For I am Weak
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Chapter Four
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Ron walked the halls and made his way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room but, finding it empty, decided to try Lupin's quarters instead. Were it a different teacher he'd never even consider going to their room, but he knew Lupin wouldn't mind. He supposed, technically, that was favoritism and something that teachers weren't allowed to do, but the man did let him, Harry, and Hermione get away with just about everything, as long as no one was seriously hurt in the process.
He came to a halt outside of a portrait of a man, sitting on a bench in a rose garden, underneath a full moon. The man had been sleeping but jumped to attention when Ron rapped on the edge of the portrait lightly. He flashed Ron a smile.
"Ah, my dear Ronald, it is splendid to see you."
"You too Sir Caraway. Is Professor Lupin in?" Ron said, smiling at the man, whom Hermione said was from the Victorian Era.
"Indeed he is. He was looking ill earlier, but it's not time for his changes. He has another week yet." Sir Caraway hesitated for a moment. It was his job to keep Lupin in and others out during the full moon and he took his job very seriously since, until now, he'd been locked in a very dusty room with an annoying gossip of a gypsy.
Finally the portrait swung to the side, allowing the hole to Lupin's quarters to be seen.
"I don't believe he's dangerous, but I'll keep an ear out in case of trouble." Caraway said, though Ron was already climbing through the hole. The picture swung back into place.
Ron walked inside, picking his way through piles of old ragged books and newspapers and various notes on…god only knew what. Remus Lupin was many things, but an overly neat man apparently wasn't one of them. In fact some might even call him a pig, but Ron tried to keep that opinion to himself, since he was hardly the King of Cleanliness.
He finally spotted the man, sitting at his desk and staring at something rather intently. His chin was pillowed on his arms and his golden-brown eyes were trained on a small picture frame that was leaning up against a few leather bound books.
At first the man didn't seem to notice him, which was strange since Lupin always seemed keenly aware of his surroundings. Then Ron bumped a stack of papers, though he managed to save them from falling, and Lupin jumped up, looking startled to have someone in his room. For a moment his eyes darted around then settled on Ron, who stared at him wide-eyed.
He couldn't help but think back to his third year when Professor Lupin had changed right before his eyes…it still weighed heavily in his mind sometimes when he saw the man. It had been scary at the time, and still sent a tingle of fear up his spine even now, though he trusted the man…even with his life if it was necessary.
Lupin stared at him and Ron could see his pupils contract for a moment and the man shivered. Then he shook his head and sat back down, seemingly unsteady on his feet.
"Ah, Ron, you'll have to excuse the mess. I do so mean to clean up this place, but cleaning was never really one of the things I was too good at. I always relied on someone else to care for the little things." He said, blinking mildly. His eyes flashed over to the picture then he smiled wobbly. "What can I help you with?"
"The essay, for tomorrow."
The man arched an eyebrow. "The one I assigned two weeks ago and put aside time for every day after class so students could ask me questions?"
Ron nodded, blushing. "That's the one."
The man sighed, disapproval plain, and waved him closer. "Honestly Mr. Weasley, you'd think with all the allowances I make and how hard I try to make these things easy, you'd have started and finished this before you only had…fourteen hours to do it."
"I had intended to-" Ron started, sitting on the edge of the desk. Lupin's low growl made him shut his mouth with a near audible click.
"The road to hell was paved with only the best of intentions, Ron." His voice held the same growl and Ron's stomach leapt. Then Lupin sighed, small smile quirked his lips. "Sirius used to be like that, in our school days. Always putting everything off until the last minute then dragging me, Lily, and James out of bed to help him with his work."
As he spoke he cracked open a book and began flipping through it. "This went on until we were about your age…you're sixteen right?" Ron nodded and Remus went back to the book. "I was one of the younger students in my year. Not quite eleven when I began, but I admitted because I would have been at least eight months older than the students for the next year. Anyway, James and Lily got tired of his ways and decided to leave him to me to handle."
