Title: epilogue 2
disclaimer The characters do not belong to me. They belong to JKR and the various publishing houses. I use them as I wish.
Summary: Remus sits by the Weasley kitchen fire on Christmas eve, the year Siri went behind the veil.
A/NThis epilogue starts as the first, however the ending is very different.
The fire in the grate shone against him, throwing shadows across the kitchen floor. Remus was alone, sitting in front of the fire, reading his memoirs. It was Christmas Eve or more accurately, very early Christmas morning and everyone else was asleep.
A rare winter thunderstorm was raging outside, each clap causing Remus pain. Tears ran down his cheeks. He tasted the saltiness and ached; ached for Siri. So far he had been quiet, unemotional, withdrawn. But the memory of Siri had become very vivid as he read, almost as if Siri were alive again.
A sudden burst of anger came upon him and he flung the book towards the fire, but missed, causing the book to fall to the ground. He ran forward and grabbed it, holding it tightly.
Taking his seat again, he kissed the book and laid it in his lap. Closing his eyes, he buried his face in his hands.
The thunder in the distance reminded him again of the morning when he and Sirius walked downstairs into the bar to find Mme Rosemerta picking up an open jar of lotion from the floor. Siri's spell no longer in place, the disk had begun playing "Thunder in the morning".
The song fit Siri perfectly. He was Remus' thunderstorm. Through the many years that they were apart, Remus always thought of Siri when he heard thunder. And now thoughts and emotions were brought forcefully back as the song played in his head.
Woke up to the sound of thunder, thunder in the morning.
But I won't worry. I won't wonder whether it was a warning.
Though worldly rain can get you under and throw you ice milk world asunder.
I can't help but like the sound of thunder, thunder in the morning. The sound of thunder…thunder in the morning.
He fought the urge to throw his head back and howl….he was screaming inside…the words still racing, as if Siri was speaking to him…hold on Remus, hold on. His soul reached out to Siri as it sang….
Dark clouds told me you'd been burned.
Let me reassure your soul that someone loves you.
Let me reassure your soul that someone knows.
Thunder in the morning sky reminds me of you.
I don't know the reason why, but it just does. It just does.
Laying his head on the book in his lap, Remus cried. He felt arms surround him and caress the dog star tattoo. A voice whispered in his ear, "Don't cry Remy. I'll take care of you, leave everything to me."
Sirius? He turned to look, but the room was empty. 'Only imagination' he thought as he shook uncontrollably. But the feeling of being held in Siri's arms remained.
But Remus wanted more than Sirius' arms around him, much more. He wanted all of Sirius around him.
"Get a grip on yourself," he said to himself.
But the urge was too strong. He had no power to stop it.
"You're too old for this," he said. After all he was still in the kitchen. He took his wand from his pocket, picked up the jar of lotion that Molly kept by the fire and walked over to the table.
His thoughts were now so wrapped in Siri that he was aware of nothing else. He lifted his robes, opened his trousers and slipped them off. As he laid back on the kitchen table, the fire shone on him, casting a huge shadow on the wall, showing him in silhouette. He stroked himself in the fashion that Sirius used to, yet he was not limber enough to caress himself as Siri did. He picked up the wand that he had laid next to him on the table and coated it with lotion. He lifted his legs higher, pulling his knees towards his face, still stroking himself………
She stood in the distance, hidden from view. The sight before her was causing her to become weak in the knees, excitement building between her legs. She opened her blouse and slipped off her jeans. Reaching down with her left hand, she moved the middle and ring finger in time with Remus' strokes. She bit her bottom lip as her fingers became moist……
When Remus picked up the wand, she could no longer hold back. She left her hiding place and ran to him, kissed his hand, and removed it from its task. Open mouthed, she took Remus in.
As if coming out of a trance, Remus looked down at her, confused and disoriented. This wasn't Siri. By the time he knew what was happening, she was sitting atop him. The wolf inside growled. This wasn't right. Who was this creature who thought she could tame him?
Remus turned her around and she got to her knees. He knelt over her but the angle felt funny and it felt as if there was a cushion between the two of them. Finally everything was situated correctly and he began to make love to her, the picture of Siri still in his mind. Every time he reached down to caress Siri, his fingers closed on thin air, startling him out of his memories and causing him to soften a bit. A long while later the lovemaking came to a crescendo and he shouted Siri's name.
Remus looked up, still confused, unsure of what had just happened.
Unbeknownst to the two, there was a third person in the room. Harry had been watching the entire act. "Professor Lupin, what just happened? What were you doing?"
"Um…..well Harry. We were just holding hands."
Harry didn't again see them holding hands until they held hands once more at the funeral.
….Thunder in the morning. Written and Sung by Essra Mohawk ….