Remus Lupin sat back casually, huffing as he glared at the open trunk in front of him. After forty five minutes of searching through his large trunk, throwing the neatly piled contents left and right in haste, there was still no sign of the missing herbology text book which he so desperately needed.

Closing the trunk with a huff, he stood up, eyes narrowing as he looked around the room angrily. A quick glance at his watch drew another huff from the man, as he realised another 20 minutes of revision time had been lost. He examined the room once more, remaining stationary as he eyed each boy's section of the room carefully.

James' section of the room was free of the text book, that much was evident. The be-speckled boy rarely took any of the werewolf's books, be they novels or educational, for fear of what would happen should any of the books come back damaged. One evanesco spell in third year that left James revealing his hippogryff boxers to the common room was more than enough to assure that.

Peter's bed was rather more likely. Indeed, lying upon the covers amongst dirty clothes and empty wrappers, Remus spotted the text book, and with a quiet growl strode over to the bed, grabbing the book happily, only to realise that the corners were too dog eared for the book to belong to him. A quick glance through the pages at the messy scribbles in the margins and Remus realised his mistake; there was no way this was his text book (and if it was, Peter Pettigrew was a dead man).

Placing the ruined book on the bed once more, Remus turned towards the final portion of the room, smiling as he spotted the cover of the book poking out of the far corner of the covers. Jogging lightly over towards the bed, he lay down across it, reaching towards the coveted book.


Sirius strode in to the dorms casually, walk stuttering slightly as he spotted the the lithe form of Remus Lupin stretched out across his bed, reaching for an object just out of Sirius' line of sight. Sirius' mouth dried as he watched the teen stretch further, shirt riding up to reveal a slither of skin between his trousers and the light button shirt he was wearing. He spotted Remus' light pink tongue darting out of the corner of his mouth slightly as the boy concentrated, muttering under his breath as his hands closed over whatever it was he craved.

"...bloody mutt... taking books... should ask..." He huffed, as Sirius felt a sad smile building upon his face.

It had been a week since 'the incident', and Sirius had barely seen the werewolf since the morning after the moon rose. Remus had taken to sitting next to Peter in the majority of lessons, consequentially leading to Sirius placing himself next to James, a seating arrangement that the teachers did not appear to appreciate and was appreciated by Snape even less.

Mealtimes were much the same, and Remus had taken to replacing their usual 'Remus and Sirius' time with tutoring everyone, anyone, that might need his help. They spoke occasionally, asking for pens here or passing potatoes casually, but before long it was obvious to the entire school that something had occurred between the marauders.

Sirius hadn't been allowed in Remus' bed since, an unspoken arrangement that began when Remus closed his curtains around his bed the first night after the full, effectively shutting off access to the magnificent mattress and causing Sirius to detest those curtains with an intensity usually reserved for Severus Snape and paperclips.

The irony of this hatred of curtains would not be lost on Remus, many many years later.

"You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity." Sirius stated calmly, walking over to sit on his trunk, less than a foot away from his startled friend, who had been so focussed on the book that his senses hadn't even recognised the appearance of his friend. Remus lay, frozen, upon the bed, eyes leaving him looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Oh, hello. Well, I was just... Insane... Must be, since I'm friends with you." Remus stuttered lightly, climbing upwards into a sitting position, never letting his eyes leave Sirius. The pair sat for a moment, every muscle tensed, the hunter and the hunted.

"Why are you on my bed?" Sirius whispered, crawling towards his friend as Remus shuffled backwards at an even pace.

"I was looking for my Herbology text book. I wanted to get that homework about the effects of anger upon pigmy infected Lilacs done so that I could go-" Remus started, the pair still moving back until Remus' back collided with the headboard.

"Why have you been ignoring me, Remus? I thought you didn't want things to change..." Sirius keened sadly as he shuffled closer, taking the book out of his friend's hand and placing it on the side carefully, eyes never leaving his friend.

"We need... time apart." Remus replied, eyes closing momentarily as Sirius leant in closer, pressing the two of them together from shoulder to toe. "Then things can re-adjust, and go back to...normal."

"No no, I think that you do want things to change... You either want me to leave you alone, or you want so much more than what we had." Sirius stated softly, letting his breath ghost across his friend's lips. Remus' eyes fluttered closed once more, and his tongue slid out once more, drawing its way around the flush lips nervously.

That was all the motivation Sirius needed, and he slid forward inches, claiming the lips rapidly as a soft sigh left them. Neither boy moved for a moment, lips remaining placed against one another carefully as Sirius waited for Remus to hit him or kiss him back. When neither happened, Sirius moved slightly, eliciting a muffled moan from Remus, whose hands moved upwards, upwards, tangling themselves in Sirius' locks as he pressed himself against Sirius.

