A.N./ Seeing as that I'm going to start my research paper for my class in a few days, I'm not going to have the chance to write much over the next three weeks. I'm also trying to finish the Lemony Snicket books and the Spiderwick Chronicles (both of which are wonderful series, even though Spiderwick is incredibly short).
So, without further ado, I present to you my next chapter. But, wait. There's more! This, my friends, is a double feature chapter. I'm proud to offer yet another flame (the crowd cheers)! After getting over the initial shock, I found a few words to dish out and I've posted them for your reading enjoyment.
Chapter 7: A Day Out
Sirius went ahead to fix the lunch, and gave Harry a moment to help Remus. He was walking very delicately, mincing at times from the pain. Harry felt as if he should do something to make it better for him, but he could not think of anything.
"The pain will go away soon enough, Harry. Last night was a good one, and I only have minor bruises. A good sleep did the trick, so don't look so worried." Remus said, stepping gingerly into the kitchen.
Harry nodded, oddly relieved.
The heavy smell of bacon sizzled in the air, hitting Harry with the crackling sound of meat frying in the pan. Sirius stood at the oven surface, casting this charm and that; making the bread toast, mustard to spread, and glasses to fill all at once as the bacon prepared itself. Harry hadn't realized how hungry he was until then.
They ate their sandwiches contently, sitting back in their chairs, saying absolutely nothing. But Harry still had many questions that he wanted answered, and in this time of peace he found the opportunity hard to pass up.
When Sirius finished his last sandwich and downed his drink, Harry leaned in a bit more, sandwich in hand and elbows on the table.
Harry started with a sort of hesitancy that he was hoping against. "Why did my parents get together? I mean, my mum apparently like my dad too much. Why would she date him if she hated him?"
Remus finished his bite and then cleared his throat. "It wasn't that she hated him, Harry. She never did. She just took a different approach of dealing with her emotions. You can't fault her for that, now can you?"
"And besides, Harry, it wasn't until they started seeing each other until James' head deflated a bit." Sirius said, his eyes growing soft for a moment. "James loved her very much, Harry; and for a long time. She couldn't resist."
The two men were silent, lost in thoughts of what was. Remus took a long breath before setting down the piece of uneaten sandwich.
"Besides, we've all ready talked about that a while ago. So," he said, his voice shaking a bit. "I think that was the last bit of food we have. We need to go out and get more groceries. Who would like t accompany me on my grand adventure?"
"Oh my," Sirius said sarcastically, standing to put his dishes away. "The new magnificent search for marvelous meat! How exciting … I'm in! How about you, Harry? Don't mind keeping up with us?"
Harry smiled, glad that the tension had left the room. "I may have to put you two on leashes, but if you're good I won't."
Sirius barked with laughter, dropping his plate in the sink. "Now that's the boy I know. Come on, Moony, let's go get dressed."
"You're only going because of him! I'm wounded, deeply …" Remus said, walking towards the door.
Sirius leaned in closely to Harry, whispering loudly, "Now, after the full, he gets kind of pissy. It makes me feel like I'm living with a woman …"
Remus swiftly cuffed the back of his head with his fist, storming out of the room.
"Ouch …" Sirius said, rubbing the sore. "See what I mean?"
They all met in front of the small fireplace five minutes later, Remus reaching for the brown jar on the mantel. Sirius set a small flame to crackle in the hearth with a flick of his wand so the heat radiating was pleasant enough to stand near.
"I hope you don't mind that we use Floo. I would rather fly, but I don't think I could manage." Remus said, grabbing a fistful of the powder. He offered it to the other two.
"No worries, Moony. Right, Harry?" Sirius said, passing the jar and gave Harry a warm smile.
"No problems at all, Remus. I'm actually surprised that you are up and moving …" Harry feigned for a different topic. Anyway, He wanted to know more about Lycanthropy, he just didn't know what he could say.
"Well …" Lupin said, almost diffidently. "We best be off. See you two there." With that, the professor threw the powder in with one motion, stepping in and shouted clearly, "Diagon Ally".
