ok, it's me again. well, obviously. anyway, this is a little fic I've been writing for a while...I finally decided to finish it and post it. so it's about 'Romeo and Juliet', starring Sirius and Remus. yeah yeah yeah I'm working on then next chapter of Reflections. that will be out soon. read on!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or 'Romeo and Juliet'

Warnings: preslash

The Magic of Shakespeare

Chapter One

Sirius Black awoke with a start to the sound of birds chattering noisily outside his window. He rolled over in his bed and squinted at the clock. It was--"8:46! Shit!" He scrambled out of bed and stumbled around the empty dormitory trying to get dressed. He grabbed his bag and a few books, snatched his wand from the bedside table, ran a comb through his hair, and with that shot down the stairs, cursing the whole way.

A few minutes later, he arrived, panting, outside his Muggle Studies classroom. He opened the door a crack and peeked in. Professor Mullen had her back to the room and was writing on the board--it was now or never. He slowly opened the door wide enough to slip in and quietly shut it behind him. He tiptoed to his desk, ignoring his classmates' raised eyebrows, and slid into his desk. Breathing a sigh of relief when Professor Mullen didn't turn around, he glared at the boy sitting next to him. And hissed, "Why didn't you wake me up!"

Before Remus had a chance to reply, Professor Mullen said, "Thank you for joining us, Mr. Black." Sirius swore under his breath. "Class began 20 minutes ago. Five points from Gryffindor." Sirius shot another sideways glare at Remus, who looked as though he was trying not to smile. Professor Mullen turned to face the class. "Now. We're continuing our study of muggle literature, and now we'll learn about a famous playwright named William Shakespeare. Perhaps you've heard of him. In order to learn more about him, I'd like you to perform one of his most famous plays-- " 'Romeo and Juliet'." Excited looks were exchanged among the girls at this news. "I'll hand out copies of the script now," She said as she passed packets around the room. "I'll leave the rest to you. You'll have to work as a group to organize the casting and props. Remember, I'll grade you on creativity and accuracy. You will perform it a month from now, and every class until then will be devoted to practice. You may begin." She sat down at her desk.

A babble of voices broke out at once. Sirius, who wasn't at all interested in the project, took this as an opportunity to question Remus further.

"So. Tell me why, exactly, no one bothered to wake me up this morning!"

Remus looked at him reproachfully. "That was your own fault. I woke up early for breakfast, and so did James and Peter. I tried to wake you up too, but you mumbled something about 'five more minutes' and pulled the covers over your head."

"Oh, did I? Uh…" Sirius smiled sheepishly.

Remus raised his eyebrows and smiled. "You're so horrible about getting up in the morning. I don't know why I even try."

"Well, I'm just not a morning person," Sirius said defensively, grinning too.

"That's for sure." They turned their attention back to the rest of the class.

"I think girls should direct it," Someone suggested.

"The play can be all boys!" Another girl cried.

"Good idea," yet another girl agreed. The boys in the class shrugged at each other. They didn't seem to have much of a say in the matter.

"Who will the leads be?"

"Sirius!" A girl squealed at once. "Sirius can be Romeo!" There was a chorus of agreement.

Sirius looked around in confusion. "Huh?"

"Who will Juliet be?" Someone questioned. The girls fell silent as they pondered this, and the boys all looked horrified and tried to make themselves inconspicuous.

Remus smiled mockingly at Sirius and said in a high-pitched voice, "Ooooh Sirius! You're so hot Sirius! Will you marry me, Sirius?"

Sirius, who heard something to that effect at least 10 times a day from adoring girls, muttered "…Shut up."

"Hey, Remus should be Juliet!" A girl suddenly exclaimed. The rest of the boys in the class breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Yeah! He's the prettiest!"

This wiped the smirk off Remus's face, and it was Sirius's turn to smile. "Just wait until James and Peter hear about this," He said gleefully.

