I am so sorry! I had another written chapter before, but I didn't care for it and trashed it. Then while re-writing it, I was bombarded with work. After typing up paper after paper (take that and multiply it to the third power), I did not want to see another computer 'til I graduated. I swear… I'll get carpel tunnel syndrome by the time I reach twenty-five. Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews. You guys are all so great and I just wanted to thank you for taking your time and reading my fic. Thanks for the positive feedback!

I would also like to note that unlike the prior chapters, this one doesn't contain any comedy and/or witty remarks. Fairly boring if you ask me… hopefully I can make it up in the next chapter.

Opinions Needed: I was re-reading this fic in order to try and get my creative juices flowing and found that the first two chapters looked kinda… blah. So I was thinking of adjusting them: making them more descriptive (not too much though… just to give you guys my insight on how things look) and probably adding in some more dialog. In any case, I would be elongating the first two chapters. I thought that might interest a few of you. So if you'd like to tell me what ya think… please do! You don't even have to write full sentences… I'll take one-word answers—one letter answers (y or n)! That can't take too much of your time, can it?
Ohh and most importantly… this won't effect the production of chapters to come. Any rewriting of that magnitude will take place after I've finished this fic! This will basically be benefiting those whom re-read stories and new readers.

And to my reviewer Melanie: I love music. Nothing gets me hotter than rock 'n' roll! I love Guns N' Roses, AC/DC, Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, The Beatles, The Stones, Pink Floyd, Def Leppard, Zeppelin, Queen… the list goes on and on—I swear! I can't go a day without it! Music has a lot of influence in my life so naturally, it seeped its way into my fic. There's even some of Rod Stewart's Hot Legs in here… I think it was in chapter two. And yes… Mick Jagger rules!
So about this friend Matt… cute? Single? LOL! j/k!

Note: I recently found out that in 1977, the full moon fell on Christmas, making my fic imprecise. Sorry about this. If I had known earlier I would have fixed this, but I guess we all have to life with a historically inaccurate fanfic.

Take note
.:actions/sound effects:.

As the weeks went by, both Remus and Sirius decided—telepathically one would suppose for it was never discussed—to put on a façade. They still acknowledged one another and acted as though nothing scandalous had occurred between them; for this was definitely something they did not want the whole school to know about.

It wasn't too difficult to fool their classmates; in fact that was the easy part. The hard part was keeping it from James and their girlfriends. It was like they had a sixth sense or something; like they had a built in radar that went off when things weren't totally right. So naturally, Remus and Sirius had to be extra convincing when they were hanging around with their friends.

Thought the boys put up a good front, there were times where they slipped. Like when they both reached for the salt shaker one morning. There they were, one's hand overlapping the other's; eyes wide as saucers. Their faces were as red as pomegranates as they wrenched their hands away from each other. That little incident might have been their undoing if anyone was awake enough to catch it.

Oh and forget about being alone together… Whenever they were left in that sort of predicament, one or the other would hastily make an excuse to leave. But after a month of trying to repress memory of that one fateful Hogsmeade weekend, the boys eventually were able to put it behind them… or at least that's what they thought.

"Ahh finally… the last day of class," sighed Peter as he sat down at the Gryffindor table at breakfast. After stretching his arms and cracked his fingers, Peter grabbed the closest entrée and piled it onto his own plate while humming, "No more pencils/No more books…"

"Wormtail it's only for a week," said James as he poured himself and Lily a glass of pumpkin juice, "we're not graduating yet."

"Can dream, can't I? After all, a holiday is a holiday," retorted Peter, sending pieces of bacon and eggs flying out his mouth.

"Eww… don't talk with your mouth full," cringed Lily as she covered her plate from the incoming protein-filled pellets.

"Sorry," muttered Peter, sheepishly.

"Don't be sorry… just…," Lily said tenderly, as if apologizing for being rash, "oh… why don't you take some pointers from Remus."

When his name was spoken, it pulled Remus out of his reverie. He was feeling fairly drowsy, which was odd for he had a full nights rest and it was only a little after 8:30. It wasn't because of the moon for last night was the New Moon. Fortunately for Remus, his physical appearance didn't betray his current state of exhaustion. The last thing he wanted was to be babied. It was one thing to be coddled by his girlfriend, but being the focal point of his friends' attentions was out of the question. Ever since they found out about his "condition", they'd treat him differently when Remus looked even a tad peaky. It was nice to know they cared but the last thing he ever wanted to be was a charity case.

