V. (Talk Me Down - Troye Sivan)
Maybe it was because it was the night of the Battle of Hogwarts and the air was full of anticipation. Just by the way the wind moved the trees, Remus could tell something was up. The air was alive. Remus had been thinking about how Sirius would have loved to be here, at the brink of battle, the tension and expectancy thick, waiting for the first move so he could leap into battle. Yes, Remus longed for his friend turned almost boyfriend and maybe that’s why Sirius paid him a visit. Tonks had relocated to her parents’ house with little Teddy, telling Remus to do whatever it was he needed to do and then go too. The house was all but empty, Remus sitting on the bed, facing the window with all its darkness.
He thought of his friend, of the dancing eyes that had been Remus’ downfall, the soft hair that Sirius had made fun of Remus playing with it when they cuddled, the lips that pulled him in with the threat of never letting go. Sirius hadn’t let go, he’d been dragged away.
Remus looked at his hands. A few tears had splashed them and he rubbed the remainder away from his eyes. He felt the absence of Sirius like a physical pain. He wanted him here, now, right next to him. He wanted it to be like the old days at Hogwarts, the later years when he and Sirius could be open in their Gryffindor dormitory, the other boys not minding, some even complaining that they’d wished they’d had the opportunity for sex so easily. Remus and Sirius had always laughed at this, neither of them actually interested in that kind of finagling at all. They’d been perfectly content with making out and cuddling.
Remus lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. He wished Sirius could fit his body into the crook of Remus’ like they had so often in one or the other’s four poster bed at Hogwarts. He missed Sirius’ presence to the point that it was almost as if Sirius had just been there but had left. It was similar to the feeling he’d gotten on the last few days of school every year. It was a campus full with emptiness pending. It was like he could feel the students’ and faculty’s absence in the future. But this was now, years and years later, and even now, he could feel the summer sun on his skin and feel the wind blow the heat through his hair.
At some point, he fell asleep. The memories transitioned into a dream and he was back at Hogwarts except this time, it was dark and quiet, just like the world he’d been awake in.
“Missed me, Moony?” said a voice. Remus turned around.
“Sirius!” he said. He rushed over to the figure standing near the Black Lake. Sirius smiled wistfully.
“A fight’s brewing, though I’m sure you can tell,” said Sirius, “make sure you give ‘em hell, Remus. Just what they deserve.”
“So this is Hogwarts?” Remus said, looking around, “as it is right now?” Sirius nodded.
“It’s preparing for battle,” he said. He gazed over the dark lake and the nearby castle longingly. “This would have been the fight of our lives, Remus,” he said, “the one we dreamed about. It’s a pity I can’t be in it.” He smiled at Remus. “Fight like I would’ve fought, Remus.” He dragged one finger across Remus’ cheek and then everything was gone and Remus was once again lying in bed, wishing for Sirius to be next to him. Except this time, Remus knew what he had to do.