"Graduation" Remus/Sirius/James, for Sioniann
Title:Graduation
Recipient: sioniann
Author: skyeathena
Pairing: James/Remus/Sirius.
Prompt:. a table in the Great Hall, an invisibility cloak, the Marauder's Map
Summary: Sexual revelations, gratuitous nostalgia, secrets, pot smoking, eternal brotherhood and imported alcohol. It is a birthday Remus will always remember, even if Sirius and James had initially forgot about it.
Notes: Somehow this became less about the smut, and more about my attempts at some form of a plot. You'll have to forgive me if it seems repetitious at times. Also forgive me for posting this at the end of the day! This was a fantastic prompt, and I had alot of fun! Hope you enjoy!
It really wasn’t their fault, so they shouldn’t have felt that guilty. When somebody’s birthday was coming up, they were reminded of it weeks beforehand. Peter received parcels of a new kind of cake from his mother- a hyper witch who made doting on her son into a profession. Sirius, when addressing the flock of especially pretty hufflepuffs, would nonchalantly announce that he had no plans for his birthday. James, whose birthday was in mid-July, arranged for everybody to meet up for a summertime reunion.
Remus Lupin did not tell anybody about his eighteenth birthday. He really wasn’t that concerned if people remembered or not. He definitely didn’t want a display made of it. That was just his style, you see. Sirius and James gave him anonymity. He was known because he was seen with them, but his mystery could remain intact. People were satisfied to only know his friendships, and maybe his talent at those more bookish classes when it came time for an exam based on the notes that they were too neglectful to take.
Early May was proving to be a surprisingly slow period for classes. They had grown used to, although not fond of, their immense NEWT coursework. However, the actual studying for the exams, wouldn’t begin for at least another good week.
And so Remus was well aware that his birthday would take place on yet another Friday, in yet another mischief packed day in Hogwarts. Sirius and James were discussing a recent quidditch trade that put a Hogwarts grad into a starting beater position. Peter was gazing at a shy fifth year Gryffindor named Cassie, who he had met at the library a week earlier. If Remus remembered correctly, he had accidentally listened into her admitting that she was looking for more ways to run into James, aka- the love of her life. In theory, her taking up with Peter was admirably Machiavellian, but in all actuality, James wouldn’t notice if Peter had grown a Siamese twin.
Remus turned his concentration back to his oatmeal and the various shapes it could take while cold.
“Look, a swan.” James observed.
“It’s not a swan, it’s a sailboat.” Sirius said.
“Maybe you should be the one wearing glasses. Nothing about that swan suggests aquatic adventure.”
“Yeah, well, nothing about Moony suggests that he would make a swan. I mean, who is he, Evans?”
“I heard that.” Lily called.
“Here’s your chance to prove this bastard wrong, Moony. Tell me it’s a swan.”
Remus looked down at his oatmeal sculpture. “I dunno. It looks like breakfast to me.”
“Merlin on a stick. This has to be the most boring conversation we’ve had. What are we supposed to do when the three of us are roommates? We’re doomed!”
Remus winced whenever Sirius said the word boring. It was usually following one of his own comments. Perhaps he noticed this about him, because he had made it an absolute staple into his dialogue. He could get away with it- the way he let the word hang and followed it with an air of superiority, as if it was a known fact that Sirius Black was meant for a life of non stop escapades, and that his friends should be a bit more accommodating of that.
“In case you haven’t noticed Pads, we’ve already been roommates for the past six years. Somehow I think we’ll manage.”
“Rub it in, you guys.” Peter sighed.
“You say that now. But when we’re nearing forty and reminiscing about the good old days when we were friends out of interest instead of habit, you’ll say ‘god, I wish I made my oatmeal into a sailboat’, because you know why? Sailboats are exciting. Swans are just full of themselves.”
The morning delivery owls swooped in, Remus was not surprised to see an envelope for himself, and he was a bit relieved that his mother had managed to write a letter in lieu of a card.
Remus,
We are all so proud of you. The day you were born, I knew (perhaps from your lovely parents, or just the look in your eyes) that you would you would turn into an upstanding, honorable man. Never did I imagine that your strength would be tested so early, and yet, you’ve lived your life with the kind of grace and dignity that few could muster. Today, you turn eighteen. You have an entire adulthood of tomorrows, we hope you enjoy them all. You seem to have your father’s trait of practicality, so we were all at a loss of what to get you. So, to be practical we put together our money and opened up an account for you at Gringotts- this way you can take a few months off to get settled into your new home and still be able to pay the rent. Sorry we’re not more creative!
Lots of love,
The family.
Sirius frowned as he looked at the back of the parchment. Although he would have ripped up a letter from his mother, he couldn’t help but resent the fact that he never received any. From folks outside Hogwarts, anyways.
“My family put together an account, to help me out with rent.”
“I told you, I’ve got the place covered.”
“Sirius, I’m paying rent. That’s what people do. I don’t want to live off you.”
“You’re not. You’re going to cook.”
“Why are you having me cook? Let me just pay my share.”
“You look like the type who would be good at it. You’re the most meticulous person we know, outside of Snivellius who would probably serve just as well. He could grease up our pans and all.”
James snorted.
The three of them had been plotting their place for months- they had found a spacious, although stark, three bedroom flat near diagon alley. The details were already cemented, and Remus got the feeling that sometimes information was repeated simply to annoy Peter who already had a place waiting for him in hogsmeade.
The owls were just about leaving, although one confused looking brown one came in late, dropping a heavy, thickly wrapped package onto James’ lap.
“From my summer girlfriend.” He said loud enough for Lily to hear. “She’s older, so she is able to send concealed goodies.”
Peter looked at the large bottle in James’ hand. “Why would she send you aftershave? Don’t you already have an extra bottle?”
Among Peter’s talents, he enjoyed cataloging and doing inventory on everybody’s items. It was a helpful, although sometimes creepy trait of his.
“Did you not hear my clever lead in?” James asked. “This, my confused friend, is not aftershave.”
Sirius put his nose to the bottle and smiled. “Green dragon? She must have sold her virginity for this.”
“What’s so special about it?” Remus asked, confused. “Why not just drink firewhiskey.”
“My dear moony, how are you supposed to pursue a career as a sweater-wearing intellectual if you can’t appreciate a classy drink?” Sirius asked.
“Somehow I don’t think bringing this up to the shake for a game of ‘guess whose tits I saw’ qualifies as classy.”
“Last night Cassie showed me hers, by the way.” Peter said.
“Remus-“ James interrupted. “You are exactly right. We’re saving this for something special.”
“Post-newt celebration?”
“Maybe a pre-newt celebration.” Sirius had a crazed look in his eyes. Exams hadn’t crossed his mind yet. He had instinct when it came to tests.
“You know, that isn’t a half bad idea.” James began. “It would loosen us up, calm the nerves.”
”I can’t believe you guys are considering this. I mean, I hate to sound like a prefect, but there are certain lines one shouldn’t cross.”
”Speaking of crossing lines.” Sirius leaned over to whisper in his ear. Remus could feel the buzz from his voice and shuttered slightly. “Yesterday I scored some grass, so you’re coming with me to the forest after classes.”
“What about the others?” He whispered back.
“You’re the only one I want to try with.”
“Why?”
Sirius shrugged. “You know cool stuff. Stuff I think I’d be into if I was baked.”
James looked at the mass of people getting up from their tables. “History of Magic time. Remus, could you take notes for me on the centaur hunting of the eighteen hundreds. I think I may do our final paper on that.”
“Or you could just do it yourself.”
“Could I?”
