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: Do you honestly think I own Harry Potter? Besides, suing me would get you zilch; I'm just a poor teenager with no job. Title for this chapter is from the song by Deborah Henson-Conant.
Rating: PG-13, just in case. Better safe than sorry.
Author's Note: Welcome back again, everyone. I hope you're all enjoying this little tale. This chapter marks the halfway point for the story. Thanks so much, all of you! Another time jump this chapter, Sirius and the rest are in Fifth Year now.
Read on!
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Chapter Three: Rain Time
"Hey, Remus! REMUS!"
Sirius bounded towards his friend, his broad grin infectious. He could barely contain his excitement.
Remus smiled at him. "Are you going to tell me something or would you prefer to continue bouncing around like a lunatic?"
"We did it! We DID it, Remus!" Sirius watched the dawning look of comprehension on Remus's face with giddy satisfaction. Remus hadn't looked this happy in a long while.
It had taken them two years of hard study, sneaking books from the Restricted Section, and extra time for helping poor Peter; but Sirius, James, and Peter had finally managed the Animagus spell. Sirius found himself looking forward to the next full moon.
"So what do you turn into?" Remus asked.
Sirius shook his head, smiling even wider. "You'll just have to wait and see," he said, winking.
"That is completely unfair." Sirius just laughed at Remus and began walking towards Gryffindor Tower. As they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, he said the password.
"Willpower."
The Fat Lady nodded sagely as she swung open for them. "And don't you forget it, young Gryffindors." Shaking his head in amusement, Sirius climbed through to the Common Room, followed closely by Remus. James sat on the couch by the fire. The two crossed the room and joined him.
"Did you tell him?" James asked unnecessarily.
"I don't suppose you'll tell me what you become?" Remus asked tolerantly.
James gave Remus a cheeky grin. "'Course not. Ruins all the fun. Seriously though, I am glad we finished before OWLS time. We'd probably expire from all the work, especially Peter."
"Don't exaggerate, James. Although come to think of it, you have a bit more on your plate than the rest of us, Mr. Quidditch Captain. Still playing Chaser this year?" Remus inquired.
"Yep. It's not like I'm going back to Seeking after that disaster in Third Year. Sirius."
"Oh, you are not still on about that, are you? Honestly mate, I don't think Evans cared much for you before that. And you didn't have to crash your bloody broom into her, you moron!"
Sighing, James ran his hand through his hair. "She's turned me down five times already this term. You'd think she'd get over a little grudge after two years…"
Sirius and Remus rolled their eyes at their delusional friend. James still refused to believe that Lily would have turned him down anyways.
Sirius looked at the bundle of nerves who was currently preoccupied with messing up his hair. James's silly habit really drove him mad. Rummaging briefly through his schoolbag, he produced a comb and threw it at the lovesick boy. "Potter, meet my comb. Comb, meet James Potter. James, know what comes are for? Fixing your hair. The opposite of what you are currently doing." It was a worn-out point, but Sirius kept hoping that maybe someday James would listen to reason.
"Do you think Evans would go to Hogsmeade with me if I combed my hair?" James asked, moodily eyeing the object.
Sirius gaped at him. "James, you are in serious need of distraction. How long until the full moon?"
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Thankfully, it wasn't long. A week later, Sirius waited with James and Peter in the Common Room while Remus was escorted to the Whomping Willow. When they felt the coast was clear, James pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and the trio snuck out of the castle and across the grounds. It was raining softly, but they remained dry beneath the cloak. Nearing the irritable tree, they transformed. In a matter of seconds, a stag, a rat, and a big black dog emerged out of thin air.
The rat skittered over to the tree, nimbly dodging the Willow's deadly branches. It pressed the knot that Remus had spoken of and the tree froze. The dog and stag bounded over, and the wizards masquerading as animals entered the tunnel. Arriving in the shack, they found Remus enjoying his last few minutes in human form. He smiled at them.
"Hello. I'm assuming that it's you three, as I dount there are any more illegal Animagi wandering around Hogwarts."
The dog barked and seemed to smile back.
"Sirius, that has got to be the worst pun you have ever come up with. A big black dog?" Remus raised an eyebrow. Sirius made a chuffing noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
"And I suppose Peter's the rat… I can hardly tell the difference." Peter made a very indignant squeak. "Just joking, Pete, don't take it so hard. So James is the stag. Typical," Remus snorted.
