Sand
We're getting to some of my favorite chapters of this fic now, I'm getting very excited. Hope you like this chapter!
"Hey! Hey Evans! Over here!" James shouted across the dining hall. Remus rolled his eyes at him. He regretted ever telling James Lily's last name.
The girls arrived just as the first plates of food were put out on the serving tables. Slughorn had gathered all the boys to stand along the back wall of the room to greet the girls, or something, Remus hadn't minded listening to as he was too occupied staring at Sirius who's shoulder pressed onto his.
Turning his attention to the approaching girls Remus spotted Lily walking toward them. With one last glance at Slughorn to check it was okay to move Remus stepped out of the line and met Lily halfway.
"Hi Lily." He smiled.
"Hi Remus." She smiled back at him kindly before they both lifted their right hands to do their secret handshake. One handshake, two claps and one swipe; Remus always smiled as his hand dropped to hang by his side again. Lily remembered it even though it'd been months since they'd last done it.
Remus felt something nudge him in the side and turning his head he saw James ruffle his hair next to him.
"Hey Evans." He grinned, apparently not sensing Lily's increasing frustration. "You look great today." He motioned for her skirt and blouse before he added a wink.
"That's all you care about, isn't it? Looks!" She scolded him. And before James had any time to defend himself Lily stomped on his foot and then turned around to join her group of friends by one of the tables.
"What can I say? Sucks to be you mate." Came Sirius' teasing voice as he walked up behind them.
"Sod off." James mumbled, eyes trailing Lily. "She'll come around eventually. She's just in denial."
"If you say so," Sirius sang.
Remus simply shook his head. He was the only one among them who actually knew Lily, and unless James matured a lot he wouldn't ever have a chance at her.
"Can we move already? I'm starving." Peter complained from next to James, sounding impatient.
The four of them headed for their usual table but when they found it occupied they had no other choice but to sit down at another one. They found four free seats by a table occupied by the Prewett twins and Frank where they sat down. Remus thought it was funny how they managed to
fill seven seats with only boys when the dining hall was crowded with girls.
After dinner they walked out of the main building, heading for the beach where Filch had prepared a treasure hunt for the campers.
Remus watched as boys and girls in all ages gathered around the beach by the lake, and got lost in his thought for a while until he felt someone tug on his sleeve. Looking to the side he saw Sirius look at him expectantly. Remus felt his cheeks heat up under the gaze but tried to ignore it.
"What is it Padfoot?" He asked.
"Can't we have a cool handshake as well?" Sirius blinked at Remus excitedly. Oh.
"S-sure." Remus smiled at him, but felt confused. Did Sirius think the idea of a secret handshake was cool or did he want to do it because it was between him and Remus? He decided it didn't matter.
"Awesome!" Sirius grinned at him before he lifted his right hand. And after staring at it for a second Remus remembered he was supposed to lift his own, so he did. Then they decided on a series of movements, and then they had come up with their own secret handshake.
Remus tried not to flinch every time their hands brushed against each other, but there was no stopping the blush that covered his cheeks at the end.
"Can we do it one more time?" Sirius asked, sounding excited. When Remus nodded they did the handshake once more. Swipe palms, clap twice, slide the over side of their hands against each other, bump fists, circle the air and then finish with a firm hand hold.
Remus swallowed nervously when Sirius held on to his hand for a moment longer than necessary when they were done. But then he heard a loud voice come from behind them, and Remus looked over his shoulder too see what the noise was all about.
"Oh Wormy, can't we make a secret handshake? Pleeease?" James batted his eyelashes at Peter who looked confused, but when he saw James wink at him he got the message.
"Oh, yes Prongsie, I would love that!" He sang, voice high pitched.
"I love you!" James made kissing noises with his lips as he gripped Peter by his shoulders and he
leaned forward.
"Ew, gross!" Peter shrieked as he tried to struggle out of James' firm grip. James only laughed at him before he flicked his eyes to grin at Remus and Sirius.
"Really funny James; I dare even say absolutely hilarious. I'm dying of suppressed laughter over here." Sirius stated, but didn't look the least bit amused. In fact he looked irritated.
James flashed Sirius a broad grin before he aimed a playful jab on Sirius' chest. "Knew you'd like it." He teased.
Remus didn't dare open his mouth to speak. He felt his cheeks burn from embarrassment, and from the fact that James had implied that Remus and Sirius loved each other. Remus didn't dare explore however those feelings were correct or not, so he stayed silent.
His attention was turned elsewhere when he heard the bellowing voice of Slughorn who made his way over to the beach. He held a paper in his hand and as it fluttered in the wind Remus saw that it was some kind of a list.
As Slughorn proceeded to count up names Remus realized it was the groups for the treasure hunt. He wondered why Slughorn had arranged the groups, but perhaps he wanted for the girls and boys to interact more considering that all groups consisted of two boys and two girls.
Remus listened as James and Peter got called over to make a group with Mary and Marlene. They walked over to the other side of the beach where James high fived the girls that seemed excited to be in a group with them. Remus then watched as the rest of the groups formed, and started to wonder if Slughorn had forgotten to include him in one when he heard his name being called.
"Mister Remus Lupin and Sirius Black are to form a group with Miss Petunia and Lily Evans."
Remus' face lit up as he heaved a sigh of relief. He might as well had been chosen to be a team with Snape, Narcissa or anyone as awful. Instead he got to build a group with his best boy-friend and best girl-friend. (And her less amusing sister of course.)
"Great! Let's go!" He heard Sirius chirp before he draped an arm over Remus' shoulders. Remus felt the butterflies flutter again, and his heart skipped a beat, but he tried his best to act normal. He also tried not to take a whiff of Sirius' wonderful scent that he wondered how he could have failed to notice until now.
"Can we switch places?" They heard James shout desperately as they passed him, but he only received a swift glance in response from the both of them. James shouted "Hello!", not liking the feel of being ignored, but there was nothing in the world that could make Remus switch places with the Queen herself at that moment. He would not give up his place in the same team as Sirius, and, well, it served James right to be ignored considering he'd made fun of them before.
"Hello." Remus smiled sincerely at Lily and then forcefully at Petunia who glared at him, her face looking more like a horse than ever. Remus wondered how two sisters could look so different.
Sirius greeted them as well, but with less enthusiasm as his attention was directed elsewhere. Remus thought he'd probably spotted Regulus or another one of his relatives.
"Hello Lupin. Black." Petunia pressed out reluctantly, crossing her arms over her chest, earning her a disapproving jab from Lily.
"Tuni, Remus is my friend. Remember...?" She mumbled, not wanting Remus to hear her but he did. Though, he didn't mind if Petunia liked him or not. He wasn't a particularly big fan of her anyway so it didn't matter. As long as she wouldn't be mean to him he didn't mind.
"Here, take one each." Sirius had turned his attention back to the group, and Remus raised his eyebrows when he saw Sirius hand them a shovel each.
"Where'd you get those?" He asked.
"Filch." Sirius motioned to Remus' left, looking around he saw Filch walking to every group, handing out shovels.
Remus nodded and thanked Sirius when he received his shovel. He tried not to twitch when their fingers brushed against each other again, but when he felt Sirius' fingers linger under his for a moment longer than necessary Remus jerked his head up.
Just as his eyes met Sirius' he looked away and let go of the shovel.
Remus narrowed his eyes at him. That was odd... But good, because now Remus could fidget on the spot nervously without Sirius' curious eyes on him all the while.
When Filch had successfully handed out shovels to every boy and girl present they heard Slughorn bellow for them to start with the treasure hunt. The beach was long, and if Slughorn spoke truthfully Filch had hidden different treasures all around it.
Before they decided where to dig first Lily thought they should need a team name, and after some discussing they decided on 'Team Awesome'. It wasn't the coolest name Remus had ever heard but they ran out of time as they saw other groups start digging at a fast pace.
Team Awesome walked forward until they found a patch of sand that was free from other campers. Remus crouched down, ready to start digging already when he heard Petunia shriek.
"Am I supposed to knead down? On the sand!?" She waved her hand in the air, motioning for the sand.
Remus rolled his eyes. Drama queen. How did she think they were going to find the treasures hidden in the sand?
"Come on princess, stop complaining. Do you want our team to win or not?" Sirius frowned at her with an expression that said are-you-serious-right-now.
"Don't call her 'princess' like that. It's rude." Lily scolded Sirius, placing her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, you're rude! I don't want to be in a team with you." Petunia glared at Sirius who looked torn between wanting to laugh or grunt.
"Do you think I want to be in a team with you? Stupid horse-face..." Sirius muttered. Remus' eyes widened when he realized that Lily and Petunia had heard him.
"Excuse you?" Lily asked Sirius, voice raising an octave warningly.
"You're horrible! You're just like the other Black's!" Petunia shouted, looking ready to tears.
Remus snapped his head between the three of them, unsure of what to do. He didn't want to join the fight, or have to choose sides, so he was left to anxiously watch the exchange.
"What did you say?" Sirius spoke, voice suddenly low and warning. Remus eyes him with trepidation as he watched Sirius slowly rise up to his feet, eyes sending glares and jaw clenching.
"Are you deaf or something?" Petunia mocked before she staged a cold laughter at him. "What did you say!" Sirius shouted before he flung himself forward.
With a yelp Remus jumped up from his crouching position and quickly placed himself between Sirius and Petunia just before Sirius lifted his fist.
"Sirius." Remus spoke as he lifted his hands to grip Sirius' shoulders. "Sirius, look at me." He ordered, making Sirius look him in the eyes. It was with a sigh Remus watched how the burning hatred in his eyes changed to something softer.
"Don't... don't compare me to my family." Sirius mumbled before he hunched his shoulders and lowered his fist to hang by his side. "I'm not like them." Sirius grunted before he took a step back.
Remus let his shoulders go while trailing him with his eyes. Sirius rarely spoke about his home life and only about his relatives if he wanted to inform anyone about how awful the lot was. Remus suspected that Petunia had hit a nerve, and actually didn't feel the least bit sorry for her. No, instead he wondered what Sirius' family members might have done to make Sirius despise them so much.
Remus watched as Sirius crouched down on the sand again and was about to join him when he heard approaching footsteps behind them.
"Director! Director! That boy over there attacked me!"
Remus snapped his head to the side and saw McGonagall and Slughorn make their way over to them, concerned creases in between their eyebrows.
"Stop shouting Miss Evans, we can hear you just fine." McGonagall scolded, making Petunia gasp, looking offended.
"I-I'm sure there must have been some sort of misunderstanding," Slughorn tried, eyes darting from Petunia, to McGonagall, to set on Remus. Lily stayed silent as she watched the exchange in front of her, and Remus suspected that Sirius wanted to keep a low profile as he innocently played with the sand.
"No! Sir, he attacked me!" Petunia furiously pointed her index finger at Sirius who had his back against them as he dug in the sand. He acted like he had been sitting there the entire time but Remus could see that his body was tensed and that he anxiously eavesdropped on the conversation behind him.
"I-is it true?" Slughorn turned to McGonagall.
"How am I supposed to know that Horace? I wasn't present at the time, remember?" Sha snapped, making Slughorn startle.
Remus started to like this McGonagall woman more and more. He had never seen a teacher talk back to Slughorn like that before.
"But it is true!" Petunia urged.
"Please try to be quiet for longer than five seconds at a time, Miss Evans. Can't you see that we're having a conversation here?"
That silenced Petunia as she glared at McGonagall. Remus thought he heard a low snicker come from Sirius' direction.
McGonagall cleared her throat. Then she turned to face Remus.
"Mister Lupin, I believe?" He nodded. "Would you please be so kind to answer me if what Miss Evans over here are proclaiming is true or not?" She raised her eyebrows. "Did Mister Black 'attack' Miss Evans, yes or no?" She narrowed her eyes at Remus who gulped at the sudden questioning. It was down to him whether Sirius would get punished or not. But the answer was easy.
He let his eyes flick to Sirius' crouching figure on the sand before he flicked it back to McGonagall. He took a deep breath before he answered.
"No ma'am." He lied.
He heard Lily and Petunia gasp behind him, and thought he heard Sirius drop his shovel. Remus knew it was always better to tell the truth than to lie, but he didn't want Sirius to get in trouble. He suspected he already got enough of that at home. Plus, Petunia had been mean and silly so it served her right to look like a fool in front of the directors.
Remus met McGonagall's sharp gaze with what he hoped was a determined expression.
"Well then." McGonagall spoke after a while, her eyes setting on Slughorn who looked constipated. She looked back to give Remus a curt nod.
"Now that that is out of the way, I would hurry up with the digging if I were you. The other teams are way ahead." She stated before she turned around and left with Slughorn struggling to catch up after her.
Remus let out the breath he'd been holding. He made to finally walk back to Sirius, hoping their team might be able to find at least a couple of treasures before they were all found, when he felt a hand grab his wrist.
"Why did you lie?" Petunia demanded.
"Because." Remus tried to yank Petunia's hand off of him. "Let me go." He ordered. Petunia let him go after he stomped on her foot, making her call him a bastard.
Remus aimed an apologetic look at Lily over his shoulder before he walked over to Sirius and saw her look as bothered as he felt. Remus loved Lily, as a friend, but he couldn't hang out with her if she was with her sister; if her sister bothered Sirius. But at least Lily seemed to understand. She didn't scold him for lying.
When Remus reached Sirius he sat down on the sand and then opened his arms to wrap them around Sirius in a hug.
"It's okay. They're gone now." He swiped his hand over Sirius' back and felt Sirius slump down on the sand and turn to return the hug. Remus felt his heart jump when Sirius accidentally brushed his lips against his throat.
"We can dig here, and they can dig somewhere else. It's okay. She won't bother you again." Remus tried to sound soothing, but it felt odd to be on the other side of the consulting considering that he usually was the one feeling hurt and ultimately on the receiving end.
Remus felt Sirius hum, the vibrations making Remus' shiver unintentionally. He gulped. Had Sirius felt that?
"Are... are you freezing?" Sirius whispered close to his ear, making Remus receive another pleasant shiver.
"No, how so?" He whispered, tightening the hug just because he had the chance. Being this close to Sirius felt like the most comfortable thing in the world.
"You're shivering." Sirius stated, making Remus' heart jump nervously. Sirius had felt his shivers! What would he make as an excuse?
"Oh, ehm, I-I was cold, but, ehm, not anymore..." Remus trailed off, shutting his eyes at his own awkwardness.
"Oh, okay." Sirius thankfully dropped the subject, but he didn't let go of his tight embrace with Remus. Instead Remus felt how Sirius lowered one of his hands to swipe across his back, making his cheeks burn and something flutter in his chest.
"Hihi." Remus giggled when the bubbling feelings in his chest got too much.
"What?" Sirius asked, his hand stopping with its swiping.
Remus quickly broke the hug in favor of slamming his hand over his mouth. God! He did not just giggle.
He dared a glance at Sirius who gave him a funny look. Remus watched as Sirius lifted his right hand to ruffle his hair, making Remus lower his hand from his mouth to place it on Sirius' chest, trying to push him away. But he stopped struggling when he realized he could feel the outlines of Sirius' lean chest under the thin fabric of his shirt.
Remus let his hand push against Sirius' chest with very little force, to be able to feel the heat radiating from Sirius' skin through the shirt. He didn't know whether to feel guilty or not over the fact that he used Sirius for his ulterior motives when he had no idea what he was doing. Sirius probably thought he just didn't want to hurt him or something since he pushed with so little force. Not that he was feeling Sirius up.
Too soon Sirius released Remus' hair and instead picked up his shovel to start digging in the sand. Surprising Remus who had forgotten all about the treasure hunt until now. Remus' hand fumbled for a while until he found his own shovel and gripped it, and just as he scooped up the first ounce of sand he heard someone shout "I found one!"
Looking up to search the beach for the lucky one Remus' eyes stopped on James who jumped around on the spot, hand punching the air, holding something small and golden with... Remus squinted, with wings.
Next to James and a sweaty Peter Remus saw Snape, Rosier, an unknown girl and one of Sirius' cousins. He didn't know who it was, but asking Sirius he got to know it was Narcissa; the one with the blonde hair and air of nonchalance.
Turning his attention back to the sand Remus started digging again. He dug and dug, the heap of sand next to him growing by the second. He got sweaty all over, and sand stuck to his sweaty forehead when it flew with the wind.
Remus was sure he'd gotten sand in both eyes and inside his briefs when he finally felt his shovel hit something hard.
