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Sirius Black was tired. He had just completely fucked up his Potions test. Stands to reason, since his partner was James, who had grabbed him before he had the chance to ask Remus, and now his best friend was stuck with Pettigrew. The 15-year-old boy transformed into his dog Animagus form, curled up on his bed and waited for someone to come.
* * * * *
The door creaked open and Sirius started, his fur fluffing up. He saw that it was just Remus and relaxed, flopping back onto the duvet.
"Hey, Sirius," the werewolf said, a little breathless from the run up the stairs, "how catastrophic was that test, from one to ten?"
"Twelve," the young wizard grumbled, back in his human form.
He looked up and saw a pale green gaze, soft and with an incomprehensible emotion.
"I wish you could've been with me instead...,"
"Maybe I would've been a bit more fun than rat-face," Sirius laughed. But in his mind he still felt the other boy's eyes, heard him say he wished he could have been with him. The context was, clearly, important but still! Remus fucking Lupin, his secret crush since he was eleven and they met, had told him that he wanted to be with him! He shook his head to get rid of the delusion, and laid back on his pillows, watching his friend change into his pyjamas from the corner of his eye.
* * * * *
"Alright, I will distribute your grades now, young rascals!" cried Slughorn, trying to be heard over the cacophony that was worsened by the echos that bounced off the cavernous walls. He began walking through the rows of desks, placing rolls of parchment inscribed with letters in red ink, and notes on the students' performance in black, upon each one. Sirius and James fidgeted in their chairs, awaiting disappointment. They were both used to failing, but were totally shocked and despaired by the lowest grade possible, paired with some horrified notes. Next to them, Remus and Peter were sighing with relief, since they barely passed.
"Potter! I told you that we shouldn't have been paired! Now
... My mother is already disappointed enough...,"
Sirius barely made it through the class. He stared at his desk, not listening to what the teacher was saying in the slightest, hot tears barely held back.
When class ended, and it was finally evening again, he ran upstairs, not waiting for anyone, nearly forgetting his things. As soon as he was far enough away from anyone else, he shifted into a dog and bolted into the dorm. He sat and cried, imagining his mother's wrath. It was no secret that he was her least favourite, and he avoided her as much as possible, but he knew that she would still find out. He sobbed uncontrollably, and curled up in a painful ball.
Outside the door, three friends argued.
"You go!" whisper-shouted Lupin, "you got him into this mess,"
"No," replied the guilty party, "everyone knows you're his favourite!"
Pettigrew said nothing, afraid of being noticed. Eventually they reached the conclusion that it should be Remus who entered.
"Hey, Padfoot," he tried, gently.
Sirius looked up, grey eyes bloodshot, and uncurled himself.
"Hi, Moony," he sniffed.
The two friends talked until the sun dipped below the horizon and the sky was blood red.
"You know," Lupin smiled, "The fact that I knew you would fail-"
"Excuse me?!"
"Shut up, it's true, isn't it? Anyway, as I was saying, the fact that I knew you would fail without me wasn't the only reason I wanted to be your partner,"
Sirius sat up straighter, although that was probably the only straight thing in that scenario.
"W-What was the other reason?" he stuttered, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Uhh... I... Don't know," Remus lost his confidence suddenly.
The failing student took his friend by the shoulders, and asked him again, this time with something different in his voice.
Suddenly the werewolf realized how close their faces were, how easy it would be to just... And suddenly there was no distance, and their lips met. It was hard to tell who kissed who, it happened so fast. They only had contact for a millisecond before Sirius pulled away, as if he had been burned. But before the other boy could apologize he wrapped his arms around him and they were one again.
* * * * *
James, who had been looking through a keyhole, turned to Pettigrew and remarked:
"I think the situation on whether we can go in and go to bed has gotten worse!"