Severus stood silently, shoulder pressed roughly against a compartment door. Sirius backed out of the next compartment with a grin in his eyes and a pair of lips locked on his. Quickly, the canine broke free from his 'mate' and went down the corridor. Remus looked at Severus and smiled politely.
Sirius was in trouble.
After a moment of polite conversation, Remus politely excused himself to go attend his Prefect duties, saying "I'm sorry but I really need to make sure I do them. I hope you don't find me impolite for leaving." Everything about this boy was polite, almost to a fault – almost.
"Sorry! I told him I was going to spy on Pete." Sirius slipped out of the shadows and came up to him, a sheepish grin on his face. For a brief moment, the sallow skinned boy growled viciously. "I can't very well tell him the truth! It would break him, Sev." Still, he offered no response. Sirius sighed. "I did tell him I thought we had sex to soon. He agreed, so we won't be doing that again anytime soon." Severus sighed and pushed off the compartment door. "What?"
He had been hoping Sirius would break up with the prefect. Or at the very least, tell him the truth. He wouldn't be as mad with his lover if Remus knew the truth. "Sirius, why can't you just tell him? That's what I wanted you to do in the first place!" He stalked off down the corridor, heading towards the compartment he'd been in earlier. No one else was in there so he slipped in, wedging himself in the corner. Sirius followed him in and slid the door closed. "Sit." The dog obeyed.
A thick silence settled over the compartment, broken only by the fidgeting of a nervous Gryffindor. Finally, Sirius slid down to the floor, looking up at the other with fear in his eyes. "What do you want from me?" he whispered, biting back tears. "I love you. . . . but I can't let him do this to himself. . . . You haven't seen the looks he gives me. . . . The utter devotion but there's something else. . . ." A single tear slipped down his cheek. "Fear. I hate seeing that fear. That's what makes him do this. Lover, boyfriend, best mate, total stranger – it doesn't matter! He's a human being, just like you or me or Lily. And he'shurting himself because of ME. It's all my fault. I have to do something to try to help him. If I can get him off of self-manipulation and deem it safe to break up with him, I will. Merlin knows I will! But right now, it's out of the question. He has a problem. I have to help him with that problem. . . . . Sev, don't you understand? I love him, just not in the way I love you. . . . Or that you love Lily."
That one struck low and hard. Below the belt. He had given Sirius much grief about claiming to love two people at once while at the same time, he loved two people. But Sirius had never once berated Severus on being hypocritical. Actually, Sirius had never mentioned it at all, other than the one time outside the Gryffindor Common Room. And even here, just like there, Sirius wasn't berating him. It was simply an example that he knew would effect Severus strongly.
Severus sighed and slid to the floor beside Sirius. "Stop belly-aching and come here." A pair of grey eyes lifted. Sirius inched towards Severus, making sure he hadn't misheard, then curled into his arms. A steady hand rested on top of the black head. "Sirius. . . ." He leaned down, lips searching his face, sliding down from ear to jaw. An eager pair of lips awaited, working slowly against the Slytherin's. The kiss was brief, but powerful. Severus leaned against the wall beneath the window, rubbing soothing circles into Sirius's back.
Thoughts ran endlessly through the potion master's mind. What if Lucius had been in love with him? And what if, because Severus didn't return the love, Lucius began to harm himself? Surely Severus wouldn't be able to turn his friend away. No. . . . He would have done the same thing. Just imagining it made his heart twinge with guilt and pain. And Remus and Sirius were at least ten times as close. A deep sigh escaped him.
"I understand, Sirius. I really do." Severus nestled his face his Sirius's hair, taking in a deep sniff of Sirius's scent. Sirius smiled in response, murmuring a word of thanks. The pair shared a long, deep look, fire burning in both their eyes, as well as other places. Sirius looked up with a devious grin on his face, which Sev returned. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
The dog simply nodded. Then, they launched into a world all their own.
Remus Lupin stood silently on the platform by the crimson red train. He had a lot on his mind, and a lot to think about. People rushed around him, finding their luggage, reuniting with their families, saying goodbyes to friends. Lovers, girlfriends, boyfriends, all made promises to be faithful over the summer, made promises to hook up at some point, to owl or Floo everyday. James and Lily stood off to the side a bit, arguing, though eventually Lily gave him a goodbye kiss and ran off to her family. James smirked and headed off towards Pete for traditional Marauder goodbyes. None of this bother the werewolf. No, it was - more or less - all normal. Familiar. Welcome. Right.
But Sirius was not with the other two Marauders.
This wasn't right.
Any idiot would know where he was, but Remus didn't want to think about it. He wasn't with Reg and Kreacher. He wasn't saying a last farewell to Andromeda. He wasn't pulling a last minute prank of some poor, unsuspecting soul. He had to be with the only other student that was 'missing.'
"Hey, Moony! C'mon, Pete's about to leave!" Remus spun around to see James waving at him. A smile forced its way onto his face as Remus ran towards his friends. Peter was fidgeting a bit as Remus approached. "Adios, Wormtail, old boy! Well, not for long of course. We're all gonna visit Moony next moon, right?"
Peter nodded vigourously, but Remus shook his head. "James – ."
"Prongs," he corrected. One eyebrow raised at James. " . . . Sorry, go ahead." James responded sheepishly.
Remus started again. "James – oh, alright – Prongs. I don't want you to come this month. Or Wormtail or Padfoot either," Remus stated. James and Peter stared at him. Both looked aghast.
"What? Moony!" The words raised every hair on Remus's body. And it raised something else as well. Sirius spun the werewolf around, holding him in place by his shoulders. "What do you mean you don't want us to come? We want to be there for you!" Sirius's eyes were ablaze, but Remus tried not to look into them. That damned intense look making his eyes smolder. It was a look he only had under two conditions. One, when he was trying to get his way. Two, well, Remus didn't want to think about that. Sirius dropped his voice. "You have to admit that full moons have been easier with us there to distract you, to help you."
Tears filled the boy's vision. He slid his hands up his love's arms, slipping them over his shoulders slowly. "Pads. . . . Please. . . ." Sirius sighed and pulled the other boy close to him.
James inched over and whispered into Sirius's ear. " . . . That's brilliant, Prongs! You, me, and Wormtail'll get together!" Sirius pulled away from Remus and knelt by his trunk. He threw the lid open and began digging through it.
"Siri, what in Merlin's beard are y–." He was cut off as a mirror was shoved into his hands. He recognized it at once. Sirius and James used it if they had separate detentions so that they could still talk. "Sirius. . . ." He wiped a quick tear away.
Padfoot pulled Remus down beside him and ran a hand through the already greying hair, tousling it. "Moony . . . . Remus. . . . We're just worried about you." A finger slid under Remus's face, hooking gently around the back of his chin. Sirius's thumb traced his lips then tugged his bottom lip down softly. The fingers pulled Remus's face to Sirius's. "Remus. . . ."
Warm, sweet air blew onto the werewolf's lips. God, his breath his wonderful. Their lips touched briefly. "Fine. . . . I'll ask my parents if you three can come. They'll get suspicious though."
"That's okay." Sirius placed another soft kiss to his lips. Remus's head was spinning. Why? Usually, that didn't happen. Usually, the kisses were fake, but Remus took them anyway.
Sirius was probably just still horny after spending the last leg of the train ride with Snivellus
