Cage | Chapter 8
A Harry Potter Fanfiction by Majokai Yukiko
Pairing: Remus + Sirius
Warning: Pre-slash
This is an amateur effort and does not intend to infringe on the rights of J K Rowling, Scholastic Books and its associates.
A/N: Dedicated to Ally for her wonderful ideas and efforts at beta-reading this piece of junk.
Son of twilight: I can't possibly let you die, can I? *smiles sweetly* Here it is! I can't update as frequently as I'd like to, thanks to this disgusting thing known as school. But I'll try.
Esaure: Thank you for that lovely compliment. I've never been given 'godhood' so to speak for my writing. Thank you!
Reddiej: This story is split into different arcs. We are still currently on the first arc, and I have 4 arcs planned, all the way up to James' and Lily's wedding. So yup, you are right. It's going to be a terribly LONG story. But I'm having fun writing it. Are you having fun reading it yet? ^0^
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Chapter 8: Valentine's Day Feast
"Remus, are you there?" Peter stood nervously beside his roommate's bed, shut out by the thick curtains that split the rest of the room into a different world. He shifted his weight from one leg to another, his eyes darting towards the closed door every moment or so.
A low groan that came from behind the curtains. Peter frowned, wondering whether if he should take a peek to check if his friend was fine. Remus definitely did not sound alright to him, but if he was too ill he would ask for help, right?
The short boy took another glance at the door, silently willing James and Sirius to return as soon as possible.
"Remus?" He asked again quietly, reaching out slowly towards the lapels of the curtain.
"Er…NO!"
Peter drew back his hand quickly, shocked by Remus's sudden outburst.
"It's alright," the voice behind the curtains hurried to say. "I'll be fine after a good night's sleep. Just go and enjoy yourself at the feast."
"But…it's the Valentine's Day feast!" The boy exclaimed. It was his favorite time of the year. The whole series of tests and examinations had yet to begin, but the various feasts had already started. Ever since the Christmas feast, they had the New Year's feast, the V-day feast, and Easter to look forward to. It was a heavenly time for any connoisseur of food. Especially a Hogwarts student who claimed to be one, for the house elves at the school were known throughout England to be the best and most willing to serve of all. Even the Malfoys and the Blacks could not claim better.
"Exactly!" Peter could almost 'hear' Remus smile, hidden though it was. "You'd better rush down to the Great Hall before James finishes your share too!"
Peter let out a yelp and turned around, nearly tripping over a small fold in the carpet in his hurry to get out of the room.
Behind the curtains, Remus grinned weakly and tugged his blankets closer around himself, shielding from view the growing hair on his arms.
***
The Great Hall was filled with pink and red streamers all around, no doubt being the handiwork of the great Professor Albus Dumbledore and his obsession with party decorations that went with the occasion, regardless of how distasteful they may be.
The long tables were all cleared away except for one, leaving a huge floor space for couples to dance. Sirius led the redhead in his arms off for another slow dance on the floor with a smile, catching a glimpse of his best friend pigging himself out over at the punch table.
What was her name again? Sirius wondered, his feet moving in step to the beat of the waltz. The good thing about being brought up in a pure blood family, they never spare any cost trying to educate him into being the "right" person for the heir. He had spent long afternoons learning how to walk into a room and command the right presence, or how to pick the proper robe for a certain occasion, and of course also how to dance at social functions. He had to learn all of that when all he had wanted to do was go outside with his broomstick and enjoy the feel of wind on his face without wondering whether or not he was doing it correctly.
The waltz ended shortly enough. Thank Merlin for that. Sirius could never understand why the crux of wooing a girl lies on the dance floor. Did it really matter if your date was a good dancer or not? He kept all these questions to himself. Outwardly, he gave a rakish grin and asked if she wanted to take a walk outside in the moonlight.
A little fresh air would do him good.
The moon was out, almost full. The garden was bathed beautiful in the silver moonlight, almost surreal in its appearance. Even the willow that nearly claimed his best friend's life some time ago stood still and silent in the shadows, ever watching.
Sirius frowned. Speaking of Remus, where was he? The dark haired boy looked around anxiously. The brunet, though soft-spoken, would seldom miss out the chance to be with the rest of the gang.
Letting go of the arm of the girl he was holding, he turned back towards the direction of the school.
And then stopped.
The full moon would be in a day's time. Who knew what the beast inside Remus could do at this time? Would a bite from a werewolf before a full moon be infectious? He wondered as a shiver ran involuntarily down his spine. How many nights had he slept with his bed next to a werewolf when the moon was almost full, when the beast was most likely to free itself from the boy's mental cage?
Perhaps he would have to reconsider the mental control of a ten-year-old boy.
"Sirius, what's wrong?" He looked down at the shorter girl next to her and gave her a charming smile worthy of a member of the Black family. He remembered her name now. It started with an 'E'.
"No…nothing's wrong."
Evans… Lily Evans. Yes, that was her name. Lily Evans.
***
"Where were you last night, Sirius?" The dark haired boy looked up from his toast, at his best friend's worried face from across the table.
