chaptarr two! :D it's actually all written, but i'm trying to release it a little at a time, to keep its tiny fanbase in agony. XD enjoy!
"What do you mean, the antidote didn't work?" A very harried Remus demanded the next morning in Slughorn's office. Sirius was standing next to him, grinning goofily and trying to hold his hand, which was something he was not enjoying the least bit.
Slughorn looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Remus, but I just don't know what went wrong. I double-checked the ingredients; they were all in order. We administered the antidote, and at first I thought it had done the trick, but then..." He shrugged helplessly. "He slipped right back into it."
Remus sighed and threw his hands into the air. "Well, what can you do about it?" he demanded. "I can't deal with this-" he gestured wildly to Sirius, staring at Remus with an expression of complete devotion- "on top of everything else!" The distraught teen stared at Slughorn beseechingly. "Please! You have to find a way to fix him!"
Slughorn sighed and laced his fingers together. "I assure you, my boy, I am doing what I can to get the two of you out of this...predicament, but this is a situation I have never encountered before, and may take some time. Until then, you'll just have to deal with the concequences."
Remus sighed, but nodded slowly, and allowed himself to be escorted out. Once they were alone, Sirius suddenly took his friend's face in his hands and examined him intently.
"Is something wrong, Remus?" he asked with concern. "Are you alright? Is it the moon?"
Blinking and resolutely ignoring how lovely Sirius' eyes suddenly were, especially at close range, Remus carefully detached himself from his infatuated friend's delicate grip and shook his head. "That's...part of it," he sighed. He suspected that Sirius would firmly deny any notion about his having accidentally ingested a love potion, so he figured the best course of action would be to totally ignore the subject unless it directly interfered in his daily routine. Besides, the full moon was only one week away; it would be an excellent excuse for his sudden stress and tension.
Sirius pulled him into a hug, startling Remus, despite his being prepared for public acts such as this. "It's okay, I'll always be here for you," he murmured into the smaller boy's hair, holding him close. Remus felt a slight flush rise into his cheeks at the words, and hastily distangled himself, muttering excuses about being late for classes. Sirius just smiled serenely and followed behind Remus, an adoring look on his face as he did so.
They had most of their classes together, which, although highly inconvenient for Remus, who was left having to deal with the not-so-subtle advances of his friend throughout the day, as well as the somewhat disturbed stares that followed, also allowed him to keep a close eye on the lovestruck teen, just in case he decided he needed to do something rash to prove his love to his wearied friend.
They had actually been doing quite well so far, with only a few minor detentions for such things as refusing to shut up about Remus' talents in Transfiguration and for almost throwing a tantrum at the thought that they would have to be separated to go to two different classes. It was once they reached the Great Hall for lunch that the real trouble began.
It started off innocently enough...sort of. "Remus, do you love me?"
James choked on his pumpkin juice, and Peter paused with a forkful of meat halfway to his mouth, his jaw hanging open as he stared at Sirius. Some of the Gryffindors around the group stopped eating to listen in as well, always eager for new, juicy bits of gossip.
"I, uh, well, you see..." Remus floundered, trying to get his wording just right. "I love you more as a brother or a close friend, Padfoot. Not really romantically."
He had said the wrong thing. Sirius' entire face fell, and he looked so distraught that Remus was about to take back what he had said and pledge his undying love for the disillusioned boy. But as it were, Sirius was one step ahead of him.
He leapt onto the table, scattering plates and food everywhere. Horror-struck, Remus could only watch as Sirius lifted his chin defiantly and shouted in a voice loud enough to echo over the entire hall, "I am in love with Remus Lupin, and this is my way of proving it to him!"
It was dead silent. Remus tried to make some kind of sound, but all that seemed to be coming out was a sort of strangled squeak. Desperately, he stared at James, hoping for some sort of salvation from this mortfiying mess he had been thrown into.
James winked at him. Remus felt something soft and definitely Cloak-like brush his ankles, and James jumped up from his seat, putting his hands on his hips and looking haughty, eliciting a few giggles from the direction of the Slytherin table.
"I'll bet I love him more than you!" he declared, eyes on Sirius.
If anything, the Great Hall was even quieter than before. Strangely, the teachers were making no move to halt the spectacle. If anything, they all seemed enraptured, watching the drama folding out in front of them. Even Dumbledore seemed interested, though there was a glint of knowing amusement in his eyes that was absent from the others'.
Sirius' eyes turned dark with anger. He was actually shaking, he was so furious. Remus slowly reached down and snatched up the Invisibility Cloak, ready to throw it on and disappear in case Sirius did anything drastic.
Which he did, of course. This is Sirius we're talking about.
"How dare you- NO ONE CAN LOVE REMUS MORE THAN ME!" Sirius roared, and he jumped off the table, fully ready to smash his best friend into little tiny pieces of James-mush and then feed them to the giant squid, for good measure.
Chaos erupted. James went down with an irate Sirius on top of him. Students were craning their necks and jumping on top of tables to watch the fight, while the Slytherins started up a chant of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Meanwhile, the teachers had jumped up- with the exception of Dumbledore, who was oddly calm- to take control of the situation. More than one of them had burning ears as they forced their way through the mob of clamoring students.
The Great Hall was in chaos, and no one noticed when Remus suddenly disappeared and slipped out of the hall, safely hidden under the Invisibility Cloak.