Hey peoples!!! Sorry this chapter's taken so long. I've been loaded down
with homework and it sucks. Anyway...here's the next chapter!!
Thanks for all the reviews!!
Oh by the way, Lunaris, the song's called Recover Your Soul. Though I might switch to a different one soon, because I'm running out of lyrics.... in case anyone cares to know, the other song's called Healing Hands, also I might use Amazes Me. And Burning Buildings! Okay ... I'll be switching back and forth between them. There, that works.
On with the chapter! ^_^
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remus sat in the History of Magic classroom, pretending vaguely to listen to Professor Binns's droning voice. In the back of his mind, he was running over his most recent moments with Sirius. Sirius had been acting slightly differently lately, shooting Remus small smiles that made Remus's breath catch in his chest and his face burn bright red.
Remus came to himself for a few moments to copy down a name and date on his parchment, then sank back into the bliss of his thoughts.
'Remus! Er ... earth to Moony, are you alive?'
Once again, Remus was jerked out of his daydreams. James was standing beside his table, frowning ever so slightly. The bell had rung.
'You're not yourself lately, why're you always daydreaming?' James inquired curiously. Remus stood up and gathered his books, apparently very interested in examining his timetable of the rest of the day, clearly stalling for time.
'I ... I dunno, I've just got a lot on my mind,' He replied softly. Just then, Sirius strolled by, heading for the classroom door, beckoning to his two best friends to hurry up. As he passed he gave Remus another small smile. Remus felt his face burn and became even more seemingly fascinated with his timetable as he followed Sirius out of the classroom. James looked puzzled for a moment, and then a look of realisation dawned on his face. He glanced at Remus, whose eyes were glazed and unfocused as he stared at his timetable, occasionally stealing a look up at Sirius.
James hurried up beside Sirius.
'What's going on?' He asked flatly. Sirius frowned a bit and looked at James as they walked down the corridor with Remus trailing behind them.
'What d'you mean, Prongs?'
'I mean what's going on?' James repeated. 'With you and Remus.'
Remus looked up to listen to this conversation that he was overhearing.
'Nothing.'
'But you've both been acting weird around each other lately. I'm not blind, Sirius, I can see it.'
'See what?' Sirius's voice held a warning note now.
'I can see how you look at him, and how he looks at you ... you know what I mean. I think that you care about him more than what you say you do ... you know how much he cares about you. More than just a friend, I'd say, by how he's acting.'
'That isn't true, I don't care about him more than I say!'
Hearing Sirius's reply, Remus knew he couldn't listen anymore. He sped up and hurried past his friends towards the common room. He gave the password and darted up the stairs to his dormitory, fell onto his bed and pulled the hangings shut.
*^*^*^*^*^*
No room for conversation
Cold stares and angry words
Fall in pieces from our faces
We read "do not disturb"
*^*^*^*^*^* 'Remus?' Sirius's uncertain voice floated into the silent dormitory. Remus, lying behind his hangings, didn't reply.
'Remus, what's wrong? Why are you hiding in here?'
'What do you want?' Remus replied, his voice wavering.
'I ... '
'What?' Remus repeated, rather more aggressively than he had intended.
'I just ... I just wanted to know where you were.'
There was something in Sirius's voice that Remus hadn't heard before. It was uncertain, shaky, hesitant. Remus disregarded it.
'I'm here. All right? I can take care of myself, you don't need to check up on me.'
'Oh ... okay ... I'm sorry. I-I guess I'll leave now,' Sirius said softly. Remus heard the dormitory door click shut. He sat up and pulled back his hangings. Slowly, silently, he crept down the stone steps and out of the portrait hole. Nobody heard him and so no one tried to stop him. Quickening his pace, Remus made his way down to the dungeons.
Pushing open the door, Remus stepped into the dungeon room he had visited involuntarily a few nights before. Again, it was filled with people in black, hooded cloaks. Ryanne emerged from the small crowd, a confused look on her face.
'What are you doing here, Remus?' She inquired.
'I ... well ... I've come back, because ... I want to join you.'
