A/N: Hey guys, I'm going to be super busy for the remaining of the school year so expect the next updates to be very apart and slow. I promise to make the next one worth it. Thank you for all the kind words and the feedback and the follows and favorites. I appreciate it all so much. I hope I'm deserving of your patience, guys. I'll try my best to update as soon as I can, but it will take a while.

I thought that we would end up reviving our argument with James from when summer first started. After all, it is common conflict among seventh years. Celebrate the license to Apparate by casually popping into Hogsmeade, showing off to the incoming eleven-year-olds like a bunch of idiots, or give into tradition and strut into that train and take up all the compartments, scaring the incoming eleven-year-olds like a bunch of idiots?

James doesn't put up a fight this time, claiming that it's our last year and he doesn't want to pass up the opportunity to enjoy his last September 1st train ride. Of course, we're merciful enough not to point out that he never really had a say in it in the first place. As Head Boy, he had to patrol during the trip.

That leaves me, Peter, and Remus in the compartment.

I flip through one of James' Quidditch magazines, looking through new brands for Beaters' bats that are sponsoring James' favourite team. All I can think of is how they're almost identical to baseball bats and how they remind me of that one time Remus tried to teach me baseball. He got furious the instant he realized that I was better than him at it. Before I can help it, I laugh to myself.

Sitting across from me is Remus, who has a very sleepy Wormtail curled up on his lap and another pretentious-looking book in his hands. He looks up from the pages and raises his eyebrows at me. "What?"

I shake my head. "Nothing. It's just weird. It feels like yesterday when it was just me and James in this compartment, being huge gits about everything."

"Back when you two didn't have me to babysit you children?" he quips.

Nodding, I smirk. "Exactly. A lot has changed since the first time we all rode together, huh? I mean, not necessarily a bad thing, but…everything's so different and it's weird, you know?"

He closes his book and sets it aside. "Don't be such a sap. It's been several years, I'd be concerned if things weren't different."

I roll my eyes. "You know what I mean."

He chuckles. "Yeah, yeah. But I'm glad we kept a few things to ourselves throughout these years. Like this compartment. I swear to God, my old cardigan is still here somewhere."

I laugh with him, shaking my head. "Is this why you aren't sitting with Blondie?"

He sticks his tongue out. "Shut up, he's a prefect, remember? Meanwhile, I'm finally free of that duty," he adds with a smug smirk.

Closing my eyes and clutching my chest, I feign a pained expression. "Oh, how I'll miss the days when you got in trouble because you gave us too many free passes."

He throws a jellybean at me.

I scoff. "It's only been one day since you've been relieved of your duty and you're already so fucking rude."

He laughs, and his smiles takes over his exhausted face, making him look like what sunlight feels like.

From the scrawny, pale boy, with the stutter and the bandages over his scars, who I met when I was eleven, he had grown to this. His hair is so much longer than his clean cut back then, his locks now falling over his green eyes and elegantly framing his beautiful cheekbones. He is still thinner than most boys our age, but when he stretches or flexes, you can see a little bit of muscle in him now. Well, you can't grow up in a dorm full of wrestling boys, nor can you grow up topping everyone at Defense, without gaining a bit of muscle. He wasn't as pale anymore. With summers to spend with us, and a whole lot of exploring the Hogwarts grounds, he managed to get a little bit of color in him, making him even more gorgeous.

Remaining constant are his scars. Long, pink, and causing rises in his skin. As much as it breaks my heart and angers me to think about why they are there, cut across his face and arms and legs and everywhere skin can cover, it also makes me proud to know he's gone through so much - survived through so much. They remind me of how much of a soldier he is, with his battle wounds and strength.

If someone were to ask me why I'm scared of feeling the way I feel about someone as remarkable as him – I wouldn't be able to answer.

"Sirius."

"Mm?"

"You're staring."

"Oh," I mumble, snapping out of it. "Sorry, long night. Zoned out. I'm knackered, aren't you?"

