Disclaimer: Here's my disclaimer where I tell you that no matter the vivid fantasties that exist in my head, I'm not J. K. Rowling.
Ughh... It took me a month to update... again. I'm going to aim for bi-weekly instead of weekly cause at least that seems more doable.
Oh.. And I just found out about the 'expand' feature on fanfiction (don't judge I'm new, remember?). I hope everyone's using it for my story. I dunno how to apply it myself or even if that's possible but I'm sure it'll be a lot easier to read if you adjust your settings so that the sentences are more spaced out.
Chapter Six: A Painful Realization
Justin's hands were warm in Remus' as he led the smaller boy down a deserted corridor, pausing for a second to peer round the next passage Justin grinned back at him, "I doubt anyone will get caught tonight. I'm pretty sure I saw all the prefects at that party."
Nodding Remus smiled at him before dropping his eyes down to their intertwined hands. Increasingly the blonde had become a lot more affectionate with him he always seemed to be brushing against his arm or touching his shoulder.
But no matter how many times he did it Remus could never seem stop the flood of color that rushed across his face or ignore the nervousness he felt pool in his stomach.
"This way."
The blonde's hand squeezed his own softly before pulling him gently up a flight of stairs.
Suddenly realizing where they were Remus paused on the stairs chewing on his bottom lip softly as he leaned against the smooth stone wall.
"What's wrong?" Justin asked frowning slightly as he squinted down at him. Remus found himself glad that Justin's eyesight was limited to human capabilities, he certainty didn't want him seeing the timid look he was sure decorated his face.
"Well... Errr... This is the South Astronomy Tower," Remus stated lamely as he moved even closer to the wall trying to shrink into the shadows despite knowing that Justin couldn't see him well enough to make out his expression.
"Yeah, it's one of the best in the school. You've seen it, right?"
Remus wasn't exactly sure how to answer the question. Of course he'd seen the tower before, he doubted that there was any part of the castle that he hadn't discovered by now, he even remembered having quite enjoyed the view the last time he'd visited.
However Remus knew that the view wasn't what drew most students to this fairly remote tower.
The South Astronomy tower was mainly used by the senior students who had completed their O.W.L.s and wished to continue their studies in the subject. This tower was strategically positioned at the back of the castle to allow for the view of both the major constellations and the smaller clusters that weren't visible from the Northern towers and too difficult for younger students to interpret.
The room used for viewing the stars was itself quite beautiful. The stairs led up to an open space sparsely furnished with comfortable-looking mixed patterned couches and love seats with the occasional coffee table stationed between them. The top of the space was covered by a glass dome that allowed the students access to all the stars.
As comfortable and pleasant as the room was it was extremely popular among older students. The majority of these students didn't continue with Astronomy nor had they had interest in mapping the movement of Ursa Major or Minor. Instead they were drawn to the area due to its largely romantic aspect.
Remus had heard quite a few tales of people being deflowered in the tower under the glow of the stars and the comfort the furniture provided and he had certainly not been there for that reason.
"Just during the day," he replied hoping the boy understood his hesitation for what it was.
"Well, come on it's beautiful at night," Justin said squeezing his hand again before pulling him away from the wall and up the stairs.
Reaching the landing of the tower Remus had to admit that the sight was beautiful. If he hadn't known that the glass dome was what sheltered the space, he would've sworn it was open to the night sky. The stars glowed brightly down at them and not even snow could be seen collecting on the surface of the glass that separated them from the cold winter night.
Twitching slightly he allowed Justin to lead him to a rather worn love seat in the corner of the room and after forcing himself not to think about who else may have been there before him and what they were doing, sat down beside him.
"Cetus," Justin said after a moment. He had leaned his head to rest against the back of the couch and his eyes focused on the small star above that he had named.
"Draco," Remus added eyeing the vigorously glowing ball of light positioned some distance from Cetus.
"Crux."
Relaxing into the couch Remus continued the game calling off the stars that were in his central vision.
This wasn't so bad, he thought. The view was wonderful and the couches were comfortable and Justin was a gentleman. Clearly he'd overreacted about the prospect of so much as being up in the space with the blonde, Justin was nothing if not kind.
Between the softly murmured 'Hydra' and 'Grus' Justin's right hand had slipped down to his knee and after he called 'Gemini' began to make short trips up to the middle of Remus' thigh and back down towards his knee.
Staring down at the roaming hand Remus fumbled the rhythm of their game before he was able to draw his eyes back towards the dome. "Pictor," he called before glancing back down at the hand.
Justin, if possible, seemed to become even more relaxed and melted into the couch bonelessly as his left leg rested on a table before them.
The room fell silent for a moment as Justin' eyes closed and Remus would've thought that the boy had fallen asleep if not for the hand that continued its journey up his leg inching closer to his thigh.
Jumping slightly Remus reached down and grabbed Justin's hand, which had ventured dangerously close to his inner thigh, in both his hands while pressing his lips together tightly.
Chuckling softly Justin opened his eyes as he titled his head to look down at Remus. "Alright?" he asked mouthed curled pleasantly into a smile.
Worried that he'd sound absolutely ridiculous if he tried to speak at the moment Remus nodded before releasing his grip on the boy's hand opting to hold it gently in one hand.
"It really is beautiful up here," Remus said trying to break the silence that he was almost sure only he found uncomfortable, "Thanks for showing it to me."
He swung his legs out before him a few times in hopes that the boy would get his hint that he wanted to move on.
"Of course," Justin replied. His green eyes focused on the smaller boy as he seemed to inch closer, "I can't believe no one ever's taken you up here before."
Flushing deeply Remus stared ahead of him watching the glow of Virgo before replying, "Well you're the first person I've ever really hung out with."
