The Kindness of Friends
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. However, since Rowling discarded my favourite characters I picked them up and took them into my care to give them the love and attention they deserve...and occasionally give them reason to need that love and attention no matter how much they deserve it without needing a reason.
Summary: An experiment by Sirius and James leaves Remus both confused and utterly speechless as it has long lasting results for him.
Warnings: Strong bromance, can't stomach boys being extremely close without it being sexual, then this is not the story for you and you should hit the return button.
Side warning: I am aware that these boys are British and much more touchy-feeling than most would be; but they are extremely close and are special cases. Any flames or whining about their close bond will be ignored as you are fairly warned!
Special thanks to chimaera198; both for giving me this idea with your review and giving me permission to work it out into a story.
Special thanks to Kitty for beta-ing this story for me and giving me endless support and inspiration for this series. Thank you for your endless patience with my grammar and for all the lessons you've taught me and are still trying to stamp into my brain.
NOT A PART OF THE A BOND OF FAMILY SERIES!
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It was a cold afternoon on Christmas day that James burst into the dorm, startling Remus as he was getting ready to travel to the Shrieking Shack for his monthly transformation.
"What's got you in such a hurry? And where's Sirius?" Remus wondered as James took a moment to catch his breath.
"He's waiting for us, you need to come with me!" the wide grin on James' face seemed entirely misplaced as he knew what was going to happen soon and Remus frowned as James began to pull on his arm.
"James...I need to leave..."
"Shush and just follow me," James pulled a face. "I knew I should have sent Sirius to retrieve you, you'd willingly follow him without objecting!"
"That's not..." Remus flushed as his protest died in his throat, aware that James was right and he would have followed Sirius, no questions asked. "All right, I've got a little time. Where are we going?"
"McGonagall's office. Sirius is waiting for us there," clearly pleased that he'd been proven right, James changed his grip to Remus' hand and pulled him along.
"What's he doing there?" Surprised Remus allowed James to drag him along, attracting curious looks from other students as they hurried through the hallways.
"Discussing the last details for a crazy plan he has gotten permission for."
"Per...so not a prank then?"
"It'll be the best prank of the century if he's right, and McGonagall thinks he might be. We've been over it a dozen times and even McGonagall can't find a fault in it," James knocked on the door as they arrived at the office of their Head of House and pulled him through as they were called in.
The first thing Remus noticed was that there were several papers scattered on the desk between Sirius and McGonagall, dates and calculations in Sirius' handwriting all over them. The second thing he noticed was that McGonagall's eyes were suspiciously bright.
"Professor?" Remus swallowed as the woman and Sirius rose to their feet, the latter moving to his side.
"I assume James hasn't told you anything?"
"No, he just began to drag me along. Are you going to tell me what's going on?"
"You'll see," light grey eyes sparkled with mischief and something Remus wasn't entirely sure he could identify as Sirius turned back to McGonagall.
"Are the wards ready?"
"Yes, are you?"
"As ready as I could be," Sirius took a deep breath and Remus automatically curled his fingers around Sirius' as he slipped a hand in his.
"I wish you the best of luck," she nodded to them as James came up to Sirius' other side and took his hand as well, but before Remus could ask what was going on, the unpleasant feeling of Apparition came over him.
When the unpleasant feeling left him and he could breathe properly again, he looked around, surprised to find they were outside and almost didn't catch Sirius as he stumbled on unsteady rocks.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes, that just took a little more out of me than I expected. Is everyone intact?" Sirius squeezed his biceps in thanks as he found his balance and Remus frowned, looking around even as James confirmed Sirius' question.
"Where are we?" He could see they were in what looked like a forest, but didn't recognise the area at all as he gazed at the rocks and tall trees surrounding them.
"Bear Canyon Creek. It's the most likely place to be deserted on Christmas Day, according to our research," Sirius explained as he dropped his backpack onto the rocks around them and James walked around in a large circle. "But don't worry, no actual bears have been seen here for decades."
"I've never heard of it before, where is it?" Remus looked around again, spotting a swimming hole behind Sirius as his best friend knelt beside his backpack.
"California, or more directly: we're in Angeles National Forest," James accepted the bundle of clothes Sirius handed him as he returned to their side.
"Los Angeles?" Remus blinked surprised as he accepted the clothes Sirius handed him. "We're in America? How?"
"I thought that was fairly obvious, we Apparated here," Sirius rose to his feet to pull his sweater off and change into a shirt and shorts.
