TITLE: How to Find a Mate in Less than Thirty Days [3/?]
AUTHOR: Samantha [kali_neba@hotmail.com]
RATING/CONTENT: PG-13, Sirius/Remus, some James/Lily, minor language, very minor mentions of sexual situations
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. JK Rowling owns the lot of them.
A glowing ember
burning hot, burning slow
deep within I'm shaken by the violence
of existing for only you
I know I can't be with you
I do what I have to do
But I have the sense to recognize that
I don't know how to let you go
-- "Do What You Have To Do," by Sarah McLachlan
There are certain things about life that Remus had come to expect, and one of those was the Sirius and James were eventually going to brew the wrong antidote and end up dead on the dungeon floor. He sighed, watching Purslane close in on the pair at the back of the room. Sirius smiled half-heartedly at the professor, and James went pale as their antidote turned blue rather than the required purple.
"Those two are going to end up dead," Lily muttered. "If they would just study..."
"Ah, yes, but that would make sense, wouldn't it?" Remus replied as Purslane caught sight of James and Sirius's potion.
"Mr. Potter, you are aware that the antidote is supposed to be purple, yes?"
"I'd, uh, I'd suspected as much, Professor," James replied, and Remus could hear Purslane sigh in frustration.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor for sheer incompetence," she stated, turning away from them and heading towards her desk. "Make sure your stations are clean, and then leave. Class dismissed."
The flurry of noise as the students disposed of leftover antidotes and ingredients was nearly deafening, and Remus and Lily hurried out of the potions classroom before Purslane could find another reason to deduct points.
"I'll never understand why you two don't at least attempt to try in that class," Lily muttered, intertwining her arm with James's. "You have top marks in everything else."
"True, but we can't excel at everything. We'd get a reputation," James replied as the four of them stepped out of the dungeon.
"Right, and you wouldn't want a reputation," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Well, at least not one that contradicts the current Marauder reputation," Sirius replied, putting an arm around Lily's shoulders and ignoring James's glare. "And besides, I'm quite sure that Purslane wouldn't know what to do if James and I were ever the perfect student. She expects us to be lackluster, and I, for one, would hate to disappoint a professor."
"Right," James replied, nodding and pushing Sirius's arm off of Lily. Sirius merely stuck his tongue out at James wrapped his other arm around Remus, who caught sight of Lily's quick grin at the gesture.
"I've got Divination," Lily stated, unwrapping her arm from James's and leaning up on the tips of her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "See you at lunch." She grinned at Remus and Sirius again before running for the North Tower.
"And we've got Arithmancy," James stated, turning and heading in the opposite direction.
"Oh, joy," Sirius muttered before glancing at Remus. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. No pain, no passing out," Remus replied, smiling slightly, "Lily's plotting, though."
"I figured. She was casting odd looks at me and James during Potions," Sirius replied as the two of them followed James down the corridor. He was quiet for a second before clearing his throat. "Did you tell her?" he asked.
"Yeah," Remus stated quietly, "She immediately started working on a plan."
"She's been around us too long," Sirius said, glancing at Remus, meeting the other boy's eyes. "Remus?" he asked, his voice soft. "I really need to tell you something."
"Is something wrong?" Remus asked, turning and facing his friend, concern slicing through his mind.
"What? No, no, nothing's wrong exactly. It's just that....sometimes people spend time toget--" Before Sirius could finish his though a feminine voice rang out in the hall.
"Oi, Remus!" The pair turned to see a small blonde girl pushing through the crowd. "Lily said there was something you need to tell me? She said it was urgent." She glanced at Sirius. "Sirius," she said, nodding in greeting.
"Rebecca," Sirius replied, stepping away from Remus, his cheeks reddening slightly. Remus glanced at Sirius, raising his eyebrows in a question. Sirius gestured with his chin at Rebecca. Remus smiled slightly and led Rebecca a short distance away. Remus glanced over his shoulder one more time and met Sirius's eyes. Remus visibly start as he caught sight of hurt and confusion in his friend's gaze, but Sirius grinned suddenly, the brief flash of emotion gone.
