Remus walked into his dorm room not knowing what he would find. Worry had kept him saying yes to Madam Pomphrey keeping him in an extra day and it was with great reluctance that he managed to remove himself earlier that day.
The dorm was empty and he breathed a sigh of relief. He shouldn't have been on edge, classes were still on and they had transfiguration today. There was no way they would try and incur McGonagall's wrath again.
He set his ointment down for his scars and changed into his pyjamas hoping to get a nap in his bed before the others came back. His wolf was gone and presumably with Sirius so Remus turned and collected it as he slithered into bed.
The sun had warmed it making it soothe his aches and pains and taking him into the realm of sleep quickly. It was dark when he woke up to Sirius at his back. Sitting up he dislodged the book that had been placed on top of him whilst Sirius worked on an essay.
"I'm glad you're sleeping in your bed again," Sirius told him retrieving the book.
"I only meant to have a nap," Remus yawned rubbing his eyes and saw James and Peter were watching him from the bottom of the bed. Peter looked guiltily at him and cast his gaze back to his book. "I didn't realise that my bed had become so popular," He quipped.
James smirked at Sirius while he answered "Well someone wanted to make sure you weren't going to escape. Besides your beds comfy," He bounced.
"How's your mum?" Sirius changed glaring at James with rosy cheeks.
"I dunno," Remus sighed wondering what Lily did during the moon. He would have to ask her tomorrow. "She doesn't really change."
James patted him on the arm "I'm sorry." Remus shrugged pulling his arm back. It was sore from the new scratches he had.
"Did I miss anything important?" they caught him up on the classes he missed. Peter kept quiet throughout all of it and handed over his notes to James before retreating to his bed.
Lily was mad at him when he cornered her in the library the next day. She was pacing in front of him and muttering about how annoying his friends were.
"And that's not the worst of it," She continued "Sirius practically tried to force me into his bed when I said I was leaving. The nerve of him!" Probably should have informed her of his sleeping arrangements. "Then there was Peter. He kept making me look out the window and saying that I should be going soon, handing me all sorts of random things."
Oh no "What did you do with them when he gave you them?" he worried.
"I flung them away obviously. There's no way I trust them. Out of all of them James was the only one that didn't try anything funny with me. He pulled the others away when they got too much and just talked about Quidditch. It was the highlight of my night when he did that," She sighed.
"I'm sorry you had to do that," Remus apologised.
She came over and sat next to him "No, it's fine. I guess I see why you're so mad at them now. I would be with room mates like that."
"They're not always like that," he defended "It's just recently. Peter made a stupid accusation and it's kind of been driving us apart."
That piqued her interest "What kind of accusation?"
Like he was going to tell her. "None that matters now. You've helped fix it in any case and I owe you a debt of gratitude," He lavished making her chuckle.
"I'm holding you to that."
It took a few days for Peter to make contact with Remus again. He didn't really want to get close to the boy after the near reveal yet as soon as Peter asked Remus to pass him his quill he knew he would. It wasn't Peter's fault that Remus was a monster and for all intents and purposes he had been right.
By the time he was leaving to see his 'Mum' again they were sharing sweets and helping each other in class. He didn't bother Remus when he declared he was going home again and actually gave him a sugar quill to suck on while he waited to floo home.
The last moon of the school year was a good one. The heat must have made him lethargic since there were only bruises as he came out of the hospital wing. He was well enough to attend classes on the afternoon.
The anticipation of summer was dawning on everyone. James was talking none stop about his Quidditch tickets that they all had and was often told off for doodling brooms on his essays. The teachers, while they still packed on some work and extended it to over the holidays, had classes that were more fun and relaxed. With nothing left to teach until next year they drew out lessons for more group work which just had everyone talking about their plans for the summer.
The only downside to the approach of summer was Sirius. His mood had dropped dramatically just like before Christmas. He was sullen and often went off for walks alone on the grounds. Sometimes he even joined Remus in the library to get a head start on their holiday homework.
