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Chapter Ten: Premonition, Introduction, and Affirmation
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saturday morning
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The Marauders all shared evil grins with each other as the Slytherins shot them looks of pure hatred over the breakfast tables.
"What, did they think we weren't going to get them back?" Sirius said, stabbing a diced peach and eating it with a flourish. "Moony, you are my hero." Remus blushed and smiled happily. "You actually managed to sneak into the Slytherin dormitories without being seen."
Remus swallowed a bite of scrambled eggs. "I got lucky. Three of them were coming out of the secret passage only a few minutes after I made it down there."
"You're still my hero," Sirius fawned, and kissed Remus on the cheek.
"Hello all," Lily said, sitting by James again.
Sirius looked up in mock surprise, placing a hand over his heart. "Why, if it isn't the lovely Miss Evans! You look absolutely ravishing today. Tell me, how do you keep your hair so smooth and static-free?"
Lily laughed, and James gave Sirius a disgruntled "stop molesting my girlfriend" glare.
"Don't be such a wet blanket, Prongsy! At least we're not discussing your love life," Sirius said matter-of-factly, and winked at Lily.
"That cretin actually managed a love life?" came a sarcastic voice from behind Sirius.
James sent a death glare at Severus Snape, who was leaning nonchalantly against the wall. "What, are you jealous? I'm sure there are plenty of death adders in the world who'd love to shag you, Sevvykins," Sirius smirked.
Snape's expression increased in sourness. "You know, I don't appreciate waking up next to a giant, dead LEECH." He glared daggers at James.
"Oh, come on, Snape, you can't blame us for the atrociousness of your night life," Sirius said, buttering his toast, and Remus tried very hard to hide his snicker by taking a bite of eggs.
The Slytherin's dark eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "We are going to get you back, mark my words." He gave them one last glare, then flounced off, his robes billowing forebodingly behind him.
"What did you do?" Lily said incredulously, eyes wide.
"What makes you think we did anything?" Sirius said serenely, making an evil-looking face on his plate with fruit salad.
Lily threw her hands up in the air and went back to her breakfast.
"Sirius Black," came an angry female voice, and Sirius' head shot up in bewilderment, "you are a bastard!" The long-haired boy turned around, and his face lit up in recognition.
"Lydia! And how are you doing today?" he asked with a charming grin.
"You stood me up last night!!" the willowy Ravenclaw screeched, and the whole table fell silent.
"What are you talking about? I…" Then realization dawned. "Oh."
The dark-haired girl crossed her arms over her ample chest. "I hope you have a very good excuse, or…or I never want to see you again!" she exclaimed piercingly.
Remus stared into his breakfast. This wasn't going to end well. Sirius never let a girl break up with him.
"Oh, I had a very good reason, Lydia." Sirius' voice was suddenly very grave. Here it comes, Remus thought. He'll say he was in detention, then he'll take her back… A wave of sorrow sank through his heart.
"I'd love to hear it, Sirius," she snapped. "I waited for you for two hours. This had better be good."
"Oh, it was good." Sirius grinned cunningly. "I was having a nice shag with my lovely friend Remus, here." Remus felt his breath catch in his throat.
Lydia's bottom lip trembled. "You're making fun of me!" she wailed.
Sirius put an arm around Remus and kissed him gently on the lips. "I assure you, I am not," he said tranquilly, taking the young werewolf's hand in his. Remus smiled devotedly at him.
Lydia just squealed rudely, smacked Sirius hard across the face, and stomped away. There was a rather shocked silence all around, until they heard Lydia shrilling to her friends: "He LEFT me for another BOY!!!"
Most of the Gryffindor table laughed, and Sirius sighed happily. "What a lovely day it is turning out to be," he said, rubbing the hand-shaped red mark on his cheek.
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saturday afternoon
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"Quidditch practice," James announced at Peter's questioning look, heading for the door.
Peter looked excited. "Oh, yeah!" He bounced after James.
Sirius eyed the door until it clicked shut, then managed to leap straight from his bed to Remus'. "You," he said, face very close to the other boy's, "should put down that health-damaging book," he removed Remus' History of Magic book from his hands and laid it on the night table, "and pay attention to me." Sirius grinned cheekily.
Remus rolled his eyes, grinning apologetically. "I really need to research for my History of Magic essay," he said, raising an eyebrow. "You wouldn't want me to get bad grades because you're insatiable, would you?"
Sirius pouted. "But Moony, we haven't had any time alone since the closet last night!"
Remus' eyes twinkled, even through the severe expression he had on his face. "Hmm…I might be able to take a break." A huge grin broke out on the dark-haired boy's face, and he pressed closer. "But this had better be good."
Sirius smiled darkly, eyelashes dipping down to brush his cheeks before raising them again and fixing Remus with an intense stare. "When has it not been good?" he purred, letting his hands slide deliberately from the young werewolf's chest to his hips. Remus was so lovely, Sirius thought; right then his eyes were all dark and needy and his cheeks were a bit flushed. The dark-haired boy raised a hand to unhook the clasp of Remus' school robes, and felt the smaller boy's breath catch in his chest.
