Christmas at the Potters’ (Remus Lupin, Post-Hogwarts Marauder’s Era)

[LifeOfTheMarauders]

Alright, this was supposed to make it out by Christmas at the latest, but I’m about a day and a half late. It’s going to be in two parts with the first one following Remus and the second following Sirius. I’m usually a hardcore Wolfstar shipper, but I’m pretty sure this fic will end up platonic. However, if you want to read more into the Remus/Sirius relationship, be my guest! Basically, Remus comes to the Potter family Christmas Eve party with a cold, but doesn’t want to bring down the mood, so he keeps it a secret. Takes place Christmas Eve of 1979, the year before Harry is born. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and Happy New Year to all! Next part will be out soon!

 

POV: Remus

He was late. Despite carefully scheduling out his day in order to ensure that he had plenty of time for everything, Remus had somehow managed to fall over an hour behind in all of his endeavors, including most concerningly, James’ family Christmas party.

Running late, it seemed, had become a bit of a pattern with him during the past few months. 

Commencing with his return from another mission issued by Dumbledore (this time instructing him to live amongst a pack of werewolves for a few weeks and convince them to ally themselves with the Order of the Phoenix) everything seemed to hurt more than usual. This, he was loathe to admit, could surely be attributed to the fact that the wolf was missing its own kind. 

When he had transformed with the pack he had felt great, completely lucid and comfortable with those that he shared the burden of lycanthropy with. Upon returning, however, he found that the wolf was more restless and less willing to cooperate with his friends’ Animagus forms. As a human, he felt the wolf more keenly within him, desperate to get out. 

It’s exhausting to constantly be battling with yourself. 

But he did, and he paid the price for it in energy. He was far more reluctant to move at any given moment, and when he did move, it was generally a bit slower than before. These changes were especially accentuated by the even more recent development in Remus, this time having to do with his immune system. 

“huh’eishhh!!” 

Ah yes, that.

He shifted to a halt just as he was reaching for the front door handle to Potter Place, James’ family mansion, in order to clamp a hand over his nose and mouth. The shock of freezing cold air he had received after apparating to the doorstep of the manor had set him off again. He had caught a cold a few days ago and had been pretty miserable for the past few days, moreso even than usual, but decided that he wouldn’t miss James’ party. He knew that if he didn’t turn up someone would come looking for him anyway, plus he missed his friends and hoped to wring some joy out of what seemed to him like a rotten year overall.

He took a deep breath to compose himself, running through his list of things to be grateful for, War. Restless inner wolf. Exhausted. Late. Horribly sore throat. Persistent cough. Aching head.

“ishhuhh!! hhh...ih’tchhh!!”

He growled slightly under his breath. Bloody sneezing.

Finally, he pushed open the front door, feeling a burst of warm air flood over him as he tromped into the foyer. Fleamont and Euphemia, James’ late parents, had left the house to him when they died the year prior, and James had vowed to continue their annual Christmas Eve parties until he kicked the bucket as well. 

He gave his coat to the Potter family houself, Tonny, and, following the sound of music and Christmas cheer, wandered through the living room where a few people he barely knew sat and chatted quietly to the much more lively sitting room. 

He felt confident that this was where he would find his friends, ever-craving action and noise. Upon entering, he thought that he must have walked into the end of some kind of performance, given the presence of a hearty touch of applause, and quickly made himself scarce over by a refreshment table, although he wasn’t the least bit hungry.

He pretended to be mulling over which hors d’oeuvres to choose as the smattering of applause died down and the cheerful notes of a piano began. He recognized the opening notes immediately, a Muggle tune called “Baby It’s Cold Outside” that he recalled his mother playing occasionally around Christmas time. He had just spotted a newly pregnant Lily (she and James had just made the announcement a couple of weeks ago), when the lyrics accompanying the piano music began and he whipped his head around toward where he knew the piano lay. 

“I really can’t stayyyy...”

“But, baby, it’s cold outside.”

“I’ve got to go ‘wayyyyy...”

