Remus glanced up from the book that was balanced on his crossed legs before quickly returning his gaze back to the page. He had been reading the same sentence for nearly half an hour – since Sirius had draped himself across the bottom of his bed, reading a comic book.

The dark haired boy was confusing Remus. He had been certain the tutoring was a set up for some elaborate prank, but three days had gone by and there had been nothing. And now, after three days they apparently had reached a comfort level where Sirius had no qualms about laying on his bed and reading.

Except Remus wasn't comfortable. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something malevolent behind all of this. But, as he occasionally chanced a glance at the boy sprawled along his bed, he could only see a roommate reading. No harm in that.

James entered the dorm, eyes scanning the room before coming to rest on Sirius. Remus could have sworn there was a flash of a scowl on his face before he gave them a smile.

Remus sighed mentally as the messy haired boy walked over to them and flopped onto his bed as well, making the mattress bounce and Remus lose his place on the page. Not that it mattered since he'd been at the same place for thirty bloody minutes.

"What are you reading?" he asked, looking first at Sirius, then turning to include Remus in the question. Sirius lifted the comic, showing James the title then going back to it without a word.

Remus was openly watching them now, instead of the small furtive glances of earlier. He didn't understand this familiarity. A few days, and they were acting as if they'd always been friends. It made him nervous.

It wasn't that he didn't want friends – assuming that this whole thing really wasn't some prank – but getting close to people only meant that they looked more closely at what you did. That was something he didn't want or need and would only lead to trouble.

"Earth to Remus," James said, snapping him from his thoughts.

Remus blinked, looking at him in confusion.

"Where'd you go there, mate?" James asked. "You spaced out."

Remus noticed that Sirius had finally stopped reading and curious blue eyes were fixed on him, waiting for an answer. "I was just contemplating the theory of magic as a finite property," he lied smoothly. Hopefully that would deter any further conversation as it didn't seem to be any topic that either of them would be interested in.

"Ugh," James said. "How can you think about stuff like that outside of class?"

Remus shrugged, hair falling in his eyes as he bent back over his book and pretended to be thoroughly engrossed. He blinked when the book was pulled from his lap and replaced by Sirius' comic. Looking up, he found himself face to face with a grinning Sirius.

"Why don't you try some light reading for once, Remus," he said. "You'll fry your brain if you keep reading this stuff and then I'll fail DADA without a tutor." He then opened Remus' book and flopped down next to him, frowning at the words in disdain.

Remus was so busy trying to figure out what to do about this new development that he missed James' eyes rolling behind his glasses.


James' original plan had been to be as cold and aloof to Lupin as possible. If the boy felt uncomfortable around him he would stay away from him, and therefore stay away from Sirius too.

He had no intention of making this bet easy for Sirius to win. Twenty gallons was no laughing matter.

It seemed however, that Lupin was so shy that he would stay away anyway – even if James did nothing. And the boy was so quiet and unassuming and bloody brilliant – James still couldn't get over the fact that he was behind the McGonagall prank – that he found it difficult to be mean to him. In fact, twice that week he'd ended up asking Lupin his opinion on a prank and the boy had not only helped him, he'd made it so it would be virtually impossible to trace it back to them.

Even Peter had grown quickly accustomed to having him around. He had taken to asking Lupin for help with his homework. James and Sirius were more than competent in all their subjects, but neither of them had the patience Lupin did. Where as James would eventually get frustrated and tell Peter to bugger off, and Sirius would tell him to bugger off before he even asked for help, Lupin didn't seem to mind.

Sirius, for his part, was doing the best he could to get closer to him. He took every opportunity to be with him, from just reading on his bed to sitting next to him in the Great Hall. Sirius also found that Loony Lupin wasn't really loony at all – in fact the boy was quite interesting, and despite being quiet he was still able to carry on animated conversations, even about things not related to school.

The first time Sirius managed to make Remus laugh was forever etched in his brain. They were in the Great Hall and he'd said something teasing James, who was once again making a prat of himself in an attempt to impress Lily. He couldn't help but be surprised when Remus had laughed, rather than giving him his usual timid smile. Sirius couldn't recall a time in the five years he'd lived with the other boy that he could remember hearing him laugh. It was quiet, just like everything about him, but there was something so genuine in the sound that Sirius found himself trying to make it happen again.

Over the next week the boy seemed to gradually relax around not only him, but James and Peter as well. The constant tension they'd felt from him dissipated and he appeared to be getting used to the new arrangement where they actually spoke to him instead of ignoring him. He had somehow easily managed to turn their tutoring sessions into simply talking to each other instead, though he had to admit he was surprised Lupin let him get so distracted when he was supposed to be teaching him.