He stopped and plucked Ron's scroll from his hands and un-rolled it. It was about halfway filled and, judging by the look on Lupin's face, more than he'd expected Ron to complete. He skimmed it quickly and shook his head before tossing it aside. He reached into his desk and pulled out a new scroll, a look of wry amusement on his face.
"Ron, do you even know what the assignment was?"
Ron frowned, feeling a little offended. After all, DADA was the only class he bothered to stay awake for every day.
"It was on vampires. General information, such as mating habits, diets, and their place in the Wizarding World, as well as picking one famous vampire to study and why he was important in history."
Remus smirked. "Ah. You do understand that Snape isn't actually a vampire then?"
Ron crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you sure?"
The man laughed and nodded. "Trust me Ron, I would know if he was. Vampires have a very distinct odor that I wouldn't miss."
"So I should start over?"
"Mmhmm." Remus stood up and gestured to his chair. "Get to work. Everything you should need is on this desk. I'll be back in a few minutes with something for you to eat, since I think supper is out of the question." At Ron's groan he shook his head. "You should have come to see me sooner."
With that he left the room, leaving Ron alone. Ron sat down and pulled the book and scroll closer to him and began reading. This went well for about ten minutes when he reached for his quill to begin his essay, only to come up empty. He frowned and reached again then looked up when he once again met only air then realized, with a curse, that he'd left his quill in the Commons.
That was just great. He didn't want to leave, in case Lupin got back in which case he'd have to explain he was not only a procrastinator, but also he was unprepared as well. For some odd reason he didn't think that being unprepared would go over that well with Remus. He was clearly already annoyed that he'd wasted the past two weeks doing…well, nothing. Not that he could blame him, Lupin had set aside plenty of time for the sole purpose of talking to him about the project, just like the man did for every major essay he gave them. Ron never used the time of course, and he always seemed to be bothering Hermione or Harry for help the day before.
It was a wonder he was passing this, or any other class.
But back to his quill problem. He looked around for a moment, not sure exactly what he could do about his newest issue. Then he recalled he was in a teacher's room and he was sitting at said teacher's desk…he probably had a quill.
He shut the book and pushed it aside for a moment and opened the drawer closest to him. Ink bottles and scroll paper. The one below held what looked like grade books, since they were marked by house and divided by year. Deciding it best not to tamper with those, he put them back, after he took a peek into the Slytherin book and found that Malfoy had a perfect score, (damn it) and moved to the other side.
The top contained papers, bound with a piece of string. The one on top looked like a certificate for something. He stared for a moment, knowing he shouldn't go looking through a teacher's personal things, but at the same time…he was having a hard time quelling his curiosity. He really didn't know a whole lot about Professor Lupin, other that he was the only teacher worth going to class for, and that he'd been friends with Harry's parents and Sirius, and had been a great prankster in his day…
And it wasn't like he was going to tell anyone anything. It wouldn't really hurt to just look for a minute, would it? Then he'd go right back to his work, no harm done to anything.
That settled he picked up the papers, noting a booked labeled 'Album' in raised gold script. Ron's parents had something like that, full of pictures of the Weasley children as they grew up and graduated and married and all of those good things.
He picked that up as well before carefully untying the strings holding the papers together. He picked up the first one and read it, eager to see what he could learn of the older man. It was in painfully delicate and formal writing, with a seal of some sort in the bottom corner.
'This license, issued by the Ministry of Domestic Arrangement, hereby grants Master Lupin full rights and privileges over his chosen Mate, Sirius Black, under Article Ten of the Partially Dangerous Animals Act and Article Four of the Partnership Bill. Both parties give total consent to this arrangement and enter into it freely and of their own minds, under no form of duress, potion, spell, or otherwise illegal acts.
This contract is thusly legally binding unless both parties agree to break it, or upon the unfortunate death of one of the parties.'
Ron frowned and titled his head off to one side. It looked a bit like his parents marriage license, which had been kept hung over the fireplace above seven framed birth certificates for Ron's entire life. The wording was different in certain areas though and, last he was aware of, two men couldn't get one.
Not that he was really aware exactly, but it was one of those random things he'd managed to pick up over the years with his father working at the Ministry.
