chapter title: "a kind of magic" by queen

"My dearest Moonshine, please share with us some of your great wisdom and intelligence." Sirius whined, flopping his head onto one arm and staring up at Remus longingly.

Remus rolled his eyes. The Gryffindors had potions with the Ravenclaws and were currently attempting to brew a successful draught of living death.

Remus' potion currently looked a lot like very strong tea that had been left to sit for too long, but still looked a lot better than Sirius' which he had barely touched and simply had a few sludgy ingredients at the bottom of his cauldron. Remus couldn't see James' but there was a lot of thick steam coming from it across the desk. As for Peter.... Remus didn't want to tell Peter that his potion was so beyond repair that he might as well start again as the poor boy was looking awfully stressed and dishevelled after spending the last two hours in the dingy potions classroom.

"Sirius, you've barely even tried." Remus argued, glancing at Sirius who was now scratching something into the desk with his quill. "And your'e going to break your quill if you do tha-"

Remus was cut off as the nib of Sirius' quill snapped and went flying into James' cauldron.

"Hey!" James shouted accusingly, looking up at Sirius who sat with his eyes wide, trying to hide his smirk.

"I was just getting somewhere with that as well." James groaned.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair and sat up to peer into James' cauldron. "No offence mate, but you really weren't." Sirius ignored James ' scowl. " Also Moony, can I borrow your quill?" He asked innocently.

"Absolutely not." 

"But now it just says 'SUCK IT SLYTH' and I need it to say 'ERIN'. It's not funny if I leave it like this. I just look like an idiot."

"Took you long enough. to notice" Remus replied. "And still no."

Sirius pouted, but Remus reached into the side pocket of his worn shoulder bag and handed Sirius his pocket knife.

"Use this, it'll dig deeper into the wood anyway so it'll be clearer."

Sirius' face broke into a grin as he took the pocket knife from Remus.

"You're so cool, Moony." He said as he got back to work on his desk engraving.

Hopefully anyone would assume that it was the alarming amount of heat rising from James' cauldron that had caused the tinge of pink in Remus' cheeks.

"That's very inappropriate, Mr Black." Said James as he leaned across the table, grinning as he read Sirius' work. He seemed to have given up on his potion. "By the way, guys, I was wondering when we were going to start our band practice?"

Remus groaned. "You know I really don't think Lily is going to be all that taken with you singing loudly in front of all of Gryffindor and making an arse of yourself." Remus decided to point out.

James was entirely unfazed. "Hey that's not the reason we're starting a band." 

Sirius scoffed.

"But just wait, she'll find me completely irresistible after she sees us play."

Remus hummed noncommittally as Slughorn's voice suddenly rose above the chatter telling everyone to pack away, signifying the end of the lesson.

Sirius leapt up immediately, swinging his leather satchel over his shoulder and tucking his hair behind one of his ears. 

Remus quickly cast evanesco on both his and Sirius' potions. Hiding his smile at the scratching in Sirius' desk now reading: "SUCK IT SLYTHERIN".

"So I was thinking we could start practising in the Room of Requirement." James said as the four of them made their way out from the potions classroom.

"We don't have any equipment though." Peter pointed out.

"Exactly why we're going to the Room of Requirement my friend." James said, flinging an arm around Peter's shoulder.

"I've got my guitar anyway." Sirius supplied helpfully.

This was unfortunately true. Remus secretly believed that Merlin must hate him. Not only did Sirius Black have to have gorgeous silky black hair, an infectious laugh, the facial structure of a Greek god and a silver rings in ears, but he also played the fucking electric guitar. Life was very unfair for Remus Lupin. And that was without even considering the whole werewolf thing.

For unspecific reasons, Remus was very jealous of that guitar. But perhaps it was all Remus' fault anyway. His mother had taught him to play both the piano and the guitar when he was young, and when Remus had brought his old, slightly battered acoustic guitar to Hogwarts in second year, Sirius had begged him to teach him how to play. When Sirius had come back from summer the next year he had somehow acquired a gorgeous black, glossy electric guitar. Remus had no idea where he had got it from as he doubted Sirius' parents would ever allow Sirius to have such an instrument, but decided it better not to question it.

"We should go after transfiguration." James was saying as they made their way up a staircase.

"I've got homework." Remus tried, quickly.

James gave him a pointed look. "Rem, the only homework you have is the charms essay we were given literally this morning which isn't due in for another week as it is. Sirius and I have had homework due in since first year that we still haven't done."

Remus paused. "But I need to finish my book." He quickly argued.

"I'll read it to you as you fall asleep." Sirius offered, wiggling his eyebrows at Remus who pushed Sirius' shoulder so that he stumbled on the stair, grinning.

Another reason Merlin must hate him was because somehow he allowed electric guitar playing, gorgeous smiling, glossy haired Sirius Black to find any excuse he could to flirt with Remus.

It had been five years and Remus still hadn't decided whether this was a blessing or a curse.

"Fine." He said with a sigh. "I'll do it if you promise not to do that."

Sirius whooped as the four of them walked into transfiguration together, Remus decidedly ignoring James' "What's up, Minnie?" and Sirius' wink that he threw the transfiguration professor.

***

Once lessons had finally finished for the day, the four boys made their way to the seventh floor of the castle where the Room of Requirement was located.

"This is bloody awesome." Marvelled Peter once they had all paced in front of the empty wall, deep in thought about what they needed the room to provide them with. 

In front of them stood a large circular room with a deep crimson carpet. At the far end of the room was a large raised platform almost like a stage where there stood a big wooden piano, its lid closed over the keys, a large drum kit in the centre behind and a microphone stand at the front.

To the left of the stage the wall was covered in instruments, guitars, violins, trumpets and even a huge double bass which was about the same height as Remus.

It hadn't occurred to Remus that perhaps wizards didn't need things like amps since they could just use magic. As if reading his mind, Sirius went over and strummed a bright red guitar hanging on the wall which echoed loudly across the room.

"Wicked." Breathed James.

After transfiguration, the Marauders had stopped by their dormitory to drop off their school stuff and pick up Sirius' guitar and some sheet music that Remus had. The four of them now made their way over to the stage, Peter seating himself on the stool behind the drum kit, James adjusting the mic stand height and Sirius taking his place on the other side of James, opposite Remus, and slinging his guitar strap over his shoulders.

Remus carefully lifted the lid from the piano. It was nothing like the one Hope Lupin had in the Lupin's quaint little living room with its yellowing keys and slightly battered, unpolished wood, its lid covered in family photographs. This piano was sleek with darkened glossy wood, the keys were a crisp uniform white with not a single inch of dust on the highest and lowest octaves that lay on the piano at Remus' home.

Remus gently glided his hand over the keys and pressed down, playing a cord. It didn't have that hollow, slightly out of tune sound that Remus was so used to and he slid himself onto the stool, and played a short melody.

When he looked up, the rest of the Marauders were all grinning at him, and he couldn't help but grin back.

Perhaps this actually would be a lot of fun, even if it was all just a joint hopeless scheme to attempt to get Lily to fall in love with James. Though Remus supposed those hopeless schemes always ended up being a lot of fun anyway.