The year is 1977.
August 23rd.
The sky is a brilliant shade of pink tonight. Splashes of purple and hints of orange weave their way between the wisps of clouds just above the horizon. The sun is low, but the world is still lit by its hazy glow. Even the moon doesn't dare come out yet. It looms beyond the clouds waiting to welcome the night.
A large splash disrupts the serene stillness of the lake. Peter's head bobs above the surface, whipping his sopping hair to the side. He turns back to the dock where two other boys sit in lawn chairs.
"I'd say that was your best one yet mate!" James shouts as he waves his sign with a large 9 on the front.
Sirius scoffs. "Please," he counters, putting up his sign that reads 8 1/2. "He was holding his nose!"
Peter climbs back onto the dock, shivering from the instant wave of cold air. "Alright you're up then Pads," he says ushering the boy out of the seat.
Sirius gets to his feet, shooting a look at James. "Watch and learn boys..." he states confidently.
Taking a running start, Sirius leaps off of the end of the dock and tucks his legs closely to his chest. He braces himself for the impact of the water and is suddenly submerged. The water is cold, though not unbearably. It surrounds him like a hug, taking over all of his senses. Under the water, Sirius finds peace. The ambient noise of crickets and croaking frogs are gone, and a silence so still envelopes him. His movements are graceful, gliding through the water slowly.
Reaching the surface, everything comes back to him at once. The frogs are louder. The crickets are chirpier.
Sirius wipes the water from his eyes to get a proper view of the boys. "A bloody six!" he shouts angrily.
"It was okay at best!" James replies.
"You don't have your glasses on! You can't even see how amazing that jump was!"
A loud ring echoes its way through the air to the boys. Both Peter and James look to each other with excitement. That sound meant only one thing -
"Dinner!" they shout in unison, launching from their chairs to race back to the house.
"Oi!" Sirius calls as he swims towards the dock. "Gits..." He hauls himself up the ladder, biting his lip to mask the breeze hitting his bare back. Once on top, a blue towel is handed to him.
"I'd give that jump an eleven out of ten," Remus says with a smile. His cheeks are slightly pink, but they always are when he's around Sirius. Every time he sees the boy, it was like seeing him for the first time all over again.
Sirius wipes his face with the towel before draping it around his neck. He stares at Remus, dressed in his usual summer attire. A nicely pressed short sleeve button up and a pair of colorful shorts. Tonight he sports an electric blue.
"Thanks for waiting for me," Sirius says as they begin walking towards the house.
"Mrs. Potter made me," Remus replies nonchalantly. Sirius smacks him with the towel. "Oi! Watch it there love."
"Or what?"
Remus rolls his eyes, reaching over and pulling Sirius' face to his. They wrestle for a moment until they're both laying on the grass entangled with one another. Remus stares at Sirius' face, taking in all the beauty. His eyes are glimmering with happiness.
Sirius reaches up, cupping Remus' cheek with his hand. The light catches his silver ring, shining on the R; it's a perfect match to the silver chain with a small S dangling from Remus' neck. He caresses his thumb over his cheek, smiling when Remus leans his head. A softness tugs at Sirius' heart. Somedays he didn't understand how lucky he'd gotten to be with Remus Lupin.
"You know I love you, right?" Sirius says softly.
"You know I love you more, right?" Remus finishes.
Remus leans down, pressing his lips to Sirius'; they fit like they were made for each other. Although the kiss is gentle, a passion burns inside. It's sweeter than strawberry ice cream dripping onto the pavement underneath the scorching summer sun. It's lovelier than the red roses growing on the pathway to the lake. It's pure. A heavenly bliss that only they can enjoy.
Remus rests his forehead against Sirius'. Again, he tells him, "I love you." It's a whisper that comes out as naturally as breathing. Remus never tired of saying those words.
