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Remus J. Lupin (slowburn_alpha) wrote in hogwarts_dawn,
@ 2021-06-22 05:50:00

Entry tags:

character: remus lupin, character: sirius black

RP: Remus and Sirius
Who: Remus Lupin and Regulus Black
When: Tuesday, 22 June, 2021 - afternoon
Where: Hospital Wing
What: Saving your best friend's life comes with a talk when you survive

Much as he would have liked to spend the entire day with Regulus by his side, Remus needed to sleep and his lover needed to see to those tasks that inevitably followed such an endeavour as curing half a dozen people from an unknown poison. Remus supposed he would even want to look in on Snape, as well, now that they were all recovering nicely and there was no urgency restraining his time.

Much to Remus' chagrin, he also needed some time to sleep. Being petrified didn't actually provide the same sort of rest and relaxation needed to allow his body to heal -- indeed, that had been the point, freezing his body's function. Without the fever burning through his system, his sleep was much more restful and when he woke later in the day, he could tell the difference in his body's progress, where the fever had simply meant his sleep was as troubled as his waking hours. He could also tell the potion was working because his senses were beginning to regain their usual sharpness. His mind still felt a little sluggish with inactivity, but he was able to sort the input out more easily than he had been at the height of the poisoning.

Which was how he recognized his latest visitor before even opening his eyes.

"Some day, Pads, you three are going to get sick of sitting by a hospital bed and watching me sleep," he teased, golden brown eyes opening to seek out the stormy grey he knew would be there. "Although, if you're still here after more than a decade, maybe not. I promise I don't feel as much like Hell as I likely look."

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_withoutacause
2021-06-22 09:16 pm UTC (link)

Sirius hadn't visited Remus after the attack. Well, no, that wasn't true. He had visited. Every day. He'd just made sure to do it when Remus was asleep and wouldn't know he had been there. It had been easier when he was petrified, even though every second Remus spent unnaturally still had taken years off Sirius' life. Still, he hadn't visited when Remus was awake. He knew that made him a coward, even if he'd justified it with all the work there had been to do. If he was spending twenty hours a day on important tasks then there just was no time to visit.

Remus seemed so much more peaceful now, without the fever or the petrification. It loosened something deep behind his heart, and he couldn't help but rest his fingers against Remus' wrist just to count his heart beats. He was alive. He was getting better. It would be okay.

Remus' eyes had begun moving slightly behind his closed lids, and Sirius knew he'd probably wake up soon. Time to go then, quickly, before Remus knew he was here. He could come back later with Lily and James, maybe, and welcome him back to the world of consciousness with a safety buffer between them. He had just been about to stand up when Remus spoke. Fuck. Too late now. He'd throw out some platitudes, then, and get away as fast as he could.

"Well, you must feel like a million galleons then, because that's what you look like." The banter was familiar, and slipped easily off his tongue. Only the slight crack in his voice betrayed the ten thousand emotions lurking just under Sirius' surface.

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slowburn_alpha
2021-06-22 11:04 pm UTC (link)

Feeling the light touch leaving his skin, Remus turned his hand to wrap his own fingers around Sirius' wrist in much the same gesture as he'd used with James several nights before.

"What have we said about flattery?" he asked with an even softer than usual version of his trademark pseudo-smirk.

He took in Sirius' appearance in silence for a moment. Remus couldn't remember his friend visiting before he was petrified. There had been vague memories of that familiar scent, tainted with the tang of worry and anxiety. But, it was always fleeting and barely registered upon waking from fitful, feverish slumber. So, Remus didn't know if his friend had really been there or if his own mind had been playing tricks on him because he wanted to think Sirius had been there.

That Sirius was physically all right, Remus knew. Others had confirmed it for him when he asked. This was the first time Remus was able to see for himself, however, and he felt his breathing ease at the confirmation from all his senses -- still somewhat sluggish as they were -- that his friend was physically well and whole. Of course, Remus knew physical was only a portion of the story and chances were there were things his senses couldn't tell him plaguing Sirius or he wouldn't be sitting here watching a cured werewolf sleep in much the same way James had sat and watched a poisoned werewolf sleep the week before.

"It's good to see for myself that you're okay," he went on softly. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd really died and no one wanted to tell me for fear I'd give up."

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_withoutacause
2021-06-23 12:35 am UTC (link)

"Nah, I'm fine. Barely a scratch on me." His smile was a brittle, horrible thing. His fingers twitched, desperate for something to fiddle with. He felt painfully exposed.

"Thanks for that. Owe you one." He began picking at his arms, the dozens of little scabs already there a testament to how often Sirius had been doing this over the last week.

"Anyway, should let you get your rest. I'm sure there's a dozen people who want to see you, now you're awake, and I should see if anyone needs my help. I'll be back, okay? I'll bring chocolate."

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slowburn_alpha
2021-06-23 03:02 am UTC (link)

"I'm glad you're okay." Remus sighed softly. "No you don't. You don't owe me anything, Pads." It would possibly have been easier to have this conversation before a cure had been found. When he was tired and feverish, he might have let Sirius get away with trying to pull away again, just happy to know his best friend was alive and it hadn't been for nothing.

Not that it had been for nothing at all. It could never be for nothing so long as it meant Sirius was alive and well.

"I just woke up. I think I'm rested," he drawled, bemused. "And those dozen people can wait. My best friend takes precedence, whether he has chocolate with him or not. I've talked to everyone else who matters at some point already." And that much was true. Regulus, James, Peter, they'd all been to see him before. Even his newest friend, Fenrir, had been to see him. Sirius was the only one who'd avoided him thus far and Remus couldn't help admitting to himself that it hurt a bit, though he would never lay that guilt on Sirius' shoulders.

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_withoutacause
2021-06-23 04:27 am UTC (link)

The faint hurt on Remus' face was enough to keep Sirius in his seat, though his leg began twitching nervously. He didn't want to do this right now. He wasn't ready. He needed to get his head together before he said something he regretted.

"I owe you a lot," he said softly,and he didn't just mean saving him at the pool.

"Anyway, if I'm staying then I should pull my weight and entertain you. Being petrified must be boring. What'll it be? Juggling? Acrobatics? A solo concert, I could transfigured a guitar. I'd offer a strip tease but your boyfriend would kill me."

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slowburn_alpha
2021-06-23 01:29 pm UTC (link)

Remus laughed softly, as he suspected was Sirius' intent with those offers. "Yes, let's avoid anything that might get you killed." They'd come close enough as it was. While he might laugh in the moment, he'd rarely been so serious about anything in his life. "To be honest, I don't think I was aware enough to be bored while petrified. The last thing I remember before Regulus brought me out of it is watching him get ready to cast it." And the promise in those clear grey eyes that he'd find a way.

"But, you don't owe me anything, Pads." Pushing himself up so he could recline against the pillows and get a better look at his friend, he reiterated that more important point. If anyone owed the other, Remus thought it was rather the other way around after all these years. "You've already done so much for me over the years. I'm not keeping a tally because you're my best friend and keeping score will never matter to me. But if I was, I think we'd be pretty even."

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