Just Like Romeo and Juliet chap. 5-8
Title: Just Like Romeo and Juliet
Author: Whenwillyou
Pairings: Remus/Sirius and James/Lily
Rating: PG-PG-13
Summary: Hogwarts is putting on a play!
Chapter the Fifth
Remus woke up early the next Saturday. He took special care in washing up and trying to brush the small tangles out of his wet hair. He stole a bit of James’ cologne and borrowed a deep red long-sleeved shirt from Sirius.
“So you’re not even going to meet us for lunch, then?” James asked, frowning slightly.
“I already told you that I’d ask her if she’d mind. What more do you guys want from me?” Remus asked just barely sitting on his bed with the others sprawled every which way on the floor.
“Well, if she doesn’t mind, then meet us at the Three Broomsticks around noon.” James said from his spot on the floor. Remus smiled and nodded. He felt ecstatic. Usually he’d be among the others on the floor with James, Sirius, or even Peter beaming, excited for a date. But it was he this time.
Remus laughed as he tried to make his way across the room to the door as the others tried to trip him up. Somehow every time one of them had a date for Hogsmeade the others ended up like this, sprawled across the floor. Sometimes it was the result of a small pillow fight, but sometimes they toppled down willingly.
“See you guys around Lunch, hopefully!” he called as he ducked out of the room. He walked down toward the Great Hall, where he’d promised he would meet Charlotte. He turned the corner, humming to himself, and waited for her to arrive.
“Remus!” Charlotte’s delicate voice called as she came toward him.
“Charlotte! How are you?” He was excited, but managed his voice all the same.
“I’m fine, how are you?” she was smiling happily as they began to walk. They talked in spurts, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable, either. As one of the silences fell, Remus tried to remember the ‘pointer’ that James had given him. While James liked Lily, he had still been on many dates, mostly because he never wanted to hurt someone’s feelings by saying no.
“If her hands are at her sides even though she has pockets, it means that she wants you to hold her hand.” James’ voice was in his head.
Remus looked down at Charlotte’s hands by her sides. According to James, she wanted Remus to hold her hand. Remus swallowed and hoped that James was right. He reached out his hand, still staring ahead to the road, and grabbed her hand gently. He felt, rather than saw, her eyes on him. But she hadn’t pulled away, so they walked on like that until they came to Hogsmeade.
“Where do you want to go?” Charlotte asked.
“Er, anywhere’s fine.”
“Oh, come on, Remus. Where do you and your friends usually go?” Charlotte’s eyes narrowed at him challenging him to be indecisive.
“We go to the usual places. Zonko’s, Honey Duke’s. Places like that.” He said feeling pressured under her stare.
“How about Zonko’s then?”
“Really?”
“I like jokes, too, sometimes.” She smiled, glad that she had surprised him.
“Alright. Let’s go to Zonko’s.” he said.
They got into Zonko’s and looked around for a bit, joking about how fun it’d be to pull some of the tricks on their friends. Charlotte bought a few Acid Pops and a package of dungbombs. Remus bought some dungbombs as well.
“Where to now?” Remus asked. He was beginning to feel more comfortable.
“Can we go have a look at the owls in the Post Office?” Charlotte asked.
“Of course.” Remus said and a few moments later they were in the Post Office, pointing at a small, odd owl that bounced in it’s cage. The morning went on lazily and Remus found that he was having a good time. It was almost noon, however, and Remus hadn’t asked her about meeting his friends for lunch.
“Are you hungry, Remus?” Charlotte asked.
“Yeah, and actually I wanted to ask you something.”
“Oh, go ahead.”
“My friends invited us to eat lunch with them. We don’t have to, but I figured I’d ask in case you wanted to.” Remus said with a slightly apologetic look on his face.
“That’d be fun…actually, Lily wanted to know if she could have lunch with us, too.”
“Where was she going to meet us?”
“The Three Broomsticks.”
“Perfect. That’s where my friends said they’d be. We’ll all eat together.” Remus smiled.
“Oh, I can’t wait to see Lily’s expression when she sees we’re eating with James!” Charlotte had a mischievous look on her face and Remus couldn’t help but laugh.
They walked toward the Three Broomsticks, but just as they were almost there Charlotte stopped walking and caused Remus to do the same since they were holding hands. Remus looked at her questioningly.
“You’re really nice, Remus. Even more so than I imagined.” She smiled
“Uh, thanks.” Remus blushed, but blushed even deeper after Charlotte took a step forward and kissed him lightly on the lips before walking toward the door, dragging him along.
They found James, Sirius, and Peter almost immediately in the back of the tavern. Lily was found a few feet away sitting alone at a table. Charlotte went to get Lily as Remus went to sit by his friends.
“So how’s it going? You look really red.” James smirked.
“Shut up.” Remus said quickly but darkly and then noticing Charlotte and Lily sitting down. “Charlotte, this is Peter, James and Sirius” Remus said pointing to each of his friends in turn. Charlotte smiled at each of them. “Lily, I believe you know each of them?”
“Yes.” Lily said stiffly as James stared openly at Lily.
A few moments later, Madame Rosmerta came by and asked them what they’d be having. They all ordered sandwiches of different kinds and butterbeers. Remus had his hands folded lightly on top of the table and was talking to Sirius and James about what Charlotte and he had been doing when Charlotte took his hand and held it. Remus blushed briefly, but continued to tell them that after the Post Office, they’d gone to HoneyDuke’s
Remus listened intently to James trying to impress Lily with a Quidditch story when his gaze wandered to Sirius. Sirius seemed oddly quiet today and Remus wondered if he still wasn’t feeling well. But Charlotte who came closer to whisper something in his ear distracted his thoughts. Her breath tickled as she spoke quietly and Remus shivered beneath it.
“Do you want to go outside for some fresh air?” She asked.
“Sure.” They shuffled out of their seats and told the rest that they’d see them back at Hogwarts. Lily was openly distressed, but as he caught Sirius’ eyes, they also seemed slightly distressed.
Charlotte led him toward a familiar place. The Shrieking Shack stood tall, beat up, but bold. She looked at it excitedly, still holding Remus’ hand.
“They say it’s haunted.” She said breathlessly. Remus stomach panged. He knew it wasn’t haunted at all.
“That’s what they say.” He said instead of his bitter thoughts against the place. She looked at him, her brown eyes shone brightly. She took both his hands up in her own and held them for a moment as she looked at him.
“I like you.” She said decisively, and Remus found that as she came closer, his thoughts disappeared more and more.
She kissed him gently at first, her lips were warm in the slightly chilled air. But they deepened the kiss and she embraced him more tightly, locked in the moment. He didn’t care any longer that he was scared of getting involved with other people. He didn’t care that his hands were beginning to go cold. All he felt himself caring about was that Charlotte keep nibbling gently on his lower lip and tangling her fingers in his hair.
But she pulled away all too soon for Remus. By then they were both breathing deeply and their lips were red and swollen. All he wanted was for her to kiss him more.
“Do you want to go somewhere more private?” Her question filled Remus’ ears and he felt the blood rising once again to his cheeks, but he nodded anyway. Charlotte took his hand in her own and led him around the Shrieking Shack and then into what looked like a small patch of forest.
“Behind the bushes?” Remus breathed out heavily, but his words were barely out when Charlotte pulled him into her, kissing deeply again. They tripped over a protruding root and tumbled to the ground together, Charlotte landing half on top of Remus. But it didn’t break their kiss.
Remus found a stone that was poking into his back highly irritating, but made no complaint about it. Charlotte’s hands were under his shirt now, feeling and making his skin tingle at every touch. His mouth opened to gasp at a particularly sensitive spot that her hands ran over, but she silenced it with her tongue. Remus’ stomach exploded as this happened because just then, in his mind’s eye, he saw Sirius’ grey eyes staring at him. He broke apart from Charlotte.
“This…this is getting a little…uh…” He was panting, as he tried to get out a normal sentence.
“I know…we should stop.” She looked reluctant about it. They stayed in that position, Remus lying on the ground with Charlotte pretty much on top of him, for a while longer. She rested her head on his chest as he caught his breath and then they both got up to go back to Hogwarts.
As they were walking back, Remus didn’t bother keeping a tight leash on his thoughts. He knew he should be happy about having someone like Charlotte. But somehow it unsettled him. He had to be polite around her, open doors for her, and in general he now had to support her. He wasn’t sure he wanted all that responsibility. He already had a lot on his own plate, not to mention his three friends. Now he had a girlfriend, too.
“I’ll see you later, Remus.” Charlotte said, giving him yet another deep kiss before squeezing his hand and running up the stairs and out of his sight. It was dinnertime already, but Remus didn’t feel like dinner, so he went up to his dormitories instead.
When he got to the room he shared with Peter, James, and Sirius, he flopped onto his bed, ready for sleep to take him over. But things hardly ever went his way. Sirius came into the room at that moment. He looked at Remus lying there on the bed.
“Hey Padfoot.” Remus said, not lifting his head.
“Hey Moony.” Sirius said in return. “have any more room on that bed?”
“Sure, hop on.” Remus scooted over to make room for his friend. Sirius climbed on and lay down so that they were facing each other.
“You going to sleep in my shirt?” Sirius asked almost groggily.
“I had no energy to change.” Remus smiled a little.
“Oh. So how was your…thing?”
“My date? It was ok. Padfoot, I don’t know if I can do the whole boyfriend thing…”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m selfish and only want to care about myself and my friends.” He said bluntly.
“Oh, come on, Remus. You know you’d be devastated if she broke up with you.”
“Yeah, but-“
“How far did you guys get after you left the Three Broomsticks?”
“We didn’t do any-“
“Liar. Your lips are swollen as hell. How far?” Sirius sometimes had a way of being so blunt that it deeply surprised Remus.
“We just kissed a bit.”
“By ‘a bit’ you mean ‘a lot’.”
“No!”
“You’re denying it.”
“Am not.”
“Why are you afraid of telling me?”
“I’m not” Remus said remembering seeing Sirius’ eyes while he was kissing Charlotte. For the life of him he couldn’t figure out why he had seen that at that particular moment. He looked at Sirius now. His grey eyes were lazy, almost closed and his black hair fell forward into his face.
“You are.” Sirius muttered. Remus saw his eyes close finally, sleeping.
“Maybe I am.” Remus whispered as the door to their room opened and Sirius jumped up from the bed and stood coolly at Remus side as if he’d never touched Remus’ bed.
“Hey.” James said, “How was your date?”
Chapter the Sixth
Sirius was very moody the next week. He was beginning to see that James was right. He could only ignore the feelings that were stirring inside him for so long, and the time had long since come.
