Remus skirted the back of the room, hoping desperately to avoid any more unbearable conversations with the school's numerous pureblooded benefactors. He had never much liked these large sort of formal gatherings, but in the holidays, it was almost unbearable. In fact, he'd never had much reason to like holidays at all; as a boy he'd be sent back to the Werewolf Reformatory, to be miserable with all the other young lads who had the misfortune to become lycanthropes. It was nearly a miracle when he managed to get to stay at Hogwart's over the break, and lonely as that might be, it still far outweighed the vanishing benefit of going back to the 'formatory, as they called it. He'd only been allowed to attend Hogwart's because he had the best magical abilities the administration of the 'formatory had seen in generations, and the elderly head mistress had taken pity on him.

And unlike some of the children at the 'formatory, he had had no home to go to. Some simply went in for a few months or even years when their parents were at their wits' end on what to do with them, going home holidays or doing periodic stints in the prison-like establishment. Remus, though? He'd had no such luck; he was abandoned on the steps as a mere infant, with vicious bite wounds still fresh despite the best efforts of the healer's at St. Mungo's . The 'formatory had taken him in and saved him and raised him, all else aside he still had that to be grateful for, he supposed. But it certainly wasn't a nice place to be, particularly once one knew that the lives of those beyond tis gates were so very different, so much nicer. He'd been exceedingly lucky to gain entrance to Hogwarts, and had clung to its familiar faces and comforts ever since. He was seldom ill-at-ease except at these fancy gatherings, which thrust him into the highest echelon of wizarding society, reminding him starkly of both his poor upbringing and utter lack of means. He had worked for every galleon he ever had, but at these events he was expected to beg the wealthy donors and put on airs while pretending to be interested in the latest high society gossip and scandal. The entire scene simply wasn't for him.

"Lupin," barked an unpleasant voice he'd known since childhood. "For the ever-knowing love of Merlin, would you speak to this miscreant already!"

Remus looked up to see the tall, lean silhouette of a greasy-haired man, jabbering angrily at him.

"Yeah, sure," he muttered, shrugging as Snape rolled his eyes and sighed in exaggerated relief over his punch cup, stalking off. "At last, I am free…"

Remus sighed himself, more wondering what new coworker he had to humor than anything. When no one approached him for a few moments, he leaned against the wall on his stool, almost nodding off to sleep. Being social and making polite small talk was so exhausting when the people one was with had so little in common—or so little regard for oneself.

"Heeey, Moonie," a voice called, this one rich and deep. Remus nearly fell off his seat, he hadn't expected this occurrence—

A tall, raven haired man stepped forward, catching him before he could get up and pulling him into a hug. "Sirius, I didn't know you were coming tonight."

"Oh, of course I did come though! There aren't enough mountains in the world to keep me away."

"I hate to take you away from Everest, I know you're so close to tracking the Yeti now."

"Nonsense, I've been gone nearly since graduation and we both know Nepal isn't where I belong, not when you're here in Scotland at this old school of ours. But do tell me how you've been. I regret I've been at such an elevation that your owls have been unable to reach me."

Remus nodded and sighed. "Bloody, where to begin? It's been quite a year."

"Well, at the least I hope your Bogarts haven't been me lately." Sirius smiled with a hint of a smirk. Remus laughed.

"Quite, quite. They haven't, that's quite possibly the one thing I haven't had to deal with this year."

"Right. But I s'pose I'll have to make up for it, seeing you'll have to contend with me all weekend, or maybe even beyond."

"Oh, really? Will you be trouble, Mr. Black?" he teased.

"I mean to be quite the trouble indeed. I do solemnly swear I am up to no good, after all." Sirius winked, and Remus felt shivers go down his spine. Excitement. So different from the shivers of fear of rejection he'd had as a teen, approaching the person who mattered to him most, terrified to tell him.

Many nights they lay awake in bed, time spent listening to one another's stories. It took weeks before it occurred to Remus to ask Sirius why he was still there. Sirius had been rooming with him in his comfortable but not-too-grand quarters off the back stairwell at Hogwarts, which surely wasn't much to a man accustomed to the luxuries a grandeur that a Pureblood fortune afforded one.

"Well, it's all gone. When do you go?" Remus asked softly one evening over firewhiskey in the pub at Hogsmeade.

"What do you mean, Moonie?"

"It's been quite a while, the candles have even gone from the trees. The holidays are well over. Everything is back to the dreary normality, as it always was. Yet you haven't gone at all."

"I was hoping my personal holiday from Everest might last longer than the holiday season."

"Oh?"

Remus watched as Sirius grew intensely interested in his fire whiskey goblet. What puzzled him even more was the flush rising on Sirius' face. In their entire acquaintance since 11 years old, Remus had never known him to blush, but that was what appeared to be happening. Nor had he ever known him to be hesitant or at a loss for words. A few very long moments elapsed before either next spoke.

"I, err. I guess I was hoping you might…like a companion."

"A companion? Well isn't that old-fashioned nonsense. Out with it, Sirius Black. I never knew you to be so subdued." Remus said smugly, giving the equivalent of a verbal shove. He wanted to hear this outright.

"Can I move in? I'm frankly sick of Yetis, sick of the cold so intense no warming charm can banish it, and…I'm afraid I'm in love with you, have been for some time."

"Really? It was about time you said something. I thought I might have done since the first time I saw a big black dog coming to play with a wolf."

For Mia for THC Secret Santa.