Disclaimer: The Marauders aren't mine. Lily Evans isn't mine. Rod Stewart isn't mine, nor is his album or his song. Jeff Foxworthy isn't mine. Chöcolate Frög is not mine. I don't know whose it is, but it's not mine. The cooing Ravenclaw girls are mine. MINE ALL MINE! I OWN THEM!! ::commands my army of zombie Ravenclaw girls to attack the city::

… Er.

Comments: Okay, I don't usually do author's notes, but I just had to say that I saw PoA FINALLY, which is noteworthy, I think. And holy crap, Tom Felton got HOT! It almost hurt me to look at him! Can I keep him? Please?

::ahem:: Also, Gary Oldman made a WONDERFUL Sirius (even though he's too short, but we won't hold that against him, because he was so amazingly good) and David Thewlis was awesome as Remus. I missed the first half-hour of the movie, though, which sucks… but at least I got to see most of it in theaters.

Also, I apologise for this having taken longer than usual. I attribute it to a combination of schoolwork, writer's block, and just general laziness. Sorry.

This chapter contains drunkenness, and Remus making a subtle self-depreciating joke that no one notices. Also, I'm not sure when videocassettes were invented, but there's one in this chapter.

Anyway, here it is, better late than never. Hope you enjoy.

November 27

The last Hogsmeade weekend before the Christmas holidays always brought out every student who was allowed. So it was no surprise that the stores and streets of the little wizarding town were packed with teenagers in striped House-issue scarves. A group of girls in blue and silver wool scarves and hats crowded around a shop window, cooing at something. Sirius leaned over and muttered something to James, who laughed. Remus supposed he was saying that it was too bad they were wearing trousers because a skirt-lifting charm would be very successful given their positions. Remus sucked on his lollipop and rolled his eyes. He glanced over at Peter, who was biting his fingernails as he walked. Remus's gaze drifted back over to Sirius, who hung back from James to fall in step with Remus, slinging his arm around Remus's shoulder. Remus looked up at the taller boy.

"Hey."

"Hey," Sirius replied, grinning. "How are you, Moony?"

"Just fine." Remus grinned. Sirius's smile was contagious. "How are you, Padfoot?"

"I'm fantastic." Sirius stretched. "What are you getting me for Christmas?"

"Now, now, you'll find out tonight. Don't be impatient, Sirius."

"But impatient is my middle name!"

"So that's what the A stands for."

Sirius shoved Remus playfully.

-----

The boys wandered into a shop. Remus, in truth, hadn't found something to give Sirius yet. This was a bit of a dilemma, since the group usually rented a room above the Three Broomsticks on the last Hogsmeade weekend before Christmas and exchanged gifts there.

Remus browsed the shelves halfheartedly, not finding anything that was anywhere near what he wanted to give Sirius. He supposed he'd just end up giving him something from Honeydukes like last year. Remus stifled a yawn and went to look at another shelf.

-----

Sirius looked over at Remus, who was on the other side of the room looking at the contents of the shelves. He grinned to himself. He had gotten Remus the best gift ever. It was something he'd just stumbled across one day in a wizarding catalogue he'd found on the train. Sirius smiled a satisfied smile and turned back to the bookshelves he had been exploring.

-----

James stared at the redheaded girl at the counter. She was having something gift-wrapped. The girl was Lily Evans. She was always picking a fight with him, and he teased her mercilessly. He wondered suddenly why he was staring at her. Maybe it was the way her hair reflected in the winter light that filtered in through the open door. Maybe it was just that he had no clue why she seemed to despise him so much.

-----

Peter was looking at the Defense against the Dark Arts merchandise. He picked up a sneakoscope. Trash. He put it back on the shelf. He had gotten used to James and Sirius and Remus by now, and he thought they had gotten used to him. He looked over at James. He wasn't so great as Peter had once thought, perhaps. He often said one thing and did another. Peter shrugged and looked at the rest of the objects on the shelf.

-----

The boys met up at the front of the shop, paid for their purchases, and walked out. Sirius got Remus's attention and leaned close to show off what he'd gotten. Remus looked over the merchandise, grinning. He was happy; he'd actually found something good to give Sirius. "What's this do?" Remus picked a strange-looking object out of Sirius's hand.

-----

Lucius Malfoy walked quickly along the street. He noticed a group of sixth-years directly in his path. He continued forward, however, fully expecting them to make way.