Presently, Sirius sat up in his own bed. James and Peter, claiming that they were starving, had gone down to breakfast while Remus still slept. Sirius looked at the mess of sheets tangled with his body. Sirius knew that Remus’ hair was light brown, but in the light from the window a few feet away, his hair had a golden quality to it. It looked soft and tempting to touch as it curled near his ears and neck. Sirius had never wanted something more than to just run his hands through Remus’ hair at that moment.
He slowly got out of his bed, but didn’t take another step once he was standing. He knew he couldn’t do it. It’d freak Remus out too much and as much as Sirius wanted to do it, he wanted to keep his friendship more. So instead he sat back down on his bed.
James had gotten used to him being gay. Or at least if he hadn’t, he was pretending very well. It seemed as if James was simply ignoring Sirius’ long looks at Remus, but Sirius found he didn’t care as long as James wasn’t openly fighting Sirius about it.
“Sirius?” Remus was awake, but he stayed in his bed, barely opening his eyes.
“Yes, Moony?” Sirius asked.
“I’m cold.” Remus stated thickly. Sirius laughed, Remus was always a bit groggy in the morning and ended up being oddly direct because of it.
“You want an extra blanket?”
“No.” Remus pouted.
He also acted a bit childish in the morning.
“Then what do you want? You know Breakfast is nearly over.” Sirius asked.
“No, no breakfast.”
“Alright…what about the blanket?”
“No, no blanket.” Sirius laughed openly this time. Remus pouted again. “Stop laughing at me.”
“Well, what do you want if you don’t want a blanket? I can do the warming spell if you’d like.” Sirius offered.
“No, I want you to lay down for a bit.” Sirius’ stomach twisted, but Remus was already making room for him on his bed. They used to do this all the time, but that was before Sirius had started developing feelings towards Remus.
“Only for a bit…” he said uncertainly. Sirius climbed onto the bed and lay down, facing Remus as he had done last time.
“Thanks, Padfoot.” Remus’ speech was slurred together. He was obviously still quite tired. Sirius, on the other hand, was wide-awake. His body tingled, on edge for any slight touch there might be, but he lay still, controlling himself. Remus, however, probably had no clue as to what Sirius was thinking, because just then he snuggled into Sirius, curling around him.
“Remus, we should really go down to Breakfast.” Sirius tried, but Remus shook his head causing his hair to tickle Sirius’ neck.
“No, I just want to stay here. I’m tired.” Remus breathed against Sirius’ neck and it sent shivers down his spine. “See, you’re cold, too. You smell good.” Remus stated sounding a bit surprised.
“Thanks.” Sirius knew that he had to get up soon. James was being civil about him at the moment, but he wasn’t sure that would last if he saw Remus and Sirius practically cuddling together. Especially since Remus had no clue that Sirius was queer. Once Remus had fallen back asleep, Sirius slowly began to get up.
“Where’re you going?” Remus asked his eyes open again. Sirius looked at those eyes for a second. They were a lovely amber color with gold flecks in them. They were wonderful looking.
“I need to get up and get ready for the Quidditch match. And if I’m not completely mad, then I recall you saying that you and Charlotte were going to it also.” Sirius said. Remus sighed and slowly got out of bed.
“I forgot that was today.” Remus said honestly.
Fifteen minutes later a freshly showered and dressed Remus walked alongside Sirius to the Great Hall to grab a piece of toast on the way out to the Quidditch pitch. Charlotte joined them as they crossed the grounds.
“Are you excited about the match?” Charlotte asked them.
“Very.” Remus said and Sirius nodded in agreement as they sat down. Charlotte sat on Remus’ left, leaving his right for Sirius. Though Sirius was on the other side, he could still see Charlotte resting her head on Remus’ shoulder.
“When’s dress rehearsal?” Sirius figured that if he could keep the two talking then no one would resort to snogging.
“Uh…I think Friday after classes. The final performance is on Saturday afternoon.” Remus kept his eyes trained on the match.
“Oh, great.”
“Why?”
“I just don’t have all my lines down.” Sirius lied. He actually had all his lines memorized. His only problem now was that he didn’t know what all of the lines meant.
“Still?!” Remus’ eyes were on him now.
“Yeah. I’ve been trying, but I just can’t get this one scene.”
“Which one?”
“The balcony one…”
“I can help you with it tonight if you want.” Remus offered.
“That’d be gre-“
“But you promised to be with me tonight.” Charlotte’s voice intercepted Sirius’. Sirius glared daggers at her and imagined each one piercing her skin as her free hand went to Remus’ stomach and traced tiny circles with her fingertips that made him squirm a bit. She knew what she was doing, all right. Remus was bound to resign his offer to Sirius and go with Charlotte instead.
“I’m sorry, Charlotte, but Sirius needs my help.” Remus said, snapping Sirius out of his thoughts and causing Charlotte to stop the invisible circles that she drew.
“But we had it all set…” she said disappointedly.
“Remus-“ Sirius began. He didn’t want to be the cause of trouble.
“I need to help him.” Remus said with finality.
“All right…you owe me another night, then. I’m going to go find some of my friends. I promised to meet them at some point, anyway.” With that Charlotte got up and left. Remus sighed and sat back in his seat. Sirius suddenly became aware that he had been staring avidly during the whole argument and looked back toward the Quidditch pitch.
“Remus?” Sirius asked after a moment had passed. Remus looked up at Sirius as though he hadn’t noticed him sitting there.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” Remus smiled.
The two of them watched the remainder of the game and then went to wait by the changing rooms for James. Peter came with them saying that he had sat alone during the game because he couldn’t find either of them. James came out a few minutes later, beaming at them.
“Did you see that?” he screamed jovially.
“Yes, James. It was quite brilliant.”
“Bloody brilliant is more like it! I can’t believe he fell for the feign!” James said tackling them all so that they ended up a big mess of limbs, robes, and hair.
“Let’s go get some lunch, shall we?” Sirius asked. He was quite hungry by now, and by the looks of it so was everyone else.
They ate a big lunch and then lounged around in the common room until dinner, which they also ate plenty of. Towards the end, when Remus and Sirius had eaten their seconds, Remus announced that they had to go practice for the play. James gave Sirius a look that said ‘don’t try anything…’ as they got up from the table.
They searched for a while to find an empty classroom, when Remus finally led him into the empty Charms room. Sirius had his script in hand and was dreading the practice slightly. He was beginning to get tired from the big meal and Remus looked excited to be helping.
“Alright, where have you not memorized?”
“Er…” Sirius flipped through the pages. ”Act two. ‘Lady, by yonder…’”
“I see it. Ok, do as much as you can without looking.”
“Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear
That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops-“ Sirius saw Remus’ wince as he spoke this line, but he went on once it was his turn.
“O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.” Remus clenched his teeth a little when he spoke of the moon, and Sirius suddenly felt bad that he was making Remus do this.
“What shall I swear by?” Sirius said the line with confidence, but Remus looked at him suspiciously.
“Sirius…you sure this is the part you need help with?”
“Well…yes, but I suppose it’s in a different way…”
“What d’you mean?”
“Well, I have it memorized for the most part, but I have no clue what I’m saying, really.” Sirius was afraid that Remus would be mad, now that he admitted that it wasn’t really memorizing that he needed help with, but interpretation.
“That’s just as important as memorizing lines. Otherwise you’d be saying the lines with no emotion. Is it just this part that you don’t understand?” Remus looked up to see Sirius shaking his head.
“Er…most of it’s hard to understand…” Sirius said slightly embarrassed.
“That’s ok. I’ll explain it…” Remus said as he settled down into a desk. Sirius did the same. As Remus explained what Romeo’s lines meant, he kicked his feet under the desk, every once in a while hitting Sirius in the shin. He would murmur ‘sorry’ and then go back to swinging his feet.
“Does that make sense?” Sirius realized that Remus was looking at him expectantly.
“Uh…”
“Are you listening? Honestly, Sirius.”
“I’m trying! My mind is just…on other things. Sorry.” Sirius rubbed his forehead.
“On what things?” Remus asked.
“I don’t know…just random bits of things.”
“You know, you’ve been acting a bit odd lately.” Remus looked thoughtful now.
“Really? How?”
“You’ve been…less carefree. More tense. I don’t know, it’s all subtle, but I can tell the difference.”
“Oh.” Sirius didn’t know what else to say. He knew perfectly well why he was acting like this, but didn’t know how to explain it to Remus.
“Is everything all right? I mean, at home and everything?” Remus looked tentative to bring up the subject of home, but he managed to trudge onto the territory. It was understandable. It was Sirius, after all, that blew up at his friends for asking about it. He wasn’t sure why he did it, but he always blamed them for the horrible memories that were called up when they mentioned his family.
“Yeah…things are fine, I suppose.” Sirius thought of his family’s reaction if he announced that he was gay. They’d throw him out and disown him as thoroughly as possible. Not that he’d really want to stay there, anyhow.
“Then what’s the problem? You act so down now-a-days.”
“I’m fine, Remus. Really, I am.” Sirius tried to smile as brightly as he used to, but found it plagued by an emotion that he had only recently been aware of.
“You worry me, Padfoot.” Remus said simply, but Sirius knew that there was a lot of concern to back up those few words. Sirius wished that all Remus’ thoughts would spill through his mouth and out into the open. He wished to know every single thought, concern, or insignificant rant that had ever passed through Remus’ mind.
“Hey…are you hungry?” Sirius asked as if he hadn’t eaten enough food for five grown men already that day.
“A little.”
“To the kitchen?”
“To the kitchen” Remus packed up his things and they went for a snack.
Chapter the Seventh
When Remus woke up on Friday morning he slowly got out of bed. He had just had a wonderful, yet troubling dream. He had been with someone he truly loved and was loved in return. The person in his dream wasn’t Charlotte, however, and it troubled him.
Remus went about his day, trying not to fall behind in his classes and making sure he took good notes so that Peter, James and Sirius could copy them later that night. But his excitement was getting to him. Today was the dress rehearsal for the play, and he wanted so badly to skip forward in the day to see the whole thing finally put together.
“Remus?” Remus looked around the classroom. Everyone else had left and only James, Peter, and Sirius stood in the room, waiting for him.
“Sorry. I must have been daydreaming…” he muttered as he hastily stuffed his things in his bag.
“So I was thinking…” James put his arm round Remus’ shoulder, “that maybe you could get Charlotte to talk to Lily about me…” James smiled what he thought was a charming smile.
“No.” Remus said flatly.
“Why not, Moooony?” James whined.
“Because. I have no interest in making a fool of myself which is sure to happen if I try to help you with your love life.” Remus explained.
“Mooooony!” Remus grinned. James was really helpless sometimes.
“No. And there’s absolutely no way to change my mind so you can stop thinking of it now and not waste any time on something so stupid.”
“Fine. I’m not going down without a fight, though. Be warned.” James then left.
