I, Werewolf: Part 4

[amuly]

Title: I, Werewolf: Part 4
Pairing: Remus/Sirius
Word Count: 6,692/31,252
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Remus and Sirius have been together since third year, but as their fifth year draws to a close, still haven’t had penetrative intercourse. Remus is afraid his condition could cause complications, and the literature on the subject is contradictory or bigoted. Will Sirius and Remus ever get to shag? (Answer: Yes.)
Warnings: none
A/N: Aaaalmost. Something I learned about myself while writing this chapter: As many times as I’ve spelt “perineum”, I’ll still misspell it (like just now). And yet, I can spell tortellini instinctively, without having every spelt it before. I suppose that’s what happens when you’re Italian.

Again, split into two pieces. Follow the links, as usual.


Previous Parts: I, II, & III

 

            The next day, the three boys unanimously agreed to head down to the lake as they waited for Peter to arrive. According to the letter that had reached James that morning, he had one more luncheon to attend with his folks, then he was free to floo over. So after a quick breakfast, cooked by the lovely Mrs. Potter – as Sirius constantly and profusely told her between mouthfuls of eggs and bacon – the three grabbed their swimming trunks and set off.

            Remus had – much to Sirius’ infinite annoyance – insisted on bringing a bag full of books along. When asked about it, Remus had pointed out that in about an hour he was going to get too tired to swim and play, but refused to leave Sirius and James to their own devices. Hence, the reading material. Sirius refused to admit that Remus had a point.

            As soon as the lake came into view, Sirius shoved James and shouted “Last one there has to kiss Wormtail!” He took off running, flying past a still stumbling James and slow to catch on Remus. He laughed as the wind swept back his hair and heat bore into his skin. This, this was good. This was living.

            Sirius made it to the dock first, not even slowing down as he ran the length of it and threw himself off it. He flipped partially as he flew, and ended up landing in the lake on his side with a loud smack as flesh hit water. It stung, but only for a moment, and then the cool water was lapping at his skin and the sun was glinting off the little waves his jump had created across the surface of the lake.

            He flipped his hair out of his eyes, spraying droplets everywhere. James was next in the water, hollering and throwing himself in next to Sirius. Remus followed soon after, the bag of books abandoned on the grass before the dock. Immediately Sirius scooped Remus up and held him possessively. “I revoke the terms of the bet! I couldn’t stand to watch my Moony-kins snog Wormtail!”

            James swept his arms back and doused Sirius and Remus with a rush of water. “So you were just going to let me snog Wormtail, is that it?”

            Sirius stuck his tongue out at James. “You should thank me for it. You could use a good snog.”

            With a rather unmanly squeek, Sirius dove away from Remus as James propelled himself forward with a roar. Sirius struck out hard to the middle of the lake, toward the little patch of land out there. James was following close behind, and Sirius began to sputter quickly under the exertion of swimming. He wasn’t very good at it, and James did grow up right next to this lake. Soon enough, James had caught up with him and was dragging him under.

            “Say ‘James is my king’! Say it!”

            Sirius valiantly shouted “Never!” even as he gasped for breath. James dunked him under again, only to bring him back up a moment later and shout again “James is my king! Come on!”

            Sirius sputtered but shook his head again. Then Remus was there, dragging James off Sirius and dunking him under. In the moment of confusion Remus laughed, waving at Sirius. “Come on! Swim!” Together they set back out for the island in the center, which had somehow become home base. Several breathless minutes later they reached it, dragging themselves onto shore and catching their breaths.

            “Made…it!” Sirius gasped. “Remus is my king! James…is a pleb!”

            James was only a few meters out from the island, and dragged himself onto it in a matter of seconds. “Fine, fine. Sicking your boyfriend on me to win, completely unfair.”

            Sirius snickered. “It’s okay, Prongs. In just a bit you’ll have Wormtail with you!”

            James rolled his eyes. “Oh, fantastic. Good on me.”

            Remus groaned and stretched, standing up and gazing back out at the dock and shore they had just come from. Sirius allowed himself a moment’s quite contemplation to enjoy the way Remus’ body glistened in the sunlight, and his wet hair clung to his neck. “I suppose we should swim back,” Remus muttered, almost mournfully.

