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remus_reads. The prompt was: Remus puts himself up for something that he knows could prove fatal.
Remus Lupin had decided to walk, rather than apparate, over to Sirius' flat. This was in part because the novelty of apparition had long since worn off, but primarily because he wanted to delay completing his mission for as long as he could manage.
I must be crazy. Completely and utterly off my nut. I guess this is what it feels like to face one's doom.
In one part of Remus' mind he knew that he was, perhaps, overreacting. Slightly. A tiny bit.
But not by much.
He walked down the street, head down, hands stuffed in his pockets, occasionally shaking his head at his own madness. His occasional mutterings and the more vigorous of his headshakes caused no small amount of concern to the shopkeepers and street vendors he passed, all of whom hoped that he would not stop at their stalls.
Remus continued on.
Having visited Sirius so often, Remus no longer needed to check address numbers to get his bearings. This will teach me to never agree to help out on one of these disastrous plans ever again. Assuming I survive this. Can't take the moral of this tale to heart if I'm dead.
He took a deep breath. And another. And another, and-
Remus managed to catch himself before he hyperventilated himself unconscious. Barely.
Reaching the building that housed Sirius' flat, Remus straightened his shoulders and began to climb the stairs.
Just watch, a certain part of his mind said. It won't be so bad. He'll take this well. Anything for a friend, right?
Remus thought that part of his mind was quite possibly the daftest of all. The little voice telling him that it would all work out was the same voice that made him agree to this little suicide mission in the first place. Some sort of sick and twisted loyalty to James, one of the friends who'd stuck by him through the thick and thin of their Hogwarts years. The friend who'd only asked one favor of Remus: to help take a single part of the burden of the impending wedding off his and Lily's shoulders.
James, though ecstatic about his impending nuptials to Lily Evans-soon-to-be-Potter (and still somewhat shocked that she'd finally fallen in love with him, let alone agreed to be his wife), was also nervous. Lily's family was Muggle, and rather conservative. They were thrilled to find out that Lily was a witch, and they had always been welcoming towards James, but they were still somewhat overwhelmed by the Wizarding world. Petunia, Lily's sister, acted more than simply overwhelmed though. She was outright hostile. This did not make a comfortable situation for the otherwise happy couple.
James, in an attempt to impress the Evans family, had decided that the Best Man, Groomsmen, and himself would all need to look their respectable best. He's pulled Remus aside and explained his request, and Remus had readily agreed. Then, James had begged Remus' help on one tiny detail.
James asked Remus to convince Sirius to get a proper haircut.
To cut the hair that Sirius grew out in rebellion against his mother's wishes. The hair that had attracted people - men and women alike - for its attractive curl and luster. The hair that had caused him to be late to class innumerable times back when they were in school because he spent so much time in the morning preening and soaking up the copious amounts of praise bestowed upon him by the talking mirrors.
Sirius had even perfected a move wherein he swept the hair off his shoulders and tucked it behind his ear. It never failed to attract the attention that Sirius so desperately craved. It worked every single time - they'd done research.
And now Remus was about to ask Sirius to cut it off. He was to be Delilah to Sirius' Samson.
Bloody hell.
~*~
Looking at photos from "the old days", Remus always felt conflicting emotions: the pain of loss remained, but it had dulled with time, allowing room for pride, happiness, and amusement to sneak in. There was the picture his parents took on the day he first left for Hogwarts (he looked positively terrified), Harry's first Christmas (the child enjoyed the wrapping paper far more than the mound of gifts he received from his admiring godfather and "uncles"), and the picture of Peter zipping around the Quidditch pitch after "borrowing" James' new broom (the ensuing chase had landed them in detention for a week after they'd knocked McGonagall's hat off by mistake).
One of Remus' favorites, however, was the one of all of them on James and Lily's wedding day. They stood together smiling and waving into the camera. Occasionally the image of James would sneak a kiss from a blushing Lily as the rest looked on. And there, directly on James' right, with his arm around a much younger Remus' shoulder, stood the tall, handsome, and impeccably groomed Sirius Black.
remus_reads. The prompt was: Remus puts himself up for something that he knows could prove fatal.Remus Lupin had decided to walk, rather than apparate, over to Sirius' flat. This was in part because the novelty of apparition had long since worn off, but primarily because he wanted to delay completing his mission for as long as he could manage.
