A/N: I'm sorry for my long absence. I know this isn't the story you're wanting or expecting as my first one back. I've been forcing myself to do quite a bit of writing in my free time and have lots to update with, but figured this would be the best place to start, as it's the easiest for me currently to keep up with.

Sirius and Remus have always been my favorite characters in the Harry Potter series, and I've already attempted a story with them in it, but I think one from beginning to end will work best.

I hope you enjoy, don't forget to review, favorite and follow. Loves! ~B

Chapter One: A Handshake

[Year One]

His name called, the thin, dark haired boy made his way towards the raised platform with the stool sat atop it If it was up to his mother, he wouldn't even go into a sorting. If he was any boy of hers, he'd beg for Slytherin house, just as the rest of his family had. But as the Sorting Hat was set on his head, he begged for anything but. The Hat hummed, a funny buzzing noise in his ear, maybe his mind. It considered him, his request, and a laugh echoed from the Hat itself. For a moment, a long drawn out moment, in which everything seemed to move in slow motion, he wondered if perhaps his mother was right. He was bound for Slytherin, like his whole family ahead of him.

And then, bursting from the heavy, drowning silence, the Hat burst out, "GRYFFINDOR!" and the hall erupted, those on the furthest table hollering and cheering. Sirius black stepped down and hid his shaking fingers in the fold of his robes. He nodded at the boy he'd met on the train, James, and settled at the end of the table, facing away from the Slytherins.

As the sorting finished, and James chattered wildly at the small, red headed girl sat opposite him, who was thoroughly ignoring him by staring across the hall, Sirius looked around. The hall was full of people speaking animatedly, gawking at new quills or discussing Quidditch, and Sirius couldn't have felt happier. He glanced back over at his new friend, grinning as James' tone turned urgent as he realized the girl wasn't listening.

"James, wait, I think she misses her boyfriend!" snickered Sirius. James' face turned to glare at his new friend, mouth opening to defend her. She shot Sirius a look.

"He is not my boyfriend, and I don't want to talk to either of you, so won't you just leave me alone?" she turned away, ignoring James more actively as he stared incredulously across at her and then turned to punch Sirius in the arm, who dodged him and guffawed loudly. The Hall fell quiet as the Headmaster stood up to speak. Sirius looked up and down Gryffindor table, glorying in the fact that he was apart from his family in some physical way, finally. He stared at each student in turn, observing them, their adoration of Dumbledore, the small, animated conversations whispered under his booming voice, and one sad, lonely looking boy, whose sandy blond hair fell into his eyes as his head rested on the heel of his hand. Sirius frowned; how could someone be here, where food appeared magically in front of them, and the din of conversation overwhelmed all other senses, and be sad? Almost as if he could feel Sirius' eyes upon him, the boy lifted his head, meeting Sirius' gaze. His brow furrowed and he glanced away, looking around before meeting Sirius' gaze once more. Sirius jerked his head to beckon the other boy, and he stood warily, making his way to sit across from Sirius.

"You looked lonely." said Sirius quietly. The boy shrugged, so Sirius stuck out his hand. "I'm Sirius," he said.

"Remus," replied the other, gripping his hand gently. "Thanks."

[Fall, Year Two]

"Remus, wait, please!" Sirius ran towards his friend, who had stalked off quickly after Potions. "James, he didn't mean for you to be in trouble. We were just trying to prank that git Snivellus." Sirius grabbed him around the wrist, but Remus yanked his hand away. He didn't look at Sirius, didn't want him to see the tears in his eyes.

"James made me look a fool." he whispered.

"I'm sorry." replied Sirius.

"I know," said Remus. He sighed.

"Where were you last night?" You said you'd be in the library, but you never came to-" Sirius cut himself off momentarily. "You weren't there this morning."

Remus sniffed, shuffling his feet. "I fell asleep in the library. Had to skip breakfast to make it to class on time if I'd wanted to change. Madame Pince must've just missed me when she did her closing rounds." He finally looked at Sirius, whose brows crossed in concern.

"Well, I promise I won't let James ever do something dumb like that again." said Sirius, a grin whipping across his features. He stuck out his hand. Remus took it and shook.

[Winter, Year Two]

Eyes wide, hands shaking, Sirius crouched in the underbrush outside the Shrieking Shack, staring in through the window as his best friend transformed into something Sirius did not recognize. Howls and painful screams echoed through the surrounding area, each like a stab aiming itself into Sirius' heart and gut. James' breath came in great, heaving gasps, and Sirius, though his hands were shaking so hard he could barely control his fingers, clamped one of them over James' mouth.

"Shut up, James," he mouthed, words barely audible. They stayed, crouched in the bushes, watching as their friend struggled against what seemed to be invisible bonds. James shook off Sirius' hand, staring at him imploringly.

"We should go see Dumbledore," he muttered, "this is bad, Sirius." Sirius nodded.

They stood under the invisibility cloak, James had received over the Christmas holidays, staring at the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmasters study. James glanced at Sirius, who looked around scrupulously, and slid out from under the cloak. He looked around Dumbledore's entrance, as if hoping to glean some sort of information about how to enter.

"Uh…" whispered Sirius, looking up into the gargoyles impassive stone face. "Can we go up?"

"Password?" asked the gargoyle in response. Sirius looked back to where James stood, invisible.

"I dunno mate, just have a guess."

"What would it be?" asked Sirius, James reappeared, balling up the invisibility cloak and shoving it beneath his sweater.

