Christmas

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A?N: I was supposed to post this last Christmas but I forgot about it and this has been sitting in my drafts since. Also I forgot who posted this but im pretty sure itd from here on wattpad so if someone knows the real author pls lmk!

It was a few days before Christmas and Remus sat at the dinner table with his parents, glumly pushing his food around his plate. The day before had been the full moon and he was really missing Sirius. It was the middle of their sixth year at school and they'd been dating mostly in secret (the Marauders and Lily knew).

Remus had come out to his parents as bisexual the year prior and though it had taken Lyall a little time to get used to, his parents were supportive of him. Remus hadn't yet told his parents about Sirius because he didn't know how they would react. It was 1976 after all. It was one thing for their son to be bisexual (he could still like girls just fine), but it was another for him to have a boyfriend. Especially the Black heir who they all knew was reckless and a troublemaker.

Unbeknownst to Remus, Lyall and Hope had been discussing their suspicions. Hope claimed that she could just tell there was a special someone in her son's life, the way that mothers just know sometimes.

Lyall didn't believe it. After all, his son was a werewolf, whether or not he had a big heart.
Their original bet was dishes duty for a week if Remus was dating someone, or laundry for a week if he only fancied someone.

Their plan was to ask Remus about it while he was home over break, but they abandoned that idea as he was in a lot of pain and stress over the full moon and then he was just staring forlornly at his plate at every meal. Hope could clearly tell that even though he enjoyed being home with his parents, he missed his friends. Or perhaps, he missed someone in particular on a deeper level.

Hope had pulled Lyall aside one night when Remus retired to bed early to tell him her plan. "I think we should invite over that Black boy Remus is friends with. Then we can see what's really going on.

Lyall scoffed. "You think he's dating the Black boy?"
Hope crossed her arms. "I guess we'll see. If nothing else, the poor boy will finally have some company."

Lyall sighed and nodded. "Alright, but we have to up the stakes."

"Dishes duty for a month?" Hope bargained. Lyall nodded and they shook on it.

It was the evening of Christmas day that Hope brought it up. "Hey, love, we were wondering if you wanted to have your friend over for the last week of holiday. You just seem lonely and I know your mates really cheer you up."

Remus's face lit up and he nodded.

"But we only have room for one of the boys."

"I'll invite Sirius, I think," Remus said, trying to be inconspicuous, but Hope didn't miss the way his ears reddened slightly. 

"Pete's with his whole family, and James has been hogging Sirius all holiday, so he shouldn't mind."

Hope nudged Lyall's foot with hers and grinned when she felt his eyes on her. "Well why don't you go write him an owl."

Remus jumped up with the most energy she'd seen from him all holiday and only struggled a little on his way to his bedroom. "You'll see. It's Sirius Black," Hope said confidently.

Lyall didn't look so sure. "We'll see. We will see."

The next morning, shortly after breakfast, Sirius arrived at the Lupin Cottage via apparation. Euphemia Potter straightened Sirius's clothes and licked her thumb to wipe Sirius's brow.He tried to squirm his way out of her grasp, "Mum, stop it."

Euphemia clucked her tongue. "Now you be good, make a good impression on the Lupins, dear. And help out wherever they need you to alright? And use your-"

"Manners, yeah Mum, I've got it."

Euphemia smiled fondly at Sirius and Sirius basked in it. He pretended to be annoyed, but he loved it when she treated him like her very own son.

Together, the two of them walked up to the small cottage in the middle of nowhere (Wales countryside) and Sirius knocked on the wood door. A few short seconds later, the door swung open and Remus stood there, smiling brightly. 

Sirius's own face lit up and he flung himself forward to wrap the taller boy in a quick hug, letting go before Lyall and Hope came in the direction of the door. Lyall and Hope had heard many stories about Sirius Black over the years and even seen him from afar at King's Cross Station, but they'd never met him properly before.

Sirius greeted them with his most polished pureblood manners and introduced Euphemia
Potter to them as well. Once Euphemia had warned the Lupins about the rowdiness of Sirius, she bade goodbye and apparated back to the Potter Manor, where Fleamont and James were waiting.

"Well, why don't you get Sirius settled, Remus? We don't have a lot of room, dear, so you'll be staying with Remus in his room. Lyall transfigured another bed for you."

Sirius fought to keep his face straight, but he was secretly delighted that the Lupins didn't have a spare room. Remus led Sirius down the hall to his room and shut the door behind him. Sirius dropped his bag and pulled Remus closer to him, kissing him softly.

"I missed you," He said between kisses.

Remus sighed, feeling complete and content once Sirius had arrived. "I missed you too, even though it's only been a week."

They broke apart so Sirius could set his bag on the spare bed in the room, though both of them knew he wouldn't be sleeping in it, and they exchanged accounts of how their holidays had gone so far. Remus's was rather boring compared to the mischief James and Sirius had gotten up to at the Potter Manor.

Throughout the week, the boys had a lot of fun doing things the Lupin way, as Sirius called it.

Basically, there was a lot of muggle aspects to Remus's life that Sirius wasn't used to, since Hope was a muggle. The two boys spent a lot of time stealing secret kisses when Remus's parents weren't watching and they were quite good at disguising their relationship, as they'd years of practice at a school full of gossipy students.

Hope was beginning to feel discouraged as Lyall grew more confident that his end of the bet would hold up. Hope, even though she was paying lots of attention, couldn't seem to catch the boys in any sort of compromising act. There was some questionable things they did that Hope thought wasn't something typical teenage boys did, but Remus had always told her that the Marauders weren't typical and they were a lot closer than most friends their age were.

And then one night, two days away from when Sirius and Remus were due back on the train to Hogwarts, Hope and Lyall caught them. The two boys had been hanging out in Remus's room for quite awhile and Hope just knew that this was her chance to prove her theory. She got Lyall to come with her and opened Remus's bedroom door.

He had been sitting on his bed up against the headboard with his arms securely around Sirius. Sirius was sitting in between Remus's legs with his back to Remus's chest and he held a book up for Remus, who was reading over top of Sirius's head, pressing his lips to the top of Sirius's head.

The two jumped quite comically when the door opened unexpectedly. Sirius flew straight off the bed in his surprise and Remus jumped to his feet, slipping on the cover of the book. He scrambled to his feet again, eyes wide.

 "It's not what it-"

Hope interrupted him with a gleeful cheer. "I knew it! I knew it! In your face!" she yelled at Lyall, dancing circles around him as he stared on with a shocked expression. Eventually, he just smiled and shook his head at his wife.

"Guess who's doing the dishes for a month? You are, LOSER!"
Remus looked incredibly confused and Sirius just stayed where he was on the floor, also confused, not sure if he should be afraid just yet.

"You-you bet on us?" Remus spluttered.

Lyall nodded, stepping forward to pull Remus into his arms who was too shocked to protest. He slapped his son on the back and the two shared a deep look. Lyall nodded and Remus felt a weight lift off his shoulders at the message he had received, that Lyall knew and accepted Remus for who he was, truly, and he approved of his relationship with Sirius.

Once Hope had calmed down sufficiently, she held out a hand to Sirius to help him up. Sirius flinched away from it for a second, half expecting her to hit him. Hope was too distracted with her excitement that she didn't notice and when it became apparent to Sirius that he wasn't in danger, he accepted her hand up and Hope pulled both her son and his boyfriend into a tight hug.

"Can't breathe, Mum," Remus gasped after a few moments.

"Right, sorry," Hope said, letting them go. "I knew it," she whispered to herself.

Lyall watched from just inside the doorway with a smile on his face, mentally logging his dishes schedule into his mind.

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