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“You’re going to hurt yourself,” Remus drawled from the bench where he was reclining with a book covering his face. He had a headache and the smell of the Bubotubers wasn’t helping. 

“It’ll be fine,” Sirius assured him. “Hey, you’re meant to be the lookout, how are you meant to see anyone coming if you can’t see them?” 

“Werewolf, remember? I can hear and smell them long before I can see them. Being able to see is not a problem,” Remus answered. He swore sometimes Sirius did actually forget what he was. He heard Sirius huff and the squelching of a Bubotuber being squeezed as Sirius continued to harvest the sap from the slug-like plants.

A few minutes went by in silence, but then he heard footsteps coming towards the greenhouse. “Pads, quick!” He hissed, sitting up and grabbing James’s invisibility cloak and flung it over them. “Just keep that jar away from me,” He whispered into Sirius’s ear. He felt Sirius nod and his heart thud loudly. 

He moved them back into the corner of the greenhouse as a pair of fifth years Hufflepuff's walked in. 

“Eww, the second years must have been harvesting the Bubotubers before lunch, it stinks in here,” The boy said, holding his nose closed. 

“Let’s come back tomorrow,” The girl said. “It’s not that important that we study the Lady’s Mantle today. We can go to the library and get most of the facts there and come back when it doesn’t smell so bad,” The Hufflepuff's fled the harsh smell of the Bubotuber Puss. 

Sirius’s heart was racing in his chest. Remus didn’t need his sensitive hearing to know that as he was pressed up against Sirius’s back and could feel it. The odd thing was that it didn’t slow when they were alone again. Remus leant forward, his chest fully pressing into Sirius’s back as he whispered into his ear. 

“We should go back to the tower and put that some place safe,” Sirius heart rate sped up until it was almost at hummingbird levels. “You alright, Padfoot?” Remus asked, worried about his friend.

“Yeah, fine. Let’s get out of here,” Sirius pulled the cloak from over him and walked out of the greenhouse, leaving Remus wondering what he’d done to upset Sirius. He sighed, his headache beginning to pound again. He decided to make a detour to the hospital wing for a pain potion. He’d worry about Sirius later. 

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Over the summer, Remus had realised a few things about himself, and the first time he saw Sirius Black, his hair longer than it had ever been, a genuine smile plastered across his face as Effie and Monty kissed him goodbye on the platform. Remus felt his stomach flip when Sirius caught him watching. Sirius waved exuberantly at Remus, and he tentatively waved back. He gulped, realising that he could quite easily fall for Sirius if he wasn’t careful. But when Sirius rushed over and hugged him tightly, Remus knew it was already too late. He already had a crush on him. 

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“This fire’s not going very well,” Sirius grumbled as he poked a long stick he’d found into the huge bonfire he’d made from all the broken branches and dry leaves knocked down after the storm. 

“Just leave it, it’ll sort itself out,” Remus told him before heading back into the house to put the kettle on. 

He’d just opened the cupboard looking for the biscuit tin when a loud boom rattled the windows and vibrated the floor, scaring the life out of him. He dropped the biscuit tin, chocolate hobnobs scattering across the kitchen floor as he ran from the house. 

Outside, beside a very smoky, blazing bonfire, Sirius stood stock-still, his hair blown back from his face, holding a jerry can of petrol. Remus didn’t need to ask what had happened. 

“Sirius, are you alright?” He asked. Slowly, Sirius turned around, his body rigid.

“Remus,” He whined, and Remus had to suck his lips into his mouth and bite down to stop from laughing. When Sirius had poured the petrol onto the spluttering fire, it had exploded and blown off his eyebrows, leaving his face streaked with black soot. 

“You are such an idiot,” Remus sighed once he’d checked that he wasn’t actually hurt. He pulled him into a hug and took him inside to get cleaned up. But he was so going to sneak a pic of him to show the others.  

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“Remus, tell me a story?” Sirius asked, yawning from his friend's lap. He’d come into the dorm room and made a b-line for Remus’s bed, flopping onto it and dropping his head into Remus’s lap. Remus normally gave him absentminded head scratches, especially if he was reading a book. But today, he wasn’t. In fact, his friend looked a little pale. “Remus, are you alright?” He lifted his head and stared at his friend. Remus plastered a pained smile on his face. 

“Yeah, sure, just didn’t sleep well last night, a bit tired, you know,” His smile didn’t reach his eyes and Sirius worried. Carefully, he raised his hands, giving Remus enough warning that he was about to touch him. Remus was fine with Sirius’s head in his lap, but actually being manhandled was another thing. Remus watched him warily but didn’t shy away. Sirius helped his friend lie back, and he got in under the covers with him, pulling the other boy to his side as he did with Regulus when his nightmares got too bad. He reached over and grabbed the book Remus was reading and opened it to his bookmark, letting the leather strip fall onto the bed, and began to read. 

““There must be a spy,” Declan gasped as the realisation hit. There was no other way the information could have got out. Morrow rolled his eyes. 

“Of course, there’s a spy. That’s what I’ve been saying for the last ten minutes. Declan flushed furiously in embarrassment. He needed to start listening. How were they ever going to win this war if he didn’t listen? “We need to find a way to draw him out,” Morrow continued. “And I think I have to perfect plan,””

Sirius read until Remus’s soft snores filled the room. He carefully replaced the bookmark, snuggled down into the warm bed, and joined Remus for a nap. All that reading had tired him out. 

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Remus and Sirius had snuck out into muggle London. They’d promised to stay in Diagon Alley, but Sirius had twisted Remus’s arm and, anyway, Remus knew muggle London like the back of his hand. 

Sirius seemed a bit too interested in what a pair of muggle children were doing. They were taking exaggerated footsteps across the paving slabs that made up the footpath. 

“Come on,” Their father begged, trying to hurry them along. 