“He’s so…strange sometimes.” Remus said to Peter and Sirius who were still walking with him.
“Love can do strange things to you.” Sirius said as he looked at Remus.
“Well, I suppose so.” Remus mumbled, wondering why he was blushing all of a sudden.
“Are you two going to lunch?” Peter asked suddenly, causing Remus to gasp in surprise. Somehow he’d forgotten that Peter was with them.
“Uh…I’m not that hungry.” Remus responded.
“And I want to practice my lines more before the dress rehearsal tonight.” Sirius said.
“Alright, then. I’m off to lunch, see you two later.” Peter called.
After Peter left them, Remus and Sirius were awkwardly quiet. Throughout their friendship, they had rarely come across these awkward silences, but it seemed as if they were happening more lately.
“Do you feel all right?” Sirius finally asked. Remus looked over at him.
“Yes. I feel just fine. Why’re you asking?”
“Well, you don’t make a habit of skipping meals, is all.”
“Oh…I’m just not hungry.”
“Oh.”
“What about you?”
“Huh?”
“You must be nervous…with the play tomorrow and all.”
“Yeah…I’m a little nervous.”
“You’ll do fine, though. I know you will.”
“How’re you so sure?” Sirius narrowed his eyes in mock suspicion.
“Because you’re Sirius Black. Everything, even if it’s against the laws of Physics, turns out all right for you.” Remus laughed at Sirius’ confused face.
“What in bloody hell is Physics?”
“Never mind.”
“You talk about some strange things, Moony.”
“I’m the one who talks about strange things?”
“Yes, you. But I don’t mind it so much.”
Sirius and Remus found that their feet had walked them back to their common room, so they clambered in and sat down. Sirius took out his script, which seemed attached to him these days, while Remus took out some homework. They sat in silence for a while until James appeared beside Sirius.
“Sirius, I need to talk to you.” James said.
“About what?”
“About…toads.”
“Toads?” Sirius asked and Remus chuckled.
“Yeah, sure. Toads. Just come over here a moment, will you?” James pulled his sleeve. Sirius shrugged at Remus as he was being pulled away. James pulled him to the staircase and up to their dormitory.
“Now, what about toads did you need to know?” Sirius had a smirk on his face.
“Oh, forget the toads, you prat. I need to talk to you about something more serious.”
“But toads are so interesting...” Sirius leaned against one of the bedposts.
“Shut up.”
“Ok, James. Go ahead and talk.”
“It’s about you…”
“What about me?”
“You know…how you think you’re gay.”
“James…I don’t think I’m gay…I pretty much know I’m gay.”
“Yes, well…you fancy him, then don’t you?”
“Who?” Sirius knew that James was avoiding his name and he wanted him to just say it out loud and get it over with. He wanted to hear it aloud for the first time. He wanted to make it real.
“You know…”
“James, who?”
“Remus.”
“Yes…I fancy him, but you can’t tell him.” Sirius saw the wheels turning in James’ head.
“Why?” James looked confused.
“Because…don’t you see what that would do to us? The Marauders? It’s bad enough for me to be gay, but to fancy my best friend? That just tops everything nicely, doesn’t it? He’ll feel awkward and so will I. I don’t want to make him feel awkward. I want things to stay the same. I don’t want us to feel weird when the other one is around. I want to keep him as a friend more than anything.”
“Sirius, you already feel awkward around him, don’t you?” James pointed out and Sirius frowned.
“What’s you point, James? Did you come here to tell me to give it up and go out with some girl or something?”
“No. I want to help you.” James sighed.
“You want to help me?”
“Yes. You’re miserable, Sirius! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you mope around so much in all the time I’ve known you. I want you to be happy, and I want the old Sirius back. So if that means getting Moony to fall for you, then I’ll help. I always thought he was a bit of a pouf anyway.” James said with a smirk. Sirius only stared at him. It seemed as if the words were having trouble reaching his brain.
“What?”
“I’m going to help you. I promise Moony will still be your friend at the end of all this. You don’t have to worry about it.”
“How are you going to do this, James?”
“I’ll figure it out...don’t worry.”
It was a universal fact that when James said ‘Don’t worry’ there were always plenty of reasons to worry. Sirius watched as James turned round and went through the door, leaving Sirius alone in the dormitory. He was definitely worried about this.
~~~~~~~~~~~
After James had pulled Sirius away, Remus had gone back to his homework, wondering slightly why James would’ve made up an excuse. Had he really thought that Remus would believe they were going to talk about toads?
As he was finishing his conclusion on his essay, Charlotte came up to him. She stood for a moment next to his chair, waiting for him to finish his thought. When he put his quill down, he looked up at her.
“Remus, do you have time to come for a walk with me?” she asked politely. Remus looked at the small pile of homework for a moment. He hadn’t been hanging around with Charlotte for the past week, really. Instead he had opted for homework and friends.
“Sure. Where to?”
“Just outside on the grounds.” She replied.
They walked outside silently. Remus noticed that she seemed oddly quiet. Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail that swished as she walked. Her hands were placed in her pocket and her eyes looked a bit red if Remus wasn’t mistaken.
Once they got outside, they walked toward the lake where the giant squid lived and toward a tree that James, Sirius, Peter and he sat under on hot, sunny days. She sat down and motioned for him to do the same.
“Remus…I actually wanted to talk to you about something…”
“Really? What is it?”
“Well…we just haven’t been together in a while.”
“I know. It’s my fault, really. I shouldn’t care about school work so much…” Remus said apologetically.
“That’s not all, Remus. I mean, it’s ok. It’s important to you…I just…I don’t think we should go out anymore.”
“Because of me being busy?”
“Well, yes. That’s a big part of it…”
“Oh…uh...ok.”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I guess I’ll see you around, then.”
“Bye, Remus.”
Remus got up and walked straight back up to the castle. He couldn’t figure out the way his brain worked. He hadn’t been attached to her, really. He hadn’t fancied her all that much…yet it hurt to have her say those things.
He ducked inside the portrait hole and went straight up to his dormitory. Sirius was the only one inside, but he seemed as if he were sleeping. So Remus crawled into his own bed and lay there for a bit on his back. A stray tear ran down his cheek leaving its traces cold. He wiped it away hastily and wondered what was wrong with him. He was crying over something he had never really cared about in the first place.
“Remus?” Apparently Sirius was awake.
“Yeah?” Remus’ voice came out a bit husky even though he had tried to make it sound normal. Sirius sat up after hearing his friend, and looked over at him.
“Oh, shit, Rem. Why’re you crying?” Sirius looked slightly panicked as if he had no clue as to how to handle a crying person.
“It’s nothing. Just leave me alone.” Remus said in his husky voice.
“It’s not nothing. Something’s wrong…” Sirius said.
“Leave me alo-“
“No.” Sirius got up, crossed the room, and sat on the edge of Remus’ bed. “What happened? I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.” Sirius’ eyes were full of concern.
“Charlotte doesn’t want to go out with me, is all. I don’t even know why I’m crying about it. I’m not all that sad, I just started crying all of a sudden.” Remus said frustrated.
“She broke up with you?” For a split second, Remus saw a look cross Sirius’ eyes, but it turned right back to sympathy.
“Yeah…it’s ok, I guess.” He said wiping the last of his tears. “Never liked her that much, anyway.”
“She’s not worth it, Remus. If she can’t see what she just let go she must be blind.” Sirius said. He was sitting close to Remus’ side, but he was afraid to touch him in any way for fear it’d be interpreted wrongly, but his gaze lingered on him. Remus looked as if he were about to fall asleep. His eyelids were half closed and his breathing was beginning to even out. Sirius waited until he was sure that Remus was sleeping, and when he was absolutely sure of it he leaned forward and as gently as possible placed his lips on Remus’ forehead.
Chapter the Eighth
“Why didn’t anyone wake me up for the rehearsal last night?” Remus asked grumpily the next morning.
“You seemed really tired, so I told the Professor that you weren’t feeling well.” Sirius explained.
“And he believed it?”
“Well, I also told him that if he wanted you to feel better by today that he’d better leave you alone.” Sirius combed through his wet hair and then shook his head violently to shake out the water as a dog does. Remus grabbed a pillow from his bed to quickly shield himself from the water.
“Thanks, Sirius.”
“No problem, Moony.”
“Will you two shuddap!” James voice mumbled harshly from his bed. Sirius and Remus had woken up early out of excitement for the play, even though it wouldn’t take place until later that evening. James and Peter, however, were still trying to get a few hours extra sleep. Sirius and Remus laughed, but went down to the common room to let the other two sleep.
“So…how’s Anthony Stone coming on remembering his lines?” Sirius asked with a smirk placed on his face firmly.
“Don’t remind me. He’s a disaster.” Remus rubbed his forehead. They sat down across from each other near a window. It was a clear day and seemed as if it’d be just as warm.
“Are…are you feeling better than last night?” Sirius asked.
“Uh…yeah. I feel a lot better, thanks. I had the strangest dream, though.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to tell me about it?”
“No.”
“Moony, you confuse me sometimes…” Sirius sighed.
“It’s just…I can’t remember more than flashes of it.”
“Oh.” Sirius said as if that summed up everything.
“Do you want breakfast?” Remus asked.
“Sure.” Sirius and Remus got up to go to breakfast and as they walked they bumped into Lily Evans.
“Hey, Remus. Black.” Lily said Sirius’ name stiffly.
“Hi. Are you ready for the play tonight?” Remus asked. Lily was looking at them oddly and didn’t answer. “Lily?”
“What? Oh! The play, yes…”
“You all right, Evans?” Sirius asked.
“Yes. Yes, I just realized something…” Lily smiled smugly as she did when she knew something that no one else seemed to know. The two boys shrugged and then went on their way.
They sat down and ate barely anything, and decided that they rather go outside and spend the rest of the morning lying about in the grass. Once outside, their predictions of it being warm were absolutely true. It was a breezy, warm day. So Sirius led the way to their normal spot under the shady tree in which Remus had visited just the night before.
Remus sat with his back against the tree and Sirius sprawled out in the shade next to him. They sat there in silence for a bit, just enjoying the sun and warmth, but Remus’ mind began to wander back to the night before.
“We broke up here, you know.” Remus said, staring at the water. Sirius looked at him uncertainly.
“You could’ve told me that earlier. I could’ve chosen a different spot.” Sirius said.
“No. I like this spot. I have good memories here.”
“Of?”
“Of you. And James and Peter.”
“Do you remember the time that James hid in the tree and then pounced on us after we got all settled?” Sirius laughed.
“Yeah…it was fun.” They both fell silent for a moment. Remus looked toward Sirius, his black hair seemed to go every which way, and his eyes were closed, soaking in the warmth. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Why haven’t you gone out on a date recently? I mean, I know a couple of girls at least who’ve asked you lately…”
“Uh…don’t know, really.” Sirius hoped his voice was cool.