'Really, now,' Ryanne said. She sounded pleased. 'That's perfect. Come over here.' She led Remus over to the corner. He knew what was coming this time. Ryanne pushed up his sleeve. He closed his eyes tightly.
A moment later, Remus bit back a scream of pain as a white-hot pain seared against the skin on his arm. It only lasted a few moments, and when he looked down, there was a mark engraved on his skin. It was a skull, with a snake protruding from its mouth like a tongue. The Dark Mark.
*^*^*^*^*^*
It used to be a sweet sensation
No price too high for love
Now I pay for this bitter taste
And the price is not enough
Such cruel sport for your kicks
Such hard knocks on my heart
How long before the pain ends
Tell me where living starts
^*^*^*^*^*^*
Still grimacing in pain, Remus gingerly touched the burnt mark on his skin. He felt a different pain that seemed to take place somewhere in his chest. This was wrong; this was not good...
'Perfect ... you're one of us now,' Ryanne said quietly. 'This is your family, your friends ... you're one of us.'
'One of you ... ' Remus repeated softly. If his own friends were going to treat him like they were ... if Sirius was going to ignore how he felt ... then this was the only thing he could turn to.
^*^*^*^*^*
I could have sworn we were all locked in
Ain't that what you said
I never knew it could hurt so bad
When the power of love is dead
*^*^*^*^*^*
'Sirius, where's Remus?' James asked, back in the Gryffindor common room.
'Up in the dormitory,' Sirius replied in a dull voice. 'He seemed upset.'
'I bet he overheard us ... ' James commented softly. 'Talking about him. Listen; tell me the truth about how you feel. I know this isn't like me, but you two are my best friends and ... well ... if there's something going on, you need to tell me.'
Sirius nodded. 'You were right ... I do care about him, much more than just as a friend ... but ... I didn't want to tell you. I mean, what if you had hated me forever?'
'You know I wouldn't do that, Padfoot.'
'I know ... ' Sirius sighed. 'I was just being stupid. I'd better go apologise to Remus and ... and tell him.' James nodded approvingly. Sirius stood up and hurried into the dormitory. But Remus's hangings were open and his bed empty. Sirius stared for a moment, then tore back downstairs, almost falling in his haste.
'James, Remus is gone!'
'What?'
'He's gone! And I bet I know where to ... ' Without further explanation, Sirius dashed out of the portrait hole and tore down the corridor with James at his heels. Panting, Sirius skidded to a halt outside of the dungeon room. He kicked the door open and flew inside the room with James still behind him.
'Remus! REMUS, where are you?!' Sirius shouted. A cloaked figure emerged out of the crowd. He pulled down his hood, and there was Remus, pale and glaring.
'What are you doing here, Sirius?' He asked softly, his voice shaking with suppressed hurt and anger.
'To get you! You have to get out of here! This is wrong, Remus, why are you doing this?' Sirius replied, his voice rising as Remus's became quieter.
'It's not like you really care. If you did ... if you really did, then you wouldn't have said what you did. I know that you know how I feel ... I can tell. And I can tell that you feel differently too, so why would you lie to James about it? And behind my back!'
'Listen, Remus ... I'm sorry, okay? I just didn't want to tell James ... I was afraid.'
'...Afraid?' Remus asked very quietly, frowning slightly and looking rather dreamily thoughtful for a moment.
'Yes. But now I'm even more afraid. If you stay here, Remus, you're going to get hurt.' Sirius's voice wavered. Remus looked at him for a minute, then dropped the cloak from his shoulders and walked towards Sirius and James.
Ryanne threw herself from the crowd of Death Eaters. 'You can't leave!' She shouted. 'You have sworn yourself to us, you are marked! If you leave you will only die!'
'It would be better than being part of this,' Remus replied, wondering how he could ever have thought becoming a Death Eater a good idea. Blinded by hurt, he couldn't see what was right in front of his face.
