Harry Potter and the Mischief Palace

by Mariann's

Harry is sent back - waaay back! Read what he gets to see! Pairings: HP/HG, RL/SB (slash!) and others. This is some silly fun - Completely AU right from the start and will stay AU!

4. 03 - In Love With His Best Friend?

Chapter 3 - In Love with his best Friend?

Harry settled himself to observe the summer vacation of the Marauders and his mother. He had spent some time with Lily, watching the growing rift between her and her sister, who was now nineteen and had a fiancée. Harry groaned when he noticed that Vernon Dursley was only marginally slimmer than when he had known him. Lily had thrown one glance and had to hide her snickering.

"What's he doing? Breeding pigs and eating too many of their products?" she asked recklessly.

Petunia reacted like the overly emotional and not very intelligent teenager she was and ran from the room, crying. Marie Rose threw a reproachful glance at her younger daughter, but Lily was beyond caring. Every time she had come back from Hogwarts she had to tolerate her sister calling her names like 'freak', 'hag' (as if Petunia even had an idea what a hag looked like, Lily thought) or 'bitch'.

Lily simply shrugged her shoulders and said to her mother:

"What did she expect? Me trying to be her rival for the love of that walrus? I thought she at least had some taste, but she lacks even that!" she said.

"Lily, she isn't as gifted as you. She probably thinks there's nothing better she can get…"

"If she stopped going on with that stupid jealousy of hers she'd find that she could have much more than a Vernon Dursley. Honestly, look at the pair of them they fit like a fist and an eye!"

"You get no comment from me. I tried my best, sweetie. But how about you? How was your school year?"

"Oh, I really did well! Can't wait for the OWLS, just to see how well I did. Had a lot of work, but Remus is a good partner. Remus Lupin, that's the my prefect partner in our year. He was supposed to reign in his friends a bit, but he's not even tried. All other jobs he's done perfectly well though and he's been a pleasant study partner, too. I suppose he lets his friends do what they want because he's never had any friends before, beyond his family. He hides something, too, and I strongly suspect his friends know what it is and protect him. But he's very nice otherwise."

"Boyfriend material?" Marie Rose asked.

"Not for me, Mum," her daughter replied, laughing. "I think he carries a torch for another boy in our year."

"Oh…"

"That doesn't seem to be a problem in the magical world. I don't have a problem with it either. He'd never be aggressive to me in any case."

Marie Rose laughed.

"No, most of them are said to be rather friendly towards women."

"Dari and I have spent a lot of time together. I'm glad that she doesn't live half a country away, I'm allowed to go see her, Mum, aren't I?"

"Of course. She does have a telephone, doesn't she?"

"She does. Her parents are both Muggle-born."

Lily spent much of her time during her vacation with her friends. Harry was happy to find her an unencumbered teenager who had no idea yet of the impending war, that was secretly already taking place. He wasn't astonished to see that she got herself quite the load of work for the NEWTS years, as she chose Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Defence, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. Seven subjects would mean a shedload of work, Harry thought. As it was for Hermione, who had the exact same subjects. Over the years Harry had found a number of similarities between his mother and Hermione. Apart from the simple fact that both were Muggle-Born, both had a keen intellect and were reputed to be the most intelligent witches in their year. But both had a good sense of humour, even if Hermione's had to be tickled out sometimes. Lily could be downright mean as the example earlier on showed, but she wasn't usually spiteful except towards her sister. Harry thought that Petunia was totally unjust and that she had no right to be jealous of her sister. Lily couldn't help what she was. She could help that she was usually very nice to everyone and just because Petunia could only act nice didn't mean Lily had to stop being friendly. Harry found that the two sisters were extreme opposites and wondered where it all came from.

Harry hopped back over to the beautiful place he had come to know as his ancestors' home.

Behind the closed door Sirius transformed to the dog for fun. He slumped down in front of Remus, who sat on the carpet with his legs spread apart. Remus dug his hands deep into the shaggy pelt of the dog and caressed him. He felt his heart pound and when he noticed that he was actually caressing Sirius, he blushed and let go. Sirius turned around and gave Remus a little shove with his big paw. Remus gripped it and said:

"You know, Sirius, you're a right Padfoot!"

James laughed and said:

"What a great nickname you've given Sirius, Moony!"

"Matches mine in its idiotic way..." said Remus, who had yet to get accustomed to the nickname with which his friends had tagged him after they had found out about his werewolf.

"But it fits you perfectly; you're always mooning over something, Remus!" James insisted.

Sirius barked.

"See, Padfoot agrees," said James.

"So you would like to be called Padfoot?" Remus asked the dog.

The dog nodded and dropped down again. He looked at Remus with a penetrating stare, whined a bit and barked happily when Remus' hands returned to dig in the thick fur.

"I don't think, anyone would be afraid of this Grim," he sniggered.

"I don't think so either. Padfoot can't hide his lovable character," James confirmed. "But come on back, Siri, how about some Exploding Snap?"

"Okay," Sirius said, transforming back swiftly. Remus pulled his hand away immediately, blushing again.

He knew he couldn't hide his crush on Sirius for much longer. If the blushing didn't give him away, then it would be how he looked at his friend and his love for Padfoot, the dog. It was true that seeing Padfoot for the first time had given his crush the last push. Remus liked to think of it as a crush, but deep down he knew that he was in love with Sirius. It made him afraid, because he didn't expect Sirius to return his feelings. He wasn't sure about Sirius' sexual orientation. It was the heydays of glitter rock and Sirius had grown quite fond of the Muggle music scenes, he loved everything between hard rock and glitter. He had bought a whole new wardrobe which expressed those tastes since he'd come to the Potters. Flared jeans, so tight he could hardly sit down, glittery outfits, t-shirts which barely reached the upper rim of the trousers, high heeled boots. At the end of the last school year, Lily and her friends had introduced him to make-up, which he loved and now he was rarely seen without polished nails, kohl around his eyes and glittery colours on the lids. He wasn't too fond of lipstick, but he did apply some gloss sometimes. His hair had grown out to reach his shoulder blades and the black mass looked very tempting to Remus, who would have loved to rake through that even more than through Padfoot's thick fur.

So Remus wasn't sure if this was just Sirius' fashion sense or if it was an expression of his sexuality. Of course, looking a bit effeminate made Sirius also look like a bit of a poof, but it wasn't really a hint, because so many boys around them acted the same way, even around their girlfriends. When Remus reminisced a bit about it, he remembered that Sirius didn't look particularly interested in girls. At school he would usually mostly ignore them, even though many of them were in awe about his good looks. He thought that many a girl would be ready to overlook his less pleasant character traits just to be the one to go with him. Remus was realistic enough to know that Sirius had some less pleasant attitudes.

But it wasn't that he had seen Sirius with boys, either.

"Why don't you get together with some of those girls who would love to date you at Hogwarts, Sirius?" he asked, out of the blue.

The next moment he thought he must be crazy and wanted to vanish into the tiniest hole he'd fit in. Sirius looked up from his cards and gasped a little. He stared at Remus and replied with all the coolness he could muster:

"Maybe I'm not interested in them..."

James looked up as well. He usually grinned about Sirius' antics in dressing up and playing the ponce, but he had thought it to be just that, acting. Now he wondered.

"What, are you gay?" he asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Think so. Just usually can't stand the girls when they get too close. And too girly... all giggly and excitable..."

Remus' heart pounded. If Sirius was gay... he smiled at his friend. Sirius noted the smile and he meant to feel a difference in this smile to Remus' usual smiles. While Remus was still fighting to accept his sexual orientation, Sirius had left that stage already behind even though he had never told his friends about it yet. Sirius carried a torch for his friend, had done so for about two years and for Sirius it had been a sign of fate that his Animagus form was a dog. One canine for another, yes? But how to tell your best friend you're in love with him? He didn't say so, but he loved the nickname Remus had just bestowed on him. For Sirius this nickname was like a very personal gift from his love interest. He loved Remus' hands in his fur and wished he could feel them on his skin instead of the fur. He hoped that one day Remus would notice that Padfoot came out often for Remus alone. He sometimes hated himself, because it felt like he was manipulating Remus. He knew Remus couldn't resist the dog and he would freely do to the dog what he probably wouldn't do to the human counterpart. He rubbed his fur, played with him and loved to tussle and mock-fight. Remus wouldn't mock-fight with the boy Sirius. He thought it was too childish. But he never hesitated to really play with the dog, no matter how silly the games became. Sirius knew it and took advantage of it. He loved to see Remus leaving his inhibitions behind when he wrestled and played with Padfoot.

