Remus didn’t bring up our quasi-conversation after the fact. Sirius took Remus’ stony silence about the night to mean we shagged. When Remus wasn’t in the room, I told him that I didn’t know where he got his information, but he was grossly mistaken. Then I told him about the awkward moment and my suspicions. He agreed that Remus had been on the verge of something momentous. Then Sirius suggested that he had relational constipation. “That is the grossest idea you’ve ever come up with.” I said coolly.
I was still peeved when I went over to Remus’ house the next full moon. All thoughts of anger left when I realize that Remus seemed to be in more pain than usual when I got there. He was whimpering from the couch. When I caught a glimpse of him curled into a ball with his eyes clenched shut, I dropped my rucksack and ran to him. “Remus, what’s wrong?” I asked a bit foolishly. Since he couldn’t tell me, I rephrased my question. “Did you take your potion?” He whimpered and moved his head slightly. I took that as a ‘yes.’
I stroked his head for a few minutes my mind racing, trying to think of a way to ease his pain. I knew a few pain potions, but I didn’t have the ingredients or the time to brew them. “Did Snape brew your potion?” I asked as a horrible thought crossed my mind. What if he tampered with it on purpose? Remus whimpered again. I stood up in anger, about to get over to Hogwarts as soon as I could to hex his ears off. Remus caught on to my line of thought and barked feebly at me. Looking at Remus’ shaking wolf body, I decided to stay until he was asleep. I started a fire and fed Remus. He was too weak to do much, so I carried him to the bed later on. I changed into my pajamas and laid with him until his breathing became heavy with sleep.
I slipped out of bed and paced the room with my wand clutched in my hand. I knew Remus would wake up in a bad state in a matter of hours. I decided to go to Hogwarts and give Snape a chance to explain himself. I grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. I paused for a moment, thinking if this could put the Order at Risk. Remus’ house didn’t have any Order information, and I’m sure that, if need be, I could think of a reason that I went from one fire to another without revealing our underground ties.
I threw the powder into the fire from earlier and said in a clear whisper “Potion Master’s Quarters, Hogwarts.” The green flames took me away, spinning like a top. I toppled out of Snape’s fire into what must have been his bedroom. I didn’t dare to light my wand, so I let my eyes adjust to the darkness. Snape was in bed, sleeping. I whispered two spells to bind his hands to the bed; I knew that Karma Sutra for Wizards book would come in handy someday. I made my way over to his bed, only tripping once. I managed to keep the ruckus to a minimum.
I got on the bed and straddled Snape. His eyes shot open. I had my wand to his neck. “What are you doing here?” He spat. He tried to move his hands and realized they were tied to the bed. “If you wanted a good shagging, all you had to do is—”
“That’s not what I’m here for, you perverted old goat.” I said in a vehement whisper. “Remus’ potion didn’t work right this month. He’s been in pain all night.” I said pushing my wand harder into his throat. Snape looked at me, noticing my attire and sniggered.
“Spending some extra time with him, are we?” He asked with a malevolent gleam. “Or do you visit all of the Order in your night things?” I ignored his taunts, feeling foolish for not having the presence of mind to change.
“What can I do to ease his suffering?” I asked, trying to keep my voice in an angry tone. I didn’t want to betray my feelings for Remus to someone like Snape.
Snape pointed to a shelf. “Green bottle, it’ll help with the pain.” I got up and grabbed the bottle; then I went back to Snape’s bed. “What are you doing?” He asked, slightly alarmed.
“If it’s just pain potion, it won’t do you any harm.” I said uncorking it. I squeezed the corners of Snape’s mouth, causing his lips to purse open. A few drops of potion later, Snape was unchanged. I got up and headed towards the fire. I looked back at Snape, and in a moment of pity, I waved my wand to unbind his hands.
My back was to him, looking for his Floo Powder. He came up and pushed me into the bookcase against the wall, his body pressed uncomfortably against mine. “I don’t care how much pain your boyfriend is in, if you ever make another night time visit I’ll not only report you to Dumbledore, but I’ll report you to Scrimgeour,” Snape hissed in my ear.
