "Remmie was right. She's a complete psycho!"
Lily shook her head. "And where, praytell, do *I* fit into this, James?"
"Well.... I thought you might want to help out," James said evasively.
Lily gave him a piercing green glare. "Out with it."
"Would you talk to Serena and see what her problem is?" James asked desperately.
Lily just stared at him for a long time, making James feel really uncomfortable.
"You want me to spy for you, then," she said finally.
"Um, well, it's not really spying - I mean, I could talk to her but - you're a girl and all -"
"Thanks for noticing." Lily said dryly.
James flushed. "What I meant was, maybe you could be all sympathetic and stuff - get her to tell you what's wrong... or convince her to leave Siri alone - or introduce her to a new guy or something...."
"You really are daft sometimes," Lily said. "That's impossible."
"Um, okay..." James mumbled sheepishly. "It's okay if you don't want to do it. Thanks anyway."
He got up to leave, but Lily stood too and grabbed his arm. "I didn't say I wasn't going to do it, James," she said.
This was unexpected. James turned to her, amazed. "What?"
"I said, okay," Lily said. "I'm always ready for a challenge, you know."
James brightened. "Wow! Thanks, Lil," he said, relieved, and on an impulse, kissed her cheek before running upstairs.
Lily blushed almost as red as her hair, and headed up up her own dorm. "What a nerd," she thought to herself.
~June 29 - Hogwarts Entrance~
James waited impatiently, wondering where Lily was. The carriages would be here at any minute. Where was Lily? He needed to talk to her, see what she had found out. He knew Serena would start bugging Sirius as soon as next term started; but maybe Lily had succeeded......
Lily showed up just as the first carriages did, looking upset.
"I'm sorry, James," she said. "It took me a few weeks to figure out how to argue my case... and our exams, I'm so sorry, I couldn't find out much."
"It's okay," James said, holding up a hand to his friends, who were calling him to get in the carriage. "Did you find out anything?"
"A little," Lily muttered, looking around warily. "Look, I can't tell you here - Serena's friends are right over there. I'll write to you over the summer, okay?"
"Okay," James sighed. "Thanks, Lil."
He climbed into the carriage with Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Life sure was getting complicated, he thought unhappily.
To Be Continued
Coming Soon : Year 4! James finds out what Serena's hiding, Remus gets a shock, and Sirius sinks deeper into denial. James seriously debates telling Lily about Remus' crush, and things get even more complicated when Snape shows up. Will it ever end??
(A/N : I must thank all the voice actors and actresses from Sailor Moon! I got a pile of Sailor Moon CD's for Christmas, and all I've been doing since then (besides trying to beat the basilisk in the CoS game) is listening to the CD's and writing. Some of the songs provided excellent inspiration!)
WARNINGS: Just to remind you, there's going to be Remus/Sirius slash soon!
Introducing: Remus and Sirius' families! I made them up myself, please don't steal them!
Most unfortunately, I had to add more Snapey-ness. Sorry about that. But by the next chapter, you'll see what I'm building up to.
~*~*~*~*~
Year 3 - Denial, Frustration, and Everything In Between
~August 23, 1977 - the Lupin house~
A steel-gray owl fluttered in through the open window of a bedroom on the second floor. It landed on the headboard of the bed and looked down at the person asleep in it. The person was, in fact, Remus Lupin.
Across the room, a tawny owl sitting on a perch had just noticed the presence of the newcomer. The tawny owl hooted loudly, hoping to get the attention of her owner. Remus stirred, then opened his eyes. He yawned, stretched, and sat up. The owl fluttered down into his lap.
"H'lo, Rose," Remus said sleepily, stroking his owl's head. Rose looked upward pointedly, and Remus turned to see a familiar gray owl sitting on his headboard. "Oberon!" Remus said, recognizing Sirius' owl. Oberon hooted and fluttered down to sit on his shoulder. Remus eagerly pulled the letter off the owl's leg, and began to read.
-Hey, Remmie!
Sorry it took me so long to answer you. We just got back from a vacation. Dad brought us to America to visit a cousin of his. We ended up going camping, which was really fun, 'cos we did it the Muggle way. And then my sis had to borrow Oberon to send a letter to her boyfriend - I'll be glad once they get married and OUT OF OUR HAIR. But anyway - I just wanted to know, are you coming to Diagon Alley with me and Jim and Pete next week, say, the 29th? Will your parents let you? They'd better, or we'll kidnap you! Nah, just kidding.
Hope to see you there!
Siri
P.S. I've got something to show you, too! -S -
Remus smiled, and jumped out of bed (upsetting both owls and making them hoot in indignation), and went to his desk. He grabbed a quill and some parchment and scribbled :
-H'lo, Siri!
It's all right, I asked my parents ages ago about meeting you guys in Diagon Alley, and they said we could go whenever I want! I'll meet you down there on the 29th. Can't wait to hear more about your camping trip - how many poor innocent Muggles did you scare?
See you soon,
Remmie-
He folded up the note, and Oberon landed on the desk and held out his leg obediently. Remus tied the note to Oberon's leg, took him to the window, and watched as the owl soared away.
"Remus! Breakfast!" his mother called from downstairs.
"In a minute, Mum," he called. Before he went downstairs, he paused to comb his hair. He studied his reflection in the mirror, pleased. He had been trying to grow his hair out for months, and only just now was it beginning to show some improvement. It wasn't quite shoulder-length, but it was long and shaggy enough for his mother to complain about it. Good enough.
When Remus trudged into the kitchen, it was to find his father, his sister, and his two brothers sitting at the table. His mother was at the stove. Remus sat down, and his mother placed a bowl of porridge in front of him. Remus *hated* porridge. Especially in the summer. Trying not to think of all the slimy, lumpy, terrible things porridge reminded him of, he began to eat.
"Have you heard from your friends yet?" his mother asked. She loved his friends, and Remus supposed it was because she had always thought no one would want to be friends with a werewolf. She didn't know that Remus' friends had figured out the truth, and certainly she didn't know that they were going to become Animagi to help her son.
"Just now, Mum," Remus said. "They wanted to know if the 29th sounded good."
"Of course, of course!" his mother said happily. "We can get Serena's things at the same time."
Remus gulped. He had forgotten that his sister was starting at Hogwarts this year. He glanced over at her.
Serena Lupin was eleven years old and a spoiled brat. Remus supposed this had something to do with being the youngest as well as the only girl. She had long, straight, light brown hair and hazel eyes. Often family and friends remarked on how much she and Remus looked like twins. Remus shuddered to think that he was anything like her. The kid was a complete psycho.
"Uh, okay," he muttered, taking his porridge bowl to the sink.
~August 29 - Diagon Alley~
"Now, Remus," Mrs. Lupin said, handing him his money, "Mind you keep a close eye on your sister. Don't let her wander off alone!"
"Yes Mum," Remus sighed. Just what he needed. To haul his little sister along shopping. He hoped his friends wouldn't mind.
"Come on, let's go," he said to Serena, tugging on her hand. They wandered past Quality Quidditch Supplies and Madame Malkin's Robes For All Occasions, but didn't see the rest of the Marauders. To escape from the crowd, they ducked into Flourish and Blotts.
"Remmie! Remmie! Oy, Remus Lupin!" an excited voice called, and Remus grinned when he saw James, Sirius, and Peter heading for him.
James seized him in a tight hug, then released him only to be pulled into the clutches of Sirius. "How've you been, mate?" Sirius asked.
"Bloody fantastic, Siri. Unhand me, I can't breathe."
Sirius let go, and Peter timidly held his hand out. Remus ignored it and hugged him instead. Peter flushed bright pink, but hugged back.
"Who's this?" Sirius asked, noticing Serena.
"This is my sister, Serena," Remus said. "She's starting at Hogwarts this year. Sere, these are my friends - James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew."