"What light through yonder window breaks…it is the east, and Moony is the sun!" James said dramatically, dropping to one knee in front of Remus. Sirius and Peter dissolved into laughter while Remus scowled and bent closer to his parchment. This sort of thing had been going on non-stop since Sirius filled in the other marauders about 'Romeo and Juliet' after class, and more importantly, who was going to play the leading roles. Now it was a free period and James had taken it upon himself to entertain them with endless impressions of the play.

"Come on, guys…it's not that funny…" Remus muttered sullenly.

"Of course it is!" James chuckled.

"No, really, I think we should leave him alone…for now…" Sirius suggested with a grin.

James threw his hands up. "All right, all right. But you're going to have to get used to the idea of this play, Moony. Especially since you're going to perform it for all the sixth years."

Remus's head snapped up, his eyes wide. "What!"

"Yeah," James sighed, pretending to look anguished, "You're going to be performing it in front of everyone, dressed like a girl…" He clapped a shell-shocked looking Remus on the back and continued with apparent enjoyment, "Hate to break it to you."

Remus moaned and put his face in his hands.

Sirius glanced at him and leaned his chair back on two legs. "Oh come on, it's not that bad," He said, putting his hands behind his head.

"Easy for you to say. You love the attention," Peter pointed out.

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "So?"

"Believe it or not, this isn't helping," Remus snapped, getting up abruptly and snatching his books off the table. "I'm going to the library," He said, and with that stomped out of the room.

"Have fun," James called after him.

"He seems a bit upset," Sirius remarked, letting the front two legs of his chair fall to the floor with a thud. "And I think it's all your fault..."

"Ah, well, he'll get over it," James said dismissively with a wave of his hand.

"'Romeo and Juliet' is a, well, you know, love story, right?" Peter asked. James and Sirius nodded and he continued, "So doesn't that mean there will be a--"

"Kissing scene," James finished, looking over at Sirius with a grin.

"Oh, well, yeah, I...guess so..." Sirius said uncomfortably. His face felt unusually hot and he wished James would stop grinning at him like that.

"This is going to be great. You guys will never be able to live this down," James said, getting up. "Come on, Pete, let's go to Ancient Runes. See ya, Romeo."

Sirius watched them leave silently and then got up with a sigh, deciding that he better get going too. He grabbed his books and started making his way to the library, contemplating this latest development. He'd known before that there was probably a kissing scene, but it somehow hadn't occurred to him that he'd actually be kissing Remus. Would they really have to kiss! But he didn't exactly not want to kiss him, and this thought was worrisome. He had mixed feelings about it. They were both boys, for one. That in itself should be a big problem, but…for some reason it wasn't.

He reached the library at last and scanned the nearby tables for Remus. He spotted him sitting at a table in the corner, reading a book.

"Hey, Moony," Sirius called as he made his way towards him. Remus looked up from his book and waved, still looking a bit cross. Sirius plopped down in a chair across from him.

Though they teased Remus about his role, he really did look the part, Sirius decided as he studied his friend. He was long-limbed and lithe, with wavy auburn hair, long lashes, and expressive amber eyes. Remus possessed a kind of quiet grace that made him very alluring. What all the girls (and some boys) said was true--he definitely was the prettiest boy in their year.

Sirius dismissed these thoughts with a shake of his head. He was getting a bit too much into his role.

Remus closed his book with a snap and looked up at Sirius. "Is there something on my face?" He asked irritably.

"What? Uh, no," Sirius answered, startled.

"You've been staring at me for the last five minutes," Remus said flatly.

"That--well--it--" Sirius stuttered as he tried to think of an excuse. He looked at his wristwatch and said quickly, "You know, class is going to start soon. We should leave now since the classroom is in the north tower."

Remus still looked at him suspiciously but didn't pursue the subject. "Okay then."

"So. The play should be fun, right?" Sirius said lightly as the pair headed to Divination. Remus glared at him and didn't respond. "Oh come on, be a good sport…I mean, you'll get to kiss moi. Sirius Black! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity." Remus rolled his eyes, but smiled in spite of himself. Sirius smiled as well. Although he'd never admit it, he wasn't exactly dreading that particular part of the play.

To be continued...

So. tell me what you think! in other words, review! ;)