Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Five-year old Teddy, holding onto his daddy’s hand, skipped down the long corridors of the Japanese Ministry of Magic. He was so excited — so excited that his hair was turquoise, his happy colour. He was going on a trip, a portkey trip, and he couldn’t wait. He loved travelling by portkey; he didn’t mind that strange tug in his belly. He just found it fun that they could travel somewhere like that.

They entered a room, and a young Japanese worker greeted them with something dangling from his hand.

“Daddy!” Teddy pointed at the yellow Pikachu keychain. “Is that Pikachu going to take us back to England from Japan?”

Daddy tousled Teddy’s hair. “It will. When we both touch it, this man will activate it for us, and we’ll be in London’s Ministry of Magic.”

“Wow!” Teddy looked at the worker named Hangata with a grin. “Can I have this Pikachu, Hanagata-san?”

Hanagata chuckled. “Sorry. This belongs to the ministry. How about I give you this Charmander keychain instead?”

Teddy looked at his daddy hopefully, who smiled and said, “Go ahead. And what do you say?”

“Thank you!” Teddy hugged the keychain to himself. This was going to be his new favourite thing to show off. He loved Pokemon and their many species.

“Are you two ready?” Hanagata asked. “If you are, please touch the keychain. Mr Lupin? Teddy? Good luck in England.”

“Is this London, Daddy?” Teddy asked, his eyes huge as they looked around the busy streets. He watched the people pass by him, the red double-decker bus on the streets, and the English language all around him. He saw that the people were dressed differently here than the Japanese did. He didn’t see anybody wearing kimonos or anything of the like, but he did see colourful hairstyles and clothing that were wild like the ones he saw in Tokyo. He didn’t see any shrines or temples nearby like he did in Tokyo. London was different from Tokyo, yet he could sense that it was a busy and crowded place like his previous home.

“Yes, it is.” Daddy’s calm voice soothed him, and Teddy grabbed his daddy’s hand tighter. He didn’t want to get separated from him.

“It smells different.” Teddy sniffed at the air, and although he couldn’t explain how it smelled different, it did. In Tokyo, he smelled takoyaki, ramen, fish, green teas, and the cherry blossoms. Here, he smelled potatoes, meats, some different kind of tea, and some sort of a flowery scent that he wasn’t able to figure out yet. Tokyo had smelled very unique to his nose, along with Osaka and Kyoto when he had visited before, and now he sensed that London had its own scent. All of these new sensations intrigued Teddy. Daddy had explained to him about how Tokyo was on the other side of the world from London. Teddy was told that things were never the same from one place to another, so the new experience of being in London made some sense to him.

Daddy let out a quiet laughter “Are you ready to go meet your grandmother?”

“Grandmamma?” Teddy perked up. “I want to see her! I want to show her my new Charmander keychain!”

“Well, then, let’s go. It’s a short walk from here.”

“Okay!”

When they reached Andromeda’s house, Teddy met and saw many people there. There were many of Daddy’s grown-up friends. He lost count of how many legs he had hugged. Some legs were in trousers, some in jeans, and some were covered in robes. He liked the robes. They reminded him of kimonos; though the robes were less pretty than the designs and the colours of the kimonos.

With his grandmother, once she picked him up and hugged him tightly, Teddy could smell this flowery scent coming from her. She was warm and kind, and Teddy liked her immediately, even though he’d only met her once last year. He still loved his grandmother.

There was a party going on with many good food and sweets. Teddy looked at the foreign looking food, so different from the Japanese food he was accustomed to, but he liked them, especially the sweets. He always liked the Japanese chocolates, so when he tried the English chocolate, he was amazed by how much sweeter they were. He liked it. Then again, he and Daddy both loved sweets.

As the grown-ups talked amongst themselves, Teddy wandered around the sitting room until he ran into Harry, his godfather. His godfather had black hair that was wild. The hair fascinated Teddy. He always hated it when his hair needed to be brushed, but it looked like Harry never brushed his own. Teddy wondered if Daddy would let him not brush his hair, too.

“Harry!” Teddy squealed, running into the open arms. He laughed and giggled as Harry swung him around.

“You’ve grown so much, Teddy! What’s that in your hand?”

“It’s my Charmander keychain. Hanagata-san gave it to me! He’s the portkey man!”

“I see.” Harry nodded. Teddy saw a glint of happiness in the deep green eyes, and Teddy tried to change his own eyes to match that colour.

“Is it green?”

“Your eyes? Yes, they are. And your hair is now black. You’re pretty good at this.”

Teddy beamed at the compliment. He enjoyed his metamorphmagus ability. He and Harry talked until someone came near them, and Teddy saw it was a red-haired man with one ear. Teddy stopped talking, and he stared at the unknown man.

“Oh, hullo, George,” Harry said.

There was a sad look to George’s eyes, and Teddy remained silent. He was a bit frightened by George. He had never met a man with one ear, nor did he ever meet a man with such sorrowful eyes. But George was smiling. It was strange. Teddy always thought when someone was sad or happy, they were just that. Not both. He stepped back, bumping into Daddy.

“There you are, Teddy,” Daddy said. “Having fun with Harry?”

Teddy nodded, but his eyes didn’t leave George. “Yes.”

Daddy reached out and rested a hand on George’s shoulder. “This is George Weasley. He’s the owner of that joke shop I told you about. The one Harry is the sponsor of.”

“Really? He’s the owner of the WWW shop?” Teddy brightened a bit at that. Daddy had told him about the store and had promised to take Teddy there one day. But Teddy was a bit stumped. He’d imagine joke shop owners to be bright and bubbly, yet George seemed neither bright nor bubbly. But his mind wandered on, and another question popped in his head. “Are you named after Curious George?” That was the only George Teddy knew. Teddy loved those books Daddy would read to him. He’d always imagined that he was George and the man with the yellow hat was Daddy. Only, Teddy didn’t try to get into all those mishaps like George did!

George and Harry both blinked as Daddy laughed. “No,” Daddy explained. “I don’t think he’s named after that.” He turned to look at the other two. “Curious George is this character in one of his favourite Muggle book series. It’s a monkey that gets into a lot of sticky situations due to his curious nature.”

Teddy watched as George crouched down to his level. “I’m not named after a monkey, but I can act like one if you want.” Teddy giggled as George scratched his armpits and let out an “Ooh, ooh, aah, aah” sound. He then pretended to unpeel an imaginary banana and eat it. “How’s that?”

“You’re funny!” Teddy exclaimed, feeling more comfortable with him. Maybe being around George wouldn’t be as scary as he thought. He liked George’s goofy nature. “That’s not how Curious George acts, but you act like a good monkey.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t really like bananas. I prefer chocolates,” George continued.

“Me too! I like chocolates!” Teddy agreed excitedly. Aside from Daddy, he didn’t know that many people in Tokyo who liked sweets like they did. Teddy wasn’t sure why a lot of Japanese grown-ups didn’t like many sweets, but it seemed like the grown-ups in London liked it more, at least.

George reached into his pockets, and he pulled out a package of chocolate and gave it to Teddy. “Here, have some Chocolate Frogs.”

“Can I, Daddy?” Teddy asked.

Daddy nodded. “But that’s your last chocolate for the day. I don’t want you to spoil your appetite.”

Teddy took the Chocolate Frog, and he said, “Thank you!” He quickly ate the frog before it tried to escape from him, and when he finished he asked, “You own that joke shop, right? Can I see it?”

A dark look came on George’s face. It was really quick, but Teddy didn’t miss it. It was rapidly replaced with a smile, and George answered, “Yes. I’ll give you and your dad a special tour.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Woooow. This is so cool!” Teddy couldn’t keep his mouth shut as he walked up and down the aisle with Daddy and George. On the shelves he saw so many items that his eyes were crossing from trying to look everywhere. Next to each of the products were little monitors that showed the jokes’ effect on the screen. He watched one where a taco shaped treat caused someone to breathe out fire and fart really, really loudly. That was extremely funny, and Teddy found himself laughing and saying “Ewwww”.

He saw another product that transformed someone into a canary. That grabbed his attention. Although he had the ability to change his appearance, he had yet to figure out if he could transform into an animal. He looked at George hopefully and asked, “Is there one that can change someone into a Pokemon?”

“Er, a Pokeyman?” George looked bewildered.

“A Pokemon! You know, Pikachu? Charmander? Bulbasaur?”

“It’s another Muggle thing he likes,” Daddy explained, his eyes twinkling.

“Yeah!” Teddy pulled out his toy Poke Ball and showed it to George. “The Pokemon live in these things, and when I want to summon them, they come out of them!”

“Hmm.” George’s face changed into a thoughtful expression. “You know, while I probably can’t really do Pokeyman since I’ll run into some copyright issues, I can probably come up with some ideas equivalent to that.” A scheming look came on George’s face. “What do you say, Teddy. Do you want to help give me ideas?”

Teddy nodded, feeling proud that a grown-up was asking for his advice. “I’ll help!”

Again, Teddy saw a flicker of uncertainty on George’s face, but like before, it went away quickly. “Let me show you my inventing room. There’s a lot of stuff in there that goes ‘boom’, but it’s all harmless. I think you’ll like it. Especially the candy floss fireworks.”

“Okay!” Teddy couldn’t wait to see what was in the room. He was very fond of explosions.

After a long and exciting day at the shop, Teddy was tired and happy. He and Daddy came back with bags of free samples of George’s products, and Teddy couldn’t wait to try them all out. He’d wanted to try them out now, but it was bedtime. Teddy was too tired to beg to stay up longer.

Teddy snuggled comfortably into his bed; the same bed that came with him from Tokyo. The sheets were blue — his favourite colour — and his Pokemon blanket featuring the main characters covered him. When Daddy came back with a book to read, he said, “Daddy? I like George.”

“You do?”

“Yes, but why does he only got one ear?”

“Only have,” Daddy corrected. “That’s because he was in a fight with some bad wizards and witches before. One of them spelled it off of him.”

“Really? That must have been a big owie.”

“Yes, it was.”

“Daddy?” Teddy yawned. “Why does George look sad sometime?”

“Well, he lost someone important to him.”

“Like . . . ” Teddy paused, unsure if he wanted to ask about his mother and Sirius. He noticed that whenever they were mentioned, his daddy would turn sad.

Daddy nodded, giving a small sigh. “Yes, like your mother and Sirius. He lost his twin brother.”

“He’s a twin like Daisuke and Hikaru?” They were Teddy’s neighbours in Tokyo.

“Yes, just like them.”

“But George’s brother, Mummy, and Sirius are in that happy place now, right?”

“Yes, they are.” Daddy ruffled Teddy’s hair and opened up the book. “Now, let’s read a bit before you sleep.”

“Okay.” Teddy tried to stay awake for this nightly ritual. The only time they didn’t do this was when his daddy went off on his monthly business trip. Whoever stayed with him during the trip would read to him, but it wasn’t the same when his daddy read to him. He loved listening to his daddy’s soft voice reading the stories he enjoyed. His daddy was able to change his voice to fit the characters of the stories, making Teddy laugh. He called that skill “Daddy’s Voice-a-morpmagus Skill”.

Before he slept, he turned his hair into a mixture of violet and pink just like his mother’s favourite hair colours, and he thought about the shop and George. He hoped George would stop looking sad soon. He didn’t want the people he liked to be unhappy.

Teddy was supposed to be taking a nap, but he wasn’t tired. He didn’t want to take a nap. He wanted to play with his Pokemon and with George’s joke items. Quietly, after Daddy left his room, Teddy grabbed his toys and snuck out from his room. He crept downstairs, and he went into the sitting room. There, he played on the floor next to the sofa, and he quietly imagined and acted out his own Pokemon adventure. He pretended to be Ash, and he pretended to travel with Pikachu and his other friends. He and his other companions were taking a break by getting ready for camp in a forest, and he and Pikachu walked off to get some water from a nearby stream. There, he heard the running water and heard voices coming from the camp. Suddenly, Pikachu stepped on a balloon that appeared out of nowhere, and it let out a loud pop!

Teddy was startled from that noise. He was no longer in the forest. The loud popping noise he’d imagine was real, and he knew someone came over. In the kitchen, he heard three voices. Two of them were Harry — who was visiting — and Daddy. He wasn’t sure who the third voice belonged to yet. When the voices grew louder, Teddy realised that they were coming to the sitting room. He quickly gathered his toys, and he squeezed behind the sofa. As still as a mouse, he listened closely. The newcomer’s voice belonged to George.

“What brings you here?” Daddy asked.

Someone crashed onto the sofa, nearly startling Teddy out of his hiding place, but Teddy held his breath and remained still.

“I just told Ron that I wanted to close down the shop. For whatever reason, Ron yelled at me and told me to go take a walk to clear my head. I didn’t want to take a walk, so I decided to come here. I hope you don’t mind. I just needed to talk to someone who’s not family. I’m tired of my family’s nagging at times.”

Teddy’s eyes widened. George wanted to close his shop? Why? It was a wonderful shop filled with so many great stuff. Teddy didn’t want George to close it down.

“Harry,” George continued, “if it weren’t for you, Fred and I would have never opened the shop this quickly. On our behalf, I do thank you for all your support over the years, but . . . it’s already been five years, and it’s just been ruddy difficult running that shop without him.”

Fred? Was that George’s twin brother? Teddy wasn’t sure, but that was what he guessed.

“I understand, George. If you decide to close the shop, it’s your decision. I’ll support whatever you do. And it’s really nothing. I didn’t want that money,” Harry’s voice sounded heavy. Teddy wondered why grown-ups over here were always sad. The grown-ups in Tokyo weren’t like this, so why were the ones in London so depressing?

George spoke next, his voice sounding equally miserable. “I love the shop, don’t get me wrong, and I know a huge part of me will regret closing it, but . . . I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you take a break?” It was Daddy suggesting that. “Ron and Verity can run the shop for you while you take a well-deserved break. From what I’ve seen in the shop, there are enough products in stock before you have to create more. So take some time off. See if this is what you really want to do.”

“Maybe . . . ”

Teddy couldn’t help himself as he shouted, “Don’t close the shop, George!” He heard someone yelling, and he heard the sofa’s coil squeak loudly followed by a loud thud. He crawled out from his hiding place.

“Teddy!” Daddy admonished. “Why are you here? You know eavesdropping is rude!”

“I’m sorry,” Teddy automatically apologised. He saw George looking a bit dazed on the floor, and he scooted over to him. “Don’t close the store, George. I’ll miss it.”

George gave Teddy a crooked smile. “Merlin, Teddy. You were behind there the entire time? You were so quiet. I’m impressed!”

Teddy knew this trick. He knew that grown-up trick of trying to distract him. His nanny, Megumi-san, did that whenever he asked her a question. His lower lips came out, and he said again, “Don’t close the shop. I don’t want you to.”

“Teddy, I think you need to go back to your nap. And we’ll have a talk about your eavesdropping behaviour later. Go to your room.” He heard the firmness in his daddy’s voice, and he knew he’d better listen, but he still gave George a begging look with his eyes.

George shook his head. “Your puppy eyes are very convincing. I won’t close the shop yet, but I do need to think about it. Now listen to your daddy, Teddy.”

“Okay,” Teddy answered quietly. He didn’t believe that George was telling the truth, but he saw the warning look in his daddy’s eyes. He quickly gathered his toys, and he went to his room. Climbing into his bed, he grabbed his stuffed Pikachu. He whispered to it, “I hope he doesn’t close the store.”

Teddy woke up with a start. He’d been dreaming of catching Pokemon. He’d just caught a Pikachu, and it had kept saying, “Pikachu. Pika? Pika, pika, pikaaaa!” But then it began to say something new. It was now saying, “Teddy? Teddy? Wake up, Teddy.” The Pikachu’s voice sounded suspiciously like his daddy, and that was when he woke up. Daddy was sitting on his bed, and Teddy felt something inside of him twist at the stern look on his daddy’s face.

“Did you have a good nap?” Daddy asked, his voice sounding gentle despite his expression.

Teddy nodded. He wanted to talk about his dream, but he knew he was in trouble at the moment.

“You know it’s very rude to eavesdrop on people, Teddy. And you were supposed to be napping, but instead you snuck out from your room to play behind my back. I’m very disappointed in you.”

Teddy hung his head, his hair turning back into its natural, dull shade of brown. He knew what he did earlier was naughty. He hated disappointing his daddy like this. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I won’t do it again.”

Daddy smiled, and Teddy tentatively smiled back. “Good. I know you won’t.” He opened his arms, and Teddy went for the hug. He rested his head against the warm chest, listening to the steady heartbeat inside, and he felt protected by the strong arms around him. “Did you dream while you slept? You had a smile on your face when I tried to wake you.”

“Yeah!” Teddy proceeded to talk about his dream. When he was done, he asked, “Can I ask a question?”

“May I.”

“May I ask a question?” Teddy repeated. Daddy nodded, so Teddy asked, “Is George really going to close the store?”

“Teddy, it’s really none of our business on what George ends up doing. Whatever he does, we must respect his decision, but right now he’s thinking about it. So when you see him next time, don’t bother him about it.”

“I won’t.”

His daddy stood up with Teddy still in his arms, and Teddy giggled when Daddy pretended to put on a show on heavy Teddy was. “Oof. Soon, I won’t be able to carry you like this.”

“Because I’ll be a big boy?”

“Yes, now how about we go to the playground for a while. Then we’ll get some pizza for supper.”

“Yayyy!” Teddy loved going to the playground, and he loved pizza. He knew then that Daddy was no longer upset at his naughtiness.

Teddy was a bit curious on something. Lately, George was at their place a lot. Teddy didn’t mind. He liked George. He wasn’t sure whether George still planned to close the shop or not, but he didn’t ask. He remembered Daddy’s words on not pestering George about it. But he did know that George was still taking a break from the store, and it seemed like George mostly just hung around with him and Daddy.

One of the things George did with Teddy was flying. Daddy didn’t particularly enjoy that activity, so Teddy would usually go flying with Harry. But Harry was too busy with his job, so whenever Daddy was busy with his own work, something dealing with freelancing, George would take him flying. Then, when they were done, they’d stop by the Burrow, and Mrs Weasley would give him delicious cakes.

Then, in the evenings, all three of them would do something together. Sometimes Harry and all these friends of his would join them, but Teddy preferred just himself, Daddy, and George. He loved playing at the playground with them, and he made George watch Pokemon together. He was pleased that George ended up enjoying the show. In fact, they would all watch other films together. Teddy particularly enjoyed some of the Disney films.

During all of this, Teddy wondered just what Daddy and George talked about a lot. He noticed that they would sit really close to each other on the sofa, and he saw them share a secret look between them. He knew something was happening, but he wasn’t sure what. But he also noticed that Daddy seemed more relaxed and happier than before.

But Teddy was still curious and wanted to know what was not being said. He knew he was only a kid, but he was also getting to be a big boy, and he wanted to be treated like one.

Although it was Saturday, Teddy still had to take his nap. As usual, he didn’t want to, but Daddy insisted, so he listened.

He took a short nap, and he woke up. The house was quiet, and Teddy wondered if George was around like he usually was, so he quietly padded towards Daddy’s room. He noticed that the bedroom door was closed. That confused him since the door was always opened during the day.

He knocked on the door like Daddy told him to always do, and then he opened it. “Daddy . . . ? George? What are you guys doing?”

Daddy and George were on the bed. George was on top of Daddy, and he saw that their clothes were rumpled. They were also breathing rather hard. Teddy blinked at their current state, and he noticed that their faces had gone red. George’s entire head was red, reminding Teddy of a tomato.

“Oh, er, Teddy. You’re up already?” George pushed himself into a sitting position.

Teddy saw the two of them exchange looks. “We were, er, we were . . . ” Why was his daddy not able to speak? Teddy found that quite odd.

“Wrestling!” George blurted out in a strange sounding voice. “We were trying to see who’s a better wrestler between us!”

“Yes, wrestling,” Daddy agreed quickly. “And I think I’ve been beaten by George, here.”

Teddy frowned. “George beat you?” He walked closer to the bed. “Nobody beats my daddy! I’ll beat you now!” he declared and climbed onto the bed. He threw himself against George, laughing as he tried to push him down. George fell back onto bed with a loud shout, and Teddy grinned as he playfully punched him. “Bam, bam, bam! I got you!”

“Not bad,” George said. “You’re stronger than you look.”

“Of course! I eat my vegetables. It’s supposed to make me strong. Especially spinach. I want to be like Popeye!”

“Like who?”

Daddy let out a loud guffaw. “Popeye. This Muggle cartoon character.”

“Ooooh! Well, then I better eat more vegetables, too!”

“But first,” Teddy said, climbing off of him. “You got to beat me!”

“Remus! Your son is too tough for me!”

Teddy saw the proud look on Daddy’s face. “He is. He certainly is.”

“Can I play with that stuffed Pikachu when you’re done?” Sophie Jordan asked. She was Teddy’s neighbour, and was a cousin of George’s friend. Teddy was glad to have a friend his age. As much as he liked being around grown-ups, he wanted more friends his age.

Teddy handed over the stuffed Pikachu, and he said, “You know what I did yesterday?”

“What?”

“My daddy and George were wrestling, and I wrestled and beat George!”

“They were wrestling? Outside?”

“No, in Daddy’s bedroom.”

Sophie gave him an odd look. “But that’s what my mummy and daddy do alone. They never let me wrestle in the bed.”

“Really?” Teddy frowned and pursed his lips together.

“Yeah, and they also kiss together in bed, too.”

“Kiss?”

Sophie nodded. “Yeah. I caught them kissing in bed once, and they said they were wrestling and then when they finished, they decided to kiss. They told me that two grown-ups who love each other will do that. And my mummy and daddy love each other.”

“Oh. I wonder if Daddy and George were kissing, too.”

“Do they love each other?”

“I don’t know.” Teddy didn’t think too long on that. Sophie wanted to go on the trampoline, and he wanted to jump up and down, too. “I can jump higher than you!”

“Nu-uh! I can!”

Teddy grabbed her hand, and the two dashed off to the trampoline.

Later, during supper, George ate with them. Teddy watched the way they interacted, and he noticed that whenever George and Daddy looked at each other briefly, their eyes would soften, and they looked as if they spoke to each other with their eyes. Teddy remembered his conversation with Sophie, and he asked, “Daddy? Do you and George love each other?”

Their reactions amused him. Daddy spluttered and coughed on his tea. George turned very red, and he froze in his seat, as he dropped his hands on the table, leaving the fork dangling in his mouth.

Daddy managed to rasp out, “Why do you ask that?”

“I told Sophie about me catching you guys wrestling, and she asked if you guys kiss during wrestling, and she said two grown-ups who love each other only do that.”

Again, George and Daddy looked at each other. Nobody spoke, and Teddy waited forever for someone to say something.

George finally answered. “Teddy, I do like your father, and well . . . it’s a little too early to say I love him, but I think I do love him . . . ”

Teddy looked over at his daddy. “Daddy?”

His daddy nodded, but he didn’t answer right away. Another long silence passed before he cleared his throat and said, “I agree with George. I love him, too.”

Teddy accepted the answer. It was a strange answer, but then again grown-up were confusing at times, including his daddy. “So does that mean George’s going to be my new ‘daddy’?”

George chuckled. “We’re not getting married yet. We’ll wait on that, but if we do get married, yes I’ll be your new ‘daddy’.”

“So I’ll have two daddies?” When both George and Daddy nodded, Teddy felt happy by this turn of event. He didn’t mind his small family growing. But at the same time, it’d always been just him and Daddy. Daddy and him. With George being part of their family, that mean Daddy would have someone special for him. Then where would that leave Teddy? In a quiet voice he asked, “So now that Daddy and George love each other . . . will you still love me?”

His Daddy and George both left their chairs. Teddy moved in his seat to face the two who were now crouched on the floor. One of Daddy’s large hands was on his shoulder while the other smoothed his hair down. “I may have found someone to love — a grown-up kind of love — but nobody will ever replace you, Teddy. You’re my son, and if I ever have to choose between you or him, I’ll choose you. I will always love you, Teddy.”

“Just like he said, Kiddo. Your daddy here will always love you. And I will love you to.” George grinned as he continued. “I’ll choose you over him, too, because honestly you’re more fun to play with than your old man, here. At least you’re a much better flying partner than him.”

His daddy glared at George. Teddy giggled since he recognised it as a pretend glare. “I’m not old.”

George rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. I mean young man. A handsome young man. Anyway, Teddy, don’t worry. I won’t take your daddy away from you. I may play pranks and own a joke shop, but I’m not cruel, okay?”