A while later James asked if someone was willing to play chess with him. Remus was, so they brought the board out and set the game up on the carpet in front of the fireplace. Sirius transformed again and put his head in Remus' lap. Remus absentmindedly caressed the big doggy head and Padfoot sighed in contentment. James observed his two friends. Padfoot lay on his side, all four legs stretched out, with his head on Remus' lap. It looked so sweet and cosy, so James got up quickly. Before Remus noticed what was going on, James had snapped a few photos.

"You two are too cute for words!"

Remus groaned.

"I'm not cute!" he protested. "Not so sure about Padfoot here, though. Big as he is, he really looks cute with that shiny black nose and those pale eyes. And your tongue lolling out."

The dog panted slightly, to hide his sniffing for Remus' scent. He looked up and turned his head, so that he could lick Remus' hand.

"Hey! No licking here, Padfoot!"

Remus wiped his hands on his jeans. He looked at Sirius with a reproachful glance, but Sirius didn't seem to care much. In fact, Sirius was as happy as could be. He was close to his love and if that was all he would get he happily took it.

After a fairly intensive battle James won the game. It was too late to start another one, so Remus got up and said:

"I'm really tired, even though I slept a lot today. I think I'm going to bed."

"Okay. You can have the bathroom first then..." James said and watched Remus leave the room, closing the door behind him.

"Turn back, Sirius!" James told his friend.

Sirius reappeared. He shook his hair out and crossed his legs. James looked at him for a moment, then he said:

"I think you have a thing for Moony."

"You think? - I know..." Sirius said sadly.

"So why don't you do anything about it?" James asked. He was rather amused.

"Well, how do I tell him? I don't think he likes me back this way. He loves the dog, and I know he really likes me, but we're friends, aren't we? I don't think he swings that way either..."

James just grinned. He didn't know if Sirius really hadn't seen it, but he had noticed the blushes. He pointed out:

"I've seen Remus blush at least three times tonight. And only because of something you did or said. Maybe that was why he asked you about your disinterest in girls..."

"Do you think so? It did come a bit out of the blue, didn't it?"

"Absolutely. I was almost shocked that he asked. It's not usually like Remus to do something like that. It could well be a sign, couldn't it?"

"Don't know..."

Sirius was at a loss for words. He wasn't ready to believe that his dream could actually come true. James went on:

"And hey, he gave you a nickname! I haven't heard something like that from Moony ever before. He usually doesn't use nicknames at all. And not just any nickname, he's given you the best nickname I could imagine. A real dog's name."

Sirius smiled.

"It's true that, isn't it? I don't think he'd give me an answer if I asked him though..."

"Just give him more signs. Smile at him, things like that. Try to spend more time with him, like when he goes to the library at Hogwarts. I'm sure he'd love that."

"James Potter, the great prat, giving love advice! That must be the best joke in the world," Sirius grinned, feeling very self-conscious.

"Hey, I resent that!"

"Well, so far you haven't found a way into the heart of Miss Lily Evans yet, have you?"

"But I will. I'm going to change my tactics this year. If you're running after the wolf, I'll have time to behave a bit better. That will convince her of my sincerity over short or long. She'll fall for me yet, you'll see!" James said.

"Ever the self-confident James Potter... wish you the best of luck. If she'd loosen up a bit she'd be perfect for you."

Remus poked his head around the door.

"Bath is free!" he called.

"Thanks, Remus! - I'll go and brush my teeth quickly then," Sirius said and got up.

"I'm coming with you if you don't mind."

"Nah, I don't mind, that's okay."

A few minutes later Sirius turned the knob of his door and went inside. Remus had already undressed and wore only his shorts and a thin t-shirt. Sirius threw a quick glance at the tiny, but lovely round arse of his friend. He sighed a bit, then closed the door again and shed his clothes. Remus slipped into the bed and pulled up the blankets.

"Good night, Siri," he said.

"Night, Rem..." Sirius replied and climbed into his own bed.

There was a still small fire burning in the fireplace, otherwise there was no light. Sirius turned around, so he could see the shock of brown hair on Remus' head. Remus had turned his back to the bigger bed and pulled the blankets up to his chin. Sirius smiled. It was the way Remus always slept.

After a few hours Sirius woke up, hearing strange sounds in the room. He realised it was Remus, thrashing around in the middle of a nightmare. He moaned and there were tears spilling from his tightly closed eyes. Sirius was up in an instant. He sat on the edge of Remus' bed and grabbed his shoulders.

"Remus! Rem! Come on, wake up, Moony! It's just a dream!"

Remus woke up and stared at Sirius. He slumped back on the bed and mumbled:

"Sorry for waking you..."

"No problem, Rem. Post transformation shite?"

"Yeah. The usual drivel, too. I just can't seem to wake myself up from those dreams. I really hate them..."

"It's okay, Moony, don't worry about waking me up. I'm glad if I can pull you out. Want to come over and cuddle?"

He nodded to the big bed. Remus shoved the blankets down and sat up. He followed Sirius and the two settled in the big bed, Remus in Sirius' arms. They were asleep within minutes and there were no more bad dreams.

Remus had a few bad dreams in the next nights. It was nothing new for Sirius and James, they were actually quite used to it, as Remus had lots of nightmares at Hogwarts, too, mostly only for a couple of nights after the full moon. So Sirius and Remus got lots of cuddling time, which both very secretly enjoyed on a whole different level, but both were insecure enough not to be fully honest about their motivation to enjoy the other's closeness.

In their interaction with the elder Potters neither showed anything other than exuberant teenage boys. James never got a moment to talk with Remus alone, but he was determined to give him a hint about Padfoot's feelings. It took two out of the three weeks until James got his opportunity. They had decided to go to Diagon Alley on the Friday before the last week of the break. The Alley was full of shoppers, lots of school mates who were out doing the same, but they enjoyed it. At some point Sirius left them to see his lawyers to retrieve his Gringotts key and get some money. James and Remus went ahead and bought the books they'd need for the coming school year. They had all done very well on their OWLS. All three had chosen the same NEWTS level subjects, they would be taking Transfiguration, Charms, Defence, Potions, Herbology and Ancient Runes. They didn't know yet what Peter intended to take, but they were quite sure he would drop Potions. Remus would have liked to drop that subject, too, but he knew that if he wanted to become an Auror he had to take it. He had done well enough in his OWL to be eligible, which had astonished him. He never expected to have a mark as good as the E he got.

"Remus..." James started, while they went to Florean Fortescue's, where they were to meet up with Sirius again.

"Hmm?" Remus asked, already with his nose deep inside of the new Defence text book.

James smiled. Remus would always put his books first, his friends second and most else long after that. They had already been to the bookshop while they waited for Sirius.

"Say, when Sirius told us he's gay..."

Remus' ears perked up. He turned to James, who grinned.

"Thought, that'd fetch you from your book..."

"What?"

"I think he's got a thing for you. Would that shock you too much to even think about it?"

Remus' eyes became slits.

"You 'think' or you 'know'?"

"Well, more like 'know'..." James admitted.

"Did he ask you to talk to me?"

"No! He'd probably kill me if he knew... but if you return his feelings, then I think it would be awful to watch the two of you trying to give each other hints and at the same time trying your best not to see them. Don't you think?"

"Does he give me hints?" Remus asked, honestly astonished.

James rolled his eyes.

"Don't you see them? Could he be any more blatant short of saying it? Every time he's turning into Padfoot... he wants you to pet and tickle him, not anyone of us. 'Cause he loves you."

"Oh." Remus said.

"So - do you want the hints?"

Remus couldn't stop his smile. If it was true... then yes, he wanted those hints very much. But then he said:

"Yes, I think, I do. But what if he means something entirely different?"

"He doesn't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Asked him. He didn't deny it, on the contrary."