Remus didn’t ask any more questions, but chose to just lean back into the tree and rest. Sirius didn’t move much from his spot, either. About and hour and a half later, James and Peter came bounding down toward them. James pounced, first at Sirius, and then at Remus. Both boys shoved him away, laughing.
“What’re you two doing? You look all sulky! “ James asked.
“We’re just laying about…trying to enjoy the quiet.” Sirius said pointedly looking at James on the word ‘quiet’.
“What fluff! Why would you want quiet?”
“Some of us enjoy some quiet.” Remus said.
“Bah, Moony. You don’t need quiet.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter what I need because what I’m getting is you and you are anything but quiet.” Remus smiled.
“Put nicely, my dear friend.” James said smartly.
Remus, Sirius, and Peter stayed outside while James excused himself and ran back to the castle saying he’d see them at lunch. The three boys continued to lie around and talk, forcing themselves not to wonder what James was up to. When they finally went in for lunch, they saw James sitting next to Lily Evans.
“Did his plan finally work?” Remus asked the others.
“I dunno.” They watched as Lily laughed and touched James’ arm.
“I think the world is going to end today…this is a sure sign of it.”
“Over here!” Jams had spotted them and called them over.
“Remus, I don’t want the world to end.” Sirius whined and Remus swatted at him.
They all took seats around James and Lily. They said nothing because they were afraid that James had slipped her a love potion or something, and if that were the case, they’d rather choose ignorance in the matter.
“Why’s everyone so quiet?” Lily asked. “I mean, you’re usually quite loud.”
“I guess were all just a little tired.” Remus said.
“You’d better wake up, then. The play is in a few hours.” Lily said.
“Er…Lily?” Sirius’ voice came out timid and it caused everyone to look at him.
“Yes?”
“Why are you hanging around James? No offence, mate.” Sirius said.
“Why am I hanging around him? Well…because I want to.” Lily said.
“Really?” Sirius asked suspiciously.
“Yes. But I should probably get going. I promised to meet my friends.” Lily got up and walked out of the Great Hall.
“What the bloody hell was that, James?” Sirius rounded on the other boy.
“She asked me to eat with her.” James shrugged.
“I think Sirius meant ‘what did you slip into her drink to make her ask you to sit with her?’” Remus said dryly.
“I didn’t put anything in her drink. She asked me of her own free will.” James pouted a bit and made the others feel badly.
“Fine, let’s go back to the common room. Peter are you coming?” Remus asked and Peter nodded and got up. The two went up to the common room, leaving Sirius and James in the Great hall.
“Ok, tell me the truth, now.” Sirius said.
“Ok, well, Lily came to me this morning and cornered me in the common room on my way to you guys.”
“And why would she do that?”
“She knows.” James said breathlessly.
“Knows what?” Sirius had the feeling that he didn’t want to know.
“About your Moony problem.” James said.
“You told her about me fancying R-“
“Shut up unless you want everyone to know.” James hushed him. Many eyes were on the two of them by now.
“You told her?” Sirius’ tone was deadly.
“No. She guessed. Said she saw you two together a lot these days and was wondering if perhaps you two fancied each other.”
“And you said?”
“I said that you fancied him, but we didn’t know about the other way around. I also told her that I had promised to help you.” James said quietly.
“So she asked you to sit with her?”
“Yes. She said she wants to help.”
“Why?” Sirius could hardly believe what James was telling him.
“I suppose it’s cute in her eyes.” Sirius looked at James as if he were crazy. “I mean…boys like it when two girls kiss, right? So who’s to say that girls don’t like it when two boys kiss?” James explained. Sirius shook his head. He couldn’t believe that he had actually understood James’ reasoning on this.
“So she’s helping with it?”
“Yes. She has it all planned, that girl does! She’s going to back out of the play at the last minute.” James said.
“What good will that do?”
“Don’t you see, you prat? When she backs out, no one else except Moony will know all of Juliet’s lines…” James waited to let it dawn on his friend.
“Wait, that means he’ll be playing Juliet…and I’m Romeo...they...”
“Yes, mate. Now all you have to do is let him know you’re interested in that last scene. Good luck!” James smiled and walked away, leaving Sirius with his mouth practically hanging open.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Sirius? Is Sirius Black here and ready to go?!” the professor’s squeaking voice called. Sirius leapt to his feet. The professor glanced over him a moment in his costume. “Lily? Is Lily Evans here and ready to go?!”
Sirius watched as he sat in his corner alone. There was about an hour until the play was to begin, and he had nothing to do except sit and wait and think. He was beginning to get quite bored when Remus popped up from behind some scenery. He wasn’t in Juliet’s costume, so Sirius figured that Lily was going to wait until the last minute.
“Nervous?” Remus asked as he sat down next to Sirius.
“A little.” He replied.
“Well, I brought you a good luck present.” Remus handed him a HoneyDuke’s chocolate bar. Sirius grinned and thanked him. “You’ll do fine.” Remus said as he got up. Sirius wished he’d stay, but supposed he had other duties to attend to.
Next Lily and James came over to talk to him. It seemed that in helping Sirius, James was also helping himself with Lily.
“Sirius, we’ve decided that she’ll ‘get sick’ in the last Act so you and…”James paused to make sure that Remus wasn’t around, “Moony get the death scene. So you’ll have Lily as Juliet up until that Act, alright?”
“Sure.” Sirius said.
“Good luck, then.” James winked and was off again. He was loony lately, and Sirius was sure he liked this Insane James.
Sirius opened his chocolate bar and took a bite. He tried to think of a way to convey his feelings to Remus, but nothing came to mind. He was just about finished with his chocolate when the professor called to have everyone gather around and do some quick exercises, though it was only the actors who did them, Remus still came to watch. Sirius felt stupid doing all the little exercises, but did them anyway. After they were done, the professor announced that everyone should take their places for the first Act, scene 1.
The first few Acts of the play were easy enough, but as the last Act was approaching. The people in the audience didn’t make him nervous at all. What made him nervous was the shy brown-haired boy standing in the shadows, watching the play from the sidelines.
“Professor?” Sirius heard Lily’s voice ask in between acts.
“Yes, Miss Evans?”
“Professor, I don’t feel well at all.” Lily said. She indeed didn’t look all that well. Somehow she had made her face tinted green and she swayed a bit on the spot.
“Can you last for one more Act? That’s all that’s left.” The professor looked panicked. Lily shrugged, but then fell face forward. James rushed forward and turned her over a bit. Her nose was bleeding from the fall.
“Professor, I think she needs to go to the hospital wing.” James said.
“Yes, yes, take her, then.” The professor said, obviously troubled at what they were to do without a Juliet. He paced back and forth for a few moments, and then seemed to get an idea.
“Remus? Remus Lupin? Where is that boy?”
“I’m here, professor.” Remus came out from his place on the sidelines.
“You know Juliet’s part, correct?”
“Er…yes.” Remus said confused. He hadn’t seen Lily’s fall.
“Great! We need a costume and a wig. And makeup.” He added as he looked at Remus.
“Wait…Professor, I don’t understand.”
“Lily Evans got sick and fell. She’s in the hospital wing. You are going on in her place.” Anthony Stone brought out an extra dress and wig and handed them to Remus. “Go change and I’ll get one of the girls to do your makeup.” Remus turned around to go to the dressing rooms and did as he was told. He came out a moment later blushing madly and dragging his feet. One of the girls who had done makeup quickly put some mascara, blush, and lipstick on him.
“This is just…weird.” Remus said as the professor called Sirius over.
“I realize that you are both boys, but please, for the sake of the play act like you’re a girl, Lupin. You know, in Shakespeare’s time they only had boys do the plays, so we’re actually doing the play as it would’ve been done back then. And I realize that you may not want to kiss each other like we practiced with Evans as Juliet. Instead, put your thumb on the other person’s lips and kiss you thumb. It’s a theatrical trick. No one in the audience will be able to tell the difference. So go on, and good luck!” the professor pushed both of them toward the stage.
“Remus?”
“Yeah?” Remus looked really nervous and small standing there just then.
“You’ll do great.”
“Thanks, Padfoot.”
A half an hour later, they’d gotten to the point in the play where Romeo comes back only to learn that Juliet is dead. What Romeo doesn’t know is that Juliet actually took a draught to make her appear dead so that she and Romeo can be together and live without the troubles of their separate families after her funeral passes.
“Here, here will I remain
With worms that are thy chamber-maids; O, here
Will I set up my everlasting rest,
And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars
From this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last!
Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you
The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss
A dateless bargain to engrossing death!
Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide!
Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on
The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark!
Here's to my love!” Sirius said his lines with ease as he knelt next to Remus, who lay pretending to be dead. Sirius took a small vile from his pocket and uncorked it. He drank the bit of water that was being passed off as poison and dropped the vile, sending it scattering in pieces.
“O true apothecary!
Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” Sirius grabbed his chest, but leaned down. He had practiced this with Lily as Juliet, but now with Remus, he was so much more nervous. That’s when he knew what to do to let Remus know that he fancied him and no one else.
As he leaned down to give Juliet the kiss he spoke softly, not moving his lips very much so that no one in the audience would see. “Remus…You asked me why I don’t go out with anyone lately…my answer is because the right person hasn’t asked me.” Sirius saw Remus’ eyes open a little, and his face looked questioning. Sirius ignored it and placed his lips on Remus’. He deliberately didn’t put his thumb over Remus’ mouth so if Remus refused him, he’d at least have this one kiss.
Sirius then slumped over as he had practiced for four weeks, and waited while the rest of the play was done. When the curtains closed he got up. Everyone lined up and the curtains rose again. They bowed and bowed again until the clapping died down. When the curtain went down for the last time, Sirius looked around. He didn’t see Remus anywhere.
“Sirius, you were great!” Peter and James came bounding up to him. Tackling him to the floor. Sirius let them congratulate him and ruffle his hair, but once they were done he looked at James sullenly.
“Do you know where Remus is?” Sirius asked. James looked around for a moment.
“No…I have no clue, actually. What happened?”
“Before I did the kiss I said something to him, no one could hear, but I’m sure that he heard it…I’ll explain later.” Sirius said.
“Ok, let’s go somewhere now. I want to know what’s going on.”
“No, I’m tired, James. I just want sleep.” Sirius sighed. James frowned. This surely wasn’t a good sign. Sirius wasn’t one to want sleep this early in the evening and if he did it was because he was upset about something or another.
“All right, mate. Let’s go get some sleep.” James led Sirius out of the Great Hall and up to their dorm. Sirius didn’t bother to get out of his costume, but just flopped down on his bed and was asleep in a few moments.
