The full moon that summer was gruelling, the wolf frantically called for something, yearning to break free and find it. Of course this was an oversight when the plan was made for James, Sirius and Peter to join him when he transformed, the wolf was unpredictable, a class XXXXX beast for a reason.
The door to the bedroom creaked open and the face of Lyall Lupin peeked through.
"Still going to the party son?"
"Yeah." Remus groaned as he pulled the covers over his head.
"Thought as much. Gareth mentioned you've got yourself a girl, who might be going there too? I said to Gareth it might be best if he goes with you, in case you feel rough like." Lyall walked into the room and stood by the end of the bed.
"What did Gar say?" Remus responded, emerging from his duvet to sit up.
"I said I need to see you and the MacDonald girl with my own eyes to believe it. She's lush Dad, honestly I don't see how he's managed that one, she's stunning." Gareth bounded into the room, He was just slightly shorter than Remus now, but much more broader than his younger brother. Most likely from his position as keeper for the Ravenclaw quidditch team.
Gareth was always very popular with girls, whether it was the witches of Hogwarts or local girls in town, he was never without a date. Remus would always tease his brother for the hours he spent in the bathroom coiffing his hair, or the ridiculous outfits he would get from down the Market.
"What in God's name are you wearing Gar?" Remus exclaimed. "Dad, I can't turn up to the Potter's with him looking like that?! Who do you think you look like wearing that? I tell you now, I'm not going with him, walking around looking like Barry bloody Gibbs!"
Gareth began to laugh as he walked over to mirror on the wall to inspect his new outfit, a powder blue three-piece suit, with a white shirt underneath, the top two buttons undone.
"Dad said it's a posh do, Ray. Don't worry, I've got you sorted with something as well, got to look your best for your girlfriend now." Gareth teased, turning back to wink at his brother.
"I don't know where I went wrong with that boy." Lyall tutted as he made a move from the room. "Get ready now. I told Monty you'll be there for twelve, so get moving."
Remus dragged himself from his bed and opened the wardrobe, inside was a light brown corduroy suit, with a bright orange shirt and dark brown tie.
"Oh yes, got to look your best!" He muttered to himself as he pulled out the outfit and laid it on his bed.
Remus hobbled down the stairs at five to twelve, still feeling stiff from his transformation a few nights before.
"Oh love, look at you! Look at him Lyall! I want a picture of the two of you, stand by the fireplace." Hope, Remus' mother, fussed the moment he stepped into the sitting room.
Gareth pulled his brother over to stand in front of the fireplace and began to fiddle with Remus' hair.
"Oh leave it out Gareth, Mam tell him to leave me alone! it's bad enough he's got me in this bloody thing." Remus was trying to steer out of his brother's reach.
"I think Ray looks nice Mam." His younger sister Cerys piped up.
"He does! Stand up straight now, I want a nice one of the two of you." Hope said, quickly flashing the camera at the two boys. "Love, get in the middle there, I want one with all of you quick."
Lyall grunted as he rose from the armchair by the telly, cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and walked over to stand between his sons.
"Oh there's lovely." Hope crooned as she clicked the camera a few more times.
Gareth and Remus said their goodbyes and made promises to behave at the Potter's summer soiree, before entering the floo to make the journey to the manor.
The moment they stepped from the fireplace into the grand entrance hall, they were greeted by the arms of Euphemia Potter.
"Wonderful, you both managed to make it! Monty, the Lupin boys are here!" She beamed as she stood back to look at the boys, clasping her hands together in delight.
"Wow! Definitely dressed to impress! Wonderful to see you chaps, was wondering if you would feel up to the occasion Remus. James mentioned you were struggling a bit this month." Fleamont Potter beamed as he came over to shake hands with the two boys.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world Mr Potter." Remus smiled as he shook hands with the older gentleman.
"Marvellous, you know James hasn't stopped raving about the muggle picture house you boys went to last week. The film, with the shark?"