"James said you could go to his," Remus told him. Sirius just grunted and wrote out another three lines. "I could probably talk my dad into camping if you'd like to come," Remus offered which had Sirius' quill stopping.
"Who'd look after your mum?" Right, she was ill.
He shrugged "I guess my grandma..."
Sirius sighed and flung his quill down "Stop Remus, just stop." He ran a hand through his hair "I know your mum isn't ill. We all do. I know what you are Rem. Peter was right," he hissed looking around like someone would hear them.
Remus paled but stuck to his lies "No, I told you even showed-"
"I know that wasn't you!" Sirius spat "I looked it up and found a potion that can change someone's appearance to look like another."
"So you think I-"
"I know you did," strangely there wasn't any disgust on Sirius' face despite the accusations he was throwing. "I knew from the second 'you' threw my silver clasp away like it was nothing that it wasn't you. You're a werewolf Remus."
Damn Lily. He should have told her Peter would try something like that and been more careful. Steeling himself he stared Sirius in the eyes "Alright so you know," He confessed "What are you gonna do about it? Report me to Dumbledore? The ministry? I'm not a monster Sirius! It was an accident that made me like this and I have just as much a right to be here as you," He hissed back growling slightly in his words.
Sirius didn't move away but he did pale at the mention of telling someone "The ministry? Of course not Rem I'm your friend. I'd never tell on you," Remus was almost convinced, Sirius looked quite sincere. Sirius seemed to see that too "Remus I wouldn't, I won't. I promise."
"We'll see," Remus said and removed himself from the library.
Sirius didn't bother following Remus out for which he was grateful for. He knew about his secret! Bolting back to the dorm Remus locked himself in the bathroom trying to figure out what to do now.
Sirius' mood continued to spiral down. Remus refused to talk to him, not because he was mad but because he didn't really know what to say. It had been a week and still no one had come to remove him. The days had grown hotter and James couldn't make an effort to try with Sirius anymore since he was too busy lounging on the grass outside with Peter so gradually Sirius became isolated from them as well.
Three days before they were to leave Remus sat down next to him on the grass. He was sure that Sirius wouldn't tell on him now. Not after this long. So he wanted to mend whatever was between them before they broke up.
"I wrote to my dad," He said picking at the grass "He said you can come over to the farm for a week if you like. We'll go camping in the woods and Mum can teach you about the animals we keep. Maybe you can even ride one of the horses," He nudged.
Sirius looked up "Really? Or are you just offering so I won't tell on you? Just get me to your house and obliviate me while I'm there."
"Hmm hadn't thought of that," Remus frowned at his brain. "But no. I'm making this offer because you're my friend and I thought it might be nice for us to see each other over the holidays."
"Friends?" The hopeful tone in Sirius' voice had Remus feeling terrible.
"Yeah." He plucked up more strands of grass. Making sure James and Peter were otherwise occupied in the lake he turned to Sirius quietly "You have to understand how big of a deal this is Sirius. If I'm caught it's not just expulsion I'm facing. You saw how Peter reacted, I couldn't bare it if you did the same. My hands are scarred enough without you slipping silver onto whatever I touch."
Sirius cringed at the silver remarks "That's what was making you bleed. Little monster," He growled looking over at Peter. "I would never-"
"I know. Now I do anyway." Sirius frowned once more over at Peter as he turned back to Remus. He had dug inside his robes for a piece of parchment and his quill. Holding them out to Sirius "What do you say then? Wanna come over?"
Two guaranteed weeks away from his family had Sirius happier. Remus' told him he would owl him the date to come over in between answering all Sirius' questions about the animals on the farm. He told Remus he would keep their visit a secret from James and Peter since he didn't want them to know Remus' secret.
