Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

A/N: Happy (almost) Halloween! I hope this isn't to clichéd.

Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. They be J.K.'s -sigh- Sirius wants to go Trick-or-Treating! -grabs pillow case- I'm all set! What do you mean I can't go till tomorrow!?!

--

Remus Lupin, a seventh year Gryffindor, stared at the bulletin board in the common room. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder, when he turned around he came face-to-face- with Lily Evans, another seventh year and Head Girl.

"What are you staring at?" she asked with a hint of a smile on her face. Remus gestured to the board over his shoulder. They both turned and read the note.

'_Hello, Hogwarts Students!_

_We, the Marauders, would like to make an announcement:_

_We're throwing a Halloween party!_

_oOoOoOoOoOoOo_

_Who's invited__?__ All 5__th__, 6__th__, and 7__th__ year students. (Yes, even Slytherins)_

_Where shall it be held__?__ In the Great Hall_

_When should you be there__?__ Arrive at 9 and be gone by 12_

_Why are we doing this__?__ Because we don't have classes the next day! Oh, and because it's Halloween._

_oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo_

_Costumes are a MUST (That includes masks!)'_

"I can't believe you wouldn't tell me about this," complained Lily.

Remus turned to her, "I had no idea about this. Didn't James tell you?"

She shook her head. James Potter, Lily's boyfriend of 2 months, was Head Boy and had been on his best behavior lately. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It has been a while since he's done anything."

Remus rolled his eyes as he led Lily to the couch. "I wonder why they didn't tell me…"

"They probably don't have permission to do it," reasoned Lily.

"I'll have you know that we _do_ have permission." Remus and Lily turned around and saw Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew coming from the dorm.

"Really, now?" said Lily, disbelieving. "Then where is James?"

Sirius sat down next to Remus while Peter took a seat adjoining them. "Probably looking for you," provided Peter.

"So, what are you two going to dress as?" asked Sirius. "I'm gonna go as D'Artagnan."

"For once, I agree with what you said, Black," Lily said lazily.

Sirius smiled his crooked smile, "Finally coming to your senses, huh? About time."

Lily threw a pillow at him and succeeded by hitting him in the face. "I meant that you and D'Artagnan are similar in characterization. You're both hot-headed." She looked at the other two boys, "Actually, all four of you remind me of the musketeers."

Remus cocked an eyebrow, "Really? How?"

Lily pointed to Sirius, "You're D'Artagnan, I've already said why. Peter reminds me of Porthos. Porthos is gullible, honest, and likes to eat. Sorry Peter."

He shook his head, "I don't mind. It's true after all." The four students laughed and Lily continued her explanation.

"James would be Athos, the leader. And he's kind of the father figure." She turned to face Remus, "And that leaves Aramis for you." She smiled.

"Why am I Aramis?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Forget the fact that Aramis likes women and drinking; because you don't like either of them. Friendship is very important to you, like Aramis."

"So, I'm a gay version of Aramis because I'm value my friends?"

Sirius placed a hand on Remus' shoulder, "Would you rather be the fat one?"

Remus rolled his eyes as he sighed, "I'd rather not. Fine, I'll be the Aramis to your D'Artagnan." Sirius crushed him in a hug, "Yayy!"

"Not that that conversation is done," interrupted Peter, "What are you going as Lily?"

"Hmm…I don't know. Seeing as I _just_ found out about the party now." She glared at Sirius and Peter. "I'll see what James is doing and maybe we can go as a couple."

"Well, I'm going as a zombie. James is helping me tear up some clothes."

"As long as they're not mine, have fun," said Remus.

Peter rolled his eyes, "What about you, Moony? Got any ideas?"

Remus shook his head, "I'm not going. I need to catch up on homework." The full moon had been a couple of days ago and Remus was falling behind in his studies. He still had a few essays to write and he needed to see Professor Slughorn about a potion he missed.

Sirius jumped onto his lap and whined, "But you have to go! It's our very last Halloween!"

Remus poked his stomach and laughed. "It is not our last Halloween, Pads."

"Well, it's our last one here," he looked at the werewolf. "And you should be there."

"The notice _did_ say the Marauders were holding the party," reasoned Peter.

Lily pushed Sirius off of Remus' lap, making him mumble under his breath on the floor. "Leave him alone, you two. If he doesn't want to go, then he doesn't have to go."

Before Sirius or Peter could protest, James walked in. "Hey, guys. Hi, Lily." He walked over to the couch and kissed the top of his girlfriend's head. "What are we talking about?"

Lily stood up and dragged Remus with her. "Remus and I were going to the library to do some studying." She kissed James on the cheek and yanked Remus out of the portrait behind her.

When they were a few feet away from the hole, they heard James shout, "WHAT?!?"

"Is there a reason why you rushed me out of there?" asked Remus.

Lily slowed their pace, "I didn't want all three of them to give you a hard time. I know the full moon was harsh on you this month." Lily had figured out last year that Remus was a werewolf, but had waited to let him tell her.

He gave her hand a squeeze and they continued their way to the library. "You do know neither of us have our book bags, right?"

Lily stopped and stared at him, "I knew that." Remus laughed as they turned around to head back.

--

Remus was lying on his bed reading when he heard a pair of feet stomping up the stairs. He looked up to see a peeved James walk through the door.

"What's wrong, Prongs?" he asked as he placed a bookmark to hold his spot.

"Is there a reason why you don't want to go to the party?" he asked when he reached the bed. "Are you really that upset that we made plans without you?"

Remus smiled as he sat up. "No, James. I really do have homework that I need to catch up on. Not to mention I need to do that potion for Professor Slughorn."

