Storm Child

AUTHOR: Hex

RATING: PG-13

WARNINGS: Angst. Slash. Alcoholism. Resurrection

DISCLAIMER: As standard

NOTE: I have no personal experience with Alcoholism but I have seen how it effects people. With that in mind please bare with me as this fic is an experiment more than anything else ^.^

THANKS: none

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It was morning now and the sun shone dazzlingly bright on the rain soaked ground beneath it. Nature was waking, saturated in rain and ready to blossom new life. Birds sung their merry melodies to the clear blue summer sky as they rode the remnants of last nights winds through the crisp fresh air.

Sunlight poured through the windows of the house on the moor, directly onto the face of the drunkard man as he slept on his unmade bed, dressed in nothing but that which nature had given him.

Slowly, wakefulness came to him and heavy eyes were forced to open as heavy limbs moved to shield the sun from the worn thin face. His head was pounding and he felt bile rise in his throat but he choked it down. Forcing himself to sit, he looked around, trying to remember how he had made it to his room last night. It had been a long time since he had awoken here.

The door to his left opened and he turned to face the figure there. He blinked and opened his mouth to address the newcomer. No words came. Instead he found himself lent over the edge of the bed as he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the bedroom carpet.

The figure in the doorway left and by the time it returned with a cloth and stain remover, the drunkard was dry heaving at the stench of his own bile. Kindly, the newcomer pushed him back onto the bed and bent to clean the mess away. The drunk was breathing heavily, coughing every now and then as he attempted to regain control of his errant body.

The bed dipped suddenly as the figure sat on it and reached out to brush the drunks messy, unwashed hair from his face.

"What have you been doing to yourself, Remus?"

The drunk could not reply. Now shame and humiliation were leaking into his brain and he struggled to move away from the kind voice and hands. He did not deserve sympathy, he was pathetic. A grown man, reduced to this.

He needed wine and the false confidence it gave.

"Come on." The kind voice said as hands gripped him and pulled him from the bed, helping him stand. "Lets get you into a nice hot bath."

A bath. A bath sounded so nice and welcoming...

Remus blinked.

One minute he had been staggering down the hallway with the newcomers aid and now he was sitting in a bath, heat seeping into his bones. A wash cloth was moving across his back of it's ow accord as a razor scrapped the coarse hair from his chin.

His head still hurt, but whereas it had been pounding earlier now it simply throbbed. His vision had come back and he suddenly realised that his bathroom had changed. The last time he had been here the room had been as filthy as the rest of the house. The toilet had been blocked and overflowing and the sink and bath coated in a gelatinous layer of dirt and grime. Now, however, the entire room gleamed with sterile cleanliness.

"Remus."

He turned his head and took in the figure standing by the sink. He was tall and gave the impression of a thin man steadily gaining weight. His black hair was long and pulled back into a simply ponytail and his face was newly shaven. Deep brown eyes gazed at him with genuine concern and...something else.

It was a face he had not seen for a full year, a face his own drunk hazed mind had begun to doubt the existence of.

"Sirius."

Sirius Black moved away from the sink and came to kneel beside the tub, picking up a bottle of shampoo and pouring a liberal amount into his hand. "Close your eyes" was his whispered command and Remus complied, enjoying the feeling of Sirius's fingers threading through his hair and massaging his scalp as he spread the shampoo over his head. He shivered when a stream of water tumbled over him, washing the soap from him before Sirius repeated the gesture.

They remained in silence for a long time after that, as Sirius helped the still foggy and clumsy Remus to wash and dress. Now they were in the kitchen and Remus's tired eyes took in the empty sink and the sparkling clean surfaces. The room was almost unrecognisable to him now.

"You cleaned." He said simply, watching Sirius move around the room preparing some sort of meal. He could smell bacon and it made his empty stomach growl with inpatients.

"I had too, you were certainly in not fit state to do so."

"H-how long have you been here?"

"Two days." Sirius said, putting the bacon, egg and toast onto a plate and placing it in front of Remus. "You slept the entire time."

"Oh." Was all he could think to say, as he picked up the fork and began to shovel food ravenously into his mouth.

After a moment, Sirius placed a mug of coffee before him and sat down opposite to watch his friend eat. "How long has this been going on, Remus?"

"How long has what been going on?" He asked, his mouth full of food as he reached for the coffee.

"All of this! This place was a mess when I arrived!"

"Oh. That." He swallowed. "I just haven't had much time to clean. Research you know."

"Research into what? How much can one man drink before he kills himself!?"

"Relax Sirius, I can take care of myself."

"Forgive me fore saying I've seen evidence to the contrary."

Sighing, Remus stood and made his was to the refrigerator. He opened it and stuck his head inside. A moment later he pulled it out again, frowning. "Where has all of my wine gone?"

"I poured it down the sink."

"What!? You had no right to do that!"

"I had every right!" Sirius replied angrily, standing up and going to stand directly before his friend. "Take a look at yourself Remus, you're a mess!"

"It's none of your business how I look anymore Sirius! You had no right to interfere with my life! What are you doing here anyway!?"

Suddenly Sirius seemed to deflate and he moved to sit back at the table again. He sat for a moment with his head in his hands, taking deep breaths to calm himself. "Dumbledore sent me." He whispered, shaking, as Remus took his seat opposite again. "He told me to hide out here until he sends for us."

"Sends for us? What happened? Is Harry...!?"

"He's fine. As fine as he is going to be for a while, anyway. It was that stupid tournament!"

"What? What happened?"

"I..He..Harry..."

"Sirius? I thought you said Harry was alright?"

"He is." Sirius replied shakily. "He managed to escape, heaven knows how. He's back, Remus."

"Who is?"

"V...V...Him."

"Who?"

"Voldemort!"

*****

R&R please!

Oh the happy happy shortness of my parts! I promise, there will be ressuretion, and Remus is so not recovered from the drinking thing. Gomen for the length!

Laters

Hex.