What Everyone Knows

Everyone knows that James and Sirius are best friends.

Everyone knows that, unless one of them is in the loo or the shower, they are never seen apart. And, more often that not, even if one of them /is/ in the loo or the shower, the other will stand outside the door and holler for the other to stop primping like a girl (or, if there are no teachers or first years around, to stop wanking). And whoever is in the bathroom will emerge and bat his eyelashes at his friend, saying, “I was just making myself fresh for you, darling,” (or, “Well, I had to wash my hands thoroughly once I was done!”). And while they always save Peter and Remus seats in class, James and Sirius always make sure that their own seats are next to one another, so that they can whisper and pass notes and generally cause ruckus in their little corner of the classroom. Yet somehow, miraculously, they still know every answer to every question thrown at them. And they always sit together at meals or in the common room or at the Three Broomsticks during scheduled Hogsmeade trips (and unscheduled ones, too), and everyone wonders how they could see so much of each other and not get bored. But it’s because they’re inseparable, and everyone knows.

Everyone knows that they are partners in crime, a double act, the dynamic duo. Every joke of James’s is supplemented with Sirius’s commentary, until the entire class, Slytherins and professor included, are rolling on the floor with laughter. James, Remus, and Peter, interjecting with helpful comments and revisions, carefully scrutinize every angle of Sirius‘s pranks. But the final product, the prank itself, will always be carried out by James and Sirius, with sometimes Peter and, less often, Remus too. But, without fail, James and Sirius will be in the forefront, laughing all the way to detention. They don’t care if said detention involves polishing trophies or disemboweling frogs- as long as they are together, they will have fun, and everyone knows.

Everyone knows that Sirius is the only person James would keep his mouth shut/stop showing off/sacrifice his reputation/etc. for, and vice versa. Not even Lily Evans could make James put away his Snitch or stop ruffling his hair, but a word from Sirius and the action ceases as if it never occurred in the first place. There’s no imbalance of power, though, because James is the only person who could keep Sirius from beating up Snape (not that James would be inclined to do so) or mouthing off to the wrong teacher. When Remus is ready to pull his hair out from frustration during his attempts to get Sirius to study, and Peter is hovering behind Remus, fearful of Sirius’s famously explosive temper, a few quiet words from James, a joke or promise of a Gobstone game later, is enough to make Sirius sit down and open a book. And when James is mad, after a poor Quidditch game or an encounter with Snape or, equally likely, Lily Evans, and half the school lives in fear of incurring his wrath, Sirius is the only one who can go up to James and give him a slap in the face, figuratively and/or literally. And James will not fire a hex at him, or punch him in the stomach, or stuff a Dungbomb in his mouth, but rather stop his raging and ranting and settle down. Everyone knows that they would do anything for each other.

Because everyone knows that they are family. All of the Gryffindor boys in that year are- James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter more closely resemble brothers than friends. Their personalities are constantly clashing- Sirius often yelling at Peter, who is upset with Remus for not stepping in, who is disappointed at James for not using his authority over all of them to settle this mess. But come mealtimes, classes, or on the Hogwarts Express, Sirius always knows that when he arrives late, due to chastisement from a teacher or relative, he will always have a place to sit. And every full moon, when Remus ‘mysteriously disappears,’ he knows that Peter and, yes, even Sirius and James will be taking careful notes for him in class, gathering extra worksheets and extra Chocolate Frogs. And when Peter doesn’t understand a spell, no matter how many times James rolls his eyes or Sirius outright laughs at him, he knows they will sit with Remus, who never seems to lose his patience, and explain to Peter what he may never understand. And James knows, without even glancing, that Remus and Peter will always be in the stands cheering for him during a Quidditch match, and he can hear Sirius’s biased commentary supporting him the whole game. It’s “one for all and all for one,” and everyone knows.

But everyone knows that despite the closeness of the famous four, it’s always JamesandSirius, Remus, and Peter. There’s a special bond between the first two especially, because Sirius is the brother James never had and James is the brother, mother, father, whole family Sirius never had. James is always there whenever Sirius faces off against one of his cousins, with a well-aimed hex or a well-worded insult ready, watching Sirius’s back like he always has and always will. James will always invite Sirius over for holidays, even if there’s a Potter family reunion occurring because to James, Sirius is family, and for that Sirius eternally grateful, and would do anything for James. He would take an Avada Kedavra for James and would throw the same curse just as easily to protect James’s life. He’s always the first one on the Quidditch pitch when James gets injured, shoving through crowds of people, laying his reputation as a “macho man” aside as he rushes to check on his friend. And James would do the same for him- would shove Sirius’s broomstick out of harm’s way and take the speeding Bludger/lightning bolt/fire of Hell himself to save his friend. When Sirius receives a letter home from his parents, and James catches sight of him in the Great Hall, attempting to smile and choke down food and choke back tears, James will slide one arm over his shoulder and whisper reassurances in Sirius’s ear. He won’t even glance around to see if any malicious Slytherins are hovering around or even if Lily Evans is, despite his desires for her to see him as a kind human being. In those moments, James is thinking only of Sirius, and everyone knows it.

