"surround yourself with people whose eyes light up when they see you coming"

*

Sirius woke quickly, trying to shake a nightmare from his head. His fingers gripped the sheets as he tried to reassure himself that the dream hadn't been real, but in some ways, it was. He could still hear his parents' voices echoing in his head: blood traitor, disgrace, worthless son. Sunlight streamed through the windows, a constant reminder that it was indeed just a dream, even though the conversations did actually happen. Sirius couldn't escape the things he feared the most.

He yawned and considered going back to sleep before noticing the small pile of presents at the foot of his bed. November 3, his birthday. As excited as that made him, he realized he only had a little over a month left until Christmas, when he would be expected to return home for the holidays. Just thinking of the house on Grimmauld Place darkened his mood, like ink spilled over parchment.

"You're up early," Remus commented. He sat perched on the window, reading as always, a cup of tea clutched in his dry hands. In the morning light, his scars looked faded, less pronounced, and while the full moon was about a week away, happiness actually crossed his face. "Happy birthday, Sirius."

His coffee-brown eyes flicked out the window as he stared at the castle grounds. In the distance, Hagrid worked out in his garden, prepping for a Care of Magical Creatures class. Winter approached on the horizon, sweeping over the castle with dead leaves and occasional flurries, but Remus loved the winter. Everything all frozen and white, snowy trips to Hogsmeade, and the Christmas holidays... what wasn't to like about that? The metaphor of snow fascinated Remus. Each individual snowflake bonded together to create a beautiful, muffling blanket of white. It was easier to think in the quiet of winter. 

"You should bow down. I'm an adult now  Officially the superior Marauder in status, age, looks, and talent." He winked and Remus pretended to swoon, fanning himself dramatically with his book. Sirius noticed James' vacant bed. "Where did he get off to?"

Remus rolled his eyes, grinning as he did so. No one ever expected James Potter to be a morning person, but if the sun rose, so did James. "He's been trying to break into the girls' dormitory since before dawn to steal Eva's ABBA cassette tape so he can play Dancing Queen for you on your seventeenth birthday. I told him it wouldn't work, but you know how he is. He's wasting his time. Dumbledore enchanted those stairs. It hasn't worked for years, I don't know why he expects to be allowed in now."

"Well, he isn't here, and Wormtail's still snoring away, so I'm going to open these."

"Go right ahead. Spoiler alert: since you know about your party, we're all giving you our gifts later. We didn't forget or anything. We're not bad friends."

"Ah, got it." Sirius sat up and pulled a present towards him. Severely wrapped and corners crisp. The fanciest and most over-the-top package he'd ever held. Definitely from his parents. He unwrapped it slowly, as if it might bite him.

"A book? Don't they know me at all?" For a moment, Remus worried that he was upset, but Sirius' voice held a note of amusement. He held up the book to show off. "And look at the title! Pureblood Wizarding Families of Britain. Fantastic! Exactly what I wanted for free reading!" He tossed the book haphazardly onto the floor, pointed his wand at it, and muttered an incantation. It exploded. "There. Much better."

"Good move."

"Thanks, Moony." Sirius opened the next package, this one smaller than the last and poorly wrapped. His brow furrowed as he pulled out a pair of fingerless leather gloves. A note fluttered out of the case, and Sirius retrieved it from the floor.

Didn't expect this one, did you? We're still brothers, you know. I probably won't see you today, so happy seventeenth.

-Reg

Sirius smiled and pocketed the gloves, thinking that his little brother wasn't completely lost after all.

"You missed one," Remus pointed out at the exact second James came storming into the room with a party hat on his head and a sullen expression on his face.

"It's not fair, they won't let me in- oi, you're awake! Happy birthday!" He enveloped his friend in a tight hug, one Sirius hesitantly returned after a moment. Remus didn't miss his initial flinch back in surprise. Truth be told, it took years before Sirius could accept a hug or any other physical sign of affection. To him, physical connection meant bruises and shame, not love and warmth. "I came up with the best way to sing Happy Birthday to you! Behold!"

He took a deep breath, and in an absolutely terrible, off-pitch voice that caused all of his friends to cringe, he sang,

"Happy birthday to you! Remus Lupin hates the moon! Happy birthday, DEER Sirius! Blondie might like you too!" At deer, he quickly transformed into a stag and pranced around before hopping on the bed and turning back to finish the song. "I have approximately twenty-seven more verses written, including one in French and one compromised entirely of swear words, but you blokes look like you've had enough already."

