Hiding Behind the Opaque

Thankfully for everyone involved, things worked out exactly as Sirius had hoped.

James returned to the school the day before the full moon, with the pretext of making use of an empty library to finish his holiday homework and prepare for the OWL exams. Just how that boys parents had believed that story for even a second, Remus would probably never understand.

James had strolled into the common room, and appeared only mildly surprised to see Remus and Sirius laughing together. Then the expected insults had been thrown, followed by a few punches, but all in a good natured sort of way. Another thing Remus could never even hope to understand - punching your friends because you care. Baffling.

Over the next few days, Remus felt a distinct aura of gratitude from James. It suddenly occurred to him that this had been the longest the two dark-haired boys had gone without speaking since they met on that first day, nearly five years ago. And Remus hadn't once stopped to appreciate how hard it must have been for James, even amongst all the attention and the scandal and the praise - all of which he adored to an unhealthy degree. But the cost of it had been his best friend. Remus was doubly glad it was over, now.

Peter had been less successful on his attempt to convince his mother to let him come back early. Either the woman knew her son was up to something, or she knew no amount of studying in the world could help him. Both were equally as likely. He had arrived back on the Hogwarts Express with the rest of the student body, traipsing into the Great Hall on Sunday evening.

He had taken one long look at the boys already sat at the table - Remus, flanked by James and Sirius, all smiling happily back at him - and had joined them without question. It was like nothing had happened. The pureblood boys were doting on the rather fragile but contented looking post-moon werewolf, and everything was right again.

Fortunately, this was the attitude of the rest of the school as well. The Marauders were back together, laughing and joking and probably plotting away, and nobody could remember what had ever come between them.

Well, almost nobody.

Several members of a certain House represented by a snake were less than happy about the reunion. Most notably Regulus Black and Severus Snape.

Remus had seen Regulus' blatant joy when word got out that his show-off, blood-traitor brother had been ostracised by his so-called friends. The boy had been positively gleeful. On that Sunday, as he made his way to the Slytherin table while glancing back across the Hall at the Gryffindors, he looked a little ill. Remus got the impression that Regulus simply didn't want to accept that being different was an option, that you didn't have to conform to be happy.

And then Snape. If that boy thought James and Sirius had been cruel and unpredictable before, he had a whole new and significantly less pleasant experience now. The pair had taken to hexing him on sight, regardless of witnesses or repercussions. James had developed the nasty habit of following the Slytherin into Bathrooms, petrifying him and leaving him in a closed cubicle until some poor, unsuspecting student with a full bladder stumbled upon him.

They were now well into their OWL examinations and, by this point, Remus had all but given up on trying to temper their efforts. He had tried talking to them, he had attempted to threaten them, told them he would report them. Nothing had worked. They just hated that boy so intensely, for so many reasons, that it was impossible to dissuade them.

Remus almost felt sorry for him. But there are only so many times you can be called a 'filthy half-breed monster' in passing before even the most determined empathy starts to dwindle. So Remus stayed back, mostly. Let the boys get it out of their system, while he said nothing.

Sometimes it was difficult to ignore. Like earlier that afternoon. They had cornered Snape by the lake, after their Defence exam. It hadn't been pretty.

' I don't want to see him,' Lily shouted, as she exited the girls dorm.

Remus sighed. It still wasn't pretty.

' We have, Lils,' Dorcas said, soothingly rubbing her friends shoulder. ' He won't listen.'

' I always told you he was trouble,' Mary added, harshly. ' He's saying he'll sleep out there, if he has to.'

' It's sort of pathetic really,' Dorcas concluded.

Remus tried to concentrate on not listening as Mary pointed out, once again, how much she hated Slytherins in general, and how appalled she was that Lily could be civil with one. Remus couldn't blame her, after Mulciber had… Well, it wasn't worth thinking about.

Remus focused on his friends instead. James was going slightly pink and making a distinct effort not to look at the girls across the room. Sirius, who was laying across the sofa with his head in Remus' lap, tilted his head to look up at the flushed boy.

' What're you looking so guilty for?' He said, raising an eyebrow.

' Don't know what you mean,' James said shiftily, rubbing at the splotches on his neck.

' Because that,' Peter supplied, nodding towards the girls, ' Is all his fault.'

' Bollocks.'

' Sirius. You do recall the event of this afternoon, I presume?'

' Don't remind me Moony. How'll I ever get the imprint of Snivelly's undies out of my fragile mind?'

' Not really the point I was getting at,' Remus sighed, lifting his Transfiguration book again.

' That's because you don't have a point, Moons. The daft cow went out of her way to be friendly with a snake, and now she's been bitten. No, worse than bitten. Swallowed. Whole. And now she is dissolving in snaky digestive juices of her own makin…'

He was cut off when James threw a pillow at him, rather more forcefully than was required. Sirius, remarkably, didn't retaliate, but continued.

' Oh, come off it Prongs. You telling me you haven't once thought about coming between them, since you found out they were playing happy families?'

