A/N: Hello! This is my first AU (and my second ever fic) yay!

It's basically a non magical AU and all shall be explained by reading, so enjoy! It was originally inspired by Minnow 53's Ain't No Bitches, but it kind of took a different turn and went non magical, but my original idea came from that fic, which is awesome and made me cry

Oh and for fans of my first, main, borderlining epic fic Hate, Love and The Rest, fear not, this is only a side project and HLATR will not be abandoned.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is property or J.K. Rowling and various corporations, anything you recognise is not mine. Because if they were mine, there would have been a lot more buttsex... uh, I mean subtext and a lot less Tonks luvin.

December 12th, 1970

Remus looks up at his Daddy. He looks sad, because he's found Remus trying to read again. Though he's not exactly reading. He's looking at the pictures. His Mummy used to read this book to him before she went away.

He feels stupid when he looks at the books and they don't make sense, especially when all the other boys his age can read. When the boys at school found out they started calling him nasty names and said he was stupid. It was worse than when they found out he still called his Mummy and Daddy, Mummy and Daddy.

The teacher's say he's stupid too. He gets bad marks. He's just quiet and sometimes he comes off a bit simple, because he doesn't know as many words and he doesn't read. And it's not like he doesn't know anything Daddy teaches him stuff at home, he teaches him cooking and cleaning and other things he'll find useful. That's all people like us will ever amount to, that's what Remus's Granddad used to say. And Daddy doesn't read either anyway, so he'll never learn, because it was Mummy who read and she went away. Daddy's sure she'll come back though, he likes to keep the house clean for her.

Because Remus can see the book is making daddy sad, so he puts it away. He asks Daddy about going to the other school again. Daddy says that he can't go because he's too poor. He'll have to stick with going to the free school, even though it doesn't do him much good going there.

Daddy says it's not all it's cracked up to be, private school. But Remus really wants to go, the nasty boys who call him names in school now don't go there.

He can see the private school's playground from his bed room window, and because they start an hour later and leave an hour later that Remus does, he watches them walk home.

He sees one boy a lot because this boy walks by the big window in his living room everyday on his way to and back from school, and Remus can see he's very handsome. He looks like the pictures of the princes in the picture books. He has long dark hair, and steely grey eyes, that are the same colour as his mum's good cutlery. She left the cutlery when she went away. He see's Remus looking at him from his living room window. Now, most days, they wave at each other, he's Remus's only friend even though they've never spoken. If Remus is home early enough likes to look for him in the playground and he's alone lots of the time. And if he's not alone, it looks like people are being nasty to him. Remus can see them pushing him.

He thinks it strange that they pick on his friend, because he's so handsome, Remus would want to be friends with him if they went to school together. Maybe the nasty boys at the private school are just jealous.

*

Sirius watched the bullies circle round him. Michael Merchant cracked his knuckles. He hated school. Hated it. The other boys always always picked on him because he was poor. Because he got into St. Vincent's because the headmaster knew his family and because he could just barely afford to go. And because his uniform was always second hand. His family used to have the money but when Sirius was a bit younger, not too long after Regulus was born, in fact, Sirius's dad had run into some trouble with gangsters. Something about horses and cards that Sirius couldn't really remember. The bullies picked on him about that as well. Eugene Flint shoved Sirius into Edmund Birch who shoved him over to Michael Merchant, who shoved him to the ground.

The gravel scraped painfully across his elbows and Eugene pinned him to the ground and put his hands around Sirius's neck. It surprised Sirius, as they didn't try to strangle him very often. His pulse quickened and he was beginning to struggle to breathe. He tried to get up but Eugene was too heavy.

The bell rang and he sighed with relief. Just one more lesson, then home. No more bullies.

And he would get to wave at that boy again and Sirius liked to waved at that boy. Made him feel like he had a friend. The other boy, Sirius supposed, was about his age and went to the other school, the free one with the common children. His hair was light brown and his eyes were a light blue green colour, that Sirius thought was nice. The boy had a nice face. He smiled a lot. Sirius liked that.

*

John Lupin sighed. He cleared the lump from his throat and pulled his son into a hug.

