The Gryffindor common room was completely empty except for three seventh years huddled comfortably around the fire. Two were sitting next to each other on a long couch, very near to each other but not quite touching, and the third figure was sitting across from them in a squashy armchair, sunk so deeply into it that it almost appeared she had been swallowed whole.

"You and.. James?" one of the boys sitting on the couch was saying, a note of supreme incredulity in his voice. "Tell me he's just being mental."

Lily sat up from the couch, and although she was blushing slightly, she managed a defensive scowl at Sirius. "It's true!" she said hotly.

Sirius let out a sound that was a half-groan and a half-disbelieving laugh, which made Remus look curiously up from his book. He then promptly decided to give up on reading and instead shut his book neatly, deeming this conversation interesting. "Oh, Merlin," bemoaned Sirius, looking away towards a window that revealed the dark October night. "You're far too good for him, Lily."

"I know," she laughed, losing her glaring look. "And I'm sure it won't last long."

They fell silent for a moment, and then Remus looked at Lily. "You know, I'm very curious as to how this happened. You always seemed quite adamant about hating him."

The redhead shrugged carelessly. "Hate is a strong word," she said lightly. Remus raised an eyebrow, and then she smiled. "But you're right. I'm not really sure how it happened, either. It's just.. well, this summer he started writing me these wonderful letters. And I wrote back, and suddenly dating the insufferable James Potter didn't seem like such a terrible thing. So when he asked me out.. I said yes. I reckon it's because he didn't have Sirius there to bother him, but I think he matured this summer. Or at least he's become a little less of a toe-rag," she amended thoughtfully.

"I'm very happy for you two," said Remus kindly. "He's loved you for such a long time."

Sirius, on the other hand, had no such sentiments to offer. "Hah! I can't believe James actually got you to go out with him! The bastard."

Looking dangerously close to scowling again, Lily steered the conversation in a direction that she knew Sirius wouldn't be happy thinking about. "Speaking of James," she said, and when she looked at Remus her tone softened a little, "When are you two going to tell him about your relationship? Peter too. They're your best mates – don't you think that after nearly two years they should know about you?"

Sirius frowned, playing absently with Remus's hand. Lily had been Sirius's and Remus's confident since the beginning of their relationship, and she had been very supportive of the two boys. But they had just never found the ideal time to tell the rest of their friends – and to be honest, they had never looked for the ideal time, either.

"Probably," conceded Sirius, and Remus nodded.

"Maybe it is time we finally told them," added Remus contemplatively. "They deserve to know."

"Great!" said Lily, triumphant at her subject-changing skills. "Then it's been decided."

But it was easier said than done. Remus, for his part, wasn't too concerned about coming out; he had already told his friends he was a werewolf, and how much harder could this be? Although if he was being truthful he was a little worried that James would think that he was stealing Sirius, James's best friend, away from him.

Sirius was a little more nervous about revealing this side of himself to James. As his best mate, James knew almost everything about Sirius – except this. And as this was one of the biggest parts of Sirius's life, he was very anxious that James accepted him.

Mostly because of Sirius, although also partly because of the ridiculous amount of work they had to do as seventh years, more than an entire month passed by and they still hadn't come out to Peter and James. In the end, it was Lily who finally got it together, arranging a meeting between all four friends towards the last days of November. She, of course, was there to support Remus and Sirius.

The five of them met up outside the grounds, near the lake. It was a generally unpleasant day out, cold and windy, and Peter and James grumbled about having to be outside, baffled as to why they couldn't have this heart to heart inside the warm, dry common room. Lily was insistent, though, and they finally all settled down near a tree, bundled together to keep warm. Remus had charmed small blue flames into a jar, and they all took turns holding their fingers up over the small warmth.

As the weather was horrid and no one wanted to be outside, Remus decided it would be best to get it out straight away. Besides, he didn't want to have to draw it out painfully. With a nervous glance at Sirius and at Lily, the latter nodding encouragingly at him, Remus smiled a nervous smile and spoke.

"I'm gay," he said, surprising himself with the confidence that was in his voice. He let that soak in for a moment, and then continued with, "and I'm seeing someone."

