Wednesday, 1st March 1972
As Remus became aware of himself again the morning after the full moon, he did his usual mental assessment before opening his eyes and was pleasantly surprised. There was the typical residual pain from the transformation, but nothing extra. He was fine. What's more, when he looked out the window to gauge the time, he could tell it was still early. He let out a relieved breath. As full moons went, it had been an easy one.
After assuring himself that death wasn't imminent, Remus' thoughts went to his friends. Since he felt so much better than usual, there was no point in wasting time with more sleeping. He grabbed his bag, putting on his Crest before pulling out his school robes to get dressed. It was painful, contorting his body to get into the clothes, but he was determined. If he could prove to Madam Pomfrey he was fine, she might let him leave. And he wanted to make sure the others were okay after they had gone tramping through the forest the night before.
He put his socks and shoes on and strapped his Marauder-issue holster around his waist. There was nothing left to do but wait. He couldn't go out to the main wing without knowing who was out there. Someone might see him and start asking awkward questions.
Madam Pomfrey arrived to check on him an hour later, raising an eyebrow at finding him up, dressed and eager to leave.
'Our experiment seems to have been a success,' she said. 'You had no injuries when I collected you this morning. Your clothes got muddy in the passageway, though. It almost looked like someone had trampled over them. I gave them a clean for you, but maybe put them in your bag next month before you drop them down.'
Remus wasn't listening. All he wanted to know was whether he was allowed to leave, but he nodded. 'Thanks. Can I go then? If I'm okay?'
She frowned at him. 'Do you feel well enough to leave? You weren't injured, but you must still be hurting.'
Remus nodded again and offered her a Sirius-inspired grin. 'I feel fine,' he lied.
She didn't look convinced, but she relented. 'I want you to drink your shake first, and then you can leave. No class until tomorrow though.'
Remus didn't argue. The nutrition shake was the highlight of his month, and one minute after midnight counted as tomorrow, right? He could go to Astronomy later.
When Madam Pomfrey finally released him, Remus returned to his dorm and collapsed onto his bed. There was nothing he could do about his friends until lunchtime. If they'd made it out of the forest in one piece, they'd be in class. If not, he had no way of finding out they were missing until they were… Well, missing. Laying down made him realise he was still quite tired, and the idea of sleeping a little until his friends finished Charms seemed rather appealing. Cosmo made the decision for him when she leapt onto the bed and curled up on his stomach, purring. There was no way he could move now. Everyone knows when a cat claims you as their bed, you're stuck there until they deem you released.
When Remus woke for the second time that day, it was much more sudden than the first time. He wasn't sure what had woken him until he heard the whispered voices of his friends.
'Is he there?' James asked.
'Yeah, but he's sleeping,' Sirius replied.
'But Madam Pomfrey said he was fine,' Peter said. 'Why's he sleeping if he's fine?'
'You know Remus.' There was a pause which Remus imagined was Sirius shrugging. 'He probably insisted he was fine, so she'd let him go to class, and then realised he wasn't when he started climbing the stairs.'
Sirius' guess was so accurate, and Remus' relief at hearing they were alive and well was so strong, that he couldn't hold in the chuckle and gave himself away.
'Hey, he's awake, the little faker!' James said. The bed curtains were yanked open, and he was suddenly surrounded by the smiling faces of his friends.
'Hey, Nerd Boy,' Sirius said, smiling at him. 'You feeling better?'
Remus smiled back. 'Tonnes.'
'Shove over then,' James said. 'We have to tell you about last night.'
'Do you want one?' Peter asked, sitting down at the end of his bed and offering him his box of chocolate frogs. 'My mum sent me a parcel of sweets at breakfast. I've got loads.'
'Really, Pete? We just had lunch,' Sirius said, taking his seat next to Remus and looking at him. His eyes flashed with some unnamed emotion. 'Ah, but you missed lunch, didn't you? Too busy sleeping. You should have some chocolate.' He grabbed a chocolate frog from the box, unwrapped it and offered it to Remus once it had stopped wriggling. Remus took it while giving Sirius a questioning look. He was being even weirder than usual.
'If everyone is done stuffing their faces with junk…?' James said, frowning at the chocolate.
'Sorry, James. Please, tell me about last night,' Remus said, taking another frog when Peter offered him the box.
'It was a dark and starry night,' James said. 'The full moon hung high in the sky, casting an eerie glow over the grounds of Hogwarts as three brave and handsome wizards left for a thrilling adventure…'
'It was still light when we left,' Sirius said.
James shushed him. 'Not important, don't interrupt.'
It began as a story, but it soon turned into a play when James and Sirius jumped to their feet and proceeded to act out everything he'd missed the night before. The impromptu performance included a lot of arguing; a fair amount of embellishment—he was positive they hadn't fought off the acromantula on their way home, purely because Peter wasn't a blubbering mess; and a large helping of comedy. Particularly when they did an impression of the mooncalves' dance. Remus didn't think he'd ever laughed so much in his life, and he found laughter was almost as good as chocolate for healing the aches and pains of his transformation.
