Saturday, 27th January 1973

As James watched Lily walking away, he couldn't keep the smile from his face. That had been the most successful interaction he'd ever had with her. And he hadn't said anything stupid. Of course, she didn't know it was him she was talking to, but he could work with that.

'Come on, mate. We've got to go,' Sirius said, coming up behind him. It didn't take them long to fly back up to their dorm, and Sirius was on him as soon as the window was closed. 'I can't believe you told her your nickname!'

James shrugged, heading towards his desk. 'It's not like we use the names in public, anyway.' He was way too happy to let Sirius' anger get to him. In a few minutes, he'd burn himself out and forget all about it.

'That's not the point,' Sirius hissed. 'Do you realise how pissed Moony's going to be? You literally just promised to stop blabbing things to people.'

'Oh.' James stopped searching his desk drawers for his money pouch and looked at Sirius. 'Shit.'

'Yeah, "oh shit." What are you doing, anyway?'

'Looking for my money. I need to buy Evans a birthday present.'

'Now?'

'Yes, now. Her birthday's in two days!'

Sirius looked at him with a face of complete exasperation. 'You can't give her a present. She'll want to know how you knew it was her birthday.'

James rolled his eyes. 'I'm going to sign it from Sunshine.'

Strangely, that didn't make Sirius look any less exasperated. He sighed and took a seat on the end of his bed, leaning forward with his forearms resting across his knees. 'James, you can't have a relationship with her under polyjuice.'

'Obviously,' James said, frowning at him. Did Sirius really think he'd do that? 'I just want her to get to know me, and she actually talks to me when she doesn't know it's me. Hopefully, by the time she finds out, she'll already like me.'

The door opened while he was speaking and Remus and Peter walked in, catching the end of his speech.

'By the time who finds out what?' Remus asked, crossing the room to his bed. He dropped his bag on the floor beside it and pulled off his jumper, dumping it on the end of his bed before taking a seat, leaning back against the headboard and crossing his legs at the ankles.

'By the time Lily finds out the Marauder she's flirting with is James,' Sirius told him.

'I don't know if duelling counts as flirting,' Peter said.

Sirius laughed. 'Oh no, she was definitely flirting.'

'I kind of fucked up, though,' James said, glancing at Remus out of the corner of his eye. 'She asked what to call me, and I told her to call me Sunshine.'

Remus groaned and leant forward, hiding his face behind his bent knees. 'James!'

James sat on his bed, shoving both hands into his hair. 'I know, I know. I'm sorry.' He lowered his hands to his lap and looked at Remus. 'I was so stunned she was being friendly, it just came out.'

Remus sighed, lifting his head. 'Alright. Well, it's not the end of the world. We'll just have to be even more careful not to use the name around other students. And once Sirius figures out your inner animal, we can change it.'

'I suppose I can do James first,' Sirius said. He pointed at James. 'But you owe me. I'm looking forward to finding out what I'm going to be.'

James nodded. 'Thanks, Twinkles.'

'So, what's your plan, exactly?' Remus asked. 'Let her get to know you as Sunshine? Then what?'

James shrugged. 'The Malediction are still trying to figure out who we are. I expect they'll get it at some point.'

'It could work,' Peter said. 'It depends which personality she thinks is the real you. The one she sees all the time, or Sunshine.'

'They're both me. She'll have to accept that if she wants to be with me.'

'That's a big if, Sunshine.' Sirius grinned. 'Better make it a good birthday present.'

'I was planning on flowers and chocolates. I don't really know anything about what she likes yet.'

'When's her birthday?' Remus asked.

'Tuesday.'

'So… Hogsmeade this afternoon then?'

'Oh. You don't have to come.'

Remus rolled his eyes. 'Of course, we're coming. You need the supervision.'

They had to wait for the Polyjuice potion to wear off before they could leave, but an hour later, they were perusing the shelves of Honeydukes.

'What about this one?' Sirius asked, holding up a heart-shaped box.

Remus took it out of his hand and placed it back on the shelf. 'Too much, too soon. He'll scare her off.'

'This one?' James asked, picking up a golden tray of chocolates and showing it to Remus. Each chocolate in the box was hand-crafted, and they sparkled with actual gold flakes decorating their surface.

'James,' Remus said with a tone of patience James didn't think was warranted. 'This is thirty galleons. No. Put it back.'

'But she's worth it.'

'Maybe so, but she'll think you're showing off.' Remus scanned the shelves and finally picked up a large box, passing it to James. 'This one. It's big enough that you don't look stingy, quality chocolate, but not over-the-top.'

James eyed it dubiously. 'Are you sure?'

'Yes, she'll love it.'

James paid for the chocolates, hoping Remus was right, and then led his friends to the nearby florist.

'I've got this one,' Sirius said, walking up to the counter.

'Wait,' James said, running after him. 'I was going to get lilies.'

Sirius turned back around, placing a hand on each of James' cheeks and stared him in the eyes. 'James, I say this as your best friend, okay? You. Are. An. Idiot. Please, please, please, let me handle this.'

'Woah, okay,' James said, holding his hands up in surrender. 'I didn't know you were so invested in my love life. But sure, go for it.'

'Invested in not listening to you whine for the next month because Evans thought you were stupid for giving her lilies because her name's Lily,' Sirius muttered as he turned back to the counter and gave the witch behind it a bright smile. 'Good afternoon, we'd like to order a large bouquet to be sent to Hogwarts on Tuesday morning at breakfast. Can you do that?'

'Absolutely,' she said, picking up a quill. 'What's the name?'

'Miss Lily Evans.'

'And do you know what flowers you want?'

'Yes, white chrysanthemums, yellow crocus, daisies, goldenrod, chamomile, and some parsley and ivy.'