"Oh." Remus said again.

They had only just sat in front of their ice creams at Florean Fortescue's for ten minutes, when they spotted Sirius coming in from the alley. He grinned and waved and joined for them. He went to order his own ice cream. Then they sat in the sun. Remus passed a big bag over to Sirius and said:

"Here, your books, Siri."

"Thanks. How much?"

"Two Galleons, fourteen Sickles and three Knuts," Remus replied.

Sirius slurped some of the melting ice cream and reached for his purse, to pay Remus back. He didn't have enough Sickles, so he said:

"Here, take three Galleons. You can get me a couple of sugar quills at Hogsmeade next time..."

"Okay."

Remus took the coins and placed them in his own purse. He had already received his allowance for the term, which was quite comfortable. His parents had added the estimated amount he would need for the supplies. The three of them enjoyed their ice creams and talked to some of their school mates passing by. Sirius enjoyed it especially. He had never known freedom like this before, now he was almost overwhelmed. His mother had usually just pulled him through the shops and then taken him home again immediately. In the last summer she had even left him at home and bought his supplies alone. He thought of her and shivered. He would forever remember the harpy who screamed and raged, who mistreated him at the slightest misbehaviour. He could never be sure that he did behave either, because she would redefine misbehaviour every day. He would be in fear of his mother as long as she would be alive.

Remus noticed his faraway look. He nudged Sirius lightly and Sirius shook his head, looking at his friend questioningly.

"Come on, Siri! We're going. I need some stuff still..."

"Okay."

Sirius grabbed his bag and checked that his purse was in its proper place, then he walked out next to Remus.

"Where have you been just now, Siri? You looked so lost..."

Sirius sighed.

"Just thought about how my mother would never let me out alone. It's still incredible to be away from that place, Moony! I've never had this freedom."

Remus smiled. He looked up to Sirius, who was about half a head taller now that Remus had caught up a bit. He gave Sirius a hug.

"You've really deserved to find that freedom, Padfoot. In less than three months you're of age anyway and don't need to bother with them anymore."

"Yeah... trouble is only that I'm the heir and they can't do anything to change that. They would have to murder me to get rid of me, and that would slightly put themselves out…"

They were bustled around in the mass of people who were out on this sunny August day. Someone gave Sirius a little push to move, but shoved him into Remus, who was startled. Sirius had to throw his arms around his friend to keep his balance. For a few seconds they stared into each others' eyes. Remus turned to Sirius in the embrace, looked up and their mouths were very close, their lips almost brushed against each other, when they heard James:

"Come on, where are you guys?"

An instant before James came around another group of people and saw them, they let each other go. Remus' heart was beating very fast. They had been so close! Did that mean that James was right?

He decided to test the grounds. When they went to bed that night, he waited for Sirius to come to the room and when Sirius was climbing into his bed, Remus walked to his with a little sway to his hips that made Sirius gasp. Remus threw a quick surreptitious glance behind himself and what he saw made him sing and dance inside. Sirius stood frozen next to his bed, staring at Remus, who stuck his arse out a bit more when he bent down to hold up the comforter and slip into the bed. Sirius let out a tiny grunt, turned around and came over to Remus. He pulled the smaller boy around, pulled him into his arms and asked in a whisper:

"Remus! What was that this afternoon? Were you about to kiss me?"

"I think so. Were you about to kiss me? Would you have if James hadn't interrupted?"

Sirius nodded. He bent down slowly and pressed his lips onto Remus'. For a moment they just explored the feelings of each other's lips touching very lightly, but Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius' waist and got closer. All he could think was: 'James was right, James was right...'

With a soft gasp he opened his lips a tiny bit and touched Sirius' with his tongue. Almost immediately he felt how Sirius let him inside, he met another tongue, warm, wet and that first touch sent a jolt of pleasure through his whole body. Sirius moaned. He pulled a bit and both of them moved over to his bed, but this time they slipped inside there fully aware of the other's feelings. Their lips locked again. Sirius wasn't the only one who moaned now. Remus responded in kind and he pressed himself against Sirius' body.

Both realised they were aroused at the same time. Both blushed, but the kissing was so good, so they just returned to more of it.

"Mm," Remus made.

Sirius smiled into the kiss. He had never kissed like this before. A few stolen kisses from girls, which meant nothing and had done even less for him, one kiss with a boy behind the broom shed at Hogwarts after a Quidditch practice, which had only left him more confused, because it didn't seem to work better than with the girls was the sum of his experiences. But now, this, it was like a bomb exploding inside of him. He felt a whole avalanche of feelings rush through him and he found that his cock was hard without even touching it. Then he realised he was pushing against Remus and Remus was just as hard. He could feel it easily through the thin fabric of two pairs of boxers. He drew another deep breath.

"Remus..." he sighed.

"Siri," came the quiet, almost shy reply.

"Remus, you're not just playing with me, are you?"

Remus shook his head.

"No!" he almost shouted.

"I've been in love with you for so long... so long," Sirius mumbled and kissed Remus again.

Each kiss sparked more fire. Each kiss burned longer and was felt deeper and more intimately. Remus clung to Sirius and was kissing with as much vigour as he felt it from Sirius.

"I love you, too, Siri," he said in a low voice, when they took time to catch some breath.

Sirius closed his eyes and said a quick thank you to whatever deity was out there listening to his mind. He started to caress Remus over the shoulders, his arms, his back, then he stuck his hands under Remus' shirt and heard the gasp Remus let out.

"Nnnng..." Remus made, then: "Just don't stop, this feels so good..."

And to show Sirius what he meant, he mirrored the action, pushing his hand underneath the t-shirt and groping for Sirius' nipples, which he pinched, then caressed with the palm of his hand. Sirius reacted promptly with another thrust of his hip toward Remus.

"Yes!" Sirius hissed.

The t-shirts were removed quickly. In the flickering light of the dying fire they looked at each other, discovering each other with their sense of touch more than their eyes. Remus burrowed his head in Sirius' chest and took deep breaths, inhaling Sirius' scent until he had it memorised forever. He smelled a bit differently than usually. Remus noticed that this was Sirius' scent when he was aroused.

Sirius turned on his back and pulled Remus along. Remus straddled him and placed himself so that their cocks were lying side by side. There was still the fabric of their boxers, but both could feel through the thin material. Remus pressed down a bit. Sirius moaned.

"Aw! Aw, Remus! Remus, yes!"

He pulled Remus close, held him tightly and thrust upwards, Remus pressed down and it didn't take more than a few minutes until both of them reached their orgasms. It was earth shattering for Remus. He had masturbated like everyone else, but rarely and only under extremely tight silencing charms. He had heard all of his dorm mates more than once. He had reached a number of quite nice orgasms, but nothing so far had even been remotely as good as this first shared climax. Even though no hands had been involved, no penetration had taken place, just the rubbing of their erections against each other through the fabric of their shorts had been enough.

"Gods, that was good..." Sirius sighed.

Remus squirmed. The sticky moistness in his shorts started to be disturbing. He shimmied out of his and wiped the remaining seed off his abdomen. Then he helped Sirius out of his. They looked at each other and both blushed again. It was the most intimate moment both had ever lived through.

"So, what are we now?" Remus asked.

"Lovers?" Sirius asked back. There was hope in his voice.

Remus smiled. He kissed Sirius again and feeling Remus' naked body along his own skin made Sirius gasp again. Slowly, Sirius let his hands run along Remus' side until he reached the hipbone, which he followed. He could feel the skin underneath his hand flutter. Remus hissed. Sirius reached the patch of brown curls above Remus' cock, dug his fingers inside and curled the still moist hair around them. It was enough to get Remus' cock up again. He could just feel it harden the moment he touched it. Remus buried his face in Sirius' shoulder.

"Mm."

Sirius grinned. He moved his hand very slowly, to get a first feel of that other cock. It gave him a jolt, too, to feel this hardening organ in his hand. It was still damp from the orgasm before, and probably still a bit tender to his touch.

"'S that okay?" he asked.

Remus just nodded into his shoulder. Sirius pulled his hand away and stroked Remus over the head. He dug Remus' face out and planted another kiss on his mouth.

"Love you..." he whispered.

