Disclaimer I do not own, nor do I claim
ownership over any characters or situations in Harry Potter, The rights belong
to JK Rowling… and possibly some movie-maker people
.
Word Count: 3601
Speedy Like Molasses
"We got an owl from Bill this morning," Remus said idly, gratefully accepting a freshly poured coffee from Harry. The younger wizard poured his own and stared at Remus, waiting for the man to continue speaking. After a long blissful sip of the addictive drink, the werewolf did just that. "He wanted to know if it would be alright for him and his partner, to stay for a couple of weeks." Across the table, Harry shrugged silently, sipping at his own drink.
Remus groaned.
"Trying to talk to you in a morning is like trying to break a speed record running through molasses," he rolled his eyes at the winning smile his comment earned him from Harry. The older man picked up the spoon he was about to use to eat his cereal with and jabbed it in the air, pointing it at Harry. "I want you to behave yourself while they're here… no matter who, his partner is, got it?" He raised an eyebrow at the shocked, almost affronted look that particular statement had earned him.
Realising he wouldn't win either way, Harry rolled his eyes, sighed a very put-upon sigh and nodded his head a positive.
Remus grinned smugly.
----
When Bill arrived, Remus was the only one home to greet him as Harry was still at work. Harry, for all his wealth, never was one to just sit around and 'vegetate'; doing nothing all day every day and living off the money he'd earned after the war (a stupid payment from the Ministry for killing the 'big bad') and the money his being a Potter granted him.
He alternated between a few jobs throughout the whole week (yes, that included Sundays). The day Bill arrived was Friday, so Harry was signing various forms at the Wolfsbane Relief Centre in Knuskans Lane in the centre of Manchester as well as lending his ear to a young werewolf, turned not three months before, that had been having a rather difficult time of it.
Harry wouldn't be back until eightish that evening so Remus had been left to greet Bill and Bill's 'partner'.
"Remus!" Bill grinned widely when he entered Remus and Harry's home and pulled the older wizard into a warm, crushing embrace. "Harry managed to coerce you into bed yet?" Molly and Arthur's eldest laughed at the look Remus shot him at that moment. "When are you going to give in to the minx?" he asked, helping his partner… his female partner with her luggage (of which there were two suitcases – he'd never understand women 'at' all).
The werewolf cursed under his breath.
Remus watched amused as the younger man struggled with the weighty cases, smirking at the disgruntled look he received for his amusement. "You know, a feather-weight charm would have saved you the backache," he laughed out-right at the string of Egyptian curses that flew out of Bill's mouth right then and led the lovely lady into the kitchen.
"How much do you owe Harry, Remus?" Bill grinned when he entered the kitchen a minute after Remus did. The werewolf growled, chucking a wet-cloth at the curse breaker's now-laughing face.
"Ten Galleons."
Bill laughed out loud.
----
When Harry got home that night, he was physically and emotionally drained.
His talk with Adrian had started out well, but there had been a hitch in the road when the fifteen year old had told him that he was attracted to him. Harry had blinked and stared at the boy till Adrian started to fidget under Harry's gaze. The boy-who-lived, who was usually quite well with words in strange situations, felt himself stumble more times than one when he was trying to voice a response. Adrian had taken Harry's lack of answer as fierce rejection and had stammered something about the need to be home.
But Harry had stopped him, apologised and explained to Adrian simply that he was extremely flattered by Adrian's feelings, but he could not reciprocate them in anyway as one; it was illegal as Adrian was still a minor and two; Harry already had feelings for another. Adrian had visibly flinched when Harry had told him that he was interested in someone else, so Harry had clasped the younger wizard's hand (the teenager had been in his second year – Ravenclaw - when Harry was in his seventh at Hogwarts) and smiled softly until Adrian was at least attempting to smile back.
"I won't try to say that I'm just some passing fancy, because I remember all too well what it's like to feel patronised and belittled, however unintentional it might have been sometimes," he had said to the boy. "Do you remember Professor Snape?" he asked and Adrian had nodded, his face sour. Chuckling Harry had continued. "Well between you and me, I used to have a crush on him," he laughed out-right at Adrian's disgusted look.
"You can't be serious!" the teen had exclaimed, his face still contorted in an almost horrified expression.
