"Are you sure it's gonna work?", Peter asked nervously, his plump hands covered in sweat. "Of course it will, have a little more faith in yourself Pete.", James said, who was standing in front of the fireplace, arms crossed. "But we've never done this before. We only completed the ritual yesterday and I don't think it's safe to do this in the common room. Someone could see us.", Peter babbled and got up from the sofa, unable to sit still anymore. "It's 3 o'clock, no ones gonna see us.", Lyra yawned, trying to stay awake. James, Sirius, and Peter had woken her up in the middle of the night, saying that now was the perfect moment to do it. Especially Sirius had looked like he was going to burst with excitement. After all this whole thing had been his idea.

"Oh for fucks sake, I swear to Merlin, if this is not important I'm going to kill you." Remus came down the stairs, looking very tired and very angry. It was the first night after the full moon which meant that his nerves were still raw and his temper still boiling. "Shh Moony, just sit down and enjoy the show. We will do the rest.", Sirius whispered very gently, leading Remus to sit in the armchair. And because it was Sirius Remus just silently obeyed. Lyra gazed at Remus. Since the beginning of their fifth year, she was pretty sure that he had a severe crush on Sirius. It was the only explanation that would make sense...and Lyra didn't blame him. Sirius was devastatingly handsome, clever, funny, and had a heart far too big for his own good. It was easy to fall for him. Way too easy.

"Okay okay, can we just speed this up a little bit? I wanna go back to bed.", Remus grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Okay okay, we're gonna do it together! Ready?" Sirius beamed at his friends with pure joy and James smiled. "One, two..." And before he got to three the four friends turned into animals and a lot of things happened very quickly. Remus practically jumped out of the armchair, screaming "Jesus fucking Christ!" and stumbled against the window sill. James, who had transformed into a majestic stag, revolved around himself in amazement, his antlers scratching the stone mantlepiece in the process. Peter, now being a small brown rat, scurried around, and Sirius, having taken the form of a large black dog barked and wagged his tail. It was pure chaos and in the midst of all this sat a lynx, calmly watching the mess unfold.

Remus stared at his friends, unable to cope with the situation, and raised his hands in a fit of panic. "Shhh, stop being so loud! Someone will hear!", he hissed, trying to calm them down, which was an impossible task. Peter ran towards Remus, climbing up his leg and seating himself on his shoulder, James and Sirius continued to admire each other and the lynx gracefully strode across the common room. "Oh for Godric's sake, please turn back! You'll wake up the entire castle!", Remus pleaded, being completely overwhelmed. The four animals looked at each other and finally returned to their human forms. "So, what do you think Moony?", Sirius asked, his cheeks slightly pink, his pulse racing. Remus ran his fingers through his brown curls. "You...became animagi.", he said and Sirius nodded eagerly. "Yeah, we did it for you!" Remus frowned and titled his head. "For me?"

"So we can be with you. During the full moons, you know?", Lyra said smiling and Remus raised his eyebrows. "What? No, that's too dangerous. I could hurt you. I could kill you!" "But you told us that you've never hurt another animal before, right?", James replied, determined to convince his friend. "Yeah, but we don't know how the wolf would react. I don't have any control when I'm not...myself." Remus put his arms around himself and sat down. "I think the reason you hurt yourself during your transformations is that the wolf is alone and afraid." Lyra knelt before Remus, laying a hand on his knee. "But you won't be alone anymore, Moony."

"We're your friends, we can be your pack.", Sirius proclaimed and Remus' heart was about to burst. How on earth had he gotten so lucky? Why were these good-hearted, amazing people his friends? Why did they choose him? A shy, scarred boy with a secret, that had ruined most of his life up to this point. "You're worth it, Moony.", Lyra said as if she had read his mind. "We're all marauders remember?", James added and Remus felt his eyes filling up with tears. He buried his face in his hands as they spilled over and felt three pairs of arms wrap around him, holding him. And he wished they would never ever leave him.

