Remus
Remus characterized himself as having somewhat of an antisocial personality. He’d much rather stay home by himself than attend any type of social event, though he found himself being dragged to much more parties than he deemed necessary. He wasn’t sure why a fanbase had formed around him at school, but unlike the other Marauders, he hadn’t let it get to his head. If anything, it had made him more of a recluse.
It had taken everything in him to apparate to Lily and James’, and he would’ve just turned right back around and went home if Lily hadn’t seen him out on the lawn.
“Remus!” she yelled as she opened the door. “Come in, come in!”
He ducked inside the doorway, where he was met with a chorus of, “REMUS IS HERE!” from Dorcas and Mary.
Harry held on tight to Mary’s hair, using his other hand to cover his ear against the sudden noise.
Remus waved to Harry, quickly surveying the kitchen. A platter of cheese and crackers had been absolutely obliterated, crumbs spilling off the side and down the table cloth, and Remus could gauge the amount of drinks they’d all had from the glasses in the sink and the volume of Dorcas, Mary, and Lily’s voices.
Lily gave Remus a quick side hug. “Your lover’s in the sitting room talking Quidditch, if that’s who you’re looking for.”
Remus’ shoulders shook in a surprised laugh. “Which lover? James?”
"Which lover?" Mary shrieked. “Remus Lupin, you and I have some catching up to do!”
“Ha ha,” Lily said. “Not James. The one who didn’t get a wink of sleep last night and keeps asking when you’ll get here.”
“I think I know the one,” Remus said, untangling himself from Lily. “It must be work related.”
“Keep telling yourself that, mate.” Dorcas lifted their glass in Remus’ direction.
Remus shook his head at them and crossed the hall to the sitting room, knocking on the door jamb.
It did look like a Quidditch meeting. Marlene stood by the fireplace, wearing her Holyhead Harpies jersey even though she wasn’t in a stadium and it wasn’t Quidditch season. Peter stood next to her, talking with animated hand gestures that Marlene seemed to understand but left everyone else slightly baffled.
Frank and Alice watched them from the two armchairs by the window, and James sprawled out on the sofa with Sirius tucked against his shoulder. Sirius’ head bobbed in sleep, and James jabbed him in the stomach.
“Moony’s here!” James yelled, after sending a quick wink in Remus' direction.
Sirius immediately jumped to his feet. In his hectic scramble to attention, he hit the coffee table with his knee and the contents smashed on the floor.
James howled in laughter and performed a quick cleaning spell while Sirius continued to look around, bewildered.
“What was that?” Lily cried, appearing at Remus’ shoulder.
James repaired a broken glass and pointed at Remus. “Moony’s here.”
“Jesus Christ,” Lily mumbled, and slipped back into the kitchen.
Sirius froze when he caught Remus’ eye. “Oh. Moony’s here.”
Marlene interrupted, calling across the room, “Good thing you’re here, Remus. We were just discussing the Bernadette Woods bludger controversy from last year’s cup final. You were at the match, right?”
“She tampered with the bludgers,” Peter cut in.
“She did not,” Marlene shot back. “Remus?”
“Of course I was there,” Remus said, pulling up a chair next to Alice. “That was the match where the player caught the snitch at the end?”
“Precisely,” Marlene grinned, layering on the exact same amount of sarcasm as Remus. “I knew you wouldn’t have missed it.”
Out of the corner of Remus’ eye, he saw Sirius awkwardly sit down again, trying to stifle a yawn.
“Sirius, by all means, go to sleep if you’re tired," Alice said, reaching out a hand and patting Sirius’ arm.
He shook his head, and for a second, his vision clouded. Remus’ eyebrows immediately furrowed, and Sirius’ face burned red.
“Wouldn’t do any good.” Sirius cast a sidelong glance at Remus. “You lot are just boring. Now I know how Missy feels.”
It was an inside joke, meant just for him, and Remus smiled.
“How is your… erm— What do you call it?” Alice turned to look at Remus.
“Better Marauders’ Children’s Society,” he provided.
Sirius cleared his throat. “And Auror Training Center.”
“It’s going… okay,” Remus said to Alice, refusing to look at Sirius. “It’s getting better, I think.”
Alice smiled. The low light in the sitting room made her look almost as drowsy as Sirius. “Aren’t you glad I gave you time to settle in before I add Neville?”
“Yes,” answered Remus, leaning back in his chair. He couldn’t even imagine taking care of three one year olds. It was a feat of strength just to keep two alive.
“I have a favor to ask, though.” Alice raised her voice as Peter gave an immature screech and Marlene jabbed her finger in his face. “Dumbledore scheduled both Frank and I for a mission later in the month—”
Frank leaned around Alice and mouthed, Idiot.
Alice pushed his shoulders to cut him out of the conversation. “Yes, it’s a little idiotic. Would you be available to watch Neville for a night? I’d feel better about bringing him to your society training center thing if you knew each other first.”
Remus nodded. “Of course.”
“Fantastic,” Alice said. “Should I ask Sirius to help, or will you manage alright on your own?”
Remus looked at Sirius, who was picking at his nails and pretending not to listen. “We’ll sort it out. Thanks, Alice.”
“Thank you. You don’t know how much good you’re doing.”
Remus settled back into his chair, listening to his friends’ conversations grow louder around him. He sighed and accepted a drink from James, nodding politely and receiving a rough pat on the head. He didn’t tell Alice that sometimes it didn’t feel like enough.