Monday, 14th February 1972, 1:00 am

Sirius' mouth opened in a jaw-aching yawn, and he paused in his task of slicing the hunk of ginger root into half-inch cubes as his eyes closed against his will.

They hadn't won the Creature Hunt, not even close, but none of them cared. For them, the event had been a complete success. The thestral and centaur tail hairs were safely tucked away with the rest of the ingredients, and they knew where the mooncalves would dance on the next full moon. They only had two other ingredients left to get; the merpeople-scales and hair from a kelpie, and they had a plan for both. Tuesday afternoon, they would sneak into Hogsmeade for yet another attempt at finding something suitable to trade with the merpeople. And next weekend they would visit Emhio. But they had another mission to complete before then. Something far more fun and far less difficult. Crashing the Valentine's Day dance and spiking the punch.

Which explained what Sirius was doing preparing potion ingredients in a freezing cave in the dead of night when he'd much rather be curled up in the toasty dorm room, sleeping. Like Remus. The lucky bastard was so terrible at potion-making that none of them wanted him anywhere near the brew for fear he would cause a disaster. Instead, Remus was to be in charge of making notes for them all in Monday's classes.

On second thought, maybe Sirius was the lucky one. Potion-making was at least more interesting than note-taking.

With so little time to prepare something before the dance, they hadn't been able to go as spectacular as they would have liked. So they wouldn't be giving the Marauders credit for this one. The best potion recipe they could find at such short notice was the hair-raising potion. The recipe was simple, and they had everything they needed in their potion kits. With the addition of Remus' timing charm, they could delay the effects for maximum dispersal. It wouldn't do for people to stop drinking the punch after only a few were affected by it.

Sirius yawned again and shivered. It really was fucking cold in the cave.

'We have got to get some form of heating down here.'

James looked up from grinding his horseradish into powder. 'Bloody freezing, isn't it?'

'Dunno what you two are complaining about,' Peter said, grinning at them from beside the cauldron. 'I'm lovely and warm.'

'If you weren't so close to the potion,' James said, 'I'd chuck these frog brains at your smug little face, but I want to go to bed as soon as possible, so I won't take that risk.' He pointed at him with his pestle. 'Think yourself lucky.'

Peter snorted. 'Note to self: Only tease James when standing next to a valuable potion.'

'Very wise, Pete,' Sirius said. He put down his knife and rubbed his hands together, trying to get the blood flowing into his fingers. 'Ginger's done.'

'Good. I need that soon. Bring it over.'

Sirius scooped the cubed ginger root into a bowl and carried it over to their makeshift brewing station. After handing the bowl to Peter, he crouched down to warm his icy fingers in the heat from the fire.

'How's it looking?' he asked, peering into the cauldron. The potion inside was a murky green with violet steam billowing off it and spiralling up into the shadows.

'Perfect,' Peter said. He stretched his arms above his head and yawned. 'And it's nearly done. We can go to bed soon.'

'Thank Merlin for that,' James said. 'I didn't realise how knackered we'd be after the Hunt.'

Peter added the ginger root to the potion and stirred, counting under his breath. Sirius and James stayed silent, not wanting to be responsible for him messing up and making them start again.

Thirty-seven stirs later, Peter put down the spoon and used his wand to set the fire to medium before looking up and wiping the sweat from his forehead. 'Is the horseradish powder almost ready? I'll need it in five minutes.'

James picked up the mortar of powder and stepped over to the cauldron, showing Peter the contents. 'Dunno, what do you think?'

Peter scrutinised James' work, pinching a few granules between his fingers and inspecting the size. Then he nodded. 'It's perfect.'

'Good, my arm's aching like a bitch,' James said. Rubbing at his arm muscles, he looked at Sirius. 'Next time, you're grinding, and I'm chopping.'

Sirius grinned. 'That's fair. I'm stronger than you anyway.'

James raised his eyebrows. 'Says who?'

'Everyone,' Sirius said with a careless shrug.

'You want to prove it?' James asked, straightening up and attempting to look intimidating.

'Oy!' Peter yelled, his voice echoing around the cave. Sirius and James jumped and looked at him with surprise. Peter never shouted. He seemed just as startled by it as Sirius was, and he coughed a little before continuing in a softer tone. 'Remus said if you two started fighting next to the potion, I should tell you he'll turn your hair purple for the whole week.'

