Sunday 17th June, 10:30 pm

Moony and Twinkles

June 17th 4:47 pm

If you're lying to me because you think I can't handle the truth again, I am going to lose it. If you were telling me the truth earlier, then I'm sorry for accusing you, but I can't stop thinking about the fact that you've lied to me before and I think you're doing it again. If your father does know about us, then I need to know that. You have no right to keep it from me. This is your last chance to tell me the truth because if you lie to me now, and I find out, I don't think I'll ever be able to trust you again.

Remus checked the blank space underneath his message one last time before turning to climb into his bed. He'd known it would still be blank—he'd been listening out for the sound of a message arriving all evening and hadn't heard anything—but he checked, anyway. Why wasn't Sirius answering him? Was he okay? He must be. Peter would have let them know if he'd had an alarm for him. Surely he can't have been busy all evening. His parents had to let him sleep at some point.

The logical explanation was that Sirius had been lying, and he was too scared to tell him, but Remus desperately didn't want to believe that. Maybe he was just mad at Remus for accusing him. Somehow, that would be preferable. After everything with Lyall, Remus couldn't cope with being lied to. Especially by someone who was supposed to care about him.

Sleep eluded him for what felt like hours as he tossed and turned in his bed, trying in vain to find a comfortable position and keep his thoughts away from Sirius, but he was finally drifting off when he was startled back to full wakefulness by a quiet pop which was quickly followed by a voice he would recognise anywhere, whispering from somewhere within the darkness.

'Moons? You awake?'

'Sirius? What are you doing here?'

Remus asked the question despite being pretty sure he knew the answer, and it made his heart clench painfully in his chest.

'One sec. Peony, I want you to go home and keep an eye on my parents. If either of them goes looking for me, come and get me, okay?'

'Yes, Master Sirius. Peony is being the best spy so Master can talk to his Mister Remus without beings catched.'

There was another quiet pop, followed by footsteps crossing the room to his desk. Then Remus heard the sound of his chair being pulled out.

'I didn't want to tell you in the notebook. Can we turn the light on? Or will your mum notice?'

Remus shook his head automatically, then remembered Sirius couldn't see him. 'You can turn it on. She's in bed. The switch is by the door, on the right.'

More footsteps, followed by a click, and Remus screwed his eyes closed against the bright light while they adjusted. When he opened them again, Sirius was back in the chair, watching him, and his face was… Gods, he was wearing the mask he used when he was scared. The one that hid his emotions from view. Not a good sign.

'What is it?' Remus asked. If Sirius was about to break his heart, he didn't want to drag it out.

'You were right. I was lying. But it wasn't because I thought you couldn't handle the truth. It was because I couldn't handle telling you. I couldn't bear to see you look at me the way you looked at James after Christmas.'

After Christmas? Remus swallowed, lowering his gaze to his hands, which were twisted up in his bedcovers. 'You told someone about me.'

It wasn't a question, but Sirius answered like it was. 'Not yet, and not on purpose. I'll do everything I can not to, but I don't know if I can stop it. Gods, I'm so sorry, Remus. I should have just left you alone. I'm so dangerous to you, but I didn't know. You have to believe that. I didn't know, I swear.'

'Sirius, you're not making any sense.'

'Right, sorry.' Sirius paused, running a hand through his hair, smoothing it down, and then he met Remus' eyes briefly before they flicked over to stare at a point just beyond his shoulder. He wasn't lying this time. 'I told you I'm doing heir-related training, but I lied about what that meant. It's not all boring paperwork stuff. It's… there are things I have to be able to do to be able to protect the family. One of them is occlumency.'

'I don't know what that is.'

'It's… a technique to shield your mind from legilimency. That's magic that allows the caster to enter someone's mind and see their memories. I can learn the method from a book, but I have to practise to make sure I can do it properly, and—'

'And to practise, someone has to use legilimency on you,' Remus finished for him, finally understanding what Sirius was saying. He hadn't told his father, but he didn't know if he could stop him from finding out.

'Yeah,' Sirius confirmed, his chin dipping to stare at the floor now. 'I had my first lesson this morning. My father found out about our relationship, but I got him out of my head before he saw anything about you being a werewolf. I don't know if I'll be able to keep doing that, though. He knows I'm hiding something now. He's going to try harder.'

Remus pushed back the covers and climbed out of the bed, walking over to Sirius and using a finger to tilt his chin up until their eyes met. 'It's not your fault, Sirius. I'm not going to blame you for something you can't control, but you should have told me. As soon as you knew there was a threat, you should have told me.'

'I know. I'm sorry. I just kept putting it off. And then it was summer, and I was home, and it was too late.'

'It's not too late until he knows and he's having me arrested for endangering his son. If he does find out, you have to tell me immediately, Sirius. Promise me. Solemnly Swear, because I'll need every second I can get to run.'

'I won't let him hurt you, Moons,' Sirius said, pulling him closer by the hips and gazing up at him, his eyes hard and cold. 'I'll kill him before I let that happen.'

Brushing past the murder threat that fell so frequently from Sirius' lips that they no longer caused any kind of reaction, Remus bent to press a kiss to his mouth before raising the question that had started all of this. 'What did your father say to you this morning after he found out about us?'

Despite his posture relaxing at the kiss, Sirius stiffened again at the question, but he answered, his eyes fixed on Remus' chest. 'He pointed out something I hadn't thought about. It's… You know I'm the heir?'

'Obviously.'

'Right, but do you know what that means? For my future, I mean?'

Oh. So that's what this was about. 'I do, yes. You have to marry a pureblood woman and have children with her.'

'And you're okay with that?' Sirius asked, his eyes snapping up to meet Remus'.

'Not at all,' Remus said, honestly. 'But if you can deal with my situation, then I can deal with yours. Neither of us has a choice.'

'Are you really comparing your illness with… for Merlin's sake, Remus. It's hardly the same thing. I'll basically be cheating on you.'

Remus shrugged. 'It's not cheating if I know about it—'

'Remus—'

'No, listen. I'm not saying it won't hurt, because it will. I'm not stupid. But… I'll know that you don't want her, whoever she turns out to be, and that will make it easier.' He hoped he was right, but he feared nothing would make it easier to know Sirius was with someone else. Sirius was his. The wave of wild possessiveness that flooded him took him by surprise—that usually only happened before the full moon, not after it—but he shoved the feelings away and gave Sirius a smile. 'Anyway, we have years before we have to worry about that.'