Remus wasn't sure what his relationship with the older boy was, after the disaster that had been their first date in Hogsmeade they hadn't come close to kissing again. Although Justin was still just as sweet, he walked him back to his dorm after the study group and always approached him in the halls, they hadn't really found the right time to try again.
"Good. I like the idea of being your first," Justin said smiling down at him before his eyes dropped from Remus' to scan his body.
Once again falling silent Remus flushed even deeper. What was he supposed to say to that? Was he suppose to say anything at all?
He didn't have long to ponder the new wave of confusion that Justin's word stirred because the boy had turned his body to his.
Leaning close to him Justin's lips brushed against his ear before whispering, "Bet no one's ever told you how gorgeous you are."
Shivering at the proximity of the boy Remus stayed silent, looked down at their intertwined hands. He wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do or say in situations like this and couldn't help feeling clumsily and awkward.
After a moment of drawn out silent where Justin breathed heavily in his ear, he continued, "You are."
Justin's lips had found themselves on his cheek and he began brushing feather light kisses on his cheeks dropping lower with every touch.
When he reached Remus' lips the boy finally looked up at his blonde companion, blushing at the hungry look that flashed in Justin's eye before he dipped down to capture his lips.
Justin's lips were soft against Remus' as he moved slowly, pressing them gently against the younger boy's before applying more pressure and dipped down to nibble on his still lower lip.
Gasping more in shock than embarrassment Remus opened his mouth and Justin's tongue darted in with no more permission exploring him thoroughly.
Justin's kiss was overwhelming, he moved quickly and intensely always seeming to change his pressure or angle just when Remus thought he'd be able to relax into in.
After a few moments where Justin's arms had wound themselves completely around Remus' waist, the smaller boy pulled back hesitantly face red as he inhaled deeply.
He had been struggling to come up with the right words to say to Justin before this and now he was completely stumped and settled for biting his lip as he allowed his hair to fall onto his reddened face. "Absolutely gorgeous," Justin repeated before he pushed his chest against Remus' and forced the younger boy's back into the couch.
Now completely on top of him Justin's hands moved towards Remus' wrists pulling it above his head as he pressed his body fully against him.
"Justin slow down," Remus managed to mutter before Justin reached down and silenced him by pressing his lips to his.
By now Justin's hands were beginning to roam with frightening intensity all over Remus' body. They slipped down his arms, reached up towards his chest applying a small amount of pressure to Remus' nipples which had the boy shutter and shake underneath him before dropping even lower.
It was when Justin's left hand reached around to squeeze Remus' ass that the boy jerked himself free from his bruising kisses.
"Justin. Stop," he whined pitifully cheeks embarrassingly red. He wasn't sure how normal people stopped or even slowed things like this but the way Justin's hands were suddenly all over him made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
"But you're so fucking gorgeous," Justin replied before burying his face into the boy's neck nibbling and sucking his skin feverishly.
Loud gasps and pitiful cries slipped from Remus as he struggled to get his bearings. Finally with both hands on Justin's chest he tried to push the older boy away again, "Justin please stop. I don't -"
Justin's hands finally moved away from where they were tracing the contours of Remus' ass but to the smaller boys' horror they hooked underneath his shirt and began tugging it upwards.
"What are you doing? Stop!"
Justin had finally moved his weight off of Remus in an attempt to work his shirt over his head and as he balanced against his ankles with his grip tight on Remus' shirt, Remus bolted up quickly trying to knock him far away enough to give himself the chance to run.
Remus only made it a few steps before Justin sprung up and grabbed his forearm roughly tugging sharply he sent the younger boy crashing down into the closest coffee table.
"Stay still," Justin grunted out as he straddled Remus' waist finally succeeding in pulling the younger boy's shirt over his head, pausing to remove his own shirt with feline agility.
Remus cried out in pain trying to move away from the coffee table he'd hit but could only wiggle weakly as Justin's weight restricted him.
The pounding on the side of his head from his crash with the coffee table was the least of his problems, he was having a silver reaction. Eyes darting wildly around Remus was able to make out the malicious glint of the face of a compass, a very expensive, solid silver compass.
He wondered how distracted he must've been to not notice the little device earlier, but really how could he have known? He usually didn't need to be excessively cautious with small amounts of silver after all they were usually fairly easy to avoid.
And now Remus could do nothing but stare up in horror at Justin. What had happened to the kind, fun-loving Hufflepuff? To the blonde who looked like he wouldn't hurt a fly?
Justin leaned over him again both hands positioned on either sides of his head before shifting his body so his lower abdomen pressed against Remus' stomach.
Unsure of whether he was feeling more shocked or horrified at the hard blunge he felt through the boy's pants, the gravity of his situation dawned upon him as Justin shifted again pressing himself against Remus.
"Justin. Please. Stop. Please," Remus felt like crying at how weak and pathetic he sounded. The color that had prettily stained his cheeks earlier was gone and the feeling in his stomach replaced with fear and horror.
The boy paid him no mind but leaned down to start sucking on Remus' neck rolling his hips to thrust himself against Remus' stomach in slow, leisurely movements.
Remus shook as he desperately hoped that the boy would bring himself to completion soon. All he wanted was to get out from underneath him and roll into bed. He'd wonder how he ever thought Justin was sweet or kind and blame himself for putting himself in a vulnerable position at some other time, tonight he'd curl up as far as he could get into his sheets and struggle to find sleep.
As he was trying to focus on anything but the writhing boy on top of him, Remus turned his head to look outside the glass dome and found a star directly above him. He tried to focus on this intensely bright star even as Justin's thrusts became so rough that he scrapped his body against the stone floor.
Remus almost cried out in happiness when Justin's mild thrusts stopped before his heart dropped painfully when the boy's hands moved to his belt.
"Justin. Get off me, Justin! No!" Remus began struggling again trying to get the boy off him cursing the tiny, silver compass that seemed to be taking so much of his strength.