"And if we ever have to I think we're capable of putting up a good fight for you.", James said. "Well, except for Peter maybe." "Oi, don't rat-shame me!", Peter spat and pulled a grumpy face. "Don't take it personally Pete, we can't all be as imperial looking as Lyra." Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Seriously a lynx? You show-off." She grinned. "You're just jealous because I'm bigger than you." Sirius poked out his tongue at her and Remus finally resurfaced and wiped the tears away. "You guys are insane, really." "But also pretty brilliant, eh?" Sirius nudged him gently and Remus nodded, smiling at his best friend. "Thank you."

And so, one month later, on the next full moon, the marauders followed Remus to the shack and when the morning came he had no cuts or wounds of any kind. Sirius made sure to wrap him up in his cloak before Madam Pomfrey would come to pick him up and after they were gone the four friends also made their way back to the castle. "I know I probably shouldn't say that but I think it was awesome.", Sirius said, walking next to Lyra. She shook her head. "No it's okay, I think Remus actually had a good time...well apart from the transformation itself. It looked pretty painful..." "Do you think he's used to it by now?", Sirius asked. "I think you can never actually get used to a pain like this.", Lyra answered.

"Hm, I just hope it helps him. Us being there, you know?" She nodded. "I'm sure it does. Plus, you were pretty adorable rolling around on the ground like that." Sirius laughed and put an arm around Lyra's shoulders. "Well, you on the other hand...you were beautiful." And Lyra blushed, unable to take another step. She suddenly felt her heart beating faster and faster, so fast that she feared it would break out of her chest. Sirius seemed to notice, his cheeky grin was gone and he just looked at her, taking in every small detail. Her dilated pupils, her ruffled black hair, her flushed face. Without wasting another second he put one hand on her neck, pulling her close, their lips colliding.

Thousand tiny little explosions went off inside of Lyra, as she realized what was happening. Sirius fucking Black was kissing her, not in a reserved cautious way but heated and full of desire. Her mind went blank, there was only Sirius now and she flung her arms around him, kissing him back as if his lips were all she ever wanted. They could've kept going forever but eventually, Lyra had to break away, gasping for air. Sirius was still holding her close, not wanting to let go of her. And when he went in for a second kiss, Lyra stopped him. "We gotta get back to the castle loverboy.", she giggled, taking his hand. Sirius smiled, a dreamy expression had crept into his blue eyes. "God Lyra, you will be the death of me." She laughed, pulling him along. From that day forward they were basically inseparable, much to Remus' dismay.

But he did his best to hide those ugly feelings, the wish to switch places with Lyra. They were his friends, he should be happy for them, Remus knew this. But whenever Sirius kissed Lyra's cheek, or he caressed her with an almost ungodly amount of love Remus felt his heart being ripped apart. His jealousy was only riled up by the fact that Sirius and Lyra would spend Christmas together. Sure they would have to do it at the Blacks which meant it would be a dreadful holiday but still. They got to be together...and Remus hated himself for thinking like that.

Even the fact that he would spend Christmas together with James and Peter couldn't cheer him up but the worst part was that he wasn't able to tell his friends why he had been in a bad mood since Sirius and Lyra started dating. He was afraid they wouldn't understand, he was ashamed that he let his feelings for Sirius get the better of him. But there was nothing he could do against it. Every time he thought about those blue eyes and that silky black hair it flared up inside of him, the pure need to hold this boy in his arms.

"Oi Remus, it's your turn.", James said and Remus blinked. He looked down, they were playing a round of Gobstones but he had completely lost track. Who was winning? Who was losing? He didn't know anymore. All he knew was that he was in love with Sirius Black and that this love would be his doom. "I'm sorry, I...", he started saying but was interrupted by a loud banging noise. "Are we expecting someone Effie?", Fleamont asked, sounding alarmed. His wife shook her head but she still went to open the door. And let out a little scream as soon as she did.

"Monty, come here!" Mr. Potter got up, walking past the boys who were sitting in front of the fireplace. The three friends shared some worried looks and then followed James' dad. There was a familiar voice and Remus was the first one to recognize it. "Lyra!" He spotted her, cramped between Mr. and Mrs. Potter, looking incredibly pale and exhausted. And she was not alone. Sirius was standing next to her, sweaty, his hair a mess, clothes rumpled. James pushed past him, pulling Sirius into a tight hug. "Bloody hell, what happened to you two?", he asked, ignoring the sharp look his mother gave him. "I uhm...we...we had to...", Sirius stuttered, unable to form a complete sentence. "Shh, it's okay sweetheart. Calm down, okay?" Euphemia put an arm around Sirius and Remus only noticed now that he was trembling.

