Recap:
Sirius and Remus pick up Harry and take him home. They have their first fight about trust, and both go home angry.
IN MY WORLD ALL WIZARDING SCHOOLS ARE CO-ED (How funny would Durmstrang girls be? Am I right?)
Sorry I've been lazy as of late…I am an awful human being I know… If you review I might be better? No? ...Okay
Disclaimer: I own nothing. For more detail, feel free to read disclaimer in Chapter 1.
September 10, 2009
"Lupin where the hell are you?" Sirius's angry voice was loud in the cavernous living room. "You can't just leave like that. Clearly that discussion wasn't over."
Remus stuck his head through an open doorway, an annoyed expression on his face. He rolled his eyes at Sirius. "Can you keep it down please? Harry is sleeping."
He disappeared back into the room and Sirius threw himself at the fluffy couch in the living room, facedown. He grumbled unintelligibly into the cushions melting into the furniture in exhaustion. Remus emerged from the room, wiping his hands on his jeans. He padded silently into the room, lighting the fire wordlessly in attempt to dispel the chill that lingered in the house. The loud woosh startled Sirius and he tensed before turning his head to face Remus. He sunk into one of the overstuffed armchairs, drawing his long legs under him, and crossing his arms over his chest defensively.
"So what exactly did you want to talk about?"
The fire cast an orange glow over the dark room. It caused shadows to stretch and mutate in the almost pitch black. The peculiar drafty cold of the room lingered with the silence that stretched uncomfortably between the two men. Sirius blinked owlishly, watching him through the thick curtain of his dark hair, while Remus stared into the dancing flames, eyes looking particularly hollow.
"What is it you aren't telling me?" Sirius's voice was soft, but it seemed monumental in the still room.
Remus shifted uncomfortably, drawing his knees up to his chin and leaning it on them. He seemed to be all angles and bones posed like this. He shivered slightly against the cold air, and seemed to be trying to dislodge Sirius's question. He drew in a deep breath, his bangs fluttering as he pushed it back out. His eyes slid closed and he buried his face in his knees, drawing his limbs in impossibly closer.
"That's a rather vague question Sirius."
Sirius huffed loudly.
"Stop avoiding the question. What is it you're hiding?"
Remus stood up soundlessly and left the room, drifting out of the light and into the shadows. Sirius strained his neck around to look for the man, but he seemed to have disappeared into the darkness.
"Remus?"
Sirius could hear the soft footfalls in the hallway. He heard cupboards rattling and the sound of a stove igniting. The sound of mugs clinking and a refrigerator opening and closing were deafening. A few moments later the rich smell of coffee filled the house and Remus could be heard padding back down the hallway. He wordlessly placed the mug on the coffee table in front of Sirius. He walked to the end of the couch and sunk out of view yet again. He rose a few seconds later with two thick, fluffy blankets in his hands. He threw one at Sirius and wrapped one around his thin shoulders. He clutched it tightly in his shaking hands, all the while attempting not to spill his mug of tea. He sat back down in the chair.
"You're going to have to be more specific, because there are a lot of things about me that you don't know."
Sirius shifted on the couch, moving into a sitting position. He left the blanket draped across him body and gathered the mug into his hands. It was hot, almost scaldingly so, but it helped dispel some of the numbness that had overtaken his body.
"Ok." Sirius paused for a moment in thought. "Where's a good place to start then?"
Remus seemed to consider this for a moment, drawing the blanket tighter around his shoulders and taking a long sip of his tea.
"Well. The beginning is usually a good place to you know… begin"
Sirius chuckled quietly.
"Yeah that makes sense."
A comfortable silence settled around the two men. The fire was beginning to burn a little lower in the hearth and Sirius cast a renewal charm on it, making the room a little bit brighter.
"So how far back do you want me to go exactly?" Remus asked slightly amused. "I assure you, although you know little of my birth its not really that consequential comparatively to the rest of the stories."
Sirius laughed.
"How bout we trade off?" he was thoughtfully staring into the flames. "A story for a story."
Remus smiled slightly.
"That sounds fair." He played absentmindedly with the mug. "Do you want me to go first?"
Sirius leaned back against the couch, watching the small man still curled in upon himself so securely. He nodded.
"Ok. Where to start…" he closed his eyes in concentration for moment. "Ah ok. I'll start with Lilly."
The fire crackled loudly, causing both men to jump slightly.
"Lilly and I met when we were maybe three. Her mother and mine were in a book club together, a rather muggle tradition you see. She was my first real friend, that is unless you count dogs, in which case she was my second. We were inseparable from when we met until we went to school. Her favorite thing to do was to wrestle in the mud. Can you believe that? Rule abiding, proper, Lilly Evans, rolling around in the mud like a little baby pig."
Remus smiled wistfully.
"Eventually she grew out of that and decided dolls and tea parties were more her style. I attended more than my fare share of those I can tell you that. She even tried to dress me up a few times, before I started fighting back. Anyways by the time we were eleven she was gangly, with her red hair in neat little braids, and she had convinced herself that her and I were going to be married one day. I didn't really have the heart to tell her that I thought girls were gross and I had no intention marrying her. That summer we both got our letters, her from Hogwarts and me from Beauxbatons. My father is French you see, and taught there for a number of years, so he wanted me to go there as well."
Remus sighed.
"That's when everything changed between us. It was the first time that we had friends outside of each other and realized that as much as we were close, we weren't each others whole worlds anymore. It was a strange realization. We didn't have as much time for each other anymore, only seeing each other on the hols and during the summer."
Remus chuckled, remembering James for the first time in his story.
"And then she met James. Oh she said she hated him alright, but it was a feeble kind of hate that held a thinly veiled crush. I saw through her pathetic protests right away. It was sweet in a way their relationship. He became all she could talk about when we were together, venting her frustration to me. I knew it was only a matter of time before they ended up together. He was kind of perfect for her, in a strange way. And I mean, I suppose it kept me from having to marry her."
Sirius laughed at the amused look on Remus's face.
"Alright my turn." He took a deep breath. "James was the first person I think I ever really trusted. My parents hated him, thought they were muggle sympathizers, and I think that's what initially drew me to the Potters. My father would come home complaining about them and I thought about what it would be like to meet them one day and rebel against my parents. James and I met on a playground when we were… nine I guess? Anyways I had never been to a playground before, but my Uncle Alphard took me. And there was James, running around like the tiny black haired hellion that he was. He came up to me and shook my hand, and it was the beginning of a beautiful partnership. We were unstoppable prank geniuses."
He stopped for a moment, lost in thought.
"He was the first person I went to when my parents threw me out when I was sixteen for being a queer. I went to live with his family, and I guess that's when we really became like brothers. He was always there for me, even when he did finally get Lilly after all those years of pining and complaining. But then again I suppose you know all about that."
Remus dissolved into a fit of laughter with Sirius.
"Oh damn right I do."
After a few moments they stopped laughing and silence filled the room again.
"I think maybe it's time for bed. I'm rather tired."
Sirius smiled softly.
"Take the guest room, I'll sleep right here."
Remus hesitated a moment.
"Are you sure?"
Sirius smirked.
"Only if I get another story tomorrow."