Content Warning: Sirius has some dark thoughts later on in this chapter.

The Marauders had one major plan: Keep Padfoot Distracted.

A bored Sirius was a reckless Sirius; picking fights with any Slytherins who so much as looked at him wrong or mouthing off to anyone who said anything he may not agree with. If Sirius' anger had been a ticking time bomb before, it was damn near explosive now. To make matters worse, the Slytherins, specifically Bellatrix and her new boyfriend, Rudolphus Lestrange, knew this and showed no sign of backing down on their constant attempts to provoke him. In a matter of weeks, Sirius' already record-breaking detention attendance seemed to double, not due to pranks and mischief as usual, but from getting into physical altercations and duels with anyone and everyone he didn't like, even without a valid reason.

It was time, James, Remus, and Peter decided, to intervene. Keep Sirius busy, make sure he's never alone, distract him at all costs.

It was difficult at times because Sirius had stopped waiting for trouble to come to him. He sat in the Great Hall at dinner, facing the Slytherin table, eyes narrowed and unblinking, silently begging for Lestrange or Mulciber to even glance his way.

"Hey, Padfoot," Peter said, almost too loudly, but successfully dragging Sirius' attention back to their group.

"Hmm?" Grey eyes blinked in slight confusion as if he hadn't been aware of how far off his mind had been. "What's up, Pete?"

Peter chewed his chicken thoughtfully for a moment and swallowed. "I was just saying that I sort of want to tell Emmeline I fancy her."

Sirius frowned, one eyebrow quirking up. "She didn't get that from all the snogging last year?"

"Er," the pudgy boy faltered slightly and scratched his head. "Well, we weren't really exclusive… and I was sort of thinking I'd like to be."

"Alright…" Sirius eyed him questioningly, unsure of what he wanted him to say.

Peter sighed. "So I wanted some advice."

Sirius snorted, taking another bite of his potatoes. "You wanted advice on girls from your gay mate?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "I wanted advice from my mate who's better at talking to everyone than I am, and who's been with girls, and is you know, in a relationship," he nodded to Remus, who was sitting beside Sirius and watching the whole conversation with an amused look, trying to keep a straight face. However, Peter's explanation seemed to work on Sirius, who shrugged a little.

"Fair enough," he smirked. "You've got to woo the girl, Wormy. Show her you care about her. Bring her someplace nice and tell her you'd like to make things official. You're a good catch, she should know."

Remus lost it at that, nearly choking on his food. He shook his head.

"What is so funny?" Sirius asked, looking offended.

"Sorry," he grinned. "Peter, Sirius' idea of 'wooing' me was to yell in my face that he loved me until I had no choice but to kiss him to shut him up."

James bit back a laugh, hiding his face as his shoulders shook.

"Ignore them, Wormy," Sirius said, sitting up a little straighter despite James and Remus' hysterics. "Really, you just need to be honest with her."

Peter's way of swaying Sirius' attention was to just keep talking to him. Ask him questions, specifically ones that would boost his ego and make him feel like he was the only person that could help in a situation, particularly social. And it did work most of the time. Even if it sometimes made James and Remus lose it as Peter fed Sirius' cocky, sometimes narcissistic mindset.

James had a different tactic. And in Remus' opinion, it wasn't all that helpful.

"We're supposed to be keeping him out of detention, you prat," he muttered in annoyance once Professor McGonagall finished scolding them for hexing Bertram Aubrey's head twice its natural size. They had earned three days of banging erasers.

"We were supposed to keep him away from Slytherins and out of fights," James corrected defiantly. "Nott and Mulciber were walking down the hall, I did the first thing that came to mind to draw his attention away from them."

"Hexing random students isn't exactly what I would consider-"

"Hey, Pads was laughing wasn't he? Hasn't done that in almost a week. I consider that a success," James shrugged, plopping down on the big sofa in the common room. "Besides, Aubrey's a little git. He knocked Garret off his broom in last week's match against Ravenclaw. He's got a concussion and I'm short a beater," then James' eyes went wide. "Oh! Moony, I've got an idea!"

