[A/n: Hey there! glad you're reading! Thank you for the sweet reviews RemmyBlack, Isabella Cherone, and of course, Miss Heather! You rock! Also, we got lots of favorites which always makes us happy! If you want, tell us why you liked it! Also, school is starting again, so liebedance and I came up with a plan on how to deal with our busy scheduals. We plan on updating every two weeks. I hope that's okay, and if we go longer then that you have permission to yell at us.
Disclaimer: Jo is amazing, but I'm not sure she recognizes that Remus and Sirius were lovers... therefore, we are not Jo. We're just silly fangirls who love writing and love Harry Potter. Thanks for the opertunity to play in your world Jo! (As if she reads our fic. Of course, that would be pretty kickass.)]
The First Halloween
Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you shoulda, somehow, realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now
And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how
-'Wonderwall' by Noel Gallagher
"What are those four doing?" Lily asked her friends as they made their way down the staircase into the Entrance Hall. Maia followed Lily's glare to Remus, Sirius, James and Peter, who whispered to each other excitedly, clearly trying to suppress the urge to laugh.
"Probably planning something for tomorrow," Maia shrugged, "They've barely done any real pranks all year, so they probably want to do something big for Halloween."
"They've been doing things," Lily countered, "I've seen them hex younger students. Just last week James and Sirius hit a third year Slytherin with a horrible bat bogey hex!"
"Lils," Kate said, rolling her eyes, "We've gone to school with them for over five years now. You know them, hexing younger students with harmless jinxes is nothing."
"I don't like it," Lily grumbled, "You'd think, that with their brains, they would have better ways to spend their time!"
"I think we've all heard you sing this tune before," Kate teased, "And we all know what's coming next."
"What do you think is coming next?" Lily asked, narrowing her eyes at her friend.
"One of us will mention James specifically and you'll go off the wall at the mere suggestion that you fancy him, even though we would've never said it in so many words," Maia answered smartly.
"You are just ridiculous, all of you." Lily crossed her arms and hurried the rest of the way down the stairs, through the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall.
"You guys," Allie said, trying not to laugh at her friend's behaviour, "You really should stop bothering her about James."
"Allie, you know she likes him. We know she likes him. The only one who doesn't know she likes him is Lily!" Kate pointed out.
"Well, to be fair," Maia added, "I'm pretty sure James is still under the impression that she hates him."
"And the more you two tease her about it, the more she's going to adamantly refuse that she could possibly like him, even as a friend," Allie argued, "She's so stuck in the mindset of disliking him on principle that she won't open her eyes wide enough to realize that he's not the same arrogant little boy that he was before and that she really does like him!"
"He's still arrogant," Kate argued.
"But, he's matured," Allie countered, "And we have to just let her realize it on her own, or she'll just stay in denial."
"For somebody who is so seemingly wise about how these things work," Maia said with a smirk, "You've been completely oblivious to the attempts of a certain, very attractive, Ravenclaw seeker."
"You're making things up," Allie insisted, "You keep saying that Josh Mason has a thing for me, but, I swear, you're projecting Kingsley's attraction towards you onto me and Josh. History would prove that I am not the type of girl that normal guys, like Josh Mason, want. Now, if you two don't mind, I'm going to join Lily for breakfast before class starts."
"She's still pretty upset about Remus, isn't she?" Kate asked as their short friend stalked off after Lily.
"I think there's more than she's willing to tell us concerning the break up," Maia said thoughtfully, "But between Allie's guilt complex and stoicism and Remus' secrecy, knowing for sure may prove difficult… of course, I always have my suspicions."
"Oh yeah?" Kate asked with interest. Maia shook her head and rolled her light green eyes.
"But I'm not sure; it's probably just a silly Maia-fantasy."
"Like the one where you where you would swear that darling Peter Pettigrew would someday show his 'shadowy side'?"
"He had put itching powder in my pajamas! It was obviously signs of him becoming a dark Wizard!" Maia insisted.
