Chapter 3
Title: Moonstruck
Pairing: Sirius/Remus
In which Sirius takes a stand.
Chapter 3
Instead of their usual spot in the Library, Sirius had convinced Remus to go with him to an abandoned classroom for their next meeting. He had made some excuse about not wanting to run into any Slytherins, but what he really wanted was a chance to spend some quality alone-time with Remus. They had settled down on the floor by a large window and Sirius demonstrated his Transfiguration savvy by conjuring them a couple of cushions. They quietly worked on Arithmancy for a while, before Sirius spoke up.
"What would you say if I told you some of what Snape said was true?”
“I don’t think you need me to protect you, Sirius.”
“No…I mean the other stuff.”
Remus raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t look disgusted. “I would say your fanclub is in for a disappointment.”
“Would you deck me if I kissed you?” But before Remus could respond, Sirius decided to take the risk. He leaned toward the smaller boy and closed his eyes before making contact. His lips were softer than Sirius had imagined, and he had imagined quite a bit. He regretfully pulled back to see the Ravenclaw’s reaction.
But instead of hitting him, Remus grasped his shoulders and pulled him closer. They kissed again, longer this time, and Sirius hesitantly ran his fingers through the other boy’s tawny hair. He heard Remus let out a soft sigh before pressing their lips together once more. Tongues entered the equation, and Sirius felt all thoughts leave his head except the desire for more.
He allowed himself to relax as they made their way down to the floor. The feeling of Remus beneath him was exquisite, the taste of his mouth even better. He tasted faintly of chocolate and cinnamon, and Sirius had to smile. He ran his hands down the other boy’s side, but as he made his way under the Ravenclaw’s shirt to touch skin, the smaller boy shoved him off and jumped up.
“We can’t- we can’t do this.” Remus stated, his voice shaky.
Sirius tore his eyes off the swollen lips to take in the panicked look on the other boy’s face. “What? Why not?”
“We just can’t.” The smaller boy turned and quickly made his way towards the door. Sirius just stared after him, dazed, before coming to his senses and running after him.
“Remus, wait!” Sirius caught up with him before he left the room. “Are you upset because I’m a boy?”
“No, I…I quite like you as a boy.” Remus replied with a small smile. “But we can’t be more than friends,” he added as Sirius started to return the smile.
The Gryffindor frowned at this. “You like me though? You kissed me back.”
“Sirius…,” the fair-haired boy sighed.
“Are you with someone else?”
“Gods, no! It’s just…we’re very different. And there are things about me you don’t know…”
“But I’d like to get to know you better.”
~~~((*))~~~
It had taken some time, but Sirius had finally convinced Remus to give their relationship a shot. However, the Ravenclaw had set up a few rules. First, he made it clear that he didn’t want Sirius asking him questions about his past. The dark haired boy wondered what mysterious secrets his boyfriend was hiding, but had quickly agreed. The second request had been harder to swallow. Remus had stated he didn’t want to take his clothes off. Ever. Now, Sirius would have understood if the other boy had asked that they take it slow. Heck, it wasn’t as if he had any idea what two guys did together either, so he wasn’t planning on rushing into anything. But he was fairly certain that clothes would need to come off at some point. But he had hidden his disappointment and nodded, eager to have the smaller boy in his arms again. He figured the first step was to simply get Remus to agree to be together. What they actually did together could be negotiated later.
"Come sit with me today Rem," Sirius cajoled his boyfriend on their way to the Great Hall for lunch.
"Are you off your rocker? McGonagall will have a fit."
"Pleeeease?" Sirius used the puppy dog eyes that never failed to get him what he wanted.
"I don't fancy getting a detention, thank you very much." Unfortunately, Remus seemed to be immune to them. Especially when he was pointedly not looking at the taller boy.
"Then you'll be forcing me to come sit at Ravenclaw today and make a spectacle of myself. And embarrass you in front of all your House-mates." Sirius replied sweetly.
The smaller boy hesitated in front of the entranceway and glared at his companion. "That's blackmail."
"Well, I am a Black." Sirius grinned.
~~~((*))~~~
"Mr. Lupin. Do you want to explain why you are not sitting with the rest of your classmates?" McGonagall peered at the pale boy through her spectacles.
"He is sitting with a classmate." Sirius shot back.
"Sirius," Remus warned, touching the other boy's arm, "I'm sorry professor, I'll move back."
"No!" The dark haired boy grabbed his boyfriend's wrist when he started to stand up. "Why should he have to move?"
"Mr. Black, I am sure you are aware of the longstanding tradition at Hogwarts for students in the same dorm to sit together. The founders of the school started this practice for a reason. Are you aware of what that reason is?"
"Of course.” Sirius suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Barely. “To promote camaraderie. That's all well and good professor, but there are no Houses in the real world. What about promoting friendships between students of different Houses?"
"That's what class and extracurricular activities are for."
"Well, Remus and I don't have any classes together. And I'm sure you'll agree that Quidditch is more equipped to promote competition than friendly feelings."
"Mr. Black. . ." McGonagall started exasperatedly.
But Sirius interrupted. "Please, professor. You said that sitting with your House is a tradition, right? So there isn't any specific rule against sitting with members of another House."
The transfiguration teacher paused. "No, there isn't any rule prohibiting it." She turned to the quieter of the two and stated tersely, "Very well Lupin, you may stay." She maintained her stern appearance, but before she turned Sirius thought he glimpsed the twitch of a smile on the old cat's face.
He grinned at Remus, who looked more embarrassed than anything. During the confrontation the Great Hall had fallen silent to witness what the Head of Gryffindor House would do to the infamous troublemaker.
"Well," James spoke up, "that settles that." He grabbed his food and strolled over to the Ravenclaw table next to the flame-haired object of his affection. "May I sit here?"
Lily looked a bit surprised, but pleased, and scooted over.
Slowly, but surely, several other students got up to sit with friends at other tables. The only House that remained "pure" was, predictably, the Slytherins. They glared resentfully at the rest of the Great Hall but refused to move.
~~~((*))~~~
"That was a foolish thing you did, challenging McGonagall like that."
"Foolish but brave, right? Foolish but charming." Sirius teased, batting his eyelashes.
"Foolish. . . but hot."
Sirius found himself shoved up against the wall, his boyfriend apparently trying to make sure his tonsils were still intact. “You’re frisky today,” he managed to gasp after gulping in some much-needed air.
“Is that a problem?” Remus asked huskily.
“No! No problem.” He groaned as the smaller boy rubbed up against him and returned to snogging him senseless. Things were heating up nicely, when a group of students exited the Great Hall and interrupted them. The story of my life, Sirius thought with a frustrated sigh. “Let’s go somewhere more private.”
Remus just shot him a wolfish grin.