The Summer of My Discontent

Author: Lee West
Rating: NC-17
Archiving: All FQF will be archived solely at this site until September 30th, 2005. After that, it's yours to do with as you will.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. I do not own Harry Potter, its characters, or anything associated with it. I'm not making any money from this story, and I don't intend to.
Challenge & Summary: Challenge SS #11: It's the first summer that Sirius is away from Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
Author Notes: Thanks to Kate for the beta and to Donatella for reading and keeping me in line. And a special thank you to the lovely A Fallen Sister, whose picture gave me the inspiration for a scene in this fic. I added the link right after the scene due to spoilery.

Sirius arrived at Godric’s Hollow at the end of the first week of the holidays. James had been expecting his best friend’s visit, but not for another fortnight. The Blacks used the first couple of weeks of their sons’ summer holidays to entertain high level officials and other old pureblood families. Both Sirius and Regulus were expected to attend these functions and be at their best behavior, as befitted the House of Black.

Therefore, James was very surprised to see Sirius arriving at his family’s house at two in the morning of the night of the Season Opening Party. He was still wearing his elegant dress robes, but his hair was in disarray. He had his broom in his left hand, his owl perched on his shoulder and his trunk with the Black crest on its lid on the ground next to him.

Sirius had run away from home, jumping into the fireplace of the master bedroom with all his belongings. He had Flooed to the Wizarding pub in Gresford, the Muggle village down the hill from Godric’s Hollow and from there walked to the Potters’, dragging the heavy trunk behind him. He had knocked at the heavy door until the three Potters appeared at the door.

“Sirius!” Mrs. Potter exclaimed. “What are you doing here at this time?”

Mr. Potter echoed his wife’s question. James, however, didn’t need to ask anything. He understood what his best friend was doing there. During their sixth year they had discussed the rising of the dark side, and Sirius had made no secret that his parents were probably involved. James had told him many times during the year that he should just move in with the Potters.

Sirius was exhausted and answered with bated breath, “I ran away from home, Mr. and Mrs. Potter.”

“But Sirius, why? You can’t do that. Your parents must be worried, looking for you.”

“They probably will, Mrs. Potter, but I won’t be going back.”

“You’re not of age, Sirius. They have the right to demand that you return.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Potter, if you won’t let me stay here, I’ll fly on to Hogwarts and ask Professor Dumbledore to house me. It will only be for two months. I’ll be seventeen and of age at the end of August. I can’t go back to my family home, believe me.”

The Potters knew that the Blacks had close ties to the man who dubbed himself Lord Voldemort. They liked Sirius a lot, too. On one hand, they felt that the young man would be much better off away from his family home. On the other hand, there were technicalities and legalities that could make the whole issue quite messy. They weren’t afraid to fight the Blacks. They wanted to know, however, why Sirius had taken such a drastic step.

Ellen Potter moved away from the door and told him to come in. James quickly grabbed one side of the trunk, while Sirius helped him from the other side. Archimedes, Sirius’s eagle owl, flew ahead, straight to the area where the Potters’ owls gathered. Archimedes was an old friend of the Potters’ owls, especially Athena, James’s own.

Ellen Summoned tea and biscuits, and the four of them sat down in the living-room, three Potters comfortably clad in their pajamas and a Black, who seemed equally comfortable in his party regalia.

They ate in silence. Ellen noticed that Sirius was hardly nibbling at his biscuit. That caught her attention, as he was a hearty eater, just like any teenage boy.

“Would you like more tea, Sirius?” she asked, although she had noticed that his cup was still untouched. She needed to say something to break the heavy silence.

“No, thanks, Mrs. Potter, I’m not hungry.”

“Did you eat at home?”

“Yes, ma’am,” was the curt reply.

She realized that the prompt would not yield the answers she needed, so she asked point blank, “Sirius, can you tell us why you ran away from home at this hour and why you said you can’t go back?”

He closed his eyes, thought for a minute and then nodded. “Yes, I will.”

The three Potters sat up in anticipation. Sirius cleared his throat and started. “Well, as you know, tonight was my family’s Season Opening Party.” The Potters nodded. The Black party was the most well attended affair in Wizarding society. Old money purebloods from all over the world were invited. It hadn’t escaped the Potters that, although they fell into that category, they had never received one of the very exclusive black vellum envelopes with the Toujours Pur motto and the family crest embossed in silver. It was just as well. They wouldn’t attend anyway. The Potters had never believed in that purity of blood nonsense that most pureblood families seemed to embrace.

Sirius continued. “As soon as we arrived home, my parents told Regulus and me that we would be welcoming a very special guest. I didn’t think much about it – I thought that it would be some new foreign royalty or something like that. If I had known what was going to happen, I’d have run away before.”

He paused and took a small sip of tea. “So tonight we were all assembled in the ballroom, just waiting for this mysterious guest to arrive. All of a sudden, there was this big commotion and he walked in. Can you imagine who it was?” The three Potters shook their heads. They all had different opinions about the identity of the guest, but they wanted Sirius to go on. “It was that maniac, Voldemort.”

Ellie gasped. By looking at her husband and son, she realized that they hadn’t expected the Dark Lord to be so bold as to attend a society soiree.

“Voldemort, Sirius? Are you sure?” Damien Potter asked.

“Yes, sir, in person. You should see the spectacle, the heads of most of the pureblood families actually bowed to him.”

“Did your parents…” James was even afraid of finishing the sentence.

Sirius snorted. “No. Blacks don’t bow to anyone, as I’ve been told over and over. But my father made us approach, so he could introduce us to him.”

“And?” Ellen prodded.

“Regulus was beyond himself with excitement. Voldemort didn’t pay him much attention, though. He decided to focus on me.”

“You?” asked Damien.

“Yes, me. He asked me how I was doing in school and was definitely surprised to know that I wasn’t a Slytherin. He then asked who my friends were, and I told him they were all Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, but no Slytherins at all.”

“Good job, Padfoot. What did he say to that?”

“Nothing. He just smiled evilly and moved on to the next person in line. I thought that that was all, actually, that I’d be free after that, and I would come here after the obligatory two weeks at home.”

“And it wasn’t?” both Mr. and Mrs. Potter asked.

“No, I wish. A little bit later, my father summoned me to the library. Voldemort was there, together with Abraxas and Lucius Malfoy, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, my cousin Bellatrix and a few other people. My father took me aside and said that I had been invited to take part in a secret society that would change the world. I asked him what it was and he told me that I would know as soon as I went through the initiation process. When I asked what this initiation entailed, he told me I had to get some sort of a mark, given by the Dark Lord himself.” Sirius turned to James. “Remember what we heard at school? About a Dark Mark?”

James was gaping at his friend. Of course he remembered. He nodded. Sirius continued, “I remembered very well, too. It was supposed to bind you to Voldemort.”

Damien and Ellen were astonished, too. They obviously had also heard about the Dark Mark. It was inconceivable that Sirius’s father had suggested that his son should bear it.

“What happened then, Sirius?” Ellen asked, even afraid to pose the question, lest the answer would be Sirius showing the ugly mark on his body.

“I told my father that I wouldn’t do it. He told me that he expected that kind of reaction, that he was disappointed with me, but he could wait until I thought better about it. I told him that I wouldn’t change my mind and I wouldn’t take any mark, not then, not ever. He kept looking furtively at Voldemort, who was apparently talking to Bellatrix and Rodolphus. His attention, however, was on us. He left their side and approached the corner where Father and I were talking. He asked us what was happening and my father said that I needed more time before pledging my obedience to him. Then Voldemort told me that he would wait. He could wait for the future head of the Black family to join him. All I had to do was to let him know that I was ready.

I know that I overreacted then. I should have played along and just left at the end of the two weeks. But I was furious. Furious with my father for having joined forces with that monster. Furious at him for having dragged me along. So I just told Voldemort that it would never happen, that I would never be on his side.”

He paused again, as if he was collecting his thoughts. Then he resumed his story. “It was mayhem, all of a sudden. Rodolphus and Rabastan grabbed me, and Lucius helped to hold me down, telling Voldemort to mark me. I was kicking and screaming, trying to resist, but they were all much stronger. I thought I had lost the battle, when Voldemort told them to release me. He said that one day I would come to him freely, and that would be the day he would welcome me.

My father then summoned Regulus. I didn’t want my little brother to be there. I was afraid he wouldn’t resist. But he went willingly. I was sent up to my bedroom and told to stay there until I came to my senses.”

“Regulus took the mark?” Damien asked in disbelief.

“I imagine so, sir.” Sirius sighed. “I went upstairs and decided to leave. I had to, you understand? I couldn’t be there anymore. I packed my things and left through the master bedroom fireplace. They haven’t missed me yet, I’m sure. I don’t want to create problems for you. I have a feeling, though, that my parents won’t mind that I have run away. See, once I’m gone Regulus becomes the rightful heir of the family. And he’s a much better son for them than I am.” He choked at these last words, but he wouldn’t cry.

“Well, Sirius,” said Ellen, “you won’t bring us any additional trouble, I can guarantee you. We welcome you here in our house. If your parents come looking for you, we’ll defend you. If they come by legal means, we’ll fight it. After all, as you said, it will only be for a few months. After you become an adult wizard, they won’t be able to force you to do anything you don’t want.”

“And we are very proud of you, Sirius,” Damien added. “It takes a lot of Gryffindor courage to resist the pressure as well as you did. You’ll always have a place at Godric’s Hollow, just like a second son.” He got up, yawned and told James to help Sirius take his things upstairs. It was late and they all needed a good rest.

Sirius stayed in bed late the next morning. Sure, during the summer there was no reason to wake up early, but James had been up for a good couple of hours and Padfoot was still sleeping. Finally, not being able to hold it any more, James barged into the guest bedroom and found Sirius lying in bed wide awake and staring at the ceiling.

James pounced on his friend and, to his surprise, Sirius didn’t pounce back or react to the joke. He just stayed there, suffering wet willies and the irritation of having his hair ruffled. James finally stopped when he received no reaction.

