His eyes slowly fluttering open, Remus's eyes locked with the anxious eyes of his best mates. "Moony," Sirius all but whined in the back of his throat. "Look at you. You look like something the cat threw up." He threw his arms up in frustration. "Why did you do that?" Sirius demanded.
Remus squeezed his eyes shut again. "I heal quickly as you know, Padfoot," He murmured. "I won't allow the three of you to put yourselves and others at risk again! No matter how much I get hurt, it won't ever be worse than hurting an innocent." It was clear that he was still upset with the joke Sirius had played on Severus.
'Remus?' Severus's quiet voice tickled the werewolf's mind. Remus could detect worry and agitation. His voice was dead tired, causing an ache in the pit of Remus's stomach.
'I'm okay,' Remus thought toward the Slytherin and for reasons his mates could not understand, Remus was smiling as if thinking of an inside joke they didn't get.
"Are you okay?" Peter asked, finding it odd that Remus was in such a state, though he was smiling as if he was completely content.
"Never better," Remus mused quietly to his friends. He chuckled much to his friend's confusion. He could feel the mortification spilling off of Severus in waves. 'It's not a crime to express yourself or to care about someone,' Remus offered the Slytherin. 'You're the one who told me you didn't have a black heart, so why is it so hard to show it?'
"Rems, next time don't forbid us from coming," James said, worried for the werewolf's sanity. His eyes were glassy and he still had that eerie content smile on his lips. "The only reason we became animagi was to keep you from hurting yourself!"
"Hush Prongs! Do you want Madam Pomfry to hear you say that?" Sirius complained. They were only allowed in the room because they knew about Remus's condition, though nobody had a clue they had broken the wizardling law to help their friend.
Peter waved a hand in front of the scarred boy's face. "Is it possible to fall asleep with your eyes open?" The rat asked. "He's been acting weird for weeks." They were talking as if Remus wasn't even in the room.
After what felt like hours, though it was only minutes, Severus sighed. 'You don't have to rub it in,' He said grumpily. He was very on edge, having not slept the whole night.
The Slytherin groaned when Remus's soft laughter floated around his mind, almost as if Remus was standing behind him and laughing right in his ear.
'It isn't funny,' Severus said with a roll of his eyes. 'How much of it do you remember?' He would rather not know, though it was clear Remus did remember some of his words from last night.
'I remember the part where you sang me a lullaby,' Remus answered, his thought voice quiet and weak from his hard night.
Severus's cheeks turned crimson, the color quite a contrast to his normally pale skin.
'I did nothing of the sort!' Severus denied. He had been so very tired. He couldn't have possibly done something so... so... embarrassing and not remember? Of all things, singing?
'Relax Severus,' Remus whispered again. 'I was joking. You need to lighten up.'
'JOKING? '' Severus pressed his hands over his face. 'That is playing dirty. Why would you joke about singing? Of all the crazy things I've ever heard...' He trailed off when he realized why Remus had joked like that. Severus sighed. 'Okay, point taken.' He said. Remus had only said that to make Severus stop worrying so much about what he had said.
'But what DO you remember?' He grumbled.
'I remember you were my friend last night. I remember your presence there next to me and though the monster in me did not stop what it was doing completely, your presence eased the pain I felt.'
'I...' Severus didn't know how to respond to that. So Remus didn't remember any actual words, just the emotion behind the words Severus was saying.
'If you don't remember what I said, why would you make a joke?' He finally asked. He could swear he felt Remus smiling and despite himself, he felt himself smiling back, as if they were standing face to face.
'Because,' Remus murmured. 'I could tell you were embarrassed, so you must have said some interesting stuff, right? I was trying to...' His voice trailed off for a moment, 'trying to let you know you didn't have to worry so much.'
Interesting stuff indeed, Severus couldn't help remembering everything about last night. He had been so sick from worry as Remus screamed in pain.
'I'm sorry,' Remus frowned, knowing exactly what Severus was feeling. 'I would never, ever want anyone to go through what I have to endure each full moon...' Despite trying not to think about it, Remus couldn't help thinking about his mates and how they were able to ease the pain he caused himself, though he could no longer allow them to do that and risk their lives.
'It's not your fault,' Severus answered, though Remus could tell Severus was very troubled by last night. 'What do you mean about Potter, Black, and the chubby one helping you?'
Remus cringed. He didn't want anyone to know, after all his mates were breaking the wizarding law.
Speaking of his mates, the three boys were still in the room, muttering about Remus's weird behavior, but before they could ask Remus about it, Madam Pomfry returned and shooed them out of the room. She worried over Remus, treating his cuts and scrapes. Her expression seemed to grow graver and graver as she worked over him.
