You reviewers are sooo wonderful! Also a note, the POV will lapse into their animal forms so when they are in them the POV will be stated as their nicknames. That is all, enjoy!
Remus' POV
It's been three months since that memorable day in the Great Hall. It hasn't been easy, but I've finally learned to deal with the taunts and occasional violence. About two weeks after the speech I received my only death threat; something along the lines of 'take my spell off of Sirius or she'd kill me.' When I handed the note to Sirius he very obviously burned it. She must have got the point because I haven't received another one. Another day Sirius came into the common room with a black eye and a split lip. I think that James and Sirius got revenge although I had no part in it.
Right now we are sitting under the willow tree on the grounds. The final exams are finally over and we're enjoying our time off before we have to go home. James has Lily's head on his shoulder and Peter has his head in Jens' lap. Sirius and I sit side by side but we don't touch in a romantic way. Although we are open about our relationship we've found it better to keep public affection to a minimum.
I don't want to go home. It has never been my favorite place to begin with and roughly three months without Sirius is going to be torture. To top it all off the sun sets in a few hours and tonight's a full moon. I loved the moon as a small child and sometimes I wish that I could have that innocent love for the heavenly body back. Instead I fear it; more than anything.
"We should go eat," murmurs Sirius. The others move to get up but I don't; I'm never very hungry before my transformations. "Come on Remus," Sirius says as he takes my hands and hauls me to my feet. Once I'm upright he doesn't let go of one of my hands.
We walk up to the castle slowly, my feet dragging. In the hall I'm forced to eat by Lily and Sirius. Lily and Jen both know about my condition. They found out in a very similar fashion to the way James and Peter found out; seeing through my feeble excuses and watching the lunar calendar. Although they try very hard I only eat a little; all of it meat.
All too soon it's time. Madam Pomfrey comes to the common room to get me and I say my goodbyes. I hug Sirius tightly and he whispers, "see you in an hour, love you," in my ear. I smile at him before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. He smiles at me before kissing my mouth. A cleared throat later I'm on my way to the Shrieking Shack.
Padfoots' POV
I bound up the stairs, tripping over my paws in my haste to get to my Moony. He howls in pain and I know that he has already started his self mutilation. I nudge the door to the bedroom open with my nose and bound into the room. He sits in the middle of the room facing away from me. My job right now is to get him downstairs to the rest. Poor Prongs cannot do stairs with his hooves.
"Moony," I bark. He looks up and then bounds over to me. He sniffs at me for a second before pouncing on me to engage in a mock fight. I let him win; there will be time for a real wrestle later, now I want to get going. I finally manage to herd him down the stairs. After he sniffs Prongs and Wormtail respectively we set out for Hogsmeade.
Every month we explore a different part of the forest, Hogsmeade, or the Hogwarts grounds. Tonight we're going out to the mountains on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. It is an exciting night. We have a close run in with a small boy out for a late night stroll but Prongs and I are able to keep the werewolf in check.
In the mountains we find a cave. It is small, but it could serve as an excellent place for hiding pranking supplies. There's always a risk of Filch finding them in the castle so we're always looking for new places to set things up.
All too soon the horizon begins to look a bit lighter. We quickly head back to the Shack. It would be very bad if Moony transformed back in the middle of Hogsmeade; someone might see him.
We arrive back at the Shack and Moony heads upstairs. This is the way it works every month, Moony goes away and transforms back and we head back up to the castle. Later we all go to the hospital wing and bring him lots of chocolate. Today, however, I have different plans. I follow him up the stairs just in time to see him disappear into the master bedroom.
I watch from the doorway as he changes. His body contorts into strange positions; his bones rearranging themselves under his skin. He screams in pain and I turn my head. It's too painful to watch. Finally the horrific change in front of me is over. Remus lies on the floor, naked and in pain. I very quietly pad into the room and drag over a blanket to cover him. Then I lie down next to him.
He grabs at my fur pulling me closer. "Thank you Padfoot," he murmurs before falling into an uneasy sleep.
Sirius' POV
After he fell asleep this morning I left for the castle. Our last day together before summer break and Remus had to spend it in the hospital wing. So of course we all sat with him and he got no rest. He then begged Madam Pomfrey to let him go to the leaving feast. It took some begging but she finally consented. That is where we are now.
