Where Boys Fear To Tread (Waiting on a Friend Remix) [Harry Potter; Remus Lupin/Sirius Black, NC-17]

[soubi_smalls]

Title: Where Boys Fear To Tread (Waiting on a Friend Remix)
Author: entrenous88
Summary: When Sirius fears changing their relationship, Remus tells him he'll wait for him. But after leaving Hogwarts, Remus finds working in Diagon Alley and exploring newfound freedoms make for a more complicated summer than he expected.
Fandom: Harry Potter

Comments

[lls_mutant]

I want ice cream now!

Seriously though, THANK YOU. This was absolutely lovely.

I went back and reread the original fic again- I haven't read it in over a year. It's funny, because after getting past the Sirius-Peter-kelpie adventure, I really noticed that I had sort of given Remus reactions that were implying a lot of other things were happening in his head, but because I'd stuck so strictly to Sirius's POV I'd never even really thought about them.

I really like how you wrote James (particularly incorporating the HBP "furry little problem" aspects and all the attitude that comes with it), but I LOVE that you kept Peter the way I like him- a true Marauder. Thank you. I really liked Florian and Freddie as well- they were genuinely nice people without being sugary-sweet.

But what I want to thank you for the most is this little section:

He held Sirius tighter, making soothing nonsense sounds. He had told Sirius he would wait for him, and he was prepared to do just that -- but it could be that possibility would be taken away from them by forces beyond their control. What if Sirius had to watch him die because he had been cursed by one of Voldemort's minions? What if Remus went to meet others in the Order, only to learn that the occasion for their gathering was Sirius's disappearance? What if he was left with only a dark mark lingering where Sirius, all brightness and life, had lived?

I think I'd gotten tired by this point, but this was EXACTLY the revelation that Sirius was meant to have in the original, and I never articulated it well. It really made me happy to read that, and the bit at the end where they discussed it, because it was what I'd meant and never gotten quite explicit about. Thank you!!!

Also? You write smut so much better than I do >:) I very much enjoyed that part, too. (And thank you for keeping the general idea that Sirius came early >:) )

[entrenous88]

Thank you so much for your detailed and generous feedback!

Wheeee, I'm pleased the story made you want ice cream. :D I particularly want to try the Buttered Toast With Jam Ribbons flavor (if only it actually existed).

So happy to hear you enjoyed the appearances James and Peter made in the story. It was an interesting challenge to work with Peter; your story gave me some intriguing moments and dynamics with Sirius particularly, so I was curious to see how Peter would play out in scenes with Remus as well as the ensemble moment at the party. Nice to hear as well that you liked the Fortescues, as I had fun expanding Florean's role and folding Freddie into the mix.

That's so fantastic to know, that Remus's revelation really mirrored the one you had in mind for Sirius's realization in the original story. I think though they get to it along different paths, they're really at the same place by the end of the story. Their relationship is absolutely about how they feel for one another, but it also has a more urgent context in the increasing sense of menace and danger as their world edges towards that first war with Voldemort.

Ha, thank you -- I'm glad you enjoyed that scene!

Many thanks again for all of your observations. I had great fun working with this narrative, so it's a treat to hear that you liked the results.