Behind the Broom Closet
It was a quiet evening in Hogwarts, the kind where the halls were almost empty and the usual noise of students talking and laughing seemed far away. Remus Lupin had just finished his last patrol around the castle for the night. His steps were slow as he made his way toward the Gryffindor common room, his mind still wrapped up in the books he had studied earlier in the library. The stress of school was always there, lingering in the back of his mind, but he had learned to carry it in silence.
That is, until a hand shot out from the shadows and grabbed his sleeve, tugging him sharply to the side.
“Moony,” a familiar voice whispered, full of mischief and excitement.
Remus turned quickly, his heart skipping a beat as his eyes met Sirius Black’s—eyes full of spark and mischief, lips twitching with the promise of trouble.
“Sirius, what are you doing?” Remus asked with a frown, though the corners of his mouth betrayed his growing amusement. He glanced down the hallway, half-expecting to see Filch or another prefect wandering by.
“You look like you could use a break,” Sirius said, his voice low and teasing as he pulled Remus further down the hall. “Come on. Trust me.”
Remus raised an eyebrow. “I should probably get to bed. I have an essay to finish.”
“Nope,” Sirius cut in, his grin widening. “Not tonight.”
Before Remus could protest further, Sirius had already turned down a narrow corridor, practically dragging him along with surprising strength. They passed a few familiar portraits, none of whom seemed to care about the two boys sneaking away. Finally, they stopped in front of an old, somewhat faded tapestry, one that had long since lost its original charm.
“What—” Remus started, but Sirius was already pulling the tapestry aside, revealing a narrow wooden door behind it. The door, old and unmarked, didn’t look like much, but the glint in Sirius’s eyes told Remus everything he needed to know.
“Trust me,” Sirius whispered again, before he pushed the door open, leading them both into a dimly lit space.
Remus stepped inside and blinked as his eyes adjusted to the low light. It was a broom closet. Small, cramped, and cluttered with mops, broomsticks, and old cleaning supplies. Not exactly the kind of place most students would think to hide, but that’s what made it perfect.
“This is your big plan?” Remus asked, his voice dripping with playful skepticism.
Sirius just smiled, closing the door behind them. “Trust me,” he repeated, quieter this time, his voice carrying a hint of something deeper, something that made Remus’s stomach flutter unexpectedly.
The closet was small—barely enough room for the two of them to stand without brushing against each other. Remus could feel the warmth of Sirius’s body so close to his, the slight pressure of their shoulders touching as Sirius nudged him back slightly to give himself more room. The small space seemed to shrink even further with the sudden, tangible tension between them.
“There’s something about this,” Sirius murmured, eyes gleaming as he glanced around. “It’s hidden, secret... no one would ever think to look in here.”
Remus tilted his head, still unsure but already intrigued. “I don’t know, it’s a bit... cramped, don’t you think?”
Sirius chuckled softly, stepping closer. “It’s perfect. Besides, no one’s going to find us here. Not in a thousand years.”
Remus could feel his pulse quicken as Sirius’s gaze softened, and for a brief moment, they simply stood there, face to face, the closeness almost dizzying. Remus swallowed and tried to steady his breathing, aware of how tight the air felt in such a confined space. “And what are we supposed to do now?” he asked, though his voice had an edge of curiosity, like he already knew the answer.
Sirius raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know... maybe we can start by doing this.”
Before Remus could react, Sirius was leaning in, his lips brushing Remus’s cheek in a swift kiss. It was fleeting—quick and teasing—but it left Remus breathless. His heart raced, and for a moment, he thought he might forget where they were, forget the whole world outside the broom closet.
Sirius pulled back, grinning widely. “Did you expect that?”
Remus blinked, his breath coming in shallow bursts. He’d never quite expected this, but the way Sirius looked at him—so full of confidence, so full of warmth—left Remus unable to speak. Instead, he reached out, cupping Sirius’s jaw with one hand, his thumb brushing the soft skin there.
“You’re impossible,” Remus whispered, though the words lacked any real bite. The way Sirius made him feel—like he was the center of Sirius’s world in that moment—was impossible to resist.
Sirius’s smile softened, and for a split second, he looked almost shy. “Only for you, Moony.”
Remus didn’t give him time to finish the thought. He leaned in quickly, pressing his lips to Sirius’s in a kiss that was slow, deliberate, and full of something unspoken between them. The taste of Sirius’s lips, the feel of his hand moving to rest on the small of Remus’s back, pulling him closer—it was all dizzying. The world outside the broom closet seemed so far away, so insignificant.
When they finally broke apart, their foreheads pressed together in the quiet, dim space. “This is insane,” Remus murmured, his voice breathless.
Sirius laughed softly, but it wasn’t the usual teasing laugh. This one was quieter, more sincere. “You like it.”
Remus smiled, pressing a small kiss to Sirius’s lips in return. “Maybe I do,” he admitted, and he didn’t need to explain further. Sirius understood. There was something intoxicating about these moments, these quiet, secret kisses in hidden corners of Hogwarts. Something thrilling about the way they had to sneak around, away from the prying eyes of their friends and professors. It was the kind of excitement that Remus didn’t know he’d been missing.
After a moment of silence, Sirius pulled away just slightly, leaning back against one of the shelves with a relaxed grin on his face. “You know, I could get used to this. Just us, here, hidden away.”
Remus’s lips twitched with the beginnings of a smile. “You mean sneaking around like this?”
“Exactly,” Sirius said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Just the two of us, and no one else.”
There was something in the way Sirius said it, something that made Remus’s chest tighten in the best way. He couldn’t explain why the secrecy made it all feel even more intense, but it did. It made him feel as though they were living in a world all their own.
“I think I could get used to it too,” Remus whispered, his voice barely above a breath.
Sirius smiled, a soft, genuine smile, and for a moment, there was no teasing, no joking. It was just the two of them, sharing something private and special in the dim light of the broom closet.
As they stood there, hidden from the rest of the world, Remus realized that even though they couldn’t tell anyone about this, even though they had to keep it a secret, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that, in that moment, in that small, forgotten corner of Hogwarts, they had each other.