"Yeah, A dark wizard at age 12. Admit it Maia, you're full of it."
"I never said I wasn't!" Maia exclaimed, earning her a severe look from Kate, "Okay, well, yes I have."
"C'mon, Little-miss-full-of-it," Kate rolled her eyes, "Let's go catch up with our love-interest-free friends before they finish breakfast." Maia shrugged and smiled, following Kate into the Great Hall.
"I just really don't like the look on James Potter's face," Lily was saying as Maia and Kate joined them at the Gryffindor table, "He looks too happy."
"Happy is good, Lily my love," Maia said, reaching for some tea.
"But, this is the type of happy he looks when he and Sirius are planning something. I just don't like it," Lily continued.
"I'm sure that, whatever it is, it wouldn't be too harmful," Kate pointed out, "He hasn't ever done anything that has actually hurt somebody."
"That's probably because Remus stops them before it gets that far," Lily countered.
"You are completely unwilling to give them credit," Maia said, "And it's unfair. They really are nice blokes."
"I'll believe it when I see it. And I have yet to see anything that proves that the pair of them are nothing but arrogant, selfish, stuck-up-" But exactly what else Lily thought of James Potter and Sirius Black at that moment was cut off by a loud voice coming from the Slytherin table.
"GO, GO, GRYFFINDOR, SEND THE PUREBLOODS TO THE FLOOR."
"What the-" Lily started, looking around for the source of the Gryffindor cheer. Her eyes fell on Severus Snape, who had stood up and was looking down at his robes in pure horror. The usually emerald green trim of his Hogwarts uniform now flashed brightly in red and pink.
"GO, GO, GRYFFINDOR, WE ARE LIONS, HEAR US ROAR!"
The entire Great Hall erupted into laughter as the most unpopular student's robes began to shrink, revealing knobby ankles and pale legs and arms. Snape shook in anger and glared at the Gryffindor table with the upmost loathing. At first Lily thought the look was for her, but when she followed his line of vision, she saw the hunched over, rasping for breath figures of James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter.
"GO, GO, GRYFFINDOR, SLYTHERINS ARE ALL JUST WHORES!"
Snape froze for a moment before frantically scratching himself all over. The unmistakable scent of itching powder drafted across the Great Hall. Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Slughorn were trying to settle everybody down, but to no avail. The sigh of Severus Snape in too small, pink and red, itching, Gryffindor-supporting robes was the best prank they'd seen all year.
James looked over at the girls, giving them a cheeky smile and raising his eyebrows. Lily stood up abruptly and, giving the messy-haired boy the dirtiest look she could, left her unfinished breakfast and stalked out of the Great Hall
***
"Uh oh," Peter whispered as the four boys walked into the Transfiguration classroom ten minutes later, "Lily does not look happy."
"That would be the understatement of the world, mate," Sirius said, raising his eyebrows, "I think she's trying to silently Avada Kedavra the blackboard."
"I can hear you, you know," Lily said, her voice steely, not taking her eyes from the board, "I'm not deaf."
"Sorry, love," James said with a smile, "we didn't mean to offend-"
"Don't call me love," Lily growled.
"Sorry," James apologized again, his smile fading.
"It's not me you should apologize to."
"What do you mean?" Peter asked.
"You know perfectly well what I mean," Lily snapped, turning to face the four of them, her green eyes burning in anger, "What you guys did today was completely immature and cruel."
"What are you going to do?" Sirius asked, "Turn us in? You can't prove it was us."
"I know it was you," she spat.
"How do you know that?" James asked.
"Because, James Potter, only somebody as completely immature, arrogant, and self-absorbed as you would do something like that to any other person," Lily said quietly, staring into James' eyes, "I've said it before. You make me sick."
"Why, Lily?" James asked, his voice dropping and quite forgetting his friends were in the room, "Why do you hate me so much? I'd do anything for you, Lily."
