James bounded into the dormitory, excited to confer and plot with his partner-in-crime. Quidditch practice had been gruelling, but four years of experience had taught him that Sirius's presence never failed to make even the worst of situations bearable.

However, as James entered the room he picked slowed to take in the strange sight of Sirius standing statue still before the dormitory's mirror. As James approached the mirror he could see the emotional storm thundering in Sirius's grey eyes reflected back to him.

Sirius met his eyes in the mirror without turning around.

"James." The one syllable was drenched in an emotion James's couldn't place.

"Sirius? You alright mate?"

"Do you think I'm fat?"

James almost audibly sighed in relief; that was until he saw a single tear sparkle in the artificial light as it rolled down his friend's ivory skinned cheek.

"No." James replied without a second thought. "If anyone has been telling you that I hex them into oblivion."

Sirius just shook his head, tears coming faster now. The sight hurt James more then he could say, Sirius meant everything to James and he would do anything to ensure that those tears never fell again.

"No, I need you to be honest, please?" The desperation in Sirius's voice caused James to look again.

Trying to look past the last four years of deep friendship and pranks and view Sirius objectively was a challenge. But James let his eyes survey Sirius's body as he did a potential object of affection. He was very pretty, that much was obvious from his fine aristocratic features, the result of centuries of careful breeding. For the first time James noticed his friend's body was padded with the excess puppy fat that comes with cheering from stands rather than being on the pitch and one too many late night kitchen trips, not much but enough to be obvious even form within the Hogwarts uniform.

Pressing his lips, James struggled to answer his friend's question. Sirius's watched James expression change, feeling his knees weaken the young Black snorted with derision and turned his back on the mirror. But hiding behind humour had never worked with James; there was just something about their relationship that made Sirius want to spill his deepest secrets.

With a shaky sob, let his legs collapse underneath him. Before he knew it James was on his knees next to him, dragging him into his arms. For a period the two boys sat silently embracing one another.

"Sirius what happened?" James asked, his voice was so gentle and sincere it cause another drop to roll down his friend's cheek only to brushed away by James's thumb.

Sirius shook his head. "Doesn't matter." The tears abruptly stopped and a steely look returned to Sirius's grey eyes.

But his friend was not in the mood to pushed aside, in four years of deep friendship he had never seen Sirius cry.

"Padfoot, Sirius, you can't just push me away, what happened?"

Sighing and leaning against James's muscular chest. "Remus rejected me, he said I wasn't his type. Not that I blame him." Sirius's voice was flat and expressionless with a great amount of effort he pulled himself out of James's arms.

"Thanks, I think I'll just go to sleep now."

James looked at his friend concerned one last time, irrational anger at Remus blossoming in his chance. As Sirius slipped into bed and through the covers over his head James wonders how anyone on Earth could possibly find fault with him in James's eyes Sirius had never been anything less than perfect.

He turned away from the lump in the covers, feeling upset for Sirius crawling at his chest.