Moon and Stars

Engine Roar
Theme: Sound
Summary: In which Sirius makes Remus ride his motorcycle.

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Remus sighed and placed a bookmark in his book. He'd reached the end of the chapter. He closed his eyes and almost imagined what his friends would sound like if they heard that he was reading a book during their summer vacation between sixth and seventh year.

"Hardly productive for a marauder," Remus murmured, mimicking James' voice to an octave. Of course, no one was around to admire Remus' parroting skills, so the boy soon lapsed into silence and discontinued his own train of thought in favor of a small nap beneath the large oak tree in his back yard.

Tucking his book off to the side, Remus rolled over onto his back and folded his arms behind his head, cushioning his head as he fell into a small cat nap. He deserved it; too, after the stressful week he'd spent.

Not only had it been an incredibly unforgiving moon, Sirius Black was disowned from his family. Remus remembered quite clearly the shock of receiving a frenzied note from Sirius about how he couldn't take any more of his family. Stunned, Remus had hastily written a reply. It was only a couple days ago that he learned that Sirius was safe and sound at the Potter's residence, just as Remus knew the boy would eventually end up.

But between Sirius' initial letter and the reassurance of his safety, Remus had been on edge. He'd concocted ludicrous images of Sirius being locked in a basement, tortured, or killed by his psychotic, inbred family. Then the full moon came, and the wolf had been unusually cruel—probably due to the absence of his three animal friends.

Things were better now, of course, and Remus was long awaiting the lovely relief and calm of a peaceful summer. There was nothing that could take away from his summer, and, for two blissful months, Remus would have nothing to worry about—for he'd completed his summer assignments and the moon wasn't for another three weeks—and he could just enjoy himself.

Of course, that tranquility was shattered a moment later. Remus popped open an eye as a strange sputtering noise pierced the warm summer silence. Remus sat up, propping himself by his elbows and peering out towards the dirt road down near the village—his home sat on a hill—but there was no loud vehicle sputtering its way down the road.

Confused, Remus concluded he'd imagined it and rolled over to return to sleep.

The sound came again and this time Remus knew he was not imagining it.

The sun was setting, and the sky was sprinkled with bright, vibrant colors of red, orange, and yellow. Despite the beauty of the scene, however, Remus' eyes were trained only on a black mass in the distance, followed by the loud sputtering noise of an engine.

"Remus!" a voice shouted and the werewolf knew who it was. He'd know that voice anywhere.

"Sirius!" Remus shouted, but doubted that the boy would hear him over the roar of his engine. Remus watched helplessly as Sirius descended from the sky, mounting a large black motorcycle.

The motorbike landed on the grass and the engine cut. Sirius rolled before coming to a stop. Placing a foot down, the young wizard removed his helmet, grinning like a fool. Remus stared at him stupidly, trying to register the fact that Sirius just appeared from the sky and on a motorcycle, no less.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Remus demanded, his eyes wide.

Sirius, still grinning, merely chuckled. "Nice to see you, too, Moony."

Remus sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Seriously, though, what are you doing here? And what the hell is this?"

He gestured hopelessly towards the vehicle Sirius was now dismounting. Sirius swept his black bangs away from his eyes. Remus felt himself tense as he stared at his friend's handsome face.

"Jamsie and his parents are off to visit family. They invited me, but I didn't want to go around with the Potters and get nasty looks for being a Black," Sirius explained and shrugged his shoulders. He tucked his helmet under his arm and leaned forward, plopping his other arm around Remus' shoulders. "So you get the pleasure of my company for a few days."

"Thanks for the warning of your arrival, Padfoot!" Remus said, worried.

"Hey, you did say in your last letter that I could come to you if I ever needed something. Besides, I sent an owl, didn't you get it?" Sirius ruffled his friend's hair.

"No," Remus said and shoved the boy's hand away, laughing softly. "I didn't get one. But no matter. You can stay. You'll just have to sleep on the floor."

"There's a nice host, then, why can't you sleep on the floor?" Sirius protested. The sun setting behind him made his hair look incredibly silky. Remus wasn't sure where that observation came from.

"Because I have a bad back," Remus declared and grabbed Sirius' forearm. "Come on, we should go inside."

"Don't you want to marvel at my baby, instead?" Sirius asked, an absolute and unmasked amount of pride in his voice.

Remus rolled his head back towards his friend and released his arm. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"All right, Padfoot," Remus sighed. "What is your baby?"

"She is the most wonderful flying motorcycle in the history of flying motorcycles," Sirius declared happily.

"Where did you get her?"

"Well, obviously I made her," Sirius scoffed, as if the mere idea of buying a flying motorcycle was ridiculous. To Remus, the mere concept of a flying motorcycle was, itself, ludicrous. "This summer, before those people kicked me out."

"You weren't caught then?"

"Not until I left, with her roaring to life through the house and knocking down priceless Black artifacts," Sirius said proudly, looking quite pleased. He patted the handlebar of the motorcycle. "I've been working on her for the past two summers—whenever I could get the chance—and she works like a charm."

"She's a bit loud," Remus said uneasily, remembering the sound of the engine from earlier.

Sirius laughed. "That gives her charm, Moony, my uneducated friend."

"Ah," Remus said, inspecting the motorcycle. "And I take it the ministry hasn't caught on that you have something that has to be illegal in some way."

"Bah," Sirius laughed. "The ministry's got a pole stuck up its ass anyway. Besides, they have more pressing matters to attend to then to deal with a perfectly legal wizard running around with a flying vehicle."

"What if the muggles saw you?" Remus asked.

"Bah," Sirius said again. The boy never was one to be cautious.

"Well," Remus said after a long moment, "we should go inside."

"But don't you want to ride it?"

