One
“This is getting out of hand,” James said as he turned to look at what his best friend was, for lack of better words, dreamily staring at.
“What? I’m literally not doing anything,” Sirius said.
“That’s exactly the problem, Pads. You’re not doing anything and it’s getting out of hand.” James gave his friend an exasperated look and took another sip of his drink, “Just go over there and say something.”
“What are we talking about?” Marlene interjected as she brought a couple of empty trays over, “Goodness Sirius, are you still staring? Just fucking do something.”
Sirius just rolled his eyes, “You guys know the golden rule: Never cross the bar. It’s simple. Easy. Keeps you out of trouble. One simply does not break the golden rule. You don’t mess with the system, man.”
The golden rule is what Sirius came up with three weeks into his bartending career. It was a busy night at the bar and a couple started fighting by the corner booth. Sirius thought the responsible thing to do was to go out there and either reason with them or kick them out. However, the minute he got there, he was mistaken for one of their exes. Needless to say, three stitches and a pain killer high later, the golden rule was born. Unless it’s after closing time, Sirius must remain behind the bar at all costs.
“The golden rule is literally the dumbest thing you’ve come up with. It’s even dumber than the nickname you gave me in freshman year of high school.” James said, “What the fuck is a Prongs?”
“Shut up, it’s a great nickname, it fits your aura. Anyways, it’s just a flickering lamp, I’ll change it after closing.” Sirius said dismissively.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, you know damn well we’re not talking about the lamp. Marlene can change that for you right now. You know what Marlene can’t do though? Talk to the cute guy for you.”
“That’s true,” Marlene said, “I mean I can, obviously, because I have the guts to do it and all. But as a devout lesbian, I’m going to pass on this one. Although I do strongly recommend you do it already, rip the band-aid off, get the guy or whatever.”
The guy in question, who remains nameless to all of them, has been coming to the bar consistently for the past couple of weeks. He comes in at six on the dot, sits in the corner booth, orders a scotch, neat, pulls out his laptop, and just stares at it until closing time. He then packs up and leaves, and repeats the same thing over again the next day. Sirius definitely hasn’t been staring at him consistently for the past two weeks, he had a job, after all, drinks to pour and a bar to tend and all of that. He was not just using up every free minute he got to stare at corner booth guy. He didn’t spend time in his head making up backstories for him. He didn’t assume he was some sort of spy. Or he was plotting a murder. Or he was just playing out a mysterious guy in a bar fantasy. Or, or, or. He didn’t do that. He also didn’t creep the guy out by staring too much, at least he hopes not.
“I think you’re both making a big deal out of this whole thing. This is just harmless admiration. I’m entertaining a crush. For all we know, the guy could be a serial killer, or worse, a straight man. Better safe than sorry, you know.” Sirius said as he polished the glass in his hand for the hundredth time in the last ten minutes.
“There’s literally no way in hell this man is straight,” Marlene said and James nodded along. “You own a queer bar, Sirius, in case you forgot about that.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean- “
“Whatever you’re about to say, no. Just no. You have like 10 different pride flags outside, one of which is bright, neon, and bold, not to mention it’s smack next to the name. So no, Sirius, he is not straight. No person who ever walked in here is straight, let alone a regular who’s been coming back for weeks. You’re just making excuses not to talk to him and blaming it on lame things like the fucking golden rule.” James gave Marlene a two-finger salute as she finished going off on Sirius.
Sirius just flipped her off. There was a teeny tiny chance his friends were right. There was an even teenier tinier chance he would never admit that. So, he figured the only mature ending to this conversation was flipping them off. The golden rule has worked for Sirius for as long as he can remember, he’s not about to break that streak for some guy. A really pretty guy. An absolutely gorgeous curly-haired dream. Nope, he wasn’t going to let his mind wander. Or his eyes for that matter. Sighing, Sirius finally looked away and went back to work. Comfortably. Safely. Behind the bar.
___________________
“Evening everyone,” Marlene said, chipper as ever, “Is today the day Sirius finally talks to corner booth guy?”
“No.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Highly unlikely.”
“I’d give up my firstborn to see that.”
