#also yes i agree young remus is snapping at his friends and then bursting into tears

[neege]

Just some food for thought because I too have been seeing lots of posts about Remus being mean/not being mean, and my main thought is that there's a big difference between snapping at your friends when you're angry or tired or upset, and being degrading and verbally abusive!! I think 100% Remus could and probably would be snappy or sometimes a little unintentionally mean/maybe even intentionally mean when he's super tired or in pain or hurting. And yes, sometimes I think he could very well be capable of causing harm to his friends! But I do think he would feel really bad immediately, and would either apologize or avoid the person he was rude to for a bit out of guilt. I do not think remus is the type to be degrading and horrible to his friends—or to his partners—and then use his pain/exhaustion as an excuse. If anything, I think he would internally feel that the wolf makes him angry or mean, and that would outwardly cause him fight tooth and nail to be in control/not lash out at people

[nothinghcppens]

this charming man- sirius black

navigation

pair: sirius black x female!reader

summary: working at the three broomsticks allows you to make money, friends and spend even more time staring at the gorgeous sirius black. what if you found out he was staring right back?

fluff prompt #18: “you come here often?” “well considering i work here, yes.”

warnings: none! just happy marauders, fluffy sirius

tags: @amourtentiaa @cedrics-grave (let me know if you want to be added!)

the three broomsticks was always bustling on the weekends. filled with hogwarts students, teachers, ministry workers, honestly everyone. you always loved visiting the much loved pub, you spent many weekends with friends, or even on your own to study to get a break from the library. you loved it so much so, that you spoke to madam rosmerta about helping out as she always seems so busy.

she spoke to dumbledore and he agreed. and since then you’ve been working weekends alongside madam rosmerta, who immediately became more than a friend than a boss.

it was one particularly cold saturday afternoon when three groups of students burst through the door. a group of hufflepuffs, a group of ravenclaws and, last but not least, the self-proclaimed marauders from gryffindor.

the marauders- james potter, remus lupin, peter pettigrew and sirius black. you’ve always found your eyes lingering on sirius for slightly too long, even though you shouldn’t. he’s sirius black for merlin’s sake! plenty of girls fawning over him, he wouldn’t bother with you considering you guys rarely spoke.

his laugh echoed in your ears as he sat down in their usual booth.

“get your eyes off him and back to work.” madam rosmerta joked, slapping your shoulder lightly.

you widened your eyes at her, “what? i might be old but i’m not blind!”

you felt a blush creep onto your cheeks and she chuckled before walking away.

“go take their order!” she called.

“fine!” you replied, sighing and straightening out your apron.

you approached the table of boys with a small smile, “can i get you guys anything?” you asked.

“hey y/n.” james greeted.

“usual, gorgeous. four butterbeers please.” sirius stated, glancing up at you. then came the blush again.

“yep sure.” you said, nodding. you left the table to fetch their order.

“pads can you go one second without flirting with every girl in the school?” you heard peter say.

“shut up wormtail!” he retaliated. you heard a soft smack, indicating someone had hit him.

the smile dropped from your face, how stupid could you be? you made their drinks and placed them on a tray before carrying it back over to the table.

“here you go boys.” you said as you slid the glasses onto the table.

“thanks y/n.” james, peter and remus chorused.

“thank you, love.” sirius added.

“why don’t you join us? lily is heading down soon too.” james suggested, glancing at sirius with a smirk.

“i cant i’m working.” you replied with a slight frown.

“take a break!” remus suggested.

“yeah shouldn’t she take a break pads?” james asked.

“absolutely.” he replied.

“maybe later, madam rosmerta needs me.” you explained.

“no i do not. sit with these lovely gentlemen, i’m sure they’ll love the company.” she chimed from behind you.

“we really would y/n.” peter added.