"Oh I can, my friend! Professor Snape," he sighed wistfully. "I'm sure the relationship Professor Snape and I shared; one of mutual loathing is practically legend in Hogwarts, yes?" Adrian nodded. "Well before he died in the war, I kissed him." Adrian's eyes were so wide that had Harry not known better, he'd say the boy's eyes were near to popping from their sockets. "Now I was 17, and I had just finished a detention with him; it was the end of the year so there wasn't really much to do. I went up to his desk, leaned over and kissed him." Despite his disgust, Adrian had been interested in the tale and had asked Harry what happened next. Harry had smirked, and looked quite pleased with himself, refusing to divulge anymore information.
"Please?" Adrian whined pitifully.
"Let us just say that Potions was not the only area of expertise in Professor Snape's repartee." The pair had stared at one another and had burst out laughing.
When Harry stepped into the home he shared with Remus, he closed the door behind him and leaned back against it, eyes closed and head fallen forward so his chin was resting on his chest. Talking about Severus had been what the situation with Adrian had needed, he was sure, but in retrospect to his own feelings, it hadn't exactly been the best choice.
"Harry?" Remus called out from the living room before his footfalls were heard coming towards the door that separated the hall from the room. Harry peered through the bangs covering his eyes and smiled sheepishly at the man. "I owe you ten Galleons," he grinned and Harry chuckled. Then stopped.
And groaned.
Remus laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
----
Fleur.
Harry shuddered. Of all the women in the world, Bill just had to bring the one that believed Harry had saved her little sister all the way back in his forth year at school; a year he wishes he could forget. But no, Bill had to bring Fleur; because Fleur was his girlfriend. Admittedly, one that won Harry ten Galleons from Remus when they had betted which sex Bill's 'partner' would be. But still.
It was Fleur Delacour!
He had the strangest feeling that his parents, his Godfather and Severus were all laughing at him right there and then up on their lofty perches upon high misty clouds, away from annoyances like Fleur! It wasn't a wonder, Harry thought, that Bill hadn't gone to the Burrow. Molly indeed harboured no like whatsoever for the French Veela. Bill was the only Weasley, save Arthur, that seemed to think Fleur was 'quite a catch'.
Harry shuddered.
"Are you cold, 'Arry?" Fleur asked from where she sat by the fire in the Potter library, a book nestled in her lap. Harry blinked over at her and shook his head a negative before going back to the paperwork in front of him.
The recommendations for the reserve squad on the England International Quidditch team had been finalised and all Harry had to do was sign at the bottom of the page. Being owner of the aforementioned team had its perks and it had its drawbacks; one of the former being 'free tickets to every match' and one of the latter being, well, paperwork. He muddled on though.
Then stopped.
He turned his gaze slowly towards the fireplace and saw the Fleur was looking straight back at him. He raised an eyebrow in silent question and waited. The moment was oddly reminiscent to one had before a conversation he had had with Remus the night before.
Harry had been at his desk, the same one in the library, and Remus had been sat in his favourite arm chair by the blazing fire. "What happened at the centre today?" the man had asked after staring at the younger man for a grand total of something nearing ten minutes. Harry had been scripting a draft on the possible adaptations that could be made to a potion that had been used in the past to cure skin cancer.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean when you came home you looked like someone had just stolen your favourite toy," momentarily ignoring the question, Harry leered at his surrogate-Godfather.
"But you're my favourite toy Remy," he had all but purred, causing Remus to roll his eyes and gesture for him to answer his original question. Sighing, Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. "Adrian, the fifteen year old I speak to every week?" Remus nodded. "He said he was attracted to me," the room was silent for an incredibly long five seconds.
And Remus laughed.
Not the warm chuckle one usually heard from the quite man, but a full blown throaty laugh that had Harry scowling fiercely. "You're a real help, Remy, you know that, right?" Unable to answer just then, Remus only jerked his head a little, but Harry was unable to tell whether it was an affirmative gesture or not. So growling, Harry had balled up a blank piece of parchment and had charmed it to clout the humoured werewolf on the forehead.
"What did you say to him?" the man had asked after he'd calmed down… he was still chuckling, but Harry pointedly ignored it in favour of answering.
"I told him a story," he grinned pleasantly, and Remus' eyes had narrowed.
"About…?"
"How I lost my virginity to a guy," he answered, but since Remus didn't know the story himself, his gaze was equally curious as it was cautious.
"Who was it?" Harry blinked.
