The Comfort of Knowledge, Chapter 7
The holidays passed by in a blur.
It felt like mere days before Remus was once again trekking across the school grounds at sunset.
The long wait in the desolate rooms of the Shrieking Shack was rather uneventful that evening—not that that wasn't normal, but it usually left Remus with little else to do but lose himself in his thoughts.
Remus sighed as he sat on the bottom step leading up to the shack's only bedroom. His muscles were weak. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back.
The image of Sirius at the quidditch practice that morning flashed through his mind—the black haired boy was so carefree and relaxed.
Remus could not explain why he had begun to avoid the older boy since Christmas. If Sirius only knew where he escaped to every month…
He felt his heart constrict. He could not risk him finding out.
At least he had Terry. The Ravenclaw boy never questioned Remus about his short absences.
Remus stood and moved silently to the window. It was boarded up and secure but a streak of light burst through between two of the boards. Remus bent to peer through the opening and looked up to the sky to see the source of the light.
The moon.
Remus stared at it, his hands clenched tightly by his sides.
"Let me go," he whispered.
The moon's blinding light shined back insistently in response.
It was not long before the sound of pained howls filled the lonely house.
"Oh Sirius, I knew there was something between us. They said not to expect anything from you but I told them there was no way you could ignore the connection we have."
The attractive sixth years sitting across from one another were just two of the many students crowded into the Three Broomsticks that evening. It was the last night before classes began again and every student felt the need to celebrate it by drinking far more than they ever had before.
Currently, though she didn't seem to notice, the blonde's dark-haired date was not paying much attention to her. Sirius was far too busy glaring at a group of Ravenclaws that were chatting animatedly across the street.
They were all far too sober to be any fun.
It took several minutes of imagining what exactly he'd like to do to a certain one of them before the handsome Gryffindor was able to force himself to stop staring across the street.
He needed to focus on his date. She was pretty after all; there was no doubt about that. Her feminine curves and pretty face certainly did not go unnoticed by the other male occupants in the room.
That's not why you took her out though…
Sirius frowned at the thought.
Ever since Remus had come to Hogwarts, Sirius found himself dating far more girls than he had in the past and it wasn't merely for sport anymore.
He needed to touch smooth skin…feel a warm body under his. He remembered that late night in the library; the candlelight playing across the handsome face, those golden eyes…
"Remus."
Sirius' head snapped up.
"What?" he asked sharply.
The girl rolled her eyes. "I said," she sighed. "That you're friends with that new boy Remus. Aren't you?"
Sirius leaned back in his seat and took another mouthful of his drink—vainly attempting to clear the thoughts that plagued his mind.
He had had too much firewhiskey.
"Yeah," he replied distractedly. "We know each other."
"I thought so. Paige said she's seen you two talking a few times. She practically begged me to get you to promise to talk to Remus for her. I wasn't going to at first but the more I think about it the more perfect they seem for each other. The four of us can all go to that study session on Friday. Oh, and tell him to bring his Ravenclaw friend— you know, Terry Shane—he's kinda cute. I'm sure one of the other girls will be wanting a date."
Sirius felt his stomach twist.
"I don't think Paige is his type."
The blonde laughed loudly. "Of course she is. She's gorgeous. And if he doesn't already want her, then he will when he finds out she wants him."
Sirius felt something inside of him begin to ache.
The thought of some girl brushing up against Remus, touching his skin, kissing his lips.
Remus' smooth, perfect lips.
Sirius stood up suddenly, almost knocking his drink over in the process. The blonde looked up at him in surprise.
"Let's get out of here," Sirius whispered—his voice huskier than he intended.
She finished the last sip of her drink and stood up, her eyes sparkling. "Something in particular you want to do, Mr. Black?"
Sirius felt himself nod in response as the two found their way out of the crowded bar.
