DISCLAIMER : Nope, not mine. Any of it. Unless I get things wrong, then it's mine...which I am almost certain to do...

APOLOGY AND WARNING: Erm, okay, apology and warning because this is the last chapter. Ever. Sorries very much, but well, yeah. Anyway, hope you enjoy it anyway!

Classes went on as usual at Hogwarts, although the cast of 'Romance from every quarter' had been dubbed the 'Acting Quo' of the school, and a special excuse had been devised to explain the participating actor's absences from class.

Sirius and Remus were the head of this 'Acting Quo', namely because they played the part of the controversial homosexual couple, and because they lapped up the attention eagerly.

Instead of hiding away and pretending they didn't have anything to do with the performance at all, they took to sending each other blatantly smouldering glances across the classrooms (not entirely half hearted or simulated either), showering each other with honeyed terms such as 'Sugarplum' and Sirius's personal favourite 'Schnookums,' and fawning over each other eg walking around the halls with their arms slung around each other (not that either of them exactly minded...)

Remus made a special effort to remember his lines after his uncomfortable experience at their first rehearsal, and Sirius almost pouted every time a rehearsal ended and he hadn't had a chance to adlib and make Remus as nervy as he had last time.

In fact, Sirius thought, Remus had been entirely too jumpy. It wasn't exactly as though he should go all hot under the collar when his best friend tried to seduce him. James certainly wouldn't have. But then...Remus wasn't like James, had never been James, and hopefully was never going to be James.

What does Remus think of me, pulling moves like that on him? Sirius pondered, trying very hard not to stare at his counterpart. Why did I pull moves on him like that?

He didn't know the answer, but he had to smother a grin as he remembered Remus's panicked look as he, Sirius, had circled him, speaking in his 'girl catching' voice.

Say, thinking of James, where was he? True, he was religiously late for almost every rehearsal, but this was ridiculous. Sirius tapped his foot on the ground and looked around the rehearsal room, searching for a flash of messy black hair.

He frowned when he found none, but then grinned as a flash of smooth red hair confronted his searching eyes, and as sure as sure can be (wait, did that make sense?) messy black hair followed.

James and Lily had certainly grown slightly closer to each other during this time of one on one rehearsal. Sirius almost envied him.

But I could have a girl, if I wanted one. He reminded himself, and purposely avoided looking at Remus, who was bent over his script, feverishly learning his lines.

I have just decided to give the female population a little break, and give the male population a chance to have some fun. He decided decisively and crossed his arms.

"Padfoot?" Remus's voice broke through Sirius's thoughtful reverie.

"Er...yes?" He queried, hoping Remus hadn't been talking for long.

"It's time for our scene." Remus said gently, eyeing Sirius in concern. "Are you okay? You've been kind of...quiet since we started the play."

"Fine, fine!" Sirius covered hastily. "Let's just...let's just get up there, alright?"

Damn, I've really got to learn to multi-task...he mused and hoped Remus hadn't noticed his lapse.

Okay, so well, alright. It wasn't exactly unusual for him to so ... well ... interested in his best friend...was it? It happened all the time...didn't it?

Remus was used to the unusual. He was both a wizard and a werewolf; it didn't get a lot more unusual than that. But where did unusual stop and the extraordinarily freakishly bizarre begin? Remus had the idea that he was teetering extremely close to the edge and he wished he had some way to yank him back to reality.

He did not just have that thought about 'something' being tall, dark, handsome and in the form of Sirius Black.

Throwing his quill down in exasperation, Remus leant back in his chair and stretched. Glaring at his Charms homework, he wondered how he was going to be able to finish if his thoughts kept drifting.

His life, at that present moment was an unusual (dammit, there's that word again) mix of good and bad, great and terrible, fantastic and abysmal.

There was already only three weeks until the play was set to go off. Good thing.

There was also three weeks until full moon. Bad thing.

With rehearsals being so hurried and the show fast approaching, Remus and Sirius were working very closely together. Great thing.

Working so closely with Sirius meant lots of time alone together. Terrible thing, considering.

What he was feeling about Sirius felt good in a guilty, confused sort of way. Fantastic thing.

Sirius didn't feel anything back. Abysmal thing.