James plopped down on the bed. "Come on. It'll be fun," he said in a sing-song voice.

"I know," he replied in the same voice. "But I have to do it."

James grinned, "You have to do _it_, huh? Who are you doing _it_ with?"

"Why, Lily, of course," he said with an evil smirk. James stared at him with an open mouth. Remus waved his hand in front of the astonished boy, "James? I was kidding, mate. Really, I was."

He heard someone else coming up the stairs and when he looked up he saw Sirius eating a chocolate bar. "What's wrong with him?" Sirius asked when he noticed the still boy.

Remus shrugged his shoulders, "I was kidding around and he froze up." Sirius sat on the other side of James.

Remus watched the chocolate as it was lifted to Sirius' lips, but his line of sight stayed on his mouth even after the bar left. He continued to stare as Sirius asked, "What did you say?"

When Remus realized that Sirius was staring at him, he looked away and told him what he and James were talking about. "I didn't think he'd freak out like that."

"Oh, bad move on your part, Moony," Sirius said as he shook his head. "You should know better than to joke around with Lily."

"I know that," he said as he avoided looking at Sirius plump lips.

"Maybe we should kiss," suggested Sirius. Remus stared at him, stunned.

"W-what?" Remus couldn't believe his ears.

"You know. To shock him awake."

Remus blinked, "Do you really think that'll work?"

Sirius shrugged, "It might and it might not. You never know till you try," he said with a smirk. "So, do you wanna try it?"

Before Remus could answer, Sirius leaned in and gave him a small peck. Sirius looked at James while Remus stared at Sirius. '_What the hell was that about?_'

Sirius looked back at Remus and shrugged. "Guess it didn't work." He held up his wand and shot water at his best friend.

"Why didn't you d that first?" asked Remus as James sputtered awake.

Sirius shrugged his shoulders again and took a bite of the chocolate.

"What the hell was that about, Sirius?" shouted James. He shot off the bed and headed to the bathroom, mumbling to himself the entire time. Sirius got up also and headed to his own bed; he popped the last of the bar into his mouth as he opened his trunk.

'_Apparently, that kiss didn't mean a thing,_' Remus thought sadly. He was about to say such a thing, but then he remembered the notice. "How did you guys get into the Slytherin common room? I'm pretty sure they didn't let you three waltz in."

Sirius turned around and smiled. "We waited by the portrait hole until someone left. Then, we snuck in using the invisibility cloak. But it was only Prongs and me; you know the cloak can only hide two people now."

James walked out of the bathroom, all dried off and rubbing his eyes. "I know you swing both ways, Sirius, but did you really have to kiss Remus?"

Remus blushed as he got up, "I'm going downstairs to see if Lily's there."

When he got there, he saw Lily talking to one of her friends. As he approached, Lily's friend looked up and smiled at him.

"Hi, Remus," greeted Lily. She turned to her friend, "I'll talk to you later." Both seventh years took a seat by the fire. "I talked to James and guess what we're going as."

"Who got to pick?"

She glared at him playfully, "_I_ did. But he agreed to it without a complaint."

"Ok…You're going as Romeo and Juliet." Lily scoffed and he looked at her, "Then what are you doing?"

She smiled as she said, "We're going as Bonnie and Clyde."

"Cool," was all Remus said. He was too stunned to say anything else.

"I know, it's a bit out of character for me. But I wanted James to have fun. And I wanted a little romance."

Remus shook his head as he smiled, "Only you would think to be that 'romantic' couple." Lily nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Maybe you should head to bed. You look tired." He felt Lily nod again and he helped her up. "And don't believe a word James says tonight."

She gave him a quizzical look, but stayed silent. When Lily was gone, Remus decided it was safe to head back upstairs.

--

"Happy Halloween!"

Remus shot up in bed the next morning and glared at the screaming boys. "Thanks for the wakeup call, guys," he said sarcastically.

Sirius and James jumped onto his bed and held out their hands. "Trick or Treat," they chimed.

"How about this: Get off my bed or _you'll_ get tricked."

Only James got off the bed, Sirius decided to sit right down. "What crawled up your bum and died?"

Remus rubbed his eyes, "I guess I didn't get much sleep last night. I was up late trying to finish my Charms essay."

"How many more do you have to write?" asked Peter from his own bed.

"I still have to finish my Transfiguration essay. And I have write essays for Herbology, Astronomy, and Arithmancy. Not to mention that blasted potion…"

"Why do you have so many to write?" inquired James as he grabbed his uniform. He spent the night so he and Sirius could finalize plans for the party. "That's not like you."

Remus pointed at Sirius, "He ruined my Herbology essay. I just haven't had any time to rewrite it. And I can't find my Astronomy one anywhere." He rubbed his eyes again; he felt someone grab his writs and yank them away from his face. He saw Sirius glaring at him.

"One: I didn't ruin it. It just has some lovely little designs on it. And two: can't you just skip them? For the party?" Remus rolled his eyes as he pulled his hands away from Sirius' lap. Not a good place for them.

"I will not dignify the first statement with an answer. But, I can't 'just skip them'. They need to be finished before classes." Sirius got off his bed in a huff and went to the bathroom. The three boys heard him lock the door behind him. "What's wrong with him?"

James and Peter just shrugged. The three remaining boys got dressed and headed down to breakfast.

--

Shortly, Sirius joined them and he sat next to Remus. "Not mad anymore?" asked James as he buttered some toast.

Sirius shook his head, "Nope. But look at what I found." He grabbed his bag from the floor and pulled out a piece of parchment. "It's your Herbology essay. And it's all clean."