James folded his arms and waited patiently for Sirius to reply. It was unlike Sirius to sneak off on any late night escapades without the rest of the Marauders, much less not informing them about it. Not telling Peter, James could excuse. The timid boy might not necessarily be the best person to pull pranks with. Not telling Remus, who had spent all of last night and the morning sick and huddling under his blankets was justifiable too. But they were like brothers! How could Sirius not tell him?
Whatever it was, James was definitely upset over Sirius Black keeping anything away from him.
Sirius grinned sheepishly and opened his mouth, about to reply when he found himself suddenly attacked by a glass of water.
Held by a hand attached to the body of a beautiful girl.
"Sirius Black!" Lily Evans cried angrily, slamming the glass onto an empty space on the table. "You stood me up!"
"Isn't that the girl Sirius was –"
"Shh!"
Sirius reached into his pocket for a handkerchief, wiping at his face calmly. It was refreshing, to see such a fiery tempered girl around. Most of the other girls he had stood up before would have picked a less crowded place to confront him. Not even his cousin Bellatrix had the nerve to raise such a racket in the Great Hall. It was simply unheard of.
Mudblood, the snob in him snorted.
"So? Do I even need to hand in an excuse letter for standing you up?"
"Sirius!" James shot his friend a look. Shrew or not, this was not the way to treat a girl.
Lily's face turned white with barely controlled fury. She grabbed for her wand, ready to throat a hex or two or nine straight into Sirius Black's unrepentant face when James, the boy with the messy black hair, the one who had been hanging around the bastard of a Black since day one, grabbed her wrist and stilled it.
"You won't want to be doing that," James Potter said smoothly, but he was quickly rewarded with a resounding slap.
Lily tugged herself free from the stunned boy, huffing in anger as she returned to her seat without a backward glance, where she was immediately flanked by her many female supporters.
James Potter remained motionless, his dark brown eyes wide with shock and awe behind his glasses. Slowly, he raised his hand to his face, resting his fingers against the red handprint on his cheek.
"Wow…" he murmured under his breath, his eyes on the redheaded figure sitting at the other end of the Gryffindor table.
***
"But Sirius…where were you last night?"
Sirius spun around sharply, irritation spread across his handsome features.
"Peter, I swear if you ask me that just one more time, I'll wring your fat useless head off that pudgy neck!" The small boy paled, sucking in his breath and stared at his friend with fearsome wide eyes. Sirius smirked, pleased with the effect of his words.
"Golden threads," he told the Fat Lady and crawled through the hole to the Gryffindor common room.
"Sirius…" Peter started again, moving to crawl in after the other boy. But the portrait slammed shut before him.
"Password please," the Fat Lady asked airily, busy admiring her reflection in a handheld mirror. Peter stood, stumped, and then scratched at his hair nervously. What was it again? He remembered it had something to do about sewing…
"Golden needles?" He tried. The Fat Lady raised an eyebrow at him, and looked away.
Behind the portrait hole, Sirius heaved a sigh of relief. While it was endearing sometimes to have your own private little fan club following you around, one man strong as it was, Peter Pettigrew grated painfully on his nerves more often than not. He could not understand why James allowed the boy to follow them around. With Remus' dashing wit, James' guts and his unstoppable charm, they could easily get themselves in and out safety of any prank they could possibly think up of. There was no need for a tagalong.
He threw his books casually onto the big sofa in the room and shrugged out of his robe. It was strange that the fire was kept burning in the fireplace, bathing the room in a soft warm glow. There should not be anyone up here since breakfast.
"Eh? I didn't know you were back, Sirius." Sirius started. Oh damn! I've forgotten about Remus!
Frozen in fear, Sirius turned around slowly, mentally bracing himself to meet perhaps the longhair snout of a wolf, or a pair of flashing demonic eyes. He expected a lot of terrible, horrifying things, but he was definitely not expecting to see a tired old smile on the pale face of Remus Lupin.
His longish light brown hair fell messily and lifelessly around his angular face. His amber eyes were almost yellow with fatigue. The oversized pajamas shirt he was wearing hung loosely over his slight frame, almost drowning the boy in its many folds. It had only been a day since Sirius last saw him, yet he could barely imagine how much weight his friend had lost.
Remus frowned, looking down uncomfortably at himself. He ran his fingers carelessly though his hair, sighing in unconscious exasperation at the loose strands that came off, like that of a dying man.
"Remus…your hair…"
"Oh, that." Remus leant against the wall, his eyes half-lidded. "I have not been feeling well since last night. Must have eaten something that didn't agree with me."
Liar, Sirius wanted to say, while mentally kicking himself at the same time. He never knew how the coming of the transformation would take so much out of his friend. How could he even think Remus as dangerous? He should more likely view Peter with mistrust than do so for Remus.
Too little, he realized. He knew too little about werewolves. What he needed was not the various books in his home library or the school library about how vicious the beasts could be.
He needed to know more about the man under the unwilling skin of the wolf.
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End of Chapter 8
Continue to Chapter 9