And on top of it all, he had bloody rehearsal in a few...erm...seconds!

Yes, well, alright, ah, herm.

Sirius thought intelligently, staring up at the ceiling. There wasn't a lot to see. Nor was there if he turned to his side; it was curtains for him. He wondered if the squeaking of the bed was loud enough to alert his dorm mates to the fact that he was awake. He thought it was too much to ask that someone come and distract him from thought he had no right to be having. And it was even MORE to ask that the person he was thinking of be the one to distract him.

Damn, curtains again.

Remus is my friend! Sirius exclaimed silently, squeezing his eyes shut. He is not pondering the possibility of...anything with me. He has a crush on somebody else, remember, and that somebody is not you!

I don't want it to be me! Sirius said savagely to himself. I'm not...that way inclined! Is that what's bothering you? If Remus was a girl, would you...

That was a singularly most horrifying thought.

Sirius mentally cut himself off before he could finish the thought. Unfortunately, it was his own darn mind and he knew what he was going to think. The bed groaned again as he heaved himself onto his back again.

You simply cannot be thinking these things! Sirius groaned to himself. It's depriving you of sleep and a Pepper-up Potion isn't going to do you any good if you don't have any pepper to pepper up!

Oh, Merlin, that didn't even make sense!

Look, Sirius tried logically, you need sleep, and if you don't get it, you are going to find yourself with unattractive circles under your eyes. He grimaced at the thought and turned over to go to sleep once and for all.

Only it didn't work.

Punching his pillow in exasperation, he sat up desperately and flung back the curtains, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Gazing into the inky blackness, he cast his eyes around the room, he wondered at the others' ability to sleep when he was feeling so turbulent.

School rule #159 - When Sirius Black is upset, somebody must be there to comfort him and bring him hot chocolate and tell him he is sexy.

It seemed to be a good year for breaking rules.

Sirius's eyes fell onto the serenely silent curtains directly across from him, where Remus was sleeping soundly, undisturbed by unconventional thought about his best friend.

As he looked forlornly at Remus's curtains, a sudden stroke of inspiration hit him and he stood up slowly, careful to make no noise. Sneaking across the room, he crouched next to Remus's orderly trunk and stealthily cracked it open.

Just as he had expected, there was a tiny vial of sleepless dream potion nestled in amongst Remus's socks and spellbooks. It reminded Sirius that the full moon was not far away, and that he was going to owe Moony a vial of potion. Right at that moment, however, he thought that he needed the help far more than Remus did.

Stealing a guilty look at the closed bed hangings, he crept back to bed with his prize and sat there, harbouring his little secret. Remus won't mind. He told himself forcefully, staring at the tiny crystal container. He appreciates what it's like not to be able to sleep.

Before he could think better of it, he flipped the tiny lid off and drunk the thick tasting liquid down in a gulp and lay back on the pillows, waiting for the mixture to take effect.

Remus heard Sirius get up. He heard him open his trunk and slip back into bed. He heard him fall back into the pillows as the potion took effect. After all, Remus had left the strongest potion 'lying around' on purpose.

Yes, Remus knew that Sirius was having trouble sleeping.

To someone to whom insomnia was a common occurrence, the signs were easy to identify.

He didn't know why Sirius wasn't sleeping. Probably a girl had rejected him. Then Remus reconsidered. No girl in Hogwarts had ever rejected Sirius. Hell, he wouldn't, if offered, either. Remus sighed and listened to Sirius.

Creaking bed, sighing, muttering, shaking curtains and sounds of thumping back on the bed were something Remus identified with. So he did what he could to ensure that Sirius had a good night sleep.

Although he could have done with one as well.

The topic of Sirius was keeping him awake in a way that he was decidedly uneasy about. If he could just admit that he ... erm...feltsomethingforSiriusthatherealllyshouldn't, then maybe the problem would go away with acknowledgement.

But Remus was not going to admit...that.

He had never intended to ... y'know, like his best friend, and he wasn't going to let his vow go now. He was going to pretend he wasn't in the least bit perturbed when Sirius grinned at him, or slung his arm around his waist as part of their plan to drive Hogwarts crazy with innuendoes.

So there.

Damn, morning was still so far away...

