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Sirius Black and Remus Lupin had been a couple since the beginning of their fifth year.
The shift in the nature of their relationship came quite naturally, when one morning Sirius woke up in Remus’ bed after a night full of nightmares, as he so often did since second year, and decided that a good morning kiss was the best way to thank Remus for making him feel safe. Remus’ only objection was that it was still too early, and he wanted to sleep for another two hours. Sirius just grinned at him and snuggled closer.
Ever since that day, they were mostly inseparable. Of course, Sirius would get detention pretty much every week, and Remus had prefect duty, but they spent as much time together as possible, which wasn’t that unusual for them as they’d been like that since Sirius confronted Remus about his lycanthropy back in second year.
Their friends didn’t notice things first, mostly because there wasn’t really anything to notice. Sleeping in the same bed? It was a regular occurrence since second year, when Sirius came back from Christmas break in a foul mood and wouldn’t sleep for almost a whole week due to the nightmares his family inflicted upon him. In the end, Remus got tired of Sirius’ lack of his usual sass, and snuck into his bed, holding him through the night and letting him talk it out of his system.
Being touchy-feely with each other more than with their other friends? It was their way of anchoring each other, as they both would easily get trapped in their own minds, Remus because of his lycanthropy and Sirius because of his family. Also, the others just thought it was a canine thing, after they first saw Sirius turn into a large black dog and be just as touchy-feely with the wolf during the full moon.
Doing little things for each other, like Remus writing Sirius’ homework, or Sirius sneaking some chocolate into Remus’ drawer? That was something their friends had been complaining about for years. Remus would only ever do Sirius’ homework for him, but never James’ or Peter’s. The others couldn’t figure out why, but it was because Remus knew too well how bad Sirius’ days could get, especially after a quarrel with either his brother or one of his cousins, and it was Remus’ way of making things easier for him. The chocolate thing, on the other hand, was because Remus’ stash was always running low and he hardly ever had enough money to fully stock up on his favourite Honeydukes chocolate. Sirius secretly had a dozen or so hidden in his drawer, and he would leave one in Remus’ bed or trunk whenever he saw Remus was almost out.
They didn’t behave too affectionately in public, simply because neither of them felt the need to show that part of themselves to the whole school, and, well, it became some sort of a game after a few months, trying to see how long they could keep it up.
For a long time, it seemed, as they were boarding the Hogwarts Express at the beginning of their last year. Peter seemed to have caught on, but he never really commented on it, just shot them knowing looks whenever they sneaked out of the common room together, but James was still as oblivious as two years ago. He was too busy trying to get Lily to date him, probably, to notice anything. Even now he was going on and on about his latest plan to make Lily fall for him, now, that they were Head Boy and Head Girl.
There were other advantages in James becoming Head Boy, for example that James took over part of Remus’ prefect duty, meaning Remus would have more free time for planning and preparing for their pranks, and they didn’t have to worry any of them would be caught out of bed as Remus and James would have a valid excuse, Peter could turn into a rat (as he had done for the last two years) and Sirius could take the invisibility cloak, or if James, Remus or Lily (who had an understanding with Sirius, namely, that Sirius would supply her with chocolate and she would let his night time walks slide) was on duty, not even that would be necessary.
They were sitting in the last compartment at the end of the train, letting James go on about Lily but none of them really listened. Sirius’ leg was over Remus’ thighs, his boots resting on the seat on Remus’ other side and he was staring at Remus’ profile while the other boy read. Peter was sitting between James and the window and was the only one to actually pay attention to James, though he was paying just as much attention to his sandwiches.
‘…so I’m sure this year will be it!’ James exclaimed, grinning at his friends, looking at them expectantly.
Remus glanced up from his book and shared an amused look with Sirius, who then turned to James to say, ‘You’ve been saying that every time for the past six years.’
‘But this time it’s true!’
‘Sure, mate,’ Sirius agreed, sighing a little at James. He was hopeless.
‘Don’t be like that,’ James pouted at him.
‘Like what?’
‘Like you’d get her a lot quicker.’
Sirius barked out a laugh at that. ‘Except I don’t want to date her,’ he pointed out, wiping at his eyes, ‘so I don’t get what you mean.’
‘Who do want to date, then? I’m sure whoever it is, you think you could get her in no time.’
Sirius pretended to think about it, while Remus just rolled his eyes and kept reading. ‘No, sorry, mate, there’s no girl at Hogwarts I would want to date. Though I’m sure I could get any of them if I tried, Miss Lily Evans included,’ he winked.
‘Hey!’ James shouted at him, which only made Sirius laugh harder. ‘You’re an ass, you know that?’
‘Well, it’s my job as your older brother, innit?’ James shook his head at him but didn’t argue. He was glad Sirius finally accepted that the Potter family wanted him to be a part of them and would even joke about it good-heartedly.
‘Anyway,’ James continued, not noticing the small smile Remus shot at Sirius, ‘how exactly would you do it? Get Lily, I mean.’
Sirius groaned. ‘James, Prongs, mate, you just spent an hour explaining your plan to get into Evans’ knickers, and now you want me to make another plan for you? Aren’t you a bit greedy?’
‘C’mon, Padfoot,’ James whined. ‘This year is my last chance. You wouldn’t want your brother to be unhappy and miserable, would you?’