He buys it. "It was fun, but yeah, I'm dying for more sleep too. Can't wait to get back to our room. I mean, I'd just sleep now, but I'd probably crush Peter while I'm unconscious," he says, gesturing to the cozy rat on his lap.

BANG.

Remus and I jolt from our seats, pulling out our wands as the sound comes from the corridors. It wakes Peter up and he scampers away from Remus, before transforming.

"What the bloody hell was that?" he asks, withdrawing his wand too.

"I'm usually the one wreaking havoc on train rides, Pete, so I'm just as confused as you are," I mumble as I slide the compartment door open.

When we walk out, there are already several heads poking out from compartments for a peek, and a group of people huddled against the door of the last compartment.

I instantly recognize Wilkes, Snape, Rosier, and Avery – I try to ignore Regulus standing a bit apart from them, looking bored and disinterested as he leans against the wall. When he sees me, his face pales, and he turns around to retreat into his compartment, backing away from the commotion. However, among all the green robes they've already changed into, I see a tall bloke with his back to us, wearing a Ravenclaw sweater.

They're huddling over someone, mocking laughs leaving their mouths.

"All of you need to fuck off. Especially you, Biancardi."

It takes me a moment or two to place who the voice belongs to. By the time I realize that it's Anthony's voice, Remus is already storming up to them.

"Remus, wait-"

The words die in my mouth when they part as Remus approaches, revealing Anthony slumped against their compartment door, blood trickling down his nose, his lip cut up, and his blue eyes glaring through the purple bruises.

Peter and I lift our wands, but before we can even utter an incantation, in one swift movement, Remus had all of them disarmed. Then, giving me heart attack, Remus drops his wand.

"What the fuck?" Peter murmurs, as we make our way to them. He casts a shield charm in front of Anthony to prevent further damage before going to help him up, and I yank Remus out of the way.

"You dropped your-"I begin, but he escapes my grip.

Muttering, "I don't need my fucking wand," he punches Biancardi right across the face, sending him tumbling onto the floor. Frozen with shock, I barely even register Wilkes and Snape reaching for Remus. But before they do, Remus turns around, ducks away from their fists, elbows Snape in the face and knees Wilkes in the crotch.

I work past my shock, and kick Wilkes behind the knees, his legs bucking beneath him and making him fall. Then, after he steadies Anthony against the wall, Peter sends his fist across Snape's jaw.

When the three of us turn around, we see Avery – who, to our horror, has recovered his wand – standing in front of Anthony, with a sneer. "Lupin," he drawls, "Come to save your boyfriend?"

Remus picks up his wand as he narrows his eyes. "What are you idiots going on about now?" He ignores Avery's remark. The tremble in his voice is barely noticeable, but it's there.

"Biancardi here mentioned something very interesting to one the other Ravenclaw nerds when we were making our way back from the Prefect's meeting. Apparently, he and your little Alice are neighbors. Well, at least her house that's an hour off the coast."

"What are you getting at?" Remus asks. "You know what, I don't care, just let Anthony go."

We hear a shuffle and a grunt from beside us, and see that Biancardi's getting up.

"Adorable," he deadpans. "Lupin's fighting for the whore's honor."

Remus pales and moves to attack him again, but this time Peter and I are quick enough to seize him, keeping him in our grasp, as we each point a wand to Avery and Biancardi.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU CALL HIM?" Remus yells. I tighten my grip, feeling terrified.

"Sirius…" Anthony coughs out. I look at him, trying to reassure myself that his wounds aren't that bad. "…Get him out of here."

Before I can reply, Avery starts talking again with a horrible smirk on his face. Biancardi chuckles next to us; I never pegged this git to be such a twat I wouldn't hesitate to murder.

"Come on, faggot, and listen to your boyfriend."

This time, I don't hold Remus back.

This time, Peter and I, in sync, let go of Remus, and tackle Avery.

Peter punches him hard in the stomach, and he doubles over as I grab his neck and push him towards the floor. Standing up straight, Peter points a wand at him warningly. I plant my boot on Avery's chest, pinning him down.

More heads are peeking out of their compartments - particularly wide-eyed first years in awe.

