Peter Pettigrew

Remus was slightly taken aback at how forward Peter was being. It was evident his friend was drunk when he was so openly talking about the fact that he was going to die a virgin. It made Remus laugh, though, and shake his head slightly. “I’m gonna die a virgin, too, Wormtail. Don’t worry, we’re in this together. I didn’t realize it was such a big deal to you, though. We can try to find you somebody tonight! I can’t guarantee that I’ll be much of a good wingman, that sounds more like a job for Sirius, but I’ll certainly try my best.” Remus wasn’t much of a flirt, although he had been told many times he was quite flirty. He was sure people just misunderstood his friendliness for flirtiness, and he was willing to go out of his way to flirt with someone if it meant he could make Peter happy in the end. 

“How many drinks did you have before I got here?” Remus questioned as he watched Peter make a mess of the alcohol while he attempted to pour a shot. He took the bottle from the other, a smile on his face, “Listen, we can’t go wasting this. I’ll pour your shots for you, alright?” Dealing with a drunk Peter wasn’t much different than dealing with a toddler, it was honestly quite adorable and it always gave Remus a good laugh. He poured another shot for himself and quickly took it back, the more alcohol entering his system made it much easier to handle the firewhiskey, and poured another one for Peter, “I’m considering cutting you off soon, I think you’ve had enough." 

The other’s arm around his shoulders was far from unwelcome, in fact Remus practically  fell in to it. He was always affectionate with his friends and being tipsy made it much worse. He leaned his head against Peter, "You know I love to cuddle, but if we’re going to find you someone to flirt it up with tonight we can’t stay like this long. People might start to think that we’re together.”

Peter huffed, “It’s not a big deal... s’just... it’s such a normal thing for everyone else isn’t it?” He said, looking over at Remus, his eyes a little unfocused thanks to the alcohol but he was still very aware of what he was doing. “Like, Sirius was getting it off whoever he wanted back in school. I think it was all James and Lily did in seventh year when they weren’t revising for N.E.W.Ts,” he deadpanned, “And here we are... Still boys and fighting a war.” Maybe he just wanted to be considered a ‘man’ in his own mind. Maybe he wanted that moment of intimacy with another person. Hell, Peter sometimes wondered if it might even be having the chance to do something wild and carnal before he ended up... Well, who knew what this war might do to him.

Peter blinked a few times and let out a breath while he tried to answer the question, “I’m going to say.... a lot.” he nodded, “Not loads... But a lot.” And with that very inaccurate measurement of his drinking so far he tipped back his shot, “It’s nice. I feel like I talk more like this, do I talk more like this?” he asked, frowning a little and looking over at Remus. He chuckled and nodded, “Okay Mama-Mooney.  Can you pour me another one pleeeeease?” he asked lightly, before scoffing, “Hey! I am very good at holding my alcohol, I held several bottles growing up.” he snorted at his own terrible joke, but to his mind it was pretty damn funny.

Peter laughed his arm tightening around the other a little and his loosened-free mouth opening to speak, “Wouldn’t be so bad would it? you know I’m a useless scaredy cat, I know about how to look after you when you need it. I think we’d be pretty good together.” he grinned, “So long as you kept me in the manner to which I have become accustomed.” he said loftily.  

Remus smiled at Peter, laughing slightly. “Sad old man,” He repeated, “We’re just barely adults, we can’t compare ourselves to sad old men. Not yet, anyway. Give it a few more years.” If they lasted that long, that is. Although he hated thinking about it, he didn’t see much of a future for himself and his friends, not with how things were playing out. When he was talking to the others though, especially the more worrisome of the lot like Peter or Lily, Remus tried his best to act as though he was expecting the best outcome.      

Nodding along with Peter, Remus couldn’t help his smile from widening. Reckless and wild were two words that were very prominent in the vocabulary of the Marauders, and with everything going on it seemed to be making it even worse for the four of them. Taking the bottle from Peter, Remus poured himself another shot, “You say that as though we aren’t known for being reckless. Is going out and getting drunk with your best friend on a week night not wild enough for you?” He teased, knowing full well that the pair of them were the more tame ones of their group. Waving away Peter’s comments, Remus shook his head slightly, “Although I would love the security of a Ministry job, they don’t want me. It’s even worse now with all the suspicion. Didn’t you hear? People like me can’t be trusted.” Even people in the Order had a hard time trusting Remus due to his lycanthropy, which in turn only fueled him to work even harder to prove that there’s nothing to be afraid of. Taking back his shot as well, Remus stood and moved to the seat beside Peter, “Easier to people watch from here.” He laughed, leaning slightly against his friend.

