Fic: The Acolyte's Robe, by Rakina, NC17, 1/2
Have some Remarry! Mods - I'll add the tags once I've posted; Semagic is being silly and won't let me do it at the mo.
Title: The Acolyte's Robe Author: Rakina Rating: NC17 Pairing: Remus Lupin/Harry Potter. Genre: Humour. Word Count: 12,581 Warning: Under 18 – Harry is 16. Summary: Harry wants to help Remus, even if it means he loses his virginity and his dignity in the attempt. Beta: The sublime Hel Bee. Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise, and make no profit from this. Author's Notes: AU, set during HBP, but Sirius is alive! :-D Written for Valensmut 2008, for darkladyvamp's prompt: romance, happy endings, cross-dressing. The cross-dressing is a little sneaky ;-)
The Acolyte's Robe By Rakina
The Order members spilled from the room where they'd been holding their meeting, bringing with them a flurry of sound and movement. Until now the door had been locked, the area imperturbable and silent, leaving no evidence anyone was inside, let alone the large group that now emerged. A dozen or so adults were now heading for the sitting room where Kreacher had placed plates of sandwiches, pots of tea and coffee and jugs of pumpkin juice. The adults would mingle with the young people who were judged too young to join the Order yet, though they knew they would be involved in the fight sooner rather than later.
Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, hoping to hear something, some snippet of continued conversation that might give them some idea what the Order was working on. The injustice of being excluded rankled, but railing against it had achieved nothing. As usual, the older folk were tight-lipped, chatting about inconsequential things as they settled into chairs clutching cups of tea and plates of food.
Remus Lupin stood by the table. He held a plate of sandwiches in one hand and balanced a cup of tea in the other, but e did not settle into a chair. He looked pretty awful, with lines of tiredness around his eyes, which looked bloodshot and heavy-lidded, and he gave off a general aura of weakness. He looked as if he hadn't slept for several nights.
"I'm heading off to bed. Good night, everyone. I'll see you later," he announced in his rough voice. It rang alarm bells in Harry's head, for Remus did not usually leave early.
As the werewolf left to cries of 'Good night, Remus!', 'Sleep well,' and 'Take care,' Harry looked at his friends, concerned. "He looks awful, doesn't he?"
"I heard him telling Sirius he'd had a bad transformation," Hermione confided quietly.
"Poor guy," Ron said, nodding. "I wish there was something someone could do for him."
"Professor Snape brews Wolfsbane for him," Hermione told them.
Harry's eyebrows rose; he was frankly surprised that Snape took the time and effort to do anything for anyone, let alone for Remus, who was no longer their teacher. "Even so, Wolfsbane doesn't do anything to help his body; it just allows him to keep his mind when he transforms."
"Is everyone all right?"
Harry looked up at the cheery voice and found himself looking into the smiling face of Mrs Weasley. Along with his friends on either side, he nodded and smiled. Everyone's smile, especially Mrs Weasley's – which had an edge of desperation to it – was forced.
"Good, good. Well, that's enough seriousness for one night. You've a trip to Diagon Alley to look forward to tomorrow."
Harry wished she wouldn't keep on with this forced cheerfulness. He wasn't a small child who needed treats or could be distracted from the looming war with days out in London. Her heart was in the right place, but now was surely the time to let them grow up. Endless smiling wouldn't get rid of Voldemort. Harry remembered the inane Lockhart telling his DADA class in second year that he hadn't got rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at it. If even that fraud knew that smiling was no good when facing danger, then surely Mrs Weasley must realise Harry and his friends understood the seriousness of what they were facing.
Mrs Weasley moved on to give a pep talk to Ginny and the twins; Harry turned back to his friends. As he did so, his eyes brushed over the dark figure of Severus Snape seated opposite them, away from most of the other adults. Harry noticed the black eyes were fixed on him. Snape had a slight sneer on his lips as if he'd seen something disgusting. Harry mentally shrugged – it was Snape's default expression when looking at the son of his old enemy. He dismissed the thought and got back to their earlier conversation, speaking quietly to avoid any of the adults listening in.
"There must be something we can do to help Remus. Some way we can make him stronger. He looked weaker than I've ever seen him."
"He did," Hermione admitted, frowning. It was a sure sign she was thinking of something, concentrating on a memory, and then her face cleared. "I know of a rejuvenation rite. I read that it's usually done for older wizards to give them the strength of a younger man, but it might help Professor Lupin."
