Some Day | Wolfstar

Thirty-three

Peter timidly nudged Remus as they sat at the Gryffindor table, having their dinner. They were back to their usual seating arrangements, but now Sirius and James had switched so that Sirius sat in between Remus and James, and James sat next to Lily.

Remus sighed, and turned to Peter.

"What is it, Pete?" He smiled encouragingly. "I... I wanna talk to Sirius," Peter bit his lip. Remus smiled widely. "That's great! He'd love that, Wormtail. When are you going to?"

"Tonight, I think... I want you to be there," Peter replied.

"Me? Why?"

"You and James. I miss the four of us together, Moony."

Remus nodded his head. Peter smiled at him, and shoved a spoonful of beans in his mouth. Sirius leaned towards Remus. "What's wrong?" His lips brushed Remus' cheek, causing them to bloom into an endearing shade of red.

"Nothing's wrong..." he mumbled, looking at his food. "Wormtail wants to reconcile, I think."

Sirius beamed at him, white teeth and sparkling eyes and all. Remus couldn't help his own grin. He noticed how James was staring at Lily, who was struggling to balance both him and her girlfriends.

"Hey Prongs," Sirius laughed, noticing it too. Lily shot him a brief, grateful look. "Guess why the tomato blushed," he grinned. James immediately turned his way, mirroring the grin on Sirius' face, and blurted out, "Because it saw the salad dressing!"

They erupted into laughter, all four boys, and Lily too. Remus wanted to kiss Sirius. He was so happy. They were all so happy, and it had been so long. Too long.

***

James smiled at Remus as they watched Peter envelope Sirius in a huge hug. They slowly strolled along the corridors, which were bustling with students returning from dinner.

"So Snape is brewing the cure for Regulus?" Peter asked once they found a nice, warm spot in the common room. "Yeah... he needs a week for it. That means" Sirius smiled at the thought of waking Regulus up.

"Why?"

"It takes time to brew certain potions, Wormy," Remus explained. Peter nodded. "What do you need to make it?"

"I don't remember everything," Sirius shrugged. "But we used Nightshade, Dragon Scales, and Mandrake Roots in it. And Squid Ink, I think. Some other herbs too... there was a liverwort of some sort. Why do you ask?"

"I... just thought... Maybe we could help you gather them," Peter said. Sirius smiled at him and ruffled his hair. "There's no need. Severus has everything we need."

"Severus, huh?" James frowned. Remus nudged him.

Sirius simply shrugged, and stretched himself. "Look, there's Lily," he pointed. James' head whipped around. He turned back, glaring at Sirius.

"Not cool, Padfoot."

"You should've seen your face," Sirius laughed, "You're so whipped, Prongs."

"And you're not?" James retorted, a small smile tugging at his lips. Sirius gently pulled Remus down by the neck, and pressed a lingering kiss to his jaw. "Oh yes, I am. I'm very, very whipped."

***

Sirius reached over to give Remus a gentle pat on the shoulder as Professor Septima Vector entered the Arithmancy classroom. It was Remus' favourite subject, and he was the best in their class.

He groaned, but didn't raise his head from the table. There were only eleven students in their class, arranged in four rows. They were sitting in the third row, their usual place. The third seat in their row was empty.

The Professor greeted the class, and told them to open their textbooks. Sirius bit his lip, glancing at the Professor. He turned back to Remus and shook him lightly.

"Remus!" He whispered. Hearing a rustle, Sirius looked up. Professor Vector was walking towards them, her deep scarlet robes swishing around her feet.

"Mister Black," she spoke softly, in her deep voice. "Yes, Professor?" Sirius looked up at her.

"Perhaps we should let Mister Lupin rest some," she smiled at Remus sympathetically. "He must be hurting. Do you mind escorting him to the Hospital Wing?"

Remus raised his head. His face looked pale, emphasising the pink scar running across his face from left to right. He started to shake his head, but the Professor gave him a kind smile.

"You are welcome to come see me next week, Mister Lupin, to cover your lessons. I assure you, we will not be studying anything of vital importance today." She then turned to Sirius, "However, Mister Black, I'm aware of your propensity for unfailingly finding an excuse to make yourself absent from my lessons. Today, I will not tolerate any. I expect you to be back in ten minutes." She smiled at Remus again, and left them. Sirius scowled at her, and collected Remus' books.

"Come on, Moony," he placed a hand on Remus' lower back and walked him out of the class. They walked towards the Hospital Tower.

"I'm coming back for Potions," Remus said softly. Sirius sighed. "Don't, Remus. Stay here. I'll tell Professor Slughorn that you're not well."

"I'm not not well. I can't miss Potions, Sirius. I'm terrible at it," Remus sighed.

"You're not terrible at anything." Sirius wondered if he could ask Severus to help Remus with Potions. He almost said it out loud.

What the hell am I thinking?

Sirius helped Remus on to the bed next to the one where Regulus was laid. He removed Remus' cloak, placed it on the stand next to he bed and drew the sheets over him. "You won't be lonely," he smiled. He leaned down and gently placed his lips Remus'. "I'll come pick you up for next period. Wait here for me, okay?" Sirius whispered, and kissed him again, fingers brushing Remus' cheek. Remus smiled at him and curled up under the covers, facing Regulus. He watched Sirius kiss Regulus' forehead and leave.

He looked at Regulus for a minute, and closed his eyes. Despite the burning in his back, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

***

When Sirius walked out of Classroom 7A where they learnt Arithmancy, there was a surprise waiting for him. Severus Snape. His cold eyes found Sirius' and he jerked his head to the right, signalling Sirius to follow him. He didn't wait.

Sirius waited until everyone else was out of sight before quickly walking to his right. Severus was waiting, leaning against a wall.

"Someone sabotaged the Potion." He said as soon as Sirius reached him. Sirius looked at him, eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"I brew my Potions in an empty cellar in the dungeons. It's no secret. Even Slughorn knows. Last night, someone pushed the cauldron over."

Sirius frowned. The Slytherins were the least loyal to their house. Their personal motives were always held above those of any group, except for their families.

"Do you know who it might've been?"

"Probably Malfoy," Severus growled lowly. "Or some asinine first year looking to impress someone else."

Sirius sighed. "Can you start over?"

"I will. But in a different place. The classroom we used."

Sirius nodded his head. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes."

Severus started walking. "I... I have to pick Remus up from the Hospital Wing..." Sirius said, walking a few steps behind him. Severus shrugged. When they reached the staircase, he kept on walking by Sirius' side instead of heading downstairs.

And Sirius quietly wondered why.