1973

Remus Lupin had never had a sleepover. His stomach had been in knots all day over the situation. First, there was the state of his parents to worry about. They hadn't stopped running around the house all day.

"Lyall, the flowers—"

"In the vase on the mantel, Hope. Brownies! Brownies are—"

"In the oven, love."

If Remus didn't know better, he would have guessed his parents were expecting Albus Dumbledore himself. Instead, his parents were going through painstaking lengths to make their house presentable for a couple of thirteen year old boys. Remus couldn't help but feel guilty. He had sprung this upon his parents rather last minute (as Sirius had not told Remus about the 'set in stone plan to sleepover while James and Peter were out of the country'), and they were so very excited for their son to have friends that they wanted to make everything perfect.

"Remus dear,"

Remus saw his mother descend from the stairs with the broom. She was a small, slender woman, with wispy, ashy brown hair like her sons. Her pale blue eyes were in an almost constant state of fret, and today was no exception.

"Mum?"

"Your friend Sirius, is it vanilla drizzle he likes, or butterscotch on his brownies? I got chocolate for you, of course…" She asked, concerned. Remus smiled.

"Believe it or not, we don't talk much about drizzles. Anything will be fine, mum, Sirius is very kind."

"Extremely kind," Hope said fervently. "Your boys, all of them…I can't thank them enough. Remus, they understand? We cannot thank them enough?" Remus, uncomfortable, looked down at his feet. Seeing this, Hope sighed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. We're just..."

"I know."

The second reason Remus' stomach was in knots was due to the state of the house. It was clean—meticulously clean, Hope made sure of it. Remus was just worried it was a bit dull, to put it plainly, as compared to the Black's estate. Sirius lived like royalty compared to him, or so he felt, and didn't want him or (or any of his other friends) to look down on his family. They were perfectly happy and healthy, most of the time, and Remus loved his parents very much. He also knew they wouldn't be so poor if it hadn't been for his condition, and he couldn't blame them at all. He also didn't know how to explain his worries to his parents—they were wrecks enough as was.

It really was a nice house: The Lupins had a little garden in the backyard, and a lovely little breakfast nook that overlooked it. Hope's prized possession, a grand piano, was featured prominently in the den. However, the couches and chairs were nearly falling apart, the whole house ached and creaked like it would fall down within the hour, buckets set up to capture leaks…it was home to Remus, but would Sirius see it that way?

But the third and final reason Remus' stomach was in knots was because he didn't know how to host a sleepover for Sirius Black.

Remus was reading in the den when he heard the fireplace.

"Mum! Dad!" He called out. "He's here!" Remus had barely finished calling up to his parents before they came running down the stairs. Lyall Lupin was the first down. Like his son, he was slender and all limbs, freckles dotting his cheeks. His amber eyes sparkled with excitement at the prospect of meeting his son's friends—standing out nearly as much as his rather angular nose. Hope raced through the kitchen, taking the brownies out of the oven, before standing next to her husband. Out of the fireplace stumbled the Sirius Black.

"Hello, Lupins!" Sirius said with a grin. "I'm—"

"Oh you must be Sirius!" Hope chirped. "Oh, Remus has told us so much about you. Come here!" Before Sirius could even set down his bag, Hope Lupin had him wrapped up in a hug.

"Er, hello—"

"I hear you've got a thing for motorbikes!" Lyall interjected. "Very cool. 'Wicked,' that's the term, right Remus?"

"I, er—" Sirius began again.

Remus coughed. He hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise, and need he remind his parents, Sirius had come to see him. Lyall and Hope turned towards Remus, a look of understanding on their faces.

"Right, you boys get settled in. Be down for dinner!" Lyall smiled and Hope waved at the boys as Remus led Sirius up the stairs to his room, stairs creaking at every turn. They had gone crazy, Remus thought to himself. His parents were absolutely bonkers.

"Remus?"

The young werewolf sighed. "I know, I know, I'm sorry—"

"Sorry?" Sirius nearly sputtered. "Merlin's beard Remus, why are you sorry? Your parents are absolutely you, it's hilarious." Remus stopped in his tracks.

"They're…what?" He said weakly.

"You're kidding me," Sirius began. The look on Remus' face implored Sirius to continue. "Well, for starters, you're the spitting image of your mother—nearly, of course, you aren't a bird. And your dad, he's got the same way of…what's it called…the thing you do with your arms.."

"Gesticulating?"

"Yes, that! I mean, I can't wait to tell the others. I've really gone into the jungle and found the origins of our dear Moony." Remus rolled his eyes.