“okay fine, move over.” you insisted. sirius was sat on the outside of the booth, next to james and across from remus, who was next to peter. sirius shuffled up, making space for you to sit next to him. merlin you had hoped that remus would let you sit next to him. nerves began to bubble in your stomach.

you slid in next to sirius and sent him a smile, “thanks.” you said.

you all began chatting, considering you guys have known each other for your entire school careers. you originally became friends with james, it was hard not to be friends with him. and from him you met the rest, your feelings for sirius beginning as soon as you laid eyes on him.

laughs echoed around the booth as james was reciting a story about the boys during their second year summer. midway through the story, sirius’ arm found its way on the chair behind you, his hand grazing your shoulder.

“his mum locked the brooms away because they were sick of us getting lost.” sirius explained.

“how you guys aren’t dead yet i don’t know.” you commented, chuckling lightly.

“we are invincible, nothing can kill us!” sirius said, triumphantly.

“we’ll see about that” you joked, nudging him slightly with your shoulder. you noticed from the corner of your eyes that his were trained on you. you glanced up and met his eyes and sent him a smile. he winked at you and turned his attention back to james.

“hello boys!” lily announced, approaching the table. “and... y/n! i didn’t know you were joining us?” she said with a large smile.

“me neither,” you replied “they’re holding me here against my will.” you added in a hushed tone.

“we wanted more friends.” peter explained.

“of course you do, james getting on your nerves?” lily asked. they all nodded and james let out a surprised scoff.

“how rude!”

“no she’s right.” remus muttered.

“moving on, i’ll go get some refills.” you suggested, noticing everyone’s empty glasses. you slid back out of the booth and removed the used cups. “butterbeer for you too lily?” you asked.

“yes please, y/n! thank you.”

you smiled and went back over to the bar and began to pour new drinks for everyone. you were filling up the third glass when you heard a voice, “so, you come here often?” sirius asked.

you looked at him with your eyebrows furrowed, he had his arm on the bar top and was leaning against it slightly.

“we’ll, considering i work here, yes.” you replied.

“probably wasn’t the best line to start with.”

“probably wasn’t.”

he laughed slightly, “you need help?” he asked.

“oh i’m fine thanks.” you said.

he hummed and you expected him to leave but he stayed, watching you as you made the rest of the butterbeers.

“can i help you sirius?” you questioned.

“when are you not working?”

“rarely. i enjoy it.” you replied.

“can you get a day off?” he asked.

“maybe, why?”

“an extremely gorgeous gryffindor beater wants to ask you to hogsmeade next weekend.” he explained.

a smile grew on your face, “marlene wants to take me on a date?!”

“she probably does, i wouldn’t blame her.”

you chuckled, “me neither.”

“if you can find it in your heart to reject poor marlene, i also heard that sirius black is interested too.”

a smirk grew across your face, “the sirius black?”

“the one and only.”

“i’ll have to get back to you on that.” you stated.

his eyes widened and he nodded, “uh okay sure.”

“i’m kidding sirius, of course i’ll go to hogsmeade with you. i’m surprised you even asked me.”

“why wouldn’t i?” he asked, taking a seat on one of the stools.

“we don’t really talk much.” you explained.

“doesn’t stop me from fancying you.”

you snapped your head up at him and tried to hide the smile growing across your face. “i guess it doesn’t. it didn’t stop me either.”

“i take it you didn’t realise how often we come here? that lot certainly did.” he said.

“no, i didn’t. everyone comes here often.” you explained.

“every free moment we had i forced them down here with me so i could talk to you.”

“wow. who would’ve thought sirius black was a softie.” you teased.

he smiled widely and you handed him his drink.

“if you two would stop longingly staring into each other’s eyes that would be great! i want my drink!” james called.

“yeah, yeah prongs were coming!” sirius replied.

“you better stop flirting with my staff, young man!” madam rosmerta added as she approached the bar.

“stop hiring beautiful staff then maybe i’ll consider.”