The map was a work of art. They marvelled at all their hard work put on paper their last night in the castle. All of the towers in Hogwarts had been scoured and searched by the four boys and put onto one sheet of parchment. Detailed blue prints of secret passageways and hiding places that guaranteed mischief. To say they were proud was an understatement.
"We are going to rule the school next year," James told them holding the map out. "With this, we can go anywhere in the castle."
"Except the lower levels," Sirius pointed out. James scowled at him and Sirius just shrugged. It was the truth.
"We'll do them next year," James growled and cast his gaze on what had quickly become his beloved map. "For now we have this and the possibilities are endless."
"I think we should use it to plan a prank for when we come back," Peter suggested. They looked over, disbelieving that not one of them had thought of that. Noticing their approval Peter continued "We should all plan something over the holidays. One we know we can pull off with the help of the map and one that'll blow everyone away with our genius."
"Yes," James agreed stroking his chin "Okay plan time. We think of something like Peter suggested and tell it to each other at the Quidditch game. Rem, I owled your parents they said you can stay at mine the night of the match-"
"When did you-"
"Not important," James waved off. "Now, we'll meet up and swap ideas. Combine all of them together or pick the best one. Either way we'll all have a plan by the time we meet up. Agreed?"
"Agreed," They chimed
The end of the year had dawned so suddenly on them. Remus was in a compartment with all three of his friends remembering how he rode it on the way to Hogwarts. Alone and scared about his new life he had taken a huge step towards a bright future. A future that was standing on the train seats and making a dramatic speech about the importance of friendship.
"For Merlin's sake Potter shut up!" Sirius whined pulling James' leg until he sat.
"This is our last day as fist years, forgive me for making it memorable," James sniffed.
"Unbearable more like it," Remus muttered making the other two chuckle.
James carried on like he hadn't heard Remus "It's also our first time riding the train together. All of us, friends united in our crusa-" Sirius clapped his hand over James' mouth.
"Please make him stop," He appealed to Peter.
"Why? Getting teary?" Remus smirked.
"You wish Lupin," Sirius shot back.
James stopped with the speeches as the train wound into the third hour and changed it to his parents. Mr and Mrs Potter had apparently promised James a welcome back feast of all his favourites. He told Sirius about the sweet treats she baked and how she was eager for Sirius to come over and taste them.
"She loves having people tell her about her cooking. And they should, it's amazing!" He groaned patting his stomach like it was already full of Mrs Potters cooking. "Do you have any requests for when you come over? Any allergies? I probably should have asked that first," James frowned "Gonna have to tell Dad about Remus' in any case."
"I like those brownies the house elves make," Sirius told him and denied having any allergies.
All of James' hype about his parents made Remus hang around when he was ordered as James scampered to get them. He shared an amused look with Sirius and Peter almost jumping out of his skin when something clapped him on the shoulder.
"Jumpy little thing aren't you," He was pulled backwards into a hug as his dad laughed at his little scare.
"Dad," He had forgotten how much he missed his dad and clung harder to him.
"Your mum's back at the farm," he informed Remus as he let go. "I just came to make sure you were actually coming home. Also to meet your little friends," The time away from Remus had done his father a miracle. There were no dark circles under his eyes or worry lines ageing his face as there had been when Remus left in September. The smile that took up his face was sincere and full of life, not brittle and timid.
"This is Peter," He introduced just as James came back with his parents. They were an older couple who looked remarkably like James. Mrs Potter was fussing over James even though he was towing her towards them. "That's James," He pointed and pulled Sirius over "And this is Sirius."
"It's nice to meet you Sir," Sirius held his hand out. His voice taking on a stiff upper class accent.
"You too," His dad shook giving Remus an amused look.
"He's just nervous," Remus excused as James made the introductions to his own parents.
Remus could tell Sirius wasn't prepared for the onslaught that was Mrs Potter. She took one look at him and pulled him into a hug. James must have been writing to her about something from home, or they just knew the Blacks since she was muttering about his stay and asking if he wanted to stay longer.