Both were sated and thoroughly exhausted when they finally went to sleep. They promptly overslept in the morning and were woken by James, who opened the door with a bang, only to freeze on the spot. He noticed fast enough that both occupants of Sirius' bed were stark naked and put his hands over his eyes. James grinned, but he cried out theatrically:

"Oh, woe to me, that I have to start my day seeing *this*!"

Both heads in the bed turned around. They both blushed and pulled up the blankets in one swift move.

"James! Get out!" Sirius shrieked.

James laughed out loud and retreated. He closed the door and ran down the stairs. When he came into the kitchen, he was so obviously in an excellent mood that his mother noticed.

"What's put you into such a good mood, James?" Dorea asked.

"Oh, just something. - Mum, what do you think about two guys in love with each other? Or two girls for that matter?"

Dorea looked at him sharply. Did her son prepare the terrain to tell her that he was gay? But what would have put him in such a beaming mood, then? Did he hook up with either of his friends?

"I know a gay couple, James. If they're discreet and don't hit on other men - or women - all the time then I don't mind them. Why do you ask?"

With a bit of trepidation she waited for him to come out, but he just said:

"Then be prepared. Siri and Remus are in love with each other. I think they hooked up last night..."

"Oh dear! Well, as long as they're happy..." Dorea tried not to show that she was relieved.

James grinned.

"Thought it was me, eh? They might have a while to work things out and get together, but I think they're on the way to being very happy. I wish I could get there with Lily..."

"Still mooning over the lovely Miss Evans?" Dorea teased.

"I'm not mooning! I love her, mum! If only she'd see it..."

"Why don't you try some flowers now and then? Ask her to study together, the way you describe her she seems to be pretty serious with schoolwork. Which couldn't harm you either, by the way."

"Hey! I did well on my OWLS," he protested.

"Granted. But with your good head they could be even better."

"Ow!" he made.

Dorea laughed. She was quite happy with her son, but of course she knew that he tended to be a bit on the arrogant side, often encouraged by Sirius of course. But if Sirius and Remus were becoming a couple, who knows, maybe James would concentrate on his schoolwork a bit more. And Dorea knew very well that James encouraged Sirius just as often.

She was still pondering this when Remus and Sirius arrived in the kitchen. Their behaviour showed not the slightest difference to the day before, but now that Dorea knew she started to observe the boys and soon found that they were exchanging glances, winks, there were tiny touches and when she saw them in the large garden a few hours later they were kissing. She frowned a bit, but then turned her eyes away. They would come out of their closet when they were ready. In the meantime James would probably tell them that his mother didn't freak out at the thought of gay people.

Charlus wasn't as pleased when she told him. They were getting ready for bed and he frowned at the information.

"I don't like it very much, Dorea."

"Why? You're not prejudiced against homosexuality, are you?"

"No, it's not that, I don't think. But while they're under our roof we're responsible for them."

"Yes, and? Do you think they will hurt each other?"

He blushed.

"No, why should they? But, you know... I'm not exactly comfortable with them carrying on here at my house."

"Oh, you're worried about them having sex? They didn't seem to be there yet. But I did see them kissing in the corner of the garden this afternoon. Remus looks very happy..."

"Well, who knows how hard it will be for him to find a partner. He has to tell them that he's a werewolf and I would bet that most of his possible partners would be up and gone after that information. Sirius already knows and is comfortable with it," Charlus admitted.

"Yes, I think that is an important aspect in Remus' affection for Sirius. Now we know why the two of them seemed to get along the best. Sirius and James are always like a barrel of explosives with a burning wick on it. You never know when they explode. Remus has a very good influence on Sirius. He's a pretty down to earth boy."

"I've had that impression, too, these past weeks. Oh well, there's not much we can do..."

"Or even should. In a few days they'll be off to Hogwarts and then they're beyond our control anyway."

"Should we tell Richard and Venetia?"

"No. Officially we know nothing of their relationship. It wouldn't be right to out them to the Lupins before they can do it themselves. I'm quite sure they will do so when they're ready. At least their relationship won't produce untimely or unwanted children."

Charlus nodded. They climbed into the bed and Dorea extinguished the lights with her wand. She snuggled closer and felt the arms of her husband pulling her to his body.

Remus and Sirius went to bed and this time they didn't even bother leaving any clothes on. They jumped into the bed together and kissed each other for half an hour.

'Well,' thought Harry, 'I do wonder if that is the point where things divert from what they were like the first time around.' He remembered being told that his parents had only found together in their seventh year, when they were working side by side as head boy and head girl.

Their return to Hogwarts a couple of days later meant the end of a week in heaven for Remus and Sirius. On Platform 9 ¾ they met up with Richard and Venetia Lupin to give them Remus' suitcase. They still had a few minutes left. Remus looked up to his parents and said:

"Mum, Dad, I've got something to tell you..."

"Yes, Remus? What is it?" Venetia asked back. His tone told her immediately that it was something important.

"I'm in love..." Remus said and worried his lower lip.

"Wow! Now there's a surprise, cub. Do we know her?" Richard asked, grinning.

"Him. And yes, you do know him," Remus replied.

Now Venetia knew. There was a deeper reason for Remus' happy face when he received one of Sirius' letters after all, she thought. She didn't mind that at all. Thinking practically she knew how difficult things could get for Remus when it came to looking for a mate and from that point of view she found him being together with Sirius ideal. But were they together?

"So, are you and Sirius together, love?" she asked softly, giving her knowledge away.

Remus looked up at her, astonished.

"How d'you know it's Sirius?" he asked.

"Lucky guess!" she said, laughing. "Is it?"

"Yes. I really hope you don't mind that I won't give you any grandchildren..." Remus replied with a blush.

"As if there weren't enough other candidates for that in the family, Remus! Remember! You have three brothers and three sisters. Sources enough for grandchildren, sweetie. The most important thing for us is that you are happy, sweetheart."

Venetia hugged her son. His affliction had always made him closest to her of all of her children, even if she loved them all. She felt that it was most important that he knew he was loved.

"I'm really glad for you to have found love, Remus. That's more important than a grandchild, you know! You should be happy and that will give you as much of a normal life as possible. And that makes me happy for you. Would you like to bring Sirius home for Christmas?"

Remus smiled so widely she thought his mouth was going to reach his ears. He threw his arms around her and almost sobbed.

"Oh Mum, I'm so glad you're okay with it. I'll write you all about it when I'm back at Hogwarts, okay? Sirius will be so glad that you're okay with it."

"Where is he at all?" Venetia looked around until she saw Sirius talking with James a few metres away.

He caught her glance and looked back anxiously. She beckoned him over. He came and looked worried, but Venetia pulled him into a hug and said:

"Let me first congratulate you on getting away from that awful place, Sirius! I'm sure you're much happier now. And then let me ease your mind about being together with Remus. I'm glad it's you if it had to be another boy. You may know that for Richard and I only counts what makes Remus happy, and frankly, he is glowing right now. If that's because you two are a couple now I'm fine with it. Welcome to the family, Sirius!"

Sirius couldn't hold back his tears. He returned her hug and sobbed. She patted his shoulders and said:

"Come now, sweetie, there's no need to cry, now is there? You love each other, that's fine with me. And even though Richard still looks like a fish on dry land I'm sure he thinks the same..." Venetia teased her husband more than what she believed might be her future son-in-law.

Richard laughed. He pulled Remus into another hug and said:

"Don't worry, Remus, I'm fine with it, too. You two have been best friends for so many years already, I think that should be a good basis for a solid relationship. I really wish you all the best. You'll enjoy Hogwarts especially this year, there'll be a surprise for you people!"

"Oh! What is it, Dad? Come on, if you know it would be so unfair not to tell us!"

"No, won't do anything like that. What surprise would it be if you already knew?"

"Aww! That's mean. To tease us with something you know and then not tell!" Remus said in protest with a slightly whiny tone.

Sirius had caught himself. He looked at the Lupin family and noticed Remus' younger brothers. And in that moment he noticed that he never met any of Remus' family other than his parents.

"Oh, Sirius, this here is Rupert, and this is Rowland. They're my little brothers. Rupert starts Hogwarts this year."