Classes went by surprisingly fast. They found themselves taking time out of lunch to do a quick, no-brainer Divination assignment based on Astrology. Lily had joined them, which meant she’d only wanted to work with Remus while James and Sirius naturally invited themselves to the impromptu study session.
“She wants us to try on somebody else. Remus, when were you born?”
“Today, actually.”
“Really? Happy birthday!” She leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek.
“Honestly Evans, you’d think you’d know by know after all these years of supposedly being his friend.” James huffed. Remus was well aware that him and Sirius had exchanged guilt ridden looks of surprise when he mentioned it. It made him want to laugh.
“So what do you have planned for the day?”
“I dunno.”
Sirius slung his arm around his shoulder. “What he means to say is that he’s not at liberty to say. But, we have a whole evening of events lined up for him. Don’t we James?”
“Too many things to speak of.”
”This is news to me.”
“Well Lily went and ruined the surprise, didn’t she?”
Lily rolled her eyes. “If you ever need a new group of friends, Remus…”
“I’ll know where to knock.” He smiled.
“Oh.” Sirius sighed dramatically. “How boring your life would be without us.”
There it was again. His use of boring. Remus didn’t wince so much as chastise himself for watching Sirius’ mouth in fascination when he said the word. Perhaps their conversations with him would be more interesting if they knew the things unsaid, or the events of the past summer when Remus realized that his own boredom- the one he usually felt during his rare physical encounters, vanished when the recipient was male instead of female.
The guy had been a muggle farm boy who worked shirtless on the land next door to the unkempt but spacious lot in the countryside that they’d recently acquired through a dead great aunt. It had taken them a while to start talking, and their conversation wasn’t that fascinating. So much of Remus’ life had been tied in the wizarding world that he felt like a hollow representation of what he could have been had that letter not arrived at his door when he was eleven.
They’d hooked up without admissions or pretense. It was simply something to do, and it was fantastic. And here he was now, his seventh year and feeling guilty of crimes he didn’t commit. When James would stretch out in his bed upon waking up, Remus remembered what if felt like to run his tongue against that hairy trail exposed below his navel. And when Sirius would get hit with a particularly nasty bludger, Remus would run a washcloth against his bare back with a distant expression.
It wasn’t as if he was targeting his two best friends, he just missed the idea of having another person around. After all, he’d gone so long without knowing it. That thing. Everybody else seemed to know it. And so everything made sense now. Why had Shakespeare been considered so great. Why prostitution was the oldest profession. Why common sense was thrown out the window for the sake of love or sex.
Hence his recent fascination with James and Sirius. He liked them both equally, as a single unit, or a concept, a package deal. Were he to target one, then he should perhaps become worried.
It is later now. They’re sitting in the forest, Remus and Sirius.
“I don’t think you’re doing it right.” Remus said, sitting up straight to look at Sirius’ attempt at a joint.
“The guy told me to use papers.”
“But I think parchment is too thick. We should have asked somebody.”
“And admit that we haven’t done this before. It would shatter our image. I guarantee you, it is widely assumed that we probably smoke for breakfast. How else could we be so funny and fascinating.”
“Or lazy and dimwitted.”
“I need a flat surface. Give me your history of magic book.”
“I will not defile my academia with drugs.” Remus looked through his bad. “You can use my parchment for McGonagall.”
Sirius picked around, throwing bits and pieces in the grass.
“Why are you getting rid of it?”
“Someone once told me to ditch the stems.”
Remus looked around cautiously. Although they were in the forest, it would be easy to see what they were doing. Why did Sirius have to be so damn obvious about everything? And furthermore, what the hell was he doing smoking a god damn joint on school grounds. There was no reason for it, none at all. Sirius’ argument about the drug choices of the greater minds of the last two centuries was unconvincing, so was his claim that it enhanced muggle music. What did he know about it? Why did Remus always go along with whatever he did?
“There has to be a magical way of doing this.” Remus muttered.
“But this is a muggle thing. I like to use their stuff like they do. It’s all about consistency.” Sirius flickered his tongue against the edge of the parchment he rolled up. “Hmmmm, maybe this is too thick.”
“Let’s just get this over with.” Remus flickered his wand to ignite the joint. Sirius took the first hit, his cheeks caving in slightly as he inhaled. Without hesitating, he muffled his mouth against Remus’ shoulder, trying to suppress his cough.
“Here’s to stupidity.” Remus inhaled, and coughed as well. They remained silent as they passed the joint back and forth.
Finally, leaning against the tree and watching the sunset through the patches of the leaves above them, Sirius poked Remus.
“Feeling anything?”
“Not really.”
“Maybe we didn’t smoke enough.”
“Maybe someone sold you fake stuff.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Hold on.” Sirius exhaled loudly. “Let’s just sit here for a second, watch the sunset.”
When he got like this- quietly solemn and slightly self conscious, Remus excused six years of pranks, loudness and annoyance. He would feel honored to see this side of his friend, and he’d smile to himself at the idea that there were certain things about Sirius saved only for him. Kinda like the way James always came to him for advice.
Remus isn’t sure why his cheeks are feeling tingly, nor does he get why things are going in slow motion. He looks at Sirius, who is in deep thought, , and wonders if they can try and read each others minds.
“This,” Sirius said, pausing. “is fantastic.”
“Hey, have you heard of legillimency?”
“Um hum.”
“I wanna learn.”
“So would I. I think it’s elegant.” Sirius looked at his hands. “Elegant and sexy.”
“You’re kind of elegant.” Remus blurted. “Like cursive handwriting.”
“But not sexy?”
”That’s not up to me to say.”
“Cursive is good though, thank you.”
“So yeah, we should try it.” Remus brought them back to the original subject.
“I’m thinking way too many things right now.”
“So am I.”
“I wonder if were thinking the same thing.” Sirius mumbled.
“We’ll never know-“
“Because you can’t say it-“ Sirius cut him off.
“Only feel it.” Remus finished.
“Creepy.” Sirius paused. “So what makes me elegant?”
“God, I dunno. Sorry I said it.”
“No, it’s just that I thought that was a really cool thing for you to say.”
“I dunno Sirius. You’re an ass most of the time, but sometimes I see you genuinely interested during a lesson when you think nobody is looking. Or when you’re playing quidditch really gracefully, or just a few minutes ago, when you were watching the sun.”
“That was like, five hours ago.”
“Well, it’s almost just finished. We should get back before something eats us.”
“Nah, we’re cool.”
And Remus believed him. He knew that in his heart, Sirius knew these things.
“First star of the evening.” He said. “Make a wish.”
“You saw it, you make the wish.”
Sirius bit down on his lower lip. “I wish that there was no moon for you to fear.”
“Look, another star.”
“Your wish.”
“I wish…you had a decent family.”
They both noticed a third star. “Your turn.” Remus said.
“I wish Prongs and Evans would fuck already because it’s hard to sleep when you can hear him rustling the sheets.”
Remus laughed, Sirius laid down with his head in his lap, his hair fanned out across Remus’ leg. When Remus’ stroked his hair, he told himself that it was no different than petting padfoot.
“Why have you been so weird this year?”
“Weird?”
“Distant. Like you’re keeping something.”
What the fuck, Remus thought.
“I had a fling over the summer.” He announced.
“About fucking time!”
“It was with a guy.”
“About fucking time!” Sirius repeated.
“Did you just hear me?”
“I don’t need legilimency to get you. You find girls as fascinating as I do.”
“Sirius, you have a new one every week.”
“I have a delicate ego. I enjoy the flattery of being wanted.”
“But nothing else?”
“I enjoy my time with you, and with James. But if you’ve got some kind of boyfriend.”
“Sirius, I’m not about to up and have a boyfriend. You have to be quiet about this kind of stuff.”
