Author's note: yes, sex and gender are two different things however this is the 70s so I am trying to keep the language as close to things they might say as possible.

-x-

The first thing Remus was aware of was Lily's arms wrapped tightly around him. Then slowly he began sinking down, unable to stay standing, his legs becoming weak and rubbery. Lily sank down with him until they were both on the floor, clinging to each other.

A brief, fleeting thought to take it back, say it was a joke, say he wanted to see how she'd react entered his mind before it was swept aside by the overwhelming realization that no, he didn't want to say those things. He wanted her to know. After so many months of confusion, speculation, denial, and realization (and all right, more denial), someone else knew. Someone knew and didn't care. No, more than that; it wasn't that she didn't care. It was that she accepted it. She thought it was okay for a boy to like other boys. She didn't think him disgusting or a freak or wrong or—

He began crying, dampening both their uniforms.

"It's okay," she whispered, stroking his hair. "It's okay, Remus. There's nothing wrong with that. I love you, okay? I love you."

He dug his fingers into the back of her robe, pressing his face against the crook of her shoulder. Her scent of strawberries and springtime filled his nose, filled his head, and calmed him a little bit. This was the scent of care and acceptance. Of someone who loved him.

She kept whispering, kept stroking his arm, kept holding him, kept comforting him until slowly he pulled away, knowing he looked a complete mess. She knelt in front of him, her own face a little wet from tears too.

"I've n-never… s-said… or… or… th-thought those… w-words," he admitted shakily.

Lily pushed some damp hair off her face. "I'm really honored I'm the one you said them to, then." She put her arms back around him. "It's okay to be like that."

"Not in the w-w-wizarding world," he whispered into her neck.

"Bollocks to the wizarding world, then," she replied without hesitation. "I said before, it's a lot of backwards-thinking. Christ, I love magic so much but you lot can be so archaic!"

Remus felt an inside smile, but couldn't manage one on the outside. Instead, he murmured agreement before pressing closer to her neck. She knows. Somewhere inside of him was a rushing, soaring sensation. Part of him felt so… unburdened and free.

They separated again, Remus sitting cross-legged as he scrubbed his face off onto his sleeves.

"You've never even thought the words?" she asked. He shook his head. "How… long have you…?"

Now he shrugged, trying to find the ability to talk. It was difficult at first then when the words started coming out he realized it wasn't as hard as he thought. "I d-don't know. I—I g-guess I st-started suspecting almost a… y-year ago? But didn't… put much thought into what it meant, I—I thought I j-just… didn't like girls yet." Those last words were very soft, an embarrassing confession. "I realized in August."

Lily reached out, tucking some of his hair back behind his ear. "Of course your reaction would be to magic it away," she said with a smile. Remus snorted, a line of snot falling down from his nose. He swiftly wiped it on his sleeve. "May I ask something? Was the potion to get rid of all the feelings or was it really because of one person?"

He swallowed, trying not to choke. He didn't think he could tell her this, his feelings for Sirius. Even though she had speculated… no, not yet. "In general."

He felt exhausted now, depleted and drained. After a second or two he decided he didn't care what she thought and he lay down on the floor since it felt better. Lily stretched her legs out and scooted closer, gently pulling his head into her lap. He closed his eyes as her fingers ran through his hair, her fingernails barely scratching against his scalp in a soothing manner. She didn't say anything and he drifted in and out of sleep for a while; she never stopped holding him. When he opened his eyes at one point he knew her legs must be cramping so he forced himself into a sitting position, feeling a little better. Lily smiled at him, adjusting her position into one a little more comfortable for her. He resisted the urge to apologize.

After several long seconds Remus said, "I d-don't know what to say now."

She laughed. "Me either."

"It's just… so… I mean, I never thought anyone w-would find out, or know, and—and not hate me for it."

She put her hand on his arm. "There's nothing to hate."

"It feels like there is, to me," he said and she twisted her mouth into a strange puckering sort of frown. "I'm st-still not completely okay with this. I—I don't know. It's—it's confusing. I mean, it h-helps that you don't—that you feel—feel that way about it. About me. I don't know how long you've thought this way about… things like that… but to me this is new. The idea that it might… not… be wrong."

"I can understand that." She pulled her hand away, nibbling on her fingernails. "I've thought this way for a while, so I suppose it will take you a while to feel differently. And anytime you need to hear it, I'll tell you. That there's nothing wrong, it's okay, it's normal."

