Lily did agree to cook them all a Halloween Feast and she made quite a collection of treats, including warm cinnamon spice cakes with orange, apple, and raisin bits, as well as pumpkin stew served warm in carved out pumpkin shells. Remus sat in the kitchen, feeling a bit dizzy from the new moon night that was coming upon them, working at making home-made crackers filled with paper bats that would really fly and raspberry-chocolate spiders that scurried across the table so that he had to capture them to scoop them into the crackers to be popped free later that night. 

James and Sirius worked at arranging the living room, magicking the couches and chairs 'round a table they set an englongating spell upon so that it took up the full length of the flat's living room. They lay several magicked-together table cloths across it so that the full table seemed shrouded in a mis-match patch work, and Sirius set thick taper candles along the center while James worked at charming some of Sirius's extra jack o'lanterns to float, just like they did at Hogwarts. 

By five, people were coming over and knocking on the door, dressed in costume, even, and Peter Pettigrew, who had dressed as a rat with a painted black nose and whiskers wearing all gray, answered the door for the guests while Remus waved from his place at the table, where he'd sat down to give his tired knees a rest. He wore a plastic crown that sat crooked on his head and a thick maroon robe.

As they worked at setting the table, Lily and James ducked in and out of the kitchen, shouting greetings to their friends. Lily had on a long flowing green silky gown and had woven a ring of autumn leaves into her hair so that she was a wood nymph and James had on a long colourful Doctor Who scarf and an overcoat, having magicked his wand to look like the Doctor's screwdriver. 

Jasper Odair came, along with Ethel, the pair of them dressed in togas. Emmaline Vance was a black cat, and Marlene McKinnon arrived with her, dressed as a peacock with real feathers she'd magicked into a short miniskirt with tiny rhinestones all over her. Frank Longbottom arrived in a muggle doctor's uniform (he and James made a good deal of Doctor? Yes Doctor? jokes that night), and later when Alice Prewitt arrived she was dressed as Marilyn Monroe, which gained a good deal of Frank's attention and finally put an end to the Doctor-Doctor jokes. 

"Where is Sirius?" Jasper asked, but all anyone could tell him was that Sirius was 'getting ready', whatever that meant.

Sirius made his grand entrance after he was sure everyone had arrived.

Remus had gotten up to go and check on Sirius's progress and he returned to the living room, his face flushed, and cleared his throat loudly until everyone looked at him. He sighed, clearly embarrassed of what he was about to do, then said, in a sort-of loud voice, "Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls... I give you... Freddie Mercury." He stepped aside.

From the hall came Sirius Black, wearing a skin-tight black-and-white-diamond printed spandex unitard, which left his chest bared, a white mask over his eyes, and his mouth painted bright red. He spun his way into the room, arms wide apart, and took a bow.

"Bloody hell," James muttered, and Lily's mouth curved into a smirk.

They sat down to dinner and Remus's crackers were a hit, spider candies running every which way across the table as paper bats fluttered about the ceiling. Laughter rose over the record player Sirius had set to play as background noise and their good times were punctuated only by knocking on the door as children in costumes came and went, collecting chocolate frogs that Lily had made - without the enchantments of a true chocolate frog, of course. There was a good deal of reminiscing about Halloweens gone past at Hogwarts, and how delicious the feast the house elves made every year was.

"Though I reckon your pumpkin stew tops even theirs, Lily," Jasper Odair said, raising a spoonful to the chef. 

Lily smiled, "Why thank you. I got the recipe from James's mum."

"You did?" James looked surprised, "When?"

"I went to visit her."

"You did?"

"Yes," Lily answered.

"Without me?"

"Yes," she laughed. James expression was one of such shock that she said, "What? Am I not allowed to visit my future mum in law?"

James replied, "No, I mean yes, of course you are. I think it's spiffing. I just didn't expect it."

"I wanted to give her the invitation to our wedding personally," Lily explained. 

"Speaking of," Marlene shouted across the table, "Count Em and I as an RSVP, will you? We wouldn't miss the event of the decade for all of the tea in China!"

"Here, here," agreed Frank, raising a glass of cider.

Lily grinned, "Every one of your ugly mugs better be at my wedding or I'll be positively peeved."

