Breach

Breach

"What a bloody stupid idea!" Peter complained, trying unsuccessfully to transfigure his trousers for the upcoming Christmas Ball.

"Oh, come on, Pete, it will be lovely," James replied, perfectly imitating their Muggle Studies professor, Professor Burbage, who - when she got excited about Muggle customs - raised her voice to an almost unbearable pitch. Lovely indeed! James sighed. From what James heard, most of the boys at Hogwarts were not amused about the upcoming event. Dancing and costumes were not their idea of a good time. Not that they had any say in the matter.

Charity Burbage had a liking for eighteenth-century Muggle dress and, much to most students' chagrin, a very persuasive personality. This not only meant they would be having a Christmas Ball, where there would be ballroom dancing; no, they would be required to wear formal dress, meaning breeches for the boys. Breeches!

James flopped down on his bed and wistfully eyed his trousers, which were still jeans despite his many attempts to transfigure them, though the buttons had been replaced with laces. Well, there was still some time to work on his outfit. He absolutely needed the breeches to be perfect; he wanted to impress Lily Evans.

"Gentlemen!" Remus opened the dormitory door with a grand gesture. "May I present to you: Lord Black!" And Sirius strutted in, looking like one of the guys in the picture Professor Burbage had shown them in class: black breeches, matching coat with large silver buttons, with an elaborate brocade waistcoat underneath, which reminded Peter of his gran's curtains.

"Wow, look at you!" Peter gasped, clearly jealous of Sirius's transfiguration abilities and wondering how on earth he had managed to master the spell so quickly that they were all struggling with. Neither he nor James were bad at Transfigurations; yet they were still working on their trousers, never mind the waistcoat, or the cravat. Hell, Sirius had even managed to conjure a rather impressive wig!

Remus bent down to whisper in Peter's ear, "Uncle Alphard sent him the costume," and he winked.

Before anyone could make further comment on Sirius's attire, a terrible racket was heard coming from down in the common room.

"Wicked! I sense trouble," James said in a sing-song voice, a grin spreading over his face. He was out the door in no time, Peter following immediately behind. Sirius held the door open as the others passed by, but made no move to follow.

Just as Remus started descending the stairs after James and Peter, Sirius grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

"They'll be distracted for a good while ..." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Sirius, what have you let loose down there?" Remus asked in exasperation, though he couldn't quite hide his own grin.

"Never mind that now, my little wolf." He pulled Remus towards him. Their lips met half-way, crushing together fiercely. Fumbling and stumbling, gasping between kisses and shedding their clothes, they somehow made it to Sirius's bed.

Opportunities like this were rare for them, living in a dormitory with three other blokes. Although their dorm mates seemed to have got used to Remus and Sirius sharing a bed from time to time, no one ever spoke of it.

None of this mattered now, of course; in fact, neither Remus nor Sirius thought about it at all. They touched, felt and enjoyed each other thoroughly until they drifted off in sated slumber.

~*~

Later, when James returned to the dormitory, he nearly stumbled over the slipover haphazardly thrown out of - wait a minute!

He picked up the carelessly discarded clothing- Moony's, the name tag suggested - and tiptoed over to Sirius's bed. Drawn curtains. A dead giveaway. 'Oh, the nerve of them!'

'Fine,' James thought. 'If they thought they could set off a bunch of Filibusters without telling their fellow Marauders, just to sneak off and - No, they deserve no better.'

He carefully eased open the curtains, revealing the sleeping couple: Remus's head resting on Sirius's chest. 'Exhausted, are we?' James thought, catching himself before he snorted. 'Mustn't wake them up before ...' He aimed his wand at Sirius's face and whispered, "Aguamenti glacial!"

A jet of icy cold water hit Sirius's face, who sat up spluttering, as a startled - and very naked - Remus fell off the bed.

"What the - James!" Remus cried in vexation, trying to cover himself with a duvet that wouldn't budge with Sirius still on top of it. He looked wildly around before dashing over to his own four-poster to hastily pull on a pair of boxers.