"It still isn't normal," he blurted out. "It isn't. Everyone else isn't like this, so it's not normal!"

Lily burst into laughter. "Remus, you can't believe you're the only gay person!"

He shrank back a little. "No, of course not, but—but most people aren't."

"Plenty of people are, though."

He thought about what his mother said about David Bowie. "A-a couple, I guess—"

"Plenty," Lily said firmly. "People just hide it. I bet you anything there's a few gay people in some form in every single year here at Hogwarts."

"Oh please!" Now he laughed, a crazed sort of bubbling laughter. "No, no way. Maybe one or—or two in the entire school but—"

"It's more common than you might think," she said, brow furrowing. "You're hiding it, aren't you? Stands to reason loads of other people are. There's even someone who isn't hiding it."

He stared at her in disbelief. "Who? David Bowie?"

Her hands flew to her mouth. "What?"

"What?"

"David Bowie?"

He tilted his head. "Yes. Mum mentioned it this summer, that she heard that he l-likes men."

"Ooooooh," she breathed out. "Ooooh! I am going to have to find out more about that! I didn't know, I hadn't heard—oh that's amazing! That's wonderful! But no, I meant in the school. That fifth year Slytherin who doesn't act like a girl or a boy, doesn't say whether they're a girl or a boy."

Remus blinked a few times before remembering the Slytherin who had comforted him after Tolkien's death, and being unsure over their gender. "That isn't… the same as g-g-gay…" It was still hard to say that word.

"No but it's sorta similar, having, erm, ambiguity over your sex," she said and Remus gave a small nod. "And there are definitely a lot of other students who feel the same. About their sexuality. Or sex, too, really. There are definitely at least a couple in each year, probably more."

Remus thought about everyone in his year. He didn't know many of them very well, but couldn't imagine any of them as… like that. "I don't know if I believe that," he said. If a lot of people were like that, why wasn't it a little more accepted?

She folded her hands over his. "People might hide it, but they're there." All he could do was shake his head in disbelief. There were so few mentions of people like that in history and he said so. "Because the people who hate it are in the majority, and they can bury it," she said bitterly. "But the majority isn't right."

He chewed his bottom lip, thinking over her words. Was it true? Was he… not as alone in his… feelings as he thought? He felt alone, so alone, so completely alone. Yet… didn't he feel the same way as a werewolf? Alone, though he knew perfectly well there were more werewolves scattered around? Yet this was different… was it because more people knew about his lycanthropy?

He stared blankly. Was that it? His parents had loved and accepted him as a werewolf, then he was permitted to come to this school, and the Marauders wrapped their arms around him and held him in their

(pack)

group. Nobody knew his thoughts about boys, and until now he didn't realize how alone he had felt because of that. How distant and cut off. Now someone else knew and there was something uncoiling inside of him, feeling warm and comforting. The thought there were others like him simply strengthened those feelings—yet how much could he believe that?

"Remus," Lily said, breaking him out of his thoughts. "I want to tell you something. I wasn't going to yet because I didn't want to make this about me, but I think all things considered you should know." She clutched his hands, taking in a deep, shaky breath; whatever she was going to say, she was a little scared to say it. "I might not know how many people are like this… like us… but there has to be more than we think."

Us?

Remus stared.

Lily stared back.

"I like girls," she said. Just like that. Said the words, released them into the world, released them to him.

He stared even more, eyes going wider, shock reeling through his body. "What?"

She gave him an embarrassed smile and repeated, "I like girls."

"What? I thought—I thought you—you said boys are—are c-cute—" he spluttered out, unable to believe his ears. Lily had not confessed this! She was pulling his leg, she had to be pulling his leg, she—she couldn't—

"I do think boys are cute," she said. "I like boys."

"But—"

"And girls," she said, meeting his gaze. "I like both."

Both? Was that possible? Could someone like both boys and girls? "You do? You—you can do that?"

"Yes! I do. I've thought both girls and boys are cute, and fancied girls as much as I have boys. Actually, the person I fancy right now is a girl," she said a little shyly.

Lily was like him.

A sharp pain inside of Remus's chest—was she only accepting and loving of him because she, too, was like that? Then the world went off course as he realized his thoughts: about them being alike. How was it possible? "How long have you known?"

