The Kennel…

Remus was going to kill Sirius. Remus was going to kill Sirius, reincarnate him and then kill him all over again.

He voiced his thoughts as he fumbled with his cigarette packet for his seventh stick in two hours. 'I'll kill him.'

Sirius had told him he'd be home by midnight, and Remus hadn't complained despite it being dangerous times and he certainly hadn't asked to come along. After all, Sirius and James had lived together until only a couple of weeks ago and were brothers in every way but blood. It made sense to Remus that they would want to spend some quality time together, drinking beer and doing whatever it was they did best. But it was two in the morning now, and the bastard hadn't even bothered to call. He was beyond late, and Lily had shut their floo for the night.

'I'll kill James too!' exclaimed Remus in anger, rubbing his eyes raw.

He was sleepy. More so, he was worried sick and inwardly pleading that Sirius had simply gone to one of his ridiculous escapades and forgotten the time, careless as he was. That had to be the explanation right? Sirius was pureblood after all and he and James rarely if ever went to muggle pubs. There were no chances of him being attacked, unless he went into a dangerous neighbourhood intentionally. But that was ridiculous; no one in their right mind would put themselves into danger just for the heck of it.

No one in their right mind…

Remus stubbed his cigarette against the wall. 'If fucking Voldemort doesn't kill you, I will.'

It was when he was reaching for another smoke that he felt it rather than heard it – that odd tingling sensation in the centre of his chest that told him Sirius was calling for him. He quickly rushed out of their apartment and down the stairs, all the while planning ten different ways to murder Sirius Black.

Remus opened the door to the basement – one they'd rented out from the landlord for Remus's transformations for a few pounds extra – and froze. He was vaguely aware that his jaw had dropped to the floor, but Jesus fucking Christ…

Sirius turned, smiling and wiping the grease off his cheek. 'Do you like it?'

Remus gulped. Sirius was standing there, clad in a brand new leather jacket on top of Remus's old Queen t-shirt, wiping his hands on a dirty rag. It looked good, mused Remus, but what had really caught his attention were the matching leather trousers, hugging his hips so impossibly tight that it left very little to imagination. Did he like it? Hell, yeah…

Sirius cocked a sardonic eyebrow. 'Moony, you're drooling.'

Remus snapped his mouth shut and looked away, his face turning seven different shades of red. Instead he focused on the rusty steel bar that Sirius was leaning against and holy mother of god, Remus could only take a shock at a time; and while the former had been deliciously surprising, this one was just a piece of shit.

Remus stared. 'Sirius, what the hell is that?' It was quite obvious what it was, but Remus was very nearly asleep and desperately needed clarification.

Sirius ran his hand over the ripped leather seat lovingly. 'It's a bike, Moony,' he explained as if to a child. 'She's a little worn, but once I'm done with her, she'll be gorgeous. My absolutely gorgeous bitch.'

Both of Remus's eyes shot up as he fixed Sirius with a disbelieving stare. The tires were flat, the gears were rusty, and the metallic black paint was chipped in too many places for the contraption to be called black, there was a large dent in the front where the headlight had been smashed and there was fluff peeking out of the edges of the seat. She looked more than 'a little worn'. She looked devastated.

Still, if it kept Sirius in those trousers, Remus wouldn't mind entertaining the idea too much.

He sauntered over to the bike and sat on the edge of the seat, hoping the stands didn't give away under his weight. 'Should I be jealous?' he asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the handles when he noticed that the bike was pretty sturdy for being so crap.

A slow, sly smile crept up Sirius's face and he rested his head over Remus's hands. 'I should hope not. I was planning for the both of us to ride her together,' he looked up, eyes smoldering darkly.

Remus snorted. 'And get myself killed…you wish!' He jerked his hands from underneath Sirius causing him to stumble. 'By the way, you're sleeping on the couch tonight.'

'What? Why?'

Remus frowned, his face quickly changing from provocative to just plain furious. 'Do you know what time it is, Sirius?' When Sirius shook his head and indicated the lack of a wristwatch, Remus's frown deepened. 'It's two hours past the time you were supposed to be back.'

'Oh. Is that all?' Sirius shrugged off his jacket and hung it on one of the handlebars. 'Really, Moony, I'm a grown boy – don't you think you're overreacting a bit? I just got caught up with this stuff, you know, and I really wanted the trousers.'