Three days later, the four Marauders were preparing to travel through the frigid morning air to the far side of the Great Lake so they could meet with the merpeople without witnesses.
'Remus, can I borrow one of your thingies?' Sirius asked after rummaging through his trunk for several minutes.
Remus raised an eyebrow at the nonsensical enquiry. 'One of my thingies?'
Sirius grinned, showing not a shred of embarrassment. 'You know. The muggle clothes you wear all the time. They look cosy, and I only have my robes and cloaks.'
'Oh, you mean a jumper,' Remus said, laughing. 'Sure, they might be too small, though.'
Remus searched through his own trunk and found two of the biggest, baggiest jumpers he owned. 'Do you want one too, James?'
'Have you got any red ones?' James asked.
'I doubt it,' Peter said, laughing. 'Have you ever seen Remus wear anything bright? I've got a red one that might fit you though.'
Remus offered the two jumpers to Sirius, and he tried them both on before choosing the smoky grey one. It was a superb choice; the colour brought out the shine in his eyes, even if it was a little tight on him. Sirius didn't seem to care about the snug fit, declaring it the most comfortable thing he'd ever worn.
It took them over an hour of walking to reach the far side of the lake, and they passed the time by making plans for their sleepover at James' in the summer. Sirius was planning to buy several baggy jumpers of his own on their trip into London. Peter and Remus were looking forward to introducing James and Sirius to all things muggle, and they were equally excited to learn.
'Can we go in a car?' Sirius asked out of nowhere.
'Sirius,' James hissed. 'Be a bit more considerate.'
'What?' Sirius asked, his face confused. James shot a meaningful look at Remus and understanding dawned in Sirius' eyes. 'Oh, shit. Sorry, Remus. Didn't think.'
'No, it's okay,' Remus said, chuckling. 'I'm not afraid of cars. Don't think we'll be able to go in one though.'
'Damn,' Sirius said. 'I really wanted to go in a car.'
James looked thoughtful. 'Do you still have one? Maybe we can come round yours some time.'
Remus nodded. 'I do. And yeah, maybe.' He doubted that would ever happen, though. How on earth would he explain the cage in the garden or the state of his room?
They reached their destination, and Peter pulled out the wireless from his bag. Remus had waterproofed it the night before, and they'd tied a long piece of string to the handle so they could pull it back if the merpeople didn't turn up.
'What sort of music do you think?' Peter asked.
'Hard to say,' Sirius said. 'I'd suggest something fast and upbeat, so we get a young one, but who knows what their tastes are?'
'Just tune it into something that's got lots of variety and no boring talking,' James said.
Peter did as instructed, and James jacked the volume up before throwing the wireless out into the lake as far as the string would allow. It sank under the surface, and they sat down on the bank to wait, hoping their plan would work.
Remus wasn't sure how long they'd been waiting, but he knew it was a long time because his ass was numb from sitting on the cold ground and he'd lost all feeling in his nose quite some time ago. But finally, there was movement on the surface of the lake.
'Did you see that?' he asked, sitting forward to get a better look.
'I saw something,' Peter said, squinting at the lake. 'But I'm not sure what.'
James stood up and took a step closer. 'I don't see… no wait! What was that!'
Whatever it was broke the surface again before ducking straight back under. But this time Remus got a better look, and it was definitely head-shaped.
'If it's a merperson,' Remus said, 'we should let them know we're not here to hurt them.'
'On it,' Sirius said before bouncing to his knees and shoving his entire head into the water. Bubbles streamed to the surface around Sirius' submerged head as he attempted to communicate. Finally, he pulled his head out and shook it, spraying all of them with icy sprinkles that felt like tiny knives.
'Fuck, that was cold,' he said. 'Talking underwater is harder than I thought, but I think they got the message.'
'You are mental,' Remus said, shaking his head at Sirius and passing him the towel they'd brought along for this very purpose.
'Thanks, Nerd Boy,' Sirius said, wrapping the towel around his head and winking at him. 'I don't see why you should get all the fun.'
Remus rolled his eyes with exasperation. He'd volunteered as translator because the lycanthropy meant he was the least likely to receive any lasting damage from repeatedly plunging his head into the freezing cold water. But it certainly wasn't "fun."
And he really hoped this new nickname Sirius had adopted didn't stick.
Sirius' cold head was not in vain. He was still drying his hair when a grey-skinned head with long green hair broke the surface of the lake. The mermaid held up the wireless—which was still playing music at an ear-splitting volume—and smiled at them. Remus took that as a good sign.
Sirius started winding in the string attached to the wireless, and James stepped forward to take the lead in the negotiations. 'Good morning. Can you understand me?' he asked.