She shrugged. "I've thought girls were pretty for a long time. When I was young I'd give Valentines and flowers to both. At the time, it didn't seem to matter to the adults much but as I got older I realized only boys gave girls things like that if they liked them, or vice versa. I realized that when girls said another girl was pretty that it didn't have the same meaning as when I thought another girl was pretty." She looked down. "It wasn't until more recently that I really realized what it meant."

"Have you told anyone else?"

"N-no." Her face fell. "As much as I like to say we should be more accepting, I—I'm afraid to find out who would be accepting, or what might happen if I tell someone. I haven't told Cassie or Alice, not in so many words. I've mentioned I've thought some girls were pretty but I think they think it's like how most girls say it about other girls."

Remus swallowed heavily. "H… how did you… accept it? So easily?"

"It wasn't easy," she said, shifting her legs a bit. "But. By the time I started figuring it out I had already found out something else about myself. That I was a witch. And I knew that being different didn't mean being wrong. I sort've accepted my liking girls like that. It's another part of me, like how I like boys and can do magic. The biggest difference is I can learn to control magic while we can't control our feelings." She said this last bit a little firmly, giving him a little bit of a glare.

It's part of me… hadn't he been on the same line of thought, comparing his… interest… with his lycanthropy? Though there was a big difference between being magic and being a werewolf. One was normal, the other was a monster. He naturally likened it to being a monster but maybe… it wasn't as much as one…

"You like girls…"

She nodded, twisting the end of her ponytail around one finger. "Yeah. I do."

"And boys."

"Yes."

He was stunned, though wasn't sure why he was stunned. The possibility simply never occurred to him before. Was he like that? Perhaps he had been so preoccupied with the fear of liking boys he never noticed having feelings for girls?

"Maybe I am," he whispered. "Like that too." He knew he sounded hopeful. Because if he liked girls it'd be so much easier than—

She began laughing. "Oh, Remus," she sighed. "I don't think so."

He narrowed his eyes. "Isn't that something I should know, not you?"

She rolled her eyes. "All right, you're right about that. It's your business, not mine."

"I could like girls," he said again and the words sounded false even to him. Forced. Something he wanted to be true, not something that was true. "Maybe," he said a little doubtfully. "Well… I—well, um, well."

Maybe not. Because even now, knowing it was possible, he didn't feel any attraction towards any girl. Even with the prettiest girl in their year (in his opinion) sitting in front of him holding his hands (and having kissed him!) he felt nothing.

Urgh, it was all so confusing!

"I know this is a lot," Lily said. "Not only me telling you about myself but obviously you… saying that about yourself too." She paused for a moment then went on. "I'm sorry if I pushed you too much."

All he could do was shake his head mutely. It was a lot and while he felt a crushing feeling around him he also felt weightless; it was a mix of good and bad, of hope and fear. Someone—no, not just someone but his friend knew. His friend who was like him.

He had a friend who was like him.

"Do you… still want to make the potion?"

After mulling it over he gave another shake of his head. No, he didn't think he did—or at least was more unsure now. "I wanted to because I thought it was wrong and abnormal. I-I mean, I still feels like it is—"

"Am I wrong and abnormal for liking girls?"

His eyes went big again. "No! Of course not!"

She smiled, reaching out to touch his cheek. "Then you're not for liking boys."

"It's—it's a little different—"

"Oh?" Her eyes narrowed. "How so?"

He didn't have an answer for that because there wasn't an answer. He was being hypocritical and they both knew it. "It's… it is a lot, all right? I never—I didn't—I don't know what to think right now, about myself, about my… feelings." He wanted to cry again, or scream, or run off. Or even just run until everything stopped for one blissful second. It was too much, all of this. Too much buzzing around him without any peace to actually think about what just happened. "It's not something to suddenly… feel differently about. It's—I just can't think, right now. I don't know."

"I understand. But it's okay to take as much time as you need. I'll always be here for you, for any help you need, or just for reassurance or… whatever you need." She looked down at their hands then held her hand out, her fingers curled in except for her pinky. Remus reached out, hooking their pinkies together. "I promise to always be here for you, Remus," she said, squeezing her finger around his. "I love you."

"I promise to always be here for you too. I love you too, Lily," he said, relishing in the feeling of saying those words out loud, at saying those words while pinky promising which held it to a greater meaning.