Peter nodded, thoroughly tipsy at this point, “Yup. Sad old men. That’s what we are. We don’t get to be adults, we go from teenagers to sad old men.” There wasn’t even a hitch in his voice, though now he didn’t even notice, more evidence of his lowered inhibitions and lowered anxiety in general. “No more years. Sad old men now. I think I kinda like it. I can yell at kids and sob about how all the people I loved didn’t want me.” He looked over and Remus and bluntly said, “I’m going to die a virgin Mooney. There’s a war on and I still can’t work up the guts enough to flirt with and have my wicked way with someone.” It probably wasn’t a big deal, there had to be a tonne of eighteen year old virgins in the world but... With what felt like a tickling clock over his head he didn’t want to be one of them in case his tick-tocks ran out.

“Hey!” He pointed a finger at Remus, “I’m a merlin-damned angel in comparison to you lot.” Of the four he was certainly the most tame and he accepted this. “So when I wanna do the crazy thing then you know it’s bad.” he snorted, “We need to be drunker, gotta come away from this with some story for the other two.” Peter poured another shot, missing the glass a little at first, and then finished it, going ‘bleh’ once again. “Remus,” Peter reached out and put a hand on the other’s bicep, fingers squeezing the skin there as he rubbed it a little, “I trust you.” he paused then added quietly, “I trust you the most.” Sirius and James, he couldn’t live without them, but Remus had found him first and that had made it’s own kind of bond. When Remus moved Peter put his arm around his shoulders instead, pulling him close, “Yea... It is. I’d be happy just watching you be happy though.”      

redandgoldenboy‌:

His gaze moving to each of his friends in turn, James can’t quite keep the smile from his face. Were he not aware of the circumstances of their meeting, it would almost feel like they were back at Hogwarts again. Sneaking into the Three Broomsticks, trying to convince Rosmerta to pour them Firewhiskey despite her knowing they were all underage. And yet now they were all very much of age, and he at least was getting married of all things!

“Rosie loves us. Or at least Sirius and I,” James says, adjusting his grip on his glass as his eyes shine teasingly, knowing that the barmaid had an awfully big soft spot for them all. Unable to stop himself from laughing, James nudges Peter gently with his shoulder, mockingly frowning at Remus in return. “Come on Moony, that’s unnecessary. Pete doesn’t need to be scarred anymore by the fact Sirius likes to sleep in the buff. Hasn’t he just escaped seven years of that?” 

Sirius’ presence almost immediately fills the room, as he is wont to do, and James’ smile only grows at the sight, watching as his best friend flings himself at Peter. Lifting his glass in a subtle salute, James shakes his head, pasting a bored look onto his face. “Black,” he responds, taking a sip of the warm liquid. “Just a meeting of men. Nothing too significant.” 

@lvpinremvs​

James seemed to be enjoying himself, which was really the only thing Remus could have hoped for. He knew that his friend likely didn’t expect much, if anything, for a bachelor stag party and Remus was glad to do something small to show James how much they were all truly happy for him. Although it would have been fun to have a proper party, there wasn’t enough time to plan for that and Remus wasn’t even sure who else they would have invited. He was positive the four of them would have a night to remember, that was if the fourth of them ever decided to join them.

Raising his hands in defense, Remus laughed, “It was just a suggestion, I never said it was a good one.” He shook his head, taking back his second shot slightly more gracefully this time. Remus cleared his throat and sat back in his seat, “He better join us soon, I desperately want to start taking potion shots.” And almost like clockwork Sirius entered the room, all eyes immediately on him, as per usual.

It felt right. The four of them, alone together for the first time in… Months? It always seemed as though someone was busy, or they were surrounded by others, they didn’t get to spend as much time together now than they once did. As Remus looked around to the other three faces in the room he felt at peace, as if nothing bad could happen when it was just the four of them. “Padfoot you’d better catch up, we want to play a game but it’ll be more fun if we’re all drunk.” Remus snatched the bottle of firewhiskey off the table and filled up two shot glasses, sliding them over to Sirius, “Drink up.”

@wormtailpettigrewpeter​

“It was an awful idea.“ he said, words sounding unimpressed but there as a small grin on his lips. Though he was sure he’d done that to each of his friends at least once. He didn’t stay this close to them through all these years by not having any sense of mischief in him. “But if I recall I’ve had each of you screaming like four year old girls by sneaking under your c-covers once before.” His gaze slid over to James and Peter raised a brow, idly moving the now empty glass between his fingers, “She endures the two of you. Thinks I’m ad-a-ad-” he swallowed, “Cute. And loves Remus.” There was the accurate retelling.

“I’m s-sure he’ll be down any moment-” And Peter was cut off by the other, wincing at the idea of ‘loving’ an in the buff Sirius. “S-seen it already. Not impressed.” he managed to get out. It was enough for the pureblood to lean back and gasp dramatically, “Wormy you little perv. It’s always the quiet ones you gotta watch.” he shook his head in ‘disappointment’ and as he sat, eyes lighting up at the prepared game on the table. “Oh nooo James. Just you ending out life-long relationship to be with a woman,” he sniffed, “My love just wasn’t enough for you.” he promptly smirked and added, “Still can’t believe this is happening... I thought Evans was a woman of taste.”

