Disclaimer: I'm not J.R.R. Tolkien, I'm not J.K. Rowling, But I write from the heart, from the heart.
Rating: Slash sex warning!
Summery: A chat with Lupin, rest of the Holidays and New year's eve.
Bata: Beankin' and Tamara – I thank you so very much for that.
Mad About You – Chapter 4
Artist – Sting. Title – Mad about you. Album – The soul cages.
Harry made his way through the corridors humming the Cannons song and smiling to himself. He suspected he looked rather silly to others, but since there were no others to speak of, he couldn't care less. When he got to Professor Lupin's door he hesitated for a second. What if Professor Lupin was still feeling under the weather after the transformation? Would it be wise to remind him of painful subjects like his parents and Sirius? Before he could make up his mind he heard a cheerful voice behind him.
"Harry! What brings you here?" Harry turned to see Professor Lupin holding a stack of rolled up parchments in his hands. Lupin looked down at his hands and smiled. "I've just been to see the headmistress and she gave me a paper or two to correct," he said in an almost desperate voice, and Harry smiled. "But, that will have to wait. I'm dying for a cup of tea and some biscuits, can I tempt you?" Harry's smile broadened, he nodded, and they entered the room.
Harry sat in front of Lupin's desk, watching the steam rising from his cup and trying to figure out what was the best way to start the conversation, when Lupin said, "I take it you got my present." Harry looked up at him and nodded. "Did you like it?" Harry nodded even more vigorously and Lupin smiled. "I thought you might," he said, and his smile faded a bit, but Harry didn't see it.
"Professor, can I ask you something?" Lupin nodded and Harry took a deep breath and plunged in. "Were you and Sirius lovers?" he was expecting denial or at least some measure of shock but Lupin actually began to laugh,
"Boy, you sure cut to the chase," he said. "You got that from Lily, no doubt. When James tried to ask that question, it took him ten minutes to fumble with the words and then he ended up talking about Quidditch." Harry smiled; he cherished those little anecdotes about his parents. He looked at Lupin with anticipation and Lupin grinned "I see that I'd better give you the whole story, or I'll never hear the end of it." He got up and walked to the window, holding his tea cup and gazing outside.
"It all started back in the seventh year. Well, I guess the signs were there for anyone to read a long time before, but none of us knew and nothing really happened until Christmas of our last year. Seventh year was the year everything changed. Lily finally caved in and agreed to date James, Peter found himself in a position of a semi- sex god to the Hogwarts girls. All of a sudden everyone went nuts over blonde hair and blue eyes. Sirius and I were left alone. Sirius was especially angry about the turn things took, and claimed that he and I were the only true Marauders, not budging from the cause of raising hell in Hogwarts.
"That Christmas was marked with the fact that Lily accepted James' invitation to come spend the holidays at the Potter's and Sirius decided to be the 'big man' as he put it and give them time to themselves. As a result we were the only ones left in our dorm. This was a pretty remarkable holiday." Lupin smiled fondly at the memories. "The first night we sat on my bed and talked for hours. Future plans, past regrets, life in general. I believe it was the most profound conversation Sirius ever had till that day.
"The next morning we woke up in each other's arms. Things never went back to be the same after that. When the holidays were over and everyone came back, James and Peter didn't notice anything, but Lily did. Your mother was a very keen and shrewd girl and saw much that was not spoken. She noted the way Sirius and I looked at each other. How we always found excuses to touch each other. The fact we sometimes disappeared for a while without explanation.
"Neither of us actually planned intended to use the Marauders' map to find places to go snogging but we put it to good use at the time. Anyway..." he said hurriedly, his cheeks actually flushed red, avoiding Harry's eyes and missing the smile that crossed Harry's face. "Like I said Lily had a shrewd idea of what went on, while James was completely oblivious. The worst part was that he got into his head that both Sirius and I were in dire need of girlfriends. It was part guilt for having one himself but mostly it was his brilliant solution to Sirius's ranting about the decreasing moral standards of the Marauders. Needless to say, we weren't too keen about his attempts to match us up with random girls. Especially since most of his suggestions were rather horrible, like Bertha Jorkins…" Lupin shuddered at the very thought, but Harry was rather amused. He didn't know Bertha in person, of course, but he did see her once in Professor Dumbledore's pensieve, and he remembered what Sirius had said about her. He sniggered and shook his head. Lupin turned to look at him quizzically, and Harry explained,
"Bugger, that's like Ron trying to fix me up with Luna Lovegood." They both sniggered and Harry leaned forward and asked shyly for Lupin to continue. Lupin smiled and returned to gazing out of the window, letting the memories engulf him once more.