“But, baby, it’s cold outside.”

Sirius and James sat side by side at the sleek, black grand piano which stood proudly as the focal point of the Potter’s sitting room. Their fingers both flew across the keys in a seamless duet, and their voices, (James’, a greatly exaggerated version of his own singing the man’s part, and Sirius’, a high-pitched—but somehow still on-key—ring, attempting to sound as feminine as possible, singing the woman’s part) resounded throughout the room. 

Ignoring the voices, clearly exaggerated for comedic effect, Remus realized with a start that he hadn’t had a clue that two of his best friends were apparently skilled pianists.

“Posh gits,” Remus murmured, rolling his eyes, but grinning slightly despite himself. 

Silly to be surprised, though, he reckoned. They’ve probably been in lessons since they were in diapers.

James stopped playing his part, only for a moment, as he waved his wand at the piano and the keys magically began pressing down again. He did Sirius’ bit as well and they both got up, still oblivious to Remus’ presence, and began acting out the scene as the piano played itself. 

“The neighbors might think–“

James grabbed Sirius’ hand. “But, baby, it’s bad out there.”

Sirius pulled away from James and grabbed a glass of fairy wine from a refreshment table, downing it in one go. “Say, what’s in this drink?”

“No cabs to be had out there.”

Sirius leaned against the piano dramatically.

“I wish I knew howwwww...” he shot sparks at James from his wand, grinning cheekily.  “...to break this spell.”

“Oi!” James exclaimed, dodging them. “I’ll take your hat! Your hair looks swell.”

Remus watched as James mussed up Sirius’ hair, smirking contently at the two idiots before a tickle in the back of his throat caused him to beeline toward the refreshment table for a glass of water. 

Despite this attempt to soothe his throat, however, he still ended up stifling a coughing fit into his elbow. He hacked into his sleeve for a minute, and had only just caught his breath and was debating whether or not to rejoin the fray when Lily, glowing in a green knit dress that made her eyes pop, emerged from behind him.  

“Remus!” she beamed, tackling him in a hug. “Happy Christmas!”

“Happy Christmas,” he murmured back in a voice that he hoped sounded cheery enough.

He really wished she hadn’t hugged him, given that he was probably covered in germs and he really didn’t want her to catch anything now that she was pregnant, but he supposed that the damage had already been done.

She finally pulled away, straightening up and looking him over. Her face fell slightly as her eyes zeroed in on his face. 

“Oh, my love,” she tutted lightly, “you look exhausted! How are you doing?”

He cleared his throat to speak, but ended up settling on a slightly sarcastic shrug. 

Better a lie by omission than a straight-up lie, he mused.

In all truth, of course, he felt horrible. His head had taken to throbbing to a rhythmic beat and nose had begun running at some point, stinging his upper lip slightly as he consistently rubbed at it. That, however, obviously wasn’t going to be his conversation starter. Tonight was for celebration, love, gift-giving, and all that good stuff. It was a break from the dark monotony of their everyday lives, not another chance to bring up his seemingly endless list of woes.

“Would you like a sit down? I feel like I haven’t had a proper conversation with a real adult in days. James is...well...James, and it certainly doesn’t help when Sirius is around—“

“Moony!”

The matching shouts shifted Remus’ attention from the redhead in front of him to two figures ambling over merrily. Sirius had acquired a reindeer headband at some point and both were holding empty glasses of fairy wine(likely the reason for the antlers).

“Speak of the devil,” he murmured to Lily, who giggled.

“You came!”

“Late as all hell, but got here eventually.”

The boys sidled up beside him and Lily, beaming ear to ear.

Remus smiled back, quickly swiping at his slightly runny nose and making an effort to look less exhausted, as had been commented on by Lily. Either it worked, the lighting was dim enough to mask his bags, or his friends were simply not observant enough to notice, because neither gave any sign that they were concerned for Remus’ health.

And thank Godric for that, Remus thought. He didn’t want to think about it anymore, and he especially didn’t want anyone else thinking about it. 