"Who was what?" Remy's eyes narrowed again. "Oh!" he laughed. "You don't want to know," he went back to his writing, managed to get down five words before he heard a throat being cleared. Looking up, he'd seen Remus sat perfectly still, legs crossed, book on his lap, hands clasped together over the page the book was open at and an eyebrow arched in yet another silent question. "What?" but Remus hadn't answered. "Snape," Harry finally answered after an hour of silence and two failed attempts to leave the room.
Remus had blinked.
And started laughing again. The bastard.
"'Arry, are you well?" Fleur asked, concern written over her face and Harry fought the urge to shudder again.
He answered an affirmative, spelled his paperwork to pile up, picked up the pile and fled the room.
He couldn't believe he had been made to flee his own library.
----
Harry admits he hasn't really seen Bill much during the man's stay and decides to offer an invitation to his room for the night. But forced himself to alter the offer and restrict it to a near-by muggle pub, all the while he was cursing Bill's bi-sexuality.
Stupid Fleur.
The full moon had been the night before. He had spent the entire night curled up in front of the fire place in the living room and had read to Moony from a muggle novel, figuring Remus would enjoy a piece of work written by a guy that created a completely different language.
Bill must have come into the room at some point during the night because when Harry had woken up to Remus' pained moans at dawn, he had been covered with a blanket. He had a crick in his neck but his pillow had been quite comfortable at the time.
Harry thinks Bill; only because he figures if Fleur had been the one to come into the room while he was fast asleep, his head resting on a fully-grown werewolf's chest, well, Harry figured Remus would be in a lot more pain. Due to stray hexes and what not.
After making sure Remus was comfortable in bed, Harry makes his way tiredly to the bathroom and steps beneath the pulsing hot shower spray, groaning as ache after ache is massaged from his body, leaving him a figurative pool of squishy goo he figured could resemble werewolf slobber.
He wasn't quite sure where the thought come from, but it made him giggle a most unmanly giggle.
As he was leaving the bathroom, he hadn't bothered with anything other than a towel to save his guests the embarrassment of seeing their host, or one half of their pair of host's as naked as the day he was born (which is what they'd see if Harry had done as he normally did when fresh out of the shower). He figured it was only polite. As he walked down to his own bedroom (situated beside Remus'), he passed Bill and Fleur, who had emerged from their own room as he had opened the bathroom door.
Smiling at the pair, Harry continued down the hall, ignoring the penetrating gazes at his back and towelled his hair as he walked. When he was in his room, he quickly dried himself with the towel around his waist, slipped into a pair of boxers and called one of his house-elves (he had four of them, each received a payment of five Galleons a month as they would take no more). He turned around to face the owner of the 'pop' that had sounded and grinned down at Dobby. He asked the enthusiastic elf to retrieve the muscle relaxant, the nutrient and the pain reliever potions Remus always took after his transformation. He made sure to tell Dobby to enter the room via the doorway so as not to startle Remus' senses more so than strictly necessary, then when the elf 'popped' away, Harry made his way back out of his room, catching Bill's eye for the second time that morning.
He winked at the man before slipping silently into Remus' room, smirking secretly at the sight of the enraged Fleur that had stood behind Bill as Harry had winked.
Not five minutes later, the sound of a woman shouting from the next room filtered through the walls. Harry noted with a frown that Remus' face contorted in pain a little a rose from his seat on the chair permanently situated by the bed. Just as silently as he had slipped in, he slipped out of the room, still in his boxers. He was about to go to the source of the shouting when he saw Dobby rushing down the hall. He told the elf to administer the potions without putting any pressure on the bed or Remus.
With his elf magic, Dobby was perfect for the task.
That taken care of, Harry made his way to Bill and Fleur's room, loosing all of his 'gracious host' attitude and snapping a silencing charm on the room before slamming the door open with a loud (but unheard in Remus' room) bang, startling the raging Veela and the worried Bill.
"Do not forget, either of you, that we invited you here," his voice was dangerously low and he thought that for the first time in the years Harry and Fleur had known each other (however distantly), the Veela could see why he had defeated Voldemort. "Remus' senses are on overload, you shouting at your boyfriend because I threw him a look I throw everyone in my life that I like, is not the behaviour befitting an invited guest. Now, kindly, shut the fuck up or I'll fucking shut you up!" Glaring at them both once again, he exited the room, closing the door behind him and removing the silencing charm.
