A/N: I don't think I mentioned this here (I know I did on AO3). This is an anthology- so each chapter is its own stand alone little one shot. I wanted *something* that would tie it all together, and I chose Siremione.

Week #2 prompt: Rising to a Challenge

Challenges of the Modern Werewolf

Trying to convince people that they do not need to get involved with your shite.

"Fuck you, Sirius," Remus snarled.

"Please," Sirius retorted at the top of his lungs. He moved to unbutton his shirt and Remus grabbed his wrist.

"Don't," Remus ordered.

"Remus," Sirius whispered. He stared at Remus with wide, stormy eyes. "Don't do this."

"I can't," Remus whispered back. His fingers tightened around Sirius' wrist until Sirius flinched.

Filled with self-loathing and revulsion, Remus flung Sirius's wrist away, and turned to run.

"Don't go," Sirius called to him.

The door slammed behind Remus.

"Come back here you furry bastard," Sirius bellowed as he thundered down the dormitory steps after Remus.

Finally, Sirius caught up to Remus in one of the hallways.

"Remus," Sirius called after him.

"I'm sorry," he half-sobbed. Remus refused to look at Sirius until Sirius caught Remus' face between his hands and forced Remus to look him in the eye.

"What the hell are you on about now?" Sirius demanded.

"I hurt you," Remus gasped out between sobs. "This is why… this is why it will never work."

"Bollocks," Sirius snorted. "We'll make it work."

Dealing with arseholes at the Ministry

"Mr. Lupin, is it?" The officious little clerk looked up from his clipboard to sneer at Remus. "Do you have your Dark Creature Identification Card?"

The next time that Sirius got pissed out of his mind and threatened to burn the Ministry to the ground, Remus was going to hand him the kerosene. It took him a moment to remember that he didn't give a fuck if Sirius would ever got pissed again. Remus took a shuddering breath and shoved his grief down. He pulled out his billfold and dug through it until he found the hated card. Pulling it out, he shoved it at the little clerk, who took it between the very tips of his fingers.

The humiliation and anger burned within him for the thousandth time and he bit the inside of his cheek until his tasted blood. The little clerk moved as slowly as possible and made unhappy hmph noises to himself. Remus tried to ignore all of it and think of something else, which was probably not a good idea. Peter with his bashful smile, Lily with her flashing green eyes… James, Merlin, James. He choked down a howl of grief.

"Something to say, Mr. Lupin?" The little clerk drawled in a haughty voice that set his teeth on edge.

"No, sir," Remus managed to grind out. "I was just thinking."

Another disapproving hmph noise and the little clerk went back to his painfully slow paperwork. An hour and a half later and Remus finally had his voucher for Wolfsbane potion. He fucking hated the fucking Ministry.

Deciding whether or not it's a good idea to get back with your ex-convict ex-boyfriend

"Professor Lupin?"

Being called Professor Lupin was something Remus thought he was never going to get used to hearing. Of course, thanks to Lucius Sodding Malfoy, Remus would never get the chance. With a sigh, he turned toward the clever little witch that had managed to save Sirius.

"Miss Granger," he said with a small nod. "It appears as though I owe you a debt."

Miss Granger blinked at him in surprise. "A debt?" She echoed him doubtfully.

"You saved Sirius," he reminded her. A dull flush stained the girl's cheeks.

"It was the right thing to do," she muttered and scuffed the toe of her shoe against the stone floor of the Defense classroom. "He… he's Harry's godfather," she added after a moment.

"And you would do anything for Harry," Remus murmured.

The flush on Miss Granger's cheeks grew darker and she sputtered helplessly for a moment.

"It's not like that," she managed at last. "He's…"

"He's your friend," Remus said. He swallowed against the grief that welled within him, even now, and gave her a sad half-smile. "Believe me, Miss Granger, I do understand."

Miss Granger nodded at that and stared at her shoes for a moment.

"What will you do, Professor?" She asked.

"I don't know," he replied slowly. He smirked to himself. "Perhaps I'll adopt a stray dog."

