Watching

~Watching~

~*~

Remus watched, torn between amusement and pity, as once more, Lily Evans ever-so-calmly turned down James’ request for a date. She looked frustrated, more so than usual, and he was surprised when, as James dejectedly made his way back over to where he, Sirius, and Peter were sitting, she turned her gaze to him, eyes narrowed in what looked to be anger. Anger directed, for some unfathomable reason, at him.

He frowned, chewing absently on his lip. As far as he knew, he hadn’t done anything recently that would be likely to anger her, and it certainly wouldn’t be fair to blame him for James’ countless attempts to persuade her to go on a date with him.

She stood there for several moments, pale hands clenched into fists at her side, just watching him, before abruptly turning on her heel and stalking up to the steps to her room. Blinking, he turned his attention to his friends, trying to shake off the confusion her actions had left him with.

James was talking animatedly about Lily, and just how unfair it was that she was always refusing to even give him a try. Apparently, it went against the laws of nature for a girl to not want to date the James Potter - and, Sirius put in, pouting dramatically, the Sirius Black - and

that there must be something wrong with Lily’s eyes if she couldn’t tell what she was missing out on.

Peter was, for the most part, ignoring the conversation, engrossed in what was either a very romantic Potion’s essay – due first class the next morning, and no one but Remus had started yet – or another letter to his Hufflepuff girlfriend, Marissa Clarkson.

Not particularly feeling like getting into yet another discussion of the merits of James Potter - and Sirius Black, thank you very much, Prongs - versus every other male alive, Remus stood, stretching his arms above his head and yawning.

“Sleep,” he informed his three friends eloquently, amused by the puzzled look on James’ face at the words. “I’m tired,” he explained, and understanding dawned in their eyes. The full moon had only just passed, after all, and he was prone to falling asleep at the oddest moments – such as ten o’clock at night – for several days before and afterwards.

James and Sirius both muttered quick “goodnights” before turning back to their conversation, Peter made a sound that could be considered something along those lines, and Remus smiled slightly before heading up to his own dorm.

~*~

Remus was surprised when he returned to the Gryffindor tower at the end of the day to find Lily waiting for him at the entrance, arms folded primly across her chest, an expression of irritation on her face.

“Honestly, Remus,” she breathed when he stopped in front of the portrait and had just opened his mouth to give the Fat Lady the password. “How long can it possibly take to get here from the Great Hall? Did you get lost?”

He raised an eyebrow at her, trying to hide his surprise beneath a cool expression. “I didn’t realise that you would be waiting for me.”

She scowled. “Well I was, and have been doing so for quite some time.” She tapped her fingers against her arm, and Remus noticed that her nails were coloured the same fiery red as her hair. “I need to talk to you.”

“And you couldn’t have waited for me in the Common Room?”

“No, I couldn’t,” she replied. “Now could we go find one of those ever so usefully deserted classrooms? I’ve still got to finish my Transfigurations essay after this.”

Remus frowned. “What will you do if I say that I don’t want to talk to you?”

“Honestly, Remus,” Lily sighed exasperatedly. “It’s not going to kill you to talk to me for five minutes, James certainly manages it well enough. I promise not to take up too much of your precious time,” she said sarcastically.

Remus blinked. While Lily had made it clear, several times over, that she didn’t particularly care for the Marauders – or the pranks that they were constantly pulling – she usually wasn’t quite so snappish about it, and he had, a few times, managed to hold decent conversations with her.

“I’ve still got to finish the essay as well,” he told her, restraining himself from snapping back. “So as long as you’re quick. . .”

She nodded sharply. “Thank you.”

~*~

They chose an empty classroom on the third floor: a small, dusty place that looked as if it had been unused for many years.

Casting a quick charm to clear the dust away, Remus sat down on one of the desks(,) and waited for Lily to begin.

He didn’t have to wait long. Pulling out a chair from behind one of the desks, she sat down in front of him, and cleared her throat before saying, calmly, one word:

“James.”

He stared at her, not quite comprehending how she expected him to reply. “Black-haired chap, glasses, tendency to pick fights with Snape?”

She shook her head, looking slightly annoyed. “I know who he is, Remus,” she told him. “I don’t need a description. What I do need to do, however, is tell him. Otherwise I’ll stop saying no, and you’ll lose your chance.”

“Tell him?” he echoed. “Lily, I think James is bright enough to work out who he is for himself.”

“No,” she shook her head again. “You need to tell him.” At his blank look, she scowled. “That you like him” she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He stared at her. “Well, I’m fairly sure that he knows by now. We have been friends for over six years, and I doubt he thinks that’s because I hate him-“ The expression on her face, combined with what she had said, finally registered, and he blushed, feeling his face heat.

