BLACK MOON ⍋ Remus Lupin

Chapter 141 - The Confession.

(Guys... we're 10 chapters away from the end and so sorry I disappeared. Had a tough time.)

I wandered upstairs to the bathroom door and gave it a gentle knock.

"Sirius?" I asked with a light voice.

No reply.

I knocked a bit harder wondering whether he heard me over the loud music that had seemed to be turned up in celebration and as I knocked, the door creaked open only a crack.

It wasn't locked and Sirius wasn't inside.

That's when I turned around and noticed the guest bedroom light was on and shining beneath the door in the dark hallway.

I went over a knocked on that door instead, a shuffling sound being heard on the other side.

"I'll be back down in a bit James, don't worry." I heard Sirius say from the other side a bit flatly.

"It's Arty." I corrected.
"Can I come in?"

There was a pause, quite a long one, until the door clicked open and with a flick of his wand the door opened wider for me to enter.

"You alright?" Sirius asked causally, his back turned to me as...he was folding clothes into a small trunk.

"I thought you were going to stay for a few weeks?" I said as carefully as I could as I observed him begin to perfectly pack his things.

He cleared his throat almost awkwardly.

"Uh yeah, but that was just an idea. Might come and go, you know?" He shrugged, his back still facing me and not being able to see his face.

It was my moment to take a long pause as I closed the door behind me, realising my gut instinct to check up on him was correct. Something was going on.

"I actually came to check that you're okay?" I said as a statement more than a question.

"Oh yeah!" Sirius laughed off, folding the same pair of trousers for the second time.
"I'm really happy for you." He added.

I hadn't considered that he wouldn't be happy for me but something in his voice made me question, despite how hard it was attempting to be lighthearted and positive.

"What's wrong, Sirius?" I asked more upfront.

He laughed.

"I don't need you checking up on me Arty, I'm fine!" He said in a smiley voice.

"You've folded that same pair of trousers three times now." I pointed out.

And with that his hands rested firmly onto the mattress, the trousers creasing under his weight as he leant into the firm pressure of the bed he was standing over. His head hung low and a loud sigh escaped his mouth.

"They're just not folding right." He said quietly.

"Here." I said and cautiously approached him from behind and released the grasp he had around the fabric to begin folding them myself and straightening out the clenched fabric.

Sirius kept his head hung low still as he remained palms pressed down to the mattress in a slouched stood position. The body language of someone whose exhausted, something I could recognise. A similar stance to Remus when his vision would have to adjust every time he stood up too quickly.

"Thank you." Sirius mumbled as I put his trousers in his case.

I say down on the bed next to the case and as I did the pressure difference I created meant that Sirius was unfrozen from his spot and he stood up straighter, his hair falling back down away from his face.