Remus Lupin was bored.
He was scanning books in an old bookstore in a cranny buried deep within Diagon Alley. He was starting Hogwarts school in a few days, and he fully intended to stock up on books before then, because he fully believed that no one would want to be his friend.
He tried to convince himself that he didn't care, that books were all he needed, and most of the time, it worked. But sometimes, he'd lay awake, his book tossed aside, and his chest would ache as he desperately yearned for someone that he could call his friend.
With every transformation came new additions to the scars on his body and face, and with every new scar, less and less people would communicate with him, until he had to face the upcoming term completely alone.
The only people he'd talked to in the past two years were his parents. He loved them deeply, and was intensely grateful for all their support, but he wanted something more. Needed something more.
A gaggle of giggly girls entered the store, making the little bell ding, and Remus sighed, his serene quiet disturbed by their superficial conversation.
Five minutes later, and Remus was extremely annoyed. The girls had gathered on the bookcase in front of him. He was hidden from their sight, but he was in full earshot of their chatter, and it was beginning to make him pretty mad.
He wanted to curl up in the armchair where one of them was carelessly flopped down in, mindlessly flicking through one of his favourites and snorting.
Her two friends continued to giggle, and another five minutes passed, before Remus decided he was done.
"Oh come on. No one is that hot." he exclaimed, and was met with three pairs of judgemental eyes.
"Excuse me?" one of them asked, raising her eyebrows. Remus sighed.
"I can hear you. The entire bookstore can hear you. Hell, the entirety of Diagon Alley can probably hear you. If you don't want opinions and eavesdropping, then don't talk so damn loud." he grumbled.
The girls glared at him for a few seconds, and resumed talking at the same amplitude.
Remus peered over the top of the small bookcase angrily.
"I'm not even kidding now. It's physically impossible for anybody in the entirety of the human race to be 'so hot that you want to rip your ovaries out because he practically makes you orgasm every time you see him'." Remus snapped, pulling a face at the last sentence.
"How would you know?" the middle girl asked, tossing her long waterfall of blonde hair haughtily.
"Yeah, you're a guy. You wouldn't get it." the left girl stated, nodding her head.
"I'm a very gay guy. And I've seen some pretty hot guys, but not one of them has made me have an orgasm just with their presence." Remus rolled his eyes.
"Erm, have you seen him?" the girl in the armchair squealed. Remus shook his head disinterestedly.
"I don't have to see him to be fully aware that it's not bloody possible." he groaned.
Suddenly, Remus found himself ambushed by three sweet-smelling girls, two of whom linked arms with him and yanked him out of the bookstore.
"What are you doing?!" Remus spluttered, in complete shock.
"We're proving a point!" the blonde girl exclaimed, and dragged him into the main part of Diagon Alley.
"Oh my God." Remus groaned.
A huge group of girls were gathered outside the pet store, but they weren't cooing over the cute little owls in the window.
"Go on!" the girls urged, shoving him past eight or nine girls and straight into the door.
The shop, surprisingly, was empty, except for a boy who looked to be around Remus' age, sweeping the floor.
"Hey there. Looks like the cutest thing in this entire shop just walked in though the door." he boy grinned, winking at Remus.
Remus raised his eyebrows.
"Are you proud of that line?" he inquired cooly, and the other boy chuckled.
"How can I help you?" he asked.
"I'm looking for a pet. Hence why I'm in the petstore." Remus shot back, and the other boy's lips pulled up into the most adorably cute grin Remus could fathom.
"Of course. My apologies. I was just distracted by your cute little face." he said sweetly.
Remus scoffed.
"Are you serious right now?" he asked, and was pretty surprised when the other boy threw back his head and started laughing.
"Well yeah, actually. Sirius Black, nice to meet you." the other boy said, extending his arm for a handshake and still chuckling.
Remus' cheeks flushed, but he didn't know why.
"Remus Lupin." he answered back shortly, taking Sirius Black's hand.
A warmth emanated from the contact point of the two boys and rushed around Remus' body in less than a second, making him slightly dizzy. He went even redder, quickly pulling his hand away.
"So what kind of pet are you looking for?" Sirius Black asked, leaning against the counter and shooting Remus a lazy smile.
"Owl." Remus decided, and Sirius nodded.
"You look adorable with that owl." Sirius grinned, and Remus rolled his eyes, gently releasing the owl back into the cage where it hooted indignantly.
"Great, now I can't buy it. In fact, I may have to leave here pet less, just to make a point to you." Remus sighed, but a little smile was pulling at the corner of his mouth.
"That petty, huh?" Sirius Black asked, slouching against the back wall and crossing his arms, where were exposed because he'd rolled up the sleeves. He was wearing a white dress shirt, with a black waistcoat over it.
"Pretty much." Remus confirmed, and let an amused grin grace his lips.
"You've got a pretty smile. As a matter of fact, a lot of you is indeed perfect. Especially that adorable outfit." Sirius Black grinned, winking at Remus.
Remus clapped his hands in mock excitement.
"Oh my God thank you so much!" he said excitedly, and Sirius Black opened his mouth with a proud look in his eyes.
"Maybe tomorrow night you can sleep over, and we'll paint each other's nails and braid each other's hair!" Remus squealed, and the pride in Sirius Black's eyes melted away, replaced with a huge amount of amusement.
He raised his eyebrows, but a grin was tugging at the corner of his lips.
Remus let his delighted expression drop, replaced with one of complete seriousness, and shot Sirius Black a smirk, before walking out of the store.
"Hey, wait! You forgot your..."
But Remus had already gone, leaving Sirius Black standing there with a battered book in his hand.