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Chapter Text

Remus Lupin is the kind of man that you just can’t help noticing. He is not flirty and boisterous, no, quite the contrary. He is tall, lanky and quiet, and his brown curls seem to try and hide him from the rest of the world.

But there just is something to that Remus Lupin.

Chapter Text

Beep. Beep. Beep.

“Shit !”, Remus swore, as he saw the tiny numerals indicated on his alarm clock.

07:50

Realizing that he was very nearly late to work, he tore himself out of bed, pulled up some trousers and sprinted upstairs. Remus Lupin lived in a small underground studio, a flight of stairs from his workplace, a small coffee shop nestled in between a nightclub and a newly-opened lawnmower repair store.

From his small, grimy bedroom window, he could see the feet of dozens of businessmen briskly walking by, probably heading to their offices in the flashy, modern towers in the center of London. The rest of his small studio was crammed with some basic furniture, and the walls were covered in band posters. Giving them a closer look, those posters also seemed to hide deep claw marks carved into the walls, but enough about this for now.

Remus, having rushed up the stairs at an inhumane speed, had had five minutes to wolf down his breakfast, and was now at the counter waiting for the day’s first orders. The morning passed slowly, each demand from the customers seeming to take hours. But by the late afternoon, Remus heard something that made him perk up from his bored position on the desk. As Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadowes, Mary MacDonald and Lily Evans stepped in the shop, chatting excitedly, Remus broke into his first true smile of the day.

Remus had met his friends two years ago, when the girls had been celebrating their graduation. They had been studying at some posh boarding school in Scotland, which had surprised Remus ever so slightly, but they instantly bonded over their music tastes. To speak the truth, Remus was sometimes convinced that he didn’t know the girls as well as he thought. But to be fair, he was hiding some pretty dark stuff too.

When he was about five years old, Remus was bitten by a werewolf. He knew that a magical world existed, but his dad, a wizard, had never told him how to access it, and he had subsequently been shunned by his own world. He lived alone now, and took care of himself as well as he could, transforming in his studio, his howls drowned by the loud music of the nightclub. Sometimes, he wondered if magic would have made things easier. But it was too late to think about it now.

“Remus, have you been listening to any of the words that I just said ?”, asked Marlene, a well-knowing smirk on her face.

“Well, no”, Remus said, because it was the truth.

Lily waved a small poster in front of his face.

“Remus, just look !” she exclaimed. “Universe is holding an audition for a new drummer ! That is literally your dream !”

Before Remus had the time to even ask who the hell Universe was, Dorcas produced a nearly completed sheet and a ballpoint pen.

“Surprise !”, she said, “we wanted to sign you up to make up for your birthday gift (at this, Remus sighed bitterly, remembering the cancelled Queen concert) but we needed your signature to complete this form”

Glancing up, Remus saw the expectant faces of his best friends. Resigned, he picked up the pen and scribbled down a hasty signature onto the paper. Seeing their gleeful expressions, Remus laughed.

“You really seem to care about this, huh”, he said.

“Oh, believe me, we do”, said Marlene and cackled wildly.

What the fuck is going on.

But before Remus even opened his mouth to ask, the girls were already dashing out the door, yelling choruses of “Bye Remy !” or “We love you !” or, in Marlene’s case, “Adios, Motherfucker !”.

Well. I guess I have an audition to practice for now.

Chapter Text

Life is shit.

Sirius is vaguely aware that he is surrounded by loud, partying youths, and that he is snogging some girl, but right now that doesn’t really matter. Nothing really matters at all. Memories from last week whirl in his mind in angry flashes. Fucking Frank Longbottoms grinning face is burned in his mind.

Frank had announced it to the group the previous Thursday. His “big announcement”. Alice is fucking pregnant. With a baby. Frank Longbottom, Universe’s already legendary drummer, is going to be a dad. And of course that’s great news, even Sirius would be an idiot if he didn’t understand that. But it’s also not a reason to leave the project that they've been working on since fucking first year. Fucking backstabber.

Sirius’ mind wanders off to the pile of letters on his kitchen table. He wonders if Walburga has tired of sending them yet. All her curses, threats and invitations are left unopened until he finally gets enough and throws them into the fire, one by one, watching as the unread words slowly catch fire. There is something oddly comforting with watching things crash and burn. This will push Sirius to his end, he knows it.