Before he could lose his nerve or one of his friends could interrupt, Sirius quickly said, "He's seeing me. We're together. I'm, er, gay too."

James looked a little shocked, but the expression quickly gave way to hurt. "How long have you two been going out?" when they didn't respond, he frowned. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

At this, James looked up at Lily, who made the mistake of not looking surprised at the news. Betrayal brightened James's eyes. "You told Lily?" he guessed quietly. When Remus nodded, James looked away.

Peter cleared his throat and shrugged. "Straight or not, you guys are still my best mates. But Prongs is right.. you should have told us sooner."

Sirius felt guilty, and because of this he turned defensive. Sensing danger, Remus quickly interjected before Sirius could say anything.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "Lily found out by accident, and we could never quite work up the nerve to tell you two until now. I promise, if we have any more life-changing secrets, you'll be the first to know."

Peter smiled at this, allowing himself to be appeased with this excuse, but James still looked sullen. Suddenly Sirius knew what was going on, and he stood up. "Prongs, can I talk to you?" He shot Remus a look, and Remus stood up, too, stretching.

"I'm going to head back to the common room," he announced. "All this secret telling has tired me out. Wormtail, Lily, you coming?"

Lily got up too, and Remus gave her a grateful look. Peter stood up more slowly, but eventually they all ambled out across the grounds and made it back into the castle. Sirius watched them go, and then he turned back to James.

"Prongs, you thickheaded git, you're still my best mate. Me being with Moony doesn't change that."

Scowling, James crossed his arms across his chest and leaned up against the tree. "You're wrong, Padfoot." He said flatly. "Everything's changed now!"

"No, James, it hasn't. Look, I didn't get all jealous on you when you started spending time with Lily instead of us. It's the same thing! Remus is.." he hesitated, but then hurried on. "He's my lover, Prongs, he's not my best mate. You're my best mate. Nothing's going to change that."

James looked away towards the castle, but when he finally looked back at Sirius he was smiling a little. "Don't get all sentimental on me, you great big poofter," he said finally, and Sirius knew it was going to be okay.

They started to walk up to the castle together. "What's it like kissing a bloke?" asked James, curious, and Sirius just smiled enigmatically. "What's it like kissing a girl?" he retaliated, and they both started to laugh, and it was just like it had always been.

The rest of the year passed by in a happy, studious blur. And then, suddenly, though they hardly knew how, their last year at Hogwarts was over and they were graduating. They were sad to leave, especially Remus, as Hogwarts had been the first place that he had ever been truly happy, but they were also enamored with the possibilities of the future.

Remus spent that summer at his mother's house, while Sirius, to everyone's surprise, ended up going back to his parents' house. He wouldn't say much about what happened, but he hadn't stayed for long and he never planned on going back. He then spent the rest of the summer with Remus, occasionally staying over with the Potter's.

They were happy, and for the summer it was enough.

After the summer, with promises to come back and visit regularly, Remus left the house he had grown up in and moved to a flat in London with Sirius. Sirius had been left a substantial amount of money but a favorite uncle, and he could more than afford to pay for the flat; he refused to let Remus pay for very much of it with the little money he had.

To Sirius's confusion, Remus decided to enroll in a muggle college.

"Why would you go back to school? And a muggle school at that?" Sirius had asked, flabbergasted. Remus had smiled and drawn invisible letters on Sirius's arm with his fingers. "I doubt that I'm going to be able to find work anywhere in the Wizarding world – werewolf, remember? And I don't think even Hogwarts would let me work for them, as lovely as that would be. I can't live off of your charity forever, Pad. I've got to find work, so why not muggle work?"

And that was that. Remus had decided, much to the pride of his mother, to take courses in order to learn how to become an English teacher, and he was fiercely enjoying the classes. Hogwarts had a program set up that converted its classes into viable muggle grades, allowing students to go to muggle universities. No doubt it was the brainchild of Dumbledore, who was a huge muggle enthusiast. Remus was sure that some sort of spell was involved, but he didn't question it too much. The small college he went to was in London, and it wasn't too far from his and Sirius's flat, so he still lived comfortably with Sirius, who alternately helped, and more often distracted, him from his studies.