Raising a brow at Remus he took both shots, downed them without a wince, poured anothr two and repeated the motion. “Mooney, I am a pre-gaming master. You know this. More importantly what have the so-called good boys of our group been up to.” he smirked, putting a hand on James’ shoulder, “Prongs, I think we’ve corrupted them. Your mother would be ashamed of us.” Looking at the table again he added, “Are any of these going to end the night in murder? I wouldn’t be opposed by best to get alibis in order if we wanna get Prongs sprung from Azkaban in time for his vows.”    

It was always a nice surprise when Peter had a few drinks in him and he was able to express himself a little more clearly than usual. Of course Remus loved him just the way he was, but to have him exude confidence was something he wished his friend could do more often. What wasn’t a surprise, though, was Peter buying more drinks than he could handle on his own, his friends were always kind enough to things like that for him knowing of his limited funds. “You know that wasn’t necessary, Peter.” Remus said with a sheepish smile, “But not unappreciated.” He nodded, taking back the shot less than gracefully.

“Three?” Remus questioned with wide eyes, nearly choking on the aftermath of the shot. “That’s insane. Good for them, though.” The war was making a lot of people do crazy things, he supposed a few engagements were nothing compared to things people could be doing. Remus leaned back in his seat and glanced about the bar, it wasn’t a horribly busy night but there were quite a few others. “Madam Rosmerta seems to really have her work cut out for her, huh? There’s never a night there aren’t at least a few people in the bar. I wonder if she’s looking for some part-time help…” He was sure if he mentioned he was looking for work, Rosmerta would find something for him to do, though he wouldn’t help but to feel bad if he was unavailable when she needed him. Remus shook the thought from his head and turned his attention fully back to Peter, “How was work today?”

“If people only did stuff because it was necessary then we wouldn’t all be in this situation right now,” he answered with a small shrug, blinking a few times before adding, “Huh, no stutter.” With a grin, he took another shot and made an inelegant ‘bleh’ noise at the burn of the whiskey before putting his glass down, “Besides, I don’t wanna drink alone like a sad old man.” Odds were none of them would manage to make it to be ‘sad old men’ and that thought was enough to have him swallowing and pouring himself another shot, though he held the glass between his fingers for the moment.

He nodded slowly, turning the shot glass back and forth in his hand, “Yup. I wonder if they’d be getting married at all if this wasn’t all happening.” he sighed, “I get it though, s’enough to make you wanna do something a little reckless and wild, eh?” Peter snorted, before looking around the bar at Remus’ words. “You should ask her. It’s a waste of how good you are but I’m sure she’d be happy for a little help, gotta want some time for herself.” Or maybe not, maybe she was happy with the constant distraction of work? “I’ll still looking for something at the Ministry for you,” he added, a little more quietly, “But right now everyone’s so suspicious...” And he was too much of a coward to outright battle to try and get Remus a good job on a fair wage. “Not that you’d wanna be there,” he added, finally throwing back the shot and blinking several times before he smirked and said happily, “It’s a fucking madhouse.” And laughed a little... Yup, pretty tipsy.        

redandgoldenboy‌:

Trying hard not to expressively show his limp as he walks, James lifts one hand to wave leisurely at his best friends, unable to quite stop the smile that spreads across his mouth. He felt as though he had spent half of his life wasting away in St. Mungo’s as of late, and it was nice to be out and about. While he loved that Lily had visited him for hours on end while he was trapped and that they were able to come to some fairly conclusive decisions regarding their wedding, he would have much preferred not to be in a hospital bed when it was decided.

And now, if anything, he was just extra pleased that not only was he free, but he got to celebrate his impending nuptials with his favourite people in the universe, outside Lily herself. Settling himself into the chair with ease, James rests both hands heavily on the table in front of him, taking the proffered shot with a grin. Raising it into the air, James can’t help the laugh that bursts from his lips, shaking his head lightly. “And here’s to the fact I won Lily Evans over in the end,” he says, amusement tinging every word.

Tossing back the shot, James can feel it burn as it slips down his throat, before settling warmly in his stomach. He places the glass back on the table with another smile, glad for the cozy warmth the Firewhiskey had brought, as he glances about the empty room. “Two things; what’d you have to give Rosie to get her to give this place up for you tonight? And also where’s the best man? He wouldn’t miss this, would he?” 

“To James,” Remus repeated after Peter and lifted his glass, his grin only growing wider. It was wild to think that James and Lily ended up together after their history. But they were perfect for each other, and Remus couldn’t be happier to be here celebrating with the people that meant the most to him. He took his shot, but not as gracefully as James did. Firewhiskey was something he tended to shy away from because of how badly it burned his insides, but it did spread a warmth throughout him that he did enjoy.    

“Rosmerta was easy, all I had to do was put on my best smile and blink my luscious lashes at her a couple times.” Remus laughed, imitating the actions, “That’s not true, actually, it was much simpler than that. I asked her if she could get me in touch with her liquor supplier so we could make sure we had a lot of alcohol for the night. She questioned why, I told her it was for you and she just offered the place. I wasn’t going to say no to that.”

