It was summer of sixth year when Sirius finally found the one. He had been staying over at James' since running away last year and since James lived in both a muggle and wizarding street he had to be careful about what he did. It meant no magic outside of the house. No Quidditch practice too high above the wards. Absolutely no hexing muggles that were rude to him. The rules had been set down by James' mother when Sirius first came to stay with them and although he thought they were a little extreme he still abided by them.

"Bored," He sighed to himself. James had left him, actually left him, alone in the street when he spent too long looking at his future bike. He had no idea where he was but had no inkling to return to the house just yet. So he had sat himself on a bench in front of the muggle school and watched all the muggle children run out.

He thought it weird that there were so many of them. His parents hadn't allowed him any knowledge of what muggle life was like so seeing them all streaming out of one place when another was just around the corner was weird. It also didn't help that he attended a boarding school, he shuddered to think what it would have been like if he had to go home after every school day.

There were a few what he thought were first years coming out of St Mary's secondary school. They shoved and ran into each other much like he and James did in their first year. He laughed at the small child that ran along next to what he assumed was his elder brother. The bad he was carrying was almost twice the size and made him look like a little turtle carrying his home.

They were all in uniform and Sirius wasn't about to deny that he had a good look at the legs on some of the girls. Their skirts were way to short to hide almost anything. He wondered if he could get it started as a trend in Hogwarts. But that thought was immediately pushed out of his head by the angel that walked out of the gates.

The sun was streaming high and casting golden rays onto the blond boy that dragged his feet on the ground. He would later know those eyes to be blue but all Sirius could see in his first glimpse was golden hues and a piercing gaze that scowled at the gathering giggling girls in front of him. He looked as tan as anyone could get in England which made Sirius like him more. Anyone who spent their days napping in the sun was alright with him.

He didn't feel himself get up but soon he was just a couple of steps behind the boy. The blazer was hanging down his legs and was a bit big for him. It meant that Sirius couldn't check out the goods as well as he liked but he still admired the way the golden light bounced off the honey blond hair. That was until he was abruptly yanked to the side and dragged over to the Potter house down the street.

His daze was finally snapped when James came into view. There was no way his daydreams could penetrate the mess of James' hair so he huffed and sent a hurtfully accusing look his way.

"What were you doing Sirius? I told you I was going to be two minutes. Then the next thing I know you're stalking girls at the school. Merlin I can't leave you alone for a second," He ranted taking his shoes off.

"James," Sirius whined "Why'd you pull me away. Couldn't you see I was about to make contact with my future boyfriend," James turned confusedly to him.

"Boyfriend?"

"Problem?" He growled to which James just rolled his eyes. "Good now then you need to help me decide what to wear tomorrow," to which he pulled James upstairs and into the spare bedroom he had taken refuge in.

"Tomorrow?"

"So many questions," Sirius sighed "Yes tomorrow James. I need to see him again and since you pulled me away you have to help me," he insisted throwing every piece of clothing he owned onto the bed. At the look of James' horrified face he bargained that "I do things for you and your quest to win Lily all the time mate. Please," and pulled his Padfoot face out.

James groaned but relented "Fine but just be careful." They spent most of the afternoon picking out what Sirius was going to wear on his introduction to his true love before the Potters called them down for something to eat.

James dragged him into a game of gobstones afterwards before they retired to James' room to watch his little Quidditch figures fly around the room. The most fun part of this was that they threw things at them and made a targeting game.

"Ten points. I hit the chaser," Sirius declared watching the mini chaser give him the finger.

"Fine with me. Fifty points I got the seeker. Game, set and match," James drawled as they watched the seeker fall to the ground. "So what time are you going over to the school then?"

"Er," He hadn't thought about that. "What time do they get out?"

"Twenty past three. But you could always go at lunch, they won't let you in the school but you could see where he is," James suggested and Sirius could have kissed him.

"Brilliant. Lunch it is then. After that a small wait and dos become uno," to which James chortled at Sirius' crap Spanish accent and started flinging stuff back at the little Quidditch players.

True to his word Sirius was staking out the muggle school at lunch. James was by his side and they both watched in fascination as the muggles played and talked on the field around the back of the school.

"What do you suppose that game is," James pointed. The majority of the boys were on the grass either in the larger game that the older students were in or smaller ones of the same kind. There seemed to be a ball involved and they kicked it towards the piled up coats. "It looks a bit like Quidditch," He remarked concentrating more on the game than Sirius' true love.

"Oi! You're meant to be helping," He hissed as a group of girls made their rounds near them.

"Well I don't know what he looks like. And before you say it, heavenly and gorgeous aren't descriptions," James snapped back ignoring Sirius in favour of staring at the short skirts of some girls that passed after the other ones.

"He's blond with gold eyes and looks like an angel," Sirius said and tried to get higher to see over the fence. There were some kind of pointy things on the end of it that made climbing seem like a bad idea.

"Again, not a description. There's tonnes of lads with blond hair here," James complained pulling Sirius down from his attempt at climbing one of the trees. He scowled down at James who glared right back before jumping and joining him back at the fence. "Face it you're just going to have to wait until they come out."

Sirius whined "That could take ages though," and started searching more fervently for the boy.

"Well it's taking ages this way as well," Which declared the end of the conversation and their spying on St Mary's.

James made it up to him, once he had dragged him away, by taking him to the muggle sweet shop where they browsed at the dull but tasty treats. It was a bit of a struggle with the money since neither of them were used to pounds and pennies but they managed in the end. There was a motor shop not far from there which they walked to and Sirius was having flashbacks from the day before.

"You're not going to leave me again are you?" James just smirked in response so Sirius pushed him into the bushes.

"Hey!" He shouted climbing back out and giving chase. They stopped when Sirius once more got sidetracked at the bike that was being repaired. "I tell you what I can't wait until school starts up again. Pete's much more entertaining than you. No talk of bikes or lads to speak of," James complained but Sirius could see that he was only joking.

"No it's all just talk of girls and pranks with you two. At least I have more than one interest," Which he got shoved for.

The two hours to wait until the school got out was torture. Especially for James who gave up after and hour and conceded to wait on the bench Sirius had been sat at the day before. They were planning pranks to play when term started again as the bell went and students started filing out. Sirius was on red alert.

Any blond boy that came out he made sure to notice until finally, there he was. He grabbed James and pointed to the same boy as before. He was slightly cheerier and carrying a bunch of books along with his bag. Sirius turned elated to James and saw him cast his beloved an odd look which Sirius elected to ignore on making contact.

He bounded past chatting girls and rowdy boys until he was in the path of his blond angel. The boy stopped and paid no attention to Sirius in favour of walking around him. So Sirius went in front of him again and this time held his hand out.

"Sirius Black," he introduced making a couple of people stare at him as they went on their way. The boy looked up this time and Sirius corrected the colouring of his eyes. Blue like a lake with hints of yellow.

"Are you talking to me?" He asked confused looking around to see who else could have gained Sirius' attention.

Sirius gave him his winning smile "Yes!" he insisted "So what's your name then? Oh wait, let me carry your books and then tell me," he tried to reach for them but the boy stepped back clutching them to his chest.

"Is this some kind of new bullying tactic? Am I getting robbed," his eyes had widened in panic.

"Bullying, what? No I thought that they looked heavy and I could carry them for you," He explained but the boy still didn't relinquish his grip on them. If anything he seemed to be urging one of his classmates to help him against Sirius.

"This is embarrassing," James announced giving Sirius a cold look "I'm sorry about my friend. He fancies you and was wondering if you'd like to go out with him," The boy seemed to calm at James' appearance but still remained closed off.

"I don't, er..."

"Great," James announced taking the boys silence for acceptance "Friday at seven then. Sirius'll meet you at the park." He led Sirius off before the boy had a chance to reply and never before had he been so happy at James' forwardness. "You're welcome."