“Not really. I mean, not with the people we surround ourselves with. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“I didn’t know you were as well.” Remus was waiting for the ‘surprise!’, the moment where their entire year pops out of the bushes to laugh. He knew that Sirius couldn’t be so cruel.
“Even if I wasn’t, you still should have told us.”
“And what, make you guys paranoid that I’m constantly staring?”
“Why not? I do it to you and James.”
Remus covered his eyes. “Too much happening at once.”
“C’mon Moony. Haven’t you ever thought there was something off about the three of us. Guys aren’t supposed to be close like we are. Haven’t you ever thought this wasn’t a normal friendship? That somehow there’s somethingk known between the three of us that isn’t really known?”
“We are different from the other guys.” He admitted.
“We,” Sirius paused. “are gifted.”
“Funny, I’d say we were cursed.”
Sirius’ expression dimmed. “You would say that.”
“This isn’t some great revelation, Sirius. You’re acting like the three of us are going to spend the rest of our lives destined together. Things are going to get weird. Then they’re going to get bad.”
“Well, we can’t promise the rest of our lives. But we could start by just screwing around a bit.”
The way his eyes became half lidded made Remus believe that his idea wasn’t half bad. His hand rested on Sirius’ chest, he leaned down to kiss him.
“Not without James.” Sirius pulled away before they could make contact. “If we’re going to do this, it’s going to be right.” Remus whimpered, but understood. They walked back to the common room in what felt like the longest trek of their lives.
James looked especially happy when he saw them.
“What are you so happy about?”
“You’ll see. I’ve booked your birthday celebration in an extra special venue.”
Remus nodded and fell into his bed. Within seconds, he was asleep.
“Will there be cake?” Sirius asked. “I’m so hungry!”
“What’s with you two?”
Sirius smiled. “We had a little fun in the forbidden forest.”
“Did you smoke and not invite me?”
“You’ll be with us next time. I wanted to try something out with him for once.”
“I know something you can try out with him.” James said mischievously.
“Funny you bring that up.” Sirius whispered. “Turns out he’s like us.”
“Us? You mean willing to try whatever out for the sake of curiosity and brotherhood like me, or in love with his best friend like you?”
”I dunno. That’s what the tree of us are going to figure out tonight.”
***
The thought of soiling the tables at the great hall kept James from sleeping. Sirius and Remus were napping, apparently tired from their smoking.
James thought about the idea of secrets for a while- the overwhelming power of shame or doubt that would make one believe it was stronger than the friendship that was left unaware of it. Sirius didn’t believe in secrets. Perhaps he should learn to adopt a few. He was never the type to take friendship for granted, thus managing to discuss everything from his shaky bowel movements, to his 5th year dissatisfaction with women to the 6th year vivid dream he had involving him and Moony on top of a desk during an unsupervised detention.
And so him and Sirius went through months of reasoning and revelation, admiration and aggravation.
Perhaps it only hit James recently. He never quite had anything particularly juicy to keep from his friends. If anything, there were small feelings or notions that went unsaid. For instance, he wasn’t about to admit the twinge of jealousy regarding Sirius and his werewolf pining. He was no longer the one he had to impress, and so Sirius employed his loyalty as a friend. James couldn’t blame either of them for future negligence if or when they came together. If Evans came knocking, which seemed pretty damn unlikely despite his best efforts, he knew that his focus would shift. Of course, their friendship would remain, they would just now have somebody new to live for.
James got the feeling that he was turning into a romantic.
He saw Remus turn in his bed, eyes squint shut, hands balled up. James would think he was having a nightmare, only he slept like this every night.
Peter entered their room, he looked at pads and moony passed out in their beds, and James sitting neatly on top of his bed, divination book open.
“It’s ten on a Friday. What the hell are they doing asleep?”
“I dunno. It’s not like there is an active Hogwarts night life they’re missing out on. If they want to sleep, all the more power to them.”
Peter shrugged and picked up a shirt of his from the ground, removing his button down and replacing it.
“Cassie and I are going to the shack tonight. She is so fucking easy.”
“Congratulations. Keep it down.”
“Why would we?”
“I’m talking about now, they’re sleeping.”
Peter looked both annoyed and discouraged as he left the room. James looked back at his two boys at smiled. Boys, well, they were all men now, weren’t they?
He was probably the only one who was going to genuinely miss Hogwarts. It was the end of their freedom, their gloy years. They had to now remain together would of choice rather than necessity. Something had to be cemented, they needed to go out with a bang.
Sirius woke up, looking bright and nocturnal in the dimmed light. He straightened out his outfit from earlier, stretched and got out of bed. As he walked past Remus’ bed, he looked positively joyful. He leaned over and kissed Remus’ forehead, gently brushing aside his hair. Only Sirius could make something motherly appear sexy. James couldn’t help but look on and give a slight smile when Sirius did the same to him.
“I’ve gotta piss.” He said, and left the room.
James looked back at Remus, as if to examine the specimen that he was giving his Sirius away to. Somedays, he felt as if he didn’t know this Remus Lupin character at all. He would admit that his interest hadn’t been peaked until recently- upon hearing about sides of him and only Sirius was able to see.
On the subject of secrets, he certainly had his share. Perhaps another thing that brought intrigue. James had the feeling that had they not found out about his whereabouts every full moon- he’d still keep them in the dark.
And so in the dark, James concluded, was where they needed to act.
***
“Hold the map.” Sirius whispered.
“What are we in, third year?” Remus tugged at the cloak, bringing it further towards him. They’d put an enlargement charm on it, but it was slipping around more than usual.
I can’t hold the map, I’m holding the green dragon.”
“Never mind. Got it. All is clear on the way to the hall.”
“This seems stupid, even for us.” Remus said. “The hall is wide open.”
“I called in a favor from the house elfs. Missy taught me how to put wards that make you go in the opposite direction. Who woulda thought she knew such good magic?”
“Anyways, we’re about to graduate. What are they going to do, kick us out of here?”
“And speaking of graduating, that’s the reason why we have to do all of this. Get it out of our system before we go on to lead respectable lives. This can just be a stupid school thing that we laugh about years later.”
Nobody said what this ‘thing’ was. Although, by the very productive events of this afternoon they had an idea.
“Plus, we couldn’t find you a decent enough present. So yeah..” Sirius said.
“Somehow I think this will do just fine.”
Sirius suddenly turned the map sideways. “Snape is right below us, on the other floor. What the hell is he doing up at this hour?”
“You’re one to talk.”
“Oh god, such a good opportunity, and nothing to do with it. Does somebody have dungbombs on them? Or maybe a piss filled water balloon.”
“Let’s not attract any more attention to ourselves.” Remus pleaded.
“How about in the spirit of graduation? I mean, after we leave, he’s going to be off doing voodoo or something. This may be the last chance we ever have to hex him. Is this really something you two want to pass up.”
“Never seeing him is a reward in its own.”
“Maybe.” James sighed. “We should retire from the whole business. Let the bastard live his life and let us live ours.”
“There is no retiring.” Sirius said dramatically. “We are bound to this man! Ground is being laid for our children here…”
“So our children could hate little Snapey children?”
“Do we really want our kids to be like us?” Remus pondered.
“Can you honestly imagine him having kids? It’s about as scary as me having them.” James led them downstairs.
As they neared the hall, they ran into Missy the house elf, who bowed to the three of them.
“Would masters like something to eat? Or something to drink?”
“That birthday cake on the table is fine, thank you Missy. We wont be needing any more help, so you all can go about your business.” James smiled as she scampered off. “They grow up so fast.”
“You didn’t have to go and have them make cake for me.”