Sirius gave Harry a wink before following suit.
When it was his turn, Harry shut his eyes tightly, trying hard to ignore the increased weight of bacon in his stomach as he spun pass many a fireplace. Once the whirling stopped, he stumbled out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron into a pair of open arms.
"All right there, Harry?" Remus asked, brushing soot off of his cloak. He was sitting in one of the chairs, catching his breath as quietly as he could.
Sirius had his hands squarely on Harry's shoulders, steadying him from falling over. "Do you need to rest?" he asked, meeting his eyes.
Harry shook his head, confident. "No … no, I'm fine."
"Okay," Remus said, standing and walking to them. "Let's get going, then."
Brushing off the rest of the dust from their clothes, they stepped out into the sunny, bustling street of Diagon Ally.
Remus headed down to the Apothecary, telling the other two that he would only be there for a few minutes, and that they should go get some sweets from Honeydukes, and not to terry in the broom shop. When they promised not to, he walked down the street, being swallowed by the crowd until he was not visible anymore. So, moving their opposite ways, Harry and Sirius started for Honeydukes.
After a moment of silence between them, Sirius nudged Harry with his elbow, catching his attention. "Do you like living with us?" Sirius asked, uncharacteristically sober. Harry was taken aback for a few moments, not sure what to say.
Sirius seemed to take his silence as his answer. "That's fine. It took James a bit to cope, also. He wouldn't look at us for days after we told him. If it weren't for Lily, I don't think we would have coped ourselves. But he came through, and he still went back to being the best friend I've ever had. You're a lot like James, Harry, and that is really something to be proud of. I hope you know that ..."
His voice was quiet and he watched his feet as they walked down the cobble stone path. Harry's head also dropped, knowing he should say something to console him, but, yet again, he could not find the words to help.
He was so intent on focusing on his shoelace that he bumped into someone walking ahead of him.
"Hey! Watch it, you – Harry?"
A gangly boy, surely a man, with flaming red hair stood right in front of Harry, long arms stretched out. A girl stood beside him, her bushy hair framing her beautifully glowing face. She was also holding her arms outstretched, looking surprised.
"Ron! Hermione! What are you doing here on this lovely, lovely afternoon?" Sirius asked, sounding delighted. He clapped Ron on the shoulder in greeting and winked at Hermione and she smiled back. It was so odd for Harry to see that Ron was as tall as Sirius, if not taller.
"Mum and Ginny had some things to get. Hermione and I just tagged along." Ron said, his freckled face beaming. He shook hands with him, gripping strongly. Hermione wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly before letting go.
"Are you staying at the Burrow, Hermione?" Harry asked, bewildered.
"Don't you remember? The Weasley's invited us both over to stay for most of the summer, but you said that you were staying with Sirius and Professor Lupin. By the way, where is he, anyway?" She asked, looking around for the mild mannered professor.
As Sirius delved into an over extravagant story about how Remus was now battling for his life against the ministry and a whole horde of goblins from Gringots, Harry could see something different about his two best friends.
Ron and Hermione stood very close, leaning into each other slightly as they laughed at Sirius' wild story. Hermione was beaming, looking happier than she had ever before. Ron grinned with his teeth flashing, wrapping his arm around Hermione's waist lazily. But the odd thing was, was that she did not pull away. Actually, she leaned in more to him, as if she were cold.
"So," Sirius laughed. "Have you two had a good time, all alone in that big house?" Sirius raised his eyebrows suggestively, nudging Harry. Harry eyed the couple that blushed and stood a little bit more apart.
Harry looked between them, not understanding, until- "What?"
Sirius only laughed, smiling largely at the couple. Then, shaking his head, he asked, "When Remus gets back, would you like to accompany us to a round of drinks?"
"When I get back we what?" said a man, coming towards them through the crowd. He was carrying two large paper bags in each arm. He set one in Sirius' arms and readjusted the other in his own. Then he spotted the couple. "Ron, Hermione, how nice to see you!"
"Nice to see you again, Professor Lupin! How was last night?" Hermione asked, her brows etched in concern. "You're looking very well."
