And if it makes you less sad
We'll start talking again
You can tell me how vile
I already know that I am
I'll grow old
Start acting my age
It'd be a brand new day
In a life that you hate
A crown of gold
A heart that's harder than stone
And it hurts a whole lot
But it's missed when it's gone
Call me a safe bet
I'm betting I'm not
The stadium filled up quickly, throngs of people filling the seats and chatting avidly amongst one another about the long-awaited game.
It was Saturday afternoon, and James stood in the Gryffindor tactics room with his beloved team.
"Guys, have we all read through my strategy?" James asked with a slight tone worry in his voice, and a chorus of 'Yes, captain' sounded throughout the room.
"Good, good. That's absolutely fantastic. But, just in case any of you have forgotten anything, I've drawn it all up here. Quinn, I want you to go so fast that I don't even see you, alright? I want you to become a force to be reckoned with out there. Stebbins? If you let a single ball through our goals, I will personally hand your own arse to you after the match, got it? Winston and Corey, for the love of all that is good, keep those damn bludgers away from my team and keep them at Regulus. This is so important to me; you all understand that, right? If we lose this match, Slytherin gets the Quidditch Cup and they get to throw a winning party, but I want to throw that party. And I want to feel pride in the fact that I've trained a winning team. I want to be proud of you lot, you hear me? It's imperative that we win-"
James stopped talking to listen to chanting outside, in the stadium.
"GO, GO, GRYFFINDOR! GO, GO, GRYFFINDOR!"
"Do you here that? They believe in us, and that's our cue to kick some serious snake butt. Let's do this!" James exclaimed, beaming at his team before they made their way out.
The crowd went wild. James could see all the Gryffindor's cheering for them. Most of Hufflepuff also cheered for Gryffindor, and a handful of Ravenclaws cheered for them too. James waved to the crowd, soaking in the admiration.
"Look at him, the big-headed prat." Sirius scoffed with a smile on his face, standing up by Remus. Remus laughed.
"Give him a break. He loves the game, and he loves the supporters. You're just jealous because they wouldn't let you on the team."
"It's not my fault I have a short fuse and James's team members are idiots." Sirius protested, waving a little Gryffindor flag around with next to no enthusiasm.
"Not your fault? I suppose Stebbins hit himself in the face with that broomstick, then?" Lily asked cheekily from beside Remus. Sirius sneered at her, and then Slytherin team flew out onto the pitch.
"REGULUS BLACK IS A TWAT!" Sirius almost instantly shouted at the top of his voice, and Remus was startled by his sudden outburst.
"Ouch! Warn me before you go yelling about like that, Sirius!" Remus scolded Sirius, and Sirius grinned at him.
The game started after a few moments, and the spectators watched on eagerly. Stebbins missed a ball, and it went through one of Gryffindor's hoops. As Slytherin cheered, James gave Stebbins a stern and rather threatening look.
A quarter through the match, Winston caught sight of a bludger headed towards James, whilst he was nowhere near to help. Corey was over the other side of the stadium, also too far away to offer any assistance. Panic shot through Winston. I can't let that bludger hit him… we need to win this match!
"Potter! Look out behind you!" Winston shouted as loudly as he could, praying that James heard him and would dodge the oncoming bludger. James looked up just in time to see the bludger coming towards him. It smashed into his broom and part of his leg, and he went spiralling downwards towards the ground. Screams and panic erupted throughout the crowd. Sirius shoved past people to get to the edge of the stands. "JAMES!" He cried out, watching with wide eyes as his best friend hit the ground hard.
Madam Hooch came onto the pitch, waving her hands and blowing her whistle. Sirius raced to the nearest exit, going down the stairs and rushing across the field.
"Get off the field!" Hooch ordered him, but Sirius ignored her, falling to James's side. "Prongs? Prongs, are you okay?" He asked, and someone came running behind him. It was Lily. She knelt down beside Sirius and took James's hand in her own.
"Potter, come on… open your eyes, James…" She breathed, and James's eyes fluttered open. He let out a long, pained groan.
Hooch looked down at him. "How do you feel?" She asked. James shook his head. "Leg's fucked- pardon my French. Can't breathe properly, either… Are we going to lose?"
That was when Gryffindor's seeker, Ophelia, touched down on her broom and came running over.
"James! Just before you hit the ground, look!" She cried out. Tears spilled down her cheeks, her eyes wide and sparkling.
In her hand was the Golden Snitch.
