Chapter 4
That evening the four of them sat at a small round table in The Three Broomsticks. Peter had joined Remus and James around mid day, looking better than Remus had expected. Sirius also looked marginally better, the color had returned to his cheeks, and he no longer groaned anytime someone spoke above a whisper.
Peter and James had just finished telling him about the wizard. Sirius made eye contact with Remus. “You knew?”
“Well. . .” Remus picked at his fingernails.
“What?” Sirius grabbed his wrist, forcing Remus to stop what he was doing and look at him..
“I just found out while you were sleeping. And, honestly, I made James tell me and… wait. Peter, is that what you were talking about last night?”
Peter flushed. “Yeah…”
Sirius looked between the three of them. “So you’re telling me that all three of you knew this whole time?”
James reached out and touched Sirius’ arm. “This is the first opportunity I’ve had to tell you.” He said gently.
Sirius’s shoulder relaxed. He nodded. “Fair enough.”
Remus relaxed with him, continuously impressed by James’ effortless ability to calm Sirius down. He often felt he only exacerbated whatever emotion Sirius was currently experiencing.
Sirius looked Remus in the eyes, causing his heart to flutter.
“When do we leave?” Sirius asked.
“How does 3 days from now sound?” Remus replied.
“Perfect.”
“Hold up. When did we decide that we were going?” James cut in.
“We?” Remus asked.
“Obviously,” James said.
Remus hadn’t realized this was a group project.
“But what about your job?” Remus asked.
Peter interrupted the conversation with a loud sigh. “Of course we’re coming.”
“We can’t ask you to do that.”
Peter rolled his eyes. “We aren’t just going to let the two of you run off to meet some strange wizard all by yourself.”
Remus started to protest again, but Sirius cut him off.
“Come on, Moony, it’ll be just like old times. The four of us against the world.”
Remus looked at James. He shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind getting out of town for a little while.”
“Well I guess that’s settled.” Sirius said, tossing his hair back and smirking at Remus, and he knew there was no point in arguing.
Peter stood. He glanced around at the table and walked away. The other three shared confused looks.
"I guess he's out." Sirius muttered.
"Just give him a minute." James said.
Pete returned a few minutes later carrying a rolled up map and spread it across the table.
“Where did you get this?” Remus asked.
Peter huffed. “The stable.”
“Yeah, Pete, I’m not really following this one.” Sirius said. “Do you just keep maps lying around?”
“It’s for when I have to give directions to travelers. This is an inn afterall.”
“Wait. . .I work at an inn?” James asked, raising his eyebrows and suppressing a smile. “This entire time I was thinking it was a church.”
Sirius cackled.
Peter ignored both of them and pushed the map in front of Remus. “We’re here.” He pointed near a river in the southwest part of the continent. “And the wizard is rumored to be here.” He pointed at the to a point in the far north. “On horse, it would take us a fortnight to get there under ideal conditions. With this weather… it will probably be closer to an entire moon cycle.”
Peter looked up from the map and one by one looked them each in the eye. “We will have to pass through the Forbidden Forest, which will take at least four days. And theres no saying who, or what we will meet.”
“Yeah, well Moony is always telling me that he’s a dark creature. He’ll protect us.” Sirius said smugly, a hint of mischief dancing in his eyes.
“Keep your voice down.” Remus elbowed him. And I only say that to prove that I know just how dangerous it can be.” He turned back to the map, tracing a finger across it. “We’ll need provisions… food, weapons, medical supplies…”
*
Sirius wasn’t listening. His mind wandered while the other three were huddled over the map, discussing various routes. He didn’t mean to, but he was sitting across from the window. The storm raged on, and if he unfocused his eyes, he could still see their cottage getting swept away.
The rain hadn’t eased, if anything, it was harsher than the day before. His chest tightened as it pelted the window. The inn suddenly felt unstable, as if one more droplet would whisk it out from under him. He gripped the underside of the table, bounced his leg to the rhythm of the rain, and tried to see past the sheets of water.
