Duelling Club - Dogwood wand

Prompts: (pairing) Wolfstar, (character) Peter Pettigrew, (item) cardigan, (quote) "when I am with you, the only place I want to be is closer", (word) adorable.

Triwizard Tournament - The Goblet of Fire

(character) James Potter, (HoH OTP) Wolfstar, (genre) fluff, (restriction) must start and end with the same word.

Thanks to Writing Block and The Kawaii Neko for betaing!

Word count: 5,227.

Sirius took a deep breath, checking his cardigan in the mirror. Moony liked cardigans… didn't he? He stood there for a moment, toying with the dark green edge. Dark green?

He shrugged the cardigan off as though it were filled with ants, wriggling his body until it fell to the floor, landing atop a growing mound of rejected clothes. Sirius ignored it, kicking the clothes out of the way as he returned to the mirror. His usually wavy, perfect hair seemed dull and drab, nearly as messy as James's after pulling so many shirts over his head. His usually sparkling white teeth seemed yellowing, and Sirius rushed to the bathroom to brush his teeth for the fourth time that day.

That was when the doorbell rang.

Please be Prongs, please be Prongs, Sirius prayed in his mind as he rinsed his mouth, before taking the stairs two at a time. Remus had an annoying, endearing habit of being perpetually early. And Sirius was running late.

The doorbell rang again.

Sirius bounded down the corridor and wrenched the door open. Leaning against the brick wall of the porch was James, one eyebrow raised as he took in Sirius' appearance.

'Is that a new look you're trying out?' he asked. 'Partial nudity?'

'Shut up,' Sirius growled, grabbing ahold of James's collar and pulling him through the doorway. 'I need your help.'

'Yeah, I gathered that after you screamed "HELP PRONGS HELP" in our mirror,' James replied dryly, following Sirius back up the stairs. 'Why didn't you want to come to my place, anyway? Why invite us to Grimmauld Place?'

'Because my parents and brother aren't here, and your parents are at yours,' Sirius replied over his shoulder.

'You love my parents!' James exclaimed, affronted.

'Yes, but Euphy will ruin everything,' Sirius complained, throwing himself on his bed face down. His voice was muffled as he talked into his sheets. 'She'll realise I'm trying to seduce Moony and will tease me until I die.'

James burst out laughing. Sirius frowned into his duvet.

'It's not funny.'

'Oh, yes it is, Padfoot,' James replied, gingerly stepping around the piles of clothes to sit on Sirius's bed. 'So why am I here? I don't want to be your third wheel, no offense.'

Sirius flopped around so that he was lying face up.

'You need to distract Kreacher,' he said. 'I can't have him making Moony feel uncomfortable. And he's rude, the little git.'

'Oh yeah,' James remembered. 'He knows Moony's a werewolf, doesn't he?'

'Thanks to our stupid thirteen-year-old selves getting drunk that one time,' Sirius nodded glumly. 'Thankfully, I was able to order him to shut up about it in front of the parents.'

The two were silent for a moment, basking in their mutual shame.

'But we're fifteen now,' James said brightly, changing the subject. 'What's the emergency, then? Moony's not coming for another hour.'

'The emergency,' Sirius said slowly, 'is that I have nothing to wear!'

He gave a dramatic sweep of his arm, as if to show that his clothes were all useless. James dutifully got up to look through the various piles, but his face was pulled into a puzzled expression and his eyes kept darting back to the other occupant of the room.

'Um… I'm really flattered, Padfoot, but isn't Wormtail the clothing expert? None of these are stained, so they all look fine to me,' he said, picking up the green cardigan and shrugging.

'Not that one!' Sirius cried, snatching the offending object from James's fingers and throwing it into an open chest of drawers. 'Green's a Slytherin colour, and I don't want Moony thinking of Snivellus when he looks at me.'

'All right,' James replied warily, casting about for another item of clothing.

'And I don't want to disturb Wormtail before his big date,' Sirius added by way of explanation. 'I set him up with Mary McDonald and I don't want him getting cold feet because of a minor incident here.'

'I'm proud of you, Sirius', James said, turning to look at his friend. 'There was a time when you wouldn't have hesitated to pull Wormy out of whatever he was doing.'

'Yeah, well, I also didn't want him spying on us when I make my move,' Sirius admitted. 'You know he's curious. I wouldn't put it past him to sit there in rat form. It's what I would do if I had his Animagus.'

'Sirius!' James admonished, throwing some dress robes at his friend. 'That wasn't very nice. And those are way over the top.'

