Title: Bad Moon Rising
Book: Harry Potter Series
Pairing: Sirius/Remus
Author: Green Bird
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but, if I did… I'd kill Cho.
Rating: PG-13
Note: Happens somewhere during book #4, just so you know. Remus is having a horrible time transforming and he feels he is growing dangerously out of control in the time of the full moon. In desperation he calls his only comfort; Sirius. Implied-ness very light in this chapter. Rating will go up. Will-be angsty slash. Mmmm.
I was compelled to write you on two accounts. One, of concern for your well-being, I do hope you are not living off rats, and two, you are the only one left I can think of to aid me. I am in a state of great distress. Although this past year has been quite difficult for the both of us, I seem not to be fairing that well.
My body has grown quite rebellious in the week of which the full moon is present. I find myself neurotic and irritable and unable to sleep in the days before my transformation. Even with the Wolfsbane potion I continue to take I suffer worse then before. Now during the full moon my body seems to refuse to transform and battles with itself to keep a form it cannot. I am having memory lapses again. I wake up cut and bruised almost worse then when in school, and am in constant fear that I might have killed someone the night before.
I am aware that this is a desperate plea in an unwanted time but if I was not in fear of my life I would not call upon you. I have already addressed Dumbledore on the matter and he feels the same way that I now do; I need a companion to help me through the moon. Padfoot, you are the only one left. I need you.
Remus
Dirt covered hands cradled the piece of parchment gently in them, dark eyes reading over and over the words that had been written in a quick yet graceful motion. He could still recognize Remus's handwriting anywhere. He'd been quite surprised when another bird other than Hedwig and Dumbledore's had managed to find him and had been even more surprised at the letter in question.
The Nighthawk that had delivered the message picked eagerly at the pile of animal bones he had made, despite how much Buckbeak whickered at it in frustration. Sirius stared at it once in question, and then became aware that it was waiting for him to write a response.
Franticly he dug through a pile of trash on the floor for a piece of paper. Discovering a half smudged rip of parchment he snatched a broken quill up and wrote as fast as he could:
. . .
Remus Lupin sat in his small and rather shabby home in a half-abandoned suburb. Grown over with rebellious plants and backed by a wood; it was well enough out of the way and hidden by spells to keep him comfortable. He was almost curious how he would be able to fit another person and a hippogriff in the dwelling. He had a yard of course, but it was small and had a rather pathetic and crumbling wall… he'd have to think of some spells to build it up again so he could shield Buckbeak from any of his almost non-existent neighbor's eyes.
For the first time in months he was actually looking forward to having his space invaded. He had so few callers within the last year he could count them on one hand. He had expected as much, and with the exception of weekly letters from Dumbledore and Arthur he had had nothing to sidetrack himself with.
Now he began to fret about the mess of his home with its scattered papers and loose boards trying to prepare it for another. He had conjured up another bed in the small guest room and attempted fix all of the seeping holes in the ceiling. He could not believe that he'd allowed it to get this bad! Being unemployed almost every other month he had had more then enough time for repairs.
Finally he was able to pocket his wand, but not his nerves. He had given Sirius his address hastily, hardly thinking about how he would manage to get there. Now he was wearing himself thin with wondering just how cautious his friend would be with the proposition of free food and shelter waiting for him a good hundred miles away.
He's not exactly known for his reasoning. The man worried. Oh please use your head about this Sirius.
Come midnight, Remus sat himself outside in the small yard of his. He had brought up the walls as far as he could and tried his hardest to bring the few trees that existed there to their fullest foliage. Herboligy seemed to pay off.
His work might have as well been in vain; fall had postponed itself as much as it could, but the air was almost constantly wet and cold and trees were shedding their summer outfits. His thinned out shoulders gave a shiver and he began to shift uneasily. Sirius was due any time now…
As if on a cue there was a change in the air and the sound of wings. Large wings. Buckbeak was somewhere near and quickly Remus lit the tip of his wand. His heart was up in his throat and he prayed that they'd clear the trees.
"Hey now watch it Buck! That's a tree!"
