Warnings: References to drinking, swearing, slash, references to peer pressure

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter

It was on a Monday morning in June 1978 when the Marauders – three nursing their pounding hangovers while the fourth watched on smugly – reached the bottom of the staircase from their dormitory to see a group of their fellow seventh years huddled around the noticeboard.

"What's going on?" Remus mused, observing the gaggle of excited students – most of them girls – gathered around the noticeboard.

He was answered by a pained groan from Sirius, who was hobbling down the stairs both being supported by and supporting James.

"Keep it down, Moony," he complained. "Some of us are suffering."

Remus shook his head at the pathetic sight of his hangover-stricken friends.

"Why aren't you suffering?" James moaned, as though it were one of the greatest injustices in the world.

"I didn't drink too much," Remus explained plainly as Peter passed him and flopped into an armchair, cradling his head.

"What's the point of drinking if you don't get drunk?" Sirius mumbled as the pair holding on to each other for support stumbled down the last couple of steps, by some miracle managing to remain upright.

"You don't get hung-over."

"But we were celebrating!" James assured him; Sirius agreed with an enthusiastic nod, followed by an agonised groan as he lifted his hand to the side of his head.

Remus raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Celebrating what, exactly?"

The Animagi looked at each other.

"Um…" James began, eyes begging Sirius for help.

"Sunday!" Sirius declared, pointing a triumphant finger at the werewolf.

Remus sighed, knowing that it was a waste of breath to attempt to argue with the two troublemakers. Instead, he watched the amusing spectacle of the two of them trying to sit on the sofa – and missing. They toppled onto the floor in a misshapen tangle of limbs and messy black hair. They both elicited more groans.

"At least buy me dinner first," Sirius – who was on the bottom of this strange pile – grumbled. He shoved his fellow Marauder off onto the floor next to him, who landed on his front with a dull thud and turned his head to the side so as to rest a little after his exhausting excursion.

Deciding that this was no longer funny but just sad, the werewolf left the three hung-over boys and made for the noticeboard, eager to see what had piqued the interest of so many of his classmates. As he neared, he began to hear snippets of conversation.

"What are you going to wear?"

"Oh, I'll have to ask my mum to send me my good dress robes. I hope Archimedes is up to the flight, do you think they'll be too heavy for him? He is getting on a bit…"

The crowd parted slightly, and finally Remus caught a glance of the poster that had been fixed to the noticeboard overnight.

Seventh year prom, 22nd July 1978, the Great Hall, 9pm-11pm. Formal attire is required.

Remus' heart sank. He hadn't realised that their leaving prom would be so soon. Yes, he had been looking forward to it ever since he had received his Hogwarts letter and his mother had told him the story of her prom at the castle – ever the romantic that he was – but he had always assumed that by this time, so close to leaving the school for good, that he would be… attached. That he would have someone to go with; a girlfriend. Or even someone he thought would accept if he asked.

He quickly ran through a list of all the girls in his year in his head. There must be someone, anyone, he could ask…

"Whoa."

Remus turned to see Peter – still a little unsteady on his feet but nowhere near as pathetic as the other two Marauders – standing next to him, gazing up at the poster. Remus quickly hid all traces of his mental panic, not wanting his friend to think that he was so socially dead that he couldn't even think of a single person to ask to prom.

"Forgot about that," the Animagus mused, though he didn't seem too perturbed by the thought of prom – the thought of having to find a date. Indeed, he seemed almost… nonchalant. "Well," he beamed, patting Remus on the shoulder. "Breakfast?"

Remus blinked in surprise. How could Peter be so confident in the face of such a daunting social event? Surely, the small, mean-spirited part of the werewolf reasoned, if Remus Lupin didn't have anyone to take to prom, then weedy, pathetic Peter Pettigrew certainly wouldn't find anyone.

"Uh, yeah," he nodded. "I'll just pick them two off of the floor." He gestured to James and Sirius. Peter nodded and left though the portrait hole.

When Remus turned back to the scene behind him, however, James had somehow climbed over Sirius and was now settling down on the sofa.

"What, pray tell, was the notice about?" James asked with the dramatics of a bad Shakespearean actor and gesticulating wildly. His eyes were still closed against the light of the common room which was, presumably, not helping his hangover.

"Prom," Remus answered simply, trying to sound as indifferent as Peter had.

Sirius – who was still lying on the floor – shot bolt upright at this announcement. "Prom? When?" He darted over to the noticeboard and shouted triumphantly when he had read the poster for himself. "Excellent!" He sauntered back over and flopped into the armchair that Peter had vacated, his finger on his chin in a mock thinking pose. "Who to take? Who to take?"