When he saw that the four were still coming toward him, Malfoy stopped.

"Out of my way, children," he said imperiously, "I have business to conduct."

Sirius spoke up. "What possible business could you have to conduct here? I was under the impression that Hogsmeade was a place for people who like to have a good time."

Malfoy's delicate features contorted into an evil smirk.

"Oh, I assure you, I will have a wonderfully good time stringing your little boyfriend there up by his toes," he intoned, looking down his pointed nose at Remus.

Sirius scowled at Malfoy, unconsciously placing a protective hand on Remus's shoulder.

"He's not," Sirius growled, "my boyfriend. And if you lay so much as one finger on him, I'll break every bone in your body."

"Oh, yes, it's so obvious he's not your boyfriend." Malfoy sneered. "Not only is Sirius Black a traitor to his family and Slytherin House, he's a queer as well. I can't wait to tell everyone," he drawled, pushing his way through the small gap between Sirius and James. He jarred Sirius's shoulder roughly as he did so.

They turned to watch Malfoy, who was now talking excitedly to a tall, dark-haired young man in black robes. "Bastard," James muttered. He turned to the others. "Let's go."

-----

It was starting to snow when the group walked into the Three Broomsticks. Sirius shook off his cloak and sat down on a barstool. "Hello, Rosalind," he called to the young bartender, who smiled at him. "Hello, Sirius. Just let me take care of this order and I'll be right with you." She leaned down and took the hand of a young girl who was clinging to her robes. "Rosmerta, I need you to stay here for a minute, okay? Mummy will be right back." The girl, about six, nodded. As soon as her mother was out of sight, she ran up to the bar and climbed onto the stool next to Sirius. She gave him a sunshiny grin.

"Hi, Siri!"

Sirius grinned down at the girl. "Hello, Rosmerta." He ruffled her hair.

"Did you come to play with me?" Rosalind often hired him to look after her young daughter during the summers.

"No, not expressly. But I'll play with you until your mum gets back, alright?"

Remus grinned. Sirius was good with children.

Rosmerta clapped. "Okay! I know! I'll be a fairy princess, and you can be the handsome prince! And…" she looked around, "Jamie can be the evil wizard who's holding me captive!" She grabbed James by the hand and dragged him around behind the bar. "Oh, help! I'm being held captive by an evil wizard!" She shouted. She cupped her hand around her mouth and added in a stage whisper, "Now you have to come save me, Siri!"

Sirius grinned. "I shall save you, my princess!" He vaulted over the bar and grabbed Rosmerta. He then pushed her behind him and pointed his wand at James. James drew his wand as well, trying his best to look evil.

"Petrificus Totalus," shouted Sirius. James went rigid and fell to the floor.

Sirius turned around and got down on his knees so that he was at eye level with Rosmerta. "You're safe now, Princess."

"Thank you, Sir Knight." Then, in a whisper, "Now you have to kiss me."

Sirius kissed her on the cheek.

Rosmerta gave Sirius an exasperated look. "No. A real kiss! Come on, Siri!"

Sirius looked rather uncomfortable. Fortunately for him, Rosalind returned at that moment.

"Trying to wheedle a kiss out of poor Sirius, are we, Rosmerta?"

Rosmerta blushed. "Maybe…"

Rosalind grinned and took her daughter's hand. She looked at Sirius. "What can I do for you?"

Sirius got up. "Well, we've arranged to have a private room set up as usual, I believe."

"Ah, yes." Rosalind went into the back for a moment and returned with a ledger. "Right, here we are. Room twenty-four." She rummaged in her pockets. "Here's the key."

Sirius took the key from her hand. "Thank you." He walked back around to the front of the bar. "Shall we?"

Remus looked over the bar. "Er… what about James?"

"Oh. Right. Oi! James!"

James got to his feet and joined the others. Remus and Peter looked at him, dumbfounded.

Sirius laughed. "What? You didn't think I'd use a real spell on him, did you?"

-----

Remus was sprawled out on the couch. Sirius and Peter shared the large bed, and James sat on the rug near the fire. Next to James was the supply of alcohol they'd ordered, which consisted of several Butterbeers, a few bottles of Abbey Reserve Ale (with a higher percentage of alcohol than butterbeer), and a few jugs of Madam Rosalind's specialty eggnog (which Rosalind had thrown in for free).

