A/N – Sorry I've taken a while to update. The good news is that my dissertations are finished. The bad news is that all my exams start in May, so I might actually have to do work instead of writing fanfiction (which I convince myself is work as it's on a word document, and I'm writing, and I'm not reading fanfiction).

Sorry this chapter is a bit short. I'm trying to make each chapter at least over 2,000 words now, but sometimes it's a bit difficult. However I think you will find the content of this chapter more than makes up for its length (at least I hope you will).

IX

Duet – A musical composition for two performers

That first time Remus opened up to Sirius was the beginning of a transformation in Remus. Gone was the unfriendly boy from the start of the year. Remus now made easy conversation with James and Peter, could be found participating in lessons, and had actually played the piano in performance class, much to the astonishment and admiration of both teacher and students.
It also marked a distinct change in the relationship between Sirius and Remus. The tentative friendship they had struck up was now stronger, less unsteady. As Christmas approached and the year wore on, they often spent time alone together, just talking. Sirius would lie upside down with his legs against the wall at the head of his bed; Remus would sit facing him at the foot.
They talked about their pasts and their plans for the future, the school and their friends. They made jokes, conversed about nothing in particular, or told each other random facts about themselves.

"I have one white eyelash which is longer than all the others." Sirius said to Remus one day.

"I have to keep cutting it otherwise it grows so long it becomes really noticeable." Remus laughed, and saying "This I have to see" shifted to his knees and leaned over Sirius upturned face. Sirius caught his breath as Remus' amber eyes came level with his own. Though admittedly Remus was upside down, the effect was still startling. As if noticing the sudden change in mood from laughing and good-humoured to – something else, Remus' eyes widened and he began to pull away, only to be stopped suddenly.

"What are you doing Sirius?" Remus' gaze flicked to the hand now wrapped around his wrist then up to grey eyes, staring at him with an intensity that did strange things to his heart rate. Slowly, Sirius pulled his arm forward, forcing Remus to bend over him. Their eyes were now level, Remus poised above Sirius, Sirius refusing to relinquish his grasp on Remus' wrist.

"What are you doing Sirius?" Remus repeated, his now golden eyes searching Sirius' for answers.

"This" Sirius said, before pulling Remus slightly forward and a little bit down, and then Sirius' lips were on his and Remus didn't really care what Sirius was doing anymore as long as he didn't stop doing it.
Their lips moved slowly against each other's at first, tentatively entering into new territory. It was like nothing either of them had ever felt. Heat rushed from all the places their bodies touched, lighting their insides on fire until all they could feel was the other. Then Sirius flicked his tongue against Remus' bottom lip and, startled, he automatically opened his mouth, giving Sirius access. Sirius bit back a groan as their tongues travelled along each other, sucking the breath from Sirius' lungs and making his head spin. Remus, in a similarly dazed state suddenly broke the kiss and moved away. Sirius began to protest until he felt the bed dip and then Remus was straddling him, leaning down again to press his mouth softly against Sirius' own.

"It was weird kissing you upside down." he breathed into Sirius' mouth and this time Sirius did groan, sliding his hands up to the other boy's hips. It felt as if Sirius had been stuck by lightning, as if he was lightning, every time Remus' tongue collided with his own. After a few minutes the two boys broke apart, panting and wide-eyed.

"Well" Sirius said conversationally "this is new." Remus chuckled slightly and got up off Sirius to sit on the edge of the bed.

"So," he said finally, after a minute of silence "at the risk of sounding like a complete and utter girl, I have to ask, where does this leave us?"

"I'm not sure." Sirius said, not wanting to ruin his new friendship with Remus by pushing for something else too quickly, even if he was pretty sure something else was exactly what he wanted.

"How about secret lovers in an illicit affair?" Sirius suggested to mask his musings. Remus smiled but didn't answer.

"We can't tell James of course." Sirius continued. "He gets awfully jealous."

"Sirius." Remus said simply. Sirius looked at the other boy and noticed he was shaking slightly. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car speeding straight towards him. Actually, make that a massive truck.

"I- I like you." Remus stuttered and Sirius was once again astonished to see the difference from the boy he had first met at the beginning of the year to the one sitting in front of him.

"I like you too." he replied seriously.

"But that's just it!" Remus exclaimed, jumping up off the bed and pacing in agitation. "We're two boys. Boys aren't meant to like each other!"

"I know." Sirius said softly. "But I do. And I think I'm finally ready to face that." Remus stopped pacing and looked at him sharply, a questioning look in his gaze. Sirius sighed and proceeded to explain to him the situation with his family, and the boy he had started to have too strong feelings for.

"But I've decided I don't care anymore." Sirius said stubbornly. "It's not like I listen to my family about anything else. They're a pretty fucked up bunch, so I'm disinclined to believe them when they think something is wrong, considering all the awful things they think are right."

Sirius walked over to where Remus stood and leant forward, intending to continue what they had stopped a minute ago before their stupid talking got in the way. Just as Remus' lips brushed his he heard the door crash open and James burst in, pulling his dirty cricket jumper over his head as he walked. Remus and Sirius immediately jumped apart, thanking the egotistical streak which made James feel the need to strip off his dirty cloths immediately after practice, regardless of who was in the room.

"Hey James." Sirius said casually, moving to leave a respectable distance in between Remus and himself. "How was practice?"

"Good." Came the muffled reply as James pulled off his t-shirt. "I asked Peter to get me some food from the kitchens. Just tell him to put it on my bed if he gets here while I'm still in the shower."