"I know who I'm taking," James grinned with the same sense of superiority that he always adopted when he had the chance to reiterate that he was the only one of the four of them who actually had a girlfriend.

"Hey! Evans!"

A group of girls who were about to leave the Tower stopped abruptly. They stood frozen for one, maybe two seconds, before the redhead among them waved the rest away. The others exited through the portrait hole, while Lily Evans turned and walked over to the sofa with an exasperated expression on her face.

"Yes?" she sighed, standing at the end of the sofa with her arms crossed.

James' stupid smile faltered slightly at the irate tone of his girlfriend – no doubt her reaction to his being in this state – but he replaced it with ease as he looked up at her.

"Will you go to prom with me?" he asked, trying his best to look alluring. The best he could manage was a lopsided grin.

Lily smiled. "Of course I will." She turned to leave, but James called her back.

"Wait! Wait!"

The redhead sighed and turned back slowly. "Yes?" she asked, some – but not all – of her irritability returning.

"Do I get a kiss?" James pouted. "It would make me feel better."

Lily raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh?" she asked, taking a step forward. "And what is your logic behind this?"

"It's like the story you told me about. Rain blue? About the prince who got drunk and couldn't wake up until he had been kissed on the lips by the princess?"

Lily knelt down by the side of the sofa, shaking her head. "It's Snow White. And it was the princess who couldn't wake up because she'd been given a poisoned apple."

"I was drinking cider last night," James insisted.

"I can testify to the truthfulness of my client's statement," Sirius offered helpfully. James gave him a grateful nod.

"Client?" Remus asked. "You really think that, if he needed one, James couldn't find a better lawyer than you?"

Sirius glared at him, but there was a smile playing on his lips.

"So? What do you say?" James asked.

Lily looked at him and sighed. "Fine." She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.

"Ah!" Sirius exclaimed, turning away and clapping a hand over Remus' eyes. "We don't want to see that!"

~{G}~

Gwenyth Knight was perfect.

A seventh-year Hufflepuff, she had grown an enormous amount the previous summer and was now practically his height. She had naturally brown hair but, ever since they had learned the intricacies of human Transfiguration the previous year, she had started every term with streaks – highlights, she called them – of different colours mingling with the brunette; this term, they were a vivid purple. She also had a nose stud: bright blue that shone magnificently in the sunlight and blinded everyone within a ten-foot radius. But for all her confidence in her appearance, she was in truth rather an introvert, shy and somewhat socially awkward.

To Remus, she was cool.

He accidentally-on-purpose 'bumped' into her in the Charms corridor that afternoon.

"Sorry," he stammered.

"Uh…" she mumbled, her gaze fixed at the floor.

Neither of them moved. Neither of them spoke.

"Um…" Remus began, absent-mindedly fidgeting with the hem of his robes. "Hey."

"Hey," she nodded, looking up from the floor.

Just ask her! the voice in his head screamed, but it would have seemed that someone had rather inconsiderately hoovered all of the moisture out of his mouth. He stood there with his mouth open like a guppy, until Gwenyth broke the silence.

"A-are you okay?" she asked, clutching her History of Magic textbook closer to her chest.

"Uh, yeah," he nodded, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. He mentally banged his head against a wall. "Um," he began, his voice now far too high for his liking. He licked his lips nervously. "D…" He closed his eyes tight in frustration with himself. This was not supposed to be this difficult. He opened his eyes again. "Do you want to go to prom with me?"

Gwenyth said nothing, just stared. Remus was sure that her eyes had widened slightly.

Shit! Fuck! Abort mission! RUN!

The time Gwenyth remained painfully silent seemed to drag on forever, and his urge to flee grew exponentially with every passing moment. Somehow, however, by some cruel twist of fate, his legs refused to obey the impulse and remained firmly locked in place.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, finally, though she still seemed rather unnerved by the question she had just been asked. "Oh, that's lovely of you to ask, Remus. But…"

Remus' heart sank. Not even Gwenyth Knight, the girl most Hogwarts boys made fun of for her distinct lack of any truly feminine qualities, would go to prom with him? What was her excuse? She was washing her hair? She was getting deported? She had a headache? Or perhaps, he reasoned with an even more sickening feeling rising in his throat, she would just be outright with him: "I think I could do better." "You're a little too… strange." "Who has grey hairs at eighteen anyway?" "You never did tell us how you got that scar on your chin…"

"I'm going with someone else."

Remus blinked out of his reverie. He wasn't entirely sure he had heard her right. "I-I'm sorry?"

Gwenyth licked her lips nervously. "I'm going with someone else. With… Peter."