“Do you mean to say you think I like James?”

“Well, yes.”

“You think I like James Potter?” he repeated in disbelief.

She scowled at him. “Yes. I already said that.”

He laughed. “James.” A snicker. “Why on earth would you think that I liked James?”

Lily was beginning to look less sure of herself and had started to fidget, tugging at the arm of her robes. “It’s obvious that you do, Remus,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes. “The way you’re always staring at him. I know you only do it when you think that no one else is looking, but I’ve seen you.”

Remus’ eyes widened in realisation, and his face heated even further. “I’m not staring at James,” he muttered.

Lily shook her head. “I wouldn’t have noticed if...” she paused, and Remus noticed that she was blushing lightly herself, “…if I hadn’t been watching him myself. So I understand how you feel, really I do.”

Remus frowned. “But you don’t even like James. You’ve said so yourself, more times than I can count.”

“I know,” she muttered, blush darkening. “And I didn’t at first. But he was so persistent, and I couldn’t help but admire that. He’s not exactly bad looking, either.”

Remus rolled his eyes. “I’ve noticed.”

Lily’s green eyes flashed with something that looked like triumph. “I knew it!”

Remus shook his head hastily. “That’s not what I meant! Everyone just says it so often that it would be hard not to know. I wasn’t staring at him either.”

Lily didn’t look as if she believed him in the slightest. “Then who were you staring at?”

Remus lowered his eyes to the floor, and Lily sighed.

“Honestly, Remus, I understand, you don’t have to lie to me.”

“I wasn’t.”

Lily cut him off. “I saw you,” she said firmly. “You do it all the time. And the only reason you would have been watching him is-“ she stopped abruptly, green eyes widening. “Sirius.”

Remus’ head shot up, and he stared at her, eyes wide and panicked. Lily was looking far too sure, and far too pleased with herself for his liking.

“It’s Sirius, isn’t it? Not James.”

He nodded bleakly, seeing no point in arguing with her. He doubted, now that she had picked up on this idea, she would give up on it.

“Why haven’t you told him then?”

Remus shook his head, no longer inclined to talk to her, and stood. “I’m going to go and get James,” he told her, voice dull. “And you can talk to him. Please don’t say anything about Sirius to anyone.”

She smiled sympathetically. “I won’t, Remus, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t. And thank you.”

He nodded, and hurried away from the room.

~*~

James and Sirius were engrossed in a game of chess when Remus walked into the Common Room, James losing spectacularly.

He flopped down onto the couch, laying his arm across his face. “Evans wants to talk to you, James.”

James looked up abruptly. “She does? Why? Where?”

“Yes,” Remus replied. “Because. Third floor classroom, down near that closet you locked Snivellus in last year.”

James stood quickly, nearly knocking his chair over in the process. “Sorry Padfoot, gotta run. I shall return to beat you later. Hopefully much later.”

Remus listened, a little amused, as James hurried out of the Common Room, bumping into one of the fourth year girls – identified by the strange squeaking sound that she made – as he did so. Not long after, he felt the couch he was lying on sink down, and a warm weight settle against his legs.

“Where’d you wander off to before?” Sirius asked, tugging at his arm to move it away from his face. “And what was all that about Evans?”

“She cornered me after dinner, wanted to talk,” he looked at Sirius wearily. “Would you believe she thought I was in love with Prongs?”

Sirius made an odd choking sound, then covered his mouth with his hand. When he spoke, his voice was slightly strained. “She did?”

Remus nodded and made a face. “Told me the reason she kept refusing to have anything to do with him was because she thought I wanted him too. Took me aside to try and get me to tell him how I felt, and told me that if I didn’t, she’d agree to go out with him.”

Sirius snickered. “Imagine what Prongs’ll say when he finds out you’re the reason Evans kept on saying ‘no’.” He snickered again, then sobered, looking a little worried. “You’re not, are you? In love with Prongs, I mean. Because he’s mad about Lily, and I really don’t think you'd stand a chance against her. Sorry.”

Remus glared at him.

“Right.” Sirius grinned sheepishly. “Didn’t think so. Sorry.” He grinned wickedly. “You have to admit it’s funny though.”

Remus shook his head, and covered his eyes with his arm once more.

“See if I ever tell you anything again,” he muttered. “You just make fun of me.”

~*~

Remus was just drifting off to sleep that night when his bed curtains were pulled open(,) and Sirius pushed his head in.

He yawned and sat up, eyeing his friend curiously. “Prong’s not back yet?” he asked.