‘Prongs, you’re being dramatic. Which says a lot, coming from me. But fine, I’ll tell you one thing. You shouldn’t try to get her romantically involved with you from the start.’ James gaped at him, but Sirius put up a hand, now fully facing James, his boot-clad feet on the floor. ‘Hear me out. I find it works a lot better if you make friends with whoever you want to woo first.’ He saw out of the corner of his eye that Remus gave him an amused smile at that. He grinned back, and went on, ‘Then, when you are friends, you will know a lot better what would make her fall for you.’
James gave a grimace. ‘Padfoot, if I become her friend, she won’t know I want more, so that advice is bullshit. Also, when have you ever done this? I know all the gossip about your trophies, surely you don’t have time to make friends with all of those girls, you are almost always with us.’
Sirius just gave him a disapproving look.
‘If you two are done,’ Remus piped up, ‘I’d like my bookstand back.’ Sirius complied with a smirk. ‘Also, Prongs, I agree with Sirius. Try the friendly approach, it may even work.’
‘Thank you, Moons,’ Sirius said, kissing Remus loudly on the cheek. Remus glanced at him with an amused grin.
‘Sometimes I really don’t understand you two,’ James mumbled. ‘Anyway, I’ll go find Lily, I think we should have a chat about Head Boy and Head Girl things.’ He quickly put on his school robes, then left the other three alone.
‘When will you tell him?’ Peter asked his friends, starting on his second sandwich.
Sirius huffed. ‘Well, if he doesn’t figure us out until graduation, he will at our housewarming party. Not even James is dense enough to think having only one bedroom is normal between just friends.’
‘Are you sure, Paddy? I think he could think of several excuses, including you sleeping as Snuffles, or-’
‘Yeah, sure, Moons, but surely, he wouldn’t be that stupid. I don’t sleep as a dog when I’m at the Potters and I have my own room.’
There was a knock on the door, and when they looked up, they saw Lily and James standing there. Remus sighed and put away his book, gently sliding Sirius’ leg down to the floor, squeezing his ankle.
‘I guess we’ll see you two later,’ he said to Sirius and Peter, then exited the compartment to go meet the other prefects. Peter waved at them and turned back to his sandwich, while Sirius pouted at Remus’ back, then took the book out from where Remus had just put it and started reading.
*
With James being Head Boy, the chances for him to catch up slimmed. He spent a lot of his time with Lily, or on duty, and seemed to have matured a lot over the summer, which meant he would be more civil towards the Slytherins, and he would participate in a lot less pranks. Sirius reckoned that was part of Dumbledore’s reason for naming him Head Boy. Though the headmaster must have forgotten that James wasn’t the only one to get up to mischief, because they still pulled a lot of pranks, except James hadn’t been part of a lot of them. His newly found responsible ways meant the others planned and executed whenever James was busy with Head Boy duties, which happened a lot.
They somehow managed to avoid getting caught so far, with Peter turning into Wormtail, Sirius carrying the invisibility cloak with him, and the professors never suspecting Remus (which was something Sirius still didn’t understand as his boyfriend was just as much of a troublemaker as him and James). And, of course, they now had the map.
James didn’t notice the others were carrying out pranks, but then again, most of the pranks in the first couple weeks were pranks they’d done several times in the previous years, meaning anyone could have copied them. That, and Sirius and Remus agreed that James would expect them to include him in their shenanigans.
*
A few weeks into the terms, they got into a fight with some of the Slytherins. For once, it was none of their fault; it was Snape who started mouthing off at Sirius, while James was still at breakfast with Lily, talking about some Head Boy and Head Girl issues. Sirius, Remus, and Peter, on the other hand, were on their way to the greenhouses for their double advanced Herbology lesson, when they were approached by Snape and some of the other Slytherins, Snape already shouting at them from afar.
‘What, has Potter finally realized you are worth nothing, Black?’ he sneered, and Sirius’ hand immediately slipped on his wand, ready to draw it out, but Remus was quicker as he placed a hand on Sirius’ wrist.
‘Snape, if I were you, I’d walk the other way.’ He sounded calm but his eyes betrayed the rage he felt. He glanced at Sirius, but he was looking ahead, at the Slytherins, his mouth pressed into a thin line.
‘Oh, letting the wife fight your battles for you now?’ Snape went on, and Remus could feel a shift in Sirius’ stance as he relaxed a bit.
‘How stupid are you, Snivellus? Last I checked, Remus here was a man, so that would make him my husband, not wife,’ he exclaimed loudly. Remus kept staring at him out of the corner of his eye, trying to assess how badly Snape’s words had hurt Sirius, but he was grinning and seemed unbothered.
‘Are you fuckin’ serious?’ mumbled one of the Slytherins, maybe Nott, or was that Goyle? Whoever it was, Remus saw the opportunity and grabbed it with both hands.
‘Well, as a matter of fact, I am,’ he said as stoically as he could, feeling more than hearing Sirius’ barking laugh.
‘You’re mental,’ Snape said with a disgusted look on his face, which set off Remus as well. When he saw the Slytherins looking at him with a confused expression, he started laughing so hard he doubled over, and had to grab Sirius’ shoulder to stay upright.
‘What’s going on here?’ came the loud cry of one James Potter, who was walking towards them, Lily Evans just behind him.
‘Nothing, mate, Snape was just telling me how dashing a husband I had, right, Remus, dear?’ Sirius drawled, which made Remus laugh even harder, and he was now leaning on Sirius’ shoulder, tears running down his face and dampening Sirius’ robes.
‘Sure you do, husband,’ Remus choked out, grabbing Sirius’ robes with both hands and pressing his face at Sirius’ neck, while Sirius just smirked smugly. James looked between the two of them, then at the Slytherins that were now backing away. He turned to Lily.
