Enchanté

Remus slept well. Though for him ‘well’ has meant ‘bearable’ quite early in his life. He continues on his day like any other where the morning gives him a slight peace before his roommates show up. Sometimes he wonders if it was the best idea to follow James' plan to all live together in his parents' old city house. It's as similar as their Hogwarts day with more intimacy. With a book and warm tea in his hand, he tries to forget about the upcoming day. To his demise, no words manage to reach his mind and, by respect for the story, he is left with the only option to slide back his bookmark in the book and close it.

Peter is still showering, taking his sweet time like always where he turns the bathroom into a sauna which is why Remus never goes after him to avoid his hair curling up more than they already are. They all have their own small bathroom with a toilet, sink and mirror, but it's nothing compared to the main one. Perhaps they are all holding on to the habits of sharing space because of Hogwarts. James is out for his daily run, waking up at no normal hour and exercising like a psychopath would. Remus is probably a bit bitter that his roommate is far more fit than him - he barely manages to picture himself exercising without feeling bored and exhausted.

He doesn’t feel quite restless but there is a feeling lingering through his limbs that he can’t piece together. His main hypothesis is the new case dumped into their laps and the meeting of the well-known Black family yesterday that might have influenced the wolf to bother him. It rarely happens, especially when he is a dozen days away from the next full-moon and fully rested from the last one, but he can’t deny it when this vague feeling hasn’t disappeared in his sleep. There is a fat chance that it comes from Grimmauld Place itself.

It has never happened to him, or at least not as personally as it feels now. As an Auror, he is bound to end up in awful settings or situations that ordinary people wouldn’t even picture and more than often Remus felt one coming up before it ever happens. The wolf rises, just so slightly, like a shadow without quite talking but there is some sort of concord as if the wolf and him will work together for what’s to come. In a sense they do, Remus gets the warning and depending on how uncomfortable he is or the rawness of his nerves he tries to anticipate what will come. It has come as a surprise to find some sort of common ground for his lycanthropy, less about separating himself and the wolf and more about what minor advantages it might bring. Though it probably comes from the hammering of the Ministry to put him to use.

Grimmauld Place gave him a sharp feeling of unease and magic: one that shouldn’t even come to exist. Somehow there was also a fear which he never thought the wolf could feel and he supposes there is something in the house related to a werewolf - a dead one - that might cause such a reaction. The tea left him puzzled and fearful of what is even in it so he chose to not drink it. The opposite wouldn’t have made him look good to their eyes either if he cared. They can’t be aware that he is a werewolf but he wouldn’t put that over them to put some potion in there to reveal people’s secrets.

It’s a curse and Remus would never think otherwise but he can’t deny that it has a slight advantage in his current life. Still, it doesn’t make the pill easier to swallow that without being bitten, he wouldn’t even be an Auror and might be a professor or have a little bookshop or something more akin to his taste. The Ministry tries to show him a pretty picture of better rights and a better understanding of werewolves in the wizards society but it has already been almost five years and he has seen no changes. He has regular check-ups, physically and mentally and at least now the Healer in charge of him learnt which tea he prefers. It’s all manners and lies and Remus is completely stuck.

He isn’t sure what would happen if he stood up and left without a warning but he doubts the Ministry would let him have his own life without trying to interfere or straight up destroying him. A sigh escapes him and he kneads his forehead with two fingers at what his life came to be.

“Hullo Rem’,” James chirps behind him, grinning when their eyes meet as he finishes a bottle of water in one chug. “Slept alright?”

Despite all the years they spent together, Remus is still convinced something is wrong in James to look grateful and exalted despite sweating like he ran around the sun every day. Even back at Hogwarts James would be up and about no matter the weather or even his state to play quidditch, which isn’t something that Peter nor Remus ever cared for.

He doesn’t know where he would be if James and Peter never became Aurors with him. Though he never asked them for it and would have never, just like for them to become Animagus to help him with 'his time of the month', but it really made things easier and Remus isn't that much of a hypocrite to never admit it.

“Alright. You? How’s the weather?”

“Looks like it will rain by the clouds,” he says, using his shirt to clean his sweaty foreheads. “But it should be alright, it’s not winter yet.”

“Great.”

“Pete done with the shower?” James calls more than asks as he already strides toward the bathroom.

Remus hears him loudly knock on the door with a polite warning for Peter to get out of here so he can get ready for work. Peter quickly comes out to grab his breakfast, looking pristine, and grabs the newspaper. There is still a page in it dedicated to the Black’s family that Remus decided to ignore. Lily will tell if there is anything relevant or new in it, though he doubts it. He saw the huge bounty poster for Sirius Black once again, striking with a picture of him younger and the slightly blurry one at the Portkey Office. Peter is right about how similar he looks to his brother Regulus though you could still tell them apart; maybe if they intend to then they might pass off as each other.

There isn’t a lot that Remus wishes for but now he hopes it will be an easy case. A Pureblood family isn’t quite what he wants to deal with, especially after that first meeting, and he wouldn’t be surprised if their sons are also pains to deal with. Regulus might be a real victim but still be a spoiled child - if his brother is truly mad and abducted him then they will help but Remus won’t put up with any silly acts.

