Word count: 3,008

Chapter 17

Don't You Want to Snog Someone?

Remus was too focused on his essay to realize that Sirius had taken the seat across from him in the common room until he grew tired of being ignored and began tugging on the corner of Remus' parchment.

"Padfoot," Remus groaned, but his glare did little to deter Sirius from his determination to distract him.

"All you do is study, Remus. It's driving me mad."

"NEWTs are—"

"I know all about NEWTs. There's no need to remind me."

He threw his arms up in exasperation and leaned back in his chair.

"James and Peter are always off with their girlfriends these days. They're never around to talk, and you, the only one I have left, insist on studying like you won't get top scores on everything anyway."

"If I do well, it's because I spent time studying, Padfoot."

Sirius let the front legs of his chair fall to the floor.

"That's a load of bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit. You could bullshit your way to decent results if you wanted to."

"Decent, maybe, but not good—"

Sirius leaned across the table and covered Remus' mouth with his hand, earning a scowl in response. He needed his test scores to be as perfect as possible if he had any hope of an employer looking past his lycanthropy, but Sirius was looking at him with a sparkle in his eye that held far more appeal than the dense textbook he'd been reading for an hour. Remus sighed, which was the only sign Sirius needed to remove his hand, a smirk on his lips.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Remus asked.

Sirius' smirk fell.

"Nothing. I didn't think I'd be this successful to be honest with you."

Remus groaned.

"But you did promise me a prank, Moony."

Cringing at the thought of getting detention when he should have been studying, Remus asked, "Do you have one in mind?"

"Not at the moment, but give me some time."

Remus couldn't help but smile.

"Well, what are we doing now then?"

Sirius motioned for Remus to follow him out of the common room, and Remus went without protest. It wasn't yet curfew, so if Sirius wanted a walk around the castle, they weren't even breaking any rules. Once they found an otherwise empty corridor, though, Sirius stopped walking to tug the invisibility cloak from the bag he was carrying.

"Does James know you have that?"

"Of course he does. He lent it to me after I complained about how we never explore the castle anymore. He said I could use it by myself, but where's the fun in that?"

It had been several years since they'd used the invisibility cloak with any frequency. It was around that time that all four of them had hit growth spurts and getting even two of them under the cloak at a time became more of a chore instead of something fun.

"Can we both fit?" Remus asked, fingering the cloak.

He and Sirius had both grown at least a few centimeters since the last time they'd tried, and that attempt hadn't been very successful.

That wasn't detering Sirius. He had Remus help him unfold the cloak and wrapped it around himself. Remus felt the pit of his stomach fall as Sirius disappeared. No matter how many times he watched it happen, it unnerved him.

A second later, Sirius tugged on his wrist, and suddenly, he was under the cloak as well, pressed close to Sirius' side.

They were facing each other, which was unconducive to moving in any direction. Their proximity made it difficult to breathe as Sirius breath mingled with his, and Remus did his best to keep his thoughts focused on anything but the way he could almost feel Sirius' body from how close he was.

"We fit," Sirius whispered, and something about the words made Remus' stomach tighten.

He glanced down at their feet and noticed that the cloak just barely brushed against the floor. The moment they took a step, their feet were sure to show.

"Where exactly are we going?" he asked, suddenly realizing that he had no idea what the plan was.

"Hogsmeade," Sirius said bobbing on his toes and making the cloak rise from the floor..

"This early in the evening?" Remus asked in surprise. "Sirius, we'll be found out. You think they won't report the two Hogwarts students wandering around?"

"We have the cloak."

"Which hardly hides us."

"You're a Marauder, Remus. Why are all of you losing your senses of adventure?"

When had that happened? Looking back on it, Remus remembered all of the times he'd gone along with his friends because, despite his fear of being caught, he was more frightened they would reject him. Somewhere along the line, he'd become willing to poke holes in their plans when he saw fit. He hadn't noticed he was doing it.

"Lead the way then," he said, motioning as best he could with the cloak over them.

Sirius' beaming smile was enough of a reward for going along with the foolish plan. Even as he told himself it was stupid, he knew he would accept detention in exchange for it.

As they stumbled forward, he tried to stay as pressed against Sirius as possible, reminding himself with every step that it was necessary to remain concealed even as he felt his cheeks warming from their combined body heat.

When they made it inside the secret passage, Remus quickly slipped out of the cloak, not missing the disappointed frown on Sirius' lips as he also removed the cloak.

"It's not like we need it in here," Remus pointed out, motioning at the cloak as Sirius stored it in his bag. "Don't worry, you can get your fill of running around under the cloak once we get to the village."

Sirius nodded, but he didn't stop pouting as they kept travelling forward.

Things were quiet between them as they navigated their way down the passage. Remus wasn't sure why they had so little to talk about.