"Remus... I'm sorry" he mumbled into his son's shoulder

"Sorry for what Daddy?" Remus asked worriedly as their hug broke apart

"Nothing... it's just... since Mummy" he cleared his throat "Went away... well... I've been a bit sad"

"I know Daddy. It's okay. She'll be back soon"

"Yeah. Right"

"She will daddy, she'll come back for us"

"Of course she will. But daddy wants you to know he'll get better soon. He'll be happy again soon"

"You will" Remus beamed "How?"

"Well... you know how Mummy was Jewish Remus?"

"No. I thought Mummy was French"

"Mummy was Jewish as well as French, Remus"

"Oh!"

"And daddy is Catholic. Daddy abandoned his faith a long time ago and today, he was speaking to a very nice pretty lady named Mary Black"

"That's a nice name"

"Yes, it is. And she told daddy that the path to happiness was through the lord"

"It is?"

"Yes Remus. So she invited you and me to come to mass tonight"

"Really! Wow!... what's mass?"

"It's where lots of other catholic people come to pray and worship God" Remus frowned at John's mention of God

"Oh... God... Mummy said not to believe in-"

"Well Mummy's not here anymore, is she?" Snapped John. Remus recoiled

"N-no" he stammered worriedly, his eyes round and wide with shock. John sighed

"Sorry for shouting Remus I... I... Mary has a little boy about your age you know. You might make a friend"

"Really? She does? I might? What's his name?"

"Sirius, Remus. His name is Sirius"

*

"Sirius! There you are! I've been worried sick!" Mary Black trotted over to her son, Sirius as he came in and kissed him on the forehead "Where've you been?"

"Just walked a bit slower on the way home from school is all"

"Oh thank goodness. I was worried you'd gotten lost! Wouldn't want you to miss mass like the last time that happened, would we?"
"No" Sirius mumbled

"Exactly"

"What's for dinner tonight mummy?" piped Regulus from in front of the television

"Well Regulus, it's Friday"

"So..."

"Well that means we're having fish, dummy" tutted Sirius as he sat down next to his brother

"Exactly, good boy Sirius" She smiled "But don't call your brother names. Please apologise"

"Sorry Regulus"

"Good boy. Now get changed for dinner" Sirius sighed and got up off the sofa, re emerging from his room a moment later with a clean shirt and his church trousers on. His elbows were skimmed and his neck was lightly bruised

"Sirius! What happened to you?" Mary asked, clapping her hands over her mouth. Sirius looked sheepishly at his elbows

"I fell down"

"What about your neck! There are bruises on your neck!"

"I... A game we played. It got rough"

"Are you being bullied Sirius?"

"No"

"Sirius. Lying is a sin you know"

"I know"

"Liars... especially little boys who lie to their mothers, burn in hell for all eternity you know that"

"They do?" Sirius's steel grey eyes, his father's eyes, flicked down to the floor

"Yes, of course they do. Now. Is there something you would like to tell me Sirius?" Mary asked impatiently. Sirius's eye were looking blood shot and were pointed at the ground. His lip quivered

"No"

"No?" she questioned

"No" he repeated firmly

"Alright then. We'll have tea, then it's off to evening mass, alright?"

"Yes mum"

*

They stood around after mass. Remus didn't like there being so many people he didn't know. He was shy, painfully so, and the noise frightened him. Daddy lead him over to a tall dark woman in a deep green dress with a matching hat

"Mr. Lupin" She smiled

"Please Mrs. Black, call me John"

"Well I suppose you should call me Mary"

"How's your husband? Is he here?"

"No... no. He's away on business"

"Aah, shame. Is little Sirius here? Remus is a bit shy" he leaned toward Mary and whispered, assuming Remus couldn't hear "Poor lad doesn't have too many friends... get's picked on a bit you know? He's a little... different... a bit simple like me, tell the truth" Mrs Black nodded sympathetically

"It's the same with my Sirius. I'm sure he's being bullied you know. He's... different as well" she raised her voice back to normal speaking level "speak of the devil" she laughed "Sirius! Over here, no need to bring Regulus, he's playing with Susanne, just you come over" a boy, taller than Remus shuffled over to them. His air was long, dark and thick and when his grey eyes met Remus's, they both grinned, giving each other the same wave they'd given each other almost every day for years.

