it’s november 1980. skies are grey and Moony isn’t home.
happy april, folks.

“Moony? Are you home?” Sirius asked into their empty London flat, knowing what the probable answer— or rather, the lack thereof— would be. 

Still, Sirius was careful stalking towards the kitchen, as though scared to disturb the silence. 

On the kitchen counter sat the only colour brightening grey dampness of November. A preserved bunch of flowers in a glass jar, though it hasn’t been changed since the last time Sirius was home. 

He reached to caress a petal, only to find it dried to a crisp, flaking into pieces between his fingers with the softest crunch. Sirius winced. The flowers still looked so bright and alive. 

It had been Remus who started the habit, of leaving around for each other bunches of flowers, cheesy notes and long letters— that made their sparse tiny apartment feel full to bursting. In fact, it was since the moment they came back stumbling and laughing from Lily and James’ wedding, riding on the thrill of their first kiss, that Sirius had discovered Remus was, desperately endearingly, a hopeless romantic. 

It never ceased to amaze Sirius, Remus who usually seemed so guarded and reserved, could pour forth his heart in such a splurge. Remus who stumbled over spoken words and never quite returned Sirius’ ardent confessions, could write so profusely, and watch Sirius as he read his paragraphs, a flame burning in eyes wide and earnest. Sirius knew, he knew that for Remus, the insecure whispers never really went away, but still he had so much to give and Sirius gathered it all close with both arms open. 

Wan’t it insane? They loved each other so much. Perhaps they loved each other too much. Because where were they now? 

For those first couple of weeks they were deliriously happy. But they had so little time, before they were pulled apart. Respective missions put stretches of weeks between them that felt like years. When they came face to face it would be staring at a different man. Something they called war had grown from inside their chests. Sirius wondered who changed first.

He toed off his shoes, and crouched to collect the pile of post. A couple of apartment bills, and weeks-old letters from acquaintances sat surreal outside of time. Beside them, there was a bunch of flowers, wilted and dried, dated back from November the third. So Remus hadn’t made it home either, and sent these in his stead.

Did Remus realise he would have either sent the flowers home to an empty house, or to a Sirius who was desperately alone on his birthday? 

Sirius didn’t want to imagine, if for Remus, this was a half-hearted attempt at compensation, or did he have to garner all the unbroken pieces inside him, to pull together a vow, a plea for Sirius to keep them close?

But how could he not wonder. Ever since Dumbledore told him in confidence that there was a spy in their midst. Ever since Remus had cried on his shoulder as Sirius dumbly, numbly clutched him close, just before the last time he left. 

Sirius took the withered bunch in hand, and walked to the window. Through a mass of bare branches, he stared at the uneven grey sky. Summer had long since drained away, but winter hadn’t really settled in. It was as though the whole world was caught in the awkward barrier between the prospect and impossibility of happiness, of hope.

He’s got to report to Dumbledore. He’s got to talk to James, to lily. He’s got to see Harry. He’s got to hold Harry. But for just this moment, he continued to stand silent by the window.

He turned the dead flowers over and over in his hand, barely discerning what their original colours had been. He didn’t want to think about whether they’d been carefully picked out, to mean undying love, or whatever.

Eventually, he turned back. It was almost a shock to see the jar of preserved stalks, deceptively alive. Save for one broken petal, they looked like the conviction that everything was fine. Sirius dared not consider throwing them away.

Perhaps he could pretend to have been here weeks ago. Perhaps he could pretend he was just here at home, sharing a beer with friends on the third, and had smiled with wistful delight when the owl arrived with flowers for him. He would have exchanged fresh flowers for the aged specimen in the jar, carefully arranged, charmed them to be preserved. 

No one would have realised the difference, anyway. They didn’t need to know at first glance what had already died. 

Sirius set the dead bunch mid-air in the centre of the room, set it on fire, and watched it burn.

For@goodboylupin ‘s Candy Hearts Challenge! My prompt was 2,000 kisses. 

–

If anyone had asked Remus how he planned to spend his time on that sunny Monday morning in Spring, he would’ve smiled and gladly told them all about the book he was reading, and how he hoped to finish it after classes when he and his friends would eventually go outside to sit by the lake together and soak up the sunshine. There was always homework to do as well, but that was a boring answer, and besides, nobody really did ask Remus what his plans were for the day. It was a hypothetical scenario, conjured up and played out inside Remus’ head as he ate his breakfast and stared out the windows in the Great Hall, completely zoned out from the conversation happening around him.

Sirius and Peter were talking about muggle music while James was too wrapped up in a conversation with Lily to notice that Remus was off in his own world.

Daydreams full of warm rays of sun and laughter by the water remained in Remus’ head during most of breakfast. It wasn’t until he heard a hiss of pain coming from beside him that Remus finally snapped out of it. He turned his head towards the sound to see that Sirius had sliced open his finger while trying to cut his food. But the even more pressing matter - one Remus did not even realize existed until he’d zoned back in - was the fact that his and Sirius’ thighs were pressed together under the table, and Remus had trouble focusing on anything else besides the warm heat coming from his friend’s body, even though his finger kept bleeding.

“Remus! Do something!”

James’ panicked voice broke through the haze that had filled Remus’ brain, just enough for Remus to notice that Sirius had cut himself deep, and the blood was not stopping. Thinking quickly, Remus grabbed Sirius’ hand and brought it close to his face.

“Episkey.” Remus said, barely focused enough to get the wand movement right. And then, because Remus was still partially thinking about the warmth coming from Sirius’ thigh against his, and his big, stupid, terrible crush he’d been harboring, Remus bent down low and placed a soft kiss on the freshly sealed wound.

“All better now.” Remus muttered absentmindedly before turning to face the windows once again.

Then he froze, and his face turned white.

Remus did not have to look at his friends to know that they were all staring at him, looking as shocked as he felt. Peter’s eyes were wide with disbelief and his mouth was gaping. And although James looked smug, he too looked like he couldn’t find the words to describe the odd scene he just witnessed.

Sirius, on the other hand, was positively glowing.

“What was that for?” He asked Remus with a bright smile that lit up the area around him. It was like kryptonite to Remus, though he knew his friends would never get that reference.

To be honest, Remus was wondering the same thing for himself. What had he done that for? Was he really so pathetic that a single point of contact could throw all his sensibility and self preservation out the window? Just to kiss Sirius on the hand?

Merlin, he was an idiot.

Besides the embarrassment Remus felt, he cleared his throat and tried his best to speak in a clear, steady voice. “Er, have you never heard of kissing it better?”

He hoped that Peter, another half-blood, would come to his rescue and explain everything away for him. But Peter remained silent.

“Ok, well uh… it’s like muggle magic, you see. Usually performed by parents when their children get hurt, but the idea is that a kiss can make any injury feel better immediately.” Remus explained while the others listened carefully. “My mum used to do it for me and I guess it must have just… slipped out? Sorry, Pads.”

But Sirius didn’t appear to be listening anymore. He seemed to be engaged in a silent conversation with James, the two of them going back and forth for some time. The waggling of James’ eyebrows and Sirius’ sneer were the only outward signs that they were communicating.

Finally, Sirius looked away from James with a scowl and focused his attention back on Remus.

“It’s okay, Moons. I mean, it was an accident, right? I really don’t mind.” Sirius said with a shrug before he reached for a piece of toast - one that wasn’t covered in spots of red.

Remus could do nothing but nod. It was an accident, but not entirely. Remus hadn’t meant to kiss Sirius, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to. In fact, it was practically the only thing he thought about, when he wasn’t daydreaming about books and basking in warm weather, that is.

But he couldn’t tell Sirius any of that. An accident was all it was and all it ever would be. It hadn’t meant anything, and Remus was thankful for the olive branch Sirius extended, an offer to just let it all slide. To let it be forgotten.

Eventually, Remus went back to his own food, trying his best to ignore his embarrassment and the feeling of Sirius’ leg still pressed firmly against his own.

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engie-ivy:

Orion Black offers Remus more money than he could’ve dreamed of. The only condition? Stay away from his son.

(This got way fluffier than I anticipated towards the end)

A slow smile spreads across Orion Black’s face as he writes something down on a piece of paper, and slides it over the broad, wooden desk towards Remus. “Read the number on that paper,” he says confidently. “And tell me again how much you love him.”

To Put a Price On Love

“How much?”

Remus hardly dares to move under the intensity of Orion Black’s scrutinizing gaze. The man is sitting behind his polished wooden writing desk, one large hand holding a pen hovering above some sort of notebook.

Remus is visiting the Black Manor for a couple of days, finally meeting his boyfriend’s family. Much to Remus’ dismay, his boyfriend had been reluctant to take him home, but after some insisting on Remus’ part, he finally agreed. After the first day of staying at the posh manor, Remus had changed his goal of making his boyfriend’s parents like him, to making his boyfriend’s parents not kill him in his sleep.

Orion and Walburga Black are stiff, formal and standoffish people. Their noses are constantly scrunched up in distaste, and their lips pressed in a thin line. They hardly say a word to Remus, and Remus hasn’t once seen them smile. He honestly can’t even imagine it. Where his boyfriend’s silver grey eyes are bright and sparkling with vibrant energy, Walburga Black’s eyes are cold and empty, while Orion Black’s gaze is hard as steel.

That gaze is now intently fixed on Remus, and Remus feels like he’s being weighed and found wanting.

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Untitled and Unfinished (Literally)

Falling in love with Remus Lupin has been by far the scariest, yet the easiest thing Sirius Black has done in his entire years of existence.

It is both expected and unexpected, crystal clear and dark tinted.

James was the first to bring it up, late at night when it’s just him and Sirius in the common room. Remus and Peter had just come up to bed, when James casts a muffliato,even though there was no one else around.

“Everything alright, Prongs?” Sirius’ eyes find James’ as he registers the situation. James had never casted a muffliato since fifth year when Sirius had cried in his bed that first night back in Hogwarts after the summer.

“You know you can always talk to me about anything, right?” James starts. “I’m saying there’s nothing you could ever tell me that would ever change us, unless maybe if you sneak around with Evans behind my back.” Sirius laughs at that

“I know,” Sirius snorts and tilts his head to the side in confusion, the light from the fireplace casting a warm glow on his features. “But I have no idea what you’re on to right now.”

Sirius is lying.

He knows exactly what James is about, of course James would pick up on it by now. James had been a constant presence in Sirius’ life, it was about time that James sees Sirius’ feelings showing through, but for merlin’s sake, Sirius wished he had more time.

But, he supposes, it would be a relief to talk about this to someone. Sirius thinks he’d explode any day now if he has to keep walking around with a carefully wrapped package inside his brain, complete with a bow and a tag that says feelings for moony.

“Six years, Padfoot.” James laughs, “I’ve spent almost every waking moment with you for that long. Think I wouldn’t be able to tell when you’re lying?”

someusername:

Remus turned his attention from the prank planning to the little tickles he felt in the back of his hand.

There, walking slowly over his hand, was a ladybird. He followed its wandering, careful to not move any muscle.

He remembered the tales his mother used to tell him about those red and black beetles. How they were signs of good luck and fortune. He chuckled at the thought. When the little bug passed one of the fading scars on the base of his thumb, he turned his hand slowly to allow it to crawl into his palm.

He hoped this particular bug brought him good luck; he would need it for what he was meant to do for their last ever end-of-year prank.

He felt someone’s eyes on him, which made him look up. He was faced with a pair of intense green eyes looking at him curiously. Lily had started to join them on their pranking since the last period when she and James finally got together. She had quite the mischievous mind, and if Remus wasn’t careful, she would replace him as the Marauders mastermind.

“What do you have there?” She asked him, stretching her neck to look at his hand.

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engie-ivy:

(Wolfstar Crush Confession with just Fluff and Humour, starring Matchmaker Remus Lupin and his client Sirius Black)

“Let me make one thing very clear,” Madame Puddifoot snaps. “You better start arranging dates for Sirius Black, so he can find his perfect match, or otherwise, there may not be a future for you at this agency.”

