Under the Full Moony
Scroll 15: Good-bye Hoggy Warty Hogwarts
Sirius bit his lip and checked his reflection in the mirror James had tacked between his and Sirius' beds since second year.
Remus looked over at him and shook his head, "It's no big deal. Don't worry."
Sirius began pacing, "Not a big DEAL! What planet are you on! This is a BIG match! the first match of the year! MY FIRST MATCH EVER! AGAINST THAT SODDING LOSER!"
Remus put his book down, "You're shouting. This is serious, Sirius."
Sirius rolled his eyes, "Stop messing! This is BIG man! Really big! What time is it!"
Remus stretched, "Let's get down to the pitch."
Sirius spun around, "It's time! IS IT TIME! Oh I'm going to shove his face into the MUD!"
Remus said nothing, but frowned slightly.
Sirius chewed on his lip, "C'mon! C'mon! I have to put on my robes!"
Sirius grabbed Remus' arm and dragged him out. After he'd changed, Sirius walked over to where Remus was waiting, before the Pre-Match Pep Talk.
The first thing Remus did, predictably, was straighten up Sirius' robes, carefully folding the collar of the hood back.
"Remus! Don't bother ..."
Remus ignored him and fiddled with Sirius' shirt, "Now ... don't be stubborn-"
Sirius grabbed Remus' wrists, "Moony! They're just going to get messed up anyway! I just ... wanted ..."
Remus frowned a bit, "Wanted ...?"
Sirius cupped Remus' face and tilted it upwards, "A kiss ...?"
Sirius pressed his lips onto Remus' slowly, just as he knew Remus liked it.
They heard someone clear their throat behind Sirius and they broke apart.
James was there, arms crossed, tapping his foot, "Sirius! Play now, snog later!"
Sirius grinned and ran to James, leaving Remus to find Peter in the stands.
When Remus had told Sirius the last match between Slytherin and Gryffindor last year had been the dirtiest Quidditch game he'd ever see ... he was wrong.
Madam Hooch was having one hell of a time trying to determine who had done what foul. Sirius and James were a sight. It was as if they sensed each other ... as if they knew exactly where the other was. They were in perfect sync and it wasn't long before Gryffindor was in the lead.
Regulus was furious, for nothing like this had ever happened. He was an amazing Keeper, yes, but Sirius and James made a superb Chaser team.
As for Snape, every time he saw the Snitch, Lily would be on his tail, block him, and the Snitch would disappear again. He'd soon lost his patience and tried to hex her, but James was on him in a second.
Snape (his broomstick stuck up his arse) was taken to the hospital wing as fast as Madam Promfrey and Professor Slughorn could manage, and Slytherin was awarded 20 penalties.
It was a game of Quidditch like Remus had never seen before. Edgar blocked most of the shots, but Slytherin was tied with Gryffindor.
Seeing as how Snape was gone, it was easy pickings for Lily, and she caught the Snitch so fast, no one realized what had happened until James yelled, "SHE CAUGHT THE SNITCH, BLOODY FOOLS!"
As everyone stood up and cheered, laughing and jumping up and down, Remus and Peter made their way down to the field.
For as everyone knew well, when Sirius and Regulus were within 15 feet of each other, it could only mean trouble.
Sure enough, by the time Remus ran over to the teams, Sirius, James, Regulus, and Bertram Aubrey's wands were out.
"That's enough!" Remus said, grabbing Sirius arm.
"Nuh-uh, pretty boy! I've got the badge now, and I say we kill the lot!" yelled James.
Remus looked to Lily for help. To his dismay she was nowhere in sight.
Remus sighed, "You leave me no choice."
He walked in between Sirius and James, and Regulus and Bertram.
Sirius growled, "Remus! Bloody move!"
"No, Sirius. James. Enough!"
Regulus laughed, "You know I have no problem with hexing the were-"
Sirius shoved Remus aside and pounded Regulus onto the grass. Sirius' wand was at Regulus' throat and he was yelling, "SAY IT! SAY THE WORD AND I SWEAR BY YOUR FOUL MOTHER'S NAME-!"