"Jaws?" Gareth offered, sneaking a knowing look to his brother.
"Indeed! Jaws! Yes, well it may not be quite my cup of tea, but I said to Effie I'm rather curious. We may need to make a visit to one ourselves." Monty continued as he led the brothers through the labyrinth of hallways towards the garden.
"Well Mr Potter, the cinema is known to arouse curiosity, be it fantasies, wildlife… women." Gareth quipped, not taking his eyes off his brothers face, which was now turning a violent shade of pink. "It can hold the answers for many of life's great questions."
They finally reached the garden, not that Remus would class it as such. No, the sprawling estate of the Potter's manor was much more than a garden. Acres of manicured lawns, a small maze if the fancy took you to take a wander, even a quidditch pitch.
"We can't ever bring Mam here, Ray. She'd never bloody want to leave." Gareth chuckled as they made their way down the concrete stairs to meet James and Peter.
"You made it then?" James smiled sheepishly.
"Of course I did, had to bring this arsehole though." Remus nodded over to his brother.
"Alright there, James?"
"Yeah, not bad. Look Moony, I'm sorry about the other day. Sirius said I was being a miserable git-"
"Don't worry bout it, I'm sorry. I was horrid, I was. In a foul mood. The moon really took me this month."
"It was how you two stormed off after the film, I thought it was something I did- "
"No, it wasn't you. I think it was the film. Truth be told, I'm not all that keen on musicals… and it was all a bit much, wasn't it?"
"Yeah I'd say!" Peter chimed in. "Not to be rude, but I'm not surprised Sirius stormed off, we all know what his family think of that sort of behaviour. You heard about what happened to his uncle? Well Mother says- "
"We don't need to hear anymore about it Pete! Sirius will be here in a minute, and as Mum said, I don't think he knows about any of that. It's best we say nothing."
"He doesn't know about what?" Remus questioned.
"Drop it Remus, don't get involved." Gareth whispered into his brother's ear.
Before Remus had a chance to give it another thought, he felt a strong hand grip his shoulder.
"Fancy seeing you Moony!" Sirius grinned, patting him on the back. "Do you mind if I leave you to take care of Cissa? I need a quick word with these two."
Remus looked behind Sirius to see Narcissa Black, who was looking underwhelmed, as her eyes searched the Potter's grounds.
"Yeah, no bother. We'll go for a walk."
Remus glanced over to his brother, nodding his head.
"Yeah sounds good to me, we'll go take a look at the maze then?"
"Right you are, go on Cissa. I won't be long, you'll be in good care." Sirius' face softened as he led Narcissa over by the hand, placing it on the back of Remus' elbow. "Come on you two, I've not got all day!"
As the three boys darted up into the house, Remus poked his elbow out a bit further for Narcissa to fully take his arm, and led her through the gardens.
"So, Remus tells me congratulations are in order?" Asked Gareth, when they finally reached out of earshot of the other guests.
Narcissa's face twisted and her grip on Remus' arm tightened.
"Gar, leave her be!" Remus hissed. "I'm sorry about everything Narcissa, Sirius told me. I Hope you don't mind that I know, I won't tell anyone, well anyone else. I only told Gareth because I've never really known anyone that's got betrothed before. Sirius said about the Lestrange bloke they were going to put you with? I know he's nothing special… and your cousin. But Sirius, he's alright, once you get to know him a bit. Still an arse sometimes like, but he's got a good soul."
"Did he put you up to this?" Cissa looked up to Remus, now rather amused.
Gareth snorted a laugh as he put a cigarette to his lips and lit it.
"No, no! No, Sirius didn't put me up to anything, he's taken James and Pete off to tell them about the betrothal! It's just, I know he wasn't your first choice like. I thought I should take his corner, he is my mate after all."
"I see, and what exactly has Sirius told you about us then?"
