Disclaimer: No, I wish I was her, I wish I had all the money she's gotten from these characters, but I'm not, and I don't.
A/N: Last chapter, are you all still with me? Not actually the last chapter, just the last one I'm posting for a few days. I only have 7-8 more, and if I can do those tomorrow...today, then I'll post them, and we'll be done. Kinda, I think I'm going to leave it on a note where you're all be like...MORE!
Chapter 30
December 1978
My head was crooked to the right, as my eyes continually blinked at the thing in front of me. Sirius was standing to my left, and his head was leaning in the other direction. I couldn't tell if he was just staring wide-eyed at the object, or blinking like I was. We were both dressed in black dress robes as we waited for the gallery to open, and Remus' work be displayed. We had checked out several of his pictures already, most of them amazingly beautiful. The one in front of us was not. It seemed to have been divided in two with a diagonal angle, one triangle was painted blue and the other green. Overlapping the two triangles was a large red square.
"So what do you think?" Remus asked happily as he came to stand beside his picture. I lifted my head into an up right position, before rubbing the back of my neck. I wasn't sure how long I had stared at the painting, but it was longer than my head enjoyed being in the position.
"Um, baby," I said cautiously, glad that only the other two artists being displayed that night and their groups were at the gallery. They were in a different section, so for the time I was allowed to call him such names. "What is it?"
"What do you mean, what is it?" Remus asked with a laugh. "I told you," he said as he pointed to the white card hanging on the wall next to his painting. "It's a red square on a blue and green canvas." I made a jerky motion of understanding, that only served in increasing the confused look on his face.
"Yes, but baby can you explain why you put this piece into your show?" I asked, not really knowing what else to say. When I called it a piece I wasn't positive if I was asking about a piece of art or a piece of shit. It looked like something a child had done at free time. I didn't want to hurt him, but it really sucked. It was no where near his greatest of pieces, though I still believed I wore that around my neck.
"Love," Sirius said gaining our attention. "I love you, and think you are an amazing artist, but this." He gestured wildly at the picture. "I mean, my god, I could do that, and we've seen my skills in the art department." I closed my eyes, and grimaced at Sirius' lack of tact. When I opened my eyes, Remus' look of confusion had been replaced with outrage, and he glared daggers into our lover. He turned to me practically ordering me with his look alone to defend him, I visibly shrunk away trying to not get myself into this shit pile.
"Fuck you," he spat as he walked to where the gallery director was calling for him. Sirius turned to me, and I glared at him, hoping that my expression made it obvious how not happy I was with him. I hadn't even gotten an answer to my question.
We looked at more and more pieces, some of them Remus', some of them the other two artists. The gallery was in a loft space, with the second floor being a place for other pieces as well as the offices. Remus' things were all set up in the front of the ground floor, so that they were the first things patrons saw when they walked in. An artist that was more into sculptures than painting had taken control of the second floor, so that the patrons saw paintings as they wound through the first floor. I thought Remus' were by far the better, but I also had a feeling this was my biased opinion roaring it's ugly head.
An hour or so into the party, Lily arrived. Remus had given her an invitation a while ago, it had to have been a week or two before the engagement, because Lily hadn't come over since that night. I think it hurt Sirius that this fact made him happy, he had started to really enjoy Lily's company, but he couldn't when he was afraid that he was going to be loosing me. Sirius and I were wandering through the gallery on our way back to Remus' section, sometimes he would join us to observe the other two artists' work, but he stayed mainly with his own. This way when patrons had a question they could ask him directly.
"Remus," Lily gushed, "this piece is amazing. I love the way you show that the green and the blue could look just fine together, but when you add the red it gives it a whole knew dimension. You can almost see that the blue and red could also look good alone, as could the green and red. It's almost symbolic in a way." Sirius and I shared a look that showed we were questioning the woman's sanity, though when I thought on it, she seemed to be making a point.
The blue, green, and red could all be beautiful individually, that was shown all over the world. The red of blood, the green of grass, the blue of the sky, neither needing anything else to add to it, but when given it increased the beauty. Blue waters running through green meadows filled many fantasies,
red streaks staining a blue sky showed that it would soon be night, and red roses with green stems were regarded as one of the most romantic gestures when given to someone you loved.
It was symbolic, but in a way that only those that knew our secret would catch. Sirius was going to go places, and he didn't need me to take him there. If the shine in the patrons' faces as they looked at Remus work was indication, he too had a bright future to look forward to. Fletch, even though he was a beater, said that it wouldn't be long before the rest of the world saw that I was as good as the rest of my team. We were great on our own, but when we were together we were unstoppable.
