Sirius was practically running by the time he caught up with Remus. Remus turned when the pounding of Sirius’ footsteps reached his ears, and Sirius skidded to a halt mere feet in front of him. Then, without a word of warning, Sirius swung his arm forwards with tremendous force and punched Remus hard on the left side of his face.
The power of the blow knocked Remus to the floor, and Sirius cradled his poor bruised knuckles, cringing not only at the pain but also at how hard he had just punched one of his best friends. Remus looked up at him with a mixture of shock, anger and embarrassment, and Sirius winced apologetically. A crowd of people had miraculously gathered from nowhere, and both Remus and Sirius surveyed them shyly, not liking prying eyes witnessing what was probably to be their biggest fight since the whole Snape-Whomping Willow disaster.
“Shit. I really didn’t mean to do it that hard. Sorry, mate,” announced Sirius, horrified, as he bent down to help Remus up. Remus tentatively clasped hold of his outstretched hand, and Sirius, partly to refrain from letting his previous anger at Remus drain away, and partly so as to not lose face in front of the crowd of onlookers, growled in a menacing manner, “I want words with you.”
He pulled Remus to his feet, and Remus brought his hand up to his lip which had been split by Sirius’ punch and was now beginning to bleed and swell to twice its normal size. Sirius continued in the same, low, menacing voice, “Though I’d brace myself if I were you, because they sure as hell aren’t going to be nice ones!” He then grabbed Remus by the collar of his robes and hauled him behind a handy tapestry “ away from prying eyes and ears.
Once they were safely concealed behind the tapestry, Remus slinked off into the corner, away from Sirius, and Sirius surveyed their dim surroundings before rounding on his friend. “I’ve just been speaking to Hayley, and she had the most interesting things to say.” He paused, fixing Remus with his most menacing look. “So, is it true?”
“Is what true?” asked Remus, gently dabbing his lip with the cuff of his robe.
“The fact that you didn’t kiss Hayley again! I’ve just had her crying on my shoulder telling me that you actually rejected her. So, would you perhaps care to tell me what exactly is wrong in that head of yours? I mean, missing the opportunity once was bad enough, but twice! She practically offered it to you on a plate, but that’s not enough for the great Remus Lupin. Oh no, he has to go and act like a cold hearted bastard and reject one of the people who love him the most! Sometimes you can be the world’s most insufferable prat, do you know that?”
“Are you finished?” asked Remus, acting indifferent despite Sirius’ emotion filled speech.
Sirius roared with frustration. “You know, I’d give absolutely anything to be in your shoes. I envy you and James so much sometimes that it hurts. You’ve both managed to capture the girls you wanted, but at least James went for it, took a chance, and you’re too chicken to even do that! You’re a disgrace to the Marauder name, you know that?
“I can understand you running away from Hayley the first time - lycanthropy is definitely one of the most valid excuses out there - but to do it a second time when their was absolutely no reason for it”“ Remus opened his mouth to retort at this point, but Sirius cut him off and ploughed on regardless. “Now, you listen to me now, Moony, and you listen well, because this is what you’re going to do next. You’re going to come with us and watch Hayley in Ravenclaw’s match against Slytherin this Saturday, and if they win, then you are going to go and congratulate her, and hopefully by doing that, you can somehow get things back on track. If they don’t manage to win then you will find her, console her and hope that she comes crawling into your arms for comfort. Got it?”
“No,” replied Remus shortly.
“What?”
“I said no. There’s no way I’m doing that. Hayley and I are through, kaput, finished. Believe me, Padfoot, things will be better all around if we just don’t see each other anymore,” Remus argued.
“So let me get this straight - you’re refusing to make amends with Hayley, even though we all know that you two are meant for each other?”
“That sounds about right,” agreed Remus, removing his robe cuff from his lip, and flicking his tongue out over the wound to lick away the blood as he stepped forward to square up to Sirius.
“But why?” asked Sirius, staring his friend defiantly in the eye.
“Why?” choked Remus with a humourless laugh. “You seriously can’t figure out why, Padfoot? But of course, how could the ever insensitive and inconsiderate Sirius Black possibly understand the feelings and innermost workings of others? You hit the nail right on the head earlier, mate; my lycanthropy does provide the best excuse for rejecting Hayley. Imagine that. It was quite simple really, wasn’t it?”