Remus groaned, rubbing his temples. "I'm afraid to ask…"

"No really. It's perfect. It'll keep Sirius out of trouble, and distracted, and he'll be able to take out all that anger he's got. It's brilliant, I promise."

—-

Professor McGonagall stared over the rim of her glasses at the two boys who sat in front of her in her office.

"Mr. Potter, you can see why I'm a little hesitant to see how handing Mr. Black a bat with which he can send heavy, flying objects hurtling towards people, specifically Slytherins, is the way to keep him out of fights with those same Slytherins?"

James and Sirius both deflated slightly. Neither of them had really thought about it like that. Sirius huffed, folding his arms and slouching in his seat.

"Just screw it. I feel like this is all stupid anyway. You don't want me getting into trouble, we found another outlet, and that's not good enough either!" He ran both hands through his hair. "Clearly I'm just a hopeless bloody case, then, aren't I? 'What should we do with Sirius Black?' 'How do we keep Sirius out of trouble?' 'Clearly, he can't be trusted with a bat!" He turned to face James. "I told you! There's nothing you can do, James. It's in my blood, isn't it? I will always be more trouble than I'm-"

"Have a biscuit, Black," McGonagall interrupted his tirade, shoving a silver tray of biscuits towards him.

Sirius stared blankly at her, his rant forgotten. "What?"

She shuffled through some papers on her desk, waving dismissively at the tray. "Have a biscuit. You too, Potter, if you'd like."

Sirius and James exchanged confused glances before hesitantly reaching forward and taking the offered treats.

"Now then," McGonagall sat back down behind her desk as the boys chewed. "Mr. Black- Sirius," she sighed, "While it may be true that both you and Mr. Potter equally can be quite the handful, as well as Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew at times, that does not mean that you are more trouble than you are worth. I want that to be very clear, understood?"

Sirius didn't answer, he just slowly chewed the biscuit, staring ahead of him at the witch. She continued.

"I think that it was an honorable attempt to find a solution to your current predicament. You should know that the mere fact you are willing to admit there's a problem with your recent behavior proves that you are not, as you put it, a hopeless case," she looked back down at the paperwork she was going through. "You're an extremely bright young man, Sirius. One of my top students. And although you tend to drive me to my last nerve, I admit I am very, very fond of all four of you boys," she smiled a little as James and Sirius swallowed, both unsure of how to respond. She turned her attention to James.

"Potter, I think you were on the right track with thinking Sirius' energy would be best suited for the Quidditch pitch, and if we had any other spot open that didn't involve the possibility of broken bones, I would be all for it. Unfortunately, I just don't feel like dealing with the paperwork of that many student injuries. However," she pulled out a file and read through it, "We do need a new game commentator. Someone who knows the game well and can keep the crowd entertained," she gave Sirius a pointed look and the boy sat up a little straighter, grey eyes widening hopefully. McGonagall's smile faded and she looked at him more seriously. "Now, I'm warning you upfront, Sirius. I know the mouth you've got on you, keep it appropriate. Try to filter yourself, or we'll nox the entire idea. Are we clear?"

Again, James and Sirius looked at each other, wearing near identical faces of shock, and then back at their head of house. They both nodded.

"Yeah, you got it. Definitely," Sirius said, disbelief evident in his voice. "Thank you."

"As for your beater replacement, Mr. Potter," she addressed James. "Miss McKinnon recently expressed an interest. Why don't you give her a proper tryout?"

James nodded, grinning from ear to ear as he and Sirius stood. "Sure thing, Professor. Thanks," he smiled and Sirius bumped their fists together in celebration as he turned to leave the office.

"Don't make me regret this, boys!" She called after them.

"We won't!" They chorused as innocently as they could before slamming the door behind them and running off toward Gryffindor Tower.