"Mr. Black! And Mr. Black! That's enough, now!"
Professor McGonagall came walking up to them, with Hagrid at her heels, "Hagrid, restrain them, if you please?"
Hagrid took hold of Sirius and pulled him from Regulus, who coughed and massaged his neck.
Remus sighed exasperatedly when McGonagall looked at him reprovingly. He just turned and ran to Gryffindor Tower, ran to the dormitories where his bed was awaiting.
A few hours later, when Remus had taken his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, and was getting ready for bed, James, Peter, and Sirius came in. They were all muddy, bleeding, and looked extremely annoyed.
Remus tried to ignore them, but it was almost impossible, seeing as how they all threw off their robes to the floor and changed into bedclothes, and sat on his bed.
"That HAG! THAT TOTAL HAG! A month of detention with HER! So there's no chance of getting off, like with Slughorn!" James said mournfully.
"And," added Sirius, shooting Remus a bitter glance. "-you weren't there to get us off the hook either!"
Remus sighed, "Well, I can't always save your behinds! Now, if you excuse me, we have a Transfiguration exam tomorrow."
Sirius draped an arm around Remus and pulled him onto the bed, next to him, "I'm sorry ... it's just that ... I HATE REGULUS! I just ... I wish he were dead!"
Remus gasped, "Oh, you mustn't! Please, don't say that!"
Sirius snuggled onto Remus' neck, "Shush ... just shush ..."
And Remus gave in, as he knew he always should. Gave in to Sirius and his strange ways of making anger disappear, and gave in to having three other boys sleep in his bed.
It was a full moon again, and had anyone been looking out the windows of Gryffindor Tower, they would have seen four animals making their way out of the Whomping Willow.
Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.
The dog barked loudly and chased its own tail to keep the werewolf from running off towards Hogwarts. Padfoot pinned the wolf down when he made to escape, and Prongs and Wormtail closed in, doing some kind of dance.
Padfoot suddenly took off into the night. Moony followed him, bounding happily along the stag and the rat, who was holding on to Prong's horns with his tiny claws.
"Padfoot!" called the wolf in a howl.
The dog stopped suddenly and turned to look at the wolf. To his surprise, Moony pinned him this time, licking at his jaw.
The dog let out a bark, which would have sounded like a laugh to human ears, and licked Moony back.
"Padfoot will stay with Moony."
"Yes. Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail will stay with Moony forever!"
The wolf growled, "But Padfoot will be with Moony. Padfoot is Moony's mate. Moony mates for life."
The dog just looked at Moony, a bit taken aback, but nodded, "Padfoot will stay with Moony ... for life."
The wolf threw its head back and howled happily. The two, Padfoot and Moony, joined Prongs and Wormtail in a race, in which the winners didn't matter.
Sirius and Remus were reading in the shade of the beech near the lake. It was a peaceful and mercifully quiet afternoon. Exams were drawing closer and both the fifth and seventh year students spend most of their time studying
Sirius sighed, "It sure is quiet."
Remus nodded, "Mmm hmm."
Sirius looked up at the tree, "It sure is boring."
Remus sighed, "To you, in any case, anything to do with books is boring."
"Oh look," Sirius sat up. "It's Prongsie."
"She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, with a love like that, you know you should be glad!" James walked up to them snapping his fingers and singing. Peter was at his heels, red-faced.
"What's up, James?"
James beamed at the other two, "Love ... is the greatest thing in the world. For without it ... all other emotions cannot exist ... hate, anger, sadness, happiness ... all created from LOVE!"
Sirius, Remus, and Peter just stared at him.
Finally Sirius spoke, "Okay ... so, I take it Lily looked your way at the library?"
James chuckled, "Oh Padfoot. You're so young ... so naive ... so ... " James glanced at Remus, "Well, you'll never get married for one thing!"
Sirius threw Remus' book at James' head and missed.
"Hey!" said Remus reproachfully, standing up to get his book back.
James smiled again, "Isn't it a magnificent morning!"
"It's ... five thirty ..."
"Oh Padfoot, always such a nitpicker! Magnificent evening then!"