James tossed an Ale to Remus, who examined the label. The cartoon monk on the front winked at him as he read. "Guaranteed to make you soused," read the small print at the bottom of the label. Remus couldn't help but laugh. He popped off the cap.

Sirius climbed off the bed, grabbed a jug of eggnog and two cups, and poured himself a generous helping. He set the cup on the nightstand and poured Peter a smaller serving. Peter didn't do too well with alcohol; it made him ill.

Remus took a sip of his Abbey Reserve Ale. He grimaced. "Bitter. James, why did you get this stuff?"

James, already on his second bottle of Butterbeer, shrugged.

Remus shook his head. "You're gone."

James grinned. "Not yet, but I am determined to get there."

Remus rolled his eyes. In truth, he worried about James's affinity for alcohol. It hadn't gotten him in any trouble as of yet, although he got into trouble well enough on his own, but as young as James was, Remus could easily see him heading toward addiction. Remus stretched out along the couch and took another tentative sip of ale. It didn't seem to be as bad this time, but it still wasn't his type of drink. Remus much preferred sweeter beverages. He eyed Sirius's jug of eggnog hopefully.

As if reading his mind, Sirius leapt off the bed, jug in hand, and sauntered over to the couch, planting himself squarely on Remus's stomach. Remus sputtered.

"How are you, Moony?"

"In pain, thanks." Remus glared up at the cause of the pain.

Sirius looked hurt. "Here I come over to extend kindness to you, and all you can do is complain about my choice of where I sit. It's not as if you give me much choice, is it?" Sirius indicated Remus's legs stretched out along the couch.

"Extend me kindness? What, by crushing my lungs? I'm sorry, Sirius, but no thanks."

Sirius climbed off and moved so that he was lying down next to Remus, grinning. "No, silly, I came to offer you some eggnog, since you seem to be enjoying your beer so much."

Remus grimaced. "Yeah, it's so good I was deciding to give it back to James."

Sirius grinned wider and wrapped his arm around Remus's shoulders. "How thoughtful of you, Remus. You're a true gentleman."

Remus smiled at Sirius. "I try."

"Here," said Sirius, sitting up and pouring Remus a cup of eggnog, "have something you'll actually enjoy, and I'll take this off your hands." He took the Ale out of Remus's hand and replaced it with the eggnog.

"Thanks, Sirius."

Sirius proceeded to down the mostly full bottle he'd taken from Remus. He made a face. "Wow, this is really bad!"

Remus laughed. "It's not so bad if you like that sort of thing." He took a sip of his eggnog. "Wow, Rosalind's topped herself again."

"Good, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Amazingly good."

"Twice as much alcohol as this, too." Sirius waggled the empty bottle at Remus, then tossed it at James. It crashed at his feet, breaking into hundreds of shards.

"That was real brilliant of you, Sirius," James gave Sirius an admonishing look.

Sirius looked sheepish.

Remus sat up on the couch, careful not to spill his eggnog. "You realize we're going to have to clean that up, Sirius."

"Correction," said James. "You're going to have to clean it up by yourself, Sirius."

"Bah," said Sirius.

-----

Same day, several drinks later

Remus and Sirius were still sitting on the couch. Sirius's arm was wrapped around Remus's waist, and Remus rested his head on Sirius's shoulder.

"You guys are the best friends a guy could have," slurred Sirius. "I just want to thank you guys…"

"For what?" James asked.

"For not shortening my name to 'Sir.' "

James went into a laughing fit. Remus started laughing, too, burying his face in Sirius's shirt. Sirius and Peter joined in. By the time the last laughter died away, Remus had a confused look on his face.

"What was it that was so funny?"

"I don't remember, Moony." Sirius chuckled.

Remus giggled. "I love you, Sirius."

Sirius grinned and planted a kiss on Remus's lips. Both boys were grinning insanely, so their teeth knocked together. Remus pulled back. "Pads, don't do that."

Sirius stopped grinning. "What?"

"Here. Like this." Remus placed his hands on either side of Sirius's face, holding him gently in place. He placed his lips against Sirius's, sliding his hands around to tangle in the hair at the nape of Sirius's neck. Sirius kept his hand around Remus's waist, moving the other up unconsciously to stroke Remus's leg.

Remus squeezed his eyes shut. He knew he was dreaming, because everything seemed to be foggy and going in slow motion, but he didn't care. This was all he ever wanted. He shifted so that he was pressed against Sirius's chest. He could feel the other boy's heartbeat under the thin cloth of his shirt.

