chapter two — bertie bott's every flavour beans
December 28th, 1976

      "Master Maurice," Tobbs gently knocked on his bedroom door, Maurice placed his feather quill down and turned his neck to the side to face the house elf in his doorway. "Tobbs was sent to fetch Master Maurice for supper."

      As he waddled away, Maurice said, "Thank you, Tobbs." He made a point to wrap up the letter, as he usually did. Whenever he finished, he wrote the date at the top. Standing on his tiptoes, he reached for a wooden box on top of his wardrobe. The box was full of letters, dating back to when he first started Hogwarts, up to the letter he just finished. Writing those letters meant a lot to Maurice. Even though he could never send them out, it was his own way of communicating with his parents. They were the first to hear that he liked boys in the way he should like girls.

      "There you are, I have been waiting for you." Ethel spoke when he turned the corner into the dining hall, walking past a couple of Death Eaters.

      "Good evening, nan." He smiled, taking the empty seat across from her. A house elf placed a plate in front of him while another poured orange juice into a glass. He glanced down at his forearm, for the first time he was not wearing a sweater, mainly because every fireplace in the manor was devouring wooden logs. He grimaced, jabbing his finger at the snake.

      "Oh, would you stop poking at it." Ethel warned, bringing her napkin up to her lips, lightly patting them. "It has been an entire month dear, it is time to accept it." Maurice found her advice funny, truly, how could he possibly accept something he didn't even want in the first place? Something he was forced to do against his will. He still hadn't thought how he could possibly keep it hidden from James and Sirius... well, everyone at Hogwarts, actually.

      "I didn't—" He stopped himself mid-sentence, he knew it was better to bite his tongue than to get in any trouble with his grandmother. "It's a big adjustment, really, I'll get used to it." That was a complete lie, a lie he forced through his teeth. "Do you know when I'll start to get called into meetings, Nan?" He spoke under his breath, hoping any wandering ears wouldn't hear.

      There was a distinct glint in her eyes, a sight Maurice is oh so familiar with. That sinister glint appeared whenever she knew or thought she had gotten exactly what she wanted."Most likely when the new year starts, unless the Dark Lord decides otherwise."

      Maurice didn't respond to that, he didn't know how to really. Instead, he kept eating the meal in front of him counting down the days until the new term began at Hogwarts. It was his last year before everyone he knew would go their separate ways, he just hoped to keep in touch with his close friends. They meant the world to him. Throughout the entire time at the table, Maurice just kept replaying Christmas Eve in his mind, it was one of the many highlights of his year.

      After a couple of moments of silence, surprisingly, Ethel was the one who broke the silence "Are you excited to start your new term?" She stared at him from across the table as the house elf walked by, taking her plate away from her. They attempted to take his plate too, but he refused.

      "I am!" He replied. "I'm looking forward to potions class, oh and of course quidditch season." By the time he glanced up Ethel was flipping through the pages of the daily prophet. Clearly uninterested in what he had to say. "I think I'm more excited to see James and Sirius every day." He murmured to himself, but after that name fell from his lips, his Nan swiftly placed the newspaper down at the table.

      "How many times have I told you to stay away from that, that blood traitor?" She pointed at him, looking above the rim of her glasses. "Salazar, I have no idea what the Potters were thinking, taking that boy in." She rambled on and on.

      "I'm off to bed Nan." He announced, not interested in what she had to say about them.

      "Do not forget to wash up before bed." Ethel stated as he stood up from the table, with his empty plate in his hands. "Oh and dear," she called out. "I expect you to be asleep by ten, I wouldn't want you disturbing our guests."

      "Yes, Nan," he waved off as he rounded the corner, sprinting past the portrait of his grandfather before he had the chance to insult him or his parents. He made it a point to avoid eye contact with anyone as he walked down the hallway that led to his bedroom, especially the man with yellow eyes, but he hadn't seen him in a while. Maurice suspected it might be something relating to the full moon, as he had overheard a couple of Death Eaters talk about it. Then, he froze in place.

      Merlin, Remus.

      Maurice has never seen Remus transform, he doesn't think he has the guts to witness it for himself, he wouldn't want to even if he had the chance. He made a mental note to ask James and Sirius about him the next time he saw them.