'Beautiful,' the witch said with a smile, writing it down. 'This will look lovely. Are you sure about the parsley, though?'

'Yes, very sure. Thank you.'

The witch nodded and finished writing the list before tallying up the cost. James paid her, not really caring about the price, and followed his friends back outside.

'Why parsley?' he asked Sirius as soon as they were back on the street.

'Parsley means festivity,' Sirius said. 'The white chrysanthemums mean truth, crocus for cheerfulness, daisies for "I'll never tell," goldenrod means encouragement, chamomile means patience in adversity, and ivy means friendship.'

James frowned as he put it all together. 'So it's a message saying I'll wait patiently and happily while she works out who I am. It's just a friendly game and I wish her luck, but I'll never tell.'

'Exactly.'

'She won't have a clue that's what it means, though,' Remus said. 'She'll just see a bunch of flowers.'

'No,' Sirius said. 'But Marls will. She told me she was forced to study flower language, too.'

'That's really cool,' James said. 'I'm sending her a secret message in flowers.' He grinned at Sirius. 'Thanks, mate.'

'You're very welcome. Aren't you glad I didn't let you buy lilies?'

'Yes, you're a very good friend.'

Sirius smiled proudly. 'And don't you forget it.'

With the presents purchased, they stocked up on butterbeer before heading back to the school, and James decided it would be a good time to speak to Sirius about Regulus. He was in a pretty good mood, after all. So he tugged on his arm and drew him back behind Remus and Peter. 'I want to talk to you.'

'About?'

'Regulus.'

Sirius sighed. 'This again?'

'Yeah, this again. I really think there's something wrong.'

'Will you shut up about it if I talk to him?'

'Absolutely.'

'Fine, Peony, I need you whenever you can come, thanks.' Sirius looked back at James. 'Happy?'

'Yes. Thank you.'

Peony arrived in their dorm that evening, and it took her several trips back and forth between the brothers, but eventually, they had a meeting set up for Tuesday morning, after breakfast, in the room behind the portrait of Fulbert the Fearful. Hopefully, the conversation would be successful and Sirius would find out what was wrong with Regulus. Then they'd be able to discuss how they could help him.

Before that could happen, though, James needed to get through another day of classes with no magic. He already had detention every night that week and for most of his free periods, too. It was becoming overwhelming. But he couldn't think of any way to work around it when he couldn't tell anyone about the problem.

It seemed like Sirius was done covering for them, too. He didn't offer any help in Charms where they were learning a Lowering charm. Thankfully, Remus cast the spell for him and Peter just before Flitwick reached them, and they were spared from yet another punishment. Professor Tenebris had them duelling in Defence, and James spent the entire lesson anxious about being called up, but she left him alone. Merlin knows how he was going to get out of it when it was his turn. Potions wasn't a problem until they reached the end and had to put their half-brewed potions under stasis. Peter had asked Remus to do his while he cleaned up for them both, but one look at Sirius' face told James he would not get away with that. He'd been forced to let his potion spoil while he cleaned away, and feigned forgetfulness as an excuse. To be fair, it was a pretty good excuse for him.

Despite his lack of magic and overload of undeserved punishments, James woke on Tuesday in a fantastically good mood. There were two reasons for this. The first being the fact that only one of their lessons that day required magic use, and it was Flitwick's, so it shouldn't be an issue. The second reason was even better. It was Evans' birthday, and James couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she received her gifts from Sunshine. Apparently, his excitement was visible.

'You need to calm down, James,' Sirius said as they made their way down the Grand Staircase. It was still early and there was no one else around. 'She's going to be looking for anyone acting weird.'

'He'll be better once he's had a cup of tea,' Remus said. 'He's always calmer after a cup of tea.'

'I think it might take an entire pot this morning,' Peter said with a chuckle. 'Mate, if I said, you'll die if you don't stay completely still for the next ten seconds…'

'I'd die,' James said. There was no way he could stay still right then. 'Guys. I just had a thought. What if she hates chocolate?'

'She doesn't. I've seen her eating it,' Remus said.

James breathed a sigh of relief before another thought occurred to him. 'What if she hates flowers?'

'No one hates flowers,' Sirius said. 'Don't be stupid.'

They arrived in the Great Hall and took their usual seats at the end of the long table, and Remus poured James a cup of tea after pouring one for himself. 'There. Drink that.'

'Thanks, Moons,' James said. He took a sip and put the cup back down, jiggling his leg under the table. 'When do you think she'll be down?'

'She's usually pretty early,' Remus said. 'But she might sleep-in a bit since it's her birthday.'

There was nothing to do but wait. They chatted quietly while picking at the food, not wanting to fill themselves up too fast and look suspicious for not leaving when they were obviously done. Sirius left to meet with his brother a few minutes after they saw Regulus walk out. And eventually, nearly an hour after they'd arrived, the Marauders' Malediction walked in and took seats not too far from them, just in time for the post.

James tried hard not to stare as the owls landed in front of her, depositing their burdens on the table as her eyes widened with surprise. He watched out of the corner of his eye as she found the card in the flowers and read it, a rosy blush forming on her cheeks, before showing it to her friends. And he bit his tongue to keep from grinning when she opened the chocolates to try one and declared them the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted.

When Remus and Peter tugged him up out of his seat and forced him to leave, he didn't argue. There was no way that could have gone better. His plan was definitely going to work.

Regulus forced himself out of bed with an irritated sigh. The temptation to cuddle back down into the soft warmth was overwhelming, but he couldn't. It was a school day, and, for reasons unknown, he had to meet his brother before class. Sirius had refused to say what it was about, annoying git that he was. With one last jealous glance at his still sleeping roommate, Regulus entered the bathroom to get ready for the day.