Regulus hasn’t written. Of course he hasn’t. Unlike Walburga, he is not desperate to reforge and strengthen their family. Regulus has not made any declarations about him leaving the House of Black. And if he has, who would know ? He is just a spare. It hurts to admit, but Sirius is bitter when he thinks of his brother. Regulus is lucky, he can quietly forge his way into life. He is simply off the radar. Sirius, however, has his face published in dozens of more or less reliable periodicals once a week. “Heir Black continues Outrageous Outspeakings !”
“Sirius Black: the rise of an Heir, explained”. Fuck that.

The girl he is snogging is now trailing her grubby hands experimentally down his waist. Sirius doesn’t object, but couldn’t care less. “It must be what, the fourth one this week”, he muses. Funny how a celebrity like him, having been awarded several prizes for his smiles and natural charm, can’t seem to be able to find love. Frank definitely has. James is heads over heels for Lily. Fuck, even Pete can manage better than him. Angrily, he pushes Maureen, or whatever her name is, away, and as she hurtles into the crowd with a shocked expression, Sirius turns away and slams the door from the club behind him.

It would be madness to apparate away, he is properly smashed, so instead, he reaches out his right arm and waves it until the Knight Bus pulls over. He steps onto the deck, ignoring the joyful calls from the conductor and grumbles about a destination. Sirius stares passively out of the grimy window as the landscape swiftly changes. He tries not to think of how miserably he is coping with everything, and unsurprisingly fails. “Something better happen soon”, he thinks, “something really fucking good”.

But until then, life is shit.

Chapter Text

It is not even past midday and Remus is already properly nervous.

He has agreed with the owner of his coffee shop to one day off for his auditions, and he is already regretting it sorely. He is halfway through a thought considering him moving to a closed off island in the middle of nowhere, and Remus must admit that being far from social life and its constraints seem alluring right now, when Marlene McKinnon’s bright voice startles him so much that he trips and falls down on the pavement.

“What the hell do you think you are doing !”, Remus yells, swallowing down some undoubtedly fouler words with great difficulty.

“We’re here for moral support, you twat”, she says, and to Remus’ horror, the entire girl gang is there, grinning at him.

“You lot are bloody terrifying”, Remus mutters, but the girls seem to take this comment very well.

Escorted by a gang of raucous ladies, Remus has no other choice than continuing his brisk walk on the pavement in the general direction of some fancy theater, a bare five minutes away from his studio. As his troupe steps into the grand hallway and up a marble staircase, Remus can’t help but wonder what kind of a band Universe actually is. Aren’t rock bands supposed to be a bit less formal ? He reaches out a hand to open a door in front of them, and winces slightly at the contact with the handle. Silver. Ignoring the mild pain, Remus pushes the door open and steps inside.

The room is very similar to a waiting room at the doctor’s office. There is a table on which glossy magazines are lying in sloppy mounds, and lined to the walls are several chairs. So far, nothing unusual. However, the dozens of other people in the room are nothing short of bizarre. They are all wearing extremely strange sets of apparel which seem to have been outdated in the 1830’s. Their long cloaks of varying colours sweep around on the floor, and their dresses seem to be made out of expensive silk. Suddenly, Remus feels very underdressed. He thought that a jumper and jeans made him look relaxed but formal, but clearly this does not fit Universe’s aesthetic. Remus mentally bangs his head at a wall for not having lead research about this stupid band. Looking up to ask the girls for help, he finds them already gone. All that for moral support, huh.

“Excuse me, but would you care to introduce yourself ?”

The voice asking Remus this is undoubtedly posh, he thinks. He glances up to get a glimpse of his interlocutor. The man is young, younger than Remus, even. His face is haughty and pale, and his black hair locks effortlessly around his well defined jawline. Aristocrat.

“I’m Remus Lupin”, Remus says.

“Funny, I’ve never heard of that last name before”, the man says, and Remus can’t help but roll his eyes.

“And why the fuck, may I ask, would you know it ?”, and Remus feels like this is a pretty fucking valid question.

“Have you never heard of me ?” Remus can tell this man is slightly amused.

“No.”

“My name is Regulus Black, pleased to meet you.” Remus doesn’t miss the way he accentuates “Black”. He also really wants to ask why the fuck he is named this, but refrains.

“What do you want.”

“You are trying out for drummer, am I right ? Well, I am looking for a promising musical talent to be their manager, and you seem to be a perfect match.” Remus laughs nervously but quickly stops. Mr Black is dead serious.

“And what if I refuse ?”, Remus says, not because he would, but because he wants to assert his dominance in the discussion as quickly as possible.

“I’m afraid you have no choice.” At this, Mr Black lowers his voice, and continues. “If you don’t want me to tell everyone in this room that you are a werewolf and therefore ruin all your chances of a successful professional life, you’ll have to stick with me”

“That’s not true”, Remus says, a little louder than hoped, his face burning.