In the dimly cast light from the house he saw the enormous creature throwing its wings like a pinwheel; eyes set on the ground yet trying to avoid meeting it at such a speed. The figure on its back was clinging to it like a bur, desperately trying to look as if the sudden spastic movements of the wings directly behind it were absolutely normal. There was a loud and reverberating thump as the beast made its plopped landing, and by the huffed sound it made it was obviously not keen on flying in such a cluttered area.
Remus held his wand up high enough so that he could see the both of them quite clearly. His breath hitched and for the first time in weeks he felt a great surge of happiness rise in him.
Sirius was attempting to look valiant in his dismount from Buckbeak, but only proceeded to be shoved by the now impatient creature. Giving it a pat of thanks he turned to beam at the wand-holder.
"Moony!" He shouted, voice cheerful and teeth bore all out in the largest smile manageable. "Moony I'm glad to see you!"
The use of his school name made the werewolf's spirits soar higher. "You've made it all right then?" He walked quickly up to his two guests. Buckbeak eyed him evilly and before he got a step closer he brought himself into a low sweeping bow. Obviously flattered by the greeting; the hippogriff mimicked the motion gracefully. Sirius gave a bark and threw out his hand in greeting.
Remus took it gladly, realizing to his dismay that the hand he held was still too thin for his liking and rougher then sandpaper. Suddenly concerned, he sized up the mussed man before him, taking in the thinness of his face, raggy state of his hair, and not to mention the yellowed tint of still grinning teeth. He frowned; Sirius did look worlds better, but still unhealthy.
On the other side of the handshake Sirius was going through the same checklist of worries. Remus had bags under his eyes and his frame seemed slacking and scarecrow-like. Lines were being etched into a face far too young to have such details and his hair was a good two decades older then he himself was.
"You look…"
"…terrible."
Remus smirked at him. "I don't think you have the right to say such things."
"Hypocrite." Sirius' expression switched from joyous to concern.
"Come on then, I want to get you two inside quickly. You're freezing."
The three walked up to the porch, Buckbeak cantering up after the two men, feeling as though nothing on the earth was to stop him from going in. Remus gave him a look of concern and then shrugged. Sirius lead the beast into the living room and with a few simple swishes Remus tethered him to the wall.
In the kitchen he skipped tea and directly slid Sirius a mug of butterbeer. The dog's eyes widened and he grinned hungrily.
"I haven't had this stuff in forever… at least not in a mug. Most the stuff I could get would be from a discarded bottle or something…" Catching the look of surprise on Lupin's face he calmed. "Um, thanks."
"You'll want something to eat of course."
"Why would you even ask?"
Remus shrugged and smiled, pulling out a kidney pie and a plate of drumsticks. He set the heaping piles before the scrubby man at his table and watched entertained as they were torn through.
After ten minutes of unashamed face stuffing, Sirius brought himself to a calm long enough to remember to pick up a napkin and attempt some bit of decency.
"I should really have been eating on the floor…" He commented almost ashamed, but Remus was watching him from across the table, his thin hands folded near his own mug.
"How long has it been that you've eaten actual food?"
"Not long. When I go out to steal some parchment to write Harry I can nab some food from my many admirers."
"So you have been writing Harry?" Lupin questioned. "Which means you're in Hogsmeade?"
A ratty black head bobbed twice in confirmation. "Damn right I've been writing him."
"And how's he been managing through the Tournament mess? Has Alastor been assisting him?"
"Well, I'm sure he'll help. As for fairing… I think he'll do all right. Damn bad situation to get into when you're so young though. He's going to have to pull a you if he wants to come out unsliced."
"A me?" Remus tilted his head in curiosity.
Black winked and took a swig of his drink. "He'll have to hit the books. Ah, what am I talking about? This is Harry; he'll find a loophole. Enough about him. Now…" A dirty hand set the mug back to the tabletop and two dark eyes focused on the man across from him. "What about you Reem? You're aging by the minute. You're going to be competing with me in a while for the most ghastly looking. What's wrong with you?"
"I'm just tired. I've been worried."