            “Nonsense!” James jumped up and glanced around the island. “Come on: we have to walk ‘round it once, just to see.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Last one ‘round has to squeeze Wormy’s arse!”

            “Bollocks!” Sirius scrambled to his feet and started running. He heard Remus laugh and start after him, but all-too-quickly Remus’ feet faded away and Sirius knew he had left him behind in his pursuit of James.

            The island was tiny, and it only took about a minute and a half for the clearing that they had washed up in to come into view. James was just ahead of Sirius, and he would be buggered if he was going to let James win this one. With a sudden burst of speed Sirius launched himself forward, practically tumbling past James through the impromptu finish line (an invisible line stretching between two trees). Sirius hauled himself upright, struggling for a breath, even as he danced around madly.

            “Beat…you…ha…!”

            James was bent over double, hands on his knees, but he still tried to swat at Sirius in reprimand for his gloating.

            Remus rounded the bend, jogging lightly through the finish line. Sirius noticed him wince as he sank down to the ground, rubbing at his wounded leg with a grimace. “Remus, you okay?” Sirius was at his side in an instant, running soothing fingers over the wound.

            A shadow fell over them, and Sirius didn’t have to look up to know James was standing above them, peering down at Remus. “You alright, mate? That looks painful.”

            Remus offered up a brave grin, shrugging one shoulder. “Not as bad as it looks. Started to twinge on the last bit, that’s all.” He wiped a wet lock of hair away from his face. “Plus I’m still a tad knackered from the full, I guess.”

            Sirius frowned, still running his hand over Remus’ leg. “Shouldn’t have made you come out here with us. You should be in bed.”

            Remus rolled his eyes. “Yeah, where you’d be ravaging me. Real restful.” The pang of guilt Sirius was feeling must have shown on his face, because then Remus was rushing to reassure him. “Not that I don’t enjoy every minute of it.”

            Sirius leaned back to look up at James, the harsh sun making him squint and lift a hand over his eyes. “Head back to shore?”

            James nodded. “Yeah. Wanted to show you this muggle thing my dad set up for me. It’s called a ‘rope-swing’.”

            For some reason, the words themselves seemed to contain some kind of magic, and Sirius felt a tingle go through him. “Rope-swing?” Another shiver rushed through him. That sounded like fun.

            He glanced down to see Remus smiling fondly up at him. “Come on, let’s swim back.”

            Sirius leaned in and brushed at a few more errant damp strands of hair that were sticking to Remus’ forehead. “You sure you’re up to it?”

            Remus rolled his eyes. “I’m fine, Sirius. It’s been three days since full.” Sirius was still uncertain, but Remus did see sure of himself. He nodded.

            “Alright, but I’m hanging back with you. If you need help, just shout.” Sirius might to be a strong swimmer, but he knew that if Remus needed his help, he’d be able to get Remus back to shore. Either that, or they’d both have to wail for James’ help until he swam over.

            The boys waded back out into the lake, Remus batting Sirius away as he kept close and held his hands out, ready to help Remus at the slightest sign of instability. James swam out ahead with sure, confident strokes, cutting through the water like a broomstick through air. Sirius followed more sedately, doggy paddling more than anything. Of all the many skills the heir to the house of Black was expected to develop, swimming was not one of them. But it worked out just fine for him, since it meant he could easily keep pace with Remus.

            For all of Sirius’ fretting, Remus ended up making it back to the shore just fine, if not a bit winded. James was already there, checking the tightness of a rope that was tied to the tree overlooking the lake. “Ready, Sirius?” he called out.

            Sirius shot one look at Remus, but he was already waving him away. “I’m fine. I told you: that’s why I brought reading material.” With a swift kiss and brilliant grin, Sirius left Remus and ran over to James. “Okay, so what’s this ‘rope-swing’?”

**

            Two hours later, Sirius was exhausted from trying to best James at rope swing tricks (and possibly showing off for Remus, who was resolutely curled up with several books). He and James were lounging on the grass, discussing the upcoming Quidditch World Cup.