Eventually, they came to the basement of Honeydukes, and Sirius motioned for him to come closer. Remus did as requested, his breath catching in his throat as Sirius threw the cloak over them both and pressed their bodies together.

The cloak felt suffocating in a way it hadn't when they were children, and Remus wondered if he was too out of practice with sneaking around. It had become a rush again.

"We'll have to be careful," Remus whispered. "This isn't a Hogwarts weekend. It's not going to be so crowded that people can't see two pairs of feet walking around by themselves."

Sirius nodded with a smirk.

"I'll be on my best behavior."

Once they got out of the storeroom, they both hunched over to help the cloak drag against the floor. With Sirius behind Remus, he was forced to almost lay against Remus' back to make it work. Remus found it difficult to walk, and the journey out of the shop was a difficult one.

As quickly as he could, Remus navigated them to the alleyway between Honeydukes and the building next door. He tugged off the cloak, earning a yelp of surprise from Sirius.

"We're never going to make it anywhere if you keep taking off the cloak," Sirius whined.

Remus took a deep breath, relishing the fresh air.

"We're not going to get anywhere if we stay under that cloak," he countered. "A tortoise could walk faster than us with that thing."

"You know," Sirius said with a smirk, leaning into Remus and looking him straight in the eye, "I'm starting to think that you don't want to be near me, and frankly, I'm offended."

Remus rolled his eyes, leaning away. When Sirius only stepped closer, Remus put a hand to his chest and pushed him away. Sirius obeyed easily, though his smirk widened.

"Whatever, Padfoot. If we're going somewhere, we'd be better off sneaking around without the cloak."

Sirius leant against the brick wall that lined the alley, his arms crossed against his chest.

"Fine. Where do you want to go?"

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"You're the one who dragged me here, and now you're saying you don't have any ideas?"

Sirius shrugged as best he could when one shoulder was pressed into the brick.

"I just wanted to sneak out of the castle. Anything we did once we were here was just an added bonus."

"You've got to be kidding me," Remus said with a snort.

Only Sirius would have dragged him all the way to Hogsmeade with no idea of what he actually wanted from the wizarding village.

"Well, I don't have any ideas," Remus said with a shrug. "I was only following you."

"Something you should really know the ramifications of by now, Moony."

"I really should," Remus muttered to himself, earning a chuckle from Sirius as he pushed himself away from the wall.

"Shall we just walk then?" he asked, motioning to the street

Remus looked both ways down the alley. Walking the main street where they could easily be spotted was foolish, but the small side street on the alley's other end looked entirely uninteresting.

"Have you ever been that way?" Remus asked, pointing at the small street.

"Not once," Sirius said. "Let's go."

He walked towards the street without waiting for Remus. With a sigh, Remus followed, wondering, not for the first time, what he had gotten himself into when he'd befriended Sirius Black as an eleven-year-old.

At the time, he'd been so desperate for a friend that he'd been willing to disregard Sirius' reckless streaks even though they had terrified him as a kid who had done exactly what his parents asked of him to make up for his transformations. Somewhere along the way, he had become desensitized to it, and Sirius had forever altered him as a person. Maybe it was good for him; maybe it wasn't. In moments when he was following Sirius around waiting to get caught, he figured it was probably the latter.

The street was deserted, and Remus wondered if going this way had been the right choice. There were few people, true, but if someone did come along or look out a window, they were guaranteed to spot the two Hogwarts students breaking the rules.

"You sure you don't want the cloak?"

Remus glanced at Sirius when he asked the question, blinking in surprise. Sirius was watching him with a downturned mouth, and Remus wondered when he had become concerned with Remus' own feelings about getting in trouble. He'd only scoffed at Remus' worries as children.

He considered the offer for the moment, but when he thought about the heat their bodies had created and the difficulty he'd had breathing, he shook his head. He could keep a clearer mind if he had space between him and Sirius.

"I'm fine," he said, going around Sirius to take the lead down the street.

He had no idea where they were going. The street held more houses than shops, so he doubted they'd discover anything interesting. Their unplanned trip to Hogsmeade was becoming more of a casual stroll than anything.

"This is a nice little street," Sirius said.

Remus glanced behind him to see his friend walking with his hands in his pockets, looking entirely at ease. He hummed in agreement. It was peaceful, a look at what the village was like the majority of the year when Hogwarts students weren't filling the streets.

As they continued walking, Sirius fell in step beside him, and Remus didn't miss that he was walking closer than normal. Occasionally, Sirius' arm would brush against his own, and Remus' breath caught in his throat.

"I've been thinking," Sirius began, and Remus felt his stomach twist.

"About?"

"Peter and James are always off with their girlfriends. They don't have time for us anymore."

Remus rolled his eyes but let Sirius continued uninterrupted.