"We'd best get going," His dad said nudging Remus to say goodbye to his friends.
"I'll see you all at the Quidditch game," He waved and helped his dad pick up his things.
Waiting until they were back on the farm Remus held in all his adventures and sorted which ones he was going to tell his parents and which he would keep for himself. The ones involving his secret were going to be kept close.
His mum pulled him into a hug as he came through the door. The time away doing just as much good to her as it did to his dad. They asked about all of his friends naturally and Remus told them all about Hufflepuff winning the house cup because James had lost the majority of theirs when he flooded the greenhouses. Three pranks later and his mum was sending concerned looks at his dad. He decided to tone down the pranks and move onto his school work.
To say they were proud was an understatement. His mum went straight for the cake they bought him and gave him a slice before tea. Before!
The inevitable eventually had to be asked though "You told no one about..."
"No," He was telling the truth at least. "Peter almost thought he figured it out but I warded him off. Sirius is the only one that knows," He mumbled that last bit.
"Sirius. The Black's boy?" His dad confirmed.
"Yeah but he's not going to tell or else he would have already," Remus rushed. "He promised and I did try and send him off the scent like I did Peter but he figured it out anyway. He promised he wouldn't," He almost begged them to believe him like he did Sirius. "You can make sure he doesn't when he comes over," Remus told them "Make him swear an unbreakable vow."
"I'll obliviate him more like it," His dad growled. His mum was too busy worrying with her hands to say much.
"No!" Remus sobbed "Please. He won't tell anyone. Please don't take away my friend."
"I'm not going to," His dad soothed "I'll just take out the information he knows about your condition."
"No. You can't. I don't know when he figured it out and if you take too much then he won't be Sirius anymore. Please dad, make him swear a vow instead," something worked since his dad calmed down a few minutes later and agreed to get Sirius to make an unbreakable vow when he came over.
Settling back into life on the farm wasn't as tough as Remus thought it would be. Waking up at the crack of dawn was no trouble for a twelve year old. Joining his Dad feeding the animals he hadn't seen in a year was brilliant. He chased their chickens around one day and took the horses out on another. He may have even given in, like he did when he was smaller, and rolled around in the mud when one of his wellies got stuck. Needless to say there was a bath waiting for him every time he came in on an evening.
His parents didn't seem as weighed down as they had, as they expected them to fall into when he returned. His dad was more than happy to let him help with chores that before he wasn't allowed to know about. The time away from them seemed to have made them see Remus as someone who was growing up and not a fragile child that had been disfigured. One that could hold his own on the farm and was open to learning about the spells his dad taught him when mum wasn't looking. It turned out that he did use some magic on the farm after all.
When the full moon came they didn't let him walk to the barn on his own, instead they walked with him and kissed him on the cheek before locking him in for the night. In the morning he woke up in his bed with breakfast beside him and his parents smiling in the kitchen when he got up.
A couple of days after the full moon Sirius arrived. Remus had the whole week planned with things they were going to do but revised them when he saw the bruise on Sirius' neck.
"Where did you get that?" He pointed.
Sirius fingered it like he had forgotten it was there. He then pointed to the one on Remus' hand "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
"The-er wolf didn't like the change in scenery. He spent the moon chewing on my hands again. Hence the bandages and bruises," Remus said lightly. It wasn't all that bad, he had experienced worse.
Sirius didn't know that and paled "You did that to yourself?"
"Well, yeah. What else would it hurt. There was nothing in there with me. Anyway don't worry about it, I hurt myself every moon. These," He held up his hands "Are nothing. I lost a limb during term at Hogwarts and that hurt much worse than this."
Sirius didn't seem soothed "How do you put up with it?"
Remus shrugged "It's just life for me. Speaking of moons," He rubbed his neck "I told Dad you knew and he..."
"Went mental?"
"Yep. I managed to bargain him down from a obliviation to an unbreakable vow. So... expect that sometime this week," he cringed. Sirius didn't seem bothered by that.
