'til the Full Moon
Remus couldn’t take his eyes off Hunter. He was extremely handsome. There was something wild in his stance, and his eyes were magnetic—golden, unabashed wolfish eyes. Remus was mesmerized and felt embarrassed for swooning over someone he didn’t know. The man led them to a terrace in the backyard, where they took a seat. Surprisingly, Severus started speaking.
“Lord Silverclaw,” he said softly, his velvety voice sweet and persuasive. “I understand that the proceedings in this type of wedding are different. But I’d like to offer you a word, if you’re amenable,” he finished with a smile.
Hunter was a gentleman; he wouldn’t deny a polite male carrier like Severus, so he nodded.
“Remus is not just any protégé of the Black Family. He is not part of us for political reasons. He is part of our family because my husband sees him as a brother. Thus, as his putative brother-in-law, I see myself in the need of uttering some words on his behalf. Remus is a kind soul, and he can be naïve—” at this, Remus wanted the earth to open and swallow him—“He needs someone to take care of him and give him a family. He especially needs someone to learn to live peacefully with his wolf.”
Severus’s eyes glinted for a second, and then the mind landscape in Hunter’s mind changed. He didn’t register an attack, just a gentle tug. Severus wanted to show him something in private. Hunter saw a flurry of images: Lyall Lupin’s anti-werewolf speeches, Remus Lupin as a child, Remus in the hospital wing, Remus attacking him, Remus crying with guilt, Remus’s sad eyes during the pregnancy announcement, Remus longing for a family, Remus’s acceptance to try to be an omega, and lastly, Albus Dumbledore forcing Severus to accept a vow of silence.
It was only a couple of seconds, but now Hunter knew better the context in which Remus was in. He was going to be a good alpha for him.
“I understand. I’ll take care of Remus,” he said, directing a reassuring smile to Severus and Remus, who was wide-eyed and dying of embarrassment. Both he and Sirius were oblivious to the exchange that had happened between them.
“And you’re right. Our type of ceremony has a few extra steps to take care of,” he continued, speaking this time to everyone in the room. “As I’m sure that Sirius informed you, there is a special process to turn a common beta werewolf into an omega. I would deem it something very private, so I don’t know if you would like to give some room for Remus and me to...” he started saying.
“Lord Silverclaw,” interrupted Severus, “I am not feeling very well. Perhaps you could lead my husband and me into a room for me to rest while you entertain Remus?”
“I’d love to,” Hunter said with an understanding smile. He stood up and led them to the immediate room before the terrace. From the windows, you could see what was happening on the terrace, but you couldn’t hear what was being spoken—a perfect spot for chaperoning.
Sirius seemed satisfied with it and started fussing over Severus while Hunter went to get Remus. He invited Remus to stand up and approach the end of the terrace so they could talk freely. Remus was a little stiff and blushing all the way due to the unexpected closeness. How could Severus neglect his duties as a chaperone in this way? Hunter’s hand was in the small of his back!
“Remus,” Lord Silverclaw said his name for the first time, “do you have any idea about how we are going to turn you into an omega?”
“Well,” Remus avoided looking into his eyes, “I am not well versed in werewolf dynamics. You are the first werewolf I’ve met after—” he trembled with fear—“Greyback.”
“You don’t have to be afraid anymore,” Hunter’s eyes seemed to glow. “I’m ten times more powerful than a stray like Greyback.” He softened his gaze and gave Remus a reassuring smile. “I’ll explain it to you then. We’ll have to mate first before the wedding,” he said bluntly, which drove Remus into a coughing fit.
“Shh,” Hunter started rubbing circles on Remus’s back to calm him. “Don’t get so flustered in advance. You haven’t heard anything yet.” His smile grew definitely wolfish. “You see, Remus, an omega is only different from a beta in the sense that they are willing to submit in every aspect to their alpha. You must submit to me not only in decision-making matters but also in submitting your body and your wolf. Our inner wolves are prideful. They do not want to bend for everybody, maybe not even anyone. You cannot convince your wolf to submit to me. I’ll have to convince him. I’ll show him that I’m the best option. I’ll take care of your every need from this coming fortnight until the last of our days. And although you cannot convince your wolf to submit to me, you’ll have to show him you’re agreeable, in mind and body.
“For that, we’ll have to mate every day from the day of the New Moon until the day of the Full Moon. We’ll mate just before turning, and once the moon and your wolf acknowledge the change in you, the real change will start. You’ll bleed during the whole full moon night. Your organs will change, and you’ll wake up as an omega. It is not something reversible. Once you change, you change. There’s no going back.”