"Thanks, James, but I'm good." He clapped his friend on the back and picked up the final gift. It was small enough to fit in his hand. He tore the brown paper and carefully opened the lid.

For a moment, he just stared. Remus shot a concerned look at James, who only shrugged with a smirk. He alone knew what the box contained.

With trembling fingers, Sirius lifted a golden watch out of the box. The tag only read seven words: for our son, love from the Potters. The morning sunlight reflected off of it as tears filled his eyes, tears his friends pretended not to notice. All of that hate, all of that dread that filled him at the mention of his family faded away. Because they weren't his family. The people who ran from detention with him, who laughed all night with him, who smiled and cried with him - they were his family. No last name could ever change that.

"Sirius, mate? You okay?" James ventured after a minute of silence passed. Sirius finally looked up, elation on his face. He slid the watch onto his wrist and grinned, making a mental note to write a very long thank-you note later.

"James Potter, I literally could not be better."

Once he woke up, Peter snuck downstairs to the kitchens and raided for breakfast. The four boys spent the morning in the common room, a tradition for birthdays amongst them, playing Exploding Snap, Wizard's Chess, and Truth or Dare. As a result, a stag interrupted Professor Dumbledore's breakfast, Snape mysteriously ended up with pink hair, and Professor McGonagall received two unexpected guests in her office a little after lunch.

"Hello, Professor," James said, nervously shifting on his feet. McGonagall raised her eyebrows at his formal greeting, something he'd never really bothered to abide with before. Sirius, on the other hand, looked pale and ready to throw up.

"Hello, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black. May I help you, or are you here for a prank?"

"No, we aren't! Honest!" James promised earnestly, stepping closer to her desk. He fidgeted with his hands before saying, "We have a question."

"I assumed you did. You should ask it, then."

"Hypothetically..."

McGonagall groaned. This was by far not the first hypothetical question they'd come to her with over their six years at Hogwarts. She was incredibly intelligent and shrewd, and had caught on very early to the boys' plans. With Potter as their question spokesman, she saw through his white lies and resigned herself to finding out what he was up to. After listening carefully to their discussions and drawing conclusions from their hypothetical questions, her heart sank.

It was all for Remus.

While teachers supposedly don't have favorites, McGonagall always nursed a soft spot for the Marauders, specifically James Potter and Remus Lupin. She loved those boys like the sons she never had. Instead of turning them in, however, she did her best to guide them, to make sure they didn't hurt themselves in the process. And pride swelled in her chest the day James came into Transfiguration early to say "hypothetically, it worked."

"Hypothetically, if one had the Animagus form of a dog, and if one was slightly tipsy from Butterbeer before one transformed and ate chocolate while in said form, would one die?"

Professor McGonagall nearly choked on her drink. "What did you just say?" She asked, even though she heard him fine the first time.

"Hypothetically, of course," Sirius said weakly, glancing down at his feet. The words 'what did I do?' kept racing through his mind.

"Yes, hypothetically."

She set her cup of tea down on top of a stack of papers and faced the boys. "Hypothetically, one who does this might feel mild discomfort, and he is most definitely an idiot, but no, he will not die."

Both of them visibly exhaled in relief. "Thank you very much, Professor," James said, giving a little bow. She hid her fond smile behind an expression of stern amusement.

"Make sure to finish your essays, or it will be detention for the two of you." James and Sirius recognized their dismissal and turned to leave, but she called something else. "Oh, and Mr. Black! A word, please!"

Sirius spun around. Already he looked so much better, life flooding back into his cheeks and eyes. "Yes, Minerva, darling?"

Normally, she would say something. She would give him a detention, or at least a lecture about authority. But not today.

"Happy birthday."

*

All right, time to act shocked, Sirius thought to himself as he climbed the stairs to the seventh floor. He thought he'd give his friends a little surprise by arriving early to his own surprise party. He approached a blank wall and closed his eyes.

I need the place my friends want me to be.

A massive gilded doorway appeared where the wall had been bare seconds before. He gripped the large handle and swung open the door.

"Surprise!" He yelled.