"You are the best mate in the history of best mates. I mean it Jamie. Never again will I mock your crusade against Evans. One good turn deserves another after all," He skipped feeling lighter than air.

"Really?" James asked looking happy at the prospect of Sirius joining his quest "Great because I have a tonne of ideas..." and went into a little rant about love hearts and ballads about Lily's greatness.

Friday was only two days away and for those two days he had to agree with James that he was a bit of a nuisance. He asked loads of questions about what to do for his date. What was a good spot, should he take the boy to a restaurant or plan a picnic. What to wear for it since this was their first date of the rest of their lives together. By the end of the second day James had to take Sirius for a run as Padfoot to get him to calm down enough to go to sleep.

By the time seven came on Friday Sirius had been waiting on the swings for ten minutes and watching all possible entrances for anyone who came close. James had warned that he couldn't use magic on his date which he agreed with since it would probably scare rather than amaze his love on their first date.

As five past came the blond was running up the hill and into the little park in what James had told him were jeans. They really worked well and Sirius was going to ask James to buy him some for Christmas.

"Hi," he said bounding over to the panting blond who held up a hand in greeting.

"Sorry I'm late, Mum wouldn't let me go until five to," The blond explained glancing up warily at Sirius' manic face. "This isn't a joke right?" He asked tentatively.

"A joke. Why would it be a joke?" Sirius wondered who had played something so awful on his angel and vowed vengeance in his head.

"Well, considering we've never met and I don't think I've seen you around here before I was just wondering what this was all about," He gestured at the air.

"I think we could be good together," Sirius announced "So I asked you out, well James did." He amended and held his arm out for the blond to take. He didn't but followed Sirius nevertheless. "I thought we could have a picnic and stargaze later," he smiled watching the blond out the corner of his eye.

"That sounds nice," He answered making it sound like anything but. It was obvious that Sirius was going to have to prove his intentions with this boy. Starting with the picnic.

He had laid it all out and even charmed some of the items to stay cool and fresh for when they were needed. He indicated for the blond to take a seat and sat himself as close as socially acceptable to him. Prying out the little sandwiches and cakes Mrs Potter had been more than delighted to make he gave all of his attention to his blond beloved.

"So what is your name then. I can't just keep calling you angel," He asked watching the boy's eyebrows knit together.

"You call me..." he shook his head "Remus. Remus Lupin," he held his hand out much like Sirius did the day before and they shook.

"Sirius Black," He said again.

"That's an odd name," he remarked before laughing "Then again so is mine so I guess I have no reason to judge."

"No it's fine. It is weird," Sirius agreed "All of my family are named after stars," He explained and gave some examples of his cousins and brother.

"That is so cool. Does it go back generations. Do you all just look up stars and name your kids or is it just a coincidence?" He asked earnestly taking a cupcake.

"Er I dunno. Probably the former though and it does go back generations. I don't know anyone in my family who isn't named after a star. Though I suppose Narcissa isn't," to which he frowned never having thought of the irregularity of it "But I think she might be a bastard, it was never investigated," He pondered.

"I suppose she spends most of her time looking at herself," Remus joked to which Sirius laughed. Never had it been so true. She could spend hours looking at herself in the mirror. Appearances were everything with her. Just like the rest of his family.

"So true," He bit out between giggles "So what about you? Any siblings?"

Remus shook his head looking a bit deflated. So Sirius changed the subject to something else. He thought it would be hard to think of things in common to talk about. What with him being from the wizarding world and Remus not but they talked about their interests in vigour. Well Remus did and Sirius nodded and vowed to look up whatever he didn't understand later.

Remus had been explaining about his classes at St Mary's and how they didn't break up until mid July. After that he was going to Sixth Form which was a college to learn more things before going on to university. He asked Sirius about his schooling and Sirius was glad Remus went first. It was easier to lie when he had heard the similarities between their classes. For example he learnt history just like Remus but it was a different sort. He told him about the witch trials they were learning about and how Peter had blown up a botched potion which he changed to an experiment to not appear unusual.

The safest topic to talk about was James' love life which Remus found highly amusing. He kept suggesting writing songs or poems for James to write to which Sirius declared to never let the two of them alone together.

Soon enough night had fell and they were both lying sated in the grass watching the stars. Sirius was pointing out his family with running commentary about how awful they were. Hearing Remus laugh when he said something particularly funny was almost the highlight of his night.

"So what time do you have to be back?" He asked knowing their date had a time limit.

"Eleven. I've got ten minutes left," He answered sounding reluctant to go. "I suppose I'd better start going."

"I can walk back with you if you like," Sirius offered to which Remus smiled and shook his head "How about halfway," He compromised.

"Or," Remus suggested "I walk you back. I'd rather you not know where I live just yet."

Sirius nodded at the idea and packed the food away, never wishing for a wand more so they could be holding hands down the street by now. But when it came to walking back there was no holding hands. Remus kept at an acceptable distance and walked him to his door.

"So," Sirius drew out making Remus roll his eyes "I guess you'd better get going then," He ended up saying and wished he could slap himself. Why was he suggesting Remus leave him?

"Yeah. I had fun though. Even if this was for a bet or something," Remus shrugged and stepped down from the porch. He waved half heartedly and went down the street whilst Sirius berated himself for not getting a snog in.

James was waiting when he got up to his room "How'd it go then?"

"Brilliant!" Sirius said collapsing on the bed and regaling his date to James "Does this make us boyfriends now then?" He wondered.

"Dunno mate," James patted him on the shoulder "Suppose you'd have to ask him. Besides from what you've told me it seems like he isn't convinced you were actually taking him out. You're gonna have to fix that before any labels come into it," He advised most wisely. Sirius nodded and asked James all the muggle terms Remus had used that he didn't understand. James could only answer a few though and they both made each other promise to remember to ask James' parents in the morning about the others.

He spent the weekend in a daze reminiscing about their date and thinking about the next time he was going to see him. But knew he was going to have to plan something. He couldn't rely on James to fix up his dates all the time so on Monday he was going to be prepared. So on Sunday he got James out of bed by forcibly dragging him into the kitchen to eat and explored James' home town for something exciting to do.

"Mate there's nothing until the hoppings," James groaned dragging his feet behind Sirius.

"The what?" This was the first time he had heard of such a thing.

"It's a thing," Helpful. James gestured for words to describe it "It's a muggle thing. There's fortune tellers and rides like teacups and... you don't understand a word I'm saying do you?" James laughed "So this is what Wormy feels like when he talks about muggle things to us."

"So it's fun?" Sirius asked rather than have James mock him.

"Yeah, but it won't be here for another two weeks. Other than that I don't know what else there is to do. Muggle wise anyway," He sighed "You couldn't have fell for a wizard. Just had to be different."

"You don't pick your soul-mate Jamie," he smiled and went further down the street to the little shops there.

There was a library just around the corner that Sirius was sure Remus might like. He seemed to enjoy learning if their conversation on Friday was anything to go by. But then they wouldn't be able to talk, so that was out. There were the shops in general but neither of them were girls and Sirius didn't have any money to his name. Then there were the woods...

"Hey James," he turned to look at Sirius warily "I don't suppose you'd like to help me with my date?"

"I'm not guarding the door whilst you two shag," He warned.

Sirius waved it off "No. Nothing like that," And proceeded to tell his plan.

Monday had came and found Sirius fidgeting on the bench outside of the school alone. James was in position and probably finding much more interesting things to do in the woods whilst Sirius waited. The bell rang and the students started swarming so Sirius sat up and looked for Remus.

He was dawdling again and looked paler than he had on Friday. Sirius caught up to him and didn't take offence at the surprised look that crossed the blonds face despite wanting to.

"Didn't think I was serious huh?" He smirked and watched Remus match his expression.

"Oh no, I knew you were Sirius. I just thought you were joking about our date on Friday," Sirius laughed at the pun. It was nice to hear his name being used like that again. Usually he was met with groans of annoyance.