They spend the day at the Ministry, working on what they can find on both brothers and their family despite the initial refusal of the family of sharing information. Lily resumes their day by deciding to show up at the Chimera tonight after dinner with the hope to find any of Regulus' friends. Mary mentioned to her that she did see Regulus’ group of friends at her bar multiple times with another person, not in the picture. They are assuming it might be Regulus hiding with a polyjuice potion as it would certainly be scandalous for his parents to know where he likes to wander. For anyone to even walk in the Chimera they have to be queer or not queerphobic, otherwise the doors stay closed.

Mary opened it right after Hogwarts and it has started a bit slowlybefore becoming the most popular place openly for queer wizards. They have helped her a bit, though it has been mostly Lily who dealt with all legal aspects for her and Remus might have looked through books to help them. All in all it is an incredible idea that started from Mary realising how many closeted people were in Hogwarts - literally banging on Remus’ toilet stall door to check on how gay he is during fourth year. One good thing from it is that Lily and her got together after a year of preparing the opening of Chimera; their sexual tension exploded on the opening night for Peter to find them close to breaking the health code.

James assured that there aren’t many Purebloods open to the idea of anything that wouldn’t give them heirs - hence the forced heterosexuality - and the Black are definitely on this side by the look of it. Remus is frankly more worried that Regulus ran away and they might have to go abroad just to track him down rather than a real kidnapping. Just coming up with the idea to abduct one of the child, considered as the only one, of one of the most powerful family is a deathwish. The Ministry would probably bend to all their wishes because they are this supposed ‘Noble and Most Ancient’ family though for what Remus still doesn’t understand.

Lily is obviously intense about the case by the look of it. He doesn’t know if she wants to prove herself to the Ministry or even to the Black family as it’s not exactly her style, but she can’t truly hide how anxious and curious she is about all of this. She enjoys solving mysteries. Remus is usually a fan too as they often come together in many situations. This time though, he feels prone to take a sick leave but no one at the Ministry would accept it. Lily is quite passionate, rivalling James when he isn’t day-dreaming about a painting, and she likes to break egocentric people’s minds so that might be what she is looking for. If Regulus is as much of a wanker as his parents, Remus will let her have fun with him.

His friends have pretty early on announced that they will become Aurors with Remus, who spent almost a whole year trying to change their minds but nothing has worked. The three of them were pretty surprised to find Lily in the same Auror course - though Remus had some lone classes because of his ‘useful’ condition. At first she had been somewhat peeved but she couldn’t deny they worked well together. She loves Remus, enjoys Peter’s company and learnt to like James once he stopped pushing his crush on her at the start of their sixth year. She admitted that she never thought they might end up working in the same place but it’s actually enjoyable.

They probably told her the real reason why James, the Quidditch devotee, and Peter, the dedicated musician, would end up as Aurors when they could be anything else. Lily knows about Remus’ lycanthropy and if he didn’t know she would lose her mind without Remus around, he might have believed she joined their team out of sympathy. Frankly he would also lose his sanity if she wasn’t here. James and Peter are lovely and he can’t think of better friends but they are still very prone to pranks everywhere. He doesn’t mind if it’s on a person who deserves to be arrested but they have more than often been surprised by their pranks and lost time or their dignity in crucial times.

“Rem’ what are you wearing?”

He sighs out, anticipating what James is going to say, and adjusts his coat over himself with a blank look at him. “Clothes.”

“To go to the Chimera?”

“Are we going anywhere else?”

“No but come on, you could have put on something more fancy,” James says cheekily and tugs at his worn-out pants.

“I think it’s alright,” Peter comments though his quick glance reveals he agrees with his statement.

They have gotten off the clock in the middle of the afternoon to get ready for their search for information at the Chimera. Without the French Ministry's possible information about Sirius there isn’t much to dig into there. He has been considered dead since he was 15 years old. Regulus’ own file doesn’t give much, either because the Black family do not want to share more information or he spent his life as much hidden as possible. Remus hasn’t thought further away than it’s just extra hours where he could be comfy at home. It’s not that he doesn’t care about helping or saving people but he is convinced that they are led on a fake trail and the parents have a bigger role in it than they are saying.

“There is no dress code.”

“Yes but I reckon you could pull easier if you put on this blue sweater of yours. This one looks just pitiful.”

“James, we are working,” Remus reminds even though he can see that Peter and him clearly put some attention in their appearance. “We aren’t out to pull and I reckon Lil’ will tell you the same and hex your arse if you ever think about anything other than our case.”

He gasps with his one hand, not yet in the sleeve of his coat, on his heart. “Fool! We all know she will throw everything out the moment Mary winks at her! And I’m very professional every second of my life.”

“At what?”

“I reckon she didn’t take five breaks today to wander around, instead of looking through archives to figure out anything to help our leads.”

“I brought drinks and snacks every time! And I did help by reading and sorting everything. You know I need to stretch my legs, I can't help it.”

Peter snorts. “You only looked through information about Regulus and no one needed to know his zodiac sign.”

“I did.”

“James, I doubt knowing if your zodiac signs are compatible is any help to find him.”

He throws Peter a playful glare as he finally puts his coat on. “For your information, we are extremely compatible and when we need that information you will be happy that I looked for it.”

“You couldn’t have guessed he is a Leo by his name?” Remus asks with a mean smirk. “Isn’t he supposed to be your soulmate or is it just the painting?”

“Do not worry about the painting, I will figure out a way for it. But I would rather be sure about our information than assuming and risking his safety.”