‘Do you understand what just happened?’ he asked. Lily shot him an amused look, then set off towards the greenhouses. James followed her. ‘Wait, no, really, what was that?’
Peter didn’t wait for Sirius and Remus, instead followed Lily and James to listen to James’ confusion and maybe laugh at him a bit.
It took Remus a few minutes to calm down, but he managed eventually. He peeled himself off of Sirius, dried his robes with a quick spell, then smiled at the other boy. ‘So, husband, hm? It has a ring to it, doesn’t it?’
Sirius laughed at him. ‘I hope that’s not your idea of a proposal, Moonshine. I require a proper, big, dramatic one, I thought you knew that.’
‘Let’s not forget the audience, the whole of Hogwarts, maybe, just to piss off the Slytherins and your family, I know,’ Remus nodded, and Sirius grinned at him.
‘So you do know me. Well, I guess husband does sound nice.’
*
The next couple weeks went by pretty quickly. They had a lot of studying to do, though Remus and Sirius still found time to sneak off together which Peter seemed to be the only one to notice. The professors were becoming more and more worried that the lack of a proper prank meant they were preparing for something grand, but that wasn’t the case, they were just busy and down a person.
As Halloween came closer, Sirius got distracted really easily, which didn’t help with the professors’ tenseness. He also disappeared a lot in the week before the 31st. Remus knew he was up to something, but as Sirius didn’t look like he was trapped in his own head, Remus reckoned he was planning some prank and he would tell them soon.
Though, as it turned out, Sirius wasn’t planning a prank.
After the Halloween feast, as they were walking back to the common room, Sirius grabbed Remus’ hand and dragged him to the seventh-floor corridor that hid the Room of Requirement. When they entered the room, it was small and dim, the only light coming from a large fireplace and a few candles floating in the air. One large bookshelf run around along the wall, stacked with ancient-looking books, and there was a small table in front of the fireplace, surrounded by cushions. A teapot sat on the table with two cups, and Remus could smell that the tea was a nice blend of Darjeeling First Flush. Taking another step into the room, he noticed a bowl full of his favourite chocolates. He quirked an eyebrow at Sirius.
‘You know, if you’d told me you were planning a date, I would have dressed up,’ he mused, walking to the fireplace and sitting down in front of it, leaning on the table. Sirius followed him.
‘Well, that would have defeated the purpose, sort of.’ He fidgeted a bit, then exhaled slowly as his face settled on a determined look. ‘So, Remus, I know I joked about doing it in a grand way, which we can still do, by the way, but I guess the idea just got stuck in my head.’
Remus looked at him intently, trying to figure out what Sirius was talking about. Sirius was looking back at him with those grey eyes and a small smile, and Remus felt that yes, this was what he meant whenever he joked about stargazing at his boyfriend.
Sirius went on, ‘Also, I know you just as much as you know me, and I know that even though you’d happily do a show for me, you’d still prefer it to be quiet and personal.’ Sirius glanced down at his hands that were playing with something that shone metallic in the light of the fire. Remus followed his gaze, understanding drawing on his features. Sirius held out one of his hands, showing the ring he’d been playing with. ‘Sooo… Marry me, Moonshine?’ he asked, and Remus gave a teary laugh, nodding frantically. ‘Also, don’t worry, it’s titanium, not silver,’ he added with mirth in his eyes.
‘I should never have told you about the Muggle werewolf stories,’ Remus rumbled but smiled nonetheless.
‘I haven’t heard your answer,’ Sirius teased, and Remus huffed at him.
‘Yes, Pads, I will marry you, you idiot.’ Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius.
Sirius smiled widely as he grabbed Remus’ hand and put the ring on his finger, then leaned back a bit to admire it, but was pushed back to lay on his back by Remus as he launched himself at Sirius to kiss him.
About an hour later, after a long make-out session, drinking the tea and eating the chocolate Sirius had prepared for them, and a lot of quiet I love yous, they decided it was time to go back to the Tower. Sirius had the map with him, so they checked it, and as they didn’t see anyone near the Room, they opened the door just enough to slip through.
They quickly made it to the common room, neither of them wanting to get caught by a teacher, not tonight. The common room was still busy, most of the Gryffindors seemed to be still awake and throwing their own Halloween party. James and Peter were sitting with Lily in the armchairs in front of the fireplace, chatting amicably, but as Sirius and Remus climbed through the portrait hole James looked up and shouted at them, ‘There you are!’ Sirius rolled his eyes at his brother but grinned widely as James picked up two unopened bottles of butterbeer to give to them.
Sirius grabbed the bottles then threw himself on Remus’ lap who was now sitting in an armchair next to Lily and gave him one of the bottles. As Remus took the bottle, his new ring clinked on it, which made James look at him with suspicion. ‘Where have you two been, anyway?’ he asked, eying Remus’ hand. ‘And since when do you have that ring? Doesn’t it belong to Padfoot?’
Sirius and Remus shared an amused glance, then Remus said in his best fake-innocent tone that always threw the professors off his trail, ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about, Prongs,’ and took a swig of his butterbeer. Peter was silently laughing behind his bottle, and even Lily seemed amused at James.
‘Remus was complaining about the tea at the feast being terrible, so we took a detour to have some proper tea,’ Sirius mumbled.
‘That, and Sirius wanted chocolate,’ Remus added without missing a beat.
‘You both have chocolate in the dorm, and Remus has a shitton of tea,’ James pointed out, but Remus saw it coming.
‘Would you have let us have some tea in peace, though?’ he asked with a smirk, to which James didn’t have an answer.
