Once in a Blue Moon (COMPLETE)

A/N: MewMew2 - I don't think my beta reads at this archive, but I have passed on everyone's thanks to her, and she does appreciate it.

of-moonlightandstarshine - welcome. I'm not sure about stamina, more like the ability to waffle a lot and drag things out.

Everyone else reading - quick update here again, so please make sure that you have read the most recent chapters before this one.


---------------------------
Are You Just Using Me?
---------------------------

Sirius stretched out on his bed with a huge grin on his face.

“You’re looking very pleased with yourself,” Romulus commented as he drifted through the wall.

Sirius sat up and cheerfully bounced off the end of the bed. “I am,” he declared.

“Any particular reason why?”

“Because of Remus,” Sirius elaborated with a thoroughly dreamy sounding sigh.

Romulus snorted with laughter and shook his head. “What’s my baby brother done now?” he asked suspiciously.

Sirius didn’t reply; he merely raised his fingers to his lips and tentatively brushed them. His smile was becoming wistful as he relived the memory of Remus’s lips pressed against his own.

“Well?” Romulus prompted.

Sirius gave Romulus a shy smile. “He said he’d give me a chance,” he explained. “And we kissed. A proper kiss and he kissed me back.”

“He did?”

Sirius nodded. “It was great.”

“So, where is he?”

“He went downstairs to speak to Charlie. They were supposed to go on a date this afternoon.”

“Oh.”

“He’ll break things off with her gently,” Sirius assured him. “Remus wouldn’t be mean to her or anything.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t be mean,” Romulus agreed. “Though he might be a bit tactless, if given the opportunity.”

“She’ll be okay. It’s not like they’ve even been on a proper date or anything.”

“I think I’ll go down and see where he’s got to,” Romulus said. “You going to wait up here?”

Sirius nodded. “I’ve got an essay to write. I think I’ll get it done now, so that I’ve got the evening free to spend with Remus.”

Romulus chuckled at the logic and disappeared through the door.

Sirius pulled out his textbook and parchment, but concentrating on the essay was easier said that done, especially when he could still feel the pressure of Remus’s lips against his own. One thing was for sure: dating Remus would send his grades plummeting unless he managed to pull himself together.

-o-xXx-o-

Remus and Charlene arrived back at the school well before the curfew and only slightly damp from the rain.

“Is that your brother?” Charlene whispered to Remus as they made their way up the stairs and back towards Gryffindor Tower.

Remus turned to where she was pointing and saw that it was. “Yeah, it is. Do you want to meet him? You know, properly?”

Charlene nodded. “Sure.”

Remus and Charlene changed direction to meet Romulus, and Remus proceeded to introduce the two of them properly.

“Nice to meet you,” Charlene said, holding out her hand awkwardly, before remembering who it was she was talking to.

Romulus waved her hand away easily. “You, too,” he replied. “I don’t get introduced to people very often these days. I think it comes from my complete failure to get Remus to learn some decent manners.”

“Hey!” Remus exclaimed with a scowl of annoyance. “You’re giving my girlfriend a bad impression.”

“Am I?” Romulus teased, but Remus could detect a hint of something else in his voice. Something more serious and warning him that he was in trouble about something. Thankfully, the warning was too subtle for someone who didn’t know Romulus as well as Remus did, and Charlene was therefore oblivious to the underlying tone in the words.

“We’re heading up to the common room,” Charlene explained. “Do you want to join us?”

Romulus nodded. “In a minute though, I need a word with my brother alone, if you don’t mind?”

Remus protested at the exact same time as Charlene stated that it was fine with her. Romulus promptly ignored Remus and told Charlene that they would join her shortly.

“That was really rude,” Remus hissed the moment Charlene was out of earshot.

“No, it wasn’t,” Romulus replied easily. “Come on, in here.” He pointed towards one of the empty classrooms and waited for Remus to enter the room.

“So, what’s so important you can’t speak to me in front of Charlie?”

“I noticed you called her your girlfriend,” Romulus commented.

