The Bewlay Brothers

December 1st, 1971

Winter brushed its nimble fingers over the Hogwarts grounds, leaving the fields coated with snow and the breeze cruel as ever. It was very beautiful, really; the mistletoes hanging from each tree and the lights decorating the limestone walls.

But as Remus sat on the cold, ice-glazed benches near the quidditch field, he’d never regretted anything more than becoming friends with James Potter. Remus had his fair share of cold mornings trudging to the coffee shop in the snow, and the last thing he wanted to do on their first day off from classes was to sit on the ice-cold bench, watching the black-haired boy fly on a broom. But as James faced him with that excited grin on his face, he couldn’t help but go down with them.

When he first heard about flying, he laughed. He laughed hysterically until there were tears of mirth in his eyes. He imagined the old, cracked broom of the coffee shop being used to fly into the sky and make those weird loops.

But when he watched James play with his eyes trained on the ball and that excited spark in his eyes, it didn’t look weird at all. It looked like he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

Peter groaned as he sat down onto the frozen bench. “Do we really need to be here? I think I’m going to freeze to death.”

Sirius laughed, propping his legs onto the next seat. “It builds character. Right, Loony?”

He made a sound between a scoff and a laugh. “Yeah, whatever, Sirius.”

Despite his reservations, Remus has become fond of the three boys in his dorm. Even if they were loud and they insisted on dragging him into cold fields so James can practise flying on a broom.

“See?” Sirius asked. “I told you he’d agree with me.”

He wrapped his arms around himself. “It seems like I’m outnumbered.”

Remus was still wearing his dusty robes, covered by the cloak he’d brought from home. It had a few holes, but it seemed to be working well enough. He always tended to run hot anyway.

Sirius grinned. “That you are, Petie.”

“I don’t even know why he has to bring us here,” the blond boy grumbled. “Marlene should be enough.”

Looking over to the other side of the pitch, he spotted another girl flying. Her blonde hair swayed in the wind, but even with her hair in her face she managed to fly just as fast as James.

“Everybody needs to be here. It’s practice,” the olive skinned boy said, his broom coming much too close to Peter’s head for his liking. His hair flew in the wind as he swerved to a dangerous turn. “How am I supposed to make the team next year if I’m not ready?”

“But next year is like.. In a year,” Peter countered.

“Actually,” Marlene called from afar, “it’s in nine months.”

“Not like there’s much of a difference,” he mumbled. “It’s been an hour. We’re going to miss breakfast.”

“Who cares?” Sirius asked. “Did you see that loop? He’s been working on it for ages.”

Remus rolled his eyes. “Maybe we would be more excited if it wasn’t seven in the bloody morning.”

“Awe, don’t worry, Loony,” he said with a grin. “I’m sure James will provide us with plenty of chocolates to survive the day.”

“Fine,” he mumbled.

Ever since he’d tasted the chocolates, their taste melting in his mouth, he’d loved them. They were like fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies soaked in ice-cream and covered in butterscotch. He remembered thinking they were probably the best thing that wizards have ever created.

“I can’t believe you.” Peter shot him a betrayed look before turning to Sirius. “Only you savages would resort to such bribery.”

The chestnut-haired boy shrugged. “You know I’d do anything for some chocolate. And I mean the good ones: with the marshmallow tasting thing.”

“Our Loony has a refined taste.”

He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t come to wizard school for my posh roommates.”

Sirius flashed him a smile. “You love us, really.”

He smirked. “Not as much as I like your chocolate.”

The blond boy chortled. “Ouch.”

The sun was up in the sky once the black haired boy dismounted his broom. A wild look was in his eyes; the spark shining brighter than ever as he grinned at them. 

Her hair was sticking to her forehead and sweat dripped from her back as she lowered herself towards the grass at an almost frightening speed. She jumped off her broom with a flip, making James’s eyes widen. “How did you do that?”

She gave him a self-satisfied smirk. “I guess you’ll never know.”

“You selfish bastard,” he muttered. But the spark was still brighter than ever.

Sirius gave the blonde girl an approving nod before turning to James. “I like her.”

“I’m heading towards the showers, I’ll see you lads at breakfast,” he said happily. They parted ways; James and Marlene heading for the building at the end of the stadiums and Remus and the other two boys walking towards the Great Hall.

 The halloween decorations no longer laced the hallways, replaced by the blaring red and green lights and red ribbons hanging from the ceiling. 

“Oi! Loony!” a voice called from behind. He knew the voice of the greasy boy behind him before he could even turn around. “Loony Lupin!”