"How do you do?" Sirius asked daintily, making a poor attempt at a curtsey. They all laughed, Serena blushing furiously.
'Oh no,' Remus thought unhappily, noticing her flushed cheeks and the direction of her stare, 'She's got a crush. On Sirius!'
"You've got to see something, Remmie," James ordered. "Come on!"
He grabbed Remus by the arm and pulled him to the back of the store. A large cage had been set up, and in it was the strangest sight Remus had ever seen. Above the cage was a sign reading 'The Monster Book of Monsters'.
A group of large, green-bound books were in the cage, snapping at biting at each other. Astounded, Remus and Serena watched as two of the books started fighting. The manager came running over, and poked a cane in between the bars of the cage. "Stop it, stop it!" he cried. After separating the books, he glanced at Remus and Serena. "Hogwarts?" he asked. "How many copies do you need?"
Remus looked at his booklist, and saw the 'Monster Book of Monsters' was the book needed for Care of Magical Creatures. "Only one," he replied.
"Stand back," the manager said grimly, and took out a pair of fire tongs. He gingerly opened the top of the cage, reached in with the tongs, and finally captured a Monster Book. He held the book out to Remus, with the binding facing him. "Stroke it," he ordered.
Hesitantly, Remus reached out and ran a finger down the spine of the book.
The manager pulled it from between the tongs and handed it to him. Remus took it reluctantly, but was surprised to find it had stopped moving.
After getting the rest of Remus' and Serena's books, they left Flourish and Blotts for Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. On the way, Remus remembered something Sirius had mentioned in his letter.
"Siri?" he asked. "What did you want to show me?"
Sirius stopped, and grinned. "I can't believe I almost forgot! Take a look!"
He turned his head slightly, and pulled back a hank of hair. "I got my ear pierced!"
Sure enough, a small silver hoop dangled from his left ear.
"Wow, Siri, that's -" Remus began, but hesitated. The word that trembled on his lips was 'sexy', but since when had Sirius ever been sexy to him?
"-Really groovy," he finished.
"Thanks," said Sirius happily. "And I like your hair, Remmie."
He reached out and stroked Remus' shaggy hair, running his fingers through the honey-silver strands, and Remus blushed. He really wanted to freeze time right then - just to have Sirius' hand on him forever.....
"Come on, let's go!" Peter called, startling Remus. Sirius jumped too, and Remus was surprised to see a blush spreading across his friend's cheeks. Why was Sirius blushing?
"Remus, will you buy me a choco-nut sundae?" Serena begged, tugging on his arm. "Please?"
"Uh, sure, Sere," Remus said, glancing at Sirius from the corner of his eye. Sirius was looking across the street at Madame Malkin's, apparently very interested in a display of dress robes. Remus turned to follow Peter and James, and saw James looking suspiciously between him and Sirius. James grabbed Sirius by the arm.
"We'll be right along, save us seats," James said to Remus, Serena, and Peter.
James pulled Sirius into an alley to get out of the crowd.
"What was that about?" he asked curiously.
"What was what about?" Sirius replied innocently.
"You - and Remus!" said James. "You were looking at him like - well, like my dad looks at my mum."
Sirius spluttered with laughter. "Jim! You think - you think I *fancy* Remmie?"
James waited until Sirius had calmed down some, then nodded. "Yes, Sirius, I do."
Sirius sniggered. "Sure, Jim. And Snape has a thing for Pete. Come on, let's got get some ice cream."
James followed Sirius uncertainly into the ice cream parlour. Sirius had never been too good at denying things when he was around James; they had known each other since they were born, and James supposed their closeness had made it impossible for Sirius to lie to him. But the closeness may have been the only thing which helped James to see Sirius' feelings about Remus - it was so out of the ordinary, so non-Sirius, that it had been painfully obvious to James. But no one else had noticed it - no one in the world was as close to Sirius as James Potter was.
He sat down beside Sirius and poked at his choco-nut sundae, only half-listening to his friends' conversation. Before they left Florean Fortescue's, James had made up his mind. As soon as he could, he was going to get Sirius alone and give him a good talking-to.
~September 2 - the Great Hall~
"Oooh, we're starting new subjects today," Remus said happily, looking at his schedule. "Care of Magical Creatures, and Divination!"
"You're the only dorkus I know who gets excited over new subjects, Remmie," Sirius said, poking Remus in the ribs.
"And 'dorkus' isn't even a proper word, you moron," Remus said disdainfully. "Keep your hands to yourself."
James laughed, almost choking on his bacon. "And you're also the only person we know who corrects grammar at breakfast," he giggled. "Honestly, Remmie, you're going to be a professor when you grow up."
Sirius clutched his heart and pretended to faint. "A teacher! Heavens to Betsy! Following *rules* and giving students *detention*? Not dear, sweet Remmie!"
"At least I have a chance of growing up, unlike *some people*, who will be silly children forever," Remus replied, casting a meaningful glance at Sirius.
"Um, guys?" Peter asked timidly. "I think we ought to go..."
He was right; breakfast was nearly over. With a groan, the Marauders picked up their bags (Peter sneaking doughnuts into his pockets for later) and headed out across the grounds to a large paddock, where some of their fellow third-year Gryffindors were gathered. Lily Evans smiled and waved at James, who blushed furiously as he waved back (being elbowed by a sniggering Sirius).
"Wonder who we're having these lessons with?" Peter wondered out loud.
"As long as it's not-" James started, but cut himself off with a groan.
Severus Snape and his cronies were approaching, sneering at the sight of the Marauders.
"Well," he said silkily, "Fancy meeting *you* here."
He was obviously still furious over last year's hair-dyeing incident. The note of rage in his voice was too evident to be ignored. Sirius glared right back at Snape, and James couldn't help noticing the way Sirius edged a little closer to and in front of Remus, as if he wanted to shield Remus from Snape and his gang.
"Good morning, class!" a cheerful voice called, and everyone turned in surprise to see Professor Kettleburn, a tall, strong man with a bald head and long red beard, approaching.
"Are we ready?" Professor Kettleburn asked, his eyes twinkling in a way that reminded Remus forcefully of Dumbledore. "Come, now, follow me!" He led them around to a paddock close near the gamekeeper's hut. "Our first lesson - you'll love it - unicorns!"
The girls in the class (even the Slytherin girls) squealed loudly as Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper, appeared, leading a pearly-white unicorn across the paddock towards the class.
"'Ere you are, Professor," Hagrid grunted. "C'mon, you, get over 'ere," he said kindly to the unicorn, which tossed its head nervously, but approached the fence.
"Thank you, Hagrid," Professor Kettleburn said, beaming.
He turned to the class, and threw open his arms as if expecting a hug from an enthusiastic family member - a doting aunt, perhaps. "Unicorns!" he announced again in his booming voice. "Beautiful creatures, aren't they? But be cautious" - he held up one pudgy, sausage-sized finger - "For once they're grown, unicorns don't trust males as much. So, ladies, if you'd follow me-"
Professor Kettleburn led the girls into the paddock, and the unicorn approached them eagerly. The boys leaned on the fence and watched the girls petting the unicorn.
Remus was startled by Snape, who leaned on the fence beside him and said casually, "What's with your hair, Lupin? Forget where you kept the scissors? Or have you had your nose stuck in sissy romance novels all summer, and was too busy mooning over those to remember to cut it?"
Remus blushed, and shrank back. Sirius, however, glared at Snape, shaking his long hair out of his eyes and stepping forward. "Leave him alone, Snape," he snarled.
One of Snape's slender eyebrows arched. "Sticking up for him, are you, Black? Defending the honor of your boyfriend, are you?"
Remus felt his face going even redder; but to his surprise, Sirius had seemed to falter at Snape's last comment. Snape's smirk widened, and Remus looked at Sirius. A flush had begun to spread across his friend's cheeks.
"Just shut up, Snape," Sirius said hollowly. "Just shut the hell up."