Remus rubbed his forehead and looked down. They were really nice trousers. 'Look, Padfoot. I know I'm acting like some overbearing wife here okay, hell I even feel like one right now; but I worry. I worry a lot. I've seen my dad and the type of trouble he gets into sometimes, so it's not completely baseless.' He cupped Sirius's face with both hands, running a thumb over his right cheek. 'You're one of my best friends and these are dangerous times. If anything should happen to you or James or Peter, I don't know what I'd do.'

Sirius covered Remus's hand with his own and kissed it. 'We're fine, Moony, okay?' He grinned, jumping on to the seat in front of Remus and facing him. 'Besides, everyone knows the Marauders are invincible.'

And Remus, naïve as he was, truly believed him…

XxxxX

'Baby, are you awake?'

Remus groaned and pulled the blanket over his throbbing head. It was way too early to be awake and definitely too early for his mom to be screaming this loud. The sun hadn't even hit the bed yet…

'Remus?'

Remus's eyes shot up. Oh God, his mother was in his apartment…

'Son, you awake?'

And by the sounds of it, so was his father.

Remus sat up, ignoring the sudden head rush and the beginnings of a disastrous migraine. His head swiveled around quickly taking in his surroundings, half expecting his mother to be standing somewhere in one of the corners. He was in Sirius's room…of course…because they slept together on the same bed now. He breathed heavily and looked down at himself under the sheets. Naked. He was naked, and Sirius had to be naked too if they were following the same rules. Oh shit, he was naked and his parents were outside his room! Dead, he was dead, dead, dead, naked and dead…

'Remus?'

He scrambled off the bed, cursing as his legs tangled in their thick blankets. 'Fuck, damn it, fuck, fuck.'

He heard Sirius whine at the sudden loss of warmth and quickly tucked it back underneath his friend's chin. An awake and noisy Sirius was the last thing he needed right now. He grabbed a discarded pair of trousers from the floor, hoping to God they were his and running to the bathroom, simultaneously trying to pull on his trousers.

'Shit, shit…' He hastily buttoned his trousers and dunk his head in the sink, turning on the tap to full blast. 'Chill, Remus, chill,' he whispered, welcoming the cool water pouring over his head and the comeback of his sanity.

He could hear his mother's voice coming closer. 'I don't think they're home. Maybe they stayed the night at James' or Peter's place.'

'Nonsense, I can hear water running.'

Remus cursed his father's sharp senses and grabbed a towel from the rack. His bare feet nearly slipped on the water dripping from his hair as he ran out the adjacent door and into his 'decoy' bedroom. He made a mental note to personally thank the architects of this building for joining the two bedrooms through a double door bathroom. He rumpled his unused bed to make it look slept in and quickly pulled on an old t-shirt from the dresser.

'Which one do you think is Remus's bedroom?'

Remus flung open the door. 'Hi mum, hi dad. Sorry it took me so long.' He smiled and tried not to breathe too heavily. 'I had shampoo in my eyes.' He kissed his mother's cheek and hugged his father briefly. 'What brings you guys here all of a sudden?'

Del glared at John, hands goings to her hips. 'See, I told you to just call them but no, you always have to do everything the wizard way. Remus didn't even know we were coming. I bet that owl just pooped on your letter.'

John huffed. 'That owl delivered it fine. Remus just doesn't remember it, right, lad?'

Remus had a slight flashback of coming back from James's party, a drunken Sirius hanging from his shoulders…

Him being pressed against the wall, panting and sweating…

Sirius on his knees giving him the blowjob of his life…

Him being this close to his orgasm…

And a ruddy bird tapping noisily against the window beside him…

Ah...

His eyes automatically reverted to the couch, underneath which he'd flung the letter in haste and desperation. 'Nope.' He grinned in what he hoped was a convincing way. 'Sorry, dad. Didn't get a letter.'

Del looked at her husband triumphantly and walked to the kitchen counter, a slight perk in every step. There were several paper bags lying on top of it, a few already damp either from condensation or oil.

'What's all this, mum?' asked Remus, as he watched her take out bottles of maple and chocolate syrup.

Del smiled. 'Nothing much. Gran sent you a little house warming present and we figured we could drop it off, and cook you and Sirius some breakfast at the same time.'