He blinked at his questioning on Sirius. What did happen to him? “Oh, Sirius came with me. I think he said he was going to take a nap, beauty sleep and all that.” Remus chuckled and rolled his eyes, “Not sure which room he went up to, I was busy setting up, but we could always go find him and put Peter in his bed to wake him up.” He smirked and lifted both his brows at Peter, “That’d give him a mighty scare.”

“And his tenacity and Lily’s clemency,” Peter added impishly, he didn’t usually try jokes despite thinking of them but around his friends he felt brave enough to try. Taking the shot himself he pursed his lips at the burn and set the glass down, idly waving his wand once to lift the bottle of firewhiskey and give everyone a refill. This was only the first of many after all, the night was promising to be what a glorious disaster... Which, to be fair, summarised many of their school shenanigans.

“Against all odds we must’ve made a good impression.” he said quietly with a small shrug, though his little grin quickly turned to a look of horror at the idea of sticking him in Sirius’ bed, “No thank y-you! I’d see things and be scarred for life!” The thought alone was enough to have him knocking back the next shot, “Unless most of the girls in out year I’ve no desire to get into Sirius Black’s bed.”

‘Wormy you little lair!’ Came a boisterous cry from the stairs followed by a loud bang as Sirius jumped the last few to join them. He strode over and wrapped an arm around Peter’s neck, pressing his lips into the other’s hair to leave a sloppy sounding kiss, ‘You’d love it and be hooked. My Love!’ he declared, completely by passing James to drag Remus into a one armed hug and take a seat between him and James, ‘Potter.’ he said with barely a nod, picking up his own shot and playing coy, smirking at the other two on the table, ‘Meeting for anything special are we?’  

Remus didn’t find himself going out as often as he would have liked. It felt as though there was a dark cloud following everywhere he went, nothing felt safe anymore, but he couldn’t deny an offer to go out for a drink with Peter when it came up, much to his surprise. They didn’t often spend time together, just the two of them, and Remus was sure when he asked to have a day just for them Peter wouldn’t hae wanted to go out somewhere, but they had agreed to meet up at the Three Broomsticks for a drink, to let loose a little bit.  

He was running late, as per usual, and hoped Peter hadn’t been sitting there waiting for him for too long, he knew being in public wasn’t his favourite thing in the world, especially while sober. Remus approached the inn and pushed the door open, scanning for his friend. He caught sight of him, but instead of heading over to the table, Remus walked up to the bar and greeted Madam Rosmerta with a smile. He ordered himself a mead, which Madam Rosmerta had insisted was on the house for one of her favourite trouble makers, but Remus could afford the one drink and made sure the money had ended up in the till before walking away.

Finally meeting up with Peter, Remus settled himself down across from his friend and took a swig of his mead, “It was a good call to meet up here, mate. I definitely needed a drink.”

Peter preferred to hide in his own apartment these days, either bundled on his armchair in the living room or as a rat in the comfy cage under his bed. Both were safe spaces, where he could get as close to relaxed as he suspected he could be. The Three Broomsticks was as far removed from those places as it was possible to be; loud, brash, colourful... and yet there he was, already on his third shot to help him cope. He wouldn’t have had so many but Remus was running late and he couldn’t help but want to arrive early.

He’d just come back from asking Rosmerta if she could bring a bottle of firewhiskey over, she’d given him a sympathetic nod and was sure she’d not let him pay full price... she was far too nice to all of them. The bottle has just been placed down with two glasses when he saw Remus walk into the bar, “I’ve already had a few.” he said, the steadiness and normal volume of his voice a good indicator of that. “I gave up and just got a bottle... shot?” he asked, pouring them both one before Remus could answer, “I won’t be able to finish this by myself.” And this way he could ensure the pair of them got drinks without Remus feeling awkward about it, he knew how hard it was for the other to find work.

Peter’s fingers curled around his glass and he said, “Three couples at the ministry got engaged today; I think the war is making everyone move their relationships forward double quick.”  

redandgoldenboy‌:

Straightening up his jacket as he apparates into Hogsmeade, James takes a moment to ensure that his hair was not only appropriately windswept, but that he didn’t look too much like he had just gotten out of St. Mungos. Admittedly he had just done that, but there was no need to look that way. The frequent nightmares that were now plaguing him had led to unmistakable dark circles under his eyes, but he pastes a smile on his face regardless.

His injured leg is slightly stiffer than normal, however, there is a newfound spring in his step. It had been too long since he had spent an appropriate amount of time with Peter and Remus, and while a part of him was concerned with the sudden secrecy and the vague owls, he was still thrilled to see what they had come up with.

Pushing the door to the pub open, glad for the sudden rush of warmth and a refuge from the chilled October air, James almost immediately spots two familiar faces, beginning to plod his way over to where they sat. “Evening, gentlemen,” he says brightly, already shaking his head at the sight of the table in front of them. “What kind of debauchery are you lot planning?” 

