Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, events and/or places that are recognized as being written and created by J.K. Rowling. J.K. Rowling owns all the characters and places from the Harry Potter books including the ones used in this story.

A/N: I've missed my one year anniversary of the first day I posted this story by a half an hour (my time). :( Oh, well, lol! Anyways, THANK YOU! to everyone who read/reviewed! And, so you all know, there is only one more chapter left for this story after this one.

Happy reading!

This was the hardest thing he had ever done in his life, thus far. He knew harder things were to come. He didn't want them to, but being who he was, nothing would ever end heroic for him.

Then again, as he felt his jaw rip from his face, trying to pull a text book twice his size across a room with the teeth of a rat was just simply impossible.

Peter rose to human form, using a freshly transformed hand to shield his eyes. "Are you two done yet? I need to get to the library!"

Sirius tore his mouth, his body, away from Remus, and spun around on the bed. "Wormtail! What are you doing in here?" he growled, hoping that the color in his cheeks could be written off as surprise and anger instead of anything else it might have meant.

"I live here," Peter shot back. He pulled at his two front teeth, frowning; they definitely moved forward a bit since two minutes ago.

"Well go find somewhere else to sneak around!"

"I needed this book!" Peter paused to finger the nice bite marks now littering the edge of the book's cover. "Why don't you go find somewhere else to snog Moony!"

"I'll snog Moony wherever I feel like snogging Moony!"

Peter shrugged. He didn't feel like arguing, when he knew he was going to win anyways. "All I'm saying is that you might want to be more careful," he said, smirking, loving that for once he knew something that they didn't.

Sirius watched through his disheveled bangs as Peter strutted towards the door. If you could call that strutting, Sirius thought. It was more like straddling, with his oval stomach wobbling back and forth and his legs stepping too wide.

Just as Sirius was beginning a new mental monologue on the lumpy-ness of Peter's butt, Peter turned around, giving Sirius and Remus his best mischievous glare. "You never know who might walk in," he said. Peter then slowly and artfully swept his hand across the side of his neck, tilting his head back.

"You don't have long hair, moron," Sirius shouted, laughing over his seething annoyance, as Peter left the room. "What was that supposed to mean?"

"Look at me," Remus mumbled from behind Sirius's back. Sirius spun around again. Remus made a movement with his eyes, telling Sirius that he wanted him to look at his whole body.

Sirius sat back slightly and took in Remus, who was sitting with his arms crossed over his chest; his legs hooked together at the ankle and pulled up closer to his body. "Yeah?" Sirius asked.

"I look like a woman," Remus pointed out. Sirius laughed, throwing himself across the bed. Remus sputtered, but joined in soon enough, feeling stupid that he was covering body parts that he 1. Didn't have and 2. Wasn't showing.

"Oh, Moony," Sirius giggled. A thought bubble burst in Sirius's mind. It was a tiny blimp of a thought, but it silenced him. Once Remus's airy gurgles died into nothing, Sirius's mouth decided to speak without the consent of his brain. "I wish you were a woman." Sirius waited for Remus to express his anger. When nothing came, he continued. "I don't think I'll ever find a girl as perfect as you would be."

Remus stared up at the crimson of his bed hangings. He couldn't talk. He couldn't get his lips to move. He didn't know what he would say of he could. Because Remus agreed with Sirius. There was never going to be a relationship in his life that would rank ahead of the mixed-up, too close for comfort, touched in all the right places relationship that he had with the stupid Animagi. "You don't have a sister, right?" Remus eventually managed.

"Yeah," Sirius laughed. "And she just so happens to love you."

"That would be perfect," Remus said. "I could hang out with you during the day and her at night." Remus waggled his eyebrows in a very Sirius-like seductive way that made Sirius's face break out in one of his widest smiles. The two returned to their ceiling staring, laying an inch apart; only the hair on their arms brushing together. It was warm and different, but neither boy wanted to be the first to move away. "Except for full moons of course," Remus spoke up. "Then I'd be all yours."

"Wow, Moony," Sirius exclaimed. "One snog with me and your mind becomes corrupted."

"I'm not corrupted!"

Sirius laughed. "What would happen to your mind if we had sex?"

The veil of silence fell upon the two boys. Sirius took their little joking that extra step too far, and he immediately regretted it. He was Pandora. He kept opening boxes, expressing ideas that revealed way too much.