He heard Sirius and Peter whip around. But he kept moving. Even if the mere sound of his voice made him want to throw him across the room.

“Why aren’t you answering me, you coward?” he sneered. “You were the one who spiked my shampoo, right?”

“Sure, Severus.”

“You’ll regret that,” he threatened. He heard Severus step closer, as if preparing for a fight.

“I’m not in the mood for another fistfight, Severus.” He hoped he couldn’t hear his blood boiling in his voice. “It would be very embarrassing for you.”

He scoffed. “Well, lucky for you, I’m not Mulciber.”

“I’d hope not,” he told him, turning around to meet his eyes. He hoped his eyes held a dangerous look. “Lily tells me you’re quite clever. It would be a shame if she was wrong.”

There was a flicker in the boy’s gaze. Remus couldn’t tell what it was. And he certainly didn’t want to know. He just wished he couldn’t hear the boy’s hair pound a bit faster at the mention of her name.

“She wasn’t.” And Severus walked away.

“What just happened?” Sirius exclaimed as he took his seat at the red and gold table. Peter looked like he deeply agreed with that sentiment as he snagged a sandwich.

Remus piled some eggs onto his plate. “I reckon he has a crush on her or something.”

The raven-haired boy stared at him with wide eyes. “How would you know that?”

“I just,” he paused. “I just saw him, I guess.”

“I saw him too!” Peter exclaimed. “And I don’t know if we saw the same thing but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t confessing his undying love for Evans.”

The raven-haired boy shook his head. “There’s no way he’d like Evans. You can’t be sure.”

“Why would he back off then?” Remus challenged, taking a bite of his egg.

“Shit,” Sirius muttered. “How are we going to tell James?”

“Why should we?” the plump boy asked. “He’s not going to get her anyway. He’s ugly.”

Sirius laughed at that.

Though he’d never admit it, Remus thought that Snape could be quite attractive if he didn’t have that ever-present frown on his face. Perhaps if he ruffled his hair and the frown creases in his brow loosened it would be fair game between him and the olive-skinned boy. 

“Happy Christmas, mates!” he declared to the hall. James was dressed in school robes and his hair was no longer stuck to his forehead. Instead, it was messy in what he would call; his signature look. Personally, Remus thought it was more of a bedhead rather than a look. But it wasn’t as if he knew anything about having nice hair.

By the time James had arrived at the table, the boy’s plates were already cleared and mountains of cakes and ice-creams were piled onto the table. “Did I miss breakfast?”

Sirius patted him on the back. “Look on the bright side, at least now you can have pudding for breakfast.”

He grinned, stuffing some apple pie into his mouth. “You’re right. This stuff is rad.”

Remus took a sip of his pumpkin juice. “It is.”

And then everything was silent.

Peter’s eyes widened. He nudged Sirius. Even James gave him a nervous look. He never thought he’d ever seen James nervous. He looked at him, opening his mouth and then closing it.

He raised a brow. He didn’t like all these eyes on him. “What is it?”

“It’s nothing.” Even if he couldn’t hear their pulse pounding faster, the words were too rushed to be convincing.

“Out with it,” he demanded. 

“You’re hair,” he said hesitantly. “It’s.. green.”

“Oh,” he said. He smiled. He supposed green hair couldn’t be so bad. He’d always wanted to dye his hair when he was younger. “Judging by the looks on your face, green doesn’t suit me very well, does it?”

Sirius almost snorted out his orange juice. “It doesn’t.”

“I reckon it was Snape’s doing.” Peter took a bite of his sandwich. “Maybe he doesn’t have a crush on Evans after all.”

James’s eyes widened. “Snape has a crush on Evans?”

“Apparently not.” Remus said. “So, is anyone going to get me some red dye to finish the job?”

“I don’t think more dye is the answer, mate.”

“Well, I’m not going to walk around looking like a snake the whole day.”

And so by the end of the desert, Remus’s hair is a mixture of red and green colours, swirled together by Marlene Mckinnon’s excellent dye work. 

The girl had gotten out of her quidditch clothing and her blonde hair was no longer slicked to her forehead with sweat. Instead, she looked polished, her white button up tucked into her trousers.

Lily squinted at him as he sat in the girl’s bathroom, not bothering to glance at the three boys chattering downstairs. “You look.. Interesting.”

“I don’t know,” he said, staring into the mirror. His hair had grown quite a bit over the last few months, making the dye look a bit like a Christmas tree. “I kinda like it.”

