-Ron-

Spending the summer holidays at Grimmauld Place with his family and his two best friends had sounded a lot greater in theory than it turned out to be. There was still a lot of work to do in and around the house, his brothers were as annoying as ever, the kids were not allowed to sit in on the Order meetings and worst of all, something was very very wrong with him. How was it possible that he had a crush on his best friend? A crush on Hermione, for Merlin's sake!

"There's really only one explanation", Ron mused, "I must have gone mad. Merlin's underpants, Hermione... I mean, she's just Hermione. She's always been Hermione. There's really no reason to feel and to act this way." He sighed. When his parent's had told him he could have his own room at Grimmauld Place, he'd been so looking forward to it. But now, as he lay in the darkness of his room, all alone with his thoughts, he suddenly missed the Hogwarts common rooms, where he always knew that he wasn't alone.

A soft knock on his door startled him and interrupted his rather gloomy thoughts. After a moment's hesitation, he went and opened the door.

"Harry", he exclaimed and was instantly pushed into his room and shushed. Ron couldn't help but grin at his friend. "What are you doin' here, mate?"

Harry shrugged noncommittally and grinned back. "Couldn't sleep."

"Yeah, me either", Ron demonstratedly scooted to one end of his bed and signalled his friend to sit down. Harry went over and they sat together in silence for a moment.

"I think I have a crush on Hermione", Ron suddenly blurted, while Harry exclaimed: "I think Sirius and Remus are sleeping together."

-Remus-

Remus had never believed that he deserved to be loved, especially not by someone like Sirius Black. When - inexplicably - Sirius, James and even Peter had still been his friends, even after knowing of his affliction he'd always thought that that would be the most he would ever get. Of course, that was still too much and every day that he woke up and realized that it hadn't been a dream, that he actually had friends, friends who loved and cherished him so much they permanently altered parts of themselves - for nothing else is being an animagus - for him, he counted himself lucky. This was so much more than he deserved. But even in those days, when he was taught that maybe, just maybe, he too deserved to have friends, to be loved and cherished by his friends and to love and cherish them in turn, he'd never considered himself worthy of romantic love. For who would ever love a beast?

Now he was looking at the man who had been his best friend since he was 11, the man he had secretly loved for decades, who was currently lying naked next to him, sleeping peacefully and snoring slightly, and he thought that maybe, he was proven wrong yet again. Maybe, he did deserve to be loved and to love in turn, not as one loves a friend, but as one loves romantically.

Sirius moved in his dream and a lock of hair fell in his face. With a tender grasp, Remus put it back, his touch lingering on the sleeping man's cheek.

"Oh how lucky I am", he thought.

It was late, but he didn't want to fall asleep. Because as real as this moment felt to him, a part of him was scared - no, terrified - to fall asleep and to wake up to find out that this was really just a dream. After all, he was just a beast.

-Harry-

"I think I have a crush on Hermione"; Ron blurted out at the same time Harry revealed, that he had seen his godfather and former DADA teacher "getting it on" on the couch: "I think Sirius and Remus are sleeping together."

"Wow, what makes you think that?", Ron asked. "Well, obviously", Harry replied to his friend's admission.

"Wait, what do you mean 'obviously'?" Ron looked at Harry confused. But before Harry could answer, Ron interrupted him with a wave of his hand and said: "Never mind that, it can wait. What did you just say? Sirius and Professor Lupin are...?"

Harry nodded and kept his gaze on the ground. He could feel his cheeks redden and desperately tried not to think too much about what he had witnessed.

"I saw them", he said quietly, not daring to look Ron into the eyes. "After talking to Tonks, I went upstairs and heard...something. And I thought maybe someone was in trouble, so I went looking... Instead I saw...", he blushed even deeper remembering the scene he'd witnessed through the slightly open door.

"Eurgh", Ron said as the picture Harry had not painted but still created with the words he had left unsaid formed in his mind.

"I cannot believe Sirius and Professor Lupin are...are... Eurgh! They are so old! Old people don't do stuff like this..."

Harry raised an amused eyebrow.

"Oh really? That's odd because I could swear I saw your pattens snogging in the kitchen a few days ago."

"Lalala I can't hear you", Ron immediately put his hands above his hears and turned beet-red, a colour that clashed deliciously with his Weasley-red hair.

"Please don't ever say something like that about my parents again", he pleaded. "They are embarrassing me enough as it is."

It took Harry all of his willpower not to burst out laughing and alert the Weasley matriarch that they were still up, resulting in his cheeks turning almost as red as Ron's.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry", he said, decidedly not sounding sorry at all, "I won't bring up your parents and their...moments again. But", he continued, his tone turning serious again, "do you think anyone else knows? Do you think they want to keep this a secret?"

"Who, my parents?" - "Remus and Sirius of course!"

"Oh, right", Ron blushed again. "Well I don't know. It doesn't seem like they are..., well, public about it. So I guess maybe they want to keep it to themselves for now?" Ron shrugged and looked expectantly at his friend.

"You're probably right", Harry said slowly, "that this is something we're not supposed to know yet...", he hesitated, "but at the same time..."

