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Promises Unbroken, by Robin. a wonderful, involved story which ponders the age-old what-if: 'what if sirius black had been the secret keeper?' it is complete, and has already spawned spin-offs and a sequel, plus. ^_^) and don't worry -- though sirius is dead, he isn't. just read the story. it's long and complicated.

Remus Lupin turned and wrapped his arms around his friend. “Don’t even say it, James. Don’t do this to yourself. You don’t know what would have happened in the war, and you don’t know if Sirius would have lived or died. Don’t kill yourself over what might have been. We can’t change that now. All we can do is honor his sacrifice. All we can do is remember the good times. And we can go on with our lives, as Sirius would have wanted us to. Let us remember him as he was and live for the days he let us have.”

The Ambiguously Gay Werewolf, by Jack Ichijouji. i have read many, many mwpp fanfics in my time, but this one always strikes me as the greatest. considering all of those stories out there that much such a big deal of sirius or remus 'coming out', this is does it the best. it answers the age-old question of whether or not remus is gay. amazingly funny! (and there's a sequel out now, The Ambiguous Animagus, which is equally funny.)

“You know, you could just go to the hospital wing and ask him,” Peter suggested over his book. He was met with confused stares from both his friends. “Fine, forget I said anything.”

“So, how to answer this once and for all,” Sirius wondered aloud. Peter rolled his eyes behind his Transfiguration book. “We can't just confront him with it, like we did with the werewolf thing. No, this has to be... subtle. At least until we're sure.”

Hunting the Traitor, by Fairytale. it's an amazing story about remus' reaction to james and lily's deaths, and his struggle to adopt harry. wonderfully au, and very cute. and action filled, as the remaining death eaters are eager to get their hands on harry as well. it is tastefully written, and Fairytale's original characters (remus' family) are believable and lovable. (janus rules.) i highly suggest reading this.

Worst of all had been the official Ministry questioning. Without any forewarning, five Ministry wizards had stood on the doorstep three days after Peter's funeral and had taken Remus into custody. Richard had refused to leave his son alone, but they had neither allowed him to accompany his son nor had Remus been given the right to call a lawyer. Werewolf regulations didn't consider it necessary for a lycanthropy to consult a lawyer. For over fifty hours straight Remus had been questioned by the Aurors. Remus hadn't told him much about it, but Richard knew a little about the Ministry's methods. Janus had told him a couple of times how the Aurors treated potential suspects, and as a werewolf who had been a friend of a murderer, a supposedly high-ranking Death Eater, Remus was a suspect. No matter that the Halloween night had been a full moon, no matter that he had not had much contact with Sirius during the weeks previous to the murders.

The Fine Line, by JKLB. there is a fine line between love and hate, and i think this is the first severus/remus (kind of; it's rather one-sided) fanfic that i've ever liked. its very realistic, and very deep, and i love it. a tale of the days at hogwarts for severus snape, and how he realizes that he loves remus lupin. not nearly as cliche as it sounds -- by a long shot -- and most certainly worth reading.

It was probably a good thing that it was one of the Gryffindors whom he had fallen for. If he had been someone more available, a Slytherin perhaps, the chance of a slip in Severus's resolve to hide his feelings would have been greater. But a Gryffindor--a friend of the despised James Potter--no. He was certain that Remus must dislike him, must despise him. There was no possibility that his feelings could ever be returned, thus there was no temptation to reveal his feelings. Very little temptation, at least.

James Potter and the Divination Curse, by Kay Willow. i love kay-san's work anyway, so when i saw that she had a harry potter fanfic, my expectations leapt -- and i wasn't disappointed. this story displays a rather unique view of james potter (showing him as the crazier one, as opposed to sirius, which is usually seen), and is very very funny. the story details a single divination class, and is brilliant. read. ^_^

She pretended he hadn't spoken. "I knew that we would have latecomers, and I have been awaiting your presence before beginning today's lesson," she continued, her husky voice almost as mesmerizing as the incense.

James refused to be mesmerized. He said dubiously, "I hope that wasn't a prediction, because what with the maze-like structures on the way to this class I bet you've got latecomers every year for the first class."

"Oh, I see you DID make that prediction. My bad, then. Looks like you were right, unsurprisingly enough." James looked around the classroom.

Last Laugh, by lise. sexy. veeeeery sexy. and hilarious. and maybe not so sexy, but definitely funny, and very siriusxremus. i love this story -- it is one that i will go back and read over again at random times simply because it is just that funny. i love her characterizations of our marauders, and how light-hearted the whole thing is. the plot: james and sirius engage in a pranking war. chaos and mayhem (and kissing) result. i liiiiiiike.

Remus calmly watched the two of them, eyebrow raised. He finished off the last piece of toast and marmalade and shook his head. "You two are going to get your balls cut off by someone in Slytherin one of these days."

