Sirius ignored me completely over the weekend. I tried to talk to him during meals and in the common room, but he seemed oblivious to my presence. I was unable to find him through most of the day, and I had a sharp pain in my stomach, believing him to be off somewhere, snogging a girl he barely knew.

James assured me that this was entirely normal behaviour from him, that sometimes when his pride was injured he was overly rude, and that in a few days we'd have 'good ol' Padfoot back'.

The problem that was overwhelming me was how to get back onto Sirius' good side.

When you were on his bad side, it seemed the whole school turned against you. All I heard from several hurriedly stifled conversations was that 'strange kid Lupin' and 'the handsome Sirius Black' had had a fight, ending in several punches thrown. I guess that explained my scratches and bruises.

I received sneers from Hufflepuffs and glares from Ravenclaws, but the silent treatment from the Gryffindors was the worst. Exhausted from, not only the first school day after the full moon, but a day full of hatred, I climbed through the portrait hole to a bizarrely quiet common room.

It seemed as if every eye was fixed upon me. James threw me a sorrowful look from his seat by the fire, and Peter smiled at me, as he looked up briefly from Transfiguration homework, but the rest of the students looked on the brink of murder.

I had a pile of essays to write and Charms practice to complete, but after such a tiring day, I decided to retire to the dormitory early. A night off never hurt anyone, I told myself, and anyway, I knew I wouldn't be able to work without Sirius by my side. As annoying as he was when it came to studying, a day without his acknowledgement in classes made me realize how much I relied on his presence to get through the day.

As I quietly shuffled into our dormitory, I noticed the drapes were closed around Sirius' bed.

I packed away my things, and got changed into my rather ragged pyjamas, and then, sucking in a large gulp of air into my lungs, I made my way over to Sirius' bed.

I poked my head through the drapes, and I saw him turned the other way, once again ignoring me.

"Padfoot?" I asked.

He didn't move.

"Padfoot?" I repeated.

Once again, he acted as though I hadn't said anything.

"Sirius?"

And without waiting to be asked, I sat on the bed and drew the drapes back around us.

He looked over at me. "Piss off."

"No."

"Piss off."

"No."

He turned back over. I lay down next to him and faced the ceiling.

"You said this was nice. Thought I'd give it a try," I said, boldly.

He looked over his shoulder, again. "I was mistaken."

"I don't think so. It's freezing out there, it's warm in here. You're a bit pudgy, though, and honestly, it's a bit suffocating."

He turned onto his back, so he was facing the ceiling as well. "At least I don't have ugly great scars on my face."

I cracked a smile, "From the famous Sirius Black himself, the rumours are."

"Yeah. Thought that it'd sound more plausible than 'he's a werewolf'."

"How thoughtful of you."

"Yeah."

There was a pause.

"I didn't mean it, you know."

"Yeah, I know. You're just so down on yourself constantly. Maybe you should let us try and fix you," Sirius said, his voice cracking on the last words.

"Yeah, maybe."

"I won't stay next time," he said quietly.

I was glad he wasn't watching me, because I think I could've cried when he said that.

"Yeah, probably for the best." I tried to sound matter-of-fact.

"Uh huh. Now, shut up, Moony. I'm trying to sleep."

"With me in here, still?"

"Yup. This is payment for the Shrieking Shack. You're stuck in here until morning. Then I get to tell you how stupid you've been, sleeping with an Animagus, a dog that could easily have licked you to death."

"Okay," I said, disappointment forgotten at the prospect of sharing Sirius' bed.

"G'night, Moony," Sirius yawned.

"Night, Padfoot."

As his breathing slowly grew deeper, mine grew steadily shallower. I was finally here. In his bed. And aware of what I was doing. I closed my eyes, and began to pray I wouldn't have any particular dreams about Sirius that night.

Or at least none that would have to end with me moaning his name.