Remus rose to his knees, burying his hands in Sirius' long hair, and crushed his mouth to the slightly-parted lips before him. It wasn't close enough, though, so Remus pushed his Animagus friend to the bed, stretching sloooowly on top of him, a very knowledgeable smirk on his face.
"Remus surely knows what he wants today, hmm?" Sirius grinned smugly, a slow burn beginning to thrill in his lower stomach as Remus sucked gently on his neck. The young werewolf just smiled that same dark smile, and began to unbutton his shirt.
"Forgot my practice schedule," James announced, opening the door. He got one look at Remus stretched out on top of a half-shirtless Sirius, turned around, and slammed the door. "Would you please tell me when you're decent?"
"Are we ever decent?" Sirius called, grinning maniacally and shrugging out of his shirt. He got Remus out of his shirt in no time flat, and let the young werewolf push him back to the mattress. "Okay, we're decent," Sirius called again, trying to hide the fact that he was snickering. Remus kissed him thoroughly.
"Finally. I'm going to be la—" James opened the door again, saw them in further state of undress, flushed scarlet, and slammed the door once again. "I hate you, Sirius," he wailed.
Sirius let his hands drift to the waistband of Remus' pants. "You know, James, you might just have to dash in here and get it, because the longer you wait, the more clothing we lose." He winked at Remus, who gave a devious snigger.
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"…Must kill…those insatiable…lecherous…promiscuous …trollops…" James stomped across the grounds towards the Quidditch field, plans for their impending practice clutched tightly in his hand.
Back in the dormitory, Sirius and Remus were leaning together in an effort to not die of laughter, as well as a more urgent one to rid themselves of clothing.
Sirius took a deep breath, letting it out with a snicker. "He's just jealous because he doesn't want to admit we turn him on," he said maliciously, pulling the curtains closed around them, then pouncing on the grey-eyed boy and unfastening his pants.
Remus smiled sensually, looping his arms around Sirius' neck and pulling him down for a kiss. The young werewolf arched against the other boy, gasping and wrapping his legs around Sirius' hips in a way he knew would drive his friend crazy with desire.
"Lovely," Sirius purred, before eagerly claiming Remus' lips.
James finally made it out to the Quidditch pitch, to the relief of his teammates. "What the hell happened to you, Potter?" one girl shouted from the goal hoops.
"The great Captain is late! I've seen it all now," another Chaser said mockingly.
James glared at him. "We have to play Slytherin next week! Get down here – we're going to talk!"
Oh great, it's going to be one of those practices, Peter thought a bit sarcastically. Watching wasn't any fun unless the players practiced drills and formations on broomstick. The blond boy sighed, leaning his elbows back on the bench behind him, and stared up at the sky.
The clouds turned out to be no more interesting than the Quidditch discussion down on the pitch, so Peter turned his attention back to James. He's rather glorious when he's in a foul mood, the small boy thought, smiling a little.
"H-Hello, I've seen you here…sometimes…before," a quiet, female voice spoke up from a couple of rows above Peter. He looked over his shoulder. A very shy, soft-looking girl with round cheeks, clunky glasses, and a Hufflepuff scarf tied neatly around her neck was smiling down at him.
"I-I've seen you here before too," Peter replied, smiling back.
She tucked a strand of strawberry blond hair behind her ear, smiling a little wider so that dimples showed on her cheeks. "Would you mind…would you mind if I sat down there? With you?" Her eyes strayed down to her feet. "It's sort of a boring practice today."
Peter's smile broadened. "I don't mind." She's so pretty…
The girl broke into a grin, stood up, and trotted over to the stairs. When she'd sat down beside Peter, she bent down, pulling her knee-high socks back up. "Are you just a loyal team supporter? Is that why you're always at the practices?"
Peter shrugged. "I guess…well, James Potter is one of my best friends, and…yeah."
"Oh!" Her eyes lit up. "You're here for James Potter too?"
"So you're not here to spy for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team then?" Peter said, winking at her.
She grinned. "Of course not! I just like watching James. He's so…dreamy…" She sighed, and her glasses slipped halfway down her nose.
"Yeah," Peter agreed, glancing down at the Quidditch pitch. James was gesturing insistently at the goal posts, looking magnificent, as usual. Wormtail looked back at the Hufflepuff girl. "What's your name?"
"Alice," she said, and smiled.
The blond boy held out his hand in invitation for a handshake. "Peter." They smiled at each other once more, then went back to watching the Quidditch practice.
James had evidently yelled at his team enough, for they were all taking to the air.
"They're so wonderful," Alice breathed, eyes wide. "I wish I could fly like that…but I'm horrible. Flying classes first year were a nightmare."
"They were for me too!" Peter took his eyes off the Quidditch and turned them on Alice. "It was like the broomstick didn't want me anywhere near it."
The Hufflepuff girl giggled. "Mine wouldn't even leave the ground. Then the Professor got it to fly for me – but it wouldn't do anything I wanted. It rose fifteen feet in the air and bucked me off!" They both laughed, and didn't even notice how James and his fellow Chasers executed a brilliant trade-off of the Quaffle as their conversation went on full speed.