I put my hand on my hip and flash a sarcastic smile. "Nothing to see here, kiddos! Unless you want it to be otherwise!" I exclaim, twirling my wand in my other hand, as Peter aims a spell at him, making the Slytherin fall into unconsciousness. The kids scramble hurriedly back into the safety of their seats, shutting their doors.

"Sirius..." a tired voice says behind me.

Panicked, I turn around to check on Remus, but he definitely doesn't need checking up on. He's got a few bruises, but he has a fistful of Biancardi's sweater, using the same hand to push him against the wall. I open my mouth, stunned at how effortless he looks, then I realize he has his knee against the Ravenclaw's stomach and his wand pointed at his throat. While it doesn't look effortless anymore, I definitely make a mental note to keep my promise and not fuck up with Remus.

"...stop frightening the children," Remus continues with a reprimanding expression.

"You're one to talk," Peter says, gesturing to Biancardi who is flailing helplessly. Peter then walks over to Anthony and supports him by putting the blonde's arm around his shoulders. Anthony smiles at him thankfully before turning to Remus. "Rem, leave him alone. He's not worth it."

Biancardi still looks terrified, but a nervous, manic laugh escapes him as he struggles to turn his head to face Anthony. "Anthony...what are you doing with this half-blood?"

Anthony glares at him. "Just because you haven't found enough rebounds to fuck the queer out of you - or at least to get over me - doesn't mean you have to take it out on my boyfriend. You're such a bloody child. Fine. They already know about me and Rem, so I've got nothing to lose anymore. What do you reckon your Slytherin mates are going to do when they find out about you and me?"

The Ravenclaw's face turns desperate, but he tries to cover it up with a chuckle. "You wouldn't..."

"I won't if you leave. Now."

Anthony sends a look at Remus, who lets go of Biancardi immediately.

The git scrambles away from Remus and retreats into the compartment Regulus disappeared into.

Remus doesn't miss a heartbeat before helping Peter with Anthony.

We walk back to our compartment, Peter and Remus taking Anthony's weight upon themselves. I slide the door open for them, and they tumble through, with Remus making sure Anthony lands on the cushioned seats.

He kneels in front of him, cradling Anthony's face. "Hey, hey, look at me."

Anthony doesn't. He just stares at the floor, mumbling, "Should've been careful...M'sorry."

"No, no, it's not your fault. I- I don't care if they know."

There's uncertainty in Remus' voice, but there's truth in it, somehow. I manage to look past the jealousy and revel in the admiration I feel as I realize how brave Remus is. Sometimes it's easy to forget that beneath all those cardigans and chocolate stains and geeky Muggle pop culture references, is someone who doesn't back down.

Blood is still trickling down his face as he mumbles, "Are you sure?"

Remus nods, wiping the pooling tears away from Anthony's eyes.

It's all so intimate and I feel nagging guilt as I start to feel the jealousy again.

Remus turns to me pleadingly, and I understand.

"Right," I mumble, as Remus stands up and I take his place in front of Anthony. "Episkey. Percuro. Auferte. Tardocruor."

The bleeding stops and the bruises fade a bit. His cuts weren't that deep in the first place, so they're already starting to heal. "Nothing too bad. You're going to be okay, mate," I assure him, and he allows himself a small smile. I turn to Peter. "Hey, Pete, can you grab my Potions kit? First thing you see when you open my trunk."

Peter nods and I see Remus slump back onto the seat opposite, and Anthony, biting his nails as he stares at nothing in particular. My heart breaks a little and I'm not sure why.

I turn back to Anthony the second Peter hands me my kit. I open the small box and my fingers skim through the tops of the bottles. "You haven't lost that much blood, so it might not be healthy to give you a Blood Replenishing Potion, don't wanna overdose you with a Girding Potion either..." I mumble, looking for the right vial. Then, I take out one containing a yellow-tinted liquid. "Here, drink this," I say, holding the potion up.

He lifts his hand to take it, but ends up wincing and groaning.

