Chapter 54 Waking Moony
By Easter break Severus announced that he'd completed the Lycanthropy potion for Lupin. Harry greeted the news enthusiastically, sending off a letter to Sirius immediately and actually thanking Severus with a startling hug that had done little to placate the hormones that seemed to be running riot through his veins of late.
Things had been awkward between him and Harry since his jealous fit and the ensuing kiss, and he was grateful to have something positive to offer him, something to remind him of why being married to a Potion Master might not be such a bad thing. While the boy had not been distant or angry with him, he had been jumpy since than night, restless and nervous as if suddenly aware of a new dimension to their relationship that he didn't quite know how to accept just yet. He shied away from even a hint of flirtation, avoiding any conversation that might turn more intimate. The whole thing had set Severus on edge, and he was grateful for a temporary reprieve.
Most of the students vacated the school at the start of the Spring Break, leaving it fairly safe for Sirius to return. The two Weasley children remained behind, as well as Hermione. Draco refused to leave despite several letters from his mother asking him to come home. After their brief honeymoon, Charlie had returned to work in Romania, visiting only on the weekends when he flooed in to the private room Draco had been given in the castle. As McGonagall had pointed out, married students were not allowed in the dormitories, and as it would have been unsafe for Draco to live alone in Hogsmeade, Dumbledore had found him a private room that he could share with Charlie on the weekends, a fact that Draco accepted gleefully as a privilege denied the lesser beings in the school. Severus found the whole thing rather amusing.
Sirius arrived with Dumbledore the first morning of the break, entering Severus' quarters as Padfoot. The moment the door closed behind him, however, he shifted form and Harry raced across the room toward him, hugging him tightly in greeting. Severus merely watched the proceedings in annoyance. Who would think that there would come a time in his life when having Sirius Black in his private quarters would become common?
Black looked tired but excited, his blue eyes filled with an eager fire that in his childhood had warned of some new prank he was planning. Severus had to temper down the old mistrust that flared within him at the sight - it was unlikely that Black was capable of thinking of anything other than his werewolf at the moment. Judging by the twinkle in the Headmaster's eyes, Severus suspected that Black's and Harry's excitement was contagious.
Seeing Severus, Black nodded to him, for once remembering his manners. "Snape," he greeted. "The potion is ready?" The eagerness in his voice was almost painful to hear. Why did Gryffindors have to wear their hearts on their sleeves?
Severus nodded, glancing briefly at Harry who stood pressed against Black's side, one arm still around him, a bright grin on his face. Would that the boy would be so eager to greet him when he came through the door in the evening!
"We have a number of things to talk about first, however," he warned Black, motioning him to sit down. Black, Harry and the Headmaster joined Severus on the seats before the fire.
"One of the requirements of this process is that Lupin know the Animagus transformation," Severus began. "I know you did not have much time to practice it before he went feral."
But Sirius waved away his concerned with a swift shake of his head. "Remus already knew the required spells even if he'd never done them before. James and I managed the transformation on our own in fifth year, but Peter required more study than us. Remus is the one who helped him complete the transformation. He probably knows the theory and the spells behind it as well as I do - if not better. All he lacks is the practical application. We actually speculated at the time that if Remus became an Animagus, then transforming into an animal might disrupt his werewolf transformation and in essence cure him. But we soon learned that the Animagus spell does not work for a werewolf."
Severus nodded, relieved that one hurled had been overcome. "Once he takes the potion, he should be capable of the spell. You'll need to give him the potion and then wait fifteen minutes - that should give the potion enough time to take effect. After that you must get him to transform into the wolf, and then back into a human, over and over again as many times as possible over the course of the next hour. His body has to become accustomed to maintaining two magical cores - it will likely exhaust him, but you can't let him give up or become distracted. To be safe he should go through the full transformation sequence at least twenty times."
Sirius listened carefully to his words, seeming far more attentive than Severus had ever seen him. He nodded his head in understanding. "And after that?" he asked hopefully. "He'll be cured. That will be it?"
Severus shrugged. "According to the notes, yes. But we won't know for certain until the next full moon, which is in two days. The moon should have no effect on him. If he does not transform, then I'd say we're fairly safe. I'll want to run some further tests however. He'll still be a wolf, you understand. His instincts, his senses, his behavior is not likely to change. And as far as I know silver will still be deadly to him. As I said, I'll need to run further tests."
