Pairings: Remus/Sirius, James/Lily
Rating/Warnings: Sexual situations, language, descriptions of violent acts/deaths
Notes: Magical AU written for the Marauder Big Bang at Livejournal. This is complete and will be posted in 10 parts. If you'd like to read the whole story at once, please see my profile for a link to my LJ page. From there, you can find the post leading to the Marauder Big Bang. Thank you to my beta and inspiration, dogsunderfoot for her help and support, and to brighty18 for going above and beyond the call of duty to get this fest back on track.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all characters, places, objects, ideas, and related material are the property of JK Rowling and her various publishing entities. Neither the author, the artists, nor the marauderbigbang are in any way making a monetary profit from this posting.

Sirius flopped into his chair in the Auror's Office, a bemused smile on his face. 'Remus Lupin,' he muttered, leaning back and stretching his legs out in front of him as he ignored the chatter and laughter around him. 'A name to the face.'

What were the chances that he would ever run into his one night stand again, let alone just days later, and barely a few miles from James and Lily's home?

'It's a sign,' he said to himself, his smile broadening when he recalled that night in the club. The feeling of that man's - Remus' - lips stretched around him, his tongue curling around his cock, his hard body pressing against Sirius'...

His erotic daydreaming was interrupted by Moody's shout of, 'Come on, you lot!' and the clatter of chairs being scraped along the floor. Sirius let out a long, calming breath and adjusted his jeans in an attempt to hide his burgeoning erection. It wouldn't do to front up for the morning briefing with a tent in his pants that could house a grown man.

He grabbed his scarlet robe from the back of his chair and tugged it over his shoulders as he made his way to the conference room, grimacing as the pungent scent of body odour greeted him.

Jamming twenty-five people into a room meant for ten... usually this would be my idea of a good time.

Sirius squeezed in beside a tall redhead, nodding at the other man when he turned to see who had jostled him.

'Black.'

'Prewett.'

Fabian Prewett shuffled to the side in an attempt to give Sirius more room. 'If there was ever a need for a Cooling Spell,' he muttered, and Sirius chuckled.

'Moody thinks it helps efficiency to keep us uncomfortable,' he said. 'Thinks we'll be forced out to work rather than buggering around at our desks.'

Fabian snorted. 'That man is a nutter,' he declared then the room fell silent as Alastor Moody shoved through the crowd on his way to the front of the room.

'Right, listen up,' he snapped, flicking his wand at the wall. Writing appeared on the painted surface as, with another motion, Moody sent the sheaf of papers he was holding floating around the room.

'Everyone take one of those pictures,' Moody ordered, turning to face his team.

Sirius snatched one of the pieces of paper out of the air and glanced at it. He did a double take, his mind taking a moment to catch up as he tried to process what he was seeing. It was a Muggle photograph of a young man. A very dead young man.

Sirius winced as his eyes took in the angry slashes in the man's pale skin, the large, vicious bite marks marring his naked flesh, the pool of dark red blood pooling around him. He was splayed – limbs askew, body broken - across a pile of rubbish bags, and his eyes were wide open, staring dull and lifeless back at Sirius.

'Gods,' he whispered, and heard Fabian utter a curse under his breath.

'Not so good-looking anymore, is he?' Moody said above the low murmur of shock emanating from the red-robed men and women.

Sirius closed his eyes, swallowing back the bile that had burned at the back of his throat as Moody yelled, 'Quiet!'

Silence fell quickly, everyone's attention on Alastor Moody as he paced like a caged animal in front of them. 'This man – Ben Holland - was found in that condition just over three weeks ago outside a Muggle nightclub called, 'Skin'.'

Sirius' head shot up, his breath catching in his throat. 'Skin'. That was the name of the club he'd be frequenting lately; the club he'd been at just two nights earlier. There was a speculative noise from several Aurors, and Moody grunted.

'Yes, it is a gay bar, but right now, there's no evidence that Holland ever set a foot inside. Gay or straight, he's still dead, and traces of magic have been found on the body.'

Moody lifted his chin, his gaze encompassing everyone in the room. 'This murder was committed on the night of the last full moon and, considering the injuries sustained, we believe that the culprit is a werewolf.'

There was an audible gasp of shock, and Emmeline Vance raised her hand. 'Why have we only heard about this now?'

