Remus woke up to a familiar steady breathing body wrapped tightly around him and smiled lazily as soon as he saw the dark hair lying just next to his face. He had never been the first to wake up as it was usually Sirius who woke him up gently in the morning, but at last he realized why it was that the other boy would take the pains to get up early. It was a beautiful sight to see someone he loved holding on to him, protecting him. Yes, Remus decided, it was wonderful to know that he loved Sirius as Sirius loved him.
He brought his arms up around Sirius and started combing his fingers gently through the silky hair beside him, occasionally lingering at the base of his neck to trace the path of his spine. Though he has spotted the mound of presents sitting at the foot of his bed, Remus decided that it was much nicer to just lie with Sirius. After all, he had already received one of his presents, so he was in no rush to open the brightly colored packages.
Sirius stirred as he squeezed Remus fiercely before relaxing in an overdramatic groan. The first time he had ever done this, Remus had asked him what that was for, and he explained that it was part of his morning stretches. Then he had proceeded to fully stretch out the rest of his body, which Remus thought was rather ludicrous and was therefore rather thankful when he never did it again...especially thankful that he never had to see Sirius attempt to contort his body in inhuman ways to fit into a box.
"Good morning, love," Remus whispered into Sirius' ear and was rewarded with a sleepy grin.
"That's the proper greeting, Remus," Sirius muttered back before he kissed Remus slowly and languidly on the mouth.
"Only if that's always the proper response," Remus teased in return, though his face flushed lightly.
The two of them stared at each other with silly smiles on their faces and, though both were remembering the events of the previous night, neither brought it up because they already knew the thoughts of the other. They had even forgotten that it was Christmas Day until the red curtains flew open and James shouted, "Happy Christ-OH MERLIN!"
Startled, Remus pulled the sheets tight around him, leaving none left for Sirius, who was quite unbothered by the fact and was taking no action to covering himself…even as James was screaming for him to put on some pants.
"If you're such a prude, Prongs, just look away. Besides," he added on grumpily and haughtily, "no one asked you to interrupt an intimate moment between me and Remus." Then, to save his ears from further screaming, he pushed himself out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom, mentally scarring (though Sirius would say that he was blessing) Peter as he went past. Luckily, for the pudgy boy, the sight of the lovely pile of Christmas presents in front of him blocked most of the painful images.
James stuck his tongue out at Sirius and then turned to Remus, who was blushing furiously and still tightly wrapped up in all his blankets. He opened his mouth as if to say something more, but the sight of the downcast golden eyes told him that Remus was embarrassed enough as it was. So, instead, he pulled the curtains tight and went to help Peter open, and eat, his goodies.
--
Remus soon found all embarrassment of the morning disappear with a bang of the first cracker down in the Great Hall. A tall rainbow-stripped top hat fell down onto his still damp hair. Peter decided that Remus needed a pair of white gloves, James claimed that Remus should find a pair of white gloves, and Sirius told the two of them to shut up before saying that what Remus really needed was to wear less clothing rather than more. Then he stole the hat and shoved it onto James' hat just as Severus walked by and commented snidely about the way it matched with his purple nails (which Sirius had painted several nights before while everyone else was sleeping). James stuck up his middle finger at what he hoped was Severus but was really Professor McGonagall as Sirius laughed and nodded in agreement for once with Severus Snape.
After having been thoroughly scolded by Professor McGonagall (she decided to forgo the punishment because it was Christmas and she was feeling slightly tipsy), the four of them hurried up to the Common Room, where there were only a couple of first-years hanging around, and began talking in hushed tones about the night. They were really just James and Peter with Sirius adding in the occasional comment as he sat next to the reading Remus.
Despite the fact that he was pleased that all three of them would be with him this night, Remus could hold no excitement in the full moon. He understood why the others were talking avidly about what could happen, would happen, and should happen, but he wished they wouldn't make it seem like such an adventure, such an exciting event, when it was the worst part of his life. At least, he smiled inwardly to himself as he thought this, Sirius seemed to understand that and was spending more time wrapped around him than plotting with James and Peter.
"What are you thinking about?" Sirius asked in an accusing tone.
"Nothing."
Piercing silver eyes narrowed possessively in a way that made Remus both shudder in fear and shiver with pleasure. "What's so good about nothing that it makes you smile like that?"
Remus grinned even further and turned so that he could wrap his arms around Sirius. "The same thing that's so good about you."
--
Night came all too soon for the four boys. As the rest of the castle was preparing to sit down for a Christmas feast, Remus was waiting patiently in the Shrieking Shack for the pain to begin as Sirius, James, and Peter hovered outside in their Animagus forms.
While the few hours in the Common Room just flew by, the several minutes waiting for and listening to the heartbreakingly painful cries of an innocent young man shifting into a frightening creature seemed like a lifetime to James and Peter, and forever to Sirius. Both Sirius and James cringed inwardly at the screams, as they had heard them before and were learning to get used to them, but Peter squealed as he hid behind the giant stag, caught between fear and pity for his friend.