His body tensed at the sudden cold air when Justin roughly pushed his trousers down past his hips, hands moving to cup Remus' cheeks greedily.
Crying aloud Remus bolted up once again and was shaken when Justin grabbed both his shoulders and slammed him into the stone floor making his head spin before he could register that Justin had fully tugged off his pants.
Kneeling before him Justin spread his thighs as he stared hungrily at his now naked body.
Remus was unable to move as the boy's weight landed on top of him and whimpered loudly when his felt Justin's cold fingers reach down to his entrance.
"Stupefy!"
Justin's weight was blasted off Remus and he bolted up staring down at the older boy's limp body as he shook violently.
"Are you okay?"
Sirius had collapsed beside him pulling him into his chest as his breathe fanned across the top of Remus' head, "I'm so sorry," he repeated over and over again.
Remus was sure he should've felt disgusted and possibly horrified, he probably shouldn't have wanted Sirius anywhere near him right now. But he was tired and weak and felt utterly humiliated so he leaned into the comfort the boy offered, moulding his body as close as it could get.
Remus didn't know how long he stayed there huddled in Sirius' arms but eventually he realized the shaking that rocked both boys wasn't only coming from him and the beating rhythm that pounded in his ear was not just a product of his own desperate heart.
Pulling away slowly, Remus swiped at his eyes trying to maintain some dignity before realizing that he was completely naked and quite literally situated on Sirius' lap.
"Sorry," he mumbled gruffly dropping his hands in an effort to cover his scarred body as best he could while avoiding Sirius' eyes.
He absolutely hated that Sirius had to see him like this. Not only was he in a completely humiliating and pathetic position but his disfigured, scarred body was now openly displayed for his handsome dormmate to see.
Sirius was silent for a moment but before Remus could begin wishing for an early death a thick bundle of fabric was dropped into his lap.
"I think your's is ripped," Sirius said simply. He'd moved to pick up Remus' discarded jumper and when he held it up Remus could see a rip from the neckline to the chest.
Gratefully pulling on Sirius' dark maroon jumper he was engulfed by the material and stood, pleased that it landed low enough to offer him some decency.
Pulling on his pants that Sirius had retrieved for him, Remus stood staring down at Justin blankly.
"Think we should kick him around a bit for good measure?" Sirius asked meekly as he tapped the bottom of Justin's shoe with his boot.
Remus shook his head still watching the unconscious boy. Knocked out and completely motionless Justin looked harmless and kind, like the boy that Remus had always assumed he was. What had gone wrong this night? Had he done something to cause this?
As if trying to forcibly shake these thoughts from his head he shook his head until he noticed that Sirius had began to look at him in concern.
"We should probably move him," Remus suggested finally as he eyed the boy's sprawled out limbs focusing on his left arm which seemed to be bent at a strange angle.
Sirius made an angry sound from the back of his throat but after running his hand through his hair a few times pulling roughly at his ends he took out his wand and levitated the boy onto the couch.
"That good?"
It probably wasn't the best job that could've been done. The majority of the boy's body was situated on the couch but his neck was propped up in a way which Remus was sure would cause neck pains in the morning.
One look at Sirius' disgruntled face told Remus that this was all that could be expected of his dorm-mate and he wondered if Sirius' flickering eyes to the glass dome didn't indicate that he'd much rather have Justin sleep outside tonight.
"I- I think I'll go back to the dorm," Remus said finally turning away from the unconscious boy and heading down the stairs. He couldn't be sure what he looked like now but he knew that his brother only needed one look at him to know that something had happened and the absolute last thing he wanted was to have Romulus know anything about this.
"Alright, let's go."
The two boys walked back to the Common Room in silence. Remus' mind seemed to be running at a million words per minute but he couldn't think of one to say to the black haired teen. What did Sirius think of him now?
After both boys had changed into their pajamas, Remus still wearing Sirius' maroon sweater, they stood awkwardly in front of Remus' bed not looking at each other but knowing that something had to be said.
"Thank you," came Remus' soft voice as he slipped into bed. He had finally looked at Sirius and was pleased to see that the boy didn't look disgusted or angry at him, if anything he seemed a bit sheepish as he shifted around with his hands dung deep into his pockets.
"I still can't believe it to be honest. He was so nice," Remus said weakly biting his lip as he pulled his covers closer to his chest.
"Yeah... Well Remus listen. His firewhiskey -"
"Firewhiskey? You're right. He was drinking, do you think that's why?" Remus was sure he sounded pathetically hopeful but he needed a reason, he wanted to know why Justin had turned on him like that, he wanted to know it wasn't his fault.
"Actually, I know it was. His firewhiskey -"
"Yeah, that's why. It was the alcohol," Remus looked up at the boy with wide eyes, "I always remember my mom warning me about people who drunk excessively said they were dangerous. And Justin had a few last night."
Sirius shot him an almost pained look before he nodded and sat down at the edge of the bed. "I'm sure that's what it was. I've heard and seen people acting like complete prats when they're wasted. Had to stop Peter from jumping off the Battlements the other month, poor bloke was convinced that he had perfected a full body levitation charm."
Nodding Remus smiled before laying down and staring up at Sirius with wide, moist eyes, "I'm just happy it wasn't me," he said so quietly he wasn't that Sirius even heard him at first. Sirius seemed to pause before he moved to collapse on top of him drawing him into another breathless embrace.
"No don't think that. It wasn't your fault at all," Sirius whispered gently as he made to pull away.
Clasping onto his arm Remus shook his head muttering, "Don't go" before realizing what he was saying. Pulling away slowly Remus flushed in embarrassed as he played with the sleeves of Sirius' jumper, "I - I mean... I didn't mean it in a weird way, I know you're not - not like..."
"Like what?" Sirius asked before pulling back his covers and slipping into the space beside him.