"Good one," he complimented and took Remus' arm steering him away from the crowd "I don't suppose you have to be anywhere right now do you?"

Remus looked back at the crowd that was thinning slightly before turning back to Sirius "I suppose not. What did you have in mind?"

Sirius took his bag off him before grasping his hand and leading him in the direction of the woods. Remus kept giving him questioning looks but Sirius didn't ask anything since he was fairly sure it was mostly out of confusion for Sirius' affections rather than their second date.

"I thought we could take a walk," He suggested "James takes me in sometimes but I think it would be nicer with you around," he winked making Remus roll his eyes.

"You're not going to kill me are you?" Remus asked tentatively. Sirius scoffed and just led him through the first tree into the woods.

It was hard to find a path since they had entered through the nettles but with some persistence and some scratching later they were on track. He hoped James was in position.

The trees were bathed in the sun that had graced England for the second week in a row. The air was warm enough that they didn't need to have jackets on and Sirius could see Remus fiddling with his blazer. He didn't take it off though even though they became sweatier as they climbed over fallen trees and bushes.

Pretty soon they were in the small clearing that Sirius and James had found. He had hoped to use it to stack cigarettes but James told him they were most likely to be nicked, drenched or start British Wildlife on a bad habit and gave in. It wasn't that big but the trees were far apart enough to provide a circular space where they could rest for a while without rocks of bushes in the way.

"How was school?" Sirius asked subtly looking for James.

"Good," Remus replied fingering his collar "A bit hot but the teachers had the fans on," Fans, another word he was going to have to look up.

"Did your presentation go well then?" He thought he saw a flash of red but it could have been the sun.

"Well, Andrew wasn't all that co-operative so I had to do most of the speaking but overall I think it went well. We have a project to do now though. A video for the class. It can be a re-enactment or news report about the fall of Wolsey and my group seems to be set on re-enactment," Sirius could tell he wasn't pleased about that. Apparently group work didn't appeal to him.

"Sounds interesting. You'll have to let me watch it," He teased making Remus snort.

"Fat chance," There! Smirking Sirius subtly waved at James before schooling his features back to Remus. He waited and made small talk with him until James was near and then watched as Remus noticed James. It was quite amusing to watch. His eyes went wide and mouth parted before he hissed "Shh. Oh my God Sirius turn around you have to see this," and moved Sirius slowly to face the deer that had come out of the bushes.

Prongs was pretty impressive with his massive antlers and large bulk. Not to mention his fur was sleek and bronzed so perfectly it was sure to make any girl swoon. Prongs ruined it all by scratching his antlers against the tree before coming nearer to them. He stopped a couple of feet away and seemed to challenge Sirius to get on with it. Who knew a stag could be so haughty.

"Do you want to touch it?" He asked Remus. The boy whipped his head to Sirius in disbelief before checking that Prongs was still there.

"You can't you'll spook him," He hissed.

"It's fine," Sirius reassured "This one's friendly. James and I met him a couple of weeks ago. So long as you don't make any sudden moves he'll let you pet him," he added just to convince Remus "I think he's used to people which is why he's so friendly."

"Really?" He didn't believe Sirius then. So he moved towards Prongs with a smirk on his face and clutching Remus' hand behind him. James was tottering on his hooves impatiently and seemed relieved when Sirius came close enough to put his and Remus' joined hands on James' neck. Remus made a small squeaking sound so Sirius ran his hand down gently before letting go and watching as Remus stood rigid stroking Prongs.

James had the decency to not scare Remus off but there was something off about him. He kept tossing his antlers either side like he was sniffing for something and Sirius thought this was a good time for him to shoo off. Remus was awed enough for one day.

He took Remus by the arm and led him back over to the trees making subtle shooing motions with his head to James who took the hint and pranced off.

"Well what did you think?" He asked keeping their hands joined.

"Wow," Remus breathed his face flush with excitement. "I can't believe I just stroked a deer. And he lives here?"

Yeah not far from the school actually "He must since I've seen him before."

"Wow," Remus said again laughing a little "That- Oh wow," Mission successful.

"Come on," Sirius pulled gently "I think we'd better walk back before you're missed."

Like before Remus wouldn't let Sirius walk him home so he walked him to the Potters instead. Remus was still fascinated by Prongs and kept asking what else Sirius knew about him and any other animals that lived in the forest. Sirius answered what he knew about James and waved at the smug face staring out at them through the window when they got to the Potters.

"So did you enjoy our second date?" he already knew the answer but liked to be praised. It was probably why his animagus was a dog.

"Definitely," Remus nodded and made to leave.

Sirius held on though "You know generally there are some expectations on a second date," He stepped closer.

Remus seemed to know what he meant and lifted an eyebrow "Oh really. And what might those be?"

He pulled Remus' hand until it was level with his waist and made it stay there "For one there's the goodbye kiss," he muttered already tilting his head closer to Remus'.

"How do you even know I like boys?" Remus queried not moving away.

"You're here aren't you," and Sirius moved in for the kil-

"Sirius you have a letter," Mrs Potters voice rang and froze Sirius. He huffed as Remus pulled away and may have even whined a bit as the boy waved his goodbye and went out the gate. He turned to face the embarrassed woman in the doorway.

"Two minutes," He whined "Why couldn't you have..." and sulked his way into the house.

The letter turned out to be from his uncle. He wanted to know how Sirius was doing in exile and asked if they could meet up during the holidays for some reason. James thought it was some kind of conspiracy since the man was always mixed up in something but Sirius just waved it off.

He was still sulking the next day and the day after that but for entirely different reasons than the fact he missed his first kiss with his true love. Remus hadn't been to school for the past two days. Sirius had waited outside dutifully and watched as the students walked out in their pairs and groups. But not Remus. James suggested that he was in some kind of club that stayed behind school for which Sirius stayed longer the second day. But still Remus didn't show.

"He did look kind of ill," James remarked lounging on Sirius' bed "I mean he was pale and sweaty which I don't think was all because of the heat. Then there was the smell. There was something off with him Sirius." He paced the length of his room thinking back on their date. James was right, Remus did look ill on Monday "Maybe its a good thing you two didn't kiss," which James was not right about.

"Blasphemy!" he announced "He can get me ill all he likes so long as I can kiss him," he pouted and went into another sulk because of their near kiss.

"Well whatever it is he'll be back next week. Just take the week off to prepare for your third date," James consoled and took Sirius out for a Quidditch game in the back garden.

Remus was back on Monday but he had a scratch on his nose. Sirius took them over to the woods again asking about the project for history. Apparently his school mates were wary of him but they still tried to include him in their planning. He told Sirius that most of the script work was left to him so he was having to make it accurate but short at the same time. When he said he would rather write an essay than do the project Sirius realised just how different they took their school work.

"Oh Merlin. I'm in love with a swot," He bemoaned making Remus snort.

"Charming. See if I'm nice to you anymore," Remus joked tugging at his blazer again.

"Why don't you just take it off. It's boiling out here," Remus just shook his head.

"I'm fine," He insisted and they stopped in the clearing again.

Sirius sighed but didn't press the matter "If you say so," then he got down to buisness "So listen. James and I are going to have a camping trip this weekend in here," he gestured to the woods "And I was wondering if you would like to come with us." Remus looked hesitant to agree "Don't worry it won't just be the three of us. A mate of ours called Peter will be there as well as this bird called Lily. Oh and Kingsley, he's coming too. So it won't be too awkward," He bargained.

"I dunno Sirius," Remus still didn't look convinced.

"Please. James is going to be making gooey eyes at Evans all night and Kingsley always goes off to teach Pete something or other. The guy's helpless so really I'm just asking if you'd keep me company," Remus' eyebrows were still drawn together.

"I'll think about it," Remus said which was as good as yes in Sirius' books.

"Great." He sat nearer Remus "Now onto other matters. You owe me a kiss," This changed the atmosphere immediately.