Sirius just rolled his eyes as he continued working behind the bar. The confidence his “friends” had in him was admirable really. Marlene, James, Peter, Dorcas, and Mary have all been taking turns telling Sirius to just get it over with; cross the bar, talk to the guy, and see how it goes. Mary even suggested doing it for him, just get the guy’s number. Peter also proposed the idea of faking a reason to get the guy to the bar so Sirius doesn’t break his precious golden rule. Marlene and James were too busy making bets about the whole thing. And Dorcas was just Dorcas, silently observing and watching the whole thing unfold before their eyes.
“I’m glad you all find this entertaining. I’ve always taken pride in the theatrics; it appears they’re finally paying off.” Sirius said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. He turned to sneak a glimpse at corner booth guy only to find him not alone today. He had someone with him. A girl. “Oh my god, I knew it. He has a girlfriend. See? Better safe than sorry indeed. The golden rule saves the day once again.”
“How very mature, absolutely reasonable, and utterly heteronormative of you to just assume that’s his girlfriend. Do you think people assume we’re dating when we hang out alone?” Mary asked as she twirled her drink.
“She’s got a point,” Dorcas said, “I’ve been trying to remain quiet about this whole thing but the number of excuses you keep coming up with is getting a bit too much. James? Thoughts?”
James, who was too busy staring at corner booth guy’s girlfriend, looked up in confusion, “I’m sorry, what? I wasn’t listening.”
“God, if you also develop a staring habit, I might report the two of you myself, maybe that will work,” Peter said.
“First of all, I am not staring,” James said, “And second of all, I am simply just admiring, you know, as I do, and not because I think she’s one of the most beautiful humans to ever exist and really hope she’s not dating him because with the rate Sirius’ staring is going at, we’ll never get a chance to ever be this cool person’s friend, but because I do not jump to conclusions and also because she’s extremely gorgeo- oh my god, she’s coming over, everybody act normal.”
“Hi,” Corner booth guy’s potential girlfriend, Sirius was trying to be optimistic, said. “Can I get a vodka soda please?” She asked, “Oh, and a scotch neat for my friend.”
Sirius tried his best to ignore the flutter he felt at the word friend. This changes absolutely nothing. Everything stays the same. The golden rule is still intact. Yes. Perfect. Absolutely golden.
“Sure thing, coming right up.” He said, trying his best not to let any of his emotions show. Judging by the looks on his friends’ faces, however, he was absolutely certain he failed. He received a smirk from Marlene, a wink from Mary, and a literal thumbs-up from Dorcas. Absolute failure. He turned to look back at corner booth guy’s friend’s face. She was gorgeous. James did have every right to stare. A tall redhead with sharp green eyes, a determined posture, and a fierce feel about her. Sirius pretended not to notice Mary, who was very subtly staring, though he must admit, if anyone was to have a chance with corner booth guy’s objectively hot friend, it was Mary. Sirius was suddenly even more glad that she wasn’t corner booth guy’s girlfriend, she would’ve been hard to compete with. Not that he wanted to compete with her. Not that he was glad in the first place. Not that anything is about to change. Golden.
James cleared his throat, thankfully providing a distraction for Sirius and all his friends who were still oddly staring at him. He turned to corner booth guy’s friend, or redhead, “Hi, I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, is this your first time here?”
“Do you make a habit of surveying the bar for new faces every day?” Redhead asked, without looking up from her phone. That earned her a chuckle from Peter, which he disguised as a cough, an even more interested look from Mary, and a not-so-subtle snicker from Marlene. She looked up from her phone just as Sirius set her drinks on the bar, “Thank you,” She said as she picked them up, “They’re on him, the broody guy in the corner booth. He stays until closing or something, I honestly don’t know what he likes about this place that he spends that much time here, no offence of course.”
“None taken,” Sirius said.
“Anyways, put them on his tab or whatever. I don’t know how it goes around here.” She gave him a nod and went back to the table, not even sparing James a single glance.
“That was so fucking cool,” James said as he stared after her.
“Dude, she literally just ignored you?” Peter said, to which James shushed him and continued dreamily staring into the distance.
“So cool,” He repeated.
A hopeless case, Sirius thought. He risked another glimpse at corner booth guy and redhead and sighed. Maybe his friends were right. Maybe this was getting out of hand. Maybe he needed to snap out of this and act as the professional bartender and owner he was. Maybe that’s the right thing to do, you know, actually do his job instead of staring at heartbreakingly hot and mysterious customers.
