Every day Remus Lupin, the Ravenclaw prefect, and his Head Boy and Girl friends, Lily and James would sit on the West side of the Black Lake. They were one of the more well known groups, even though none of them were in the same house.
Sirius knew this because he sat on the East side of the lake, directly opposite.
He had done his fair amount of digging around the group, but his informants were rather restricted as all the other Slytherins believed he was a 'blood-traitor', and his only other friend was his little brother Regulus.
Regulus had been dating James Potter, the most popular Gryffindor besides Marlene Mckinnon, for about half a year, and Sirius was the main recipient for any talk about James. Regulus' friends didn't appreciate James talk as much as Sirius, mainly because they all had their own respective partners.
As far as Sirius had observed, Evan Rosier and Barty Crouch were very affectionate, and Regulus had complained to Sirius on multiple occasions about how they did his head in. Even from watching, Sirius agreed. Dorcas Meadowes was dating somebody, but Regulus' group kept that very under wraps, and even Sirius couldn't suss out who had won Dorcas' affections. Finally, there was Pandora, who was dating another Ravenclaw in her year named Sybil Trelawney. Sirius didn't know anything about her, apart from the fact that she was an overachieving seer who was best friends with Sirius' old roommate Peter Pettigrew.
Peter Pettigrew was... something. Sirius had barely spoken to him in the time that they had shared dorms, mainly due to Sirius' mother's belligerent brainwashing of how Sirius must not under any circumstances become friends with anybody of muggle descent. And of course, Pettigrew was a half-blood. But another thing about Peter was that he was an absolute gossip. Could not keep a secret for somebody's life.
Sirius slagged off some random group of Hufflepuff first years in a mumbled rage after a quidditch match? Peter had told somebody. Sirius had a small disagreement with his brother? Third Years were approaching him with condolences. Sirius wore the same socks two days in a row? Best believe the entire year already knew.
Back to the group, Sirius had never interacted with any of them.
Actually, scratch that. He had been partnered with Lily Evans in Third Year for a potions project, but Lily had just smiled at him and kept things strictly professional and they had barely spoken. And James had once given him an awkward thumbs-up after a Slytherin - Gryffindor quidditch match the Slytherins had won due to Sirius' ace chaser skills. But it may have just been an awkward thumbs-up as James was literally dating Sirius' brother, yet they had never spoken.
It didn't help that the other houses were terrified of him, and saw him as the exact son of his parents, and that his own house hated him because he had different views to the rest of them.
So, Sirius retired to be an observer rather than the observed.
He had noted that the strongest friendship in the year group was Mary Macdonald and Marlene Mckinnon, the two it girls of the Seventh year. He noticed that the most rickety friendship was the one of Peter Pettigrew and James Potter, who had been childhood friends, but had very unstable and volatile friendships on the rare occasion that they forgave each other and began talking again. He noticed the lingering looks Lily Evans left on Mary Macdonald, and the way Lily returned them in more private situations.
Regulus had laughed and called him a stalker, but Sirius didn't actually stalk anybody. He just noticed more.
Just like clockwork, Sirius sat on the East side of the lake with his notebook and sketched to himself. Just like clockwork, Lily, Remus, and James sat and ate lunch in the same spot on the West side of the lake. Just like clockwork, Regulus and his friends stayed close to Sirius and played catch, while Regulus and Pandora sat under the tree and gossiped together. Just like clockwork, Alice Fortescue and Narcissa Black, the training quidditch Professors, did laps around the sky to practice while laughing and making jokes.
But recently, Sirius had taken more notice of Remus Lupin. He was a quiet boy, despite being one of the more popular and well-liked people of the year group. But then again, it may have just been by association with James Potter.
Remus had scars. A lot of them.
He was bullied in First and Second Year for them by Sirius' dormmates, Snape and Wilkes, but by Third Year, everybody had gotten used to them. Plus - Sirius thought they made Remus look more unique and cute.