"That sounds like a good idea," Miss Granger said with a nod of her head that made her wild curls shake. She looked at him with too-wise eyes. "He needs you."

Remus could feel his own dull flush creep up his neck. "Miss Granger," he spluttered.

"Professor." Miss Granger thrust out a hand. "It was an honor to learn from you, sir."

Remus stared at her outthrust hand for several long moments before he finally took it and shook it gingerly. "It was an honor to learn from all of you as well," he replied.

Losing your ex-convict ex-boyfriend. Again.

"Sirius no!" Remus's scream was drowned out by Harry's bellow.

"SIRIUS!"

Time slowed down to a crawl as Sirius fell backwards through the Veil. All the air left Remus' lungs and he dove for Harry as the only lodestone left for him in the world. It wasn't until his lungs burned that he remembered to breathe. Harry struggled in his grip, but Remus clung to the boy like a limpet.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry—" He almost choked on the words even as he said them.

"Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!" Harry commanded. Remus closed his eyes.

"It's too late, Harry—" He loathed himself for saying the words aloud.

Harry tried to argue, tried to struggle against him, but Remus knew the truth. He swallowed against the lump in his throat—the urge to throw back his head and howl his grief and rage to the skies above.

There was nothing they could do. Sirius was gone. Again.

Fending off delusional Aurors.

"Look, Nym—erm, Tonks," Remus corrected himself when he saw the furious glare in her eyes. "I'm not really in a place to be in a relationship."

"You just think that because you're a werewolf," Tonks began hotly.

"No," Remus interrupted her firmly. "No. It has nothing to do with that. There was someone, and… it didn't work out well… and I'm still… I'm not ready."

"Molly said that—" Tonks tried again but Remus held up a hand.

"Molly has no idea what she's talking about," Remus finally snapped. "She still thinks that Charlie is going to find the right girl and settle down."

Tonks blinked at that. "But… Charlie's asexual."

"I know," Remus muttered. Tonks threw herself into a chair.

"What a cock up," she grumbled.

"I know." Remus sighed and poured himself some of Sirius' Firewhiskey. Tonks nudged a tumbler in his direction.

"Pour us a glass then," she demanded.

Trying to convince people that you do NOT have a drug problem.

"Look, Raymond," the diner manager began.

"It's Remus," Remus reminded him, again, with a sigh.

"Sure, sure," the diner manager agreed. "I try not to poke my nose into my people's business, but… I noticed that you requested three days off in a row again this month."

"There isn't anything against it," Remus said with a small frown.

"No, no, there isn't," the diner manager agreed. "It's just… you know if you have a problem, you can come to me, right?"

"If I have a problem?" Remus repeated slowly.

The diner manager shuffled his feet and avoided direct eye contact. "You always look like shite warmed over when you come back," he muttered. "My cousin Jack—"

"I do not have a drug problem," Remus snapped. The diner manager held up his hands placatingly.

"Of course not, Raymond," he agreed.

"It's Remus," Remus growled low in his throat.

"Sure, sure," the diner manager muttered and hustled out of the room.

Remus leaned against the wall and let his head fall against the tile with a thump. He closed his eyes and pressed against them with the heels of his hands. It was probably a good thing that he'd already started filling out applications. Again.

Dealing with bossy, idealistic witches.

"I'm going to fix it," Hermione announced with a fierce gleam in her eyes that Moony found amusing.

"And how is that?" Remus asked indulgently.

Hermione sniffed and tossed her hair. "I'm going to become the Minister of Magic."

"Oh really?" He couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice. Hermione glared at him.

"Do you think I can't?" She demanded.

"Hermione, it isn't that I don't think you're not capable," Remus said carefully. He rubbed his hands on his robes. "It's just… the Ministry is filled with arseholes."

"I know it is," Hermione snapped. She crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. "The rampant abuse of power, the corruption, the cronyism—it made us vulnerable to Voldemort."

Pride swelled in Remus. Hermione's friendship was one the bright notes in Remus' post-War life. As ridiculous as her plan sounded, Remus suspected that if anyone could make it work it would be Hermione Granger.

