Black Is The Colour

Black Is The Colour by Aloysius

Chapter One - A New Beginning

"Stupid bloody robes," Peter whined, managing somehow to wrap himself up in them as he attempted to fold them.

After another couple of minutes of struggling, he extricated himself with a curse, screwed the offending garments up into a ball and cast them into his trunk.

"Mum'll have a fit when she sees that," he muttered, "but I'd rather be yelled at for five minutes tomorrow than spend hours doing it properly now."

Remus, who had packed up all his belongings earlier in the day, looked up from his book and caught the eye of Sirius, who was lounging on his own bed. They shared a smile at this characteristic statement of Peter's, then Remus went back to his reading.

At the foot of the fourth bed, James was carefully stacking books in the bottom of his own trunk. Straightening up to collect some more, he glanced over at Sirius' empty trunk.

"You're leaving it a bit late, aren't you?" he said.

In answer, Sirius produced his wand with a flourish. Once he had the attention of the other three boys, he executed a complicated wand manoeuvre and called out an incantation unlike any they had learned in class. Behind him, his cupboard doors opened smoothly and his possessions flew out into the air. They dropped one by one into his trunk and, within a minute, everything was stowed neatly away. The trunk closed itself, leaving Sirius grinning smugly in the face of the others' astonishment.

"That was incredible!" James exclaimed. "Where did you learn that?"

Sirius put his wand away again. "Oh, I first thought of it when we were packing up for Christmas, so I did some research and found something that was sort of a cross between a levitation spell and a summoning charm. I've been working on it all term."

"Why didn't you teach it to the rest of us?" Peter complained.

"Because he wanted to show off, of course," Remus told him, before turning back to his book with feigned boredom.

It was the last day of their fifth year at Hogwarts. OWLs were over and the long summer holiday stretched before them, a release from lessons but also a separation from one another's company. The following morning, they would catch the Hogwarts Express back to London and perhaps not see each other for several weeks. Sirius' parents wouldn't allow his friends to stay in the holidays, Remus' house was too small for guests, and Peter lived too far away from the others for them to visit him easily, so they sometimes met up at the Potters', but it wasn't the same as sharing a dormitory at school.

So, when James and Peter finished their packing, and James suggested they all turn in for the night, Sirius was loath to do so.

"But we've got to be up really early tomorrow, and we'll have all day on the train," James pointed out sensibly.

Before Sirius could argue, Remus put his book down and offered, "I'll stay up a while with you, Pads. We can close the drapes on your bed and put a Silencing Charm on them so we don't disturb the others."

Silencing Charms were something they had all mastered early on to combat the problem of Peter's snoring, but were also used for this purpose of accommodating those who wanted to go to bed early.

Sirius immediately shifted to make room for Remus on the bed, they said goodnight to the other two and implemented their isolation.

"Not looking forward to going home?" Remus asked once they were settled.

"Do I ever?" Sirius replied despondently.

Remus grimaced in sympathy. Remus was an excellent listener - compassionate and attentive. Despite all his own difficulties in life, he would always make time to listen to Sirius' troubles and, over the years of their friendship, Sirius had opened up to him a lot about his home life. He knew Remus' parents were over-protective and often almost stifling, but that never prevented Remus from understanding the opposite problem that Sirius had with his family. Sirius felt very comfortable in Remus' quiet, loyal company, and they had become very close. Out of all his friends, Sirius thought he was going to miss Remus the most over the summer.

"Six weeks is a long time in that house," Sirius elaborated. He thought for a moment, calculating the days. "And you'll have to make it through two full moons on your own." He didn't like the thought of Remus having to go back to being locked up to mutilate himself during his transformation. The last few full moons, since the others had become Animagi, had been far more pleasant - and even fun for the werewolf.

Remus chuckled suddenly, surprising Sirius with the unexpected reaction.

At Sirius' questioning glance, he explained, "I just thought it was strange for two sixteen-year-old boys to be so depressed about the school holidays."

Sirius smiled in agreement. "I suppose neither of us is exactly normal." He lay back across the bedclothes, putting his hands behind his head. "I just wish we could stay here all the time - you and me. And James and Pete, of course," he added almost as an afterthought.

Remus shifted forwards so he was leaning slightly over Sirius, and captured his gaze. "Of course James and Pete as well," he murmured.

They fell into silence, and Sirius found himself mesmerised by Remus' gaze, a warm feeling spreading through him as he regarded his friend.

Suddenly, Remus leaned down and kissed him. It felt so completely natural and right, that Sirius just kissed him back.

* * * * *

Sirius drifted back to awareness slowly; the familiar sensation of Hogwarts bedclothes against his skin made him feel warm and safe. He stretched and snuggled deeper under the covers, not wanting to acknowledge the start of a new day just yet.

However, a sleepy murmur of "Good morning" right in his ear startled him fully awake. Then he felt an arm slip round his waist from behind, followed by a warm body pressing against him.

For a moment, Sirius' brain froze in confused panic as he scrambled for an explanation, but then the memories rushed back and with them came a wave of contentment. He ran his fingers down the arm that held him, finally entwining them in the fingers that were gently stroking his abdomen.

He smiled. "Good morning to you, too," he said to Remus.

Sirius thought back to the previous night. When Remus had kissed him, it hadn't taken him by surprise at all - which, in retrospect, was perhaps rather surprising in itself. What followed was some inexpert fumbling, a few awkward limb entanglements, and a messy but satisfying conclusion. Ever practical, Remus had produced his wand and performed an excellent clean-up - and then they had just curled up together and gone to sleep, without even saying a word about what had happened.

Now, the morning after, Sirius rolled over and was confronted by such a goofy grin on Remus' face that he knew there would be no regrets. Evidently, his own expression didn't convey the same assurances, since Remus immediately frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"

"It's just going to be even harder to say goodbye to you today, now," Sirius told him.

Remus smiled in relief and gathered Sirius in his arms, planting a kiss on his lips. "But just think how much better it's going to be when we see each other again."

Sirius hugged him tightly. "I wish I could come and stay with you over the summer," he said.

"I do, too," came the muffled reply, "but you know you can't. I don't fancy explaining to my parents why you wouldn't mind sharing my bed."

Now it was Sirius' turn to be practical. "Speaking of explanations, hadn't you better get back to your own bed now? The others will be up soon."

"Are we going to keep this a secret from James and Peter, then?" Remus asked worriedly.

"Not necessarily," Sirius reasoned, "but I think we need to talk about that, and I don't really want to have to deal with that this morning, if you don't mind." He kissed Remus on the nose, making the other boy smile. "I'd rather just enjoy this for the moment, before it gets complicated."

He was relieved when Remus agreed with him. "Fair enough," Remus said, then slipped noiselessly between the drapes, leaving Sirius alone in his bed.

* * * * *