"Remus, this is Sirius" said Daddy

"Sirius this is Remus" said Mary

"Hello" they said and waved again

"Why don't you two go outside and play in the park?"

"Oh John... I'm not sure about that"

"They'll be fine Mary" daddy smiled reassuringly "We can see the park from the window"

"Alright. I suppose the boys won't want to hear the adult talk either... run along boys" Mary smiled and gave them both a gentle push on the shoulders and Remus and Sirius left the church hall together.

"Hi, finally" Beamed Sirius. His smile was very handsome, all his teeth were big and straight and white

"Hullo"

"I can't believe I finally get to meet you after all that waving and stuff!"

"Yeah. It's cool"

"It's really cool! So... you're Remus?"

"I am"

"I'm Sirius! Do you want a sweet? I got them from the church hall" Remus smiled, nodded and took the sweet. It was yellow and tasted of lemons. He was in awe of Sirius. He wasn't used to people being so nice to him, or seeing people who were so handsome.

"How old are you?" asked Sirius "I'm eleven"

"I'm ten... eleven in March though"

"Okay. You go to Woodland's don't you?"

"Yeah"

"I've heard every one there is terribly common. I go to St. Vincent's. I hate it there, do you like school?" Remus shook his head

"The other boys... they're nasty"

"People are nasty to me as well. It's because I don't have as much money as they do, it's stupid, because they're all new money and they think they're better than me, but they're not. My family has ties with the school, I'm there on a half scholarship... Why do people pick on you?"

"I'm stupid"

"You don't seem stupid. You don't say much, but you don't seem stupid"

"I am"

"I bet you aren't. Did you enjoy church?"

"A bit boring boring... I didn't really understand what that man-"

"Father Lagarde?"

"Yeah him. I didn't understand what he was on about"

"Me neither really. His accent is hard to cut through as well sometimes, isn't it?"

"Yeah" Remus agreed, even though he had no trouble with the old man's accent.

"Do you like telly?" Sirius asks a lot of questions

"Can't afford one"
"That's sad. You should come to my house one day and watch some" Sirius smiled "That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Remus nodded "I feel like I've known you for ages, you know?"

"I guess... we have, haven't we?" said Remus shyly. Sirius beamed at him.

*

July 31st, 1971

"But... Matthew... me, my brothers, my father, my uncles, their father, his father and his father before him are all St. Clements' alumni! Thirty years ago it was the support of my family, and my family alone, that kept the school alive... you can't not let my Sirius go here!" Orion Black banged on Matthew Redman's desk, trying his best to show just how desperate he was.

"Your boy was lucky to get a half scholarship to St. Vincent's and you struggled to pay even the lowest fee's, Orion. And after failing the eleven plus there is no way in hell Sirius or Regulus for that matter will get full scholarships"

"Years of tradition! Destroyed! All the help! My family's reputation-"

"-has been compromised the day you got on the wrong side of the Riddles. We all know about your gambling problems Orion. Your debts. Virgil Malfoy himself informed me of their extent. You have been living far beyond your means, Orion, in the name of upholding reputation and I suggest you take what little money you have and put it toward your debt, before Riddle takes his payment in a different manner"

"What do you mean Redman?" growled Orion, he wasn't about to be threatened by some smarmy git he kicked the shit out of on a regular basis in school.

"Do you remember Gideon Prewett, Orion?" Redman said smugly

"I believe my wife knows his sister, Molly" Orion replied. Of course he remembered. It was in the papers for months.

"Quite. So you'll know that Prewett had a gambling problem of his own?"

"I may have heard"

"And you'll know that, much like you, he made the mistake of borrowing money from the Riddles"

"Again, I may have heard"

"So you may have heard what happened to him when he failed to pay his debt off?"

