On the fifth day of Sirius Black's latest grand sulk, Remus got fed up. He'd been on the business end of Sirius' scathing remarks and arrogant snubs too many times in the past several days to shrug and take it quietly. The way the prat swanned about leaving an uppercrust residue of disdain and acerbic entitlement in his wake, one would think he was the only one at Hogwarts who had issues. Remus had had enough.

Without further ado, he pulled out his wand, pointed it at Sirius, and concentrating fiercely cast the strongest cheering charm he knew. Sirius stopped in mid sneer, poor Peter was the target at the moment, and reeled back a step to fetch up against the side of his bed. Everyone gaped as a wide grin spread across his face. Remus cast it again.

Sirius stared at Remus in shock, but he couldn't stop smiling. "Oi, Moony! That is not on!" He fell to the bed and the bounce jolted a giggle out of him. He clapped his hand to his mouth.

James and Peter looked as if they had just had an epiphany.

"You are brilliant, Moony." James beamed at Remus who accepted the praise with a tiny uplift to the corners of his mouth.

Peter nodded. "Why didn't we think of that before?"

"You know I'm going to kill you once this wears off, don't you?" Sirius asked cheerfully, bouncing repeatedly on the edge of his mattress.

"A temporary respite is better than nothing," Remus said philosophically. "Now, who's for dinner?"

An artificially cheered Sirius had unexpected benefits. His giddy greetings to the crowd of Slytherins they encountered at the door to the Great Hall sent Snape scuttling to his table backwards whilst holding his wand at the ready. Sirius, as well as James and Peter, seemed to find this extremely entertaining, and even Remus couldn't contain his smirk when Snape tripped over the hem of his robes and fell into the imposing lap of Mildred Abercrombie. Her boyfriend, Ambrose Bulstrode, watched indulgently as Mildred heaved Snape to the floor with one effortless shove.

"She scares me, Moony," Sirius confided into the side of Remus' neck as he was forced to half-carry Sirius to the Gryffindor table because he was snorting laughter so hard he could barely stay upright.

Perhaps the second cheering charm hadn't been the best idea. Remus could feel the weight of McGonagall's frown as he got Sirius in his seat next to James. He moved to go around the table opposite Sirius and next to Peter, the way they always sat, when Sirius grabbed his wrist and attempted to pull him down on the bench next to him.

"I want to sit next to you." He tugged on Remus' arm, beaming up at him.

"There's no room, Sirius." Remus tried not to sound impatient since he had played a tiny part in why Sirius was acting like a nutter.

"Budge over, James." Sirius wriggled frenetically until the fourth year on his right edged down the bench with a wary look. "See, plenty of room."

James rolled his eyes. "Never mind, I'll switch sides."

Sirius giggled again.

"He's acting like he's drunk." Peter watched Sirius avidly. "Not that I'm complaining. Much prefer him this way than..."

"When he's being a gigantic pillock?" James put in. "Couldn't agree more."

"It was just a cheering charm!" Remus said defensively.

"Two." Peter pointed out.

"And it looked as if you packed a lot in them," James added.

Remus looked at Sirius who was grinning rather manically at Lily. He waved to her with a little flutter of his fingers and she looked back at him perplexed and wary. Remus tapped his wrist and Sirius turned his glowing smile to him. "Now you're scaring people."

"Nothing new there."

Sirius tried to glare at James for a second but it turned into an indulgent laugh. "Good one, James."

James rolled his eyes.

"Just take it easy, though," Remus warned. "I think McGonagall is watching us."

"Course she is. She can never take her eyes off of me in class, can she?"

"That's because she doesn't trust you to behave not because she fancies you, Sirius."

"Yeah. Despite what you believe in your little fantasies. 'Oh, Professor, yes, that was me who turned MacDonald's knickers into a tea cozy, ooh please punish me properly, Minerva.'"

"James," Remus said merely out of a nod to the forms, but he was snickering as much as Peter and James were, and Sirius had collapsed over his steak and kidney pie and was laughing helplessly on the table.

Now McGonagall was looking at them, and frowning. "Sirius," Remus hissed. "Sit up."