"Oh..." was all Sirius could say at first. Then he held out his hand to shake Rupert's and Rowland's.

"Hi. I'm Sirius. You've probably heard about me..."

"Yeah, a bit..." Rupert said and grinned.

"Once a day or so..." Rowland filled in.

"Or once an hour every day..." Rupert went on.

And both boys dissolved into peals of laughter. Remus just gave them a little shove. While they fought with each other a lot the two of them were quite a mischievous pair. He looked forward to the Sorting to find out which house would become his brother's new home away from home.

"It'll be so dull at home with you all away," Rowland complained.

"You'll be off to Hogwarts very soon, too, love," his mother said.

Then she checked the time and said:

"Well, you people should hop on the train, it'll leave soon! Will you keep an eye on Rupert today, Remus?"

"Of course, Mum. Though I'll have to go to the prefect's carriage for the start."

"That's okay, we'll take him with us, won't we, Sirius?" James offered.

"Of course! Can't but keep a watch over a Marauder's little brother... Come, Rupert, you'll have a lot of fun on this ride!"

Soon they were settled into a compartment. Remus kissed Sirius and left for the prefect's carriage from where he returned an hour later with the latest information about what would be going on at Hogwarts in the weeks to come. He found his little brother happily playing Exploding Snap with James, Peter and Sirius. There was another boy in the compartment who looked like he was a first year. Remus recognised one of Rupert's school mates from the primary school.

The moment he opened the door to the compartment it looked like the sun had risen in Sirius' face. He beamed at his boyfriend. And said boyfriend beamed right back. Peter noticed and asked:

"Hey, did something happen while I was away from you guys?"

"You could say so, Peter. Be prepared for a LOT of sappiness going on in our dorm. Those two are like dripping honey! In other words, meet Hogwarts' newest dream couple..." James said with as much sarcasm as he could muster, but he couldn't hide a grin which belied his words somehow.

Since James was alright with it, Peter was. He said:

"Oy! Did it occur to either of you guys that you are in fact, err... two... guys? Together?"

Sirius grinned. He beamed at Remus, whom he had missed already, even if he had been away for only an hour.

"Yeah, it did, go figure!" he said.

"That's kind of the idea of being gay, Peter," Remus added.

"Oh..." was all Peter said.

And after a while:

"Well, it's good you're together, glad you won't be hitting on me then..."

James grinned and confirmed:

"Yes, I'm kind of glad about that, too! And I suppose my Mum was as well."

And they all laughed. The rest of the ride passed in comfortable bantering, playing and of course Remus spent about half of it immersed in one of his books.

"How did you do on your OWLS, Peter?"

"Not as bad as I thought. Got one in Charms, Herbology, Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. So I'm now taking those, Defence and Transfiguration."

"Oh, great! That means we still share four of our subjects."

"That's great! How did yours go?"

"I'm quite happy about them! I got an O in Defence and Charms, E in Transfiguration, Potions, History, Herbology, Astronomy and Ancient Runes. And I've got an A in Arithmancy, too, but I'm dropping it. Don't need a teacher to study that anymore," Remus replied.

"Wow! That's quite impressive! How on earth did you manage an E in Potions? That will keep you in Slughorn's NEWTS level class, won't it? And an O in Defence? We know you are brilliant, but most of the teachers we had treated you like shit…"

"It will. And I have no idea, but the main factor could be that the examiners are a bit less biased and that they don't know I'm a werewolf..."

At that moment they remembered that they weren't as alone in the compartment as they usually were. Rupert of course knew everything about Remus' lycanthropy, but Danny, his friend, had no idea. He looked up at Remus, shocked, and was just starting to scream when Rupert put his hand on his mouth.

"Shit..." Remus said quietly.

He was so used to handling his lycanthropy casually when he was with his family or with the Marauders he had completely forgotten that there was someone else in the compartment. It was also a sign of his trust in his friends and their trust in him that he was able to take it so easy.

"Dan, just calm down, please!" Rupert said and added: "I'll take my hand away if you nod and tell me that you won't scream, okay?"

Daniel nodded. Rupert took his hand away and explained:

"Sorry, Dan! I couldn't tell you, it isn't my secret to share, but now that Remus has been the idiot himself... I hope you will mind as little as we do, once you'll know that he's really okay. I mean, just how many years have you known him?"

"Quite a few..." Dan managed.

"And is he any different now than he was two minutes ago?"

"No," the boy had to admit.

"There you go…"

Remus looked at him anxiously.

"How can they let you into the school? And even make you a prefect?" he hissed nevertheless.

"Because I'm safe..." Remus said.

"No werewolf is safe!" Dan protested.

Sirius sighed. Then he looked Dan in the eyes and said:

"Werewolves are people like you and I except for that one night a month when they have to transform, Daniel. That means there is not the slightest reason for you to be afraid of Remus. Because on that particular night he leaves the castle for his transformation. That means he will be far away from you and you don't have to fear a thing. Believe me that there is nothing dangerous about Remus when he's a human. Apart from his sharp wit that is. He's been made a prefect because he's the most talented among us four and because he's the most reliable one. Can you see past the prejudices that everyone has loaded on you and accept that he has a right to get a good education just like every other wizard or witch?"

"I don't know..." Daniel said, sounding very insecure.

"Tell you what. When we get to Hogwarts you'll be sorted and then we'll have a little chat with Professor Dumbledore about it, okay?" James said.

"Okay."

"And may we ask you that you do not repeat any of this to anyone until then? Because it's kept quiet that Remus is a werewolf to not cause more of the reactions you just showed. If people don't know they won't worry about it. Remus carries a heavy burden, but he's holding up under it and he's never yet endangered anyone," Sirius added.

"Okay."

Luckily the trip ended shortly after that and they all left to catch one of the carriages to school. Remus gave Rupert a little shove in Hagrid's direction.

"There's Hagrid, Roop. You two go with him."

"I'll have an eye on Dan until the Sorting is over, Remus, okay?"

"Thanks, Roop! I'm such an idiot."

"He'll keep his mouth shut."

Remus followed the other three Marauders to a carriage and snuggled close to Sirius during the ride. He was really scared that little Daniel would spill the beans before they could have him in Dumbledore's office, where he would probably be obliviated.

The moment they reached the Great Hall, Remus and Sirius went to talk to the headmaster who was already at his place at the teachers' table.

"Professor Dumbledore, could we have a word in private with you before the Sorting, please? It's quite important," Sirius said.

"If it is that important, then yes, please step into the little room here..."

For the first time Harry now saw the Marauders interacting with Dumbledore directly. As usual the old man was giving the understanding grandfatherly attitude that Harry had come to despise deeply. But this time it was real and even Harry could recognise the concern as true affection for the children involved.

Once the door was closed, Remus told Dumbledore about his mistake on the train.

"Daniel Norris? Well, if he should be sorted into any house other than Gryffindor, where you can keep him under control until after the feast I'll obliviate him. If he is getting into Gryffindor you can see to it that he does not say anything. I should think that this will suffice."

Remus was relieved.

"Yes, that should do just fine. Thank you, Professor."

"You are very welcome, my boy. I would really like to see you leave Hogwarts at the end of your seventh year, not before that."

Remus beamed.

"Now you should re-join your friends at the Gryffindor table. I am sure we are almost ready to start the Sorting. You wouldn't want to miss seeing your brother sorted, would you?"

They all returned to the Great Hall and the boys took their seats on the spots Peter and James had kept free for them. Remus took Sirius' hand under the table. He followed the Sorting. There were a couple of new Gryffindors in the first few first years to be sorted. Then Professor McGonagall called:

"Lupin, Rupert."

Rupert hopped to the stool, sat down and vanished under the hat, which shouted "GRYFFINDOR" only seconds later. Rupert took it off, beamed and was off to the table where his brother sat in a dash.

"Hey, Roop! Glad you made it here!" Remus said, beaming, too.

"Me too! It's just the coolest house!"

Harry admitted to himself that the members of the other houses rightly thought the same about their respective houses! But secretly he couldn't but agree.

