Peter and Wendy were spending a morning off together, sitting behind the green houses in the shade of a couple trees. They were sharing a chocolate broomstick, passing it back and forth, reading textbooks intently. Peter's fingers brushed hers as he took the sweet back and he hesitated, looking at the point of contact between their skins. Wendy looked up. "What is it?" she asked. "You alright?" A bit of the candy was stuck on her lips.

Sirius Black's voice was echoing about in his head from that night after the Quidditch match. Seeing their fingers touch like that had stirred up a bit of nervousness in Peter that churned about in his belly. His eyes moved from their fingers to her eyes.

"Peter?" Wendy asked, even more concerned now.

Peter lowered his fingers from the broomstick and cleared his throat. "Do you reckon that we're moving on slower than other couples?"

Wendy raised her eyebrow. "What?"

Peter flushed. "Its just that Sirius Black said —"

"Do you usually take dating advice from Sirius Black?" Wendy asked, and as Peter began to nod, she continued, "Because that's a terrible idea Peter!"

He looked surprised. "It is?" he asked.

Wendy nodded solemnly. "Very bad."

"Why's it bad?" Peter asked in confusion.

Wendy sighed, and turned to Pete, letting her divination textbook slide off her knee. "Because boys like Sirius are after just one thing and they don't consider what others are comfortable with. You and I are going at exactly the pace we're both comfortable with. It may be too slow for Sirius Black or James Potter or it might be too fast for some one else. But for us, Peter, it's just right. And bloody hell, that's all that matters! We're the only one it really bothers, yeah?"

Peter nodded as he digested her reply.

"You're comfortable as we are, aren't you, Peter?"

A smile crossed his lips and he nodded happily.

"Good, so am I." Wendy smiled and turned back to her textbook, leaning against Peter as she read. Peter felt a good deal better, as he usually did after talking to Wendy.

An owl flew into the side of James Potter's head as he lay about beneath the great tree by the lake on the edge of the grounds. Sirius was in the tree, floating leaves to land on Remus's book as he poured over it, staring quite intently at the words. The owl let out a hoot as it fell to the ground beside James, a letter tied to it's prone leg. "Right clumsy bird you are," Sirius snickered, sitting up.

James had let the snitch he'd been playing catch and release with escape and it buzzed off into the sky, zipping away until it was but a golden glint in the sky. "Bugger!" James cried. Remus didn't even look up, but waved his wand and a silent accio retrieved the snitch. "Oi, thanks mate!" James said, snatching it from the air and pocketing it as the owl stood and shook it's wings out. Then, with as much dignity as it could muster now it had toppled over, the owl stuck its leg out at James, offering up the slightly bent scroll. James untied it and handed over a couple owl berries and it flew away quickly, feathers still a bit ruffled in the wrong direction.

"What'd you get, Prongs?" Sirius asked, leaning to peer over James's shoulder.

"A letter from mum and dad!" he said, and he tore it open. Every time James received a letter from Dora and Charlus at school, a small pit arose in his stomach, afraid to find bad news. It was easily his greatest fear. It was good, however, and he grinned as his eyes scrolled over the note. "Ohhh, Padfoot, you're going to like this."

Remus looked up, interested in what Sirius was going to like.

Sirius jumped down off the tree limb and leaned over to see. His eyes widened as he read the note as well. "Bloody hell, they're serious?"

"What is it?" Remus asked.

James grinned, "We're going to go to visit my family this summer - cousins in Costa Rica, they own an orange grove there - and they've told me I'm allowed to bring along a mate."

Sirius's hands were shaking as he took the letter, his heart leaping in his chest, growing about as large as the earth itself, it felt.

"So I suppose I'll bring along Peter, then," James said.

"FUCK THAT!" Sirius announced loudly enough that a crowd of third years looked over in alarm from where they were playing about in the water.

"We don't know what's wrong with him," Remus called, shaking his head. He waved the third years off and they turned back to their game. "Hang on, so you're going to Costa Rica then?" He stared up at James and Sirius - James was laughing at Sirius's dismayed expression.

"I'll pack tonight, when do we leave?" Sirius demanded.

James laughed, "Don't go packing now, you'd be a bit early for it. We don't leave until next month."

"Bloody hell, Costa Rica!" Sirius clapped his hands and did a funny dance, his boots clunking against his ankles as he did. "I've always wanted to go! Oi imagine it - just laying about in the orange groves, right on the beach..."

James laughed.

Remus said, "Well I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell you that I'm to stay with Professor Veigler this summer. I was dreading it a bit, but since you'll be gone to the ocean anyway —"

"I'll come back for the full moon, of course," Sirius said solemnly.