Remus inhaled sharply, but a second later, he turned his gaze to Hunter, his warm honey eyes full of determination.
“I’ve already decided to be your omega. I’m not backing down.”
Now, watching Hunter’s smiling face, he allowed himself to smile in return, in relief.
Severus was dozing off. He was tired. Remus’s lessons and preparing and hovering over Regulus’s meeting with his fiancé, then preparing and hovering over Remus’s meeting with his fiancé had exhausted him. Now, he could rest at home with some quietness.
He had decided not to go out of his rooms today, too lazy to change into better robes for having breakfast and lunch with his parents-in-law. Regulus was already back at Hogwarts, ready for his last year.
His own NEWTS were already in his possession—all O’s. Walburga was so happy when she knew. She spent a whole day talking about how her grandson would definitely inherit his mother’s intellectual abilities. She was totally sure that it was going to be a boy, even though Healer Tarasov was unsure of the sex of the baby at this stage of his pregnancy.
Severus didn’t care much about the sex of the baby, but he would be happy if it could be a boy on the first try so he could take a little break after the birth without the pressure of having to give the Black Family another heir.
He was so carefree that he had to find something to relieve his boredom. Regulus had gone to Hogwarts, and with the special arrangements required for Remus’s mating, he had been delivered to Lord Silverclaw’s Mansion on the early morning of September 2nd.
As this marriage didn’t follow normal wizarding tradition, Remus was going to go through his turning, and then after the real day came, the next full moon, he was going to be holed up in that place for a nesting period.
As far as Severus understood, Alphas were extremely possessive of newly turned omegas. Hunter wouldn’t let Remus out of their little love nest until a month later, so they could hold the wedding. If he was not wrong, the date coincided with the full moon. It was tradition.
Remus was happy to provide him with all the details of the mating. He was so nervous that he couldn’t help but spill the beans with his new closest comrade in arms. Mating from the New Moon until the Full Moon, bleeding the whole night to turn into an omega. A month of nesting. A wedding on the next full moon, and then the wedding night would be spent as a werewolf couple—an Alpha and his omega. Poetic.
Sirius had been a little weirded out when Severus relayed the information to him. It was so funny to witness the sour face he got when he thought of one of his best friends having sex. It seems that Remus’s low self-esteem had made it so he didn’t approach anyone before to establish a meaningful relationship. It was even more delightful for Severus to point out to Sirius that all of their friends and family were aware of how they had been having sex since being married.
He took special joy in pointing out how any time they shared that they were expecting a child, everyone would automatically think of the fact that they had had to “cooperate” for the creation of the child. Sirius had been utterly mortified.
Sirius was really happy for Remus. He was also happy for Regulus. He was especially happy because Severus was happy. He had been surprisingly comfortable playing matchmaker between Remus and Silverclaw. His mother was rather excited about his first matchmaking. She said that it was important that he could discern good matches so he would be able to make good decisions in the future. She told him in confidence that she was assured in this regard thanks to the very well-matched union he had with Severus.
Sirius was also happy for his brother. He knew that it wasn’t easy for Reg to be a male carrier out of nowhere, but he knew that Lord Longbottom was going to treat him right. He had asked his mother about why she had decided on him, and he was satisfied with her logic.
Lord Longbottom was an only child with no contenders for his title. He was already the lord of the estate, and he was happy to remain without mistresses or scandals. He had already had a betrothal before, but he was not happy with his chosen match and withdrew after finding problems with his fiancée’s morals. It seems that he had been engaged to a girl who had made herself known in many beds during her time at Beauxbatons.
They were betrothed really young, and there were no real feelings as they were yet to be introduced when the Longbottoms withdrew. They had an age difference of three years, and she was still in her last year when the scandal broke out. It was perfect because no feelings meant that Reg wouldn't be the replacement for anyone nor the second option.
Lady Augusta was not happy with the available prospects at that time and waited for a good match until she was approached by his mother. She had probed about Lord Longbottom’s bachelor status before broaching the subject of Regulus’s status as a male bearer in advance. Augusta was really happy to pursue the arrangement, and they spent only a few months doing the proper negotiations.
Sirius loved knowing that his family was doing okay. The friendship department was more entangled, though. He couldn’t help but sigh at James’s letter in his hands.
Severus was not going to be happy.