The mermaid nodded, so James continued, 'That's wonderful. This would have been so difficult if you couldn't. We're hoping to make a trade with you. My friend here is going to put his head in the water so we can understand you.' James nodded at Remus, and Remus waved. And then felt a little stupid for doing so.
The mermaid waved back at him, though, and then ducked back under the water. Remus gulped. He really wasn't looking forward to this.
'Don't worry. The water's lovely,' Sirius said, giving him a thumbs-up.
Remus flipped him the middle finger before approaching the water's edge and lowering himself to the ground.
'If it gets too much, just say,' Peter said. 'Sirius can take over for you.'
'I like how you volunteer me and not yourself,' Sirius said, giving Peter a gentle shove.
'Behave,' James hissed at them. 'We're on an important mission here.'
Remus heard nothing more because he dunked his head in the lake at that point in the argument. And oh by Merlin's baggiest underpants the water was freezing! It was so cold it burned like fire, and he had to fight the urge to gasp.
'Hello,' a tinkling voice said, and Remus put all of his energy into focusing on the voice through the pain in his rapidly freezing head. 'My name's Amaria. I can see you're in pain, so I'll make this quick. I'm open to trading with you. What are your terms?'
Remus yanked his head back out the moment she stopped speaking and gasped for breath.
Sirius draped the towel over Remus' shoulders. 'Wakes you right up that, doesn't it?'
Remus gave him the benefit of his scowl before turning to James. 'She's called Amaria, and she's willing to trade. Wants to know the terms,' he told him through chattering teeth.
James clapped his hands together. 'Excellent.' He turned back to the lake to find Amaria waiting for him and looking at Remus with concern.
'Hello, Amaria. My name's James, and it's a pleasure to meet you. This is Sirius, Remus and Peter.' James pointed to each of them as he said their names. 'We're hoping you'll agree to give us five scales from your tail, which we need for a potion we're brewing. And we know that's a lot to ask. We spent weeks trying to find something of equal value to give you in return, but nothing was good enough. So we made you something instead.'
Peter stepped forward, holding the roughly carved wooden box. It looked a bit pathetic to be honest, and Remus wouldn't have been surprised if Amaria took immediate offence at the offering and left. But she didn't. She eyed the box with a questioning expression and patiently waited for James to explain.
'I know it doesn't look like much,' James said. 'But this box is the magical container for a painting. A mural. Painted by hand by Sirius.'
Sirius grinned and bowed to Amaria, and she made a sound that might have been a giggle.
'The painting shows a landscape you won't ever have seen before. A beautiful clearing deep inside the forest.'
Gods, James was laying it on thick.
'But that's not all. Because we're asking for a part of you, we wanted to give you a part of ourselves in exchange. So Sirius added us to the clearing, and we each used our magic to imprint our personalities into the painting.'
Sirius winked at Amaria. 'They'll act just like us.'
She smiled and nodded before shooting a meaningful look at Remus and ducking under the surface again.
Remus sighed and returned his head to the water. And, yes, it was still just as bloody cold as the first time.
'Hello, Remus,' Amaria said in her strangely musical voice. 'I accept your terms. Can you explain to me how to use the box, please?'
Remus pulled his head back out and grabbed the towel from Sirius. 'Oh Gods, my ears are burning!' he said, wrapping the towel around his head and pressing his hands against his ears in an effort to warm them. Looking up, he saw James bouncing on his toes, clearly dying to know what Amaria had said but trying very hard to be patient and let Remus recover before he asked. Remus appreciated the effort it must be taking to hold himself back.
'She agreed. Wants to know how to work the box.'
Remus retreated to sit down and dry his hair as much as he could while James explained to Amaria how to work the box. His head was already feeling warmer, but he didn't know if that was because of the lycanthropy, so wasn't sure if he should pretend like he was still cold.
A loud shrieking called his attention back to the lake. Amaria was waving at him, so he waved back, and she dived under the water, flicking her tail and splashing the three boys still standing on the bank, making them yell.
'Does she want to talk again?' Remus asked. He tried to keep the trepidation out of his voice, but a little seeped through.
James shook his head. 'Sirius took care of it.'
Remus looked at Sirius, and sure enough, he was dripping wet again and shaking like a cauldron about to explode. Remus tossed him the towel, and Sirius caught it with one hand and wrapped it around his head gratefully.
'She's going to swim home and activate the painting. Then, if she's satisfied, she'll bottle the scales for us and meet us at the other side of the lake,' James explained.
'She'll be satisfied,' Sirius said, oozing a confidence Remus was fairly sure he didn't feel. It didn't quite reach his eyes.
'How could she not be?' Remus asked. 'The mural's breathtaking. She'll love it.'
As it turned out, Remus was right. When they reached the other side of the lake and approached the bank, Amaria was waiting for them just below the surface. She was all smiles and held up the vial to show them before tossing it through the air for them to catch. Unfortunately, she was terrible at throwing—Remus supposed there wasn't much call for the skill living underwater—and the vial plopped back into the lake, falling short of the bank by a large margin.
