CHAPTER 4

Sorry for all the trouble with the poll, I never could figure out what was wrong with it, but I was able to talk to a few readers in private and have decided what to do. Thanks to anyone who went looking for it, even if you couldn't find it.

Also, while constructive criticism is helpful, I also greatly appreciate comments that just tell me whether you're enjoying it. I love to know how my writing makes people feel and whether you're looking forward to the next installment. It's great motivation for me, and that's what has been driving my quick updates.

I have also enjoyed some of the guesses that people have made regarding what will happen next. It's really super feed back for me!

So as always, thank you thank you thank you to my readers and especially to my reviewers!

Now, on with the story!

WARNINGS: Adult language and mildly adult situations.

Sirius was startled awake the next morning by the booming of church bells that shook his walls. Rubbing his head he looked over to find Remus' bed empty and made. He was disappointed. He had been planning to try and get a look at his tattoos that morning while he was still sleeping.

"You look like shit." James said as Sirius half sat, half fell into the pew next to him.

"Ugh. Didn't get my shower this morning…" He said gruffly.

Just as he'd been going into the bathroom he heard a pounding on his door and a shout that mass was starting in ten minutes. James just laughed at him before looking down at his sports mag, not caring that the priest was starting to call the service into order. Sirius considered bowing his head in "prayer" to get a few more minutes of sleep, but then he caught sight of Remus. He was sitting five or six rows ahead of him next to a man that Sirius guessed was a staff member or teacher. It was hard to get a good look at more than the back of his head, but he had wavy hair that was long enough to be tied back neatly and was sprinkled with a few graying strands. Sirius sat up straight as he finally saw the man turn his head, glad that he'd get a look at his profile, then he frowned as he watched the man lean in close to Remus, his forehead actually brushing against Lupin's soft looking curls to say something quietly into his ear. In profile he saw that the man was probably in his early 40s, a neat line of hair running along his jaw line and a very straight bridged nose that seemed to start between his brows. He was not the type Sirius found attractive, but was the definition of masculine, which he knew some people preferred. Sirius was shocked to see that Remus simply nodded sedately before they both turned back to the priest.

Sirius nudged James with his elbow and leaned close to him, asking in a whisper.

"Who's that bloke with Remus?" He asked, suddenly not feeling as tired.

"Huh?" James murmured, looking up and glancing around for a second until he saw them, then looked uncaringly back down at his magazine. "Oh, s'just Greyback. He's a teacher."

"Well I figured that. They seem close though. What's that about?" he pressed.

"I don't know?" James said incredulously, obviously not wanting to be interrupted from his magazine.

"They're close because he's the archery instructor." Said Peter, who Sirius had not seen come up to sit on his other side.

"Is that it?" Sirius asked.

"Well I think that Lupin also does therapy with him. It's why he's not usually at dinner." Peter said, obviously more interested in gossip than James was.

"Isn't it kinda weird though? That Remus seems fine with being around him and chatting it up with him, but wont have anything to do with any of the other students?" Sirius asked, ducking his head a little as one of the teachers shot him a glare for talking.

"I guess it kind of is…" Peter whispered after a second. "Greyback's a really cool guy though. All the students like him because he lets us get away with just about anything. Sometimes he even cancels his class all together just so we can go out when the weather's really nice" He seemed fond of him as well. "Honestly, I think they've always been close."

After another glare from several teachers, they both decided to save their conversation for later, though Sirius wasn't listening to the sermon at all, too focused on watching Remus and Greyback for the rest of the service. Mostly they sat still, seeming interested in what the priest had to say, though toward the end of the service Sirius saw Remus jump visibly in his seat and look over at Greyback who turned to him, smiling a little. He said something that made Remus sit up more rigidly, something that Sirius recognized as being his way of showing frustration, though Greyback seemed to just chuckle to himself.

When service was over Sirius pushed himself through the crowd, trying to catch up with Remus and Greyback, his gut telling him that their relationship was an important piece to his puzzle. When the crowd finally started to thin out, however, he realized he had lost track of them.

"Sirius!" Peter was panting as he caught up with him. "What was that about?"

Sirius opened his mouth to reply as James sauntered his way over to them, but realized he wasn't really sure what he'd been planning to do, so he just shook his head.

"Forget about it." he said dismissively. "We should go to the pitch." He suggested instead.