He turned his back on them all, and went back to watching the unicorn.
Snape smirked. He knew what Sirius was thinking, even if Sirius didn't.
~*~*~*~*~
"Hurry up, we'll be late!" Remus panted, hurrying up the dizzying spiral staircase leading up to the Divination classroom.
"We've-still-got-two-minutes!" Peter panted, struggling to keep up. Remus was extremely fast when he knew he might be late for a class.
Remus skidded to an abrupt halt, making Peter, Sirius, and James crash into him.
"Ow!" James complained. "When you stop short, Remmie, you could tell a guy!"
"What's the holdup?" Sirius wanted to know.
The rest of the Gryffindors were all gathered on the landing, underneath a circular trapdoor. A sign on the door read, 'Hotaru Tomoe, Divination teacher'.
"What are we supposed to do, Apperate up there?" James asked grumpily.
"You can't Apperate inside the castle, Jim," Remus reminded him. "And we aren't old enough to Apperate yet."
"I was only kidding-" James started, but was cut off as the circular trapdoor opened, and a sparkly purple ladder lowered itself to the floor. The Gryffindors climbed up and emerged in a dim, circular room decorated mainly in purple and burgundy. The light came only from the fireplace and the small candles which stood on small tables around the room. The tables were surrounded by armchairs and small poufs. The Marauders sat down around the same table to wait.
"Good afternoon," a misty, moody voice said, and the class jumped. Out of the shadows came a woman whom Remus assumed to be Professor Tomoe. She was a short, slender woman with china-white skin and shoulder-length black hair. She was dressed in a purple kimono with embroidered silver butterflies and a burgundy obi. She had dark blue eyes, and gave off an air of fragility.
"Very good," she said, looking round at them, a ghost of a smile playing on her pale lips. "You have chosen to study Divination. Bravo! Divination is one of the most complex things you will ever study. Complex - yet fascinating."
She sat, and continued, "And yet, let me inform you that true Seers are rare. If you do not have the Sight, there is little I can teach you."
Sirius smirked and shook his head. Around the room, other students were looking as mystified as Remus felt.
"We will start with reading the tea leaves," Professor Tomoe said. "I want each of you to divide into pairs, fetch a teacup and bring it to me. I shall fill it, then you shall drink until only the leaves are left. Then swirl the dregs three times with the left hand; turn the cups over to drain and switch with your partner."
Well, this was a surprising lesson, Remus thought to himself as the class got up to retrieve teacups. Professor Tomoe filled them, and the Marauders went back to their table, trying to drink the tea quickly. Remus traded with Peter, sending an occasional glance at Sirius and James, who were giggling.
"Right, then," Sirius sniggered, looking into James' teacup. "You've got - um, it looks like - uh - hmm. It looks like a pile of crap." He pretended to consult 'Unfogging The Future'. "Sorry, Jim. A pile of crap means you're going to be stabbed to death by a midget in a wedding gown."
Remus choked back laughter as he tried to decipher the shapes in Peter's cup. James leaned across the table and smacked Sirius in the head. "You prat." He opened his own copy of 'Unfogging The Future'. "You've got a donkey. It means you're going to be a jackass when you grow up. *If* you grow up. But it's too late - you're already a jackass."
Sirius stuck his tongue out at James, then they started laughing. Peter smiled, looking down into Remus' cup. "You've got - it looks like - a banana?" he stopped, confused. Sirius giggled uncontrollably.
"A banana! Pete, what kind of fortune-telling is this?" Sirius giggled, leaning over to peer into the cup. "It looks more like a pencil," he said. "Who knows, Remmie. Maybe you'll be a writer." He stopped to consider this. "Or maybe you'll draw violent porn comics."
They all stopped, stared at each other, then began laughing again.
"Really, now!" Professor Tomoe said sharply, appearing at Peter's shoulder. "What is going on? Do you need some help?"
"Yes, please, Professor," said Peter seriously.
Professor Tomoe took Remus' cup from Peter and began to examine it. "Strange...." she mused. "The moon..... a change is in store for you. And - what looks like a star - a dark-haired lover awaits you..." - Remus blushed - "And...... a dagger... grave misfortune later in life.... An unusual cup, my dear....." she said, handing the cup back to Peter.
"Hmm. Quite the interesting future you're going to have, Remmie!" Sirius said cheerfully as Professor Tome drifted away to help the students at the next table. "But don't introduce me to that dark-haired lover of yours - I just might steal her away."
~*~*~*~*~
After Divination, they marched down to dinner, and had just sat down when Serena showed up.
"Hi Remus!" she said, plunking down next to him. Remus groaned inwardly. The last thing he needed at dinner was his insane sister bugging him.
Serena glanced shyly at the others. "Hi, James, Peter... hi, .... Sirius."
Now that was just too obvious. Remus almost laughed out loud. How could Sirius miss his sister's crush on him?
"H'lo, Serena," Sirius said, and his grin widened. "Hey, Jim, look!"
James nearly choked on his steak-and-kidney pie. Coming towards them was Lily Evans.
She paused, and her brilliantly green eyes moved from one of them to the other, finally resting on James. "Hello," she said, almost as shyly as Serena. "Mind if I sit here?"
"Sure, Lil," Sirius said, grinning widely (James looked petrified at the thought of Lily sitting next to him). Lily sat next to James, blushing almost as deeply as he was. She looked at Serena, then at Remus. "Is this your sister, Remus?"
"How could you tell?" Remus grumbled.
"You two look so much alike."
"So I've heard," Remus said grumpily.
Lily took the hint and turned to Serena, smiling. "You've just started at Hogwarts, right?"
"Yup!" Serena said proudly. "Now I can keep Remus out of trouble. Mum said I had to!"
Remus blushed. Oh, how he hated his sister at times.
~September 13 - Charms Corridor~
"Serena, isn't that your brother?" Usagi Chikamatsu asked, craning her neck to see over the heads of passing students.
Serena glanced up from her Charms text. "Yeah, that's Remus. Why, Bunny?"
Usagi (called 'Bunny' by her friends, since her name meant 'rabbit') shrugged. "I dunno. He seems awfully close with James Potter and - who's the guy with the long hair?"
"That's Sirius Black," Serena said, ducking her head and blushing. "He's one of Remus' friends."
Bunny frowned. "He's weird. You think he might be - well, I think he likes your brother."
Serena giggled. "Bunny!" she shrieked. "Remus - with *Sirius Black*?! Sirius is the most gorgeous guy in school - I don't think he's got his eye on my brother when he could have any girl he wanted!"
"You *like* him, don't you?" Bunny teased.
"Of course I like him, he's my brother," Serena said, playing innocent.
Bunny punched her in the arm. "You liar! You know I meant Sirius!"
Serena giggled, blushed deeper, and leaved over to whisper in Bunny's ear. "Don't you dare tell anyone - but I want to make him mine!"
~September 19 - Great Hall~
Remus sighed, poking at his beef stew. It was the sixth night in a row that his sister and Lily Evans had sat with them at dinner. Remus didn't mind Lily; in fact, she and Remus usually enjoyed serious discussions about schoolwork and classes while James and Sirius goofed off. But Serena - Remus was tired of her. Not a good way to feel towards your sister, but it was true. She was *annoying*. All she did at mealtimes was flirt with Sirius, who seemed to be enjoying it. Watching Serena flip her hair and flutter her eyelashes at Sirius got tiring in three minutes and made Remus feel ill. But there was more to it that that - whenever he looked at the two of them, laughing together (and James simultaneously elbowing Sirius and blushing whenever he glanced at Lily) made him feel weird. Was it jealousy?