"Peter?" Remus exclaimed in disbelief. "Peter? Peter Pettigrew?" She nodded. Remus suddenly remembered how cool Peter had seemed about the idea of going to prom, of having to find a date. Maybe he had asked her yesterday. But, no, he couldn't have done; the notice had only been posted that morning…

"It's just… neither of us had a date to our fifth year prom, and we got to talking while everyone was dancing and decided that… well… if we were both still single by seventh year prom, that we would take each other."

"Oh." Remus stood dumbstruck at this news: both at the realisation that he now had no one to ask to prom with any real hopes of his offer being accepted, and that Peter Pettigrew of all people had been smart enough to ensure a date for seventh year prom two years in advance.

"Sorry," Gwenyth cringed, and for what it was worth she did appear truly apologetic.

"No, that's fine," Remus waved it off, trying to appear nonchalant despite the quite real panic now flooding his veins. "I-I hope you two have fun."

"Thanks," she smiled. "I'll… I'll see you later, then?" She began to back away, waving at him.

"Yeah," he nodded.

When she disappeared from view, Remus thought back to fifth year prom. He had gone with Juniper Green, a pretty Ravenclaw in the year below him. He could ask her… Except she was now going out with Patrick Plant, the Ravenclaw Seeker.

Bugger.

~{G}~

Marlene, he had to have a chance with. If he couldn't get Marlene to go to prom with him… Well, there was no point trying to think of a Plan B because that just wouldn't happen.

"Hey, McKinnon!"

Marlene stopped mid-walk and hesitated for a moment. She seemed to take a deep sigh before turning to face him.

"Yes? What is it, Black?"

Marlene McKinnon was an incredibly pretty girl – a seventh year Gryffindor. She had luscious black hair in thick curls that fell to her shoulders and bright blue eyes that shone from her face. She was a thin girl, probably a size ten, and had a gorgeous hourglass figure supported by her long legs.

Sirius gave her his most charming smile. "Well, I was just wondering if you would like to go to prom with me?"

Her expression did not change in the slightest but that, Sirius reasoned, must have been because her ears were not hearing right. The Sirius Black wanted to go to prom with her? What great fortune was this!

"No."

"Great! I'll pick you up at… Wait, what?"

"No," she repeated, crossing her arms defensively over her chest. "I wouldn't go to the prom with you if the only other candidate was the Boggart hiding in Professor Merriweather's desk."

Sirius felt winded. Surely he must be imagining this?

"B-but… why not?" he chuckled, trying to keep his alluring smile while in the midst of such confusion.

"Because," Marlene began, her voice raising slightly and her expression becoming thunderous. Sirius took a half-step back. "I am friends with Athena Arkwright."

"Oh!" Sirius exclaimed, feeling relief now. "And she wants to go with me? Alright, I'll ask her. Where is she? Argh!"

The slap caught him off-guard.

"Athena Arkwright!" Marlene shouted, as though repeating her name was going to trigger a memory in him. "You snogged her at the party last year to celebrate Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup, and then the next day you acted as though she didn't exist!"

Sirius wracked his brain for this memory. Athena… Athena… Athena…

Oh.

"Uh," he mumbled, slightly embarrassed. Marlene raised her hand again.

He fled.

~{G}~

"Wow, that was some slap!"

Sirius, who was still nursing his bruised cheek, glared at James. "Shut up." This, however, only made the bespectacled boy laugh harder.

"So you don't have a date to prom, then?" he asked, leaning back in the sofa in the Gryffindor common room and folding his arms with a smug look on his face.

Sirius sighed. "No. I can't believe Marlene didn't want to go with me."

At this point, Remus marched through the portrait hole, looking exhausted. He dumped his bag unceremoniously on the floor next to the armchair and sank into it, his arms lying limply on the sides of the chair as he stared seemingly into space.

"I heard you asked Gwenyth Knight to prom," Sirius said consolingly.

"Hm." The grunted reply was all he received, accompanied with a slight nod of his head. There was a moment's silence before Remus groaned, leaning forward with his head in his hands.

"This is a disaster!" he moaned, voice slightly muffled by his hands. "How can I not have anyone to ask to prom?"

"I know," Sirius tried to offer. "But I mean, really, if I got rejected, what hope do you have?"

Remus looked up with a glare that would have killed Sirius if such things were possible. In actuality, the Animagus simply recoiled.

"Your not being able to find a date to prom is based solely on your having made it your personal mission over the past seven years to systematically piss off every girl in the castle," he spat.

James watched on with an exasperated expression on his face, less than willing to listen to another one of their bitch-fights.

Honestly, he scoffed to himself, it's almost as if they-

A memory from the night before came floating back to him, and it hit him. The perfect solution to all their problems. They would both have dates to prom, and James wouldn't have to put up with their moaning anymore…

"Hey," he leaned forward, just as their voices had begun to rise. They both snapped their heads around, eyes full of fury now directed at the bespectacled boy. Beginning to doubt himself – maybe he had remembered wrong? He had been disastrously drunk – he gulped and mumbled meekly,

"Well… why don't you… you know… take each other?"