Of course, I can’t very well stop thinking about it, now can I? he moaned internally as he disguised a cough as yet another throat-clearing before quickly picking up the conversation.

“Nice party you’ve got going on, Prongs. And Lily, of course. I’m sure you’re the mastermind behind most of it.” Remus raised an eyebrow at the woman, waiting for her take, and she smiled back sweetly.

“Actually, James did almost all of the work. And I’m better off for it, in all honesty,” she chuckled, touching her slightly protruding stomach, perhaps subconsciously. “Trying to stress as little as possible with the little munchkin coming along.”

“Of course,” he said kindly to the redhead, as James began to spout out all of the little touches he made to give the Christmas Eve party ‘that holiday glow’. 

“Oi,” he said, after a while, interrupting James’ and Sirius’ banter about whether or not pop-up mistletoe sprigs that appeared whenever two drunk witches or wizards were in close proximity would have been a good idea, “I heard your little performance earlier.”

“No way,” Sirius beamed, “You were here for that?!”

“‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ at least,” Remus smirked, “Not sure what you were up to before that.”

James and Sirius looked proper chuffed with themselves, so he let them be without too much teasing. Truth be told, he had loved seeing his friends acting themselves, regardless of how utterly insane their selves were. The war had taken a toll on all of them, and James and Sirius were not exempt.

The boys and Lily chatted on and he tried to listen attentively. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even enjoy this conversation, a touch of normalcy for once, without his body fighting against him. He felt his nose prick unpleasantly and, despite his attempts to surreptitiously rub it into submission, it seemed determined to wreck his night. He cupped his hands around his face resignedly, turning away from his friends.

“hh’ehshhh!!”

A chorus of offhanded ‘bless you’s from his three friends stopped the conversation for a beat before it picked right back up again. 

He flushed, murmuring a ‘thanks’ before another persistent tickle had him muttering something about using the loo.

Remus made his way quickly toward the bathroom that was open for guests, a fist pressed under his nose, but upon seeing the line that had begun to form, decided that it wasn’t worth it. 

Finding himself near the stairs, he considered just sneaking off into Sirius’ old bedroom from his time living with the Potters—it hadn’t been in use since he moved into his own flat a while back—but too soon found himself succumbing to his cold’s ticklish sneezes, pounding head buried in his elbow as he sat down on a stair. 

“hh’ihchhh!! ei’tchuhh!! huh’eishhh!! ihh’tshhh!! hehh’chuh!!”

“Did James overdo it with the Christmas candles?” came a voice in front of him. “Or is it just those crazy Moony senses of yours?”

Sirius. Damn.

Remus kept his head buried in his arm for a moment longer, consciously brightening his face to appear less tired. He made an effort to open his eyes a bit wider because he knew that they were a bit droopy from his tiredness.

“Mmm one of the two,” he sniffed, offering Sirius a sheepish smile and swiping at his nose with his wrist. Sirius sat beside him on the stair.

Of course it wasn’t the various holiday scents scattered throughout the house or even his sometimes extra-keen werewolf senses that were tossing him into sneezing fits. He had actually been quite enjoying the little that he could still smell of the cinnamon nutmegy air, but perhaps overactive senses could be his excuse for the night. 

“Moon’s coming up soon enough, I suppose,” Sirius continued. “Second of January, if I remember right. But I thought you only got your super-senses a couple of days before?”

Remus hummed noncommittally, smoothly changing the subject. “The antlers are a good look on you. Trying to outshine Prongs?” 

“Oi, I’ll have you know these are reindeer antlers, not stag, and I already outshine Prongs in every aspect of life. You should know this, Moony.” He looked expectantly at Remus, who nodded sarcastically. “I can conjure you a pair if you want—“

“Couldn’t pay me a thousand galleons to wear a pair of those.“

“—after all, the spell is simple.” Sirius continued on as if Remus had never spoken, “Only took one try to transfigure a serving tray into a pair of these bad boys–”

“huh’eishhh!! ehh’tchhh!!”