James's eyes widened, and Hooch gawked at her. "Did Gryffindor catch the Snitch?! Was someone watching?!" Hooch shouted to the stands. The Gryffindor's in the crowd went wild, cheering and shouting and praising Ophelia. Dumbledore stood up, his wand to his throat.
"It's no lie. As James was falling and the players had stopped to watch, Ophelia caught the Snitch." He informed the crowd. The Slytherins looked utterly infuriated, most especially Regulus. The Gryffindors, however, were beside themselves with delight. James struggled to sit up, leaning against Sirius as he held him tightly. It was then that he realised Lily was holding his hand. He looked from their hands to her face. She was looking at a few Gryffindor's who came running towards them. The sun behind her cast shadows over her beautiful face as she smiled and laughed. Her hair looked more vibrantly coloured than usual, and her green eyes sparkled. James's was having trouble catching his breath, and it wasn't from the crash…
That night, the Marauders threw a party. Sirius and James had gotten their hands on some Firewhiskey and some other kids in their year had brought some drinks too. Remus stood awkwardly by the fire with a bottle of Firewhiskey, opened but undrunk.
"Why aren't you drinking?" Lily asked curiously, walking over.
"Probably the same reason you aren't." Remus replied pointedly. Lily shrugged a little, looking around the room. "Potter is off his tree." She stated simply, gesturing over to where James was dancing with Peter, his hands in the air and his glasses askew. Remus laughed at the sight, and then he looked at Lily with a simper on his face. "Oh, by the way, I saw you holding his hand earlier." He said quietly, and Lily flushed vivid red in her cheeks.
"He was injured. I was doing him a kindness." She explained timidly, and Remus rolled his eyes. "There is no excuse for that. It was hand-holding, and it was straight up cute." He informed her. From across the room, Sirius called out; "Remus!" He waved his hand high in the air, and Remus gave him a small wave in return. Sirius stumbled over and simpered coyly at Remus. Leaning over, he whispered, biting his lip in the most seductive manner he could manage; "Let's get out of here… somewhere alone…" Although he whispered loud enough for Lily to hear, and she stifled a laugh at Remus's wide eyed response.
"Oh my… no. I don't think that's a very good idea at all."
"Come on, Remus. We could have a little fun." Sirius reached out, and not for Remus's hand. Remus slapped Sirius's hand away from his groin, and Lily made a choking sound in her struggle to keep from laughing.
"Sirius, you can leave me alone if you're going to behave like that." He hissed firmly, and Sirius pouted. "Fine, have it your way. But just grab me anytime you change your mind." He winked, and walked away. That was when Lily burst into laughter, having to clutch her stomach as she doubled over. Remus slapped her arm playfully, blushing. "Shut up, Lily, it's not funny. See what he's like? I can't date someone like that, no matter how much I like them."
Lily scoffed, looking at him with twinkling eyes.
"Don't be so tight, Remus. You fancy him, don't you?"
"Well, yeah-"
"And if he fancies you back, he'll respect your decisions. I mean, he's not that bad anyway. You told him you weren't interested, and he's leaving you alone. That's more than I can say for James, who seems to keep coming back no matter how many right hooks he's dealt."
"But you've given in, haven't you?" Remus asked, with a cheeky and somewhat knowing smile on plastered his face. Lily rolled her eyes and said in a defiant tone, "Not quite yet."
As the party progressed, Remus ended up drinking his Firewhiskey. Feeling tipsy and good, he watched as people danced and laughed and drank. Lily had gone over to talk to Mary, and James was dancing with Sirius- a little close for Remus's liking, especially when he saw Sirius slipping his hand into James's back pocket.
Remus walked over to Sirius and James and cleared his throat loudly. James turned and half fell in Remus's direction, pulling Sirius's hand from his pocket as he did so.
"Moony! Hey! Here, have a drink!" James proclaimed, thrusting a bottle of Firewhiskey in Remus's direction. Begrudgingly, Remus took it. He then looked at Sirius. Sirius grinned lopsidedly at him.
"You look really sexy right now, Moony."
"Yes, and you look really drunk." Remus replied quickly, before sipping his drink. He screwed up his face a little as the hot liquid burned his throat. "Gross." He muttered, and then felt arms around his waist, hugging him tightly from behind.
"We won! We won! We won, we won, we won!" Winston said in a slurred sing-song voice. Remus laughed at his friend, and Sirius's brow furrowed.