“But your transformation wasn’t even looming when you refused to kiss Hayley the second time,” argued Sirius, his gaze falling to the floor; he could no longer stand to look at the anger and hurt in Remus’ blazing blue eyes.
“No it wasn’t,” agreed Remus, heaving an exhausted sigh. “But, Padfoot, what you’ve got to understand is that what I am is always looming overhead. My lycanthropy will always be a shadow hanging over my head; nothing can change that. I didn’t kiss Hayley on Friday night because I was suddenly reminded of what being my girlfriend would entail. Sure, it would all probably be sweetness and light for a while, but what happens when the wolf rears its ugly head, what if I accidentally hurt her? What if she can’t handle what I am? It’s like I said to Prongs, the wolf inside me wishes to ruin everything I hold dear, I know it does. Constantly I regret putting you all in so much danger, and imagine what it would be like if a girlfriend was added to the mix as well.”
There was a long silence in which Sirius just simply stared into Remus’ earnest eyes. Sirius mulled over everything Remus had just said inside his head, trying to find the loophole.
Remus looked at him in apprehension, waiting for the flood of insults to come, and he didn’t have to wait long. “That’s your reasoning?” demanded Sirius, sounding irked. “Well then, I’ve got to tell you, mate - your reasoning’s bollocks!”
“Excuse me?” spluttered Remus, looking very much as if Sirius had just given him another blow to the head.
“Well, in my opinion, if your lycanthropy doesn’t stop you from hanging out with us and the other girls, then I can’t see any reason why it should stop you from dating Hayley. You have not, as of yet, caused the girls any harm, and you’ve only given me, Prongs and Wormtail minor injuries. So what makes you think anything would happen to Hayley? Besides, we’d all be there looking out for her, I can guarantee that,” explained Sirius, beginning to pace up and down to release some of his pent up frustration.
“You were right when you said that I haven’t hurt the girls ‘as of yet’,” growled Remus. “I suppose you think it’s fine to put them in danger, do you?”
“Of course I don’t!” snapped Sirius, stopping in his tracks, and turning to Remus, eyes blazing. Remus’ constant insinuations that he was a heartless bastard were really beginning to irk him now. Sirius wasn’t the best judge, but at present he could pretty much guarantee that he was much more sympathetic and sincere than Remus. “Look, what I meant was that every relationship carries its risks, and fair enough yours has more potential risks than others, but, Moony if you let Hayley go now, you’ll regret it.” Sirius drained himself of all anger and stepped towards Remus beseechingly.
“We’re about to face God-knows-what out there, and chances need to be grabbed when they can. Even if we don’t end up being dragged into this battle, what happens when we leave Hogwarts? How do you know for sure that you’ll see Hayley again? Yes, I know we all promise we’ll stay in touch, but how often does that really happen with school friends? You need something that will keep you in touch, and a relationship is definitely the best way of doing that. Believe me, I’ve given this a lot of thought. It is too late for me to do anything about it, but you can Remus. I know you don’t want to lose her, and I understand your reasons for keeping her at arms length, but will it really all be worth it in the long run? The war tears people apart, wouldn’t you prefer to have loved and lost, then to have never even taken the chance of love in the first place? I know I would.”
Remus looked at Sirius hard then, as if he had never truly seen him before. He cocked his head and stared at Sirius as if he was a bemusing puzzle, whilst absentmindedly licking his lower lip with his tongue. He finally straightened up and shook himself out of his reverie. “Yes, but the fact still remains”“
“Yes, I know that most of your hesitancy is stemming from the fact that Hayley doesn’t know about your… condition, but we can cross the werewolf bridge when we come to it. If Hayley truly does want to be with you then she won’t scarper when she learns the truth, and if she does scarper, then she’s obviously not the person you thought she was.”
The silence reigned down on them once again, and Sirius had a sneaking suspicion that he had finally made some headway. The sound of loud chattering emanated from outside their hiding place, and Sirius turned his head in the direction of the noise. When he turned back, assured that they were not about to be discovered, Sirius could have sworn that he saw the hint of a smile disappear hurriedly from Remus’ face.