“So,” Marlene said after a long silence, “Not today then,”
“Definitely not today,”
“Oh, fuck no.”
___________________
Sirius Black was an attractive man. This was something he knew, and occasionally had the decency to admit. It wasn’t lost on him that most of the regulars at his bar were there for him. It also wasn’t lost on him that he did have a reputation for sleeping around, hence why those people were here, to begin with. What was lost on him, however, was if this was the case with corner booth guy. And if so, why wasn’t Sirius pursuing him? Was it actually the golden rule? Like, hypothetically, if corner booth guy were to become bar guy, and sit here in front of Sirius all day while doing whatever on his laptop, would things be different then? Would Sirius have the guts to talk to him then? Golden rule still sacred and intact and all? Sirius did not have an answer for that, and that was the whole problem apparently.
“Morning,” Sirius said to Marlene, who was waiting for him on the sidewalk to open up the bar for the day.
Sirius opened Black’s about three years ago. He had just graduated college with absolutely no idea what to do next and a huge sum of money he’d inherited from his dead uncle that he wanted to put to good use. Having grown up in a rather homophobic and non-accepting family, Sirius longed for safety, for community, for a home. So, he built his own. He vowed to himself one day in his room after a rather bigotedly heated argument with his parents, that he’d do his best to make sure queer kids don’t feel the way he did at this moment, or in every moment around his family with their perfect little life and their pristinely put-together act in the pretentiously luxurious home. And that’s how he birthed Black’s. Naming it so to forever cement his family's name in a queer space, to make their worst nightmare a reality by having their pure and prestigious name be tied to queerness, it was beautifully vengeful, totally Sirius's brand. He had no experience running a bar, though, or even bartending, but his friends helped.
Sirius’ friends were quite possibly the best thing to ever happen to him. He met James and Peter in high school and they immediately clicked. James more so than Peter, with the former being witness to Sirius’ fights with his family, and with James’ family basically taking Sirius in whenever he needed to escape and on every single holiday. Hell, they were his family too at this point. He met Mary and Marlene in college, they shared a few classes together, and Marlene had introduced him to Dorcas, they’ve been dating ever since. And so, his little chosen family came to life; they were his support system, the ones who brought him out of his shell, who helped him grow out of everything that had been thrown his way as a kid and fully grow into himself, to accept and love the person he was in the same way they did. Sirius was eternally grateful.
Marlene was the first one on board with his bar idea. She related to the struggle of wanting a community, of craving a home. So, she became the first member of his team. She had little experience bartending in college and helped both of them find their footing when they first opened. He considered her his business partner without all the formalities. She was the bartender who actually occasionally crossed the bar for one, that had to count for something.
As Sirius set his tote bag next to Marlene so he could open the bar of the day, he heard Marlene give a low whistle and felt her give him a nudge. He turned to look at what his friend was staring at, and it was none other than corner booth guy. He was waiting to cross the street from the other side, obviously waiting for them to open so he could come over. Sirius struggled with the lock, he really wanted to get it open before the other guy got here. The thought of talking to him terrified Sirius, especially this early in the day.
“Hey,” Marlene said as corner booth guy finally made it to the other side, Sirius still struggling with the lock because of course he was today out of all days. “Corner booth guy, are you here early, or are we here late?”
“Corner booth guy?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, and Sirius was fucked. He was fucked because corner booth was there, in very close proximity to him. He was fucked because his voice was even hotter than he expected. He was fucked because he would probably be dragged into a conversation with the hot mystery man if he doesn’t get this lock open soon. He was mainly fucked, however, because he made the mistake of turning around as the man spoke; the man who was significantly hotter than the dim bar lights and the insistent squinting Sirius had to do made him out to be. God, what an absolutely gorgeous human being.
“Oh, sorry,” Marlene laughed, “You come here almost every day and you always seem too busy for me to interrupt and ask for your name, so you’re corner booth guy to us.”
“Well, bartender who actually comes over to take my order – which is the reason I keep coming back honestly, how many bars do you know where you don’t have to get up and grab your drinks,” He said, extending a hand, “I’m Remus.”