Remus felt himself relax when Peter confirmed that James had in fact been invited to his own stag party. All of their hard work and planning would have been useless if the person they were honoring didn’t even show up. He smiled as he watched the spinner go around, “You’ve always had such magnificent ideas, Peter.” Remus practically sang, it had been awhile since he’d had something exciting to look forward to and he could hardly contain his excitement. “I suppose now all we have to do is wait. Care for a drink? Rosmerta said we could help ourselves to anything at the bar, so we better clear her out.”

He made his way behind the bar, a place Remus thought he would never get to see, and scanned the bottles of alcohol along the wall until his eyes fell on Bungbarrel Spiced Mead. It was a strong alcohol and he figured it would be an easy way to get drunk quickly. Almost skipping back in to the seating area of the pub, Remus plopped himself down in one of the chairs, a grin spread wide across his face. “D'you think James’ll have fun? I know he’s still recovering so we’d better go easy on him.” Although it seemed as though he was speaking to Peter, he was really just speaking his thoughts out loud, “I hope he gets the polyjuice potion, I can’t wait to see his reaction.”

Not much time had passed before James arrived, Remus’ grin only grew wider at the sight of him. “Oh, you’re in for an incredible night, mate.” He mused, reaching for his wand to lock the door of the pub behind James. “We’ve been given full access to The Three Broomsticks, a wedding gift from Madam Rosmerta. Full access to the bar, all the rooms are vacant. We’ve got a game of roulette. Just one last night to go completely wild before you’re tied down forever.” Remus was sure Lily would always let James do whatever he wanted, but it was tradition for a groom to have a stag party and they weren’t going to just let that pass by, even if it was mostly for the sake of a pun.

Peter laughed quietly at Remus’ disposition, “You’re in a good mood.” It was encouraging though, maybe tonight wouldn’t be a terrifying disaster that he was somewhat expecting. “But I have to say I’m p-pretty proud of it. Should make picking our potions a l-little more interesting.” When Remus moved on to suggest alcohol he nodded, “I guess we might as w-well get started, this is gonna be a wild night.” He licked his lips in thought for a moment before saying, “I’ll have a firewhiskey.” He didn’t usually go so strong but it was his mate’s stag do, so why not?

When Remus returned with his own drink Peter shook his head and grabbed himself a bottle of firewhisky, leaving some money in the space where the bottle had been since he still felt a little bad about taking her place over for the night. He nodded as he made his way to the table, “He’ll have a great time, I’m sure. You’re here and he likes you.” He poured himself a shot and added, “So long as we plan on keeping things human for the night he shouldn’t stress himself.” Peter snorted, “Especially after who’s hair we put into it.” he flicked the spinner to test it and was bringing the shot towards his mouth when he heard the door open.

He smiled a little shyly while Remus went on about the shenanigans that would come. “Or, one more n-night to celebrate you and Lily t-taking your next step together.” he waited for the other to sit down and gestured to the full array of potions in shot glasses, “We e-even cast a colour blending charm on them so we don’t know which is which anymore. And w-with these small amounts they should wear off in about twenty minutes.” he poured another shot of firewhiskey and passed it to James, “But before we start we should have a normal shot together r-right?” he asked, lifting his up slightly and waiting for them to do the same. “To a g-g-” he paused, swallowed and tried again, “To James.”  

@redandgoldenboy​

redandgoldenboy‌:

who: @lvpinremvs​ & @wormtailpettigrewpeter​

Spreading himself out across Lily’s lounge, James frowns at the pile of parchment in front of him. While he and Lily had high hopes for organising their wedding quickly, to allow them to just be married once and for all, as soon as they could, the reality was turning into something else entirely. It was, after all, remarkably difficult to plan and implement a wedding in merely a few weeks. What was more difficult, he was finding, was working out where exactly they were going to host it. His parents’ house was now out, now nothing more than a pile of ashy rubble, and while Sirius had gleefully offered his parents house, James had a feeling Walburga Black would not be nearly as keen. 

Running a hand heavily through his hair, James slumps back against the cushions, his eyes closed before he opens them to the sight of a familiar owl. Pulling the note from the owl’s leg and petting it softly on the head, James unrolls the parchment carefully, quirking one eyebrow at the contents:

“location: three broomsticks, bring yourself and your wand and that’s it, we’ll handle the rest" 

Well, he supposed. That was certainly something.

Only a few weeks had passed since James and Lily’s engagement and many events had happened since. James was attacked, his house burned to the ground and his house elf had sacrificed herself for James and his family. As his best man, Sirius was supposed to organize a stag party for James, but Remus and Peter knew he was barely responsible enough to remember to brush his teeth in the morning, and took it upon themselves to come up with something fun for them to do together as a way of letting loose before the wedding. Remus and Peter had spent the last couple of weeks planning, brewing fun potions for a game they had come up with, and Madam Rosmerta was kind enough to close down the Three Broomsticks for the night to allow them to have the place to themselves.

