"I'm so glad you're back, Remus" Lily Evans stated blissfully as the pair sat on the soft bank of the lake. "I've had no one to talk to! Really talk to, at least. All the girls in my dormitory seem quite content to talk to me about how amazing Black's hair is, or how I 'really should go out with James, cos, like, oh my God, you'd be so sweet'. Another week of this and I fear I would have been sectioned in St Mungos!" Lily laughed, rolling her large emerald eyes.
"Well, they only speak the truth I'm afraid." Remus smiled tightly, breaking into a laugh as Lily punched his arm. "He's probably calmed down a bit this year, maybe you should-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence Remus Lupin!" Lily exclaimed, huffing loudly. "You haven't seen him and Black yet this year. They threw me in the lake! Well, Black threw me in the lake, but no doubt Potter played a part in it. Lord knows Black doesn't have enough brain cells to think of something without that messy haired fool to add his own meagre collection of brain matter to the planning circle. And the other day, they charmed Severus' hair orange, and now every time he coughs orange juice pours out of his ears." Remus sat as still as possible during Lily's explanation of events, willing himself not to laugh, but couldn't prevent the amused huff that was emitted at the mental image of the Slitherin's unfortunate condition.
"O-orange juice?" Remus asked, attempting to maintain his composure. It was a relatively unsuccessful attempt, however, and he had to forcibly contract his muscles to lower the smile appearing on his lips.
"They tried to charm his nose into a carrot as well. That didn't quite go to plan though..." Now Lily looked on the verge of laughter also, covering her mouth momentarily with the back of her hand to compose herself. "They mispronounced the spell, so it wasn't the nasal shaft that was affected, but rather another, lower shaft." Lily snorted, as Remus clasped his hand over his mouth rapidly, eyes closing tightly to prevent the peels of laughter rising in his chest. "Rather unfortunate, I'm sure you'll agree. No telling anyone, you hear?" Lily stated, lips pursed tightly still to prevent laughter bursting through.
"Is it - back to normal?" Remus inquired.
"They managed to get it back to normal shape. But they couldn't get the colour to go away." Lily stated, lips drawn as tightly as possible. The pair on the grass faced each other, each examining the other's face momentarily until the eventual ring of laughter was forced through Remus' lips. The moment Lily heard the deep rumble, her lips upturned also, and lighter giggles rang alongside the deep tones which Remus emitted. After a few minutes of unconcealed laughter, Remus composed himself slightly, drawing his lips into an impassive line once more.
"How terrible." He stated, lips twitching slightly. "Impressive charms work though, it must be said."
"Well, yes. I suppose it was." Lily smiled, sighing lightly at the misfortunes of her old friend. "I do wish they would leave him alone, but sometimes I can't help but think that Severus does himself no favours. I think he made a 'mudblood' comment, and the day I see James let one of those go will be the day-"
"You marry James?" Remus finished, raising an eyebrow as he guessed the conclusion of Lily's statement. The redhead blushed accordingly, smiling at their familiarity.
"Well, I suppose. Or the day that Sirius Black reclaims his virginity and turns to a nunnery. Either or." Lily smiled, white teeth peeking between her lips. "He's not had so many women yet this year, I see."
"No, I suppose he hasn't." Remus answered, lips curving upwards. "Well, at least not slept with many - he hasn't brought out the 'Sometimes I feel like you could complete me' line yet." Remus smiled, rolling his eyes at Sirius' standardised 'sex up' line.
"I've heard a good few 'Has anyone ever told you what absolutely smashing eyes you have?'s though." Lily laughed, poorly impersonating the Black teen. "So we know that he's been snogging half the population at least, even if he hasn't been sleeping with them." Lily stated, before her face was marred with a mixed look of excitement and annoyance. "Well, speak of the devil." She muttered, flicking her eyes towards the castle.
Remus turned to see James and Sirius descending the castle steps, bounding towards them. Remus smiled welcomingly at his friends, unsurprised as Sirius threw himself upon his seated form.
