A/N: I wasn't sure what to write after chapter 5 for the longest time, so I went to the HP Challenge Forum for help. I came out with a few new friends and a little bit of inspiration. . .
This chapter is dedicated to myrrhmonkey96, who provided me with the following 5 prompts with which to write this chapter:
59- 10 reasons to skip bathing for a week
129- "For a long time after that winter..."
39- a culture of solitude; faithful blue sky; where we still discover (a three-for-one prompt :-P )
68- 8 reasons for a man to lie
73- "Please don't squeeze the..."
To make it easy to find where I incorporated the prompts, I will use parenthesis around the number of the prompt after each one is used within the story. For the prompts that give a number of reasons, I will reference each reason with the prompt number and reason number. The prompts will be referenced again at the end of the chapter as well. Hopefully this won't cause any confusion. Anyways, onwards to chapter 6!
Shining Star
Chapter 6: Hope Springs Eternal
For a long time after that winter (129) night, Remus found himself thinking of Sirius more and more. He could not help but steal longing glances at him, and smile back whenever Sirius caught him looking. However, still too inhibited to make a move, nothing happened between the two Marauders for several weeks until one fateful day when there was a problem with the plumbing at Hogwarts, which left the entire school without running water for a week (59-1).
It was an unusually warm spring day in the middle of March, and the Marauders were lounging around in their Gryffindor dorm room after a very long and hot day of school. A small desktop fan that sat upon Peter's desk sent a slight breeze across the room, which was essentially like an oven even with the windows open.
"Ahh. . .it's so, so damn hot and on top of that, we can't take a shower because there's no running water!" James complained to his friends as he sprayed on deodorant for probably the fourth time that day (59-3).
"I do hope they get it fixed soon," Peter groaned. "Especially with this heat, my word!"
Remus sighed and applied a spritz of cologne (59-4) to the inside of his wrists, even though he knew it was somewhat futile. No amount of deodorant or scent could truly mask the humid, musty scent of perspiration that was all over the school these days (59-2). He then turned to steal a glance at Sirius, who was standing by the window. His spikey raven locks were soaked with sweat and he had his shirt unbuttoned, his bare torso exposed (59-5). Remus blushed slightly at the sight, but it was hard to tell since his face was already quite flushed from the heat.
"Hmm? What's up, Moony?"
"Huh? Oh, uh. . .n-nothing!" Remus stammered (68-6) and quickly turned away. James looked from Sirius to Remus curiously, then back to the floor, seemingly deep in thought.
"Hey, you all know what. . ."
The other three boys turned their attention to James, who seemed as if he was about to make an important announcement.
"I've got an idea (59-10). I'll need to sort some things out first, but can you all meet me tomorrow after class in front of the Great Hall and I'll explain everything then?"
"What is it, Prongs?"
"Oh, it's something good. . .I'm sure you all will like it," James winked at his friends. "I just need to get some details sorted out first.
The next day, Peter, Sirius and Remus gathered in front of the Great Hall, curiously awaiting what James had in store for them. It was as hot a day as before, so they were all hoping it was going to be something that could help them beat the heat.
"Maybe a trip to Hogsmeade? For ice cream?" Peter suggested to Sirius and Remus as they stood around waiting.
"Naw. . .it's gotta be something bigger than that, the way he was talking earlier," Sirius replied in his usual aloof tone.
"We're going somewhere, that's for sure," Remus added as he stole another discrete glance in Sirius's direction.
'Out of all of us. . .Sirius. . .he really has this 'culture of solitude' (39-1) thing down pat,' Remus thought as he recalled how the raven-haired boy acted so cool and aloof with almost everyone outside of their little group. 'It really makes him all the more mysterious and alluring. . .'
"Hey, Prongs is here!" Peter called.
"Hey guys," James spoke enthusiastically, a wide grin on his face. "Hope you all got your brooms handy, we're headed to Port Hope!" (59-6)
"Port Hope?" Sirius asked. "Where's that?"
"A small wizarding village about thirty-five kilometers from here," James replied. "I can't wait to show you all what I have in store for you there!"