"Not a lot, just that Lucius is still a spineless git, so the pair of you decided to take matters into your own hands, is all. I think he was nervous about telling James, he can be a bit of a hot head at times, so he talked to me instead. I can't say I was much help though -"
"Oh this is bloody painful, Ray take this and shut up will you?" Gareth shoved a cigarette into his brother's hand. "I don't know how you managed to pull MacDonald if this is how you act around girls! It was like I was having my teeth pulled out, absolutely shocking."
Narcissa stifled a laugh, she let go of Remus' arm to inspect the Rose bush they had stopped by.
"Well what do you suppose I should say to my best friend's fiancé then? I don't know what to say, do I?"
"Why do they call you Moony? That's something I would like to know." Narcissa turned her attention back to the boys.
"That's a very good question Narcissa. In fact, I would like to know also. Tell us Remus, why do they call you Moony?"
Gareths eyes twinkled as he watched his brother squirm.
"W-well you see it was, it was after I, well I-"
"Sweetheart, that's an easy one. Dear Remus' moods switch, like the phases of the moon." Sirius swooped in, seemingly out of thin air. Remus let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding. "A very delicate soul is Moony, but he is an excellent purveyor of muggle cigarettes and good at lending an ear when needed, so we let the funny turns slide."
Sirius plucked the cigarette from Remus' fingers and took a hard drag from the stick.
"How did it go?"
"Better than expected. James has gone off to cry to his Mother, and Pete's gone running after him, like the good little lap dog he is."
"Well, sounds likes a success to me."
"Cissa, has Moony looked after you?"
"Quite well Sirius. I rather enjoyed our stroll."
"Very good, not tried to recruit you into any of his scheming, has he? You see, Remus here is the true mastermind behind our adventures, absolutely devilish when the mood takes him." Sirius teased as he took his cousin by the hand.
"She's finally made it then, go on Ray, go bring your girlfriend over to say hello." Gareth stubbed out his cigarette into the ground, nudging his brother to make his way across the lawn.
Remus made a light jog over to Mary, who was standing at the top of the garden looking very lost. She was wearing a dark brown suede mini skirt, and an orange long sleeved top, her golden hair hanging down to her waist.
"Hi Mary, it's good to see you. Feels like forever, it does."
"I don't know about that Remus, we only wrote to each other the other day."
"Yeah but I can't do this through a letter can I?"
He tilted the girls chin up for her to face him and closed the distance with a gentle kiss on her lips. There was a low wolf whistle, making its way from Gareth's direction. He took Mary's hand and led her over to the group.
"Mary, this is Gareth my brother."
"Lovely to meet you Mary, Ray hasn't shut up about you all summer."
"Likewise, Remus has told me all about you." Mary shot a saccharine smile to the older boy.
"Feisty as ever MacDonald, let me introduce you to Narcissa. As you're now in the magic circle, I suppose you should know that we are betrothed." Sirius held out Cissa's hand to shake Mary's.
"It was a mutual arrangement, I'm not madly in love with my cousin." Narcissa explained as she shook the girls hand.
"Yes, all so terribly romantic." Sirius muttered.
"It's wonderful to meet you, I've seen you around school a few times. I'm sure Lily said you're in Slug Club?"
"Yes, although I might give it a miss this year. It's terribly dull."
"Be careful uttering that name in these grounds." Said Remus, as he hung his arm around Mary's shoulders.
"I heard, if you say it three times, a desperate James Potter appears." Sirius added.
"Oh, so only another two times that we can mention Lily Evans' name?" Remus asked, shooting his brother a look.
"Ah Lily Evans? That's the girl Potter's been running after isn't it Ray?"
"And as he's summoned, the boy appears!" Sirius barked.
"Oh I see, you all run off without your gracious host? I've been searching everywhere for you!"
"That's what you get for having such obnoxious grounds, who needs a maze?" Sirius shot back.
"What's the plan then James? I guess we can't run off to your room to play records now we have the girls here." Remus asked, drawing circles on Mary's shoulder.
"You sneak off from parties to play records? What records do you have Potter?" Mary's face lit up.
