They ran out of the Halloween Dance together, holding hands.
Sirius let his hand slip from Remus' once they reached their favorite tree, the forgotten apple tree that stood near but not in the Forbidden Forest. It was unnoticed by most students because of its similarity, discovered by the Marauders because of its difference. No other tree could be climbed like this one could, no other tree had apples so shiny and perfect, no other tree held so many memories. Sirius touched a finger to the beautiful bark. He pressed his lips to his boyfriends' briefly, then laughed and fell to his knees beside the leaves.
Sirius scooped up a handful of leaves and tossed them in the air; singing, twirling, laughing. The autumn leaves swirled in a scarlet and gold dance, choreographed by the wind. Remus sat and watched as Sirius spun and sung and moved with them. When they finally fell, they descended onto Remus' hair and on his shoulders and by his feet.
The moon shone on them with its bright beaming light, and for once, Remus could look at it and smile.
They could hear the music blaring faintly from the Great Hall. Sirius whirled, he danced in the light of the crescent moon, his eyes light and carefree and beautiful like Remus rarely got to see anymore. His smile was bright and shining, his laughter rang out in Remus' ears like a song. He was a child today, a teenager experiencing youth and beauty and love, instead of war and death and secrecy.
Remus balanced a leaf on his finger and shook the sentimental thoughts from his head, eyes lowered to his knees. He kept a smile on his face all the same. Sirius sang, off-key and too high pitched. It made Remus' headache increase, but heart warm.
"You sing beautifully, Sirius!" Remus called out, laughing, "So beautifully, that I think you should probably stop before my jealousy takes control of me and I have to hex you. Please. Stop."
Sirius spun around and mock glared at Remus, the corners of his mouth twitching as if to hide a smile. He grabbed another handful of leaves and threw them at his teasing boyfriend, but they landed pitifully about two feet away from Sirius' shoes. Remus was still laughing.
"How badly will you hurt me if I keep singing?" he asked, kicking the leaves up and watching them fly into the air in all different directions. Remus bit his lip and stared at Sirius with smiling eyes.
"My jealousy is much worse than my monthly affliction, I assure you."
Sirius grinned at him, then spun around again and continued to dance to the music they could barely hear from the raging party in the Great Hall. Remus rested his chin on his knees, and continued to watch.
The minutes ticked away and Sirius soon grew tired of dancing; he ran to Remus, sitting by their tree, and he kissed him. The students trickled out from the Great Hall, exhausted from dancing and singing and laughing, and walked up to their respective dormitories. Sirius and Remus kissed underneath their apple tree, hidden from sight, only seen by the lake and stars.
Tonight, they were free. Tomorrow, they would wake up and NEWTs worries would crash upon them, the Daily Prophet would bring news of more of the terrible tragedies that occurred every day, worries, worries, lies, lies, always.
But for tonight, they just pulled apart softly, cheeks tainted with pink, and stared at the twinkling stars above them.
look at the stars
look how they shine for you
and all the things that you do