Firstly, cheers to my reviewers! You know who you are! And you'll get your reward, er, someday. Just so you know, this chapter is proof of peer pressure – chapter one was originally meant to be a one-off but after all your lovely comments I thought I'd carry on a bit! So let me know what you reckon...


Time had raced on the way it always did in summer, and the school was plunged into the exam frenzy of June. Just as soon as they had arrived they were all over; results given out, trunks packed and students piled back onto the Hogwarts Express that would take them back to Kings Cross.

Remus had taken Sirius's advice about confessing his secret to James and Peter, and as predicted they had responded kindly, fairly uncomprehending but still completely accepting of their friend's quirks. The subject had been (to Remus's gratitude) almost forgotten during exams but as the four settled themselves into an empty compartment on the train, Sirius brought it up once more.

'So, Remy, any plans for the summer?' he asked with heavy emphasis on 'plans'. The wink he followed his sentence with dispelled any hopeful doubts in Remus's mind as to what he was alluding. However he decided to pretend ignorance.

'I suppose I'll just be mostly at Mam and Dad's... apart from full moons,' he said. 'Nothing very exciting in the Welsh countryside, I'm afraid.'

'Nothing very homosexual there either, I should imagine,' Sirius said, and Remus blushed and frowned at his feet.

'I prefer 'gay',' he said finally.

'Fine. Nothing very gay in the picturesque south Wales countryside, is there Re?'

'Not really, no.'

'Well, Jamie and I have been discussing things, and we reckon we all need to spend some time in London on a fact-finding mission.'

'Fact-finding mission?' Remus exploded. 'And what will that involve?'

'Discovering how widespread this 'gay' thing is, finding out where to meet other gay people, getting you to meet them, finding the sexiest, nicest one to be your boyfriend!' Sirius announced calmly.

'Sirius, I don't want a boyfriend! And if I did, I wouldn't want you to go and get me one!'

The thought recurred to Sirius that Remus secretly had already found someone, but that he didn't think that someone would return his feelings. His heart ached, both for Remus's lonely frustration and his own desire for someone he was sure didn't feel the same way. But, as he had already decided, Remus had to find someone who would jolt him out of his single state, even if that someone couldn't be Sirius himself.

'Re. You're single. Right?'

'Of course.' Bitterly.

'Everyone on this fucking planet, 'scuse my French, wants someone to love. Everyone wants to fall asleep in someone's arms, and all that romantic crap. Everyone wants to feel loved. I don't believe you're the exception.'

'Sirius, even if that was true, who'd want to spend their life with a werewolf? A gay wizard werewolf. Those things sound somewhat incompatible, don't you agree? I refuse to be a part of this 'mission', which to me seems like just a plan to get me a quick fuck, the thought of which revolts and horrifies me more than I can say. I don't need interference in my life.' Remus stood up quickly and barrelled out of the compartment before locking himself into the nearest toilet and staring at his pale face in the mirror.

'Pull yourself together Lupin. He's trying to help you. Have you forgotten how rare that is?'

He swallowed a couple of times, splashed icy water on his face and blinked. Then he unlocked the door.

Sirius was standing outside, looking disconsolate. His grey eyes were troubled and his lower lip was visibly trembling. He ran a distracted hand through his unruly hair before starting to speak.

'Remus, I'm so so sorry I upset you, I really didn't mean to, I just want to help you and as well to let you know I support you, and that this gay thing doesn't matter at all, and I want to see you happy and I s'pose this is the only way I could think of for making you happy, but it hasn't worked -'

Remus threw himself at his friend and hugged him tightly. Sirius upset was more than he could deal with. His face buried in his friend's shoulder, he inhaled deeply the smell of Sirius – clean soapy well-washed smell – and allowed just a couple of tears to fall before he fiercely bit the inside of his cheeks and withdrew.

'Sirius, I'm sorry, I know you were trying to help. It's just, well, this is all very new for me, and I'm scared...'

Remus, admitting to fear?

'...and you're definitely right about the wanting to be loved thing and all that -'

Sirius could take no more. He interrupted.

'You don't want to go out because there's already someone you like, isn't there? Am I right?'

Remus stared at him.

'You're right,' he said frankly.

'And you don't think he loves you back?'

'I know he never will. I know he's normal.'

Sirius grabbed Remus's shoulder with one brown hand. 'Then why not go out, at least give it a go?' he asked persuasively, ignoring the sick feeling in his gut that Remus's acknowledgment of his suspicion had given him. 'We'll all be there, you never know, it could be a laugh. And you could meet... someone else...'

Hesitantly, Remus acquiesced.

'You're right, as usual. But it's only fair to say that this – person – that - you know – I don't think I could possibly meet anyone to replace him.'

'Fair enough,' Sirius said, his other hand clenched tightly so that his nails dug cruelly into the flesh, but his tone casual and light-hearted. 'Well, Jamie says we can stay with him, in Tooting, you know, and we can catch the Muggle underground train all over London. It will be an adventure! The four Marauders marauding around Muggle London!'

Remus managed a little smile.

'So, owl your parents and tell them you'll be home a fortnight late,' Sirius said. 'They won't mind... we're all 17 apart from you and you're practically there, and besides, Ath and Inigo will look after us properly! Full moon was only 3 days ago, so you have absolutely no excuse not to stay at least two weeks!'

'Okay, okay,' Remus grinned. Sirius was so persuasive; it was one of the many things that he loved about – no, he wouldn't let himself think of that. This fortnight would definitely be more fun than being buried in rural Wales, and just maybe he'd discover that he wasn't so out of the ordinary as he thought.

He followed Sirius back to the compartment where he dashed off a quick letter to his parents explaining he'd be later home, and then sat quietly in the corner of the compartment as Sirius and James hatched and then implemented a devious plot to turn their least favourite Slytherins' hats into giant spiders.

When at last the train had stopped and the yells and screeches had died away, the Marauders stopped contentedly regarding the mayhem they had caused and started lugging their trunks out onto the platform. James saw his parents first and, dropping his trunk, raced up to them and gave them a mammoth hug before explaining quickly that his three best friends would be spending the next two weeks in their three bedroomed house in Tooting. Ath and Inigo accepted it without blinking an eyelid, happily greeting the three boys before leading them all off to the Muggle tube station and away to South London.