A/N: Just a note: My beta pointed out that the Yule Ball only takes place if there is a Triward Tournament, so I have changed the name to Christmas Ball: though I don't think it will be an annual event...maybe every two years instead since I really don't want to deal with writing about so many balls.

Speaking of my beta: BIG thanks to swimdiva87 for being a great critic and helping me out :)

Ok, Enjoy guys:


Sirius has a girlfriend and some suspicions

Sirius' birthday was at the end of November. He turned thirteen, and it was also the day he got his first girlfriend. For the last couple of weeks, Sirius, Remus and Peter had been going to Quidditch practices to support James, and Liv would come over to the stands and chat with Sirius on her breaks. Soon, Sirius found himself running in to her everywhere: the common room, outside classes, at breakfast. Though people asked about their friendship constantly, Sirius always shrugged and said she was just being nice. He thought she was pretty and chatty, but he hadn't really thought of asking her out at all until she gave him a present for his birthday. It was a black leather wrist cuff with a small silver lion embedded in the middle. She gave it to him nervously at breakfast as Sirius sat surrounded in the wrappings of the joke products, sweets, and gifts from his friends. With one of her friends awkwardly snapping her gum behind them, tapping her foot and looking impatient, Peter and James moved over so Liv could sit between them, facing Sirius and hand over the small white box.

"You really didn't…" Sirius trailed off, taking the box in surprise and glancing at James for a second.

"I wanted to," she said, biting her lip and watching as he opened it.

"Hey…cool. Thanks," Sirius said, pulling it out and cuffing it around his wrist.

"Nice," James agreed as Liv beamed, her face bright red. After examining it for a moment, Sirius looked up and smiled as she looked expectantly at him.

"You really like it?" she asked as her friend let out a whoosh of irritated air. Sirius glanced up at her before looking at Liv and nodding.

"It's great. Thanks."

She watched him for a few moments and Sirius awkwardly returned to eating.

"Come on Liv, he doesn't get it. He's just a kid," her friend said a little too loudly as she grabbed her friend's elbow. Liv watched him for another second before nodding and saying rather sadly, "Well happy birthday, Sirius." She sighed heavily and started to walk away with her friend who seemed to be patting her back consolingly.

"Are you extraordinarily dim?" Remus demanded, once they were out of earshot.

"What?" Sirius asked in surprise, as he swallowed a mouthful of cereal.

"I'm with Remus on this mate, you're a real idiot," James said, shaking his head and looking at where Liv was now with a group of her friends. They surrounded her; casting Sirius scathing looks every few moments, though he didn't understand why.

"Why?"

Even Peter sighed. "Liv is obsessed with you. Why won't you just ask her out?"

Sirius shook his head. "Shut up guys."

Remus sighed in irritation. "One of the prettiest girls in the whole school, who also happens to be two years older, buys you a birthday gift and you just say thanks."

"Well, what the hell was I supposed to say?" Sirius said in equal irritation.

"Just find her later and ask her to the ball," James said, shrugging.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'll ask her now." He got up before anyone could say anything and walked over to where Liv was being shielded by her friends.

"Hey Liv, can I have a word?"

She looked up, her face eager but her friend stepped in front and shook her head. "Look, why don't you grow up?"

"Danielle! No!" Liv said hurriedly, trying to get past her.

"What? He's been messing you about for weeks!"

Sirius was inwardly, quite shocked at this. He'd never made the first move. She had come over to him, she always found him… it seemed a bit of a stretch to say he was messing with her.

"Ok look, since your friend won't let me past…can I…take you to that Ball thing?"

Her friend's mouths dropped and Liv beamed with glee as she ran over and threw her arms around him before stepping back quickly.

"Oh yes! Does this mean we're like…boyfriend/girlfriend now?"

Sirius rubbed the back of his neck, considering, but finally nodded. "Uh, yeah."

"Oh, ok then," she said, smiling widely.