"I can't believe how well that went!" Sirius laughed, feeling lighter than he had in over a month since his return to school. He could practically feel himself buzzing.

James slung an arm over his shoulder, still grinning. "See, mate? People have faith in you. You just need a little more in yourself."

Sirius bit his lip, though the smile on his face remained. "Hey, Prongs… Thanks. Y'know… for everything."

James scoffed at him. "What? Stop. I haven't done anything."

"You have," Sirius insisted, rubbing the back of his neck. "A lot actually. I mean… you were the first person to believe in me… back in first year, the sorting ceremony… you cheered me on… you made me feel like I really didn't have to be a Slytherin… like my choice mattered…" he laughed nervously. "You've always been the first one to support my crazy ideas or shut me up when I'm being stupid… and push me to do things you know are good for me when I'm being stubborn. And what happened over break, I…" he sighed heavily. "I don't think I'd have survived it without you. So just… thanks…and…y'know… I love you and stuff…" he looked up and met James' eyes and saw the other boy smiling goofily back at him.

"Awe, Pads… you keep talking like that, and I may just have to steal you away from Moony," he gave him a flirty wink before breaking into laughter. Sirius' face fell and he glared, smacking his friend upside the head.

"You idiot. I'm trying to be serious here!"

"Well yeah, who else would you be trying to be?"

"Merlin, you're impossible. I take it back, you suck, Potter."

"I'm just joking, prat," James chuckled, running to catch up with Sirius and grabbing his arm. "I love you too, you git. You're my brother, you know that." He stopped walking just as they were passing the painting of the bowl of fruit that hid the kitchens. "Hey, come here…" he pulled the other boy over and tickled the pear, making the painting swing open.

Sirius frowned. "Dinner is in an hour, mate…"

James rolled his eyes. "We aren't here for food," he said vaguely, hazel eyes searching the kitchen over the heads of dozens of house elves who were busy preparing dinner. He spotted what he was looking for and, still tugging Sirius along like a rag doll, darted over to one of the counters, picking up a sharp-looking knife.

Sirius eyed him warily. "Er…what are you-?"

"Will you just shut your gob for once, Padfoot? Merlin, you talk too much. No wonder Moony's always snogging you…" then, to Sirius' surprise, James took the pointed tip of the knife and pressed it to his own palm, hissing just a bit at the sting. Before Sirius could question him again, James took him by the wrist and set his hand palm up, and did the same to him.

"Ow," Sirius winced.

"Wuss," muttered James, dropping the knife on the counter. He sighed and locked eyes with Sirius, raising the hand that still held his wrist. "Your blood," he held up his own slit hand. "My blood," he pressed their palms together firmly. "Our blood. You're my brother, Sirius. Forever. No matter what happens. It's me and you. Got it? So I don't want to hear any more about your stupid family or evil being in your veins, because as far as I'm concerned, whatever runs through yours is in mine as well. We have the same blood. Understand?"

Sirius nodded, feeling his heart beating hard in his chest as James pulled him into a tight hug. After a moment, a smirk grew across Sirius' face. "Y'know, with all the inbreeding in pureblood families, we probably already had the same blood… that was just unnecessary."

James rolled his eyes. "Moron," he released Sirius and cleaned off the knife.

"No, really… and they say I'm the dramatic one," Sirius snickered, pulling out his wand and using one of the few healing spells he had learned for Remus to stop the bleeding on both of their hands. James shook his head and together they left the kitchens.

—-

It was a rare night that the dorm room was empty. And tonight was still not that night. Peter had finally worked up all the Gryffindor Courage he possessed and had asked Emmeline on a date in Hogsmeade. Unfortunately, that took literally all of his courage and he had none left for the actual date.

"Please, James! You have to come with me!" The blond begged as Sirius tore through his wardrobe for something appropriate to wear.

"What do you want me to do, follow you around under the Cloak and whisper what to say in your ear?" James asked with clear sarcasm.

