Written for:
The Pirate Ship Battles - WolfStar - Prompt: Creature!Fic.
Role Reversal Challenge - Task: Pick two character's and swap some aspect of them, such as situations, families, Houses, genders, or anything else you can think of. I've switched the Lycanthropy.
OTP Competition - Write about your OTP.
The rumours spread quickly around Wizarding Britain. All the pure-blooded families could talk about was why the Black family had disowned their eldest son and future heir.
The most popular rumour was that the boy had been found out to be a squib and it was no secret how that family dealt with squibs. The last that was heard of Sirius Black was that he went to live with his Uncle Alphard, who had also been disowned. The man and boy were rarely seen out, preferring their privacy.
No one knew the exact reason why; except for Sirius, his parents, Alphard Black and the monster that infected him.
The eight year old boy was soon named as Alphard's heir and Sirius was quickly forgotten about as Society became obsessed with another scandal.
...oOo...
An eleven year old Sirius Black was sitting down to breakfast with his uncle when an owl arrived for him. Excited at the prospect of getting post, he fed some of his breakfast to the owl and took the letter before the owl flew off.
"Uncle Alphard, I got a letter," he said, his eyes eagerly scanning the front of the letter. "It's from Hogwarts."
Alphard put the Daily Prophet down on the table and quickly moved he was sitting in the chair next to Sirius'. "Well, open it," Alphard insisted, curious as to what the letter said. He hadn't expected a letter to arrive for Sirius.
Sirius slowly tore the flap open, and he pulled the letter out of the envelope. Sirius scanned it carefully before handing it to his Uncle.
"It says I can go, but it doesn't say anything about my Lycanthropy. They don't know what I am, so I can't go, can I?" he said, sadly, turning back to his breakfast.
Alphard stared at the letter for a long time and he waited for Sirius to finish eating.
"Get dressed into your best robes and tidy your hair. We're going to Hogwarts now to see the Headmaster," Alphard told his nephew. Sirius quickly headed out of the room to get ready, and Alphard went to get their travelling cloaks ready.
Sirius had lost so much already, Alphard was determined to at least try to get him into Hogwarts somehow. The plan had been to hire the boy a private tutor, but the look of disappointment on his nephew's face was too much to bear. Sirius was like a son to him and he wanted Sirius to be happy.
It wouldn't hurt to go and give it a shot.
...oOo...
Sirius stared around the Headmaster's office in curiosity as his Uncle began to talk to Dumbledore, explaining the conditions in which Sirius came to live with him. Sirius didn't want to join in the talk - after all, his own parents hadn't wanted him after his infection, why on earth would the school want him? He was a dangerous animal, a dirty beast and a disgrace to his family and the Black name.
Like his parents said, he was a filthy half-breed. There was no way he'd be accepted into the school, the Headmaster should have just turned them away and not wasted his time with pleasantries. Sirius would have understood.
His uncle said differently to his parents of course, but even if Uncle Alphard said that he wasn't a beast or a monster, Sirius could picture the creature that climbed into his room and bit him. That's what he himself became once a month, so therefore that was what he was himself.
His Uncle Alphard didn't treat him like an animal and ensured that his parents didn't say anything about Sirius' condition. Sirius wasn't sure how his Uncle had convinced them, but his mother had accused his uncle of blackmailing them before eventually agreeing to keep the secret.
He tuned back in to the conversation when the Headmaster finally spoke to him.
"Sirius, why do you want to come to Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked.
Sirius turned his gaze downwards from those blue twinkling eyes.
"I just want to be like everyone else," he admitted. "I want to learn magic and have friends and not be alone anymore. I've read about Hogwarts in Uncle Alphard's book - Hogwarts a History, and it sounds fascinating. I would just like to be normal, Sir."
"And what house do you think you'll be sorted into, if you were to attend?" The Headmaster asked.
Sirius frowned. "Slytherin, it's where anyone dark goes, and what can be darker than a Werewolf?" he whispered. "I'm a Black and I'm a Werewolf, there isn't any other house for me, but even if I ended up there, I'd still have appreciated the opportunity to attend Hogwarts."
Dumbledore stared at him for a long time and Sirius fidgeted in his seat at the close scrutiny. Finally the Headmaster sat back and smiled at Alphard.
"Alphard, we'll make the necessary requirements, but I don't see a problem with Sirius attending... my concern is his parents knowing he's here and letting slip about his condition."
"I'll take care of them," Alphard said. "I've kept them quiet for this long."
Dumbledore looked at the confused boy in front of him.