"You and the young lady are going to sit down and I'm gonna make tea. How does that sound?" Sirius nodded absently and Lyra took his hand, leading him into the living room. Five minutes later they all had a cup of tea and Lyra started explaining. "It was a normal Christmas dinner...well as normal as it can get with the Blacks. But they were trying to be nice until they brought up the war..." Remus flinched. The war. It had been a silent threat, looming over them, growing in the darkness. James' parents and Dumbledore had mentioned it a few times but now...now it felt terribly real. Inevitable.

"They said we have to choose a side...and it better be the right one. Which means joining Voldemort.", Lyra continued and Remus was amazed by how strong she was. It almost scared him. "And you refused to join his side, right?", Fleamont asked and Lyra nodded. "Of course, we both did. And they..." She took a deep breath. "They were not happy about it, to say the least." "They threatened you!", Sirius burst out, his eyes gleaming with future tears. "They said they would hurt you if I don't obey..." His voice broke and Lyra pressed her lips together. She put a hand on Sirius' cheek, trying not to lose her composure. "But I'm fine, okay? We're both safe now. They can't hurt us." She looked at the Potters, pleading for affirmation.

Euphemia smiled though you could see that she was shocked by the way Sirius' family had treated him. "Of course darling, you can stay here as long as you want.", she said and so they did. In fact, Sirius decided that he wouldn't go back and no one had any objections. James' parents already loved him like a son and wouldn't be able to live with themself if they would send him back to the Blacks. Lyra on the other hand knew that she would have to return to her family after Christmas.

"I don't want you to go...", Sirius whispered later, when they were lying together, enclosed by warm bedsheets. "I know." Lyra looked at Sirius, his face only inches away. "By the way, I took the ring off. I think the charm lifted itself as soon as we ran away." "Hm, they disowned me, that's why. Guess they don't care anymore...if they ever did." Sirius leaned his forehead against Lyra's, closing his eyes. "But...I don't want to break off the engagement. I know it sounds weird but...I like the thought of it, you know? Us, together. I bet it would drive your family crazy." Lyra snorted. "It would drive them mad for sure. And don't worry, it doesn't sound weird. Actually...I like to think of you as my fiance."

"Me too.", Sirius said sleepily and after a soothing kiss and a few deep breaths, he had fallen asleep. Lyra looked at him, his peaceful face, his slightly parted lips. And the fear she had suppressed came flooding back. The fear of losing him as Walburga had drawn her wand. That terrible, terrifying woman. Lyra got up, careful not to wake Sirius, and left the room. She felt queasy, her heart was pounding in her throat and her hands felt sweaty. God, she needed to cool down.

Lost in thought she opened the bathroom door and switched on the light. "Jesus Christ, Moony!", Lyra hissed, as Remus who was sitting on the closed toilet lid raised his head. "You scared me, what are you doing in here?", she asked, slowly calming herself. "I...I couldn't sleep.", Remus answered, his voice sounding small and weak. Lyra frowned. Something was wrong. "You okay?" "Yeah, I'm just..how's Sirius?" Lyra leaned against the sink. "Tired, but he will be fine." "Okay, okay...good.", Remus mumbled. Lyra sighed. "Moony, I know there's something going on in your head right now. Do you wanna talk about it?" Remus shook his head. Lyra bit her lip. "Uhm...okay but you should definitely talk to someone. Maybe James or..." "No!" Remus clenched his hands into fists. "I can't tell James or Peter...or Sirius. I just can't..."

"Why? They are your friends. They would never judge you or turn their backs on you. And by the way, what could be a bigger secret than you being a werewolf hm?", Lyra asked trying to be funny. But Remus didn't laugh, he looked like he was fighting a silent battle with himself until finally... "I think I'm gay.", he said, looking as miserable as after a full moon. "And I think I'm in love with Sirius." And then he burst into tears and Lyra rushed towards him, wrapping her arms around him.