Changes
The Great Hall was filled with chatter as hundreds of babbling Hogwarts students thronged in for breakfast, amidst the wafting scent of eggs, bacon and buttered toast. Sunlight streamed in through the tall, glass windows and the ceiling showed an azure sky dotted with the occasional fluffy white cloud. A gaggle of first year girls swept in through the great oak doors, giggling, and settled themselves at their house table. Already seated amongst the clamour of pupils were four boys, sitting together beneath a banner of crimson and gold.
A short dumpy boy with watery grey eyes and short blonde hair was sat opposite a bespectacled boy whose mop was jet-black hair and entirely unruly. Next to the dark-haired boy sat another, hair longer this time, a wicked grin on his face as he stared intently at the sandy-haired boy opposite. The latter clasped a paper in his hands, scanning the headlines with light-brown orbs.
"Anything good?" asked Peter peering over Remus' shoulder to get a better look at the newspaper.
"Take it," Remus answered, "Nothing but gossip and twaddle if you ask me."
The boy took it eagerly, folding it on his lap before spooning himself another helping of porridge.
"No wonder Peter likes it then," joked James, leaning to his right and nudging the other dark-haired boy in the ribs.
Oblivious to their conversation the sharp jab took Sirius by surprise, spraying a generous amount of orange juice onto Remus' scrambled eggs.
"Bloody hell Padfoot," Remus cried, brushing stray flecks of liquid from his face and robes, "Can't you try to go at least one mealtime without somehow rendering my meal inedible?"
"I think you'll find that was Prongs' fault," Sirius said thickly through a mouthful of sausage, though his eyes went wide and he tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind his ear, playing the blameless child card for all it was worth.
"Yeah yeah," Remus muttered pushing his plate away from him, "Just promise me you'll try to let me eat at some point during this term."
"What kind of man would I be if I didn't hmm?" asked Sirius, beaming and batting his eyelids in Remus' direction.
"The same one you usually are?" quipped James, earning him a well aimed kick in the shin.
Sirius then turned back to the sandy-haired boy.
"Scott's honour Remus," He said resolutely, making an odd gesture with his ring and forefinger.
"It's Scout's honour you idiot," Remus laughed, leaning over and taking Sirius' larger hand in his and moulding it into the appropriate gesture, "Don't you pay any attention in muggle studies? And anyway you're not a boy scout."
At these words a devilish smirk appeared on Sirius' face. Before Remus knew what was happening Sirius had crawled on top of the long wooden table, to much alarm and amusement of the surrounding students, and a pair of soft lips found their way to the shell of his ear.
"Oh well, don't be too disappointed," Sirius breathed, quietly enough so only Remus could hear "If I were a boy scout I wouldn't be able to do half the things I'd like to do to you."
"Mr. Black" came an exasperated shriek from the staff table, "Please remove yourself from the table at once!" Minerva McGonagall was on her feet, glowering at Sirius from across the room.
Sirius waved a greeting at her before flashing a dazzling smile and dismounting the table. He slumped onto his seat and proceeded to entertain himself by attempting turn James' goblet into a budgie. James just rolled his eyes and grabbed another slice of toast and Peter was too engrossed in his newspaper to notice anything.
However, Remus had turned a colour to match the crest on his robes, and was staring wide-eyed at Sirius as if he'd grown a second head. Remus prided himself on his subtlety and esoteric nature, always content to keep himself to himself, mainly due to the nature of his condition. Apparently however Sirius didn't share the same ethic as he seemed content to reveal what Remus had tried so hard to conceal, other than his affliction. Of course James and Peter knew, though Remus was fairly sure after accepting his lycanthropy the fact that he was gay and in a relationship with his best friend must have seemed positively tame. Remus craved normality more than anything else. He wasn't ready to be exposed as gay teen werewolf at any point in the foreseeable future.
"Hey Earth to Moony," James said in a sing-song voice, waving a hand in front of Remus' face and raising his eyebrows above the rim of his glasses, "You in there mate?"