'Yeah,' Sirius said, sounding unconvinced, to say the least, and the smile he gave Remus in return didn't hold an ounce of happiness in it. 'I don't deserve you, Remus. You're far too good for me, but I'm so glad you want me, anyway.'

It said something about Sirius' feelings of self-worth that he thought a literal monster was too good for him. Remus was putting him in danger just by being his friend, never mind being his boyfriend—Professor Tenebris had proven that—but he was too selfish to let him go.

'I'm not too good for you, Sirius. You're perfect.' Remus kissed him again and somehow ended up sitting in his lap. He wasn't sure how long he was there for, but they'd definitely made up for the lack of a goodbye kiss situation by the time they were interrupted by the quiet pop of Peony's return.

'Peony apologises for interrupting, Master Sirius, but you said to come back in thirty minutes, and it's been thirty minutes.'

Sirius sighed, pulling Remus in for one last kiss before allowing him to stand up. 'Thanks, Peony,' he said to the elf before turning back to Remus. 'I have to go.'

'I know. I'll see you soon, though, yeah?'

'Definitely.' Sirius pressed one more kiss to his lips before taking Peony's hand and disappearing with the now familiar pop, and Remus climbed back into his bed. Sleep claimed him much quicker this time.

Sunshine

Has at least one close friend

Is smart — talks posh

Is good at and enjoys duelling

At least one of the Marauders is an artist

At least one of the Marauders is a pureblood (didn't know how to say scissors)

Knows a route out of Hogwarts

At least one of the Marauders is good enough at potions to brew decent Polyjuice

Probably has a room to brew potions/plan events, but might be doing it in their dormitory

Probably out of sight a lot

At least one of the Marauder's knows enough about muggle fashion to put together decent outfits

Knows where the kitchens are

Is either a werewolf or friends with a werewolf

Has at least two close friends

Is in second/third year

Likes healthy food (brought salad for our picnic)

Is a boy, but one of the Marauders might be a girl (was able to get to our dorm)

Possibly a Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff

The door to Lily's bedroom crashed open, startling her and making her look up from her list of clues. She knew who it would be already, of course. There was only one person who ever entered her room so rudely, and as she'd expected, Petunia stood in the doorway, the usual annoyed expression she wore whenever she looked at Lily these days, painted on her face.

'Yes?' Lily asked, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. Despite everything, she was still clinging to the hope that they could reconcile, and being openly hostile wouldn't help her with that goal. 'What do you want?'

'Vernon's coming over,' Petunia said, sneering as if the room smelled bad, which it definitely didn't. 'You have to hide all your weird stuff. I don't want him thinking I'm a freak like you.'

Lily sighed, biting her tongue to keep her automatic retort at the insult from slipping out. Vernon was Petunia's new boyfriend, and from the way her sister talked about him, anyone would think he was the catch of the century, but Lily couldn't say she was particularly excited to meet him. 'You mean my school things?'

Petunia rolled her eyes. 'Yes, obviously, I mean your freaky school things. They're all over the house. I don't know why you think it's okay to leave that stuff lying around like it's normal. Just get it hidden away before he gets here.'

'How long do I have?'

'He'll be here in half an hour.'

'Really? A little more notice would have been nice, Petunia,' Lily snapped as she stood from her desk, the tight deadline causing her to lose control of her temper. Petunia might only be worried about Vernon getting scared off, but the consequences of a muggle discovering her secret would be much worse than that for Lily.

'Well, if you kept it all in your room like you should, then it wouldn't be a problem, would it? I shouldn't have to give you notice to have friends over at all.' With that, Petunia stomped away, back to her own room, probably to check her make-up (which looked ridiculous to Lily) and preen in front of the mirror, as if any amount of make-up could make her look less like a horse.

For the next thirty minutes, Lily rushed around the house, collecting up everything magical and transporting it to her room, where she tucked it away in her wardrobe just in case Vernon entered her private space for some reason. Not that he had any reason to go in there, but you couldn't be too careful when it came to the Statute of Secrecy. He might get lost on the way to the bathroom or something.

Moments after she closed the wardrobe door on the proof of her magical life, Petunia's voice called from downstairs, sounding ridiculously excited, 'He's here. He's here,' and seconds later the doorbell rang. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Lily ventured out of her room and crossed the landing to peer down the stairs and get a look at the boy that had her sister so infatuated.

Maybe she was biased, but Lily really didn't think he was much to look at. Not that there was anything wrong with that—looks weren't everything—but the way Petunia had been going on about him, she'd been expecting a Sirius-level of beauty and Vernon definitely wasn't that. Slightly on the plump side, with a round and flat-looking face that sported the barest hint of a moustache, he strode into their home as if he was someone important and handed Petunia a small bouquet of generic roses that he probably purchased from a petrol-station on the way over. Lily couldn't help but compare them with the gorgeous bouquet Sunshine had sent her for her birthday, and she was less than impressed, but Petunia seemed to melt at the gesture.

Giggling like a little girl, Petunia accepted the flowers and allowed Vernon to drop a kiss on her cheek, before he turned to greet their parents with a 'It's lovely to see you again, Mr and Mrs Evans.'

Lily rolled her eyes at the feigned politeness. She couldn't imagine James acting so unauthentically—and where the hell did that thought come from? She wasn't interested in James like that, was she? He was just a friend, that's all. It was Sunshine she wanted to be with.

Her mum started to close the front door while her dad led Vernon through to the living room, but then she pulled it open again. 'Oh, hello Severus. Lily's upstairs. I'll call her for you.'

'No need, mum,' Lily called down, rounding the corner properly and beginning the descent down the stairs. 'I'm here. Can I go out?'

'Of course, but be back for dinner. Vernon's staying and I'd like the whole family to be here.'

'I'm sure Petunia would prefer it if I stayed out,' Lily commented, causing a frown to appear on her mum's face.

'She'll come around. You know she's just having a hard time accepting that you have… gifts that she doesn't.'