“We can’t!” The bigger one squealed right before the smaller one burst into tears. Their father sighed, gathered the crying child into his arms and took the other by the hand, leading them away.

“What was all that about?” Sirius asked. 

“A thing muggle children do. If you step on a crack, it’s supposed to break your mother's back. Obviously, there’s nothing…” He petered off as he watched Sirius begin to step on as many cracks as he could. “Sirius,” Remus chuckled as his boyfriend danced about in an odd jig. “It’s just a made-up thing that kids do. It doesn’t actually do anything.”

“Yes, Moony, but all muggle Folklore comes from our world, so I just have to find the right crack,” He beamed, jumping to the next crack. Remus shook his head but smiled fondly at the ridiculous boy and joined in, trying to find the crack that would break Walburga’s back. 

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“REMUS!!! REMUS, LOOK AT THIS!!!” Sirius yelled at his boyfriend as he scampered around the zoo. Remus sighed indulgently. He’d known Sirius would get over-excited if he took him to the zoo, but he’d promised after all. 

“Moony, Moony, come see, come see!” Harry babbled excitedly at him. He and Sirius had taken the small boy off James and Lily’s hands for the day. They’d accepted the offer immediately, kissed their son and bundled him and his change bag into his godfathers arms. 

Sirius and Harry were looking at an enormous fish, both with their faces pressed as close to the glass as they could get, pulling the same strange puffed cheek, slow opening mouth face, imitating the fish. Remus snapped a picture of the pair. Adorable imps that they were. 

The rest of the walk around the zoo was the same, Remus’s name being shouted excitedly while he trailed after the excitable pair. 

They got to the elephants and Sirius shouted again. 

“Remus!!! Remus, look at its trunk!!! Look, it’s picking up that entire log with its trunk!!!” Sirius bounced up and down with Harry in his arms as they both pointed at the Elephant. Sirius stuck his free arm out and waved it up and down, puffing his cheeks out again and blowing through closed lips to make a ridiculous imitation of the elephant. It had Harry peeling in laughter, his little face wide with joy at his silly Godfather. Remus raised his camera again and snapped another shot for his album. He watched them messing around and couldn’t think of any other way he’d want to spend his Saturday. 

“Hey, you guys hungry? Want to go get a burger?” He asked. Two wide-eyed faces turned to face him. 

“YES!!!” They squealed at him before rushing over, grabbing his hands and pulling him towards the exit. He started laughing uncontrollably. He loved them so much.  

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“Sirius… Are you sure… No one can… Get in?” Remus gasped between kisses. Sirius’s hands were everywhere. They weren’t in a compromising position yet, but the way Sirius was going, it wouldn’t be long until they were. 

“Yes, worry wart. The room is silenced and warded and the locking charm I put on the door would flummox even old Flitwick himself. Now shut up and take your shirt off.” Sirius ordered, latching onto Remus’s neck and sucking a bruise into the delicate skin. 

Sirius pushed Remus up against the wall, the remainder of their clothes in a pile on the floor.

“Sirius,” Remus moaned as Sirius pressed his body as close to him as he could. 

“Oh my!” A shocked voice spluttered. Remus looked over Sirius’s shoulder straight into the eyes of the Gryffindor ghost. Apparently, Sirius’s wards did not keep out the dead. 

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The floorboards creaked under his feet as he padded across the room towards the stairs. The gloomy building would have been scary if he hadn’t been in it so many times before.

The stairs groaned and squeaked as he stepped on them. He hopped over the broken board at the top of the stairs and wandered down the dim landing until he reached the door he’d been looking for. He nudged it open and there, waiting for him, was his wolf.

Padfoot raced across the dusty bedroom, barking happily at Moony, tackling him to the floor and rolling over and over, nipping playfully at the bigger animal's ears. Tonight was going to be fun.

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His hands shook as he stared down at the newspaper. He hadn’t held a newspaper; he looked at the date, in twelve years. He let out a sob over that. Twelve years in Azkaban. He glowered at the picture again. There, amongst a gaggle of Weasleys, was Wormtail. He’d know that rat anywhere. He did some mental arithmetic; it was harder than he expected, but he figured out that the red-headed boy with Peter perched on his shoulder would be in the same year as Harry, probably in the same dorm. 

The paper crumpled under his fingers as hate and anger pulsed through him, the strongest emotion he’d felt in years. He had to get out of here. He had to track down the man who had destroyed so many lives. He’d escape and kill him. Pettigrew's death was the only acceptable retribution for what he’d done. 

His thoughts turned to his school days. The happiest days of his life, and of course, because anytime he thought about the Marauders, memories flooded his mind of Remus. Godric, he hoped he was alright. He’d been such an idiot, convinced by others that Remus had been the spy. “Idiot,” He growled at himself, his voice cracking from disuse. The man he loved with all his heart, and he’d thought the worst of him. Never again.  

He felt the Dementors closing in, his emotions calling to them. He pushed everything down and concentrated on his revenge. He could dream about the life he could have had later. He transformed into Padfoot and curled up on his hard bed, letting the canine brain take over, numbing him of his complex emotions until the Dementors had nothing to feed off of. 

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It had taken Remus a long time to trust the other Marauders, especially after they found out what he was. He’d been so afraid he’d have to leave Hogwarts. He was so afraid of the disappointment his father would have had for him, more than he already did. But those three pests had wormed their way in, and over the years, they had become like brothers. They were rarely apart, even detentions they tried to get together. But then that trust had been broken. 

Sirius had used him as a weapon against Snape, and Remus didn’t know how or if he’d ever forgive him. It had been his worst nightmare come true, and as Moony, he couldn’t have stopped it, only felt the grief when he woke up from his transformation. He'd been so lucky that James had come to Snape's rescue. 

Padfoot came plodding into the room, his tail between his legs, and Remus wanted to cry. 