Remus' frown turned coy and his tone teasing "Do I now?"

"Yes," Sirius insisted "Leaving me like that without so much as a goodbye. For shame Lupin," he berated.

"I waved," Remus argued.

"Not the same," Sirius nosed back and tilted his head so he could press their lips together.

He always envisioned when he finally kissed 'the one' that there would be fireworks going off in his head. They didn't though. Instead it felt like the universe was melting away until there was nothing real but Remus. Nothing solid but the feel of his lips deepening into Remus'.

It was like Amortentia had been poured on top of him since everything he could smell was heavenly and him and never did Sirius want to stop smelling, tasting, feeling Remus.

They came up for air when Sirius was sure he was going to pass out. It seemed that Remus had felt what he did though and refused to take a breather for long. He kissed along Sirius' jaw and slid his hands in his hair, pulling a little which he was quite pleasant. He felt like Padfoot getting a good rub for being well behaved and couldn't help the little whine he gave when Remus bit down roughly on his neck.

Sirius tugged him back up to his lips when he felt Remus go rigid and soothed him back into the moment. Sirius took charge after a while since Remus refused to but found himself flat on his back. He wondered when that happened then brushed it off in favour of rolling on top of Remus. Which was harder than it looked. The boy wouldn't go down so Sirius compromised by sitting up with him and leaning onto that smooth skin instead.

The first thing he did was kiss his nose at the little scratch that had been teasing him all day. He heard Remus huff and moved down to his neck which for some reason he didn't like. When the hands pushing him down finally got too much he sat back and pushed the blazer off Remus whilst undoing most of the buttons on his school shirt. He left the tie how it was and distracted Remus from noticing his missing clothing by sucking disgracefully on his collarbone.

"Is that a stick or are you just happy to see me," He heard Remus laugh out and moved to see what he was talking about. His wand was found to be the answer and stared guilelessly up at him from his pocket. He pushed it back in subtly.

"Both," He smirked and pressed his mouth back to the hickey he had been sucking.

He moved his mouth further down to Remus' chest but paused when rough skin once again invaded his mouth. He hadn't really noticed it before but there was a lot of textures to Remus' skin. Sitting back he took a good look at the chest he had been laving.

"Everything alright?" Remus panted.

He was covered in scars. They criss crossed over his chest and even on his arms. Some stretched under the shirt he was still wearing whilst others were short but looked like they had been deep. What looked like teeth marks were housing newly healing bruises whilst his hickey was cornered by long lines tearing across Remus' skin.

Seeming to realise what Sirius was looking at Remus bolted, snatching his blazer and running out of the woods faster than Sirius could think. He watched Remus become smaller before his brain told him to go after him and he scrambled to his feet.

It didn't do much good. Remus was gone once he was out of the woods and he didn't even know where he lived. He straightened his shirt and walked home in the end. There was nothing more he could do until tomorrow.

"Everything alright?" James asked when he stepped in the front door. He took one look at the bite mark on Sirius' neck and wolf whistled "So I see everything went as planned then."

"No," he said and pushed past James up to his room. The boy was following him though and seemed to catch onto Sirius' mood.

"What happened? Are you really that bad a kisser? Is he?" He seemed to be fishing for a reaction but Sirius wasn't giving anything away. Not until he had talked to Remus.

"It doesn't matter. I'll tell you tomorrow just," He sighed forlornly and crawled onto his bed "Leave me in peace please." James left and Sirius wallowed in his own misery.

Remus was sitting inside the school gates staring at Sirius when the school let out. Sirius was tempted to go over there but preferred to wait for Remus to come out instead. They had been having a stand off for three minutes now and Sirius was not backing down.

Fortunately three burly boys seemed to have made it their life's goal to torment Remus if the cringe he gave when one of them touched him was anything to go by. They carted him out of the school roughly and Sirius was more than happy to take Remus off their hands now.

He skipped over just as one of them took Remus' bag and butted his way over to Remus. "Hey," He greeted as if they hadn't just been fighting "I thought I'd walk you home this time," He smiled and yanked Remus' bag out of the boy's hands.

"Oi!" Sirius paid him no mind and just tried to get Remus out of a corner.

"Aw isn't that sweet Wolf boy's boyfriends' come to walk him home," One of them jeered whilst the others snickered.

Sirius just plastered on a beam, happy to be called Remus' boyfriend "You bet I am," He said cheerily and tried to push past the least intimidating one. He wished he could hex them.

They were a bit stunned that their insult had gone a miss and were content to just follow them behind shouting insults as Sirius led Remus to the Potter house since Remus was still not forthcoming about his address. The boys looked like they were going to make one last attempt at physical intimidation when they caught sight of the house they were nearing. It seemed that James had a reputation Sirius was unaware of since the boys paled on sight and backed away like they had seen a blast ended skrewt. He knew he couldn't let Remus inside the Potter house with all the magic but at least they were safe from the bullies.

"So how long have they been doing that then?" Sirius said trying to break the silence.

"Not long," Remus answered "They usually keep their distance. It's only recently since they know they'll never see me again after summer."

Sirius nodded fingering the strap on Remus' bag "About yesterday. I didn't mean to scare you off like that," He apologised to which Remus looked up confused.

"Scare me off? I have scars everywhere and you think you scared me off," He said incredulously.

"Well yeah. We were going kind of fast and I get that maybe we should have waited until the third date to take clothes off so..." he trailed.

"I have scars. Everywhere," Remus repeated.

Sirius didn't see how this had anything to do with his apology "So?"

"So, aren't you repulsed?"

Sirius stepped back and took a look at Remus. He remembered the scars from yesterday and looked at the one on his nose. They didn't look repulsive, more poetic. A life of suffering that made up someone as beautiful as him "No," He sighed figuring he had a dreamy 'Evans' (dubbed by Sirius) face on.

Remus looked at him like he was stupid "Really?"

"Why would I be repulsed?" He asked instead "I think you're great, not to mention my soul mate. So what if you have a few scars? It just shows how strong you are to have overcame them." He stared Remus earnestly in the eyes "I don't care Remus."

The door hit his back as Remus attacked his mouth. Hesitance was gone and replaced by urgency and passion that Sirius didn't know existed until Remus. He gave as good as he got but was just content to let Remus ravish him all the same.

He made a noise of protest as the doorknob twisted against his back. Realising they were in public Sirius pulled away and glanced for some cover. Not seeing any for some miles around he made a snap decision and pulled Remus into the house. He made sure that he saw nothing out of the ordinary on his way up by distracting him with kisses until they were safe inside of Sirius' room.

Much like the door the bed came as a surprise under his back but Remus was there to soothe all of Sirius' worries away with a nip to his lips. Sirius tore Remus' blazer off and this time managed to get his shirt off too. Without the hindrance of a clothed chest Remus was content to rub himself against Sirius making the most delicious friction.

He barely managed to get his own shirt off before Remus was biting and sucking his way down to Sirius' nipples. He played with one in his mouth and twisted the other almost painfully before soothing it with his tongue. Sirius couldn't help but thrust up when that mouth nipped at the edge of his pants but Remus did nothing but push himself back up to Sirius' mouth.

He felt something dig into his hip and moved against it hearing Remus groan against his mouth. It seemed that this was what he had been waiting for since Remus re-adjusted their positions until their clothed cocks were brushing against each other. He thrust experimentally under him and felt pleasure pool in his groin. Doing it again he wrapped his legs around Remus' arse for leverage and soon felt Remus huffing against his mouth as he joined in the rhythm that Sirius set up.

They moved against each other and it was like being back in the forest. There was nothing but Remus on top of him. Teeth moved against his neck and bit him gently, pulling harder when their hips became more frantic. Sirius moaned Remus' name as he came in his pants feeling Remus move a couple more times before he stilled with a rough pull to his neck.

They were both panting and exhausted "If this is what I get for complimenting you," He huffed "I the rewards huge for an Ode," to which Remus laughed against his neck and pushed off him.

