Friday, 31st December 1971
When the day of the full moon arrived, Sirius tried his best to be as unobtrusive as possible. Remus was pretty quiet all day, but he seemed to want to be near him, so he stayed close. They spent most of the day reading in front of the fire, and at quarter to two, he saw Remus check his watch out of the corner of his eye before announcing he wasn't feeling well and was going to go to the hospital wing.
Remus declined his offer to go with him, and Sirius waited until he'd grabbed his pre-packed bag—that he'd pretended not to notice him packing—and left through the portrait hole before he dashed up to the dorm to get James' cloak. This was his one chance to find out where Remus went for the full moon. With James and Peter away, there was no one there to question him.
He waited a few minutes before hurrying to the east wing and locating the statue of a dancing child. He patted her on the head, and the statue moved to the side, revealing a slide hidden behind it. Wasting no time, Sirius climbed on and slid down to the ground floor. He got to his feet and hurried to the Entrance Hall. If they didn't leave that way he was screwed, but the only alternative was that Remus was kept somewhere inside the castle, and that seemed far too dangerous to be likely.
He was right. Five minutes later, Madam Pomfrey came down the stairs apparently alone, but as Sirius stared from underneath the cloak, he caught a slight shimmer in the air behind her. A disillusionment charm? He followed Madam Pomfrey and an invisible Remus out of the castle at a distance, being careful to stay downwind of them. He knew werewolf senses were heightened around the full moon, and the last thing he wanted was for Remus to smell him.
She crossed the grounds, heading for the Whomping Willow. The very tree Dumbledore had warned them to stay away from. Sirius snuck around the outskirts of the grounds to get a good vantage point and watched as Pomfrey levitated a stick and prodded at something near the base of the tree, causing it to freeze. Suddenly, Remus appeared next to her. They spoke for a moment before Remus walked closer to the tree and disappeared. What the hell?
Sirius waited ten minutes for Pomfrey to leave and Remus to get a good distance ahead before he walked over to the tree, getting as close as he could without being in danger from the flailing branches. He squinted at the base of the tree. There was an odd-looking knot. Was that it? He cast wingardium leviosa on a stick and poked at the knot with it. The tree froze. Yes! He ran forward, and it wasn't until he was right next to the trunk that he could see the opening Remus had disappeared down. He took a deep breath and descended, hoping there would be more between him and Remus that night than just that passage.
Sirius travelled down the low-ceilinged passageway for ten minutes before reaching a dead end. Above his head was a trapdoor which it was probably best not to open. He checked his watch: quarter to three. Fifteen minutes until moonrise. He sat down and leant back against the earthen wall of the passage to wait.
As Sirius watched the time tick by, his breathing sped up. The closer it got to three o'clock the more anxious he became. Would that trapdoor hold up against the wolf? Would he be able to smell Sirius on the other side?
When it came, it came out of nowhere. One second there was silence, nothing but the sound of his own heartbeat and breathing. The next, an ear-piercing, soul-searing, blood-freezing scream of pure agony. Sirius had thought the sound Remus made at the Quidditch match was bad, but it was nothing compared to this. He couldn't believe a person could make such a sound. That Remus was making such a sound.
He stood and stared up at the trapdoor, helpless. There was nothing he could do. If he opened it, he'd be turned or killed. The noise seemed to go on for hours as Sirius stood there in the underground passage with his hands curled into fists and his muscles taut for a fight, but it could only have been minutes in reality. When the screaming turned to pained howls, he checked his watch. Ten. It took ten minutes of blood-curdling pain for Remus to complete his transformation. How did he endure it month after month?
The howling stopped, and he heard heavy footsteps crossing the floor above him. Sirius held his breath. The wolf stopped; Sirius could hear it panting directly above him. It snuffled against the trapdoor. Could it smell him? The wolf howled again. The sound was mournful this time, sad and full of longing. It made Sirius want to go to him and soothe away the pain. Was the wolf lonely? Was that why he hurt himself? Hurt Remus?
The wolf scratched at the trapdoor, trying to get through. Trying to get to him. Sirius prepared himself to run but held his ground. He trusted that Dumbledore had made sure it was secure. After nearly an hour, the wolf finally let out another howl. This time it rang with despair, and he stopped. There was a loud thump and then silence. It sounded like the wolf had collapsed onto the ground right above where Sirius stood. He relaxed.
