Carve Me Open / r.l. + s.b. /

Only Once

"How amazing it is to find someone who wants to hear about all the things that go on in your head."
- via Nina LaCour, Hold Still

▬▬ι══════════════ι▬▬

Hogwarts, October 1973 (Third Year)

Sirius felt a sharp rib kick, followed by James's heated breath in his ear, "Stop pouting."

Offended, he stuck his chin up, "I am not pouting."

However, if Sirius was honest with himself, which he urgently needed to be more often, he was absolutely pouting. In fact, he was sure that this was the most obnoxious outburst he'd pitched all year. He'd been doing it since he discovered Remus engaging the girls in his costume in the common area, and the outfit itself was collecting swooning eyes left and right. Apparently, Lily Evans had persuaded him that walking about in an angel costume was the best option for his friend, and everyone else approved.

Sirius was inclined to agree, and that made him angry.

If it hadn't suited him so well – flowy white satin and a charmed halo over his head, great wings flapping behind him, and a ridiculous smile on his stupid little face – Sirius would have been fantastic with whatever it was Remus wanted to be. He could have been a mummy, zombie – hell, he could have been Frankenstein for all Sirius cared. Although Sirius was confident Remus could pull off whatever he wanted.

What had been eating away at him the most, nevertheless, was the thought that the stupid bint, Julienne, was going to correspond with his costume in some way, and they would most assuredly be the most talked about "couple" in their year. Naturally, the masses ate up this publicity stunt, as idiots do. In the days leading up to the ball, Sirius had to stuff his ears with parchment to relieve himself of all their nattering. Corridors, bathrooms, and common rooms were nothing but gossip in the library. Remus simply ignored it—ignored the whining and fawning from a few straggling girls and the spiteful glares of Peter and Lily. Even Sirius' silent pleas to come to his senses and join him at the ball instead went unnoticed amid their devious scandal.

Sirius shivered. Couple. Remus and Julienne as a couple. The very idea of that sent unwelcomed tremors through his body. Not that he would be bothered by anything else but the fact that his friend was becoming pussy-whipped over some Hufflepuff who clearly took an interest in someone else. If it wasn't painfully obvious that Julienne's stolen glances were for a particular freckle slathered Gryffindor, then the staggering glower returned could've served as a better indicator for Remus. Perhaps he should've been in Hufflepuff; the critical thinking skills could sometimes escape Remus' grasps—usually when he so desperately needed them.

Why couldn't he have at least picked a girl in his House? For God's sake, don't let it be Evans. Marlene McKinnon was a nice girl, very plain, though, and hardly ever spoke to Lily Evans. Then, there was Dorcas Meadowes, though she was a year below them and, according to others, a spitfire. On the other hand, Remus was terrified of Dorcas on an average day; their personalities clashed far too much to consider compatible. Sirius smiled despite himself.

Anybody but Julienne. Literally, anyone else in the bloody school – excluding the Slytherins – would have been a better pairing for Remus. But no—Remus never listened to anything Sirius said. No one ever heard anything that came out of his mouth, except Peter, at times. But Peter was a suck-up, and anything he did for Sirius was immediately disqualified on the grounds of creepy obligation.

"You are pouting, and I'm not sure what about," James groaned. Peter had been caught up in the bathroom, something about his hair not sitting right, and so the trio, the original trio, was going to be awfully late to the ball.