"Understood," Sirius nodded, rising to his feet. "Can we go now then? Is there any reason to wait further?"
Severus sighed and shook his head, noting that Harry stood up just as eagerly. Dumbledore just smiled at him and shook his head - there was no controlling the Gryffindor urge to rush in blindly.
Sirius transformed once more into Padfoot while Severus gathered together the necessary potions. Along with the Lycanthropy cure, he also carried with him an antidote to the Draught of the Living Death. Harry grabbed the brooms he'd placed in the corner of the room. The three men and the dog headed toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and the hidden Chamber beyond.
They made their way down into the underground Chamber, following the now familiar path to Salazar's great hall and the hidden room beneath the founder's statue. Severus had not been into the small room since the night they had first entombed Lupin and he rolled his eyes at the ridiculous state the room was in now. Black, it seemed, had transfigured the place into a prankster's replica of the Gryffindor common room. Were it not for the fact that Severus knew that one did not dream under the influence of Draught of the Living Death, he would have wondered if Lupin had been suffering nightmares at the garishness of his surroundings.
Once they'd reached their destination, Severus glanced pointedly at Dumbledore who nodded his head in understanding. He approached Lupin's bed where Sirius and Harry were already waiting, both of them seated on either side of the sleeping man. With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore bound Lupin to the bed once more with heavy iron shackles around both his arms and his legs. Both Sirius and Harry looked up in surprise.
"Remember," Dumbledore told them both. "He will still be feral when he is awakened."
They nodded in understanding, but neither looked happy by the idea. Dumbledore dropped a gentle hand onto Harry's shoulder. "Now, Harry, my boy, you and are going to be leaving," he announced.
"What?" Harry asked in alarm. "I don't want to leave. I want to be here when Remus wakes up!"
But Dumbledore shook his head. "No, Harry," he said firmly. "If Remus were not feral, this would not be an issue. But as it is he'll be hard enough to control - the more people in the room the more difficult it will be on him. You and I will be leaving."
"But. . ." Harry protested, only to be stopped by his godfather.
"It's all right, Harry," he assured him. "I think I understand. Go with the Headmaster. I'll take care of Remus."
It was obvious by the expression on Harry's face that he thought he was missing something - that there was something they were all not telling him. But he also trusted his godfather and he finally just sighed and nodded, giving in to their demands. Severus waited while Dumbledore led him out of the room, before turning to Black to explain further.
"You don't know if it's going to work, do you?" Black said quietly before he could speak.
Severus just shrugged. "According to all the tests I've run, it should work," he replied. "But no, I have no way of knowing absolutely."
"I take it you're leaving the room as well?" Sirius guessed. "I'll be administering the potions alone."
"You're the only one with any degree of protection if he transforms," Severus reminded him. "In your dog form you're safe from infection. I'm not. But that's not the only thing we have to take into consideration. If he weren't feral this wouldn't be nearly so dangerous."
"What do you mean?"
Severus just sighed and shook his head. "Look, Black, I'm hopeful that the potion will work - but we have to accept the fact that you may find yourself trapped in this room with a feral werewolf who only has one thing on his mind - claiming you as his mate. And I doubt the form either of you happen to be in at the time is going to matter all that much. You may not be able to control him."
"Remus won't hurt me," Sirius said with absolute conviction.
Severus just glared at him. "You're a fool!"
"And you're a Slytherin," Sirius snapped back.
Severus eyes narrowed, knowing the man had meant that as some sort of insult, but not able to see it. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Sirius just shook his head. "It means that you are incapable of understanding that sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and accept the fact that love can conquer all."
"Love!" Severus scoffed, wondering how an adult man could be so foolish as to believe that. "Love doesn't conquer all, Black. It certain didn't for your friends James and Lily Potter."
Sirius' blue eyes flashed with something hard and hurtful, but he shook his head in denial. "James and Lily died together. Their love protected Harry. And Harry has in turn protected all of us time and time again. There are worse things to fear than death."
