(Everything is in 3rd person)

"Uh, Sirius?" Peter asked, quietly. "Hmmm?" Sirius looked up from his Potions essay. The four were sitting in their dorm, doing different homework related things. It had been Remus's idea for "Quiet hour" because he was this close to snapping. He was sick and tired of hearing "Uh, Remus, would you mind doing my whatever essay, it's due soon and help" 10 times a month from all of them. He had enough to worry about anyways, with the full moon and all. "Uh...I'm..uh.." Peter obviously didn't want to say it, and Remus wondered how bad it could be. "Spit it out, Peter," James was happy for some distraction. "I'm not going to be staying at Hogwarts for Christmas this year- Sorry! My Aunt is pregnant and I have to go home." Peter winced and Sirius groaned. "Yay. Two weeks of isolation. Woo-hoo!" He threw his head back in defeat. It had never occurred to Remus how other than the other Marauders and Marlene and Lily, they didn't have any other friends. Sure, they had a ton of minor acquaintances (and in Sirius's case, exes), but no actual friends.

Remus couldn't bear to leave Sirius alone for two weeks. He could barely be left alone for two hours without complaining about it. So, without thinking, Remus said "Actually, I'll be staying here. No isolation for you." Remus smiled, but on the inside, he was going nuts. How in Merlin's beard is he going to be able to do that? But it all calmed down when Sirius smiled, a genuine smile, not the signature Sirius smirk. Remus's heart practically melted. But, then James raised an eyebrow and said, "Didn't you already sign your name on the sheet? I saw you." Sirius looked at James, then Remus, then James again. The hope was ebbing from his eyes. I will kill you... Remus looked menacingly at James (Thankfully Sirius didn't notice, and Peter was still looking down) and then the James did something Remus never thought possible because James was normally the biggest, most oblivious prat in the whole goddamn world.

He somehow caught on.

"Uh, actually that must've been, uh, Romney Roderick. You know, the, uh, Ravenclaw? He, uh, looks at like you when he's turned around." James's eyes were wide, but thank Merlin he didn't say anything. Remus knew there was no such person with the name 'Romney Roderick' in Ravenclaw, but at that moment he couldn't've been more thankful. Sirius looked happy again, so Remus gave James a small smile. He knew James would confront him later, but he didn't care. Nor did he care that he had to now somehow get his name off the list of people going home. All he cared about now was Sirius.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

"Remus, you mind coming over here? I need to ask you something. Privately." He added, noticing Peter getting up too. He sat back down, pretending he wasn't embarrassed. Remus nearly groaned out loud, knowing this was about what happened yesterday in their dorm. But, he still followed James, who leads him behind a bookcase that was out of the way. (Lily had dragged them to the library, not that James minded.) "So," He began, unsure of how to ask Remus if he liked Sirius. He decided to be blunt, like he was with many things. "You fancy Sirius? Your gay? For Sirius?"

Remus gave a shaky exhale but said nothing. "That's not an answer." Again, Remus said nothing. He was so.....scared. Why was he scared. This was James. "Remus-" "Yes! Okay?! I, bloody hell, I fancy.... I fancy Sirius." It felt weird to admit it. To finally get it off his chest. Remus thought he would be relieved but then, with no trigger, he suddenly felt gut-wrenching panic. "Oh Merlin, you don't mind, right? Is it weird? Do you hate me now? He's our best mate and I know it'll never happen and but have you seen his hair and-"

"Whoa, slow down, Moony. It's alright, I don't hate you, nobody hates you, and who hasn't seen Sirius's hair?" Remus nearly collapsed with relief. "Oh, and by the way, why would I hate you? Honestly, if I'm okay with you being a fucking werewolf I don't think-" He was cut off by Remus bear-hugging him. It was so out of the blue, but James realised Remus was a gay werewolf, so he had the right to hug whoever the hell he wanted. "Uh, Remus, kinda..can't...breathe," James had started to see stars. "Sorry!" Remus pulled away. "Just, a little relieved, that's all." Remus scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Oh, no reason to get embarrassed! I just don't want to be up in the hospital wing tonight. Now, let's go back...I miss Lily. This wasn't part of the plan."