“Go away, Sirius,” He said, his voice already thick with emotion, a lump forming in his throat. The dog whimpered and crept closer. “I said go away!” He yelled, throwing his pillow at the bear-sized dog. Padfoot yelped and jumped to the side, but he didn’t stop trying to approach. 

It had been almost two months since Sirius had told Snape how to get into the tunnel under the Whomping Willow and to the shack where Remus was to transform into a werewolf. Remus hadn’t said a word to him since. Sirius had been patient, leaving him alone, but clearly, he’d decided now was the time to try talking to him. 

Remus was sore after the full moon. He had told James that if Sirius turned up as Padfoot at any of the following full moons then he’d hate him as well. James had agreed instantly and Sirius had stayed away. 

Padfoot's cold, wet nose brushed against his hand, and Remus stared into sad puppy dog eyes. “Please, Sirius, please leave me alone,” He let his head hang in defeat as tears prickled behind his eyes. The giant black dog hopped up onto the bed and then Sirius’s strong arms were encircling him, pulling him closer. 

“I’m so sorry, Remus,” Sirius’s voice croaked as tears spilt from his eyes.

Remus was so damn tired. He didn’t have the energy to fight so he sagged against Sirius, letting the other boy lift him onto his lap and hold him tighter. 

Then, to his surprise, Sirius leant down and kissed him. It was soft, barely there, but their lips had connected, and butterflies had swarmed inside his stomach. He tilted his head to look up at Sirius in shock, and then Sirius’s lips were there again, sweet and gentle. He kissed him back. Sirius pulled away and looked him in the eye as he made a promise to him. “I will never, ever betray your trust like that again, Remus. I swear. You're too important to me.” Remus pulled Sirius’s mouth back to his, and that’s how James and Peter found them some time later. 

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Why had he taken Divination?! It was the most boring class! Remus had it right. Care of Magical Creatures was outside. He could just make out the class from the window. Remus had said they were studying Nifflers. NIfflers! Remus was having a great time, and they were staring at Peter’s sweaty palm. 

The next hour dragged, and Sirius let off a dung bomb just to get out of the class ten minutes early. If he ran and used a few secret shortcuts, he’d make it down to the entrance hall just as Remus came back inside. 

He’d just bounded down the final set of stairs when his name was shouted across the stone hall. 

“Sirius Black, come here!” Professor McGonagall was not happy. He looked longingly at the entrance door, where any second now Remus would be coming through, and walked over to the head of his house. 

“Yes, Professor?” He asked. 

“Why had Professor Foxwood's class ended early?” She asked him sternly. He winced, she knew exactly what had happened. “Do you enjoy that class? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I never pegged you for one to sit silently and stare into a crystal ball.” Sirius sighed, she saw right through him. 

“Yes, Professor— I mean no, I don’t particularly enjoy it.”

“You know it isn’t too late for you to change electives. You are incredibly intelligent, and I am certain you could easily catch up if you put your mind to it,” Sirius was shocked. He hadn’t even thought about changing it, he just accepted that for two hours a week for the next three years, he’d be mind-numbingly bored. 

“I’d really like that actually,” He grinned at her. 

“Any idea what subject you’d prefer?” The huge entrance door creaked open, and Remus’s class entered the castle, chatting excitedly about their lesson. Remus spotted him and waved, and Sirius automatically waved back. He turned back to his professor.

“Care of Magical Creatures,” He told her. She nodded approvingly. 

“Excellent choice, Mr Black. I shall make sure your professors are alerted.” 

“Professor!!!” James and Peter came hurrying over. 

“I suppose you want to swap to Care of Magical Creatures too?” A small smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. James and Peter nodded profusely. “Very well,” She sighed and strode away from them into the Great Hall. 

“What was all that about?” Remus asked once he got to them. 

“We, my dear Moony, will be joining you in Care of Magical Creatures,” Sirius beamed at them. Remus groaned. “Don’t worry Moony, we’ll behave,”

“Mostly,” James snickered. Sirius linked Remus’s arm and led him into the Great Hall for lunch, actually excited to find out how Remus’s Niffler lesson had gone. 

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“Are you sure? Are we actually doing this?” Sirius asked with bated breath, not wanting to let his excitement loose just yet. 

“Yeah,” Remus beamed at him. “Yeah, we are,” Sirius leapt into his arms and wept. Tomorrow, they would start the long, arduous journey of adopting the little witch they’d fallen in love with when Remus had gone to help out after a werewolf attack and taken Sirius with him. Holly had no one, and they were ready for this next step.

“I can’t wait,” Sirius confessed. “I just hope she wants us, too,” Remus held him tighter. 

“She will,” He said, kissing Sirius gently on the lips. Sirius melted into his husband's touch. He couldn’t wait for their little family to grow. 

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Sirius had never tracked the moon before. He’d never seen the point. But over the last few months, he’d noticed something odd. Remus always seemed to be sick or visiting his sick mother when the moon was full. 

Remus had excused himself earlier, mumbling something about a stomach ache, and disappeared through the portrait hole. Sirius had waited until the rest of the castle was sleeping and, borrowing James’s cloak, snuck down to the silent hospital wing. 

He checked every bed and the private rooms at the back twice. Remus was not in the hospital wing. He ended up waiting the rest of the night, falling asleep on one of the visitor chairs in the corner, just in case Remus had gone for a wander. 

He was startled awake when Remus stumbled in, held up by Madam Pomfrey. He watched in horror as Madam Pomfrey bandaged the deep wounds spread across Remus’s body.

“Take your potion, dear,” Madam Pomfrey said gently as she patted Remus’s arm and drew the curtains around his bed. Sirius waited until the medi-witch was out of sight before he snuck behind the curtains. He stared at his sleeping friend. He looked exhausted like he’d been awake all night. 

It took him longer to put all the pieces together than he cared to admit. But even though he was almost completely certain that his sweet, quiet friend was a werewolf, he wasn’t scared at all. He was still Remus after all, but now somehow even cooler.  

