Carve Me Open / r.l. + s.b. /

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"Yeah, well, maybe if you hadn't eaten half of the bloody –"

"James had some, too," Peter accused.

"How dare you," James gasped. "I would never!"

"It was your idea!"

"Was not!"

"Was, too."

"Was not."

"Was, too," Peter squeaked, though this time more firmly.

"I'll come over there and hex the buttons off your trousers," James threatened.

"Fine by me. I needed a new pair anyway," Peter said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Sirius sighed, "Look, just, stop. Get on it, Peter, and shush. James, hold it up straight, or I'll shatter your kneecaps."

"Is that a –"

"Yes, it's a bloody threat, now shut the hell up," Sirius shouted. Silence rang through the room, and Remus was red with quiet laughter. "I'm going to let him in."

In an attempt to compose himself, Remus straightened his posture and tried to keep a straight face. He prepared himself for several things. One such thing was Peter's underwear stuck to various points in the room, socks dangling from his four-poster bed, or, even worse, Remus's clothing strung everywhere in the room. A shiver ran down his spine. What had Peter momentarily lost?

Sirius, upon opening the door, smiled brightly at him. For a moment, he was all Remus could focus on. His messy black hair dangling over his shoulders, grey eyes wide with anticipation, and red cheeks, probably from reprimanding his friends. His smile seemed genuine and satisfied of his surprise, and Remus found himself smiling back at him.

So often that year had Sirius looked troubled, downcast stares and vacant responses. The personality had leaked out of him during the summer, and now Remus had some clue as to why this was. Now that he'd known, it was hard not to flash glances at the palms of his hands whenever Sirius wasn't looking, unconsciously making sure no more appeared. However, Remus would not allow himself to take pity on his friend. Sirius would hate it just as much as he did.

Behind him, Peter and James were holding up a banner with silk lions running left and right around the words Welcome to the Loopy Bin!

One year ago, he might have found this insulting, but now, he found it quite endearing. Not that he would find comfort in an old remark that once hit him where it hurt, rather they implied that they were all, in fact, a bit uncouth, but it didn't matter much at all at the end of the day because they were each happy with each other.

Remus smirked at James, who'd been holding his end much lower than Peters, most likely on purpose.

"Welcome home," he shouted merrily, sending a shower of red and gold sparks across the room to hit Sirius in the behind. The latter yelped in pain, fumbling into Remus's arms clumsily. "S'what you get for being a berk!"

"Now to fulfill my threat," Sirius howled angrily, wand at the ready. Bright sparks of shimmering gold flew from the tip of his wand, landing right at James's knees and sending him toppling over onto Peter. They all screamed, a mangled pile of limbs and wooden sticks.

Remus, amused, looked at the surprise they'd put together.

They'd brought up two small chess tables from the common room and covered them in, what appeared to be, the curtains missing from Peter's windows. Of course, they were supposed to look like tablecloths, but Remus could recognize their drapes from anywhere. There was a burnt spot where Peter had tried to hex Sirius after charming the buttons on his jacket to grow and shrink at random. Again, though, it was no matter. On the tabletops were small platters of food – specifically Remus's favorite food.