Deciding that he'd spent too far too much time fumbling over his words that day Remus shook his head before scouting over to give Sirius more room.
Both boys laid in the relative silence of the room, the soft light of the lantern on the opposite side of the room throwing their faces in shadows as Remus looked at Sirius who'd closed his eyes.
How close could he get? How close was considered normal before Sirius would bolt up from the bed and accuse him of trying to get off with him or something?
Shifting a bit closer to the resting boy Remus paused before moving a bit closer, should he try to get any closer?
He almost squeaked when Sirius' grey eyes opened to meet his and before he could retreat the boy's arm hooked around his waist and pulled him into his chest.
Resting comfortably there Remus buried his face into the crook of Sirius' neck finding that all this thoughts about that evening, about Justin, and what would happen tomorrow finally stopped.
Neither boys spoke but as Remus could feel his body growing heavy with sleep a distant noise drew his attention to the window beside his bed and he caught sight of the burning ball of light that had distracted him during Justin's attack.
As darkness came to him he smiled and called out the star.
"Sirius."
Stupid Peter Remus thought rather maliciously.
He supposed it was his own fault. Peter had been eyeing the Ravenclaw who'd called him 'tummy' with small, hateful eyes and it wasn't as if he hadn't seen James whispering eagerly into the blonde's ear. Remus probably should've stopped them or else suggested a quieter jinx. Alas, it was done now and both Peter and James had earned themselves a detention for the night.
The very night of the study group. Leaving Remus sitting ridiculously still as he tried to fade into the background of shelves upon shelves of books as a fellow Fifth droned on and on about the Herbology assignment.
Eyes dropping down to his watch he slowly began to gather his belongings hoping that maybe he could make it out without being caught.
"Okay. See you all next week,' Lily was saying when Remus finally refocused and he watched in silent horror as the members of his study group got up and started filing out of the library.
Grabbing his bookbag and trying to stuff his belongings into his bag almost desperately he visibly slumped as he heard his name being called.
"Yes Justin?"
The blonde stood awkwardly behind him, bag thrown over his shoulder as he kept a relatively large distance in between them.
"Do you think we can talk?"
"You mean like what we're doing now?" Remus couldn't help bite out and almost brought himself to regret it as a look of misery crossed the older boy's face.
"Yeah we can talk," he added after some time. This Justin standing in front of him, timid and apologetic was the Justin that he knew, the one that he'd liked.
"I don't even know what to say... how to apologize," Justin had moved closer and although he didn't touch Remus his eyes had flickered down to his hand resting on the table before meeting his eyes.
"I can't remember everything.. only bits and pieces. But what I see -" Justin broke off as he shook his head his right hand reaching up to rub his forehead before he continued, "I can't believe I - I would never have done that to you, I don't know why I did..."
"It was probably the Firewhiskey," Remus muttered. Seeing Justin like this... broken and so clearly confused hurt him and even though he definitely didn't want the boy around him anymore he didn't want him to be hurting.
The boy had looked up at him with something close to relief in his eyes, "You mean you're - you - you don't hate me?"
Remus said nothing, instead swinging his bag over his shoulder he turned away from him, "Let's just forget about it, okay? I just don't wanna talk about it."
As scared and humiliated as he'd been he didn't think that having some emotional, long drawn out conversation with Justin would help matters. He could accept that Justin gotten too drunk and uncontrollable and he was sure that eventually he'd forget the way his hands felt as they groped him greedily... But now he just wanted to keep as far away from him as he could.
Justin's shoulders fell in relief and he took a hasty step towards Remus before throwing his arms around him. "Thank you. Thank you so much," he muttered into his ear.
Standing rigidly Remus patted the boy's back in awkward intervals until Justin seemed to sense his discomfort and pulled away.
"Do you think we can start over?" he asked as leaned on his right leg, his weight balancing heavily to one side before he alternated feet.
"Maybe..." Remus said and after a moment of heavy silence he continued, "Probably. I just need some time."
Nodding Justin gave him a small smile and took a deep breathe and when his shoulder fell, Remus noticed that they'd lost the gracefulness that they usually held.
Both boys walked out of the library and after nodding in Madam Pince's direction Justin said, "Guess I'll ughh... see you later?"
"Yeah..." Remus said simply. He shrugged his shoulders and thought that he should say something - maybe something to reassure the boy that they'd be alright eventually or that he wouldn't feel this way forever. But nothing to came to him and as they opened the door Remus found he'd missed his chance.
Sirius was leaning against the wall in front of the library, his expression blank as he took in Justin's presence.
"Bye Justin," Remus said quietly as he moved towards Sirius.
"Alright," he replied before nodding in Sirius' direction and disappearing down the corridor.
Sirius' face remained blank as he looked down on Remus, "You and him back on?"
This was new. Although Remus was sure that Sirius more or less understood the relationship between him and Justin the two had never actually spoke about it.
"Errr... He was just trying apologizing for the other night," Remus said as he followed Sirius down the corridor, he was about to make a right turn towards the stairs that would lead them up to the Common Room but found Sirius steering him towards the left.
"Let's take a walk before we head back." Sirius' eyes held a troubling shine that Remus had quickly learned to associate with impending deviance.
Finding that he was almost excited to discover what rules they were about to break he gave the boy an affirmative nod and they began a descend through the castle.
Remus effectively managed to steer the conversation away from him and Justin's shaky relationship and towards the Hair-Snakes Potions that they were brewing.
"Almost ready. James and Peter managed to get the Moonseed and Ptolemy from Hogsmeade so the potion should be ready in another week," Sirius said proudly. He grew quiet and Remus could tell by the smirk that grew on his face that he was fantasizing about when he could poison the unsuspecting, but not undeserving, Slytherins.