"I've thought about your painting a little bit more love," Sirius said when we were in a circle that allowed only Remus, Lily, and I to hear what he was saying. "I think this is your most beautiful piece, because unlike the others with a clear scene that we are supposed to read from, this one has a hidden meaning that you have to think about."
"You're only saying that because you heard what I was saying," Lily argued with a teasing smile. Sirius laughed at having being caught, and though Lily seemed to shine under the warmth Sirius showed her, I knew something was still off. I looked up at Remus who had looked over at me, and knew that he had seen it too. Soon we were going to need to sit down and talk about our plan, or Sirius was going to go insane with the pain.
The three of us had waited an hour after the showing had ended, Remus having needed to talk with the directors. It had been a hit for him, that was for sure, and he had a proud strut in his walk when he came back from talking to the director. I figured it was because he felt like he was finally going to be able to contribute in taking care of the home we three shared. I had heard him and Sirius talking a few nights before about feeling like they were never giving enough to me, when I gave them everything. I kept a roof over our heads, I kept food on our table, and I taught them how to love. I had shaken my head at their comments, they gave me everything they could, and what was more it was everything I wanted. They gave me them.
We were walking down the darkened street of Diagon Alley on our way to the proper appariation spot. One of my arms was looped around Sirius' shoulder, holding him tightly to me. The other was wrapped around Remus waist, holding him close as well. Both of their arms were slipped around my waist, and since I couldn't feel their hands on me, I figured they were grabbing onto each other. No one else was on the street, and so we reveled in the ability to technically be in public, and still enjoy each others embrace.
As we walked past an alley between two shops, Remus stopped dead, and the strength of our hold on each other brought Sirius and I to a halt as well. I was just about to ask Remus what was wrong, when he let go of me and held up a hand to stop me from speaking. His head twitched, in a way that reminded me of a dog's ear when he heard something that he found curious. The twitches in his eyebrows and lips kept up the image, and then as a low growl exited his throat, his hand snatched up his wand. Sirius and I wasted no time in following his lead, and were quite glad we did when four dark figures walked out of the alley.
"Remus, son, put that away." One of the voices ordered, and a chill ran down my spin when I realized I recognized it. Remus stepped away from us, towards Fenrir and his gang, and Fenrir mimicked the motion. The low growl that was echoing from Remus forced me and Sirius to take a step back, and the Death Eaters followed our lead. Remus and Fenrir faced each other, their wands pointed towards the other, and slowly they started to pace in a circle, their eyes never once leaving the other.
"I am not your son," Remus barked, and I knew right then I was going to see something I had only once read of. Fenrir had tried once before, if we didn't count the time he bit Remus, to assert dominance over Remus, and had failed. This time they would fight, and one would come out victorious, while the other lay dead, or nearly so.
I felt my breathe hitch, then speed up, and then hitch, as though my body had to remember how to keep a steady beat and it was failing in the simplest of tasks. Sirius and I had let go of each other, but our hands clasped together tightly as we watched our lover prepare for his battle. I heard words, softly muttered from Sirius, and had to focus on hearing what he was saying. I was surprised by the soft whispers that were coming from him. Lily went to church every Sunday, and Remus went when he felt like it, though he did read his Bible at least once a week. I went on holidays, never read my Bible, and only talked to the Big Man when I felt it necessary. Sirius, Sirius didn't go at all, he didn't own a Bible, and he never prayed. He was now, and that fact had me soon adding whispers to his soft mutters.
I don't know how long Fenrir and Remus stared at each other, pacing in their circle, before they were threw with it. Remus stopped, brandishing his wand and shouting out a hex, that Fenrir dodged as he shot his own jinx. Streaks of light filled the air between them as Latin words rose up from each of them. They would dodged, spin, twist, turn, ditch, duck, juke, parry, and sidestep each curse that was thrown. As Sirius and I's whispered pleads rose to the heavens, our eyes bounced back and forth between the warring werewolfs. Eventually Remus landed a perfectly executed "Expelliarmus," that sent Fenrir's wand flying against a sharp wall.