"I guess we're even more special friends now, aren't we?"

He finally managed a small smile, not breaking their gaze. "I g-guess so."

Slowly their hands pulled apart. After a minute or two of awkward silence Lily asked, "Are you going to be all right for class?"

Remus sucked in some air, feeling his lungs burning. "I don't know. I suppose I have to be." He didn't add that he was fairly good at going to class when everything inside of him felt broken.

"I guess I should have talked to you tonight. Oh! But it's your night to see Madame Pomfrey, isn't it?"

He opened his mouth to say something then clamped his lips shut, all hints of hope and happiness fading immediately.

Fawley.

There was absolutely no way she wouldn't see this.

"Remus?"

"Yeah," he croaked out. "Erm, yeah, I—I have my appointment tonight." He wiped his hands off on his trousers as they stood up, not sure what to do. He'd have to tell Fawley not to see this memory of the two of them together. Actually, he'd have to tell her not to ever look into any memory of the two of them together in case it was brought up which he suspected it would be again because a little part of him did want to talk to her about it. Wanted to admit all the dark things inside to see how she'd feel, if she saw them as dark or not.

But if he told Fawley to never again look in on a memory of him and Lily alone together, what would she think? She'd probably assume they were dating! Though that was much better than her knowing he was…

Think it, he commanded himself.

He grit his teeth, trying to form the word in his mind. He had said it not long ago but now he couldn't even think it again. The g word. Being like that.

"What do you call yourself?" he asked suddenly. "I mean, is liking both… still… called being… gghhh… guhhh…"

"Gay?" she asked and he flinched. "I don't know. It could be, I guess. I'm sure there is a word for people who like both. I don't know how to go about finding it though."

"Not something you can look up in a library," he said weakly.

"I might, at home," she said, eyebrows raising. "There's a library in Cokeworth. I know the librarians very well, I used to spend a lot of my free time there before Severus and I became friends."

"You're going to ask a librarian?" he asked, horrified.

"No!" She looked equally as horrified. "But it's not like a magic library. Sometimes I feel like no matter what I do in the library, someone knows. Can see what I'm looking at. And it's not ever so crowded as ours, so less likely I'll be seen looking at something that other people think I shouldn't be looking at." She reached back to undo her ponytail, running her fingers through her soft curls. "Are you sure you'll be all right for classes today? I know you…"

"I what?" he inquired when she trailed off.

She gave him a sheepish smile as she redid her ponytail. "You get nervous easily."

"I'll be all right…"

He wasn't sure if he would be, but he was determined to do his best. Besides, he already had a 'nervous breakdown' the day before. If he had another one today he knew that McGonagall would absolutely blame his workload and demand he lighten it. He'd slog through the lessons, come up with something to tell Fawley, and then go to bed early.

It was nearly twelve-thirty by the time they reached the Great Hall. Remus cautiously stepped in, feeling like there was a spotlight on him. He paused very briefly before feeling a hand on his upper back.

"Nobody knows," Lily whispered quietly into his ear.

He felt himself blushing. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

"Because I went through the same thing."

Same thing. His friend went through the same thing. He felt rather delirious as he found his way to the Marauders who noticed right away he had been crying. It wasn't until James was threatening to hex Lily that Remus was able to speak.

"Happy tears," he said, piling food on his plate like a mountain; he was starving. "Lily and I had a big fight the other day—"

"I knew it!" James said triumphantly.

"—and we made up." He began eating, glancing at their faces, hoping that would suffice. "I shan't tell you what the fight was about, it was personal."

"How personal?" Sirius asked.

"It doesn't matter, does it?" He shoveled food into his mouth, wondering where his appetite had come from. Then he realized he barely ate breakfast, and hadn't eaten supper or lunch the day before. He hadn't eaten more than a piece of toast since the previous morning.

"Damn it, Remus!" Sirius smacked his hand on the table causing all of them to jump. Remus stared, a piece of pastry falling out of his mouth. "You haven't been yourself for days! Something is wrong and you can tell us what's bothering you. Are you being bullied again? Is it Snape? Is that why you and Lily fought?"

"What? No—"

"Because if someone is hurting you just tell us and we'll hex them into next week," Sirius growled. "Besides, you promised to tell me!"