He grinned as he headed back to Gryffindor tower. His charm was obviously working on the boy. This bet was in the bag. His grin abruptly fell as he turned a corner, seeing him. He was leaning against the wall with that arrogance – the kind that had been practiced and passed through the Black family for generations. Sirius would have walked right by him, but the git actually addressed him, surprising him into an abrupt stop.

"Where you off to then?" Regulus asked, lips twitching as if they wanted to curl into a sneer.

Sirius didn't hide his own sneer. "I don't see how that's any of your business," he said to his brother.

"Going to see the mudblood?" Regulus asked, his face the perfect picture of Black pretentiousness. It amazed Sirius how similar they looked and how completely different they were. "Mother and Father will be so pleased to hear about that."

"What?" Sirius said, just barely holding back a snarl. "What are you on about?" He hated this. It was bad enough dealing with his family when he was home – ever since Regulus had come to Hogwarts they'd had their little spy to keep them constantly informed about his every action.

"Your new friend," Regulus said, no longer hiding his sneer. "Severus was telling me about him. A mudblood. Pathetically poor as well. At least Potter is a pure blood, despite his family's—" his nose crinkled, "—less than admirable views."

Sirius' fists clenched and only incredible self-control kept him from decking his brother right there. "First off, Lupin isn't my friend." He didn't need this getting back to his parents – though he hardly knew why he cared. "Second off, what the hell would Snivellous know about anything?"

Regulus grinned, an action that was less to show mirth and more to bare teeth. "You'd be surprised what Severus knows about him."

A frown made it's way to Sirius' face. "What does that mean?"

Regulus shrugged, pushing himself from the wall and starting to walk away. "I'm sure you'll hear from mother soon."

"Can't wait," Sirius growled after him, then turned and stalked away, continuing to his destination, mood quite destroyed.

That stupid, arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, slimy, worthless, rotten, vile—

Just before Sirius could bark the password at the Fat Lady, the portrait slid open and Lupin stepped out. He looked at Sirius in surprise, immediately frowning at the sour expression on his face. "Is everything all right?" he asked, concerned.

If possible, Sirius' scowl became even darker. This was all Lupin's fault. That wasn't fair and Sirius knew it, but it was still what he was thinking. If it weren't for that small quiet boy who hadn't asked Sirius and James to make a bet about him, Sirius wouldn't be facing the probability of another of his mother's letters. A letter where he would be informed of what a disgrace he was to the family and reminded of how, if it weren't for Regulus, she would have no son with a future. "Just fine," Sirius responded, though the tightening of his voice said otherwise.

Remus had never seen Sirius looking so unhappy and it bothered him. "Are you sure?" he asked, wondering if maybe there was something he could do to help.

"Isn't that what I said?" Sirius snapped. "Keep your nose out of it."

Remus blinked then his gaze fell to the floor. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean – I guess I'll see you later." He walked around Sirius, heading down the hall.

Sirius immediately felt bad as he watched him leave. He'd obviously hurt him. It then occurred to him that he was letting a bad mood ruin all the progress he'd been making with the boy. "Remus, I'm sorry," he said quickly. The boy turned, looking at him questioningly. "I didn't mean to be such a prat. Just – bad mood."

Remus studied him for a moment, then offered him a little smile. "It's all right." He hesitated before saying, "I was going for a walk…it might make you feel better…?" He didn't know why he felt so nervous inviting Sirius along – he was just too unused to this friend thing. He still didn't know if that's what Sirius and James and Peter wanted from him. No other immediate reason for their behavior was presenting itself, though. At this point if it was a setup it was the most elaborate prank ever – it would also be rather cruel.

Sirius really just wanted to go up to the dorm and hex his pillow a few times, but he forced himself to give the boy a grin and say, "Why not?" If his parents were eventually going to disown him, he was going to need the 20 galleons from James.

They walked in silence for quite some time, Sirius not in a very chatty mood, and Remus afraid to say something that might make him angry again. They made it out to the grounds before Sirius finally said, "You have any siblings?"

Remus blinked, surprised at being addressed. "No," he answered. "I'm an only child." His parents had enough to deal with without having to worry about endangering a baby who would have a werewolf for a brother.

"Well, you're not missing out on anything, believe me," Sirius said crossly.

Unsure what exactly to say, Remus went with, "I didn't know you had any siblings here."

