Story Title: These Four Heirs
Summary: There are not one, but two Dark creatures among the Marauders. Oh, and all four of them are descended from the Founders. This can only spell trouble... Features non-evil!Wormtail, vampire!Sirius, Wolfstar and Jily
Warnings: Not actually much. 11-year olds fighting. Vampire-related stuff, but I don't have to warn you about that every time, do I...?
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling. No profit is being made from this, and no infringement of copyright is intended. I am in no way affiliated with the author of Harry Potter. The Potterverse does not belong to me.
A/N: Uh, yeah. The second chapter, ta-da!
-MWPP-
7th SEPTEMBER 1971, TUESDAY
The next morning, Remus was up early. Smirking, he walked to the bathroom, where he used a simple Sticking Charm to attach all toothbrushes to the ceiling before showering and dressing.
By the time he got back, all three boys were awake.
"Merlin, Remus! How early did you get up?" Sirius asked him.
"About fifteen minutes ago, since you lot take ages in the bathroom." James and Peter both looked rather stumped, trying to figure out what they had missed. Remus had to do his best not to laugh. Seeing his amused expression, James frowned.
"I will figure out what is going on here, Lupin. C'mon, Pete!" Now Remus was frowning, not quite agreeing with the treatment of the younger boy. Before he could say anything, however, the two were gone.
"Poor Peter," he sighed. Sirius looked at him strangely.
"What d'you mean?"
"Well," Remus began, a bit uncomfortably, "he's practically being forced to tagalong with James!"
"He's choosing to do so himself," Sirius pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Where did you hide their toothbrushes, anyway?"
"On the ceiling," grinned Remus. "Bet they'll never think to look there."
"Thanks. Uh, do you mind...?"
"'Course not, go ahead." Smiling gratefully, Sirius disappeared under his bed. How he managed that, was a mystery, seeing as the beds were designed to grown along with their occupants, and Sirius's bed was decidedly low to the ground in order to give him more room inside of it.
"Woo, I am the bed-bug monster!" Startled, Remus yelped.
"Sirius! Do you want me to die of a heart attack?!"
"Sorry," the vampire mumbled around the flask stuck to his mouth, sticking his head out.
"LUPIN! WHERE'S MY TOOTHBRUSH?!" James suddenly yelled. Sirius quickly hid back under the bed, leaving Remus to handle the situation.
"How would I know that? Maybe you just misplaced it." Sauntering into the bathroom to go 'help', Remus feigned surprise when looking at the toothbrush holders. And the one razor holder, which was Sirius's, because the only place the rest of them had hair was on their head.
"Peeves, maybe?" he suggested, knowing perfectly well the poltergeist couldn't go anywhere other than the halls and grounds. "I'd hardly steal my own toothbrush, now would I?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at James.
"I guess not. Oi! How did you brush your teeth this morning?" the messy-haired boy asked in suspicion.
"I didn't, not before breakfast."
"Oh. Yeah."
"I'll leave you to it," Remus said, leaving the confused duo behind.
"Did they fall for it?" Sirius excitedly asked as soon as he was within earshot.
"Totally. Ready to go?" he inquired, stuffing the last of his books into his bag.
"If I really have to."
-MWPP-
"Sirius!" Remus pointedly hissed into his friend's ear. "Bat spleens, not Aconite!" Startled, Sirius dropped the Aconite onto the floor. Well, at least it hadn't fallen into the cauldron. Honestly, those ingredients weren't even the slightest bit alike!
"Sorry!"
"Excellent, Miss Evans, truly marvellous!" the teacher called out. A red-haired Gryffindor stood blushing under his praise.
"Thank you, Sir."
Remus thought he heard Sirius mutter "Show-off," and shook his head. The girl obviously hadn't done anything to draw attention to herself, except for being extraordinarily gifted at Potions, which wasn't something she could help.
Speaking of things you couldn't help...he risked a glance sideways to see how Peter was doing.
"Would you like some help?" he asked as gently as possible, noticing his potion was becoming increasingly volatile. "I think that's about to explode."
Peter squawked, moving backwards. Smiling at him, Remus walked over to the boy's cauldron and attempted to stabilize the potion. After adding a few ingredients, it quieted down.