The shower woke him up some, and he was feeling a bit more awake by the time he pulled on his school robes and checked his hair in the mirror. When he returned to his room, Amycus was sitting up in his bed, stretching like he'd just woken up.

'Morning,' he said. It was more of a grunt, really. Everything the boy said sounded like a grunt. He was terminally stupid and Regulus couldn't stand him. Why he'd been sorted into Slytherin was beyond his understanding. It must have been ambition, because it couldn't possibly be cunning.

'Good morning,' Regulus said, perfectly friendly. The boy was heavily involved with the Youth Voldemort meetings, so Regulus needed to stay on his good side. Besides, being at odds with his roommate would create tension he could do without. 'I'm on my way to breakfast. See you in class.'

Amycus grunted some kind of response, but Regulus didn't care enough to work out what he'd said, just grabbed his bag and waved as he left. After climbing the stairs, he found Annette already in the common room, waiting for him. He rolled his eyes as he walked over. 'I told you this wasn't necessary.'

'And I told you, I don't care,' she said, smoothing his already perfect collar before linking her arm through his. 'I know you, Reg. You're anxious about talking to him. You can't fool me.'

Regulus huffed a laugh. 'You've known me for five months.'

'And I noticed the way you stiffen up when you're anxious in the first week, so stop arguing.' She pulled him towards the exit and he let her, not having any reason to fight against it. Annette Dagworth-Granger was a force to be reckoned with and he'd given up arguing with her a long time ago.

Regulus wasn't even sure how he'd ended up with her as his best friend. The second weekend of school, she'd approached him in the common room to tell him there was a boy who looked like him in the corridor, with bloody hands, demanding to see him. Later, she'd sat beside him at lunch and asked if everything was okay, then again at dinner, and every meal after. A week later, she was sitting with him in classes and studying with him in the library. Another week and they were doing everything together. He didn't regret any of it.

'Fine,' he said as they stepped into the corridor. 'I'm anxious. I don't know what he wants to talk to me about and I dislike not knowing things. Happy?'

'Happy you admitted it,' she said, patting his arm. 'I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, though. He probably just wants to see you.'

'I doubt it. Sirius isn't the type to go to this much effort just for a chat.' They reached the bottom of the stairs, and he eyed them with irritation. The worst thing about Hogwarts was all the bloody stairs. It was exhausting. Or maybe that was because he was unused to using his magic so much. It could be some combination of the two. All Regulus knew was he'd never felt so tired in his life. Did everyone feel like this in their first year?

When they reached the Slytherin table, Regulus immediately poured himself a cup of tea, adding three sugars and taking a sip. He grimaced at the taste. It was far too sweet, but the sugar should give him some energy. Sirius and his friends were already present, taking up the far end of Gryffindor table despite the rest of it being relatively empty. They were strange people, Sirius' friends. But then, so was Sirius.

He helped himself to a small portion of sausage, bacon, and eggs with a slice of buttered toast on the side and picked up his knife and fork. 'Did you do the reading for Charms last night? What did you make of it?'

He chatted about classes with Annette while they ate and the table filled up around them. It wasn't safe to discuss anything more important at the dining table. They saved those conversations for less populated locations, usually one of the private study rooms in the library, which is where he arranged to meet up with her when she said goodbye to him beside the portrait of Fulbert the Fearful.

The whimpering wreck of a man was attempting to hide behind the frame of his painting, and Regulus looked him over with derision. 'Shut up and let me in before I tire of the noise and set fire to your canvas.'

Fulbert yelped, and the portrait swung away from the wall, revealing a compact room containing a single table and chair. It seemed someone in the past disliked company. He wasn't overly fond of it himself, Annette being the notable exception, but there was introverted and then there was introverted. Regulus shook his head to wake himself back up and pulled the portrait closed behind him, taking the only seat in the room while he waited for his brother to arrive.

Sirius didn't keep him waiting long. It couldn't have been more than two minutes before he heard him threatening the portrait with a paint-stripping charm and the door opened.

Regulus smiled widely at him. 'Good morning, Twinkles.'

'Oh, bugger off,' Sirius said, closing the door behind him.

Regulus laughed. He was so easy to wind up. 'Well, if you don't want to talk to me…'

'Shut up. You know what I mean.'

Regulus closed his mouth, pressing his lips together, and stared at him.

Sirius groaned and climbed onto the table, crossing his legs and leaning back against the wall. 'Must you be difficult?'

'With you? Yes, always.'

'Well, can you stop for five minutes so we can talk?'

'That depends on what we're talking about.'

'You.'

'Me?'

Sirius nodded. 'Are you okay?'

'I'm fine,' Regulus said, frowning. 'Why?'

'James thinks there's something wrong with you.'

'Like what?'

Sirius shrugged. 'No idea, but he insisted I check up on you.'

'Your friends are weird.'

Sirius laughed. 'Tell me about it.'

'What made James think there was something wrong with me? And why does he care, anyway?'

'He thought you looked tired and pale and like you'd been crying.'

Regulus raised his eyebrows. 'Sounds like he's paying me a lot of attention.'

Sirius flung his hands out to the sides. 'That's what I said. He swears he doesn't fancy you, but I don't know, Reg. I think you might have a chance there if you're interested.'

Regulus laughed. 'Gods, mother would love that, wouldn't she?' Then she'd have both of us trying to convert the Potter heir to her politics. She'd be thrilled.'

Sirius hummed. 'Best not, then. Wouldn't want to make the bitch that happy.'

'But what about my happiness?' Regulus asked, putting a hand over his heart. 'Would you keep me from my soul mate just to spite Mother?'

Sirius pulled his eyebrows into a frown of deep thought. 'Wow. Really asking the tough questions today, aren't you? I don't know, Reg. I care about your happiness, of course, but I really love spiting Mother.'

