The Story Tellers
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Set in Remus's and Sirius's 4th year at Hogwarts. ((Slash))
**************************************************************************** ***********************************************
The rain had settled in heavily during the winter. Through the muggy damp, drizzle, countless students were falling ill with flu, sneezing relentlessly and covering their hands with their thick winter coats. Quidditch had been cancelled for at least the season, and rain had confined most children into a maddening state of restlessness and boredom. No one was more affected by this harsh deficiency than Sirius Black who moodily sat by the window, glaring angrily out into the freedom of the rain scattered fields.
He sneezed, covered his nose and groaned inwardly. His head was whirling and his throat was extremely sore. At least he didn't have to go to lessons, he thought, curling his legs up onto his seat and resting his head on his knees. He stayed in that position for a few minutes before lifting his head reluctantly and turning the pages of his transfiguration book.
"Animagi..." he muttered curiously. He glanced at the criteria in order to change the human form and ticked off the tasks that he could achieve. He shut his eyes hard and saw a painful dazzle of white stars and whimpered.
Realising he couldn't concentrate, he crawled to his bed and curled his heavy, silk duvet over him. He found his pet rat, Larry, burrowed in his pillow, and petted his bunched, furry back affectionately. The door opened quietly, and an awkward looking boy with pale cheeks and pale brown hair shuffled in throwing his satchel on the ground. A faint twitch of a smile played round his lips and his lively grey eyes sparkled with a secret amusement.
"Don't tell anyone I'm missing Potions," he whispered, shaking off his damp cloak and cleaving off his boots. "I can't stand Professor Durston anymore! He really has it out for me!"
Sirius watched his rat crawl from out of his pillow and disappear off the brink of his bed.
"Potions is easy. All you have to do is measure things right and mush them up together."
Remus avoided his stare and scratched the back of his head nervously, "Mmhmm..."
"Think you can sneak me out of here?" Sirius whispered, unconsciously imitating Remus's secretive manner.
Remus bent down, placed his boots by the door, draped his cloak on a chair back, threw his satchel on his bed and shook his hands off casually. Out of all his friends, Sirius thought, Remus looked like the oldest. Although he was on the short side and still young and boyish round the mouth and shoulders, he had this unfortunate habit of dressing like an old man. Beneath his formal black robes, he wore light brown trousers, a pinstripe shirt (rolled up at the sleeves) and an odd looking waistcoat that was simultaneously too big and too small for him.
"Last time we tried to sneak you out, you bumped straight into Snape, and we got into loads of trouble with McGonagall!" He exclaimed in a sharp whisper, "Good thing you're her favourite and she gave you a second chance. But another trick like that, she says, and you'll be sent straight to Pomfrey's lair for complete confinement until you are better. Just think, all this magic, and there's still no cure for the flu!"
At this, he chuckled to himself oddly and threw himself on his bed which was next to Sirius's and crawled under the covers with a soft moan. He tossed and rolled uneasily in his sheets before thrusting himself onto his back and sighing.
"...And anyway, I've snuck out of Potions, in hope that I won't get caught. If I started wondering about the halls, we're sure to get caught and we'd both be in lots of trouble!"
"You're always into rules, Remus!" Sirius lied, pouting and crossing his arms over his chest. He glared angrily ahead and sighed, "And anyway, if you're not going to sneak me out of here, you may as well tell me a story."
"A story?"
"Oh, I don't know, a story, anything, just to amuse me...I like stories."
"All right... Do you want it to be funny or sad?"
"I don't care! I just want it to be...interesting..."
"Okay...Okay...Let me think." Remus curled onto his side, furrowed his eyebrows in deep concentration and began to think. After a while, a strange, sad gaze overcame his face and begun, "There once was a boy who loved to play on rooftops. His little brother always used to follow him. They lived in the countryside and if you sat on the roof during a sun set, especially in Autumn, you saw the most beautiful colours. You know, like oranges and scarlets and even purples and pinks! They all seem to merge and move together and the boy loved to watch them fade and disappear into darkness."
Sirius burst into a giggle, "He sounds like a queer!"
