Remus was allowed to spend the Christmas holidays at Hogwarts as long as he came home for Christmas Day, which he happily agreed to. He wanted to see his grandparents and his aunt and uncle, but he also wanted to spend the holidays with his friends, so it was a good compromise. Sirius was staying, and so was James while his parents went away. With a bit of convincing, Peter was able to join them, so it was a fun atmosphere. All four of them together, without lessons and without homework.
In fact, it was quite a full school that year, mostly down to those with muggle families or family members, because tensions outside of Hogwarts were starting to get increasingly prevalent. Muggle attacks were becoming more frequent, and Lord Voldemort's followers were getting more and more restless. People stayed at Hogwarts for their own safety. Tobin was one of those people, and Owain and Jethro stayed behind so they could all stay together, so the Gryffindor second year dorm room was completely full. Lily was another muggleborn who was staying at Hogwarts for her own safety, although she walked around more nervously these days, worried about her own family who didn't have the safety of Hogwarts to protect them.
Remus, therefore, allowed her refuge in the group of boys so she could be distracted by their own activities. It offered her a chance to get to know the others more, rather than just Remus. She got on well with Peter, and Sirius somewhat, although she had admitted to Remus once that she basically saw Sirius and James as clones of each other.
"Too confident for their own good," was her conclusion. Remus couldn't help but agree, but in more of a fond way than Lily. It was true, after all, that they were usually the loudest in whatever group of people they were in. They were also the most competitive. When Jethro set up a game of spin the dreidel, the two got pretty heated over it. They were all using knuts as game pieces, and every time Sirius and James had to either put a knut in the pot or take one out, everyone in the near vicinity knew about it.
That being said, their shouts eventually become unnoticeable, since they were playing in the Great Hall and it piqued the interest of people sitting around doing nothing. According to Jethro, there was essentially an unlimited amount of players allowed, so by the time the students had to disperse to their dorms at least twenty people were partaking, and everyone was getting invested, shouting over each other's heads. Various cheers and groans went up from the group whenever someone won a round, which happened when someone span the dreidel and it landed on the Hebrew letter gimel (which Jethro said meant "everything"). When that happened, the person got everything in the pot. James managed it a few times, and hardly anyone lost because there were eventually so many pieces that it was difficult to lose all of them.
Sirius lost, but he begged Remus for a loan, and Remus couldn't exactly refuse because he and Sirius (and Peter and James) were on an unspoken team of their own. If any of them asked for a loan, they had to agree. So Remus gave him half his pieces, which only ended up being two. Sirius landed on the letter meaning "put in" twice, and he quickly lost his remaining pieces. He was the only one there to have lost twice, but he still had James and Peter as a back up, so he managed to remain in the game until it ended. He even ended up with quite a few knuts.
The ultimate winner, who was the person who won the round before six o'clock and before they were all ushered out of the hall, was the Gryffindor prefect Arthur Weasley. He left with fifteen knuts and looked very proud of himself, puffing his chest out in a rather comical fashion.
The first full moon after the others found out that Remus was a werewolf was at the end of December, a few days after Christmas. Remus had spent the day with his family, and luckily there were no arguments this year. Now that his parents were living apart, they were able to be amiable on the days they did spend together, so Remus could enjoy his Christmas at least. He did miss the others though, and he had to wait until the next day to give them presents. His gift to Sirius was a portable radio, which aunt Selene had charmed so that it worked in Hogwarts. Remus turned it over to Radio 1, which played all the current songs for Sirius to keep up with.
As for Remus, Selene bought him a recent David Bowie album. Remus had heard a few David Bowie songs on the radio before and he liked the sound of them, so he asked Selene about it. Selene said she hadn't heard much of David Bowie, but his genre of music was definitely her sort of style.
Besides, Remus liked the title of the album: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It was so long, and it made no sense, but that was exactly why Remus liked it. He was sure Sirius would like it too. He had listened to the album during the evening before he went back to Hogwarts, lying on the carpet as he always did. He didn't want to take it to school with him, in case something happened to it. He'd brought back Atom Heart for that very reasonand it was now sitting on his shelf along with all the other albums he had. It was a growing collection, and he was taking a pride in it that he'd never done before. A small part of him kept imagining a time when Sirius could visit his house, and Remus would be able to show off the collection, ordered alphabetically with every cover pristine. He could pull any one of the albums off his shelf and explain the history of it. He wasn't a chaotic sort of punk like he imagined his aunt to be, albums in a pile on top of a record player, to be played whenever music was needed. Remus was someone who was more into learning about the music than the music itself, memorising release dates and vinyl types and stories behind why an album was written, such as how Frank Sinatra wrote In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning because of his divorce to his wife Nancy and his new marriage to Ava Gardner.