“Oh please, let’s not play this game. Your hands are covered in scars, and you winced whilst touching the doorhandle”.

“How long have you been following me ?” This is now a vague concern, as he was sure that only he and the girls were outside the door a while ago.

“That is not the point”, Mr Black says, cheeks flushing a little. Anyways, I’m glad to have this settled. Now, sign here, and let us celebrate the start of a successful manager-artist relationship. Mr Black has produced a contract. Remus reads the terms, and, realizing that Regulus Black really isn’t about to trick him, he hesitantly picks up a pen and signs the form.

“Well, that’s one good deed done today ! I’m afraid I can’t stay much longer, so good luck and don’t screw up this audition !” Mr Black declares, and promptly leaves the room.

Quietly, Remus sinks back down into a chair and tries to process the new amount of information. As he is getting comfortable, flexing his fingers on his lap and tapping different rhythms, his name is called from a room at the end of the hallway. He leaps up and treads towards the door. Remus takes a last deep breath, and steps inside.

Chapter Text

Sirius Black has been stuck in the same room for the entire day. Well, he’s actually only been there three hours, but it feels like an eternity. At this point, his body must be partly hibernating out of pure boredom. The arrival of Remus Lupin, however, is a pleasant break from the mundanity of the other candidates to the position.

Lupin strolls in the room, holding a battered ID card in one hand and a set of drumsticks in the other. He, unlike the other applicants, is not wearing his finest dress robes and Sirius can’t seem to distinguish any family jewels or crests on his apparel. Instead, he is wearing a thready maroon jumper and a pair of washed out jeans. This is going to be entertaining, Sirius thinks, propping his feet up the examinators desk in front of him, getting comfortable. Lupin frowns and seems a bit put off by this display of casual manners, but Sirius grins.

“So, should I- I should just start warming up, right ?” Lupin asks, confused by his taciturn examiner.

Sirius waves a lazy hand towards the drum kit in the center of the room, indicating Lupin to get started. Lupin sits down immediately and starts playing a simple, 4/4 beat. He has just gotten comfortable, displaying his skill by casually switching time signatures and alternating between complex rhythms when Sirius cuts him off. Damn, he’s good. At least miles better than the others he received in the past hours. Sirius groans internally remembering Gilderoy Lockhart, who showed up earlier in the morning, not even knowing how to tell the difference between a drum and a fucking violin. How the bloke gets on in life, Sirius isn’t sure, but his “Ravenclaw wits” sure aren’t helping. Other pathetic performances flash through his head, the only one that had been even worth been the attention was Severus fucking Snape’s audition, but Sirius would probably never admit this. Lupin twitches nervously in his seat, but does not break the silence.

“Look, maybe I should just go”, he says, nervously.

“No.” Sirius cuts him off sharply. “Lupin, I know that you have all the skills for this job. I just want to know, who are you exactly ?”

“Well, I’m no one, really, I- I’m a barista at a coffee shop, uh, there’s nothing really that great about my life when you think of it”. Sirius smiles genuinely for the first time in weeks. Finally someone that doesn’t try to boast about how incredible their studies are, or about the purity of their family lineage. He knows that hiring Remus Lupin, from nowhere and without any experience whatsoever without consulting James or Peter will probably make them a bit mad, but this is worth it. This time, Sirius Black will go with his guts. He reaches out a hand.

“You’re on. Any questions ?”

Lupin's face looks nonplussed. His reaction is hilarious really, maybe even endearing. He reaches out a trembling hand and wordlessly shakes Sirius'. A million questions are probably swirling in his mind, but he settles on one.

“Who are you? And why in the name of fuck are you wearing a mask ?”. That was direct. Sirius laughs. This guy has clearly no idea what band he has just gotten into.

“I’m wearing a mask because that’s what artists usually do when they want to be somewhat anonymous. You can call me Universe Boy”.

This is going to be a wild ride. Sirius Black just knows it.

Chapter Text

“I’m sorry, but you did what ?”

James Potter is a tolerant person. It takes a lot for him to anger. However, today he has no time for this kind of bullshit. Sirius Black has just walked in the room, calm as you please, and announced casually that he had found a new drummer.

“That’s great news !”James had said, “we’ll schedule him up for a second round of auditions along with some others, and see whether he fits in or not!”.

“The fuck do you mean ? I hired him right away !” Sirius stated proudly.

“WHAT ?” James was in shock. This morning, he had told a dozen people that he would owl them again, and now Sirius had been impulsive and jumped on the first best person they had to offer.

