Different

by Loverhusband

My take on Remus/Sirius romantic . Set in the Marauder era with plenty of Dumbledore and as little James/Peter/Lily as possible. It also contains a book called 'So You Think Your Werewolf Best Friend Has Soft Lips' so you know it must be good.

A/N: Hello readers! This is my first ~adventure~ into the world of Harry Potter through fanfiction. I'm a huge fan of the series and after reading the BRILLANT Shoeboex fic I decided I would try my own Remus/Sirius story. Please be aware that I am not a superfan and I am bound to make some factual errors (as well as typos~ ignore them~) so forgive me in advance and feel free to point them out. The basic premise for this fic is my personal take on how Sirius and Remus fell in love. I plan to do it in a few parts, more and less depending on the response from readers. So please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

"Sirius, would you please stop staring at me like that? It's making me very uncomfortable" Remus said, giving Sirius a light kick on the shoulder.

Sirius and Remus were sitting alone in the Gryffindor common room, not an uncommon thing for them to be doing on a Friday afternoon. Remus was lounging back in his favourite chair with a book in his hands but Sirius had dropped his copy of the Daily Prophet on the ground. He was focused entirely on the boy with the book, giving him quite the intense stare.

He could not say what it was, but something was different about Remus; something he had not seen before in the boy he had known for the past six years. To Sirius, Remus had always been like a younger brother. Ever since the first day they met, Remus always seemed like he needed to be protected. So that is exactly what Sirirus, James and Peter had done.

"Sirius, I am serious about how seriously serious I am that you seriously need to stop looking at me that way. Seriously" Remus deadpanned.

This was a little game Remus liked to play he had entitled 'Pun Away The Awkward'. It tended to work, too. Sirius never could stand puns, especially ones made out of his name. But Sirius was not paying attention to what was coming out of the boy's mouth, rather he was paying attention to the mouth itself.

This was not the same mouth he remembered. It was so strange, because Sirius somehow knew it was still the same mouth, but between yesterday and today something had changed. That much he was sure of. The words to describe it eluded him however, so he kept staring, deeper and deeper, waiting for something to click in his mind.

"Fine. If you are having a stroke, I don't care. You should have picked a less creepy face to have a stroke with. I'm going to look away now and keep reading my book. If you need medical attention, too bad. This book is far more important."

As Remus turned his back, Sirius kept staring; this time his gaze was fixed on Remus' neck. But Sirius could not figure out what he was looking at. This happened sometimes, a side-effect of the wolf thing he thought, but like a word on the tip of your tongue it was not something that just went away. It was the same thing. Something that was there - obviously there - but what exactly this...thing...was, Sirius was still not sure.

"Remus, did you...change, or something?" Sirius grunted, narrowing his eyes to scan the boy further.

Looking up from his book, Remus sighed again and turned to face Sirius. "If you are at a loss for words, why don't you try picking up a book, Sirius? Plenty of words inside books. Big ones, too. Maybe you will learn to use them?"

"No...no, you changed. I remember last full moon you looked all, I don't know, the same. Like, well...you looked like Moony! But now you don't look like Moony. But I thought you did yesterday, and..."

"Sirius...why are you sniffing my neck..."

"...you smell all different, too. Like...not bad, or anything. Jus' different, ya know?"

SMACK! SLAM!

It had only taken roughly two seconds for Remus to chuck his book at Sirius' face and slam the portrait door closed.

"Young MAN! Show some MANNERS!" bellowed the Fat Lady from outside the dormitory.

Peeling the book off his face, Sirius was more confused than ever. This was not the first time a book had been thrown at him, granted, but it was the first time he didn't know why it had been thrown at him. Something was different about Remus and Sirius was not going to rest until he found out what it was.

He set off to find James and Peter who were, to Sirius surprise, in the library.

"James, Peter. Something is wrong...well, not wrong...different. About Remus."

"Huh? What do you mean Sirius?" James asked, putting down a book called 'Tips and Tricks to the Perfect Potions'.

"I...just...wait, is that a potions book? Bleh, I thought we were gunna wing the exam! Not study at all! Ya know, the Marauder way? Well, apart from Remus who-...Remus! He is different, James. We need to figure out what is...well, not wrong...different. About Remus."

