"....I learned my passion at the good old fashioned school of loverboys!"

James laughed and pushed Sirius in the shoulder. "You bloody dog." The four Marauders were walking together through the woods for the first time in what felt like ages, nearly shoulder to shoulder, exploring the trees beyond the house that James had bought. Sirius, in his very Sirius-way, was singing loudly, scaring the birds and small woodland creatures so they went skittering away through the trees. Remus, who was the object of Sirius's serenading, was flaming red in the cheeks.

"I bleedin' love that song - it's just... SO ME." Sirius grinned, and slung his arm about Remus's shoulder, pulling his lanky frame down and liberally lapping his face as he might if he were in his dog form.

"Gods alive!" Remus moaned, wiping his cheek with the arm of his jumper.

"What! I lick you all the time!"

"Toooo much information," sing-songed James, laughing.

Peter stared at Sirius with wide eyes, as though the implication had startled him.

"Not as a human," Remus argued.

"Um, yes," Sirius replied, looking at Remus with one eyebrow raised and a wicked grin crawling over his lips. "Quite frequently."

Remus might a well have been on fire.

"Alright! Alright! Enough about your dirty, dirty sex lives," James said. He stopped walking and waved his arms about. "What do you lot think? We've got loads and loads of trees and woods back here. We could easily build our own little hideaway for moony nights, yeah?"

Remus looked around. "As long as we don't leave whatever shelter we create, I suppose we could."

"C'mon Moony! We could have a blast, just like back in Hoggywarty-Hogwarts days," Sirius burst out. He looked around, "We could go swimming in that pond over there, and we could camp out sometimes, too. Go swimming. Skinny dipping." He wagged his eyebrows at Remus.

"Rule Number One!" James said.

Sirius looked 'round at him. "That was for the dormitory."

"Well it applies to my duck pond, too, you horny beast."

"Last I just you're the one that's horny, Prongs."

Peter laughed so hard and suddenly that he honked, then choked, and the other three looked 'round at him and laughed, too. "You alright, Wormy?" Remus asked.

Peter nodded, still coughing.

Sirius asked, "So when do we start building?"

James replied, "The moon's next week."

Remus said, "Dunno how much help I'll be in it right now, though, mate. Especially if you plan on doing it the muggle way. I'm already feeling the moon coming."

"Muggle way! Bullocks!" Sirius looked at James. "Don't be a twatwaffle."

"That's just the house I wanted to do the muggle way. For you, Rey, I thought we could make some sort of fort structure out here and perhaps connect it with a tunnel to the house's basement. For old times sake." He smiled.

Remus nodded, "That sounds rather brilliant."

"I like the idea!" Peter piped up.

Sirius grinned, "We shall call it the Howling House, yes?"

They all laughed -- and then set to work.

"And where have you four been all day?" Lily asked as the Marauders came tromping in the door of the flat in East London. She looked up from a book she had spread open on her knees, curled up on the couch with a blanket 'round her shoulders.

James shrugged, "Here and there, just being a bunch of lads." He leaned over her and gave her a kiss, and she put one hand up in his hair, holding their lips together a bit longer than strictly necessary.

"Ferfuckssakes, get a room."

"As if you should talk!" James said, pulling back at last. "Mr. Skinny Dipping."

"Oh Cereal, don't skinny dip," Lily said, shaking her head, "Unless it's in a flea bath."

"I haven't got fleas."

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"ANYMORE," Sirius said emphatically.

James chortled, and carefully inserted himself on the couch behind Lily, sliding into the small gap between her back and the arm of the couch. He hooked his chin over her shoulder and peered down at the book. "What's this you're reading?" he asked.

Lily blushed, "Nothing."

Sirius leaped across the table, snatching it from Lily's lap without warning.

"Sirius!" Lily snapped.

"What is it, Evans? Reading pornographic literature?" Sirius flipped the book over to look at the cover. He stared at it a long moment, then looked up, eyebrows peaked. "Lilith!" he gasped.

"What?" James asked, "What is it?"

"It's just a book!" Lily replied, rolling her eyes. "A romance novel."

Sirius smirked and handed the book to Remus, who looked at the cover and laughed heartily, then handed it to Peter who was making grabby hands to be included. James arched his neck to see the cover in Peter's hands and burst out laughing.

