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Remus’ brow furrowed in concentration as he stared at the book in his lap. A bright ray of sun shone through the window directly onto his table, making him squint. He would have shut the window, but the warmth of the ray was too nice to shut out.
He’d been there for hours, at the library, his usual table covered in paper, quills, and an innumerable amount of books piled up.
His right hand was stained black from the ink of his notes, and crumpled paper was littered around his seat. He would have to clean that up later, or Madam Pince would wring his neck.
He was an efficient studier, not a clean one.
Although his study group had ended an hour prior, he had decided that he didn’t know enough.
He was ready enough for the exam, and it was a small enough test that it really didn’t matter, but it was Potions.
He knew he wouldn’t get the top score - Lily was pretty much guaranteed to beat everyone - but he absolutely HAD to beat Snivellous, or he would be unbearable.
Ever since Slytherin’s devastating win against Gryffindor in the latest Quidditch match, Snape had been even more unbearable than usual - a feat that hadn’t seemed possible until recently - always boasting about the team and how much they had won by as if he actually played Quidditch.
Remus hoped that beating him in Potions - his favorite subject - would put him in his place.
He shook his head, brown curls flopping about as he tried to refocus on the task at hand.
He had just started jotting down yet another set of notes when his vision was cut off by two hands over his eyes.
“Guess who!” The owner of the hands trilled. The voice was distinctly feminine, high, and clear.
He squirmed and halfheartedly tried to pry the hands off, sighing as they refused to move.
The scent was easily recognizable as Mary’s, and he grumbled her name as she lifted her hands.
“Christ, Lupin, that was fast.” She had on a floral shirt under her robes, a choice that would be tacky on anyone else, but looked amazing on her.
“The study group ended an hour ago,” he grumbled, rubbing one hand over his tired eyes.
“Oh, I’m not here to study.” Mary moved a stack of books to make room for herself.
Remus didn’t respond; instead, he went back to his book, sighing, hoping that Mary would take the hint and leave. This did not have the desired effect, however.
“Potions, huh? I’m not a fan of the class, but it’s pretty fun to make them, you know? I actually attempted one outside of class, and it actually worked,” Mary scanned the library, her dark eyes making sure that no one was around. “I made Veritaserum,” she whispered, pride in her accomplishment evident.
“That’s very nice,” Remus said, without looking up from his book. It only took a couple of seconds for her words to actually register, and his grey eyes widened with shock as he tore his eyes from the book.
“Veritaserum?”
“Mhmm.”
“Why?”
“To use on Sirius, he’s been acting weird lately, doesn’t want to do anything with me anymore.” Mary stood, as dramatically as possible, relishing Remus’s attention, and milking it for all it was worth. “So I’m off to find out.”
With that, she turned and strode away, leaving a panicked Remus to gather up all of his stuff, hurriedly shoving everything into his bag, and sprinting out after her. Cleaning up would have to wait.
He wouldn’t put it past Mary to do something reckless like that, he thought, running up the stairs - a mighty feat, considering the weight of his bag - towards the common room.
Veritaserum was, well, it could be dangerous, to say the least. And Sirius had a lot of secrets that could get him and the others into a lot of trouble.
He tried to convince himself that this was the only reason for his concern, that the only reason why he was running at top speed to help his friend was merely him trying to keep everyone out of trouble.
Yes, that was the reason.
It totally didn’t have anything to do with the fact that he had been in love with Sirius for two years now.
He wasn’t completely obsessed with him, or helplessly crushing on the boy, no, he was simply trying to help.
He tried to convince himself that he would be moving just as quickly if it were James or Peter, but no, though he would help them, he was even more protective of Sirius.
…Because he was in love.
He was red-faced, huffing and puffing as he entered the common room.
His efforts were valiant, but he was too late. Across the room, Sirius was gabbing away about his most embarrassing memory - Mary had started the questioning fairly civilly -
His blue eyes darted around the room, making him look nervous and anxious. Remus knew the feeling. When he had been under the influence of the Truth Serum, it had frightened him that he no longer had control over his words.
Remus headed over, silently cursing Mary and her jealousy.
Sirius brightened when he saw Remus heading over to where they were sitting by the fire.
“Oi, Padfoot, can we take a listen to the album you got from your cousin?” Remus used the first excuse he could in an effort to get himself away from Mary.
Sirius’s cousin sent him cd’s with Muggle music all the time, which Sirius and Remus loved to listen to together.
Not bothering to wait for a response, he practically dragged Sirius across the room and up the stairs, away from Mary, who stared at him with a look of bewilderment.
She had obviously not expected Remus to interfere.
When they were in their dorm, Remus locked the door and cast a silencing spell on the room.
They were alone in the dorm, for the first time in a very long time.
James and Peter were at the Quidditch pitch, which gave them a lot of time to wait for the effects to wear off.