Remus's face broke into a large smile, and he secretly hoped Sirius would remember to wear trousers when he woke up. 'Gran sent me something?' Gran always sent the best presents – expensive Swiss chocolates, rare editions of books that would normally cost him a fortune. She was muggle and despite being old, knew exactly what Remus wanted and Remus loved her for it.

John gestured at the large cardboard box peeking from behind the counter with his chin. 'It's her television set…the new one. Says it's your half of the will and you should have it since she'll be dying soon anyway.' He lowered his voice so that only Remus could hear. 'Good riddance, I say. That TV's got the latest features! An old cog like her wouldn't know what to do with it.'

There was a loud clatter of spatula hitting the pan. 'John, don't you dare talk about my mother like that!'

'She told me I was a waste of good skin!'

'She was complimenting on your skin, honey. She said it was good, didn't she?' Del defended, pouring oil into the pan.

'She gives me parenting advice every time we visit her.'

Del rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated. 'She's only trying to help, you should know that by now.'

John snorted. 'She told me it's a miracle Remus didn't end up in the asylum. Face it, Del, the woman hates me.'

'Mother doesn't hate you, John,' Del replied sympathetically, flipping over a pancake.

Both father and son looked at each other. 'Yes, she does,' they chorused, Remus grinning and John sulking at his misfortune.

Del rolled her eyes and busied herself in setting the table – laying out forks and spoons she'd picked up from home. She doubted two seventeen year old boys would ever volunteer to have proper cutlery, despite Sirius's pureblood heritage.

John looked at her for a while, watching her lay the syrup bottles in the middle. When he was sure she was too preoccupied to notice or hear them talking, he started fumbling in his coat pockets. Once or twice, he cast a glance towards his wife, completely oblivious to the odd look Remus was giving him. Finally, he fished out a crumpled letter with Remus's name written in green ink.

'Dumbledore told me to give you this,' whispered John, handing it over. 'It's an invitation to an Order meeting. Don't tell your mum and bring your friends along if they want to come, okay?'

Remus nodded and pocketed the letter.

John nodded and smiled. 'Did the transformation go okay this week?' He put a firm hand over his son's shoulder. 'The wolf wasn't too wild, was he? Sudden change of environment and all.'

Remus shook his head and smiled reassuringly. The wolf had been wild and disgruntled over not being allowed in the open air, but the marauders, as always, had been there in their Animagus forms to stop him from becoming too aggressive. 'I healed quickly this time.'

His father clapped him on the back. 'Good. Now come on, I'm starving.'

It had been a long time since Remus had had a breakfast that didn't involve burnt toast or stale cereal. It was good to be having his mother to cook for him again and even better to be sitting around a table and talking about inane things like his new job at the supermarket nearby. Not one he was fond of, but it paid the bills temporarily until he found a real job. He hadn't even realised how much he'd missed his parents until today and took the time to savour the moment. Things were going wonderfully too - well, at least until Sirius decided to wake up…

He hadn't forgotten to wear trousers, thank god for small miracles. Unfortunately, he'd forgotten to wear his trousers and came in to the kitchen wearing Remus's instead. Now this wouldn't have been a problem since most jeans look pretty much the same. Only thing was that Remus's trousers had his mother's expert stitches across the knee where he'd ripped them on purpose after a very influencing song video. Of course, there was also the fact that Remus was taller and slighter than Sirius, so the legs came off two inches too long and the denim two inches too tight.

Even this would have gone unnoticed. His parents weren't that observant or so he hoped. Things would have gone perfectly smoothly despite it, if fucking Sirius hadn't made a theatrical display of yawning loudly and planting a large sloppy kiss on Remus's cheek.

'Mornin' gorgeous,' he whispered into Remus's ear, too close for comfort.

Remus felt his face heat up and diverted his eyes from his parents' curious glances. 'Um…morning to you to Sirius,' he said in a fake cheery tone, patting Sirius's back harder than necessary. 'You've met my folks of course.'

He felt Sirius stiffen against him and almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Sirius's hand slipped away from Remus's waist, his brain finally starting to process the compromising position he was in. One would have expected him to stop after such a disastrous fluke, maybe apologise or run back to his room and never face the Lupins again, but this was Sirius Black. Sirius fucking Black, who was known for his horribly disastrous instincts.

So it should have never come as a surprise to Remus when Sirius casually walked over to Delilah Lupin, would an arm around her waist, kissed her on cheek and said, 'Mornin' gorgeous.' It should have come as even less of a surprise when he moved on to John with very similar intentions.

