Chapter 16 – Not your battle

Remus sat at the gryffindor table, yawning. He'd spend most of Sunday sleeping, but he still was a bit tired.

The cut on his cheek was almost gone, there was only a thin scratch left. Sirius had insisted on healing it even though Remus had assured him that he could do it himself. Remus had finally given in, just to stop Sirius' nagging. "I'm not nagging, I just want to help" Sirius had said.

"What's wrong with you, Padfoot?" James said with raised eyebrows, "Usually you're like this:" James imitated one of Sirius' deathly glares "Monday morning, like you're going to kill someone if they ask you to pass the butter, but today you've got that smug look" James finished indicating Sirius' face with the butter knife he was holding.

Sirius shot James one of said glances, then the smug look returned. Sirius reached for a bun. He parted it and held the lower part out for Remus to take.

Neither James nor Peter noticed this, but Remus looked intensely at Sirius before taking the half bun.

Sirius knew that that half was Remus' favourite, but usually Sirius just ate it himself. Remus had asked Sirius for that part, one time in about 4th year and told him that it was his favourite, but he hadn't expected Sirius to remember.

The look on Sirius' face was beyond smug.

xXxXxXxXx

Remus had gone back to the transfiguration classroom for a book he'd forgotten.

He was half running. It was just before lunch and he was eager to join the others in the great hall.

He'd discovered that his book was missing when he, Peter and James had been heading for lunch. Sirius had went to the bathroom right before. James had half-heartedly offered to go back for the book with Remus, but it was clear that he was hungry so Remus had declined his offer.

Remus reached the classroom and opened the door. He had only just closed the door behind him when he heard a voice that made him stop.

"Don't move" it was Snape and his gang, all six this time. Snape was pointing his wand at Remus.

"Nice chat we had Saturday," Mulcriber said sweetly.

Remus didn't move a muscle. Why did he always meet these kinds of persons when he was on his own? The answer came at once.

"Interesting book 'Magical hieroglyphs and logograms'" Bellatrix Black said in a mocking voice, she was holding the book Remus had went back for, flipping the pages in a way that made Remus want to launch for the book immediately, to protect it from harm.

Bellatrix was Sirius' cousin, but the two of them had never gotten along. On the other hand, Sirius never got along with any of his family-members. Bellatrix was one of the best-looking girls at Hogwarts, unfortunately she was also one of the maddest.

"Please give it back" Remus said in a polite voice and reached his hand towards her.

Bellatrix lifted her eyebrows and looked at Remus with amusement. She started giggling, then she suddenly stopped and half-closed her heavily lidded eyes "I don't think so, Lupin" she said, drawling on the L.

"What do you want?" Remus asked, turning to look at Snape. This motion that indicated that Remus didn't focus on her, didn't please Bellatrix, she angrily threw the book at the floor and stamped in the floor.

Rodolphus put a hand on her arm, she looked as if she was going to hit him, but the look turned to joy when he whispered something inaudible in her ear.

Snape smiled an unpleasant smile "We just wanted to hear if your cheek is feeling better".

Remus was starting to get annoyed, he really wanted to get this over with "It's fine, how is your stomach?" he replied.

This question was apparently not to Snape's liking. It was clear that Snape had cast a spell and Remus instantly felt himself unable to speak, his tongue glued to the roof of his mouth.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake" Wilkes said, rolling his eyes, "Was that what you brought us here to do?"

Snape's cheeks turned faintly pink and he pointed his wand at Remus once more. Remus felt his nose break. He didn't flinch.

"Oooh trying to be tough, are we?" Avery said in an imitated scared voice.

As Snape moved his wand once more the door to the classroom opened.

The colour drained slightly from Snape's cheeks. Remus turned around and saw a very strict-looking McGonagall.

"What is going on here, if I may ask?" She said in a cold voice.

"Nothing, Ma'am" Bellatrix drawled.

"Miss Black, go to the headmasters' office and take your friends with you" McGonagall said, not looking at Bellatrix. "Now" she added in an icy voice.

As Bellatrix passed Remus she breathed him seductively in the ear "See you later".

When all the slytherins had gone McGonagall turned to Remus "What happened?" she demanded to know.

Remus gestured towards his mouth to explain that he couldn't talk.

McGonagall pulled out her wand, while, at least that's what it sounded like to Remus, she under her breath cursed slytherins.

Suddenly Remus' tongue was free to move again.

"Now, what happened?" McGonagall said, repeating her question.

"Oh, nothing" Remus said and bent down to retrieve his book "I just forgot my book in the classroom and Miss Black was so nice as to find it for me, professor" Remus didn't want to involve anyone in this. He hated telling on others even if they were unpleasant slytherins.

McGonagall eyed him suspiciously, but didn't pursue the subject any further. Instead she looked at Remus' nose. "Let me help you with that" she said tapping Remus' nose lightly with her wand.

"I think you ought to pay The Hospital Wing a visit, Mr Lupin" McGonagall said when Remus' nose had returned to normal.

"Thank you professor, but I'm fine" Remus said and hurried from the classroom.

xXxXxXxXx

"Where've you been?" Sirius asked, the moment Remus sat down at the table, concerned eying his face.

"I forgot my book" Remus said and held up the book "So I had to go back for it".

Sirius rolled his eyes "Of course you did" just as Remus thought that he'd dropped the subject Sirius leaned in "You do know that you've got blood all over your face, right?" he said in a secretive tone soaked in sarcasm.

"You look like shit, mate," James said helpfully before taking another bite of his sausage.

Remus unsuccessfully tried to wipe his face in his sleeve.

"Stop it, you're making it worse" Sirius said and grabbed a piece of paper "Move your arm" he said impatiently, Remus obediently lowered his arm and allowed Sirius to wipe the blood off.

"You'll tell me later" Sirius stated, rather than asked.

xXxXxXxXx

"Why wont you tell me what happened?" Sirius asked frustrated and got to his feet, from his crouched down position in front of Remus, who was sitting on a table.

Remus and Sirius were in an empty classroom. It was just after dinner and they were supposed to be working on their human transfiguration skills, not that any of them really needed to practice, but it had been their excuse to get away from James and Peter.

Remus' feet were dangling in the air and he was looking down when he answered: "Because if I tell you the first thing you'll do is run off and get into a fight".

"Remus, I'm not stupid, I know who did this to you. This is not your battle" Sirius said, forcing Remus to look at him "They're doing this to you, because of me" Sirius indicated the scratch on Remus' chin.

"Nothing happened, I'm allright," Remus said with a little smile.

"That time I was there," Sirius said while carefully stroking Remus' cheek "I have to do something if they keep picking on you,"

"Why do you need to do something?" Remus said, shifting slightly.

"You don't get it, do you?" Sirius said with a joyless laughter, then he stared intensely into Remus' eyes "They're trying to get to me through you. It's because of me they're hurting you".

Remus' mouth formed a silent 'oh'.

"Don't give in then. Ignore them, otherwise you'll just give them what they want" Remus said.

Sirius smiled brightly at him "I don't care, as long as I at the same occasion get to bruise them" then he, as a second thought, added "Badly".

Remus realised that this was an argument he could never win. He knew Sirius far too well to think that he could persuade him. Instead he wrapped his legs around Sirius' waist and whispered: "Be careful, then" before Sirius pulled him into a kiss.

When they pulled apart Sirius looked at Remus and said: "And now you're going to tell me exactly what happened".

In the last chapter I misspelled Wilkes' name as Wilkins O.O I'm sorry about that o.o

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