Remus frowned and threw a pillow at his friend deeply irritated, "He never got the chance to find out. Anyway, his love for the sky in the day was no match for his love of the sky at night. He adored divination and he often took his constellation book out with him, you know, to see the different star arrangements. One night, he went out on the roof in order to make predictions. He'd been keeping records of the weather to know when would be the best night for a cloudless sky. He set up everything just perfect. His mother had given him a large thick robe, warm milk and snacks in the kitchen if he got hungry through the night. Things went well at first. It was a full moon and the boy watched it with memerised awe. He almost forgot about the other stars in the sky.
"Anyway, while he was watching the moon he heard a sharp shuffling sound behind him. He turned his head immediately and saw little hands clawing through the window behind him. Shocked and frightened, he slipped down the roof, scraping his knees across the slate tiles and caught himself before he tipped over the edge of the house. 'Go away!' he shouted, as his little brother came out onto the roof. His brother giggled and shook his head. He traipsed about on the roof flippantly, flicking round the boy's microscope and trying to look through it clumsily. 'Stop it! You're going to break it!' the boy cried desperately. But at that moment, things grew worse. A low, haunting howl broke through the night's sky and looking down, he swore he saw something move in the garden. Shocked, he fell off the roof and thudded on the ground below.
"His shoulder was cracked and he could feel blood run over his wrists and knees. At once, a dark, black beast came mounting his way. It had a wrinkled snout, a large muscular back and two fierce, silver circles for eyes: it was a werewolf. He tried to shout for help, but time had stopped for him. The werewolf slashed at him, snarling, growling, gnashing at his torso and forearm. Just before it was about to lunge its teeth into the boys neck, his little brother came hurtling off the roof and onto the wolf's back to stop it. The wolf howled at the impact and the boy crawled from beneath the large claws of the beast and hid behind some rose bushes. He watched in horror as the beast flung his brother beneath him, ripped at his robes and gashed open his torso with its large claws. The boy would never forget the screams as the beast ripped open his heart and ate it hungrily. The boy lay shocked and shivering, clasping onto a rock in vain in attempt to frighten the beast. Yet it was too late, his brother was dead. Crying desperately, he threw the rocks at it, but it made no difference. The beast had found its prey and would not move from its victim.
"His parents had been woken in a matter of seconds and the boy was whisked away into the house weeping and into safety, while the wolf preyed on his little brother."
Sirius lay wild-eyed and slightly pale. "What happened next?"
"The boy's father tried to frighten off the wolf with a few hexes, but they did not work. He was a pitying man and knew that behind that beast was an ordinary human. He knew his son was dead and nothing could bring him back to life, so he saved the silver bullets and let things run their natural course. Once the beast was satisfied, it had no interest in the house anymore and moved on. At dusk, they called a wizarding doctor for the boy. They told him that he would survive but that there would be one thing that they would have to prepare for. Every full moon, he would become a werewolf for the rest of his life."
"What happened to the boy?" Sirius asked eagerly.
Remus had his face concealed in his duvet, but he continued in a weak shivering voice, "The boy blamed himself for his brother's death. He dreaded the moon and he dreaded what would happen to him. He went crazy and never spoke to anybody for a month. When he turned into a wolf for the first time, it was so painful and violent that he was unconscious for days afterwards. He knew he could never love or make friends because of who he was. Facing a life of endless solitude, he killed himself a year later."
There was a long, awkward silence.
"Far out story!" Sirius laughed joyfully.
Remus stayed silent and trembling for a short while.
"So." he said, "Now it's your turn."
"My turn to what?"
"Tell a story."
Sirius moaned and coughed twice in a weak, feeble manner. Placing his hand behind his head, he screwed up his eyes as if in deep concentration and began.
"When I was eleven years old, my father took me to a bonfire display. He had some muggle friends who he wanted to please, you know, my dad's like that. That's why we have a thousand muggle contraptions. Anyway, when I was over there, I met this boy named Gary. He had these crude black eyes..." he paused to cough, "...like abysses and tunnels. I didn't like the look of him but because he was my father's friend's son, I didn't have a choice but to socialise with him. There were cuts and bruises all over his face, he was a real rough looking sort, and whenever I tried to say a word to him, he used to clench his giant fists into large balls and growl at me. I wasn't daunted of course, I just found him odd.