*^*^*^*^*^*
You're a cool little one
My dark southern breeze
Sweeps through my fingers
And it amazes me
Your envy shelters me
Lay down your burden
Mystery of ebony
^*^*^*^*^*^*
'Come on, Remus, let's get out of here,' James suggested, thoroughly confused by all the strange goings-on but glad to get away. Sirius put his arm around Remus's shoulders and led him out of the dungeon room, kicking the door closed behind him. Pulling out his wand, he pointed it at the door and murmered, 'Colloportus.' The door locked behind them.
Walking back up to the Gryffindor tower with Sirius and James, Remus rubbed his arm where the Dark Mark was seared into his skin. After they climbed through the portrait hole, Sirius grabbed Remus's arm and examined the burn.
'We can fix this, now, while it's still fresh,' James told Remus. 'But I'm not sure how to do it. Sirius knows, though.' Sirius pointed his wand at the burn mark and said:
'Heiloena!'
Immediately, the burn hissed slightly as though water was being poured on it, and slowly the marks began to disappear. They swirled closer and closer to the centre of the mark, then suddenly they weren't there anymore. The skin was quite smooth.
Remus threw himself at Sirius and hugged him so tightly Sirius felt as though his own ribs might crack.
'Thank you,' Remus muttered, his voice muffled by Sirius's shirt. 'They would have taken me. I'm sorry ... I promised you I wouldn't ... '
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Giving into the night time ain't no cure for the pain
You gotta wade into the water, you gotta learn to live again
And reach out for his healing hands
Reach out for his healing hands
There's a light, where the darkness ends
Touch me now and let me see again
Rock me now in your gentle healing hands
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
'Don't worry about it,' Sirius replied softly. 'As long as you're okay.'
Remus sighed shakily, a smile appearing on his face. He looked up at Sirius, a true smile playing across his lips. Then he turned and went up to the dormitory.
'Aren't you going to tell him, Sirius?' James inquired.
'I think he already knows,' Sirius replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow, that was a mega-long chapter!! But I promise it's not over, way more things need to happen. I'm like...flooded with ideas, so the next chappie will come soon. This is my longest chapter yet! What did you think, hm? Review please!! ^___^
Thanks for all the reviews!!
Oh by the way, Lunaris, the song's called Recover Your Soul. Though I might switch to a different one soon, because I'm running out of lyrics.... in case anyone cares to know, the other song's called Healing Hands, also I might use Amazes Me. And Burning Buildings! Okay ... I'll be switching back and forth between them. There, that works.
On with the chapter! ^_^
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remus sat in the History of Magic classroom, pretending vaguely to listen to Professor Binns's droning voice. In the back of his mind, he was running over his most recent moments with Sirius. Sirius had been acting slightly differently lately, shooting Remus small smiles that made Remus's breath catch in his chest and his face burn bright red.
Remus came to himself for a few moments to copy down a name and date on his parchment, then sank back into the bliss of his thoughts.
'Remus! Er ... earth to Moony, are you alive?'
Once again, Remus was jerked out of his daydreams. James was standing beside his table, frowning ever so slightly. The bell had rung.
'You're not yourself lately, why're you always daydreaming?' James inquired curiously. Remus stood up and gathered his books, apparently very interested in examining his timetable of the rest of the day, clearly stalling for time.
'I ... I dunno, I've just got a lot on my mind,' He replied softly. Just then, Sirius strolled by, heading for the classroom door, beckoning to his two best friends to hurry up. As he passed he gave Remus another small smile. Remus felt his face burn and became even more seemingly fascinated with his timetable as he followed Sirius out of the classroom. James looked puzzled for a moment, and then a look of realisation dawned on his face. He glanced at Remus, whose eyes were glazed and unfocused as he stared at his timetable, occasionally stealing a look up at Sirius.
James hurried up beside Sirius.
'What's going on?' He asked flatly. Sirius frowned a bit and looked at James as they walked down the corridor with Remus trailing behind them.
'What d'you mean, Prongs?'
'I mean what's going on?' James repeated. 'With you and Remus.'
Remus looked up to listen to this conversation that he was overhearing.