Remus took the essay and examined it; it was indeed clean. "When…? How…?"

"I grabbed it from the garbage this morning and cleaned it up," he explained. "Now it's one less essay for you to write." Remus put the essay on the table and side hugged his friend.

"Thank you so much!" He felt Sirius wind his hands around his waist and pulled him closer.

"Aww, Remus loves me!" He pulled away and looked at Sirius and found him smiling.

"But that still leaves three and a half essays to write."

The three boys looked at Peter-ruined-a-happy-moment-Pettigrew. "I know," said Remus dejectedly.

Sirius stuck his tongue out and everyone started to eat.

When they were finished they all went to their respected classes. "I'll see you guys at lunch," called Remus.

As soon as Remus entered his Ancient Runes class he sat in his seat and lowered his head. A few minutes later he felt a warm hand on his back. He slowly picked his head up and saw Lily giving him a small smile. "How late were you up, Mr. Moony?"

He chuckled as he stretched, "I was up till one. And then the guys decided to wake me up early."

Professor Babbling entered the room and said, "Today I want you to finish up the assignment I assigned last class. If you've finished it already, you may have a free day." She sat down at her desk and started to correct the assignments from another class.

"That's great," said Lily. "Now I don't have to worry about it." She pulled out her homework but Remus just sat there, grinning. "Well? Aren't you going to get it out?"

Remus shook his head, "I already finished it. Before the full moon."

"Lucky. Hey, why don't you work on one of your essays? If you finish, then you can go with us."

He nodded and pulled out his Transfiguration essay and finished it up.

By the time class was over, Remus had finished one essay and had started another one. "I'll see you later," he said to Lily as he rushed out of the classroom. After Ancient Runes, Remus had to hurry over to the greenhouse for Herbology.

Remus shared this class with Peter, James and Sirius had Care of Magical Creatures. "Guess what," said Remus as he took his place next to Peter.

"What?"

"I f-" he started, but Professor Sprout interrupted him by entering the greenhouse.

"All right, let's get started." The entire class was quiet; fearing the deadly plants they were working on would wake. About half way through the class, Peter's plant woke up and bit him. He was taken to see Madam Pomfrey right away.

--

After Herbology, Remus headed to the Great Hall. When he got there he saw the usual seats empty. As he got closer he saw Lily sitting there all by herself.

"Where is everyone?" he asked as he sat down.

"James and Sirius are talking to Professor Dumbledore and I'm sure you know where Peter is." He nodded and he and Lily ate their lunch.

Afterwards, Remus made his way to Transfiguration, hoping to see the other boys there. On his way to class he saw Professor McGonagall. "Mr. Lupin, Professor Slughorn would like to see you about a potion you missed. You're excused from class today." He told her thank you and headed to the dungeons.

"Professor Slughorn?" he called as he entered the cold room.

"Back here, my boy." Remus saw the professor in the potions closet. "I've gathered all the required materials for you. So, you can get started."

Remus took the ingredients and got to work. He was working on it when it started to boil over. "Uh…Professor?"

Professor Slughorn made his way over and sighed, "It looks like you need to start again, Mr. Lupin." He cleaned out Remus' cauldron and Remus gathered all the materials again.

It took Remus a couple of more tries, but, eventually he got it. He turned it in and was told it was almost dinner time. Instead of going to Study Hall, he picked up his bag and headed to the library. By the time he finished his Arithmancy essay, dinner was almost done. He quickly collected his things and headed out.

When he entered the Great Hall, he looked up and saw the usual floating pumpkins, there were bats swooping down and almost hitting students in the head, and lots of candy on all the tables. Remus sat next to Sirius and listened to all of them talk about their days; he never got the chance to mention he was almost done with his homework.

Dinner ended at 8 o'clock and the boys spilt up. James, Sirius, and Peter stayed in the Great Hall to make preparations, and Remus headed to the dorm room. When he got there he took out his Astronomy book. He opened it up and out fell a piece of parchment. He bent to grab it and saw that it was his missing essay. "How did it get there?" He stood up and smoothed it out. That's when he realized he didn't have any homework. "I have the entire night to myself," he smiled and fell onto his bed.

About a half hour later, he heard a quiet knock on the door; he grumbled but got up. He opened the door to see Lily in a 1930's outfit. She was wearing a dark green skirt that stopped right above her knee and a lighter green shirt. Her red hair was colored brown and pulled back into a bun. On top of her head was a hat the same shade as her skirt.

"Where's your gun?" Remus asked as she entered.

She sat on the bed and smiled. "Didn't cha hear? I nevah carry a gun. I'm the brains behind this outfit." Remus sat next to her and smiled. "Whater you lookin' at, hot stuff?"

"You," he said plainly. "Can you stop talking like that? It's quite annoying."

"Sure thing, doll face," she said with a giggle. "How's the homework coming along?" she looked at his bed to see what he was working on.

"Actually, I don't have anything to work on. Apparently, I finished everything."

"That's great!" she squealed. She cleared her throat when Remus gave her a look. "I mean, now you can go to the party."

"I would, but I don't have anything to wear."

Lily smiled and pulled a ring out of her pocket, "Never fear. Lily is here."

"And how is a ring supposed to help me?" he asked as he took it.

"Well, I figured that you would finish your homework. And I knew you wouldn't have anything to wear. So, I went to the library and found a charm to help you. That," she pointed to the gold ring Remus was holding, "will charm the clothes you're wearing into anything you want. Or what I want, since I charmed it."

