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For the first time, Remus was dreading the return to Hogwarts. It was stupid, he knew that, there were so many reasons that being at Hogwarts was the best thing in his life.
It's just that there had been a slight incident in the last week of summer, and since all of his friends were pure bloods they weren't going to understand.
His mother had been watching a few local children, which she often did. They were doing some craft thing which involved what Remus had to assume were the stickiest materials known to muggle kind and it somehow got in his hair.
No one else's, of course, aside from a few face smears the children managed to keep it on their smocks.
Remus wasn't allowed to use magic. His mother couldn't. No amount of soap made a difference.
Which is how he ended up with a buzzcut. Even being summer, it felt cold. The wind felt harsh against it and any time something brushed against his head it just felt wrong . It couldn't grow out fast enough.
The 14 year old was not looking forward to his friends' reactions. He imagined it would be something he was mocked for the entire year.
Which is why he was loitering outside Kings Cross Station, waiting until the last possible moment. He had a hooded sweatshirt on with the hood resolutely pulled up, and he got a few suspicious glares from passerby who assumed the worst of teenagers.
Finally he dragged himself through the barrier and rushed onto the train. He knew the Marauders would save a seat for him, he wasn't worried about that.
(And if they didn't, that would probably be better just this once.)
It wasn't long until he found them. Sirius and Peter were playing exploding snap while James lazily played with the snitch he'd stolen last year. It was good to see them, but he still nervously checked his hood was secured before going in.
"New look, Moons?" Sirius asked with a laugh, shifting over as Remus sat next to him.
Remus blushed, avoiding eye contact with them, "Just a bit cold is all."
"I know you spent the summer with muggles but we've got magic for that," Peter pointed out helpfully, pulling out his wand and casting a warming spell on his friend.
Remus had already been on the verge of sweating. It was torture. He managed a soft smile, "Thanks, mate." He took his book out of his pocket and opened it up, pretending to read, and aside from some light teasing about his bookish tendency - they all went back to what they'd been doing.
"Blimey, Moony, you look hot," James said sometime into the journey. Remus glanced over blearily, realizing he'd been half-asleep.
"Always thought you were in love with him, Prongs, good job finally admitting it," Sirius laughed before shouting ' ow ' as a hex hit him in response.
"Don't be a tosser - look at him, he's covered in sweat," James insisted, leaning across the compartment and placing a hand on his forehead, "Doesn't seem sick."
"Oof, he's right, mate," Sirius said, "Why are you still wearing that damn thing?"
He began tugging at Remus's sweater, pulling it off him despite a squawk of protest, as Peter canceled his warming spell.
"I just fell asleep, didn't realize," Remus grumbled, trying not to feel exposed as he braced himself for the reaction.
" Who the FUCK did that to you?! I'll- " Sirius bellowed, and Remus winced.
"SHUT UP, PADFOOT!" James shouted over him, smacking him upside the head. He shot him a warning look before smiling at Remus, "It looks great."
"No it-" Sirius began before James shot him a warning look.
"It suits you," Peter agreed, "It used to be too shaggy."
"Shaggy?!" Sirius yelped, "It was perfect! Why would anyone -"
" Shut up, Black ," Remus barked, and the entire compartment went silent. Sirius shot him a withering glare before glowering out the window. It was the first time Remus had called him 'Black' since first year.
Remus angrily buried his face in his book and James and Peter just looked at each other in confusion.
"Exploding snap?" Peter offered weekly, holding up the cards.
"Yeah, sounds good," James agreed, ruffling his hair with a weak grin.
~~~~~
Sirius and Remus were both silent for the entire rest of the trip. In the thestral drawn carriage they sat on opposite sides, and ignored Peter and James's attempts to start a conversation.
On the way into the Great Hall, James grabbed Sirius by the arm and dragged him to the side.
"What the hell is going on with you?" James hissed, "You know Moony's got enough issues without you pulling this."
"What's wrong with me ?" Sirius snapped, "Why are you lot acting like it's no big deal?"
"Because it's not! It's a haircut! And one he's clearly self-conscious about or he wouldn't have nearly passed out trying to hide it!"
"Well he should be, it looks terrible!" Sirius glowered, "His hair was great before, it's bloody stupid to just cut that all off."
"It looks fine! And even if it didn't- it's just hair. It'll grow back if he changes his mind. You're acting like he cut off his leg," James shook his head and crossed his arms, "What the hell is this really about?"
"I'm really pissed off about his hair, is that so hard to believe?"
James frowned at him, "Yes, actually," he ran a hand through his own hair before carefully re-mussying it, "Look, mate, you've got to find a way to let this hair thing go unless you're really willing to lose him over it - he's really hurt."
Sirius looked away and glared at the wall.
"Look, do us a favor and take a few minutes to calm down, alright?" James patted his arm as he walked past him, "I'll see you in the hall."