James watched the two boys through half-lidded eyes. "Hey, I want someone to snog with," he whined. He looked over at Peter. "Pete, will you snog with me?"

"Eugh," said Peter.

"Well, I can understand if you don't go for that sort of thing, but you don't find me that disgusting, do you?" James looked put out.

"I'm gonna be sick," replied Peter.

"Oh."

Peter was sick. All over the bed.

"Shit," said James.

-----

Remus opened his eyes blearily. He blinked a few times to get used to the light. "Ugh. Morning already?" He sat up and looked around. Everyone else was still asleep. James and Peter were lying on the rug by the fire, and Sirius… was draped over Remus, and entirely naked from the look of things. Remus gaped. "What…" Bits of the previous night floated through his head. "Oh, no… what did I do?"

Remus looked down at himself. He was fully clothed. "Well, this is confusing."

Maybe Sirius had simply gotten too hot and taken his clothes off. Remus's head was beginning to pound. "Bloody hangover," he muttered, and summoned a glass of water.

Sirius lifted his head and found himself face-to-face with Remus. He smiled. "Hi there."

Remus gave him a look. "Hi, yourself. Mind telling me where your clothes got off to?"

Sirius blinked. "Wha?" He sat up. "Er. This is embarrassing."

"Yes, it is." Remus took a sip of water. "Do you remember anything? I'm only getting bits and pieces."

"No." Sirius looked around for his clothes. James was using his shirt for a pillow. "Argh." Sirius yanked his shirt out from under James, and went back to the couch, picking up his pants on the way. He began to get dressed. "Er… Remus…"

Remus was trying not to freak out. "Yes?"

"Nothing. It was probably just my imagination."

Remus looked at the ceiling. "Oh." Had it been a dream? Remus was having trouble piecing the facts together.

Sirius went to sit on the couch. "It's cold in here."

"Yeah. I can't move my leg."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Because you were lying on it all night."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine."

Sirius looked over at James. "Look at him. He's still asleep, even after having his pillow taken away."

Remus laughed. "The sleep of the just."

"James is hardly just. Unless 'just' is followed by 'a pain in the arse.' "

"Pff," said Remus. He hugged Sirius.

Sirius hugged Remus back. "What's the occasion?"

Remus shrugged. "Happy Christmas, I guess."

"It's not Christmas yet."

"Good as. We're opening our presents today, aren't we?"

"Well, you're right on that count." Sirius smiled. "I'm gonna go down and see about breakfast."

"Okay. I'll just--" Remus yawned—"stay here… you want me to wake up Pete and James?"

"If you want."

Peter made a noise in his sleep.

Sirius went out the door.

-----

Remus woke up Peter and James. Sirius returned after a while, floating a tray in front of him with his wand. He set the tray down on the small table in the middle of the room and took the lid off.

"Mmm," exclaimed James. "I'm starved." He took a fork and a plate and several spoonfuls of eggs.

Sirius poured himself some pumpkin juice, exchanging a look with Remus.

"James always takes all the eggs," he complained. "I might like eggs, but we'd never know, would we?"

Remus laughed. "At least he likes eggs and not, say, human flesh."

"I'd hate to not have any of that left," agreed Sirius thoughtfully.

-----

When breakfast was finished, they all gathered on the couch to open presents. Sirius handed Remus a packaged wrapped in paper with little dogs running all over it.

Remus unwrapped it carefully, pulling the tape off and unfolding the paper.

Sirius looked mildly horrified. "You can't open a package like that! It's not any fun! You have to tear the paper off! Christmas is hardly the time to be proper!"

"I like it this way. I'm savoring the moment. I enjoy the suspense."

"Pah."

Remus continued to carefully unwrap his package. It was a video cassette. Jeff Wolfworthy, proclaimed the cover, and underneath that, You Might be a Werewolf. There was a picture of a shaggy-looking redheaded man on the cover. He grinned and waved up at Remus.

"Where did you get this, Sirius? How…?"

Sirius beamed. "Stroke of luck."

"But, Sirius…" Remus paused and looked down at the video. "I don't have a VCR."

"Oh, that." Sirius waved his hand as if to dispel the idea. "You don't really need one. With the right spell it will play in a Pensieve."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You see, the recording process is different than taking a picture. It's a set sequence of words and actions, so it requires memory. You just… well, the instructions are on the back. Do you know how to make a Pensieve?"