And he would have achieved it too, had John not held his knife threateningly in front of him. 'One more step, Black, and I will puncture your balls right through.'

'John!' chided Delilah but with the hint of a smile. She put a reassuring hand on Sirius's forearm. 'Sirius, you must be hungry. Why don't you join us for breakfast?'

Sirius gulped, taking John's threat to heart and seating himself between Remus and his mother. He swiftly piled four pancakes onto his plate and stuffed his face with more than he, or any normal human being could chew. The tension that settled after that was thick enough to cut with a knife, the awkward silence only punctuated by their forks scraping against their plates.

Remus was staring at his plate fixedly, while Sirius continued shoveling rather large pieces of pancake at an alarming speed. John and Delilah, however seemed to be the only ones eating calmly, as if nothing had ever happened. It was a horrible way to break to his parents that he was dating his best friend. They'd known he was gay of course, but they didn't think he was seeing anyone, least of all living or sleeping with them. Remus sometimes thought that his father still had a little trouble taking it all in and throwing it in his face this way was probably not the best of ideas.

Finally, Remus set his fork down, exasperated. 'Can you guys please say something? It's getting really suffocating in here.'

Sirius piled two more pancakes onto his plate.

Del smiled and patted Remus's trembling hand. 'It's okay, baby. We're fine. Whoever makes you happy, okay?'

Remus smiled weakly, watching as Sirius's shoulders sagged with relief. He turned towards his father, worried about how he still hadn't said anything.

'John.' His mother's tone dangerously low. 'Shouldn't you be saying something to Remus?'

John stabbed his pancake moodily. 'Don't get Sirius pregnant.'

All three of them burst out laughing, except for Sirius, who particularly did not see anything funny about the comment. He huffed angrily and squeezed the chocolate syrup bottle tightly, ending up with pancakes only Remus could eat without puking.

Del scooped up some of the chocolate with her knife. 'So, Sirius, John told me he saw your forms down at the office yesterday. Applying for auror training?'

Sirius shrugged. 'Yeah, I guess, doesn't matter anyhow. I didn't get accepted.' He felt Remus's bare foot rest against his in reassurance, and he pressed back. 'They told me I was too Black. Suppose I could try out for the Wasps along with James or maybe become an Unspeakable like Mrs. Potter, you know. They're decent enough options.'

John chewed thoughtfully, 'If you wanted,' he said, swallowing. 'Me and Potter could put in a good word for you with Moody. He's a fair enough guy, believes in giving chances.'

Sirius frowned. 'But Crouch-'

'Crouch can go to hell.' And the way John held his fork; it was obvious he would stab the man had he been in front of him. 'Moody despises the son of a bitch and he sure as hell isn't going to follow his rules. Trying to legalise Avada Kedavra. Next thing we know, all the Aurors will be walking around with Dark Marks on their arms.'

Sirius gulped and made a mental note to include Moody into the list of people he'd never mess with along with Remus's father. He'd seen Moody during his runs to the DMLE and even though the man wasn't half as bulky as John Lupin, his unconventional tactics were legendary. Not to mention the map of scars across his face – not very attractive, but bloody tough.

'So I can get in, right?' asked Sirius uncertainly.

'Not promising you anything.' John pushed his plate away. 'How are you at Defense spells.'

Sirius shrugged. 'I'm all right. Not as good as Remus.'

Remus blushed and John smiled proudly. 'No, I wouldn't expect you to be.'

'Dad's a good teacher,' Remus explained. 'We practiced during the holidays sometimes, you know, for fun.'

John shook his head. 'And still, you've learnt nothing. There isn't a single protection spell on this house…what's wrong with you?' He scolded, and Sirius saw Remus look down at his feet. 'Anyone could easily apparate or use a simple Alohomora charm to get in. Do you know how many attacks there have been recently, huh? Do you want to make yourself such an easy target to death?'

Remus bit his lip. 'Sorry…I was meaning to...' He looked up, his bottom lip slightly red. 'We could do it now. I mean, you could help me and Sirius out, right.'

John nodded, breathing out exasperatedly. 'I don't want you taking your safety lightly, Remus, and you too, Sirius. I mean it. You listen to Moody talk for this many years, and the mind starts getting paranoid, you know.'