Peter blinks at him, pausing in front of the mirror with a hand in his hair. “By mistaking his zodiac sign..?”

“If we find him I might be the one more fitted to calm him down and reassure him,” James declares. “That’s important.”

“Lily will hex you if you even look at him past this point.”

“Please do not try to date someone because of a painting probably glorified,” Remus advises with a tired tone. “Especially if he is a real victim in whatever is going on.”

“At least this time James will be dedicated to work."

“You two are being really mean when I have always worked,” James complains. “This time I just have a greater motivation.”

“So why would you dress up to pull when the person you want to shag is still missing?”

“You never know when we will find Regulus,” he explains. “Perhaps he is hiding in plain sight and will come out upon seeing me.”

“Merlin saves me,” Remus mutters without great conviction. “Alright let’s just apparate to be done with this.”

He isn’t even honestly dressed that badly. It just so happens that Remus prefers comfort over style compared to James and he really needs this luxury to get through this job. His sweater is a bit loose, one of the sleeves is longer than the other, but the colour isn’t so bad even if it looks slightly big on him. James even took out a waistcoat of all things, though he leaves it open to not look too proper. Peter also puts great care in his clothes and they mirror each other by letting the first buttons of their shirts open. It fits them both but frankly they better not be pulling anyone when the Head of the Aurors reminded them of the importance of this case before they left the Ministry today. It’s as if Regulus' fate will send the Ministry into ashes.

Lily is waiting for them by the entry of the Chimera, dressed classically but with care for an appropriate ‘night out’ and rush of action if it ever comes to happen. Remus really doesn’t want to run after anyone tonight. She doesn’t comment on his clothes which confirms that his roommates are exaggerating and probably caught on his slightly bothered mood from this morning to assume that Remus might just need a shag to feel better. Lily is far more gracious in her concerns.

The Chimera is busy as always. They easily pass the threshold enveloped in the stone wall with living paintings that spit and scream at anyone not worth the entry - or straight up closing up at the last moment for anyone to brutally eat stone. Remus particularly liked to watch the entries over the first months of the opening to see people persisting to try and getting mad over their own intolerance.

All dancers are dressed up in their vests or gowns with a group already on the stage and entertaining the first clients with joyful music. It’s more than often lively and busy with drinks and foods, which can easily tire Remus out as he never really finds the desire to dance nor find any of the charming employees to please his eyes and even less to pull anyone. It’s breathy despite being underground and there are colourful lights floating around with charmed candles for every booth along with windows casting various landscapes. Anyone might believe it’s a cabaret by the clothes; though Mary lets her employees pick what they want to wear and prepare the shows without real limits and most people enjoy dressing up. Later during the night they have music and the scene is cleared for the public to dance on it after the series of colourful shows.

Mary waves at them upon noticing them, with a smile growing as Lily reaches for her above the bar to kiss her. “Hello, pretty woman,” she purrs, “what brings you to my humble establishment?”

Lily chuckles. “Of course for the charming hostess.”

Mary laughs and pouts her lips for another kiss, offering a slight sliver of her attention to them with a bored wave. “Hullo you three. Drinks? Anything for your lot to leave my girlfriend at the bar.”

“Not as strong,” James says. “And you’re free to do anything you want.”

“We are sadly not here only for fun,” Lily reminds.

“Yes, I know.” She looks meaningfully around before pulling out four glasses and bottles, already making their usual drinks. “You are lucky though. One is already here but I can’t say if the rest will join. They come and go but it’s not regular or anything. Though it’s rare for only one to stay.”

“Really?” Lily perks up, looking around with a perfect innocent curiosity. “Oh.”

Remus also notices the head of almost white hair sitting at a table near the stage. He could have recognized Pandora even if he hadn’t seen the picture with Regulus. There isn’t much he can catch from here but she doesn’t seem to have changed. She is deeply engrossed in the shows of dancers throwing their legs around to show off their stockings and rocks her head in rhythm of the music with a purple cocktail sitting in front of her.

“We are lucky,” James muses, “we can already solve the letter and see that she hasn’t eloped with him.”

“Eloped?” Mary frowns. “Regulus? With a woman?”

“It was only a weak possibility,” Lily explains. “We need to look into everything especially when we don’t really have a real idea.”

“Love, I saw the pictures of Regulus– he is definitely gay.”

“Really?” James chirps.

“Your gaydar doesn’t add up in our case, though I do believe you.”

“Hum, I’m never wrong… So nothing on his brother yet?” She whispers back with an obvious excitement at the prospect of joining the case, to which her girlfriend slightly scowls. “What? I’m only happy to help!”

“And in case we really have a mad brother to deal with, you won’t join us,” she calmly warns.

“We don’t even know if he is in London or any possible destination from the Portkey Office,” Peter explains. “Sirius doesn’t seem to have any contacts here outside of his family but none of them would talk to him.”

“Let’s go talk to Pandora,” James decides and nudges Remus when he finishes his glass of alcohol and lets Mary serve him another time. “You are the perfect opening.”

He frowns. “I barely know her.”

“Yes but you two chatted at Hogwart. Just act curious about her whereabouts after all these years, just small talk.”

“James is right,” Lily agrees. “I will try to mingle around to see if any of the regulars might know anything about this lot.”