Teddy smiled as he felt his hair become turquoise. He was embraced in a “sandwich hug”, and he knew that things would turn all right. “I love you Daddy. I love you George.”

“I’ve decided something. Something very important.” George announced.

“What, what?” Teddy asked. “Are you going to go to Tokyo?” Lately, there had been talks about George wanting to visit Tokyo, and he was hoping he could go back and visit there, too.

“I’ve decided I’m taking you both to Tokyo with me, but that’s not my news.”

“What’s the news?” Daddy asked. Teddy was surprised that even Daddy didn’t know George’s secret.

“I’m not going to close the shop.”

“Brilliant!” Teddy shouted, a phrase he’d picked up from Ron. “You’re going to keep it open? Forever and ever?”

George laughed. “As long as I live, yes, I’ll keep it open. I’ve decided that I want to keep it open in memory of my brother . . . and because of you two.”

“What did me and Daddy do?”

“Both of you brought me back happiness in my life. Before you two came, I was feeling not happy.” Teddy nodded. He remembered George looking sad before. “And you two, especially you, Teddy, reminded me why Fred and I opened up that joke shop. We wanted to spread happiness and laughter in the world, and seeing how much you love the shop and how much you love my pranks and jokes . . . I want to keep spreading that joy. With your Daddy. Who I’d like to ask to be my business partner. As the last of the Marauders, I think it’s appropriate to ask him to be my partner.”

Now his daddy looked really surprised, and Teddy thought he saw tears in his daddy’s amber-coloured eyes. “George . . . I . . . ”

“Daddy? Will you?” Teddy didn’t exactly know what a business partner or a Marauder was, but it sounded like a good idea.

Daddy shook his head a bit, and he chuckled. “Well . . . all right. Someone needs to help you with the books and the accounting, after all.”

“And giving me some critiques and suggestions on the products,” George added.

“Hooray!” Teddy cheered.

George let out his own loud joyfulness, and he lifted Teddy up in the air, twirling them until Teddy felt dizzy. “Hooray, indeed! Now, let’s go back to my shop! We have a party to throw!”

“A party?” Teddy loved the idea of having a party in a joke shop. He especially wanted those candy floss fireworks. He loved watching the item burst into brightly coloured candy floss in mid-air. “Can we blow up all your candy floss fireworks?”

“Definitely! We’ll explode everything that can be exploded in the shop until we lift the whole building up into the sky!”

Teddy beamed. He knew that wasn’t possible, but it would still be neat to see all that! He couldn’t wait to do more fun things with his daddy and his new “daddy”.

Sirius let out a sigh and kicked the chair in front of him. “Damn the Wizarding and the Muggle world!” He paced around the sitting room of the flat he shared with his lover, Remus. “Them and their damned homophobic views!”

Remus, who was sitting in an armchair, rubbed his own forehead. “Sirius, calm down. There is nothing we can do about it. If we cannot legalise our relationship, then we just have to let it go.”

“But Remus!” Sirius wailed in frustration. “I wanna get married to you! I love you!”

“So do I, Sirius, but no can do.”

Harry, Sirius’ godson, looked up from the couch he was sharing with Hermione. “This really isn’t fair. You two contributed so much to the Order and the war against Voldemort.” He let out a sigh. “There must be a way.”

Harry stood up and went to the front of the fireplace, studying the pictures that were hung above there. He looked and smiled. One of them portrayed the Marauders with Lily; all of them looked happy and carefree. Harry frowned as he noticed that something was missing. Peter was missing. He looked closer and saw that the place where Peter used to be was replaced with a stuffed pink bunny. He sniggered to himself knowing that Sirius had hexed it there.

Harry looked around the room. Hermione was bent over on the couch with a huge book in her lap. Ron, who had been standing behind his girlfriend, took Harry’s spot on the couch. “Hermione, can’t you ever stop reading for once?”

“Hush, Ron.” She glanced up at her lover and smiled. “I am trying to see if there is a way to bypass those stupid laws which are just wholly unjust.”

“Hermione, give it up.” Sirius breathed out in resignation. “Remus already looked, and there is no way to bypass it.”

Hermione stood up and glared. “Well, you never know. You said it yourself during the war that I was the best researcher the Order ever had, so I’m putting the same use into this situation, and it is all for you and Remus.”

“That’s not what I meant, Hermione,” said Sirius, trying to amend the comment he made previously.

“Okay. Understood.” Her glare lessened a bit. “However, I will continue my research at home.” She nodded to Ron. “Come on. We are leaving.”

Ron groaned. “That means no sex for the next few weeks until she gets to the bottom of this.”

“With that comment, make that a few months, Ronald Weasley!” Hermione Apparated away.

Ron grumbled under his breath, “Exaggerator.” He nodded his goodbyes to the other three and disappeared as well.

Harry smiled as his best friend left the usual way. “Those two are unbelievable.”

Remus chuckled. “Yeah. From the sitcoms I’ve seen, those two will be perfect.” Remus was born into a family of half and half. His father a Wizard and his mother a Muggle, Remus had the privilege of growing up in both realms. He respected both worlds, but at times like this, he hated both.

He glanced at his lover. Sirius, who grew up in a Wizarding world, had a fascination for the Muggle world. Because of growing up in a Pureblood family, he rather disliked the Wizarding world and preferred to be in the Muggle one. However, once he found out that the Muggles were just as homophobic as the former, he was crushed.

Harry stretched and hugged Sirius. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Hermione will find a way to go around the damned laws.” He embraced Remus as well. “In the meantime though, I have to go.”

Remus smiled gently. “Got a date?”

“Yeah I do.”

Scowling, Sirius stared at the wall in front of him. “With that ‘greasy bastard’, I’m guessing.”

“Oh, Sirius.” Harry laughed. “You will never change and neither will he. Like when I said I was going to see you, he said ‘With the dirty old mutt, I presume’.”

Remus stifled a laugh as Sirius’ scowled deepened. With a wave, Harry left.

“Damned Snape,” grumbled Sirius.

Remus walked over and kissed the back of his lover’s neck while his arms wrapped around the firm body. “Don’t let that get to you, love.”

“What if I do?”

“Then no sex for the next few weeks,” Remus deadpanned.

“You wouldn’t, and what is with all this ‘no sex’ crap?” exclaimed Sirius, his face paling. “Plus you’re hornier than I am!”

“But I have a stronger willpower.” Remus swatted his arse and walked away.

“You’re going to get it!” Sirius chased after his lover, all the way to their room. Upon reaching there, Sirius pounced on Remus, causing both of them to fall on their bed. Sirius started tickling the nimble body beneath him.

“Sirius!” Remus gasped out, laughing at the same time. “Stop!”

Amused, Sirius let go and nuzzled the neck. Slowly, he started to kiss and suck the soft skin. He felt Remus’ arms going around him, and they tightened their hold on him. “Love you, Sirius.”

Looking up at his lover’s face, he bent down to kiss the supple, inviting lips. “Love you too.”

“I’ve found a solution,” said Hermione, with a huge smile on her face.

A week had passed since the small gathering. Everyone else was back, with the addition of Severus, who had come because of Harry’s pleading. They were all in the sitting room and lounging around when Hermione bought up the subject of marriage.

“It’s bloody brilliant, in my own opinion,” stated Ron with a serious expression. “And I think it’ll work out as well.” Ron and Hermione were both sharing the couch again, and Hermione’s lap was free of books this time.

Harry grinned widely and took Severus’ hand. They were both standing, leaning against the wall. “Well don’t keep us all in suspense! Do tell.”

“Well,” Hermione began. “Basically what we need to do is have those two separate. Then the man of the relationship will pretend to be going out with a new woman, but instead, that woman will be Remus or Sirius. Whoever decides to be a woman will be glamorised, and he will be posing as a woman for the next few months in public to show that Sirius or Remus has a new lover. The two of them will get married as a heterosexual couple, and once the Ministry finds out the truth, they have no say in it whatsoever. The only way the marriage can be cancelled by any method is for them to have a divorce. Of course, there is the issue where Remus will be known as something else on the marriage certificate, but we can work that out later.”

Everyone stared at Hermione, except for Ron and Severus, with their mouth opened. The silence was deafening. Hermione and Ron became uncomfortable by the quietness of the situation and had worried looks on their face.

“Sirius? Remus? Are you all okay with this?” Hermione asked, wringing her hands together.

Sirius spoke up first. “As strange as the idea is, I think this will work!”

Harry started laughing. “This is absurd!” His laughter dimmed and from the way his shoulders were shaking, it was not over. “It will work!”

“And I think –” Sirius started walking around the room, waving his arms around excitedly. “–that Remus should be the bride.” He turned to look at his mate. “Don’t you think so, Remus?”

Everyone turned to look at Remus. He was sitting in an armchair with a blank expression on his face. Slowly, he turned to glare at Sirius. He stood up swiftly and walked to the bedroom and slammed the door ceremoniously. Everyone gawked at the scene that just happened except for Severus, who snorted and muttered, “Figured.”

All the stares went straight to Severus with a questioning look. He ignored them and asked a bored, “What? As if you all couldn’t tell why he got annoyed.”

“Then enlighten us,” said Harry, wasting no time, not wanting to deal with another row between his lover and his godfather.

The Potion Master rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. “Dumb Gryffindors . . . why do I let myself suffer so . . . ”

Before Sirius could comment, Severus went on. “Are you blind, Black? It is plain to see that Lupin did not like being referred to as the ‘woman’ of the relationship. You quickly assumed that he would be the one to dress up in a bridal gown and be the one to prepare to look like a lady for a day. Have you not thought that you might have been the one to be in that role instead?”

As realisation dawned on the rest of the group, Severus went on in his lecturing voice. “Also considering the fact that Lupin is a werewolf and I’m guessing he’s an alpha, the alpha in him probably reacted strongly to the assumption of being something lesser. But no, Black. You forgot about who he was and decided to automatically place him as the female role. Thinking before acting obviously does not work for you at all.”

Sirius glowered at his nemesis. “Okay, maybe for a change you’re right. I’ll go talk to him and see what he wants.”

Hermione nodded. “That’s for the best. You guys have plenty of time, so go talk about it.” She stood and pulled her boyfriend along. “In fact, we are leaving now.”

Ron blinked. “We are?”

“Yes, Ron, we are.” Without another word, the two Apparated out of sight.

Harry clasped his godfather comfortingly. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Remus will understand.” He smiled. “I’ll see you later.”

The last remaining couple Apparated; Severus did so without saying anything else to Sirius. Sirius frowned at the spot where Severus was remaining a few seconds before.

He turned towards the bedroom and started to walk there, wondering if Remus was really that mad, and if he was, that meant no sex tonight. At that knowledge, Sirius groaned.

Sirius knocked on the room and received no answer. He decided to enter anyway. He looked around the small, but cosy bedroom. There was a small fireplace right across from the foot of the bed. It wasn’t lit at the moment. The weather was too warm for a fire to be burning in a hearth. The huge four-poster bed, decorated in red and gold, Gryffindor colours, was made neatly. Remus was sitting in front of the window, which was situated on the left of the bed. The window had a padded window seat, and Remus sat there, looking outside at the bustling, busy streets of London.

Sirius smiled to himself and thought that Remus looked so ravishingly fuckable just sitting there. His smile disappeared as he looked closely at his lover. A frown was etched on Remus’ face, and Sirius remembered that he had to confront him.

He walked up slowly to him, the footsteps echoing in the silent room. “Remus? Can I join you?”

Automatically, Remus answered, “It is ‘may’, not ‘can’. And yes you may join me.”

Making a face, Sirius bit back his retort. “Okay, Professor.” He sat next to his lover on the window seat and stared downward. Next to him, Remus stiffened. Sirius paid attention to a lover’s quarrel below.

“Why can’t I get a job?” screamed the woman.

“Because, I expect anyone that’s going to be my wife to stay home and take care of the house!” The man growled out.

The woman recoiled as if she had been slapped. “I respect your views, but honestly that is so fucking old fashioned! It’s bollocks if you think women nowadays are going to be satisfied with being good housewives!”

Sirius looked back up to Remus. “Blimey. Is that how you felt when I suggested you to be the bride?”

Remus rose up and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed in front of him. “Pretty much. But I should not have overreacted.”

“No. You’ve had every right to do so. I shouldn’t have jumped to a conclusion about you taking the female role so quickly.” Sirius stood up and went to hug his mate. “I’m sorry, Remus.”

Remus snuggled into Sirius neck and stayed there comfortably. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”

Sirius kissed the top of Remus’ head and deeply breathed in the aroma called Remus. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” Remus reached and planted a gentle kiss on the lips of his lover in which he started to tease. Sirius groaned and deepened the kiss. The two tongues were fighting for domination until Sirius finally gave in, and Remus took over. He slowly manoeuvred them toward the bed, and Sirius fell back on it with Remus on top. As Remus explored the sweet cavern, his hands slipped under the shirt and started their adventure of roaming over Sirius’ torso.

Sirius forced himself to come to sense and stopped the kiss. “Remus? So what are we gonna to do about the dress thing . . . ?”

“Shh.” Remus went back to kissing his mate beneath him. “Worry about that later . . . I . . . just . . . want . . . you . . . now.”

“Yes,” groaned Sirius. “Later.”

Remus shushed him with another kiss. “Quit talking. Did anyone ever tell you that you talk too much during sex?”

Grinning, Sirius replied back, “So do you.” He wrapped his arms tighter around the lithe body on top of his and started kissing his lover’s neck. “But talking’s good.”

“So how are we doing this, Hermione?” asked Remus.

Everyone was gathered at the flat again later on in the week. After the make up sex, Sirius and Remus talked about the subject amongst themselves. Sirius had offered to be the woman of the two, but Remus said he would do it. He said that after thinking about it to himself, he couldn’t ever see Sirius as a female. Sirius was taller and buffer compared to Remus, who was shorter with a figure that was slender and lithe.

The catch was that Sirius was not to expect Remus to take the role further after the wedding, or he’d be in trouble. Sirius agreed.

Hermione still doubted Remus’ decision and therefore explained the process tentatively.

“Well, I read up on glamour spells, and there are ways to change one’s appearance with it. Sirius can cast it since the spells are similar to Transfiguration in nature. For at least the next few months, whenever you are in public, Remus, have Sirius enchant you as a woman, and Severus offered to make a potion that will make your voice become higher. You will not feel anything of the glamour, such as you would not feel the long hair, make up, or etcetera. The only thing you will feel is the clothes. You just have to wear female clothes along with your glamour. That is basically it. And I know I said before that you are to only look like a woman for one day, but the few times you go out in public, will be more convincing if you were a woman. Not to mention, you will know how it feels by the time you get married. Oh, yes, and the person who cast the spell is the only one who can undo it.”

Incredulously, Sirius asked, “Snape offered? Since when does he offer anything?”

“I would be careful on what you say, Black, or otherwise good luck in finding some other potion brewer to concoct the voice potion without them becoming too curious and suspicious.” Severus looked up with his classroom glare. “Do not abuse my current act of goodwill.”

Wisely, Sirius didn’t say anything, but he certainly grumbled!

“So shall we try the glamour spell out?” Hermione asked.

Sirius nodded, and she proceeded to tell him the list of spells.

“Damn, Hermione. How many are there?”

“Well . . . there is one for the facial structures in which you get rid of Remus’ facial hair and then change other parts of the face to your liking. Also, that same spell can change his eye colour and hair colour. Then there is one for the hair, to make it longer. Another to get rid of the excess body hair on the arms, legs, and chest. Finally, we have the one to change the body structure, in which he takes a more curvy shape of the woman and get breasts. And then of course it renders changes down in the crotch area.”

Sirius gawked at her and so did Remus.

“Oh, please,” said Hermione, rolling her eyes. “Sirius, you are the Transfiguration expert, so after doing this a couple time, it will become easier as you go along.”

Determinedly, he turned to Remus. “Well, love, what do you want to look like?”

Everyone turned to look at Remus. They were all curious to how he wanted to look like as a woman.

“You choose for me, Sirius.”

“Remus,” Sirius gave an exasperated sigh. “You’re the one who’s turning into a woman for at least the next couple months, so you tell me how you want to look.”

Remus sighed as well. “Sirius. You are going to be the one casting the spell on me. If I described every single detail I’d want as a woman, it’s going to drive you nuts, and you are going to forget minor details along the way, and I will end up looking different every time. So to make this easier on both of us, I suggest you create an image of me and stick with it.”

Everyone was silent as Remus’ explanation sunk in his or her minds.

“He does have a point,” Hermione agreed. “So Sirius, do you have a mental image of Remus as a woman?”

“I do, believe it or not.”

“Then cast the spells.”

With a deep breath, Sirius flicked his wand and said the incantations. Everyone watched Remus slowly changed.

First noticeable change was that his shaggy hair grew longer and reached the middle of his back. The hair was slightly wavy and the colour changed from light brown to medium brown. The excessive hairs on his arms, legs, chest, and face disappeared, just to be replaced by smooth, pale skin. The amber eyes became green, not as bright as Harry’s, but just as vivid. There were dimples in his cheek, and his nose shrunk in size a bit to fit his newly shaped face. His height remained the same, but the build took more of the female curves than the hard, masculine look before. Even the fingers looked softer and more feminine than the strong male hands. His broad shoulders became slighter. Finally his breasts were formed. They were not too flat or huge but were normal sized.

Sirius put his wand down and studied his lover in front of him. Before the glamour process, Remus was wearing a tee shirt and shorts. Now his shirt neatly came off his shoulders. Remus had to hold up his shorts to prevent it from falling. He was blushing deeply as everyone stared at him again.

Harry swallowed. “Blimey, if I didn’t know that was Remus, and if I wasn’t gay, I’d definitely hit on you. That is if I wasn’t taken as well.” He amended quickly after glancing at Severus. “Remus you look like Kate Winslet.”

“No, I say you look more like Nicole Kidman,” said Hermione, studying him critically.

Sirius laughed sheepishly. “Actually, I was aiming more for Julia Roberts . . . ”

Remus went to the nearest mirror and stared at his reflection.

“Sirius, if you were aiming for Julia Roberts, your aim is very off. I feel like Helen Hunt with dark hair,” he deadpanned.

Severus stepped up and handed him a vial. “This is the voice changing potion. The effects will last about three hours. So if time runs out and you got no extras, then keep your mouth shut.”

“Thank you, Severus.” Remus took the cap off the vial and drank. “Yuck. Tastes almost as bad as the Wolfsbane potion.”

After about a minute, Remus spoke again. “How do I sound?” His low tenor was replaced with a very high alto. Remus winced.

“Well, it sounds more girly that’s for sure.” Hermione looked at his clothes. “Let us go shopping now, Remus.”

Before Remus started protesting, Hermione butted in. “Relax. We are just buying a few blouses, couple of slacks and skirts, with shoes, and undergarments. Just the work. In fact, this can be our first outing!” She glanced at Remus’ bra-less chest. “Wear a jacket. It is a bit chilly.” It was late spring, but the weather decided to be a bit wet and clammy that particular day.

Remus went to the bedroom and grabbed a jacket and changed into a pair of jeans that was now big for him. He snatched one of Sirius’ belts and buckled himself snugly. “I’m ready to go.”

Hermione linked an arm into Remus’ and smiled. “Oh, yes, what are we going to call you now?”

“Linda?” suggested Ron.

“Ann?” Harry piped in.

Sirius looked into his lover’s eyes. “How about Vivian?”

“First you intend Lupin to look like Julia Roberts, and now you take one of her character and name him that? How original can you get, Black?” drawled Severus. Nobody was stupid enough to ask how Severus knew about “Pretty Woman.”

“I think it will work,” Remus smoothly interrupted. “Let’s go, Hermione. Let’s go shopping. Maybe I’ll finally understand you ladies’ love for such excursions.”

“Yes, Vivian, let’s leave the ‘men’ alone to their business. And we shall come back and show them the real ‘Vivian’.” The two of them Apparated away and left the others behind.

The remaining men looked at each other.

“Chess anyone?” Ron pulled out his portable chessboard and glanced at someone hopefully.

Severus thought to himself. The idea of socialising with Sirius left him feeling disgusted, so he decided to play chess. Besides, he wanted to defeat a Weasley and prove their incompetence. “I’ll play you, Weasley.”

Harry took this opportunity to start a game of Exploding Snap with Sirius, and the four spent the next few hours amusing themselves.

After a long day of shopping, Remus realised why men like him avoided such activity. How in Godric’s name women lived on this was a mystery to him. He was tired; his feet and his arms were sore from walking from stores to stores and from carrying the purchases.

Hermione made him try on item after item. He went into the dressing room, and he hated it. The cramped space bought him back memories of being locked up in a cage during his change when he was younger. However, he had no choice, so he had to endure the small area or face changing in front of other people. He never considered himself an exhibitionist except to his lover.

“‘The work’, eh? Seems more like a whole new wardrobe,” he muttered to himself when he was in the dressing room trying on underwear.

He did not like it when Hermione was looking at his glamorised breasts. Even though Hermione hadn’t meant the action to be a sexual one, he now knew how some women felt when men were ogling their breasts. After trying on couple bras, Hermione had declared that he was a 34 C.

Remus was grateful that he didn’t have to learn how to apply makeup. Wearing the clothes was good enough, or maybe bad enough for him. But nevertheless, he was still thankful.

After five hours of shopping, they came back to the flat. Everyone’s mouth, including Severus’, dropped open.

“Holy shite, Hermione. What’d you do?” Ron managed to ask, barely moving his mouth.

Everyone’s eyes were on Remus’ form. He was wearing blue jean flairs that made his legs seem longer. He had on top a white peasant shirt, and it was revealing the top part of his chest. He had on shoes with no heels. Remus had drawn the line about wearing shoes with heels. He said he was not going to learn how to walk in those while he was a female. Hermione reluctantly agreed.

Sirius walked up to his mate with an undecipherable look on his face. He took Remus’ face in his hand and looked into his eyes. “You look beautiful. If you were a real woman and I wasn’t gay, I’d go after you in a heartbeat.”

Blushing, Remus was too tongue-tied to say anything.

Harry shook himself out of his reverie. “Well . . . Hermione. You certainly know how to dress anyone up.” Everyone except for Severus nodded to Harry’s assessment.

“Yes. I have to agree with Harry on this sudden turn of event. I reckon.” Severus stood up from where he was sitting. “Harry, we should leave now.” He turned to Remus. “I’ll owl you more voice changing potion later.”

Harry said his goodbyes and Apparated with Severus. Ron and Hermione left as well, not before reminding Remus to go out in public with Sirius often so people know that Sirius and Remus “broke up”.

After they left, Remus talked. “Damn it feels weird to hear my voice as a man when I look like a woman.”

Laughing, Sirius said, “I still like your original body better.”

“If you do, take this glamour off, please?”

“Will do.” Sirius smirked. “How about changing out of the clothes first. Wouldn’t want them to get ripped after just buying them.”

Remus nodded and picked up the packages and walked toward the bedroom. When he noticed Sirius was not following him, he stopped and turned around. “Sirius, I am not going to become butt naked here. I am not that much of an exhibitionist.”

“Aw, Remus. No one is here.”

“Then you will sleep out here tonight since you seem to like this place so much,” Remus deadpanned.

Sirius pouted very cutely and walked behind Remus. Upon entering their room, Sirius closed the door and turned around. He saw Remus throwing the packages on the floor and quickly took off his clothes. Sirius pulled out his wand and said “Finite Incantatem”.

Remus got his normal body back and sighed in relief. “I think this is a bad idea.”

“But it’s the only way . . . unless you want me to do it.”

“No,” said Remus, shaking his head. “I said I will do it, and I will stick with it.”

Sirius crossed the short distance and wrapped his arms around Remus’ nude body. “I love you so much, Remus.”

“So do I,” Remus replied, hugging him back. “Now, though . . . I think you should take some clothes off as well. You have an unfair advantage of me.” He smirked and started to lift up Sirius’ tee shirt.

Sirius raised his arms up so Remus could take the shirt of easily. Sirius was about to unzip his jean when Remus attacked his mouth. Good thing Sirius was standing by the bed, or he would have fallen straight to the floor. His back hit the bed, and he started to kiss back.

Sirius pushed Remus back gently and said, “Make love to me, Remus.”

Remus groaned a yes and started to kiss Sirius’ neck. He nibbled and sucked gently. Sirius moaned at the attention he was getting. Remus stopped and looked down. “Of course I will. Just don’t talk.” He went back to ravishing his lover and made love to him.

“I hardly think this was a good idea to come to Hogsmeade . . . ” Remus looked around nervously. He was in one of his new outfit he bought with Hermione. Sirius and Remus decided to do their first outing at the Three Broomsticks on a Saturday.