Sirius put his face in his hands and turned to Peter, "Honestly, what happened to him ...? Don't tell me he drank something Snape gave him!"
"Don't SAY that git's name right now! You're ruining my 'moment'."
Sirius rolled his eyes, "Are you going to TELL us, or do I have to shove your glasses down your throat!"
"She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, Prongs, with a girl like that, you know you should ... BE GLAAAAAD!" James sang, spreading his arms out.
Remus sat down next to Sirius and looked over at him, "So, Lily finally said yes to your obsessive whining?"
"YES! DING! DING! DING! MOONY WINS THE CHOCOLATE BAR!"
Remus' eyes lit up, "Really?"
James sighed, "No you prat! But, in any case! I HAVE A DATE! I ... yes, don't be jealous, envy, envy, have a date!"
Sirius rolled over, head on Remus' lap, "So ANYWAY, define the McGregorian theory of human thingy ..."
James was in his own little world again, singing the dreaded Beatle's song.
"No career plans?" asked McGonagall, peering at Remus over the top of his file.
"None whatsoever," replied Remus.
She sighed, putting Remus' papers down and thinking, "You must understand, Mr. Lupin, that just because-"
"Sirius and James have nothing to do with it," said Remus calmly.
McGonagall regarded him for a moment, "That, and your physical condition, should not prevent you-"
"With all due respect, Professor, no one at the Ministry would hire a werewolf, so being an Auror is no go. The Gringott's Goblins always look at me funny, St. Mungo's is out of the question. I doubt they'd want a healer who NEEDS a healer once a month."
McGonagall sighed, "And so ...?"
"And so, I don't have any career plans."
McGonagall nodded, "Okay, but Mr. Lupin, as long as you aren't asked about your condition, they need not know."
Remus looked up, "I understand that, but ... I can't fixate on just one career if I will not have stability."
McGonagall nodded, "This is entirely up to you, Mr. Lupin."
"Yes, professor. This is my choice."
"You're free to go, then. Don't let Mr. Black distract you and ... good luck on your N.E.W.T.s."
"Thank you, Professor."
"Mr. Black is next."
Sirius Black walked in and sat on the chair, tilting it back on two legs, "What's up, Proff.?"
"I trust you career plans have changed since fifth year?"
"Nope. If Moony doesn't have one, neither will I. I'll just do what he does. Take on random jobs ... quit when I get bored ... plus, my Uncle Alphard ... poor guy, my nasty brother got named after him, that's probably WHY he died! Anyway, he left me a decent bit of gold, I'm now of age, badda bing badda boom! I've got it made!"
McGonagall stared at him, "You'd have no trouble working for the Ministry-"
"Nah. They hate Moony."
"St. Mungo's?"
"Nope. I have to take care of Moony for five days a month."
"Gringott's?"
"Hate goblins, hate Arithmancy! No!"
McGonagall gritted her teeth, "So you, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. potter are willing to just ... live unemployed for the rest of your lives!"
Sirius blinked, "Uh huh, yeah, basically. So can I go now? I found this little closet that's nice and roomy for me and Remus to get hot-"
"Good-bye, Mr. Black!" she interrupted.
Peter walked in next.
"And you? Do you want to be unemployed forever as well?"
"No, professor," Peter began in a small voice. "I'd like to work in the Ministry of Magic; Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee."
The N.E.W.T.s, or Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, were just that. Nastily exhausting. In fact, by the end of the first few tests, so many students had lost their heads completely and transfigured the examiners into animals, or poisoned themselves, that Dumbledore decided to give them a day off.
Many people (James and Sirius) took this opportunity to wreck havoc on the unwary (bewitching books to seal themselves and ink-bottles to repel paper and quirt at the person instead) but others (Remus and Peter) studied the whole day away.
Remus took McGongall's words to heart, and no matter how many times Sirius kissed his neck, or reached into his pants, Remus did not stop studying for their Potions Exam.
"C'mon Remus ... it's the last one!"
"And you know I'm an expert at potions-making!" snapped Remus, slapping Sirius' hand away as it inched down his back.