Remus cocked an eyebrow and put it on his ring finger. Where his tattered school uniform once was, was now an elegant pirate's outfit. He had on a black pair of trousers that stopped at his knee and a pair of large bucket topped boots. His white shirt was open to his mid-chest and he also had on a long coat with big cuffs. His jacket was a dark brown and the cuffs were huge. He felt the top of his head and pulled off a tricorn hat. He looked at Lily in amazement.

"What an imagination you have, my dear Lily." When he stood up he felt something heavy hit his hip. He saw that it was a gun holster, "What? Now I don't get a gun?"

"I can't trust you," she giggled. She stood up next to him and took the hand with the ring. She pulled it off and Remus' clothes changed back to his uniform.

"So how does the ring work?" he asked as he took the ring and changed back into a pirate.

"The charm on the ring will work until last stroke of midnight; or until you take it off. Whichever comes first. But, if you take the ring off before midnight, whatever time is left will still be charmed on it. So that means, if you take it off at 11:30, you'll still have a half hour of pirate costume left."

"That's brilliant," he said as he stared at the golden wonder. He looked up at her, "But what about a mask?"

She pulled a red scarf out of the pocket from before and handed it to him. "Tie this around your face. It's as good as a mask." He did what she told him and they both entered the bathroom. He changed his hair to a darker brown and made it longer. He dirtied his face and turned to look at Lily.

"How do I look?"

She hugged him, "Like a pirate." She pulled out a white scarf and tied it around her own face, "Ready?"

Remus nodded and offered his arm, "Let's go." Lily took it and they headed to the party.

--

A/N 2: End of the first chapter. I hope y'all like it. Part two will be up tomorrow! I'm not expecting a lot of reviews for this. ^^


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Happy Halloween! Here's the second part of the story. I hope you all like it!

Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. They be J.K.'s -sigh-I hope I get lots of candy! What? Don't look at me like that! No, I'm NOT too old to be doing this...

--

Remus and Lily made their way down to the Great Hall. As they neared the double doors, he stopped and Lily looked at him, "What's wrong?"

He let go of her arm and turned to her. "I'm not sure if I want them to know I'm here. I've never seen how they act when I'm not there to stop them." Lily laughed as she took his arm back.

"Then we'll keep it our little secret." Before she pulled him through the door, she pulled out her wand and changed his voice. He smiled and they entered, he immediately started to look for his friends. Lily outstretched her hand and pointed to their right, "That's Peter over there."

From where Remus was standing, he could tell that Peter had on a torn white shirt, most likely a part of his uniform, and a pair of dark jeans, also torn. Remus looked down at his feet and saw that one foot was missing a shoe and the sock that he wore had a hole, revealing his big toe. The other foot was covered by a scruffy shoe, also with a hole. Remus could see that his hair was long and stringy, and matted. "What color is his skin?" asked Remus, bewildered. "It looks…white."

"It is," confirmed Lily as she dragged them away from the door. "He asked James to help him look more realistic."

"Fascinating." When Remus examined Peter's face, he saw what his mask looked like. It had one large eye and one small one. There were scars covering it, and the mouth was hanging open. Remus wanted to get a closer look, but Lily held him back. He looked at her and she gestured over his shoulder. When he turned around, he saw a 1930's gangster near the punch bowl. "Is that James?" He turned to Lily and she nodded.

James was wearing a midnight blue jacket with vertical stripes that made his torso look longer, and a pair of matching pants. His shoulders looked larger; Remus assumed that Lily had given him shoulder pads. The jacket was open and he saw that the shirt underneath was a pale blue. He looked down at James' feet and saw that the shoes looked authentic; they were two-toned black and white. He also noticed that he was wearing a scarf like Lily, except his was a checkered black and white one.

"They both look great," he said happily. It appeared that the Marauders did alright all by themselves. He started to look around for Sirius, wondering if he did as well as the other two.

Lily let go of his arm and he glanced at her, but turned back to his search. "I'm going to go see James. Will you be fine for a little bit?" He nodded, slightly distracted. He was vaguely aware of her leaving. He was still looking when he felt someone tap him on his shoulder. He turned and saw a purple fairy with a big smile; her mask covered the upper left part of her face.

"Wanna dance?" she asked.

Remus was never one to say no, so he extended his hand, "I'd love too." She took it and they moved to the dance floor. When they got there, the song changed from the slow one that was playing to a faster one. Remus and the fairy danced for a couple for a bit, but stopped when her boyfriend, who was dressed as a Quidditch player, interrupted. Remus backed up and bumped into someone, when he turned he was smothered by a large feather.

"Sorry," said someone. The devious feather was taken away and a musketeer was revealed. He was wearing a pair of tight black breeches and boots similar to Remus. He was wearing a blue tabard with a white cross on the front and back with a white doublet underneath. On top of his black hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail, was a leather cavalier hat with a blue feather coming out of the back. The musketeer had on a mask that covered the upper half of his face, revealing his mouth and below.

"I'm pretty sure the musketeers didn't have feathers that big on their hats," commented Remus with a small laugh.

The musketeer smiled, "Maybe I wanted to stand out tonight." He looked behind Remus and started to back away. "Why don't we move to some place safer?" Remus looked behind him and saw that the fairy's boyfriend, whose face must have been beet red behind his full faced mask, was still trying to get to him.

"I agree. Let's go." Remus and his new friend moved deeper into the dance floor. Suddenly, the musketeer stopped, making Remus run into him. "Sorry," he apologized.

The musketeer turned around and offered his hand, "Care to dance?" Remus noted that he sounded a little nervous.