Lily hummed. 'Yeah, you've been saying that for two years, mum. I don't think she's going to "come around." She hates me and that's not going to change. But I'll be back for dinner, anyway.'

'Lily…'

'It's alright, mum. I'm past caring about it,' she lied, heading out through the front door. 'See you later.'

'Have fun, sweetheart,' her mum said, before closing the door behind her.

'Who's Vernon?' Severus asked as they walked out onto the street together, automatically turning left to head towards their usual hangout spot, a clearing hidden within a large patch of trees and overgrown bushes. It was difficult to get to, which meant they could stay there all day if they wanted to without being disturbed, and they often did.

'Petunia's new boyfriend,' Lily told him.

Severus pulled the face he always made when Petunia was mentioned. He'd never liked her, and that opinion had only worsened when Petunia turned against her after Professor McGonagall's visit two years ago. 'Any boy that thinks she's worth going out with must be an idiot.'

'I haven't really met him yet, but you're probably right. He seemed a bit full of himself from what I did see.'

'We could always take him down a peg.'

'What do you mean?' Lily asked, turning her head to see the slight smirk at the corners of Severus' mouth and the evil glint in his eyes.

Severus shrugged. 'We can't do magic in your house, but we can brew a potion in mine and use it in yours.'

Lily rolled her eyes, coming to a stop in the middle of the pavement to look at him. 'We can't do magic on him, Sev. If we break the Statute—'

'He won't know it's magic,' Severus said, interrupting her. 'No muggle sees magic and immediately thinks it's magic. He'll find some other explanation for whatever we do.'

'Petunia and my parents will know it was me, though.'

'Not if we make it subtle enough.'

'What are you thinking?'

'Do your parents serve wine with dinner?'

Lily frowned. 'Yeah. Why?'

'That's perfect. I've been working on something, it's… well, let's go to my house. I'll show you the recipe. I'm sure you'll be able to work out what it's supposed to do.'

They turned around and headed back the way they'd come, arriving at Severus' shabby and unkempt home twenty minutes later. Lily waited on the street while Severus ran inside to get his notes and tried not to listen to the sounds of his dad yelling at him from inside. It was never a pleasant thing to hear, and she knew Severus would be embarrassed if he knew she was listening to it.

When he returned, clutching his potion's textbook which he made all his notes in, they crept around to the back garden and into the shed that Severus' mum had long ago enchanted to go unnoticed by her muggle husband, and any other muggles that might come along.

Severus flipped to a page near the back of the book and handed it to her to look over while he grabbed a cauldron and set it up on the muggle camping stove they used for brewing before opening the chest freezer and scooping a large quantity of ice out of it and into a bucket—their improvised version of cold fire which they couldn't yet cast. It didn't work quite as efficiently, but it did the job of rapidly cooling the potion well enough.

While Severus was occupied preparing what they would need to brew his potion, Lily glanced over the recipe he'd squeezed, in tiny, cramped handwriting, into the margins of a page describing the properties of rat spleen as a potion ingredient, and tried to decipher what he was attempting to achieve. She didn't know the uses for all the ingredients listed, but the ones she did know interacted with each other in potentially interesting ways.

'What do you think?' Severus asked, joining her a couple of minutes later.

'I think it's some kind of compulsion potion? But to do what, I don't know.'

Severus grinned. 'I knew you'd be able to figure it out, although "compulsion" might be too strong a word. It's supposed to lower a person's inhibitions enough that they'll answer questions honestly without realising they wouldn't usually want to give that information.'

'Like a truth potion?'

Severus nodded. 'Yes, but much more subtle.'

Lily's immediate thought was how she could use it to find out who Sunshine really was, but was that cheating? Probably. Although, he hadn't specified any rules for her investigation…

'That's really clever, Sev,' she said, keeping her thoughts on what else she might use it for to herself. 'And he'll just assume it's the alcohol making him talk too much.'

'Exactly, as will your parents and Petunia. No breaking the Statute, and no getting into trouble. It's perfect, don't you think?'

'It really is. You're brilliant!'

Severus' pale skin took on a slightly pink tinge at the praise and he smiled at her for a moment, before turning away to look through the shelves of ingredients. 'I think we have everything we'll need.'

The potion wasn't too difficult, and it only took them a little over three hours to brew it, leaving them with the afternoon free to spend in their clearing, lying on the grass and staring up at the bright blue sky while they talked. The small vial of crystal clear potion weighed heavily in her pocket as Lily's thoughts continuously returned to Sunshine and whether or not using the potion on him would be cheating.

She still hadn't made her mind up about it by the time she had to return home for dinner, but there was no rush to make a decision. She had all summer to think about it, after all, and she wouldn't need to use the whole vial on Vernon. Severus believed a couple of drops in his wine would be more than enough to loosen his tongue.

The only issue was how she was going to get the potion into his wine in the first place, but that problem solved itself when she arrived at the house and her mum asked her to set the table. The two drops of clear potion in the bottom of Vernon's empty wine glass would easily go unnoticed, she decided after inspecting the result. And she still had plenty left for other things if she wanted to.

While they ate, Lily kept an eye on Vernon and by the time he'd made it halfway through his glass of wine, his posture had softened from the stiff, straight-backed position he'd started the meal in, to a more relaxed slouch; there was a sheen of sweat covering his face; and his skin had taken on a slightly purple hue. She'd have to tell Severus about that since she was fairly sure those things were unintended side effects. But the potion was defibitely working. She became even more sure of it when her mum asked him if he was enjoying the food.

'Mostly,' he replied, 'but the chicken's a bit dry and flavourless.'

She snorted a breath out through her nose and stared down at her plate so no one would see how much she was grinning, but she heard the sharp intake of breath from her dad across the table.

'That was a little rude,' he said, sounding dangerously calm. Vernon didn't know it, but that voice was a warning. Stop what you're doing immediately or you'll regret it. Petunia knew it though, and Lily saw her shift out of the corner of her eye, presumably attempting to give some kind of signal to Vernon to shut the hell up.

Apparently, Vernon didn't notice.

'It was an honest answer to a question,' he said with a shrug. 'I'm sorry if I offended anyone, but the chicken is dry and tasteless. I can't be the only one thinking it.'

