12 Days Of Shipmas (A Multi Fandom Compilation)

Nine Lords a-Leaping (Wolfstar from Harry Potter)

Tuesday, December 4th, 1979

The trickiest part of the full moon, Sirius had come to appreciate, was getting Remus back inside the flat. It wasn't like at school where they could just hang out at the Shrieking Shack then sneak back when Moony was human again. Londoners tended to notice if you were dragging a naked, semi-conscious man alongside you, even in Brixton. So every month, Sirius would have to take the gamble of coaxing him back as close as he could to their home whilst still, in wolf form, keeping him away from any people he might possibly endanger.

Then there were the neighbours. Old Mrs Smith, the Jamaican lady on the first floor, had spotted them once when Remus hadn't even been awake enough yet to speak, leaving Sirius to assure the meddlesome busy-body that he'd just lost a bet after a heavy night of drinking, and that she really didn't need to call the police.

"It be bad enough," she had scolded as he'd lugged Moony up the concrete stairwell that perpetually smelled of piss, no matter how many times the cleaners sloshed bleach down it. "It bad enough you boys, livin' in sin. You got to be displayin' your indecency for the world to see, you ought to be ashamed!"

"See you later Mrs Smith," Sirius had called back to her over his shoulder as he'd fumbled for their keys from his pocket, eager to get in the door and out of sight. He hadn't wanted Remus to wake up and have to suffer the old biddy's nonsense as well.

That morning he had been able to creep in without incident. (Unless he counted the pigeons Moody had got his jaws on just before he changed back. He still had some of the feathers in his tousled brown hair. Sirius actually thought it was quite adorable, once he'd wiped the blood off his face.)

"Come on Moon," he said as he fished for his keys from his jeans. "Just a few more steps."

"Hmm," Remus mumbled as his head lolled onto Sirius' shoulder.

"Atta boy, come on," Sirius urged, finally getting the damn door open and hauling them both back into their little one bedroom flat. "There we go."

First job was to dump Remus in the shower, which was just generally easier if Sirius got in too. They had both spent the night cavorting through Clapham Common after all, so he'd worked out a while ago it was easier to kill two birds with one stone. After a quick rinse he grabbed his wand to dry Moony and himself off; it may not have felt as nice as towel drying, but it was ten times quicker.

"Pads?" Moony murmured, wincing as he slowly started getting a grip back on reality.

"I'm here," Sirius assured him as he helped him into the bedroom and flopped him on the bed. "It's okay, we're home now, you can sleep."

Remus nodded. "Sleep is good," he muttered, and Sirius chuckled. He waved his wand and socks, pyjama bottoms and one of his preferred woolly jumpers came flying out of the drawers to slip over Remus' limbs.

"Eloquent as always, old chap," he said fondly, swinging his legs over and pulling up the duvet to tuck him in. He brushed his hair back from his forehead so he could kiss him, a little thrill rushing through him despite having kissed Remus Lupin countless times over the past three years. He was his; his daft, rumpled werewolf, and he loved him so much his heart really did ache. "Sleep tight."

He pulled a fresh pair of jeans on and one of Moony's jumpers that he was always being told off for borrowing, before creeping quietly out of the bedroom and closing the door. He leaned back against it and exhaled deeply. Another full moon done.

He figured he had a couple of hours at least before Moony woke up, so he grabbed his boots and his coat to run down the road. He'd spotted a fellow selling Christmas trees for a tenner literally off the back of a lorry on their way in, and he wanted to grab one before they all went.