‘You two are behaving really strange lately,’ was all he replied.
‘Oh come on, Potter, this is how they’ve been since second year.’ Lily considered Sirius and Remus for a moment, then added, ‘Fine, maybe not second year, but fifth year for sure.’
Sirius laughed heartily and said, ‘You just want extra chocolate, Evans,’ to which Remus gave a small chuckle.
‘WHAT?’ James exclaimed, then coughed a little.
‘What what? I’ve been her chocolate dealer since she became prefect so she would let me sneak out in the nights,’ Sirius shrugged.
‘But- But I thought all that chocolate in your drawer was for Moony,’ James spattered.
‘It is, Lily doesn’t like my favourite, though I have no idea why,’ Remus mused, sharing a smile with the redhead.
‘And you didn’t tell me about it! We could have been out and about,’ James accused, but the others just laughed at him.
‘Wouldn’t have worked, Jamie, brother dear. I have an unfair advantage, namely that I haven’t been declaring my undying love for Evans every other day since the beginning of first year.’ Sirius patted Remus’ shoulder and drew him a bit closer to him. He and Lily had had this arrangement since she saw him and Remus sneak off to the kitchen together once back in fifth year, and she understood it right away. She’d been letting him get off pretty easily ever since, mostly for Remus’ sake.
‘Still. I thought we were brothers,’ James pouted, and Sirius groaned at him.
‘We are, Jamie, we are. But there are certain things you don’t share with even your brother.’
‘Like what you and Remus were doing, sneaking off once again?’
‘James, you’re being dense,’ Remus piped up, resting his head on Sirius’ shoulder.
‘You’re the ones that don’t tell me anything! Where do you sneak off all the time?’
‘Stargazing,’ Remus joked, making Sirius, Peter, and Lily laugh. James, on the other hand, seemed confused and furious.
‘You’re not serious.’
‘Oh, I am fucking Sirius,’ Remus replied, and Sirius threw his head back, his barking laughter scaring some of the younger students.
‘It’s not funny,’ James grumbled.
‘But it is,’ Sirius grinned at him. ‘It’s really funny. My husband’s not only dashing, he’s also funny as hell, don’t you agree? You’d better agree because I don’t think I can be brothers with you if you don’t.’
James looked like he wanted to disagree, but then thought better of it. He only said, ‘You two are not married.’
‘No, but that can be easily fixed. What do you say, Moons, next summer? After we graduated?’
‘Fine, but you’ll have to do half of the planning. And no big crowd, just friends and family.’
‘My thoughts exactly!’ Sirius exclaimed, kissing Remus’ cheek.
‘That’s it, I’m going to bed,’ James announced, and left them without a backward glance. Lily watched him walk up the stairs to his room, then turned to Remus and Sirius.
‘Are you really getting married?’
“Eventually,’ Remus told her with a small smile. ‘We haven’t talked dates yet, but then again, Sirius has only just proposed, like, two hours ago.’
‘Oh, that is an engagement ring?’ Lily whisper-shouted, excited. ‘I knew I haven’t seen it on you before!’
‘You’re right, Evans. It’s been on my index finger till now,’ Sirius supplied, downing the rest of his butterbeer and flexing his left hand, showing off his remaining rings and the indent on his finger left behind by the one now on Remus’ hand. He yawned, hiding his face in Remus’ shoulder. ‘And I think we should follow Jamie’s lead.’
‘You just want to cuddle, admit it,’ Remus mused, but let Sirius help him up from the armchair. He drank the last of his butterbeer and vanished the empty bottles. ‘Good night Lily, Peter.’ The others murmured their respective good nights, and watched Sirius drag Remus up to their dorm.
*
Things were back to mostly normal the next week or two, apart from Lily finally agreeing to a date with James, what made James even more unobservant of his surroundings than usual. He would keep blabbering on and on about what he was planning for their date, and, afterwards, how the date went, and how Lily Evans was going to be his wife soon.
James’ state of mind was really a pity, as they were moving towards the Patronus Charm in Defence Against the Dark Arts. After their lesson on the theoretics, they were given the homework to find some happy memories they thought would be strong enough to cast a Patronus, and all James could talk about was how Lily finally going on a date with him was such a happy memory that he would probably cast a corporeal Patronus on the first try. The others just silently agreed to ignore him as they sat down for dinner because they knew that James would otherwise never stop talking their ears off.
‘What’s up with you, guys?’ James asked when he noticed the others weren’t paying attention to him, Peter chatting with one of Lily’s friends, Remus reading, and Sirius focused on making Remus eat as well as shovelling food into his own mouth. ‘Why aren’t you excited about this?’
‘Well, you know how shitty my family is, Prongs, I doubt I could conjure up a corporeal Patronus. I’d be surprised at a non-corporeal Patronus, to be honest,’ Sirius said between two mouthfuls of chips.
‘And let’s not forget about my furry little problem,’ Remus added, looking up from his book for a moment, and letting Sirius feed him a spoonful of mashed potatoes.
‘Oh come on, you two are among the most brilliant people I know, I’m sure you’ll succeed if you take the time to find the right memory. I mean, you wrote a big chunk of the map-’
‘But that was mostly charms, not DADA,’ Remus interjected.
‘-and Sirius, you are an Animagus,’ James whispered, leaning over the table.
‘Which is, again, not DADA, but Transfig,’ Sirius objected.
