It Can't Rain All the Time
Sirius Black loves to hang out with his friend and fellow Marauder Remus. He loves wandering the school grounds with him, loves joking with him, and finally realizes that he just plain loves him. A little story about the bitter reality of love.
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't be posting this on here, would I? Title credit goes to the songwriter.
Rating: PG-13, just in case. Better safe than sorry.
Author's Note: Welcome Back! To avoid confusion, as I stated at the end of last chapter, we have skipped forward to Third Year.
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Chapter Two: I Like the Rain
"I think I'm in love."
"Finally!" Sirius grinned. "Don't tell me… Evans, right?"
Thirteen-year-old Sirius walked into the Great Hall with his best friend, James Potter, who was slowly turning redder than a tomato. Sirius barked out a laugh.
"I'm not that obvious, am I?" James asked, running his hand through his hair. Sirius just gave him a look.
"James, you've been obsessed with her since First Year. Merlin knows that she probably knows. I mean, she's the smartest girl in our year." He snickered at James's look of extreme discomfort.
"All those pranks I've pulled on her… What was I thinking?" James moaned.
"You weren't, James. That's just it." Remus was waiting for them at the table. His voice was hoarse and he looked exhausted. Sirius frowned as he took his seat.
"Are you feeling sick again? I thought you said that you were doing better!"
"I was. Look, you know how often I get under the weather, this is nothing new." Remus took a sip of pumpkin juice and looked away.
Sirius seethed internally. Remus was hiding something; he had to have some sort of condition. No one just gets sick that often. He was going to find out what was going on. Why couldn't Remus tell him? He was… Bloody hell, he was worried!
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Sirius was beginning to think that maybe he was ill. His stomach rolled, he felt out of breath, he became flushed, he was jittery, and his pulse sped up. The only thing was that it only happened around Remus. Especially when he was alone with Remus or when Remus was nice to him. I guess I'm just upset because he's so sick. I wish he would just tell me what's wrong with him.
He had been to the library and looked through every book he could find on illness. There was nothing in Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions. The Healer's Helpmate was no help at all. He had even tried countless books on curses, thinking perhaps that Remus was hexed. Nothing gave the key to Remus's malady.
James was worried too, but he told Sirius to back off. Sirius refused to listen.
"No, James. He won't tell us, and I want to know why. I can't believe he still doesn't trust us after all that we've been through," he whispered as they filed into their DADA class.
Professor Greene greeted them. "Welcome. This week we shall be studying dark creatures. Who can give me an example of a dark creature?"
Alice Smith raised her hand. "Hinkypunks, sir."
"Good, good! Five points to Gryffindor. Anyone else?"
Another hand shot up. Surprisingly, it was Peter's. "Vampires," he said, shuddering.
"Excellent! Thank you, Mr. Pettigrew. Take another five points. As a matter of fact, I thought we would start out with vampires. Fascinating in a morbid sort of way, don't you know?"
Professor Greene began to pace. "Vampires, like hags, banshees, yeti, werewolves, and trolls, are humanoids. This means that they are mostly human in appearance, are intelligent, and are capable of human speech. Many vampires pass for human. The only ways to tell are their unusually pointed canines, and their aversion to sunlight. Vampires are shunned from the wizarding community because they drink human blood. However, they are not inherently evil. You must remember that once, the vampire was a normal person such as yourself."
The professor pointed his wand at the blackboard and words began to write themselves across its surface. "Here is an outline of today's work. Read the following pages. Tonight's homework will be an essay on what you have read. Required length is three feet of parchment. You may begin."
Sighing, Sirius opened his book and turned to page 42.
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Sirius walked down the hallway with his friends. James was again pursuing the topic of Lily Evans.
"What do I do, mates? I mean, I don't know how to have a girlfriend! I've never even kissed a girl before. I mean, honestly, I-"
"James. Have you ever considered that maybe she'll turn you down?" Remus asked.
James stared blankly at him. "What?"
"Oh, please, Potter. I'm sure even that Mudblood has better taste." Severus Snape walked around the corner, surrounded by a gang of his fellow Slytherins. Sirius recognized a few of them. His cousins Narcissa and Bellatrix, different as day and night even if they were sisters, were among them, as well as Rodolphus Lestrange, Terrence Rosier, Tom Wilkes, and Craig Avery.
