Fic: All Souls Night for Rhye
Title: All Souls Night
Author/Artist: museinabsentia
Recipient: rhye
Rating: Light R/Dark PG-13
Contents or warnings (highlight to view): *Blood, Coerced Magical Marriage *
Word count: ~4400
Summary: Arranged marriages had gone out of fashion decades ago in all but the strictest of families. Pureblood arranged marriages were terrifyingly archaic. And just downright terrifying.
Notes: Happy holidays, Rhye! I did my best to tackle your request for a dark Samhain ritual, but I fear it may have gone a touch fluffy towards the end. Also, so many thanks to Sostrata and little_werewolf for the amazing, speedy, incredibly helpful beta work. This fic wouldn't be nearly as good without you!
Remus was dozing when the Floo crackled to life. His attempts to work his way through The Hunchback of Notre Dame in the original French were proving that he wasn't nearly as fluent as he had previously thought. He had succumbed to boredom nearly an hour earlier, the book splayed across his chest, pages a shoddy blanket against the chill.
Blinking blearily, Remus fought down his drowsiness to confront whoever had appeared in his Floo only to find that it was empty. At least, of any physical presence. It was hard to miss James' voice, however.
"Lily, come get your son before he thinks it's safe to stick his head in the fireplace!" Remus couldn't see James yet, but he could hear the scrabbling sound of four-year-old feet on the edge of the hearth. He chuckled and waited.
"Why is he my son when he's trying to stick his head in the Floo and your son when he's zipping around on that broom Sirius got him?" Lily's drawn voice floated through, followed by Harry giggling.
"Because you love mischievous things, or you wouldn't have married me."
Lily snorted. "You keep telling yourself that, Potter." Her voice faded out with her reply, Harry's continued giggling dissipating with it.
Head shaking, Remus grinned when James's head appeared in his Floo, but the grin died quickly when he saw the tension lines, little tremor faults, at the corners of James' eyes.
Remus recognized the patented James-is-worried look. The look that was broken out for everything from thinking that a prank might not go off to finding out one of his mates was a werewolf, to his best mate running away from home, and sometimes simply because Lily was making something with greens for dinner. Sometimes it was difficult to tell if Lily had one or two four-year-olds to wrangle.
"Is this an all-my-decorations-haven't-arrived-for-the-Halloween-party-tonight worried or a Padfoot-crashed-that-blasted-bike-and-is-dying-in-St.-Mungos worried?" Remus asked by way of greeting.
"Sometimes it's a little creepy that you can read minds," James muttered, stepping fully through the Floo and brushing himself free of soot. "And I'm not sure, exactly. Sirius hasn't answered my owl asking if he could supply the Firewhiskey, and it's been nearly a week. I don't suppose you've heard from the git?"
The nauseating, roiling sensation in the pit of his stomach was no longer just from being woken up abruptly. "I haven't. And I probably should have realized something was wrong when he didn't try to crash on my sofa even once this week."
James was pacing now, stopping every time he hit the edges of the tiny combined sitting room and kitchen. Seven steps, stop, turn, stop, seven steps, stop. It was rhythmic, a staccato pulsing from Remus' jangled nerves directly to James' feet.
"I haven't heard from Pete, either," James finally sighed, shaking his head. "Although, with the way his mum has him running ragged, that's not all that strange."
"I'll go check in on Pete," Remus offered, shoving his hands into his pockets and picking at the hole that had frayed through the left one, so that James wouldn't see them shaking. He refused to think about something being wrong with Sirius. If he let his mind start down that path he'd forget how to breathe. And he couldn't explain to James that he'd been abusing their friendship for years now, in love with his best friend and unwilling to say anything. It wasn't as if he thought James would care that it was another bloke. Both Pete and James had taken it remarkably well when Sirius had come out two years earlier, but something kept Remus from talking. Probably fear.
James nodded, his shoulders slumped in resignation, his body tense and slightly curling in on itself. "I'll see if I can't sneak into the Black family home- maybe Regulus knows something. I'll meet you back here in an hour?"
It didn't sound much like a request, and Remus wouldn't have denied it even if it were, so he just nodded and Apparated to Pete's.
*****
An hour later found Peter and Remus back in Remus' tiny flat, waiting for James to return, hopefully with news on Sirius. Peter was curled up on the edge of the sofa, tapping his foot against the threadbare throw rug. Remus was now the one pacing.
