A Siriusly Good Prank (Marauders/Jily/Wolfstar)

7-Nobody Needs to Know

"Three hundred and twelve, Padfoot, to three hundred and four point six, Prongs," Peter read with a flourish.

"Boo," James yelled. "Moony, you prat, I didn't get enough points for the toothbrush—"

"It was immature," Remus said haughtily, glaring at James over his Astronomy chart.

"It was brilliant," James argued. Sirius watched as he leaned back against the sofa, flicking his dark hair aside, sporting the same easy grin he always did. Sirius doubted it would wear off before he had both feet in the grave.

"It wasn't that bad," Sirius said, watching Remus struggle with one of the star placements. "I mean, everyone said I smelled like strawberries all day, so that's not all bad. Plus, everyone knows about Pranktober, so nobody's all that surprised when weird shit happens."

"Surprised, no." Remus drew a line through one of his notations. "Exasperated..."

It was past midnight, and the common room had slowly emptied out until only the Marauders were left, huddled by the dying embers of the fire. Remus was catching up on Astronomy homework, Peter was tallying scores, James was sprawled on the floor with his wand, idly rearranging aspects of the Map, and Sirius was curled up in the armchair, as usual, watching his friends.

"Oops." James sat up. "Moony?"

Remus sighed. "Let's see."

James, who had accidentally dyed the whole map a particularly violent shade of cyan, pushed it over to Remus. Remus muttered a spell, waving his wand over the map, and it returned to its former hue.

"Thanks." James yawned and tapped the map. "Mischief Managed." He glanced up as the lines dissolved into a blank slip of parchment.

"I'll take that," Remus said, extending a slender hand towards James. Sighing, James passed him the parchment, and he tucked it in the back pocket of his bag. "Thanks."

"Anytime," James said dully. "Okay. I'm out for the night." He stood up, folding his glasses and ambling for the stairs. "Night," he called.

"Me too." Peter's eyes flickered open; Sirius suspected he had been struggling to stay awake for at least an hour, and was grateful to have an excuse to head up to bed. "See you in the morning."

Remus groaned as Peter tripped up the stairs. "I hate Astronomy."

"Let me see." Sirius slid off the chair and sat next to Remus. Their shoulders brushed, and Sirius's long hair swept against Remus's shoulder. "What are you stuck on?"

Remus pointed to a blank spot on the left. "I can't remember what that constellation is."

Sirius studied it for a moment. "I think..." He gently guided Remus's wrist. "This star goes here. And...here."

"Oh," Remus whispered, adding another mark next to it. "I see. That's Draco, isn't it?"

"I think so." Sirius leaned forward, acutely aware that his face was inches from Remus's. Out of the corner of his eye, he could tell Remus was looking at him.

Damn. I'm going to hate myself for this.

Acting on impulse, Sirius leaned forward and kissed Remus.

"Sirius," Remus muttered when he pulled back. He was staring, wide-eyed, a little bit scared and a little bit happy.

"Nobody needs to know," Sirius promised. "Not Peter. Not even James."

"You'd be okay keeping that from James?" Remus whispered.

"One condition," Sirius said.

"And that is?"

And they were kissing again, Sirius memorizing every moment of it, knowing in the morning it would be a secret long-forgotten. They kissed, not worrying if James would come back downstairs and see them, or Peter, or anyone else.

"Remus, I have a question," Sirius said later, as Remus rolled up his Astronomy paper and slid it into his bag, finally done with the assignment. "You've always hated Astronomy, but you never told us why you picked it."

Remus smiled sadly. "Because you're Sirius," he said. "And I wanted to know what you looked like in your true form, high above the world, a blazing dog star."