Disclaimer - Usual.

Chapter 44

Despite the negative reaction from the Professors and a few select kids, the prank actually went over rather well with the majority of the students. It was a tension breaker for the upcoming exams and the nervousness some students were experiencing about going home – away from the protection of the school. The Marauders hadn’t been the only ones who had noticed the increase in Slytherin snobbishness and so others were glad to see them taken down a peg or two. It seemed that, to the general population, the Marauders could do no wrong.

Even Peter was getting some attention, much to his delight. He had been concerned, at first, that he and Sirius would not be able to work things out. There had been an unspoken rule that Regulus was off limits, unless it was otherwise unavoidable, and even then, the others tended to wait for Sirius to give the go-ahead. But, after a day of the silent treatment, Sirius seemed to forget his anger and things returned to normal. Better than normal, in Peter’s case, as he was actually being acknowledged. And the year ended on a high note.

Remus had received permission from the Headmaster to stay at the school until the end of June, after that month’s full moon. It was unusual for the school to allow students to stay, but the Headmaster had, for reasons not explained to the students, decided to allow any student who wanted to stay at school over the holiday the opportunity to do so.

On the day everyone was supposed to leave, Remus told the others he’d meet them in the Entrance Hall before they left, but he had somewhere to go first. He went to the corridor outside the Ravenclaw common room and waited for Aden to come out with her things. She saw him and smiled. Turning to her friends, she told them to go on without her, she’d meet them on the train. Her friends looked over at Remus and giggled before rushing off to leave the two alone.

"Hi," Remus said shyly.

"Hi," Aden responded, grinning. They stood in silence for a moment before Aden said, "Walk me to the station?"

"Yeah," Remus answered, glad to have something to do. He had a lot of things he wanted to say – had planned on saying – but suddenly found himself unable to say. The two had continued corresponding by owl, which the Marauders often teased him about, and they talked more in class, but things really hadn’t progressed further than that. "It’s been pointed out to me that I’m really not a very good model of a Gryffindor."

"What?" Aden asked in genuine surprise.

"I mean… I… I really like you, but…" Staring at the floor while they walked, Remus blushed madly, and couldn’t finish what he was saying.

"But… you’re… afraid?"

Remus nodded.

"Me too," Aden said simply and grinned.

Remus looked up at her.

"I’ve never had… a boyfriend. And you made me ask you to Hogsmeade," she teased. "But some things – some people – are worth the risk."

Remus nodded. He reached out and slipped his hand in hers, then stopped walking. She stopped too, and turned to face him. "Will you… Would you… Would you like to be my girlfriend?" The smile on Aden’s face filled Remus with happiness he had rarely let himself feel.

"Yes! Absolutely!" Aden threw her arms around Remus’ neck and gave him a hug.

He pulled back just enough to be able to look at her face, then he bent forward and kissed her. It wasn’t long; it wasn’t passionate or deep. Rather, it was innocent and sweet, and the start of something new… for both of them.

They broke apart and he walked her the rest of the way to the station, hand in hand.

"Huh," Sirius grinned as he came off the last stair leading down into the Entrance Hall. "I think we’ve been forgotten about."

James and Peter both looked in the direction Sirius was looking and saw Remus and Aden walk out the front doors.

"Good for him," James said, genuinely glad for his friend.

They walked to the station, making sure to keep far enough away from Remus so as not to intrude. They watched as the two of them said good-bye and kiss each other on the cheek.

Remus turned around to see his three friends staring at him in amusement. He blushed again and grinned as the others joined him.

"So, is it official now?" James asked.

"Yup." Remus couldn’t help but smile.

"Excellent!" Sirius said enthusiastically.

"If you’re so excited, why don’t you make things official with Gillette?" Remus asked.

"Nah. Wouldn’t work. We’re both free spirits." Sirius was very comfortable with his relationship with Gillette. They were far from ordinary in what they had. To a total stranger, it would have been hard to tell if they were really close brother and sister or a couple. While Sirius had not gone on a date with anyone else, Gillette had been asked to go to the next Hogsmeade visit by a fourth-year Hufflepuff and she went. Sirius hadn’t been upset. It really hadn’t bothered him at all. They had never committed to anything, so he figured she was free to see who she wanted. Yet, several times a week, they could be found sitting on the couch chatting, his arm around her, or her head resting on him. Some called them flirtatious; some called them worse. But neither seemed to care. They were both rather amused, in fact, by people’s reactions – especially Lily's and sometimes they’d get extra flirtations just to watch Lily roll her eyes and walk off muttering.