Amaria frowned and looked at them apologetically. The vial had landed at a point that was too shallow for her to risk swimming to, but too far for them to reach without getting wet. Remus felt bad for her. She looked upset that she'd messed up the throw.
'Not to worry, Amaria,' he said. 'I can get it.'
'Are you sure?' Sirius asked. 'I could…'
Remus was sorely tempted to accept the offer. Dunking his head had been bad enough, and he wasn't exactly thrilled to enter the lake up to his knees, but he could withstand the cold water far better than Sirius could. He wouldn't be a coward.
He didn't bother replying, but let his actions speak for him as he removed his socks and shoes, and waded into the lake. Within seconds his feet were numb, and he was worried he'd pull them out to find his toes had frozen off. But he ignored the pain and waded over to where the vial sat just beneath the surface, sparkling when it caught the light.
Putting his hand into the icy water was almost as bad as his feet, but not quite. And he pulled out the vial and returned to the bank as fast as he could on feet he could no longer feel. He passed the vial to James and took the towel from Sirius to dry his legs, but before he sat down, he turned back to the lake and waved.
'Thank you, Amaria,' he said. 'I hope we see each other again.'
The others also called out goodbyes, and Amaria smiled and waved before disappearing beneath the water.
'I'd call that a great success,' Sirius said. 'But let's get the hell back to the dorm. I need a hot shower.'
'You read my mind,' Remus said. His wet trousers were clinging to his legs unpleasantly. 'A hot shower sounds like heaven.'
Sirius opened his mouth, but Remus, knowing what was coming, got there first. 'And, no. I don't want to share.'
Sirius looked at him with surprise. 'Looks like I'm going to have to up my game again, Nerd Boy. You're getting used to me.'
Dammit, that was not the outcome Remus had been hoping for.
'We've got everything we need,' James said, interrupting them before Remus could think of a suitable response. 'Can we start tomorrow?'
Peter shook his head. 'Not next weekend either. We'll need a full two days to complete the first part. It's too late now to do it this weekend, and we're fighting in the sand-wars tournament next week. Anyway, Gryffindor's playing Hufflepuff tomorrow, you don't want to miss that.'
'I am not coming,' Remus said before they could start trying to persuade him.
'Ah, go on, Remus. It'll be fun,' James said. 'You have your gloves and hood.'
'Nope,' Remus said, proud of himself for not giving in. 'It's loud and smelly and boring.'
James' eyes widened. 'Boring? How can you say that?'
'Quite easily,' Remus said. 'Anyway, I'm going to spend some time with Lily tomorrow. We arranged it in Defence yesterday. So you can all go to the game and not worry about me being lonely.'
James' face morphed from shocked and outraged to excited in the blink of an eye. 'Will you put in a good word for me?'
Remus laughed. 'I'll try, mate, but she really doesn't like you.'
The Marauders didn't spend much time in the common room, and that wasn't entirely Remus' fault. Though his "fear" of being touched played a large role, there was also the fact that they often had secret things to discuss and they didn't want to be overheard. So, Remus felt a little out of place the next morning when, after waving his friends off to the quidditch match, he took a seat on the sofa in front of the blazing fire to wait for Lily.
She didn't keep him waiting long. A few minutes after he got settled, she skipped down the girl's staircase with Dorcas, Marlene and Mary. Remus' stomach flipped over as he wondered if Lily's friends would be joining them. Lily was nice, but he didn't know the other girls. It would be awkward for him if they did. So it was with a sense of relief that he watched Lily accompany her friends to the exit and say goodbye before joining Remus by the fire.
'They going to watch the quidditch?' Remus asked as she took a seat at the opposite end of the sofa, tucking her feet beneath her.
'Yeah. It's boring if you ask me.'
Remus couldn't agree more. 'And dangerous.'
Lily laughed. 'Right? I spent the whole of the last game scared they were going to fall off their brooms. I swore then I'm never watching another match.'
'Falling is a very real danger.'
'Oh, that's right. You fell off during the flying lesson, didn't you?' Lily said. 'Was it terrifying?'
Remus shuddered. 'So terrifying. I don't even want to think about it.'
'I'm sorry. We'll talk about something else,' Lily said, looking guilty for mentioning it. 'Tell me what you've been up to lately.'
Remus thought about all the things he'd been doing recently that he couldn't tell her about. Trading with a mermaid. Witnessing the formation of a magical bond between centaur and human. Sneaking into Hogsmeade to buy ingredients to brew an illicit potion.
'Not a lot. Schoolwork, mostly. You?'
'Lies!' Lily said. 'I bet you get up to all sorts with those friends of yours. You're always hidden away in your dorm together. Plotting, I'm sure. You probably have some kind of code that means you can't tell me anything.'