Sirius, James, Peter, and Lily joined the Order of the Phoenix, an organization created to fight against the rising threat of Voldemort. Remus, too, was a part of the Order, and when he wasn't studying he was running around the London underground, trying to get the werewolves on their side.

It was a dark time, but they were happy. The Marauder's retained their tight friendship – James and Sirius got into as much trouble as they ever had, which more often than not involved Sirius's motorcycle (and sometimes police men) – and nothing, it seemed, would ever change that.

Lily and James got married, to no one's surprise, really. Sirius did ask them why they were getting married at such a young age, to which James said that he didn't think they could waste precious time, not with You-Know-Who on the loose. This made Remus and Sirius wonder about getting married themselves; after all, it was legal it the Wizarding World. But despite their affirmation that they would be together for the rest of their lives, they didn't feel it was necessary to get married so soon – they were young and had all the time in the world, after all. Sirius was best man at the wedding, and a year later he was named godfather to the Potter's son, Harry (whom James had wanted to name Elvendork, to which Lily had threatened divorce).

Two years after the wedding they were all twenty-one; Remus had graduated from college, Peter was still living with his mother, and Lily, Harry and James had moved to Godric's Hollow.

One night in September a very familiar scene was found at the Potter's house. The Marauder's, minus Peter, who was mysteriously absent, and plus Lily, had just finished a delicious meal. James and Sirius were running around with Harry, who was playing on a toy broomstick, while Remus and Lily enjoyed a cup of tea and made sure that Harry didn't get into too much trouble. There was such a happy feeling in the atmosphere that it was easy to forget the threat of Voldemort. They all felt safe, untouchable, and happy.

"So," sighed Lily happily, stirring her tea, milk and one lump of sugar, "now that you've graduated, what do you plan on doing?"

"Hmm. Ideally I'd like to work at a University in London, teaching English. Or a highschool, I suppose," he said doubtfully, "although that would mean working with loads of teenagers just like Sirius and James." This last part was greeted by an ungraceful yell from James, to which Remus just chuckled.

"I love that you're going to be teaching at a muggle school," Lily said. "It's so perfect for you."

"Well, it's not like I can work anywhere in the Wizarding world," Remus pointed out dryly. "No one wants a werewolf working for them. And I just hope that the muggles I'll be working for won't get suspicious I'm on drugs, or something."

Before Lily could respond to this, Harry started wailing. Instantly she was up and had rescued Harry, deciding that it was time for him to go to sleep. Remus and Sirius lingered for a while longer, talking with James, and again with Lily when she ventured back downstairs, but as the hour grew later they finally said their goodbyes and apparated back home.

Once they were home, Remus let out a happy sigh and held out his hands, as if to embrace the happiness of the day, to catch it and keep it. Instead, Sirius hugged him tightly, which caused Remus to let out a little smile. Sirius responded by raising an eyebrow flirtatiously and for a moment everything seemed perfect. And it was.

A few weeks later, on Halloween, late evening was approaching and Remus was arguing lightly with Sirius.

"Pad, poor Lily and James and Harry have been stuck at home for weeks, now, with no one to visit them. You're the secret keeper; you're the only one who can visit them. Go on, go spend the rest of the night with them."

Sirius frowned, uneager to leave Remus, and knowing that he couldn't tell Remus the truth – that he wasn't the secret keeper, that even if he wanted to he couldn't have visited the Potters. "I don't want to leave you here alone," he said. "Who knows what kind of boring mischief you'll get into if I leave you alone."

Remus smirked, and shook his head. "Oh, get out of here. Say hullo to James and Lily for me."

Leaning forward to press a kiss onto his lover's lips, Sirius grinned roguishly. "If you insist. I won't be gone for long, though, I promise. Although I'd better check on Peter, too. And then..." he trailed off, finishing his thought with another kiss.