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“BOO!!!” Sirius yelled, jumping out from behind a suit of armour. Remus just continued walking, not even flinching at the sudden appearance of his boyfriend. “Damn it, Remus,” Sirius grumbled as he made the latest attempt to make Remus scream failed. He’d never heard him make more than a shocked huff. He had no idea why he needed to hear this sound, but he’d become obsessed with the idea, and poor Remus had so far endured about twenty attempts to make him scream, including Sirius throwing a transformed Peter into Remus’s lap in Arithmancy. But Remus had simply picked up the trembling rat and placed him safely in his pocket while he finished off his equation.

It took him a while to realise that scaring Remus wasn’t the way to go; he was a werewolf for Merlin’s sake, and of course, he wouldn’t scare easily. So Sirius did the one thing he knew would get a reaction: he bought Remus a book. But not just any book. The first edition of his favourite book, including illustrations by the author themselves. He left it on Remus’s pillow, neatly wrapped and waited. 

An excited scream carried down the stairs into the common room where Sirius was waiting. He smiled, yep an excited scream from Remus Lupin was way better than a shocked one could ever be.  

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Sirius gripped Remus’s arm hard. Remus tried to loosen his fingers, but Sirius just dug in harder.

“Sirius, you’re cutting off my circulation!” Remus hissed under his breath. Sirius loosened his grip minutely and buried his face in Remus’s cardigan. Remus knew he shouldn’t have let Sirius convince him to come watch the latest slasher film, but those damn puppy dog eyes got him every time. “Come on, let’s go home and watch High School Musical,” Remus whispered. 

“The sing-along version?” Sirius’s voice was muffled from where he still had it buried. Remus sighed. 

“Yes, the sing-along version,” Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus’s waist and hugged him hard. 

“I love you,” 

“I love you too,” Remus helped Sirius to his feet and took him home. He bundled him up in a blanket on the sofa and stuck some popcorn in the microwave before starting the film. Sirius cuddled up to him, and Remus resigned himself to watching one of his least favourite films just to make Sirius happy. 

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Sirius loved a feast, especially after a full moon, and when that feast was the Halloween one, he loved it even more. Remus would inhale more food than Sirius would eat in a week, plus his uncanny ability to continue to eat sweets when a lesser man would have stopped long before. He could watch Remus devour his food all day. It soothed something in him after the few days before the full moon when he could barely coax Remus into eating even his favourite chocolate cake. So, watching him growl at Peter as the poor boy tried to take the last roast potato before quickly retreating as Remus’s fork shot out and speared the potato before stuffing it into his already overflowing mouth. Sirius grinned, pushing a plate of honey-glazed ham across the table to Remus. Remus looked up and beamed at him as he took a healthy serving of the offered dish. The Christmas feast couldn’t come soon enough in Sirius’s opinion.

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Remus was unceremoniously woken by a flailing Sirius. 

“What's wrong?” He asked, startled. Sirius’s eyes were wide open, but they were unseeing, lost in whatever nightmare he was stuck in. The shorter man clung to Remus, shaking. “Sirius, what’s wrong?” Remus asked again, more gently this time. “Sirius?” He stroked Sirius’s back. 

“There’s a monster under the bed!” He whispered, trembling under the covers. Remus sighed fondly. It wasn't the first time he’d had that nightmare. 

“Sirius darling, I’m far scarier than any monster under the bed could ever be,” He said confidently. But just to placate Sirius, he leaned over the side of the bed and growled. 

“Thank you, Moony,” Sirius’s eyes were closed again, and his voice was sleepy. He snuggled into Remus’s side and drifted back into true sleep. Remus kissed the top of Sirius’s head and flopped back onto his pillow, shaking his head at his ridiculous boyfriend and went back to sleep. 

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The gothic manor house loomed before him. He hated Malfoy Manor, but since Cissa had married that oaf, he was forced to attend at least one party a year. 

“Orion, Walburga, delighted you could make it,” Lucius simpered, bowing and waving them in. Sirius nearly vomited right there on Lucius’s too-shiny shoes. The only thing that stopped him was the death stare Narcissa was giving him, as though she knew what was going through his mind, but he had his shields firmly up, even his mother couldn’t get through them. 

“Come on,” Regulus grumbled under his breath as he hurried Sirius into the Manor. 

It took less than ten minutes for him to be bored out of his mind. He snuck off into a study away from the main party and took the two-way mirror out of his pocket. 

“James Potter,” He said to his reflection. His own face shimmered out of the way and revealed James’s face. 

“Hey, Pads, how’s it going?” He beamed, his eyes full of love for his best friend. 

“Bored. Stuffy pureblood party at Malfoy Manor. I’m debating on using that makeup spell on some of the portraits,” He snickered. They’d figured it out in the last week of term before the Christmas Holiday and hadn’t had a chance to test it thoroughly. 

“Sirius, as amazing as that sounds, maybe you should lie low, there are a lot of dark wizards there,” Remus pushed James out of the way and took the mirror into his hands. 

“Hey, Moony,” He smiled dopily at his friend. 

“Hey, Pads,” Remus smiled back. Sirius’s stomach did funny things when he saw that smile. 

“Sirius? Where are you?” Regulus called as he poked his head around the door. Sirius hurriedly stuffed the mirror back in his pocket. “What are you doing in here?”

“I couldn’t take any more of the pomp going on in the ballroom,” He screwed up his face at the idea of going back into that hell. Regulus rolled his eyes but closed the door and joined his brother on the Persian rug. 

“Exploding snap?” Regulus asked, producing a pack of cards and beginning to deal them out before Sirius could answer. Sirius just grinned, tonight suddenly got a whole lot more endurable.  

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Sirius could barely sit still in his seat. Remus had insisted he drive as Sirius was bound to drive them off the road or get them a speeding ticket in his haste to get to the pumpkin patch. He turned off the main road and bumped slowly down the long driveway to where the pumpkin field was. 