The thing strange about Remus' scars was that they multiplied every month. And he always disappeared. Sirius had a pounding suspicion that Remus just may have been a werewolf.
Sirius had figured it out around the end of Sixth Year, when Snape had been bragging to his friends about 'Lupin's howling' waking him up in the middle of the night. At first, Sirius had figured it was a type of inside joke that was too niche for Sirius to understand. But then Sirius had started paying more attention to Remus' behaviours and began to piece all the clues together. Who would've known that sweet, nerdy, cute Remus Lupin who lived in sweaters and libraries would have been a werewolf? Not Sirius.
At first, Sirius had been scared and apprehensive, mainly due to his absolutely, gobsmacking, prejudiced upbringing. But then he had studied the few werewolf positive books that were available in the Hogwarts library, and had come to accept Remus' furry persona. Of course, he wouldn't want the werewolf as a pet.
It was directly in between the full moon dates, and Remus had never looked healthier. He had a sort of golden glow to him that was emphasised by the sun and the yellow on the Hufflepuff scarf he had been using to support Lily as a seeker in her quidditch team earlier. He was grinning from ear to ear, and looked less like a grumpy grandpa and more like an actual teenager. Sirius felt the sudden urge to draw him.
So he did. The smile wrinkles on his face, the way his smile made his eyes slightly crinkle. The shimmer in his eyes when he laughed, and the slightly overgrown brown hair that moved with the wind. Remus was rather lovely, actually.
**
"And.." Professor Flitwick turned back to the class with a gleam in his eye, "Before you leave, I have a project for you. You will be put into partners, and you will have to co-create your own original spell applying the NEWT level Magical Theory you learned over this past year."
The class groaned, and Flitwick cleared his throat as he began to list off the pairs, "Mary Macdonald and Lily Evans, Amelia Bones and Emma Vanity, Dorcas Meadowes and Marlene Mckinnon, James Potter and Benjy Fenwick, and... Remus Lupin and Sirius Black! I think that's everyone!"
"Um, Sir, you forgot me," Xenophilius Lovegood put his hand up from the other side of the classroom.
"Ah, how could I forget! Er, Lovegood, you can be in a three with Potter and Fenwick. Sorted?" Flitwick said, and everybody left the classroom.
As Sirius began to walk away, nervous but also slightly nervous about being grouped with Remus, he felt someone grab his arm.
"Hey, Sirius, right?" Sirius turned around and almost jumped when he saw Remus Lupin smiling back at him. Now that they were side to side, Sirius noticed how tall Remus actually was. "I was thinking, for the assignment, would you want to meet in the library on Sunday?"
Sirius stared blankly at Remus, trying to figure out how to put two words together, "Er- Um- No, I mean yes. Yes! I'm free on Sunday. Every day except, er, Tuesdays and Thursdays because that's quidditch training. I'm sorry, is that okay?"
"Oh, that's great!" Remus smiled back, unphased by Sirius prominent nervousness, "I can't meet on Mondays and Fridays because of James and Lily's training, but I can do Wednesdays and the weekends. Is that alright?"
"Of course! I mean- Yes?" Sirius scratched the back of his head, "See you then!"
"Bye, Sirius," Remus said with an amused smile, "Have a good day! See you on Saturday!"
**
"I don't get why this is such a huge deal," Regulus rolled his eyes, playing with the snitch in his hands, "What's so special about Remus? I mean, he's a funny person, but I only think he's special because I'm good friends with him because of James."
"Nobody gets me!" Sirius complained, maybe a tad more dramatic than necessary, but whatever, "You don't understand how big this is!"
"Is this like, a reference to how you stare at him and his friends all day. At one point, I thought you were staring James down for dating me," Regulus said, smirking as he absentmindedly caressed the snitch, "Anyways, are you meeting him now?"
Sirius paused running his hands through his hair in the mirror to turn around and glare at Regulus, "No. I'm going to Azkaban. Yes, of course I'm going to meet him, Reg. Do I look okay?"