"Did you hear that?" He asked Sirius who stared at Remus' shovel that lay deep inside Remus' hole.
"Yeah," Sirius breathed before he lowered his hands to help Remus' bring up the mysterious treasure. Remus felt excited as he started digging out the item. In the back of his head he hoped it wasn't a rock.
Him and Sirius used their bare hands as shovels, heaving handfuls of sand up on the beach. Remus tried not to blush when he felt Sirius' fingers brush over his time after time, but failed miserably. Perhaps he could blame his red cheeks on the sun.
"There, look!" Sirius proclaimed joyfully. Remus gasped when he saw the small box beneath their hands.
"What do you think is in it?" Sirius asked as Remus lifted the box to lie on his palm.
"Don't know." Remus confessed, eyes searching the small black box for any clues as he twisted and turned it over in his hand. He thought he heard a small rustle of some sort come from inside it.
"...Are you going to open it?" Sirius asked eagerly as Remus remembered that Sirius was known for his impatience.
"Yes, in a second." Remus promised. He gave the box a shake and listened to the rustling coming from inside it. "Do you think it's something made of metal?" Remus asked Sirius who seemed able to burst from excitement.
"Don't know? Open it!" Sirius grinned.
"Hope it's not a rock..." Remus mumbled as his fingers found the opening. Slowly, he opened the box and then brought it closer to him to peek inside. When he saw the content he gasped.
"What is it?" Sirius asked curiously.
"It's, I, I think it's two rings." Remus told the box.
"You think it's two rings or is there two rings inside? Can I see?" Sirius asked. "Yeah." Remus handed the box over to Sirius who voiced a low 'wow'.
"Can I take them out?" Sirius looked up at Remus.
"Sure." Remus shrugged before he watched Sirius turn the box upside down, emptying its content in his palm. Remus saw the two silver rings land on his palm and for some reason that made Remus blush.
"Think it's real silver?" Remus asked, eyes stuck on the shining rings.
"It is." Sirius nodded. Then he reached out his arm to give the rings to Remus who took them.
"Here, they're yours." Sirius smiled at him. "Lucky you, first thing you dig up are something valuable. Filch has probably buried a lot of useless junk around here." Sirius stated before he turned his attention back to his own hole, and made to reach for his shovel when Remus heard himself shout "Wait!" louder than necessary.
"Hm?" Sirius pryed.
"I, ehm," Remus suddenly felt extremely nervous. He took a deep breath before he went on.
"Do you perhaps... want one? One of the rings I mean...?" Remus dared a glance back at Sirius. He felt his heart jump excitedly when Sirius grinned at him.
"Of course I would! But are you sure?" Sirius smiled at him, his eyes honest. When Remus saw the grey in Sirius eyes dance in silver, making the butterflies in his stomach flutter, he knew there wasn't anyone he would rather share the rings with.
Plus the fact that sharing rings with Sirius somehow felt more intimate than he'd first estimated.
It was with red cheeks that Remus nodding took one of the rings and held it out for Sirius. His hand automatically flinched when Sirius' fingers brushed against it, but if Sirius noticed it he didn't say anything about it.
With a jittery feeling in his chest Remus watched as Sirius threaded the ring on his index finger of his left hand, but then changed it to the middle finger since it was too big. Absentmindedly Remus found himself hoping that Sirius would put it on the ring finger, but then he scolded himself. He was not going to lure Sirius into that.
Remus glanced down on his own ring. He put it on his middle finger of his left hand as well, to match Sirius.
"Nice, thanks Rem." Sirius grinned at him, Remus smiling back.
Remus felt his smile turn into a grin when Sirius aimed a playful jab on his shoulder. Remus gave Sirius' shoulder a jab back, secretly enjoying every time he touched him.
Sirius grinned mischievously at him before he lifted both of his hands to shove at Remus' chest gently. Remus frowned at him, trying to tell him not to shove him, but it had no effect since his huge grin only urged Sirius on.
Sirius only stopped with his playful jabs, pushes and shoves when they heard James walk by them, loudly bragging about how many treasures he'd found already.
"I found a hairbrush, a shoe and a snitch!" James sang as he proudly strutted around Remus and Sirius before he started heading back to his team again.
Sirius tsked. "What the hell's a 'snitch'?" He muttered before he gave Remus a look that told him he thought James was mental.
"Oh, you wouldn't know. They can only be found by the best treasure hunters out there and sadly you're not one of them." James sang over his shoulder before he smiled at them smugly, hand waving a goodbye at them.
"Wanker." Sirius mumbled as he grabbed his shovel to start digging again.
Remus tore his eyes from Sirius and started digging as well. Then they dug and dug and it felt like they had been digging for hours, Remus not finding anything in the large mass of sand. He was just about to give up when he heard Sirius laugh next to him.
"I found something!" He shouted.
Remus quickly hurried over to Sirius' hole. He lowered his hands to help him dig the item out when he saw Sirius already holding a small box in his right hand. Remus watched as Sirius gave the small blue box a shake before he lifted it to his face to view it better.
"What do you think it is?" Remus chirped.
"Have no idea, but I hope it's something better than the trash James found over at his side of the beach." Sirius joked, making Remus laugh.
Sirius found the opening and opened the small box. He lowered his fingers inside and Remus watched as they came back with something in between them. Remus squinted as Sirius placed the items next to the box on his palm. It was...
"Necklaces." Sirius stated as he lowered them to lie in his lap.
"Yeah." Remus mumbled. Two silver necklaces lay on Sirius' lap, and doing a close up Remus saw that one of them had a crescent moon as a pendant, the other a dog's paw.
Remus narrowed his eyes. That was odd.
"What a coincidence!" Sirius exclaimed cheerfully before he lifted the paw-pendant necklace to examine it more firmly.
Remus tried to calculate the odds of the fact that Filch had found out about their nicknames, ordered two matching necklaces just for them, hidden them on this side of the beach, made sure that Remus and Sirius was on the same team and then place them on this side of the beach where the necklaces were hidden. He didn't think it was a coincidence, but with no evidence he was left to simply shrug and take it as it was.
Remus gripped his shovel again when he felt Sirius grab his hand.
"Wait, here. This one's yours." Sirius smiled, and as he released his Remus' hand Remus saw that he had placed the necklace with the crescent moon there.
"Thank you." Remus smiled, feeling grateful for the gift even thought it was a tad creepy that just him and Sirius had found this pair of the necklaces.
Sirius grinned back at him as he put his on. Remus put on his as well and rejoiced in the fact that he and Sirius shared both rings and necklaces now.
Swiping his eyes over the many boys and girls around the beach Remus saw how skirts, shirts, shoes, balls and bags of chips or sweets were thrown next to the digging groups. It must have taken Filch hours to dig it all down.
Remus grabbed his shovel and started digging again. Perhaps he could manage to find one more treasure before it was time to stop.
Remus sank his shovel down into the sand but stopped when he felt a heap of sand land on his lap out of nowhere. Frowning, he stopped in his tracks. Had he accidentally thrown the sand on himself? But as he saw another heap of sand rain down over his trousers he realized it was Sirius.
Remus raised one eyebrow at Sirius as he turned around to face him.
"You've got sand in your lap." Sirius snickered under his hand before he let slip a chuckle.
"You too." Remus told him, expression earnest, making Sirius frown.
"No I don't?" Sirius looked down at his lap for good emphasis and that's when Remus took his chance. He filled his shovel with sand and then threw it all over Sirius' lap with a satisfied huff.
"Now you do." Remus laughed. Sirius gasped dramatically.
"Moony!" He gasped again, making Remus laugh louder. Sirius looked really funny when he over exaggerated like that.
Remus stopped laughing when he felt another pile of sand land on his lap. Looking at Sirius he saw him look at him with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Remus felt his lips curl into a smug smile. The game was on.
Remus and Sirius filled their shovels and proceeded to cover each other with sand. Remus felt sand grains sneak under every layer of his clothes, get stuck in his hair and set in his ears, but it was too
fun to play sand-war with Sirius to stop. They both laughed as they alternated between throwing sand and duck attacks.
Remus rolled around on the sand after a particularity big sand pile had landed on him. He laughed but felt the laughter get stuck in his throat when he felt Sirius lean over him and grip his shoulders playfully. Remus swallowed before he glanced up at Sirius' glistening silver eyes. They looked almost inhuman in the bright light of the sun. Looked too beautiful.
"Do you admit defeat?" He heard Sirius demand from where he leaned over him, held Remus' shoulders.
Remus smirked. "Never." He spoke before he lifted his arms, wrapped them around Sirius and then fell him to the ground. Sirius huffed but didn't struggle out from Remus' grip immediately. Instead he wrapped his own arms around Remus and then rolled them around on the sand.
"I win!" Sirius laughed as he rolled them over the sand, getting sand stuck all over their hair and clothes.
"Okay, okay!" Remus laughed. He forgot all about the camp, the treasure hunt and their sand-war when he felt Sirius press his body against his with every roll over the sand. He closed his eyes and tightened his grip around Sirius. He could feel Sirius rugged breath against his ear, his arms around his back and his hair on his face. Remus felt a giddy smile tug at his lips as they pressed their bodies against each other, Sirius laughing in his ear. But when he felt Sirius' leg press in between his own the reality of the situation dawned on him.
He managed to suppress the moan, but could do nothing to stop the wave of pleasure that surged though him. He wanted nothing more than to spread his legs and press Sirius closer to him, but he couldn't. Not out here. Not out the open on the beach. Not when Sirius thought they only played a game of sand-war.
Instead Remus loosened his grip around Sirius and then struggled out of his grip as he sat up on the beach. It was too dangerous to be that close to Sirius now. Remus couldn't control his body, and he didn't trust himself if he got too excited. He didn't want to accidentally do something that could endanger their friendship or make it awkward between them.
"You win." Remus mumbled to the sand. He heard Sirius sit up next to him, and felt Sirius' eyes bore into his side.
"You alright?" Sirius asked, voice concerned, before he draped an arm over Remus' shoulders. Remus felt his heart jump and his stomach do somersaults at the contact, but his facial expression stayed natural.
"Yes I'm fine." He lied. He turned his head to the side and felt his forced smile turn into an earnest one when he saw Sirius honest concern.
"Time's up!"
They both turned their heads to the beach in front of them when they heard Slughorn's loud voice reach them. Within a minute Slughorn had reached them and told them that all groups were to gather around the bonfire to declare the winning team. Slughorn had gone to inform the next group before Remus and Sirius even had the time to get up from their sitting position on the sand.
When they'd made their way over to the bonfire along with the other sand-covered boys and girls Slughorn positioned himself in the middle of the crowd and cleared his throat. He announced that
the team that had found the most treasures would win a grand prize, and after walking around to listen to the groups as they told him and showed him what they'd found Slughorn announced that the winning team was 'Team Red'. Remus watched as Gideon and Fabian Prewett along with two red headed girls made their way over to Slughorn to receive their price. They won a big bag of candy which they could easily split in four.
Team Red walked back to the crowd as Slughorn announced that the bonfire would be lit in ten minutes. Then they would bring out the radio to play music which they would need for the dance.
All in all Slughorn seemed the most excited out of the lot as he almost bounced up and down on the spot when he made his way over to Hagrid to ask him to lit the fire.
Remus let his eyes slide to Dumbledore who stood on Hagrid's left. Remus watched as Dumbledore threaded a finger around the tip of his long, white beard. Then he watched as Dumbledore proceeded to lift his glasses further up on his nose.
Remus was just about to look elsewhere when he saw Dumbledore look back at him. First feeling confused Remus swiftly looked over his shoulder to check if the man perhaps looked at someone behind him, but no, he looked straight at Remus.
Remus looked Dumbledore in the eyes, but glanced down when he saw Dumbledore point at his chest. Remus trailed his fingers as they moved to point at Dumbledore's middle finger of his left hand next. Remus felt confused when he turned his gaze back to Dumbledore's eyes.
He saw Dumbledore look at him knowingly with a mysterious smile on his lips. Then he gave Remus a slow wink before he looked away from him.
Remus stared at Dumbledore a while longer as he contemplated what he'd just seen. Then it hit him.
Dumbledore had meant the necklace and ring when he motioned! But wait. Why did he do that? Did he mean that he'd seen that Remus and Sirius had found them, or did he mean something else? Did he perhaps mean that he knew about their codenames?
Remus shook his head, trying to clear his confused thoughts. Then he remembered about Sirius that stood next to him.
"Hey Sirius." He whispered while he tugged at his arm, gaining his attention with a "Hm?"
"Did you see that?" Remus tilted his head to the side, motioning for the teacher's side of the bonfire area.
"No, saw what?" Sirius frowned at him, but on his lips was a curious smile.
"Did you see Dumbledore!" Remus hissed, getting tired of explaining.
"Wha-?"
Remus grabbed Sirius by his chin and turned his head to look in front of them. He helped Sirius to spot Dumbledore, but when Remus turned his head to look again he froze.
Dumbledore was gone.
Dance
Remus dropped his suspicion about Dumbledore for the time being when he saw Hagrid light the bonfire in front of them. He mumbled something under his breath to Sirius who frowned at him, looking almost as confused as Remus felt. But then Remus shrugged it off as being nothing so Sirius looked elsewhere.
About thirty minutes later Remus found himself in the middle of a game of charades. He sat in a small circle around James who waved his arms out in the air, trying to motion for the others what he was.
"A bird!" Someone shouted. James shook his head. Then he spluttered with his lips and waved his arms up and down in the air before he fell down into a heap on the ground.
Remus frowned. What kind of bird collapsed like that?
James suddenly sat up, eyes blinking slowly like he saw the world for the first time. Then he rose up his feet as he held his arms out in the air again, waving them around like a bird. That's when Remus got it.
"A phoenix!" He shouted, earning him a thumbs up and grin from James.
A phoenix was known for its turning into flames and then born again from the ashes, so of course James had fallen down to the ground like that. Remus smiled when he remembered how James had spluttered with his lips. He was probably trying to imitate fire or something.
"Great! Your turn." James reached out his hand, wrapped it around Remus' wrist and hauled him up. He took Remus' seat on the ground next to Sirius and looked expectantly up at Remus who stared at him in disbelief.
"But- but I don't want to." Remus pleaded, hunching his shoulders as he felt ten pair of eyes land on him
"You should've thought of that before you answered. Sorry." James shrugged but didn't look sorry. No, quite the opposite. He looked smug from where he grinning leaned back on his arms.
Remus sent a desperate look on Sirius and Peter each but looked away when he was met by apologetic smiles from them both.
Reluctantly Remus placed himself in the middle of the group. He tried not to look too closely at the faces staring at him. Sure, most of them he knew from before, such as Frank or Marlene, but he still didn't like to be the center of attention. It made him feel uncomfortable.
He searched his mind for something or someone to be. Then his eyes landed on Hagrid who added firewood to the bonfire, and he decided to be him. After taking a deep breath he started.
Remus first motioned a big belly as he swiped his hands in the air up and down around his stomach. Then he combed through an imaginary beard which reached him to his chest. He patted an imaginary moustache next.
"An old man!" Someone suggested. Remus shook his head.
"An old fat man!" Someone shouted again, and looking around Remus saw that it was a grinning
James that shouted at him.
Remus shook his head at him, but first made sure to send him a glare. It was James' fault he was making a fool out of himself right now.
Remus started stomping on the ground, trying to relay Hagrid's heavy weight and the loud sounds that always warned about Hagrid's entrance. When no one suggested anything Remus placed his hand over his head and then slowly lifted it higher, trying to show them that Hagrid was tall.
No one got it. And feeling himself growing frustrated over how difficult it was Remus grunted. "An old, fat and angry man!"
Remus sent James a death glare. This was not funny. Though, as he glanced over at James that was laughing Remus saw Sirius and Peter suspiciously hide their mouths under their hands. Squinting, Remus thought their faces looked red.
Were they laughing at him as well?
Feeling his face grow red Remus got desperate to finish with his turn already. He searched his brain for any more of Hagrid's significant behaviors when he remembered his many peculiar outfits; Hagrid often wore old coats made from odd animal skins.
Remus unbuttoned the buttons of an imaginary coat, took it off, and then put it back on again. He tried to make it look as it was heavy so he hunched his back some from the weight of it. He looked around on his spectators expectantly, but no one seemed to get it.
"Oh look; if it isn't little Siri and his pack of so called friends?" A loud, nonchalant and positively vicious voice came from behind Remus. Frowning, he turned around, and felt himself startle when he saw who the voice belonged to.