Sirius took a deep breath in as he smiled into the pressure, allowing Remus to pull his head forward, lips colliding with an almost desperate need.

Sirius gasped into the kiss as he recognised the reaction Remus was producing within him, insides knotting painfully as he felt himself harden. Good lord, since when can a kiss get me like this? Remus pressed upwards once more, and Sirius couldn't help but notice that he was in the same state, worsening the pooling in his own lap.

Kissing his way down the strong jaw below him, Sirius nipped the ear lightly, earning him a low gasp from the swollen lips. "Oh, Gods, Moony." Sirius moaned. All at once the scene froze, and Sirius frowned as he felt the boy below him still at the phrase, pushing Sirius off his lap and moving off the bed rapidly.

"Sirius, please. Don't make me do this. I will not be one of your flings. I will not." Remus begged, straightening his tie rapidly as he grabbed the text book off the bedside table. "I am Moony, I am your friend. I'm not a piece of fruit, Sirius - you can't take what you like and throw the peel away." He stated, throwing his cloak over his shoulders nervously. "We need a bit of time apart, okay? Just, Gods, I don't know, the entire student population is in love with you, go and get one of them to... fulfil... you."

"But what if no one can." Sirius replied quietly, eyes wide in desperation.

"Someone can, Sirius. I'm not special." Remus countered, taking one last glance around the room before sweeping out, cloak billowing from the speed of his movement. "See you tonight, Pads."

"Bye Remus." Sirius sighed, throwing himself back onto his bed, fingers tracing his still swollen lips.


"You know, seeing you or Remus striding places with upset looks on your faces seems to be a regular thing round here now." James stated calmly as he examined the angry look on his friend's face, perching on the edge of the bed quietly.

"I kissed him again." Sirius stated, chewing the inside of his cheek nervously as he examined the firewhiskey in his hand, taking a violent swig of the burnt liquid as he finished his sentence. James rolled his eyes, grabbing the bottle out of his friend's hands and replacing the lid as he lamented his friend's actions.

"What? Merlin, Pads, you haven't even spoken for a week, and the first thing you do is go and jump him? No wonder the poor boy is scared." James muttered, picking at the label of the firewhiskey contemplatively.

"I needed something, okay? And he was the only one... Is the only one..." Sirius started, trying to articulate his slightly muddled thoughts.

"Look, Pads.... There's no way of me saying this without coming off as a rubbish friend, so I'm just going to come out and say it. Are you sure that its Moony that you want? Are you sure that this isn't a passing fancy, because I know that you really really want to go for this, but as your friend, and more importantly as Moony's friend, I'll have to stop you right now if you think that there's even a chance that you're only doing this because Moony's available or because you liked being dominated or something equally as fickle." James stated sternly, hands raising to rest on his friend's shoulders.

"What? You think that I wouldn't be hurt if it didn't work? You think that I would hurt Remus?" Sirius asked angrily, temper flaring.

"No, I'm saying this because Moony isn't you. Moony tears himself to pieces whenever he breaks up with anyone, both figuratively and literally. Do you remember when he broke up with Anita? It took Mme Pomfrey four days to patch him up after that moon, remember? And you're not Anita. If you and him get together, it wont be a three week relationship that breaks up, it will be a five and a half year friendship, you know? It would kill him. Tear him to shreds. I am not going to let you do that to him, if you do, Sirius, I swear to God you'll wish you were dead." James finished, content that he had at least slowed the Black boy down a little in his advances.

"Maybe Remus is right. Maybe we need time apart." Sirius stated suddenly, head falling into his hands as whispy hairs covered his face.

"So you don't want him?" James asked, surprised by the answer. Despite his threats, he had honestly thought that the emotions Sirius held for Remus were genuine. Sirius paused for a second, thinking of the pleasure coursing through his bones when Remus moaned, the burst of happiness in his mind when Remus smiled, the tug on his heartstrings whenever Remus' eyes met his own.

Thinking of the pain when Remus pulled away in disgust.

"I don't know what I want." Sirius stated quietly, more hair falling into his face as his mood dropped.

"Then get away from Remus for a while, to try and figure this whole mess out. Don't let him get attached and then pull away, Pads, because if you hurt him any more than necessary, I will kill you." James finished, removing his hands from his friend's shoulders.

"Fine. Look, I've got to go to detention with McGonagal, I'll see you round, yes?" Sirius stated, getting off his bed and heading for the door.

"Bye Pads." James muttered, waving at his friend. "Lord, I hang out with some right idiots."


"Potter." Lily said curtly, not looking up as she felt a weight land beside her on the sofa. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, you can." James smiled, leaning back to examine his redhaired companion. "I need some advice."