Sirius and James glanced at each other, and both of them took a step back.

'Well,' Sirius said, stroking his hair protectively. 'That's just uncalled for, threatening a man's hair like that.'

James nodded his agreement. 'Quite. I think we need to teach our Remus a little lesson in respect.'

Sirius grinned. 'Hair-raising potion in his morning tea ought to do the trick.'

They finished up the potion and crept back to the dorm under the cloak. Remus was fast asleep with Cosmo curled up next to him, so they snuck into bed trying hard not to wake him. They needed their note-taker to be well-rested.

The next morning at breakfast, Sirius, James and Peter were all red-eyed from lack of sleep. And Remus was annoyingly chirpy, strengthening Sirius' resolve to get him back for threatening his hair in such a heartless way. The plan was simple. Sirius would distract Remus, while James slipped the potion into his tea.

'... and then they killed the dragon and saved everyone,' Remus said. 'It was a brilliant story. You can borrow it if you want.'

Sirius blinked at him. 'Don't need to, you just told us everything that happens.'

Remus blushed and lowered his gaze to his lap. 'Sorry. I'm talking too much, aren't I?'

'No,' Sirius said in a rush. Remus' expression caused a sick squirming in his stomach. The last thing he wanted was to make Remus think he couldn't be excited about the things he liked. Especially when he listened to Sirius go on about art for hours on end without complaining. 'I'm just tired and being a grumpy fuck. Ignore me.'

Remus was still staring at his hands in his lap. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw James reach over the table and pass his hand over the top of Remus' cup. The liquid inside rippled for a few seconds before growing still. James winked at him, and Sirius moved his head in a very slight nod, letting James know he'd seen.

'Can I borrow the book, Remus?' Peter asked. 'You made it sound so interesting.'

Remus looked up and met Peter's eyes with a smile. 'Sure. I'll give it to you after classes.'

Sirius shot Peter a grateful look. He'd never seen the boy read anything he didn't have to, but he'd do everything in his power to make his friends happy. Even read an entire book apparently.

Remus took his last bite of breakfast, pushed his plate away and reached for his teacup. Sirius struggled to keep the anticipation off his face. The last thing he wanted was for Remus to realise something was up. Time seemed to move in slow motion as Remus lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip. He moved the cup away, and Sirius' eyes dropped to his throat, watching for the swallow. The moment he saw his throat bob, his gaze lifted to Remus' hair. Any second now.

One by one, strands of Remus' hair lifted from his shoulders and soared into the air above his head, standing up perfectly straight. James snorted, and Remus' eyes flickered in his direction, his expression questioning. He had yet to notice anything was wrong.

James shook his head. 'It's nothing. Just remembered something funny.'

Remus nodded and took another, larger sip from his teacup. More strands of hair joined those already sticking up. His hair was shoulder-length in its natural state, but with his curls straightened out it was a good sixteen inches long, and it looked hysterical standing up like it was. The students closest to them were pointing, whispering to their friends and giggling.

When the final few strands joined the rest in the air, Remus finally seemed to realise something was wrong. Maybe it was the cold air against his now bare neck, or perhaps it was the laughter getting louder. It might even have been James and Peter choking on their pumpkin juice. Sirius didn't know, but something clued him in because he lifted his hand to his head. As he felt his hair, Remus' eyes widened, and his face paled.

'Did something give you a scare?' Peter choked out in between giggles.

James' laugh seemed to die in his throat a moment later, and he frowned, leaning across the table. 'Woah, that's a nasty scar, mate. Where did you get that?'

Remus leant back away from James and slapped his hand over his neck. And Sirius' blood went cold. Fuck. This had been an awful, terrible idea. Why hadn't he considered that Remus might have grown his hair so long for a reason? He'd seen firsthand the injuries the wolf caused every month. Obviously, there'd be scars. He was an idiot! An absolute bloody moron!

And a terrible friend.

'It's nothing... I... Look...' Remus stammered. 'I have to go.'

'Remus. No. Wait,' Sirius tried. But it was too little, too late. Remus shot to his feet, grabbed his bag and dashed from the hall. The students' laughter followed him out, and Sirius, James and Peter all stared at each other. Sirius didn't know what to say, and it seemed the others didn't either.

