Chapter 6
having reluctantly extracted himself from a particularly interesting conversation with lily, remus slowly made his way back up to gryffindor tower. the dorm was quiet as he approached and he poked his head round the doorframe curiously.
“love?” remus asked quietly.
moving further into the room, remus walked over to his bed, dropping his bag down. sirius rolled over, his back to his boyfriend.
“i’m not talking to you.”
remus raised an eyebrow, looking down at the boy in his bed amusedly.
“and why not?”
“you didn’t want my kisses earlier” sirius said, sitting up against the headboard to pout at the werewolf.
“you know why” remus told him. “now i think you should have a bath and try and clear your blocked nose with the steam, okay?”
sirius recoiled slightly, shimmying further under the duvet.
“i’ll plait your hair afterwards” remus offered.
sirius brought his head back out from under the duvet immediately, a grin on his face.
“will you get in with me?”
“err sure” remus said, quickly turning away to grab his towel so he could try and hide his blush. “i’ll go warm up the water.”
sirius watched from the bed as remus disappeared into the bathroom carrying two towels and a bottle of soap. he moved towards the edge of the mattress slowly, gently placing his feet on the cold wooden floor.
when he pushed the door open, remus was already in the bath, a thick white layer of bubbles sitting on the surface, surrounding him. sirius joined him, yanking off the oversized jumper.
he slipped into the water, positioning himself between remus’ legs, leaning back into the werewolf’s chest.
“will you wash my hair?” sirius mumbled.
“if you want” remus replied, picking up the small jug on the side and filling it with warm water. he carefully massaged shampoo into his boyfriend’s hair, wary of what had happened last time a bit of shampoo had got into sirius’ eye. this time though, sirius had his eyes closed, enjoying the sensation of remus’ fingers running through his hair. remus quickly rinsed all the bubbles out, before silently refilling the jug and emptying its entire contents over sirius.
sirius spluttered, splashing as he turned around in the narrow bathtub to face his boyfriend whose eyes were lit up.
“i hate you” sirius told him, sniffing loudly.
“i love you too.”
sirius rolled his eyes, but shuffled forward to rest his head against remus’ chest. an arm immediately fell around his shoulder, holding him in place. remus felt sirius’ lips turn upwards into a smile against his bare chest and he planted a soft kiss on the top of sirius’ head.
“let’s get out of here before we turn into prunes” remus mumbled five minutes later. “i’ve still got your hair to do before dinner too, so come on” he said, removing his body from sirius’ hold.
sat back on remus’ bed, sirius waited patiently while remus gathered the hairbrush, comb and bands.
“oww” sirius complained as remus pulled through a knot. “that hurt.”
“sorry love, but we’ve got no conditioner at the moment so it’s still tangled. i’ll bring some back with me after the christmas holidays, okay?”
“fine” sirius huffed.
the silence that took over the room while remus plaited the dark hair wasn’t at all awkward. sirius was more than content to have remus’ fingers run repeatedly through his hair, twisting it into elegant braids.
eventually remus placed his chin on sirius’ shoulder, the second plait having been completed.
“i love you” sirius said, looking at remus’ handiwork in the mirror.
“are you talking to me or yourself?” remus questioned.
sirius looked up, staring at remus in the reflection.
“i was talking to the plaits” sirius informed him, playing with one between his fingers. “but i guess you’re okay too.”
“you’re lucky i love you” remus told him as he opened the dormitory door to lead the way down to the great hall for dinner.
“i know i am.”
with winter was approaching at pace, the grounds of hogwarts school became increasingly desolate and barren. what had been the thick, green forest was now a silent and very still collection of dark trunks, empty of life. on the occasions a weak winter sun would make an appearance, the shadows it cast were long and far-reaching, extending up to the castle doors, threatening to break in. the small group of evergreens that usually ran around the far edge of the black lake had been uprooted and repositioned around the castle, strewn with decorations for the festive period.
it pained remus that he had to leave sirius alone for christmas but their choices were limited. on their last morning before the train left hogsmeade station, remus held out a single package.
sirius accepted it cautiously before excitement for the better of him and he ripped through the brown paper ecstatically. the paper floated to the floor forgotten as sirius held up the gift.
the large jumper that was sirius’ favourite of remus’ was held tightly against sirius’ chest as he breathed in the strong smell of remus it still carried.