This got James' attention, making him grin happily, even while Peter huffed at them both

"I'll meet you guys later then. I don't feel like sitting around in the grass all day." He said as he waved his hand dismissively at them before walking off. .

James and Sirius started casually toward the locker rooms, James rambling along the way.

"Slughorn has this stupid rule, that students who want to participate can't be turned down. I think he's afraid that the let down will tip some of them over the edge or something. It's a load of crap if you ask me, and if we keep on like this, I'll never be able to make a team that's worth shi-. Oh! Hey Mr. Greyback."

Sirius felt his stomach lurch a little and looked up in time to see Greyback and Remus coming out of the locker rooms. His eyes passed Greyback and went straight to Remus who had just caught sight of him as well. Their eyes locked for a second and Sirius could see the light behind them waver a little before he cast them toward the floor, turning his head away from him. Sirius was shocked to see such a passive reaction from him and his eyes moved back to the teacher just as he shifted his eyes from James, who he'd been greeting, over to Sirius.

"You must be new." Greyback said quietly, his voice having a slight gravel to it, as he extended his hand toward Sirius. "The name's Fenrir Greyback."

Sirius took his hand and shook it briefly. His hand was warm and a little sweaty feeling and Sirius could feel calluses, probably from archery, he guessed.

"Sirius Black." He answered coolly, not feeling very taken in by his personable attitude. Instead he looked back at Remus, who was still standing silently, eyes fixed on a tile somewhere further down the hall.

"Yes, I think I saw you on my new roster." Fenrir said as he shifted his weight, successfully blocking Remus from Sirius' line of sight, though it was such a casual move that it was hard to tell if it had been intentional. "I look forward to seeing you in class."

Without another word he casually glanced over at Remus who immediately came back to his senses and followed him obediently down the hall. Sirius watched them until they disappeared around a corner, ignoring James' insistence that they get going. Something didn't seem right about those two.

"I have to go." He suddenly blurted out, leaving James staring as he ran down the hall.

Realizing that he wasn't going to be able to find them in such a big building, he decided to handle the situation in a round-about way, instead going to find Slughorn.

Remus was at his desk when Sirius came in later that night. He seemed to be focused on what he was doing and didn't bother to spare him even a glance. Sirius took his time coming in. He put his things away and quietly changed into some sweatpants to sleep in, then went over and perched himself on the corner of Lupin's desk. He'd purposefully left his shirt off, enjoying the way it had made Remus squirm the night before. He saw Remus grow still where he was, though he refused to look up at him.

"Greyback seems nice." Sirius said casually, as though they had already been holding a conversation about it.

Remus stayed silent.

"The other boys seem pretty taken by him as well." He looked down at Remus, giving him a moment to answer but only getting silence. "You seem close with him."

"Get off my desk." Remus replied quietly but sternly.

"I thought Jona had been your last friend. You didn't tell me you were pals with a teacher." Sirius watched as Lupin's frame tightened.

"He's not my friend." He said evenly. "He's my therapist and my coach."

"Ah." Sirius said thoughtfully, nodding theatrically as he did so, his hand coming up to scratch his flat stomach, trying not to grin when he saw gold eyes flick toward the movement. "Well I was hoping to get your opinion of him since he's going to be my coach as well."

"What?" Remus suddenly spoke up, his eyes finally flying up to meet his.

"Well yeah. I just spoke with Mr. Slughorn. He okayed me to join the archery club. Greyback is in charge of that one, isn't he?"

"No!" Remus said as he stood, his hands slamming down on his desk. "I refuse to let you join that club! You're only doing it to make me angry! I wont allow it!"

"Won't allow?" Sirius asked, a triumphant smile splitting his face as it did when he was knee deep in mischief. "I don't remember you having the authority to decide who does and does not get to join clubs."

Remus seemed to come to his senses a little and jerked away from Sirius to put a bit of distance between them, as though he suddenly remembered what happened the night before

"What's wrong, Remus? Do I scare you? I thought you were the on who was supposed to be scary." He said, pushing himself off the desk to take a step toward him.

"You're not frightening at all. You're irritating, and I don't want you there breaking my concentration just so you can amuse yourself with your stupid, sick games." Remus said, regaining his level tone.

"Is that what you're worried about? Hm. For a moment I thought you were upset that I'd be interrupting your dates with Fenrir." Sirius used the teacher's first name, imagining Remus using it in private.