Remus works as a matchmaker at Madame Puddifoot’s Dating Agency, and if he wants to keep his job, he has to find a match for ‘most eligible bachelor’ Sirius Black. While there are plenty of very willing candidates, for some reason, Remus is reluctant to let any of them go on a date with Sirius Black.

A Worthy Match

“Okay, listen to this,” Lily says. “Dorcas Meadows, with Marlene?”

Remus taps his pen on his paper in thought. “Alright. That could work. That could really work. They could be good together, and it could be really good, but it could also be a complete disaster. They are both very strong-willed. Dorcas can be snarky, and Marlene can be a lot. They can either end up loving each other, or killing each other.”

“True,” Lily says, leaning back on her desk chair. “But think about it like this: do you see either of them with someone who’s not strong-willed? They need someone who doesn’t go along with everything they say.”

“Good point,” Remus says. “I’d say make it happen!”

Lily grins and starts typing on her computer.

Remus scrolls through his email. “Oh lord,” he groans. “We received another application from Gilderoy Lockhart.”

Lily raises her eyebrows. “Really? After the background check we did?”

Remus scans the email. “He says the plagiarism case is just a ‘minor inconvenience that he’s sure will be resolved soon’.”

Lily snorts. “Good god, does he believe those stories himself?”

Remus shakes his head. “Can you imagine if we had taken him up into our database and set one of our clients up on a date with him?”

Lily shudders. “That would’ve cost us a client in the least.”

The database is filled with singles of all ages, genders and preferences, but all have gone through an extensive selection process. When a client enlists at their agency, they first check whether they have the proper financial means to cover their services and the right intentions when it comes to finding someone, and when a client is accepted, they are set up with members from the database who could be potential matches.

Remus lets his fingers glide over the keyboard. “Let me see, how do you say ‘fuck off’ in a professional way?” He starts typing. “ ‘Dear Mr. Lockhart. As per my last email…’ ”

Lily chuckles, but she immediately shuts up when they hear the tell-tale sound of high heels ticking on the hardwood floor.

In all her promotional material and public appearances, Madame Puddifoot looks like your favourite aunt, with her bright pink suits, neatly curled blond hair and wide, red lipstick smiles. But working for her has taught Remus that beyond the scenes, she’s actually a hands-on, ruthless business woman, who’s willing to go to any length for her company. It’s what it takes to run the most prestigious dating agency in the city and the surrounding area, known for its high-quality database, long-term successes and discretion. Madame Puddifoot’s Dating Agency is a household name, that caters to a large variety of prominent clients; celebrities, athletes, socialites, business men, politicians, you name it.

Keep reading

(Wolfstar Crush Confession with just Fluff and Humour, starring Matchmaker Remus Lupin and his client Sirius Black)

“Let me make one thing very clear,” Madame Puddifoot snaps. “You better start arranging dates for Sirius Black, so he can find his perfect match, or otherwise, there may not be a future for you at this agency.”

Remus works as a matchmaker at Madame Puddifoot’s Dating Agency, and if he wants to keep his job, he has to find a match for ‘most eligible bachelor’ Sirius Black. While there are plenty of very willing candidates, for some reason, Remus is reluctant to let any of them go on a date with Sirius Black.

A Worthy Match

“Okay, listen to this,” Lily says. “Dorcas Meadows, with Marlene?”

Remus taps his pen on his paper in thought. “Alright. That could work. That could really work. They could be good together, and it could be really good, but it could also be a complete disaster. They are both very strong-willed. Dorcas can be snarky, and Marlene can be a lot. They can either end up loving each other, or killing each other.”

“True,” Lily says, leaning back on her desk chair. “But think about it like this: do you see either of them with someone who’s not strong-willed? They need someone who doesn’t go along with everything they say.”

“Good point,” Remus says. “I’d say make it happen!”

Lily grins and starts typing on her computer.

Remus scrolls through his email. “Oh lord,” he groans. “We received another application from Gilderoy Lockhart.”

Lily raises her eyebrows. “Really? After the background check we did?”

Remus scans the email. “He says the plagiarism case is just a ‘minor inconvenience that he’s sure will be resolved soon’.”

Lily snorts. “Good god, does he believe those stories himself?”

Remus shakes his head. “Can you imagine if we had taken him up into our database and set one of our clients up on a date with him?”

Lily shudders. “That would’ve cost us a client in the least.”

The database is filled with singles of all ages, genders and preferences, but all have gone through an extensive selection process. When a client enlists at their agency, they first check whether they have the proper financial means to cover their services and the right intentions when it comes to finding someone, and when a client is accepted, they are set up with members from the database who could be potential matches.

Remus lets his fingers glide over the keyboard. “Let me see, how do you say ‘fuck off’ in a professional way?” He starts typing. “ ‘Dear Mr. Lockhart. As per my last email…’ ”

Lily chuckles, but she immediately shuts up when they hear the tell-tale sound of high heels ticking on the hardwood floor.

In all her promotional material and public appearances, Madame Puddifoot looks like your favourite aunt, with her bright pink suits, neatly curled blond hair and wide, red lipstick smiles. But working for her has taught Remus that beyond the scenes, she’s actually a hands-on, ruthless business woman, who’s willing to go to any length for her company. It’s what it takes to run the most prestigious dating agency in the city and the surrounding area, known for its high-quality database, long-term successes and discretion. Madame Puddifoot’s Dating Agency is a household name, that caters to a large variety of prominent clients; celebrities, athletes, socialites, business men, politicians, you name it.

Madame Puddifoot demands full effort from all her employees. With her, there are three clear signs you’re in trouble. One, she says the dreaded words ‘my office’, two, she calls you by your last name, and three, worst of all, she calls you ‘sweetie’.

Remus almost lets out a relieved breath when Madame Puddifoot has passed his desk, but then she says, without even a glance in his direction, “Lupin, my office, sweetie.”

Remus groans, and the whole office throws him pitying looks. Lily bravely manages to give him an encouraging smile as Remus gets up and follows Madame Puddifoot into her office.

Well, he knew this was coming.

“I assume you know the reason you’re here.”

“Yes, madam.”

“And that is…?”

Remus sighs. “Sirius Black.”

Everyone in the area and beyond knows the name Sirius Black. He’s sort of a socialite. He’s the eldest son of the illustrious and powerful Black family, and heir to the Black family fortune. But he’s not just some party-boy rich heir. He studied Medicine, and volunteered with Doctors Without Borders for a few years. Now, he’s running a department in the city’s largest hospital, and often campaigns against the poor coverage of medical costs for vulnerable people.

Now, combine all that with the fact that Sirius Black is drop-dead gorgeous. Like, magazine cover gorgeous. Literally. Tabloids are fascinated with the famous heir and handsome doctor, and their covers often feature stories about him. If you’re launching a product, you’ll want Sirius Black to endorse it. If you’re hosting an event, you’ll want Sirius Black on the guest list. Of course, after being the city’s most eligible bachelor for years, the fact that Sirius Black has gone to a dating agency to find love caused quite a stir. Finding Sirius Black his perfect match will undoubtedly generate an immense amount of publicity for Madame Puddifoot’s Dating Agency.

“I do not have to tell you how much it will benefit our business if we can add the name Sirius Black to our list if satisfied customers,” Madame Puddifoot says.

Remus nods.

“Well then,” Madame Puddifoot folds her hands together. “Let me try a different approach then. Let me tell you what it would mean for our business if we fail in making a success story out of Sirius Black. Sirius Black is young, handsome and rich. If we can’t find him someone, then what hope is there for the rest? Why would anyone still come to us to find their match if we can’t even find a match for someone like Sirius Black? We might as well go out of business! Do you understand, Lupin?”

“Yes, Madam. I do.”

“Then explain to me, if you understand all that, why are you doing such a poor job?”

“I’m trying-” Remus protest.

“No, sweetie, you are not!” Madame Puddifoot interrupts. “At least I hope you’re not, because if this is you trying, it’s even worse then I thought.” She shakes her head. “And it started off so promising, when you had your exploratory business dinners.” When a client is accepted, the agent the client is assigned to usually arranges one or more business lunches or dinners with the client, to get a better read on them, get a clear idea of what they are looking for, what their likes and dislikes are, and in what points they might be willing to compromise, which is all incorporated into the client file. “Sirius Black was actually very enthusiastic about you.”

“He was?” Remus asks, feeling a rush of excitement, but Madame Puddifoot ignores him.

“I don’t understand how he hasn’t started complaining yet. Your performance has been absolutely unacceptable.” She picks up a report from her desk. “He has been our client for months now, and so far, you have set him up on… two dates.”

She looks up at Remus from over the report. Remus stays silent, so she continues. “One dinner, which they both reported to be quite pleasant, but then, immediately afterwards, you put his date in a cab home.” She puts down the report and gives Remus a pointed look. “Dare I ask why you were even there?”

“To chaperone!” Remus quickly says. “Like you said, Sirius Black isn’t just any client. I needed to make sure our member was on his best behaviour.”

Madame Puddifoot just looks at him.

“I sat at a different table,” Remus mumbles.

Madame Puddifoot pinches the bridge of her nose. “And sending his date home on his own immediately after?”

“He didn’t make any move to pay for his dinner when the check came!” Remus says indignantly. “Nothing! Not even a half-hearted attempt at suggesting to split the bill! We can’t have Sirius Black thinking our member are gold-diggers or something.”

Madame Puddifoot sighs and flips through the report. “And the other date, seeing the City Orchestra playing in the Royal Theatre. And you were sitting behind them.” She looks up at Remus again. “To chaperone.” She says sceptically.

“To chaperone,” Remus confirms.

“And then,” Madame Puddifoot scans the report. “In the break, you sent his date home and took his place.”

“He placed his hand on Sirius Black’s thigh!” Remus protests. “Not even halfway through the first date! It was highly inappropriate! I had to intervene. We can’t have Sirius Black thinking we’re that kind of agency, can we?”

“And that’s all you’ve done so far,” Madame Puddifoot continues undeterred. “Two dates, nothing more.”

“Well, if anything, those dates proved that I had to be even more selective!” Remus retorts. “I don’t want to send him on just any date, I want to wait until I’m sure I’ve found him the perfect date!”

“Only Sirius can decide whom he finds perfect for him, and you should’ve been presenting him with options.”

“If I could find options that are good enough…”

“Lupin,” Madame Puddifoot says firmly. “Each young man in our database has been hand-picked by me, and each of them is highly educated, accomplished, and well-spoken. And you honestly claim that after months, you weren’t able to find more than two options?”

“It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality.”

“And you haven’t been delivering either!” Madame Puddifoot slams her papers down on her desk, and then takes a deep breath to compose herself. “Truthfully, I wanted to pass your client on to a different agent, but Sirius Black insisted he’d like to keep working with you, God knows why.”

“He did?” Remus asks, unable to stop his lips curling into a dopey smile.

“Wipe that smile off of your face, sweetie,” Madame Puddifoot snaps. “If I could’ve given your client to someone else, at least you would’ve kept your job, but as it is, let me make one thing very clear. You better start arranging dates for Sirius Black, so he can find his perfect match, or otherwise, there may not be a future for you at this agency.”

“Lily, will you take care of my plant when I’m gone?”

“No,” Lily says, from where she’s sitting perched on the corner of Remus’ desk. “First of all, that has got to be the ugliest plant I have ever seen.”

“Oi, she can hear you!” Remus hisses.

“Secondly,” Lily continues undeterred. “You are not going to lose your job! Madame Puddifoot is right. Sirius Black is handsome, rich, and successful, how hard can it be to find him a match?” She picks up the folder with their database from Remus’ desk and starts flipping the pages. “Oh, what about Fabian Prewett?” She exclaims. “They will look good together!”