'What? No,' Remus said, surprised by her accuracy. 'We just play games and stuff. The common room is always so crowded.'
'Ha! I'm right, aren't I?' She whipped out her wand and pointed it at him before saying in a deadly serious voice, 'Tell me your secrets, or I'll hex them out of you.'
Remus instinctively grabbed his own wand to defend himself as his insides went cold. He hadn't expected this from Lily, and he clenched his fist as he tried to process the betrayal.
'I won't tell you anything,' he said. 'But I'll defend myself, so consider that before you do anything stupid.'
Something strange happened then. Lily started laughing, dropping her wand in her lap and covering her mouth with her hand.
'I was kidding, Remus,' she said through her giggles. 'I'm sorry. Are you not used to teasing?'
Remus felt his face warm and lowered his wand. 'No, not really. Sirius likes to tease, but it's not like that.'
'Yeah,' she said, frowning a little. 'Black seems like the teasing type.'
'He is. But that's not a bad thing, is it?' Remus gestured towards her. 'Apparently, you like teasing people too.'
'I never said it was a bad thing. I just worry they're being mean to you, bullying you into doing things you don't want to.'
Remus snorted at the idea of his friends being mean to him and shook his head. 'I don't understand why you think they're like that. They're not. At all. You'd like them if you gave them a chance.'
Lily arched her eyebrow at him. 'I doubt I would like them, anyway, but how can I "give them a chance" with what they do to Sev? It's bad enough that I'm still friends with you after you hit him with that boil hex the other day. I can't go and intentionally make friends with people that attack him for no reason.'
'They always have a reason, Lily.'
Lily rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. 'Not liking someone is not a reason, Remus.'
Remus had no defence for that. He couldn't tell her about all the times they'd seen Snape attacking other students with his older Slytherin friends because they'd been under the cloak and he couldn't explain how they hadn't been spotted.
Instead, he held up his hands in surrender. 'Alright. I don't want to fight about this again. You don't like my friends. We don't like Snape. But that doesn't have to stop us being friends, does it?'
Lily sighed. 'No, you're right. I'm sorry.'
'I'm sorry too. Now, how about a game of exploding snap?' Remus said, rummaging in his bag for the cards.
Gryffindor's match against Hufflepuff was close. The Chasers on the Hufflepuff team were far superior to Gryffindor's. But Gryffindor's Seeker managed to catch the snitch when Gryffindor was only behind by 130 points, netting Gryffindor the win.
James and Peter were in high spirits as they trekked back to the castle from the quidditch pitch. But Sirius had something else on his mind. He knew Remus' car accident story was a cover for his lycanthropy. Finding out it had happened when he was only four had come as a shock. And the anniversary falling less than a month before Remus' birthday made Sirius suspect that the fifth-birthday party he'd been invited to all those years ago never happened, nor any other since. But Remus had friends now, and Sirius was determined that they would throw him the best birthday bash anyone had ever seen.
'Guys,' he said, pulling James and Peter to one side of the crowd. 'We need to talk about something while Remus isn't here.'
James frowned at him. 'We don't keep secrets from each other. What's this about?'
Sirius rolled his eyes. 'Remus' birthday, idiot. What did you think it was about?'
James' face went from suspicious to alarmed. 'Oh shit. That's soon, isn't it? I'd forgotten all about it with all the work for the project.'
'We've still got time to plan something,' Peter said. 'Remus won't want anything big, anyway.'
They didn't get very far with the planning that day, other than to all agree Remus would prefer something small and private to big, loud and crowded. When they reached the Tower, the common room was packed with celebrating Gryffindors. Lily spotted them standing by the portrait hole, looking around, and shouted that Remus had, 'fled upstairs,' the moment people started returning. After thanking her for the information, they shouldered their way through the crowd to hunt down their missing friend.
Hours later, when curfew had come and gone and Remus and Peter were snoring softly, Sirius and James were still full of energy and wide awake. Back when their dorm mates had fallen asleep, they'd retreated to James' bed to talk, but that had been over an hour ago, and they were running out of things to discuss.
'Let's go raid the kitchen,' Sirius whispered. 'I'm hungry.'
'I don't know,' James said. 'We should probably get some sleep. It's Monday tomorrow.'
'Sleep is for the weak!' Sirius declared. 'Adventure is for the strong. Come on. It'll be fun.'
James hesitated, but after a moment he grinned. 'Fuck it.' He grabbed the invisibility cloak and his snitch-o-scope and followed Sirius out of the room. It never took much to persuade James into doing something against the rules.
The kitchen raid was successful—they called it a raid, but really it was fending off overly helpful house-elves as they plied them with food—it was the return journey where things got interesting. The snitch-o-scope lit up red halfway up the Grand Staircase, so they took a detour onto the fourth floor and ran down several corridors before stopping to catch their breath.
'James?'
'Yeah?'
'Why did we run?'
