I'm sorry I've been such a long time guys, wow- 20 reviews for two chapters! Keep that up and I'll be more inclined to write.
I was pondering the idea of doing one lesson per chapter but I couldn't really think what to do, plus I want to develop the plot a bit.
This chapter is dedicated to StoryofGreen who said I should put in more emotions and gave me a really helpful review.
I've just changed a few things after LouisaB gave me a very helpful review which made me realise that I'd left some notes on the end of the story and also contradicted myself, sorry for those of you who got this alert twice.
Sorry guys, I just found the original paper that I wrote this on and realised that I missed a bit on the end, for those of you who have received an alert email for this chapter for the third time, I apologise.
Chapter 3 –
Remus lay in his bed thinking; Sirius had gone to have a shower while James and Peter were still having their "talk" (in their pyjamas most probably as they had only just woken up before they went downstairs). This train of thought led Remus back to Peter and what he had said. He had always known that he was different, apart from being a werewolf that is, he had made friends with Lily really easily but was much more wary of the boys in his year; it had taken Sirius stealing his book (to stop him reading so much) for him to make friends with the other marauders. It was only, however, in the last few months that he had come to terms with being gay, after realising that his feelings towards Sirius were more than friendly.
What had started as an innocent custom of sharing each other's beds had suddenly become quite different for him. He didn't know about Sirius (he didn't even know how long Sirius had liked him for) but having a warm male body pressed up against his night after night had presented a real challenge for him not to act on his impulses.
He burrowed further into the duvet, inhaling deeply as it came over his head, enveloping him in darkness. He could still smell traces of Sirius, of sweat and expensive cologne, and of the coconut conditioner that was Sirius' best kept secret, the real reason why his hair was so damn shiny. Shiny. Silver is shiny. Werewolves are allergic to silver.
"It's just…he's not even human, isn't it kinda' like doing it with an animal-" Peter's words echoed in his head. All the thoughts and fears that he had been squashing down since the Snape Incident came flooding back, except this time it wasn't Sirius who he couldn't trust, it was Peter. What if he told the whole school, what if he was so disgusted by his relationship with Sirius that he confronted Remus publicly? A rare emotion began to curl its way round Remus' heart: anger. How dare that rat call him an animal, how dare he condemn them, it wasn't as if he'd ever had a relationship himself to boast of.
He dressed hurriedly, cursing the zip on his jeans as it got stuck, glad that it was a Saturday so most people would still be asleep. He practically ran out of the dormitory, skidding to a halt in the common room where he found James and Peter, looking much more friendly than they should after what Peter had said. Ever practical, Remus shut the door before letting rip.
"You bastard! You complete and utter bastard!" He launched himself towards Peter, his fists flying wildly.
"Remus!" James pulled him back and stared at him wide eyed, although not before Remus had managed to do some serious damage. "Pete and I have been talking and-" But Remus wasn't listening.
"And you! You, sticking up for him. Do you agree with him then, do think you I'm an animal?"
Sirius hummed to himself absentmindedly as he washed off the last traces of soap. He was worried about Remus and what would happen when Peter and he came face to face. He climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his hips. Just then he heard shouting coming from below. Oh dear. He ran out of the bathroom and into the common room to find an irate Remus being held back by James while Peter cowered on the sofa, cradling a bloody nose. Crap. Forgetting his state of undress he ran forwards to Remus' side. Unfortunately his towel had other ideas and tripped him up, sending him sprawling at the others' feet, completely starkers. So much for a dashing prince. The other three took one look at him and began to laugh, throwing their heads back and hooting with glee, the tension dispersing like candle smoke. The only acknowledgement of his nakedness came from Remus, whose cheeks were slowly but definitely turning a pretty violent shade of pink. James, seeing this laughed and threw Sirius his towel,
"Better cover up mate or Moony here might explode from embarrassment!"
He did so, knotting the towel firmly, and gently lead Remus to the sofa while James tended Peter's nose with a healing spell, something that he'd got quite proficient at due to the exploits of the group of friends and which had earned him the pet name of "nurse-maid", which he hated. Once Peter was cleaned up, Sirius cleared his throat noisily: Remus may have calmed down a bit but Peter still had a whole lot of explaining to do.
"Right…umm I'm not sure how to say this but," Peter chewed his lip "I'msorryandItalkedtoJamesandrealisedthatthereasonthatI'msouncomfortablewithyoutwowasbecauseI'mgaytoo."
"What?" This was Sirius. Remus' sharp ears had picked up and understood every word and he was still too shocked to say anything.
"Please don't make me say it again," Peter pleaded. James took over.
"Moony, I guess you understood?" Remus nodded dazedly "'Kay, Sirius: Pete's gay. He'd been feeling weird and insecure about blokes and didn't realise why and seeing the two of you just brought to the surface things he'd been trying not to think about.
"Sorry Remus, Sirius," Peter hung his head.
"Come here," Remus held out his arms and hugged him, and Sirius of course felt the need to join in. James smiled at them fondly from across the room until a look of startled revelation crept across his face.
"Bloody hell, am I the only straight Marauder?" The other three exchanged a glance.
"Not for long…" shouted Sirius and they all dived at James, tickling him until he shrieked for mercy.
"First we have to see if we've successfully infected you. Are you, James Edmund Potter (a.k.a. Prongs and nurse-maid) gay? Remus managed to say this using his prefect voice with a perfectly straight face.
"Anything, just get off me! Fine, I'm gay, happy?"
"Very, I wish I could have taped that, if only to play it back to a certain red-head," said Sirius wistfully. "Oh, and by the way, I'll have you know you're not the only one here who appreciates the fairer sex. I'm bi not gay, but from now on my heart is bequeathed to Moony here." He took the boy in question's hand and kissed it. Remus blushed, pleased.