Sirius shook his head. “Obviously things went well with Evans.” He looked down at the bed, almost nervously. “Mind if I join you?”

Deciding not to tell Sirius that he was actually trying to sleep, Remus shook his head and moved over, making space for Sirius to join him.

“Why are you still awake, Sirius?” Remus asked as Sirius lay down beside him, pulling Remus’ pillow over so that he could fit his head on it.

Sirius shrugged against him, dark hair tickling Remus’ shoulder. “Couldn’t sleep.” A pause, then, “’S too cold.”

Remus chuckled. He had never been particularly bothered by the cold, unlike Sirius, who had always hated it.

Silence settled between them, broken only by the sound of their breathing and Peter's soft snores from his bed by the window. It was several minutes before it was broken by Sirius.

"Why'd she think you fancied Prongs?"

It was Remus' turn to shrug, the movement bringing him closer to Sirius. "She said I watched him," he muttered. "All the time."

Sirius shifted, so that rather than lying on his back as he had been previously, he was facing Remus. "Were you?" he asked. "Watching James?"

"No," Remus replied. "Not that she believed me. If she had her way, I would have been confessing my undying love to James right now."

"How'd you convince her you weren't then?"

Remus closed his eyes. "She realised that I was watching someone else."

He felt Sirius start in surprise against him, and tensed for the inevitable question.

"Who were you watching, then?" Sirius asked, sounding far too curious for Remus' liking. "Must have been someone pretty special to pull your attention away from Prongsy."

Pulling further back from Sirius, Remus sighed. "They are," he replied. "And I'm sure, if I were less tired, that I'd tell you all about them. But I'm not, and I need to sleep now, so I won't."

Beside him, Sirius snickered. "Avoiding the question, Moony? How unlike you."

Remus opened his eyes and glared at him, although he doubted that Sirius saw it in the dark. "Your bed is calling you, Padfoot."

Sirius shook his head. "Still too cold." He stretched, his legs brushing against Remus, and lifted his arms so that they brushed against the wall behind the bed. "I think I'll stay here tonight."

Remus shook his head in amusement. Manners learnt in the Black house apparently did not quite match those that the rest of the world had learnt, but he doubted that anyone would have much luck convincing Sirius that it was important to ask permission before you did something.

"If you hog the covers, I'll push you off the bed." Remus warned lightly.

Sirius simply laughed in reply and rested his head lightly on Remus' shoulder.

~*~

Remus woke the next morning with Sirius all but wrapped around him, head nestled into Remus' shoulder, his arm looped tightly around his waist. He found himself laughing quietly – and slightly hysterically, he was forced to admit – as he remembered his conversation the previous day with Lily. The redhead would have a field day if she saw the two of them together like this.

By the time he had his laughter under control, Sirius was stirring sleepily against him, muttering something that Remus couldn't quite make out under his breath.

"What are you laughing about?" Sirius asked, scowling tiredly at him.

"Nothing." At Sirius' sceptical look, he shook his head. "Really. I just remembered something. . ."

Sirius eyed him suspiciously, but didn't press any further, instead removing his arm from where it was still curled around Remus' waist, sitting up and leaning against the wall.

"You woke me up," he complained, pouting petulantly.

Remus shrugged carelessly. "It's not my fault you decided to sleep in my bed," he pointed out. "Besides, you would have had to get up soon anyway if you wanted any breakfast."

Sirius seemed to perk up slightly at the mention of food, sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Once he had the curtains around the bed wide open, he snorted loudly, turning to Remus with an amused grin on his face.

"Prongs didn't make it back to his own bed last night," he said, snickering and pointing to James' bed, perfectly made as if it had never been slept in.

Remus made a face at him. "Some of us do know how to make our own beds, Padfoot," he remarked as he got out of bed. "Prongs came back about half an hour after you finally fell asleep last night. He's not here because he went down early to breakfast with Evans."

Sirius smirked, apparently not put off by Remus' response in the least. "True love, eh?" he commented. "How sweet."

Remus shook his head. "Just you wait, Padfoot – one day it may just happen to you."

Sirius stared at him for a moment, looking lost in thought, before shaking his head and smiling sheepishly. "Maybe," he muttered, grinning at Remus. "But for now all I really want is breakfast."

~*~

"They're holding hands, Moony," Sirius whispered with almost childlike glee, tugging sharply on Remus' sleeve.

"Yes, Sirius," he replied, pulling his arm away(,) and trying to keep his own amusement from showing in his voice. "People do that."

"But-" Sirius appeared to be having trouble grasping the concept. "It's James and Lily Evans!"