“Well, she is. We’ve just come back from Hogsmeade. You knew we were going out, so why do you sound so surprised?”

“Does Sirius know?” Romulus asked instead.

“He knew I was meeting her.”

“Does he think you’ve spent the afternoon on a date?” Romulus asked, immediately cutting Remus off before he could reply. “Somehow I don’t think he realises that. When I spoke to him earlier, he seemed to be under the impression that you were going to break things off with Charlie, and that the two of you were getting together.”

“Fuck!”

Romulus made as though to smack Remus upside the head, before remembering that he couldn’t. He settled for a verbal scolding about bad language instead.

“Sirius will understand,” Remus finally muttered.

“Will he?” Romulus sounded doubtful. “From where I’m standing, it looks like you’re leading him on, by letting him think he has a chance with you.”

“It was only a kiss,” Remus argued.

“A kiss that clearly meant a lot more to him than it did to you,” Romulus snapped. “But what do I know? I’m only your brother.”

“He’ll get over it.”

Romulus looked angry, and Remus flinched a little under his gaze. “I’m sure he will get over it… in time. Until then, you might want to consider being a little more considerate of his feelings.”

“I am considerate!”

“You could have fooled me. Sirius has feelings for you – though when you’re being as insensitive as you are right now, I’m sure I don’t know why – you could at least try not to stamp on them quite so brutally.”

Remus scowled. “I’ll talk to him.”

Romulus nodded. “Good. And don’t put it off for too long either, because if you don’t tell him about Charlene being your girlfriend, I will.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Yes, Remus, I would. I don’t mind which of them you choose to be with, but I’m not going to sit around and watch while you treat your best friend like dirt.”

“It was just one stupid kiss.”

“So you keep saying,” Romulus replied with a sly smile. “Who are you trying to convince, me or you?”

Remus glared at his brother. “I’m not gay!”

Romulus folded his arms across his chest. “Perhaps you should tell Sirius that?”

“I have told him, loads of times.”

“Since you kissed him?”

“Well, no.”

“Then you know what you have to do…”

Remus nodded as Romulus’s voice trailed off. “I’ll talk to him after the full moon tomorrow.”

“What’s wrong with today?”

“I don’t want to risk someone walking in on the discussion,” Remus said quietly. “We were lucky no one walked in on us when he kissed me. It’ll be quiet at the house and we won’t get interrupted.”

“Remus?”

“Yeah?”

“You said that Sirius kissed you.”

“Yeah, so? He did.”

“Did you kiss him back?”

Remus felt his face flushing red. “I don’t remember,” he lied.

Romulus shook his head sadly. “Oh, get out of here, before Charlene or Sirius sends out a search party for you.”

Remus nodded and left the classroom. He hadn’t meant to kiss Sirius back, but inside the confines of his own head he couldn’t deny that he had been just as much a participant in the kiss as Sirius.

-o-xXx-o-

Sirius looked up as Remus arrived back in the dormitory that evening. “I’m just going down to dinner,” he said. “You coming? You must be starving. Where have you been all afternoon?”

“Went into Hogsmeade,” Remus explained quietly. “Dinner sounds good.”

Sirius was surprised that Remus had gone to Hogsmeade after all, but didn’t say anything. It didn’t mean anything that he had gone into the village. He could have gone with James and Peter, neither of whom had been seen all afternoon. He hadn’t necessarily gone on his date as originally planned. Somehow though, Sirius suspected that he was fooling himself yet again. He hoped that he was wrong.

The two of them spent the evening together, and Sirius was relieved to see that Charlene was buried in a book about Quidditch whilst simultaneously taking notes for the following morning’s practice.

He was tempted to say something to Remus about Charlene throwing herself into Quidditch to get over him, but in the end he didn’t.

Finally, the four Gryffindor fifth year boys turned in for the night, leaving Sirius to wonder whether Remus would be creeping into his bed or not. He didn’t want to ask outright, and certainly not in front of the other boys, but he made sure that he was as far to one side of his bed as he could get, just in case Remus decided to join him.