Remus crossed his arms over his chest and smiled, forgetting no one could see his mouth, "I'm sorry. But I don't dance with strangers."

The boy laughed, "The name's D'Artagnan. What's yours?"

Remus shook his hand, "Well, Mr. D'Artagnan. If we're using aliases, I'll be…John Silver." D'Artagnan laughed and squeezed his hand.

"Ah," said D'Artagnan as he let go, "'_Treasure Island_', one of my favorite books. My friend let me borrow it once." He leaned in closer, "I still have it, but don't tell him that."

Remus laughed at D'Artagnan, he reminded him of Sirius. Then he remembered what his friend had said yesterday:

"_So, what are you two going to dress as? I'm gonna go as D'Artagnan."_

Remus smirked, finally remembering that he was hidden. "I promise I won't tell him." Remus looked around them and back at 'D'Artagnan', "About that dance…"

Sirius smiled and they proceeded to dance to the music. After a couple of songs, the music started to slow down. Remus was about to leave, but Sirius grabbed his hand. "Don't think you're getting away so easily." He pulled Remus closer and moved his arms around his waist. Remus was only shocked for a moment, and he snaked his own around Sirius' neck.

They swayed to the music for a little bit; eventually, Remus closed his eyes. He opened them when the beat started to pick back up; he realized that he had wrapped his arms around Sirius' neck and was leaning on him. He quickly pulled away and blushed. He rubbed the back of his head as he said, "Sorry 'bout that. I guess I'm still a little tired from this week."

He saw Sirius shrug his shoulders and smile, "I didn't really mind."

Remus faintly heard the clock in the distance. "What time is it?" he asked slightly worried. Sirius took his wand out and pointed it to his wrist, a small clock appeared and it read 10:30. '_I still have some time left._'

"You got a hot date, or something?" he heard Sirius ask.

Remus shook his head, "I arrived with my friend, but she went to be with her boyfriend." He thought he saw him relax a little.

"What about you?" Sirius asked. "Do _you_ have a boyfriend?"

Remus shook his head again, "No. I'm as free as a Snitch. Well, at least until the Seeker catches it." Sirius laughed at his joke. "What about you, Mister Musketeer?" asked Remus, even though he knew the answer.

Sirius smirked and leaned forward, "Wouldn't you like to know."

Remus crossed his arms, "As a matter of fact, I would. I wouldn't want another jealous boyfriend try to pummel me tonight."

"No, we wouldn't want that, now would we?" said Sirius as laughed again, "Well, you'll be happy to know that I am, in fact, very single."

"That's nice to know," said someone. Both boys turned and saw a female vampire grinning at them; like Sirius, her mask covered the top of her face. She held out her arm, "Dance with me?"

Sirius looked back at Remus, who shrugged his shoulders, and back to her. "Sorry, but I'm dancing with Johnny, here." He pointed to Remus.

The female vampire looked at him and scowled, "Fine. Whatever." And, with that said, she hurried away. Sirius faced Remus again and smiled.

"Thanks for that," he said happily.

Remus crossed his arms and coldly said, "You're welcome. I'm glad I could be of service." He turned and walked away from Sirius. He almost made it to the edge of the dance floor, but, he was stopped by someone pulling on his hat. He turned and glared at Sirius. "What?"

Sirius flinched, but stood there. "I didn't mean to make you mad. Sometimes I don't think before I act."

"I know," Remus said under his breath.

Sirius looked at him curiously, but shook his head. "I'm sorry." He held out his hand, "Please dance with me?" Remus stared at the hand, and gave in. Sirius smiled and led him back to the center of the floor.

The song had gotten slower and Sirius pulled Remus closer. "Thanks for the dance," he whispered in his ear. Remus shivered slightly as they swayed to the music. They danced for a little longer, the songs changed often during the night and Remus enjoyed each and every one of them. After another slow song, Sirius pulled away from Remus and gestured to the Entrance Hall.

Remus nodded and Sirius took them away from the music.

As they were exiting, Remus heard the clock chime and realized what time it must be. "I have to go," he said as he let go of Sirius' hand. He ran down the hall, and, as he rounded the corner, he heard a small ping from behind him. When he looked down, he saw that he was back in his school uniform. '_That must have been the ring,_' he thought as he raced back to the Gryffindor Tower.

When he entered the common room he noticed that it was completely empty, he thanked Merlin. He hurried up to the dorm room and quickly changed his clothes, voice, and hair. He put the scarf in the drawer next to his bed. He hopped into bed and feigned sleep. Sometime later, he heard his dorm mates entering their room.

"Do you think he's up?" Peter whispered.

He heard someone move toward his bed. "Nah. It looks like he's asleep," James whispered back from his spot near Remus' head.

Remus shifted so he was now facing James, but his eyes remained closed.

Sirius shushed him, "Don't wake him up!"

"Sorry," mumbled James. His voice was getting quieter; Remus assumed he was going to bed. He was proven right when he heard James' bed squeak. The two other beds also made noise when their owners crawled into them.

"Night, guys," Peter quietly called out. The other two boys responded and all was quiet. When their breathing was even, Remus sat up and looked around. He saw that the others were in their pajamas and wondered when they did that. He shrugged his shoulder and snuggled back into his bed.

As he was falling asleep, he thought he heard Sirius whisper, "Night, Moony."

--

Remus was the first one to wake the next morning. He quietly got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. When he was finished, he realized that he had forgotten a towel and hoped no one was up. He quietly opened the door and snuck back into room.

"What a nice thing to see first thing in the morning," said a sleepy Sirius from his bed. Remus quickly covered himself up with his hands.

