#themaraudersera

 Sirius shakes out the October chill and unzips his leather jacket to adjust to the inside heat. He weaves to the table where Remus now relaxes.            

“This place is so… lopsided,” Sirius says, his grey eyes traveling up to the ceiling then down to the floor. He pulls back a chair and throws a leg up on the table, making himself at home.            

Remus chuckles, “Some would say that’s the point.”            

Crooked House Café is a small place one village over from Hogsmeade that serves both muggles and wizards. The walls line with shelves of old books and vintage art posters hang below. The posters have a subtle charm on them that allows the subjects to move ever so slightly. Seven table and chair sets dot the interior and offer the only seating. Above each table a bright bare light bulb hangs from the ceiling, so it permanently looks like late afternoon in the café. Remus has always been comforted by the way time pauses in here and stays at the perfect hour.            

“Have you done the potions essay yet?” Remus asks Sirius even though he knows the answer. Sirius’ eyebrow twitches and a slow smile forms on his face. 

“James is writing ours,” he says.            

“Ours?” Remus leans back in his chair, “I’m confident the essay shouldn‘t be co-authored.”            

“Well, there’s only one author: James,” he says, studying the chalk board menu. Remus remembers the upcoming Quidditch match and sees the reality.            

“So, Lily’s writing three essays?” Remus corrects. “That’s a serious amount of work.” He tenses, realizing he walked straight into it.            

“You sound like my mother,” he says off-handed, then gets up to order a drink.            

The front door squeaks again and Moony smells Prongs and Wormtail. Remus smiles at the two and waves them over. They commandeer two chairs from an empty neighboring table, squeezing in on opposite sides to fit under the small square table. James adjusts his glasses, then pulls a knee to his chest to get comfortable.            

“Is this your secret hideaway?” Peter asks, unraveling his scarf. His eyes circling the off- kilter place much the way Sirius’ did.            

“I suppose,” Remus says. He digs into his jean pocket to unearthing folded bills and spare change to find the correct amount for a chocolate muffin.            

Sirius returns, knocking into James’ chair and James shoves back, but Sirius’ evasive maneuvers dissolve James’ hard push into a light tap.            

“Whoa, there, carrying the goods here,” Sirius says. Remus eyes flutter upward in a disguised eye roll he does when Sirius makes a narcissistic comment. “I saw that,” Sirius’ voice sounds beside Remus, “I wasn’t referring to myself, but I’m glad to know you think of me as the goods.” His braceleted hand places a chocolate muffin in front of Remus before he takes his seat beside James. Remus lets a real eyeroll go this time, but thanks him for the muffin too.            

James pulls out our unfinished map from his robe, unfolding it on the table. “Fellow Marauders, we have a new edit to make,” he says.            

“Yeah?” Remus raises an eyebrow.            

“James and I found a new passage way,” Sirius says, sipping his latte.            

“No way!” Peter exclaims, “Where’s this one go?”            

James flips through the folds of the map, then points at a blank space outside the castle. “Here,” he says. James’ finger trails along the paper, “And it leads to a little field just outside  Hogsmeade.”            

“So, it’s underground?” Peter asks. Remus leans closer to the map, assessing the new discovery. They don’t have anything marking the area James traces            

“Yeah,” James says, nodding, “It’s a tunnel. Made of stone, flickering lights, and musty water. Bloody creepy.”            

“We already have the one-eyed witch passage to go to Hogsmeade. Why use this one?” Peter says.            

“This one, I assume by the isolated location, isn’t monitored by anyone,” Remus starts, then continues as Sirius throws him a proud smirk, “And say, if we needed to smuggle something into the castle, it‘s a better passage.”            

“This is why we keep you around,” Sirius says with a wink. With the full moon near, Remus’ emotion amplify, so a pink blush dusts his cheeks. Remus clears his throat and pulls at the neck of his sweater.            

“Bit warm in here,” he mumbles.            

“No kidding,” James agrees, “I’ve sweat through my jumper.” He lifts an arm, pointing to the slight darkening around his pit.            

“James, you’ll make the whole place stink,” Sirius says.            

“Piss off,” he says, thrusting his foot into the bottom of Sirius’ chair. Remus smiles at their antics, but the joy doesn’t quite reach him. Perhaps, another time will let him feel the happiness. He sighs.            

James and Sirius’ mini-fight cause enough ruckus to garner the attention of the owner, a balding man whose frame matches the house: a touch off center. He throws a disapproving look at the group of misfit boys crowded around a small table.            

“Our welcome is waning,” Remus says, then checks his watch, “We should get back to the castle, anyway.”  