"Um, yeah…see you later then?" Sirius said, pushing his hands in his pockets and looking distractedly at the teacher's table.

"Aren't you going to walk her to class?" the annoying friend asked. Sirius wanted to push her or something, but he contained himself and nodded.

"Yeah, let me just get my bag, okay?" he said to Liv, who nodded excitedly. As he turned, he heard them all squeal and he sighed.

"What happened?" Peter demanded as Sirius walked back to them and picked up his bag, shouldering it.

"She's my girlfriend. And I'm going to that Ball thing. Oh Merlin, please can you guys gatecrash or something? I can't handle all her friends, they're either shrieking or giggling or…." Sirius sighed, looking back at where Liv stood, smiling widely at him.

"It's a good thing she's so pretty," he muttered as he went to join her.


It was a week before the Christmas Ball and the older students were buzzing with excitement. There was a Hogsmeade visit, so Liv told Sirius she would pick him up some dress robes while she sat with the Marauders at breakfast that morning. They had been dating a couple of weeks, though it was mostly holding hands and walking around the castle together. Sirius rolled his eyes at James, before shrugging.

"I mean, I have some my mum gave me," he said as she grabbed his hand and looked around. He glanced at it with an air of exhaustion but did not let go as she pulled a face.

"But Sirius, I need you to match my robes!" Liv said, pouting. He shrugged again.

"Whatever."

"Great! You're the best!" she said, kissing him on the cheek and running off with her friends. Sirius was slightly red as his friends laughed at him.

"Oh shut up," he groaned, stretching. "I don't know how the older lads deal with having girlfriends, they're exhausting."

"I suppose it's because they do more than hold hands," Remus said, laughing.

"Am I supposed to be kissing her all the time?" Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

His three friends looked at him in disbelief and said, "YES!"

Sirius laughed, unconcerned. "Oops. No wonder her friends think I'm immature."

Not only had Liv's friends complained about his lack of maturity, but also many people around the school wondered why Liv was dating a second year when she was so popular. It had only boosted Sirius' popularity but Liv had told him repeatedly that people were laughing at her for dating someone so young. Sirius had shrugged, ignoring her hints. In fact, he regretted asking her out, being more interested in hanging out with his friends and causing trouble. But, because people seemed so envious of him, he couldn't help but enjoy the attention.

"I wish one of you could come, I'm going to be bored out of my mind," Sirius whined for the billionth time, later that afternoon.

"Well we needed someone to ask us, didn't we?" James said, though he wasn't really interested in any of the older girls, considering his quiet, but still strong crush was still on a certain redhead.

"Remus got asked," Peter put in, elbowing his friend playfully.

"Really?" James and Sirius asked, turning on Remus, who was fidgeting and blushing.

"By Eloise Drummel," he said, frowning at their grins. "But she said it was only because I was taller than most of the boys in fourth year."

"That you are, Stretch!" James said teasingly.

"Why didn't you say yes? I need you!" Sirius said dramatically, grabbing Remus' hand and laughing as he shook it off.

"I can't. I'm tired and I have to see my mum next weekend anyway," he said quietly, rubbing his temples.

"Oh come on! Can't you just wait for Christmas?" Sirius begged.

"No."

"It doesn't matter anyway, Eloise is going with someone else," Peter said.

"I hate you guys," Sirius sighed, leaning back in the armchair, covering his face and groaning. "Why did I agree to this?"

As Sirius sulked and the others laughed at him, James noticed Lily walking over to them, without Mary by her side for once. He flattened his hair unsuccessfully and nodded at her when she stopped by their chairs. She ignored him and instead, spoke to Remus.

"Hi Remus, are you done with my Charms notes?" she said, smiling.

Remus nodded, grabbing his bag and rummaging around in it.

"You gave him notes?" James asked. She nodded stiffly in response.

"Apparently yours weren't thorough enough."