James actually slid under the table as his face went very purple, mouth contorted in the unholy effort not to start screeching with laughter. Even Sirius, who usually had a better bluffing face than the rest of them, clapped a hand over his mouth to stop from spitting food. Remus glanced over at the Slytherins, many of whom were glaring darkly their way. "Oh, good," he said dryly. "Now I'm an accomplice, and we'll all be castrated together."

Pack Issues, by Fairytale. harry goes to live with sirius and remus during the summer before fifth year, and chaos ensues! or something to that extent. ^_^ a very deep, very artful telling of harry's stay, with some male bonding, familial references, and some added danger just for spice. a lovely, solid story.

Their wedding picture, with a young, handsome and smiling Sirius standing next to his father. His godfather's blue eyes sparkled, there was no haunted look in them like it was now. They were just blue and alight with a joy of life and happiness for his friends. Before Azkaban had left its everlasting scars upon Sirius.

Harry had found out that if he waited for some time, Sirius would leave the picture for a moment and drag a shy and unwilling Professor Lupin into the picture. His former Defence teacher looked so much younger and healthier on that picture, that much Harry could see even though Professor Lupin quickly vanished again after freeing himself from Sirius' grasp and waving shyly into the camera once. Obviously, he didn't like to be photographed.

Darkness Dying, by Iniga. at first, i didn't put this story down on my recs, but not because it wasn't good. rather, it was because it seemed so right that i had never really thought of it as a fanfic. more like an explanation, really. which really goes to show how amazing it is. this story answers the question of how sirius could ever suspect remus, and does do in an amazing way that completely waylays all other fanfics about this topic. it's superb. very dark, but with its lighter moments. (james and sirius chanting about remus stripping strikes me as funny, for some reason. ^_~; and yet, it seems so natural...)

He had, obviously, three very great friends. James was the fairytale hero who got everything right. Sirius was the stunningly handsome, charismatic warrior who drew attention in all he did. And Remus was the enigma, the carrier of the werewolf curse who could be boundlessly patient and cuttingly sardonic by turns. His social life did not extend far beyond the three; a broader social life was impossible during the war. No one could tell for certain who was working for the Dark Lord, and who was under the Imperius Curse, and who had been sent to test the willpower of an operative for one side or the other. Bars and restaurants and clubs had stood empty for years now. The last surviving vestige of entertainment was the Quidditch League. The stands often stood three-quarters empty, but the Ministry had encouraged the teams to continue to play because the games were broadcast over wizarding radio and seemed to boost the morale of families too nervous to leave their homes to see the matches in person.

Balanced, by Kel. i'm not really sure why i love this story -- i don't have any specific passages or incidents in mind. i just do. it is an amazing story about how the marauders came together, despite being from different backgrounds -- and in different houses! a bit au, what with ootp, but it is still magnificent. i highly, highly recommend it.

'Are you unaware that the Slytherin colour is green?' snapped Severus. James smiled brightly. He knew that he stuck out, being the only Slytherin wearing bright red and carrying a banner saying: 'GO GRYFFINDOR!' but Sirius was wearing green and had a Slytherin banner. It had been Remus' idea; he'd been in a bad temper when they were having a friendly debate over house stereotypes and had dared them both to wear the opposite colour to the match. Unfortunately, Remus had left to see his mother the previous evening and wouldn't be back until later on that day.

'I'm going to curse you when no teachers are looking,' Snape told him. James pondered on whether to try the perky approach, or the spoiled brat one; he chose the latter.

'Do you think I can't protect myself of something?' he sneered in true Slytherin style.

The Nicest Thing My Mother Ever Did For Me, by JKLB. a mwpp-hogwarts story, where a young sirius black is sorted into gryffindor, and no one seems to be particularly happy about it. nicely written, and a greatly clever way of showing how james and sirius became friends. very nice, and helpful to ease those post-ootp blues.

“Gryff— you’re kidding, right?” Sirius thought, but the Sorting Hat did not reply. As he pulled off the hat, he became aware that instead of the enthusiastic applause the previous first-years had received, there was only scattered clapping at the Gryffindor table. He looked toward the sound just as it died out. “They don’t want me,” he realized. “Who could blame them?”

Amid My Solitude, by samvimes. i don't like romance fanfics. this story is one of the exceptions to this belief, as samvimes pulls off a post-ootp remus/tonks with surprising ease and magnificence. this multi-part story is captivating, and it pulls to in almost immediately. the characterizations are wonderful and the plot is clever. very enjoyable.

"Who wanted a funeral?" Remus asked, furious. "Who needed a damn re-hashing of his whole wasted life? Who wanted that? Not bloody me, I can tell you that much. Let the poor man alone, for God's sake."

"Talking about him now, or about yourself?" she asked, taking a sip of the beer. He covered his eyes with his hand.

"I don't know, Tonks," he replied. "It...for a minute, it was like things were falling into place. I wasn't...we were rebuilding something. I had the Order back. We had Sirius back. I started thinking maybe...I started thinking even that Snape wasn't so bad, you know? That he was some kind of replacement. For Peter. Not really one of us, but there if you needed him. And then it all went to pieces again."