"You want to talk about it", Ron guessed.

Harry gave an almost imperceptible nod. He knew that technically this didn't concern him. Technically, Remus and Sirius were two grown up men who could do as they pleased, and yet... And yet Harry felt like this did concern him, because Sirius was his godfather and Remus had been his favourite teacher and he looked up to both of them and in a way, they were as much his parents as Molly and Arthur. While other children had two full parents, who were always there for them, Harry had a lot of adults who were kind of like parents (or, in some cases, grandparents) to him; they could never fully fill the hole in his heart where his parents should have been, but they were still people he looked up to and people he felt he could go to. So Remus and Sirius, two people who were so closely tied to his parents through their past and so closely tied to his heart through the present potentially being in love or at least doing things people who were in love did... Harry felt like that did actually concern him very much and he wanted nothing more than to talk about this.

"Maybe Hermione", Ron pronounced the name with an air of nonchalance that suggested he was absolutely not feeling nonchalantly about her, "and Ginny know something. You know they are girls... Girls always know something about these things."

Harry gave his friend a relieved smile.

"But before we do that, let's talk about you and Hermione", he winked and couldn't help but grin when he saw his friend blush again.

"You said you had a crush on her?"

-Ginny-

It was getting late, but Hermione and Ginny were still up, talking and giggling quietly. Unlike Ron, Ginny hadn't wanted her own room in Grimauld Place, because deep inside, the house still freaked her out and she felt safer with someone else close (but if anyone would ever insinuate something like that, she would smack them and proclaim that it was for Hermione's sake she shared a room and that she, Ginny, would never be scared of sleeping alone in a dark room in a haunted house); plus, Hermione was her friend and Ginny enjoyed having her to herself for once instead of sharing her with Harry and Ron.

Hermione was currently sitting with something called a "flesh light" propped against her pillow and reading "Hogwarts, a history" and occasionally reading aloud, while Ginny had the latest "Teen Witch" open on her lap and when she found an amusing article or a funny story, she would also share it with Hermione.

A faint knocking on their door interrupted the quiet routine.

Hermione raised a questioning eyebrow and mouthed: "Your mother?"

Ginny gave a non-commital shrug and motioned for Hermione to turn off the "flesh light" and to pretend to sleep.

Another knocking and this time, Ginny decided to quietly open the door. If it really had been her mum making sure they were asleep, she would have looked into the room already. Somebody knocking twice usually meant mischief and if there was one thing Ginny liked on nights like these, in placed like this, it was mischief. Hermione, who had likely come to the same conclusion, turned on her "flesh light" again and together they made their way to open the door, which revealed her brother and Harry, standing sheepishly in the hallway.

"Can we come in?", Harry asked. Ginny's heart skipped a beat and she could feel her cheeks turning pink.

Be cool, she chided herself. "Of course you can come in, just try not to make any noise. We wouldn't want Mum's wrath upon us", she added with a wink.

"Great", Harry said and sat down at Ginny's bed. Her brother hesitated, but then followed Harry inside and sat down next to him. Ginny could see that Hermione was flustered.

"It is late", she said primly and folded her hand on her lap. "So whatever it is, Ronald", she threw Ron an icy glare, "please make it quick."

Ron was about to reply, when Harry interrupted angrily.

"I've had it up to here with you two", he gesticulated wildly, but tried to keep his voice low. "Hermione, Ron, I know feelings or whatever are complicated and that I should accept that you need time to figure things out, but please, could you two keep it together for half an hour? I'm really not asking for much", Ginny shushed him, but he kept raising his voice, "just half an hour where you behave like my friends and not two idiots?"

Shocked, Hermione and Ron looked at each other and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Harry", Hermione started. "Yeah mate, me too", Ron continued and they both looked at their friend apologetically.

"Come, Ginny", Hermione smiled at her and took her hand, "let's listen to what the boys have to say." They got up and sat next to Harry and Ron on the ground, Hermione putting her light in their middle.

"That way we can better see each other", she explained. "So, Harry, what's bothering you?"

-Tonks-

Tonks couldn't sleep. Of course she couldn't sleep, it had been years since she had been so thoroughly embarrassed. What's worse, she knew the worst was yet to come. She knew Severus Snape and his delight in tormenting others; she knew he would use the knowledge he had gained today to tease her mercilessly. Usually, he would simply say her name, pronouncing every agonizing syllable, or make snide comments about her clumsiness. But these torments were nothing against what he had now: because now he would be able to make mean comments, remind her of her shame and - as no one else knew - would make the other Order members question her. She could already see it, him making comments about her questionable taste, about her naughtyness... It would invariably lead to questions. "What does he mean by that", sweet, innocent Remus would ask. "Does he mean, what I think he means, Cousin", Sirius would ask, and then either kill Snape or disown her or both.

These thoughts were plaguing her, keeping her awake. These thoughts, and a small, teeny, tiny voice in her head, that said: "He didn't seem entirely disinclined." In truth, it was that voice that kept her from sleeping. Because if it was true, if she really had a crush on Snape (which, still, seemed preposterous) and if, in truth, he was not opposed to the idea, where did that leave things?