"Moony! We've been looking everywhere for you, my ashy haired friend." Sirius declared, body pinning Remus to the bank. "I can't believe you ditched me for a girl, darling. And an annoying one, at that!" He smiled, body elongating to match the equally tall form of his friend.
"Hey!" Lily and James declared simultaneously. After glancing at one another, James took over, Lily huffing silently. "Pads, as much as we love watching you harass Moony, I think he'd appreciate regaining the ability to breathe."
"Pah, Remmie doesn't need to breathe when he's got me. I'm a million times better than air." Sirius declared, rolling off Remus nonetheless. "You don't need to be jealous, Jamsie, I'll always have a space in my heart for you. I'm afraid there is no designated Evans space in there though, darling, and for this I am eternally sorry." Sirius declared dramatically.
"Oh no, Black, however shall I live." Lily replied sarcastically, moving away from the trio. "Have fun with your manly ménage á trois, see you tomorrow Remus." Remus waved once in response, before turning to his two friends. "So, what have you two been up to?" Remus asked, leaning back to prop himself upon his elbows and gain the most out of the waning rays of sunlight.
"Looking for you." James declared, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Padfoot wasn't exaggerating when he said we've looked everywhere for you, bloody mangy mutt has been desperate to see you."
"Well, I've been out here will Lily all day. I needed to catch up with her, I've been back a week now and barely seen her!" Remus declared with a small laugh, looking accusingly at the boy laying beside him. "A certain someone has been keeping me occupied all week, so I figured I'd spend my Sunday with my non-maraudering friends."
"Don't be silly, you don't have non-maraudering friends. Only acquaintances." Sirius smiled, rolling to place his head in his friend's lap. "And I haven't seen you in 12 hours! Twelve! That's practically a lifetime in dog years Moonsy, how did I know you hadn't been courted by a sly serpentine, or attacked by a monkey high on onions? Honestly, I think I need to get you tagged so I can keep track of you a bit better. Or maybe I could make a potion of somesorts, so you can't go further than 10 foot away from me! Brilliant. I'll be needing some-"
"No!" James and Remus both declared, smiling at the disgruntled look on Sirius' face. "As lovely as that sounds, Pads, I rather enjoy my freedom." Remus laughed, scratching his friend's head absently.
"Not to mention, Remmie-boy here needs to keep up the contact with my darling Lilyflower! He can gage precious information for me, can't you Moony? Did she mention which type of flowers she likes? Or maybe her favourite chocolate frog card?" James asked eagerly, clapping a hand onto his friend's shoulder.
"He could be gaging precious information for you. Or, he could be plotting a cunning plan to have Lily for himself!" Sirius declared, rolling off Remus and kneeling in front of him, ignoring the gnawing feeling that passed through his bones at the thought of Remus romancing Lily. James' face contorted, and he mirrored Sirius' position within seconds.
"Moony. You better not be bloody crushing on my woman." James growled, causing Remus to raise an eyebrow at the aggression radiating from his friend.
"No. Padfoot, stop putting ideas in his head, you mangy mutt. Prongs, I've been friends with Lily for a long time now, and although I know you both think I'm very slow when it comes to romancing a girl, I'm not that slow." Remus smiled, hoisting himself up and offering a hand to each of his friends. "Lets get up to the dorms, we've got a long day tomorrow."
"Yes mama Remus." James laughed, taking the proffered hand and bouncing up, towards the castle. Sirius waited momentarily, staring at the hand he was offered and the boy - no, man - who offered it.
Whether it was the way the light bounced off Remus' muscular shape, or the angle between the two boys, or the way the wind was blowing, Sirius didn't know. But he couldn't help but stare at the figure in front of him, so different from the small 11 year old he had met 5 years ago. Still quiet and slight, but not much remained of the stuttering stunted child that had climbed on the Hogwarts express all those years ago.
Now a six foot teen, the hollow cheeks had filled slightly, leaving an angelic face where there had once been skeletal caverns. A slight smile graced the once scowling lips, no longer as chapped as they had been with youth. Grade 5 haircuts had been replaced with longer, ear length locks and whilst scars still covered Remus' neck, they no longer looked like the brash and unwelcome injuries that had made many question whether or not to befriend the young boy, but more a ghost of a harsh history, a whispered memory that barely grazed the surface.