For a moment, they said nothing. James instantly regretted it. What had he been thinking? Stupid idea… stupid idea…

Sirius opened his mouth, and James readied himself for the abuse.

"You know," the Animagus said, turning back to Remus. "That's not a bad idea."

The werewolf's eyes widened so much that he looked like a deer caught in the wandlight. "Wh-what?" he spluttered. "You can't be serio- you must be joking," he changed mid-sentence as Sirius opened his mouth to make a joke that, after seven years, was getting far too old.

"Well, why not?" Sirius chuckled. "We'd have dates. Nothing on the poster says we have to take girls."

Remus looked at James for help, but the bespectacled boy simply shrugged, secretly thinking that he wished they would. It really seemed at this point that they weren't going to find a girl to take…

"Wh…" he turned back to Sirius, still had a 'why not?' expression. "But…"

"Come on! Let's show Gwenyth and Marlene that we don't need them!" Sirius urged, grinning now.

Remus gulped. Well, he reasoned, it was only one night… How bad could it be?

"Uh, sure," he stuttered, quite in disbelief that this was actually happening.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "Excellent. That's sorted, then!"

Remus leaned back in the armchair. When the two Animagi looked away, he pinched himself in the arm.

It hurt.

This was really happening.

~{G}~

Remus fidgeted with his tie as he stood by the fire in the Gryffindor common room. His mother had sent his best suit to Hogwarts from Blackburn: a thin, black suit that made him feel uncomfortably on show. He had examined himself in the mirror on the inside of his wardrobe door and sighed hopelessly at how prominently his hips stuck out in the dark material. The tie, which had been sent with the suit, was also thin and black. He wasn't sure it suited him, if any of it suited him. As almost an act of defiance, he had not brushed his hair, leaving it a mess of brown locks on the top of his head.

The warmth from the fire was lulling him to sleep, but he had to stay awake. Sirius was still getting ready in the dormitory. Remus had no idea what he was doing, but whatever it was, it was taking an awfully long time. Two days before, the full moon had forced him into a rather violent transformation. So violent, in fact, that – much to the dismay of both James and Sirius – they had stayed in the Shrieking Shack instead of venturing beyond.

Madam Pomfrey had almost refused to let him go to prom so soon after such a vicious metamorphosis, but someone – he guessed Sirius – had begged her to let him go. After all, he couldn't be seen at prom without a date. Remus was glad that he had been allowed to go, but he was completely knackered. If he didn't move his legs soon, he was going to fall asleep on the spot…

He jumped as a hand clapped over his eyes.

"What-?" he turned and saw a beaming Sirius standing there, one hand behind his back.

Sirius' mother hadn't sent him a suit to wear, so he had opted to 'make' one himself by taking one of his pairs of school robes and Transfiguring it into something more formal. As Transfiguration was the Animagus' best subject, he had, Remus thought, done a rather good job.

The material was no longer a dull black, but had a shiny quality to it, as though it was made out of some expensive material such as silk. The Gryffindor crest on the chest had disappeared, and while there was still a faint outline from where it had once been, Remus could tell that from a distance it would appear a seamless job. He had even polished his shoes to a degree that they shimmered so brightly in the firelight it almost made Remus' eyes hurt.

Sirius had even attempted to tame the wild mess of hair on the top of his head to some degree. His efforts had certainly paid off more than James' had, who had disappeared through the portrait hole with Lily looking as though he had been dragged through a hedge. There was almost a hint of waviness about Sirius' hair that was not usually there. Remus almost had to remind himself that the Animagus had put all this effort in to rub it in Marlene's face, and was suddenly feeling slightly worried that he hadn't done enough to peak Gwenyth's jealousy.

"Ready?" Remus asked, still not quite believing that this was happening.

"I am," Sirius nodded, with a playful smile on his lips.

"What?" Remus asked, thinking that there wasn't anything more he could possibly do to improve his appearance at this stage. "I'm not brushing my hair-"

Sirius pulled his hand out from behind his back and revealed what he had been holding: a single white rose.

"What is that?" Remus asked as Sirius drew his wand, cut off the end of the stem – which he through into the fire behind the werewolf – and began fixing the flower to the front of Remus' suit.

"It's a rose," Sirius explained, unhelpfully.

"Yes, I know what it is," Remus told him impatiently, trying to ignore the feeling of his friend's fingers on his chest. "But… why?"

Sirius finished and took a step back to admire the finished product. Remus felt slightly uneasy as his eyes raked over him, but suspicious that he wasn't feeling more uneasy than he was.