"Anyway, Gary and I stood by the fireside, wrapped in our thick coats and bulky gloves, holding these wand like things called sparklers. Gary had been very stupid and dropped his on the grass where it died out. So he threatened to dash my teeth out if I didn't hand him mine. My resentment grew and I refused. Before I could complain, he snatched it from my grasp and because he was so clumsy, he dropped it on the ground where it died out. He was such a dunce! I laughed at him and he looked at me with those large, queer eyes and struck me across the face, before stalking off into the surrounding woods.
"My father was busy talking to the boy's father and when I tried to speak to him he brushed me off and asked me to play with 'my friend'. I stared at the fire for a few more moments, wishing the fireworks would come on soon, but it was dead boring and so I went out in search of Gary. I mounted towards the woods. I couldn't find him for a long time. I could hear fireworks in the distance going whoosh! boom! crackle! and from time to time, the woods alit with bright-coloured lights. I contemplated going back to watch them but I couldn't turn back now. I carried on my trek through vague, woodland paths and suddenly I heard a sharp cry in the distance. I rushed towards its direction. And there he was! Sitting quietly on a tree trunk, facing the large sky with two tears dripping down his cheeks. 'Gary?' I cried astonished and disbelieving. He had his wrist cradled in his lap and there was blood all over his forearm. It gushed out, you know, like a fountain."
Remus grimaced and uttered the word, "Brill."
"Yea, anyway, I asked what had happened to him and he said that he had fallen over in the distance and a badger slashed his wrists."
"A badger?"
"A badger. They can be really grouchy and mean, you know. He said that he had fought it off, but I didn't believe him! You see, there was a razor blade hanging out of his pocket. It was wet with blood."
"You mean he cut himself?" Remus said with a wince.
"Yea, that's what I think. I didn't question him on it though. I think he knew. I told him that I knew a potion to heal his wounds."
"A magical potion? You can't use those on muggles."
"Yes, I know, but the blood was bad. Pass me that Potions book over there and I'll show you which one!"
Remus lurched reluctantly from his bed and took a large dusty leather-bound book off the table. He staggered to Sirius's bed, plonked it down with a thud and crawled under his bed sheets, snuggling beside Sirius.
"You'll make yourself ill if you get too close..." Sirius squirmed a little and flicked his way through the pages, "Ah! Here it is! The Fern-Needle healing potion! See? We only get to learn this in the third year and I'd already learnt it."
Remus nodded, pretending to be impressed.
"It was really dark so I couldn't see where I was going that well. Gary was quietly sobbing as I went to fetch the pine needles, the pine cones, rain water and the rest of the ingredients. Once I had found them and did so really quickly, I mixed it up all together and presented it to Gary. He looked at me scornfully, as if I was trying to poison him or something. But I wasn't going to let the idiot bleed to death, so I grabbed his wrist, poured the sludgy potion over him! He was immediately healed!
"Initially Gary was frightened. He called me some sort of unnatural devil, a freak, a monster. Every time I tried to explain that I just wanted to help, he had complete fits! After he had calmed down, I explained to him that he couldn't tell anybody about what I did, or how. I wrapped my cloak round him because he was shivering in shock and cold. He was crying again, you know really crying. I could tell he was trying to hide it, but he couldn't. I...put my arm round him and asked him what was wrong.
"He couldn't speak at first, as if he was horrified or something. He looked me in the eyes and told me that there were these bunch of older boys who bullied him and made him do things to them. He wouldn't say what though. He told me that everybody hated him because he was awkward and ugly and had messy clothes. Then he said he hated me for being perfect: you know, for having nice hair, clean clothes and a friendly personality. I didn't really know what to say. I couldn't argue that what he said wasn't true. He was horrible to look at and horrible to be with. But at that moment, he did something completely unexpected. He went terribly silent, leaned in and kissed me. Just like that!"
Sirius paused pensively, without disgust or hatred.
