Remus loved the night.
It was a time of secrets, when the rest of Gryffindor tower was quiet and still. He liked to roam free then, walking as quietly as he could around the common room, to sit by the fire and complete homework that wasn't due for a good few days.
Luckily for him, none of the other first years followed this ritual – apparently it was still too early in the year for them to bother with trivial things like homework. He was quite content in his paper for Defense against the Dark Arts, curled in the biggest armchair by the fire. He was so absorbed, in fact, that he failed to notice one of his classmates climbing down the stairs.
"You're still awake?" Sirius Black called, jumping easily down the last few stairs. Remus shifted in his seat, trying to concentrate on his assignment. "I thought I was the only one awake."
Remus looked up over his parchment. "I'm studying."
"Fine, suit yourself." He stretched out on the lounge, arms flopping carelessly over the cushions, before looking back over at Remus.
"You know James?"
Remus sighed and placed his parchment back in his lap. "Potter? Yeah, I know who he is."
"He thinks I can't hear him, you know." Sirius sighs, and runs a hand through his hair. "Crying every night."
Remus glares at the other boy. "He's probably homesick. Most people do actually miss their parents if they aren't used to going away."
Sirius' shoulders tense, and he looks away. Remus notices. He always notices what people think he doesn't.
Sirius catches him staring, and Remus looks back down at his parchment.
"I don't think I quite understood the lecture about Doxys," Remus moaned, scribbling out what he had written. Sirius leaned forwards and snatched the papers out from his hand, studying them carefully.
"Doxys lay about five-hundred eggs, not three-hundred," Sirius corrected, snatching Remus' quill and correcting his work. "That's all I can see that's wrong with it."
"Thanks," Remus muttered, looking down at his ink-stained work, before placing it on the table to dry.
"We should get some sleep," Remus said, looking at the clock as it ticked onto the eleventh-hour. "We have potions first tomorrow..."
"Yeah, yeah, alright" Sirius groaned, stumbling to his feet gracelessly. Remus grabbed his things, shoving his quills and parchment into his bag before following Sirius up the stairs. Sirius bounded up the stairs with the grace of an acrobat, while Remus trailed slowly behind, tiring of the stairs already.
Remus walked straight into Sirius' back as he came up the stairs, teetering a little on the step before regaining his balance.
"Is everything okay?" He whispered, stepping out beside Sirius, who held a hand to his lips to silence Remus.
"James."
He nodded, pressing his ear against the door to the dorm that he and Sirius shared with the Potter boy, and Peter, who despite all appearances was really a nice boy. Remus could hear the muffled crying, and he stepped back.
"Maybe we should sleep in the common room," Sirius whispered from somewhere to Remus' left, and he nodded sagely.
It was the first of many nights they slept in the common room. No-one asked any questions, and they offered no answers. Eventually, James got used to time in Gryffindor tower, and Sirius and Remus were permitted to return to their own beds.
After time, Remus, Sirius, Peter and James started their own little study group for the nights, where Remus could revel in the shared company and draw the help from others.
It was always worth it, in the end.