Many weeks would pass before any progress would be made on the map. Though Remus had continued to join the self-styled Marauders for their meals, sat by them in class, and joined in a few of their more innocent pastimes in the common room, neither James, Sirius, nor Peter had mentioned the map again. Remus had almost convinced himself that they had forgotten about the project altogether.

Then, one day early in March, Peter asked James, "Are we throwing you a birthday party like last year?"

They were sitting in the library. Remus had insisted that he absolutely needed to complete his essay on vampires for Professor Squabs, and rather than leave him to do his schoolwork in peace, the Marauders had decided to join him for a "study session." Studying, for James and Sirius, seemed to consist of reading an unrelated textbook on minor jinxes and hexes, before falling into whispered gossip and chatter.

Remus had done his best to ignore them as he diligently penned his essay, though at Peter's question, he glanced up from his work. James looked thoughtful, and after careful consideration replied, "A big party every year would get stale after a while, wouldn't you say? We ought to do something different this year, just the four of us."

"What about an after-hours visit to the kitchens?" Sirius suggested.

Peter looked delighted. "Great idea! We can get the elves to bake a birthday cake!"

"And Remus hasn't been to the kitchens yet," James observed, warming to the suggestion immediately. "He'll have to add them to the map, for sure!"

"Am I missing something?" Remus sputtered, surprised by this sudden mention of the map. "Are you forgetting that it's against the rules to sneak out of bed after dark?"

James, Sirius, and Peter each assumed an air of perfect innocence. It was James who asked, "What's your point?"

Remus sighed. "You know what? Forget I said anything. I forgot who I was talking to for a moment."

"You'll come with us, won't you?" asked Peter. "It's just a little harmless fun! We've done it loads of times, and haven't been caught once!"

"Except by Filch that one time. And McGonagall the time before that," Sirius said casually. He then turned his grey eyes on Remus and asked, "It won't be a problem for you, will it?"

James seemed to understand him, for he quickly added, "That's right! My birthday is on the twenty-seventh. That won't interfere with your furry little problem, will it?"

"My furry little problem?" Remus asked, forcing himself to bite back a scream of laughter. "You make it sound like I'm hiding a rabid terrier under my bed!"

James grinned. "So you're in, right?"

What else could he do but agree? Just before midnight the night before March 27th, Remus found himself creeping behind James, crouched under his invisibility cloak beside Sirius and Peter. They slowly shuffled through the halls and down the steps toward the hidden entrance to the kitchens. It was a tight fit, having all four of them under the cloak. Remus had to make the journey doubled over to compensate for his height, and more than once there was a scuffle as one or the other stepped on someone's foot. Remus thought that if the sight of their shoes didn't give them away, the whispered curses and arguments would.

Despite his discomfort, Remus was enjoying himself. He almost hated to admit it, but he was thrilled to be breaking the rules. This was an adventure he had never dared to dream of during his many days and nights of self-imposed isolation. He merely hoped that his fellow Marauders, huddled close to him under the cloak, couldn't hear the loud beating of his heart.

"So where are the kitchens, anyway?" Remus asked, trying to dispel his own nerves. "You still haven't told me."

"It's near the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room," whispered Sirius, not bothering to explain how he knew where the Hufflepuff common room was. As a general rule, the entrances to each of the four houses was a carefully guarded secret, not shared between members of rival houses.

"Quiet, both of you!" James warned, "This cloak barely covers us all. We'll get caught if Filch hears us!"

At last, they arrived before a large painting of a bowl of fruit. Remus was used to the moving, talking portraits that lined the halls of Hogwarts, but this painting contained nothing more interesting than bright red apples, bunches of grapes, and a bushel of bananas. James glanced over his shoulder into Remus's face with a triumphant grin.

"Behold!" he rasped in a loud whisper. Remus didn't know what he expected, but it certainly wasn't James reaching forward to tickle a particularly ripe looking pear. The fruit giggled, and immediately shifted into a green doorknob.

Remus couldn't suppress a gasp of surprise as the portrait swung open, much like the portrait of the Fat Lady, to reveal a chamber at least five times the size of the Gryffindor common room. Countless house-elves bustled two and fro, busy with washing and prepping for tomorrow's meal, even at this late hour. However, that did not stop four elves from immediately detaching themselves from the crowd as soon as James pulled the cloak from their heads. The elves greeted them with smiles and bows, offering them each a chair and asking if there was anything they would like to eat.

As they seemed completely unsurprised by this visit from the Marauders, Remus concluded that they were frequent guests. He knew that Hogwarts employed house-elves to do the laundry, tend the hundreds of fireplaces, and prepare their meals every day. Filch was the school's caretaker in name only, for it was the house-elves who really tended to the school's cleaning. That's what his father had told him, anyway. But his family had never kept a house-elf. His mother could never abide by the idea of a magical creature performing the tasks that she was perfectly capable of doing herself, and his father always found the practice of "owning" an elf distasteful.