His housemates could only agree with that and welcomed their newest member with lots of applause. They turned to see what would happen with Daniel. He came up and was sorted into Hufflepuff. Remus looked over to Dumbledore surreptitiously and saw that the headmaster had lifted his hand only slightly in Daniel's direction. He sighed with relief. Daniel would be oblivious of that disastrous knowledge now and would be all the better for it. Rupert was a bit sad that his best friend from primary school was in a different house.

"Don't worry, Rupert, you can still be friends with Dan! There's the library and the Great Hall where you can spend free time together. I'm sure you'll share some classes, too. It's good to have friends in other houses."

"Yeah, you're right."

"And you're surely going to make some friends here in Gryffindor."

After the feast and the speech from Dumbledore the new fifth year Gryffindor prefects rounded up the first years and took them up to the Gryffindor tower. Remus turned to Sirius and was about to go when he heard Dumbledore calling him:

"Mr. Lupin, a word please."

Remus turned around. Dumbledore smiled and said:

"It's been taken care of. You need not worry that it will be spread."

"Thank you, sir! I was such a fool not to keep my mouth shut."

"On the other hand it is very nice to know that you can be at ease around some people, Remus. You must cherish that."

"Yes, I do. You have not even an idea to what extent."

And he gave Sirius a mischievous glance.

"I might have an inkling," Dumbledore replied, smiling. "Have a good night, gentlemen!"

"Good night, Professor!" Remus and Sirius chorused.

They followed their housemates up to the tower slowly. Their curfew wasn't just yet, so they took their time. Sirius took Remus' hand and held it tightly in his own.

"How do you feel about it, Remus? Would you mind that people knew about us or do you want to keep it among us?" Sirius asked.

"I want to make it clear that you're mine, love! I'm not about to start worrying about others flocking around you. They may look, but definitely not touch! Besides it will chase away all those girls trying to get your attention."

Sirius grinned. He loved Remus' possessiveness. For the first time in his life he didn't worry about being someone's 'possession' as he wanted to belong to Remus fully. Walking up the many stairs they moved closer and by the time they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady Sirius had his arms around Remus' shoulders and Remus' was firmly around Sirius' waist.

"Well, what do we have here? If you two aren't quite the lovebirds..." the Fat Lady said.

She was chatting with a lady from another portrait and Remus knew that now the news about their relationship would be spread within hours. He gave the Fat Lady the password, she swung forward and let them enter through the big hole behind her. When they stepped through they noticed that there were only a few fifth, sixth and seventh years left in the room, the younger ones were all on the way to their dormitories already. Some of their housemates looked around to see who was coming in late. Seeing the couple, some of them gaped quite open-mouthed.

"We just wanted to let everyone know that both of us are taken!" Sirius declared, grinning.

Some of the people looked rather non-plussed. Some of the girls looked deeply disappointed that two of the best looking Gryffindor sixth years were unavailable for the female population of the school and others just shrugged. Lily Evans actually came to them and smiled. Sirius knew that the smile was meant for Remus, who was the only one of the Marauders Lily actually liked.

"Congratulations, Remus, that's good to know! You need someone..."

"Thanks, Lily. He's good for me, believe me! And we're very happy," Remus declared.

"Good!"

Soon the excitement died down and within days they were back into the routine of classes again. Of course the rumour about the gay couple went through the school within a day, but they sat it out and after a while the whispers died down.

The surprise turned out to be additional Quidditch matches with two teams from Beauxbatons who would come to play two friendship games in a mini tournament around the Easter break with the two top house teams of Hogwarts. That was a reason for James, who was the new captain of the Gryffindor team to rouse them early three times a week to do physical exercises and Quidditch training. Three players had left the team at the end of the last year and so there was need to hold tryouts for a second Beater, a Keeper and a Seeker. The positions were filled with a third year for the Beater, Lily Evans as Keeper and Remus as the new Seeker. After that was made known to Madam Hooch she scheduled the Gryffindor matches so that none of them would fall on a full moon night or the two days around. Remus had then accepted the position without fear of discovery or failing the team. Sirius trained his new Beater colleague hard. It was fun for him and he quickly managed to bring the new team member up to speed.

Harry was non-plussed! No one had ever told him that his mother was on the Quidditch-team! How could anyone keep such important information from him? He wondered, rather put out at Remus and Sirius for never mentioning it. Never even mentioning that they themselves were on the team either, come to think of it! On the other hand that explained why Lily would have written to Sirius in such a casual way that he was riding his baby-broom so easily around the house… go figure! But Harry was too pleased to see his whole family play Quidditch soon to be angry for more than five minutes. He felt himself grinning all the way to the next Quidditch game and was sure that the Gryffindor team would make it in the tournament.

And who would have thought that Lily was a superb Keeper? She had tried out because her friend Dari had asked her to. Dari Sanchez was a Chaser, together with James and a now fifth year named Mary Robins. James was quite happy with the new team, but he already planned to find reserves to build up a team for the time after the now five sixth years would leave.

Barely ten days after the start of the term was the first full moon night. Remus surprised his friends by suggesting:

"Why don't we tell Poppy Pomfrey about you guys? She already knows that you know, but I think it would be good to have at least a few adults know about your Animagi. She's the most reliable to keep the secret around here. I'm pretty sure, Madam Minnie would be, too, but she might be too angry and proud that you managed that feat."

James, Sirius and Peter pondered this for a day and then they decided to give it a try. They went to the hospital wing on the Saturday before the full moon and were lucky, too, as no one was there at the moment. Poppy looked at them and asked:

"Hello there. Anything amiss with one of you?"

"No, Madam Pomfrey. It's just, we wanted to talk to you about something concerning Remus..." Sirius said.

"What is it?" she asked.

She immediately softened down when it was about Remus, because he had become her little darling. She was quite protective of him. The other Marauders knew that very well.

"Well, only indirectly. You see, the three of us did something once we knew he was a werewolf. We searched for something that would help him and found out that werewolves generally are not dangerous to animals. Magical or non-magical," James started.

"That's interesting. If he'd bite any of them they wouldn't be affected normally, that's right. And?"

"Well, that gave us lots to think about. First we thought we'd just find a big dog or something, like a friend for him, you know. But then we came back to our third year and Professor McGonagall talked about Animagi..." Sirius continued.

Poppy's eyes went wide.

"Tell me you didn't go ahead and do something that foolish to try..." she said, almost choking.

"Actually, yes, we did... and we managed it last year..." James said, grinning.

"Look!" Remus said and then there were three animals, looking at the nurse.

Peter, the rat, quickly climbed up the stag's legs and body to place himself between the antlers. James, the stag, scratched the floor with his hooves and Padfoot, the dog, barked and let his tongue loll. Remus immediately petted Sirius and got his face licked.

"Wow."

That was all she said. Then she sat down on the nearest bed.

"That's amazing. Can you turn back?"

Within seconds the three boys were back. She stared at them, truly in awe. She was amazed that they had mastered the transformation and she was amazed at the display of friendship towards Remus. She looked at Remus, who smiled.

"Does anyone else know about this?" she asked.

"No," Sirius said.

"You know that you need to be registered."

"Yes, but we thought we'd do that after we leave Hogwarts," James said.

"Good. I suppose you want me to keep quiet about this?"

"If you could do that we'd be very relieved. We just thought we needed to have an adult or two who know about it."

"I'll claim patient confidentiality. - So you are actually spending the full moon nights with Remus?" she asked.

The boys nodded.

"Dear me... what if he bites you?"

"Been there, done that... nothing happens. We've wrestled quite a bit and of course I caught a bite or two, but since I'm still not a werewolf it apparently doesn't matter," Sirius said, beaming.

"That relieves me quite a bit, Sirius. What about Peter? I mean, he's a pretty tiny rat and normally a wolf wouldn't bother with a rat long... it would rather eat it…"

"He was quite scared the first time we went in, but we knew he was also small enough to slip out anywhere or to hide easily, so it wasn't so bad. We had checked that there were enough cracks around where he could hide. Turned out that the wolf must have accepted us as a pack or something," James said.

"This is absolutely amazing. Are you sure you don't want to entrust Albus and Minerva with this? I'm sure they'd explode at first, but then they'd probably just be proud of you. That's no small feat, especially since you have mastered it at such a young age and on your own!"