"Um, Rebecca, what exactly did Lily tell you?" Remus asked.
"Just that you had something urgent to tell me. She didn't specify, and she was in a hurry to get to class," Rebecca said.
"I, uh, I wanted to know if you would be interested in a-a picnic?" he asked, watching her closely. She smiled brightly.
"That would be wonderful," Rebecca replied.
"Would this afternoon be good or tomorrow?"
"This afternoon will be perfectly fine," she stated, smiling at him before turning and running back towards the Divinations room.
"I'm going to kill, Lily," Remus stated, turning to face Sirius. Except Sirius was no longer there, and Remus couldn't see him in the corridor anywhere. He shrugged, figuring that Sirius had grown tired of waiting and gone ahead to class.
However, Sirius wasn't in the Arithmancy classroom either, Remus noted as he claimed his seat next to James before Professor Vector cleared her throat and began the lecture. James glanced at Remus, catching his eyes and indicating Sirius's empty chair on the other side of Remus. Remus shook his head in response and pulled out his quill to begin taking notes. His gaze, however, kept drifting down to the empty chair, and Remus couldn't help spending the rest of the hour wondering about his friend's odd behavior.
"You have no clue where he is?" James asked, stuffing his books into his bag as he startled Remus out of his contemplation.
"None. We were in the hall when Rebecca, from Hufflepuff, came up, and when I turned back he was gone," Remus said, shaking his head. "It was odd."
"Maybe he forgot something this morning? He rushed out of the Common Room almost as soon as he was awake," James replied as the two of them headed out of the classroom walking towards the Great Hall. "He'll probably be at lunch, flirting with the third-years, I'm sure."
"I hope so," Remus sighed, glancing around at the crowd, hoping to catch some sight him. They entered the Great Hall, but found only Lily sitting at their usual spot at the end of the Gryffindor table.
"Hey," she greeted, looking up from her Divination's text. Her eyes narrowed though, noticing the missing Marauder. "Where's Sirius?"
"We were hoping you had seen him. Did you see him come in here?" James asked, dropping down onto the bench beside her.
"Not at all," she said, glancing up a Remus, who had gone pale as an inexplicable dread settled in his gut.
"He disappeared after Rebecca and I talked," Remus stated, sitting down across the table from them and resting his head in his hands.
"Oh," Lily muttered, her eyes suddenly wide, "OH!" She hopped to her feet, grabbing her books and tucking them under her arms. She kissed James's temple and rushed out of the Hall, brushing past Dumbledore on her way out. The Headmaster turned and regarded James and Remus with a curious glance. Lunch passed in silence, as Remus mostly just moved his food around on his plate, hardly taking a bite of any of it.
"I'm getting worried," James finally muttered, dropping his fork on to his plate and getting up from the table.
"Me too," Remus agreed, rising to his feet, and the two of them headed out of the Hall and towards Gryffindor Tower. They rushed down the corridor, calling out the password ("Mooncalf!") to the Fat Lady, and into the Common Room.
"They're not here," James commented, heading towards the stairs to the boys' dormitory.
"They're not up there either," Peter commented, watching Remus and James from one of the chairs by the fireplace. "Lily left about ten minutes ago."
"Where, Peter?" Remus asked, stepping over to the smaller boy. Peter smiled slightly, brushing a piece of light green hair out of his eyes.
"The Shrieking Shack, I think," he replied. "At least, that's where Sirius was going."
"Thanks, Peter," James commented, already pulling Remus towards the door. "Your hair looks a lot better," he commented over his shoulder as the two of them open the portrait hole and hurried down the corridor.
"I don't know what's going on," James began as the two of them stepped out into the sunlight. "But Sirius hasn't been himself today." Remus nodded his understanding. "And I think it has a lot to do with whatever happened last night."