For once in his life, Remus had showed up early for something, setting up silly decorations and making sure everything was prepared for James’ arrival. He had shot glasses with various potions set up on each table, enough for them to have at least five shots each and just enough for the affects to last about ten minutes. A game Peter had come up with which sent Remus in to a bout of laughter. After finally having everything set up and ready Remus realized he had forgotten one important detail - to let James know that this was happening.

His eyes shot up to the door as he heard it open, Peter quickly entering. Remus could only hope he was smart enough to send an owl to James. “Wormtail! Please tell me you sent an invitation to James, I was so wrapped up in everything else I completely forgot.”

Peter had never really been the partying type, but then he’d never been the mischievous type either and it seemed his friends brought out both sides over the years. He’d really gotten into the potion brewing, despite it being far from his best subject, but it had been for a good cause and he knew all sorts of chaos was going to come this evening. And luckily said chaos had Remus at the helm ensuring it would come to fruition. He’d never imagined himself on a stag party, let alone helping organise one and yet here they were. Thank Merlin Madame Rosmerta had been willing to let some of her favourite troublemakers have the run of the bar for the night. Everything was ready, and now all they needed was the man of the hour himself to get thoroughly messed up.

He apparated to Hogsmeade with a small hand-made spinner made up for the occasion and pushed open the door to see Remus had beaten him there, well already this evening was turning out to be different from the norm. At the question a small smile curved his lips and he pulled his coat off, hanging it over one of the hooks near the door before answering, “I thought as much, don’t worry I s-sent him a letter before I left. James should b-be here in at any moment.”

He walked forwards and placed the spinner down on the table with all the shots, spinning the wheel and watching satisfied as it moved, “I figured we could use this to decide who goes first. The W-wolf is you, the rat is me and s-stag is James.” he smiled.  

She couldn’t help but to giggle at the way Peter nibbled at his sandwich. It was a little funny but mostly cute. Daisy was sure she was eating the same way, and wondered if he always ate like that or if it was something he was doing because he was nervous. “You look like a mouse the way you’re eating.” She said with a smile, “It’s quite adorable, if I’m honest.” Although the more time she spent with him, the more she found everything he did to be adorable. Daisy sipped on her tea, her cheeks beginning to flush with colour, “I’m sorry, I really like giving compliments when they’re deserved. You’ll have to get used to it." 

It was a little shocking that he wasn’t good at receiving compliments, though Daisy knew she was sort of the same way. She was much better at giving compliments than she was taking them. "If you don’t look at other people while they’re looking at you, how could you ever possibly know how they’re feeling? People tend to show their emotions through their eyes, I’ve been told I’m very guilty of that. You wouldn’t know if they’re being genuine if you don’t look at them.” Being shy herself, Daisy knew how difficult it could be to hold eye contact during a conversation, but she always tried her best. She felt like you missed half the conversation if you weren’t paying attention to their facial expressions and their actions. She shrugged a little, “You just say thank you and move on from it, I suppose. That’s what I do, anyway. Having someone compliment you could be a little awkward, but it’s usually coming from a place of love or genuine kindness, so there’s no use in not accepting it." 

Daisy’s eyes grew wide as Peter frantically looked about the shop for the aforementioned cat. She then began to laugh, "No, no, she’s not here. Are you really afraid of cats?” She felt bad for laughing, she had plenty of irrational fears, but she knew cats were totally harmless creatures. “I’m sorry for laughing, but cats are so cute, how could you possibly be afraid of them? They’re so soft and fluffy, and they usually leave people alone. They sleep for like fifteen hours a day, and come get pets and loves when they’re awake. I promise you’ll love Raven when you meet her, she’s such a sweetheart.”

He would’ve been happy to continue nibbling away at his sandwich until she made the comparison and the food slipped between his jolting fingers to land on the counter, luckily hitting the plate rather than the wooden top. “A w-w-what!?” he half-squeaked, “I-I’ve never thought about it b-b-before.” he said quietly, picked the dropped sandwich back up and looking down at that in the hopes of covering his surprise as merely nerves. Peter was actually a pretty good liar (he’d needed to be considering the amount of mischief he and his friends had gotten up to in school) so with any luck it wouldn’t appear he was acting too out of the ordinary; one of the benefits of being all but constantly nervous.

He took a few more bites and held back a sigh, she was as bad as James; the other had made sure to say something nice to or about him practically every day in their first year at Hogwarts. Each time he’d ended up a blushing mess who’d struggled to answer. He still remembered Professor McGonagall asking him if he was ill when all that had happened was James telling him his handwriting had been good. Stupid. But he couldn’t change who he was. “I-I’m just not very g-good at looking at people.” The product of an upbringing when he went out of his way not to be noticed by, well... any one. It almost made him want to smile when she gave instructions about how to take a compliment; he’d managed to get away with ‘hmm’ more often than not when his friends threw a nice comment his way. “I-I’ll try that.”