“Oi, Padfoot,” James said, puzzled, “What’s going on? Come on, let’s get out of here. It’s nice outside. Let’s go to the lake and swim a bit.”

“No, thanks, James,” Sirius sighed. “I don’t feel like it.”

“Well, come downstairs, then, for breakfast. Mum made a lot of food and left it Warm-Charmed for you. Actually, there’s enough for both of us and I’m hungry again.”

Sirius didn’t move. James continued, “Hey, if you’re going to stay like this, I’ll eat your share, too. Come on, race you downstairs.”

Still there was no movement. “Sirius, didn’t you hear? I’m going to eat it all.”

“Go ahead. I’m not hungry.” He turned around, covered his head with the blanket and closed his eyes. He wouldn’t answer to any of James’s pleads to go out or eat. He only left the bedroom when Mrs. Potter arrived home from work and forced him to go down and eat dinner. Contrary to his normal behavior, Sirius just pecked at the food. A little after dinner he asked to be excused and retired to bed.

After a few days of the same strange behavior, the Potters decided to ask Remus and Peter to come join them for the rest of the holidays. James had mentioned that maybe the presence of the whole group would cheer Sirius up.

Maybe it was the sound of his friends’ voice, maybe his depression was abating slowly with time, but Sirius perked up a little, aided by the fact that the Blacks hadn’t come looking for him at all. The Potters reckoned that it wouldn’t look very good for the Blacks to have to confront Sirius while he was at Godric’s Hollow. Dumbledore agreed. The Blacks would never admit that they were a part of Voldemort’s circle, and although it would be Sirius’s word against theirs, it would be enough to cast a cloud over their name. In any event, they had an obedient heir to the name already.

One day, as they were swimming at the lake, they heard a funny giggling sound. Quickly they swam ashore and ran to their clothes, fumbling for their wands that they carried in the seam of their Muggle shorts. Nobody ever came to the lake, which, although open to the public, was considered part of the Potters’ property.

They held the top of their wands, ready to draw them if they were being attacked. But, as the giggling increased, they realized that there was nothing to fear. It was a group of girls, who were probably on holiday nearby and had come through the forest that ended at the lake.

Very few things would make four seventeen year old boys happier than seeing the group of cute teenage girls. The Marauders preened. The girls stopped, not quite believing their luck in finding four good looking blokes in swimming trunks at the lake. The boys stared at them appreciatively, mentally deciding which one they preferred. The girls giggled some more, doing the same mental evaluation.

The only flaw in that otherwise perfect picture was that there were more girls than boys. Not that the Marauders were complaining, not at all.

James, as host, immediately stepped forward and greeted the girls. “Hello, I’m James Potter. I live here in Godric’s Hollow,” he said, pointing in the general direction of the house.

Six faces smiled at him and giggled again. James then turned to his friends, “And these are my best mates: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.”

More giggles. And then a pretty blonde decided to do the honors, saying, “I’m Roxanne Talbit and this is my little sister, Vera.” Vera made a moue about being called “little”, but she was a realistic girl who knew that she was the youngest and not as developed physically as the other girls. These blokes were way out of her league. Roxanne then continued, “And these are my friends Julie McIntosh” – a bosomed brunette flashed a very white smile – “Laura Webb, or ‘Red’, as she’s called, and Anna Choi.” Then, as an afterthought, she motioned to the last girl, another redhead, “And this is Camilla Webb, Laura’s little sister.”

The two younger girls, having been summarily excluded from running for the handsome blokes, shrugged and moved away. Now there were four and four, and it was only a matter to mix and match. And to see who would make the first move.

At Hogwarts, all the girls flocked immediately to Sirius; most of the time, however, the haughty pureblood didn’t even notice their presence. Before Valentine’s, before any other Hogsmeade weekend, Sirius would be surrounded by girls trying to vie for his attention. He always seemed a little put out by them and would finally choose one so that the others would leave him alone. Which was fine for his friends, who could console the losers to their best ability. Sirius worked as a magnet for his friends. They weren’t ugly or ungainly, but Sirius was definitely a few steps above. It didn’t matter: girls seemed to be happy anyway with any of the other three. They were the most popular blokes at school anyway.

James decided not to wait and see which one of those birds would not go to Sirius first. There was a redhead at stake, and if he couldn’t have Lily, he could fantasize at least. He approached Laura and introduced himself formally. She glanced at Sirius, in the hope that he would make a move towards her, but he was actually grinning at his friend. Laura looked at James and decided that he was quite good looking, too. He’d do.

Now three girls and three boys were awkwardly looking down and shuffling their feet. Remus raised his eyes towards Roxanne and found that she was eyeing Sirius. He mentally accepted the fact and was about to turn to another one of the girls when she gave up in trying to catch Sirius’s attention. She looked him up and down, probably liked what she saw and smiled at him.

Anna pondered her two choices. The tall bloke was just divine, of course. The shortish blond one was okay. Before she could even start to move, Julie turned towards Sirius. She had wanted him right away, and there was no way she would choose the guy who was at least two inches shorter than her. Besides, she was considered the prettiest of the group, so it was only logical that she would be with the gorgeous bloke in front of her. He hadn’t said much more than “hi”, but she couldn’t believe that a bloke with those looks would be so shy. There was only way to know for sure. She advanced towards him and invited him to swim.

Anna and Peter smiled at each other.

In spite of being the most popular boys at school, the Marauders didn’t have that much experience with dating. They went to Hogsmeade with girls once in a while, shared a few snogs in the bushes, maybe did a little groping, felt a breast here and there, but the truth was that the four boys, at the age of seventeen, were all virgins. Hogwarts just didn’t provide opportunities for much more than that. Sure, they knew the way to go to Hogsmeade unnoticed, but from there, what would they do?

Suddenly, they had four attractive, city smart girls from London who seemed much more experienced than they were. And there were plenty of opportunities in the quiet Welsh countryside.

One by one, the Marauders lost their virginity, in an abandoned barn, on the lakeshore, on a rainy day in a guest bedroom while the others played cards downstairs, against a wall coming back home from a church dance. Sirius was the first, as Julie was the most experienced and the one with the lowest level of patience; then Peter, then Remus and finally James. In spite of Laura sharing the same hair color as Lily, he had been reluctant and had needed a few shots of the strong whiskey served at the local dance.

After that first time, awkwardness and all, the summer changed for the Marauders. They were couples, now, in relationships. The fact that they were ephemeral summer relationships didn’t seem to play much of a role. Two months, when you are seventeen, seem like a lifetime.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter were slightly uncomfortable with the added four members of the group. They were responsible for all four boys and were living in constant fear that the worst would happen. The sheer idea of having to tell the Lupins or the Pettigrews that Remus or Peter had got a girl in trouble had kept them awake many nights. They were also worried about their own son, of course, and even more than any about Sirius. They hoped that the idea of having a halfblood child to spite his parents hadn’t occurred to him yet.

Besides, the older Potters had planned to have a nice vacation in Greece that year, as the boys were old enough to take care of themselves. They hated to leave their house now, with the four couples. They knew what would be happening as soon as they closed their front door and departed on their dream vacation.

Damien Potter then decided to have a group talk with the boys. He was fully aware that he might be trying to lock the stable door after the horses had bolted, but better late than never. He had no idea if the other parents had had The Talk with the other boys. He had mentioned a few things to James, but certainly not enough. He had been confident that the strict Hogwarts atmosphere would keep his son out of trouble.

It didn’t take him more than the first few words to determine that his talk was way too late. The boys looked embarrassed, but with a glint of recognition. So, the deed being done, he went through a talk about the need to practice safe sex, which made him a little uncomfortable: this seemed to be news to the boys. He hoped that the girls were more experienced, but taught the boys a Contraceptive Charm that could be used even among Muggles; in the magic environment of Godric’s Hollow, even Sirius, who was still underage, would be able to perform it. The four of them seemed very interested in the charm and Damien was able to breathe more easily at this.

After Remus and Peter arrived at Godric’s Hollow, the Potters had moved the four boys to the large room in the attic. The boys liked it, as they could talk as freely as when they were at Hogwarts. Ellen and Damien liked it, too, as they could sleep in peace.

The conversation in the attic room was mostly about sex. The four boys exchanged experiences, tips, what worked well, what didn’t. They all had pretty active sex lives, but, as they expected, Sirius had the most. He was still slightly withdrawn, but had perked up with Julie’s attentions. And she wouldn’t leave him alone. Actually, from his descriptions, it was Julie who started the vast majority of their sexual activity. The other boys were secretly envious of that detail. Yes, their girlfriends always wanted to have sex with them, but they sometimes had to be cajoled. That Sirius was the one to be cajoled was certainly a matter for envy.

As far as the girls went, everyone liked Anna. She was a sweet girl and Peter was happy with her. Laura reminded everyone too much of Lily, all red hair and bossiness. They knew that this was the reason that James had chosen her and, although she rubbed people up the wrong way a lot, she was mostly all right. Julie was so pretty that the boys had a weakness for her. She was also very coy and that played right with them. She was, however, very possessive of Sirius, sometimes even interrupting a manly conversation he was having with his friends. She rarely left his side. Roxanne seemed the right partner for Remus. She was an avid reader, like he was, and was well liked. Except by Sirius. He hadn’t told Remus this, but there was something in the blond girl’s demeanor that Sirius just couldn’t stand.

One afternoon, as they were swimming in the lake, Julie had a brilliant idea. It was Friday, the day they went dancing locally. She had been a little bored with the country atmosphere and was dying to go to a big city with her gorgeous boyfriend. So she suggested that they all went to Liverpool, to a nice nightclub. They could dance as long as they wanted and would take either the last train back to Wrexham or the first one in the morning. It was short ride for the young people.

It seemed a good idea. The girls left the lake in a hurry to get dressed, leaving the boys without any clue as to what they could wear to a Liverpool club. They dressed in Muggle clothes during the summer, of course, but their wardrobe consisted mostly of shorts and old, comfortable t-shirts. For the country dances held at the local church they wore jeans and a better shirt. A Liverpool club, however, would probably demand trendier clothes.