Remus closed his mouth, seeing a simple answer to getting the Marauders—well, getting Sirius off his back: blame Snape. However that was wrong, Snape hadn't done anything (for a while) and if he shifted their attention to him it'd start a war again. Or he could say it was Mulciber and Avery. Could say he and Lily fought because she found out he had been hurt and was mad he wouldn't tell anyone.

It'd be simple.

But it'd be more lies, and after everything they had done for him he didn't like lying to them. Lying more to them, really, since he was lying to them about… that secret.

He was torn about what to do. Lie and get them to stop bugging him, or simply… well, lie. No, either way would be a lie. Lies or bigger lies. Did it matter?

At the same time he sort've wanted to shout. Lose his temper. Yell at them, did they have any idea what it was like being him? Being a werewolf? Going through the full moons, their bodies being ripped to pieces and put back together sometimes multiple times a night? That it was so hard sometimes to keep going but he had to keep going and going and going and, God help him, couldn't he have a break?

Finally he said, "I'm not being bullied." Somehow he managed to keep his voice quiet and level, without anger in it. "It's been a rough week for me. I think the…" He looked around before dropping his voice. "I think what happened in Herbology really did me in. My fight with Lily had nothing to do with Snape; it involves something about her that I can't talk about." That was at least, in part, true. "I know I've been acting… odd… but… I'm starting to feel better." Another truth, which surprised him for being true. He was starting to feel better. Someone like me. "I'm sorry I haven't been… present as much. I think another night of rest I'll be okay."

None of them spoke for several seconds then Peter hugged him tightly. "It's okay," he said before either of the other two could say anything. "You have been through a lot, we understand."

"Yeah." James nodded. "But you know, if you aren't feeling great you can just say so."

"I did say so but you kept bothering me—"

"No, you kept insisting you were fine," Sirius interrupted him haughtily. Remus pressed his lips tightly together. "So, uh, thanks for, you know… telling us now, I guess." It was clear in his voice that he didn't fully believe Remus.

No matter what he did or said, guilt destroyed him in some fashion. None of them seemed mad at him although Sirius was obviously upset. It made Remus want to disappear. But there was nothing he could do about it, short of telling them the truth which he could never do.

James and Sirius were both purebloods, purebloods from ancient families. Neither would tolerate that sort of thing. And Peter? Well, he wasn't sure how old his magical family line went but even on the off-chance Peter was okay with it, he'd go along with James and Sirius. Remus loved Peter dearly but knew that's what would happen.

-X-

Classes were hard on Remus. After the initial burst of energy from eating, he was back to weariness and exhaustion. He plodded through his work without soaking anything in. Transfiguration went all right, however in Charms he couldn't manage his spell at all. Plus randomly during his lessons everything would rush at him, threatening to send him into a spiral of panic. It took far too much effort to keep himself from toppling over the edge.

She knows, she knows, she knows, kept repeating into his head, with a softer voice behind it going, she accepts you, she's like you, it's okay.

Thankfully, there was a free period next which Remus used to 'take a nap'. That's what he told the Marauders, at least. In truth, he found a secret passage, curled up, and stared blankly at the wall for a long time, basking in the strange knowledge of acceptance and the utter terror of being exposed until it was time to go to Divination.

He was sorely tempted to skip this class however forced himself out of the secret passage and up to the tower, climbing up the ladder without seeing it, and finding his seat. At least they weren't doing Tarot today, or any form of reading into a person's soul. Instead, Hawkwood talked about meditation. Most of the class laughed when their formal, neat, prim teacher sank down onto the floor to sit cross-legged. He sat there with his hands on his knees, looking more relaxed than Remus had ever seen him. He spoke about taking time to do this, to meditate and focus within or to empty your mind. One student asked, wasn't this in the realm of otherworldly, that Hawkwood spoke against in their first class?

"No," he said, unfolding his legs and standing up. "This can help keep you tethered to our world, and yourself. I want everyone to practice meditating for at least five minutes every day."

There were several groans and David leaned over to whisper, "Andy's gonna take the mick out of this one."

So will James and Sirius, Remus thought, fighting off a yawn. Maybe meditation will help keep me calm, though. At least he had a lot of practice in emptying his mind.

Fawley, he thought after Hawkwood dismissed class. He still wasn't sure exactly what to say to her without her getting suspicious or worried. There's nothing you CAN say, so you'll have to let her be suspicious. Thinking they were dating was a lot better than knowing the truth. Plus it wasn't like Fawley would tell anyone…

Except he felt awful for allowing someone to think they were dating! For Lily's sake, more than his; he was okay with Fawley thinking that. But since Lily had no idea, it felt like a betrayal.

