Disclaimer: See the first chapter.... and once again I don't own Hotaru Tomoe/Sailor Saturn/Current Divination teacher..........

WARNINGS: Just to remind you, there's going to be Remus/Sirius slash! Yay!

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Year 4 - Trouble Starts With the Word "Love"

~August 22, 1978 - The Potter House - 10:45 AM~

-Dear James,
Serena is angry, that's all I can get out of her. She's simply furious with Sirius; she's been going on and on about how he used her, then embarrassed her.... I've been keeping in touch with her, trying to get her to give it up. I don't know if she'll leave him alone or not. But I think she's planning some major revenge. All I can say is - I'm glad I'm not in Sirius' shoes.
Take care,
Lily -

James reread Lily's letter, then pushed his sweaty bangs back from his forehead. With a sigh, he pulled some parchment and ink from his desk. He wanted to write to Lily - strictly just to thank her, of course! - and to Remus. Just to let him know that his sister was a ticking time bomb.
He sighed again. This had*not* turned out to be a fun summer.

~The Black House - 11:12 AM~

Sirius was lying on his bed, playing with his long hair absentmindedly as he wrote in his journal.

-I've been thinking a *lot* over the summer. Well, I've been thinking a lot whenever I'm home and not hanging around Jim and Remmie and Pete. But it sums up to a lot of thinking - more than I've done in the past - well, anyway, I think Jim might just have a point. As much as I hate to admit it, the daft sod was right. I'm in love with Remmie.
God, it sounds so weird to me. I'm in love with Remmie? The idea scares me to death. Not because of him - I'm just terrified to think of what everyone else will think. Okay, I shouldn't be. But I'm only fourteen! Mum'll drop dead if she finds out I'm in love with a guy, especially *now*... What am I supposed to do? I guess there's only one thing - not let on to anyone. But... I want to tell Remmie..... But how will he react? I don't really picture him as the kind of guy who'd be thrilled if one of his best friends fell in love with him.... And the subject of his sister comes to mind. Who *knows* what's she's got in store for me. ....I just can't stand it.... -

Just then, his sister Lyra barged in.
"What *are* you doing?" she demanded, and Sirius snapped his journal closed.
"Noting illegal," he scowled.
Lyra laughed sarcastically. "Sure. And I'm the Queen."
"Then let me crown you, your Majesty," Sirius snarled, shaking his fist at her. She just giggled and ruffled his hair. God, sometimes you really couldn't tell she was twenty-five.
"Mum's been *calling* you," Lyra said, calming down. "She wants to talk to you."
"Okay," sighed Sirius, getting up. "What did I do this time?"
"I should know?" Lyra shrugged, and left.
Sirius heaved a sigh that spoke of many, many talks with his parents (usually about the owls they received from Dumbledore whenever he did something wrong), and went downstairs.

Brendan and Leyna Black were *not* a model couple when it came to housekeeping. Their house was usually very cluttered, and never mind the stacks of 'Daily Mails' and 'Daily Prophets' from five years ago. Leyna was a seamstress as Madame Malkin's, and Brendan was an engineer (how difficult that was to explain to his friends!), so they very rarely had time to help out. Also living in the house was Lyra (who would be getting married soon and LEAVING, much to Sirius' delight), his grandma, and his Aunt Kayleigh. Sirius often mused over his strange family - well, to him they were strange. Sometimes he wondered what it would be like if he was an only child... oh, how sweet *that* would be. Lyra was *NOT* very good at acting twenty-five.
"You called, Mum?" Sirius asked, entering the rather messy living room. His mother was making a rather haphazard attempt to rehang the drapes, and his father was reading a piece of paper and frowning at it slightly.
"We've been calling you for the past half hour," his father said sharply. "I want to talk to you."
He waved a piece of paper in the air, and with a sinking heart Sirius recognized it as the poem he had written last week - dammit, he knew he had left it around, but he couldn't remember where. Not a very good poem, just something about werewolves - and love. Sirius gulped.
But he was totally blown away by what happened next. Instead of exploding - or worse, asking a lot of questions, starting with "Do you know a werewolf?" and "Are you gay?" - his father smiled. "This is a pretty good poem," he said, and Sirius had to struggle to keep his jaw from hitting the ground.
"Don't leave this just lying around," his father said, handing it to him. "Unless you want your sister reading it."
Sirius shuddered at the thought, then mumbled, "Sure thing, Dad," before running back upstairs to hide the poem. He read it through, then hastily folded it and stuck it in the back of his journal. Never, never, ever would he let Remus read it.

But how to tell Remus he loved him?.......

~September 12 - the Great Hall~

James yawned behind his hand, and Sirius shot him a look. "Didn't sleep well?"
"Didn't sleep," James grumbled. "Pete kept me up all night. Had a really weird nightmare and couldn't go to sleep."
"Well, at least *you* stayed up with me," Peter said darkly, glaring at Sirius and Remus.
Sirius held up his hands. "Whoa, Nelly! If you're going to have nightmares, then have them at a decent hour when I'm awake."
Remus shook his head and went back to his hated porridge. Sometimes Peter was.... strange.
"Oh boy," James said sarcastically, looking over his schedule. "Divination first thing today."
"Yippee," Sirius said bleakly. "I'm so tired of that crap."
"Then you should have given it up," Remus said.
"I would have if Mum wasn't so intent on having at least one Seer in the family," Sirius grumbled. "It was fine for my sister - 'I love Divination!' - Sometimes I wish Mum was a Seer so she'd see I'm not happy about telling fortunes."
Remus shook his head again. He had barely taken another bite of porridge when Serena plopped down beside him. Sticking her nose in the air, she didn't respond to James' and Sirius' hellos.
"Good morning, Remus, just thought I'd stop and say hello before going to meet - *my NEW BOYFRIEND*...."
Remus stared blankly at her. "New boyfriend?" This was the first he'd heard of it.
"Yes, new boyfriend," Serena said airily, expertly ignoring Sirius and James, who were now sniggering behind their hands. "Bobby Bennett."
James nearly choked on his bacon. "B-B-Bobby Bennett? The Hufflepuff Seeker?"
"Yes, him," Serena said, sticking her nose further in the air and snatching a muffin. "I must be off, I'm going to meet him."
Remus moaned. "What is *this*?! Bennett's a SIXTH year, for crying out loud! What is she playing at?"
"Nothing, Remmie," Peter said. "Look." He pointed at the entrance to the Great Hall. Bobby Bennett had just walked in, and to Remus' horror, put his arm around Serena and kissed her cheek.
Remus growled, getting to his feet. "I'll kill him! She's only TWELVE!"
Sirius seized Remus by the back of his robes. "Remmie, you can't kill him," he said. "You'd get expelled - and I think Serena needs to see for herself that some people aren't so nice."
Remus sat, and stared at Sirius. "You mean my sister deserves it - if she gets raped?"
"No way!" Sirius said hastily. "You're taking me all wrong, Remmie. I don't want him to rape her - but she has to find out he's only using her for revenge."
"What do you mean?" James asked curiously.
"I hear tell Bennett's girlfriend broke up with him over the summer." Sirius said calmly, examining his fingernails.
Peter's jaw dropped. "Not Janie Phipps."
"Yes indeedy," Sirius replied. "And I think he's using *your* sister as bait to lure Janie back, Remmie."
"That *bastard*!" snarled Remus, but Sirius pulled him back into his seat again.
"Face it, honeychile, there's nothing you can do," he said. "Leave it be."
"If he hurts Serena..." Remus growled, but went back to his breakfast.

The bell rang for start of classes, and they headed off to Divination. Sirius couldn't help but mull over Remus' words at breakfast as they ran up dizzying staircases to get to the classroom. You had to admit, Remus was really devoted. As much as Sirius disliked Serena, it was sweet of Remus to be that protective...