"It was easier than usual, but let's not dwell on such unhappy topics. What are you two doing here?"
Ron, Sirius, and Harry talked about some Quidditch tournament that was coming up in the next summer, while Remus and Hermione talked about the corruption in the Ministry as they made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. They were sitting and drinking cool mugs of pumpkin juice when Mrs. Weasley and Ginny found them.
"How pleasant to see you, Harry. And you, Remus dear, how are you feeling?" Molly busted over with her sacks of groceries, Ginny trailing along begrudgingly.
"Ah-hem!" Sirius cleared his throat, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Oh, and you too, Sirius." Molly waved her hand impatiently.
After many rounds of drinks, the group found how late that it was getting and prepared to part. Harry and Ron planed on Harry visiting, all though Harry knew this would never happen. Hermione and Remus shook hands while Hermione leaned in and whispered something very urgent to him. He paled for a moment then leaned back, smiling wearily. He said something to her, but Harry could not catch it. Molly and Sirius inclined their heads respectively, and Ginny gave Harry a hug goodbye that made him feel extremely weird, if not oddly pleasant.
As the Weasley and Granger group left the pub, Harry couldn't help but notice Ron and Hermione's hands clasped loosely together. He felt empty that all of these things had been going on around him, yet he had failed to realize and pay attention. He supposed that he owed them an apology when he got back, too.
After dinner, the three of them decided to camp out in the sitting room. When they walked into the room, Remus asked Harry if there would be something that he would like to read. Feeling an opportunity arising, Harry brought up the old, brown leather-bound book.
"Oh, Harry. That's a very old book. And besides, it's all in Gaelic and Latin. Would you even be able to read it?" He looked calm about it, but Harry thought that he could see something flicker in him; something like fear.
Sirius stretched, regarding them both. "Right, Harry. How about you choose something different. Maybe Remus could read it to you later." Remus gave him a startled look like he was shooting daggers. "Or, maybe not?" He added weakly, flopping onto the worn couch.
Remus pulled out two books, a thick one with a forest green cover and a thinner one made of material that looked like leaves. He handed the leafy one to Harry, smiling.
"This ones The Many Shapes of a Boggarts. I found it quite fascinating. Perhaps you'll like it also."
Harry accepted it, handling it carefully, nodding as he gave a smile of gratitude. "That does sound interesting."
Remus smiled weakly and turned over to Sirius. "And what shall you have, you great big lump?"
"Oh …" Sirius said, dramatically, lying limply on the couch. "I've no strength for such tedious deeds. No, I believe I shall bask in the content of your presence. In the magnificent, heart-warming, be- Oof!" Remus had sat on his abdomen to quite him.
"Oh, move over." He commanded, pushing his way in. Harry sat in the armchair across from them as Sirius sprawled over Remus. He rested his head on the armrest and closed his eyes, relaxed.
Curling up in the chair, Harry opened the book and began to read from the fourth page.
"Boggarts take the shape of the most unpleasant things a mind can conceive. It takes many shapes and forms such as-"
Not feeling like reading, Harry flipped through the book to find pictures. The only ones he could find were those of Wizards and Witches, old trunks and wardrobes, and flashes of light that looked like smoke in front of a picture. There was a caption underneath one orb that was floating around a sock drawer.
"Contrary to the popular belief of Muggles, these film captured orbs and wisps are not ghosts, but are in fact Boggarts. Unable to chose their form, these creatures shape into a blank for a while until they can indicate the fear in the person or persons."
Flipping through the rest of the book, Harry could find nothing else really of interest, so he softly closed the book. He concluded that it had to have been a good ten minutes that they had sat there in silence.
Remus sat, deep into his reading with his mouth in a straight line. He was reaching over to the armrest, threading his fingers through the black tresses on Sirius' hairline. He pushed the locks back softly, moving it gently to all sides, back and forth, lightly stroking the temples.
Sirius lay still, apparently fallen into a doze. His long legs were stretched out across the lap of his companion, hands folded on his chest. His breathing was deep and slow, and a smile rested lazily on his face.