"Hah!" squeaked Peter "is it Moony's time on the month again?"

"Don't be daft Peter, it was just a full moon last week. Now Sirius, I know writing exams without studying is our thing and all, but I really want to make Head Boy next year. And do NOT give me that look! You know who is a shoe in for Head Girl and this could be my only chance, ok? So go figure this out on your own. Better yet, take Peter. I have to study."

Sirius sighed, grabbed Peter by the collar, and yanked him out into the hall.

"Ow! Sirius, let go of..."

"Peter, have you noticed anything different? 'bout Remus?" Sirius said urgently.

"Sirius, let...go...of..." Peter squirmed out of Sirius' grip and brushed off his robes. "That's better. And I don't know, maybe? Well, no, not really. Maybe he got a bit more uptight, but not really anything new."

Sirius moaned, grabbed his head and paced back and forth. For someone who had been transforming into a dog for so long now, he still had not been able to completely separate himself from the animal. The dog inside his brain howled and he knew the only way to calm it down would be to figure out this problem.

"Er...maybe...well, maybe you changed, Sirius?" Peter said hesitantly.

Then it clicked. Another door; another option.

"Me...not Remus. Me? Me...yea...maybe..." Sirius grumbled, mulling over this new thought. "Thanks Pete. I need to go find Remus. Figure this out. Need to calm down. See ya later. Tell James bye!"

THUD!

Peter was knocked over as a very excited Sirius darted past him back towards Gryffindor tower.

"...you're...ow...welcome, Sirius."

As Sirius ran through the hallway he continued to mull over what Peter had said. Maybe he was different? Did his eyes...just work differently now? Was this a wolf thing? Or maybe it was still Remus, but only he could see? Surely someone else could see. Remus was just so...different. The more Sirirus thought about it the more he was positive of this. The way Remus lips and eyes and entire body looked were just...so different.

Right on cue, Sirius saw Remus re-entering the portrait with a new book in his hand.

"REMUS! Wa-...no, don't you da-...

SMACK! SLAM!

It had happened again.

"YOUNG MAN! I DOOOO SAY! That was QUITE rude!"

Peeling the second book off his face, Sirius wondered if what Peter had said about Remus being more uptight was also true.

Entering the portrait, Sirius found Remus waiting for him, arm held out and foot tapping the floor.

"I actually do need that book...thanks...now I'm going to read on my bed. Please do not follow me, Sirirus. I don't need any more hormonal boy strangeness tonight."

Hormones. That could be it, Sirius thought.

"Wait! Remus, I'm...sorry...I think it's a wolf thing. Er, partially. But you are...I swear you are..."

"Different. I get it. I'm different."

As Sirius stared once more at the boy, he could not help but be drawn to his hair. Remus' hair was not as tame as Sirius', but something about it felt different, too. Like all that chaos that was his hair suddenly less chaotic.

"Ok, Sirius, you are doing it again. And I really do need this book. Please, for the love of Merlin, go see Dumbledore or something? I'm sick of this."

Remus stormed off towards the beds, leaving Sirius confused and alone in the common room.

"Dumbledore..."

Five minutes later, Sirius was standing outside of the entrance to Dumbledore's office. He had been sent here enough times to know a thing or two about Dumbledore's passwords. They were never too hard to guess, but at the same time not easy enough to make it a quick task.

"Ok. Well, here goes nothing. Cockroach Cluster...Fudge Flies...Acid Pops...Pumpkin Pasties...Sugar Quills..."

The stone gargoyle sprang to live, moving to let Sirius past. This was perhaps, Sirius thought, a record timing for guessing the correct password.

He walked up the spiral staircase, knocked on the door, and after a faint "come in, Sirius," opened it and walked inside. Sirius was no stranger to this office, but even still it took his breath away to see all the wonders it held. Fawkes flapped its wings elegantly from its perch in greeting and Sirius waved back to the curious bird.

"Hello, sir. I'm sorry to bother you, but..."

"Come, come. Never a bother, Sirius. Never a bother! I do wish more students would just drop by for a nice chat like you. It can get awfully boring up here, you know. Tea?"