Maybe Divination was a little woolly (Sirius and James referred to Professor Tomoe as 'Professor Fraud', not too subtle there), but Remus was really enjoying it. He had thoroughly enjoyed last year's lessons (even though doing palmistry with Sirius made him feel weak-kneed and sweaty), and was excited when Professor Tomoe announced they would be studying the stars and planets, and their effect on personality and lifestyle. She started this first lesson by studying each person in turn and pointing out the qualities of each person's birth sign. Remus nearly jumped when she appeared at his side, smiling down at him.

"Your light hair," she said, "And pale skin - light-colored eyes. All traits of the Moon - You're a Cancer, aren't you?" she asked him, and Remus nodded. "A reliable, responsible personality - and a deep devotion to only one person." Professor Tomoe told him. "Honorable traits, Mr. Lupin."
She turned to Sirius next, who gave her a saucy grin (which she ignored). "Mr. Black..." she said dreamily. "Named after the Dog Star - be proud of that." ("Woof," Sirius whispered.) "Dark hair, dark eyes - high stature, and medium skin - and a reserved personality... I expect you don't admit to much, do you?" she asked him.
"D'you mean if I did something wrong?" Sirius asked innocently.
"No, dear," Professor Tomoe said, ignoring the class' giggles. "I mean your secrets."
Sirius shrugged. "I don't think I have any."
Professor Tomoe made an annoyed noise. "I'm right in saying you were born in late winter?"
"January 30," Sirius replied.
"Aquarius! Guarded by the planet Uranus!"
Sirius made a face. "Oh, ick." he muttered to the others as Professor Tomoe started analyzing Sally Parks. "The planet with the grossest name, and I'm stuck with it."
Sally Parks was a Cancer like Remus, and Professor Tomoe announced at the news, "In case you were wondering -" she sniggered - "Aquarius and Cancer are very compatible signs when it comes to a romantic relationship... not to give anyone ideas, of course," she added hastily, then went on to analyze John Smith.

Remus lowered his gaze to his copy of 'Unfogging the Future'. Cancer..... and Aquarius?.......

Sirius pretended to blush when Sally Parks gave him a coy look, and looked away. Aquarius... and Cancer.....

~September 30 - 10:00 PM - Fourth Year Boys' Dorm~

"I'll never be able to do this!" Peter mumbled, reading over the steps to the Animagi transformation. "Only geniuses could do this."
"Buck up, Pete, and don't sell yourself short," James said. "You'll do it just fine. Siri and I will still keep helping you. And just think - becoming an Animagus is the most difficult piece of Transfiguration there is! After this, McGonagall's classes will be a breeze."
"Yeah, I guess," Peter said. "But why do we always practice so *late* at night? I'm tired!"
"Because practicing anytime else would get us expelled," Sirius said mildly.
Peter squeaked. "Oh, right."
Remus shook his head and continued thumbing through his copy of 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' to find the section on Mandrakes. Sirius, however, closed his book and sat up.
"I wonder," he said dreamily, "what else we can do as Animagi."
"What do you mean?" Remus asked warily.
"We can go exploring!" said Sirius.
James' eyes widened. "Hell, yeah! And run all over Hogsmeade!"
"Sneak into Honeydukes' for sweets," Sirius grinned.
"Swim in the lake without getting into trouble...."
"Chase Snape when he tries to sneak out of the school for a romantic walk with Lucius..."
"Siri!" Remus interrupted. "Please! I don't want to think about it!"
"Yeah, it *is* a disgusting idea," Sirius admitted. "Can you imagine the two of them - mmmph!"
James had covered Sirius' mouth with his hand. "Siri, *please*, I don't want to think of it either. Now be a good boy and do your homework!"
"All righty then," Sirius agreed cheerfully, and reopened 'Unfogging the Future'. "Write an essay on your birth planet's influence on your personality," he read out loud, and groaned. "Stupid thing."
Remus giggled. "Should have tackled *that* earlier, while Divination was fresh in your mind," he teased.
Sirius shrugged. "Well, it's not due until next week. So -" he closed his book "-I'll do it later."
"Always the procrastinator,"James laughed.
Sirius stuck his tongue out at him, and instead pulled out his journal. After checking to make sure his poem was hidden inside, he began to write.

-Sometimes Pete really gets me... I mean, Remmie's already scared to death that we'll get caught and get in trouble, and worried sick we'll screw it up and be stuck as half-human, half-animals forever. I don't think it helps to have Pete complaining and whining every second of the day. If I was Remmie, I'd be all hurt and pissed that he doesn't even want to risk a little for me.
I wonder what animal I'll become. I wanted to be a wolf, but now I don't think that's such a great idea. I'm not sure how Remmie would react to having another wolf around. And I really don't think I want to find out. -

He glanced up from his writing and glanced quickly around the dorm. James was reading his notes, his brow furrowed slightly. Peter was scribbling away at a Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. And Remus (who had finished his own homework ages ago, no surprise there) had his nose stuck in a thick, heavy book. 'How could one person read that much?' Sirius wondered, gazing at Remus. 'It's no wonder I'm in love with him,' he thought, 'He's beautiful.'
Remus was beautiful, whether he knew it or not (and Sirius suspected he didn't). Sometimes Sirius dreamed about him, his honey eyes twinkling with laughter, always holding a book in one hand and offering a shy smile.

-I'm going to tell him someday. I'm going to tell him how beautiful he is, and how much I love him. Someday. Hopefully soon..... -

~October 19 - the Quidditch Field~

"Think fast, Jim!" Sirius shouted, throwing golf balls as hard and as fast as he could in every direction. "Catch those Snitches! Beat those Slytherins! Go, go, go!"
Remus and Peter howled with laughter, watching Sirius jump up and down in a spastic cheerleading routine. James had asked them to help him practice for Quidditch, and Sirius was rising to the request splendidly.
"Go, Jim, go!" Sirius shouted, throwing another golf ball past the Seeker. "You can do it! Give me a J! Give me an I! Give me a M! What's that spell? Jim, Jim, Jim!" He pretended to wave pompoms in the air and kicked his legs in the air, Rockette-style.
"Stop! S-S-Siri, please stop!" Remus cried, holding his sides and wiping tears from his eyes. "Please! Before Pete and I rupture ourselves!"
"He's right, Siri!" James called from overhead. "You're making *me* laugh so hard I can't catch the golf balls."
"Genius ain't appreciated," Sirius pouted, but stopped jumping. "Wow. All that jumping makes my legs hurt."
He collapsed on the bench next to Remus. "Your turn," he said sweetly, holding out the bag of golf balls. Remus sighed. He was terrible at throwing. But he took the bag and got up.
"Ready for some really easy ones, Jim?" he asked, resigned to his fate.
James laughed. "You're not that bad, Remmie. Come on, throw me some!"
So, poor Remus tried to throw as far as he could for a while. None of the balls made it very far before James caught them.
"Remmie," sighed Sirius, coming over and resting a hand on Remus' shoulder, "I'm going to get you a coach for Christmas."
"No thanks," Remus said, wrinkling his nose and handing Peter the golf balls. "There's more to life than sports."
"What did you say?!" James asked in disbelief. "There *is*?! Can't be!" He gurgled and pretended to fall off his broom.
Remus glared at him. "Well, there is. I mean, you don't get to be Minister of Magic just because you know every obscure Quidditch record in existence."
"I'm kidding, Remmie," James said, rolling his eyes.
"It's getting dark," Peter spoke up. "Don't you think we should go inside?"
"Yeah, you're right," James said, glancing at the darkening sky. "It'll be too dark to see, anyway."
They picked up the golf balls, put James' broom away in the broomshed, and headed up to the castle.
"Might as well get started on that Divination essay," Sirius mumbled as they climbed through the portrait hole. Remus gasped at his words, and the other three Marauders looked at him curiously.
"Siri always puts his work off to the last minute," James said. "What's so shocking about that, Remmie?"
"No, it's just I forgot something in Professor Tomoe's room the other day," Remus remembered, beginning to worry. He had left his journal there - oh, dammit, how could he have been so stupid? "I should go back and get it."
"You'll get caught," Peter fretted. "Wait until tomorrow!"
"No, it's - really important," Remus said. "I'll go get it now."
"I'll come with you!" Sirius volunteered. This was perfect. He could get Remus somewhere on the way back and talk to him!
"Okay," Remus said, looking more worried. "Let's go."
They climbed back out of the portrait hole, ignoring the Fat Lady, who was quite disgruntled to be bothered twice in two minutes, and hurried up to the tower where the Divination room was.

