Sorry it took me a while to get this chapter out. Sometimes writing is like forcing a shit, it might feel like the right thing to do, but at the end of the day, it's still shit.
Strange metaphor, I know.
Now that I'm thinking about it, it doesn't seem so strange anymore. I've been drinking a TON of water lately. And exercising. And eating healthy.
I really have to go to the bathroom… bye :)
The next few weeks passed by in a similar fashion. Demi had found a sanctuary in the library, and was often accompanied by Remus. In fact, the pair were practically inseparable. This was in part, due to Demi's constant flux in emotions, which were both predictable and slightly violent. Naturally, Remus being the only person who knew what was bothering her found himself at her side even when he didn't need to be. Sirius was not fussed about this behaviour, as he knew he could be somewhat over annoying and thought that Demi was merely annoyed at him, and needed her space. However, he had a nagging feeling that she was mad as him for more than pissing her off. He'd entertained the possibility that she knew what had occurred in the hallway those nights ago, but he reminded himself that she was in detention. Even if she had left, the corridor was so out of the way, that it was unlikely she would have strayed there on her way back to the common room.
Things were starting to get a little strange for everyone though. The Christmas holidays were nearly upon them and in a few days, they would all be heading to their own homes (save for Sirius, who was going to spend the next few weeks at his cousin Andromeda's) and enjoying a few weeks of peace.
The staff, however, had made sure there would be plenty of work for them to do on their arrival in January. Muggle Studies had turned from a soft subject to one of the hardest that any of the students had taken before. Transfiguration (for everyone but James, Sirius, and Remus) had turned into a nightmare. Mensah was piling work on the students, which meant that they spend countless days without sleep.
The only two people who seemed to look well-rested were Remus and Demi. The latter had forgone food altogether, and was now only consuming blood. Regular food, while it tasted good, was no longer of any use to her. In fact, she only ate it as a way to keep up the façade of being normal. Remus was waiting for the full moon, which was meant to rise tonight. He had managed to get some hours of sleep each night, the others prepared to fill in for him and do his homework, if there was anything left to do.
The plus side of spending all of his time in the library with Demi (who was relatively quiet, but needed the presence of someone she trusted) meant that he was able to finish the majority of the theoretical work and papers relatively quickly. While Remus had books upon books surrounding him, he constantly found himself asking Demi for the answers to some things both as a way to keep her mind off of things, but also because he really enjoyed talking to her. When he was Nirvana, he had to watch what he said in case she figured out what he was. Demi already knew, and he found himself able to speak freely about anything he wanted to. When he was with the guys, he could be himself, but he never wanted to burden them with his problems- they had enough on their plate without him adding more. Demi listened, and rather than telling Remus what to do, she merely listened and guided him till he came to his own solution.
She had been especially helpful when it came to how he felt about Nirvana. "I miss her, but at the same time, I'm so glad I don't have the weight of hiding a relationship and my furry little problem."
Demi grinned at the nickname that James used in public when it came to Remus' lycanthropy. "Well, that I understand. I mean, it was nice to tell you guys what I'd been hiding for the past five years. But at the same time, you want to make sure the other person can handle it. I mean, I found that my relationship with Sirius-" she paused as Remus gently rested a hand atop hers. "-it worked because we were friends before. We had a foundation we could build off of. You begin to open yourself up to that person, and slowly you see where that takes you."
"That would take forever. What if it doesn't end up where you hoped it would," Remus asked, as he looked out of the large window to their left. It opened over the grounds, covered in a blanket of snow, and part of the lake, which was frozen over. He looked back at her and frowned.
"It's a long process Remus, but when you find it, it is worth the wait. And if it doesn't end up where you hoped it would, then you try again with someone else. But, now you have a new friend," she said, her hand tensing and quickly relaxing under Remus's grip. She gave him a small grin before beginning to pack her stuff up and heading back to the common room, so Remus could drop off his stuff and head to the hospital wing, where he would wait till Madam Pomfrey would take him to the Whomping Willow.
They walked in silence until Remus decided to ask, "Are-are you going to come to tonight?" She turned to face him, her face expressionless, and Remus quickly spoke, "I mean, you don't have to. I know it's going to be a little hard to do that but.."
"Remus, I'm not about to let my stupid fight with Sirius interfere with us, okay? I'm coming with them tonight, but just try not to wolf-out of Sirius's ass."