Fenrir didn't turn around so that he could find his weapon, but instead lunged at Remus and knocked his wand out of his hand. It rolled to where the Death Eaters were standing, and one of them stepped on it hard, making sure it was crushed. Remus' growl was back, and he grasped Fenrir, twisting their bodies so he could press the other man against the wall. With one hand pressing against the older werewolf's neck, effectively holding him in place, Remus curled the other into a fist and pounded it into Fenrir's face. Fenrir kicked and clawed at Remus, but the continual daze he was being pushed into with each punch made his attempts at escape futile at best. When Remus' arm tired of the constant string of collisions, he allowed Fenrir's dazed body to slip down the wall, and crumple to his side.
He was just about to land a nice kick into Fenrir's side, when the werewolf grabbed Remus' leg, and tripped him to fall onto his back. Fenrir scrambled to his knees, and straddled Remus, pinning his hips down as he grabbed his arms, and pinned them with one hand above Remus' head. With his free hand, Fenrir mimicked Remus' actions when he had his enemy pressed against the wall, and Sirius and I cringed as we listened the the constant collisions that pounded into our lover's face. Remus wiggled underneath the larger man, even as his face was jerked into the sidewalk over and over again. Eventually, miraculously, Remus loosened one of his arms from Fenrir's grasp, and punched his attacker in the face with an echoing snap. Fenrir was forced back, and Remus had enough time to pull out from under the dazed man, before he was attacked again.
They were both on their knees this time, and truly looked like the animals they were trying to mimic. Remus caught one of Fenrir's arm with his hands, and they fought for control of the limb as Fenrir tried to punch Remus in the gut, and Remus tried to keep that from happening. Fenrir's other arm was wrapped around Remus to hold him in place, as Remus' arm looped around Fenrir's shoulder to do the same thing. With their arms currently out of commission, they used their heads. Fenrir tried to get close enough to sink his teeth into Remus' neck, and Remus used his to block each attack. A loud smack echoed after each collision of the sides of their heads. Eventually though, Fenrir was able to move faster than Remus, and sunk his teeth into his mark. Remus cried out at the sharp teeth, and Fenrir shook his head against the soft flesh, increasing the tear. Remus went slack against his attacker, and Fenrir raised as the dominate. With an evil smirk underneath a matching glint in his eyes, Fenrir lead his goons away from the scene.
"No God, God no," Sirius whispers grew into a shout as he raced towards our lover. Fenrir had been in his human form, it wasn't possible for there to be that much blood. The large gash in our lover's throat said that my thought was wrong, and quickly were pulled him into our arms, racing to the appariation spot. As soon as it was allowed, we appareated to St. Mungos. As I cradled Remus to me, his blood soaking my shirt, Sirius ran for help. "Please," he said when he found a mediwitch, a Healer, and a receptionist speaking with each other. "Please, he's been attacked by Fenrir Greyback."
The name shook the medics out of their conversation, and they turned to see me holding the light body. The mediwitch grabbed a gurney that was resting in the hall, as the Healer raced over to where I was holding my bleeding lover. When the mediwitch, and another one that had heard Sirius' claim, dragged the gurney to the Healer, he took Remus out of my arms. They laid my pup onto the stretcher, and started to race him down the hall, the mediwitches controlling the carts' direction as the Healer tried to stop the bleeding. I tried to go with them, as did Sirius, but two other mediwitches held us back. When we submitted to the not truly spoken order to stay back, we grabbed each other into a hug, our tears of fear falling down our face.
A mediwitch came and asked us if there was anybody we should call, family members that might know his medical history. I had to bit back my retort that I was the family that knew his medical history, instead I grabbed the forms from the mediwitch and started filling them out. Sirius walked around for a bit as I filled out the papers. When he came back, he had two cups of coffee in his hands, and Lily and Dumbledore on his heels. I had just handed the forms back, and Lily pulled me into a comforting embrace. As she pulled away she noticed that my stained shirt had leaked onto her, and performed one of the most powerful cleaning spell on them. It worked well on hers, but still Remus' blood clang to me.
This was not supposed to happen, he had just made so much money from doing what he loved to do. This night was supposed to be about him finding his place in this world, his life being celebrated by people that might not even care if they found out about his condition. He wasn't supposed to run into the man that had the starring role in the darkest moment of his past, the one that had caused him to need to fear fighting for the things that he wanted. He had been so close to winning that fight, so close to showing Greyback who was in charge of his life. He was not supposed to have ended up in the hospital, with his jugular nearly ripped out by a man that had been at that moment a human.
A/N: So, what you thinking? I'll try and get at least two chapters done tomorrow, today, and then I'll post them after class. Only 7-8 chapters left, and then it's all over.