"Worse things than death," Severus sneered. "One of which you may be about to experience. Believe in your happy little fantasies if you wish. I've done my part." He held up two vials of liquid. "This," he said indicating the first vial. "Is the antidote to the Draught of the Living Death. He should wake almost immediately." He held up the second vial. "This is the Lycanthropy potion - give it to him as soon as he wakes. After that you have fifteen minutes to talk him down from his feral madness if you can. If it works, you'll have to release him from his bonds and begin the transformations immediately. If you're still alive in one hour, send us your Patronus and we'll release you from this room."
He handed over both potions to Black, and then pulled Lupin's wand from his sleeve and set it down on the nightstand. Swiftly he moved toward the door. "I hope for Harry's sake, you're right about love conquering all," he said in parting.
Black just laughed softly at that, his eyes taking on a mocking gleam. "Harry's sake?" he asked. "Why would you care for Harry's sake? Why not for your own sake - for the accolade of discovering the cure for Lycanthropy?"
Severus stilled at that, frowning at the question. "I. . .Harry wouldn't. . ." he broke off, not entirely certain how to answer such a question.
Black just smirked at him, a decidedly unpleasant expression. "You see, that's the problem with not believing in love, Snape," he told him. "You don't recognize it when it bites you in the arse."
"Worry about your own arse!" Severus snarled at him, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Several strong locking charms applied to the door ensured it would not be opened until he returned later with Dumbledore.
Harry and Albus were waiting for him in the cavern just beyond the snake-covered entrance to the Chamber. Once through the door, Dumbledore shut it behind him, and nodded to Harry to close it. A hissed command in Parseltongue had the snake-shaped locking mechanisms twisting on the door.
"All we can do now is wait," Severus told them.
Sirius sensed the locking wards Snape placed on the door after he left, and understood that he was on his own for this. But as he'd said early, sometimes you just had to take a leap of faith - and taking such leaps was what Sirius Black was best at.
Opening the vial of the first potion, Sirius used his fingers to carefully part Remus' cold lips, pouring the potion directly into his mouth. He had to use his wand to get the man to swallow it as even his autonomic responses were frozen in the Living Death.
He waited breathlessly for the potion to take effect - he hated seeing Remus like this, so still and unmoving. But in moments he felt a flicker of life beneath his hands - he had one palm resting on Remus' chest, the other against his ice-cold cheek. Remus' heart gave a leap as it woke from its sound sleep, warmth magically washing through his chilled flesh as color returned once more to his cheeks. A soft sigh escaped his mouth as his lungs once again filled with air, and his eyes began moving restlessly beneath his closed lids as his thoughts reawakened after their long silent slumber.
"That's it, Moony," Sirius urged. "Wake up, come back to me."
A moment later those eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring into the wild, yellow eyes of a wolf.
A cold shiver moved through Sirius at the sight - he'd known it intellectually of course that Remus had gone feral. But seeing it first hand was something else entirely - somehow he'd expected the warm amber eyes of his friend to be staring back at him. Only during those brief moments when Remus grew enraged had his eyes ever flashed this color - and then only briefly. He was quite unprepared when Remus reared up, attempting to grab him - only the bonds that held him tied to the bed preventing his actions. Sirius heart leaped in his chest, startled in spite of himself.
"It's alright," he said quickly, pushing against Remus' chest to hold him down, worried that if fought too hard against the iron shackles, he'd hurt himself. "I'm here, Moony. I'm here." He stroked Remus' hair back from his face.
Remus grew still beneath his hand. "Sirius?" he whispered hoarsely, and a strange thrill shot through Sirius' body at the sound. Remus could still talk - still retained some fragile grip on his mind that allowed him to communicate. He should have known that Remus would never truly let his mind go - he was too strong for that.
"Yes, Moony," he answered back, smiling gently at the man. He pried the stopper off the second vial of liquid. "You have to drink this for me. Please Moony, do this for me." He wasn't certain if Remus understood him, couldn't read the expression in those glowing eyes that stared at him so hungrily. But Remus parted his lips and drank at his urging, his gaze never leaving Sirius' face.