"I'll need your help," Hermione added with a decisive nod.

"My help?" Remus repeated in surprise.

"Of course," Hermione told him. She tilted her head at him then. "You owe me a debt, remember?"

A startled laugh escaped Remus at that, and Hermione beamed with smug satisfaction.

Trying to figure out if one's ex-convict ex-boyfriend was trying to drive one mad.

"Remus!" Hermione's voice was a frantic screech that made Remus spill hot tea in his lap, swear a blue streak, and then race for the Floo.

"Hermione?" Remus leaned down to see her in the grate.

"Remus!" Relief flooded her features and she grinned at him. "Come through, quickly!"

"What can the Minister of Magic need with one broken-down, old werewolf?" Remus asked once he'd stepped through the Floo into Hermione's office.

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far, Moony," a familiar voice teased.

Remus spun about and stared at Sirius who was sprawled in one of Hermione's chairs. He knew he was staring. He knew he should say something, but the words wouldn't come. His throat worked frantically, but nothing escaped except for a broken whimper.

Sirius was in his arms, touching his face and pressing kisses along his jaw. Remus pulled back and framed Sirius' face in his hands.

"How?" He whispered.

"Magic," Sirius told him with a little smirk that shouldn't have been half as appealing as it was.

As odd as it was to think, the Veil had been good for Sirius. He looked so much better than he had when he'd gone through. The damage that Azkaban had wrought upon his body and soul seemed to be healed to some degree. Another whimper escaped Remus' lips and he buried his face in Sirius' neck so that he could breathe in his scent.

"It's okay, Moony," Sirius whispered and stroked his hair. "I'm here. I'm here."

"I'll just give you two some time," Hermione muttered and before Remus could protest, she'd escaped her office.

"Hermione's all grown up," Sirius murmured in Remus' hair. He made some kind of grunt of assent, and Sirius continued. "Her arse is a bloody work of art."

Remus growled into Sirius's neck and Sirius chuckled.

"Don't worry, Moony. Yours is the only arse I'm after," Sirius assured him. He paused and then added, "for now."

Remus grabbed Sirius and dragged him toward the Floo. He'd show the disappearing, reappearing bastard who was after whose arse.

Dealing with arses that really were bloody works of art.

"Could you not stare?" Remus demanded with an irritated huff.

"How can you not stare?" Sirius retorted. He waved a hand in Hermione's direction. "Look at that arse!"

"Shh!" Remus clapped a hand over Sirius' mouth. "Do you want everyone to hear you?"

Sirius glared at Remus over the top of his hand, and Remus removed it with a heavy sigh.

"Who cares who hears me?" Sirius protested.

"She's your godson's best friend," Remus muttered.

"My godson who is older than I am?" Sirius retorted. "The one who is married with kids? That one?"

Remus sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah, that one."

"He's fine with the fact that we're dating," Sirius reminded him.

"I'll grant you that," Remus agreed. "But who's to say he would be fine with me dating you and his best friend?"

"So you want to date her too?" Sirius asked with a wide, devious grin.

"What?" Remus squeaked and then glared at Sirius. "No, of course not."

"You do, don't you," Sirius teased him. "You want to date her!"

"Who does Remus want to date?" Hermione asked curiously.

Heat suffused Remus' face and ignored Sirius who was snickering to himself.

"No one," Remus muttered. "I'm not… no one."

"I like that, no one," Sirius huffed. "What about me? I'm not no one!"

"You could be no one if you don't knock it off," Remus growled at him.

"Naw, you love me too much," Sirius countered with a shake of his head.

Hermione smiled fondly at the both of them. "Don't have too much fun," she told Sirius and she kissed them both on the check. "See you later!"

Both Remus and Sirius turned to watch Hermione and her perfect, bitable arse walk toward the Floo. They sighed at almost the exact same time.

"Are we ever going to tell her, Moony?" Sirius asked in a quiet, subdued voice.

Remus rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, course we will."

"Yeah," Sirius murmured.