[Summary] - Sirius/Remus [HouseSwap!AU] All eyes were on the three boys, who were somehow twenty minutes late despite having taken the same subject last period as half the class.

A/N - Written for Maggie [Angelo Della Magnolia]. Happy Birthday! I'm sorry I didn't really use any of your prompts (except Wolfstar, of course), but I hope you still like it :)

Also written for the Wigtown Wanderers' practice round on Quidditch League. Beater One - write about the cliche of House Swap - with the optional prompts [word] careful, [dialogue] "Are you asking me or telling me?", and [song] A Thousand Years by Christina Perri (which is where the italicised lyrics come from).

And I'd like to thank FF [Firefly81] for beta'ing.

Heart beats fast

Colours and promises

How to be brave?

How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?

.oOo.

"Sorry we're late, Professor," Sirius Black called from the back of the classroom. The door swung shut behind Pettigrew with a bang. All eyes were on the three boys, who were somehow twenty minutes late despite having taken the same subject last period as half the class. With a sigh, Remus turned back to his work, eyeing the empty seat next to him warily.

"Hey," Sirius said, grinning as he dropped into the seat next to Remus. "I'm Sirius." I know, Remus thought; there probably wasn't anyone in the school who didn't know who Sirius Black was.

"Remus," he said quietly; the smile on his face felt a little strained.

"So, Remus," Sirius said, unfettered. "What are we doing today?" That grin was still in place, and he seemed far more confident than any teenager had a right to be.

"The instructions are on the board," Remus said, internally wincing. He'd never been great at talking to people, least of all people like Sirius Black.

"Alright, then. I guess we're preparing ingredients?" he said, picking up the knife. Remus didn't bother replying, just handed the root over for Sirius to begin slicing.

.oOo.

"Remus!" someone called across the Great Hall. He looked around for the source, finding no one. He turned back to his food, startling to find Sirius Black sitting in the seat next to him, looking expectant.

"Um… hi," Remus said. He could feel his face turning red, probably matching Sirius' robes.

"Hey, so it looks like we're gonna be partners in Potions for this project," Sirius said, ignoring - or perhaps not noticing - the awkwardness Remus was feeling. "So we're probably gonna need to meet up at some point," Sirius prompted, after the silence had stretched on just a little too long.

"Uh, yeah. Probably." Remus nodded, eyes flicking from Sirius to his toast. He was hungry, but he felt weird eating in front of Sirius.

"Great. I'll meet you in the library after dinner." Sirius grinned, grabbing the slice of toast from Remus' plate and ran over to his friends. Remus turned back to the table, feeling his heart sink as he watched the remaining food disappear.

.oOo.

"Hey, Remus!" he heard Sirius' voice before Sirius rounded the corner. "I felt bad for eating your breakfast, so I got you this," he said, handing over a small wrapped parcel. "I figured you wouldn't want to risk being late for class, so you probably didn't stop by the kitchens." Remus didn't want to say he had no idea where the kitchens were, so he just kept quiet. "Anyway, I'll see you in Potions," Sirius said, turning and heading back the way he had come before Remus could say anything.

Remus pulled back the paper to find two soft rolls. He'd devoured one before even reaching the stairs.

.oOo.

"Thanks for breakfast," Remus said as soon as he sat down, feeling an odd sense of satisfaction when Sirius startled.

"Well, I did eat yours," Sirius said, recovering almost instantly. He smiled at Remus then, looking more at ease than Remus thought possible, and Remus pulled the textbook over to himself, ducking his head in an effort to hide his blush.

"We should get started," he said, before they could get too off topic.

"Straight to business; I like that," Sirius said, opening his own textbook.

.oOo.

"How come you're always alone?" Sirius asked, walking in step with Remus. Remus wasn't entirely sure where he'd come from, but he was starting to realise that with Sirius Black it was a lot easier not to question things.

"I don't really have any friends," Remus said. He used to be embarrassed about that - he probably still should - but it just wasn't practical. He didn't want to have to lie to his friends, so he'd convinced himself that it was easier not to have any.

"Aren't we friends?" Sirius asked, a slight pout forming on his lips.

"Oh, um," Remus stuttered, struggling to come up with a response. Sirius just laughed and changed the topic, seemingly unfazed.

"I was just wondering where you were in Potions last week. I haven't seen you since Thursday."

"Oh, uh, I've been… ill. I was ill," Remus muttered, avoiding looking directly at Sirius. "Where are your friends?" he asked abruptly. He could see Sirius frowning slightly out of the corner of his eye, but thankfully Sirius let it drop.

"James' going after Evans again. And I think Peter just fancied a show."

"Evans? Lily Evans?" Remus asked, recognising the name.

"Yeah, you know her?"

"I helped her with Defence Against the Dark Arts last year. And we're both prefects, so…" Remus trailed off, noting Sirius' expression.

"You're a prefect?"

"Uh… yeah."

"You're not gonna dock house points, are you?" Sirius asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

"For what?"