'I'm wounded, brother. My heart is broken. I may never recover from this blow.'

'Want me to put you out of your misery?' Sirius asked, pulling his wand and twirling it between his fingers. 'The world will mourn you, I'm sure, but you can't be expected to live in such pain.'

Regulus laughed. 'Always so quick with the offers to murder me. Anyone would be forgiven for thinking you dislike me.'

'Eh. You know I don't mean it,' Sirius said, wrinkling his nose. 'So, you're really okay, then?'

'Apart from sharing a room with the stupidest individual to ever be born, I'm fine. I promise.'

Sirius winced. 'Is he really that bad?'

'Worse. I wouldn't mind so much, but the questions are constant. He drives me crazy.'

'Ugh. That sounds awful. I don't know what I'd have done if my dorm mates were brainless idiots.'

'Knowing you, you'd have hexed them silent by the end of the first week.'

'Score one for lack of impulse control,' Sirius said, laughing.

Regulus checked his watch. 'If you have a class first period, you better go.'

Sirius stood up. 'Why? What time is it?'

'Twenty past.'

'Shit, I've got Herbology.'

Regulus laughed, climbing to his feet. 'Then you better run, Twinkles.'

'Oh, fuck off.' He pulled Regulus into a quick hug and then, with a 'Bye,' tossed over his shoulder, he was gone.

A sudden wave of dizziness overcame him and he sank back down into the chair, putting his head in his hands while he waited for it to pass. It wasn't anything to worry about. The dizziness happened whenever he stood up too fast and it was over in a few seconds. Once he was able to stand again, he left the hidden room and made his way to the library to find Annette.

'He said he's fine,' Sirius told James as they stood together tending their tray of leaping toadstools. 'And he thought it was weird that you were watching him so much. So you need to stop that.'

James' eyes widened as his head shot up. 'What? What did you tell him?'

Sirius laughed. 'That you've been staring at him so much you noticed he looked pale and tired, and that you probably fancy him.'

'Sirius!'

'What? Just trying to help you out, mate.'

'I don't need that kind of help!' James put his hands over his face (which was stupid because they were covered in dirt from the mushrooms). 'Gods, I'm so embarrassed.'

'Relax. He knows I was joking.'

James lowered his hands and Sirius bit his cheek to keep from laughing at the streaks of dirt left behind. 'Are you sure?'

'Yes. Positive.' Sirius returned his attention to the tray. 'Can you freeze these so I can check them for rot?'

'Er, I was just going to ask to go for a piss, actually. Too much tea at breakfast. Back in a minute.'

Sirius watched through narrowed eyes as James approached Professor Sprout for permission and left the Greenhouse. If this avoidance of doing any work in class went on for much longer, they were going to have stage an intervention. It couldn't be allowed to continue. Although, the hours James and Peter were spending in detention did allow him more alone time with Remus. So, maybe he'd leave it for a bit longer.

They didn't spend all their time alone kissing. Sometimes they just cuddled and talked. Other times, they did something fun together, like playing a game or listening to muggle music in the Squib Wing. Sirius enjoyed the kissing, but he liked just being with Remus just as much. There was something in the way he looked at him that made him feel like less of a complete fuck-up. Like he might actually be worth something. Sirius didn't know what it was, but he liked it.

They approached Professor Tenebris' classroom that evening with a little less excitement than the previous week. Now they had some idea of how it was going to work, the concept of telepathic communication seemed like less of a game and more of a tool to be used only in emergencies. Still, it might mean the difference between life and death one day, so they weren't going to give up on it just because it was unpleasant.

They all stopped and looked at each other when they reached the door, but it was Remus who finally spoke. 'Shall I test it?'

'Not much point, is there?' James asked. 'She knows about the detector. Would be a waste of time to trap the door.'

Sirius wasn't convinced. 'Or, she knows we'll think that, so she did it anyway.'

'It takes less than a minute. You might as well,' Peter said.

'True. Go on, then.' James looked at Remus and jerked his head at the door. 'Better safe than sorry.'

The detector showed no magic on the door, so Sirius reached for the handle as Remus tucked the device back into his bag. And then, suddenly, he was alone.

'What the fuck!' he yelled, at the same time as Remus shouted the exact same thing inside his head.

'Come inside, Sirius,' Professor Tenebris called from the other side of the door.

Sirius turned the handle he was still gripping and pushed the door open, striding inside. 'What did you do?'

'I banished them.'

'Why am I still here?'

She shrugged. 'You're the one that touched the door handle. It was random.'

'Where did you banish them to?'

'Different parts of the school. You'll have to wait for them to tell you where. They won't be able to leave until you get there.' She passed him a small metal disc about the size of a galleon. 'This will release them. They just need to hold it.'

'Right.'

'Oh, and I want you to do this without activating the tracking part of the spell. Just with the alarms, alright?'

Sirius nodded. 'So, what now?'

'We might as well sit down. I don't know how long we'll be waiting. It's Remus you're linked to, isn't it?'

There were only two armchairs in the middle of the room this week, and Sirius took a seat in the one facing the mirrored wall. Not so he could see his reflection–though that was a nice bonus–but so he could watch his back. He really didn't trust Tenebris not to have something else planned.

'Yeah. He's just yelling "What the fuck!" in my head right now, though.'

Professor Tenebris took the other armchair and crossed her legs. 'Will he need to cancel that alarm before he can send another one?'

Sirius shrugged. 'No idea. We've never actually tested that.'

She propped her elbow on the arm of the chair and twirled her wand between her fingers. 'So, what shall we talk about while we're waiting?'

There was a strange look in her eye that made Sirius swallow. 'I don't know.'

'How about what you four were all doing in the Three Broomsticks on Thursday afternoon?'