The sounds of James and Peter snoring soon filled the room and Sirius sat up to look over at Remus. “Remus?” he whispered loudly. “Are you awake?”

Remus didn’t stir, although Sirius could have sworn that the other boy was as wide awake as he was. “Remus?” he tried again.

The sound of a soft snore drifted across to him from Remus’s bed, and he sighed in disappointment. Giving up for the night, he crawled beneath his covers once more and went to sleep.

Across the room, Remus listened as Sirius climbed back under the blankets. A small part of him wondered what it was that Sirius wanted to speak to him about in the middle of the night. He shivered a little as he tugged the covers closer around him. The idea of padding across the room to Sirius was almost more tempting than he could bear, but he wasn’t sure he could trust himself if he slipped beneath the covers with the other boy.

One kiss and he had been tumbling Sirius back onto the bed whilst practically tearing his shirt off his back. He couldn’t risk the same thing happening again.

-o-xXx-o-

Remus, with an instinctive deviousness that worried him ever so slightly, persuaded Sirius to fetch some food from the school kitchens before heading to Hogsmeade on the evening of the full moon. This was so he was able to say goodbye to Charlene in the common room, without raising the suspicions of Sirius as to what had happened the previous day.

They arrived in the basement of the Lupin house with plenty of time to spare, and Remus immediately began removing his shirt. Sirius didn’t leave the room, but he couldn’t fail to notice that Remus was turning away from him as he undressed.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly, picking up Remus’s shirt from the floor and placing it on the top of the cupboard.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Remus replied, turning round slightly.

Sirius nodded, taking his words at face value. “I guess it’s just that it seems a bit strange being here with you like this, you know… now that we’re… well, you know what I mean?”

Remus knelt down to undo his shoe laces, neatly avoiding looking Sirius in the eyes.

“Here, let me help,” offered Sirius when he saw that Remus was fumbling with the knot. He knelt on the floor and gently moved Remus’s hands out of the way so that he could tackle the knot himself.

Once the knot was untied he stood up and let Remus lean on him in order to remove one shoe and then the other. He could not resist the temptation to leave one steadying arm around Remus’s shoulder. Remus looked up at him, and he leaned over to plant a quick kiss on the end of other boy’s nose.

Remus rolled his eyes in response.

“Do I have time to kiss you properly?” Sirius whispered with a teasing grin.

Remus blushed, but he didn’t resist when Sirius kissed him. His response wasn’t as enthusiastic as it had been the day before, but he couldn’t deny that he liked the kiss just as much as he had liked Charlene’s… maybe even more.

Sirius pulled back and rested his forehead against Remus’s. “You should finish getting undressed,” he said.

Remus nodded, but didn’t make a move. The kiss had certainly sent his blood pumping, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to finish stripping off, thus showing Sirius just precisely where it had flooded to.

He was still deliberating on what to do when he realised that time had got away from them and the transformation was only moments away. “Get back!” he shouted at Sirius, pushing him to the other side of the basement just a moment before the barrier appeared.

“That was close,” Sirius panted, but Remus could no longer hear him.

-o-xXx-o-

The next morning the two boys sat in the living room, discussing how well the full moon had gone.

“Much better than last month,” Sirius agreed. “We’ll have to make sure we stay as good friends as we are now, that way they should all be fine.”

Remus nodded. “We’ll always be best friends.”

“Boyfriends,” Sirius reminded him with a shy smile.

Remus screwed up his nose.

“What?” Sirius asked. “We are, aren’t we?”

“It just sounds weird.”

“What do you suggest instead?”

Remus shrugged. “I don’t know, friends is fine with me.”

“But we’re more than that now,” Sirius pointed out. “We’re together…aren’t we?”

“Erm.”

“What?” Sirius prompted. “Aren’t we a couple now?”

Remus sighed and looked at the empty fireplace. “I don’t know.”

“But we kissed.”

“I know, but it’s not that easy.”

“Didn’t you like it?”

“Yes, but I liked kissing Charlie, too.”

Sirius shot to his feet. “What? When did you kiss her?”

Remus cringed. “The other day, on our date.”