“So,” asked Sirius, a loud gulp escaping him in his fear that his ploy may not have worked. “What do you say?”
Remus was looking at the floor now, so Sirius was unable to judge his emotions through the betrayal of his features. Suddenly, Remus’ head whipped up. “I say…” he smirked, and then broke out into a huge revealing grin. “Do you think I’ll still have a swollen lip for the match on Saturday?”
Sirius felt the smile tugging at the corners of his own mouth, but dared not believe his ears. “Does that mean?” he coaxed.
“Yeah, I’ll do it, Padfoot; I’ll go and win her back!” Remus exclaimed with conviction, beaming at Sirius.
Sirius beamed back, and embraced Remus in a brotherly hug. “Thank God for that!” he said with a relieved laugh.
Remus draped his arm around Sirius’ shoulders, and they made to head out into the corridor. “You know, you were surprisingly good back there “ much better than James, in fact. Who’d have thought that Sirius Black was actually quite sensitive?”
“Well, sometimes people can surprise you.”
“That they can.” Remus clapped him on the back. “Cheers, Padfoot.”
“No problem, I was happy to do it … and I’m sorry about your lip,” he apologised with a grimace as they emerged from behind the tapestry.
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Remus reassured him. “It’s a trifling cut compared to some of my full moon injuries. Right, I’m going down to get some breakfast before it’s too late. So I guess I’ll see you later.”
Sirius watched him go, feeling a big sense of achievement wash over him. “You won’t be saying that when you see it in the mirror later,” he whispered to himself worriedly.
Saturday’s Quidditch match could not have been better. Remus was still on a high as he watched the two teams descend and head for the changing rooms to shrug off their mud-splattered robes. Hayley had played spectacularly, catching the Snitch within the first fifteen minutes of the game, and Ravenclaw were now top of the leader board. Remus and the rest of the group had screamed themselves hoarse, whilst Sirius and Emma had leapt about like idiots up in the commentators’ box.
However, the less said about Hayley’s spectacular capture of the Snitch in front of Kirsty the better, since, after the initial whoops of congratulation, Kirsty had turned stony-faced and began worrying about her own upcoming match. Although, if anyone did proceed to tease her about it, Kirsty would probably just argue that she and Hayley had been playing under entirely different circumstances, because, as it turned out, Sian Morgan had been banned from the Slytherin Quidditch team and been replaced by none other than Regulus Black.
Kirsty and Emma, in particular, were exceptionally gleeful when they learned that this ban had been put in place because of Sian’s troublemaking at the Gryffindor-Slytherin match. Sirius, however, was not amused in the slightest. How come his younger brother could play for his own House’s Quidditch team whilst Sirius couldn’t play for his?
The group’s journey back to the castle was, therefore, plagued with Sirius’ relentless pestering of James to let him know the reasoning behind his non-existent role as Gryffindor Beater. Remus, it was safe to say, didn’t pay too much attention to their squabbling, as his stomach was now doing a rather uncomfortable version of the Irish jig at the thought of accosting Hayley when she finally emerged from the changing rooms.
When the group finally entered the warmth of the castle, Sirius did as promised and chivvied the rest of the group up to the common room, leaving Remus to face Hayley in private.
He waited patiently for several minutes in order to offer her his congratulations and hopefully start to rekindle their floundering relationship. Eventually, Hayley arrived, beaming proudly, but unfortunately for Remus, she was swamped by her fellow Ravenclaws, who were already offering their praise. So much for privacy, thought Remus bitterly.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed his way through the throng of excited Ravenclaws and arrived, feeling rather dishevelled, in front of Hayley. She turned abruptly and came face to face with him, an alarmed look passing over her face. “Hayley,” he began, his voice hoarse, “congrat”“
“So, what do you say? Party in the common room, everybody?” she asked the group at large, choosing to completely blank Remus. She turned her back on him, and hurried off, chatting away happily to her Ravenclaw buddies. Not once did she deign to look back at him.