Soon, it seemed for Peter, the practice was almost over; the sun was beating down hot over the field. "Hey…Alice?" Peter began, then chickened out. "N-Never mind."
The bespectacled girl looked expectantly at him. "What?"
Peter took a deep breath. "I-I think you're…r-really nice, and r-really pretty, and doyouwanttogotoHogsmeadewithmetonight?" He flushed bright red.
Alice's eyes went wide for a moment, then she grinned rapturously at her shoes. "I-I would really, really like that," she said softly, a blush spreading over her cheeks.
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"I can't believe you're wasting the afterglow reading for History of Magic," Sirius said a little crossly, his cheek pillowed comfortably on Remus' chest.
"What do you mean wasting? This is important reading, this is," Remus said, kissing Sirius upon the forehead.
The dark-haired boy smiled deviously. "I wonder how Binns would react if he knew you were reading his textbook, cuddled up in bed completely starkers with your roommate?"
Remus whacked him on the shoulder with the book. "I'm sure he'd get a thrill. Probably the only one he'll have had in his entire existence." The grey-eyed boy shuddered.
"This is just a sorry afterglow," Sirius complained. "Now we're talking about Binns."
Remus laughed and tossed the book upon his night table. "Not that I was getting any reading done anyway," he teased, turning towards Sirius and cuddling him properly.
"See? All better," Sirius purred, snaking his arm tighter around Remus' waist. "Moony?"
"Yes?"
"Would you like to grab a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks tonight?" Remus could feel Sirius smiling against his skin.
"We've been planning on doing that since last month," Remus said, grinning and letting his fingers trail along the other boy's spine.
"Mmm. Don't stop doing that," Sirius said contentedly. "Yeah, I know, but I meant…just for us…as a date."
There was silence for a moment, then what Sirius had just said fully caught up to Remus. "O-Oh." There was another silence.
"Never mind, Moony, forget I asked." Sirius sighed.
"No! No…Padfoot…of course I'd go with you! I'd go anywhere with you."
Sirius' eyes crinkled around the edges. "Anywhere? What about a strip club with the main attractions being Professor McGonagall and a Dementor?"
Remus shuddered again. "Ugh! Where do you come up with these things?" He nipped none-too-gently at Sirius' ear.
"Didn't know it would get you so frisky," Sirius said with a dark smile, and he began to stroke his hand down over Remus' stomach.
"Randy git," Remus muttered, not minding at all. "Do you still have to finish your DADA essay?"
"Damn. I'd almost forgotten." He continued his tactile exploration. "Do you enjoy discussing schoolwork in bed?"
Remus laughed. "I could…help you with it, if you wanted."
Sirius pressed his lips to the young werewolf's throat. "You're great at DADA. I'd really appreciate that."
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"I didn't know you meant now," Sirius groused, now fully clothed, searching through his Defense Against the Dark Arts book.
"Come on, Sirius, it shouldn't take so long. All you have to do is find a species that was helped by the creation of the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures."
Sirius grumbled again, flipping pages unseeingly. Suddenly he looked up, meeting Remus' soft grey eyes with his large, curious blue ones. "How about you?"
"What?"
"How about…werewolves?" Sirius propped his chin upon his hand.
Remus thought for a moment. "I suppose we have…been helped, I mean." He ran a hand through his tawny hair. "I am going to Hogwarts," he pointed out.
"So I'll do research." Sirius' face lit up with a huge grin. "I'll do my essay on you. And if you haven't been helped I'll write about how you should be."
Remus smiled, his cheeks heating up just slightly. "O-Okay."
Sirius began to flip interestedly through his book, discovered the right section, and let the rather tattered text fall open. The raven-haired boy leaned over the table, beginning to read and underline madly.
Remus couldn't stop staring at Sirius. The other boy was rather engrossed, biting a bit at his bottom lip. The young werewolf quirked a smile, resting his chin on his palm. He's going to do extra research for DADA…just so he can write his essay on me. Something thrilled in his chest, and he felt goose bumps prickle his skin. Remus let his eyes fall to the open book on the bed in front of them.
"I love you," Remus said softly, his voice low and filled with warmth. Sirius looked up in an instant, fixing the other boy with his ocean-deep gaze. Remus let his eyes travel upwards from the book, letting his eyes fall solemnly upon Sirius'.
Sirius reached up to gently tuck a stray bit of hair behind Remus' ear. His touch lingered; his palm slid around to tenderly cup the other boy's cheek. "I love you too," he replied, eyes full of devotion.
Then the two boys smiled blissfully at each other and returned to their studying, a breeze from the open window stirring the bed curtains, their hands clasped firmly together.
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(swish and flick)
Finitum Part Ten!
~The End~
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Notes:
*falls over* I can't believe it's finished. I've only been writing this thing for half my life! *grin* Only kidding. And it ended so…sweetly. Didn't see that one coming. But I'd just like to thank you guys for your glowing reviews, and also for being marginally patient with my lack of updates. XD Arigatou, minna-san! I love you all! ^_~