Moody made a harrumphing noise. 'Because the bloody idiot Muggle police insisted on running the investigation themselves,' he told her, his contempt for the police obvious. 'There was a similar murder four weeks earlier in the same area, but the body was released for burial and the police stamped it as unsolved. It wasn't until this one turned up that the moron in the Muggle Liaison Department managed to convince them that the cases could be linked, and that it should be ours.' He looked at Sirius. 'The sooner Potter is back from leave the better. He's got a way with Muggles.'

'Lily went into labour this morning,' Sirius told him. 'You'll have James back chatting up the Muggles as soon as she and the baby are settled.'

'Good,' Moody muttered.

'So, these murders,' Emmeline said, bringing their attention back to the matter at hand. 'We're thinking it's the same person?' Her eyes slid momentarily to Sirius before shifting back to Moody. 'Was there a werewolf missing upon registration at the last couple of full moons?'

Moody tightened his jaw, grinding out a negative from between clenched teeth, and Sirius bit down on the desire to scream 'I told you so!'

It was no secret that Sirius hated the mandatory Ministry lockdown regulations that had been forced upon registered lycanthropes at each full moon in an attempt to cut down on attacks. He'd vehemently opposed the new legislation that had been passed almost unanimously by the Wizengamot, arguing that the lycanthropes that dutifully appeared to be registered, or for lockdown, weren't the ones likely to give them trouble. In Sirius' mind, it was a waste of resources to force the werewolves to hole up in the Ministry every month when the funds it took to house them could have been directed at rounding up and prosecuting the rebel packs that gave the Ministry constant headaches. His objections had been shouted down, but not before he and Moody had clashed publicly over the difference of opinion.

'So, if you're right about these being werewolf attacks, and all the registered werewolves were accounted for...' Gideon Prewett said slowly from across the room.

'That means this was an attack by an unregistered werewolf,' Sirius finished for him, his grey eyes meeting Moody's, challenging the older man to admit that he'd been wrong. 'You're saying that, despite all the Ministry's so-called precautions to prevent full moon incidents, you believe that there's a rogue werewolf loose in Muggle London. Aren't you?'

Moody's eyes bored into him, resentment and anger flashing in their depths as he was forced to make the admission. 'Yes,' he said with a sharp nod. 'That's exactly what I'm saying.'

Sirius didn't have time to be smug as Moody continued, 'And since you've shown such a keen interest in the matter, Black, I'll be assigning you as Auror-in-charge.'

Moody turned away, a self-satisfied smirk on his face, and Sirius swore. 'Bloody prick,' he muttered under his breath, jabbing Fabian in the ribs with his elbow when the other man chuckled.

Remus watched as Molly shooed her children up the stairs to the bathroom, feeling a brief shot of guilt for the mess all the grease and oil from the car was going to make in her tub. Once they had the hood open to check out what 'made the car go', it had been impossible to keep the younger boys out of it. Bill and Charlie were happy to play with the gearstick and radio, and Percy had stood back with an expression of distaste of his face as Fred and George attempted to take the engine apart with their bare hands. Ron and Harry had done their part as well, pulling out the oil dipstick and smearing the slick fluid all over their faces. Remus had marched them back to the house and, while Molly tackled her brood with a brisk efficiency that intimidated him, Remus offered to tidy Harry up.

A quick Cleansing Charm got rid of the worst of the mess, although the sticky residue had to be washed off by hand. Remus turned away from the staircase and gave Harry's face a few swipes with a damp cloth before critically checking his work.

'Clean?' Harry asked, biting his lip nervously.

Remus gave the small boy a quick smile to reassure him that he wasn't annoyed about the mess then he banished the cloth to the laundry. 'All clean,' he announced, ruffling Harry's hair and making him giggle. 'You really liked that car, didn't you?'

Harry beamed and leaped to his feet. 'Brmm, brmm,' he said, turning an imaginary steering wheel as he raced around the room.

Remus laughed then quickly drew his legs in before Harry could trip over them. 'Watch out for Molly's knitting!' he called, watching Harry jump over a half-finished sweater before he swerved behind the couch. He came out the other side and 'brmm-ed' his way to the door, only to slam on the brakes when he almost ran right into the tall, slim figure lounging against the wall.

Remus' laughter faded as his eyes rose to the face attached to the legs. Sirius Black had returned as threatened.