Regulus eyed Sirius up and down from his bed before finally responding, "Not bad, for you at least!"
"I know you love me really," Sirius rolled his eyes, "Okay, wish me luck!"
"Break a leg!" Regulus called after him.
Sirius hurried up the stairs from the Slytherin dungeon all the way to the library, going over what he was going to say. He took a deep breath as he reached the door, and pushed it open. There, sitting in a corner, was Remus, tapping his quill against his chin as he scribbled something down and went back to checking the textbook beside him.
"Hi, Remus," Sirius smiled awkwardly as he sat down, "How was your weekend?"
Remus gave Sirius a funny look, but smiled anyway, "Alright, considering it just started. How about you?"
"Aha," Sirius pulled out his quill and paper, "It's been okay, Regulus was making fun of me though."
Remus smiled, "You're Reg's brother! I forgot!"
Sirius rolled his eyes, fighting a smile, "Am I really that forgettable, Lupin?"
"That's not what I meant," Remus grinned, "Okay, okay, bonding aside, we need to focus. Any spell ideas?"
"Actually, yes!" Sirius beamed as he began flipping through his Magical Theory textbook, "Look here, I listed all the combinations we could use to make a spell to make an object have a luminous glow. It's like, a play on Lumos! Instead of lighting up a wand, it lights up an object."
Sirius watched as Remus' face furrowed in thought, "So 'Lumos' is light, so light up could be..."
"Wait, we could be like, 'Light It'," Sirius interjected, feeling pleased when Remus snapped his fingers and agreed, "So is that Present tense?"
"Yes," Remus replied, "So, O, S, T... The ending is 'T'. So... 'Lumot'?"
"Try it!" Sirius urged.
Remus pulled out his wand and cast the spell on his rubber, but to no avail. Sirius frowned and went back over his Latin verb endings in the Magical Theory textbook.
"Okay, maybe we can use the future case. 'Will light it'," Sirius told Remus, "Bo, Bis, Bit. Lumobit?"
Remus' face lit up, "Hey, that actually sounds right! 'Lumobit!'"
As Remus casted the spell, the rubber lit up with a warm, orange-y light and Remus and Sirius cheered. They gave each other a high-five, and Sirius barely had to overthink it as it felt so natural.
"Wait, can we make the light a different colour?" Remus suggested, tapping the rubber with his wand, "Or make it heat up, so it could be used as a light and a heater at the same time."
"Good idea, Remus! Let me search what warm is. It's... Calidum. So, 'Calidabit'?" Sirius suggested, while Remus tapped his chin and smiled slightly, "What?" Sirius asked.
Remus leaned a bit closer, "How are you so good at Latin?"
The atmosphere had shifted slightly, and the tension was palpable. Sirius gulped, "Must've learned a lot as a kid? You know, pureblood families and all that."
"You're not like the rest of them, are you?" Remus asked, his voice barely above a whisper, "I know that you know."
Sirius felt his heart drop, "What are you talking about?"
Remus eyed Sirius meaningfully, a desperate glint in his eyes, "You think you're the only one who pays attention, Sirius. I know Snape, I know you share a dorm with him. I saw you doing the research. I see the searching way you look at me, like you want everybody's secrets to devour."
"Er," Sirius shifted slightly. He pulled his collar. Was it getting hot in there?"
Remus patted Sirius' chest and sat back, "You're good though, you slink through the shadows. If I didn't go out of my way to look for you, I would never be able to find you."
What the heck was going on? Since when did Remus Lupin pay attention to Sirius?
"Come to the lantern festival tomorrow," Remus smiled as he got up, "It'd be better if you were there, can you come?"
"Um," Sirius swallowed with wide eyes, "Yes."
"Great!" Remus smiled, patting Sirius' shoulder as he left, "It's a date."
And then Remus left, leaving a very confused Sirius in his wake. A date!?
**
"A date?!" Dorcas exclaimed, her eyebrows shooting up, "You pull? What the hell!"