Shit. Why did she have to bring that up now when it was just him there? 'We were shopping?'

'You don't seem surprised that I knew you were there.'

'I'm not. I know you're a vampire. You smelled us.'

She frowned. 'For someone so reluctant to tell his friends about his lycanthropy, Remus sure was quick to spill my secret.'

'He didn't,' Sirius said. 'James and Peter don't know. I only know because I heard him think it in an alarm.'

Her face cleared. 'Ah, I see. I suppose he can't be blamed for that.'

'I won't tell anyone. I don't want you to get fired.'

She smiled. 'Thank you. So, back to your little illegal excursion to Hogsmeade…'

"What the fuck!" Remus' voice said in his head, accompanied by a sharp, stabbing pain behind his eyes. Sirius winced, reaching up to rub his forehead.

'Are you okay?' Professor Tenebris asked, lowering the hand holding her wand to her lap and leaning forward in concern.

'Just a bit of a headache. I'll be fine.'

'Maybe ask Peter to brew you a batch of Pepper-up when we're done here.'

Sirius smiled. 'Yeah, good idea. That's why we were in Hogsmeade, actually. Buying ingredients for Peter. He's doing an apprenticeship with James' dad.'

'I wasn't aware the Three Broomsticks sold potion ingredients. Is Ros branching out?'

Sirius hesitated. Should he tell her about the passage? But she might tell Rosmerta, and she might block it up, ruining any chance they had of finding the killer. Best not. 'Ah, no. We just popped in for a bottle of Firewhiskey. We left the money for it in the cellar.'

She raised an eyebrow. 'What do four twelve-year-old boys want with Firewhiskey?'

'It helps Remus with his moonsickness,' Sirius said, making a mental note to tell Remus this information later.

'I'm in the Astronomy Tower.'

'Remus is in the Astronomy Tower,' Sirius said, jumping to his feet. A wave of dizziness came over him and he grabbed the arm of the chair to steady himself while it passed. He looked up when his head cleared. 'So I'll be off to heroically rescue him now.'

She inclined her head. 'Of course. Good luck.'

Sirius sped over to the door and opened it before remembering what they'd been talking about and glancing back over his shoulder. 'Professor? What are you going to do about..?'

She waved a hand at him dismissively. 'Forget I noticed anything. The paperwork alone…' She shuddered. 'But you will be careful, yes?'

Sirius let out a relieved breath and nodded. 'Yeah. Thanks.'

She smiled. 'Go find Remus.'

Sirius grinned and left, making for the Astronomy Tower as fast as he could. It was cold up there, especially at this time of night in January. He didn't want Remus to be cold. Sirius checked his watch and was surprised to find half an hour had passed. It hadn't felt like that long, but then again, keeping track of time wasn't his strong point. He had to stop to catch his breath several times on the way up the stairs, fatigue making his limbs heavy. Merlin, he was looking forward to cuddling up in bed with Remus. Sleep sounded wonderful right then.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, he neared the top of the winding staircase and the door came into view. Remus was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room with his eyes closed. The sight was more than familiar. Walking into the dorm to find any one of them in that exact position was so commonplace that they always entered quietly, just in case.

Sirius leant against the door frame and took a moment just to admire his boyfriend's beauty—Merlin, he really was gorgeous—before humming a tune to bring him out of the meditation gently.

Remus' eyes fluttered open a few seconds later, and he smiled at Sirius. 'Hi.'

'Hey, Wolf Boy. What're you doing up here?'

Remus shrugged. 'Not really sure. One second I was with my friends, the next I was here. I've been waiting for a handsome prince to come and save me. Are you him?'

Sirius pushed himself away from the door frame and walked over to Remus, offering his hand to him. 'I could be. It depends. Am I handsome enough?' Remus took his hand and Sirius pulled him to his feet, tugging him close before letting his hands drop to Remus' waist. 'Well?'

Remus tilted his head back to meet Sirius' eyes. 'You're perfect.'

Sirius' breath caught in his throat. 'What?'

'You're perfect,' Remus repeated, leaning in to breathe the words against his lips. 'Absolutely, completely, and utterly perfect.'

Sirius couldn't come up with a single thing to say to that. Possibilities threw themselves at him; thank you; so are you; you don't mean that; marry me; but he dismissed them all and instead kissed him hard, using his lips and tongue to say what he couldn't say with words.

It could have been a few seconds or an eternity when Remus pulled away to tell him breathlessly that James was 'in the Transfiguration classroom,' Sirius couldn't have guessed if his life depended on it.

'I don't know how to get out of here, though,' Remus added. 'There's some kind of barrier on the door.'

'You just have to hold this,' Sirius pulled the disc from his pocket and handed it to him.

With the disc in hand, Remus was able to walk out of the door without a problem, and they hurried down the stairs to get to James.

'Professor Tenebris noticed us in Hogsmeade. But she's not going to report us, so I don't think we need to tell James and Peter. She seemed really hurt when she thought you'd told me about her.'

'What did you tell her?'

'The truth? I heard it in an alarm. It wasn't your fault.'

'No, I mean about why we were in Hogsmeade.'

'Oh.' Sirius laughed. 'I said we were getting ingredients for Pete's apprenticeship, and we popped into the Three Broomsticks to get you a bottle of Firewhiskey.'

'Me? Why me?'

'I said it helped with you moonsickness.'

'Clever,' Remus said with a laugh. 'I wonder if it would actually help, though.'

'You want to try? Next month, maybe?'

'I don't know. Madam Pomfrey might murder me if I turn up at the Hospital Wing drunk.'

Sirius laughed, picturing the Healer's face if he arrived in her ward towing a pissed Remus. 'Yeah, true. But the moon's on a Saturday. We can take you down early and hang out in the tunnel. It might even dull the pain of the transformation.'