There were already quite a few families with small children walking about, picking up the ‘perfect pumpkin’. Remus pulled into a space and turned off the engine. He turned to warn Sirius about running off, but his excitable boyfriend was already halfway across the parking area, bootlaces flapping and narrowly avoiding being hit by the tractor giving rides around the fields. 

“Sirius!” He called after he’d yanked off his seatbelt, but it was too late, Sirius was gone. 

He finally caught up with him and the wheelbarrow he’d found piled high with pumpkins of various sizes. Remus sighed, he knew better than to ask Sirius if he really needed all those pumpkins and just remarked how lovely they all looked as he steered Sirius in the direction of the little café. If he had to deal with twenty pumpkins, he was at least going to get something smothered in chocolate out of it. 

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“Come on, Moony, get this down you!” Sirius bounded across the Potter’s garden where the Marauders had taken refuge from the party James’s parents had thrown while they were back for the Christmas Holidays. Remus had come out of the crowded house after being caught up in a conversation with Uncle Albert about his grandmother's ghoul and how it used to keep him up when he stayed at hers. Remus had been rescued by Monty, and he’d run out of the house. Sirius held up the bottle, and Remus glugged down a mouthful. It was some type of spirit that burned on the way down.

“Fuck!” He wheezed, suddenly breathless. He looked down at the bottle. Firewhisky. “That’s not bad actually,” He huffed, taking another good swig of the fiery drink. 

“Looked like you needed it mate,” James clapped him on the back. “Sorry about Uncle A, he gets a bit carried away,” 

“No worries your dad took care of it,” Remus grinned.

“At least they won’t find us out here for a while,” Peter said happily from his spot on the edge of one of Effie’s raised flowerbeds. 

“Privacy wards,” Sirius supplied while Peter took a tentative sip from the firewhisky bottle. 

They spent the next few hours passing the bottle around and making their way from the piles of nibbles they kept summoning from the dining room. 

“Boys, it’s time to come in,” Effie called from the backdoor. They were all far too drunk to be the polite young gentlemen they were meant to be saying goodbyes to all the guests. Remus looked down at Sirius, whose head was resting in his lap, he was fast asleep. 

“Boys!” Effie called again. 

“Me and Pete will take this one for the team,” James grinned, clapping Remus on the back as he trotted across the grass with a swaying, slightly green-looking Peter following behind. “Try and get him upstairs into bed if you can,” James called over his shoulder. 

“Sirius,” Remus whispered gently, stroking the curls off of Sirius’s face. Sirius stirred. “Sirius, it’s time for bed,” Sirius whined and rolled over, burying his head deeper into Remus’s lap. “Sirius,” Remus laughed. “Come on,” He tried to pull Sirius up into a sitting position. With a lot of effort, he finally came, but before Remus could haul him to his feet, Sirius slid onto his lap and kissed him. “Sirius,” Remus whispered quietly when the kiss ended, needing Sirius to realise who he’d kissed. 

“Moony,” Sirius sighed and sunk into another sweet kiss. Remus kissed him back, earning a deep moan from the boy he’d held a torch for for over four years. “Come on, let’s get to bed before the others come back out to help,” Sirius grinned, sounding more sober than Remus had thought he was and stood offering his hand to Remus. Remus rolled his eyes but took it and couldn’t help the blush that covered his face when Sirius led him by the hand back into the house and up the stairs without saying goodnight. 

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Sirius watched as Remus joked with Lily, their laughter filling the common room. They were squashed into one of the window seats, Remus’s long legs bent around Lily so he would fit. Lily didn’t seem to mind, leaning happily against them to give Remus as much room as she could. They had a book between them and kept flicking to different pages before passing it to the other to read and then peals of laughter sounded again. 

In a lull of their excitement, Remus looked over at Sirius and blushed when he caught the other boy watching him. Sirius let the mask his mother had forced him to create to protect himself from her and other painful things, slide onto his face as he hid his true emotions from his best friend. He gave him a small half smile that didn’t meet his cold, lifeless eyes before turning his attention to the book he hadn’t been reading in his lap. 

“Hey, Pads, you alright?” James asked, ruffling his hair as he plonked himself down on the sofa next to Sirius. Sirius’s hand went straight to his hair as he tried to undo the chaos James had caused. 

“Fine,” He grumbled. James reached over and gently grasped his chin, turning his face to look at it. 

“Oh, Sirius, take that off,” He ordered sadly. Sirius screwed his eyes shut and concentrated until the darkness slid away. “That’s better,” James crooned as Sirius’s grey eyes softened. Remus and Lily’s laughter rang out again and Sirius’s eyes snapped across the room. “Pads, you really need to stop mooning over Moony and just tell him already,” James said softly. Sirius yanked his chin free from James’s fingers and gathered his things together. 

“I can’t risk our friendship, Prongs, it’s too important.” Sadness coloured his words. He glanced one last time at the pair in the window and headed out of the portrait. He didn’t know where he was going, but all he knew was he needed to be away from Remus before he did something stupid. 

Chapter Text

“Just one bite,” The old hag said to the beautiful princess. “And all your wishes will come true,” The princess lifted the glossy red apple to her lips and took a bite before falling down dead. 

“That’s it, I am never eating another apple as long as I live,” Sirius declared, wriggling out of Remus’s arms as he tried to get away from the telly thing Remus had brought home with him. 

“Sirius,” Remus laughed, grabbing at his trousers and yanking him back onto the sofa. “It’s not over yet. Just wait.”

“No, Moony, I need to get rid of all the apples in the house, they are now banned,” He wriggled again, but Remus had a good grip on him. He gave up quickly and took a swig from his drink as he settled back down to watch the film. 

“You know,” Remus started saying once the film had finished and Snow White was all rescued and living happily ever after. “Cider is made of apples,” Sirius looked down at the drink he’d been enjoying. 

