Another New Year's Eve party in the Gryffindor common room. Each year it was the same drill for Remus Lupin; listen to everyone get drunk, hear the countdown, see Sirius kiss some girl, and then clean up the rest of his friend group with the hangover they would be sure to have. Every year he felt his heart break and the new year get ruined by seeing Sirius kill a random girl. It was something that he just had to get used to, or at least attempt to get used to. Six years, almost seven now, years of it and it never got any better. Five minutes until the time when he would be sure to see the same sight. Taking a deep breath he looked down at his book in an attempt to prepare himself further.

She speaks, yet she says nothing. What of that? Her eye discourses; I will answer it. I am too bold; 'tis not to me she speaks.

The first line that he picked out fit him perfectly. He closed his book and set it on his lap. No reading for him. Remus closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair. Through the past week he kept getting weird looks as well as whispers thrown at him from James Potter and, of course, Sirius. What it was over he wasn't too sure. He wanted to know desperately just in case they were planning on doing something to humiliate him since it was something that they would do for the hell of it. That was the last thing that he wanted at this moment. Glancing down at his lap he sighed softly.

Four more minutes left of this torture.

When he looked back up he saw that Sirius was looking at him intently with grey eyes. For a few seconds Remus glanced around as if he wasn't too sure on if it was him that he was staring at or some girl behind him. The picture was wrong. Sirius wasn't holding a drink in his hand like he usually would of. The eyes staring at him seemed to be completely sober. James was standing next to him with a grin on his face and his arm around Lily. The red-head and he had just begun dating. She seemed to have finally caved in after years of relentless asking out and stalking. He had no idea why she had chosen now to give in. Girls just didn't make sense to him.

Winking, James nudged Sirius with his elbow wearing a wicked grin on his face. They exchanged a few words with Sirius growing a tad bit paler. He wore a look on his face that he usually had when he was worried. Now this didn't make any sense at all. Remus didn't want to know what they were planning or even thinking about doing. For certain he was involved in it by the look on James's face as he looked back and forth from them. A pit of something dropped in his stomach. He wasn't ready for this.

Three minutes left.

Already girls were starting to move a little closer to the single Gryffindor who was now looking at the floor. Remus stood up from his chair. Time for him to get out of there. He weaved his way through the crowd still feeling eyes on his back. A hand shot out and touched his chest. "And where do you think you're going," a semi-drunk James asked. His glasses were crooked and his hair was a bit more out of place than usual. Then again Lily, who was still at his side, looked a bit disheveled as well.

"I'm going up to the boy's dormitory, James. Now just let me pass. I'm starting to get a headache from all the noise in here."

"All right, I hope you enjoy your new year." James started wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as his date began pulling him off to save himself from more embarrassment of saying something stupid. Gripping the book tighter in his hand he started making his way again, mumbling sorry's for bumping into people on accident. Quietly he walked up the stairs and walked into the dorm room he shared with his three best mates.

Up there he was all alone. There was no noise coming from that room while there was the noise of the party floating up from the common room below him. It was kind of a comfort to know that this year he wouldn't have to see Sirius kiss anyone. At least he could spend the new year alone just as it was going to be for a very long time. Again he opened the book and began to read. As he did so his feet began letting him pace the floor. Breaking his own concentration he glanced down at his watch.

Two minutes left until January 1st, 1979.

Instead of deciding to go back down the stairs to join the party that had hit a loud point he looked back to his book. Absorbing himself in the sweet yet tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet he bit on his bottom lip to pick at the loose skin there. The hand not reading the book lifted up to start messing with his hair. As he twirled little bits around his finger more parts of it began to stick up. Becoming lost in a book was something easy to do for Remus. All he had to do was start reading and it could happen easily.

A knock on the doorframe of the door made him jerk his head up in mid bite on his lip and as he twirled his hair. He must have looked funny because the boy who had joined him had an amused look on his face. Sirius stepped more into the room. "You look like some kind of odd deer. But a deer would eat the paper of that book instead of read it like you were," he said in a light teasing tone.

"Bugger off. I wasn't expecting you to come up." Remus stopped biting his lip as well as untangled his finger from the hair. "Don't you have somewhere to be," he quickly added.

Noncommittally Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. None of the girls down there really caught my eye so I thought I might as well be up here with you since you are, after all, my good mate."

Mates. That's all they ever would be. Remus nodded his head a little bit and turned his eye to the book that didn't hold any interest to him. Sirius had walked further into the room. His aimless direction seemed to lead him closer to the boy with the book in hand.

From below people started counting loudly signaling that there was about a minute left of 1978.

Again Remus bit his bottom lip lightly as he looked up at Sirius who was standing next to him. The boy got a small frown across his face. He reached a hand out and lightly brushed his thumb along it, forcing him without even trying to stop biting on it. Clearing his throat Remus took a step back so they weren't touching anymore. The hand dropped back to Sirius's side.

"15, 14, 13..."

The voices drifted up, growing louder and louder by the second. Remus wanted to get out of there. Sirius had plans to do something that he hadn't caught onto yet. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" Explosions of noises erupted through the whole common room. They were so loud that it sounded as if they were in the room with them.

"Happy New Year," Sirius said, a smile growing on his face. Boldly he took a step forward to Remus. Putting a hand on his cheek he leaned in to press their lips together. Fireworks of their own went off inside Remus. He felt his free hand wrapping around Sirius's neck to tangle in the soft black hair. Sirius used his own free hand to take the book out of his grasp and throw it somewhere in the dorm room. That same hand moved down to the small of his back to pull the two closer together.

This new year seemed to be shaping up from all the other's already.

A/N

Just my short little present to everyone for New Year's. I hope everyone had a safe and fun one! Please remember to review.