"Then try growing up and being a man, for once," Lily answered. She turned to Remus, "Could you please tell Professor McGonagall that I didn't feel well?" Without waiting to see if he'd agreed, she turned and walked away, hoping the four boys hadn't seen the tears she couldn't understand begin to well up in her eyes. Why did James Potter make her feel this way?
***
Peter looked forward to Halloween every year, and this year was no different. When he and Helen had been children his mother had indulged them in all sorts of Muggle traditions that she had picked up from her own American mother. Each year the two of them would compete to make the best costume and then their mother would peel grapes and tell them they were eyeballs. They would decorate their little house with real removable cobwebs and their mum would enchant live bats to fly above their heads. Then, they would stay up watching cheesy horror movies and eat insane amounts of candy.
When Peter came to Hogwarts he was mildly disappointed with how little a deal was made out of his favorite holiday. The giant jack-o-lanterns were cool and the feast was always lots of fun, but nobody ever dressed up. This Halloween would be different though. This Halloween was a full moon and so Peter would get to put on the best costume ever. Tonight he would no longer be Peter; he would be wearing a rat costume.
That is why he was awake, wide eyed and bushytailed on this beautiful morning.
"Prongs! Time to wake up! It's Halloween!" Peter squeaked, shoving the sleeping boy awake.
"God, Peter! Get a grip. You're 16 bleedin' years old. It's just a holiday."
"C'mon, Prongs!" Peter whined, feeling stupid and childish for being so excited, but not really caring. There was another reason for being excited as well. "Remember the date? I don't care about pumpkins! I care about the full moon!"
"Oh!" James sat up quickly and grinned, forgetting all about being awoken so early, "Sorry, Wormtail, I can't believe forgot."
Peter grinned as James slapped him hard on the back. A groan came from the bed next to them and Peter saw that Sirius Black was pulling back the curtains of his four poster.
"Full moon tonight," Sirius said.
"Yeah! Aren't you excited!?" Peter squealed. Sirius nodded and got out of his bed.
The three boys grabbed towels, soap and clothes to change into and headed to the showers. After a very rejuvenating water fight Sirius suggested James and Peter go down to breakfast while he gently awakened Remus. The other two boys agreed. James was always too rough with waking up Remus during his time of month making the other boy temperamental and after one failed attempt Peter decided that dealing with Remus around the full moon was too much like dealing with a PMSing teenage girl.
***
Sirius walked quietly into their dormitory to hear Remus' soft snores. As he came to Remus' bed he slipped through the curtains and snuggled under the blankets with his friend. He wrapped his arms around Remus and the tired werewolf's face rested in the nook of his neck. Sirius' wet hair grazed Remus' cheek and the sleeping boy's eyes opened slightly.
Seeing it was Sirius, he snuggled closer, breathing deep the sweet smell of Sirius and shampoo. He couldn't help let out a soft moan of contentment. For a second, Sirius pondered why Remus had to keep changing his mind about what he wanted, but then he decided that it didn't really matter so long as Remus was in his arms at this perfect moment in time. Softly, barely daring to push his luck he kissed the top of Remus' head.
Remus smiled up at him, reopening his eyes.
"I love this," the caramel-eyed boy admitted. "I know I shouldn't. But I do. I love being here. With you."
Sirius opened his mouth to respond, but his voice got caught in his throat as Remus reached up a finger to silence him.
"Don't say anything. I want this to just be a good dream." Sirius couldn't keep in a groan. He started to complain, but Remus cut him off with a kiss so tender and love infused that Sirius had to fight from fainting. Needless to say, he completely forgot what he had been about to say. All he could remember was Remus. Remus: so tired and gentle, so unsure and needy.
Sirius parted Remus' lips with his tongue and was happy to note that Remus lacked morning breath. Without wondering how on earth this was possible he clutched Remus' loose t-shirt. Remus rolled over to lie on top of Sirius, their hips pressed together. Sirius, aching to touch Remus, reached his hands up the front of the werewolf's shirt. Those same hands traced each scar and mark on the handsome boy's body, longingly wishing he could make all those pains go away. He wished he could wash away all Remus's doubts and fears with kisses and caresses.
