It was a calm, blue-skied April day. The grass was a deep shade of green, and was only interrupted here and there by a few daisies and dandelions. The lake glistened in the afternoon sun, a few ripples here and there coming from an unknown source. To the fifth years, O.W.L.s seemed a long way off, so most of them were either visiting Hogsmeade, or merely roaming the castle and meeting up with friends.
One of the few exceptions was Remus Lupin, who was lounging underneath one of the oak trees out in the grounds. He was one of the few fifth years who had actually started to consider the exams, so here he was, reading a battered-looking book out in the sunshine, while the majority of his fellow students were having ‘fun’. Not that he felt in anyway left out; to him the whole purpose of spring was to spend lazy weekend afternoons reading. Though his thoughts were mostly with his book, Remus occasionally glanced up from the thin pages to scan the grounds with his sea-blue eyes for any signs of his friends. These were of course, James Potter and Sirius Black. There was also meek little Peter Pettigrew, who was often seen tagging along with the other two, but Remus tried to distance himself from Peter these days “ the kid gave him the creeps.
Time passed peacefully this way, and the only movements Remus noticed was that of another Gryffindor fifth-year, who went by the name of Lily Evans. She too had chosen to use the rare moment of sunshine out in the grounds studying. Then, almost to Remus’ despair, out came Sirius Black. A broad grin on his face, his dark, shaggy hair hanging loose over his shoulders. Remus forced a small smile to form o his pale lips as the Animagus neared him “ he wasn’t in the mood for an overly-cheerfully Sirius right now. Sirius had obviously spotted Remus too, as he was heading straight for the werewolf.
“Oi, Moony!” Sirius called as he approached.
“Afternoon Padders,” Remus answered feebly. Sirius collapsed onto the grass beside Remus, choosing to lie on his back with his grey eyes closed, those eyes that most girls at the school would gladly gaze into for the rest of their lives.
“Try to be a little more cheerful Remmy!” Sirius laughed in his doglike way, though by now he was used to Remus’ odd moods, even if they seemed exceedingly strange to him. “Why are you reading on a nice day like this anyway?” he added. In one swift movement, he’d grabbed the old book out of Remus’ pale hands, and was flicking through the battered pages nonchalantly.
”It’s Defence stuff,” Remus said quietly, answering Sirius’ silent question. He sighed a little, now completely resigned to Sirius’ antics.
“So very interesting Remmy,” Sirius said sarcastically, while handing the book back to Remus who gladly snatched it back, stowing it safely away in his pocket.
”It might be useful one of these days,” Remus said thoughtfully, his pale face expressionless. Sirius nodded in response, and sat up quickly. He glanced around the grounds before his eyes rested on Lily, and a small grin crept across his face.
”You mean against people like her?” he asked Remus, jerking his head in Lily’s direction.
A little grin played over Remus’ face as he replied quietly,
“Oh yes, definitely against people like her,” Remus replied quietly, chuckling a little to himself.
“Sirius Black I heard that!” yelled the famous Lily Evans, emerald eyes narrowed and brow knitted.
”How does she do that?” Sirius muttered angrily to Remus.
”Leave me alone Evans,” Sirius called back casually. “All I’m doing is having a mature conversation with my boyfriend,” he continued, but paused as he realized what he’d said. His cold eyes grew wide and his normally pale cheeks turned scarlet.
“I meant my boy friend, as in a male who is my friend,” he added desperately, trying to save the situation. Lily merely laughed in reply, a wide grin spread across her freckled cheeks. “Ok, I’ll just leave you and your boyfriend alone then shall I?” she shouted to Sirius, a bit too loudly for his liking. Sirius turned to face Remus, his cheeks still rosy red.
“She’ll never let me live that down,” he groaned quietly. Remus smiled a little and replied casually, “Forget it, you didn’t mean it.” And with that, he took out his old book again, resuming his reading. Sirius sighed inwardly, gazing at his silent, reading friend. “If only you knew,” he thought to himself. He lowered his head to stare blankly at the grass, observing every blade as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
“So do you think Evans will ever give in to James?” he asked cautiously, making sure that Lily couldn’t hear him. Remus grinned a little, and shook his head.
“If they ever get together, I will eat my socks,” he said, still staring down at the pages of his book. “With maple syrup,” he finished with a decisive nod. Sirius chuckled to himself at that before answering,
“Well get your socks ready, I’m sure he’ll do it one day.”
Sirius looked up from the floor and discreetly watched Remus. Grey eyes studied everything on the other boy's face in a way they never had - or rather, took the time to - before. His gaze shifted from the faint outline of a scar that marked that cheek, to those eyes that glistened with a sadness that made his own heart sink, to the shadows of the flames that danced along the soft, pale flesh of that face. Aside from their gentle, almost inaudible breaths, all that filled Sirius' awed silence was the faint rustle every few minutes as Remus turned the pages of his seemingly never-ending book.