"Touched, truly." Sirius commented dryly. "And it has nothing to do with the fact that the full moon is in about three days?"
A weak smile pulled at the werewolf's mouth. "Yes, that cannot be helping can it?"
"Your letter frightened me near witless… What's happening with you?"
Remus cupped his face in his hand. "That is the million galleon question. What has happened to throw me into spastic transformations?"
Sirius was quiet for a moment and shrugged. "Well, we both know there's no way in hell that I'm going to know. I guess all I can do is stick with you during the night."
Lupin swallowed, brushing a sudden and unnecessary thought from his mind. "For now, that's all I ask."
Sirius finished off his drink and looked utterly content just to be there. He blinked slowly at his friend and very softly spoke. "I'll do whatever I can for you Moony."
Remus stood very slowly. Feeling as if he had been freed of some great burden, he sighed. "Well, right now I think that you can go to sleep for me. I've safeguarded the house and made up a bed for you. You look like you're on the verge of collapse."
Sirius chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Hypocrite."
The next morning Sirius sat at the table again, this time quite confused and amiss. He had woken up that morning and very cautiously searched the small house for Remus. When all reasonable places held no hide or hair of the graying man he had decided that it was simply better to wait for him.
At least he could have left me a note.
From the living room there came the crack of a whip and Buckbeak's startled squawk. A second later there was a loud thump and squelching sound and the hippogriff was quiet. Sirius jumped to his feet, being quite wandless and startled that someone had just decided to pop up. Was Remus expecting people to apparate in his living room?
Footsteps trudged their way down the hall and the werewolf himself appeared in the doorway. In one arm he held a bag stuffed with groceries and the other hung at his side, the sleeve of his robe soaked in what looked like blood. He smiled at Sirius despite the look of horror that was on his friend's face.
"Morning. I was hoping you'd be awake."
"What the hell's happened to you?" Black shouted moving forward to examine his arm. Remus simply laughed.
"It's not mine don't worry. I went to Diagon Alley this morning and bought Buckbeak a couple of pounds of meat. The bag leaked." Moving over to the table he dropped the groceries and pulled out his wand. "Dergitis." The Blood left the fabric.
Sirius, although recovering nicely from his flippancy, was still slightly worried. "Don't just leave like that Moony, especially not when I have no idea where you've zapped off to."
"Yes, yes alright." Pulling out a cartridge from the bag he tapped it with his wand and it began to steam. "Breakfast." He muttered, gesturing to it as the rest of the bag's contents found their way to the cabinets.
Once again the Animagus dived into the food, but this time used utensils. Remus sat across from him and ate as well, although his plate was far more sparse then his counterparts. Sirius caught the small detail halfway between spoonfuls.
"You should eat more. You're too thin as it is."
"I'm not hungry." The werewolf shrugged, pushing the food idly. He wouldn't have even made himself a plate if it could have been ignored.
"You say that now but I'll try to remember to tell you that during the moon." Black shook his spoon at Remus and then proceeded to stick it in his mouth. "If you don't eat I'll have to make you."
"I wouldn't hold it below you to tie me to my chair." Remus sighed and took a spoonful. "I'd like to avoid spoon-feeding for now. You need food more then me."
Sirius smiled but still remained on his friend's case. "I know we're both sad scrubby things but at least I'm putting an effort. Speaking of which, I can bathe correct?"
This time it was Lupin who smiled. "If you didn't ask I'd throw you in there myself."
"I don't smell that bad…" He paused at the look he was receiving. Apparently smelling like a wet dog to him wasn't so bad… Finishing off his plate he stood. "Yeah, alright so maybe."
Lupin was carefully reading a potions book in his living room. Next to him Buckbeak nibbled at the bone that had been his breakfast. Turning the pages slowly and scrutinizing over every word he was interrupted by Sirius.
"Alright, I'm going to go rid you of my stench." He was cradling roughly five towels that he had pulled from the closet. "If I don't come out in two hours… get worried. However, if I come out in twenty minutes… push me back in."
Remus nodded and Black disappeared down the hall to the bathroom.