Sirius glanced incredulously at Remus. “But Re–, I mean Vivian, you wanted to come here. You said you wanted some butterbeer!”

“Yeah, but I am nervous.”

Three weeks had passed for the two men. They figured that three weeks was good enough to make everything seem as if Sirius and Remus had broken up, and Sirius found a new lover. Remus’ exact words were “You have a reputation that you kept at school as a studboy before you and I got together, so it is not going to be too much of a surprise when people see you with a new a lover. Three weeks should do it.” They even planned a public argument at the Leaky Cauldron. Remus pretended to be really mad and said that he was going to go to Scotland until Sirius mended his ways and said that they were through. The people at the Leaky Cauldron were so shocked to see two of their war heroes being split up that the rumour mill went around fast.

“Don’t be. I’m with you,” Sirius took Remus’ hand and walked into the Three Broomsticks. “Hey, Rosmerta!”

Rosmerta turned around and looked at Sirius with an amazed expression. “Sirius, so good to see you once more, and . . . ” she trailed off. “Where’s Remus?”

“We split up.” Sirius answered hastily. “But here, I’d like you to meet Vivian.” Sirius smiled and indicated the woman next to him. “Vivian, this is Rosmerta. She’s the owner of the Three Broomsticks.”

Rosmerta gave “Vivian” a guarded look. “Pleased to meet you.” She turned and looked at Sirius. “So the rumours were true? I couldn’t believe them at all. But now . . . it looks like I am seeing them for myself.”

Remus felt bad for deceiving Rosmerta, but he knew this was needed. “Enjoy your stay here, gentl — I mean, Sirius and Vivian.” She walked away.

Sirius grinned and led them to an empty table. “What do you want to drink?”

“Get me a . . . ” Remus hesitated, ” . . . a butterbeer.”

Sirius walked up to the bar and ordered their drinks. Remus looked around and saw Minerva walking past him, giving him a suspicious look. He almost called out to her and remembered that he was supposed to be “Vivian”, not Remus. Sirius came back a few minutes later, carrying their drinks. He handed Remus the butterbeer and drank his own.

“So how do you like this place?” Sirius asked, trying to start a conversation.

Remus remembered to have an accent since “Vivian” was not from England. “Very nice. This place is cosier than the place I went to near Beauxbatons.” Remus forced a smile and put his hand on Sirius’ arm. “So this the infamous place I have heard so much about where you went as a student.”

Sirius grinned happily. “Yes. All the memories, good or bad, resides around this area the most.”

Remus secretly agreed to himself and was about to say something when a cheery voice interrupted.

“Well, well, who do we have here? Sirius? And who is this lovely lady next to you?” Albus Dumbledore with his benign smile, walked over to the couple.

Sirius choked on his drink and looked up at the revered wizard. “Oh, Albus, it’s you.” He and Remus stood up quickly.

“Albus, I’d like you to meet the new love of my life, Vivian. And Vivian, this is Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. I’ve told you all about him a lot.”

Eyes twinkling, Albus took Remus’ hand and brought it up to his lips. “Pleased to meet such a lovely lady.”

“Pleased to meet you too, Professor Dumbledore,” said Remus.

“Well, Sirius, my boy, I must return back to Hogwarts. I do wish you and Miss Vivian here lots of luck. I do hope your plans all work out.” Humming, Albus walked out.

Remus leaned over to Sirius, “Let’s leave. I’m tired.”

Sirius nodded, and they both Apparated to their flat. Remus sat down on the couch noisily and sighed. “I think Albus suspects.”

“Oh great . . . ”

“Yes. Nothing ever gets passed that man. I don’t think he will tell anyone though. In fact, knowing him, he probably thinks our plan is very hilarious.”

“It is ingenious,” said Sirius, grinning madly. “I mean after all, it’s like we are acting in a play and succeeding.”

“I cannot wait till this is over. I do not like this, but such sacrifices must be made.” Remus sighed and started to take off his clothes. “I do not enjoy being a woman. No I do not.”

Sirius smiled and began to help. “I know, Remus. But it’ll be over soon before you know it and then after all this is done, you are gonna wish you were still a woman.”

Dryly, Remus said, “Sure. When Lord Voldemort dresses in a pink tutu and dances to the Swan Lake music, then that will happen.”

The next few weeks were either heaven or hell for Remus. He went out in public with Sirius often to prove that Sirius and “Vivian” were going out and are in love. Most of the other wizards and witches were getting used to seeing Sirius without Remus. Remus would come out as himself once in a while to prove that. Others had seen him with another woman, a friend of Hermione’s. The woman was an advocate for werewolves’ rights, so those two were seen together frequently.

After those few weeks, Sirius and Remus finally decided that it was time to propose to “Vivian”. Sirius dragged Hermione with him to the jewellery store saying he needed help with this ring-buying thing. Hermione agreed and came.

“How about that one?” Sirius pointed at a lovely platinum ring that had sapphires around the diamonds.

Hermione glanced at it quickly and answered, “Sure. If you are willing to pay an arm and a leg.”

That had been the tenth ring Hermione shrugged off at. Sirius was getting a bit frustrated. The previous rings were too feminine, too gold, too silver, or too this and that.

“Well, then you choose!” Sirius threw his hands up in the air in defeat. “What would you suggest?”

“Get a simple platinum band.”

“Hermione. Have you forgotten this is for a woman?”

“No, I have not forgotten, Sirius. Just choose a simple band for now Rowena’s sake!”

Sirius chose a simple platinum ring and asked for the price. The ring wasn’t too cheap or expensive. Sirius paid for it, and got it in a lovely box, with a strange look from the saleswoman of the store. But wisely, she didn’t say anything. Hermione stepped out of the store with satisfaction.

“Let’s go to my flat. It’s not very far from here.” Hermione started to walk down the street with Sirius following her.

As soon as they reached the flat, Sirius turned to her. “So what’s the deal?”

“Sirius. Sometimes I think your obsession with Muggles are making you forget you’re a wizard,” said Hermione turning on the lights with a flick of her wand. “We can charm not only for it to fit whoever’s wearing it, but charm it so it looks like a woman’s wedding ring.”

“Oh . . . ” Sirius blushed. “I knew that.”

Hermione asked for the box that held the ring and opened it. She said the incantation that charmed the ring to fit on anyone’s finger and made it look more feminine. She handed it back to Sirius.

“Beautiful . . . at times like this it’s a shame Remus is not a woman,” Sirius laughed out a loud. “Thanks a lot, Hermione.”

She smiled. “Now shoo. You have a dinner date to keep and have proposing to do!”

Laughing Sirius Apparated to his and Remus’ flat.

Remus was not comfortable. Hermione had talked him into wearing heels. They were low heels, but he still did not like them period. At least they aren’t too difficult to walk in. Today was a big day, so Remus had to dress up. Unfortunately, he had to dress up as a woman. Hermione had made reservations at a nice Muggle restaurant, saying that this was like a five-star restaurant for Sirius to propose in. So they both had to be on the formal side.

Sirius was wearing black slacks with a white button down shirt with a black jacket over it. Remus thought Sirius had it easier, while he had to wear some kind of cocktail dress, as Hermione called it, with painful open-toed shoes with heels. He admitted he looked nice, but considered this dress not for comfort. Hermione chose a black dress saying it went with everything and matched his date. Remus dutifully followed along and wished he hadn’t now. He came to a conclusion: Women definitely did not have it easier than men.

“How’s the food?” Sirius asked, breaking Remus’ deep concentration.

Remus smiled. “The food is delicious.” That was the only good thing in this entire ordeal.

“Yeah. Hermione said this place really got great food.” Sirius grinned. “And a good wine selection!”

“You and your obsession for alcohol.” Remus laughed and shook his head. “You are so predictable, in a delightful way.”

Sirius sheepishly raised his glass and said, “Cheers.”

Remus followed along. Sirius got a solemn expression on his face, and Remus knew what was coming next.

Sirius got up and kneeled down next to Remus. He dug through his pockets and pulled out a box, he opened it and there in the middle was a beautiful ring. An enchanted ring but a ring nonetheless. He raised the box and started on his speech.

“Vivian, we haven’t known each other as long as we should know, but I feel like we’ve known each other for a long time. I love you very much. Love you more than life can take. Vivian, will you marry me?”

Blushing, Remus actually thought this was a sentimental moment, and tears came to his eyes. “Oh, Sirius, yes!”

Remus raised Sirius up from the ground and kissed him fully on the lips. Parting, he said, “I love you, Sirius Black.”

Taking the ring out of the box, Sirius gently slipped it on Remus’ finger. They looked at each other in the eyes, and it seemed like time had stopped for both of them. Despite all the troubles Remus went through, and yet more troubles were coming, he knew all this was worth “marrying” Sirius Black.

Sirius broke the moment by saying, “Now for the wedding plans.” Remus silently groaned at the assessment and nodded.

A couple weeks later, Sirius and Remus invited everyone who were in the plot and were lounging in the sitting room once again.

Remus was his usual self. The only visible feminine object on Remus was the ring. It looked odd, but once the ordeal was done with, the ring would return to its original ambiguous form. They were here to discuss what was supposed to happen now.

“So now what?” Ron asked the obvious.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “I always forget how dense he can be. Ron, the most apparent thing to do now is for them to get married.”

“I know that, Hermione. What I mean is what’s happening next? Like what’s the next step?”

Hermione smiled widely, which gave Remus bad feelings. “Outfit shopping!”

All the men turned and gawked at her, except for Severus who glowered in the side. “Huh?”

“We can dress them up in Muggle or Wizarding style. Which would you prefer, Remus? Sirius?” Hermione jumped ahead.

The two in question looked at each other. “Er . . . ” Sirius rubbed the back of his head. “Not sure. What would you suggest, Herm?”

“Oh for . . . ” Hermione rolled her eyes. “Whichever you choose, it won’t matter because you are going to have to have the Minister of Magic there to verify.”

“Damn, Fudge,” Sirius muttered under his breath. “I’m surprised he’s still in there.”

“Yes, yes.” She waved her hands impatiently. “Hopefully he’ll be sacked one day, but it doesn’t look like any time soon. Let’s just deal with him for a few minutes while he gives you his blessing or whatever.”

“Sirius?” Remus turned to his lover. “What do you prefer? Muggles or Wizarding?”

Sirius pondered for a minute before he answered. “Wizarding. All you have to do is wear a robe, and the robes are not gender-specific.”

“Smart answer considering that if we go with the plan, changing Remus back to his original form would be problematic if he was wearing those wedding gowns.” Severus drawled from where he stood.

“I didn’t ask for your comments, Snape!” Sirius snapped.

“I think Wizarding style will be good,” Remus said, wanting to avoid any confrontations. “Besides, I am tired of wearing all these feminine clothes.”

Harry and Ron both laughed while Hermione covered her smile with her hand.

“I don’t blame you, Remus. It must be uncomfortable to say the least,” Ron said between his laughter.

“Anyway, all we have to do now is purchase the robes. The one Remus will wear will be baggier, so that after the transformations, he’ll be comfortable.” Hermione clapped her hands, happy that the plan was going so well. “So, ‘Vivian’, let’s go shopping.”

Remus groaned, while everyone minus Severus sniggered. He then sighed, wanting this to be over with.

Sirius and Remus waited in a room at the Ministry along with Harry, Severus, Ron and Hermione who were going to be their witnesses. Remus was posing as “Vivian” again. Only this time, he wore a generic white robe. Hermione had helped choose the robe, and even if it was a generic kind, it still had a soft, feminine approach to it. After purchasing the robe, they made sure it would fit him even after he transformed back to his original form.

While Remus wore a white one, Sirius wore a navy-blue one. Hermione chose that colour on purpose for it brought out the blue colour of Sirius’ eyes. Remus secretly agreed on that. And he was thankful to Hermione and everyone involved with the plan. Now he and Sirius could legally be married. Even if it was taking a long time.

“What’s taking so long? Do the Ministry honestly believe that we want to spend our lives in this room?” Sirius grumbled. “How long does it take for someone like Fudge to say the legal stuff, the couples to sign the documents, and poof, they are done?”

“Sirius,” Remus inwardly grimaced at the high sound of his own voice. “Be patient. They will soon call all of us in.”

“Yes, Sirius. A lot of couples are opting for this style of marriage instead of the old-fashioned ones at the churches. Going to see the Minister of Magic, getting his approval on the legal documents is a lot cheaper than the older ways. Saves a lot of the couples’ money, so I’m sure there are a lot of them ahead of us.” Hermione said, trying to rationalise Sirius’ edginess

Ron jumped up from his chair when he saw that the door was being opened. A Ministry official entered and said, “Sirius? Vivian? Minister Fudge is ready for you now.”

Everyone stood up. On the outside, everyone except Severus looked happy, but inside, they were nervous, worried that the plans wouldn’t go through. Sirius grabbed Remus’ hand and held onto it with his life as they walked stiffly through the hallway to Fudge’s office.

They all soon entered the office, and Fudge stood up from his desk. “Ah, Sirius Black is finally getting married to . . . ” he glanced at the documents, “Vivian. I’m sure you two will be happy together.”

Sirius nodded.

“Shall we carry on with the procedure?” Fudge didn’t wait for any answers as he went on with the legal oath that would bind the two together. After he completed the oath, he pushed forward the document. “Sign here, and then give your bride the ring.”

Sirius signed first. Then Remus did so as well, feeling uncomfortable using a name that wasn’t his. The documents were then signed by the others as proof of witnesses.

“I now can call you two husband and wife.” Fudge clapped his hands. “Now the rings.”

Sirius gently slipped the ring on Remus’ finger. The two shared a poignant kiss. As soon as they separated, Hermione stepped forward and handed Fudge the name-changing certificate. “Minister, sir, Vivian here wants to change her name to something else, and we need your signature here.”

“Ah, not a problem, my dear.” Without looking at the entire form, he signed his name. Then he looked at it closely. “Remus Lupin?”

“That would be correct.” As soon as Sirius said that, he took out his wand and undid the glamorising spells. Remus went back to his original body.

Fudge stared at them in shock, his mouth wide opened. “How, how . . . what in Merlin?!”

“You see, Minister,” Hermione continued, acting as a spokesperson for the group. “We do realise that same-sex marriage is not allowed in the Wizarding world, but we did find a loophole through it. And this was it. Remus here pretended to be a woman just so he could marry his true love. Once that’s done, all we had left was to change Sirius’ bride’s name to Remus Lupin.”

Fudge went red in his entire face. “You cannot do that! It’s not allowed at all!”

“Ah, on the contrary, Minister,” Severus said in his quiet, dangerous voice, making the Minister shrink back down in fear. “It is done, and the only way to cancel out the marriage is if these two ever want to separate. At the moment, the Ministry has no say on it.”

Sirius at that point grabbed the name-changing certificate off of Fudge’s desk, and Remus clutched the marriage certificate tightly in his hands. They all sighed in relief, especially Remus, as they walked out of the office, leaving behind an irate Fudge.

Before they closed the door, they heard Fudge scream out, “The public will know about this!”

“Oh, let them know! I could care less at the moment!” Sirius snapped out.

As they walked through the Ministry to get out of there, other people stared at the group. The ones who had seen them earlier remembered seeing Vivian with Sirius. Now they saw Remus instead, and the whispers of gossip went flying around them. The group ignored everyone, and soon they came outside.

“Wow. We got away with it.” Ron was having trouble breathing as Hermione tried to calm him down.

“For Merlin’s sake, Ron. Sirius and Remus should be the one having a seizure instead of you!” Harry exclaimed.

“But then again, he’s a Weasley, Harry. Weasleys tend to overdo things,” Severus said, ignoring the glare coming from Ron.

“Sirius, Remus, you are going to your honeymoon now, right? Wasn’t it Greece?” Hermione changed the subject quickly.

“Yeah. We have our floo connected to the Greek’s version of the Leaky Cauldron. We’re all packed now, so we can go there now if we want. After I change out of this robe.” Remus stated. “I am not wearing anything feminine for the rest of my life!”

“That reminds me.” Hermione waved her wand and the ring went back to its original form. “Almost forgot. Anyway, Remus, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad being a woman.”

“I guess,” he admitted. “I sure respect them more. That’s for sure.”

They all laughed with the exception of Severus.

“Well, enjoy your honeymoon, newlyweds.” Harry hugged his godfather. “So does that mean I call you godmother now, Remus?”

“Bloody hell, Harry. You call me that, I’ll hex you!” Remus exclaimed as he hugged Harry.

“Okay, okay.”

“So what’s our agenda tomorrow?” Sirius asked, as they lazed around in the bed of the hotel they were staying at.

“I figure seeing the Temple of Athena would be interesting. And other historical places.”

Sirius pretended to groan. “This is what I get for letting you choose Greece of all place. You and your Greek mythology.”

“Shut up, Sirius,” Remus said, playfully hitting his husband on the side of the head. “You wanted to come here too, remember?”

“Only because you wanted to, Remus.” Sirius rested against the headboard and sighed. “I wonder if the Daily Prophet is having a good time writing our ‘scandal’?”

“Who knows. They probably are. All I know is that I’m sure we gave other gay couples an idea on how to get married now. Unless the Ministry changes the loophole. Even if they did, it will take forever to get it through.”

Sirius tackled his lover and straddled him. Remus gasped out loud. “Sirius?”

“Sod the talking. It’s our honeymoon. And we all know what honeymooners do!” Sirius started to kiss and sucked the tender flesh on Remus’ neck.

“Of course I do; they put honey on their arse and moon it to their lovers.” Remus’ wide smile brought sparkles out of his eyes. “That’s why the name honeymoon came to be.”

Sirius paused in his movement. “That actually makes sense. Should I go get some honey just for that?”

“Don’t you dare!” Remus nudged his hips into Sirius’. “Finish what you started!”

“Your wish is my command. I love you.” Sirius kissed Remus deeply, and they soon forgot all about the Ministry, Vivian, and even the honey.

Sirius flooed into Remus’ flat and looked around. “Anybody home?”

Harry came out of a room and walked up to his godfather. “Sirius, what a nice surprise!” With arms stretched out, Harry gave Sirius a hug. “How are you doing? Now that you are a free man again, I haven’t seen you around for a while.”

“Eh, catching up on few things.” Sirius led Harry to the couch, and they both sat down. “Now that I have a job again, I’m working my arse off during the day and partying at night.”

“Always the partier, aren’t you Sirius?” Harry smiled and leaned back comfortably.

With a nod, Sirius slung an arm around Harry. “Where’s Remus?”

“He had some errands to run for the Headmaster. He’ll be back later on.”

“I see. So you’re still planning to take it easy for a year?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah. I still don’t know what I want to do with my life, and I finished my schooling at Hogwarts. Not to mention, dear Tom Riddle is finally out of my life, so I wouldn’t mind living like a normal person for a while.”

Sirius removed his arm and tensed up. “You deserve it. You most definitely deserve it.”

Sirius stood up, stretched, and walked towards the bedrooms. Suddenly he stopped and looked at one and saw that Harry’s room was still in use. “How long have you and Remus been together now?”

“Wha -?” Harry wasn’t expecting that question. “Several months now.”

“And you still sleep in separate bedrooms?” Sirius turned back to Harry and raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah. Your point?”

“. . . Is this what you want, Harry?”

“What I want doesn’t matter as long as Remus is happy.”

Sighing, Sirius said, “Harry. You’re eighteen years old. Your hormones are still out of whack, and therefore, you are a walking sex machine. With your current situation, the only thing you have is your hand.”

“Sirius . . . ” Harry blushed. “Let’s not talk about this.”

“I mean does Remus do anything to you?”

“We kiss, and we cuddle,” was the short reply.

“. . . That’s all?!” Sirius asked incredulously. “For Merlin’s sake. He’s more of a prig than I thought.”

“Sirius, I’m fine with it. If he wants to take it slow, let him take it slow.”

“Harry, Remus is usually not this slow to get into anyone’s pants.”

Harry slumped in the couch and was silent for a minute. “Well, you might know him better than I do, and I guess he is being slow. Seriously – no puns intended – though, I don’t have a problem with it.”

“If you say so,” Sirius smiled and walked back towards him. “Anyway, I just stopped by here for a quick visit. I’ll come back again real soon.”

“Okay,” Harry said, standing up to give Sirius a farewell hug. “Thanks for the visit.”

Sirius hugged back tightly and then flooed out to wherever he was going.

Harry looked up to the sound of someone Apparating in. It was Remus. “Welcome home.”

“Harry.” Smiling, Remus went up him. He gently kissed Harry on the lips and backed away. “Anything exciting happened while I was gone?”

Harry nodded. “Sirius came by.”

“Ah . . . ” Remus chuckled. “He came by when I wasn’t here, eh? Did he say anything? How’s he doing anyway?”

“He’s doing all right. He says that he’s working now. Working during the day and partying at night.” Harry walked to the kitchen, so he could get started on dinner. Harry blushed remembering the other parts of the conversation. “That’s basically all we talked about.”

Remus raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Then why are you blushing.”

“Er . . . ” Harry didn’t know what to say. He really didn’t feel comfortable telling Remus about how he wished they’d advance further in their relationship. “He just made some comments about our relationship.”

“What kind of comments?” Remus walked up to Harry and wrapped his arms around him. “Nothing bad, right?”

“No,” said Harry, leaning back into Remus who was the same height as him. “Just . . . stuff.”

Remus kissed Harry’s neck. “Sounds like Padfoot and I need a talk.”

“No!” Harry turned around, his cheeks still tinged red. In a softer tone he went on. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m still going to go talk to him though.” Remus kissed him on the cheeks and left the room, pondering on what Sirius and Harry could have talked about regarding their relationship.

Sirius was getting ready to go out to a new night club when he heard someone Apparating into his place. He walked out from the bedroom and saw Remus standing there. “Moony! I wasn’t expecting you! What a joy! I saw Harry, and now I get to see you.”

Remus slung an arm around Sirius good-naturedly and then looked at him. Actually he glared at Sirius. “Tell me, Padfoot, what did you say to Harry about our relationship?”

Sirius started to make tsking sounds. “Nothing. I just asked how far you guys had got since I noticed you two still sleep in separate rooms.”

Now it was Remus’ turn to go a beautiful shade of red. “Sirius. That is absolutely none of your business.”

“It is my business since you guys still haven’t had sex after being together for several months!” Sirius chided. “I mean come on. I know you still have a good sexual appetite, so this is fucking ridiculous.”

Remus sat on the couch behind him and covered his face. “You’re right. But I just can’t seem to quite get there.”

“What do you mean? Are you impotent now? You need what the Muggles call ‘Viagra’?”

Remus bolted up. “No! I don’t need that!”

“Then why?”

” . . . I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Try,” Sirius urged. “Just try. Now you got me curious.”

Frowning, Remus walked to the window and looked outside with his arms crossed in front of him. “I love him, yes. But I feel guilty at the same time. It’s like he’s James’ son. I don’t think he’d approve of this. I’m sure James would have wanted Harry to marry a beautiful woman and have a family . . . ”

Sirius waved a hand. “James would have wanted him to be happy. And if happiness means for Harry to be with you, then so be it. Get off that holier than thou attitude and just make love to him for Merlin’s sake! I’m sure you’ve already proved to both you and Harry that this relationship wasn’t just for a quick fuck.”

“Sirius . . . ” Remus turned around to look at his friend. “You definitely have way with words. Be a damn orator or something.”

“Thank you. Now go do something about it.”

“No.”

“No?! What do you mean no?” Sirius exclaimed in frustration.

“Just . . . not yet.”

“Shite . . . whatever. Go back to Harry and just kiss him till he’s breathless.” Sirius walked away. “I need to get ready for a date.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Remus rolled his eyes and Apparated.

A few days passed, and Sirius contacted Harry and asked. He heard the answer Harry gave and sighed in regret. “Damn you, Remus. This is pathetic.”

He walked around the sitting room and started to think. He could hear voices in his head, the echo of Severus saying, “Thinking, Black? That’s so unlike you since you have a mind the size of a pea.”

Shaking his head hard, he purged out the horrid mental picture. He decided that he needed to be in his Marauder mode if he wanted to accomplish anything. “Now, let’s say we are back at Hogwarts, and we are seventeen again. Remus finds himself a guy, or a girl, and wants to fuck that person but is hesitant. What would James and I do to get Remus out of his prude mode?”

Sirius went through his memories and then remembered something. “That thing we did to Peter, which I’m glad we did, should work. Hehehe. And Remus does have a very sweet tooth. I better hurry to Diagon Alley then!”