Before Sirius could answer, a teacup and teapot appeared in front of him and started to pour out. Once this was done, two lumps of sugar appeared and plopped into the tiny cup.

"I thought you might enjoy this new muggle flavour I was just introduced to. It's called sleepy time! What a curious name for a tea, don't you think?"

"Er, yes sir. Thank you for the tea. Dumbledore, sir, I wanted to talk to you about..."

"Personally I could go for a cup of wakey time, myself. I checked, but the muggles don't seem to have a tea called wakey time. Pity, I thought the name was quite catchy."

"Very catchy, sir. Anyways...I wanted to..."

"Fancy a game of Parcheesi? It's a muggle game. I'm quite taken with funny sounding muggle inventions this week. You roll these dice and there is this board and...well, it's not quite wizard chess. But I do love the name. Though I have yet to find out what it has to do with cheese."

"Erm, Dumbledore, sir? I really need to talk to you about..."

"Oh dear. Now I am craving cheese. Albus, you always do this to yourself. Well, no sense holding out! Would you like some cheese too, Sirius? There is this wonderful one called Gouda. It is very creamy – just charming with the sleepy time tea."

Again, before Sirius could get another word in a block of cheese and a tiny knife had appeared before him. It cut the cheese into tiny pieces that fell into Sirius' lap.

"Thank you, sir" Sirius sighed, eating the cheese and choosing to give up on talking. Dumbledore was right, however. The cheese was quite good with the tea.

"Now my boy, what exactly is it that you wanted to talk about? I take it this has something to do with one of your friends, yes? Ahh, young friendship is such a beautiful thing. I doubt this is about Peter though, after all when is it all about Peter, eh? Poor boy really does look up to you and James. As for James...yes, I would suspect this might have something to do with James, I've heard you are not so fond of his admiration for young Lily Evans, but you two have never needed counselling on your friendship and I doubt that would change now. That leaves us with Mister Remus Lupin. Ahh...yes. It always comes back to Lupin with you, doesn't it?"

Sirius stared at Dumbledore in disbelief until he managed to gather himself enough to speak.

"...b-but, sir. How did you know?"

"Ah, so I am correct" Dumbledore said, though not looking very surprised. "Tell me, Sirius, what is it about Remus that caused you to come all the way up to my office? The last time you were here alone regarding Remus you had just found out about his werewolf status. Seeing as the full moon was last week, I would venture a guess that this is unrelated to that subject. You are also here alone, suggesting that this is about something regarding specifically you and Remus and not the rest of your merry little gang."

"All correct sir, as usual."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded, gesturing for Sirius to continue.

"Well...ok...I think something is..." Sirius paused. "...different. With Remus. Only I just noticed it today. We were sitting alone in the common room and I was just, I dunno, looking at him. Then I just started to notice something different about him. Not wrong, just...different. But I can't say what exactly it is."

"Mmm. And Remus threw a book at you."

"Wait...wha...?"

"You have the words 'A History of House Elf Magic' imprinted backwards on your forehead. Quite a thick book if I remember. But continue on."

"Yea, anyways, something is different. He won't tell me. I can't figure out what. I asked James and Peter, but they didn't know what. Well...Peter did say this once thing. That maybe...I'm the one who is different. But it's not just me...Remus is different, sir. And...well, this might sound silly, but I don't think I will be able to eat or sleep or do anything until I figure out what."

"Quite understandable. Now, have you thought that perhaps you are just seeing Remus differently because, like Peter said, you are the one who...if I may venture to use a word other than 'different' – nothing against the word, just in this particular conversation it has been used quite enough – changed?"

"Changed? Er...me? Like...my eyes are seeing differently, sir?"

Dumbledore chuckled.

"Perhaps, Sirius. Or if I might venture, perhaps your brain has changed. Well, for example, I never quite cared for the basket of kittens painting outside of the Great Hall. But one day when I was walking past I stopped and gave it a real good look. I had never given it much thought, other than the fact that it was quite atrocious to have that many kittens sitting inside one tiny basket, but on this particular day when I looked at the painting I did not see an abnormally large amount of kittens. I just saw...well, a basket full of adorable kittens. And now my new life motto is you can never have too many kittens in a basket. So you see Sirirus, things change. People change. Paintings...well, they don't change. But how we view those paintings can."