'I know,' Sirius sighed, folding his robes. 'But the purple really brings out my eyes. And don't deny that you would do that too!'

'Yeah, but that's beside the point! I don't go around admitting it,' James declared, as if that made all the difference in the world. 'How about this?' He threw a light grey jumper at Sirius.

'Warm, sophisticated, but still soft to the touch,' Sirius commented, running his hands over sleeves, before holding it up. 'It's got a slight V, but nothing too deep. Good choice James.'

'Finally,' James huffed, rolling his eyes as he gathered the rest of his friend's clothes and shoved them in the wardrobe. 'So is that all?'

'All?' Sirius asked. 'Oh no, we're just getting started. Take a seat on the bed; I need to comb my hair, and it might take a while. You can keep yourself occupied by talking strategy with me.'

James jumped onto Sirius's bed, moving up and down in his seat to test the springs.

'You know, you could have invited us on a different day,' he said suddenly. 'Wormtail's better than me when it comes to getting ready. And getting the girl, or guy, in this case.' James's face fell, and he looked at the floor. 'I mean, what do I know? I'm just the idiot who has been pining after the same girl for four years.'

'That's exactly why I asked you, Prongs.' Sirius looked at him through the mirror, his grey eyes softening. 'I know I'm always talking about conquests and stuff, but Moony is different. I want Moony to be my Lilyflower. And if I'm completely honest, Wormy always tries to go after the same person as me. I'm worried… I'm worried that if Moony had to choose, he'd pick Wormtail, because he's more serious than me. No pun intended.'

James didn't even laugh at the joke, instead looking at Sirius thoughtfully. 'So you really mean it? You really like Moony?'

'Of course!' Sirius threw his free hand up in frustration. 'Didn't I already tell you that?'

'I thought it was a joke,' James said sheepishly. 'I thought you just wanted to prank Moony.'

'Come on, James,' Sirius frowned. 'That's mean, even for me.'

James started. Sirius never called him by his real name unless he really was… serious. His face split into a grin and he jumped up to caper about the room.

'Padfoot's in looooove! Oh, this is just adorable! So cute!' he gushed. 'Tell me everything; when did you realise you liked Moony? Does he make you smile when you wake up in the morning, just like my Lilyflower? Does Moony even like guys too?'

James stopped short, clapping his hand to his mouth.

Sirius's mouth dropped open, his comb clattering to the floor. Did Moony like guys? He hadn't even stopped to ask himself the question. James caught his look.

'I'm sure it'll be fine, Padfoot.'

Sirius wasn't sure. He wasn't sure at all.

'Kreacher!' James called. 'Hey, Kreacher!'

There was no response.

'He's around here somewhere,' Sirius muttered, before bellowing. 'Get your puny house-elf arse down here, right now! That's an order!'

A decrepit house-elf popped into existence, bowing low and muttering insults under his breath. James had met Kreacher once before, but he had forgotten how unlike he was to Milly, his parents' bright and cheerful elf, who enjoyed making biscuits at all times of day.

'Listen, you maggot,' Sirius said, barely looking at Kreacher. 'You're going to do whatever James says for the rest of the evening. That is also an order.'

'As master wishes,' Kreacher said, giving them a sickly sweet smile and bowing until his nose scraped the floor, continuing quietly, 'Mistress will not be happy when she hears about this, not happy at all. Oh, if only Master Regulus-'

'Master Regulus is out,' Sirius snapped, just as three knocks sounded at the door. Immediately, his face took on a worried expression. 'James, quick, how do I look-'

'You look fine, Padfoot, you really do,' James interrupted, before Sirius could work himself into a state. 'And it's only Moony. He's seen you when you've just woken up.'

'Just Moony,' Sirius repeated, tugging at his hair. 'Yeah…'

James watched Sirius shakily walk down the hallway for a few seconds, before remembering why he had been invited in the first place. He looked down at Kreacher, who was busy glaring at him with mistrustful eyes, not breaking off even when James met his eye.

Not bad, James had to admit. Usually house-elves were too fearful of their master's reprisal to openly defy orders. Kreacher would have been a Gryffindor, if he had been a wizard. At that thought, James imagined Walburga's face and burst into laughter. Kreacher's frown lessened, turning into an expression of confusion.

'C'mon Kreacher, let's go to the kitchen,' he said, tilting his head in the opposite direction to Sirius and Remus.

'Is that an order?' Kreacher asked suspiciously.