Remus grinned, "alright, but if I wolf out on James, is that okay?"
"James is fair game," she said, laughing at her own pun. Remus stared at her as they walked and she quickly turned her laugh into a cough. "Sirius would have laughed," she muttered under her breath, giving him a smile.
"Yeah, well Sirius is whipped, isn't he?" Remus replied with a mischievous grin. Demi smacked him lightly on she shoulder as they arrived infront of the portrait, "Pinecones," Remus said, as the Fat Lady gave the pair a wink, before opening the door.
The others were sprawled across the floor, books, pieces of parchment, and broken quills scattered across the floor. Remus' eyes threatened to pop out of his head, "did a bomb go off?" he asked, as he headed to the boy's dormitory, nudging Peter in the side of the abdomen.
"Mhmm, no. Working. Homework. Sleep," the blonde muttered, as he flicked through his copy of A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.
At the table, Lily tossed her quill down and flung herself over her chair, "done," she wheezed.
James, who was sitting next to her grinned, before patting her arm. "Well done Evans," he said, as his other hand began to pull the essay she'd finished towards him, "I'll just check it over for you- hey!"
Lily ripped it out of his hands, her eyebrows raised, "Yeah, and then after that, I'll do your Apparition test for you too!" She shoved the papers into her page, before grabbing the rest of her stuff and heading to the girl's dormitory, "sleeeeep" she whined.
James watched her sadly, and looked back at the small paragraph at the top of his parchment, "ten more inches, that's all I ask."
"Ask as much as you want mate, you're not getting any taller," Sirius grumbled, his head resting on his copy of Defence Against the Dark Arts: The Front Line. He gave a loud snore, and suddenly woke up, his eyes wide. James whacked him over the head and began to write once more. Sirius shot him a dark look and massaged the back of his head, looking around the room while the others sniggered at him. "What happened?" he murmured. His eyes landed on Demi, who was heading to the dormitory, and he yelled out, "Love, give me a head massage?" he asked.
Demi managed not to roll her eyes as her fists curled in her pockets, "sorry, my head hurts enough," she said, somewhat strained. Remus watched from the boy's staircase, waiting in case he had to intervene.
Sirius grinned, "great, we can do each other."
Everyone rolled their eyes as James turned to his friend and hit him over the head once more- this time with the textbook. "Why? Why must you say these things in front of me? That's my sister!"
Sirius grinned sheepishly, and Demi sighed before heading up to kill some time before going out for the full moon.
Remus followed suit, before quickly heading back out to go to the hospital wing. Slowly, Alice and Frank headed up. Followed by Kiaria and Marlene. Peter, James, and Sirius hastily finished their essays and tossed their books and quills into their bags, and tossed them into their dorm before returning, armed with the Marauder's Map and the invisibility cloak. Demi emerged from the girl's staircase, wearing a hoodie with the words "The Thrill is Gone" written from the strings of brown guitar. She threw the hood up so her face was hidden, and nodded to the others, who covered themselves with the invisibility cloak, before casting a disillusionment charm on herself and opening the portrait door for them.
They quickly ran down through the school and to the Whomping Willow, where Peter did the usual and transformed to press the knot at the base. Demi was the first to go through the tunnel, and as they approached the Shack on the other side, they heard a loud whine and moan, as though an animal were being injured. She quickly ran, with the others following closely behind until they reached the trap door.
Demi flung it open and quickly transformed, a stag, dog, and mouse followed behind her. They appeared at the next floor, and saw Remus laying on the floor, his left leg badly scratched and chunks of his fur matted in blood, which slowly pooled around him. He'd scratched his face a fair few times as well, and was biting his left forearm with such ferocity, it was sure to come off.
Demi quickly barreled headlong and knocked him in the head. Remus turned and gave her a snarl, as if to say "don't push you luck or you're next."
Demi bared her teeth and nudged Remus before placing her head between Remus's arm and head, so he could no longer bite it. The werewolf growled before conceding defeat, knowing the four animals were quite stubborn. He howled, and placed his head on top of hers. Demi ignored the blood that tricked onto her from Remus's face, and looked at the others, who followed suit. They all managed to cover part of Remus so he was not able to bite himself, and waited for the werewolf to fall asleep.
James took a look around the room and saw that the sofa and bed were both badly damaged, and there were clawmarks all around the walls. Some parts of the wood had been gnawed at continuously, leaving gaping holes for the moonlight to shine through.