He wondered what exactly all of it meant, though he had the common sense to realize that Sirius and Remus had obviously been more than just friends.
He frowned for a moment then something caught his attention on the desk. A book labeled "legal codes", which Remus had probably been using to make sure he had all of the codes on Vampires known, in case the students cited any of them. The contract had given the name of a few, one about Partially Dangerous Animals and the Partnership Bill. He picked up the book and began looking; hoping all of that confusing legal stuff didn't give him a headache.
He smiled slightly. And people said he had no drive…it just depended on the subject.
He decided not to wonder why Professor Lupin's personal life was a subject that he wanted to know so much about.
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Remus walked into his room, humming softly to himself. He hadn't meant to take quite so long with the food, but he'd had to stop by Snape's lab to get something to dull the pain the season was calling. Snape hadn't been there but the potion had been waiting on a table. He'd grabbed it with the intent of taking it once Ron finished his essay.
Remus had never been particularly fond of the Autumn for with the season came the urge to mate. It came by once a year and, now that Sirius was…gone, his body demanded he find a new mate.
It'd been different when Sirius had been locked away and in hiding…his body sensed him and knew that he was unattainable and so his sex drive had…been non-existent for years. If the Mate were out of reach, there would be no sex.
He'd grown used to not being aroused by much of anything or anyone. Then Sirius had shown up at his doorstep, goofy grin and pleading eyes still the same…that had been a good summer, while it had lasted. It had been the first time in a very long time he let loose and enjoyed…
And now he was gone once again and his body didn't want to wait for his heart and mind to finish healing. It had been a while, yes, months…but he wasn't ready to just go jumping the first thing he saw, though at the moment everything seemed utterly appealing to him. Students, Staff, a few woodland creatures…
When he walked fully into the room he was hit with the smell of arousal tinged with fear and confusion. It was thick in the air and coming from where he'd left Ron. He set down the tray of food and waked over to the teen silently, then cursed mentally when he saw that Ron had been going through his things. Things he should have gotten rid off a long long time ago.
Letters from Sirius, from when they were younger and spent time apart, going into very detailed descriptions of what he wanted Remus to do to him when they say each other again. So detailed Remus recalled being a teenager and being able to see the whole scene play out in his head, just by reading Sirius' words.
He had been a gifted writer…sure, it was all smut, but Sirius had a flare for it, even years later Remus could see it. Had things gone…differently, Sirius might have been able to peruse some sort of career. (Not in gay smut, one would hope, but in something.)
The license he'd gotten when he and Sirius had decided to make their relationship as legal as two men, one of whom was a werewolf, could manage. They'd never told anyone, not wanting a big deal made of it, but that they'd had it had meant all the difference in the world to them.
And the photo album, from Remus' photographer phase. He'd decided after a month he didn't like it nearly as much as he'd thought he would, but Sirius had begged and pleaded with him to keep the pictures. Sirius was a bit of a narcissist after all, photos of himself were always appreciated, and the positions Remus had taken those in…showed a lot of Sirius.
A lot of Sirius that a little boy like Ron didn't need to see.
Remus snapped himself back to attention then reached over Ron's shoulder and shut the book with a loud slam. He could smell the fear and embarrassment take precedence over the arousal and wide blue eyes blinked up at him. He glared back; unintentionally giving Ron the same look he'd often given Sirius before punishing him for one stupid deed or another.
It had been useful in their school days. A single glance had cowed most of Sirius' more delinquent desires and Remus would always be grateful for that. The other man had been a handful, to say the least of the matter, and Remus had needed every advantage when it came to…handling him.
Ron shrank back instantly, eyes becoming trained on the ground as he fell into a position that was clearly one of submission. Clear to Remus anyway, Ron probably had no idea. Part of Remus was screaming to take him, bite him, claim him. He pushed that part aside, trying to clear his head. The smell of Ron was clouding his mind, along with the way his body was reacting to the boy.
He had to get Ron out of here before he did anything stupid.
"Get out." His voice was thick and gruff. He fell back a few steps, to give the boy room but, after taking a few steps, Ron stopped and looked up at him imploringly.