"Shit," I mutter, taking his wrist carefully. "You must have broken it...Ugh, those gits..." I lay his hand back down on his lap and grab my wand again. I tap his arm lightly, murmuring, "Brackium Emendo."

He lets out a pained hiss, looking away.

"Hey, it's okay, mate... Is it better?"

He peers at his wrist curiously, flexing it a bit. "Yeah...A bit stiff, but yeah. Much better."

I smile reassuringly. "Good. That's good. Here, drink this now."

He takes the vial from me, raising his eyebrows. "What's this? I mean, I know it's Honeywater, but are those herbs floating-"

"It's Monkshood. Sirius brews it with Monkshood," Remus interrupts. "It's really good, try it."

I turn around, surprised he actually takes note of some of the things I make him drink. He's grinning, probably remembering the time I made him drink this for the first time as he whined. I grin back.

I look back at Anthony, who has already chugged down the whole thing before settling it back into my kit.

He blinks a few times, trying not to look too amazed. "Wow...Uh, thanks."

The door slides open so fast that I jump on my feet and hold up my wand. But then I'm met with a very angry looking James and Lily, their badges shining and their eyes looking like they're prepped for murder. Perfect couple.

"I leave you three for twenty minutes and I've already got a bunch of injured students?" James asks, exasperated.

Lily looks like she's about to reprimand us too, but then she sees Anthony - body limp and struggling to keep his eyes open.

She rushes to sit next to him, taking his face into her hands, careful not to touch the healing wounds. "You're the bloke they were beating up?!"

He nods. "They found out. 'Bout me and Rem."

Lily kisses his forehead and stands up, with a face that can only be described as all hell breaking loose.

She turns to leave, her voice filling up the whole compartment. "THOSE PRICKS ARE GOING TO HAVE THEIR ARSES HANDED TO THEM AND-"

James grabs her. "Hey. No, you'll only make it worse. Come on, we'll deal we'll deal with them later, yeah?"

"How could you say that after-"

"Lils, babe, come on," James insists. "They need us here more than those tossers need another bruise on their faces, yeah?"

She makes a face at him, but then turns around to sit back down with her arm around Anthony. "Okay, so how did they find out?"

"Biancardi...he lives next to Alice's beach house which means he goes down to the beach pretty often and..."

"He saw us," Remus finishes for him, his face pale, but I can see that he's trying to remain calm for him.

Anthony nods. "Of course, the prick goes on and tells this to the people whom he knows would give me shit for it the most."

"What were we even doing?"

Anthony raises his eyebrows. "We all know how affectionate you get when you're wasted, Rem." There isn't accusation in his voice, just a teasing tone that calms Remus enough despite of his statement.

"Shut up," Remus mumbles, but there's hardly conviction in it. He sits next to Anthony and pats his hand.

I don't what compels me to say it because I know that I don't have to. This is our compartment. I was involved in the fight too. I'm Remus' best friend. But I say it anyway. "You two look like you need some time alone," I say, before looking pointedly at James, Lily, and Peter.

"But-" Lily tries to protest.

"Evans, why don't we look for Frank and Alice so that we have back up when we knock out Biancardi and the lot, yeah?" I interrupt.

She stands up immediately, like a soldier being told to stand in attention. "I'll go look for Alice, you secure the arseholes' locations."

"Wand at the ready, Evans?"

She snorts. "Always, Black." Without any hesitation, she turns around and walks out to the corridor.

James, too taken aback by to speak up earlier, smacks my arm. "All of you are children," he groans, before running to follow her out. Peter soon walks out the door too.

Remus looks up at me. "You didn't have to do that."

"It's fine, we'll look for another compartment," I say, even though I know that's hardly what he meant.

Anthony shoots me a weary smile, and I smile back, not looking back at Remus, before leaving them to talk things through

Neither of them deserve this.

As we get up from the Gryffindor table, Remus and Anthony avoid looking at anyone. I can see why.

The looks aren't necessarily mean or mocking. Just curious and invading and frustrating. The fact that almost the whole school knows already doesn't help much. It's only the fellow Gryffindors who at least try to act like nothing is going on, save for the younger kids who are practically staring.