Remus focused his gaze towards Lily with a perplexed look etched on his face. "Umm sorry… what ab— "

"Ohh no you don't! The last thing we need 'round here is two naff gits with sticks up their arses," interrupted Sirius as he took a seat between James and Liz. Though his comment was obviously a put down, it was laced with affection.

Slinging his arm around Liz, Sirius looked directly across from himself and gave Peter a smirk. Peter, in return, grabbed a small baguette and ate it with an exaggerated Emily-Post, all the while stifling a chuckle. Sirius' eyes then traveled to Peter's right and landed on Remus. When their eyes met, his smirk then became a genuine smile. It was a very warm smile and that unnerved Remus. Unbeknownst to himself, Sirius was lightly tracing circles on Liz's upper arm as he smiled at his now blushing friend. Gradually, Remus' blush subsided as he returned the smile. This shared moment between them became rather comforting and slowly made the world around them disappear…

"Ooh Sirius… that tickles!" giggled someone. The familiar, feminine voice shattered the soothing atmosphere the two boys created for themselves.

'Clearly, someone needs to teach that slut a thing or two about timing,' thought Remus.

"Huh… wha'?" replied Sirius, obviously distracted. He looked completely disoriented.

"Your fingers… they're tickling me," said Liz as she shifted her arm to prove her point.

"Fingers? Oh… right," said Sirius as he retracted his arm, "...sorry". However, the apology seemed to be directed towards Remus, for Sirius was trying to catch his eye once again.

"Ohh love… there's no need to be sorry," chirped Liz as she hugged Sirius' arm. Evidently, she didn't notice that Sirius was not talking to her.

"Got to go guys," Peter announced to his friends while looking across the Great Hall. "Amanda's waving me over… looks like she saved me a seat," and with that, Peter got up and walked over to the Huffelpuff table, the French bread still clutched in his hands.

"Aww… it's nice to see that things are working out for them," commented Lily as she watched them greet each other.

"Yeah… Pete hasn't fucked up yet! That must be a record breaker!"

"Sirius!" reprehended Liz, "don't…" Whatever she said after that, Sirius couldn't say. Placing his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his palm, Sirius turned his body in the direction of James, rolling his eyes in the process. As James desperately tried to conceal his laugh, Sirius wondered to himself, 'When in the world did Liz become so bloody annoying? Sometimes I'd just liked to…' But his thoughts were cut short when the owls came soaring in.

The Great Hall was soon filled with owls of all different types—along with some other species of birds. 'This has got to be some sort of Health Code violation,' Sirius thought to himself. 'There's no way that all these birds flying around can be good for…'

"Artemis," cried Remus, disturbing Sirius' thoughts.

Artemis was Remus' owl but his family used her too. She was a Bengal eagle owl¹; mostly a tawny brown color with blackish-brown streaks and had tuffs of white in some spots. She was still a young owl; about three years old. Sirius bought it for Remus the Christmas after the werewolf prank (last Christmas). The owl was fairly expensive but money was no object as far as Sirius was concerned. Remus never hinted that he wanted an owl, but when Sirius saw her in the window, he knew she was for Remus. Something about those big, beautiful, orange eyes… When Sirius presented his gift to Remus, the look the werewolf gave him was all he needed. His eyes were shining and his mouth dropped open. The next thing Sirius knew, he was being enveloped into a big tight hug. "Ahh… those were the days," Sirius mused to himself.

Across the table, Remus was petting his feathered deliverer and feeding her some of his sausage. "What is it girl? What do you have for me?" asked Remus as he untied the letter from the bird's leg. However, instead of flying back to the Owlery, Artemis had other plans. In a flash, she flew across the table and perched herself on top of the head of one James Potter. She hooted loudly with triumph and gave James soft nips on his ear. You see… Artemis has had an insane crush on him since she first laid eyes on him. Remus always suspected this was because Artemis really believed James was an owl. He had messy hair that stuck up like horns (like she had) and wore a robe with long draping sleeves that look like wings… though everyone at Hogwarts had them too. But what probably really convinced her was that James had these big brown eyes that were only magnified by his glasses.

"OHH NO! NOT AGAIN!" wailed James as he flung his arms in the air. "Get off! Shoo… SHOO!"