"What are you doing here, Narcissa?" Sirius' voice dripped of hate as he hauled himself up to standing position.
Glancing behind Narcissa Remus saw the snarling faces of Snape, Rosier, and Lestrange. He didn't like the feeling of having their glares aimed at him.
Narcissa ignored Sirius and instead turned her attention to Remus who slowly had taken a step back, trying to back out from the scene.
"Are you playing charades?" She raised a arched eyebrow at Remus. "Oh, let me guess." She gave Remus a look over before she raised her chin in the air and snarled. "You're a beggar?"
Remus felt his stomach drop as his chest constricted uncomfortably. He heard the loud, shrieking laughter that came from Narcissa and her pack. Heard the laughter that was aimed at him.
Remus glanced down at his clothes. Sure, they weren't as fancy as any of Sirius' or James', but there wasn't any holes in them. He'd put on his nicest pair of clothes for the evening. But apparently he looked like a beggar.
He swallowed but felt that he couldn't as the lump in his throat grew. Instead he turned around to make his way out of the circle, not wanting to risk anyone seeing the tears stream down his face.
Just before he started running he thought he heard Sirius shout "You crazy bitch!" He hoped it was directed at Narcissa.
''''''''''
Remus sat on the farthest end of the bridge. He didn't feel like participating in the ongoing activities, games or party anymore.
He wiped away the tears on his cheeks with his sleeve. He fiddled with his trouser pocket before he found a napkin he used to blow his nose.
He knew he shouldn't let the mean words of bullies get to him, but it did. Even worse was the fact he'd been made fun of in front of others. In front of Sirius.
It hurt. It made him feel like horrible. It made him feel pathetic for even trying. Frustrated, he threw his used napkin in the lake.
He couldn't help how he looked. He couldn't help if he was born into a wealthy family or not. He could only be himself. But apparently that wasn't enough. That wasn't good.
He found a small rock beside him on the bridge which he fiercely threw in the lake, rejoicing in the loud flop that reached his ears as it hit the surface.
He rubbed the crease between his eyebrows, hoped that it would ease the aching pain of humiliation in his chest, when he heard approaching footsteps. Turning his head to glance over his shoulder he felt his heart jump in his chest. Sirius walked towards him.
Remus turned his head back to stare at the small waves in the lake. He heard Sirius walk up to him, then saw him sit down to his right. Remus glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, but snapped them back to the lake when he saw Sirius look back at him.
Remus tensed when he felt Sirius drape an arm over his shoulders, but relaxed within a second. He leaned close to Sirius, dropped his head on his shoulder. He closed his eyes when he got a whiff of Sirius' unique scent.
"Don't listen to them." Sirius whispered suddenly. Remus listened to him but stayed silent.
"They're worse than shit. You're much better than them, thousands of times better than them, and that's why you shouldn't care about what they're saying. Okay?" Sirius let his arm swipe over Remus' back, but Remus still stayed silent.
"Everything they're saying is nonsense anyway. I don't care about your clothes, which by the way are perfectly normal and ten times more comfortable than mine, they're just clothes." Sirius reached out his other hand to snake its way to find one of Remus'. Remus felt his cheeks heat up when Sirius entwined their fingers.
"I think you're really awesome. You're super cool, and funny and intelligent, and that's all that matters. You're you and that's how I, I mean, that's how people like you best." Sirius babbled at a quick pace, making it difficult for Remus to follow. But he got the message. Sirius cared about him.
He felt Sirius turn them around so that they sat face to face. Remus glanced up at Sirius which looked at him with a tender expression.
Remus watched as Sirius let go of his hand and shoulders to lift his hands to cup Remus' cheeks. He let his thumbs wipe away the last remains of the tears that had stained Remus' cheeks.
"Please don't cry." Sirius whispered gently as he let his thumbs wipe Remus' cheeks one last time before he lowered his hands to his lap.
As Remus looked deeply into Sirius' emotional eyes he felt something warm fill his chest. His heartrate sped up and he felt the butterflies in his stomach urge him on. Suddenly he was overwhelmed by the urge to just lean forward and capture Sirius' lips with his own. To kiss him.
"Do you want to head back to the cabin?" Sirius asked.
Remus snapped back to reality. But then he felt his entire body heat up as he realized what Sirius had suggested.
"W-what?"
"Do you want to call it a night, or are you ready to go back to the bonfire? I understand if you want to hit sleep instead." Sirius gave him a sad smile before he patted his shoulder.
Remus scolded himself for even thinking that Sirius had suggested that they walk back to the cabin to have some fun just the two of them. Here Sirius, his best mate, was sincerely concerned for him and wanted to console him when he was sad. Remus felt bad for even thinking about ulterior motives.
"We can head back for the bonfire. I'm fine now anyway." Remus spoke as his eyes trailed a swift wave on the water surface.
"Thanks," Remus turned his head to the side to look Sirius in the eyes. "Thank you for, you know... caring." Remus felt his heart jump when Sirius gave him a fond smile.
"Of course I care. There's only one Moony." Sirius shrugged as if it was the most natural thing to say in the world; like it explained everything. Even though Remus didn't think he was anything special he still felt his heart swell from Sirius' words.
"Want to head back now?" Sirius asked as he stood up, reached his arm out to help Remus up after him.
"Yes." Remus smiled shyly as he gripped Sirius' hand and felt Sirius' warm, firm fingers slide against his own. Remus' stomach rejoiced at the contact and asked for more.
He only felt a bit guilty when he stumbled on purpose to let Sirius help him regain his balance. Sirius was always eager to help, so it was almost too easy for Remus to sneak himself some touches here and there.
When Remus steadied himself the two of them made their way back to the beach, Remus with one of Sirius' arms draped over his shoulders, making him feel giddy with happiness.
When they reached the mass of boys and girls by the bonfire Remus' ears snapped up on some loud music coming from the direction of his left, and looking over there he saw a radio stand on the ground, loudly playing music over the grounds.
Remus grimaced at the sounds. He wasn't particularly fond of forced music. If he could decide he preferred silence or instrumental music from pianos or violins.
He started to feel uncomfortable as he let his eyes wander from the radio to the campers surrounding them. He saw girls and boys dance together in groups or pairs of two. Remus didn't like the way he saw the people in front of him press their bodies against each other.
On his right Remus thought he could hear James ask Lily for a dance right before he heard her turn him down out in the open. And next to James Remus saw Peter dance with Mary who sucked on a lollipop. Absentmindedly Remus wondered if Peter perhaps had bribed her into dancing with him by using the candy.
Grimacing, Remus opened his mouth to suggest that he and Sirius head back for their cabin when he felt Sirius let go of his shoulders and turn Remus around so that they were positioned face to face.
"Want to dance?" Sirius asked with playfully smile, making Remus' heart jump. "W-what?" He sputtered, face turning red.
"Come on, it'll be fun." Sirius aimed a playful jab on Remus' chest, making his stomach churn from the touch. Sirius had probably no idea of the effect he had on Remus.
"O-okay then." Remus wanted to slap himself for stuttering at the least fitting moments, making it impossible for him to ever impress on Sirius. However, his mind was directed elsewhere as he felt Sirius grip his hand in his and then yank him in the direction of the radio.
Remus was going to stuttering ask him about his intentions when Sirius stopped walking on the spot, about three meters from the radio, making the music play loudly in Remus' ears.
"Is this good, or is it too close?" Sirius shouted over the music. Remus grimaced, but surprised himself by nodding. He realized that he was too excited over the chance of dancing with Sirius to relay his opinions on the loud music.
He saw Sirius flash him a brilliant grin which made Remus' eyes widen as his eyes flicked to stare at it. Though, his eyes drifted up to meet Sirius' when he felt Sirius let go of his hand. Remus gazed deeply into Sirius' expressive gray eyes which danced in the light from the bonfire. He felt his mind scream for him to just reach out and kiss him, but he didn't. He couldn't. No, instead he cleared his throat as he lowered his head to stare at their feet.
"I don't, I- I can't dance." Remus mumbled, half expecting Sirius to laugh at him, surprising him when he didn't.
"Doesn't matter. Just do what I do and you'll be fine." Sirius spoke with a hint of playfulness in his voice. Remus looked up again just in time to see a smug smirk play on his lips, but in the next second it was gone.
Remus nodded, and then watched as Sirius started swinging his body from side to side as he moved to the music. Remus felt silly from when he mimicked his moves, certain that he looked just as much as a fool as he felt from even trying to dance. But when Sirius didn't complain Remus kept going.
After one song Remus was going to suggest that they head back, since he felt done with the dancing, but then he felt Sirius reach out to grip his shoulder.
"Want to try another dance?" Sirius asked, his voice alarmingly close to Remus' ear, making him bit his lip as he stopped a shiver.
"Sure." He managed to answer, mentally slapping himself when his voice pitched uncharacteristically at the end.
"Okay, ehm, just copy me..." Sirius trailed off, eyebrows furrowed in thought. Remus' eyes
widened when he thought he spotted a light blush on Sirius' cheeks but didn't have enough time to investigate as his attention turned inwards when he felt the butterflies in his stomach. Sirius had placed his hands on the sides of his waist, making him torn between squealing as it tickled, or panting as it sent comfortable small shivers through his body.
Blushing, Remus tentatively lifted his own hands and placed them on Sirius' waist. He swallowed when his fingers met the fabric of Sirius shirt, and then felt the heat radiating from Sirius' skin from underneath. He gave the waist a light squeeze with the excuse that he was just trying to get a good grip.
When he felt Sirius take a step closer to him and let out a breath down his neck at the same time he tightened his grip on Remus' waist Remus had to stage a cough to cover up the moan that wanted to slip through.
"Are you okay?" Sirius whispered.
Remus mumbled a choked 'Yes', busy trying to control his body as it heated up significantly under Sirius' touch. Absentmindedly Remus wondered if holding on to each other's waists could be considered dancing, but he didn't complain. Not when his entire body sang in harmony from Sirius' close proximity.
"Okay, now we'll just move around some. Dancing doesn't have to be complicated; really, anyone can do it if they want to." Sirius spoke suddenly, the words coming out from him in a fast pace. Remus struggled to listen to him as he felt Sirius start moving them around in a slow circle.
Remus stared at a spot on the ground behind Sirius' back, but felt his eyes drift shut when Sirius suddenly pressed their bodies tightly together.
"I think we're supposed to do it this way..." Sirius mumbled when he'd leaned his chin on Remus' shoulder, apparently not sensing the wave of pleasurable shivers that he inflicted on Remus.
All Remus' attention was turned to try and hold back his growing erection. He did not need to get hard from having pressed his body to Sirius' for what, ten seconds? It was ridiculous. He'd lost all sense of control over his body. It had a will of its own. And it wanted Sirius.
With his heart beating at a rapid pace Remus held onto Sirius' waist while Sirius walked them around in a circle. Remus didn't even bother the loud music anymore. In fact it was as if the entire camp had disappeared. The only thing that existed was how Sirius' body felt pressed up against him.
And, of course, the pressing matter in his trousers which he desperately tried to refrain from thinking about.
Remus danced around with Sirius in a wonderful bliss, but then a sudden voice broke though the bliss, making the lump of fear reappear in Remus' throat.
"Look what we have here, if it isn't for a pair of fairies. Bloody disgusting."
Remus immediately let go of his grip around Sirius' waist and pushed him off him. What he saw
when he turned around was a snarling Snape, grunting Rosier and a shocked looking Regulus. Remus winced.
He had already come to the conclusion that he might be playing for the other team, but he did not want to drag Sirius into his world. Sirius had only offered to teach him how to dance, but now that
had resulted in Regulus, his little brother, to feel shocked, or perhaps repelled by him.
"Excuse me, Snivellus?" Remus heard Sirius ask through gritted teeth, but he didn't turn around to face him. Though, he thought he could hear the hate dripple from the words, and he strongly suspected that Sirius had lifted his chin in the air just like how so many of his relatives tended to do when speaking to people they hated.
"You heard me. Fag." Snape spat, eyes burning with hate. Suddenly Remus felt some of that hate settle in his chest as well. Who did Snape think he was to call people things like that? And why was being a 'fag' a bad thing?
"The fuck did you call me?" Sirius demanded, almost shouting, making Regulus' eyes turn into the size of saucepans. Remus felt something stir in his chest. He wasn't sure if Sirius rage came from being called 'fag' or from wanting to defend him and Remus from being 'disgusting'.
"You heard him!" Rosier joined in, vicious grin on his face.
Remus thought he would do good in helping Sirius but for some reason he found himself standing frozen at the spot. He couldn't find anything to say.
Remus flinched when Sirius suddenly brushed past him to walk up to Snape. It was with a gasp that Remus saw that he had a fist raised.
"I'm warning you." Sirius growled when he'd closed the distance between them. Remus could see the fury burning in Sirius' eyes, making them look the very opposite from the kind grey Remus had grown to love. Suddenly Remus thought Sirius resemblance some of his relatives.
Snape's lips turned into a snarl. "I'm not afraid of you. I'm not scared of some fairy." Remus could literally see Sirius snap.
Before anyone had time to react Sirius had aimed a hard punch on Snape's cheek, successfully sending him stumbling to the ground.
Remus heard Regulus gasp, but it was lost in Sirius' frustrated growl as he leaned down to aim another hard punch at Snape, this time on the side of his head. Remus heard Snape groan in pain, but Sirius wasn't planning on stopping.
Vaguely, Remus thought Sirius knuckles must be hurting, though Sirius made no show of being in pain. Instead he aimed another punch outside of Snape's hands which lay clasped over his aching cheek.
Remus was too baffled to move. He witnessed as Sirius spat insanities at Snape who curled into a ball on the ground. Out of the corner of his eyes Remus thought he saw Regulus take off somewhere.
"Hey! Get off him!" Rosier shouted.
When Remus saw Rosier haul himself on Sirius he felt himself being able to move again.
"Don't touch him!" Remus shouted at Rosier before he in a moment of great courage hauled himself on top of Rosier, making the two of them fall to the ground, rolling around on top of each other.
"Afraid I'll hurt your boyfriend?" Rosier laughed evilly before he knocked Remus' head against the
ground, making him groan in pain. He had never been good at fights; he usually managed to avoid them by running from the bullies.
"Shut up!" Remus screamed before he managed to turn them around and knock Rosier's head against the ground forcefully.
"But it's true, isn't it?" Rosier laughed again as his eyes sent vicious glares as he stared at Remus. "You like him, don't you? Disgusting." Rosier snarled at Remus before he spat him in the face.
Remus gasped, feeling a mixture of hurt and disgusted. He quickly wiped his forehead on his sleeve, but that gave Rosier the time to turn them around. Remus felt the air knock out of his lungs when he hit the ground. He closed his eyes in pain and tried to move, but Rosier had him locked to the ground in an iron grip around his wrists.
"Don't fucking spit on him, you fucker!"
Remus opened his eyes quickly as Sirius furious growl met his ears. He looked over Rosier's shoulders just as Sirius aimed a well-placed punch to the side of Rosier's face, sending him tumbling to the ground with a groan.
Remus felt something swell in his chest when Sirius appeared at the spot where Rosier just had fallen. It was with awe that Remus smiled at Sirius as he held out his hand to help him up.
When Sirius had hauled him up to his feet Remus adjusted his clothes before he swept his eyes around them. He saw Rosier struggling to get up next to their feet, Snape lying in a groaning pile next to him.
Remus knew that he should feel guilty for the way Snape and Rosier lay groaning on the ground next to them. But he didn't. Not after what they had said and done to them. No, instead Remus felt thankful for the fact that he had Sirius. That they were a team that stood up for each other when the circumstances called for it.
Remus turned to face Sirius when he noticed that the music was off. Frowning, he looked over his shoulder. He felt his heart jolt in his chest when he saw over fifty pairs of eyes stare at them.
He also thought he heard the faint last chants of "Fight, fight!", but his attention was turned elsewhere when he saw a broad, short figure rush towards them.
Slughorn.
"Now, Black, now you won't be able to avoid punishment as easily!" Slughorn panted when he'd made his way over to them. Remus didn't know whether to feel afraid or not; Slughorn wasn't known for handing out punishments after all. But perhaps he wanted to show himself capable under the stern gaze of McGonagall and her ladies.
"Sir! He attacked us sir!"
Remus' heart jumped in fear at Rosier's words. He wasn't particularly lying, but that was only half the truth.
"Sir! He attacked us as well!" Remus pleaded to Slughorn, but he lifted his hand to Remus, motioning for him to silence up.