'I think it's delicious,' Lily said, shooting Vernon a smile across the table.

In response, Vernon rolled his eyes at her. 'Well, everyone knows you don't have any taste.'

Lily raised her eyebrows in surprise. Clearly Petunia had been talking about her behind her back, and she hadn't been saying anything good.

Their dad's frown had deepened significantly at that comment, and Petunia must be getting desperate because she threw caution out of the window and reached to put her hand on Vernon's arm. 'Vernon, please, stop.'

'Well, if your mother can't take hearing the truth.'

'That's quite enough,' Lily's dad finally snapped, and Lily had to look down at her lap to hide her smirk. 'You will either stop talking right now, or you can leave this house and not come back until you've learned how to keep a civil tongue in your head. I don't know how they do things where you were raised, but around here, this is not the way you treat your hosts.'

Vernon stood up, pulling his napkin off his lap in the process and dropping it on top of his half-eaten plate of food. 'Fine, I'll leave. I didn't really want to come in the first place.' And with that, he stormed out of the room and, a moment later, they all jumped a little at the sound of the front door slamming.

'Well, he seems nice,' Lily said.

'It must have been the alcohol,' their mum said. 'He's only eighteen. He's not used to it.'

'Or Lily did something to him with her freaky powers,' Petunia said, sneering at her. 'Vernon's never behaved like that before.'

''Don't be silly, sweetheart. You know she's not allowed to do magic outside of school.'

'Don't say the M word,' Petunia snapped as she got to her feet. 'And Lily's a sneaky little cow. I don't trust her at all. I'm telling you she did something.'

'It's not possible,' their dad said with a tone of finality. 'Professor McGonagall was quite clear about that. If Lily tries to do magic outside of school, the Ministry would be notified and we'd have received a letter by now. I agree with your mum. It was probably the alcohol.'

'I'm sure he'll apologise tomorrow,' their mum said. 'It's a shame, though.'

Petunia made a noise that was basically a growl and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her, and Lily tried not to laugh. Her plan couldn't have gone better.

Twinkles, Moony, Bubbles, and Sunshine

June 19th 9:58 am

So, mum left for work an hour and a half ago, and I never thought I'd say this, but I miss you guys and I'm bored out of my mind. Anything happening that I can join in with?

10:04 am

Sorry you're bored, Moons. If I could help entertain you, I would be there in a heartbeat, but father is making me help with the preparations for Litha/Regulus' birthday, and it's going to take all day. I have secured permission to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow to shop for Reggie's birthday present, which I've already bought, so I can come over then.

That's great! I can't wait to see you. It doesn't help with today's boredom, but at least I have something to look forward to tomorrow.

I'm excited too. I have to go now, though. Talk to you later xxx

Bye xxx

10:32 am

Hey, Moons! You can come round mine if you want. Mum's at Bubble's house helping out because his mum's having a bad day, and dad's working on a new potion or something, so I'm just as bored as you are.

Brilliant. How soon can I come over?

Now?

James waited a minute or two for a reply, but none came. Remus must be planning to Floo over without responding. Shit, he might already be there, waiting for James by the fireplace and wondering where the hell he was. He tucked the notebook back into the enchanted pouch and shoved it into his pocket as he stood up from the bench at one end of his quidditch pitch before grabbing his broom and mounting it. Strictly speaking, he wasn't supposed to fly back to the house due to that day he hadn't slowed down in time and the back door got smashed—that had hurt—but he was older now, and anyway, his mum was out and his dad was in the cellar. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, and Remus was waiting for him. Speeding towards the house, he judged the moment he needed to apply the brakes perfectly, leaping off before the broom had quite come to a halt and barrelling through the door. He paused just inside the door, counting to three to let the doormat work its magic on his shoes—his mum never got cross with him, but she would be disappointed if he traipsed mud into the house, and he hated making her face look like that.

Once his shoes were clean, he walked over and slotted his broom into the rack on the wall before breaking into a jog. He loved his home, but sometimes it could be really annoying how big it was, and this was one of those times. It took him almost forty seconds to reach the right room. Ridiculous. And like he'd suspected, Remus was already there, looking over-heated and a little tired, but James was pleased to note he was wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt, although he knew better than to comment on it. He never hid his arms in the privacy of their dorm room anymore, but this was the first time James had known him to leave them exposed outside of that space.

'Moony! Hi! Have you been here long? I was out on the quidditch pitch. Sorry.'

'Like, three seconds, maybe,' Remus answered. A broad grin had broken across his face when James appeared in the doorway, and it didn't look to be leaving any time soon. 'You didn't have to run here.'

James shrugged. 'Missed you, didn't I? Come here.' And crossing the room in three quick strides, he pulled his friend into a hug. Remus seemed to melt into his arms, hugging him back tightly, and James tucked his face into the crook of his neck. Gods, he needed this. He missed them all so much when they weren't around.

'It's been two and a half days,' Remus said when James released him. 'You can't have missed me that much.'

'Feels like forever,' James said truthfully, grabbing Remus' hand and pulling him towards the door. 'But you're here now. What do you want to do? I doubt you want to see my quidditch pitch. We could go swimming?'

'At the waterfall?'

'Yeah. You want to?'

'Yeah, that sounds amazing.'

James grinned, practically skipping as he led him through the house to the back garden and into the woodland that bordered it. The air was cooler in the shade of the trees and there was a gentle breeze, taking the harshness out of the heat, but James still felt like he was baking alive under the summer sun without the rush of wind that came with flying, and after a few minutes, he pulled his t-shirt off, noticing a flicker of envy cross Remus' face when he did so. There was no reason that Remus couldn't do the same—it was just the two of them there, and James wouldn't judge him for his scars—but James knew it wasn't that simple. Maybe he could be persuaded once they were at the waterfall and he could hide in the water.

'How are you doing?' James asked after a few minutes of walking in silence. 'I didn't want to ask in the notebooks. You'll just say you're fine, and there's no way of knowing how much you're lying in writing.'

Remus shrugged. 'I'm alright, I think.'