Remus shook himself from his thoughts, glancing around the Great Hall and suddenly feeling extremely claustrophobic. He could barely think straight as his head began to swim and Sirius' grey eyes boring into him from across the table certainly weren't helping matters.
"I think I'm going to get a head start on that Potions essay before lessons," Remus lied, rising from his seat and clambering over the bench beneath him.
"But that's not in for another week. Hey!" cried Peter, rising as well and grabbing a hold of Remus' arm to stop him from departing. "Everything alright?" he questioned his voice lower, for Remus' ears only.
Remus turned and glanced momentarily at Sirius who was suddenly deep in conversation with James, the motion of his lips rapidly made Remus feel violently ill.
"Peachy," Remus replied turning and leaving the Great Hall at pace. Ascending the stone staircase he bolted for the nearest bathroom, muttered a locking charm under his breath, and scrambled into the closest cubicle. Sweaty palms against cold marble, Remus steadied himself against the wall of the stall, his breath coming in shallow gasps and his heart racing in his chest.
A million and one things raced through his mind at once. He couldn't focus a single thought for longer than a second and his vision blurred in front of his eyes. Swiftly he became overpoweringly angry, irrationally so, he knew he was overacting but he couldn't seem to stop himself. He was confused and disorientated; every tiny sound seemed to be deafening as it bounced of the marble walls. His stomach churned violently as waves of nausea washed over him. Remus doubled over and bowed his head into the bowl heaving until his eyes streamed and he was gasping for breath, silently thanking Sirius for ruining his breakfast. Once the tremors had stopped, Remus steadied himself onto his feet and exited the cubicle wiping his mouth on the back of his robes. He knees were weak and his heart was still hammering inside of his chest. Placing a hand either side of the stone sink and running the taps, he splashed cool water onto his face, rubbing a hand roughly around the back of his neck and up through his hair. Raising his eyes to the glass in front of him Remus was startled to see a pair of bright grey orbs shining back at him, swimming with concern.
"What's wrong?" Sirius asked, striding across the room.
"Nothing..."
"Don't lie to me Remus, you're sick," said Sirius furrowing his brow, raising the back of his hand to Remus' forehead.
"It's fine, probably just 'cause you projectile spat all over my eggs before," lied Remus, feigning a smile and swatting Sirius' hand away. He knew Sirius could see right through him but he didn't want him to worry him. Sirius was always fiercely protective of Remus and childishly he was still annoyed about his stunt earlier on in the Great Hall.
"But you didn't..."
"Can we just drop it; we're going to be late for lessons," Remus said as he made to push past the older boy.
Before he was barely a foot away from him Sirius grabbed his wrist and whipped him around, crushing their chests together and resting his chin on the top of Remus' head. The room span momentarily as the unnatural dizziness subsided and a pair of strong arms wound their way around Remus' waist.
"You'd tell me if you weren't okay wouldn't you Remus?" Sirius whispered questioningly.
Remus started at the floor. Under any normal circumstances he would have answered yes straight away, and he would have meant it, but what he'd felt before had scared him. The confusion and the blinding anger he usually only experienced during a full moon had happened just then and he had no idea why. The thought alone made him pale visibly. Remus didn't want to lie to Sirius, but he didn't want him to agonize over him either.
"Of course," Remus said quietly pushing his hands against Sirius' chest, "Come on we'll be late."
As Remus turned to exit the bathroom, Sirius heart twinged painfully at his words. He knew Remus was lying to him, no matter how good of a liar he thought he was Sirius could always see right through him. What really frightened Sirius was what on Earth Remus was hiding that was so awful he had to lie about it. Sirius wasn't claiming to be a saint but he'd never lie to his friends, especially Remus, and the sandy-haired boy was hiding something from him. An icy chill suddenly ran down his spine, causing him to shudder, and Sirius abruptly felt inexplicably terrified.