"What?" James said, staring at Remus, who smiled at Lily as he handed her the notes.

"Sorry mate, but she's better at Charms, and it must have been one of the lessons that you and Sirius played hangman in, because your notes are covered in little, strangled stick figures."

Sirius laughed but James frowned.

"Kind of a show off, aren't you Evans?"

Lily glared in disbelief. "Me? That's a laugh. Who's been walking around like they're the King of the Universe since you won the last Quidditch match?"

"Well I scored 10 goals!" he shot back.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Ok, bye Remus," she said, as usual ignoring the other three and spun on her heel before she walked away.

"She's such a…" James struggled for the next words.

"Loser?" Peter provided.

"Over achiever?" Sirius added.

"Challenge?" Remus teased.

"Shut up."

"Why James? It's clear you still fancy her."

"No, I don't. That was temporary insanity," James said irritably, pushing away the Gobstones, he'd been playing with Peter.

"Temporary?" a voice said from behind him.

He turned, momentarily excited, thinking Lily had come back but slid in to a small smile as he saw Kelly and Sarah Bishop the Sixth Year Chaser, approach him.

"What is this? Unwanted losers day?" Sirius groaned.

Kelly rolled her eyes at him. "You're so witty, Black. You'd think dating a Fourth Year might improve your intelligence, but I guess not."

"Jealous?" Sirius said, winking, though he felt nauseous even pretending to flirt with her.

Kelly exhaled sharply. "Oh my God, yes. You caught me, I've never felt this way before." She then turned to roll her eyes at Sarah who was laughing, though looked a little awkward being around so many second years.

"Ready for practice, James?" Kelly said, turning away from an annoyed Sirius. James nodded enthusiastically and jumped up.

"You have practice on a Saturday as well? You had one on Thursday," Sirius complained, nodding his head significantly towards Remus who was buried in his schoolwork and Peter who was watching his toad jump around the Gobstones board and get sprayed. James shrugged but Kelly spoke first.

"Give the guy a prize someone, that man knows his days of the week. What intelligence," she said, putting on a large fake smile.

"Hang on…didn't you fail your last Potions test?" Sirius mocked back.

"Look, I'll leave you guys to it…See you two at the Pitch," Sarah said uncomfortably, walking away hurriedly with Jimmy Smith and Frank Longbottom.

"Wait, didn't Liv go to Hogsmeade?" James said, glancing at Sirius.

"All the older players did. But she's probably back and on the Pitch already," Kelly said impatiently.

"Ok, ok…see you lads later," James said, waving and leaving with Kelly, who did not even glance at any of the others.

"God, it must be horrible to be her," Sirius said rolling his eyes. Peter nodded but Remus just leaned back from his work, closing his eyes in exhaustion.

"Why don't you just hang around a bit longer, the ball is only a few days before the holidays begin," Sirius said, eyeing the piles of work Remus had around him. "Then you could hand everything in on Monday, not Friday."

Remus sighed. "Shut up about it. I'm leaving on Saturday, that's it. It's not like I have a choice."

"I thought you were going to stay for Christmas this year, like the rest of us," Peter put in.

"Well, I can't, all right?" Remus snapped.

"You look worried about something though, mate…" Sirius pushed, watching his friend's face carefully.

"Well, not everyone doesn't care if they don't hand something in."

"No…it's like you don't want to go. You never really do."

"Yes I do!" Remus protested.

"Yeah, I know you love your mum and everything…but you never have any fun. It's like you don't want to go…but…"

"I have to? Yes, Sirius, what exactly is your point?" Remus said, slamming his books shut and thrusting them in his bag.

"Well, why don't you just tell your mum you'll come home a little later than expected?" Sirius shrugged.

"I can't," he said briskly, standing up.

"You're keeping something from us, aren't you?"

"Oh yes, I'm making up that my mother's ill, am I?" Remus said coldly, his face red as he glared at Sirius. But Sirius, being very used to analyzing expressions, noticed he did not look in to his eyes, but looked right through him instead.