James side-eyed him. His attitude was supposed to project careless disinterest, but James wasn't fooled for a second. The pain he was in was all too clear in his eyes. 'I could ask mum if she can make you an appointment to see the mind-healer too? I saw her yesterday. She's really nice.'

' There's no point. Even if she said yes, I can't go to St Mungo's. No werewolves allowed, remember?'

'Oh right. I forgot,' James said, scowling at the ground and feeling like an idiot for suggesting it and reminding Remus of the shitty way the world treated him for being sick. 'Damn. That's shit.'

Remus shrugged. 'Not much we can do about it, is there?'

'Not yet.'

Remus chuckled. 'What? You planning a campaign for werewolf rights when you're all grown up?'

'Obviously,' James said, arching an eyebrow at him. 'I thought you knew me, Moony? I'm a little offended. I've got plans and everything.'

Remus stared at him in surprise for a moment. 'You're serious, aren't you?'

'The obvious joke aside,' James said, turning around to walk backwards in front of him. 'Yeah, I'm serious. What? Did you think I was just going to sit on my ass and let you be treated like shit forever?'

'Well, I never really thought about it, but, yeah, I guess.'

James' smile fell from his face as the heavy weight of guilt settled in his stomach. Had he not done enough to show Remus that he cared about him? 'Moony—'

'Not because I thought you didn't care,' Remus said, interrupting him before he could even start his declaration of undying loyalty. 'I know you care. I guess I just never thought that things could be changed.'

'Things can always be changed. You just have to put the effort in.' James knew this to be true in his heart. Nothing was set in stone, and the world was constantly changing. All he had to do was give it a nudge in the right direction, and once he took his seat on the Wizengamot, he'd be in the perfect position to do so.

'If anyone can do it, it's you,' Remus said, smiling at him with a mischievous twinkle in his eye that made James turn his head to look behind him just in time to keep from walking backwards into a tree. He stopped, turning his head back to glare at Remus.

'Were you just going to let me walk into that?'

'Of course,' Remus said with laughter in his voice. 'That's what you get for being daft enough to walk backwards in a forest.'

'Prick.'

Remus nodded. 'Yep.'

James laughed. He couldn't be mad. Not when he'd have done the same thing. 'I'm so pushing you in when we get there.'

'Not if I push you in first.'

'Just let me empty my pockets first,' James said, grinning. 'Don't want my notebook getting ruined, but then you're on.'

Ten minutes later, they reached the waterfall and James quickly stripped off his shorts, dumping them in a pile with his shoes and t-shirt before eyeing Remus, who was waiting for him in his own pants and t-shirt.

'Not taking the shirt off?'

Remus stopped smiling, which made James feel like an ass, but he was just trying to help. Remus didn't need to hide himself. Not from him.

'You know why I don't do that.'

James shrugged. 'Yeah, but it's just us, isn't it? You know I don't care.'

Remus stared at him in silence for several seconds and James was starting to worry he'd overstepped when his hands slowly moved towards the hem of his shirt. 'Don't stare.'

'Wouldn't dream of it,' James said. 'Not unless you were Lily.' Or Regulus, his traitorous mind added, but he shoved that thought away.

Remus chuckled at the joke, and James kept his eyes on his face as he pulled the t-shirt off, but he could still see the newly revealed skin in his peripheral vision, and it wasn't a pretty sight. Four thick, purplish scars ran the length of his torso, reaching from his throat to beyond the waistband of his underwear, and the rest of the skin was criss-crossed with more normal looking scars, pulling the surrounding skin tighter and leaving his nipples at different heights on his chest.

The moment Remus' t-shirt landed on top of his trousers and shoes, James leapt at him, not giving him time to feel self-conscious, and within seconds they were fully engaged in a wrestling match, both attempting to shove the other into the water and laughing like maniacs in the process.

It ended in a draw when they got too close to the edge and toppled over it with a splash, still clinging onto each other, and sinking like stones. They were both laughing when they surfaced, and James wiped the water from his glasses with a finger on each lens before leaping at Remus again, attempting to dunk him back under.

The wrestling match continued for a while, both of them winning as often as they lost, until eventually they grew bored with the game and James suggested cliff diving. It was a risky proposition. Remus would have to leave the cover provided by the water and leave himself exposed for an extended period, and James could see the battle occurring in his eyes as he thought about it. He crossed his fingers under the water as he waited for an answer, and when Remus nodded with an, 'alright,' he bit his tongue to keep from whooping. His visual joy would only embarrass him, but James was thrilled at the progress Remus was making.

When they reached the top of the waterfall, it took a few minutes of gentle persuasion to get Remus to actually jump off despite the fact that he'd done it before. His fear of heights, which was more a fear of smashing into the ground than of the height itself, held him back, but James was very good at talking people into things, knowing exactly which buttons to press with Remus, and once he'd done it once, reminding his body how much fun it was, there was no stopping him.

It took an hour or so before the cliff became too muddy to climb, and by mutual agreement, they gathered their clothes and headed back to the house. James' dad must have seen them crossing the garden, because he met them at the door with a broad smile.

'Hello, Remus, how are you? Hungry? I just made lunch.'

'Oh,' Remus said, wrapping his arms around himself, possibly in an attempt to hide the scars, or maybe just because he was uncomfortable. It was hard to tell. 'That's okay. I can go home and get something.'

'Nonsense, the floo let me know you were here. I made enough for you, too.'

'Don't I get a hello?' James asked, trying to break the tension with a little humour. 'Or is Remus your favourite now?'

'I saw you this morning,' his dad replied, grinning at him. 'I haven't seen Remus for months. Come on, the food's getting warm.'

His dad turned away, moving back into the house, and James glanced at Remus with a shrug. 'Better do as he says. He gets upset if people don't eat his food.'

'Have you got a jumper I can put on or something?' Remus asked, his voice low. 'I didn't think your dad was going to be around when I came over.'

'Bit hot for a jumper,' James said, eyeing him. 'I can get you a shirt with long sleeves, but my dad doesn't care, Moons, really.'

'I don't care about what?'

James glanced at Remus, and he shook his head, no, but James wasn't sure what to say and all that came out was, 'Um.'

His dad looked between them, his eyes lingering on the way Remus was holding himself, and then he smiled a little. 'You're not the first werewolf I've met, Remus. James is quite right. You have nothing to fear from me, or from Effie, either.'