Out of desperation, he resorted to a cheap shot. "How's your Mum, Sirius? Heard from her lately?"

James and Peter gasped. Sirius did sit up but he only grinned at Remus. "You know what? If I ever planned on seeing her again I'd cast an entire wand's worth of cheering charms on her. Do her good. Someone should've done it years ago."

"Well, maybe, but you know it's only a temporary fix, it's not meant to be used for-"

"Yeah, yeah, Professor Lupin." Sirius snorted another laugh. "I know, but I'd still do it. Now that I think about it, I may just do it to Regulus instead. Loosen up my uptight little brother a bit. Where is he?" Sirius twisted around in his seat and Remus had to grab him to keep him from climbing off the bench and heading for the Slytherin table.

"Sirius, sit down!"

Sirius sat.

"Good boy," James said with a smirk, and Peter laughed vindictively.

Remus glared at both of them, but Sirius chortled and leaned closer to Remus. "Am I your dog, Remus. Woof!"

Remus turned red and shoved Sirius away as he began to snuffle at Remus' neck and ear. "Idiot."

"You know what I think?" Sirius leaned back and shoved his hands into his pockets casually. "I think you're the one who is a bit uptight. I know just what you need."

Remus didn't have time to protest before Sirius had his wand out and had cast a cheering charm of his own on Remus. "Two was it?" And then he cast another and then one more for good measure.

James and Peter stared, ticking their eyes back and forth between Sirius and Remus. Slowly, Remus dropped his outflung hand and shook the hair out of his eyes to look at Sirius.

"That is just wrong," Peter said in awe, watching the suddenly extremely chipper Remus practically thrum in the seat across from him as he giggled like a crushing third year on a sugar high.

James nodded, shoving his glasses up his nose with his index finger. "It's like the universe has turned inside out."

Remus had collapsed against Sirius' side and the two were both hiccoughing laughter rather hysterically. People were beginning to stare, and James kicked Sirius under the table as McGonagall made her way round the head table and made a beeline right for them. It didn't faze him at all.

"What is going on here?" McGonagall's face had a familiar thin-lipped expression as she looked down up the quivering pile Remus and Sirius made. Remus finally straightened up and smiled widely at her. "Good evening, Professor."

Sirius elbowed him in the side and sniggered. A brief and energetic elbow war ensued as McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Mr. Potter, perhaps you can explain why Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin are behaving like houselves on butterbeer?"

James laughed. "Nice one, Professor!"

"Thank you," McGonagall said dryly. "I'm so glad one of us is finding humor in this situation. However, I would like to finish my dinner before the warming charm wears off, so an answer if you please. I would like to determine who I am to give detention and for how long."

"Oh, it's nothing like that Professor! It's just, well, you might have noticed Sirius has been in a bit of strop lately."

McGonagall's sigh was longsuffering. "Your point, Mr. Potter?"

"The thing is, Remus here, he just wanted to cheer him up a little. Give him a bit of a boost, you know?"

"I see. A cheering charm?"

"Two actually."

"Ah. And Mr. Lupin?"

James and Peter looked at each other, fighting down grins. "Well, you might have noticed the cheering charms worked a little too well on Sirius. He got overexcited and decided to return the favor."

McGonagall's pinched expression became even more pronounced. "How many?"

"Er...three."

"Three." She lifted her eyes to the ceiling and James and Peter peered up as well. Sirius and Remus were whispering and tittering behind cupped hands and completely ignoring the conversation.

"Er, Professor, what are you doing?" Peter asked.

"Counting to ten."

"Oh, right."

"Now then. Mr. Potter, Mr. Pettigrew, please escort your friends back to the dorm and see that they stay there for the rest of the evening. There's nothing for it but to let the charms wear off. I certainly don't want them loose in the halls in their state, particularly Mr. Black."

"But I haven't finished my dinner!"

The beady look McGonagall gave Peter made him shove his plate away and stand. "I wasn't very hungry."

"Rest assured, Mr. Pettigrew, I'll have plates sent up. See to it that Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black come see me tomorrow before class so that we may refresh their memories on the appropriateness and the proper casting of certain charms."

"Yes, Professor."

