I'm sorry it's short. I really am. But I'm also very busy (I'm in pre-production on six short films right now, producing five of them and DPing one of this) and it's insane. I'll be on set for part of March, all of April, and part of May, so please don't expect a lot from me then, either.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter... I think it feels a little rushed, but let me know. Thanks, as always, for the gret reviews!

---

It was only when Remus reported to the last car on the Hogwarts Express for the Prefects meeting did he find out who had been made Head Boy.

No one had thought to tell him over what had been left of their summer, no one really knowing how to bring it up. Except, of course, Sirius, who would have known exactly how to tell his friend, but did not write to Remus again. They missed each other at the station as well, and now Sirius and Peter were sitting in a nearly empty compartment while James, Lily, and Remus were all at the meeting.

Sirius wanted to be there too. Not because he felt left out, which is what Remus would have accused him of, but because he wanted to be there to support Remus when he saw the Head Boy badge on James’ robes. But no. Instead, he was sitting across from Peter, staring absently out the window.

He was vaguely aware of Peter going on about something, but he wasn’t listening. It was like he was underwater, and everything was kind of slow and muffled and dreamlike, and he didn’t want to surface. He didn’t want things to be that sharp and distinct again yet.

“Hey, Sirius,” Peter said, his foot connecting with Sirius’ thigh. This earned him a dirty look. “Why’re you holding your breath?” he asked.

“Was I?” Sirius murmured in return. It was strange, he supposed, but he shrugged towards Peter. “And don’t ever kick me again.”

“James kicks you.”

“You’re not James.”

Well, that was a fair enough answer, Peter decided, and settled on not arguing the point.

Sirius went back to his mentally submerged state, and his thoughts drifted to Remus, as they often did. It was getting ridiculous, really.

Peter finally sighed, giving up, and got to his feet. “I’m going to find the trolley.”

And Sirius was, as usual, left alone.

---

James’ eyes met Remus’, and both stood still. Lily looked between them, while Severus sat in the corner, sulking, and occasionally looking towards Lily.

“Have a seat, Rem,” James said, and the spell was broken. Remus moved into the compartment fully, sitting in the last available seat, and James started speaking to everyone. Authority, Remus decided, did not look good on him.

There had to be a reason. Remus knew, or at least had suspected, that he would not be made Head Boy. No, after nearly killing Snape the year before, his chance had gone out the window. Even if he deserved it, they had been lucky enough to keep Snape quiet. He could only imagine the arguments about students being in danger with Remus being in charge.

But James? Yes, he had been heroic and saved both Snape and Remus from terrible fates. But he never studied. He caused trouble, and was proud of the chaos he created. He couldn’t get out of school quickly enough, and of all people… Dumbledore had chosen him?

“Remus?” Lily whispered softly, bringing him back to the present as he realized his hands were fisted in his secondhand pockets, and he hadn’t heard a word James had said. Then, it slowly dawned on him that the other prefects were gone, and the train had stopped moving. It was just him, Lily, and James.

“I’m really sorry, Rem.”

Remus stood up. “We should get to the feast,” he said. “We don’t want to be late.”

“Remus, wait-“

Remus was gone, and Lily sighed. “Let him go, James. The full moon is in a week or so… you know he’s really not angry at all. It’ll be all right.”

Remus wasn’t. Once he let it sink in, he would actually be happy for James. But he was jealous, and he knew his thoughts were terrible and uncalled for, but there it was. How was he supposed to react?

“Hey, Moony.”

Remus looked up, a storm boiling in his eyes. They did not soften when they landed on Sirius.

“You’re angry,” he observed.

And the werewolf’s eyes finally softened. “I’m just so tired, Sirius.”

“Come on,” Sirius said, falling into step next to Remus as they entered the castle.

---

It wasn’t exactly like nothing had ever happened, but it was better. Things between Remus and Sirius were quiet and smooth. There were no more eggshells to walk around, the ice wasn’t so thin anymore.

Remus even let go of James being Head Boy, despite James trying to talk to him about it almost constantly. Remus had just finally reached the point in his life where he couldn’t find these things anymore. It wasn’t worth it. There was a war looming, and who made Head Boy or some immature prank the year before just seemed trivial. And it took too much out of him.

So maybe it was because of James that Sirius made his first big step where Remus was concerned. With the boy less likely to push him away, Sirius had been able to spend more time with Remus.

“Lily, you can’t encourage him. He’s never-“

“Shh,” she hissed at James as they came into the common room. Sirius looked up.

“He was really tired,” Sirius whispered. “I don’t know why he’s been so tired lately.”

“Pads, shut up,” James said with a smile. Remus was asleep, his head resting on Sirius’ thigh. It could have been a platonic, innocent thing.

Whatever it was, it was something.