'Do you think so?' Remus' eyes had widened with excitement. 'That would be incredible.'

Sirius shrugged. 'There's only one way to find out.'

'Aren't you coming to practice, Bubbles?' James asked the next evening.

Peter looked up from his notebook conversation with Monty to see James standing by the door holding his broom. 'Oh, um, no. Not today. I think I'm ready to try this formula, actually.'

'Is that the moonsickness potion?' Sirius asked. 'Will it be ready for the next moon?'

'Yes, it's the moonsickness potion. No, it definitely won't be ready for the next moon. It's really unlikely I'll get it right on the first try. But I need to see what happens with this recipe before I can know what to change. I've gone as far as I can with theory.'

'Guess we're still doing the Firewhiskey this month, then,' Sirius said, grinning at Remus beside him.

'I've got to go,' James said. 'But I want to hear more about this Firewhiskey plan when I get back. Good luck with the brewing, Bubbles.' James turned and looked at the sheet of blank parchment framed and hanging on the wall beside the door. 'I'm Sirius Black, and no one tells me what to do.' There was a brief pause and then James snorted. 'Your father called me an arrogant prat, Twinkles. Alright, see you later.' And he was gone.

'Well, he's not wrong,' Sirius said to the closed door.

Peter laughed and started gathering his notes together. 'I'm going to the Den. Do you know where the Knife is?'

'Bottom drawer of my desk,' Remus said. 'Do you want company?'

Peter walked over and pulled the drawer open. 'No. I'll be fine.' If they joined him, he'd have to cover for his lack of magic, and that was a complication he didn't need. Shoving the penknife into the pocket of his jeans, he pushed the drawer closed with his foot and returned to his bed for his notes, stuffing them into his bag and swinging it over his shoulder. He stopped by the door and spoke to the parchment. 'Ice cream is the best food ever invented.' Orion's handwriting wrote itself across the page, You're not wrong, but you're not right either. Try again. 'Nope. Alright, see you later.'

When he reached the Den, he dumped his bag on the brewing station before filling a cauldron and placing it on the fire pit. Returning to his bag, he reached inside and felt around until his fingers brushed the smooth, cold surface of his Snitch-O-Scope. He pulled a face as he looked at it, but shook his head and moved back to the cauldron.

There was no point feeling bad about destroying the present. He needed magic to activate the fire pit runes, and he'd rather Remus have the potion a month sooner than keep the Snitch-O-Scope. They had three more of them, anyway. Not that he knew for sure this would even work, but it was like Sirius always said. There was only one way to find out.

And if he could channel the magic of Hogwarts through his wand, why not the magic embedded in the glass sphere?

Unsheathing his wand, Peter held the orb in his left hand and focused. He could feel the gentle thrum of Remus' magic against his skin, and he honed in on the sensation, pulling on it, inviting it inside. It resisted him at first, and the sense of contentment Peter felt made him smile. The magic was quite happy where it was, thank you very much, and it would much prefer to stay. Unfortunately, Peter needed it, so he doubled his efforts and finally felt the crackle and heat of Remus' magic surging up his arm. He quickly directed it down his wand arm and tapped the rune for medium heat. The fire burst to life with a roar, and Peter grinned.

The Snitch-O-Scope looked unchanged by the experience, perhaps a little less smooth than it had been, but nothing major. Peter placed it down beside the cauldron and got to work. While the water came to a boil, he checked to make sure he had all the ingredients and laid them out on the worktable in order. Deciding that channelling the magic from the glass orb would slow him down enough as it was, he worked on preparing all the ingredients before beginning, instead of as needed, like he usually would. All the chopping, slicing, and grinding took longer than he expected, and the cauldron had been boiling for a while by the time he was ready to start brewing.

He clutched the orb again as he turned down the heat—the magic obeyed his will easier the second time, as if it trusted him now—and added the first three ingredients, stirring with a glass rod as he went. Everything went as he'd theorised for the first half an hour, and Remus' magic responded to him quicker each time he accessed it, the rough surface scraping against his palm.

Peter was about halfway through the recipe, excitement fizzing in his stomach. He'd expected the brew to fail well before that point and the fact that it hadn't was thrilling. Grabbing the orb, he pulled Remus' magic into his body and tapped the rune for high heat. The fire roared, licking at the sides of the cauldron, and the sphere in Peter's hand collapsed into powder.

'Shit,' he said, staring at the small pile of sand on the floor by his feet and then back at the cauldron. 'Shit. Fuck. Shit.'

He ran to the sink, filling a jug of water as fast as he could. The cauldron let out an ear-splitting shriek and Peter yelped, dropping the jug. The water emptied itself back down the drain.

'Buggering fuckhead,' he said, picking it back up to refill it. But it was too late. With a deafening bang, the cauldron exploded, drenching Peter, and the entire room, in boiling liquid.

'Shit, fuck, shit,' James heard in his head as he swooped down and grabbed the Quaffle two of his teammates were attempting to pass between them. That didn't sound good. But there was no way he could leave mid-practice to check on Peter. After passing off the Quaffle, he flew up high, out of the way, and imagined falling from his broom with no magic to save himself. Feeling his heart rate increase, he thought hard, Pete needs help. Pete needs help. Pete needs help.

'Pete needs help.'

Remus pushed Sirius away mid-snog. 'Pete needs help.'

'What?'

'James says Pete needs help.'

'Oh.' Sirius rolled off the bed onto his feet and held his hand out to Remus. 'Guess we better go help him, then.'

Peter screamed as the boiling liquid hit his skin and stuck there, burning. Then he screamed again. He couldn't stop screaming. Oh fuck, did it hurt. Water. He needed water. The sink was right there. But the taps were so high up. How did he end up on the floor? And, fuck, it hurts.