Thankfully, Mrs. Potter came to the rescue. When she returned home from work, she had in her hand a couple of magazines for young people. To Transfigure old Muggle clothes into tight jeans and fashionable t-shirts was something she could do with her eyes closed. As the boys were about to leave, she took a few pictures. They looked so handsome…

The Marauders had invented a story for the four girls, an intricate tale that involved some truth (they went to a boarding school in Scotland) and many adaptations (Sirius had been adopted by the Potters). They had never been exposed to a large Muggle city, except for King’s Cross and the area around the Leaky Cauldron. They had never gone dancing in a club. Even Remus, whose mother was Muggle born, had never lived in a Muggle environment.

Three of them had excuses, in that they lived in the country, but Sirius, coming from London, was awfully ignorant about what “dancing in a club” meant. The boys had decided to observe and follow suit, lest the girls asked questions about Sirius’s family.

The girls didn’t seem too interested in that, anyway. They had noticed that the Potters lived in a very comfortable house -- which, unbeknownst to them was Charmed to seem like a common Muggle house -- that Sirius had a very upper-class accent and had to live with the Potters because he was probably an aristocrat without money, and since they all went to an exclusive boarding school in Scotland, the other two boys probably weren’t poor. That was enough for them.

And now, leaving the house to fetch the girls, they looked just like that: four well-off boys with not a care in the world. The future would be provided for them.

They made it to Liverpool and into a nice club that Julie had chosen. The four boys were making every effort to look comfortable in an environment that was very new to them. But the atmosphere, the company and the music took over and soon they looked like they were regular patrons.

After dancing for hours, the four couples sat down to rest their feet. While James and Laura and Remus and Roxanne made out, Sirius was talking to Julie, Anna and Peter. He looked very interested in the conversation, but in reality his mind was miles away. As it had happened so many times since he had left home, he was thinking about the future and what he would do. Not even Julie’s hand caressing his thigh was bringing him back to the present.

All of a sudden he felt eyes on him. Someone in that room was staring at him firmly. He was used to the feeling of having girls stare at him, even though he had his arm around his girlfriend’s shoulder. He got curious and looked around. And he met the set of eyes. To his surprise, it wasn’t a girl. It was a blond bloke, who smiled at him when their eyes met.

Sirius started. Who was that bloke and why was he looking at him like that? Could he be a wizard? One of Voldemort’s minions? Someone sent by his father? He fidgeted a little and realized he was being foolish. Nobody knew he was in Liverpool and, furthermore, he was in Muggle Liverpool, a place where dark wizards would never set foot in.

He leant forward to pay attention to the conversation at the table and realized that he had no idea what the subject was. And he felt the eyes on him again. He looked and saw the same smile. A strange smile. He had never seen such a smile in a bloke. It was like an…invitation.

Sirius tried once more to pay attention to the conversation, but found out it was a losing proposition. He got up and announced that he was going to the loo. He looked at the blond man as he got up and started walking away. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that the bloke was following him. Good. If the other man went to the bathroom, too, he would be able to ask him who he was. He was feeling a strange sensation, and he thought the bloke could be a wizard, after all.

He entered the empty bathroom and, sure enough, the stranger came in a second later. Sirius turned around to face him.

“Who are you? Who sent you?” he asked defiantly.

The stranger furrowed his brows. “I’m Max. Max Fallon. But nobody sent me. I came of my own free will.”

“What do you want from me?”

Max’s eyes glistened. “Whatever you want to give to me.”

“I…I don’t want to give you anything.” Sirius felt that he should be leaving the bathroom. That bloke was mental, definitely. Yet, he couldn’t leave. His legs didn’t obey his brain.

“Well, then maybe I can give you something.” Max leered.

“Like what?” As soon as Sirius asked the question, he knew he shouldn’t have.

“Whatever you like.” Max approached Sirius and touched his arm.

“Stop it.” Sirius jumped back, jerking his arm free.

“What’s wrong with you?” Max asked, irritably.

“No, what’s wrong with you?”

“Listen, you saw that I was checking you out and then you left your beard at the table and came here. I logically assumed I had to follow you.”

Sirius touched his chin. “My beard? What’re you talking about? I don’t have a beard.”

Max squinted at him. “Are you taking the mickey?”

“No, but you are. I don’t have a beard.”

Max sighed. “Are you from planet Earth?”

Sirius nodded. “Of course, what a question.”

“You don’t know what a beard is?”

“Something that grows on your chin,” Sirius answered petulantly.

“You’re not from here, are you?” Max asked with more patience.

“No. From Wales.”

“You don’t sound Welsh.”

“Well, I just live there.”

“Okay, I’ll accept that you aren’t joking. A beard, my young man, is a girl who serves as a decoy.”

“Decoy for what?”

Max seemed to think that he had made a big mistake. “Listen, that girl who’s with you. The one with the big boobs…”

“My girlfriend Julie.”

“Oh, she is your girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…Interesting.”

“Why is it interesting?”

“Because you don’t look like you are into girls.”

“Of course I am into girls. What would I be into?”

Max snickered and opened his arms. “Boys?”

Sirius didn’t answer. He just stared at the blond man in front of him. Finally, with a weak voice, he said, “But I’m not into boys.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah…”

“Did you ever try?”

Sirius was feeling dizzy. He attributed it to the great amount of alcohol he had consumed, to the heat of the small bathroom…and to Max’s proximity. He shook his head.

“Then you don’t really know,” Max said.

Sirius was feeling a sensation that he had never felt. He wanted to run away from that bathroom, back to the comfortable arms of Julie, to the camaraderie of his friends. But he couldn’t. He wanted more to stay right where he was, with Max. When the blond man asked him softly, “Do you want to know?” he nodded and closed his eyes, sensing that he was about to be kissed. By another bloke.

He heard bells and saw flashes in front of his closed eyes. It was by far the best kiss he had ever received in his life. His cock twitched immediately, something that had never happened when he kissed Julie. Max had grabbed his head with one arm and had encircled his waist with the other. Instinctively Sirius embraced the other man and they rubbed against each other and ground their bodies together.

Finally, with a squeeze on Sirius’s ass, Max separated and smiled, while Sirius gasped for air.

“So? What do you think? Is this something you like?”

Inside Sirius’s mind there came a load of reasons why he should say no. He nodded.

“Good. I thought so,” Max said cockily. “Now, your girlfriend is waiting for you. Why don’t you go back to your table, sit there for a while and then find an excuse to come outside. I’ll follow you and show you more things that you’ll like, okay?”

Sirius hated his body’s constant disobedience to his logical brain. He wanted to say no, but he just kept nodding.

Max opened the door to the lavatory, turned around and asked, “By the way, what’s your name?”

Again the logical side of his brain was telling him to say anything but his real name. However, his body hadn’t forgotten the feeling of being kissed by Max. His traitorous mouth said, “Sirius. Sirius Black.”

“S-I-R-I-U-S? Like the star?”

Sirius grinned. “Yeah.”

“Suits you. See you in a bit.” And he closed the door after him.

Sirius wished he had an Apparition license, that he could go straight to Godric’s Hollow. And yet he knew that he wouldn’t, even if he could.

He started to leave the bathroom when he noticed that he had an erection -- caused by snogging a bloke. He thought about rushing into one of the stalls and taking care of it quickly. He couldn’t go back to his table like that. But Max’s words, promising something ‘more’ made the idea of wanking alone pale in comparison. What could the blond bloke mean?

Sirius decided to brave it and thought about more sobering things: his own uncertain future; the sense of not having a family any more, of having been erased from his heritage; and especially, about letting his friends know that he had just snogged a man and had loved it. By the time he approached his table, his erection was gone.

Julie was waiting for him anxiously when he returned. With her eyebrows she asked why it had taken him so long and he just shrugged. She looked around to see if any woman had been eyeing him, someone who could have met him in the general bathroom section, but the only person who was staring at them was a blond bloke, leaning against the bar, and he was obviously staring at her.

Sirius’s interest in the conversation had diminished even more. He looked around the table. James and Laura had finally stopped making out and were eagerly participating in a discussion about something or other. He had no idea of what the topic was. Anna was cute as ever. He really liked her and he thought that she and Peter made a good couple. Of all of the pairs around the table, they were the only one he would bet on having a long-term relationship.

He turned to Remus and Roxanne, who were still snogging furiously. The scene bothered Sirius immensely. He wanted to ask them to stop making out in public like that. He tried to avert his eyes, but felt strangely drawn to the couple in front of him. The more they kissed, the more he saw Remus’s tongue darting in and out of her mouth, the more uncomfortable he felt. He thought about why he was feeling like that. After all, the four couples made out freely in front of each other. Why was that bothering him? Because he had just kissed a bloke? Would that have made any difference? Because he simply couldn’t stand Roxanne? Because she was downright not allowing Remus to breathe and he would probably die in a minute and Sirius would be friendless? Why didn’t she just stop?

His train of thought was interrupted by Julie suddenly getting up and announcing that she was going to the ladies’ room. She grabbed her purse and all the other three girls immediately did the same. Sirius was thankful that Julie had achieved the seemingly impossible task of freeing Remus from Roxanne.

The girls left for the ladies’ room in a fit of giggles, as they always did. The four boys never understood why the girls always had to go to the ladies’ room together and stay there forever.

Sirius stood up as soon as they meandered into the restroom area and risked a look at Max, who was still casually leaning on the counter. The blond man was watching the disappearance of the four girls and, without looking at Sirius, made for the door. Sirius stretched and told his friends that he was feeling hot and would walk outside for a breath of fresh air. His friends immediately stood up to accompany him, but he dismissed them with a wave of his hand, saying that he needed to be alone for a while.

The three boys sighed. Padfoot’s mood had been very erratic during that summer and he often wanted to be by himself. They felt very impotent to help him, but they catered to his wishes.