            “Thomas Finnegan could kick Richard Jacob’s arse from here to Italy.” James was protesting. “Jacob doesn’t know a snitch from his-”

            “Perineum!” Both boys rolled over onto their stomachs, staring at a flushing Remus. “I…it’s the…” He glanced furtively between James, Sirius, and the anatomy book in his lap. “Um…you know how we said we needed to figure out the name? Of that…thing?” Sirius blinked, staring at Remus in confusion. “That…area?” Remus’ eyes flicked downward significantly, and Sirius suddenly realized what he was referring to.

            “Oh. Oh. The…it’s called the perineum, huh?” Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius could see James going a brilliant mixture of green and red as he tried to figure out what they were talking about. “Does it say it’s supposed…I mean…you’re normal?” Bugger it all, it was bloody hard to try and come up with code-speak while James was lying right next to him.

            Remus’ face grew even redder as his eyes flickered to James. “Yeah. They say it can be a…” he glanced at James again, then sighed. “They say it’s a common erogenous zone.”

            James choked, glasses slipping down his face. Remus and Sirius emitted twin sighs at the sight.

            Before James could recover and start taunting them, a paper butterfly flew over to them. James blinked, before snatching it out of the air and unfolding it. Sirius hoisted himself up to his elbows so that he could lean over James’ shoulder and read the note. “Wormtail’s here!” James announced to Remus, grinning. “Looks like now’s your chance to get lucky, Moony. Remember: snog and a squeeze!”

            With a jerking laugh James pushed himself to his feet and started racing off in the direction of the house. Sirius started after him automatically, then glanced over at Remus who was collecting his books more slowly. “Go!” Remus admonished upon seeing Sirius hesitate. “You have to protect my honor, after all.”

            Sirius blew him a kiss, then was off, racing after James.

            They arrived at James’ house at the exact same time, getting into an almost-wrestling match as Sirius tried to drag James down, and as James responded in kind. Wormtail looked baffled, holding a tray of lemonade for Mrs. Potter as she set out lunch. “Wow, mates. You didn’t have to get into a fight over me.”

            James snorted as he managed to escape Sirius’ headlock. “Don’t get a swollen head, Peter. Wasn’t about you. Well…” James reconsidered, evil glint in his eyes, “…it kind of is, actually. Remus has gotta snog you and squeeze your arse, for losing two races today.”

            “Oi!” Sirius shoved at James, positioning himself in front of Peter. “But I say he doesn’t have to, since it’s just after full, he’s all weak, plus he’s my…” Peter and James both raised quizzical eyebrows, so Sirius stumbled forward, “my…you know. Mine. So I can’t have him snogging and feeling up other blokes.”

            “Glad to hear you defending my honor,” Remus said wryly as he climbed the porch steps. “It’s very romantic.”

            “Well, you know me, Moony-kins,” Sirius grinned, sidling closer to Remus, “the hopeless romantic.” 

            Twin gagging noises erupted from James and Peter, and Sirius promptly went to tackle them.  James, however, was being a right sneaky git. “So Peter,” he said loudly. “D’you know what a perineum is?”

            Sirius pulled up short mid-tackle, his eyes wide. “James!” he hissed.

            Peter flickered his eyes back and forth between James and Sirius, before his eyes came to rest on a beet-red Remus. His eyes widened. “Um…no. But I don’t think I really-”

            “Because apparently,” James continued, “it’s some place on the body. Some place that Remus likes a lot.”

            “James…” the growl issuing from Sirius’ throat should have been warning enough for the bespectacled marauder, but he opened his mouth to continue.

            “Lunch!” The exclamation came for Remus, who was looking for all the world like he wanted to make a mad dash for his bedroom. “Here, Mrs. Potter, do you need any help with that?”

            James glared, but snapped his mouth shut at the sight of his mother. “Oh, Remus, don’t be silly. You’re a guest! Have a seat, there you go.”

            The four boys seated themselves around the porch table, digging into peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and tortellini salad gratefully. Even Peter was piling his plate high with Mrs. Potter’s food.

            “I thought you were at a luncheon?” Remus inquired.