"It couldn't hurt," Ron said. "He needs more strength to withstand those transformations – they're a regular drain on his system. I can't imagine what being a werewolf takes out of the human body."
Harry shuddered, agreeing with that. When Ron had first found out about Remus' lycanthropy back in their third year in the Shrieking Shack, he'd been disgusted by it, shying away from Lupin's touch. But since then, he'd had time to think about the whole issue and had read quite a lot about it. Nowadays he was still truly horrified, but no longer at the werewolf, rather at the affliction the man had to endure.
"But it's one of those old rites that needs a virgin to perform," Hermione continued thoughtfully. "And he or she must be willing or it won't work. There must be no coercion involved."
"I'll do it!" Harry declared, excited that there was some way he could help and determined to do so. "What does it involve?" He didn't worry too much about openly admitting to his lack of sexual experience in front of his friends; Ron and Hermione already knew he'd had no time to indulge in any kind of serious relationship.
Snape had been eavesdropping on their conversation – probably using a Dark spell, Harry thought later – and he cranked up his sneer and spoke: "That's so typical of you, Potter. A normal person would ask what was involved before they volunteered to do it. But not you; you have to blunder into trouble blindfolded, don't you?"
"I'll help Remus whatever it takes," Harry declared fiercely, glaring back at the dark-robed man. "He deserves it, even if it does involve a blindfold, which I doubt. And it's none of your business anyway."
Snape merely sneered more, looking further disgusted with Harry. Harry glared back so angrily that Hermione put her hand on his arm as if to restrain him in case he leapt up and attacked his professor.
"It's very good of you to offer, Harry," she began, "but…"
"No buts! I'll do it. Just tell me what's needed, Hermione. Please."
"I could do it," Ron offered then, sounding just as determined.
"No, Ron. He's my godfather's best friend, and besides, I owe him for all his help in my third year. He spent a lot of time tutoring me; he was good to me. I think he'll accept my help, but I doubt he would accept yours; he'd feel indebted to you. This way, I'm just paying him back."
Ron nodded; he could see the sense in this, wizarding society was big on obligation. "But I would be happy to help him too."
"I know," Harry said, smiling. "He deserves it."
The trio were all agreed on this, and when they left to go up to bed that night they'd already decided that Hermione should write out a description of the rite. Hopefully they could perform it before another full moon could sap the werewolf's strength further.
The next evening Harry went upstairs to Remus' room and knocked quietly on the door. The werewolf had been resting all day, but Remus had come down for dinner and had then sat with them awhile before going back upstairs. Harry hated to think of Remus being alone and would have liked to spend more time with him, but it was hard to do that with so many people in and out of the house at all times, wondering where Harry was and what he was doing. It was quiet now, so Harry took the opportunity to go up unobserved; he had Hermione's plan clutched in his hand.
The door opened and Remus stood there; the man smiled when he saw it was Harry, his face lighting up. "Hello, Harry. Did you want to see me?"
"Yes, Remus; I've got something to tell you. May I come in?"
"Of course. Please…" Lupin gestured with his arm to the chair by the window, as polite as ever.
Harry went and sat down; when Remus reclined on his bed facing him, Harry blushed. Remus quirked an eyebrow when he saw Harry's reaction, but he didn't yet know what was in the papers Harry clutched in his lap. In Harry's opinion the thought of what might happen between them if Harry could persuade Remus to undertake the rite was enough to make anyone blush.
"Remus, you've not been well this month…" Harry knew he wasn't being very subtle, but how else could he get to the point?
"No, it's been a hard transformation this month. But don't worry about it; it happens sometimes."
"I realise that. But it's been happening a lot lately, hasn't it?" Harry didn't know this for sure, but judging by Remus' appearance he was willing to bet it had.
Remus sighed; the cheerful expression had gone from his features now. "Yes, it has. I think it's just accumulative. I've been a werewolf for over thirty years, you know. It's… difficult."
Harry nodded. "I've got a way to help you, if you'll let me."
Remus' eyes shot up, surprised at that. "What? What do you mean?"
"There's this rite Hermione found, Remus," Harry said, waving the papers. "It will strengthen you. It won't do anything about your lycanthropy, but it will make you withstand the transformations better. Just like you did at the beginning, with any luck."