James didn’t seem to notice, or just ignored, the interruption. ‘Now, what do you think your Patronuses will be? I’m sure mine will be a stag,’ he declared confidently. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if yours would be a dog, and Moony’s a wolf, and Wormtail’s a rat.’
‘I’m not making bets with you about our Patronuses,’ Sirius told him with a stern look.
‘Well, five Galleons say you’ll be able to conjure up a corporeal Patronus, and it will be a dog, Padfoot.’
Sirius groaned. ‘Really?’ James nodded with a big smile on his face. ‘Fine, okay.’
‘Great,’ James grinned.
Still, as they were waiting for their next DADA lesson, Sirius couldn’t help but wonder about his Patronus. All their Patronuses, really. He was sure James would be the first (and maybe the only) one of them to cast a corporeal one, probably a stag, as he’d reckoned. The rest of them, though? Both Remus and he had terrible childhoods and their bad memories outweighed the good ones. Could one happy memory really override all the bad ones? And then there was Peter, who’d never been as good at anything as the rest of the Marauders. He’d probably only manage to cast a fog.
‘Penny for your thoughts?’ Remus asked next to him, closing his book, and putting it into his bag.
‘What for my thoughts now?’ Sirius asked back, incredulous.
‘Penny, you know, the Muggle money. Like, I don’t know, a Sickle?’ Remus chuckled. ‘It means I’m curious what you’re thinking about.’
‘Ah, I see. I was just thinking about our next class,’ he mumbled.
‘You mean, our Patronuses,’ Remus corrected. Sirius nodded. ‘And what conclusion did you meet?’
‘I think Jamie’s Patronus is a stag. If it isn’t, he’ll be devastated,’ Sirius joked, and Remus laughed with him. ‘I’m not sure Pete will manage more than a fog, though.’
‘Maybe not today, but he’s a lot more hard-working than you and James, he’ll get there eventually.’ Sirius shrugged, then, after a short quiet, Remus went on, ‘What about us?’
‘I don’t know,’ Sirius sighed. ‘I don’t think mine will be corporeal, not with… You know. But if it is, I doubt it will be a dog as Jamie expects.’
‘Oh?’
‘Patronuses reflect love, right? If I manage to conjure up a corporeal one, I want it to be a wolf,’ he admitted, and Remus smiled at him. ‘I think yours is a dog, though,’ he grinned.
‘If it will be corporeal,’ Remus added.
‘Oh, it will be, you’re too good to mess up.’
‘Well, if mine will be, then so will yours.’ Remus squeezed Sirius’ hand, then they followed the rest of their class into the classroom.
As they stepped in, they immediately saw that the desks were moved to the walls, and they left behind a large empty area in the middle. Their professor motioned for them to leave their bags on the desks and stand in a loose circle, with only their wand in their hand. ‘Now, I’ll be walking around and helping you, but the Patronus Charm really only needs a lot of practice. Also, as I said last time, I don’t expect most of you to be able to cast a Patronus just yet, so don’t be disheartened if you don’t succeed today.’
He cast the spell himself, as an example of what they were supposed to do, then told them to start working.
‘Oh, I will manage alright,’ James mumbled, then drew his wand and said, ‘Expecto Patronum,’ but nothing happened. James looked both shocked and disappointed.
‘As the Prof said, don’t be disheartened,’ Sirius told his brother, which earned him a glare that could kill, even though, looking around, it was obvious that nobody managed to conjure up even the slightest mist just yet.
‘Why don’t you try it, then,’ James grumbled, and Sirius snorted.
‘Well, I told you, I don’t think I’ll succeed, but whatever.’ He lifted his wand hand with closed eyes, concentrated on Remus, their first kiss, their proposal, and just how he felt around him, then murmured, ‘Expecto Patronum.’ He didn’t dare open his eyes right away, but Remus’ gasp made him look. It wasn’t anything corporeal, though that would have been a miracle on his first try, really, but he did cast a fog that flowed in front of him like a shield.
Their professor clapped his hands, and the sudden sound made Sirius jump a little, his Patronus dissolving into thin air. ‘That was brilliant, Mr. Black, and so early on! Let’s say, 10 points to Gryffindor. Keep trying, everyone.’
Sirius looked down sheepishly. He never was the first to succeed, mostly because he goofed around too much before trying to finish whatever exercise he was supposed to be doing, but it felt good. He felt Remus step closer to him, resting a hand on his back. ‘I told you you’d manage,’ Remus said, and they shared a smile.
‘Unfair!’ James loudly exclaimed next to them, and they turned at him with questioning eyes. ‘I was supposed to be the first, Pads, and you ruined it,’ he pouted, and kept glancing in Lily’s direction, who was trying her best to conjure up a Patronus, but it hadn’t yet come.
‘You can still be first to cast a corporeal one,’ Peter remarked with a reassuring smile.
‘Right, thanks, Wormtail,’ Sirius said. ‘Have you tried yet?’
Peter shook his head, but lifted his wand a bit self-consciously, to cast the spell. When nothing happened, James’ face lifted a bit.
‘Now Moony,’ James requested, and Remus obliged. He, just like Sirius, took a few seconds to focus on his chosen memory, then waved his wand and said ‘Expecto Patronum.’ To his surprise, white fog shot out of the end of his wand, forming a foggy shield around them.
‘Unfair!’ James exclaimed again. ‘You two are cheating. You’ve practiced,’ he accused, but both Sirius and Remus looked at him with amusement, and they heard the professor give Remus 10 points. James gave a determined look. ‘Alright, spit it out, what memory are you using that it’s working so well?’