“But you said you were going to break things off with her!”

“I meant to, but I really like her.”

“And I really like you!”

Remus rolled his eyes. “Haven’t we already had this conversation?”

“Don’t try and change the subject. What’s going on with you and Charlie? Did you break up with her?”

Remus shook his head, the feelings of guilt making his stomach churn. “We’re going out. She’s my girlfriend now.”

Sirius glared at Remus. He clenched his fists and tried to rein in his temper. “Why didn’t you tell me this yesterday, or the day before?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“I was going to.”

“But you didn’t. Why did you let me think I had a chance?”

“I…”

“Why?” Sirius repeated, harsher this time. “Is this some sort of cruel game you’re enjoying? Is that it?” Remus shook his head. “Then why? Why would you do this to me?”

“Because I didn’t want to fight with you,” Remus snapped. “I didn’t want…” He glanced towards the kitchen and the entrance to the basement.

Sirius followed his gaze. “You mean you thought the full moon would be easier on you if we hadn’t argued?”

Remus looked guilty. “It was easier than last month, wasn’t it?”

“You selfish little git!” Sirius hissed. “You let me think that I had a chance, just so we wouldn’t be fighting at the full moon, and you didn’t have a rough one.”

Remus rose to his feet and glared back at Sirius. “You try turning into a monster every four weeks!” he shouted. “You try it, and then tell me you wouldn’t do everything you could to make it less painful!”

Sirius grabbed his Healer kit and stalked out of the room. He could hear Remus calling after him, but he didn’t stop to listen to what he had to say.

Back in the house, Remus gave the leg of the sofa a hearty kick, swearing when he realised his shoes were still in the basement and kicking furniture was not the brightest idea.

“You could have handled that better,” Romulus commented.

“You shouldn’t listen in on other people’s conversations,” Remus snarled.

“Bit difficult not to when you’re yelling like that.”

Remus scowled and threw himself onto the sofa, wincing at the way the movement caused one of the previous night’s scratches to rub against his shirt. “Thought you’d be happy that I’ve told him.”

“I’m happy you’re not lying to him, but you still could have handled it better.”

“Well, how about next time you want me to have a conversation like that with Sirius, you have it for me. I’m sure you’ll do a better job than I have. He may even come to like you better than he likes me, then you can both be happy together.”

“Don’t be silly,” Romulus said impatiently.

“Why not? You think Sirius would be such a great boyfriend, why don’t you go out with him?”

Romulus gave Remus a hard look. “Have you finished?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now, listen up.”

Remus squirmed in his seat as Romulus loomed over him.

“You are going to go after Sirius and apologise to him. And when I say apologise, I mean properly, too.”

“I…”

“Don’t interrupt.”

Remus wriggled a little more, but listened quietly as Romulus continued to scold him. By the time his brother was done shouting at him, Remus’s face was damp with tears, his eyes were red and his nose was running.

“Oh, Rem,” Romulus sighed as his finished his tirade.

“I didn’t mean to use him like that,” Remus mumbled. “But I hate the full moons so much, and last month was so awful after our fight.”

Romulus sat down next to him on the sofa. “I know, Rem, I know.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, first of all you’re going to clean your face and get yourself some breakfast. Then you’re going to go find Sirius and tell him you’re sorry.” Remus nodded and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Urgh, Remus, honestly. You’d better go change your shirt as well, and use a tissue next time.”

Remus managed a watery smile as he made his way to the bathroom. He just hoped he could sort things out.

-o-xXx-o-

By the time Sirius arrived back at Gryffindor Tower he was in a fine temper, as those in his path soon came to realise.

“Hi, Sirius,” Charlene greeted him with a smile. “Is Remus with you?”

“Does it look like he is?” Sirius snarled.

Charlene shrank back a little at his response. “Is he all right?”

“Who cares?”

“Hey, that’s uncalled for,” Lily interrupted. “She was only asking a simple question.”

“What’s it got to do with you?” Sirius hissed. “You could try minding your own business for once, too. Bloody girls – always sticking their noses in where they’re not wanted.”