“Nooooooo,” He cried dramatically and flung himself onto the sofa.

“Sirius, what are you doing?” Remus asked, amused, his head cocking to the side adorably as he tried to figure out what his boyfriend was doing. 

“I swallowed apples, that means I need a handsome price to come and wake me with true loves kiss, or I’ll have to stay here for eternity,” He puckered his lips, waiting. The lights went out. 

“Night, Sirius,” Remus’s voice called from the stairs. Sirius couldn’t believe it. He was just about to sit up and protest when soft, supple lips pressed against his. “Wake up Princess, it’s time for bed,” Remus murmured into Sirius’s ear. 

“That seems a bit redundant, doesn’t it?” Sirius asked, smirking at Remus. 

“Didn’t say we’d be sleeping,” Remus replied, already halfway out of the room again, tossing his cardigan at Sirius and starting to undo his shirt buttons. Sirius jumped over the back of the sofa and charged up the stairs after Remus. Okay, maybe apples weren’t so bad. 

Chapter Text

Remus stared at the book before him, the words dancing about on the pages as tears dripped freely from his eyes. He had the words memorised by now anyway, so he didn’t need to be able to see to read them. 

‘ ‘The Fidelius Charm’

This immensely complex spell, when cast correctly, will hide a secret within a living soul. Most commonly used when a dwelling’s location must be concealed. The secret is placed within a ‘Secret Keeper’ protecting the property. It will become entirely impossible to find unless the Secret Keeper reveals the secret. Only the secret keeper is able to tell other individuals the secret, and it must be done voluntarily. Magical coercion such as Veritaserum, Legilimency, or forms of torture would not work. Those who have been told the secret can not repeat it themselves, including more in the secret. Only the primary Secret Keeper is capable of that. 

One must be very careful with who they choose as their Secret Keeper. Choosing the wrong person could have detrimental consequences.’

Sirius had been Lily and James’s Secret Keeper, and now they were gone. 

Remus shoved the book away, the words burned into his retinas. How could Sirius do that to James? To Lily? To Harry? To Peter and all those muggles? To him? How could Sirius have done that to him? Remus picked up the bottle of firewhisky and drank deeply. His world was gone, and all that was left were ashes and himself. The war might be over, but Remus had lost everything.  

Chapter Text

“Can’t we do something to clean this place up a bit? I swear I can feel the dust clinging to me,” Sirius said, pulling a face in disgust at the almost derelict shack. “I mean, come on, there’s a rat skeleton over there, for Merlin’s sake.” He pointed at the corner of the room. 

“Shut up, Sirius!” Peter squeaked at him, a visible shiver running through him at the mention of the dead rat. 

“We can’t, Pads. If we do, Pomfrey and McGonagall will know something’s up. We have to leave the shack exactly as we found it.” James told him, resting a hand on his shoulder. 

A foot scuffing on the tunnel floor alerted them to Remus’s arrival. Quickly, they all hid under James’s invisibility cloak as Madam Pomfrey led Remus into the shack. 

“I’ll be back at sunrise, dear. Do try not to scratch yourself too badly,” She said softly, her hand cupping Remus’s cheek for a second before she turned to leave. Her eyes were full of pity when she looked back at the lanky boy she was leaving to transform into a fearsome werewolf. 

As soon as she was gone, they threw the cloak off. Sirius raced forward and wrapped his arms around Remus’s waist.

“You ready, Moony?” He asked, gazing up at the tall boy. It was going to be their first moon together as they’d only just figured out how to become animagi. Tonight would be their first test to see if the wolf would be a danger to them in their animal forms. 

“No, but I never am,” Remus smiled at him, but it turned into a pained expression as a shooting pain shot through him. “You need to change,” He told them hurriedly, his eyes more golden than Sirius had ever seen them. Sirius, James and Peter transformed just as Remus dropped heavily to the floor. 

He writhed in pain, rolling and shrieking across the dust-clogged rug. Padfoot whined, unable to help his friend. The dog winced every time one of Remus’s bones snapped as his entire body reshaped itself to release the wild animal within. 

Eventually, the room went silent, and where Remus had been was now a gleaming silver wolf. It growled low in its chest as it became aware of its surroundings. Padfoot walked towards the wolf. Prongs snorted and pawed the ground, trying to get his attention, but Padfoot ignored it. The wolf, Moony, was still growling at him, hackles raised and teeth bared. Sirius flopped down onto the rug in front of Moony, a cloud of dust rising into the already dusty air, and rolled onto his back. Moony stopped growling and sniffed the dog. He must have liked what he smelled as, within seconds, the wolf and the dog were chasing each other around the room playfully. That night was the first night that Moony didn’t hurt himself, much to Madam Pomfrey’s delight. 

Chapter Text

Remus watched as Sirius fled the common room. He’d looked over, and Sirius had caught him looking. Remus had blushed profusely, and Sirius’s face had gone cold, but he’d still given him a small smile that had made butterflies dance in his stomach. Then James had plonked himself down, and Sirius gave him his attention. 

“Merlin, Remus, could you be any more obvious?” Lily startled him out of his tangled thoughts. 

“Huh? What?” Her words sunk in, and he gulped. It was spooky how Lily could figure things out. He’d never told another living soul about his infatuation with his best friend. 

“Just follow my lead and do what I do,” She said, bursting into laughter. Remus copied her. “Just tell him already. I swear he feels the same way about you,” Lily said, her finger pointing at a passage in the book they’d been sharing. Remus’s heart fluttered, but he didn’t get his hopes up. 

“No, he doesn’t,” He said sadly. Lily prodded him in the knee.

“Yes, he does. I am never wrong,” She proclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest. That made Remus laugh for real and Lily joined in. 

He saw Sirius move out of the corner of his eye. It looked like he couldn’t get out of there fast enough, his head low, which was very unlike Sirius. “Go after him. I promise you won’t regret it,” Lily urged, all but shoving him off the window ledge. 