'It's not that,' Remus said, biting his lip. 'I just…'

'You don't like people seeing the scars,' James' dad said, finishing the sentence for him with a nod. 'I can understand that. I'm sure James has something you can wear, but you don't have to. It doesn't bother me, if it doesn't bother you.' With that, he turned away and busied himself carrying the food through to the dining room, leaving Remus to decide what he wanted to do without an audience. James smiled. He loved his dad so much.

Turning to Remus, he raised his eyebrows in question. 'So..?'

Remus continued chewing on his bottom lip for a long moment, but then he relaxed his stance, letting his arms drop to his sides, and gave James a nod. 'Don't worry about it. It's too hot for long sleeves, anyway.'

James grinned. 'Let's go eat, then.'

They joined James' dad in the dining room and were almost through with the meal when Remus cleared his throat. 'Um, Monty, there was something I wanted to ask you.'

'Ask away,' he replied, fixing his gaze on Remus with an encouraging smile.

'James told you about Dea? Professor Tenebris, I mean?'

His smile wilted a little, but he nodded. 'Yes. I understand you were all close to her. I'm very sorry about what's happened.'

Offering him a small smile of thanks, Remus continued. 'I want to go to the execution,' he said, making Monty's eyebrows raise in surprise, 'to support her, you know? She's going to be scared.' His voice cracked on the word, but he took a deep breath and kept going. 'If that's ever me, I'd want someone there that cares about me.'

Monty reached across the table, offering his hand to Remus in comfort, and after a brief moment of hesitation, Remus took it.

'That's not ever going to be you.'

Remus shrugged. 'You can't know that. Anything could happen. But that's not the point. I wanted to ask if you would take me?'

Monty frowned. 'I don't know about that. It's not really the place for children. What does your mum say about it?'

Pulling a face, Remus shook his head. 'She doesn't know anything about it. She'd only worry.'

That made Monty's frown deepen, and James decided it was time to speak up. 'I was going to ask if I could go too, actually. And Peter wants to go as well.'

Monty sighed. 'I'll talk to Effie about it, but I really don't think it's a good idea. I can't stop you, Remus, or Peter, but you,' he looked at James. 'You're already having a hard time with this. Do you really want to see her die?'

James winced. 'I don't want to, no. But she deserves to have us there. She did a lot for us. For Remus. And I want her to know we still care.'

'That's admirable,' Monty said, smiling at him with a hint of pride in his eyes, but it was overshadowed with sorrow. 'You always did have a big heart, but if she cares about you as much as you think she does, she won't want you to see that. Why not write her a letter? I'll make sure she gets it.'

James deflated, but nodded. 'Alright,' he said aloud, but he nudged Remus' leg under the table and suppressed a smile when he felt Remus nudge him back. This wasn't the end. They still had time to make other plans.

Smiling at the thought of seeing his friends again the following day, Sirius closed his notebook and shoved it under his mattress before making his way across the room and through the archway that opened in his bedroom wall, grabbing his cloak on the way. The passage to the training room was a shorter route to his father's office than trekking through the house, and he was already running a little late, a fact that had him jogging to his destination.

'Ah, you're finally here,' Orion said, standing from his desk when Sirius emerged from the hidden door into his office. 'Are you completely incapable of being on time for anything?'

'I wouldn't want to disappoint you, father,' Sirius replied with a smirk, causing his father's lips to twitch into a small smile, which he quickly suppressed.

'Quite,' was all he said in reply. 'We've got a lot to do today, but the first task won't take long. Take my arm. We'll be apparating there.'

Sirius did as he was told, and with a whoosh and a squeeze, found himself in the middle of a forest, surrounded by the distinctive skinny white trunks of the silver birch tree.

'We need three different woods for the Litha bonfire,' Orion said, eyeing the closest tree. 'Do you recall what birch wood is for?'

'Purity and discipline,' Sirius replied immediately, pulling a face.

Orion chuckled. 'Yes, I can see why you'd object to that one. Discipline doesn't have to mean punishment, though. Your success at ejecting me from your mind during your first occlumency lesson took great discipline over your emotions. You did very well. This tree will do. Take out your wand. You need to learn the spell for collecting the wood.'

After casting a quick human-presence-revealing spell to check for any muggles in the vicinity, Orion went over the theory behind the tree-felling spell and showed Sirius how to cast it before letting him try it on the birch he'd picked out. It was a simple spell in comparison to the magic Sirius had been learning with Professor Tenebris during the last weeks of school, and he managed it on his first attempt, watching with fascination as the silver light of his magic wrapped itself around the trunk and branches of the tree. The leaves fell to the ground first, leaving the tree looking like it was the only one in the forest experiencing winter. Next, the branches separated themselves from the trunk, snapping, with a series of loud cracks, into manageable sized pieces, before vanishing from sight. The trunk was last, and Sirius couldn't see what was happening very well as the silver light coalesced around it, but the bark fell to the ground around the base, and he heard another series of cracks, louder this time, as the trunk split itself into logs, and then it was gone, leaving nothing behind but a pile of leaves and bark on the ground. Orion waved his wand at the leftovers and they rose into the air before spreading themselves out through the surrounding area.

'Very well done,' Orion said. 'The wood will be waiting for us in the cellar at home. Let's move on. Take my arm.'

Next, they apparated to a forest of fir trees and, when he was questioned on the significance of the wood, Sirius had to think for a moment to remember his lessons, but eventually the answer came to him from deep in his memory. 'Endurance and determination.'

The collection of the wood went much the same as with the birch tree, although the tree looked very odd without its leaves considering they were usually green all year round, and the next stop was a forest of towering oak trees with the power of authority, protection, and abundance contained within their wood.

Once the task of wood collection was complete, Orion offered his arm to Sirius once again and a moment later, he found himself back in his father's office, and Orion was looking… odd.

'There are,' he said, staring at a spot on the wall beyond Sirius' shoulder, 'certain tasks required of the Head of House Black that are… less than pleasant. You are about to learn one of them, and you will not like it, but I assure you that it is necessary. This ritual has been performed by our family for centuries, and stopping it suddenly could have dire consequences for every member. Do you understand?'