He went to supper mostly because he was still hungry—if he wasn't, he would have avoided being around other people for the time being. At least the other Marauders didn't push him this time, although Sirius kept giving him worried glances. After they left the Great Hall to head up to the fourth floor, Sirius asked Remus if he was going to be all right tonight. Remus bit his lip and admitted he wasn't really in the best frame of mind for Occlumency.

Outside the door he paused, flashing back to what happened the day before, what happened today. Shivering slightly, he pushed the door open and went in, the others following. He wanted them there because he thought if they were, Fawley wouldn't push for any secrets and he'd have a week to figure things out.

Fawley greeted them cheerfully, asking each of them how their week went, finishing with Remus. "Minerva wrote to me about the wolfsbane incident," she said calmly. "How are you doing?"

"Better," Remus muttered. "It—it was pretty painful when it happened but Madame Pomfrey helped get me healed up very quickly." He reached down, twisting the hem of his sleeveless jumper around his finger. "Erm, though, I—well, uh. Um."

Fawley raised her eyebrows. "Yes?"

Remus looked at his friends before creeping closer to Fawley. "I don't think I can do my session tonight."

Her smile faded. "What's wrong?"

"I—I had a rough week. The wolfsbane, the full moon, and… and…"

"And?"

He took in a deep breath. "Lily and I had a pretty rough argument which has upset me. I'm not doing well right now, I—no, I am—no—what I mean is, we did make up, it's okay now, however I'm still shaken up from what happened. I know I won't be able to… focus."

"Well…" She tilted her head. "Perhaps we should practice a little bit. After all, there might be times someone might try to enter your mind while you're shaken up. We don't have to do much, only a little to see how it feels for you."

Remus mentally swore at her logic. He didn't really have any argument to that. "I don't know."

She waved her hand at the other three. "Please wait where you usually do, give us around ten minutes."

As soon as the door shut, Fawley rose to her feet.

"I—I don't—"

"Minerva also wrote to me about what happened yesterday," she said and Remus's heart sank. "She wanted me to know because she was concerned about how much work you're doing, including two hours of Occlumency. I couldn't tell her you were still only doing one…"

Remus chewed harder at his lip. "What happened yesterday had nothing to do with school."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He looked at the door then back at his mentor, wishing he could tell her everything. Tell her the truth. "No," he whispered. "Um. Lily and I had an argument, that's what happened. It hurt a lot, for both of us. And—and it involves a secret of hers. So when we do resume Occlumency if you ever see the two of us alone please stop the memory right there and then."

There must have been something in his voice because she asked, "From yesterday? Or…?"

"In general. Always. We may or may not discuss the—the secret. I don't know. It's something that will certainly be part of future conversations, so it's best to avoid all memories with her. It's not… my place to reveal her secret."

"Of course not," Fawley agreed. "However, you know that sometimes I do see something I shouldn't or don't want to. I try to leave immediately but there is always the chance something slips. I'll do my best not to let that happen."

What if a memory starts with me saying what I did? Or Lily saying something? He'd have to try harder, then, at this, so she didn't find out their secrets. "Thank you."

"Is this why you didn't want to try tonight?"

He shook his head. "No, Miss Fawley. I really am very exhausted. Normally I would like to try—"

Her hand came down on his shoulder. "I'm proud of you," she said and Remus stared up at her in disbelief, a strange sensation ballooning inside of him. "You push yourself too much. Hearing you want to take a break—even from this—is good. I hope this includes your homework, unless you have something due tomorrow."

"Already did the essay," he mumbled.

"Then rest tonight. Not only from Occlumency but from everything. You need a break."

"Yes, Miss Fawley."

"Tell James I'll work with him for an hour then switch to Peter for an hour. This will be good, to give them more time this week."

Remus scurried to the passage to inform his friends about what was going on. James left while Remus sat down, watching Sirius and Peter playing cards without really seeing what was going on. He turned down the offer to join them and bunched his robe and satchel up, to rest his head on. Their voices swam around him until his eyes fluttered shut, and he fell asleep, relieved in the knowledge that with James and Peter having separate sessions, he wouldn't have to be alone with Sirius.

Yet.