Snape had said it would take at least fifteen minutes for the potion to take affect, and Sirius used his wand to set a timer on the nightstand. The motion however seemed to startle Remus and he struggled against his bonds once again as if distressed that Sirius had moved away from him. Sirius quickly moved back, lying next to Remus and pressing the length of his body against his own. He stroked his hair again, letting his warm breath fan his face. Those yellow eyes never once left him.
"Can you understand me, Moony?" Sirius asked gently, keeping his tone low and even. The last thing he wanted to do was startle the wolf.
"Sirius," Remus said again, as if unable to say anything more. Something flickered deep within those yellow eyes, some spark of memory perhaps that gave Sirius hope. Again Remus strained against his bond, his fists opening and closing as if he were desperate to grab him.
"I'm not going any where," Sirius promised him. "I'm yours. I'd never leave you, Moony. You know that. I love you." He wasn't certain how much Remus understood, but his words seemed to calm him. Settling himself more comfortably against the man, he began to talk to him in soft tones, telling him about everything that had happened during the months they had been apart, stroking his hair and his face while he talked. Slowly the tension seemed to seep from Remus' body, his muscles unclenching as the minutes ticked away.
When the yellow glow in those eyes began fading, revealing the warm amber color he loved so well, Sirius felt tears prick his own eyes, his heart clenching in his chest. "Remus," he whispered, burying his own face against his friend's neck. A thousand fears drained from his body and it was all he could do not to sob in relief. Brave words to Snape aside, he'd been so afraid that Remus could not be saved from the madness that had gripped him.
"Padfoot?" the soft whisper reached his ears and he looked up hopefully. The clear amber gaze of his beloved friend stared back at him. "Is that really you?"
Sirius grinned. "Who else would lock themselves in a room with a feral werewolf?" he asked cheekily.
"I. . ." Remus seemed at a loss for words.
"Don't you dare apologize," Sirius told him sternly. "As declarations of love go, turning feral is right up there at the top of the Marauder's list of impressive acts. In fact I'm so flattered, I'm likely never to let you hear the end of it."
Color suffused Remus' cheeks, but it didn't entirely chase the worry from his eyes. "Are you. . .did you. . ."
"I'm not married," Sirius stated plainly, guessing that was what was on his mind. "And I'm not going to marry anyone else but you. Draco Malfoy is happily married to Charlie Weasley and is no longer a concern to either of us. Put it out of your mind."
"Charlie?" Remus looked utterly baffled, but his eyes were shining with hope. "I. . .don't. . ."
Sirius just smiled at him and shook his head - there would be time enough later for conversations. He glanced at the clock - their fifteen minutes were nearly up. "Remus can I release your bonds?"
Remus glanced down at the shackles around his arms, confusion still strong in his eyes. "I don't know," he admitted.
Sirius understood what he was saying - the feral madness had receded, but he wasn't certain how far. It was likely he still felt out of control. "You have to listen carefully, Moony," he urged, capturing his friend's full attention. "I've given you the Lycanthropy potion. In a couple of minutes you are going to have to try the Animagus transformation for the first time. You need to transform into the wolf and then back into a human. You need to do this as many times as possible over the next hour. You can't think about anything else but that. You have to focus on that. I'll be right here; I'm not going anywhere. But you have to focus on that. Do you understand?"
Remus nodded his head, but it was obvious from the look in his eyes that he was worried. Sirius smiled at him and then pointed his wand at the shackles, whispering a silent prayer as he released them.
He felt Remus' hands close around his arms the moment he was free, the unnatural strength of the werewolf making any chance of escape impossible. Sirius forced himself to remain completely still, allowing Remus to pull him closer. He shivered when Remus buried his face against his neck, inhaling his scent. He felt the warm touch of lips against his throat, the faint scrape of teeth and wondered if he was about to be bitten.
"Please, Remus," he whispered. "You have to focus."
It took a long moment, and Sirius could feel Remus shaking with the effort it was costing him, but eventually those impossibly strong hands loosened their grip on his arms. He pulled back slowly and saw the strain on Remus' face. "Okay?" he asked.
Remus nodded slowly, but ran one of his hands up Sirius' arm and touched his face before sliding into his hair as if he could not stop himself from touching him. Sirius smiled, fighting the urges rising in his own body. His heart swelled in his chest as he realized that this beautiful, tormented man was his - for better or for worse Remus was finally his.
