Now, Sakai Michiba presents:

The Morning of September 1st

Part 26 of the Smitten series


It was the morning they were to leave for Hogwarts, and Sirius was sitting on the bed waiting for Remus to finish checking the room over. They were supposed to Floo to the Potters' in thirty minutes, and Sirius was very sad to see Remus acting like he was. He was not speaking very much, was not the right colour, and when he finally stopped bustling around, Sirius pulled him down onto his lap. "Hey, hey…Why don't you rest for a few minutes before we go?" he asked, and he blinked as Remus buried his face in his neck.

"Okay," he mumbled, and he slipped one of his hands into Sirius's. "I want to talk to you about something…" He lifted his head and cleared his throat before he swallowed and looked into Sirius's eyes. "Um…James and Peter don't know about my parents. Can we not tell them? Not for a while at least? I just want it to be between us." His voice was very small and shaky.

Sirius nodded and held him as close as he could, one hand coming up to slide through his hair. "It's our secret," he said quietly, and he moved his head to kiss Remus's cheek. "James and Peter won't know until you're ready, and you can just relax. You'll have enough stress being a Prefect." Remus groaned in his arms, and he laughed before turning his face to him so they could properly kiss.

Remus leaned into the kiss and closed his eyes, leaving them closed when the kiss ended. "I don't want to think about it…I'm so tired…" He had been up nearly all night the night before staring at the ceiling and listening to Sirius snoring. He had felt sick, had even gone to throw up a few times, but when Sirius woke up, he told him that he was fine. Sirius obviously did not believe him, but he tried to convince him as best he could.

Sirius moved to lie Remus down on the bed, glad to see that he wasn't protesting. "You're sick, Remus," he said quietly, and he stroked his cheek. "We've got half an hour before we leave, so rest until then, okay? I know you were throwing up last night." At the look of embarrassed horror on Remus's face, he lay down beside him and kissed his cheek. "Come here, sweetheart."

Remus stared at him, making a bit of a face at the petname, but he moved into him just the same. "Sirius, don't call me that. It's gross," he snapped irritably, but he gave a little smile as he was embraced and held close. "My stomach hurts." It was the softest complaint, and he felt like crying he was so stressed out. Sirius's hand rubbing his back under his shirt was certainly helping, though, and he shuddered as Sirius scratched his nails down his spine. "I'm gonna tell the Heads that I can't perform my duties on the train…Flooing's going to make me sick as hell…"

Sirius nodded encouragingly. "That's a good idea," he claimed, and he rolled Remus onto his back. Moving to sit on his thighs, he began to rub his back under his shirt to calm him. He got quite lost in it, and when Flora came in telling them it was time to go, he gave a start and wondered where the time had gone. Getting off of Remus, he smiled when he saw that he was very much asleep.

Flora held her hand to her mouth and went to Remus, touching his hair. "I hate to wake him," she sighed, and she checked her watch. "Sweetie, wake up," she entreated as she knelt down beside the bed and stroked her son's hair. When his eyes opened, looking dull and bloodshot, she sighed and kissed his cheek. "Good boy. Get up; it's time to go to the Potters'. Sirius will help you carry your things down so Mister Potter can Apparate and take them with him…"

Remus hauled himself off of the mattress and grabbed his trunk, dragging it downstairs in front of the fireplace. He moved to sit on the couch, waiting for Mister Potter to Apparate over, and he felt bile in his throat at the thought of Flooing. When Sirius came downstairs, he gave him a sick look and lay his head back against the back of the chair.

A pop announced Mister Black, who gave the boys a smile. "Morning, lads," he said, and he frowned at Remus. "You look sick. I'll get you a Potion when we get to the house. Here's your Floo powder, and I'll take your things." He placed a small bag in Sirius's hand and disappeared with their trunks.

"I guess this is it," Flora said, tears in her eyes, and she moved to hug her son. "You take care, okay? Get better soon. And Sirius?" She moved to her son's boyfriend and hugged him very tightly. "Take care of him. You're always welcome in my home…" When she pulled away, he saw tears in her eyes, and he patted her shoulder before he helped Remus up from the chair.

