Four To The End (prev Shifting Lines) Book Three (Marauders Era)

Chapter One Hundred-Forty - Skirts And Bras

After a fitful night, Remus ended up waking up a lot earlier than he expected. His eyes almost hurt from exhaustion but he simply couldn't get back to sleep. Instead he trudged into the showers and sat on the floor, letting the hot water rain down on him. It had been a while since a nightmare woke him up; over three weeks. He tilted his head back, turning his head one way and then the other, enjoying the heat from the water.

After his shower he took a book down to the common room to read. The other Marauders weren't up yet, though many other students were. He found an unoccupied couch and stretched out to read... then ended up falling asleep. He woke up after an unknown amount of time as someone sat on his legs.

"Morning," James said, then flopped down, stretching out across Remus.

He really didn't know how to react to James doing this. So he just ignored it. "Are the others up?"

"No." James snuggled down against him. "Should we eat here, or in Hogsmeade?"

Remus debated how hungry he was before his mind switched over to the fact he had no money. "Small breakfast here. Then we can eat at the Three Broomsticks later..." He fell silent as Lily approached them, hoping she hadn't heard anything about them sneaking off. "Hullo."

"Potter, what are you doing?!" she demanded, hands on hips.

James peered up through his eyelashes. "Eh? I'm laying down, what's it look like?"

"Using poor Remus as a mattress," she accused.

James snuggled even closer to Remus. "He's a comfortable mattress." Remus couldn't help but snicker at that. "Go away, Evans, it's too early to deal with your ugly face."

"It's nearly eleven," she snapped but left, shaking her head and muttering about how annoying James was.

James turned his head a bit to look at Remus now. "Is this squashing you?"

"No," he said, finding the weight to be comforting. "It doesn't bother me."

"Good." James wrapped his arms around Remus and closed his eyes. "Wake me up when Sirius and Petey are up."

Remus did no such thing, as he fell asleep too. It was Sirius and Peter who woke them up just before noon. Sirius seemed rather grouchy, and when James asked him about it he said he hadn't gotten much sleep. Remus wanted to apologize, figuring the lack of sleep was due to him, but after seeing the stormy look in Sirius's eyes changed his mind. Sirius still wanted to go into Hogsmeade, though, so they nicked some food from the kitchens before heading to the mirror passage.

"Allll right," James said between bites. "Rems, you got the list ready?" Remus crammed half a banana in his mouth and made a muffled 'yes' sound. He held the rest of the banana between his shoulder and ear, and poised his pencil over the paper. "All right, our button-up shirts should be fine to wear, they could be for a boy or girl uniform. What about our sleeveless jumpers?"

"Not wearing one," Sirius said as he nibbled at some toast.

"I think they look both boy and girl," Peter said. "The biggest thing is the skirt."

James motioned for Remus to write it down which he did before taking another bite. After a pause, James posed the questions of what they'd wear on their feet. Sirius said stockings, Peter didn't care, and Remus said he'd prefer socks or stockings... just not tights. Again, he added silently. That's when James turned to start walking backwards, facing them. "Really, I think the best thing to do is pick out whatever we feel would fit us best, and look good on us. We're not trying to do any specific costume. Just... us as girls. So maybe we shouldn't all wear the same thing."