He should probably go, but he didn't want to leave Remus. It was stupid. Remus didn't even know he was there, would probably be utterly horrified if he did. But still, he wanted to stay. If he was there, he knew what was happening. The wolf was quiet, and that meant Remus was okay. If he went back to the dorm, he wouldn't know anything. It would be another sleepless full-moon either way. Staying was the better choice.
Sirius sat down on the dry earth of the tunnel floor and leant back against the corner. It was actually fairly comfortable for dirt. He shook out the invisibility cloak and laid it over himself, for warmth as well as to hide, and closed his eyes.
He must have fallen asleep because when he next opened his eyes and checked the time he found it was nearly four in the morning, and he was freezing. He jumped up and started jogging on the spot to try to warm himself up. His body tingled as his heart rate picked up and his blood flowed faster. Falling asleep out there had been a bloody stupid thing to do.
Sirius froze when he heard a movement above him. The wolf was getting up and snuffling at the trapdoor again. Then he heard a long whine.
He hesitated, staring up at the trapdoor. Should he speak? Or stay silent. After a moment, his impulsivity won out. 'Hello, Wolf-Remus,' he said.
The wolf whined again.
'I'm Sirius.'
The wolf barked.
'I came to keep you company,' Sirius said. It was stupid, talking to the wolf-like it could understand him. But if it kept him from hurting himself—from hurting Remus—then he'd talk forever.
'What should I call you?' he asked.
The wolf howled and snuffled at the trapdoor again.
Sirius thought about it. 'Howler?' He shook his head. 'No, that's stupid. What about… Moony?'
The wolf barked again.
'Yeah? You like that? Okay, Moony. It's nice to meet you.'
There was the sound of pacing and then a loud thump. The wolf had settled down again. Sirius prattled on for hours, talking incessantly about anything he could think of. Until the moon set at nine-thirty, releasing Remus from the wolf. Madam Pomfrey would probably be there soon to fetch him; he needed to hide. Covering himself with the cloak, he hunkered back against the wall so she wouldn't brush against him and waited.
She arrived a few minutes later, head bent in the low passage, muttering to herself.
'I hope he's not too bad this month, poor little lad.'
She unlocked the trapdoor with a wave of her wand and pushed it open, before climbing the short distance up the ladder. A few minutes passed before she returned, floating Remus ahead of her on a stretcher.
Sirius had to cover his mouth to stop his gasp. Remus was bone white and his hands were a bloody mess. He followed behind Pomfrey, not worrying about keeping his distance anymore, Remus was unconscious and wouldn't smell him now. Pomfrey cast a disillusionment charm over Remus before they exited the Whomping Willow passage. A fresh covering of snow had fallen during the night, and as they made their way slowly back to the school, Sirius took care to step in the footprints left by Pomfrey in case she turned around. It wouldn't do for her to see two sets of footprints in the snow when there should only be one.
When they reached the Hospital wing, Sirius stayed close behind the medi-witch, not wanting to be kept out by a door closing too swiftly, and he followed her and Remus through her office and into a hidden room behind a bookcase. So that was where they'd been keeping him. Sirius hurried to the far corner to get out of the way. He made a point of closing his eyes when she removed the blanket covering him to examine his injuries. Remus would hate for him to see his scars.
He kept his eyes closed until he heard Pomfrey leave, and then he crouched down next to the bed. Remus was sleeping peacefully. His hands were bandaged and resting on his stomach, and his skin had a little more colour in it. But he looked so tiny in the hospital bed. Sirius dared not speak in case he woke him up. Remus could not find him there. Instead, he just sat next to him on the floor with his back against the wall. And enjoyed the knowledge that he was okay. He would wake up soon and return to the dorm.
Around lunchtime, Remus began to stir, so he said a mental goodbye and snuck out. The ward was empty apart from Pomfrey bustling about changing some bedsheets. So he waited by the doors until she went into her office and then he left, pulling the cloak off and stuffing it into his pocket. He planned to take a long shower and then sleep until Remus returned to the dorm, or James and Peter got back. Whatever happened first.