Remus didn't turn up for Herbology, and the three boys pruned their dittany plants in silence. Sirius' stomach was heavy with guilt, and he guessed the other two were feeling equally bad about what they'd done to Remus. It was supposed to be a joke, but jokes were only funny when everyone was laughing. And Remus hadn't been laughing.

They ran all the way up to Gryffindor tower to check their dorm room during break. If he'd been in any doubt about the others' sense of guilt, it was quashed when Peter didn't even mention wanting to get food from the hall. The dorm room was empty, though, and they were out of time.

When they arrived at the Transfiguration classroom, two minutes late, Remus was sitting in his usual seat, and his hair was back to normal. It hung down either side of his head, hiding his face from view, and he didn't look up when Sirius sat down next to him. Sirius stared at him for a moment, hoping for some kind of acknowledgement. Remus ignored him completely, and Sirius sighed in frustration, opening his bag. As he rooted around for his inkpot and quill, he spotted the Marauders Notebook and pulled it out. Maybe a written apology would help.

Ignoring the questions on the board he was supposed to be answering, he opened the notebook and dipped his quill, ready to begin. But what to say? Short and simple would be best.

We're sorry, Remus, he wrote, and pushed the notebook across the desk.

Remus glanced at the page and shoved the book back at him without looking up. Not very promising. He tapped his quill on the desk as he thought about what to write next.

We didn't mean to upset you. It was just a joke.

This time, when Sirius pushed the notebook under Remus' nose, he sighed and pulled it closer. Hope flared in his chest when Remus scratched out a reply. When the notebook was thrust in his direction, Sirius took it back eagerly and looked down at the page.

Leave me alone, Sirius. I'm working.

His hope died a swift but painful death. It didn't seem like Remus was going to forgive them easily, and his chest ached with the knowledge that he was so angry at them. But he put the notebook away. He would do as asked; ignoring Remus' request would only make him madder.

Remus continued his silence when the theory lesson was over and they moved onto the practical work. They were combining both colour and material transfiguration, turning a red glass plate into a yellow china plate. Sirius could have performed the spell in his sleep, but he acted like he was having trouble with it just so he'd have something to do. He couldn't bear the thought of sitting in silence when usually he and Remus would be having a laugh while the rest of the class struggled.

At lunchtime, Remus disappeared down to the kitchens to eat, something he hadn't done for months, and it was the clearest sign yet. Remus didn't trust them to keep him safe any more.

James took his seat opposite Remus' empty one and met Sirius' gaze. His eyes held the same pain Sirius was feeling.

'We have to fix this,' he said. 'It's unbearable.'

'He won't even let me apologise,' Sirius said. He placed his elbows on the table, supporting his head with his hands. 'Told me to leave him alone.'

'This isn't the first time he's avoided us,' Peter said. 'Can we corner him outside the kitchen again?'

James shook his head. 'Bad idea. This is different from last time.'

'He's right,' Sirius said with a moan. 'Last time it wasn't our fault.'

'Don't despair, mate. We'll win him back somehow,' James said in a determined voice.

It was pitch black outside before they were able to speak to Remus. He ignored them in Charms and didn't even glance their way during Defence. He'd barely said a word to Evans either, which made Sirius feel a little better. Not much, but a little. They'd eaten dinner in silence, all of them preoccupied with the empty space next to Sirius. Remus' absence felt like a gaping hole at the heart of their friendship.

Returning to the dorm after dinner, they tried to occupy themselves while they waited. Remus would have to go there to sleep, and when he did, they wanted to be ready. Sirius lounged on his bed, his Defence textbook opened in front of him, but he was only pretending to read. All of his attention was on the door. James was flicking through a broomstick magazine, and Peter was looking over his notes on the Spectral Essence potion. Sirius was pretty sure neither of them were giving the activities their full attention either.

Sirius jumped when the door slowly opened, and Remus stepped into the room. His hair glinted gold in the torchlight, and strange patterns flickered over the skin of his face. After closing the door behind him, Remus walked over to his bed in silence. His face expressionless, as if carved from stone.

'Remus?' Sirius said, his voice no more than a whisper.

James, being far braver than him, stood and crossed the room, stopping when he reached Sirius' bed. 'Mate?' He paused, but Remus gave no response. 'We're really sorry about this morning.'

'You're sorry?' Remus asked, his back still facing them. His voice was cold. 'For humiliating me? Or because I'm mad about it?'

'Both?' Peter said, his voice nothing more than a squeak. It was a testament to how much Peter cared for Remus that he'd said anything at all. Peter hated confrontation.

