Growing Up

Part 29.

⚠️slight blood warning!

"Pete, hop up!"
James held his hand down to the ground as wormtail turned, the rat appearing on the stairs right where Peter stood. It waddled onto James's hand as he put him on his shoulder.

"Barf, James, you're gonna catch the plague from that thing." Sirius scoffed. Peter squeaked, agitated and in protest. Ignoring the rodent, he walked beside James proudly. He was only a little shorter than him, so Sirius had a little speed in his stride.

"Ever heard of your family tree?" Remus laughed from behind, crossing his arms.

Sirius turned around, grinning with malice.
"Is that so?"
He threw himself on Remus, tackling him. Sirius pretended to cough and sneeze in Remus' face, then licking his hand and wiping it in Remus' black robe.

"Yuck, Black! Get off of me!"

"Enough, you two!" James was laughing as well now, half bent over in a giggling fit that rang through the corridor and onto the stairs. He held the map in one hand and he pushed his circle glasses closer to his nose with the other. "Lads, we have a prank to pull. Location: Slytherin common room."

"Come on, Moons, you heard the man." Sirius stood up and wiped the dust off his robe, slicking his hair back. He watched a group of girls go by giggling as he waved to them.

"You're the brain, after all." James smirked and held his hand out.

Remus stood alone on the stairs, staring at where James' hand had been. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and continued walking slowly.

Something inside him stung, like the touch of a residual burn, he couldn't pinpoint what exactly. Something triggering a memory.

He walked back up the grand staircase, remembering bits and pieces from his teen years, memories flashing of his young, lanky self doing whatever it was that made his days so special. They were in the back of his mind, caged up so tightly that only being in the same location they all happened to occur at was the reason they had come back to him, but they still were valuable.

He finally got to the hospital wing, recalling almost every time he was in there. Full moons, pranks gone sideways, Quidditch injuries, sometimes all of them all at once. You name it, it probably happened.

Before he could think any further, Madam Pomfrey was right in front of him, her hands on his shoulders.

"Remus Lupin!" She pulled him into a hug and laughed.

Remus hugged her back, of course, taking in the company of the women he loved the most.  The scent of antiseptic and magic lingered on her, making it even more nostalgic.

"Madam Pomfrey! I'm so glad to see you again."

"Oh dear, call me Poppy." She responded with a warm smile. "You're too grown for Madam now, it makes me feel old. How have you been?"

How had he been? God, there was so much. Too much to put into a short conversation. The bludger accident, Mary, Lily and James, the night terrors, the proposal? He hated telling those stories. He hated the stares he got and the pity smiles those had forced through just so they could be entertained by the tragedy. It was never a story to him, it was his life.

Instead, Remus just held his left hand out.

Poppy gasped and took his hand with her cold hands, observing the ring.

"Who?" She asked, not lifting her gaze. She carved out the shape of the moon with her thumb and almost winced.

"Sirius."

"Oh my, that's wonderful!" Poppy congratulated him. "I always knew it, even when you both were just boys."

"Was I that obvious?" Remus cringed at the sight of her smug grin.

"it wasn't just you, darling. You'd be blind to not see how much Sirius adored you. Come along, let me show you the ropes."

Poppy walked him around what had been her second home for the past forty odd years, showing him everything new and everything he needed to know. There wasn't much new information, Remus had been a patient in there so many times he had permission to change his own bandages if he'd like. He did this with no hesitation, as he hated being touched when he personally deemed it unnecessary. This would change after he met Sirius.

"Now, you know basic healing spells, correct?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Of course." He responded confidently. He had Sirius and a child to take care of, he could be a surgeon if he wanted.

"Good," She muttered. "Show me." 

Poppy reached into the back pocket of her dress and grabbed a thin, pencil looking razor and put it to her palm. She didn't flinch, nor make any sour face indicating pain, she just watched as she bled.

"Madam-"

"Well? Heal it." She said calmly. She nudged her hand closer to him as blood began to pool, she cupped her hand to avoid any spilling onto the ground.

Remus cursed under his breath as he grabbed his wand and held it up to her hand. Without muttering a word, it closed up without a hint of any trauma to begin with.

"No scar!" She said, rubbing her palm with her thumb. "You must do these a lot on your own."

"Well, with Sirius and Harry around, I do." Remus laughed.

***

The sun started to shrink to the west side of the campus, the light shifting in the window to create a beam of light that shone on Sirius' desk, giving the old wood a nice glaze. This change made Sirius jumpy, the clock in the corner of his peripheral vision become more noticeable. On breaks when Remus would pop in Sirius' classroom, he seemed more and more squirrelly than the last, talking quicker for longer. Nervousness probably accompanied this. By the end of the day, he about collapsed into Remus arms.

"Long day?"

"Longer than you know." Sirius mumbled slowly, his head leaning on Remus' shoulder.

"Well, you wanna go see the kid?"

"Yeah, let's go see him." Sirius leaned off his shoulder and looked at him, holding his hand out for Remus to grab.

Word count: 791