Sirius walked quickly out of the club. Outside, he looked at both sides and saw nobody. Instinctively he felt for his wand in the seam of his trousers, right below his knee. Maybe Max was a dark wizard at all.

He jumped when he felt a hand take hold of his arm. Max was smirking.

“You were looking at the wrong side; I was right behind the door,” he explained, as he started pulling Sirius towards the corner. Sirius followed in silence. He could hear the noise of his heart thumping furiously. He willed it to stop; he was sure that Max could hear it, too, and just how embarrassing was that?

Max took them into a dark alley that was a couple of streets away from the club, way deep in the shadows. In spite of all his horniness at that moment, Sirius had a fleeting thought that it might be a trap. And found out that he just didn’t give a damn.

He was gently pushed against the wall and felt Max’s soft lips on his. The softness of the kiss soon turned frantic, and he bit Max’s mouth when he felt the other man’s hand unsnapping and unzipping his jeans, finding the opening in his pants and taking his hard cock out. It was a warm summer night, but the air felt cold against his hot penis. Max’s hands caressed his cock and found his balls. Sirius was lost. Sure, he had been fondled by Julie, many times, but it had been nothing like this. He wanted to do something with his hands, so he grabbed Max’s ass and squeezed it. It seemed the right thing to do, as Max moaned and increased the rhythm of the furious kissing and fondling. Sirius tried to put his hands inside Max’s jeans, but they couldn’t go past the waistband. He felt silly, having his fingers stuck just inside the other man’s trousers, and Max probably decided that some help was needed.

He quickly opened and lowered his jeans, doing the same to Sirius’s trousers and pants; then he grabbed Sirius’s ass and with one swift motion, pressed their groins together. Sirius’s eyes rolled in their sockets, and he forgot where he was and even who he was. The feeling of having someone’s cock rubbing against his made everything else that he had done with Julie seem like child’s play. Like the horny teenager that he was, he didn’t last long at all and came, gasping inside Max’s mouth.

Max rushed to achieve his own orgasm, which was made a little more difficult because he now also had to support a limp body. But he managed to climax, albeit a little messily and hugged Sirius tight, while Sirius felt his legs turn to jelly.

“Don’t,” warned Max. “You can’t sit on this ground. It’s filthy. Just hold on to me for a little longer until your legs are okay again.” He was still holding Sirius and caressing his back and arms while rubbing his chin on the boy’s hair. Max didn’t even know why he was being so affectionate with this person he had just met. Sure, he had been with inexperienced men before, and he had been gentler than usual on those occasions, but he had never been so…caring. There was something definitely different about this Sirius. He just couldn’t stop caressing him.

Sirius regained his control and looked sheepishly at Max. He had blundered this thing horrendously. But he had never had an orgasm like that. A little part of his brain was insisting that it had been caused by the unknown, the forbidden, the furtive, while his body admitted that it was because he had been with another man.

Max didn’t seem to be put out, though. With a bright smile, he asked, “You all right?”

Sirius nodded. “Yeah, I am, but…hey, I’m really sorry.”

“There’s no need to feel sorry. We achieved what we wanted. And, after all, this was your first time.”

“Well, that’s the problem. It wasn’t my first time. I’ve had sex with my girlfriend.”

Max grabbed his chin and lifted his face up. “Sirius, you’re wrong. This was your first time. And it’s only the beginning.” He kissed Sirius’s mouth softly and let go of the younger man. From his jeans pocket he took some tissues and handed a couple to Sirius. “Here, clean yourself up. And we’d better go. Your girlfriend has probably made herself pretty again and should be back at the table.”

Sirius wrinkled his nose. He didn’t want to see Julie, prettier or not. He’d much rather stay with Max and see what came after that “beginning”.

Max pulled up his jeans and took a piece of paper from his pocket. “Here, Sirius, this is my phone number. Can you come to Liverpool next weekend? Without her?”

Sirius had no idea how he could possibly come to Liverpool again in a week, but he would find a way. The fact that he had been spending a lot of time on his own helped. His friends would think that it was still due to his depression. Eagerly, he answered, “Sure, I’ll be here.”

“Good. Call me and let me know which train you’ll be taking, and I’ll pick you up at the station. Do you think you can manage to stay overnight? Will your parents let you?” Max knew that Sirius was young. He just didn’t know how young. From afar, in the dimness of the club, he had looked older, roughly about Max’s own age of twenty-two. In the bathroom, Max had lowered his estimate of Sirius’s age by two to three years. Now, after seeing how innocent Sirius was, he was actually afraid that the boy could be jail bait. Prudence told him to just say goodbye and leave. Sirius could get more experience elsewhere. But he found that he couldn’t do it; he wanted to see Sirius again. He wanted to have real sex with him. It was not only that Sirius was so beautiful. There was that something that was so different about the boy. Besides, he reasoned that Sirius should at least be eighteen, to be drinking in a club. Of course, Max had no way of knowing that the girls were of age and nobody had bothered to check the boys’ ages.

He was surprised to hear Sirius snort. “My parents won’t care. I don’t live with them.”

“Oh, who do you live with?”

“My friend James’s family. The one with the black hair.”

“Why don’t you live with your family?”

“Because I don’t like them and I ran away from home. Why? Is this a problem?” he lifted his chin petulantly.

Max held back a smile. The boy was just too adorable. “No, no problem. I imagine then it’ll be easy for you to spend the night next week, right?”

Sirius nodded, pushing back the nagging thought of how to do it. And what would happen that night.

“Good,” Max said, before pulling Sirius into a tight embrace and kissing him again. Sirius felt his damn knees weaken once more and thought that there might be something wrong with them.

Max slapped Sirius’s bum lightly, pushing him in the direction of the club. “Go. See you next Saturday,” he said, and he took off in the opposite direction, not sure if he wanted to know how old Sirius was.

When Sirius approached the table, he was welcome by a glaring Julie and concerned faces from his friends. His heart skipped a beat, thinking that maybe he and Max had been seen. But luck had been on their side. Apparently Remus and James had walked around the block looking for him but hadn’t gone far enough to find Sirius and Max.

He apologized, saying that the club was too stuffy and he had a headache. His friends were just happy to see him: they had been concerned about his behavior. Sirius looked all right, though, actually with a healthier glow that he had sported that summer. The walk outside had definitely been good for him.

Julie, however, wasn’t too pleased. She sensed that something was different with Sirius, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was. She had never felt this sense of jealousy with any one of her boyfriends. Normally, they were jealous of her. She looked around again to see if there was any woman who could be ogling her boyfriend. But there was no one. She looked once more to see if the good looking blond bloke who had been staring at her was still around, but he seemed to have found company and left.

The dance floor was still crowded with sweaty couples. Sirius noticed with distaste that Roxanne had grabbed Remus’s hands as soon as Sirius had sat down and she had taken him to the dance floor, where they were dancing to a slow tune, embracing and moving their bodies together as if they were shagging in public.

The other couples left for the dancing floor, leaving Sirius and Julie sitting down. She was tapping her nails on the table and her feet on the floor in annoyance. He was still observing Remus and Roxanne.

Finally, she couldn’t hold it any longer. “Sirius, let’s dance.”

He wanted to be left alone to think about what had happened and its implications. But he had gone to the club to dance, so he stood up reluctantly and followed her to the dance floor. There he took her in his arms and found that, no matter which way he turned, Remus and Roxanne were always in his path of vision.

Sirius and Julie started fighting as the train back to Wrexham left the station -- she accusing him of neglecting her and he, in turn, telling her she was too possessive. By the time they were halfway home, she started crying. Her friends took her to an empty compartment, where they spent a long time giving her support and advice. His friends were sitting quietly in their compartment, observing him while he stared out of the window. Once in a while one of the three boys would make small talk, and Sirius only answered with monosyllables.

His mind was turning in all directions. After Julie left, he started thinking about Max, about forbidden kisses, furtive sex and how wonderful it had been. He noticed he was getting hard and immediately changed the direction of his thoughts to safer territory. He stared into the darkness of the night and thought about how he could get back to Liverpool the next weekend. The idea of meeting Max again was, at the same time, both frightening and exciting. This brought back the memory of that night and he knew he had to forget about Max until he was alone in the bathroom at Godric’s Hollow.

Reflected in the dark glass, Sirius saw Remus’s face looking in his direction. He thought with pleasure that there were two good things about his fight with Julie: she had finally stopped talking AND had managed to wrench Roxanne from Remus’s lap. That had been the reason for the fight, anyway. As soon as they had sat in the compartment, Roxanne had perched herself on Remus’s thighs. When Julie decided to do the same, an irritated Sirius had told her to move away. The whole idea of lap sitting was pretty stupid, he told her, since there were so many seats available. And from there it had gone downhill.

The breakup between Sirius and Julie put a little of a dampener in the other Marauders’ love lives. The girls sided with their friend, while male bonding was strong on the other side. Julie was a pretty girl, no doubt, but she was indeed very possessive, and the Marauders thought that she wanted to control Sirius too much.

Now, when they went to the lake, the circle was broken. Sirius spent most of his time in the water, while Julie tanned on the shore. Seeing their friend swimming in the lake made the other boys think about having a good ball game. As a result, the girls spent most of the time on the shore with their friend and the boys spent their time in the lake, splashing water on each other’s faces.

In the days approaching Friday, Sirius constantly wrestled with the idea of going to Liverpool, and found himself many times in front of a phone booth in Gresford, itching to dial Max’s number and tell him that he wouldn’t be able to make it. One of those times, he actually went inside, closed the door – and found out that he had no idea of how to place a call, to Liverpool or elsewhere.

Relieved, he left the booth, thinking that now he would have to go to Liverpool, since Max would be waiting for him and it was awfully rude to just not show up.

