A/N: I did my final of edit with this with a migraine, so I apologize if anything is widely off. I'm not feeling my best. Word count: 1,374

Interlude 5

Sirius Black

This Castle Could Be Gayer, Take 2

Sirius was lonely. Not in his friendships but in his romantic life. His friend still thought he was sneaking off with girls regularly when, in reality, he'd lost one the one person he could kiss.

He'd been too quick to banish Eric from his life, but it was too late to do anything about that. His pride wouldn't let him ask for a second chance, and going off of the glares that followed him in the corridors, Eric wouldn't have granted him one anyway. That ship had sailed, and Sirius' only chance was with another boy.

The large problem with that, of course, was that he didn't know any other boys at Hogwarts who were queer. Since he'd had his own realization, he'd been paying close attention, and he'd come up with some guesses. But they were just that: guesses. He didn't have enough to go on to approach someone.

If he made a mistake, he'd out himself in the process, and even if one of them really were gay, there was always the chance they hadn't accepted that themselves and would panic if Sirius brought it up.

Now that he fully understood the terror that Eric must have felt when he first approached him, he felt even kinder towards the other boy.

It took weeks of replaying moments between him and Eric, wishing for something like that again, for Sirius to remember a comment Eric had made one day when they'd been straightening their clothes in preparation to re-enter the real world.

Though Sirius had been anxious to meet up with his friends, Eric had been adamant on getting his hair just right.

"Don't you think it's good enough?" Sirius had snapped.

Eric hadn't eased up on his hair as he'd muttered, "Not all of us want to flaunt our snogging sessions like you and Brax."

Sirius had figured that Braxton was an ex-boyfriend, fling, or something of the sort, but he hadn't thought much of it. He hadn't, until recently, connected the name Brax to Braxton Marchant, a seventh year Hufflepuff who sat quietly in the back of every lesson Sirius had ever taken with him.

He hadn't been on Sirius' "might be gay" list, so it hadn't been easy to make the connection. But once he had, he was sure that Braxton was who Eric had been talking about. Eric and Braxton were in the same house after all. It wasn't far fetched that Eric would have pieced together Braxton's sexuality with more ease than Sirius, who had done nothing but ignore the boy for years.

If Braxton had been flaunting his snogging sessions as Eric claimed, Sirius certainly hadn't noticed it, and it was that small detail that kept him uncertain about the boy. Even if he were gay, he was the last boy at Hogwarts whom Sirius would expect to do something about it.

When Sirius bothered to look, though, he realized that Braxton was attractive. He hid it in his posture and the way he averted his gaze from anyone who looked at him, but with more confidence, he could be stunning. Sirius watched him in their classes together, becoming a little more attracted to him each day.

He had been worried that it would be hard to find Braxton alone. He'd assumed the Hufflepuff would spend his free time in his common room or dormitory, where he could lock himself away from others, but he had instead taken up residence under one of the trees on the grounds.

His gaze found Sirius almost as soon as Sirius had begun walking in his direction, and Sirius knew then that both boys were aware of Sirius' intentions. Any previous doubts Sirius held about Braxton not being gay were gone.

"You really pissed Eric off."

Sirius blinked, taking a second to process the words that had been spoken in a quiet but determined voice. A second later, he laughed, not only at the words but at the wide eyes and amazed voice that Braxton used to share them.

Flopping down across from the Hufflepuff, Sirius made sure to put on the best show of arrogance he could, enjoying the way it had Braxton fiddling with the sleeves of his robes.

"That I did," he agreed. "Have you?"

Braxton shrugged.

"Not pissed off exactly. We're just not compatible. I appreciate that he was my first kiss and," he blushed, "everything, but we were never dating. He can't be mad at me for breaking things off."

Sirius hummed, a small grin on his face. He hadn't expected Braxton to be so forthcoming.

"So you just snog each other?"

Braxton's cheeks turned a light pink, and he averted his eyes as he shrugged.

"We used to, but I got tired of listening to him talk. Then he met you, and we went back to just being friends. After you dropped him, I became his rebound, and it was fine. But we're both over that too."

Sirius nodded along and let his eyes travel along the length of the boy's body, smirking at the way Braxton squirmed.

"How interested are you in snogging someone else?" Sirius asked.

"Someone else generally speaking or you specifically?"

Sirius laughed.

"I like you, Braxton. You seem a lot more interesting than I would have thought when you were sitting in the back of class all the time."

Braxton frowned.

"It's amazing what you can learn about people when you bother talking to them," he said quietly.

"True," Sirius said. "So, does that mean you'd like to snog me or no? I'd like to get potential rejection out of the way as soon as possible."

Braxton looked at him shyly, and Sirius' stomach tightened in anticipation.

"We can meet on the third floor tomorrow night at 7:00," Braxton said. "There's a broom cupboard there."

Sirius smirked. He knew that broom cupboard well, and now he knew why Eric had taken him there.

"It's a deal," he said, holding his hand out for Braxton to shake.

Offering one last wave, Sirius flounced off, making sure to exaggerate his steps as he went, hoping that Braxton was watching.

The next night, as Sirius hurried from the broom cupboard he and Braxton had locked themselves in for two hours, he watched the Marauder's Map closely. He tried to keep his eyes on the path in front of him, but they kept wandering to Remus' dot hovering over his bed in their dormitory.

Braxton had been fine; Braxton had even been great. Braxton hadn't been Remus, and Sirius had been painfully aware of it. Braxton knew it too, and there was nothing Sirius could have said to assure the boy differently.

It must have sucked, watching Eric move on with Sirius and then getting to snog Sirius only for him to be caught up on another boy. At least they'd both gotten to snog someone. He hoped Braxton was able to find someone else soon. The poor boy deserved it.

"What do we have here?"

Sirius froze, looking up and into the eyes of a gleeful Filch, a purring Mrs Norris at his feet.

Sirius clenched his jaw, the map clutched tightly in his hands. He muttered, "Mischief managed," under his breath before stowing his wand discretely in his pocket.

"I was on my way back to the common room, sir."

Filch narrowed his eyes, glancing at the map with curiosity.

"Shouldn't have been out in the first place, should you?"

Sirius didn't bother with a response.

Stepping forward, Filch motioned at the map.

"What's that you have there?"

"Nothing."

Sirius uselessly shoved the map behind his back, earning a scowl from the caretaker.

"Hand it over then," Filch drawled. "I know something suspicious when I see it."

Sirius couldn't take his eyes off the map as Filch inspected it. It was blank, of course, and Filch had no way of confirming that it was more than simple parchment. If Sirius was confident of one thing, it was that Filch would never figure it out.

"Come along," the caretaker said, stowing the map in the pocket of his jacket. "Let's go speak to your head of house."

His friends were going to kill them, and Sirius wouldn't blame them for it.