"Advice?" Lily replied, sparing a glance at the boy. "What sort of advice? If this is heading for a sexual innuendo about your Penis, I will chop it off Potter."

"No! No, its nothing to do with my monstrous member... Its about Remus. Well, Remus and Sirius, technically." James frowned slightly, looking around the common room briefly. "Look, its a bit busy in here, would you mind if we went somewhere else? I don't want anyone to overhear."

"Fine. But I'm only doing this for Remus." Lily stated, climbing up off the sofa and placing her books back in her bag. "What is the problem?" She asked as soon as the pair were outside the room, the pair falling into step as they meandered down the corridors.

"Remus likes Sirius." James stated. "As in, really likes, not like a friend would usually like another friend. More like the way I like you, but with slight anatomical differences."

"And here I thought Remus had a good taste in partners. Apparently not." Lily quipped, eyeing James with interest. "So what's the problem, Black doesn't like Remus back? Because I'm sure I've seen him glancing at poor Remus more than enough times to suggest otherwise."

"Well, therein lies the problem. Remus likes Sirius, but Remus doesn't want to be in a relationship with Sirius, as Remus does not think himself gay or want to ruin Sirius' life." James explained briefly, excluding details about his friend's 'furry little problem'. "Meanwhile, Sirius was completely convinced that Remus was the guy for him up until about 10 minutes ago, when I had a conversation with him that made him question his feelings for Remus. However, I think - nay, know - that he does really really like Remus, and only started the aformentioned conversation in order to make him slow down this whole thing with Remus. Now, however, I am in a rut - Sirius doesn't want to ask Remus out because he doesn't understand what he's feeling, and Remus is being a stubborn mule and wont explain it to Sirius. The longer this problem is around, the further they drift apart, and pretty soon no amount of everstick glue is going to keep them together." James finished, looking at Lily optimistically. "What should I do?"

"I think, unfortunately, the only thing you can do right now is wait. Remus isn't an idiot, he'll get over his issues eventually. You've just got to hope this isn't a flash in the pan for Black, because if he hurts a hair on Rem's head I am castrating him and keeping his balls as my prize."

"I'll be sure to pass on the warning." James replied as the pair finished their circuit, reaching the portrait once more. Stating the password, James let Lily through, watching silently as she climbed gracefully through the gap. Whispering goodbyes, James headed for his own staircase, ready to go and sleep off his friendship woes.

"Oh, and James?" He heard a voice state, turning to see the radiant face of Lily Evans leaning against the bannister. "I'm glad you're okay with everything that's going on with Sirius and Remus - a lot of people would have turned and ran. The fact that you didn't shows a lot of guts. Night." James smiled dozily as Lily turned on her heel rapidly, watching her back retreat swiftly.

"Baby mini-Potters, you say, Remus? I see your wager and double it." James laughed to himself, turning to ascend to the dorms once more.


Regulus strolled back from the kitchens casually arms laden with cakes and firewhiskey which the house elves had provided. Smiling at his collection, he turned towards the common room, before disjointed footsteps stopped him in his tracks. Staring round nervously, he dived behind a statue, fearful of Filch's evil nature.

He placed his wares on the floor carefully, not wanting the man to take any of his newly acquired foods. He listened once more, trying to work out what directions the man's footsteps were coming from.

However, the steps were too light to be the burly keeper, and there appeared to be more than one person moving towards where he stood. A couple on a midnight stroll. Regulus smiled internally, shining his newly acquired prefect badge and preparing to step out into the corridor, before a loud, moaning and definitely male voice drawled 'Oh, Sirius!'.

Frozen in place, Regulus stayed behind the statue as the couple appeared round the corner, Sirius' form pressing the - yes, male - figure into the wall opposite, hands roaming in places Regulus didn't even want to thing about. "What say we find somewhere a bit more comfortable?" he heard his brother whisper, dragging his hand up his partner's manly thigh.

Grabbing Sirius' hand, the man *thankfully* took Sirius away, dragging Regulus' brother somewhere, to do something Regulus really didn't want to think about.

Still frozen, Regulus' mind whirled as he thought about the repercussions of what he'd just seen. Sliding out from behind the statue, he stared in the direction his brother had left in, thinking about a million things at once. Does this mean Sirius is gay? Will he be disowned? Do I want him to be disowned? Do his friends colleagues teachers cousins exes know? Do I tell mother father Lucius James? Questions whirling rapidly, Regulus did the only thing he knew how to do.

He turned and ran, collection long forgotten as he headed for the one person who would know what to do. For Severus.


I deserve a severe beating for being such a rubbish updater! Better late than never? Its short, and I didn't do any review responses either, but I just haven't had any spare time, i'm so sorry! Exams finish this week though (yay) so I will be updating on time from here on in, hopefully :)

Song of the week - Moonage Daydream, David Bowie