Remus is pretty sure she already knows every information possible for their case from this place thanks to Mary but he knows better than trying to cut off her girlfriends’ times. To be honest, he is really curious about Pandora; she is a nice girl from what he remembers. He wouldn’t have imagined meeting her again under these circumstances, especially since he doesn’t remember her hanging out with any of Regulus’ supposed Slytherin friends back then. Though he might have not paid attention either.

“I will scan for a magical trace of him around,” Peter says. “Even his room was completely cleaned from it so there was nothing to follow. And I tried to look around for one but if he was here recently and with her then maybe there is something.”

That is weird. Cleaning magical traces asks for a lot of care, though they probably ask their house-elf for that, but there isn’t quite a use of it either outside from not being trackable. It would add to the elope hypothesis, or that his parents might have done something and want to target their own estranged son. If there isn’t any trace of magic through the whole house, Remus doubts it’s the work of someone outside of their life to go around like that with this much care. It only makes things more difficult and worrying for Regulus if he really was abducted. They might not be dealing with amateurs.

Pandora is deeply engrossed in the show, not even looking where her hand lands when she brings her drink closer to catch the straw between her lips. By the lack of movement of her eyes, Remus supposes she is more in her thoughts than admiring the dancers.

“Hullo! Pandora, right?” James chirps with that easy-going tone and glances at Pandora with a friendly smile. “We were at Hogwarts together, weren’t we?”

Her green eyes strike perfectly with the dark tone of her skin. She hasn’t changed a bit and her smile blooms with a bow of her lips before it spreads. Even her hair hasn’t lost its ivory and gold shine, with one braid tangled with what looks like a green and blue jewel, and is still as long as always like a drape of stars.

“Hello.” She doesn’t show whether she recognizes James and Remus wouldn’t take her cheerness as a sign of recognition. “Oh, Remus! It’s been so long.”

He nods and can’t help but smile. She has been very nice to talk to in Hogwarts despite not quite getting to know each other. They never really did that.

“Yes, hi. You look well.”

“And you’re James Potter,” Pandora says with her smile growing, cutting off James who was about to present himself. “You can sit down if you want. I remember you falling from one of the roofs.”

Remus barks a small laugh and James joins without much shame. “That was for the Christmas prank of our third year. My broom fell and when I accioed it I slipped instead of catching it.”

“Awful,” she comments without losing one piece of her joy. “Are you two together?”

“No,” Remus immediately replies.

“Sadly Remus doesn’t see how great I am.”

Pandora chuckles at James’ comment with a small look at Remus. "I see."

“Do you come here often? It’s the first time we see you here,” he says to bring back the conversation toward what they are here for. Still, he is curious about her whereabouts and happy to see her again.

“I’ve been coming here from time to time for perhaps almost two years? Yes, two,” she agrees. “I thought you might know this place because I remember you were friends with the owner at Hogwarts.”

Remus nods but James takes the lead.

“Yeah, we helped Mary to start it, though she wouldn’t admit it. I did a lot of advertisement,” he explains with a quick glance toward the bar. “I’m glad it brings more people together like this. We wouldn’t have met without it now that I think about it.”

Pandora plays with her drink with a smile still on, except that her gaze travels between them two with a grave edge.

“Yes. It’s really fortunate.”

Her attention shifts back to the show and they follow her lead. James meets Remus’ eyes for a split second before downing his drink. It’s only when the music quiets down for the dancers to get their respite with wide smiles and proud laughters that Remus focuses on Pandora.

The direct strategy would be to ask if she is here by herself and then pull the thread to her friends and more importantly Regulus. Most people underestimated her back at Hogwarts, Remus can remember that. She doesn’t come from a powerful family, a complete orphan, and she appears breezy if not unconscious of most things which gave her the wrong reputation of being a moron.

“I guess we never had the right timing to see each other until now,” Remus truthfully supposes as he has never spotted her since he left Hogwarts. “What have you been doing since school?”

“I experiment with potions. I’m not a potioneer per se, though I sell some, but I try to explore everything we could do with it. Recently I have been very close at concocting a potion as a way to share memories,” Pandora says. “There are things I would like to share with my friends but sometimes the timing isn’t right and memories are very moody creatures but I think I figured them out.”

James gapes at her whilst Remus has the dignity to not so openly be stunned. “Woah.”

“That’s– impressive,” he manages to articulate.

“Yes, I am.” She agrees with a blinding grin. “What about you?”

“We’re Aurors,” James replies. “We just couldn’t get enough of each other after seven years in the same dorm so we continued to be roommates too.”

Pandora’s face is perfectly blank, taking her time to look at him and then at Remus before grimacing. He huffs a laugh as he recalls a similar reaction of hers like that back in Hogwarts. She can perfectly hide her reaction if she wants to but she actually takes her time to show it which he always found endearing. If he wasn’t the wanker working as an Auror he would pull the same face.

“That’s sad.” James blinks at her, puzzled by her clear disapproval and he chances a look at Remus. “You could do so much better.”

“Well— life happens,” Remus says because there is nothing else to add at her scrutinising eyes.

The dancers are coming out from the backstage after refreshing themselves from their show. They pass by their tables, answering to regulars and newcomers complimenting them with whistles and more applauds. Remus would have ignored this easily, to focus on James bouncing back with another conversation, probably treading towards Regulus, if it wasn’t for the intriguing whiff that catches him by his throat.