Well, this was it. Their last rehearsal before the big night. (A/N Sorry about the huge time jump thing, but this fic isn't really going anywhere, so I wanted to finish it. Sorry!)

Remus and Sirius weren't nervous...except maybe a little bit. But only for the other person. Not for themselves.

The backstage dressing room that had been hastily erected by magic was more than slightly crowded, and Remus, already tetchy and snappish because it was the full moon that night, was finding it decidedly hard to be nice to people and breathe at the same time.

He was in his costume as Philip, which was luckily an open fronted shirt that had a collar that was permanently undone. It added to Philip's tousled look.

Breathing somewhat heavily, Remus found himself trapped in a corner, surveying everyone rushing about with a panicky, frantic look in his eyes. Not nice.

Glancing madly about, he saw a break in the stream of people and made for it, dashing through the crowd as though he was in a tremendous hurry. Which he was; a tremendous hurry to get out of the room full of people.

It wasn't being confined that he was afraid of; it was being confined with SO MANY PEOPLE. Although he was a popular Marauder, he had never liked people especially, and avoided them whenever he could. The only time he became the confident joker that people associated with him, was when he was around Sirius, because Sirius made everything right. He made everything easy.

Flopping back against a costume cupboard, Remus took some deep breaths to calm himself and suddenly found himself careening backwards through the wooden doors of the cupboard he had thought was entirely stable.

Landing with a thump, he looked around himself in surprise. The cupboard wasn't actually all that full. There were a few shirts hanging on hangers that Remus identified as Sirius's costumes (Tom had a penchant for clothes), but apart from that, the cupboard was empty.

Well, apart from the person hiding on the other side of the dark expanse, that is.

Remus stumbled back as he realized he wasn't alone in the dark, traitorous costume cupboard.

"Uhm," He croaked in surprise. "Hello?"

"Hey, Moony." Said the stranger, and Remus jumped as he recognized the voice, even if he couldn't see the face.

"Padfoot?" He asked incredulously. "What're you doing in here?"

"Erm...looking for my costume?" He tried, and then sighed. "Okay, I'm psyching myself up. I'm kind of nervous." He admitted, as though confessing a huge secret.

Remus laughed.

"I'm glad. Now I can admit that I'm absolutely petrified."

"You are?" Sirius asked in surprise, looking up. Now that Remus's eyes were adjusting to the dark, he could make out Sirius's familiar features. (Not that he was looking for them.) "How come you didn't say anything?"

"Why didn't you?" Remus challenged, leaning against the back of the wardrobe, facing Sirius.

"I'm popular, Remus." Sirius said, as though explaining to a first year. "I can't let people know that I'M nervous. Besides, can you imagine what James would say if he knew I was ... NERVOUS?" He squeaked, looking around as though they could be overheard.

"Sirius, I have it on good authority that James is literally shaking in his boots." Remus laughed. "Lily told me he's been shaking for almost a week now."

Sirius's eyes glinted mischievously.

"Really? Ooh, wait till I see him next!"

"Sirius." Remus said warningly.

Sirius pouted.

"Fine."

There was silence between the two marauders as they careful studied-but-didn't-study each other in the dark.

"Er, Remus." Sirius began, licking his lips nervously.

"Yeah, Sirius?" Remus replied, his eyes not leaving Sirius's.

"I wanted to tell you something." Remus saw Sirius take a breath, and he wondered what could be so important that Sirius would...well...shake.

Sirius was shaking although he didn't know it, and he felt that he was justified. He hadn't meant to start saying anything, but the look in Remuss' eyes, like he was concealing something and wanted to let it out, had prompted him to throw caution to the winds and say something that couldn't be taken back.

Before he could say anything more, however, the door to the costume cupboard flew open and James stood there, a pale tinge to his cheeks.

"Get out." He said shortly, his eyebrows creasing together.

"What's wrong, Prongs?" Remus teased, trying to ignore the fact that Sirius had almost told him something and leant forward as he did so. "You feeling ill?"

"Oh, you're not...NERVOUS, are you?" Sirius joined in, smirking and trying to pretend that Remus was not standing so close to him that he could feel the other's heat.

"Yes." James said shortly, his eyes looking everywhere but at them. "And I know you two are as well, so don't say anything."

Sirius and Remus exchanged a look.