"Maybe the only solution is to date people ourselves. We can't get get angry about them being off snogging all the time if we have our own people to snog."

"I'm handling our so-called abandonment quite well without someone to snog, thanks."

Sirius stepped in front of him, forcing him to come to a stop. Remus stumbled as he tried not to run right into him. With a laugh, Sirius reached out to steady him, squeezing his upper arms before dropping them.

"You can't tell me you don't want to snog someone at least a little bit."

For a moment, Remus merely looked at Sirius, unsure how to answer. He didn't want to lie, but he also didn't relish the idea of admitting the full truth out loud. There were few things he kept from his friends, but his thoughts on himself and relationships were one topic he had always avoided. Not one of them had ever asked him why he'd never so much as mentioned liking someone, and he'd figured they implicitly understood why he was avoiding it.

"Snogging someone would be fine," he said slowly, "in different circumstances."

Sirius frowned, and Remus kept his eyes averted at the ground. He took a step to the side, trying to escape, but Sirius mirrored the movement, staying in front of him.

"You wouldn't have to tell them everything."

Remus glared before he could stop himself, and Sirius quickly held his hands up in surrender.

"There'd be nothing wrong with it, but if you wanted them to know, there are also plenty of people who wouldn't care."

Remus snorted, kicking at the dirt of the road with his foot.

"I'm serious, Moony. Plenty of people wouldn't."

"And how am I meant to find someone like that without telling them first? I can't just walk up to someone and go, 'Hi. I'm a werewolf. Are you willing to date me?'"

"So get to know them first. Then tell them. Honestly, Remus, you act like it would be difficult for someone to fall in love with you."

Remus laughed, making Sirius frown deepen.

"You have more faith in my charms than I do, Padfoot, but foregoing all of that, I think you're underestimating how deep prejudice goes."

"If they actually love you, it wouldn't matter."

"We're seventeen. We throw the word love around all the time, but how many people our age would find someone willing to overcome their lifelong prejudices for someone else?"

"I'm not saying there aren't shitty people, but there are people who know about you and love you just the same."

"Yeah, why don't I just date one of you guys? I have so many options," he said sarcastically.

When Sirius remained silent, Remus looked at him for the first time since the beginning of their conversation. His breath caught in his throat at the intensity of Sirius' gaze. For a moment, they remained frozen before Sirius broke it by nodding his head.

"Fine," he said. "It's your life. I can't make you do anything."

He began walking away without another word. By the time Remus came to his senses and followed, he had passed several more houses.

Remus rushed through the library, doing his best to stay quiet as Madam Pince's sharp eyes tracked his movements until he disappeared behind the shelves. His heart beat frantically after rushing from the grounds, but he didn't let that slow him down.

The need to breathe didn't catch up with him until he came to a stop in front of the table Lily occupied. She'd laid out her supplies, a stack of books off to one side and two more open in front of her.

She raised one eyebrow at Remus' state, not speaking as she gave him a few moments to suck in oxygen and calm his heart.

"Sorry, sorry," he rushed to say as soon as he was capable of speech again. "I was at Hagrid's and lost track of time. I didn't realize…"

"Hagrid's?" Lily asked, zeroing in on a piece of information Remus had considered of lesser importance in the apology. "I didn't know you were friends with Hagrid."

Remus straightened, feeling more like his usual self and curious as to Lily's sudden inquisitiveness about who he chose to spend time with.

"I've been visiting him this year. He's nice to talk to."

"I know that. I've been visiting Hagrid since my first year. I just didn't know you knew him well too."

Remus let himself flop into the chair across from her and laid his bag on the table.

"You have been?" he asked. "I didn't know that either."

"How did you befriend him then?" Lily asked, abandoning her homework to cross her arms on top of her parchment. When Remus raised one eyebrow, she continued, "I assume you didn't just wander to his hut and knock on the door."

"No," Remus said slowly, uncertain how much he wanted to reveal. He couldn't tell Lily that Hagrid had spoken to him because he knew he was a werewolf. "We started talking while I was taking a walk on the grounds."

Remus could tell from the slow way Lily nodded that she knew there was more to the story, but she thought better than to ask.

"What about you then?" he countered. "How did you befriend him when you were only eleven?"

Lily gave a small, sad smile.

"Severus and I had an argument, and I ran to the lake to cry. It was the middle of winter, so I figured no one would be out there to see me upset. Hagrid approached me, wanted to know what was wrong, and for whatever reason, I told him everything. He was a nice shoulder to cry on, so I kept visiting him after that.

"He's one of the best men I know," Lily continued. "He doesn't deserve what that Tom Riddle did to him."

Remus' brow wrinkled in confusion, making Lily frown.

"You don't know?"

Remus shook his head.

"Oh." She hesitated, wringing her hands. "Well, I don't think I should tell you. It's Hagrid's secret to share."