"Good morning," He whispered huskily in-between kisses.
"Shut up," Remus growled, pinning Sirius down and shoving his tongue roughly into Sirius's mouth. The black-haired boy happily obliged and became lost in passion.
***
Down in the pumpkin filled Great Hall, Peter and James were shoving food in their faces. James kept stealing glances at Lily as if he was trying to make her hate him less by sheer will power and hope. Lily kept staring determinedly at her plate as her friends chattered around her. Heather had sat next to Peter's little sister to help the younger student with Transfiguration. Peter constantly glanced down the table to the two of them and smiled lovingly.
"I think she's special," Peter announced to the various people around them.
"Yes, indeed she is the most special. If only she didn't loath me so." James was looking miserably at the lovely fiery haired maiden.
"What?" Peter looked at James in confusion. "Heather doesn't hate you! Why would you think that?"
James dragged his eyes away from Lily and to his very confused friend. Before he was able to correct him, however, a disheveled Sirius and a weary Remus entered the Great Hall. The two were unusually silent, but James couldn't help but notice the huge grin that Sirius was failing to suppress.
"Hello, my fellow marauders. Come, have a seat, indulge yourselves with a beautiful breakfast and prepare for the marvelous day that has dawned upon us!" James greeted the others. Sirius and Remus sat down closely next to each other. Remus managed a smile while Sirius remained exuberant.
"What are you so happy about, Padfoot, you're tail is wagging like you smell bacon?" Peter asked curiously.
"Oh, nothing…" Sirius said, still grinning. "It's just a rather beautiful day, don't you think?"
"Well said, mate. It's Halloween and the moon is just waiting to greet us! Perfectly beautiful day," James lifted his goblet of pumpkin juice and clinked glasses with Peter and Sirius. Remus sarcastically lifted his own glass and took a big chug of juice. The others didn't pester him with what was wrong. Full moons always made Moony moody and they understood that it was exhausting for him to simply make an appearance to all his classes today.
"So, as I was saying," Peter said after the cheers. "Heather doesn't hate you!"
"Oh, I know that, mate," James said, his mood dropping 20 degrees. "I wasn't talking about the lovely Miss Heather."
"Who were you talking about then?" Peter asked utterly clueless.
"Lily Evans." Sirius answered with a chuckle before James had a chance to. "Who is he always talking about?"
"You laugh now! Just wait until you love somebody so completely and they simply refuse to love you back!" James pouted dramatically. "You have no idea how I feel!"
"Woah boy, calm down!" Sirius said half amused half annoyed. "Don't get your antlers in a twist. Besides, I might know more about unrequited love than you would think!"
"No, you don't," Remus whispered. The other three boys looked at him expectantly. "Only an idiot could say no to you, Sirius."
"You mean that?" Sirius asked, out of breath. Remus looked up into those grey eyes, so completely full of hope. Biting his lip, Remus nodded.
Sirius felt high; like he was soaring through blissful clouds with his lovely werewolf lover in his arms. The grin he had been trying to suppress burst free and he looked like he might start doing cartwheels through the hall and kiss every person in the room. He would, of course, kiss Remus the hardest and the longest and the sweetest. Everyone would stand up to cheer because they would see the love and be inspired. Then all of Hogwarts would declare themselves in love and there would be a huge fiesta and--
Then Peter woke Sirius from his fantasy with a vigorous nod. "Yeah, you and James are easily the most attractive guys in all of Hogwarts! I mean, how many times a week do you two get asked out? Hmm?"
This comment seemed to cheer James up considerably. "Of course we're the most attractive! So don't you worry, Padfoot, Evans will come around. And you'll get a boyfriend just as soon as all these gay wizards come out of the cupboard, like Moony said, we're hot!"
"I never said that," Remus said picking at his eggs.
***
The feast was about to start and everyone in the castle was full of excitement for Halloween. That is, except for the four Gryffindor 6th year boys. These marauders were excited about something else completely.