The effect was instantaneous. Marlene, who had been busy hanging red and gold streamers from the ceiling, almost fell off of a broom she'd precariously balanced herself on. Remus drooped an entire bucket of confetti all over the tile floor. Lily accidentally blasted the volume of a Bee Gees song, and Peter looked dangerously close to transforming into an Animagi due to fear.

"You weren't supposed to be here for another twenty minutes!" Lily scolded, running up to slap him in the back of the head before embracing him. "Happy birthday, Black."

"Thanks, Evans." He ruffled her red hair and she ducked, trying to avoid further damage. Marlene also gave him a hug, and Remus and Peter continued to set up the decorations as if nothing had happened.

Sirius glanced around. The Room of Requirement always became what the user needed, and today it had provided a comfortable room with plenty of space. Cushions dotted the floor instead of chairs or couches, and a big screen was propped up against one wall. He recognized it as a Muggle movie screen, and an old-fashioned projector sat nearby. How they had managed to enchant it so that it worked inside of Hogwarts, he had no idea, but once again he felt an overwhelming rush of gratitude.

"We're just waiting on James and Eva," Remus said as he sat down on one of the cushions. Hiding a yawn, he continued. "They had practice, I think. They're supposed to be here in five minutes."

"You should look at the presents!" Marlene exclaimed, pointing to the small stack of gifts near the screen. "They can give you theirs when they get here."

Sirius grinned and the group crowded around him as he opened the presents. From Marlene, he received a new Gryffindor banner to plaster on his bedroom walls and irritate his parents. Peter gave him a bag of Honeydukes candies. Remus' present, wrapped in an old copy of the Daily Prophet, was a picture frame. Inside, the seven of them all had their arms around each other, laughing. And while he loved this photo, it was Lily's present that topped them all.

She handed a gift bag to him, excitement sparkling in her green eyes. It was heavy, heavier than he expected, and he looked at her before opening it.

"Is it going to eat me?"

"No."

"Is it alive?"

"No."

"Is it a letter declaring your love for James?"

"Merlin no! Open it!" She begged. He pulled out the tissue paper and found the bag to be full of Muggle motorcycle magazines. Sirius' dark eyes lit up as he took one of them in his hands and paged through.

"You are the most wonderful person I have ever met."

"Don't let the others hear you say that. Potter and Eva will get jealous," she teased, knocking him off of his cushion. It might have well have been a declaration of war. An all-out pillow fight ensued, the room providing more pillows as they broke. Feathers flew through the air as they smacked each other.

After Lily was unanimously named the winner of the pillow war, the five of them crashed on the remaining cushions and watched Grease, her favorite movie of all time. To everyone else's delight, Lily and Sirius flawlessly performed a choreographed number of 'You're the One That I Want' and they constantly threw popcorn at each other, but Sirius kept glancing at the door and then his new watch. He knew he wasn't the only one doing this, waiting for his friends to walk in the door.

As the credits rolled, Lily turned down the volume and bit her lip. She twirled a red lock of hair nervously. Marlene tapped her fingers repetitively on the floor. Peter kept thinking he heard something, jumping up, and then returning to the floor. Remus just watched the door with a solemn expression.

Finally, Sirius had enough. "This is bloody ridiculous. Do you have the map?" He asked Remus. The girls began to ask questions, but he dismissed them, much more concerned about other matters.

"I do," Peter said. He reached into his robes for the parchment and tossed it to Sirius, who quickly muttered the words and began to scan the halls.

"They're three hours late," Marlene mumbled. She played with her tie, loosening and tightening the red fabric to keep her mind at ease. Of course, it didn't work. "Do you think something happened?"

"Nah, we would have heard something if anything bad happened." Peter put a hand on her shoulder and she smiled briefly at him. He sounded like he was trying to reassure himself as well as her. "They probably just lost track of time or McKinnon had them do extra drills."

"But no one knows we're here," Remus pointed out. "So how could we know if something happened?"

"Just shut up and find them!" Lily yelled.

Sirius ignored all of the arguing and focused on the map, sweeping his eyes up and down the corridors and hallways. Come on, come on, come on.

"Blimey," he muttered as he finally located the two of them.

"What?" Remus asked urgently. "Where are they?"

"Dumbledore's office."