Del slowly reached out and piled all their plates on top of each other. 'He said he was sorry, John, stop telling him off so much.' She collected all their forks on tops of the plates. 'Anyway, you and Sirius might as well get started on the spells if you want to finish by lunch; and Remus can help me set this kitchen in order.'

'What?' Remus looked at her like she'd grown horns. 'Why can't I do the protection spells? I know them all anyway. It would make things a lot quicker.'

Del stood up. 'My point exactly. You know them all, Sirius doesn't. He needs to learn and you need to learn how to cook a decent meal before you both starve to death or choke on all that Indian curry.'

'Mum, I want to-'

Del put the plates into the sink and turned on the tap. 'One more word out of you, young man, and you will be grounded.'

Remus pouted, and Sirius found it hard to believe that this was the same boy who called him immature. 'Mum, I don't live at home anymore.'

His mother sighed. 'Remus, just be a lad and help me wash the dishes, okay? I could use some help.'

Remus got up, obviously disgruntled over having been told off twice by his parents at the age of seventeen.

So this was what it was like in the Lupin household. Sirius had visited them quite a few times but had never actually stayed over. The Potters were nothing like the Lupins, he realised, probably because they were a lot older than them. They usually just talked about politics or the nice new cleaning broom Mrs. Potter had seen in the shop. And though Mrs. Potter occasionally showed a mischievous side, they had the air of a couple who had settled themselves into growing old together and loving forever. Not that the Lupins didn't look happy – they seemed tight. Something the Potters didn't have because of the wide age gap, and Sirius never had because…well…it didn't matter.

Sirius felt a pang of jealousy as he watched John look at both his wife and son with a certain fondness in his eyes. He quickly waved it off, concentrating on the blob of chocolate on the table. He was suddenly feeling very exposed and uncomfortable being left alone with Remus's father, especially after his little fluke with the kiss and all.

John turned to face him the same time he looked up, his face uncharacteristically stoic. 'Sirius, you'd better-'

But Sirius cut him off. 'Look, Mr. Lupin, I know what you're going to say, and I know that it's a little awkward, but Moony's my best friend…and I like him…a lot… so if you know, you think this is wrong…it's not…I really do care for him…and I swear, I'd never do anything to intentionally hurt him, ever.' He said this all at once and breathed heavily once he was finished.

John looked at him with an amused expression. 'I was actually going to say you'd better bring your wand if you wanted to work on the spells, but thank you for your reassurance, Sirius. It was very thoughtful of you.'

Sirius felt himself turn red. 'Er…right, you're welcome.' He went to their couch and dug into the cushions. Over John's questioning glance, he grinned abashedly and took out his wand. 'Safekeeping,' he offered as an excuse and John rolled his eyes.

They were doing okay, thought Sirius, as he helped cast an intruder alarm. He hadn't said anything stupid as of yet. In fact, he'd kept his mouth firmly shut in fear of saying something so abysmally stupid that would leave the Lupins traumatised for the rest of their lives. He'd done enough for a day. It was stupid really. It was a known fact that behind the large exterior, John Lupin was a good man. Sirius had even had decent conversations with him before but somehow, him knowing about the two of them being together changed things. John loved his son a lot and there was something about his gaze that made Sirius feel like his every step was being scrutinised and mocked. Which was also stupid because John wasn't even looking at him.

Finally, John broke the silence. 'Remus told me you had a new bike - some kind of repair project of yours.'

Sirius nodded, concentrating on his wand movement and not the fact that Remus talked about him. 'Yeah…just bought her last week, but haven't been able to do much. The DMLE kept me running with my forms and all.'

'Hm, mind if I take a look at it?'

'Er…' It wasn't that Sirius didn't like John, but his misfortune with anything on wheels was quite the legend.

'Remus has been talking to you about me, hasn't he?' John laughed. 'Fine then, I'll only help with the charms, right? Couple of levitation charms, invisibility charms…I'll even let Remus supervise me if you're scared I'll smash it against the wall.'

Sirius grinned. He must be doing good, he thought, if Remus's dad wanted to spend time with him. He mentally decided that he reward himself later. 'Yeah, I'd like that very much.'

XxxxX

Remus stood quietly at their bedroom doorway, chuckling to himself as he watched Sirius look into the TV with unconcealed fascination. Television was still new to Sirius, and he'd been intrigued the first day Remus had set it up.

'They're like moving pictures wound up in a box, Moony. Where do they come from? What do they do? Who are these people and why are we allowed to look into their lives? I mean, isn't it a bridge of privacy? Will they send us to prison if they find out?'