Remus said nothing humming in what he was sure Sirius would perceive to be a pleased sound, he'd firmly decided against questioning how Peter and James could've possibly gone to Hogsmeade in the last few days when the next scheduled trip wasn't for three weeks.
Coming to a stop in front of a black lined door that look strikingly similar to the one that he knew adorned Filch's office Remus peered down both ends of the corridor hoping against all hope that he was mistaken.
Sirius shot him an overly pleased, almost crazed look before pulling his wand from his robes and Remus felt his heart noticeably drop, he looked around expecting the floor to be splattered with blood and when he found it pointedly spotless assumed that his stomach had somehow managed to catch it.
"Why are you giving me that look? This is gonna be brilliant," Sirius said in what was probably meant to be a reassuring tone.
Remus didn't feel very reassured, not when Sirius was steering him to the life-sized statue of a Hippogriff at the end of the corridor and pushing him behind it and out of sight.
When he saw Sirius raise his wand and do a rather impressive bit of wandwork he held his breathe almost comedically while his eyes focused to the door.
After a few seconds passed without the deafening boom of explosions or blinding flash signaling their expulsion from Hogwarts Remus exhaled. Maybe he'd overreacted?
Then a pale, translucent film started to appear before them falling from the ceiling gracefully and Remus couldn't help but think that he'd probably been right to overreact. In fact as Peeves fully materialized before them he couldn't help but think that he'd probably under-reacted and that the situation warranted a lot more worry then he'd given it.
"What's this?" Peeves grinned at them in an unabashed show of lunacy cradling his knees to his chest as he allowed his body to slowly rotate upside down. "Students down by Filch's office? Old git won't like that too much."
Remus didn't have much experience with the poltergeist. He'd learned quickly in second year that lingering around, underneath, or in the relatively close vicinity of Peeves came with the possibility of him dropping apple custard on your head.
This was way when Peeves turned his beady, malevolent eyes onto him Remus shrunk back against the wall instinctually raising his hand to smoothen down his hair.
"When does Filch ever like anything, Peeves?" Sirius seemed unnaturally calm. He had leaned against the wall twirling his wand almost mindlessly as he looked down the empty corridor. "Well... Actually, I have seen him looking happier then usual."
Sirius had not met Peeves' eyes but he turned to Remus, forcing the smaller boy to muster as much dignity as he could and push himself from where he had flattened himself against the wall.
"It was a disgusting sight really. That horrid, slimy old man walking about with that grin on his face."
"Grin?" The smile from Peeves face fall as he rightened himself inching closer to Sirius as though afraid he'd heard incorrectly.
"Yes old bloke was practically beaming. That's really why I called you - I was worried for a minute. Thought they'd finally managed to you expelled from the place."
Peeves was definitely frowning now his dark, beady eyes flickering over to Filch's office as though contemplating going there and forcibly wiping this 'grin' off of his face.
"But I'm glad you're alright Peeves old boy. I guess you can't win all the time, right? Filch must get one over on you some times."
The idea of Filch having anything over him seemed to infuriate Peeves and he sat legs crossed as his arms crossed across his chest defiantly, "The day that old git wins anything will be the day I leave this place."
"Oh?" Sirius dark eyebrow had arched gracefully into his hairline and Remus knew that this was what he was waiting for, this was the break that Sirius wanted.
"Well... If you're still up for it..." He let his sentence hang and like bait it drew Peeves in closer as he dipped lower to come face to face with Sirius.
"There's this new armoire. Dreadfully expensive looking." Sirius hadn't even really suggested any juvenile action against the inanimate object but the way Peeves mouth stretched to form an eerie grin assured Remus that he'd just been an accomplice to an accomplice of yet another broken rule.
"Where'd he put it?" Peeves had grabbed the curled tips of his shoes and began to sway side to side eyes wide in what Remus could only identify as enthusiasm.
Was it really that easy? Remus thought as he watched the proverbial wheels turn in the poltergeists' head.
"Third Floor hidden in the trap door of the sealed off room."
Apparently - it was.
Peeves wasted not one second and without even a parting word to the two boys shot upwards, obviously intent on wiping the grin from Filch's face.
"I don't remember seeing Filch smile," Remus said after some time eyeing the ceiling where the man had disappeared through.
"Neither do I, but you never know... We've got to take precautionary measures," Sirius said as he stuck his head out from behind the statue they were both currently shrunken behind.
They waited for a few minutes in stunned silence, Remus trying desperately to just breathe normally and trying not to look as anxious as he felt.
Another minute passed before a resounding crash came from above and Filch's door was thrown open.
"Peeves! I'll get you out for this!" Filch screeched madly as he slammed the door and began hobbling off in the opposite direction of where Remus and Sirius were hiding Mrs. Norris hot on his trails.
Sirius didn't even pause as he rushed to the door and flung it open declaring in a remarkably loud voice, "Your heroes have arrived!"
By the time Remus entered the room, at a considerable slower and quieter pace than Sirius, both James and Sirius were engaged in a strange version of some foreign dance.. Maybe Danish... or Bulgarian Remus thought as he watched the boys spin each other by their linked arms, squatting and standing in sudden jerky movements, feet kicking out in strange intervals as they laughed manically.
Remus edged over to Peter who seemed to be the only sane person in the room and they watched the two boys continue their awkward squatting-dance until their knees seemed to protest and they gingerly stood up.
"Bloody Filch had us in here scrubbing his floor. Can you believe it?" James nose had scrunched up with the indignity of it all and he scowled at the remaining large section of dirty floor.
"Wands?" Sirius inquired.
"Gone. Crash?" James countered as he moved around the room edging dangerously close to Filch's desk.
"Peeves. Anything?" Sirius had walked over to peer at the chains that hung menacingly from the ceiling in the corner of the room, smiling at them almost fondly before moving on.
"Not yet," James was rifling through Filch's desk casually opening draws and taking out files.
