Chapter 1: Swing, Swing
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters… but if I did I would openly write alternate endings to all the books! I don't own Coke either, so please; don't tell them I mentioned them. They'll take me away again. : Twitch:
Swing, Swing, Swing, from the tables of
My heart is crushed by a former love
Can you help me find a way to carry on again?
It was a very sunny day in late June, and a hot one. A very hot day in fact, but for 4 friends, it didn't matter. There could be snow outside and hail storms with killer ice blocks, and still nothing could dampen their spirits as they took boxes and bags up the several flights of stairs to apartment 669 in the corner of the building in the busy city of London.
"That's the last of it!" the slightly flushed face of Peter Pedigrew said with slight exasperation. He practically collapsed into the brown leather easy chair as his blonde hair fell into his cool eyes. Across the room, a tired looking werewolf was putting the books in the correct alphabetical order according to the author's last name.
"Moony, leave the books alone, they're fine as is." A slightly husky voice growled playfully. A 17-year-old man with shoulder length ratty black hair pulled back into a messy ponytail sat down and passed around some chilled muggle sodas. The light brown haired werewolf sniffed and continued to rearrange the books the right way.
"If you had put them away the right way, Sirius, I wouldn't have to do this." Remus Lupin retorted, letting his deep amber eyes dart to the rugged classmate on the blue couch. Sirius Black smiled and raised his glass Coke bottle.
"I put them the way I liked them."
"But they're my books."
"So learn to like them my way."
Remus rolled his eyes and couldn't help smiling to himself. That was Sirius' excuse for everything; "Learn to like it my way." Though it was very annoying sometimes, the werewolf had to turn away from Padfoot's vantage point because he didn't want his friend to know how much he loved it. Peter had become quite silent as he looked out the window down onto the busy London streets below.
"Man, were we lucky to get digs like this for the summer." The round-faced boy said, counting taxis.
"I'm just glad you guys could come, it wouldn't be fun being here all alone." Moony commented quietly, finally finishing his organizing of the books. His parents had rented this place out for him but after thinking about having the whole summer to himself, the werewolf had quickly decided to invite the other Marauders to join him. It was just too silent without them or his many siblings surrounding him. Besides, maybe he could really tell… no, let's not go there. It's impossible, give it up. There was only one thought in the poor wizard's mind anymore, and that was of his loyal friend.
"Where's Prongs?" Peter questioned, taking another chug from his Coke. The other two shrugged. Who on Earth knew what James Potter did anymore? He was always sneaking off with some Marauder or another to play practical jokes. Then Sirius began to laugh, making the amber-eyed boy cock an eyebrow.
"He's probably calling Lily for the hundredth time. The poor girl, she must be so sick of James bothering her every 5 seconds." The raven-haired teenager said. Remus disagreed, strongly.
"I don't think so, Sirius. I mean, it must be very flattering to have someone who cares about you that much. If I had someone who loved me that much, I would think I would be the luckiest bloke in the world. They're crazy about each other."
Peter stifled back a laugh. "Either that or they're just plain crazy. Did you hear that James wants to marry her?"
"Why would he want to get married?" Sirius asked, sitting up a bit. "It's a stupid thing to do."
"Yeah, but they have been going out for years, ever since 4th year actually." The werewolf said, opening a book where he sat on the hardwood ground, sipping his soft drink through the red and white straw he had placed in the bottle.
"True, and I really think he's gonna propose this year. He showed me the ring he bought her and everything."
The scruffy Marauder started to laugh. "His marriage is going to be hilarious."
"Yeah, and you know what a wedding means." Peter evilly suggested. The two boys cheered in unison after yelling "BACHELOR PARTY!"
Remus just rolled his eyes after laughing softly, thinking how beautiful Sirius looked laughing. The werewolf had loved his friend since he could really remember. This crush had been going on for 7 years… and still Lupin had hid it, not saying a word about it. But now his mind was made up. This year, before graduation, Padfoot would know Moony's feelings towards him... he hoped. He stayed quiet for the rest of the 2 hours the boys spent in their apartment. Looking at his friends over his book and counting how often they laughed. 17 times. Even when Prongs came in, looking tired, his face immediately lit up as the three Marauders began talking about clubs and what they were going to do that night.