With some effort, Remus unfurled his long legs from the tight space and hopped down. He raced across the common room, ignoring James’s words of concern, and followed after Sirius, hoping that Lily was right and he wasn’t about to ruin one of his best friendships.  

Chapter Text

Sirius wandered down towards the kitchens. It would give him enough time to get his head straight, and he also got a snack out of it. He needed to stop thinking about Remus the way he was; they were friends, best friends, and he couldn’t jeopardise that. 

He was just wondering if there was a potion that could help him when he heard footsteps fast approaching. He looked at the corridor behind him but couldn’t see anything around the bend. He backtracked a few feet to see what the commotion was about when Remus came hurtling around the corner, running straight into him, causing them to crash to the ground in a heap of limbs. 

“Sirius!” Remus gasped, dragging in huge lungfuls of air. “Sirius, I need to know… Lily said that you… Sirius I… Oh, fuck it!” Sirius could hardly follow Remus’s garbled half-sentences, but he did understand what Remus was saying when their mouths connected. Oh, thank fuck! Sirius’s hands came up and wrapped themselves around Remus’s neck as he kissed him back. They were both grinning as the kiss kept on going. 

“Twenty points from Gryffindor,” McGonagall barked at them. Sirius winced. Seriously, he could have walked the entire way down to the kitchens without seeing another living soul, but the second he got everything he wanted, McGonagall of all people had to find them.  

They pulled their mouths away from each other, but Sirius refused to let go of Remus. He’d only just got him. He smiled wryly up at the glaring deputy headmistress. 

“Sorry, Professor, we fell,” The corners of her mouth twitched as she tried to stop herself from smiling. 

“I’m sure you did, Mr Black. Either way, you need to go back to your common room immediately. It is almost curfew, and do try not to fall over each other on the way back up,” Remus had stood at this point, dragging Sirius with him. Sirius took Remus’s hand, and they turned back in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. He looked over his shoulder and grinned. 

“I can’t make that promise, professor,” And he swore he heard her snort quietly once they were out of sight. He looked over at Remus and couldn't keep the smile off his face. He dragged him behind a tapestry with a hidden passageway behind it and kissed Remus again because now he could. 

Chapter Text

Remus squinted at the pages of his book. He only had a few more pages left of his chapter, but his candle had burnt so low it was barely illuminating the words any more. But he needed to finish the chapter. 

The candle was almost out, and he still had four pages left. He held his book as close as he dared to the sputtering candle when it went out. 

“Bugger,” He grumbled as he pulled out his wand. He could probably get away with it if he kept under the covers. 

“Don’t you dare, Moony,” Sirius's voice spoke softly in the darkness of the dorm room. “No Lumos, that was the deal. It’s too bright, even under your covers.” Remus put his wand back down, gutted that he couldn’t finish the chapter. 

Feet padded across the floor, and Sirius jumped into his bed, holding up his candle. “Here, finished your chapter, you nutter,” Remus grinned and stuck it in his candleholder, illuminating his bed again. 

“Thanks, Padfoot,” Remus grinned as he picked his book up again. Sirius yawned and laid himself down next to Remus. Sirius tended to crawl into bed with James when he couldn’t sleep, but on rare occasions, he chose Remus, mainly when he couldn’t be bothered walking the short distance back to his bed. Either way, Remus felt honoured when he did. 

Remus quickly finished the last few pages, and of course, it ended on a cliffhanger. He flipped to the next page, and just as he was about to start the next chapter, Sirius’s hand shot up and took the book. 

“Oh no, you don’t. It’s sleeping time now; you can read the rest tomorrow.” He picked up Remus’s bookmark off the bedside table and put it between the pages, so Remus wouldn’t lose his place before he blew out the candle. Remus rolled his eyes but wiggled down so he was lying next to Sirius. The bed wasn’t really big enough for the pair of them, but Sirius always found a way to fit. He flung his left arm and leg over Remus’s body and snuggled in tight. Remus kissed the top of his head and wrapped his arms around his best friend. Sirius sighed and snuggled impossibly closer as they both fell asleep.  

Chapter Text

“Oh, come on, Remus. You know I can’t go in there,” Sirius huffed as he followed the lanky, cardigan-wearing human around the tiny village. 

“What do you mean?” Remus asked, his brow furrowed in confusion as he looked back at Sirius. 

“Church— Hallowed ground— Demon!” He pointed at himself. Remus’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open as he realised what the problem had been. 

“Oh, sorry, I forgot. It’s just really pretty inside.” He shrugged as he carried on past the gates. 

“You forgot?! How could you forget? You sold your soul to me a month ago, and I’ve been pestering you ever since. How could you forget?!!!” Sirius flung his arms up in exasperation. In the hundreds of years he’d been doing this, not one human had ever forgotten what he was. But Remus was different, the strange man seemed to actually enjoy Sirius’s company and was a thousand times happier since he’d called on him.

Sirius almost felt bad about their bargain. Remus was now doomed to an eternity in hell, all for the sake of giving his dying mother a few more years of life. If Sirius wasn’t a hell-raised Demon from a long line of hell-raised Demons with bloodlines right back to Lilith herself, he might have tried to find a way to get Remus out of his deal, but he was, and he’d never let a soul go yet. 

Chapter Text

“Please, will you stop with the cardigans?!” Sirius howled at Remus as he watched his charge take another of the grandad-style knit monstrosities out of his dresser.

“Why? I like them. They’re comfortable.” Remus said, confused, holding up the cardigan as if it wasn’t offensive to the eyes. 

“You do realise your time on Earth is ticking away; you should wear something outlandish, something sexy, anything but those gods awful cardigans!” 

“You really don’t like them, do you?” Remus chuckled at him. Chuckled, like he was some adorable little kid and not a Lord of Hell here to reap his soul! 