"Why is everybody surprised?" Sirius huffed, folding his arms, "Reggie, defend my honour."
Regulus just blinked slowly, "Um. Sorry to break it to you, Sirius, but you have not pulled once. Your gay awakening was that guy from the one book you read."
Sirius felt his cheeks redden at Barty and Evan's poorly hidden snickers, "It was a magazine! I don't crush on fictional characters!"
"Mmmh, sure Sirius," Dorcas narrowed her eyes.
"What would you do if Remus was a fictional character who jumped out of a book because you're a defect who escaped somehow? And he came to take you back? And this is all a plot?" Pandora asked, twirling her hair and staring into space, "No, like..." Her head suddenly swivelled around, her eyes wide, "What if that's like... actually true. Oh my god, Sirius, go back to your book!"
"If Sirius was a book, he'd be that one elephant." Barty instigated, "Elmer!"
Pandora and Evan lit up at the same time, and in unison responded, "The Patchwork elephant!"
"Oh-kay..." Sirius glanced at the three Sixth Years from the side of his eye, "Come on, Reg, let's meet Remus and James."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Regulus murmured light heartedly, "Bye guys! Dorcas, make sure they don't set anything on fire."
"Got it, boss," Dorcas saluted, "Have fun, pookie!"
Regulus rolled his eyes, and they left.
**
James met Regulus at the bottom of the bleachers, and they both left to do things that Sirius would not at all like to talk about.
So Sirius walked over to where Remus was carefully drawing intricate patterns on his lantern with a gold metallic pen.
"Hi, Remus," Sirius smiled from behind, "Your lantern looks nice!"
"Sirius!" Remus grinned, "You made it! Sit, sit. Here, I got you a lantern already."
Sirius took the lamp and pens that Remus was giving him, "Woah, thanks. What design are you doing?"
"Some design Lily drew out for me earlier, but she finally asked Mary on a date so now they're both gone. At least Marls can hang with her girlfriend, Dorc-" Remus was saying, before he cut himself off and covered his mouth.
"Dorcas?! And Marlene!?" Sirius exclaimed, "Merlin's beard!"
"Oh Merlin," Remus rubbed his temples, "Just don't tell anyone I told you and we'll be fine. Hey, hurry up, people are starting to finish!"
Sirius nodded and began sketching on his lantern. He drew the moon, the stars, and other planets all over the lantern with Remus' metallic silver pen. It suited his aesthetic anyway.
When he was done, Remus and Sirius both stood up and looked at one another. One by one, others began to lift their lit lanterns and share glances.
"Make a wish," Remus whispered to Sirius, "A nice one."
Sirius grinned and screwed his eyes shut, "I wish-"
"Don't tell me, stupid!" Remus reprimanded, "If you tell someone your wish, it won't come true. Come on, this is first basis."
Sirius rolled his eyes and screwed his eyes shut once again.
He made his wish, and let his lantern fly off into the air. He felt Remus move closer to him, and they sat next to each other, hands brushing.
"New moon," Remus was close enough for his breath on Sirius' skin to send chills down his spine.
Sirius had all the air knocked out of him, "Yeah," He managed, "It's always nicest when you can see the moon though. Not full though, I've always preferred a crescent."
Remus glanced sideways at Sirius and smiled softly, "I like you, a lot."
"I like you more," Sirius joked, before sighing and adding, "I do, really."
Remus' voice lowered even more, "Can I kiss you?"
"Yes," Sirius smiled.
**
[Bonus bit]
"Looks like we bagged ourselves the Black Brothers," James winked as they headed to Astronomy, "We definitely got lucky."
"You got lucky, James," Remus rolled his eyes, "I just used my usual charm. Hey, where's Lily?"
James laughed, "Probably making out with Mary, dude. Ugh, Peter's in this class, kill me now."
Remus cringed, "Remember when he told Lily about your crush on her in Second Year?"
"Don't remind me," James groaned, "Ugh, c'mon, Moony, time for class."