His senses hit him roughly, tackle his mind down, and he can’t fight it as he turns to follow the scent as much as he can. Many perfumes dance with it but barely manage to get the same charming intensity that leaves Remus drooling and dry of any wit. It’s one of the dancers though he can’t yet discern who because they all drift here and there for a drink, snack or chatting.

They are all somewhat familiar to him, considering he is a regular, and he does pay attention to the shows but nothing more. Women lack certain bits and there aren’t many men up on the scene whether in these tantalising shorts or joyful dresses for him to pay more attention to it. To his surprise, there are only women who danced just now which means that his mouth is itching to get on something that shouldn’t interest him. His eyes continue to jump from one to another and the smell is tingling, licking at his nostrils and graciously sinking into him without feeding him.

Remus has never found anything quite like this and even less when the full moon is still out of reach to rouse the wolf - who is quite awake now. He could almost believe someone dragged the moon in here to have such a reaction but it’s not an itch to get out or fight. It’s contemplative, seeming satisfied with Remus looking for them both, but it greedily forces him to continue to breathe in without a real break.

“Rem’?”

He hasn’t realised he has turned in his seat to peer at the dancers who passed them until James’ hand nudges his forearm. His fingers slowly let go of the glass that somehow feels too fragile now.

“Yes? Sorry.” Pandora doesn’t appear to notice anything weird about him. The perfume is still here, faint but alive and probably mingling around them. “Got a bit lost in my head.”

“You do have a big head,” she agrees.

“He does,” James laughs, “anyway, what were you saying? Graves? Brother?”

Remus freezes, surprised about the subject. He can’t have missed that much. The scent hasn’t left and it doesn’t feel like it’s moving. It’s not chocolate, one of the things that always made his nose sharp, and he doubts it’s a real perfume that someone puts on.

“You have a brother?” He forces himself to ask to try to get his brain on track. The wolf is upset about it and huffs at him to sniff the air like a bloody animal.

“Yes.” She is pleased by it. “It’s a long story, see his father only wanted one heir and a man so he discarded me when we happened to be twins. But it’s alright, Evan and I found each other at Hogwarts though. We look very alike don’t we?”

“Rosier?” James asks, clearly having no idea what Evan Rosier looks like but Remus is not better with his eyes trying to get away from him to find the scent. “I’m happy you found each other at least.”

“He isn’t as fun as Barty for the grave cleaning though. His imagination isn’t as extreme and he isn’t as curious as Reggie so I’m always the only one making up a story really. Dorcas tells only happy endings compared to them.”

Remus has missed too much but he supposes that James is doing something good because Regulus is mentioned. Pandora cleans graves apparently and he manages to catch on that she likes to picture stories of people’s names she finds in there. It sounds interesting but he can’t ignore the memory of the smell.

His brain hasn’t fully grasped it which leaves him craving for more details. Outside of how charming and exquisite it smells to him, Remus is more curious about what could feed him this sudden mad hunger. He is worried it’s a person but it only came with the dancers, people he is already familiar with. It’s still in the wide room of the Chimera which gives him many options but he can focus on it enough to suppose it’s coming from behind him, toward the bar. He empties his drink but it doesn’t solve the desert growing in his throat.

“You and Regulus are close?” James inquires. “He never went to Hogwarts, did he?”

“He studied in France but Evan knew him from before,” she explains. “He would have hated you.”

“What?!” He blurts out with too much honesty. Remus would roll his eyes if he wasn’t trying to focus on his touch, sight and ears to forget about the taste he craves for. “Why?”

“It’s actually positive. Reggie prefers silence over noise but you would grow on him, I know it. He masters hatred like a thorny blanket except that he needs to be reminded to take it off but I have the feeling you would manage through that quite easily. Which would immensely annoy him at first.”

“Would I?” James beams and sends a pointed look at Remus. “That’s nice to know.”

“Aries and Leo always find each other,” she comments.

James shakes Remus with a sharp elbow, which gets him a rough guttural grumble that borders a growl– it surprises them both but Pandora doesn’t appear to pay attention to them. His heart hammers with guilt but it’s swiftly buried, sealed, mourned by the smell that keeps dragging his mind away.

“You know, I’m happy to finally have someone agreeing with me about that,” James says as his tone perfectly jumps back to their previous mood.

Remus can perfectly see that James noticed that he isn’t quite in his right mind, his eyes keep jumping between him and Pandora, and he really tries to focus back on them before he loses control over his saliva. It’s completely stupid because he can’t taste a smell.

“So, hum,” he clears his throat because he really feels out of his skin, “you’re friends with Regulus.”

“Yes, very close. I even managed to get a baby out of him-”

“Sorry, what?” James blurts out with a lot of emotions flying past his eyes.

“Oh well I would like a child but I wouldn’t want to make Evans jealous by asking Barty and I love Dorcas but she doesn’t have that craziness I enjoy so I figured I could ask for the great genes of Regulus,” she happily tells and finishes her drink like it’s her reward. “I got him to sign everything while he was drunk so once I’m ready I will use it.”

Remus would absolutely love to know more about it but his clothes are starting to itch. It’s definitely the wolf getting impatient and sadly it’s really getting on his nerves. There isn’t even one thing he could think of to cause such a reaction but perhaps he has found some sort of werewolf catnip? He needs to figure it out.