Author: Whenwillyou
Pairings: Remus/Sirius and James/Lily
Rating: PG-PG-13
Summary: Hogwarts is putting on a play!
Chapter the Fifth
Remus woke up early the next Saturday. He took special care in washing up and trying to brush the small tangles out of his wet hair. He stole a bit of James’ cologne and borrowed a deep red long-sleeved shirt from Sirius.
“So you’re not even going to meet us for lunch, then?” James asked, frowning slightly.
“I already told you that I’d ask her if she’d mind. What more do you guys want from me?” Remus asked just barely sitting on his bed with the others sprawled every which way on the floor.
“Well, if she doesn’t mind, then meet us at the Three Broomsticks around noon.” James said from his spot on the floor. Remus smiled and nodded. He felt ecstatic. Usually he’d be among the others on the floor with James, Sirius, or even Peter beaming, excited for a date. But it was he this time.
Remus laughed as he tried to make his way across the room to the door as the others tried to trip him up. Somehow every time one of them had a date for Hogsmeade the others ended up like this, sprawled across the floor. Sometimes it was the result of a small pillow fight, but sometimes they toppled down willingly.
“See you guys around Lunch, hopefully!” he called as he ducked out of the room. He walked down toward the Great Hall, where he’d promised he would meet Charlotte. He turned the corner, humming to himself, and waited for her to arrive.
“Remus!” Charlotte’s delicate voice called as she came toward him.
“Charlotte! How are you?” He was excited, but managed his voice all the same.
“I’m fine, how are you?” she was smiling happily as they began to walk. They talked in spurts, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable, either. As one of the silences fell, Remus tried to remember the ‘pointer’ that James had given him. While James liked Lily, he had still been on many dates, mostly because he never wanted to hurt someone’s feelings by saying no.
“If her hands are at her sides even though she has pockets, it means that she wants you to hold her hand.” James’ voice was in his head.
Remus looked down at Charlotte’s hands by her sides. According to James, she wanted Remus to hold her hand. Remus swallowed and hoped that James was right. He reached out his hand, still staring ahead to the road, and grabbed her hand gently. He felt, rather than saw, her eyes on him. But she hadn’t pulled away, so they walked on like that until they came to Hogsmeade.
“Where do you want to go?” Charlotte asked.
“Er, anywhere’s fine.”
“Oh, come on, Remus. Where do you and your friends usually go?” Charlotte’s eyes narrowed at him challenging him to be indecisive.
“We go to the usual places. Zonko’s, Honey Duke’s. Places like that.” He said feeling pressured under her stare.
“How about Zonko’s then?”
“Really?”
“I like jokes, too, sometimes.” She smiled, glad that she had surprised him.
“Alright. Let’s go to Zonko’s.” he said.
They got into Zonko’s and looked around for a bit, joking about how fun it’d be to pull some of the tricks on their friends. Charlotte bought a few Acid Pops and a package of dungbombs. Remus bought some dungbombs as well.
“Where to now?” Remus asked. He was beginning to feel more comfortable.
“Can we go have a look at the owls in the Post Office?” Charlotte asked.
“Of course.” Remus said and a few moments later they were in the Post Office, pointing at a small, odd owl that bounced in it’s cage. The morning went on lazily and Remus found that he was having a good time. It was almost noon, however, and Remus hadn’t asked her about meeting his friends for lunch.
“Are you hungry, Remus?” Charlotte asked.
“Yeah, and actually I wanted to ask you something.”
“Oh, go ahead.”
“My friends invited us to eat lunch with them. We don’t have to, but I figured I’d ask in case you wanted to.” Remus said with a slightly apologetic look on his face.
“That’d be fun…actually, Lily wanted to know if she could have lunch with us, too.”
“Where was she going to meet us?”
“The Three Broomsticks.”
“Perfect. That’s where my friends said they’d be. We’ll all eat together.” Remus smiled.
“Oh, I can’t wait to see Lily’s expression when she sees we’re eating with James!” Charlotte had a mischievous look on her face and Remus couldn’t help but laugh.
They walked toward the Three Broomsticks, but just as they were almost there Charlotte stopped walking and caused Remus to do the same since they were holding hands. Remus looked at her questioningly.
“You’re really nice, Remus. Even more so than I imagined.” She smiled
“Uh, thanks.” Remus blushed, but blushed even deeper after Charlotte took a step forward and kissed him lightly on the lips before walking toward the door, dragging him along.
They found James, Sirius, and Peter almost immediately in the back of the tavern. Lily was found a few feet away sitting alone at a table. Charlotte went to get Lily as Remus went to sit by his friends.
“So how’s it going? You look really red.” James smirked.
“Shut up.” Remus said quickly but darkly and then noticing Charlotte and Lily sitting down. “Charlotte, this is Peter, James and Sirius” Remus said pointing to each of his friends in turn. Charlotte smiled at each of them. “Lily, I believe you know each of them?”
“Yes.” Lily said stiffly as James stared openly at Lily.
A few moments later, Madame Rosmerta came by and asked them what they’d be having. They all ordered sandwiches of different kinds and butterbeers. Remus had his hands folded lightly on top of the table and was talking to Sirius and James about what Charlotte and he had been doing when Charlotte took his hand and held it. Remus blushed briefly, but continued to tell them that after the Post Office, they’d gone to HoneyDuke’s
Remus listened intently to James trying to impress Lily with a Quidditch story when his gaze wandered to Sirius. Sirius seemed oddly quiet today and Remus wondered if he still wasn’t feeling well. But Charlotte who came closer to whisper something in his ear distracted his thoughts. Her breath tickled as she spoke quietly and Remus shivered beneath it.
“Do you want to go outside for some fresh air?” She asked.
“Sure.” They shuffled out of their seats and told the rest that they’d see them back at Hogwarts. Lily was openly distressed, but as he caught Sirius’ eyes, they also seemed slightly distressed.
Charlotte led him toward a familiar place. The Shrieking Shack stood tall, beat up, but bold. She looked at it excitedly, still holding Remus’ hand.
“They say it’s haunted.” She said breathlessly. Remus stomach panged. He knew it wasn’t haunted at all.
“That’s what they say.” He said instead of his bitter thoughts against the place. She looked at him, her brown eyes shone brightly. She took both his hands up in her own and held them for a moment as she looked at him.
“I like you.” She said decisively, and Remus found that as she came closer, his thoughts disappeared more and more.
She kissed him gently at first, her lips were warm in the slightly chilled air. But they deepened the kiss and she embraced him more tightly, locked in the moment. He didn’t care any longer that he was scared of getting involved with other people. He didn’t care that his hands were beginning to go cold. All he felt himself caring about was that Charlotte keep nibbling gently on his lower lip and tangling her fingers in his hair.
But she pulled away all too soon for Remus. By then they were both breathing deeply and their lips were red and swollen. All he wanted was for her to kiss him more.
“Do you want to go somewhere more private?” Her question filled Remus’ ears and he felt the blood rising once again to his cheeks, but he nodded anyway. Charlotte took his hand in her own and led him around the Shrieking Shack and then into what looked like a small patch of forest.
“Behind the bushes?” Remus breathed out heavily, but his words were barely out when Charlotte pulled him into her, kissing deeply again. They tripped over a protruding root and tumbled to the ground together, Charlotte landing half on top of Remus. But it didn’t break their kiss.
Remus found a stone that was poking into his back highly irritating, but made no complaint about it. Charlotte’s hands were under his shirt now, feeling and making his skin tingle at every touch. His mouth opened to gasp at a particularly sensitive spot that her hands ran over, but she silenced it with her tongue. Remus’ stomach exploded as this happened because just then, in his mind’s eye, he saw Sirius’ grey eyes staring at him. He broke apart from Charlotte.
“This…this is getting a little…uh…” He was panting, as he tried to get out a normal sentence.
“I know…we should stop.” She looked reluctant about it. They stayed in that position, Remus lying on the ground with Charlotte pretty much on top of him, for a while longer. She rested her head on his chest as he caught his breath and then they both got up to go back to Hogwarts.
As they were walking back, Remus didn’t bother keeping a tight leash on his thoughts. He knew he should be happy about having someone like Charlotte. But somehow it unsettled him. He had to be polite around her, open doors for her, and in general he now had to support her. He wasn’t sure he wanted all that responsibility. He already had a lot on his own plate, not to mention his three friends. Now he had a girlfriend, too.
“I’ll see you later, Remus.” Charlotte said, giving him yet another deep kiss before squeezing his hand and running up the stairs and out of his sight. It was dinnertime already, but Remus didn’t feel like dinner, so he went up to his dormitories instead.
When he got to the room he shared with Peter, James, and Sirius, he flopped onto his bed, ready for sleep to take him over. But things hardly ever went his way. Sirius came into the room at that moment. He looked at Remus lying there on the bed.
“Hey Padfoot.” Remus said, not lifting his head.
“Hey Moony.” Sirius said in return. “have any more room on that bed?”
“Sure, hop on.” Remus scooted over to make room for his friend. Sirius climbed on and lay down so that they were facing each other.
“You going to sleep in my shirt?” Sirius asked almost groggily.
“I had no energy to change.” Remus smiled a little.
“Oh. So how was your…thing?”
“My date? It was ok. Padfoot, I don’t know if I can do the whole boyfriend thing…”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m selfish and only want to care about myself and my friends.” He said bluntly.
“Oh, come on, Remus. You know you’d be devastated if she broke up with you.”
“Yeah, but-“
“How far did you guys get after you left the Three Broomsticks?”
“We didn’t do any-“
“Liar. Your lips are swollen as hell. How far?” Sirius sometimes had a way of being so blunt that it deeply surprised Remus.
“We just kissed a bit.”
“By ‘a bit’ you mean ‘a lot’.”
“No!”
“You’re denying it.”
“Am not.”
“Why are you afraid of telling me?”
“I’m not” Remus said remembering seeing Sirius’ eyes while he was kissing Charlotte. For the life of him he couldn’t figure out why he had seen that at that particular moment. He looked at Sirius now. His grey eyes were lazy, almost closed and his black hair fell forward into his face.
“You are.” Sirius muttered. Remus saw his eyes close finally, sleeping.
“Maybe I am.” Remus whispered as the door to their room opened and Sirius jumped up from the bed and stood coolly at Remus side as if he’d never touched Remus’ bed.
“Hey.” James said, “How was your date?”
Chapter the Sixth
Sirius was very moody the next week. He was beginning to see that James was right. He could only ignore the feelings that were stirring inside him for so long, and the time had long since come.