Remus sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "What rite are you talking about? You should be careful with such magic; it can be Dark, or dangerous, or both for that matter."
"It's called the Rite of Attica. It's a strengthening rite, that's all. And it's not Dark, I'm sure of it."
Remus held out his hand for the papers Harry was still clutching. Harry passed them. "Where did Hermione find this?"
"In a book."
"Don't be obtuse, Harry." Remus sounded quite snappish and looked up, frowning. Harry had the grace to blush, ashamed at trying to keep the truth from Remus. Remus had seen right through it. "Which book, where was it?"
"Here, in the library in Grimmauld Place."
"The Black library." Remus sighed. "It's probably a Dark ritual then."
"No, I'm sure it's not. Just read it, Remus. There's no blood involved. Well, I don't think there is," Harry added, suddenly unsure whether virgin boys shed blood during their first times as girls were supposed to do. According to one of Snape's lectures, a virgin's first-time blood was a powerful magical substance, even more powerful than semen, and not the sort of thing you could buy at Slug and Jiggers. Harry had always assumed that meant girls' blood, but now he wasn't so sure.
Remus opened the papers and started to read. Harry sat with his hands clasped in his lap, watching the man's eyes moving as he read. He was so nervous he could feel his pulse beating in his throat, and he could only wonder at how important this had become to him. He knew he was fond of Remus, his godfather's best friend and one of the Marauders, but still he'd been surprised at his reaction to seeing Remus' weakness. Strangely, Remus' recent fragility, and the fact that he looked greyer and older had only made him dearer to Harry.
Remus never spoke as he read Hermione's notes; occasionally he'd frown. When he'd finished, he put the papers down beside him on the bed and raised his amber eyes to Harry. "Well, you were right, Harry, it's not really Dark. But it is out of the question. It's sex magic and requires a virgin to sacrifice their purity to the recipient. I don't know any virgins willing to do that." Remus chuckled ruefully.
"Yes, you do," Harry said, jaw set, eyes fixed on Remus'.
Remus caught on immediately. "No. no, I don't. You're underage."
"No I'm not! I'm sixteen."
"You will not be of age in the wizarding world until you're seventeen."
"I'm over the age of consent for sex," Harry insisted stubbornly, still not looking away and confident about this sparring with Remus. "The age of consent is sixteen, Remus; you know that, you've lived in the Muggle world. And my guardians are Muggles, so I'm subject to their laws."
"You're a wizard, as I am."
"But I was raised with Muggles."
Remus sighed. "That's irrelevant. I won't do it. It would be wrong."
"It's not irrelevant when it's convenient to send me back to live with them though, is it?" Harry yelled, firing up. "Back where I will be mistreated and starved, oh no, that's all right, that's allowed. And how could this really be wrong, Remus? The rite would help you. I want to help you."
"I know, Harry. And it's very good of you, I appreciate it. But not this way."
"If not this way, then how? You don't have another option. And it's not Dark, you said that yourself. Unless you think all sex magic's Dark, and I know you don't. Look, Remus, I'm sixteen. I'm going to have a first time soon anyway; it's going to happen. I'm not a child any more."
"Of course you're not. But neither are you an adult."
Harry glared. "Don't start that Mrs Weasley shite!" he snarled. "I won't take that, not from you. You know better."
Remus had the grace to look abashed.
"You know what everyone wants me to do. I'm old enough to die, but not to live; is that it?"
Remus had no answer; there was no answer to that.
"Right. Now unless you find me repulsive, I'm telling you, Remus, I want you to be my first. This way, losing my virginity can have some real meaning, do some good. And I'm powerful; it'll work really well, I know it will."
Remus let out a rush of air. "You are indeed, Harry. Powerful and desirable. But…"
"But nothing. That's all I need to know. Please, say you'll do it. I know you're gay."
"What?" Remus sounded sharp. "How do you know?"
"I heard you laughing with Sirius about that time you got molested by Snape."
"I wasn't laughing, Harry; and it wasn't molestation. That was Sirius' description."
Harry gaped. "You mean… you and Snape? Oh, blimey."
"Look, Harry, let's not talk about that. It was a long time ago." Remus' face was closed, his expression forbidding.
"No, you're right. We have to work this out."
"I… I cannot give you an answer just like that. Let me consider it."