He trotted to the bookstore where his friends were browsing with their girlfriends – and his former girlfriend, too. Julie wrinkled her nose when she saw him and walked to the back of the store, away from him. He thought that she had been overdoing her show of sudden dislike for him, but he didn’t care, anyway. At least this would give him a good excuse to be out by himself on Friday night. His friends would all be going some place or another with the girls, but since Julie was so bothered by his presence, he wouldn’t be required to join them. He’d be free to walk to Gresford, take some form of transportation to Wrexham, buy his ticket, call Max to let him know which train he would be taking and –

Call Max. He didn’t know how to call Max.

The part of him that had been afraid of Friday night’s possibilities cheered: he couldn’t call Max, so he couldn’t go to Liverpool. End of story.

With that sobering thought, he started following Julie to the back of the store. He’d apologize to her and make up. Last Friday night had been a mistake. He had been drunk and that was the only reason he’d done what he did. He had no interest in Max. He had Julie.

He saw Julie leafing idly through a book, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. He smiled, took a few steps in her direction and then, for some unfathomable reason, turned around and quickly left the store, leaving her gaping in surprise.

Sirius ran to the newsstand in front of the telephone booth and approached the seller. “Sir, I’m not from here and I have never used a booth like this before. How do I place a call to Liverpool?” He hoped that the lie would be good enough.

The man wasn’t even surprised with the question. The youngster in front of him had an aristocratic accent and probably had never needed to make any phone call on his own. He explained the procedure to Sirius and went back to his affairs.

Sirius now could call Max and let him know that he wouldn’t be making it on Friday. He picked up the phone, dialed Max’s work number and, while he waited for the blond man to answer, he picked up a crumpled piece of paper from his cutoff pocket and smoothed it out. He followed the rows with shaky fingers and, when Max answered, said simply, “I’ll take the 7:12 train from Wrexham and will be there at 8:30 Friday night.”

He felt a chill through his body when he heard the answer, “Great. I’ll be at the station waiting for you.”

On Friday morning, the group made plans to go to the church hall dance. Sirius let out a small puff of relief. He had been dreading that the group would want to go back to Liverpool and he would die if his friends saw Max waiting for him at the station. He decided to keep quiet about his trip.

In the late afternoon, as the young men were starting to get ready, Sirius rummaged in his trunk for a pair of trousers and a button-down shirt. He didn’t know what to wear and his Muggle choices were slim anyway. After arriving at Godric’s Hollow, he had used some of the pocket money he had saved during the school year to buy mostly summer shorts and t-shirts. He had purchased the nice trousers and shirt on a whim.

He had considered wearing the same outfit that he had worn the previous week, but he discarded the idea, since he wasn’t going dancing this time. He had no idea what he would be doing with Max, but they certainly wouldn’t be going to a club. Two blokes wouldn’t dance together. The jeans he usually wore for the church dance were discarded for the same reason: they were dancing clothes.

He came out of the bathroom dressed and combed. He sat on his bed, trying not to shake, feeling his friends’ inquisitive eyes on him. He knew that he was overdressed for the simple church hall dance, but the bathroom mirror had whistled appreciatively and told him that he looked very smart. Sirius hoped that Max thought so, too.

With his eyes kept firmly on his dress shoes as he laced them up, he kept avoiding the inevitable. Finally, James couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Padfoot, why are you so dressed up? We’ll all be in jeans. It’s only a country dance.”

Sirius finally looked up. “I’m not going to the dance, James.”

The three young men asked in chorus, “Where are you going, then?”

The answer was curt. “Liverpool.”

“Liverpool?” asked Peter. “With whom?”

“By myself, of course.” Sirius got up. He really wanted to leave that room as soon as possible.

“And what will you do in Liverpool by yourself, Sirius?” Remus asked, furrowing his brows.

“Dunno. Probably go to a restaurant or a movie or something.”

“But you can’t go by yourself, Padfoot,” James said. “You don’t know anyone there.”

Sirius hoped that the flush he was feeling on his face wouldn’t be a telltale sign. He hoped in vain. Remus -- as usual the most observant of them all -- jumped immediately to the logical conclusion. “But you do, don’t you? You’re going to meet someone, aren’t you? This is why you’ve been extra quiet this week.”

Sirius froze. He couldn’t believe that he’d have to confess that he knew someone in Liverpool and he was going to meet him.

Remus continued. “This is why you broke up with Julie, right? You met another bird at that club. Julie told Roxanne that she thought you had.”

Sirius just shook his head feebly. He hadn’t met any bird, and anyway, Julie was the one that had broken up with him, not the other way around.

His gesture was largely ignored by his friends. They pounced on him, ruffling his perfectly combed hair, amidst cries of “Sirius, you found another girl” and “Well done, Padfoot,” this one from James, who had detested Julie’s control over his best friend.

“Gerroff, you! Now I have to comb my hair again. And I’m late.”

“When are you coming back? Tomorrow morning?” James leered.

“Probably,” Sirius answered, already running in the direction of the bathroom to re-comb his hair.

“You go, Padfoot,” James yelled, “and do honor to the Marauders’ name. And don’t forget that tomorrow we want details, details.”

Sirius shivered, both for the anticipation of the unknown of that night and for the realization that, no matter what happened, he was sure that his friends wouldn’t be happy with the details.

Sirius walked to the village center and hailed a taxi that took him to the Wrexham rail station. Inside the train that would take him to Liverpool, Sirius tried to distract himself from the upcoming meeting with Max by thinking about his finances. He should have enough money to last until school started; his parents had always been extravagant in giving him pocket money, even though there weren’t many chances to spend it all while at school. He was glad for that now. Of course it didn’t solve the problem of what to do for money after September. He would have to find a way.

His heart was beating furiously as the train entered Lime Street station. He was half hoping that Max had changed his mind. He decided that, if he didn’t see the other young man right away, he’d go back to Wrexham on the next train.

As the train stopped at the platform, he saw a blond head anxiously searching the compartment windows. Max’s blue eyes met his and the blond man waved happily. Sirius smiled. This was the point of no return.

He stepped off the train and was greeted by Max casting a very admiring look at him. “Hello, Sirius. Welcome back to Liverpool.” And, after a pause, he continued, “You look great.”

“I…didn’t know what to wear,” Sirius answered warily, noticing Max’s red jeans and white sleeveless t-shirt.

“You chose well. You look really fantastic. A tad overdressed for what I had planned for us, but plans can be changed, right?” He led the way off the platform.

“What did you have planned?” Sirius asked, wishing that he could go back to Godric’s Hollow and change into his faded, comfortable jeans.

“I thought we could go dancing -- you’re a great dancer, from what I saw last Friday – but what we should do now is to stop at my flat. Then I can change into something nicer and we can catch a movie and have a fancy dinner. That’ll be all right, huh?”

Sirius nodded, thinking about “dancing”. So Max had probably invited some girls to go to a club with them. He was confused, but too ashamed to ask.

They made small talk until they arrived at the parking lot and Max directed them to a place where Sirius saw a huge bicycle. But, on closer inspection, he noticed it wasn’t really a bicycle. It was something he’d never seen before, but something he liked right away.

“What’s this?” he asked and immediately cursed himself for the question.

Max, however, didn’t interpret the question as a lack of knowledge about the vehicle, but about the make. “It’s a Triumph Bonnevile. It’s my Bonnie. I’ve always been mad about motorcycles and have wanted one like this forever. It’s the most amazing of its kind. Come on, hop on. You’ll see for yourself.”

The ride on the back of Max’s motorcycle was more exhilarating than any broom chase in which Sirius had ever participated. He had the silliest grin on his face and thought about how incredibly amazing it would be to fly on that thing.

They arrived at Max’s flat. Inside Max rushed to his bedroom to change and Sirius stayed in the living-room, curiously examining all the Muggle appliances. He had seen them at Julie’s grandaunt’s house in Gresford, but they had been the old-fashioned kind. These were new, state-of-the art TV and record player. He looked at the vast collection of records and was pleased to know that he could recognize many titles from the past few weeks he’d been around Julie.

He was so enthralled by the records that he didn’t notice Max until the blond man encircled his waist from behind and kissed his neck. Sirius shivered involuntarily and felt his cock twitch. It seemed that his cock tried to stand to attention every time that Max kissed him. He wanted to think sobering thoughts, lest he made a fool of himself again, but felt his now obviously treacherous body leaning back into Max’s embrace and his head turning to the right, exposing more of his throat to Max’s mouth. Instinctively he pressed his ass against Max’s cock. He was happy to notice that the other man was getting hard, too.

As Sirius was starting to bid the movie-and-dinner idea good-bye, Max let go of Sirius’s neck and sighed deeply, slowly distancing his body from the younger man’s. Sirius was feeling his legs go limp again; by now he knew there was nothing wrong with them – it was all due to Max.

Max turned Sirius gently to face him and gave him a soft kiss on the mouth. Sirius tried to deepen the kiss, but Max stopped him, “Not now, or we’ll never get to that movie and dinner. There’s plenty of time for all this later. We don’t want to rush things, Sirius. At least, I don’t want to rush things with you.”

Sirius was disappointed. At that point in time, he wouldn’t have minded rushing things at all – whatever “things” they were. “Why not?” he asked with a ravado that he wasn’t really feeling.

“Because you’re special. And I want to make this a special occasion.” With a bright smile, he grabbed Sirius’s hand and led him to the door. “Come on, let’s go. Have you seen “Star Wars” yet?” Sirius shook his head. The only movie he had ever watched in his life was a sugary love story in Gresford. It had been a very bad movie, but he hadn’t seen much of that, since Julie had taken the opportunity to snog him avidly throughout the show.

“Okay, let’s go to that one then. I’ve seen it, but I don’t mind watching it again. And my favorite Italian restaurant is right around the corner from the movie theater.”

Sirius enjoyed the movie immensely and dinner was an equally nice affair. They discussed the film, finding that they both especially loved the light sabers. For Sirius it was like a wand emitting light, but Max found it very mystical. Sirius discovered that Max worked at a record store, this being the reason that his collection was so awesome. He was enjoying the easy companionship and the fact that it was so much easier to talk to Max than to Julie. Max had finally gathered enough courage to ask Sirius’s age and had cringed slightly when he heard, “Seventeen.” An underage bloke.