"Intercontinental Apparition is not only difficult, it's also pretty much impossible, how did you manage to do it?" Remus followed their example to change clothes as the humid temperature was already forming a layer of sweat on his back despite the fact that it had to still be early in the day as the sun had not set high in the sky yet.
"Practice. It took almost a week before I managed, so I worried I might not actually manage it in time," Sirius' frown and almost unhappy tone made Remus shake his head in disbelief.
"You developed the ability to travel halfway across the world in a mere week and yet you're disappointed it took you so long?"
"Oh no, I managed to travel here within a day. I just had difficulties Side-Apparating people with me on long distances."
"You do realise most people can't even manage Apparating from England to Scotland, right?" Remus asked incredulous as James stifled a laugh, already having changed into shorts and a t-shirt and put his winter clothes in Sirius' bag.
"It's actually not that difficult, just a little unpleasant and taxing so if you don't mind just spending some time here, I could use a bit of a rest before we continue on our way."
"What exactly are we doing out here?" Remus cast a worried look over Sirius' frame at the admittance of tiredness as the youngest of their little group pulled off his shoes and socks before settling beside the water.
"An experiment and visiting a nice place," James followed Sirius' example and dangled his feet into the clear water. "Come join us?"
"What experiment?" Remus sat down beside them, not really expecting them to tell him yet as it wasn't unusual for them to keep what they were working on a secret to get unbiased results for their research. He was surprised that McGonagall had clearly granted them permission for this, but had learned by now to go with the flow.
"We can't tell you yet, let's just enjoy the peace and quiet of this place for a while," the smile Sirius directed at him told him they indeed had a reason to keep it a secret and he readily immersed his feet in the water, smiling as he noticed several small fish swimming around his friend's feet.
James stretched before he leaned back to rest against the rocks, the other two quick to follow his example.
Remus had to admit the place truly was quiet and the only thing he could hear were the sounds of birds and the rustling of the leaves as a soft breeze travelled through the trees.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed when James pulled off his shirt and slipped into the water, gasping as the cool water hit his warm skin.
"Isn't it a bit too cold to be swimming already?" Sirius sat up to look at him amused.
"Nah," James grinned as he swam around for a moment before returning to their side and holding out a hand to Sirius. "Come on in."
"I don't know..."
"No one's around," James smiled. "You said yourself that the place is deserted in winter and even if for some reason someone comes near we'll know in time."
"All right," Sirius glanced at his watch, one Remus had never seen before but knew better than to ask about, taking a deep breath as he tossed his shirt to where James' was before letting James pull him into the water. "Merlin...you said it wasn't cold!"
"Only for a bit," James grinned apologetic as he turned to Remus. "Are you going to join us?"
"Why not," Remus laughed as he followed their example, shivering as the water was indeed cold, but after a moment he already couldn't feel the cold any more as he swam around.
They spent quite some time splashing around in the shade, laughing as they chased each other and enjoyed the nature around them.
Some of the fish swam around Sirius as they played around and he ran a finger over their backs as they swam through his legs and around his arms, scattering when James or Remus came closer.
"How about we make our way up the trail?" James suggested when the sun began to burn more fiercely even through the deck of leaves and Sirius retrieved a bottle of sunscreen from his bag once they'd magically dried themselves off and had dressed again.
"What's up the trail?" Remus inquired as he yawned, stretching a little as they lay back against the rocks again after applying sunscreen.
"A waterfall; Switzer Falls. It's supposedly one of the most popular waterfalls in this forest," Sirius offered as he glanced at his watch. "It's either that or we could travel to the beach and look around there?"
"Which beach do you have in mind?"
"Hermosa Beach, it's about an hour south-west from here," Sirius pulled out a map and showed the route to them. "We could take a bus there, but it'll be a long trip that way."
"And we haven't got American money," Remus noted.
"That's not a problem, but we could also Apparate," James noted.
"That might be the easiest. I've studied the map and pictures of the place in various brochures that Professor McGonagall provided, so I shouldn't have a problem Apparating us there."
"Just how long have you guys been planning this trip?" Remus inquired as he looked at the routes Sirius had marked on the map.
"A while. We were working on a plan to conduct our experiment and decided that while we are here, we could sightsee a little and have some fun at the same time," James shrugged as he glanced at Sirius' watch. "We still have three hours left, so what do you think?"
