For a multitude of reasons, James Potter and Sirius Black were no longer allowed to work together in a Potions class.
"Potter, you're with Lupin," growled their moody Potions professor. "Black, you're with... Let me see... Evans. And Pettigrew," he added, almost as an afterthought, "you're with Snape."
Peter blanched and moaned, "Why me? Why me?" Morosely he picked up his books and cauldron, and headed over towards the sallow-faced Slytherin boy, who looked none too pleased with the pairing himself.
"I get Evans, I get Evans," Sirius chanted, rubbing his hands together gleefully. He leered at James and said, "My, she has filled out nicely since First Year, hasn't she?"
James, who was immediately and forcibly restrained by Remus, was reduced to glowering at Sirius from over his cauldron.
"Oi! Evans!" Sirius yelled over the noise and clatter of students rearranging themselves in pairs around the classroom. "I hope you're better at this than I am!" Giving her what he rightfully assumed to be his most charming smile, he plopped his books down next to hers on the table.
Lily sighed, tugging absently on a lock of her long auburn hair. "You'd be fine if you'd only pay attention," she said. "And try to not burn a hole in my shoe this time."
"That was an accident," Sirius protested, as Lily began slicing up their allotted Flobberworm. "I could do that, you know," he offered.
"No, thank you," she said primly, slapping his hand away none too gently. "I'd like to pass. You take notes." She shot him a scathing Or else! look.
Sirius took notes.
She is cute, he thought, eyeing her surreptitiously as she carefully measured out and added ingredients to the potion. Pointedly ignoring James' threatening gestures from the next table, Sirius glanced down at Lily's neat pile of books, which included copies of 1001 Charms and Hexes for the Precocious Witch and Tolkien's The Two Towers. Nothing was dog-eared or fingerprint-smudged.
Sweet Merlin, it's a female Remus!
He looked back over at his friends. Remus was utterly hopeless at Potions, and James looked about to cry over the foul-smelling orange sludge seeping sluggishly out of their cauldron.
Smiling broadly at Lily, Sirius put down his quill and peeped into their own potion. It was a clear, shimmering ice-blue, precisely as it should be, and gave off only the faintest odour of buttered toast.
"Don't touch anything," Lily warned. "It has to simmer for the next twelve minutes."
I can see why James likes her, Sirius thought idly. He watched Lily gently stir the potion, brow furrowed in concentration. Wonder if he'd notice if I just... He grinned as the idea took hold.
"Hey, Evans?" he said innocently. "Come here."
"What?" Lily asked absently, stepping marginally closer.
"Oh, nothing," Sirius said. He winked over his shoulder at James, who was looking utterly homicidal, and then leaned over to quickly kiss Lily on the lips.
He woke up in the hospital wing twenty minutes later, his cheek still smarting from Lily's outraged slap, and wondering just what James had hexed him with to make his mouth hurt so bloody much.
"It wasn't a hex," Remus explained, handing Sirius a fresh ice pack. "He just punched you."
"Ow," said Sirius.
"Don't worry," Remus added hastily. "Madam Pomfrey already fixed the tooth he knocked out."
James pounced on him the second Sirius walked back into the dorm.
"What were you doing?" he yelled. "You know I like her."
"Oh, please," said Sirius. "It's not like she enjoyed it or anything."
Remus warned, "You're not helping your case here, Sirius."
"Well," Sirius complained, "he didn't have to hit me."
"I'd do it again in a minute," growled James.
"So would I," Sirius said wickedly, and deftly sidestepped as James charged at him with a yell.
"Where's Peter, anyway?" Remus asked, as Sirius helped James off the floor.
James snickered. "Detention. After you... left... his and Snape's potion just sort of erupted. Like a volcano."
"And I missed it?" chuckled Sirius.
"Ol' Snivellus thought we'd goaded Peter into doing it on purpose," added James.
"It almost makes you feel sorry for Severus," Remus said thoughtfully.
James and Sirius stared at him.
"I said almost," Remus amended.
"Wake up!" Sirius hissed, shaking Remus by the shoulders for the fourth time.
Remus awoke all at once, and sat bolt upright. He nearly screamed until he realized the person gripping his upper arm was not in fact part of his nightmare, but only Sirius, perched on the edge of Remus' bed.
"Guh," Remus mumbled, blinking back sleep. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake you." He suddenly realized that his bed curtains were still faintly limned with the glow of a well-placed Silencing charm. "How'd you hear me?"
"Um," said Sirius. He toyed awkwardly at the cuff of his pyjama pants before answering. "You must've been really tired. You – ah – forgot to do this side of the bed." He gestured vaguely towards his own bed.