~Remus' Journal - September 30~
-I've been having the strangest dreams lately. I don't understand them at all, but they make me feel so weird. Just last night, I dreamt I was walking across the Quidditch field, and then I saw a huge black dog sitting just under the goalposts. I thought it was a Grim, but it ran over to me, wagging its tail, with not a trace of menace. It jumped up on me, knocked me down, licked my face...... and then the dream changed - I was lying on my bed instead of the Quidditch field, and the dog was gone. Instead, Sirius was kneeling over me. He was smiling, but looking shy at the same time..... then he leaned down and kissed me. A real kiss, on the lips.......Does this mean anything? Could I be - in love with Sirius?-
~September 30 - Slytherin common room~
Severus Snape sat with his chin resting on his hand, staring into the fire with slightly glazed eyes. Lucius Malfoy, who was sitting beside him, studied his friend's expression and thought perhaps Snape was not really seeing the fire. He looked lost in thought.
"Severus?" Lucius asked curiously. "Are you alright?"
Snape shook himself and turned to Lucius. "What?" he snapped, sounding more like his easily-irritated self.
"I asked if you were alright, is all," Lucius replied crossly. "Sorry to disturb your inner peace." Though he doubted Severus Snape had any peace of any kind.
Snape grumbled and went back to staring moodily into the depths of the fire, allowing himself to return to his daydreams of soft kisses, pleading eyes, and honey-silvery hair....
~October 2 - the Library~
"Boy, this is going to be complicated," Peter said, wide-eyed, peering over James' shoulder at the heavy book on Transfiguration which James' aunt had sent him.
"Dangerous, too," Remus said with worry. "Look at this. Who knew it could go so *wrong*?" He pointed to a picture of a wizard with a horse's head.
Sirius chuckled and gave Remus' shoulder a squeeze. "Relax, Remmie. These people are a bunch of prats who probably can't tell if they're holding their wand right way up. We'll be okay."
"But something could happen..." Remus trailed off, thinking of what a shame it would be if Sirius had to go through the rest of his life with the head of an animal - especially if it was the head of something like - like a platypus or something.
"Well, we've just got to try, haven't we?" James said, closing the book. "Don't panic, Remmie, we'll be careful and all. Trust me."
Remus knew he could trust James - but it didn't ease his fear. "But what if you get caught? You'd get expelled or something!"
"You worry too much, Remmie," Sirius said cheerfully. "Trust me, it'll be okay!"
"I wonder what we should be?" Peter mused.
"It says the form chooses the wizard, Pete," James said. "I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."
"Maybe I'll be a giant squid," Sirius sniggered. "That'd be fun, don't you think?"
"No!" said Remus, "You'd wouldn't look so-"
There it was again, the word 'sexy', trembling on his lips. It had almost slipped out again! He had to control himself.
"-So much like Sirius," he finished lamely, and bent back over his homework.
Sirius shrugged. "I was only kidding. And isn't that the point - *not* to look like ourselves?"
Remus didn't answer. A thought had just occurred to him - what if Sirius became a wolf? He was surprised and a little scared to find that the idea excited him.
He shouldn't be thinking like that! Another wolf being around might wake up his territorial instincts and make him angry. He might even try to fight Sirius, and hurt him.
'I can't let that happen!' he thought forcefully to himself.
~Sirius' Journal - October 17~
-Something weird's going on with Remmie, I think. He was acting really strange in the library the other day. And come to think about it, he's been avoiding being alone with me. When it's me and him, and Pete and Jim, or just three of us, he's just like always. But when he's alone with me, he gets really quiet and shy. I wonder why. Quiet and shy - a trait not shared by his sister! I mean, she's a cute bird, but not really my type. She flirts with me a lot at mealtimes and in the common room. I wonder if that's Remmie's problem? Does he think I'm going to elope with his sister or something? Ha-ha, there's an idea. Yeah, and maybe Jim'll elope with Lily Evans. Ha-ha, I don't think so, kid.
Oops. I hear Pete coming. I'd better hide this thing.-
~October 25~
Sirius and James were in trouble again.
It was Transfiguration, and right now Professor McGonagall was yelling at Sirius and James for turning their desk into a cow, which was now wandering around the room, mooing loudly.
"THIS IS NO TIME FOR TOMFOOLERY!" McGonagall shrieked at them. "TRANSFIGURATION IS SERIOUS!"
Well, Remus thought to himself, it wasn't too many third years who could Transfigure the furniture into animals; you had to admit, James and Sirius were clever indeed. He stifled a laugh as the cow mistook Sally Parks' hair for hay and attempted to take a bite. Sally shrieked and leaned away, nearly toppling over in her chair. Professor McGonagall ran over to the cow and shouted, "Finite Incantatem!" The cow turned back into a desk, levitated back across the room, and landed back in front of Sirius and James.
"Detention, both of you," Professor McGonagall said through gritted teeth.
Remus could tell that the threat of detention didn't bother James and Sirius in the slightest. Not much did.
"What a grouch," Peter whispered. Thankfully, McGonagall didn't hear him. Instead, she sent another piercing glare at James and Sirius before going to see if Sally was alright.
"Be glad she didn't decide to hold you back from Hogsmeade," Remus hissed to them. "You know how easily McGonagall gets mad."
Sirius smiled charmingly. "Don't fret, Remmie, dear," he said sweetly, patting Remus on the head. "Even old McGonagall can't keep the great Sirius Black from Hogsmeade!"
James laughed, but when the class had calmed down and gone back to copying notes off the board, he glanced over at Sirius every now and then. What he saw made him curious - Sirius kept shooting secretive glances at Remus (who hadn't noticed, his head bent studiously over his notebook), and blushing. James shook his head. Sirius could deny it all he wanted - he liked Remus! Now, if there was only something he could do about it - because, in James' humble opinion, Sirius and Remus would be perfect for each other.
~Halloween - first Hogsmeade weekend - the Three Broomsticks~
"I don't know how we ever lived without it," Sirius said dreamily, taking a deep draught from his tankard of butterbeer. "Great stuff, this."
"You watch it, Sirius, or you'll be one drunk wizard," Remus said in that mother-hen way they had all become accustomed to.
"Remmie's right," James said. "If you turn up drunk at detention tonight, Siri, McGonagall will make it worse for you!"
Sirius pulled a face and said sourly, "Thanks, Jim. Great way to ruin my Halloween feast - picturing McGonagall's mug. I don't see why we had to get detention anyway. I bet we're the only third years who turn tables into cows."
"That's the *point*, Siri," Remus sighed.
"Shows we're learning, love!" Sirius giggled.
James shook his head, Remus sighed, and Peter shrugged. Sirius was one weird guy at times.
"Hello, Sirius," a syrup-sweet voice said, and the Marauders all looked up at once to see Serena standing there. Remus recognized the annoyingly superior look on his sister's face. No doubt she was going to try something stupid.
"Hello, Sere," Sirius said cheerfully. "Pull up a chair."
Remus glowered as Serena pushed a chair in between him and Sirius and sat down, sitting so far over in her chair that she was in danger of falling into Sirius' lap. There was enough room on her chair for another person to sit in it.
Peter hid a smirk behind his tankard. Remus glared at him, and then glanced at James, who was fiddling with his napkin and looking up at the ceiling. No help there.
"I'll be right back," Remus excused himself, getting up. He was feeling rather ill at the sight of Serena cuddling up to Sirius.
He went outside and leaned against the wall beside the window, breathing a sigh of relief, and was surprised when James followed him out.
"Can I talk to you a minute, Remmie?" James asked, leaning casually against the wall beside him.
"Of course." Remus was surprised. He couldn't ever recall being alone with James - usually he and Sirius stuck together like glue.
"Are you jealous of your sister?"
The question was so out of the ordinary, and it took Remus by surprise. He stared at James. "Jealous?"
"Yeah. You know, because she's been so- so close to him lately?"
Remus snorted. "Please. Close? She doesn't know anything about him."
"I mean - you know, physically close."
"Jim!" Remus said, shocked. Was it that obvious? "You think I'm jealous of Sere just because she gets to play with his hair?"