Remus could act as punk as he liked, but at the end of the day, he was innately studious, fascinated with the more intellectual side of things. In other words, he was a nerd, while Sirius cared only about the music and how it made him feel, and how he could use it to express his own anger. He was much more of a punk than Remus was, and he didn't even know it.
The full moon was a little complicated this time, simply because the others wanted to come along as well, once Remus had told them about the passage to the Shrieking Shack. Them coming along was completely out of the question, but they were adamant they didn't want him to be on his own.
"I've been doing it on my own for two years now, I'm fine."
"Yeah, but wouldn't it be fun with us with you?" asked Sirius.
"I don't think anything can make it fun."
"Please let us come," said James. "We can add the passage to the map, and we'll only go so far as the tree. Then we'll turn back."
"I already know the passage, the map won't be useful. Unless it can tell us when someone's coming, because then that would be useful." The others wouldn't let up, though. They wanted to stick by his side and act like they were exploring, so Remus had no choice but to agree.
"But only until we reach the tree. Then you turn back, and you can't be there first thing tomorrow because Madam Pomfrey will catch you." They agreed to his conditions, and as it went, it was nice having them with him. They had the cloak as well, which made the trip much safer. Remus had never plucked up the courage to use the cloak in case he lost it, or ripped it. James would never forgive him if that happened, so he was always exposed when he went to the Shack, but now he was fully hidden, and the company was just a bonus.
It was probably one of the most enjoyable full moons Remus had gone through, as enjoyable as a full moon could be.
January finally arrived, in a haze of excitement and nervousness from James, who had to face the ever-nearing Quidditch match. His first Quidditch match, in front of the whole school. It involved around a week of James barely talking, which was a feat on his part. The whole school was tense in anticipation, especially the Gyriffindors, who were desperate to beat the Slytherin team for once. They were all riled up, and when the day finally came, no one could concentrate in class. This ended in Professor McGonagall telling them off and stubbornly not letting them leave class until the last minute, since her class was the last before the Quidditch match began. James practically ran out of the room when the lesson was finally dismissed, and Marlene and Jethro weren't far behind.
Most of the school were naturally present at the match, and all the Gryffindors were already shouting and cheering, or jeering if they caught sight of a Slytherin player. Remus, Sirius and Peter squeezed through the crowd, ducking under red and gold flags and scarves. The noise levels were unmeasurable, and all Remus could do was find a seat next to his classmates and join in. Tobin and Owain were waving their own flags, cheering loudly, while Peter unfolded a hand-drawn sign encouraging James, Jethro and Marlene. Lily found them and sat down with her friend Mary and a third year girl who was introduced as Dorcas Meadows. Dorcas had one of those wooden rattles that made a noise when you spun it. It was painted red and yellow, and they all took turns spinning it out of fun.
"And they're off!" The already loud stadium somehow reached new levels as the players set off, flying around so quickly they became a blur. Lily had binoculars, and she was passing them around so everyone could keep their eyes on certain players. The Gryffindor seeker, a fifth year named Sam Zhao, was hovering a good few feet above the pitch, away from the other players as he searched for the snitch. The Slytherin seeker, whom Remus didn't know the name of, was in a similar position. Remus, however, was more invested in the other players, especially James. He watched him zoom around with the Quaffle under his arm, passing it to the other Chasers to try to make a goal. He had said before the match that he would mostly just pass to someone else to make the goal, so he didn't have to face the humiliation if he missed the goal himself.
Marlene had the opposite tactic, and was always open, ready for someone to pass the Quaffle to her. But it was Hestia Jones who did most of the work, scoring as many goals as she could, so Marlene didn't get much of a chance to attempt a goal herself. When she did, it was blocked by the Slytherin keeper, Richard Gibbon.
Jethro was doing a good job blocking the goalposts from the Slytherin team, and at one point he threw the Quaffle back so hard towards the Slytherin chaser— who Remus recognised to be one of the Carrows— that it knocked the guy off-balance and he wasn't able to catch it. James zoomed after it instead and managed to grab it so him and Jethro together promoted a loud cheer from their classmates, and the rest of Gryffindor. The noise from the Gryffindor side of the stadium drowned out the boos from the Slytherin side.
"New Chaser McKinnon passes the Quaffle to Jones," commentated Dave Cohen, whom Remus was listening intently too, absorbing the technique as he always did. The match was as quick as any professional match but Remus could keep up with it, as long as he invested himself in it to the point where his surroundings melted away, and all he could see was the game. Jones throws the Quaffle, but it's blocked by Gibbon who throws it to Carrow, and a bludger hit by Goyle, the Slytherin beater, rockets past Potter, missing him by a hair.
