Marauders - Always - Part One

Worth Every Knut

"Moony, I have a present for you."

It was the day before the full moon, the day after the Prewett twins' funeral, and Remus was completely unable to move from the couch, his head in such pain that even the light filtering through the curtains was too much and near to blinding him.

"Hm?" he groaned, a cold wash cloth over his eyes, as well as a pillow.

Peter looked up from where he was sitting on the floor next to the couch, keeping Remus silent company, playing with his divination tools, flicking through tarot cards and rune stones.

Sirius had just come in the front door, carrying a large box on his hip, his eyes joyful. He hurried across the room and knelt down next to Remus, putting the box up on the coffee table. "How are you feeling, Moony?"

"Like utter rubbish," Remus murmured.

Sirius opened the box and Peter gasped, seeing it's contents. "Well, this will make you feel better."

"Unless it's a silver bullet, I very much doubt that," Remus said.

"Well, not exactly a silver bullet..." Sirius said, grinning, "But it is wolfsbane."

Remus slid the pillow and wash cloth away from his eyes, opening them up and staring at the little vial that hung from Sirius's pinched fingers. "Sirius," Remus's words were very slow, almost hushed and nervous. "Where did you get that?"

"Bought it," Sirius answered.

"From who?"

"Doesn't matter," Sirius answered.

"With what money?"

"My money," Sirius answered.

"Sirius, we have to pay rent this week," Remus was squinting painfully against the light that seemed to be specifically coming for his retinas without mercy. He spoke through clenched teeth, the pain in his jaw tight.

"I already paid it," Sirius answered.

Remus stared at him. "With what money?"

"My money," Sirius answered again.

Remus shook his head, regretted the movement, and said, "Sirius, where are you suddenly getting loads of money from? Are you begging off James again? He doesn't need to be paying our way through life, I know he offers but if you borrowed a large sum, we need to pay him back and --"

"No, no, I didn't!" Sirius argued.

"Then Sirius --"

"I work, don't I? Every other day I go all the way out to Cardiff and bust my arse selling records, do I not? Isn't it possible I've earned my money?" Sirius said with an imperial air.

"Spillers does not pay you enough for --" Remus's eyes fell on the box on the table. It was full of vials identical to the one in Sirius's hand. Easily a year's worth of wolfsbane potion - possibly more - the bottles all neatly separated by protective wrapping. "Sirius!" Remus gasped. Despite the incredible pain he was in, Remus pushed himself up from the couch, took the vial roughly out of Sirius's hand and pushed it back into the empty spot it had come from in the box. He closed the lid on the box and looked about as though someone might have looked in the windows of their first level flat and seen what was most definitely being looked upon as contraband. "Where did you get this?" Remus hissed.

"Told you, I bought it."

"Sirius there's not enough of this stuff to go around to the werewolves. This stuff is extremely valuable. It does not go for a couple pence at the Tesco. Now where did you get it?"