"REALLY!" Lily said. "Have none of you ever seen a romance novel before?"

James reached for the book from Peter, paused to look at it, and murmured, "Forgot I did this." He grinned and wiped tears of mirth from his eyes. "Quite the cover, Evans. I think that's what's got Sirius so turned on."

"Arrogant, you are."

"Pitching tent, YOU are," James said.

Sirius snickered.

Lily rolled her eyes and snapped the book from James's hand. "Really, it's just a stupid idiotic drawing of a man --" she stopped, staring at the book cover. She blinked. "James Charlus Potter, what the bloody hell did you do to my book?"

Sirius guffawed loudly, and Remus covered his mouth to hide his smirk, ducking into the kitchen.

"I may have altered them."

"Them????"

James grinned, and his lip hung up on his tooth. "I mean, I'm surprised you didn't notice before now."

"These two," Sirius muttered, elbowing Peter, "Made for each other."

Peter nodded.

"Why should I have noticed before now?" Lily demanded. "How long has your face been superimposed over my book covers?"

"Literal years, Evans," James laughed.

Lily gaped.

Sirius said, "Oi Prongs, you're welcome to super impose your head anywhere you like on my junk." He grinned.

Peter glanced at Sirius with a side eye.

Remus yelled from the kitchen, "I'm not deaf out here!"

Sirius sang, "Well it isssss a Tuesday, my love!" But he quickly bound into the kitchen as well.

Lily was shaking her head as she stared at the book cover. "You're such a bloody idiot," she said, tilting her head back to look at James. "You do realize it, yeah?"

"Of course I realize," James laughed. "To be fair though, I was young and lovesick."

"Was this before or after all the dallying with half the females at Hogwarts?"

James didn't even flush. "Before."

"I suppose I should have noticed it before now then," Lily laughed.

"Oh do you suppose that?" James teased and he tickled her sides and Lily let out a shriek, dropping the book to the floor and kicking her legs aa James's tickles intensified.

Peter cleared his throat, and they both looked at him. He was hovering by the floo. "I suppose I'll just - be off...?"

"Stay, Pete," James said, letting up on his administrations.

"Yes stay," Lily said, still laughing. She was flushed and breathless from giggling through the tickle-attack. "For dinner at the least."

Peter eagerly peeled off his jacket, even as he asked, "Really? I don't intend to impose but if you insist, of course..."

Lily smiled, "We do."

"Absolutely," James nodded.

They had a terrific dinner, though Remus's meat was a bit rarer than the others. They sat about the table and talked, as had become tradition, laughing at Sirius's horrid puns and limericks. They discussed plans to go the following week to Hogsmeade to visit Dora and to wish Minnie a Happy Birthday while they were at it.

"I want to get Min a birthday present," Sirius announced.

James said, "Your presence will be enough of a - er - present.

"No but really!" Sirius whined. He scratched the back of his head as he spoke, "I just really want to get her something. She deserves a grand gift."

Lily said, "We can go shopping."

"YES!" Sirius cried, "SHOPPING! Girls day oooout!" He howled the last bit.

"Good luck with that," James said, waving his fork at Sirius.

Lily laughed.

"So what have you been up to, Peter?" Remus asked, noticing Peter was being quiet as the others chattered.

Peter looked up from his plate. "Oh. Um. Uni, mostly. Been very busy."

"They teach you loads of rubbish about divining the future, then?" Sirius asked. "Can you have a look-see and tell me what I get Minnie?"

"I - no - I - it doesn't work that way, really," Peter stuttered.

"Calm your tits Pete, I was only taking the mickey out of you."

"Oh." Peter laughed awkwardly, too late and halfheartedly.

Sirius rolled his eyes discreetly as he turned to focus on his dinner instead of Peter.

"How are the dorms at Nostradamus?" Remus asked, spearing a carrot with his fork.

Peter twitched. "Small."

"Bummer," Sirius said.

"Yes," Peter nodded. "Bummer." He looked at his plate again.

Lily looked at James.

James raised an eyebrow in response to her silent question and shrugged slightly.

"Something the matter, Pete?" Remus hazarded the question they all had - well, all except Sirius, who was studying his fingernails and picking at one of them while absently scratching his neck. Sirius looked up at the question, though, then looked from Remus to Peter with interest.