"Moony?"

"Padfoot?"

"I was joking."

Remus laughed, slightly maniacal. "I know, Pads." Remus sighed.

"Why did this happen?" Sirius asked in a moment of sober despair. "You used to be my Moony! No labels, or explanations, or questions. And-"

"Sirius," Remus said, placing his hand over Sirius's mouth to shut him up. Sirius noted that Remus's chin did that funny wiggly move, which only meant that Remus was about to give one of his famous long winded, rambling speeches. "Peter," Remus started. "Is your friend. You talk to him, but you don't really talk to him. You like him, but you don't really like him; get it? James is your brother. You hang out with him, you rough house with him, you cause trouble with him, you laugh with him; you two are on the same mental wave length. And then there's me, us…what am I to you? I'm your Moony, you so articulately put it. But what does that mean? I'm a pet? A possession? Someone to tell your secrets to, pour your heart out at? Someone who'll understand, who'll listen? Someone to hug and cuddle with?"

Sirius peeled Remus's hand off his mouth, and nodded. "That's exactly what you are Moony."

"That's not normal, Sirius," Remus exploded. Remus launched himself off of his bed, only to re-launch himself on top of Sirius. "Friends aren't like that Sirius! Brothers aren't like that. Do you know who acts like that?"

Sirius stared up at Remus with a face of pure, utter shock. "You're straddling me!"

"Couples! Couples act like that. Couples act like how we act with each other, Sirius. We're a couple. We're. A. Couple!"

Sirius bucked his hips, throwing Remus onto the floor. "Will you relax," Sirius shouted, sitting up and looking down at Remus, who was now sprawled on the floor. "You're losing it."

"That's why Lily thinks we're a couple. Because we are." Remus was white-faced like someone just announced to the Great Hall at breakfast that he was dating Sirius Black and that he was werewolf.

"Moony! Who cares what sodding Evans thinks? In like eight months, Lily's gonna go off this way-" Sirius pointed his left hand towards the right. "-and we're gonna go off that way." Sirius crossed his right arm over to point at the left. "We'll never see her again! OK?"

"But what about Frank Longbottom?"

Sirius paused, and dropped his arms back down. "You know I heard he thinks I have a nice butt."

"See?" Remus shouted.

Sirius titled his head to the side. "Moony?" he called in his most soothing voice. Sirius patted the spot next to him. "Come here."

Remus scrambled up onto the bed like he was a child. If he was already feeling uncomfortable, (which he was), then having Sirius suddenly wrap two strong Beater arms around him, made him feel that much more shaky.

"Remus, I love you. Do you love me?"

Sirius's voice was a whisper against Remus's cheek. "Yes," Remus whispered back.

"Then that's all that matters!" Sirius started rocking Remus back and forth. Remus quickly scanned the room for the fastest escape route.

Then Sirius stared singing.

"Hush little wolfy, don't you cry. Padfoot's gonna buy you a piece of pie. And if that piece of pie's not berry. You'll destroy it when you're hairy."

"Oh God," Remus groaned.

"And-"

"Aren't I scarred enough physically?"

"Does my singing offend Mister Moony?"

Remus twisted to look at Sirius. "Everything about you does," Remus laughed.

Sirius smiled, squeezed Remus harder, and buried his face in Remus's neck; delighted that their old, strange banter had returned. "Are you my Moony again?"

Remus allowed his head to fall against Sirius's. "I hate being mushy Padfoot."

"I need confirmation, Moony," Sirius shouted, squeezing Remus harder. "I was an unwanted child, remember?"

"I wonder why," Remus smirked.

Sirius started whimpering like his Animagi form.

"I'm yours, Sirius," Remus mumbled.

Sirius made a horrible screeching sound of happiness and planted a sloppy kiss on Remus's cheek.

"Can we go to Charms now?" Remus asked.

"Sure," Sirius said, finally releasing Remus. "I could use a nap."

"Ah, look who's kissed and made up."

Peter spat his drink out at James's choice of words, in one glorious spray.

"Oh my God and I've won again!" James threw his arms up in victory, laughing like a man ripe with madness.

"That's not fair," Sirius shouted, forgetting everything in the world but the Marauder's favorite game: Who can make Wormtail spit his drink out first?

"Um, by the tiny droplets of pumpkin juice which have landed on Moony's robes, I do believe that it was fair."