Remus purses his lips. “Didn’t he just get divorced? We don’t want Sirius Black to be used as some kind of rebound.”

“He married way too young, and he got divorced three years ago.”

“Sounds pretty fresh to me,” Remus says.

“Okay,” Lily starts flipping the pages again. “Caradoc Dearborn then? He’s a great guy!”

“Caradoc Dearborn doesn’t like dogs,” Remus says pointedly.

“So?”

“Sirius Black loves dogs!”

Lily takes Sirius’ file from Remus’ desk and scans the document. “He hasn’t listed a hard demand about liking dogs anywhere!”

“No,” Remus admits. “But someone who doesn’t like dogs is obviously a psychopath, Lily. I can’t send Sirius Black on a date with a psychopath, now can I?”

“Remus, you’ve known Caradoc for years. You know he’s not a psychopath!”

“Do I, Lily? Do I really?”

Lily narrows her eyes at him. “Alright, let’s see… Benjy Fenwick! Everyone always loves Benjy! He’s such a sweetheart.”

“Yes, he’s sweet…” Remus says.

“But?” Lily asks, with barely suppressed annoyance.

“But he’s too sweet! I mean, Sirius Black is a bit of a rebel. He’s the kind of guy who likes to live his life with a little risk, and thinks rules are meant to be broken. Benjy is the kind of guy who gets a panic attack when he’s a day late returning a library book.”

“Evan Rosier then? No one can accuse him of being too sweet.”

“No, he’s too posh.”

“Sirius Black is posh!”

“No, he’s not!”

“Remus, he’s a Black. That family is the textbook-definition of posh.”

“I know he seems posh, but once you get to know him, you’ll see that he’s really not. He’s actually very down-to-earth, open and approachable.”

“If you say so,” Lily says, rolling her eyes. “Well, there’s Edgar Bones?”

“He’s alright.”

“So… you’ll let him go on a date with Sirius Black?”

Remus shrugs. “If you think just ‘alright’ is good enough for someone like Sirius Black.”

They continue like that for a while. “He’s too pretentious.” “He talks too much.” “He doesn’t talk enough.” “He’s not socially aware at all.”

“What about Victor?” Lily asks.

“He won’t get Sirius’ humour,” Remus replies directly.

“Now you’re just making shite up!” Lily throws the folder back on Remus’ desk. “There isn’t even a Victor in our database!”

Remus crosses his arms over his chest. “But if there was, I’m sure he wouldn’t get Sirius’ humour!”

Lily jabs her finger against Remus’ chest. “You’re just being purposely difficult!”

“I’m just making sure we uphold to a certain standard in quality! I’m just doing my job, and I don’t know why everyone is on my case about it!”

Lily opens her mouth to protest, but then the door to the office opens and Lily groans. “Oh, for the love of God, what is he doing here?”

James Potter has just walked in. He’s a professional athlete. Neither Remus nor Lily knows the first thing about sports, but apparently, he’s the next big thing in football or something. At first, Lily was very excited to have him as her client, but at this point, that excitement has turned into frustration.

“It’s the same thing every time,” Lily has often complained. “I set him up on this lovely date with this lovely girl and they have a lovely time- afterwards, they all gush about what a perfect gentleman he is, so he’s not just in it for an easy shag- but he says the same thing after each date: ‘There wasn’t a spark’. I swear, Remus, the guy just doesn’t know what he wants!”

Truth is, James Potter knows exactly what he wants: a fiery red-head who scolds him when he forgets to hold the door open for his date and rolls her eyes at him when he talks about sports too much.

James grins broadly when he approaches them. “Hi Lily, Remus. That’s an… interesting plant you got there. How are you?”

“Busy,” Lily says curtly, as if she isn’t currently sitting on top of Remus’ desk, clearly not working. “And I do not believe we have an appointment today.”

“We don’t,” James says. “But you’ve arranged this lunch date with Emily this Saturday-”

“Emmeline.”

“Right. This lunch with Emmeline this Saturday. Now, I found this Italian sandwich shop, but I’m not sure if it’s suitable for a date. I was thinking that maybe we can check it out together, so you can see if it’s something Emmeline would like?”

“I don’t think you can go wrong with an Italian sandwich shop,” Lily replies, idly inspecting her nails.

“It might be good to get a woman’s input,” James urges.

“What a woman considers a good lunch place isn’t that different from what a man considers a good lunch place, Potter.”

“Still,” James says. “Best to be sure. My treat, of course!”

Lily looks over at Remus, who shrugs. “Free lunch?”

Lily lets out an exasperated sigh, as she jumps off of the desk. “Fine!” She grabs her purse and marches towards the door. “But I’m putting these hours on your bill!”

James, smiling like the cat that got the cream, gives Remus an awkward wave before quickly following Lily outside.

Remus shakes his head. James is a good guy, bless him. And actually, it’s not a bad idea, checking out a location beforehand with your client. You know, to see if it has the right feel and atmosphere before you send them on a date there. He knows this really cute restaurant down at fifth street, maybe he should ask Sirius if he’d like-

“Lupin!”

Remus is pulled out of his thoughts by Madame Puddifoot slamming down a form on his desk.

“After you left, I realised that I just couldn’t leave the future of my agency in your incapable hands, so I decided to take it upon myself to organize a Mix and Match Event for Sirius Black! I have already made a list of all members I want to be invited and booked a venue. Now, after the event, Sirius Black will fill out the names of the young men he’d like to see again, and then all you need to do, is set up follow-up dates with the persons whose name Sirius Black has written down. I trust even you can do that much?”

Remus nods dumbly, and Madame Puddifoot gives a satisfied smile before stalking away, leaving Remus to stare at the list like it has personally offended him.

The venue Madame Puddifoot has booked is the lobby of a fancy hotel. The standing tables are covered in crisp white tablecloths with intricate flower arrangements in the middle, waiters are walking around with trays filled with high glasses containing expensive wine or small hors-d’oeuvres, and soft, classical music is playing. The place is fancy, polished and clean.

Exactly the kind of place Sirius hates.

Sirius would’ve preferred a casual pub, Remus thinks as he looks around with frown. Somewhere with pints of beer, fried onion rings, band music playing in the background.

But despite not liking it, Sirius Black fits in perfectly. In his fitted trousers, suit jacket, and long hair tied into a neat, high ponytail, he looks devastatingly handsome. Even the waiters, however professional they may be, are giving him looks. He’s charming, and seems comfortable and at ease, making easy conversation.

Nearby, Sirius is currently talking to Fabian Prewett, both of them smiling and chatting animatedly. Remus scoffs. So Lily thought they’d look good together? Well, he really can’t see it.

“Really?” Fabian smiles up at Sirius. “You drive a motorcycle?”

“I do,” Sirius replies.

“Because a leather jacket looks so good on you?” Fabian asks with a wink, and Remus has to quickly put his glass down, as it makes a dangerous cracking sound as he subconsciously tightened his grip around it.

“Oh, definitely,” Sirius laughs. “But that’s not the only reason. It just gives you this great sense of freedom.”

“I’d love to know how that feels.”

“Do you know how to drive?”

“No,” Fabian replies. “But I’d let you give me a ride any day.”

And that’s just it! If that’s not inappropriate then Remus doesn’t know what is! Surely he must intervene now.

“Fabian,” Remus says coldly, walking up to them. “Could you give me a moment with Sirius please?”

Fabian looks from Remus to Sirius, and back to Remus, an amused expression appearing on his face. “Sure, Remus. Whatever you want,” he says with a smirk as he walks away.

Remus stares after him. Now what was that all about? Then he notices Sirius gazing at him, and all thoughts of Fabian immediately disappear from his mind.

“I, ehm, I just wanted to check how you’re doing?” Remus says. “How are you enjoying getting to know the other men?”

“You know,” Sirius replies with a teasing smile. “It would be easier to get to know them if you would let anyone talk to me for longer than five minutes.”

Remus’ cheeks flush. “Well, that’s… just my job. I need to make sure you don’t get overwhelmed, you know. These events can be a lot.”

Sirius nods. “It is quite overwhelming to think that these amazing men would all be interested in me. Well, my looks and money, at least,” he adds with a shrug.

“I promise you that each member of Madame Puddifoot’s would never-” Remus begins to protest, but Sirius cuts him off.

“It’s okay! Don’t worry, it’s fine. I mean, I went to a dating agency to be set up on dates with men whom I don’t know, and who don’t know anything else about me, so it’s kind of what I signed up for.”

“They might not know much more about you now,” Remus admits. “But once they’ll get to know you, they’ll have so much more and so much better reasons to like you! You’re so funny, incredibly smart, kind…” He trails off as Sirius looks at him with an unreadable expression on his face, and for a moment, they just look at each other.

Then Sirius shakes himself out of it and a clears his throat. “So, how does this thing work? Do I get to hand out roses at the end?”

Remus chuckles. “Nothing that fancy, I’m afraid. You just write down the name of each person you’d like to go on an actual date with on this form and hand it back to me, and I’ll arrange the follow up dates for you.”

“I can do that,” Sirius says with a bright smile as he takes the form from Remus.

I can’t, Remus thinks, reading the piece of paper for what is probably the hundredth time. Well, he can, but he shouldn’t. Should he? It’s probably not just frowned upon, but actually forbidden. Yes, Remus is pretty sure there was something about this sort of thing in the contract he signed when he started working for Madame Puddifoot’s.

But then again, it is his job. The client writes down the names, Remus sets up the dates, plain and simple as that. Madame Puddifoot’s words echo in his head

“All you need to do, is set up follow-up dates with the persons whose name Sirius Black has written down. I trust even you can do that much?”

He can do that much. Madame Puddifoot has been very clear in what she wants him to do, so the least Remus can do, is simply do it. He doesn’t have a choice, really. He has to do his job, after all.

Remus grins broadly as he unlocks his computer and starts typing in the name of his favourite restaurant in the search bar. He glances one more time at piece of paper, the form Sirius Black has filled out, where only one name is written down in his elegant handwriting: Remus Lupin

“Wow!” Sirius exclaims as he steps onto the rooftop terrace and takes in the table setting, the candles, and Remus in his favourite jumper.

“Hi,” Remus says.

“Hi,” Sirius replies.

“I, ehm,” Remus is nervously wringing his hands. “I hope I didn’t misinterpret?”

Sirius barks a laugh. “Remus, I was asked to write down the names of whom I’d like to date, and I only wrote down your name. There’s hardly any room for interpretation.” Then a slightly uncertain look appears on his face. “Though, I know I am your client, and I don’t want you to feel obligated to do anything. I can imagine it’s not-done in your profession, and you don’t want to jeopardize your job. But the truth is, I really like you, and I think you may like me too. The only reason I came to a dating agency is because I was hoping to find someone who can make me feel the way you make me feel, so I thought I at least owed it to myself to try.”

“I took this job because I believed in love,” Remus says slowly. “And I thought that if I could help at least one person find it, it’ll be worth it. So, it would be rather counterproductive to give up on a chance at love in order to keep my job.”

“Love?” Sirius asks, his face lighting up.

“Chance at love,” Remus corrects with a smile. Then he holds out his hand. “If that’s a chance you’re willing to take?”

Sirius doesn’t hesitate for a second as he takes Remus’ hand. “In a heartbeat.”

One year later

“I’m just worried she’s making a mistake,” Lily says, leaning back against the soft cushions of the large suede corner sofa. “And God knows what she sees in him! Vernon Dursley has got to be the most boring person you’re ever going to meet.”

“You’ve always had a different taste than your sister,” Remus says, while taking a chocolate truffle made of rich, Belgian chocolate from the crystal bowl on the table. “In the end, she’s a grown woman and it’s her decision.”

“And it’s such a terrible cliché,” Lily sighs, hugging one of the silk cushions to her chest. “The secretary hooking up with her boss. What will her co-workers say? The whole thing is inappropriate and unprofessional!”