[imaginejamesandsirius]

James is in fifth year with remus and peter and sirius is in his first year. james is a perfect and maybe he finds sirius outside the Gryffindor common room, but he doesn't take points from Gryffindor, and that's how they end up being friends, and after a couple years james realizes he has feelings for sirius and when james is in his last year of Hogwarts sirius confesses to him and they end up together

((A/N: I changed the prompt a little since I wasn't comfortable writing them getting together when Sirius is 14 but James is 18)) 

Sirius didn't have any friends in Gryffindor, but that wasn't surprising. The Black Family wasn't exactly known for being nice, and everyone had been shocked when he ended up in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin-- Ravenclaw also would have been acceptable to his parents. He wasn't going to let a lack of friends keep him from having fun, which is how he got caught in the corridors after hours. He'd been so close, too. The portrait hole to the Tower was in sight, but he hadn't quite been able to make it there. 

The prefect who found him was one James Potter, also a Gryffindor. Sirius didn't know much about him except that he was popular and on the Gryffindor Quidditch team-- he'd also heard that the Potter's were a family of blood traitors, but he didn't care about that sort of rot. 

"Is this the part where you give me detention?" Sirius asked with a smirk, as if he didn't care. He'd get another Howler if he got detention. It would be real buggering unpleasant, but nothing would be worse than that first one after he got Sorted. 

"Well I guess that depends," James said, which he knew for a fact was not the proper response. "What were you up doing?" 

There was the distant sound of an explosion, and Sirius bit down on his lip in a futile attempt to not smile. 

"I see," James chuckled. "Slytherin dorms?" 

Sirius nodded. 

"Next time, use the door next to the goblin painting. It's not a classroom; it's a passage. Gets you here in half the time," James said. 

"I'll remember that." He'd test it before using it when he was in a hurry, just to be safe. 

James nodded to the Tower. "Don't get caught again, yeah?" 

"Far be it from me to disagree with a prefect." 

James, clearly sensing the lie there, laughed. "Get going, kid." 

*

Sirius now had friends. Granted they were all in fifth year when he was still in first, but he didn't care about that and obviously they didn't care either. It was fine, for the most part. Sirius was tall for his age, and Peter was kinda short, which meant that if Sirius walked next to him, he practically blended right in with the group. He even managed to skive off his classes for a while by showing up to all the ones James was in-- he was only a little lost since it's not like the Black family was in the habit of sending off their children without letting them have a few tricks up their sleeves. 

He got caught by Professor McGonagall after a few days, and he was pretty sure that the only reason she didn't notice sooner was because she was still seeing him throughout the day. 

After that though, everyone seemed to realise that this wasn't a weird case of upper classmen taking pity on someone younger who was friendless; Sirius was a part of the group. 

*

It was the beginning of second year, and Sirius was beyond glad that he was out of the house for another two terms. Getting back to Grimmauld Place was something he never wanted to do. He wondered-- only in his head, like fuck was he going to say it out loud-- if the Potters would let him visit next summer. James might say yes, but his parents were the truly difficult part. Of course, getting James to agree might be a little difficult too. They were still mates, but James was... a little girl-crazy. Personally, Sirius didn't get it. Women were alright. He didn't see the appeal of chasing after one of them though. 

James, on the other hand, seemed more than happy to pursue Lily. Lily found this about as interesting as Sirius did-- which is to say that she bloody hated it. Unlike Sirius, she had no problem telling James that she hated it; Sirius was a good mate and kept his feelings about it to his damn self. James was chasing after Lily, so what? Remus and Peter were still around. Peter had a girlfriend (sometimes), but Remus wasn't busy half as often. Sirius was pretty sure that he knew more about Remus's coursework than his own from all the time he spent helping Remus with his homework while James and Peter were otherwise occupied. Sirius didn't mind the extra time alone with Remus, but he did sorta miss James. 

Sirius had to shake his head every once in a while to get that thinking out. Remus was perfectly happy to keep him company, and Sirius did like spending time with him. He was overreacting about James. He was. He knew that he was. All that was left was for him to get over it so that he could enjoy his year. Not that there was much to enjoy about second year, but whatever. 

*

They were graduating. 

Sirius hated this. 