“Erm, but are you aware that Regulus has been missing?”

His hair feels rough and sharp when he frustratedly passes a hand through it. Giving up on listening to all of them, he casts a look behind him to survey the room. He knows it should be his job first but it’s like a fever crawled up to him to rub itself all over him with no respite. There aren’t many chances that Regulus is even here anyway.

“I know that… You are looking for him, aren’t you? I do not know what is happening nor where he is.”

There are less people compared to before, a lot probably went to the more private rooms to drink and chat rather than the main room when there won’t be a show before an hour or so. Except that the smell is still here - a relief and a torture. No matter who he scrutinises, he can’t focus on it.

“Regulus didn’t contact you before disappearing? Anything about his plans, family or even his brother?”

“Oh, Sirius? We met a while ago when we visited France. He would never hurt Reggie.”

The problem is simple: Remus recognizes most people here and by how he reacted, it must be from one of the dancers or someone working in the back. Mary likes it to keep a close kind of family especially since they built this as a safe haven for queer people so he would know of anyone new.

“You did? So he and Regulus get along?”

“Hum, well he wanted to see him again. We had to distract his guards that his parents always insist on sending after Reggie but it went fine.”

Perhaps some kind of new drug came out and Remus is able to smell and feel its effect. They rarely came upon substance cases but it always tingled his noses when they came across it. Except that now it’s not just his nose that bothers him but his whole skin tries to crawl outside to reach for this source of euphoria. He can’t picture what he would even do with it. Feast? Bite? Swallow? Kiss? Many options flutter in his mind.

“You don’t think Sirius is the reason why Regulus disappeared?”

Pandora laughs just as Remus’ eyes finally grasp onto something. One of the dancers is sitting at the bar and dragging two fingers across her plate to lick them after, which is probably more proper than licking the plate directly—except that it’s Valeria. Remus knows her quite well ever since he found her reading one of his favourite books when she had a break. Nothing about her having to act lady-like but she would never do that in the middle of the Chimera with everyone to see. It can’t be Valeria.

She shifts, slightly turning the plate to have a better look with the nearest candle before slowly dragging her index figure with a fervent smile that only grows as she puts it back in her mouth. It’s not Valeria.

All the signs are almost not there but it flickers like a mocking callout to Remus for him to focus on his stupid job by listening to James and Pandora rather than the slight shift of hair colour and the hints of tattoos shimmering before disappearing when she takes a look around. It’s definitely a disillusion charm– which is pretty bold considering that everyone here knows her. The scent also comes from her. There is no mistake with how the wolf perked up and watches with sharp attention.

Whoever is trying to pass as Valeria is not really careful, she actually seems far more invested in finding another dessert by her swift look around the bar but everyone is busy with a large group of people at the bar. Remus watches her huff and purses her lips in a big pout, which clearly isn’t hers but he doesn’t see any hint of their real appearance. Their eyes meet his, looking prettier than ever with a silver drop that disappears within a blink, and a second of surprise is on their face before they smile with all their teeth at him.

“Remus?”

He grunts a sort of answer, only noticing now that he stood up. James calls for him but his words are shredded, spit and trampled before Remus can react as he heads toward the bar. The usurper looks delighted to be at the end of his unwavering stare, which must border on gold because the wolf is up and thrilled that they are finally getting closer to the smell.

This has to be a trap. He is only going there to check on what’s going on–nothing else. There is no reason for him to breathe like he has been drowning for centuries and his jaw keeps snapping like a sensible chopper because of the drool he keeps swallowing. Remus puts a hand over his mouth, badly imitating a cough, to prevent anyone from noticing how delirious he looks. He tries to not appear as aggressive as he feels to be, playing it as reaching for the bar and not Valeria who bats his eyes at him with an almost impatient wave of leg.

James is certainly still with Pandora but must have made a sign to Peter and Lily about Remus - he knows him enough to figure out that he isn’t in his right mind. He better figures out what’s going on before they worry. The wolf definitely isn't up for any kind of company that doesn’t include this poisoning smell.

A snarl almost escapes him when he realises the fake Valeria’s attention has moved on from him. They don’t look happy about it but they still stare off somewhere down the corridor leading to the private rooms for the employees. With a throw of her hair that flickers to a pitch black compared to Valeria’s light brown hair, they leave their chair to walk away.

“Remus, you alright?”

His attention snaps to Mary facing him with a curious, slightly worried face, at the bar. The group of people is served near them but it’s still not enough to get his mind off the scent that is clearer for him to drink it; the wolf even seems to be getting drunk on it.

“Yes,” he roughly lies as his eyes quickly jump to see the last sight of the usurper slipping past the curtains to be in the private quarters. “Valeria.”

“Yes?” She replies, still confused and appears to finally catch on the plate the false Valeria left behind. “Oh, she is great tonight. I’m a bit surprised because she called in sick this morning but she still showed up. I’m curious what potion she took because she really sounded awful. I suppose that’s why she was so hungry to beg for a piece of raspberry cake.”

Well this only confirms his suspicions. There is nothing stopping him– there is a suspicious individual within his vicinity who shows up on a possible scene related to a missing person, which Remus has the duty to check now.

He licks his lips. “Thanks.”