"What are you doing up, Pads?" he asked as he maneuvered his way to his trunk. Sirius sat up and stretched.

"My bladder heard the water running and decided it was time to get up." Sirius got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Before he closed the door, he said, "You should walk around without a shirt more often. You look good."

Remus stared at the closed door for a few minutes. When he heard the toilet flush, he quickly pulled on a pair of boxers and grabbed his jeans. Just as Sirius was walking out, Remus was yanking on his shirt.

"Aww, I don't get to finish the show? You're so mean to me!" he whined as he dropped onto Remus' bed.

Remus laughed as he joined his friend. "Sorry, Pads, but you have to pay to see the rest."

Sirius looked at him with a smirk, "I have to pay, huh? Okay!" He jumped off the bed and ran to his trunk. "How much?"

Remus rolled his eyes and followed him, "More than you have."

Sirius looked at him with sad eyes. He was about to say something when a pillow hit him. They both turned and saw a disheveled James glaring at them. "Some of us would like to sleep-in." And without another word, he fell back onto his pillow.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other and laughed. "Why didn't you guys tell me about the party?" Remus asked when he caught his breath.

Sirius looked a little scared and briefly looked at James' bed. When he looked back at Remus, his smirk was back. "We wanted it to be a surprise."

Remus rolled his eyes, "I'm going to breakfast."

--

When Remus entered the Great Hall, he immediately sat next to Lily. "How was your night?" he asked as he grabbed a piece of toast.

Lily looked up from her newspaper, "It was great. James and I spent the whole night dancing." Her face softened, "I'm sorry that I left you. I hope that you had fun."

He smiled at her, "Oh, I did. Guess who I danced with."

Lily thought about it for a moment and then smiled, "Sirius?"

Remus gaped at her, "How did you know?"

"Because," she laughed, "I was there when he told us what his costume was, remember? I saw you two dancing last night."

He pushed her playfully, "Then why did you say you hoped I had fun?"

"The last time I saw you, you were rushing away. I tried to run after you, but I lost you in the crowd." She stuck her fork in a piece or sausage and took a bite. "Oh! Can I have the ring back?"

Remus looked down at his plate and blushed. "I…uh…might have…lost it." He looked up at her expecting her to get mad, but, instead, she just rolled her eyes.

"When do you think you lost it?"

"I lost it when I was running back to the dorm," he confessed. "I heard it hit the floor and when I looked down, I saw that I was back in my uniform."

Lily sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, isn't that just peachy?"

"Sorry, Lily," Remus said sadly. She looked at him and gave him a hug.

"It's okay. The ring wasn't very important."

"Then why do you sound so miserable?"

Lily looked at him sheepishly, "I wanted to show it to Professor McGonagall." Remus laughed as he grabbed the coffee pot and re-filled Lily's cup and his own.

--

They were about done eating when Professor Slughorn came up to them. "Mr. Lupin?"

Remus looked up at him, "Yes, Professor?"

The professor looked at him sadly, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but the potion you made yesterday was the wrong one. I looked at the wrong lesson plan, you see; you made the potion for next class, not the last one. Could you please head down to the dungeons when you're done here?" Remus sighed and agreed to meet him when he was finished.

"I'm sorry, Remus," Lily said sympathetically.

Remus shrugged, "I didn't have any plans for today, so it's okay. I guess." He wiped his mouth and waved good-bye to Lily.

He slowly made his way to the classroom. He had really hoped to spend the day with his friends, seeing as he had been really busy lately. '_Well, I can spend time with them afterwards,_' he thought happily.

When he got there, Professor Slughorn had gathered the required materials and gave Remus a sheepish smile. "Here you go, my boy." Remus thanked him and got right to work.

It took Remus the rest of the morning to get it correct. As he turned in his finished potion, Professor Slughorn gave him some good news. "You got an 'O' on the potion you _did_ do." Remus was so happy he could have jumped up and down, but, being the student he was, didn't. He did grin, though.

"Thank you, professor," he gleefully said. "Can I go?" Professor Slughorn smiled and told him he could leave.

Remus assumed his friends would be in the common room, so he headed that way. But, when he got there, there were only a few students, one of those being Alice Prewitt. He headed over, "Hey, have you seen James?"

Alice looked up from the letter she was writing, "Uh…last time I saw him, he, Sirius, and Peter were all looking for someone." She looked at him apologetically, "Sorry."

He shrugged his shoulders, "That's fine. I'll see you later." He headed up to the dorm room and went straight to James' trunk. He opened it up and dug through looking for the Marauder's Map. When he discovered it wasn't there, he went to Sirius' trunk and looked in there. He gave up when, after looking in Sirius' trunk and going through Peter's, he couldn't find it. He sighed and left for the common room.

When he got back down, he found Lily talking to Alice at the table. He walked over and both girls smiled at him. "Hi, Remus," greeted Lily. "How'd the potion go?"

He took the seat next to Alice and smiled, "It took a couple of tries, but I finished it. And the potion I did yesterday, I got an Outstanding." Lily clapped her hands together and Alice hugged him, both knowing potion's wasn't his best class.

"We should celebrate," recommended Alice. She stood up and yanked Remus out of his own seat. "Let's go get some of that pudding I like." She pulled him to the portrait and he looked behind and saw Lily following them.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, they were surrounded by House-elves. "What would the masters like?" asked one of them.

Alice was the first to speak up, "Can we have some of that chocolate pudding you served last night? It was delicious." All the elves quickly left to bring them the treat they asked for, but they brought back much more than that.