Sirius revealed to him that he would be starting his last year in a boarding school in Scotland in September and that his birthday was at the end of August. Max breathed a little easier then. Sirius would be turning eighteen in a couple of months, so he was basically of age. He never confirmed this fact with Sirius, and Sirius never bothered to explain that he would be seventeen at the end of August. He was feeling awfully young as it was, and to admit he was still sixteen would be embarrassing. In any event, his birthday was right around the corner and he would be an adult wizard soon anyway.

In the middle of dinner, Max shot the other question that was eating at him, “So, what excuse did you give to big knockers?”

“Who?”

“Your girlfriend.”

“Oh, she isn’t my girlfriend any more. We broke up.”

Max sat up interestedly on his chair. “Really? When did that happen?”

“Last Friday, when we were going home.”

“Why?” Max asked with obvious trepidation.

“We had a fight. She called me aloof and insensitive and I told her she was too possessive.”

Max seemed to deflate slightly. “Oh. That was all?”

“Well, she started crying and her friends all rushed to console her, and since then they’ve been kind of shunning me.”

“Everyone? Your mates, too?”

“Oh, no. They agreed that she was really possessive and that I was better off without her.”

“So it wasn’t a problem for you to come here today?”

“They wanted to know where I was going and with whom.”

Max sat up again. “And what did you say?”

“Not much. Just that I was coming to Liverpool. They think I have another girl here. I didn’t say anything. It’s none of their business, anyway.”

“So…they don’t know about me.”

“Oh, no. Are you mad? How could I explain to them that I was going to meet a bloke?” Sirius asked sincerely.

“Well, you may have to, one day, you know?” Max said a bit sarcastically.

“Why?” Sirius asked with wide innocent eyes.

Max seemed to be thinking how to answer Sirius’s question for a minute or so and then just shrugged. “Nothing. Forget it. Now, about that part in the movie, when Luke Skywalker…”

There was a small disagreement when the bill arrived. Sirius had been taught that a man always paid for a woman’s expenses. He had always insisted in paying for Julie and all his dates from Hogwarts. But here was another man, and Sirius wasn’t sure what to do. Whenever he went out with his friends, they split the cost, and he was thinking about doing the same. Max, however, had insisted in paying for the movie ticket, and Sirius had been feeling strangely like a girl on a date with her boyfriend. When the waiter approached with the bill, Sirius stretched his hand out, but Max was quicker.

“No, Sirius, my treat,” he said firmly, while glancing at the bill and handing a piece of plastic to the waiter.

Sirius was wondering what that piece of plastic did, but he would rather die than ask what probably would be a stupid question. He just mumbled, “But you don’t have to pay for me.”

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to,” Max said, with a smile. “I invited you to come to Liverpool, so you’re my guest.” He paused and noticed Sirius’s troubled face. “What’s the problem?”

“Hmm…I’m used to either splitting with my mates or paying for my girlfriend…”

Max’s smile was disarming, “Well, I don’t mind paying for my gorgeous boyfriend.”

Sirius smiled for a second, thinking it was funny that Max had a boyfriend, before realizing that he, Sirius, was the boyfriend in question. The smile disappeared. He didn’t know what to say to that. He, a boyfriend to another bloke? Did blokes have boyfriends? Obviously blokes kissed and did wonderful things with their bodies, but a being boyfriend meant more than that, surely.

Max misunderstood Sirius’s sudden somber face. “It’s not important, Sirius. You’ll pay next time, okay?”

Sirius nodded numbly and got up, following Max out of the restaurant. He was thinking about the implications of that word throughout the bike trip back to Max’s flat, and only when he saw the building did it dawn on him that he was going upstairs to have real sex with a bloke, with his boyfriend.

Inside the flat Sirius threw all his concerns to the wind; as soon as the door was closed behind them, Max took Sirius in his arms and kissed him passionately, on his mouth, on his neck, on the little part of his chest that was not covered by the button-down shirt.

Although inexperienced, Sirius knew enough to answer in kind and started unbuttoning Max’s shirt while the blond man was doing the same to his. Shirts off, Sirius felt, for the first time, the sensation of a hairy chest against his own. Instinctively he lowered his hand to touch a breast and found a flatness that was foreign but extremely exciting. He pinched Max’s nipple tentatively and the blond man moaned out loud inside Sirius’s mouth.

Max separated from Sirius with a gasp and, holding Sirius by the hand, led him to the bedroom. Sirius was panting loudly and didn’t even notice that he was being undressed by Max, who took a step back to admire the younger boy, who was now naked in front of him. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Sirius, so fucking beautiful,” he said before quickly unzipping his trousers and throwing them, together with his pants, in a pile on the floor.

He embraced Sirius again; the younger boy felt that the contact of their naked bodies against each other was the sexiest sensation he had ever experienced. He remembered the rubbing in the dark alley and moved his hips against Max’s. Sirius would have loved a repeat performance of the previous week, but Max definitely had other plans. With a swift movement he tumbled both of them onto the large bed.

Sirius was lying on his back with Max on top, enjoying the kissing and rubbing and the hands all over the parts of his body that weren’t covered by Max. He wanted Max to touch his cock again, but he neither knew how to make the other man understand this nor did he want Max to stop whatever he was doing. It was with a whimper, then, that he felt Max’s mouth release his own and the blond man’s body distance slightly from his own. As he was about to open his eyes to find out what had happened, he felt Max’s mouth on his cock. Sirius froze slightly. Julie had tried to give him head one day, but had complained that he was too big and would choke her. She had scraped his cock with her teeth a bit too forcefully; his penis had been sensitive for a day or so, and he had hated the experience.

He braced himself for Max to tell him the same thing, but to his surprise, Max seemed to actually like the fact that he was big. He kept taking more and more of Sirius inside and Sirius relaxed when he noticed that he wasn’t going to be bitten again, that Max’s mouth was soft and experienced. Once the brief tension was gone, Sirius realized that he had never felt anything quite like that. He started moaning loudly and bucking his hips in sync with Max’s sucking movements.

Sirius bucked faster and faster and had a fleeting thought that he would come very soon and inside someone’s mouth. He wasn’t sure if that was an okay thing to do or not, but he wasn’t in a position to care at that moment.

Just as he was about to let himself go, Max stopped sucking him off and moved his body over Sirius’s, apparently stretching out for something. Sirius had hissed in frustration when Max had let go and even more as the other man’s body touched his very ready cock.

Sirius heard a noise of a drawer and he opened his eyes. Max was holding a tube and squirting a large amount of a transparent gel-like substance onto his hand. The blond man looked at Sirius and smiled reassuringly. As Sirius gaped, Max coated his own cock with the gel and spread the rest on two of his right hand fingers.

The sketchy amount of sexual information that the boys had received from Hogwarts books and from the talk with Damien Potter hadn’t included any mention of anal sex. But the boys had certainly known that such a thing existed, through eavesdropping on a few Muggleborn students. There was no doubt that Muggle youngsters knew much more about sex than their sheltered wizard colleagues. They had learnt it during their holidays, by going to movies, by watching television, by reading forbidden books, by interaction with other Muggles.

It was, therefore, a well-known fact that some men liked to bugger other men – or even bugger women. The mechanics of the whole thing was a mystery, but the overall idea was clear. And it was very clear to Sirius now that this is what was going to happen to him. He had been apprehensive about it when he agreed to meet Max. He had expected that he would experience more of that fantastic rubbing and had been ecstatic to be given head. But this was something he had put in the back of his mind and had tried to forget.

The panic must have been evident in his face and on his slowly deflating cock, because Max sighed, caressed him softly on the face with his clean hand and said, “I know you’ve never done this. But I want to show to you how good it is. I wouldn’t mind you doing it to me, but I have a funny feeling you won’t know what to do. Let me show you. Then we can reverse and you can tell me which one you like best. Okay?”

In Sirius’s mind there was no way that this could feel good. He was staring at Max’s very erect cock and wondering how that could possibly fit inside him and feel good. He suddenly felt the urge to bolt from that bed and return quickly to Wales. He should never have come. He was out of his mind.

Max’s hand was still caressing his face, approaching his mouth, and Sirius felt his very disobedient lips kiss Max’s fingers and draw them inside his own mouth. He nodded without even knowing what he was doing, but it was enough for Max to cup his balls with his oiled fingers. Sirius opened his legs wider. Max gently removed his finger from Sirius’s mouth and kissed him again. This time it was Sirius who aggressively deepened the kiss, while moving his hips, cupping himself more and more against Max’s hand. He only tensed slightly as he felt one of Max’s fingers enter his body. It didn’t hurt at all and Max had been right; it felt good. A second finger felt more uncomfortable, but then one of the two fingers touched something inside that made Sirius cry out loud. He never thought it was possible to see stars like that without a powerful hex, but here they were, popping in front of his closed eyes.

He felt himself move with the same rhythm as Max’s magical fingers and gave out a loud “ahh” of disappointment when the fingers were withdrawn. Max moved away from Sirius, saying, “Turn around, Sirius, it might be easier this first time.” He placed a few pillows under the younger man’s stomach and Sirius stood almost by instinct on his hands and knees. He was slightly mortified by being in that position, and even more when he felt Max’s cock pushing inside him.

Sirius tensed and clenched his buttocks. Max started caressing Sirius’s ass, whispering, “Relax, Sirius, you’ve got to relax or it’ll hurt. I can’t bear to hurt you. Come on, relax for me.”

It could have been the pleading, or the voice or the hands, but Sirius relaxed a little and Max entered him slowly.

In spite of what Max had promised, it still hurt. Sirius was still very tense and Max himself was making a superhuman effort not to rush anything. He wanted Sirius to enjoy the experience. It was extremely important for Max to make sure that Sirius liked what was done to him. He couldn’t see Sirius gritting his teeth, but he could feel the tension and used his hands to massage the younger man’s back, bending over to kiss his neck, trying hard to make Sirius so turned on that he would relax.