"No... no I never heard that much"

"They found Prewett, strung up from a tree, gutted like a fish, his daughter beaten to death and his wife, also beaten, half mad with terror"
"Oh yes... I remember now..." He swallowed, Redman exhaled, satisfied at frightening Orion "how is Sarah?" he asked

"She hung herself last October"

"Aah..." Orion shook his head, thinking aloud he continued "That would never happen to me. My niece, Bellatrix, is quite close with them. Married to one of Riddle Junior's right hand men, Lestrange and... and my other niece, Narcissa, well, she's Virgil's son's sweet heart"

"Might I remind you of the Notts?"

"What about them?"

"Philip Nott's brother, Jeffrey, works very closely with Tom Riddle Junior, he thought he could just borrow money and nothing would happen to him"

"But something did happen to him, didn't it"

"Quite right Orion. Philip's wife and son went missing and he was beaten senseless. He's a quadriplegic and they found the wife and son's remains in a field in Lancaster"

"Oh that's right"

"Signs of sexual assault on both the Wife and the son" Redman cocked an eyebrow. Orion collapsed into his chair, defeated

"Yes well... perhaps your right Matthew... perhaps reputation isn't everything"

"Quite. Sirius is a bright boy, despite failing the eleven plus, I'm sure he'll do excellently at Woodland's senior school. It's not a patch on St. Clements', obviously, but for a comprehensive school, it's not bad at all"

"Hmm...Rather"

*

Sirius knocked on the Lupin's door brightly. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and Sirius didn't have to go to St. Clements'! John Lupin answered the door, he looked curiously at Sirius

"You're looking rather jolly this afternoon, Sirius lad" he said, ushering Sirius indoors

"That's because it's a jolly good day sir. I have excellent news for Remus" He grinned at John, who's usually blank or miserable looking face became a small smile, just for a moment. It hadn't failed to escape Sirius's notice that John Lupin almost always looked miserable. He was a tall and fair, far fairer than Remus who was by no means dark, with premature lines and bones which stuck out from him at all angles. He had nose which looked as if it may have been broken once or twice and a face which suggested it may look quite boyish, were it not so tired and miserable all the time.

"He's just upstairs drawing, you should run up and tell him your good news lad" he patted Sirius on the shoulder and Sirius trotted into the cramped hall way and hopped up the stairs. Remus's room was just at the top and, apart from the bathroom, was the only upstairs room in the house. Remus's dad slept on the pull out sofa bed. Sirius pushed open the door to find Remus there, tongue poking out in effort as he drew. He jumped as Sirius entered the room.

"Sirius!" he smiled

"Hullo Remus! I have something brilliant to tell you!"

"You do? What is it?"

"I'm coming to school with you next year!" Sirius exclaimed. Remus didn't get as excited as Sirius hoped he might have. But he did smile

"You're not going to St. Clements'?" he said, his smile slowly growing

"Uh-uh" Sirius shook his head

"Why not?"

"We can't afford it, and I can't get a scholarship because I failed the eleven plus" Sirius grinned and Remus even smiled with his teeth, a rare occurrence

"This is... brilliant"

"I know! No more bullies!"

"I should be so lucky" said Remus sourly, thumbing the cut on his cheek he had obtained when Simon McKinnon had thrown a particularly large rock at him. He then called Remus names which made him cry and Sirius had spent a whole hour consoling his friend. They then went to the park and played hide and seek for three whole hours and missed mass. Neither of their parents were happy.

"No Remus! Think about it! I can look after you now, can't I! It'll be brilliant. No more bullies for you, no more bullies for me! And neither of us have to be alone anymore" He put his arm around Remus, whose smile slowly faded

"Sirius... I don't want you to see how stupid I am"

"You aren't stupid Remus"

"Yes... I am"

"Remus... I don't think you're stupid"

"You really don't?"

"How many times do I have to tell you Remus, no, no I don't" Sirius tightened his arm around Remus, who blushed and showed all his top teeth in a wide smile

"You're my best friend Sirius"

"You're my best friend Remus"

They smiled at each other and Sirius talked animatedly about how much fun secondary school was going to be for them. Remus fell asleep on his shoulder and he didn't mind.