“They love you! I told them you were turning eighteen and they said that you were going to get warm sheets for a month.”
Sirius kept the map folded out on the table. Every once in a while he’d stare at it longingly, as if he was observing the naked, sleeping body of a lover in bed next to him. As he grabbed the bottle that James handed him and took a deep chug, his eyes sparkled, despite the bitter alcohol reaction the rest of his face made.
“I was thinking.”
“Uh oh.” James hiccupped.
“We need a legacy.”
“Maybe it’s just me, but all of this nostalgia is getting a bit overdone.” Remus said. “These aren’t really supposed to be the best years of our lives.”
“Like it or not, this is all we know. Do you remember yourself before you came here?”
James wiped his mouth, which had become soaked with alcohol, and handed the bottle back to Sirius. “You need another drink.” He’d already had quite a few.
“You do have a point.” Remus was beginning to feel a bit tipsy. “We should pass the map down. No sense in letting us have all the fun. We’ll become cherished by Hogwarts students. They’ll build shrines.”
“You know what I always wanted to do.” Sirius said. Nobody responded, because they knew that with Sirius, it could be just about anything. He got up from his bench at the edge of the Gryffindor table and walked over to Ravenclaw to sit down.
“Holy shit! I’m a Ravenclaw!”
“How does it feel over there?”
“Liberating, you guys should try it.”
James walked over to hufflepuff, approaching their bench cautiously, then finally sitting down. Sirius sprang from Ravenclaw to jump atop of Slytherin. He walked on top of the table gracefully, coasting up and down.
“I’m so glad I’ve never had to sit here. That fucking hat was so close to putting me in with these shitheads.” Sirius began to tap dance, then he laid down across the tabletop, laughing to himself. “Ha! Little will these bastards know they’re going to have Gryffindor germs all over their table.”
Remus felt a wave of Gryffindor bravery go through him. Before he knew it, he was crawling onto the Slytherin table, straddling Sirius.
“You really want to stick it to them?” He asked. Sirius nodded.
Remus looked at James. “Come help us defile the Slytherin table.”
James made room for himself behind Sirius, propping him up so he could sit against his chest, while Remus remained straddled on his lap. Sirius tilted his head to the side, to allow James’ lips to meet his, while Remus hungrily pressed his mouth against the both of theirs. They explored around for a while, unsure of whose mouth was whose. James let out a particularly heartfelt moan which went straight to Remus’ cock, which inspired a trigger reaction from Sirius, who had him in his lap.
Everything moved so naturally, so fluidly, as if they were predisposed for this very event. There was no awkwardness when James removed Sirius’ shirt, nor was there self conscious giggling when Sirius ran his tongue against a recently formed scar on Remus’ thigh. When James and Remus fell into a particularly intense kiss, Sirius took the opportunity to sneak a hand below the waistband of their underwear and began stroking. Although he used the same rhythm and speed with both of his friends, mystified at how much better somebody else’s cock felt than his own, their reactions differed. James’ cries of approval were loud and sudden. He was easily overcome by the slightest variation of pressure or the feeling of Remus nipping at his neck. Remus’ used his breath to show satisfaction, and Sirius could tell he was on the brink of climax when he was pretty sure he was about to hyperventilate.
“How,” James began, “did we just think of this now?”
“Better late than never.” Sirius commented, then moaned as Remus pulled down his underwear and took him, all of him, into his mouth. As Remus smoothly and warmly allowed him to fuck his mouth, Sirius realized that he had to have done that before. His feelings of lust were suddenly overcome with the need of possession. As great as he was, and undoubtedly his experience brought that on, Sirius couldn’t deny the jealousy that he unjustifiably felt at the idea of somebody exploring a series of firsts with his Moony. Just as he knew that James would have preferred one night with Lily to a lifetime of this, Sirius knew that he was playing seconds to Remus and he wanted so much more.
James had been ravishing his mouth when Sirius pulled away, he gently lifted up Remus’ head and looked at them both. “This guy, did you fuck him?”
“No.”
“Did he fuck you?”
“No.”
“Would you like to with one of us?”
James smiled as he mussed Remus’ hair. “You two can do all of that. I’m perfectly fine with just sucking somebody off.”
“How noble.” Sirius reached for the bottle and drank. “God, I can’t even taste it anymore.”
“I feel like we should have a diagram or something.” Remus stared at their intertwined bodies. “Find a way to make everyone happy”
James assessed the situation like a quidditch move. “Okay, so how about one of you is on your knees, the other behind, and then I can lay down underneath-“
Sirius waved his hands frantically. “That’s no fair for you. Okay, here’s the deal. Remus, you’re on top because it’s your birthday and because I always envisioned you being the one doing the fucking- stop blushing, James, you lay down here, I’ll work on you while he’s doing me. Deal?”
“This is so romantic.” Remus deadpanned, but was still smiling despite himself. He didn’t really care if it was supposed to be the joke of the century once he saw Sirius’ naked body looming in front of him. Sirius was already sucking on James and doing a good job of it, based on James’ constant squirming and cries. Remus thanked his hopeful instincts that made him bring a small packet of lube. He kept it on him all summer, in case his judgment got the better of him and he actually went this far. His abstinence paid off- he was about to be the first to fuck Sirius Black.
And Sirius was begging for it.
Remus took a while to completely enter him, after making sure he was prepared enough. It was all new to him and he’d hate to not make it enjoyable so there weren’t future chances. Sirius and James kept themselves occupied as Sirius slowly explored James’ body with his tongue, returning to his cock after a few moments of exploration. He inhaled deeply and cried out an undistinguishable word as Remus entered him. The feeling was so overwhelming for Remus, he searched for something to grab a hold of to help contain himself.
“Oh, fuck me please!” Sirius whimpered, and Remus instinctively grabbed onto a small handful of his hair to bring them closer.
“Yes!” He cried in response.
James watched them both, occasionally closing his eyes from his own pleasure. He was the first to come, aided by the feel of Sirius’ moans against his cock. Remus threw finesse out the window and hammered into Sirius, hard enough and deep enough to make him continue moaning and shaking like he was. Finally, Remus came, screaming his name. Sirius, with the aid of James’ hand on his cock, followed suit and the three of them collapsed onto the Slytherin table, which was now soiled by three different men.
“Now,” James panted. “I think we’re officially ready to move on.”
“So you’ve got it out of your system?” Sirius asked.
James nodded. “That was fun.”
“Do you have it out of your system?” Sirius turned to Remus.
Remus curled against him, smiling. “Ask me in a few hours.”
They stopped off at the owlery before heading back to the common room, map clutched in their hands. Remus found a spare envelope and held it open, his hands shaking slightly.
”Are you sure we shouldn’t keep onto it, just until school ends?”
“I don’t see us sneaking around anymore. We can’t do much better than that.”
Sirius kissed the corner of the map, his lips trembling. “You’ve served us well.”
“Don’t forget us.” James added.
“And remember to help others as much as you have us.”
They placed the map and a page of instructions inside the envelope and wrote the name of a sly, talented forth year Gryffindor that they had always seen potential in.
“Give this to him tomorrow at breakfast.” James told the owl. “Don’t let anybody else see it.”
As they headed back into their rooms, James smiled as he heard Sirius leave his own bed fifteen minutes after laying down, then the sound of Curtains closing from Remus’ side of the room.
The next morning the three of them couldn’t conceal their delight at watching the slytherins eat. When that grew old, Sirius and Remus began to sink into their own world, a world that apparently began the moment Sirius left his bed to go into Remus’. And James was thrilled for them. Being left out was no longer an issue.
He had business of his own to tend to. And so he walked over to Evans, shook her hand, and asked her how she was doing.
