Of the Star and the Moon [Harry Potter Fanfiction]

Chapter 18

"Remus," he answered steadily, "it would take an absolute idiot not to see that. Of course I'm bloody in love with you." Go, go quickly! Find out what happens!

******************************************

Remus ran. For such a smart person, you'd think he'd have an easier time processing words like "Of course I'm bloody in love with you." But no, Remus had stared into the distance for far too long. Sirius was long gone by now.

Merlin, if only it hadn't been Saturday. If it had been Monday, Remus could have waltzed right into History of Magic and jerked Sirius up by his collar. How dare he spring such information on Remus? Curse Sirius Black and his bloody games.

Remus couldn't take it. Sirius could have just told him. Here Remus had spent weeks trying to figure out what was going through Sirius's mind. Remus had decided that Sirius just needed a tester for his blasted list. Never would he have thought that the list really was written for him. That was a bit stupid, come to think of it. Denial can do that to a person.

Remus ran down floor after floor. He checked the astronomy tower; he avoided mounds of dropping poo in the owlery. He checked the dungeons and even threatened a few Slytherins while there; it wasn't a very Remus thing to do, but he was severely frazzled and that second year girl was asking too many questions. Remus ran to the Great Hall. James, Peter, Lily, Alice, and Frank were huddled around a table talking about something. It didn't look too serious, just a small chat. Remus decided to interrupt.

"Prongs! Have you seen Padfoot?"

James turned nervously. "Er—no?"

Remus glared at him. "James, this is important."

James sighed. "Okay, yes. But Remus, I wouldn't go looking for him right now. He's in one of his moods."

"I really don't care. Where is he?"

"I don't—I don't know, Moony. Try the Common Room, the dormitory. He didn't tell me where he was going; he just looked a right mess."

Remus turned and ran to Gryffindor Tower. He shouted the password to an annoyed looking Fat Lady and leapt into the Common Room. There were a few kids scattered here and there, but no Sirius. He ran up the stairs and flung open the dormitory door. It was empty.

He groaned. Where could Sirius have gone in the last half hour that he so completely lost Remus? He'd been trying to do it all day and it hadn't worked; how had he suddenly become so good at hide and seek?

Remus paced the room and tried not to pull out his hair. The nerve of that boy! You can't just declare your love for someone and then disappear off the face of the earth! It's...it's unethical! That's what it is!

Remus sat down on his bed and tried to calm his mind with a book. For the first time in his life, it didn't work. Giving up, he carefully bookmarked his page and replaced the book in its original position.

Finally, it struck him. The Marauder's Map! He began to rifle through James's already messy trunk. He pulled out an old snitch, a copy of Which Broomstick?, and a disgustingly sappy love letter from one Lily Evans, but no map. He looked under James's mattress and in his side table drawers and found nothing.

Then, he moved on to Peter's trunk. He carefully stuck one hand in and began to search. There were cookies, cakes, and a very suspicious note listing a time and place for meeting. However, that was not important at the current time. The underside of Peter's mattress was covered in rat droppings. After trying to control his violent gagging, he was able to move on to Peter's side table drawers. The only thing he found was that his hand was returned covered in something that looked and smelled vaguely like very old peanut butter. He washed his hands three times before moving on to Sirius's things.

Remus opened Sirius's trunk and carefully moved things. For someone so unorganized, Sirius's trunk was extremely put together. He carefully moved a few clothes and spellbooks around. Something shiny caught his eye. He picked it up; it was a small, silver wolf figurine. Typical. He's a bloody romantic.

Remus skipped looking under Sirius's mattress and went straight for the drawers. He opened the top one and his face flamed. The pictures he had let Lily take for her prank on James stared back at him. He was both pleased and embarrassed to find that Sirius had saved them. He kept looking and sure enough, underneath his revealing pictures, he found the map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map opened and he searched for Sirius's name. He found it...floating in the same room as his own. "Mischief managed." He put the map back and shut the drawer. Then, he breathed deeply and caught Sirius's familiar scent. How did I miss that before?

"Sirius Black, I smell you." Nothing happened. "Padf—" he began, but suddenly he felt faint. His body collapsed to the floor in shivers and his head throbbed. He groaned.

Sirius flung the invisibility cloak from him and ran to Remus's side. "Sodding idiot," Sirius said as he lifted Remus onto his bed. "Just because I go missing for an hour doesn't mean you can play with silver."

"Wh-what?" Remus wheezed.

Sirius snatched the wolf figurine from his hand. "This is silver. I thought you would be smart enough to figure that out," Sirius replied, burying the figurine in his trunk.

Remus immediately felt better, though extremely weak. Werewolves are allergic to silver.

"How long have you been hiding up here?"

Sirius looked at him. "Ever since I left."

"Why?"

"I didn't really expect you to just let me leave like that. I thought you'd at least try to stop me."

"I was in shock! You can't just make romantic proclamations and leave!"

Sirius looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry mate. I guess, in a way, I was just as out of sorts as you were."

"No excuses, Sirius. Why the hell did you have to use some bloody list, anyway? Couldn't just man up and tell me yourself?"

"Well, you didn't exactly let me know if you had feelings either!" Sirius said defensively.

Remus's mouth dropped. "Could I have been any more obvious?!"

"I could say the same thing."

"You're Sirius Black, lover and adventurer extraordinaire!"

"You're Remus Lupin, absolute genius and bloody gorgeous werewolf!"

Remus huffed. "You still could have just told me!"

"No, you could have told me!"

"Why are we still arguing?!"

"I don't fucking know!" Sirius jerked Remus up by his tie and kissed him with a fierceness that portrayed months of pent up frustration and feeling.

The boys broke apart, both breathing hard.

"Much better than fighting," Sirius murmured.

"Uh-huh," Remus agreed. Then they went back to it.

The sound of a door clicking open echoed around the room. "About damn time!" The boys turned to see James, grinning wildly, and Lily, mirroring his expression, standing behind him. "I thought I was just going to have to tell you both myself!"

*****************************

Sorry it took so long! Friday was my sister's birthday (she's 7) and it's been craziness since then! I hope the final outcome of the list and months of the puppies not seeing that they love each other wasn't a disappointment to you! I've got some major seriousness in mind for the upcoming chapters. We are nearing the end. :( But I hope it all works out well. Well, I guess I'm done updating here because I really should be writing a dual credit college english paper. Cheers for Senioritis!