“Lily,” Remus says. “Neither one of us is in any position to judge someone for inappropriate and unprofessional work relations. After all, we both took a job at an exclusive dating agency, snatched up the hottest, richest guys for ourselves, and bailed.”

Lily stares at him in horror. “Oh God, we really are that kind of people, aren’t we?”

Remus nods. “We are.”

Lily looks over at the kitchen, where Sirius is leaning on the kitchen island, looking like a model in an add with his dark hair gracefully falling over his eyes and wearing a white button-down with the top buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, animatedly talking to James, who looks dashingly handsome in his soft cashmere sweater, and has just taken four crystal wine glasses out of the cupboard and is now opening a bottle of wine that most likely costs more than what Remus and Lily used to pay for rent summed up.

“Oh well,” Lily sighs. “It was worth it.”

“So worth it,” Remus agrees, putting another chocolate truffle in his mouth.

A Far Cry From Perfect

New chapter: Happy nonetheless

I…” Remus hesitates. “I’m happy, but I can’t… enjoy being happy. Because to enjoy being happy, I have to be aware that I’m happy, and as soon as I’m aware that I’m happy, I automatically start to remind myself of all the reasons why I shouldn’t be happy.” He doesn’t have to say what those reasons are. It’s as clear as day. As clear as the recently healed wound on Sirius’s abdomen.

Sirius frowns. “What use is being happy if you can’t enjoy it?”

“I do enjoy having these moments with you,” Remus says. “But I can’t… stop and think about it. I can be happy, as long as I don’t consider it too much.”

“You know that I want you to be happy, right?” Sirius’s fingers softly stroke his cheek. “Now, when I get sicker, when I’m gone. No matter when, where, or why, I’m always going to want you to be happy.”

Read it on AO3

2000 Kudos!

I’m so glad people are enjoying these stories!

Thank you!

engie-ivy:

Okay, so maybe in the past Sirius has said once or twice that he’s not really a fan of Valentine’s Day, but at least he’s keeping an open mind!

Have some short Wolfstar Valentine Fluff!

“Prongs, have I told you how much I hate Valentine’s Day?”

Yes, Padfoot, James wants to say. As a matter of fact, you have. A few times even. And with a few times, I mean a few hundred times. In the last hour. At the very least.

But James knows by now that it doesn’t matter what he says, Sirius won’t shut up about it, so he doesn’t even bother anymore. “Why, Padfoot, you don’t say!” He says, without even looking up from his book, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You? Disliking Valentine’s Day? Who would’ve thought! What a complete and utter shock!”

“It’s just so tacky!” Sirius continues, undisturbed. “Gross couples are always gross, do we really need an entire day dedicated to them being gross?”

“It’s not only for couples, y'know,” James remarks dryly. “You can also just go on a date with someone.”

“That’s even worse!” Sirius exclaims. “Walking to Hogsmeade together in a long line of other pairs walking to Hogsmeade together? Why, how romantic! And then what? Squeezing into Madam Puddifoot’s, where everything’s decorated in the most horrific shade of pink, to eat one of those pink monstrosities she calls pastries that taste like nothing but sugar? I think not! And don’t get me started on those Valentine chocolates they sell at Honeydukes! I mean, are people stupid? Those boxes contain less chocolate than a normal one, but cost twice that much, only because they’re shaped like some ugly heart. The only thing that’s worse are those roses people are giving each other. What on earth are you supposed to do with a single rose? And an enchanted one that never withers at that! Who in his right mind would want to keep some useless rose for long anyway?”

James shakes his head while listening to Sirius being some kind of Valentine-grinch. He’s relieved when he sees Remus walk over to them, he can use some other company. Unlike Sirius, Remus looks excited, and he’s wearing his red jumper especially for Valentine’s Day, bless him.

“Hi Padfoot,” Remus says, as he stops in front of them, sounding slightly anxious.

“Hi Moony,” Padfoot replies.

Hi Prongs, James thinks.

“So,” Remus runs a hand through his hair while nervously glancing at Sirius. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go to Hogsmeade? For Valentine’s Day? You and me? Together?”

“Going to Hogsmeade together for Valentine’s Day?” Sirius’ eyes grow wide.

Remus nods.

“That sounds wonderful!” Sirius exclaims.

“Really?” Remus asks, his face lighting up in a smile. “Great! I mean, I wasn’t sure if it’d be really your thing…”

“Are you kidding me?” Sirius says. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do!”

“I was thinking we could go to Madam Puddifoot’s,” Remus’ eyes sparkle as he speaks excitedly. “I’ve been really wanting to eat one of her famous pink Valentine’s Day pastries!”

Sirius doesn’t skip a beat. “Those are my favourite!”

“Wait,” Remus suddenly says. “I almost forgot! I got you something.” He reaches into the pocket of his robes, and pulls out one of the enchanted single roses. Blushing, he hands it over to Sirius. “I know it’s rather cheesy, but…”

“I love it!” Sirius breaths, staring at the rose like it’s the most precious thing he has ever seen. Well, second most precious thing he has ever seen, as he looks up at Remus. “I’m going to keep it forever! But I didn’t get you anything.”

“Oh, that’s okay, I-”

“I know!” Sirius interrupts. “I’ll get you one of those heart-shaped chocolate boxes from Honeydukes!”

Remus beams at him. “You’d really do that for me?”

“I’ll get you two! Three! Anything for you, Moony!”

Remus beams even brighter. “I can’t wait!”

“Me neither,” Sirius agrees, beaming right back at him.

Sirius sighs as Remus returns to his seat.

“Prongs, have I told you how much I love Valentine’s Day?”

Sirius’ principles are nothing if not flexible!

Okay, so maybe in the past Sirius has said once or twice that he’s not really a fan of Valentine’s Day, but at least he’s keeping an open mind!

Have some short Wolfstar Valentine Fluff!

“Prongs, have I told you how much I hate Valentine’s Day?”

Yes, Padfoot, James wants to say. As a matter of fact, you have. A few times even. And with a few times, I mean a few hundred times. In the last hour. At the very least.

But James knows by now that it doesn’t matter what he says, Sirius won’t shut up about it, so he doesn’t even bother anymore. “Why, Padfoot, you don’t say!” He says, without even looking up from his book, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You? Disliking Valentine’s Day? Who would’ve thought! What a complete and utter shock!”

“It’s just so tacky!” Sirius continues, undisturbed. “Gross couples are always gross, do we really need an entire day dedicated to them being gross?”

“It’s not only for couples, y'know,” James remarks dryly. “You can also just go on a date with someone.”

“That’s even worse!” Sirius exclaims. “Walking to Hogsmeade together in a long line of other pairs walking to Hogsmeade together? Why, how romantic! And then what? Squeezing into Madam Puddifoot’s, where everything’s decorated in the most horrific shade of pink, to eat one of those pink monstrosities she calls pastries that taste like nothing but sugar? I think not! And don’t get me started on those Valentine chocolates they sell at Honeydukes! I mean, are people stupid? Those boxes contain less chocolate than a normal one, but cost twice that much, only because they’re shaped like some ugly heart. The only thing that’s worse are those roses people are giving each other. What on earth are you supposed to do with a single rose? And an enchanted one that never withers at that! Who in his right mind would want to keep some useless rose for long anyway?”

James shakes his head while listening to Sirius being some kind of Valentine-grinch. He’s relieved when he sees Remus walk over to them, he can use some other company. Unlike Sirius, Remus looks excited, and he’s wearing his red jumper especially for Valentine’s Day, bless him.

“Hi Padfoot,” Remus says, as he stops in front of them, sounding slightly anxious.

“Hi Moony,” Padfoot replies.

Hi Prongs, James thinks.

“So,” Remus runs a hand through his hair while nervously glancing at Sirius. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go to Hogsmeade? For Valentine’s Day? You and me? Together?”

“Going to Hogsmeade together for Valentine’s Day?” Sirius’ eyes grow wide.

Remus nods.

“That sounds wonderful!” Sirius exclaims.

“Really?” Remus asks, his face lighting up in a smile. “Great! I mean, I wasn’t sure if it’d be really your thing…”

“Are you kidding me?” Sirius says. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do!”

“I was thinking we could go to Madam Puddifoot’s,” Remus’ eyes sparkle as he speaks excitedly. “I’ve been really wanting to eat one of her famous pink Valentine’s Day pastries!”

Sirius doesn’t skip a beat. “Those are my favourite!”

“Wait,” Remus suddenly says. “I almost forgot! I got you something.” He reaches into the pocket of his robes, and pulls out one of the enchanted single roses. Blushing, he hands it over to Sirius. “I know it’s rather cheesy, but…”

“I love it!” Sirius breaths, staring at the rose like it’s the most precious thing he has ever seen. Well, second most precious thing he has ever seen, as he looks up at Remus. “I’m going to keep it forever! But I didn’t get you anything.”

“Oh, that’s okay, I-”

“I know!” Sirius interrupts. “I’ll get you one of those heart-shaped chocolate boxes from Honeydukes!”

Remus beams at him. “You’d really do that for me?”

“I’ll get you two! Three! Anything for you, Moony!”

Remus beams even brighter. “I can’t wait!”

“Me neither,” Sirius agrees, beaming right back at him.

Sirius sighs as Remus returns to his seat.

“Prongs, have I told you how much I love Valentine’s Day?”

(High school AU! Well, I suppose Hogwarts is also high school, but the more cliché high school AU And the first fic where I’ve written Sirius not as super popular)

Remus and Sirius are all the way at the bottom of their high school’s social hierarchy, but still, Remus can’t help but admire the popular group, with their easygoing manner and confidence. So of course, when one of the popular guys starts showing an interest in Sirius, Remus feels jealous. Just not in the way he expected.

Newfound Popularity

“Glad you could make it!” Fabian Prewett smiles brightly at Remus, holding the door open to the ice cream shop that’s right next to their school.

“Yeah,” Remus says, his cheeks slightly reddened. “Glad you asked me.”

They walk inside and stop in front of the counter. Fabian Prewett turns to Remus. “What would you like?”

“Eh, I’ll have a chocolate milkshake with caramel syrup?”

“A chocolate caramel milkshake for him, and a plain frozen yogurt for me please,” Fabian Prewett tells the employee with another one of those charming smiles, who blushes and nods.

They sit across from each other at a small table, Remus awkwardly fiddling with the lid on his milkshake. Maybe he should’ve ordered something cooler, something less sweet? Sirius is always teasing him about his love for sugary drinks…

“So, I don’t think we’ve ever really talked much, huh?” Fabian Prewett asks.

“No.” Remus scrapes his throat. “No, not really.”

Fabian Prewett is really handsome, looking at him with those sparkling green eyes, and those cute freckles. Not to mention that, as captain of the swimming team, he’s in excellent physical shape. Tall and lean, and those shoulders… Which immediately explains why Remus and Fabian Prewett have never really talked before. They are in completely different leagues. Remus at the bottom of the social ladder, Fabian Prewett all the way at the top. Remus was shocked when Fabian Prewett asked him out for ice cream, to say the least.

“So…” Fabian Prewett drawls. “I actually wanted to ask you about Black.”

Remus’ eyes narrow in suspicion. “Sirius? What about Sirius?”

Fabian Prewett might be all handsome and charming, but if he thinks he can talk crap about Remus’ best friend in front of him, he’s got another thing coming! Even if Sirius and Remus aren’t on the best of terms right now, they will always have each other’s back. While Remus was all excited after Fabian Prewett’s invitation, Sirius had reacted irritated, and had cut Remus off whenever he spoke of it. Almost as if he were jealous, or in any case, like he just couldn’t bring himself to be happy for Remus and that stung.