      There was a room in the manor Maurice was not allowed to enter: his mum's childhood bedroom. It was a complete mystery to him, though he had caught glimpses of it a couple of times when his grandmother would enter or leave. He always wondered what it was like there; it would be a gateway of sorts into learning about his mum and who she was when she was young.

      His grandmother kept that door locked at all times, for reasons Maurice could not understand. He simply assumed his grandmother and mum's relationship ended on a sour note, but he dismissed it as a silly thought. Then there was that time he tried to phase through the walls, but he simply couldn't. After that day he was convinced his grandmother had placed a charm around the room.

      A soft sigh escaped Maurice's lips as he pressed his back against the door of his bedroom. The moonlight that trickled in through the window cast beautiful shadows on the floor. His pajamas were already placed on his bed; he assumed it was Tobbs' work. No matter how many times Maurice reminded him to not do little things for him, the house elf was persistent. He quickly took a shower before changing into his pajamas and calling it a night.

      At quarter to twelve, a soft thud came from one of the windows in the bedroom, followed by another and another. Maurice slowly blinked his eyes open, sitting up in bed as the blanket fell around his waist. After a moment or two of silence, he shrugged it off and pulled the blanket over his body. Then, the sound returned, only louder than before. He rubbed the sleep off his eyes as he stepped out of bed, as he shuffled to the nearest window. As he reached it, he noticed that the glass was foggy from the snowfall, obscuring his view of the grounds beyond. He dragged his hand across the cold surface, leaving a faint trail in the condensation.

      By the fence in the back of the manor stood James and Sirius, holding what seemed to be small pebbles, which they probably picked up on their walk over to Faron Manor. Their faces lit up as they saw him standing by the window, letting the pebbles fall onto the snow. James waved his arms above his head, bouncing on his heels.

      In a haste, Maurice reached under his bed for his boots, sloppily tying the shoelaces. He quickly put on his coat and draped the same red scarf from Christmas Eve around his neck. Then he swung the window open, inviting in a gust of freezing air. It swirled in his bedroom blowing at the curtains. Carefully, he stepped onto the edge of the windowsill, and with a deep inhale, he let go.

      The two boys below watched in awe as Maurice flew across the air, snow falling all around him. He landed on the other side of the fence, holding onto James' shoulder to balance himself as his feet met the ground once again. Sirius beamed at him. "Merlin! I don't think I'll ever get bored of seeing you do that."

      "That is because you get amused easily, Pads," James taunted, with a small cloud of air escaping from his lips, it lingered for a moment before vanishing into the cold December wind.

      Sirius scoffed. "Oh, piss off mate."

      "How long have you two been out here?" Maurice asked, adjusting his scarf. In his peripheral view, he could see the chain of the pendant he gave James poking through his coat. It brought a warm smile to his face, knowing that he's wearing it.

      "Er, maybe half an hour or so," James remarked as they started their journey down the path that strayed from the manor. "You're a heavy sleeper, though." He gently elbowed Maurice's side.

      "We would've been here earlier, but James here decided to be an explorer on the walk over," Sirius ranted, glancing down at the buttons on his coat which were in the wrong holes. He quickly fixed them. It was quite common for the boys to sneak out of their homes, a bit tricky however for James and Sirius since they weren't lucky, or cursed depending on who you ask, to possess the ability to become phantoms.

      "You won't believe what I found." James said.

      There has only been one instance where the boys have gotten caught, they were fourteen at the time and they were trying to sneak Maurice in through a window. Fortunately Merlin was on their side that night since Euphemia and Fleamont were fine with it. The next morning Maurice woke up before the sun had risen and walked home alone. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if his nan ever found out about their little late night adventures.

      Ever.

      "Hey, Sirius, you're close to Remus, right?" Maurice queried, glancing over at Sirius whose eyes had slightly widened.

      "...Yeah," Sirius slowly said.

      "Have you heard from him at all?" A beat. "The full moon was last week."

      "Oh!" Sirius quickly responded, his expression softened.

      "He sent an owl a couple of days ago. He took a Wolfsbane potion, so the transformation wasn't that bad," James commented.

      They walked for what seemed to be an eternity, especially with the cold wind nipping at their noses. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?" Maurice asked as they took a turn down a path that led through some dormant trees, their branches covered in a thin blanket of snow.