"I'll be waiting," promised Remus, when they surfaced. And then, although for the life of him he couldn't explain why, he began to feel anxious. He watched Sirius cross the room and open the door, and Remus felt like begging him, pleading with him not to go, which was absurd. After all, he was the one who had told Sirius to go, he told himself, shaking off the feeling crossly. Still, though, he couldn't help but call out – "I'll be waiting here, with my lonely heart, and all the bees, which in the clover dwell."

And Sirius smiled his smile just for Remus, a smile that no one else had ever seen. "All the meadows wide couldn't keep me away."

And then he was gone.

Remus heard Sirius's motorcycle start up, and his anxiety settled down into amusement. Sirius took out his flying motorcycle every chance he got; it was his pride and joy. Remus walked into the small kitchen and put on the kettle, in the muggle way, chuckling to himself.

An hour passed, and then a second one, and then a third, and then Remus went to bed. He was exhausted, and Lily would make sure that Sirius got home alright at a semi-decent hour; there was no use in staying up, at this point. Remus pushed back his inexplicable anxiety and went to sleep.

He woke up at once, hours later, and immediately he knew something was wrong. Sirius was still not back, and he had this awful, horrid feeling in his gut – something was wrong, terribly terribly wrong. Remus stumbled out of bed and into the main room, and there came a knock on his door. He froze, his heart ice. The knock came again, and a voice spoke.

"Remus, it's Dumbledore. I'm afraid I have news." his old professor's voice was very grave, as was his face when Remus opened the door.

Numbly, Remus lead Dumbledore into the living room and invited him onto a shabby couch. At last, he found his voice.

"What's – what is it, Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore's eyes held no twinkle, and he had a look of tired sadness on his face. "Voldemort found James and Lily. They have been killed, Remus. As.. as has Peter."

He couldn't breathe – his lungs weren't working properly; James, and Lily – "No.. it can't – What about Harry? And the Fidelius charm?" he managed to gasp out. Dumbledore shook his head. "Harry is alive. And Voldemort has been defeated by him, at least for the moment. But we've been betrayed, Remus," he said quietly, and if possible, he looked even sadder than before. "Voldemort knew where the Potter's were."

No, but that meant – it wasn't possible, it was completely impossible that Sirius would have – "Sirius?" he said, his entire body rigid with disbelief and pain. "No, Dumbledore, there must be a mistake. Sirius would never have – he couldn't have – I know him, and he –"

Dumbledore was shaking his head again, a tear trickling down his cheek. "He betrayed us, Remus; he alone was the secret-keeper. No one else could have betrayed us."

Remus's world was falling apart. He clung to the couch, trying to fit the pieces of his life together. Everything had changed, all at once; things he had taken as truths now morphed into ugly, blatant lies. Sirius – his Sirius – it was impossible. He knew Sirius, he had spent all of his life with Sirius and loving Sirius, and Sirius would not have, could not have done what Dumbledore was saying – and oh god, James, and Lily, and Peter, dead –

He heard Dumbledore saying something, but his ears didn't seem to be working correctly. Time flew by at a slow pace, and he saw Dumbledore waving his wand out of the corner of his eye, but it didn't matter, because Dumbledore had been wrong, he had been tricked, somehow, or perhaps Sirius was playing a horrible joke on everyone – but it was just that, a lie, a trick, it couldn't be true, it wasn't, not his Sirius, not James, Lily, and Peter –

Suddenly his world was really turning, compressing, squeezing itself inside out just like his heart, and Remus found himself at a familiar place. His mother was awake, an incurable insomniac, and she came to the door immediately at Dumbledore's knock. Remus didn't hear the words, didn't hear what Dumbledore was saying, and he barely saw his mother clasp a horrified hand to her mouth or begin to cry. He didn't really see as his Dumbledore left, or as his mother led him into the house. He only scarcely felt the rough fabric of a couch, a couch that he suddenly found himself sitting on, only vaguely felt his mother nearby, her hand intertwined tightly with his. She said nothing, tears pouring down her face.

He waited, on the couch, as the night turned into day, his mind going around in circles and unnoticed tears trailing down his cheeks. He waited for Sirius to come back, because Sirius had promised, promised him that he was coming back, and Sirius always kept his promises; Sirius wouldn't lie, wouldn't betray them –

But this time, Sirius didn't come back.