Disclaimer: Completely forgot to include this in my first chapter BUT as much as we'd all hoped I am not J.K. Rowling. While I am still in counselling to overcome this issue the facts remain that Harry Potter and the wonderful characters and themes associated with the franchise are not my intellectual property. It really is a pity though.
Also, I've seen this theme (i.e. of a bet) done within the fanfiction community before but I've never seen a completed version so hopefully mine will still interest some.
Chapter Two: A Friendship is Born
Remus blinked down at the piece of parchment he had been hunched over in an effort to take decent notes on the Troll Battle of 1581 and that one off month in 1592. For some reason, despite the fact that he'd been gripping his quill intently and straining to comprehend the monotone droll of the decrepit History Professor Binns, Remus hadn't been successful in collecting the main points of the lecture. After another half-hearted attempt at jotting down the heroics of Tendvour the Terrifying he finally admitted defeat and glanced out the window. Noting the calm glare of the sunlight which indicated the rapid approach of winter, Remus couldn't help but think... seven days. It was seven more days until his next transformation. While Remus had grown accustomed to shrinking into the darkness of the Shrieking Shack to bear the blunt of his transformation he always hated the suspense that leaving the castle brought him. Despite the many years of his journey, he couldn't help but think that one day he would return to his room to find his dormmates staring at him horror having finally discovered his secret and knowing that for the past four years they'd shared rooms with a monster.
A small bony elbow attacked one of his lower ribs and Remus unconsciously let out a low growl before turning to glare at Belby. Davis Belby was a fifth year Hufflepuff and Remus generally enjoyed sitting next to him because as kind as he was, he was also extremely scared of failing any classes and sat through entire lessons without attempting to strike up whispered conversation. Davis caught his eye before gesturing to Professor Binns who had stopped his lecture to swivel his ancient body towards Remus, Remus briefly wondered how long the small movement had taken the ancient wizard grinned in amusement before responding. "I'm sorry, sir?"
"Would you please collect the 12 inch essays that were assigned last class? Thank you Mr. Lupin," he replied in his slow rhythmic speech.
"Of course, sir." Remus sprung up delighted for the excuse to move his legs and take his mind off of his upcoming transformation, he'd be living through the pain of it all soon enough there was no reason to make himself miserable beforehand as well. Nearing the back of the class where his dormmates usually sat, he was annoyed to find that they hadn't bothered to put their essays on their desk before falling asleep. Frowning, he gently nudged Sirius Black and watched in amusement as the boy's black locks flew out of his face as his head jerked upwards.
"Mhmm...Wha's that?" he mumbled frantically swinging around wildly before his eyes finally landed on Remus standing beside him. "Oh, sorry. Were you saying something?"
Remus' breath caught in his throat as the boy's startling grey eyes bore into him, momentarily wiping his task from his mind. Breaking eye contact Remus focused on a rebellious piece of hair that had escaped from its position at the back of Black's left ear. Lifting up the pile of parchments he'd collected so far he quietly breathed out, "Essays."
"Oh. Yeah. Sorry," Black shot him a crocked smile before reaching down to grab his book bag off the floor swinging it round to hit James Potter on the head before it landed on his desk. Potter started awake and after blinking owlishly around seemed to deduce Remus' presence at his table and wordlessly flung his essay into the boy's outstretched hand.
"Here. Thanks, Remus," Black said smiling up at him before settling back into the seemingly comfortable nook of his folded arms. Remus hesitated slightly looking
down at the boy's shining grey eyes from his rested position before quickly moving on. Since when where him and Sirius Black on a first name basis?
By the time dinner arrived Remus had seriously considered sneaking a few bites of the Niffler treats that he had been instructed to use to persuade the creature to find buried gold. It was of no surprise that the moment that the food appeared on top of the Gryffindor table Remus had already began his dinner habits.
When he'd first come to Hogwarts he had been wary of eating in front of others at all, this was mainly out of fear of the painful reaction to the silver that lined the serving platters that the food appeared on. He'd learned very quickly that continuously reaching over the heated silver platters for food had caused him to become nauseous and instead had taken to gathering two or three plates and filing them with everything he thought he might need at the start of his meals. He was in the process of shoveling the sweet potatoes off his first plate down in his throat when he felt a familiar presence behind him.
"Alright there, bugger?" came a steady male voice from the area of his right ear before a warmly tanned hand snaked over his shoulder to grab a few potatoes.
"What'd you have today? You look like you could eat a thestral." The boy threw his head back causing his dark blonde hair which had been secured in a ponytail to fly hazardously towards the pitcher of pumpkin juice. Remus frowned wondering how he never seemed conscious of his actions, while it wasn't terribly uncommon for a member of a different house to sit at a different table, his brother had sprawled out comfortably beside him easily taking up the space where two if not three Gryffindor's could be sitting.
"Romulus! Must you? You know dishing out my own food is my least favorite part of a meal," said Remus staring at the gap where three of his sweet potatoes had been before shaking his head and throwing the rest of them down his throat.