Remus climbed cautiously up the purple ladder and into the Divination classroom, while Sirius stayed down below to keep a lookout for Filch.
"Professor Tomoe?" he called. "Um - I hate to bother you - but um - if you're here - I need to ask you something..."
"Good evening, my dear," Professor Tomoe murmured from behind him, nearly making him jump out of his skin. "What is it you'd like to ask me?"
"Well, uh, I kind of - left something here the other day," Remus said hesitantly. "I wanted to ask if you'd found it.."
Professor Tomoe smiled. "I did indeed, my dear," she said, gliding over to her desk and opening a drawer. She rummaged around in it for a minute, then pulled out the leather-bound notebook which served as Remus' journal. "Is this what you're looking for?"
"Yes," Remus said gratefully as she handed it to him. "Thanks so much, Professor."
"You're welcome, dear. Goodnight," Professor Tomoe said, then went into her office.

Remus hurried down the ladder to where Sirius stood, leaning against the wall and sucking on a Sugar Quill.
"We came back for a *notebook*?" Sirius asked, sounding amused. "Sounds like you, Remmie, getting all panicked over losing homework."
"Shut up," Remus grumbled, punching him in the arm, feeling relieved at having his journal back. "Let's get back to the common room, in a hurry."
"Sure," said Sirius. "Come on."
He meant to pull Remus off someplace private where they could talk - but they had only gone down one hallway when Peeves the poltergeist swept out of an empty classroom. He squealed at the sight of them.
"Well, if it isn't Black and Lupin!" he crowed. "Out of your common room after hours! Should tell Filch, I should!"
"Oh, please don't, Peeves, you'll get us in trouble!" Remus begged.
Peeves flipped over in midair and grinned wickedly. "What are you doing up this late? If you tells me, maybe I won't say anything to Filch."
"Get out of the way, you damned poltergeist," Sirius snarled, irritated at having his plans interrupted. "It's none of your business!"
Peeves stopped to consider this. There was something about the smile on his face that Remus and Sirius didn't like.

Well, they were right not to trust him - because Peeves suddenly yelled, "FILCH! STUDENTS OUT OF BED! COME GET 'EM!"
"Damn!" Sirius hissed, grabbing Remus by the arm and pulling him down the hall. If only he could get down to the kitchens in time to hide! Why hadn't they brought James' Invisibility Cloak?!
"Don't pull so hard," Remus panted from behind him. "Siri, where are we *going*?!"
"I don't know," Sirius confessed, but he didn't stop running, and he didn't let go of Remus' arm. They raced down another flight of stairs and found themselves on the fourth floor, across from a huge mirror. As they ran past it, Sirius stumbled. He reached out with his free hand, groping for something to steady himself before he and Remus ended up face-first on the floor. His hand hit the mirror, and to his surprise, it swung open.
He *did* fall, and Remus landed on top of him. "Ooof!" Remus gasped. "Siri, what is it?"
"In - HERE!" Sirius whispered, crawling into the entrance made by the open mirror. Remus' jaw dropped, but he snatched up his journal and crawled in after Sirius. The mirror closed behind them, and not a moment too soon. Filch's wheezing breath and shuffling footsteps came around the corner a minute later.
"Where *are* they?" They heard him snarl. "That Black again - him and Potter, the worst troublemakers I've seen in a while - I'll get him, by grab." They tensed, knowing Filch knew every secret passage in the castle, but to their surprise, he didn't try to enter. Remus relaxed, and pressed his ear to the back of the mirror.
"I think he's gone," he said. "Come on, let's go.... Sirius?"
Sirius was leaning forward, looking at something. "I think this is a tunnel," he said. "Lumos!"
In the light which bloomed at the tip of Sirius' wand, Remus could see that it was indeed a tunnel. "Lumos!" he said to his own wand, and they were able to see better.
The tunnel was very damp and cobwebby, and it sloped downhill. Sirius glanced at Remus, and gave him the mischievous look Remus was so used to. "Want to explore?"
"I'm with you. Do I have a choice?" Remus teased, and Sirius grinned.

The tunnel was really long, and it felt like an hour before they reached a staircase at the end of the tunnel. They began to climb, the spiral staircase making them dizzy as they got higher and higher up.
"Ow!" Sirius said after about fifteen minutes of climbing.
"What?" Remus whispered.
"I hit my head on something. Ouch. I think - it's a tree root."
"A tree root?"
"Yeah, I think so."
Sirius felt along carefully. "Weird - it feels like a trapdoor - only it's covered with roots. I think it's grown over. Here, give me a hand."
Remus put his journal in his pocket, then cautiously climbed onto the top step. He put his shoulder to the trapdoor, and Sirius nodded.
"Okay - on the count of three, One - two - THREE!"

They pushed as hard as they could, and the door flew open with a rusty screech and a shower of dirt, grass, and broken roots. Sirius and Remus waited in silence to see if anyone came running. When no one did, Sirius climbed out of the trapdoor. Remus waited until he heard Sirius say softly, "It's okay, no one's around."
He heaved himself up and found himself in what appeared to be a hollowed-out tree. He squeezed through the small hole in the tree's trunk, and stood.
He and Sirius were standing in a clearing in a forest. In the distance, between the trees, he could see a faint glimmer of lights.
"Where are we?" he asked Sirius.
Sirius shrugged. "I dunno. Come on, let's see."
A path lead from the clearing and seemed to be heading for the lights in the distance. Sirius and Remus followed the path for about ten minutes. The trees grew less and less dense as they walked, and then opened out onto a hilltop. Below them was a sea of lights - a village. Sirius started to laugh.
"Remmie - I can't believe it - that's Hogsmeade!" he said.
"Oh, wow," Remus gasped. Without thinking, he reached out and grasped Sirius' hand, then winced. What was he thinking?
But Sirius didn't seem to mind. He gave Remus' hand a gentle squeeze, still looking down at Hogsmeade. "Too cool. We'll have to tell Jim and Pete about this."
"I think we'd better get back," Remus said nervously. "Before Filch finds out about that passage."
"Okay," Sirius said. He started back down the path, still holding Remus' hand. Remus gave Sirius' hand a timid squeeze, and was awarded with a smile. He was over his initial nervousness, and he was rather enjoying holding Sirius' hand - something that had only happened in his fantasies (and nothing further than that - the idea of what might come later always made him blush, and he'd reroute his thoughts quickly). They reached the tree and climbed down the winding staircase, hurried up the passage (taking longer this time, since they now had to go uphill). After a quick rest at the top of the passage, they peeked around the mirror. Neither Filch nor Peeves was in sight, so they slipped back into the hallway and ran up to the seventh floor.

The Fat Lady gave them a curious look. "Out for a stroll?" she asked them, taking in their clasped hands.
Remus and Sirius blushed simultaneously, and let go. "I just had to find something I dropped," Remus said shyly. "Turnip Pasty."
The Fat Lady swung open, and they clambered through the portrait hole into a deserted common room. They hurried up to their dorm, where James and Peter were waiting.

"You've been gone hours!" James said as they entered. "What took you so long?" He tried to hide his glee at their mussed hair and sweaty faces. Hopefully they'd been up to more than just fetching whatever Remus had lost.
"We almost had a run-in with Filch," Sirius said. "And get this - we found a secret passage that leads to Hogsmeade!"
James and Peter leaned forward, all ears. Sirius told the story in great detail (Remus adding things now and then), but leaving out the hand-holding.
"Interesting," James said, his eyes sparkling. "Sounds like we've got a way to sneak out and have fun some nights."