"Watch your filthy mouth, Snape!" James threatened, "Or I'll curse it off!"
Snape raised an eyebrow at him. "I think I know better curses than you do, Potter. So if I were you, I'd watch my back."
Sirius spat. "You're despicable, you know that."
"That's funny, coming from you, Sirius," a new voice came. A black-haired Second Year stepped forward.
"Regulus. Fawning to the bigger worm again, aren't you." Sirius glared at his little brother. "I see you brought your puppies with you, Snape," he said, gesturing to Regulus and another Second Year, Rabastan Lestrange. "Teaching them how to be a proper bitch like you?"
"Stop it, all of you!" Lily Evans appeared, pushing them all apart. "Break it up or I'll find McGonagall, I swear it!"
Sirius cast a last hate-filled look at the Slytherins before moving on with the rest.
"Snape needs to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business," Remus growled.
"Really, tell me about it. Ugly git…" James muttered. He shot a backward glance at Evans and ran his hand through his hair.
"I really can't believe an idiot like that passed First Year, let alone Second," Sirius said. "James, you really need to stop doing that to your hair, it already looks messed up enough."
"It's just a habit, bugger off."
"At least he's not like Snape. Snape really needs to wash his hair, the slimeball."
They all looked at Peter in astonishment for a moment before starting to laugh uncontrollably. "Peter, that was bloody brilliant," Sirius managed to say. Peter looked incredibly pleased with himself. They continued on in good humor as they crossed the grounds towards the lake and sat under their usual tree. Remus took out a book as he settled down.
"Hey, James. Isn't there a Quidditch match on Tuesday?" Sirius asked, beginning to get an idea.
"Yeah. We're playing Slytherin. Why?"
"Well, if you win, you can ask Evans out after the match!" He grinned. His plan was ingenious. James looked dreamy for a second before tackling Sirius.
"You are awesome, you are awesome, you are awesome! Sirius, if this works- Words just can't express- Of course, I was just about to think of that myself…" James was crushing him. Sirius looked over at Remus, who was raising an eyebrow at their antics. He blushed and attempted to disentangle himself. "Get off me, James, you great lump."
James gave him an offended look. "I am not a lump. I am in great shape, thank you, which is why I'm going to win this Quidditch match!" Leaping to his feet, James began to do a deranged sort of victory dance.
Sirius looked at Remus and Peter. "I am so sorry. Next time I'll keep my mouth shut, I promise."
Remus smiled at him, and suddenly Sirius wished that it was Remus who had tackled him instead.
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Tuesday morning, Sirius and the others filed into DADA class and took their seats. Professor Greene beamed at them.
"Well class, we'll be continuing with our studies on dark creatures. Now, you all take Astronomy, so tell me. What is today, or rather, tonight? Anyone?" The professor looked around expectantly.
Remus raised his hand. Sirius noticed that he was looking very sick again and felt a tinge of worry. "It's the full moon, sir," Remus said quietly.
"Correct you are, miboy. Five points for Gryffindor. Now, the relevance is this: Today we will study werewolves. To quote Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (which I believe is one of your school books)… Once a month, at the full moon, the otherwise sane and normal wizard or Muggle afflicted turns into a murderous beast. This wizard or Muggle was 'afflicted' when bitten by a werewolf. The werewolf, when in wolf form, is distinguishable from a normal wolf by several key features. Firstly, the tail is tufted. Second, the snout is shorter. Thirdly, the pupils of the eyes are- I say, Mr. Lupin, are you all right?" Professor Greene stared at Remus in astonishment.
Sirius whirled around. Remus looked horribly pale. "Remus?"
"I'm fine," he said, his eyes unfocused. "I just…"
"Mr. Black, please walk Mr. Lupin to the Hospital Wing," Professor Greene ordered. When Remus tried to speak, the professor shook his head. "No, no, Mr. Lupin, I insist. You are not well. Get along now."
Sirius grabbed Remus and pulled him out of the room before he could protest. They walked along in silence. Sirius looked at Remus, then away again.
"Remus, when are you going to tell me what's wrong with you?" he asked.