Back in the house, Peter and James have already devoured over half of their meal and began making their way through the rest of the side dishes. Remus is last to take his seat, slapping away Peter's wandering hand from his plate. At the head of the table is Mrs. Potter, watching the boys with an amused look. On the other end is Mr. Potter. He's stoic but exudes a kindness. James is their pride a joy, and they were more than accepting of all of his friends.
"Are you boys excited to go back to school soon?" Mr. Potter asks.
They answer at the same time with mouthfuls of food. There's a jumble of words that nobody can quite make out into a proper sentence. Something along the lines of: Minerva, Lily, house elves, and advanced potions.
"Boys!" Mrs. Potter announces. All four sit up straight, chewing viciously fast with their mouths closed. She nods her head with approval. "Thank you. Now Remus, why don't you go first."
After dinner and the assembly line to do the dishes, enforced by Mrs. Potter of course, the boys find themselves snuggled up by the campfire. Peter lays on a hammock, cocooned in a large blanket, with James on a hammock only a few feet above him. Sirius and Remus sit together on the ground, sharing one blanket that barely covered their legs.
The logs crackle in the heat of the fire, emitting a large flurry of sparks. The smoke drifts upwards before disappearing into the night while James' patronus galavants around the fire, leaving a faded trail of wispy blue fog.
Peter is the first to speak. His eyes are fixated on the night sky which is littered with thousands of twinkling stars. "You know, I'm kind of scared to go back to school," he admits.
Sirius lifts his head from Remus' shoulder curiously. "How come?" he asks.
"Aren't you guys, I dunno, nervous? It's our last year together before the real world."
James shrugs, waving his wand around aimlessly. "We'll always have each other mate," he says comfortingly. "Just think of it as the start of a new adventure."
"I just don't want anything to change. I like it how it is."
Remus purses his lips, running his hand down Sirius' arm. "Change is scary..." he admits. "But you need it to grow. It's scary out there and we just have to accept the inevitable. Maybe we won't be at Hogwarts forever, but it will always be home to us."
"Alright boys," James says sitting up. His feet dangle over the end of his hammock and Peter can see the hole in his left sock. "We all say one thing we want in the new year and leave it here at the fire to remember the best summer of our lives. I'll go first." He runs a hand through his hair in thought. "I want Lily -"
Sirius snorts.
"Oi I didn't finish!" James rolls his eyes before continuing. "I want Lily to see me for who I really am, being Head Boy this year, I can show her how much I've changed from the git I was back in fifth year." There's silence, but the statement is acknowledged. "Okay...Peter?"
"I want to propose to Mary after we graduate," Peter says, shocking everyone.
"Propose?" Remus repeats.
"I think she's the one." Peter looks at his hands in embarassment. "I dunno I guess it's stupid."
"No, no," Sirius argues. "It's brilliant! A wedding after Hogwarts...reckon the world will need some happiness." He takes a deep breath before speaking again. "I want to be there for Regulus. I know he's probably way too deep into this, but he isn't a bad kid. He just...needs to know that someone is still there for him."
"I guess it's my turn now," Remus says quietly. "I...don't know. I'm so happy with life right now. I can't even imagine anything to make this any better. I suppose that if anything, I want to make this the best year we've ever had at Hogwarts."
James claps his hands together excitedly. "Atta boy Moony! Cheers boys." He holds up his drink. "To our last year at Hogwarts."
The others hold up their cups, thankful for their last night all together.
The night grows darker as the fire dies down to a glow. Remus holds a dozing Sirius in his arms, taking in his surroundings. Peter and James are both passed out, snoring in synch. He stares up at the crescent moon hanging high in the sky. No matter what, Remus knew that all of the memories they made together would be remembered in his heart forever.
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A/N: It's back!! I wrote No Control a year ago! Seems so surreal to me with all the love it got. Well here it is, the sequel! I've got lots of fun things up my sleeves with the return of our favorite characters and maybe some not so favorite ones... Hope you enjoy! -G