Remus looked down his front and groaned. He just had those robes washed.

"No," Sirius argued, taking his seat across from James, and tossing a pile of napkins at Remus, who sat next to him. "The rules, that we made up, specifically state that all players must be seated, and mine and Moony's butts were clearly still in the air."

James and Sirius held a fierce stare down. James didn't want to give in, and he hated losing, but rules were rules. "Alright," James groaned. He held his hand out. "Best of three." Sirius grabbed James's outstretched hand, and the two shook on it. Peter wobbled in his seat, barely able to hide his excitement at being the pawn in Sirius's and James's game to see which one was funnier; Remus didn't partake…he was the reluctant referee.

"I don't think I want to sit here," he said, shooting Peter an apologetic smile.

"I'll throw myself in front of you, my damsel," Sirius cooed, batting his eyelashes at Remus.

Across from them, James and Peter shared a long, knowing look. "So," James began. "Are you two…" James stopped and leant over the table, beckoning Sirius and Remus to follow his example. "Dating," he finished in a whisper.

Sirius sprang back against his chair. "Did a little rat tell you a story?" Sirius asked, rolling the 'r' in rat.

"You know where my alliances lie," Peter said, nodding unnecessarily at James.

"Well? Are you?" James spoke up, looking surprisingly forlorn.

Sirius smirked. "Jealous?"

"No," James shouted. "It's just-" James sighed audibly, running his fingers madly through his hair. "I invented this!" James batted his finger between Sirius and Remus. "I invented this, and how many times have I invented me dating Lily? Was I snogging her for a half an hour in the common room? I. Don't. Think. So."

"You didn't-"

"I got it," Peter shouted over Remus's protests. "What if weeeee-" Peter looked around their little area, giving each boy his best squinty conspirator look. "Invent Prongs dating Lily! Than it'll come true too."

James clasped Peter on the shoulders. "I'll never doubt you again," he said, seemingly the picture of seriousness.

"Oh, this is ridiculous," Remus growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. There was a fog, a bog, a moor even in his head. He couldn't remember, he tried, but he just couldn't remember a time in his life where things weren't just absolutely ridiculous. There must have been a few moments before he met James Potter and Sirius Black where he was a normal boy; but times like the one he found himself in now, made normalcy seem completely impossible. "James, you inventing me and Sirius dating didn't make me and Sirius start dating. Sirius and I are not even dating! And let's not even begin to touch the fact that you're using the wrong verb…"

"Can't you, Mr. Moony, just try?" James asked, all big hazel eyes and pouty lips. "For me? We'll work out the logistics of you and Sirius later; right now let's all concentrate on me."

"Shall we hold hands?" Sirius asked, winking at Remus.

"I said you two later!" James closed his eyes. Peter copied him, with a rather disturbing grin plastered across his face.

"Wormtail, he said himself kissing Evans." Peter grinned wider.

"You can't invent-"

Sirius slapped one of his sweaty hands over Remus's mouth. "There's no reasoning with him Moony, you know that." Remus nodded; against his will, against his better judgment, transfixed by Sirius's lips. "Just go with it." Remus nodded; leaning, against his will, against his better judgment towards Sirius.

What are you doing?" Sirius laughed, releasing Remus's mouth.

"Nothing," Remus snapped back into his chair, covering his eyes. "Inventing. Apparently," he added. He heard Sirius chuckle and peeked in between his fingers at Sirius whose eyes were clasped closed, and whose face had that same disturbing look that Peter's had.

Remus wasn't about to "invent" James snogging Lily; if some how that did work, he didn't want to be held responsible. He kept his eyes closed for one reason. And that was because he didn't want to look at how ridiculous the other three looked with their eyes shut. James had his hands up, moving his fingers around, and looking positively deranged.

What Remus did think about, of course, was the one noun that plagued his thoughts everyday from the moment he awoke.

Sirius.

Remus thought that he pretty much pin-pointed the exact moment in time where Sirius's and his friendship went from normal mates to peculiar.

Christmas. Third year. Sirius came back from holidays a wreck; mentally and physically. No one could calm him down, or approach him. One night, James tried for the ten-thousandth time to ask Sirius what happened. Sirius exploded about not wanting to talk about it, and then raging about how he was sick of answering questions, and he just wanted to be left alone, and that he hated his family, and that they hated him, and that James with his happy family would never understand, and that no one would understand. Then Remus, who did understand, walked up to Sirius and hugged him; hugged him because that's what Remus always wanted someone to do when he was upset; hugged him until Sirius was clinging to him, crying into his neck. Later that night, Sirius told Remus everything; and then Sirius always told Remus everything.