Sirius didn't turn even after James's footsteps has faded, continuing to glare at the stone in front of him. Everyone was being ridiculous. How could they not see how wrong this was? Remus wasn't meant to be nearly bald. He was meant to have tawny hair that was just long enough to show a few curls, that looked so soft it made you want to run your fingers through it and bury your face in it and just spend hours holding him.
Remus without hair was basically a crime against nature, really.
Sirius made his way to the common room. He'd lost his appetite and didn't particularly want to be around anyone right now.
James's words were running through his head - Remus was hurt. Sirius had hurt him. As much as he wanted to dig in his heels and snarl that Remus deserved it, it wasn't true, Remus had suffered so much already that he only deserved to be treated well and made to smile and roll his eyes at their antics.
Sirius wasn't willing to lose that for anything. James was right, he would have to figure out how to let this go.
~~~~
"Okay… I just, I'm going to need you to run this by me one more time, what insanity has possessed you?" James asked, feeling very worn out by his best mate. It was only the second day back, too, they were in the common room after classes and Sirius had announced his most ridiculous plan yet.
"You're the one who told me I had to let this go - funerals are how people let go of a lost loved one," Sirius insisted, rolling his eyes as if it were the most logical thing anyone had ever said.
"It's… it's just hair ," James said, exasperated.
"That's not even my hair," Remus added in, warily eyeing the box in Sirius's hands, "Where the hell did you get it?"
"Some Slytherin," Sirius said with a dismissive wave, "It's an effigy."
"Couldn't you have just used straw for an effigy, instead of mugging some Slytherin?" Remus asked, rubbing his hand over his face.
"Of course not, hair as lovely as yours used to be deserves the best," Sirius scoffed, "Now I'm going to go out near the forest and bury it and we can put this whole messy thing behind us. And I would appreciate my friends' support."
"Well I haven't got anything better to do," Peter said with a shrug.
"I'm only going to make sure you don't do something incredibly stupid," James agreed with a sigh.
"He's holding a funeral for my hair ," Remus growled, "That ship has sailed."
"I know you all think this is daft but this is important to me, okay? I'm trying to respect your choices!" Sirius snapped.
"It wasn't my choice! It's a muggle thing - I can't use my wand over the summer so some kids got glue in my hair and the only way to deal with it was to cut it! It's not that big a deal!" Remus groaned, burying his face in his hands, "It'll grow back."
"Who did it?" Sirius growled.
"Sirius Black you are not threatening a handful of six year olds over my hair ."
James gave Sirius a pointed look and for the first time since the train he just looked sheepish.
"Oh… I probably should have just asked what happened…"
"Y'think?" James asked, rolling his eyes, "Can we please move on already? I want to talk about Quidditch practice - there's no way we're letting Slytherin beat us."
~~~~~
That evening, as they were getting changed into their pajamas, Sirius nudged Remus.
"Erm, hey," he said awkwardly.
Remus didn't look up as he focused on buttoning his top, "What?"
"Your hair, well, do you like it? The way it is?"
Remus grimaced, "I hate it, but it'll grow back eventually, so kindly shut up about it."
"I've got a hair growth potion, if you want it."
"Really?" Remus asked, looking over at him and raising an eyebrow, "Won't ruin whatever prank you brought it for?"
"Heh, no, I've got it because, well, mum likes to blast my hair off sometimes," he ran a hand through his hair and winced, "Says it's unmanly - but you've seen how many pureblood, Slytherin men have long hair. Just look at that Malfoy bloke."
"She does that?" Remus asked quietly, reaching out and taking a lock of black hair in his hand, rubbing it between his fingers.
"Yeah, so I stock up on hair growth potions - and I can't exactly keep it at home," Sirius said with a shrug, trying not to watch Remus's fingers in his hair. He pulled the potion bottle out of his pocket and pressed it into Remus's hand.
"You just need a mouthful to get back to the length it was."
"Would you like it longer?" Remus asked quietly, biting his lip.
Sirius's breath caught, something about the question felt heavy and important. He looked Remus directly in the eyes, "Your hair was perfect the way it was."
Remus blushed at that, a shy smile on his face, taking the potion bottle and reading over the label before taking a swig. He wrinkled his nose at the taste, and moments later felt the tingle of magic over his scalp as hair sprouted out of it. It didn't take long for it to grow to its former length, and he delicately ran a hand over it.
"That alright, then?" Remus asked nervously.
Sirius stared at him for a moment before leaning forward and burying both hands into the hair, running it through them and marveling at the softness. Remus made a surprised noise, then returned the favor and ran his hands through the long, black hair.
"Oy, Pads, Moons, it'd be less annoying if you two were snogging!" James shouted at them.
Sirius flipped him off then grinned at Remus, "Would it be stupid to say that sounds pretty good, actually?"
"Yes, incredibly stupid," he said with a laugh, pulling Sirius in for a kiss.