Friday, 31st December 1971
Remus checked his watch as surreptitiously as he could. Quarter to two. He had to go; moonrise was at three.
'Sirius, I'm not feeling good. I think I'm going to go to the hospital wing.'
Sirius glanced up from his book. 'You want me to come with you?'
Remus wanted that more than anything. It was going to be tough to wrench himself away from the comfort of Sirius' ludicrously enticing scent. Being immersed in the smell seemed to make his bones ache a little less. But it was better if he got some fresh air before he saw Madam Pomfrey.
'No, thanks, I'll be okay.'
'Alright, I hope you feel better soon.' Sirius returned his attention to his book, so Remus grabbed the bag he'd managed to pack earlier when Sirius was busy with something and hurried out of the common room and down the stairs.
He trudged through the snow after Madam Pomfrey and bade her goodbye at the Whomping Willow. As they were crossing the grounds, he kept thinking he caught Sirius' scent in the air but put it down to the smell being caught in his clothes. They had spent the entire day together as close as possible without actually touching, so it wasn't all that surprising.
He let himself into the little house and locked the trapdoor behind him, checking it twice to make sure it was secure. There were still twenty minutes until moonrise, so he removed his clothes and put them in his bag with his wand. He put the bag behind the wards protecting the fireplace from the wolf and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the fire to meditate.
Remus was wrenched from his mind by the first jolts of pain through his body, and he screamed. He no longer tried to suppress his reactions to the pain. There was no one around to hear, and it helped to let it out, even if only a little. The transformation was as torturous as always, and his screams rang out into the room for what felt like hours before his mind fled into the darkness.
The wolf awoke from his sleep and stretched his sore muscles before he got to his feet and looked around. Something was different today. He padded over to the shape on the floor and listened. There was something there. On the other side. Was it a friend? The wolf lowered his head and sniffed at the floor. He couldn't smell anything, but there was definitely something there. It was a feeling, a sensation of comfort and belonging, like Pack. Maybe if he called it would answer? The wolf tipped his head back and howled the call of a wolf that's lost. A wolf looking for his pack.
The other didn't respond. Maybe it was hurt and needed help. The wolf scratched at the shape on the floor, trying to get through. He had tried before and always failed, but he had to try again. If there was Pack on the other side that needed help, he had to try. The wolf scratched at the floor until his paws were ripped to shreds and dripping with blood. It was no use, he couldn't get through. He howled again, this time in apology, letting his pack-mate know he had failed, and then he slumped to the floor, right on top of the shape. As close as he could get to the friend on the other side.
The pack-mate was quiet, but the wolf could still feel their comforting presence. They were still there, on the other side. He lay there for hours. Waiting. And then there was movement below. He got to his feet and sniffed at the shape again. Still no smell. He whined.
Pack-mate answered.
He whined again.
Pack-mate made a noise back.
The wolf barked in excitement and wagged his tail.
Pack-mate made a long series of odd noises.
The wolf sounded his howl of greeting and sniffed around the shape. Why couldn't he smell pack mate?
Pack-mate made more noises on the other side, and the wolf barked again. It wasn't as good as that one day of freedom, but it was better than any other day since. If it was all he could have, he would take it. He paced around in a circle, trying to find a good spot, and lay back down next to the shape as close to his pack-mate as he could get before lowering his head onto his paws.
Pack-mate was making a lot of noise. Long streams of strange sounds with short pauses in between. The wolf closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the first living thing he'd heard in such a long time, feeling content.
Remus woke up in the little room off the hospital wing, opened his eyes and looked out of the window. The sun was high in the sky. That was a good sign. He took a deep breath to assess the damage to his body. The breath came easily, but with it came something more terrifying than any injury. The scent of wood-smoke, soap and a hint of vanilla.
Sirius.
Had he been in there while Remus was sleeping? What had he seen? Was he still there under the cloak?
'Sirius?' he whispered.
There was no answer. He inhaled through his nose. The scent was faint, as if he'd left some time ago. Maybe it was just residual scent on his belongings from spending so much time with him during the holidays while the school was so empty. Nothing to worry about.