"Although it would be nice to look around, if Sirius has to Apparate us back again he'd be better off not Apparating us around in between that time," Remus mused. "Besides, neither of you are really crazy about beaches and if the waterfall is that popular, I'd love to see it."
"The waterfall it is then," James nodded as he pulled the backpack to him and peered into it. "Just how much food did you pack?"
"I thought we could have a bit of a picnic at the waterfall," Sirius grinned and Remus chuckled.
"You already knew I'd decline on the beach, didn't you?"
"I think I've known you long enough by now to know what you'd choose. Shall we go then?" Sirius folded the map to their decided destination and slung the bag over his shoulder as he rose to his feet.
"Sure," they calmly hiked up the trail, having no difficulties travelling up the path as they listened to the sounds of the waterfall coming closer.
"Wow," Remus passed James as they came within view of the pond and waterfall, staring at the sight before him.
"How come it's all so green when it's in the middle of winter?" James wondered as he stepped aside so that Sirius could hand Remus a camera.
"Professor M said the climate is different from ours. It will actually be summer in Australia right now, but everything will start to die and trees become barren around this period due to the hot weather coming in."
"What does Australia have to do with it?" Remus wondered as he stepped down the rocks to come to a stop at the water edge, snapping some photos of the waterfall.
"Here, let me take a photo of you with the waterfall for your parents," Sirius offered and Remus handed him the camera. "And Australia is our next stop; we'll travel there in...an hour at the latest."
"We're going to Australia? Why?"
"Part of the experiment we're still conducting," Sirius snapped a few photos as both Remus and James posed with the waterfall.
"And how is the experiment going so far?" Remus inquired as he took the camera from Sirius again to make a few photos of him and James, not bothering to ask what it was about yet.
"Very good, the last step will be in Australia," Sirius looked up to him with a warm smile, eyes twinkling again as James hugged him for the photo.
"Good, it's a shame Peter's not here," Remus mused as he handed the camera to James for the last few pictures, smiling as Sirius pulled him into a hug as well.
"We told him of our plan, but he went home anyway so it's his loss," James shrugged.
"That's not entirely fair, you know his mum forced him because his grades aren't very good and she wants him to study before our final exams," Sirius corrected him.
"He'll have to study hard if he wants to make a proper living for himself when we graduate," Remus admitted. "I still don't know how he manages to hang around you guys and not automatically gain experience and knowledge from all the research we do."
"Beats me, but he's paying for it now," having no further comment to that truth, they just stood staring at the sight for a moment longer, eventually sitting down to split the food Sirius had brought between them.
"So...Australia?" Remus eventually asked.
"Melbourne to be precise," Sirius cleared everything away and rose to his feet. "You guys ready?"
"Should we apply more sunscreen before we leave?" James glanced at the slowly darkening sky and Sirius' watch.
"Might be wise, I don't know the actual weather beside the fact that it's supposed to be hot around this time of year."
They made quick work of doing so before both Remus and James took one of Sirius' hands again and he Apparated them away.
"Bloody hell," Remus gasped as he was almost immediately blown back by a fierce wind and tightened his grip on Sirius' hand to prevent the other from being pushed onto the street by the strong wind, being much lighter than himself.
"Looks like the prediction of hot weather is actually wrong," James yelled out over the heavy rainfall, soaked in mere moments as they stood on a side-walk.
"In here," Sirius pulled them along to a dinner across the street and hurriedly they entered.
"That's better," James ran a hand through his soaked hair as Sirius closed the door behind them and seeing the owners of the dinner they'd entered raise an eyebrow at their sight, he winced and they quickly took a seat. "Well, that was a waste of sunscreen."
"How are we going to pay for anything in here?" Remus whispered as James pulled out the menu and casually skimmed through it.
"Money's not the problem, we both have Gringott wallets with us," James muttered back.
"It's finding a place to stay that'll be a problem, we can't walk around in this weather but can't stay in here all day either. Besides, I don't know about you guys, but I'm fairly beat and could use some more rest," Sirius looked up as an older waitress came to them. "Good afternoon, have you guys decided yet?"
"Fish and chips?" James' idea sounded as good as any of what Remus could see on the menu so he simply nodded.
"Two fish and chips. Oh, and three cokes, please," Sirius ordered. "And do you happen to have a couple of napkins so we can dry ourselves a little bit?"
"I have something better, a towel," the waitress smiled as she summoned a young waitress who hurried to them with three towels. "Do you not want anything to eat?"