‘I’m just thinking about us,’ Sirius said quietly, looking at Remus, and Remus nodded. ‘If you come from as shitty a family as mine, you can’t really imagine anything happier than finding your own people, I guess,’ he shrugged, feeling a bit too exposed. Remus again took his hand and squeezed it.
‘How does that help me?’ James whined, but then took a few steps away to focus on mastering the spell. The other three followed his lead.
A couple tries later, James also managed to conjure up some fog what earned Gryffindor another 10 points. The Professor seemed extremely pleased with the class’ progress. About halfway through, even Peter managed a fog, and some people were getting half-corporeal Patronuses.
Peter seemed content with his non-corporeal Patronus and after a few times of casting it, he decided to sit down and give up, claiming he was exhausted. James, on the other hand, looked more and more desperate, especially after seeing Lily’s Patronus taking a blurry form. They couldn’t tell what its form was yet, but she was definitely ahead of James.
Remus and Sirius also cast their non-corporeal Patronuses a few times, but then stood back and helped Peter (or rather, Remus helped Peter while Sirius made jokes). A few minutes before the end of their lesson, though, Remus said, ‘Let’s try one more time, see who’s right, you or James,’ and so they both drew out their wands.
‘Together?’ Sirius asked, and Remus nodded. They took a deep breath, and, looking at each other from the corner of their eyes, cast the spell.
The room fell silent as their Patronuses took form, one wolf, and one large dog, the latter looking a lot like the drawings of the Grim in the Divination books. They heard some of the girls gasp, and even the Professor looked surprised. ‘Merlin’s beard, that’s magnificent, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin. 20 points to Gryffindor for the both of you. I didn’t expect one student to conjure a corporeal Patronus, let alone two.’
Remus and Sirius laughed at each other, and their Patronuses cuddled together, floating somewhat above the floor. Peter cheered for them, and even James smiled a bit begrudgingly.
‘Well, at least you owe me 5 Galleons, Padfoot,’ he shouted at them.
‘What? No, Jamie, brother, you’re the one that owes me,’ Sirius grinned.
‘You have a corporeal Patronus,’ James pointed out, but Sirius shook his head.
‘Don’t you remember the bet?’
‘Don’t you? I said you’d cast a corporeal Patronus and it would be a dog. And, brother, I’m pretty sure that’s a dog.’
‘Sure that is,’ Sirius agreed, glancing at Remus. They waved their wands, and both Patronuses disappeared, then Sirius did the spell again. ‘But it’s not mine,’ he grinned widely, as his Patronus came back, showing everyone that it was a wolf. ‘See, Jamie?’
The wolf jumped around Remus and Sirius, then lay on their feet before he disappeared.
‘I was so sure,’ James grumbled, but shoved the Galleons into Sirius’ hand. ‘You’d better use that money to get me something nice as an apology.’
Sirius barked out a laugh, carelessly throwing the gold into his bag.
*
In the weeks leading up to Christmas break, James was getting more and more irritated with his friends. Or, well, not with Peter, Peter was nowadays either in the library, studying, because he knew he needed a lot more time than the other Marauders to learn anything, or he was with a couple of Gryffindor girls, who also happened to be Lily’s friends. James wasn’t worried about him.
Remus and Sirius, though? Those two were whispering and disappearing together a lot more than they used to, and James was afraid they were plotting a prank. When he voiced this to Lily as Head Boy to Head Girl, she just shrugged it off, even though she knew for sure Remus and Sirius were planning a prank, sort of. She’d run into them a couple times when she was making rounds, and at first, she thought they were planning their wedding, which wasn’t completely off the mark, but then Remus told her it was actually a proposal they were plotting, grand and dramatic, just as one would expect from Sirius, except, this time, Sirius would be on the receiving end of things.
James asked Remus and Sirius several times about it, but the both of them assured him there was nothing he needed to worry about. James tried asking Peter as well, but Peter didn’t know anything as he hadn’t spent much time with Remus and Sirius lately. So as the weeks went by, James was on edge, not trusting his brother’s word, given their track record of going off to Christmas break with a bang. He hoped this year would be different, as they were more mature now, and also, they were staying at Hogwarts for once.
The day before the others would leave for the break, James was extremely tense, not even Lily joking around helped his mood, though when nothing happened during the day, he relaxed a bit. But that was a mistake.
As he was walking to dinner with Lily, he noticed Sirius and Remus already sitting at the Gryffindor table, with Peter on the other side of the table, Lily’s friends around them. James sat between Lily and Peter, but he was once again focused on Remus and Sirius, who were talking in a hushed tone, grinning manically. He felt his blood run cold, but then those two turned to their food and started chatting with the others, and James thought he was just being paranoid.
Oh boy, was he wrong, though.
As the Great Hall filled up with students, Remus and Sirius shared a meaningful look, then Remus stood up and climbed on the seat, pulling out his wand and pointing it at his throat. A moment later, when he started speaking, his words echoed off the walls.
‘Sirius Black,’ he started, and James groaned as he tried to reach Remus to pull him down, but Lily didn’t let him up from his seat next to her. ‘You have been my best friend for years. You always have my back, not letting me get stuck in my own head, and filling up my chocolate stash whenever it runs low. Which is all the time, really,’ he laughed a bit, and so did Sirius. ‘I can’t count all the times you took detention for me, and, knowing you, you’ll probably do that as soon as Professor McGonagall gets here,’ Remus went on, noticing their Head of House making her way towards them, ‘so sorry for that, but Professor, please give me a moment to finish here before you give me detention.’ That drew a laugh from the room, and Remus grinned. ‘Sirius, star to my moon, love of my life, will you do me the honour of marrying me?’ He produced a black rubber ring from his robes. It looked plain, but on the inside, Remus had charmed a picture of the Moon, looking the same as it did the first time Sirius had kissed him.