"There. I don't think it'll be exactly like in the book, but at least it's not in danger of exploding any longer." He smiled at Peter. "You were doing pretty good, really, it's just that adding Aconite causes this potion to become extremely unstable. Sirius almost made the same mistake."
"Oi!" Sirius complained from a few cauldrons to the left. "I didn't!"
"Yes you did, and I only stopped you just in time."
Peter gave him an unsure smile, quietly mumbling his thanks.
Returning to his own cauldron, Remus quickly became alarmed by what he saw.
"Sirius, did you stir it clockwise?"
"Uh, yes? Wasn't I supposed to?"
"How many times?"
"I don't really know."
"It's supposed to be purple by now."
"Oh."
"Yes, 'oh'. Can't I leave you alone for one minute?" Remus grumbled, not really meaning it. Though not a full day had passed since their post-moon exchange, they'd already formed a comfortable friendship. He didn't know how it was possible, but they just...fit. As soon as Sirius dropped his I-am-a-Black-bastard persona, he was loud, rowdy, and just generally all over the place, Remus's totally opposite. Even so, Remus knew both of them hid things underneath their façades. Not only the heavy secret of their conditions, but also a different side of their personalities. Sirius could be so vulnerable and scared, while Remus had a devilish sense of humour, as they'd discovered this morning.
Remus had no doubt there was much, much more to them than either boy knew.
"No, you can't. I'd die from sadness." Sirius's words shocked him out of his reverie. With some alarm, he saw their potion was still pink.
"Whatever. Do you happen to know how to turn the potion purple?"
"Unlike some people, I have not tried to learn all my schoolbooks by heart."
"It's right in front of you!"
"So it's also right in front of you."
"Ugh. Why am I doing all the work again?"
"Because you love me!" Sirius happily announced, doodling hearts on the desk.
It was a rather disturbing sight, really.
-MWPP-
"Hey, is that Peter?" Remus questioned, nudging Sirius.
"Yeah, it is. What's he doing here?" They were sitting in the library. Remus was writing an essay for Potions. Sirius had no idea why he'd already started it, as the stupid thing wasn't due 'till next week. For his part, he was trying to discover if there were any comic books in the library. He'd always wanted to read one of those, but his parents wouldn't be caught dead with them. They weren't here though, and what could it hurt?
Both of them watched as the small boy approached their table.
"I wanted to, uh, say thank you. For helping me with my potion, you know." Peter was speaking to Remus while shooting furtive glances at Sirius.
"You're welcome," Remus smiled. "Isn't James with you?"
"I, well, I ditched him."
Sirius unsuccessfully tried to hide a snicker behind his hand, making Peter jump.
"I'll just go now," he nervously said.
"Sure thing. Oh, and Peter?"
"Yes?"
"You're always welcome here," said Remus kindly. A small smile graced the boy's features, before he scuttered off.
"He's really timid," Sirius remarked.
"I think it's some sort of social anxiety," sighed Remus, bending forward to scan his essay.
"What's that?" He'd never heard of it. Probably some Muggle thing.
"Oh, it's a term Muggle therapists use. It means he's scared to interact with other people." Yep, a Muggle thing.
"I see," Sirius said, easily dismissing the matter.
"You know," Remus nervously said, "just because something's Muggle doesn't mean it's inferior to Wizarding stuff. In fact, Muggles have accomplished quite some impressive things, such as airplanes..."
Sirius listened to his friend drone on about the merits of Muggle things, and scoffed.
"Please, you're kidding." When Remus opened his mouth to protest, he cut him off by saying:
"Whatever. I'm going to ask Madame Pince if she's got any comic books."
Two minutes later, Remus was snickering while a furious Madame Pince chased Sirius out of the library with a dictionary.
-MWPP-
"I still can't believe she did that!" Sirius complained. The two of them were lying on Remus's bed, dressed in their pyjamas. Well, at least Sirius was. Remus usually slept without a shirt, but he wasn't quite comfortable revealing his scars to Sirius. Or to any of the others, for that matter, which was why he always put on a long-sleeved shirt to hide the scars.
"Did you not use correct grammar or something, seeing as she was chasing you with a dictionary?"