"Not like you'll miss it really" came his brother's calm reply as he loosened his delicately stripped blue and bronze tie."Are you patrolling tonight?"
Remus bit his bottom lip and avoided the question by picking up a piece of peppered chicken from his second plate. "Remie..." his brother twisted his face until his electric blue eyes were only a short distance from Remus' amber.
"Yes, I'm patrolling the dungeons tonight but I'll be with Lily Evans so I'll be fine" although Remus appreciated the way his older brother cared for him, his constant hovering was at times annoying. "And no. Don't you dare think of following me this time. How am I ever suppose to be a proper prefect if you keep stalking me?"
"Stalking," the attractive boy huffed, "isn't that a bit much? I was hungry and on my way to the kitchens when I happened across you the last time. Really Remie, it's nothing to tie your knickers in a knot over." He swung round to sit at the table like a normal student and surveyed the people around him, "that Evans is really cute though" he commented offhanded as he grabbed a stuffed baked potato.
"Better not let Amlise catch you saying that" Remus muttered turning as if he expected to see a sway of thick, black hair which signaled the arrival of his brother's kind and but temperamental girlfriend. Romulus colored slightly before casting a nervous glance around seemingly satisfied when he caught her eating with two girls at the Ravenclaw table.
"Don't be silly. Remie, we're both extremely secure in our relationship. Acknowledging attractive prefects don't matter to us." As if she could sense the direction of their conversation Amlise turned swiftly and locked eyes with Romulus scowling at him slightly before turning away with a huff.
"No way she heard that..." Romulus frowned before taking a swing of Remus' pumpkin juice and standing up, "Sometimes I swear that girl is part wolf, she has one of the craziest sense of hearing I've ever seen." Winking playfully at his brother he reached over to dump a stuffed baked potato into his third plate before refilling his pumpkin juice, "Be careful tonight, Remie" was all he said as he walked towards his table.
After devouring the remains of his third plate Remus started looking around for Lily but was instead distracted by the awkward flailing of Potter's arm as he recounted a heroic (judging by the look on Pettigrew's face) story to his friends.
Sighing silently, Remus wondered not for the first time if he had been right in his goal to distance himself from his dormmates. Sure, they frequently got into trouble by pulling the most outrageous pranks, the memory of the singing pumpkins that had climbed atop the Slytherin table during the Halloween dinner resonated clearly in his mind, but despite their clever antics the boys seemed harmless enough.
Just as Remus started admiring the way Black's hair flew back in small jerks every time he let loose his signature bark-like laughter the boy in question turned and looked directly at him. Remus blinked before slipping his eyes away from the silver eyed boy's and continuing on their journey to find Lily. Walking out the Great Hall after he had signaled to her that he'd meet her in the common room Remus was fairly certain that the burning he felt on the back of his neck were those silver eyes still on him.
Remus tensed his back before turning around and glaring at the cold stone walls illuminated by the pale light of frequent torches but saw nothing else. This had been the umpteenth time this had happened and no matter how many times he told himself that the only people who would be wondering around the dungeons this late were himself, his prefect partner Lily, and possibly a few Slytherin students out of bed, he was sure he felt someone watching him.
"Are you okay, Remus?" Lily asked stopped to peer at him through the darkness.
"Yeah, sorry. Just thought I heard something," Remus gave her a tentative smile before moving to catch up to her.
"But to be honest, I'm not sure why anyone would bother trying to spend more times down here in the dungeons." He smiled weakly and looked down at her hoping that she didn't think him a coward for finding the cold, hallow corridors of the dungeons uninviting. To his relief she nodded and spared a few glances down darkened hallways as they passed.
"I know what you mean, I hate it down here. Especially in the winter, It's just always so cold do you know how annoying it is having to layer up for just Potions?" she scowled shooting the stone walls a disapproving look.
Remus smiled at her antics, he hadn't realized it before he and Lily had been named prefects of their year but the girl was actually pleasant to be around. She had a sort of maturity that Remus rarely saw in anyone his own age, she was also extremely studious and had invited him to join a study room that she'd recently formed. Remus smiled when he thought of the study group, it really was the ideal type of friendship that he needed. He got to be around kindly people who would smile and wave at him in the halls, but seldom diverted conversation away from the various subjects and assignments that they were meant to be tackling.
Glancing back down at her scowling expression he was once again reminded of another important reason why he felt so comfortable around her, she reminded him a great deal of Amlise. Romulus' girlfriend was an extremely temperamental witch and while she had been nothing but kind to him for the week she had spent at the Lupin cottage that summer, she had single-handedly thrown Romulus into the stream that flowed near their house. Even as Remus had knelt down in an attempt to fish his stuttering brother from the water, she'd glared down at him angrily as if daring Romulus to remerge from the water without first pacifying her.
Remus was jerked from his wondering thoughts of warm, summer days when he heard the sound of footsteps. There was no way he could've imagined that, not this time. He said nothing but looked down at Lily who, evident by the way her brows furrowed in concentration, had heard the noise too.