The blonde haired girl tuts. “Don’t listen to Lils, darling. You look stunning.”

He scrunched his nose at the word. “What is it with girls and calling people darling?”

Lily flashed him a smile. “It’s a lifestyle, annwyl.” 

“Rwy'n dal i feddwl eich bod chi'n swnio fel mam,” I still think you sound like my mam, he told her.

She laughed at that.

“I sense a secret language we aren’t being included in,” Sirius burst into the bathroom—that has now become a barber shop or whatever they called it. He leaned against the wall, peering at Marlene’s creation. “Damn, Loony. The Christmas tree look suits you.”

“Loony?” the blonde haired asked as she added something else onto his hair. “What’s that about?”

“Hey! You didn’t answer my question,” Sirius whines. “What’s with the secret language?”

“Yeah, Loony, you’re one of us, you can’t have a secret language that we don’t know about!” James added. “What’s with the secret language?”

“Welsh.” Lily scoffed. “I speak it at home.”

“In that case, I like it,” he decided. “Loony, teach me Welsh.”

She sent him a deadly glare. “Piss off, Potter.”

“Wait,” James said. “How come you don’t have a weird accent when you’re speaking normally?”

“What’s wrong with my accent?”

Sirius sighed like it was obvious. “I thought we’d already gone over this.”

Peter nodded. “We can barely understand you, mate.”

“Will you stop talking?” Marlene snapped, but the quirk of her lips gave her away pretty fast. “I’m trying to concentrate here.”

“James, Sirius, Peter, sod off,” Lily told them. “Or I’ll push you down the stairs myself.”

Dragging the two friends along, James walked down the stairs toward the common room, his loud voice finally trailing off into the distance.

“So, Loony, eh?” Remus could hear the grin on the blonde girl’s face.

“Yep,” he said dejectedly. “Apparently I’m the only one who gets a bad nickname.”

“I don’t know why you’re friends with them.” Lily side eyed James, earning what looked like a flirty wink back. “You could always join us.”

“And join the darling club?” he asked with a laugh. “No thanks.”

“No need to be so rude.” Marlene nudged him from behind. “Remember, your hair is at my mercy.”

When she finally finished, his hair was in a much better state than in that morning. The red and green looked pretty good together, and he could certainly say that he looked more like a christmas tree than a snake so he counted that as a win.

Lily chuckled. “C’mon, we’re going to be late for Transfiguration.”

Fixing his tie, they came down the stairs of the girl’s dormitory, to be met with the wide eyes of his three friends.

Sirius let out a surprised laugh. “Guess girl’s are good for something after all.”

He didn’t miss the glare Lily sent to the olive-skinned boy. 

“Damn right we are!” Marlene called from the dormitory above the stairs.

He grinned up at the blonde girl. 

When Remus entered the classroom, he was sure the last thing Ms. Mcgonagall expected was to see the boy that normally had chestnut brown hair, enter with green and red streaks colouring his hair.

“Mr. Lupin,” the stern woman called, gesturing to his hair. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Trying something new.” He fought the laugh threatening to burst out of him. “Do you like it?”

She pursed her lips. “It’s certainly something.”

“He’s embracing the Christmas spirit!” Sirius piped in with a grin. Remus could hear two boys’s muffled laughter from behind them.

“I suppose there isn’t anything against the rules about celebrating,” she said with a sigh. He almost thought he could see her eyes become shadowed at the words and he wondered if there was something darker behind her small smile and visible exasperation.

“Did you hear that, lads?” he asked. “She likes it!”

She sighed. “Take your seats, boys.”

Remus took a seat with the blond boy and James with the raven-haired boy. 

“So,” Sirius’s quill tapped on the wooden table. “What are we going to do with Snape?”

“What do you mean?” the chestnut haired boy asked. “He got his revenge, and now he’ll leave us alone.”

“We gotta do something,” James urged. “We can’t just let him get away with this!”

He raised an eyebrow. “And what exactly are you planning on doing?”

“That, Loony boy,” Sirius said, with a mischievous spark dancing in his eyes. “Is your job to find out.”

If someone told Remus he would be spending his only free period of the day sitting on the floor of the common room surrounded by books and parchment, he would’ve laughed in their face.

But there he was, sitting beside the unfortunate threesome that he called his best friends. 

“We could do a robe swap.” Sirius was hanging from the bed with his legs, his head touching the floor as he looked at them upside down. “With the ‘Verto’ charm from Transfiguration?”

“Won’t work,” he said dully. “That only works for actual objects. Not colours. So unless you want to wear Snape’s greasy robes then we can’t use it.”