"James, you bastard!" Sirius yelled. "What d'you do that for?" He cast a quick drying spell over himself and the bed. "Honestly, one would think you're jealous!" Sirius tried his hardest to sound severe. "Look at what you've done to poor Remus - nearly gave him a heart attack!" And Sirius burst out laughing.

Sirius could see that Remus didn't find the situation quite as amusing as he did, and James seemed to be surprised that Sirius was taking the affront in such good spirit. After all, Sirius had bitten James's head off for lesser evils. Nevertheless, the two of them soon joined Sirius in his laughing fit, which is how Peter found them when he entered the dorm - Remus doubled over, dressed only in boxers; James wiping tears of mirth from his eyes; and Sirius rolling around on his bed, completely starkers. Not terribly surprised by the odd display before him, Peter waited stoically for them to calm down enough to tell him what had happened.

~*~

Remus and Sirius left the Great Hall to go up to the common room to play a game of Exploding Snap. At the foot of the stairs, they nearly ran into Regulus, standing in the middle of the hallway and staring into space with a worried frown on his face.

"Regulus?" Remus questioned quietly.

Regulus nearly jumped out of his skin, then realising who it was, he snarled, "Get away from me, you filthy animal!"

If Remus was surprised or shocked by the appellation, he didn't show it. "I was only -"

"How dare you?" Sirius cut in. "How dare you call him that?"

"Oh, but isn't it the truth?" Regulus smirked. "I was talking to Severus the other day and -"

Sirius started forward, fists ready to strangle; Regulus took a hasty step back.

"Come on, Sirius, let's go," Remus urged, growing uncomfortable.

"What are you on about? You are just going to let the little shit get away with this? Gods, you're a stupid git sometimes."

"It's not worth it. Let's go."

"Remus, he called you 'animal'!"

"I know he did. I heard him. I don't care - let's go!"

Regulus crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the side, watching the exchange with fascination and increasing smugness. "Listen to you two bicker like an old married couple. I had my doubts about some of the stuff Severus told me. Now I am beginning to wonder. You're going to go the same way as Andromeda did. You should have stayed with her and that Muggle. At least she chose another human." He grinned maliciously.

Remus and Sirius stopped to stare at Regulus. Sirius's eyes narrowed dangerously as he took hold of his brother's shirt collar. "Listen, little brother, I think you spend entirely too much time talking to scum like Snape. I know you're twisted enough to believe in Mother's sick little theories, but you might do well to actually use that thick head of yours. If that's too much effort, looking at what's happening around you might be a good start. Leave Andi out of this. You have no idea what you're talking about!" He shoved Regulus out of the way and started climbing the stairs. Remus stared at Regulus, more in disbelief than in anger, until the younger boy averted his eyes, then Remus turned to catch up with Sirius.

"I think he's jealous, Sirius," Remus said, once they were out of earshot.

"Jealous?" Sirius asked in disbelief. "Why would he be jealous? From where he's standing, I am everything he doesn't want to be. I'm a blood-traitor, remember? A Gryffindor to top things off. Not to mention my other, er, shall we say deviances ..." Remus grinned and looked at Sirius. He expected to find a matching smile; instead Sirius just frowned at him.

"How did Snivellus find out?" Sirius asked. "And how come he and Reg are such big chums? I don't like the sound of that, Moony. I don't care what he does with his life, but he better leave me out of his little schemes. And you, for that matter." He put a protective arm around Remus's shoulder.

"Still, mate, you're his older brother. I don't think he sees a blood-traitor when he looks at you," Remus reasoned. "An independent, strong young man, perhaps, but not a blood-traitor. You're one of the most popular boys in school. And I could imagine that he wants to be that, too."

"Whatever you say, Moony," Sirius grumbled, lost in thought. "He's still a false, little snake. I don't trust him one bit. Stupid git!"

Remus let the matter rest. Maybe, all things considered, it was best if the two brothers saw as little of each other as possible.

~*~

In the end, all four of the Marauders managed to dress appropriately, even splendidly, for the costume ball. James had opted for a red- and gold-chequered waistcoat, a cravat with a funny little bow, and a top hat; his hair stuck out at the sides. Peter wore baby-blue breeches with a matching coat rather than the traditional black most boys had chosen. Remus seemed to have taken Uncle Alphard's costume as a guideline. Save for the brocade, his waistcoat was made of silk. He even wore gloves.