“What’s your problem?” Lily asked.

“At the moment – you!”

“Well,” Lily huffed. “There’s no need for that.”

“Oh, piss off!” Sirius’s last glimpse of Lily was of her dropping jaw in surprise, but he didn’t bother to apologise, striding towards the stairs to the dormitory, eager to get out of the sight of everyone, before someone else decided that speaking to him was a good idea.

He slung his Healer’s kit carelessly into the bottom drawer of his bedside table. Peter and James were in the dormitory, running late as always. James was gathering his books for the first class of the morning. He gave Sirius a cautious look, decided that it might be better not to ask, and left the room. Peter, either feeling braver, or not picking up on the tension, turned to Sirius as he pointed towards the window. “I think it’s a letter from your mother,” he said as he ducked out the door, hurrying after James.

“Bloody marvellous,” Sirius muttered as he took the roll of parchment from Hestia. He growled in annoyance when his mother’s owl didn’t immediately fly back out of the window. He didn’t really feel like trying to compose a polite reply to her letter right now.

Walburga’s letter was very similar to her usual ones. Lots of complaints about his lack of attentiveness towards various pureblood girls who were with him at Hogwarts. He didn’t even know whom two of them were, and he had no intention of trying to track them down to ask after their bloody families.

This particular letter however, contained one other item that the previous ones didn’t. A confirmation that Remus could indeed come and stay with them for the summer holidays. Sirius gave a bitter laugh as he read the lines. His mother, always concerned about the reputation of the family, was prepared to let a werewolf into her home just so that she could look charitable in front of her snobby friends.

For a single moment, he felt a spark of pleasure as he thought of telling Remus that he was invited to stay. Then he remembered their argument – he had a feeling that Remus wouldn’t want to stay with him during the summer – and his heart sank.

Since he had no intention of going to class, Sirius pulled out a quill and parchment and quickly penned a reply, but when he turned to the window he saw that Hestia had disappeared. Assuming she had either flown home or made her way to the Owlery, Sirius set off for the latter, knowing that even if Hestia wasn’t there, Damon was. A small part of him hoped that Hestia had gone home; he rather liked the idea of sending Damon to his mother. He knew the thought was uncharitable, but he hoped that he’d bite her when he made his delivery. He was having that sort of a day.

Thankfully, for the safety of Walburga’s fingers, Hestia was far too well trained and was waiting for his reply. Sirius watched her fly over the mountains from the small window in the tower. Down below, he could see students moving about and realised that the first class of the morning was over. He should be making his way to Transfiguration now, but he couldn’t will himself to move.

He was still staring morosely out of the window when he heard the sound of footsteps coming up the outer stairs. He looked around quickly, scanning the room fruitlessly for anywhere to hide. It wouldn’t do for him to be caught skipping classes, especially since, as a prefect, he was supposed to be setting a good example for the rest of the school.

-o-xXx-o-

Remus shifted in his seat as Professor McGonagall’s icy glare settled on the empty seat beside him.

“And where is Mr Black this morning?” she asked.

“Don’t know,” Remus mumbled.

“Was he in Potions earlier?” Several heads shook in response to the question, although Professor McGonagall’s gaze never wavered from Remus’s face. “Did he return from Hogsmeade with you this morning?”

Remus felt the gazes of his classmates focusing on him, another reminder that he wasn’t like the rest of them…as if he needed it. “He left before I did.”

“He did come back to school,” James called out from the seat behind Remus. “I saw him returning his things to the dorm just before first period.”

Professor McGonagall looked far from pleased as she went to her desk, picked up a quill and returned to Remus. “Your quill, please.” Remus dug into his bag and pulled out his quill. McGonagall took it from him, held it in the same hand as her own quill and tapped them both with her wand. “You will take duplicate notes for Sirius, and when he returns, be sure to send him to see me immediately.”

Remus took his own quill back from McGonagall and she placed the second one over a blank sheet of parchment on Sirius’s desk. “Remember to change the parchment and return the quill to the top of the sheet when you begin a new page,” she advised.