Remus had taken over an hour to explain that really, all these were for entertainment and the muggles were just acting. Acting, Moony? Why would someone want to pretend he's dying? Now, Sirius was even more fascinated by it than ever because he'd finally figured it out and it was bloody brilliant. Muggles are geniuses, I tell you.

Remus shook his head and walked over to the couch, seating himself on the other side. Sirius seemed to be too engrossed to even notice his presence. Remus shrugged and picked up the remote to change channels, when Sirius shouted so loud that Remus was sure his heart had just popped out of his chest.

'No, Moony! Don't switch! I'll miss my show!'

Remus rubbed his chest, frowning. 'They're showing commercials, Padfoot.'

Sirius pouted. 'Yeah, but it'll finish real quick. Come on, Moony. This is a really good episode.' When Remus raised an eyebrow, he proceeded to explain. 'Sandra'll be finding out that Barbara's pregnant with her husband, Mark's child today.'

Remus stared at him for awhile and promptly burst out laughing. 'Padfoot, you woman!' Sirius crossed his arms over his chest, looking highly disgruntled. 'Come on, don't tell you'd rather watch that than MTV.'

Sirius sulked. 'Yes, I would rather watch that than a big flaming fruit playing the piano.'

Remus abruptly turned in his seat. 'Elton John's not gay.'

Sirius rolled his eyes and pointed at the outrageous pink furred outfit Elton John was wearing in his video. 'He just doesn't know it yet.'

'And you do?'

Sirius reached out for the remote in Remus's hands, but Remus quickly moved it away. 'Yes, my radar blinks every time they show him on screen.'

Remus stared at him. 'Your radar…'

Sirius rolled his eyes, clearly agitated over the fact that Remus could be this dense. 'Yes, my homosexuality radar,' he explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Remus didn't know if he should laugh or cry. 'Jesus, where do you come up with these?' He tucked the remote underneath the cushion he was sitting on. 'I suppose I have one too, but it's – let me guess – out of order?'

Sirius tried futilely to reach under Remus for the remote. 'Mine would be too if I were ogling at Freddie Mercury all day.'

Remus's jaw dropped open in shock. 'I do not ogle!'

'Yes, you do!'

Remus punched his friend's arm lightly. 'Wanker!'

Sirius punched back. 'Arse!'

'Ponce!' Remus jumped on him.

And so, the scuffle ensued, where both boys were wrestling for the upper hand; pinning arms and rolling over each other in the small confines of their couch. It was a known fact that Remus was a lot stronger than his friend, but both of them were clearly enjoying this too much to for him to exert his actual strength. By the end of it, they both collapsed into the soft cushions, breathing heavily, legs and arms tangled around each other and both laughing too hard to move.

'We were supposed to have left by now – the Order meeting starts at nine,' said Remus in between chuckles. He pushed away errant strands of hair from Sirius's face and smiled when Sirius leaned into his touch.

Sirius glanced at the wall clock through the corner of his eyes. 'We still have two minutes, Moony, don't be such a stuck up prat.' Sirius leaned in for a kiss the same time Remus sat up, and he ended with a mouthful of his hair.

'Prongs and Wormtail are coming too, right?' asked Remus, summoning his and Sirius's boots from the rack.

Sirius sighed and sat up himself. 'Undoubtedly. The Marauders always stick together for a good cause!' He grinned and made a valiant gesture with his hands.

Remus snorted. 'Or a cheap thrill.'

Sirius put his hand his chest, making a show of gasping for air. 'Moony, you scandalise me! Here I am putting my life out there for the good of the Wizarding world and you-'

'Have been watching too many soaps,' finished Remus. 'Still, it's nice to have us guys doing something together again, even if it is saving the world.'

Sirius nodded and pulled on his boots. 'Yeah, especially Wormtail. You should have seen how enthusiastic he was, Moony. I was so sure he was going to chicken out, but he seemed to be really willing to help out…even if it's because Prongs is in it.'

Remus smiled. 'He's a good chap, Wormtail.' He stood up and smoothed out his shirt. 'Take your jacket. It's cold outside and we'll have to walk a bit before we can apparate.'

Sirius grabbed Remus's hand and used it as leverage to pull himself up. 'Can't we just take my Bitch?'

'Ride on that contraption. Not on my life!'

XxxxX