James shook his head. "That's not what I meant," he said, and looked around at the crowded street. "Come on." He grabbed Remus' arm and pulled him behind the Three Broomsticks.
Once they were out of sight, James gave Remus a stern look. "Just tell me, Remus - are you in love with Siri, or not?"
Remus gaped at him. "Jim!"
"Just answer me. I promise not to mention a word to anyone. Not even Siri."
Remus hung his head. "I guess I am."
James fought the urge to whoop. "Really?"
"You don't hate me, do you, Jim?" Remus asked tearfully.
James shook his head and gave Remus' shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Why should I? I don't care if you love Siri - if you ask me you two are made for each other."
"Sure. But Sirius doesn't think so," Remus said bitterly, thinking of how much Sirius seemed to enjoy flirting with Serena - and he sure didn't mind ogling any other girls, either. "I think I'm going to go back in, Jim."
He went back into the pub to get his cloak, meaning to head back to the school. He was deeply displeased to see that Serena's best friend Bunny had taken his seat, and was giggling along with Serena and Sirius. Peter was blushing, obviously not comfortable with the girls. He looked relieved when Remus turned up, James trailing behind. Remus took his cloak off the back of his chair, and put it on. James cleared his throat significantly and glared at Sirius, who got the hint. He bid Serena and Bunny goodbye and followed James, Remus and Peter outside.
James glanced at Remus as they climbed the steps of the castle. Noting the unhappy look in the young werewolf's eyes, James vowed he'd give Sirius a talking-to tonight in detention.
~That night - Hospital Wing~
Sirius and James were in the hospital wing, scrubbing the floor. It was hard work, but James' mind wasn't on it.
"Siri?" he asked. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Do you like Remus' sister?"
Sirius laughed. "You're not taking it seriously, are you? His sister's sweet, but not my type. I'm only playing."
"Only playing," James repeated. "Playing with her affection? And if she's in love with you? Are you really going to break her heart just for a little fun?"
Sirius shrugged. "I'm not *trying* to hurt her, Jim," he said evenly. "It's her fault she's so stuck on me. And what brought this about in the first place?"
James paused. He didn't want to let Sirius know how Remus felt. He could pull this off - with a little discretion. And as long as he kept his temper. "I, um, think it's not right for you to do that to her. I think you might be - um, destined for someone else. I can tell."
Sirius smiled, tossing his ponytail over his shoulder. "Really, now. Are you a love psychic?"
"Goddammit, Sirius!" James swore, running a hand through his untidy hair in frustration. "Why do you have to be so frigging *stupid*? Can't you just *admit* it?"
Sirius smiled sweetly. "Admit *what*, dearest James?"
"You're in love - with Remus!" shouted James.
"You're still on about that?" Sirius asked in frank amazement. "Jim, old boy, you're cracking up."
"Do you think I don't notice?" James hissed, sounding so angry that Sirius stopped laughing. "Come on- I can't believe everyone else is so blind! It's bloody obvious, I see you looking at him all the time! Last year, on the camping trip, you *said* so- " he stopped, wondering how to proceed. Sirius wasn't supposed to know that James had been eavesdropping on him. But he had finally captured all of Sirius' attention. Sirius was now staring at him, looking utterly - excuse the unintentional pun - serious.
"How do you know that?" Sirius whispered. "Just how in the *hell* do you know that?"
James met his best friend's eyes a tad defiantly. "I heard you, you bloody prat. I was looking for you, Pete and Remmie and I were wondering where you had gotten off to - and I overheard you talking to yourself."
The color had faded from Sirius' face, and he sat down weakly on a bed. "I can't believe you heard that......" He looked down at the floor, and murmured, "I didn't want to let anyone know." Then he looked up, and said angrily, "And it's none of your business anyway, Jim. You're my best mate and I love you a lot - but my love life - what little I *have* at thirteen - shouldn't bother you."
"But Remus' well-being *does*," James retorted. "I hate to see him so depressed. Haven't you noticed how much he's been changing?"
Sirius had noticed, and figured it was just part of being a werewolf, but he didn't think mentioning that to James would improve the situation any. "No, I haven't, or at least not to such a drastic degree," he replied. "Come off it, Jim - it's just a phase he's going through."
Well, that seemed unlikely to James, but he could see that arguing was getting him nowhere fast. Sirius was so stubborn when he wanted to be.....
~Remus' Journal - November 1~
-Jim tells me Siri's being impossible again. I can see that much for myself - he and Jim seem to be having a bit of a fight. They must have had a blazing row at detention on Halloween.... they're acting pretty cool to each other lately. I asked Jim why, and he just shrugged and said, 'Because he's Sirius.' My guess is that Jim tried to ask him a few questions about me - I *know* Jim didn't tell him how I felt, Jim swore on his life he hadn't breathed a word - and Sirius refused to answer. In some ways, Sirius Black is the most puzzling, enigmatic person I've ever known....
~November 9 - Potions~
"I hate Potions, I hate Snape...." Sirius sang softly under his breath as he stirred. "I hate Professor Kirk, I hate Slytherins......"
James ignored Sirius' singing, and added the stewed slugs to the potion. Only part of his mind was concentrated on the potion (hopefully a big enough part to keep him from screwing it up and getting himself and Sirius in trouble). The rest of his mind was thinking furiously. How to get Remus and Sirius together? He needed help. But who could he ask? Peter would probably faint dead away at the possibility of Sirius being gay, and James knew he *WOULD* faint if he found out about Remus. There wasn't really anyone else to ask for help. Certainly not Snape! If Snape knew anything, Sirius just might as well tattoo 'I want to date Remus Lupin' on his forehead and take out an ad in the 'Daily Prophet'. Besides, involving Snape in anything made James feel ill. Hmm.
Professor Kirk startled James out of his thoughts. He was yelling at Peter again, who had somehow burned a hole in the marble top of his desk. Remus, who was partnering Peter, was holding his robes to his nose and waving smoke away with his other hand.
"Fool!" Professor Kirk snarled at Peter, who looked close to tears. "Didn't I *tell* you the dragon saliva was acidic? Detention, and five points from Gryffindor for not paying attention."
He swept back to his desk after fixing the hole in Peter's desk. Snape turned around to smirk at Peter, who was being comforted by Remus.
"Have you *ever* gotten anything right, Pettigrew?" he sneered.
"You're one to talk," Sirius snapped. "The only thing *you* can do perfectly is act like an evil, slimy git."
"Keep your insults to yourself, Black," Snape retorted.
"Then keep your ugly nose out of other people's business."
Snape's eyes narrowed, but then he smiled, a particularly nasty smile that James didn't like. "So used to protecting people, are you, Black? Well, then, how are you at protecting yourself?"
Remus mentally pleaded with Sirius not to take Snape's bait, but it didn't work.
"What do you mean? Sirius asked.
"How about a midnight duel, tonight, Trophy Room?" Snape suggested, an evil glint in his eyes. "Or are you too chicken?"
"I'll be there," growled Sirius. "Jim's my second; who's yours?"
"Lucius Malfoy," Snape said smoothly. "See you there."
He turned back to his work, and James looked at Sirius, an eyebrow raised.
"Sorry, Jim," Sirius muttered apologetically. "I shouldn't have made you do it if you're still mad at me."
But James grinned at him. "You think I can stay mad at you for long? The temptation of seeing Snape getting shown up is too great to resist."
Sirius grinned back. "Thanks, Jim." He looked around, then said softly, "I'm sorry, ok?"
"Apology accepted." said James, punching him in the shoulder. "Now, about this duel..."
Remus breathed a silent sigh of relief as he watched James and Sirius scheming over their potion. Looked like things would be back to normal for a while, or at least as close to normal things could get when James Potter and Sirius Black were your friends......
~11:30 - Gryffindor Tower, Third Year Boys' Dorm~
"I can't believe you're going through with this," Peter said, shaking his head. "What if you get caught?"