"Well, for your sakes, I hope this works. It's almost time." Remus grew very quiet. When the transformation began, Sirius whined and closed his eyes, unable to watch his friend become a monster. That looks exceedingly uncomfortable. Soon, however, it was over, and a wolfish creature stood with the three Animagi. Cautiously Sirius approached Remus and sniffed his nose. The werewolf barked, but it was in a playful tone. It seemed that all was going as planned.
The strange group left the shack and exited onto the grounds. Sirius shook off the raindrops beginning to speckle his shaggy coat of black hair. This is going to be one hell of a night. He grinned a doggy grin and ran for the lake.
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Being a dog was absolutely fantastic. Sirius loved being able to play around like a little kid without anyone calling him on it. Guiltily, he also enjoyed the fact that being a dog gave him leeway to flirt without it being obvious.
Snapping back to reality, he realized he was blushing when he caught Emmeline Vance giving him weird looks from across the classroom. Unfortunately, the realization made him blush even more. And then she made it even worse. She giggled. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Remus raise an amused eyebrow in Sirius's direction. Sirius finally somehow regained his composure (and his complexion) and sighed. The girls were nothing new. As a matter of fact, they hadn't given him a moment's peace since Third Year at least. But it was more than slightly annoying, especially since he had gained a reputation (Merlin knows how) of being a ladies' man. He had taken a few girls to Hogsmeade, yes. Okay, maybe more than a few. But he had never so much as kissed the silly chits. It had mostly been because he was terrified that someone would find out about his feelings for Remus. And perhaps he had hoped he would find a girl that he fancied.
No such luck.
After class, Sirius found he was inexplicably cornered alone in the hallway by none other than Miss Giggles herself. "Yes, Vance? Something on your mind?"
She giggled again. It was kind of cute in a sickening way. "Yes, actually. I was wondering if you had plans for next Hogsmeade weekend."
"I guess I do now." Vance was nice enough, and she had been going after him for a long time now. She couldn't be worse than that Sybill Trelawney he had taken out once. Now that girl was batty. She had done nothing but predict Sirius's death all afternoon.
More giggles. "Okay then." She walked away and her friends seemed to materialize out of nowhere. He heard her whisper to them before the entire lot of them erupted into giggles. Shaking his head, he walked up to Gryffindor Tower.
Remus looked up from a book as Sirius entered. "Got yourself another date, Padfoot?"
"Yeah, I guess I do." Sirius sighed and plopped onto an armchair. Remus frowned.
"You sound thrilled. What's wrong?"
Sirius shook his head. "Nothing. Vance is a perfectly nice girl. It's just…" He shrugged.
"You don't like her that way." Sirius looked at Remus in surprise for a moment, then nodded. He had forgotten how perceptive Remus could be. He needed to be more careful.
Remus gave him a reassuring smile. "That's alright, I'm sure you'll still have a good time," he said before returning to Helas, Je me suis Transfigure Les Pieds. Honestly, Remus reads the weirdest books sometimes. Sinking back into the armchair, Sirius began to relax. It seemed he would get a reprieve.
"So why don't you just ask whoever it is you want to go with?"
Dammit. "Who says there is such a person, Moony?" he asked, affecting an air of nonchalance.
Remus set the book down. "Oh, please, Sirius. You'll have to do better than that. I can tell there's someone you fancy," he retorted, looking very smug.
Scowling, he thanked Merlin he was able to look Remus in the eyes and truthfully say, "There isn't a single girl in Hogwarts that I fancy. End of story."
That was the day that Sirius decided he was going to tell Remus how he felt. Even if Remus didn't feel the same way, it would certainly wipe the smug look off his face.
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Author's Note: I know, I know. It's really short. Sorry… Things will start to happen next chapter. As a matter of fact, we only have three chapters left! I told you all, this is going to be a short story. But it'll be even shorter if you don't read and review! That being said, if you've read the Author's Notes for this chapter, please include "Baby Got Back" somewhere in your review, okay? Thank you!
Thank you, you lovely, wonderful, fantastic, beautiful, marvelous, fabulous… Well, you get the picture.
Lovly elley, sazza w, Lykaios Nyx, BlackMercifulFaerie, lovemoonyforever, green-mermaid, Kei the Miko Neko Hanyou, Fire x Ice, MagicalWinry, Zara91, and Author sama277.
-Goddess