Chapter Forty-Eight: Sirius's and James's Drawing Skills Truly Ought to be Commended

"Today, we will be reviewing magical creatures that frequently occur on the Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. exam. I expect you all to take detailed notes, which I will be grading," announced Professor Reynance, writing 'Defense Against the Dark Arts: Magical Creatures' on the blackboard.

"Fuckin' hate graded notes," muttered Sirius. "They're such bullshit."

"First," said Professor Reynance, "Werewolves." He wrote the word in large capital letters on the board.

Remus groaned. "If this is some propaganda bullshit about what evil monsters werewolves are, I'm probably going to throw my desk out the window.

In big letters on the top of his parchment, Sirius wrote 'Bullshit About Werewolves.' He drew a little smiley face next to it. Under that, he drew a heart, and wrote 'SB + RL' inside of it.

"Alright," said Professor Reynance, clearing his throat. "Who can tell me things that distinguish a werewolf from a regular wolf?"

One hand shot up on the Slytherin side of the room. "They have a shorter snout and tufted tail and their eyes are more human-like. They're also much more aggressive and will attack almost exclusively humans, often without being provoked."

"Good, thank you." Professor Reynance wrote these down, and most of the students copied them down.

Remus's fists were clenched under the table, crumpling his parchment into a tight ball. Sirius was drawing crude pictures of himself shooting Professor Reynance in the balls with an old-fashioned bow and arrow.

"Professor?" asked a different student.

"Yes, Mr. Snape?"

"What about werewolves in their human form? Are there ways to tell that they're werewolves?"

"Damn you, Snivellus," muttered Sirius. Remus was clearly upset, and he grabbed Remus's hand. Remus smiled gratefully at him, though it was strained.

"Well, Mr. Snape," said Professor Reynance, "that's a lot harder. There aren't any absolute giveaways, other than actually seeing them transform, but there are a few things. For a few days before and after the full moon, werewolves are usually rather sick. They also obviously regularly disappear on the night of the full moon. They tend to age prematurely, due to the stress of the transformations."

Remus turned away. He was extremely pale and looked a little bit sick. It was probably the conversation, but Sirius realized that tonight actually was the full moon. This had to be a coincidence, right? Professor Reymance was a lovely person. It was a sick fucking coincidence, though.

Professor Reymance kept lecturing and asking questions, but Remus zoned out. He felt like he might throw up. He gripped Sirius's hand harder. "I don't feel so good," he whispered to Sirius.

Sirius nodded. "Professor Reymance? Sir?" he asked, raising his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Black?"

"Remus isn't feeling well," said Sirius. "Is it ok if I take him to the hospital wing?"

"Yes, of course."

Sirius took Remus by the arm and led him out of the classroom. The only thing that he registered were Snape's narrow, suspicious eyes following them out of the room. He quickly led Remus to the nearest bathroom and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Listen to my breathing, Remy," he said softly. "Can you try and match it?"

Remus nodded, trying to slow his breathing and stop hyperventilating. He clutched at the edges of Sirius's robes. Sirius held him, reassuring the smaller boy that he was safe and everything was ok.

"That's it, that's it," murmured Sirius as Remus calmed down. "That's it, Remy. I've got you."

Remus took a deep breath, steadying himself. "What the fuck was Snape up to?"

Sirius shook his head. "I don't know."

"You- you don't think he knows something, do you?"

"Nah. He's a fucking idiot. Can't see anything past that giant-ass nose."

"But what if he-"

"Don't worry about it, Remy." Sirius smiled at his boyfriend and kissed him gently. "It's ok."

Remus nodded. "It's ok," he said to himself. "It's ok."

They stayed there for the rest of the period. It was their last period of the day, luckily. James and Peter brought their stuff. Remus smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

"Of course," said James. "Don't worry about it. You doing ok?"

He shrugged. "Feel pretty shitty. But, then again, that's how you tell that someone's a werewolf, so it's not like I'm going to parade it around."

"I'm sorry." James hugged him, albeit slightly gingerly.

"Thanks."

"Of course."

Remus was exhausted. Everything hurt, and he knew it was just going to get worse. It was a dull, aching pain that resonated in his bones. His head hurt, too, like the beginning of a migraine.

Sirius grabbed Remus's bag, and the boys headed back to the dorms. "I have notes from class," said Peter, once they were all in the room, with James and Peter on James's bed, and Sirius and Remus on Peter's bed, Remus leaning against Sirius, trying to get comfortable. "But I'm assuming you don't want or need them."

Remus looked over at him tiredly. "Actually, Pete," he said, "if you don't mind, I'd really appreciate them. You know, since I've never had any experience at all with werewolves."

James laughed and pulled a scribbled-on piece of parchment out of his back. He tossed it to Remus. "There you go, all the notes you'll need."

Remus looked at it. It was a drawing of Remus's human head on a werewolf's body, eating Snape. He laughed, though there was a little bit of pain in his eyes. "Thanks, James. Really don't know how I would pass the O.W.L. without your help."

"Anytime, anytime."

Sirius launched into some wild story, but Remus wasn't listening. He was tired and in pain and anxious about tonight. His eyes drooped, and his head slipped farther down on Sirius, until he was practically laying in his boyfriend's lap.

Sirius didn't seem to mind, though. He kept right on with the story, and gently played with Remus's hair. Remus was mostly asleep and couldn't tell what Sirius was saying, but he could hear the tone. It sounded happy and lighthearted, and he fell asleep to the thought of just how much he loved his boyfriend.

A/N:

surprise motherfuckers double update :))

i feel so fucking numb. but also very excited about finishing the fic. it's my baby. i'm so fucking proud of it. i've literally been writing it for like barely over 2 months. like holy shit. thank you all so much for supporting me and reading it and commenting and shit. ur all fucking fantastic

take care, drink some water, take ur meds. i love you all so much 3

ktf xolyn