Sirius followed James's eyes and noticed the same things. He turned to Demi, who had nuzzled into Remus's chest, and found something stirring in his stomach as he watched the pair. His eyes narrowed and his mind went blank before filling with and emotion he had never felt since Demi had broken up with Jeremiah.
It was jealousy.
When Remus had finally fallen deeply asleep, the four animals swiftly made their way downstairs and transformed back into humans. Thankfully, Demi still had her hood up, so she didn't notice the dark looks Sirius shot in her direction as he covered himself with the cloak.
The return journey was quite quick in Sirius's opinion. But that was probably because he'd spent so much time thinking about what he had seen tonight. Demi and he hadn't spent a single moment alone since their first date, which wasn't normal for new couples. They had been going out for six months, and while part of their relationship had taken place in private, he thought that once they had ousted themselves, she would have wanted to spend more time with him in public, without fear. His mind lingered on the fact that she constantly spent her time with Remus. In fact, he hadn't seen one without the other in the past few weeks. The only time they were apart was when they were sleeping, or going to the washroom. Perhaps they'd become closer because they weren't exactly complete humans.
His mind ground to a halt.
"Complete humans?" he thought. "I've never thought of Moony as less that human before this. Nor have I ever thought the same about Demi. They're people. They're my friends. She's my girlfriend. She's not some sort of creature. She's my girlfriend." He reminded himself of this fact all throughout the night, and hoped that he would be able to get some sleep. Lo and behold, it was six forty when he managed to close his eyes peacefully, before being shaken awake twenty minutes later by James. He pretended to have had a refreshing nap and headed over to the washroom, his head hurting from lack of sleep and stress.
Demi was quite annoyed to see that Remus was not in the Great Hall as she and Lily headed down for breakfast. The pair had Arithmancy first and were hoping that Remus would show up today, since he was the only one that understood the prevous week's lessons, and they had a test on it today.
"I don't see him, but I suppose late is better than never," Sirius said, as he sat next to Demi. James and Peter sat across from the pair and Demi found herself forced to plaster a fake smile on her face, when all she really wanted to do was throttle the man sitting next to her.
They made small talk, Demi only opening her mouth when she was spoken to directly. Sirius didn't look to bothered by her behaviour, but had noticed she was less and less talkative, which was saying something as they usually never shut up.
Sirius continued to wolf down his food at what would have been an alarming rate (but at this point, everyone was used to his behaviour). He paused before asking Demi his next question, "Do you want to stay over at Andromeda's with me for part of the holidays? She really wants to meet you," he said, not looking her in the eye for fear that she may gouge his eyes out.
Demi bit her lip and racked her brain for some sort of excuse that would be believable. She was saved from giving an answer immediately by the arrival of Remus.
Remus was surprised he managed to get out of the bed at the Wing this morning. His transformation last night had been one of the most painful ones since he was a child. While he usually knew not to hurt himself, he was filled with so much rage and frustration but hadn't a proper outlet through which to exert his anger. Huge chunks of flesh were missing from his leg, his back was bruised, he'd cracked a few ribs, and he'd raked his claws over his face so many times the previous night, he was surprised that he hadn't caught at the skin of his eyes. Madam Pomfrey had been most shocked when she came to retrieve him in the really hours of the morning, and had to conjure a stretcher to get Remus back into the school before the rest of the students woke up. He spent the next few hours being mended by the matron, before he insisted on heading to classes. She'd been most reluctant, but Remus had known the woman for five years, and knew she would not be easily swayed. So he turned on the "Lupin Charm" as Lily had dubbed it (Remus had a knack for using a person's own position against them) and managed to persuade the matron to let him leave the Wing to attend classes, promising not to overexert himself. Pomfrey had sighed before nodding and insisting he use a walking cane to allow his leg to mend properly throughout the day.
She look up at him and gave him a quick smile while James's eyes widened. He looked around and made sure the Hufflepuffs, who were staring at Remus moments ago were occupied. "Moony what happened?"
"You look like you went from 16 to 60," Peter added, as he passed Remus some food. He grimaced, "Thanks Prongs, Wormtail." He said, giving them each a nod. "Anything you want to add Padfoot?" he said as he took a seat on Demi's right, who poured him some coffee.
Sirius shook his head, "No, they've taken all the good insults Grandpa," causing Remus to laugh.
They ate in silence before Remus turned to Demi, "Ready for the test?" he asked.