Remus wrote the lesson and date across the top of his own page, his attention partially on the second quill, which was following his moves exactly and producing a second copy of his notes.

“Brilliant,” James exclaimed as he saw what the spell did. “What spell was that, Professor?”

Professor McGonagall smiled at him and shook her head. “One that you won’t get taught at Hogwarts,” she told him. “Nor will you find it in any of the school library books, so don’t go looking for it. Nor will any Hogwarts teacher accept duplicate essays from anyone if they were to find the spell elsewhere. And yes, Remus, I will remove the spell at the end of the lesson.”

James and the rest of the class chuckled at her comments, but Remus could barely muster a smile, not when the seat beside him was empty and things were so bad between the two of them.

He wondered if Sirius was planning on returning for lunch and resolved to sneak down to the kitchens before he went to the Great Hall to eat. He was on first name terms with several of the school house elves, and he knew he could easily persuade one of them to come and tell him if Sirius turned up in the kitchens.

-o-xXx-o-

Sirius squirmed under the attention of the two seventh year students who had caught him skipping class.

“And a Gryffindor prefect, too,” the blond boy commented to his darker haired companion. “What’s it coming to when McGonagall’s prize pupils are skipping lessons?”

“What class are you skiving from?” the second boy asked with a grin.

“Transfiguration,” Sirius replied, much to the amusement of the other boys.

“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that,” the blond said. “I’m Benjy Fenwick, by the way. Currently missing from Care of Magical Creatures.”

“And I’m Philip Maguire,” the darker boy added. “I’ve got a free period at the moment, though that don’t let that fool you. We’re planning on having a day out.”

“Sirius Black,” Sirius replied, holding out his hand, much to the amusement of the other two boys. He pulled it back after a moment, his face flushing a little with embarrassment.

“We’re going to take a trip into Hogsmeade,” Benjy explained. “Just as soon as Phil’s sent his love letter winging on its way.”

“It’s not a love letter,” Phil grumbled. “It’s my mum’s birthday card.”

“When’s her birthday?” Sirius asked, trying to make polite conversation.

“Yesterday,” Phil mumbled. “I’ll just say the owl must have got lost or something.” The owl in question nipped his finger, giving his opinion of that idea.

“So, fancy coming into the village?” Benjy asked. “Less chance of getting caught by a teacher if you’re not on school grounds.”

“Depends where you’re planning on going,” Sirius replied cautiously. “I don’t want to risk the Hog’s Head.”

“Why not?”

“Because Dumbledore’s brother runs it, and he knows who I am.”

“What?” Philip gasped. “Abe is Dumbledore’s brother?” Sirius nodded. “No wonder we always wind up in detention on the days we go in there when we sneak into the village, even when we’ve not skipped class at all. Damn. Why did no one tell us?”

Sirius shrugged. “I guess they keep it pretty quiet.”

“I wonder why.”

“But you knew,” Benjy said with a grin. “I think you could be a very useful friend to have. So, how does The Three Broomsticks sound? They’ve got a pretty good lunch menu.”

“How are you planning on getting to Hogsmeade?” Sirius asked. “The only way I know that isn’t out the front gates is a tunnel that leads into the cellar of the Hog’s Head.”

“A tunnel to the Hog’s Head?” Benjy looked like he was making mental notes of all the new information Sirius was providing them with.

“We use a different tunnel,” Philip explained. “It’s hidden behind a mirror on the fourth floor. It leads to another mirror in Hogsmeade.” His grin widened. “A mirror in the ladies changing rooms of Gladrags.”

“Don’t get excited though,” Benjy interrupted. “There’s not enough room for the mirror to open when anyone is in there.”

“I still live in hope for some skinny scantily clad girl who doesn’t take up the whole room,” Philip said with a laugh.

Although Sirius was now reconciled to the fact that he had no interested in girls, scantily clad or otherwise, he couldn’t help but join in the laughter of the other two boys.

“You coming then?” Benjy asked. “Less chance of getting in trouble if you aren’t here to get caught.”