James looked at him like he'd lost his mind. 'Because we're out after curfew with a shit-tonne of illicit food, and the snitch-o-scope said there was an adult nearby?'
'So why didn't we just put on the cloak?' Sirius asked, pointing at the cloak draped over James' arm.
James blinked at him, looked at the cloak, looked back at him, and laughed. 'Because we're idiots?'
'Yes, we are,' Sirius said. 'And I for one vote we don't tell the others about this.'
'Agreed,' James said, holding his hand out for Sirius to shake.
They draped the cloak over themselves and began the journey back to the Grand Staircase when James stopped dead. 'Was that door there before?'
The door James was pointing at was a standard classroom door, but instead of a classroom number, the sign read Authorised Persons Only. 'I'm not sure,' he said before pulling the cloak off to get a better look. The door vanished.
'Hey, it's gone.'
'It's not. I can still see it,' James said.
Sirius raised an eyebrow. 'A door that can only be seen by the invisible? Interesting.'
James pulled the cloak off. 'What do you reckon is in there?'
'Only one way to find out,' Sirius said.
James pulled the cloak back over his head, and a moment later, an opening appeared in the wall where Sirius knew the door to be. The space inside was pitch-black.
'I can see it now,' he told James. 'Guess it's just the door that's enchanted.'
James pulled the cloak off and tucked it into his pocket. 'Shall we investigate?'
'I think that's the best idea you've had all evening.'
They both pulled out their wands and cast Lumos before walking inside.
Five days later, on the morning of Remus' birthday, Sirius waited until James was showering before taking the opportunity to whisper, 'Happy birthday.'
That may seem like odd behaviour, but there was a reason for the secrecy. After the success of Sirius Day, it had been decided (by James) that all Marauders deserved a whole day devoted to celebrating their birthday. And therefore, the actual birthdays should be ignored unless they fell on a non-school day. It was a good idea, in theory. Friday's were busy, and they needed lots of time for the birthday surprise they'd planned for Remus after finding the invisible door. But even though Remus knew they were celebrating on Sunday, it felt uncomfortable to ignore the day altogether. So Sirius had waited for an opportunity, and he won himself a conspiratorial smile and a whispered, 'Thank you,' in return.
On James' orders, they all got an early night on Friday so they'd be well-rested for their Sand-War matches the following day. Nobody complained about it. They would be fighting against much older students this time, and they were all nervous about their chances.
They arrived at the beach room on Saturday morning to a much larger crowd than there had been for their first heat. People were more interested in the upper-year matches, and there was a mixed audience from all four houses as hopeful semi-finalists turned out to inspect the potential competition.
The Marauders' first battle wasn't scheduled until after lunch, but they stuck around to watch the morning matches and gauge what they'd be up against. It didn't fill them with confidence. The upper-year teams were strong, having connections with their teammates going back years, not mere months, and they knew more spells and cast them with more skill and accuracy than the Marauders were capable of.
'I'm not liking our chances,' Sirius said during the lunch break. 'They're going to wipe the floor with us.'
'It doesn't look good,' James agreed. 'We'll just have to do our best and hope we don't embarrass ourselves too much.'
'I'm not sure we can embarrass ourselves at this point,' Remus said. 'Even if we're knocked out first.'
Peter nodded. 'He's right. We beat all the first, second and third year teams to make it this far. No one's going to think badly of us for losing to people more than three years older than us.'
'So, everyone's agreed we can't win this?' Remus asked, and they all nodded. Remus' face broke out in the most mischievous grin. 'How about we show them a little of who we are instead?'
The grin spread around the circle like it was infectious, and they all leaned forward, eager to conspire.
'What did you have in mind?' James asked.
An hour later, after a quick dash up to Gryffindor Tower, Sirius and James strode into the lower level of their sandcastle, while Remus and Peter climbed upstairs. But not before shooting each other one last conspiratorial grin. Sirius' stomach was bubbling with excitement. This was going to be brilliant.
The Gryffindor prefect counted down to begin the battle, and spells started flying back and forth. Sirius ignored the few spells targeted at them and took a bottle of potion from his pocket, pulling out the stopper and holding it out in front of him. He cast wingardium leviosa and levitated the bottle out of the window and up into the air towards one of his opponent's castles. Moving his wand with precision, he positioned the bottle above one of the castle's four flags, tipped it up and poured out a small portion of the swelling solution, making sure it splashed over the flag. He waited with bated breath as the flag swelled in size until the weight of the material caused the flagpole to topple to the ground beside the castle, and the flag turned white.
It had worked!
He flicked his wand, moving the bottle to the next flag and repeating the process. He could see the flags on the other castles growing and falling out of the corner of his eye, but he concentrated on his own. The defenders on the other teams had realised what was happening and were attempting to fight back. Sirius had to keep jerking the bottle out of the way of spells as he tried to manoeuvre it to the last flag on his target castle. He was inches away from it when the bottle was hit by a jet of red light, and it shattered before the pieces fell to the ground. Bugger.