Remus laughed, “It’s not about losing cold tea, it’s the fact that I let my tea go cold… Again.” Moe often than not his tea would go cold. He had a tendency of focusing all of his attention on whatever he was doing, whether that was reading the paper or listening to the radio, his tea would often sit by his side, completely forgotten about until it was too late. He felt his eyes widen at the mention of a date. “You had a date and you’re only telling me now?” Remus asked, he was sure his face showed how shocked he truly was. Peter was quiet and shy, a date was something completely out of the ordinary for him. “Well, tell me all about it, then. Who was it? And what did you do?” He knew Peter was nice and thoughtful, so it was likely the date went well, so long as he was able to hold a conversation. Although if someone had agreed to  date with him, it was likely someone understanding enough to allow him to take his time to get his words out. Remus was happy for his friend, hopefully seeing someone would help him feel more confident.

It did seem as though it could have been his father reaching out just for the sake of reaching out, but Remus’ relationship with his parents wasn’t like that. He was closer with his parents than Peter or Sirius were, but ever since he was a child he felt more like a burden to his parents. Like they were ashamed of him, their little secret that needed to be locked away. Remus shrugged, “I’m not sure my father would write if it weren’t important, honestly. I guess I won’t know until I write back.” He was never one not to write someone back immediately, but he was nervous for whatever else his father wanted to say. He could only hope it was good news, but somewhere deep down he knew that wasn’t the case.

Peter shrugged, “Well, you do it quite a lot, y-you’d think it wouldn’t bother you so much at this point.” He’d never really been all that enthralled with tea or coffee; he had either in the morning to help him wake up but considering he never really laid or sat down to spend an afternoon relaxing or reading the ritual was somewhat beyond him. Peter looked down at Remus’ words; so much for hoping he’d let the whole thing slip by unnoticed. “I-It only happened the other day.” he mumbled, fingers wringing together slightly, a life-long habit to see his nerves first appearing. “I-It umm,” he licked his lips, “It was nice; we went and got uhr, tea and some sandwiches and w-we ate them in the shop she works at.” Really he didn’t want to go into all the details and build it up into some big thing. What if it didn’t work out? Then he’d have spilled his guts over being excited a person could actually like him for no good reason... as it he didn’t do enough irritating and embarrassing things on a daily basis.  

“J-just because something is important doesn’t mean that it’s bad.” he reasoned quietly, sure more often that not that was the case but he didn’t want Remus to worry about that right now. “Look at James and L-Lily’s news.” he said with a small gesture. Sometimes good things could happen. And frankly the way the world was going good things were in short supply. He felt like everyday was just a little bit harder than the last. “The l-longer you put if off the worse you’re going to feel about it.” he told the other gently, “And then when you know, e-even if its bad you’ll have all of us to help you... Not that I-I’m much help but the others are.”  

“Just a little.” Mary chuckled, raising her eyebrows when Peter explained who it was he was taking on the date. She hadn’t expected him to say Daisy – but she was glad that he had. She’d been through so much in the past few weeks, she was glad that the girl probably had something to look forward to, now. And with the amount of trouble that Peter was going to to make sure the date went well, she knew he must care enough to treat her well. “I know Daisy,” She murmured, “Guess you’re a lucky guy.”

“You know, if you want any advice that you can’t find in a book, you can just ask.” Mary shrugged, not wanting to sound like she was trying to intrude at all, but knowing that his date was with Daisy, someone she’d come to care about, made her a little more invested in it. Plus, her heart went out to Peter, he so clearly wanted everything to go well, and she was worried this wasn’t something that could be put down entirely to books.

He nodded slightly and looked away, hoping she wouldn’t think he wasn’t up to taking the other woman on a date, Daisy was so kind and sweet and happy and well... bubbly. Compared to her it was like putting a blooming rose next to a withered lettuce. “M-most people d-do, sh-she’s a popular l-lady.” he said quietly, it was more of a mumble directed towards his shoes than anything else. “I-I am.” he nodded, “C-can’t b-believe she s-said yes.” He doubted anyone would.  

He gulped a little, his cheeks heating slightly at her suggestion for help because, really, he could use all the help he could get to try and not make a complete idiot of himself on the day that was looking every closer. “I-I umm...” he gulped, “D-do you h-have any g-good ideas about m-making a g-good d-date?” Again, it was a pretty mumbled sentence but he hoped she’d understand, he really didn’t want to repeat himself.  

Remus gripped the cake tin and his book in one hand and reached for Peters with the other. It was just little things like reaching out a helping hand that showed Remus how much his friends truly cared for him, even if it was just second nature to them now. “Thanks, mate.” He tried to smile, but he grimaced in pain as he stood, something he would be much better at hiding around anybody else besides his fellow Marauders. Finally on his feet, Remus bent down to pick up his cup of cold tea before entering the house, Peter following closely behind him.