"This is between Mister Black, Rosier, Snape and me. Please stay out of this Mister Lupin, or do you want to be punished as well?" Slughorn threatened him.
"But-!" "Shh!"
Remus frowned at Slughorn. Was he serious? Remus had witnessed it all but he wasn't getting the chance to explain only because Slughorn already had set his mind on punishing Sirius for whatever reason.
Suddenly Remus hated Slughorn. He hated how he was willing to degenerate Sirius for the sake of showing off as a stern teacher or something equally as unimportant.
Remus flickered his gaze to settle on someone who'd trailed after Slughorn on his way to them. It was with a shocked gasp Remus recognized the person as Regulus. Then he remembered how he'd seen Regulus run off; he had probably told Slughorn and then got him to stop the fight.
"Director Slughorn, I can ex-" Sirius started while exhaling a breath, but he didn't get the chance to finish.
"No you stay silent over there young man! I've had my eyes on you since the incident with Miss Evans earlier. This time you won't get off as smoothly!" Slughorn furiously waved an index finger in the air, his face turning red, making Sirius raise his eyebrows at him.
"Mister Black you are now going to be excused to your cabin and stay there for the rest of the evening. I believe that you have caused enough trouble here for the night." Slughorn tried to make his voice sound louder and sterner. He adjusted his tie before he bored his eyes on Sirius, waiting for a reply.
Sirius narrowed his eyes at him. Remus himself felt a deep frustration boil in his chest. He could only imagine what Sirius was feeling.
"Sure. Sir." Sirius spoke through gritted teeth a moment later.
"Thought so." Slughorn huffed looking proud. He looked over his shoulder, probably to make sure
McGonagall watched him before he turned his head back to stare at Sirius.
"So? What are you waiting for? Off you go!" He waved his hand in the air, motioning for Sirius to get going.
With a last glare at Slughorn Sirius was off but not before he 'accidentally' walked into Snape and Rosier that still laid on the ground on the way. "Ops, sorry." Sirius sang before he started making his way back to cabin 7 with long steps.
Remus trailed him with his eyes and was just about to follow after him when he heard a shrieking laughter from somewhere. Looking around he spotted Narcissa, Lestrange and some other smug looking kids laugh at him scornfully.
Turning his head back Remus watched as Slughorn helped Rosier up to his feet, all the while mumbling nonsense excuses.
With a disgusted grimace Remus took a couple of steps back. He didn't feel the need to watch Slughorn try and get on Rosier's good side.
Remus startled when he felt a hand land on his shoulder.
"Hey, are you okay? Sorry I didn't come to help. It was already over when I noticed anything."
Came James low voice.
Remus received a concerned glance, but shook the hand off him.
"I'm fine." He mumbled.
"What happened? I mean, it's not like you to join in a fight like that...?" James tried to be sensible but Remus could see the curiosity in his eyes.
"I, ehm," Remus started, but stopped as he felt his face heat up. He couldn't tell James that they'd been accused for being gay. He couldn't tell James that when he knew it might be partly true, at least for one of them.
He opened his mouth to stutter out an excuse when Peter joined them.
"Hey mates- oh, wow! Dude Remus, you look rough! What happened?" Wide-eyed Peter stared at Remus as if he'd grown out a second head.
"Yeah..?" James pryed, just as curious.
Remus shook his head.
"It was nothing. Sorry, but I'm going after Sirius now. You guys can stay here; you don't need to leave as well. You didn't join in the fight after all." Remus declared just before he turned around and took off for cabin 7. He didn't even listen for their replies. He didn't care. The only thing he could think about was that it was his fault Sirius had been excused to their cabin.
''''''''''
"Padfoot? Sirius...?"
Tentatively, Remus made his way through the middle of the room. The cabin was dark, the lamp in the ceiling turned off, and for some reason Remus left it like that. Something told him that Sirius deliberately had left it like that.
Squinting, Remus made out the contours of his bed, then Sirius'. They were both empty.
Frowning, Remus glanced around the rest of the room, but it seemed to be deserted as well. He wondered where Sirius was but then he heard something from the bathroom. It almost sounded as a muffled scream.
He made his way over to the door and pressed his ear against it. When he concentrated he thought he could make out the significant voice of Sirius which muttered words such as 'Git', 'Wanker', 'Son of a bitch'.
Remus had first thought of opening the door to walk inside, but when he heard Sirius angry tone he mulled over the decision again.
Just as he had decided to sneak out of the cabin as quiet as possible and return some time later, since Sirius probably was in need for some time for himself, he felt the bathroom room swing open. It successfully pushed him and made him stumble to the ground with a huff.
"Is there anyone here?" Sirius asked as he stilled the door. "It's just me." Remus mumbled as he helped himself up again.
"Did you fall or something? Or- oh, wait... were you eavesdropping on me?" Sirius' tone was playful, and in the light from the bathroom Remus could make out a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"No." Remus furrowed his eyebrows, crossed his arms over his chest. "Just came to check on you." He shrugged.
Sirius stared at him for a moment, eyes calculating something Remus couldn't quite make out.
"Okay, cool." Sirius shrugged after a while. "So, what do you want to do?"
"Do?" Remus asked, feeling a tad confused.
"Yeah, or are you planning on staring at the walls for the rest of the evening?" Sirius joked before he lifted his arm to aim a playful jab on Remus' chest.
Remus felt a giddy smile spread on his lips at that. He felt a warmth spread his body all over just from the sole touch of Sirius' hand. Suddenly he felt happy for the lack of light in the cabin since it made his blush less noticeable.
"I thought I could just read, or..." Remus trailed off, not sure how to end the sentence. He hadn't planned anything yet.
"...Or dance some more!" Sirius finished for him.
Remus' felt his heart jump. He looked up and saw Sirius flash him a brilliant grin, all traces of the mishap by the bonfire forgotten.
"I, uh, well... I guess...?" Remus piped. It was difficult to form whole sentences when he glanced into Sirius' wonderful grey eyes which seemed to turn into a different shade every other minute or so.
"Good." Sirius smiled. Then he closed the bathroom door, gripped Remus' wrist and walked them over to the window. At first Remus felt confused but when he looked outside he understood.
Outside Remus could make out the last remains of the sunset. The sky was painted pink, purple, blue, yellow and orange all at once. Remus loved to watch the sunset and he felt his chest constrict with feelings for Sirius when he realized that Sirius had remembered that.
Glancing to his side Remus found Sirius staring at him, making Remus quickly look away again, his heart pounding like wild in his chest. God, why did Sirius stand so close?
"Do you remember the steps?" Sirius asked. Remus nodded. There wasn't as much 'steps' as there was 'hold on to the other's waist while walking into a slow circle'.
When Remus felt Sirius' fingertips brush against his waist he snapped his head to the side as he turned to face Sirius. He found Sirius smile at him, eyes glistening in the light from the sunset. Remus stared at him in awe. He looked beautiful like that.
When Sirius staged a cough Remus snapped out of his staring and instead brought his own pair of hands up to grip around Sirius' waist. He could feel his stomach do somersaults, and he swallowed to prevent himself from accidentally suddenly blurt out his overwhelming feelings.
Remus felt Sirius pull them closer together, his heart literally jumping out of his chest when he felt Sirius press their chests together. He wondered if Sirius could feel his rapid heartbeat against him.
"You're a good dancer." Sirius whispered close to Remus' ear, making him shiver unintentionally as he leaned his chin on Sirius' shoulder.
"Y-you think?" He stuttered.
"Yeah, better than any of the girls I'm forced to dance with all the time anyway. You're much better. Less forced, more relaxed." Sirius stated before he hummed against Remus' ear, making him fight the moan that threatened to escape him as a pleasurable shiver shook him.
"T-thanks, I guess." Remus tried to speak as normally as possible but his voice still pitched at the end. He didn't know whether to point out to Sirius or not that boys usually didn't dance with other boys, though he refrained from informing him. He didn't ever want the dance to end.
"In fact I'm positive you're the best one I've ever danced with." Sirius explained as a matter of fact, making Remus flush all over. He immediately wondered if Sirius just liked the close contact or if his body reacted the same way as Remus' from being close to each other. Remus hoped for the latter.
Remus mumbled an answer, not sure what to say. Remus felt dizzy when he got a faint whiff of Sirius' scent, and before he had time to change his mind he pressed his nose to Sirius' neck and breathed in deep to get a better whiff. He felt a fluttering in his chest, as well as a spark hitting his groin.
He made to steal another sniff, but when he felt Sirius shift he immediately stopped what he was doing and instead awaited the scolding. But it never came. Instead Remus felt Sirius let his hands wander from his waist to swipe over his back.
Remus felt a happy smile spread his lips as Sirius' hand movements made small waves of pleasurable warmth spread from his back to his chest.
Absentmindedly Remus let his own hands let go of Sirius' waist to swipe over his back. Feeling bold Remus even wrapped his arms around Sirius' back and then used them to try and press their bodies even closer together.
Remus felt a giddy happiness take over him as he could feel his chest, stomach, groin, legs and feet press against Sirius. He found himself wondering if they really were still dancing, but then he realized that they hadn't even started walking around in a circle yet. They didn't even have music.
For a second Remus wondered what they were doing, but his questions were pushed away for later when he felt Sirius lift one hand to thread in his hair. Remus felt the hairs on his body all stand when Sirius scraped his scalp with his nails, making him hum approvingly.
Remus felt warm, excited and drunk on happiness from where he held on to Sirius' wonderfully warm body. He had never thought he would love to dance, but if this was dancing he never wanted to do anything else ever again in his life.
Tentatively, Remus slowly lifted his right hand. When his fingertips came in contact with Sirius' neck he buried his hand under Sirius' smooth black curls before he let his nails scrape against Sirius' scalp. Remus felt a proud smile splay on his lips when Sirius shivered against him.
Remus rejoiced in the feeling of playing with Sirius' hair; Sirius rarely ever let anyone except himself touch it. Though, when Remus felt something press in between his legs he startled.
Panting, he closed his eyes as he stilled. When he felt another press to his groin he realized it must be Sirius' leg, but if he did it intentionally or not Remus didn't know. However, it was the most
incredible feeling Remus had yet to feel.
He was just about to spread his legs some when he heard the door to their cabin open.
"Hey, we're ba-, wow, eh, should we come back later, or...?" Came James voice, making Remus and Sirius quickly jump and detangle from each other. Remus took a step back before he hurriedly tried to flatten out his hair. When someone turned the light back in the room he desperately hoped his face wasn't as red as it felt.
"Hi Prongs, hi Wormtail." Sirius greeted before he slumped down on the couch, crossing his legs. Remus didn't realize he was staring until Sirius looked over at him to meet his eyes.
Quickly flicking his eyes away Remus turned his attention to the door where he saw a smug looking James and frowning Peter.
"You're back early." Remus didn't mean to sound mean, but he couldn't help but to feel robbed at his moment with Sirius even if it was just him that had gotten lost in the heat of the moment.
"Sheesh, great to see you too Moony." James muttered ironically before he walked over to Peter's bed where he searched the mattress for any leftover candy. Peter followed him, retrieved his backpack from under the bed and then dug up a small bag with sweet raspberries for James.
"You know what I meant." Remus slowly walked over to sit down on his bed. The bulge in his pants made walking uncomfortable but he wasn't going to give it away by walking funny.
"Yeah I know. Wormy actually spotted Lestrange and some other dude I think is called Nott stand by our window peeking in." James explained.
Remus' eyes widened. What?
"So he called me over and together we chased them off. Then we decided to head back for bed since we were already here." James shrugged as he chewed on a sweet raspberry.
Remus sat down on his bed with a gulp. Had Lestrange and Nott seen him and Sirius right then? Or had the sunset reflected in the glass, making it impossible for any intruders to peek inside?
"They... peeked inside, you say?" Sirius asked, and turning his head to the side Remus saw Sirius look at him with a funny expression. Remus tried to make out what it meant but before he got the chance Sirius had covered his mouth with his hand, turning to face James.
"Yeah, weird right? They looked really smug when he chased them off too." James shrugged.
"Were you doing something... funny?" Peter asked, suspiciously looking first at Remus, then at Sirius.
Remus shook his head, kept his gaze low since it would probably give him away.
"No, of course not. I just showed Moony some cool dance moves that's all." Sirius told them as a matter of fact as he placed his arms behind his head.
Remus frowned at his lap. He wouldn't call their controversial 'dance' for 'cool dance moves', but perhaps Sirius hadn't felt what he did back then. Sirius had probably just been about to make up some excuse for him to hit sleep or something.
"That sounds fake, but okay..." Peter mumbled.
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing! Padfoot, I said nothing." Peter lifted his hands in the air in surrender when Sirius glared at him.
"I think I'm going to bed." James stated after a loud yawn, making the other three in the room yawn as well.
"Me too." Spoke Remus. He didn't trust himself to stay around Sirius for much longer. He didn't trust his body to behave, so he reasoned he would do best with going to bed.
''''''''''
Later, as he lay in bed hugging Teddy, Remus let his mind wander back on the events of the day. He thought back on the treasure hunt, the bickering with Petunia and the fight with Snape and Rosier. But most of all his thoughts wandered to Sirius and to how incredible he was.
Remus finally came to realize that his feelings for Sirius weren't just perhaps fancying. He knew now that he to one hundred percent fancied Sirius.
Though, he didn't know whether to feel relieved or not about the fact as he came to the conclusion. Sure, he understood now why his heart rate sped up, butterflies fluttered in his stomach and he felt warm all over whenever Sirius looked him in the eyes or touched him. But he didn't know if it was that great that he'd fallen for one of his best mates. That he'd fallen for another boy.
Sighing, Remus turned around on the bed, struggling to fall asleep. He couldn't remember when he'd started feeling like this but when he let his thoughts wander to why he liked Sirius he found himself remembering tons of reasons.
When he thought about the way Sirius' eyes glistened in the light from the sun, the way he confidently spoke his opinion, or tried to comfort Remus when he was sad Remus felt a smile tug at his lips. Sirius was just too lovable. There were too many things about him that made him unique. Too many things which made it difficult for Remus to look at anyone else.
Remus rolled around on his bed some more, mind replaying memories of Sirius ruffling his hair, smiling at him, dancing with him.
With a smile on his lips Remus fell asleep.
Swim
Remus awoke with a jolt. He snapped his eyes open in the belief that he'd woken up from a nightmare but he couldn't remember dreaming anything.
He sat up on the side of his bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He glanced out their window in disbelief. It was pitch dark outside.
Remus frowned. What had woken him up in the middle of the night?
Just as he made to lie back down he stilled. He sniffed the air twice, and then he got up and sniffed the air from the middle of their cabin. That's odd, he thought. It almost smelled like... smoke.
Remus squinted as he slowly walked around their cabin, searching for the source of the smoke. He sniffed by the door but since the scent wasn't as strong there he moved toward the other side of the room. When he reached their window he startled.
It was opened.
Still half asleep he reached out a hand to close it. And that's when he saw it.
Smoke.
Smoke that pooled in through their open window, successfully turning the air in their cabin poisonous.
With a shriek Remus quickly closed the window, but gasped when he through the glass of the window saw that the outer side of the wall was burning.
The cabin was on fire.
"Sirius! Sirius wake up! It's burning!" Remus covered his nose with his sleeve as a make shift mask as he stumbling made his way over to Sirius' bed.
He walked up to stand on his bed while he let go of his nose in favor of gripping Sirius' shoulders and rustling him awake. When he awoke with a scream Remus shouted at him again.
"It's on fire! The cabin!"
"What?" Slurred Sirius, still half asleep.
"Hurry!" Remus threw Sirius' cover off him before he jumped down from his bed to wake up the others.
"Peter!" Remus rustled Peter awake and then grabbed him and rolled him off to the floor. That woke him up.
"Ow! ... Hey, what's that smell?" Peter asked, sniffing in the air, head jerking from side to side.
"James, James wake up, the cabin's on fire, we need to hurry outside!" Remus shouted for James before he felt a set of violent coughs shake him.
"WHAT?" Peter shrieked when he finally got what was going on.
Looking over his shoulder Remus saw that Sirius had climbed down his ladder and now hurried to open the front door.
"Peter, you go get an adult! Slughorn, or Hagrid or anyone, just hurry!" Sirius ordered Peter who squeaked a 'Yes!' before he ran out of the cabin barefoot and still in his pajamas.
Remus turned his attention back to James who seemed to have been drugged or something. Why did he have to be such a deep sleeper?