"In the end Lily decided to take matters into her own hands and tried to ease James into the idea that maybe Sirius and I didn't really need help in the romantic department. It took James about two weeks to grasp the idea himself and two more to summon the courage to face us. And even then he couldn't do it and Lily had to ask us in his stead.
"At first James was livid. He saw the whole idea as a personal betrayal. As if Sirius and I planed the whole thing behind his back. We tried to explain that things just happened and it was no one's fault but he wouldn't listen. He actually stopped talking to us altogether and for about three weeks he ignored us. It was the first and only time in the history of the Marauders that we didn't talk to each other. Peter found out shortly after James, but seemed rather amused by the idea. It took the combined efforts of Lily and Peter to persuade James at least to sit with us and listen. In the end it was Lily's threat of leaving James that did the trick. But James only forgave us after a private conversation with Sirius. I don't know what was said there, as both James and Sirius refused to talk about it. But he forgave us, and that was the important thing.
"It was still hard for him to watch us together as he knew what was going on and saw our behaviour in a different light. When your parents got married, James appointed both Sirius and me as best men. It was his way of saying he accepted us." Lupin turned to face Harry, who sat quietly looking at his hands, his tea completely forgotten. He came over to sit behind his desk and said kindly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you or open old wounds." Harry looked up and smiled sadly.
"No. I'm really glad that you told me that. I like to hear stories about my parents… and the marauders…" he added. His face took on a rather interesting colour and he refused to meet Lupin's eye. Lupin smiled and narrowed his eyes, gazing curiously at Harry, or rather at Harry's reactions.
"I have a feeling this might be a bit more familiar to you than you let on. Am I right?" Harry lifted his eyes in surprise and Lupin laughed. "I'm guessing it isn't Ron or Hermione you fell in love with, because that would be the talk of the school…" Harry tried to hide his smile and shook his head.
"It's not Ron or Hermione... that would be too weird." He took a deep breath and continued in a small voice, "It's Seamus." Lupin smiled and leaned forward, trying to catch Harry's eye.
"And how do you feel about it?" he asked kindly. Harry sighed.
"I don't know. I just know that I never felt like that before." Lupin nodded knowingly.
"It's like someone had drawn the shade from over your eyes, making you see things differently. Making you see people you thought you knew in a whole new light." Harry nodded in agreement - Lupin managed to capture his feelings in a nutshell. He was really glad he came over to talk to Professor Lupin, it made him feel more confident, made things easier.
- - - - - - - - - - -
The rest of the holiday was well spent, in the boys' opinion. They even managed to squeeze in some study time, between the snow trips, common room games and of course the very busy bedtime activities. They spent New Year's Eve in the "Three Broomsticks" with Terry, Kate, Hannah and Ernie, drinking butterbeer and mead and raising their glasses in toasts which became more creative and more ridiculous as the evening progressed. When they came back staggering to the castle, none too steady on their feet, they parted ways rather loudly in the entrance hall and caused Filch to give them an hour's detention each, which they didn't really care about in their drunken state. Once in the Gryffindor tower Harry could finally give Seamus the Happy New Year kiss he couldn't give him in front of everyone, at the stroke of midnight.
The next day they all applied at Madame Pomfrey's office for some hangover potion, which she supplied with a sour face and endless ranting about the irresponsibility of the students these days, followed by dark premonitions that they were all headed straight for rehab from Hogwarts. After leaving the hospital wing they all went to the library. There was so much to catch up with, it being the N.E.W.T.'s year and all.
- -
Harry glanced tiredly at his watch; it was already eight in the evening. Fuck, he thought, we've been here for almost ten bloody hours. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. Terry and Kate were sitting across from him, each absorbed in his essay- typical Ravenclaw behaviour… Ernie was consulting a book for his notes, humming happily to himself, and Hannah was snoozing peacefully, her head rested on a big book. Seamus was nowhere to be seen; Harry found it strange, as he couldn't remember him leaving the library. He stretched and felt his muscles groan in protest. This was definitely the sign to leave! He slammed his book shut, causing Hannah to jump up and blink around like an old owl.
"I'm off to bed," he announced in a tired voice. The others simply looked at him and shrugged, returning to their business without a word, but Hannah took the opportunity to join Harry and leave the library. At the library door they said good night and parted ways, each heading towards their common room.
On the way to Gryffindor tower Harry thought of a few well chosen, very venomous phrases to give Seamus for leaving him in the library like that. When he entered their room, however, they popped right out of his head.