“i’m going to wear it all holidays” sirius informed his boyfriend, already pulling it on over his thinner jumper.
“please wash it at some point.”
“it wouldn’t smell like you anymore then” sirius protested, breathing in deeply and inhaling more of the comforting scent.
“whatever you say, love” remus said, crouching down to fasten the final clasps on his trunk.
he extended his hand and sirius took it without hesitation. he frowned when remus dropped it suddenly.
“you are coming to the station, right?” remus questioned. “not that i want to force you or an-”
“let’s go” sirius replied, reconnecting his fingers with the werewolf’s.
remus smiled softly, dragging his trunk behind him with his spare hand. having successfully hauled it onto the carriage peter and james had already claimed, sirius watched from the station as his friends organised themselves.
“i can’t believe you’re all abandoning me” he complained, banging on the compartment window with his fist.
james rolled his eyes, only offering his best friend a middle finger as his departing gift. remus left the train briefly and stepped down onto the platform, standing in front of sirius who looked up at him imploringly.
“why can’t you just stay?”
“it’s two weeks, love. i’ll be back before you know it” remus said gently, cupping his boyfriend’s cheek. “and anyway, aren’t you going to spend some time with regulus while the castle’s quiet?”
“yeah” sirius started. “but you.”
remus smiled softly before barely brushing his lips against sirius’. he blushed as sirius stood up on his tiptoes to place a kiss on the tip of his nose.
“see you soon, love.”
not wanting to let go, sirius kept holding on to remus’ scarf and it unraveled as the boy moves away. as the train pulled out of the snowy station, sirius was left holding the gryffindor scarf so tightly his knuckles turned white.
he quickly turned, heading for the most direct path up to school. keeping his head down to protect his already red nose from the elements, sirius stopped when he heard his name.
“sirius?” mcgonagall repeated. “what are you doing outside in this weather?”
“on my way back from the station” sirius explained. “i think i might go see regulus; start the ‘bonding process’ or whatever remus calls it.”
“is that what you want?” mcgonagall asked, stepping closer to the hunched boy.
“he’s my brother” sirius said, slightly louder than he’d anticipated.
“i’m aware of that fact” mcgonagall said calmly. “i merely wanted to ensure that you had thought this thro-”
“it’s the rest of them i don’t want to know” sirius said quietly.
“so i’m told.” minerva mcgonagall continued as sirius looked up at her in surprise. “i spoke to regulus maybe a month or so ago, and we need to talk. i have no wish to intrude on your holiday plans, but this is serious - don’t make a joke” she added as sirius opened his mouth, a smirk already pulling at his lips.
“okay, i-i’ll talk to him a-”
“the pair of you come to tea at my office at half four” mcgonagall told him.
sirius nodded before walking past her and pushing open the oak doors into the entrance hall. rather than climbing to the fourth floor and using the stairs, he headed straight down the corridor on his left, stopping in front of a stone wall. one of the stones had a forked tongue carved onto it and sirius raised a tentative hand to knock.
the bricks began rearranging themselves almost immediately, revealing regulus who stepped out into the corridor.
“we have to go talk to mcgonagall.”
“why?” regulus asked as sirius led the way to his head of house’s office.
“i think it’s about like mother and stuff” sirius said, coming to a stop. “you ready?”
“i mean, i don’t have a choice so sure” regulus said, swallowing the lump in his throat that had grown considerably since he’d left his common room.
before sirius had completed his knock, professor mcgonagall’s voice came through the door: “come in.”