' I…' James started, then thought for a moment before admitting, ' Well, yeah. But I didn't think it would upset her so much.'

Sirius looked incredulous. Remus stroked his hair, like he'd stroke a dog, in what he hoped was a calming manner.

' Moving on…' Peter said, louder than necessary. ' I've been thinking…'

' Oh dear,' James muttered, patronisingly.

' We should have a map.'

Remus looked over his copy of Guide to Advanced Transfiguration, at the boy lounging in the armchair nearest the fire. There was something strange, Remus thought, about seeing such a mousy boy curled up like a cat.

' Get off it, Wormtail!' James said loudly.

He had somehow turned himself around in his own chair. His feet were sticking up at the top and his head hanging awkwardly over the front. Oddly, his hair looked, if anything, fractionally neater. In fact, Remus suspected that if her were to stand on his head and look at James, the boy would be exactly the same as always - except slightly flushed and his glasses would dangle peculiarly away from his nose.

' I think we know our way around this sodding castle by now!' Sirius put in. ' We know more than most of the teachers do.'

' Be fair, Padfoot,' James said, mock sternly. ' Not many of the teachers are wandering the grounds with a werewolf every month, are they?'

' Indoor voice, Prongs, if you please,' Remus reminded, without looking up from his book.

' But that's my point,' Peter pressed on. ' We should do something with that knowledge!'

' Yeah, something really exciting like making a ruddy great map!' James said, scathingly sarcastic.

' We do know a lot of secret passageways around here,' Remus mused, more to himself than anybody else.

' Yeah,' Peter said, jumping on the consideration. ' We have the One-eyed witch, and the Whomping Willow and… And that one behind the mirror we found last month!'

Peter was right, of course. They had, after a significant amount of pushing from James and Sirius, decided to attempt a walkabout for the last full moon. With Padfoot and Prongs to control the wolf, they had managed very well. They had ventured around the abandoned streets of Hogsmead, and found the tunnel behind a charmed wall in the alley between Sprintwitches, the sports shop, and Dogweed and Deathcap, the herbologists. Apparently, the Wolf had been drawn to it.

Wormtail had explored it, finding it led to the large mirror on the fourth floor. They had later discovered it opened from the other side with a small concealed switch under the frame, and had been using it as a hiding place rather frequently since. The tunnel widened out to the size of a small classroom, and they had taken to storing most of their joke items there, rather than the dorm.

Remus couldn't help but think back to the last time he had been in that tunnel. He had accompanied Sirius down to the kitchens to pilfer, in the nicest way possible, food from the house elves. On their way back up to the tower, Mrs Norris had spotted Sirius' foot poking out of the invisibility cloak. They really were getting too big for that thing. Thankfully, they had already been on the third floor, and sped up to the fourth and behind the mirror just in time to avoid Filch.

They had been out of breath and flushed and were still pressed together under the cloak. Sirius had opened his mouth to say something, and Remus had clapped his hand over it to stop him. He had made eye contact, to reaffirm that Filch was still looking and listening out for them, but once he had started, he couldn't look away.

They had stayed like that for longer than strictly necessary, staring into each others eyes. Remus looked into the uncertain grey, had flashbacks of that drunken Valentines day, and felt inexplicably very hot.

He had felt Sirius' heavy breath on his fingers, coming hot and fast from slightly parted, slightly damp lips. And Remus' own panting might suddenly have been a result of something other than running.

He had let his hand drop, finally, but Sirius didn't move. The older boy had licked his lips, somewhat tentatively, still looking at Remus' eyes, and the werewolf's mouth had gone very dry. It was all very intense.

And he had chickened out.

Backed away, mumbling about getting back to the dorm and trying desperately to ignore the thoughts that had flickered through his head. Thoughts that had involved his best friend.

Now, sat in the common room, Remus was reminded that said friend had his head in his lap, and that he was still stroking his hair. He swallowed hard, and moved his hand away. Sirius gave him a small look that was questioning, and disappointed, and worried all at once. Remus ignored him.

Peter and James were still arguing the merits of making a map when Dorcas plopped down on the rug between their chairs and looked reproachfully at James.

' I hope you're pleased with yourself.'

' What for?'

But before she could answer, Lily Evans stomped across the room in her dressing gown, back into the girls dormitories, distinctive tear tracks glistening on her face. James had the decency to look guilty, but there was a definite, if only slight, gleam of triumph in his eyes.

Argh! More teasing! I am sorry, I really am. I can promise it will be more in the next few chapters!

I do apologize that this is a bit of a filler chapter. There were lots of little things I wanted to include, but couldn't fit in elsewhere, so I threw them all together.

Also, If anyone doesn't follow the peripherals of this chapter, go back and read OotP Ch, 28 Snape's Worst Memory and DH Ch, 33 The Prince's Tale.

And that's it really, besides another big THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed. Thank you again for reading, Danke Shern!