Harry looked into the older man's tired face. "Okay, but don't take too long about it, Remus. You need the help, and I'm offering it. You helped me when I needed it; just let me do the same, all right?" He stood up. "Keep the papers while you think about it. But it's not dreadful, is it? It's not Dark. Please, Remus, do it for me if you won't do it for yourself. You'd be a great first, I know it." Harry gave a crooked grin. "I'll let myself out. See you tomorrow."
Harry didn't see Remus the next day; what with the trip to Diagon Alley and an evening with Mrs Weasley in attendance, watching the youngsters with hawk-like attention, it was impossible. But the following day the Weasleys left for the Burrow and Harry remained at Grimmauld Place, which was under Fidelius, rather than risking the safety of the Weasleys' home.
"Can I have a word with you, Harry?" Remus asked after dinner.
"Sure." Harry got up eagerly and followed Remus into the library. Sirius was chatting with Dumbledore and didn't really notice them leaving.
"Look, Harry, this rite… it's serious, you'd need to pledge your virginity to me in a formal way. It would be nothing like a normal first time, no romance, no dates. That makes it unacceptable."
Harry interrupted. "I said I'd do it, and I can; I told you I'm still a virgin."
Remus gave a faint smile. "I know. I'd expected that."
Harry didn't know whether to be annoyed at that. He frowned. "You mean because I'm so geeky."
"What? No, don't be silly… you're very attractive."
"Well, that's all right then."
Harry smiled at Remus then, and Remus smiled back, unable to keep a straight face. Harry looked so hopeful, full of youth and possibility. It warmed Remus to see it. He'd been sure the boy was a virgin; Harry's life had been too chaotic to be able to spend time romancing anyone.
"So, if that's all…" Harry began, running out of words, unsure what came next.
"It's hardly 'all', Harry. This is serious." When Harry continued looking determined, Remus sighed. He'd tried, he really had. But the objections he'd come up with had been swept away one by one, and in his heart he knew what Harry had said before had been true. Remus had lost his own virginity at sixteen, and as Harry had said, why not use the act to do good? And Remus would take care of him. As an adult and sexually experienced he would be able to make it good for the younger man, free of the uncertain fumbling first times often involved. He could minimise the discomfort, at least. "Okay, we'll do it."
Harry whooped with joy. "Yeah, I'm so glad." He threw his arms around Remus and hugged him. After the briefest pause, Remus hugged back, laying his cheek on Harry's tousled hair. It smelt of herbal shampoo. Remus smiled.
Remus released Harry, who stepped back disappointedly; he would have liked to continue the embrace and was rather sad Remus didn't. And he'd have liked to think the older man wanted him as much as he wanted Remus, but he didn't know how to ask for that, or whether the sentiment would be worth anything if he had to ask. "Are there any time constraints?" Harry asked after a while.
Remus picked up the papers and scanned them. "Yes. The rite must be performed a week before the full moon. You have to fast on the day of the rite, taking nothing but water from midnight on, and in the week before that you must eat no meat."
"Like a vegetarian, you mean? Does that include fish and eggs and such?"
"I think it's just meat and fish, the flesh of animals. Eggs will be fine."
"Okay, I can do that. I'll tell Dobby to cook me vegetarian meals, it shouldn't be a problem. House elves are used to providing different kinds of food."
"At the rite, you will have to wear an acolyte's robe," Remus added, reading from the paper.
"Right. Well, we can find one of those, can't we?"
Remus smiled at Harry's refusal to find problems. The younger man was always optimistic; anything was possible with Harry. As a man who'd lived through changing times, Remus wasn't so sure, but Harry's enthusiasm was inspiring. "I think Madam Malkin's used robe section might have something suitable."
Harry grinned happily. "You can take me there, can't you, Remus?"
"No, I can't. Albus doesn't want you leaving Grimmauld Place. He arranged for the school supply trip with the Weasleys, but he won't do it again without a good reason, and I'm pretty sure he won't think this is one. I don't think we should tell him what we're planning anyway, or if we should be doing it at all." Remus tailed off and his frown had returned.
"Oh, for goodness sake, Remus!" Harry snapped. "You agreed. We've been through all this before. And of course we don't tell Dumbledore – I don't want him knowing about my first time. Can you imagine it?"
Remus paled; he certainly did not want to imagine what Albus would say about him taking Harry's virginity. He still wasn't sure what he thought about it himself. He looked into Harry's fierce face and caved again. "All right, all right. I'll go and get it. What size are you?"