Remus didn't dare ask the two dark haired boys. He instead settled for raising one brow in Peter's direction to which the boy replied with a slight shake of his head before collapsing in the nearest chair.
"All this manual labour is hurting my back," the chubby boy complained massaging his back.
Taking pity on the boy Remus pulled out his wand and with a flick of his wrist the discarded brushes began scrubbing furiously at the floor.
He made the mistake of looking pleased with himself for a moment too long however because when James looked over at him he snorted in what managed to be a hostile manner but thankfully said nothing.
"Found it," came Sirius' excited voice as he straightened from the bottom draw of Filch's desk looking victorious.
When James moved to squat down at the draw Remus' curiosity got the better of him and he moved to peer over Sirius' shoulder.
"Dungbombs, Filibuster fireworks, Acid Pops, Shock -O-Chocs... Yes!"
Sirius cradled an armful of band and apparently confiscated items looking like Christmas had come early, judging from the way James' hands twitched almost spastically, Remus had to guess that in their eyes it probably had.
"Fantastic," James said at last as he moved to start piling the confiscated items into Sirius' robes, Sirius shoving as many products down his own trousers as he could fit.
When there was no more conceivable space to put any more mischievous products into any of Sirius' pockets the dark haired boys turned on Remus who took an almost involuntarily step backwards.
"Sirius, make the prefect take some," James whined as he dumped an armful of products into Sirius' outstretched hands.
The boy frowned at James but made no moves to drop the products and after alternating between giving Remus sheepish looks and staring intensely at the floor, Remus threw his hands up in defeat.
"Oh for heavens sake! Just give them here," he said snatching the products from Sirius. He spent a bit more time than strictly necessary as he patted down the folds of his cloak, head bent in an attempt to hide the embarrassingly bright color that had seeped into his face at Sirius' pleased grin.
"Well at least tonight wasn't a complete waste of time," James said as he moved towards the door opening it to peer out into the corridor.
Remus opened his mouth, thinking it best to tell James that detention wasn't meant to 'waste his time' but instead to reign in his deviant behavior, but closed his mouth after spotting the edge of a Dr. Filibuster firework poking out from his own trousers.
"Shit!" James exclaimed as he slammed the door shut and pressed his back against it. "Filch!" he clarified after a second staring at Sirius in horror.
The weight of all the products in his pocket suddenly seemed a lot heavier and Remus shifted around as he pulled out his wand, eyes shooting around the room desperate for an escape.
Before a single spell could come to him, though he was sure he'd get in more trouble if he petrified the old caretaker, Sirius moved beside him and grabbed the firework that was poking out from his pocket.
Pulling him to the side of the door Sirius turned to him saying, "Make sure you're ready to run."
Remus nodded but couldn't find the words to speak as he was staring intensely at the firework in Sirius' hand. Oh God, he was going to kill Filch wasn't he?
With a last nod at James, who had moved to join Peter in kneeling on the floor brushes in hand, Sirius muttered a quick spell and a jet of water hit the firework.
The door opened at that second and Sirius angled the firework to the ceiling as he released it.
Dr. Filibuster didn't disappoint. The ceiling exploded in a sympothy of sparks and bright, blinding lights.
Sirius grabbed the edge of the door and threw it fully open, slipping past Filch as he ran with Remus in hand.
Filch lowered his arms from his eyes in time to see the hem of Remus' cloak disappear from his room and by the time he'd hobbled outside the boys were half way down the corridor.
"I'll get you go out, you brats! Wait till Dumbledore hears of this!" He screamed as he hobbled after the boys.
As they rounded the first corridor Sirius pulled Remus towards the stairs and they bounded up the flights of stairs. Third floor, fourth... Remus paused for a minute tempted to peer down the staircase to see how close Filch was.
"Are you mad?" Sirius hissed as he grabbed the boy by his forearm and pulled him back, "Don't let him see you're face."
When they'd reach the Fifth floor something horrible happened, it seemed Hogwarts was not on their side as the stairs leading to the Sixth Floor decided to move to the North side of the castle.
"Damnit," Sirius said as he spun backwards, the furious breathing of Filch could be heard as he dared the stairs. The devil of a caretaker would be upon them in any minute.
"This way."
Sirius steered Remus towards their only option down the Fifth Floor corridor, only stopping their race when he spotted something in an adjacent corridor, "Of course!"
The boys turned back and disappeared down the hall just as Remus spotted the front of Filch's boot appear down the hall.
"Gregory the Smarmy."
"What?" Remus asked as he turned towards Sirius.
The boy said nothing but pulled Remus towards a statue of a plump, devious looking wizard. Ah Gregory the Smarmy indeed. Remus remembered Slughorn praising the servile potion master in a way that would've made the old wizard proud.
Stepping behind the statue Sirius simply disappeared. Remus blinked a few times before looking over his shoulder to the point where Filch would appear any second ready to give him detention for the rest of his days.
"What are you doing?" Sirius' hand reappeared from behind the statue and before Remus could do much of anything else, he dragged the boy into the darkness.
"Oh," Remus breathed quietly. They were in a small, confided space the stone walls on either side of them barely left enough room to fit two Peters. Behind Remus where they'd entered from clearly led to Hogwarts but behind Sirius was a long passageway that deemed to descend well through the castle and possibly all the way to the grounds.
Sirius was pressed hazardously against his chest, leaning impossibly close as he reached over Remus' shoulder trying to hear any sound from the corridor they'd just escaped.
"We can't take the passage," Sirius said nodding towards the direction of the enclosed, stone path, "Not tonight anyways," he drew back to flash Remus a beautifully perfect smile, "We'll have to wait until Filch is gone and go back through the corridor.
Remus didn't trust himself to speak. Sirius' proximity was doing funny things to his insides and he felt himself becoming disorientated as Sirius turned his head towards him, his breathe fanning against Remus' cheek.