Don't be silly, she tried to reason with the voice, he just thinks of me as a clumsy klutz.

Then why, said that voice, did he blush when you ran into him? Why was he, the man who always has a good insult on the tip of his tongue, speechless?

"Why indeed?", Nymphadora sighed and tossed and turned yet again in her bed. When sleep finally did claim her, she dreamed - because of course she did - of him and his long, elegant fingers. She dreamed of his piercing gaze and his lips, always curled into a mocking smile. She dreamed and when she awoke, she knew she was fucked. There was really no denying it anymore: She had a crush on Snape. Why did it have to be Snape?!

-Molly-

It was late, Molly and Arthur were still in the kitchen and the kids were still up. It was always the same, after every Order meeting and it amused her to no end that they thought they were being sneaky. A mother always knew if her kids were still awake. Call it a mother's intuition, but Molly always knew. Of course, with her kids, she rarely needed intuition, because they were never the best with keeping quiet. When the clock in the kitchen chimed 12, she decided to give them another 30 minutes before giving them a Stern lecture about the need for an early night's sleep, especially in teenagers.

Her husband gave her a knowing smile.

"Half an hour until evil Molly shows up and puts the kids in their beds?"

She chuckled and nodded once. After so many years of marriage, Arthur and her knew each other like by heart. Some might say it made them boring, but Molly thought it made them all the more interesting.

"Half an hour", she agreed, "they have a lot to process from the day."

"Speaking of which", Arthur grinned, "Remus and Sirius were holding hands under the table again."

"These two", Molly sighed. "Do you think they will ever figure it out?"

Arthur shrugged. "Only time will tell. But I keep my hopes up. It's so obvious to everyone but then..."

"Speaking of obvious", Molly took a sip from her steaming cup of tea, "what was going on with Tonks today? The poor girl seemed to be even more beside herself then usual."

"I can not tell you exactly what happened, but it seems she got caught daydreaming by Severus..." - "Oh that odious man", Molly interjected, but Arthur raised his hand and continued: "Normally I agree, but this time he was different, too. He made some remark during the meeting, but... Molly, if I didn't know any better, I'd think Severus Snape was...", he leaned in closer to her, "flustered."

"Flustered?", she exclaimed loudly, than blanched and continued with a whisper: "What do you mean, flustered? Did Dumbledore say anything to him? Did Sirius do something? Tell me!"

With a shrug, Arthur leaned back again and put his glasses on the table to rub the bridge of his nose. "I really cannot tell you more than I have. Maybe they were chosen for a mission together or... I don't know. All I can say is that there was something strange going on."

"Hm", Molly sighed and put her cup down.

"Time to tell the children to go to sleep", she yawned and gave her husband a smile. "Care to join me? After we've made sure they are all in their designated beds, we can...", she left the rest of the sentence unsaid, but finished with a suggestive waggle of her eyebrows.

"Well, if that's the case...", Arthur grinned and followed her out of the kitchen and into the hall, where you could already hear hushed whispers coming from Ginny's and Hermione's room.

Just before they reached the door, Molly stopped in her tracks and Arthur almost ran into her.

"I just don't know what to do", she heard Harry say. "I feel so happy Remus and Sirius have finally found each other, but at the same time, I could really do without...y'know walking in on the kissing and whatnot."

Molly gasped and grasped Arthur's arm. She turned around towards him and beamed excitedly. He grinned in return and showed a thumbs up.

"But we should really talk to them", she whispered through gritted teeth, "poor Harry must be traumatized seeing his godfather and former Professor in such a position."

-Harry-

A noise in the hallway interrupted Harry. He'd just spoken about the Sirius/Remus-situation with Ron and Hermione, his best friends, and with Ginny, who - he had to admit - was actually really cool and smart and seemed to be completely over her silly crush, and he was feeling so much better.

"Oh Harry, you're such an idiot sometimes", Hermione and Ginny had both laughed when he'd told them he never suspected that there was anything going on between Sirius and Remus. Then they had proceeded to list all the indications they had seen over the past weeks/months and Harry had to admit, sometimes he was an idiot.

"It's OK mate, I didn't notice it, either", Ron had tried to console him. Harry had expected a snide comment from Hermione, but when none came, he sighed a relieved sigh. Maybe his talk with Tonks hadn't been a complete waste of time: telling Ron and Hermione exactly how he felt and that he needed them as his friends had really done wonders. He noticed how, over the course of the meeting, they became closer again, not just physically sitting next to each other, but also in the way they acted towards one another.

Harry thought the noise in the hallway might be the wind or something, what he really didn't expect was to hear a knock on the door and to see Mr and Mrs Weasley come into the room. With a Stern voice, Mrs Weasley announced: "Ginny, Ron, it's way past your bed time! Harry, Hermione, you two should be sleeping already. Now off you go, everyone in their own bed, in their own rooms."

Harry and Ron hurried outside and mumbled "I'm sorry". Under the watchful eyes of Molly Weasley, they both made their way to their respective rooms. Before Ron entered his, he turned to his parents.

"Please, Mum, Dad, can Harry sleep in my room from now on?"