"Okay, Wormtail, shrink," James commanded holding out his invisibility cloak. At one point in time it had been able to drape over all four of them, but lately, even covering two of the large boys was a feat. Therefore, Peter Pettigrew would become small enough to fit in one of the other boys' pockets.
Remus had already left with Madam Pomfrey, so that was one more body they didn't have to worry about. Of course, Remus wouldn't have had to hide anyways. He had special permission to be out tonight.
"Ouch! Padfoot! That was my foot you just violated!" James hissed as they snuck after Remus, out the front doors of the castle.
"Oh stop being dramatic," Sirius groaned under his breath. A squeak came from his pocket, but the two human-shaped boys just rolled their eyes at Wormtail's grumblings.
From then on they were silent as they crossed the sunset lit grounds. They knew that these empty grounds would most likely be full of 6th and 7th years after the feast as it was too beautiful a night to stay cooped up in dorm rooms. Of course, they hadn't quite bothered to work out what that would mean for their nighttime plans.
"Kay, Wormy," Sirius said pulling his friend out of his pocket and placing him gently on the ground. "Do your thing."
The rat darted across the grass and, without the tree even bothering to swing its branches dangerously at them, bounced off the knot at the base of its trunk. The tree froze; Sirius 'whooped; James elbowed him and Sirius shut up. They then followed Peter through the tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack.
Remus was standing there alone, for Madam Pomfrey had just left him. He pulled off his clothes as to not rip them when he changed and folded them neatly in the top drawer of a beaten up dresser. Then, extremely cold, he sat on the ripped up couch. He thought back to when Dumbledore had first shown him the place. It had been clean and new, albeit not fancy, with a soft sofa and hard wood floors. At the time he had chagrinned at Dumbledore's mistake. He knew that the entire place would be ruined come morning. When he told Dumbledore this however, Dumbledore had just smiled and said that at least it made a nice first impression. This was one of the first moments that Remus had noticed how crazy Dumbledore truly was.
Now, as he sat, naked on the couch he waited for his friends to join him or for the moon to rise. It might be awkward when his friends joined him waiting, but at least he wouldn't be so alone. It would be almost like being part of a pack.
"Hey there, Moony!" Peter exclaimed appearing before Remus. "How ya doin'?
"Oh, Wormtail," Remus responded tiredly. "I hadn't seen you come in. You sneaky little rat!"
Wormtail laughed and sat down on the other side of the couch. It was nice, how Remus could be completely naked and covered in scars and his fellow marauders would say nothing of it. Every once in a while, they had even taken to hanging out in the dormitory completely starkers just so that Remus would never be embarrassed on a full moon.
"Where are the others?" He asked looking around.
"We are here, mate," James announced pulling the invisibility cloak off of himself and Sirius. "Let the festivities begin!"
"Hi, Moony." It was Sirius who was, Remus noticed, staring at his naked body quite openly. At Remus's embarrassed questioning look he responded quickly. "New scars."
Sirius then proceeded to –not very subtly— link his fingers in front of his crotch as if to hide something. Remus smirked knowingly and Sirius determinedly looked away. James and Wormtail were ridiculously oblivious, of course.
"So, what's the plan for tonight?" Peter asked his friends, his nose still slightly twitchy as he had just been a rat.
"I vote forbidden forest if anything," Remus insisted. "It's Halloween and I don't want anything to happen since there will be a lot of people out tonight..."
"Well, yeah, of course," Sirius nodded vigorously. "We would never let anything happen to you, Remy."
"It's not me I'm worried about."
"Good chap!" James said patting Remus condescendingly on the top of his sandy haired head. Remus scowled but James took no notice. "He's not worried, Padfoot. Why would you be?"
Both Remus and Sirius was about to say something smart in response to James, but before they could Remus started to convulse.