Peter shook his head. "No, nothing the matter." He shoveled several bites of food into his mouth.

"Not lucky in the roommate arrangement?" Sirius asked, then added, teasing, "You've already had the best roomies in the world and finding us incredibly irreplaceable, are you?"

Peter replied, voice even, "Actually, you'd be amazed how similar to you my current co-residents are."

Sirius snickered. "Handsome, funny, and gay?"

"Smelly, ignorant, and noisy all night," Peter corrected, thinking of the rats in the Underground.

Remus choked on a sip of gillywater he'd just taken, and snorted so hard a bit of it burned his nose. He covered his mouth, flushing. James, too, covered his mouth, trying not to laugh, even as Lily glared between him and Remus.

Sirius stared at Peter uncomprehendingly a moment, his mind working to wrap about Peter's smartass reply, and when he finally processed it, he hooted with laughter. "Galloping gargoyle balls, Wormtail!" Sirius's barking laughter filled the flat as he threw his head back and his shoulders shook with his amusement. "I am quite the shitty roommate, aren't I?"

Remus nodded, barely able to breathe.

Peter flushed. "Not so bad, really, I suppose..." he murmured.

Sirius couldn't stop snickering.

"I mean," Peter stammered, nervously enjoying the attention and approval that the joke had gotten him, "You probably have just as fleas as they do."

"I haven't got --" Sirius started, but he realized he was in the act of scratching his scalp yet again even as he started to argue and he hushed.

Remus said, "Probably more."

They all laughed again.

They finished their meal, passing about more small talk and jokes until the platters were cleaned and their bellies were full. James and Sirius cleared up, and Remus went to settle himself with reading and working on his assignments in the living room while James preoccupied Sirius elsewhere. Lily went to say goodnight to James - planning to head home for the night, rather than staying over.

Peter sat in one of the extra chairs of the living room and watched as Remus stared down at his parchments and open textbook, which he'd laid out on the coffee table to study. Remus bit the end of his quill, which was a thick pheasant feather, though this was a habit, Peter remembered, which Remus had developed from years at Hogwarts, sucking on sugar quills as he worked. Sugar quills that he, Peter, always remembered to stock their dormitory with each trip to Hogsmeade. It was something the other boys - including Remus, who used them most - never thought of. One of the small things that Peter did that they never noticed, but took for granted. He started the trail of thought with a nostalgic sadness, but ended it with a bit of a flash-fire of frustration. Of course it was taken for granted, he thought. Every good thing he'd ever done had been, it seemed.

"I'm going back to my sewer," Peter announced to the room.

Remus was so emerged in his work, he barely heard Peter's words, and certainly didn't register the word sewer properly, as he murmured a distracted, "Night Wormy."

Peter stared at Remus, stung, giving it a moment for the words he'd said to sink in through Remus's skull but it didn't appear to be happening. Peter stood up and hurried off through the door.

The night had grown cold and Peter's breath plumed into hot clouds as he walked down the road, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. He scowled bitterly at his trainers as he walked, the laughter and mirth around the dinner table now infuriating him more than entertaining him as they'd done in the moment. He scowled and muttered, "Probably really does got more fleas than all the fecking rats in the whole sewer system, the stupid bastard."

He turned quickly into the Underground and took it north to the station where he could switch to the Metropolitan line. Riding the metro to the nearest stop to his school, Peter used the time to contemplate all the ways Sirius and the others had let him down. He felt betrayed and he thought about those stupid runes he had thrown.

It was him who was betrayed, he realized suddenly, a chill going through him as it dawned upon him.

The train pulled into his station and he got off the ride, loitered until the train had pulled away from the the station and the other passengers had cleared off. When he was alone, he changed back into his rat form and ran along the tracks. It smelled to high hell in the Underground tunnel now, though Dumbledore and Moody had cleared off their wreckage, the memory of that scorched flesh and bone still hung thick in the air, and burned Peter's ratty nostrils.

When he arrived at last to his little space below the manhole cover, Peter didn't even bother changing back into his own form. Instead, he pushed his way into the rat nest he'd made himself, curling up into the cotton and warmth, and wrapping his spindly little paws around his long, thick tail. He listened as the next few trains rattled by on the rails and traffic thundered overhead on the streets.

It seemed like forever before he was able to quiet his mind and fall asleep.