            Peter groaned and shook his head. “It was with my mum and her friends, and it wasn’t so much lunch as salad hour. There wasn’t a bloody – oops,” he glanced at Mrs. Potter, “I mean, there wasn’t anything there for me to eat.” He blushed bright red at his slip of the tongue, but recovered quickly, holding up a sandwich toward Mrs. Potter. “These are delicious, by the way. The tortellini’s great, too.”

            “Thank you, Peter.” Mrs. Potter was looking at Peter with amusement, obviously aware of his faux pas, but not about to call him on it.

            Before Sirius had managed to wolf down even one sandwich, there was a commotion in the living room. A few seconds later Mr. Potter came out the front door, wiping floo dust from his work robes. “Ah. There you all are.”

            There was a moment of jostling as everyone adjusted their seating arrangements so that Mr. Potter could sit next to his wife. Finally everyone was settled back in, and the ravenous consumption of Mrs. Potter’s lunch began again.

            Mr. Potter moaned happily as he dug into the tortellini salad. “Mm. My dear, have I ever mentioned I love your cooking?”

            Mrs. Potter smiled. “Once or twice.”

            He turned back to the boys, leaning forward as if confiding in them. “You know, that’s the reason I come home for lunch every day I have the time, rather than eating in the Ministry cafeteria like all those other poor sods.” Sirius would have to agree with Mr. Potter’s decision to come home every day for lunch. Mrs. Potter’s cooking was definitely something worth making the effort to come home to. He was so engrossed with eating that he didn’t notice Remus eyeing the food and Mrs. Potter thoughtfully.

            After lunch, Remus, Peter, and Mrs. Potter started to do the dishes, “But no one else – I can’t work in a kitchen this overfull with helpers!” while James went to get his Quidditch gear out for the four of them. Sirius was about to go join him until Mr. Potter pulled him aside for a talk in front of the fireplace.

            “Listen, Sirius…” Mr. Potter hesitated, and Sirius immediately recognized that uncomfortable look that James always got when talking to Sirius about Remus. Mentally groaning, Sirius braced himself for an awkward conversation. No one had heard him and Remus yesterday, had they? Oh, bollocks, that would be embarrassing. “I was wondering…James still likes that Evans girl – Lily, I think – right?”

            Sirius frowned, wondering where this was going. “Oh, yeah. James thinks they’re right soul mates.”

            Mr. Potter nodded, but still seemed an odd mix of uncomfortable and concerned. “Well, I was just wondering because…well, you two are quite close and all, and I was wondering if you’ve ever…”

            Sirius’ eyes widened. “Oh, that? No! Never!” Gross. Sirius nearly gagged at the thought of doing anything like that with James. “No, Mr. Potter, James is like my brother. Well, not my real brother, he’s a right Slytherin twat. But, a better brother – the brother I never I had. I wouldn’t ever think about him like…that.”

            Mr. Potter breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and Sirius wondered for a moment if he should be insulted that James’ dad was so relieved that his son was straight. “It’s not that I have a problem with it, you know,” Mr. Potter continued, “It’s just…I’d want some warning. You know? Some time to sort of ease in to the whole notion, rather than have it sprung on me.”

            Sirius nodded. “Yeah, no, that’s alright. James has known about Remus and I for two years, now, and he still gets a little…” Sirius searched for the right word.

            “Befuddled?” Remus appeared behind Sirius’ shoulder, helpfully supplying the word.

            Sirius grinned back at him. “Yeah. Guess you could call it that. Befuddled.”

            Mr. Potter smiled between the two boys. “Well, I’d like to think we raised James properly – his mother more than me, really – so I’m glad to see him so accepting of…” he paused, then finally waved his arms expansively, “everything.” He clasped the two boys on the shoulder, then nodded and reached for the floo. In a puff of smoke he was gone, back to his work at the Ministry.

            James chose that moment to enter the living room, holding up a box with the entirety of his Quidditch gear stacked inside. “Who’s up for a match? Come on!”

            Sirius grinned, but then glanced over at Remus and hesitated. With a small smile, Remus shook his head. “I’m too tired. You three play, I’ll watch from the porch.”

            Peter came in from the kitchen then, throwing himself down on the sofa. “I’m out. Talking to those women this morning, plus all the traveling I just got back from, has got me knackered. I’ll go down to the lake tomorrow with you guys,” he promised, stretching languidly, “but for today I’ll keep Remus company on the porch.”