Remus and Peter climbed into their beds soon afterwards and fell asleep almost instantly. James gave Sirius a coy look as they put on their pj's. "Anything else happen that you'd care to tell, Black?"
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You mean the savage wild animal love Remmie and I made in the woods?" he asked dryly, and whapped James over the head with a pillow. "You're weird, Jim. We told you everything that happened."
James laughed, getting into his bed and pulling the hangings closed. He pulled the blankets up to his chin and smiled to himself. Sirius could joke about it all he wanted - but James was sure something had happened between Sirius and Remus on their little adventure.

Sirius was almost asleep when he remembered his resolution to talk to Remus. Dammit! Why hadn't he done it tonight? Being chased by Filch, finding the secret passage, and holding Remus' hand had driven it straight out of his mind. D'oh. He'd have to remember to try again tomorrow night. He closed his eyes, went to sleep, and promptly forgot about it again.

~November 6 - Hogsmeade~

"Ooof!" James muttered. "Watch it, Pete!"
"Shh!" Remus hissed.
"That was my arm!" Peter yelped.
"Gerroff, Jim!" Sirius grumbled.
The Marauders were trying to climb through the trapdoor leading into the hollow tree. Most unfortunately, the top step was not wide enough to hold four teenage boys.
"Come on, Pete," Sirius gasped, trying to give Peter a push up. "Get *up* there!
It was a tight squeeze for Peter, but he managed to pull himself through the trapdoor and out of the tree. James followed, then Remus, then Sirius.
The fresh air in the woods was a relief after the stuffy air in the tunnel. Sirius closed the trapdoor behind them and they headed off to Hogsmeade.
"Where to?" James asked cheerfully as they came out of the woods.
"How about the Three Broomsticks?" Remus asked, shivering slightly. "It's cold out here."
The others agreed, and they entered, a tad nervous at being found out.
But they needn't have worried. There were a few older Hogwarts students scattered though the crowd (not to mention a few teachers), so Remus and Peter set off to find an empty table while James and Sirius went up to the bar to get the drinks.
The landlady, Madame Rosmerta, finished serving a pair of goblins and turned to James and Sirius. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Black!" she said, smiling warmly. "How can I help you tonight?"
"Run away with me, my dear," Sirius said dreamily, batting his eyelashes at her. "I may only be fourteen, but I will show you that even a fourteen-year-old can be a *man*."
Madame Rosmerta giggled, blushing beet red. "Go on, you kidder!" she chuckled, waving a hand at him. "You're much too young for me."
"Just four butterbeers, then," Sirius pouted, and Madame Rosmerta laughed again.
"Such a kidder," she chuckled, drawing four butterbeers and handing them to James and Sirius. "Your mouth will get you in trouble one of these days, Mr. Black."
"She's right, I expect," James teased as they headed off to join Peter and Remus. "You'll say the wrong thing to the wrong person and - BAM!"
"Ah, shut up," Sirius said cheerfully, handing a butterbeer to Remus.
James took a sip of his drink, but paused when he saw Lily Evans enter with a few of her friends. "I'll be right back," he said abruptly, and squeezed through the crowd to the table Lily had just sat down at.

"Hi, James," Lily said as he sat down. "What's up?'
"Two things," James muttered. "The first thing I can't tell you here. When we get back to the common room, can we talk?"
"Sure," Lily said, amused. "And what's the second thing?"
"What's this stuff I hear about Remus' sister and Bobby Bennett?" James asked suspiciously.
Lily waved a hand. "Tell Remus not to worry. From what Serena's told me, and from what I can see for myself, Bobby's as safe as houses. I know everyone thinks he's using Serena to get his old girlfriend back, but I don't think so. He's not like that."
"Okay," said James, getting up. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

~November 7 - 12:30 AM~

The common room had cleared out, and James and Lily were finally alone.
"What did you need to talk to me about, James?" Lily asked as they sat down in front of the fire. No need to beat around the bush.
"I think Remmie is in love," he said.
Lily smiled. "Who's the lucky girl?"
James gulped. "S-Sirius." What would she say to that?
Lily's eyes widened, and so did her smile. "Really? That's so sweet!"
James stared. "You think so?" "Of course I do. Don't you?"
"Forever," James said, relieved that Lily hadn't screamed or had a giggling fit. "But the problem is, he won't admit to it."
"Does he know you're telling me?" Lily asked casually. James' scalp prickled. Sometimes Lily had an eerie way of knowing what was going on.
"No.... Don't say anything to anyone!" he warned her.
"I promise to keep it much more secret than you did," she smirked. "So how do we propose to solve this?"
"We've got to get them off by themselves a lot more often," James said thoughtfully. "I know Remmie wants to talk to Siri, but he keeps chickening out."
"We could try to do it today!" Lily suggested. "We could kind of suggest things to them.... I dunno, notes or something in History of Magic..."
"But you're not supposed to know what's going on!" James protested.
Lily waved a hand. "You forget, James, I am a master at this sort of thing," she said, smiling. "Remus and I talk a lot, about homework and stuff, and I notice the way he acts around Sirius. I'll just mention a bit of that in the notes. And I think you'd better handle Sirius - he's your best friend and all..."
"Good idea, Lil," James said, astounded. "I never thought you could be so sneaky."
Lily giggled. "I'll take that as a complement. Goodnight, James."

~November 7 - 9:00 AM - History of Magic~

Remus was dozing. He had his eyes open, and he could hear Professor Binns' droning voice, but the words made no sense to him. They went in one ear and out the other. Everyone else in the class was in a coma-like trance, not paying any attention to Binns' boring lecture on goblin rebellions.
Suddenly something slid under his elbow, and Remus jerked awake. Lily Evans, who was sitting beside him, gave him a wink, and Remus realized she had slipped a note to him. Odd. Very un-Lily-like behavior. Unless, of course, she was always slipping notes to her friends in other classes.
He opened the note under the desk (an unnecessary precaution, seeing as Professor Binns never knew what was going on under his transparent nose - sometimes Remus wondered if Binns had died of boredom...). It read,

-Remus, can I ask you something? What do you think of Sirius? -

Remus raised an eyebrow, when scribbled, 'What do you mean?' on the paper and slipped it back to Lily. She wrote something and slipped it back.
-I mean he's totally hot and you can't keep your eyes off him. You *like* him, don't you? -
Remus gulped. Was he that transparent?
-What's it to you?- he wrote.
-I think you'd be perfect for him, you prat.-
-Sure. And so would anyone else who'd look at him twice.-
-Just answer me. Do you like him?-
Remus hesitated, then nodded slightly at her. Lily smiled, then wrote something else.
-Then talk to him tonight.-
It couldn't be helped. Lily was right.
"I'll try," he whispered.

~1:00 PM - Transfiguration~

Professor McGonagall had the class copying notes on Switching Spells off the board. Both James and Sirius had finished copying, and were waiting for the next set of notes to go up. While they waited, James poked Sirius in the ribs and handed him a note. Sirius opened it.
-Siri, give it up! I swear, you're too stubborn.-
-Cut to the chase, Jim.- Sirius wrote.
-You want to talk to Remmie, right? And you keep chickening out. And avoiding it. -
-I am not! I just keep forgetting. -
-Well, I'm not going to let you forget this time. You're talking to him tonight if I have to lock the both of you in a broom closet.-

Sirius sighed. James was unstoppable when he had a bee in his bonnet. It was decided (decided *for* him, he thought bitterly). He'd have to talk to Remus tonight.