His best friends were graduating Hogwarts, and he was stuck still going to classes. It's not like Sirius was asking for a whole lot, but why the buggering fuck had he not been born a few years earlier? He might've been able to graduate early to go into the world alongside them. Or maybe he could've been born in the same year and avoided all of this. He would've been in the same year, in the same classes as all of them-- without sneaking in, that is. 

Probably the worst part about all of this, was that he'd finally realised why he didn't like James fancying Lily; he fancied James. This wasn't the best thing he'd ever learned about himself. Liking blokes was bad enough, but James? James was his best friend. James wouldn't want to know that Sirius felt that way about him, probably. Sirius was going to tell him anyways because he wasn't going to take the risk that James did feel the same way and refused to say something first. Sirius had to take the first step, and he knew that. 

So he marched right up to James and told him. Or at least, that's how he wanted it to go when he imagined it. In reality, he sort of shuffled up to James like he was ashamed of himself and asked if they could talk alone for a minute. It was the end of the year party even though they still had two weeks left, but all the exams were over for OWL's and NEWT's (Sirius still had to take his exams for his classes, but they were going to be so easy that he could show up to all of them hungover and still pass with flying colours). 

"Sure," James said with a bemused smile. It was easy to leave the party for a nearby empty classroom, and they stayed near the door since this wasn't going to take long. "What's up?" 

Sirius had never been good with words, so he fisted a hand in the front of James's robes and pulled him in, kissing him briefly. 

James blinked at him, but he wasn't exactly bursting with happiness over this. "Erm, Sirius-" 

"Right, you're not bent," Sirius hurried to say. He let go of James and took a step back to give him some space. "I know. I just wanted to do it before you left. Not really going to get a second chance, you know? And I figured that if I didn't say something now, then I never would. I know you're not bent," Sirius said again, because James was still giving him a look that he didn't really appreciate. 

"It's not... it's not that," James said quietly. "But you're... Sirius, you're fourteen." 

"So?" 

"And I'm eighteen. It's a little weird." 

Oh, he thought, heart sinking. Sirius was too young. Him being a bloke wasn't the part that James had a problem with; it's that he was too damn young. He couldn't fix that. No matter what he did, he wasn't going to be able to get older in time for it to mean anything to James. "Four years isn't that much," Sirius tried, but he knew that it wasn't going to do any good. 

"Not that much when you're, like, forty," James said, "but we're teenagers." Then he sighed and put an arm around Sirius's shoulders. "It's just a crush; I wouldn't worry about it, mate. You'll be over me in no time." 

Sirius grit his teeth together to keep from snapping that this wasn't a crush. He was serious about this-- about James. But saying that out loud would make him sound like a kid, so he kept it to himself. 

"Let's go back to the party, yeah?" James said with a little encouraging smile. 

Sirius had to swallow before responding, otherwise his voice would've come out scratchy. "Yeah. Let's go." 

*

Until Sirius graduated Hogwarts, him and James didn't see a lot of each other. Sirius left the school during break so he could see him and catch up, and of course there was the summer, where Sirius tried to catch up on all the time they'd missed. Summer was pretty okay for the first couple years, then Sirius got kicked out of Grimmauld Place. Uncle Alphard took him in, but Sirius wasn't about to tell James all of that. James thought of him as a kid before any of that happened, and he wasn't going to make it worse by telling him that his parents had kicked him off for being a poof (among other things). 

But it was good. Mostly. He had a place to live, and Uncle Alphard mostly didn't care what he did so long as he didn't destroy anything. Now he was eighteen and trying to figure out what the hell he wanted to do with his life. Being at Hogwarts hadn't taught him much, except that he didn't like any of the career options that were available to him. 

He was good with engines. Good with cars. Alphard had given one look to the motorbike Sirius had built and enhanced in the backyard and said that he didn't want to know, and Sirius had gotten better since then. He managed to get a job at a mechanic's garage. He liked it. He sodding loved it, except for the part where he only got to see James once every month after working around James's schedule. It didn't feel like they were mates, anymore; it felt like they were scheduling awkward catch-up's that only got more awkward with every meeting. 