"We'll think about it. We thought to tell you first, because you noticed that I hardly had more than a few little scratches the last three transformations before the summer break."

"So that was why. Well, I never! You three are really good friends, I don't think that's ever been done before for such a reason! Thank you for trusting me with your secret."

On the full moon night Remus went to the Whomping Willow, which he was now allowed to do alone. He usually went there on a hidden path from a not very well known exit out of the castle so he wouldn't be spotted from the school. He waited for his friends, who joined him not much later. They were good and stayed inside of the Shrieking Shack for the night. James watched how Moony reacted to Padfoot now that their human counterparts were lovers. And he was amazed, because the wolf really was fond of the dog, groomed and licked him for a long time and growled at him and Peter. James almost laughed about it. He decided that if the canines wanted to be alone, he'd just lie down and sleep in a corner of the room. The rat joined him there presently.

The wolf and the dog wrestled and Moony made it clear who the boss was. Padfoot registered it with some amusement. The wolf was almost as big as the dog and he was strong. For the largest part of the night they played around the house, but when Sirius got tired he nudged Moony up to the bedroom and onto the huge four poster bed in there. Then he laid down next to the wolf and licked him. Moony whined a bit and then finally found some sleep. Sirius kept licking for a while, then slept, too.

Remus woke up when the transformation back to his human form started and when it was over he fell back on the bed, exhausted, sore, spent. Sirius held up his dog form to keep the naked boy warm. Remus buried himself in the warm fur of his mate. Though they had yet to fully consume their relationship he knew full well that he had found his mate. He snuggled close to the dog and found sleep again.

James and Peter were up as soon as they heard Remus transform. When all was quiet again they went up to the bedroom to peek inside. Remus was sleeping curled around Sirius, who was still in his dog form.

"We let them sleep for yet another while... classes won't start for another two hours and Remus will need to get rest at the hospital wing until at least lunch time..." James said.

"But it takes quite a while to get back to the castle," Peter remarked.

"Right. Well, then we had better wake them up. Padfoot will have to do with a short night's sleep."

They woke up their friends and helped Remus to the hospital wing, where Poppy took care of him. A quick glance over her patient told her that he was probably only tired.

"A bath and then back to bed with you, Remus. And you three get a bit of rest and then off to breakfast!"

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey... we're not too tired, we slept most of the night," they chorused and left, but not before Sirius had kissed Remus tenderly.

"I'll come by later, love," he promised.

Harry was in awe as well. He wondered whether he had reached the point where things ran differently than the first time around. He sensed that the actual difference was very near in any case.

In this manner the first part of the school year passed quite nicely. To woo his beloved Lily James tuned down considerably on his pranks. He followed his mother's suggestions and Lily warmed up to him noticeably. It helped that Lily was on the Quidditch team now, where she played her part very well. It helped her loosening up, which made Lily a well-rounded young woman who could be serious and have fun at the same time. Her circle of friends widened considerably as she gradually added James' friends to her own.

All the while Remus and Sirius grew closer together. They had decided to use the bed furthest away from James' and Peter's so the other two weren't disturbed. They never slept apart anymore. Remus' transformations were still painful, but he was able to bear them with more ease, knowing that he didn't have to be alone.

James was happy for his cousin when Sirius told him that the Lupins had invited him to spend Christmas with them. They also invited James and Peter for the last days of the vacation. Both happily promised to be there, parents' approval provided.

The trip home was a happy one. Rupert turned up for a part of it, but otherwise the Marauders were among themselves. Remus spent most of the time on Sirius' lap, either napping or snogging or reading. The others were amazed at the many things Sirius and Remus were able to do while sitting on each other's laps. They seemed to be connected with some invisible rope, as for the past months they had not been seen one without the other. It had exposed them to a number of very low jokes from some of the Slytherins, but they managed not to pay them any mind. Remus would hold his boyfriend in check, but they had hexed the Slytherins back a couple of times. Bellatrix had woken up one morning covered in blisters that oozed lots of water. They had looked awful, but were completely harmless. But it took two days until they vanished entirely and she was of course still fuming about the incident. It irked her much more that she couldn't run to Sirius' mother to have him punished anymore.

During the first term Remus and Sirius had both celebrated their seventeenth birthdays. They were now regarded as adults and with their birthdays coming they had received information letters from the Ministry that their restriction of performing magic outside of school had been lifted and that they were now eligible to take their licensing test enabling them to apparate. Which they planned to do during the break in the days between Christmas and New Year. But it also meant that Remus' registration was now on public record at the Werewolf Registry. Dumbledore made a special trip to the Ministry to see if he couldn't postpone that publication to the date when Remus would leave the school, which was granted.

When they arrived at King's Cross station the Lupins, Potters and Pettigrews were all there to welcome their children home. They all met up and greeted each other, then they fixed the dates when Peter and James would be going to the Lupins. The Potters knew of course that there would be a full moon, but Venetia and Richard had assured them that Remus was kept in a very secure cellar, so they didn't worry. After all, Remus had a rather large amount of siblings and those were all still very fine. And the Pettigrews were totally oblivious of that little fact, so they were happy to let Peter join his friends for the week after the New Year.

The Lupins took Rupert, Sirius and Remus to their well sized Muggle car and drove them to their home. When they got there, Remus pulled Sirius immediately up to his room and they dropped their trunks somewhere. Sirius looked around. The room was as neat as Remus was and looked very nice. There were loads of books of course, but it also contained a number of toys, stuffed animals and a big desk. It was colourful, friendly and cosy. Sirius loved it at once.

"What a friendly room you have, love. You should have seen the mausoleum they kept me in at Grimmauld Place," he mumbled.

"Bad?"

"Worse. Dark, dank, dull, dreary would be the first adjectives that come to mind."

"Oh."

At dinner Sirius was surprised that there were even more siblings who came to welcome their younger brothers back from school. Richard, who was engaged to be married in spring, turned up with his fiancée, Marisa. He was thirty-four now, a fact that his mother didn't tire to tell him meant it was about time to settle down with a spouse and give her a handful of grandchildren. Sam was married, but she and her husband weren't in a hurry to have a house full of children. Still, they had a daughter Frances who was three years old. Roxanne wasn't married, but she had twin girls named Gina and Gianna who were two years old. The encounter that had led to the conception of the twins had been a mistake and the father didn't even know about the children. Roxanne had kicked him out before she had known herself. She had a steady boyfriend though and wasn't interested in getting married just yet.

Sirius was introduced to Remus' older siblings as his boyfriend straight away. Richard grinned broadly when he shook Sirius' hand and said:

"That's great! We've heard tons about you, Sirius, Remus usually doesn't shut up about you, James and Peter when he's here. It's great he's found more than a friend in you. You must have been the first people to accept him as a werewolf apart from us. He's always held the spot of our darling baby brother. We used to have two defined images of him, Remus with a book and Remus with a broom. I'm very proud he made Seeker for Gryffindor!"

"Already won us the first match, too! He's brilliant! That's what James says, by the way, and James *is* Quidditch through and through."

Sirius beamed. He was so happy for Remus to have such a good family. To have siblings who were looking out for him. He thought the girls were okay, too, Sam a casual and intelligent leader, Roxanne and Julia the more mischievous younger sisters.

"So, are things still as cosy as ever up in Gryffindor tower?" Roxanne asked.

"More than ever," Sirius replied, looking at his boyfriend.

"Great! I loved that place. It was so much home."

"It definitely is to us," Remus said.

As ever Harry enjoyed every second in the warmth of this truly nice family. Comparing it to the Weasleys he had to admit that some of the Weasleys were fantastic people, but the family as a whole was more of a skeleton without the flesh, because Molly was so overbearing and so kept her thumb over everyone in the family that the traditional boisterousness in the Weasley family never reached his heart. Here it was the heart and soul of the family. Venetia didn't reign, she led. Her children had gone through her hands and were given more freedom as they grew until they were ready to leave the nest. Neither Richard nor Venetia held them back. The result was that they all came home at least once a week for dinner. They had an official family dinner on Sundays, but the children who couldn't make it would usually come on another day. For the first time Harry had now seen several truly intact families. He also recognised why they worked; they were happy because they were balanced. Some members may have been stronger than others, but in their relationships with the other family members they held about the same measures, which made for the harmony they enjoyed. There were occasional rows in all the families he had accompanied, but even the Evans family was basically happy. Petunia had her parents to herself most of the time and sowed disharmony when Lily was at home, but Lily was again protected by her parents when her sister went overboard.