Peter and James went out to get food from a near by pub and slammed the door behind them, disturbing their brown-haired friend from his reading, again. So that was how it was going to be. Just Sirius and Remus. Alone. In the apartment. But it would've been a lot more interesting to Padfoot if the werewolf would put down the book and start talking.
But Remus couldn't stand the idea of talking alone with his dear friend. The fear of saying something completely stupid overwhelmed him. That was the reason he was always so quiet. He never wanted to look or act stupid in front of Sirius. He wanted to seem perfect. Though that idea was shot to hell by his compulsive clumsiness. So he hid behind his huge book of legendary wizarding poets and bards.
"So…Remus… What're you reading?" the scruffy teenage wizard asked, a bit antsy in being alone and almost silent. Silence was always unnerving for Sirius after being so loud with James and Peter, but Moony had grown accustomed to it.
"The Biographies of Wizards in Theater." Remus sensed the confusion in his friend's breathing and added, "Like William Shakespeare."
"Oh…" Padfoot returned, feeling that he should know something about Shakespeare by now. Especially with Lupin being so into all the sonnets and plays and other forms of his work. "Is it interesting?"
Remus was on the 45th page, trying to ignore being interrupted for the second time. If anyone should know better it would be Sirius who should remember that it is not very wise to disrupt a werewolf when he's reading. Then again, it was Sirius Black. "Yes, very."
Silence once again filled the room. Only shouts of muggles down on the street seemed to keep the two boys sane. With a cautious look from over the top of his huge book, the small werewolf gazed at Padfoot.
He was leaning back in the recliner, his messy black bangs swept to the left of his face, partially covering his eyebrow and giving him a debonair style. His deep brown eyes, a bit like dog eyes, where fixed on the painting of a little cobblestone alley in Rome, hanging on the opposite wall. On his face was an expression of longing and boredom.
If only…Moony said to himself, darting his eyes back to the page full of small black letters.
Sirius's eyes switched from the painting to the thin and pale wizard sitting in front of the bookcase. He was slim and nimble; not very much muscle, but it fit him somehow. His pale skin looked soft and his lips were perfectly defined. Then, of course, his beautiful amber eyes flitted this was and that over the pages in his huge book, his short dusty brown hair perfectly arranged on his head.
If only…Padfoot said to himself, letting his eyes stray back to the painting on the wall.
An hour passed and soon Peter and James were back, carrying a few more drinks, mostly alcohol, which Remus forcefully refused, to which James said, "Aw, goody two-shoes Moony, not even in for a little drink." Thus he brought up the wrath of "Guilt-trip Moony", who promptly reminded them all of their drinking last year in the dorms and how Lily agreed with him on this issue. James protested by saying that he wasn't married yet.
As the others drank the beer, Remus retreated to his room, building a fire and still holding his book, though he could no longer concentrate on the words. All his thoughts were straying away from their origin to the scruffy black haired 16-year-old classmate sitting just outside his door and down the hall.
Why did this have to happen to the shyest, meekest, weirdest, and possibly the most unlikely person in the world to even try to get Sirius Black to notice him like he wanted? Fate was indeed cruel, not to mention twisted and unbearably difficult to comprehend. Yet something inside the werewolf was screaming that Padfoot was the one and only, no wonder it hurt when Remus saw him talking to a girl, stringing her heart along and not realizing that he was also stringing along Moony's.
It almost felt like Lupin's heart sat on a swing that Sirius kept pushing. First they would leap up with hope and make him happy beyond all thought, then they began to drop, heavy from heartache, reality, and the depression of realizing that he could never have Padfoot. Yet the swing began to climb again every time the werewolf found himself around the scruffy boy.
A tear rolled off his cheek as Remus held his aching head in his hands. Confusing… Everything had always made sense to the brown haired boy. There was no problem that was in the least bit foggy to him! His scores were spotless! And still these feelings and emotions he had concerning Sirius baffled him. There was no logical reason for it and the werewolf didn't exactly favor the illogical ones.
Why of all the people in the school did he have to get hung over and strung out on Mr. Rogue himself, the scoundrel of all mischievous acts; Sirius Black?
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Well, do you like it? Do you REALLY like it? I'm surprised I have so many ff's going at the same time… oh well, cheerio, pip, pip!