Sirius, in his eagerness, Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron, and it was a miracle that he didn’t splinch himself getting there. He hurried into Diagon Alley and went straight for a shop he was acquainted with. After he picked up the item in mind, he paid for it, grinning at the sly look on the shopkeeper’s face.

After acquiring that, he decided to hang around the Leaky Cauldron, and he could not wait till tomorrow when he would visit Harry.

Harry was surprised by another unexpected visit from Sirius. After he greeted his godfather, he told him that Remus was out again doing errands. “He had to do some stuff for Kingsley, so he’s out at the moment.”

Sirius nodded. “I see. I’m not staying long anyway. I just came by to give you and Remus some of this.” Sirius pulled out the purchase he had made and handed it to Harry.

“Uh . . . ?” Harry looked at the item and saw that it was a box of chocolate. The box was red with laced ruffles on the edges and in the middle it said Afro-Choco. “Afro . . . ? Weird name for a box of chocolate.”

Sirius shrugged as calmly as he could. “Oh, that. But it’s one of the best chocolates I’ve ever tasted. Thought I’d share them with you, and you can surprise Remus that you know about these.”

“Yeah,” said Harry. “These will be perfect for dessert. Thanks, Sirius.” Harry smiled brightly, his green eyes sparkling behind his glasses.

Sirius then said, “Well, I’m leaving now. Say hi to Remus for me later.” Sirius left before Harry could suggest that he could wait and see Remus.

Shrugging, Harry went to the kitchen, opened the box of chocolates, and took them out to arrange them on a plate. He covered it up, hid the plate in one of the pantry shelves, and threw the box in the rubbish bin.

Then he started to cook dinner, and while he was waiting for the potatoes to boil, he heard Remus’ arrival.

“Hey,” Harry said without turning around. “Sirius was here earlier.”

Remus suddenly had a bad feeling. “Again? He must be bored.”

“Nah, we just had a friendly chit-chat.” Harry turned around and gave Remus a kiss. “Dinner will be ready soon. I hope you’ll like it.”

“So far I’ve liked anything you’ve made.” Remus smiled at him and then walked towards the bathroom. “I’m going to freshen up before eating.”

Harry finished cooking and set the food on the table. The aromas filled Remus’ sensitive nose, and it made his mouth water like crazy. His stomach was growling; he didn’t realise he was that hungry till he smelt the food. He sat down and ate with Harry. While eating, they talked about their day and Harry’s future. Remus commented on how good the food was and soon both of their plates were empty. Remus puts his utensils down and leaned back in the chair, letting out a happy sigh.

Harry got up and went to the pantry and took out the plate of chocolates. He set it on the table and said, “Chocolates for dessert. Thank Merlin we’re both chocolate nuts.” Harry smiled and ate one, savouring the sweet taste while it melted slowly in his mouth. After it all melted, Harry took a couple more, noting that these were fantastic chocolates as Sirius had claimed.

Taking one as well, Remus couldn’t help but wonder why the chocolate looked and smelled familiar. He shrugged to himself and put the morsel in his mouth. He loved these sweet confections. He never got tired of it. He took one more and while it softened in his mouth, he looked at Harry and said, “Where’d you get these chocolates? These are the best I’ve had in ages.”

“I dunno. Sirius brought them.” Harry felt warm. He could feel his cheeks becoming flushed.

Remus blinked at Harry. “Sirius brought them?” Suddenly his eyes opened wide as he rushed onto his next question. “Where’s the package?” Remus could feel that he was becoming warm as well, and all he could think was, “Nonononono. That bastard better not have..!”

Harry ignored the sensations of his pants becoming too tight and pointed to the rubbish bin. “It’s in there . . . ”

Rushing to the bin, Remus dug through the rubbish. His heart sank when he saw the recognisable package. “Bloody hell.” He tried to act calm, and he went up to Harry. He tilted Harry’s head up and looked at the flushed cheeks, the bright eyes, and the slightly opened mouth. Harry’s breathing was coming out raggedly. “How do you feel?”

“Um . . . I feel . . . weird.”

Groaning, Remus put his head down. In his mind he was already cursing Sirius to the ninth level of hell and back. “Harry . . . ” Remus paused. “I don’t know how to explain this, but . . . these are not your normal chocolates.”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked, already dreading the answer. “Don’t tell me these are . . . ”

” . . . filled with aphrodisiac,” Remus finished the sentence and sighed. “Powerful ones I might add.”

“Fuck.”

“I’m gonna hex him the next time I see him!” Remus growled and cursed Sirius in his mind again. A moan from Harry interrupted his thoughts. “Harry. Let’s go get comfortable. The effects will wear off eventually.”

Harry stood up with Remus’ help and leaned into the warm body. “Remus . . . ” Harry’s breath was hot, burning against his ears. “How long is ‘eventually’?”

Remus paused as he and Harry walked toward his bedroom. “I ate two; you ate about three, right?” Harry nodded, and Remus continued. “So it should be about a few hours. No more than five, I think. These are strong, after all.”

They entered the room, and they both flopped down on the bed. Remus remained sitting while Harry lay on his back. Harry groaned and panted lightly as he stared at the ceiling with glazed eyes. “It’s . . . ” Coupled with Harry’s hormones and months of no sex, he felt the effects more so than Remus. A burning sensation spread from his groin to the tips of his fingers and toes. Whenever Remus touched him, even the slightest brush of hand against his clothes, he felt dizzy, like he needed more of these contacts.

While Harry was in somewhat of a torture mode, Remus was slightly better off than his lover. He had a better control over the aphrodisiac, but that was only from years of experience and patience. Not to mention, Remus fought like a dog from succumbing to the temptations.

“It’s?” Remus avoided looking at Harry, avoided touching him knowing the effects that he’d bring on Harry.

“Remus . . . ” Harry sat back up. “This . . . it’s driving me mad. Like there’s something tugging me and burning me inside!” Harry figured he didn’t make any sense at the moment. All his coherent thoughts were thrown out of the window.

Remus groaned at the way Harry sounded. He sounded so fucking sexy to Remus’ ears. “I know. I know what you are feeling.”

“Can’t you do something?” Harry pleaded, not caring if he sounded pathetic or not.

“Harry . . . ” Remus was fighting to control himself. This was not how Remus wanted to make love to Harry for the first time. Remus jumped at the sudden touch on his shoulders. Harry had grabbed Remus, making him look at the other man. “Harry.”

“Please, Remus.” Harry neared closer, their lips barely touching, hardly a hair’s breadth between them.

The sudden proximity destroyed Remus’ logic. Sod it all, he said to himself. He crushed their lips together. He slipped his tongue easily into Harry’s mouth and started to lick and suck whatever he could get. Harry moaned into the kiss, his grip on Remus’ shoulders tightening. Harry wanted more, wanted to get this flaming sensation cooled down inside of him. He guided Remus to lie on his back as he straddled on top without breaking the passionate kiss. He then trailed downward. The older man tilted his head to give Harry a better angle. Remus gasped when he felt Harry grinding his hardness against his. “Harry,” he said breathily, trying to rein in his control. All his resolves disappeared slowly, as he growled and flipped Harry over.

Harry was surprised by the sudden turn of events, but he accepted them happily. “Remy, please.”

“Harry, you sure?” Remus had to ask, to ease his guilt-ridden emotions for taking advantage of the situation.

As if reading his mind, Harry went on. “I don’t see this as you taking advantage of someone under an influence, Remus. Just fucking fuck me already!”

“Harry.” Remus closed his eyes briefly before he continued. “Okay.”

The two men, exhausted yet sated from their activities, remained nestled into each other’s embrace. Harry snuggled closer into Remus’ chest and sighed contentedly. “That was brilliant.”

“You think so?”

“Yes. I just wished we did this sooner.”

Remus glanced at Harry who was looking back at him. “I’m sorry.”

Harry’s brows came together as he frowned. “Sorry? Sorry for what?”

“For,” Remus sighed, “not doing this sooner.”

“Oh, Remus.” Harry leaned over slightly as he brushed a soft kiss on the lips. “Don’t be. Granted, I was sexually frustrated, but I’m kinda glad we put it off. I must say it made our love making quite . . . exciting.”

“Well.” Remus coughed to cover his embarrassment. “I suppose.”

“And we do have Sirius to thank for it.”

“I still plan on hexing him. Or maybe let Severus take over that job for me.”

“He’d have a field day.” Harry kissed his lover again. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Great. Let’s get some sleep. I’m knackered.”

“Good idea.” Remus watched as Harry drifted off. He smiled and brushed some of Harry’s wild hair out of his face as Harry’s breathing slowed down. “I love you,” he whispered once more before falling into a deep, pleasant slumber.

Two days went by after the death of the Potters and the downfall of Voldemort. Despite the good weather and the merry celebration of wizards and witches, it was a dark, bleak time for several people. Sirius Black was now under the custody of the Ministry officials for killing Peter Pettigrew and for betraying the Potters. Relatives of Pettigrew were all in despair for him being dead, yet they knew he had died with honour due to the receiving of the Order of Merlin. The Dursleys were furious about having to raise Lily’s strange, unusual child.

There was one other person who didn’t get into the spirit of gaiety. Remus Lupin apparated into the Shrieking Shack with a heavy heart. There was a loud pop, and he looked around the old, familiar place. The first thing he noticed was that the place had not changed since he had left Hogwarts. The scratches on the floor from his claws remained the same; the room was still dark with all the boarding on the windows; the chair in the middle was ripped up; the bed in the centre was the only thing in the room still intact and not damaged. Nothing had changed. Within seconds, memories clashed in his mind, and he started a lengthy monologue, talking to no one in particular, but to himself.

“James and Lily…dead. I can’t believe it. Sirius betrayed them. Then again, Sirius was never good with keeping secrets, was he?” Remus paced around the room with a tense expression.

“Sirius and I had our differences, but why would he join Voldemort and betray his best friend? After doing that damage, he killed Peter. Why? What went wrong? Wait. I’m fooling myself. The whole prank was what went wrong. Because of that, our friendship was strained, and everything since changed. Including the relationship between James and myself…”

Without realising his actions, Remus had walked over to the bed and sat on it. Tenderly he stroked the sheets. Memories flooded into him. “James…”

“Remy?” James poked his head into the dorm room and looked around. He only saw Sirius sitting glumly on his bed. Sirius attempted to do his Potions assignment but couldn’t concentrate. Glancing toward the door, Sirius said, “He’s not here.”

James let out a huge sigh of frustration. He then stepped into the room, closed the door behind him, and leaned against it. “Bugger.” James paused before asking, “Any idea where he might be? I mean I checked every possible location such as the library, main hall, classrooms after classrooms, even Hagrid’s hut, and he’s nowhere to be found.”

Sirius didn’t say anything.

“Damn, Filch. Why did he have to take our map? That’d be so helpful now.”

Another round of silence elapsed. James glared at Sirius. “Don’t you care about Remus at all?”

“Of course I care,” Sirius looked up with a surprised look. “But after trying to convince him for weeks that I am truly sorry about all this Snape crap and receiving the cold shoulder, I’ve left him alone.”

“You’ve left him alone? That’s nice, Padfoot. Real nice.”

“Well, what else am I supposed to do, Prongs?” Sirius got up from his bed and paced around the room. “I’ve tried, okay?”

James closed his eyes as he remembered how awful Remus had felt about the whole incident the day after. “Yes, you tried. While you may be giving up, I’m not.” James turned around and opened the door. He was surprised to see Peter outside. “Hey, Peter. Any idea where Moony is?”

Peter looked unsure. “I don’t know, James. He hardly has been around since that day. It’s been three weeks since it happened. I guess this hit him harder than we expected.”

Shrewdly, Peter looked hard at James and Sirius. “I have to admit it was scary. I never thought Remus would really lose control like that. He really seemed like a beast then…”

With a glare, James shoved him not so lightly. “He’s not a beast! He can’t help what he is!”

Peter whimpered pathetically and said, “I know. I’m not offending Remus, James. It’s just that … it was scary.”

“I guess so.” James walked around him and was about the descend the stairs when Peter piped up, “Maybe he’s at the shack. Maybe that’s a sanctuary for him.”

Stopping in his stride, James contemplated the last line. “Yes. Why didn’t we see this before? Peter, you are a genius for once.” Without another word, James dashed off to the shack.

Remus was on the floor, and he threw his Arithmancy book. He’d been working on his schoolwork all day in the shack. He was unable to really be with the other Marauders after all that had happened. He felt like a failure. Remus tried to talk with Severus about the whole incident, but Severus refused to listen or even be in the same proximity with him. Sirius was the cause of all this. During the first couple days, Remus felt anger toward one of his best friend. However as time passed by, the anger turned into something more of weariness. He couldn’t see Sirius, James, or Peter the same way anymore. In fact, he couldn’t view himself the previous way either.

“Remus,” he thought to himself, “you are nothing but a beast. You almost killed someone that day. Why can’t you have more control over yourself? The Ministry is right. All werewolves are killers with no concerns over their actions. I should be locked up, or maybe I should be killed instead.

“This shack is an excellent place to be locked up in. I should have done this sooner. Confine myself in this place and be a loner. Then I wouldn’t have been able to hurt anyone with my curse. Sirius… I was a fool to trust him. That means I’m a fool to trust the others too. Severus hates my guts now. Just when we were about to become friends.

“I can’t believe I almost killed him…and James. Thank goodness for James. If it wasn’t for him…James. How does he feel about me now that he has seen what I am capable of? Disgust? Most likely. I know Peter is frightened of me now. I can see it in his eyes. Sirius just wants to be forgiven, but he doesn’t realise the full circumstance of what he has done. James. I can’t figure him out. I don’t know if I want to know what he thinks of me. If he does think of me in a disgusting way, I don’t blame him. But to think that someone I love thinks of me that way. I’d rather not know.

“Who am I kidding? James Potter falling in love with a werewolf? I am just deluding myself. James, the star of our school wouldn’t want me. I am not worthy of him.”

Without realising it, out loud he said, “I am nothing.”

James paused at the opening to the shack when he heard Remus say the last statement. With a sudden surge of rage, he opened the door with a loud bang. Remus looked up in surprise, and then his eyes became shadowed. “What are you doing here, James?”

James gritted his teeth, and retorted, “What are you doing here, Remus?”

“I belong here.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?” Remus asked calmly, not looking up to meet James’ eyes.

“You do not belong here, Remus Lupin. Don’t you think like that.”

“Oh, but I do, James. Don’t deny it.”

Glaring, James walked up to him and yanked him off the floor. “I deny nothing. I’m speaking the bloody truth, and that means you Remus Lupin, belong with the rest of us. Not here.”

Remus let out a gasp when James forced himself to stand up. Now they were face to face, and Remus felt James’ hot breath on his cheek. “James…”

“I heard you before I came in, Remus. You are not a nothing. You are Remus Lupin.”

Remus shook his head. “No, James. No. I am not Remus Lupin. I’m an accursed, good for nothing beast.”

James stepped backward, and Remus felt disappointed from the loss of the warm body. “Remus. You may be a werewolf, but you didn’t ask to be one. If you had asked to be one, then that would make you a beast.”

Sighing, James stepped over to the bed and sat on it. “Quit belittling yourself, Remus. I want you to realise that confining yourself here isn’t going to change who or what you are. Sure the werewolf is a part of you, but I never see the werewolf in you. I just see Remus Lupin, fellow marauder in all the pranks we did, an excellent student who strives to learn knowledge, a wonderful friend who is always there for others, and a sensitive, young man.”

Remus didn’t say anything to James’ lengthy speech.

“Remus, don’t push us away. Don’t lock yourself up as a punishment. It’s not your fault. Sirius is really sorry.”

“I know.”

“Then why do you avoid all of us to avoid him?” James looked up at Remus’ face, wishing he’d make eye contact.

Remus stared off into space. “He may be sorry, but I don’t think I could ever trust him the way I did before. Nothing is the same anymore. That one night changed everything.”

“Including the relationship between you and me?” Remus startled and stared at James trying to decipher what James meant by that.

Looking away he answered, “Yes.”

James frowned at the answer. He walked up close to him once more, and he gently, but firmly, tilted Remus’ head up with his finger. “Then look at me and tell me that. Tell me we have changed.”

The energy between the two men was tense. Electrical current crackled in the small space between them, and all around them. James had a passionate expression on his face, totally opposite from Remus’ weary one. Remus opened his slightly to say something, but nothing came out. James suddenly felt dizzy, and well aware how close they were.

With James’ hand controlling his head, Remus looked into James’ spectacled eyes. “Yes.” And he leaned over the space and gently kissed James’ lip.

James let out a surprised gasp, and felt slightly disappointed when Remus quickly parted away from him. “Now everything has changed. Leave, James.”

“Remus…”

“Go.” This was said neutrally with no emotion behind it.

“You’re not going to give me a chance to tell you how I feel?” James refused to leave just yet.

“I know how you feel, James. This is not what you want.”

“You can’t know that. You could be wrong,” said James, stubbornly.

Remus turned his back to him. “Go. There is someone else out there for you.”

James began to plead, “Will nothing I say will change your mind?”

“Nothing. Go.”

James sighed heavily and left Remus alone. Before he left he said, “Just come back to us, okay? Quit staying in here.”

“Okay.”

James left.

Remus heard James’ footsteps dying away. Once he knew James was out of bound, he went over to the bed and sat on it.

“I did the right thing. He will go to Lily one day. Those two are destined to be together. If James and I were to be lovers, it wouldn’t work out. Yet, just kissing him gives me some pleasure. It satisfied my curiosity on how it feels to kiss him. But we can’t be together, and now our relationship is forever changed.”

He continued to sit on the bed, and he remained that way for a long time.

Remus jolted himself from the memories.

“James…” He curled himself up in a foetal position on the bed and began to weep. He cried for James and Lily, for Sirius and Peter, for Harry, and lastly for himself.

Amidst the crowded airport, two days before Christmas, stood two exasperated wizards. Their two companions had passed exasperation and were simply pissed off to all hell. The common people, on the other hand, had no clue that they were any different from themselves. To anyone passing by, these four men were just trying to get on their plane for a vacation. Make that four VERY impatient men.

“Harry, Moony, tell me again WHY we couldn’t just floo to our hotel?” Sirius asked dejectedly.

Harry, in frustration, pushed his dishevelled hair out of his face. “Sirius, you know very well that in most Muggle hotels the fireplaces are not connected to the floo system.”

“Then why can’t we just apparate?!”

Severus glared at Sirius. “As much as I agree with you that this ‘airplane’ business is unnecessary, you forget that we are going to Jamaica and that is not part of the British Isles. Other nations’ Ministries have put up an anti-apparation spell up so that people that aren’t from their countries cannot apparate into theirs. I know for a fact it’s for security measures, but there are times when it’s a nuisance.”

Sirius returned Severus a dirty look of his own. “Shut up, you greasy git. I didn’t ask for your opinion here!”

Remus sighed very loudly. “Let’s go now. We have to go to the baggage department and have them check our bags.”

The other two wizards grumbled and grabbed their bags. Harry and Remus looked at each other and just rolled their eyes. They walked through the crowded airport with their luggage and soon reach their destination. The clerks at the counter told them to write their names on the tag and so they did. After that, the clerks put the tags on the bag and then put them through the machines to scan them. Satisfied that they didn’t find any illegal materials, they told them that everything was all right. Having all the big ones out of the way, now each only had a regular-sized backpacks with them.

“Well now that we got our luggage checked in, we just have to wait two hours for our flight. Everyone got their tickets right?” Remus asked with forced cheerfulness.

“Two bloody hours?! Why does it take that long? Are Muggles always this slow?” Sirius exclaimed.

“Muggles have ALWAYS been slow, Black. Where have you been all this time?” Severus sullenly interjected.

“Again, have I asked you, slimy, good for nothing, prick?”

“You two, stuff it.” The Boy-Who-Lived gave them a glare that would match Lord Voldemort’s. He grabbed the Potions Master’s hand and dragged him over to the nearest restaurant to relax, or at least attempted to. Remus did the same to Sirius. They soon reached McDonald’s.

“So what do you want to order?” Remus asked his mate. “Harry and I can vouch that the Big Mac is the best to get here.”

“Then get me that,” Sirius grumbled.

“Come on. Be happy. We are going on a vacation, Padfoot.”

“Not the way I want too.”

Remus rolled his eyes again and just went to the counter and ordered his and Sirius’ foods. Harry turned to his lover. “So a Big Mac?”

” . . . ” Severus just glared.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Harry said, not the least perturbed. Harry went up to the counter and ordered like Remus did. Soon, Remus and Harry came to the table where the two grouchy wizards were. The atmosphere between the four of them was so tense that the other customers felt that something was not right. After they finished their food, Harry got up and dumped their garbage out. He came back and stretched his leg. He turned to them and looked at Severus with a hopeful expression.

“Care to walk around with me? I feel too cooped up and after we get on the airplane we’ll be stuck in there for ten hours at least.”

Sirius gave Harry a stricken look. “T-t-ten hours?” He looked pleadingly at Moony. “Please tell me I did not hear that.”

“Sorry, Paddy. You did. The flight is ten hours long.” Remus inwardly groaned, expecting another rant coming up.

“What am I supposed to do for ten hours on the fairplane?”

“Airplane,” Severus said dryly. “I know you weren’t raised by Muggles, but at least get the names right so you don’t sound like a dunderhead.”

Sirius turned and glowered at the one person he still truly couldn’t tolerate. “Bloody hell! Why won’t you just bugger off and just don’t do it with my godson!”

There was a dangerous glint in Severus’ eyes as his hand went for his wand that was in the inner pocket of his leather jacket. Harry recognised the look and grabbed his lover before Severus could hex Sirius. Remus, knowing that those two needed some time away from each other, decided to drag Sirius and go to some other part of the airport.

“I’ll meet you at our waiting area in about a hour. Got that, Harry?” Remus hastily grabbed Sirius up to his feet and started to lead him away.

“Yeah, I got you, Remus,” Harry turned to the snarky Potion Master and glared at him. “We are going to have a little talk, Sev.”

“About what? The fact that your godfather got absolutely no brain at all?” Severus sulkily walked past Harry. The younger man sighed and ran to catch up with the taller man. Harry smirked.

“You know, you’re cute when you sulk.” Harry chuckled lightly as he saw the back stiffened up. Severus turned slowly to face Harry. “Insolent brat.”

“I know, but you still love me.” Harry sighed. “Sevvy, I’m sorry for choosing this way to travel, but . . . I thought we’d all enjoy it. Remus and I thought it ‘d be romantic for us to snuggle through the long plane ride. To appreciate each other’s company or in yours and Sirius’ case, not appreciate each other companies, through the Muggle ways.”

Severus looked intently at his young lover through his hair. Through the curtain of hair, Harry couldn’t see the mesmerising, coal-black eyes. However, if he could have, he would have seen many emotions conflicting each other. Love, annoyance, frustration, and tenderness were a few of the emotions that were flying through the Potions Master’s eyes. Severus straightened up and gave Harry a cold look. “Gryffindors, once one, always one. Are all of you that much of a hopeless romantic?”

Harry brightened up. Severus couldn’t help but think how predictable the young man tended to be. “You are acting sarcastic. That’s a good sign.” He reached and grabbed the Slytherin’s hand. “Let’s go for that walk now.”

Severus growled slightly, and grabbed the other man by the waist. He brought the lithe body closer to his and kissed him fervently. A few moments later, he let go. “Now we can go for a walk. And do not call me ‘Sevvy’.” Harry nodded and followed with a dreamy look.

Remus continued to drag the ex-convicted murderer through the crowds. Upon reaching the men’s toilets, he shoved Sirius into an empty stall, lock the door, both magically and manually, and then cast a silencing charm around them. He then turn around and glared at him. Sirius couldn’t help but think that the glare looked a whole lot like Snape’s.

Tentatively, he reached over and touches Mooy’s cheek. “Did anyone tell you that you are starting rival the greasy git when it comes to giving angry looks?”

“I do not!” Remus indignantly cried out. “Speaking of that ‘greasy git’, who not only is my colleague, but also is your godson’s lover, you need to calm down in front of him! Especially when we are in a crowded place that is full of Muggles.” He wanted to say that Sirius acted in a juvenile manner, but then closed his mouth in time. He decided that if he said that, then he’d be calling himself a hypocrite, for that’s one of the traits that he has come to love the other man.

Sirius slouched a bit and pouted. “I’m sorry, Remus. But . . .  he’s so infuriating! But not only that, this airpane travelling method is weird!