Each Marauder struggled to get a good view of himself in the mirror, pushing and shoving the others until the last crease was smoothed, each cravat was in its right place and James had managed to tame his hair, if only slightly.

"Well, will you look at us! We make quite the handsome foursome," James said proudly as he held the door open for his friends. They strutted down the stairs to the common room, where James offered his arm to Lily Evans and thus would be a lost cause for the rest of the evening. Peter was eager to get down to the Entrance Hall, where he was meeting his Ravenclaw girlfriend. Remus and Sirius looked at each other and shrugged - it looked like they would have to do without James and Peter. But no matter, two Marauders were more than enough for a nice bit of mischief, especially certain sorts of mischief. They checked to see if the bottles of Firewhisky were well hidden under their coats then made their way down, never catching up with Peter, who must have run, taking at least two steps at a time.

The Great Hall was lavishly decorated. The customary Christmas trees were complemented by icicles and ice statues, garlands, floating candles and thousands of little fairies that fluttered around, holding bright blue flames in one set of hands. It really was quite breathtaking, not that they would ever admit that. Sirius glanced around to see if he could spot James. He nearly did a double take when he saw him in the middle of the Hall, on the dance floor, dancing with Lily. Dancing!

Beside him, Remus chuckled, amused at Peter's attempts to wow his girlfriend - what was her name again? - with his foxtrot expertise. The band was clearly playing a waltz.

Even with their two friends providing ample entertainment, Sirius and Remus quickly grew bored. They strolled over to the house tables set up along the walls, groaning under the bowls of food and punch. Sirius edged closer to the punch bowl while Remus looked out for any professors in the vicinity. The coast was clear - good! Just as Sirius went to add a healthy measure of whisky to the punch, someone cleared his throat and the bottle was levitated out of Sirius's hand. Damn! Why did Flitwick have to be so tiny? With a stern look, the professor waved the boys off.

Remus and Sirius returned to their seats, annoyed with the dancing, the fairies, and the girls asking them to dance, which they politely refused. The couples on the dance floor looked like they were having fun; James had managed to sneak his hand down Lily's back to cup her arse. Sirius found himself wishing he could do the same to Remus. He elbowed Remus and nodded to the doors, thus missing how Lily pointedly removed James's hand, clearly not amused by his advances. Sirius followed Remus, heading for the broom closet down the corridor, which had come in handy a few times before.

Sirius opened the door and marched straight in while Remus quickly double-checked that no one had followed them. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he was pushed back against the wall and pulled into a fierce kiss. He moaned. It seemed they managed to get away just in time, his erection rubbing against Sirius's as they pressed tightly against each other.

Breaking apart to catch their breath, Sirius immediately started to fumble with Remus's breeches. "Bloody things," he growled. "I can't get the bloody knot undone! Moony, untie these fucking laces. Now!"

Remus took a step back, which was met with sounds of disapproval from Sirius. When he proceeded to slowly loosen the knot, all the while looking at Sirius with that look, Sirius's frown disappeared and he licked his suddenly dry lips.

"Moony, you're such a tease. Hurry up, you poof!"

With his trousers and pants hanging around his knees, Remus shuffled back up to his friend. His arm circled Sirius's waist while his hand took hold of both their cocks, stroking them slowly. Sirius's hand joined his, and together they fisted eagerly, speed increasing, their breaths growing more ragged.

Sirius knew he wouldn't last long; felt he was close already. "Moony ..." he gasped.

"Mmh, me ... too ... now," Remus managed before he came, spurting over their hand and his belly, Sirius following closely behind, not able to hold back after seeing Remus come all over himself.

They stood for a while, catching their breath. Their hands were still intertwined, Remus's arm circled Sirius's waist, while Sirius's arm was draped over his shoulder. They held each other, and the kiss they shared spoke of sated bliss, full of promises.

Remus broke the kiss and stroked Sirius's cheek. "Turn around," he commanded in a low voice.