"Sirius Black, welcome to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, passing Sirius' letter back to him. "I will see you at your sorting."
...oOo...
"Gryffindor," the sorting hat shouted and Sirius sat frozen to the chair. He was so sure he would be a Slytherin. He frowned, maybe the hat had it mixed up - maybe it didn't realise that he was a Werewolf. He tried to push the memory of his attack to the front of his mind so the hat could rectify its mistake, but the sorting hat just shouted the house a second time.
"Mr Black, your house are waiting for you," Dumbledore said, not loud enough for the students to hear, but loud enough for Sirius. Sirius slid from the stool and placed the hat down and began walking to the table.
He smiled shyly as the house clapped for him. He had thought they'd hate him since he was a Black - his uncle had explained the rivalry between the houses to him before, and explained that every member of the Black family had been in Slytherin in the past. The clapping was a shock, but Sirius came to the conclusion that it was to do with the fact that he wasn't a part of his family anymore, or that the Gryffindors felt that they had gotten one up on the Slytherins.
Either way, they were happy he was there and he couldn't help it as the shy smile turned into a wide grin as a pair of second years started chatting with him as though they were friends.
...oOo...
"You don't like me, do you?" Remus asked.
Sirius looked at the one boy in the dorm that he was currently trying to avoid. It wasn't that he didn't like Remus, he did actually like him. Remus was kind and smart and he found Remus interesting. Remus was a very likeable boy, just like James.
What he didn't like was that Remus was the son of Lyall Lupin, the man who hated Werewolves with a passion to rival his own family. He didn't like sharing a dorm with someone who most likely hated Werewolves just as much as his father; someone who would work out his secret and hate him and tell the world what he was and be the reason he would have to leave Hogwarts.
This was the reason he had spent the last month ignoring the other boy.
"Look, Sirius. We're going to be sharing a room for the next few years and if I've upset you somehow, I'm really sorry about it. I'd really like to be friends. Can we be friends?" Remus asked.
Remus smiled at him hopefully and Sirius gave an uncertain smile back. It would definitely be easier to be friends with him rather than ignore him, and he had a feeling that Remus wouldn't give up until they were friends.
Plus if Remus kept questioning why Sirius was avoiding him, he might work out why quite quickly.
Sirius gave a reluctant nod of his head and was treated to a wide grin in return. The grin was infectious and Sirius couldn't help but grin back at him.
"Great. Will you tell me what I did wrong so I won't do it again?" Remus asked.
"You didn't do anything, it was me," Sirius admitted. "Just me."
...oOo...
It took Remus longer than it should have to work it out. In fact, when James said it out loud, Remus realised he had seen all the signs, he had clearly just refused to put them together. He had refused to acknowledge the obvious fact of what Sirius really was.
His father had taught him to recognise Werewolves and he had certainly noticed those amazing grey eyes with amber flecks in them. He had even marvelled at how different they were to his families eyes. The amber was there because the wolf was there too.
He had made excuses though. Sirius' disappearances didn't always happen on a full-moon. Sometimes Sirius would just be in a bad mood and leave. It was just a coincidence that he was always gone on a full-moon too.
Whatever the reason, Remus hadn't wanted to confront him just in case his friend was a Werewolf.
But James had noticed too and had followed Sirius. He had worked it out and called an emergancy meeting over the full moon.
"Sirius Black is a Werewolf," James had whispered in the hours of the full-moon. "But he's still our friend."
Remus realised at that moment that he couldn't be in denial over it any longer. He had to face the fact that his best friend was a creature that his father taught him to despise.
Sirius Black was a Werewolf.
...oOo...
The day following the full moon, James confronted Sirius about his condition after warding the door so Sirius couldn't rush out. James quickly insisted that he would keep his secret and would still be his friend, when Sirius began to panic.
Peter had hesitated before repeating the same thing - he would still be Sirius' friend.
Remus had offered to keep Sirius' secret.
He wanted to tell Sirius that he would remain his friend, that he cared about the other boy, but he couldn't get the words out. He didn't know what to think, or how to handle the information,
Sirius was his best friend, but his father taught him that Werewolves were monsters, that they had no souls and that they deserved death.
After meeting Sirius, he didn't believe any of those things about his friend, and he was completely confused as to what to do.
Remus had seen the hurt in Sirius' eyes, but Sirius had quietly thanked him and left the room as James took the wards down.
James had turned to Remus, disappointment in his eyes and only kind words about their friend. Was Remus really going to let this ruin their friendship? Ruin their group? Was Remus really going to abandon him?
Remus didn't know what to do and spent the next month avoiding his friends as he tried to make sense of it all.