At the start of high school, the social hierarchy is established, and people are looking for easy victims to pick on to make their on position more secure. Remus was, unfortunately, the perfect victim. He was a pale, sickly boy, and because he was so often sick as a child, he had grown up isolated, making him socially awkward to top it off. Another easy victim was the boy who came from that weird, posh family, who lived in that creepy old manor just outside of town. The Blacks were known for acting like they still lived in the middle ages, thinking they’re better than everyone else and looking down their noses at other people. They dressed their son up in stuffy old clothes and cut his hair in a weird, outdated style. On top of that, Sirius had prominent cheekbones and exaggerated features that did not match his boyish face and gave him an awkward appearance.

Remus and Sirius were forced together solely due to the fact that no one else wanted to be around them. At first, Remus had been reluctant to spend time with the odd boy, thinking that maybe having no friends would be the preferable option. Sirius had a permanently haughty look on his face and was very blunt in his interactions. But then again, could Remus really afford to be picky?

He had given Sirius a chance, and that was the best decision he ever made. Upon getting to know him better, Remus found Sirius to have his heart in the right place, and to be intelligent and funny. Sirius, in turn, seemed appreciative of Remus’ kindness and dry wit. They hit it off, and what had begun as a forced companionship, became a deep friendship. Sure, people still made nasty remarks and there was the occasional ‘shoving against the lockers’, but honestly, high school wasn’t all that bad with a best friend you can always rely on.

At one point, Sirius went with Remus to Remus’ house after school to work on a project together. From that moment on, it became customary for Sirius to go to Remus’ after school, and he was there every day. Remus started noticing that Sirius was reluctant to go home. Whenever Remus mentioned his home life or his family, something haunted would appear in Sirius’ eyes and that usual mischievous glint would disappear. One day, Remus’ mother came home much later than usual due to a flat tire, and Sirius and Remus were still watching a movie in the living room, having completely lost track of time. Worriedly, his mother asked Sirius whether his parents won’t be missing him for dinner and whether he’d told them he’ll be late. “Oh no,” Sirius said with a shrug. “Both my parents and I prefer me being around as little as possible. The maid will sometimes leave some food on the fridge, but most often, she forgets…” Remus’ mother had been horrified. It was never discussed, but from that moment on, she cooked extra large portions and set the table with one extra plate.

It was Remus and Sirius against the rest of the world. Well, the rest of the school at least, but when you’re in high school, that is the rest of the world. That was another thing Remus had learned and come to appreciate about Sirius: his fierce and unwavering loyalty. Sure, they would tease each other and poke fun at one another, but when it came down to it, Sirius was always on his side. He ignored what people said about him, and barely batted an eye when people would shove him against a locker. Yet, he was often in detention for getting in fights, as he refused to let anyone get away with targeting Remus. He was very protective of Remus. The same fierce protectiveness Remus felt when Sirius had been with his parents and quickly pulled down his sleeve to hide the bruises on his arm, claiming it was ‘nothing’.

Where they were different, was that Sirius didn’t care what people thought of him, and he scoffed at that pretentious, popular lot. Remus, on the other hand, had inherited this very unfortunate trait from his mother, namely a desire to be liked. He looked up to the popular kids. It were almost never the popular people who were mean, and sometimes even cruel. The ones who were really popular were comfortable and secure enough that they didn’t need to put others down to make themselves feel better. People like Fabian Prewett and his brother Gideon, Caradoc Dearborn, president of the student council, Lily Evans, captain of the debate team and according to many the cutest girl in school, maybe only equalled by her best friend Marlene McKinnon from the gymnastics team, and of course James Potter, captain of the football team, weren’t necessarily mean to people like Remus and Sirius, but they just lived in their own perfect worlds and simply didn’t know Remus and Sirius existed. Actively bullying was more the way of those lower on the social ladder themselves, such as Severus Snape, who was desperately trying to get Lily Evans’ attention, or Peter Pettigrew, who was continuously following James Potter around and craved his approval, or Mary McDonald, who lived to gossip and spread rumours, or Avery, Mulciber, and their little friends, who just enjoyed throwing punches and being mean for the sake of being mean.

Remus admired the popular people in some way. Not because of their looks or status or money, but because of their charm and charisma that draws people in, how they make everything look easy with their easy-going confidence that Remus knows he will never possess, and is therefore intrigued by. His admiration has lead to quite a few, admittedly embarrassing, crushes, of which Fabian Prewett was just the latest one. Which is why it was so shocking Fabian Prewett invited him to get some ice cream together.

“What’s his deal?” Fabian asks, leaning forward on his elbows.

“His deal?” Remus repeats still eying Fabian Prewett suspiciously.

“Yeah, like, is he single? Does he like boys, girls, both, neither? Does he even date at all?”

Remus blinks. “Why do you want to know that?”

Fabian Prewett raises an eyebrow. “Come on, Lupin. Surely you must’ve noticed.”

“Noticed what?” Remus asks, taking a sip from his milkshake.

“Lupin,” Fabian Prewett says pointedly. “Black has gotten hot.”

Remus chokes on his milkshake and starts coughing violently. “W-what?”

“It’s true,” Fabian Prewett says. “He’s so fit! He might be the hottest guy in school at the moment.”

Remus stares at him incredulously.

“Really,” Fabian Prewett says, shaking his head. “You can’t have missed that!”

Well, Remus isn’t blind. Of course he has noticed Sirius doesn’t look the same anymore as when they started junior year.

There’s the growth spurt, for starters. Sirius has teased him too often about getting his growth spurt before Remus for Remus not to have noticed. And after Sirius discovered that working out is a way to get away from his family even more, and a great stress relief at that, he got physically rather fit, so instead of short and scrawny, he’s now lean and muscular. Yes, you can definitely say that Sirius has really grown into his features, and those sharp angles that looked so awkward on a little boy, have turned out to look quite striking on a young man.

Sirius started to seek more stress relief and started working out even more when the situation at home became more dire after his sixteenth birthday, when he came over to Remus’ house late at night, saying that his parents had forgotten, and pretending not to care. Though he did swear that night that he was done. Done talking like they wanted him to talk, done wearing his hair like they wanted him to wear it, done dressing like they wanted him to dress, done trying to be what they wanted him to be. And he stayed true to his words. He has grown out his hair, that is now reaching his shoulders and is long enough to wear in one of those messy buns. Instead of old fashioned formal clothes, he now wears ripped jeans, with scuffed sneakers or even combat boots, band shirts, and of course, the leather jacket.

So yes, Remus has noticed Sirius changed his style, and he’s proud of him for it. And now that he thinks about it, people in school have been looking at Sirius differently. Before, Sirius was mostly invisible, and if people did look at him, it was mockingly or with disdain. Now, Remus realises, people are always looking, and there’s something entirely different in those looks. And yes, Remus may have found himself looking as well, staring at Sirius’ hair at times, amazed at how effortlessly elegant it falls over his face and how soft it looks, and all right, perhaps also wondering if it would feel just as soft. Or when Sirius and he are making homework together, Sirius will sometimes glance up at him, with those striking grey eyes behind that raven black hair, and Remus will feel this tightening in his chest… And yes, he has also admired Sirius’ new, edgy style, and in particular how broad his shoulders look in that leather jacket, or when he walks up the stairs wearing those tight jeans, maybe, Remus has once or twice…

Remus’ face turns red. Fabian Prewett leans back in his chair with a smirk. “See?”

Suddenly, another idea strikes Remus. The idea of Fabian Prewett eying Sirius as he walks up the stairs! He feels a wave of anger rush through him. Fabian Prewett has no right to be ogling Sirius, Sirius isn’t his to ogle! He’s not yours to ogle either, a voice in the back of his mind says. But Fabian Prewett has never liked Sirius before, he has always liked Sirius! But not romantically, right? …Right?

“I know so little about him,” Fabian Prewett sighs. “He’s so brooding and mysterious.”

Mysterious? Remus scoffs. Sure, someone can seem damn bloody mysterious if you’ve never made any bloody effort to talk to him!

“Do you have any idea whether he might be interested in going on a date?” Fabian Prewett asks.

“I… I don’t really…” Remus trails off.

“Right.” Fabian Prewett nods understandingly. “I reckon it’s not a topic you have really been discussing.”

He doesn’t say it, but Remus hears it anyway: since no one ever wanted to date either of you before.

Fabian Prewett scribbles something down on a note, and slides it over to Remus. “Here, my phone number. Give it to him and tell him to text me, okay?” He gets up from his chair and flashes Remus a smile. “Thanks, Lupin. You know, you’re actually a pretty decent guy.”

As Fabian Prewett leaves the ice cream shop, having eaten at most three bites from his frozen yoghurt, Remus stares at the offending piece of paper. If someone would’ve told him beforehand that this would end with Fabian Prewett giving Remus his number, he would’ve been delighted, but now, he wants to burn the paper and flush its ashes through the toilet.

But that wouldn’t be fair to Sirius. He thinks back on these last days, and how, whenever he would mention Fabian Prewett, Sirius’ mood would turn sour. Perhaps he wasn’t afraid his friendship with Remus would change, or envious that it seemed to be Remus, and not him, who got the attention of one of the popular guys, which Remus had already found hard to imagine. Maybe he just genuinely liked Fabian Prewett himself. It would be wrong of Remus to keep this from him.

Remus tries to imagine it. Fabian Prewett and Sirius on a date, holding hands, gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes, their shoulders brushing… He feels sick.

Which is normal, of course. He fancied Fabian Prewett himself, he had hoped that maybe Fabian Prewett would be interested in him, only to find out he just wanted to ask him if his best friend would be up for a date, and well, that straight up sucks. What’s not normal, is that the mental image of Sirius in Fabian’s arms makes him want to punch Fabian in the face, and pull Sirius away into his own arms, where he belongs.

Oh no.

“You’re late,” Remus’ mother says while stirring in a pan of sauce.

“I was out with a friend,” Remus replies absentmindedly.

His mother frowns. “Sirius wasn’t with you.”

“An other friend.”

“You don’t have any other friends,” his mother says plainly.

Remus wants to deny it, but the problem is, she’s not wrong. So instead, he just crosses his arms over his chest and says “Sirius and I ate not attached by the hip.”

“Yes, you are,” his mother says plainly.

Remus opens his mouth to protest, but closes it, because, again, she’s right. They are, and Remus has never truly realised what that means to him.

“And I don’t like it one bit,” his mother continues. “Going out with other boys behind Sirius’ back.”

“It isn’t like that.”

“Just be careful, Remus.” His mother waves her spatula at him. “You know what they say, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”

Remus rolls his eyes. “Any more wise words, or can I go to my room now?”

His mother ignores the sarcasm in his voice, and thinks for a moment. “Just this: sometimes what you’re looking for is right in front of you.”

Remus walks up to his room. It was never a question for Remus that Sirius would be there. Even without Remus being there, even with the tension between them lately, it was never a question that Sirius would come here.

When he opens the door, Sirius is lying on his bed, pretending to be reading a book, but Remus knows him too well to be fooled. He can see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hand tightens around the cover, and how his eyes are too fixated on one point. Also, what Remus supposes he subconsciously already knew, is now clear as day: Sirius is incrediblyhandsome.

Remus scrapes his throat, and Sirius makes a big show of looking up from his book and pretending to be surprised to see Remus standing there. “Oh, hello there, Remus. I didn’t see you there. Where have you been?”

Remus shakes his head. Sirius knows very well, but Remus decides to humour him. “I was meeting Fabian Prewett today, remember?”

“Oh, was that today?” Sirius might have the face for it, but really, the boy should never pursue an acting career.

“It was,” Remus says. “But you don’t have to worry. Fabian isn’t interested in me.”

Sirius immediately sits up on the bed and tosses the book aside. “He’s an idiot. It’s his loss. You deserve better. The guy smells like chlorine anyway.”

Remus smiles softly. Sirius always has his back. He never needs to doubt that. He sighs. He owes it to Sirius to be honest with him and support him. “Here,” he says, dropping the piece of paper in Sirius’ lap, that, no, he definitely did not want to throw in a trash can on his way home.

