Disclaimer: I am not JKR nor her publishes, indicating that this piece is not for fame or fortune. All copyright retention remains in place.
Disclaimer (2): This is an entry for the House Competition being hosted by MoonlightForgotten, and all correlating information can be found at the end of the story.
Disclaimer(3): GASP! This probably doesn't match cannon perfectly, so if that bothers you probably don't read this.
Read & Enjoy.
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The thing about Remus Lupin is that he had a level head in every way except one.
Sirius paces the common room impatiently. Remus is fiddling the with the invisibility cloak in the shadow of the wardrobe. Cursing under his breath, he just barely hears Remus' naturally smooth voice chide him; "We can't wait for them. It's sunset. We must go before anything happens!"
Sirius checks the grandfather clock near the fireplace again and agrees with his friend. Remus always worries about his transformations, so he does not think very clearly when he knows it is close. It took days to build up the anxiety that tonight is a full moon. It took lying to Remus, James, and Peter just to make sure that this plan could even work. And that's not to mention using magic on any calendars that might correct their thinking!
He knew himself to be a good man, but he thought himself too tainted to be worthy of the title. A werewolf – good? It seemed impossible for him to be a hero even to himself.
Remus asks where the moon is, as he always asks about it the entire route to determine if his friends are in any danger. Avoiding exposure to the moon is normal enough and no questions arise from that matter. Unfortunately, the detour is more obvious and captures Remus' attention. He howls in dispute; "We're going the wrong way!"
"That we are, pal." Sirius snarls in joyous reply. The laughter teeters from behind his teeth as relief inches over his skin. Remus stops dead in his tracks, grabbing his friend's arm.
"Sirius, this is life or death!" Remus panics, gasping for air and all. Sirius doesn't give way to his friend's grip. Remus yanks again and knocks off the invisibility cloak. His arms begin waving in the air wildly making him look no saner than a madman; "This isn't the time for one of your pranks! I'm dangerous to other people!"
Remus usually was a mess if he thought he might transform somewhere he wasn't supposed to, very specifically on the school campus. It was not unusual to see him skip evening meals as the days carried him nearer to another full moon.
All composure is lost, and Sirius topples over in a fit. Remus walks over and kicks at his friend; "This - is - not - funny!" Remus fails to see that there is no full moon on this night during his meltdown.
"I'm sorry, mate, I just thought you needed to lighten up a bit!" Sirius shares, "James and Peter are sleeping! I gave them a potion at dinner!" He carries on laughing, flailing, and believing he's done something truly hilarious. There's more to his trickery, though, and that is his genuine act of kindness. When he is able to stand again, he grabs his friend's chin and shifts it to the sky. Settling in slowly, the moon is peering out through the broken clouds.
Remus is furious at first. As minutes float by in the breeze of the night, he regains his comfort with his friend, even commenting on the level of deception he must have managed to make these events play out as such. Once he's done congratulating Sirius, Remus tells him it is time to return to the common room.
This is when Sirius stands up to be, well, serious.
"Not a chance."
"What do you mean by that?" Remus sighs, clearly exhausted from his friend's stunts. To be fair, everyone gets a little tired form all the antics that Sirius tries to keep up at the school. In many ways, he is even more mischievous than James. Admittedly, Remus isn't sure he really wants to know the reasoning for Sirius bringing him out in the middle of the night without a full moon.
Sirius dusts off the dirt from the ground and jabs a finger into Remus' chest harshly; "You need to stop being scared of what you are, Remus." He offers his hand, palm up, to his friend with a lopsided smile hidden behind his shaggy hair. Remus is hesitant but a scoff proves he's willing to trust his friend even after his ridiculous behavior.
All the poor boy needed was a friend and, as it were, he had one that was fiercely dedicated in reminding him that he was more than a werewolf. Remus Lupin was human, too, and Sirius wouldn't tolerate him thinking anything less of himself.
"You can't be serious." Remus remarks, immediately realizing his mistake.
"I can be, and I am." Sirius moves in a blur, shifting his hand to a shoulder and using the other to pull Remus close to his chest, "You claim to know the Waltz, but I'm not sure I believe you."
"Dancing in the moonlight isn't going to make me less anxious about being a werewolf, you know." Remus identifies the faulty basis of this plan. Still, he moves in perfect unison with Sirius through the grass. Many of his parent's friends liked to Waltz at weddings and formal dinners. He only learned in order to appease his burdened parents, who were often forced to bring him along to such events. It would turn out that it was not just his parents who brought extra guests, and so Remus always danced with whatever other child was left feeling out of place. If anything, dancing brightened each of their nights up back then.