But what if it wasn't?
Madam Pomfrey poked her head around the door a short time later and smiled when she saw he was awake.
'Good afternoon, Mister Lupin. How are you feeling?'
Always the same question. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. 'Not too bad actually.'
'It was a good month. Just your hands were torn up. The wolf seemed to be concentrating on escape. I found you right next to the trapdoor this morning.'
Remus frowned. 'I won't be able to get out, will I?'
'Oh no. The trapdoor has enough protections on it. Not even smells can get through.'
Remus let out a relieved breath before remembering what he'd been worrying about when he first woke up. 'Madam Pomfrey? No one's been in here while I was sleeping, have they?'
She shook her head. 'No, of course not. No one could slip past me.'
That's what she thought, but she didn't know that four first-years had access to an invisibility cloak. It wasn't particularly reassuring, but it was the best he was going to get. 'Okay, I was just checking.'
'As soon as your hands are healed, you can go,' she said. 'I'll just fetch your nutrition potion.'
Remus grinned as she bustled out of the room. He loved that nutrition potion. While he waited for her to return, he grabbed his bag and pulled out his Marauders crest to put it back on. He fingered the silver pendant and struggled to suppress the smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth. It was nice to belong.
It was four in the afternoon before Pomfrey was satisfied that his hands were healed well enough for him to leave, and he hurried up to Gryffindor tower as fast as he could, which wasn't particularly fast. He really wanted to be there when James and Peter got back, and he knew the train would be arriving around four.
Remus burst into the dorm to find James and Peter already there, just taking off their cloaks. It seemed like they'd just arrived themselves.
'And here's Remus. Everyone's back at the same time,' Sirius said, grinning at him. He was holding Cosmo in his arms. 'You feeling better now, mate?'
He was being completely normal, no sign of wariness about him at all. Remus must have been mistaken. There was no way Sirius had seen him in the hospital bed with bandaged hands that morning.
'Hi, Remus. Great to see you,' James said. 'Now for the love of Godric Gryffindor, tell us what the thing is that happened on Christmas day. It's driving me mad.'
Remus met Sirius' eyes, and they both snorted. Their plan to drive James crazy had worked like a charm.
'Hi, Peter, did you have a good holiday?' Remus asked, ignoring James entirely.
'Remus!' James yelled, making him crack up laughing.
'I'm sorry, James. It's just too easy to wind you up. Tell him, Sirius.'
Sirius stepped forward and put his arm around James' shoulders. 'We have been head-hunted by the Hogwarts' Chiefs of Raucous Revelry to inherit their legacy and take over from them when they leave Hogwarts at the end of the year.'
James' eyes went huge. 'What?' he shouted, shoving Sirius' arm off and whirling around to stare at him. 'How? When? Why? What?'
Sirius smirked at Remus. 'I think I broke him.'
'Give him a minute,' Remus said. 'He just needs to process.'
James' mouth gaped like a fish. Several seconds passed with him stood in stunned incomprehension before he finally blinked and looked at Sirius. 'Show me.'
Sirius took the letter from his trunk and handed it to James, who read it in silence before sitting on the end of his bed and reading it again. He then handed it to Peter and looked up.
'I can't believe it,' he said. 'This is like a dream come true.'
'We have to actually complete the challenge first,' Remus said.
James waved his words away like they were a mere trifle. 'Easy-peasy.'
Sirius nodded. 'We're the Marauders. Together we can do anything.'
Remus liked their optimism, but he was dubious.
'Have you done anything yet?' James asked. 'Like looked for this thing on the third floor that's supposed to help?'
Remus shook his head. 'No, we wanted to wait for you two to get back. We're a team.'
James grinned. 'Good, I want us to do this together.'
James and Peter were too tired from travelling to do anything that evening, much to Remus' relief. He was still exhausted from the moon and hadn't been looking forward to trudging the corridors of the third-floor. They stayed in the dorm, exchanging stories about the holidays. James and Peter admired Sirius' paintings, and when they tried to get into bed for the night, they found their blankets refused to budge until they sang "I'm a little teapot," complete with actions. A task James completed with great enthusiasm. Peter was a little less happy about Remus' and Sirius' hysterical laughter.