There was no bowing, no scraping, no muttering. It was almost as if he didn't know how to act. James wondered what the Blacks had to say about the Potters. They probably hadn't said anything, since they were so fond of purebloods. I can work with that, James thought, nodding to himself. He noticed Kreacher's eyes narrowing once more and quickly sought to correct himself.

'It's not an order, Kreacher,' he said. 'But I promise I'm much better company than Sirius. And you're either stuck with me, or with him. What will it be?'

With that, James flounced into the kitchen, confident that Kreacher would find Sirius as annoying as Sirius found Kreacher. Sure enough, the house-elf trailed behind him to stand in the middle of the room, waiting for James's next move.

'All right, let's get to cooking Padfoot and Moony something sexy!' James exclaimed, hitting on something that would occupy them. Then he realised what he had said. 'Um… I mean let's cook something for Sirius and me and our other friend. Let's go for… steak! That's sexy, right?'

'Hey Padfoot,' Remus greeted, his eyes roaming the corridor behind Sirius. 'Am I the first one here?'

'Actually…' Sirius drew out the word. There was no going back from here. 'Wormy can't make it and James is… otherwise occupied.'

'Mooning over his Lilyflower?' Remus guessed.

'Most likely,' Sirius replied, wondering if Kreacher could be distracted by talk of Lily, and if so, for how long. He opened the door a little wider. 'Do you want to come in?'

'I can always come back another day, if now's a bad time.'

'No!' Sirius cried, startling the werewolf. He cleared his throat. 'May as well stay now that you're here. Unless you don't want to hang out with me.'

Sirius put on his best puppy dog eyes, batting his long, dark eyelashes. It was what made Remus cave when pranking, so he figured he had nothing to lose now.

'Of course I do,' Remus grinned, walking through the doorway. His shoulder brushed Sirius's arm as he did so, and Sirius felt his heart tighten with trepidation.

Is this what turns James into a blathering idiot when he's around Lily? Sirius asked himself, feeling his nerves creeping up his throat. He was too aware of his body, feeling awkward no matter how he held himself.

'Let's go into the living room,' he said, not waiting for a response. Maybe if he was sitting down, this would be easier.

'I know I've already been here, but I cannot get over how beautiful your parents' house is,' Remus commented, following Sirius into the other room. 'Just look at the artwork on that chandelier. And don't get me started on the intricate patterns on the ceiling.'

Sirius nodded in agreement. But he wasn't looking at the chandelier, or the ceiling. He was looking at the way Remus lit up when he explained which architectural period he thought the house was built in, his animated gestures making his jumper slide up his forearms, revealing scars that he was usually hypersensitive of. He was looking at Moony when he was carefree and happy, free from probing eyes.

He wished that Moony could always be this way.

'Sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I?' Remus cut himself short. His eyes met Sirius's for an instant and his mouth opened slightly in thought. It took all of Sirius's willpower not to kiss his Moony there and then. He's not your Moony yet, he reminded himself, as Remus continued. 'I just realised that we've never really spent time together just the two of us. I mean, I have a couple of classes with James, and Peter and I chat whilst the two of you have detention, but for some reason it's never been just us.'

'That's outrageous!' Sirius cried, breaking the slight tension in the room. He flopped onto the sofa, making himself comfortable. 'We'll just have to make up for lost time now.'

Remus laughed lightly and settled down on the sofa next to him. That means he likes me, doesn't it? Sirius thought desperately. I'm sure Prongs told me that if someone stays close to you it means they like you as more than a friend. I mean, he had the choice of a hundred different seats! Well, maybe not a hundred, but…

'So, anyone catch your eye at school, Moony?' he blurted out, ignoring his wild thoughts. He could have smacked himself. Nice, Padfoot. Really subtle. 'I mean… James goes on and on about Lily, but I never hear you talk about anyone that way,' he finished lamely.

'No, not really,' Remus replied with an easy grin. 'I don't think anyone could reach James's intensity.'

But there was something about the way Moony's smile didn't quite reach his eyes, the way his eyes didn't quite meet Sirius's own, that made Sirius confident that Remus was lying. His heart sped up, beating as quickly as the wings of a Golden Snitch.

'Come on,' he said lightly, sitting up and nudging Remus's shoulder with his own. There it was. That same jolt of electricity, the residual warmth that marked the spot Moony had touched him. He set his jaw, refraining from leaning in. 'We've been at Hogwarts for four years now. Can you honestly say that you haven't ever had a crush on someone in all that time?'

'I'm a werewolf, Padfoot,' Remus replied curtly. 'I can't allow myself those kind of feelings. No one would ever love a monster, so why torture myself with getting my hopes up?'