Sirius looked him in the eye with a sincere smile. "You look nice."

Remus' forehead suddenly began to feel hot, and he had a sneaking suspicion that it was nothing to do with the fire flickering innocently behind him. "Uh…" he drawled, but was interrupted.

"Shall we?" Sirius gestured towards the portrait hole.

"Duh-duh buh duh… Yeah." Remus stammered, following Sirius out of the portrait hole, his head swimming with various questions, all of them along the lines of, "What the fuck?"

They were practically the last 'couple' – Remus couldn't believe that he was using that term to describe himself and Sirius – to leave the common room; the only other still in there was busy snogging on the sofa.

When they were a floor above the Entrance Hall, Sirius offered his arm to Remus. Slightly worried that they weren't going to be equal in this partnership, Remus took it, ignoring the fact that his hand seemed to fit perfectly in the crook of his friend's elbow.

By the time they reached the Entrance Hall, the doors to the Great Hall had already been opened and the many students who had been waiting patiently outside had begun to file in. They joined the back of the crowd – arms still linked – and slowly made their way forward toward the Great Hall.

The Great Hall had been decorated handsomely for the prom. There were large pieces of material hung on massive arcs all around the tops of the walls, so that they seemed to be hung on the sky as shown by the enchanted ceiling. The colours alternated between the four house colours, and each colour was connected to the next with a bright shining jewel that on closer inspection actually turned out to be a fairy.

The four house tables had been Vanished, replaced with a massive dance floor that practically took up the entire Hall space; only the edges of the Great Hall were not the floor: the room was bordered with small circular tables that fit four people each, and which had tablecloths that had each of the four house colours on them and the Hogwarts crest in the very centre of the table, covered with a floral table decoration.

The teachers' table had been Vanished as well, and the front of the Hall was now a stage on which were the instruments of a 25-piece orchestra, each one accompanied with its player wearing elegant black robes. Dumbledore was standing at the front of the stage, waiting silently for the seventh-years to enter the Hall. When they had and a hush had descended over the Hall, he began to speak.

"Good evening," he greeted the students, "and welcome to your seventh year prom. Now that your exams are over and your formal education has finished, we would like you to enjoy this evening as an opportunity to let your hair down, to celebrate what I sincerely hope have been seven very delightful, memorable, and, of course, educational years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He gave a small nod to indicate that he had finished, and an applause rippled through the students, gaining in volume until cheers and whoops joined the praise. The noise died down of its own accord, and Dumbledore stood there smiling. "Enjoy."

The Headmaster stepped off of the stage and was replaced by the conductor. The orchestra began to play, and the crowd of students broke off, either into dancing or to the tables at the side of the room.

Remus and Sirius went to one of the tables. They hadn't seen James, Lily or Peter since they had each left the common room in their own time, and guessed that they were all on the dance floor.

"So," Sirius began, as he picked up a drinks menu from the table that Remus hadn't noticed before. "Wanna get drunk?"

Remus glanced over the drinks menu himself. "As much as I would love to," he began, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "none of these drinks are alcoholic."

"What?" Sirius exclaimed in indignation, his grip tightening on the menu and his eyes scanning quickly over them. "Merlin's beard! What do they think we'll do?"

"Get drunk," Remus said simply, looking up at his – still couldn't quite believe this was happening – date.

Sirius scoffed and threw the drinks menu down on the table. "There was alcohol at our fifth-year prom."

Remus chuckled. "And look at what happened then!"

Sirius looked at him with mock scorn. "I didn't give that Niffler a single drop of Firewhiskey!"

"Yeah, but you stole the poor creature from Professor Kettleburn's office, and you didn't do anything to stop it rampaging through the trophy room."

"Pah!" Sirius waved his hand at him. "Well, what did they expect? Giving a load of sixteen-year-olds alcohol? We're much more mature now."

"Being of age does not instantly make you mature," Remus assured him. "I seem to remember on your seventeenth birthday, you jumped from bed to bed, wearing only your underpants, and a Slytherin tie around your head, singing God Save the Queen."

Sirius laughed, a look of nostalgia in his eyes, "Ah, yes. That was a good birthday. I wasn't even drunk."

"Yes, I think that made it worse," Remus mumbled.

They said nothing for a few moments, looking wistfully out at the dance floor as the orchestra played a lively tune. Remus suddenly began to feel awkward. What were you supposed to do on a 'date' with a friend?

Sirius scoffed, which made Remus jump and turn to him from the dance floor.

"So what if it's not alcohol?" the Animagus mused, looking over the drinks menu once more. "I'll have… a Winter Sunrise." A long glass appeared on the table before him, with a virgin cocktail in it. The liquid had three ribbons of colour: at the very bottom of the glass, a thick black layer; above that, a layer of grey about two inches thick; and finally a rich royal blue ribbon that stretched to the top of the glass. Out of the top poked a straw and an umbrella. Sirius removed the umbrella and stuck it in his hair. It looked ridiculous.