He entered the kitchen, placing everything down on the counter before pouring his tea down the sink, “How painful,” He whispered as he watched the liquid disappear, Remus hated wasting anything but there was almost nothing worse than reheated tea. He pulled his wand from his pocket and waved it at the kettle before sitting down in one of the chairs. He was feeling better, but being on his feet too long was something that still bothered him a few days after the full moon. “Anything else exciting going on with you?” He asked, knowing Peter didn’t get excited over many things, but perhaps there would be something else going on in his life. “I got an owl from my father the other day, told me I should go visit soon. I haven’t heard much of my parents in months, must be something important.” Of course Remus had jumped to the worst of conclusions in his head, but he was attempting to stay positive and hope that perhaps his parents just missed him and wanted to see him, though it was unlikely.

Peter pulled some to help Remus get to his feet, he noticed, perhaps after his meeting with Daisy that it took less effort to pull his friend up now than it had back in their school years, maybe he really had improved himself out of fear... shame that now he was in better shape the damnable fear still very much remained. “It’s okay.” he said quietly. Peter knew Remus didn’t often show the discomfort his condition caused him around others but with them he was willing to let them help. It shamed him slightly, Remus was brave enough to show them what he needed, and he still kept so much locked away.

Peter rolled his eyes playfully at the other’s actions with his tea, “I’ve never seen s-someone so sad at loosing cold tea.” More often than not it was Remus’ own fault his tea went cold since he was so busy reading or distracting himself with whatever else he was engaged in at the time. He took one of the empty seats for himself as the other caused the kettle to boil. “M-me?” he asked quietly thinking that he did actually have some news but was unsure how best to share it without wanting the other to get too excited or anything. “I-I umm... I had a date the other day.” he mumbled quickly before happily moving onto Remus’ news since that was obviously a great deal more important. “They probably just want to s-see you. Like you said, it’s been a while. And good p-parents miss their children.” What was why James and Remus were so close to their parents, for himself and Sirius it was something of a different story.  

Daisy looked down at the sandwiches that Peter had put down in front of her. She was starving, she’d hardly eaten anything in days, but her appetite was so small. She knew she should at least attempt to eat, if anything more so she wouldn’t worry Peter. Daisy took a small bite from one of the sandwiches before setting it back down, chewing it seemed to be such a chore. Food was one of her favourite things, but she was having a difficult time enjoying anything anymore. Daisy nodded, thankful that he didn’t expect anything from her, but she knew she would find a way to make it up to him, even if he insisted it wasn’t necessary. 

She giggled at how flustered he had gotten over her compliment, it was quite adorable. Clearly he wasn’t used to it, but Daisy always loved giving compliments when they were deserved. Peter did look quite handsome in his new robes, she wanted to make sure he knew that. “I bet they are, you’re just not noticing it.” She said softly, “Anybody would be nuts if they didn’t notice how good you look.” Although, she wasn’t sure if she wanted others to notice. Daisy really liked Peter, and it seemed like it was just being proven to her even more now with how kind he was being despite how horrible she was feeling, and the thought of others falling all over him sort of upset her.

Daisy cleared her throat, taking another sip from her tea. “I’ve gotten a couple of pets recently,” She didn’t really know what else to talk about, “Athena had a mini zoo in her apartment, a couple ended up coming home with me.” Daisy had no intentions of bringing Athena up again, but it was difficult when that was the only thing on her mind. “I’ve never been too fond of pets, but I couldn’t just let them go. So now I’ve got a cat and a bowtruckle. They’re both lovely little things, you should come meet them sometime.” Animals always knew when someone was a good person, she knew she would trust Kermit’s judgement on anybody.

Peter hadn’t been eating much in recent months anyway. Oh enough that he was getting by, despite what some may think he didn’t have it out for himself so much as bone-deep fear made it difficult to manage a large meal. So, he took a small bite of one of the sandwiches, they were delicious but then he’d not heard a bad thing said about that shop’s food. He swallowed after a moment and took another tiny bite, oddly enough it wasn’t dissimilar to the way a rat would nibble at the corner of a piece of cheese; his friends had noticed once and it had been enough to send them all howling with laughter. Still, it was too much of a habit for him to stop now.

Something that was entirely not a habit though was thinking anything positive in regards to his appearance. So when Daisy followed up her kind words with even more he looked down at the counter while his cheeks heated up. “I-I umm... I don’t really l-look at people when th-they’re looking at me.” He was much better at people watching when other’s weren’t looking at him, honestly he preferred it that way. “B-besides, even i-if umm... p-people think that a-about me I umm... W-well I w-wouldn’t know w-what to do.” He wasn’t like Sirius or James who seemed to take compliments like a hungry hippogriff took small snacks; which was to say, quickly and easily.

As she moved the topic along Peter was content enough to go with it, not wanting her dwelling on something that was obviously upsetting to her. But when she mentioned exactly what kind animals she’d taken from the late Athena, well... he might have jumped a little and nearly spilled his tea once again, “A c-cat!?” he squeaked, looking around as though she’d just admitted to owning a basilisk, “I-It’s not h-here is it?” he asked, leaning back a little on his chair to get a better look around the shop which, thankfully, seemed to be empty, “I-I just u-umm... S-sorry b-but cats they, umm... they f-frighten me.” Considering one had tried to eat him more than once!