Recipient: sioniann
Author: skyeathena
Pairing: James/Remus/Sirius.
Prompt:. a table in the Great Hall, an invisibility cloak, the Marauder's Map
Summary: Sexual revelations, gratuitous nostalgia, secrets, pot smoking, eternal brotherhood and imported alcohol. It is a birthday Remus will always remember, even if Sirius and James had initially forgot about it.
Notes: Somehow this became less about the smut, and more about my attempts at some form of a plot. You'll have to forgive me if it seems repetitious at times. Also forgive me for posting this at the end of the day! This was a fantastic prompt, and I had alot of fun! Hope you enjoy!
It really wasn’t their fault, so they shouldn’t have felt that guilty. When somebody’s birthday was coming up, they were reminded of it weeks beforehand. Peter received parcels of a new kind of cake from his mother- a hyper witch who made doting on her son into a profession. Sirius, when addressing the flock of especially pretty hufflepuffs, would nonchalantly announce that he had no plans for his birthday. James, whose birthday was in mid-July, arranged for everybody to meet up for a summertime reunion.
Remus Lupin did not tell anybody about his eighteenth birthday. He really wasn’t that concerned if people remembered or not. He definitely didn’t want a display made of it. That was just his style, you see. Sirius and James gave him anonymity. He was known because he was seen with them, but his mystery could remain intact. People were satisfied to only know his friendships, and maybe his talent at those more bookish classes when it came time for an exam based on the notes that they were too neglectful to take.
Early May was proving to be a surprisingly slow period for classes. They had grown used to, although not fond of, their immense NEWT coursework. However, the actual studying for the exams, wouldn’t begin for at least another good week.
And so Remus was well aware that his birthday would take place on yet another Friday, in yet another mischief packed day in Hogwarts. Sirius and James were discussing a recent quidditch trade that put a Hogwarts grad into a starting beater position. Peter was gazing at a shy fifth year Gryffindor named Cassie, who he had met at the library a week earlier. If Remus remembered correctly, he had accidentally listened into her admitting that she was looking for more ways to run into James, aka- the love of her life. In theory, her taking up with Peter was admirably Machiavellian, but in all actuality, James wouldn’t notice if Peter had grown a Siamese twin.
Remus turned his concentration back to his oatmeal and the various shapes it could take while cold.
“Look, a swan.” James observed.
“It’s not a swan, it’s a sailboat.” Sirius said.
“Maybe you should be the one wearing glasses. Nothing about that swan suggests aquatic adventure.”
“Yeah, well, nothing about Moony suggests that he would make a swan. I mean, who is he, Evans?”
“I heard that.” Lily called.
“Here’s your chance to prove this bastard wrong, Moony. Tell me it’s a swan.”
Remus looked down at his oatmeal sculpture. “I dunno. It looks like breakfast to me.”
“Merlin on a stick. This has to be the most boring conversation we’ve had. What are we supposed to do when the three of us are roommates? We’re doomed!”
Remus winced whenever Sirius said the word boring. It was usually following one of his own comments. Perhaps he noticed this about him, because he had made it an absolute staple into his dialogue. He could get away with it- the way he let the word hang and followed it with an air of superiority, as if it was a known fact that Sirius Black was meant for a life of non stop escapades, and that his friends should be a bit more accommodating of that.
“In case you haven’t noticed Pads, we’ve already been roommates for the past six years. Somehow I think we’ll manage.”
“Rub it in, you guys.” Peter sighed.
“You say that now. But when we’re nearing forty and reminiscing about the good old days when we were friends out of interest instead of habit, you’ll say ‘god, I wish I made my oatmeal into a sailboat’, because you know why? Sailboats are exciting. Swans are just full of themselves.”
The morning delivery owls swooped in, Remus was not surprised to see an envelope for himself, and he was a bit relieved that his mother had managed to write a letter in lieu of a card.
Remus,
We are all so proud of you. The day you were born, I knew (perhaps from your lovely parents, or just the look in your eyes) that you would you would turn into an upstanding, honorable man. Never did I imagine that your strength would be tested so early, and yet, you’ve lived your life with the kind of grace and dignity that few could muster. Today, you turn eighteen. You have an entire adulthood of tomorrows, we hope you enjoy them all. You seem to have your father’s trait of practicality, so we were all at a loss of what to get you. So, to be practical we put together our money and opened up an account for you at Gringotts- this way you can take a few months off to get settled into your new home and still be able to pay the rent. Sorry we’re not more creative!
Lots of love,
The family.
Sirius frowned as he looked at the back of the parchment. Although he would have ripped up a letter from his mother, he couldn’t help but resent the fact that he never received any. From folks outside Hogwarts, anyways.
“My family put together an account, to help me out with rent.”
“I told you, I’ve got the place covered.”
“Sirius, I’m paying rent. That’s what people do. I don’t want to live off you.”
“You’re not. You’re going to cook.”
“Why are you having me cook? Let me just pay my share.”
“You look like the type who would be good at it. You’re the most meticulous person we know, outside of Snivellius who would probably serve just as well. He could grease up our pans and all.”
James snorted.
The three of them had been plotting their place for months- they had found a spacious, although stark, three bedroom flat near diagon alley. The details were already cemented, and Remus got the feeling that sometimes information was repeated simply to annoy Peter who already had a place waiting for him in hogsmeade.
The owls were just about leaving, although one confused looking brown one came in late, dropping a heavy, thickly wrapped package onto James’ lap.
“From my summer girlfriend.” He said loud enough for Lily to hear. “She’s older, so she is able to send concealed goodies.”
Peter looked at the large bottle in James’ hand. “Why would she send you aftershave? Don’t you already have an extra bottle?”
Among Peter’s talents, he enjoyed cataloging and doing inventory on everybody’s items. It was a helpful, although sometimes creepy trait of his.
“Did you not hear my clever lead in?” James asked. “This, my confused friend, is not aftershave.”
Sirius put his nose to the bottle and smiled. “Green dragon? She must have sold her virginity for this.”
“What’s so special about it?” Remus asked, confused. “Why not just drink firewhiskey.”
“My dear moony, how are you supposed to pursue a career as a sweater-wearing intellectual if you can’t appreciate a classy drink?” Sirius asked.
“Somehow I don’t think bringing this up to the shake for a game of ‘guess whose tits I saw’ qualifies as classy.”
“Last night Cassie showed me hers, by the way.” Peter said.
“Remus-“ James interrupted. “You are exactly right. We’re saving this for something special.”
“Post-newt celebration?”
“Maybe a pre-newt celebration.” Sirius had a crazed look in his eyes. Exams hadn’t crossed his mind yet. He had instinct when it came to tests.
“You know, that isn’t a half bad idea.” James began. “It would loosen us up, calm the nerves.”
”I can’t believe you guys are considering this. I mean, I hate to sound like a prefect, but there are certain lines one shouldn’t cross.”
”Speaking of crossing lines.” Sirius leaned over to whisper in his ear. Remus could feel the buzz from his voice and shuttered slightly. “Yesterday I scored some grass, so you’re coming with me to the forest after classes.”
“What about the others?” He whispered back.
“You’re the only one I want to try with.”
“Why?”
Sirius shrugged. “You know cool stuff. Stuff I think I’d be into if I was baked.”
James looked at the mass of people getting up from their tables. “History of Magic time. Remus, could you take notes for me on the centaur hunting of the eighteen hundreds. I think I may do our final paper on that.”
“Or you could just do it yourself.”
“Could I?”