"Want some?" Sirius asked, reaching for his wand to duplicate the straw.

"Uh, no thanks…" Remus waved it away. Sirius shrugged and sucked the drink through the straw. The blue layer began to disappear with every swig. Remus turned back to watch the dance floor. He wondered where Gwenyth was, if she had Peter were having a good time. He tried very hard not to resent his friend for his and the Hufflepuff's arrangement – after all, it hadn't been his fault that Remus had asked her and been rejected – but the irrational part of him still found himself hating Peter just a little bit. It was rather disconcerting; Remus didn't do irrational well.

He tried to distract himself by staring at the weeds that had been included in the floral arrangement in the middle of the table, when the song ended, to be replaced with one of a much similar tempo. Several of the couples took to the tables at the side of the room, already worn out but the extravagance with which they had danced during the first tune, while other couples who had decided to sit the first song out now took to the floor with gusto.

"You know that's not alcohol, mate?"

Remus jumped at the sound of James' voice behind him and turned to see him and Lily sanding there, but the bespectacled boy's question was not directed at him.

"Yeah, I know," Sirius sighed, pushing his half-finished cocktail away from him. "No alcohol at all tonight."

"Well, look what happened last time!" Lily chuckled, giving both James and Sirius pointed looks.

"I never got the Niffler drunk!" Sirius defended himself, pointing his finger at his chest and leaning forward slightly.

"And I wasn't the one who let it loose in the trophy room," James insisted.

"That was him," they both said, pointing at each other.

"Alright?" asked Peter, pushing through a couple who were standing at the edge of the dance floor, with Gwenyth in tow. She nodded awkwardly and Remus, who returned the gesture. "Haven't you been dancing?" he asked Sirius, who shook his head.

"No," he said, taking another sip of his cocktail. "We haven't."

There was an awkward silence, before it was – mercifully – broken by James.

"Hey, I heard about this game," he began, taking his wand out. "This Muggle game. Called 'Spin the Bottle'."

"No!" Lily exclaimed. "We're not playing 'Spin the Bottle'. We don't even have a bottle."

James sighed and shook his head. He cast a Hover Charm on his own wand so it hung in mid-air. "No, what I was thinking is that we could use my wand." He pushed the end so that it span round and slowed to a stop.

"But I don't want to end up kissing some random person," Lily told him. "No offence," she added to the others.

"Well," Gwenyth began. Everyone turned to her. "How about it's couples? We stand round in our couples and whichever it lands on had to kiss?"

"This is a kissing game?" Sirius asked excitedly. "I'm in!" He stood up from is seat, and pulled Remus up too.

"Uh…" Remus began, not sure about this. His feeble protest was ignored as the group formed a circle around the table.

"Ready?" James asked. Everyone but Remus nodded. James pushed his wand.

The wand twirled in mid-air, slowing down agonizingly slowly, so that it seemed that it would stop on any one of them…

It stopped, pointing directly at Remus.

He gaped, looking up at Sirius, who was quickly hiding a look of slight panic of his own.

"Come on!" James urged. "Rules are rules."

Remus looked at Sirius, hopefully begging him with his eyes that he wouldn't have to do this. Finally, Lily – sweet, wonderful Lily – came to his rescue.

"Leave them alone." She took the wand out of mid-air and slapped it against James' chest. "They just here as friends, they don't have to."

James looked disappointed, but sighed. "Fine! But you have to kiss at some point tonight," he pointed his wand at both Remus and Sirius. "Otherwise you have to pay a forfeit."

"What's the forfeit?" Sirius challenged.

James looked thoughtful for a moment. "You have to… break into Dumbledore's office and let off exactly six Dungbombs. No more, no less."

Sirius grinned at James. "Deal!" He held out his hand and they shook.

"Uh…" Remus tried to interject, now feeling distinctly uncomfortable. The orchestra began to play another song, and the other couples all took their leave to dance. Remus and Sirius sat back down.

"What was that all about?" Remus hissed when the others were out of earshot.

"What?" Sirius shrugged, resuming sipping his drink.

"Why-"

"Don't worry about it," Sirius told him. "If we lose, I'll let off the Dungbombs and tell James that you were there as well."

"What if he watches you on the Map?" Remus asked.

"He won't," Sirius said simply. "I'll take the Map, I'll need it so I don't run into anyone who might cause a bit of trouble."

Remus sighed, sitting back in his seat. "Fine." Sirius slurped loudly at his drink.