"James wake UP!" Remus shouted, but then he saw Sirius climb up the ladder to grip James' feet.
"Rise and shine Prongs!" Sirius coughed, eyes watering from the smoke, before he tickled James' feet vigorously. That finally woke him up.
"Go away Padfoot, five more minutes..." James mumbled, but before he had time to go back to sleep Sirius and Remus had gripped an arm each and hauled him into sitting position. Remus' eyes watered from the smoke, and he wondered if Peter would be back any time soon. He hoped so.
Together Remus and Sirius made James climb down the ladder, and by the time they had dragged him outside he had woken up enough to complain about the smell.
"I didn't know you smoked Sirius. It's bad for your lungs, you know." He mumbled, making Remus growl, growing very irritated.
"I don't. The cabin's on fire." Sirius dropped James on the damp grass about ten meters from their cabin.
"Ha ha, really funny." James yawned. "Is this a new prank or something? Because I'd rather you try again in the morning. Want to go back to sleep..."
"No, I'm serious." Sirius mumbled as his eyes traced the smoke which created an aura around their cabin.
Before James had any time to speak back Remus saw Peter return with Slughorn, Hagrid and Filch in tow, the four of them jogging towards them.
Remus quickly explained the whole story for them as they reached them. Then, when Slughorn seemed too baffled to speak, Hagrid took commando and ran over to cabin 6 which apparently had a hose.
Remus and Sirius ran to the lake to fill buckets with water on Hagrid's command. They found three huge buckets by the bridge which they filled to the brim before they dragged the buckets back to their cabin where they found Hagrid spraying water on the burning backside of it.
To his great relief Remus saw that the fire was small, or at least only about one meter of the wall seemed to be on fire.
He and Sirius gripped one of the buckets before they together emptied it over the flaming wall, gaining them hissing sounds from the dying fire.
Hagrid cheered them on and soon they had emptied all three buckets and ran back to the lake to refill. As they filled the last bucket they saw James and Peter stumbling make their way to the bridge as well. When they told they wanted to help Remus looked around and spotted two more buckets by the bonfire which he suspected Hagrid had used to put it out earlier.
Remus and Sirius made their way back to the wall, emptied their buckets and then watched as James and Peter did the same. And when the four of them and Hagrid fought the fire they soon saw it die out.
With a relieved sigh Remus sat down on the damp grass and wiped his sweaty forehead on his sleeve. He could still make out the faint grays of smoke from their burned wall in the darkness, but at least the fire was gone. Only some of the cabin's exterior had been harmed and if Hagrid spoke the truth he would be able to fix it up within a couple of days.
Sirius, James and Peter sprawled out on the grass around Remus and then they all thanked him for waking them up. Remus' cheeks reddened as he shrugged it off as something friends did, but he felt his heart swell when Sirius proclaimed he'd been a hero and saved their lives. Saved Sirius' life.
Remus watched as Hagrid put back the hose by cabin 6 before he walked back to them. Slughorn and Filch walked up to them as well. Remus glared at them as he wondered what kind of teachers only stood by and watched as their campers fought to put out a fire. He couldn't say he particularly liked any of the two very much.
"I must say that I am throughout shocked." Slughorn's voice trembled some as he spoke. "Do you have any idea of what might have started the fire?"
Sirius, James and Peter all mumbled 'No', but Remus lifted his fingers to scratch his chin in thought.
"Sir, I don't think something started it; I think someone did." Remus spoke, and suddenly he was certain.
He remembered how he'd woken up accidentally only to find their window open to let in the poisonous smoke. If he hadn't had woken up the four of them could have easily died from the smokes, and something told Remus that that had been the plan.
"What are you saying?" Slughorn sputtered, offended. "Do you proclaim that someone, at my camp, would light one of the cabins on fire? On purpose?"
"I think someone broke into the cabin when we were asleep, opened the window and then snuck outside to light the wall on fire, hoping for the smoke to kill us in our sleep." Remus spoke, voice hoarse from coughing. Grimacing, he hoped that his bed wouldn't stink like a chimney from now on.
"What?" Slughorn, Hagrid, James, Sirius and Peter all asked at the same time. Remus shrugged.
"The cabin can't light itself on fire now, can it?... Sir?" Remus rubbed his temples. He felt a headache approaching, and suddenly he realized how tired he felt. He was ready to fall asleep on the spot.
"Well, uhm, no, but..." Slughorn struggled for words. Remus knew he had a hard time even thinking about the possibility that anyone had tried to come for them, but Remus didn't like idea either. He didn't think it was funny.
Filch muttered something to Slughorn and then they both started to make their way back to the main building.
"It was all very unfortunate but we'll deal with the rest in the morning. Tonight you may sleep in the dining hall, we have a couple of sleeping bags you can borrow."
Remus heard his friends groan at the suggestion, but they all hauled themselves up and brushed the dirt from their pajamas' before they made to follow Slughorn and Filch.
Remus saw Hagrid open the door to their cabin to start air out the smoke, and Remus made to stand up as well, but then he saw something on the ground that caught his attention.
Squinting, Remus could make out the outlines of a small piece of paper stuck underneath a rock, lying next to one of their cabin walls. Remus reached for the rock and picked the paper up before he hauled himself up and followed his friends.
When he'd caught up to them he opened the folded piece of paper. He saw a small, crooked handwriting on it. He squinted at the small letters and then he read.
Black & Lupin
We have bared witness to your filthy tendencies and we feel that you need a reminder of the consequences to your utterly repelling actions.
You are a disgrace to the human race.
This should teach you a lesson.
Remus felt his stomach drop. He felt the lump return to his throat as his chest constricted in fear. It was his fault. It was his fault they'd nearly got killed tonight.
"What's that?"
Before Remus could hide the note Sirius had taken it from him and quickly turned his back to Remus to read it.
Remus didn't know what was worse. The fact that his enemies had tried to kill him, or the fact that Sirius would know it was his fault. Or, of course, the fact that Sirius might realize that Remus was gay and desperately wanted Sirius to be as well.
Remus gripped the front of his shirt. He could feel the agony ache in his chest as it grew stronger with every step. Right now Sirius was reading the note. Right now Sirius might realize what Remus really was. Right now Sirius might realize Remus' biggest secret.
"Damn." Remus heard Sirius curse when he finally turned back to face him.
Remus stared at him, eyes widened in fear and trepidation. He thought Sirius' eyes burned with hate, and suddenly Remus wanted to flee. He didn't want Sirius to hate him.
He opened his mouth to say something that would make it all better when he heard a 'ritch'. Sirius tore the paper into two.
"Damn Lestrange. Damn Nott. Fucking Snivellus. Bloody Regulus." Sirius spat as he tore the paper into smaller and smaller pieces until there was nothing left but dust which he threw on the ground.
"What's going on?" Came James' voice as he frowned at Sirius over his shoulder.
"Oh nothing much. My own brother just tried to kill me, that's all." Sirius spoke, sarcasm drippling from his words.
"What?" James shouted at the same time Peter squeaked. Peter had probably eavesdropped.
"I'll explain it later." Sirius mumbled, motioning for the baffled James and Peter to turn their attention elsewhere again.
Remus felt shocked at the revelation as well, but he simply stared at his feet. He still awaited the anticipated scolding, yell or even punch from Sirius when he realized what he was and that it was his fault.
Remus shook his head. Sirius had to be angry with him. He had to feel disgusted for being mistaken as a homosexual.
Remus startled when he felt Sirius' hand come down on his shoulder, but he relaxed when he felt it swipe down his back to settle around his waist where Sirius pulled him closer. Perhaps Sirius wasn't as repelled as he thought...
"Don't listen to any of what you read in that note. They're just a bunch of shitheads, and the fire was not your fault. I forbid you to feel guilty." Sirius demanded, his eyes boring into Remus who stubbornly stared at his feet, not believing his ears. Didn't Sirius understand what they were implying? Didn't he get that they thought that him and Sirius were a pair of fags?
"And who do they think they are speaking about 'disgrace' and shit? And what do they mean 'witnessed'? Did they spy on us or something? Pathetic!" Sirius laughed but Remus could tell it was forced; Sirius desperately tried to ease the pain in Remus' chest.
"Who knows what they're going on about? And why should we care what they think anyway? Hey, Remus, are you listening?" Sirius bumped his hips into Remus', making him blush.
"Yeah..."
"Then look at me." Sirius spoke honestly. Remus nodded but kept staring on his feet. Though, as he felt Sirius' fingers cup his chin, successfully turning his head to the side he found himself looking Sirius in the eyes. Immediately he found himself getting lost in the beautiful sea of gray and he tried to make out the many different shades of it.
"Listen to me. You're better than them, okay? And it was not your fault, hell, you saved our lives!" Sirius smiled at him before Remus felt the hand move up to cup his cheek.
"We'll get them back for this. We'll get revenge on them. I promise." Sirius' eyes turned determined.
"We'll make them regret they ever fucked with the marauders." He grinned maliciously, the scene making a pleasant shiver run down Remus' spine. He never knew Sirius could look so hot when angry.
Remus nodded sincerely. He felt grateful over the fact that Sirius cared for him. And even if Sirius hadn't quite realized the reason why Lestrange and the others had threatened them he still felt thankful for the fact that Sirius stood up for him.
"Feeling better?" Sirius smiled at him, his hand dropping from Remus' cheek making him feel unusually cold.
"Yeah." Remus smiled back at him. He did.The four boys had to spend the following two nights sleeping in the dining hall. When they finally
got to sleep in their own beds on the third night they all slept like kings.
The cabin still smelled some from the smoke, but most of the clothes smelled like normal after only one washing. Remus let Teddy get a wash as well, which apparently was well needed since his fur achieved a much lighter grey color afterwards.
Sirius had told Slughorn who he suspected lit their cabin on fire, but since he had no proof Slughorn had simply waved it away. To their frustration Slughorn had waved away any explanations they came up with and instead told them he thought it was 'an accident'. Remus had boiled from anger when he heard that. How could he say that when Remus literally had proof that someone tried to suffocate them to death?
"Stupid bastard." Sirius muttered next to Remus on their way to the lake on the fourth day. Slughorn had just let them know that he'd drop the case, and that there was nothing to worry about since Hagrid had replaced the burnt wood on the exterior already.
Remus didn't let himself be fooled that easily. He knew for a fact that the locks on the cabins were shit, having witnessed James pry them open with a hair clip many times before.
"Say cheese!" James chirped as they met up with them on the beach.
Immediately Sirius draped an arm over Remus' shoulders and pulled him in close with a smile. Remus forced a smile on his own lips just before James took the picture.
Earlier, when the four of them rummaged through their things to find their clothes to throw them in the washer James had found his neglected Polaroid camera in his trunk. Now he told them he wanted to make up for lost time by taking as many pictures as possible. Though, Remus didn't complain as he'd already talked James into handing him two pictures of Sirius and him. Remus had already decided to put one up by the wall of his bed at home, and to keep the other one with in a pocket at all times for when he felt like he missed Sirius.
"Great!" James shouted when the picture was done as he searched for a shadow to watch the picture come out.
Remus stepped out of his shoes and dipped his feet in the warm sand. The sun was almost scorching above them, making Remus suspect it was the hottest day of the year today.
Of course James, Sirius and Peter had all wanted to go swimming and they had dragged Remus along. But if he was being honest he didn't particularly mind. It was too hot to be crammed up in the cabin reading anyway.
Remus wore his swim trunks with a loose, long sleeved shirt he'd borrowed from Peter. He still hadn't explained to anyone really why he always covered himself with long sleeved shirts, and often long trousers as well, but luckily Peter hadn't asked. Remus was grateful for having such understanding friends.
"Last one in has to kiss Snivellus!" James shouted suddenly.
Turning around Remus saw James and Peter both throw their shirts, shoes and socks off. Then they both spurted for the lake, running past Remus, making him stumble as they brushed past him.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Remus looked over at Sirius, but felt himself gasp when he saw Sirius pull his shirt over his head.
Suddenly Remus felt like he should look away. But it was easily said than done as Remus felt his gaze drift back to Sirius' bare chest immediately. Remus felt his entire face heat up when he trailed Sirius' pink nipples, sun kissed chest and the faint trail of dark hair which disappeared into Sirius' swimming trunks. When Remus' eyes got to the trunks he felt his eyes almost plop out of their sockets.
Sirius wore the shortest pair of trunks Remus had ever seen. And the tightest, his mind added for him. Remus could make out the curve of Sirius' ass, and he found himself wondering what it would look like when wet by the water.
Remus was so occupied with the amount of his staring he jolted when he saw Sirius take off for the bridge. He watched as Sirius' running figure reached the end of the bridge and then dived into the lake.
"Looking forward to kiss Snivellus, Moony?" Shouted James, snapping Remus out of his trance. "What?" He asked confused.
"The bet? The last one in has to kiss Snape...?" James lifted his eyebrows at him from where he'd walked up to the beach, drippling wet.
"Oh, eh, sure." Remus didn't really care about the bet if he was being honest. There was only one thing gaining his attention right now; Sirius.
Remus felt his jaw hit the ground, his eyes hurt from the staring and his heart jump out of his chest as he watched Sirius break the water surface from another dive. Remus stared in awe as Sirius flung his head around him, sending water droplets flying at all directions.
Then he watched as Sirius lifted a hand to brush back his hair, revealing his high cheekbones that reflected the light of the sun beautifully.
Remus swallowed when he watched Sirius slowly make his way toward the beach, and revealing more of his skin centimeter by centimeter. Soon Sirius' chest was exposed above the water surface, and Remus couldn't drag his eyes away from the wet chest, and absentmindedly Remus bit down on his lower lip.
When Remus saw Sirius' lower abdomen break the water surface he felt his heart stop. Through the wet fabric of Sirius' trunks Remus could make out everything.
Unintentionally he licked his lips, and he started panting as he felt a spark of arousal hit his groin. He felt his member twitch approvingly at the sight of Sirius nearly naked in front of him. He couldn't' stop staring.
"Hey, you're drooling."
Gasping, Remus snapped his head around, searching for the noise. Then he remembered James.
With a grimace Remus saw James stand next to him with his arms crossed and an odd look on his face. He looked like he'd just found out about the biggest scoop but still didn't quite believe it was true. Remus realized it wasn't that far from the truth.
"Were you eyeing Padfoot up right now?" James asked while staring deep into Remus' eyes, searching for an answer.
Remus felt himself panic and quickly flicked his gaze to stare at his bare feet.
"No, I-"
"Why're you so red in the face then?" James asked, voice sounding more amused than curious now. "It's so hot out-"
"Would you like for me to change the bet so that you get to kiss Padfoot instead?" Glancing up Remus saw James smirk at him knowingly. Remus didn't like it. He felt his face heat up again, this time from embarrassment.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He tried to speak as normally as possible. "Oh, but I think you do." James just wouldn't drop the subject.
"You're awfully interested James, would you perhaps like to kiss Sirius?" Remus tried a new tactic; if he returned James' question to himself he might stop asking such uncomfortable things.
"Kiss Sirius? Pfft! Never! He's like a brother to me." James slapped his knee while he let out a laugh which Remus thought sounded forced.
"Mhm." Remus mumbled, starting to feel irritated, before he turned around to finally step into the water. But he was immediately faced by a drippling wet Sirius, and Peter who followed him.
"What are you talking about?" Sirius threaded his fingers in his wet, dark, hair making Remus quickly flick his eyes elsewhere as he felt his heart jump out of his chest and trunks grow tighter.
"Oh the usual. You know, the weather, about family, about kissing you," James sang. Sirius snapped his head to the side. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah, you know. The usual. Or wouldn't you say so, Moony?" Remus could basically hear James smirk. Though, he stayed silent.
"Hey, why're you so red in the face?" Peter piped all of a sudden, making Remus' face heat up further.
"Yeah, why?" Remus heard James barely contain a chuckle and felt an urge to hit him.
"I told you. It's the hottest day of the year, James." Remus spoke slowly, eyes watching his bare feet as they dug themselves deeper into the sand.
"Yeah, it sure is hot out today, wouldn't you say so, Remus?" James sang, making Remus growl and glare at his feet before he formed his hands into fists. If James told Sirius about his secret-
"I'm not sure, but I get the feeling you didn't talk about the weather." Sirius stated, Peter agreeing with him.
"Who knows?" James sang before he took off for the bridge to dive back in. Out of the corner of his eyes Remus saw Peter follow him, and expected for Sirius as well but he didn't.
"Hey, I don't know what happened but you look a bit funny. Are you alright?" Sirius asked sounding concerned.