"As if we would!" They said in unison and laughed.

Side stage of a performance is possibly the worst place to be. When you're a performer waiting for the cue for your first line, anyway.

From where Remus stood, he could just see past the actors already on stage, into the audience. He spied every member of the school that he knew and more that he was sure were students from other schools come all the way across the world to see him embarrass himself.

The theatre lights blinded him if he looked to high up, so he avoided their glare, but he had to stop and admire their rigging.

Instead of trying to teach 7th year students to manoeuvre the wizarding lights, the faculty had decided to simply use muggle lighting devices, as for once, they had invented something worthwhile using.

Of course, it was a wizarding performance, so the lights were controlled by magic rather than by a control desk, and the special effects that would normally be electronic special effects were often real creatures or potions.

James stood beside Remus and jiggled up and down. His eyes were wide open and he stared unblinkingly at the stage. It was his first scene and he was waiting anxiously for his cue.

At least, Remus THOUGHT he was waiting for his cue; Lily was on stage at that very moment, and even Remus had to admit she looked stunning. Costume makeup was certainly great for not only standing out on stage, but close up shots were also enhanced.

Sirius and Remus began on opposite sides of the stage, so where waiting in the opposite wings. Remus's entrance was from Centre Stage Left (--- That way) and Sirius's entrance was from Centre Stage Right (That way --), but the stage was small enough that they could see each other from where they stood.

Right before their scene commenced, they gave each other encouraging glances and smiles and stepped onto stage.

"Tom, Tom! You have to see this!" Remus cried, running on stage as the lights regained their full intensity after dimming from the last scene.

"See what?" Sirius inquired lazily, throwing himself down on the green couch and hooking his leg over the armchair.

"There's a new couple that's just moved in across the road." Remus replied happily, showing Sirius a real estate card.

"Mm, and sooo? Why does this interest me?" Sirius answered, flipping over onto his stomach. "Are any of them hot?"

Remus blushed and nodded vigorously.

"Actually, Tom, yes, yes, they are!"

Sirius sat up with the speed of light.

"Well, then, what are you WAITING for?" He demanded, whipping out a comb from his pocket and attempting to tame the careful constructed wild hair. (Based on James's black locks that never lay flat)

"I wasn't waiting." Remus said, pouting and sitting down on the recently vacated green chair and crossing his arms. "YOU were."

"Well, now I'm not." Sirius said impatiently and grabbed his jacket from a strategically appearing hand from back stage (The set designers had forgotten to put on one stage).

"But now I am waiting." Remus said, flipping onto his back. "I don't think I want to go anymore."

Sirius suddenly paused in his movements and turned his head towards Remus.

"What do you mean?" He asked in a cautious tone of voice. "You're not...sick, are you?"

He grabbed a necklace of garlic and a cross as he said the line, holding them aloft and looking at Remus with such terror that the first laughs of the scene were stolen from the audience.

Their laughter gave Remus such a boost that he barely remembered the rest of the night.

He remembered slouching off stage after Sirius and suddenly feeling amazingly light-headed. He contributed that to the reason why he flung his arms around Sirius's neck and bounced up and down with adrenaline and happiness.

To be fair, Sirius didn't seem to mind.

Then came...THE scene. You know, the scene that every actor hates but knows they have to do. In Remus and Sirius' case, it was the scene where Tom and Philip finally realize their undying love for each other and...er...well...kiss.

It was times like these that Remus and Sirius wished they had left the homosexual parts up to Snivellus and his unconventional tastes.

Nevertheless, however, they did have to perform the scene, in front of the entire school and staff, whether they liked it or not. Remus wiped his hands anxiously on his trousers as the scene before theirs finished, and avoided looking at Sirius, who was once again on the opposite sides of the stage.

Then, long before Remus was ready, the scene finished and the lights dimmed to inform the audience that a scene change was taking place, and Remus scuttled on stage to his position and froze.

The lights rose again, and he was blinded by the giant spotlight directed at him.

"The story so far!" Remus began, grinning cheesily at the audience, and pulling on a fake newsreader voice. "Adelle and Eddie have discovered that being intimate isn't very easy on stage, Lucy and Jim have decided to run away from the stresses of life and elope, and Bill and Mary have decided to tell their friends that they have decided to adopt a child." He quirked his eyebrow comically. "And Tom and Philip have decided that they can't keep their unconventional undying love for each other a secret from each other, and have decided to confess."