"We won't," James said, a sneaky look on his face. "You've got to see what I scored this summer."
He crossed to his trunk and rummaged around inside it. He extracted a package wrapped in brown paper, and carried it back over to the others, who were sitting on Peter's bed. "I wasn't going to bring it to school," he admitted with a shrug. "But then I said, 'why not?' and packed it at the last minute. My uncle sent it to me from Romania."
He untied the string around the package and pulled off the brown paper. Inside was a long, silvery cloak.
Sirius' jaw dropped. "Jim! Your *uncle* gave you that?!"
"It's an Invisibility Cloak!" Remus breathed in awe, running a finger across the silky material.
James grinned. "And it's *our* ticket to getting around without being seen," he said to Sirius. "I mean, look at it - it could probably fit all four of us under it, no problem."
Sirius grinned back. "Let me guess - we're the only ones who know about it, right?"
"Exactly. So if Snape's just setting us up for Filch, we'll still have a great chance of getting back without getting caught."
"Groovy," Sirius said, glancing at the clock. "Almost quarter of, Jim, we'd better go."
"Right," said James. He and Sirius tugged the cloak over themselves, then after Peter and Remus checked to make sure nothing was visible, they left the dorm, crossed the common room, and climbed through the portrait hole.
The school was pitch black, with a torch lit every ten feet or so. James and Sirius crept along silently, trying their best not to make any noise. They got to the Trophy Room without meeting anyone, even one of the ghosts. They pulled off the cloak, and waited for Snape.
Snape and Malfoy showed up a couple of minutes later, panting and sweaty. They must have run all the way up from the dungeons at top speed to avoid being seen.
Snape's eyes narrowed. "How'd you get up here without anyone seeing you?" he demanded.
"Just lucky, I guess," James said airily. "Are we going to get on with this or not?"
"Fine," Snape said shortly, drawing his wand. "Let's go, Black."
The next few minutes were tense. Sirius and Snape kept shooting curses at each other and dodging them. James kept an eye on Lucius Malfoy, in case he decided to attack Sirius while Sirius wasn't looking. Sirius dodged a curse, pointed his wand at Snape, and cried, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Snape hit the floor with a thud, unable to move. Lucius turned to Sirius with a snarl, and raised his wand. But before he could even begin a spell, Filch's voice rang out:
"Who's there?"
Lucius whirled around to look at the door, his eyes wide with fear. While his back was turned, James and Sirius slipped out one of the back doors of the Trophy Room and pulled on the cloak.
They found themselves in a hallway they'd never been down before. Looking every which way for a sign of Filch, they crept down the hallway.
"Where *are* we?" Sirius whispered five minutes later.
"I don't know..." James muttered. "I can't see a thing, it's pitch dark..."
They took a left turn down another corridor and found themselves in a slightly brighter corridor decorated with pictures of food. They looked around curiously, and then they heard something that made them jump: Filch.
"Where are they?" Filch growled. They couldn't see him yet, but his voice and footsteps were getting closer. "Potter and Black again..... I'll get them this time, I will!"
Sirius gulped, and he and James broke into a run. Filch was right behind them, almost around the corner - a few more steps and he'd be right behind them - they took another turn and found themselves at a dead end, facing a huge painting of a bowl of fruit.
"We're done for!" Sirius moaned, resting his head against the wall. "He can't see us, but he knows we're here!"
James backed against the painting, wondering what to do. The cloak brushed a pear in the painting, and suddenly, it squirmed, giggling, and turned into a doorknob!
They stared at it in shock for a minute, then James grabbed the knob and turned it. The painting swung open, and they ducked into the room behind it, and not a moment too soon. The painting had barely swung shut when they heard Filch come down the dead-end corridor. They held their breath, waiting, and miraculously, Filch grumbled something incoherent and moved away.
James heaved a great sigh of relief, and pulled off the cloak. "Thank Merlin. I thought we were doomed."
"Me too," Sirius said, pulling his sweaty hair back into a ponytail.
"Greetings, sirs!" a voice suddenly squeaked from around their knees, making them jump. They looked around quickly, and saw who had spoken - a small, brown elf wearing a tea towel, tied toga-style, with the Hogwarts crest on it. It was a house-elf.
"Um, hi," Sirius said weakly. "D'you mind telling us where we are?"
"You is in Hogwarts' kitchens, sirs!" squeaked the elf. "My name is Bubby - may I help you?"
(A/N: Don't laugh! Bubby is my mum's nickname for our dog. His name is really Max... oh well....)
James looked around. "We're in the kitchens? Wow. Looks like we found something new, Siri." He looked down at the house-elf. "I'm James Potter, and this is my friend Sirius Black - we were trying to escape from Filch. D'you know how to get back to Gryffindor Tower from here?"
"Certainly, James Potter, sir!" Bubby said. "Follow me!"
He led them through the kitchens, to the fireplace. "Tap the third brick under the mantle, sirs! It will give you a secret passage up to Gryffindor Tower!"
James took out his wand and tapped the brick. A section of wall beside the fireplace slid open, revealing the foot of a staircase.
"Wow, thanks Bubby," Sirius said to the elf. "You've got us out of a tight spot."
"Would sirs like to take some food with you?" the elf asked hopefully.
"Sure!" said James. "I'm starving."
Almost immediately, six elves appeared, carrying a tray filled with eclairs, doughnuts, and pasties left from dessert. James and Sirius filled their pockets, then thanked the elves.
"Would sirs like to come back and visit?" Bubby asked hopefully as they entered the secret passage.
"Sure," said James, thinking of Remus and Peter. "We'll bring a couple of our other friends to meet you, too."
"All right! Goodbye, sirs!" Bubby replied cheerfully, and they started climbing the stairs.
It took a long time to climb the spiraling staircase, and they were both sweaty and dizzy when they reached the top. They emerged on a small landing, and sat down to rest.
"Should've asked for some pumpkin juice," Sirius said, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. James was examining the wall behind them, looking for a door.
"Siri, help me with this," he said, noting a large crate pushed against the wall. They pushed it aside, revealing a hole in the wall large enough to crawl through. They crawled through and found themselves in the hallway leading to Gryffindor Tower. As soon as they stepped away from the wall, a suit of armor slid back into place, hiding the hole they had crawled through.
"Wow," Sirius said as they hurried down the hall. "We could use that passage for great things, Jim."
James shot him a warning look as they approached the painting of the Fat Lady.
"Where have you been?" the Fat Lady asked, taking in their sweaty faces.
"Never mind, let us in - grindylow!" James said, and the Fat Lady swung open to let them in.
Exhausted, they climbed the stairs to their dorm. Opening the door, they found Peter, dozing on his bed, and Remus sprawled on his own bed, reading a huge, heavy book.
"You're back!" Remus said, closing his book and sitting up. "What happened?"
"Let me wake Pete up first," James said, and went to shake Peter awake while Sirius emptied all the pastries out of his pockets. Remus watched with wide eyes. "Where did you get all *that*?"
"The kitchens," responded Sirius, sitting down on Remus' bed. "Want anything?"
"I do," said Peter, who had finally gotten up. He took an eclair and began to eat, and James and Sirius told their story.
"Wow," said Remus when they were finished. "Sounds to me like you were operating on pure dumb luck - but it's still groovy."
"I can't wait to go," Peter said excitedly as they got into their beds. "But let's make sure Filch isn't nearby, okay?"
~December 24 - Christmas Eve~
The Marauders were sprawled about the Gryffindor common room, eating snacks they had gotten from the kitchens earlier that day and listening to Sirius' Beatles records. They were the only ones left in Gryffindor Tower; every other student had gone home. Most thankfully, Serena had decided to go at the last minute. Remus figured it was because Sirius had been slowly cooling towards her over the last few weeks. Frankly, Remus was glad. Now that Serena and Bunny had begun leaving them alone, things were back to normal. Lily still sat with them at dinner, but she was much more fun to be around.