The place was decorated with dozens of floating candles, just like the Great Hall used to be, casting a soft light on the room. Seamus must have used a warming charm because the air felt like they were in the middle of June rather than the beginning of January. The floor was covered with a big red carpet or blanket and on it was a stack of sweets. Seamus was wearing only boxer shorts and perched on a pillow reading a book. When he heard the door open he jumped up.
"Bollocks! I wanted to surprise you! But it took you so long, I got bored so I started to read." Harry laughed.
"It's still quite a surprise. I was about to give you a piece of my mind for ditching me back there. What's the occasion?" he indicated the chocolate. Seamus carefully marked his place in the book and got up. He came to stand in front of Harry, taking his hand and easing him down on the big pillow, placing himself on top.
"No occasion, only that it's the last night we have for ourselves before the rest of the school comes back," he pulled Harry into a passionate kiss. As the kiss deepened Harry absently-minded reached over and his fingers closed around a chocoball. When they came up for air he brought the candy to his lips and took a bite at it and then pulled Seamus back for another kiss. Seamus could taste chocolate and strawberries and Harry and soon their kiss turned to much more. By the time they managed to get their clothes off they were both covered in chocolate and strawberry filling but they didn't even stop to think about it. Seamus licked the chocolate off Harry's fingers in slow sucking motions, his eyes half closed and his tongue wrapped sensually around each finger in turn. Harry dropped his head back, giving in to the amazing feeling the finger sucking induced, he never realized how turned on you can get by a simple action like that. The fingers of his free hand rose to tangle themselves in Seamus' hair as he moved to wrap his legs around Seamus waist; he wanted to feel Seamus inside him, hot and close. Seamus moved slowly, his fingers and tongue making their way down Harry's body, tracing patterns in the chocolate on his chest and stomach. Harry gulped and tried to catch Seamus' hands and make him move faster and do something but Seamus grabbed his wrists and pinned them above Harry's head.
"Patience, my love," he drawled in Harry's ear, and Harry felt his skin tingling. Seamus resumed his pattern-making over Harry's chest, his hands moving down, taking Harry's wrists with him until they were placed level with his shoulders. Harry untangled his legs and spread them apart and Seamus slid into him. Harry's breath hitched in his chest. Even after two weeks in which they've had sex every night it was still so fucking hot, just like the first time Seamus did it. Seamus hovered above him, his hands pushing Harry's wrists into the floor with force but Harry didn't even feel it, he was arching back to let Seamus thrust even further into him and gave himself completely to the feeling. His moans were coming like gasps and his breathing was shallow. Seamus was holding him tight in place, moving above him and inside him, muttering words in Gaelic that Harry didn't understand but it was all so hot, so perfect, sending them both over the edge.
They lay together panting, sweating and still covered with chocolate, their limbs tangled together. Harry's wrists bore red finger marks and his bones were aching but he knew he would do it again in a heartbeat. Seamus' head was resting on Harry's chest and his fingers were still moving over Harry's stomach.
"What are we going to do tomorrow?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" Harry looked down at the top of Seamus' head, his blonde hair thick with chocolate.
"Well, we can't really use the dorms anymore... " He looked up, an almost desperate look in his eyes. Harry laughed and pulled him up to catch his mouth in a slow kiss.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's a big castle. I'm sure we could find a place to have – how did you put it? An advanced hand job?" Seamus snickered and settled himself comfortably against Harry's shoulder. "Hey, we could use the Room of Requirement. Nobody's using it now that the DA no longer exists. It would be much better than the dorms since we can decorate it any way we want, have a giant bed and all that." The possibilities were endless, this was going to be so great!
"Wicked," mumbled Seamus sleepily. Harry smiled and looked up and then thought of something.
"Hmm, Shey? We better put out all these candles before we burn down the castle." Seamus looked up and sighed.
"You're right. McGonagall is going to have a fit if we burn the place to the ground, not to mention Filch would just throw us in the dungeon and hang us by our thumbs!" He reached up, pulled his wand from behind the pillow and extinguished the candles, plunging the room into darkness.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
The next morning they woke up on the floor, still covered in chocolate. Only, this morning, as oppose to last night, it wasn't very hot and sexy, only really messy. They got up and went over to the showers; under the hot water and the soap and shampoo the chocolate melted away and they stepped out clean and fresh. Back in the dorms they cleared away the rest of the sweets and got rid of the candles and blanket. When the dorms were returned to their normal, de-sexed state they went down to the common room.