Demi nodded, "Yeah, are you old man?" she teased, as she fixed his hair while he ate. Remus stuck his tongue out and continued to eat.
Just then, Lily arrived and took the empty seat on Remus's left. "You look like hell," she said, as he ate.
Remus rolled his eyes, "I'm fine." James gave him a look that read, "You're kidding me, right?" Remus dropped his fork, "Come off it Prongs, it's been worse."
"Don't suppose drinking blood will help you, will it?" Demi said, offering her metal flask out to Remus, who wrinkled his nose. "Guess not," she muttered, taking a few quick gulps, before shoving it back in her pocket.
"Lovely," said Lily, rolling her eyes at Demi, who grinned and showed Lily the blood in her mouth. The redhead squeezed her eyes shut, "I told you not to do that!"
Demi took a quick sip of water, "Sorry. Forgot."
"That's my girl," said Sirius, weaving a hand around Demi's waist and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Lily rolled her eyes, "get a room," she muttered.
"We have," Sirius said, wriggling his eyebrows.
James blanched, "Sirius," he said in a warning tone. "You don't have a sister, so you don't understand how much that bums me out."
"Sorry," said Sirius, not bothering to sound as though he meant it.
They relaxed for a few moments, before the students began to filter out of the Great Hall, and to their classes. Demi threw Remus's arm around her shoulder and managed to lift him up easily while Lily grabbed his bag. "You guys don't have to-" Remus said, as Lily passed him his walking stick.
Lily rolled her eyes, "You're in pain Remus. And we're here to help you through it. That's what friends do. We help."
Remus grinned as the three of them headed out of the hall and towards their arithmancy class.
Sirius eyed Remus and Demi warily. He knew that Demi being taller and stronger than Lily- would be able to bear the weight of a full-grown man, but it still bothered him that she enjoyed being so close to Remus more that she enjoyed being close to him. He followed the others out to their Muggle Studies class, his mind more focused on his girlfriend, than memorizing basic physics.
Demi, Remus, and Lily headed to their Arithmancy quite slowly, as Remus found it difficult to go up the stairs one by one. While the students behind them on the atirs were patient with Remus, some of them couldn't help but wonder why he was fine one day and severely injured the next. As they approached the class, Lily checked her watch. "We've got about three minutes before class starts," she said as Remus rested his back on the stone wall.
The rest of their classmates were in a line by the door, all turning to look at Remus across the hallway. "What's wrong with you Lupin? Pull a muscle?" said one of the Slytherins, while the others laughed. Some of them widened their eyes as they looked at Remus' marred face.
Remus turned bright red, and Lily turned to face the girl, "Its better than pulling your face, you should know that."
Some of the students laughed, and Remus murmured, "thanks Lils."
"Yeah, but what's wrong with his face?" said a Hufflepuff girl, eyeing Remus with mild interest, causing Remus to feel uncomfortable.
"What do you mean? I've always thought Remus was gorgeous," said Demi, leaning back, but pulling Remus's arm around her shoulders and weaving an arm round his waist like Sirius did to her at breakfast.
Lily followed suit, "I know! Those eyes, right?" she asked Demi, who nodded.
Remus merely grinned as he knew what the pair were doing. Some of the girls in line turned and began to look at him, their heads tilted sideways. Much to his surprise, some of them nodded in agreement.
Demi noticed this and added, "and he's smart-"
"Not to mention he has a killer sense of humor," Lily added.
"And he's incredibly strong-" Demi interjected.
"A force to be reckoned with," Lily finished.
Before they could add more, Vector appeared and unlocked the door, allowing the line of students to enter the class.
Remus, leant on Demi once more, while Lily shouldered his bag, "You owe us," she said, giving Remus a wink.
"Feel free to copy my answers," Remus whispered as they took their usual table in the back of the room. Remus sat between the pair and rested his cane on the wall behind them.
"Excellent," said Lily and Demi in unison. Lily reached in her bag and pulled out a bar of Honeydukes Plain Chocolate- Remus's favourite.
"For your troubles," she said, in a business-like tone.
Remus nodded once and took the bar, slipping it into his bag as he pulled his quill, parchment, and ink out.
In the afternoon, the other Marauders took it upon themselves to help Remus around the school. While Peter (being the shortest) held Remus, Sirius, and James's bags, the other pair flanked Remus, their arms wrapped around Remus's waist and back. They strutted down the halls like they were participants in some sort of three legged race, and were enjoying themselves immensely.