After refusing all the rest of the food, the three students sat down. "How's Frank doing?" asked Lily before she took a bite of pudding.

Frank Longbottom had graduated the year before and was training on being an Auror. "He's doing great, and he's having so much fun. In the last letter he wrote, he told me that he had a wonderful gift to give me. And he gave me a clue; he said I'd want to wear it for the rest of my life. I can't wait till Christmas!"

When they were finished, it was time for lunch. "I'm not hungry," Alice laughed, "I'm going to go back to the common room and finish that letter." She waved good-bye and went the opposite way.

Lily looked at Remus, "Are you hungry?"

He shook his head, "Why don't we head outside? It's most likely the last semi-descent day we'll have for a while."

"You're probably right," she said with a smile. They walked past the double doors and heard someone shouting. Remus was tempted to go in, but Lily pulled him away. "There are teachers in there, don't worry."

The headed over to the Black Lake, they sat under the tree and talked about the night before. "And then, this female vampire came up to me and started to squeal about something or other. I think she said, 'They're finally together!' It was really weird. I tried to ask her what it was about, but she ran off to squeal at someone else."

Remus wondered if it was the same vampire from the night before and what she meant. He brushed it off when Lily pointed to someone walking over to them. When he looked over, he noticed that it was Severus Snape.

Remus and Lily stood up and walked over to him, "Hello, Severus," greeted Remus.

"What is wrong with your boyfriend?" he asked coldly as he neared.

"What has James done now?" sighed Lily.

Severus shook his head, "Not_ your_ boyfriend. _His_ boyfriend," he pointed to Remus. "He keeps bugging everyone. He won't leave them alone; he's gotten three detentions from Professor McGonagall."

"Why would he do that?" asked Remus, mostly to himself.

Severus shrugged, "I don't know. All I do know is that I'm going to the dungeons before he can do, whatever it is he's doing, to me." With that said, he turned and walked away. Remus and Lily looked at each other and rushed into the castle.

--

Remus was the first one to burst into the Great Hall. The few remaining students looked at him, most likely wondering what he was going to do. Lily followed behind him and all stares shifted to her.

"Where are Black, Potter, and Pettigrew?" she asked in her Head Girl voice. Multiple hands pointed behind them, both students sighed and ran the way they came. "Where do you think they went?"

Remus thought about it, "Why don't we ask Professor McGonagall? She might know."

Lily agreed and both made their slow way to her classroom. They knocked on the door and waited for her to grant them permission to enter. A few minutes later, the door was opened to reveal a strung out professor. "Yes?"

Remus spoke first, "Do you know where the other Marauders have gone? We…uh…heard what happened."

She glared at them softy, but answered anyways. "The last time I saw them, they were chasing a sixth year Ravenclaw boy out of the Hall. Is that it?"

Both Gryffindors nodded and watched as she closed the door. Lily turned to him, "They must really be annoying today."

Remus nodded, "Should we try to find them?"

Lily thought about it and shook her head. "We can ask them the next time we see them." Remus agreed with her. "Should we go to the common room?"

Remus held his arm out for her, "Yes, let's." On the way back to Gryffindor Tower, Remus thought about what other trouble the other three could have gotten into.

--

Remus didn't see any of the Marauders until dinner time; although, he did hear about them. Lots of students came in were talking about their antics.

One girl said, "I heard someone stole something from them and now they want revenge."

Her companion retorted, "No! Sirius is looking for a new toy. And, I guess, he's looking at the boys now."

Another student came up behind them, "I heard that they transfigured a clock into a very valuable watch. And now, they're trying to sell it. Apparently, Black needs the money."

The first girl spoke up, "I thought he was rich. Didn't he get someone's money when they died?"

Remus was sick of hearing about them, so he spoke up. "That's correct. His uncle left him everything in his will." The three younger students looked at him, not noticing him earlier. They mumbled their thanks had quickly headed to the dorms. Remus sat back on the couch and continued to read.

A little bit later, Remus looked at the clock and saw that it was dinner time. That's when he remembered he hadn't had a lot to eat since the pudding before lunch. As he was getting up, Lily walked through the portrait.

"I was just looking for you," she said cheerfully. "Are you going to dinner? I'm hungry."

He rolled his eyes, "I was about to head that way." He held the portrait open for her, "Shall we?" She took his arm and they made their way down.

As they entered the Hall, Remus looked for the others. "I've hardly seen them these past couple of days," he casually told Lily as they took their seats.

"I know what you mean," she commented back. "James has been really busy helping Sirius today."

Remus looked at her, "Helping Sirius? What are you talking about? Do you know what they've been doing all day?"

She blushed, "Yes and I can't tell you and yes." She looked at the doors, "But maybe they can help you with all those pesky questions." Remus looked over and saw his 'long-lost' friends coming towards them. James kissed Lily and sat next to her, Sirius sat next to Remus and Peter took the seat across from them.

"How's everyone doing today?" asked Peter as he grabbed some chicken.

Remus glared at everyone, "Obviously, I'm out of the loop." He saw all of them swallow, "Who would like to explain?" He looked at James and Lily, both of them looked away. He turned to Peter, who suddenly found his dinner very fascinating. He turned to his last friend, "Well?"

Sirius turned to him with a big smile, "Guess what I found last night after the party." He pulled something out of his pocket and held it in his closed hand. "Well? Take a guess!"

Remus thought of one thing it could be, he swallowed the large lump that had suddenly formed. He looked at Lily, hoping she would help him, but found that she and James had mysteriously disappeared. He turned to Peter, finding him missing. He slowly turned back to Sirius, "Um…I don't know, Pads. What did you find?"