"What do you-"
"We aren't stupid!" Sirius spoke through gritted teeth. Remus seemed taken aback. "We may not have top marks like you, but we know you're more than just 'sickness-prone'. Why don't you trust us?" Maybe Sirius sounded too harsh, but the truth was, he was hurt. Remus was quiet for several minutes.
"I don't think you're stupid. I should have known this was coming," Remus replied finally, looking pained.
"Then tell me," Sirius said, softening his tone. "Please, Remus." He searched Remus's face.
"I can't." Remus shook his head. "I really can't."
That really just tore it.
"Fine," Sirius snapped. They had arrived at the door to the Hospital Wing. Glaring angrily, he turned and walked back to class without another word.
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Sirius and Peter sat in the Gryffindor stands, watching their friend zoom around the pitch. The match was getting pretty exciting as the Gryffindor team beat the Slytherin team into the ground.
"And unless a miracle happens, I think Gryffindor may be well on its way to winning the Quidditch Cup, something that hasn't happened in years! Of course, I heard Lily Evans say that she doesn't know if Potter is really talented enough. I suppose we'll see, won't we? But then, Alice Smith says that Lily knows Potter is good, she just thinks that he needs to tone down the ego. Oh my, that was a close shave with that Bludger, Potter! Oh, and I heard Frank Longbottom say that Alice is always right, so there you go, but maybe that's just because, according to Gordon Macmillan, Frank fancies her."
"That will do, Miss Jorkins!" McGonagall reprimanded the Hufflepuff girl doing the commentating.
"I'm sorry, Professor, I'm only saying! Oh, by the way, Frank. I saw Alice writing in her diary that she wishes you would ask her to go with you to Hogsmeade sometime. Although Emmeline Vance tells me that since I'm in your year you'd be better off taking me to Hogsmeade. I wonder why she'd say that? Of course, I saw Emmeline giggling over Sirius Black with her friends. He is dreamy, I'll admit, even for his age."
Sirius choked. "Wh-what?"
"MISS JORKINS! Please restrict your commentating to QUIDDITCH!"
"Yes ma'am. But really, I saw Professor Dumbledore buy a huge chocolate bar in Honeydukes after Professor Flitwick told him you'd been craving something sweet. I wonder if he was- Oh my! It seems Potter has seen the Snitch! Or maybe he's attacking the Gryffindor stands. Do you think so?"
James was speeding towards the stands a few rows below Sirius and Peter, straight for a group of girls. They started screaming and pushing to get out of the way.
"D'you think he's going to crash?" gasped Peter.
A moment later, Peter got his answer. James crashed into one of the girls who hadn't managed to get away, just as he caught the Snitch. Everyone rushed to help the unlucky pair. Sirius saw the girl's red hair and groaned. It did have to be Evans, didn't it?
"So… Evans. Would you like to go out with me?" James asked lamely.
Lily managed to slap him before she fell unconscious. Her friends, panicking, hurriedly gathered her up and rushed her off, presumably to the Hospital Wing. Rubbing his cheek, James turned to Sirius. "Last time I listen to one of your ideas."
"Hey, you're the one who crashed into her, you twit!" Sirius pointed out.
"Did she mean no?" Peter asked, looking at them quizzically.
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Sirius lay on his bed. He was extremely bored with only Peter for company. Remus was spending another night at the Hospital Wing. James had left on the pretense of checking up on him, but Sirius knew that he had really wanted to apologize to Evans.
He sighed. I wish Remus were here. I wish he would trust me like I trust him. Sirius rolled over. He was just so worried about Remus. Why am I so worried, anyways? It's so weird… Like why do I get nervous around him? Because it's not just that I'm worried, I realize that now. So what is it?
Sirius's thoughts were interrupted as James returned, looking more than a little upset.
"James, what's the matter? Did Evans take it too hard?" Sirius sat up, frowning sympathetically.
"No, I mean, she was pissed but I think she forgave me. She definitely dislikes me, mind you, but… Sirius, Remus isn't in the Hospital Wing! And Madam Pomfrey wouldn't tell me why!"