Sirius just looks at him. “What’s this?”

“Fabian Prewett’s phone number,” Remus says sourly.

“What on earth do I need Prewett’s phone number for?”

“You should text him,” Remus replies.

“To… tell him he’s an idiot?”

“What? No! No, he’s… Well, he’s into you.”

Sirius stares at Remus like he has grown two heads. “Fabian Prewett hates me.”

“Nah, he doesn’t,” Remus says. “And if he did, it doesn’t matter anymore, because you’re hot now.”

“I am what now?”

“It’s true,” Remus shrugs, trying to act casual about the whole thing. “Apparently, you’re the hottest guy in school now.”

“That’s crazy!” Sirius says incredulously.

“And all the things that made you ‘antisocial’ and ‘weird’ before, apparently make you ‘brooding’ and ‘mysterious’ now that you’re hot.”

Sirius shakes his head. “People are so weird.”

“Anyway,” Remus says. “You should text Fabian.”

“I still don’t see why,” Sirius points out.

“He wants to go on a date with you.”

Sirius raises an eyebrow. “That sounds like his problem.”

“Look, Sirius,” Remus says, taking a deep breath. “I know what you’re doing. I was hoping that Fabian Prewett might’ve been interested in me, and you don’t want to hurt my feelings. I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary. I saw the way you acted when it seemed like Fabian Prewett had asked me out. You were jealous, weren’t you? Well, if you like Fabian Prewett, then I’m going to be supportive.”

Sirius stares at him, then presses his hand to his forehead. “God, Remus, you’re such an idiot.”

Well, that surely wasn’t the grateful response Remus had expected after his grand gesture.

Sirius gets to his feet. “Yes, Remus. I was jealous. But I wasn’t jealous at you because I thought Prewett liked you. I was jealous at Prewett because you like him!”

“You… What?” Remus stammers.

“For the love of- Do I really need to spell it out for you? I. Fancy. You. You. Not Fabian. You.”

“You… you do?”

“Yes, Remus. I do. I have done for a very long time.”

“Why did you never say anything?” Remus exclaims.

“What would’ve been the point?” Sirius retorts. “You were always fancying the next popular hot guy. Artsy Dearborn, jock Potter-”

“We agreed never to talk about that!”

“And now preppy Prewett. Guys all much better than me…” Sirius trails off.

“Oh, Sirius,” Remus says, instinctively cupping Sirius’ cheek. “They can’t hold a candle to you.” He takes a deep breath, readying himself for his Grand Romantic Love Confession. “It has always been you.”

Sirius snorts.

Remus glares at him and swats his arm. “I’m trying to be romantic here! You’re ruining the moment!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Sirius chuckles, holding up his hands. “But you can’t say that like you weren’t hoping to stick your tongue down Fabian Prewett’s throat just ten minutes ago!”

Remus crosses his arms over his chest. “Okay, so maybe not always.”

Sirius smiles, but again, Remus knows him well enough to see the insecurity behind that smile.

Remus runs a hand through his hair. “But I need you to know that there’s some truth to it! I’ve had feelings for you for longer, I just didn’t realise those feelings were more than friendship. And it’s not just because you’re so hot now! I mean, sure, I like looking at you. Who wouldn’t like looking at you? You’re so ridiculously beautiful!”

Sirius blushes, and frustratingly so, that makes him even morebeautiful.

“I only realised when I imagined you and Fabian together, and it just made me so angry. No, that’s not right, now I’m making it sound like I just want you because someone else wants you. I still would’ve wanted you ugly and unwanted!” Remus lets out a frustrated sigh. “I’m really screwing this up, aren’t I? I’m just trying to say that I like you for you, your annoying jokes, your stupid sense of humour that no one ever gets, how bloody stubborn you are, the way you never think before you act –”

Remus doesn’t mind when Sirius cuts off his rambling. He minds even less with Sirius’ method of choice being to press his lips against Remus’.

When he pulls back, Sirius is grinning broadly. “You really think I’m beautiful?”

Remus rolls his eyes. “Don’t let it get to your head.”

signifiquint:

engie-ivy:

(I feel like I haven’t posted in too long, but here’s my signature dish: Wolfstar accidental public love confession with Super Oblivious Remus)

“That has got to be the most embarrassing thing to have ever happened in Potions class.”

“Well, I don’t know,” Remus says, sitting down on the bed across from Sirius cross-legged. “You weren’t there when this one guy asked why his potion didn’t work, and then his fifty-year-old professor had to explain to him in front of the whole class that the guy he has a crush on actually fancies him.”

Things You Can Learn In Potions Class

“Black!” Wilkes grabs Sirius by the collar of his robes and shoves him against the wall.

“Why, hello Wilkes,” Sirius says calmly. “To what do I owe this… enthusiasticgreeting?”

“You listen to me-!”

“You’ve surely gotten my attention.”

“I’m warning you, Black,” Wilkes spits. “You stay away from my girlfriend!”

“Gladly,” Sirius replies instantly. “Now if you could please have this conversation with your girlfriend as well? Though I might suggest you do it without the ‘shoving against the wall’-part.”

Heloise Lestrange. Wilkes’ girlfriend. Her parents are family friends of the Blacks, and they stayed at the Black manor for a week during the summer. There, Heloise had let her eye fall on the handsome, rebellious, oldest son of the Blacks.

Remus couldn’t really blame her, especially with her boyfriend having both the looks and personality of a goat. Well, maybe that’s a little uncalled for. Some goats are actually cute.

Back at Hogwarts, Heloise didn’t let her boyfriend being around stop her from making eyes at Sirius, causing rumours to fly about what had happened between the two during the summer. Though according to Sirius, that was mostly him hiding in his room in his attempt to avoid her.

Keep reading

SCREAMING CRYING DYING OVER THIS!!!

This is so cute!!!! Professor Slughorn: secret wingman

Hahaha, professor Slughorn was mostly like “they don’t pay me enough for this”

(I feel like I haven’t posted in too long, but here’s my signature dish: Wolfstar accidental public love confession with Super Oblivious Remus)

“That has got to be the most embarrassing thing to have ever happened in Potions class.”

“Well, I don’t know,” Remus says, sitting down on the bed across from Sirius cross-legged. “You weren’t there when this one guy asked why his potion didn’t work, and then his fifty-year-old professor had to explain to him in front of the whole class that the guy he has a crush on actually fancies him.”

Things You Can Learn In Potions Class

“Black!” Wilkes grabs Sirius by the collar of his robes and shoves him against the wall.

“Why, hello Wilkes,” Sirius says calmly. “To what do I owe this… enthusiasticgreeting?”

“You listen to me-!”

“You’ve surely gotten my attention.”

“I’m warning you, Black,” Wilkes spits. “You stay away from my girlfriend!”

“Gladly,” Sirius replies instantly. “Now if you could please have this conversation with your girlfriend as well? Though I might suggest you do it without the ‘shoving against the wall’-part.”

Heloise Lestrange. Wilkes’ girlfriend. Her parents are family friends of the Blacks, and they stayed at the Black manor for a week during the summer. There, Heloise had let her eye fall on the handsome, rebellious, oldest son of the Blacks.

Remus couldn’t really blame her, especially with her boyfriend having both the looks and personality of a goat. Well, maybe that’s a little uncalled for. Some goats are actually cute.

Back at Hogwarts, Heloise didn’t let her boyfriend being around stop her from making eyes at Sirius, causing rumours to fly about what had happened between the two during the summer. Though according to Sirius, that was mostly him hiding in his room in his attempt to avoid her.

“I swear, Black,” Wilkes hisses. “If you dare hook up with her…”

“I’m no expert in relationships, Wilkes,” Sirius says dryly. “But you might have some bigger problems if you assume your girlfriend will cheat every time someone more attractive than you comes along. Because, let’s face it, that’s a substantially large group.”

“You little…” Wilkes brings his fist back.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” James says calmly, stepping up beside Sirius with his wand drawn.

“Come to defend your boyfriend?” Wilkes sneers.

“Aw,” Sirius says. “Your girlfriend, James, you must think everybody wants me! Honestly, I’m flattered. Do you perhaps have a little crush on me?”

“In your dreams!” Wilkes’ face flushes red in anger.

“Oh, are you blushing?” Sirius coos.

Wilkes opens his mouth, but at that moment professor Slughorn opens the door to the Potions classroom, calling for the Gryffindors and Slytherins to enter.

Avery grabs Wilkes’ arm and drags him inside, probably knowing Wilkes is only going to embarrass himself further.

Sirius pushes himself away from the wall and straightens his robes. “What a tosser.”

“Did really nothing happen between you and his girlfriend?” Peter asks again. “I mean, she’s rather pretty, and if she’s in your house throwing herself at you… Plus, pissing Wilkes off seems like an added bonus.”

“Pete, she’s a Slytherin!” Sirius exclaims. “The pureblood, Sacred Twenty-Eight, blood supremacy kind!” Sirius shudders. “Honestly, I’d rather compete with Evans for the giant squid’s affections.”

“Oi!” James scoffs.

“Come on, Prongs,” Remus says, slapping him on the shoulder. “If Sirius snatches up the giant squid, your chances might increase!”

“Remus John Lupin!” Lily, passing by on her way to the classroom, pauses and places her hands on her hips, giving Remus a mock-glare. “Are you seriously implying that the giant squid would chose this plonker-” She gives Sirius a playful nudge “-over me?”

“Oh, bring it on, Evans!” Sirius grins, walking after her into the classroom.

Remus pairs up with Sirius for Potions. They always do, mostly because after three exploded kettles, Sirius is the only one still willing to pair up with Remus. At first, Sirius tried to teach Remus, but after fishing green slime out of his hair for over a week, he decided it was better for Remus to just watch.

Now, Remus might not be very proficient at potion brewing, but sitting and staring at Sirius, the focused look on his face, the way he bites his lip in concentration, how his eyes light up when the potion changes colour at exactly the right moment… Well, that Remus can do.

“…Moony? Moony? Moony!”

Remus gives a start, realizing Sirius has asked him a question. “Sorry, what was that?”

Sirius chuckles. “I asked what do you smell?”

Remus inhales deeply, but even with his enhanced sense of smell, Remus doesn’t pick up anything from the clear, colourless liquid. “Ehm, nothing?”

“Excellent!” Sirius grins.

“Alright everybody!” Professor Slughorn claps his hands. “Let’s see… Rosier, can you tell me what potion you have just brewed?”

“I guess… Veritaserum?”

“Indeed! The truth potion. Ten points to Slytherin!”

“Figures,” Sirius grumbles under his breath. “Giving the easy question to a Slytherin, so he can give his own house easy points.”

“If you’ve gone through the steps correctly,” professor Slughorn continues. “You will have obtained a potion that is without colour, without smell, and without taste. Thereby, ideal to slip to someone unnoticed. It is important that you learn what it feels like to be under the influence of the truth potion, to experience it pulling your mind, bending your intentions, and twisting your tongue, so that you can recognize these symptoms.”

Nervous whispers echo around the room. Brewing potions they do often enough, trying them out is another thing. “When I call your name,” Professor Slughorn says, drawing the class’ attention back. “You’ll fill a flask with your potion, walk forward to come stand in front of the class and take one sip. I will then ask you one question, a simple question, just your name, nothing more. You will try as hard as you can to lie. That way, we can immediately see whether your potion was brewed correctly. Please, do not pretend your potion works if it doesn’t. This isn’t for a grade, so it is in your own best interest to be honest, so that we can decipher where the mistake lies, and you have a chance to improve.”