“Bless,” Sirius said with a slightly amused smile, to which Remus mumbled a thanks. The sneezing was starting to hurt his head even more than it already did. 

“Oi, guess what? Wormtail, the wanker, left before you even came! Said he just popped by to say hello and that he had to get back to his Ministry job. I swear, one more stunt like that and we’ll have to shun him until he comes to his senses. I mean, really? Christmas Eve?! Who works on a bloody holiday...”

The dark haired man carried the rest of the conversation, pointing out little details in the decorations that he had helped put up and random things that he had learned about the guests from gossip and polite conversation.  

He talked for quite a while longer, loving the sound of his own voice as usual, and Remus sat back and half-listened, at least glad to have warded off most suspicion regarding his health thus far. He felt less sure about his decision to come to the party at all, but as he listened to Sirius chat animatedly about the multiple failed attempts at enchanting the ceiling to “snow” like it did in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, he thought that he would manage. He felt marginally less miserable just being with his friends, after all.

Now if only I could stop the bloody jackhammer drilling a hole in my head.

 

 

Part 2 coming soon!

[mystic-chibi]

Oh very nice! I'm certainly looking forward to Part Two!

[NickG1998]

I can’t wait for part 2 I’m so excited 

[LifeOfTheMarauders]

Part 2! Ok so this ended up being a bit more Wolfstar-y than I expected, but it can still totally be read as platonic ahaha. Take your pick! This part picks up right where the first one left off, but following Sirius’ progress instead of Remus’. Enjoy and please leave a comment if you want to see more Marauders content

 

POV: Sirius

 

“As you can see, we never ended up succeeding, but Prongs wound up covered in ice at one point, so that was a good laugh.”

Sirius chattered on about the failed attempts at making the ceiling ‘snow’ without actually dropping the ice crystals on all of the guests.

It really was a great idea, he mused. Would have been wicked cool if we could have gotten it to actually work.

Remus didn’t seem to be in much of a talkative mood, so Sirius was happy to pick up the slack. Just spending time with Moony was enough for him. He hardly ever saw Remus or Peter as of late. The war had really increased in severity and required much more commitment from all of them. Nothing was guaranteed nowadays, and he was just grateful for the time that he got to spend away from stakeouts and dueling and fearing for his life. 

He was about to dive into all of the other ways they had tried to make Potter Place resemble Hogwarts at Christmastime, but Remus had acquired that hazy expression again, plus his nostrils were twitching, so Sirius paused his rambling for a moment. 

As expected, Remus turned his head away from where Sirius sat beside him after a beat, cupping his hands to his face.

“ihh’tshhh!! huh’eishhh!! hh’ehshhh!!”

Remus scrunched his nose and sniffed, sounding congested as all hell. 

Poor bloke, Sirius thought, offering Remus another ‘bless you’. Can’t catch a break, that one.

“Want to nip outside for a moment? Get some fresh air and all that?” Sirius frowned slightly. “Might help with the sneezing. Can’t be good to just keep breathing in the same rubbish air if it’s bothering you that much.”

“It’s fine,” Remus answered, running his sleeve under his pink nose. “It’s uh, warm in here. Don’t want to stand out in the snow.” 

“I suppose. Rotten luck, though, sneezing your head off at a Christmas party of all places.”

Remus nodded, wrist sleeve now steepled to his nose as he sniffed hard, trying to stop his nose from running.

Sirius dug in his pocket for something to offer Remus—a tissue or handkerchief or something—but couldn’t find anything of that nature. Instead he grabbed out an old butterscotch wrapper and his wand, concentrating hard in order to transfigure it. A moment later he held a toffee-colored handkerchief.

He handed it to Remus who flushed in embarrassment, nodding his thanks before burying his nose in the fabric and blowing.

He blew his nose repeatedly, folding the handkerchief each time; when he could no longer fold it, Sirius casually pointed his wand at it, murmuring ‘Scourgify’.