He reached over to the nightstand and picked up the wand Snape had left there. He carefully closed one of Remus' hands around it. Remus' breath caught in his throat at the sensation, no doubt feeling the little thrill of magic that accompanied contact with his wand after so long. "Now focus, Moony," Sirius told him and began guiding him through the basics steps of the Animagus transformation - from the visualization, to the build-up of magic, to the release of the spell - verbal at this point - and the deliberate metamorphosis of the body. It had been over twenty years since he had first gone through this, but the process had become instinct to him. He kept up a running monologue, guiding Remus through each step of the process, encouraging him, keeping his mind focused on the task at hand.
The first transformation took nearly ten minutes to complete, but eventually Remus body shifted - painlessly - into the startling familiar shape of Moony. Rarely had Sirius seen him with human eyes. The Wolvesbane potion had made it safe for humans to remain with him, but Sirius had always transformed into Padfoot to keep him company. Seeing him now while still in human form made him realize just how fearsome a creature Moony truly was. Padfoot was large - but Moony dwarfed him. The wolf was a mass of muscle, fangs and claws, his jaws powerful enough to crush any bone in his body. Not a true wolf at all - but the feared Hell Hound of stories.
Sirius gently ran his fingers through the dark thick fur, staying utterly still while Moony sniffed his neck once again. This was the ultimate act of trust - one misstep, one mistake in either the potion or Remus' concentration and Moony could kill him or infect him with one bite.
"Change back now," he urged softly, keeping his voice low in case he startled the creature. He prayed Remus was still in there, and could understand his words.
A moment later he felt another surge of magic and watched in awe as Moony began the slow transformation back into Remus Lupin.
He could tell Remus was exhausted after the transformation was completed, but the look of utter joy on his face was indescribable. Sirius couldn't help himself; he kissed him hard and fast, his own grin uncontainable. "I knew you could do it," he whooped in joy. "My Moony!"
Remus just laughed, beyond words at the experience.
"Now, you have to do it again," Sirius urged. "I know you're tired. But it will be easier each time you do it." He glanced at the clock. Another five minutes had ticked by. "You have to do it as many times as possible until I tell you stop. Do you understand?"
Remus nodded, accepting his word. His hand tightened once again on his wand.
Over the course of the next forty minutes, Remus transformed again and again, continuing on long after he thought he could go no farther simply because Sirius urged him to. He was too drained to even lift his wand when he finished the last one, and lay utterly done-in on the bed, nearly sobbing in exhaustion when Sirius at last told him he was finished. Sirius conjured a damp cloth and gently wiped down his face, kissing him softly as he lay too weak to move. Conjuring a glass of water, he raised Remus' head and helped him gulp down the liquid. Then he raised his own wand and send off his Patronus - the glowing white wolf he loved so utterly - racing to summon Harry and the others.
He didn't have long to wait. Harry was the first one through the door, despite the fact that Sirius was certain Snape was trying to hold him back. The look on the boy's face was priceless as he saw the two of them together - Remus lying exhausted on the bed and Sirius sitting beside him. It was the warm amber eyes of a human that opened to greet him. "Remus!" Harry cried, and raced to their side, throwing his arms around both of them in relief.
Remus too exhausted to do much more, simply patted him gently on the back, a faint smile stretching his lips. Sirius just grinned at both of them and glanced up rather smugly at Snape and Dumbledore.
"Still in one piece, I see," the snarky Potion Master said, but despite everything, their turbulent history and the tensions between them, the man looked relieved.
"Thank you," Sirius said, shocking the man utterly. No doubt he never expected to hear such words from his lips, but Sirius was too happy right now to care. "Your potion worked."
Uncertain how to respond, Snape merely inclined his head.
"Well, now," Dumbledore said happily. "Let's see about getting you out of here, Remus. I think you've been locked up in this chamber long enough as it is."
"How long?" Remus asked hoarsely. He'd had no sense of time while asleep.
"It's Easter Break," Harry told him. "It's been months. We've missed you."
Remus just smiled at that, touched beyond words. Shaking still with exhaustion, he allowed Sirius and Harry to help him to his feet and the five of them exited the Chamber of Secrets to rejoin the living.