Presently, Sirius sat up in his own bed. James and Peter, claiming that they were starving, had gone down to breakfast while Remus still slept. Sirius looked at the mess of sheets tangled with his body. Sirius knew that Remus’ hair was light brown, but in the light from the window a few feet away, his hair had a golden quality to it. It looked soft and tempting to touch as it curled near his ears and neck. Sirius had never wanted something more than to just run his hands through Remus’ hair at that moment.
He slowly got out of his bed, but didn’t take another step once he was standing. He knew he couldn’t do it. It’d freak Remus out too much and as much as Sirius wanted to do it, he wanted to keep his friendship more. So instead he sat back down on his bed.
James had gotten used to him being gay. Or at least if he hadn’t, he was pretending very well. It seemed as if James was simply ignoring Sirius’ long looks at Remus, but Sirius found he didn’t care as long as James wasn’t openly fighting Sirius about it.
“Sirius?” Remus was awake, but he stayed in his bed, barely opening his eyes.
“Yes, Moony?” Sirius asked.
“I’m cold.” Remus stated thickly. Sirius laughed, Remus was always a bit groggy in the morning and ended up being oddly direct because of it.
“You want an extra blanket?”
“No.” Remus pouted.
He also acted a bit childish in the morning.
“Then what do you want? You know Breakfast is nearly over.” Sirius asked.
“No, no breakfast.”
“Alright…what about the blanket?”
“No, no blanket.” Sirius laughed openly this time. Remus pouted again. “Stop laughing at me.”
“Well, what do you want if you don’t want a blanket? I can do the warming spell if you’d like.” Sirius offered.
“No, I want you to lay down for a bit.” Sirius’ stomach twisted, but Remus was already making room for him on his bed. They used to do this all the time, but that was before Sirius had started developing feelings towards Remus.
“Only for a bit…” he said uncertainly. Sirius climbed onto the bed and lay down, facing Remus as he had done last time.
“Thanks, Padfoot.” Remus’ speech was slurred together. He was obviously still quite tired. Sirius, on the other hand, was wide-awake. His body tingled, on edge for any slight touch there might be, but he lay still, controlling himself. Remus, however, probably had no clue as to what Sirius was thinking, because just then he snuggled into Sirius, curling around him.
“Remus, we should really go down to Breakfast.” Sirius tried, but Remus shook his head causing his hair to tickle Sirius’ neck.
“No, I just want to stay here. I’m tired.” Remus breathed against Sirius’ neck and it sent shivers down his spine. “See, you’re cold, too. You smell good.” Remus stated sounding a bit surprised.
“Thanks.” Sirius knew that he had to get up soon. James was being civil about him at the moment, but he wasn’t sure that would last if he saw Remus and Sirius practically cuddling together. Especially since Remus had no clue that Sirius was queer. Once Remus had fallen back asleep, Sirius slowly began to get up.
“Where’re you going?” Remus asked his eyes open again. Sirius looked at those eyes for a second. They were a lovely amber color with gold flecks in them. They were wonderful looking.
“I need to get up and get ready for the Quidditch match. And if I’m not completely mad, then I recall you saying that you and Charlotte were going to it also.” Sirius said. Remus sighed and slowly got out of bed.
“I forgot that was today.” Remus said honestly.
Fifteen minutes later a freshly showered and dressed Remus walked alongside Sirius to the Great Hall to grab a piece of toast on the way out to the Quidditch pitch. Charlotte joined them as they crossed the grounds.
“Are you excited about the match?” Charlotte asked them.
“Very.” Remus said and Sirius nodded in agreement as they sat down. Charlotte sat on Remus’ left, leaving his right for Sirius. Though Sirius was on the other side, he could still see Charlotte resting her head on Remus’ shoulder.
“When’s dress rehearsal?” Sirius figured that if he could keep the two talking then no one would resort to snogging.
“Uh…I think Friday after classes. The final performance is on Saturday afternoon.” Remus kept his eyes trained on the match.
“Oh, great.”
“Why?”
“I just don’t have all my lines down.” Sirius lied. He actually had all his lines memorized. His only problem now was that he didn’t know what all of the lines meant.
“Still?!” Remus’ eyes were on him now.
“Yeah. I’ve been trying, but I just can’t get this one scene.”
“Which one?”
“The balcony one…”
“I can help you with it tonight if you want.” Remus offered.
“That’d be gre-“
“But you promised to be with me tonight.” Charlotte’s voice intercepted Sirius’. Sirius glared daggers at her and imagined each one piercing her skin as her free hand went to Remus’ stomach and traced tiny circles with her fingertips that made him squirm a bit. She knew what she was doing, all right. Remus was bound to resign his offer to Sirius and go with Charlotte instead.
“I’m sorry, Charlotte, but Sirius needs my help.” Remus said, snapping Sirius out of his thoughts and causing Charlotte to stop the invisible circles that she drew.
“But we had it all set…” she said disappointedly.
“Remus-“ Sirius began. He didn’t want to be the cause of trouble.
“I need to help him.” Remus said with finality.
“All right…you owe me another night, then. I’m going to go find some of my friends. I promised to meet them at some point, anyway.” With that Charlotte got up and left. Remus sighed and sat back in his seat. Sirius suddenly became aware that he had been staring avidly during the whole argument and looked back toward the Quidditch pitch.
“Remus?” Sirius asked after a moment had passed. Remus looked up at Sirius as though he hadn’t noticed him sitting there.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” Remus smiled.
The two of them watched the remainder of the game and then went to wait by the changing rooms for James. Peter came with them saying that he had sat alone during the game because he couldn’t find either of them. James came out a few minutes later, beaming at them.
“Did you see that?” he screamed jovially.
“Yes, James. It was quite brilliant.”
“Bloody brilliant is more like it! I can’t believe he fell for the feign!” James said tackling them all so that they ended up a big mess of limbs, robes, and hair.
“Let’s go get some lunch, shall we?” Sirius asked. He was quite hungry by now, and by the looks of it so was everyone else.
They ate a big lunch and then lounged around in the common room until dinner, which they also ate plenty of. Towards the end, when Remus and Sirius had eaten their seconds, Remus announced that they had to go practice for the play. James gave Sirius a look that said ‘don’t try anything…’ as they got up from the table.
They searched for a while to find an empty classroom, when Remus finally led him into the empty Charms room. Sirius had his script in hand and was dreading the practice slightly. He was beginning to get tired from the big meal and Remus looked excited to be helping.
“Alright, where have you not memorized?”
“Er…” Sirius flipped through the pages. ”Act two. ‘Lady, by yonder…’”
“I see it. Ok, do as much as you can without looking.”
“Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear
That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops-“ Sirius saw Remus’ wince as he spoke this line, but he went on once it was his turn.
“O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.” Remus clenched his teeth a little when he spoke of the moon, and Sirius suddenly felt bad that he was making Remus do this.
“What shall I swear by?” Sirius said the line with confidence, but Remus looked at him suspiciously.
“Sirius…you sure this is the part you need help with?”
“Well…yes, but I suppose it’s in a different way…”
“What d’you mean?”
“Well, I have it memorized for the most part, but I have no clue what I’m saying, really.” Sirius was afraid that Remus would be mad, now that he admitted that it wasn’t really memorizing that he needed help with, but interpretation.
“That’s just as important as memorizing lines. Otherwise you’d be saying the lines with no emotion. Is it just this part that you don’t understand?” Remus looked up to see Sirius shaking his head.
“Er…most of it’s hard to understand…” Sirius said slightly embarrassed.
“That’s ok. I’ll explain it…” Remus said as he settled down into a desk. Sirius did the same. As Remus explained what Romeo’s lines meant, he kicked his feet under the desk, every once in a while hitting Sirius in the shin. He would murmur ‘sorry’ and then go back to swinging his feet.
“Does that make sense?” Sirius realized that Remus was looking at him expectantly.
“Uh…”
“Are you listening? Honestly, Sirius.”
“I’m trying! My mind is just…on other things. Sorry.” Sirius rubbed his forehead.
“On what things?” Remus asked.
“I don’t know…just random bits of things.”
“You know, you’ve been acting a bit odd lately.” Remus looked thoughtful now.
“Really? How?”
“You’ve been…less carefree. More tense. I don’t know, it’s all subtle, but I can tell the difference.”
“Oh.” Sirius didn’t know what else to say. He knew perfectly well why he was acting like this, but didn’t know how to explain it to Remus.
“Is everything all right? I mean, at home and everything?” Remus looked tentative to bring up the subject of home, but he managed to trudge onto the territory. It was understandable. It was Sirius, after all, that blew up at his friends for asking about it. He wasn’t sure why he did it, but he always blamed them for the horrible memories that were called up when they mentioned his family.
“Yeah…things are fine, I suppose.” Sirius thought of his family’s reaction if he announced that he was gay. They’d throw him out and disown him as thoroughly as possible. Not that he’d really want to stay there, anyhow.
“Then what’s the problem? You act so down now-a-days.”
“I’m fine, Remus. Really, I am.” Sirius tried to smile as brightly as he used to, but found it plagued by an emotion that he had only recently been aware of.
“You worry me, Padfoot.” Remus said simply, but Sirius knew that there was a lot of concern to back up those few words. Sirius wished that all Remus’ thoughts would spill through his mouth and out into the open. He wished to know every single thought, concern, or insignificant rant that had ever passed through Remus’ mind.
“Hey…are you hungry?” Sirius asked as if he hadn’t eaten enough food for five grown men already that day.
“A little.”
“To the kitchen?”
“To the kitchen” Remus packed up his things and they went for a snack.
Chapter the Seventh
When Remus woke up on Friday morning he slowly got out of bed. He had just had a wonderful, yet troubling dream. He had been with someone he truly loved and was loved in return. The person in his dream wasn’t Charlotte, however, and it troubled him.
Remus went about his day, trying not to fall behind in his classes and making sure he took good notes so that Peter, James and Sirius could copy them later that night. But his excitement was getting to him. Today was the dress rehearsal for the play, and he wanted so badly to skip forward in the day to see the whole thing finally put together.
“Remus?” Remus looked around the classroom. Everyone else had left and only James, Peter, and Sirius stood in the room, waiting for him.
“Sorry. I must have been daydreaming…” he muttered as he hastily stuffed his things in his bag.
“So I was thinking…” James put his arm round Remus’ shoulder, “that maybe you could get Charlotte to talk to Lily about me…” James smiled what he thought was a charming smile.
“No.” Remus said flatly.
“Why not, Moooony?” James whined.
“Because. I have no interest in making a fool of myself which is sure to happen if I try to help you with your love life.” Remus explained.
“Mooooony!” Remus grinned. James was really helpless sometimes.
“No. And there’s absolutely no way to change my mind so you can stop thinking of it now and not waste any time on something so stupid.”
“Fine. I’m not going down without a fight, though. Be warned.” James then left.