Once again he returned to the potions book. Thin fingers ran over the letters; 'Wolfsbane: A Preventer's First'. Inwardly he scowled. The homemade Wolfsbane potion he had been brewing was not working as it should. Twice he had written Severus, despite how foolish he felt for asking assistance, and questioned concoction techniques. His replies were quite alarmingly patient and thorough despite how much the Potion's Master did despise him.
All of his concoctions were indeed correct; he had made the potion flawlessly. It was suggested that he should take it a longer period before the moon. He had done this, but to no avail; he was not accepting the potion as he once was. Dumbledore said that he feared that he was building a resistance to it. Lupin prayed that that was not the case.
He stared off to the wall, a common action now for him for several minutes, contemplating. Finally after an unrecorded amount of time, he spoke aloud.
"If I am building up immunity to it, then why are my transformations so much more difficult? Why am I trying to…"
But his outward muses were cut short by a rather loud and joyous singing that wafted down the hall. The voice was somewhat off-tune but interesting to listen to. Remus smirked and laughed as Buckbeak tipped his head to the sound of Sirius' singing. But his laughter grew even harder when he heard what it was.
"I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand… walking through the streets of Soho in the rain…" The bathroom door was slung open and Sirius traipsed out, oblivious to the fact that he was still in a towel and that his singing had captured an audience that included a large hippogriff and the subject of his wailing. "He was looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook's, going to get a big dish of beef chow mien…" He then let out an oddly precise howl that caused the two crowd members to slightly tip their heads. Flopping a towel down over his own head he continued. "Werewolves of London. Aaaahooo!"
"Now, I don't sound like that." Said Remus with mock severity. "And I don't even like Chinese food."
Sirius grinned sheepishly from under the cotton towel and shrugged. "I never was an opera star."
"Where did you hear that muggle song?" Lupin was trying to stifle the laughter that it had induced.
"Oh while I was roaming as Padfoot… One witch in Hogsmeade is obsessed with muggle radio; her house is filled with those noise-boxes and whatcha-call-ums… batteries! I heard it a couple of times and just loved it. Made me think of you, although I'm sure you don't go out and mutilate old ladies…"
The graying man shook his head. It was by pure chance he had heard the song himself. Muggle music wasn't bad at all… perhaps he should get a radio-thing. Sirius yawned.
"Are you still tired? How long did you…" His voice faded and died as the man stretched, his palms reaching for the ceiling. His eyes had captured up the muscles moving in the man's chest and abdomen, the collarbone that made a gentle v that cradled a craning neck… Lupin was suddenly very aware that there was a nearly-naked and semi-soaked man in his living room. Coughing slightly he blushed and turned his eyes away from the somewhat magnetizing sight.
Black seemed to have caught his error and made some sort of sound of apology, grabbing the towel that had hung precariously on his hips and wrapping it tighter.
"Sorry." He muttered. "Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything Lupin."
Oh God… Remus winced at the sound of his surname coming from Sirius. He had only used that when they were fighting or formal. He hated the way it sounded off his tongue; almost alien.
"It's nothing." He attempted to assure, not sounding very convincing. Hesitantly he looked back, trying to prove more to himself then Black that he was not by any means frightened to look at him; to look at what he'd become over the past years.
He is so worn… He despaired, noticing the slimness of his hips and the shadow of ribs that were showing too much for his liking. Not like anything I remember.
-But what you remember was an eighteen-year old boy. –
He snuffed lightly to himself and cleared his head. He didn't need that right now, neither of them did. Even if he cared to bring it up; that was not the reason Sirius was here…
- You don't know why he's here at all. That's not your call. -
Forcing a smile on his face, the graying werewolf stood. "You'll need new robes right? Not going back into those rags that you came in. I can't say my wardrobe's any better, but we'll take a look."
Cautiously Sirius followed him down the hall, confusion and worry foremost in his head. Buckbeak whickered softly as he turned away. Casting a glance over his shoulder he muttered to it;
"I don't think that the full moon fix is all I've got to heal over, huh Beak?"
.
- Green Bird