"Well, you're grades have been picking up."
"Sirius, you know that's just because I haven't missed a Slug Club meeting yet and I've given him the names of all the people my father's worked with. I mean, he gave me an 'O' on a green potion that was supposed to be red!"
"Well, maybe this idiot will be interested in your dad's contacts too," said Sirius nibbling on Remus' ear absentmindedly.
Remus sighed, "Stop, please. Just let me study ... tomorrow at this time, we'll be free. But not ... right now ... please?"
Sirius's eyes met Remus' and he nodded, "Fine, study this perfect day away ... go blind!"
Remus bit his lip, but began reading the next paragraph on antidotes for love-potions.
"Now, we're DONE!" yelled Sirius, throwing his quill up in the air, earning a glare from the examiners.
"Yes, Mr. Black. You are all free to go."
"Yes!" All the seventh years in the room cheered and made their way out of the examination hall as fast as they could.
"THAT was too easy!" said James, ruffling his hair and stretching.
Peter chewed his lip nervously, "E-easy for you ... I think I may have failed it!"
Sirius laughed, "I KNOW you failed it!"
Peter moaned and hid his face in his hands. Remus came up behind them.
"Sirius, don't be so mean."
"Well, it's true. Peter's a git. He knows that. Right Wormtail?"
Peter grinned through his fingers as they all sat down in the shade of the beech tree near the lake. Remus leaned against the trunk, looking out at the dancing lights on the surface of the lake.
"I'm going to miss it ... you know ..."
Sirius looked at him, "What, the lake?"
"Everything. Hogwarts ... the teachers ... the classes ... the library ..."
Remus looked at the castle mournfully.
Sirius put his head on Remus' lap, "Even Binns?"
Remus grinned and looked down, "Yes, actually."
Suddenly James stood up. Lily Evans was walking towards them, long hair billowing in the wind.
James turned to his friends and grinned nervously, "How's my hair!"
Sirius pointed his wand at James' head, "Here, let me help-"
"No! Padfoot, c'mon! Do I look okay!"
"Yeah ... why do you care!"
"Hello! My date! This is my big chance! I can't mess up!"
Remus frowned at him, "Need a few pointers?"
James nodded enthusiastically, "Please!"
"Take it slow, James," said Remus giving him a meaningful look.
"Ooh! Give her chocolates!" added Sirius.
James frantically searched his pockets, and looked up in horror, "I DON'T HAVE ANY!"
Luckily, Remus pulled out a bar, tapped his wand on it, and handed it to James.
James wiped his sweaty brow, "Thanks a million. Peter ... any pointers!"
Sirius stared at him and James shrugged, "WHAT! I'm desperate!"
Peter looked as if he was in deep thought, "Erm ... make sure you have nice breath?"
"You're right!"
James pointed his wand at his mouth and squirted a large amount of blue liquid into his mouth just as Lily came up behind them.
"Hello," she waved to the other three.
James turned around, "Ms Evans, what a pleasure-"
Lily closed her eyes as a burst of cold air came whooshing out of James' mouth.
Sirius sniggered and stuffed his fist into his mouth.
"Erm," she began but faltered.
James held out the chocolate bar and muttered, "Roseum!"
A few wilted roses appeared in his arms. He thrust them at Lily.
Lily laughed, "Well, I think everything is quite nice."
Lily opened the chocolate bar to find her name engraved on it. She beamed.
"Well, Lily ... let's get going!" muttered James nervously.
Lily nodded and waved at the other three. James and Lily walked away, slowly and towards the Quidditch pitch.
Sirius sighed and closed his eyes, "Really ... sleepy ..."
Remus ran his fingers through Sirius' hair, "I know ..."
When James returned to the common room a few happy hours later, he found Sirius, Remus, and Peter asleep in front of the fire.
He paused to gouge his eyes out at the sight of Sirius holding Remus to his chest on 'their' couch. Then he walked over to them, carefully stepping over Peter.
He stood on the table, cast Muffliato on the doors to the dormitories, and bellowed, "GUESS WHO'S THE LUCKIEST GUY IN WORLD!"