Remus didn't notice the yell of outrage from Sirius beside him. He was muttering under his breath, joining in with the commentary as he always did which he barely registered himself. He usually assumed he was talking in his head until someone nudged him on the shoulder and asked what he was whispering about. But everyone next to him was too invested in the match as well, so no one noticed.
"Jones passes the Quaffle to new Chaser Potter who throws it and... he makes the goal! Ten points to Gryffindor!" Remus finally snapped out of his commentator mode and stood up with the rest of his class, cheering on their friend and team. Sirius grabbed the wooden rattle from Lily, who was currently holding it, and spun it frantically in everyone's ears. Everyone was too excited to really care, and even Lily wasn't that huffy about having the rattle snatched from her hands, but Remus was concerned that their ears would be permanently damaged if Gryffindor won the match and Sirius had his hands on that thing.
They didn't have to wait too long to find out though, because at that moment, Sam Zhao suddenly dived head first from where he'd been observing, with the Slytherin seeker hot on his heels as soon as he spotted him.
"And Zhao must have spotted the snitch!" informed Dave Cohen, with him (and Remus) noticing before anyone else did. "He dives for it, Rowle close behind, can Zhao catch it in time?" Everyone in the stands was now fixated on the two seekers. Zhao was barely a metre in front of Rowle, and he had to pull up quickly before hitting the ground and continue chasing the snitch around the rest of the pitch. It was extremely tense, and no one knew whether to shout encouragement or to hold their breath in expectation, so there was a bit of both. Remus was of the holding his breath group of people, while Sirius was shouting beside him.
"Zhao reaches his arm out, he's making the grab and—" Zhao dodged out the way of Rowle coming up behind him, stopping mid-air as he held his hand out. He showed off the snitch to the onlooking stands, and a huge cheer went up, intermingled with Slytherin groans of disappointment.
"And Zhao catches the snitch! That's one hundred and fifty points for Gryffindor, immediately winning them the match!" Barely anyone heard Dave Cohen, because the Gryffindor side of the stands were going crazy, and even the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws watching were joining in with the elation, simply glad that Slytherin had lost. Sirius threw his arms around Remus and cheered. Thankfully for Remus's ears, Lily had taken back the rattle and was spinning it wildly in a blur. Sirius's hug became a group hug as everyone near them joined in, Peter and Tobin and Owain. Remus caught the eye of James, who was equally celebratory. He'd made a goal and Gryffindor had won. Remus knew he'd be on top of the world right now, and probably would be for at least another week, possibly more. It was a given that a party would be held in the Gryffindor dorm room later that evening, and Remus was already excited, because chances were he and his friends would be more involved in it considering James, Jethro and Marlene were all on the team. He'd only experienced one Gryffindor party after a match win, last year when they'd all been in first year, and none of the older kids had wanted them hanging around, so they just stuck to the sides of the room and soon lost interest. None of them were brave enough to try to talk to anyone older than them, so there wasn't much they could do.
But this time was drastically different. The Gryffindors returned to the common room in a blur of excitement, even though it was only the first match of the year, they were acting as if they'd won the Cup. The adrenaline from beating Slytherin had kicked in, and music was put on loudly, snacks were handed around, and someone had clearly been stashing enough butterbeers and firewhiskeys somewhere because within a matter of minutes half the dorm had a bottle in their hands.
The players were the guests of honour, especially Sam Zhao who was lifted up on his friend's shoulder while everyone cheered around him. As the night went on, and the older kids got slightly tipsy, the celebration around the players increased, but sloppily so. Sam was practically wrestled to the floor at some point.
James, Marlene and Jethro had their fair share of congratulations, with James being handed a butterbeer and being patted on the back so much he stumbled over to his friends while massaging his shoulders.
"Want some?" James asked, holding out the butterbeer bottle.
"You ever drunk butterbeer?" said Sirius, raising his eyebrow at James's apparent familiarity with the drink.
"No, but it's barely got any alcohol in it. Just a sip will be fine."
"Alright," said Remus, who had tried the drink before when he was younger. He had been staying with Selene and Lyall's mum for the weekend and Selene had let him try a bit. He hadn't minded the taste, even if it was a bit sweet, in a sickly treacle-like way. Remus took the bottle from James and swigged it, instantly earning the respect from his peers. Even if the drink didn't have much alcohol in it, to the point where they could probably drink around three or four and still barely feel the affects (although they'd end up very sick), any alcohol was cool to a bunch of twelve year olds who'd never had it before. Remus passed it round and they all took a sip. Peter hated it because it tasted like butterscotch and he didn't like butterscotch. James was indifferent, Jethro refused, Tobin took way too much and got yelled at, Owain was in the bathroom, and Sirius hogged the bottle after one sip because he loved it. The others let him have it.