Without another word, the four boys got out their brooms and headed off from the top of the Astronomy Tower, with James in the lead. They darted across the faithful blue sky (39-2) like four tiny swallows with the wind at their tails.
Upon arrival at Port Hope, James led the other three boys through town. It was a charming little place with numerous specialty magical antique shops selling charms, trinkets and potions that you could not find anywhere else.
"Ughh. . .I must smell like a sweaty pig," Peter grumbled as he looked sheepishly around at the townspeople as the group passed by.
"You're fine, Peter. . .really (68-1)," Remus reassured him.
"Here it is, everyone." James stopped in front of a large wooden archway. "Welcome to Hope Springs!"
"Wow. . .you brought us to a hot spring?" Remus said, visibly impressed.
"Reservation for Savander, party of four," James stated confidently to the man behind the counter (68-2, 68-7).
"Right this way."
The man led them down a hallway to their room - a luxury suite for four. Everyone gasped as they took in their surroundings. . .two king-sized beds with sheets white as a dove's wings, a kitchenette complete with a small cauldron and a spice rack, and a spacious bathroom with a mosaic tiled floor and fresh flowers on the counter. The boys then went to explore the adjacent room, where they were still to discover (39-3) a living room with a wide screen LCD television, two large sofas and best of all, a pair of sliding glass patio doors leading to the private hot springs area outside.
"Well, we're here, and you can probably guess what we came here for," James announced, grinning widely.
"This is the most terrific idea you've had, James!" exclaimed Peter. "Come, everyone! Let's take a bath together!"
'A bath together. . .with everyone?' Remus mused. He blushed at the thought of Sirius and him being in a bath naked together (59-7).
James and Peter did not hesitate to strip off their clothes and head into the hot spring. Sirius and Remus took their time undressing, as if unsure of what to make of the situation (59-8, 59-9).
"Hurry up you two!" Peter called to them impatiently.
"No need to be shy, we're all gentlemen here!" James chuckled.
Remus finished undressing and tiptoed to the edge of the water. He slid one foot in, and then another. Finally, he waded in, and sat down opposite of James and Peter. Sirius entered last, and sat down in the water next to Remus.
'This is such a good chance for me to make a move! But what can I do? Maybe I can hold his hand under the water and hope that James and Peter won't notice?'
Remus hesitated before attempting to reach for Sirius's hand under the water while chatting with the other Marauders. However, instead of finding Sirius's hand, he ended up sliding his hand along the raven-haired boy's thigh.
"Huh? Moony, was that you?"
"What was?" (68-5)
"Oh. Must've been a fish then." (68-4)
"A fish? In this near-boiling water?"
'Phew. . .that was a close one.' Remus sighed heavily. 'I guess I really don't know what I can do even if this is a good situation for me to get closer to him. . .'
Noticing Remus's forlorn look, James pulled Sirius aside and whispered something to him. Sirius smiled and nodded at whatever he said, leaving Remus and Peter wondering about what James was plotting.
"Hey, what are you two whispering about without us?" Peter pouted.
"Oh, it's nothing important, Wormtail," Sirius replied coolly (68-8).
The Marauders continued sitting in the hot spring together chatting for about an hour until finally, James decided he was hungry and that it was time for him and Peter to hit the buffet. . .
"Wormtail, you're hungry, aren't you? Come on, let's eat! I'll show you where the buffet is!"
"W-wait up, Prongs!"
. . .which left Sirius and Remus alone in the spring together. Remus was thinking of following James and Peter, so he stepped out of the water and put on one of the crisp, white bathrobes that were provided in the room. Just as he was sitting on the bed drying his hair however, Sirius came up from behind him and softly grabbed Remus's arm.
"Padfoot? What are you doing?" Remus inquired as Sirius leaned in close and gracefully pushed Remus onto the bed.
"Sshh. . .just relax, and don't move."
Sirius gently rolled Remus onto his stomach while removing his bathrobe. He then began lightly massaging Remus's shoulders and back while the copper-haired boy lay on the bed, speechless.