'No worries,' James said. 'I got it.'
Sirius glanced at the other two castles. Neither of them had any flags left, and the students inside them looked pissed. He looked back in time to see James' potion bottle empty out over the last flag, and he watched as it grew to a ridiculous size and toppled over onto the beach below.
By the stated rules of the game, they had won.
'This isn't fair,' a girl on one of the other teams yelled. 'They cheated!'
'There's nothing in the rules against using potions,' James yelled back.
'There's nothing in the rules that says you can use potions.'
Sirius climbed out the window to face their accusers. 'We were outclassed in magical skill, so we improvised,' he said with a shrug. 'What's wrong with that?'
'You had plenty of opportunities to stop our attack,' Remus said, walking up to stand beside him.
'It's not our fault you didn't see us as a threat and ignored us,' James said, joining them on his other side.
'Maybe you should have taken more notice of us,' Peter said, coming to stand next to James.
The four Marauders stood united against the accusatory faces of the twelve students towering over them.
'Due to the events of this match, we will be taking a short break to discuss our decision before declaring the winner,' one of the prefects announced. 'We ask that all competitors please leave the battlefield. Thank you.'
With one last scowl at the four Marauders, the upper-year students returned to their friends. The boys followed them from the battlefield, moving a short distance away from the crowd so Remus would be comfortable.
'I can't believe how well that worked,' James said, laughing.
'I didn't think we'd win,' Remus said. 'It was only meant to keep us from being knocked out first.'
'Well, we might still be disqualified yet,' Sirius said. 'But whatever happens, it was brilliant, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.'
Peter chuckled. 'Did you see their faces when they realised what was happening?'
'Oh no, the flags are growing and falling over,' James said, flailing his arms around. 'Whatever shall we do?'
James' impression of their competitors was cut short by the prefect calling for everyone's attention.
'We are pleased to announce that, as no specified rules were broken, the Magical-Mischief-Makers are the winners!'
The audience erupted in a mixed chorus of boos and cheers. Sirius looked at Remus out of the corner of his eye and saw him wince at the cacophony of sound.
James glanced at them for confirmation, and all four of them nodded.
'We're delighted to have won,' James said in his clear, confident voice once the noise had died down, 'but we'd like to concede our place. It's unlikely our particular brand of… improvisation will be allowed in the finals, and we want Gryffindor to have the best chance of winning.'
Sirius wouldn't have thought it possible, but the noise was even louder the second time. The Gryffindors in the audience went wild at the display of House Spirit, and they far outweighed the other houses. The truth was, they had a potion to brew, and once they started, they needed all their weekends free to work on it. Plus, it was nice to go out by choice. They probably would have lost the next match, anyway. This way, they went out as heroes instead of losers.
The next morning, they woke Remus with a shower of glitter, a rousing chorus of Happy Remus Day, and a fat slice of chocolate cake—James had begrudgingly relaxed his no sweets before breakfast rule in honour of Remus' special day. Once Remus was sufficiently embarrassed, they all clambered onto his bed to give him his presents.
Peter handed over his gift first. It was wrapped in silver paper, held closed with a black ribbon. Remus took it and thanked him before untying it carefully and pulling the paper off without ripping it. Inside was a large, glass potion bottle filled with a creamy yellow liquid.
'What is it?' Remus asked, gazing at the potion with a frown.
Peter pulled his sleeves down over his hands and fiddled with the ends. 'It's a potion I… er… invented? Well, I altered it.'
'What does it do?' Remus squinted at the bottle.
Peter looked down at his lap 'Um… well… I'm thinking this might have been a mistake now. I don't want to upset you on your birthday.'
Remus looked at him with concern. Then, to Sirius' surprise, he reached over and briefly placed his hand on Peter's pyjama-clad arm. Peter jerked his head up and stared at him with wide eyes.
'Just tell me what it does, Pete. Whatever it is, I know you meant it in the best possible way.'
Peter looked back down at his hands and whispered so quietly Sirius barely heard him, 'It's supposed to make scars fade.'
That was not what Sirius was expecting, and judging by the look on Remus' face, he was just as surprised.
'I'm sorry,' Peter said. 'I should have made something else. You don't want to think about that on your birthday. I'm an idiot. I've spoiled everything.'
Remus shook his head, still staring at the bottle. 'No,' he said, tearing his eyes away to look at Peter. 'I don't know what to say, this is… I like it, Pete. It's really thoughtful. I… How do I use it?'
Peter looked up at Remus. His eyes were swimming with tears, but he wiped them away and offered him a weak smile. 'It's an ointment. Just apply it twice a day.'
Remus nodded and met Peter's eyes. 'Thank you.'
'Well, that's going to be impossible to top,' James said, breaking the tension. He flung his arms out wide. 'For your birthday, I give you freedom from the thing you hate most! Peter should have gone last.'