Just as he'd planned, they all jerked out of their sleep suddenly and almost fell out of the couch.
Sirius rubbed his eyes sleepily, "Wha-! Wha-!"
"ME!" yelled James. "I had a great time, yeah, thanks for asking!"
Sirius yawned, "Bloody hell ... it's past eleven ..."
"How far did you go?" asked Peter, little eyes darting over James' face.
James purposely sat between Sirius and Remus, "Not that much. She let me hold her hand, though!"
James grinned at them, proudly.
"That's it?"
James frowned at Sirius, "Well, yes! Lily is a very important girl to me! I can't just go forcing her to snog me on our first date!"
Sirius yawned again, "Yeah, well that seems boring to me."
James threw a cushion at him, "What do YOU know about girls!"
Sirius laughed, "Point taken, now ..." +Sirius stood up, "Can we go to BED?"
James sighed happily, "Yes I think so ... isn't Lily the most wonderful girl in the world?"
Sirius stretched and stood up, "I wouldn't know, I've never kissed her."
James sent another cushion at Sirius.
No matter how much the Marauders wished that time would slow down, it did not. And inevitably, the last few days rolled around.
The Slug Club had made a sort of 'Memory Book' in which all the student's pictures would go. To their dismay, the Marauders were categorized as members of the Slug Club.
But there had been a bright side to the madness. There were special pages, dedicated to crazy things like, Best Friends Forever: Sirius and Remus; Cutest Couple: Lily and James; Best Quidditch Players: Sirius, James, Lily, Snape, and Regulus; Rumored Couple: Sirius and Remus; Most Likely to Succeed: Remus and Severus; Strangest Talents- Fastest Eater: Peter Pettigrew; and other strange things. Needless to say, all the seventh years bought a copy, and the first thing Sirius did to his was scribble 'Loser' on Regulus and Snape' photographs.
Now that time was running out, the Marauders and Lily stayed together as much as they could. They moved in a group, Lily and James in front, usually talking with Peter, and Sirius and Remus in the back. And, sometimes, when they were feeling silly enough, they all hooked arms and sang 'We're the Marauders' while walking through the halls.
People had to duck under their arms, or wait until they passed because none of them would let go. Yes, Lily was now 'one-of-them' because there was more than met the eye behind those green eyes. She was an incredible witch and could charm anything from a chair to the Giant Squid.
All too soon, came the last day at Hogwarts.
After the feast, when Dumbledore stood to speak, the Marauders knew it was them to whom he was talking to.
"Another year gone, another group of students to go. I know that you will all be remembered as great young men and women who made us laugh, cry, and bored us to tears. Other than telling you there are still a few hours left before you all depart forevermore from Hogwarts, there is only one bit of advice I can give you at this point."
The Marauders grinned and recited it with him, "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus!"
Laughing, they threw their black, pointed hats in the air and all the students in the room followed suit.
After all was packed and put away, James and Lily disappeared. Sirius sat on Remus' bed and looked at him nervously, "So ..."
"So ...?" asked Remus.
Sirius chewed his lip, "Come, come with me to the Willow. Yeah?"
Remus, worried, stood up and followed him.
Once inside the Shrieking Shack, Sirius sat on the bed and looked at Remus, "There has ... we've been together ... a long time ... Are we really just friends who kiss and touch occasionally? Is that all?"
Remus sat next to Sirius, "I'm afraid I don't understand-"
Sirius silenced him with a kiss. It was a rushed kiss, passionate, but nervous.
Sirius pushed Remus down on the bed, tugging at his clothes. Remus looked up at him, fearfully.
"Sirius?"
"Remus ... I love you ... I want you ..."
"Sirius, I love you too, but-"
"But what? What's wrong?"
Remus undid his tie slowly, "I suppose ... I'm a bit afraid ..."
"Of what ...?" Sirius asked, kissing Remus' neck slowly and unbuttoning his shirt.
"Of ... " Remus always found it hard to speak when Sirius was touching his like this, slowly ... pulling his shirt and robes off.
"Of ... everything ... stop ... everything ... ruined ..."