Classes went by surprisingly fast. They found themselves taking time out of lunch to do a quick, no-brainer Divination assignment based on Astrology. Lily had joined them, which meant she’d only wanted to work with Remus while James and Sirius naturally invited themselves to the impromptu study session.
“She wants us to try on somebody else. Remus, when were you born?”
“Today, actually.”
“Really? Happy birthday!” She leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek.
“Honestly Evans, you’d think you’d know by know after all these years of supposedly being his friend.” James huffed. Remus was well aware that him and Sirius had exchanged guilt ridden looks of surprise when he mentioned it. It made him want to laugh.
“So what do you have planned for the day?”
“I dunno.”
Sirius slung his arm around his shoulder. “What he means to say is that he’s not at liberty to say. But, we have a whole evening of events lined up for him. Don’t we James?”
“Too many things to speak of.”
”This is news to me.”
“Well Lily went and ruined the surprise, didn’t she?”
Lily rolled her eyes. “If you ever need a new group of friends, Remus…”
“I’ll know where to knock.” He smiled.
“Oh.” Sirius sighed dramatically. “How boring your life would be without us.”
There it was again. His use of boring. Remus didn’t wince so much as chastise himself for watching Sirius’ mouth in fascination when he said the word. Perhaps their conversations with him would be more interesting if they knew the things unsaid, or the events of the past summer when Remus realized that his own boredom- the one he usually felt during his rare physical encounters, vanished when the recipient was male instead of female.
The guy had been a muggle farm boy who worked shirtless on the land next door to the unkempt but spacious lot in the countryside that they’d recently acquired through a dead great aunt. It had taken them a while to start talking, and their conversation wasn’t that fascinating. So much of Remus’ life had been tied in the wizarding world that he felt like a hollow representation of what he could have been had that letter not arrived at his door when he was eleven.
They’d hooked up without admissions or pretense. It was simply something to do, and it was fantastic. And here he was now, his seventh year and feeling guilty of crimes he didn’t commit. When James would stretch out in his bed upon waking up, Remus remembered what if felt like to run his tongue against that hairy trail exposed below his navel. And when Sirius would get hit with a particularly nasty bludger, Remus would run a washcloth against his bare back with a distant expression.
It wasn’t as if he was targeting his two best friends, he just missed the idea of having another person around. After all, he’d gone so long without knowing it. That thing. Everybody else seemed to know it. And so everything made sense now. Why had Shakespeare been considered so great. Why prostitution was the oldest profession. Why common sense was thrown out the window for the sake of love or sex.
Hence his recent fascination with James and Sirius. He liked them both equally, as a single unit, or a concept, a package deal. Were he to target one, then he should perhaps become worried.
It is later now. They’re sitting in the forest, Remus and Sirius.
“I don’t think you’re doing it right.” Remus said, sitting up straight to look at Sirius’ attempt at a joint.
“The guy told me to use papers.”
“But I think parchment is too thick. We should have asked somebody.”
“And admit that we haven’t done this before. It would shatter our image. I guarantee you, it is widely assumed that we probably smoke for breakfast. How else could we be so funny and fascinating.”
“Or lazy and dimwitted.”
“I need a flat surface. Give me your history of magic book.”
“I will not defile my academia with drugs.” Remus looked through his bad. “You can use my parchment for McGonagall.”
Sirius picked around, throwing bits and pieces in the grass.
“Why are you getting rid of it?”
“Someone once told me to ditch the stems.”
Remus looked around cautiously. Although they were in the forest, it would be easy to see what they were doing. Why did Sirius have to be so damn obvious about everything? And furthermore, what the hell was he doing smoking a god damn joint on school grounds. There was no reason for it, none at all. Sirius’ argument about the drug choices of the greater minds of the last two centuries was unconvincing, so was his claim that it enhanced muggle music. What did he know about it? Why did Remus always go along with whatever he did?
“There has to be a magical way of doing this.” Remus muttered.
“But this is a muggle thing. I like to use their stuff like they do. It’s all about consistency.” Sirius flickered his tongue against the edge of the parchment he rolled up. “Hmmmm, maybe this is too thick.”
“Let’s just get this over with.” Remus flickered his wand to ignite the joint. Sirius took the first hit, his cheeks caving in slightly as he inhaled. Without hesitating, he muffled his mouth against Remus’ shoulder, trying to suppress his cough.
“Here’s to stupidity.” Remus inhaled, and coughed as well. They remained silent as they passed the joint back and forth.
Finally, leaning against the tree and watching the sunset through the patches of the leaves above them, Sirius poked Remus.
“Feeling anything?”
“Not really.”
“Maybe we didn’t smoke enough.”
“Maybe someone sold you fake stuff.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Hold on.” Sirius exhaled loudly. “Let’s just sit here for a second, watch the sunset.”
When he got like this- quietly solemn and slightly self conscious, Remus excused six years of pranks, loudness and annoyance. He would feel honored to see this side of his friend, and he’d smile to himself at the idea that there were certain things about Sirius saved only for him. Kinda like the way James always came to him for advice.
Remus isn’t sure why his cheeks are feeling tingly, nor does he get why things are going in slow motion. He looks at Sirius, who is in deep thought, , and wonders if they can try and read each others minds.
“This,” Sirius said, pausing. “is fantastic.”
“Hey, have you heard of legillimency?”
“Um hum.”
“I wanna learn.”
“So would I. I think it’s elegant.” Sirius looked at his hands. “Elegant and sexy.”
“You’re kind of elegant.” Remus blurted. “Like cursive handwriting.”
“But not sexy?”
”That’s not up to me to say.”
“Cursive is good though, thank you.”
“So yeah, we should try it.” Remus brought them back to the original subject.
“I’m thinking way too many things right now.”
“So am I.”
“I wonder if were thinking the same thing.” Sirius mumbled.
“We’ll never know-“
“Because you can’t say it-“ Sirius cut him off.
“Only feel it.” Remus finished.
“Creepy.” Sirius paused. “So what makes me elegant?”
“God, I dunno. Sorry I said it.”
“No, it’s just that I thought that was a really cool thing for you to say.”
“I dunno Sirius. You’re an ass most of the time, but sometimes I see you genuinely interested during a lesson when you think nobody is looking. Or when you’re playing quidditch really gracefully, or just a few minutes ago, when you were watching the sun.”
“That was like, five hours ago.”
“Well, it’s almost just finished. We should get back before something eats us.”
“Nah, we’re cool.”
And Remus believed him. He knew that in his heart, Sirius knew these things.
“First star of the evening.” He said. “Make a wish.”
“You saw it, you make the wish.”
Sirius bit down on his lower lip. “I wish that there was no moon for you to fear.”
“Look, another star.”
“Your wish.”
“I wish…you had a decent family.”
They both noticed a third star. “Your turn.” Remus said.
“I wish Prongs and Evans would fuck already because it’s hard to sleep when you can hear him rustling the sheets.”
Remus laughed, Sirius laid down with his head in his lap, his hair fanned out across Remus’ leg. When Remus’ stroked his hair, he told himself that it was no different than petting padfoot.
“Why have you been so weird this year?”
“Weird?”
“Distant. Like you’re keeping something.”
What the fuck, Remus thought.
“I had a fling over the summer.” He announced.
“About fucking time!”
“It was with a guy.”
“About fucking time!” Sirius repeated.
“Did you just hear me?”
“I don’t need legilimency to get you. You find girls as fascinating as I do.”
“Sirius, you have a new one every week.”
“I have a delicate ego. I enjoy the flattery of being wanted.”
“But nothing else?”
“I enjoy my time with you, and with James. But if you’ve got some kind of boyfriend.”
“Sirius, I’m not about to up and have a boyfriend. You have to be quiet about this kind of stuff.”