Remus turned at Peter's answer, and Sirius drew in a sharp breath. Cold fury was written all across Remus' face, and his eyes were rimmed with red. He'd been crying.

'I don't blame you, Peter,' Remus said, his voice lacking any hint of emotion. 'I doubt you could stop these two, no matter how much you tried.' He turned to Sirius and James. 'But you two. How could you do that to me?'

Sirius winced at the pain in Remus' eyes. It was layered beneath the anger. Hidden. But Sirius saw through the mask. He was an expert at covering up pain after all. And Remus was hurting deeply.

James, showing exactly which one of them was the truest Gryffindor, took a step closer to Remus. 'It was supposed to be a joke.'

'Yes, so Sirius said.' Remus turned away and opened his trunk before rummaging through the contents. 'It wasn't funny.' He pulled out a set of pyjamas and slammed the lid closed, making all three of them jump. Standing up straight, Remus walked to the door of the bathroom and pushed it open. Before stepping into the room, he paused, and then in the quietest, saddest voice Sirius had ever heard he whispered, 'I thought I could trust you.'

Six little words, that's all they were. How could six little words hurt like a thousand blades through his heart?

Sirius watched the door close behind Remus and groaned. 'We fucked up. We fucked up so bad.'

'We can still fix this,' James said, joining Sirius on his bed. 'We just need a plan.'

Peter walked over and climbed up next to them. 'I dunno, James. I don't think this is a plan kind of problem.'

James frowned. 'Explain.'

'Remus doesn't trust us anymore. If we plan something, he'll know it was planned. It'll seem...' He shrugged. 'I dunno... Fake?'

'He's right,' Sirius said. 'If we're going to win him back, we need to be real.'

'Starting with getting rid of the rest of the potion,' James said, nodding. 'It's not as funny as we thought it would be.'

'Good idea,' Peter said. 'But it won't be enough.'

'No, but it's a start,' Sirius said.

'So, no plans?' James asked. 'No schemes?'

Sirius shook his head. 'Merlin knows how, but we need to prove to him he can trust us. And some manufactured, scripted performance isn't going to do it.'

Remus stood just inside the bathroom door, listening. He felt a flash of guilt for eavesdropping, but he needed to know if they were discussing his scar. If they were working it out.

He needed to know if he would have to flee.

They weren't though. His scar hadn't been mentioned at all. The only topic of conversation seemed to be how they could earn back his trust.

Odd. They really seemed bothered that he wouldn't forgive them.

It didn't make any sense. They'd played a cruel joke on him, and that suggested they didn't care about him. But everything he heard through the door said the opposite. They cared a lot.

Cared so much that they were going to throw away the potion they'd stayed up half the night making. He appreciated the gesture, but it was unnecessary. It wasn't the potion he objected to, just that he had been singled out. There was a vast difference between being part of a large group of people affected by a joke and being the only one. In a group, you could all laugh together. Alone, everyone was laughing at you.

But if he was honest with himself, that wasn't even the main reason he was upset. Sure it had been horrible realising the laughter bubbling up around him was directed his way, and even worse having so many eyes staring at him. But if it wasn't for James noticing the scar on his neck, he could have laughed it off. Maybe made a joke about James' face scaring the life out of him or something. But James had noticed it, and the sheer terror at the exposure sent him into a panic. He was being more than a little unfair to them, though, using this incident as proof he couldn't trust them. Because he knew in his heart that had they already known about his scars, they never would have considered playing that particular joke on him. He knew it with the same kind of certainty that he knew the moon would always rise. And he couldn't hold the moral high ground on the humiliation either. Hadn't he threatened to do something very similar to their hair?

He'd handled it so poorly, running away like that. Deflection would have been more appropriate. If he was smarter, he would have prepared a story in advance. He shared a bedroom and a bathroom with three other people. It had been careless and stupid not to foresee a time when his scars might be seen.

He'd thought he was angry because that made sense, but it was really fear that had driven him to avoid his friends all day. Fear that they would figure out his secret.

That had been stupid too.

Even after making the mistake of running away, he should have done damage control as soon as possible. Sirius had even given him the perfect opportunity in Transfiguration. He could have written his excuse down. Took the time to choose his words carefully and make them believable, without body language or tone of voice to betray him. But no, he was an idiot and threw that chance away.

