love, lupin

sixty-eight

March 27th, 1977
Sunday

Remus wasn't particularly sure that he was wanted at Potters birthday party by the birthday boy himself so he made sure to turn up late. When Potter would be too drunk to care.

He told the Fat Lady the password but she stared down at him with a scrutinising look.

"You're not a Gryffindor sweetheart, I'm not letting you in." She spoke and her words were sweet but her tone was bland.
"But I know the password." Remus argued, "And as a now self proclaimed honorary Gryffindor you should let me in."
The Fat Lady stared down at him before she shook her head,
"I need a better reason then that."

Remus let out a frustrated groan. He didn't even check the hallways before speaking, but it was 11pm and he knew noone was about. There were no heartbeats.

"Look, Lady," Remus started with a smile, "my soon-to-be-boyfriend is in there and I would really like to ask him out tonight." He lied. Sirius was definitely not his soon-to-be-boyfriend and he definitely didn't want to ask him out tonight.

The Fat Lady just stared at him once again and Remus felt a ripple of impatience grow,
"Well he's not gonna say yes if I'm any later then I already am is he?" Remus snapped and she pulled an offended expression.

"Fine Fine, no need to get so angry at me." She scoffed and moments later the painting swung back and the silence he was met with from the entranceway was eery but he could see the lights and the people just behind the jo password door. It was just a spell.
" Thank you. " Remus nodded at her as he stepped in,
"Good luck!" She called and Remus winced at the high pitch song voice she sang her words in. The painting shut.

Remus flattened out his hoodie, the red one with his representative constellation, and made sure his jeans hadn't ridden up around his boots before he slipped through the door at the end of the entranceway.

The noise tge moment he stepped in gave him some sort of whiplash because he had to lean against the wall to gather his bearings. In which case meant turning off the super-hearing his Lycanthropy gave him. Remus tried to sniff Sirius out but with all the sweat and other smells, Remus turned the enhanced sense of smell off. He'd have to find Sirius the harder way.

Remus was pretty much invisible among the drunk. They didn't seem to care he was there apart from a few of them here and there. He believed the red hoodie helped him blend in.

Remus just dodged a pair of girls crying and flailing when he saw him.

Sirius, although at a party, wasn't drunk. That surprised Remus as he knew Sirius liked to drink. He liked to drink alot. He was however surrounded by those who were drunk, Mary was cradling a sobbing Mckinnon, Meadowes was watching with a frown. Potter and Lily were whispering, they'd gotten back together after they'd talked through the misunderstanding about Regulus. Sirius was talking to a girl who was sat beside him, a polite smile on his face. Remus eyed her hand on his bicep with distaste. He didn't like it but he didn't want a repeat of what happened with the Hufflepuff.

He approached and Sirius noticed him first and any attention he'd been giving the girl had transferred to Remus instantly,
"Remus." He stood up and stepped over Pettigrew who was talking to someone under the table he was laid beside. He went to pull the werewolf into a hug Remus shook his head. Sirius paused a moment before he nodded, "You're late."
"Was waiting till I kmew the birthday boy was drunk." Remus told him and he reached forward and picked off a bit of white fluff from Sirius' shoulder.
"Bad timing Greyback." Potter slurred, stumbling to his feet and using Sirius as a support, "'m not drunk at all."

Potters eyes flew down to Remus' hoodie pocket and they narrowed,
"And what's in there?"
Remus jumped slightly.
"Oh right," He said and he pulled out an envelope, "Happy Birthday."
Potter snatched it from between Remus' fingers, inspected the handwriting,
"Hm you got me a card." The brunette hummed and went to open it but he jumped forward and put a hand over his to stop him.
"It's not from me." Remus told him and he thought those words would be enough but they clearly weren't for drunk Potter.