At that moment, Sirius appeared on stage from up stage Right (--- That way) and waved to the audience.

"Er, Philip." He said awkwardly, running his hands through his hair. "Can ... can I sort of talk to you?"

"Can't you just talk to me?" Remus quipped, putting away the book he was pretending to be reading.

Sirius looked puzzled.

"Er, that's what I wanted to do." He said.

Remus sighed.

"It's was a joke...oh, never mind. What did you want to talk about?"

Here Sirius looked extremely uncomfortable, and Remus wasn't sure if he was acting anymore.

"Erm, well, me." He said desperately.

"Yes, I figured that." Remus said patiently. "What about you?"

"Ah, I kind of love someone." Sirius blurted and looked at the floor.

"I know that." Remus said, also looking at the ground, and his facing dropping dramatically.

"Mmm, well, you don't know who it is." Sirius replied, stepping closer to him and sitting down next to him on the green couch.

Remus feigned surprise and opened his eyes wide.

"What? You mean you're actually going to tell me who this mystery person is?"

Sirius nodded.

"Yes. I decided it was, you know, like, time." He took a breath. "Uhm, I love...I love...I love...you."

There was a pregnant, expectant hush throughout the auditorium, as the appreciative audience waited for Philip's reply. Remus tried to ignore the jolt in his stomach at even the sound of those words coming out of Sirius' mouth and directed towards him.

Towards Philip, not you, he reminded himself, and almost forgot his next line.

"Uh, well, that's certainly a development." He quipped, and looked Sirius in the eye. "Not unwelcome, I might add, but...a development none the less."

Sirius quirked an eyebrow.

"Not unwelcome? You don't mean..."

"I probably do." Remus admitted, and waited for Sirius' reaction.

As rehearsed, Sirius leaned forward and carefully planted his lips on Remus's, pushing him down onto the green couch. A collective gasp from the audience ran through the auditorium, but Remus didn't much care.

It was an entirely new experience for him, and he wasn't going to let anything spoil it. Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and the curtain dropped, leaving the two alone together on the couch. Sirius ended the kiss as soon as the blackout was complete, and then hesitated, locking eyes with Remus and not letting go.

Get up, you fool! Sirius' mind screeched, commanding him to get up from the couch and do what he was supposed to do; go back stage and get ready for the finale.

But the less logical part of his mind was not letting him move a muscle, unless it was his neck muscles, so that he could reach further down and...hmm.

"Sirius! Remus!" Somebody hissed from off stage, and the moment between them was broken. Sirius leapt of Remus as though he was on fire, and sprinted off into the wings, leaving a somewhat dazed Remus to make his way to the wings as well.

Then, quite before they knew it, the night was over and they were taking their bows.

The applause from the audience was absolutely deafening and Remus thought his face was going to crack from the huge smile stretched across it.

He and Sirius marched on stage for their personal finale, and he was almost overwhelmed by the reaction they received. He didn't think that the entire population of Hogwarts had even clapped or cheered quite so hard, even at the sorting hat dinners, but they were certainly clapping that hard now.

Sirius caught Remus' eye mischievously as they reached the apron of the stage. Taking his hand, he suddenly whipped his arm under his back and turned his own back to the audience, pretending to...er...he thought the correct term was snog him senseless. Remus struggled back to a standing position and pretended to grin dazedly at the audience, before leading Sirius hurriedly back stage before anything else could transpire.

And then it was over.

The backstage after party was a complete mix of adrenaline charged hyperactivity, and depressed er depressiveness.

Remus was somewhere in between, and he was feeling decidedly wrung out. Something felt at odds with his insides, and he seemed extraordinarily tired. Something was not right.

Before he could figure out what it was, somebody passed him a cup of pumpkin juice, and he gulped it down eagerly, hoping it would settle his writhing stomach. He stood in his usual place in the corner, and watched the proceedings from his hidey hole.

Sirius, as usual, was the centre of attention, and Remus watched with fondness as his best friend laughed and drank with the entire cast of 'Romance From Every Quarter'.