Then there was light pressure on his knee, and he finally tore his eyes away.
Remus, still focused on the map, placed one beautifully scarred hand on Sirius’ leg, grounding him. He gently squeezed it, then circled his thumb. Sirius took a deep breath and returned his attention to the table. Remus pointed to a town on the other side of the Forbidden Forest and Peter shook his head. .
“I don’t think that’s the best path.”
“But it will get us through the fastest.” Remus countered. “Which means we could restock supplies sooner.”
“I’m with Remus on this one.” James said. “I think it's worth risking the bog if it means we’ll be out of the forest faster.” He paused and looked around the table. “What do you think, Sirius?”
“Uh…” Sirius looked at the map. Remus squeezed his knee again. “I’m also with Remus.”
"Of course you are," grumbled Peter.
James gave him a stern look. “It’s settled. We spend the next three days gathering supplies. Then we leave first thing in the morning.”
“Well it's not my fault if we run into the slimeball,” Peter said as he rolled up the map.
Sirius had no idea what he was talking about, and made a mental note to ask Moony later.
“What do you say we hit the tavern again?” James said.
Peter turned green.
Sirius' face twisted in disgust. “How could you even say that?”
James laughed. “I’m only joking. Although, I could go for some dinner.”
A half hour later Sirius sat with his friends in the tavern, and unlike the morning, he was glad to see the plate in front of him. He demolished a rich shepherd’s pie, not glancing up until his plate was empty.
When he finally did look up, the other three were staring at him, their plates hardly touched. Except for Remus, although he was only halfway through his meal.
“What?” Sirius asked.
“If I didn’t know better I would have thought you body swapped with Moony.” Peter snickered.
“Hey!” Remus said. “I’m not that barbaric.”
“I don’t know.” Peter said. “You’ve never seen yourself on the night of a full moon.”
Remus threateningly pointed his fork at Peter. “Watch it,” he said, fighting a grin.
“Ooh, I’m terrified,” Peter mocked him. “Is the big bad wolf coming to get me?”
Sirius snorted as he tried to take a sip of water.
“Yeah, and for your food too.” Remus speared a mushroom on Peter’s plate and ate it.
Peter shook his head but the tug at the corner of his lips betrayed his unamused demeanor.
Sirius glanced around at his friends, and even though he ached for his home with each breath he took, he realized that there were much worse things to lose.
*
The following days passed quickly for Remus. There was hardly a moment he wasn’t pouring over maps with Peter, or gathering supplies with James. Sirius, on the other hand, spent the majority of the time sleeping.
It wasn’t unlike Sirius to spend all day in bed, but Remus worried. Sirius seemed perfectly alright when he did leave their room, but Remus couldn’t help but wonder if there was something he wasn’t telling him, but Remus let him sleep anyways. He knew they would get very little of it once they left Hogsmeade.
After days of preparation Remus knew all to well the dangers they would face as they headed north. There would be dark creatures, dangerous plants, and of course, Death Eaters—those who lurked in the shadows, serving a dark master. On the night before they left, Remus promised himself he would do everything in his power to keep his friends safe.
He was laying in bed next to Sirius, running his fingers through his hair. Remus kissed the top of his head, breathing in the smell of pine and juniper.
He kissed him again, on his forehead this time, and Sirius tipped his head back to look up at him. A small lantern provided the only source of light, and it twinkled in Sirius’ dark blue eyes. Remus brushed a light kiss over his lips.
Sirius made a small noise in the back of his throat. He looked up at Remus longingly, then without warning, grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him down on him.
Remus sank into the kiss. It was patient, slow even, but firm. He slid a hand under Sirius’ head, deepening the kiss. Sirius sat up, placed a hand on Remus’ chest and pushing him into a seated position with his back against the headboard. He straddled his lap, and when Remus leaned in to kiss him again, Sirius pulled back with a smug look he wanted to wipe of his face.