“Look, he’s a nice guy, he works at a coffee shop and doesn’t brag constantly about his bloodline. That’s clearly a step higher than that Lockhart chap, isn’t it ?” But James stopped listening at half of his sentence.

“He works”, he said calmly, “at a coffee shop”.

“Yeah !” Sirius roared enthusiastically. Someone get this guy some help.

“Sirius, you have just hired a Muggle. In a fucking wizard band”

“Well Jamie, now is not the time to turn into a blood purist” Sirius tutted, enormously proud of himself “and anyways, we all prefer a Muggle to our next best option. I mean, do you really want good old Snivelly to be in this group ?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about !” James yelled. Sirius recoiled. “Do you know what you have done ? No, of course not, you think only of yourself and how cool it would be to have a Muggle friend ! You, Sirius Orion Black the Third, have officially broken the Statute of Secrecy !” Sirius gulped, aghast, the realization dawning on his face.

“Shit” he said. “Shit shit shit shit shit”

“Yeah, that’s right, shit”.

“Look, James, I’m really sorry, I know you’ve put all your money on this thing, I promise, I can fix it, I’ll fix it now, tell you what–”

“Sirius, shut up” Thoughts were racing in Jame’s mind. They had broken the law. Their band had been about to debut in the USA after having conquered the United Kingdom, and now this would never happen. It didn’t matter how well Remus Lupin played, they would all land in a cell in Azkaban. Shit indeed.

“Hey guys !” Peter said, running in. “Look, I’ve just announced the new drummer to the Prophet, and the crowd is going crazy outside, our sales number have reached a new peak apparently–” Peter cut himself up, catching on the steely atmosphere in the room.

“What just happened ?” He asked nervously.

“Peter, tell me you didn’t announce this to the Prophet”, James said, already dreading the worst. Peter nodded slightly.

“Yes he DID !” yelled someone from behind. Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadowes, Lily Evans and Mary MacDonald bursted into the room, lasping in fits of hysterical laughs and silent giggles.

“Guess what”, Dorcas said teasingly, exaggerating the “a” in “what”.

“You just got tricked !”, Lily announced, and started laughing loudly.

Heaving for air, Mary said “You aren’t the only ones capable of pulling off a massive prank !” and continued giggling.

“Look guys,” Marlene explained, “ Remus is our friend. Our Muggle friend. And this year we decided to firstly, get Remus the life he deserves, secondly, get back at you”.

“Get back at us for what ?” yelled James, visibly startled at their sudden arrival.

“For everything !” the girls exclaimed in sync.

“You’ve been pranking us since day one !” Dorcas said.

“Yes, but this isn’t Hogwarts anymore ! We might get sent to Azkaban !” Peter screamed.

“Oh come on, you’re not being sent to Azkaban for this”, Lily said calmly. "Besides, we've actually mentionned Remus being a Muggle in front of you before, so it's really not our fault if you stepped right into our trap"

“Shoot. I remember him now. Well we won't get sent to Azkaban. Not if we’re discreet we aren’t” declared Sirius, “and you girls are blowing up our cover. Anyways, we’re in this together now, so no backstabbing or everyone goes to prison”

There was a mutter of general agreement.

James, visibly calmed down, scribbled down a hasty note to be passed on, not owled, to Lupin, informing him of the next practice schedule. He sighed, folded the piece of parchment, and handed it to Marlene, who grinned excitedly. Sirius was right. This was going to be a wild ride.

Chapter Text

Sirius is staring into nothingness. This particular nothingness is, namely, an empty rehearsal room with instruments stacked against the walls covered in thin layers of dust, longing for human touch. He checks his wrist, his pale face mirrored in the crystal of his watch. He sighs. James and Peter are late. Again. Admittedly, he had also been irritably early, waking up everyone in the vicinity of the street while warming up his voice. But right now, Sirius Black is in a foul mood. He is cold without James’ excellent heating charms, and annoys himself at the lack of affirmation coming from Peter. He has a serious co-dependency problem, and probably should look it up before he becomes the slave of someone, but that’s something for later. He is on the point of dramatically leaving and calling it a day when someone knocks on the door. Sirius frantically scrambles for his mask and sits down in what he considers a normal position.

Nervously, Remus Lupin trudges in the room.

“Uh, hello, I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m the new drummer, I think practice was today…”. Lupin drifts off, clearly uncomfortable.

“Yeah, yeah, of course I- I mean we remember you, please, have a seat”. Sirius clumsily waves his hand in the direction of nowhere at all. His cheeks redden, but luckily his mask hides this. Why was he stuttering ? He had never had any eloquence problems in particular before.