She took one last pained look at the giggling boys and walked away. James and Peter managed to herd them out of the Great Hall with a minimum of fuss, unless one counted Remus' unexpected rendition of Dancing Queen. He was, surprisingly, rather good, and made a lovely, sweeping bow to the scattered applause he earned when they finally got to the door.

"ABBA, Moony? Really?" Sirius had collapsed in the hallway, hunched over and clutching his stomach in pain because he couldn't stop his wheezing laughter.

"You're a teaser, you turn 'em on." Remus pointed a finger at Sirius as he sang. "Leave them burning and then you're gone."

James wondered how he was going to keep Remus from committing suicide in the morning.

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall's voice rang through the open door. "To the dormitory!"

James hastily dragged Sirius to his feet and he and Peter hustled him and Remus away. When they had gone up the stairs and made the first landing, Sirius shrugged out of James' reach and pointed back at Remus. "You're in the mood for a dance. And when you get the chance..."

Remus chimed in on the chorus. "You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen..."

Sirius grabbed him around the waist and spun Remus around the landing, both of them humming the rest of the song loudly.

"I really wish I had my camera," Peter said ruefully.

"There's always a penseive." James snickered.

"Oh, good idea!"

"Enough is enough, though." James said briskly. "I don't fancy getting detention because you nances have finally decided to embrace your inner poofters. Back to the Tower!"

Sirius stopped dipping Remus to stare at James with a lopsided grin, then he whispered something in Remus' ear. James and Peter each took an automatic step back as Remus' eyes sharpened and he smiled at them gleefully, actually bouncing on his heels in delight.

His wand aligned with Sirius' as they cast their spells. James staggered.

"I thought you were doing Peter!"

"I thought you were doing Peter!"

Two more spells were cast Peter reeled back this time. All four boys stared at each other until they burst in simultaneous guffaws.

"We are bloody brilliant!"

"Still want to go back to the dorms?"

"Sod that!"

"But...steak and kidney pie!"

"Shut it, Wormtail!"

"Where should we go then?"

"Someplace private." Sirius smiled at Remus who beamed back at him.

"Someplace where we won't get caught."

"Pass!" Peter darted down the staircase tossing a cheery wave over his shoulder. "I'm off to the kitchens for double helpings. It's treacle tart night!"

"Right, now that Wormtail has fucked off to snog the tarts-" They all snickered. "Shall we be off as well before Filch comes round? My vote is the shack."

"Brilliant, Prongs!" Sirius shoved James into Remus. "Last one there has to snog Snivellus!"

A desperate fight through the tunnel ensued. Though they barreled through the first three quarters of it the last bit took them twice the amount of time because they were locked in a writhing, dirty-fighting tangled knot, desperately trying to be the first, or at least not the last, to enter the shack. It didn't help that they could hardly breathe for laughing so hard. Remus' lip was fat and bloody and James was sure to have a shiner in the morning, while Sirius couldn't stop screeching that real men don't pull hair.

In the end, they declared a draw because they never did make it past the threshold. Somehow the scratching and hair pulling and biting turned into softer tugs and nips and kisses and licks that heralded the most giddily cheerful daisy chain Hogwarts had ever seen.

Even though Sirius had vanished their clothes permanently in a fit of mirth, and they'd passed out on the lumpy earth floor of the tunnel, still they woke in the wee hours of the morning in remarkably good moods. Perhaps the charms hadn't worn off yet, or perhaps they literally had fucked each other's brains out last night and were now simply incapable of comprehending how much trouble they would be in if McGonagall were to find out. Regardless, they set off back through the tunnel in high spirits, though their courage faltered a bit at the end. They hemmed and hawwed a while, speculating on how long it would take Wormtail to come look for them and if they should just go back and wait it out in the Shack.

"Stiff upper lip, lads," Remus said bracingly and he shot a stone at the knot to freeze the branches of the Willow.

"That's not what's-"

Sirius yelped as Remus' hand slapped his naked arse.

"Last one back has to snog Snivellus." Remus grinned, clamped his wand between his teeth, and tore out of the tunnel hell bent for leather.

The joyous whoops of James' and Sirius' laughter chased him across the Hogwarts grounds, music to his ears.