"Last year it was The Beatles actually." Remus responded, with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"It was, wasn't it Moony? Yes, you see Mary, James here loves The Beatles." Sirius joined, eyes twinkling as they met Remus'.
"Really? What a coincidence Potter, what's your favourite Beatles song?" Mary asked, as the group made their way to a nearby table.
James opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by Remus. "James is a lover of some of their earlier work, I Want To Hold Your Hand, and I Saw Her Standing There, anything by Paul really. You love Paul, don't you James?"
James tensed his jaw as he took a seat next to Gareth, as far away he could get from Remus.
"And Sirius here, well he's a true romantic, George is his favourite. Something is his go too, although he's not fussy." Remus broke a smile as he poured a drink for Mary and himself.
"Not to leave our Moony out, you liked Get Back, didn't you? The record where they all broke up?Loves the drama ." Sirius winked over.
"Loves the drama, does Ray." Gareth raised his eyebrow over to his brother.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Remus spat back.
"It means you've got too bloody cocky, Moony! I thought we put this to bed!" James started from across the table.
"For Godric's sake, we're not starting this again! Really James? We were just having a laugh, no harm done." Sirius joined.
"No, no harm done, turn up with your witches and take the piss out of Potter again? Oh how terribly funny, Potter's looking a fool running after Evan's again!"
"Well, you're the one saying it. But you're right, you are making a fool of yourself running after the girl. Maybe it's time you went and actually spoke to her.."
"I'm going to fucking kill him!" James lunged over the table, being held back by Gareth.
"No you fucking don't, Potter!" Sirius dived back, pushing Remus aside.
"You've been treated to a real show tonight Narcissa, only on the most special occasions are we spoiled to a fight between the boys. It's not usually as public as this, they save it for the common room. Always over something stupid though. Last time it was when Sirius got caught lacing the Ravenclaw's pumpkin juice with puking powder-" Mary leant closer to Narcissa to avoid the squabbling boys.
"That was Sirius?"
"Yes, well, he was the one who was caught at least. James went berserk, it was full on war, all because Sirius would be in detention the night of their next game. It went on for hours. You see, the playbook will go like this. James loses his temper, Remus will make some quick remark to goad James, especially if it's himself James is after. Sirius will then bound in and take a side, it looks like today he's with Remus. James and Sirius will have it out, verbally, sometimes physically and then Remus starts to get upset. See!" Mary pointed as Remus jumped from his seat.
"He's running in to grab Sirius away from James. Sirius always seems to fight Remus' battles, I think it's because he was so tiny when we were younger. But it looks rather ridiculous now. Remus is easily a good few inches taller than James." Mary rambled on as the two girls sat back, watching the boys fight among themselves.
"What does the other boy do? Peter?" Asked Narcissa, as she tried hide her embarrassment from the scene unfolding.
"He will usually turn up, completely unaware, and unscathed. Normally when everything calms down. I don't blame him myself, I think I would do the same. Pete will turn up and help James lick his wounds, so to speak, and then everything is hunky dory the next morning. All smiles, nothing happened, best friends once again."
"It's completely unhinged." Narcissa huffed.
"Welcome to the Gryffindor madhouse, Narcissa." Mary held out her hand to shake the other girls, trying to hold back a laugh.
"Pleasure Mary."
Sirius called over to the girls, "Get up, we're going for a dance." As he dragged Remus behind him to the dance floor.
The girls followed, leaving only James and Gareth sat at the table.
"Look, I know my brother's a git, but he does have a point. No matter how terrible he is at making it. You need some help with this girl."
"Hm." James grunted.
Peter, right on cue, finally made an appearance with a plate piled high with food and sat down at the table.
"Go on James." Said Gareth, as he pulled a small flask from his jacket and poured a measure into their drinks. "Tell me all about this Lily Evans, and start right from the beginning."
"Merlin's sagging balls! I can't take anymore!" Peter cried as he slumped into his seat.