Remus wanted to laugh. Here he stood next to his handsome crush, desperately glaring at his feet to try and hide his hard cock from said crush, which also happens to be his best mate. And Sirius asked if he was alright.
"I've never been better." Remus lied.
"I'm not stupid. I can sense something is bothering you." Sirius spoke, not seeming to buy his bad lie.
Yes, what's bothering me is my bloody dick which is aching for you to touch it, Remus felt the urge to scream, but he didn't. Instead he took a deep breath before he faced Sirius.
"Something was bothering me, but not anymore. Want to swim?" Remus asked while he looked in between Sirius' eyes, not trusting himself to get a glance of those beautiful grey orbs.
Sirius smiled at him and together they stepped back into the lake. Remus held his distance to Sirius and tried to stare at the water surface, not wanting to get caught staring again.
''''''''''
Sirius pressed his body tightly against Remus, making him pant from where he lay under him.
Remus panted when he felt Sirius' hand wrap around his shaft, and inhaled sharply when he felt the hand stroke him slowly.
"More." Remus breathed, earning him a kiss on his neck from Sirius.
"I love you like this. So sexy." Sirius breathed down his ear, making him shiver violently.
"Ah," Remus panted when Sirius sped on his hand, lowering his lips to suck on Remus' neck at the same time.
"You taste so good." Sirius whispered against his skin before Remus felt something hot and wet swipe along his neck. He moaned when he realized it was Sirius' tongue.
Remus felt too hot, and in the heat of the moment he reached for Sirius and snuck a hand inside his briefs. He felt a powerful spark of arousal hit him when his hand closed around Sirius' hard cock.
Remus felt Sirius stop abusing his neck in favor of panting harshly onto it.
Remus gave Sirius' cock a stroke, then another one. He rejoiced in the whines, moans and gasps he drew out from him. He worked Sirius between his hands until he felt precum leak out from it, covering his fingers.
"Don't- Don't stop." Sirius panted.
"Don't want it to be over too quickly." Remus explained before he placed a chaste kiss on Sirius now smirking lips.
"Can't wait to see what you've planned for tonight." Sirius breathed before he leaned in for a passionate kiss.
Remus felt himself melt under Sirius' tongue, and he was left with the need of more. He was just about to start tugging down Sirius' briefs when he felt a pair of hands squeeze his buttocks, making him moan into the kiss.
"You like that?" Sirius whispered playfully. Remus nodded, eyes drifting shut in anticipation. He felt the fingers spread his asscheeks, and then panted as he felt a finger pry at his entrance.
He felt Sirius start working on his weeping erection again while leaning down close to his hear.
"I want to fuck you." He breathed.
Remus startled awake. He quickly sat up on his bed, lifted his arm to wipe his sweaty forehead on his sleeve. He panted for a moment before he remembered what had woken him up.
Another wet dream about Sirius.
Remus sighed. He couldn't go back to sleep now. Not when he felt a hard bulge press against his pajama bottoms.
He covered his eyes with his arm and groaned. It was probably the result of having seen Sirius in the lake earlier. He should've figured.
He rolled to the side and curled into a ball. Perhaps he could go back to sleep... Okay, no. Not when his obedient dick twitched and made itself remind every second or so.
Instead of going back to sleep Remus opened his eyes again and sat up on the side of his bed. Squinting, he could make out the sleeping figures of James and Peter across the room, and he thought Sirius was asleep as well. Though, he wasn't particularly fond of the idea of having a go in the cabin again. It was too risky if anyone of his friends woke up.
Turning his head to squint at the bathroom door he decided to walk over there. Then he'd at least get some privacy.
As quiet as he could Remus stepped down on the floor and pattered over to the bathroom. He slowly opened the door, and winced when it creaked. Snapping his head around furiously for a second he relaxed when he realized the others were still asleep.
He slipped through the door, then closed it behind him and made sure it was locked three times before he allowed himself to relax. He leaned against the door as he waited for his rapid heartbeat to slow down but when it didn't he remembered why.
Swallowing, Remus dared a glance down. He saw his pajama bottoms tenting and allowed himself to groan. Was he really going to do this? First, he thought he could just take a cold shower before he tried to fall back asleep, but then his mind drifted back to the dream and he knew he wouldn't be able to think about anything else until he'd taken care of the issue.
Remus felt his chest stir in anticipation, because even though the real Sirius was sound asleep on the other side of the door the imaginary one in his head urged him on and was eager to help him with his ministrations.
Remus glanced around the room. His eyes swept over the hard floor, the sparse furnishing, and he wondered where he could sit; he wasn't fond of the idea of standing since his knees felt weak already. When his eyes fell on the toilet he walked over and sat down on the lid before he stood back up to remove his pajama bottoms and briefs and throw them on the floor as he sat back down.
The lid was cold, but all Remus' attention turned to the proud erection splayed in between his legs. He aimed the door one last glance, as if checking it was still locked, then strained his ears for any sounds from the others. But when all he heard was silence he looked back at his groin. With one shaky sigh he lifted his right hand and wrapped it around it.
He gave it a squeeze before he delivered the first stroke. Immediately he felt a wave of pleasure surge through him, and he had to slam his free hand over his mouth to stop himself from moaning.
Instead he was left to voice a mixture of small whines, gasps and heavy breaths as he worked his cock up and down, up and down.
He leaned back as far as he could on the toilet. He spread his legs some more and raised his hips in tandem with his strokes that got faster and harder.
He closed his eyes as his head fell back to lean against the wall. He felt the heat build in the pit of his stomach, and his whole being urged him on to stroke faster.
Panting, Remus let his mind wander back to the dream. He remembered Sirius panting above him, whisper dirty words close to his ear, hand working wonders with Remus. Remus let his imagination wander some more and soon he pictured lake-Sirius walking towards him, kissing him and replacing Remus' hand with his own.
When Remus imagined Sirius on top of him he had to bite down on his curled fist to prevent himself from moaning and involuntarily wake up the others in the cabin.
"Ah," Remus gasped as imaginary-Sirius' thumb brushed over the head. Remus felt dizzy with lust. He was sweaty all over, and panted as if he'd just run for an hour.
He worked his now leaking erection furiously and felt his release approaching. But it still wasn't enough; he still needed more. He still needed Sirius.
With one last hard stroke Remus reluctantly let go. He allowed himself a moment to catch his breath, but then he felt himself go almost crazy with lust again.
Driven by instinct and desire Remus found himself lower down to the floor where he positioned himself on all fours. For a second he wondered why he'd done so, but then he leaned his head down on one arm as the other one came down to work on his cock again.
With a sharp gasp Remus started stroking again, hard and fast with no time to waste. His face contorted in pleasure as the new position allowed him to thrust down to meet his hand more firmly.
He worked himself close to finish, panting, while voicing small cries and moaning into the floor, not able to stop himself anymore. He imagined dream-Sirius swiping his hands all over him, and then lake-Sirius walking towards him. He felt his muscles start to clench and was just about to deliver himself one final stroke when he remembered something.
Feeling dizzy he let his mind wander back to the dream. He remembered Sirius had done something just before he woke up, but what was it?
Then he remembered.
Remus felt his heart jump out of his chest. He had no idea of what he was doing, but it was worth a try.
Trembling slightly, Remus lifted his head to release the arm he'd leaned on. Then he slowly brought his hand toward his groin, but instead of stopping to cup his balls like he had done before he allowed it to wander even further.
With his right hand he started working on his shaft again, before he with the other hand snaked a finger to search for his entrance in between his asscheeks. When he found it Remus pressed down the finger and immediately he felt himself moan, his legs giving up underneath him.
"Sirius," He found himself pleading, desperate to hit release.
He pressed at his entrance and worked his cock until he felt his orgasm approach. With one last stroke he felt his muscles tense, arch back and toes curl as he relished in the powerful waves of pleasure.
He lay panting on the floor, chest heaving, mouth hung agape, seeing stars for what felt like minutes. During the wonderful bliss he imagined Sirius laying right next to him, making the pleasure so much more intense.
When he came back to reality he tried to get up but found that his limbs had turned into jelly. On the third try he managed to heave himself up to standing position on wobbly legs. He felt dizzy and had some trouble to keep his balance so he sat down on the toilet lid again.
He waited for his heart beat to return to normal, and felt the sweat covering his body cool, until he swept his gaze around the room. He felt his cheeks burn from shame when his eyes locked on the white fluids covering the floor by his feet. He hadn't realized he'd come on the floor.
Flicking his eyes to himself he saw that he had some smeared come on his stomach as well. Absentmindedly he wondered when he'd removed his pajama top. Looking around the room he found it lying on the floor by the door.
Remus got up and walked over to the sink where he wet a towel that he used to clean the floor. Then he washed it before he swept it over his stomach and flaccid dick. He made sure to throw the soiled towel in the washing bin, and washed his hands throughoutly three times before he retrieved his pajama top and bottom and briefs from the floor and put them back on.
He would have preferred a shower, though he was still afraid of waking up his friends so he decided against it. He desperately hoped that he'd been quiet enough for them to still be asleep.
After adjusting his clothes, flattened out his hair and scowled at his scarlet reflection in the mirror he made his way over to the door. He thought about leaving the door open, hoping that any remaining traces of smell would air out before the morning when his friends would need to use the bathroom for themselves.
When he placed his hand on the lock he stilled. He wasn't sure if he was ready to leave the bathroom yet. When he concentrated he could feel a growing feeling in his chest. A feeling of shame.
A couldn't believe himself. He had just imagined Sirius doing unspeakable things to him, after dreaming about him and voiced his name right before he came. And it wasn't the first time either. It was becoming a habit.
Remus felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He didn't know if he would ever be able to look Sirius in the eyes again.
He shook his head. There was the whole year after the camp where he could roll over in agony from his bad decisions, but for now he would sleep and enjoy the last weeks with his friends. No one would find out about this, Remus told himself. No one would find out and as long as he didn't hurt anyone it was okay.
He pressed his ear to the door to make out if anyone was awake on the other side. When he heard nothing but silence he unlocked the door, and placed his hand on the door handle when he felt it angle down. Remus frowned, but before he got time to wonder he felt the door open forward, making himself move with it.
"Wha- oh, hey Moony."
Remus' heart stopped. It was Sirius.
"Hi." Remus squeaked, and wanted to slap himself when he saw Sirius' give him a look over suspiciously.
"Had- had to, to use the loo." "Remus stuttered, hands fidgeting with his sleeves, hoping Sirius wouldn't remember that Remus usually never visited the loo in the middle of the night. Also hoping Sirius wouldn't notice his throughoutly messed up appearance, red cheeks and wrinkly pajamas.
"Oh, okay." Sirius flicked his gaze to stare at his feet. Remus took the opportunity to press himself past Sirius and took off in the direction of his bed.
"Good night." Remus stifled a yawn just for good emphasis.
"Night." He heard Sirius mumble before he yawning closed the door behind him , and locked.
Remus snapped his head to the side when he heard the click. Now that he thought about it was unusual for Sirius to sleep wander as well, and why did he feel the need to lock the door when the only one apart from him awake was Remus? That was going to bed?
Remus narrowed his eyes, but then he widened them in realization. What if, what if Sirius also...?
Remus felt his cheeks burn, and his eager groin twitch curiously. He turned around and slowly sneaked over to the bathroom door. Tentatively he pressed his ear to it and then held his breath as he listened for any sounds coming from inside. But when all he heard was the toilet flush he shamefully made his way back to his bed. He felt guilty for having hoped to eavesdrop on Sirius as he jerked off, but he still couldn't help to let his mind wander as Sirius took his time returning from the bathroom.
When Sirius finally unlocked the door Remus feigned sleep. He opened one eye to peek through his fringe, and he had to hold in a gasp when he saw Sirius leave the door open.
Remus felt a mixture of curious and excited from where he trailed Sirius with his eye on his way back to the ladder, but then he realized that if Sirius actually did have a wank he had probably thought about some bird with huge knockers. He probably hadn't thought about Remus. No, of course he hadn't.
Remus wanted to scold himself for even allowing himself for hoping that. Of course Sirius thought about girls; he was straight after all. Not different like Remus.
Remus felt his chest constrict uncomfortable, and suddenly he had trouble swallowing as the lump returned to his throat.
It felt like hours before he fell back in a worrisome sleep.
Love
"Hi Moony!" Sirius cheered.
"Hello Padfoot." Remus smiled at him before they met.
They lifted their right hand simultaneously, then did their complicated secret handshake. Remus was happy Sirius seemed to think it was cool since Remus found reasons to make it as often as possible. Though, his reasons was of course to steal touches of Sirius.
"Hi Wormy!" James chirped from behind them, making Remus turn around to stare at him incredulously.
"Hi Prongs!" Peter joined in, arms reached out, ready to capture James in a bear hug.
"Oh Wormy, why don't we make our own handshake as well?" James sang before he wrapped his arms around Peter lovingly, making him squirm and struggle to release himself from his grip.
"Don't listen to them, they're just jealous." Sirius muttered before he flung an arm over Remus' shoulders, making his cheeks flush.
Nodding, Remus followed Sirius to the bridge where they would plan today's prank. Sirius wanted to prank Snape, Lestrange, Nott, Rosier and Regulus to get revenge, but Remus advised him to cut down that list to one or two names.
They sat down next to each other on the bridge. Remus tried not to grin like a fool when he felt Sirius' thigh press against his own. He brought his hand up to cover his mouth in 'thought', when he was really covering his giddy smile.
James and Peter joined them, when they'd gotten tired of making fun of Remus and Sirius' handshake, and together they started with the planning of the prank.
''''''''''
"You ready? We need to hurry up if you still want to go by Regulus' too." James whispered, voice forced as he lifted the heavy bucket up on his knees.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. On three." Sirius huffed before he gripped the bucket to help James. Remus stood by the door, checking if Snape headed back early from dinner. When he stated the grounds outside free from any greasy gits he turned his attention back to James and Sirius who'd just emptied the bucket over Snape's bed.
"You hurry up with the ants Wormy!" James hissed over his shoulder, making Peter mumble something about "Why do I always get the ants..." before he obediently walked over to one of the wardrobes to empty his smaller bucket in it.
Remus scrunched up his nose in disgust at the scene in front of him. James and Sirius high fived as they'd successfully emptied the bucket with pebbles, lake water and sand all over Snape's bed. Peter got a high five from James when he'd emptied the bucket of ants in the wardrobe they hoped belonged to Snape, but it might as well belong to Rosier. Though, since the both of them were 'bags of shit' as Sirius had said it, it didn't really matter whose wardrobe it was.
"Are you done?" Whispered Remus before he placed his hand on the door handle. He held the hair
clip in his other hand and planned on locking the door after them. He'd gotten James to teach him the trick the day before.
"This will teach Snivellus a lesson." Sirius stated proudly.
"Now he'll know the consequences of messing with us!" James joined in.
"The consequences of messing with the marauders!" Peter sang, earning him a pat on the back from James.
"That's the spirit Wormy!"
"Hurry!" Remus hissed, making his three friends snap out of their victory speech. Remus opened the door and let them pass before he turned around to fiddle with the lock. He managed to lock it on the fourth try, and just like how they'd planned it James and Sirius had already ran off in the direction of the lake to stock up on pebbles, lake water and sand.
Remus rose up from his crouching position to gaze over the grounds. The course was clear.
"You coming Wormtail?" He asked over his shoulder as he jumped down the stairs to run from cabin 8 to cabin 9; Regulus' cabin.
Remus felt adrenaline pump through his body, and he actually felt a grin spread his lips. It was a wonderful feeling to get revenge on the ones who'd been mean to him, and even more wonderful to play a prank and risk to be found out at any moment. That notion made it all so much more exciting somehow.
"Wait for me!" Peter laughed before he ran up to Remus. Together they pressed their ears to the cabin to make sure it was empty. Then Remus crouched down and opened the lock with the hair clip. James and Sirius ran up to them, bucket filled with the contents of the lake, just as Remus took his first step inside.
"Hurry!" He hissed to his friends while he tried to contain the nervous laughter that threatened to bubble up from his stomach. He gave in to the laughter when he felt Sirius jab a finger in his stomach playfully as he brushed past him.
"Shh, we're on a very important mission Moony." Sirius scolded him, voice low, but Remus could hear the underlying laughter in it.
"Says the one who keeps talking." Remus chuckled before he aimed a playful push on Sirius' shoulder, making him grin at Remus.