“And if you’re avoiding someone, it’s only a matter of time before they track you down,” Philip added.

That final reminder was the thing that swayed Sirius’s decision to join them on their jaunt into Hogsmeade. He knew that as soon as classes let out for the morning Remus would be searching for him, and with Moony’s Map, he would find him in no time at all.

Following the other two boys, they slipped through the school, using the least navigated corridors as they made their way to the fourth floor.

They climbed into the tunnel with relative ease and after a few quick Lumos spells they were on their way. When they arrived at the back of the mirror at the other end of the tunnel Benjy pointed to a nook in the wall. “Take off your tie and school cloak and hide it here with ours. Better put that prefect badge in your pocket too.”

Sirius nodded and followed the example of the other boys, adding his red and gold striped tie to their green and silver ones.

When they were ready, Philip rubbed his hands together excitedly, pleaded to anyone who might be listening to answer his request, and hopefully pushed the mirror open. “Damn,” he muttered. “Deprived again.”

Benjy gave him a shove and they stumbled into the changing room.

“How are we going to get outside without being seen?” Sirius whispered. “Won’t the owner suddenly wonder where we’ve appeared from?”

“You’ve never shopped here, have you?” Benjy asked.

Sirius shook his head.

“Watch and learn, then. Watch and learn.”

Sirius watched as requested as Benjy walked into the main store.

“Do you have anything in maroon?” he watched the other boy ask the assistant.

“Hi, Benjy. Sneaking out again, I see,” the girl said with a grin. Sirius watched as the girl turned around and he saw her face clearly for the first time.

“Hi, Katy,” Benjy said as he swung his arm round her shoulders. “You wouldn’t have a few nice plain cloaks lying around that we could borrow for an hour or two, would you?”

“His older sister,” Philip explained, although the resemblance between the two of them made it rather unnecessary. “Been working here for a couple of years. She won’t tell on us.”

“And who’s this?” Katy asked as she rustled up three cloaks and handed them out.

“This is Sirius,” Benjy explained.

“He doesn’t look old enough to be a N.E.W.T. student.”

“He’s a fifth year,” Benjy replied as he swung his borrowed cloak around his shoulders.

“Corrupting minors now, too?” replied Katy, tutting under her breath.

“Even worse,” Benjy replied with a grin. “He’s a Gryffindor and a prefect.”

Katy shook her head and shooed them out of the store before they told her any more. She was a firm believer in the philosophy that it was usually better not to know… especially when it came to younger brothers.

-o-xXx-o-

After a brief detour to the kitchens to ask the house elves to let him know if Sirius put in an appearance, Remus joined James and Peter in the Great Hall for lunch.

“Have you looked on the map?” James asked.

“He’s probably still sulking in the dorm,” Peter muttered.

“He wasn’t there when I went up to get my things for class after I got back from Hogsmeade,” Remus said. “I’ll check the map though. He can’t have gone far.”

“No one can hide from Moony’s Map,” James whispered. “Not even Sirius.”

Remus smiled, knowing this was true. He hoped he could give the other boys the slip before he tracked down Sirius though. He really didn’t want an audience for that particular conversation.

“Hi, Remus,” Charlene said as she moved up the bench to sit beside him. “How was last night?”

“Not too bad,” Remus replied with a shrug. He frowned as he realised that he would have to make sure Charlene was out of the way, too.

“Glad to hear it,” she replied with a smile, right before planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

James let out a childish and loud whistle, while Peter grinned stupidly. Remus felt his face flushing in embarrassment and he reached up unconsciously to wipe his cheek where Charlene’s lips had touched it. He didn’t notice her look of disappointment at his action, as he was too busy glaring across the table at James and Peter.

-o-xXx-o-

“Want one?” Benjy asked. Sirius looked dubiously at the packet of muggle cigarettes the older boy was holding out to him.

“I don’t smoke,” he replied with a shake of his head.

“Never tried one at all?” Benjy asked as he pulled a cigarette from the box and lit it from the wall sconce. Sirius shook his head again. “Here, have a drag of this one?” Benjy offered. “One drag won’t hurt.”