They lay on their sides smiling at each other. Sirius fingered some of the scars with fascination to their shape. They looked like claw marks but he didn't want to make things weird by asking about them so he kept it to himself.

The sun was shining brightly through Sirius' window and he had the sudden urge to curl up as Padfoot under it. It seemed Remus had the same idea since his eyes were dropping dreamily against the golden light.

"I'll wake you up in an hour," Sirius offered hearing an agreeing moan and nothing else from Remus.

He waited until he was sure Remus was asleep before getting up and sneaking to the toilet. He had just thought he was in the clear when James was lounging outside the bathroom as he got out.

"Mum's going to go mental."

"You won't tell her," He growled "Besides he didn't see anything." James didn't look convinced "I'll have him sneak out the window when he leaves."

"Make sure you do." James grew serious "You do know that if he does see anything the ministry will get involved. Dad doesn't need the publicity," Sirius knew this though and just sighed before pushing past James and joining Remus for a nap.

True to his word he woke him after an hour and had Remus climb out the window. He made the excuse that Mrs Potter was home and he didn't want her to catch them in here. Remus seemed to understand and drew him in for a long kiss before dutifully climbing out the window.

"I feel like Romeo sneaking out after part two," He grinned. The reference going to waste on Sirius' wizard brain. Luckily there was a ledge for Remus to slip down so he didn't hurt himself. Sirius blew him a kiss which Remus mockingly caught as he let himself out of the Potters garden.

James was more light-hearted after Remus had left and teased him about his growing hickey "It's like he aims for that one spot. Look," He pushed Sirius' hair out the way "It hasn't moved or dented anywhere else but there."

Sirius pushed James away good naturedly with a "You're just jealous is all," And they carried on until Mrs Potter called them in for tea.

She asked them what was new and James thankfully kept quiet about their house guest this afternoon and instead focused the conversation on the camping trip at the weekend.

"Is your little friend going Sirius?" Mrs Potter asked.

"I don't know, he still hasn't gotten back to me," he would ask him again tomorrow after school. Thinking about the school had him focus on something else. "James,"

"Hmm?"

"What on earth did you do here as a child. Remus walked me here and some of the boys ran off as soon as they saw where they were?" James was laughing as Sirius finished with Mr and Mrs Potter rolling their eyes at their son.

"Oh Merlin are they still scared? It was ages ago," He chortled.

Sirius looked to Mr and Mrs Potter since no answers were coming from James "He pretended to do some magic in front of them once," Mr Potter said "only he had a little burst of magic and it turned out to really happen."

Sirius was intrigued "What did you do Potter?"

"They were asking if I could push the roundabout without my hands and I did," He laughed "They went so fast one of them flew off and the others were sick."

Sirius joined in the laughter while Mrs Potter continued with "And now they won't come here anymore because they're afraid James will do something worse to them. You should have heard the parents Sirius, they complained for weeks." The whole table was in giggles by the end of the tale.

James came with him to the school the next day. He needed to know who was coming camping and who wasn't since it was his big chance to woo Lily. He may have also been there to grin manically to any boy that remembered him. They all cowered under the madness in James' eyes which made Sirius collapse in hysterics by the time Remus came out.

He just took one look at Sirius and another at James and rolled his eyes. James greeted him pleasantly and Sirius noted the boys from yesterday cast Remus a horrified look before they power walked away. Remus was blushing slightly when James released his hand and came to help Sirius up from the ground.

"Dad needs to know who else is coming camping at the weekend," James said smirking at Remus' red face.

"Oh, I don't think I can make it. Sorry Sirius," Sirius just smiled. It was a long shot anyway. At least now James could bring his magic tent complete with fridge and bed.

"It's fine," He reassured "So what plans do you have then?"

Remus hesitated "None." He seemed thoughtful and eventually explained that "My parents don't really know about you. They think I've been staying behind for tutoring and revising."

"Oh," Sirius was honest enough to admit that it hurt a little bit.

Remus seemed to grasp this and hastened to make things right "It has nothing to do with you in particular Sirius. They don't like me around people to begin with, it took me three years to convince them to let me come to school. I just thought it would be simpler if I told them it was for academic reasons than arguing for days before I could see you."

Sirius considered what Remus was saying "So it's not that you're embarrassed by me?"

Remus looked incredulous "Why would I be embarrassed by you? There's nothing wrong with you." Sirius nodded his acceptance.

"Alright then."

"Why don't they like you around anyone?" James asked and Sirius gave him a incredulous look. You don't just ask someone that.

"You don't have to answer that Remus. James is being a prat and is about to go away right now," he shooed. James just rolled his eyes and walked dramatically off still shooting people grins as he went.

"So what did you tell your parents you're doing tonight?" Sirius asked instead.

Remus cringed "Tutoring," Sirius smirked

"Well Professor Lupin I've been having some difficulties in one of my subjects. Don't suppose you could help me out," They grinned and skipped off to the woods for another frotting session.

Camping was dull. James had left him as soon as Lily turned up with Kingsley and was currently trying to impress her with his wildlife knowledge. He didn't know why she came in the first place. It wasn't like she talked to any of them.

Peter as predicted had also left him in favour of someone else. That someone was currently teaching Peter how to start a fire without magic. Sirius was watching just so he could impress Remus when he next saw him. But when they moved off fires and started talking about NEWTs Sirius tuned them out.

James' tent had been set up hours before the other three even arrived and had long since lost its novelty. He wished that Remus was there to keep him company or even that they were really camping. It wasn't the same apparently since Remus had told him about his experiences. They sounded miserable and wet but were much more exciting than endless rations and comfy beds. So he moaned loudly again and hoped that someone would take pity on him. They didn't. He had to wait another hour when James came back.

James handed out snacks with a miserable face which Sirius couldn't help snicker at. Evans definitely wasn't putting out tonight. She came back to the camp shooting James daggers and sitting as far away from James as she could.

"So what now?" Peter asked bouncing in his camping chair.

"I dunno, we were gonna go for a nature walk tomorrow but we didn't really have anything planned for tonight," James answered chucking a butterbeer at him.

"What about stargazing. Jupiter is out tonight," Sirius groaned at Kingsley's suggestion.

"If I'd wanted to stargaze I'd have taken astronomy," He whined and glared at James snorting into his drink "What?"

"Oh nothing," He grinned "Only that I distinctly remember someone stargazing on their first date with Remus," He teased making Sirius scowl even more.

"Remus?" Lily seemed interested all of a sudden. Cue James' involvement.

"Sirius' new boyfriend. That's the reason he's so sullen. He's muggle though so he's been spending the past two weeks looking up things he's been saying," He laughed "It's rather funny."

Lily cast him a pitying gaze "What kind of things has he been saying?" And elected to teach Sirius properly about muggle things. Thanks to her he now knew that the ball game they were so fond of was football and that Romeo was a character in some play "It's quite good. You should get him to take you sometime," She suggested and Sirius made arrangements in his head to do it himself.

"Good idea," He muttered wondering where the nearest theatre was.

"Can we move on now?" Peter squeaked from the corner "Not that I don't like hearing about your escapades Padfoot but I'd rather talk about something else," more like someone else. Peter was still uneasy about Sirius liking boys as well as girls and though he put on a brave face Sirius could see that he was just doing it for James' benefit.

"Fine," he relented "How about we tell scary stories. Remus said that's what people do when they're camping."

Lily took up the idea straight away meaning that James did afterwards and with Kingsley being good with anything it was just Peter that was left looking unnerved.

They all tried to out do each other with Kingsley telling a rather spooky one about Filch and the Prewett brothers. They had to ban half of the devices Filch used to use in detention after them and the story behind why was rather unnerving. Lily's was confusing in general because she thought that ghosts were frightening. Living in a castle where Nearly Headless Nick gave them daily tips on their hair seemed to go right over her head. Peter told a story about a boy who got shrunk and was almost eaten by a cat which Sirius guessed had actually happened to him since he spent most of his time napping as Wormtail when they were in school.

