Disclaimer: I own Harry Potter. Ha! I wish.
AN: Thanks to GDNIGHT and Musicals for the reviews :)
Hopefully this chapter's up to scratch. If you've come to this one after reading the first part, thanks. What did you think of it? I didn't like it. I hope this one's better. Enjoy.
Beside the lake at midnight.
''What are you doing?'' Remus hissed as he stepped outside to greet the cool air of the grounds. Beside him, Sirius merely smiled, but it was a whole world away from his normal casual grin. Something seemed... different about the Animagus strolling alongside him, it done ever since his three friends had perfected their transformations just last month.
''You'll see, you'll see,'' he drawled, waving his hands in the air carelessly. Behind them, the heavy oak doors of the main entrance snapped shut, causing Remus's heart to skip a beat. In the delicate silence of the night, any sound was sure to travel far. Yet it appeared nobody was awake, or at least if they were, they heard nothing.
An owl hooted somewhere far away. It was a comforting sound to Remus, it reminded him of when he was younger, before he'd had any of the trouble which had plagued him for his whole life. Being bitten by a werewolf, having to be locked and chained in a little room during the nights of his transformations, the untimely death of his father just before he had been accepted at Hogwarts, falling in love with his best friend...
He shivered suddenly, making Sirius stop and turn to him in something like alarm.
''Are you cold?'' he asked worriedly. Remus shook his head.
''I'm fine,'' he replied weakly, feeling his legs going blue. Sirius looked at him shrewdly.
''You don't look fine! Here,'' he said, and grabbed hold of his left hand. He gasped at the heat eminating from Sirius's body, and instinctively edged closer to his best friend, wanting to revel in his warmth.
''Ha! Knew it!'' Sirius pulled off his dressing gown and handed it to Remus, who drew it around his shoulders like a blanket. It was furry inside, the sort of gown which he knew would have cost thousands of Galleons just to borrow. It was a relief for him to wear something to trap some of the body heat he was loosing too quickly. In fact, it was just a relief to be warm for once. He always seemed to be cold, a fact not entirely unnoticed by Sirius.
''Where's your dressing gown?'' he asked, not noticing the emphasis he placed on the word 'your'. Remus looked away, blushing. Sirius realised what that meant, but he wasn't going to mention it yet. They began walking again, Remus keeping up with Sirius's overly-long strides for once.
Above them, the black sky was dotted with specks of glitter. A cool breeze shook a few odd leaves from the trees near them, and ruffled Sirius's unruly hair. Remus had had his hair cut recently, too short now to be affected by the wind. Sirius hadn't liked it, and he was staring at his hair at that moment, lost in the presence of his friend. More than friend. Since the moment beside the lake in the first term of that year, both of them knew that something had changed between them.
Unfortuantely for Sirius, staring at Remus's hair meant that he had no eyes left for the uneven path he was walking on. A large loose rock caught his foot, and he fell with a yelp. But Remus was fast. He wrapped both of his arms around him, and held tight, relishing the feel of skin on thin cloth. They stayed like that for a few seconds, then Sirius reached out to Remus's shoulder to pull himself up. When he was back on his feet, he laughed shortly.
''Seems I always need you around, don't I?'' The tension in his voice weighed on Remus's mind, heavy like something was pressing down on his head hard.
''Don't know what you'd do without me,'' Remus replied in an odd voice. Sirius lauged again.
''Come on,'' he said softly, grabbing hold of Remus's hand. They ran together to the side of the lake, keeping both eyes on the path before them. It made Remus feel so happy and free, when he had been so used to hiding all his life. There was something about Sirius that felt right.
They came to a smoothly shaped rock, worn away by the touch of many Hogwarts students. Remus sat down heavily on it, followed quickly by Sirius who brought his knees up to his chin and rocked back and forth ever so slightly.
Remus stared out at the lake, wrapping Sirius's dressing gown around himself tighter. He wanted to say something, something special and magical, maybe a brilliantly subtle line from a poem, or some quote that would touch Sirius's heart. But he couldn't say anything. He realised, for the first time in Sirius's company, that he was scared. Very scared. All he could do was stare out at the black lake, listening to the gentle lapping, as the wind pushed it to the shore and let it go again. He was relieved when Sirius finally spoke again.