'Nothing.'
'But you've both been acting weird around each other lately. I'm not blind, Sirius, I can see it.'
'See what?' Sirius's voice held a warning note now.
'I can see how you look at him, and how he looks at you ... you know what I mean. I think that you care about him more than what you say you do ... you know how much he cares about you. More than just a friend, I'd say, by how he's acting.'
'That isn't true, I don't care about him more than I say!'
Hearing Sirius's reply, Remus knew he couldn't listen anymore. He sped up and hurried past his friends towards the common room. He gave the password and darted up the stairs to his dormitory, fell onto his bed and pulled the hangings shut.
*^*^*^*^*^*
No room for conversation
Cold stares and angry words
Fall in pieces from our faces
We read "do not disturb"
*^*^*^*^*^* 'Remus?' Sirius's uncertain voice floated into the silent dormitory. Remus, lying behind his hangings, didn't reply.
'Remus, what's wrong? Why are you hiding in here?'
'What do you want?' Remus replied, his voice wavering.
'I ... '
'What?' Remus repeated, rather more aggressively than he had intended.
'I just ... I just wanted to know where you were.'
There was something in Sirius's voice that Remus hadn't heard before. It was uncertain, shaky, hesitant. Remus disregarded it.
'I'm here. All right? I can take care of myself, you don't need to check up on me.'
'Oh ... okay ... I'm sorry. I-I guess I'll leave now,' Sirius said softly. Remus heard the dormitory door click shut. He sat up and pulled back his hangings. Slowly, silently, he crept down the stone steps and out of the portrait hole. Nobody heard him and so no one tried to stop him. Quickening his pace, Remus made his way down to the dungeons.
Pushing open the door, Remus stepped into the dungeon room he had visited involuntarily a few nights before. Again, it was filled with people in black, hooded cloaks. Ryanne emerged from the small crowd, a confused look on her face.
'What are you doing here, Remus?' She inquired.
'I ... well ... I've come back, because ... I want to join you.'
'Really, now,' Ryanne said. She sounded pleased. 'That's perfect. Come over here.' She led Remus over to the corner. He knew what was coming this time. Ryanne pushed up his sleeve. He closed his eyes tightly.
A moment later, Remus bit back a scream of pain as a white-hot pain seared against the skin on his arm. It only lasted a few moments, and when he looked down, there was a mark engraved on his skin. It was a skull, with a snake protruding from its mouth like a tongue. The Dark Mark.
*^*^*^*^*^*
It used to be a sweet sensation
No price too high for love
Now I pay for this bitter taste
And the price is not enough
Such cruel sport for your kicks
Such hard knocks on my heart
How long before the pain ends
Tell me where living starts
^*^*^*^*^*^*
Still grimacing in pain, Remus gingerly touched the burnt mark on his skin. He felt a different pain that seemed to take place somewhere in his chest. This was wrong; this was not good...
'Perfect ... you're one of us now,' Ryanne said quietly. 'This is your family, your friends ... you're one of us.'
'One of you ... ' Remus repeated softly. If his own friends were going to treat him like they were ... if Sirius was going to ignore how he felt ... then this was the only thing he could turn to.
^*^*^*^*^*
I could have sworn we were all locked in
Ain't that what you said
I never knew it could hurt so bad
When the power of love is dead
*^*^*^*^*^*
'Sirius, where's Remus?' James asked, back in the Gryffindor common room.
'Up in the dormitory,' Sirius replied in a dull voice. 'He seemed upset.'
'I bet he overheard us ... ' James commented softly. 'Talking about him. Listen; tell me the truth about how you feel. I know this isn't like me, but you two are my best friends and ... well ... if there's something going on, you need to tell me.'
Sirius nodded. 'You were right ... I do care about him, much more than just as a friend ... but ... I didn't want to tell you. I mean, what if you had hated me forever?'
'You know I wouldn't do that, Padfoot.'