“Airplane, not ‘airpane’,” Remus corrected Sirius. “And I’m sure Harry is explaining the same thing to Severus right now, but really, he and I chose this method because we thought it’d be a romantic way to travel. Apparently we were both wrong and it’s a mistake on both of us.”

Sirius solemnly stared at his lover. “You really think it’s romantic? Honestly, Moony, I see nothing romantic about being on that airflane for ten hours.”

Remus groaned and rubbed his face in his hands. “I give up. You will never call it by the right name. Truly though, think about it. Talking and looking out the window, provided we get the window seats, holding hands, and just being next to each other for the longest time. Harry and I really didn’t mean to choose it as an inconvenience. ”

Sirius smirked. “There are toilets on there, right? Please tell me there is.”

“Yes, there are. Why?” Remus gave him a calculating look, as Sirius just smiled wider. “Paddy, I do not like that scheming look on your face.”

Sirius grabbed Remus by the arse and brought him closer to him. He leaned over and Remus felt the warmth of Sirius’ breath on his neck. “Me? Scheming? Never. Although I was thinking about how it would be more romantic if we shagged 10,000 metres up from the ground.”

Unintentionally, Remus let out a soft growl and quickly had Sirius pinned against the stall’s door. All his train of thoughts were gone as Remus began ravishing his mouth. He wasn’t about to complain as he returned the action.

An hour later, the two couples met up with each other at the waiting area. Sirius glared at Severus, and Severus didn’t even acknowledge the other man. Harry and Remus just gave each other knowing smiles and sat down. The two adversaries sat and just talked with their respective partners. When their flight was announced, they stood up. After confirming that each of them has their tickets, they got on the plane.

They had a little trouble finding their seats, but then a flight attendance lent them a hand. After getting settled in their seats, Sirius looked around.

“Remy, what is that big flat thing up there?” Sirius pointed toward the movie screen.

“It’s the movie screen, Sirius. It’s where you can watch the movie during the flight. However, you have to wear these earphones. That’s where the sounds come out. Does that make sense?” Remus turned to the man next to him. Instead of seeing a looking of understanding, he got a very cute looking Sirius, all perplexed. He smiled gently. “Don’t worry about it. You will see what I mean later. Hopefully the movie will be a good on . . . it says that Titanic is being played.”

On the other side of Remus, Severus gave a surprised look. “Isn’t that the ship that sank in the Atlantic?”

Remus nodded. “But do not ask why they made it into a movie. Muggles tend to think of some weird stuff.”

Everyone buckled their seatbelts as the plane started. Since Remus and Harry forgot to tell the other two about the ear pressure, Severus grimaced in pain and Sirius let out a loud profanity. Remus gave Sirius an apologetic look, and gave him some gum. “Here. Chew this and the pain will lessen a bit.” Sirius takes it and shoves it in his mouth and start chewing severely. Remus handed one to Severus, but he declined.

“This is nothing like the Cruciatus. I can live.” Harry gripped the Slytherin’s hand comfortingly.

Thankfully the entire trip went well. Well the loud noise from the toilet scared Sirius out of his wit, but he brushed it off, after asking them why it was necessary to make the flushing noise so loud. The others shook their heads and Remus tried to explain, but after realising that he couldn’t explain why, he just told Sirius to forget it.

They ate the dinner that was provided, and they all agreed that the food at Hogwarts was much better. When the movie came on, no one was interested in it. In fact Sirius and Remus decided to take this time now to get a quick shag in the bathroom, with all the precautions set up as well. Harry and Severus stared at each other. “Are you sure you want to be related to them, Harry?” Harry nodded very slowly, pretending to look uncertain. Then he burst out laughing. Severus just gave a smirk.

When the two completely, satiated wizards came back, Harry and his lover were both sleeping peacefully, with Harry’s head on Severus’ shoulder. Remus felt the sudden urge to coo, but didn’t. He told Sirius, and he got a weird look. He pretended to be offended and sat down in a huff. “Aw, Moony.” Sirius sat down and wrapped his arms around the slender man. “You know I didn’t mean that.” Remus smirked and brushed his lips gently across his. “I know. I’m sleepy now.”

Sirius yawned. “Same here. I guess a nap would be good.” Both of them fell asleep quickly.

The next time any of them woke up was when the announcement of nearing arrival was blaring across the plane. Severus looked disgruntled from being woken up rudely, in his opinions. Harry yawned and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. “We’re almost there.”

“I certainly hope so,” muttered Severus.

The landing hurt Sirius, as much as the takeoff did. Remus gave him another stick of gum and Sirius chewed it furiously. It was painful, but he agreed with Snape, that nothing was more painful than the Cruciatus. For once he thought of something reasonable. They got off the plane and gratefully stretched their legs. They waited till they got their luggages and then went to catch the Banana Bus, which was equivalent to the Knight Bus. Sirius and Severus both sighed. “Now this is the definite way of travelling.” Sirius snuggled into the seat.

They almost reached the resort, till Harry broke the silence. “So do you think it was a mistake travelling by the airplane?”

“Naw. It wasn’t all that bad. Just the part that it takes forever to get here.” Sirius brought Remus close to him. “However, you guys didn’t do it maliciously, so I don’t mind much.”

“I agree with Black, once again.” Severus planted a kiss on Harry’s out of control hair. “However, you should learn from your mistakes, and this is one of them.”

The Banana Bus continued to ride and at the same time the sun was setting, and everything was peaceful amongst the four again.

Remus loved jellybeans. Especially Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Jellybeans.

With the jellybeans involved, this was the only time Remus was thankful for being a werewolf and for the keen sense of smell that he had to his physiology. Thanks to it, Remus was able to sniff out the nasty flavoured ones to get to the good flavours.

As much as he loved those candies, he did not enjoy getting horrid flavoured ones such as snail and his least favourite: barf.

He had the most unfortunate opportunity to get a barf-flavoured jellybean the day before he was cursed. Afterward, he had the pleasure of picking out the good tasting ones. He would savour the small morsel in his mouth. They could be bright red, indicating country apple or maybe red pepper; or golden brown for caramel, which could be mistaken for ear wax; or light yellow to indicate lemon meringue pie or perhaps his other not-so-favourite, diarrhoea.

Before attending Hogwarts, several of the younger children in the neighbourhood always wondered how Remus was able to differentiate the good from the bad. They would always come up to him to sort out the jellybeans for them, and he’d do so. The younger children didn’t know about prejudice, so they’d come up to Remus and ask about the candies.

That was the only reason why they came up to him. Remus was quiet and shy. He was reserved compared to the other children, and he preferred solitude rather than socialising.

When he attended Hogwarts, he still kept to himself, but then the day came when he found out he could be mischievous too.

With their second-year classes through for the day, James walked into the dormitory he was sharing with Remus, Sirius, and Peter. He had received a parcel from his parents this morning, and one of the gifts he obtained was a small bag of Bertie Bott’s Jellybeans. He glanced and saw Remus, the quietest member of his dorm, on his bed as well, and he was studying.

Remus mystified James. Remus didn’t always join in with the group. He seemed like a lone wolf, the one who was too cautious to join. Like someone who was afraid to steal the cookie from a cookie jar for the fear of parents catching him. James tried his best to get Remus involved in whatever pranks he and the other two were involved in, but to no avail.

But James Potter hadn’t earned his stubborn reputation for nothing. He would get Remus to open up one day. With a smile that enhanced the golden sparks in his hazel eyes, he plopped onto his bed that was next to Remus’ (Sirius’ bed was on the other side).

“Hey, Remus.”

A small smile graced Remus’ face as he said, “Hello, James.”

“What are you doing right now?” James asked, opening up the small bag full of jellybeans.

“Doing my Defence Against the Dark Arts work.” Remus hesitated with shyness before asking, “Where are Sirius and Peter?”

“Oh, those two are serving a detention through dinner time. I sympathise with them, but at the same time, they should have been faster in the attempt to get away from Filch.” James sorted through the bag and picked out a grey-coloured jellybean.

Remus smelled the flavour and said, “I wouldn’t eat that if I were you.”

James looked bemusedly at his mate, “Why not?”

“It’s liver,” Remus replied just as James put it in his mouth. Remus stifled a laugh as James was coughing up a storm at the revolting taste.

A few minutes passed before James regained his composure. He waited for the taste to fade before looking back at Remus. “How did you know it was liver?”

“Oh! Erm . . . I just have a knack for knowing what they taste like since I ate those a lot when I was younger. Knowing the flavours has become second-nature for me.” Remus cursed himself for thinking up such a poor excuse. Luckily, James seemed to have bought the story.

“I see . . . ” James trailed off as a new prank came to his mind. “This might come in handy.”

Remus looked at him puzzled, “What?”

“Oh you will see.”

A couple of days passed. James and Sirius had found a secret passageway to Hogsmeade. They decided to use that, and with the pocket money they both had, they bought one big barrel of Bertie Bott’s Jellybeans and lugged it back to the dormitory. Sirius, who was bigger than James, carried the barrel full of the sweets, while James carried an empty barrel that was similar to the former.

Remus was in the dorm when they returned, and he raised both eyebrows at the sight. “What’s with that?”

“Could you do us a favour, Remus?” James asked after he and Sirius put the barrels down.

“Yes . . . ?” Remus had an idea what James was about to request of him.

“Could you separate the good ones from the bad ones . . . ?” James grinned sheepishly. “I’d do them myself, but I don’t have that instinct of yours.”

Remus bitterly wished he didn’t have that “instinct” either. “Oh, sure. What do you need all that for though?”

Sirius, who wasn’t known for subtleness blurted out, “You know how the Headmaster loves these? Well, we want to give him a gift.”

“Ah.” Remus nodded.

“We’d help you, but James and I need to go to the library and finish up our Transfiguration assignments.”

James quickly added, “You don’t have to do this, Remus.”

Remus eyed the barrels warily. He didn’t have any assignments to do; he’d finished them already. “Ah, what the heck. I’ve got nothing else to do.”

“Thanks, Remus!” James smiled brilliantly. “We owe you one!”

“No problem, now go do your assignment. I’d hate to see the head of our house come after you two.”

Sirius and James left the room. Remus stared at the barrels. “I have my suspicions that they are going to do more than just present this as a gift. They said they owe me . . . ”

Sirius, James, and Peter laughed as they walked up to the dorm. They were all laughing at their newest prank idea. Yet they silenced themselves as they entered the room because they didn’t want Remus to know what they were planning to do.

When they entered the room, they saw that Remus was done with the sorting. It had taken Remus about an hour and a half, and now he was just reading a book for pleasure. He looked up from the book when he heard them come in.

“All done.”

“Brilliant!” Sirius started to jump around in excitement. “So which one is the good one and which one is the bad one?”

Remus pointed to the right, “That’s the bad one.”

Nodding, the three glanced quickly at each other. “Alright. Thanks, Remus.” James grinned at him.

“Shall I go present the gift to the headmaster now?” Sirius asked, hardly containing his anticipation of what was to come.

“Yes, you may, Mr. Black. You have my permission to do so.” James smirked and watched Sirius scurry to the bad barrel. “I’ll be back!”

With Sirius gone, and Peter leaving to use the loo, Remus decided to ask, “Why did you guys want to present the headmaster with all of those bad beans?”

“Well since he always seems to have bad luck with the jellybeans, I thought we could present him a full barrel of bad luck. Too bad I won’t be able to see the look on his face. It’d be priceless.”

“I see,” Remus replied with a poker face. “It would be hilarious now, wouldn’t it?”

James nodded toward Remus and stared longer than necessary. “Thanks again. I’m going to get some snacks in the kitchen. I’ll bring back food for all of us.”

Remus nodded as James left the room.

Sirius and James came in from a heavy Quidditch practice. They were both craving something to chomp on, and they looked at the barrel of good jellybeans. Sirius looked at James, “Shall we kill that barrel now?”

“Why not. I am starving. Some sugar wouldn’t kill us.” James put his broom on the bed and sat on the floor, and Sirius followed along too.

“Thank Godric for Remus sorting these out.” James chose a white one. “Ah, I’m guessing this will be coconut.” He put in his mouth and chewed twice before stopping.

Sirius noticed the sudden halt and asked, “What?”

“This tastes like horseradish. I hate horseradish. I guess this one went past Remus.”

Shrugging, Sirius chose a cream-coloured jellybean that was speckled with brown spots. “Popcorn for me!”

James jumped up a mile when he heard Sirius scream.

“Bloody hell!!! This is no popcorn!! This taste like someone’s crap!”

James wrinkled his nose as he remembered the colour and the pattern. “I hate to tell you this, but it’s probably bird droppings?”

“UGH!” Sirius decided to go to the kitchen to wash the taste away with pumpkin juice.

James then took nibbles of the remaining jellybeans and found out that all of them were the bad kinds. “Did Remus . . . no. That is not in his nature. Or maybe we are becoming an influence on him?”

Remus wearily walked into the dorm after a study session at the library. All he wanted to do now was to crash into his cosy bed. Just as he was about to fall into it, he felt someone grab his arms and spin him around.

Blinking, Remus saw that James was holding his arm, Sirius was glaring at him with his arms crossed, and Peter was looking clueless. “Yes? Do you guys need something?”

“Did you give us the bad barrel on purpose?” Sirius demanded.

“The jellybeans?” Remus asked innocently.

“Yes. The jellybeans,” James said calmly.

Remus hid a grin by turning his head to the side. “Maybe.”

“That’s a yes in my language.” James let go of Remus’ arm and stared at him. “Why?”

“You guys said you owe me, right?” Sirius and James nodded. “Well, now you don’t owe me since I decided to pull a prank on you guys as a favour to myself.”

Raising an eyebrow to each other, Sirius and James silently communicated. Then all four of them just lost it. They started to laugh hysterically.

“I can’t believe you did that, Remus!” James exclaimed wiping tears away. “You do have a mischievous side after all!”

Peter butt in and said, “Yeah. You don’t look like the type.”

“I guess I do. I also suspected you were going to do that to the poor headmaster. I think with his history of the jellybeans, he went through enough. So I figure he should get a barrel of nice jellybeans for once.” Remus felt comfortable. He wished he had interacted with the other three sooner, but now was as good a time to start as any in his opinion.

“Well you are certainly clever, that’s for sure. You’ve got a marauder’s mind,” said Sirius, slapping a hand on Remus’ thin shoulder. “I just wish I knew how you got that talent of picking out jellybeans though.”

Remus stopped smiling for a second. “Oh, it’s nothing. Like I told James, it’s from many years of eating those things.”

“You must have suffered a lot then.” Sirius nodded in sympathy.

“Eh, the suffering was worth it I suppose.” Remus looked back at them and smiled with force.

“Remus, you are cooler than we thought. We’d be honoured if you’d join us. We’d love to hear more of your ideas, especially against the Slytherins!” James, stubborn as a mule was determined to use this opportunity to allow Remus to join in the small group.

A few minutes passed before Remus smiled a true smile. “That’d be terrific. I’m honoured that you’d want to include me.”

“Well you certainly convinced us,” said Sirius, who wasn’t like James. He had doubts on whether someone as quiet as Remus would be rambunctious enough.

“Come on!” James’ eyes sparkled in mirth. “Let’s start planning!”

The four boys got in a circle on the floor and started to conspire against the Slytherins, Filch, and even girls they thought were annoying. Remus’ sleepiness disappeared as he got into the spirit of the group. He felt happy; he felt like he had found his pack.

Albus Dumbledore, the esteemed headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had three weaknesses. Socks, sherbert lemons, and Bertie Bott’s Jellybeans. He smiled at the rapidly decreasing barrel of jellybeans. So far he had the best of luck and all of the beans were good flavours.

Albus chuckled as he ate a chocolate flavoured one. “Ah, chocolate. I am quite enjoying these as much as Remus is finally enjoying the group he belongs with. Life could not be better at the moment.”

Remus grimaced at the foul smell of cigarette smoke. After working at a gay strip club for a few months, he still hadn’t gotten used to the smell. The night was crowded, as usual, since it was one of the few Muggle gay strip club’s available in London. He looked around and saw many different types of men. Fat men, skinny men, ugly men, handsome men, young men, old men, they were all there, raging with pheromones and a healthy appetite to be shagged. Loud, blaring music was heard from the speakers. This was not Remus’ idea of a night out.

Three years had passed since the Second War Against Darkness, otherwise known as SWAD. Despite many contributions he made toward the war effort, the Ministry refused to acknowledge werewolves as average citizens. The restrictions that had been made on his race had increased. The situations had worsened to the point where many werewolves couldn’t find regular full-time jobs. Remus was one of them. He had turned to prostitution. Something he would have never glanced at when he was younger.

But he had no choice in this matter. He needed money, and this was all he could do for now. At least until the situation improved. He last heard that Hermione Granger was starting a movement similar to that of SPEW, but this time it was known as WUR, Werewolves United Rights. He hoped that Hermione would be able to change something, but so far things looked grim.

The job wasn’t too bad in his opinion. He just didn’t like the boss. He had told beforehand that he needed certain days off each month, and the boss at first didn’t want to let him have days off. But since Remus drew in a lot of customers, his boss gave in grudgingly, saying he deserved some time off. Remus graciously thanked him, but he still did not like his boss. The change did not take a toll on him too much since he worked at night. The Ministry provided him Wolfsbane potion every month. That was about the only good thing to come out of this. They started to provide every werewolf the potion, but the catch was not pleasant.

He sighed as his boss, Neil, called him over. “Yes, Neil?”

The boss was a midget. He was short and stumpy, reminding Remus of Peter Pettigrew. Unfortunately, he had a personality of Lucius Malfoy. Not a good combination for Remus’ part.

“You look nice today. Now go and please some of my customers.” Neil looked over him approvingly. Remus had on leather trousers with a very sheer, black button up shirt. Remus did not like this outfit, but he found out in the earlier days that this was the way to make money.

Remus nodded and walked off toward the crowds, smiling suggestively at any men that looked at him. He knew he wasn’t the most handsome prostitute there, but people still drew to him. His honey-brown hair, flecked with grey, complimented his amber coloured eyes beautifully. To him, those were the only best features he had other than his slim, slender build. He knew his face looked exhausted; he was always tired, thanks to the side effects of lycanthropy. He had a feeling that his charismatic nature was what drew the men to him, especially the dominant ones. He was certainly the submissive type when it came to sex. His inner beast was not an alpha.

Remus glanced at a group of men and was taken aback. He saw one man who looked very familiar. He stopped breathing for a few seconds, shocked.

Oh, Godric… James? Is my past haunting me now? Remus mused to himself as he looked at the young man with messy hair and glasses. It can’t be. He’s dead. Been dead for twenty years now. He slightly staggered and stumbled as wave of emotions came over him.

“Professor Lupin?” Remus’ head snapped up, and his eyes narrowed. Instead of James, he saw Harry Potter. As the figure came closer to him, he saw the unmistakable lightning-shaped scar and the bright green eyes that were the colour of jade and emeralds.

Remus calmed himself down and put his emotions on hold, but he didn’t relax his posture. He then realised that his former student was seeing him in a predicament he didn’t want anyone else to see.

“Harry. Hello.” Remus smiled uncomfortably. “Fancy meeting you here of all places.”

Harry blushed and said, “Ah, well. I’ve been dragged out here by my Quidditch mates here…” He gestured to the group of people he was with.

“I see.” Remus nodded and looked everywhere but at Harry.

“Professor, what are you doing here?”

“I work here.”

Harry raised a surprised eyebrow. “Work? Like serving drinks or something?”

Remus shook his head. “I…” He couldn’t get the words to come out. “Harry, you know the situation with the werewolves now, right?”

“I’ve heard –” Harry’s eyes opened wide. “You mean you’re prostituting?”

“I…” Remus felt shame as his cheeks reddened. What an example he was setting for his best friend’s son, he thought. “This gives me my cheque and allows me to live adequately. I’m satisfied.”

Shaking his head, Harry glared at the floor. “This isn’t right. You and the other werewolves have helped us during the war. You deserve more than this.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “When Hermione mentioned something about the WUR, I had not noticed how bad the circumstances were.”

“Well, it isn’t too bad,” said Remus, lying through his teeth. “I’m happy.”

“As long as you are happy,” Harry trailed off, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

One of the young men suddenly called Harry’s attention. “Hey, Harry! Come on. Let’s go to the dance floor.”

Harry turned to Remus. “I’ll see you around, Professor. It’s been good seeing you.”

Remus nodded and looked on as Harry walked away. Harry sure has become a handsome young man now. After thinking that, he jerked back to reality. He had a job to do.

Remus slowly got up from the bed of a grimy inn and quietly groaned to himself. His arse was numb; his new client hadn’t had any lubricant, so all he had was spit and come for preparation. The client had fallen asleep while Remus remained wide-awake. He was allowed to leave whenever he wanted, so he chose to leave now.

He dressed himself and walked out into the street. It was about four in the morning, and the neighbourhood he was in was silent as a mouse. He decided to walk home, and alone he was, he only had his thoughts to himself.

Seeing Harry after such a long time had impacted him hard. It was as if Harry was the key that unlocked his soul. Oblivious to everything around him while walking, memories poured out of him, and he saw it all in front of him. The first day he came to Hogwarts; James and Sirius befriended him and protected him from the Slytherins such as Lucius Malfoy. The Sorting Hat telling him he was to be with the Gryffindors. The days when the four of them became the Marauders. The times they ransacked almost all of Hogwarts and the areas around it. The surprise and joy he felt when his friends became Animagi for him. The moments where he and James would make love and how much love he received and gave. Then the betrayals of Sirius, the loss of James as his lover…the hurt still resided until this day.

He sighed and closed his eyes tightly as he came into the dingy neighbourhoods. He walked numbly into the building where he lived and climbed the stairs to his flat. With the door being spelled to acknowledge his aura, he lightly touched the door and it opened on its own. He went in, shut the door, and slumped to the floor against it.

He tiredly looked around his small living quarters. It was a single room. The bedroom, sitting room, kitchen and dining room were all in it. There was one other room, and behind the door, there was the toilet and the washroom.

He was thankful that he at least had a fireplace. He dug out his wand out from his coat pocket, and waved it, watching the warm flame come bursting to life. He welcomed the warmth, but he still felt cold all over. He got up from the floor and walked over to his lumpy bed. He took off his jacket, put his wand under his pillow, and fell on the bed causing it to creak loudly. He curled up in a foetal position and continued to think of the good days and the bad days it came with.

Remus didn’t know when he fell asleep. He woke up several hours later. Feeling sore all over, he stretched out and looked out the small window. He guessed it must have been about noon now. Suddenly, something darkened his window, and he instinctively grabbed his wand. Seeing that it was only an owl delivering the newspaper, he relaxed a notch and went to obtain it. He paid the owl and watched it fly off.

Clutching the paper in his hand, he walked over to a worn out armchair. As he unfolded the paper, he sat down and got in a comfortable position. He looked at the front cover, and he kept on staring at it.

On the cover was Harry Potter on his broomstick catching a Snitch. Whoever took the picture must have been one of those fans that wanted to shag him because the movements of his muscles were visible through his Quidditch uniform, there were beads of sweat around his forehead, and his long slim figure stood out magnificently in this picture. The angles and the shots were perfect.

As Remus stared at the picture, he glanced at the headline news that read “Potter Caught the Snitch!! The Championship is Near!!” He couldn’t help but envision the young man there to be James had he gone into Quidditch instead of becoming an Auror. His hand gently caressed the photograph, and Remus looked at it for a long time.

A few weeks passed. Remus did his daily and nightly routines. The moon came and went with no hassle, though it left him exhausted as usual. Every night, the club seemed to get new business, so he steadily gained more customers and as well as the regulars. He became so busy that almost all thoughts of James and Harry left his mind. With that fact in mind, he was surprised to see Harry back at the club. This time by himself.

Harry was the one who alerted his presence first. Remus was standing in front of the bar sipping his whisky. “Hello again, Professor.”

Recognising the voice, Remus looked up, concealing his astonishment. “Good evening, Harry.” With hesitation he said, “I…I wasn’t expecting to see you here again.”

“Well,” Harry shrugged, “the season’s over now, and I’m going mad just staying home, so I figured I could stop by here.”

“The season is over already?” The information surprised Remus. With everything going on, he wasn’t keeping up with the news.

“For my team, yes it’s over. On our last match, the entire team was having an off day. The Chasers kept missing the Quaffle, the Beaters kept missing their target, and so forth so on. I had a mild headache that day as well, so my concentration was weak.”

Remus nodded sympathetically. “And you were so close to getting the championship.”

“Yeah. Bugger it. It’s nothing though. As much as I love flying, I couldn’t wait for the season to be over with. It is rather exhausting, professional Quidditch is at least.”