Sirius is easily much more comfortable doing this than he is, and he thinks his family name may be in part to blame. Remus keeps up and ponders at the suspiciously considerate nature of his friend. It is not often Sirius expresses sentiment without prompting from either James or himself. Even his closest friends aren't immune to his abrasive arrogance, but he will not deny that it feels good to be one of the few in the receiving end of his kindness. It is truly a rarity. Especially when he thinks of the horrifying things he's done to others, in particularly Severus Snape… What James and Sirius hatch for him regularly is menacing on a good day.
"You're not to shabby." Sirius comments, "Better than I was expecting!"
"If anyone could see this, you know they would talk." Remus comments.
"Let them talk," Sirius bites, "I'd rather them call you my boyfriend than call you a monster." Hearing such a thing from anyone still causes Remus great discomfort. Always he avoided questions about his future, not wanting to do anything with himself publicly. Job opportunities would have to be those that made which allows him to be become a recluse.
In contrast, Sirius doesn't want to imagine a world without one of his best friends. Sometimes he considers himself almost closer to Remus than James, simply because he knows how to scale back a prank that has potential to go very wrong, very fast. The rules that Sirius intends to break become little more than bends with Remus' input and logical restrictions. James is an amazing pal, too, but more akin to a brother. For him, it almost feels that his bond to James is stronger than the one he shares with his actual brother, Regulus.
The unfortunate thing about good people is that they are too good to see the greatness in their hearts. Remus Lupin needed someone whose heart would become his own, and show him the love he denied himself. Sirius Black accepted the task without delay.
"Would you really prefer that?" Remus laughs airily. He doesn't often smile after sunset, or even giggle when the moon shows up early in the sky. Seeing him do this warms Sirius throughout his body. His friend is just as deserving of happiness as anyone else. Besides, he sees firsthand in his home what prejudice can become if left squandered away in darkness. If Remus continues to internalize the hatred of himself and what he is, in no time at all he will crumble under the pressure. Remus will make himself a monster.
With the question hanging in the night air, nipping at their backs of their necks, Sirius lets the question float around before answering. As he mulls it over, he just watches Remus. Gruff, tired, and scarred as he is, Sirius gets lost in how serene Remus looks. This is why he wanted to do this, to give him a chance to be at peace.
As for Remus, in the silence he breathes with calculation. Even though he is enjoying this rare break in form he cannot help worrying about the beast that exists in his blood and bones. Chasing the thoughts away, he brings himself back to the scenario: dancing in the moonlight. Under the silver rays illuminating the sharpness of his features, Remus thinks about Sirius Black with a refreshing hope.
After all, he is more than his shenanigans. Some of Remus' common sense is rubbing off on him. It is not even just because their bodies are pressed together from Waltzing; "I really would, Remus. You are my friend and I'll be by your side supporting you no matter what anyone says about you."
"Do not make promises you cannot keep, Sirius." Remus remarks, clearer in his mind than the others at all times; "You cannot guarantee we will always be on the same side."
Even in with all of his self-doubt, Sirius endeavored to deliver confidence about the man he would become someday. Great men may stray, but they are never lost. Above all else, Remus Lupin was, in fact, a man first and a werewolf last.
"There is nothing you could do to make me turn my back on you." Sirius concludes. Remus makes no effort to argue with him, and becomes visibly at peace with their progression. As they let the conversation deteriorate, the dance becomes more intense. For every motion that comes with perfect execution there is another even more concise than the one prior. Each young man is panting by the end when they part.
"We're both canines, after all." Sirius jokes, wrapping the invisibility cloak back around their shoulders. The proximity reveals his breath is hot, and actually minty when Remus breathes in his exhaled air. A moment passes where they are quietly looking into each other's eyes, assessing what the results of will be of that night's moonlit dance. When he breaks the shared gaze, Sirius reminds him; "Most loyal of pets, after all!"
"And Gryffindors, too." Remus agrees, patting his friend's back with a strength that Sirius had never known. With downcast eyes, he believes that maybe he finally got through to Remus that he is something to someone.
And the thing about Sirius Black is that he had a Gryffindor's heart to match.
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Author's Note:
Ravenclaw, Short Story (Dancing in the moonlight), 1704 words without disclaimers and notes.