"No, but I can learn." Remus grinned. "This is a great present, Sirius. Thanks!"

"You're welcome." If Remus didn't know better, he'd swear Sirius was blushing.

Sirius gave James a book on Quidditch: A History of Seekers. Remus gave James a Muggle calculator. Peter gave Sirius a paperback book called, Animagi and the People who Love Them, to which Sirius grinned widely and began to flip through. James gave Remus a set of art pencils that drew by themselves if you asked them to—quite handy for self-portraits. Sirius received from James a pair of socks, and was just getting a disappointed look on his face when the socks began to insult him.

Peter, ironically, received from James a Sneakoscope. Remus gave him a book of obscure Charms, as Charms was Peter's favorite subject. In turn, Peter gave James a box of assorted hexed candies, and Remus got a Chöcolate Frög tee-shirt. Sirius gave Peter a plate of Eggs Benedict that was never empty.

Remus rummaged around in the sack from the store. "I didn't have time to wrap it, Sirius, I hope you don't mind." He produced a vinyl record. "Here."

Sirius took the record from Remus's outstretched hand and looked it over.

"Something to add to your collection." Sirius collected Rock-n-roll music, both Muggle and otherwise.

"Rod Stewart," Sirius read from the cover. The album was Every Picture Tells a Story. "Thanks, Remus!" He hugged his friend.

-----

Several minutes later, Remus was beginning to regret his choice of a gift. This was because Sirius discovered he could sing exactly like Rod Stewart.

Which, in Remus's opinion, was not a good thing.

"Someone like you," Sirius sang scratchily into Remus's ear, "Makes it hard to live--"

"Not yet, but I will soon if you don't stop," muttered Remus.

"—without somebody else," Sirius continued, using an empty beer bottle as a microphone.

Remus rolled his eyes and stuffed his shirt over his ears. "Sirius, despite what you may think, that is NOT attractive."

"Hey," objected Sirius, "Rod Stewart is a sex god! Everybody says so!"

"Argh," replied Remus through his shirt.

"Besides," said Sirius, "I'm serenading you."

Remus was glad his shirt covered his face; he was quite sure he was starting to blush.

Sirius, unfortunately, continued to sing. "Someone like you… makes it easy to give—never think about myself…" He leaned in close to Remus, singing loudly.

This was the third time he'd played the record.

"Sirius, stop it, or that present of yours is going straight into the Lake," James said.

"Yes, mother," replied Sirius, and turned the volume up.

James groaned.

If I gave you time to change my mind
I'd find a way just to leave the past behind
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believe
If I listened long enough to you
I'd find a way to believe that it's all true
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believe
Someone like you makes it hard to live without
somebody else
Someone like you makes it easy to give
never think about myself

Someone like you makes it hard to live without
somebody else
Someone like you makes it easy to give
never think about myself

Luckily for everyone involved, Sirius didn't put the record back to the beginning this time, and even more luckily, that was the last song on the record.

The boys packed up their things and went back to the school. Peter was going on holiday with his parents, but the rest of the group had opted to stay at Hogwarts for the winter. They all helped Peter pack his belongings before going to dinner.

-----

The holidays passed rather uneventfully, the full moon came and went without a hitch, and Sirius and Remus never spoke of the incident at the Three Broomsticks. This was largely because in the next term it was forgotten in the wake of a larger incident involving Snape and the Shrieking Shack. And, of course, after things settled down from that, and after everyone became friends again, there was the advent of the Dark Lord Voldemort, and the rise of the Resistance and the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore recruited all four of the boys for the Order, even though they were just out of school, because he knew their potential, especially as a team. He knew that they had already trained themselves to work together in fluid motion, and it would be faster and more advantageous to recruit them than others who were perhaps a bit older but would need more training. And, of course, James fell in love with Lily Evans in his seventh year, they got married, and Harry Potter was born, and saved the world at the age of one with the unknowing help of his mother. Sirius was sent to Azkaban and remained there for twelve years that seemed like ages both to him and to his friend Remus Lupin.

End of Part One

This is not the end! Although if you've by now decided that all this waiting just isn't worth all the waiting, I don't blame you. If you're fed up, by all means go and read something else. But there will be some closure for our favorite puppies within the next two chapters. I promise!