A peaceful silence surrounded the two men. Remus looked around and saw a lot of action going on in the crowds. He wondered if he should go find a client or not, but he didn’t want to be rude and leave Harry behind. Harry got comfortable on the bar stool and asked for a drink. As soon as Harry got his beverage, he drank it.

“Professor–”

“Remus. Call me Remus, Harry. I am not your teacher and haven’t been your teacher since your third year,” said Remus, gently correcting him.

“Remus…” The way his named rolled off of Harry’s tongue gave him the shivers down his back. “Could we go somewhere else?”

Remus’ eyes went wide open at the question. “Pardon?”

“Like…I mean…could we go somewhere to talk?”

“Harry…”

“Please? Just that I haven’t seen you around so long, although I just couldn’t find you, and I was wondering where you were, what you were doing. Now that I’ve found you, I want to remain in contact with you.”

Remus smiled slowly. “Well, good to see I was missed. However, I’m afraid I am going to have to pass the offer. I have work to do tonight, Harry.”

Harry’s green eyes blazed with anger. In a hushed voice he said, “This isn’t a job, Remus. You don’t deserve this.”

“Harry…”

“No! Listen to me. You’re a well-respected person. With everything you’ve done for us, you should be fighting for your rights instead of giving in to those bloody Ministry bastards!”

Remus didn’t reply. He knew Harry was right to an extent, but he also knew he wasn’t going to win. The fact that if he did rebel against the Ministry, it might land him in more troubles than he ever wished.

Looking down at his amber-coloured drink, Harry swirled it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t talk to you like that. It’s just that…” Harry sighed. “This whole situation just bollocks.”

Remus smiled kindly at him. “Don’t I know that.”

Another moment of silence passed between them before Remus broke it. “Give me your address. I’ll come around on Sunday. That’s my day off.”

Harry brightened at the turn of event. “Okay.” Getting a card and a pen from the bartender, he wrote it down and handed it to Remus. “Here.” Their hands met for the first time, and Remus pushed away the sudden feeling of not wanting to let go.

“Thanks, Harry. I’ll be there around two o’clock.”

“Sure. Do come. I’ll even cook dinner for us.” Harry jumped off the stool and looked at him. “Great seeing you again, Remus. Good night.”

“Good night to you as well, Harry,” said Remus. He watched Harry leave and proceeded to get some work done.

Sunday came, and Remus was going nuts getting ready to go to Harry’s. He went through the small collection he had as his wardrobe and kept saying no to every single garment he owned.

Finally, he chose a simple khaki trousers with a white button-up shirt. “Why do I even care what I wear? This isn’t a date or anything. Get over it, Remus Lupin,” he chided to himself.

Debating on wearing a robe or not, he decided to just wear a green sweater over the shirt. “It’s not like I’m going to walk over there, so I might as well not wear anything too warm.”

Remus sighed and saw that it was only noon. “And here I am getting ready two hours beforehand. Sometimes I hate my punctual-ness.

“Why did I accept this invitation? I just do not feel comfortable about this. Every time I see him, I see James. I just have this urge to do stuff with Harry like I did with James.”

Getting up from his bed, he went to his bookcase and selected a random book. Remus must have been really out of it for he chose a potion text. “Might as well use this to entertain myself for the next two hours.” So he got comfortable and attempted to read the book.

Harry looked up expectantly when he heard the familiar sound that followed Apparating. Smiling, he said, “Hello, Remus. Glad you could come. I’ve looked forward to this.” And had he ever! Like Remus, Harry fiddled his thumb since noon and couldn’t get content. The last time he felt this nervous was the day he had the Sorting Hat on.

Standing up, Harry spread his hands around. “Have a seat, Remus. Get comfortable.”

With a smile toward to Harry, Remus sat down in one of the chairs and looked around. It was a cosy flat. Along with the sitting room, where they were at now, the place was accommodated with two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, and a dining room.

“This is a nice flat,” Remus lamely said.

“Thanks. I chose it myself. Probably the first thing I ever did to live on my own.” Still standing, Harry then asked, “Would you like some tea? Or anything else to drink?”

“Tea sounds excellent. Thank you.”

Harry left the room, and Remus looked around again closely. The area above the fireplace in the room was decorated with picture frames. Remus stood up and looked. There were pictures of Ron, Hermione, and the three of them together, his ex-dorm mates, and the wedding picture. Remus gasped. James’ and Lily’s wedding. The day he knew James was lost from him forever.

How young we looked then…James so happy, carefree, with no worries in the world. All he wanted to do was have a family and support them, he thought to himself. He raised his hand and gently caressed the picture. I wonder how Harry acquired this photograph.

Harry walked in the room, carrying a tray with the teacups, sugar, and cream. He noticed Remus staring at the picture, and a sad smile came on his face. “It hurts doesn’t it?” He set the tray down on a table and stood next to Remus.

“Yes. How did you get this?” Remus asked softly.

“Hagrid gave it to me. He sent me an album full of pictures of dad and mum. I love this picture. So I retook it with a Muggle’s camera and had it enlarged.”

“Sirius, James, Lily…” Remus looked at Harry.

“Tell me. Tell me about the wedding. You were there, right?”

Remus hesitated. “I…”

Noticing Remus’ uncertain movement, Harry replied, “It’s okay if you do not want to talk about it.”

“No,” said Remus, shaking his head. “You deserve to know.” Again, Remus looked at the photograph, and he reached out to touch the frame. “They, your parents, were so happy that day. Their joy was so blatantly obvious to even the blindest person. A lot of friends and family members came to the wedding. Lily wanted a Muggle style wedding, and James didn’t complain. In a way, he had the same fascination that Arthur Weasley has of the Muggles.

“Of course, Sirius was the best man, and boy did he have a blast flirting with Lily’s bridesmaids. Being the charmer he was, though, the ladies didn’t mind.” Remus smiled softly at the memory.

“I’m curious, but who caught my mother’s bouquet?” Harry asked with a silly grin on his face. Without knowing it, he leaned closer to Remus.

“Believe it or not,” said Remus who chose to ignore Harry’s action, “it was Peter.”

Harry wrinkled his nose. “Ugh. That sodding bastard doesn’t deserve anyone but Riddle.”

Remus didn’t say anything.

“Cat got your tongue?” Harry teased lightly.

“No, you just gave me a disgusting mental image I could have done without.”

Harry blinked. “Wha-?” Sudden realisation passed him through, and he turned tomato red. “That is a frightening image.”

“Shall we change the subject?” Remus walked away from the fireplace, not wanting to bring back any more memories.

Nodding, Harry followed Remus who sat down on the couch. Harry sat next to Remus and sighed. “Well, it will be a while till dinner. I’m making roast beef as the main course tonight followed by either tea or alcohol. Hope you like it.”

“That is one of my favourite dishes, and I know you have great culinary skills.” Remus looked over and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Well, so far no one has keeled over, so I’ll take that as a good sign.”

The two men burst out laughing. The atmosphere between them turned to a comfortable one, and they continued to talk for the next several hours.

Feeling the light sensation of the alcohol, Remus happily hummed to himself as he flooed into his fireplace. He could have easily Apparated, but he didn’t want to risk it after remembering how Sirius nearly splinched himself after a little drinking binge.

He crashed into his armchair and stared at the wall in front of him with a goofy smile on his face. Dinner was quite an experience. It was probably the first decent meal Remus had had in ages. He was pleased to see that Harry’s cooking skills hadn’t declined in the last several years. After the meal, both of them had some whiskey. They both drank enough to be tipsy.

While sipping on their drinks, they both talked about a lot of random stuff. Remus found out that Ron and Hermione had gotten married. He remembered Harry telling him that Ginny had chased after him, but after a public announcement of Harry being gay, Ginny was heartbroken for a while. After getting over the fact that Harry was not interested in woman, she and Harry became good friends. They would still sometimes meet and go guy hunting.

Remus sat up quickly as something came to him. He vaguely recalled gently stroking Harry’s cheek. While doing so, he also told Harry that he had become a handsome young man. Handsome like his father, but Remus hadn’t said that part.

“Shite!” Remus jumped out of the armchair and started a frenzied walk around his small flat. “Fuck.”

Remus covered his face with his hands, feeling the heat, the effect of the alcohol still swarming through his body. “I can’t believe I told Harry that. What was I thinking?” Remus continued his monologue with himself. “Bloody hell…I hope Harry doesn’t remember that part of the conversation later.”

He stopped walking and leaned against the wall on his back for support. He recalled how Harry’s cheek felt. It felt warm. He could still feel Harry’s hot breath on his fingers when they had gotten close to Harry’s mouth. The happy expression on Harry’s face, the sound Harry laughing with such joy.

Remus briefly wondered if Harry’s cheeks were flushed due to the alcohol or his touch. A small voice in the back of his head was hoping for the latter. Harry did look incredibly shaggable tonight though. Throughout the night, Remus noticed that Harry had the tendency to bite his lips while talking, so they were red themselves and very kissable looking.

Remus’ reverie was interrupted by a stirring down in his groin. “Fuck!” Remus decided that it was time for a shower. A cold shower. Anything to get rid of these thoughts of wanting to fuck his ex-lover’s son.

“I’m going mad, and I must be drunk. That’s the only reason why I am suddenly lusting after Prongs’ boy,” Remus muttered, ignoring the voice in his head, which at that moment was yelling that Harry wasn’t a boy, but a man now.

“Definitely cold. Ice cold.”

After a refreshing, icy shower, Remus changed into some pyjamas and fell on the bed. While on his back, he stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out why all these strange thoughts were in his head. Strange and very wrong thoughts.

Am I just getting James and Harry confused now, he wondered to himself. I mean…lately all these memories have been coming back to me. Even after all these years, James is the only one I’ve ever loved. Maybe my heart cannot distinguish between the two people unlike my brain can.

Remus sighed and hugged the pillow to himself. He slowly drifted off into a troubled sleep, hoping to get Harry out of his mind. Wondering if he’ll just forget about all of this tomorrow. That’s what he wanted. To just go back to his life before Harry had entered it.

Over the next few days, Remus grew more and more disgusted with himself. He threw himself into work, wanting to get rid of all his lusty thoughts. It did not work much to Remus’ disappointment. While working, instead of seeing his clients’ faces, images of Harry straddling him, pleasuring him replaced who he was really with at the moment.

When he was off of work, he tried to distract himself. Nothing worked; it was like everything was against him. No matter how hard he tried, he could not stop thinking about Harry.

Hell, even the weather was against him. It was only May, and it was so bloody hot. Hot to the point that he walked around shirtless in his flat. Just as he was about charm some cooling spell, his wards went off, alerting him that someone was at his door. He clutched his wand as he opened the door slightly. He was so surprised to see Harry that he opened it all the way, forgetting that he was shirtless, forgetting all the troubles he had trying to get Harry out of his mind.

He swallowed hard before he said, “Harry. What a nice surprise. And…how did you find this place?”

Harry wanted Remus.

Ever since that Sunday they had spent together, he wanted Remus. Blimey, even before that, he had some kind of feelings for the other man that were beyond friendship! He could still feel Remus’ soft touch grazing his cheeks. And he’d never forget how, in a husky voice, Remus told him that he was handsome. A soft blush came to Harry whenever he thought of that comment. Sure, he was used to getting such compliments about his looks, but from Remus, it sounded more genuine. It affected him strongly.

He could not get Remus out of his mind, and he was happy about it. He wanted to get to know the older man. Ever since Harry’s third year, Remus was always kind to him. He was one of the few people who looked past his scar to see who he really was. Every time the two of them talk, it gave Harry the impression of coming home. It was as if Remus had his arms wide open for Harry to come into.

After the horrible encounter with Cho in his fifth year, he really didn’t think about entering a serious relationship. After the defeat of Voldemort and completion of his studies at Hogwarts, he had plenty of flings with other young men. Until Remus came into the picture, Harry was content with his lifestyle. Now, he only wanted Remus.

Not wanting to rush headstrong into this new situation like a Gryffindor, he decided to keep himself busy with other stuff. He went out and met up with Ginny, along with Ron and Hermione. They all had some catching up to do. Harry didn’t tell them about his feelings for Remus, but he did ask Hermione about the WUR movement and its status.

“Oh, Harry. It’s going quite well. At the rate we are going now, coupled that my position at the Ministry, we may see some significant changes soon. Maybe in a few months at the least.”

“That’s good to hear,” Harry said. “Things really need to improve for the werewolves.”

“Would you like to provide a statement in regarding the WUR?” Hermione suddenly asked enthusiastically. “With your status, and name, it will go much faster.”

For once, Harry had no hesitation in wanting to use his fame in such a manner. “Why not? I do think this is unfair.”

Aside from a personal statement, Hermione also took out a petition. There were already a few names on it. Names such as Arthur Weasley, Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Neville Longbottom, and etc. A lot of these names had titles such as “Order of Merlin, First Class, Second Class, etc.”

Harry made sure to sign his name legibly, and put down Order of Merlin, First Class and any other titles that would put him on a higher status.

“Thanks, Harry!” Hermione put the petition away, and they soon talked about something more cheery.

He wasn’t able to really concentrate on the conversations afterward. Ginny noticed the far away look on Harry face but didn’t say anything. Later, when the quartet broke up, it was just him and Ginny. They were heading toward the same direction, so they ended up walking together.

Ginny took the opportunity to tease him. “So the famous Harry Potter actually fell in love, eh?”

“Wha–?” Harry feeling himself blushing deeply.

“After the whole thing dealing with the WUR, you went quiet. You looked like you were daydreaming about something or someone.”

“Well,” Harry sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, “I wouldn’t say love yet. But it seems pretty close to it.”

“Anyone I know?”

Harry nodded.

“Hrm. I think I can guess who it is.” Ginny smiled and patted Harry on the shoulders. “It’s Professor Lupin, isn’t it?”

“Blimey, am I that transparent?”

“Nah,” Ginny sniggered. “But I do remember you telling me that you ran into him in a club that one night with your Quidditch team. And your sudden interest in the WUR…”

Harry sighed. “Well, we did meet several nights ago at my place. He did tell me that I was handsome, and touched my cheeks…”

“Well, I reckon you’re the one who’s gonna enforce it. And I wish you luck!” Ginny slapped him playfully on the shoulder. They had come to a fork in the street that made them go separate ways. “Keep me posted.”

“Sure. Cheerio.” He waved and watched her disappear amongst the crowd before he started down his street.

As he walked down the street, he dug out a piece of paper from his pocket. It was the address of Remus’ flat. Harry was quite surprised and pleased when Remus told him its location when both were tipsy.

I wonder if he realised that he was giving this to me, Harry asked himself as he passed the different people in the street. When I first asked him, he didn’t want to tell me his address. But after getting a few drinks in him, he was willing to share it with me. Is it because he lives in one of the poorer sections? He should know that I don’t give a rat’s arse about that. I guess it’s pride.

Harry was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t notice he had passed his area and was closer to Remus’ flat. He didn’t even notice that the weather was particularly hot today. He shrugged to himself and decided to go pay Remus a visit. He located the building and walked up several flights of stairs. Even before he reached the front door, he could tell that Remus had warded it.

Instead of knocking, Harry stood in front of the door, waiting for Remus to open it. Soon he heard the audible click of the lock and saw Remus through partially opened door. He then had a hard time controlling himself from pouncing on a shirtless Remus.

He tried not stare, but it was quite difficult. He could see that the heat was getting to Remus. Remus’ skin was glistening with sweat, some of it slowly dripped off of his lower jaw. Harry wanted to lick the salty liquid, wanted to feel the taste of Remus. His gaze went a bit lower, and he saw scars here and there on Remus’ slender shoulders, arms, and chest. He just noticed that he was actually broader and taller than the older man.

“Harry. What a nice surprise. And…how did you find this place?”

Harry mentally slapped himself and proceeded to answer the question. “Oh, hello, Remus. I was in the area and decided to drop by. You gave me the address the other night. Not sure if you remember it.”

Remus frowned as he motioned Harry to come in. “Did I? I guess I was too tipsy to bear that in mind.”

“Ah, well, if you’re currently busy, I can leave.”

“No, I’m not occupied at the moment. Have a seat. I was about to do some cooling charms. The weather is burning me up.”

Harry stepped in and noticed that Remus’ flat was smaller than his place. He saw an armchair and a small couch. He took a seat at the couch and watched Remus wave his wand. “Really? I hadn’t realised that we are having a sudden heat wave or anything like that.”

“Ah, that feels so much better,” Remus said after he had cast the cooling charms. He walked to the kitchen and asked, “Want anything to drink, Harry?”

“Tea’s fine with me, Remus.” Harry waited until Remus came back with a tray which he set on the small table between the armchair and the couch. They each prepared their cups, and both started to drink it. “Hermione gave me some news about the WUR movement. She said it’s doing pretty well.”

“Really.” Remus took an apathetic approach to it. Harry saw Remus suddenly flushing. He wondered if the heat got to Remus again or not. He followed Remus’ gaze to the shirt on the floor, next to Remus’ armchair. He watched as Remus set his cup of tea down to retrieve the shirt. Before the shirt went on Remus, Harry grabbed his wrist with his larger hand with callused fingers.

“Don’t. You look nice the way you are,” Harry whispered, nearly forcing the sound to be audible. “I like seeing you shirtless.”

Remus grew flustered. “Harry, no. This isn’t right.”

Harry grew cheeky. “Honestly, Remus, I’m just telling you how I feel.”

“And I feel that this is not right.”

That didn’t discourage Harry as he guided both of them to stand up. While getting up, Harry grabbed Remus’ other wrist causing the shirt to fall out of the grip. They stood in front of each other, with only a couple of inches of space separating them. “I really, really like you, Remus. I couldn’t get you out of my mind for the past few days.”

“Harry. We can’t do this.” Harry saw the dazed and confused expression on Remus’ exhausted face.

“Give me a reason why we can’t.”

“Well.” At this point, Harry leaned over and started to lick his earlobes. “Er, I’m way older than you.”

“Twenty years is not that much of a difference. It won’t even be noticeable in another five years or so.”

“You deserve someone younger, someone…who’s not a cursed beast like me.”

Harry actually stopped teasing Remus and grabbed him a bit harshly by the shoulders. “Don’t you ever say that, Remus. You are not a cursed beast! I do not know anyone else that’s this sensitive and kind as you. That label is not for you or for any other good werewolves out there.” Harry rested his forehead against Remus’ and breathed in deeply while smelling the other’s man woodsy scent. He lessened his hold on Remus a bit.

“Harry, also, I did go to school with your parents. Bloody hell! I even changed your nappies as a baby!”

“That’s not stopping me.” And really, it didn’t. Harry leaned in ever so slowly, tilted his head a bit and closed his eyes. His lips gently grazed Remus’, and Harry felt Remus giving into temptation. Emboldened by Remus’ still action, he kissed again, this time with a bit more zeal. After a few seconds, Harry traced Remus’ lips with his tongue, wanting to seek entrance. He could feel that Remus didn’t want to grant permission. In the end, Harry felt Remus’ mouth part open, giving him the consent.

Harry deepened the kiss with gentle yet heated strokes. He delved into the crevices and other nooks and crannies in Remus’ mouth. He was surprised to see that Remus was quite the submissive type. The notions slipped past him as he continued the kiss. One of his hands went to the back of Remus’ head to support the kiss. The other hand slipped past the shoulder and brushed against one of the sensitive nipples.

Harry felt like he was lost in heaven. If this is heaven, I’d like to stay here for eternity.

Remus deemed himself to be in purgatory, a place slammed between heaven and hell. After he had invited Harry in, he felt the temperature in his flat rising another twenty degrees or so.

Remus grabbed his shirt, but when Harry’s hand had grabbed his wrist, he felt the warmth tingling down his arm to his groin. The calluses on Harry’s hand gave such texture to the grip, that he felt even more affected than usual.

When he was pulled to stand close to Harry, he thought he would almost stop breathing from the extreme closeness. He felt dizzy. The last time he felt anything of this was when he was with James. Strangely though, it felt different. It was like James’ aura, but different.

Remus could feel all his coherent thoughts disappearing when Harry started to lick his earlobes. He slowly melted under Harry’s teasing ministration but was jolted back to reality when Harry had grabbed his shoulders with anger, after he had truthfully tried to tell Harry he was a beast.

With the subject of the nappies, Remus tried to bring a little humour into his reasoning on why they shouldn’t be doing this, but that failed as well. He wanted this to stop, but at the same time, he didn’t want it to end. He wanted it to continue, despite his rational side screaming at him.

When their lips finally met, he gave into the temptation. He closed his eyes as he allowed the slight pressure on his lips to fulfil his desires. The second kiss overwhelmed him even more. Just this kiss, he could feel Harry’s love flowing between them. When he felt Harry’s tongue tracing at the entrance of his mouth, he hesitated to comply, but his desires won him over as he succumbed to Harry’s wishes. He parted his lips, and the delicious sensation of Harry exploring his mouth went beyond his expectations.

It wasn’t until Harry brushed one of his nipples that woke Remus up from his stupor. His eyes opened wide, and he shoved Harry back hard, wanting to quell down the attraction he felt toward the younger man. “Harry. No. We cannot do this.”

“Rem–” Remus cut him off.

“Just leave. Please!” Remus’ voice took on a desperate note.

He had figured that Harry heard the franticness behind the voice. He was grateful when Harry decided not to push anything further today.

Harry sighed and said, “Thank you for the tea. And I’m sorry if I upset you. I’m going now.”

Remus leaned against the wall, and when he was sure Harry was out of the flat, he sank down on the floor. He accioed a pillow and muffled his screams of frustration. After screaming till he was hoarse, he sat in that position for a long time.

The next few days passed like a slow, hazy mist. Remus was at the club. One of his regular clients was talking to him, but for Remus, the client might as well been talking in Spanish. Remus could barely make out the words, let alone remember what the other man was talking about.

Remus smiled, nodded, sipped his drink, and tried to pretend that his mind was in the club. Anything to rid his mind of Harry. James, Harry. Before, Remus had almost considered them the same person. Somewhere along the way, they became the two separate people they were. Sure, the two Potters looked a lot alike, but Remus noticed that Harry was gentler, more sensitive than James ever was.

Instead of seeing just James, he saw in Harry both spirits of Lily and James. Lily was a very special person as well as James. But she was different from James. Almost like balancing the two out. That was what Harry was. A mixture of two people who made a big impact in his life.

Remus’ client, Patrick, leaned close and was breathing on Remus’ exposed neck. He said something, but Remus didn’t catch it. Afterward, Patrick stood up and left. In his place, Harry came up to Remus.

That startled Remus out of his daze.

Harry leaned in to whisper in Remus’ ear. “We need to talk.”

Remus sighed and closed his eyes tightly. “Good. I need to tell you something.” He put his drink down at the bar and then lightly grabbed Harry’s arm, leading them towards the backdoor. Beyond the door was a small lounge, a quieter place. Remus sat down in one of the couches, and Harry followed suit.

“Look,” Harry spread his hands out in front of him. “I’m sorry about the other day, but I truly do like you. I just want to know how you–”

“Your father and I, we used to be lovers.”

A calm, soft voice delivered that line, and it seemed as if Harry almost didn’t catch it. “What?”

Remus knew there was no turning back. Harry needed to know the truth even if it ended up hurting Remus himself. “Before your father was with your mother, he was with me. Our relationship ended when he realised that he wanted to be with Lily.”

“Wait, so you loved my dad?”

“Yes, and I still do.”

Harry’s eyes hardened. “You’re saying that I’m just a…replacement for him? Because I look a lot like him? Merlin, do I even act like him?!”

Remus averted his gaze before he answered. “Yes,” he lied through his teeth. “You are a replacement for him, and you do act like him.” No. You don’t. You’re not him! Remus wanted to say that instead but couldn’t.

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

“Then look at me and say the whole bloody thing to my face.”

Remus stiffened right on the spot. He raised his face to look at Harry. “We just can’t be together. It’s not right.”

“You haven’t answered my question. Can you really tell me the same answer while looking at me?” Harry looked like he was about to lash out at Remus in frustration.

Remus didn’t reply for a good while. He continued to look at the man in front of him. He tried to memorise the way Harry’s messy hair fell onto his forehead. Tried to remember how Harry, when he frowned, looked even more desirable than ever. It was almost as if Remus wanted to remember everything before removing Harry out of his life permanently.

“Remus?” Harry asked softly.

“Harry,” Remus began, clenching his hands into tight fists. “James and I, we were together for a good year and a half. Even after we separated, I never stopped loving him. And yes, I do see you in him. But I also see your mother. You are not the exact mirror image of your father in neither appearance nor personality.”