Lifting her finger to her lips in a request of silence Lily crept down the corridor turning to peer down the darkness of the closest corridor to investigate. Just as Remus had walked to stand by her a slim figure darted out of the shadows and threw a hastily aimed curse at the both of them before running off down the opposite direction.
Checking to ensure that Lily was alright Remus nodded at her and together they took off after the student who was going clearly desperate to avoid being caught past curfew.
Coming to a fork in the corridors Remus strained his eyes to try and discern the path that there perpetrator had taken. "Can't see anything," he mumbled in an annoyed voice.
"Neither can I. Maybe we should split up? I don't hear anything so he must be hiding around here somewhere," Lily said taking out her wand and edging down the corridor towards his left.
"Right. Let's meet back here in a few minutes then." Remus took off down the corridor closest to his right, his wand out and his mind blissfully calm. This felt great. Here he was creeping down corridors in the dark of the night, his friend supporting him, and him gaining on the trail of his prey.
Here the boy stopped to glare around him smirking, this must be how it would've felt if he'd ever gotten the opportunity to hunt as a wolf. His muscles would be tense with adrenaline, his senses sharp and waiting, every part of him down to the minuscule hair on the back of his neck attentive.
There. Remus' eyes flickered to an alcove in a dark corner up ahead. He could've sworn that he'd seen a brief flicker of movement maybe the glint of a wand being raised or the glimmer of pale eyes glaring at him in the dark.
Before he could respond to what he innately knew to be a threat another hastily aimed curse flew at him. Having obsessively studied Defense Against the Dark Arts and watched every demonstration of a duel that was possible Remus didn't think twice before ducking and rolling out of the reach he assumed the curse had.
Once he'd come out from his roll wand pointed at the area his attacker had been he realized a moment too late that his attacker had moved. Three more curses fired at him and Remus felt the air shift violently around his left ear as he narrowly missed a jinx.
Mumbling inaudibly at this time, he held his wand steady as he fired multiple curses. With a loud cry his attacker slipped on their side and fell roughly to the ground with a loud crash. Forgetting himself, Remus lowered his wand and rushed forward to ensure the student's safety.
"Oi! You alright?" was all Remus had managed to get out before a resounding crack and an impacting pressure alerted Remus that his prone opponent had decided to continue their duel. Falling to the ground almost soundlessly Remus was surprised when a foreign ache began spreading slowly over his body, creeping to dominate his senses.
Somewhere in the background of this pain Remus became aware of the sensation of having lost his voice. Knowing immediately that a silencing charm had been casted Remus knew he should feel terrified as his attacker approached his fallen body but could only track the slow progression of pain through his body.
A sharp pain to the left side of his hip bone brought him sharply back to reality as he rolled over in an attempt to dull the horrible new ache running through his hip. Squinting to try and make out the face of his attacker Remus was shocked as the person's body flew violently in the air before crashing a few feet away with a dull thump.
A dark haired figure - or was it two? Rushed by him and Remus was aware of lights - curses flying in the air before a blindingly white light halted all action.
When Remus had blinked again the figure with sleek black hair and startling grey eyes - Sirius Black- was leaning next to him mumbling countercurses under his breathe while swiping his wand in short flicking motions across the length of his body.
Coughing, he became aware that the Silencing charm had been lifted and locked eyes with Black for the third time that day. "Uhmm... Thanks Black," was all Remus could mutter as he was helped in a gingerly sitting position by the taller boy.
Sirius Black smiled widely and threw his head back in a fit full of laughter. "Really? Black? That's what I get for dueling that nutter who was attacking you?" he asked in a good natured kind of way.
Remus was saved from immediately responding when he heard the irritated voice of Lily Evans reprimanding another dark-haired figure, who by Black' presence could only be James Potter.
"Honestly, I don't know how you two always manage to be around when there's trouble. I really should give you both detentions for breaking curfews," Lily shrieked angrily as she neared where Sirius and Remus where standing."Oh Remus! Are you okay? We should've have split up after all" Lily cried fitfully while clinging on to Remus' dirtied robes.
Smiling against the scent of her vanilla scented hair Remus tapped the small of her back awkwardly. "I'm fine Lily. Blac- Uhm... Sirius came along before anything serious could happen." Once Lily had released him and demanded that they escort the two wayward Gryffindors back to the common room in case they 'got lost again' Remus found himself walking next to a somber Black.
"You are alright, right? The hexes that guy was throwing was something serious," Sirius said while swipping his eyes over Remus' body one last time.
For some unknown reason he felt a strange heat pool in his stomach. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks... Sirius."
At this the black haired boy smiled brushing slightly against his shoulder in a friendly gesture before replying, "No problem. We've been dormmates long enough. Probably bout time we make friends anyways, right?"
Remus couldn't help but smile at other the boy's carefree attitude. "Friends, huh? Guess we should probably give that a try."