Many Moons

Summer Before 7th Year

The summer holiday had just begun and ¾ of the Marauders, along with Lily, were going on a trip. Peter wouldn't join them as he was going to America with his mother to visit his aunt.
The four had spent the past week at James' house; laughing, crying, joking, playing games, and staying up to the early morning, just talking. They headed to a popular muggle beach just outside of the town where James lived.
Remus was quite sheepish when it came to swimming. He had loved going in the water before he transitioned or even began puberty, but he didn't know how he felt about swimming now that he'd have to swim in his binder and a shirt. He knew that the shirt would cling to him, making his chest look bigger. Plus, he'd have to take out his packer and hide it in his bag so it didn't fall out in the water, leaving a peculiar lack of bulge in his crotch region. As many worries as Remus had, he was still determined to have fun, so he tried to stay positive. James, on the other hand, was beyond ecstatic. He loved the beach, especially when going with his girlfriend and best mates. He wore a light T-shirt, trunks, and his contacts so he wasn't, quite literally, swimming blind.
Lily was very happy too, however, as much as she loved the beach, she could sense that something was wrong with Remus. This was understandable with his situation, except something seemed off in Sirius too. She couldn't really tell what it was, but Sirius definitely wasn't fine.
Sirius was super excited, being that he had never been to the seaside as a child, and terrified at the same time because, the truth was, Sirius couldn't swim. He never learned at "home" and had been too ashamed to tell James, Remus, Lily, or anyone who could help him. He just hoped the water would be shallow enough so he could stand.
They arrived at the beach. Remus drove as he had a muggle car and could drive legally. After unpacking their stuff and finding a spot on the sand, they went off to change into their swimsuits.
Lily went one way and the boys went another. Grabbing Remus by the arm and dragging him to the side of the change rooms, Lily pulled something out of her bag,
"Rem, I know swimming can be a bit...uncomfortable for you so I made something to help you out."
It looked like a black sleeveless shirt.
"It's got a built-in muggle binder. With some magic, I did at James' house. It should compress to your body, making your chest look flatter and your body more v-shaped..."
Remus looked at the garment with astonishment and thanked Lily profusely while hugging her.
"You're so amazing Lily! Thank you so much!"
Lily smiled brightly saying,
"Go try it on!"
Remus rushed into the change rooms and put it on. It was like a dream. He looked just as flat as James or Sirius, if not flatter.
The four met up again, and, before long, Remus and James were having contests to see who could swim out the furthest or who could hold their breath the longest.
Lily waved Sirius goodbye, going up the beach to go to the bathroom.
Sirius sat on the beach, shirtless. He was now alone, desperately wishing he could get in the water.
"Oi! Can't you swim, pretty boy!?"
someone remarked at Sirius.
Sirius looked up to see three muscular guys, unmistakably muggles, staring down at him. Standing to his feet, Sirius piously replied,
"I don't believe whether I can or can't swim is any of your business."
"Oh, you think you're tough?!"
remarked the brunette one.
"You look like a little poof to me!"
added the blonde one.
Sirius said, now irritated,
"I'm not a poof."
The blonde guy countered,
"Well, with all that makeup on, and being that my little sister is taller than you, I'd beg to differ."
Laughing, the three guys began to push at Sirius. It was true that Sirius had on some eyeliner, a bit of dark eyeshadow, and that his nails were painted, but those things didn't make him a poof, they made him a bloke who enjoyed makeup. Sirius, growing tired of being pushed around, roared out,
"Stop it! Just leave me alone!"
The redhead taunted,
"And if we don't? What are you gonna do about it, pretty boy? Pull our trousers down?"
Laughing, the brunette then chimed in,
"How about we see if the fairy can fly!"
Sirius' eyes got big. NO, he thought. They'd throw him in the water and then he'd drown and die.
Sirius said,
"How about you don't do that and you just leave me alone?"
The blonde retorted,
"Well, we could, but things like you aren't welcome here. We don't like freaks like you. So, we've gotta teach you not to come around here anymore!"
Oh Sh^t! Sirius thought. Before he could run or scream or do anything, the guys had hoisted him up and were carrying him to the dock. Sirius tried in vain to get them to stop,
"Guys, come on. Just let me go! I'll take the makeup off, just don't throw me in the water! Please!"