"Oi Bubo! Go get you man," laughed Sirius. After Remus told him that the scientific name for the Bengal eagle owl was Bubo bengelensis, Sirius insisted on calling Artemis, Bubo. Remus pretended that this annoyed him, but in reality, he found it endearing. And besides… Artemis seemed to like it anyway.

"Don't provoke IT Black!" shouted James. "This bird is absolutely nutters! Go away! Get lost! SCRAM!" cried James as he swatted at the love-struck owl.

"Oh James… if you would just let her be," Lily tried to reason, "aww… she's so cute."

"Cute? …Cute? Should have known you would—you're mad too!" said a frustrated James.

"James and Bubo sitting in a tree," Sirius began to sing, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G…" As he continued on with the song, Artemis began hooting (bu-whooh) along and flapping her wings to the beat. With a display such as this, one could just imagine the laughter that filled the Great Hall.

After a while, Artemis finally decided to return to the Owlery.

"Ohh great," moaned James as he slammed his head on the table, "people are never going to let this down. My reputation is ruined."

"Don't worry about it Potter… I'm sure people will never forget you," said Sirius sympathetically as he put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

Lifting his head to look at his fellow marauder, James asked, "You really think so Sirius?"

"Course I do," answered Sirius, "you'll probably be forever known as the boy most likely to be buggered by an owl."

"WHAT? I'll murder you for that!" yelled James as he lunged at Sirius.

Now that everything was back to normal, Remus remembered the letter owled to him. Unraveling the parchment, the letter read:

Dear Son,

How has my baby been? Hogwarts isn't too cold or drafty is it? I'll knit you another quilt just in case. Both you father and I are doing well and miss you very much. It won't be too long before you and your friends graduate. My little baby is growing up so fast. Soon you will have a home of your own and getting on with your life. Don't forget to visit us when you are in the neighborhood or on weekends or on holiday.

This Christmas, your father and I will be at your Uncle Mitchell's. They invite us every year to visit but we always decline. However, this year we can't seem to get out of it. I understand that you are very reluctant to go and therefore, I won't implore you to. I will just tell your uncle that you are studying for your N.E.W.T.s and can't make it. We love you very much Remus and don't you ever doubt that.

Love,

Mum and Dad

'You didn't have to sugar coat it mum,' thought Remus after he finished reading. He knew something was wrong when his mom was asking him questions that she could have easily asked when she saw him tomorrow. 'Guess I better unpack,' concluded Remus unhappily.

"Oh Remy… what does it say?" inquired Heather as she tried to read the letter over her boyfriend's shoulder, incidentally startling him in the process.

'I bloody hate when she calls me that.' Quickly folding the letter and placing it in his robe pocket, Remus stammered, "uhh… it's just that I… well… I won't be going home for Christmas."

"What? …Why not? Has something happened?" questioned Heather, her face full of worry.

"Huh… ohh… it's n-nothing bad…," answered Remus, pausing to think of an excuse. "It's just… I… umm… m-my parents you see… they… umm… are getting the house redone. Yeah… they hired a contractor and everything. They think it's best if I stayed here."

"Ohh you poor thing… I wish you could come home with me," replied his girlfriend. She then ran her hand through Remus' hair and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Ohh… no need to worry about Remus, Heather," spoke Sirius, interrupting their "couple" moment. "I'm staying at Hogwarts too. I'll keep him company," smiled Sirius. Because the Potters were going to visit family in Whales over the Christmas break, Sirius not wanting to intrude, thought it would be best if he stayed in Hogwarts. Anything was better than going back to that hellhole that he used to call home.

Smiling as nicely as she could, Heather replied, "I know that Sirius." As she spoke, her right eye began to twitch, though no one seemed to have noticed. 'That's what I was afraid of,' she thought inwardly.

"Well if you all would just excuse me, I forgot something. I'll see you all in Defense, all right?" With that said Remus got up and quickly left the dining hall. He was so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he didn't realize that a pair of smoky grey eyes followed him as he left.

xXx

The holiday started of well; the two marauders got along well and there were no awkward moments. On Christmas day, they exchanged gifts and sat next to each other during the Christmas feast that the house elves prepared. Once they were back in the Gryffindor tower, they decided to open the case of butterbear that the Marauders were saving for a special occasion. After all, what was more special than Christmas? They could always replace it the next time they when to Hogsmeade anyway. Since they were the only ones in Gryffindor who stayed behind, the two boys decided to drink their beers in front of the roaring fire in the Common Room. They talked and laughed about all the good times they shared in Hogwarts and the future… for the new year was just around the corner.