Finally it came to James after Sirius elected out of the story telling to work as judge. "This story takes place in this very village," he started. His voice was pitched low and he sat as near to the flames as he could for dramatic effect. James was nothing if not a showman. "Years ago, like ten. There was a family that lived on the outskirts. They were pleasant people with a kid that used to play in the woods. But one day as the boy ventured out into the woods he fell and was helped up by a man. This wasn't any ordinary man though. Yellow teeth sharpened into fangs and eyes so black it seemed there was no white at all. The boy screamed as he saw him and ran home as fast as he could thinking he was safe once he was with his parents. But that night as the moon shone full something stalked in the woods picking up the scent the little boy had left behind. The scent led it to the village full of tasty human flesh to suck on. But the scent of the little boy was still to fresh in its mind to forget so it made him its first victim. Scratching at the door," Here James ran his hands down his pant leg to make a scratching sound "It whimpered pitifully like a dog. The boy didn't know any better and didn't think to check to see who it was so he opened the door," James made a creaking noise "And black eyes stared at him from savage depths. The little boy screamed and woke up his parents but by the time they got downstairs it was too late. The werewolf had ripped the boys skin open and was happily feasting on his blood. The dad screamed and got the knife from the kitchen whilst the mother tried to pry her little boy from out of the wolf's grasp." Here James paused before ending his story "No one knows whether the family survived that night but sometimes on the full moon you can hear the wolf howling arooo!" and he snapped his jaws at them.

They all jumped in fright before Sirius declared James the winner and they moved onto another topic. The rest of their camping weekend was a boring daze which Sirius was desperate to get out of. He was never happier come Monday afternoon when Remus smiled at him on the way out of school.

Sirius was happy to announce that the next week and a half were the best of his life so far. Remus was fun to be around and once he had finished the last of his exams and school for good he was all Sirius'.

"Try, yeah like that," Sirius sighed as Remus tugged at his cock.

They were in the clearing again having decided to celebrate Remus' end of school career for the second night in a row. The moon was almost full and despite Remus looking a bit sickly he was full of life. Lifting himself from Sirius' neck he pulled him into another heady kiss quickening his strokes until Sirius was whining on top of him. A few pulls later and Sirius was spilling himself onto Remus' hand.

He tugged on Remus' hand and licked the cum off his fingers loving the way the gold in Remus' eyes got brighter as the blue darkened in lust. He let go of Remus' hand to take care of the insistent bulge that was making itself known to Sirius.

"You don't have to," Remus said despite pushing Sirius' hands on top of his jeans.

He snorted "I want to," before peeling the jeans off and tugging down the underwear that was hiding his prize. Remus didn't usually let Sirius take his clothes off and the most they had ever went was Remus giving Sirius a hand job so it was quite exciting to think that Remus trusted him enough to be this open with him and "What is that?" he stared.

Remus sat up a bit and looked to where Sirius was gazing "My penis," he pointed out.

"I can see that," Damn this boy was hung. Sirius felt a bit embarrassed at his own size in comparison but at the confused look Remus was shooting him he quickly forgot it in favour of kissing him. "It's fine," he corrected and went to work.

He trailed his hand lightly up the shaft and fingered the head watching Remus' face to see what he liked "God Sirius do something," Remus demanded and pushed his own hand on top of Sirius'. He followed the rhythm that Remus set loving the way he cast his head back and arched his neck when Sirius twisted on the way up. Something was different about tonight though.

Remus was usually the more dominant one when it came to these things and was quite particular to what positions Sirius could take but he was gentle in his way about it. Tonight on the other hand had Sirius stroking him one minute and the next he was flat on his back. Remus was down by his thighs doing a good job of getting his flaccid cock interested. He kissed, bit, sucked and licked until they were drenched in spit. Only then were his legs hoisted up and he was told to keep a hold of them. He vaguely heard himself ask why.

"I doubt you want us to shag just yet so this is just an alternative," He growled. The tone going straight to his groin. His features softened a bit when he realised how presumptuous that sounded "Please?"

The dog in Sirius was happy to do so so he gave his affirmative and felt Remus' cock push through his thighs in mock penetration. He watched as pure bliss washed over Remus' face and moaned when he started thrusting gently. He tried clenching his thighs and got a firmer thrust and a moan out of him so he did it again. Alternating where he did it and watching as Remus finally lost it and started pushing him into the dirt. Sirius had never felt more alive than in that moment and briefly glanced at the moon. All of nature was attuned to the beauty pushing into him and he couldn't help voicing his own moans along with Remus. Their voices singing like howls in the night. Until Remus stilled and Sirius felt wetness coat his thighs and Remus moving his legs to the side so he could fall gently on top of him.

Sirius propped himself up on one arm to watch and play with the hair that shone silver in the moonlight. "I love you," He told him and watched as Remus lifted his head up.

A sleepy wondered face met his own "I love you too."

They stayed in the woods for an hour more before Remus had to go home to his parents and himself to James. They parted at the edge of the trees sharing one last kiss.

"I love you," Sirius said as he had been for the last hour. The words wouldn't stop coming out and he was glad they didn't when it made Remus' light up like that.

"Same," He let go of their hands and cast his gaze towards the houses "I can't see you for a couple of days" Remus announced suddenly.

"What why not?"

"My mother's sick," He explained "Dad wants me looking after her while he goes off to work. And before you suggest it I offered to take the night shift as well," Remus pecked him when he pouted "Don't worry, it'll only be for a couple of days. After that I'm all yours."

"I'll hold you to that," Sirius vowed before parting ways with Remus.

True to his word Remus didn't come out the next day so Sirius spent it goofing around with James and offering tips from his own love life to James'. He did it to partly rub his happiness in James' face and the other because he didn't see why he was still struggling with a girl who wasn't interested when Sirius didn't have to with his own love.

"You get one boyfriend-"

"Love of my life," Sirius corrected.

"And suddenly you think you know everything," James groaned falling face first into Sirius' pillow.

The full moon was casting a lovely gaze into his room and sending Sirius' thoughts down the path of last night. That was until a howl tore into his ears. It happened every month according to Mrs Potter and turned out to just be a dog most times and others a neighbour who no one spoke of. But then Sirius thought back to the story James told at the camp and seconds later James was holding a shaking Padfoot.

"What the- Sirius. What on earth are you doing?" Sirius whined as another howl broke the air. It didn't sound like a dog to his canine ears. It sounded large and powerful and also lonely. He changed back.

"James that isn't a dog," He declared rushing to the window to make sure there was nothing lurking in their garden.

"What?" James finally understood what he was talking about "Oh Merlin not that stupid- I made it up you moron!" He whacked Sirius with a Daily Prophet.

"Then what the hell is making that sound?" He demanded "It isn't a dog. I can tell," He whimpered fighting down the urge to howl back at the lonely creature. It could be dangerous after all.

"It's probably that poor kid that lives on the outskirts," James explained.

Sirius turned accusingly at him "You just said-"

"I said I made up the werewolf and I did," He interrupted "I got the idea from the kid who lives in the house on the outskirts. He screams every month but his parents don't get charged with anything. No one really knows what he looks like since he sneaks in and out of the house so it could be anyone. Also the times the muggle police have investigated they come out with nothing."

"So you made him into a werewolf?" Sirius clarified moving away from the window. He wasn't fully convinced since it did sound an awful lot like a wolf.

"Yeah. I know it was mean but you have to admit he sounds like one," Sirius nodded before climbing onto the bed next to James. "Not to mention I couldn't think of anything to top the Prewetts story. Kingsley has a gift," He shuddered.

The howling got louder before cutting off abruptly. "Maybe someone should call the police," Sirius suggested. The silence was chilling and seemed more sinister than the howling. At least when there was noise it meant the kid was still alive.

