Bewitched | wolfstar au

Thirty-six

The following Sunday is when the Quibbler finally publishes the article. And so the Justice for Remus Club assembles at the dining table of 13, Nuvel Drive.

The doorbell rings sharp at half past eight in the morning, with Remus and Sirius barely having finished their breakfast. Well, at least Remus had his breakfast. Sirius had a couple biscuits with his tea, his argument being that tea and biscuits is a perfectly balanced breakfast by itself.

They both go to the door, and when Sirius opens it, they're met with James and Lily.

"Good morning," James smiles widely, but his voice is a little thick. Remus notices that behind James' glasses, his eyes appear a little reddened.

"Were you crying?" Sirius asks bluntly.

"He got a little emotional reading the article," Lily smiles, looking at James with a look so affectionate that it makes Remus go all soft.

"Aw, Prongsie," Sirius grins, giving James a small hug. He gives Lily a quick hug as well, and hangs her coat up.

"It was written so well," James clears his throat, "If it isn't going to get people talking, nothing will. Come give me a hug, Re. I'm so glad you aren't dead."

Remus can't help the snort of laughter that very elegantly pushes itself out of his throat. "Thanks, James," he pats James on the back as James practically squeezes him, "I'm so glad I'm not dead, too."

"Here, we got you a little gift," Lily hands him a bar of hazelnut chocolate.

"Oh, Lily, you didn't have to..."

"Oh just take it, you big baby," Lily laughs, her cheeks bright. "You know you want to."

"Thank you," Remus mumbles, blushing.

"Where's my gift?" Sirius pouts, looking at Lily sideways.

"Right next to you," James grins cheekily, eyeing Remus.

Remus' heart skips a beat when he catches sight of the wash of pale, pale pink that floods over Sirius' cheeks. Even the way Sirius blushes fits his aesthetic, it isn't fair.

"You just didn't want to buy me anything," Sirius rolls his eyes. He turns to Remus. "Why don't you show them the new fireplace while I put the kettle on?"

Remus leads James and Lily to the library, where a Muggle contractor has installed a massive fireplace. Its dark, ornate frame goes well with the rest of the library, and the rest of the house.

"Wow," Lily breathes out, "It's huge. I honestly wouldn't expect any less from Sirius."

"He really has gone all out," James nudges Remus with his elbow, "Aren't you one lucky guy?"

Remus feels his cheeks go red. "Leave me alone," he mumbles, looking away.

"I had no idea there were so many books in here," Lily walks over to the nearest shelf, dragging her fingers across the backs of a neatly arranged row of books. "I need to ask Sirius if I can borrow some..."

Several minutes letter, they're seated in the living room.

"Oh, hey, Mentos," James grins at Mittens, who's pawing at something under a chair.

"That's Mittens," Sirius corrects him, setting a tray down.

"I never get it right..." James sighs, taking a biscuit. "Why did you give them all such similar names?" He turns to Remus.

"Because I can," Remus shrugs, grabbing Mittens and lifting him on to his lap. She jumps right off, going back to reaching under the chair for God knows what. "Wow, okay then," Remus rolls his eyes with a scoff.

"You've developed quite the attitude, haven't you?" James mutters, blowing at his tea.

"I've always been this way," Remus shrugs again.

"Now that I think about it... You did call Sirius a pig..." James smiles.

It's not the memory that hits Remus like a train, but the fact that something that happened just a few months ago actually feels like it's from a completely different lifetime. So much has changed... too much.

Their conversation is interrupted when the doorbell rings again.

"They're early," Sirius mutters, jumping to his feet. He grips the back of his chair immediately, his eyebrows furrowing. Remus looks at Lily and James, but neither has noticed. Regardless, he quickly stands up and walks over to Sirius. "I'll get the door," he says softly, placing a hand on Sirius' arm.

"No, I'm fine. It's fine," Sirius smiles at him. Remus looks at him for a second, and proceeds to walk towards the door. Stubborn as ever, Sirius follows. Remus sticks close to him, just in case.

It's Auguste and Regulus, of course.

"Regulus was awake, for once," Auguste laughs, putting his coat away. "Hi, Remus. How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks," Remus smiles at him, still alert.

"Morning," Regulus tells them. "Is the fireplace done?"

"Yeah, finished yesterday," Sirius tells him. He's standing so close to Remus that their shoulders are touching.

"Oh, I can't wait to see it... Hey, we forgot the groceries in your car," Regulus suddenly turns to Auguste.

"Oh, yeah, we did..."

Remus watches Regulus and Auguste disappear out the door. The familiar smell of nameless flowers in Sirius' hair makes him realise that they're standing even closer together somehow, despite neither of them having moved.

This is when Remus realises that Sirius is actually leaning against him. Perhaps not consciously, but he definitely is. Remus moves an arm so that he can place his hand on Sirius' back. "Sirius," he asks softly, not wanting James or Lily to hear, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," Sirius bites his lip. Remus scans his pale face, but it gives nothing away. "You're feeling dizzy, aren't you?"

"Shh," Sirius hushes him as Regulus comes in with at least five bags in his hands.

"A little help would be appreciated," Regulus huffs. Seeing that Sirius is going to reach for the bags, Remus quickly takes a couple from Regulus. But it's in vain, since Sirius takes the rest into his hands anyway. The two walk into the kitchen.

"Sirius," Remus grabs Sirius' wrist once they put the bags away.

"I told you, I'm fine," Sirius says. His voice is strange, and the tone of his voice hurts Remus. Maybe Sirius can tell, because he tries his best to fix it with a broken smile. "I just stood up too fast... Worry too much like this, and you'll end up with grey hair before you hit thirty."

Without waiting for a response, he goes to put the kettle on. Remus gives a resigned sigh, leaning against the counter to watch him. He waits like that until Sirius is done.

"What? Do you think I'm going to pass out because of the weight of a tea tray?" Sirius asks. His voice is playful, and maybe it's a sign of him feeling better. But it's so God damned hard to tell when it comes to this boy. It drives Remus mad, and then beyond mad.

"Come on," Sirius pokes Remus' cheek with his finger. "Smile a little, yeah? Now let's go, we don't want to keep the others waiting."