Remus fell off the couch and started to twitch horribly on the floor as if having a seizure. The other boys jumped up and changed swiftly into their animal counterparts. They watched, horrified as ever as Remus cried out in agony. Sirius started to whimper, hating seeing his sometimes-lover in pain. James had to stand in front of him in order to keep him away from reaching out to Remus as his form shifted. He sprouted hair all over his face and his face distorted into something canine. Then, in one last thrash of pain, he was the wolf.
He howled loudly and stretched his neck up towards where he knew the moon would be were there no ceiling to block his view. Padfoot howled as well, in loyalty and in excitement.
Every sense was clear to the four of them. The smell of dust and dirt layered on the floor of the shrieking shack, the sound of crickets and excited humans outside on the grounds, the detailed way in which they looked at each other: it was all as much as they could stand.
***
Maia was happy; no… that wasn't it. Maia was ecstatic.
She and Kingsley were taking a lovely midnight walk on Halloween under a beautiful full moon and next to the perfectly reflective and smooth surface of the lake. Maia, always loving any obscure excuse to dress up, had charmed butterfly wings to her back and had completely decorated her face with makeup primarily glitter. Kingsley, who would use any excuse to not dress up but who hadn't wanted to hurt Maia's feelings, had put on a fake mustache and had transfigured his owl into a raven for the night.
"You know, Kingsley," Maia said, taking his hand in hers. "I don't think the muggle writer Edward something Po would've ever gone on a midnight walk with a lovely fairy like me."
Kingsley grinned at the silly girl and said, "It's Edgar Allen Poe, love, and no, probably not. He couldn't have been so depressed if he had a girl like you with him. Of course, I would guess that he went on quite a few midnight walks."
"What's the point of a midnight walk if you aren't with somebody who takes your breath away?" Maia asked innocently. Kingsley sighed and stopped walking.
"I have no idea, love."
Maia didn't say anything but instead just looked into Kingsley's dark eyes. She took a step toward him, intertwining her small, cold fingers with his large warm ones.
"I take your breath away?" Kingsley asked her leaning down to her face. His breath was warm and Maia stood transfixed. But she forced herself to say something.
"Yeah." Maia knew that this wasn't the wittiest thing she had ever said. She also knew that it wasn't even a complete sentence. But what she did know was that it was hard to think when she was so close to this dark, sexy, brilliant Ravenclaw.
Then he leaned in to kiss her. She happily kissed him back.
It would've been perfect, except for two things. One, was that he was wearing that ridiculous fake mustache and it was itchy and annoying, and two was that there was extremely loud howling coming from the edge of the forbidden forest.
Maia pulled away and Kingsley frowned.
"If it's the mustache, I assure you that it was originally for your benefit," He said with a half smile and he pulled off the ridiculous thing.
Maia grinned at him and draped her arms around his neck and stood up on tiptoes. Kingsley's confident grin was back in place as he leaned down again to taste Maia.
Then the howling came back and Maia jumped, alarmed at its close proximity to them. Kingsley looked up as well this time. Seeing three large shadows coming out of the forest he grabbed Maia and hid her behind himself at the same time as they both drew their wands. His Ravenclaw curiosity stopped him from running, but he was torn between getting Maia away from danger and discovering the threat. Maia was peeking out from his side in a matching curiosity.
"Lumos," Kingsley whispered and the figures were lit up. A stag stood closest, blocking the others from coming any nearer. The two teenagers squinted at it and to their bemusement they saw a rat resting on top of its head, right between huge antlers. After barely registering this odd sight, they identified the two figures behind the stag. Of the two large dogs, one was black and looked like a well groomed stray. The other, Maia and Kingsley both instantly recognized as a werewolf.
Maia drew in her breath, stifling a scream as Kingsley shot out a spell that Maia didn't recognize towards the four beasts and pulled her away across the grounds to the safety of the castle.
---
[A/N: So... that's that. We'd love to hear from you. Also, I might be writing a slashy bit of extra M goodness oneshot for what happens right before breakfast. So, keep a lookout for it if you like that stuff. :D]