They even toasted him for his terrific performance. Nobody had said anything to Remus. Not that he minded, of course, because that would mean talking to people and thinking of a gracious way to accept the compliment. Maybe that was why Sirius was being heralded, because people knew how he was going to react.

Before he could think of anything else, the room suddenly swam before his eyes, and he felt as though he was going to throw up. Making a mad dash for the auditorium door, he hoped that nobody had seen him.

He had his hand on the toilet door before he realized why he was feeling so out of place and disjointed; it was the full moon that night.

Groaning and placing a hand on his head, and he spun hurriedly on his heel and sprinted away from the Room of Requirement, where the stage had suddenly appeared, and tried to get away from Hogwarts Main before the transformation came.

He was such an idiot! How could he have let himself forget that it was full moon that night? He had been living with the condition for so long, it wasn't something that just 'slipped your mind.' He was a werewolf, and as such he had a duty to his fellows to protect them from himself.

Running as fast as he possibly could across the extensive grounds, it still wasn't fast enough, and he could feel himself transforming as the beams of the full moon hit him directly in the face.

Still running, he felt the burning sensation of hair growing in all places, and winced. He was running out of time. Before he could even complete this thought, the strong ache of his limbs warping into animal style began, and he found himself struggling to decide if he wanted to run on four legs or remain on two.

He finally dropped to four legs, and raced across the last expanse of grounds, the rest of his hideous body transforming as he did so.

Breathing heavily, he crashed through the Womping Willow's defences and slammed into the wall of the Shrieking Shack. Shaking inside, he tried to curl up and hide in a corner, but his werewolf instincts took over the human side of him, and told him to hunt.

It seemed, however, that even the werewolf's energy depended upon Remus' wellbeing, and it didn't have the vigour to keep itself up and moving, as it wanted. Sensing its weakness, Remus exerted what little bit of his tired will he had left, and forced the werewolf's mind to the back of his mind.

Some time passed, and Remus finally fought the werewolf back to the recess of his mind where it belonged.

He had always thought of the lycanthropy as a separate entity inside of his mind. The werewolf was the other side of Remus, the darker, scary side, that he tried to hide away as often as he could. It was the side that laughed heartily when someone dropped their books and was often the side that persuaded him to go along with the meaner pranks of James and Sirius.

But the werewolf sometimes wasn't as bad as Remus sometimes thought. More than once, somebody had found out that Remus shared his body with the werewolf, and tried to harm him for it. At those times, Remus was mostly unaware of the evil intent stirring in the hearts of the person who was seething inside. The werewolf was the one who told him that a person was approaching with a knife, or who let Remus his instincts so that he could escape danger.

It was a love/hate relationship between the two, on Remus's side, at least. He knew the werewolf hated him. That was why Remus fought so hard to keep the lycanthrope contained inside him, because if it were ever to get free, Remus and the world around him would never recover.

Remus drifted from the dark thoughts of the werewolf, to the more confusing thoughts of Sirius.

He wondered if he had merely imagined the look in Sirius' as he had lain atop him during the performance. The look of lust and passion that he guessed was mirrored in his own eyes.

He decided that he had to be imagining it, because Sirius didn't love him. Sirius was Sirius. If Sirius wanted something, he went after it. If Sirius loved him, he would have said something, even if Remus had rejected him. (Which he wouldn't have done.)

His thoughts floated drowsily to thoughts of love in general. They came back to one thought that had always perturbed him; why do humans always want to be 'with' the person they love? He had never been exactly clear on that point. What was the point of kissing someone? It felt good, but what did it achieve? Maybe that was it. Maybe it was all about feeling good. He shook his mangy werewolf head and sighed, resting his chin on his forelegs. It didn't matter anyway.

He managed to stay awake a few hours longer, his werewolf senses listening for footsteps, listening for the night noises, before he drifted off to sleep.

The after party went on late into the night. Sirius was the centre of attention, and was drinking it all in. He had just about every member of the female population hanging off his arm and offering to get him drinks, and every member of the male population was either slapping him on the back or sending pleading looks at him to allow them to steal a girl or two.

This was the life.