Remus shrugged, looking up so his blue eyes met Sirius’ grey ones. He was a little surprised at this, but otherwise ignored it for now.
”I sometimes wonder if its your fault that they don’t get together,” he said thoughtfully, choosing his words carefully. Sirius raised his eyebrows, surprised and a little hurt at Remus’ comment.
“Way to shoot a man down Moony,” he said quietly, looking down at the ground. “Are you trying to suggest something?” he added fiercely, quickly standing up with his hands placed firmly on his hips. Remus shook his head quickly, causing a lock of mouse-brown hair to fall into his eyes. He impatiently brushed it away with a quick swish of his pale hand. Just those two movements caused Sirius’ anger to abate, caused his knees to go weak.
”I’m only saying that maybe Evans doesn’t want to go out with James because it would mean spending more time with you. I think you annoy her even more than James does,” Remus replied earnestly, waiting for the volcano to erupt. Sirius’ glare morphed into a grin, as he sat down again.
“Never mind,” he said quietly, ruffling Remus’ hair. Remus glanced sideways at Sirius, not sure what to think of that. That was the problem with Sirius, you could never tell if he was being serious or not. At least, Remus couldn’t. As the two boys’ eyes met for the second time that afternoon, Remus smiled a little. Deciding that maybe Sirius maybe wasn’t that bad, he offered a small smile before turning his gaze back to the book. Sirius sighed as Remus turned away, before turning his head slightly so he could look up at the castle. The grounds were still almost empty, just Remus and him and Lily out here. Then he spotted another Gryffindor fifth year, his own jet-black hair even more unruly-looking than Sirius’. This is where the similarities ended. This fifth-year was obsessed with a certain redhead, and was chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The tall boy was standing aimlessly near a clump of trees, clearly trying to spot his friends. Sirius decided to put his mate out of his misery, and yelled at the top of his lungs,
“OI! PRONGSIE!” The other boy turned his head at that, and saw Remus and Sirius. He sprinted over to them, a small smile on his far from ugly face. Yes, it was almost handsome, but there was that arrogant smirk he seemed to always carry around with him. That and the proud air that seemed to follow him “ giving you the feeling that he was only spending time with you because he had nothing better to do.
“Alright Moony? Padfoot?” James Potter greeted them cheerfully, before sitting down next to Sirius.
“Afternoon James,” Remus replied quietly without looking up from his book. They all fell silent for a few minutes; James gazing over at Lily who was completely ignoring him, Remus reading, and Sirius staring endlessly at Remus.
“I’m bored,” James declared after a few minutes, lifting a hand to ruffle his already messy hair.
”Try reading, that’s what I do when I’m bored,” Remus replied vaguely, his eyes still locked on his book.
”That’s the thing Remmy, you’re making me bored just watching you read,” Sirius grumbled quietly. James, who was still admiring Lily from afar, turned his head to look at Sirius.
“I don’t know why she doesn’t like me,” he said doubtfully to Sirius, a faint frown appearing on his face.
“Don’t worry about it mate. I bet she really likes you “ people often hide things like that,” he said sincerely, stealing a glance at Remus. James’ expression cleared, leaving a bright smile.
“Do you think so?” he asked hopefully, then added without waiting for an answer, “I’ll get her someday.” Sirius smiled, and patted James lightly on the shoulder.
“That’s the spirit,” he said before turning away from James to look at Remus.
“What’s the matter Moony? What are you being so quiet?” he asked the silent werewolf.
“I’m reading,” Remus muttered through clenched teeth. “And what’s there to say? You’re only doing the usual; talking about Evans and complaining about me,” he answered dully. A number of emotions rushed through Sirius’ head; anger, surprise, confusion, and finally guilt. But before he could say anything, “Look what you’ve done now Padfoot, gone and upset poor old Remus again,” James commented under his breath. “Kiss and make up!” he added jokingly, smirking a little. Sirius turned to glare at James; his usually full lips now a thin line.
“What? Its only an expression!” James said hastily, a little surprised at his friend’s reaction. Wasn’t Sirius meant to be the funny one around here, who laughed at anything? He must really have hit close to the mark on that one. But then again, Sirius had been acting a little odd for a while now, probably just exam stress. Sirius merely rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue at James, before turning to face Remus again.
“Look Remmy, I’m sorry. I’m not complaining about you, its just, well you know I don’t like books. Also, if it bothers you, I won’t mention Evans again,” Sirius apologized, his expression very solemn for once. Remus glanced up from his book and raised an eyebrow at his friend.
“Ok, Sirius, you’re scaring me here. Since when did you care about my feelings?” he said, feeling a little puzzled. It was true, normally Sirius strutted around the place, throwing out random insults and compliments to anyone, not really caring how they might feel about it.
“I mean, apology accepted,” Remus finished with a weak grin.