Sirius discarded his own tie, robes, shirt, shoes and socks, with astounding speed, "Nothing will be ruined ... "
Remus frowned, "Are you doing this because you know we'll never see each other again?"
Sirius sat up and looked down at him, "No ... I was doing it ... because ... because ... I don't know ... Remus, please say you will?"
Remus propped himself up on his elbows, "You know what this means ...?"
Sirius frowned, "That I'll be your lover?"
Remus nodded, a wicked glint in his eye, "For life ..."
Sirius laughed and pinned Remus down, rubbing his hands over Remus' stomach and dipping down and nibbling on Remus' ear.
"I know ... for life Moony ... for life ..."
Pants were discarded, spells cast for slightly more comfort, and had anyone been near the Shrieking Shack, not only would they have heard loud groans and moans and screams ... but they would've heard a very creaky bed.
In the darkest hour of the night, the two lay in the creaky bed, a thin sheet wrapped around their naked bodies pressed against one another.
Sirius smiled down at Remus, "The moon and the dog star really shone tonight, didn't they?"
Remus laughed a bit, "We're really never going to see each other again ... "
Sirius suddenly sat up, "Well, that's the second reason I brought you up here. James and I were thinking ... and he'll get Lily to agree later ... that he'll get a nice house near Godric's Hollow, and we could get a flat near them too."
"We ...?"
"You and me ... live together, Moony."
Remus sat up as well, thought, with much difficulty, "What?"
"Yeah well .. maybe not a flat, since you're a werewolf and we'll need some sort of basements to meet up in, but a small house would do, right?"
Remus gaped at him, "You want me to live with you!"
Sirius looked at his hands, "Okay ... no then."
He was knocked flat on his back when Remus hugged him tightly.
"Remus, what the- ACK! Choking me ..."
"Sirius, oh ... I'm sorry ... it's just ... I'm so happy! Yes! Yes, I'll live with you!"
Remus pulled away and wiped at his eyes with his arm.
Sirius looked at him, half-amused, half-worried, "You're crying!"
Remus looked up and smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry ... being stupid ... sorry ..."
Sirius laughed and gave him a quick kiss, "You're not stupid, Moony! Now, let's get dressed, we wouldn't want to be missed."
After many games of chess, loud singing, and hexing random Slytherins as they passed their compartment, the Marauders felt anxious about leaving the train.
It was their last connection to Hogwarts. they had gazed mournfully at the castle, Lily had shed a few tears and peter had mused about how he'd miss all the good food. Sirius would miss the Shack, and Remus would miss the library.
James had said nothing, but his friends knew he'd miss playing Quidditch. He'd left a Seeker shield and a Chaser trophy for the next generations to see what a superb player he'd been.
And when the train arrived at the station, Lily passed her phone number to James and left without a word, Peter had left quickly too, yelling he'd owl them.
Only James, Sirius, and Remus remained.
"We'll owl you when Padfoot finds a place," James assured Remus.
"Yeah, I'll kill someone to get them out of a house near James' if I have to!"
Remus laughed, "Alright ... I'll be waiting ..."
With a nod from James, and a quick kiss from Sirius, they parted.
I've paid my dues
Time after time
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand
Kicked in my face
But I've come through
And I need to go on and on and on and on
We're the Marauders - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting till the end
We're the Marauders
We're the Marauders
No time for losers
'Cause we're the Marauders of the world
I've taken my bows
And my curtain calls
You've brought me fame and fortune
And everything that goes with it
I thank you all
But it's been no bed of roses, no pleasure cruise
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race
And I ain't gonna lose
And I need to go on and on and on and on
We're the Marauders - my friend
And we'll keep on fighting till the end
We're the Marauders
We're the Marauders
No time for losers
'Cause we're the Marauders of the world!
A/N: More loving! More loving! How was THAT for more loving! MEHEHEH!
Yay! Hogwarts is over and done! Now we can move on to ... Beyond Hogwarts!
Is this fic getting annoyingly long and boring? Should I end it here ... ? "gasps and dies"
Please Review!