Remus was left feeling desolate and completely dumbstruck. So far, Sirius’ plan was not going … well, according to plan. Remus racked his brain, trying to think of what to do next. No ingenious plan was forming inside his head, and he found himself growing increasingly more frustrated with his lack of progress. Was he a Marauder or not? However, one thing he did know with perfect clarity was that he had to get things sorted out now before he ended up losing his nerve, or even worse, changing his mind. Then, in a moment of inspiration, it came to him. If Hayley wouldn’t come to him, he’d just have to go to her. A smile played across his face. It was high time that he pay a visit to the Ravenclaw common room.
Remus strode continuously back and forth in front of the common room’s entrance, his frustration mounting once more. It was so unfair. How come Hayley was able to waltz into their common room whenever she wished, and he couldn’t even get inside hers for one measly visit? No matter what passwords he tried, he simply could not get in.
A horrible thought struck him. What if not all the common rooms needed a password to get in? What if there was some other way to gain entry?
“Hey, what are you doing?” demanded a whiny voice from behind him as Remus stepped forward to inspect the bronze eagle knocker on the plain expanse of aged wood.
Remus spun around, unperturbed, to come face-to-face with a small, Ravenclaw boy, whose hands were placed disapprovingly on his hips. Thinking quickly, Remus moved away from the common room entrance and crouched down before the young boy. “Hey, I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you a Galleon and a bag of Fizzing Whizbees if you tell me how to get into your common room!”
The boy drew himself up to his full, but diminutive, height, folded his arms and threw Remus a superior and highly disapproving look. “But only Ravenclaws are allowed in the Ravenclaw common room.”
Tuh, double standards, thought Remus, half annoyed and half amused. “Okay, fine.” He mulled this over, searching his other options. “How about I still give you them if you go in there and find Hayley Jones for me. You know who Hayley Jones is, don’t you?”
“Yeah!” exclaimed the boy with enthusiasm, whilst looking at Remus as if he were a moron. “She’s Hogwarts’ best Seeker!”
Remus chuckled. “Well, you go in there and tell her that Sirius Black is waiting for her outside, okay?” The boy looked at him sceptically; obviously, he knew who Sirius was too. “If you do, I’ll give you this bar of Honeydukes as well.” Remus had to admit to offering this treat rather grudgingly.
The boy hurriedly scampered off and lifted the door knocker. Remus watched in amazement as the beak of the eagle opened and a soft musical voice intoned, “I am one colour, but not one size. I am stuck at the bottom, yet I easily fly. I am present in the sun, but not in the rain. I do no harm and feel no pain. What am I?”
The boy gave this some serious thought for a minute or two. “A shadow!” he announced happily.
“Correct!” affirmed the knocker as the door swung open.
Well, I could have done that, thought Remus in annoyance. The boy disappeared into the shadows, the results of the bribe encased securely in his hands, and Remus waited with trepidation, his heart now beating somewhere in the region of his Adam’s apple.
Suddenly, Hayley emerged, looking flushed and happy; the party was evidently in full swing. The moment she saw him, a look of amazement flashed briefly across her face before she made to dart back inside. Remus was too quick for her, however, and grabbed hold of her wrist to spin her back around to face him.
He drew her in close to him, and she looked at him apprehensively. Remus could feel the sudden clamminess of her hands. He searched his brain for the words needed in such a situation before realising that words were now redundant.
He brought his hands up to cup her face, and he saw the hope glisten in her beautiful eyes. Heart hammering, he swept all doubts and worries from his mind and leaned in for the kiss “ Remus just hoped he wouldn’t ruin the moment by ramming their noses together or something. Her soft lips met his, and Remus reeled at how good it felt. He’d been wanting this for such a long time that he’d never thought it could live up to his expectations, never mind exceed them.
They pulled away from each other, and Hayley let out her breath in a small, contented sigh. She looked up to meet his eyes and gave him a searching look. “No more missed opportunities,” he vowed, leaning in for a second kiss. As their lips once again came into contact, Remus became aware of the wolf whistles that were emanating from inside the common room. Hayley wrapped her arms around his neck, and Remus, feeling the exhibitionist in him emerge and showing his relief at having successfully carried out his first kiss, daringly livened up the kiss. As they settled into the routine as if they had been doing it for years ” each of them adding a little something to improve the other’s technique ” Remus came to realise that it would definitely be in his best interests to listen to Sirius’ advice more often in future.