Title: Seven Days
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Sirius/Remus
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all characters and settings therein are the property of J.K. Rowling.
Summary: Remus has fallen under the effects of a magical coma. Only his true love can awaken him. Who is this person? Will the other Marauders find them before it is too late?
Chapter Three:
Lily payed no attention to the bickering boys around her as she prepared the ritual potion. The last ingredient was to be added in the morning, and the cauldron was to be left on a low flame until then. She sighed as she poured a vial of unicorn hairs into the mixture. Everything was set. And she now had the time to settle the problems going on around her.
"Boys," she said loudly, rubbing her temples. James and Sirius turned to look at her. "What is the problem?"
Sirius spoke up first. "Antler Boy, here, is trying to make me wear white robes for the ceremony."
"I think we should keep it somewhat traditional," James retorted, and Sirius stuck his tongue out.
"Very mature, dog breath."
"Oh, go get run over by a car."
"Enough!" Lily shouted, ready to pull her hair out. "Sirius, why don't you wear those silver robes with the black trim that you wore to Petunia's wedding last summer?"
"I only wore those to see your horse of a sister go bonkers." Sirius was still pouting. "I have no desire to wear them again."
"Remus said you looked rather dashing in them," Lily said, raising an eyebrow. When Sirius bit his lip, she knew she had him. "Great. And we can put Remus in the gold ones with red trim. No more arguments. Do I make myself clear?"
James mumbled something under his breath that made Sirius snort. Lily glared. "I'm sorry. What was that?"
"He said, 'Yes, Mum'," Sirius replied, grinning. "I'll just go and get those robes, then. See you later, Prongs."
"Traitor," James muttered, bracing himself for Lily's explosion.
Sirius waited just outside the door, only leaving when Lily's shrill voice could be heard through the thick mahogany. The robes he was to wear were in his trunk, though he wasn't sure why he brought them to school with him. To impress Moony, perhaps? a small voice whispered in the back of his head. He ignored it, just thankful that he had them. Otherwise, he'd have nothing to wear to his . . . wedding? That was how he referred to it in his head, at least. Bonding Ceremony didn't seem quite appropriate.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and, not noticing where he was going, collided with someone on the dormitory stairs, causing him to lose his balance. He fell backward, all the way down to the Common Room. His head hit the last step at the wrong angle, and he passed out.
What seemed like a second later, he woke up to find James and Peter standing over him, wide-eyed and pale. "Padfoot," James breathed, his body sagging with relief, "Thank Merlin you're all right! We had been worried that you wouldn't wake up in time for the ritual."
It seemed strange to Sirius that the wedding was all James could think about. His head felt like it was being torn in half, and his arm was throbbing in time with his pulse. "What happened?"
"You fell down three flights of stairs, mate," Peter's low voice murmured on his right. "You hit your head on one of the steps and have been unconscious for the better part of six hours."
"Six hours!" Sirius yelled, then regretted it as Madam Pompfrey came in and started shoving potions down his throat. Once she was gone, and he had gotten the rotten taste out of his mouth, he repeated himself. "Six hours? What time is it?"
James looked at his watch. "Three in the morning. Lily's in the private room finishing the potion. If you're up to it..." he trailed off, but Sirius knew what he meant. And as he looked down at himself, he realized he was already dressed for the occasion.
"Let's get this over with," he said, looking over at the pale boy in the bed next to him. James nodded and went to go get Lily. She came in with two vials in her hand, and passed one to Sirius. The other, she handed to James who took a seat beside Remus.
"I need you to take Remus' hand in your own, Sirius," Lily said, business-like. Sirius did so, and the redhead took out her wand. Placing it on their joined hands, she began to mutter an incantation. A thin rope of white light curved around their hands, and Sirius gasped at the sensation. As Lily chanted, the rope curled itself into a knot.
"Whoa," James whispered, and Peter shushed him.
"Sirius Artemus Black, are you participating in this bond of your own free will?"
"I am," he replied, squeezing Remus' hand lightly. Lily smiled and nodded her head. He lifted the vial to his lips and drank slowly. She nodded to James, who opened Remus' mouth and carefully poured the potion inside. More white light, so blinding that everyone had to shield their eyes, surrounded the entire room, then slowly centered itself around the two boys.
Sirius sat up, ignoring the pain from his fall, and placed a gentle kiss on Remus' lips. The others waited with bated breath for the werewolf's eyes to open. Five minutes passed, and nothing. Tears burned at the corners of Sirius' eyes, and he turned away.
After a moment, Lily gasped. Sirius looked at her, a lone tear falling down his cheek, then at Remus, whose eyes were slowly opening.
"Moony?" Sirius whispered, moving to sit beside him. Remus blinked once, his mind still hazy from sleep.
"Sirius? What's going on?"
"Explanations later," was all he said before kissing his mate. Remus froze for a second before his eyes drifted shut and he kissed Sirius back. He wrapped his arms around Sirius' neck, who pulled away with a hiss. At Remus' questioning look, he said, "Fell down the stairs."
Remus snorted. "I'm not surprised."
James cleared his throat, getting the two boys' attention. Remus blushed and tried to stutter out an apology. "Don't worry about it," James said. "I'm just glad you're awake. Happy birthday, by the way."
"But, Prongs, my birthday's not for another..." Comprehension dawned. "Oh, dear. How am I still alive, then?"
"Let's just say that I'm your mate in a different sense, now," Sirius answered, grinning handsomely. Remus opened his mouth to say something, but Sirius stopped him. "Don't even think about apologizing. I did this of my own free will, and I won't have you rain on my parade."
"But," Remus started, then sighed. "I just don't understand."
"That's a first," Peter laughed.
Sirius scooted closer to Remus on the bed. "Let me put this is a way that you will understand." His grin widened. "I love you, and you're stuck with me for the rest of your life."
"Sirius," Lily said, a warning tone in her voice.
Remus smiled. "It's okay, Lily. I think I can handle it."
"Handle him?" Lily retorted, pointing to the young man on the bed, who was currently making circles on Remus' hand, "Never."
Remus just shook his head fondly and leaned further into his mate's embrace. Happy, truly happy, for once in his life.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this. I finished it a little sooner than I thought. I think I might write a sequel set in the OotP era where Harry finds out about it, but I'm not sure. It will be AU, only because I still haven't come to grips with certain decisions made by one Jo Rowling. And thank you to everyone that reviewed. You guys have no idea how much it meant to me!
A/N 2: Ack! So sorry it took me this long to update! I seriously planned on getting this up the second it was finished but AOL cancelled my account! Luckily, I've gotten everything straightened out, so there won't be anymore problems.