"Nothing," Sirius said with another of his grins; he'd answered a little too quickly, but Remus was still tired so he didn't bother questioning it.

.oOo.

"Careful," Sirius said, managing to catch Remus' book before it hit the ground. "You should really watch where you're going."

"Sorry," Remus muttered, staring down at his feet. The silence stretched, making Remus feel uncomfortable but, as usual, Sirius seemed unaffected.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I was just looking for you, actually."

"You were?" Remus asked, looking up at Sirius with startled blue eyes.

"Yeah, c'mon," Sirius said, grabbing Remus' hand and dragging him down the corridor without further explanation. Remus could feel himself blushing, and he certainly wasn't oblivious to the stares other students were giving them, but he couldn't bring himself to complain.

"Where are we?" Remus asked once they'd stopped. "Isn't this Hufflepuff?"

"No, Hufflepuff's down those stairs," Sirius said with a gesture. "And we couldn't get in there, anyway. We'd get doused in vinegar."

"What? How would you know that?"

"Oh, like you've never tried to get into another house's common room," Sirius said, turning to face a painting of a bowl of fruit. Remus hadn't, actually, but he didn't feel it was worth mentioning. "We're here for the kitchens."

"There's nothing here," Remus said, beginning to wonder is Sirius was playing a prank on him. Sirius just grinned, reaching out to… tickle the pear?

"You, my friend, are in for a surprise."

.oOo.

"You missed Potions again," Sirius said by way of greeting.

"Oh, um… My Grandma died," Remus stuttered. Sirius looked a little doubtful, and Remus really hoped Sirius would leave it at that.

"Okay. I'm sorry," Sirius said, and Remus let out the breath he had been holding. "You don't look so good." And, suddenly Remus was struggling to breathe again.

"Um… We were, uh… really close," he muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Right. Sorry. I'll just…" Sirius made a few vague hand gestures, walking backwards as he spoke. It was probably the most awkwardly Remus had seen Sirius behave, but he couldn't bring himself to enjoy the sudden role reversal.

"Yeah, okay."

"Bye," Sirius blurted, spinning on his heels and walking down the corridor as fast as he could without breaking out into a jog.

.oOo.

"Hey, so I was wondering," Sirius began, as though they hadn't gone nearly a month without speaking. "Hogsmeade is next weekend."

"Yeah, I know," Remus said.

"We should go together," Sirius said, acting as if this wasn't completely out of the blue.

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Would you, Remus Lupin, care to join me on an excursion this weekend to Hogsmeade Village?" Sirius asked loudly, complete with sweeping gestures. It was not funny - it wasn't - but Remus found himself struggling to keep the smile from his face.

"Uh, sure, I-" Remus didn't notice Sirius' confused expression. "Oh, um… I have a project due next week, so…"

"That's okay," Sirius said, far too cheerfully for someone who had just been rejected. "I figured you wouldn't be able to go." Remus had no idea what Sirius meant by that, or why he would even bother asking if he thought Remus wouldn't be able to go.

"Okay. I guess I'll… see you around," Remus muttered, watching Sirius' retreating form.

It would only occur to him later to question how Sirius had known his surname.

.oOo.

"Finally awake?" Sirius asked - Remus had decided not to put too much thought into how he instantly recognised Sirius' voice.

"Wha-?" he groaned, still groggy. The bright lights of the Hospital Wing greeted him when he finally managed to pry his eyes open, and he spared a brief moment to question where Madam Pomfrey was, before Sirius' face took up his entire vision.

"You could have just told me, you know," Sirius said, and Remus would have asked what he was talking about if it weren't so painfully obvious.

"How'd you get past Pomfrey?" Remus croaked, wincing at his dry throat. Sirius poured him a glass of water before replying.

"James has come down with a sudden case of dragon pox that required immediate attention."

"Potter?" Remus asked, his voice a little stronger after a few careful sips of water.

"Yeah. You'll like him," Sirius said. "Well, probably not. He'll grow on you. Or maybe you'll just get used to him."

"You mean like Lily has?" he asked. His eyes dropped closed before Sirius could answer, though, and the last thing he heard was Madam Pomfrey scolding someone at the other end of the Hospital Wing before he drifted off to sleep.

.oOo.

But watching you stand alone,

All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow.

A/N - I know I never explicitly stated what House Remus was in here, but (as it's pretty clear he's not in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff) Ravenclaw's really the only House he could be in, though feel free to imagine him in Slytherin.

In regards to Sirius not knowing Remus' surname (or even name, before the beginning of this), it's either that he didn't notice Remus much beforehand, or that Remus didn't think Sirius would know who he was.

And, as Remus' eye colour is never mentioned in the books (brown or amber is just fanon) I've gone for blue, as that's the eye colour of the actor who plays him. I wouldn't even bother mentioning it, except that there were a lot of complaints when I didn't call Hermione's mother Jean in something else I wrote.