Sirius was still trying to wrap his mind around the kittens thing, but he was starting to make some sense out of what the strange headmaster had just said.

"So...basically...um...you are saying that Remus is a basket of kittens. But now I'm seeing...a different basket...but it's not a different basket...and...this new basket is good...but really, it's me that is different...and...and...oh bloody hell! Er, sorry sir. I'm just very confused still."

"Why don't you try and explain exactly what about Remus has changed?"

Sirius thought about what exactly was different. It was still very blurry in his mind, but something Dumbledore had said was starting to clear away the fog. He was not looking for what was different, exactly. More like what had always been there but was only been revealed now for the first time.

"Well...er..." Sirius blushed.

And it was all starting to come into focus. Too fast. All at once. And it was awkward.

"Don't be afraid or ashamed, Sirius. Nothing good comes of bottling up your feelings."

Sirius didn't know where to start. So much was circling around his mind at this point that finding a start or a finish to it seemed impossible. He searched his brain for something, anything, to say.

"...his hair has a purpose" he blurted out.

"Surely Remus' hair always had a purpose, though" Dumbledore pointed out.

"It used to just be...I don't know...all scruffy and stuff. It looked un-kept and kind of dirty, I guess. Like..."

"Too many kittens for one head?" Dumbledore offered.

Sirius paused for a moment, tried to process the moment, and carried on.

"Now it seems like it has a purpose. Like...every strand...is in perfect chaos. It's not dirty, it is just...rugged? I...I don't know how to describe it. It just looks...like...aaaaa..." Sirius groaned as he pulled at his own hair. "I...just want to touch it" he admitted.

"Hmm. I think I know where this is going" Dumbledore said nodding.

"His lips!" Sirius blurted out, then quickly covering his mouth in surprise before carrying on."They are...um...what's the word...soft. Like a...oh god...baby? I don't know. That sounds rubbish. But they are not Remus' old lips. Before they just made noise. Now they...have a purpose."

"A purpose of being soft. Hmm. Sirius, I think you mi-..."

"And his NECK! Oh Meeerlin, his neck...It's so...line-y...and...defined and stuff. It looks so smooth and...it...well, I don't think I even looked at his neck before so I don't know what it looked like before, and..."

"Dear boy, I do think yo-..."

"...his eyes! Before they were just round and kind of...there...but how did they get so brown and...deep...and...and...magnetic or something. I can't look away. They just trap me in..."

SMACK!

Sirius peeled off another book from his face and sat quietly.

"That is better. I do say that is quite effective. Now my dear boy, I think I have quite a clear picture of what is going on here. Not surprising, either."

"I'm going insane, aren't I, sir"

"No, Sirirus, you are not. But let me ask you something, if I may. Have you ever caught yourself thinking about...how should I put this...well, how 'different' a girl a is? About the 'purpose' of her lips?"

"What?"

"Lily Evans perhaps?"

"Oh, YUCK! I never want anything to do with Evans lips. Ever."

Dumbledore smiled, got up and walked over to a bookshelf behind his desk.

"I do believe I have a book here that might, well, clear things up a bit."

As Dumbledore rummaged through his books, Sirius started to panic. It had to be something bad or else Dumbledore would have just said something. Maybe some kind of horrible illness brought on by becoming an animagus or hanging out with a werewolf. Maybe he even had wizard cancer.

"Ah, here it is! This time perhaps I will just hand it to you. I venture your face has had enough contact with books today."

The book, to Sirius horror, was entitled 'So You Think Your Werewolf Best Friend Has Soft Lips'.

"The book is enchanted to change on a case-by-case basis, but all the core information is the same. Quite a brilliant charm, I must say. Invented it myself. Great for writing birthday cards when you don't know the person's birthday. Or name, for that matter."

A/N: So that was it! Part 1! I hope you enjoyed it because I loved writing it. This is not my "thing" (aka: it is not angst) so personally I think it is kind of a hot-mess, but that is for you to decide! Leave me comments and such because I would love to know what you guys think.