A/N: Apologies that there was no update yesterday; my family were travelling for christmas and we were in the car pretty much all day. Happy Holidays, everyone, and Merry Christmas!


June 18th, 1996, 6:04a.m., the Gryffindor common room

Remus

Remus felt very warm and very content as he awoke with the first rays of dawn.

His back felt painful and stiff, his neck was at an uncomfortable angle, there was a faint ache in his hips from laying skewed in the armchair, and his shoulders felt very sore and tender. And he felt quite delighted as he woke.

Sirius's arm was draped over his waist, keeping him pressed close. His head was tucked in the crook of Remus's neck, and his lips brushed against his skin with his every exhale. Remus felt so pleased because of this, and the lovely dream he'd had the night before, where Sirius had kissed him before they'd fallen asleep.

But then he woke a little further, and Remus realized with a mental jerk that Sirius and he were not meant to be entangled so in their sleep, Sirius's head shouldn't be buried in his jumper, his lips shouldn't be brushing Remus's skin as he exhaled and inhaled. He quickly slipped out of Sirius's embrace and moved to the couch, laying down there rather than in the armchair with his best friend. For a while, he stared up at the ceiling, his eyes wide and still a little shocked at himself. They were friends. Sirius was his friend. No amount of dreaming, day or night, would make any difference. He shouldn't even want a difference. They were friends.

Sirius muttered something Remus couldn't understand. He shifted and rubbed at his face, then winced as he sat up.

"That chair is not comfortable," he mumbled.

"Yeah," Remus agreed. "I mean, the couch isn't either."

Sirius looked over at him, frowning a little. He glanced down at his hands, then shook his head and sighed. "What time is it?" he asked, looking back up.

Remus checked his watch. "Ten past six."

Sirius groaned and leaned back in the chair, stretching his arms over his head and his legs out. Remus heard a few joints pop and he winced at the noise. "It's way too early to be up, not even on the final day of our exams," Sirius sighed.

Remus shrugged. "Means we get first pick at breakfast."

"What are you two doing down here already?"

Remus sat up and looked over at the stairs; James and Peter were coming down, dressed and rubbing at their eyes.

"We fell asleep down here," Sirius said.

"What, on the couches?" James asked. "What time did you finally stop studying?"

"A bit past three," Remus said, then yawned. "When did you two bail on us?"

"I left at two," James said, "but I think Peter left earlier."

"Not long before two," Peter mumbled. He seemed to be sleep-walking rather than awake.

Remus gave a nod, then stretched himself and yawned once more. "Shall we go down to breakfast?"

"Might as well," James said. "After you two stop stretching and yawning. You're going to make me yawn."

Remus shrugged and rose from the couch. "You try sleeping in a chair all night."

"You were on the couch?" Peter said.

"Right, that's what I meant," Remus said quickly. He caught Sirius's furrowed brow and tried to ignore it.

They went down to breakfast, and Remus drank three cups of coffee, two more than he honestly should have. By the time the Great hall was prepared for their Transfiguration paper exam, his hands were shaking from the caffeine and the nerves. The fifth years were all outside the Great Hall, waiting to be called in; Remus was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall because his legs were trembling. James and Sirius were seated either side of him, James muttering terms and facts under his breath, Sirius flicking through his revision notes. Peter was lying on the floor in front of them, staring up at the ceiling blankly. Remus almost wondered if he had fallen asleep, but his eyes were still open. Of the four of them, Peter was the only one who hadn't mastered sleeping with his eyes open.

They were finally called in, and given their desks. Remus was in front of Sirius, with James on his right and Peter two desks away, one back and one to the left. A professor passed out quills, then another announced they could turn over their sheets. Remus's hand shook as he flipped over his exam, and even more as he lifted his quill. He took a deep breath, then glanced over at James – he was reading through the exam with a blank expression –, then at Peter – he was frowning profusely – then subtly over his shoulder at Sirius. Sirius caught his eye and gave him a wink, before lowering his quill to the paper. Remus turned back and inhaled again, then, with a steadier hand, began.