When they reached the dimly lit entrance, Sirius eyes were immediately drawn to the moon. It was full and bright tonight. He stared at it, entranced. He did not understand why but at once he was overcome by a feeling of desire. He turned to his pretty date, his eyes suddenly hungry.
She smiled at him.
"Back to your room?"
Sirius' eyes scanned the distance quickly until they landed on the field not far from where they were. He shook his head.
"The field. It's closer."
The girl's mouth opened slightly in surprise. She knew of Sirius' reputation for charming the girls into bed…She hadn't yet heard of him charming them into a field.
She'd be his first then.
Smiling coyly in response, she allowed him to lead her to the edge of Hogsmeade. She studied his expression for a moment as they walked—wondering why it felt as if he was looking past her. Was he imagining something—someone—else? She caught sight of her flawless reflection in one of the darkening shop windows and shook her head. Impossible.
When they reached the field it was only seconds before she was on the ground with Sirius on top of her. She moaned as he hungrily kissed her neck—one of his hands quickly finding its way under her shirt.
His other hand was travelling up the length of her thigh when Sirius stopped to look down at her for a moment.
Weren't her eyes green a moment ago?
The alcohol must be making his mind fuzzy because her features were suddenly changing. Her bright blonde hair had darkened; her wide, flashy smile turned to a warm, sweet one; her green eyes turned golden, shining under the light of the moon. Sirius felt the desire in him grow as he looked down—no longer seeing the girl he had brought with him.
No. It was Remus under him.
And Sirius' hands were suddenly gentler.
"No one deserves you," he breathed. "Not even me."
But as he leaned down for another kiss Sirius saw something move in the shadows—darkening the space where the moonlight shined in the distance.
"Did you see that?" he whispered.
"Hm?" the girl asked, eyes still closed. "Whatever it was it doesn't matter, Sirius."
But when Sirius continued to stare into the darkness towards the Shrieking Shack, she reached up and touched his chest impatiently.
"Don't stop," she pouted.
Sirius looked down at her once more.
The golden eyes had turned green again.
He frowned and looked away from her.
He felt strangely drawn towards something in the distance.
"Up at the shack," he whispered. "I think I saw something move in there."
"Oh Sirius," she laughed. "You don't actually believe it's haunted?"
"No." He stood, not taking his eyes off of the shack. "I don't."
Ignoring her protests, Sirius walked cautiously past the fence to the Shrieking Shack. He had seen something—he was sure of it, and now he felt as if something was pulling him closer to the house, urging him to discover what was hiding within the shadows of the dilapidated house.
When he reached one of the boarded up windows, he bent down and peered through a crack in the wood. His eyes scanned the room left to right—seeing only darkness and a set of stairs illuminated by the moonlight.
Sirius was about to stand and move around to the other side of the house for a better look when he heard a soft thud from within.
He blinked once, twice, and two large golden eyes appeared in front of him.
Sirius fell back in surprise, his heart speeding up.
After a moment the eyes were replaced by a wet nose and Sirius could almost hear it sniffing him out—trying to figure out who he was.
Before Sirius could reach a hand out for the creature to sniff, it had launched itself at the boards where he was.
Sirius stood up quickly, backing away in surprise. He heard the creature launch itself at the wall once more followed by a whimper—had it hurt itself?
Sirius squinted and saw the creature shake its head before focusing upon him again—ready to attack.
Sirius backed up further and further until the creature ceased its assault on the wall separating the two of them.
There were no words that came to Sirius' mind.
He could not hear his date's frustrated calls for him to return.
He found, in fact, that he could not hear anything at all.
He could not even move.
He recognized those eyes.
He felt his mind get fuzzier. Perhaps he should not have had so much to drink. He began to feel more and more light-headed.
Sweet Merlin, he was going to pass out.
As Sirius fell to the ground he saw the owner of those eyes still staring at him through the cracks in the boards.
"Remus," he breathed.
Even in the distance he could see that the creature had turned its head to the side as it watched him.
"I won't tell."