“Rem’, I’m not judging but what did you take-”

The wolf is huffing and pushing and frankly Remus can’t even be mad at it because he is rushing to find this usurper. It’s getting clearer, the smell is fresh in the corridor and he can hear a pleasant humming something down there. His skin is clinging to him like a smothering blanket that only slows him down.

This time he can’t focus his nose on anything else but Remus tries to keep his mind on something that makes him stop drooling. He needs some logic and he tries to puzzle together what could excite his body so much. He does not feel up to eat whatever is smelling but there is a sharp desire to devour mixed with something softer like care. The only smells he can connect with people, with that intensity, are only with James and Peter but that’s because they spent the full moon together. His wolf sees their Animagus as a pack, and in a way their humans form too, but it’s probably a mix of these two that cause him to have such a sensitivity to it. Everyone has their own smell but it’s rarely as strong as them – though Mary has a stronger smell which sometimes clings to Lily.

The scent he is trailing after is something beyond that. It terrifies him. Yet his steps only accelerate until he catches whoever is dressing up as Valeria near a dressing room. They are expecting him by the look of it, playing with the strap of frilly tissue on their thigh as they are laying against the wall with a twinge of innocence in their posture if the smirk on their face wasn’t just calling for mischief and hunger. The dress is opened just at the right level at their hip to show enough skin to be sexy if needed and they are obviously pulling everything out.

It’s crazy because Remus’ eyes do take this all in despite never being interested in women– which only weirds him out because they still appear as Valeria which he never thought of in that way at all. He needs to remember that they are obviously looking or preparing something here which brings him to softly slip his wand near his hand if it needs to come to be despite the wolf snarling at him at the thought of hurting them. This smell is very dangerous.

“Hello there.”

Whoever they are either don’t care about their disguise or can’t make it any better because it flickers here and there– they must really be wearing the dress Valeria usually wears because their paler skin appear without changing their dress. He can’t see anything beyond that despite keeping his eye on them.

Remus’ voice is stuck in his throat, roughly croaking a vague disapproving answer, which might as well be a huff or a snarl because the wolf tries to crawl out the closer they get to them. The disillusionment charm flickers again, flashing a sharper jaw than Valeria’s with the hints of beauty marks that cause his eyes to zero in and frown once they disappear.

“Need anything handsome?” Their voice must come from a siren because Remus finds himself with no desire to even interrogate them. They sound like a man, to his relief, with a smooth and crooning tone that easily gets him to dip his head to catch every notch. “I’m sure I can be of help, for anything. I'm quite talented.”

A hand goes to touch his arm, finally shaking him off the entrancing feeling that flutters across him. By pure instinct, he breathes in more of that smell.

“You’re not Valeria,” he articulates as he tries to bring something different than saliva on his tongue.

“Mmh no,” they chuckle, tilting their head as their lips stretch in a smile that doesn’t fit on this face. “Disappointed?”

Remus is more disappointed that he finds himself wishing they would show drop the disillusion charm to check if they are as beautiful as they smell like. His mind tingles with an alarm but it doesn’t manage to soothe his body and his breathing. He must look like a maniac but they don’t appear put off by it by their hand brushing over his arm.

They must be using a potion or a spell, anything that triggers him like this just can’t be anything good– yet they are pushing and melting into each other, falling against the wall as their lips keep finding each other.

It’s worse than Remus expected, it’s only a brief realisation as his thoughts are ignited by every touch of skin. Their breath mingles and fills them with no ends or start. He has never reached such a pleasure as Remus only recalls himself once his arms hit the wall.

Their hands keep caressing his shoulders, tightening and fondling him, which finally makes him realise the usurper is taller than expected; not as much as Remus but it’s a stark difference compared to before. His eyes are more focused on capturing the array of black tattoos on the pearl white collarbone and hands that keep petting his jaw now– he wants to drink all of this in but his mouth is completely fuzzy from the scent alone.

His lungs have barely been reintroduced to air before they are kissing again, impatiently and with a vigour that should clash between them but it fits perfectly between all of their contacts. The wall creaks as Remus roughly groans through his nose and earns a melodious chuckle swallowed by them both. He has completely caged them and by the lascivious smile, Sirius Black is thoroughly pleased-

Sirius Black.

Remus can’t jerk away even if he tried to. There is no mistake that it’s Sirius Black’s lips that he just bite and sucked on, the perfect reddish hint that calls him to dive back in, as they spread in something akin to sheepish and insatiate. The wanted poster has done a pitiful portrayal of him though no one would have truly tried to arrest Sirius Black if they ever saw that look on his face.

“Do you want to see what’s under my dress?”

He should absolutely not be interested in that but nothing much matters at this point. Whatever choice Brought him to use a disillusion charm hadn’t included the clothes which means Sirius Black is really wearing these dresses made to fit every curve to tease all eyes. Remus' eyes are disoriented between the patch of stark skin, the obscure ink of the tattoos and the arrays of beauty marks here and there before he even notices the slight puffed breasts hidden by the intimate lavender colour of the dress. One of Remus’ legs is pegged, rode frankly, by Sirius' legs where there is the obvious feeling of a hard-on. He can’t piece together who brought this position first but his body doesn’t stop trying to melt with him and to disappear into the wall to finally be alone. Anything to continue to kiss one way or another.