'Not really,' Sirius said, as a chill went down his spine. 'What consequences?'

'Dark magic is powerful, but it comes at a price. If the family were to stop this ritual abruptly, that price would need to be paid. Disease, madness, even death would be swift.'

'I see,' Sirius said, his stomach churning. He didn't particularly care about most members of the family, but Regulus, Alphard, and Andromeda. They mattered to him. What was he going to be forced to do to keep them safe? 'And there's no way around that?'

'An official ejection from the family would void the contract,' Orion replied, 'as long as the spell to sever the familial bonds is performed, but that's the only way.'

So Andromeda was safe then, but he couldn't do that to Regulus, not unless he wanted it. 'What do I have to do?'

'You will see. The ritual involves blood magic and uses four types of blood. The first is the blood of the pure. I would usually use my own, but this year we'll be using yours. Give me your hand.'

Sirius winced as Orion cast a severing charm on his palm and filled a bowl with his blood before healing the cut with a second spell. While Sirius inspected his hand, which was smooth and unblemished once more, Orion poured the blood into a vial, sealed it with a cork and labelled it clearly before turning back to Sirius.

'The next is the blood of the enslaved. This one is easy enough. Phungus.'

A pop sounded from the middle of the room a moment later, and Sirius gazed at Peony sadly as she bowed low. 'Master called?'

'Yes, I require your blood for a spell. Cut your hand and fill this bowl,' Orion said, handing her the now clean bowl that had held Sirius' blood a minute earlier.

'Of course, Master,' Peony replied, playing her part perfectly and showing no reaction to Orion's rudeness or the twisted nature of his order. Sirius attempted to follow her example and not show any emotion as he watched her split her skin open and fill the bowl, but he failed miserably when she swayed with dizziness after passing the full dish back to Orion, and he lurched forward to catch her as she fainted.

Thankfully, Orion made no comment on his compassion, merely stating that, 'it will be fine in a few minutes. It's unfortunate that such a large quantity of blood is required considering the size of a house-elf's body, but it cannot be helped.'

Deciding not to push it, Sirius gently laid her down on the floor where she'd been standing rather than taking her over to the couch like he wanted to, and turned back to his father, who was pouring Peony's blood into a second vial. 'What's the third type?'

'The blood of the impure,' Orion said, not looking at him. 'A half-blood, mudblood, or muggle would all suffice, but it's easiest to use a muggle.'

'We're going to take blood from a muggle?' Sirius asked, swallowing hard.

'Yes. Don't worry. It's quite easy.'

The ease of the task was not what concerned Sirius, but conscious of the watching eyes of the portraits that lined the walls of his father's office, he didn't voice his unease and took his father's arm again when it was offered. They apparated to a dirty alleyway in a muggle town, and had it been deserted, Sirius would have spoken up, but unfortunately, it was not.

'What the—' was all the muggle managed to say before Orion pointed his wand at the man and cast the Imperius charm on him.

'I was hoping he'd still be here,' Orion said. 'Come here and hold out your hand.'

The man's eyes were glazed as he climbed to his feet, letting the filthy blanket he was wrapped in fall to the even dirtier ground, and he walked over, looking a lot like the pictures of inferi in Sirius' first-year Defence textbook.

'The homeless are best for this,' Orion told him as he cut the man's hand open. 'They're unlikely to notice the effects of blood-loss when they're already suffering from the effects of hunger and disease.'

'Aren't they more likely to die from it, too, though?' Sirius asked.

'I suppose,' Orion said. 'But they're not exactly living happy lives, are they?'

'That doesn't make it okay,' Sirius said, feeling his anger bubble inside him. 'This is wrong, father.'

Orion sighed. 'Will it make you feel better if we leave him some money?'

'A bit, yeah. But he won't be able to spend wizarding gold.'

'I keep a small amount of muggle currency on hand.' Orion was finished extracting the blood, and he healed the man's hand before taking a rectangular piece of paper with strange designs on it from the inside pocket of his cloak and tucking it into the man's pocket. Sirius recognised it as a muggle money from his shopping trip the previous summer, but he couldn't tell how much it was worth. 'He'll be able to purchase a decent amount of food with that. Alright?'

Sirius nodded. 'Thank you.'

'I wouldn't wish you to be plagued by your conscience. Hopefully, the last task will be easier for you. But first…' He turned back to the man, ordering him to return to his position, sitting against the wall of the alleyway, before casting a memory charm on him, followed by a light sleep-inducing spell. He then offered Sirius his arm again, and they apparated once more, this time to the visitor's entrance of the Ministry of Magic.

'What are we doing here?' Sirius asked, recognising the phone box that guarded the way in.

'The last type of blood we need is the blood of the corrupted,' Orion said. 'A werewolf or a vampire would both work, and it can often be hard to find, but this year, we're quite lucky. A vampire was recently taken into custody for murder, so this shouldn't harm your conscience at all.'

Sirius' heart sank into his stomach. He was still angry with Professor Tenebris for what she'd done, but he didn't want to do this to her. How could he look her in the eyes as his father stole her blood days before she was to be executed, while Sirius did nothing to stop him?

'Can we not use someone else?' Sirius asked. 'She was my teacher for a year. I don't…'

'It would take far too long to locate another suitable candidate,' Orion said. 'Unless you know of anyone?'

Sirius shook his head. There was no way in hell he was offering up Remus instead. He would have to go through with it and hope Professor Tenebris wouldn't hate him for allowing her to be used like this during her last days alive.

'Then this is our best option. Let's continue.'

He followed his father into the phone box and attached the visitor's badge to his chest when it was dispensed with his name and the reason for his visit written across the front in clear print. Sirius Black, Inmate visitation.