"Remus, I'm really sorry about going through your things. I forgot my quill but I didn't want you to think I was unprepared and I was looking for one, but I found those papers instead and I was interested and I know I shouldn't have done it, but I did and I'm sorry and I promise I won't tell anyone about what I read or saw or-"
"Ron." He clenched his fists tightly, trying to remain some form of composure. His apology was sincere, as well as slightly panicked, and needy. He really wanted to be forgiven…wanted it so badly Remus could, quite literally, taste his desperation in the air.
"And please please don't be mad at me, and I promise I'll do my essays on time from now on and pay better attention in class and-Mpfh."
Ron's babbling was lost and forgotten when Remus grabbed him by the arms and kissed him, hard. Whatever control he'd managed to pull up was utterly gone and there was only the fact that he…wanted. He backed Ron into the desk, pressing most of his weight onto the redhead.
The boy went rigid for a moment, and then relaxed against him and a breathy moan escaped his lips. Taking that as an invitation Remus licked the mouth open a little wider then delved inside, tasting the teen. The arousal Ron had felt was once again surging to the forefront and the musky scent was…intoxicating to the wolf.
That was one of the down sides of teaching a bunch of teenagers all day…the amount of pheromones in the air was nothing short of blinding. It was hard when he wasn't in need of a mate; it was down right torture when he was.
His tongue slid over Ron's, which was wet and rough, before going deeper. Over blunt teeth, brushing the roof of his mouth; Ron tasted faintly of chocolate and pumpkin juice. Not a bad combination.
He left the mouth and pulled back for a moment to observe his handiwork. Ron was letting out breath in short raspy puffs, his lips were wet and kiss swollen, and his hands were clenched at his side. Remus moved in again, going for the teen's neck. He licked along his collarbone, before sealing his lips over a section and biting down lightly. Ron shivered and he sucked, aware that he was going to leave a bruise and not caring much.
"Ah-!" Ron gasped, hands going up to grab Remus' arms, which were holding him still. "Remus, I…oh." Remus smirked and pushed his knee against the growing bulge in Ron's pants, making the teen moan and shiver against him, hands slipping back down to grip the edge of the desk while he rocked forward, seeking more contact from Remus.
In the back of his mind Remus acknowledged that he shouldn't have been doing this. Not without explaining what it meant to Ron, he couldn't just…bind someone to himself for eternity because he was aroused. It wasn't right…it wasn't fair.
He hadn't done it to Sirius. He'd explained it, managed to keep his wolf under control for a week, and let Sirius think it over and decide for himself. And, of course, they'd had a relationship before they'd reached that point. But, as he lapped at Ron's throat, he had to admit he wasn't sure if he could do the same this time. He wasn't sure he had the strength, or the desire, to wait that long.
Still…he was practically raping his Godson's best friend and former boyfriend.
That was a sobering thought and just the one Remus needed to regain control of himself. He stumbled back and shook his head, trying to clear it. Ron let out a small noise and slumped to the ground, bowing his head so bright red locks covered his face.
"Ron I…" He ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of a good enough apology. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be…doing this." He didn't get a comment from the teen and sighed. "You should really go now. You can turn the essay in late."
The teen nodded shakily then all but ran from the room. Remus sighed and shook his head, before heading for his bedroom. It was pretty clear he wasn't going to achieve anything productive tonight…not after that anyway.
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Zephyr5: Well, if you were to write it I would certainly read it. But, I suppose that until then I shall content myself with my little fantasy world.
Harco: The relationship isn't overly strong but it isn't…non existent either. It's just…growing up, apart and moving on, so nothing too bad or trauma-inducing. And, as you can already tell, Harry shouldn't feel as if anything is forced upon him since he did do the seeking in this case.
Skep: I'm interested in how I plan to work the Remus/Draco/Ron angle as well…I never know until it's written but, alas, that's just the way things come about. Hopefully it'll work out okay…things usually do.
Val: Ah, my dear, but I am a pervert. It's what makes me so…good (if I may go so far as to say that) at this kind of thing. My mind is dirty, but I like it that way.
Purple: I'm glad you think so.