He grinned from his upside down position. “Not with a colour changing charm.”

He thought about it for a moment. The colours would swap with the Slytherin robes and they wouldn’t have to switch robes. “Sirius Black, you might just be smarter than I thought you were.”

Sirius smirked. “I thought I  told you, I’m a genius.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t push it.”

“We could charm the beds, too,” James added with a smile.

“Wouldn’t we have to go into their rooms for that?” Peter asked. “We don’t even know where their rooms are.”

Remus didn’t look up from his book. “Dungeons.”

“How do you know that?” James looked at him suspiciously. 

He shrugged. “I just like to know the place I’m supposed to be living in for the rest of the year. I don’t wanna walk around like some brainless moron.”

Sirius put a hand to his heart. “Are you calling me a brainless moron?”

“No,” he said. “I’m implying it.”

Peter snorted. “This is why we’re friends.”

“I think we’ve got it, then.” Remus closes the book. “Last day before winter break. We cast the cheering charm and swapping charm.”

He heard Sirius’s heart quicken its pace at the words.  

Not seeming to notice his friend’s distress, Peter saluted. “Yes captain.”

That made him laugh. “Idiot.”

Remus wanted to laugh at the loathing look on Snape’s face when he entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts class. His dark, beady eyes widened at the sight of his hair—which even though he would never admit it, he was growing to like—and then he scoffed at him before turning away.

Sirius grinned. “Did you see his face?”

“It was hilarious,” James agreed.

“Imagine his face when he wakes up with red robes.”

Even Remus laughed at that, earning a glare from the teacher. “I would pay to see that. If I had- If we succeed, that is.”

If I had money, he’d wanted to say. But he knew they wouldn’t understand. They were posh and obviously rich, and he didn’t need another reason for them to think less of him. Another thing that they could use against him when the time came.

So he didn’t say it.

“Don’t be silly, Loony,” he assured him with a confident smile. “Of course we’ll succeed.”

“It’ll be a grand show,” James said, waving his hands like an actor on stage.

Sirius’s eyes lit up. “I love big shows.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble here,” Peter said. “But how are we possibly going to escape to the dungeons in the middle of the bloody night?”

James flashed them a mischievous grin that Remus didn’t know if he could trust. “Leave that to me.”

☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆

Remus yawned. “I can’t believe I woke up early for this.”

The raven haired boy traced the wand movement in the air, and Remus could sense the boy’s excitement; from the pounding of his heart to the adrenaline pumping in his veins. “You know you would do anything for this prank.”

“You wouldn’t have become friends with us if you hadn’t known this would happen sooner or later,” the blonde boy agreed.

“It didn’t have to be so soon,” he muttered. He flipped through the books, rereading the spell although he already knew it by heart. 

The moon was still high in the sky, and the sun still hadn't risen. It was earlier than five in the morning, and Remus could feel the drowsiness washing over him harder than ever. “It’s been three days since I’ve gotten some proper sleep.”

Sirius patted him on the back. “Don’t worry, Loony. After we see the look on their stupid faces, It’ll all be worth it.”

Honestly, Remus didn’t really care about the looks on the stupid wizards face. He didn’t care if Severus or Mulciber were annoyed—okay, maybe he did want to annoy Mulciber a little bit—but he didn’t really care for the Slytherins. It was the gasps from the children around and the laughter and the buzzing of the room as he cast the spell. Even on halloween, he basked in the laughter and wonder-filled look of his classmates, even if their chatter hurt his ears and he was forced to hide in the shadows.

He loved the excitement pumping in his veins and the absence of the burden weighing on his chest. He loved feeling normal, feeling as if maybe he could amount to something more than working at the old coffee shop for the rest of his sorry life. Maybe he could have fun, too.

“Oi Loony!” James called, dragging him out of his thoughts. “You can’t fall asleep on us now.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he said. “Now, are you going to tell us your master plan to get us to the dungeons without getting caught?”

James pulled out a blue box covered in stars. He paused— as if for the dramatic effect—before he opened it. And as he finally opened the box, nothing was inside. The box was empty. But the olive-skinned boy didn’t look surprised. He was just looking at them with his mischievous grin as Sirius and Peter looked at the boy as if he’d gone mad.

“What is it?” Sirius finally asked with an impatient huff.

They watched as James ran his hand over the box, as if attempting to touch the air. “I don’t have time for tricks, Potter.”