“And one more thing,” professor Slughorn adds after letting his words sink in. “Someone in front on the class under the influence of Veritaserum is placing themselves in a very vulnerable position. Therefore, only I will ask a question, just one question, and I want nobody else to ask anything, or even dare speak. If you try to take advantage of your classmate who has taken Veritaserum, I will deduct one hundred-” Shocked sounds are heard throughout the classroom- “Yes, one hundred points from your respective house,” Professor Slughorn finishes, looking around the room sternly.

They watch James grimace and make a face like he’s having a stroke, before sighing in defeat and replying “James Potter.” Peter immediately squeaks “Peter Pettigrew.” “Marlene McKinnon,” Marlene replies directly, before her eyes widen in surprise. After a lot of stuttering and stammering, Frank manages to say in a shaking voice that his name is Hank. After some back and forth, professor Slughorn determines that he used only two Jobberknoll feathers instead of three, which makes lying difficult, but not impossible. Frank’s shoulders sag, but he visibly brightens once professor Slughorn tells him that he must have a very strong mind to be able to lie even with only two Jobberknoll feathers. “Fabian Prewett,” whom professor Slughorn had thought was Gideon Prewett replies, and professor Slughorn scolds the twins for having switched places again.

Eventually, Sirius fills his flask and walks to the front. Remus isn’t worried in the slightest that the potion is anything less than perfect. Everything Sirius does is perfect.

Sirius takes his sip, and professor Slughorn opens his mouth to speak, but then Wilkes shouts from his bench “Do you want to hook up with my girlfriend?!”

Professor Slughorn tries to intervene, but Sirius, caught off guard and under the influence of the truth potion, immediately replies. “Absolutely not. I’m in love with Remus.”

A stunned silence falls over the room, as Sirius stands in front of the class, looking shocked, his face gone pale.

Then Wilkes snorts loudly. “Merlin’s beard, I really was worried over nothing!” He says mockingly. “I can’t believe you’re a bloody-”

“Mr Wilkes!” Professor Slughorn interjects sharply. “You have already cost your house one hundred points, and you better believe that me being Head of House for Slytherin won’t stop me from making it two hundred if you so much as dare to open your mouth again.”

Wilkes notices even his own housemates glaring at him furiously, and he snaps his mouth shut.

The sound of a door slamming shut alerts the class to the fact that Sirius has stormed out of the room. Everywhere, groups of people start talking to each other in hushed tones.

“Silence!” Professor Slughorn demands. “We will continue with class. So, who’s next…”

“Professor!” Remus raises his hand.

“…Yes?” Professor Slughorn eyes Remus warily.

“You haven’t told us what we did wrong,” Remus says.

“Wrong?”

“Well, yeah,” Remus glances around the room, seeing his schoolmates blink at him. “Clearly, we made some mistake with our potion. Instead of truth serum, we must’ve accidentally made some sort of love potion or something.”

The whole class stares at Remus in disbelief.

“I can assure you,” Professor Slughorn says. “That it is absolutely impossible to accidentally brew a love potion using the ingredients for Veritaserum.”

Remus frowns. “Well, there has to be some sort of explanation! What else could’ve made Sirius have such a reaction?”

Remus can hear James softly groan beside him.

Professor Slughorn wrings his hands uncomfortably, looking like he wants to be anywhere but here having this conversation. “Mr Lupin,” he says slowly. “The most logical explanation for the potion causing this reaction, is Mr Black being, in fact, in love with you.”

Remus stares at his teacher. “He’s not.”

“Yes, he is!” James and Peter say, Lily, Marlene, Dorcas and Mary say, Fabian and Gideon say, Avery, Rosier and Mulciber say, the Bloody Baron says, the portraits on the wall say.

Remus looks around the room, processing, and then raises his hand again. “Professor!”

“Yes, Mr Lupin?” Professor Slughorn asks reluctantly.

“May I be excused?”

“Oh, thank Salazar.” Professor Slughorn releases a breath. “I was almost considering deducting points of you hadn’t asked permission to leave. Yes, please, go!”

Remus hurriedly leaves the room and rushes up the stairs out of the dungeon.

Sirius, sitting on his bed with his knees tucked against his chest, looks up as Remus enters the room. He sighs. “That has got to be the most embarrassing thing to have ever happened in Potions class.”

“Well, I don’t know,” Remus says, sitting down on the bed across from him cross-legged. “You weren’t there when this one guy asked why his potion didn’t work, and then his fifty-year-old professor had to explain to him in front of the whole class that the guy he has a crush on actually fancies him.”

Sirius blinks. And then bursts out laughing. “Godric, Moony! I literally stood in front of the class, took Veritaserum, and said ‘I am in love with Remus Lupin’, and your reaction was ‘Hmmm, what could this possibly mean?’”

Remus hides his face in his hands. “I’m never going to live down this embarrassment!”

He feels Sirius shift on the bed, and when he peaks through his fingers, Sirius is sitting right in front of him, leaning in with a suggestive smile. “Maybe I can help take your mind off of it?”

As it turns out, Sirius is very good at that.

With Sirius straddling him, pinning him to the bed and snogging him senseless, professor Slughorn is definitely the last thing on Remus’ mind.

A Far Cry From Perfect

New chapter: I could picture it

“Personally, I think we can do a few more Blood Replenishment Treatments, before his condition will have worsened to the extent that the positive effect will no longer outweigh the negative effect. But you must keep in mind that he will experience a few days of severe sickness after each treatment. A few days might not seem like much, but if your time is as limited as Sirius’s…”

“But it can give him weeks, maybe even months, more!” Remus exclaims.

“Yes,” Healer Pye says, again with that patient calmness. “But you must keep in mind, these are the good days. The days during which he still has energy, can still undertake activities, isn’t too tired or in too much pain yet. You must remember that from here on, it will only get worse. There’s nothing that can be done about that. He’ll be trading in good days now for uncertainty later.”

“But still,” Remus says stubbornly, almost desperately. “A few days to gain months…”

Healer Pye shakes his head. “It’s not just the quantity that counts, it’s also about the quality. A few good days now might turn out to be more valuable than a few months towards the end.”

Read it on AO3

‘Well, liven up the party Remus did, though probably not in the way James had imagined, when Remus was caught by Lord Orion Black in the storage room fooling around with the lord’s eldest son and heir…’

(Back to Fluff and Humour! Sort of a short Historic AU? Wolfstar, of course.)

The Fancy Things In Life

“One party,” James says, rubbing his temples. “One party! I took you to one party!”

Remus bites his thumb nail. “Well, at least you can’t say this party was boring.”

James just glares at him.

It is true, though.

James Fleamont Potter, as first and only son of the House of Potter and therefore the future Lord Potter, is expected to make an appearance at all the fancy events the elite organises, which is a lot. The same stiff people with the same fake smiles engaging in the same tedious conversation. Remus, on the other hand, is just a local town’s boy, who would normally never be at a party such as this, were it not for his unlikely friendship with James. When James, after pushing Lucius Malfoy into a pond during a hunting party to prevent him from killing a deer, had come into the local inn where Remus works, hoping for a place to hide, Remus had kept him hidden when a disgruntled Abraxas Malfoy later appeared in town demanding information. Now, James had the idea that maybe these parties would be better bringing his friend along, so he dressed Remus up in one of his costumes and took him with him as a guest, hoping that Remus would liven up the party a bit.

Well, liven up the party Remus did, though probably not in the way James had imagined, when Remus was caught by Lord Orion Black in the storage room fooling around with the lord’s eldest son and heir.

After staring in utter shock and outrage, Lord Black had said in a booming voice “What in the devil’s name do you think you’re doing?! Do you have no shame, defiling one much above your station like some scoundrel! I demand to know what family you are from! They’ll be rightfully embarrassed by your shameful behaviour.”

Remus had blinked at the red-faced man in his fancy coat with his flaring nostrils, then straightened his clothes before saying with a grin “I wouldn’t worry ‘bout that, m’lord. Mum and da run an inn, so they’ve surely seen much worse!”

Lord Black must’ve assumed Remus was some minor nobleman. Makes sense, as no one but a nobleman would normally be at an event such as this, and since he doesn’t know Remus, he can’t be anyone important. Knowing that Remus is a common innkeeper’s son did not make the situation any better. At all.

While the young man Remus had been… interacting with, Sirius Black, whom he noticed still had his hand on Remus’ hip, had to stifle his laughter in his sleeve, Lord Black’s head looked like it was going to explode.

To prevent the situation from escalating, James had dragged Remus away, while Sirius tried to calm down his father.

And that’s where they are now.

The door opens and closes and Sirius walks into the room, running a hand through his hair, that still looks dishevelled from where Remus had been running his hands through it, and Remus feels a, probably quite inappropriate, swell of pride at that. Remus gazes at Sirius for a moment, as he looks just beautiful. Sirius Black is widely regarded as the most handsome young man in the land. Really, how had James expected him to resist when Sirius admitted that the pang of attraction Remus felt towards him was very much reciprocated?

“I am ever so sorry about this whole situation,” Sirius says, in that posh way of speaking Remus finds so annoying in other nobles, but for some reason finds endearing in Sirius. “I at least managed to calm him down to the extent where he won’t try to strangle Remus the moment he sees him,” Sirius continues. “He is still very much affronted, but I am quite sure it is nothing I cannot handle.”

James lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness for that.”

“Jamie,” Sirius asks. “Might I have a moment of privacy with your friend?”

“Absolutely not.” James crosses his arms over his chest. “As I recall, this whole mess started with you ‘having a moment of privacy’ with Remus!”

Sirius rolls his eyes. “See for yourself then.” He turns to Remus and takes his hand. “Remus, you have my sincerest apologies for the way my father unjustifiably mistreated you, and I regret very much how we were rudely interrupted.”

“Yeah,” Remus says, and he scrapes his throat. He hates how rough his voice sounds, and wishes he could use fancy words to puzzle together nice sentences in a soft, melodious voice, like Sirius. “I’m sorry too. Hope I didn’t put you in too much trouble with your da?”

Sirius shrugs. “Like I said, I can handle it. And in any case, it was worth it. I have no regrets.”

Remus smiles. “Me neither. It felt… right.”

“Right indeed,” Sirius smiles back. “You know, Remus, my days are always filled with stiff protocols and strict rules, but tonight, with you, I felt more alive than I’ve ever felt before.”

Remus opens his mouth to reply, but a loud groan makes them turn their heads to James, who is pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. “Good lord. I had thought this was just an ill-advised hook-up, that blew up in your faces, and now we deal with the aftermath, do some damage control and be done with it. But no! You two have to actually be in bloody love with each other!”

He points at Sirius. “All these wealthy members of the high society competing for your attention, and you’ve never had even the tiniest bit of interest in any of them, but now you go and fall in love at bloody first sight with a town’s boy who works in the local inn! It is just so typically you to go for the whole ‘impossible lovers from different worlds’ trope. God, Sirius, you’re so dramatic!” He lets out an exasperated sigh. “Now what do we do? We’re going to have to arrange secret meetings in secluded gardens, and those kind of things. After tonight, Lord and Lady Black will surely be suspicious about everything. You mother will most likely send her manservant Kreacher to spy on you, which means we’ll have to ask Regulus to deal with that, and God knows Regulus’ help always comes at a prize. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if your parents will now try and arrange a proper marriage for you as fast as possible! Now how are we going to get you out of that? And speaking of marriage, can you two even ever get married? Will your family acknowledge it? And if they don’t, how do we find a pastor willing to marry you if Lord and Lady Black disapprove of it?”

“James, Jamie,” Sirius says, holding up his hands. “Remus and I have known each other for a couple of hours. There’s no need to already start panicking about when we’ll get married!”

Remus arches an eyebrow. “When we’ll get married?”

Sirius smirks. “I consider myself an optimist.”

“Even with all the troubles we’ll face? Society’s judgement, your family’s anger?”

“I’m ready to face all of that. Besides, it does kind of make it more romantic, doesn’t it? Two lovers, crossing social borders, defying society’s expectations, and overcoming all obstacles, to fight for their love!”