~That Night - 9:30 - Gryffindor Common Room~

Well, getting Remus alone to talk to him was not going to be easy. He was almost always absorbed in a huge, thick book, or his homework, and on top of that, the common room was filled to the brim. Sirius scowled. His whole life was at stake here! How was he supposed to get his potential mate-for-life alone to *tell* him anything?!
He sat there, scowling harder. He tried to ignore James sitting nearby, sniggering, and Lily, who was sitting across the room, peeking over the edge of her book and smiling at the look on his face. She knew something, didn't she?
James got up and walked over to Sirius.
"Siri," he muttered into his friend's ear, "If you want to talk to Remmie so *bad*, just go and ask him."
"I can't talk to him," Sirius grumbled. "We're sitting in the middle of a huge *BLOODY* mess of people."
"You could up in the Astronomy Tower," James suggested, and his grin widened when Sirius whipped around in his seat to stare at him.
"Brilliant, Jim," he said, slapping himself in the forehead. "I don't know why I didn't think of it myself."
"You'll need some help," James said thoughtfully. Before Sirius could ask what he meant, he tore off to their dorm. Puzzled, Sirius waited. James came back with nothing in his hands, but he kept one hand over the pocket of his robes. When he reached Sirius, he slipped the something out from his pocket and slipped it into Sirius' hands. It was the Invisibility Cloak.

"Thanks, Jim," Sirius said gratefully, hiding the cloak in his robes and getting up.

Remus was reading 'Spells, Curses, and Counter-Curses For All Occasions' when a timid voice asked, "Can we talk, Remmie?"
Sirius' voice made him jump - and no wonder. Since when had Sirius Black ever been timid?
Remus smiled up at his friend. "Sure, Siri. Have a seat."
Sirius shook his head. "Can we go - up to the Astronomy Tower?" he asked quietly. "This is - sort of private."
"Um, sure," Remus replied, a little taken aback. What was with Sirius? Usually he and James were out in the middle of things, being loud and at the center of attention. It wasn't like him to be so secretive and quiet. He followed Sirius out of the portrait hole and all the way to the top of the Astronomy Tower. Once or twice he tried to get Sirius' attention, but only got a quick shake of the head in return.

They reached the top of the tower, and emerged out on its balcony under the stars.
"What-did-you-want-to-ask-me?" Remus panted. Seven flights up and running all the way had given him a stitch in his side.
Sirius was still silent, looking up at the sky. Remus took advantage of his silence, massaging his ribs. Just as he was going to repeat his question, Sirius spoke.

"That's my star," he said softly, gazing almost straight overhead. "Sirius...... the Dog Star."
"That's nice," Remus said, beginning to get irritated. Sirius didn't need to bring him up here just to see his namesake - he could have pointed it out during Astronomy class or something.
"It's close to the Moon," Sirius added softly.

Remus stared at him, a strange feeling stirring in the pit of his stomach. What did Sirius mean?

"My gram named me," Sirius continued. "Mum couldn't decide on the perfect name for me. But Gram wanted to name me Sirius, after the brightest star in the sky. Mum and Dad say it's because I was their first son... but Gram says she knows I'm going to be the brightest star in the sky one day, for someone." He laughed ruefully. "I don't think she's right - I mean, there hasn't been a Seer in our family since my great-great-grandmother - and besides, how could Gram know if I'm even going to find someone to be with?"
"Oh, Siri," Remus said softly, and took his hands in his. "Don't talk like that."
Sirius shook his head. "Why not?It's true. I'm not exactly the guy everyone wants to marry."
"Siri, what's wrong? " Remus asked, hesitating when he saw the look in Sirius' eyes.
"Wrong?" Sirius asked softly. "I've been putting off something I shouldn't have been."

And he leaned forward and pressed his lips gently to Remus'.
Remus' eyes widened, but then he relaxed, liking the shy way Sirius was kissing him. He hesitantly reached up to stroke Sirius' long hair. He paused, but then Siri murmured, "No, Remmie, go ahead.."
The feel of Sirius' lips moving against his own as he spoke nearly made Remus pass out. He kissed Sirius back more firmly and entwined his fingers in Sirius' silky hair. It was so straight and soft, absolutely tangle-free, and flowed through his fingers like water.
Sirius opened his eyes just a little to look at Remus. He nearly pulled back in surprise - Remus was utterly, inexpressibly beautiful. This was wonderful, this was what he wanted.... to kiss Remus under the stars, to hold him forever... He slowly pulled Remus into his arms, holding him tightly. They broke the kiss and looked into each other's eyes, surprised and a little afraid.
"Sirius?" Remus whispered. "You've never said anything... and all this time?...."
Sirius closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm sorry...."
"Don't be.... How did you know?" Remus asked him.
"Know?" Sirius asked.
"That... I... like you," Remus answered, blushing.
"I didn't," Sirius murmured. "But I .... like you too."

They stayed motionless and silent for a long time, thinking. Remus rested his head against Sirius' chest and let out a content sigh.
"You know," he murmured, "I think I know who to blame for this."
"Jim and Lil," Sirius chuckled. "They know too much sometimes."
"I don't know whether I want to hug them or curse them," Remus said with a smile.
"Curse them?"
"Lil says she figured this all out herself - but I think she's had a bit of help from Jim. That jerk, he promised not to tell anyone."
Sirius laughed, then looked down at Remus. "Remmie?"
"Mmm?"
"D'you wanna stay up her for a bit? If you wanna go back to the common room, I'll understand, but I thought you'd want to sit up here with me for a bit and.. I dunno, look at the stars or something."
"I thought you'd never ask," Remus smiled, and leaned up to kiss Sirius again.

~*~*~*~*~

Much later, they made their way back to the common room, thankfully not meeting up with Peeves or Filch. When they entered, it was to find James and Lily in a frenzy of excitement. When she saw Remus and Sirius holding hands, Lily squealed and actually toppled out of her chair. So did Peter - but probably for an entirely different reason, Remus reflected.

"It's about time, you dense moron," James said to Sirius, who shot him an evil glare and stuck out his tongue.
"I'm right in guessing you had a hand in this as well, Lil?" Remus asked dryly, and Lily giggled madly from her spot on the floor.
"Yes, I did," she replied, flushing bright pink and trying to suppress more giggles. "What about it?"
Sirius rolled his eyes. "A conspiracy against us! I have a mind to make you all watch me and Remmie snog on the couch!"
"Yes, please!" Lily giggled, and collapsed again.
Remus couldn't help but laugh too. He rather enjoyed being friends with a pack of weirdos.

~Remus' Journal - November 14~

-Well, it's finally happened! I have Siri all to myself now, and I've had him all to myself for the past week. I'm so happy! Oh, I sound like a nutty girl. I guess that can't be helped, because I feel so good! I thought it would take forever to get Siri.... Oh, okay, I haven't confessed to him the whole range of my emotions for him.. I've never even said 'I love you' to him. But this is still new to me! And half the time we're together, talking is the last thing on our minds - heh - snogging is much more fun. Okay, we *did* get in trouble with McGonagall for holding hands during her class, but McGonagall's an old biddy. Haha.-

~December 1 - Gryffindor common room~

"Describe the advantages and disadvantages of animal - human Switching Spells," Remus read out loud, lazily twirling a strand of Sirius' hair around his finger.
"Advantage : you could swim underwater as long as you wanted if you had a shark's head," Sirius said. "Disadvantage : it'd be hard to sit down if you had a shark's tail."
James shook his head even as he laughed. "Come on, Siri, McGonagall won't take that."
"But he's got a point," Lily added. Lily had been hanging out with the Marauders quite often lately - not that they minded. It was fun to badger her for answers on their homework. Not to mention James always got a funny, dizzy feeling in his stomach when he looked at her.
Sirius shrugged, holding up one had to admire his fingernails, which he was currently painting - what else? - black. "You can't argue with logic. You *couldn't* have an easy time of sitting when you've got a tail in the way."
"Please don't tell me you're going to give Snape a shark's tail," Remus said, looking pained. Sirius grinned.
"That hadn't occurred to me, Remmie! Thanks for the idea!"
"He'd be better off with the head of a chipmunk," Lily giggled.
"Too bad I'd get expelled for that," Sirius mumbled, finishing the last nail and blowing on his hands to dry the polish.
"What *are* you doing down there, anyway?" Peter asked him, frowning.
"I don't want to know," James said, pretending to shudder, and laughed when Sirius punched him in the leg. "I was kidding, you dope."
"I don't do that sort of thing in public... without proper motivation." Sirius said cheekily, making Lily giggle and Remus blush. He held his hand up over the edge of the table. "I'm painting my nails, Pete."
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"I thought only girls wore makeup."
"Welcome to the 70's, Pete," Sirius said, getting up. "Even boys wear makeup sometime. You should try it."
"No, thanks," Peter gulped, going back to his work.
"Have it your way, then," Sirius said, shrugging.