"He's not a big eater so we usually share," James explained.
"I'll bring an extra fork then. I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying and if you're interested, there's a hostel nearby here that's fairly good."
"Do they rent by the hour? Because we'll only be in Melbourne until eight, then our transportation leaves again," Sirius asked.
"I think they rent by the day, but it's only twenty dollar for a night so it's not really expensive," the waitress informed them. "Though that's for one room."
"It's acceptable for a few hours of undisturbed rest and we don't mind sharing a room," James smiled. "Thank you."
"No problem and if I may advice you, if you move to the back there is a central heater there and you might get warm sooner, you can leave the towels on it as well."
"Good advice, thank you," James grinned as all three of them rose as one while drying themselves off and moving where indicated. "That's better; I can't say it enough, Rem...Muggles are pretty smart."
"They do have some fine moments," Remus chuckled as Sirius placed their towels on the heater before leaning as close to it as he could. "Why don't you put on your sweater?"
"Why don't we all? They won't have gotten wet with the charms you've added to the bag," James suggested softly.
"Won't they notice?" Sirius indicated to the waitresses, whose giggling could be heard through the kitchen door.
Remus eyed the bag for a moment. "Three sweaters could fit in there without much difficulty, especially with your folding abilities."
"All right," they wasted no time to put them on as Sirius handed them over and Remus sighed as it immediately provided more warmth.
"That's better, so after..."
"Lunch," Sirius helpfully provided.
"Right, after lunch, do we check out that hostel?" James asked.
"I haven't got any idea of a time any more," Remus laughed. "But I do admit I am pretty tired."
"Hostel it is then," Sirius yawned behind his hand before smiling as the blushing young waitress arrived with their food.
"Two fish and chips?"
"That's for us," James indicated to Remus and himself.
"And an extra fork," the girl placed their drinks before them and handed over the fork to Sirius.
"Thank you," Sirius smiled as Remus pushed his plate forward a little so Sirius could reach it more easily from across the table while James began to cut his fish into pieces.
"I hope this hostel she talked about has a shower so we can freshen up somewhat," James mused as Sirius stabbed his fork into a piece to eat it.
"Hostels always have showers," Remus chuckled. "A hostel is a hotel for youngsters and backpackers."
"Ah, I understood it was some sort of hotel but I wasn't about to let on that I wasn't sure what she meant," Sirius smiled.
"I figured as much, so we're staying in Australia until eight?"
"Yes, after that we'll return to Hogwarts," James took a sip from his coke. "I believe we can say the experiment is a grand success, don't you?"
"You still haven't told me what it is about," Remus reminded him as Sirius ate some chips from his plate and he turned it a little so he could reach his fish more easily without cutting Sirius' access off.
"We'll tell you when we return to Hogwarts as it's only then that we'll know if we've truly succeeded or not," Sirius smiled.
Accepting that answer, they continued their meal while chatting, paying and making their way to the hostel when the rain had let up to a light drizzle.
It was only when he was freshened up from the shower and sprawled on the medium sized bed that Remus truly felt how tired he was and it didn't take long for him to follow Sirius in drifting off, barely noticing it as James joined them on the bed after his own shower.
He wasn't sure how long he'd slept when he was softly shaken awake and blearily he looked up to see Sirius lean over him.
"How are you feeling?"
"Sleepy?" Remus yawned as he sat up, chuckling as James came into view with his hair sticking up in every direction. "I'm fine, why?"
"Just checking," Sirius smiled. "We just have time for a bite to eat before we'll leave again, if you are hungry?"
"What time is it?" Remus rubbed a hand over his face.
"Seven-thirty in the evening. We can go back in half an hour," Sirius informed him as he moved to James' side to try and make his hair presentable.
Eager to finally learn what their experiment had been about, Remus hurried to freshen up and get dressed.
As none of them were hungry, they checked out of the hostel and made their way to a deserted alley where they once more took Sirius' hand so he could Apparate them back.
"I didn't think I'd ever be happy to see that familiar sight," Remus sighed as he realised they were near the Shrieking Shack.
"What time is it?" James asked as he gazed at the slowly lightening sky.
"Nine in the morning," Sirius turned to Remus. "How are you feeling?"
"Same as when you last asked, can you finally tell me what this was all about?" Remus raised an eyebrow as they both cheered.
"It's Monday," James beamed.
"Yes? So?"
"He truly had no idea, he's been distracted so much that he doesn't know," James snickered.