Remus was scribbling madly away at a Transfiguration essay, wanting to get his homework done. James and Sirius were lying side by side on the carpet in front of the fire, reading thick books on Animagus transformations and taking notes. Peter was writing a letter home. It was very cozy and peaceful, and the only thing that could spoil it was the full moon... which was tonight.
"Hey, look at this," Sirius said suddenly. Remus put down his quill and went to kneel beside Sirius, and Peter followed.
Sirius was pointing out a section entitled 'Animagi Rules And Regulations'. Skimming it, Remus saw it was mainly a paragraph explaining the importance of registering yourself once you became an Animagus. It only made him worry more.
"I told you you'd be breaking a lot of rules," he said. "Are you *sure* you want to do this?"
Sirius punched him playfully in the arm. "Yes, we do!"
"We knew what we're getting into when we started planning this," James said. "We're willing to go through with it, and damn the consequences."
Remus was touched, and probably would have started to cry if the portrait hole hadn't swung open just then. Professor McGonagall entered with Madame Pomfrey.
Remus heaved a shuddery sigh, and got up. He put his homework away in the dorm and came back downstairs, trying to ignore the looks of pity on McGonagall's and Pomfrey's faces. "See you later," he said unhappily to Peter, James, and Sirius, and allowed himself to be led out of the common room.
As soon as the portrait closed, Sirius sighed sadly, running a hand through his long hair. "Poor Remmie," he said. "We've really got to get cracking on this.... I don't like to think of him being alone like that."
~Christmas - 5 A.M.~
The exhausted wolf laid down on the foot of the bed, trembling. It licked a bleeding paw gingerly, whimpering deep in its throat at the pain. Another long night of pain and rage. The wolf closed its eyes, still whimpering. Not even the promise of sunrise made it feel any better. Last night had been especially hard. The transformation had been awful, even worse than usual, and he had been in a blind rage for most of the night, tearing paper from the walls, breaking furniture, howling and screaming in anger. Now the wolf was completely worn out, and it finally slept, stirring uneasily during terrible, unspeakable dreams.
~Christmas - 10 A.M.~
"Happy Christmas, Remmie."
Remus opened his eyes to see James, Sirius, and Peter sitting beside his bed. He blinked a few times, looking blearily around the hospital wing, then smiled. "Happy Christmas, guys."
"How do you feel?" Sirius asked anxiously, and Remus had to smile. Sirius sounded just like his mother.
"I've been better," he said. "But I'll be okay."
James smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. "We brought your presents down for you, if you want to open them now, but you don't have to. We can wait if you want to."
Remus smiled back at him. "Thanks. But I think I'd better wait a while. You didn't buy me anything that would go bad, did you?" he said, glancing at Peter, who had been known to try and give cheese samplers to people - only to have them go bad long before Christmas.
They all shook their heads, and then Sirius asked, "You don't want your homework, do you? Because, if I have to -" he grimaced - "I'll bring it to you...."
Remus laughed out loud. It never failed - his friends always managed to cheer him up after his transformations. "No, Siri, I don't want my homework. You don't have to touch it and contaminate yourself. Even though that might be a good idea."
Sirius mock-growled at him, then lowered his voice so Madame Pomfrey couldn't hear. "We read some more last night after you left. It's getting pretty complicated. But we *did* find a whole step-by-step process to show us what to do.... Can you believe it? *Anyone* in this school can become an Animagus if they just feel like looking it up."
"It's going to take a long time, though...." Peter said.
"I know," Sirius sighed heavily. "But we'll get it in the end - we have to."
~January 4 - Divination~
Remus was back in classes by now, starting only a day late. He had missed Herbology this morning, because Madame Pomfrey had taken so long fussing over him, but had gotten to Divination just in time.
Professor Tomoe was sitting in her usual armchair near the fire, back in her purple kimono. Nearly everything she wore was either purple or burgundy. She looked dreamily round the class and said, "Today, we're going to begin palmistry. Split up into pairs, and then I'll give you further instructions."
James saw his possibility at once. "Remmie, why don't you work with Siri?" he muttered to Remus.
Remus gulped. "You expect me to ask him?"
James shook his head in exasperation. "Never mind, I'll do it - Pete, work with me. Siri, you and Remmie."
Sirius raised an eyebrow, already guessing James' motive, but he didn't say a word. He and Peter switched seats, and waited for Professor Tomoe's instructions.
"Palmistry is really quite simple," she began. "Follow the guide on Page 577 of 'Unfogging The Future' to help you decipher the lines in your partner's hand, and to see the significance of each line. I will be coming round to help you if you need it."
Sirius looked at Remus and raised an eyebrow. "Pretty dodgy, if you ask me," he said, as they flipped through their copies of 'Unfogging the Future' to find the right page. "Why did we take Divination, anyway?"
"Because I thought it was interesting, Jim agreed, you always tag along with Jim, and Pete always does whatever you and Jim do." Remus responded.
"Cheeky..." Sirius grumbled. "Okay, here we are. Palmistry. Gimme your hand, Remmie."
Remus held out his hand, a trifle nervously, and Sirius took it. He was very aware of the butterflies in his stomach as Sirius ran a finger along his palm, muttering to himself and glancing frequently at his book.
"Um, okay." said Sirius uncertainly. "I'm not sure I'm doing this right, but let's try this - I think you have a long lifeline. So, you're gonna live for a while. I think. Unless I have the wrong line."
"How comforting," Remus said sarcastically.
Sirius laughed, and said, "Um, let's see. This line here - is this a heart line? I'm not sure. Guh. Remmie, you've got too many lines in your hand."
"You buffoon," Remus said, giggling. "Let me try."
Now it was Sirius' turn to feel nervous, as Remus began carefully examining his palm, murmuring things here and there. Sirius barely heard what he said. He felt like he was going to pass out very soon - but *why*?! It was Remmie, for Pete's sake! One of his best friends! There shouldn't be any reason why some stupid Divination thing should make him feel like this. Unless Jim was right?
~Sirius' Journal - January 5, 2 A.M.~
-I just don't feel like sleeping tonight. I feel so wide awake. I finished all my homework and even got a jump start on the next chapter in Charms - this isn't like me. Okay, yeah, I always get my work done, but usually at the last minute. What's wrong with me? It's been like this all day. I feel kind of like I'm in a dream or something. I can't really remember much of what I did after Divination this morning. It's all kind of hazy in my head. Goddammit! It's Remmie again. He really screws me up sometimes. I wonder why? Jim still thinks I'm in love with him, but Jim's daft. I'm not in love with Remmie! He's a *guy*, for pity's sake. No way. Sometimes I think -
Sirius stopped writing, listening intently. Someone was coming down into the common room. He hastily closed his journal and hid it under his Transfiguration book, and just in time. A split second later, Serena Lupin entered the room.
"Hello, Sirius," she said coyly.
"Hello, Serena," Sirius said warily. He didn't much like the look on Serena's face. She hadn't spoken to him in weeks - since before Christmas, actually. So what did she want now?
"Still up?" she asked in mild surprise. "Doing homework?"
"I can't sleep," he said stiffly.
She smiled sweetly at him. "Neither can I."
Sirius really didn't like where this was going. "Um, I think I'm going to go put this away," he mumbled, packing up his books.
"Stay here with me for a while," Serena pleaded, resting a hand on his arm. "Please, Sirius..."
Sirius shook his head and started to walk away. Serena jumped up and called to him, "Sirius, please come back! I - I love you!"
Sirius stopped on the stairs and turned to look at her. "Serena," he said quietly, "Don't waste your time on me."
"Waste?" she laughed, and followed him up the stairs. She caught him by the sleeve. "I couldn't waste anything on you!"
He looked at her sorrowfully. "Are you doing this to annoy Remus?"
