Painted Scars // WOLFSTAR

Year One: Metaphorical and Physical

When the four boys would get bored, they would make a habit of sitting around the common room involved in their own worlds. James would usually ask Peter to play a game of chess, Remus would read a book, and Sirius would try to fill his time by annoying whichever one of them was nearest. It was a structure that worked for them, so Sirius hadn't expected that day to be any different.

"Hey, Remus?" Sirius asked, attempting to annoy his friend. "May I ask you a question?" Remus was sat comfortably by the fire with a book in hand in a chair that Sirius chose to lay all over. Remus turned his head up at him, already irritated, but gave him his attention. "Why are you such a nerd?" Remus sighed, turning back to his book.

"It's not nerdy to read, Sirius. In fact, you should try it sometime. I think you might need it." Sirius hummed, just glad to be getting on his nerves.

"So," he said, leaning over his shoulder and attempting to read a paragraph. "What 'cha reading?"

"Oh, none of your business, actually," he replied, which if Remus was attempting to intrigue the boy, then he managed it greatly. Sirius thought for a moment before snatching the book out of his hands and stepping back out of his reach to read the page. Remus scrambled up quickly to grab it back, but not before Sirius realized what it was he was reading.

"This is a romance book!" he said incredibly intelligently, grinning from ear to ear and gathering the attention of James and Peter. Remus blushed and attempted to take the book back, but couldn't manage. "Absolutely not! I am reading this entire thing." Remus tried to grab it again, but Sirius evaded him and began walking around the chair. "'She began now to comprehend that he was exactly the man who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her,'" Sirius read straight from the book, still avoiding Remus.

"Sirius, stop!" Remus whisper-yelled, face burning red, and maybe he would've if the fact that Remus Lupin reads romance books in his free time wasn't so incredibly world-shattering for Sirius to find out.

"'His understanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her wishes," he continued, swerving away from any attempt to stop him that his friend would throw at him. James and Peter were laughing now, too, attempting to get a look at the book. "'It was a union that must have been to the advantage of both: by her ease and liveliness, his mind might have been softened, his manners improved;'"

"I'm going to kill you," Remus decided, attempting to hide a laugh with a glare. "I'm actually going to kill you. Guys, stop!" Remus finally managed to get the book out of his hand, a smile lighting up his face.

"Hmm, this makes me wonder what other books you have up on that bookshelf of yours," Sirius pondered, fishing for a reaction. His eyes widened.

"No," he began, watching a grin take over Sirius' face. "Sirius, no." Sirius bolted his way up the stairs to their dorm, Remus and the others following behind him quickly, the four of them likely being much too loud.

"Romeo and Juliet," Sirius said, reading a title off his shelf. "The Age of Innocence, why I wonder what that book is about, Sense and-" Remus threw a hand over Sirius' mouth, effectively shutting him up and laughing loudly. Sirius licked his hand, making him snatch it back and make a noise of disgust.

"Gross, Sirius!" He turned around to look at his red friend, tired from running and laughing, and grinned brightly at him, wanting to tease him a little more. He fully planned to, as well, but when Remus pushed his sleeves up to cool off, Sirius went still. Along his arms were large gashes and scars that were much too plentiful for a kid so young. He had no idea how he could even acquire scars like that, they were unlike any he'd seen before. Before Sirius could school his features back into one of indifference, Remus had his sleeves back down and he was brushing out of the room with a weak excuse.