Harry stood up and didn’t say anything. He was deep in his thoughts.

“So Harry, even though you are not a replacement for your father, we still cannot do this. Your parents will be rolling in their graves by now with what we are doing. Just leave.” With Harry hovering over him, Remus felt like he didn’t have the upper-hand as he should’ve, but he didn’t really care at that moment. He just wanted Harry to disappear, so things could go back to the way they were.

Harry moved and stopped in front of Remus. He trapped Remus on the couch by placing his hands on both sides of Remus’ face, and then he leaned over until their faces were very near one another.

“I left once before, I am not leaving again. And as for my parents, they would have wanted me to be happy. For me to be happy is to be with you. They would have understood and accepted it.”

“Harry.” Remus felt that same dizzy feelings he felt the last time he and Harry were this close to each other. “I–”

Someone cleared their voice from nearby, interrupting the mood and the moment. Both Harry and Remus turned to the direction of the sound and saw Remus’ boss standing there, looking at the two of them with a pinched expression.

“I’m sorry to interrupt such a –” a sneer, “–interesting conversation, but one of your clients is demanding to see you tonight, Remus.”

Harry stepped away from Remus and walked a bit closer to the boss. “I’m his client tonight.”

Neil eyed Harry suspiciously. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you as a regular of Remus’. If you were a regular, I’d allow it, but a more important customer is waiting for him.”

“Not tonight. Tell him to go find another sodding man for pleasure,” Harry said in a dangerous, low voice.

Before things could turn ugly, Remus hastily got up from the couch and touched Harry on the shoulders. “Sorry, Neil. Don’t mind him. Just give me a few minutes, and I’ll be out.”

“Hn. Three minutes.” Neil gave one last appraisal of Harry before he turned and left the two of them alone.

Remus sighed and turned Harry around so they could face each other. A silence hung between them for a moment before Harry broke it. “You shouldn’t be doing this.”

“It’s currently my job, and I intend to do it.” Remus stepped back and went on, hoping what he said next would placate Harry a bit. “Look, as soon as I finish, we’ll talk more.”

“Then come to my place when you’re done.”

Remus hesitantly nodded. Before he could walk further, Harry reached and gave Remus’ hand a quick squeeze. “I’ll be waiting.”

Without another word, Remus went to see his customer, leaving Harry behind to stare after the retreating figure.

Remus sighed as he left Patrick behind at the hotel room. Apparently, Patrick had fought with someone, and he needed a way to vent his frustration. He decided to do so by having sex with Remus. And it was a rough one. While waiting for the lift to come up, Remus randomly thought, Patrick must’ve been really upset. Not like this was bad or anything…just a bit forceful for my tastes. Of course I’ve had worse.

Remus exited the lift and felt the cool air. The streets were empty. Remus checked his watch and saw that it was past two in the morning. As he walked in the direction of Harry’s flat, he wondered if Harry was still up. He could Apparate to Harry’s place, but his mind was not in the right state. He needed to walk to let his mind wander loose, by having a silent battle with himself.

Do I dare go? I did tell him I’d come. But if I go, it may not be a good idea. Things might happen. Things that I really do not want to confront. Yet if I don’t go, he’ll get mad, and he’ll be hurt. I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t know what to do anymore. I really wonder what James would say if he was still alive. Before, I could imagine what James would say in all the situations I’ve come upon, but this one is just leaving my mind blank. It’s as if his presence is no longer in my mind.

Remus sighed heavily as he continued down the streets, hearing his footstep echo through the night.

Soon, Remus arrived at the building Harry lived in. He stood there, looking at a lone window, its lights showing dimly through the curtains. Harry indeed was waiting for Remus. Someone cared enough to be waiting for him despite how late it was. Cared enough to the point of telling Remus that he deserved a better job than the one he currently occupied. Cared enough to look past Remus’ curse, his shame. It was as if Remus had been given a second chance. Only his second chance was with his first love’s son.

Rain started to fall, and it covered the sudden tears that escaped his eyes. The overwhelming realisation that someone really cared for him confused Remus, made his heart ache. With a heavy heart, he turned and faced the way he had come. He couldn’t face Harry now. No, he was not himself. He began to walk off, forcing his legs to walk. He couldn’t walk fast enough; it was as if his legs were made of lead.

The rain fell harder. The sounds of the water hitting the pavement, windows on cars, and the roof of the houses all covered the sounds of someone’s feet pounding the ground. Remus felt a presence behind him. Before he could turn around, arms came from behind and brought him into a broad chest. A warm breath fluttered his cheek.

Remus then realised it was raining, as well as he was crying. He noticed that he and whoever was embracing him were both wet to their skins. “Let go.” His voice was hoarse, the sounds barely above a whisper.

“No. I won’t. I’m not letting you,” said a voice just as faint as his. “I saw you from the window. You were just standing there. Then it looked like something came over you, and you were going to leave.”

“I have to go.” Remus tried to get out of the embrace, but he didn’t have much energy to fight against Harry’s strong grip. Instead, he had turned himself and was facing Harry.

After seeing Harry’s face, he quickly looked somewhere else. The way the green eyes, the softness of them, stared back at him with such compassion and love jabbed him. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t look at me that way.”

Harry cocked his head in confusion. “In what way?”

“Like…like…” Remus wearily rested his forehead on Harry’s shoulder. “You can see through me.”

“Ah.” Remus felt Harry take a breath to speak, and he shivered. Apparently, Harry realised how cold Remus was, how wet they both were, and decided against having this conversation in the pouring rain. “Let’s go in. You need a hot shower.” He then put an arm around Remus’ thin shoulders and led both of them back into his flat. Remus, feeling exhausted, didn’t bother to try struggle or argue. He decided to let Harry take care of everything at that moment.

After a warm shower, Remus borrowed a fluffy bathrobe from Harry and sat on the couch. Soon, Harry, clad only in a pair of shorts, joined him, making sure that there was enough space between them, so Remus wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. The two sat in peace for a long time. The drumming sounds from the rain outside and the crackling from the flames in the fireplace were the only sounds around them.

Harry glanced at Remus and saw that the other man was staring at the fire while holding onto the front of the robes.

Harry jumped when Remus started to say something.

“You know, if it’s sex you want, then we can just do it and go our separate ways,” Remus said, still staring at the fireplace.

“What?!” Harry exclaimed in anger and shock. “How can you say such a thing!”

“That’s what I am, Harry. A prostitute. A whore. A fucking slut.”

Without warning, Harry slapped Remus. By instinct, Remus immediately covered the throbbing cheek and stared at Harry in disbelief.

“You are not a fucking slut, whore, or whatever you think you are. And you are not a beast either! You’re Remus Lupin, a great, law-abiding citizen who deserves the same right as everyone else in this sodding world!” Harry shouted, his eyes bright with anger. “Quit degrading yourself!”

Remus ducked his head down, unable to meet Harry’s eyes. “Harry…”

“Remus…” Harry sighed, feeling the anger slowly leaving him. He reached out and grabbed Remus by the chin and gently lifted it up. “Look at me. You are Remus Lupin, and I…” He leaned in closer till their lips were only mere centimetres apart. “I love you.”

Remus was tired. Tired of fighting against his desires to be with Harry. Tired of escaping from all of this. Tired of being alone, not being with someone he loved. He wanted Harry; he loved Harry for who he was, not because he was James’ son. He loved Harry Potter, too.

Click on the image for the larger version. Fanart by Rana.

He stayed still, looking deep into the passion-driven, green eyes. He parted his lips by instinct as Harry came closer and closed the gap between them. He closed his eyes tight to prevent the tears from coming out as he leaned into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Harry.

Like before, Harry was kissing him with such tenderness. He was exploring Remus’ mouth again, and as the kissing progressed, so did the intensity of Harry’s movement. Remus moaned softly into the kiss and then almost whimpered when he felt the lips leaving him. All thoughts of abandonment left Remus as he felt Harry moving downward onto his exposed neck. He could feel Harry lightly nipping and sucking on his soft flesh. When Harry stopped to look at him, Remus nearly whimpered at the loss of the pleasant feelings.

“Harry…” Remus ran his hands through Harry’s uncontrollable trusses.

“Remus. I want to make love to you…” Harry gave him a determined look.

Remus nodded and smiled a bit unsurely. He then cocked his head curiously as he saw Harry standing up. Harry extended a hand out towards him and Remus took it. “Bedroom. I don’t think the couch will be very comfortable.”

“I’ve had worse,” Remus tried to joke to lighten the situation.

“Well, not with me are you going to have some third rate sex session,” Harry dryly said. He led them to the bedroom and then turned off the light on the switch and then waved a hand to light up candles around the bedroom.

Remus blushed at Harry’s comment. He then stared at the candles. “Prepared, eh?”

Now Harry turned crimson. “Well…er…”

“Hush…” Remus put a finger against Harry’s lips. “Thank you…for preparing this for me.”

Harry smiled and ran his tongue across Remus’ fingers. He manoeuvred them to the bed. Sitting on the edge, with Remus lying on his back, Harry kissed Remus again and with one hand, he undid the front of Remus’ robes. Once opened, Remus felt like he did that hot day when Harry had come over, the time he was shirtless. He soon felt Harry planting light kisses all over his chest and torso.

“I like your scars…they are a part of you, and scars are sexy.” Harry gave Remus a grin while Remus blushed at the compliments.

“Harry…” Remus squirmed under the ministrations from Harry, getting more and more aroused as time went on. “Let me pleasure you…”

“No. I’m going to do this. You just relax. I want you to enjoy this for a change.” Harry continued his explorations on Remus’ torso as he went lower. Remus couldn’t help but gasped in delights, panted in wants, and moaned with sultriness.

The creaking of the bed, the rustle of the sheets, the sound of clothes, as few there were, falling on the ground, the moans and groans from the two lovers calling out each others name went on through the night. Their silhouette on the walls flickered against the candlelight. The sounds of the rain slowly ceased as the night went on, a night where two souls finally found each other.

As the candles started to die, Remus felt thoroughly exhausted and satisfied. Warm arms were wrapped him in a protective manner. He heard Harry sighing. Just as he was about to drift off, Harry stroked his scratchy cheeks and ran his hands through Remus’ sweat-drenched locks. The last thing Remus recalled was Harry’s embrace tightening gently around him.

Remus woke up with the sun glaring in his eyes. He blinked to get them adjusted and then realised that he was not at home. He felt someone’s arms around him, and he shifted in them to see who they belonged to.

“Harry,” Remus mumbled softly, as the last few hours came rushing back to him.

Harry moved and opened his eyes to look into Remus’ face. With a smile, he said, “Good morning or afternoon if it’s past noon. Sleep alright?”

Remus nodded, realising this was the first time he had slept well in a long time. Harry leaned over and planted a soft kiss on his cheek as he brought Remus back into a tight embrace. “Harry…?”

“Hrm?”

“…Nothing.”

“What?” Harry frowned a bit at Remus’ reluctance. “You are alright, right? I tried not to hurt you last night…”

Remus let out a chuckle. “No…it was great…it was wonderful.”

“That’s good to hear… good to hear I’m good at something other than Quidditch,” Harry joked. Then he became serious. “You don’t regret it, do you?”

“No.” Remus let out the breath he didn’t realise he was holding. “I don’t regret it at all.”

“Good. Because I don’t plan on letting you out of my life for a very long time now…I really do love you.”

Remus didn’t respond. Instead, he just hugged Harry back. The two of them lay like that for what seemed to have been a long time. Suddenly, the door bell rang.

“Oh, man… who could that be?” Harry quickly found the pair of shorts that were thrown off the bed last night and wore those. Remus followed suit and found the bathrobe on the floor and put that over himself. The two of them went to the sitting room, and Harry went to the door and opened it. Hermione and Ginny entered. They both stopped and stared at the two men who were practically half naked.

“Professor!” Both Hermione and Ginny exclaimed. Hermione got over her shock quickly and shook Remus’ hands and launched off on asking him question about his well being. Ginny took Harry aside and whispered into Harry’s ears.

“Score one for Potter, huh?” She gave him smile.

Harry flushed and said, softly. “I guess… but I really do…”

“Love him.” Ginny interjected. “I guess even the famous Harry Potter will find someone to love and be loved back.”

“It was hard trying to convince him…”

“But things will work out for him now…” Ginny grabbed Harry’s hand. “Hermione has some good news on the WUR status.”

Harry felt a surge of hope and squeezed Ginny’s hand. “Is that why you two barged in on a very special moment between me and Remus?”

“Yeah. Consider it your blessing,” Ginny teased.

The two of them joined Remus and Hermione to hear about the news. Only after Harry made tea and got some scones for all of them. When they were all comfortably sitting in their respective seats, sipping on their teas, and nibbling on the scones, Hermione cleared her throat to announce the news.

“I have some good news. Fudge may be forced to resign.”

“Resign?” Harry repeated. “Why? I mean, I’m glad hear this, but it just seems rather sudden…”

“Well, a lot of people do not like his reforms. They are making him lose all the popularity he had. I mean, yes, his popularity rating has been steadily decreasing over the years, but right now it’s at the all-time low. Last I heard, a few of his long-time supporters are even trying to convince him to resign to save what is left of his reputation.

“And what’s ironic is, guess which reforms are the ones that are really giving him a bad name?”

Hermione didn’t let anyone guess as she launched onward with her speech. “It’s the new werewolf laws that’s been implemented after SWAD. The petition I have seems to be working, and even the general public who don’t know about this petition are furious with these unfair laws.”

“That’s good to hear. The scumbag deserves to get out of office.” Harry reached over and gave Remus’ hand a supportive squeeze.

“Yes.” Hermione nodded. “Apparently, when the recent stories of the werewolves’ support on the Order’s side went out, the general public began to sympathise with the prejudice the werewolves are going through.”

“If Fudge does resigns,” Ginny continued when Hermione was done, “guess who may take over as the new Minister of Magic?”

Harry looked at the exultant expression on Ginny’s face and slyly said, “Hrm… Kingsley?”

“No.” Ginny scowled jokingly. Then her smile came back as she said, “My dad may become the next Minister of Magic!”

“Congratulations.” Harry reached over and shook Ginny’s hand. “Arthur most definitely deserves this position.”

Remus tried to be enthusiastic at the sudden news of all this, but he was having difficulty. While he was somewhat content to hear that things might become better for the werewolves, he tried not to be too optimistic since in the end, things still might change.

Harry noticed Remus not joining in their high spirited conversation and whispered, “You okay? I thought this would make you happy.”

“Well…” Remus looked at his lover’s face and forced a smile. “While I had always hoped for the werewolves situation to be better…I can’t say too much of this until things really do change for the better. I just don’t want to have strong hope and have them crushed later.”

“That’s understandable, Professor.” Hermione said. “But I do think things will change for the better.”

“Please, Hermione, I am no longer your professor. Call me, Remus.”

“Okay, Remus.” Hermione gave Remus a warm hug, which Remus reciprocated.

“Thank you, Hermione. For all that you’ve done for us.”

“No problem, Remus. I want things to be better for everyone.” She firmly said this and then the two parted from their hugs.

“Well,” Harry went on, grinning. “At this rate, our dear Hermione may end up being the Minister of Magic one day. She’s certainly stubborn enough to do anything when she puts her mind to it.”

All four of them laughed out loud at the possibility of that happening and then they settled down to talk about other things that have been happening in the Wizarding World.

After finally establishing a relationship, the next several weeks passed with no major problems. Well, almost. Remus was still working at the club to earn money, and Harry resented that. Harry could not convince Remus to stop working there. So in a form of compromise, Harry told Remus that he’d be Remus’ “customer” for the majority of the time. To that, Remus responded with:

“Don’t be ridiculous, Harry. I can take care of myself. Please, don’t go out of your way to make my life easier. You heard Hermione. Things will get better. When things do get better, I will quit my job to look for another one.”

In the end, Harry gave in to Remus’ decision, but that did not mean he enjoyed it!

With the Quidditch season over, Harry had nothing else to do. He had plenty of money from this season, and he did not have a major need to work. He realised that this was such a contrast from Remus. To make himself feel useful, rather than just being a useless Quidditch player, he started to explore the world by volunteering at various places to see what else would interest him to do in the future.

He volunteered his time by helping Hermione with the WUR movement. He would ran errands for Fred and George Weasley at their store. Although, the first day he went there, he had to adamantly refuse to be one of their test subjects. Along with that, he’d also go to Hogwarts to help out Hagrid, and even help Hooch with the flying lessons with the first years and help with the Quidditch practices.

It was doing these volunteer works that made Harry realise that he needed to focus on his life more. He’d contemplate what he’d been doing up until now, contemplate his future and what it had to offer him.

Whenever not volunteering, and when Remus was not working, the two of them would spend time at Harry’s flat enjoying each other’s company. To unwind from their daily works, they’d sit on Harry’s couch and sip teas and talk to each other. It was during one of these talks that Harry decided to break important news to Remus.

“I’ve decided to quit professional Quidditch.”

Remus stopped drinking his tea and set his cup down as he stared at Harry. “Quit Quidditch? What made you decide that?”

“Well…” Harry clasped his hands together. “I love Quidditch… it is one thing I can say I enjoy and am good at. However, after doing this for almost two years, I don’t want to always be viewed as the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Be-A-Quidditch-Star. I guess… I want to do something more. After spending time at Hogwarts again, it made me realise that I’d like to go back there and be on staff there. Of course, there is no opening, but if there ever is one, I’d like to try and apply.

“But at the same time, I don’t want to give up Quidditch. Coaching the teams at Hogwarts made me come to terms with the fact that I do not want to fully give it up. But…I do want to quit being a professional player. I guess, after being in the spotlight for most of my life, I want something quieter, a bit more private.”

Remus gave Harry an understanding look. “It makes sense…I guess I should be glad you are not going to become a vagabond like a pirate.”

“Oh, Remus!” Harry laughed. “Well, if you want me to dress like one, I wouldn’t mind. Although, I think you wearing an eye patch with that pirate shirt and the corny hat would fit you more.”

“So does that mean I’d be the captain, and you’d be my first mate?”

“Yes. A very, very close first mate.”

Remus laughed as Harry pounced on him and the two of them kissed deeply, forgetting about the pirate talks and of Harry quitting Quidditch for now.

The next several days were filled with many hysterical wizards and witches crying over the paper’s headline and the main articles about Harry Potter quitting professional Quidditch. To avoid public appearances, Harry hid out at Remus’ place or sometimes at Hermione’s place. Harry waited until the public had calmed down at the news before he dared to venture back out into the public.

Ron joked about this matter. “I thought your fans going mad over you being gay were bad, but this is even worse! It’s like the end of the world for them, obviously.”

Eventually, things calmed down and went back the way they were before. Harry could go back out without causing a poor sod breaking out into tears or causing them to start yelling and damning everything on why Harry Potter had to quit Quidditch.

It was several days before his birthday, and Harry was out walking around, enjoying the night air. He noticed that he was near the club where Remus worked. Had it already been a few months since he first came here and eventually fell in love? To Harry, seeing Remus at the club only felt like yesterday. With nothing else to do, he decided to drop by and see how Remus was doing. He entered and headed for the bar. He ordered himself a drink and asked the bartender if he knew where Remus was.

The bartender said he had last seen Remus go into one of the private lounges to talk. He pointed to one of the doors, and Harry thanked him. Harry, with his drink in hand went to the door and decided to wait for Remus to come out. Sipping on his drink, he leaned against the wall next to the door.

While waiting, he thought for a second he heard Remus calling out his name. He almost decided to brush that away, telling himself he was hearing things. But then he stopped and he heard another faint call from Remus. While in SWAD, he had learned to trust his intuition, and with Remus involved, he was not going to stop now.

He quickly reached for the knob and saw that it was locked. He whispered “Alohomora,” and opened the door so hard that it slammed against the wall. “Rem–!”

Harry felt all time stop as he saw Neil thrusting into Remus from behind. Without any warning, Harry pulled Neil off of Remus. Remus fell forward and then looked behind him and saw Harry. Harry saw tears threatening to come down Remus’ face. With his seeker’s skill, he quickly pulled Remus into his embrace. He wanted to protect his lover. He wanted Remus to know how much he loved him. He kissed and nuzzled into Remus’ neck, whispering words of comfort into Remus’ ear as he led them out of there.

After much consideration, Remus decided to quit his job at the club. Being with Harry, being with someone who cared for him made him consider Harry’s feelings. Harry didn’t like Remus doing his job at the club, and he had already proposed that Remus could stop for now since there was enough money to support the two of them. Remus had only continued to do this because he had not wanted to rely on Harry as a financial support. However, he truly did not like it, and knew deep inside, werewolf or not, he did not deserve this kind of job with his educational background.

Remus promised Harry that he would go talk to Neil by himself. Harry would not allow that. “I will not let you be in the same room with that prick again. At least let me come with you.”

“Harry…you don’t need to do this…I can handle it by myself.”

Giving a glare at Remus, Harry continued. “I’m coming with you when you go officially resign there. And if Neil, whatever his name is, lays a hand on you, I will personally transfigure something into a very long banana and stick it up in his arsehole!”

Luckily, Harry didn’t have to resort to that. In fact, Neil’s daytime secretary was there, and Remus handled all the resignation with him. However, when they were leaving the place, Neil came back and stopped them from leaving. Before he could say anything, though, Harry spoke first.

“Okay, Neil,” Harry sneered and imitated Severus Snape’s trademark glare. “Remus officially doesn’t work for you now. So there are no reasons for you to be contacting him anymore. If you do want to contact him, you will have to get through me first. And trust me, you don’t want to see me ticked off.”

Remus raised an eyebrow at how similar Harry and Severus could be, and he nearly had to stifle a laugh.

Neil, however, didn’t get the hint and said, “Look, who are you to barge in here, make me lose one of my best workers, and then tell me what I can or cannot do!?”

“You idiot…” Harry said. Remus could see Harry having to force himself not to reach for his wand. Remus put a reassuring hand on Harry’s arm and then stepped up to Neil.

“It’s done, Neil. I do thank you for letting me work here these past three years, but it’s my time to move on.” Remus paused a bit. “I doubt we’ll ever see each other again in the rest of our lifetime.” With that said, Remus, holding onto Harry’s hand, walked past Neil, ignoring the sputtering, angry cries from the short man. Once outside in an area out of view from straying eyes, Harry and Remus Apparated away from the place, never to go back there.

With Remus finally not working at that place, Harry happily awaited for his birthday. He was glad that he’d be able to finally celebrate it with his lover.

He sleepily woke up in his bed, arms extended to feel for Remus. He touched the cold spot where Remus should have been. He sat up and looked around, wondering where Remus was.

Remus then walked in with a tray, filled with Harry’s favourite breakfast food and tea.

“Remus…?” Harry was pleasantly surprised.

“Happy Birthday, Harry.” Remus set the tray down on the night table next to the bed and bent down to kiss him softly on the lips. He wasn’t surprised to see that Harry was naked with the exception of only a thin sheet covering his groin area. He was tempted to move the sheet as he breathed in sharply to tone down his desires.

As if reading his mind, Harry smirked. “See something you want?”

Remus backed away and shook his head. “After you eat…eat up while it’s warm.”

“There’s a handy heating charm I could use you know…” Harry trailed off seductively, as he picked the sheet up in his hand. Hard already, he wanted Remus. “I wouldn’t mind something else this morning. It is my birthday, after all.”

Feeling his hesitation dissolve, Remus approached Harry and wrapped his arms around him. He took a deep breath and said, “I love you.”

“Remus…” Harry eyes shot open at that simple statement. “That’s the best birthday present I could ever receive. It’s the first time you’ve said that.” Harry hugged Remus with all his might. “I love you, too.”

With that, the two shared a passionate kiss. Remus, only in his dressing gown, propped himself onto the bed and straddled Harry, not once breaking their kiss. Both of them felt each other’s desire pressing against them. Harry threaded a hand through Remus’ soft honey and grey coloured locks. He flipped them over until he was on top of Remus.

“How about –” Harry broke the kiss and panted for air, “– I get an early dessert?”

Smiling, Remus said, “Fine by me…fine by me, Birthday Boy.”

Hermione came close to bursting as she waited for the afternoon to come. Not only did she, Ginny, and Ron want to go give Harry his birthday present, but she had some great news to break to Harry and Remus. However, she rationally figured out what the two would be doing in the morning, so she wisely decided to be patient.

When the time came to go see Harry, the three of them Apparated to Harry’s place. Harry and Remus were in the sitting room, with drinks and food already served on the table. After everyone shared their greetings and gave Harry his presents and birthday wishes, Ginny held up a giant box.