Sirius snorted. "Yeah, my younger brother. Little Slytherin snot."

Remus was beginning to see why Sirius might be upset. Slytherin's had an uncanny ability to get under your skin – it seemed to be a prerequisite for the house. "It doesn't sound like the two of you get along," he commented, hoping Sirius wouldn't get upset at him.

Sirius was feeling angry again. "He's a wanker. He's always sneaking around looking for me to mess up so he can report it to our parents. Little shit." It was out of his mouth before he realized who he was talking to. He hadn't really meant to tell Lupin all of that. They had made it to the lake and Sirius flopped down onto the ground, uncaring if he was essentially putting an end to the other's boy's walk. It didn't seem to bother him though, for he sat down next to him.

"Maybe he's jealous of you?" Remus suggested, pulling his legs up to his chest and looking out over the lake, which was quiet save for a few ripples here and there.

Sirius had planned to change the subject, but the absurdity of the comment had him responding. "No way. He's the favorite son in the Black family." There was obvious bitterness in his tone. "He's got no reason to be jealous."

Remus laughed softly. "Maybe not at home," he said. "But what about at Hogwarts?"

Sirius stared at him, caught off guard both by the rare sound of Remus' laughter and what he said.

"You're Sirius Black. You're smart and popular and everyone knows who you are from Gryffindors to Slytherins to professors. I didn't even know you had a brother. Maybe he's just trying to make up for being overshadowed by you here by doing what he can to stay the favorite at home?" Remus didn't have any brothers, but he understood what it was like to wish for a life that different than his own.

Sirius had never looked at it that way. Regulus was an arrogant prick who'd grown far to similar to his parents for his liking. But perhaps Remus was right. Maybe there was another motive behind his actions besides pure malevolence? He'd like to think so – it hurt to watch his brother, who he had once been quite close with, falling down a path so dark.

He was quiet for a moment, until the rest of Remus' words hit him. "You think I'm smart and popular?" he said, waggling his eyebrows at the other boy.

Remus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I think that most people do," he said neutrally.

Sirius put on a pout, making big puppy dog eyes at Remus. "But you don't?"

Remus gave a small smile, then stood up. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think it," he said, a little shyly. He may not have spoken to Sirius more than a few times before last week, but the boy was so loud and so well known by everyone it was impossible not to see that he was quite popular.

Sirius grinned, standing as well and swinging an arm over a surprised Remus' shoulders. "I knew it," he said.

They made their way back to the castle, a comfortable silence falling between them. Sirius realized with some surprise that Remus had been correct, the walk had made him feel better. Or maybe it was just having someone to talk to. "Hey Remus," he said as they entered the common room. "Thanks." He meant it too.


It was in walking to dinner after a tutoring session that Sirius discovered why Lupin seemed to have given up on attempting to keep them on topic when they were studying.

"Sirius," he said. "Why are you doing this?"

Sirius' stomach flipped. Had Remus somehow found out? "Doing what?" he asked, managing to look perfectly calm.

"Having me tutor you. It's obvious you already know what I'm teaching you."

"Oh," Sirius said, almost smiling at his intuitiveness. "Well…" he hesitated. Lupin waited patiently for his answer, light brown eyes gazing at him curiously. Sirius suddenly felt uncomfortable. Then James' voice popped into his head, reminding him that he had less than three weeks. Lupin didn't seem like the type to casually shag – which meant Sirius needed to build up a relationship as fast as he could. Now was his chance. He pretended to look embarrassed. "Well, I kind of…like you, Remus. I wasn't sure how to get close to you, so I thought if you tutored me we could be together a bit."

Lupin was quiet and Sirius feared that he was straight and he had probably scared him off – 20 galleons down the drain – until the sandy haired boy replied softly with a simple, "Oh."

So Lupin was a poof. Sirius flashed him a smile. "Remus, I have to run to the common room. I'll see you at dinner."

Lupin nodded, looking at him in confusion. Sirius made a show out of hesitating then leaning in quickly and kissing him on the cheek before running off and leaving Lupin staring after him with a blush on his face. Sirius grinned. This was going to be easy.


Things at dinner were slightly awkward. Lupin was abnormally quiet, even for him, and Sirius kept glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. James' grinned, realizing Sirius must have made his move. Whether or not Lupin's silence was a good or bad thing, James didn't know. But he couldn't help but think it didn't look good for Sirius. His grin widened.

"I have to go study," Lupin said, standing abruptly as soon as he had finished. "I'll see you later." James noticed that his eyes stayed resolutely away from Sirius.

