Chapter Text
As the four boys hugged goodbye on a sunny day in June on Platform 9 3/4, with promises to write every day, none had an inkling what an eventful summer awaited them. Through the remainder of the month and into July, their owls worked overtime carrying rolls of parchment, regaling the Marauders with stories of each other's pranks pulled on family members and plans for the fall when they all returned to school. Peter bemoaned his mother's insistence on his working in her potions workshop with her, in an effort to improve his skill in the subject. James excitedly told of his success in making an entire hallway of portraits of ancient Potters capable only of yelling in German, causing his mother to yelp and sprint down the hallway anytime she needed to pass through. Remus replied scolding of the use of underage magic outside of school, while Sirius just tried to one-up him by altering several Black ancestral portraits to be sporting neon American disco outfits.
As the summer went on, the messages from Sirius became less and less frequent, and all ignored his friends inquiries about how he was getting on. When the owls sent to 12 Grimmauld Place began returning with letters still attached to their leg, the three boys began to fret, fearing the worst from the silence.
Then, Sirius turned up on the Potter's doorstep late one rainy night in early August, drenched to the bone with only the robes on his back. James made sure to scribble a hasty note of his safety and send it off to Remus, while his mother fussed over the half-drowned sod. Since Sirius was in need of, well, everything, the Potter's made their trip to Diagon Alley the next day, with no time to notify Remus or Peter and see if they could meet up. James thought better of complaining about this when he caught sight of Sirius' drawn and... okay, yes, serious, expression.
As such, it wasn't until the 1st of September, back on the platform and preparing to board the Hogwarts Express for their 6th year, that the boys saw one another again. Sirius stood on his toes, attempting to peer over the swarming mass of wizarding bodies in an effort to catch a glimpse of whether Remus were there yet. Peter had already found them, listening avidly as James relived every minute detail of the latest win by the Holyhead Harpies, complete with wild gestures and sound effects. Sirius jumped when a hand rested on his cheek, looking down into the smiling, concerned face of Mrs. Potter.
"They won't try and talk to you with us here, sweetie."
"Huh? Oh, no. I'm not worried about that. They never come to the platform, too many undesirables they might chance brushing against."
"I see, then who are you looking for?"
"I was just seeing if Lupin was here yet, but I can't seem to spot him in this crowd."
No sooner had the words left his mouth, than Sirius heard Remus' name called out, spinning to identify the source as a 7th year Ravenclaw with the Head Girl badge pinned primly to her robes.
"Mr. Lupin, pray do not forget the meeting once the train has departed the station."
"Of course, I'll be there."
Much to the amusement of Euphemia, Sirius promptly spun again, this time in the direction of Remus' voice, mouth dropping open when he caught sight of the other boy. When the Marauders had bid adieu in June, he had been the same gangly, awkward Remus, in his too large cardigan, that they all knew and loved.
Standing several feet away now, Sirius was confronted with the fact that while he was busy fighting with his family, running away, and moping in the Potter manor during the summer months, his friend had been growing into his long limbs and filling out his well worn clothing in a way that was very... aesthetically pleasing. Sirius blinked several times, as if he might be a mirage.
"Oi! Moony!" James called out, causing the boy in question to turn and a warm smile to grace his scarred face. Sirius couldn't help but trace his eyes over the strong jaw and full lips shadowed by dark coppery stubble.
When Remus managed to weave his way through the throngs of people, Sirius swallowed thickly and punched him on the shoulder good naturedly. "Hey, I thought I was the devilishly handsome one of the group? Now what am I supposed to do? I am without meaning, Moony," he whined, clutching a hand to his chest in mock pain, hoping the crack in his voice played off as part of his dramatic flare. Glancing at him sidelong, he took note that he was now only a couple of inches taller than his friend.
Remus huffed, causing his honied curls to bounce out of his eyes momentarily. "What are you going on about now, Black?"
Before Sirius could answer, the train whistle blew. Mr. and Mrs. Potter hugged all of the boys, kissing both James and Sirius on the cheek and ushering them onto the train. The boys found a compartment and made faces from the window as Euphemia instructed them to stay out of trouble this year, while Fleamont just stood behind her chuckling and shaking his head.
With one last whistle and a puff of charcoal smoke rising into the late summer air of London, the Hogwarts Express pushed away from the platform. James, Peter, and Sirius slouched down in their seats, getting comfortable for the long ride up to Scotland, looking up in surprise when Remus stood from his seat. He shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot for a moment, before mumbling an excuse about being back shortly, and darting out of the compartment before any of them could question him. Suddenly, Sirius remembered the Ravenclaw girl on the platform mentioning a meeting. He had been so startled by Remus' apparent transformation, he had completely forgone processing her message to him.
"That wanker's a prefect." Looking at Peter and James in disbelief, "did he mention that either of you in his letters?"
Peter shook his head, "no, I would remember reading about that..."
James sat silently in disbelief, staring at Sirius, until a slow smile began to creep across his face. "Do you know what this means?"
"That he's abandoned us and our mischievous ways?"
"Certainly not." James waved his hand through the air regally. "The opposite, in fact. Think how much more we can get away with this year with a bloody prefect on our side?!"
Peter's eyes lit up, looking at James as if he were the smartest man alive. "Brilliant," he breathed.
