Chapter 1:
"Come on Remus we're going to be late," calls Sirius from the kitchen of their shared flat. It is October 31, 1981 and they are going to the Potter's for a Halloween party of sorts. It is 'of sorts', because Remus and Sirius will be the only guests in attendance. It is rather hard to have a social life when one is hiding for fear of his or her life.
"Sirius it's three o'clock in the afternoon, Lily and James aren't expecting us 'till four," replies Remus from their shared bathroom where he is shaving.
"Yes but the apparition schedule I have planned will take us nearly forty four minutes and it'll take sixteen minutes to walk to their house after the last stop," Sirius shouts back.
"I suppose you've never heard of being fashionably late," says Remus as he walks down the narrow hallway from the bathroom and into the kitchen. "And where exactly are you dragging me today?"
The first time they went visiting the Potter's after the Fidelius charm was cast, Remus had made the remark that 'shouldn't they Apparate a few other places first before they showed up at the Potter's in case they were tailed?' Sirius had taken to the idea with a passion and now plans their schedule with zeal. "You'll find out," Sirius replies with a smile that looks just a little too evil for Remus' liking.
Remus holds out his hands and says resignedly, "lead the way then." Sirius takes his hands and they're off.
"Sirius we're in our back alley," says Remus.
"I know," replies Sirius, "it's the one thing they won't expect." Remus just shakes his head. He gave up trying to understand Sirius' logic years ago.
In the next twenty minutes, Remus finds himself in the middle of a crowded shopping center, on a deserted moor, on the edge of a pier, somewhere in London, and on the roof of what appeared to be a factory.
This is where it gets interesting. After what seemed like a rather long apparition, Remus finds himself in an alley next to what appears to be a shop. Instead of moving right away, Sirius drags him out of the alley and into a street which is undoubtedly in Paris. It is undoubtedly, because the Eiffel Tower can be seen from their position. "You dragged me all the way across the English Channel," asks Remus, "to avoid being followed"
"Well," answers Sirius, "I also thought we could pick up some wine and cheese while we're here."
"Oh," replies Remus rather at a loss for what to say, "that's thoughtful."
Sirius smirks and drags Remus into the shop. When all of their purchases have been made, they return to the alley. Sirius wraps an arm around Remus' waist and kisses him softly. "I love kissing you in Paris," he murmurs as they draw apart. "It's so romantic."
"You, Sirius Black, are the poofiest poof I have ever met," replies Remus, "but I love you." Before he can say anything more, he's on the top of a moving train and all other insults or declarations of love have flown clear out of his mind.
Their last stop before they arrive at the Potter's, Remus finds himself in Arabella Figg's kitchen which smells rather strongly of cabbage and cat. Before they can leave, however, the owner of the house calls out, "who's there?" and they stop.
"It's just Remus and I," calls out Sirius.
"Remus and me," mutters Remus half to himself.
"Why?" replies Sirius, "you're always telling me it's I and now it's me? I think you're changing the rules."
Now, it must be known that Remus corrects grammar all the time. It's a habit that was started back in his first year at Hogwarts and has never really been shaken. You see, James and Sirius had been making fun of Remus for his perfect spelling and grammar so in return Remus started correcting theirs. In fact, Remus has only slipped up twice in his life when it comes to grammar and spelling. The first time was when his three friends told him that they knew his secret (the werewolf one.) The second was when Professor McGonagall found him in a rather compromising position with a certain Mr. Black, but that's another story.
While this is all rather irrelevant to the story, since its come this far, it must also be known that it's not Remus's fault that his grammar is perfect. When he was young, his mother hired a tutor instead of sending little Remus to regular school. This particular man was very good when it came to the English language, but rather bad with numbers. So, while Remus can correct all of the grammatical errors in a cook book, he can't figure out how to measure the ingredients for the life of him, especially if he has to double the recipe.
Anyway, Remus's reply to Sirius's comment about changing the rules of grammar is, "would you say it's just I if you were by yourself? No, you would say it's just me. Therefore, you would use me. And you're the one who changes the rules not me." Their argument is cut short by the arrival of one Arabella Figg.
"Hello dears," she says as she enters the kitchen, "would you like something to eat?"
"No thank you," says Remus just as Sirius opens his mouth to answer with a yes, "we're already late as it is, aren't we Sirius?" Sirius glares at him, but says nothing.
"Alright then," replies Arabella, "drop in for a longer visit next time?" Arabella Figg is rather used to this kind of thing, seeing as her house is a frequent spot for apparition.
"We'll do that," says Remus politely, "but right now we really must be going."
They depart, but not before Sirius growls softly at the cat who was sitting on the counter. Sirius has never really gotten along with cats. Arabella wonders why Fluffy is so upset, but ignores it for the cat calms down soon after the two men leave.
So, one hour, three minutes and twenty-seven seconds after leaving their flat, Remus and Sirius arrive at the home of Lily and James Potter. It should be known that James and Lily know about their relationship and have since their seventh year at Hogwarts. (Well James has anyway; it's debatable as to exactly when Lily figured it out.) You see, James was trying to set Sirius and Remus up with dates for the hundredth time (well more like the seventeenth, but who's counting?) when Lily had finally had enough. The red head dragged him to a corner where she explained the whole thing to him. But this is also another story.
"Sirius, Remus," says James joyfully as they enter the house, "About time you two showed up."
"We made a little detour," says Sirius producing the wine and cheese from his coat.
"Oh good," says Lily as she enters the room, "You're here." She hugs both men and takes the packages from Sirius. "Let's make some jack-o-lanterns; Harry's been excited about it all day."
"Well let's not keep him waiting then," says Sirius and they all move into the other room.
Some time later, Harry has been put to bed and the adults are dancing in the sitting room. They are all a bit tipsy, but not too inebriated because it's never a good idea to be drunk when one is in hiding. One minute you're having a grand old time and the next you're dead, all because you didn't have the sense to draw your wand.
James and Sirius are just a bit more far gone than Remus and Lily and soon they're dancing with each other. Remus and Lily are looking on with amusement. "You really are a horrible dancer James Potter," laughs Sirius.
"At least I don't have two left thumbs," replies James.
"That's feet dear," says Lily, "I think it's time you were in bed." Then to Remus, "you two can sleep on the couch tonight, it's far too late for you to be out." She's gone with James before Remus can thank her or reject her proposal.
Fourteen minutes later, Remus and Sirius are practically on top of each other on the couch. It isn't, you see, a very wide couch, but they are comfortable and warm. With arms around each other to prevent falling off the couch as well as for pleasure, the pair drifts off to sleep.
Somewhere in London, a group of Death Eaters invades the Ministry of Magic. They manage to secure the entire complex before dawn. Seeing as the only one who knows where the Potter's house is, is currently sleeping on the couch of said residence, they are not notified. Remus and Sirius sleep peacefully on, not knowing that their lives are about to be turned upside-down.