'I know ... ' Sirius sighed. 'I was just being stupid. I'd better go apologise to Remus and ... and tell him.' James nodded approvingly. Sirius stood up and hurried into the dormitory. But Remus's hangings were open and his bed empty. Sirius stared for a moment, then tore back downstairs, almost falling in his haste.
'James, Remus is gone!'
'What?'
'He's gone! And I bet I know where to ... ' Without further explanation, Sirius dashed out of the portrait hole and tore down the corridor with James at his heels. Panting, Sirius skidded to a halt outside of the dungeon room. He kicked the door open and flew inside the room with James still behind him.
'Remus! REMUS, where are you?!' Sirius shouted. A cloaked figure emerged out of the crowd. He pulled down his hood, and there was Remus, pale and glaring.
'What are you doing here, Sirius?' He asked softly, his voice shaking with suppressed hurt and anger.
'To get you! You have to get out of here! This is wrong, Remus, why are you doing this?' Sirius replied, his voice rising as Remus's became quieter.
'It's not like you really care. If you did ... if you really did, then you wouldn't have said what you did. I know that you know how I feel ... I can tell. And I can tell that you feel differently too, so why would you lie to James about it? And behind my back!'
'Listen, Remus ... I'm sorry, okay? I just didn't want to tell James ... I was afraid.'
'...Afraid?' Remus asked very quietly, frowning slightly and looking rather dreamily thoughtful for a moment.
'Yes. But now I'm even more afraid. If you stay here, Remus, you're going to get hurt.' Sirius's voice wavered. Remus looked at him for a minute, then dropped the cloak from his shoulders and walked towards Sirius and James.
Ryanne threw herself from the crowd of Death Eaters. 'You can't leave!' She shouted. 'You have sworn yourself to us, you are marked! If you leave you will only die!'
'It would be better than being part of this,' Remus replied, wondering how he could ever have thought becoming a Death Eater a good idea. Blinded by hurt, he couldn't see what was right in front of his face.
*^*^*^*^*^*
You're a cool little one
My dark southern breeze
Sweeps through my fingers
And it amazes me
Your envy shelters me
Lay down your burden
Mystery of ebony
^*^*^*^*^*^*
'Come on, Remus, let's get out of here,' James suggested, thoroughly confused by all the strange goings-on but glad to get away. Sirius put his arm around Remus's shoulders and led him out of the dungeon room, kicking the door closed behind him. Pulling out his wand, he pointed it at the door and murmered, 'Colloportus.' The door locked behind them.
Walking back up to the Gryffindor tower with Sirius and James, Remus rubbed his arm where the Dark Mark was seared into his skin. After they climbed through the portrait hole, Sirius grabbed Remus's arm and examined the burn.
'We can fix this, now, while it's still fresh,' James told Remus. 'But I'm not sure how to do it. Sirius knows, though.' Sirius pointed his wand at the burn mark and said:
'Heiloena!'
Immediately, the burn hissed slightly as though water was being poured on it, and slowly the marks began to disappear. They swirled closer and closer to the centre of the mark, then suddenly they weren't there anymore. The skin was quite smooth.
Remus threw himself at Sirius and hugged him so tightly Sirius felt as though his own ribs might crack.
'Thank you,' Remus muttered, his voice muffled by Sirius's shirt. 'They would have taken me. I'm sorry ... I promised you I wouldn't ... '
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Giving into the night time ain't no cure for the pain
You gotta wade into the water, you gotta learn to live again
And reach out for his healing hands
Reach out for his healing hands
There's a light, where the darkness ends
Touch me now and let me see again
Rock me now in your gentle healing hands
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
'Don't worry about it,' Sirius replied softly. 'As long as you're okay.'
Remus sighed shakily, a smile appearing on his face. He looked up at Sirius, a true smile playing across his lips. Then he turned and went up to the dormitory.
'Aren't you going to tell him, Sirius?' James inquired.
'I think he already knows,' Sirius replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow, that was a mega-long chapter!! But I promise it's not over, way more things need to happen. I'm like...flooded with ideas, so the next chappie will come soon. This is my longest chapter yet! What did you think, hm? Review please!! ^___^