"Stop flirting already, I'm going to barf!" Remus stilled. Then he frowned. James.
"Perhaps you're going deaf or something, I don't know, but we're not flirting. We're talking. There's a major difference." Remus spoke, trying to focus on his irritation for James rather than embarrassment.
James snorted. "Sure. Call it what you want, but leave it for later. Regulus might be back any minute and since the whole point is to be undercover I suggest we all start focusing on the mission." James declared, ending all discussions for later even though Remus would have loved to give a retort.
Instead Remus looked around the room. He saw four seemingly similar beds and wondered which one's Regulus, but then he saw Sirius point at the bottom left one. It was the only bed in the room which was made properly, looking almost untouched when compared to the other beds.
Remus talked Peter into keeping watch while he followed James and Sirius to the bed.
"Ready?" Sirius mumbled. James nodded and then Remus watched as Sirius lifted the covers before they emptied the entirety of the bucket on the mattress. Remus grimaced when the water splashed on the bed, some of it splashing on to the floor. When they were done Sirius lifted the covers back again, covering the wet mess of sand and pebbles with a smug grin.
"Sleep tight Reggie." Sirius snickered and for a second Remus thought he could see the evil Black- glint in his eyes, but it was gone as soon as it came.
"Mission accomplished." James cheered before he high fived Sirius.
The three of them joined Peter by the door. They slipped outside, checked no one was watching them, and then Remus locked the door.
They had initially thought of swimming in the lake, but then Sirius suggested they prank Lestrange and Nott as well. Since none of the other students had returned from dinner yet they all ran to the lake to fill up two buckets of lake water and Peter filled his smaller one with ants from underneath a rock before they laughing ran toward cabin 2.
On their way Sirius rummaged through his pockets until he found a small piece of paper and a pen. When they'd broken into the empty cabin and spotted the two beds they suspected belonged to Lestrange and Nott Sirius loosened his grip around the handle to the bucket and walked toward Remus.
"Feeling for some sweet revenge?" He grinned, raising one of his eyebrows.
"What do you have in mind?" Remus smiled at him nervously. His stomach did somersaults and suddenly he wasn't so sure the reason was the excitement from the prank anymore.
Sirius showed him the paper and pen before he pressed the paper to the nearest wall and started writing. Remus got what he was doing and quickly joined in. Together they left a friendly little note on the nightstand next to one of the beds, keeping it in place by a large rock they brought from the beach.
Lestrange & Nott
You are both incredible hideous, ugly and a disgrace to the human race. Every time we look at you we run to the nearest rubbish bin to throw up. Seriously, take a bath or something.
Sincerely,
B
(PS. Hope you like our present.)
Giggling from excitement Remus took a step back to watch the folded note under the rock. Then he saw James and Sirius empty the first bucket over the bottom bunk, and the other bucket over the
top bunk. Remus saw water sip through the wooden planks from the top bed, dripping down to the lower, but he simply felt a content smile spread his lips.
Peter walked over to the first wardrobe where he empties half of the ants, and then empties the rest in the second wardrobe.
Remus felt happy, proud and a malicious laugh rise up in him as he watched the wet, sandy beds in front of him. He'd never thought revenge could feel so sweet. And they didn't even do anything illegal. They played a fair game with fun pranks, and even though their enemies used foul play Remus was happy his friends didn't. They didn't sink down to the others level.
"There's an ant on my arm!" Peter squeaked, earning him three sets of "Shh!"
James helped Peter get rid of the ant, and then he high fived everyone in the room. The four of them congratulated each other on the successful mission and was just about to head back when they heard a floor board creak on the other side of the door. They all froze. Then James, Sirius and Remus all turned their heads to look at Peter who had the last watch. When they saw Peter flinch, looking constipated, they knew he'd forgotten about his task.
When they heard the low mumbling of voices coming from outside Remus felt himself start to panic. He recognized that voice. It was Lestrange.
Peter piped right before Remus saw James grip his wrist and drag him deeper into the room. With a gasp Remus realized they headed for the window.
"Hurry!" Sirius hissed before he reached out to grab Remus' hand with his own. Remus felt his heart jump at the contact, even in the turmoil of escaping the cabin. He really had it bad for Sirius.
Remus saw James fiddle with the window for a second. Then he flung it open all the way, creating a fire escape. James heaved himself up on the windowsill before he with a huff jumped down on the ground. Remus heard him curse and thought he might have tripped on his way down.
"Wormy jump!" James hissed from the other side, making Peter snap out of his shock and heave himself up on the windowsill. When he'd placed his legs on the other side he jumped.
"You next." Sirius whispered from next to Remus who nodded. They rushed up to the window, but didn't let go of their clasped hands. They threw out Sirius' bucket, gaining them a groan from Peter before Sirius helped Remus step up on the windowsill. Not wanting to let go of Sirius' hand Remus yanked it, motioning for Sirius to join him. He did and then they flung their legs over to the other side and made to jump just as they heard the door behind them swung open.
"Hey!" Someone shouted the moment Remus and Sirius' feet hit the ground. They didn't turn around to look if anyone had reached the window.
"Hurry!" They hissed in tandem to James and Peter. Then the four of them sprinted as fast as they could away from cabin 2. They left their buckets behind, as well as a couple of angry yells alarming them to run faster.
Remus felt Sirius' grip on him tighten as they panted next to each other. Lucky for them cabin 2 was except from cabin 1 the closest cabin to the lake. It took them only about ten seconds to reach the beach, but they didn't stop running as they could hear angry shouts coming from somewhere behind them. They knew they were followed.
"Dive!" James shouted right before he dived head first into the lake. Peter jumped in after him.
Remus stopped running right before the end of the bridge, but before he got any time to take a deep breath Sirius had dived in, pulling him with him.
Remus immediately let go of Sirius' hand when he came in contact with the water. Fervently he waved his hands around him, trying to swim back up to the surface. When he did he gasped for air, coughing up water and swallowed, but he didn't get time for recovery since Sirius grabbed his shirt and started pulling him forward, away from the lake.
"You can't be left behind Moony, hurry!" Sirius shouted before he swam in behind Remus to give him a light push in the right direction.
"Are you coming, or what?" They heard James shout as he swam in the direction of the girls' camp on the other side with an exhausted Peter by his side.
Sirius waved at him and aimed another light push at Remus who'd finally stopped coughing, but then they heard it. Loud, fast footsteps echoed from the bridge next to them. Remus felt his heart jump in fear when he heard the voices of Lestrange and Nott shout "Stay where you are!" and "You fuckers!"
"Okay Moony, we really need to hurry up now!" Sirius exclaimed before he grabbed Remus' left hand and started swimming, giving Remus a pull every other swim stroke.
Remus shook his head, tried to still his racing heart. Earlier, when he'd thought the risk of getting caught was half the fun he hadn't meant it like this.
"I think we'll need to swim under water. Ready?" Remus tried to whisper but it came out more as a hoarse shout. Sirius nodded eagerly and then the both of them filled their lungs with air and dived under the surface.
Remus didn't open his eyes underwater, but he suspected Sirius did as he still held onto his hand, guided him in the right direction. Remus swam until his lungs felt ready to burst and his desperate need for air made him panic before he dived back up. They filled their lungs and dived back in, and they went on like that until they caught up to James and Peter who'd already made it so far as to one third of the lake.
"Think we can swim all the way to the other side and say hello to the fair ladies?" James asked Remus and Sirius when they panted for air after their extensive swim. Remus thought James meant it as a joke, but he also knew that he would actually love to visit the girls.
"No." Remus told him, voice hoarse from his coughing.
James pouted. "Why?"
"First, it's too far to swim to the girl's camp and back again. Second, we wouldn't be welcomed there. Third, I personally don't want to." Remus brushed his wet fringe to lay flat on top of his head.
James gave him a knowing look. "Of course you don't want to." He winked, making Remus' cheeks blush and his eyes dart to Sirius to see if he had heard James. To Remus' immediate fear he saw that Sirius was listening to the conversation with a confused crease in between his eyebrows.
"But I want to. And it's still too early to swim back." James sighed dreamily. "I could surprise Evans..."
Remus exhaled. Lily would not be happy to find James knocking on her door. And Remus was too
exhausted to swim over there, and his trousers, shirt and vest felt heavy on his body. He wasn't used to swim fully clad.
Suddenly he wondered if his shoes had fallen off, but when he wriggled his toes he felt they were still there. Phew, he'd only brought one pair of shoes and it would be awkward to walk around barefoot.
"Please Prongs, do us all a favor and promise us to not ever 'surprise' Evans. I don't want to scrape up the remains of you when she's done with you." Sirius stated with a grunt.
"I'll have you know that she's softening up to me!" James looked offended, and his voice pitched at the end making Sirius snicker.
"Sure, if you say so." Sirius shrugged, but he wore a teasing grin on his lips.
Remus saw James' face turn into an odd shade of red as he felt the need to defense Lily's feeling for him. Remus rolled his eyes. He'd known Lily for over a year and if they talked about the same girl James would need to change some of his personality traits if he even wished Lily to look at him.
"Oi! I saw that! You rolled your eyes at me!" James had turned to face Remus. Remus felt his cheeks heat from embarrassment, but just as he was going to make up an excuse a loud wail filled the air.
"I'm hungry!" Peter complained, face contorted in pure agony. "I'm hungry and exhausted and if we stay out here any longer I'm eventually going to collapse, sink to the bottom of the lake and drown!" He added when he noted he'd gained the attention of his friends.
"Relax Wormy." James patted Peter's back, but he kept complaining.
"Can't we swim back already?" He whined like a five-years-old.
"No. Sorry, but we're heading for the girl's camp first." James declared, making Peter frown at him.
"No we're not." Remus cut in before he jabbed a finger in James' chest. James only flashed a him a grin.
"Hey, mates, look!"
Remus, James and Peter stopped bickering to look in the direction Sirius was pointing. Squinting, Remus could make out two figures on the far end of the bridge, jumping and fisting the air angrily. Remus realized it must be Lestrange and Nott and that he should feel afraid, but he didn't. Instead he felt an uncontrollable laugh rise up from his stomach.
Remus fought to stay floating as he laughed uncontrollably. He heard Sirius join as well, and then James and Peter too. The four of them laughed until their bellies hurt from how pathetic and small Lestrange and Nott looked from so far away.
Their laughter got even louder when they could make out a short, fat man jog out on the dock to retrieve Lestrange and Nott. Remus thought he could make out the faint yells of "You'll regret this!" but Slughorn didn't gaze out the lake to see who they shouted at. He simply grabbed their collars and dragged them off the dock.
"Can we go back now?" Peter asked as he was the first one to recover from the laughing fit. The others agreed and they proceeded to swim back to the beach. When they walked up on the hot sand Remus felt his wet clothes stick to his body while drooping from the heavy amount of water.
He groaned when he felt his soaked socks splash around inside his equally as soaked shoes, and groaned again when he saw that the sand stuck to his soles. With stiff steps he made his way up to the grass and the path leading to the cabins. He brushed off some sand off his shirt before he looked up to watch his friends walk up to him.
He saw Peter gasp dramatically before he fell into an exhausted heap on the ground. James helped him up but got covered in sand on the way. Remus grimaced. He hoped they weren't planning on clogging their shower with all that sand. But then he remembered about the hose outside of cabin 6. Perhaps he could spray them clean outside...
His thoughts were interrupted when his eyes met Sirius as he stepped out of the water. With widened eyes Remus saw that his light blue shirt now was completely see-through. While a gulp Remus made out Sirius' nipples, the shape of his chest and when he lowered his gaze... the thin trail of black hair that disappeared in his trousers. Remus bit his lip. He really had a thing for that trail.
"World to Moony!"
Remus snapped out of his reverie and found himself standing next to James who carried a knackered Peter on his back. James smirked at him knowingly before he flicked his eyes to Sirius and then back to Remus again.
"Like what you see?" James' smirk turned smug. Remus felt his cheeks heat up and he turned his gaze to stare at his soaked shoes.
"Don't know what you're talking about..." He mumbled.
"Oh, but I think I do." James spoke mysteriously. He was interrupted as Sirius joined them on the grass next to the beach. Remus first felt thankful for his appearance, but when his eyes found the see-through shirt again he felt his heart jump.
"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked them, looking confused.
"Nothing." Remus mumbled, eyes staring at the grass with fierce determination.
Sirius didn't seem like he was buying it but when Peter groaned from where he lay on James' back they decided to finally head back for their cabin.
'''''''''
In what felt like the blink of an eye July quickly came to an end.
Remus felt a sadness ache in his chest, making him sigh sadly every other second or so. He desperately wanted to stay at the camp for the rest of the year - hell even for the rest of his life if he could. Sure, he liked Lily a lot back home, but she wasn't James, Sirius and Peter. She wasn't a marauder.
Remus loved how his three brilliant friends always made him feel included. They never pressed him for why he swam with his shirt on, or why he always changed clothes alone. They respected him for who he was and let him join them on equal standards. There were no words to describe how thankful Remus was for that.
He trailed after his friends as they reached the hidden passageway over the electricity fence. He watched as James went first, then Peter and Sirius. Remus climbed up the three last. As he swung his legs over the buzzing fence he realized they hadn't used the map to find the hidden passageway for ages. But they didn't need to; they knew the camp inside out already.
On the other side he walked next to Peter until they reached the glade where the four of them lied down on the grass. For the last night at the camp they had decided to have a picnic on their favorite hidden spot in the forest. It was mostly on Remus' request, considering him being the one most longing to watch the sunset and the first stars come out on the sky.
He heard James and Peter empty the contents of Peter's backpack on the ground behind them, and turning around Remus saw the generous pile of sweets they'd nicked from the kitchens. He didn't feel bad for the fact they'd stolen the sweets; the entrance fee for the camp was high enough that Remus would've expected chocolates on their pillows every morning.
Remus reached for a chocolate bar before he leaned his back against the ground again. He broke off a corner from the chocolate and placed it on his tongue for it to melt.
As he lay there, chocolate on his tongue, friends by his side while watching the evening sky change from orange to purple he wanted to freeze time. He wanted to stop time at that exact moment and relive it for the rest of his life, with sweets and his friends in the warm summer air on their glade.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Right now he felt like home.
He lay there with his eyes closed for a while longer, listening to James, Sirius and Peter bickering about whom to eat the treacle tart. He would be content just to lay there and listen to them forever. All he wished for was to lay here with his friends. But it was a dream he knew would never come true. His parents would come to get him tomorrow, just like James', Sirius' and Peter's parents. Or at least he thought so.
"What time are you parents coming to pick you up tomorrow?" He turned his head to the side and opened his eyes to ask Sirius who lied next to him.
"Oh, ehm. Around three I think. You?" Sirius gazed at him, worry clear in his eyes. Remus felt a pang of worry in his chest when he saw Sirius get that haunted look back in his eyes. Remus knew Sirius didn't want to go home. He knew there was something about Sirius family that wasn't as it should.
"I asked them to come as late as possible this time, so, perhaps around four? I don't know, but I hope it's after you- I mean, after all of you leave." Remus blurted, trying to cover up his mishap. He'd almost blurted out that he'd miss Sirius terribly because of his feelings for him.
"Too bad we live so far away from each other." Sirius stated, not seemed to have noticed Remus' panic.
"Yeah, agree. Why couldn't we both live in London? Or even Wales?" Remus looked deeply into Sirius' expressive orbs which looked weighted by sadness. Perhaps Sirius was just as reluctant about parting as he was.
"I've actually never been to Wales. Do you think I'd like it there?" Sirius asked. He turned to his side and Remus did the same.
"If you like open landscapes, forests and farm life." Remus felt a shy smile pry on his lips. For some reason Sirius' question made him blush.
"Are you proclaiming everyone living in Wales are farmers?" Sirius raised one eyebrow at him. Remus rolled his eyes but felt a chuckle escape him.
"No, but my family are. Dad has a shop where he sells our groceries and stuff. It might sound cool at first but after living the farmer life for thirteen years it tends to get a tad boring." Remus didn't mention their struggle for money, or the fact that the posh kids in Remus' school often mocked him for being a farmer's boy.
"I think it sounds fun. Or, well, it's always fun to get to know more about you." Sirius spoke before he had time to realize what he was saying and how it sounded.
Remus felt his entire face turn red. He swallowed and then lowered his gaze to stare at the grass between them.
"I mean, you rarely ever speak about yourself. It's nice to talk about you for a change." Sirius mumbled, and daring a glance up Remus thought Sirius' cheeks looked tinted pink. Remus felt a happy smile spread on his lips. Sirius liked to know more about him and Remus had made him blush for some reason.