Five full moons he'd had so far at Hogwarts. Five times he'd disappeared for days. How many more could he get away with before his friends noticed the pattern? Collecting the ingredients for the Spectral Essence didn't help. With two of them needing to be collected on a full moon, it was practically shining a spotlight on the timing of his absence. As soon as he'd seen the list of ingredients, he'd known it would be risky. He'd hoped to cover up with his excuses, but now they had his scar to add to the evidence, and he was so afraid.

That fear was making him stupid, though. Causing him to behave irrationally. It was going to get him found out. What he needed to do was think through the problem and plan. Stop winging it and hoping for the best and actually prepare himself for questions so he could lie convincingly.

As much as he hated the idea of lying to his first and only friends, he didn't have a choice. Because the alternative was losing them and—he blinked back the tears that pooled in his eyes at the thought.

He didn't want to be alone again.

So, first things first. He needed an excuse for the scar on his neck. A childhood accident, maybe?

He fell out of a tree.

No. His neck was a weird place to be injured by that. And it would be helpful if the excuse also accounted for the rest of the scars, in case they were seen in the future. Something big then; he had a lot of scars to account for.

A car accident?

That could work really well. Sirius and James wouldn't know much about cars, and Peter was unlikely to question the story, too scared of causing an argument. That lie could account for his "fear" of being touched too if he said that for a long time after the accident, touch caused him pain.

What about the pattern, though? There wasn't much he could do about that. Maybe speak to Breen about spending the odd night in the storage rooms to break the pattern up, but he couldn't afford to miss any more classes than he had to.

His friends had gone quiet, and he'd been in the bathroom for far too long as it was. He needed to leave. After working through the issue, his fear had lessened. He was as ready as he was ever going to be. So he took a deep breath and pushed the door open. His gaze fell on Sirius first. He was lounging on his bed writing in his journal and looked up when the door opened, offering Remus a hesitant smile. Remus acknowledged the gesture with a smile of his own, and hope flared in Sirius' eyes. Glancing over to James and Peter's side of the room, he found them sitting together working on something, likely Peter's homework. They seemed absorbed in their activity, but Remus was reasonably sure they'd been looking at him until he turned his head their way.

He coughed to clear his throat, and they looked up. 'We need to talk,' he said, before taking the few steps to Sirius' bed and sitting down next to him. Sirius shuffled over to make more room. The action seemed automatic, and Remus felt the familiar warmth flood his chest, just as it did every time his friends did something specifically to make him more comfortable.

He couldn't lose them. Not yet.

And because of that truth, he had no choice but to lie to them.

James and Peter didn't hesitate to join them, crowding onto the end of Sirius' bed and gazing expectantly at him, sorrow and regret in their eyes. Sirius closed his journal and placed it on his bedside table before turning back to Remus.

'We got rid of the rest of the potion,' he said. 'And we promise never to play a joke on you again.'

Remus smiled at him but couldn't maintain eye contact. This was harder than he'd expected, and he resorted to looking down at his hands while he spoke. 'Look, I need to explain why I reacted like that.'

'You don't,' James said. Remus looked up at him, and James met his eyes. 'We know. You were embarrassed.'

'And now you feel like you can't trust us,' Sirius said, his voice sad. 'But we're going to fix that.'

James grimaced. 'Not sure how, but we'll find a way.'

'That's not necessary,' Remus said. 'I know you're sorry. And it's my fault, anyway.'

'Don't be ridiculous,' Sirius said.

'I'm not. If I'd told you this sooner, then you would've known not to do that to me. Like you know not to touch me.' He huffed out a breath. 'The problem isn't that I can't trust you. Merlin knows you've proven that I can. The problem is that I didn't trust you as much as you deserved. If I had, then you never would have done what you did.'

'Tell us what?' Sirius asked. His voice held a strange note of excitement that Remus wasn't sure fit the situation, but he pushed the thought away. He couldn't afford to get sidetracked right now. His story needed to be convincing.

'When I was four,' Remus said, 'I was in a car accident. My mum was fine, but I almost died.'

Peter looked horrified. 'I'm glad you didn't.'

James frowned. 'Cars are those weird box things with wheels that muggles ride around in, right?'

Remus nodded. 'Another car crashed into ours. I was in hospital for weeks while the wounds healed, and for a long time after it hurt if anything touched my skin.'