“No,” He replied petulantly, grabbing Remus’s pillow and sulking into it.

“What about you then?” Remus asked as he slipped the cardigan on and buttoned the front. 

“What about me?” Sirius raised a brow at him. 

“Your costume doesn’t exactly scream outlandish. It’s just black robes; they just look like a coat when you go outside.” Sirius looked down at his favourite robes in outrage. 

“Costume?! Costume?!” He spluttered. “These are designer robes made from Hell's very best materials! They are my uniform, my station. Anyone in Hell instantly knows who I am and how much they should fear me,” He said proudly. Costume indeed. “Plus, they are sexy as Hell, and you know it!” He finished pouting at Remus. 

“Sirius, you are literally cuddling my pillow, you’re about as scary as a marshmallow,” Remus smirked at him before heading downstairs, leaving Sirius gobsmacked. Damn humans, he thought as he threw Remus’s pillow across the room and followed the infuriating man downstairs and out into the morning sun.  

Chapter Text

Sirius was getting bored. Remus seemed to be an honest, to hell, sweet, good guy, but damnation he was boring. They went to the local shop for strawberry bonbons, then to the post office to send a letter to his penpal, then they went for a walk in the park and back to Remus’s parent's house and that was it. For the entire day! Remus didn’t even watch television, he read. Book after book and not even spicy ones!!! Sirius was on the verge of combusting. 

“Remus?” He asked in a sickly sweet voice. Remus looked up from his book, smiling kindly at him. 

“Yes, Sirius?” Sirius bit his lip, he’d been planning something, but he needed Remus with him. 

“Could we go back to the shop? I fancy some of those atomic fireballs,” Remus closed his book and stood up, pulling a hand-knit woolly hat down over his sandy curls. 

“Of course, we can,” He grinned and happily followed Sirius back outside. 

Sirius rubbed his hands together. He was allowed to use a bit of magic in the upper world, especially if it was in the aid of a good prank, and Sirius was in need of a few good pranks. 

The little shop, owned by a dear old lady, who Sirius knew would never end up in hell, even if he tried to tempt her, stood in the centre of the village. It was like something from a postcard. Sirius wasn’t supposed to like it, but how could he not? 

They entered the shop, the little bell above the door tinkling as the door knocked against it, and Ethel greeted them. 

“Back again Remus dear?” Her voice was a bit thin in her old age, but Remus always had a smile for her. 

“You know me, Mr Sweet Tooth,” He joked, and she laughed fondly at him. Sirius had already stomped off to find what he wanted and Remus followed behind him. He handed the little box of sweets to Remus and ushered him back to the counter to pay. He’d tried just taking some before, but Remus had stopped him. It had been the only time so far that Remus had shown him anger.  “Just because people can’t see you doesn’t mean you can steal!” He’d growled. So now he let Remus buy the things he wanted. 

Ethel and Remus chatted for a bit while she rang up his purchases.

“Fireballs? These aren’t your usual thing, Remus dear.” 

“I have a friend that likes them, but he can’t get them where he lives,” 

“Oh, aren’t you just a sweetheart? You’ve got the heart of an angel inside you, Remus Lupin; I always said you did,” The smile Remus gave her didn’t quite meet his eyes as he thanked her for the sweets. Sirius tried to ignore the sadness that had crept into Remus’s eyes as he quickly finished off his prank. Suddenly, the taste of mischief was sour in his mouth. They left the shop together, the toffee apples on the counter now toffee onions, and for the first time a prank didn’t bring him any joy and he felt bad for what he'd done to Remus.    

Chapter Text

Sirius used to love Halloween, or, as those below still called it, Samhain; this year, it filled him with dread. This year, on the day when the veil between both words was at its thinnest, he would drag Remus Lupin’s soul down to the fiery pits of hell. 

Remus knew it was coming. Sirius had been very clear about the date, but the ridiculous man was going about his day as if it were any other day. He’d gone out for a walk with his miraculously recovered mother, eaten a huge bag of mixed sweets and settled down in front of his log-burning stove to read a book. 

Sirius had left him to it. Giving Remus the gift of time alone without him, as soon they would have an eternity together. He’d gone off and reaped the other souls he’d made bargains with and tried again to find a loophole. He wanted so badly to save Remus from his fate, but it was impossible. 

“Come on, Reggie. You must have found something in the wording,” he begged his brother. Regulus, who was elbow-deep in viscera, rolled his eyes and repeated what he’d been saying for weeks. 

“The contract is binding. We don’t have the highest number of collected souls for nothing. There is no way around it. Sorry, Sirius,” But Sirius refused to give up. 

Time ticked by, and before he knew it, the final bells were tolling to collect the souls before the veil returned to normal. He had no choice but to go up and collect Remus.

Remus was asleep, his book propped open on his chest and his head lolling back. 

“Remus, Remus,” Sirius woke him as gently as possible. The beautiful soul opened his eyes and smiled at Sirius, happy to see him. 

“Where have you been? You’ve been gone all day,” Remus asked kindly. Sirius’s eyes began to prickle, and something wet rolled down his cheek. He wiped his face with his fingertips and realised, for the first time in his long, long life, he was crying. “Hey, it’s okay,” Remus leaned forward and hugged him tightly, gathering him up and cradling him. 

“Remus, I…” He choked out, holding onto Remus tightly. 

“It’s okay, I know,” Remus comforted him and Sirius’s heart broke. He couldn’t take Remus down to hell, he just couldn’t. 

He heard the final ringing of the bell and the world fell silent. 

“Traitor!!!!” His mother’s voice bellowed in the quiet, and it was then that he realised what he had done. He’d let a soul escape the contract. 

He felt the pull of his mother's magic, dragging him and Remus down to hell. 

“Remus, I’m so sorry,” He cried as they held onto each other, down, down, down to the very centre of the world where his mother waited for them.