Lonely Christmas
By Dimgwrthien
Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to the Harry Potter series or affiliates. Please do not sue.
Author's Notes: This is to my wonderful friend, Nyourdrms.
Remus nestled in the small nest that he called Sirius' neck. The other man smiled and stayed still, not letting Remus fall off of him.
"Comfortable?" he asked, grinned and lightly pulling a hand through Remus' tangled hair.
"Enough," Remus answered. Sirius struggled for a moment, pulling through the blood and grime in Remus' hair, until he hand was free.
"Tough night?" Sirius asked, then, taking Remus' shoulders as he leaned back.
Remus groaned in answer. It was good enough.
"I know," said the dark-haired man. "It's alright."
"When did you get here?" Remus asked, coughing slightly. A small mist of red escaped his lips, and Sirius looked worried.
"Just an hour ago, I think. I didn't want to wake you. It was just too cold to stay outside." Sirius shuddered at the memory of the snow flecking his fur as a dog, freezing him to the bone.
"Glad you're here, then," Remus told him. He tried to sit up, bust Sirius pulled him down again, grabbing a ratty blanket from next to him and laying it down over his friend.
It had been nearly a year since Remus discovered his friend's innocence. He still felt guilty in the quiet times when he remembered how much he hated Sirius for those lonely years. Maybe it just felt better to hate someone when he was hated himself.
The day of the seventeenth of December had dawned without Remus even noticing. Sirius was next to him, which comforted Remus more than anything in the past years.
"Don't move yet," Sirius murmured, starting to stand. He quickly kissed Remus next to his lips, aim off as he became distracted. Remus almost froze under the unfamiliar touch. "Here, let me get something -"
"I'm fine," Remus told him, using his weakened arms to push himself up. His smile seemed as brittle as his energy.
Sirius did not look convinced, but sat back down again.
"No offense, but why are you here?" Remus asked, feeling his head throb painfully. "I'm not objecting, of course -"
"Stop being nice," Sirius told him, smiling. "It's been lonely. I was hoping you wouldn't mind taking in a stray criminal for a few minutes of a chat."
"Help yourself to anything you want," Remus told him, coughing again. He felt as though his lungs had been punctured and the his had been drained. "There's not much, but it you just wanted to talk…. Where's Buckbeak?"
"He's outside. Disillusionment Charm," Sirius answered quickly. "He's really well behaved, won't move at all if I tell him not to."
"Good. What's been happening?"
Sirius snorted while crossing his legs on the chair. "Don't even ask. It's so boring being in hiding that I almost want to turn myself in."
"Don't say that," Remus whispered.
Sirius smiled again. "I'm not going to. Even Azkaban is more boring." He gave a sort of shudder as he said the name. "Tell me what you've been doing? Why aren't you at Hogwarts?"
Remus stared at his hands. "I resigned after that nights. When you came back."
"Why?" Sirius sounded outraged. "From what I know of you, you'd make a wonderful teacher!"
"The Ministry wouldn't think so, I believe," Remus answered, finally looking up. "I saved them time by leaving. I believe Alastor Moody is teaching now."
"I remember him," Sirius mused, calming down slightly. "He was… an interesting person. Insane, I think. He was alright." He paused. "They hired him of all people?"
"Came out of retirement," Remus told him.
Sirius only shook his head. "I've missed too many things. Someone turning down the brilliant Remus Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody becoming a teacher, Harry being put into the Triwizard Tournament…"
"I've been turned down for plenty of things over the past few years," Remus answered quietly. He thought about what Sirius had said and froze. "Harry's done what?"
"His name has been entered into the Triwizard Tournament," Sirius repeated, shaking his head. "Didn't you hear?"
"No," Remus answered slowly. "He didn't do it himself."
"That what he says. I think someone else entered his name."
"What school would they have put him under, then?" Remus demanded, frowning. "Hogwarts should have a champion, right? Which other school are there?"
"Cedric Diggory is the champion, I think. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are the other schools."
Remus uncovered himself with the blanket, shrugging off Sirius' hand as he managed to make his way into the small kitchen. He quickly boiled some water and pulled out two old mugs. Once he managed to pull out two tea bags, he handed one mug to Sirius.
"Stop giving me that look," he scolded, seeing Sirius. Sirius shook his head as though coming out of a trance.
"What look?"
"I'm not going to collapse," Remus told him, frowning. "What's Harry doing for the tournament?"
"He's already fought dragons and, I think, mermaids and everything else in the lake. I can't remember whether that's passed yet. I'm waiting for a letter." Sirius took a small sip of his tea, though Remus knew that he only did it to keep his hands busy.
"Keep me updated on this," Remus told him sternly. "Merlin, Sirius - If I had known before I would have talked to Dumbledore about it -"
"No use," Sirius responded. "I've spoken to him, too. He believes Harry is telling the truth, but I don't know what he thinks about someone else having done it."
Remus sat down, sighing. He felt his legs shake slightly and tried to stop it. "I'll talk to him. I can see if I can get to Harry, too, check up on him." When he looked back at Sirius, he saw that his friend's eyes had gone rather red.
"Alright," Sirius told him, finishing off the tea and moving closer to the door. "I'll be off, then."
"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Remus asked quickly. "There's room. I'm more than happy to let you -"
"No, I have to check up on Harry myself. I'll talk to you sometime. I'm sorry for the sudden drop-in." Sirius sounded as though he wanted to leave quickly. A sudden drop in temperature told him everything.
"Alright. Feel free to drop in anytime. Happy Christmas."
"Happy Christmas," Sirius answered, transforming and managing to open the door before him.
Remus let his head rest against the freezing, snow-flecked glass as he saw the large, black dog trot away to something Remus could not see. The dog made a small nodding, and a second set of footprints joined his for a moment until they left the ground as though flying.
He hoped Sirius would return soon. Maybe before Christmas.