"I think you're lying about something."

"Look, just because you're grumpy because you're sick of your girlfriend, doesn't mean you get to take it out on me."

"Can we stop fighting please? Sirius, give him a break," Peter pleaded. But Sirius' mind was too full; racing through all of the things Remus might be lying about.

"They aren't…forcing you to come back are they?" Sirius said as delicately as he could. But by most standards, this did not come out delicate in the least.

Remus looked appalled at the accusation and shook his head.

"I'm going to work somewhere else."

Sirius watched him as Peter tried to convince him to stay, but made no move to do the same. When Remus had left and Peter had half heartedly tried to get him to go apologize, Sirius stared out of the window and thought. Peter watched him in silence, but didn't dare ask what was on his mind, as Sirius seemed very deep in thought. Eventually, Peter decided to get on with one of his late homework assignments and leave Sirius to it.

'Why does he go every single month?' Sirius thought. 'How come he was never allowed to adjust the dates of his visits?' 'How did the teachers allow it?' 'Why did he always look so worried and tired and…scared just before he left.' And Remus always came back looking relieved, but a little worse for the wear. Could it be his parents? Having parents like his, Sirius found no reason to believe Remus' were any different. Maybe the Lupins were even more controlling than the Blacks. But there was another inkling there…mostly to do with the essay they'd been set in Defence Against the Dark Arts that week. Remus had already started it but he'd also looked upset when it was set. And then there was the weird interaction with the Professor they had that year. Professor Trumple was old and was one of the few teachers who seemed to dislike Remus. He never called on him in class, made a big deal about his absences and when he set the essay and had stopped Remus to say, he expected a perfect essay from him. But that essay was about werewolves and Sirius hardly thought one of his best friends was a monster. If Remus were a monster it would be something like a Hinkypunk or something. But then….

Sirius pulled out the heavily unused homework planner Remus had given him and flipped to the pristine calendar pages. He checked the date against the lunar calendar they'd made in class, but couldn't remember the date of Remus' last absence. He shut the book, his hands shaking slightly and shook his head. No, that was ridiculous. A stupid theory. So, for the next hour and a half, he thought about how Remus didn't talk about his home life much and how none of the Marauders had ever met his parents. Maybe he and Remus had a lot more in common than he'd thought.

"Look who I pushed in the mud!" came James' cheery voice later, startling Sirius from his thoughts and causing Peter to laugh. Remus was pulling faces but he laughed with James and Peter. A freshly showered James had an arm around Remus, whose shirt was covered in mud and quite a sight to see. Sirius smiled at his friend and Remus shrugged, indicating that all was forgotten from earlier. Though for Sirius this was not the case, he nodded back, prepared to let it go for the time being.

"All right, I have to go upstairs to change before dinner."

So, the four went upstairs together, still laughing at Remus and listening to James chatter on about Quidditch practice. When they got to the dormitory, the three boys sat on Remus' bed as it was certainly the neatest, and Remus pulled out a clean t-shirt from his drawers. Just as James was telling them about Devon calling him the best Chaser their team had had in years, Sirius noticed something on Remus' bare back as he changed.

"Hang on," he said loudly jumping up and pointing to the large but fairly faint scar on Remus' back. "What's that from?"

Remus twisted his head to look, reddened but shook his head. "Oh, I fell over."

"Looks like a serious fall," James said joining Sirius in the examination.

"Will you all stop staring at me?" Remus joked, pulling his shirt over his head in a hurry.

"Looks like someone hurt you," Sirius said darkly.

"What?" Remus, Peter and James all said together.

"Is that why you go back every month? So they can punish you and knock you around a bit?" Sirius said in a controlled voice, though he felt his blood boiling.

Remus stared, as the other two watched with their mouths open.