Sirius wasn’t sure, but Philip had picked up the packet from where Benjy had placed it on the table and was helping himself to one as well, he didn’t want to be the only one who was left out. He’d had enough of being left out of the group with James and Peter.

His hand was shaking slightly as he reached out to take the cigarette from Benjy. He held it up to his lips and drew a deep breath. He dropped the cigarette to the table as he began to choke, and he was fairly certain his throat was on fire.

“You’ll get used to it,” Benjy said with a laugh after Sirius had stopped choking long enough to take a drink of his butterbeer. “Here, try it again.”

Sirius picked up the cigarette once more and tried again, this time prepared for it.

“Good lad,” Philip said as Benjy pulled out another for himself, leaving Sirius to finish his first.

They ordered lunch, with Sirius promising to pay the other boys back since he had left the school without any money. They waved his concerns away as they tucked into Rosmerta’s beef and vegetable stew.

Benjy leaned forward with a grin. “Don’t you find that food always tastes better when you aren’t supposed to be eating it?” he whispered.

Sirius grinned back, knowing that the food smuggled out of the Hogwarts kitchens did always taste better than when it was on the table for everyone to savour.

They did a bit of shopping, none of the shopkeepers looking twice at them, before returning to Gladrags and the tunnel back to the school.

Sirius was laughing and joking with the other boys, almost as if they were old friends, as they climbed out of the tunnel on the fourth floor.

“What time is it?” Philip asked.

“Just in time for the end of the day’s lessons,” Benjy replied. “Nicely timed, I’d say.”

They laughed as they walked down the corridor.

“Don’t you worry that you might have missed something important in class?” Sirius asked. “Or that you’ll get a detention for skipping?”

Benjy shrugged. “It’s not like we do it every day, just once every couple of months. It was just lucky for all of us that we bumped into you today.”

“Yeah,” Philip agreed. “You’re not bad… you know… for a Gryffindor.”

Sirius laughed. “You’re not so bad yourself,” he replied with a grin. “You know… for a Slytherin.”

They were still laughing as they went their separate ways.

Sirius arrived back at the dormitory to find that Remus was sitting on his bed and didn’t look at all surprised to see him. As he approached nearer he realised why – Moony’s Map was opened up in front of him.

“You found another tunnel to Hogsmeade?” Remus asked.

Sirius knew that Remus must have seen him suddenly appear on the edge of the map, along with the other two boys, and guessed the rest. “Yes,” he answered, as abruptly as possible.

“Where does it lead to?” Remus asked curiously. “I’ll add it to the map.”

Sirius ignored him as he pulled his illicit purchases from his pockets and dumped them in the top drawer of his bedside table.

“Cigarettes?” Remus asked with a frown as he caught sight of the packet. “Since when do you smoke?”

“Since now; you got a problem with it?”

“It makes your breath smell,” Remus said.

“Not that much,” Sirius replied. “Not unless you’re really close to a person, so it shouldn’t bother you at all, should it? Since you don’t want my mouth anywhere near you and all…”

“Sirius-”

“I don’t care, Remus,” Sirius snapped. “You made yourself real clear this morning.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t care,” Sirius repeated, louder this time. “You used me; you let me think you liked me-”

“I do like you,” Remus interrupted. “We’re best friends, of course I like you.”

“Don’t play dumb, Remus. You know what I mean.”

“But-”

“I don’t care,” Sirius said, no longer shouting, or even snapping the words out. “Just leave me alone for a bit.”

Remus nodded and climbed off the bed, taking the map with him. “Are we going to be all right?” he asked.

Sirius sighed as he yanked off his tie. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “I can deal with you not liking me back. I can deal with Charlie, or any other girl you want to date. But the lies… I’m sorry, Remus. I just need some time to sort my head out.”

“Okay. Just one thing before I go.”

“Can it wait?”

Remus shook his head. “McGonagall wants to see you right away… sorry.”

Sirius sighed again and turned to leave the dormitory. At least he would have plenty of time to think whilst he was in detention.