"Oi, get your hands off my man." He ordered, and Remus's eyebrows shot up.
"Your man? Excuse me!" Winston said in an overly loud voice, letting Remus go and standing in front of Sirius. "I think he'd rather a winning Quidditch player than, well, whatever you are." Winston sneered, and Sirius's fists clenched. James grabbed Sirius's arm. "Come on, Sirius. It's not worth it, and besides I can't have Winston injured; he's on the team."
But Sirius did not reply to James. He simply turned on his heels and left the Common Room altogether. James looked at Remus and Winston with wide eyes, and before he could stop himself he had turned to run after his best friend.
James found Sirius in a hallway, throwing up. Polite as ever, James held back Sirius's raven coloured hair. When Sirius had finished, he wiped his mouth and stood up. James leaned against a nearby wall, and Sirius leaned beside him, resting his head on James's shoulder. Tears fell down Sirius's face, and James didn't hesitate to hold Sirius's hand tightly.
"What am I?" Sirius asked quietly, and James smiled. "You're the most wonderful friend I could ever ask for."
"But I'm not a skilled Quidditch player… Why would Remus want some deadbeat kid like me, when he could have Goodsir?"
James gave Sirius's hand a squeeze, his smile widening.
"He would want a deadbeat kid like you because you're Sirius Orion Black, and you're a fucking unstoppable force. There isn't a single person in this school who doesn't want to be you, or be with you."
Sirius's drew in a long, shaking breath as the tears continued to flow down his cheeks. He turned then, and buried his face in James's chest, sobbing into the front of James's shirt. James held him tightly, rubbing his back and telling him it would be okay.
Remus, after James and Sirius's departure from the Common Room, headed straight up to his dorm. Angrily, he threw the bottle he had in his hand to the floor. It smashed into pieces with a loud shattering sound, and Remus flopped down onto his bed. He was very frustrated, with both Sirius and Winston. He was mad at Winston for trying to start a fight with Sirius, and he was mad at Sirius for, well, just being Sirius. But a part of Remus wasn't mad at Sirius. A part of Remus wanted to apologise to him, although he wasn't entirely sure what he was sorry for. Eventually, Remus drifted to sleep with a restless mind.
He awoke from a nightmare in a start. A sheen of cold sweat covered his face. He felt cold yet hot all over, and he was drawing in breaths with heaves. Nobody came to his side. Nobody comforted him. He looked around the room and his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Peter, James, Frank and Sirius were in their respective beds, although none of them looked like they put any effort into getting into said beds. They all looked as though they had simply passed out on top of their sheets. Remus felt a shiver go through him, and he threw back the sheets. Standing up, he groaned at the feeling of his sweat soaked clothes sticking to his skin. He took one last look around the room to make sure everyone was really asleep, and then he opened his trunk and pulled out a freshly cleaned towel. After wiping his face, he peeled off his shirt and shivered again. He pulled off his jeans and then changed into his pyjamas. Once he was in dry clothes he begun to feel better, although still uneasy. He looked over to Sirius's bed, where Sirius was sprawled out like a starfish. He walked over and hesitated for a moment. He couldn't believe what he was doing!
He pulled back the sheets as far as he could without disturbing Sirius to the point of wakefulness, and then wiggled under. Even in his sleep, Sirius could sense when something cuddly was nearby, and so he shifted and his arm came to rest over Remus's upper body. Remus tensed for a moment, but once he was sure Sirius was asleep he relaxed. The feeling of another body so close was comforting and Remus fell back to sleep rather quickly.
Sirius woke to a surprise the next morning. Although his head wasn't feeling all that great, he was very warm. He found that his arm was wrapped around and body, and when he saw who it was he grinned widely.
He pulled Remus closer, and in his sleep, the brown haired boy snuggled into Sirius's chest. Sirius began to feel that all his worrying had been for naught.
When Remus woke, he at first drew away from Sirius. Sirius was looking at him with questioning eyes, and Remus found himself blushing.
"I had a nightmare last night, but you were passed out cold. So I just let myself into your bed." Remus explained quietly, and Sirius smiled. "Sorry, last night was wild. And I'm sorry for everything I said, by the way."
Remus sighed a little. Sirius did sound genuinely sorry, and Remus didn't want to fight with him. So he lay back down and allowed Sirius to wrap his arms around him.
"It's okay. Besides, Winston was wrong. I'd much rather whatever you are over a winning Quidditch player."