"Sirius, mate…that's…"

"What, true? Who is it Remus? Your mum isn't ill is she? She's sick…hitting you that hard! Did you bleed?" Sirius accused.

"This, coming from the boy who had ten scars on his back at the end of the summer? What was it, your Mum or your Dad?" Remus shot back angrily.

"My dad, though my mum held me in place. Which is why I'm worried for you. You've got to stay here Remus…like I do. Only go back when you absolutely need to," Sirius said solemnly.

"What the hell are you talking about? You're crazy! My parents don't hit me."

"So where's the scar from?"

"I fell!"

"You're lying! What are you lying about?" Sirius yelled, his mind racing once more. Maybe he was right before…maybe it wasn't his parents. But, no…it couldn't be. Not their Remus.

"Sirius, you're out of order. Remus hasn't done anything," Peter said.

"Yeah mate, you're losing it," James said quietly.

"What the hell are you keeping from us?" Sirius demanded, ignoring them.

"NOTHING!" Remus roared as the door to the dormitory flung open and Liv popped merrily in, her hair wet from the showers. She seemed to be completely oblivious to the argument as Remus turned away and James and Peter looked at the floor. Sirius didn't look at her, his eyes still on Remus' covered back.

"Hi Sirius, I have your robes! They're so nice, try them on so we can make alterations before the Ball," she said, coming over to him and thrusting a box in to his hands.

"I'm going to dinner," Remus said.

"Yeah, we'll come," Peter said, following him.

"Um…see you there okay?" James said, looking at Sirius who nodded, his jaw tight.

"Everything okay?" Liv asked, as the door closed and Sirius headed to the bathroom to change. He didn't answer. His head was swimming.

Sirius didn't apologize to Remus the next day, but the two pretended like nothing had happened. In fact, James and Peter saw very little of the other two Marauders outside of lessons that last week of the term before the Ball. Sirius had reluctantly been forced to sit with Liv and her friends at every opportunity and though he pulled faces across the room at James, he and Liv had also moved forward in their relationship. He arrived in the dormitory one evening, his hands in his pockets, whistling to himself and James immediately demanded to know what had happened.

"Well, we snogged," Sirius said, a shifty smile on his face, growing wider when the other three whooped and whistled.

"How was it?" Peter demanded.

Sirius shrugged though his smile was secretive as he continued to whistle and get ready for bed. Remus was the only one, still sitting at his desk by the time midnight rolled around. This was quite usual behavior for him that week, always studying or in the library, buried in his books.

"Turn out the lights will you?" Sirius said sleepily.

"I'm working!" Remus protested.

"Well you wouldn't be, if you just stayed until the end of the term like the rest of us."

Remus whipped around to glare at Sirius but the dark haired boy was already buried under his sheets, drifting off to sleep.

"Maybe he's right mate…will you even get to see the Quidditch match the day before the Ball?" James asked, tentatively.

"Of course I will!" Remus said, softening. "I've never missed one, have I?"

James shrugged. "There's still time," he said, pulling the covers over his head. Remus turned to Peter but he too, was already asleep. Remus' fist tightened around his quill as he took a deep, shaky breath. Things were getting risky…he'd need to invent more excuses, Sirius was already suspicious and now James was too. He scoffed to himself thinking how those two would agree with each other regardless, but then put his head in his hands.

He didn't want to lie anymore. Would they really accept him? Was telling the truth about his transformations be better than losing their trust completely? He shook his head and continued to write the werewolf essay for Defense. It came easily to him of course, but it also pained him to think about it. He was classified as a dark creature, something to be feared. He just wanted to talk to somebody about it, but not his best friends. If only there was someone else he could talk to…maybe even a girlfriend like Sirius had. Only, Remus might enjoy having a girlfriend. But then, he laughed bitterly to himself. As if he could even begin to put himself in that situation. He'd take his secret until they left Hogwarts. He would not lose his friends.


A/N: Review, please :)