Remus didn't really understand what he and Sirius had become, but what he did know is that he was starting to become really, really sleepy.

"Ah!" all four boys shouted, springing back to life, freshly opened eyes darting everywhere.

"There will be no sleeping during meal times," McGonagall said, slapping a rolled up parchment against her hand; similar to the way she had just previously slapped it against the Marauder's section of the table.

"We weren't sleeping," James said. "We were inventing."

McGonagall looked like she was about to speak, but decided against it. She sent a quavering look at James's Head Boy badge, rolled her eyes and continued on her way.

"Do you think it worked?" Peter asked James.

"All will be revealed, my lad." James turned his goggled eyes to Sirius. "Now back to-"

"We're not dating, Prongs," Sirius said. Remus felt Sirius's hand tap him on the thigh, and even though he had no idea what that meant, he took it as Just Don't Say Anything. "Wormtail saw us, you know, but we were just…fixing things."

"O…K…" James said. "So, is everything fixed?"

"Yep," Sirius chirped, smiling lopsidedly at James.

James frowned. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"

Sirius brought a fork of food up to his mouth. "Not really."

"But I'm your best friend!"

Sirius stretched across the table, to cover James's hand with his own. "And you always will be," he said, barely keeping the laughter from his voice.

"Alright," James said. "As long as I rank ahead of Moony, I really don't care." James smiled brightly at Remus, and Sirius patted his thigh again.

Remus laughed and shook his head. Maybe they were ridiculous, but Remus found that ridiculous was his normal. And he liked it that way.

"Can you pull pranks?" Sirius asked James, as the four boys walked from the Great Hall to DADA. "Head Boys don't pull pranks." Sirius elbowed Remus and smirked.

"Head Boys don't give their best friends detention for no reason either, but there are exceptions to every ru-Oof."

James's speech was abruptly severed, as a thin body launched itself at him, wrapping its arms around his neck. The body pulled away, and James adjusted his skewed glassed. And then adjusted them again when he identified the mystery person as Lily.

"James," Lily said, a seeping blush across her cheeks.

"Lily?" James adjusted his glasses again. No, this is real.

"James."

"Lily."

Lily swallowed hard. "James."

"Li-"

"You've established that!" Sirius shouted.

"Oh!" Lily squeaked. She sent a nervous glance at Sirius, Remus, and Peter. She swallowed again, and set her determined green eyes back on James. "James, I've been looking all over for you."

"You have?" James could not contain his glee if he tried.

"Yes. I, I want…I want to go…will you go on another date with me?" Lily sucked in her breath immediately following her question, and bit down on her lip; as if the whole world depended on James's answer.

James looked like he was going to cry. "Normally I'd probably make a joke and say like no and then tell you I was kidding, but for the first time in my life I don't want to joke."

"Well, he's lost it," Sirius whispered to Remus.

"You don't even have to ask me, Lily," James continued.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh the dramatics with you," she said, before throwing her arms around James again. James tipped her head up, and leant down to sweetly kiss her; mostly because he still couldn't believe he was not dreaming.

Lily backed away from James, her face more red than her hair. "We'll decide where to go on our date while we monitor tonight." With that, Lily spun around and shimmed up the hall towards the DADA classroom; the boys saw a chubby brunette girl spring from the shadows and hug Lily.

"Is that Alice?" Sirius asked. "She thinks I have a nice butt, too."

James turned to face his friends. "It worked!" he shouted. "The inventing worked. And now I have a second chance with Lily! And...I'm going to blow it somehow."

"Naturally," Sirius shrugged.

Peter stepped towards James, putting his arm around the taller boy. "We'll help you, Prongs. Don't worry." Peter began to lead James down the hall to DADA. "I can't believe it worked!"

Remus and Sirius took step behind them. Sirius slipped his arm around Remus's and pulled him closer. "Remember what I said about never seeing Lily again after we graduate?" Remus nodded; against his will, against his better judgment feeling mad that Lily had to just spring out of no where and ruin his normal life again. "Ridiculous," Sirius growled.