Remus finished a little more than an hour later. He set down his quill and checked his answers and essay paragraphs, then checked it again, and again, until a professor passed by him with a bin of completed exams. Remus offered his, his heart pounding, and as the professor walked away he thought of several mistakes that he probably made. He felt something prod his chair, and looked back. Sirius raised his eyebrows at him, then smiled. Remus gave a nod. He probably did well. He hoped that he did. Sirius nodded as well then gave him another wink before he returned his eyes to his own exam. Remus glanced back at Peter, who still looked a bit lost, then at James, who was doodling absently on a piece of scrap paper.

Remus leaned back in his chair and exhaled. He was calm now.

They were let out a half hour later. As they exited, Peter threw his arms around James and Remus, crying that he would have failed, he was sure of it, had they not helped him study.

"Oi, what about me?" Sirius asked, clutching a hand to his chest dramatically.

"Well, be honest Sirius, you would have failed too if Remus didn't check you," Peter told him.

Sirius shrugged. "True." He slung an arm over Remus's shoulder, making a chain of four as they walked towards the grounds.

"I think I'll get an O," James said. "I know I got all three extra credit questions."

Remus frowned. "There weren't any extra credit questions."

"The essay ones, remember?"

"Those weren't extra credit," Sirius told him. James scowled.

"Fuck," he muttered. Remus rolled his eyes.

Lily Evans walked by and James forgot about his essay questions to watch her hair glimmer in the sunlight; or something like that, Remus wasn't sure exactly what James was thinking.

They stayed out in the grounds under the willow tree until the Great Hall was ready for lunch; after that, they had their practical Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. Remus wasn't as worried about that as the written Transfiguration exam, DADA was always his strong suit and he preferred practical to the written exams. They were all put into groups of four, and whoever formed the groups was either ignorant, obtuse, or indifferent, because he, James, Sirius, and Peter were put in a group together. At the end of the exam, the professor asked them, for a little extra credit, actual extra credit as opposed to what James thought counted as extra credit, to attempt the Patronus charm. At this, Remus stiffened. He glanced at Sirius, who was already taking his wand back out.

"I can," James said with glee, "Expecto Patronum!"

A silver stag burst from the end of his wand and cantered around the table before fading. The professor smiled warmly and made a note on his clipboard. "Mr. Black?" he said.

Sirius raised his wand to eye level. "Expecto Patronum!" From the tip of his wand burst a lion, which prowled forward and stalked around their table for a minute or two before it faded as well.

The professor made a satisfied note, commenting: "Quite a magnificent shape, Mr. Black. Now, Mr. Pettigrew, would you like to try?"

Peter shrugged. "Expecto Patronum!" he cried. Nothing happened. He tried again, and a few wisps of silver trailed from the end of his wand.

The professor sighed and made another note. "And Mr. Lupin?"

Remus swallowed his nerves, then nodded and inhaled deeply. He knew he was able to do it, he had before, it was just… the form… He cleared his throat, thinking that he could stomach a bit of embarrassment for extra assurance that he would do well, then his mind and focused on a happy memory. The moment that his friends had told him that he wouldn't have to spend the full moon by himself again. His friends sticking by him. Sirius's lips half pressing against his…

"Expecto Patronum!" he cried. From his wand came tendrils of silver, which gathered together and condensed into a huge bear-like dog, with thick fur, bright eyes and lop ears. The professor was too busy writing a note to notice James and Peter's raised eyebrows or Sirius's open mouth, or Remus's flushed cheeks. The dog, which was identical to Sirius's Animagus form, padded around Remus for longer than the other two Patroni until it faded back into wisps of silver.

The professor looked up, still oblivious to what had just happened. "Thank you, boys, you may exit the hall."

"Thank you, Professor Tofty," Remus said, inclining his head towards him respectfully as they started away. James stepped past him, leading the group to the doors. A few were leaving then too, and coincidentally, Evans and three other girls were at the doors at the same time they arrived.