Remus just shook his head. He would never understand that relationship. He suspected that, on some level, Sirius was just as afraid of commitment as he was; he just dealt with it differently.

The guys said their good-byes and Remus watched the train leave.

Once the train arrived at the London station, it was easy to find their parents. The Potters and John and Mrs. Pettigrew were standing together, waiting for their sons. James was amused to see that the Beynons and Evanses were waiting with them.

James greeted his parents while Peter greeted his. The Pettigrews and John, dismissed themselves; Mrs. Pettigrew saying they had an appointment in town and had to leave right away. Peter waved to his friends.

"Hello, mum," Sirius said, with a wink at James. He walked up and gave Mrs. Potter a hug. She beamed back at Sirius and kissed the top of his head.

"Yeah. Mum," James said in a falsely angry voice. "You didn’t tell me you were planning on adopting another son. You could have at least given me a little brother… One shorter than me, anyway."

Mrs. Potter laughed, "Sorry son. One cannot always help how these things turn out."

"I think I’m missing something important," Mr. Potter said with a suspicious look at his wife, causing Mrs. Potter, James and Sirius to all start laughing, much to the confusion of the Evanses and Beynons.

"Ah, here they come," Mrs. Evans said when she spotted Lily and Gillette walking toward them.

Petunia broke away from her parents and rushed to her sister. There was a short, girly huddle with hopping and squeeing, before the three girls, grinning and giggling, joined the others.

"Sirius!"

Sirius’ eyes were drawn to the source of the noise. Mrs. Black and Regulus were waiting for him. Mrs. Black looked angrier than usual, and did not even attempt to hide the look of disgust with which she graced the Evanses and Beynons.

"Arf," Sirius said quietly, frowning back at his family. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and watched in surprise as Gillette actually approached his mother.

Mrs. Black always made it a point to stand at least 30 feet from the group with which her son felt the need to publicly humiliate the family. To her horror, one of the muggleborns was walking her way.

Gillette smiled kindly, though with a hint of mischief in her eyes, as she approached Mrs. Black. To her amusement, Mrs. Black literally took a few steps back at her approach. Gillette stretched out her hand in greeting, not really expecting a return greeting. "Mrs. Black. My name is Gillette. I just wanted to meet the woman responsible for raising such a wonderful young man as Sirius."

Mrs. Black’s eyes squinted as she turned her deadly gaze to her son. He was not looking at her, however, but at the impudent muggleborn standing before her.

Gillette lowered her hand and continued to smile. "Thank you for doing such a wonderful job. I hope you have a lovely holiday." She walked away, leaving a gaping Regulus and glaring Mrs. Black behind her. She saw the look of surprise on Sirius’ face and hoped he wouldn’t be upset by what she did, but she couldn’t stand the pompous woman and it irritated her to no-end how Mrs. Black treated her son.

"Gillette!" Sirius said, still looking stunned. But his face broke out into a very pleased smile. He stepped forward as Gillette returned to the group and got down on his knee. "Will you marry me?" he said playfully, causing Gillette to break down into giggles. He stood back up. "Bloody brilliant. I love you." He stepped forward and picked her up in a huge hug, spinning her before putting her down. "I don’t know if I’ll live through the summer, but that was worth it." Sirius was still laughing as he walked away. He waved back at James and jogged up to his family, feeling happier to see them than he could ever remember. He knew there’d be hell to pay, but he really didn’t care.

"Oh dear," Mrs. Potter whispered and frowned. She was apparently the only one concerned about the exchange.

James was congratulating Gillette, whose parents really didn’t know what was going on. Gillette assured them she’d explain later. She and Lily hugged good-bye and made plans to get together later.

The group dispersed, each family going to their own homes to start the summer holiday and catch up on each other's lives.

- - - - -

A/N - Well, I want to apologize for the short chapter. I thought about adding it to the next chapter, but this one actually makes a perfect break for this part of the story. That's right. That means the next time I post a chapter, it will be listed under The Way We Are: Part 3. Okey Dokey?

Thanks again for reading and reviewing and adding my story to alerts. I appreciate it. Y'all rock! Thanks also, of course, to my lovely editors and beta - Mom, mei mei, and J.A. Carlton.

Nonair - I agree that vanity seems to fit James. They all have their faults; it's good to be able to laugh at one of them.

It's funny how perspective changes things. The guys did have a purpose behind their prank, but other than that, I don't think they really thought about all the implications. That's part of growing up, though, and they have a ways to go.

Thanks for the complement about Snape. I could really hear the adult-Snape in my head when he calmly took over the situation, so I'm glad that came across. And yeah, he really was brave - a sign of things to come.

Thanks again.