The bell jingled from someone's car rolling over it. "Hey Sirius, go see who that is!" Mark called from where he was rolled under someone's truck. 

"Yeah," Sirius yelled back to let Mark know that he'd heard him. He walked out towards them, idly wiping his hands off on his pants. "Can I help you?" 

"Sirius?" 

Sirius looked up-- and paid actual attention to the person instead of trying to dry his hands the rest of the way-- then froze. "Peter?" What was Peter doing here? How was Peter here? Sure he was a half-blood, but most people went into the Wizarding World fully when they were an adult, not the other way around. Sirius did not think about how it was a hypocritical observation what with how he had one foot in the Wizarding World and one in the muggle world. "Since when do you have a car?" 

"I don't; it's Lily's. She was busy today, so she asked for me to drop it off. Are you working here?" he asked incredulously. 

Sirius bit the inside of his cheek to keep from making an automatic, defensive response. "Yeah." 

"Oh," Peter said, blinking. "I guess that's why you've been so weird lately." 

"Who said I'm being weird?" 

"James." 

Of bloody course. Who else would it have been? It was hard to schedule time with James, let alone the whole group, and it's not like Sirius had a whole load of friends who could say things about him. "James is not one to talk about me being weird with the way he's been acting." Sirius glanced back at the garage and sighed. "What did you come in for?" 

"Oh, er- new tires." 

*

Peter managed to get Sirius to agree to dinner. With the whole group. Which proved wrong Sirius's earlier assumption that it would be murder to try and align their schedules. Unfortunately, it also made him feel worse about his monthly meet-up's with James, since James was going to be here too and-- according to Peter-- was rarely busy in the evenings. James had been avoiding him; he never actually wanted to get dinner with Sirius. Of course, Peter didn't mention that James was going to be there until after Sirius agreed to go because he was an arse. 

Peter should know better than to do that to him. Sure, Sirius hadn't mentioned him asking James out and the subsequent embarrassment, but he should have a sixth sense about that sort of thing. He was the observant one of the group, after all. 

*

"Okay, what the hell is up with the two of you?" Remus asked. He'd sort of dragged Sirius to the side as Peter and James put the rest of the takeaway in the fridge. 

"What? I didn't do anything." 

"James is acting guilty. What happened?" 

"He's not acting guilty; that's how he always is these days." 

Remus frowned in bewilderment. "What are you talking about? He's fine around me and Peter." 

"Well then I must be special," Sirius grumbled. "Now excuse me, I'm going to leave before it has a chance to get worse." 

Remus clamped a hand down on his arm before he could make his escape. "Nope. You and James are going to talk?" 

"Please tell me you're joking," Sirius said blankly. 

"Nope. Peter is talking to James right now, and you two are going to fix whatever this is." 

"What makes you think it's any of your business? What if it's personal?" 

"If it were actually anything I'd feel bad prying about, you'd both be pretending that everything was fine instead of moping about like you just got doused with cold water." 

Sirius tried to protest, but it was like a whirlwind when Peter and Remus left, practically shoving both of them into place before rushing out the door. "They are so bloody weird," Sirius said, staring at the door. 

"They really are," James agreed. 

Silence. 

Sirius cleared his throat. "Well. I er, should get going, then." 

"Wait. They erm- they're right. We should talk. Or, I should talk, I guess." 

"Talk about what?" 

"Us." 

Sirius blinked at him. Wondered if this was a joke and blinked again. "What about us? We see each other once a month. It could be more, but it's still not bad." 

"Erm." James shifted his weight and looked down at the floor, looking uncomfortable in his own skin. "When... at Hogwarts, when you told me that you fancied me-" 

"Do we really need to talk about that? It was embarrassing, let's just forget about it." 

"You were fourteen," James said quietly. 

"Yeah, I sodding remember. Why are you doing this?" 

James looked even more uncomfortable than before. "I told you that I wasn't interested, and I was lying. I mean- shit, have you met you? Of course I was interested! But you were fourteen and I couldn't do that. It would've been..." he trailed off, making a face. Then he shook his head. 