Sirius opened his hand and revealed the gold ring from the previous night. Remus stared at it, praying it would disappear. When it didn't, he looked up at Sirius. "You see," Sirius started, "I met this guy at the party. He was dressed as a pirate but was named John Silver. You remember '_Treasure Island_', don't you?" Remus nodded slightly. "Anyways, he and I had a great time, or at least I thought he did."

"He did," Remus said quietly, hoping Sirius didn't hear him.

Sirius kept on talking, as if Remus said nothing, "He ran off before I could ask his real name. I was about to go after him, but then I heard a noise. What did I find when I looked down?" He held up the ring, "I found this little bugger. I ran after him, but it was too late. Loads of people were leaving and I lost sight of him."

"I'm sorry," said Remus feebly.

"Shh. The story's not done yet. Where was I? Oh, yes, losing sight of the mystery man. I told James and he came up with this brilliant plan. He said-"

"I said," interrupted James, Remus was startled by his sudden appearance, "That we should go to all the guys and see if the ring fit them."

"And we did," Peter, who also popped out of nowhere, said excitedly. Then he looked a little dejected, "Actually, it kinda sucked. We were chased all day for 'bugging' people. We got a couple of detentions. People can be so uptight. We were running-"

"-Out of suspects," continued James as he glared at Peter. "So we asked Lily for help. We showed it to her and-"

Lily covered his mouth, "James. Peter. Didn't we agree to let _Sirius_ tell the story?" All four heads turned to a peeved Sirius. "Now, shush."

"Are we done?" Remus asked hopefully. Sirius smirked and shook his head.

"Almost. When we saw Lily after lunch, she told us she knew who wore the ring. And she told us a fun little tidbit about it. Apparently, it's charmed so only one person's clothes will change." Remus shot Lily a look; she had failed to mention that to him. "She also said that if there was any remaining time left on it, it would still work." Sirius stopped talking and smiled at Remus.

He raised an eyebrow, "And…? What are you going to do now? Is there anyone left?"

Sirius' smile got bigger, "There is exactly one person left. And I was really hoping it was him." Remus was speechless.

'_Did he mean…? Was he talking about…? ...Me?_'

Sirius took the other boy's hand and held the ring in between his index finger and thumb and slipped it on Remus' finger. Both boys watched as Remus clothes changed into the pirates outfit from the night before.

"Look, James!" cried Sirius. "I was right!" A few seconds later, Remus' costume changed back. He looked at Sirius, wondering if he really meant it.

Sensing Remus' worry, Sirius leaned forward and brought their lips together in a soft, but emotional, kiss.

Remus pulled away and leaned his forehead on Sirius', "What's the real reason why you didn't tell me about the party?"

Sirius pulled him into a hug and kissed him again. "I didn't want you to back out of the party. I thought if you had enough time, you'd come up with a good excuse to not go. So I waited until the last possible moment to put up the notice. I really wanted you to go."

"Why?"

"Because I know how shy you are and I wanted to tell you that I like you without the entire world knowing about it."

Remus pulled away, "You were having fun dancing with me and you didn't know it was me."

Sirius smiled, "I had my suspicions. No matter how hard you try, you still acted like yourself." Remus was going to ask, but Sirius pressed their lips together. "But, when we got to bed, you looked like you'd been asleep for hours. That's what really threw me off."

Remus laughed, "I didn't know my acting skills were that great."

Sirius pushed him a little, "I'm not finished yet. Anyways, where was I? Oh, yeah. Because of your magnificent acting skills, I wasn't sure it was you. I came down to breakfast and saw Lily. I tried to ask her if she knew what you did last night. But she wouldn't tell me anything. I showed her the ring and she gasped. That's when I knew she knew something. It took a little convincing-"

"He said I'd never have kids," whined James. "I'm not even sure how I got dragged into it."

Sirius ignored him and continued, "But she told me about it. When I asked her how she knew she avoided the subject." He turned and glared at her.

"So," Remus said as he looked at her, "Lily, you've know about their quest since breakfast? Is that why you didn't want me to go into the Hall at lunch?"

"You knew!" cried Sirius.

Remus quickly covered his mouth, "That was my _ear_." Sirius took the hand off and kissed him, again, then turned to continue to glare at Lily.

"Yes, I knew," she confessed. "I didn't tell you because, to tell you the truth, I wasn't so sure about Sirius' intentions. I wanted to see how far he'd go to find his 'perfect date'."

The four boys stared at her in amazement. Remus hugged her, "I didn't know you cared." She laughed as she hugged him back.

"Hey!" both James and Sirius yelled. The two students looked at them.

"That's my girlfriend," said James, with a mock glare, while Sirius said, "He's mine!"

Lily hugged James and got up, pulling him with her. "Let's go, boyfriend." He smiled as she led him away. When Remus looked to Peter, he noticed that the other boy was missing.

"Where'd Peter go?" he asked. But when he turned back to Sirius, he saw a glint in his eyes.

Sirius leaned forward, "Do you want to go find him? Or do you want to have some" he softly brushed his lips against Remus' "fun?"

Remus stared at him, "Uh…"

"Very eloquent of you, my dear Moony," he crashed their lips together.

--

A/N 2: Did anyone get what Frank was going to give Alice? And, does anyone get Remus' alias?

A/N 3: That took a lot longer to write than I thought it would. I hope you like it! Press that little button that says 'Go'. It takes you to the best page on the site! You'll love it!

_Happy_ Halloween **everyone!**


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Harry Potter, Humor, Romance