“He’s so…strange sometimes.” Remus said to Peter and Sirius who were still walking with him.
“Love can do strange things to you.” Sirius said as he looked at Remus.
“Well, I suppose so.” Remus mumbled, wondering why he was blushing all of a sudden.
“Are you two going to lunch?” Peter asked suddenly, causing Remus to gasp in surprise. Somehow he’d forgotten that Peter was with them.
“Uh…I’m not that hungry.” Remus responded.
“And I want to practice my lines more before the dress rehearsal tonight.” Sirius said.
“Alright, then. I’m off to lunch, see you two later.” Peter called.
After Peter left them, Remus and Sirius were awkwardly quiet. Throughout their friendship, they had rarely come across these awkward silences, but it seemed as if they were happening more lately.
“Do you feel all right?” Sirius finally asked. Remus looked over at him.
“Yes. I feel just fine. Why’re you asking?”
“Well, you don’t make a habit of skipping meals, is all.”
“Oh…I’m just not hungry.”
“Oh.”
“What about you?”
“Huh?”
“You must be nervous…with the play tomorrow and all.”
“Yeah…I’m a little nervous.”
“You’ll do fine, though. I know you will.”
“How’re you so sure?” Sirius narrowed his eyes in mock suspicion.
“Because you’re Sirius Black. Everything, even if it’s against the laws of Physics, turns out all right for you.” Remus laughed at Sirius’ confused face.
“What in bloody hell is Physics?”
“Never mind.”
“You talk about some strange things, Moony.”
“I’m the one who talks about strange things?”
“Yes, you. But I don’t mind it so much.”
Sirius and Remus found that their feet had walked them back to their common room, so they clambered in and sat down. Sirius took out his script, which seemed attached to him these days, while Remus took out some homework. They sat in silence for a while until James appeared beside Sirius.
“Sirius, I need to talk to you.” James said.
“About what?”
“About…toads.”
“Toads?” Sirius asked and Remus chuckled.
“Yeah, sure. Toads. Just come over here a moment, will you?” James pulled his sleeve. Sirius shrugged at Remus as he was being pulled away. James pulled him to the staircase and up to their dormitory.
“Now, what about toads did you need to know?” Sirius had a smirk on his face.
“Oh, forget the toads, you prat. I need to talk to you about something more serious.”
“But toads are so interesting...” Sirius leaned against one of the bedposts.
“Shut up.”
“Ok, James. Go ahead and talk.”
“It’s about you…”
“What about me?”
“You know…how you think you’re gay.”
“James…I don’t think I’m gay…I pretty much know I’m gay.”
“Yes, well…you fancy him, then don’t you?”
“Who?” Sirius knew that James was avoiding his name and he wanted him to just say it out loud and get it over with. He wanted to hear it aloud for the first time. He wanted to make it real.
“You know…”
“James, who?”
“Remus.”
“Yes…I fancy him, but you can’t tell him.” Sirius saw the wheels turning in James’ head.
“Why?” James looked confused.
“Because…don’t you see what that would do to us? The Marauders? It’s bad enough for me to be gay, but to fancy my best friend? That just tops everything nicely, doesn’t it? He’ll feel awkward and so will I. I don’t want to make him feel awkward. I want things to stay the same. I don’t want us to feel weird when the other one is around. I want to keep him as a friend more than anything.”
“Sirius, you already feel awkward around him, don’t you?” James pointed out and Sirius frowned.
“What’s you point, James? Did you come here to tell me to give it up and go out with some girl or something?”
“No. I want to help you.” James sighed.
“You want to help me?”
“Yes. You’re miserable, Sirius! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you mope around so much in all the time I’ve known you. I want you to be happy, and I want the old Sirius back. So if that means getting Moony to fall for you, then I’ll help. I always thought he was a bit of a pouf anyway.” James said with a smirk. Sirius only stared at him. It seemed as if the words were having trouble reaching his brain.
“What?”
“I’m going to help you. I promise Moony will still be your friend at the end of all this. You don’t have to worry about it.”
“How are you going to do this, James?”
“I’ll figure it out...don’t worry.”
It was a universal fact that when James said ‘Don’t worry’ there were always plenty of reasons to worry. Sirius watched as James turned round and went through the door, leaving Sirius alone in the dormitory. He was definitely worried about this.
~~~~~~~~~~~
After James had pulled Sirius away, Remus had gone back to his homework, wondering slightly why James would’ve made up an excuse. Had he really thought that Remus would believe they were going to talk about toads?
As he was finishing his conclusion on his essay, Charlotte came up to him. She stood for a moment next to his chair, waiting for him to finish his thought. When he put his quill down, he looked up at her.
“Remus, do you have time to come for a walk with me?” she asked politely. Remus looked at the small pile of homework for a moment. He hadn’t been hanging around with Charlotte for the past week, really. Instead he had opted for homework and friends.
“Sure. Where to?”
“Just outside on the grounds.” She replied.
They walked outside silently. Remus noticed that she seemed oddly quiet. Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail that swished as she walked. Her hands were placed in her pocket and her eyes looked a bit red if Remus wasn’t mistaken.
Once they got outside, they walked toward the lake where the giant squid lived and toward a tree that James, Sirius, Peter and he sat under on hot, sunny days. She sat down and motioned for him to do the same.
“Remus…I actually wanted to talk to you about something…”
“Really? What is it?”
“Well…we just haven’t been together in a while.”
“I know. It’s my fault, really. I shouldn’t care about school work so much…” Remus said apologetically.
“That’s not all, Remus. I mean, it’s ok. It’s important to you…I just…I don’t think we should go out anymore.”
“Because of me being busy?”
“Well, yes. That’s a big part of it…”
“Oh…uh...ok.”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I guess I’ll see you around, then.”
“Bye, Remus.”
Remus got up and walked straight back up to the castle. He couldn’t figure out the way his brain worked. He hadn’t been attached to her, really. He hadn’t fancied her all that much…yet it hurt to have her say those things.
He ducked inside the portrait hole and went straight up to his dormitory. Sirius was the only one inside, but he seemed as if he were sleeping. So Remus crawled into his own bed and lay there for a bit on his back. A stray tear ran down his cheek leaving its traces cold. He wiped it away hastily and wondered what was wrong with him. He was crying over something he had never really cared about in the first place.
“Remus?” Apparently Sirius was awake.
“Yeah?” Remus’ voice came out a bit husky even though he had tried to make it sound normal. Sirius sat up after hearing his friend, and looked over at him.
“Oh, shit, Rem. Why’re you crying?” Sirius looked slightly panicked as if he had no clue as to how to handle a crying person.
“It’s nothing. Just leave me alone.” Remus said in his husky voice.
“It’s not nothing. Something’s wrong…” Sirius said.
“Leave me alo-“
“No.” Sirius got up, crossed the room, and sat on the edge of Remus’ bed. “What happened? I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.” Sirius’ eyes were full of concern.
“Charlotte doesn’t want to go out with me, is all. I don’t even know why I’m crying about it. I’m not all that sad, I just started crying all of a sudden.” Remus said frustrated.
“She broke up with you?” For a split second, Remus saw a look cross Sirius’ eyes, but it turned right back to sympathy.
“Yeah…it’s ok, I guess.” He said wiping the last of his tears. “Never liked her that much, anyway.”
“She’s not worth it, Remus. If she can’t see what she just let go she must be blind.” Sirius said. He was sitting close to Remus’ side, but he was afraid to touch him in any way for fear it’d be interpreted wrongly, but his gaze lingered on him. Remus looked as if he were about to fall asleep. His eyelids were half closed and his breathing was beginning to even out. Sirius waited until he was sure that Remus was sleeping, and when he was absolutely sure of it he leaned forward and as gently as possible placed his lips on Remus’ forehead.
Chapter the Eighth
“Why didn’t anyone wake me up for the rehearsal last night?” Remus asked grumpily the next morning.
“You seemed really tired, so I told the Professor that you weren’t feeling well.” Sirius explained.
“And he believed it?”
“Well, I also told him that if he wanted you to feel better by today that he’d better leave you alone.” Sirius combed through his wet hair and then shook his head violently to shake out the water as a dog does. Remus grabbed a pillow from his bed to quickly shield himself from the water.
“Thanks, Sirius.”
“No problem, Moony.”
“Will you two shuddap!” James voice mumbled harshly from his bed. Sirius and Remus had woken up early out of excitement for the play, even though it wouldn’t take place until later that evening. James and Peter, however, were still trying to get a few hours extra sleep. Sirius and Remus laughed, but went down to the common room to let the other two sleep.
“So…how’s Anthony Stone coming on remembering his lines?” Sirius asked with a smirk placed on his face firmly.
“Don’t remind me. He’s a disaster.” Remus rubbed his forehead. They sat down across from each other near a window. It was a clear day and seemed as if it’d be just as warm.
“Are…are you feeling better than last night?” Sirius asked.
“Uh…yeah. I feel a lot better, thanks. I had the strangest dream, though.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to tell me about it?”
“No.”
“Moony, you confuse me sometimes…” Sirius sighed.
“It’s just…I can’t remember more than flashes of it.”
“Oh.” Sirius said as if that summed up everything.
“Do you want breakfast?” Remus asked.
“Sure.” Sirius and Remus got up to go to breakfast and as they walked they bumped into Lily Evans.
“Hey, Remus. Black.” Lily said Sirius’ name stiffly.
“Hi. Are you ready for the play tonight?” Remus asked. Lily was looking at them oddly and didn’t answer. “Lily?”
“What? Oh! The play, yes…”
“You all right, Evans?” Sirius asked.
“Yes. Yes, I just realized something…” Lily smiled smugly as she did when she knew something that no one else seemed to know. The two boys shrugged and then went on their way.
They sat down and ate barely anything, and decided that they rather go outside and spend the rest of the morning lying about in the grass. Once outside, their predictions of it being warm were absolutely true. It was a breezy, warm day. So Sirius led the way to their normal spot under the shady tree in which Remus had visited just the night before.
Remus sat with his back against the tree and Sirius sprawled out in the shade next to him. They sat there in silence for a bit, just enjoying the sun and warmth, but Remus’ mind began to wander back to the night before.
“We broke up here, you know.” Remus said, staring at the water. Sirius looked at him uncertainly.
“You could’ve told me that earlier. I could’ve chosen a different spot.” Sirius said.
“No. I like this spot. I have good memories here.”
“Of?”
“Of you. And James and Peter.”
“Do you remember the time that James hid in the tree and then pounced on us after we got all settled?” Sirius laughed.
“Yeah…it was fun.” They both fell silent for a moment. Remus looked toward Sirius, his black hair seemed to go every which way, and his eyes were closed, soaking in the warmth. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Why haven’t you gone out on a date recently? I mean, I know a couple of girls at least who’ve asked you lately…”
“Uh…don’t know, really.” Sirius hoped his voice was cool.
