Ok, so, this chapter took way too long to put up. So sorry. I had two competitions two weekends in a row and did not expect them to take up that much of my time. And, ya know, the lack of reviews might have been some part of the source of little inspiration. =) So, thank you to FlameintheFlood for reviewing! You made me very happy. Thanks also to everyone who alerted it- it's nice to know some people read it.
M'kay, this chapter was beta'd because my boyfriend decided to read the story (0.o) and I figured I'd make him be useful. =) Love you!
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Oh well. =P
When Sirius opened his eyes the next morning he immediately noticed two things: the abundance of light and the silence. The degree of light filtering through the bed-curtains told him quite clearly that breakfast in the Great Hall had long started and would soon be over. The silence told him that there was no way any other teenage boys were conscious in their dorm. He pushed aside the curtains and, sure enough, both James and Peter had already left.
He glanced down at Remus, who was still sleeping. Really, this was worth being late for, because the little werewolf had unintentionally cuddled closer to Sirius' offered warmth as he slept. Though he hadn't meant to, it still gave Sirius a thrill. Still, he wished that he had decided to lie to James about his homosexuality. If James hadn't know that Sirius was gay, he would have woken them up with good natured teasing and forgotten the entire incident. Now James wouldn't likely let it go, Sirius would have to find some way to explain the now-awkward situation to Remus, and they just might miss breakfast.
Sirius Black was not often a generous person if he missed his most important meal of the day.
He poked Remus. "Moony, wakey wakey! We're late for breakfast!"
Rem opened his eyes slowly and blinked, looking around. "Where are James and Pete?" he asked sleepily.
"They already went down to breakfast. Come on, Remy, food!" Sirius whined.
"Alright, alright," Remus agreed with a small laugh. "I'm up."
Five minutes later they were headed out the portrait hole and down to the Great Hall.
The truth was that Remus didn't really want to eat breakfast. His stomach was unsettled and his head was pounding. He was sure that he had a high fever, but he had only just escaped the hospital wing and he really didn't want to go back.
He stumbled and bumped into the wall for the fourth time and Sirius stopped him with a hand on his arm. "You ok, Rem?" he asked, a slightly worried look on his face.
"What?" Remus focused on the words, quickly replaying them in his head until his muddled mind understood them. "I'm fine."
Sirius frowned a little and shook his long hair away from his eyes. He didn't seem at all reassured. "You look terrible, Rem," he observed. He reached out to feel Remus' forehead and Rem quickly jumped away. He swallowed guiltily at the flash of hurt in Sirius' expression as he pulled his hand back.
"I'm ok, really," Remus promised calmly. "Just a bit dizzy."
"Why're you dizzy?" Sirius asked, the frown increasing.
"Blood loss," Remus offered. "It was a pretty bad moon, you know."
Sirius was still frowning. "Maybe you should just... take the day off?"
Rem rolled his eyes and then regretted it as it only served to make his head pound a little harder. "It's Saturday, Siri. I do have the day off."
"No homework," Sirius decided, seeming to brighten up at the prospect.
"I can't; I'll fall behind." But his protest was half-hearted at best. He counted on Sirius not noticing, though, as they had just reached the picture of the bowl of fruit. As he ducked inside the kitchen the smell of food made his stomach knot up, but he ate a piece of toast anyways. For once, Remus was thankful that he rarely had much of a morning appetite, anyways. Sirius; however, never had that problem. Even now the amount of food he was shoveling down served to make Remus want to puke up the few bites of toast he'd eaten. A werewolf's metabolism was intense, requiring that he eat frequently and that he eat a lot at every meal. And yet, somehow, Sirius always ate more.
It really didn't seem fair that Sirius was so good looking. Any person that ate more than Peter should at least have to share the poor chubby boy's fate, Remus reasoned, but fortune seemed to smile on Sirius in this respect.
Eventually Sirius was done and the two Gryffindors headed back to their common room to find their friends. Remus was carefully watching where he placed each foot so that he wouldn't stumble into walls again, but he knew Sirius was watching him carefully anyways. The first thing they saw as they entered the common room was James' worried face. "Where have you been?"
Sirius laughed. "Breakfast."
James glared. "We were at breakfast. You never showed up."
"Rem wasn't feeling well," Sirius told him. "We ate in the kitchen. It was closer."
James glared for a moment longer before giving up and turning to Remus. He cocked his head, messing up his hair even more and causing his glasses to slide to the end of his nose. "Feeling better?"
Remus shrugged. "I'm fine. Just a little dizzy, you know?" James began to take on the worried look that Sirius had worn half an hour previously and Remus hurried to add, "It's the weekend, James. I'll rest up."
James gave him the same frowning look before shrugging. "Fine, fine."
Sirius quickly reclaimed James' attention. "Where's Pete?"
James smiled, half fond and half wicked. "Asking out that Hufflepuff girl he's had his eye on lately."
Sirius laughed. "Any chance she'll say yes?"
The three friends took up chairs in the corner of the room. Remus closed his eyes, listening to the banter and wager between his two friends as they discussed Peter's chances of wooing his girl. Bets were placed, contracts signed (these were required when "I don't remember agreeing to that!" became a frequent excuse to get out of paying up), and the two moved on to new topics. Remus sighed. Even feeling this bad, he was glad to have a day off.
Remus went to sleep early that night as the other three were engaged in a game of Exploding Snap. "What was up with Rem all day?" Pete asked distractedly. He was carefully placing his card on the pile, hoping that it wouldn't explode in his face. It already had twice that night- it was just his luck.
"He wasn't feeling well this morning," James said with a shrug, adding his own card with confidence. It rarely blew up on James, and he didn't mind much. He and Sirius saw loud bangs and random items exploding as a good thing, unlike Peter and Remus.
Sirius added his card silently, deep in thought.
"Sirius?" James asked.
"What?" he said, his eyes coming back to the present.
"What was up with Rem all day?"
Sirius shrugged, watching Peter drop his card fearfully. Nothing happened. "Ask him- I don't know."
"You do watch him more closely than us, though," Peter pointed out as James dropped his card as well, still focused on Sirius.
Sirius sighed. "He probably just wasn't feeling himself. Hard moon and all, he was probably just a bit sick."
"And you didn't send him back to Pomphrey?" James asked him incredulously.
"He didn't want to tell us what was wrong," Sirius reminded James. "He probably didn't want to go back. He hates it there."
"He's never said that," Peter piped up. Sirius had lost track of the turns, playing on instinct, but it was once again Peter's card that was being placed on the growing pile. "When'd he tell you?"
"He didn't," Sirius told them. "I just knew- it was obvious."
James shook his head. "Only to you." They both dropped their cards on the pile.
Peter place his card down, finally seeming less worried about the chances of the cards exploding. The pile blew up in his face and the other two marauders burst out laughing, their conversation forgotten as a scorched Pete looked a combination of indignant and resigned.
"S'all right Wormtail," Sirius said, patting him on the back as he laughed.
"Better luck next time," James agreed. His glasses were hanging crooked from his laughing fit and he pushed them back into place. "Anyone up for another game?"
The three went at it again, playing long into the night. They slipped quietly into their dormitory later that night, their fourth marauder long asleep. A tiny sliver of the crescent moon watched over the boys in the peaceful dorm. The only sound was the whisper of the four boys breathing.
There you go! I already started the next chapter (in my head, but it's there) and the next update should not take as long. =) Much luvs to anyone who is still reading this, or reading it for the first time. Review? They're way appreciated.