‘Remus,’ Sirius choked out, getting up in his seat to join Remus. He also cast a Sonorus, just not nonverbally, like Remus had. ‘Remus, my Moonshine, I love you, of course I’ll marry you,’ he shouted, enjoying the shocked faces around them. By the twinkle in his eyes, Remus must have, too.
Remus let out a quiet laugh, then put the ring on Sirius’ finger. He leaned in for a kiss, but before he could reach Sirius’ face, McGonagall was next to them, charming the seat into a slide, and they both fell to the ground, laughing.
‘Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, in my office, now. Mr. Lupin, may I add, I’m rather disappointed in you. I was hoping, with Mr. Potter as Head Boy, we wouldn’t have to suffer any more of these idiotic pranks.’
Remus and Sirius glanced at each other, but then quickly looked away, otherwise they would have broken out in a laughing fit. Though as they saw their friends, their faces almost set them off as well. Lily had a knowing smile on her face, Peter was laughing behind his hands, and James was gaping at them, angry and disappointed, probably fearing that McGonagall would think he had had something to do with this.
They were quiet on the way to McGonagall’s office, even though Sirius tried to take full responsibility for what had happened, but McGonagall hushed him with a stern look. In the office, she waved at the chairs in front of her table, and the boys sat down.
‘Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, I can’t believe you two thought it would be appropriate to joke about such matters. I’m especially sad you took part in it, Mr. Lupin. I thought you knew better.’
‘Professor,’ Sirius interrupted, ‘Remus only did it because I dared him, and because he’s lost a bet. He shouldn’t get detention for my actions.’
Remus shook his head at his boyfriend- fiancé, he corrected, but stayed silent.
‘Mr. Black, what you’re trying to do is admirable, but for whatever reason, Mr. Lupin interrupted dinner, and I’m afraid I cannot let it slide. And even if what you’re saying is true, these matters are no joke.’
‘I understand that, but it’s still not Remus’ fault,’ Sirius repeated.
‘Sirius,’ Remus said in a warning tone, trying to get him to shut up.
‘Don’t Sirius at me, I’m trying to get you out of detention, fiancé.’
‘Mr. Black,’ McGonagall warned sharply. ‘I thought I made it clear this was out of line.’
‘Professor,’ Sirius stared at her with a serious look on his face, and he used her actual title to address her, instead of calling her Minnie as he so often did. ‘Yes, I know what happened in the Great Hall was out of line. But Remus is my fiancé, and I will call him so.’
McGonagall considered that for a moment, Sirius’ tone and choice of words unusually, well, serious. She turned to Remus. ‘Mr. Lupin, is that right? Are you two engaged? Was that an actual proposal?’
Remus sighed at Sirius but answered the questions. ‘Yes, yes, and no. We are engaged, but Sirius proposed on Halloween. Tonight was just to satisfy Sirius’ need for dramatics. And to see whether James would finally see the obvious,’ he added under his breath.
McGonagall closed her eyes. Remus glanced over at Sirius whose face was still set in a determined way, and took his hand, squeezing it. Sirius squeezed back.
‘Alright. I’m not saying I fully understand you two, but I see what happened. I won’t take any points, but you will report for detention for a week at the beginning of the new term. Dismissed.’ She waved them away, and they went eagerly, unaware of McGonagall’s smile as she watched them leave hand-in-hand.
*
As Christmas Day fell on a Sunday, the students that had decided to spend the holidays at home left already on Saturday. Those who remained at the castle were allowed to spend the Saturday in Hogsmeade, and the Marauders (and Lily and her friends) chose to do exactly that.
The full moon was the next day, however, and Remus wanted some quiet, so he and Sirius got up early, and they left for Hogsmeade when the others were just getting started on breakfast. They walked around the small village for a while, then, as it was quite cold, they decided to get some hot chocolate at the Three Broomsticks. They sat at the very back of the mostly empty pub, chattering quietly, or just sitting in comfortable silence.
They were still there, leaning into each other and sipping their hot chocolate, when the others arrived. The two boys didn’t notice their friends at first, as Remus was resting his head on Sirius’ shoulder, his eyes closed, and Sirius was busy caressing his boyfriend’s hair, kissing the top of his head every now and then. They both looked up, though, when they heard James’ loud yelp.
They’d just got their hot chocolates and butterbeers and were looking for a table big enough for everyone, when James’ eyes landed on his two friends, his mind immediately supplying him with a complete misinterpretation of the situation.
‘Oh hey, you finally got your lazy asses here,’ Sirius greeted them, his hand never stopping the little caresses.
‘Sirius,’ James started, ‘what the fuck.’
‘What do you mean?’ Sirius shot him a confused look.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ He pointed at Remus and then at Sirius with an accusatory finger.
‘Eh- We’re drinking hot chocolate?’ Sirius still didn’t understand what James meant.
‘Are you on a date?’ James asked, but he sounded tense.
‘You can call it that if you want, but mostly, we just wanted to get away from the loud,’ Sirius explained, feeling defensive.
‘Sirius, I can’t believe you,’ James said angrily, and as he spoke, his voice got louder and louder. ‘Everybody knows about your track record, and now you’re trying to add Remus to it? Or are you just curious what it would be like with another bloke? What the fuck are you thinking?’ He practically shouted the last few words, which made Remus flinch.