“We don’t have time for tricks,” Sirius corrected.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“A legend passed on from father to son, a legacy given only to the worthy,” James began, lifting his hands in a grand gesture. “Lads, I welcome you to my most prized possession, the invisibility cloak!”

Sirius and Peter gasped as he tossed the thing over his head and it disappeared. His head was gone and all that was left of him was his body. 

“Bloody hell! How come you didn’t tell me you had an invisibility cloak?” the raven-haired boy exclaimed with large, excited eyes; like a child on his birthday.

The blonde boy just stared at his headless figure with wide eyes. “Aren’t invisibility cloaks like- really rare? 

And then Sirius’s eyes lit up; awestruck. “Wait, is it the invisibility cloak from the legend?”

James threw off the cloak with a huge grin. “The only one there is.”

“Is someone going to tell me what a bloody invisibility cloak is?” he asked finally. His voice came out louder than he’d intended, making the three boys turn to him. “Not all of us have wizard families that can teach us about stupid cloaks and legends.”

“We don’t have time for the story,” Sirius pushed excitedly. “We have to get to the Slytherin dorms before sunrise.”

The four boys huddled under the long cloak as they strode through the halls. He could hear each of their heartbeats pounding in their chest as they made their way through the Great Hall. It was dark and the candles had stopped burning, making the castle look more like a haunted forest than a bright safe-haven.

The evil forest look was even more prominent as they walked down the dark, shadowed stairs towards the Slytherin door. Curling around the lock was a green snake; the bright yellow eyes stemming from it looked lively as ever. For some reason, it reminded him of the wolf; bright yellow eyes and sharp fang-like teeth thirsting for blood. He winced.

“Oi!” James whisper-shouted from beside him. “Don’t move!”

The snake slithered across the door, baring its teeth to say its next words. “Password?”

“Salazar Slytherin,” Sirius’s voice called out. There was no laughter or smile in his voice as he said the words; his voice was cold as stone and his heart seemed to be beating a little faster than it should’ve been. 

The door swung open and they were met with the green Slytherin common room. The room was painted in green and adorned with lavish black decor. Making sure not to make a single sound, they crept into the boy’s common room.

The excitement in his friends was matching his own as they cast the spell. And once they were finished and managed to escape the Slytherin common room unscathed, there were all matching grins on their faces.

“We should’ve gotten my cousins too,” the raven-haired boy muttered bitterly. But there was something shaky in his voice; something irregular in his breathing. Or maybe it was just Remus; drunk on adrenaline and his first tastes of fun. He hoped it was the latter.

Apparently, it was just him because James answered encouragingly; “Don’t worry, mate. We’ll get him next time.”

“I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces,” Peter said excitedly as they entered the portrait hole. “Our first prank.”

“Your first prank,” Remus corrected smugly. He liked having the first prank over them. He liked knowing that even with the wizard’s magical ability, or their stupid blood status, the prank was solely his. He was the one who had mastered the spells, and he was the one who had executed it without getting caught. And nobody could take that away from him.

“No need to brag, Loony,” Sirius pouted. 

But James just laughed as he threw off the cloak. “We’re a crew now. And I’d say our first mission as a crew was a success.”

“I still can’t believe you have an invisibility cloak,” Peter said, his voice almost breathless with amazement.

“What’s so special about it?” the chestnut haired boy asked, perplexed. “Can’t you just charm anything to turn you invisible?”

“Sure you can,” James said with a grin, as if there were some big puzzle and he was missing a vital part. “But it’ll only hold for a few hours. This baby could keep you invisible for years.”

As they talked and chatted, he’d noticed Sirius had gone completely silent. Sirius wasn’t usually silent. He was always joking and chattering and laughing or else doing something stupid like thinking of crazy prank ideas.

But now it was as if he’d become stone; stoic and seemingly lost in his thoughts. As the sun rose and James went for his run and Peter had gone to breakfast, it was only Remus and the raven-haired boy sitting in the dormitory in a stiff silence. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw the boy’s eyes glaze over. But maybe that was just his werewolf vision playing tricks on him.

Just as he began with a probably futile attempt at conversation, Sirius interrupted him. “Thank you.”

He blinked. “For?”

“For telling Snape that you were the one who messed with his potion.” He averted his gaze. “You didn’t have to do that. You know, You don’t have to do things like that just because you pity me.”

“I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.” Remus’s gaze was steady as he stared into the grey-eyed boy sitting in front of him. “Believe it or not, I didn’t even think of you. I just wanted to piss Snape off.”

That drew a laugh out of him and the corners of his lips rose with a smile. “You’re a good man, Remus Lupin.”