As soon as those long trying minutes were over and the cries turned to howls, the larger animals rushed for the Whomping Willow, followed quickly by the rat. They waited impatiently for the smaller creature to catch up at the base, the dog snapping his jaws threateningly, until the rat did as was rehearsed and pressed the knot on the trunk that rendered the tree immobile. Without waiting for the other two, the dog hurried down the long dark corridor, sniffing around for the scent of blood as a precaution, before it reached the end of the tunnel where a soft gray glow outlined a wooden door. Eagerly, the big black dog pushed open the heavy door, not bothering to close it, and bounded up the stairs where a large grey wolf had been waiting diligently for him.
Before he came to know and care for Remus, if someone were to say that werewolves were untamable, Sirius would have agreed unconditionally, even despite the fact that he was "friends" with one. Yet, now, as he was watching the great beast turn towards him with shinning yellow eyes, he knew that that was untrue. That everything he had ever heard about werewolves being nothing but monsters was a lie. After all, monsters don't have hearts.
The wolf reared on its hind legs, giving the dog a brief moment to prepare, before launching itself in greeting at the dog. His long rough tongue dragged itself across the other's cheek, rubbing against the fur in the wrong way, before the wolf caught onto the presence of two others. He pushed himself off of the dog, who, though unsettled about his ruffled fur, would have rather had the full attention of the wolf back on him than to watch him sniff the quivering rat. Then the wolf howled in acceptance and ran the short distance over to the stag to greet him as well.
After nodding dipping his head in a nod, the wolf dashed past the stag and ran down the stairs. The dog followed quickly behind and watched as the other performed the ritual he did every month of pawing at each window, hoping that it would open and release him from this hell house. As he did every month, the dog pushed him aside from the window the wolf was pawing at and tried his hardest to keep the other preoccupied. Sometimes it worked, and the wolf put all his energy into playing with the dog, but other times, most of the times, it only distracted the wolf for a few minutes until he saw the moonlight on the dusty wooden floors taunting him, teasing him, flirting with him.
But this night, it was a success because there was not only the dog, but also the stag and the newcomer. And, as the wolf tended to do with all newcomers, he set off to searching for a present. James had suggested, after Sirius mentioned this one night, that the wolf did this as a way of determining his pack. Because the wolf never had a chance at establishing or being part of a real pack, nor had he ever been in contact with any other animal except for that dog of his when he was very young, he probably thought of them as their pack and he needed for them to know that they belonged to him. As James said this, he tightened his hold on the button the wolf had ripped from his cloak and Sirius fingered the golden necklace.
It took the wolf a good three hours, with plenty of distractions, to find something suitable for the rat. It was a small knut that he had found lying on the ground and that he had recognized had once been his. Sirius found himself relieved at the small value of the gift, though mean he knew it was, but he believed that the higher the value of the present, the more the animal meant to the wolf.
--
When the sky began to lighten and just as the moon was setting, the four animals were curled tightly together the corner furthest away from the freezing windows. The transformation from beast to man was much more quieter than the reverse, but it was still loud enough to wake the three Animagi. Respectfully, James and Peter returned to human before they quietly bid Sirius goodbye and headed away. Sirius, on the other hand, stayed as a dog until Remus was completely back and was blinking his eyes awake. He began shivering long before he was able to register his surroundings, and that was enough time for Sirius to find a blanket and drag it over to the slender boy.
Thankfully, Remus wrapped it around himself as Sirius sat down across from him on his haunches, looking very similar to the dog he had been moments prior. Remus laughed softly and opened up a corner of his blanket. Eagerly, Sirius huddled close next to Remus and the two watched wordlessly as the sky outside turned from dark blue, to husky purple, to light pink, and then, finally, to the color of sunrise. Remus leaned against Sirius as the colored reflected off of the snow on the windows and lit the room in a warm glow that was enough to fend off the cold.
After they waited for the sun to rise from blood red to a fading orange, Sirius whispered quietly, almost afraid of breaking something, "I should go now before Madam Pomfrey comes." He began to detach himself, but in such a way that really meant he wanted to stay.
And Remus held on tightly so Sirius couldn't even manage to get an inch away. "She won't. I told her that I would be fine getting to the Hospital Wing on my own. So let's stay here a little longer."
Sirius grinned and settled himself more comfortably around Remus. "As long as the sun rises," he muttered back and ignored the curious look Remus gave him by pressing his lips against the purple ones and giving them their color back.
--
A/N: I know it was a short chapter and it was the end and it was like a month or so since the last one and there's no resolution about the heart aches or anything like that. I had wanted to drag it on longer until Sirius betrayed Remus and then more references to the hearts, but that would have been too much drama and too much work for now. So, at least the beginning bits were good, eh? And I need to work on my endings. Well, thanks for reading it thus far and I hope/am glad that you enjoyed it!