"I will be," Peter piped up quickly.

"You better seeing as you're one of the best men," James said, slapping Pete across the back. 

Peter smiled and his cheeks flushed red with pride as he looked around the table at the others.

They finished their feast and cleared the space to make way for a bit of dancing together as Sirius changed out the records to play only the best of the best songs, and the candles grew ever smaller as the night wore on. 

It was after ten when Remus needed a breath of air, overwhelmed by the crowded flat and the smells of food that he'd only barely managed to get down. He stepped out onto the metal fire escape and sat down, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes, letting the chilly autumn air clear his lungs and his nose. He'd been sitting a few minutes in the dark, the shadow of the moon in the sky, dark on the opposite end of the cycle from the full moon, and listening to the soft hum of the music on the other side of the wall.

The door opened and Peter came out. He sat down next to Remus, silent for a long moment, then reached into his pocket and withdrew a thick bar of chocolate, which he broke, giving the larger half to Remus. 

"Thanks Wormtail," Remus said.

Peter nodded. "Thought that might cheer you up," he said, nibbling the edge of his part of the bar. "You looked rather sore all night."

"I am," Remus admitted. He nudged Peter in the shoulder, "Hey, we've missed you. You don't come 'round nearly enough you know."

Peter shrugged, "Been busy."

"Yeah? How's it going? Are you getting all brilliant in divination? Seen the future? Is it bright?" There was hesitance on Peter's part and Remus raised an eyebrow. "Everything alright, Pete?"

Peter muttered something.

"Pardon?"

"I sort of dropped out," Peter said, "Of school," he added.

Remus looked surprised, "You did? Why?"

"I didn't really like it much."

"No?"

Peter shook his head.

"So where are you staying then?"

"I have a place."

 "You could come stay with us, you know, Pete. You know about James and Lily moving out at the end of the year and all, you could take their room when they go. Sirius and I wouldn't mind having you about," Remus said, but even as he said it he thought to himself that he'd have to get onto Sirius about acting like an adult and being a bit nicer to Peter Pettigrew than he tended to be without the reminder. 

Peter chewed on his chocolate, "Yeah, maybe," he said half-heartedly.

"So what have you been busy with, then?" Remus asked, "Have you taken a job?"

"I've been doing different things off and on. Right now I've been doing deliveries for some of the shops in Diagon Alley, just running parcels to folks that order things, you know." Peter fiddled with the bottom hem on his jumper, staring down. "Books and cauldrons and that sort of thing, mostly." He paused. "I saw Sirius and Bilius Weasley working for the degnoming company the other day. I didn't get a chance to say hullo. They looked busy. I was dropping off a potions kit. I waved," he added, "But they didn't notice."

"You're going to come to Sirius's birthday party next week, right?"

Peter nodded. 

"Good." Remus glanced at the door, then lowered his voice, "And maybe camping for the next moon?"

"Yeah, if you want!" Peter's voice climbed excitedly.

"Of course, it's always the best when all four of us are there... Like old times..."

"I don't really do much good," Peter said.

Remus replied back, "Of course you do, Pete. You're the bravest rat I know."

Pete smiled and polished off the last of his part of the chocolate, licking the residue off his fingers. He looked up at the sky fleetingly, then down at the row of pumpkins lining the steps. "You lot did a brilliant job with Halloween."

"Not nearly as brilliant as Hogwarts usually does it, but --"

"Nah, I think it's better," Peter said, his voice sincere.

Remus smiled. He really thought so, too. He ate some of the chocolate Peter had shared and they sat in silence, each staring up at the dark sky.

"Moony?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, Wormtail?"

"You lot don't get on better without me?" 

"No, Wormtail," Remus said thickly. "We don't."

"Sometimes I feel like... maybe you are?" Peter looked down at his jumper hem again. 

Remus shook his head. "You're a quarter of the Marauders, mate! Nothing changes that. What would any of us be without the others? We've all relied on one another far too many times in our lives. If any one of us were without the others, that one would be utterly unbalanced. And the others without the one are, too, you know? We compliment each other and keep each other in line. We need you Wormy."

Peter smiled, reassured.