Sirius was surprised. More so than he should have been. He knew that Moony had mentioned that the Marauders were his first real friends, but he thought that Remus had got past all of that. Suddenly, he forgot about his own feelings, wanting only to make Moony feel better. He tentatively touched Remus's shoulder, but the other boy shrugged him off.

That's right, Sirius remembered. He never wants us to pity him. But it was so hard not to console Remus, remind him that there was no one in the world who deserved love more than him, even if… Even if it wasn't with Sirius himself.

'Nonsense, Moony!' he cried. 'That's completely ridiculous. Look, I know that you're just going to argue with me, so for a minute, let's just pretend that you weren't' a werewolf. Or better yet, that this person knew about it and couldn't care less. What would your dream person be like?'

Remus sighed defeatedly. 'You're like a dog with a bone when you get an idea, aren't you?'

Sirius roared with laughter at the feeble joke. He's funny when I least expect it, he thought, mentally adding it to the list of reasons why Moony was the most perfect person on the planet.

'Okay, forget about Hogwarts. I'm curious now, just describe them,' he urged, purposefully not adding a specific pronoun to his question.

'Well, he-'

He! He! He! a voice in Sirius's mind started chanting. He imagined himself doing a happy dance, but made sure that his limbs were perfectly calm, not wanting to interrupt Moony in his description.

Just then, the fireplace turned green, and Peter's head popped out.

'Padfoot! Hey, Pads!' he stage whispered, looking around. 'There you are! And there's Moony too, perfect!

Sirius groaned. Wormy couldn't have had worse timing if he had tried. This had better be good.

'Lily's just such a beautiful soul, know what I mean?' James asked, his feet propped up at the table.

He had been kicked off kitchen duty by Kreacher, who had seen it as an affront to his station. Apparently the day a human needed to do a chore in his house was the day he deserved to be beheaded and mounted atop a wall. Kreacher had some very vivid metaphors for a house-elf, in James's opinion. Now, he watched as the elf chopped carrots and green beans. The potatoes were already boiling in a pot.

'She has a passion for life, and knows what she wants,' James continued without waiting for a response. 'She always sees the best in people. She makes me feel like I want to be a better person around her. She… She's too good for me.' He paused for a moment, wallowing in the bittersweet feeling of loving another person more than they loved you. He looked over to Kreacher, whose large eyes were trained on his own. 'Have you ever loved someone too much?'

Kreacher nodded, a tear slipping down his long nose. James smiled at him. It was not a smile of mockery, or even of surprise. It was one of understanding.

'You know what, Kreacher?' James surprised himself by saying. 'You're not so bad.'

Kreacher seemed to realise where he was, and frowned once more, taking the steaks out of the fridge and bashing them vigorously by hand. James watched for a moment, wondering what to say to get the house-elf to open up.

'So, Kreacher… Got any embarrassing stories about Sirius's childhood?'

Kreacher turned so fast that James got a crick in his neck just at the sight of it.

'Master James is asking Kreacher to say bad things about Master Regulus?' he hissed, his brow dangerously low as he muttered, 'Kreacher knew hateful Master Sirius would be sneaky, wants Kreacher to say bad things. Kreacher won't, Kreacher won't!'

Suddenly, James had a good idea of who Kreacher loved. He hadn't had much contact with Sirius's little brother. He never came up in their conversations, he was never even really the subject of any of their pranks. James furrowed his brow, trying to remember what the younger Black even looked like. All he could conjure up was a quiet Slytherin, a pale imitation of Sirius. Why the house-elf would love Regulus Black so much was beyond James's understanding. Still, he had made Kreacher upset, and Sirius had explicitly asked for Kreacher to be in a good mood.

'No, no, no,' he said quickly. 'I'm asking for embarrassing stories about Sirius. I want to know the dirt on the older Black brother.'

He grinned. This was an opportunity he just couldn't pass up. Slowly, Kreacher's frown lifted. The elf waved a hand and the vegetables flew into the pot of boiling water, whilst the meat carefully laid itself onto the pan with hot butter.

'What does Master James want to know?'

'Quick question, Mary thinks I'm in the bathroom right now, um… How do I know if she wants me to… make a move?' Peter asked, his face flushed red from more than the heat of the fire. 'And if she does, how exactly do I go about… making said move?'

Sirius groaned, throwing his head back in frustration. Rubbing the back of his neck, he steeled himself for a long conversation with Peter about girls that would deviate into something else until he had no time left to spend with Remus, whose presence he was acutely aware of.