Remus laughed. He felt relieved that this crush wouldn't change anything. They would still pull outrageous pranks, James would still talk about his latest plan to woo Lily Evans, and they would all still come with him to the shrieking shack.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

"Uh, Professor? Can I ask you a favour?" Remus looked at McGonagall nervously. Transfiguration just ended and he told the others he would catch up with them at the great hall. He hoped this wouldn't take long, he needed to have something for lunch. "What is it, Mr.Lupin? Have your friend's done something? Again?" "Oh, no! I just, want my name removed from the list of going home for Christmas, that's all." Remus hoped this wouldn't be a big deal. Unfortunately, McGonagall raised one of her eyebrows. "And why would you want to do that? I've never had a student ask me that before." Great.

And now Remus faced a dilemma. Lie to one of his favourite teachers? Or come clean and tell her he wants to be alone for two weeks with alone Sirius? That sounds so innocent... Remus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. And yet, he chose to go with the latter. "Uh, I don't, uh, want Sirius to be alone for Christmas. Peter just backed out and I, uh, kinda said I was staying." He looked at the floor. McGonagall's face softened, and she said gently, "Remus, is there anything going on between you and Sirius? Perhaps, romantically?" 

Remus nodded, silent, still looking at the floor. He knew there was nothing going on romantically between them yet, but he didn't feel like explaining right now. He looked up, hoping for reassurance, and he got it. McGonagall was smiling. "Now, Remus, don't tell anybody that we do this, because it certainly isn't professional," She looked around before continuing, "But I want to thank you. Professor Sprout now owes me 5 Galleons."

It took about three seconds for the sentence to lodge itself in Moony's brain. He laughed, hard. The teachers bet on students? McGonagall broke into an even wider smile. "Now, I'll get your name off the list. It's the least I can do. Run along now, I don't want you going hungry." She smiled again. Remus swung his bag around his shoulder, waved a final time at his Transfiguration teacher, and left. He got a newfound liking to McGonagall that day.

But, his relief didn't last long. Now he had to write a letter to his Dad. 'Uh, I'm going to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas this year. Do you mind? Well, actually you can't because I didn't sign the sheet. Heh heh. Sorry. See you Easter.' Remus cringed. He'll have to figure that out later. If he didn't word the letter right, then he'd probably be beat within an inch of life come Easter Break courtesy of his drunken mess of a father. He shook sudden images of both his Dad and his departed Mother out of his head. He didn't need to deal with the trauma of his family right now. If he had his way, he'd never deal with it. 

But his Mom had been stuck in his head more and more recently.

Remus blocked it out and started walking away.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

"5 Galleons? Do you stare at Sirius that much?" James laughed. Remus had pulled him aside again. He needed to tell somebody about what happened after Transfiguration. And that somebody happened to be James. "I don't think I do." Remus was blushing. He had hoped it wasn't too obvious that he liked Sirius, but since the teachers were betting on it, he had begun to realise how miraculous it was that none of his friends (and Sirius himself, for that matter) hadn't figured it out. "Honestly, when Peter and I come back to Hogwarts and you two aren't a couple, I will be so disappointed." James didn't think it was possible, but Remus turned an even darker shade of crimson. "Uh, James, Sirius is straight, remember? Nothing can happen." James raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, you sure about that? He goes through girls so quick I wouldn't be surprised if he starts going down on guys instead."

Remus clutched his chest, he was laughing so hard he had to lean against the wall. James realised what he had said and turned pink. "I-I didn't mean it like that-oh Merlin," He looked incredibly embarrassed. Remus caught his breath, looked at James, and laughed some more. When finally stopped laughed, he asked James if he thought that he could really have a chance with Sirius. James nodded, still a little pink, before walking with Remus back towards the common room.

Remus had a lot to think about that night.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

Hey, guys! What do you think? Was that okay? It's my first time I've written a full chapter in only 3rd person. Did I do okay???

Anyways, comment and vote if you want to, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

~Misty

I do not own the Harry Potter Series. It belongs to J.K Rowling, so do the characters, and the setting.I'm only writing this for fun, and nothing about this book is meant to be offending in any way. I also do not own the amazing fan art on the cover, or the chapter titles. All credit to the artists!