Now, Sakai Michiba presents:
The Unexpected Reward
Part 20 of the Smitten series
Summer was flying by faster than Remus ever thought it could. He and Sirius spent every other weekend with James and Peter, always at the Potters' home, and Remus had never been happier. Sirius was getting along well with Flora, James was pining over Lily, and Peter was expressing interest in Advanced Magic. Remus felt, for once, that his life and everyone in it was going in the right direction.
Until the one day in July when he received a letter from Dumbledore, that is.
Sirius was out in Hogsmeade with James, and Remus had opted to stay home, wanting a day of rest after a night of terrible nightmares. He had woken up screaming three times during the night, slicked in a cold sweat, and each time Sirius had sat up and brought him into his arms, cradling him and kissing his hair until he fell back asleep. "I'm sorry, Sirius," he would whisper against his neck, his arms winding around his middle. "So sorry…Tomorrow's your day out with James…"
"No, no," Sirius would breathe back, and he slid his fingers through his hair. He sounded so tired, as though he might pass out any second, but he sat up with Remus and soothed him back to sleep all three times. The alarm clock in the morning woke Remus before it did Sirius, and he sat up before he shook his lover awake.
"Get up, you lazy sod," Remus said sleepily, and when Sirius woke up and smiled at him, Remus could not help but lean down and kiss him softly. "Go on. You have to go to Hogsmeade today…"
He laughed as Sirius wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him down, showing off a beautiful white smile before he kissed his cheek. "You're right…But I'd much rather be here in bed with you…We could shag, if you wanted," he whispered, eyes shining.
Remus flushed at the thought; they certainly had not shagged yet, had not gone any further than blowjobs, but Sirius had made a promise. "As wonderful as that sounds, you need to go to Hogsmeade with James. I can't stand you anymore," he claimed against his ear, and he rolled off of him to shove him off the mattress and onto the floor with a thud.
Sirius moaned when he hit the floor and wrenched himself to his feet, slouching into the adjacent bathroom. Remus had drifted off to sleep when Sirius got in the shower, but when he woke up again he was alone. Crawling out of bed, he checked the clock, seeing that it was well past noon, and he went downstairs.
"Good morning, layabout!" Flora chirped from the sink, and he went to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek before he sat down at the table. "Oh, dear, you got a letter from school. It's not a school list, or Sirius would have received one as well. It's there on the table."
Remus nodded and took the letter, inspecting the envelope before he opened it. He pulled out a thick letter, but the envelope was still heavy. He turned it over, eyes widening to the size of saucers as a heavy badge fell out of it. "Oh God. No, no, please…" He opened the letter, horror dawning on him as he began to read it aloud the more it sank in. "A-and I am pleased to inform you that you, along with L-Lily Evans, will be G-Gryffindor's fifth year Prefect…No, nonono…"
"Oh, Remus!" Flora exclaimed, and she seized her son from behind, embracing him. "How wonderful! Remus, what's wrong?" She looked at him with a cocked eyebrow as he buried his face in his hands. "Is this…is this bad?"
"Yes! How horrible. Oh Mum, Sirius will kill me!" he whispered, and he seized the badge, shoving it in his pocket. "He can't see it. Mum, swear to me you won't tell him! He won't lo—like me anymore! This is a tragedy…"
Flora smiled sweetly at him. "Remus, Sirius is fond enough of you that I should think that this will hardly matter." She thought for a moment before she sat down in the chair next to him and took his hand. "From what I can see…Sirius is very fond of you," she said quietly, and when Remus blushed, she squeezed his hand. "Remus, you look very flushed…"
He shook his head. "I'm just upset, Mum," he said quietly, and he drew his hand from hers. "I'm just…" He looked up at her and blinked at the frankness of her gaze. "I uh…Mum…"
Flora rested her hand back on his and smiled. "Whatever it is you need to say, Remus, I'm listening," she claimed, and when he moved to hug her, she held him against her like she did when he was just a little boy. "You can tell me anything, Remmie."
Remus hid his face in her shoulder and closed his eyes, calmed by the familiar smell of her perfume. "Mama, I really, really want you to think about this, okay? I mean, it's important. Really important." He sat back and looked at her, sighing. If he was going to be burdened with telling Sirius he had been made a Prefect, he could tell his Mum about him and Sirius. He had wanted to more than anything ever since he had brought Sirius home, and she liked Sirius pretty well. "Will you listen to me before…before you yell?"
"I'm not going to yell, Remus," she said quietly, and she smiled as he blushed and looked at the floor. "I promise."
He nodded a little and sighed heavily. "Well, you know…I never…I mean, until Hogwarts…Even then I didn't, but then…" He made a face at himself before he looked her straight in the eyes. "Mum, I'm in love with Sirius." His heart rate tripled, and he had such a blatant look of terror on his face that Flora nearly laughed. "I mean, really, really in love with Sirius."
Flora sighed and patted Remus's hand. "Good," she said quietly, and she leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Sweetheart, I'm happy for you. He seems to love you loads, too." She smiled as Remus embraced her again, and she patted his back. "Just don't tell your father. I'll do that…After you go back to school."
Remus laughed a little and nodded. "Okay. Mum, thanks," he whispered, and he grinned, absolutely beaming. "I feel loads better…But Sirius is really gonna kill me." He looked at the letter on the table and folded it before he pocketed it. "Don't tell him. I will."
They smiled at one another, understanding, and Remus stood up to go to the window. He looked out, staring over the fields and feeling very warm. Even if he was scared of telling Sirius, the thought of being a Prefect made him feel better about himself. He would finally be important.