"Sirius?" Remus asked quietly, looking up and smiling at Sirius. He leant forward, shut his eyes and kissed him on the mouth. Sirius blinked.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
And the two boys parted, on that wet, groggy afternoon and a new story began.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Set in Remus's and Sirius's 4th year at Hogwarts. ((Slash))
**************************************************************************** ***********************************************
The rain had settled in heavily during the winter. Through the muggy damp, drizzle, countless students were falling ill with flu, sneezing relentlessly and covering their hands with their thick winter coats. Quidditch had been cancelled for at least the season, and rain had confined most children into a maddening state of restlessness and boredom. No one was more affected by this harsh deficiency than Sirius Black who moodily sat by the window, glaring angrily out into the freedom of the rain scattered fields.
He sneezed, covered his nose and groaned inwardly. His head was whirling and his throat was extremely sore. At least he didn't have to go to lessons, he thought, curling his legs up onto his seat and resting his head on his knees. He stayed in that position for a few minutes before lifting his head reluctantly and turning the pages of his transfiguration book.
"Animagi..." he muttered curiously. He glanced at the criteria in order to change the human form and ticked off the tasks that he could achieve. He shut his eyes hard and saw a painful dazzle of white stars and whimpered.
Realising he couldn't concentrate, he crawled to his bed and curled his heavy, silk duvet over him. He found his pet rat, Larry, burrowed in his pillow, and petted his bunched, furry back affectionately. The door opened quietly, and an awkward looking boy with pale cheeks and pale brown hair shuffled in throwing his satchel on the ground. A faint twitch of a smile played round his lips and his lively grey eyes sparkled with a secret amusement.
"Don't tell anyone I'm missing Potions," he whispered, shaking off his damp cloak and cleaving off his boots. "I can't stand Professor Durston anymore! He really has it out for me!"
Sirius watched his rat crawl from out of his pillow and disappear off the brink of his bed.
"Potions is easy. All you have to do is measure things right and mush them up together."
Remus avoided his stare and scratched the back of his head nervously, "Mmhmm..."
"Think you can sneak me out of here?" Sirius whispered, unconsciously imitating Remus's secretive manner.
Remus bent down, placed his boots by the door, draped his cloak on a chair back, threw his satchel on his bed and shook his hands off casually. Out of all his friends, Sirius thought, Remus looked like the oldest. Although he was on the short side and still young and boyish round the mouth and shoulders, he had this unfortunate habit of dressing like an old man. Beneath his formal black robes, he wore light brown trousers, a pinstripe shirt (rolled up at the sleeves) and an odd looking waistcoat that was simultaneously too big and too small for him.
"Last time we tried to sneak you out, you bumped straight into Snape, and we got into loads of trouble with McGonagall!" He exclaimed in a sharp whisper, "Good thing you're her favourite and she gave you a second chance. But another trick like that, she says, and you'll be sent straight to Pomfrey's lair for complete confinement until you are better. Just think, all this magic, and there's still no cure for the flu!"
At this, he chuckled to himself oddly and threw himself on his bed which was next to Sirius's and crawled under the covers with a soft moan. He tossed and rolled uneasily in his sheets before thrusting himself onto his back and sighing.
"...And anyway, I've snuck out of Potions, in hope that I won't get caught. If I started wondering about the halls, we're sure to get caught and we'd both be in lots of trouble!"
"You're always into rules, Remus!" Sirius lied, pouting and crossing his arms over his chest. He glared angrily ahead and sighed, "And anyway, if you're not going to sneak me out of here, you may as well tell me a story."
"A story?"
"Oh, I don't know, a story, anything, just to amuse me...I like stories."
"All right... Do you want it to be funny or sad?"
"I don't care! I just want it to be...interesting..."
"Okay...Okay...Let me think." Remus curled onto his side, furrowed his eyebrows in deep concentration and began to think. After a while, a strange, sad gaze overcame his face and begun, "There once was a boy who loved to play on rooftops. His little brother always used to follow him. They lived in the countryside and if you sat on the roof during a sun set, especially in Autumn, you saw the most beautiful colours. You know, like oranges and scarlets and even purples and pinks! They all seem to merge and move together and the boy loved to watch them fade and disappear into darkness."
Sirius burst into a giggle, "He sounds like a queer!"