"Thought as much. It's only right after all," he conceded and let Remus pull him over to their farm.
He showed Sirius the different houses for the animals and watched as amazement came over his features. They didn't have long to themselves since Remus could see his parents watching out of the farmhouse window.
Before they went in Remus had to know "You didn't tell me."
Sirius glanced towards what Remus was looking at and realised the limited time they had himself. "I said that the Potters seemed like nice people and when I refused to take back my slight on the family's honour dad did this," He pointed to his neck. "Don't worry it's nothing bad. It's just from where he dragged me to my room. The hexes hurt worse."
"Hexes?"
"My cousins were there as well. They took it upon themselves to punish me and my parents turned a blind eye to them doing so," He shrugged much like Remus did earlier. It was eerie how alike and different they were.
"Well you're here now and at James' next week," He declared leading him to the farmhouse.
His father shook Sirius' hand again more sternly this time while his mother tried to fade into the background.
"I'll be more than happy to make an unbreakable vow," He told Remus' dad which made the lines that appeared soften on his dads face. He turned to Remus' mum "It's nice to meet you Mrs Lupin," It probably was as well since he had told them she was practically dying all year.
She smiled at him and motioned for Remus to give Sirius the tour of the house. He took Sirius' arm and showed him the living room where Sirius spent ten minutes asking for Remus to show him how everything worked. He especially liked the TV.
"I need one," he moaned practically worshipping it.
"I doubt your mum would let you," Remus told him "You're just gonna have to come around here more if you wanna watch something."
He showed Sirius his bedroom and pointed to his parents next door. Sirius ran his hands over the books lining the walls "How did I know there would be some of these things here," He sneered.
"Be nice to them. They were my friends before you," Remus warned bouncing on his bed.
"Yes well," Sirius turned his nose up at them and grinned joining Remus. "It's going to be nice having a good nights sleep again," He said.
"You too?"
Sirius nodded "It's either too hot or too cold. Then I can never get comfy and when an idea comes to my mind I can't just turn over and say 'Hey Rem...'"
"I know. It's a good thing I have to wake up early. The work usually makes me pass out by dark but on the nights it doesn't I barely get any sleep."
Sirius spotted the wolf on top of Remus' pillow and immediately snatched it up. He fiddled around with it for a while before stopping and bursting into laughter. "Oh Merlin I just got your dads joke. 'Thought of you,'" He held the wolf up to a frustrated Remus "Brilliant!"
"Yes well, keep your revelations to yourself when we get to school," He warned.
Remus' dad shooed them out the house after an hour so Remus took Sirius to see the chickens. It was much more fun chasing them around with Sirius than it had been on his own. They made a game out of how many chickens they could get on their side of the pen. Remus was gutted when he lost by two chickens and a rooster to someone who hadn't even seen one except on his plate.
They ran around the farm for the rest of the day until Remus' mum called them in. Talk over tea consisted of a subtle interrogation of Sirius. Remus' mum eventually nudged his dad to stop when she spotted the bruise on Sirius' neck and asked where it came from. He lied and said he knocked into something but Remus' mum had spent most of her life lying and like Remus could spot one a mile off.
They were kinder to Sirius after that. His mum changed topics to the things Remus had told them about their days at school. Remus felt like hitting Sirius when he told his parents about how they met and the grudge war that he followed. A soft telling off belying their pride in Remus' cunning followed.
"Dad's taking us camping on Wednesday. So you're gonna have to help on the farm before we go," Remus told him grinning at his little revenge.
Sirius paled "What exactly am I going to have to do?"
"Remus," His dad reprimanded and turned to Sirius "Don't worry it's not a lot. You can just help him," He pointed at his smirking son "With his chores."
Sirius turned to him "What do you do?"