"Lily! LIL-EEEE!!" a shrill voice called across the common room, making them all wince. Debbie Johnson, a tall, blond-haired friend of Lily's was gesturing to her furiously. "COME-EEEAH!" (A/N: It's how we say 'come here' in Rhode Island. heh.)
"Coming, Deb!" Lily said, putting down her quill. "Guard my work for me, I'll be back in a sec," she said to the guys.
"Yes, MA'AM!" Sirius said, snapping her a quick salute. She giggled and left, shaking her head.
As soon as Lily had joined Debbie, James leaned closer to his friends. "Who's up for another adventure pretty soon?" he asked, his eyes alight with mischief.
"You know I am," Sirius said, the twinkle in his eyes identical to the one in James'. It was times like this, Remus reflected, when you really *did* think Sirius and James were brothers.
"Me too," he said. Anyplace Sirius was going sounded good to him.
"Me three," Peter said. "Where to?"
"The... Restricted Section!" James said dramatically.
"What for?" Peter wanted to know.
"Easy, Pete. It's the only place to go to find books that'll help us with the Animagi transformation. I bet we can get some stuff from there that'll make it a lot easier - and maybe we can pick up a few new curses to try out on Snape."
"Brilliant, Jim!" Sirius muttered. "D'you think the cloak's big enough to hide the lot of us?"
"Yeah, I think it'll work," James said. "Maybe it wouldn't be amiss to look up some Invisibility Charms while we're there."
They cut off their planning just then, because Lily came back.
"What are you all talking so seriously about?" she asked.
"Nothing, really...." James lied. "Now what's the answer to this Switching Spells thing?"

~December 10 - 1:00 AM~

"Shh!" James hissed.
The Marauders came to a halt just outside the library door, stepping on each other's feet and crashing into one another. It was very cramped under the cloak.
Filch stalked past, looking grouchier than usual, grumbling something about 'students might be out of bed...'. They waited, holding their breaths until he passed. James carefully eased the door open so it wouldn't squeak, and they ducked inside.
Once the door was shut behind them, they pulled off the cloak. "Phew!" Peter whispered. "Fresh air!"
"Are you implying I stink, Pete?" Sirius demanded. "Because *you* smell like cheese."
"I had a limburger sandwich for a snack!" Peter protested.
"So *that's* what I was smelling all the way here," James said in disbelief. "We're lucky Filch didn't smell us out."
Remus smothered a laugh behind his hand, then whispered, "Now what?"
"Now we venture in," James said, climbing over the rope separating the Restricted Section from the rest of the books. Sirius, Remus, and Peter climbed over the rope and followed James down the middle aisle.
It was very dark and spidery in here. The books had a dark, secretive look about them that Remus didn't like, and he reached for Sirius' hand. Sirius have his hand a reassuring squeeze, and stopped to study a shelf of books.
"Oh, ew," Peter said from behind them. "This book looks like it's covered in blood."
James pulled a heavy book off a shelf. "'Moste Potente Potions'," he read off the title. "Huh. Cool." He opened it and began to skim through it. "Wow, this stuff looks brutal."
Sirius let go of Remus' hand and reached up to pull down an enormous red volume entitled 'The Time - Life Book of Magick and Spelles, Volume II'. He opened it cautiously, Remus standing on tiptoe to peer over his shoulder. When Sirius opened the book, several small spirits began to rise out of the title page.
"Evil..." they whispered, making Remus' scalp prickle with fear. "Madness.... darkness..."
"*Cool*!" Sirius exclaimed, slamming the book shut. From inside came many small squeals of pain from the spirits as the cover closed on them. Sirius began to giggle, and so did Remus. Sirius stuck 'The Time-Life Book of Magick and Spelles, Volume II' back on the shelf and wandered over to a counter, where James was now poring over a dusty, water-spotted book.
"Find anything good, Jim?" Sirius asked, casually slipping an arm around Remus' waist. Remus blushed, very glad he was in almost total darkness.
"Yes, if by 'good' you mean 'disturbing'," James answered. "Look at this, jeez. I didn't know it could get that bad!" He pointed at some rather nasty drawings that I won't describe here. Sirius, Remus, and Peter all winced.
"But look at this," James continued, and began to read out loud. "'The Animagi transformation is one of the most complex Transfiguration spells' - duh, we already knew that - 'and requires a great amount of practice in Transfiguration. Once mastered, the spell can be performed at any time or any place, even without a wand. An Animagus form serves as an efficient disguise that can even fool dementors. Dementors cannot sense human emotions when the witch or wizard is transformed, and since they are blind, cannot see through the disguise.' Wow, groovy."
"Now I see half the reasons they make you register and all," Sirius said. "So criminals don't go running around eluding capture." (Little does he know.)
"Let me copy this down," James said, pulling a bent quill and a scrap of parchment from his pocket. For the next few minutes, there was silence, broken only by the the faint scratching of James' quill. Once he had finished, he carefully put the book back in its place on the shelf. "Come on, let's go."

They put the cloak on before leaving the library, and all the way back to the seventh floor when Peter spoke up.
"I'm hungry," he whispered. "Why don't we stop by the kitchens and get some snacks?"
"Sure," Sirius whispered back. "Let's go."
They crept carefully back to the suit of armor which masked the secret passage to the kitchens. After a furtive glance around to make sure the coast was clear, they pushed the suit of armor aside, took off the cloak, and crawled one by one through the hole.
A while later, they reached the bottom of the staircase, only slightly out of breath (going down was always easier than going up). The door beside the fireplace slid open, and they were greeted by a group of smiling, bowing house-elves.
"Hello, sirs!" Bubby squeaked. "Come for something to eat?"
"Yes, please!" Peter said happily, and the house-elves wasted no time rounding up eclairs, cream cakes, doughnuts and miniature pies for them to bring back with them.

"Excellent service, I wish we had a house-elf at home," Sirius said as they began climbing back up the secret staircase. "Half the time I can't even find the refrigerator 'cos our kitchen's so messy."
"Doesn't your mum clean?" Remus asked, appalled.
"Once in a while," Sirius said with a shrug. "When she remembers. My mum's flaky, trust me."
"She's not that bad," James reassured Remus. "I've known her ever since I was born - well, duh - and she isn't as bad as Siri makes her seem."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "At least she's not my dad."
"Isn't your dad an engineer?" Peter asked, frowning.
"Yeah," said Sirius, sighing. "He's always complaining. Wanted me to work for him, used to bring me to work with him when I was little... He was really disappointed when I got my Hogwarts letter...."
"Well, I'm glad you did," Remus said softly, blushing. Before it could turn into a romantic moment that could possibly cause Peter to faint, James punched Sirius in the arm in an affectionate way. "That goes for me too," he said. "Imagine how I could torture you every summer when you got back from Engineer School."
Sirius grumbled, ducking and crawling through the exit hole. The others followed, and they hurried up the hall, not bothering with the Invisibility Cloak (which was still hidden in James' robes). They were almost right outside the painting of the Fat Lady, so they really didn't need it.

Or so they thought.