Remus separated from the group of boys for a bit and went over to Lily and Marlene, who were sitting on the sofa with their friends Mary and Dorcas. Owain was with them.
"What are you guys doing?" asked Remus.
"Playing exploding snap," informed Lily. "And drinking butterbeer. Want one?"
"No thanks. Can I join?"
"Sure, we're playing the Bavarian version," said Dorcas. "Know it?"
"Yeah." It was the version he played the most with the magical side of his family. Remus joined the circle, and Lily re-dealt the cards.
"The time limit gets shorter each go," she reminded. Remus knew the rules: if any of the cards that each player was dealt matched any of the cards in the circle, they had to tap both cards with their wands. If you didn't tap the matching cards within the time limit, they all exploded. It was the most difficult of all the versions because the time limit was so merciless, which was why the Lupin side of the family loved it so much.
The game got heated fairly quickly, purely out of panic from the players to not let the cards explode.
"Tap the bloody card, Marlene, you've got two seconds!"
"It's right there, in front of your face!"
"Bloody cheat, that card doesn't exist, the game's rigged!"
"Shut up shut up tap the card—!" BANG! The cards exploded in front of them, and they all shielded their faces with their arms.
"So who won?" asked Remus lightly, when the smoke from the cards had cleared a little. He fanned the remnants with his hand.
"No one," said Dorcas. "The cards exploded."
"Well, I think I got the most matches."
"Did you bollocks, you only got one and it took you five seconds to even notice."
"At least I got one, you didn't get anything."
"I had shit cards—!"
"Guys... calm down, it's a game," interjected Lily, scooping up the singed cards and watching them shuffle each other by themselves. "Besides, you're both wrong. I got the most matches."
"Cheat!" Owain nudged her shoulder. "I saw the card first, I had the same one!"
"What's going on over here?" They all looked up from where they were sitting on the floor. James was standing over them, arms on his hips.
"We were playing exploding snap," informed Remus.
"Brilliant! Can I play? I'm great at it."
"Of course you are," muttered Lily, rolling her eyes. "I'll deal you in."
"Bring the others, we can all play," Remus suggested, as James sat cross-legged beside them.
"What, even Sirius?" asked Marlene, not looking too happy by the prospect. "I like him an' all but Merlin, is he competitive."
"Nah, it'll be fun!" assured James, and he looked over to where the other boys were standing. "Oi! Get over here, we're playing snap!" His voice carried halfway across the room, and certainly grabbed the attention of those he was calling, as well as everyone else.
The circle increased, until there was barely room for all of them. Tobin was taking up too much space lying on his front and Sirius was rocking back and forth in concentration, determined to win. If the last round was intense, it was nothing compared to this round. They were lucky the music was so loud and the other students were too engrossed in drinking and dancing, otherwise they probably would have been kicked out. They argued throughout the entire game, talking over each other constantly, one voice starting before another one had ended. Everyone had complaints, and none of them were heard. And Sirius was not only a sore loser, but a pretty bad winner as well.
"Ha! In your faces!" he'd shout after successfully matching two cards together. "I am the best! The king! You wish you were this good!" He stood up, prancing about. The others, in a moment of unity, sacrificed their own eyebrows by starting a new round— unbeknownst to Sirius— and forgoing finding any pairs. The cards exploded, stopping Sirius in his tracks.
Despite the arguing, and the intensity, and singed hair, the game was fun. A weird sort of fun where shouting at each other formed a relatively strong bond. They were close enough to call each other names and slag each other off without affecting their friendships, and with the atmosphere filled with music and bottles of butterbeer, it was a great evening. Certainly the best party Remus had ever been to, even if, admittedly, he had only previously been to one.
The Gryffindor common room was a mess by the end of the night, but it wasn't the problem of Remus and his friends. They hadn't been the one to throw the party. Some older kid could sort it out with a wave of their wand. Meanwhile, Remus was exhausted, and judging by the others, they were as well. James was positively falling asleep where he stood, after all the excitement and activity of the day. He had to be half dragged upstairs by Sirius, who was really in no position to be carrying someone anyway considering he was in a similar state, made worse by all the butterbeers he'd had.
The boys said goodnight to the girls, and they all stumbled upstairs to their respective dorms. Remus barely acknowledged arriving to his bed before he flopped on top of it, front first, and almost immediately fell asleep.