The blonde laughed,
"Oh, so you really can't swim, pretty boy!? Even better."
They made it to the end of the dock, cornering Sirius so he had nowhere to go but into the water. Knowing the water was a good 7 - 8 feet deep from Remus, Sirius didn't have much time before he drowned. They laughed at him, calling him various slurs before finishing,
"Good luck, pretty boy!"
and pushing him off.
Sirius took a final breath before falling into the depths. He couldn't see, but flailed his arms and legs, praying he'd reach the surface. Fortunately, he was able to break through the water and yell out,
"HELP!"
before sinking under once again. It was only luck that Remus and James were swimming and heard someone scream for help. They queried if anyone else had heard the scream, but began to swim frantically to the person who seemed to be drowning nearly 5 feet from the dock. By the time they got there, James climbed up on the dock to pull up the person in the water. Remus raised, who he realized was Sirius, to James on the dock. Pulling himself up on the dock too, Remus was utterly befuddled.
Sirius was coughing like crazy, trying to catch his breath.
"What the bloody hell happened Sirius!?!"
Remus shouted.
James, noticing a distant group of guys pointing and laughing at Sirius, got up, angry. Who the hell tries to drown someone? James thought. Stalking over to the three guys, James asked sarcastically,
"Is something funny? Because my friend nearly drowned if you didn't realize!"
The brunette said,
"You're friends with that girly-boy, you terrorist?"
James, now pissed, Who the hell did this kid think he was?
"The hell did you call my friend and I!?!"
The blonde piped up,
"Oh, my bad. You don't speak English.
He switched to a mocking and terrible fake Indian accent,
"He called you a terrorist and that fake girl a f*g!"
Irritated, James said,
"First of all, I'm f**king speaking English, and second, call us what you want, but don't bloody try to drown people. Oh, and third, he's not a girl. He is a boy. So mind your own bloody business, alright?"
The redhead taunted,
"What? Are you afraid that we'd beat your arse, terrorist?!"
James was near his breaking point. Not wanting to cause a scene, he grabbed the redhead by the shirt, gritting his teeth,
"Leave my friends and I the f**k alone before I beat your arses!!!"
The guys were clearly afraid of James because they rolled their eyes, deciding it was best to leave.
James and Lily walked to the dock, noticing a shaking Sirius with Remus beside him. Lily crouched down next to Sirius, asking,
"What happened, Black?"
Sirius just croaked out,
"Water...under...breathing...guys...help..."
Sirius had calmed down after some time but had tears building in his eyes. Remus asked gently,
"Babe, what happened? Why would you jump in off the dock? The water is pretty deep."
Sirius said,
"I didn't jump..."
Remus asked, confused,
"What do you mean?"
"...Some guys pushed me off the edge. They thought it was funny..."
Remus and Lily then laughed, not knowing what James knew.
"Then why didn't you just swim back to the dock?"
Remus laughed. Sirius then got shy and blushed a bit, embarrassed. Sheepishly, he said,
"I don't know how to swim...I was never taught..."
Remus and Lily instantly felt horrible for laughing. Remus hugged Sirius close,
"Then why didn't you say something before we came?"
Sirius said quietly,
"I don't know. I guess I was embarrassed. I'm nearly 17 and I still can't swim. That's something little kids say. I guess I felt stupid because you lot can swim and we're taught like normal children..."
James spoke up,
"Mate, you don't have to be embarrassed for not knowing something. Had you told us, we would have taught you by now."
Sirius said,
"I know, but I still feel stupid..."
Remus then suggested,
"Hey, how about we teach you. Lily, James, and I can all swim so we can all teach you in the shallow water if you'd like?"
Sirius' face lit up. He smiled, shaking his head yes. They walked down from the dock, into the shallow water, where they began to teach Sirius to swim. He was a natural after 30 or so minutes, keeping up with James and Lily. They had a fantastic rest of the day, watching the sunset over the sea, then heading back to James' house to sleep the night away.
The rest of the summer holiday was amazing. They wrote each other, spent time at each other's houses, and, overall, had a blast during their last summer as carefree teenagers.