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.

Got to get up.

Stand up.

Just stand up.

Oh, gods, it hurts.

Peter peered up at the edge of the sink through tear-blurred eyes and whimpered. It looked impossibly far away. But there was no choice. He had to get water on his skin. Sobbing with the pain, Peter reached up with his least injured hand and hooked his fingers over the edge of the sink. His muscles shook under the strain as he tried to pull himself up, but the pain had sapped him of every ounce of strength and he collapsed back onto the floor, breathing hard.

Peter was going to die. He was going to die right there on the floor of the Den, surrounded by the remains of his final brew. His eyes drifted closed, and he curled into a ball, holding himself tightly to try to reduce the pain. Eventually, his friends would come to find him when he didn't return to the dorm. Peter's eyes flew back open. Not eventually. Immediately. They must know something was wrong by now.

His gaze drifted to the door, all the way on the other side of the room.

He had the Knife.

They wouldn't be able to get in.

He needed to open that door if he wanted to live.

'Oh, fuck you. Fuck you all,' he whispered. He took a deep breath and rolled onto his knees.

He screamed again as fresh pain swept through every body part that made contact with the floor as he rolled. Oh, fuck the world and everything in it, because nothing should ever hurt this much. He sobbed as the pain flared. Whimpered as it receded. And panted as he re-accustomed himself to the base level throbbing. Then he raised his head and eyed the distance.

This was going to be hell.

Crawling across that floor was the hardest thing Peter had ever done. His arms and legs quivered from holding him up and sweat dripped from his forehead onto the floor. Every tiny movement, every shift of his clothes, every brush against the floor caused the throbbing to flare into sharp agony. Every inch he fought for cost him more than the last. But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. If he stopped, he was surely dead.

When his head bumped against the door, he sobbed with relief. But it was premature. Squinting up at the door handle, a wave of complete exhaustion overtook him, and his arms gave out. He couldn't do it. It was too much.

He needed to rest.

Just for a moment.

A minute or two with his eyes closed and not moving.

Gods, he was tired.

The pain would stop if he slept. It wouldn't be hard. He could already feel it creeping at the edges of his mind.

'Peter! Are you in there? Open the door!'

That was Remus.

Remus was there.

He needed to open the door. What the hell was he doing curled up on the floor? Marauders didn't give up!

'Peter! Please answer!'

That was Sirius. Sirius was there too. They would help him. They would make the pain stop. He just needed to open the goddammed, bloody, fucking asshole of a door.

With a noise somewhere between a roar and a scream, he pushed himself back to his hands and knees and stayed there, panting, while the pain flared and receded.

'Peter?' Sirius sounded worried. 'What's happened?'

'Peter. Can you hear me? Moan once for no, twice for yes.'

Peter huffed a laugh at Remus' instructions, and then moaned, twice.

'Can you get to the door?'

'Yes,' Peter tried to say, but it came out so quiet he didn't think they'd be able to hear him. So he resorted to moaning twice, again.

'Alright, we'll wait,' Remus said.

'You can do it, Bubbles.'

Peter blinked and lifted his head again at Sirius' words of encouragement, glaring at the handle. He would not be defeated by a door. He refused. 'Fuck you, door,' he growled. After taking a deep breath to prepare himself, and before he could think twice about it, he lifted one arm and rested his hand against the wall. Pain ripped through him and he moaned again through gritted teeth, but he didn't stop. There wasn't time. Darkness was creeping over the edge of his vision.

Peter didn't know where he found the strength, but he lifted his other arm and grabbed the door handle, twisting it until he heard the click. Then he finally allowed himself to give up, and everything went black.

Remus followed on Sirius' heels as they dashed down the stairs to the common room, slowing down when they reached the bottom and doing their best to walk calmly across the room to not draw attention. As soon as they were through the portrait hole, though, they broke into a run, speeding down the stairs to the next floor. They took the quickest route they knew to reach the Den, but when they got there, Remus realised they had no way to get inside.

'Peter! Are you in there? Open the door!' he shouted.

They waited, staring at each other, but there was no response.

Sirius put his hands against the door, shoving at it pointlessly. 'Peter! Please answer!'

A moment later, Peter made the most horrendous noise Remus had ever heard outside of his own transformations. Sympathy tears sprang to his eyes, and he swallowed. Peter was in agony.

'Peter?' Sirius was still leaning up against the door, but his hands had clenched into fists. 'What's happened?'

But Remus knew he wouldn't be able to speak, not when he was in the kind of pain that forced such animalistic noises from a human throat. 'Peter. Can you hear me? Moan once for no, twice for yes.'

Peter moaned twice, and Remus let the air out of his lungs in relief. That was something, at least. He was aware enough to follow simple instructions. Sirius had moved away from the door and was looking at Remus with wide eyes. 'How are we going to get to him?' he whispered.

There was only one way Remus could see. Peter had to let them in. 'Can you get to the door?'

Peter moaned twice again.

'Alright, we'll wait.'

'You can do it, Bubbles,' Sirius called.

The moaning started back up immediately, and Remus felt Sirius' hand slip into his, gripping it tightly, as they waited for Peter to get the door open. Remus chewed the inside of his cheek. What would they find on the other side? It sounded awful. And it was his fault, in a way. Peter had been working on a potion for him. If he didn't have lycanthropy, he might have been brewing something safer.

The moment the door clicked open, they both rushed forward, but Sirius got there first. All Remus heard was a gasp, followed by, 'Fuck, Pete.'

'Move out of the way.'

'Sorry.' Sirius stepped over something that turned out to be Peter. Remus' jaw tensed at his first sight of him, but he allowed no other outward sign of his distress. Peter looked terrible, but it was far from the worst injuries Remus had ever seen. And Peter needed him to stay calm.