By the time they stepped out of the lift on the fourth floor after going through the wand-weighing process, Sirius' palms were so sweaty, he was compulsively wiping them on his robes. He really didn't want to do this, but there was no way to explain to his father why he was so reluctant—that Professor Tenebris, Storm, was more to him than just a teacher that turned out to be a murderer. She was a friend. A friend that had a betrayed his trust, yes, but a friend nonetheless, and given time, he would have forgiven her. There was no time, though. She was sentenced to death. Soon. How soon he wasn't sure, but they wouldn't wait long. And he hadn't had the chance to speak to her after she'd confessed to feeding off him and Reggie. Perhaps he could use this as an opportunity…

'How can I help you?' the witch at the front desk asked when they approached, and Sirius waited, trying not to fidget, as his father told her who they were there to visit. They were sent to the waiting area to await someone to escort them to the holding cells and Sirius spotted the poster that had caused James to spill Remus' secret to his parents. It really was ridiculously over the top. He knew what a werewolf looked like when transformed, and it was nothing like the monster the artist had depicted. Moony was beautiful.

'Hello, Mister Black?'

Sirius looked around at the voice and saw his father reaching to shake the hand of a smartly dressed blonde wizard. 'Yes, Good afternoon, Mister..?'

'Ashdown, but call me Brian. I'll be escorting you today.'

'We appreciate it. This is my son, Sirius.'

Brian nodded at him but didn't offer a greeting. 'It's right this way. If you'll just follow me.'

'Of course.'

They followed Mister Ashdown out of the department and down the corridor, eventually coming to a stop outside a door, where he pulled out his wand to unlock it before pushing it open. 'The prisoner is just up here. Please stay behind the white lines. They mark the edge of the wards.'

'Actually,' Orion said once they were inside and the door had closed behind them. 'I would appreciate full access to the prisoner, if you can arrange it? I will make it worth your while,' he removed a large money bag from his pocket and Mister Ashdown's eyes widened as they landed on it, 'and no one will know, I assure you.'

Mister Ashdown reached out, taking the bag and tucking it into the pocket of his robes. 'Of course, Mister Black. That will be no trouble at all. So long as you're sure you can control it.'

'The vampire will be controlled. Do not worry.'

Sirius prickled at them calling Storm an 'it', but managed to hold his tongue. He also found it revolting how easily Ashdown was to buy off. He was supposed to be protecting the prisoners, not just guarding them, but it was clear he had no compassion for them at all. He was, however, glad to note that the smell James had described was no longer present, and the prisoners all had beds now.

'Sirius?' He was pulled from his examination of the holding cells by the familiar sound of his former teacher's voice and turned his head to see her climbing to her feet and walking over to the door of her cell. 'What are you doing here?'

Sirius ducked his head, avoiding her eyes as his father answered for him. 'Don't speak to my son, vampire.'

Tenebris flinched, but otherwise didn't react to Orion's tone or his words. That was until Ashdown unlocked the door of her cell. 'What are you doing? What's going on?'

Ashdown didn't answer her, turning back to Orion with a smirk instead. 'It's all yours, Mister Black.'

'Sirius? What's going on?'

'I told you not to speak to him,' Orion snapped as Ashdown walked away. 'Petrificus totalus.'

Sirius watched as she stiffened and fell to the ground, her eyes still wide and staring at him. And then he had an idea. Before he could think twice about it, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his wand. Then, with his father's back turned towards him, he fixed his gaze on Tenebris and began muttering the chant-like incantation under his breath while forming the intricate patterns with his wand. A second later, his mind swept across the space and entered Professor Tenebris', as time slowed to a trickle in the real world around him.

Sirius took a moment to gaze around and get his bearings. He hadn't been inside Professor Tenebris' head before, and he'd had no idea what to expect, but he should have, really. He was standing in the middle of a duelling ring, completely alone, and there was a single door in the wall. As he approached it, he crossed his fingers, hoping her mental landscape wouldn't be too large. He had no way of tracking her like he did with Remus and they didn't have much time. His father was already pulling open the door to her cell.

Just as he was reaching for the handle, though, the door opened by itself and he found himself face-to-face with the person he was looking for.

'Hello, Sirius.'

The expression on her face was guarded, not the usual twisted smirk she used when talking to the Marauders, or even the kind smile she'd worn for teaching, and Sirius found he didn't like it at all. He wanted her to know she was forgiven before she died, but he wasn't sure he could actually say the words, so he said something else instead.

'Hello, Storm.'

She smiled then, relief flashing in her eyes for a second. 'What's your father doing to me?'

'He's taking your blood for a ritual. I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do to change his mind.'

'It's alright. I won't have much use for it much longer, anyway. I am glad to get the chance to talk to you, though. I'm so sorry for what I did to you and your brother. I really need you to know that.'

'Why did you do it? I don't understand.'

She sighed. 'I wish I could answer that. I really do. But I don't understand it myself. There was something about Regulus' blood that was irresistible, and I couldn't stop myself, but Sirius, now I've met your father... His blood smells the same way, and I can't help thinking it must be a family trait. I don't know why yours is different, maybe you do, but please, be careful. If you ever meet another vampire, they might not be able to stop themselves attacking your family.'

Sirius shrugged. 'As long as it's not Reg, they can go right ahead.'

She chuckled her familiar evil laugh, and it made Sirius smile. It was good to hear that sound again, but then he realised it might be the last time he ever heard it and the smile fell from his face again.

'I don't want you to die.'

'I can't say I'm excited about it, either,' she said, smiling at him sadly. 'But I'm hoping there's more beyond this life, and maybe I'll get to see Marcus again.'

'Do you miss him?'

'Would you miss Remus?'

'More than anything.'

She smiled. 'Well, there's your answer, then.'

'I hope you get to see him again too, and that he forgives you for what you did.'

'Thank you. That means a lot. Especially coming from you.'

'I have to go. Father's almost finished and I can't let him see what I'm doing.'

She nodded. 'Thank you for taking the risk to speak to me. Take care of each other, won't you? Especially Remus. He's going to be so upset.'

'I'll always take care of Remus,' Sirius said. 'We all will.'

'I know. Good bye, Sirius. I hope you have a long and happy life.'

'Bye, Storm. And thanks. For everything you did for us.'

Sirius didn't wait for an answer before ending the spell and he reeled a little as his mind returned to his own body, but managed to tuck away his wand moments before his father turned around to face him. 'All done. We can go home now.'

Sirius nodded and glanced at Storm one last time before turning away. There were tears in her frozen eyes, but despite the spell holding her captive, he could swear the corners of her mouth were turned up in the faintest of smiles.