…

After putting Sirius' things in Remus' room, the two boys came down for dinner. Hope was finishing setting the kitchen table.

"Oh, boys! I was just about to call you down. Now, Sirius dear, Remus didn't seem to know what you like to eat—"

"Mum!"

"—So I hope you like it all the same!" Hope finished placing a bowl of mashed potatoes on the table. The table was littered in food—Remus had never seen his parents prepare so much—and he couldn't help but wonder what it cost them. Still, his other looked absolutely joyful, so Remus decided it was likely worth it. Besides the potatoes, the Lupins prepared green beans and carrots, and had made Remus' favorite dish of all: lamb chops.

"Please, boys, sit," Lyall said with a smile.

From across the table, which looked like it would nearly fall over, Lyall pressed on.

"Sirius, thank you so much for coming to our home, for seeing Remus. It means so much to us, that you are fine with…that it is okay that—"

"Really, Mr. Lupin," Sirius interjected. "I'm happy to be here," He said with a smile to Remus, whose ears began to turn a bit pink. Hope squeezed Lyall's hand, turning to Sirius,

"So, Sirius, Remus tells us you're from London! That must be exciting, yes?"

"Well, yes and no," Sirius began. "London itself is great—my family though, a bunch of elitist twats really—" he stopped to chomp on a lamb chop, "Nothing like you lot here." Lyall nearly looked like he would choke.

"Oh…goodness, Sirius, I'm sure they don't mean to be, as you say…" Lyall drifted off, "A bit traditional—"

"Oh, no Mr. Lupin, they're twats, really. Horrible people. But that's alright. Moony and the boys are all the family I need." Hope Lupin look like she had swallowed her tea through the wrong pipe. Remus should've known bringing Sirius Black home was a rotten idea.

"M-moony?"

"A nickname," Remus said softly, "A nickname, that's all Mum." Sirius looked flabbergasted.

"Oh, Merlin…Lupins, I meant no offense. It's the best one we settled on," Sirius explained. "First there was Hairy—"

"I vetoed that," Remus alerted his parents quickly.

"Then we tried Loony Lupin—again, no offense Lupins—"

"Oh," Lyall began, "None taken—"

"And there was Furball, for a day, but we decided that wouldn't work—"

"Because it's cat spit-up, Sirius," Remus muttered.

"And there were a couple of others but it was really no competition—Moony was the best," Sirius finished, sticking at least five green beans into his mouth.

"Oh, Remus, a nickname! Oh that's so cute—"

"Mum!"

"And it sounds so like that stuffed cow you had—oh what did you call him—"

"Oh that was Mooey, dear," Lyall chimed in.

"Dad," Remus protested, his ears turning red.

"Mooey?!" Sirius nearly shouted. "Oh Moony, this is the best news of all! Lupins," Sirius pleaded, "Please tell me you have pictures of little Moony and his Mooey."

"I'm not sure we have any of those pictures," Remus lied.

"Oh of course we do!" Exclaimed Hope. "Oh I love showing off my baby Remy—we have the most adorable picture of him in his little 'summer outfit,' naked as the day he was born, with only a—"

"Mum," Remus groaned. Hope gave her son a smile. She looked so happy, Remus thought, meeting one of his friends, seeing how much she cared. He relented. "Oh, alright."

"Baby Remy, oh Moony…" Sirius whispered, looking positively mischievous. "Lupins, where might I find pictures of our dear Remy?"

"Oh, in the closet behind you," Lyall said, off-handedly. He was more interested in his lamb-chops at the moment. Sirius got up and began to open the door behind him.

"Rather heavy for a—"

"Oh no, Sirius, don't…" Remus started, but it was too late. Sirius opened the cellar door, and his face fell. Blood lined the inside of the door and stained the walls. A rather ghastly scent emanated from below. There were claw marks, everywhere, all along the walls, the stairs—even the inside door handle, as if someone had been trying to turn the knob with a paw. Sirius stood still, in shock, so Remus stood up and closed the cellar door for him, reaching instead for the closet. Silently, Remus pulled the dusty, leather bound photo album off the top shelf and held it close, sitting down. The table was quiet, as the three Lupins looked up at Sirius Black, waiting for something.

"Oh, Lupins," Sirius began softly, "I'm so sorry. Here we were, having a grand old time with this lovely feast," He said, pausing to look at Hope, "And I go and ruin it all—"

"No, Sirius," Hope said calmly. "You didn't ruin anything, really," She insisted.