"Y-you're really good at that. . ."
"Hnn."
Sirius nimbly, yet deliberately worked his way down Remus's back and sides, his arms and legs, and then down his back again. His touch delicate, but firm, Sirius was able to pinpoint all of Remus's sensitive spots and work them up, much to Remus's most sincere contentment. Remus could not help but shiver slightly when Sirius worked on his hips or inner thigh. It was the most wonderful, sensual full body massage that Remus could have ever imagined.
"Ah! Please don't squeeze there so hard!" (73)
"Oh, sorry, did I hurt you?"
"Oh no, not at all. . .you've been so gentle this whole time and it's felt so fantastic, and I have no idea if I can do this for you in return. . ." Remus trailed off.
"Don't worry about it," Sirius whispered as he continued kneading.
The two whispered to each other as Sirius worked, until they heard a knock on the door. Remus quickly put his bathrobe back on before James and Peter walked in, raving about how amazing the buffet dinner was.
'It couldn't have been half as amazing as Sirius's massage,' thought Remus. 'Wait. . .this must have been what James had been whispering to him earlier. . .which means. . .one or both of them might already know of my feelings?'
"Padfoot," James addressed his friend and winked. "Can I borrow Remus for a bit? The buffet's just down the hall, it's really good!"
"Sure," Sirius replied nonchalantly before heading out the door.
"James, I need to speak with you. . ."
". . .about Padfoot's surprise birthday party that we're planning next month, right?" (68-3) James cut Remus off.
"Well, there's that, but if I may speak with you in private. . ." Remus began.
"We need to quickly discuss some details about the surprise party while Padfoot is absent and we cannot give him any reason to be suspicious of the three of us," James stated sternly.
Remus sighed and let James continue the discussion of the surprise birthday party that the three of them had been planning out since January. They were to wake up Sirius on his birthday morning with a large home-baked cake, go out and spend the day in Hogsmeade, then have dinner at a fancy restaurant together before heading back to Hogwarts. James had an exciting line-up of activities planned out for them that day and Remus was honestly looking forward to it as much as James and Peter, but currently, he was feeling rather edgy now that he realized the possibility of James and Sirius knowing about his feelings. Suddenly, it seemed of utmost urgency that he should figure out exactly how much each of his friends really knew.
"Anyways. . .our plan begins at midnight on the day. Any questions?" James asked. Remus and Peter both shook their heads. "Alright. Moony, you go have dinner now. . .the food's fabulous. Wormtail and I are going to go out and explore the town a little bit. You and Padfoot are free to join us after you've done eating."
Remus nodded and was about to head out the door when James pulled him aside and whispered,
"Meet me in front of the archway at 10pm. We can talk then."
A/N: Ahaha! This chapter was a lot of fun to write. Next chapter, we learn just how much James knows about Remus's situation!
Guide to the prompts
59: 10 reasons not to bathe for a week
1. We can't! There's no running water!
2. It's the new norm anyway, since nobody can bathe now
3. Puts deodorant to good use
4. Puts cologne to good use
5. Perspiration can be sexy (especially if it involves sexy boys xP)
6. Gives the Marauders a reason to sneak out again
7. Gives Remus a chance to bathe with Sirius
8. Remus is hot-in more ways than one ;)
9. Sirius is hot too
10. Heck, James's idea to go to the hot springs? Too good!
129: if you haven't noticed, was used in the first sentence of the first paragraph to begin the story.
39-1: a culture of solitude (Remus's description of Sirius in paragraph 17)
39-2: faithful blue sky (paragraph 22)
39-3: where we still discover (changed to "where they were still to discover" since I'm not writing in first person-located in paragraph 30)
68: 8 reasons for a man to lie
1. To avoid hurting someone's feelings
2. To get into a place you normally can't
3. For a surprise party, it's perfectly legitimate
4. To be sarcastic
5. When you did something you shouldn't
6. To hide something
7. To hide an identity
8. You want to please someone
73: "Please don't squeeze the. . ." (appears in paragraph 58 while Sirius is giving Remus a massage)