The next morning, they went downstairs and found a crowd of people around the noticeboard.
'What's going on?' Sirius asked Frank Longbottom as he passed them.
'The Chiefs of Raucous Revelry have organised a sand-war tournament in the beach room you guys found. There's a sign-up sheet on the noticeboard.'
'Awesome!' Sirius said, turning to the others. 'We have to enter.'
James grinned. 'Obviously.'
Remus and Peter both nodded.
They waited for the crowd to clear so they could get to the noticeboard.
With thanks to four determined and resourceful first-years, the Hogwarts Chiefs of Raucous Revelry are delighted to announce a new event this year.
The Hogwarts Sand-Wars House Championship
The tournament will consist of three parts:
1. House Heats: Teams will compete against members of their own house in four-team battles until only two teams remain for each house.
Scoring system: sudden death. If you lose, you're out.
The dates for Gryffindor's heats are:
Saturday, 15th Jan.
Saturday, 12th Feb.
Saturday, 11th March
Matches will be held between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm
2. Semi-finals: The final two teams from each House will battle against the teams from all the other Houses until only one team remains for each house.
Scoring system: points; first team eliminated = 1 point. Last team standing = 4 points.
The dates for the semi-finals are:
Gryffindor vs Slytherin - Saturday 22nd April
Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw - Saturday 29th April
Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff - Saturday 6th May
Slytherin vs Ravenclaw - Saturday 13th May
Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw - Saturday 2oth May
Slytherin vs Hufflepuff - Saturday 27th May
3. Final: The four remaining teams will battle in a Grand Final for the honour of the title "Sand-War Champions."
Scoring system: Sudden death.
The final will be held on:
Saturday 3rd June
All teams must have four members.
All matches begin at 9 am
Scores will be posted every Saturday evening.
Sign up below to represent Gryffindor
They signed up under the name Magical Mischief-Makers again. As much as they wanted to sign up as the Marauders, they wanted to keep their identity secret even more. Remus was a little nervous, but he could wear his gloves and hood for the matches so it should be fine. He hoped.
He watched Sirius closely for the next two days as they searched the third floor of the main building and the east-wing, but he didn't appear to be behaving any differently towards him. By Tuesday morning, he was convinced the scent in the hospital wing must have been coming from his belongings. Sirius hadn't seen anything suspicious, he was sure. On Tuesday afternoon, straight after lunch, they hit the third-floor west wing. Their searching consisted of tapping anything and everything with their wands and saying dissendium.
It was Remus that found it. Halfway down a corridor, he tapped the top of a statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor—a hump-backed, one-eyed witch who was famous for developing the cure for dragon pox—with his wand while muttering the password, and the hump on her back opened wide enough to admit a child, maybe a thin adult.
'Guys, I've found it,' Remus called down the corridor.
The other Marauders converged on him.
'Where do you think it goes?' James asked, peering into the hole.
Remus shrugged. 'How should I know?'
With his usual level of reckless spontaneity, Sirius bounded forward saying, 'One way to find out,' and launched himself headfirst into the hole.
There was a few seconds pause followed by a soft thump before Sirius called up, 'It's okay, come on down.'
'After you,' Remus said, waving James and Peter ahead of him.
James went first, followed by Peter, both of them taking the far more sensible feet-first option. Remus waited and heard the same soft thump.
'Alright, Remus. We've moved out of the way. Get that gorgeous ass of yours down here,' Sirius shouted up from below.
Remus shook his head. Gorgeous indeed, Sirius was such an idiot. He hoisted himself up and entered the hole feet-first, slid down a stone slide and landed next to his friends in a dark and narrow, low-ceilinged earth passageway. It looked a lot like the one under the Whomping Willow, which he found a little unnerving.
He turned his head to look at the steep slope he had slid down. It was a smooth polished stone. 'It's going to be fun trying to get back up there,' he said.
'We'll worry about that later,' James said. 'Come on, get up. Let's see where this leads.'
They all took their wands out and cast Lumos to light up the passage before they started down it. The route twisted and turned for what felt like an hour, gently sloping upwards the entire time.
'This is ridiculous. Are we even still in the school?' Remus asked after a while.