"Hey, Evans," James said immediately, "did you do well?"

Lily glanced at him, rolled her eyes, and kept walking. Her three classmates giggled as they followed her. James's shoulders dropped. Sirius patted him on the back.

"Don't worry, she'll come around," he told James.

"You think so?" James asked, a little dejected.

"Possibly," Sirius added. James huffed. "Hey, forget about it, we're done with our OWL's, Prongs, we're finished!"

"Until next year and we begin stressing about NEWT's," Remus pointed out.

"Hey, no bursting of bubbles here, Moony," Sirius protested. "There's a party in Gryffindor common room tonight!"

"Says who?" Remus asked, smirking. "I know that was not authorized by any of the prefects."

"Oh, shut up, it's not going to be too raucous or anything. Besides, I asked McGonagall, and she said that she expects us to throw a party."

"Really?" Remus asked skeptically.

"Okay, maybe not quite what she said, but the point is that it's happening," Sirius said seriously. "I didn't even set it up!"

Remus raised an eyebrow. Sirius shrugged. "At least not all of it."

"Yeah, I did a few things," James said.

"Like what?" Sirius asked. "Drool over Evans's picture?"

"Shut up, Sirius."

Sirius rolled his eyes. He clapped James on the shoulder once again and started up the stairs, two at a time. "Come on, we might as well go nod off until dinner."

"Wow, Sirius wants a catnap," James quipped.

"You wimped out at two, I didn't sleep until nearly four!"

"I thought you said you guys fell asleep at three!" James said.

"A bit after three," Remus said.

"No, it was nearly four," Sirius told them, turning around on the stairs. Peter overtook him as they kept going. "Remember? We were – talking."

Remus frowned at the pause in his words. Sirius looked suddenly uncomfortable and turned back, or maybe it was because he stumbled going backwards up the stairs. "Oh. I forgot."

Sirius glanced back at him, a question in his eyes that Remus couldn't decipher. Then he shrugged and turned away, following Peter up the stairs.

"What time will dinner be, anyway?" Sirius asked as they entered the Common room.

Remus checked his watch. "It's half past five now, and there are still people taking their exams, so we probably have a bit less than two hours."

"Excellent, no one wake me up until then."

"We'll make sure to keep you awake, don't worry," James said. Sirius turned around and cuffed James over the back of the head; Remus rolled his eyes and ducked under Sirius's arm.

They all crashed onto their beds after they reached their dorm. Despite what he had said, James was out and snoring within minutes. Remus had to get back up and shut his curtains to muffle the noise. Peter was asleep not long after that, hugging his pillow and mumbling as he always did when he first fell asleep. Remus turned over on his bed, staring at the curtains. He felt very tired, but not enough to pass out as James and Peter had done. He was thinking about the night before, the dream he'd had where Sirius had kissed him… It had been such a nice dream. He wished that it had lasted longer.

"Remus?"

Remus turned over, to face Sirius. "What?" he whispered back.

"Erm, last night… we fell asleep in the same chair, right?"

Remus felt his cheeks warming. "Er, well, yes."

Sirius nodded, his eyes not quite meeting Remus's. "Did we… I thought –"

"I moved before you got up," Remus said quickly. "The chair wasn't that comfortable."

"No, no it wasn't," Sirius murmured. "But, I thought that… I don't know. Never mind."

"What?" Remus whispered.

"It's nothing, I must have dreamed it," Sirius said, shaking his head. "You've got your clock thingy set to scream at seven, right?"

Remus nodded. "What were you going to say?" he asked.

"Nothing, forget about it. I confused myself."

Sirius turned over, then pulled his curtains shut. Remus stared at the curtains for a moment, before shutting his own.

His alarm clock beeped at seven, and Remus got the other three boys up for dinner. They joined the rest of the house in the Great Hall, the fifth years all rejoicing or already worrying about their grades. As dinner ended at half past eight and they made their way back upstairs, Sirius vanished for a little while with Marlene McKinnon, coming back before Remus could start to feel bitter about the two of them.