"Take the horses for a ride, feed the chickens, pigs, collect the eggs and milk the cow. I usually help with the vegetables too on an evening, but it's just watering them and checking to see if they're growing." Sirius had perked up slightly at the mention of the animals "Don't worry I'll just give you the hard jobs."
"Remus," His mum this time.
"Fine, you can have the easy ones," He conceded.
It turned out even the easy ones were a challenge to Sirius. Having never had a pet nor seen any of these animals before he was out of his depth about how to treat and complete the chose he was given. Milking their cow had to be taught seventeen times and still Remus ended up taking over from him.
Sirius was better at feeding the animals than any of the more hands on kind of jobs like checking for eggs and making sure the pigs didn't escape as they went to feed them. Once they had finished all of their chores for the day they spent their time playing on the farm. Weaving with glee around the animals until the sun went down.
At six the next morning Remus was awake bright and early ready to give Sirius his first riding lesson. The boy had other plans though when Remus couldn't wake him up first try.
"Sirius," He whined pulling on the boys shoulder "Come on, mum will have breakfast ready and then we have to feed the chickens."
A groan was all the response he got. Half an hour later and still no Sirius, Remus' dad popped his head in and told Remus to let him sleep in.
"Not everyone's used to this kind of life. Sirius probably hasn't woken up for six in his entire life," He remarked handing some toast over and pulling the back door open.
"But I was gonna give him his first riding lesson," he pouted.
"You still can, just wait until he wakes up a bit more. Go easy on him as well. I remember when I first rode a horse. They're softer than brooms but I was aching in the morning," He shuddered leading his son to the barn.
Sirius came out of the farmhouse at nine. His hair was uncombed and he was slouching his way over to Remus like he had spent the night plotting mischief. Remus didn't care though and led him to their little stable, barn hybrid that housed the rest of the animals on a full moon when the shed was otherwise inhabited.
"Pick one," He told Sirius and gestured to the chestnut brown on the right and the black one on the left. Their other brown horse was out in the fields with his dad. He wanted to try and put him in for a show again and try to win some money.
"A horse?" Sirius squeaked.
"What else?"
"I've never ridden one before," he told Remus quietly. Leaning in like the horses could sense his fear.
"I know, that's why I'm teaching you. Besides you've rode a broom before. It's kind of like that, my dad says, only they actually have a mind of their own." He gestured towards the horses again.
Sirius timidly took the brown one and seemed to be having some inner battle with himself as Remus saddled them up. When asked if he was ready again Sirius nodded determinedly and let Remus push him onto the horse. He got on his own telling Sirius what to do to make it turn and stop. He was hesitant at first and soaked up any information Remus could tell him about riding. As soon as they got onto the fields Remus heard a squeak or a muffled curse as Sirius got used to the horse. After an hour he was more confident and made the horse do slightly more adventurous things other than trot slowly behind Remus.
They stopped at the foot of one of the fields to give the horses a break and also because Sirius had almost fell off again. Grateful for the reprise Sirius fell to the grass handing the reins to Remus.
"So what do you think of riding then?" He asked smiling.
"It's..." He probably didn't want to hurt Remus' feelings "Different. Like your dad said. It's kind of like a broom but I think it's so much more scarier."
Remus laughed "But you're up fifty feet in the sky. At least if you fall of a horse you won't die from the drop."
Sirius eyed his horse again "I wouldn't be so sure."
They moved onto the topic of camping which was a major conversational topic back at the farmhouse that night as well. They were setting off early, Sirius groaned at the time, and trekking through the woods that surrounded the farm. Remus and his dad had found the perfect location to camp at and it only took them half an hour to get there.
"Now there are rules," He warned Remus groaned knowing what was coming. "No magic. Not from myself and definitely not from one of you two." Remus nodded.
"Wait, we're camping the muggle way?" Remus smirked at the curiosity lying underneath Sirius' abashed look.