"Oi," whispered James loudly. Sirius looked around again, discomforted. "Can you give us a hint? It's not exactly easy to guess a password, you know."

"Can't." replied the gargoyle. Sirius groaned and James stared, disbelieving at the gargoyle. A door creaked from down the hall, and both boys jumped, James pulling the invisibility cloak from around his waist.

"Don't bother with that, James. What are you boys doing out of bed this time of night?" the deep, rousing tone of their headmaster made both of them skulk momentarily. His footsteps echoed in the empty, darkened corridor. "How can I help you both? Or is this simply an attempt to see inside an old man's office?" The boys shifted, looking at each other.

"No sir," James responded quickly.

"Then what brings you here so late?" asked Dumbledore sternly, checking his watch. "Surely it could wait until the morning."

"Sir, I don't think so." replied Sirius, hands curling into fists, collecting his sleeves to keep his rushed words inside. "It's about our friend, sir, Remus Lupin."

"Ah…" Dumbledore turned to the stone gargoyle. "Yes. Sugar quill." he said brightly. The boys looked at each other in confusion, James' brows furrowing while Sirius' lip twitched upwards. They both jumped as the gargoyle moved aside, nodding at Dumbledore. He began to step up the stairs, which spun in a slow circle upwards. "Please, come."

The boys moved hesitantly to the stairs, Sirius' hands shaking inside his sleeves. James stepped on first, then Sirius. Dumbledore held the door open for them as they hurried up, and stepped into his circular office. It was brightly lit, though Sirius wasn't sure where from. James looked around, Sirius following him closely. "Sir," said Sirius, voice quavering.

"Yes, Mr Black?" Dumbledore eyed him over his spectacles. Only then did Sirius realize how piercing Dumbledore's eyes truly were, and how he would never want to be examined by him closely.

"What do you know about Remus that we don't?" he whispered.

"Well, I could ask you a similar question, Mr Black. What do you not know about Mr Lupin? What has he not told you?" he retorted.

"Well, we're his mates. We'd thought he'd told us most everything." replied James.

"Ah," Dumbledore chuckled. "With a sensibility like that, Mr Potter, it's a wonder why you've not earned Mr Lupin's trust yet." Sirius looked back at James, a quiver to his lip. Dumbledore stepped lightly to his chair behind his desk, folding his hands in front of his face, inspecting the boys. "You see, I feel most uncomfortable imparting knowledge I'm not sure is already known. What do you know, what brought you to me?"

"Well," said Sirius. "We saw… something. I'm not sure what. We followed him to the Forbidden Forest and then out to the Shrieking Shack."

"So you were spying on your friend?" questioned Dumbledore.

"Not spying!" James said quickly. "We were worried, that's all!"

"Yeah, just worried." said Sirius. "But we saw him change into something and he was making all these awful noises and… we thought…"

"You thought I would know what was wrong with your friend." said Dumbledore.

"Well, sort of." said Sirius.

"I will tell you right now, Mr Black, and Mr Potter, there is nothing particularly wrong with Mr Lupin. He is a young man who is in desperate need of friends, just as we all were once. He will fill you in on the full story, I am sure, but he was infected with lycanthropy at a very young age, which means-"

"He's a werewolf." whispered Sirius. "Yeah, I know what that means." His heart sunk. This was what he'd been fearing, that something like this was what was happening. The full moon, each month, disappearing and reappearing with a cut or some bruises, never quite looking like he had enough sleep. Sirius' stomach ached suddenly.

"You see why he may never have told you, yet?" Dumbledore asked. Sirius looked up to see James' face ashen. They both nodded. "I would prefer you not bombard him with questions. That, I think, is the most important thing." said Dumbledore as he stood. Sirius was tired, eyes heavy. He and James nodded again in agreement. "And do not tell him you know, not yet. I'm sure he will come to you soon enough." He began to escort them to the door, but paused with his hand on the handle. Sirius stared at it, not daring to look back into Dumbledore's all-seeing, blue eyes. "However, if you fail, do not admit you came to me." He winked.

[Spring, Year Two]

Sirius set his books down heavily beside Remus' in the library, making the smaller boy jump and then scowl up at him. "I told you to leave me alone." said Remus quietly.

"Never been very good at listening, have I?" he said as he sat beside Remus. "C'mon Rem, talk to us, talk to me." Sirius' voice had dropped to barely a whisper. "I want to-"

"You spied on me. You and James. I could've-" his voice, usually so calm, was shaking with anger, and, Sirius dreaded, fear. "I could've killed you." He moved to get up, hands gripping around his books, when Sirius clutched his wrist.

"You didn't, though. Please don't leave. We left before you'd even seen us, long before!" Sirius replied desperately.

"I don't know why I'm even friends with you two." replied Remus sharply, twisting his wrist in an attempt to pull it out of Sirius' grip. Sirius' face fell visibly, but his grip did not slacken. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, dark eyes boring into Remus' pale brown ones. He stopped struggling, and sat back down, staring at Sirius with so much heat in his gaze, Sirius could feel it burning him. "You're nosey, you and James. What's next, let the whole school know? Make sure everyone knows I'm a freak and a danger?" Remus shook his head, eyes welling with tears.

"No," Sirius said, looking away. "wasn't planning on it, at least." Remus glared at him steadily. "We don't want you to be alone anymore." Sirius looked back up, meeting Remus' gaze, which had softened.

He huffed, sniffing and wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his sweater. "Promise?" he asked, extending his hand.

"Swear it." responded Sirius enthusiastically. He clutched Remus' hand and shook.