I Dreamt Of You (Wolfstar)

chapter 5

An hour later, Sirius was woken up gently by Remus, who carefully shook him awake. He rubbed at his eyes and smiled fondly at his mate. "Remus?"

"It's time for dinner." Remus explained, grinning and hopping off the bed from where he'd been sitting next to Sirius. The dark haired boy got up and followed Remus through Lupin Manor until they arrived at a small, cosy looking room. Sirius was a little surprised the dining room wasn't bigger, given the open and airy feel to the rest of the manor.

"We don't use the formal dining hall unless we're hosting a large group of nobles, for example my father's annual Yule Ball." Remus said, answering Sirius' unspoken question, having intuitively sensed his confusion and recognised the source. The brunette pulled out a chair at the table for Sirius, who sat down shyly, a light blush on his face. He really liked being cared for like this.

Across the table, Remus' mother was sitting, wearing casual clothes and she had a warm expression on her face. "How are you doing, Sirius dear?" She asked kindly. "I heard you were feeling tired earlier."

"Much better, Mrs Lupin." Sirius replied politely. He played with his fingers nervously under the table. Even though dinner was a casual occurrence, he was still uncomfortable interacting with the polite and humble family as he was unsure of what formalities were expected of him and how wizarding customs came into play.

She laughed and he looked at her uncertainly, worried that she found him rude and was laughing at his bad manners.

"Oh, there's no need to call me that! I prefer Hope for friends of the family." Mrs Lupin said.

Sirius sat there unsure for a moment and reached out unconsciously with a hand to Remus at his left for comfort. His mate took his hand gently and soothing feelings overcame Sirius.

"Well, thank you, Hope." Sirius said, giving her a small but genuine smile.

***

Remus watched Sirius interact with his mother, slightly curious about how they'd find each other's company. He wasn't worried but it didn't hurt to keep an eye on his mate in case he needed reassurance. This instinct was proven to have been well worth listening to when Sirius reached out for his hand only a little ways through the meal. When they seemed to be getting along well, he smiled and asked, "What have the house elves made today?"

"Oh, Mipsy insisted on pasta with strawberry tart for dessert. She apparently heard from an elf friend at Hogwarts that it was one of Sirius' favourites." His mother smirked at Remus' intent expression. His wolf was focused on making sure it remembered everything so they could take the best care of their mate.

On his right, Sirius was looking shy and blushed a little. "Please tell Mipsy thank you for me." He said quietly.

Remus' smile grew wider as he told his mate, "You can thank her yourself!"

Mipsy popped into the room at that very moment, holding a tray with three plates of spaghetti. When she gave Sirius his plate, the boy said, "Thank you for going to all this effort for me. I really appreciate it!"

He beamed at the house elf, who grinned back at him and said, "Mipsy doesn't mind, Mr. Black. She loves cheering people up." before disappearing with another pop.

***

Sirius waited until the other two started eating before he started, as he still wasn't entirely sure of magical customs. Remus seemed to be enjoying the spaghetti immensely as well and he bit back a smile when the werewolf almost dropped some on himself in his enthusiasm. It was nice to see a softer and less reserved side of his mate. He wanted someone who could be caring and protective, but still playful and able to have fun.

Mrs lup- Hope seemed to be holding back a smile herself, he noticed. "Remus, slow down, darling." was all she commented, however.

Remus blushed and Sirius almost cooed at how adorable he looked. Hopefully, if he had kids in the future, they'd inherit that adorableness. Surprised at himself for the sudden thoughts, Sirius was uncomfortable with the idea at the moment and shoved them into a deep, dark, tiny crevice in his mind for later.

Clearing his throat, he settled for saying, "Is he always like this when eating? I hadn't noticed when we were at Hogwarts, but maybe it was his manners?"

Quiet laughing ensued. "Oh, no, he's usually quite a well mannered eater. Only spaghetti will make him into this food monster." Hope responded.

"It's not that bad!" Remus protested, turning a deeper shade of red.

Hope gave him a look and Sirius couldn't help a giggle at Remus' muttered response of, "Okay, maybe it is that bad."

***

Remus finished his food quickly but carefully, hoping his mother wouldn't try to embarrass him again in front of his mate. Mipsy appeared and took their empty plates, smiling at Sirius before popping away again. She reappeared shortly with plates of strawberry tart and Remus looked fondly at Sirius' expression of excitement.

Remembering his mate's request earlier, he waited until his mother was finished talking about something with Mipsy before clearing his throat.

"Mother, when Sirius came here to the Manor with us, we brought his garden along with him in the potion ingredient storage box Felix gave me. We were wondering if it would be alright to replant it somewhere in the manor gardens?" he asked.

"Of course! You might want to ask one of the elves who looks after the grounds for the best spot. Tomorrow perhaps after Gringotts?" She replied, nodding in agreement.

She finished her dessert and got up, smiling softly at the two boys. "I suggest you boys might like to go back outside and enjoy the sunset, but I'll be up in the main library reading if you need anything. See you tomorrow and remember to get up at a reasonable time, so don't stay up too late. We'll go to Gringotts tomorrow morning, after all."

"Okay, thanks, mother. Goodnight." Remus replied. He helped Sirius out of his chair and the two wandered outside again, holding hands cutely. The mates sat down on a bench in the flower garden, close together, and watched the sunset as the sky morphed into various stunning hues of pink, orange, and purple. Remus let his ears and tail out in Sirius' presence for the first time and shivered when his mate began stroking the fur softly.

Curling his tail around Sirius, Remus laughed at Sirius' slightly amused face. "What, do you think I look like a giant neko or something?"

Sirius shook his head, laughing. "No, nothing like that, Remus. I was just wondering if you'd ever accidentally waged your tail and whacked someone in the face with it"

"Well... there was that one time." And so Remus began telling the story, which involved a highly annoyed Felix, a flight of stairs, and some candy.