Remus frowned and threw a pillow at his friend deeply irritated, "He never got the chance to find out. Anyway, his love for the sky in the day was no match for his love of the sky at night. He adored divination and he often took his constellation book out with him, you know, to see the different star arrangements. One night, he went out on the roof in order to make predictions. He'd been keeping records of the weather to know when would be the best night for a cloudless sky. He set up everything just perfect. His mother had given him a large thick robe, warm milk and snacks in the kitchen if he got hungry through the night. Things went well at first. It was a full moon and the boy watched it with memerised awe. He almost forgot about the other stars in the sky.
"Anyway, while he was watching the moon he heard a sharp shuffling sound behind him. He turned his head immediately and saw little hands clawing through the window behind him. Shocked and frightened, he slipped down the roof, scraping his knees across the slate tiles and caught himself before he tipped over the edge of the house. 'Go away!' he shouted, as his little brother came out onto the roof. His brother giggled and shook his head. He traipsed about on the roof flippantly, flicking round the boy's microscope and trying to look through it clumsily. 'Stop it! You're going to break it!' the boy cried desperately. But at that moment, things grew worse. A low, haunting howl broke through the night's sky and looking down, he swore he saw something move in the garden. Shocked, he fell off the roof and thudded on the ground below.
"His shoulder was cracked and he could feel blood run over his wrists and knees. At once, a dark, black beast came mounting his way. It had a wrinkled snout, a large muscular back and two fierce, silver circles for eyes: it was a werewolf. He tried to shout for help, but time had stopped for him. The werewolf slashed at him, snarling, growling, gnashing at his torso and forearm. Just before it was about to lunge its teeth into the boys neck, his little brother came hurtling off the roof and onto the wolf's back to stop it. The wolf howled at the impact and the boy crawled from beneath the large claws of the beast and hid behind some rose bushes. He watched in horror as the beast flung his brother beneath him, ripped at his robes and gashed open his torso with its large claws. The boy would never forget the screams as the beast ripped open his heart and ate it hungrily. The boy lay shocked and shivering, clasping onto a rock in vain in attempt to frighten the beast. Yet it was too late, his brother was dead. Crying desperately, he threw the rocks at it, but it made no difference. The beast had found its prey and would not move from its victim.
"His parents had been woken in a matter of seconds and the boy was whisked away into the house weeping and into safety, while the wolf preyed on his little brother."
Sirius lay wild-eyed and slightly pale. "What happened next?"
"The boy's father tried to frighten off the wolf with a few hexes, but they did not work. He was a pitying man and knew that behind that beast was an ordinary human. He knew his son was dead and nothing could bring him back to life, so he saved the silver bullets and let things run their natural course. Once the beast was satisfied, it had no interest in the house anymore and moved on. At dusk, they called a wizarding doctor for the boy. They told him that he would survive but that there would be one thing that they would have to prepare for. Every full moon, he would become a werewolf for the rest of his life."
"What happened to the boy?" Sirius asked eagerly.
Remus had his face concealed in his duvet, but he continued in a weak shivering voice, "The boy blamed himself for his brother's death. He dreaded the moon and he dreaded what would happen to him. He went crazy and never spoke to anybody for a month. When he turned into a wolf for the first time, it was so painful and violent that he was unconscious for days afterwards. He knew he could never love or make friends because of who he was. Facing a life of endless solitude, he killed himself a year later."
There was a long, awkward silence.
"Far out story!" Sirius laughed joyfully.
Remus stayed silent and trembling for a short while.
"So." he said, "Now it's your turn."
"My turn to what?"
"Tell a story."
Sirius moaned and coughed twice in a weak, feeble manner. Placing his hand behind his head, he screwed up his eyes as if in deep concentration and began.
"When I was eleven years old, my father took me to a bonfire display. He had some muggle friends who he wanted to please, you know, my dad's like that. That's why we have a thousand muggle contraptions. Anyway, when I was over there, I met this boy named Gary. He had these crude black eyes..." he paused to cough, "...like abysses and tunnels. I didn't like the look of him but because he was my father's friend's son, I didn't have a choice but to socialise with him. There were cuts and bruises all over his face, he was a real rough looking sort, and whenever I tried to say a word to him, he used to clench his giant fists into large balls and growl at me. I wasn't daunted of course, I just found him odd.