The Fat Lady was in sight when a low voice growled, "Now I've got you," and Argus Filch leapt out of the shadows.
Peter squeaked in fear, and the others jumped in surprise.
"Sneaking round the school after hours," Filch sneered, an unpleasant grin surfacing on his face. "Well, we'll just see what this gets you..... come with me...."
Not daring to look at one another, the Marauders meekly followed Filch to his first-floor office. It was quite a dingy, dark place, not at all pleasant. A set of manacles and chains hung on one wall. They looked very well-cared for. Remus averted his gaze from this unpleasant sight only to see row upon row of filing cabinets, which he supposed held files on every student Filch had ever punished.
"Sit," Filch said, his eyes glinting dangerously.
They sat. Filch pulled a wretched-looking black quill from a drawer, then began hunting through another drawer for a form, muttering to himself all the while.
"Wandering round at night... breaking curfew... probably breaking into professors' offices.... I'll show you.... punish you good... I only wish I could hang you screaming from the ceiling..."
He finally located a form, spread it on the desk, and began to scribble. "So, Potter, Black, not so smart, are you?" he leered, pausing in his writing. "I knew I'd catch you before long... thought you could fool me?"
Even Sirius had the sense to stay quiet as Filch filled out the form and accused them of everything from sneaking out to trying to drain the lake. Peter was shaking like mad, and looked petrified. Remus wasn't exactly at ease himself. But Sirius and James wore rather bored expressions. Well, they were *used* to getting in trouble, Remus thought. He hated getting into trouble. It made his stomach hurt. Arguing with someone did that to him too. The world's queasiest werewolf. He actually almost giggled at the thought, but managed to keep a straight face.
"Now for your *punishment*," Filch said, sounding delighted. Remus gulped.
"I think I'll make you.... clean out the hippogriffs' paddock!" Filch said, sounding even happier. "That'll teach you!"
A disgusting chore, but they'd probably end up serving their detention under the watch of Hagrid. That wasn't so bad. Hagrid was really a nice guy. And there *was* worse things than cleaning up after hippogriffs. Like flobberworms, for instance.

Filch finally let them go, and they hurried upstairs. Once they reached the third floor, Sirius breathed a sigh of relief.
"We got off easy," he said. "It's fun serving detention with Hagrid."
"We've done it before," James assured Remus and Peter. "Hagrid's great. And he isn't too fond of Filch."
"It could be worse," Peter admitted, brightening. "We could be in detention with Professor Kirk."

~December 17 - 8:00 PM~

"Uck." Peter groaned, wrinkling his nose.
"What have you been *feeding* them, Hagrid?" Sirius wanted to know, waving a hand in front of his face.
"Ferrets, mice, small rodents, mos'ly," Hagrid said with a shrug, handing them all pitchforks.
"Well, don't," James said. "This is gross." Nonetheless, he began pitching the dirty straw into a wagon. The others joined in, breathing through their mouths.
"You know, my mum used to make me wear noseplugs when I was learning to swim," Sirius said. "Wish I had them with me now."
James, Remus, and Peter sniggered. Hagrid smiled. "Yer right, Sirius, hippogriffs aren't the bes' smellin' creatures around. But yeh don' wanna insult 'em."
"Point well taken," Remus said nervously, eying the sharp talons and horn of the hippogriffs, who were tethered outside.
"Proud, they are," Hagrid continued. "That's why yeh gotta bow to 'em first."
"And if they don't bow back?" Peter whimpered.
"Then yeh run like mad."
"How reassuring," Sirius mumbled.

~*~*~*~*~

It was nearly midnight when they finished helping Hagrid with the hippogriffs. They trudged up to the castle and straight up to Gryffindor Tower, exhausted.
"I'm taking a shower," Sirius announced as soon as they entered the thankfully deserted common room. "I don't fancy going to bed smelling like a barnyard."
Well, neither did everyone else. And so they rounded up towels and soap and traipsed off to the boys' room. (And any of you who think this is going to end up as an orgy in the shower - get your mind out of the gutter!)

~January 13 - Potions~

The holidays had been quite boring for Remus. He had gone home for Christmas, because his older brother Henri was visiting from France, where he lived. He was on the French International Quidditch team. After a day or two of listening to Henri's boring stories about meeting other Quidditch teams and endless training sessions, Remus was ready to go back to school. He missed Sirius. Oh, and James and Peter too. But he was bound and determined to tell Sirius *everything*, every feeling he had for him, and nothing held back. Not that his Christmas wasn't a good one. He liked being with his family, even if Henri was boring and Serena was sullen and moody. What was her problem? The closest Remus could figure was she was still hooked on Sirius. An impossibility. He could have sworn Bobby Bennett was the new guy in her life. Until today, when Lily and her friend Debbie came to work with them at their table in Potions.

"Have you heard?" Debbie asked breathlessly. She was a nosy, gossipy girl who had none of the finesse Lily possessed when it came to spilling bad news.
"About what?" Sirius asked, not looking up from measuring his powdered spine of lionfish.
"Bobby Bennett and Janie Phipps!" Debbie said.
Remus' head snapped up. "What?" he asked sharply. "Bobby and Janie?"
"They've gotten back together," Lily said in a soft, apologetic voice, shooting a glance at Debbie.
"That bastard." Remus growled. "And just what happened to my sister?"
"I don't know," Debbie said, shooting an uneasy glance at Sirius.
"Yes, you do," Remus insisted. He turned to Lily. "Lil, *what* is this all about?"
Lily looked around, then leaned closer and beckoned for them all to lean in. "She, um..... is telling people... she's back with Sirius."
"WHAT?!" Sirius yelped, going white and spilling his armadillo bile. Professor Kirk sent him a nasty glare, and Sirius quickly mopped up the mess, his face going from white to red.
"That.... bit-" he began. but stopped when he looked at Remus. "That.. brat," he finished lamely, and sighed unhappily.
"My own *sister* has been saying this?" Remus asked, his mouth going dry.
Lily nodded, and Debbie shot a Look at Sirius. "You mean you're not with her?" she asked suspiciously.
"Of course not!" Sirius hissed. In that moment, he looked angrier than Remus had ever seen him. "I haven't *touched* her! She's just a jealous bitch! Sorry, Remmie," he added, looking over at Remus.
James growled. "Does she *ever* give up?"
"It gets worse," Debbie said, looking smugly between Sirius and Remus. "Snape's been adding to the gossip pool."
"Oh, God," Sirius moaned. "What *now*?"
"Well, as far as he tells it, you and Remus are sleeping together," Debbie said nonchalantly.
Sirius stared at her for several seconds, his jaw agape. Remus willed himself not to blush. Blushing would only add fuel to the fire.
"He's a lying, slimy son-of-a-bitch." Sirius said, slowly and deliberately. "I am *not* sleeping with Remmie. He's just my friend."
Remus winced. 'Friend'? That sounded so impersonal.
The bell rang for the end of class, and Sirius was one of the first out. He snagged Snape and pulled him round to face him.

"You bastard," Sirius growled, paying no heed to the students who had paused to watch. "What the *hell* are you spreading rumors about me and Remmie for, anyway?"
Snape sneered. "Spreading rumors? I only tell facts. I've seen the two of you holding hands and lip-wrestling. He's your little boy-toy, isn't he?"
"I ought to kill you," Sirius snarled, pinning Snape against the wall. "You jackass, you're nothing but a lying git."
"Watch what you say, Black," Snape said coldly. "Someone could take that as a threat."
"You ought to," Sirius hissed. "I'd give *anything* to see you dead."
Snape smirked. "Dead? For telling the truth? I thought you'd want *everyone* to know you're in love with Lupin."
Sirius slammed him up against the wall. "I - am - *NOT* - in - love - with - REMUS!" he shouted, before letting go of Snape and storming back to Gryffindor Tower.

The students who had been watching dispersed quickly, most likely to tell the rest of the school what had just happened. Remus stood stunned. Sirius didn't love him. Did that make the last few months a waste?