"Remus ..." Sirius's eyes gleamed hungrily. He didn't think he'd ever get enough of Remus. He was one of the people whom Sirius felt most comfortable with and knew most intimately, and yet Remus managed to surprise him time and again.

Obligingly, he turned, bracing himself against the wall, sensing Remus kneeling for better access. Oh, sweet Merlin! Sirius shivered with anticipation as Remus's breath ghosted over his arse cheeks. Remus's hands trailed lightly over the back of Sirius's legs, and Sirius spread them willingly.

He anticipated the feeling of Remus's tongue trailing along his cleft, when Remus jumped away from him with a panicked, choked cry. What the -? The air had suddenly become drafty. When Sirius turned around, nearly falling over the knot of clothes around his ankles, he found himself in the spotlight of the wide-open door.

Regulus! The little bastard! Standing there, framed in the doorway, smugness personified. Sirius groaned and quickly pulled up his trousers. Remus was shell-shocked, staring open-mouthed at Regulus with a faint blush tinting his face while he, too, gathered his clothes around him.

Sirius sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. This was not good. This was really not good at all. What was he supposed to do now? Part of him felt like telling Regulus exactly what he thought of nosy arseholes, and in no uncertain terms either. He knew, however, that Regulus would go running to tell their mother at the first opportunity, possibly even by owl this very evening, no matter what Sirius said. If he could get him to understand .... Maybe a bit of the famous Black charm would at least postpone the inevitable.

"Look, Reg, I -"

"Don't waste your breath, big brother," he spat the last word; "I've seen more than enough. Don't think Mum will be too pleased when she hears, do you?"

"Regulus, mate ..." This was all going wrong. "Oh, bloody hell ..." Sirius groaned and slid down the wall, his head hiding in his hands. He looked up, his pleading eyes only made Regulus's grin widen. He looked like he had achieved a triumph he never dared dream of.

Suddenly, Remus stepped in front, blocking Sirius's view of his brother. "Regulus, I think you've seen enough. You had best leave now." His voice was calm and authoritative. In fact, it carried a power that Sirius never before noticed in Remus. It reminded him of the full moon, and of Remus pounding, fast and powerful, through the Forbidden Forest. Sirius pulled himself up to his feet and stood behind Remus. The two of them stared hard at Regulus, who seemed to have been shocked into silence. Eventually, he left but shot a victorious grin over his shoulder before he disappeared from view.

"Bloody hell!" Sirius let his head drop forward onto Remus's shoulder. "What a fucking nightmare!" He felt the shoulder shake. Was Remus crying? "Remus?"

Remus turned around. And burst out laughing. The bastard was actually laughing! "Can you imagine what that must have looked like?" He gasped, holding his side. "He got a nice view of our arses, didn't he?" Remus tried to catch his breath, still shaking with laughter. Sirius looked at him with a stony expression. What the hell was wrong with him? Didn't he realise what had just happened?

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" Sirius yelled. "This isn't funny, okay? He'll run straight to my mother. You know what they're like. Shut up, Remus ... Oh, you're hopeless, you know that?" With a stomp and a huff, he stalked past Remus and stormed out of the closet.

Remus frowned. Clearly, he was missing something. Sirius didn't even like his family. Why was he suddenly so upset? Well, there was only one way to find out. He knew Sirius would either go sulk in the dormitory or pout in a deserted corridor on the fifth floor. Remus would go there first.

Sirius was pacing the dormitory in agitation. What was he going to do? He could stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays, but sooner or later they would send him back home. No matter when he went home, it would not be a pretty scene. Being blasted off the family tree would be the least of his worries. As much as it pained him to admit it, even to himself, Sirius was scared, more so than he ever had been in his life.

Remus opened the dorm door quietly. "Sirius?" he whispered.

"Leave me alone, Remus. You don't understand."

"You're right, I don't get it. Fair enough, having your little brother walk in on you is not the best thing that happened tonight, but you did overreact a bit, didn't you? Surely, it's not that big of a deal. You don't even like your family. Why are you so afraid?"