"Fascinating," Sirius said flatly, even though his heart was pounding. What was the point to this? That night was ages ago; there was no reason to bring it up now. "Are you going somewhere with this or are you just reminding me that I've never dated anyone?" 

"I've been... well, I've been thinking of asking you out," James said, looking up from the floor. "But I didn't want you to think it was a joke or summat. Or that- I dunno that I was only interested in you because you've, like, really grown into yourself." 

"You- I'm sorry, was that you trying to say that you think I'm handsome? 'Cause you can just say that. For Merlin's sake, James, I don't think you just want me because I'm gorgeous. Yeah, I'm a catch, but I'm also annoying and most people aren't willing to put up with that. If you ask me out, I'd know that it was real." Would he have known it was real five minutes ago? No, but it wasn't five minutes ago, so there was no need to dwell on it. 

James gave him a look like he didn't believe that, but he didn't say anything about it. "Fine, do you want to get dinner with me?" 

"We get dinner together all the time." 

"You're making this more difficult than it needs to be." 

Sirius smirked at him. "Think of it as a taste of what's to come." 

There was a pause, a moment where James didn't know if he was going to take it personally or laugh it off. Then he laughed, finally looking like himself again. "Alright. What do you want to do as a date, then?" 

"Go to the movies." 

James blinked. "Er. Movies?" 

"Muggle invention. Don't worry, you'll love it." 

"I'm sure I will," James said, with all the certainty of someone that had no idea what they were signing up for. "When do you want to go?" 

"I work kinda late tomorrow, so... day after?" 

"Sounds good. So can I kiss you, or do I have to wait until after our first date?" 

Sirius grabbed him and gave him a quick kiss, just barely catching the corner of his mouth. "You'll get a proper one after." 

James laughed again and licked his lips. "That sounds fair." 

[sirius-archive]

a young!remus fic with prompts 13&35?💕✨

yAY REMUS MY SMOL WOLF CUB, MY BEAM OF LIGHT, I LOVE HIM SO MUCH :”)))) 

also, this is,,,,,,,,really long lol. sorry not sorry. 

13. “I love you, I always have.” And 35. “You don’t deserve this.”

For someone with such a big secret to hide, Remus Lupin was a terrible liar. Perhaps it was because you knew him so well that you could see through the mumbled explanations and weak excuses, perhaps it was because Remus was tired of always lying. Whatever the case, Remus Lupin lied through his teeth and you were getting fed up with it.

Did he think you were an idiot or was it that he didn’t trust you? There was no possible explanation that didn’t end with you being insulted in some shape or form, and maybe Remus didn’t mean it, but it still stung anyway. He was your best friend. He was also the love of your life. Every lie was a stab to your heart, and there was now no spot in your chest that wasn’t scarred.

At least he had the decency to be bad at lying.

“How many times can one person fall down the stairs, Remus?” you asked, in response to his obvious lie.

“You’ll be surprised,” Remus chortled, “James and Sirius’ idiocy is infectious.”

“Rude,” said a voice from behind you, and you turned to find the boys in question plus a sheepish-looking Peter Pettigrew.

“Hullo boys,” you greeted, forcing a smile onto your face, “I see we have the entire crew here today.”

“Buy two, get one free!” Sirius quipped, earning himself a chortle from you.

“In that case, I want a refund.”

All the boys laughed at your witty remark, but it was Remus’ weak chuckle that made your heart flutter in your chest like it was caught in a summer breeze. Remus had the type of laugh that made you want to tell jokes forever.  

“I like her, Remus,” James commented, “You have good taste…”

He’s only joking you reminded yourself, but that didn’t stop your cheeks from crimsoning.

“As much as I’d love to bask in the glow of your glorious company, I really do need to go,” you retorted, slinging your bag over your shoulder.

“Already?” Remus asked, gazing mournfully at you. You gave him an apologetic look.

“I have to meet up with Lily…”

“Lily?” James perked up considerably, his eyes shimmering like hazel stardust.