"I noticed," Remus stated, glancing over at James as the neared the Whomping Willow, and the two of them fell into the normal routine as James distracted the tree, earning a lass across his arm for his trouble, and Remus slipped between the branches to tap the knot. As the tree stilled and the passage opened, James and Remus slipped into the opening. "I'm sick, James. It's difficult to explain, and I can do it better later tonight." James nodded his acceptance as they reached the Shrieking Shack.
"Well, at least, we found them," James muttered, pointing out a trail of recent footprints in the dust leading up the stairs. They were halfway up the stairs before the could hear Lily's voice plainly.
"Sirius, if you would just stop being stubborn," she was saying.
"And, what, Red? Tell Remus? Become a laughing stock? Not really my idea of hijinks," Sirius replied.
"If you would just tell him, then we wouldn't have to worry about things a month from now, would we?" James raised his eyebrows at Remus at that, but Remus just shook his head.
"So, let's assume I tell him. Let's assume that I pour my heart out, and he tells me that he's already decided, and I'm not his choice?" Sirius paused then, and James and Remus could hear him sigh. "I'm not sure if I could deal with that."
"You're in love with him," Lily stated, her voice calm and filled with understanding. James's gaze shot over to Remus whose eyes widened in response.
"Yeah, and what if....by Merlin, Red, what if he assumes that I'm only saying it because he's dying?"
"Dying?" James mouthed at Remus, and he nodded in return, taking an unconscious step forward, up the stairs, but James hand stopped him from moving.
"He'll know you're not. Gods, Sirius, it's obvious. I mean, the way you look at him should be proof enough," Lily replied.
"And if it's not? What if he can't stand to be around me after...Red, it hurts to even think about him dying, but to loose him before then...that hurts even more."
"I-If you'd just talk to him, Sirius," she replied, "Maybe, maybe things will work out. Just...just promise me you'll tell him before the month is up." There was a second of silence, before, softly, Lily said, "Please."
"I promise. Soon. I'll tell Remus soon." James watched Remus closely, and the other boy swallowed heavily.
"Remus?" James whispered.
"I need...I need to get out of here," Remus replied, turning and rushing down the stairs and back into the passage as the door on the landing creaked open.
---------------------
Continued....
AUTHOR: Samantha [kali_neba@hotmail.com]
RATING/CONTENT: PG-13, Sirius/Remus, some James/Lily, minor language, very minor mentions of sexual situations
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. JK Rowling owns the lot of them.
A glowing ember
burning hot, burning slow
deep within I'm shaken by the violence
of existing for only you
I know I can't be with you
I do what I have to do
But I have the sense to recognize that
I don't know how to let you go
-- "Do What You Have To Do," by Sarah McLachlan
There are certain things about life that Remus had come to expect, and one of those was the Sirius and James were eventually going to brew the wrong antidote and end up dead on the dungeon floor. He sighed, watching Purslane close in on the pair at the back of the room. Sirius smiled half-heartedly at the professor, and James went pale as their antidote turned blue rather than the required purple.
"Those two are going to end up dead," Lily muttered. "If they would just study..."
"Ah, yes, but that would make sense, wouldn't it?" Remus replied as Purslane caught sight of James and Sirius's potion.
"Mr. Potter, you are aware that the antidote is supposed to be purple, yes?"
"I'd, uh, I'd suspected as much, Professor," James replied, and Remus could hear Purslane sigh in frustration.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor for sheer incompetence," she stated, turning away from them and heading towards her desk. "Make sure your stations are clean, and then leave. Class dismissed."
The flurry of noise as the students disposed of leftover antidotes and ingredients was nearly deafening, and Remus and Lily hurried out of the potions classroom before Purslane could find another reason to deduct points.
"I'll never understand why you two don't at least attempt to try in that class," Lily muttered, intertwining her arm with James's. "You have top marks in everything else."
"True, but we can't excel at everything. We'd get a reputation," James replied as the four of them stepped out of the dungeon.
"Right, and you wouldn't want a reputation," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Well, at least not one that contradicts the current Marauder reputation," Sirius replied, putting an arm around Lily's shoulders and ignoring James's glare. "And besides, I'm quite sure that Purslane wouldn't know what to do if James and I were ever the perfect student. She expects us to be lackluster, and I, for one, would hate to disappoint a professor."