"I just told you it does no good. The neighbours have probably already called in any case," James soothed before getting up to go to bed. He stopped before he got to the door "It doesn't usually bother you, are you sure there's nothing else wrong?"

Sirius thought about that. It was true that the howling hadn't bothered him last month or the year before when he had stayed the remainder of the summer. "I guess I just didn't notice it before," he concluded which was true. If there was any noise he usually put it down to the wind.

"Well just try and ignore it tonight Pads. It doesn't do any good to worry about him and it's only one night a month," James commented leaving him staring out the window.

Sirius didn't believe that the kid was alright despite what James said. It didn't add up and Sirius' worry about it being a werewolf became stronger. After all James said it only happened once a month. What kid being abused would only scream like that once a month. They would be loud all the time if something as violent as that was happening to them. Then there was the fact that the full moon was still glaring through his window and that the screams sounded more animal than human.

Another loud howl abruptly cut off in a pitched whine and Sirius decided he'd had enough. He sneaked into James' room, bypassing the snoring teen, and stole the cloak from his trunk. Shoving his boots on he made sure to take his key before locking the door after him and running towards the howling.

It wasn't hard to find the house it came from. The neighbours were talking with the police and pointing towards the windows of the last house on the street. It seemed like a routine procedure since the police weren't charging in straight away despite the echoing screams issuing from the house.

The cloak kept him hidden as he sneaked past the cars and waited for the police to knock on the houses' door. The people who opened were tired with bags under their eyes as well as a noticeable bruise adorning the man's face. When the police came in Sirius followed but ignored the group congregating in the living room in favour of looking for the source of the howling. Since that was what it was. There was no doubt about it that the sounds from the house were human and from the sounds of the police they didn't think so either. They were talking over RSPCA protocol as Sirius passed a framed photo that caught his eye.

Inside was the couple from the doorway along with Sirius' blond angel. This was Remus' house. Sirius had an odd urge to go rifling through his drawers but the howl cut through that thought. It was coming from the direction of the stairs. A door was underneath with at least fifteen locks on it. Thankfully James had discovered muggle locks in second year and Sirius had spent the past three picking them so it only took him half an hour and a lecture on dangerous dogs before the last lock clicked open and he slipped through the door. He made sure the door clicked gently behind him as it closed before looking around at well nothing. There was no light to speak of so Sirius searched the wall until his hand clicked a switch to turn a dull yellow bulb on.

He was in a narrow staircase that opened out at the bottom into the basement. He couldn't see more than what the bulb shed light on and thus the room below stayed dark. But the walls leading down were less than welcoming. Brown hand prints were splattered on the walls and door and Sirius had a horrible image of Remus lying bloody at the bottom. He took the first few steps down in his haste but backed up quickly when a massive paw clawed into the narrow staircase. Whatever was down there was too big to get up and just left indents in the walls for where it could reach.

The hand prints continued down though so Sirius cast off the cloak and left it at the top of the stairs in the corner behind the door before calling a timid "Remus," into the room. A snarl echoed back at him as well as a whimper as the thing backed away from the stairs.

Sirius fingered the brown stains that slowly became brighter as new blood shone on the walls and the hand prints turned from human to distortions of one. Sirius noted one of them stretching all the way to the bottom of the stairs and had a brief sickening image of Remus being dragged down by the monster. He took a breath before summoning his Gryffindor courage and running into the basement.

The light from the top shone hesitantly into the room and illuminated nothing more than the bottom of the stairs. Nevertheless there was a window small enough to remain hidden from the monster at the far corner of the room and shed some light. But it wasn't enough to see by. Sirius felt around the floor quickly as he heard the monster recover from his shock of Sirius coming into the room. He wished more than anything that he had brought his wand. But the stupid thing was left on his bedside table back at the Potters.

He heard the claws scraping and sprinted to the corner of the room as the monster charged. Searching wildly anywhere he went for signs of Remus. Another scrape and Sirius dodged enough to avoid being eaten but he was left scratched for his troubles. The pain was horrid and Sirius quickly turned into Padfoot to alleviate some of the shutting down instincts his human self was forcing on his body.

He whined from his wound. And also from the truth that Padfoot forced him to accept. The truth that he hadn't even let himself consider when he went looking for Remus in the basement.

An echoing whine sounded from across the room and Padfoot looked up to see Remus cocking his head and sniffing. He wondered vaguely why he wasn't being eaten.

The wolf began sniffing around the room as Padfoot edged further into the centre of the room. He couldn't see what colour Remus' fur was but he could smell him as he moved closer to Padfoot. There was a hint of blood colouring the scent which Padfoot disregarded as Remus sniffed along his flank and came to rest at his front. A little growl came out of his throat and Padfoot did what any dog did and rolled onto his belly in submission. The wolf just sniffed him again before moving off and sitting down.

He yipped and Padfoot rolled back onto his front still wondering why he wasn't being eaten. The wolf then went down on his forepaws and for the rest of his life he will say that it was Padfoot taking over then since he didn't try and run for it. Instead he engaged a werewolf in a wrestling match.

Dawn came with the wolf keening before his bones broke and his snout shrank back into that of Remus' face. He changed back when Remus was bent over bleeding on the ground fully human and allowed the emotions that Padfoot to suppress come to the surface.

Remus was a werewolf. He was a dark creature and Sirius hadn't even known it. Some Auror he was going to make if he couldn't even spot that his boyfriend turned into a hairy monster once a month. He should have seen the signs. The scars, they eyes and the sickness around the full moon. He knew that he should be feeling horrified now but after six hours of being pinned by a playful wolf all he could think was.

"Are you alright?" And went over to help Remus up. The boy was startled and gazed horrified as Sirius grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing here?" He cried and pushed Sirius away like he was still going to change into a wolf. "Get out!"

"Rem..."

"Out!" He bellowed and Sirius heard footsteps sounding upstairs. He ran up the narrow ones to the top of the stairs and pulled the cloak on just as the door swung open and Remus' father sprinted into the room.

"The locks were gone," he heard him say and Remus sobbing in the basement as he left and ran back towards the Potters.

He remembered when he flung himself on his bed that he was hurt and checked to see how bad the scratches were. They caught his side but had clotted earlier that night so there would be no need for a hospital trip. Sirius sighed and clenched his eyes shut, not knowing what to do now other than sleep.

He couldn't tell James when he woke up. Just handed the cloak back and sat in the living room thinking about what had happened. James tried to get what happened out of him since he had deduced that Sirius had went over. But he kept his mouth shut and eventually James went away to bother his parents.

He was still sulking in the living room that evening when Mr Potter came home. The man took one look at Sirius and pulled up a chair near him. That was one of the great things about him. He wasn't anything like his own father who would have told Sirius to sulk in private. He actually cared about what was upsetting him.

"James tells me that you're a little upset," He started "Is there something you want to talk about?" Sirius shook his head "Okay then," he patted his arm. "You know I don't think I've seen you this happy since you came to live with us at the start of the summer. Not now obviously but before."

"Something changed," Sirius muttered watching Mr Potters eyebrows draw.

"Did it now," Sirius nodded. "I don't suppose this thing that changed would be a bad thing would it?" He shrugged not knowing. Mr Potter became contemplative "Well if it isn't a bad thing then I don't see why you can't just accept this change. You're an adaptable boy Sirius. Difficulties, good and bad, haven't hindered you before so why should they now. So long as your happy at the end of the day isn't that all that matters." He clapped him on the arm and left. The advice he gave was the best he could in such an unknown situation. Sirius found that it did help though and began thinking about his problem with Remus differently.

Two days later found him knocking on the Lupins door. It was Remus' mother that came to answer it looking suspiciously at Sirius. He gave her his most winning smile before asking if Remus was in. She didn't seem to want to co-operate but went to go get her son anyway.

As soon as Remus saw him the blood drained out of his face and he looked just as pale as he did before the full moon.