“Yes, Lily. Don’t get your boner in a twist…”

Peter’s eyes widened considerably, a scarlet blush seeping his skin. James snorted.

“That sounds…hard.”

“Prongs, get the fuck out of this hospital wing,” Remus snapped, but a wry smile tugged the corner of his lips.

“Now, Moony, there’s no need to be such a dick,” Sirius grinned wickedly and you stifled the urge to laugh at Sirius’ pun.

“Okay, I’m going to go, Lily will bust my balls if I’m late…” Laughter poured from James and Sirius’ lips, bursting like fireworks on the Fourth of July. You flashed Remus an apologetic look and a small giggle but all Remus could do was chortle through a smile that could outshine the sun. He was a burning sunset.

“Like I said, Moony,” James managed, amidst the last remaining bubbles of his amusement, “You have great taste in women…”

“You have a poor taste in friends,” Lily drawled as the two of you stacked your books and gathered your parchments.

“I’m your friend, aren’t I?” you smirked.

“Yes, but you’re also Potters” the way she spat ‘Potter’ was dripping with so much disdain, it was too much to be true.

“I’m friends with Remus, too, and you like him…”

The contempt that had previously painted itself across Lily’s face melted, and was replaced by the usual warm benevolence that Lily radiated, “Yes, Remus is nice. And I don’t really know Peter all that well. But Potter and Black are gits.”

You shook your head, a light-hearted chuckle spilling from your lips. “What?” Lily wanted to know, searching you with curious eyes.

“It’s just…you’re so adamant on hating Potter, you don’t realise that people can change. You were the person who taught me that in the first place.”

Lily pushed back her long, red hair and sighed. “You’re right. And I don’t hate Potter…I just thoroughly dislike his company.”

The two of you ambled out of the library and headed down the corridor, chatting mildly with each other. Lily had been your best friend since you met on the Hogwarts Express five years ago. She had the unique ability to see the beauty in life, in the small things and bigger things, and that quality that made her so popular and so approachable was like a magic you could not be taught. It was simply Lily. No wonder James was so infatuated with her.

“And this is where I leave you,” you smiled as you stood in front of the portrait hole, “I’m going to see Remus.”

Lily nodded. “Can you tell him I’ll be in tomorrow to see him?”

“Of course,” you gave your friend a warm smile and captured her in a light embrace.

Turning on your heel, you left Lily and wandered back toward the Hospital wing, anticipation building up inside you like tiny sparks of golden light. You were delighted to find that the light was still on, and walked in without announcing your presence.

Before you could reach Remus’ bed, however, you heard the whispers and murmurs of what sounded like an in-depth conversation, muttered between James and Remus.

“And what about (Y/N)?” Your heart skipped a beat at the sound of your name and you pressed your back against the wall, leaning so you could hear the rest of the conversation. “She clearly likes you. You can’t keep lying to her!”

“James, this is my secret to keep,” Remus snapped, “Besides, she won’t like me for much longer when she realises that I’m a monster.”

“Don’t say that,” James urged, “Monsters are anyone or anything that lack a heart and you, Remus, you have more heart and soul in you than a thousand people.”

Remus fell silent at that. Even you had to admit that you would be rendered speechless if someone had said that to you with as much genuine enthusiasm as James.

“Mr. Potter, I must ask you to leave,” came the stern voice of Madam Pomfrey, “Mr. Lupin needs his sleep.”

James agreed and thanked her, before adding, “I must say, you look truly ravishing this evening, Madam Pomfrey.”

“Charming,” Madam Pomfrey drawled, though you heard the amused smile she was likely not wearing, “Now I really must insist…”

“Oh, if I must…” James complied, before you heard his footsteps approaching you. You stumbled around the corner and pressed up as close as you could, ensuring James could not see you. Fortunately, he didn’t, and the Marauder sauntered past in his usual, insolent stride.  

When his footsteps faded, and the silence of the night returned to sweep the empty corridors, you slinked back around the corner and crept toward the Hospital Wing. The light was still on, but Madam Pomfrey was gone, probably retiring to her quarters.