'So that's why you don't like to be touched?' Sirius asked, sounding thoughtful.

'And why I change in the shower cubicle.' Remus took a deep breath. He hoped this wasn't a mistake. 'I have... a lot of scars, not just the one on my neck. They're ugly... really ugly. I hate people seeing them.'

'You could never be ugly, Remus,' Sirius said so fast it didn't seem like he'd even thought about it.

James looked at him with an uncharacteristically serious expression. 'I bet you think they look worse than they do.'

'It's the inside that counts anyway,' Peter said with a shrug. 'That's what my mum says.'

Remus stared at his friends, each of them gazing back at him with nothing but support and acceptance, and tried to swallow past the thickness in his throat. Merlin, nothing could faze them. He felt lighter somehow. But a tiny part of him, deep inside, wished that he'd told them the truth. He hadn't been lying earlier when he said they'd proven themselves trustworthy, that he wasn't trusting them as much as they deserved. And if anyone could accept their friend was a monstrous beast, it was these three boys. Knowing James, he'd probably think it was cool.

He opened his mouth, the words on the tip of his tongue when his dad's face swam into his mind's eye, and he stopped. If his own father couldn't accept him, how could he trust anyone else to? No. Telling them the truth was far too risky. He could lose everything if they took it badly. Not just their friendship, but his chance of an education, maybe even his life. Best to just be grateful for what he had and not be greedy. They didn't care that he couldn't touch them, and they didn't care that he was horribly disfigured. That was enough.

'You guys are amazing,' he said finally. 'I don't deserve you.'

James scoffed. 'Can't argue with the first part, we are pretty awesome. But I take issue with the second.'

'So do I,' Sirius said. 'Of course you deserve us. You're just as amazing as we are. It's a perfect match.'

'Yep, we're all amazing,' Peter said through a yawn. 'Can we go to bed now?'

Remus gasped. 'Oh Gods, you must all be exhausted, and here I am keeping you up with my hysterics. I'm sorry.'

Sirius waved away his apology. 'Our hysterics,' he said. 'Don't be a credit hog. The Marauders share.'

James chuckled and flopped down with his head in Sirius' lap. 'We do. And I'm too tired to walk to my bed. I'm going to share yours.'

Sirius shrugged and pushed James' head off his lap and onto the pillow. 'Night, guys.'

Remus and Peter returned to their own beds, leaving Sirius to contend with a sleepy James, and called their goodnights as they went.

The following afternoon, the Marauders took Gunhilda's passage into Hogsmeade. After navigating their way out of Honeydukes under the cloak, they made straight for Dervish and Banges. Remus had yet to visit the magical junk shop, and he looked about with interest. The shelves were stacked high with a myriad of magical items, and there seemed to be no discernible organisation to the displays. There were dark detectors next to writing sets, magical clothing of all different types was dotted about, and jewelled items glinted from the shadows between stacks of tableware. He even spotted several books sitting in random places that he really wanted to look at. Remus felt right at home amidst the chaos.

'Don't I look fabulous, darlings?'

Remus turned at the sound of James' voice to find his friend striking a pose in a wide-brimmed lady's hat that was flashing between several designs.

'Gross. Why would you put that thing on your head?' Sirius said, pulling a face. 'You don't know where it's been. Wasn't the Sorting Hat bad enough?'

James pouted and fluttered his eyelashes. 'Don't you think I'm pretty?'

'I think you're pretty, James,' Remus said with a laugh. 'The pink one with the little white flowers is especially flattering.'

'Why, thank you, handsome.' James pulled the hat off and tapped it with his wand. The hat stopped flashing, staying on the pink design, and James put it back on.

'Are you really going to keep wearing that?' Sirius asked.

James stuck out his tongue. 'It annoys you. So, yes.'

Sirius rolled his eyes and grabbed Peter by the arm. 'Let's leave the weirdos to their dress-up,' he said, dragging him off further into the shop.

'What's he got against hats?' James asked in a snooty voice, sticking his nose in the air. 'I think I look ravishing.'

Remus chuckled. Glancing around, he spotted another hat stuffed between a stack of records and a large teapot. He pulled it out to find it was a dark green top hat. Slytherin colours. Perfect. Remus put the hat on and faced James.

'Cruel,' James said with a grin. 'But brilliant.'

'Are you ready to shop, darling?' Remus asked, putting on a posh voice.