"Moony..." Sirius raised an eyebrow, making Remus frown.
"Moo...the full moon!" Remus suddenly realised as he stared at the Shrieking Shack.
"Rem, let me rephrase what James said. It is Monday right now. Nine O'clock on a Monday morning," Sirius smiled. "The full moon was last night."
"It couldn't have been, I didn't transform," Remus blinked confused.
"That's because you weren't in an area where it was night when the full moon occurred," Sirius' smile grew. "That's what the whole experiment was about."
"About the full moon?"
"Yes. Sirius realised that although the full moon occurs at the same day everywhere on earth, the different continents make it that they are not occurring at the same moment."
"Because of the different time zones, yes," Remus felt incredibly stupid as it slowly began to dawn on him what his friends were talking about.
"If it's night here in Scotland, it is morning in Los Angeles due to the eight hour time difference. And when its afternoon there, it's mid-morning of the following day in Melbourne," James explained.
"You...you travelled to Los Angeles and Melbourne...to avoid the full moon altogether?" Remus swallowed thickly. "How..."
"After we realised that we could travel to another time-zone, we just had to figure out when exactly the moon rises in each country to be able to avoid it altogether. From there it was just a question if you'd transform despite the absence of the full moon, or if it would indeed prevent you from going through the process," Sirius continued.
"Which is why you first Apparated us to a deserted forest, in case your theory was wrong and I would transform after all," Remus realised. "You...that's brilliant."
"With our theory formed, we just needed to find a method of transportation to the different continents," James ran a hand through his hair. "That's where it became more difficult. A Portkey would require asking permission at the Ministry."
"This wasn't an option as you are not registered and we wouldn't want to give you away. That left either an illegal Portkey or Apparition as long distant Floo travel is often dangerous and unpredictable," Sirius took over again as they began to make their way back towards the castle. "So we approached McGonagall with our theory and she's been helping us learn how to Apparate long distance."
"Both of you?"
"Yes, though I can't take more than one person along yet," James rubbed a hand over his face. "I splinched the second doll I brought along pretty badly, so we decided Sirius would be the one to Apparate us for now until I get it under control."
"For now...you mean you plan to do this again?" Remus came to an abrupt stop as he stared at his friends incredulously.
"Of course, as long as there are no negative effects to your health, we plan to repeat our little adventure every month," Sirius looked at him confused. "You thought it was a one-time occasion?"
"Why would you go through so much trouble, just for me?" tears rose in Remus' eyes as he stared at his best friends. "You've already became Animagi for me...why?"
"Because you are our friend and we will do anything we can to stop you from suffering," James shrugged like it was an obvious answer.
"But if you truly want a reason, think of it as an extra Christmas present from us. Merry Christmas, Remus," Sirius smiled and suddenly tears ran down Remus' face as he threw himself at his friends.
"It's all right, Moony," James patted him on the back as they both hugged him in return, but he only tightened his embrace on them as they tried to pull back again.
Both boys didn't speak as they held him just as tightly in return as he couldn't do more than sob uncontrollably in their arms and Remus wondered what he'd done to deserve his friends.
Finally his tears subdued and as he pulled back to see two pair of bright eyes look at him fondly, he couldn't help but answer their warm smiles.
"I think Professor M is very eager to hear from us," Sirius softly said as both of his friends held out their hand and nodding, Remus took them, squeezing tightly as they made their way back to the castle.
"Maybe next month, we could actually visit the beach in Los Angeles and maybe sightsee a little in Melbourne," James mused.
"If we find places with the exact same time-zones, we might even explore something more of the world," Sirius eagerly brought up. "Surely there are more places like that, right?"
"I guess we've found our new project," Remus laughed at their excited voices and fondly shook his head, just as excited as them over the prospect of going to new places.
And who wouldn't be, not only would it prevent him from going through excruciating pain every month, it would also allow him to travel further than he'd ever been, and all because of his brilliant friends.
Friends he'd never want to miss for the world, he thought as he squeezed their hands gratefully. And not just for this new development, but because they accepted him as he was, but still worked on trying to make his life better and he swore to himself that one day he would repay their kindness, somehow.
The End.
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A/N: I have never been to either America or Australia and although I researched both places they went through and the correct weather reports of the time, it might not actually be exactly correct. My apologies if it happened to be a gorgeously sunny day in Melbourne on Christmas Day 1977, but as it's mentioned as a humid month with more than average rain, I decided it would rain.