A/N: HEY! So. Yeah, I was gone for three months again buuuuuut I FINALLY HAVE A REALLY REALLY GOOD IDEA WHERE THIS STORY IS GOING. Enough with the cap locks. Anyways, I figured I needed to point something out that hopefully won't make you lose all interest in this story. Despite it being 'Remus and Sirius', this story is NOT slash. I'm sorry to disappoint any of you that would like it to be. I do, however, have a bit that I planned that might make all of you fan-girls a bit happier. Thanks to my reviewers, readers and RASA!

The Winter Ball was an event that all of Hogwarts knew about, regardless of individual feelings. The teachers would decorate the Great Hall with un-meltable snow flakes, huge Christmas trees, mistletoe here and there, large wreaths of holly (with complex decorations within themselves, each representing different Houses or Hogwarts in general) and various talking ginger treats, gossiping openly about passing students, strung along the walls. The decorations went up about a week before the ball, which signaled to all students that they'd better hurry up and ask someone before it was too late. This was the thought going through Remus's head as he sat with Kylie in the library. The two, catching up on the homework they missed during the full moon and recovery of last week, were poured over several books and parchment, trying to get just the right information. Remus scratched his head, due to the immense difficulty in concentrating on the pages before him. Although he knew that his studies were very pressing matters, he couldn't help but put an overwhelming amount of stress on himself to just ask her to the ball.

No, perhaps it was a terrible idea. Their relationship was awkward, full of silence and screams. Until, of course, the day after their first full moon together. Remus had woken up, immediately terrified that something had gone wrong, that Kylie was hurt, that he had bitten someone else, that Kylie was really, really hurt. He suddenly didn't wonder if he had suffered any injuries, no, now it was all about Kylie. An incredible urge to protect her had developed in the course of one night, and he doubted it would ever leave, as it was likely rooted in their upsetting similarity. She had been fine, though, and Remus had never been more thankful for his friends who had been sitting in the room as they always had been when he awoke. Sirius had been draped over a chair, his forehead, canopied in shaggy hair, supported on Remus's bed; while James and Peter silently and dispassionately scribbled down a few lines for the Potion's chapter outline.

He remembered hearing them whisper to each other excitedly, and then hearing a raspy, but sweet feminine voice. At that point, he opened his eyes and looked over to see tangled blonde hair in the bed next to his. She looked confused and exhausted, but overall unharmed. The relief that flooded his body was unlike anything he had ever felt before. He rose slowly and grinned with his friends, who were quick to recognize his consciousness as well. She said that she just felt sore, but she didn't have any other injuries. Remus forced himself out of his bed and sat on the foot of hers, her screams still echoing in his ears from the night before. But the five of them got to talking, and the sound of her laughter (was that her genuine laugh? It had nearly been a month since he'd last heard it) replaced that. And she was grinning, he remembered, like she had always been there on the morning after, like she had always been part of this tight-knit group. (He had an awkward internal laugh—he hoped she would always be there the morning after…)

Glancing up at Kylie, Remus cautiously opened his mouth, ready to ask her, finally. Quickly, he shut his mouth as another wave of thoughts overtook him, sending him further into the mysterious world that is doubt. Surely his attempt would look pathetic in comparison to James' proposition to Lily only twenty minutes earlier? The bespectacled boy had charmed the castle's suits of armor into, stopping her on her way to class, singing a somewhat off pitch rendition of "You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me," and hoisting Lily high in the air whilst James asked her to the dance—with the whole of Hogwarts watching, of course. Lily, who had avoided the group in its entirety since her revelation, rushed out of the facility, the colour of her face bearing a strong resemblance to that of her hair. Remus frowned at the thought.

"Remus?"

He looked up at her, her beautiful eyes widened. She looked at him expectantly. "Well?"

He stared at her, confused. She sighed and rolled her eyes, a bit of a smile hanging off the corner of her moist lips. "I asked if you'd finished number four, but you're obviously off on another planet." She laughed again.

"Oh." Wow. Really, Remus, Really?

"What's wrong?" She seemed genuine enough, which must mean that she cared for him, right? Right. But…No, perhaps he was reading into things—but it was just one dance. Frustrated with himself, he decided that he would just get it over with.

"Kylie, I was wondering, about the ball..." he started, exactly as he had to his mirror several times within the past week. Well, that was about as far as he had gotten with the mirror as well. After that, he had tried many different phrases and wordings to ask her in the most effective, cool way, but all seemed to be lost to him at that moment.

Her demeanor depressed visibly at Remus's words. He took that as a very unfortunate change of direction, but it was a direction he would have to go down anyways.

"What?"

She looked down at her paper again, and shook her head dismissively. "Nothing, it's just that I wanted to go with someone, but it turns out they just... Nevermind… its nothing."

It certainly didn't seem like nothing to Remus, and half of him was desperately hanging onto cloud nine at the very thought that maybe, just maybe, she could be talking about him.

"Who?" he asked before really thinking through what she had just said. If it was him, then he would ask her, plain and simple. No hurt feelings—the two would have a wonderful time, and then he could give her the chocolates he had bought for her that were at the bottom of his bag. Or was he supposed to give them to her before he asked? Drat.

She bit the inside of her bottom lip and scratched her knee. "Regulus Black..." she mumbled as Remus's heart sunk, settling somewhere around his hipbones. She didn't look up to notice.