Peter's eyes went wide. "Could you?"

"What? No! Peter, come on!" James groaned.

"Pete, do you own anything that isn't a t-shirt?" Sirius grumbled, tossing three identical white shirts out of the boy's trunk.

Peter collapsed onto his bed and whined pitifully. "I'm hopeless. She'll never want to be my girlfriend."

"Hold on," Sirius muttered, digging deep into the bottom of the trunk and pulling out a deep blue button-down. "Ah ha! Here we are, Big Boy Clothes!" He snickered, throwing it onto Peter's bed. "Relax, Wormy. You've already snogged the girl. The rest is cake. Just don't say anything too dorky or stupid until she gets to know you better," he sighed and looked at James. "On second thought, maybe you'd oughta go with him…"

James looked uncertain and Sirius had the distinct feeling it was because he didn't want to leave him by himself. He rolled his eyes.

"I don't need a bloody babysitter, you know," Sirius tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "Remus will be back from rounds soon enough. I'll just wait for him in the common room… maybe McKinnon's around to amuse me, I don't know…" he ran a hand through his hair and smirked. "Besides, it'll be nice to have the dorm empty once Moony's back…"

Peter and James both rolled their eyes.

"Alright, alright," James sighed. "Fine, I'll shadow your bloody date."

"Thank Merlin, Prongs! Thank you!" Peter nearly leaped off the bed, grabbing the shirt Sirius had found for him and running to the bathroom to change. Sirius climbed into Remus' bed with his back to James, well aware of his friend's eyes boring into him.

"Sirius…"

"Relax," Sirius mumbled, breathing slowly through the anger that was starting to make his muscles tense. "I'll be a good boy and stay right here."

James sat on the edge of the bed. "Look, Padfoot, we're only trying to help you. It's not that we don't trust you. You've gone through a lot, you haven't been yourself… No one wants to see you get hurt or do something you might really regret."

Sirius snorted. "So, it's not that you don't trust me, it's just that… you don't trust me?" He shook his head and sat up. "That makes sense."

"No," James frowned. "It's not that we don't trust you. We don't trust people like Bellatrix, Lestrange, and Mulciber not to take advantage of the fact that you can't control your impulses right now. That's not your fault."

"Right," Sirius sighed bitterly, lying back down just as Peter emerged from the bathroom.

"How do I look?" He asked, nerves causing his voice to go up a notch.

"You look great, Wormtail," Sirius said, forcing a smile. "Knock 'em dead, mate."

James gave Sirius one last look over the top of his glasses. "Behave."

Sirius groaned and pulled one of Remus' pillows over his face. Once he heard the door click close, he pressed to pillow down harder to muffle the sound of a frustrated scream. Then he stayed there, panting slightly and wondering just how long he'd have to lay there like that before he suffocated.

Sure, add Moony finding me dead to my problems. He thought bitterly. Ugh. Not worth it. They would bring me back to life just to murder me themselves. And there are probably no Bowie records in Hell. He tossed the pillow aside.

After a minute or two, he hoisted himself up off the bed, grabbing his leather jacket and cigarettes. He headed down to the common room which was surprisingly empty for a Friday night, save some second years playing gobstones by the fire. No Marlene or Evans or even Frank around to keep him occupied. He left through the portrait hole in pursuit of the astronomy tower for some peace and quiet… and a smoke. He wished James had at least left him the map, though he supposed that had been done purposely so as to not give him any ideas about wandering off. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket, so lost in his self-pitying thoughts that he didn't notice he was being followed until he found himself being roughly shoved into a closet.

"What the-"

"Damn it, Sirius, what are you doing here?" Remus' irritated voice rang through the dark space.

"Wha- Remus?" Sirius lit his wand to see his boyfriend's clearly unhappy face. "Why the hell did you just ambush me? How'd you even know where I was?"

Remus raised an eyebrow and held up the map. "I take it on rounds sometimes to catch people out of bounds," he smirked, a hint of pride in his voice before he scowled again and whacked Sirius over the head with the parchment. "What are you doing out? Where's James?"

