Sirius' face drops as fast as Remus runs away from the classroom. He had not expected the entire situation to down spiral so fast. He had been imagining affirmations since last night that this entire situation hurt physically. Slowly biting back the tears, he begins to pack his stuff. Something compels him to do Remus' as well and he begins to do so as well albeit a little harshly. He doesn't mind the paper he crushed inside whilst putting the ink box in.

'Why are you packing his stuff as well? Leave it here, that git deserves it'.

For the first time, Sirius finds himself unable to respond to James. The entirety of the morning made absolutely no sense to him. What had gone wrong? They had properly talked this morning, maybe a bit shyly but talked nonetheless. He could swear he had seen Remus' eyes sparkle when Slughorn had said that he had been waiting for him. Going back to last night, their conversation was the least awkward encounter they had had. They had talked. Talked human words and Sirius had not once made a fool of himself. Remus had agreed to teach him the spell and wasn't he the one to make the first move as well? Wasn't he the one that led them on and Sirius obliged by closing the gap between them? Had he come out to be a little strong-

'Earth to Sirius'.

The sight of James wildly flicking his fingers brings him out of the self-deprecating session he had created for himself. Sirius was walking slowly with the weight of two bags scrunching on his shoulders. Remus' seemed to be the heaviest.

The duo was heading towards the Great Hall for lunch after double potions in the morning. Morning. When everything had seemed to be dream-like. Why can't it stay like that forever? The ghost of his touch, his fingers in my hair and his lips on mine. Everything had been going so well. So what went wrong? Had the kiss been bad? But he had enjoyed it. But did he come out as too strong-

'Mate, if you're gonna remain gloomy all day might as well go sit on your own table'.

'What about when you're brooding over Evans?'

Sirius attempts lightening the mood but it simply comes off as pathetic. He can't keep his head out of it. It is just a little crush. But it has lasted longer than three months and according to James, a crush longer than three months is true love.

He discretely glances at the Hufflepuff table only to find it empty of the tawny boy. He wasn't even here for breakfast. No wonder he's so skinny. Out of instinct, Sirius takes a napkin and packs a scone, just in case. He picks up the bag he had so carefully placed on the seat next to him and unzips it. The scent of Remus overflows and Sirius is weak to his knees. He really is whipped, isn't he? He places the wrapped food onto a crushed paper. Cringing slightly, Sirius takes the paper out and attempts to straighten it. The paper contained various drawings of the moon, all painted grey. The craters were very strategically avoided and instead had thin bright pink lining in place of it. The entire art was enchanted as the moons kept on waning and waxing with the passing days. Today was the Full.

Is there anything Remus can't do?

After having admired it for several minutes, Sirius puts it back. James on the other hand seems to be watching the entire scene unfold with utter amusement. There is nothing more hysterical than a love-sick puppy. A love-sick puppy in green robes. The heir to the most ancient and the noble house of Black at the mercy of a half-blood Hufflepuff.

'What? Eat your damn meal, Potter'.

'Oh, I am. Don't really mind the free entertainment I am getting.'

'Oh shut up, you're worse, you know that?'

'Yeah right. Well you see, I don't pack food for my boyfriend who hasn't shown his face at the Great Hall once today'.

Boyfriend. He quite liked the sound of it.

'He's not my boyfriend'.

With his sudden declaration, Sirius decided that he wasn't hungry anymore. He had some work to do. He had to think about why Remus ran away and also find a way to discreetly return his book bag to him. So, he gets up from the Gryffindor table, mutters a quick 'see you later' to James, waves to his brother at the Slytherin table across and on his way to the kitchens.

This day was coming out to be a lot like yesterday. He had gone to the kitchen to get a snack and bumped into the snack himself. He wouldn't really mind happening it today either.

Strange, isn't it? Young love. The brooding, unbearable pining and fear of rejection that seems to gloom every time an ounce of confidence strikes the surface. Well, in this case, the fear has been lived and yet here is Sirius standing in front of the Hufflepuff common room entrance mentally begging for an escort.

Yes, his morning had not gone as he has planned at all.

Yes, Remus had run away when James had asked him out for Sirius.

But, he never really said no, did he?