"You know," he began, drawing Remus' attention back to him. "What would be the harm in letting off those Dungbombs? I mean, what can they do? They can't expel us – Dumbledore said it himself, we've finished our formal education."

Remus sighed. "We still need our references if we want a job."

Sirius couldn't think of a suitable comeback to this. He took another noisy slurp of drink, reaching the bottom layer of the cocktail. "Besides," he began; Remus sighed again. "Is the alternative really that awful?"

Remus gaped at him. Was he really asking him this? Then again, he'd been acting strangely all evening. The rose, the effort into his appearance – for Remus was feeling less and less as though he had tried so hard simply to make Marlene jealous – and now the idea that they had to kiss before the evening was out or suffer a forfeit? And why was he so enthusiastic about the prospect of a kiss, when he had looked positively terrified before? Remus wondered with a slight sinking feeling that the look of panic was purely for his benefit.

"Uh…" Remus blanched. His cheeks felt very hot. The silence seemed to last for an age, before Sirius abruptly stood and wrenched Remus back to reality. He was suddenly aware that the song had changed.

"Dance?" Sirius held out his hand to Remus.

Remus was so lost in his thoughts that he took the offered hand without thinking, standing and following his – maybe this had been Sirius' plan all along? – date. When they reached the edge of the dancefloor, Sirius leaned into Remus' ear.

"I'll lead," he murmured, in what Remus guessed was the same tone of voice that had got Athena Arkwright into that corner of the Gryffindor common room. He blushed again as they stepped onto the dance floor.

The new song was slow, and the couples all around were barely moving; shuffling in a small circle while staring at each other all doe-eyed. It was not the sort of environment Remus had been hoping to dance with Sirius in, but it seemed that he would have no choice.

Mercifully, Sirius pulled him to the middle of the dancefloor, where they would have less chance of being spotted. Unfortunately, Sirius took his promise to 'lead' rather seriously; he placed one hand on Remus' waist and wrapped the other around the werewolf's fingers. He was even standing incredibly close.

Remus tried to ask Sirius what he was doing, but someone seemed to have cast a Silencing Charm on him, and when he tried to speak it only resulted in a nervous gulp. He couldn't take his eyes off of the hand that Sirius had taken in his own. It was held in a soft grip, and Remus suspected that he could easily extract it if he wanted to.

Why didn't he, then?

They danced in silence as Remus looked all around the dancefloor, very aware of the hand on his waist. He was desperately trying to justify this situation, even imagining that he was now dancing with Gwenyth instead of Sirius – an image which ceased to work when they turned in their small circle and Remus spotted the aforementioned Hufflepuff kissing Peter, their dance forgotten about.

Sirius seemed to notice his discomfort. He – once again – leaned into his ear to whisper. This action was accompanied with the hand on his waist slipping to his hip. Remus closed his eyes in response, glad that Sirius couldn't see that this had happened.

"What's wrong?" Sirius murmured, and Remus began to feel dizzy, an annoying fluttering starting in his stomach.

"N-nothing," he stammered, his voice an octave higher than usual now that the Silencing Charm had been lifted. He forced his eyes open, but this only made the dizziness increase.

It took him a moment to realise that the dizziness was no longer related to what was happening; a shooting pain went through his temple, and he recognised it as an after-effect of his violent transformation the other day.

"A-actually," he muttered, his grip on Sirius' hand tightening. "I think I need some fresh air."

"Wha-"Sirius pulled back, and Remus knew that he must have paled, for the Animagus' face increased in concern and he nodded. He took him off of the dancefloor, manoeuvring through couples who voiced their indignation at being interrupted.

The world lurched uncomfortably from side to side as though he was on a boat as Sirius took him out into the Entrance Hall. The oak front doors had been left open and they left the castle, the fresh summer's air hitting him in the face refreshingly. He took a couple of gulps of air outside as Sirius led him around the corner, and began to feel a little better.

"How's that?" Sirius asked as they came to a stop.

Remus, gasping from the shock of the sudden pain, nodded in response.

This was a bad idea.

The dizziness returned with a vengeance. He cried out in pain as his head began to throb, squeezing his eyes shut and feeling himself falling forwards…

Sirius caught him, and he felt a hand curl into his hair as he was lowered to the ground on his back. When he felt the soft grass underneath him, he waited a few more seconds – and a few more deep breaths – before daring to open his eyes once more. He expected to see the vast expanse of the cosmos against the inky black sky, but instead was met with the apprehensive expression on Sirius' face as the Animagus leaned over him. He took a few more deep breaths and, when he could, managed a weak smile.

"What was that?" Sirius breathed, visibly relaxing.

Remus gulped slightly. "Just… a little reaction from the other night."

"Oh," Sirius nodded. He looked the werewolf straight in the eye. "How are you feeling now?" he asked tentatively.