Remus looked embarrassed again, but blew his nose once more for thoroughness’ sake. He sighed, not contentedly, but rather deep and tired, and leaned back against the stair, eyes closing briefly.

He looked completely knackered.

“Are you ok, Moony?” Sirius asked, surprised to find that he was genuinely concerned now. “I mean, aside from the sneezing, even, you don’t seem entirely well. What’s going on?”

Remus reopened his eyes and looked ready to wave off Sirius’ concern, but as he began to speak, his voice caught in his throat and he spluttered for a moment before giving in to a set of chesty sounding coughs.

Sirius raised both eyebrows, but let Remus finish his fit.

As Remus finished coughing, his whole body seemed to sag for a moment. He swallowed, and squinted a bit, looking as if he was fighting off a pained grimace that wanted to surface as the saliva ran down his throat.

Sirius cocked his head a bit at the display. His furrowed brow held a touch of confusion, but his words were far more accusation than question. “You’re ill.”

Remus’ lips parted for a moment, looking as if he wasn’t sure exactly what to say yet. 

It’s not exactly up for debate, though, is it? Sirius mused concernedly. Seems obvious enough, now. 

He wasn’t sure why Remus hadn’t just said outright that he was sick, though. He supposed that Moony could often be one of those ‘suffer-in-silence’ type blokes about a lot of things, but he usually at least let them know when he was ill.

Remus swallowed again, looking strained. “A bit,” he choked out.

“But why didn’t you say anything, you tosser?”

Remus shrugged, “S’not bad. Honestly I’d feel fine if it wasn’t for the sneezing.”

“And the coughing,” Sirius added.

The werewolf hummed slightly in agreement.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at his friend, remembering his grimace upon swallowing, “And the sore throat.”

Remus sighed, eyeing Sirius warily. “I already said, s’not bad.”

“We could’ve at least made you a cuppa.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m, uh, feeling better now than I did earlier, anyway.”

Sirius raised a dark eyebrow at the man. He looked as though he were feeling worse as time went on, if anything, but Sirius let the matter go.

“I’m going to catch up with Marlene.” Remus said suddenly, getting up from where they sat on the stairs. “I’ve wanted to all evening. See you around?”

“Alright, just...I dunno, let me know if you need anything.”

Remus cringed slightly, turning back toward Sirius for a moment. “Thanks. Uh...could you not tell anyone? Just let it be, you know?”

Sirius sighed, nodding reluctantly. “Whatever you say, Moony. Honestly, you’re so weird sometimes.”

Remus smirked at that. “That’s rich coming from you. Talk to you later, Pads.”

His lanky form rounded a corner and disappeared, apparently off to find their old Gryffindor housemate, Marlene McKinnon. 

Sirius shook his head. He’d keep an eye on the sick idiot. 

 

...

 

In an hour, Sirius felt as though he had charmed every witch and joked with every wizard in attendance who seemed even slightly interesting.

He, too, had caught up with Marlene McKinnon, waiting until Remus left her in order to not seem overbearing on his ill friend; Moony was sure not to appreciate that.

Now sufficiently socialized for the night, he scoped the place for his best mate, ready to drop the ‘charming young man’ pretense and just be his loud crazy self for a bit.

He caught James’ eye and was about to make his way over, but stopped a moment later, chuckling amusedly to himself.

James had turned as an older witch stroked his shoulder and grinned goatishly at him. The messy-haired man smiled back serenely, attempting to be a welcoming host to all.

Just like his parents.

Sirius missed Fleamont and Euphemia Potter all the time. They had been so incredibly good to him and, although he wasn’t very religious, he thought that there must be some kind of reward awaiting them in the afterlife for being such selfless souls on Earth. After all, to take in a sorry sod like himself, you had to be some kind of hero.

Resigned to wait for Prongs to free up, he started toward the kitchen, about to go see if Tonny, the Potter family house elf whom Sirius consistently mentioned was loads better than Kreacher, could acquire him something a bit stronger than the fairy wine being served. However, as he moved in that direction, something caught his eye. He saw another familiar figure by one of the large Christmas trees decorated in red and gold baubles (another of his ideas, meant to display the Gryffindor pride that extended beyond their years at Hogwarts).