“Here’s the cake that I promised you, Harry. Your favourite ‘Death by Chocolate’ cake.”

Harry grinned. “Awesome! Nobody else can bake that cake like you do, Ginny.”

Ron pointed at his sister, with a playful disgusted look on his face. “I agree, but can you believe that she refused to let me have a taste?!”

“Oh, Ron.” Ginny rolled her eyes. “If I’d let you have a taste, there wouldn’t even be crumbs left for Harry!”

Everyone laughed as they settled down into various armchairs and couches while Harry went to grab some plates, forks, and knives for the cake.

Ron lighted the candles and they all sang the mandatory birthday song.

“Harry, don’t forget to make a wish!” Ron exclaimed excitedly for his friend’s benefit.

“I don’t need to make a wish.” Harry stared into Remus’ eyes lovingly. “I already have what I want.” He blew the candles out and soon cut the cake for everyone to have.

With the cake and other snacks and drinks, they ate. Soon, Hermione said, “Guess what, Harry?”

“What?”

“Fudge resigned, and Mr. Weasley — Arthur — took over.”

Harry’s eyes lit up. “No way! When did that happen?! How come we didn’t see this in the Daily Prophet?” He glanced at Remus to see how he’d take the news.

“Oh, it will be official tomorrow, but of course the whole Weasley family already knows the news.” Ginny smiled widely, happy for her father’s and Remus’ sake.

Remus smiled lightly, still hesitant to raise his hopes up. “That’s wonderful.”

“Yes!” Ron shouted. “I’m glad to see that sod out of the office now.”

“Oh, and also, the first thing my dad’s gonna do tomorrow is to reform the werewolf laws.”

“This is the best birthday ever.” Harry beamed at Remus. First my lover says he loves me, and now the news that he can get an actual job like everyone else…could my life get any better?

Ginny slyly said, “Oh…I’m sure there will be ways Remus can make it even better for you.”

Hermione blushed as she looked down into her cake, and Ron choked on his tea and said, “Ginny!”

Another round of laughter went through the happy group and they spent the rest of the afternoon talking and catching up on stuff.

The next few days passed by in a whirlwind. The news about Cornelius Fudge resigning and Arthur Weasley taking over was the only thing everyone talked about. Arthur made a speech over the wireless, apologising on the behalf of the Ministry and their unfair treatments to the werewolves.

The entire Wizarding World was enthusiastic about the change, with a few minorities saying that the werewolves obtaining equal rights like themselves was completely preposterous.

Several days after the hype went down, Harry and Remus had two surprise visitors. Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy.

Remus and Harry invited the two formidably dressed wizards into the sitting room. Harry went to get some tea while Severus and Remus remained in the sitting room to talk. Draco followed Harry to the kitchen so the two could chat, too.

“You seem happier, Remus.”

“Yes…I am, Severus. How’s your job as the headmaster of Hogwarts?”

“I’ve seen some better days. Honestly, I don’t know how Albus handled all the paperwork that comes with the job. At least disciplinary issues went down since I took over.”

Remus hid a grin, knowing that with Severus as the headmaster, that was to be expected. “I see.”

Harry and Draco came back with the drinks, the two talking about Quidditch. The two of them finally became friends during the war, with Draco defecting to their side.

When things settled down, Severus sat up straight in his chair. Before he could say anything, Draco said, “See, Severus? I knew Harry would like the gift I sent him.”

“Yes…Quidditch merchandise does seem to fit his small mind very well.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Good to see you haven’t changed much, Severus.”

“As much as I’d like to see you two get along famously with bantering, Severus, why don’t you get to the point?”

Draco received a raised eyebrow from Severus. “I would, if a certain Potions Master would not interrupt me.”

“Oh!” Harry flashed a grin at Draco. “Anybody blowing up your classroom, yet?”

“Sadly, I do have couple of brainless gits in my classes, but otherwise the classroom is still standing.”

Severus cleared his throat in annoyance. “May I continue?”

Nodding, Draco wisely remained silent. Behind Severus’ back, he rolled his eyes and winked at Harry.

“I’ve come on the basis to offer a job proposition to the both of you.”

Harry and Remus blinked at Severus. “A job?” Harry asked.

“Yes, Madame Hooch is retiring, and I know you are interested in that job.”

“That’s great! I would love to take that. Do I need to do anything, like get approvals?”

“No. With your status and your expertise, it won’t be necessary. And you have already proven to me and Madame Hooch that you are capable to teach by volunteering with us.”

“You said the both of us…?” Harry waved a hand to Remus. “What about Remus?”

“Ah, that. Well, a certain teaching position is opened, and yes, it’s the Defence Against Dark Arts teaching position. I would like you, Remus, to retake it and break the curse by staying more than a year. I am positive that you will be able to stay longer than a year.”

Remus stared at his hands. “I…I don’t know. I don’t want to hurt the children…”

“Draco or I will be responsible for brewing the Wolfsbane potion, and we will definitely make sure you take it at all times.”

Remus thought silently to himself. “I am honoured that you’d offer the position, Severus, and grateful, but I don’t want to bring any trouble into Hogwarts…many people will object to your choices on the matter.”

“Nobody has the guts to tell Severus he’s wrong. His presence alone makes them take their comments somewhere else. Besides, a lot of people know you are capable to teach the subject. With proper precautions, nothing will go wrong. And on days you need recuperation, one of us,” Draco waved a hand to indicate the three of them, “can take over for you.”

Harry grabbed Remus’ hand and squeezed soothingly. “They have a point there. You are capable, and you were the best DADA teacher I’ve ever had. I will be more than happy to help you in every way. Think of this as a new door opening to you for better chances in life. This is your time to shine, Remus.”

“Harry…” Remus looked and saw the tenderness in his eyes. He looked at Severus and Draco, both looking at him expectantly. Harry is right, he thought. I need to leave the past. I need to leave James, leave the idea that werewolves cannot be apart of the society like everyone else, and leave my insecurities aside.

“Thank you, Severus. I’ll accept the job.”

Severus and Draco stood up to leave. “Then I expect you two to come to Hogwarts the day after tomorrow, so we can resolve all loose ends. Come at nine in the morning, and don’t be late, Harry. Tardiness among teachers will not be tolerated as well.”

Harry and Remus hugged them before they Apparated back to Hogwarts. Alone, Harry sat back on the couch, with Remus in his embrace. “I’m glad you took the job…I was afraid you’d decline.”

“I was going to turn it down. But…” Remus sighed. “With you by my side, I feel like I could do anything now. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Remus.” Harry planted an affectionate kiss on his forehead and the two sat there, holding each other well into the night.

The Great Hall was filled with various cacophonic noises. Older students talked loudly with their friends, comparing their schedules with one another. Every once in a while, an adoring fan would stare at Harry at the head table. Everyone was present except for Professor Sprout, who was going to lead in the first years. In the middle of the hall, the stool was there, with the Sorting Hat on top. It already composed a new song for the year, ready to continue the tradition.

Harry and Remus sat next to each other, in their new teaching robes. They talked to each other in low voices and when others talked to them, like Hagrid, they would join in the conversations.

As the door opened, and the first years walked in, conversations slowly came to a halt as all the eyes went to the new generation of their future.

Underneath the table, Harry squeezed and held onto Remus’ hand. The two shared private smiles and they looked forward to their future.

“Snape!”

-What have I done?-

“Snape, you bastard, get out of there!”

-What have I condemned him to?-

The werewolf, driven by its hunger and madness, jumped onto the frightened victim. He howled once, and to James’ and Sirius’ horror, ripped right into the throat of Severus Snape. Blood was gushing and soon the red liquid covered the wooden floor.

“Remus! No! Stop!”

James transformed into Prongs, hoping to stabilise his friend and to save Snape. Sirius stood there, dumbstruck and already knowing that Snape was dead.

-Is this what I wanted, truly? To see my most-hated enemy killed by the hands of my best friend?-

Sirius looked up and saw Prongs trying to convince Moony to calm down. Moony looked different . . .  other nights he looked playful, yet strained at the same time. Tonight he looked murderous.

-I never knew he could be like this. I thought all of those stories about werewolves were myths. Remus doesn’t look like he’d harm a fly.-

Prongs gave up, realising that Moony was far too gone to even comprehend his usual company of friends. He ushered Sirius out and transformed back to his original self. He quickly turned around and bolted the door. He grabbed Sirius’ arm and ran out of the tunnel. They reached the other end in a record of time and James, with a wild look started to scream at his best friend.

“Do you realise what just happened?!”

Sirius numbly shook his head.

-What? Other than the fact that the greasy git is dead? No . . . –

“Remus just killed, in his werewolf form!”

Sirius continued to stare with a glazed look.

With a strangled yell, James grabbed the front of Sirius’ shirt and shook him hard. “You idiot! Remus will be punished for this!”

“No he won’t, the Headmaster will protect him . . . ”

James started crying, hard. “Nononono! He can’t! No one can protect him now! Sirius, why? Why did you send Snape?!”

-To keep that bastard away from MY Remus. To keep him away . . . because I love Remus and I don’t want anyone else near him.-

” . . . It . . . was a prank . . . ”

“Prank my fucking arse!” James let go of him and gave him a hard look through his tears. “You were jealous. You did this out of petty spites. You thought that once Snape saw who Remus really was, he’d be leaving Remus alone, but no! That didn’t turn out that way did it?”

” . . . ”

“Sirius, are you really that blind?”

“Maybe.” He clenched his fists. “Do tell me what I am NOT seeing.”

James shook his head and laughed bitterly.

-That laugh . . . it sounds so strange coming from James of all people.-

“You had no reasons to be jealous, Sirius. Remus . . . loved you. But you were blind to see that bloody fact. You thought that Remus and Snape were seeing each other when really Snape was tutoring Remus in Potions.”

Sirius paled. “I . . . ”

“Don’t deny it, Sirius. You screwed up big time . . . and now Remus will pay for it. Not you nor I, but Remus.”

Salvatore Malfoy looked at Dumbledore coolly.

“I knew you were eccentric, Albus, but allowing a dangerous, dark creature to come into Hogwarts? That’s out of the line for you.”

“Salvatore . . . ” Dumbledore was cut off.

“Enough. The School Board had unanimously decided to fire you. And the Ministry acknowledged that the Lupin boy is to be executed.”

“Surely you can give him a chance?”

The grey eyes stared into the non-twinkling blue ones. “Only God, if there is one, can save that damned boy now, Albus. He has killed and he will be punished for it. You have no say in it whatsoever.”

It was two hours before the execution. Remus was chained to the wall. He was beaten and tortured by the Ministry officials. Never mind that he was still a teen. He was now seen as a creature that should be banned from the face of the Earth.

The door opened and Sirius came in hesitantly.

-Merlin . . . what did they do to him? I can barely recognise him.-

Remus opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure. He could tell though by the smell that it was Sirius.

“Hey,” he croaked, his voice nearly gone from screaming so much.

“Hi Remus . . . ”

An uncomfortable silence passed between them.

“Well, yell at me, curse at me. Do something, Remus. Get angry. I deserve it.”

Remus said nothing.

-Why isn’t he yelling? This silence is so much worse than the admonishing I should be getting.-

“There is no point in being angry now, Sirius. No point. I’ll be dead soon, so there really is no point.”

Sirius felt even worse than before. “Remus . . . ”

“Don’t give me your pity. I always knew I’d kill someone one day and it finally happened. Being cursed with lycanthropy makes you realise that it’s inevitable that you will kill someone.”

“Remus . . . please . . . I’m sorry.”

The other boy looked up with sad eyes. “No I’m sorry. Perhaps, if I’d admitted my love for you sooner, this wouldn’t have happened. But maybe even after admitting it, it still would have happened. Who knows? Life works in a strange manner.”

“Please . . . I got James’ Invisibility Cloak, you can escape . . . ”

“And what? Live like a fugitive?” Remus glared at him. “Thanks, but no. I’d rather pay the consequences for my actions.”

Sirius looked down at his feet. Few minutes later he turned around and was about to exit when Remus said one last thing.

“I do love you, Sirius. I do. Please don’t do anything stupid. At least try not too okay? And tell James and Peter that I loved them like brothers.”

Sirius stifled a cry and turned back around and went to his lover. “I love you too.” With that, he kissed Remus softly. A few moments later, Remus kissed him back.

After kissing for what seemed like an eternity, Sirius broke the kiss and ran out the door.

Remus looked at the retreating figure and smiled sadly. “I do love you . . . and I forgive you . . . ”

The execution went on and it took place in Hogsmeade. The Ministry had decided, in their own cruel way, to use a silver knife on Remus. The executioner stabbed him through the heart and the silver slowly poisoned his system. The next fifteen minutes were the most painful Remus ever endured. What made it worse was that he was conscious throughout the whole procedure. The crowd of wizards and witches that came to view the execution were entertained and were deriving pleasure from his pains. Those that were close to Remus, didn’t show up.

It was two-thirty in the afternoon, when Remus Lupin took his final breath. He was officially dead.

Sirius couldn’t stand being at Hogwarts. He decided to take his motorbike, which he’d hidden in the Forbidden Forest, and ride off on it.

-What have I done? Why? Why couldn’t I get punished? Why him?-

His mind was screaming throughout the whole day. He couldn’t stop thinking about what they’d done to Remus. He couldn’t stop imagining what the pain must have been like. He was going insane.

He rode through the Scottish countryside. Everything looked so peaceful, but the man on the motorbike wasn’t.

-Why?! How could I ruin his life?!-

Sirius, too busy berating himself and being remorseful, didn’t see a truck coming in front of him. The last thing he recalled was bright light shining in his face and his world turning upside down. Everything slowly went black and he told himself that he’d see Remus now and be with him forever . . .

“Sirius? Sirius?! Sirius! Wake up!”

Remus shook his lover, trying to get him out of the nightmare. “Sirius, shhh.” He caressed Sirius’ forehead, feeling the sweat on there. “It’s okay, Sirius. I’m here. It’s only a nightmare. Please. Wake up.”

Slowly, he opened his eyes. They were unfocused.

“It was only a dream?” His voice so low that Remus almost didn’t catch it.

“Yes, Sirius. It was only a dream, well more like a nightmare.”

He shot up in the bed and stared at his mate. He touched him to make sure he wasn’t an apparition. “Thank Merlin . . . ” Sirius kissed him and started to cry.

Remus was comforting him. “Shh . . . Sirius. It’s okay. I’m here, I will not go anywhere.”

“Yes. Don’t go anywhere, never leave me.”

“I won’t, love. I won’t.”

Today is our last night together. I can feel it in my bones.

I don’t want our relationship to end. I dread it.

Yet, I understand it all together.

I know you are cheating with Lily. I didn’t do anything to stop it. What is there for me to prevent you from seeing her? She’s not an accursed beast like I am. She is so perfect and normal.

She has what I could never have: normalcy.

Normal . . . what is the definition of that word? Normal is something I was before that night. But that is all gone now. For the rest of my life, I will be shunned from society.

Lily . . . perfect Lily. She’s a beautiful young woman. Her tall, slender frame is a perfect match for you. The way her gorgeous red hair tumbles down her shoulder just enhances her beauty. Her bright green eyes, the colour of emerald, look deep into your soul.

No wonder you prefer her to me.

I’m a fool to believe that you’d stay with me forever. No one would want to stay with me. I hate self-pity, but this is more than so . . . this is reality for me.

I am at the shack now. This is where we always meet. You’d somehow get Sirius and Peter to go on a wild goose chase and sneak over here. The Marauders’ Map has been taken away by Filch, and the other two aren’t able to look at it to see where we are.

It is so cold. Even the warming charm didn’t help the freezing breezes. The weather is so dark and gloomy; that fits my mood perfectly.

I sense you coming through the secret passage. You have on your invisibility cloak, but I always know when you are around. You take off your cloak, and I see you standing there.

I try to smile, and I fail.

You, on the other hand, smile and ask me how I am. I answer shortly saying I’m fine.

I didn’t want the next events to come. I know what is coming.

I see you walk closer to me. You start kissing me slowly; I feel your slick tongue seeking entrance, and I surrender to you.

The way you kiss makes me forget about everything in the world. I try to enjoy it, and I moan into your mouth. Deep in my heart, I wonder if this is how you kiss Lily now. You said that I was your first and that kissing a girl was very awkward. I doubt it’s awkward now.

While we are kissing, you manoeuvre us towards the bed. I feel the bed on the back of my legs, and I fall back on it, tumbling both of us onto the bed. I grab and hold onto you tightly, making sure this is reality, and you are not an apparition. Oh, Merlin. I do not want this night to end.

You are making love to me for one last time. I enjoy every moment of it; I memorise every movement and sound we make. This is too surreal. I try to hold onto the pleasure you give me, but it will soon drift away . . .

We cuddle till we get our strength back. The way you simply cuddle me just spins my world. When did I become so addicted to you in such a short period of time? Your touches, your voice, your unkempt hair . . . I just love everything about you.

And now you are here to take that away from me.

As much as I love you, I feel hatred towards you for that one moment. Not only you, but I also feel contempt for Lily; to that werewolf that changed my life; and to me. Above all, I hate myself for being cursed.

You look apologetic and sombre, so unlike your arrogant, cheery self. You tell me that this has to end. You say you are engaged to Lily now. You look at me closely for any kind of reaction that might have set me off.

I want to scream and cry. I want to beg on my knees for you to not go. I want time to stop at the instant we were cuddling. I want to hit you for cheating on me.

Yet, I do nothing.

Instead, I smile and congratulate you. I say that I understand your predicament and that Lily is perfect for you.

Your face brightens with a huge smile. I force myself to smile as well. You say that I’m the best for understanding you. But I don’t. I don’t understand anything anymore.

You get up and get dressed. You ask if I am going back to Hogwarts with you. I shake my head. You say you will see me later. I nod.

Once I know you are out of bounds, I curl up in a foetal position.

The only thing I can do now is to cry. I do, and I don’t stop.

I’ve lost you to Lily . . . I admit defeat.

Sirius Black was ecstatic. Today was Christmas Eve and it was his and Remus’ anniversary. It was their first Christmas Eve after the defeat of Lord. Voldemort. And he insanely decided that he wanted to bake a cake. Never mind the fact he had never cooked in his entire life, but he wanted to try and make the best cake for his lover. Harry decided to help out by dragging Remus out of the house for the whole day. Hermione helped out by giving him cookbooks and getting the ingredients for him. Now, Sirius had the whole flat to himself and he planned to bake the World’s Yummiest Chocolate Cake for his lover.

Sirius looked through the cookbook and read it out loud. “Preheat the oven, crack three eggs, pour flour, tut, tut.” Sirius tutted. “This looks so easy. And Snape had the bloody nerve to accuse me of not being able to cook. We’ll see about that!” A week before, another infamous Black/Snape war had broken out and one reason or another, they got into a dispute on who could cook better or what not. Severus Snape, who could actually cook like a gourmet chef, knew that Sirius had never cooked in his life. Sirius, being Sirius, didn’t want Snape to have the last word, so he denied everything and claimed he could at least bake a cake. That was the reason why Sirius was now standing in his kitchen, looking rather confused by some of the cooking terminology.

“What the bloody hell does it mean to ‘shift’ the damn flour?” Sirius dumped out the content of flour into the bowl. “Shift? These Muggles come up with some weird stuff . . . ”

“Well that looks shifted enough for me, now onto the other stuff.” The next few minutes were full of silent as Sirius measured out the baking powder, salt, sugar, cocoa, and vanilla.

“Crisco shortening eh?” Sirius measured out the shortening and then put it into the bowl. He then tried to mix them up. “For Godric’s sake! How am I supposed to mix this when this shortening thing is a huge lump? It certainly isn’t getting any softer . . . ”

After thirty minutes, Sirius figured out that he had to soften it up in the microwave. Then he took him another good ten minutes to figure out how the microwave worked. “Arthur Weasley is a brainless git for thinking that Muggles’ objects are fascinating,” Sirius grumbled. Once he figured out how to work the microwave, he put the cup of shortening in there and waited. When it was done 3 minutes later, the shortening was burnt to crisp. Out of frustration, he kicked the counter and got a sore foot. “Bloody hell!”

After he realised that he was supposed to soften the shortening up for less than a minute, he started all over again. After mixing up the ingredients together, he poured them into the pan as the cookbook directed. He then popped it in the oven and decided to go outside and work on his motorbike till the cake was done.

2 hours later . . .

“Blast it! Remind me to make a mental note to myself to never work on my motorbike when I am cooking!” Sirius dejectedly pouted at the cake that was all burnt and crispy. Sirius sighed and looked at the clock. “Man and I only got 3 more hours to bake this bloody thing.” He looked around the kitchen. “Oh man, Moony is going to kill me when he sees the kitchen in this state.”

“BBRRRING!” Sirius jumped at the sound of the phone ringing. “Why did we ever decide to get a phone?” He ran to the living room and answered it. “Hello?”

“So, Black. How’s the cake coming along?” Snape’s usual sneer was heard through the phone.

Sirius groaned. “What do you want Snape. I am busy baking right now!”

“Just calling to see if you burn the flat down yet. Apparently you haven’t since you are still alive and kicking.”

“Yes. Sorry to disappoint you.” Sirius scowled at the wall. “How in Merlin’s world did you know I was baking a cake?”

“Your precious Godson told me. He figured that you might need a little help, so he asked me to check up on you.”

“Harry did that? Remind me to kill the little bugger!” Sirius felt betrayed.

Snape rolled his eyes on the other side. “Oh, quit being so melodramatic. I know you want to bake the cake yourself, so I’ll just come over there and give you a little guidance.”

Sirius’ shoulders fell in defeat. “Fine!” he growled. “But be civil!”

“You too.” With that, Severus hung up.

Few minutes later, Severus appeared in the middle of the kitchen with a loud “Pop”. He looked around disgustedly. There were pots and pans everywhere and smell of burnt bakery was in the air. “No wonder you never did too well in Potions.”

Sirius glared. “Shut up and do what you came here to do!”

With a bored expression, Severus looked through the recipe. “For Salazar’s sake. This is the easiest recipe for chocolate cake out there and you can’t even make this?”

“Just shut up and tell me what to do!”

The Slytherin sighed and started to guide the Gryffindor step by step. As Sirius started everything again, he gradually understood what went wrong. An hour later, the cake was done and all that was left to do was to frost it.

“I don’t think I need to guide you through this, do I?” Severus drawled.

Sirius concentrated on getting the frosting on the cake and didn’t say anything to the other man. Thirty minutes later, the cake was all done. Sirius proudly looked at it. It was a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting on it. On the top it had a picture of a dog and a werewolf and the words ‘Happy Anniversary, Moony!’ were written on it in vanilla frosting.

“Wonderful accomplishment, Black. Now let’s clean up.” Both Severus and Sirius cleaned with their wand and that was a breezy clean up.

Sirius was about to go upstairs and change when the front door opened. Harry, Remus, Hermione, and Ron all came in laughing. Remus sniffed the air and realised that someone has been cooking. He sniffed again and felt overwhelmed by the smell of chocolate. He walked into the kitchen and saw Sirius looking very messy. His clothes were rumpled up and he had a little bit of frosting on his face. He then looked at the countertop and saw the cake.

With a surprised expression, he looked at the cake and back to Sirius. He put two and two together and realised that Sirius went through all the trouble to bake this. He tried to talk, but his throat refused to cooperate. “Paddy . . .  the cake . . . you . . . for us . . . ?”

Sirius nodded happily. “For our anniversary, love. I know it’s not much, but I know you love chocolate and I figured I’d have to learn how to make something sooner or later . . . ”

He never got to finish the sentence as Remus launched himself onto his mate and kissed him passionately. Harry grinned like an idiot. Ron and Hermione both smiled politely. Severus just looked bored. Sirius didn’t care about that and kissed Moony back.

After a few minutes of intense snogging, they both broke apart. “Paddy, this is the best present I could ever receive from you. Thank you so much.”

Sirius stared into the intense eyes. “Anything for you love. Anything.”

Ron stared at the cake hungrily. “Let’s eat this now? I’m so starving!”

Everyone laughed and Sirius got out the plates and forks for the cake. Ten minutes later, the cake was no more and everyone was satisfied.

“Happy Christmas, everyone,” said Remus

“Yes. I agree. And I am glad to see that the cake didn’t poison anyone!” Sirius laughed gaily.

“Yes. I admit you did well, Black,” Snape grudgingly admitted.

Harry learned and kissed his lover on the cheek. “There. Giving him a compliment wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

Severus glared him and Harry just glared back. Everyone around them laughed and the gaiety just went on.