To god- umm, thanks, I think.
To Desiree K Troy- Lord, thank you! I'm so sick of people telling me my story's good without telling me what's wrong with it! I know you said you were not going to continue reading this story and probably won't see this, but I'd like to ask if you'd be willing to beta for me. I need someone like you to show me how to become a better writer.
This is dedicated, with my utmost sincerity, to my best friend, who has done more for me than she can know, who inspires me to write about other best friends, and who will likely never see this. : ) You keep me going, Lizbo.
It's incredibly short, I know. Sorry about that.
We are dirt
We are alone
You know we're far from sober?
We are fake
We are afraid
You know it's far from over
We are dirt
We are alone
You know we're far from sober?
Look closer
Are you like me?
Are you ugly?
---
"I don't understand. He'll be mad, won't he?"
"You really don't understand, do you?"
"Well, if you'll just explain to me-"
"Quiet, you'll wake him!"
Remus opened his eyes warily. He hurt. He attempted to maneuver himself into a sitting position but found he could barely move his arms, let alone support his body weight on them. Suddenly, a cool hand smoothed back his hair.
"Don't move," said Madame Pomfrey's voice gently. "You're in a lot of pain, I know. Just take this potion, it'll help."
Remus groaned and swallowed the potion with difficulty. If the pain in his extremities were any indication, there must be something terribly wrong, something extended from his normal post-transformation injuries.
"What happened?" he rasped. Madame Pomfrey made a tsking noise and avoided his eyes.
"There was a bit of an accident," she said hesitantly.
"Accident? Black tried to kill me!"
"Shhh!"
"Severus?" At a happier time, Remus would have dreaded seeing Severus in the hospital wing after a transformation. Now, however, he was strangely pleased. If Severus was talking then it meant that he hadn't been killed. And if he was blaming Sirius, then Remus must not have bitten him.
"I think," Madame Pomfrey intervened skillfully, seeing Severus prop himself up on his bed. "That Dumbledore should talk to you about all this."
"Right," Severus muttered, slumping back into his bed, a sour look across his features. "Precious Dumbledore will fix it all."
"That's enough out of you," Madame Pomfrey snapped, swooping towards Severus and picking up a goblet off his bedside table. "I see you never took your potion last night."
Severus looked away, sullen but not willing to say anything else. Madame Pomfrey began to coax him into taken his medicine. Amused, Remus looked away. Sirius caught his eye. He, James, Peter, and (to Remus's surprise) Lily Evans were gathered around his bed.
"She kept us all overnight for shock," Peter said.
James saw Remus's nervous shifting and glanced at Lily. "Oh, yes. Um, well, about that Remus. Lily, well, she knows, but it's okay, she's doesn't care and she's not going to tell anyone! So, um, that's fine, and-"
"Fine? So two people discovered my secret last night? That's lovely. Please, tell me, what else happened last night?"
"I told them about the prank," Sirius said quietly. He looked piercingly at Remus, who didn't protest.
"So I transformed," Peter said. "And went ahead to get to you."
"But-" Lily said suddenly.
"Look, Lily, its complicated, all right?" James snapped.
"They're animagus, Lily. They stay with me when I transform," Remus divulged calmly. She gapped at him, then at the others.
"Really? Wow!" she gasped. The marauders shushed her ineloquently, and she quieted with difficulty.
"You can't tell anyone," James told her sternly.
"Of course," Lily whispered quietly. "But you could have seriously hurt yourselves! I can't believe…it's amazing…" She bit her lip, seemingly torn between the desire to reprimand them and her astonishment at the feat. James grinned slightly, looking a bit cocky.
Remus allowed him a second or two to gaze at Lily before breaking in. "Yes, well," he prompted.
"Oh. So anyway, we came down, and Peter transformed," James said hastily.
"And then James and I tried to catch up with Snape," Sirius said, lowering his voice and glancing over his shoulder. "We saw him about the time that he heard you."