"No," Sirius scowled, "apparently she refuses to stock comic books because the grammar in those is, I quote: 'Abhorrent, a true scandal!'."
Both of them burst into fits of laughter at the on-spot imitation of the librarian's nasal voice.
"Oi! Keep it down over there, would you!" James yelled, making more noise than both of them combined.
"Whatever," Sirius yelled back. "You're not commandeering me, Potter!"
Remus groaned, barely audible. This was sure to start a fight if he didn't do anything.
"We'll see about that, Black!" James snarled. By now, both boys were standing in front of Sirius's bed.
"Stop it!" Remus snapped, grabbing Sirius by the arm and pulling him back.
"And who do you think you are to tell me to stop, Lupin?" Remus closed his eyes, concentrating on his breathing. In, out, in, out.
"The one who'd rather not get a detention for fighting. Come on, Sirius." Grudgingly, the vampire followed him back onto the blue bed.
"You really shouldn't let him rile you up like that, you know," Remus sighed.
"I do, it's just so hard!" Sirius complained, running a hand through his hair.
"He's a little bit spoiled, I think."
"A little bit?" snorted Sirius. "Bastard's probably been mollycoddled all his life!"
"Shh! Do you want to start another fight?" Remus cautioned, leaning back onto his elbows.
"Maybe?"
"Wrong answer, try again."
"No, I do not want to start a fight, oh holy one."
"Prat!"
"Hey now, you wound me," Sirius mocked, trying his best not to snicker.
"Do I?" asked Remus, a very unholy glint in his eyes.
"What are you planning?" Warily, Sirius scooted backwards a bit. Falling onto the bed, Remus started laughing.
"Fooled you!"
"Oh! You- you-"
"I what?"
"PILLOW ATTACK!" Sirius yelled, snatching up Remus's pillow and beating him with it.
"No fair! 'S only one pillow!"
"Too bad for you, then."
Remus narrowed his eyes, tugging at the pillow.
Which tore neatly down the middle, making feathers rain all over his bed, and causing the two boys to yelp.
"It got in my hair!" Sirius wailed.
"So remove it!"
"But it's IN MY HAIR!"
"It's only a feather, Sirius!"
"IN MY HAIR!"
"You're hopeless."
Absorbed in their banter, neither boy noticed Peter sneaking up on them, holding his own pillow in front of his face. When he let out a small noise, both Remus and Sirius turned around in a fluid motion, hands out in front of them. Upon seeing it was only their dormmate, they relaxed slightly.
"You scared us, Peter," Remus said.
"S-sorry!" Peter squeaked.
"It's okay. What's up?" From behind Remus, Sirius huffily crossed his arms over his chest.
"I w-was just wondering if I'd be allowed to...join?" Peter cowered just a little bit, clearly afraid. Trying his best not to look threatening, Remus smiled and tugged at his arm, causing the smaller boy to fall face-first on the bed, right on top of Sirius.
With some alarm, Remus noted Peter's neck was right in front of Sirius's mouth, whose eyes were starting to turn rather red.
"I'm so sorry!" he hurriedly apologised, pulling Peter back into a sitting position. Sirius, he saw, was still rather transfixed on his neck. Subtly kicking his friend in the shin, Remus smiled sheepishly at both of them.
"'M okay." Peter mumbled.
"Yeah. Yeah, me too," Sirius hurriedly added, shaking his head as if to clear it. "I...I left something in the bathroom." With that, he bolted from the room. Remus buried his head in his hands. This was his fault, all his fault. In, out. In, out.
Peter hesitantly laid a hand on his arm.
"Is Sirius okay?"
"He'll be fine. Just a bit startled, I think." Remus tried to smile at Peter even though the lie didn't sit well with him. But it wasn't his secret to tell. He wouldn't want anyone to know about his condition, either.
"Maybe you should...go after him?" Peter timidly suggested.
"I will. You're sure you don't mind?"
"Go ahead," the small boy said, a smile beginning to form, "I'll survive."
-MWPP-
"Sirius?" a voice softly called out. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bathroom door opening.
"Go away, Remus," he said, rather harshly.
His friend entered anyway, pulling the door shut behind him.
"I'm sorry."
