Chapter 6
Oops, I ment to update the entry with the story, but ended up deleting it instead. Too late I realized that was a bad, bad idea. I appologize to those of you who commented. Please comment again! On to the story!
Title: Moonstruck
Pairing: Sirius/Remus
In which secrets are revealed and James has a plan.
Chapter 6
After hours of research, they had all reached the same conclusion. That their shy, subdued friend was in fact a werewolf. A calendar had revealed that Remus’ absences from school coincided with the cycle of the moon. And numerous books had discussed, in cold, indifferent terms, the painful transformations and subsequent bloodlust that occurred monthly. They pointed out that when a werewolf was locked up and unable to capture prey, it would turn on itself to satisfy the craving for blood. Sirius had blanched at that, recalling Remus’ scars. He became even more determined to help the other boy and keep him from living a life of isolation and fear.
How he was going to convince him, was another matter. He thought back on how horribly wrong their last encounter had gone. But this time, he knew the facts. And deep down, he knew that Remus loved him. That he had only pulled away out of fear. So he would have to show him there was nothing to fear.
"Sirius entered the Ravenclaw tower a few days later. He had deliberately waited until another full moon passed, so they could confirm their theory. As expected, Remus had been nowhere to be found the previous evening, and he had been missing from class all day. They had been denied visitation in the infirmary, which was in itself unusual. Pomfrey had herded them out with the clipped statement that Remus was sleeping, but would be returning to his room later and they could see him then. This time Sirius knocked before entering the boys’ dorm, and waited for Remus to answer.
“How’s your hand?”
“What are you doing here, Sirius?” Remus asked wearily. He looked exhausted and paler than usual.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine. Madam Pomfrey took care of it.”
“I’m sorry.” Remus just shook his head.
Sirius nudged past him and closed the door. After confirming that no one else was inside the room, he performed a locking charm as well as a silencing one. “I thought at first my ring was cursed,” he said, turning to the other boy. “But then I realized that wasn’t right. It’s you. You’re a werewolf, aren’t you?”
The tawny-haired boy stilled. “What are you talking about?”
“My ring is silver. That’s why it burned you.”
Remus laughed, but it sounded strained. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Look, I’ve figured it out. There’s more than enough evidence. Don’t lie to me anymore.”
The Ravenclaw was silent for a while. He looked defeated. “I’m sorry.” Almost a whisper. He clenched his fists in an agitated manner before looking Sirius straight in the eyes. “I never wanted to lie to you.”
“I know. I just wish you would have trusted me.”
“I was afraid that you would hate me. That you wouldn’t want to be my friend.”
“I could never hate you. I love-”
“Sirius!” Remus interrupted. “Don’t. It doesn’t matter. Don’t you see? I’m dangerous. This can’t work between us. It would be best if you just stayed away.”
~~~((*))~~~
“He thinks he’s not safe. That I’m not safe with him.” Sirius paced angrily back and forth in front of James.
“He’s probably right.”
“You’re supposed to be on my side!”
“I am, but Remus has a point. One day out of every month he’s a monster. He can’t control his own actions. He not only could, but would hurt you if you came anywhere near him in his wolf form. We both read about how the bloodlust is overwhelming.”
“I’m not planning on prancing around him when he’s a wolf or anything. I just want to help him. Be there for him in the hospital after his change. I just wish there was something I could do.”
“Well . . . there might be one thing.”
Sirius looked at him.
“Do you remember 3rd year? Our plan to become animagi?”
That provoked a sardonic grin. “I remember you sprouted antlers out of your forehead. You couldn’t get rid of them for a week, and we had to convince everybody that Snape had hexed you.”
“Yes, but before that mishap, we’d gotten pretty far along with the rest of the spell. Only you didn’t want to continue ‘cause you were scared you’d wake up with scales or something.”
“I wasn’t afraid! I just didn’t think McGonagall would believe our excuses if we kept showing up to class with animal body parts. But what does this have to do with helping Remus?”
“Don’t you get it? Werewolves lust for human blood. But they don’t attack other beasts. Maybe if you’re in animal form you could get close to the wolf and he wouldn’t hurt you. What do you think?”
Sirius considered. “It think it just might work. Jamie, you’re brilliant!”
~~~((*))~~~
Sirius stared up at the Ravenclaw staircase. This really was becoming a habit. Well, third time’s a charm. He found Remus alone, lying on his bed and reading a book. He didn’t wait for the other boy to say anything before blurting out, “I can’t stay away from you Remus. I love you. Don’t you see that? I don’t care that you’re a werewolf. I love everything about you. I love how you muss your hair when you can’t get a spell to work right. I love how your eyebrows dip together when you’re confused, or think I’ve gone crazy. I love how you only hum in agreement instead of saying ‘yes’. I love the way your accent deepens when you’re feeling passionate. I love the way you taste. I don’t love that you keep pushing me away, when all I want is to be closer to you!”
At this point it seemed Sirius had run out of breath. He looked at Remus sadly, “I just thought you should know.” He turned, and walked out the door.
“Sirius!” Remus caught up with him at the bottom of the stairs. “That was foolish . . . but hot,” he said, before shoving his boyfriend against the wall and kissing him madly. “I love you too, you idiot.”
Sirius didn’t get a chance to say anything back for a long time after that.