“So eager.” Sirius whispered.
He leaned in, brushing his lips against Remus’ ear. Remus shivered, it made him want to rip Sirius’ clothes off right then, but before he could Sirius breathed two words.
“Slow down.”
And Remus did.
Sirius pulled back and met his gaze with a mischievous look was on his face. He knew Sirius was savoring this moment. It was rare for Remus to do what he was told.
They kissed again, and Remus ran his hands through Sirius’ hair, his fingers briefly getting caught. He untangled them, careful not to rip out any hairs, and then ran his fingers down Sirius’ back, finally stopping on his ass. He squeezed.
Sirius moaned.
And just like that, Remus’ patience was over. He pulled Sirius’ shirt over his head and kissed his jaw line, his neck, the tattoo on his chest. He made his way lower, leaving a trail of kisses, and when he reached his waist, he slid his fingers under the waistband.
“Moony” Sirius gasped. He cupped the side of Remus’ face and tilted his head up. Remus saw nothing but love in his eyes. “You’re beautiful”
Remus ripped off his trousers.
*
Sirius’ fingers slipped off Remus’ face and the next thing he knew he was naked. Remus gripped under his thighs and yanked him to the edge of the bed, spreading his legs.
Sirius threw his head back in pleasure, and in that moment, all of his grief and anxiety was forgotton.
*
Sirius was shaken awake the following morning. It was still dark out, so he pulled the blankets over his head.
“Come on, love.” He barely registered Remus’ muffled voice, burrowing himself further into the bed.
There was a gust of cold, and he yelped, suddenly sitting up and trying to snatch the blankets back. Remus was faster than him, pulling the covers just out of reach.
Sirius groaned, blinking the sleep from his eyes and said, “How could you?”
Remus kissed Sirius on the forehead. “I really am sorry, but we have to go.”
It all came rushing back. Their house was gone. A mysterious wizard was to blame. They were going to catch him.
He forced himself out of bed and pulled on the clothes he had folded and laid out on the desk the night before. His belonings were already packed, minus what his clothes for the day and his toothbrush the night before. As he reached for his pack, he tried not to think about how that one pack carried everything he owned.
“Hold on.” Remus said. He pointed to Sirius’ bandaged hand. “We need to change those.”
“It’ll be fine.” Sirius said, waving him off.
“No.” Remus said. “We don’t leave until I take a look and put some fresh bandages on.”
Sirius sighed and flopped onto the bed. “Well hurry up, I bet James and Peter are waiting.”
Remus glared at him, but didn’t say anything. He pulled a small medical kit out from his pack and took out a roll of bandages and a bottle of antiseptic. He unwrapped Sirius’ hands and winced when he saw his fingers.
“That’s. . .not great.”
Sirius looked down. The skin around the stitches were an angry red, and the cuts were tinged yellow. Sirius shrugged. “Just clean it and swap out the bandages. It will heal itself.”
“I don’t know, Sirius. I really think we should get this looked at.”
“Just do it.” Sirius snapped.
Remus leaned back and blinked. Sirius instantly saw the hurt in his eyes, and a twinge of guilt settled deep in his stomach. He looked away and thrust his hand towards Remus.
He gasped when the antiseptic hit his fingers without warning, but refused to look over. He knew he should apologize, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The cut reminded him of their final moments together in the cottage, when it was easy to apologize and look to the day ahead, secure in the knowledge there would always be tomorrow for them to fight, make up, and return home to each other.
Without looking at him, Sirius leaned over and rested his head on his shoulder. Remus finished wrapping the wound, secured the bandage, and kissed back of his hand. He whispered, “It’s time to go, love.”
Sirius stood up and extended his unbandaged hand to Remus, who took it and stood with him. Sirius kissed his cheek, picked up his pack and mandolin, and left the inn. Remus was only a few steps behind, but he never dropped his hand.