Before Remus realized it, a party was in full swing and the Gryffindor fifth years were celebrating the pass of their OWL's. The sixth and seventh year students had joined them, as well as several from the other years; butterbeer and what Remus was sure was firewhiskey was passed around, cakes and sweets and pie were shared and frivolity to its fullest extent was exercised. Remus saw no reason not to join in the fun and drank each bottle of butterbeer that was pressed into his hands. By midnight, the younger students had trickled out and a few of the older ones as well, which was when the remaining students got into the sort of party games one only participates in when one has consumed a moderate amount of alcohol. Remus was beginning to feel woozy, and he hadn't even touched the firewhiskey. Though he had seen Sirius taking shots of it earlier. There were Muggle games as well as Wizard ones, and at half past two many of them were still downstairs.

But by three, several had passed out or left. Remus considered levitating a few of the students who were sleeping on the floor and couches up to their beds, but after he tripped over his own feet crossing the common room, he decided not to.

At three thirty, Remus was nodding off on a couch. Sirius dropped down beside him, yawning.

"Right, you want to spend the night on the couches again?" Sirius asked.

"Nuuu," Remus sighed, falling to the side and leaning on Sirius's shoulder.

"Then we should go upstairs."

"Where's James?" Remus muttered. "Peter?"

"I dunno where James are," Sirius said. "Peter…," Sirius waved his hands vaguely, "upstairs already. I dunno when he left."

"James is," Remus corrected.

"James is," Sirius agreed.

"You are."

"I are?"

"No, I am. You are."

"I am?"

"Yes."

"I am what?"

"I dunno."

"Oh."

Sirius grabbed Remus's hand. "Let's get out of here." He stood, pulling Remus up. Remus half noted that they weren't headed for the stairs going up to their dorm, but to the portrait hole.

"Where are we going?" Remus asked, but he didn't actually care. He like Sirius holding his hand.

"Away from here," Sirius said. "Too loud."

"Why aren't we going up to our dorm?"

"I dunno."

"Why not?"

Sirius glanced back at him, his gaze flicking over Remus's face for longer than was necessary. "'Cause," he said. "I don't wanna go up there yet."

Remus shrugged. "Okay." He let Sirius pull him out of the portrait hole.

Sirius led him down the corridor, Remus not paying attention to where, until he stopped and opened a door. It was dark inside the room, so when Sirius pulled him inside it Remus was squinting to see what was there. Sirius shut the door behind them before Remus could tell what was there, putting them in pitch blackness.

"Where are we?" Remus asked.

Sirius put his hands on his shoulders. "Broom cupboard."

"What?" Remus said.

Instead of replying, Sirius pushed him against the wall and crushed his mouth with his own. Remus gasped, then moaned and slipped his arms around his neck, pushing his hands up into his hair. Sirius slanted his mouth on his, his hands gripping his waist, his tongue pushing through Remus's lips.

They pulled back, panting. Remus blinked, his eyes wide as he stared at Sirius. Sirius slowly grinned at him.

"I knew it wasn't a dream," he said.

"What?" Remus said, for the second time.

"Last night, I kissed you," Sirius said. "I knew that it actually happened."

Remus gave a squeak. "I thought I was dreaming!"

Sirius pressed his lips against his again, Remus forgot what he had been saying. He pulled back, Remus leaning in unconsciously, wanting to chase his lips.

"I've been wanting to do this for ages," Sirius confessed.

"What took you so long then?" Remus asked, kissing him again.

"I dunno, I couldn't tell if you were gay or not."

"I don't know if I'm gay or not," Remus said, "but I like you so who cares?"

"Are you bisexual, then?"

"I don't know," Remus muttered. He wanted Sirius to keep kissing him. "What's that?"

"Means you like guys and girls; I'm bisexual."

"That's me, then," Remus said. "Or I'm Sirius-sexual."

Sirius laughed, and Remus kissed him again.