"It's not that big of a deal, we just aren't... Well, I mean, he's a Black, and I'm a halfblood, so he said it wouldn't be good for his parents to hear about it, and, yeah..." She trailed off, fidgeting with her quill and keeping her gaze on the crinkled page.

Lately, Remus had been feeling the oddest combinations of feelings with Kylie. First, at the hospital when the two first saw each other and he felt bombarded with guilt, yet the strangest sort of happy, like they were siblings who hadn't seen each other in years. Then, during the full moon, when he became overwhelmed with guilt once again, but a need to protect her grew from that—like a Phoenix from the ashes. Now, as he sat across from her, he felt heartbroken and furious. He had really thought that she was feeling this odd sort of bond that he was feeling for her, but obviously Regulus was more than that. But how could Regulus do that to her? She was wonderful, so why would status mean anything? His rational mind knew exactly why the two couldn't be seen as a couple in any sense. Sirius was the epitome of that fundamental difference.

It didn't sit well with him either way. His stomach shifted uncomfortably—she deserved more than that. "I, um, didn't realize you felt that way for him." Of course you didn't, Remus. You hardly know anything about her. You two share one thing in common, that's it.

She brushed it off with an unconvincing shrug, falsely smiling. "You were saying something before?"

"Oh." What did he say now? "I'm not going with anyone either."

"Well," she said, with the sort of confidence that Remus only saw in her at rare moments, "We should go together."

His eyes widened and a hot blush crept up the back of his neck.

"As friends of course," she added.

"Right," he replied, his heart sinking just a little further, but he forced the corners of his lips into an upward curl, "As friends."

Remus's first kiss was nothing like he had ever imagined, even in his wildest of dreams (And really, he had had some pretty interesting dreams). He had gotten back to his dorm, crestfallen and intent on finishing his homework on his own for the remainder of the night. Tossing the mushed and melted chocolates on his bed, he slumped down beside them, feeling equally crushed, and began to finish up his work. Three hours later, he went into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Pulling off his clothes, he noticed the folded up letter in his pocket. A prickling sort of feeling came over his heart as he held it in his hand. He tossed the letter, addressed to him from his father, into the rubbish bin and continued to undress himself. He came out fifteen minutes later, dressed in a baggy long-sleeved shirt and sweat pants to find one frightfully cheerful Sirius Black, messily munching on the melted treats.

"Those weren't yours," Remus said, but he wasn't sure he really cared. Sirius looked up, his chocolate covered grin stretching from ear to ear.

"Moo'y!" Sirius said, rolling over on his back on Remus's bed. Remus wrinkled his nose at the stench of alcohol from Sirius's breath.

"Are you drunk?"

Sirius burst into a fit of giggles and then rolled right off the bed, landing with a dull thump.

Remus glanced at the clock on the wall. 11:07. He was about to question where James and Peter were, but then remembered their detentions, something that Sirius was undoubtedly skipping. Weren't they supposed to get done at 11?

"I thought you were at detention." His tone was dry and unamused.

"I did it, mate," Sirius slurred, attempting to push himself up from the carpet.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Did what, exactly? Why are you so intoxicated?"

"I got laiiiiiiiid."

Remus blinked. He stared at Sirius, who looked comical, half an arm on the bed, the rest of his body still very much on the floor. He blinked again. "I'm sorry, what?"

Sirius laughed again, and managed to pull himself onto Remus's bed. "Ok, soooo, it wasn't full on but Moooony, we weren't wearing much. Sooo good." He looked up and Remus, who was frowning deeply. "Wha's wrong moons? Not got any from 'ylie yet?"

Remus figured that there were two types of werewolves in the world. Those who were lucky and could keep the two consciousnesses separate, and those who couldn't. It was a difference between Remus and Fenrir that gave him much confidence whenever he weighed the overwhelming similarities between him and his biter. He rationalized that he had a thick separation between the wolf and himself, at least mentally. He'd heard about the werewolves that gave his kind such a bad name. The ones that lashed out violently, murdering muggles and wizards when still in their human form. Fortunately for Remus, he rarely had outbursts, and none were as violent as the aforementioned.

Unfortunately for Sirius, 'rarely' didn't mean 'never'.

Remus's hands were on Sirius's throat milliseconds after the words escaped his mouth. He straddled the boy on the bed, his teeth bared and a low growl was forming in the bottom of his throat. There was shock apparent in Sirius's grey, glazed eyes, but no fear. James had been terrified of Remus before, and Peter (although he tried desperately to hide it) wasn't the most confident in Remus's self control at times. Remus never blamed them, but Sirius didn't blink at the moment.

"Don't you ever say that again," he growled, pushing his hands closer together around Sirius's throat. Sirius started to laugh, but then shifted to a cough until Remus let go.

"'elax," Sirius slurred after Remus rolled off of him. He giggled again and leaned over, his breath making Remus grimace. "You 'ust need to get it over with."

And then it happened. Remus really didn't register it until afterwards. Just a wet, sloppy, chocolate-covered peck on Remus's chapped lips. In theory, that should've been nearly the epitome of Remus's idea of a first kiss. However, some blatant differences were at hand. Sirius burst out laughing again, (successfully rolling off the bed for a second time, with another, louder thump) and then promptly puked all over the carpet.

He hadn't even heard the door open, but Remus turned his head to see James and Peter staring at the two of them, their eyes wide and their jaws dropped.

"You can 'ave your cho'lats back now, 'oony."

SO. Yeah. What did you think?