"Indeed it is," he answered, watching Sirius, who was standing open-mouthed in the entrance of the great hall, over his shoulder as he made his way to the Gryffindor table. "And while you may be having trouble adjusting to it, the rest of the school doesn't actually need to know about it."

Sirius had the grace to look slightly chagrined, and began to walk quickly so that he caught up with Remus before he reached James and Lily. "It's just weird, that's all," Sirius whispered. "Lily's hated James for so long and suddenly they're holding hands? Makes no sense."

Remus smiled and shook his head. "It does if you take into account the fact that I was madly in love with James all that time," he whispered back.

Sirius was still having trouble controlling his laughter when they slid into the two empty seats on James' right.

"Wonderful day for it, eh Prongs?" Sirius said calmly, once he had himself under control, looking pointedly at James and Lily's joined hands.

James grinned back, a hint of smugness in his smile. "That it is, Padfoot."

Lily tilted her head, looking at the two of them curiously. "Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail," she muttered thoughtfully, and Remus felt himself freeze, terrified for a moment that they had been found out, that somehow she knew, or, even worse, that James had told her. His fears were laid to rest with her next words, and he relaxed, unconsciously leaning in to Sirius slightly. "You have such strange nicknames. I've always meant to ask whether they meant something."

The three of them exchanged a glance, and silently shook their heads.

"Can't quite remember why we chose them," James commented, almost too calm. "But they stuck."

Lily seemed to accept that, smiling and turning back to her breakfast as if the conversation had never occurred.

Looking down, Remus saw that Sirius’ hands were clenched together, his nails digging into his palms. Hardly even noticing what he was doing, Remus reached down and gently pulled them apart, clutching Sirius' right hand in his own instead.

~*~

Remus wondered tiredly, when he and Sirius returned to their dorm later that night (once again minus James, who was with Lily, and Peter who was trailing after Marissa), whether he had ruined something between himself and Sirius that morning at breakfast.

It was true that Sirius hadn't said anything, nor had he removed Remus' hand from his own, but that didn't mean that he wasn't thinking it, that he wasn't wanting to do so.

Risking a glance at his friend out of the corner of his eye, he found Sirius in the process of changing, his shirt halfway over his head. Remus had a sneaking suspicion that Lily was hiding somewhere, laughing at him in between chanting “just tell him you like him, Remus”.

It wasn't going to work.

Sighing, he quickly changed into his own pyjamas, then slipped into his bed, closing the curtains behind him. As a result, he was startled when, several minutes later, they were tugged open again and Sirius stuck his head in side, a sheepish side on his face.

"It's cold again," he explained when Remus did nothing but stare at him, slightly dumbfounded. "Can I come in?"

Remus nodded blankly and Sirius quickly wormed his way inside and under the blankets.

"You do realise, Sirius, that a simple heating charm would fix this continuing problem of yours?"

Sirius shook his head, and Remus found himself with a mouthful of shaggy black hair, which he quickly pushed out of his way.

"Wouldn't work," Sirius told him quietly.

"Why not?" Remus asked, amused.

"Because."

Remus raised an eyebrow at him, although he wasn't sure whether Sirius would be able to see the gesture in the dark. "You're stubborn, aren't you, Padfoot?"

Sirius snorted. "So are you, Moony." Remus felt him shift suddenly, hand inching slightly closer towards his face. "Who were you watching?"

Remus felt his breath catch at the question. He hadn't been expecting it, and suddenly he wanted nothing more to answer Sirius, to tell him the truth. Instead he shook his head.

"Remus," Sirius breathed, shifting closer still. "Who were you watching?"

"I can't," Remus answered quietly, trying to ignore the warmth of Sirius' body seeping into his own. "Sirius. . ."

"Why not?"

Sirius was still moving closer, his body all but aligned with Remus', his breath mingling with Remus' own, and despite the protests his mind was screaming at him, Remus could see only one thing to do.

He wasn't surprised, as a result, when his lips met Sirius' in a brief kiss, he was, however, surprised when Sirius smiled against them, and began to kiss back, his lips warm, and slightly chapped from cold weather.

He found himself desperate for air far too soon, and pulled back, eyes wide and startled, breathing heavily.

"Sirius?"

Sirius grinned at him, eyes bright, and looking just as out of breath as Remus felt. "You weren't the only one watching someone, Moony," he told him, looking immensely pleased. "Now will you tell me who it was?"

Remus laughed. "I think you've already worked that much out, Padfoot."

Sirius pouted. "Just tell me."

"You," Remus replied, smiling and placing another light kiss on Sirius' lips. "It was you.”

~fin~