"Right," James replied, nodding and pushing Sirius's arm off of Lily. Sirius merely stuck his tongue out at James wrapped his other arm around Remus, who caught sight of Lily's quick grin at the gesture.
"I've got Divination," Lily stated, unwrapping her arm from James's and leaning up on the tips of her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "See you at lunch." She grinned at Remus and Sirius again before running for the North Tower.
"And we've got Arithmancy," James stated, turning and heading in the opposite direction.
"Oh, joy," Sirius muttered before glancing at Remus. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. No pain, no passing out," Remus replied, smiling slightly, "Lily's plotting, though."
"I figured. She was casting odd looks at me and James during Potions," Sirius replied as the two of them followed James down the corridor. He was quiet for a second before clearing his throat. "Did you tell her?" he asked.
"Yeah," Remus stated quietly, "She immediately started working on a plan."
"She's been around us too long," Sirius said, glancing at Remus, meeting the other boy's eyes. "Remus?" he asked, his voice soft. "I really need to tell you something."
"Is something wrong?" Remus asked, turning and facing his friend, concern slicing through his mind.
"What? No, no, nothing's wrong exactly. It's just that....sometimes people spend time toget--" Before Sirius could finish his though a feminine voice rang out in the hall.
"Oi, Remus!" The pair turned to see a small blonde girl pushing through the crowd. "Lily said there was something you need to tell me? She said it was urgent." She glanced at Sirius. "Sirius," she said, nodding in greeting.
"Rebecca," Sirius replied, stepping away from Remus, his cheeks reddening slightly. Remus glanced at Sirius, raising his eyebrows in a question. Sirius gestured with his chin at Rebecca. Remus smiled slightly and led Rebecca a short distance away. Remus glanced over his shoulder one more time and met Sirius's eyes. Remus visibly start as he caught sight of hurt and confusion in his friend's gaze, but Sirius grinned suddenly, the brief flash of emotion gone.
"Um, Rebecca, what exactly did Lily tell you?" Remus asked.
"Just that you had something urgent to tell me. She didn't specify, and she was in a hurry to get to class," Rebecca said.
"I, uh, I wanted to know if you would be interested in a-a picnic?" he asked, watching her closely. She smiled brightly.
"That would be wonderful," Rebecca replied.
"Would this afternoon be good or tomorrow?"
"This afternoon will be perfectly fine," she stated, smiling at him before turning and running back towards the Divinations room.
"I'm going to kill, Lily," Remus stated, turning to face Sirius. Except Sirius was no longer there, and Remus couldn't see him in the corridor anywhere. He shrugged, figuring that Sirius had grown tired of waiting and gone ahead to class.
However, Sirius wasn't in the Arithmancy classroom either, Remus noted as he claimed his seat next to James before Professor Vector cleared her throat and began the lecture. James glanced at Remus, catching his eyes and indicating Sirius's empty chair on the other side of Remus. Remus shook his head in response and pulled out his quill to begin taking notes. His gaze, however, kept drifting down to the empty chair, and Remus couldn't help spending the rest of the hour wondering about his friend's odd behavior.
"You have no clue where he is?" James asked, stuffing his books into his bag as he startled Remus out of his contemplation.
"None. We were in the hall when Rebecca, from Hufflepuff, came up, and when I turned back he was gone," Remus said, shaking his head. "It was odd."
"Maybe he forgot something this morning? He rushed out of the Common Room almost as soon as he was awake," James replied as the two of them headed out of the classroom walking towards the Great Hall. "He'll probably be at lunch, flirting with the third-years, I'm sure."
"I hope so," Remus sighed, glancing around at the crowd, hoping to catch some sight him. They entered the Great Hall, but found only Lily sitting at their usual spot at the end of the Gryffindor table.
"Hey," she greeted, looking up from her Divination's text. Her eyes narrowed though, noticing the missing Marauder. "Where's Sirius?"
