Six times Sirius Black looked into Remus Lupin's eyes and one time he looked away.
The first time Remus Lupin met Sirius Black's gaze was when they were sitting in Transfiguration class and the stupid wand wouldn't work.
He'd bitten his lip and glared at his match, which he was supposed to be turning into a needle. He'd never seen any match that looked less like a needle. He shook his wand, which was resolutely remaining quiet with not even the sight of sparks shooting out of the end to remind him he was a wizard at all.
He swallowed. What if he wasn't as good as the others? What if being a werewolf meant you couldn't do spells and nobody had found out yet? What if he just sat here like this lesson after lesson, until eventually Professor Dumbledore just told him they'd obviously made a mistake and they'd have to send him back home?
Remus swallowed and shook the wand again, determined to make it work. He didn't want to leave Hogwarts. He didn't want to go home. He didn't want this to go wrong, the same way everything else did.
And that's when a piece of parchment hit his shoulder.
He jumped, blood rising to his cheeks, and heard a suppressed snort of laughter. He glanced over to see two of the boys from his dormitory staring at him. One of them pushed his glasses back up his nose and gave him a smirk, eyes bright with humour, a sentiment which Remus did not share. He looked away, cheeks flushed, already wishing he was back at home in the safety of his bedroom.
"Hey." There was a whisper which Remus steadfastly ignored. He might be getting parchment thrown at him but he wasn't a complete idiot. He hoped not, anyway, or that train home might be beckoning faster than he thought.
"Hey." The voice was slightly fiercer this time and Remus pressed his lips together, keeping his eyes on the match in front of him.
"Hey." This time, the friendly overture was accompanied by another, larger piece of parchment.
There was only so much you could take. Remus spun around in his seat. "What?"
It was the other boy, watching him, the one sitting next to the boy with the glasses. His long hair hung in his eyes, and he was watching Remus with his head tilted, eyes narrowed slightly, as if Remus was some mildly interesting specimen in a zoo.
"You have to tap it."
Remus blinked. "What?"
The other boy demonstrated with his own wand. "Tapping motion. Don't tap the stick. Just do this-" He raised and dropped his own wand in a quick rise and fall.
His match promptly transformed into a needle.
Remus blinked. The boy met his gaze and smirked. "Try it." His black curls fell over his eyes as he leaned back in his seat. "Go on."
Remus had no idea why the boy was helping him but looking around at the several needles he was now seeing lying in front of his classmates, he felt that anything was worth a try. Turning his gaze to his own decidedly non-needle like match stick, he took a deep breath and muttered the incantation, tapping the wand in exactly the same motion as the other boy.
Nothing happened.
Remus swallowed, feeling a wave of disappointment rise in his throat-but before he could sink back in his seat, there was a soft tap on his shoulder. "Try again."
"What?" Remus turned to look at the boy.
"Try again. It doesn't always work first time." Remus searched the boy's eyes for some sign of a joke, a prank but the boy looked completely serious. His eyes were dark grey, the colour of storm clouds and for a moment, Remus swallowed, feeling the blood rise unexpectedly to his cheeks.
He turned and tapped the wand again, muttering the incantation without much hope.
The matchstick promptly turned into a needle.
Remus actually stared at it for a moment, so stunned was he by the simple fact the spell had worked. He felt a smile stretch over his face, muscles aching with pride.
"Very good, Mr. Lupin." Professor McGonagall was peering over his shoulder, with a wry smile at her lips. "Perhaps, next time, Mr. Black will be able to keep his attention on his own work."
The other boy sank back in his seat, a smirk playing at his mouth. "I was helping someone in need, Professor."
He pressed his lips shut tight at the look on Professor McGonagall's face. She watched the boy for a long moment and then walked off, the silent remonstration apparently enough.
Remus, however, waited only a moment before he spun around in his seat to face the other boy. "Thanks."
The boy, lounging back in his chair, gave him a lazy thumbs up and then, to Remus' disbelief, a quick wink.
It was later, however, heading into the corridor and struggling to stow all his books into his bag, that Remus found himself backed against the wall by the two boys. "What's your name?"
Remus blinked as he looked up. "Sorry?"
The boy with the glasses rolled his eyes. "What's your name?"
The boy with the black curls was silent but watching him with that same smirk he had in the classroom. Remus felt his cheeks flush again.
"Remus." He swallowed, wondering if he should hold out a hand but quickly deciding against it. "Remus Lupin."
The boy with the glasses nodded but it was the other boy who reached out to take Remus' hand. His eyes met Remus' and there was a moment, with their hands touching and their eyes locked, that Remus felt strangely light-almost as if he could fly, his skin tingling.
"That's James Potter" said the curly-haired boy carelessly, indicating the other boy with a toss of the head. He smiled at Remus, one eyebrow arching slightly, those lips a small curl. "And I'm Sirius Black."
Remus nodded and for a moment, their hands squeezed each other-a small, now slightly stronger grip. Their eyes met and Sirius smirked and didn't look away.
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