She started at him in disbelief. "What does *he* have to do with *us*?"
"There is no *us*," Sirius said, opening the door to his dorm. "Goodnight, Serena."
Serena stood outside the closed door for several minutes, open-mouthed and stunned. She finally shook herself out of her daze and headed to her dorm, getting angrier and angrier by the minute.
"I swear, I'll make him pay," she vowed as she got into bed.
~February 5 - Care of Magical Creatures~
The Marauders were shivering out on the grounds, standing as close to the fire as they could. Professor Kettleburn had them all collecting wood for the fire, which was home to the creatures they were now studying - salamanders. This was a good thing, because Care of Magical Creatures was less than pleasant outside in the icy winds and ankle-deep snow. "Just you wait," Peter had predicted darkly. "March comes next - rain and sleet. I hate winter!"
"I'm cold, I'm cold, I'm cold...." Remus sang under his breath, rubbing his hands together. They were like ice, even with his mittens on. Peter was right. Winter was terrible.
"Me too, me too, affirmative and ditto," Sirius sang back, sticking his hands in his armpits to keep them warm. "Can't we stay inside and study - house-elves or something?"
"When I grow up, I'm moving to Alcopoco," Peter mumbled.
Snape passed them, glowering at James, who had been making jokes about grease fires since the lesson began. Well, he had. Right now, he felt like an ice cube, and he didn't feel like making any jokes. He'd have to open his mouth and let out hot air.
Sirius looked furtively around then muttered, "Remus? I think your sister's a nutzoid."
Remus snorted. "Be happy you don't have to live with her."
"I am, actually," he grumbled. "She might try to rape me or something if I did."
Peter blanched. "What?!"
Sirius waved a hand at him. "I was only kidding, Pete," he said. "But not about how obsessed she is. I mean, last night - she cornered me in the common room and was going on and on about me being her boyfriend or something like that."
"I told you something like this would happen," James scowled.
"What did you do?" Peter asked.
Sirius shook his head and dumped another armload of wood on the fire. "I told her the truth - I'm not in love with her."
"How did she react?" Remus asked suspiciously.
"I don't know, actually," Sirius admitted. "To be honest, I really didn't want to stick around and see."
Remus groaned. "This is bad. If I know my sister - which I do - she's going to make life miserable for you, Siri. And for me too, actually," he grumbled. "All summer long I'll have to listen to her plotting revenge."
James shook his head. "I told you so," he said to Sirius. "You daft sod. I hope she makes you really miserable."
Sirius grumbled something incoherent at him. Something that sounded like "My life is already miserable", but the bell rang at the same moment, drowning out Sirius' words.
~April 4 - Hogsmeade~
"You were right, Remmie!" Sirius wailed, burying his head in his hands. "Your sister is a *nightmare*! Make her go away!"
"I can't," Remus said. "Unfortunately. You're just going to have to apologize and hope for the best."
"I tried that," Sirius said as they entered Honeydukes'. "She's impossible to reason with!"
Well, Remus knew that, he had lived with the girl for eleven years. James punched Sirius on the arm. "What did I tell you?"
"Jim, you've been saying 'I told you so' for months here," Sirius moaned. "Give it up, already."
While Peter, Remus, and Sirius browsed through the shelves and barrels and crates of sweets, James hung back a bit, thinking hard. How to get rid of Remus' sister? Okay, maybe Sirius had been a prat to her, but even Sirius didn't need some maniac first-year trailing him around for the rest of his life. If only he was a girl. That might help some, he might understand Serena's crazy motives. But there was no way James could become a girl (good, he thought). Hmm.
He went to join his friends, still thinking. If only he could....... His eyes fell on a group of Gryffindor girls nearby. Lily Evans was one of them, and suddenly James had an idea. That just night work.....
~May 12, Gryffindor Common Room~
"I'll be right back," James said, getting up. The Marauders had all taken to studying in their dorm every night, seeing as it was the only place Serena wouldn't dare to follow them ('If you're sleeping there, Remus, all the dirty socks might attack me,' she had said in disgust one time).
"'Kay, Jim," Remus mumbled from behind an enormous book.
James went downstairs to the common room, hoping like mad that Lily would still be there. To his relief, she was, sitting with a group of her friends near the fire. If there was one thing James hated, it was approaching a girl with thousands of others giggling around her, but he summoned his courage and marched up to them.
"Lily?" he asked, sighing mentally when all her friends started to giggle. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure," she replied, getting up and following him to a corner.
"I need to ask you a favor, if you don't mind," James said.
"What is it?"
James hesitated, then took the plunge. "I need you to help me to get Remus' sister to leave Sirius alone."
One of Lily's eyebrows quirked. "Serena? What's she doing to Sirius? I thought he was the one all hung up on her."
James shook his head. "It's a long story..."
Lily smiled. "Hold on a minute."
She went over to her friends, said something, then took her books upstairs. She came back a minute later, and went back over to James. "Okay," she said with a grin. "What's going on?"
So James ended up telling her the whole story, about Serena's crush, and Sirius not taking it serio- err, at face value, and now how Serena wouldn't leave Sirius alone.
"...And now she won't stop bugging him," grumbled James, shaking his unruly bangs out of his eyes. "Remmie was right. She's a complete psycho!"
Lily shook her head. "And where, praytell, do *I* fit into this, James?"
"Well.... I thought you might want to help out," James said evasively.
Lily gave him a piercing green glare. "Out with it."
"Would you talk to Serena and see what her problem is?" James asked desperately.
Lily just stared at him for a long time, making James feel really uncomfortable.
"You want me to spy for you, then," she said finally.
"Um, well, it's not really spying - I mean, I could talk to her but - you're a girl and all -"
"Thanks for noticing." Lily said dryly.
James flushed. "What I meant was, maybe you could be all sympathetic and stuff - get her to tell you what's wrong... or convince her to leave Siri alone - or introduce her to a new guy or something...."
"You really are daft sometimes," Lily said. "That's impossible."
"Um, okay..." James mumbled sheepishly. "It's okay if you don't want to do it. Thanks anyway."
He got up to leave, but Lily stood too and grabbed his arm. "I didn't say I wasn't going to do it, James," she said.
This was unexpected. James turned to her, amazed. "What?"
"I said, okay," Lily said. "I'm always ready for a challenge, you know."
James brightened. "Wow! Thanks, Lil," he said, relieved, and on an impulse, kissed her cheek before running upstairs.
Lily blushed almost as red as her hair, and headed up up her own dorm. "What a nerd," she thought to herself.
~June 29 - Hogwarts Entrance~
James waited impatiently, wondering where Lily was. The carriages would be here at any minute. Where was Lily? He needed to talk to her, see what she had found out. He knew Serena would start bugging Sirius as soon as next term started; but maybe Lily had succeeded......
Lily showed up just as the first carriages did, looking upset.
"I'm sorry, James," she said. "It took me a few weeks to figure out how to argue my case... and our exams, I'm so sorry, I couldn't find out much."
"It's okay," James said, holding up a hand to his friends, who were calling him to get in the carriage. "Did you find out anything?"
"A little," Lily muttered, looking around warily. "Look, I can't tell you here - Serena's friends are right over there. I'll write to you over the summer, okay?"
"Okay," James sighed. "Thanks, Lil."
He climbed into the carriage with Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Life sure was getting complicated, he thought unhappily.
To Be Continued
Coming Soon : Year 4! James finds out what Serena's hiding, Remus gets a shock, and Sirius sinks deeper into denial. James seriously debates telling Lily about Remus' crush, and things get even more complicated when Snape shows up. Will it ever end??
(A/N : I must thank all the voice actors and actresses from Sailor Moon! I got a pile of Sailor Moon CD's for Christmas, and all I've been doing since then (besides trying to beat the basilisk in the CoS game) is listening to the CD's and writing. Some of the songs provided excellent inspiration!)