"We were hoping you had seen him. Did you see him come in here?" James asked, dropping down onto the bench beside her.
"Not at all," she said, glancing up a Remus, who had gone pale as an inexplicable dread settled in his gut.
"He disappeared after Rebecca and I talked," Remus stated, sitting down across the table from them and resting his head in his hands.
"Oh," Lily muttered, her eyes suddenly wide, "OH!" She hopped to her feet, grabbing her books and tucking them under her arms. She kissed James's temple and rushed out of the Hall, brushing past Dumbledore on her way out. The Headmaster turned and regarded James and Remus with a curious glance. Lunch passed in silence, as Remus mostly just moved his food around on his plate, hardly taking a bite of any of it.
"I'm getting worried," James finally muttered, dropping his fork on to his plate and getting up from the table.
"Me too," Remus agreed, rising to his feet, and the two of them headed out of the Hall and towards Gryffindor Tower. They rushed down the corridor, calling out the password ("Mooncalf!") to the Fat Lady, and into the Common Room.
"They're not here," James commented, heading towards the stairs to the boys' dormitory.
"They're not up there either," Peter commented, watching Remus and James from one of the chairs by the fireplace. "Lily left about ten minutes ago."
"Where, Peter?" Remus asked, stepping over to the smaller boy. Peter smiled slightly, brushing a piece of light green hair out of his eyes.
"The Shrieking Shack, I think," he replied. "At least, that's where Sirius was going."
"Thanks, Peter," James commented, already pulling Remus towards the door. "Your hair looks a lot better," he commented over his shoulder as the two of them open the portrait hole and hurried down the corridor.
"I don't know what's going on," James began as the two of them stepped out into the sunlight. "But Sirius hasn't been himself today." Remus nodded his understanding. "And I think it has a lot to do with whatever happened last night."
"I noticed," Remus stated, glancing over at James as the neared the Whomping Willow, and the two of them fell into the normal routine as James distracted the tree, earning a lass across his arm for his trouble, and Remus slipped between the branches to tap the knot. As the tree stilled and the passage opened, James and Remus slipped into the opening. "I'm sick, James. It's difficult to explain, and I can do it better later tonight." James nodded his acceptance as they reached the Shrieking Shack.
"Well, at least, we found them," James muttered, pointing out a trail of recent footprints in the dust leading up the stairs. They were halfway up the stairs before the could hear Lily's voice plainly.
"Sirius, if you would just stop being stubborn," she was saying.
"And, what, Red? Tell Remus? Become a laughing stock? Not really my idea of hijinks," Sirius replied.
"If you would just tell him, then we wouldn't have to worry about things a month from now, would we?" James raised his eyebrows at Remus at that, but Remus just shook his head.
"So, let's assume I tell him. Let's assume that I pour my heart out, and he tells me that he's already decided, and I'm not his choice?" Sirius paused then, and James and Remus could hear him sigh. "I'm not sure if I could deal with that."
"You're in love with him," Lily stated, her voice calm and filled with understanding. James's gaze shot over to Remus whose eyes widened in response.
"Yeah, and what if....by Merlin, Red, what if he assumes that I'm only saying it because he's dying?"
"Dying?" James mouthed at Remus, and he nodded in return, taking an unconscious step forward, up the stairs, but James hand stopped him from moving.
"He'll know you're not. Gods, Sirius, it's obvious. I mean, the way you look at him should be proof enough," Lily replied.
"And if it's not? What if he can't stand to be around me after...Red, it hurts to even think about him dying, but to loose him before then...that hurts even more."
"I-If you'd just talk to him, Sirius," she replied, "Maybe, maybe things will work out. Just...just promise me you'll tell him before the month is up." There was a second of silence, before, softly, Lily said, "Please."
"I promise. Soon. I'll tell Remus soon." James watched Remus closely, and the other boy swallowed heavily.
"Remus?" James whispered.
"I need...I need to get out of here," Remus replied, turning and rushing down the stairs and back into the passage as the door on the landing creaked open.
---------------------
Continued....