Sirius watched him leave, a small frown on his face.

"So," James said to Sirius as soon as he was gone. "What happened?"

Peter was stuffing his face with mashed potatoes but they both knew he was listening as well.

Sirius took a bite of a biscuit. "I told him I liked him and I kissed his cheek," he said, munching away.

"And?" James said. "What did he say?"

"I left right after. Figured I'd give him some time to think about it. But he didn't seem grossed out by the idea. Guess he is a poof."

James shook his head. "Well mate, you've got less than three weeks to convince him to shag."

"Don't you think this is kind of mean?" Peter spoke up, swallowing his mashed potatoes.

Both black haired boys looked at him.

"Remus is nice," Peter said. "He helps us with our pranks and doesn't turn us in. And he helps me with my homework."

"Peter, you've never talked to Lupin before last week. Why are you acting like he's you're best friend?" Sirius asked.

"He's nice. You're taking advantage of that and you're going to really hurt his feelings, then he's going to hate us and not talk to us again," Peter said.

"It's all in good fun, Peter," James said, rolling his eyes and going back to eating.

Sirius wasn't all that hungry anymore.


Remus wasn't studying. He'd gone to the most secluded corner of the library with that intention, but the scene in the hallway kept replaying over and over in his mind and the words on the page were blurring until they looked like a picture of Sirius staring up at him. Frustrated, he closed his eyes, running a hand through sandy hair and rubbing the back of his neck.

He liked him? Sirius Black, practically the most eligible man in Hogwarts, liked him?

Why?

And did Remus like Sirius? He didn't know. He liked spending time with him, he'd found. Sirius made him laugh, and he hadn't had a reason to do that in so long. He liked that.

And that Sirius had gone so far out of his way just to get an excuse to talk to him was sort of...sweet.

He shook his head as if to clear it. This was Sirius Bloody Black. It didn't make any sense. He was straight for one. Hell, Remus was too. He'd never thought about liking another boy. He'd always fancied girls, even if he'd never acted on it because of...

Then there was that, wasn't there?

Even if Sirius really did like him, and even if Remus wasn't straight and maybe liked him back, it wouldn't matter. What kind of relationship could anyone have with a werewolf? And who would want one in the first place?

As if in answer to his question hands suddenly rested on his shoulders. He tensed as a silky voice whispered in his ear, "What are you reading?"

Remus sighed. "I'm studying for transfiguration," he said. "If you don't mind." He tried to shrug the hands off.

Instead they gave his shoulders a squeeze, then slowly started sliding forward, palms flat against his chest. Remus remained very still, even though the touches made his skin crawl. "I thought I made my feelings on this quite clear, Severus," he said calmly.

The hands paused, then continued on their journey – one sliding lower over his stomach, the other moving towards the opening of his robes. "Part of me thinks you're playing hard to get."

Remus' hands flew up, wrapping around Snape's wrists and stopping the wandering hands. "Surely you're intelligent enough to realize that isn't the case."

There was a frustrated growl as Snape wrenched his wrists from Remus' loose grip. The Slytherin moved around the chair, glowering at the boy. "And why is that, Lupin?" he spat. "You're too good for a Slytherin? The Gryffindor prefect can't lower himself to my level?"

"It had nothing to do with that, Severus, and you know that," Remus said, perfectly calm. He unfortunately was growing well used to these sneak attacks, which had been occurring more and more often since the first time Remus had turned Snape down in fourth year. "I don't have feelings for you. I don't know how many times I can tell you that. No matter how many times you sneak up on me and try and grope me, I still wont."

Every time Remus turned him down, Snape seemed to only get angrier and more determined. He was coming to expect the verbal lashings, but when the Slytherin snarled, reaching out and grabbing Remus hard by the wrists, he let out a tiny surprised squeak. Eyes widening, Remus tried to pull his hands away, hissing when Snape's fingers tightened further.

"You've never even given me a chance," Snape growled. "You think you're a better person because you're a Gryffindor? Because you're a prefect?"

Snape didn't know what it was about the sandy haired Gryffindor that drew him. Maybe it was the quiet way he carried himself, unlike most of his obnoxious housemates. Or that loneliness that Snape saw in him – the same he felt in himself. Or perhaps it was just the boy's innocence, some purity that he wanted to taint. Whatever it was, Snape wanted him.

"You're hurting me," Remus said, beginning to panic a little. He couldn't get to his wand like this.