"I remember smelling you," Remus said, catching the look of surprise of Lily's face. He smiled reassuringly at her.
"Yeah, well, I transformed, to help Peter," Sirius said.
"And I tried to drag Snape out of there. And then Dumbledore was there-"
"I'd sent him," Lily said quickly.
"And he shot some kind of spell off and we got out all right, but, apparently the spell did something to you," James said, a note of apology in his voice. He avoided looking at Remus.
"It put you to sleep," Sirius explained.
"And that's bad?" Lily asked. "Wouldn't that make the experience better?"
"In theory, it would, Ms. Evans," said a serene voice. They jumped, and then turned to see Dumbledore. "However, it takes a lot out of the receiver of the spell. As you can see, Mr. Lupin has slept all day and is clearly in a lot of pain. I used it only because it was absolutely necessary. Very sorry, Remus."
"S'alright," mumbled Remus, who wished, at that moment, that he could strangle Dumbledore.
"I see that you have all ready been filled in," Dumbledore said conversationally, pulling two chocolates out of his pocket, unwrapping one, and offering it to Remus.
"Yes, sir," Remus managed to say, once he'd swallowed the savory milk chocolate. "They told me what happened." Remus took a bite out of another chocolate piece.
"But left out, I assume, the punishments involved?" Dumbledore said offhandedly.
"I'm being punished?" Remus asked, accidentally dribbling some chocolate down his chin.
"Not quite, Remus," Dumbledore said soothingly. "I fail to see how you could be held responsible for your friend's irresponsibility. Unless, of course, you knew of his prank on Mr. Snape and did nothing to stop it." Dumbledore looked at him swiftly. Remus looked away.
"I can assure you that I didn't," Remus said. Not try to stop it.
"Well, then, I'll leave Mr. Black to tell you what fate he shall suffer," Dumbledore, said pleasantly, turning on his heel and striding out of the room.
"You knew, didn't you Remus?" Lily said accusingly. "It could have all been stopped before it ever started, if you'd just had the guts to turn Sirius in. But no! You wouldn't want to rat out the friend who'd just betrayed you!"
"You don't understand, Lily," Peter said quietly.
"I asked him not to," Sirius said suddenly. He stood up. "Because it's very complicated. Snape…and the prank…and everything…it all comes back to the fact that I love Remus and he doesn't understand that, or even know that, but I do. I want to be with him every day for the rest of my life and I want the whole world to know that we're more than just friends."
Remus felt a hot, swooping pleasure fill him, though he struggled to maintain his composure. Lily looked confused, as though she failed to see when Sirius had stopped talking to her and starting addressing Remus.
"I don't under-"
"Shhh," James whispered, placing a hand on her arm. She fell silent.
"Really?" Remus asked Sirius. "You…love me?"
"I love you," Sirius said, passionately. "You do love me, don't you?"" He asked suddenly, becoming such a violent shade of pink that Remus thought he might explode. Sirius fidgeted nervously. "I mean-"
"I love you too Sirius," Remus said, reaching forward. Sirius caught his hand and leaned ever so sweetly over the bed. His lips caught Remus's in a gentle kiss. He pulled back, staring deeply into Remus's eyes, never taking his hand from Remus's.
Slowly and with some difficulty, Remus lifted his head towards Sirius and met him in another kiss. There was an indignant sputter behind them.
"Excuse me! That's not - I mean- my patient needs rest and - this really shouldn't be happening - not in my wing - that is - you're overexerting my patient!"
"Poppy," Dumbledore said quietly, appearing, it seemed, out of thin air. He led her quietly away, ignoring her stammering, fondly looking back at the group.
Remus barely acknowledged Dumbledore's presence. He knew was that, despite how perfect, how easy, how beautiful this moment seemed, it wouldn't stay like this. Life would get ugly again soon enough. But at the moment, he didn't care.
Finished