"That's the only way to camp," Remus' dad declared "We wizards always take the easy route. Never really appreciate the whole experience of camping when you have an oven in the tent. Now then onto rule number two..." And he continued to tell them about everything they could and could not do. Remus wasn't allowed near the fire after last time they had been camping he had burnt the edge of the tent. Sirius and Remus were to stay together and near the camp at all times so they didn't get lost. If they did get lost they were to wait near the stream not far from the camp and wait for Remus' dad to get them.
By the end of the night Sirius was asking Remus more questions about muggle fires and putting up tents than he knew how to answer.
"Have you ever been camping before?" Remus eventually queried.
"Nope," Sirius grinned, full of excitement. "Can you honestly see my family taking me anywhere that might have the chance of running into muggles?"
"I've never met your family," He hadn't seen them at the train station and made sure he kept an eye out the next time they were boarding the Hogwarts Express.
"You don't want to," Sirius promised. He started giggling a couple of minutes later. When Remus asked about it he just waved him away "Just imagining my mum romping around the forest. She'd probably take one look at it and obliterate it from the universe. Dad would maybe give it a go just to prove a point that he was better than a muggle. He'd give in though and use magic. Reg would probably be up to it," Sirius mused making more elaborate stories up about his family as his excitement mounted.
They didn't get to sleep until two in the morning which meant that they were both dark tired when it was time to get up. Sirius could barely move after his stunt on the horse. Remus laughed at him all the way down the stairs. He couldn't even sit down because he swore his muscles wouldn't let him back up.
"I'm going to kill you Lupin," he snarled into his drink "You did this on purpose. Making me sore just as we're taking a half hour hike through the forest."
"I thought you'd be alright," He choked out between laughs.
Whatever Sirius was going to retort was cut off as Remus' dad came through the door. His mum wasn't far behind him making sure that everything was packed in their three big bags. She was going to stay behind and work on the farm
"Ready to go?"
Remus whooped and took off out the door. Sirius was less enthusiastic and limped after him. The hike through the forest looked to be taking its toll on Sirius. He trailed behind and moaned about his stiff legs. After many amused looks shared with his dad Remus took pity on him and offered him a piggy back ride the rest of the way.
The clearing presented itself just as Remus was about to collapse under the weight of Sirius. "Thank God," He groaned dropping him to the ground.
"Ow!" Sirius pointed out.
"You weigh a tonne," Remus panted. His dad had set the bags down and was waiting for them to catch their breath.
"Right," He said calling their attention "I'm going to collect the firewood. You two get the tent and sleeping bags set up."
Remus saluted as his dad went off and helped Sirius up. The tent was in one of the larger bags. As the poles and fabric fell out he caught Sirius looking at horror at the puzzle that was the tent.
"Why's your dad so mean? Magic could have had this up in minutes," He whined presenting sad eyes to Remus.
"But then we wouldn't have the experience," Remus told him looking for the instructions. "Besides I've done this before. Look for a small pole that fits in with this one," He read out and held up a pole for Sirius' approval. "So have you come up with anything yet. Concerning the map?" he clarified.
Sirius shook his head handing over two poles for Remus to slide through the fabric "I've been kind of busy trying not to get hexed. I figure I'll come up with something at James' next week."
"Looking forward to it?" He remembered his reaction to Mrs Potter at the train station.
Sirius pulled a face "Yes and no. Potter and I aren't exactly the chummiest of mates but it's better than staying at home. I wish you could be there too Rem," Remus smiled.
"You'll have fun without me," He consoled.
"If I don't kill him," Sirius arched his eyebrow brining Remus to laughter. "What about you then? What big plan have you got?"
Remus didn't know if he was ready to indulge his idea yet. It was still in the thought stage and hadn't exactly become a plan. There were others floating around in his head also that had potential.
"Can't tell you," He eventually settled on "It's going to be kept a secret until the Quidditch game."
Sirius rolled his eyes grinning while he did "Drama Queen. You're worse than James sometimes. Always wanting to make a spectacle about how much smarter you are than us."