“Ah, sorry for that,” Sirius says, plunging his hands to take out the bundles that filled his cleavage and clearing the view for Remus to see the nipples down there– pierced. “Hope you don’t mind these are fakes, though I’m sure I can find a way to redeem them.”

“Merlin—” He croaks with a feverish voice and a bemused shake of the head.

“I reckon we don’t need to invite that lad.”

“You,” Remus scoffs and his brain is too slow to react before Sirius drags him back down for a deep kiss.

Their bodies embrace each other with no need of questions. It’s nothing like an oasis because no part of him has ever craved any of this, unaware of the pleasure and the hunger that has been sleeping; discovering an el dorado has never been in any of his life’s plans. Remus has found something alluring, wicked and unstoppable, feeding on his peace and an uncalled desire.

A groan escapes him as their crotches meet in a tandem and a heel slowly messes up the back of his pants. It has never came to his mind and he doubts he would have found this in any way, outside from pretty, arousing if he hasn’t been introduced now to the fantastic image of a man dressing up as a woman– which should remind him of something but he has more important matters such as collecting all the different noises Sirius can make. He is high on this sudden treat and the wolf is fully placated, put to bed and charmed to even focus on anything else that doesn’t imply kissing, breathing or fondling.

It costs him a second too much to notice someone else in their corridor and another one for the rush of magic shot at him. Remus just has the time to turn, hand flying to his wand to hopefully cast a protection but he is hit just on the side by a Pretificus Totalus. He would swear and trash if he wasn’t completely frozen and it hits him all at once of what’s happening when Sirius catches him with a sullen look.

“Bloody wanker!” Someone whisper-shouts and Sirius throws them a dirty look but Remus can’t see anything else than himas he is facing the wall. “You promised you would follow the plan!”

“First off, you're really rude. Who taught you these manners?”

“Don’t make it worse Sirius, we need to get out of here. And if anything it’s you, you absolute slut."

Sirius groans out and glances at Remus, who hopes he manages to at least glare at him because he realises that he is obviously impersonating Valeria because he is a wanted man.

“Since when do you give orders?”

Whoever is at the other end is completely unfamiliar, voice and smell-wise, to Remus but they don’t appear to be getting along with Sirius by the pissed tension as they come closer.

“Espèce de connard, bouge-toi !”

Sirius replies perfectly in french with probably more words than necessary and moves Remus in a way he would have thought of protective if he hadn’t just fallen to their trap. They definitely used something to make him lose his bloody mind– what could it be? Is there really some kind of werewolf catnip he never heard of? That would imply they know about him and figured they would come here. A sharp wince stops his thought as something definitely took some of his hair.

He is just enough turned to face Sirius crouching down to look at his face with an impish grin. “See you later, handsome,” he whispers with the gentlest kiss on his lips before settling him back down.

Thankfully a part of the smell leaves with him. He tries to catch on where they run off to or find any hint of why they are even looking for at the Chimera. The wolf is particularly unhappy but compared to Remus it’s not about being completely fooled but about the loss of the proximity with Sirius Black. It doesn’t stop him from unashamedly breathing in the last trail here and there but this time he intensely tries to piece together how come it affects him this much.

Whoever is his accomplice also has a particular scent but nothing compared to the intensity of Sirius’. People sometimes have a stronger smell, and while he supposes for James and Peter’s case is because of their animagus, he has come across some people with a stronger scent than others without needing perfume.

The lights suddenly go off and there is a sort of panic erupting in the main part of the Chimera but no real screams or signs of attacks. Remus will definitely capture Sirius Black now, just for the mockery and the use of his lycanthropy against himself.

“Remus!” Peter exclaims and rushes to his side. “What happened to you?!”

He is careful as he slightly leans him over to have a better look before taking out his wand to cast a swift Finite. Remus quickly sits up with a pained grunt because his head is aching.

“Bloody bastard.”

“Who got you?” He asks, checking around with his wand still up before noticing James and Lily joining them.

“Sirius Black.”

“He was here?!”

“Remus, you alright? Mary said you looked weird,” Lily says.

“Mate you looked famished.”

“I’m fine,” he replies, with a stern look at James’ frown, passing a hand through his hair.

“It was a planned spell,” Peter explains as he stands up. “I could feel the trail of magic here and there but nothing concrete.”

“So they prepared it,” James mumbles. “We looked at the whole place and we would have noticed it if someone triggered anything from the main rooms. Nothing seems to be missing but Mary is taking a look once she properly closed the whole place.”

“Remus, are you hurt?” Lily curiously asks, crouching to look at his head. “What was it?”

He shrugs as he recalls what he was doing in the middle of an investigation. His mouth almost makes him tickle with the memories of the rush and the heat that overcame him but he is prepared to be rational this time.

“I think they set a trap for me, fell right into it.”

“Shit,” she mutters. “Anything broken?”

“No.”

Lily still helps him up on his feet and aims his wand at any sign of discomfort before freezing despite Peter and James still chatting about what they saw and heard.

“Remus. Tell me this isn’t it.”

“What?”

“Is he alright?”

Remus only realises when they all come around him with Lily staring at his pants, and the most disappointed look she has ever directed at him, that his pants are no help to hide all the blood that has rushed to his crotch ever since he properly met Sirius Black.

“Please tell me this is not what I think it is.”

“Lily-”

“Didn’t know we invited our fourth roommate,” James snickers with Peter who tries to not stare at his boner.