When Harry knocked on Remus' door the next evening and bowled in, grinning, without waiting for acknowledgement, Remus could only shake his head slightly and smile. The boy was a breath of fresh air in his life, or more likely a typhoon. He'd never considered Harry as a sexual partner before, but now… well, Harry was certainly attractive; Remus hadn't lied about that. Those green eyes, that mop of dark hair, the optimism that ran through the boy despite the life he'd led… it was all compelling and made Remus feel that maybe life still had some good things in store for him as well. He smiled back and extended his hands.
Harry took them and leaned in for a kiss. Now Remus didn't hesitate; he'd done his agonising and he'd made his decision. It was time to change his relationship with Harry, to make the young man his lover, and so he lowered his head and took possession of Harry's lips.
It was unbearably sweet and fiercely exciting at the same time. At first Harry's responses were hesitant; the boy had obviously not done much kissing. Harry's arms slipped around Remus' back, and Remus held the boy, letting his hands slide up Harry's back, one cupping the back of his head to hold him still as Remus gently showed him how to kiss. Harry's response was a little hesitant at first, but it quickly became harder and needier. Harry was making little moaning sounds in his throat and Remus could feel the boy's hips thrusting as he rubbed his erection against Remus' thigh. Remus could only moan back and hold Harry tighter, deepening the kiss further. Harry tasted good, of sweet tea and the freshness of youth, and Remus felt a rush of protectiveness. He desperately wanted to keep Harry safe; he wanted what they did to be good for Harry; he wanted no one to hurt him, physically or emotionally. He wanted to take him away and keep him close, somewhere he could ensure the boy's safety. Remus knew he couldn't do it; he could only keep Harry with him for a short while, but he would do it for now.
When they broke apart, Harry lifted a trembling hand to his lips as if marvelling at what they'd done. Remus stood with his lips slightly parted, getting his breath back.
"Wow!" Harry said in awe.
Remus smiled and nodded. "Yes. You're a wonderful young man, Harry. And yes, I do want you, be sure of that."
Harry's eyes went down to Remus' trousers, as if needing proof. Remus stood unabashed, the bulge in his trousers proof of his desire. Why couldn't Harry just accept his words? Because you hesitated too long, you fool, and protested too much.
Harry then caught sight of the large clothes bag standing by the wardrobe: Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions. "You got it? My robe for the rite?" he cried excitedly, and suddenly he sounded alarmingly young again.
Dismissing his concerns, which he'd already argued through several times, Remus couldn't help but smile at Harry's excitement. "Yes. We should be ready to do this before I have another transformation. The full moon is on the 21st of August, so we'll do the rite on the 14th."
"Which means I become a veggie on the 7th, in three days," Harry mused. "So where will we be doing this?"
"Here in Grimmauld Place is fine. All we need is a bed, and I will erect wards and silencing spells on this room; we won't be disturbed."
"What will you tell Sirius?"
"I've already told him that I'm tutoring you in extra DADA techniques on some evenings. He wanted to join in, but I told him you'd find that intimidating, that you'd be too concerned with impressing him to concentrate properly."
"Oh, that'd work too. Poor Sirius, I feel a bit guilty about leaving him out."
"You don't want him to be present, surely?" Remus sounded aghast. "Or do you mean we shouldn't do this?"
"No! Ugh. Of course not. I just meant I ought to spend some time with him. And of course we're doing this!" Harry looked fierce again.
"You're with him every day now until you go back to Hogwarts. He loves being with you, you know that."
"Yeah, but he's lonely, isn't he?"
Remus sighed. "Yes, he is. He's never been quite the same since Azkaban, nor should we expect it. It's like he can't bear to be alone again now he's out of that place; as if he had more than a lifetime's worth of solitude there. I spend as much time as I can here, but I have to work."
Harry nodded. Remus worked in the Muggle world, waiting at tables in a London restaurant. Harry knew there were few magical folk willing to employ a werewolf, so Remus found work where he could. As he had no Muggle qualifications, the work was usually poorly paid and the hours long; the jobs tended to be short-lived once his regular periods of sickness became known. Shaking off his mood, Harry reached out for Remus again. "Kiss me."