She shook his hand with a small smirk playing on her lips, surely directed at Sirius. “Nice to formally meet you, Remus, I’m Marlene,” She turned to face Sirius, “and this is Sirius, he’s the other bartender, also the owner of this place, which might be hard to believe considering how much he’s struggling with the lock right now. Here, let me,” She took the key from Sirius and lightly nudged him to go talk to corner booth guy, well, Remus apparently. Sirius’ brain has been short-circuiting since the man spoke so he hasn’t quite processed most of the things that have been said yet.
Sirius allowed himself to actually look at the other man, who was tall, taller than Sirius would admit to his friends when he retold this interaction later today. He was dressed in an oversized black knit sweater, black jeans, and black Doc Martens. He had a tote bag on one shoulder, a laptop in a hand, and a pack of cigarettes and a lighter that he had just taken out of his bag in the other. Sirius looked up – he both hated and loved that he had to look up at the man’s face; he had light scarring on his face, hazel-green eyes that he couldn’t risk staring at too much or he’ll even be more fucked, and absolutely gorgeous curly hair.
Sirius was suddenly aware of the situation and his surroundings, too aware. He cleared his throat and hoped this whole checking the hot guy out had taken longer in his mind than it actually did in real life. “Hi,” He nodded at the man, seeing as both of his hands were occupied now, “Sorry for the holdup, the lock was giving me quite a hard time today.” He said right as Marlene got the lock open in literally a couple of turns, “Apparently it was hate-criming just me today,” He felt his cheeks warm up and steered to look at Marlene instead and helped her get the door open.
“Happens to the best of us, mate,” The other man offered with a smile. Fucked. Sirius was fucked.
They continued inside, turning on the lights, flipping the signs, and turning the chairs. Corner booth guy - Remus followed closely behind, waiting for them to be done so he could take his usual seat. Surprisingly though, Remus followed Sirius up to the bar. Sirius could feel his eyes on him as he made his way behind the bar and got settled, grabbing a cleaning rag to wipe the bar down. Remus took a seat across from Sirius, propped his bag and laptop on the stool next to him, and looked up at Sirius.
Sirius Black was a flirt. Everyone knew that. He was notoriously known for it. This is exactly why his behaviour around corner booth guy – god, Remus, was heavily criticized by his friends. Because it wasn’t him. Because he was flustered. Speechless. All red cheeks and tongue-tied. Sirius had a feeling, though. A tiny little voice that told him that if he flirted with the beautiful man sitting across from him, he’d be done for. It wouldn’t be a one-and-done or a get-it-out-of-your-system one-night stand. Sirius knew it in his bones that if he were to flirt with the man across from him right now, he’d be utterly and completely fucked.
Living the way Sirius did has taught him to keep his guard up, to protect his heart. And he knew, he was absolutely certain, that Remus was the kind of man you don’t come back from. The kind of man that you don’t just flirt with. The kind of man you fall for. And Sirius was terrified as shit of that concept. He was terrified as shit of rawness and vulnerability. But that man across from him? This was a knit you a sweater, hold your hand while you’re getting a tattoo, make you pancakes for dinner kind of person. And Sirius longed for that. But he also feared it so much it ate him alive.
“Changing it up today?” Sirius said finally, nodding in the direction of the corner booth.
“I needed a change of scenery, you know. I like the view better from here anyways,” Remus said casually. Fucked. He was fucked. Sirius felt himself blush. Fucked.
“Flirting your way into a free drink I see,” Sirius said, trying his best to channel smooth Sirius and pull him from the depth of his overworked brain.
“Is it working?” Remus asked, leaning forward, with his chin resting on his hand, looking dreamily at Sirius. For fuck’s sake.
“Could use a bit of polishing,” Sirius shrugged, attempting to play it cool. “I will give you one anyways, for effort and all.” He grabbed a bottle of Scotch and poured Remus a glass to which Remus raised an eyebrow. “You’re a regular, mate, you have the same drink every day, have a little faith in the service, I mean why else would you keep coming back?”
“I don’t know, I’d argue the view is pretty spectacular as well,” He said, taking a sip from his drink and looking directly at Sirius, a little smirk playing on his lips. Sirius hoped the shitty lighting at his bar was covering his ass right now because with his pale complexion, he was surely bright red by now. “Cheers, mate.” Remus finished his drink, set the glass down, and picked up his things, “It’s about time I resume my corner booth guy duties,” He nodded towards his regular spot, “Guess I’ll be seeing you around, Sirius.”