Sirius gazed down the long extended arm, noting the long scarred fingers attached to the strong hands, before gazing back up at the face in front of him, which now bore a bemused look. "Are you going to take my hand, or are we going to stay here all night till the mosquitos eat us whole?" Remus asked, beckoning Sirius with his outstretched hand. Sirius finally grabbed the hand, using it as leverage to raise him to standing level. The fingers intertwined as Sirius steadied himself, the dark haired teen raising a hand to his friend's shoulder to further assist with the change in footing.
Remus smiled as Sirius caught his eye, lips breaking into a grin as he gazed at Sirius intensely. "When did we grow up?" The ashy teen whispered, lips twitching as he untwined his hand from that of his friend and stepped back slightly and stared towards the castle, where James stood waiting on the steps.
"Come on you two!" He laughed, rolling a miniature snitch in between his long fingers. "I don't want you guys moaning in the morning that you're shattered." Remus smiled at Sirius once more, grabbing his elbow and jogging towards the castle, up and away from the private spark that had been released only moments before.
Sirius sat in the common room, bored out of his wits. Peter and Remus had left, preferring the comfort of their beds to his company more than an hour ago, and James was so busy completing some last minute Charms homework that he could barely spare a moment for his canine friend.
This would have been the biggest problem of the decade, if it wasn't for the imminent entrance of Gideon Prewett. Chaser on the Gryffindor quidditch team, he was a year older than the marauders and a good friend of James'.
Also known as the only openly gay man in Hogwarts.
Sirius smiled charmingly, gazing round the common room once to ensure that it was empty save for himself, James and the object of his desires. Satisfied with the emptiness, he stood rapidly, walking over to Prewett with the confidence of a man twice his age.
"Gideon." Sirius smiled, practically feeling James roll his eyes behind him. "Has anyone ever told you what absolutely smashing eyes you have?"
Sirius crept into the dorm, glancing at the clock briefly to check the time. 'quarter to one, not too bad' he hummed, sighing slightly as he stared at his own bed. Glancing at Remus' bed, he barely took a moment to think before he was at his friend's curtains, whispering 'Moony' quietly in the hopes of gaging some response.
A week without the comforting smell of that small blanket at night was taking its toll on Sirius, and he realised with a jolt that he hadn't managed a night of full sleep since the lupine had returned, and Sirius had kept to his promise and sacrificed the comfortable bed in favour of his own, messy one.
"Sup Pads?" Remus moaned tiredly, pulling his curtains open with a strong hand.
"I'm lonely." Sirius whispered in response. He smiled lightly as the blankets were rolled back for him, climbing in immediately. He was about to roll into Remus as per usual, when he realised something horrific.
His breath still smelt of the man whose tongue had slid between his lips mere minutes earlier. Swearing internally, Sirius had to bite down the urge to yell at the revelation, feeling strangely dirty with the taste of another man as he lay beside his best friend. Sirius climbed out of bed rapidly, declaring that he would be back imminently as he ran to clean his teeth thoroughly, only returning to the comforting sheets when the taste of sin was exorcised from his lips.
REVIEWERSS - Matermotley, foreverforgetful, Rome J Wolf, XquidditchxbeaterX, moonfoot13, chibikuro rose-sama, .Girl., emuroo, E. Nigma, Lady Annikaa, Jente Bidernais, VampiressBlack, xrosiex, planeteer-rach, TeddyBear 8P, LoquaciousGirl, IDWrath
You guys above all keep me writing (when I really should be doing my chemistry coursework! haha, ah well, it will be there in the morning)!
Happy Belated Birthday to TeddyBear 8P, I always look forward to your reviews :)
Special mention to MaterMotley, who succeeded in giving me the shortest review EVER! I worshipped that single 'I' as if it was my own child (just joking, I love you really)
I'm so annoyed, Alan Rickman was on the Island this weekend, the first weekend in ages when I didn't go over to visit one of my friends on the Island! Grr, they all got to meet him, I'm SO UPSET! I want to meet Alan Rickman!! :(