"What!" Sirius jumped up and started pacing. "She must know where he is, and that means so do Dumbledore and McGonagall at least. He can't be any further than Hogsmeade, unless they're flooing him somewhere. Especially since they do this on a regular basis, basically once a…" He blanched. No. No way. It couldn't be.
"Sirius? What is it?" James shook him. Sirius looked at him, aghast.
"Once a month, James. Remus gets sick once a month. And tonight is…"
James's face grew pale. "The full moon."
Peter looked back and forth between them. "What's going on?"
"In class today, when the teacher started talking about werewolves. The reason his symptoms weren't in any of those books. It all makes sense now." Sirius slapped himself mentally for not realizing sooner.
"Do you mean Remus is a werewolf?" Peter asked, his voice quavering.
Sirius gave him a tired glance, sighing. "We'll find out tomorrow."
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They cornered him after their last class of the day.
"Remus, we know you weren't in the Hospital Wing last night," James began.
Remus's shoulders slumped, his face that of one defeated. "Please, I'm begging you. Don't make me tell you," he pleaded.
"We think we may already know." Sirius stepped forward. "Remus, tell the truth. Are you… Are you really a werewolf?" He held his breath, waiting for Remus to laugh, to assure them beyond all doubt that they were wrong. He should have known better.
Remus gazed down at the ground, thoughtful. "I was bitten when I was very young." He sounded miserable. He obviously was ready to be condemned. Sirius wanted to comfort him, to hug him, to… to kiss him. Merlin, I did not just think that. I did. Oh no, I fancy him. I FANCY him. That explains a lot. And I thought I couldn't be any more of a disappointment to Mother.
"Remus, you bloody idiot. Do you really think we're going to hate you for this?" Sirius laughed at the shocked expression on Remus's face. "You're still our friend, right Peter?"
Peter nodded anxiously. "You're nice. I don't care if you're a werewolf."
They all looked at James, who shrugged. "So you have a furry little problem. So what?"
"Well, anyways, where do you go?" Sirius asked impatiently.
"There's a secret passage from the Whomping Willow into the run-down shack in Hogsmeade."
"Isn't that place haunted, though?" Peter shuddered. :I heard some of the villagers are starting to call it the Shrieking Shack. They hear these horrible screams…"
"That would be me. I bite myself because I can't get out," Remus said so softly it was almost a whisper.
Sirius went white as a sheet. James looked very uncomfortable, and Peter seemed horrified.
"There's got to be something we can do." Sirius looked at Remus, shaking his head. "We can't let you go through this alone anymore."
"You can't come with me! I can't be around humans when I transform!" Remus's tone was absolutely forbidding.
James's eyes glinted mischieviously. "Humans, no. Hey Remus, how long do you think it would take to become an Animagus?"
"James, that's illegal."
Sirius snorted. "Like we care. It's a brilliant idea! We're doing it and that's final."
"I don't think I can do it," Peter mumbled, eyes downcast. "I'm not as smart as you guys."
James patted him on the back reassuringly. "Don't worry, Pete. Moony, Sirius, and I will help you."
"Moony?" Remus raised an amused eyebrow.
"You heard him. Moony." Sirius grinned. The four began the walk back to their dormitory. Sirius glanced out the window at the heavy downpour and groaned. "I hope this weather lets up soon."
"I like the rain," said "Moony". "It's calming. And the clouds hide the moon."
Sirius glanced at him and their eyes met. He almost turned into a puddle right there.
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Author's Note: Whew! That was a long chapter. How am I doing, guys? Good? Bad? Decent? Horrible? Review and let me know! Or the story goes bye-bye, MWAHAHAHAHAH! Oh, and if anyone didn't notice, when they all insult Snape they approximately use the insults the Marauder's Map used in PoA Chapter 14. Hehe. By the way, I know James is a Chaser, it will be explained next chapter. Much appreciation to all those who read the Author's Notes last chapter and put "Time Warp" in their review to prove it! For this chapter, please finish your review with "Ice Ice Baby". Oh, and further time jump next chapter. Sorry, I hope it's not too hard to follow.
Thanks to all my lovely reviewers!
Tammyn, Jacob Marley, sazza w, Kei the Miko Neko Hanyou, lovemoonyforever, lovly elley, marauders4 and Author sama227.
See ya soon!
-Goddess