Remus didn’t ask any more questions, but chose to just lean back into the tree and rest. Sirius didn’t move much from his spot, either. About and hour and a half later, James and Peter came bounding down toward them. James pounced, first at Sirius, and then at Remus. Both boys shoved him away, laughing.
“What’re you two doing? You look all sulky! “ James asked.
“We’re just laying about…trying to enjoy the quiet.” Sirius said pointedly looking at James on the word ‘quiet’.
“What fluff! Why would you want quiet?”
“Some of us enjoy some quiet.” Remus said.
“Bah, Moony. You don’t need quiet.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter what I need because what I’m getting is you and you are anything but quiet.” Remus smiled.
“Put nicely, my dear friend.” James said smartly.
Remus, Sirius, and Peter stayed outside while James excused himself and ran back to the castle saying he’d see them at lunch. The three boys continued to lie around and talk, forcing themselves not to wonder what James was up to. When they finally went in for lunch, they saw James sitting next to Lily Evans.
“Did his plan finally work?” Remus asked the others.
“I dunno.” They watched as Lily laughed and touched James’ arm.
“I think the world is going to end today…this is a sure sign of it.”
“Over here!” Jams had spotted them and called them over.
“Remus, I don’t want the world to end.” Sirius whined and Remus swatted at him.
They all took seats around James and Lily. They said nothing because they were afraid that James had slipped her a love potion or something, and if that were the case, they’d rather choose ignorance in the matter.
“Why’s everyone so quiet?” Lily asked. “I mean, you’re usually quite loud.”
“I guess were all just a little tired.” Remus said.
“You’d better wake up, then. The play is in a few hours.” Lily said.
“Er…Lily?” Sirius’ voice came out timid and it caused everyone to look at him.
“Yes?”
“Why are you hanging around James? No offence, mate.” Sirius said.
“Why am I hanging around him? Well…because I want to.” Lily said.
“Really?” Sirius asked suspiciously.
“Yes. But I should probably get going. I promised to meet my friends.” Lily got up and walked out of the Great Hall.
“What the bloody hell was that, James?” Sirius rounded on the other boy.
“She asked me to eat with her.” James shrugged.
“I think Sirius meant ‘what did you slip into her drink to make her ask you to sit with her?’” Remus said dryly.
“I didn’t put anything in her drink. She asked me of her own free will.” James pouted a bit and made the others feel badly.
“Fine, let’s go back to the common room. Peter are you coming?” Remus asked and Peter nodded and got up. The two went up to the common room, leaving Sirius and James in the Great hall.
“Ok, tell me the truth, now.” Sirius said.
“Ok, well, Lily came to me this morning and cornered me in the common room on my way to you guys.”
“And why would she do that?”
“She knows.” James said breathlessly.
“Knows what?” Sirius had the feeling that he didn’t want to know.
“About your Moony problem.” James said.
“You told her about me fancying R-“
“Shut up unless you want everyone to know.” James hushed him. Many eyes were on the two of them by now.
“You told her?” Sirius’ tone was deadly.
“No. She guessed. Said she saw you two together a lot these days and was wondering if perhaps you two fancied each other.”
“And you said?”
“I said that you fancied him, but we didn’t know about the other way around. I also told her that I had promised to help you.” James said quietly.
“So she asked you to sit with her?”
“Yes. She said she wants to help.”
“Why?” Sirius could hardly believe what James was telling him.
“I suppose it’s cute in her eyes.” Sirius looked at James as if he were crazy. “I mean…boys like it when two girls kiss, right? So who’s to say that girls don’t like it when two boys kiss?” James explained. Sirius shook his head. He couldn’t believe that he had actually understood James’ reasoning on this.
“So she’s helping with it?”
“Yes. She has it all planned, that girl does! She’s going to back out of the play at the last minute.” James said.
“What good will that do?”
“Don’t you see, you prat? When she backs out, no one else except Moony will know all of Juliet’s lines…” James waited to let it dawn on his friend.
“Wait, that means he’ll be playing Juliet…and I’m Romeo...they...”
“Yes, mate. Now all you have to do is let him know you’re interested in that last scene. Good luck!” James smiled and walked away, leaving Sirius with his mouth practically hanging open.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Sirius? Is Sirius Black here and ready to go?!” the professor’s squeaking voice called. Sirius leapt to his feet. The professor glanced over him a moment in his costume. “Lily? Is Lily Evans here and ready to go?!”
Sirius watched as he sat in his corner alone. There was about an hour until the play was to begin, and he had nothing to do except sit and wait and think. He was beginning to get quite bored when Remus popped up from behind some scenery. He wasn’t in Juliet’s costume, so Sirius figured that Lily was going to wait until the last minute.
“Nervous?” Remus asked as he sat down next to Sirius.
“A little.” He replied.
“Well, I brought you a good luck present.” Remus handed him a HoneyDuke’s chocolate bar. Sirius grinned and thanked him. “You’ll do fine.” Remus said as he got up. Sirius wished he’d stay, but supposed he had other duties to attend to.
Next Lily and James came over to talk to him. It seemed that in helping Sirius, James was also helping himself with Lily.
“Sirius, we’ve decided that she’ll ‘get sick’ in the last Act so you and…”James paused to make sure that Remus wasn’t around, “Moony get the death scene. So you’ll have Lily as Juliet up until that Act, alright?”
“Sure.” Sirius said.
“Good luck, then.” James winked and was off again. He was loony lately, and Sirius was sure he liked this Insane James.
Sirius opened his chocolate bar and took a bite. He tried to think of a way to convey his feelings to Remus, but nothing came to mind. He was just about finished with his chocolate when the professor called to have everyone gather around and do some quick exercises, though it was only the actors who did them, Remus still came to watch. Sirius felt stupid doing all the little exercises, but did them anyway. After they were done, the professor announced that everyone should take their places for the first Act, scene 1.
The first few Acts of the play were easy enough, but as the last Act was approaching. The people in the audience didn’t make him nervous at all. What made him nervous was the shy brown-haired boy standing in the shadows, watching the play from the sidelines.
“Professor?” Sirius heard Lily’s voice ask in between acts.
“Yes, Miss Evans?”
“Professor, I don’t feel well at all.” Lily said. She indeed didn’t look all that well. Somehow she had made her face tinted green and she swayed a bit on the spot.
“Can you last for one more Act? That’s all that’s left.” The professor looked panicked. Lily shrugged, but then fell face forward. James rushed forward and turned her over a bit. Her nose was bleeding from the fall.
“Professor, I think she needs to go to the hospital wing.” James said.
“Yes, yes, take her, then.” The professor said, obviously troubled at what they were to do without a Juliet. He paced back and forth for a few moments, and then seemed to get an idea.
“Remus? Remus Lupin? Where is that boy?”
“I’m here, professor.” Remus came out from his place on the sidelines.
“You know Juliet’s part, correct?”
“Er…yes.” Remus said confused. He hadn’t seen Lily’s fall.
“Great! We need a costume and a wig. And makeup.” He added as he looked at Remus.
“Wait…Professor, I don’t understand.”
“Lily Evans got sick and fell. She’s in the hospital wing. You are going on in her place.” Anthony Stone brought out an extra dress and wig and handed them to Remus. “Go change and I’ll get one of the girls to do your makeup.” Remus turned around to go to the dressing rooms and did as he was told. He came out a moment later blushing madly and dragging his feet. One of the girls who had done makeup quickly put some mascara, blush, and lipstick on him.
“This is just…weird.” Remus said as the professor called Sirius over.
“I realize that you are both boys, but please, for the sake of the play act like you’re a girl, Lupin. You know, in Shakespeare’s time they only had boys do the plays, so we’re actually doing the play as it would’ve been done back then. And I realize that you may not want to kiss each other like we practiced with Evans as Juliet. Instead, put your thumb on the other person’s lips and kiss you thumb. It’s a theatrical trick. No one in the audience will be able to tell the difference. So go on, and good luck!” the professor pushed both of them toward the stage.
“Remus?”
“Yeah?” Remus looked really nervous and small standing there just then.
“You’ll do great.”
“Thanks, Padfoot.”
A half an hour later, they’d gotten to the point in the play where Romeo comes back only to learn that Juliet is dead. What Romeo doesn’t know is that Juliet actually took a draught to make her appear dead so that she and Romeo can be together and live without the troubles of their separate families after her funeral passes.
“Here, here will I remain
With worms that are thy chamber-maids; O, here
Will I set up my everlasting rest,
And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars
From this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last!
Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you
The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss
A dateless bargain to engrossing death!
Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide!
Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on
The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark!
Here's to my love!” Sirius said his lines with ease as he knelt next to Remus, who lay pretending to be dead. Sirius took a small vile from his pocket and uncorked it. He drank the bit of water that was being passed off as poison and dropped the vile, sending it scattering in pieces.
“O true apothecary!
Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” Sirius grabbed his chest, but leaned down. He had practiced this with Lily as Juliet, but now with Remus, he was so much more nervous. That’s when he knew what to do to let Remus know that he fancied him and no one else.
As he leaned down to give Juliet the kiss he spoke softly, not moving his lips very much so that no one in the audience would see. “Remus…You asked me why I don’t go out with anyone lately…my answer is because the right person hasn’t asked me.” Sirius saw Remus’ eyes open a little, and his face looked questioning. Sirius ignored it and placed his lips on Remus’. He deliberately didn’t put his thumb over Remus’ mouth so if Remus refused him, he’d at least have this one kiss.
Sirius then slumped over as he had practiced for four weeks, and waited while the rest of the play was done. When the curtains closed he got up. Everyone lined up and the curtains rose again. They bowed and bowed again until the clapping died down. When the curtain went down for the last time, Sirius looked around. He didn’t see Remus anywhere.
“Sirius, you were great!” Peter and James came bounding up to him. Tackling him to the floor. Sirius let them congratulate him and ruffle his hair, but once they were done he looked at James sullenly.
“Do you know where Remus is?” Sirius asked. James looked around for a moment.
“No…I have no clue, actually. What happened?”
“Before I did the kiss I said something to him, no one could hear, but I’m sure that he heard it…I’ll explain later.” Sirius said.
“Ok, let’s go somewhere now. I want to know what’s going on.”
“No, I’m tired, James. I just want sleep.” Sirius sighed. James frowned. This surely wasn’t a good sign. Sirius wasn’t one to want sleep this early in the evening and if he did it was because he was upset about something or another.
“All right, mate. Let’s go get some sleep.” James led Sirius out of the Great Hall and up to their dorm. Sirius didn’t bother to get out of his costume, but just flopped down on his bed and was asleep in a few moments.