Remus’ head of dirty-blonde curls snapped forward as he stood, face ducked into his hands. He was tucked around the side of the tree, hidden from the view of many of the party-goers.

As Sirius started toward the man, his ears vaguely picked up a muffled ‘huh’eishhh!!’

“ei’tchuhh!! ishhuhh!!”

Sirius paused in his pursuit for a moment, watching his friend as the man swiped at his nose with a pained expression and started back toward the stairs where they had talked an hour earlier. 

Sirius deftly followed Remus’ trek back toward the stairs. He watched curiously as Remus began to climb the steps instead of sitting on them, as Sirius had assumed he was going to do. 

He was even more surprised when, upon reaching the top of the stairs, Remus walked through the landing into Sirius’ own room. 

Sirius raised his eyebrows. He didn’t mind, of course, but he was curious about why Remus had chosen his room to make his escape.

The werewolf hadn’t bothered closing the door, as it was in a part of the house that was completely empty anyway, being closed off to guests. 

Sirius entered quietly to find his friend laying on his back on top of Sirius’ bed, an arm thrown over his eyes, blocking out any of the dim light that managed to find its way into the room from the hallway or the moonlit window.

Briefly, Sirius gazed around his old room fondly. It was far more barren than when he had actually inhabited it full time, but he still used it whenever he stayed over at James’. Apparently, the bastard was thinking of selling the entire mansion soon for a quaint little cottage in order to “raise a family”. He understood the appeal of a smaller space, of course; after all, he had moved into an average-sized flat when he graduated Hogwarts. But still, if he could never come back here, he would certainly miss this place.

He cleared his throat, not loudly or obnoxiously, but so that he didn’t frighten Remus out of his skin when he spoke.

The werewolf jerked the arm off his face and sat up sharply anyway, eyes wide with panic before they rested on Sirius’ familiar face. He looked less panicked, but still like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Remus broke eye contact and looked a bit guilty, “I, uh...didn’t think you’d be coming up. I can leave...if you want.”

He sounded even more congested than he had the last time Sirius spoke to him.

“Don’t be silly. I’m only here because I followed you up.”

“Oh,” Remus slumped back down to his lying position, sighing resignedly. 

“So I take it you’re less fine than you let on earlier,” Sirius wandered further into the room, closer to the bed where Remus lay. “Unless you got poisoned or something in the last hour.”

Remus chuckled, although it sounded pretty humorless to Sirius, “Brings the whole Christmas mood down a bit, doesn’t it?”

“There’s a lot of things that have been bringing the ‘Christmas mood’ down nowadays, in case you haven’t noticed,” Sirius said matter-of-factly. “At least this is something we can actually help.”

Remus pushed himself to an almost sitting position, weight resting on his elbows as he stared into Sirius’ eyes. Sirius raised both eyebrows and stared back, as if challenging Remus to refute his point. 

When Remus didn’t say anything, Sirius started talking again, determined now to fix what he could about the situation. “I know it won’t work as well on you, but want me to grab a Pepperup potion from the washroom?”

“Already took one before I came.” Remus grunted. “Obviously didn’t help much.”

Sirius’ frown deepened. Whenever he caught a cold he just downed a dose of Pepperup, but Remus didn’t have that luxury. He had told his friends a long time ago that the Pepperup potion was practically useless on him. Sometimes it mildly alleviated his symptoms, but usually it didn’t even scratch the surface. Something to do with the lycanthropy rapidly increasing his metabolism. According to Remus, that speedy metabolism was also the reason for his eternal lanky figure. So not exactly one of Remus’ favorite qualities about himself.