"We have some peach crumble," Remus said evasively, not wishing to admit to Sirius that he was afraid of the flying contraption. "Mum made it this morning. It's very good."

"Mooooony," Sirius whined. The sun was gone, and Remus could just make out Sirius' silhouette against the night sky. He could see Sirius' namesake high above them.

"I think I'd like some crumble," Remus decided and turned to leave.

Sirius grabbed his arm, and despite the darkness, the werewolf could see the boy grinning wickedly.

"You're not going anywhere," Sirius declared loudly. He started pulling Remus towards the flying bike. "You've got to try it at least once, Moony. Prongs thought it looked like a hoot."

"Thought?" Remus mimicked, sounding very unsure.

"Well, I wouldn't let him ride it," Sirius declared as he conjured up a new helmet. He held it out to Remus. "Come on, Moony."

"Why didn't you let James ride it, but you'll let me?" Remus asked skeptically. Sirius pushed the helmet into Remus' hands.

Sirius was quiet for a moment, a rare treat. "I don't have a good answer for that, Moony," he confessed after a long moment. He laughed, and it had a tiny ring of nervousness to it. "Just come on."

Remus felt himself hesitate, holding the helmet stupidly and looking at the flying motorcycle skeptically. He would much rather be inside eating some of his mother's peach crumble, but the Gods were being cruel to him today, and Remus just had to accept that.

"Just get over here, Moony," Sirius scoffed and gripped Remus' wrist effortlessly. He tugged the boy, and Remus obediently followed, letting Sirius pull him towards his seat. "Get on."

Remus bit his lip and looked out towards the sky, where stars were twinkling tenderly. His eyes drifted down to the village far below, where no one stirred. That didn't meant his was still dangerous, though. Finally, his eyes returned to Sirius and he swallowed a thick lump in his throat.

"Fine," Remus sighed in defeat and straddled the bike. He positioned himself behind Sirius and sat stupidly. "What do I do?"

"You'll see," Sirius laughed and suddenly the motorcycle's engine was roaring to life and Remus felt an insane amount of fear grip him.

The motorcycle started racing down the hill, almost resembling a normal, only slightly less dangerous muggle motorcycle, before suddenly the ground was far below them and they were soaring through the air.

Remus' first wild thought was that it was like being a bird, and then he was bitterly reminded that he was flying through the air on a very dangerous motorcycle with his very dangerous friend. The motorcycle sped up and Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius' waist in order to feel a bit more secure.

He could hear Sirius laughing and Remus' eyes furrowed. He felt completely uneasy.

"Padfoot!" Remus shouted over the roar of the engine. He could barely hear his own word and doubted that Sirius could hear him, either. "Padfoot, this is dangerous!"

Why had he agreed to get onto this ridiculous contraption, anyway? What had possessed Sirius to make a flying motorcycle in the first place?

He clutched Sirius tighter as the engine roared louder and Sirius popped the front wheel up as he rolled between the clouds. His nails dug into the soft leather of Sirius' jacket and he clenched his eyes shut, pressing himself tightly against Sirius, afraid to fall off the flying vehicle.

'Oh, please Merlin, don't let anyone see us,' Remus thought to himself as they soared between clouds and over trees and darkened houses. Surely the entire world knew of their existence, if the loud sounds of the motorcycle were any indication.

He could hear Sirius laughing—with his ear pressed against Sirius' back he could hear the older boy laughing, breathing, and humming along with the loud thump of his engine. Sirius' laughter vibrated in his ears and Remus felt a strange peace befall him for half a second before he remembered exactly where he was.

"You've just got to trust me!" Sirius shouted so Remus could hear him. The wind whipped his hair away from his forehead, and his eyes were sparkling with that perpetual look of amusement. He grinned and Remus felt himself melt. Sirius lifted a hand and pushed the visor of his helmet down.

"I trust you," Remus murmured, but knew that Sirius would never hear him over the engine and the roaring wind. He snuggled closer to Sirius' back and listened to the sound of his heartbeat against his cheek. "Always."

They sped around the sky for what felt like a century, but far too short for Remus. The werewolf wasn't sure when the ride started to be more fun than scary. Perhaps it was the thrill of the ride and the company he kept that made the ride enjoyable. Remus felt a face-splitting grin overtake his lips and he felt deliriously happy as he held himself close to Sirius. He felt the motorcycle start to descend.

They landed and Remus never felt so relieved, yet sadly disappointed, to see land again. He was thankful to be back on the ground, but, at the same time, knew that he no longer had an excuse to sit so close to Sirius and wrap his arms around his waist to keep himself in place.

"All better there, Moony?" Sirius laughed as he dismounted his motorcycle and pulled off his helmet. He was still grinning like a loon and Remus couldn't help but return the sentiment. Yes, he felt magnificent, and Remus suspected it was because of Padfoot and not because of the motorcycle.

"Glad to be back on solid ground," Remus admitted as he removed his own helmet. Now that he was back on solid ground he realized just how much he enjoyed the feeling. "This is why I don't use brooms, either, Padfoot."

He felt wobbly when he stepped down onto the ground. Sirius steadied him by placing a strong hand on his shoulder and Remus sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair and massaged his head.

"It's good for you, mate," Sirius defended and clapped the scrawny boy on the back. Remus swayed for a moment but regained his balance. He felt strange to be back on the land, and his equilibrium was still a bit skewed.

"Indeed," Remus agreed, wishing he could still be pressed against Sirius and listening to the sound of his laughter.

"Come on, Moony," Sirius declared as he started strolling towards Remus' quaint home, "I think I'm going to take you up on that offer of peach crumble. I'm hungry."

Remus followed after his friend, listening to the sound of their footprints in the soft earth beneath them. He watched Sirius' back and smiled wider, feeling perfectly at peace.