~Remus' Journal - January 17~

-I really should have known. Sirius doesn't love me. I feel really stupid for trusting him now. He apologized to me, and I forgave him, but I can see there's not going to be anything further than friendship between us. I never knew anything could hurt this much. I guess I really do love him... but I shouldn't bother myself with him any more. I'll just have to find someone else.-

~February 2 - the Great Hall~

Things were oddly formal between Sirius and Remus now. They were friendly to each other, and never refused to talk to one another or go someplace if the other was going to be there. But they never touched each other anymore. Not even to pass something in Potions - it was a tad heartbreaking to see how carefully they avoided even brushing fingertips. Peter didn't mind, because it meant no more awkward moments, but James was just... disappointed? mad? He couldn't find a word to describe it to himself. They had been so close - so CLOSE - and now this. Could it get any worse?
They were at dinner now. James was picking at his Shepard's Pie, thinking. Remus was poking at his pie, too, but not because he was thinking. He just hated Shepard's Pie. He was startled out of his thoughts (he was trying to decide whether porridge or Shepard's Pie was the most disgusting food in the universe) by a tap on the shoulder. He turned around to find himself face - to- face with Severus Snape.
Sirius, James, and Peter pointedly ignored Snape, but Remus cautiously asked, "Yes, Severus?"
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Snape asked, sounding awkward. "Outside?"
"Um, all right," Remus said, bewildered. "I'll be back, okay?" he said to his friends.
"Hurry up or you'll miss dessert," James said, avoiding looking at Snape as the desserts magically appeared on the tables. Chocolate ice cream, yum.

Remus followed Snape curiously, wondering what was going on. Snape led him out of the Great Hall and down a dim, damp corridor which Remus had never been down. Then he stopped and turned to Remus.
"Severus," Remus began, "What - "
But he was cut off as Snape pressed his lips to Remus'. He pushed Remus back against the wall, holding him there, kissing him. Remus tried to push him away, but Snape held him firmly.

"Hasn't Remmie gotten back from talking to Snape?" Sirius asked a few minutes later, looking round as he, James, and Peter left the Great Hall.
"D'you mean Remus Lupin?" a passing Hufflepuff inquired. "He and Snape went down that way."
"Why?" Sirius asked, confused. And without waiting for an answer, he ran down the hallway.
What he saw made him stop dead in his tracks, and broke his heart.

Remus was being kissed by Snape. And sweet Merlin, he seemed to be enjoying it.

Sirius gasped, and ducked back around the corner. Tears welled in his eyes. Remmie? With *Snape*?
He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and ran upstairs to Gryffindor Tower, ignoring Peter and James when they called out to him. He didn't stop running until he reached his own bed. Flinging himself down upon it, he wrenched the hangings closed and rolled over onto his back, staring up at the canopy. Remus was in love with Snape. Well, that explained the strange behavior. But *Snape*? Why Snape, of all people?
"I wanted him to be mine," he whispered.
The dormitory door opened. "Siri?" James asked.
Sirius lay still, pretending to be asleep. After a few minutes, the door closed.
"Remmie..." Sirius whispered, before closing his eyes and sinking into a troubled sleep.

~*~*~*~*~

"Get OFF, Snape!" Remus panted, pushing Snape away from him. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"I'm in love with you, Lupin," Snape said softly, starting forward again. "Haven't you noticed?..."
"NO!" Remus shouted. "Get away from me! You know I'm in love with Si-" He stopped, horrified that he had almost admitted his biggest secret to his greatest enemy. He pushed past Snape and ran upstairs to the tower. He ran as fast as he could, to escape what had just happened.... and to escape his own guilty feelings.

~ Sirius' Journal - February 17~

-I think I'm still in love with Remmie. Even if he *is* going out with Snape. This really sucks. He's decided I'm not worth it, and he's found someone else. Maybe I should do the same.... Forget Remmie as a potential life mate and go on.....-

~April 3 - Gryffindor common room~

Sirius had been bound and determined not to let Remus know that he had seen the 'little' kiss with Snape. It was hard to act normally around Remus, knowing he was in love with the most evil kid in the whole school. Heartbreaking, really. But he tried his best, and he thought he even had James fooled. Maybe not. James wasn't as dumb as he looked. But Sirius really didn't give a damn. By the time spring rolled around, he was tried. Exhausted, really. Tired of everything, tired of pretending, and tired of being alone. So now he was going to do something he had wanted to do since the end of February.

He marched straight up to Lily Evans, who wasn't, thank God, surrounded by a vast, chattering crowd of friends as usual. "Lil?"
"Hi, Siri," she said warmly, smiling at him. "What's on your mind?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure. Have a seat."
Sirius sat, and took a deep breath. "Would you....... would you like to visit Hogsmeade with me sometime?" he asked, blushing furiously and hating himself for it. Why, oh why did his blood vessels have to give him away?
But Lily blushed even deeper than he did. "D'you mean, like, a - a date?"
"Um, yeah," Sirius said, wishing mightily that he had never started this conversation.
"Okay," Lily said, so softly that Sirius thought he must have misheard her.
"What?" "I said okay," Lily said shyly. "I'd love to."
Sirius smiled back just as shyly. "Then it's a date."

~June 23~

Serena Lupin scowled, watching Sirius as he flipped a giggling, blushing Lily over his shoulder and ran across the lawn with her, Lily beating his back with her fists and screaming with laughter at the same time. It really was true - Sirius and Lily had become a Couple; they had been dating since April. Serena supposed it had surprised everyone in the school - she never pictured Lily as liking bisexual rebels. By now it was just obvious to the student population of Hogwarts that Sirius - to put it nicely - wasn't too picky over who he was with.
"That bastard," Serena muttered to Bunny Chikamatsu, who was also watching this sight with unbelieving eyes. "He dumps me, goes for my brother, sleeps with him, dumps Remus, and goes for Lily. Once he sleeps with her she'll be the next one to get dumped. He is a *bastard*. I truly hate him."
"I'm not to thrilled with him either, sister," Bunny replied.

~*~*~*~*~

James Potter had been taking a walk around the Quidditch field, biding it goodbye until next year. When he returned, he saw Sirius and Lily, now chasing each other across the front lawn. He scowled.
"Well, you snooze, you lose, Jim old boy," whispered a voice in his head.
"Shut up," James muttered, then looked around quickly to make sure no one heard him talking to himself.
"Well, if you had gotten the guts to ask her out ages ago, you wouldn't be in this mess," the voice sneered.
"Shut up," James muttered morosely. "She's not my type."

~*~*~*~*~

Severus Snape smirked widely, watching Black and Miss Evans chasing each other. He had done it. Finally. Broken the bond of love between Black and Lupin - just as he had intended. Now it was only a matter of time before Lupin came to his senses and realized how much better Snape was for him. And Snape could wait as long as he needed. He'd have Lupin all to himself before long, he was sure of it.

~*~*~*~*~

Remus Lupin impatiently wiped a tear from his eye as he watched Sirius and Lily playing on the lawn far below. No use crying over spilt milk, he reminded himself. What's done is done. Sirius doesn't love me at all - he said so. He's in love with Lily. I shouldn't waste my time getting worked up about it. He's just a bloody prat... and I still love him.



To Be Continued

Coming Soon : Year 5! James, Sirius, and Peter finally succeed in becoming Animagi! Secret passages get discovered! Sirius' relationship with Lily carries on! Remus gets angsty, James gets jealous, Snapey gets even *more* jealous, and Peter... well, pretty much stays Peter.




(A/N : Wow! you say. That was fast! I updated pretty quickly, I know. I had this creative surge and a huge burst of ideas and inspiration! I just *had* to sit down and write! I dunno if Year 5 will come along this quickly. I really need to get my ass in gear on this, so I can finish it soon, because my parents are pressuring me to hurry up and get a job. And once I have one, God knows when I'll have time to write or even go online! AAAUUUGHH!!
And yes, my chapters are getting longer. I need to space things out more, I think. But I've got soooo many ideas and so little time! Yoiks!)