"Anyway, Gary and I stood by the fireside, wrapped in our thick coats and bulky gloves, holding these wand like things called sparklers. Gary had been very stupid and dropped his on the grass where it died out. So he threatened to dash my teeth out if I didn't hand him mine. My resentment grew and I refused. Before I could complain, he snatched it from my grasp and because he was so clumsy, he dropped it on the ground where it died out. He was such a dunce! I laughed at him and he looked at me with those large, queer eyes and struck me across the face, before stalking off into the surrounding woods.
"My father was busy talking to the boy's father and when I tried to speak to him he brushed me off and asked me to play with 'my friend'. I stared at the fire for a few more moments, wishing the fireworks would come on soon, but it was dead boring and so I went out in search of Gary. I mounted towards the woods. I couldn't find him for a long time. I could hear fireworks in the distance going whoosh! boom! crackle! and from time to time, the woods alit with bright-coloured lights. I contemplated going back to watch them but I couldn't turn back now. I carried on my trek through vague, woodland paths and suddenly I heard a sharp cry in the distance. I rushed towards its direction. And there he was! Sitting quietly on a tree trunk, facing the large sky with two tears dripping down his cheeks. 'Gary?' I cried astonished and disbelieving. He had his wrist cradled in his lap and there was blood all over his forearm. It gushed out, you know, like a fountain."
Remus grimaced and uttered the word, "Brill."
"Yea, anyway, I asked what had happened to him and he said that he had fallen over in the distance and a badger slashed his wrists."
"A badger?"
"A badger. They can be really grouchy and mean, you know. He said that he had fought it off, but I didn't believe him! You see, there was a razor blade hanging out of his pocket. It was wet with blood."
"You mean he cut himself?" Remus said with a wince.
"Yea, that's what I think. I didn't question him on it though. I think he knew. I told him that I knew a potion to heal his wounds."
"A magical potion? You can't use those on muggles."
"Yes, I know, but the blood was bad. Pass me that Potions book over there and I'll show you which one!"
Remus lurched reluctantly from his bed and took a large dusty leather-bound book off the table. He staggered to Sirius's bed, plonked it down with a thud and crawled under his bed sheets, snuggling beside Sirius.
"You'll make yourself ill if you get too close..." Sirius squirmed a little and flicked his way through the pages, "Ah! Here it is! The Fern-Needle healing potion! See? We only get to learn this in the third year and I'd already learnt it."
Remus nodded, pretending to be impressed.
"It was really dark so I couldn't see where I was going that well. Gary was quietly sobbing as I went to fetch the pine needles, the pine cones, rain water and the rest of the ingredients. Once I had found them and did so really quickly, I mixed it up all together and presented it to Gary. He looked at me scornfully, as if I was trying to poison him or something. But I wasn't going to let the idiot bleed to death, so I grabbed his wrist, poured the sludgy potion over him! He was immediately healed!
"Initially Gary was frightened. He called me some sort of unnatural devil, a freak, a monster. Every time I tried to explain that I just wanted to help, he had complete fits! After he had calmed down, I explained to him that he couldn't tell anybody about what I did, or how. I wrapped my cloak round him because he was shivering in shock and cold. He was crying again, you know really crying. I could tell he was trying to hide it, but he couldn't. I...put my arm round him and asked him what was wrong.
"He couldn't speak at first, as if he was horrified or something. He looked me in the eyes and told me that there were these bunch of older boys who bullied him and made him do things to them. He wouldn't say what though. He told me that everybody hated him because he was awkward and ugly and had messy clothes. Then he said he hated me for being perfect: you know, for having nice hair, clean clothes and a friendly personality. I didn't really know what to say. I couldn't argue that what he said wasn't true. He was horrible to look at and horrible to be with. But at that moment, he did something completely unexpected. He went terribly silent, leaned in and kissed me. Just like that!"
Sirius paused pensively, without disgust or hatred.
"Sirius?" Remus asked quietly, looking up and smiling at Sirius. He leant forward, shut his eyes and kissed him on the mouth. Sirius blinked.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
And the two boys parted, on that wet, groggy afternoon and a new story began.