'Well, Wormy, you're alone at your house, right?' he asked tiredly, hoping to get through with it quickly.

'Yes, but we're supposed to be going to a restaurant as soon as I'm "out of the bathroom",' Peter nodded.

'Well, doesn't that say it all? If she wants to spend time alone with you, then it means she's interested.' There. Case closed.

'But you're alone with Moony, and you're not interested in each other.'

If Sirius could have hexed Peter without Remus noticing, the deed would have been done five minutes ago. As it was, Sirius felt his teeth clench together.

'It's not the same, Wormtail,' he said slowly, wondering how to convey to Moony that he was interested without giving the game away to Wormtail. He loved the fourth Marauder, he did, but Peter had a tendency of blurting things out.

And Sirius did not want his love to be blurted while there was a chance of rejection.

'Not the same because both of you are guys?'

Sirius imagined stuffing Wormtail's head and mounting it in the attic next to Kreacher's ancestors. He could feel Moony's eyes on his back, but didn't dare turn around.

'Not the same because you're actually going on a date,' he said eventually. 'Look, she knows you invited her for a reason, and she knows that reason isn't to talk about homework. It's the middle of the summer, Wormy.'

'But what if-'

'Pete, you might want to go back to Mary,' Remus cut in smoothly. 'She's going to leave if she thinks you're spending more than ten minutes in the bathroom.'

'Right,' Peter said hurriedly, and with that his head disappeared in a puff of smoke and ashes.

Sirius turned to Remus, amazed. The latter was sitting back, the hints of a smirk playing on his lips.

'How did you…?' Sirius's voice trailed off in admiration. 'Impressive.'

'Sometimes Pete needs some encouragement to stop him from doubting himself,' Remus explained. 'And sometimes he needs to just take action before his doubts overcome him.'

'I knew there was a reason you were made Prefect this year,' Sirius said, shaking his head. He went silent for a few seconds, torn between wanting to continue their comradery, and turning the conversation back on track. In the end, his curiosity won out. 'So… I guess Wormy's found someone he's interested in,' he added conversationally.

'Yes,' Remus said dryly. 'Something tells me it wasn't Pete who organised the date.'

'I only gave him a little nudge!' Sirius cried indignantly. 'He is genuinely interested in her.'

'And I suppose that you invited me here today so you could find out who I fancy so you can give me "a little nudge"?'

'Aha!' Sirius exclaimed, pointing at his friend. 'So you do fancy someone!'

Remus flushed, pink tinging his cheeks. Sirius absentmindedly noticed that it made his light dusting of freckles stand out even more than usual. It was cute.

'That's beside the point,' Remus muttered. 'Even if I did like someone, which I'm not saying I do… I would go to James for advice rather than you.'

Sirius found himself speechless. Remus's words had cut deeper than expected, and the other boy seemed to have noticed, because he hurriedly tried to explain himself.

'I mean, look at you, Sirius!' he said, his eyes slightly sad as he gestured towards him. 'You have no trouble getting any girl or guy you want, and when you do, they never hold your interest for more than a week at best. What advice could you give someone like me?'

'No way!' James roared with laughter, wiping the tears streaming from his eyes. 'Sirius wet the bed until he was eight? He's never going to live this down.'

Kreacher smiled, his ears perking up as he set the steaks to rest. To James's surprise, the house-elf trotted around the kitchen table to perch himself on the chair near James's feet, sitting with his knees tucked under his tea cosy.

'And once, when Master Sirius was eleven, Mistress Walburga asked Master Sirius if he could bring doilies to the table for big, big feast. And…' Kreacher giggled into his hand. James leaned forwards eagerly for the punchline. 'Master Sirius brought napkins!'

The house-elf dissolved into a fit of laughter. James didn't quite understand what was so hilarious about this particular story, but he forced a chuckle all the same. Really, Kreacher wasn't all that bad once you got to know him. Apart from the whole blood purity thing. And the way he insisted that his head should be mounted as a trophy if he ever failed in a task. James had learned that that particular metaphor was, in fact, not a joke.

Tentatively, he rose to his feet and prodded a steak. It seemed ready, not that he was any kind of judge. He had never actually picked up any cooking skills, despite the inordinate amount of time he spent in the kitchens.

He glanced towards the hallway. Had he given enough time for Padfoot to confess his love to Moony? James could hardly believe the news himself. He hadn't noticed a thing, though now that he thought about it, they did seem perfectly complementary. Opposite personalities, same interests. At least, that's what he gathered from reading his mum's Witch Weekly magazines.