Flushing something terrible Remus found himself praying that Sirius could not see the color of his face. He certainty didn't need Sirius thinking that Remus was having perverse thoughts about him, not that the way Sirius' body hovered in front of Remus was helping matters.
Remus cleared his throat attempting to say something witty but when Sirius lowered his head he found himself staring into the boy's silver-grey eyes and felt all his cleverness slip from him.
Licking his lips Remus averted his eyes and fidgeted slightly trying to get his hips as far away from Sirius' as the space allowed.
"Stop," Sirius' hand reached out to steady Remus' waist and held it firm for a minute. The boy had lowered his head and had taken a deep breathe, his voice sounding raspy and uneven, before continuing, "Stop moving."
Sirius kept his hands around Remus' waist and had lowered head to rest on Remus' shoulder.
Remus once again found himself in a situation where he didn't know what to do. He cleared his throat again and said rather weakly, "I hope James and Peter are alright."
Sirius was silent for a minute simply taking deep breathes through his nose and shakily exhaling from his open mouth, his moist breathe tickling Remus' neck.
"Yeah," he muttered after some time.
Remus couldn't help but think he was missing something. Was he doing something wrong? And why the hell was he so nervous? It wasn't like he'd never been this close to Justin so why did he feel completely out of sorts when it was with Sirius?
The boy still had his hands rested on Remus' waist and although the situation had similarities to the one he'd been in with Justin, Remus couldn't bring himself to feel scared.
He knew Sirius wouldn't hurt him. Although the two hadn't been friends for long, only a few short weeks, the boy had been nothing but kind to him.
He knew that he'd thought the same of Justin, but... still. It was irrational and he while he knew it he just couldn't feel threatened.
Sirius finally lifted his head from Remus' shoulder and the boy welcomed the absence of his distracting breathe on his neck. When he looked up to see the smoldering look that Sirius was giving him he almost wished to have the distracting puffs of air back on to his neck.
"Sirius..." Remus wasn't sure where he was going with his sentence but felt it die as the boy's name spilled from his mouth.
Unnerved by the intense look Sirius was giving him, the boy's body rigid as his fingers dung into his waist, he bite down on his bottom lip chewing it before releasing it and wetting it with his tongue.
His tongue had barely disappeared back into his mouth before Sirius was upon him.
The boy's mouth met his with such a hunger that Remus gasped his hands reaching up to rest on Sirius' shoulders.
Sirius didn't shove his tongue inside of Remus mouth but instead pressed his lips eagerly against Remus' before pulling away.
"Sorry," he said but his hands made no movements away from Remus' waist and even as he spoke his eyes dropped down to Remus' pinkened lips.
"No it's -" Remus didn't get the rest of the sentence out, not that he'd really knew what he had been planning on saying, instead he let his hands squeeze Sirius' shoulders silently encouraging him as the boy continuously pressed eager kisses against his lips.
Relaxing against the wall Remus sighed in content and reached up to tangle his hands in Sirius' dark locks.
If possible, they felt better than they looked, all silky and perfect lengths, not like Remus' own tangled mop of hair.
Slowly, as not to scare the boy, Sirius slipped his tongue against Remus' lips clearly asking for permission.
After Remus had blushed furiously underneath him he tentatively opened his mouth, Sirius' tongue slipped into his mouth, flicking his tongue slightly before twirling around to explore his mouth.
An embarrassingly loud moan ripped through Remus' throat and he pulled away quickly clasping his hand on his mouth as he stared up at Sirius in horror.
Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. He didn't want the boy thinking he was sexual harem or something.
Sirius only smiled before leaning to rest his forehead against Remus', "Alright?" he asked.
Nodding Remus relaxed against the boy as he angled his face up for another kiss.
He found himself completely relaxed held tight in Sirius' arms, he wasn't thinking of the fact that Filch was sulking around out for their blood, or that his pockets were full of enough products to get him dismissed as a perfect, or even that James would probably sneer nastily at him once he got back to the dorm room.
All he could think of was Sirius' warmth as he pressed against him, the softness of his lips, and the gentleness of his breathe when he moved away to whisper quietly into Remus' ear.
When Remus reached up to grab the side of Sirius' face and guide him back towards his mouth he could honestly say that he was happy, that this moment was absolutely perfect.
Sirius was kissing him again.
This time was just as slow and tentative as the first night, a week ago, behind the statue of Gregory.
The boy had his hands back around Remus' waist and his warm, broad chest pressed firmly against Remus'.
They were on the Third floor or was it the Fourth? Remus couldn't really be sure. His brain had completely blanked when Sirius had told James and Peter that they'd catch up to them, dragging Remus away with a hungry look in his eyes.
"Couldn't stop thinking about you," Sirius whispered one of the times that he'd removed his lips from Remus'.
Remus whined, in a way that he would never have allowed himself save for his current situation, and used his grip on Sirius' hair to guide his mouth back where he most preferred it, pressed gently against his own.
He heard Sirius chuckle lightly against his lips and tugged on a handful of black hair until the noise subsided.
The quiet and warmth of the moment was suddenly broken by a very purposive noise, the clatter of a suit of armor.
Sirius pulled away turning his head towards the noise and when Remus caught sight of the people standing by a dented suit of armor a few feet away from them, he thought his heart would stop.
Romulus seemed to have locked eyes with Sirius and his breathe came out in sharp, short intervals, his right hand still formed into a fist.
Amlise was glancing between the two brothers wildly. She took a quick look at Romulus and then shot Remus an almost apologetic look before taking the only option a clever Ravenclaw really could take. She wordlessly turned and walked back down the hall her long, black hair flaring out behind her as she turned down the nearest corridor without so much of a glance back in their direction.