+++
The following morning, Remus handed out the younger students schedules while Professor McGonagall walked around meeting with each of the sixth year students, reviewing their O.W.L. scores, before setting her wand tip to parchment, creating the schedule for their first year preparing for N.E.W.T.s. Remus settled onto the bench next to Sirius as the fancy script finished writing itself out for Peter. Glancing down at the last slip she held, her eyebrows steadily rose toward her hairline as she reviewed Sirius’ results.
“Mr. Black, I am impressed.”
“No need to sound so surprised, Professor.”
“Isn’t there?”
Sirius rolled his eyes at her joke.
“O’s in Charms, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Potions, and Muggle Studies, and E’s in Herbology and History of Magic. It would appear you have your pick of classes this year, as those qualify you to continue with any of them, although I would remind you it is recommended you only continue with five courses due to the difficult nature of the N.E.W.T examinations.”
“What’s Remus continuing with?”
“Mr. Black, this is your decision, not to be based on your friends. This impacts your future, your career, and should not be taken lightly.”
“That’s nice, what’s Remus taking?”
McGonagall sighed sufferingly, as the rest of the Marauders chuckled. “Mr. Lupin has been granted his request to continue with seven courses. Charms, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Potions, Herbology, and Ancient Runes.”
“I’ll continue with the first five as well, and Muggle Studies.”
“All the courses you received O’s in. You’re sure you want to continue with six? These courses will be much more difficult than previously and will require your undivided attention. Given yours and Mr. Potter’s propensity for… mischief, I want to be sure you understand what you are undertaking.”
“Your concern for my wellbeing is touching, Minnie, but I am sure it will be fine. I have Remus to tell me when I should be studying and what a dolt I am, after all.”
Pursing her lips, McGonagall set her wand tip to the parchment, swirling lines of deep black spreading across the page detailing Sirius’ class schedule, before passing it to him and continuing on to the staff table.
+++
As classes started up, it quickly became apparent that Sirius was not the only one to notice Remus' metamorphosis over the summer. It was nearly impossible for the boys to spend any time outside their dorm without being approached by a gaggle of giggling girls, bent on getting Remus' attention. The Marauder's frequently found themselves joined at meal times, much to their chagrin as that was prime prank planning time. Remus seemed to tolerate the attention at first, but when it became impossible to venture into the library and study without interruption, he quickly became exasperated with the situation.
One such evening, after fleeing the library only to be cornered in the Gryffindor common room, Remus threw himself onto his back on his bed, watching the snitch James had stolen flit across the ceiling of their room.
"Siriussssss," he whined.
"I don't know what you're complaining about Remus, what's so bad about being adored?"
"I don't want to be adored!"
"Everyone wants to be adored, Remus."
The boy propped himself up on his elbows, forehead furrowing as he looked across at his smirking friend.
"No, I want to study. And I'd prefer to do it somewhere quiet where there isn't a snitch flying around my head, and the regular occurrence of things exploding that have no business doing so." For emphasis, he glared over at a smoking trainer that James had attempted to charm into following Snape around literally kicking him in the arse.
"Why don't you just go out with one of them, then?" Peter asked from where he was perched on James' trunk, water spraying from his wand, putting out the shoe fire.
"I don't waaaaaaanna go out with any of them, I want them to leave me alone! I have no time for a relationship, I have too much to do between prefect duties, studying for N.E.W.T.s, and babysitting you lot!" Seeing James open his mouth to respond, Remus hurriedly added, "besides, you know I can't get too close to people, what with my furry little problem. The smart ones will figure it out, and why would I want to be with someone too dumb to figure it out?”
None of them had a response to that, the matter dropping as James and Peter discuss where they went wrong with the charm. Remus sighs, pulling the curtains shut and casting a silencing charm to prevent any further explosions from interrupting his work, figuring he’d just have to count on one of the others to grab him in case of an emergency evacuation.
Remus had just gotten comfortable with his star chart and astronomy notes laid out around him when the curtain twitched back and Sirius slipped in. Remus scowled at the interruption, to which the dark haired boy held his hands up in a placating gesture.
“I promise, I’m not here to disturb. Is it alright if I just hang out with you though?”
Remus softened immediately, clearing a space next to him for his friend to stretch out. When not busy causing trouble, or plotting trouble, Sirius often finagled his way into relaxing near the other boy, whatever he may be doing, surprising the werewolf with his ability to be quiet when he needed to be. Lowering himself on the bed gently so as not to disturb the smorgasbord of study materials or overturn the precariously balanced pot of ink, he curled into a lose ball, reminiscent of his animagus form, with his head resting at Remus’ side.
The scratching of quill on parchment created a gentle lull, to which Sirius found himself beginning to drift off, comforted by the smell of Moony surrounding him. While considering what to write next, Remus’ fingers absentmindedly found their way into long, silky waves of inky black hair. Stroking gently through its length, the repetitive, soothing motion served as a cherry on top, and Sirius soon found himself slipping into a peaceful abyss.
"Hey, when did Professor Sinistra say is the best time of year for observing Orion from our position...? Sirius?" Receiving no response, he stilled, glancing down to find the boy soundly asleep under his hand. Remus smiled, brushing hair away from his face and tucking it gently behind his ear before returning to his homework.