Best leave them alone as long as possible, he thought.

'Say, Kreacher?' he asked, interrupting a long-winded story about how Sirius had mistaken a cabbage for a lettuce. 'Do you eat steak?'

Sirius looked down, his eyes suddenly stinging.

'So that's what you think of me,' he said quietly. 'I suppose I deserve it.'

'Oh, Sirius.' Remus' voice was half exasperation and half compassion. He scooted across the sofa, so close that their thighs were almost touching. 'I didn't mean it in a bad way. It's just that your fancies are fleeting. James is the one who has had his eyes set on the same girl for the past four years.'

'My fancies are fleeting,' Sirius repeated. 'But my love is forever.'

'What?' Remus asked, but Sirius could tell that his breath had hitched.

'Who is this guy that you like, Remus? Hypothetically,' he added, as an afterthought.

'I…' Remus went silent. When Sirius looked at him, he noticed that Remus had looked away. But he carried on, his voice slightly hoarse. 'Someone who would overlook my condition and see the person behind it. Someone who would have enough humour to cheer the both of us up, because I know that I'm too serious.'

'Someone like the Marauders?' Sirius asked with a grin, remembering the suppressed excitement on Remus's face when the three of them had told him they would become Animagi.

'Someone like you three,' Remus agreed, a smile playing upon his face. But his eyes were far away, lost as he described what he saw with his mind's eye. 'Someone who would be passionate and adventurous, to bring life to the stories I read, but would still enjoy a discussion, a quiet evening inside.'

'An evening like this one?' Sirius interrupted again. He knew he shouldn't, but he was eager to prove that he could be quiet, he could be thoughtful, if Remus wanted him to.

'Yes, I suppose,' Remus said slowly, his amber eyes turning to meet Sirius's.

His heart skipped a beat, and he was certain that his entire body was straining to be closer to Remus, as close as he could get, but Sirius fought off the urge, reminding himself that Remus wasn't just anyone, and he didn't want him to feel like he was.

'I…' he faltered as he saw something in Remus's eyes. Something that he was sure reflected in his own. No, I need to say this before anything happens. His throat felt as dry as parchment as he struggled to get the words out.

'I c-could be like that,' he stuttered. He never stuttered. 'I mean it. We may have nicknamed you Moony, but the werewolf… it's just your furry little problem. W-what if this person you like wasn't hypothetical? What if I told you I lo-' Too soon. 'I can be passionate and adventurous and Moony if you ever give me the slightest hint that you like me back I swear I'll never so much as look at anyone else again I'll be so happy.' This time, the words tumbled out in a rush, tripping over each other in their haste to be spoken.

Remus frowned a bit, but Sirius knew that if he could understand James when his mouth was full with mashed potatoes, he could understand Sirius's words in that moment.

Then Sirius noticed that Remus's eyes were glossier than usual. Remus never cried when he was in pain. He never cried about his condition, during the transformation, or otherwise. He never cried when Sirius or James was injured during Quidditch. But he cried when he read a good book with a romantic ending, and he cried at every end of term when the friends all had to say goodbye.

And Remus crying was all Sirius needed to close the gap and press his mouth to Remus's own.

After sharing a slightly odd, but enjoyable meal with Kreacher, and a repeat of the Sirius sagas, James walked towards the living room, confident in his ability to make his best friend embarrassed in front of Remus. Of course, Padfoot would think that Moony knew all of James's stories already.

Little does he know, James thought, an almost sinister grin stretching from ear to ear. Kreacher had predictably decided he needed to clean up, and seemed to have forgotten all about the fact that Sirius had another friend staying. The house-elf had been worn out by all of his storytelling, and wanted to give Regulus's room one last sweep before going to bed in case the younger Black sibling got back early the next morning.

James privately thought that if Regulus's sleepovers were anything like the Marauders, he wouldn't be back before noon.

He walked backwards as he pushed the door, trying not to jostle the tray of food that he had brought along with him, so he didn't see it at first. But when he turned around, a joyful cry of mayhem bubbling in his throat, the sound died on his lips, and he decided to go back the way he came.

Because there, curled up by the fireplace, James could see Sirius trailing a hand aimlessly through Remus's hair, his other arm wrapped protectively around the werewolf. He noticed Remus's relaxed face as he slept, his brow free from the permanent worry lines that made Moony look years older than he was. And for the first time, James realised that he was seeing his friend at peace. It seemed as though Remus had finally found where he belonged: with Sirius.