“Another joy of being me,” he growled. “Ever think that maybe I just wanted to have one normal night? One night that I’m not running amuck with a pack of werewolves, trying to convince them to join a literal war that they have nothing to do with for some daft old man who gets kids fresh out of Hogwarts to do his dirty work?! One night. Just one where I can pretend that I’m not terrified of waking up to find that you’ve been killed. Or James. Or Pete. Or Lily. A night where I can pretend I don’t have a beast inside of me clawing to get out. But no! You couldn’t leave well enough alone and just let me be miserable on my own time. You had to get involved like always. Never left out of the drama, Sirius Black. Always there for the juicy stuff. Well, you’ve cracked the code on this one! Go back downstairs and sing your songs. Play your piano and be the life of the party.”

His gaze was alight with rage. Sirius felt that, if Remus had been holding his wand, he probably would have sent Sirius up in flames.

“Migraine too, then?”

Remus glared at him for another moment, then laid back down on the bed with a huff that turned to some chesty coughs.

That’s a yes.

At Hogwarts, Sirius knew, if ever Remus became truly cross with anyone, chances were he was dealing with a massive headache. The man could take all kinds of physical pain and remain as kind and optimistic as ever (proven time and time again as he transformed into a wild animal once a month and scratched himself silly but still offered help to others as soon as he was out of the Hospital Wing). But, as soon as the pain moved to his head, suddenly he was a force to be reckoned with.

You can hardly blame the guy, though, Sirius thought, sadly, watching Remus miserably choke out a final cough. I mean, one person can only take so much pain.

He sat down comfortably on the bed next to his sprawled out friend. As Remus stared stubbornly at the ceiling, Sirius quickly moved a palm to his friend’s cheek, then let the back of his hand rest of the other man’s forehead, checking for heat. Remus’ gaze at the ceiling turned stony again, but he didn’t shove Sirius off.

“Not running a fever, so that’s good,” Sirius murmured.

His pale hands gracefully worked the skin around Remus’ temples, hoping to provide some kind of relief to the mind within. 

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, Remus eventually closing his eyes when he was too tired to continue being stubborn. 

Soon, however, Sirius saw Remus’ nose scrunch and noticed his breath began to hitch. Sirius took his hands away as Remus sat up quickly, snatched out the handkerchief that Sirius had transfigured for him and buried his nose into it. 

“heh’tshhh!! hh’ihtchhh!! ‘tshhh!! ‘chhh!! eig’shhhh!!”

“Ahh” he groaned lightly, rubbing his eyes with a very pained expression. “Bugger.”

He stayed like that, hunched over with his fingers pushed into his eyes for a minute longer as Sirius watched on helplessly, heart breaking for his friend in pain.

Remus sniffed as he laid back down, and Sirius wasn’t entirely sure whether it was from the illness or if emotion was slipping through Remus’ hard shell.

Whatever the reason, Sirius didn’t mention it.

“Sorry for being an arse,” Remus grumbled after another couple of minutes of silence had passed.

“S’alright,” Sirius said, smiling slightly. “Everyone deserves to be an arse some of the time.”

Remus chuckled for real this time, “Words to live by.”

“Indeed.” 

They sat in silence for a moment longer as Remus watched the wall and Sirius watched Remus. Sirius noticed Remus’ flickering eyelids. He was nodding off. 

“Why don’t you have a kip for a little while, Moony? Try to get rid of the headache. The party’s going on at least until midnight, so you’ve still got a few hours to kill.”

“Mmmm,” Remus responded.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.” he said fondly, standing up finally. “Fetch you at midnight?” 

“Mmmmm...” Remus responded once more.

It was Sirius’ turn to chuckle as he walked out into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

Remus would be ok.

I’ll make sure of that.

 

 

COMPLETE

[sneezelover3]

This is a really good story, I love it!

[LostGirl2.0]

Oh please oh please oh PLEASE more marauders stories!!! Sneezy Remus is what I live for 😍 - this was the best!!  If you have the inclination to write more I can't even tell you how over the moon I'd be!! 

[Dusty15]

Remus is my fav character of all time, so it's always nice to see a story featuring him Thanks for sharing ❤️ 

[ellwren]

So sweet! I love this pair.