Most of the Slytherins - the ones who Frank and Alice haven't sent to the Hospital Wing at least - are sneering and scoffing, whispering to each other. It's not even that this is the first time the school has learned about someone queer. There have been a few. But the thing is, no one ever really went beyond snide remarks and teasing comments. The only reason everyone is making a big deal out of this is because that Biancardi - who I never realize was an evil little git - is making a huge fuss out of it. With his kind of influence joined with Avery's lot, everyone is suddenly compelled to believe that it is a big deal.

When he steps out of the Great Hall, Anthony lightly touches Remus' wrist. "Hey, I have to orient the first years. You lot go ahead, yeah?"

Remus smiles at him. "Sure."

Anthony jogs to a flock of first years and starts pointing in different directions with fake enthusiasm in his eyes. The kids are awed easily anyway.

I look around for Peter, but then find that he's already walking up the stairs with Frank and Alice. Lily and James are still in the Great Hall receiving extra instructions from Dumbledore before they take over the first patrol. Trying to ignore the dread of being alone with Remus, I put my arm around him.

"You alright there, mate?"

His face looks neither pleased nor annoyed, but he calmly mutters, "You know, if you touch me like that, people will think you're queer too."

I hope he doesn't feel my arm twitching at that as I still keep it firmly around him. "So?"

He snorts. "You honestly think I believe that doesn't bother you? I mean, you freak out when you think you're queer."

"I don't-"

He sighs and cuts me off. "Save it, Padfoot," he says, with a kinder voice. "Let's just...let's head back, yeah?"

Nodding, I mumble, "Yeah, let's get you out of here."

I suppose we aren't supposed to stay up the night before the first day of classes, but after everything that happened today, no one could really sleep. Of course, the first years are still in an excited buzz, whispering about the castle and all the rumors I believed as well when I was their age. The third years are talking excitedly about their first Hogsmeade weekend next month. Some sixth years are just lazing around by the windows, enjoying post-O.W.L.s results bliss.

Lily is tired though,. She's sleeping on Alice's shoulder, as Alice goes through old magazines left by the seventh years of last year. Frank and Peter are playing chess on the table away from us, claiming we're ruining their concentration. Lying on our stomachs on the floor, James has a piece of parchment in front of him and a quill in hand, sketching away and explaining to me his strategies for this season. On the couch next to us are Remus and Anthony. I don't meet their eyes.

"I'm sorry," I hear Anthony murmur under his breath, not knowing that I can hear. I pretend to be preoccupied with James' talking about Quidditch season predictions and upcoming tryouts. "You shouldn't have to deal with this too, Rem."

"Don't be sorry," Remus hastily assures. "It's not your fault your ex-boyfriend is a piece of shite. How are you holding up though? Will your family find out soon?"

"Probably.. .I don't know. I mean, my parents love me, and they won't disown me or anything ridiculous like that..."

I wince, and I feel Remus' eyes on me for a moment.

"But," Anthony continues. "I'm definitely going to get in trouble and will have to go through a lot of 'corrective therapy'."

"Crap. I'm sorry. Christ, I wish there was something I could do."

"It's okay," Anthony replies. I can hear a smile in his voice. "I'm not scared. I thought I would be...But I'm not. I got you."

"I know you're not scared...But aren't you...You're not ashamed of being seen with me, right?"

The insecurity and vulnerability in his voice breaks my heart and I try to stop listening in. But I can't.

"Ashamed?" Anthony repeats in an incredulous tone. In my peripheral vision, I see him grab Remus' hand and kiss his cheek right here in the middle of the Common Room. "What idiot would ever be ashamed of feeling this way about you?"

I am about to completely turn away from them and face James as guilt takes over my expression in burning red blush. However, before I do, Remus catches my eye for what feels like both a millisecond and an eternity.

Then, he returns his gaze to Anthony and mutters, "I don't know."

Preview: "Sirius, I'm not letting you do this."

"But I have to, James."