Sirius barely managed a wave in response. He could feel Marlene giving him an amused look. He just glared at her, or attempted to, or thought he did. He was far too gone to comprehend anything at this moment. He’s pretty sure he wiped the counter 6 times already.
There is this moment when your mind first registers that you’re having a crush on someone, or that you find them more than just attractive when you’re actually interested in them. At this moment, you just tend to freeze, it’s not even fight or flight, it’s just elevator music on a loop in your head. Sirius was done saying he was fucked. But god, he was absolutely fucked.
He barely knew anything about corner booth guy -fuck, Remus-, and he was already spiralling. He needed grounding. He needed to go find someone to make out with in the dingy bathroom of his bar or someone to take home, or, or, or. He needed to get his mojo back, whatever it took, Proud and flirty Sirius Black did not falter or do pathetic things like stumble over his words and blush in the presence of incredibly hot, hauntingly beautiful men, no he absolutely did not do that. He flirted with them, he charmed them, he took them home, and came back to repeat the process, because he can, because he is good at it. Or was? Was he good at it? Is he losing his charm?
Ugh.
Fucked.
Someone took a seat at the bar and Sirius ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation, today was already long enough and it hadn’t even been an hour. He looked up to greet the new customer and was met by Regulus’ smirking face, with his chin resting on his hands and a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
That’s another thing Sirius has besides his friends, he has a Regulus. Well, he is trying to have a Regulus. Trauma is a tricky thing, it either bonds you for life or tears you apart. Or in the case of the Black brothers, it leaves you in a fractured in-between. On good days, this in-between is bordering on tolerance and acceptance, on bad days, however, best not to leave the siblings alone. What always remains on all days though, is the love. No matter what their faces, actions, and even words convey, or how much they try to convince themselves and the people around them, the love always remains. Growing up in an abusive household definitely has its effects on people, Sirius and Regulus are no exception, though they try.
Today seemed to be a good day if the look on Regulus’ face is any indication. “James told you, didn’t he?” Sirius asked.
“Oh, whatever it is you mean, brother? What does James have to tell me?” Regulus feigned innocence as he motioned for Sirius to pour him his usual drink.
“Ughhhhhh, are you going to make me say it? Because I’ll have you know, Reggie, I would rather die than speak of this again,” He set Regulus’ drink in front of him, “But also please ask me because I would die if I don’t know what to do about this.”
“Always so dramatic, glad I escaped that gene,” Sirius snorted, obviously disagreeing, because if anything, Regulus was equally as dramatic, just in a broodier, quieter way. Okay maybe not equally, like a tad less than Sirius, just a wee bit. Regulus just gave him a pointed glare. “So, which direction should I be looking?”
Sirius just stayed silent as Regulus’ eyes roamed around the bar. He could tell the exact moment he landed on co-Remus, because his smirk grew even bigger, which Sirius didn’t even think was possible, “James’ description did not do this man any justice, honestly,” He turned to look at Sirius, “Oh you’re fucked, aren’t you?”
“You know what? I miss when we were the kind of siblings who didn’t discuss shit. I’d like to go back to that now.” He pouted. Like an actual pout. Regulus ignored him, “Plus, obviously James’ description is flawed, he was too busy gawking at the guy’s friend.”
“The pretty redhead? Yes, he spoke her praises all night, it didn’t help that she was mean to him, you know what that does to him,” Regulus said casually to which Sirius just scrunched up his nose.
“I don’t get how you’re so casual about this,” He says as he tended to another customer at the bar.
Regulus waited for Sirius to pour the drink, using the time to stare at Remus again. Sirius could tell his brother finds Remus attractive as well, which was not a surprise since all of his friends had already agreed on that. It seemed to be the only thing they all agreed about in a long time, well aside from bullying Sirius to eternity, but he was not in on that one so it didn't count. “Casual about what?” Regulus asked once Sirius was done, “I don’t mind that my boyfriend is passionate about people, specifically mean ones, I mean if you hadn’t called dibs on the broodingly mysterious guy in the corner booth, I would’ve sung his praises to James, he would get it.”