"The winner of the house cup this year is Hufflepuff," announces Dumbledore. Half the hall looks at him in shock when he makes this announcement, but it's true. Much to the surprise of everyone, even themselves, the Hufflepuffs have won the house cup. I clap loudly with everyone else before digging into the wonderful feast. The house elves have really out done themselves this year I think as I bite into a rather juicy piece of chicken.
All too soon it's over. But this isn't the end of our end of the year celebration, it's far from it. Every year the Gryffindor house has a big end of the year party in the common room after the feast. As we approach the common room I can already hear the music blaring from someone's wireless.
The room is full of dancing people. All of the tables, chairs, and couches have been pushed to the walls of the room. Around the outside tables are piled high with food. I look at Remus with a bit of concern, last night was the full moon, and he must be exhausted. When I voice these thoughts to him, however, he brushes them away.
We dance a few songs before I insist that he take a breather. He agrees reluctantly and goes to get us drinks. I find an empty couch and sit. Almost immediately a girl is next to me and is flirting madly. All my efforts to get rid of her prove pointless; she just latches onto my arm. Finally my saving angel comes; Remus has found me. He drops himself into my lap and kisses me lightly on the lips. The girl glares at him and goes. As she walks away I can hear her mutter "fags" under her breath.
"When will they get it?" Remus asks.
"I don't know love, I don't know," I reply.
At one in the morning Professor McGonagall comes in and breaks up the party. In a way I'm happy about this; Remus looks ready to drop where he stands.
We change for bed quickly and get under the covers. Normally Remus sleeps with his back pressed into my chest, but tonight is different. Instead he turns to face me; clinging to me. I hug him tightly back.
"It won't be so bad," I whisper, "we'll write to each other. Maybe I can even visit."
"I suppose," he murmurs into my bare chest, "although I don't think that my parents would let you visit." An involuntary shudder passes through him when he speaks of his parents. I don't mention this but I do pull him closer.
"I love you," I say looking down to see his eyes in the darkness.
"I love you too," he whispers back, "forever." I kiss him and pull him as close to me as possible. It's then that I drift off to sleep.
~*~*~*~
I awake to butterfly kisses on my face and chest. "Sleep well?" I ask.
"No," he answers before returning to his kisses. I can see from his face that this is true. He has dark circles under his eyes and his face has a rather haggard look. "Sunrise?" he asks. I nod and we move from the warm bed to the window seat; never breaking contact.
All too soon we're in the horseless carriages on the way to the train. The six of us take a compartment to ourselves and settle into it. "Remus," I start, "come here and sleep. You need to get some sleep. After the moon and the party last night you need to get some sleep." He reluctantly agrees and I lay his head in my lap.
I gently stroke his honey colored hair. He smiles sleepily up at me and soon is asleep. The edge of his shirt has risen a few inches and I move my free hand to caress the skin that is exposed there; gently following the path of a pink scar. I don't know why but the boy insists on wearing Earth tones all the time. It's the seventies and he's gay yet the boy insists on wearing Earth tones. I'll never fully understand him.
The witch with the food cart comes around with lunch. "Should we wake him?" asks Lily.
"I doubt that you even could," says Peter, "Remus could sleep through anything." James and I laugh and after we purchase our food (plenty of chocolate for Remus when he wakes up) we spend the next half hour telling the girls stories of all the times Remus would not wake up.
Around two he awakes. "Morning sunshine," I say. He just smiles and buries his head in my stomach. The rest of the journey is spent playing Exploding Snap and talking. James and I make elaborate plans for the summer, each one crazier than the next. I'm staying with the Potters the whole summer. I had a bit of an argument with my parents at the end of last summer and ran away. Therefore I'm bunking with James at his place.
Now were at the station. I hold Remus' hand tightly in mine as we exit the train. "I guess this is it," I say.
"Yeah," he replies softly. "I love you; I'll miss you so much." Then he's in my arms and we're a tangle of arms, mouths, and tongues.
When we finally pull apart I say, "I love you too."
We all pass through the barrier and I realize that this really is it. I watch as Remus hugs Peter, James, Lily, and Jen. Now it's my turn. "Love you, write to me," he murmurs against my neck. Then, in the whirlwind of activity, he's gone. As I follow James out of the station and I miss him already.
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