'Oh, I see,' Severus murmured. He didn't seem to be too surprised to learn Remus's mates had gone and broke the law for him. Remus whimpered lowly in the back of his throat, worried about his friends getting in trouble if anyone else found out. Madam Pomfry pulled back, thinking she had hurt him.
'I'm not going to tell Remus. After all this time, I should think you'd be able to trust me.'
'I do trust you... but you hate them, don't you?' Remus asked.
'Yes, but you don't,' was Severus's answer. 'Telling would only hurt you, wouldn't it? The last thing I... want.'
Remus glanced across the table at the Slytherin. They were studying for an upcoming potion exam Professor Slughorn was giving, though both boys knew enough about the subject that they had no reason to study. It was mostly a ruse to explain why they were together if anyone happened to catch them. A Gryffindor and Slytherin alone together wasn't something anyone normally came across.
Severus glanced back at Remus, letting their eyes lock. He glanced down at his copy of "Advance Potion-Making." He absentmindedly scribbled some alternative instructions in the side bar, before putting the tip of his feather quill in his mouth.
"What are you doing?" Remus asked softly. When they were together, they tried to communicate out loud. It seemed to lessen how many personal thoughts each heard. They had only figured that out accidentally a couple of days ago during one of their "study" sessions. Though it wasn't foolproof. Typically it seemed only the things they'd most want to hide got through.
Severus smirked. "Fixing the book." He continued to scribble in alternative instructions, easily figuring out better ways to concoct the potions the book was supposed to teach. "Whoever wrote this doesn't know boomslang skin from Doxy Wings," he exaggerated, trying to make his point. "I mean, look here, three counter-clockwise stirs? It's obvious, five clockwise stirs would make the potion stronger."
Remus raised an eyebrow. "If you say so?" He questioned. Potion making was more Severus's forte, though Remus got by okay. "Won't you get in trouble for doing that?" He pulled the book out of Severus's hands and started to flip through the pages. "Wow... you were able to figure out how to better all these potions? That's amazing."
Severus scowled, a blush on his cheeks. He grabbed the book back. "It's not that amazing," he grumbled. He wasn't used to compliments, especially from someone as sweet and good-looking as Remus.
With a soft smile, Remus looked down at his own copy of the same book. His was in perfect shape, not a mark or tear. Severus just couldn't keep his mind from wandering to embarrassing thoughts, could he? "Sweet and good looking, huh?" Remus murmured to himself, not catching himself in time. By the look on Severus's face, he realized that his thought got through to Remus.
Snapping his book shut, Severus started to push his supplies into his carrying bag, refusing to look into Remus's eyes.
The werewolf frowned. It would just be so much easier if they could talk about their feelings, or attraction, or whatever the heck it was.
Severus faltered, obviously picking up on Remus's desire. The Slytherin groaned, before sitting back down. He had changed so much since their minds exploded and became one; had learned so many things about himself and Remus. The biggest thing he understood was that he never wanted to see Remus upset. He just couldn't help it that he was so bad at expressing himself, could he?
Remus laughed gently. "You do just fine," He said. Shyly, he glanced down. He could feel the other's attraction, even if Severus wasn't currently thinking along those lines, too mortified to let his thoughts wander again.
"Hah," Severus laughed sarcastically. "You're just saying that..." He trailed off, flushing as red as the Hogwarts Express. "I've never talked about..." He groaned, letting his forehead fall on the top of the table. "I should be in Hufflepuff," he whined. He had been letting his guard down quite a lot over time around Remus, this being a prime example.
Despite disapproving of making fun of the other houses, Remus couldn't help a small laugh. "How do you think I feel? I'm in Gryffindor, supposedly the bravest of us all, huh?" He sighed, before shaking his head. "I sure don't feel brave..."
Severus's head snapped up, his eyes wide and serious. "You ARE brave, Remus. Even a nitwit would be able to see that if they knew half of what you put up with. Hell, a nitwit Muggle would even be able to see it before they were blasted with a memory charm." The Slytherin looked off to the side, embarrassed about his passionate speech.
Flustered, Remus couldn't help feeling pleased. "Um... well, I guess... that is, thank you." He reached toward Severus, gently placing his hand over the others.
Severus quickly glanced down at their touching hands and blinked a couple of times. A warm feeling coursed through his body. "No problem," he said, trying to sound as if what he said had been no big deal, nothing to be flustered about.
Their minds linked, it was quite clear what each was thinking, and without even speaking a word, they intertwined their fingers, both blushing and looking away from each other, keeping their fingers locked, both unsure what this meant, if anything.