'Always. I need some new diamonds to wear with my wonderful hat.'

'No diamonds could ever come close to matching your beauty,' Remus said, barely managing to keep a straight face as James preened.

'Are you two finished flirting yet?' Sirius asked, appearing from behind a towering stack of chairs. He eyed Remus' hat with distaste but apparently chose not to rise to the bait. 'We are here for a reason.'

'Alright, calm down,' James said, pulling off the hat and putting it back where he found it. 'Honestly, you flirt with Remus all the time. I do it once, and you get all huffy.'

Sirius ignored him. 'Pete found a tent. It's only got two beds, but it's better than nothing.'

'Anything for the merpeople?' Remus asked. He took off the top hat and placed it on top of the stack of records.

Sirius shook his head. 'Nothing yet.'

'Show us the tent,' James said.

Sirius led them to the back corner of the shop where a small tent was set up. It didn't look big enough to hold more than one person, and even then they would have to be sitting to fit. But Sirius lifted the flap and waved them inside. James bent over and walked in.

'This is brilliant,' he said from inside. 'Remus, come see.'

Remus shrugged and ducked his head as he walked through the opening. He gasped. The inside space was almost as big as their dorm room, certainly larger than his bedroom at home. As Sirius had said, there were two beds. Peter was lying on one of them with his arm supporting his head, and his legs crossed at the ankles. When he saw Remus, he waved with his free hand.

'Great find, Pete,' Remus said. 'This is fantastic.'

Peter grinned and gestured towards the back of the tent. 'Wait until you see the rest.'

Remus and James went to investigate. At the back of the tent, behind another flap, they found a small bathroom with a toilet and washbasin. Next to it was a storage area with shelves and cupboards, one of which was refrigerated for anything that needed to be kept cold.

'This couldn't be more perfect,' Remus said. 'Can you afford it?'

'It's five galleons,' Sirius said, walking up behind them with Peter.

'The Marauders have just over ten galleons in the communal pot,' James said. He raised an eyebrow at Remus. 'So, yes. We can afford it.'

Remus nodded. He still felt uncomfortable about the whole concept of the communal pot. James and Sirius had created the thing just after Christmas as an easy way to pool their resources for the task ahead of them. The idea was, they would all put in as much as they could, and they could all take from the pot to purchase things for the group. But Remus never had anything to contribute, and he had a hard time considering the money his, no matter how many times James and Sirius reminded him.

'We should find something for the merpeople first, though,' Peter said. 'We don't want to miss out on something perfect because we spent the money on the tent.'

'That's a good point,' James said, frowning. 'Getting the ingredients has to be the priority. We're running short on time now.'

Remus got the distinct impression that living on a budget was an alien concept to James. They searched the shop for another hour, but despite their efforts, they found nothing they could be sure would be valuable enough to the merpeople not to cause offence. They did, however, find a book about sailing for wizards. Remus picked it up on a whim, ignoring his friends' teasing, and flicked through it. The way their voices died in their throats when he turned the book around to show them the instructions for a simple waterproofing charm was extremely satisfying.

After much discussion, they bought the book and the tent and left the shop with mixed feelings. The things they'd found would be useful, but if they couldn't find something to trade with the merpeople soon, it would all be over. All the time and money they'd invested would be for nothing. There was still an hour until they needed to head back to the school, so they traipsed to the pub for a butterbeer to cheer themselves up.

'You know,' Peter said once they were all ensconced in the corner with foaming glasses in their hands. 'I think we might be going about this all wrong.'

'Meaning?' James asked before taking a long gulp from his glass of butterbeer and sighing with satisfaction.

'We're trying to put a value on someone's body part. It's impossible.'

'So what do you suggest we do?' Sirius asked.

'Well, if we're asking them to give us something priceless...' Peter said.

'Then we need to offer them something priceless in return,' Remus finished for him, feeling like a lightbulb had been switched on his brain.

'Exactly,' Peter said, shooting a smile at Remus. 'We should make something for them.'

'Something unique,' Remus said, excitement fizzing in his stomach. 'Infused with our magic. It would be a part of each of us.'

'And therefore, of equal value,' James said, showing the same excitement in his tone that Remus was feeling. 'Peter, you're brilliant!'

James grabbed Peter's face between his hands and slapped a big wet kiss on his forehead. Peter didn't exactly look thrilled with his "reward."