''Do you remember when you rescued me from the giant squid a few months ago?'' he murmured, looking directly at Remus.
''Cause I do. How could I forget?'' he murmured back, refusing to look at the spot which he knew was a few hundred yards away, the spot where he had almost lost... No, he didn't even want to think about it.
''I could have died, you know.'' Finally, Remus turned to stare him straight in the face. He couldn't bring himself to look into his eyes though, instead choosing to focus on the tip of his pefectly formed nose.
''I know.'' That was it. Any more, and the tears would come. He could already feel them tugging at the corners of his eyes, demanding to feel the air and fall into his lap.
Sirius paused, in a manner which he only did when he was thinking about something. Hard. Eventually, thankfully, he found some words. They weren't perfect, but they were pretty close.
''I'm... Thank you. I'm really... grateful. For...''
''It's okay. It was nothing. Really.'' For once, Sirius was struggling to talk. Remus had to presume what he was going to say, and it seemed that he had presumed right. Still, Sirius gave a growl of discontent.
''It was something. Really, it was. And I think...'' Again, he had to pause and think of something to say. Remus began to whistle gently, letting the wind carry his tune far away across the lake. He didn't know the name of the tune, but it was quiet, and comforting to him, reminding him of a time long before, when the pains of his life were distant and he wasn't alone.
''Oh, fuck it!''
''Sirius!'' He was shocked by the amount of aggression Sirius held in his voice, forceful and loud, unlike anything he'd every heard before.
''Sorry.'' Sirius let go of his legs, took hold of both his hands, and held them in his own. ''Remus, I... I think I love you.''
Remus stopped still, breath catching in his throat, heart beating loud enough for him to see in his chest. How often had he gone over this moment in his head? Over a hundred times. And not once had he been unable to speak. Sirius loved him. Sirius loved him.
Gently, Sirius squeezed his hands, then let go of them.
''I'm sorry.'' Remus looked up at him slowly.
''Sorry for what?'' he asked softly, voice catching in the wind, following his tune.
''For...'' They looked at each other, and their eyes met, then their lips did. Sirius pulled away as soon as they made contact.
''I haven't told you, have I? I think I've loved you for ages. Ever since last year. And then, by the lake...'' He trailed off, as the tears finally broke free and trickled slowly down Remus's cheeks. ''What's wrong?''
Remus shivered slightly, not with cold, but with something else. Fear, again. Mixed with a third part that he couldn't identify.
''Nothing, it's...'' He couldn't continue, not when Sirius was reaching out to steal a tear from his cheek and press it against his cherry red lips. Not when he was pulling out a lacy hankerchief to wipe away the rest. But somewhere in the deepest part of him, he found a reserve of strength that could last him long enough for what he had to say.
''You've told me all these things, and I've felt them too. But I was scared. I still am. And then you said those words, those three words that I've wanted to say to you, and I want to say them back, but I can't! And it's killing me. I want to say it, but I'm too scared, Sirius. I'm too scared.'' He couldn't carry on any longer. He broke down completely, hiding his head in his hands.
Sirius took a deep breath, and pulled Remus close to him, cradling him in his chest.
''It's okay, love, it'll be okay.'' His pyjama top would have a damp patch, but that was okay. As long as he knew Remus was safe.
They both heard a splash on the lake's surface. Remus was shaking, but the tears were slowing. He didn't want to look up though. As long as he could be in Sirius's arms.
Eventually his breathing slowed, and he lay completely still. Sirius gave him a little nudge. He didn't respond. He was asleep.
Sirius's eyes drooped, and, resting his head on Remus's, he closed them. Within a minute, he was out of consiousness. The two of them lay like that, asleep in each others arms, and they knew they would be found in the morning, but that didn't matter. As long as they had each other. Then they would be happy.
AN: Thanks for reading this. You know what's coming next, don't you?...
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