Remus laughed. 'I'm sure I'll love your present just as much.'
James grinned. 'This whole homemade present thing was a bit unfair to me, really. Unless you'd like a flying demonstration, I don't have any special talents like these two.' He jerked his thumbs at Peter and Sirius. 'So I cheated a little. I didn't make it, but I didn't spend any money either. I already owned it, and you'll get more use out of it than I will. Here.'
James handed Remus a large gift wrapped in red paper with a gold ribbon. Everything was Gryffindor colours with James. He was obsessed. Sirius got it to a certain extent; he was proud to be a Gryffindor too. But James took House Pride to the next level.
Remus was unwrapping James' present just as carefully as he'd opened Peter's, and Sirius couldn't take it anymore. 'Would you just rip it?' he asked. 'Why're you being so careful?'
'I… er… at home, we reuse the paper,' he said, blushing furiously, and not in the way Sirius enjoyed. 'We don't have a lot of money.'
Sirius felt like an absolute arse. He knew the Lupins were poor, but he didn't realise they were that poor. And he'd embarrassed Remus on his birthday. Quite frankly, he wanted to punch himself in the face, but that wouldn't fix anything.
'Honestly,' he said, looking at James and Peter. 'Why do you allow me the use of my mouth? If there's a wrong thing to say, you know I'm going to say it.'
To Sirius' relief, Remus laughed. 'It's alright.' Then his face broke out in a wicked grin, and he ripped the paper in two. 'I've always wanted to do that,' he said, still grinning.
Inside the parcel was a sleek, dragon-skin bag in charcoal grey, and Remus ran his hand over the material with reverence.
'It's beautiful,' he said. 'It must have been really expensive, though.'
James shrugged. 'Like I said, I already had it. It was a Christmas gift from an aunt I never see. But I already had a bag.' He nodded towards the lurid red and gold rucksack next to his bed. 'And I figured, why let it go to waste?'
James picked up the bag and opened it to show him the inside. 'It's designed for Hogwarts' students. Look, it's got all these pockets inside for your quills, ink, parchment, potion kit and different-sized books. And it's enchanted to be as light as a feather no matter how many heavy books you cram inside.'
Remus' face lit up at the last feature. 'Awesome.'
James wore a proud smile as he nodded. 'I knew you'd like that.' He looked at Sirius. 'So, Pete's given Remus more confidence, I've cured his backache. What's your gift?'
Sirius stuck his tongue out at James. 'Wait and see.'
'It's a painting,' James said with a knowing smile and a firm nod. 'Expect a painting, Remus.'
Sirius put his foot against James' knee and shoved him. 'Be quiet before I make you be quiet.'
'I'd like to see you try,' James said, smirking at him.
'I'm not going to fight with you on Remus Day,' Sirius said, sticking his nose in the air. 'Do try to have some decorum, James.'
Remus rolled his eyes. 'Just give me the bloody painting, Sirius.'
Sirius barked a laugh and handed him the package—which was indeed a painting—wrapped in blue paper and tied with gold ribbon.
'Am I that obvious?'
Remus shrugged. 'Why wouldn't you give me a painting? You're very talented. Anyway, the surprise isn't the painting, it's what you painted.' And with that, he ripped the paper off with so much glee, Sirius couldn't help but smile with him. Maybe it hadn't been the wrong thing to say after all.
Remus' expression as he stared at the picture was incomprehensible. His eyes never stopped moving as he examined the image Sirius had created for him. It was a picture of their dormitory shown from the perspective of the door, with every detail painstakingly recreated right down to James' socks, which were always littering the floor.
They were all present in a familiar scene. James and Peter were sitting together on Peter's bed, Peter holding a quill, while James had his arms flung wide and his mouth open—frozen mid-sentence as he explained something. Sirius was lounging on his own bed, journal open in his hands and quill held loosely, deep in thought. And Remus was sitting on his bed with a book propped up on his knees, engrossed in the story. The light from the nearby window streamed into the room, like a spotlight on Remus, highlighting the golden tones in his hair.
Sirius chewed his lip as he waited for Remus' verdict. Would he think it boring? Should he have painted something less ordinary?
At last, after what felt like an age, Remus looked up and met Sirius' eyes with a smile. 'I love it, Sirius. Thank you. Can we wake them up?'
Sirius let out a relieved breath. 'That was the plan, yes.'
An hour later, after they'd woken the painting people, showered and enjoyed a hearty breakfast, Sirius stood next to a blank wall in the east wing of the fourth floor with the others. And Remus was looking extremely confused. Sirius pulled the invisibility cloak over himself, and the mysterious door appeared in front of him.
'Okay, Remus. For your birthday surprise, we present you with…' He paused for dramatic effect before flinging the door open and shining the light from his wand through the opening. '... a mystery! What is this place? And why is it here?'