‘James, will you please tone it down? Also, you’re being an arse,’ Sirius angry-whispered, taking a moment to see whether Remus was okay.
‘Sorry, Moony,’ James said apologetically, sitting down opposite them. ‘But Sirius, what the fuck?’
‘You’re explaining,’ Remus told Sirius, letting his head fall back on Sirius’ shoulder and nuzzling into his neck. Sirius put an arm around Remus’ shoulder, drawing him closer.
‘James, you’re fucking dense. Also, I have no idea what track record you’re talking about. If you mean all those girls claiming they have slept with me, newsflash, they’re lying. Moons and I’ve been dating for two and a half years.’
James’ jaw as good as hit the table at that. He said indignantly, ‘But you never told me.’
‘We have. You just refused to acknowledge it.’
‘But-’ James looked around at their friends, none of whom seemed the slightest bit surprised to find Remus and Sirius being so couple-y. ‘Did you all know?’
‘James, I’ll have to agree with Black, you’re dense,’ said Lily. ‘After yesterday’s proposal, I think the whole school knows about them.’
‘WHAT? I thought that was, like, our usual Christmas break prank,’ he mumbled, deflated.
‘Well, it was sort of a joke,’ Sirius admitted. ‘Y’know, typical Sirius Black dramatics.’ He laughed a bit, but James’ expression didn’t change. Sirius exhaled loudly. ‘The actual proposal took place on Halloween,’ he added, and it made James cry out.
‘You are really ENGAGED?’
Lily and Peter giggled at him, not able to keep it in anymore.
‘James, even you noticed the ring on Remus’ finger that night,’ Lily told him, sighing into her hot chocolate, then shaking her head at her boyfriend.
‘But- But none of you said anything. Since when do you know, anyway?’
‘Fifth year, October? I think. I was making rounds when I ran into them, on their way to the kitchens to get Remus some food after he’d missed dinner.’
‘That’s when I started bribing her with chocolate,’ Sirius supplied, then, at Lily’s look, rephrased, ‘I mean, when I became her chocolate dealer.’ He felt Remus huffing out a laugh into his neck. Sirius squeezed Remus’ arm where his hand lay on it and kissed the top of Remus’ head.
‘So this is why you always sneak off?’ James exclaimed, understanding finally dawning on him.
‘Took you long enough, Prongs,’ Remus mumbled, sitting up a little straighter to take a sip.
‘And everybody knew before me?’
‘Well, I doubt your parents figured out in the few days Remus spent with us in the summers,’ Sirius mused, and James threw a napkin at him, mouthing I hate you. ‘Oh, come on, Jamie, brother, if you keep that up, I’ll be forced to ask Peter to be my best man.’
‘You would never do that,’ James replied out of reflex, then his mind caught up. ‘WHAT? When?’ he asked with big eyes, staring unblinking at his brother. Remus and Lily looked at the two of them with amusement.
‘We were talking mid-July, just after graduation,’ Sirius shrugged.
‘You really are serious about this, aren’t you? Merlin’s beard, I can’t believe I haven’t noticed.’
‘Oh, I am fucking Sirius alright,’ Remus remarked, though at this point it was merely more than a reflex.
‘And I am always Sirius,’ Sirius added. They both looked at James with shit-eating grins.
James groaned at the old jokes, but then his eyes widened in horror. ‘Wait, Remus, you’ve been saying that for about two years, you two’ve been-’ but he couldn’t finish the sentence, just kept pointing between his friends.
Both Remus and Sirius broke out in laughter. ‘Pads, I think we broke Prongs.’
‘Serves him right,’ Sirius said smugly.
Remus enjoyed James’ suffering for a bit longer, but then turned back to Sirius, mumbling a quiet better. Sirius lifted an eyebrow at him questioningly. ‘Deer-gazing is nowhere near as fun as stargazing.’ Sirius gave him a brilliant smile and leaned in for a kiss, ignoring James’ groan at them.
‘Merlin’s beard, now I understand those jokes, though I really wish I didn’t. I didn’t need those pictures in my brain.’ He dragged a hand down his face. ‘I’m an idiot, aren’t I?’
‘You’re our idiot,’ Lily said, still grinning.
‘Alright, now that my dear brother’s all caught up, we totally should throw an engagement party.’
‘Pads,’ Remus groaned in protest.
‘C’mon, Moonshine, just a few bottles of Ogden’s, some butterbeer, and a lot of chocolate. I promise, no pranks, no dramatics, and the moment you want to go to bed, we go to bed,’ he added rather suggestively, and Remus couldn’t help but laugh at that. ‘Also, we pretty much have the common room to ourselves.’
‘Fine, but we’re not playing drinking games,’ James told Sirius, who gave a dignified yelp.
‘I’m not planning on getting drunk! I don’t want to be hungover tomorrow. Also, James, Evans, as best man and woman, you’re responsible for the food and drinks. See you back in the Tower,’ he grinned, then grabbed Remus’ hand and the two of them made their way back to the castle.
James shook his head, but quickly downed his butterbeer. He listened to his friends around him. They would make their way to Honeydukes in a few minutes, then back to Hogwarts, to Gryffindor Tower, and they’d have one hell of an evening, celebrating Remus and Sirius and, well, all of them, really. Then tomorrow there’d be presents, and a Christmas feast, followed by a whole week to themselves.
The smile on James’ face never faltered as the others chatted over him. He may be a little slow on the uptake sometimes, but he had wonderful friends, and everything would be okay as long as they stayed together.