"Can we talk?" Sirius offered looking as harmless as he could. Remus still shook his head so Sirius adopted his Padfoot eyes "Please?"

Mrs Lupin was watching them with narrowed eyes and was just waiting for Remus to tell her to shut the door. But either Remus' wolf remembered his Padfoot or Remus was willing to listen since he said to wait whilst he put his shoes on. Remus waved goodbye to his mother after promising her he would be back in two hours or less.

They made their way to the woods and the clearing that had become Sirius' favourite spot in James' home town. Remus scuffed his shoe and refused to look at Sirius.

Sirius ended up breaking the silence with a poorly thought out "So, you're a werewolf."

"I'm leaving," Sirius grabbed his arm and begged him to stay.

"I'm sorry. It's hard for me to get my head around this," He offered whilst Remus' eyes filled with angry tears.

"For you to get your head around? I didn't even know they existed until I got bitten. How do you think I felt?" which made him feel even worse about his opener.

"I didn't mean it like- Look I didn't come here to fight. I just wanted to let you know that it doesn't change how I feel about you," He spluttered.

Remus looked anything but relieved at Sirius' deceleration "Oh well thanks for that," He muttered sarcastically "Good to know that turning into a monster once a month doesn't drive you away. It should change how you feel!" He shouted.

"Well it doesn't and I don't care. Remus I don't care about it," He insisted.

"I'm a monster!" Remus growled back.

Sirius shook his head "No you're not. You're just ill." Remus' eyebrows drew together "It shouldn't have even crossed my mind that someone like you could be a monster because you're not. You're not Remus!"He had come to this decision yesterday after everything he had read on the subject of werewolves was proven wrong by Remus. He didn't seek out his prey to change at the full moon. The scars were there because he would rather hurt himself than others. There was nothing monstrous about Remus and there shouldn't have been anything to insinuate that either. It was amazing how all of his beliefs had changed so quickly.

He pulled Remus to sit down next to him and they sat in silence for a while. Sirius studied Remus anew now that he found out his secret. "You're not going to tell anyone are you?" he heard Remus ask.

"Of course not. Merlin knows what the ministry would do with you," He said and watched as Remus eyes widened. He'd heard about the ministry then. Good. It would save some explaining.

"You know about them?"

"I'm kind of like them," he pulled his wand out "I'm a wizard," he handed it over to him "Careful it actually does work."

Remus looked incredulous "You're not kidding me?"

"No," Remus was fingering his wand delicately "That's why I brought it up. I was going to explain about the wizarding world in my speech but then we argued and now it seems pointless. So, thanks you've ruined my dramatic monologue," Remus chuckled.

"Shame," he teased and handed the wand back.

"So how do you know about them?"

"They came after I was bitten. They were capturing the guy who bit me and invaded our house with their wands flying everywhere," He waved his hands in a re-enactment "Mum had to hide me in the basement so they wouldn't find me but I saw enough to know that they weren't there to help me. They did some kind of memory thing on my parents though," He said with a frown "They didn't know what I was talking about when I asked where the werewolf went. You should have seen their faces when I changed for the first time," he shuddered. "It was awful."

"It was better than what they would have done to you at the Ministry," Sirius promised. He had heard his father come in with stories about muggles that were turned. They were mostly all executed, young or old.

"Is what you do then? You work for this ministry?" Sirius laughed and shook his head. He figured that if he just told Remus and didn't do any magic then they would be safe from the Ministry's rules for now. People had relationships with muggles all the time so there must be some lenience in how they revealed the wizarding world.

He told Remus about Hogwarts and how James went there as well. Remus laughed at that remembering the stories people had told him about the little terror that was James Potter. He told Remus about how there were other work opportunities than the Ministry and eventually told him about what happened the other night.

"I didn't know it was you at first and then I thought you were in trouble," He explained "It took me turning into Padfoot to finally accept that you were a werewolf. I could smell you as the wolf and it just made everything clear."

"Padfoot?"

"My animagus. Wizards can change their shape if they do this process. It's difficult and sometimes results in death but James, Peter and I haven't been known to follow the rules and now we're illegal animagi," He laughed "My form's a dog but it has big feet which is why James called it Padfoot. Would you like to see it?"

"Can I? Or is it considered underage magic?" Sirius thought about it but he had been changing into Padfoot since the beginning of fifth year at James'. Not to mention the times this summer they had done it.

Sirius got up and soon there was a black dog nosing its way under Remus' shirt. He laughed and stroked Padfoots head calling him cute which Sirius wouldn't stand for. He changed back and lunged himself onto Remus.

"I am not cute," he insisted "I'm ferocious and an omen of death. You should be cowering Lupin," He crowed as Remus kept laughing.

Remus threaded his hands in Sirius' hair "To me you're cute. After all when you're a wolf dogs are nothing but small imitations," He joked and was subjected to Sirius trying to pin him down. Naturally Remus won like always. "So what's James and Peter then?"

"Well James is a deer and Peter's a rat."

Remus narrowed his eyes "Not a stag?" he growled to which Sirius nodded. Remus pinned him again "I can't believe you did that. That's creepy. Urgh I'm never going to be able to look at James again," Sirius laughed "I stroked his neck," Remus shuddered sending Sirius into hysterics.

He eventually let Sirius up after he swore to always tell him if it was James if they saw a deer. Sirius continued about Padfoot playing with the wolf and concluded with him helping Remus up the next morning.

"I wonder why that is?" Remus pondered.

"Dunno," Sirius answered having had the same thoughts for days. "If it helps though why question it."

"True." Remus paused and cast his eyes to his watch "I have to go. Mum'll be waiting."

"Okay. Can I walk you back?" He asked happy to finally know where he lived. Remus sighed before relenting and they strolled back towards the Lupin's domain. "Are you going to the hoppings with me?"

Remus smirked "I dunno. Are you sure you want to be seen with me still?"

"I told you before, I don't care Remus. So, are you?" Remus nodded to which Sirius let out a breath of relief "Thank Merlin. James was going on about all these muggle things and I had no idea what he was talking about. He won't shut up about them now which makes it even worse."

Remus smiled "Wow, you really don't know about these things do you?" and he shook his head "There is so much I'm going to have to teach you."

"Too right."

The rest of the summer was happily spent together. Sirius didn't let on about Remus being a werewolf to James until they went back to school. It took some convincing for him to allow Sirius to continue dating Remus but once they all spent the full moon together at Christmas James relented. He even helped look up spells that would keep the police from nosing around on full moons and silencing spells that would stay long term.

By the time Sirius was seventeen Remus had a fully warded wood prepared for his jaunt on the full moon. They made sure no one was in them before closing it off so they could roam in peace. It was worth every bath Padfoot had to take afterwards since Remus was up and walking with only a couple of new scratches the next morning.

They were lying in Sirius' bed the night before he left for school the next morning and Remus to his last year of sixth form. The Potters had been kind enough to let Remus in so long as he promised not to tell of the odd things he witnessed. Also that they refrained from doing anything too inappropriate. It wasn't going to happen even if Sirius wanted it too. The full moon had been the night before and they were both still tired from running around the woods. Sirius couldn't help thinking about his last year before he was on his own. Out in the world and trying to make a difference. He had abandoned the idea of an Auror mid way into sixth year.

His defence teacher had issued an essay on the dangers of a werewolf to which Sirius wrote a controversial essay about how they were only dangerous on a full moon. To say he wasn't pleased was an understatement. Two detentions later and Sirius had campaigned against the teacher to change his mark to an O. After winning his case a month later Sirius decided to become an adversary in the changes of werewolves rights.

"You're not helping me sleep," Remus muttered batting off Sirius' playful fingers. They ended up running through Remus' silvery blond hair.

"So?" He played with Remus' fringe to which his boyfriend just huffed. "I am so glad James dumped me that day." He smiled and kissed Remus goodnight.