“If his potion ever gives me reason to come back here, I’ll make it so you won’t be able to chew, much less report me to anyone.” I spat back. “Get off me you slimy toad.” Snape stepped back. I grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and went back to Remus’ place.
When I stepped out of the fire, I could hear shrieks of pain. I looked out the window; the moon was waning. I ran into Remus’ bedroom, his body was convulsing, parts of him still wolfish. It was the first time I saw him transform back. I almost dropped the bottle of potion. He writhed in pain as his body morphed from wolf to man. I ran to his beside and held him close to me. I caressed the back of his neck gently. His knees were drawn up to his chest. “It’s ok, Remus, I’m here.” I whispered gently. Remus was drenched in a cold sweat. I Accio’d a towel and a basin. I filled the basin with some cool water and wiped the sweat from Remus’ face with a the wet towel.
”I have something that should help with the pain.” I said quietly. I uncorked the bottle and dribbled some of the potion in Remus’ mouth. His ragged breathing slowed to a normal rate. I examined his face, still worried that it might have been a fake cure.
“Thank you.” came Remus’ hoarse voice. “How did you get that?” He asked quietly.
“I’ll tell you about it later. You need to rest now.” I said laying him down and tucking him in. I stayed by Remus’ side until dawn, occasionally wiping his face with a cool towel. I was scared for him. I didn’t know what went wrong or how long it’d be until he was better.
I wrote a note to Kingsley saying that I’d be out sick for a few days. I had the flu. Then I wrote a note to Kingsley telling him the truth. I sent the real one to his house and the other one to work. I made some toast for Remus and in the early morning. He looked as if someone had kicked him all night. I propped him up with some pillows and gave him some water.
Remus was in bad shape for a few days. I refused to let him get up. I asked if he knew what went wrong with the potion. He didn’t know, but he said that his transformation was much more painful than usual. Remus kept thanking me for my kindness. I smiled each time and told him that I would drop anything for him.
I went to Grimmauld Place while Remus was sleeping one day. I had to fill Sirius in. Kingsley had informed the Order that Remus was ill. When I saw Sirius, he was looked as worried as a father whose wife was giving birth. He also smelled of some drink. “How’s Remus?” He asked when he caught sight of me.
“I think he’s getting better. He’s weak though.” Sirius muttered something about going to visit Snape about his potion making. “You don’t need to do that… I kind of wenttoHogwarts and threatenedhiminhisroom.” I said quicker than usual. It took Sirius a moment to unstring my words. Then he let out a loud bark of laughter.
“Ew, you went to his room?” He said looking at me as if I might have a disease. I rolled my eyes. “I think that might have been a first for Snively.” Sirius enjoyed bantering Snape quite a bit.
After a short while, I went back to Remus’ place. Dumbledore was there. He was talking with Remus. When I walked in, Dumbledore looked up at me, his eyes sparkling. “Here’s our nurse in shining armor.” He said with a benign smile on his face. “I brought some potions that should help him feel better.” If Dumbledore knew about my late-night assault on Snape, he didn’t say anything then. He excused himself and left.
Remus looked up at me; his eyes were bloodshot. I sat next to him and brushed his hair out of his eyes. He took my hand and kissed it gently. I smiled and told him he was still too weak to get frisky quite yet. “Speaking of frisky,” he said managing a smile. “I heard you made a midnight visit to Severus’ room the other night. I don’t think he meant the potion to go bad; it could have been a bad ingredient or something out of his control.”
I bit my lip; I didn’t want to argue with him. “I think it’d be best if Sirius and I made your potion…We’re both skilled, and we’re more than willing.” I paused a moment. “I care about you too much to trust—” I stopped myself from calling Snape a nasty name. “Just anyone to do this for you.” Remus looked like he wanted to object, but didn’t.
On Friday that week, Remus was almost all better. I was being fussy and didn’t want him to go to work. Ok, that was more me wanting to spend time with him, but he did still look peaky. Really.