Remus blushed as the students walking by watched them with mild interest, questioning looks, and pure amusement. "You guys don't have to do this," he muttered.
Sirius, who was beaming, grabbed Remus's arm and threw it over his shoulder, "Are you kidding Moony?" he asked. "People need to know you're taken!"
"I didn't know you swung for both sides, Padfoot" said James with a smirk, glad that for once this wasn't a joke about Sirius and his sister.
"Oh yeah, sometimes you can't pick just one," Sirius replied, causing the other three to laugh.
That evening, the majority of Sirius's humor had dissipated. Immediately after dinner, Remus and Demi headed straight for the library. He'd decided to joint them, but found that the pair were working in complete silence, speaking only through looks, and gesturing at one another to various questions with their eyebrows raised.
About an hour later, Sirius headed to the washroom, partially because he needed to go, and because he was trying to think of to something that would break the awkward silence/tension that filled the air around their table. He expected that they would continue to work in silence during his absence. Or perhaps they would whisper quietly.
What he didn't expect was for the pair to be laughing so hard, Madam Pince had swooped down upon them and begun to reprimand them for their raucous behaviour. He watched fom behind a bookshelf as the pair managed to stifle their laughter. Hoping that this would break the tension, he returned to the table, and smiled, "Pince was pissed. What did you do?"
Remus opened his mouth, and was about to speak, before Demi glared at him. He cleared his throat and said, "Oh, uh- Arithmancy joke. You wouldn't get it."
"Uh-huh," said Sirius, flicking his tongue. He paused before beginning to pack up his stuff, "I'm going to head to the common room. Coming love?" he asked.
Demi shook her head, "I'm good here thanks," she replied shortly.
Sirius nodded, before turning on his heel and marching out of the library, slamming the door behind him.
Demi and Remus jumped before looking at the door, and back at one another. Remus looked at Demi, "Can't you tell him now? He's getting pretty angry, and you know what he's like when he's angry," he pleaded.
"I don't care how angry he gets. Doesn't make up for what he did," she replied in a cold tone.
Remus raised his hands, "Don't bite my head off, I'm just saying."
"I know Remus. I just need time to clear my head before I decide whether I want to stay with him after confronting him, or if I want to end it," she sighed, looking at Remus for a sign that he might help her decide.
Remus recognized that look instantly. It was the one she gave him any time the subject of her problem with Sirius was broached. "I don't know what to do Demi. You have to do what you think is right. What can you handle?"
She rubbed her eye as Remus rested a hand atop hers, "Not much if I'm being perfectly honest."
"There's your answer," Remus replied with a small smile.
Sirius didn't know where his feet were taking him as he headed round the school randomly. "They're so…. So….. I don't even know what they are. I mean, she's my girlfriend, and as my best friend, Moony should know Demi and I need to spend some time together. She should know that. Couples hang out together sometimes and we have the same friends, we're in the same classes, and the same house. I live in the same goddamn house as her. Maybe this is what Jeremiah meant when he cheated on Demi. Yeah sure, I don't agree with what he did, but she does seem to spend a lot of time with guys who aren't her boyfriend….
He continued in this vein, getting more and more worked up, his eyes closed as his thoughts and images formed before him. It wasn't until he ran headlong into another student that he was pulled from his thoughts completely.
"Sorry," he muttered, not bothering to look at who the student was.
"Sirius, are you alright?" the voice said. Sirius recognized it immediately, and looked down. The bright red hair and green eyes were all too familiar. This is just what he needed, a friend, someone who could listen.
Lily looked at Sirius, whose thoughts seemed miles away. She was hoping to run into him, as she was wondering where Demi and Remus were, and she'd seen Sirius accompany the pair to the library after dinner. "Sirius, are- are you alright?" she asked, looking up at him.
He bit his lip before deciding. Suddenly, he grabbed her arm and led her into an unoccupied class, slamming the door behind him.
"Sirius! What's going on!" Lily asked, sounding both exasperated and worried. Sirius's back was turned to her as he closed the doors, and she rested a hand on his shoulders, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "Sirius," she said, quietly this time, "what's going on?"
Sirius took a few deep breaths before, turning to face her, his grey eyes immediately latching onto her green ones as he tried to find the words. "I think….. I think Demi is cheating on me with Remus."