"I'll write you, Mum," Remus said quietly, and he hugged her again before he took the Floo powder from Sirius and threw some into the fireplace. When the flaes roared green, he stepped inside and said, "Godric's Hollow!" in a very sick voice, disappearing immediately. Sirius followed, and when he landed in James's fireplace, he stumbled out to catch Remus before he fell to the ground.

"Whoa, whoa…" he soothed, and he looked around frantically, finding a flowerpot nearby and snatching it, pushing it under Remus's mouth just before he heaved and threw up a lot of water. "Good lord, Remus," he sighed, and he rubbed between his shoulders as his boyfriend threw up once more time with a strangled sound.

This attracted James, who came skittering into the room, and he stared down at them for a moment before he grinned. "Wicked. MUM, GET REMUS A PEPPER-UP POTION!" he yelled back through the house, and he came into the room to throw his arms around Sirius's neck. "Oh MERLIN I'm excited!" he said enthusiastically, and he clapped his hands together.

James's mother came in and sighed at the sight of Remus watering her flowers, and she brought him the potion. "Bottoms up, dear," she sighed, watching with satisfaction as Remus downed the potion. "That's a lad…We're leaving in about five minutes, so buck up!" They were going to ride the Knight Bus to King's Cross.

Not a moment later, Remus's ears started gushing steam, and he sighed, leaning back into Sirius. "Thanks, Mrs. Potter," he said quietly, and he closed his eyes as Sirius helped him stand up. "Sorry for puking in your flowerpot…It's quite rude of me." He grinned at her, feeling better already as she laughed and cleaned the flowers with a wave of her wand.

"Not a problem, Remus. Congratulations on becoming a Prefect, by the way." She smiled as he blushed and wiped something off of his badge, and she led the three boys from the room and outside. It was quite a nice morning, but clouds looming overhead suggested that it would be raining later.

Remus held Sirius's hand for support, steam still pouring from his head, and he made a face as Sirius tried to plug up his ear with a finger. "Stop it, damn you," he said with a bit of a snarl, and he smiled as Sirius hugged him tightly. James made a face at the two and sniffed before he threw his arms around the both of them and made gushy, lovey sounds, which forced Remus and Sirius to pull apart and make faces at him.

"Don't be gross," James snorted, and he grinned as his parents joined them. He threw out his wand-hand and smiled as the Knight Bus, which was free for students today, and when it appeared, they all climbed on together.

A short bus-ride later, they were standing in King's Cross on the platform. The steam had ceased pouring from Remus's ears, and he had separated from Sirius to go find Lily. Sirius watched him run off before he grinned and went exploring with James. By the time eleven rolled around, they were all, sans Remus who had decided that he was well enough to make his rounds, in the compartment enjoying the candy the Potters had sent along.

When Remus got to come back, he sat down in the compartment beside the window, leaning against it. "Wake me up in an hour or two…I'm going to rest." The words had hardly left his mouth before he was passed out against the window. Sirius grabbed his wand and pulled his show off, transfiguring it into a thick, warm blanket to tuck in around his lover. "Thanks," Remus mumbled in his half-sleep, and he was soon snoring again.

Sirius did not wake him, instead letting him sleep until the train began to slow. "Get up, you lazy sod," he said, smiling as Remus came to with a start and stared, bewildered, at them for a few moments before he flushed.

"Damn it! You let me oversleep!" He got up and quickly changed into his robes, sitting hard on Sirius's lap afterward. He gave him a nasty look before he smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "I feel better…Thanks," he whispered, and he took a chocolate frog from James.

The Sorting and the feast went by as smoothly as always without incident, and by the time they were going upstairs to their dormitories, Remus was tired from all the food and need for restful sleep. He didn't even bother going to his four-poster, instead throwing himself into Sirius's bed. Sirius laughed and closed the drapes for him while he caught up on most things with James.

When he did go to bed, he crawled in and closed the curtains, pulling Remus against him. Moony's eyes opened and he leaned up to kiss him softly before he rested his head on the pillow again. "Night," Sirius whispered, and he touched Remus's hair before Remus drifted off again. Sirius wondered if Remus had even been awake at all.

Smiling, he let himself fall asleep, happy to be back at Hogwarts.