Genetics • Sirius Black

Chapter Sixty Four: What Happens Now?

I am either ovulating or the excitement of finishing a project has driven the senses out of my head. Note to self: track cycle better.

The blue vial in Remus Lupin's hand sent pricking behind his eyes. Something between a sob and a laugh left him, though he tried to cover it with his palm. "Is it real?"

"Passed every test." Freya Grey's fingers were laced together on her lap, and her gaze feathered to the others in the room. Three other boys, plus one redheaded girl, stood opposite them in the boy's dorm. She had hoped for a more private venue but found it was damn near impossible with Lily being his fellow prefect and the others living with him. "Severus even checked."

"Severus messed with it?" James Potter asked warily. His arms crossed his chest as he leaned on Peter Pettigrew's bedpost.

"He helped with the exploding gas problem; he came up with a quite sophisticated solution to it," Freya said. "It was actually very impressive."

"That's... amazing." Lily Evan's mused, unable to stop the relief that flooded through her body. For a few weeks, she had been worried that his current company had negatively influenced her best friend of almost a decade. Marlene Mckinion even pressed Lily about dropping Severus, but she firmly held on to the fact that they did not know him as she did. He was a saint at times.

Still, James found it hard to believe Severus would so easily cast everything under the rug. "And you're sure he didn't do anything to it?"

Freya nodded, but Sirius Black was the one that spoke. "We checked it twice ourselves." Leaning against the door frame, his more than casual demeanor starkly contrasted the rest of the room. "Potion's good."

Inside, Remus's heart was doing backflips. The smile cut through his face, and he looked at everyone around him. All there for him. "Thank you, all of you."

"Anything for you, Moons." James smiled back at him.

Happy tears spilled out of his eyes, and he wiped some of them with his sleeve. "Mind if I speak with Freya for a moment?"

"Of course, mate," James replied, then gave him a short yet sweeter-than-honey hug. Peter followed suit, as did Lily. Sirius opted out of the hug for a kiss on the forehead, but Remus still wrapped his arms around the grey-eyed boy's torso.

While this happened, Freya looked slightly like a deer in headlights as the tears in Remus's eyes seemed endless. She locked gazes with Sirius for a moment, who held back a chuckle. But, by the time he was closing the door on his way out, Remus had placed his hand on Freya's forearm, and she was attentively leaning toward him. A knot formed in his chest.

Once the room was just the two of them, Freya felt incredibly awkward.

"I'm sorry," Were the first words from Remus's mouth, sending a pinch between Freya's brows. Had he farted, and she not noticed?

"It's alright." She noted his wet eyes and wished Lily would suddenly pop back into the room to stop this madness. Freya was the potions maker, not the communicator.

"No." He said, squeezing her forearm slightly. "I'm sorry."

"Remus." Her head tilted. "You know I don't like it when you apologize without reason."

"I have a reason this time." A soft smile graced his scared features. "I should not have pushed you away." Her attention shifted to her lap, but she fixed her posture. "This had been one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me, and I can never repay you for that."

"Sirius and James bought most of the supplies. They are as much to credit as I am."

"Not sure if that's accurate."