“Oh God,” Remus rolls his eyes. “James was right. You aredramatic.”

“I prefer the term passionate,” Sirius grins. “But all joking, and all premature panicking-” he eyes James “-aside, I do genuinely feel something for you that I haven’t felt for anyone. We’ve only just met, but I feel this instant… attraction? Connection?. Now I don’t know if it’s going to end with us running off for a secret marriage on the countryside with James as our only witness, but I do know that I’d very much regret it if tonight will be the end of it.”

Remus can feel a bright smile spread over his face. “Me too.” He reaches out and cups Sirius’ face in his hands. “I feel it too, and I don’t want to walk away from this either.”

The next moment they’re kissing. It’s perfect. Perfect until they hear a loud shriek.

Lady Black’s shriek is immediately followed Lord Black thundering “What the-?! AGAIN?! Why, you filthy little…!”

Remus reluctantly pulls away, and Sirius chuckles softly as he rests their foreheads together. “Well, here we go.”

Chapter One: Calholme

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series masterlist!

series summary: Remus was fine being alone until a mysterious and loud man crashes his motorbike into Remus’s life.

a/n: hi!!! i have a series!!! i’ve got a couple of series and chapter stories in my drafts, but i’ve never really had the courage to post them. i have put so much into this story, though, and i really hope you all like it :) leave me some feedback! i’ll probably post more once i know that its not a complete and utter flop. also, i’ve posted it on my ao3 so you can go read it over there too <33 

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It was a drowsy, subdued place, in Remus’ opinion, every moment of the year except for spring. Where he grew up, and where he currently resided, the entire town took a green glowing hue for the season. It was cold in the mornings, so when Remus went outside to spread chicken seed on the dewy grass, he put on a sweater. It warmed up as the sun rose, and from the time it took the sun to travel from the horizon to the middle of the sky, Remus was comfortable in a t-shirt and loose-fitting jeans. When the sun was at its peak, Remus might start to sweat through his shirt, maybe going as far as to change into shorts if he was outside, which he usually was. He couldn’t stand to be inside during spring.

The gravel driveway that led to a dirt road was sprouting an abundance of weeds and weeds that looked like flowers. The trees captured light, glowing, instead of the way they seemed to absorb and trap light in winter. Remus’s backyard was a large forest, and Remus had never taken the time to check where his property line ended, so as far as he was concerned, the entire forest was his. If you went deep enough in any direction, you would come to a clearing where the knee-high grass dove into some grass that only tickled your ankles. After the ankle grass, there was an unnaturally blue and unnaturally large lake. Remus’ mom had told him that the lake was so blue and so large because it was natural, that no person could ever make something so beautiful, and Remus found himself agreeing as he got older.

With his mother and father gone to live somewhere where it was spring weather all the time, living on a vast farm with no animals and a huge lawnmower that his father comfortably sat on every weekend to trim the fields, Remus now lived in his slightly renovated childhood home. It was only slightly renovated because it was a great deal messier and almost every surface was covered in coffee or tea stains and a book. Remus also got a television that he rarely used and turned his old bedroom into some sort of reading room/ garden. So, slightly renovated.

Past the gravel driveway littered with weeds and imposter weeds, past the dirt road that served as a crossing and sometimes rest area for the wild animals in the area, was the more populated town. Calholme had two public libraries; three hardware stores, one of which sold exclusively fishing supplies; a psychic who did palm readings and sold handmade jewelry and was rumored to have built the house she did aforementioned things in herself; three gas stations, one on each side of the outskirts of town, and one right in the center; two banks, one of which was relatively new that not many people frequented due to either a lack of trust for banks or simply because it was new; a multitude of fruits and vegetables stands with products grown in the area, delis in which the products ate the grass not 20 miles away, and bakeries that sent a sweet aroma into the air; a record shop that doubled as a coffee shop, candy store, and sometimes a furniture store when the records weren’t selling too well; a car repair shop called Matt Mocks’s garage that also repaired tractors and other broken farm equipment, and if the right guy was in that day, you could get your television repaired, too; and any other storefront that the simple people of Calholme thought they needed. They were quite resourceful in that sense.

So, down one end of the road was Calholme, and down the other were a few scattered cottages and large farmhouses, and even further down was a paved road that brought Sirius Black into town.

—

Remus had opened the window in his kitchen and stood in front of it as he waited for his tea to steep. It was that wonderfully chilly morning, so he shivered a little as the cold air clipped his crooked nose and sharp chin. He wrapped his long arms around his body to give some sort of comfort but found his lack of sustainable body fat and bony arms were more of a hindrance than not. Sighing and turning away from the window, he retrieved a cardigan that was draped over the couch, shaking off some loose crumbs before putting it on and returning to the window. He passed the sink on the way, a large white ceramic hole in the counter that looked more like a tub than a sink, and filled up a cup of water for the plants on the window sill. The house was in disarray, as usual, but Remus kept his plants alive. Most of the ones on the sill were herbs that he cooked with, with one or two flowers mingled in. If he kept the window open all day during this time of year, butterflies would come to the flowers and find themselves fluttering around the kitchen until they could find the window again. Occasionally, they just make themselves at home.

Window plants watered, arms covered and no longer shivering, tea fully steeped and mixed with the right amount of milk and honey, Remus stood in front of the window again. He could hear his chickens clucking by the other side of the house, and the rustle of the trees, the faint hum of a tractor miles off as people started their day. Then, he heard the roar of a failing engine. Not long after that, he heard the harsh sounds of metal scraping and a yelp of surprise that soon turned into groans of pain.

Remus ran to the door, tripping over his discarded rainboots, then running his shin into a coffee table, then shouldering the wall before falling on his face after tripping on some more shoes. When he finally got to the door, the chickens were louder, and so was the groaning.

His driveway wasn’t too long, but it was still long enough and curved enough so that the house couldn’t be seen from the road. The gravel crunched under his feet, eyes surveying the weeds, hands warmed by the mug he had forgotten to put down and somehow, miraculously, had not dropped on his way out.

There was a lump that may have been a human body or may have been a Greek god that had fallen down to the earth. Besides this was a discarded and seriously fucked up motorbike. A few feet away was a duffel bag with its contents spilled out onto his driveway. Telling from the skid marks, Remus guessed that this Greek god had lost his footing, or maybe hadn’t seen a pothole, and veered into his driveway for somewhat of an easier crash than what would have been in the woods. The marks also told Remus that the driver was coming into town.

“Are you alright?” Remus tried, taking the groans as a sign of life and creeping closer to the body.

“Oh, fuck,” they groaned, “fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“Do you need help?” Remus knew it was a stupid question, one with the answer right in front of his face, as they began to writhe around the ground and get their wits about them.

Remus moved over to the scattered possessions, setting down his mug and gathering the various items back into the duffel. He ignored the magazine with David Bowie on the cover, ignored the criminally small shirt that had tears in the collar and Remus knew would make the Greek god look even more godlike, ignored the eyeliner pencil, and politely folded things when necessary before putting them away.

“Where the fuck am I?” the body had moved into a sitting position, feet on the ground and legs bent at the knees. There were rips in his black jeans, blood seeping into the denim, and a tattered hole in the sleeve of his leather jacket that also left red dripping onto the gravel. His face wasn’t too scuffed, just some road rash on his cheekbone and jaw. Greek god confirmed. Fallen from heaven, straight from Olympius, carved by the hands of Zeus himself.

He was strikingly pale, which made his eyes and hair striking as well. His eyes were a deep blue, blue like Remus’ lake, and his black hair was long and cut into a choppy sort of shag with lots of layers. He looked disheveled, obviously, because he was just in an awful motorbike accident, and Remus was staring at him.

“Just outside of Calholme,” Remus almost called him ‘sir’, despite the fact that he hadn’t called anyone but his teachers and his father 'sir’, and this boy was obviously close to Remus’ age. But the boy had a commanding presence, one that made people want to call him 'sir’, and tremble with nerves as they did so.

Shuffling a bit, still sat down, he surveyed the damage. No longer groaning nor writhing, he was somehow even more attractive. His brows were furrowed-in pain, concentration, just pure Greek god sternness? Remus could not tell- as he pulled at the new holes in his jeans. He didn’t wince, but he did scowl, and his fingertips ran through his blood for a moment before sighing. He twisted to look at his arm, and he winced then, but only because of his beloved jacket.

“Motherfucker,” he mumbled, taking care to slip off the arm of the jacket and pinch the torn edges together as if they would magically stitch together.

Remus realized he was still holding the boy’s duffel, so he dropped it gently on the gravel between them.

He cast his eyes up to look at Remus for the first time. “Thanks,” he said softly, pulling off his entire jacket now.

It was cold, and Remus was wrapped tightly in his cardigan, and this boy was bleeding, his motorbike dented and silent even though he had never taken the keys out of the ignition.

“Can you walk?” Remus asked, surprising himself with the nervous tremble in his voice. Remus didn’t talk much during the day, besides to his chickens and the lake and the flowers and the butterflies, and occasionally to the stray cat that would make the long trek from the neighboring properties. This boy was a little different than talking to those things.

He struggled to his feet, easing gently on his knees and not putting his scraped hands on the gravel. He bent his legs, only grimacing a little, and said, “Yeah.”

“Do you want to come inside? It’s warmer.”

The boy craned his neck, looking at the heavily forested area around him, his bike, and Remus. He looked at Remus a little longer than these other things and nodded briskly.

Remus grabbed his mug and turned to walk up the driveway, listening to the crunch of the boy’s footsteps behind him. They were strong and sure, despite the trail of blood he was leaving.

“This your house?” The boy said from a few paces behind Remus once they got close enough to see it. He sounded neutral, not apprehensive or suspicious of Remus, but not grateful or relieved. Remus found it a little unnerving, especially with his back to him. He shivered and turned to face him, nodding and opening the front door.

Dear Paw, 

Today I met my grandmother your mother. Uncle Reggie was there with me. He he held my hand protectively as we - her and me, I mean - stared at each other in recognition and contempt. Her icy glare made me feel so incredibly small. I could only think about the stories I’ve heard  behind closed doors, of the pain I always knew was hidden behind those gray eyes of yours. As we walked through that somber house you both escaped, uncle R told me everything. Not that he actually needed to; her disapproving gaze told me of every scar and every heartache you had to endure. 

I’ve been crying for hours now. I know you’re worried, you and daddy and uncle Reggie are. You’ve been knocking at my door all afternoon. You sound desperate, ashamed almost. You fought uncle, blamed him for making me sad, for opening “unnecessary scars”.

Daddy has spent two hours, twenty five minutes and twelve, thirteen, fourteen seconds trying to bribe me with chocolate. But, as perturbed as he might be, I know he gets it. He knows I understand you better now. He knows I’m crying because I love you so much, because I can’t imagine a time in which you were both so very miserable and yet it’s the only thing in my mind. He knows because he probably went through it as well. 

I know he knows, because my heart feels as broken as that time he allowed me to touch the scar on his forehead and I promised him I’d always have chocolate at hand. I thought foolishly back then that the extent of our family pain could be summarized by the word lycanthropy. 

Today I know better. I understand now that I am surrounded by people who have been deeply hurt. Instead of purposely hurting others, you’ve decided to smile at the world, to give back love, to find your own happiness. You’ve protected me and loved me instead. And, as I finish putting my thoughts and feeling in a semblance of order, I realize how lucky I am to have you, Paw. I am lucky to be surrounded by you and daddy and uncle Reggie and Andy. And I hope you’re okay. 

Well, I hope you know how proud I am you were created 

with the courage to unlearn all of their hatred 

God, I hope that you’re happier today 

‘Cause I love you, and I hope you’re okay. 

-(Y/N) Lupin - Black 

Remus, at Hogwarts graduation: I started Hogwarts with straight A’s

Remus: Now I’m not even straight