Seated in the kitchen, Remus could certainly understand his parents' opinion. It was disconcerting to be waited on hand and foot by the officious elves. But James and Sirius accepted their attentions as if it were a matter of course, and Peter seemed only to care for what delicious tarts they could bring his way. His friend's chatter helped to put Remus at ease, and he was soon drawn into their conversation as if they were merely having another lively meal in the Great Hall.

"Presents!" James demanded, though playfully. He lightly drummed his fists on the table, having finished his own custard tart. "I demand presents! What have you all brought me?"

"With an attitude like yours, you're lucky I brought you anything," Sirius replied sardonically, rolling his eyes, though from the pocket of his robes, he pulled a small box wrapped in gold foil.

Remus was glad he had thought to bring James a gift. James was as excited for this birthday as the last, and he eagerly tore open each of his presents in turn. Peter's gift was a large box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean, while Sirius's small gold box turned out to be a small scale model of a griffin, which crawled about the table before them, squeaking like a tiny kitten rather than the piercing cry its eagle's head would suggest.

Remus thought his own gift, a book about quidditch, was rather modest by comparison, but James seemed touched that he remembered his interest in the sport.

"Do you think you'll try out for the team next year?" asked Sirius, "I hear the Seeker position will be open."

"Chaser is more my speed," James replied, "Seekers are cool and all, but I think I'd rather score the points, rather than wait for one moment of glory."

With all the presents opened and properly appreciated, their conversation naturally turned toward the other's birthdays. Sirius had already celebrated his in November, before Remus had joined their group. Peter's wasn't until August 31st.

"It isn't fair," he moaned, "My birthday is always just before the start of term! I don't even get to celebrate with you guys."

"You could always come visit over the summer!" James suggested eagerly, "Or we could come see you, and then go to the station together!"

Peter looked cheered by this prospect, and was therefore feeling gracious enough to ask, "What about you, Remus? When is your birthday?"

He wasn't sure why, but he felt a little shy as he admitted, "It was on the tenth."

James, Sirius, and Peter all stared at him, aghast.

"The tenth?" asked Sirius.

"Yes."

"Of this month?" said Peter.

"That's right."

"But why didn't you say anything?!" James shouted, nearly jumping out of his seat, "We could have celebrated!"

"It was too close to the full moon," Remus reminded them, "I would have been too tired to celebrate. Besides, I really don't need any presents."

"Nonsense!" James countered. Though he had always made a great deal of his own birthday, he was not selfish. In fact, his face brightened the next moment as he declared, "That's it! We'll celebrate your birthday now!"

"Does that mean more cake?" Peter asked.

"More cake, and we'll need presents, too," James said, looking around the kitchen as if he expected a gift to materialize the moment he wanted it.

Remus watched, highly amused, as each of the boys turned out the pockets of their robes, desperately searching for something that would suit for a last-minute gift, and finding only lint. Peter tried to offer Remus half of James's Bertie Botts Beans, but James censured him for trying to rob him of his gift. Peter was then at a momentary loss, until he declared, "I've got it! I'll take notes for you the next time you have to miss class, Moony! You'll have my services at your disposal until the end of term! How's that for a gift?"

"That's likely to hurt his grade more than help," James said laughingly, but it was clear that this suggestion was getting his mind working. "I'll do one better. You can have a turn on my Cleansweep, Moony! Whenever you want, just say the word. I don't mind letting you take it out for a spin!"

Remus smiled. The gesture meant more to him than any tangible gift would have done. In truth, he was just happy to spend time with them. But he didn't think he could convey this in words without sounding sappy, so he kept the thought to himself.

"C'mon, Sirius. Don't be stingy. What'll you give Remus for his birthday?"

Sirius had listened to them all with his usual cool smile, leaning on the two back legs of his chair, his feet propped carelessly on the table in front of him. At James's prompting, became lost in thought. He began looking at Remus with an almost critical eye, as if trying to discern from his features what gift he deserved. Remus was not intimidated by his stare. He merely stared back at him, curious to see what he would settle on.

But as his silence dragged on, Remus nearly relented. He was about to suggest that all their gifts were truly unnecessary, when Sirius dropped all four legs of his chair to the floor with a thud, leaned forward, and planted a kiss on Remus's cheek.

Remus turned bright red, his hand flying to his cheek as Sirius sat back, immensely satisfied with himself.

"There you go, Moony. My gift to you," he said simply.

James and Peter howled with laughter as Remus continued to gape at him.

"Don't let him get under your skin," James advised with a grin, "He's kissed me and Pete loads of times, right Pete?"

"Thirty-six, last I counted," Peter replied carelessly, helping himself to another slice of cake that had just been delivered by an officious elf. "I guess this means you're officially one of us now."

"I don't have to kiss him back, do I?" Remus asked darkly, rubbing his check with the heel of his palm.

"Do you want to?" Sirius asked, directing a wink at him.

Remus flicked some of his leftover custard onto Sirius's robes. "I'd prefer a whole semester of Peter's notes, actually."