When Remus next awoke he found himself lying in his familiar bed in the room Dumbledore had given him in Hogwarts. Someone had changed or transfigured his clothing into pajamas, and despite the events of the last few days - months - he felt surprisingly refreshed, if not a bit hungry.
Opening his eyes he found himself staring up at a smiling Sirius Black who sat on the edge of his bed watching him. Sirius' scent surrounded him and he suspected that his friend had not left his side since he got there. He felt the wolf stirring inside him, hungry as always for his mate, but for once the sensation did not fill him with alarm. The wolf felt contained, at peace, as if no longer at war with his more human nature.
"Welcome back, Moony!" Sirius said brightly, his grin rivaling the sunlight streaming in through the tall narrow windows along the far wall.
Remus reached out and took hold of his friend's hand, smiling when Sirius clasped him back just as tightly. His thoughts were clearing at last - he remembered some of what Sirius had told him when he'd been fighting his way up out of the feral madness that had gripped him. Gods, the madness! That seemed like a nightmare now - had he hurt anyone he wondered, had he damaged any part of the world he so desperately wanted to protect? He vaguely remembered an overwhelming desire to kill - Draco Malfoy, was it? Had he harmed the boy?
Draco Malfoy had tried to take his mate - the angry demands of the wolf were still there in the back of his mind, but Remus pushed them aside. The rational human mind knew the blame was entirely Lucius Malfoy's, not his son's. How strange it was to be able to silence the wolf so easily - though the desire to grab hold of Sirius and never let him go was not so easy to suppress. But then again he supposed that desire did not belong to the wolf alone. But why was it so easy - had Severus' potion worked then?
"Sirius, I'm sorry-" he began only to be cut off.
"Don't you dare apologize!" Sirius ordered firmly. "We've been through this before. You don't own anyone an apology. Let it go, Moony."
Let it go? Remus blinked uncertainly. Just like - let it go - when he didn't even know what results his madness had wrought? And really he did have so much to apologize for - not just for losing control as he had, but for denying Sirius all these months that the man had been pursuing him. He shouldn't have hesitated - did he truly doubt that Sirius loved him? Fickle and flighty the man might be, but he had never been a liar.
"But are you. . ." he wasn't certain how to ask the question.
"Entirely yours," Sirius assured him. "Unattached, unmarried, free - except for the whole wanted-for-a-murder-I-didn't-commit thing - and utterly in love with a certain former-werewolf who seems incapable of understanding what a great catch I really am."
Unable to help himself, Remus grasped a handful of Sirius' shirt and pulled him down on top of him, catching his mouth in a fierce kiss. He had little experience with kissing - guessed he was rather unskilled in this arena - but then again this was really more about tasting the man in his arms and the wolf knew how to do that more than adequately. Judging by the moan Sirius made, Remus guessed there were no complaints. It didn't take Sirius long to take control of the kiss, and before he knew it Remus was lost in a haze of sensation, wondering why he had been so reluctant before.
Eventually Sirius had to come up for air, but the look on his face as he gazed down at him was one Remus knew he'd never forget. Had those blue eyes ever shone so brightly before? It was as if all the shadows of Azkaban and the darkness of war were momentarily lifted from him leaving nothing more than the beautiful, brilliant young man he'd known in his childhood. Remus' heart swelled with emotion.
"I love you," he told him, wishing now he'd confessed such a glorious thing all those years ago when he'd first seen Sirius Black at their sorting in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. It was as true then as it was now.
"Yes, you do!" Sirius agreed joyfully as he leaned down to kiss him again.
Remus moaned this time, sliding his arms around his body and pulling him closer. He couldn't seem to get close enough, craving the heat seeping into him from the other man's lean form. When Sirius slipped one of his legs between his own, Remus gasped at the sensation, arching up into the pressure. The wolf wanted to devour the man, take what was his; the human inside him wanted to see where Sirius would guide him. Potion or not, Remus could still feel the inhuman strength of the wolf flowing through his veins and knew he could take control of any physical contact between them. He very carefully stroked his hands down the man's back, purposely keeping his touch light and gentle. Later, he promised the wolf, and the human took precedence.