Maybe he too had thought of a way to ask Sirius out and James had ruined it all. Remus has always been the tall shy kid who sat at the in front of the class but participated only when approached. He tended to remain silent most of the time. He sat with that excuse of a person, Peter Pettigrew. For no personal reasons, Sirius found him to be intolerable. His short stature, how close he sat to Remus, how he copied off Remus all the time, how close he sat to him. Sirius despised everything about him.

So when the boy in question looked at him wearily while he stood there with a smug expression on his face, Sirius had no choice but to ask him how to get inside. He could've very easily left Remus's belongings with Peter and gone off with his day but something inside stopped him. Something was tempting to him to just get a peek. A little peek of Remus' dorm room and he will go back to his class as promised. Hence, Sirius has to put onto his best behaviour and ignore the confused and slightly startled eyes that Peter used scanned his green tie.

'Hello mate, would be willing to help me get inside?'

Pureblood manners would require kissing knuckles but Sirius would rather have the taste of Remus and the chocolate scone he ate linger on than have a bunch of dead skin cells.

'W-hy do you n-need to get inside?'

Peter's quivering did not go unseen by Sirius who thought of a better use of his fear of whatever he feared.

'Listen here you little shit, I need to go inside and put in Remus' stuff which he left at Potions today and since I have Transfiguration next, I don't want to be late'.

Sirius' posh accent flows off his tongue so easily that the muggleborn Pettigrew who's fear seems to have skyrocketed quickly begun his tapping of the barrel from top to bottom barely making the beat of Helga Hufflepuff and ushered Sirius inside. He guided him towards the dorm and was gone faster than Sirius could say a 'thank you'.

Remus' bed was the easiest to spot.

Not a flick of dust was out of place. All of his books were strategically arranged on his shelf in the decreasing order of titles, his spare shoes well-polished lying near the curtains, his laundry lying in the corner in neat piles and not a single crinkle on his bed. The curtains move ever so slightly with the wind gushing inside through the open windows and casting an everlasting golden light on his bed and Sirius could have sworn that Remus is an angel in disguise. Everything seemed to be just so perfect.

To hell with Transfiguration, he would just spend a little more time here and be off to the next class that he coincidentally shared with the Hufflepuffs. He grabs the yellow coloured pillow off the bed and sniffs it. A deep sigh escapes him and Sirius reckons that this is what his Amorentia would smell like.

'So this is where the noble being that is Remus sleeps on'.

Sirius keeps the pillow back on its place and puts the book bag at the corner of the bed.

'Everyone will be in class now-

He hurriedly takes off his shoes and gently enters the bed. The bed was more comfortable than it appeared to be and since nobody would enter the dorm for at least two hours, it wouldn't hurt a little to just lie down here. Just for a while.

Sirius wakes up shivering and closes the window. The sunlight had ceased to a dim and the moon was about to rise. He had been sleeping in Remus' bed for nearly two hours now and also managed to miss two of his classes even the one that might have had Remus in them. But what a good slumber it had been. The dream that accompanied was just the cherry on top of the wonderful sleep he had gotten.

The overwhelming sensation of being surrounded by the scent of someone you like is enough to cast the finest dreams one can have.

'Crème de la crème', if you may.

Sirius sits back on the bed and closes his eyes. If he could focus enough, he could picture where the dream had ended. Before his hand could sweep off into his trousers, the door to the dorm opens and lo and behold, much to Sirius' dismay, Remus stands there with eyes the size of tennis balls and looking at Sirius with the utmost confusion.

'Hi. So where were you for nearly the whole day, eh? Long time since morning, right?'

Remus just stands there with eyes bulging and cheeks beginning to redden.

'Um I know you wouldn't have expected to find me here but I can explain'.

Before Sirius could rack his brain for any subtle explanation, Remus lets out a howl of pain and falls onto his knees. A growl nearly escapes from his mouth and his eyes were turning a bright amber, unnatural for any human, unless-

'Hey! Oh dear God, are you alright?'

Remus bats away the hand Sirius lent him and checked his watch. Much to his horror, the moonrise was only a few minutes away. He couldn't afford to transform in his dorm, everyone would know but most importantly he couldn't transform in front of Sirius. There was no way Sirius should know the dark side Remus had been hiding for the past four years. The little chance he has to be with the boy would be ruptured into pieces and he knew deep inside that he could never be able to live with himself if he knew that Sirius hated him for who he was.

And within a blink, for a second time that day, Remus ran away from Sirius.