You snuck in, footsteps light and gentle in an effort not to startle Remus before you poked your head around the curtain.

“Remus?” you whispered, to which Remus turned, surprise etching across every tired line on his face.

“(Y/N),” he breathed, the shock slowly leaving his face, “What are you doing here this late in the evening?”

“I wanted to see you,” you mumbled softly, slipping through the curtains and sinking into the armchair on his left. Remus, however, was far too occupied with tugging the sheets up and over his chest.

“Er– right – yes it’s – erm – lovely to see you too – always lovely to see you –”

“Remy, what are you doing?” you asked, a little laugh escaping your lips.

“I’m just – er – getting comfortable –” he muttered, not meeting your eyes. Another damn lie.

Reaching forward, you attempted to help him adjust the sheet. However, before he could bat your hand away, you spotted a dark red patch seeping into the white of his bandage and you gasped.

“Remus, you’re bleeding!”

“Yes, I know,” Remus murmured, hastily.

“We should get Madam Pomfrey to look at that for you,” you whispered, rising from your seat. Before you could move, however, you felt Remus’ hands wrap around your wrist in a vice-like hold.

“No.”

Blinking at him, you sank onto the spot beside him on the bed. “Why? You need medical attention.”

“She’ll tell you off for being here. That’s the last thing I want right now.”

Nodding, you searched your surroundings for a fresh bandage to apply to Remus’ wound. Snatching one lying on the bench beside you, you leant over him and went to tug the sheet away.

“That does not look like something you would get falling down the stairs, Remy.”

Remus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s because it isn’t.”

Your gaze met his tired eyes, and something in your chest toppled off balance. Slowly, Remus began to unbutton his pajama shirt and, with a wince, peeled it off his skin. What you saw made your stomach plummet.

Remus’ chest was littered with scars, as though his skin was a battlefield for a vicious and cruel war. They arched and curved, malicious and evil, like he had been shattered and glued together over and over again. You splayed your fingers against his chest, felt his heart pounding against his ribcage like a fist.

“Who did this to you?” you whispered, blinking back tears. Remus released a shaky breath and dropped his gaze in shame.

“The full moon,” he muttered.

And then it all came out, like blood gushing from an open wound. The first bite, his first full moon, the struggle between human and wolf that constantly warred inside of him. His splintered soul and lonely heart. The unbelievable power of friendship and the creation of Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs.

Now, it all made sense. Remus was lying to protect you. But his protection was unnecessary. You didn’t need it, because you did not fear Remus. In fact, it was the opposite.

“(Y/N),” he mumbled, and it was almost like a whimper, “I’m sorry I lied to you. I’m sorry for everything. You don’t deserve this. You deserve someone who makes you smile, not someone who lies to you. You deserve someone happy and whole.”

Your eyes wet from tears, you trailed your fingers up his chest and cupped his cheek, spreading your thumb across his lips gently.

“And you? What do you deserve?” you whispered, “With a heart like yours, Remus Lupin, you deserve the world…”

Remus reached up and covered your hand in his, leaning into your touch. You pressed a kiss to his forehead, your lips lingering before trailing down his face and sliding against his lips.

Remus’ lips danced against yours in a gentle waltz of utter adoration as you kissed away any doubt that lurked in his mind. He tasted of honey and smelt of sandalwood and it was like sunshine pouring over you, filling every corner of your body with golden warmth.

A soft moan escaped your lips and Remus swallowed it hole as his hand slipped to the base of your neck and your fingers combed through his sandy-blonde hair. It was beautiful and tragic and…over too soon, for when you broke the kiss to breathe, you decided you no longer wanted your lungs if it meant you couldn’t kiss Remus Lupin forever.

“I love you, I always have,” you breathed against his lips.

“Even though I’m a werewolf?” he asked, and you smiled.

“Especially because you’re a werewolf.”

A single tear slipped from his lashes and rolled down his cheek. You knew it contained all the words he could not say, so with soft lips, you kissed it away, tasting salt and sugar.

“I love you too,” he whispered, and it was the truth.  

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