      "Now where is the fun in telling you?" James asked, draping his arms over their shoulders as they kept walking down the windy path, venturing deeper into the trees. "Besides, we're almost there," he added, leaning his head against Maurice's shoulder. "You'll see soon."

      In the distance Maurice spotted a clearing, illuminated by the moon. Sirius held back branches, causing snow to cascade around them as they squeezed through the narrow gap he'd created. "After you," he gestured gallantly. Their view was something pulled out from fairy books muggles would read when they were little. It was truly magical, and Maurice was absolutely gobsmacked. A frozen lake stretched out before them, glistening under the moon's glow. He suspected the reason he didn't know this place existed was because it was completely surrounded by trees.

      On top of that, Maurice rarely strayed from the path his grandmother had laid out in front of him to follow.

      "Blimey" was the only word Maurice seemed to know at the moment. They walked along the frozen lake until they found a small clearing with rocks big enough for them to sit on.

      "If I knew this place existed I would've asked Mum and Dad for, uh, what do muggles call them?" James queried, pulling the worn leather knapsack over his shoulder, placing it in front of them. "I know what they look like, I just can't remember the name." He scratched the back of his head, as if hoping it would magically prompt him to remember the name out of the blue.

      "Ice skates, I think," Maurice announced.

      "Yes those!" James eagerly snapped his fingers, digging through the knapsack pulling out a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, a box of Dragon Claws, a couple of Acid Pops and Explosive Fairy Dust. When they were younger, James and Sirius would engage in a playful competition, hurling the fairy dust at each other to see who could land the most hits.

      Mysterious young blokes those two.

      "Want some?" James asked, holding out the box full of colorful beans in Maurice's direction. He grimaced at the sight of them. The first and last time he ever tried them, he got one of the most foul flavors known to exist—moldy cheese. Ever since, he had tried his best to avoid the candy at all costs.

      "Merlin, those are ghastly!" He shrieked and gently shoved Jame's hand away. "You wound me, truly." He added, dramatically placing his hand over his chest.

      "As if I ever would," he smiled at Maurice. James offered Sirius the box, and he eagerly reached into it pulling out a couple of colorful beans. In the moonlight some looked awful. Meanwhile, Maurice opened a box of Dragon Claws, which were his favourite candy.

      "How about we make this fun, Prongs?" Sirius questioned, jumping down from the rock, dusting away the snow from his backside while the other boys looked on, waiting for him to carry on. "Whoever gets a bad flavour has to walk on the lake. He pointed at the frozen body of water behind him.

      "Oh, you're on." James declared, pulling out a bean from the box before handing it over to Sirius who did the same.

      In unison, both boys tossed a colourful bean into their mouths. Maurice watched in anticipation waiting to see their reactions. A bright smile appeared on Sirius' face while James spat whatever awful flavour he had gotten. "Go on then." He gestured at the lake.

      He accepted his defeat and jumped down from the rock before saying, "I'll do it on one condition, Reece, you have to come with me." He looked over at Maurice, watching as his eyes widened, almost causing him to spit out the candy in his mouth. "Pretty please!" James cried, drawing out the last word.

      James extended his hand out, waiting for him to take it and surprisingly he agreed to this preposterous idea. They carefully walked over the ice, holding onto each other as if their lives depended on it. Everything seemed to be going perfectly splendid until James tripped over his own foot stumbling backwards. He quickly grabbed onto Maurice's arm to steady himself, but it only threw them both off balance. They quickly went crashing down on the ice.

      On the sidelines, Sirius broke out into a hysterical laughter (which was incredibly contagious) pointing at the two boys who had just fallen on their arse. "Sorry," Maurice mumbled, placing his palms on the ice lifting himself off of James. There was a moment of silence before they too broke out in laughter at the events that had taken place.

      It was nice to get out of that house more often, especially with the guest his grandmother was playing host to. They spent the rest of the night running around by the lake, playing tricks on one another under the moonlight. After an hour, or two, Maurice had lost track; and sadly, it was time for them to return home. A small part of Maurice wishes time could freeze just like the lake, just so he could spend an eternity with James and Sirius. 

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authors note, i completely adore this chapter so much and i hope you did too! i'm still trying to figure out how often i'll update, but i think i have it figured out.

i love you mwah <333