“Not really. I mean, not with the people we surround ourselves with. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“I didn’t know you were as well.” Remus was waiting for the ‘surprise!’, the moment where their entire year pops out of the bushes to laugh. He knew that Sirius couldn’t be so cruel.
“Even if I wasn’t, you still should have told us.”
“And what, make you guys paranoid that I’m constantly staring?”
“Why not? I do it to you and James.”
Remus covered his eyes. “Too much happening at once.”
“C’mon Moony. Haven’t you ever thought there was something off about the three of us. Guys aren’t supposed to be close like we are. Haven’t you ever thought this wasn’t a normal friendship? That somehow there’s somethingk known between the three of us that isn’t really known?”
“We are different from the other guys.” He admitted.
“We,” Sirius paused. “are gifted.”
“Funny, I’d say we were cursed.”
Sirius’ expression dimmed. “You would say that.”
“This isn’t some great revelation, Sirius. You’re acting like the three of us are going to spend the rest of our lives destined together. Things are going to get weird. Then they’re going to get bad.”
“Well, we can’t promise the rest of our lives. But we could start by just screwing around a bit.”
The way his eyes became half lidded made Remus believe that his idea wasn’t half bad. His hand rested on Sirius’ chest, he leaned down to kiss him.
“Not without James.” Sirius pulled away before they could make contact. “If we’re going to do this, it’s going to be right.” Remus whimpered, but understood. They walked back to the common room in what felt like the longest trek of their lives.
James looked especially happy when he saw them.
“What are you so happy about?”
“You’ll see. I’ve booked your birthday celebration in an extra special venue.”
Remus nodded and fell into his bed. Within seconds, he was asleep.
“Will there be cake?” Sirius asked. “I’m so hungry!”
“What’s with you two?”
Sirius smiled. “We had a little fun in the forbidden forest.”
“Did you smoke and not invite me?”
“You’ll be with us next time. I wanted to try something out with him for once.”
“I know something you can try out with him.” James said mischievously.
“Funny you bring that up.” Sirius whispered. “Turns out he’s like us.”
“Us? You mean willing to try whatever out for the sake of curiosity and brotherhood like me, or in love with his best friend like you?”
”I dunno. That’s what the tree of us are going to figure out tonight.”
***
The thought of soiling the tables at the great hall kept James from sleeping. Sirius and Remus were napping, apparently tired from their smoking.
James thought about the idea of secrets for a while- the overwhelming power of shame or doubt that would make one believe it was stronger than the friendship that was left unaware of it. Sirius didn’t believe in secrets. Perhaps he should learn to adopt a few. He was never the type to take friendship for granted, thus managing to discuss everything from his shaky bowel movements, to his 5th year dissatisfaction with women to the 6th year vivid dream he had involving him and Moony on top of a desk during an unsupervised detention.
And so him and Sirius went through months of reasoning and revelation, admiration and aggravation.
Perhaps it only hit James recently. He never quite had anything particularly juicy to keep from his friends. If anything, there were small feelings or notions that went unsaid. For instance, he wasn’t about to admit the twinge of jealousy regarding Sirius and his werewolf pining. He was no longer the one he had to impress, and so Sirius employed his loyalty as a friend. James couldn’t blame either of them for future negligence if or when they came together. If Evans came knocking, which seemed pretty damn unlikely despite his best efforts, he knew that his focus would shift. Of course, their friendship would remain, they would just now have somebody new to live for.
James got the feeling that he was turning into a romantic.
He saw Remus turn in his bed, eyes squint shut, hands balled up. James would think he was having a nightmare, only he slept like this every night.
Peter entered their room, he looked at pads and moony passed out in their beds, and James sitting neatly on top of his bed, divination book open.
“It’s ten on a Friday. What the hell are they doing asleep?”
“I dunno. It’s not like there is an active Hogwarts night life they’re missing out on. If they want to sleep, all the more power to them.”
Peter shrugged and picked up a shirt of his from the ground, removing his button down and replacing it.
“Cassie and I are going to the shack tonight. She is so fucking easy.”
“Congratulations. Keep it down.”
“Why would we?”
“I’m talking about now, they’re sleeping.”
Peter looked both annoyed and discouraged as he left the room. James looked back at his two boys at smiled. Boys, well, they were all men now, weren’t they?
He was probably the only one who was going to genuinely miss Hogwarts. It was the end of their freedom, their gloy years. They had to now remain together would of choice rather than necessity. Something had to be cemented, they needed to go out with a bang.
Sirius woke up, looking bright and nocturnal in the dimmed light. He straightened out his outfit from earlier, stretched and got out of bed. As he walked past Remus’ bed, he looked positively joyful. He leaned over and kissed Remus’ forehead, gently brushing aside his hair. Only Sirius could make something motherly appear sexy. James couldn’t help but look on and give a slight smile when Sirius did the same to him.
“I’ve gotta piss.” He said, and left the room.
James looked back at Remus, as if to examine the specimen that he was giving his Sirius away to. Somedays, he felt as if he didn’t know this Remus Lupin character at all. He would admit that his interest hadn’t been peaked until recently- upon hearing about sides of him and only Sirius was able to see.
On the subject of secrets, he certainly had his share. Perhaps another thing that brought intrigue. James had the feeling that had they not found out about his whereabouts every full moon- he’d still keep them in the dark.
And so in the dark, James concluded, was where they needed to act.
***
“Hold the map.” Sirius whispered.
“What are we in, third year?” Remus tugged at the cloak, bringing it further towards him. They’d put an enlargement charm on it, but it was slipping around more than usual.
I can’t hold the map, I’m holding the green dragon.”
“Never mind. Got it. All is clear on the way to the hall.”
“This seems stupid, even for us.” Remus said. “The hall is wide open.”
“I called in a favor from the house elfs. Missy taught me how to put wards that make you go in the opposite direction. Who woulda thought she knew such good magic?”
“Anyways, we’re about to graduate. What are they going to do, kick us out of here?”
“And speaking of graduating, that’s the reason why we have to do all of this. Get it out of our system before we go on to lead respectable lives. This can just be a stupid school thing that we laugh about years later.”
Nobody said what this ‘thing’ was. Although, by the very productive events of this afternoon they had an idea.
“Plus, we couldn’t find you a decent enough present. So yeah..” Sirius said.
“Somehow I think this will do just fine.”
Sirius suddenly turned the map sideways. “Snape is right below us, on the other floor. What the hell is he doing up at this hour?”
“You’re one to talk.”
“Oh god, such a good opportunity, and nothing to do with it. Does somebody have dungbombs on them? Or maybe a piss filled water balloon.”
“Let’s not attract any more attention to ourselves.” Remus pleaded.
“How about in the spirit of graduation? I mean, after we leave, he’s going to be off doing voodoo or something. This may be the last chance we ever have to hex him. Is this really something you two want to pass up.”
“Never seeing him is a reward in its own.”
“Maybe.” James sighed. “We should retire from the whole business. Let the bastard live his life and let us live ours.”
“There is no retiring.” Sirius said dramatically. “We are bound to this man! Ground is being laid for our children here…”
“So our children could hate little Snapey children?”
“Do we really want our kids to be like us?” Remus pondered.
“Can you honestly imagine him having kids? It’s about as scary as me having them.” James led them downstairs.
As they neared the hall, they ran into Missy the house elf, who bowed to the three of them.
“Would masters like something to eat? Or something to drink?”
“That birthday cake on the table is fine, thank you Missy. We wont be needing any more help, so you all can go about your business.” James smiled as she scampered off. “They grow up so fast.”
“You didn’t have to go and have them make cake for me.”