Remus Lupin looks around, and after a brief consideration, he pulls out a chair and sits. An awkward few minutes pass, in which Lupin taps incessantly on his lap, and Sirius, not knowing where to look, stares at Lupin’s hands.

“So, uh, where are the others ?”, Lupin asks, making an attempt at starting a conversation.

“They’ll be here any minute now” Sirius declares, and silence falls once again.

Realizing that Lupin is now scrutinizing his face, absorbing every detail, Sirius remembers the incomplete answer he gave to the man a few days ago.

He clears his throat.

“Lupin ? We’re bandmates now, so I guess you could do with a more complete story about Universe’s illustrious singer, right ?”. Lupin nods. Sirius realizes that his phrasing is clumsy, and that he probably would think that anyone referring to themselves as illustrious would probably piss him off, but he bravely continues.

“I told you that I was anonymous right ?”. Another nod. “So, I’m quite the celebrity, actually. I come from a very rich and reputed family with questionably noble intentions, and if they were ever to learn what kind of life I was leading and with whom I talked to, I would be ensured to be gutted by my dear mother.”. Lupin still looks out of place, but now his eyes are tinged with unreadable sorrow.

“So, yeah, this is why I wear a mask, and also why I’ve never revealed my name to outsiders, but you’re part of the team now, so I’d figured you’d need a bit of information.” Remus shrugs, but smiles all the same.

“I’ll just introduce myself properly now, I’m Sirius Black, a pleasure to meet you”, he says, pulling off his mask. Vague recognition flickers in Lupin’s eyes, but he doesn’t mention anything. Instead, Lupin is now closely watching his face. Sirius feels his cheeks heaten up, and takes a step back.

At the same time, a sound of rushed tramping echoes around the room, only equalled by an elephant heard running a marathon. “Great. James and Pete are here”, Sirius thinks, somewhat bitterly. Lupin stands up from where he was seated and moves towards the drumset. Sirius clears his throat a last time, and James and Peter burst into the room. James eagerly sprints to Lupin.

“Hello Remus ! My name is James Potter, but just call me James. I’m really excited to start working with you !”. Damn. James had been the most reluctant to hire Lupin, and now he treats him like a sort of god. Odd how mentalities can change overnight. Sirius and Pete side-eye each other.

“This is James” ,Peter calls out, “and I’m Peter Pettigrew, I play the bass. James plays the guitar and is crazy rich, he’s the one currently financing everything”, Peter announces proudly, as if it were his money. Sirius rolls his eyes, but startles at the next person he hears.

“Well, he won’t be financing this anymore, trust me”, drawls a voice he knows all too well. He whips around and opens and closes his mouth to speak, almost comically, when Lupin beats him to it.

“Mr Black !” Lupin exclaims, relief washing across his face. What. The. Actual. Fuck.

“Remus, stop calling me that”, Regulus Black says, his porcelain cheeks tinged with pink.

Still petrified, Sirius furiously wonders why his brother has chosen this exact moment to reappear in his life.

James does not need more time to process this information, and strides up to Regulus, furiously lashing out his wand.

“Hey,” Pete shouts, “I thought we were supposed to keep magic a secret !”

“What are you doing here, Regulus ? I thought you wanted Sirius to get lost.”, James asks coldly, ignoring Peter’s strident yell.

“Circumstances have changed, Potter. I happen to be Remus Lupin’s manager” Regulus drawls. Sirius can’t help but roll his eyes, hearing the obvious satisfaction in Reg’s voice.

James turns around. “Remus, is this true ?” Lupin nods feebly.

He turns back again. “Well, you’re bang out of order if you think we’ll just let you in like this. Go harass anyone else who cares.” Regulus’ smile is even wider.

“Now, I don’t think you should adopt this tone just yet. I could be a significant help regarding relations, no point in denying that. Not to mention that I could completely ruin your entire career with a simple outreach to the Prophet.”.

“Wha- What do you mean ? You couldn’t possibly be in a position to do that…” James asks, paling visibly.

Regulus wordlessly summons a sheet of parchment with a flick of his wand. It looks like an unpublished front page of the newspaper.

“Universe, popular rock band, has breached the Statute of Secrecy– What the fuck ?!”, roars Peter, reading the heading.

“See ?”, says Regulus, “You don’t have much of a choice after all. Unless you want to be remembered as the band that hired a Muggle and were left to rot in Azkaban”. He smiles contentedly and pockets his wand.

At this, Lupin raises his eyebrows and seems ready to protest, but meets Regulus' eye and is passive once again.

“Well then ? Let’s get to work !”, he says, and Sirius has to control himself to not immediately start cursing him.