            James frowned, then turned to Sirius with his best puppy-dog eyes firmly in place. “Sirius?”

            Sirius rolled his eyes and winked at Remus. “Don’t even try it, James: no one does puppy-dog like me. But,” he continued, “I’ll play with you. I’m in the mood to kick your sorry arse after this morning.”

            So Sirius ended up helping James lug the Quidditch gear outside and set up a pitch, while Remus and Peter dug out a chessboard and a pile of cards for wizarding chess and exploding snap, respectively.

            As Sirius kicked off the front lawn and eyed James warily, waiting for him to make the first move, his eyes flickered down to Remus. His head was bent over the chessboard he and Peter were sitting around, obviously concentrating intently on his next move. Well, that wouldn’t do.

            “Stop wasting my time, Potter!” Sirius shouted, eyes flickering down to Remus again. “Get ready to have your arse handed to you!”

            James laughed, clearly up for the challenge. “Yeah right, Black! You wish you could best me at Quidditch!”

            With that, James darted forward, quaffle tucked firmly under his arm. Sirius cut in front of him, snatching the quaffle from his hand and speeding toward the goal. He had scored ten points before James even knew what happened. “See, that, Potter?” Sirius whooped. “I can beat you blindfolded if I bother to try!”

            James snatched the quaffle up, sneering. “Yeah, it’s just ten points. Let’s see you do that a few dozen more times.”

            They played for two hours, Sirius ducking, weaving, diving, and rolling in attempt to widen the gap between his and James’ scores. By the time the two boys glided down and collapsed on the grass in front of the porch, the official score was 300 to 190, in favor of Sirius.

            “See…that…Moony?” Sirius gasped, chest heaving as he lay flat on his back in the soft grass. A noncommittal hum reached his ears from the porch. He tilted his head back, straining his eyes to try and catch a glimpse of Remus with as little movement as possible. Remus was, apparently, focusing quite intently on his hand in exploding snap. “Moo…ny?”

            “Hm?” Remus raised his eyes, glancing down at Sirius. “It was very good, Sirius. You and James played a good game.”

            Sirius’ eyes narrowed. He rolled over, inadvertently crushing James’ arm in the process. He ignored the other boy’s cries of pain as he pushed himself upright and scrambled up the porch. “Weren’t you watching me?”

            This close, Sirius could tell Remus wasn’t paying as much attention to his cards as he had previously let on. He had a card in hand that matched one on the table, but hadn’t placed it down yet. In fact, Remus seemed awfully flushed for a simple game of exploding snap, periodic explosions or not.

            “I was watching you. It was very…good.” Remus swallowed thickly, and Sirius watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “Why don’t…” Remus hesitated, eyes flickering over to Sirius. “Why don’t you take a shower?” He wrinkled up his nose. “You could use one.”

            For a moment Sirius was about to protest and pontificate on the quite delectable smell of his musky male presence, but then he noticed the way Remus’ eyes kept flickering between him and the house, and the way he was shifting in his seat. Sirius’ eyes widened. “Right. Shower. You know, that’s a great idea. I’m gonna go shower.” He glanced at Peter and James to see if they noticed anything. James was still lying on his deathbed on the grass, and Peter seemed to be dozing in the porch chair across from Remus.

             As causally as he could, Sirius scrambled upstairs, barely remembering to grab a towel and a change of clothes along the way. Once inside, he tapped the shower on and stripped, then hopped from bare foot to bare foot on the tiled floors.

            A minute later, the door clicked open, and Remus poked his head in. “You know, I was thinking I could use a shower, too.”

            Sirius grinned, dragging Remus in and locking the door behind them. “Did you work up a sweat playing Peter in chess and exploding snap?”

            Remus was stripping quickly, and when he finally straightened, Sirius saw that his eyes were darkened with lust. “No, though I did get kind of hot and bothered watching a particular Quidditch match.”

            “Oh yeah?” Sirius asked, backing up and stepping into the tub. Remus followed him obediently. As he slid the curtains shut, Sirius had to work hard to stifle a rather unmanly giggle that threatened to escape his mouth.


Continue on to the next piece of this part here.