'Wouldn't it be cool if we weren't?' Sirius said.
'Well, that really depends where we end up, doesn't it?' Remus said, raising an eyebrow when Sirius turned to look at him.
'As long as it's not my house, I don't really care,' Sirius said with a shrug.
'I think we're about to find out,' James said, coming to a stop at the bottom of a flight of worn stone steps.
Remus eyed the stairs with horror. He couldn't even see the top. 'Oh gods, are you serious? I'm already knackered.'
'I am Sirius, but I have no idea what that has to do with your energy levels,' Sirius said. 'It wasn't me that wore you out, although I can if you like?' He raised his eyebrows suggestively, and Remus felt his face warming. Damn, he thought he was getting past that. Sirius was upping his game.
'I think I'll pass on that less than tempting offer,' Remus said, trying not to show how flustered he was.
'Alright, you two. Stop flirting,' James said. 'We're on an important mission here.'
The steps went on for ages. He and Peter both sat down in protest after five minutes, forcing the others to stop for a break. Their climb eventually ended in a trapdoor. Remus wasn't overly fond of trapdoors, but he was sure there wouldn't be a slathering beast behind this one so he held his tongue.
'Let's find out where we are, shall we?' James said, looking over his shoulder with a grin before pushing it open and climbing up.
They followed him through and found themselves in a dark room full of crates. Remus shone his wandlight onto one of the boxes.
Honeydukes Pepper Imps
'Guys?' he said. 'I think we're in Hogsmeade. Look.'
They all turned to look at the box he was lighting up.
'No way!' James said, already pulling the invisibility cloak out of his bag. 'Gods, this is awesome. Let's go look around Hogsmeade.'
Remus eyed the cloak in James' hand, his stomach twisting into a knot. 'I can't come under that with all of you,' he said. 'I'll just go wait in the passageway.'
James looked at him like he'd suddenly developed bright blue spots all over his face. 'Nonsense, we never leave a man behind. We'll sneak out, and then Sirius can come back for you.'
Remus' stomach unravelled and warmth blossomed in his chest. He was never going to get used to how willing they were to make allowances for him. His friends crowded together and Sirius shot him a wink as he flung the cloak around them, causing them to vanish. The stairs creaked, and then the door at the top opened a little before swinging wide and closing again. Remus moved back into a shadowy corner behind a crate in case anyone came down.
A few minutes passed before the door opened and closed again, and the stairs creaked.
'Remus?' Sirius' voice came out of thin air.
He stepped out from behind the crate. 'I'm here. Where are you?'
Sirius' head appeared first, followed by the rest of his body as he pulled the cloak off. 'You ready?'
'Yeah,' Remus said, stepping up next to him. Sirius flung the cloak over them both, and they linked arms. They'd shared the cloak many times by that point, and Remus wasn't too worried about it anymore, but his heart still raced as they snuck up the steps and out of the shop. James and Peter were waiting for them in a nearby alley.
'Where do you want to go first?' James asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement.
Remus shrugged. 'I kind of want to go back into Honeydukes, but I don't have any money to spend, so there's not really any point.'
'Let's go to Zonko's and stock up on supplies first,' Sirius said.
Peter looked a little worried. 'Don't you think they'll notice we're first years and tell the school? We're wearing our school robes and everything.'
James frowned and then shrugged. 'It's only detention if they do.'
'That's true,' Peter said. He didn't look entirely convinced but would defer to the group and he was outnumbered. 'If we get away with Zonko's, I want to go to The Three Broomsticks. I heard some older kids talking about it. Apparently the butterbeer is amazing.'
'We have a plan,' James said, clapping his hands together. He marched out into the street with confidence, and they all followed. They found Zonko's joke shop quickly and walked inside. James' eyes went wide at the displays.
'I am so glad I got my allowance yesterday,' he said, making a beeline for the wet-start fireworks.
Remus chuckled and followed him. The shop-keeper was eyeing them with suspicion but didn't seem to be making any move to send a message to the school. And his face soon changed to one of excitement when he saw how many items James was putting into his basket. Dungbombs, stink pellets, whizzing worms and colour changing hair potion soon joined the fireworks.