Remus and Sirius exchanged a look.

"It's official!" Sirius exclaimed dramatically the next day as he threw open the door to the dorm room. "I, Sirius, Orion, Superman," Remus snorted tea out of his nose, Sirius shot him a glare, "Black, am officially…old!"

"How d'you figure that, Sirius?" Peter asked good-humouredly.

"Well, I was in detention with McGonagall, she was using me as a practical demonstration for first years," here Sirius turned a tortured face on James and whispered conspiratorially "you know how she can be, what she makes you do. The things that she made me do are more than any man should have to bear."
Peter looked slightly alarmed, noticing the serious expression with which James comforted his friend.

"By which I'm assuming you mean she made you play what she requested on the cello for the class?" Remus enquired, and Peter calmed down as Sirius' face split into a grin.

"How ever did you guess Remus?" he asked, batting his eyelashes.

"Sirius, you were saying you're old." James said, trying to get the conversation back on topic.

"Right, old. Yes. So McGonagall asked me to give an example of double stopping" at Remus and Peter's confused expressions Sirius explained "it's when you play two strings at once, so you get two different notes. Anyway, I'm sure she was expecting me to play some amazing classical shit, so I played the Rugrats theme tune instead."

"Brilliant." James laughed

"But none of them knew what it was!" Sirius exclaimed. "They'd never heard of the Rugrats! It wasn't that long ago."

"They are five years younger than us." Peter reasoned.

"And then one of the little bastards had the nerve to tell me I was old."

"You always wanted to be older Sirius."

"I feel so ooooold!" Sirius wailed, ignoring James' comment.

"What do you guys think of this composing assignment?" Remus asked, holding up a piece of paper with a picture of a stag on it. Remus was deliberately changing the subject as he was becoming aware of the fact that, once Sirius began a rant, he could quite happily keep it up for hours.

"It's a stupid assignment" Sirius muttered

"You must find your inner animal" James intoned in a dreamy voice

"If we're supposed to find our inner animal, why were we given one to write a piece of music about instead of getting to choose it our self?" Peter asked, his face screwed up in concentration as he stared at the piece of paper with his animal on it.

"Because it doesn't really have anything to do with us. We're just supposed to compose something with the character of the animal we were given. Slughorn only said the inner animal thing to make us more emotionally connected to our subject." Remus replied.

"Then why did I get a rat?" Peter wailed. "And how am I even supposed to write a piece of music about a rodent?"

"Use sneaky instruments mate." Was James' suggestion.

"Like what?"

"Like the violin." Sirius said, laughing as he ducked a shoe thrown at him by James.

"What did you get, James?" Peter asked.

"A stag." He said superiorly.

"Hmm, bull headed, arrogant, has ridiculous head attire," Sirius considered, "sounds just like you James."

"What did you get Remus?" Peter asked, ignoring the two dark haired boys mock fighting on the floor behind him.

"A wolf." He replied, frowning slightly. "I'm not sure if we're supposed to write a piece for our own instrument, or others though."

"I think it's our own, because we're supposed to perform it." James said, picking himself up off the floor as gracefully as he could. Sirius was hugging onto his leg like a koala bear, determinedly refusing to let go.

"No luck there then Peter." Remus said in amusement. "I imagine writing a rat on a trombone is going to be a rather difficult feat."

"I got a dog, if anyone cares." Sirius sulked from his position on the floor, arms still wrapped round James' leg.

"Hey, we should do a duet Remus." he suggested, suddenly brightening.

"A duet?"

"Yeah, dogs and wolves are both canines, and cello and piano sound really good together."

"I suppose we could." Remus mused. "Slughorn never said we couldn't do a duet."

"I'm going to go ask Lily to do a duet with me." James announced immediately, kicking Sirius off his leg and striding determinedly out the door.

"I'm going to go and watch." Peter said with a smile. "I'm still not convinced that a Lily who actually likes him isn't just a figment of his imagination."

The two boys departed, leaving Remus and Sirius alone in the room. They sat in awkward silence for a moment, Remus on the bed and Sirius still on the floor. They hadn't been alone since James had stumbled in upon them the evening before, and both were still unsure of what they were and how they were supposed to act around each other.

"So yeah, would you like to do a duet then?" Sirius asked to break the increasingly heavy silence.

"I don't mind." Remus shrugged.

"Is that a yes I don't mind or a no?" Sirius got up and moved to stand beside Remus.

"Yes I don't mind." Remus smiled and calmly finished his tea. He set the cup on the bedside then got up and fidgeted over a pile of his books for a while. They fell into an uncomfortable silence again, neither looking at the other.

"Oh for fuck's sake." Sirius exclaimed finally and pulled Remus towards him, kissing him swiftly before pushing him away again. "There."

"That's it?" Remus enquired, an amused expression on his face. Sirius turned to look at him in confusion and felt a solid shape collide into his body, pushing him against the wall as a mouth found his own.

"Why Remus." he said a moment later as they broke for breath. "I never picked you as the forceful type." Remus grinned.

"I'll show you forceful." He said as he pulled Sirius closer again, laughing in to the other boy's mouth.

A/N- The thing with the rugrats genuinely happened to me, except I was playing it on the piano. I felt that Sirius would have been similarly shocked and indignant, so I put it in there.

I'm afraid this is the last of my (semi)prewritten chapters, so things may be a bit slower as I try to work out where I want the plot to go. Hope you all enjoyed it. Please review!