Rediscovering The Stars

Chapter 2

September 29th 1976

The sky had been clear that night, every star and seemingly every constellation visible against the navy-to-black gradient of the early autumn night. The boy and the girl lay atop their dorm room's roof, shoulders pressed tightly together as they pointed up into the inky darkness above them, tracing the invisible lines that made up every pattern they could name. Remus's caramel skin caught the girl's attention. His hand and arm visibly marked and torn up with jagged and angry scars and dotted with varying sizes of brown freckles. Her own arms were scarred in themselves, thin and uniform white lines ran up her wrist to the pit of her elbow. Black flowers of an ink pen sprung from them, drawn by the boy next to her during a particularly boring math lesson from Professor Flitwick. She now traced those same flowers, their stalks and their leaves with the tip of her finger, a soft smile gracing the aristocratic sculpt of her face.

Remus watched as Ursa traced the drawings he'd scribbled on her arm, a warm smile on his own freckled face. His eyes moving to follow every wave and messy curl of her ebony hair that had fanned around her pale face atop the mossy stone slabs that made up Gryffindor Tower's rooftop. Her cheekbones were high, standing out slightly against her flawless paper-white skin and dark, thick eyelashes. Soft pink coloured her cheeks, giving them the effect of blooming roses against a white canvas. Grey, steel-like eyes caught his in the darkness of the twilight hour, their hands still raised uncomfortably in the cool night air.

Ursa offered him a gentle smile in return, the usual glint of mischief in her eyes he'd never seen her without since first year shining brighter than he'd ever seen. Rosy pink, pouty lips he'd found himself falling head over heels in love with upturned in the most radiant smile he'd ever seen on a person. Remus Lupin knew he was completely smitten with Ursa Black and had done since their fourth year when he'd found himself unable to stop staring at her beautiful eyes or her soft curls that perfectly captured the image of a midnight sky. He felt something warm slip into his palm, Ursa's long, nimble pianist's fingers weaving comfortably with his own as she softened her gaze on him, sitting up. He followed and the two found themselves facing each other in the light of the midnight moon.

His pulse quickened the longer they gazed longingly at each other, both completely enraptured by the colour of the other's eyes. Remus's honey-opal irises met and mixed with Ursa's harsh steel-grey, the clashing colours evoking a deep flush to form on both their cheeks.
"Pads?" Remus prompted, his hand still clasped tightly around her's, "what are we?" She laughed, covering her mouth with her free hand and smiled at him once more,
"I don't know, Rem," she answered honestly, joining her free hand with his as well, "but whatever it is, I need you to know something."

He nodded and crossed his legs, winding his fingers with hers and rubbing his thumb across the dorsal side of her hand,
"anything. You know you can trust me." her nod and chuckle of approval was all he needed for his heart to swoon and rapidly quicken in pace.
"I know, Moony." she sighed and looked down at their hands, "I don't, feel like a girl." He stared at her for a moment, before gripping her hands tighter,
"What're you saying, Padfoot?"
"I want to be a boy, Remus." she admitted, "I don't like this. Being a girl isn't me." He nodded and smiled sympathetically, looking down at their hands,
"I understand, Padfoot." The girl- no, boy looked up at him, his eyes brimming with tears, "I accept you. I just need to ask you something." 

The boy in front of him nodded enthusiastically, steely eyes now watery and bright once more,
"anything. You know you can trust me too." Remus chuckled and lifted one of his hands to his friend's slightly wet cheek, only now realizing he'd been crying,
"What would you prefer to be called?" He leant into the touch, soft tears rolling down roses against that white canvas, he pointed out into the distance. The Canis Major constellation.
"That's me." he responded simply, looking back up into Remus' eyes, "Canis."

Canis smiled as the brunette boy finally matched his gaze, before looking down at their still closely entwined fingers,
"Moony," he whispered, "do you still-" Remus lifted the boy's chin with a finger, the tips gently caressing soft skin.
"I do." The grin that split Canis' face was one Remus would gladly sell his soul to see forever painting the boy's aristocratic features.
"What are we, then?" He asked, his free hand caressing ever so gently over the scarred one that had moved slowly back to his cheek, "Boyfriends?"

Remus laughed into the blackness of the night, shifting closer and gently pressed his scarred and bitten lips to those he'd wanted to kiss since he was fourteen.

"Boyfriends."