“They love you! I told them you were turning eighteen and they said that you were going to get warm sheets for a month.”
Sirius kept the map folded out on the table. Every once in a while he’d stare at it longingly, as if he was observing the naked, sleeping body of a lover in bed next to him. As he grabbed the bottle that James handed him and took a deep chug, his eyes sparkled, despite the bitter alcohol reaction the rest of his face made.
“I was thinking.”
“Uh oh.” James hiccupped.
“We need a legacy.”
“Maybe it’s just me, but all of this nostalgia is getting a bit overdone.” Remus said. “These aren’t really supposed to be the best years of our lives.”
“Like it or not, this is all we know. Do you remember yourself before you came here?”
James wiped his mouth, which had become soaked with alcohol, and handed the bottle back to Sirius. “You need another drink.” He’d already had quite a few.
“You do have a point.” Remus was beginning to feel a bit tipsy. “We should pass the map down. No sense in letting us have all the fun. We’ll become cherished by Hogwarts students. They’ll build shrines.”
“You know what I always wanted to do.” Sirius said. Nobody responded, because they knew that with Sirius, it could be just about anything. He got up from his bench at the edge of the Gryffindor table and walked over to Ravenclaw to sit down.
“Holy shit! I’m a Ravenclaw!”
“How does it feel over there?”
“Liberating, you guys should try it.”
James walked over to hufflepuff, approaching their bench cautiously, then finally sitting down. Sirius sprang from Ravenclaw to jump atop of Slytherin. He walked on top of the table gracefully, coasting up and down.
“I’m so glad I’ve never had to sit here. That fucking hat was so close to putting me in with these shitheads.” Sirius began to tap dance, then he laid down across the tabletop, laughing to himself. “Ha! Little will these bastards know they’re going to have Gryffindor germs all over their table.”
Remus felt a wave of Gryffindor bravery go through him. Before he knew it, he was crawling onto the Slytherin table, straddling Sirius.
“You really want to stick it to them?” He asked. Sirius nodded.
Remus looked at James. “Come help us defile the Slytherin table.”
James made room for himself behind Sirius, propping him up so he could sit against his chest, while Remus remained straddled on his lap. Sirius tilted his head to the side, to allow James’ lips to meet his, while Remus hungrily pressed his mouth against the both of theirs. They explored around for a while, unsure of whose mouth was whose. James let out a particularly heartfelt moan which went straight to Remus’ cock, which inspired a trigger reaction from Sirius, who had him in his lap.
Everything moved so naturally, so fluidly, as if they were predisposed for this very event. There was no awkwardness when James removed Sirius’ shirt, nor was there self conscious giggling when Sirius ran his tongue against a recently formed scar on Remus’ thigh. When James and Remus fell into a particularly intense kiss, Sirius took the opportunity to sneak a hand below the waistband of their underwear and began stroking. Although he used the same rhythm and speed with both of his friends, mystified at how much better somebody else’s cock felt than his own, their reactions differed. James’ cries of approval were loud and sudden. He was easily overcome by the slightest variation of pressure or the feeling of Remus nipping at his neck. Remus’ used his breath to show satisfaction, and Sirius could tell he was on the brink of climax when he was pretty sure he was about to hyperventilate.
“How,” James began, “did we just think of this now?”
“Better late than never.” Sirius commented, then moaned as Remus pulled down his underwear and took him, all of him, into his mouth. As Remus smoothly and warmly allowed him to fuck his mouth, Sirius realized that he had to have done that before. His feelings of lust were suddenly overcome with the need of possession. As great as he was, and undoubtedly his experience brought that on, Sirius couldn’t deny the jealousy that he unjustifiably felt at the idea of somebody exploring a series of firsts with his Moony. Just as he knew that James would have preferred one night with Lily to a lifetime of this, Sirius knew that he was playing seconds to Remus and he wanted so much more.
James had been ravishing his mouth when Sirius pulled away, he gently lifted up Remus’ head and looked at them both. “This guy, did you fuck him?”
“No.”
“Did he fuck you?”
“No.”
“Would you like to with one of us?”
James smiled as he mussed Remus’ hair. “You two can do all of that. I’m perfectly fine with just sucking somebody off.”
“How noble.” Sirius reached for the bottle and drank. “God, I can’t even taste it anymore.”
“I feel like we should have a diagram or something.” Remus stared at their intertwined bodies. “Find a way to make everyone happy”
James assessed the situation like a quidditch move. “Okay, so how about one of you is on your knees, the other behind, and then I can lay down underneath-“
Sirius waved his hands frantically. “That’s no fair for you. Okay, here’s the deal. Remus, you’re on top because it’s your birthday and because I always envisioned you being the one doing the fucking- stop blushing, James, you lay down here, I’ll work on you while he’s doing me. Deal?”
“This is so romantic.” Remus deadpanned, but was still smiling despite himself. He didn’t really care if it was supposed to be the joke of the century once he saw Sirius’ naked body looming in front of him. Sirius was already sucking on James and doing a good job of it, based on James’ constant squirming and cries. Remus thanked his hopeful instincts that made him bring a small packet of lube. He kept it on him all summer, in case his judgment got the better of him and he actually went this far. His abstinence paid off- he was about to be the first to fuck Sirius Black.
And Sirius was begging for it.
Remus took a while to completely enter him, after making sure he was prepared enough. It was all new to him and he’d hate to not make it enjoyable so there weren’t future chances. Sirius and James kept themselves occupied as Sirius slowly explored James’ body with his tongue, returning to his cock after a few moments of exploration. He inhaled deeply and cried out an undistinguishable word as Remus entered him. The feeling was so overwhelming for Remus, he searched for something to grab a hold of to help contain himself.
“Oh, fuck me please!” Sirius whimpered, and Remus instinctively grabbed onto a small handful of his hair to bring them closer.
“Yes!” He cried in response.
James watched them both, occasionally closing his eyes from his own pleasure. He was the first to come, aided by the feel of Sirius’ moans against his cock. Remus threw finesse out the window and hammered into Sirius, hard enough and deep enough to make him continue moaning and shaking like he was. Finally, Remus came, screaming his name. Sirius, with the aid of James’ hand on his cock, followed suit and the three of them collapsed onto the Slytherin table, which was now soiled by three different men.
“Now,” James panted. “I think we’re officially ready to move on.”
“So you’ve got it out of your system?” Sirius asked.
James nodded. “That was fun.”
“Do you have it out of your system?” Sirius turned to Remus.
Remus curled against him, smiling. “Ask me in a few hours.”
They stopped off at the owlery before heading back to the common room, map clutched in their hands. Remus found a spare envelope and held it open, his hands shaking slightly.
”Are you sure we shouldn’t keep onto it, just until school ends?”
“I don’t see us sneaking around anymore. We can’t do much better than that.”
Sirius kissed the corner of the map, his lips trembling. “You’ve served us well.”
“Don’t forget us.” James added.
“And remember to help others as much as you have us.”
They placed the map and a page of instructions inside the envelope and wrote the name of a sly, talented forth year Gryffindor that they had always seen potential in.
“Give this to him tomorrow at breakfast.” James told the owl. “Don’t let anybody else see it.”
As they headed back into their rooms, James smiled as he heard Sirius leave his own bed fifteen minutes after laying down, then the sound of Curtains closing from Remus’ side of the room.
The next morning the three of them couldn’t conceal their delight at watching the slytherins eat. When that grew old, Sirius and Remus began to sink into their own world, a world that apparently began the moment Sirius left his bed to go into Remus’. And James was thrilled for them. Being left out was no longer an issue.
He had business of his own to tend to. And so he walked over to Evans, shook her hand, and asked her how she was doing.