Sirius blushed vibrantly red. James was right, Remus did rather Sirius!
"Why's that?" Sirius asked curiously. Remus wrapped an arm around Sirius, running his hand up the older boys back and taking a deep breath through his nose.
"Winston doesn't risk his life every month for me. Winston never took three years to become an Animagi. Winston didn't deny the blood that runs through his veins to be in Gryffindor. There is so much more that you have to offer than you realise, Sirius." Remus mumbled, eyes closed, feeling sleepy still. Sirius however had been livened up, and was grinning madly. "You really think that? Wow, I guess you're right, huh?" He said cheerfully, squeezing Remus tightly. Remus let a chuckle escape his lips. "You're going to squish me to death." He stated, and Sirius loosened his grip, apologising as he did so. After a few minutes, Remus pulled away from Sirius and sat up. He yawned hugely, stretching his arms upwards. "I have to get dressed and go to the library to study. Although I really hope Winston isn't there. I think things will be a little awkward after last night. I always had a feeling he fancied me, hence why I tried to make it obvious I was just friends with him." Remus sighed heavily, and Sirius laughed. "He must be more clueless than Prongs." He said, and Remus smiled at him. He slipped out of Sirius's bed, and as walked over to his trunk to grab some fresh clothes, Sirius spoke quietly.
"Remus, when are you going to let me be your boyfriend?"
Remus turned around to face Sirius, holding his clothes in his hands.
"It's not that I don't want to be, because I do. It's just that… it's hard, Sirius. To make these decisions."
"No it isn't, just say you want to be my boyfriend right now, and that's that."
"You will be my boyfriend, Sirius, I just need time. Why can't you understand that?"
"I do understand, well, not really. But I guess I can be patient for a little bit longer."
Remus tried to ignore the way Sirius said he could be patient a little bit longer, implying that he might stray from Remus at some point, and then took his clothing to the Prefects bathroom. After a long, hot shower, Remus dressed himself and headed to the library. Sure enough, Winston was sitting where he usually sat. Remus let out a silent groan, but sat across from him anyway, book in hand. He immediately got to reading, hoping that Winston would see that he was busy with History of Magic studies and he wouldn't disturb him. Remus had no such luck however, as Winston soon began talking to him in a quiet, rushed voice.
"I'm really sorry about what happened last night. I guess it's not really a secret anymore that I kind of like you, but I hope it doesn't ruin our friendship. It's just that Sirius gets me so mad because he acts like he kind of owns you or something, I don't know. Like, you're not his man…. Are you?"
"I sort of am, actually." Remus replied, trying to sound bored, hoping his tone would make Winston stop talking to him about the topic.
"S-so you and him are… dating?" Winston asked, his voice laced with hurt as he did so. Remus shrugged. "Not really. It's just complicated right now. And besides, I've told you a thousand times, Winston. You and I are just friends." He was looking very sternly over the top of his book at Winston, whose shoulders slumped. "Yeah, of course. I get it." And with that, he stood up and left the library. Remus huffed, continuing to read.
Once he was satisfied with his study efforts, he put the book away and exited the library. However, having the luck that he had, he ran into Regulus and Snape in an empty hallway. They wore smirks on their faces as Remus approached.
"How was Gryffindor's party last night? Who'd my slutty brother sleep with?" Regulus asked, staring down Remus. Before Remus could stop himself he'd answered Regulus question in a rather blunt, standoffish voice.
"Me."
Regulus blanched, and Snape burst into cackling laughter.
Grabbing Remus's collar, Regulus slammed him against the nearest wall. Remus struggled to regain his breath as Regulus shouted at him. "You'll keep your filthy half-blood hands off of my brother, alright? You're corrupting him! He's a Black! He can't prance around with you and your stupid fucking friends forever. He's going to have to face the music real fucking soon, and then when he does, you're fucked, Remus. Because he won't be there to protect you. And I'll tear you to pieces." He let Remus go, and Snape laughed at Regulus's side as they left Remus alone once more.
Remus swallowed hard, his heart pounding in his chest. He wished he hadn't opened his mouth and said something so stupid. Gingerly, he brushed his hair away from his eyes and began walking to the Great Hall for breakfast.
AUTHORS NOTE
Sorry if it wasn't that fab of a chapter~
Reviews are always appreciated. I do need a bit of motivation to keep this story going. Just so you know, I've already written up to chapter fourteen, so if people express some interest I will continue this story some more.