It was probably the most important lesson he had learned out of the whole years he spent in this floating existence. He felt that it prepared him for a future in which he could expect to enjoy his family for the largest part of his life.

Sirius was almost a bit intimidated by so much happy family. At first it made him shy, but he loosened up to it soon, because even more than Dorea Potter Venetia cuddled him. Dorea loved, but she wasn't a very motherly type of woman, her own family had never given that to her. Dorea was a self-taught person where it came to loving other individuals. Venetia had grown up being cuddled, mothered and loved. She never had to learn to be a care-giver, she had sucked it in from her own happy childhood. Sirius was amazed at her ability to care for him intensively, while she cuddled all of her children and the grandchildren at the same time. She was a very motherly type, but definitely one with a sharp intellect and her wit showed Sirius from where Remus had his dry humour. He opened up to her quickly, because she took some time to get to really know that boyfriend of her son's. After several conversations with him she told Richard one night when they went to bed:

"There's much in Sirius, Richard. You give him a chance to talk and he doesn't shut up about Remus. He really loves him."

"Would you believe that the Blacks were able to conceive someone like Sirius?" Richard said, grinning.

"Oh, he has told me a few things about them. He's really had a pretty hard time, I don't think he exaggerated anything. I rather expect him to have kept a few things secret."

"He's quite the character. But he seems to be sincere with Remus."

"Definitely. I've also had an owl from Poppy last week, telling me that Sirius is always there in the mornings after transformations, how much he cares for Remus and how he does everything to make it easier for him."

Richard slipped under the duvet and turned to Venetia. He was happy for his son. He'd much rather have him gay and in a happy relationship than straight and struggling to find an understanding partner.

"I imagine that the people at the Registry won't mind that he doesn't sire children either. Albus has kindly asked them to keep Remus' record unpublished until he leaves Hogwarts. They granted it. He's only informed me yesterday."

"That's excellent! It's never been proved that lycanthropy is hereditary, Richard. There isn't one child on record that has inherited the curse."

"I know. But they still act like it is. This way will be easier. And he's happy. Have you ever seen him so cheerful?"

"No, I haven't. I'm only glad that he doesn't have to be alone. The family's all there for him, but that's not the same as a life partner. Having a couple of rock solid friends and the family will keep Remus on track. He's aiming to become an Auror, but you know first-hand how much he'll have to fight to become one."

"If he even gets the chance to apply. There are too many people in the Ministry who think that no part-humans should be allowed to work there. They don't see that we couldn't do without brilliant young people like Remus, so I'll keep fighting to prevent the bigots from getting through. On the other hand I am in a position where I can't help him into the saddle without making myself suspect of corruption. Can't do myself what I preach to others not to do after all. It's written law what corruption is and what's on stake if one acts against the respective bills."

"That's perfectly clear, not only to me. He hasn't asked you to do anything, has he? That would be out of his character…"

"No, he hasn't and I know he wouldn't. That would a) not be his style and b) he knows already that I can't push him."

"Good. There's something in the works. Two potions masters are working on a potion to alleviate the transformations. They're nowhere near yet though," Venetia said.

"Oh! Are you one of them?"

"No. But I know one of them. He's told me about his work. He'll be looking for people to help testing the potion sooner or later, but not just yet, that's why I'm not bringing it up just yet. I'm quite sure Remus would be interested. And I'm helping with some of the research."

"But that could be dangerous..."

"I know."

Remus and Sirius went to bed with no worries. They had made themselves familiar with each other's bodies and started to venture into more intimate things.

They had learned a few helpful spells from Poppy Pomfrey who was never too prudish to talk about sex. Any student who asked her questions got open replies. She taught the older girls to brew contraceptive potions or taught them the spells. She sometimes called boys to her office of whom she knew they were with a girl to check that they knew their responsibilities. And if they didn't they learned it on the spot. The school had long since kept up this approach to hormonal teenagers. It had been a co-ed school since the beginning a thousand years ago. It was the main marriage market in the wizarding world. Most of the relationships that were formed at the school were confirmed later. There was rarely a child born out of wedlock because the school's nurses had seen to it that the students knew what they were doing. Talking about it quite openly had proved to be a fairly successful approach.

There were also fairly few divorces amongst wizards and witches, mostly because the young adults were allowed to collect experiences with the other gender in a well protected and guarded surrounding. The second reason why few couples split up was far less savoury as many of the old family practiced marrying with bonding spells. A number of these spells just made sure that the couple couldn't split in the first place and an even more numerous amount of spells forced the partners to produce offspring. There were family spells in that regard and Sirius shuddered when he reminded himself what his family did to the girls who married into the Black family. They were treated with spells that not only guaranteed their fidelity, but would kill them if any semen entered their system that wasn't strictly their future husband's. The spell was built around a sample of his semen for this very purpose. There would be a second layer to the spell that gave them more freedom only after they produced the required number of children. He knew that his mother underwent that spell and two or three others.

On the other hand there was also the influence of the sixties and seventies in the Muggle world, which was brought into Hogwarts through the many Muggle-born students. They had brought in more open attitudes towards other models of living arrangements. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, who were the most open towards new things happily tended to take full advantage of these attitudes.

Harry thought that his parents had grown up in a much better atmosphere at the school. Even with the war sometimes knocking on the huge oak doors at Hogwarts they still enjoyed a carefree life within the school. There were few occurrences that contained sheer hatred between the houses and the rivalry was still fairly healthy. The fashion sense that the Muggle-born students brought inside of the school started to spread through at least three of the houses and in most of the common rooms there was music played from record players that the WWN would never have accepted to play. Watching the students dance to what he recognised as Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones made Harry grin. The fun of the music and the glittering dress code sprang over to the all magical teenagers easily. During their vacations many ventured out to the Muggle world more often than their parents ever had and they learned to make use of Muggle amenities in many ways, from cinemas to televisions.

With all of these influences the sexual revolution wasn't far behind. The traditionally welcoming attitude in the magical world to Hogwarts as a marriage market for the older students integrated the less decisive way of choosing partners from the outside with relative ease. That was also made possible because Dumbledore felt it was a good influence. He'd rather people, even young students, got together in love, so he strongly encouraged inter-house relationships.

Harry had mused about the number of students there at Hogwarts and wondered how many of them were Muggle-born like his mother – in her year alone there was about a dozen. He tried to remember who was Muggle-born in his own year. Hermione and Dean, and in Dean's case he knew that his sire was a wizard, even though he hadn't known before coming to Hogwarts. There was one in Ravenclaw, Terry Boot, and there was at least one in Hufflepuff, Justin Finch-Fletchley. All in all not even half the numbers than in his mother's year. Over the years he had noticed that the number fluctuated, but while his parents were at school it was never less than ten. In some years there were more than twenty!

"You know, Harry, Fate reported that there was so much in Dumbledore that she actually liked! She cannot fathom why his way of thinking convoluted so badly that he only saw the sacrifices of your parents and yourself as the only way to go forward! She's finding the loophole to finally make a great turn in the fates now, so watch out!" DP Karli said in Harry's mind.

"Really? I thought so. I wondered if my Mum being on the Quidditch-team already was a part of it. Don't know if she ever was, so I really wasn't sure."

"She was on the team before, Harry. Sirius and Remus just never got around to telling you, because frankly, how much time were you able to spend with the two of them undisturbed?"

"Basically none! I can see where they're coming from. Wasn't angry about it for very long. It's too much fun to watch them!"

"That's the spirit!"

Harry was happy. This was another incident where he could have thought back in bitterness, but he simply couldn't be angry at most of the people who had actually let him down in his former life. Most of them had been victims of circumstances created by a blinded old man just as much as he was. He certainly wouldn't carry any grudges about that over to his new life!

The closer he got to that the more he looked forward to it. He wouldn't even be turned off by the embarrassment from seeing his family in sexual situations, just because they were so happy; and he was happy that they were happy.