"We both will," James offered.

Sirius's voice rose with dramatic flair as he proclaimed, "Even if I've got to motor bike across the Specific Ocean —"

"It would be the Atlantic," Remus interjected. "Also it's Pacific, Sirius."

"— there is nothing that would stop me reaching my Moon-Moon!"

James nodded, "What he said. But with a tad less sexual undertone."

Remus laughed.

Sirius hugged the letter from the Potters to his chest. "Bloody hell, I've never been so excited for summer in all my life."

"Liar," James said, "You're always excited for summer holiday."

"But never this excited," Sirius said.

"WHAT DO YOU PACK FOR A BLOODY HOLIDAY TO COSTA RICA?!" Sirius was standing in the center of his bed in the Marauder's dorm room, everything in his trunk spinning about him in the air like a cluttered tornado.

"Certainly not your leather jacket," Peter said, fanning himself at the thought. "Costa Rica is near to the equal-door."

"The equal-door?" Sirius questioned.

"Equator," Remus corrected. "It's where it's hot. All the bloody time."

"The belt cinch of the planet," James said, "Imagine it holding up the Earth's knickers."

"We're going to the earth's crotch?" Sirius grinned.

"The earth doesn't have a crotch," Remus said.

Sirius grinned, "Aw Moon-Moon, don't worry, even the earth's crotch won't out shadow yours." He turned to James with a hand to his cheek to make an aside - "Not nearly as big, mate."

"TOO MUCH INFORMATION," James said sternly, shaking his head as though to wrench the words from his ears.

Peter looked curiously in Remus's direction, though, and Remus flushed.

Sirius sighed and dropped onto the bed. "I'll never figure this out!"

"You could always perform a shrinking charm and pack it all," Remus suggested.

Sirius made a face. "Bloody hell that would gey cumbersome."

"It would be like Mr. Scamander's suitcase," Remus pointed out. "Except all your you-stuff inside instead of his."

Sirius rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Besides - its not as though we're leaving tonight," James reminded him, "You have a month."

Sirius was still thinking.

"Yes but it might take him that long," Remus said.

"It's only this hard because I look fucking fantastic in literally EVERYTHING!" Sirius moaned loudly, "Oi fuck me!"

"I doubt very much whether you'd actually want me to do that," came a voice from the door and they all looked back to see Lily Evans in the doorway, having pushed open the door so quietly that they hadn't even noticed her until she spoke up.

Sirius sat up quickly. "EVANS, oh thank fuck my love I am in dire need of your most brilliant assistance."

"Are you?" Lily asked.

"YES," Sirius whined, leaping off the bed and tripping over the trailing line of his ridiculously long Gryffindor scarf. "What the bloody hell does a person pack to go to Costa Rica for the summer?!"

Lily looked surprised, "You're going to Costa Rica for the summer?"

"Yes with the Prongs-es," Sirius answered. "Mum and Dad wrote us today and said we're to see the cousins."

Lily blinked, processing that information. "Wait. What? You and James both are going?"

"For a full summer," James nodded, proudly.

Lily's voice shook with the weight of it, "Wow. That's - brilliant. So you'll be gone, then, eh?"

"Yeah," James said, "It'll be a nice little break, I reckon. Sort of need a break, after everything."

"Quite earned, I say!" Peter piped up.

Lily nodded, "Oh, yes, of course. It's just that I'll miss you, of course. Both of you. All of you." The additions were after thoughts.

Sirius walked over and flung his arm about her shoulders. "Disappointed, love? Did you have grand plans to spend a bit if time with us?"

"I - no," she said, shaking her head, "Not particularly. Spiffing. Right then. I've got to be popping off." She started to leave, but Sirius's grip on her shoulder tightened.

"What'd you venture all the way up to our dormitory to say, Lillian Anastasia Kumquat?"

"Oh - um," she flushed, "Just checking if Potter had any notes from Potions. I seem to have misplaced mine and —"

James interrupted, "Moony, may I borrow your notes?"

Remus looked up, "Oi?"

"Your notes for potions."

"Oh. Here." He rummaged about his parchments and handed over the pages James had requested. He stuck out his arm with them, offering them to Lily. "I worked bleedin' hard on them, so you'd best be taking care of them."

Lily was pink nosed and eared. "Of course. Thanks." Then, "Thanks, Remus."

"Uh huh," Remus didn't even look up.

Sirius released Lily's shoulder, shaking his head disappointedly, and she hurried out the door. "Bleedin' nutter," James muttered.

Sirius looked back at the swirling cloud of his belongings on the bed. "I could just do a bit of a shrinking charm and pack it all," Sirius said.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Can't imagine where he heard that suggestion."