Still, something was missing. Something always was, these days. Glancing around the room momentarily, it seemed that although it was full, it was empty. Most of his life seemed as though it was missing something these days, Sirius mused, and then laughed at something someone said and made an excuse to get away for a moment.

He closed the door behind him, and leant against the wooden frame, breathing deeply. Why did he feel so empty? What was missing? Remus would know what was wrong, Sirius thought, and grinned.

Then he stood bolt upright.

Oh, bloody hell.

Turning on his heel, he sprinted as fast as he possibly could away from the Room of Requirement and the afterparty, and into the black expanse of grounds that was Hogwarts.

He didn't know how many times he had made this trip with Remus, James and Peter, but it seemed a lot more sinister now, running across the wet grass by himself. He changed into Animagus form as he reached the Whomping Willow, and ducked inside the Shrieking Shack.

Remus/the werewolf was curled up in a corner, huddling in the darkness. He looked so forlorn that Sirius's heart rose into his throat at the prospect of Remus being unhappy.

The depth of his own remorse surprised him. He had slowly been coming to terms with the fact that Remus meant more to him than he should, but he hadn't realized HOW much more.

Oh, bollocks. He thought as the answer became clear to him. I'm in bloody love with him. Well, this was a development.

His immediate thought after this revelation was what Remus would think if he told him. If Remus was even halfway sensible, he would be disgusted and horrified. But sometimes Remus wasn't sensible. Sometimes Remus was downright barmy. And lately, Sirius thought he'd been picking up vibes from him that he hadn't noticed before. Perhaps Occlumency was paying off after all.

He stared at the sleeping werewolf, and considered waking him, but decided against it. From long experience with the lycanthropy that infected his best friend, he knew it was best to let him sleep it off.

So Sirius shook his shaggy black mane and lay down next to the exhausted werewolf, his glistening eyes watching the rise and fall of the animal's chest. Without knowing it, he fell asleep.

The first thing Remus saw when he woke up that morning tired and sore, was fur. Everywhere. He pulled back a bit, now in human form again, and his aching eyes focussed properly. He started a bit in surprise as he recognized Sirius's Animagus form, and relaxed. Stretching slightly, Remus rubbed his hand over his face and winced. Everything ached.

Deciding he wanted sympathy, he poked Sirius in the stomach until he woke up.

Opening one glistening eye, Sirius glared at him, but transformed to human form.

"Morning, Moony." He mumbled, trying to sit up and failing utterly.

Remus made a face.

"At least you didn't say 'good.'" He replied, although his morning was made better by the sight of Sirius, sleepy and tousled waking up beside him.

"It's the morning after a wonderful performance, Remus, the morning is good." Sirius replied, raising and eyebrow and succeeding at getting up and stretching.

The whole getting sympathy from Sirius idea wasn't going too well. Remus thought.

"You weren't saying that last night." Remus teased. "As I remember you were shaking in your boots."

Sirius pouted.

"Well, so were you."

Remus shook his head.

"No, I wasn't. I was just saying that to make you feel better."

Sirius surveyed him with a look that clearly didn't believe him.

"Whatever you reckon, Moony." He yawned, and stretched again.

"I was!" Remus protested, and then his breath was knocked from his chest as he was thrown backwards. "Hey, what're you doing?"

Sirius was now sitting astride him, grinning.

"Making you nervous." He replied cheerfully. And he reached down to tickle.

He didn't get very far, however, because Remus let out a menacing growl, and Sirius snatched his hand back. He had forgotten it was the morning after. The werewolf was still present inside his best friend after a full moon.

He ceased his efforts of tickling, but didn't move from astride Remus.

"Er, Sirius." Remus said cautiously. "You are still sitting on me."

"Do you want me to sit here?" Sirius asked, almost playful, but knowing he wanted the answer to be a serious one.

"Do you want to sit there?" Remus replied. Was Sirius imagining things, or did Remus breath just hitch in his throat, then? Hoping he had heard it, and conveniently forgetting that he was lying across Remus's chest and the hitch from his throat very well could be because he couldn't breath, he nodded.

"Yes. I suppose I do." He replied, watching Remus's face carefully. He found no reaction, but inside, Remus was quivering with excitement.

Sirius was sitting, well, lying really, atop him, his eyes searching Remus's face intently, and he had just admitted to wanting to keep lying on him. What in Hogwarts did THAT mean?