When James was satisfied with his haul, he went to the counter to pay—12 galleons, 4 sickles, 9 knuts—and they exited the shop back onto the icy street. They trudged through the snow, following their noses to find The Three Broomsticks. It didn't take long, and when they pushed the door open, they were hit in the face with heavenly warmth and the smell of food intensified, making Remus' stomach growl. It wasn't very busy since it was mid-afternoon and the young barmaid behind the counter frowned at them.
'Why don't you guys go sit down while I get us some drinks,' Sirius said.
They all agreed. Sirius looked the oldest out of all of them.
'Can you get some chips too?' Remus asked. 'They smell amazing.'
'No problem,' Sirius said with a grin.
They left Sirius and found themselves a secluded booth in the corner. A minute later, Sirius joined them, carrying a tray loaded with four glass mugs containing a foaming golden liquid that looked delicious and a large bowl of fat chips.
'Here we go, lads. We should add Charmer of Barmaids to my job description. She knew we'd snuck out, but promised not to tell if we behave ourselves,' he said, placing the tray on the table.
'Behave?' James asked, acting like he didn't recognise the word, never mind understand its meaning.
They all laughed.
'I know. I wasn't sure what she meant either. But maybe we'll get lucky and do it by accident,' Sirius said, sliding into the booth next to James.
Remus picked up a mug and took a sip. It was hot and sweet and like nothing he'd ever tasted before. Chocolate was better, but butterbeer came a close second.
'Mmm, delicious,' Peter said after trying his own drink.
James nodded in agreement, putting his mug back on the table. 'We should buy some bottles to take back with us.'
'Great idea,' Sirius said. He took a big swig from his mug and jumped up to return to the bar. He came back a minute later with two bulging bags that clinked when he moved.
'I bought twenty should last us a few days,' he said with a chuckle.
'Merlin knows how we're going to get those back to the dorm without getting caught,' Remus said laughing. 'Why did you buy so many?'
Sirius winked at him. 'It'll be easy with my snitch-o-scope.'
By the time they finished their drinks and devoured the chips between them, it was almost four, and they all agreed it was time to get back to the school.
Sirius took Remus down to the basement with the bags first before returning upstairs for James and Peter. When they emerged from under the cloak, James was clutching a bulging Honeydukes bag.
'Merlin, James, do you have any of your allowance left?' Remus asked.
'Yeah, loads. Don't worry,' James said with a shrug. 'Come on, we need to figure out how we're going to get all this back up that stone slide.'
They travelled back down the stairs, followed by the narrow passage, taking it in turns to carry the heavy bags of butterbeer or the lighter snacks and Zonko's products. When they reached the bottom of the stone slide, they put the bags down and considered the problem before them.
Sirius took the lead, taking a long run-up, he bounded up the stone slide and grabbed onto the back of the witch's hump at the top. 'Okay, James, can you run up about two-thirds of the way and wedge yourself there?'
James nodded and did what Sirius suggested, leaning back against the earth wall and sticking a leg out against the other side to stay in place.
'Great, now Pete, you do the same but one-third of the way up.'
It took Peter three attempts, but he managed it in the end.
'Remus, pass the bag of snacks up to Pete,'
They passed the bag of Honeydukes treats up the chain to Sirius and once he had it in hand; he opened the hump and poked his head out. It must have been all clear because he shoved the bag through.
'Right, quick, we need to do this fast in case someone comes,'
Remus had anticipated that and had already started passing the bags up, James had the Zonko's bag already and Pete was hanging onto one of the bags of butterbeer. They passed the bags up to Sirius as fast as possible and as soon as he'd dropped the fourth one through the hole he clambered through after them.
James easily made it up the last bit of the slope and disappeared after Sirius. Peter unwedged himself and slid back down to Remus.
It took Peter four attempts to make it all the way to the top and as soon as he disappeared Remus ran up after him, making it in one try.
'That was fun,' Sirius said with a grin. 'Now for the easy part.'
With each of them carrying a bag and Sirius holding his snitch-o-scope in his free hand, they made their way back to Gryffindor tower. They had to hide several times and wait for the light to go out, but they reached the dorm without getting caught.
And they now had a way into Hogsmeade whenever they wanted.