Lupin's face blanched and Sirius thought for a moment that he might faint. His eyes had gotten huge, and Sirius pretended he could actually see the palpitations of his heart through his chest and shirt. He had that cornered animal look again and Sirius knew that he was going to try to bolt.

"I really don't want your running off every night to become habit. Why don't you just relax and talk to me about it?" Sirius said, his tone gentler, knowing that he'd hit the nail on the head.

"How dare you…" Remus' voice finally came quietly. "How dare you pretend like you know everything." He was edging his way around the perimeter of the room as he spoke, trying to get a clear shot at the door, though Sirius made sure to keep his body in the way. "If you want me to talk, then fine." his voice was shaking along with the rest of his body, still inching along. "I killed Jona. And if you don't start keeping your nose out of my fucking business you're going to be next. And I have a feeling it'll be a messier death this time."

A grin split Sirius' face, his hands held out a little, as though preparing to catch him. He could feel his heart racing, feeling like he was approaching a wild animal that he might have to wrangle in if things went wrong.

"I don't believe you." He said, his voice quiet as well. "You're not a very convincing murderer."

"And you're stupid for not believing me. Don't you know that stupid people always die first?"

Thinking that he'd finally gotten close enough to the door he lunged for it, though Sirius caught hold of his wrists as his hands closed over the knob and wrenched them away with a cry of rage from Remus.

"So is it an affair?" Sirius asked, unable to stop his bark of laughter as Remus struggled against him. "Are you sleeping with him?

"Shut up! Let go of me!" Remus continued to struggle, though Sirius was clearly stronger than he was.

"I know that you like men! I can tell by the way you stare at me when I'm undressing!" Sirius laughed as he pushed Remus up against the door with his own body, leaving them touching from shoulder to knee. "Don't be so ashamed of it, I know what it's like to crave another man's body." He said in a low, lusty tone, his hips rolling forward against Lupin's body.

"Stop it!" Remus screamed at him so loudly that his voice cracked and in the split second, while Sirius began to rethink his actions, Lupin slipped a knee between his legs and had Sirius on the floor trying not to vomit a few seconds later.

Sirius curled himself up on the floor gasping for air, coughing and trying not to vomit all at once, unable to say or do anything as Remus ran from the room. He had really not wanted that to happen three nights in a row, and he told himself, between his heaves, that he'd this had not been the best approach after all. After dragging himself to the bathroom to be sick he finally managed to stand and carefully made his way back to his bed. He still felt sick from the pain that radiated up from his groin into his stomach and chest. That really had been a stupid idea.

The pain distracted him enough that thoughts of Remus and Greyback and dull brown eyes didn't keep him awake, and he was out cold within minutes.

Sirius found himself in his brother's funeral chapel again, the stained glass windows seeming to loom in all around him, leaning over him and judging him with their flashes of color. He walked toward the casket, like he always did, but this time found it empty. The casket had never been empty before and he reached out to touch the soft white lining, pretending that he could still feel warmth from where his brother had been, the way that warmth lingered in a bed even after its' been vacated.

Before Sirius could wrap his brain around what was happening he felt cold hands encircle his arms and legs. He screamed and struggled as the disembodied hands forced him down into the casket and then he felt long, thin fingers wrap around his neck. His parents were standing over him, one on each side of the casket, and above his head was the female figure all draped in white, her hands slowly choking him. He struggled, reaching for his parents for help, though they only stood by, the black holes that Sirius knew were once their eyes, trained on his face. Slowly they began to lean over the casket, their mouths opening into giant, gaping maws and Sirius, in horror, watched as thick, wet, black soil began to trickle from their mouths. Slowly the flow increased until it was coming from them in lumpy columns, the weight of it piling on Sirius' stomach and hips as they slowly began burying him.

Sirius' eyes flew open, greeted by the familiar feel of sweat and goosebumps and shaking, but immediately he realized that it had been more than a dream. He still gasped for breath and he still felt the weight of the soil on him. As his eyes finally focused he saw Remus, sitting across his stomach, long, thin fingers wrapped tight around his throat.

TBC…

Sorry for the shorter length of this chapter. My next update may take me a bit longer, as I need to sit down and plan out what I'll be doing for the next few chapters. I don't want to get ahead of myself and end up writing myself into a corner. But I'll try to not take more than two or three days.

You can have this cliff hanger while you wait! Because I'm an evil author!