After watching them for a bit, Harry remembered the look on Ron and Hermione's faces; the same soft look and small gestures that his godfather and professor shared. They had acted exactly the same way around each other like usual, except things seemed to intensify. All of it was almost too much for him to handle.
Then he though of the hug that Ginny gave him. It had made him tingle with something that he couldn't possibly explain. He wondered if what it was that he felt were the same things that Ron and Hermione and Remus and Sirius were feeling.
He looked up at the couple that sat on the couch, and caught a glimpse of them kissing. The must of thought it was safe that Harry wasn't watching them, because it was slow, almost to the point of listless. Remus had stretched over, leaning into Sirius as he kissed him, his hand still in Sirius' hair. Their lips brushed delicately, breathing as they did so.
Harry knew that it must be the same thing that Ron and Hermione were feeling, because Ron had gotten the same lazy smile on his face, one that Harry had never seen before, when Hermione hadn't pulled away as he took her hand into his. Or the way Hermione's smile brightened her face, looking as if she were the happiest person in the world.
Their loves couldn't have been that different. One love years strong and the other fresh and new as the spring dew; all were the same because it was love.
A.N./ I'll be honest with you, I really thought it was a joke for the first few lines but apparently I was mistaken. Review and tell me what you think of both the story (especially the story) and the flame. I eagerly await your humble reviews.
Flame Alert!
"Me and Skie agree entirely with Sara. (Though we don't know her) It's a sick and
disgusting story. Was there a reason Sirius and Lupin had to be gay?
Honestly,DISGUSTING!
Skieler- The plot COULD have been very interesting if the story wasn't so
disturbing to read.
Daesha- Let me guess. You're gay too. . . the story was how you felt...?
Skieler- Daesha's mean, but I must agree.
Thank You."
Well, thank you for telling me that my story line was interesting. But I just wanted to make sure that you are aware of all of the people who happen to ship Remus and Sirius. "Me (the lovely Daesha)and Skyler" (it was amazing for you to start this flame with grammatical errors, it really supported you in your powerful argument) must know of all the people who sail this ship, and wouldn't dream of having your own bashed for any apparent reasons. Now would it be fair if I signed on and read a story you've written to bash it solely because I didn't like the pairing, especially if you take yourselves seriously in your beliefs? Is it so hard for you to comprehend that I might really think that these two characters are together, and not because it's slash and it's "HOTT N SEX C !!!ONE!1"?
Ahh … There in lies yet another of your faults: the failure to sign on and let me know who the hell is flaming me. If you don't have a ship to be accountable for, stories that you're particularly proud of and want to share with others like yourselves, then I wouldn't be so frustrated about the situation. Maybe if I knew whom I was up against I could have a little more respect for you, though small and insignificant it may be.
Next, what if I were gay? Would it truly matter anything to you? It's not like I'm going to walk down the road and attack you as you lay asleep. I can't see how you could find pleasure in singling people out and tormenting them just because they might have different views as yourselves.
As wonderful people as you two probably are (because yes, if you are girls, I want to have sex with you now, be with you every second of my life, and have you to call my cocoa-shnoocums and puppy queens of love), I must say that, yet again, how rude could you possibly present yourselves? I specifically put in the summary that, indeed this was a slash fanfiction. Yet, you look for a fight anyway? Really, that was very eloquent.
Lastly … Yes, I believe you've founded me out. It is true that what I put in the relationship that Remus and Sirius share in all of my stories is that of how I feel of my own dead lover. You see, when I was twenty-one years old, my dear lover was taken away from me for murdering our best friends to live the rest of her life rotting away in Azkaban. After many years of hardships and having to deal with my terrible lycanthropy, we were once again reunited to bask in our eternal love. Shortly after, I'm afraid to inform you, she was killed in a horrific accident including a duel, some choice words, and a dirty rag hanging from an old archway. Though she fought gallantly, she ultimately perished and now I'm writing down how I feel to release pent up anger about my sad, sad situation.
"Honestly,DISGUSTING!"