Sirius huffed, glaring at the werewolf. "For Godric's sake, I am sixteen years old! I don't need a bloody chaperone! It's barely even after hours, Moony! I went out for a smoke, is that alright?" He slammed his fist against the wall and the shelves behind him shook. Remus' expression softened.

"I'm sorry, Padfoot. You're right," he bit his lip, watching Sirius lean against the wall and fold his arms looking a mix of angry and hurt. Remus sighed and pulled Sirius to him by his hips. He smiled a little and ducked his head to kiss the other boy's pouting lips. "Come on, babe… don't be angry with me."

Sirius continued to sulk. "I'm tired of being treated like I'm some child that can't be left unsupervised." He turned his head to the side. He would absolutely not be persuaded by kisses to stop being angry. No sir. "You think I don't know that you, James, and Pete have just been finding ways to keep me distracted and busy? I'm not stupid."

Remus nodded, one of his hands sliding up to Sirius' chest. "I know you're not stupid, Sirius. I'm sorry. We've just been worried about you." He pressed his lips to the side of Sirius' neck, to the place he knew would make him squirm. And squirm he did.

"Stop that," Sirius whined, but he tilted his head further back to give Remus more room. He felt Remus chuckle softly against his skin.

"You don't want me to stop…" His voice was almost a growl with the full moon just a few days away. Sirius had to admit, pre-moon Remus was hot. He was much more assertive and bold. Sirius felt his knees go weak as the taller boy pressed against him so he was pinned between him and the wall.

"Moony…" Sirius sighed, his bad mood forgotten as Remus kissed him.

"I'm sorry for being overly protective, Sirius…" Remus muttered, his hands resting on Sirius' hips. Remus pulled back for a moment. "Let me make it up to you…"

Sirius suddenly forgot how to form words as his boyfriend kissed him hard on the mouth.

He knew, of course, that this was Remus' own way of keeping him distracted. But it was definitely his favorite.

Ten minutes later they both stumbled out of the closet, laughing and still stealing kisses from each other.

They both froze when they heard someone swear under their breath. Remus raised his lit wand, shedding light onto the face of Severus Snape.

"You're out of bounds, Severus," Remus said, trying to sound authoritative through his mild embarrassment. "Back to your dorm."

Snape raised an eyebrow and cocked his head toward Sirius. "So's he."

"Yes, and I was just telling Sirius to return to his as well."

The Slytherin rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that's exactly what you were telling him," he sneered, watching as Sirius adjusted his clothes. His eyes flickered to the window, the waxing moon high over the school grounds, then back to Remus. "You're not looking well, Lupin. Maybe you should take a few days off from rounds. Looks like you could use some rest," Sirius' hand gripped the wand in his back pocket.

Remus gave a wry smile and shrugged. "I feel fine. Thanks for the concern, Severus. Now, return to the dungeons or I'll give you detention."

"What about Black?"

"Sirius is none of your concern, Snape," Remus stepped closer so that he now stood between Sirius and Severus. "And he's on his way back to his dorm as well, aren't you, Sirius?"

Sirius gave a slight nod, eyes narrowed on Severus. "Yeah."

Snape gave Remus one last once over, his eyes filled with a look of unadulterated disgust, and turned to head back to the Slytherin dorms.

Once he was out of earshot, Sirius shuddered. "Bloody hate the way he looks at you. And the way he's always sneaking about."

"Mmm," Remus hummed in agreement. "Don't dwell on it, Sirius. I don't." He gently grabbed his boyfriend's chin and tilted his face up for another kiss. "Back to the dorm with you as well, or I'll have to give you detention."

Sirius grinned. "Oh really?"

Remus laughed and rolled his eyes. "I mean it, Pads. I'll be up in about an hour, alright?"

With one last kiss, Sirius conceded and headed back up to Gryffindor Tower.