----
Neither Harry nor Remus saw Bill or Fleur that day, but they find out (or Harry finds out and relays to Remus later) from an excited Ginny that Bill had been over to the Burrow and had announced that he and Fleur had broken up due to 'irreconcilable differences'. Harry wondered briefly if his outburst had had something to do with it but Ginny had adamantly told him to stop being a prat.
Apparently, Fleur hadn't really wanted to stay with Harry and Remus at all; the whole werewolf thing. This confused Harry a lot because Fleur wasn't exactly prized picking for the pureblood preferences herself, being the Veela, or at least half, that she was. He had shrugged and told Ginny that he'd be in touch soon. The young woman had grinned and her head had disappeared form the fireplace.
Later that night, Harry walked into the living room and deposited himself on the floor in between Remus' legs as the older wizard sat in one of two arm chairs situated by the fireplace. Idly, Harry toyed with the frayed hem of Remus' pyjama bottoms and rested his head on the man's knee. He let a smile slip onto his face when he felt Remus' fingers begin to run through his hair.
"I haven't seen you for hours, what've you been up to?" Remus asked softly. Harry shrugged as much as he could in the position he was in.
"I went out earlier after Ginny's fire call and ran into Seamus," he chuckled. "He asked for a roll, for old time's sake." Above him, Remus snickered lightly. "Who was I to refuse willing aid to gain an orgasm?" the pair laughed a little more before comfortable silence struck again. "You know Remus… all you have to do is-" he started with a grin and couldn't duck his head fast enough at the swat he knew had been coming.
"Quiet you," the werewolf growled. "While a fuck from you sounds mighty tasty, I'm afraid I must decline as it wouldn't be at all right." Laughing, Harry turned around and leaned over so his forearms were crossed over Remus' lap and his face was about level with Remus' mid-chest.
"Remussss," Harry whined pitifully and Remus rolled his eyes. The younger wizard slowly manoeuvred himself closer to the other man and leaned in until their lips were inches away from one another. "Moony, my sweet, lovable Moony," he grinned. "You make me oh-so-loony, my pretty little Moony." He saw amusement in the older man's eyes before closing his own and leaning further.
It was as their lips faintly touched that the sound of someone clearing their throat rang out from the general direction of the door. Groaning, Harry let his head fall on Remus' shoulder.
"Good evening, Bill," Remus' tone sounded as amused as his face looked.
"Not interrupting anything, am I?" Bill too sounded amused and Harry made an obscene gesture with a couple of fingers, only to have a hand swat his head as punishment.
"Of course not, Harry was just trying to persuade me to fuck him, weren't you?" Finally moving away from the comfort of Remus' shoulder, Harry moved so he was sat on the arm of the armchair with one of his feet stationed on the part of the cushion in between Remus' still-spread legs.
"Of course I was, and still am," he mock-glared at Bill, shooting a worried look at Remus when the man wrapped an arm round his waist and pulled him so he'd be settling on the werewolf's lap. After seeing the accepting smile, he made himself comfy, snuggling up to his old Professor. "Aside from the Burrow-" he snickered at the sheepish look Bill sent his way. "-where have you been?" he watched Bill take a seat in the armchair opposite the one Harry and Remus were on.
"I went to Gringotts for a while, went to the Burrow and announced my split with Fleur – so not your fault by the way –" he pointed out to an apologetic looking Harry. "After which I was host to mumbling 'I'm sorry it never worked out' from everyone while I could tell that the only thing everyone wanted to do was throw a party," the trio laughed and lapsed into another silence.
"Well, I think it's time for these old bones to head up to bed," Remus said, ushering a pouting Harry from his lap and rising to his feet.
The elder of the three looked down at the youngest of them all (who had seated himself on the floor in front of the fire) and held out a hand, a mischievous glint in his eye as he did so. Grinning from ear to ear, Harry took the hand but pushed himself up from the floor using his own power rather than Remus' and started to follow the older man towards the door. Before they got more than five steps though, Harry paused and turned to look at Bill.
"Join us?"
Bill did.
Harry decided it was the best choice Bill had made so far during his stay at his and Remus' home.
The next morning Harry wakes up to realise he hadn't asked Bill out to the muggle pub like he'd planned to.
Written by Messrmarauder (aka: Ithil hin)