I must be crazy. Completely and utterly off my nut. I guess this is what it feels like to face one's doom.
In one part of Remus' mind he knew that he was, perhaps, overreacting. Slightly. A tiny bit.
But not by much.
He walked down the street, head down, hands stuffed in his pockets, occasionally shaking his head at his own madness. His occasional mutterings and the more vigorous of his headshakes caused no small amount of concern to the shopkeepers and street vendors he passed, all of whom hoped that he would not stop at their stalls.
Remus continued on.
Having visited Sirius so often, Remus no longer needed to check address numbers to get his bearings. This will teach me to never agree to help out on one of these disastrous plans ever again. Assuming I survive this. Can't take the moral of this tale to heart if I'm dead.
He took a deep breath. And another. And another, and-
Remus managed to catch himself before he hyperventilated himself unconscious. Barely.
Reaching the building that housed Sirius' flat, Remus straightened his shoulders and began to climb the stairs.
Just watch, a certain part of his mind said. It won't be so bad. He'll take this well. Anything for a friend, right?
Remus thought that part of his mind was quite possibly the daftest of all. The little voice telling him that it would all work out was the same voice that made him agree to this little suicide mission in the first place. Some sort of sick and twisted loyalty to James, one of the friends who'd stuck by him through the thick and thin of their Hogwarts years. The friend who'd only asked one favor of Remus: to help take a single part of the burden of the impending wedding off his and Lily's shoulders.
James, though ecstatic about his impending nuptials to Lily Evans-soon-to-be-Potter (and still somewhat shocked that she'd finally fallen in love with him, let alone agreed to be his wife), was also nervous. Lily's family was Muggle, and rather conservative. They were thrilled to find out that Lily was a witch, and they had always been welcoming towards James, but they were still somewhat overwhelmed by the Wizarding world. Petunia, Lily's sister, acted more than simply overwhelmed though. She was outright hostile. This did not make a comfortable situation for the otherwise happy couple.
James, in an attempt to impress the Evans family, had decided that the Best Man, Groomsmen, and himself would all need to look their respectable best. He's pulled Remus aside and explained his request, and Remus had readily agreed. Then, James had begged Remus' help on one tiny detail.
James asked Remus to convince Sirius to get a proper haircut.
To cut the hair that Sirius grew out in rebellion against his mother's wishes. The hair that had attracted people - men and women alike - for its attractive curl and luster. The hair that had caused him to be late to class innumerable times back when they were in school because he spent so much time in the morning preening and soaking up the copious amounts of praise bestowed upon him by the talking mirrors.
Sirius had even perfected a move wherein he swept the hair off his shoulders and tucked it behind his ear. It never failed to attract the attention that Sirius so desperately craved. It worked every single time - they'd done research.
And now Remus was about to ask Sirius to cut it off. He was to be Delilah to Sirius' Samson.
Bloody hell.
~*~
Looking at photos from "the old days", Remus always felt conflicting emotions: the pain of loss remained, but it had dulled with time, allowing room for pride, happiness, and amusement to sneak in. There was the picture his parents took on the day he first left for Hogwarts (he looked positively terrified), Harry's first Christmas (the child enjoyed the wrapping paper far more than the mound of gifts he received from his admiring godfather and "uncles"), and the picture of Peter zipping around the Quidditch pitch after "borrowing" James' new broom (the ensuing chase had landed them in detention for a week after they'd knocked McGonagall's hat off by mistake).
One of Remus' favorites, however, was the one of all of them on James and Lily's wedding day. They stood together smiling and waving into the camera. Occasionally the image of James would sneak a kiss from a blushing Lily as the rest looked on. And there, directly on James' right, with his arm around a much younger Remus' shoulder, stood the tall, handsome, and impeccably groomed Sirius Black.