"I'm not smarter than you," Remus chided "Just more cautious. It makes me cunning in that respect unlike you and him who don't know the meaning of the word subtlety."
They chatted while they worked passing forth comments about their other friends or what was happening in the forest around them. Remus' dad came back with the firewood and showed them both how to light it the muggle way. He set up a smaller one for Sirius so he could give it a try, making sure Remus stayed at a reasonable length from both.
Remus couldn't contain the smile at the satisfied look on Sirius' face when the first flame ignited on the wood. He looked so proud of himself over something so muggle. The fire was just for show to keep them warm. His dad didn't really know how to cook things over a fire and so had bought a muggle portable barbecue. Sirius wasn't allowed near this one and had to take a back seat with Remus. It didn't dampen his spirits though since he spent his time boasting about his little fire that roared alongside the big one.
It was extinguished as the rain started. Emergency protocol had been activated. The bags were stowed in the tent and Remus had to be bundled up in his sleeping bag to stop the chill getting to his bones. They ate the grilled meat watching the rain make puddles outside while his dad told them stories about the different wildlife that lived in the woods.
The stories evolved from tales about deer and their fawns to those of monsters roaming the forest. Ten feet tall hipogriffs that devoured anyone who wasn't noble of heart. A quick goodnight after these scarring tales was all they heard before his dad was zipping up and going to sleep.
"I've just realised how mean my dad is," Remus mused in the dark. The moon was waxing behind the rain clouds and glowed through their grey cover.
Sirius chuckled "I like him." They both had their sleeping bags up to their necks and three layers of clothing on underneath. The cold had started seeping into the summer atmosphere along with the rain and bounced off their little tent trying to penetrate through their flimsy fabrics. "You know when you got sick before the full moon?"
"Yeah," Remus prompted.
"Does that always happen? It's just I don't think I'd ever seen you like that before. Maybe you were just good at hiding it," Sirius mumbled.
Remus sighed into the shadows. "It doesn't. You've seen how I get, I have more energy than I need on a full moon. That time was a one off."
"Oh," Sirius nodded as if that confirmed what he theorised "Did you find out what had caused that to happen then. It's just, I don't want it to happen again and it would be helpful if I knew what had started it in the first place," he rambled.
"I actually thought you were in on it," Remus confessed. "Peter gave me a sugar quill earlier that day. He must have been testing his theory, though why he was I didn't know, anyone could have an allergy to silver. Not to mention I'd already told you about it so it wasn't like I was hiding it from you," He ranted. "But he'd laced the quill with silver. The silver from your clasp. He must have taken it and filed it off like he did with the sinks. Grinded it into powder and spread it over the quill. I didn't realise until I heard Peter had been through your things. I thought I was just ill, but now..."
"He tried to kill you?" Sirius gasped, shocked. "That little rat!"
"I don't think he was trying to kill me," Remus defended. Now that they were friends again he didn't want a reason for Sirius to attack Peter next time they saw each other. "I just think he was testing how bad my allergy actually was. Usually silver like that would kill a werewolf but because I pulled through he was probably put off a bit."
"No," Sirius protested "He was trying to kill you! I can't believe him!" He raged "No one gives someone something they're allergic to unless they mean to harm them. Remus, if he thought you were a werewolf he was knowingly poisoning you so you'd die. Probably thought he'd get an Order of Merlin or something," Sirius growled.
"Well it's done now," Remus argued "So you're going to have to let it go. Sirius I mean it," He warned watching as Sirius fidgeted with his sleeping bag "It's done. Peter and I are friends again. There's no reason to get mad at him." Sirius was glowering at the top of their tent. "Sirius?"
"Fine," he spat.
Remus could see that he was lying. Sirius wasn't going to let it lie. He just hoped Sirius would let him in on what he was planning. Or at least do it where Remus could thwart him. Needless to say the next meeting with Peter wasn't going to be pleasant.