"It's a part of life," Lyall stated simply. "We're just thankful you are able to accept it."

Sirius turned to Remus, sitting down. It made sense now. All the times Remus was afraid to stand up to his friends first year, scared that the slightest quip would cause them to flee. All the bloody thank you's, simply for being his friend. He, like all kids, mirrored his parents. The Lupins simply had a very difficult time believing that anyone could be decent to Remus.

"No, that's okay Lupins, I did ruin the atmosphere a bit. It's okay," Sirius emphasized. "I mess up quite a bit at school—Remus calls me off on it, and for good reason, because that's just what friends do. I'm just as thankful to be friends with him—you really do have a lovely son, incredible reall—"

Hope Lupin began sobbing.

"Mum," Remus called out. "Mum, what's wrong?

"Nothing's wrong, Remus," Said Lyall, looking like he was about to follow his wife. "We're happy, that's all."

"Merlin, Remus, are all your sleepovers like this?" Sirius asked his friend. Remus' face burned a bit, and he shrugged.

"I wouldn't really know…I…I've never had one," He whispered.

Sirius' mouth was agape. "Moony, how did you fail to mention this was the first ever Lupin sleepover! No wonder, I felt like someone had rolled out the red carpet for me—I've never seen a house so clean—well, we won't count the cellar—and your parents have only just met me, but I swear they were happier to see me than my parents have ever been."

"Well, this settles it," Sirius said, grinning. "We have to do all of the cliché things you do when you meet the parents and spend the night the first time. Mrs. Lupin," Sirius stood, "Please, show me Baby Remy."

…

Dinner was had, wine was drunk (by Mr. and Mrs. Lupin), and pictures were shown. There was Remus in his summer outfit, which really did just consist of a plastic bucket over his head as a hat. There was, of course, Remus and Mooey, smiling and looking all jolly at the park. Then there was Remus and Mooey at the lake, Hope explained, as she told Sirius stories of the little toddler. Remus didn't bother protesting this time, and even added to the stories.

"I can't believe I thought Mooey could swim. Dad, you really had to jump into the water to get her?"

And then, the pictures of Baby Remy turned into not-so-baby Remy, and Mooey was gone. Only five other pictures remained in the album: one was a small, sick looking Remus asleep on the couch with a book in his hand, snoring.

"That one was worth the film," Lyall chuckled. "He always fell asleep reading."

"Still does," Quipped Sirius, "Though sometimes with his hand down—" Sirius stopped as Remus shoved him, glaring. Hope smiled, showing Sirius another picture.

"Here's Remus with his Hogwarts acceptance letter," She beamed. Sirius smiled. In the photo, Remus was hopping up and down, grinning wildly and pointing to the letter with his name on it.

"What happened to Mooey?" Sirius asked. And for a moment, the Lupins fell silent. Then Remus snorted.

"Let's just say Mooey didn't make it out of the cellar." As if given the all clear, Lyall smiled at Sirius.

"Like most little boys, Remus here loved carrying his stuffed Mooey everywhere. He pitched such a fit that night—"

"Lyall—"

"It's true Hope!" Lyall said, with a very Remus-like snort. "Anyway, you know how Remus gets sometimes," He explained to Sirius, "Very stubborn, especially a day or two before—"

"Dad!" Remus protested.

"It's true Remus, you do get a bit cross," Sirius told him, "It's comical, really." Remus turned to his mother for backup, but she remained suspiciously silent.

"—and he wouldn't let go of Mooey. It's no good being all riled up right before, and I told him the next day—"

"—you told me you sent Mooey to a farm!" Remus exclaimed. "I had forgotten about that—boy, was I thick—a stuffed cow, to a farm…"

…

Remus and Sirius were lying on the floor of the boy's bedroom, Hope's muggle music playing on the record player downstairs.

"You Lupins…"

"What?" Remus asked, turning his head in Sirius' direction.

"The lot of you. You're just so…"

"Loopy?"

"I was going to say good. You aren't rich, you aren't famous, you certainly don't have an easy life—"

"—where are you going with this?" Huffed Remus.

"—let me get there," Sirius said. "Right, where was I…oh right, difficult life, yadda yadda…and yet a visitor comes and you make him feel so welcome, so bloody wonderful, it makes you wonder what the world would be like if everyone were like you lot," Sirius said softly.

"Sirius, that's real profound—"

"Bloody strange sleepover, though, you Lupins need your practice. Don't worry, I'll be back."