Hoping it meant what he wanted it to mean, Remus brought his hands up to rest gently on Sirius's waist.

"Mm? Well, good." He told Sirius, and said nothing more. Their eyes stared straight into one another, just as they had the night before on a green couch in much the same position.

Before he could reconsider, or even consider, or even think of what he was doing, Sirius leant forward, and kissed Remus.

To be fair, Remus kissed him back.

Sirius was more than surprised to experience the vehemence to which Remus responded to his advances, and hoped it meant what he hoped in meant.

"Let me ask you something." Sirius whispered as they finished. "Did you want me to do that again?"

"I don't know." Remus replied, his eyes skating across his features. "Did you want to do it again?"

"Mm, yes." Sirius said, and leant forward again. He trailed little kisses down Remus's jaw line, causing his breath to stick in his throat once again.

"...Love you muchly, Padfoot." Remus gasped, and Sirius stopped. He looked at him in surprise.

"Do you?" He asked, hoping his anxiousness didn't show on his face. It must have, because Remus closed his eyes and nodded.

"Yes, oh yes." He whispered, and Sirius grinned.

"Oh, good." He said in relief. Remus's eyes flew open and focussed on Sirius.

"Good? Are you suggesting that..?" He left the line unfinished, hoping Sirius would finish. Sirius nodded.

"Yeah. Guess I am."

He leant down to kiss Remus again, but Remus suddenly sat up and pushed him off. Sirius landed with a thump and frowned. That wasn't the reception he had expected. He looked at Remus, who was now pacing the room in agitation, running his hands through his hair, mumbling.

"Remus!" Sirius demanded, hurt and impatient now. "Sit down."

Remus did so instantly, for once obeying an order.

"Whatever is the matter?" Sirius asked, hoping it wasn't his fault.

"I'm a werewolf, Sirius." He said, as though this was something new.

"I know that." Sirius said, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"We mate for life." Remus continued. "Once we choose a mate, we never let go." He looked Sirius in the eye. "If you want me, you have me."

Sirius felt his gut wrench at such blatant words coming from his Moony, but didn't say anything, hoping there wasn't a 'but.' He wanted Remus so badly it hurt.

"But if you do want me, it's forever." Remus said, still looking at him directly. "There's no going back."

Sirius grinned, and pulled on his shoulders, pulling him down on top of him.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He whispered.

You must now imagine that the second curtain is closing on the stage. The theatre lanterns are dimming, and the audience strains to see more of the actors on stage. There is no sound from the actors, but the audience continues to watch as the curtain descends from its high perch, shielding them from view.

The curtain lands with a heavy 'fwump' on the wooden stage, and the audience is jolted suddenly back to reality as they realize it's over. Their applause is thunderous, like rain on a tin roof, but the actors don't care. They can't hear them. The audience claps as they leave, still filled with such emotion that they don't want to let it go.

Finally the atmosphere leaves them, and they move out of the auditorium door.

The actors on stage don't care. They can't hear them.

You must now imagine that this is the end of this tale, and the end of this play. Please take your programs and dispose of your wrappers thoughtfully. Think of us every once in a while, and remember; romance comes from every quarter.

No encores, please.

Adieu.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hm, okay, well, sorry it's the end, but at least the chapter was long, no? I just got so completely stuck with this, that I had to end it, otherwise I would hate it, and I didn't want that to happen. I may add some more, if I can, but I doubt it. I don't think this is the last you will see of 'I don't even like Harry Potter y'kno', especially in regard to Remus/Sirius. Anyway, thanks muchly to all reviewers, and all who have stuck with me through the chapter mix ups and such. I hope you all enjoyed this and perhaps we'll met again!

Ciao,

Lizzy (IDELHP)

I would put in responses, but I can't for the life of me remember where I was up to, and who I've written to and who I haven't. I copy and paste into word, you see, but I forgot to separate out the chapters, and well, now I"ve forgotten. I'm really quite upset; I haven't ever not put in responses. I feel evil. Anyway, let's just say THANK YOU MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! And many thanks to Grimy Grunhilda Grunt, who was the main reason I continued this. Your story rocked, by the way. Anyway, I'll shut up now. G'bye!