Finally, he seemed to have succeeded. As Max managed to get inside as far as he could, Sirius relaxed further. When Max started moving in and out, when his cock rubbed against Sirius’s prostate, when his hand pumped Sirius’s cock, the younger man joined in with the movement, faster and faster, until he came with a loud gasp and collapsed on the bed. Luckily for Max, he had been very close, too, and with a few more thrusts, he came inside Sirius and let his body go on top of the younger man’s.

The flat was air conditioned, but the two young men were sweating profusely. Max had never had such a work out in bed, and he had had fabulous sex before. But he had never been so careful, so attuned to another person’s needs. He panted against Sirius’s back, wondering what the dark haired boy had done to him.

Sirius squirmed underneath him and Max turned both of them on their sides, his cock still inside Sirius’s body, holding the younger man tenderly in his arms. He didn’t dare to ask Sirius if he had liked the experience, for fear that the answer would either be a direct “no” or a fake “yes”. He knew the other young man hadn’t enjoyed it as much as he had.

Sirius was lying on his side, spooned against Max’s chest, feeling Max still inside him. At that moment he wasn’t sure if he had liked the experience or not. He had come, of course, both from the pressing to that spot inside him and from Max’s wanking him. He felt Max moving to withdraw his cock and he complained softly, not knowing why. He wanted Max to withdraw and relieve him of the sense of fullness he was feeling, but at the same time he didn’t. He heard Max’s whisper, “It’s soft anyway,” while his now limp cock slid out. Then Max turned Sirius to face him and asked, with his eyes, the question he didn’t want to voice. Sirius smiled. He knew that Max had been as considerate as anyone could be and he had enjoyed a lot of the things they did together.

Max’s question surprised him. “Bottoming is not your thing, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think you enjoyed this very much.”

“It was my first time,” Sirius said defensively.

Max remembered his first time and how wonderful it had been. But again, he had been very ready then; he had known he was gay for a while and had been deeply infatuated with his first lover. “We don’t have to do this anymore.”

Sirius panicked. Was Max telling him to leave, that it was all over between the two of them? Just because he, Sirius, had been so bad in bed? “Why not?” he asked with a small voice.

“Because there are lots of things we can do that you’ll enjoy. We can try you topping next, now you know what to do.”

Sirius sighed deeply with relief. He was very comfortable with Max and he would love to try the other things. “Yep, I hope so,” he said with a smile.

After cleaning themselves, Sirius and Max spooned against each other and fell into a deep, satisfied sleep.

The sun was shining when Sirius woke up again. As he tried to figure out where he was, the slight soreness and discomfort of his body gave him a jolt of remembrance. He turned onto his other side and saw Max still asleep. Sirius glanced at the clock – it showed 9 a.m. – and he jumped out of bed.

The sudden movement woke Max up, too. “What happened, Sirius?”

“It’s 9 o’clock. I’ve got to get back home. Mr. and Mrs. Potter will be worried if I don’t return.” He imagined that the Potters actually panicking, thinking that he had been kidnapped by his parents or by Death Eaters.

“Come on, get back to bed. I’ll take you there; it’s no more than 40 minutes on the bike.”

The idea of arriving at Godric’s Hollow with Max was terrifying. Sirius thought it was odd that the first person who came to his mind was Remus and what he would say when he saw the blond bloke bringing Sirius back home after a date. For some reason he wasn’t worried about James’s opinion. And Peter always did what James did, so he’d be okay, too.

But he could just imagine Remus’s look of disbelief and disgust.

“No, I’ve got to take the train. They don’t know I came here to meet you.”

Max made a moue. “I can take you to Wrexham, and you can hail a cab from there to your friend’s house.”

That sounded like a good idea. Sirius agreed and went back to bed, into Max’s waiting arms. “We need to eat before I let you go,” said Max, between kisses and caresses. He just wanted to keep Sirius with him forever.

Max’s mouth and hands were making Sirius forget about the Potters and Death Eaters. He was very turned on and, to his satisfaction, noted that his partner was, too. As they were rolling in bed, in each other’s arms, Max reached out and handed Sirius the tube of lube.

This time there was no doubt in Sirius’s mind. He had never had something so good in his life. There was nothing better than sex with Max.

Max tried to convince Sirius to stay in Liverpool for the day, reminding him that he could call his friend’s house and let them know that he was okay. Sirius couldn’t tell him that the Potters had no telephone and insisted that he had to go back. But he promised Max that he would return that evening.

“Great. We can go dancing tonight. Wear those tight jeans you had on last week. Your arse looks great in them.”

“Who are we going dancing with?” It seemed strange to Sirius that they would be dancing with girls and then going back to Max’s flat to have sex.

“Just the two of us. Why?” Max was puzzled.

“And who will we dance with?” Sirius was even more puzzled.

“With each other, of course,” Max said, furrowing his brows.

“You and me? Dance together?”

“Why not, Sirius?”

“We’re two blokes.”

“Hmm…yep, I noticed that,” Max laughed.

“Two blokes don’t dance together, Max.” “Of course they do, Sirius.”

“Where?” Sirius had never seen two blokes dancing. At the church dance sometimes two women, or two dateless girls would dance together, but never two men.

“At a gay club.”

“Gay club?”

“Yep. Gay club. Where gay guys, like you and me, can dance and make out.”

Gay guys. Like you and me. Sirius opened his mouth to say that he wasn’t gay, but then remembered what he had done with Max. That definitely classified him as gay, he supposed. “Okay. There aren’t any gay clubs in Gresford, you know?” he said jokingly to hide his embarrassment,

“You may be the only queer in Gresford, darling,” Max laughed, taking the keys to the bike. “Let’s go.”

Sirius thought about that during the trip. The good thing about motorcycles was that no conversation was possible and that gave time for introspection. He was gay. He was a queer. The only one in Gresford. Probably the only one at Hogwarts. He wasn’t like his friends. He was different.

What would Remus say about that?

Max dropped Sirius at the Wrexham train station and turned quickly back towards Liverpool. He’d be late for work, but it had been more than worth it. Sirius as a top had been quite good. He wouldn’t mind being a bottom for the dark-haired boy, at all. He had also managed to convince Sirius to stay until Monday. What excuse Sirius would find for his absence he didn’t know. He wanted Sirius to come out. It was becoming more and more important to him, but he knew that he shouldn’t press matters.

Whistling a happy tune, he zoomed home.

Sirius asked the cab to stop a little before Godric’s Hollow and walked the rest of the distance. With a bit of luck Mr. and Mrs. Potter would not have missed him. They were used to his staying in the bedroom until much later.

Luck was on his side. He approached the house and, through the kitchen window, saw his friend at the breakfast table. No parents in sight. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had probably gone out. He opened the door and stepped into the kitchen.

And was greeted by three loud male voices.

“Sirius!” James roared, “Where have you been?”

“We’ve been mad with concern,” added Peter.

“Not to mention that we have been lying to Mr. and Mrs. Potter about your whereabouts,” said Remus, with his arms crossed and a scowl of reproach.

Sirius looked at James and Peter, and found that he couldn’t bring himself to look at Remus. He didn’t know what to say. He decided that the best course of action was to pretend to be depressed again.

His whole self, however, had never been happier. He had just eaten a hearty breakfast at Max’s, but he sat down, still in his nice clothes, to grab some pancakes. He was feeling hungry for the first time that whole summer.

James smiled. He had been very worried about his friend’s lack of appetite. As Sirius was about to shove a rather large amount of pancake into his mouth, he was interrupted by Remus’s stern voice.

“Sirius, if you want to eat, I think you should change. Go upstairs and put on something else. Mr. and Mrs. Potter are about to come back and we have lied, saying that you were still asleep. It won’t do for them to find you here, all dressed up in last night’s clothes.”

Remus was right. Sirius shoved the pancake into his mouth and stood up. James stopped him. “No, Padfoot, sit down and eat.”

“Remus is right, James. You all lied for me. It won’t take long.”

“But you’re hungry. Remus,” James scowled, “that wasn’t nice.”

“What wasn’t nice was what he did, James. He disappeared and never let us know if he was okay. And he should’ve eaten where he slept.”

Sirius had never seen Remus so upset. “I did.” He said with a small voice.

“Did what?” asked James.

“I ate where I slept. I…just wanted some of these pancakes. But I’ll go upstairs and change quickly. Don’t touch them, Prongs,” he said jokingly, “I’ll be right back.”

As he was rushing upstairs, he heard Peter’s happy voice, “Great date, Padfoot. Sleeps with you and cooks for you, too.”

And then came Remus’s uncharacteristically sharp reply, “Don’t be a fool, Peter. If she was that nice, she would’ve told him to come home earlier.

Sirius went upstairs, taking two steps at a time, and wondering how in the world he would be able to spend the rest of the weekend with Max. He had no idea of what to do. All he knew was that there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that he’d miss being in Liverpool that night.

Having lived with the conniving Blacks for all his life had its advantages. Sirius didn’t directly answer any question that was posed to him. He didn’t exactly lie, but he carefully omitted the truth. When his friends pressed him for details, all he said was “It was very hot.” Peter and James kept pestering him, but Remus only looked at him with an unfathomable expression. Finally, after the tenth time of trying to evade James and Peter’s sly questions, Sirius said simply, “Hey, it was the best sex I’ve ever had,” ignoring the snort from Remus and the sarcastic mumbled words, “Because, you’ve had so much sex.” Sirius continued, “But I won’t get into details. Don’t ask me any more. And, by the way, I’m going back to Liverpool tonight and won’t be back here till Monday morning. And don’t worry,” he cut Remus off, “I’ll tell Mr. and Mrs. Potter that I’ll be spending the weekend with a friend. You won’t have to lie for me.”

It was much easier said than done. When he had to let the Potters know that he wouldn’t be coming back, Sirius was sweating, but he decided that the truth was usually the easiest way to go. He told James’s parents that he would be spending the rest of the weekend with this bloke he had met in Liverpool. He was feeling left out since he and Julie had broken up and wasn’t very comfortable being around her and her friends at the dances.