"I'm not afraid, Moony, I'm ... Fuck, you don't know what they're like. When Andi said she'd marry Ted Tonks, her name was blasted from the family tree. Her family chased her out of the house, Remus. She turned up at our doorstep and my mother pretended she didn't even know who she was! Wouldn't even talk to her. Got the house-elf to do the job. Andi wasn't even wearing a coat ... it was freezing cold outside. Hell, other people show more kindness to strangers than my family does to their own kin. You have no idea!"

'No, I don't, do I?' Remus thought. 'How come no one knew about these things? Shit, I've been a right prat, laughing about the whole incident when Sirius was so obviously distressed.'

"Look, mate, I'm sorry, okay? My behaviour was uncalled for, but I really didn't know. I'm sorry." He reached out to comfort Sirius. His hand was slapped away.

"You can be sorry all you like, Remus, it's not going to change a fucking thing!" He brushed past Remus, almost colliding with James on his way out.

"What's going on here?" James asked, looking out of place with happiness radiating off him. He frowned. Sirius running off in such a state, Remus with that worried look on his face. This was not good. "Moony, what's going on?" he repeated. "Did you guys have a fight?"

"Fight? No, not a fight, not exactly," Remus answered distractedly, eyes still fixed on the spot where Sirius had just been. He then looked at James. "I think we might have to deal with some serious trouble soon."

~*~

Remus had expected Howlers, some sort of reaction at least. He was surprised and more than a little worried when nothing happened. Nothing at all! Of course, Sirius was on edge and snapped at his friends more often than usual, but this was something that the other Marauders knew would happen, once Sirius returned to Gryffindor Tower. But not a single word from the Black family!

Remus and Sirius passed Regulus on their way to breakfast one morning. Regulus treated them like the rest of the nameless students on their way to the Great Hall: he ignored them. Not in an obvious way as you would expect two siblings after a fight. Just indifference. As if he didn't even know Sirius! Remus looked at Sirius expectantly, hoping he'd help him understand what was happening. Sirius just stared straight ahead, his face impassive. Remus thought he saw a brief flicker of hurt, but so quickly was it gone that he wasn't sure if he'd just imagined it.

They had dropped him, just like that, no word, no nothing. Remus was struggling to understand how anyone could be so heartless, so cruel. This wasn't just anybody, this was his family, his mother and father ...

The Marauders tried their best to show Sirius that his friends were there for him, that he could count on them no matter what. James talked to his parents, and they agreed to let Sirius stay if worse came to worst. The Potters even tried contacting Sirius's parents, to no avail. Remus himself had made several attempts to talk to Regulus, equally unsuccessful, though Remus couldn't help but think that Regulus had wanted to talk to him, but was scared to do so.

~*~

Everyone left Hogwarts for the summer holidays. The Marauders were meeting at the Potters' after each had paid visits to their homes.

Sirius had tried to persuade Dumbledore to let him stay at school for the summer, but had been unsuccessful. Sirius wasn't yet of age; he'd have to return home to Grimmauld Place - no matter how much he raged, threatened, sulked or begged.

And so they had parted ways at King's Cross. Remus intended on paying a quick visit to his family before Flooing over to James's; he didn't think Sirius would be able to stay at Grimmauld Place for long and Remus wanted to be there when he arrived at the Potters'.

Remus and James had just started a game of wizard chess when Sirius stumbled out of the Potters' fireplace and fell to his knees, dishevelled, with a harassed look on his face. He looked around wildly, then saw James coming over to help him up. His relief was palpable. James pulled him up and gave him a brief hug. "Alright?" he asked.

"Am now," Sirius mumbled. When he looked up, he saw Remus hovering uncertainly. Sirius smiled and walked over to his friend.

Remus took Sirius's hand with both of his. "I was worried about you."

"I'm here now," Sirius said vaguely and moved his arms to touch Moony's shoulder. The solid warmth under his fingers was exactly what he needed. He began moving his hands up and down Remus's arms. "I am here now," he repeated.

Remus slipped his arms around Sirius's waist and smiled. "Yes, you are."

None of them noticed James leaving the room quietly, but Remus and Sirius did notice - even though they still never spoke of it - that this was the moment their relationship changed forever.