"You know wha' S-S-Siriusss .:hiccup:.?" slurred Remus. After sharing a twelve pack of butterbear, what did you think he was going to sound like?

Upon hearing his name, Sirius got up from the burgundy parlor chair he was occupying and made his way towards Remus, whom was sitting on the matching sofa. Of course being as equally drunk as Remus, Sirius stumbled and fell on the floor, barking with laughter. He then crawled the rest of the way to his destination, laughing uncontrollably. Pulling himself up the sofa, Sirius lost his grip and fell on top of Remus, causing both of them to explode with laughter.

After calming down but not removing himself from his current position, Sirius asked, "Wha'?"

"Huh…? Ohh… right… I was just .:hiccup:. about to say h-how much I was .:hiccup:. goin' to miss-ss you."

"Ohh… really?" question Sirius as he looked up at his friend. With his head on Remus' left shoulder, he was quite comfortable where he was and didn't want to move.

Resting his head on the back of the sofa, Remus answered. "Of course you .:hiccup:. silly silly thing… you."

"HA! Rem, you're smashed," concluded Sirius.

"Am not! I'm intox… intoxicated," replied Remus.

"Wha's the bloody diff'rents?"

"Jus' sounds better… grammatically correct."

"Only you would think of .:hiccup:. grammar at a time like this…"

"Ohh Black… shut it! You're givin' me a headache," announced Remus, bringing his left hand up to his temple.

"Make me," dared Sirius.

"…Fine!" As Remus glanced down at Sirius, his headache seemed to momentarily disappear. The room was fairly dark now and Remus was only just able to make out the portions of Sirius' face that were highlighted by the fire light. Slowly, Remus moved his hand to his friend's face. Brushing back his jet black hair, Remus felt as Sirius stiffened slightly at his touch and draw in a quick breath. With the alcohol creating a sort of buzzing feeling, Remus began losing whatever control he had over his body. Sirius' eyes were just as glazed as his felt: cloudy and with a hint of yearning. 'What a magnificent combination,' thought Remus hazily.

Drawing closer to get a better look, Remus failed to realize that this would cause him to be closer to other parts of Sirius as well. Letting his gaze drift, Remus took in all that was before him. 'That bloody annoying fringe, those pro-dominant cheekbones, those… luscious lips… Just a little closer…'

And then… he was.

At first, Remus was only lightly pressing his lips against Sirius'. A feather light touch, that soon became a polite and tender kiss. This little action seemed to hinder Remus' competence ten times more then the alcohol did. Ever so gently, Remus parted their lips and softly exhaled into his partner's mouth.

Ending the kiss, Remus slightly pulled away so that their lips would still brush against each others. "That seemed to quiet you," murmured Remus. Sirius could only muster up a low whimper as an answer.

Gradually, Remus fell back into the sofa and let his head rest against it. After a moment or two, he felt Sirius stir and then nuzzle his neck.

"So strong and yet… so soft," mumbled a sleepy Sirius.

"Uhh… well… you're uhh… warm," said a confused Remus for he wasn't sure how to answer that.

"Mmm… 'night Moony," said Sirius as he fell asleep.

"Goodnight Padfoot…" whispered Remus as closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

This chapter was supposed to have more stuff in it but it would have made this chapter insanely long! I didn't want everyone to start yelling at me for making them read more than what they get assigned for homework or something… Once again, I am very sorry. It was not my intention to make you all to wait so long for this chapter.

1. If you'd like to see a picture of the Bengal eagle owl, there's a link in my profile. There's also some information there too…
This whole scene with the bird was inspired by Light Night with Conan O'Brien. You know when something is inspired by stupidity—the end product isn't much better. Well anyway, Conan had an animal trainer/expert as a guest on the show and the man brought along a Bengal eagle owl. When I saw it, I immediately fell in love with it! I have a thing for animals/birds and this owl was no exception… it was so cute. Those big eyes did it for me. Also the fact that Conan was acting like a moron—like he always does—didn't hurt either. He's so cute… in an idiotic way. Yes, I know I have issues.