'Sirius!'

Harry grabbed hold of Sirius' legs, hugging him briefly before pulling back. 'I drived a car!' he declared and, alarmed by the mis-telling of the story, Remus quickly stood.

'I drived... drove... the car, Harry,' he corrected, glancing at a seemingly amused Sirius before shifting his gaze back to Harry. 'You were a passenger. And you'd better go and say thank you and goodbye to Mrs Weasley before you leave.'

'I want to drive next time,' Harry said, circling around Sirius' legs then, with a loud screech, he took off up the stairs.

Left alone with Sirius, Remus hastily put as much space between them as he could. 'How is Lily?' he asked quietly, tidying Molly's magazines so he didn't have to look at the other man.

'She's fine,' Sirius said. 'Little Lottie Potter was born just an hour after Lily arrived at St. Mungo's. She's gorgeous – bald as a badger, though – and proud papa is currently having a heart attack over the thought of blokes like himself chasing his little girl in a few years time.'

Remus smiled politely. He didn't know James Potter very well, despite his growing friendship with Lily. 'Lottie? Short for Charlotte?' Sirius nodded and Remus gave a little shrug. 'Well, give Lily my best,' he told Sirius as he straightened and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. 'Let her know Harry behaved beautifully today.'

'I will. She's coming home this evening, all continuing to go well.'

There was an awkward moment of silence in which Remus was very aware of Sirius scrutinizing him. 'I'll... I'll call Harry down...' he began, but Sirius interrupted.

'I'm going to 'Skin' tonight.'

Remus started at the non sequitur. 'Ah, okay,' he said uncertainly. 'That's nice.'

'Want to go with me?'

Remus huffed out a surprised breath and blinked at Sirius. 'What?'

Sirius grinned and took a step closer. 'Would you like to go to 'Skin' with me tonight?' he asked slowly, enunciating every word clearly and with a smirk that made Remus want to both slap him and snog him stupid.

'No,' Remus said quickly, before his libido could override his common sense. 'Thank you, but no.'

His refusal didn't seem to dim Sirius' smile; if anything, the other man seemed to take Remus' knock back as a challenge.

'Come on, Remus,' he said, rolling Remus' name around his mouth like it was an exotic treat. 'You did say you should get out more often. Or was that get off more often?'

'Harry! Sirius is going now!' Remus called abruptly, glaring at Sirius.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter and looked at Remus appreciatively. 'Not bad,' he said as they heard Harry clattering along the floor above them. 'But I don't give up, Remus. You may as well give in now so we can have some fun tonight.'

He took another step forward, close enough now that Remus could feel heat radiating from his skin. Remus held his ground, refusing to back down, and Sirius' smile widened. 'Oh, I like you, Remus Lupin,' he murmured as Harry thumped down the stairs. 'Come out with me. You already know you'll have a fantastic time.'

Remus' tongue was sliding across his lips before he could stop it. Sirius' eyes darkened as he watched Remus wet his lips then he raised his gaze once more. 'I'd like to put my mouth to good use this time,' he murmured, his words nearly lost under the sound of Harry entering the room.

Remus looked away, his breathing laboured and his pants far more constrictive than they had been a minute earlier. Why was he saying no? It didn't have to be a late night, and the adrenaline and endorphin rush that Sirius' heavy hints promised would certainly provide welcome relief from his pre-full moon aches...

Remus surreptitiously watched Sirius out of the corner of his eye as the other man gathered Harry's belongings. Gods, he was so bloody sexy, and Remus' skin burned at the memory of how he'd smelled, how he'd tasted in the dark, sweaty club.

I'm not doing this. I can't do this. I know nothing about him. It's too risky for more than a one night fling... isn't it?

'If you change your mind,' Sirius was saying as he bundled Harry towards the door.

'I have. I'll come,' Remus blurted out, surprising himself as much as Sirius. 'But it can't be a late one.'

Sirius looked stunned for a split second then grinned in delight. 'Meet you there at ten?' he asked, waiting for Remus' nod of confirmation before he picked Harry up and balanced him on his hip. 'Can't wait. See you, Remus.'

He gave Remus a wink then disappeared out the door, leaving Remus to sink down onto the couch and wonder where the hell his sanity had disappeared to when he needed it the most.

TBC