"You're not one to talk; I know nothing about your family." Remus pryed. Sirius only ever mentioned his family when he cursed at them, or talked behind their backs. Remus knew nothing about Sirius' home life, or if he lived in a flat, house or even a mansion. He didn't even know the name of Sirius' parents.
"There is nothing to say about them. They're all horrible. I hate them and they hate me. That's all there is to know." Remus saw Sirius entire body tense up. Remus immediately regretted having brought up the subject. Of course there was a reason for Sirius not talking about them. Why did he have to bring it up on their last night on the camp to destroy the mood?
"I'm so sorry," Remus started but was interrupted when Sirius shook his head.
"It's not your fault." He smiled at Remus who sighed in relief as he saw Sirius relax again. They were silent for a while and Remus ceased the opportunity to get a good look at Sirius' eye color, wanting to remember every shade of grey and silver for him to think back on later.
"Want a sweet raspberry?" Sirius asked after a while, making Remus snap out of his staring to sputter a 'yes'. When he received the candy he placed it on his tongue to suck on it. He smiled at Sirius when he saw him grin at him.
He watched Sirius lift his right hand and then grinned when Sirius lowered it to ruffle his hair. Remus felt the butterflies in his stomach flutter, making him let slip a giggle. He slammed a hand over his mouth, face red as a tomato, but Sirius didn't seem to have noticed, or didn't care. He kept ruffling his hair and Remus was left to glace up at him in awe. He felt his heart jump out of his chest as it tried to get to Sirius and then jolt when Sirius looked him in the eyes. Remus parted his lips and let out a breath. He longed so for just leaning forward and capture Sirius' lips with his own. He wanted to kiss him so bad.
"Are you done flirting already?"
Remus snapped his head to the side. When he saw James lean on his elbows, grinning at them smugly, Remus glared at him. If he already suspected Remus had it bad for Sirius, why did he have to keep interrupting them all the time?
"Flirting? Who's flirting with who!?" Peter squeaked, sounding a mixture of surprised and afraid. Remus frowned and he heard Sirius sigh next to him.
"Or on another thought, please go on. Watching you two turn all red in the face and become all shy
around each other is better than tv. I'm telling you. Wouldn't you say so, Wormy?" James laughed before he rolled around on the grass, successfully ducking Remus' fist.
"Wow, watch it there Moony, you almost hit me!" He teased. Remus growled warningly. James was really irritating and it wasn't funny anymore. If he made one more remark about Remus and Sirius flirting Sirius might calculate Remus' secret.
"What are you on about Jamie-boy? I think someone's been out in the sun a tad too long today." Sirius spoke, making Remus chuckle.
"Me? I don't think so, but certainly you. After all, among the two of us there's only one who's red in the face. You!" James jumped up on his feet just in time to avoid Sirius' attack.
"Argh! Just wait until I catch you!" Sirius growled and then him and James ran off on the glade. Remus closed his eyes and counted to ten as he tried to relax. James had really got him riled up.
"What are you talking about?" Peter demanded. Remus didn't answer him. "Hello?" Peter demanded again. Remus opened one eye while he frowned at him.
"Nothing. Drop it." He explained before he closed his eye again. He heard Peter huff something that sounded a lot like 'Bastards' under his breath but at least he stopped asking questions.
When Remus' heart rate had gone back to normal he leaned back down on his back and opened his eyes. In the far distance he could make out Sirius sitting on James' back, successfully pinning him to the ground and making him eat grass. Remus felt a grin split his face. Serves James right.
Remus watched the sky as it went from purple to dark blue. He heard Peter munch on sweets next to him and after a while they started talking as they waited for James and Sirius to return.
When Remus saw the moon peek through the highest treetops James and Sirius returned, James covered in grass marks and dirt, Sirius' right sleeve ripped from the bodice. Remus thought he must have missed a wild fight.
James slumped down between Peter and Remus with a sigh before he reached for some candy he popped into his mouth. Sirius lied down next to Remus. Remus offered him a piece on his chocolate which he took with a small 'thanks'.
Remus looked up at the sky where the moon had moved to the right. Looking above it Remus could just make out the first star on the night sky. He guessed it must be past curfew, but he didn't care. He guessed a lot of boys would stay out late on the last day of the summer camp.
Remus turned his head to the side and allowed himself to glance at Sirius. In the faint light from the moon he could make out Sirius' profile. He trailed the lines of Sirius' forehead, nose, lips and chin. Then he gazed at Sirius' eyes and found himself counting the many long eyelashes on his eyelids.
Remus' eyes wandered to Sirius' hair next. He saw how the smooth, dark hair spread out on the grass around him, fanning around his head. A few strands still covered Sirius' forehead, and the dark black of the hair made Sirius' pale forehead nearly shine in contrast.
Remus felt something ache in his chest. He sighed in awe when he longingly drank in the wonderful sight of Sirius lying next to him. He was too beautiful.
In that moment, as Remus lay gazing at Sirius, he felt realization dawn on him. Suddenly he knew
what he felt for Sirius wasn't just a crush, or fancying.
It was more.
In fact it was so much more it made Remus' heart ache with longing from just looking at Sirius. He knew he wanted him, and not just because of his beautiful looks. No, he wanted everything about him, from his self-confident grins to his mysterious past. Everything about him made Remus feel more attracted to him and somehow he knew there was no stopping it.
He realized the feelings he felt was love. He was in love with Sirius Black.
''''''''''
"Rise and shine sleepyheads! I'm leaving in five so if you want to tell me how much you'll miss me before I leave this is your last opportunity!" Came James loud voice that woke up Remus, Sirius and Peter who'd still been asleep in the cabin.
"Bye Jamie-boy." Remus heard Sirius mumble from the bed above him.
"Oh, I love you too Siri!" James shouted, making Remus, Sirius and Peter groan again. Remus heard Sirius throw a pillow at James, but suspected it missed since he heard it land softly on the floor next to him.
Yawning, Remus sat up on the bed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes before he opened them. Blinking, he saw Peter still half asleep stumble to the middle of their cabin to bid James goodbye. Then Remus heard the ladder leading up to Sirius' bed creak. With a groan Remus got up from his bed and walked over to James as well. The four of them joined in a group hug with James in the middle.
"I know you love me and all but I really need to leave now." James excused himself before he gently shoved Remus, Sirius and Peter away from him before he reached for the handle of his trunk. He rolled it to their door and stopped to wave at them before he opened the door to head outside.
"I'll miss you! See you next summer, bye!" James cheered, voice loud and happy. But Remus thought he could make out a lingering sadness in his eyes which he probably tried to cover up by extensive joking.
"See you," Remus mumbled just as James closed the door behind him. Looking around Remus spotted Peter's watch and saw that it was around eight AM. He still had about eight hours before his parents came to pick him up.
Remus winced. The mere thought of returning home made it feel like he got stabbed in the chest. He groaned and lifted his hand to clench at his shirt, next to his heart. He almost suffocated from the extreme pain. He desperately didn't want to leave.
He felt like he could break out in tears at any minute, but he didn't. He told himself he could cry in the car on his way back home all he wanted, but he would try and enjoy his last hours with his friends for now.
After a quick visit to the loo where he gathered his toiletries Remus reached under his bed for his trunk. Then he spent the following thirty minutes packing up his things in it. He carefully placed the two Polaroid pictures of Sirius and him at the bottom, tucked inside one of his shirts.
He changed out of his pajamas, folded it and placed it in his trunk as well. The last thing he packed was Teddy. He gave the old, but now clean, teddy bear a long stroke, and when he'd made sure Sirius and Peter wasn't looking, a quick peck on the tip of his nose. When Teddy laid face-down on top of his clothes, books and other belongings Remus closed his trunk and turned it upright.
He sat down on his bed as he waited for Sirius and Peter to finish packing as well and when they did the three of them headed outside. Remus aimed one good glance back at cabin 7. He hoped he would return to it but he didn't know for sure. He hoped this wasn't the last time he saw it.
The three of them walked into the dining hall where they tilted their trunks against the far wall. They sat down at their usual table and proceeded to eat breakfast under a strained silence. Remus' stomach hurt so he played with his food instead of eating it. Flicking his gaze to his right he saw Sirius do the same.
To dessert Peter emptied his pockets of some leftover candy. Sirius took a sugar scull and Remus took a sweet raspberry. Peter ate the rest, none of them speaking a word to each other. The fact that James was absent from the table made it all too clear for them that they were all parting soon. Remus didn't want to think about it.
The three of them spent the following hours walking around the grounds, remembering some of the highlights from the summer. Remus mostly nodded, he knew he would start crying if he even dared opening his mouth.
Around two PM they fetched Peter's trunk before they walked to the parking lot to hug Peter good bye. When he had left Remus and Sirius walked to a bench they'd found by the outskirts of the forest and sat down. There they talked about trivial things such as the weather, what animals the clouds looked like or how old they thought the bypassing boys were. None of them mentioned the parting, both of them reluctant to believe it true.
Though, soon the clock turned to quarter to three and Remus felt the lump in his throat constrict as he told Sirius he should probably get going. Sirius grunted something, his right leg jumping restlessly.
Remus looked around the grounds and saw Regulus pull his trunk after him as he made his way over the grounds. He spared Sirius a brief glance before he determined turned his eyes back to the rode. Remus heard Sirius mumble something, sounding a mixture between angry and sad, from where they trailed Regulus retreating figure with their eyes.
Remus reluctantly rose up from the bench and motioned for Sirius to do the same. Together they gathered Sirius trunk from the dining hall before they started heading for the parking lot. However, just before they were to walk through the main entrance Remus stopped.
Tentatively he lifted his right hand.
"One last time...?" He asked Sirius with a shy smile. Sirius' face immediately lit up and he lifted his right hand as well. When their hands were positioned next to each other they made their handshake.
Swipe palms, clap twice, slide the over side of their hands against each other, bump fists, circle the air and then finish with a firm hand hold. Remus smiled down at their hands as they stayed clasped just a moment longer than necessary.
When Sirius lowered his hand Remus got a glimpse of something shimmering on his middle finger. He felt his heart constrict when he realized Sirius still wore the ring Remus had given him on the
treasure hunt a couple of weeks ago.
"Hey, follow me for a sec." Sirius told him suddenly.
Glancing up Remus saw a funny look on his face. At first glance he looked mischievous, but under that was an undertone of something else. Nervousness, Remus realized. Remus wondered why but thought it might have something to do with him returning to his mad family in a matter of minutes.
"Okay." Remus forced a smile, but when he felt Sirius' hand clasp around his own the smile changed into a genuine one. It was magical how a simple touch from Sirius could make Remus' chest dance with incredible happiness in a second.
They left Sirius trunk by the entrance and then Sirius tightened his grip around Remus' hand and started leading them past the reception desk to a corridor Remus had never been in before. Sirius led them to a door, and reading the sign next to it Remus realized Sirius had led him to Slughorn's office.
He was about to ask Sirius if it really was a good idea to break into a teacher's office right now, but then Sirius opened the door which apparently had been unlocked and he stayed silent as he followed Sirius inside. The office was empty.
He heard Sirius close the door behind them. Then he turned around to face Remus who felt his cheeks heat from the intense stare he got from Sirius. He felt an urge to flick his gaze to the floor but he didn't. Instead he gazed into Sirius' grey eyes and tried to memorize them one last time.
"I'll miss you." Sirius told him honestly all of a sudden, making Remus' heart jump in surprise.
"I'll miss you too. Terribly." Remus pleaded and even gave Sirius' hand a squeeze for good emphasis. Remus thought about declaring his love for Sirius right there and then, but didn't as he saw Sirius open his mouth to speak.
"I- I wanted to give you something. Before I leave." Sirius spoke, his voice uncharacteristically insecure. Remus smiled at him, encouraging. He was sure that whatever Sirius would give him he would love it. There was no need for Sirius to feel nervous. After all, Remus already loved him.
"Okay. You need to close your eyes." Sirius smiled at him, but Remus didn't miss the nervous crease on his forehead, as well as his cheeks that looked suspiciously red.
However, Remus only had about ten minutes left before Sirius had to leave so he left the questions for another time.
"Alright." Remus whispered before he closed his eyes. He felt Sirius squeeze his hand, making him smile in happiness. But then Sirius loosened his grip around Remus' hand, leaving him feeling cold.
His smile turned nervous and suddenly he wondered if Sirius was going to prank him, or perhaps lock him in Slughorn's office. Though, all his nervous thoughts disappeared when he felt a pair of warm, comfortable arms wrap around him.
Sirius had given him a hug.
Smiling again Remus lifted his arms to return the hug. He relished in the feeling of having Sirius' warm body pressed tightly against his own. He felt his chest fill with that wonderful warm feeling, and his heart rate speed up. He hugged Sirius tightly and didn't let go until he felt Sirius' grip his shoulders and lean back.
Remus loosened his grip around Sirius and made to open his eyes, but then he felt it. Before he had any time to react Sirius leaned forward and pressed his lips against Remus'.
Remus' heart jumped and threatened to beat out of his chest as he felt Sirius' perfect, smooth and slightly moist lips press against his own. Remus felt a tingling feeling snake his way from their lips down his body, to spread through his limbs.
Remus pressed his lips against Sirius' eagerly, and tilting his head to the side he felt something explode in his chest. Fireworks, Remus stated.
When Remus felt Sirius' grip on his shoulders tighten he lifted his own pair of hands to cup Sirius' cheeks. Driven on instinct he parted his lips some, and he felt a jolt of electricity surge through him when his lips came in contact with the wet inside of Sirius' bottom lip.
Remus started to feel dizzy. His body, mind and soul all sang as they rejoiced in the kiss. He thought he was dreaming.
Sirius had kissed him!
"Mhm," Remus hummed when Sirius broke the kiss. Remus felt Sirius' hands drop from his shoulders and he let his own pair drop from where they'd cupped Sirius' cheeks.
Remus felt out of breath. He was certain his face was beet red, and suspected he was shaking. He'd just received his first (real) kiss. He'd just received a kiss from his secret love. Sirius had kissed him.
Panting, Remus looked up to find Sirius gaze at him, his cheeks tinted pink and smile happy. Remus got lost in Sirius' eyes which seemed to sparkle of new, wonderful emotions.
"Sirius, I-" Remus started, but was interrupted when Sirius pressed his index finger on his lips, silencing him.
"No. Save that for later." Sirius grinned at him mischievously.
Remus opened his mouth to speak when Sirius lowered his finger, but felt the words get stuck in his throat as Sirius leaned in to press a kiss on his cheek.
"See you next year!" Sirius chirped, almost radiating with happiness. He pressed another kiss on Remus' cheek before he opened the door and disappeared.
Remus stared at the open door for a moment, too shocked to move. But then he remembered he had to speak to Sirius.
"Sirius, wait!" He shouted as he ran out the door. Looking around he felt himself start to panic. Sirius was already gone.
He ran past the reception desk to the main doors, but he wasn't there either. He ran outside to the parking lot and turned his head around, searching for Sirius. He let out a panicked whine and was about to head back when he saw him.
Through the window of a very expensive looking black car Remus spotted Sirius looking at him through the window. Immediately Remus started running toward the car. He saw Sirius begin to wave down the window, but then Remus heard the engine start and saw the car start backing from the parking lot.
"Sirius!" Remus screamed but it was too late. The black car drove away from the parking lot. Away from the camp. Away from Remus.
"Sirius..." Remus whispered, his voice breaking at the end. He fell down to his knees and buried his face in his hands. Tears streamed down his cheeks as sob after sob shook him. There were hundreds of campers, parents and personnel on the parking lot probably watching him but he didn't care.
The only thing he cared about was Sirius and he was gone; gone with his horrible family that he despised.
Remus wailed into his hands. His body trembled terribly and he felt like the aching pain in his chest was going to tear him apart from the inside.
He hadn't got the chance to tell Sirius he liked him back. That he loved him and was crazy about him. He hadn't got the chance to tell him he might not be coming back to the camp anymore. He hadn't told him that his family was poor and didn't have the money for another entrance fee.
Remus fell down on the ground and formed into a shaking ball. He thought he heard heavy footsteps approach and absentmindedly he realized it must be Hagrid coming to check on him.
As another powerful sob shook him he felt like he was dying. The pain was too much and threatened to eat him alive.
He hadn't got the chance to tell Sirius it might've been the last time they ever saw each other. He hadn't got the chance to tell him he liked him back.
