Chapter 7
"So. Treasure hunt. That should be interesting, right?"
Sirius and Remus were in the cabin again, Remus on the floor, Sirius in his bed. Sirius was broaching the subject in hopes of 1) getting Remus to talk to him and 2) because he had never gone on a treasure hunt and wanted advice.
"Yeah, perhaps," Remus answered. "Probably more of the same, I reckon."
"Oh."
Remus sat up, clearly sensing something in Sirius' tone.
"You have searched for treasure before, right?"
"Well, strictly speaking, I have not-"
Remus narrowed his eyes. "Sirius, how long have you been doing this whole thing. Like, being a pirate."
Sirius tilted his head to the side, trying for what he hoped was a charismatic grin. "Some might say that I was born this way."
"Answer the fuckin' question, Black."
There was something incredibly attractive about Lupin's demanding tone. Sirius tried not to focus on that.
"I started a few weeks ago?"
Remus rolled his eyes and ran an exasperated hand through his hair. "This explains a lot."
Sirius pretended to be offended. "Remus, you wound me! After everything I have done for you,, you would say something like that! How rude."
"You're unbelievable, you know that?" Remus was grinning. It was an irritated grin, but a grin nonetheless.
"You know, I believe this makes me a piracy virgin. You, Remus Lupin, have the honor of...deflowering me."
Remus laid back down on the mattress and rolled over. "You're being disgusting, Sirius. I'm not talking to you anymore."
Sirius could hear the laugh in his voice. "He's shy! He's nervous about helping me to consummate my marriage to the life of piracy. How sweet!"
"Sirius, if you say one more word, I'll kill you. You've heard the stories. You know I know how."
"Fine. I'll stop with the lovemaking jokes. Now, will you please give me advice on how to conduct a successful and fruitful treasure hunt?"
Remus rolled back over and sighed. "Yeah, alright."
****
After breakfast the next morning, the crew raised the anchor and sailed to Hogsmeade Island. Hopes were high that wealth would be found and fun would be had.
It was agreed that Evans would hold the map and guide them, with the help of Lovegood, who'd visited the island on a family holiday. Macdonald and Pettigrew were going to come along, and had packed a delicious feast.
They spent the morning trekking through the tropical forest. Despite the heat and the bugs, Sirius was grinning. He'd never been on an adventure like this one--the Prewetts were joking around, Potter was showing off for Evans, Shacklebolt was singing shanties to the group, McKinnon and Dorcas were subtly holding hands, Vance was picking flowers off the bushes, and Pettigrew was handing out water to make sure the group stayed hydrated. He'd never been a part of a group like this, where everyone seemed so genuinely happy to be together. He felt like he belonged there, too--laughing along with the Prewetts, loudly complimenting James to garner Lily's attention, clapping after Shacklebolt finished a song, smiling encouragingly at McKinnon and Dorcas, showing Vance how to arrange artful bouquets, and asking Pettigrew and Macdonald to pass around snacks as well. Everyone seemed happy to have him around, which was the complete opposite of his upbringing.
'Sirius, sit down,' they'd say.
'Sirius, be quiet.'
'Sirius, you're embarrassing us.'
'Sirius, you should be ashamed.'
No member of the crew made him feel that way.
"Aye, you're doing a good job, mate," Remus muttered, leaning over to him.
"What?" Sirius asked, confused. It was like Remus could read his thoughts.
"This treasure hunt. We're close to the gold, and everyone seems happy. That's all you, Sirius."
Sirius was trying not to blush like a little kid at that. The two of them were bringing up the rear, making sure no one fell behind. They were standing close together--Sirius was certain that if he reached his hand slightly to the left, it would brush Remus'. They were walking a narrow, path on the edge of a cliff over the beach. Well, cliff was maybe not the right word. The drop couldn't be more than fifteen feet.
"Thank you. Really." Sirius had turned to look at Remus as he said this, and taking his eyes off the path for a second was a mistake. He tripped over a rock and found himself toppling over the edge. There was something wrong with his leg. He found a rock to hold onto, but he was in pain.
"Fuck, Sirius!" Remus shouted, quickly leaning over the edge and trying to help Sirius back up. He held out his arm.
Sirius' eyes watered--at the pain of his leg, or the effort to hang on, he wasn't sure-- and he watched as his crew all crowded around Remus, eyes filled with concern.
Remus pulled Sirius to his feet, but Sirius immediately crumpled. James and Remus each grabbed one of Sirius' arms and held him up. Sirius couldn't help but think that if he weren't so injured, he'd be appreciating having Remus' hands all over him.
"Shit. What do we do?" Evans asked.
"You all should...go on. I can...wait he-here. I've...I've gone through worse than this. I can wait. Whi-while you find...find the treasure," Sirius struggled to get the words out.
"We're not fucking leavin' you here," Remus protested.
"But the gold...the gold is..." Sirius stuttered. His vision was blurring. Was that normal?
"Go ahead and get the treasure," Remus ordered.
"We're not leaving him," James argued.
"It's important to him. Just get the gold. I'll get him back to the boat and fix him up."
And then everything went black.