Remus flushed, but in the dim light it was barely noticeable. He was used to nightmares; he'd suffered them frequently since receiving the werewolf bite at the tender age of six, but hadn't told anyone.
"D'you always yell like that?" Sirius asked curiously.
Remus shook his head. "No. But often enough. Did I..."
"No," Sirius assured him. "You didn't wake James or Peter."
"I woke you," Remus said flatly.
Sirius waved him off. "I was awake anyway," he lied. He looked closely at Remus and added, "You're bloody shaking. Push over a bit."
Remus edged over, throwing back the blankets so that Sirius could crawl under them.
"My little brother – you know, Regulus – used to get nightmares all the time," Sirius said as he tucked the blankets in around them. "He could never go back to sleep unless someone was there."
Up close, Sirius smelled like soap and toothpaste, and some unidentifiable scent Remus could only define as just-Sirius. Reflexively he arranged himself alongside Sirius, already beginning to drop back to sleep.
"He'll be starting at Hogwarts next year," Sirius continued, one arm slung idly around Remus' shoulders. Remus yawned widely, nestling closer as he tried to pay attention. "I bet he'll be in Slytherin too... Always told him he was too tense."
Remus mumbled into Sirius' shoulder.
Sirius poked him and said, "You're too tense, Remus. We're going to have to do something about that."
"Like what?" Remus yawned. But if Sirius answered, Remus never heard it. He was fast asleep.
Remus pulled his cloak more tightly around himself. He wasn't cold, not exactly, but he thought if he seemed cold, Sirius might change his mind.
Sirius wasn't biting. "Come on," he invited, patting the broomstick. "Up you get. It's got cushioning charms and everything."
Remus eyed his friend doubtfully. "Sirius, it's alright. I really want to read up on next week's assignments, and..."
"Get on the sodding broom," Sirius growled, his eyes blazing, "before I hex you into next bloody week."
Sighing, Remus carefully mounted the broomstick behind Sirius.
"Put your arms 'round my waist," Sirius instructed. "Ow – not so tight!"
"Sorry," Remus said sheepishly. He loosened his grip slightly, leaning into Sirius' back as they took off.
It was a beautiful evening. A half-moon shone in the clear, star-filled sky. The early spring air was crisp yet not so cold as to be uncomfortable – although Remus was glad he was dressed warmly under his cloak, as it was far cooler above the treetops than down on the ground.
Sirius took them lower, barely skimming the surface of the Hogwarts lake, relishing in the clear, bright night and the feel of wind in his face. Remus' grip had tightened again around his waist, but Sirius found he didn't mind it, not at all. He glanced down at their reflection mirrored in the rippling lake. Remus' cheek was pressed to Sirius' shoulder, tawny hair blowing back from his face, and his eyes were tightly shut.
Suppressing a grin, Sirius brought them down on the far side of the lake. "Open your eyes," he chided gently. "You're supposed to be enjoying this."
Remus cautiously opened his eyes. "I don't think," he said dryly, "that had the desired effect of making me relax." He looked around them, slowly realizing where they were. "Sirius," he began.
"I come here all the time," Sirius assured him. "It's still on Hogwarts grounds, don't worry."
"I wasn't worried," Remus said.
Sirius laughed. "You always worry," he said. "It's part of your charm." He glanced sideways at Remus. The way the other boy's hair shone in the moonlight made something tighten strangely in Sirius' chest. Remus' amber eyes were luminous in the half-light, and Sirius suddenly realized there wasn't really anywhere else he wanted to be.
He flopped down on the cold ground, motioning for Remus to join him. "There's my star," Sirius said, pointing out where the Dog Star shone in the sky thousands upon thousands of light years away. "I used to think that it was named for me, not the other way around. That's the traditional Black family arrogance for you." He laughed harshly.
Remus sat down next to him. "You aren't your family, Sirius," he said gently. Sirius said nothing, but closed his eyes, breathing the cool air in deeply. Remus watched the rhythmic rise and fall of Sirius' chest, reflecting how odd yet how natural it was that this wild, impulsive, impossible boy could have such moments of peace buried within him.
The breeze blew a stray leaf into Sirius' shaggy black hair and, unthinkingly, Remus reached out to brush it away.
As his hand touched Sirius' head, the grey eyes snapped open, gazing interminably into amber ones.
"You had a leaf," Remus said, handing it to Sirius as proof.
Clearing his throat, Sirius sat up and said, "You were right. It's late. Let's go back." He was still clutching the leaf.
As the broomstick rose into the sky, Remus grinned and tightened his grip around Sirius' waist. He kept his eyes open all the way back to the castle.
... to be continued ...