Bugger, Remus was blaming himself for this. In the span of a day, he'd already discovered the boy had a habit of doing that.
"It isn't your fault."
"How did you know what I was thinking?" Remus wryly asked. "But it is, Sirius. I should have been more careful."
"And I should be able to control- it."
"You're only eleven. Surely they don't expect you to...?" Sirius turned around to face his friend, temporarily forgetting his eyes would be red and his fangs out.
Two seconds later, he caught himself, and covered his face with his hands, mortified.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." he trailed off when Remus kneeled in front of him, gently prying his hands away.
"Shh. I don't mind, it's okay." The tawny-haired boy wrapped his arms around Sirius, who stiffened completely, not knowing what to do or where to stuff his own. Noticing this, Remus pulled back, frowning.
"Are you all right?"
Having no idea what to say, Sirius quite suddenly hugged Remus again, burying his face into his neck. He knew the other boy could probably feel his fangs, but right now he didn't care. He'd let go in a minute, he promised himself.
He was rather surprised when Remus returned the hug, resting his face on Sirius's shoulder.
-MWPP-
When he felt tears leaking into his shirt, Remus frowned. He wasn't doing anything special. Nevertheless, he gently rubbed circles up and down Sirius's back, remembering his mum doing that to him after the Full.
Eventually the other boy pulled away, wiping a few tears on his sleeve.
"Sorry," he mumbled in embarrassment. "It's just...I've never been hugged before."
"We'll have to remedy that, then," said Remus softly, pulling his friend back to him, briefly wondering if he should feel embarrassed about cuddling with another boy.
After a while, he gently let the vampire go, checking his eyes and mouth to see if they were in the clear. Apparently noticing this, Sirius chuckled softly.
"I'm fine, we can go back."
Caught, Remus looked up. "I-I wasn't...I was just making sure..."
"It's okay, I would've too."
Right then, a loud whimper sounded from behind the door.
"Hell," muttered Remus, jumping to his feet and running into the dorm.
"Peter," groaned Sirius, following after him.
Upon seeing Peter cowering against the wall between his and James's bed, Remus let out a soft growl and charged forward.
"Potter! What the hell are you doing?!" Sirius yelled.
"Teaching this one a lesson, that's what!" James snarled. Having reached Peter, who was now standing behind him, Remus took a step forward in James's direction.
"And may I ask how you were teaching it?" he snarled. Sensing danger, the messy-haired boy backed away, holding his hands up.
"You know," he mumbled, looking away.
"I don't know," Remus stated, "but I'm sure Peter will tell me. Get out, Potter."
"You can't just-" James started to protest, but was cut off by Remus bellowing:
"YES I CAN! GET OUT!" Yelping, James ran off, slamming the door on his way out.
Standing with his head down, hands fisted at his sides, Remus tried to concentrate on his breathing. He would not let his temper get the best of him. In, out, in, out.
"Remus...?" Sirius hesitantly inquired. "You okay?"
Forcing a smile, he looked up.
"I just have a nasty temper, nothing serious."
Luckily refraining from making a pun about that last part, Sirius frowned.
"If you say so."
"Thanks," Remus sighed. "Pete, are you alright? What did he do to you?"
"N-nothing!" the small boy squeaked.
"Don't lie to me," snarled Remus. "I've had quite enough bullshit from James!"
"Remus," said Sirius firmly, "calm down, you're scaring Peter."
"Right. Right, sorry." In, out. I am not a wolf.
"That's ok," whispered Peter, looking like he was about to wet himself.
With an enormous effort, Remus forced his anger to subside.
"It isn't. If I'm scaring you, it's not okay."
"It...isn't?"
"Of course not," Sirius spoke up, frowning. "Why would it be?"
"...dunno."
"Let's all just go to bed, yeah? We've classes tomorrow," Remus wearily suggested.
"'kay. 'Night, Remus, Sirius."
After Peter had retreated to the bathroom, Sirius stared at him.
"Sirius? What is it?"
"Nothing," the vampire replied gruffly, tearing his gaze away from Remus.
"Okay? Goodnight," he softly said, still mildly confused as to why his friend was acting this way.
When he finally closed the curtains around his bed, Remus was very glad to be rid of his pyjamas. Ugh, stupid things.