It took Sirius no time at all to figure out that this time Remus was not going to hesitate, not going to refuse his advances, and like any true Gryffindor he took full advantage of the discovery. He tugged and pulled at the pajama top Remus was wearing until the buttons snapped off, baring his skin to his touch.
Remus fought down the sense of shame that threatened him; he hated the scars that marred his body. But whatever fears he might have had were soothed quickly under the gentle touch of Sirius Black. His body burned when Sirius trailed fingers and then lips over the long lines of those scars, and worshiped his body as if he were a work of art. The quiet whispers of endearments were a balm to his soul and even the wolf settled down into the heady euphoria overwhelming his senses.
He wanted more skin contact and he pulled eagerly at Sirius' clothing, uncovering the body he was more familiar with. Sirius had never been body-shy - as a teenager he had changed in front of him without any hint of embarrassment. That had not changed as an adult, and it had only been Remus' own propriety that had kept from doing anything more than stealing a brief glimpse here and there. Now he looked his full, touching the firm, smooth skin and the long lines of muscles he'd always admired. Despite the fact that the wolf made him far stronger than anyone he knew, Sirius had always been taller than him, more heavily muscled. Even Azkaban had not robed him of that beauty.
Eventually between the two of them, they shed all their clothing and lay together exploring each other with eager hands and mouths. Remus continually fought down his inherent shyness and the hesitancy that came with each new sensation, but Sirius it seemed was fearless and eagerly showed him things he'd only read about and hadn't quite believed real at the time.
More than once he found himself gasping and crying out in pleasure, overwhelmed by both the physical sensations burning through him and the emotions welling in his heart and soul. By the time Sirius entered his body, pushing hard and deep into him, both wolf and man were in utter harmony with the belief that there was nothing more perfect in existence than this heat, this love. He howled when he came, and heard Sirius crying out his name in unison. My mate, Moony growled. Finally, my mate!
Later, sated but happy, the two of them lay together in each other arms while Sirius filled Remus in on the events he had missed during his long sleep in the Chamber of Secrets. Remus had blushed and covered his face in embarrassment when he learned about how the feral transference had affected the various people who'd been in the room. Molly's pregnancy, even more than Charlie's sudden pursuit of Draco, made him groan in mortification.
"Oh, and Snape is in love with Harry," Sirius told him. "Only I don't know if that had anything to do with the feral transference. At least it better not have had anything to do with it. I'll have to kill him if he's touched Harry."
"How do you know he's in love with him?" Remus asked in surprise, more amazed by this piece of news than he had been about Charlie and Draco. But then again, he'd seen the way Snape had behaved in the Winter Lands - he supposed it shouldn't surprise him.
Sirius just shrugged. "Just something he said earlier. And like a typical Slytherin he's completely unable to deal with it. I think there must be something wrong with Slytherins in general - the moment some bright and positive emotion touch their shriveled hearts, their brains fry - kind of like a vampire in the sunlight. Or a snail when you shake salt on them."
Ignoring the rather gross description, Remus asked, "What about Harry? Is he also. . ."
"Please!" Sirius protested. "It's Snape we're talking about. Harry may be young, but he's not crazy. He has better tastes than that! Besides I think I've nearly convinced Harry to enter a monastery anyway. Though I guess we'll have to be more. . .nice. . .to Snape now. After all he did cure you."
Remus frowned at that, remembering something else Sirius had said earlier. He'd called him a former-werewolf. "We won't actually know if the potion worked until the next full moon," Remus reminded him. "I mean the Animagus portion worked - but there is always the chance I will still lose control and transform on the full-moon."
But Sirius just grinned at him as if he'd pulled the most amazing prank in the world. "Moony," he said gleefully. "You've been asleep for two days. The full moon was last night. You didn't even wake up for it."
Last night? Remus stared at him in shock. A full-moon had risen and set and he hadn't even noticed? No transformation - no painful breaking of bones and tendons, no screaming in agony as his body twisted and writhed beneath the torture of lunar madness.
A wash of emotion swelled inside him, a sob breaking free of his lips as decades of desperation overwhelmed him all at once. He felt Sirius gathering him tightly into his arms, and he buried his face against his sweet smelling skin as he cried for the long years of suffering from which he had at last been freed.