Snape felt satisfaction run through him as the infuriating calmness with which the Gryffindor always regarded him slipped, and Remus desperately tried again to pull his wrists free.

Snape only held on tighter, surprising Remus further as he suddenly stood astride him, nearly sitting in his lap. He lowered his face until he was inches from Remus' – dark eyes boring into brown ones.

Remus sucked in a breath at the closeness.

"You could at least give me a chance," he said again.

Remus' eyes widened and he tried to pull his head back as Snape moved forward, capturing his lips in a surprisingly gentle kiss. Remus whimpered at the unwanted contact as well as the pain in his wrists, where Snape's grip had tightened so hard that it brought tears to his eyes.

And then Snape was standing, letting go of him with something akin to disgust. "Think what you want, Lupin, but you're no better than anyone else."

Remus glared up at him, gingerly rubbing his wrists, which were already beginning to bruise. "Then why do you keep after me?" he sneered in a nasty tone that was completely unusual for the normally calm and quiet boy. He was angry and he was feeling threatened and wolf instincts were taking over, hackles rising.

Before he could blink he was staring down the end of Snape's wand. It shook slightly, his anger more than obvious. Remus stayed absolutely still, well aware he'd never reach his wand before Snape hexed him.

"Don't push me, Lupin," Snape growled, an ugly twisted expression on his face. "My patience isn't infinite."

Remus wanted to say that he wasn't asking for Snape's patience. In fact he wanted nothing from the boy except to be left alone. But he remained silent. They stared at one another for several moments before Snape turned and stalked away.


"Sirius?" Lupin's soft voice said in the common room later that night. James and Peter had gone to bed and the common room was slowly emptying out. Sirius looked up at Lupin from the couch and smiled. "Hey, Remus."

"Can I sit down?" Lupin asked, gesturing at the couch.

Sirius nodded and moved over to make room for him. They both sat and stared at the fire for a while, Sirius glancing at him occasionally. Maybe he had been wrong when he thought Lupin was a poof – he'd been acting strange since dinner. In fact, he looked even more tense and nervous than usual, and Sirius hadn't thought that was possible.

"I'm sorry I acted so weird," Lupin said eventually. "You just – took me by surprise."

"I didn't mean to," Sirius said, amazed at how efficient he was at lying like this. "I just wanted you to know."

The last of the Gryffindors headed up to bed and the two boys were left alone.

Lupin smiled. "I just wasn't sure how to react. No one's ever said anything like that to me, and – well, you've never really talked to me before last week. Part of me wondered if it wasn't some joke." His light brown eyes searched Sirius' face as though looking for confirmation that it wasn't a cruel prank.

"Remus," Sirius said, taking hold of the other boy's hand and ignoring the guilty squirm of his stomach. "I wasn't kidding, I really do like you." Having no experience trying to get blokes to like him he decided to treat this as he might if he were talking to a girl. He lifted Lupin's hand and kissed it gently. In the glow of the fire Sirius could see a blush crawl up Lupin's face.

Sirius was too busy wondering how far he could push this to notice the bruise that surrounded the other boy's wrist. He leaned towards Lupin until he could feel the smaller boy's breath on his face. They stared at one another for a moment, Lupin looking ready to pull away but never quite doing it, and Sirius finally moved closer and captured his lips with his own.

Sirius hadn't known what to expect – he'd never kissed another bloke before. He was surprised to find that it didn't feel as weird as he thought it would. It actually didn't feel weird at all. It was tentative, but it was the sweetest kiss Sirius had ever experienced – and he had experienced quite a few. It wasn't passionate or bruising, just soft and gentle. One of Remus' hands slid its way up to tangle itself in Sirius' hair as Sirius ran his tongue along Remus' lips, silently requesting permission to explore deeper. Remus complied and Sirius slowly deepened the kiss, placing his hands on the smaller boy's face.

There was a noise from the stairs that led to their dormitory and they broke apart hastily, breathless. They watched as Peter emerged at the bottom of the stairs wearing snug fitting pajamas that were too long for him.

"Hey Sirius," he said when he saw them on the couch. "Remus."

"Hello, Peter," Remus said, smiling kindly and standing rather abruptly from the couch.

"I left a book down here. Sorry if I disturbed you," Peter said, looking specifically at Sirius.

"Couldn't it have waited until morning?" Sirius half growled.

"It's okay," Remus said and Sirius frowned at his expression. He looked… relieved? "I was going to bed anyway. "Goodnight, Peter. Night, Sirius."