We went on a walk together on Friday. We bundled up with the scarves and hats I made. He almost didn’t believe me when I said I made them. “When did you learn to knit?” He asked incredulously. He laughed when I said it was some Auror training I picked up. I didn’t tell him, but I had finished his sweater. I was excited to give it to him for Christmas.
Then I remembered, “Christmas is in a week… Do you want to go with me to my parent’s on Christmas Eve?” I asked tentatively. He smiled and agreed. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.Getting a brainwave, I pointed my wand covertly at the tree we were standing under. “Oh, look mistletoe.” I said trying to pull off a look of being pleasently surprise. I don’t think Remus was fooled, but he leaned into me and we kissed passionately under the tree.
That night Arthur Weasley was attacked while on Duty. I felt guilty that Remus and I had been cuddling in bed all night while he was put in harm’s way. I went with the Weasleys to St. Mungo’s the next day. Mad-Eye and I were security.
I was very interested to hear Harry’s account of what happened. He didn’t talk about it at all. I didn’t blame him; seeing inside Voldemort’s head isn’t quite normal. Moody was keeping both of his eyes on Harry on our way to the hospital. When we got there, the family went inside to see Arthur. Harry went in with them. Moody and I sat outside of the room talking quietly.
“I heard you and Lupin are dating.” Moody said conversationally. He was trying to be nonchalant about it.
“I wouldn’t quite call it that.” I said truthfully. Moody raised an eyebrow. “Well, he’s hesitant to be in a relationship.” I confessed. Moody muttered something that sounded like ‘idiot’ under his breath.
We went in to see Arthur after the kids left the room. Moody thought it was unsafe for the Order if Harry was being possessed by Voldemort. I didn’t think he was being possessed; well, I didn’t know what to think about it. Harry was even more subdued when we left. He barely spoke to anyone.
Christmas Eve came quickly. Remus and I went over to my parent’s house for a nice dinner. We exchanged presents. My parents bought Remus a nice tea set. He thanked them; his face was glowing. To my surprise, he got them something too. I guessed that they were from Sirius and Remus. Dad loved the Elton John record Remus got for him. Mom opened her present and her mouth fell open. It was a picture of Sirius and Mom as kids. Her eyes filled with tears. “I found that in my stuff and I thought, even though he’s made an awful life for himself, he’s still your cousin and I’m sure he still loves you.”
Mom looked at the picture, she didn’t look angry, but looked happy and after a short silence said, “I still hope that they’ll come out and say he didn’t really do it.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. She let out a short laugh and set the picture on the table. “Let’s see what you two love-birds got each other.”
“Unless it’s something not for our eyes.” Dad said laughing. I rolled my eyes; he was always so inappropriate around people.
I reached under the tree and handed Remus a lumpy package. I was a novice at wrapping. He opened it and let out a ‘wow.’ He held up his green sweater. “Did you make this?” He asked in amazement.
“Why? Are the sleeves uneven?” I asked jokingly. “Yes, I made it.” I grinned at the look on my parents’ faces. Remus put it on over his shirt. It was a near perfect fit. I was bubbling over with pride. Remus reached under the tree and pulled out a beautifully wrapped present. It looked larger than a ring box, but I didn’t think had that coming anyways.
I opened it carefully; the paper was too pretty to waste. “Ooooh.” Is all I said when I opened it. There was a Weird Sisters shirt, bra and panties. I laughed at the panties; it looked as if ‘weird’ was on the back and ‘sisters’ was on the front. “Now I’ll walk around with “weird” on my butt.” I said laughing.
We went to my place afterwards and started a roaring fire in the fireplace. Remus was still gushing over his sweater. I conjured some marshmallows and said we should roast them. He laughed and couldn’t believe how ‘muggle’ I was. After the third marshmallow, he couldn’t believe that wizards don’t do roast marshmallows.
“This is all gooey and mmmmh so good.” He said with marshmallow stuck to his fingers. I laughed; he was such a dork sometimes. We stayed up rather late talking about other muggle pastimes he missed out on growing up.
A/N: RIght-O. I hope you guys liked the chapter. And thanks for those of you that review; everyone else needs to rethink their life :P I think there will be some "I love you"ing in the next chapter...
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