Everyone- professors, students, family members, anyone who has ever seen the two of them together knows that there’s bond between them. Even Remus and Peter know that they can never mean as much to James as Sirius does, or as much to Sirius as James does. While they may get jealous at times (even Remus), they understand (even Peter) that they are witnessing a friendship of the rarest and most beautiful kind, and there’s nothing they should do (or could do, really) to threaten it. Even Professor McGonagall knows that there’s something between James and Sirius that’s more than just a friendship you form while at school, and that’s why she lets Sirius lie and take the full blame for a prank that everyone knows he and James orchestrated together. She knows that Sirius doesn’t want James to miss Quidditch practice. She knows that next week, James will be lying so that Sirius will be able to go to the next Hogsmeade visit to see his cousin Andromeda. She knows, but she lets it slide because she, too, sees the beauty of their friendship, made all the more rare by the fact that one is a Potter and the other is a Black. Even Professor Sprout knows, and she always lets them work together during Herbology, knowing that they will end up spraying half of the class with manure or worse. She loves to watch them, though- the way they seamlessly communicate almost without words, so comfortable in each other’s presence that they can anticipate the other’s moves. Even Lily Evans knows, and while she would find something worthy of criticism if James saved a group of orphans and nuns from a rampaging hippogriff, she can’t help but admire his loyalty to Sirius.

Heck, even I know, Sirius thinks. It’s 6 pm, Friday night- the perfect time to sit and muse about anything and everything, while he waits for James to finish with Quidditch practice. Sirius knows he can be the densest and most callous person in all of Hogwarts, all of the world, actually,but even he knows that he should thank Godric everyday that he has James, and he does, because James is the best friend that anyone could ask for.

And everybody knows that it’s completely natural to want to spend every waking moment with your friends, to want to see them all the time, Sirius thinks. Everybody knows that it’s completely natural for your whole day to brighten when you see them, even if it’s just a glimpse. And everyone knows that, if you’re on a date with a particularly boring girl, even a really interesting girl, it’s completely natural to wish you were with your friends. Because your friends are the people you feel the most comfortable with, the people you can tell anything to, the people whom you can wake up at 2 am when you have a nightmare and play chess with. Or, Sirius thinks, if the nightmare transcends simple fears of Voldemort and the boogeyman and includes old childhood abuse, taunts and punches thrown by cousins and parents alike, it’s completely natural to have the desire to crawl into bed with your friend looking for comfort. Or, failing that, to watch your friends fall asleep and be comforted by that mere sight.

But, Sirius thinks uncomfortably, everyone might not know that when your best friend’s smile makes you feel more excited than a pretty girl’s kiss, it’s just friendship, and nothing else. And everyone might not know that if you think about the future and all you see, all you want, is your best friend by your side, it’s because you’re great friends, and nothing else, and everyone of course knows that.

Because everyone knows that your friends are the most important people in your life, even sometimes transcending your family. And because of that, it’s completely natural to get a little jealous and overprotective when you see them paying too much attention to someone else, especially if that someone else is a snobby redhead with a wand up her arse. It’s completely natural to feel a little torn apart inside when they get rejected by said snobby redhead, part of you wanting nothing more than for your friends to be happy forever, part of you being glad that they’re still just yours, for a while.

And, it’s probably completely natural to enjoy your friends being rejected so that you have an excuse to pat them on the back and give them a little hug. It’s completely natural, too, to sometimes want to hug them all the time, even when they’re not upset. Everyone knows that hugging your family and friends is natural, and when your friends are your family, wanting to hug them twice as much is logical. And everyone knows that the body is programmed to respond to touch, any touch, so getting a little shiver when your friends hug you is completely natural. And to sneak a glance at your best friend in the Quidditch locker rooms- it’s all just curiosity, and the sexual confusion associated with teenagers, everyone knows that. And because he’s your best friend, of course any sort of experimentation you might consider would naturally include him. And even considering experimentation at all it just a by-product of being a hormonally charged teenager. Everyone knows. And, Sirius shifts uncomfortably in his seat, everyone knows that it’s completely natural to think about him when you’re kissing a girl or having ‘the Talk’ with your professors or even when you’re in the shower or under the covers and…/Oh shit./

Sirius swallows hard, takes a deep breath, taking in his heart and stomach, which are thumping painfully hard and entertaining a swarm of butterflies, respectively, just at the mere thought of his best friend. He takes in the knowledge that no matter how many girls he shares a Butterbeer with, they will never compare to James. He takes in the feeling he gets when he sees his friend’s hair, his eyes. The smile he wears when it’s just the two of them together, pouring over the map in the library with their knees touching under the table, Sirius so giddy with hormones and something else that he can barely concentrate on what his friend is saying…

James enters the common room, sweaty and disheveled from Quidditch practice, the rest of the team, as well as Remus and Peter, trailing after him, although Sirius doesn’t notice them. All he notices is James, and when James’s roving eyes cast around the common room, stopping briefly on Lily Evans before resting on Sirius, Sirius feels a thrill of excitement, from his head to his heart to his loins to his toes.

Because Sirius is in love with James, has been in love with him for years, and finally knows.