"Goodnight, Remus," Peter answered. As soon as the sandy haired boy disappeared up the stairs Peter and Sirius were glaring at one another.

"Thanks a lot, Pete," Sirius hissed, irritated. "I was making serious progress there." He was trying to convince himself that that was the only reason he was angry and pretend he hadn't felt a rush of disappointment when Remus had pulled away.

"Yes, I saw, Sirius. That's why I interrupted."

"Why you—" Sirius jumped up.

"Sirius, this is wrong," Peter said, with more bravado than Sirius had ever seen the chubby boy display. "This isn't some one night stand. You're messing with his emotions and you're going to really hurt him."

"I know what I'm doing, Peter," Sirius snapped, brushing past him. But as he headed up to the dorm he couldn't help but wonder if maybe he had no idea.


Sirius hadn't seen Remus all day. They had different classes and Remus wasn't at lunch. He walked into the dorm and found him sitting stretched out on his bed, leaning against the headboard, reading. He looked up when Sirius entered, but didn't return the smile he sent him.

Sirius' smile faltered. "You missed lunch," he said.

"I wasn't hungry," Remus stated flatly.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, moving over and taking a seat next to him on his bed. Remus continued looking at his book, but Sirius could see his eyes weren't moving. "Remus?"

"Everything's fine," Remus said quietly. He sighed. "Look, Sirius, I think I may have given you the wrong impression last night." Remus still didn't know what he had been thinking when he let Sirius kiss him. He had been upset about his encounter with Snape and Sirius had been so nice and gentle…he had to stop this before it went any further. "I had just wanted to tell you that you and I wouldn't be a good idea."

"What?" Sirius exclaimed. "That sure didn't seem to be what you were saying with that kiss."

Remus returned his gaze to his book. "I'm sorry. I mislead you."

"Remus, I don't understand. Did I do something to upset you?"

"No." Remus hesitated. "It just wouldn't work."

"Why?" Sirius asked, feeling a little desperate. "Is it me? I can change."

Remus looked at him, brown eyes filled with...sadness? "It's not you that would need to change, it's - circumstances."

"Circumstances?" Sirius said.

"I'm sorry, Sirius."

Realizing that words weren't going to be of use here Sirius shifted on the bed closer to Remus. He kneeled up grabbed his face and kissed him, straddling him so he didn't have anywhere to go. The other boy stiffened in surprise. This was too reminiscent of what Snape had done. Except Sirius wasn't hurting him.

Sirius coaxed Remus' mouth open with his tongue and he felt the smaller boy's body tense before relaxing, melting into the kiss as their tongues battled. He dropped his book and his arms wrapped around Sirius' neck almost without his conscious consent.

This kiss was just as electrifying as the night before, but it was also different, full of a passion that surprised Sirius and a desperation that seemed to stem from both of them.

When they broke apart, Sirius looked down at him, blue eyes clouded with something that Remus couldn't quite describe. "Please give me a chance," he said softly.

Remus turned away. "I'm not good enough for you," he said.

It was Sirius' turn to look away, the guilty feeling settling into his stomach once more. "You're ten times better than me, Remus."

"You don't know that. You hardly know anything about me."

"But I want to. Won't you let me?" Sirius asked, watching him intently.

Remus sighed. He wanted to let him. No matter how much he said he fancied girls he knew without a doubt that he wanted Sirius to kiss him again. He also knew that despite everything in him that said this was a bad idea, he found he didn't care anymore. "Just keep in mind you may not like everything you find out," he finally said, giving in.

Sirius' lips broke into a grin. "I don't think it's possible for me not to like anything about you." He kissed him again, then grudgingly got up. "Are you coming to dinner?"

Remus smiled, but at the same time was wondering what on earth he'd gotten himself into. "I'll meet you. Give me ten minutes to finish this chapter - I've been reading the same page all afternoon." Sirius seemed to have that effect on him.

Sirius laughed, leaning over to kiss him once more, trying to understand why he couldn't seem to get enough of the sensation. "I'll see you in the Great Hall."

Remus nodded and went back to his book.

Exiting the dorm he nearly ran into James and Peter, who had been standing outside, obviously eavesdropping. Peter was scowling.

Sirius glared at them as he closed the door and headed down the stairs. When they were in the common room, James spoke. "Nice save, mate. Lupin almost cost you 20 galleons."

"Like I could be dismissed that easily," Sirius said with a wave of his hand. He was relieved, but also a little disturbed, because, looking back on it, the galleons hadn't really been foremost in his mind when he had reacted.