“Thanks, man, I was getting scared for a second. I think Mary put a spell on me or something because she’s mad I didn’t do anything for Valentine's Day.” Sirius tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and continued. He was talking really fast and nervously. Remus decided that he might as well let Sirius get it out of his system, as there wasn’t much he could do now. “She’s always saying I need to be a better boyfriend, but I don’t even want to date her anymore.”
Remus’s interest piqued. Maybe there was a chance? Maybe Sirius swung his way? Maybe? Was it too much to hope for? “Why not?”
Sirius picked at a loose thread on his robes and whispered something inaudible, even to Remus, whose hearing was better than most.
“What?” Remus wasn’t taking advantage of Sirius’ condition; he just had to know.
“I fancy you, Moony.”
The world felt like it had stopped. Remus blinked, a hot flush creeping up his neck. When he opened his eyes, Sirius was still sitting there, at the end of Remus’ bed, looking up at him with those beautiful ocean eyes, his long curly hair hanging loose around his face, framing it like a halo.
So it wasn’t a dream.
He looked like an angel.
This was really happening.
A godsend.
And he fancied Remus?
“Really?” Remus lowered his voice to a whisper, asking the question even as he knew that Sirius had been truthful the first time. Remus had been waiting for this since the fourth year.
The sixth year was going great, if you asked him.
“Yeah, I have for a while, but I didn’t know what to do, because you’re my best mate, and I’m supposed to be, like, I dunno, in love with girls? And right now I’m freaking out because I can’t stop jabbering and I don’t know how you feel-”
Sirius’ voice trailed off as Remus lowered himself to sit next to Sirius on the bed.
“You don’t know how I feel?” Remus’ confidence was growing. He had only been dreaming about this moment, this boy, for years, and he was not going to lose this opportunity.
“No, because you’ve-”
Remus leaned forward and shut him up with a kiss. Sirius stiffened for a moment, but melted into the kiss almost immediately, his hands gripping the fabric of Remus’ sweater. The warmth of their bodies pressed close, and for a moment, everything else faded away. Sirius’s breath hitched as Remus’s fingers traced a gentle line along his jaw, lingering there just a second longer than necessary.
Remus’s lips moved softly, and Sirius felt his pulse quicken under the touch. The air between them grew thick with unspoken words, their shared breath, and the silent language of fingertips brushing against skin. Sirius’s fingers curled into the fabric, not
pulling away but holding on, as if anchoring himself to the moment.
Remus’s hand found Sirius’s face, thumb brushing along his cheekbone, and Sirius’s eyes fluttered shut for a heartbeat. When they opened again, the desire was clear—soft, intense, almost trembling. Slowly, Remus’s hand slid down, tracing the line of Sirius’s body.
The space between them narrowed, bodies pressed tighter, the heat of their bodies engulfing the pair, who had ended up lying on the bed.
Remus kissed the boy trapped below him with a fervor that could only be explained by his intense longing.
This was going to be a night to remember, Remus knew.
And upon hearing a strangled moan escape Sirius’s lips, he vowed to make it a night Sirius wouldn’t forget, a night that left a mark, one that would remind him of this every time he moved.
Sirius was his now, and Remus was determined to make that known.
***
The next morning held something of a scandal. The day started normally, everyone eating and jabbing on about the day to come.
Remus, James, Peter, Mary, Lily, and Marlene were sitting together, sleepily chatting and waiting for Sirius.
Sirius being late to breakfast was a normal occurrence because it was a nightmare trying to get him out of bed, and he did love to make dramatic entrances.
This entrance was probably the most dramatic that he would ever make in his life, and he was soaking in the attention, the way conversations slowed as he passed and then started again, faster than before. All eyes were on him as he sauntered over to his friends, looking absolutely regal in his white button-up, which was undone at the top, and his tie on as loose as it could be.
He wasn’t even trying to hide his neck, which was adorned with bruises, varying from light pink to deep purples, that Remus had left there the night prior.
Remus felt a flare of pride as he inconspicuously studied Sirius’s neck. He had done that.
And this was Sirius’s way of showing him that he wasn’t ashamed.
Remus tried to hide his smirk by taking a sip of his juice, savouring the reactions from his friends, who all reacted at once.
“Who did that?”
“Bloody hell, mate!”
“Holy shit, Padfoot!”
“Is that allowed?”
“WHO THE FUCK DID THAT?”
Mary was absolutely furious, which was to be expected, because her boyfriend showed up with a neckful of marks that she had NOT left there. Sirius just grinned cheekily at her, which made it a lot worse, as he showed no signs of remorse.
Remus did feel bad as he watched Mary’s eyes fill with tears. They were friends after all, he thought as he watched her run from the Great Hall, followed closely by Marlene. But there was a part of him that rejoiced, as Sirius could be his, all his, finally.
“How could you do that to her?” Lily demanded.
“Sweet infidelity,” Sirius said simply, turning his Sirius Black grin on Remus, which made Remus’s heart flutter. “Isn’t that right, Moony?”
Remus simply winked, flashing his own smirk, happy enough that he couldn’t be bothered to care how this looked to anyone else.
Because, holy fuck, Sirius fancied him.