Remus missed Sirius so much. He hated that he was pushing his best friend away and over the full moon, he couldn't help but worry about him.
When Sirius didn't return the evening following the next full-moon, like he usually did, Remus sought him out, desperate to make sure his friend was okay. If anything had happened to Sirius, he didn't know what he'd do.
...oOo...
Remus adjusted the cloak around him as he stood by the weeping form of Sirius Black. Sirius hadn't heard him come in and Madame Pomfrey had retired for the night.
Remus had never seen Sirius cry before. He had always thought that Sirius was a proud pure-blood that didn't show emotions... but it was clear that he just didn't show them in front of others.
Remus stared at his friend, the boy with his knees drawn to his chest and his face buried in them and felt an overpowering sense of guilt. He had hurt his friend, and Sirius was not and never would be a monster. He was just a boy like Remus who had been bitten and his life turned upside down.
He listened to the quiet sobbing for a minute before pulling the cloak off, and moving closer. The sound stopped and Sirius froze, though he was still shaking.
Remus moved forward, climbing onto the bed next to Sirius, and pulling Sirius into his arms. The sobs began again and Remus stroked his friend's hair and apologised for his behaviour. Sirius' arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly and Remus promised not to ever leave Sirius again. He let Sirius know that he wanted to be friends again, he missed his best friend.
"I missed you too," Sirius whispered between the tears.
Remus allowed Sirius to fall asleep in his arms. He was determined that Sirius would never feel like that again. He would make sure that no-one else hurt Sirius like he had.
...oOo...
He had noticed Sirius, how could he not? Sirius was easily the most handsome guy in the whole of Hogwarts. But that wasn't it - what he noticed was the way Sirius smiled when he was truly happy, compared to the smiles he gave to the girls that threw themselves at him. The way Sirius put other's first before himself.
The excitement in his eyes as he planned a new prank with James, and the need to continue to prove himself to everyone.
How he'd always check the Headmaster's reaction to the pranks to make sure they hadn't crossed a line - because that was the man that gave him a chance to be like everyone else.
But his favourite moments were when Sirius would see something on the grounds that he wasn't certain about and would look panicked before warding the window and slipping into Remus' bed, holding Remus tightly.
Remus didn't even need to ask Sirius about the behaviour, he just wrapped his arms around Sirius, promising to keep him safe, and holding him tightly until the next morning when Sirius would blush and slip out of the bed and Remus had to force himself to let the other boy go, rather than find out if Sirius' lips were as soft as they looked.
But he didn't do anything. He wouldn't take advantage when Sirius needed Remus to make him feel safe.
...oOo...
The two men turned up at the manor.
Lyall had not taken kindly upon finding out his son's best friend was a Werewolf. He had glared at Sirius for the whole meeting when Sirius went to register at the Ministry upon leaving Hogwarts.
Remus wasn't going to turn his back on Sirius again and that led to him moving into the manor with Sirius.
James and Peter had gotten a flat together and asked them both to move in, but Sirius didn't want to leave his uncle alone. The man's health wasn't the best, and Sirius claimed that it was his turn to take care of his uncle.
Plus, the manor was his home.
Alphard had welcomed the boys to his home, overly happy that Sirius had made such good friends and the house had been opened to Dumbledore for the Order he had discussed with Alphard.
The man watched the two boys during breakfast. He was tired of waiting and had done something about it. He had their drinks laced with a single drop of Amortentia, which he hoped would make them admit their feelings for each other. The minuscule dose would only give them a slight push in the right direction, and it was diluted enough to only last for about ten minutes, but Alphard knew it would be enough.
It was obvious to anyone who looked at the pair that they were in love, all they had to do was admit it to each other.
He watched as Remus leaned towards, Sirius, his hand reaching up for Sirius' face, stroking over his jaw. Sirius leaned into Remus' touch, and Alphard headed out of the room into the study to give the pair some privacy.
He was happy for his nephew. Sirius may not be cured, but he had attended Hogwarts, he had made friends and he had fallen in love. Sirius was happy.
...oOo...
All the pure-blooded families could talk about was that Sirius Black was in a relationship with a half-blood. If he had to prefer wizards over witches, there were other more respectable pure-blooded wizards he could have chosen.
Had they known Sirius Black was a Werewolf, the gossip would have been focused on the fact that the only son of Lyall Lupin, known Werewolf hater was in fact living with and in a relationship with a Werewolf.
It wouldn't be long before society found out the truth, but neither of the men cared. They were happy together, and idle gossip wasn't going to ruin that.
Review please. :)