'We need to take him to Pomfrey,' he said.

'No,' Sirius said. 'She'll have to report us. It's just burns by the looks of it. Don't we have some burn healing paste?'

'You want us to treat him?'

Sirius looked at him. 'It's just applying some paste. Come on. Shut the door.'

Against his better judgement, Remus did as instructed before stepping over Peter's unconscious body, joining Sirius on the other side, who was staring down at Peter and chewing his lip.

'Get some water. We need to clean this gunk off him first. And transfigure us some sponges or something. Soft ones.'

Remus nodded and turned towards the sink. 'What are you going to do?'

'Take his clothes off.'

'But…'

'Yeah, I know,' Sirius said. 'He'll hate it, but I don't have a choice.'

Remus hated to admit he was right, but he was. The burns under his clothes needed treatment just as much as the ones they could see. 'Why wasn't he wearing his robes?' he asked over the noise of running water.

'No idea,' Sirius said. 'Guess he forgot. Diffindo.'

The bowl was full, so Remus shut the tap off and picked it up, carrying it over to Sirius. He'd sliced open the front of Peter's t-shirt and was gently tugging at the edge, peeling it away from his skin with his face inches away from it.

'I can't tell if that's dried potion, or if his skin's coming off with the shirt.'

Remus swallowed down the bile that rose in his throat. 'Don't worry about it. The paste will heal it up, anyway. Let's just get this done before he wakes up so he doesn't have to feel it.'

Sirius' tongue poked out from between his lips as he carefully peeled the shirt away from Peter's torso before picking his wand back up and cutting the sleeves open. Once the shirt was off, he moved to his legs, while Remus took over with his transfigured sponge and a bowl of warm water to clean the potion from what was left of his skin.

Peter started to whimper near the end of the process, and Remus was grateful he'd stayed unconscious through the worst of it as his head thrashed from side to side and he let out a high-pitched whine while Sirius peeled the final scrap of denim from his calf.

'Gods, Pete. I'm sorry, mate,' Sirius said. 'Almost done now. Remus, can you clean his legs? I'm going to find the paste.'

Remus nodded at him and took his place at Peter's feet. 'Alright, I'm just going to wash this stuff off your legs now. It's probably going to hurt. I'm sorry.'

Peter managed to keep his response down to a keening whine with the occasional gasp or moan, but Remus honestly felt guilty that he was trying so hard. He shouldn't be worrying about them when he was in so much pain.

'Let it out, mate. You don't need to hold back.'

Peter shook his head violently and screwed his eyes closed tighter. Remus took that as a no.

'Found it,' Sirius said, striding back over to them as he unscrewed the lid on a large pot. 'Where should I start?'

'At the top? I'm not quite done with his legs yet.'

Sirius scooped some of the thick orange paste onto his fingertips. 'Alright, this is going to be cold. I'm going to do your left arm first, okay? I'll start at the wrist and work up.'

Peter whimpered, and Sirius seemed to take that as consent because he began smearing the paste across his wrist.

Remus was done cleaning the potion from Peter's legs and had joined Sirius in applying the burn paste when there was a quiet knock on the door. 'Guys? You in there?'

'One sec,' Sirius called. He finished the area he was working on before standing up to let James in. 'Careful.'

'Fuck! What happened?'

'Looks like his cauldron exploded,' Sirius said.

James was still in his Quidditch gear, his hair a sweaty mess sticking up in all directions, and he stared down at Peter with wide eyes. 'Fuck. Okay. What can I do?'

'Wash your hands and then get over here and help us finish this.'

Peter's noise had died down to mostly whimpers and the occasional moan. Remus hoped that was because the paste was working where it had been applied. James returned from the sink and knelt down next to Sirius, digging his fingers into the half-empty pot.

'Tell him where you're putting it before you do it so he can brace for it,' Sirius said.

They worked their way steadily down Peter's body, eventually rolling him onto his side to reach his back, and with three pairs of hands, it didn't take long.

'What about..?' James waved his hand at the only part of Peter's body still covered with clothing.

'Yeah,' Sirius said. 'Pete, mate, can you talk?'

'Yeah,' Pete breathed.

'Can you feel any burns under your pants?'

'Yes.'

Remus couldn't see his face behind the orange burn paste covering it, but he was certain he was blushing.

Sirius nodded. 'Okay. Well, one of us is going to have to deal with that. Which one do you want it to be?'

'Remus,' Peter said. 'Remus can do it.'

'Excellent choice. James and I will wait outside, okay?' He turned to Remus. 'Come get us when you're done?'

'Actually, can you go get a sheet from one of our beds?' Remus said. 'He's going to need something to cover him.'

Sirius nodded, and he and James left, closing the door behind them.

'I'm sorry about this, mate. I'll try not to look more than I have to.'

'Moons, just do it, yeah? It hurts.'

'Right, yeah, sorry.'

Remus worked fast, ignoring the stifled whimpers, and tried to avert his eyes from what he was doing as much as he could. He was finished well before James and Sirius returned. They passed the sheet through the door, and Remus covered Peter up before they came in. He was still lying on the hard floor, on his side to keep from smearing the paste on his back, and he was breathing heavily, but no longer making sounds of pain.

'Should we move him to one of the sofas?' James asked.

'Please, don't,' Peter muttered. 'But can you soften up the floor a bit?'

Sirius took out his wand and cast the softening charm on the floor beneath Peter, and he sighed a little.

'Thanks.'

'No problem. Get some sleep, now. You'll be all better by morning.'

James was over at the sofa, pulling shrunken pillows and blankets out of his backpack and dumping them on the seat. 'So, who's sleeping where then?'