REMUS STARES INTO the narrow tunnel. It’s exactly as James described. The walls and floor are made of stacked stone and the ceiling curves overhead. A set of stairs leads down to a flat floor and every meter a light shines with the help of magic, creating patches of dark and light. We’re not going underground, Moony says. Three Marauders file down the stairs, but Remus stays planted in the grass outside.            

“C’mon,” Peter waves a hand, beckoning Remus forward.            

He shakes his head, “Moony says no.” Remus chews on his lip as his heart thumps in his chest and his hands sweat, so he sticks them in his pockets.    

Peter tugs James’ jumper, then turns his attention to Remus, “We can explore another time.”            

The boys climb out of the secret passageway and walk along the gravel path toward the castle. It towers ahead and blocks out the sun’s rays, leaving them in chilly shadows. Sirius zips up his jacket and Peter wraps his scarf around his neck once again while James tucks his hands under his elbows to keep them warm. Remus feels too warm.            

“I hate this,” Remus mumbles under his breath. James catches his muttering and gives him a reassuring smile that tells him not to worry. Remus manages to return the expression, but Moony complains about the confining space of Remus’ body. A bead of sweat trickles down his back, adding to his skin’s uncomfortable status. He entertains taking off his layers of clothes, but revealing the scars etched into his body to the world keeps him from enacting this impulse. Remus doesn’t need the extra attention or the stares today, especially today. He glances at his watch again, counting down the hours. They whittle faster than Remus wishes.            

James bets Sirius he can run faster, arguing that a stag’s long legs make them better at running than a dog’s short ones. They appoint Remus to be the judge, but before anyone speeds off into the distance, they’re interrupted by the sound of someone else’s footsteps on the gravel path.

“Snivellus,” Sirius say, his upper lip curling back.

“Taking the dog out for a walk, are we?” Severus sneers, narrowing his eyes on Remus. “Woof,” Sirius says. Peter holds in his laughter, but clutches his wand tighter, whether out of fear or anger, Remus doesn’t know.            

James squares his shoulders, “Don’t you have a chemistry set to play with or something?”            

Severus glares at them then stalks off, his black robes billowing in the wind. They shake off the encounter with Snape and continue with the race, and even Peter places a bet on who will win.  

THE FOUR MARAUDERS stuff themselves under James’ invisibility cloak while the sneak through the castle the next night. Remus stoops to match the height of the other boys and they each tug on the edges of the cloak to keep it in place. Remus smells Peter’s fear sweat and the remainders Lily’s perfume on James, but what he really smells is Sirius. His peppermint gum and his favorite cologne swirl in the tight space under the cloak.

“Guys, my feet are sticking out,” Peter whispers.            

“I’m pretty sure all of our feet are sticking out,” Sirius says, shifting the surrounding cloak.            

“Well, Peter,” Remus chuckles, “if you get caught, we all get caught.”            

“So, the usual stakes,” James says. Remus hears the smile in his voice and cracks a smile despite the circumstances and impending trouble.            

They make it out of the castle and once they get far enough outside, they ditch the cloak. Remus breathes in the fresh air and watches his friends scatter in front of him, running toward the Whomping Willow to access the passageway to the Shrieking Shack.            

The night sky domes above the Marauders, sprinkled with stars and in the sky’s corner, the full moon shines. Remus stares at it while Moony stirs, desperate to claw his way out. Remus sighs, thinking he should admit that he and Moony are one in the same. They are both monstrous and they are both dangerous.            

Sirius stops and walks back to where Remus stands.            

“You think you’ll make it to the shack?” he asks, “The forest is close if you can’t.”                

“Do you ever feel like you won’t ever have enough time?” Remus says, not answering his question, “There’s this idea that at some future time, the pain won’t hurt so much and if we hold on long enough, we’ll get there,” Silence lingers between them as Sirius listens to Remus’ words, both the ones said aloud and those kept inside. “Perhaps that time is only rewarded to the good ones,” Remus says, staring at the ground and shoving his hands into his sweater’s pockets. Sirius’ warm hand grips his shoulder.            

“I’ve seen evil and you, Remus John Lupin, don’t compare. You have so much good inside,” Sirius says.            

“And so much bad,” Remus whispers.            

“I’ve yet to see it.”            

“Do you think if I wait long enough, I’ll find the time?” Remus hesitantly peaks up at the familiar grey eyes and shaggy brown hair, fearing both a positive and a negative answer.            

Sirius shrugs, “Why wait, Moony?” He points with his head to Whomping Willow, “C’mon, we’ll have to rush to catch up with them.”