Chapter One: The Fall
Sirius, James, and Remus sat under the beautiful willow, relaxing. It was Christmas time and Peter had gone home, as most of the other students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; the trio being a portion of the handful of kids staying at the ancient building for the holidays. "So what do you want to do?" asked Sirius.
"We could raid the Ravenclaw girl's dorm," offered James grinning mischievously.
"How about we go to Hogsmeade?" suggested Remus. "This is our sixth year after all. We should use the privilege." That was just Remus being Remus though. He was the rational one, James was the prankster, Sirius was the rebel, and Peter was the follower. It was how they worked. James and Sirius made the plans, Remus said they were a bad idea but went a long with it anyway, and Peter just, well he just kissed the ground Sirius and James walked on.
"BORING!" exclaimed James. "I am going to chat up whoever is still here." Pretty much every girl loved the brunette Quidditch star, and he was a huge flirt back, breaking multitudes of girl's hearts along the way. Remus and Sirius knew James was going to end up with Lily, since they were a perfect match, yet they let James have his fun.
"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" Remus asked Sirius, his eyes begging him to come along in a, I-won't-force-you-to-but-if-you-say-no-you'll-regret-it kind of way.
"Sure," replied Sirius, not able to withstand a second of Remus' puppy eyes.
"Bye Prongs," the two said in unison, and the boys parted ways. The pair walked towards Hogsmeade in a companionable silence. Sirius eyed Moony, shocking himself yet again by how attractive his friend was. It wasn't like he didn't notice before; multiple girls had asked out Remus. He was almost fancied as much as James. Almost. Suddenly he was at The Three Broomsticks and Remus was ushering him out of the cold.
"EARTH TO PADFOOT!" Remus called into Sirius' ear, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound.
"Huh?" blinked Sirius. At some point, they had gotten a table and sat down. Sirius's cheeks burned with embarrassment. How long had he been thinking about Remus?
Remus let out a frustrated sigh. "Useless," he muttered. "Get him a Butterbeer please?" he asked Madame Rosmerta who shot a puzzled look at Sirius and sauntered off. "So right behind you, there is a blonde checking you out," he leaned in and whispered, chin nodding to the seventh year Hufflepuff at the table behind them. That was the thing about Remus; he didn't force you to talk about anything you didn't want to.
Remus winked at the mystery girl and Sirius felt a pull in his chest. At first, he didn't understand what he was feeling or recognize it until the girl came over and asked Remus out on a date. With a shake of his head, Sirius realized he was jealous of this mystery girl, taking his friend's attention. Sirius smirked at the girl when Remus politely declined and sighed loud and exasperatedly when the girl insisted on giving him her name in case he wanted to write. Finally, she left after waving and blowing him a kiss, and Sirius offered a sarcastic and over the top imitation of her wave, complete with the kiss. Remus howled with laughter and Sirius smiled in earnest.
Sirius reached for his Butterbeer that was delivered sometime during mystery girl's visit and was startled when a hand grasped his wrist and pulled up. Long fingers plucked a nail from directly under where Sirius' pressure point was about to lay, and placed his hand down. His skin tingled where Remus' hands touched him and Sirius blushed. His stomach was full of butterflies and he felt his pulse quicken. He knew the symptoms thanks to talking to James and he recognized them now. Sirius was in love. With Remus.