From the look on Sirius' face Remus guessed that he wanted to do something similar, but instead he drew himself to his full height and dragged his hands away from Remus before pushing them into his pocket and smiling at his brother.
"Hey," he said in a voice that even Remus could tell sounded rather strained.
Romulus didn't so much as crack a smile and although Remus could've sworn that his left eye twitched he couldn't be sure if this was a good thing or not.
"Sirius," Remus said as he pushed himself off the wall his hands moving to flatten his shirt, "Maybe you should go. I'll meet you in the Great Hall, yah?"
Sirius looked down at him gratitude flashing clearly across his face before he turned to nod in Romulus' direction and took off down the hall.
Sirius walked in the opposite direction of Romulus going further into the Third floor corridor and if Remus could guess, Sirius had willfully decided to double-back further down the hall than risk passing Romulus.
Staring at the direction that Sirius had disappeared down Remus heard his brother let out a shaky breathe before begin to take eerily loud steps in his direction.
When his footsteps stopped Remus turned to look at the boy.
He no longer looked angry. In fact he just looked kind of tired and something else that Remus couldn't quite place - was that sadness?
"Remie, what are you doing?" Romulus had brought his hand to rub his forehead in a way that reminded Remus of their father.
"Ugh," was Remus' brillant answer. He would have thought what he'd been doing had been pretty obvious.
"What are you doing with Black?" Romulus clarified, he had turned to lean against the wall and was watching Remus closely as he crossed his arms against his chest.
"What?" Remus frowned, "I like him..."
"You like him? What happened to McDonald?"
Remus said nothing but bite his bottom lip to a point where in became almost painful. He really didn't want to admit what had happened the other week in the Astronomy Tower, there was no way that Romulus would ever think he could take care of himself if he found out about that night.
"What?" His brother's eyes had narrowed suspciously and it was a testimony to how well they knew each other that he was able to pick up on the smaller boy's nervous body expression.
"Nothing. I don't want to talk about it. Just... we're... we're not seeing each other anymore," Remus explained weakly.
"So you jump to Black?"
Remus' face lit up in flames and he frowned angrily at the older boy, "No I didn't jump to Sirius. It just happened, okay? I can't control who I like. Stop treating me like - like a whore."
Romulus' eyes widened slightly before frowning and shaking his head the sad look had returning to his face, "No Remie. You're not the whore."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Remus shot sharply his fists curling up at his side angrily.
"Really? You don't know what I'm talking about? Do you know how many of the Ravenclaws Black has made it with? How many of them I walk past crying in the Common Room cause he'd had it off with one of their friends a few weeks later? Do you really wanna be treated like that?" Romulus asked his nose frailing, "Cause I promise you, you'll feel like a whore when Black's done with you."
"It's not like that!" Remus screamed back at him angrily, "He's - We're -"
"He's what? You're what? What are you to him?"
When Remus remained defiantly silent his eyes growing suspiciously moist the boy sighed before approaching his brother and grabbing both his shoulders gently.
"Remie, I don't want to hurt you. I'm just trying to help. I know you genuinely like him, but people like Black, Black, he... it doesn't mean anything to him. It's just a bit of fun," Romulus shook his head before drawing Remus' tense body into his arms, "It's best to break things off with him before things get too far, alright?"
Romulus drew away to look into Remus' eyes but the boy had turned away trying to hid his overbearingly moist eyes.
Sighing Romulus squeezed Remus tightly one last time before letting go and turnign away.
He's wrong Remus thought vicously speeding towards the Great Hall. He's wrong. All he had to do was talk to Sirius, ask him what he was - what they were - and Sirius would prove Romulus wrong, he'd confirm their relationship.
Stopping at the doors of the Great Hall Remus looked towards the Gryffindor table scanning the students to try and spot Sirius.
His heart skipped a beat.
Then it plummeted straight into his stomach and Remus had to take a loud, shaky breathe to alleviate some of the pressure of the extra weight on his intestines.
Sirius, James, and Peter were all sitting in their usual area of the Great Hall. Peter appeared to be laughing at something James said, as the boy ruffled his hair looking throughly pleased with himself. Sirius was across from them and a girl with short, blonde curls, a Hufflepuff, Remus distantly noted, was sitting on Sirius' lap.
She had her arms wrapped around his neck and appeared to be whispering something in his ear. Remus couldn't see Sirius' face not with the girl's thick, blonde hair blocking his view and honestly he didn't think he could've handled it if he could.
Turning away Remus instead locked eyes with someone else in the Great Hall.
His brother sat at the Ravenclaw table with two boys talking animatedly in front of him but his eyes were trained on Remus.
The pity and disappointment that he saw in his brother's blue eyes were almost more than he could handle and he turned and fled the Great Hall.
Making his way to the very back of the library past the groups of studying Ravenclaws and the couple of Hufflepuffs whispering frantically to each other, Remus dove in between a dark alcove. Sliding down the wall as he finally, finally let his tears fall.
He was stupid. An absolute idiot.
Why else would he think that Sirius actually liked him? Actually wanted to be with him?
Sobbing Remus bite down on his knee as he tried to quiet himself. He had been stupid.
But he wasn't a stupid person. He'd take Romulus' advice. He'd end things with Sirius immediately.
Sure the boy was fun, and energetic, and loved to play his games and that was something Remus would always like about him but Sirius didn't get to play with Remus' feelings.
How'd you like this chapter? Did you think the reactions were believable?
I had to keep re-writing it cause the first scene either ended up being too much or not enough and I couldn't get it across how I was seeing it in my mind.
Lemme know what you think, hope you didn't find it too rapey (although if you don't understand what that means that's perfectly fine seeing as how I completely made that word up).
Thanks for all your reviews (I should've replied to everyone), follows, and favourites. I really do appreciate everyone taking the time out to read my fanfic. STILL BEAMING!