Remus took him to the settee, and they settled together, touching and kissing, looking into each other's eyes, exploring faces and necks, ears and chests with fingers and lips. Remus wouldn't let Harry touch him below the waist. "If you do that, I'll lose control. You're just too tempting."
Remus' light brown eyes glittered with hints of golden light, and Harry suddenly saw the wolf inside the man. He nodded. "Yeah, sorry. It's just… I get excited."
Remus smiled at that. "It's understandable. You're young, and you know we're going to have sex soon."
At those words, a jolt ran down Harry's body and he squirmed. "Yeah. Oh, Merlin."
Harry pulled Remus close for another kiss, running his hands over the man's chest, playing with Remus' chest hair. They lost themselves then, and time slipped away from them until they parted, reluctantly, just before midnight.
"What is this, Dobby?"
Harry lifted the lid of the burger bun and revealed something pale and spongy covered with a layer of melted cheese. He grimaced; it looked like a slice of the giant squid.
"It is a tofu cheeseburger, Harry Potter sir," Dobby said with a wide, hopeful smile. "It is special for vegetarians. Dobby is making it for you because Kreacher said he is not making it. He is telling Dobby he is only making proper food in the kitchens of the noble house of Black. He is a stupid elf."
Harry gulped. He couldn't help thinking that Kreacher had it right for once. "And I eat this?"
"You is hungry, Harry Potter, and this is full of vitamins and protein. It is having the same food value as a meat burger, Winky is telling Dobby that."
"Winky had something to do with this?" Harry sounded even less certain about his lunch.
At that, Sirius came into the kitchen, laughing. "I don't know why you're doing this to yourself, Harry. There's nothing like a nice piece of steak, and a cheeseburger isn't bad either. When it's real meat, that is. That stuff is shite." He sat in front of the thick roast beef sandwich that awaited him, smiling happily.
"Thanks," Harry said mournfully. "You know I promised Hermione I'd try a vegetarian diet for at least a week. During the holidays she always gets involved in some new crusade; this year it's animal rights."
"Yeah, but she's not here," Sirius pointed out once he'd swallowed his first mouthful of beef in freshly-baked, white bread. "You could just tell her you tried, right?"
Harry looked up at his godfather, frowning as earnestly as he could. "I couldn't do that, Sirius. It's the sort of thing a Slytherin would do."
Harry felt a bit guilty pulling that one on Sirius, but his godfather was ridiculously easy to manipulate. Mention Slytherin or Snape and he was away. Determinedly, not looking at what he was eating, Harry took a big bite of Dobby's tofu-burger. To his surprise, it wasn't half bad.
It was the morning of the 14th. Harry had hardly been able to sleep the night before, and now he woke in a right state. How to avoid Sirius and drink only water all day? He'd given it some thought as he'd lain awake last night, and decided to claim a forgotten essay and stay in his room most of the time, saying he'd get Dobby to bring him his food. Dobby had strict instructions to provide Harry with nothing but water that day. The little elf had looked distressed at the order, but Harry had explained it was to do with his assignment, a sort of magic that needed him to fast. It seemed that Dobby had heard of this sort of thing before, so he'd accepted it, but with many complaints about Harry missing important nutrition. Harry briefly wondered if Dobby had been helping out in the hospital wing.
Harry went down to breakfast, grabbed a glass of water and gabbled his excuses to Sirius. Sirius was not a morning person and was in no state to question it. Harry made his escape while he could.
Later, he was sitting surrounded by books, trying to look as if he was studying, when Sirius came in. "What's this panic about?"
"It's a huge project for Snape. With the excitement of being here with you I'd forgotten it. I have to write up ingredient tables and examples of each kind of cross reaction." Harry had left Sinfull's Concordance open at the most complicated page.
Sirius looked at it and paled. "Gods, I was always awful at this stuff. I can't help you, Harry. Remus understood it and we all used to copy off him. I just about scraped an A on my OWL."
"You didn't do it at NEWT level then?" Harry asked, knowing the answer already. He was really being very Slytherin with Sirius, but Sirius would never suspect him of it, Harry knew, which was even more Slytherin.
"Merlin, no. I was glad to finish after OWLs."
"I'm surprised, I thought you were pretty brilliant at school. You got really good NEWTs, didn't you?"
"Well, that was different. I was good at those subjects. But all these reaction tables and rot… nope, I'm sorry, I can't help you," Sirius said, backing away.