Mrs. Potter understood immediately. Mr. Potter probed a little about the bloke in Liverpool, but was content with the information that Sirius provided. He told the Potters that he and Julie had broken up that night (which was technically true) and he had left the club for a breath of fresh air and had ended up talking to a nice young man who worked at a music store. The Potters were well aware of the fascination that Sirius had with Muggle music. They also thought that he was looking quite excited about the trip to Liverpool, which was a welcome change from the sulkiness and depression they had seen. Gladly, they acceded. Sirius was, after all, almost an adult wizard and he would have his wand with him. The Potters would be ready to stand up for him if he had to use magic to defend himself. The Ministry was also very lenient when the wizard was about to become an adult.

They suspected nothing. It was also very well that Sirius’s longish hair covered the love bites that Max had left on his shoulder and nape of neck.

For James, Peter and Remus, the story about a bloke seemed a brilliant excuse. At least they didn’t have to lie.

Happily, they all changed into their swimming trunks and went to the lake. The girls were doing girlish things with their hair and nails, and the boys were enjoying a carefree summer afternoon.

Julie had loved to play with Sirius’s hair and had taught him how to tie it in a ponytail. When the four friends arrived at the lake, Sirius took a rubber band from his rucksack and tied his hair back. Now the bruises were fully visible, but he didn’t really care. His friends knew what he had been up to. He couldn’t imagine there would be any difference between a woman-given love bite and one given by a man.

He noticed, however, Remus’s eyes glued on his neck. He shrugged mentally. There was nothing he could do about it. He was avoiding looking at Remus, though, and was startled when he heard his friend’s voice, “Maybe we should go to Liverpool tonight, too.”

Sirius’s head snapped up. “What for?”

Remus had one eyebrow arched, “Why not? Your girlfriend obviously knows the place well; she can tell us where to go to have fun. And we can meet her.”

Images of Max shaking hands with Remus were highly disturbing. But Sirius had had plenty of practice in getting out of tight situations. “Sure, Remus, I’m sure that Julie’ll be delighted. And when she’s upset, so’s Roxanne…”

“No way we’re going with him, Remus,” said Peter quickly. “Anna will also be upset.”

“And so will Laura. Forget it, Remus,” added James.

Sirius got up and walked to the lake, hiding his face so his friends couldn’t see his victorious little smile.

Sirius arrived in Liverpool wearing his tight jeans and t-shirt, and a rucksack slung across one shoulder, and was welcomed by a leering Max, who insisted on walking a step behind him.

They stopped briefly at the flat to drop off Sirius’s rucksack; Max knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off Sirius’s arse for long and he really wanted to go dancing with the younger man.

Sirius loved the atmosphere at Shaft; the music, the beautiful people, men dancing happily with each other, making out. He was a bit uncomfortable when he went to the bathroom and was immediately hit upon by a couple of blokes. He wanted to pee, but as he unzipped his fly, he noticed one of the blokes staring at his crotch. He zipped his jeans up again and locked himself inside a stall. When he left, they were still there and followed him to the dance floor. Sirius sped up his step and spotted Max, beer in hand, talking to an attractive black bloke. They were just talking, but there was an unspoken intimacy between the two that made Sirius uncomfortable. Without thinking, he grabbed Max’s head and kissed him hungrily. He separated from Max, not believing that he had actually been so forward. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the blokes from the bathroom staring and then walking in the opposite direction.

Max, however, was ecstatic. “Elliott,” he told the black man, “this is my boyfriend, Sirius. Sirius, this is my good friend Elliott.” He paused for a minute. “He’s heard all about you already.”

Elliott shook Sirius’s hand. “And you were right, Max. He’s really hot.” With a small smile, he left, saying, “I leave you in good company, Max. Bye, Sirius, nice to meet you.”

Max grabbed Sirius’s waist. “Not that I wasn’t totally delighted, but what brought about that very hot kiss?” He was hoping that Sirius would be jealous of Elliott, but he didn’t want to give too many explanations. Sirius didn’t have to know that Elliott had been Max’s first lover, the only person he had loved so far.

Sirius decided to go for the least embarrassing alternative. He couldn’t tell Max that he had felt a little jealous. “Well, I went to the loo and those two guys were eyeing my…crotch. I went into one of the stalls, and they waited for me and followed me here. I wanted them to see that I had a boyfriend.”

Max deflated slightly. “Sirius, you will be hit upon many, many times. Just say no. If they insist, say no a bit louder. But I enjoyed the kiss anyway. Come on, let’s dance.”

The weekend was a time for discovery for Sirius. Max was, of course, very experienced and Sirius totally immersed himself in the joys of sex. They spent the whole Sunday in bed, eating off of trays in bed, and they fell asleep, tired and slightly sore, late Sunday night.

On Monday morning, Max took Sirius to the station, making plans to spend the following weekend together. Sirius had tied a bandanna on his hair, following Max’s advice that it was the best way to keep his hair out of his face when he rode the Bonnie. With his summer shorts, he looked like any other Muggle teenager. He was feeling much better and he owed it to Max.

In a daring move, Sirius looked both ways, saw that no one was looking and gave Max a brief kiss on the mouth before jumping on the train.

Max followed the train with his eyes until it had disappeared around the bend.

On the way home Sirius thought about the strange path that his life had taken. He knew he would be coming back to Max the following weekend. He also knew that he wouldn’t be able to hide the relationship from his friends for very long.

He worried about Remus’s reaction.

He realized that he worried too much about Remus’s reaction.

That Monday, Remus went home to spend the full moon with his parents. The Potters were told that he had a family visit and had to be present. They were used to Remus having to go back home to see one member or another of his very extended family.

Remus expected to have a somewhat bad transformation, since the wolf would be locked in the shed and away from his “pack”. It had happened the summer before, and Remus had been in bed for one full day each time, just as it had happened before his friends had managed the difficult Animagus transformation.

On the night of the full moon Sirius was feeling very uneasy. He was worried about Remus suffering and attributed his worry to his Healer heart. He finally slept with thoughts that Remus should be back Tuesday night or, at worst, Wednesday morning.

Tuesday morning arrived, however, and so did Arithea, Remus’s owl, who brought a message from the Lupins. Remus had had an exceptionally hard transformation and wouldn’t be able to go back to Godric’s Hollow for at least another three days.

Those were probably the worst days of an already very bad summer for Sirius; he wanted to go to Remus’s house to help with the healing, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to do anything better than Mrs. Lupin and the Healer that saw to Remus.

He fell back into depression, not really knowing why. He felt helpless and promised himself that he’d find a way to be with Moony the next full moon. Remus’s transformations had been rather easy with his friends around.

Finally, on Thursday morning, Remus came back by Floo. He was still too weak to Apparate, but he claimed that he couldn’t have stayed home one more second. His mother was stifling him. Sirius helped him to bed, dressed his wounds, which were almost cured anyway, and tended to him carefully.

James and Peter went to Gresford to meet the girls and to keep them away from Godric’s Hollow. They believed the story that Remus had gone home to see some visiting relatives and wouldn’t be back until Friday.

The two young men returned in the afternoon, after having made plans to meet the girls the next day. It was a beautiful summer day and Remus was already feeling much better; he decided that he was well enough to go for a walk around the lake.

The four Marauders decided to explore the opposite shore. And there they discovered, hidden from their view on the Hollow side, an old abandoned pier. They rushed to the end and realized that a dip in the cool water was all that they needed after the long walk.

The only catch was their lack of swimming suits. James, however, pointed out that the place was very secluded and they were all blokes, so they could easily go skinny dipping. Nudity hadn’t been common to them, even after all those years at Hogwarts. Up to that summer they had been shy even by being in their pants in front of each other. Peter’s blush after hearing James’s suggestion, however, was quickly refuted by Remus, saying that “we all have the same equipment, right? And, after all, our girls have seen us naked, so…” He looked at Sirius, as if asking for confirmation, and the dark-haired boy merely shrugged. He no longer had any problem with nudity, in front of girls or blokes.

He didn’t expect, however, the jolt he received throughout his body when he saw the naked beauty of Remus Lupin.

He thought briefly that he found Remus beautiful because he was gay. Then he looked surreptitiously at James and Peter and found that no jolt had been forthcoming. In reality, he had to admit that James had a much more toned body than Remus. Remus was wiry, while James was strong and muscular. But James’s body lacked that special something that made Sirius’s cock twitch.

He turned his back to his friends quickly at that thought, looking around and trying to dismiss the image of naked Remus. He pretended to be interested in the vegetation around them while he folded his clothes carefully. He heard the splashes on the water and thought it would be safe to turn around then. Too late, he realized that Peter and James were already swimming and Remus was the one running on the old pier and looking like an odd bird in flight, arms stretched out in front of him, limp cock bobbing with the movement and then gracefully diving into the cool water.

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Sirius was mesmerized. And shivered when he understood that he wanted to do to Remus the same things he did to Max.

He looked sadly at his incipient erection, ran across the pier quickly and jumped into the cool water.

He was strangely subdued when he got home later that evening. Claiming a headache, he tried to go to bed early, but was interrupted by Remus asking him to re-do a bandage on his thigh.

Sirius assented and retrieved the healing kit. He spread some balm on his hand, but when he tried to touch Remus’s thigh, he realized he couldn’t do it. He handed the balm to James, asked him to do the dressing and left quickly for bed.

That weekend Sirius fucked Max like never before.

The moment of truth arrived a couple of weeks later. Julie got a new boyfriend and was happily parading him in front of Sirius. He didn’t care and was happy that she had found someone else.

The problem was that Remus announced at dinner that, since Julie was all right with her new bloke, they should all go to Liverpool and meet Sirius’s new girlfriend.

That time, everyone agreed.

Sirius wanted to hate Remus, but he had realized, during the past two weeks, that he would never hate Remus.