The world was still swaying slightly before his eyes, but it was nowhere near as bad as before. "Better," Remus answered. He found that his voice was feebler than normal. "I don't think I should move for a bit."

Sirius nodded in understanding and rolled to the side, lying down next to him on the mercifully dry grass. The gorgeous night sky appeared before him, with millions of twinkling stars reaching back millions of years. Even the Milky Way was visible as a lilac cloud painted across the middle of the sky. When his head was feeling quite normal again, Remus spoke.

"Sirius?"

"Hmm?" the Animagus asked, turning his head to Remus. He sounded sluggish, as though he had been ready to fall asleep.

"Which one of those stars is you?"

Sirius chuckled and looked back at the sky. The noise sent a shiver down Remus' spine. "That one," he explained, pointing at a bright star among many others. "The Dog Star."

Remus felt a small smile tug at his lips. There was silence once more.

"Sirius?"

"Hmm?"

Remus gulped nervously. "Why did you want to play that game?"

He felt Sirius shift uncomfortably next to him. "Because I wanted to kiss you."

Remus' head snapped round to Sirius; the motion caused his head to twinge in protest, but he ignored it. The Animagus was still looking at the sky. "I'm sorry?" he squeaked.

Sirius sighed. "For about a year now."

Remus couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But… but you're not gay!"

"Well," Sirius shrugged, "I think I'm probably bi."

Remus' head was spinning. "But…"

"Do you remember when we got really drunk, but you stayed sober?"

"The night before prom was announced?" Remus asked.

Sirius nodded. "Well, you'd already gone to sleep, and I drunkenly confessed to James about… this." He lifted his hand a little off of the grass and dropped it back down again. "And he drunkenly offered to help me."

Remus slowly turned back to the starry night sky, and the pieces began to slot together. "James was the one who suggested that we come together."

"And he was the only who wanted to play 'Spin the Bottle'," Sirius offered.

Remus turned to him again. "But when the 'bottle' landed on me, you looked horrified."

Sirius smiled sadly. "Because you did," he mumbled glumly. "I'd never force you because of a little crush."

There was another lull, and Remus gazed at the Dog Star once more.

"So…" he began cautiously, "when did you… know?"

"That I was bi?" Sirius asked. Remus heard him shift slightly. The werewolf nodded.

Sirius sighed. "Probably after I snogged Patrick Midgeon in fifth year."

Despite of himself, Remus couldn't help but giggle. "Patrick Midgeon?" Patrick Midgeon was a Ravenclaw in the Marauders' year who was infamous for his seemingly incurable acne. Even Madam Pomfrey was stumped.

"Yeah," Sirius chuckled. "He cornered me after Potions one day."

"He cornered you?" Remus asked, astonished, ripping his gaze away from the sky to turn to Sirius again. The Animagus was still transfixed by the stars.

"Yeah. Apparently there was a poll among the Ravenclaw boys that he couldn't make me moan."

"And did you?" Remus asked, smirking.

Sirius smiled. "Yeah. I did."

They laughed, long and hard, until their ribs hurt. After a good few minutes the mirth died down to nothing.

Sirius cleared his throat. "Then there was the Muggle boy who lived next door," he explained. "That was difficult to keep a secret from my parents, I tell you."

Remus knew that this was going to develop into a list, so he interrupted before he began to feel completely inadequate.

"Alright, I get it, you've kissed a million boys," he chuckled, but suddenly he wasn't feeling very joyful.

"Not a million," Sirius shrugged with affected modesty. "But I suppose a few." He paused thoughtfully. "I even snogged James once. Oh, we were both absolutely smashed," he added at Remus' noise of shock and indignation.

There was another pause.

"I've never kissed anyone," Remus admitted quietly.

Sirius' head snapped round to face him. "What?" he asked, disbelievingly. "Not even Juniper Green at fifth year prom?"

Remus shook his head. "Nope," he sighed.

Sirius stared at him with incredibly wide eyes – eyes that Remus was only now realising were a deep shade of chocolate brown. He was reminded of the bars of Samson Strong's Honey Flavoured Chocolate that he ate the morning after the full moon. Those bars were delicious…

Those eyes flicked to his lips and back again. And suddenly, the Animagus' lips were on his own; it happened so fast, Remus wondered if he had blacked out. It was quick and soft, but when Sirius pulled back he found himself breathing like he had run a mile. For the first time since Remus could remember, Sirius looked… nervous.

The Animagus gulped. "Um…" he breathed. "Well, now you have."

Remus nodded. "Yes," he agreed. "Now I have."

"Um," Sirius stammered. "D… was it good?"

Remus smirked. "I don't know," he answered. "We'll have to try again."

And he kissed him.