"Never mind," Harry said. "I think I've got it. Just got to write the damned thing now." He waved his quill.
"Aren't you coming down for lunch?" Sirius had reached the door now.
"Nope, I'll work through up here. I want to get it done so I can enjoy the rest of the holiday. I don't want to waste any more days on it."
Sirius smiled. "Great. Well, you carry on. I'll see you later."
Harry grinned back. "Yeah, no worries, Sirius."
Sirius left, and Harry sighed in relief and dropped the quill, which had no ink in it anyway. He'd finished the Potions assignment weeks earlier; in fact he'd done all his homework by now. Now he had to concentrate on something entirely different: Remus.
Kissing Remus had been wonderful. Every time he saw the man now he just wanted to snog him. Harry wondered at it; he'd kissed Cho, but that had been rather soppy and romantic; wet, as he'd told his friends. But this, with Remus, was different altogether. Hot and hard, passionate and warm. Was it because Remus was a werewolf, or because he was a man? Either way, Harry liked it. He smiled and touched his lips, recalling the sensations. And tonight it would go further…
Harry was nervous, he had to admit that. But he was eager too. He wanted Remus to touch him down there; he wanted to see what Remus was like naked, and erect. Harry shivered and felt himself getting hard. He picked up his wand and locked his door, reaching for the cream he kept in the drawer by his bed. He'd been wanking so much lately, three times yesterday alone. He knew he ought to keep something for tonight, but it wasn't going to be a problem. Unscrewing the jar, unzipping his trousers, he smiled.
Harry heard Remus' voice downstairs. He jumped up, scattering books, papers and inkless quills in all directions, and ran down to the kitchen.
"Tea, Harry?" Sirius asked, and Harry mentally kicked himself.
"Er, no, I must get back to my essay. I just came down to say hi to Remus; I heard his voice."
Remus smiled. "Hello, Harry. I'll be up for our lesson a bit later. I'm going to have dinner with Sirius first. Make sure you get Dobby to bring you something."
Harry grinned. "Yeah, no problem. He's been taking care of me all day. I just had to get this Transfiguration project done. I want to get it out of the way."
Sirius visibly shuddered. "Rather you than me."
"Would you have a look at it later, Remus? Sirius told me you understand the tables."
"Fine. I'll read it through after our lesson. I'm not working tomorrow, so I can stay overnight if the lesson drags on a bit."
"You academics," Sirius groused. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
Remus laughed. "Well, I'll try not to be dull over dinner."
Sirius perked up. "Sorry, Remus. I'm just being selfish, I know that. It's just… this place is so empty most of the time. I have to grab you when I can."
Harry left them to it. As he headed back to his room he thought about how he was going to be the one grabbing Remus later. It was all set for tonight, and he could hardly wait. His cock was getting hard again, and his stomach was rumbling for good measure. If he hung around Sirius would hear it and things could get complicated.
Harry was used to going without food at Privet Drive; it was almost routine, and his stomach would have been so shrunken it wouldn't have growled. But it was different here; Harry didn't like going without at Grimmauld Place, which, despite its faults, was somewhere he associated with plenty of food. His stomach kept interrupting, reminding him he only needed to pop down to the kitchen or call Dobby and he could have anything. His erection faded and suddenly all he could think about was food. He paced around, fantasising about sausage sandwiches and peanut butter on toast rather than a naked Remus. "You're going to have sex tonight," he said out loud. But for once even that didn't distract him, nor did it stop his stomach's protests.
The day seemed endless. After he'd popped down to greet Remus everything had gone quiet. The men were probably doing something together – and Harry hoped it was nothing sexual. Remus wouldn't, would he? And anyway, was Sirius even gay? But then, how picky would he be after Azkaban? He'd probably shag anything, even the table leg. In his animagus form, of course, Harry reminded himself, and snorted.
"You coming down for dinner?" Sirius' head came round the door.
"Er, no… I've very nearly finished this, Sirius; I've just got the conclusion to do. I'll get some supper later, or call Dobby." Harry tracked a line of text with his quill, looking as studious as he could.
"Oh, right." Sirius sounded disappointed, and Harry felt another pang of guilt.
"Look, I'll make up for it tomorrow, I promise. We can play Frisbee in the garden if you like."
Sirius perked up. Padfoot loved that. He nodded and left. Harry let out a huge sigh of relief. This day needed to be over.