“First of all, I did not call dibs-“
“Really? So you wouldn’t mind if I just went up to talk to him? Say, what’s his favourite drink? Should I bring one over with me? Would that increase my chances? Do you-“
“Okay, okay,“ Sirius interrupted, “So maybe I did call dibs on broodingly mysterious and hauntingly beautiful corner booth guy, but I will not be using my dibs. They are still in place though, just unused. For the moment. Or forever. The jury is still out”
“You’re ridiculous,” Regulus said with a shake of his head, “But, I get it. You don’t survive our gracious childhood and go on to have healthy relationships with beautiful guys in dingy bars.”
“You did,” Sirius said, looking at his brother. He would never admit it -except, maybe, when he’s extremely drunk-, but he was so very proud of Regulus. He might have pretended to give both him and James shit for literally ignoring the whole wide sea of possible people to be with and instead opting for each other. In reality, though, Sirius was so relieved they found each other. Regulus had been through a lot, and Sirius could not think of anyone better to stand by him as he slowly recovered except for his best friend. His brother’s broodiness with James’ literal sunshine vibe did surprisingly work very well together. And if Sirius noticed his brother crack a smile or get a little soft when James was around, he didn't comment. And if Sirius noticed his best friend literally beaming, about-to-explode beaming, at the mere mention of Regulus, he just smiled to himself.
So, yes, Sirius pretended to gag and cringe and shudder at the idea of James and Regulus, but he was eternally grateful for it. Sometimes a little envious, because well, how can he not be? But mostly, like maybe 90% of the time, okay maybe 80%, a solid 75% of the time, he was just happy for them.
“Yeah, well you can blame James,” Regulus said, the blush on his face not so faint, “Anyways, I’d tell you to go talk to him, but I bet literally everyone did that already, so I’ll allow you to whine about it for a bit. Not that you won’t anyways with your dramatic ass, but at least it will be consensual this time. As consensual as it gets honestly, don’t be offended if I get up and leave at some point. Or do. I don’t care.”
Sirius absolutely beamed at this before going on about losing his mojo and how this one gorgeously mysterious guy might cost him his badass reputation because he was just over here embarrassingly staring at him, which would obviously steer away potential partners, and he can’t let that happen, but also can’t stop staring at the hot guy, and did Regulus see his dilemma? Regulus barely responded, honestly. However, he nodded and rolled his eyes and gave Sirius looks that clearly expressed his dismay with the situation. Which, for Regulus, said a lot. Sirius was grateful he didn’t actually get up and leave because he absolutely would.
“And it’s just so frustrating, Reggie, because like what if this is it for me? What if you just get a certain quota of charm for your entire life and I blew it all away by 25, isn’t that just miserable?” Sirius asked dramatically.
Regulus, who was mid-eye roll and just about to respond to his brother, probably to tell him to fuck off or that he’s being an utter git right now, was rudely interrupted by James coming in. “Oh, thank god,” Regulus looked at James helplessly. “Save me.”
“Oh, hello there, love,” James said with the brightest smile, the Regulus smile, Sirius has dubbed it. The thing about Sirius is, his friends think his ego is too big for him to notice the small things about them, which is not entirely false, however, he did keep track of certain things. He noticed how Marlene recited the lyrics to She Is Love under her breath when she was anxious. He saw how Mary always carried granola bars in her bag for when Dorcas forgot to eat. He knew that Peter wouldn’t ask for tea unless he was upset, and that was usually Sirius’ cue to be a good friend.
And he noticed James and Regulus. He knew Regulus was not the touchiest person, the furthest from it, really, and how James would shower the people he loved with physical affection all the time. This made the first time Sirius caught on to their song and dance all the more special. He saw it now, just the way he did a few months back. James comes in, the Regulus smile on his face, and taps his boyfriend gently on the shoulder, to which Regulus nods with a barely noticeable curl to his lips, and that’s when James kisses him, hugs him, or holds his hand. The tap-and-nod, another thing Sirius named, has been how they communicated consent for a while now, and it felt incredibly intimate and so very private that Sirius felt like an intruder every time he noticed it, so he hid his smile, and looked away when James leaned down to press a kiss to the top of Regulus’ head.
“Sirius, have you been biting my boyfriend’s ear off with your lack of mojo or whatever?” James asked as he took a seat next to Regulus and nodded toward corner booth guy. “I thought you talked to him? At least that’s what Marlene said in her text.”
“His name is Remus, James, Remus,” Sirius stared dreamily. “Even the name is just,” He didn't really finish, he just kept staring.
James shakes his head and mutters, “Hopeless case”.