A pop made Remus jump slightly, and he whirled to see James, his face drawn.
"Anything?" Remus asked, wincing inwardly at the hint of desperation in his voice, hoping it would come across as nothing more than worry for a friend and not that his lungs felt too tight every time Sirius smiled at him.
James ran his fingers through his hair, more a gesture of helplessness than anything else, and let out a slow breath.
"Regulus says that their mum has gone more nutters than usual. They have Sirius. Seems they intend to perform a soul binding ritual, with or without his consent."
Peter swore, eyes wide, the foot tapping having stopped abruptly.
"A what?" Remus asked, the tremor in his voice now unavoidably obvious.
"It's actually where the Muggle myth of soulmates came from," Peter started slowly, glancing between Remus and James, the latter of whom didn't look like he was in any state to explain. "It's an old, incredibly outdated Dark ritual that used to be practiced by the staunchest of pureblood families who wanted to ensure that the line stayed clean. On All Souls Night, two souls would be bound together by ritual rather than law. It was much like a marriage, only unbreakable."
Remus' knees gave up on supporting his weight. He sank to the floor, shaking, his breath coming in short, gasping bursts. "They can do that against his will?" he managed to grit out, voice tight, brittle, ready to crack apart at the slightest impact.
"Apparently," James whispered, eyes closed, hands balled into fists at his sides.
A full minute. That was how long Remus allowed himself to let the panic run rampant through his entire body, limbs shaking, head spinning. Then he dug into that place he went every month for the full moon, held his breath for a count of three before letting it out very slowly through his nose.
"Then we'll have to rescue him."
*****
Dry leaves crackled beneath their feet as they tried to sneak towards the clearing. The moon was not quite half full, but there was just enough light for them to not need a lumos that might give them away.
Regulus had come through, sending an owl to James telling him where the ritual was taking place and saying that he would try to stall as long as he could, but that he wouldn't openly disobey his mother. He still had to go home with her at the end of the day.
Remus wanted to scream, to make Peter and James move faster, but he restrained himself. He knew that silence was more important than speed right now, and silencing charms wouldn't travel with them. Fortunately, the Apparition point to which Regulus had directed them wasn't far from where they needed to be. North about a half kilometer to the clearing, and supposedly they wouldn't be able to miss it.
The green glow emanating from between the trees was a fair indicator that Regulus had been right.
Feet leaden, Remus slowed to a near stop, not sure he could face what was happening in that clearing. Peter was disentangling his sleeve from where he had gotten caught in some brambles.
"Remus?" James whispered from a few paces ahead, backlit into silhouette. Remus tried to keep the foreboding chill that ran down his spine from showing.
There was something about this little grove that left Remus feeling uneasy. He was fairly used to woods at night these days, but this one felt different, malicious. The trees were too close, their branches making inanimate grabs for clothing. There were no insects buzzing or bats chirping, not even any pixies trying to bite at their ankles.
Ignoring his growing trepidation, Remus just nodded at James and Peter, who were waiting for him to catch up, and quickened his pace until they were all edging into the very outer limits of the clearing.
The small crowd that had gathered for the ritual was situated in a circle around the cauldron. Remus wasn't entirely sure if this was part of the ritual or simply to make sure that Sirius was surrounded. However, they caught a bit of luck, and no one spotted them as Regulus was across the circle, facing where they had come into the clearing. The rest of the circle was made up of the Lestranges, the Malfoys, Rosier the younger, and the Dubois family. Remus recognized the Dubois' daughter, Amelia, a Slytherin who had graduated the same year they did. She didn't look particularly happy as she stood next to her father, who had a tight grip on her shoulder.
The part that made Remus sick to his stomach was what was in the middle of the ring of people. Sirius' face was almost completely obscured by the nearly violently purple smoke billowing out of the small bronze cauldron that sat over a crackling green fire. He was held in a full Body Bind a little too close to the flames, and there were faint blisters slowly welling up on his forearm from the heat. Someone had stripped him to the waist, and there was a trickle of blood running from just above his heart. Grey eyes were wide, rings of white all the way around them. Remus could just see them by the firelight. He had to fight the urge to charge in there with no plan at all.
Walburga was collecting the blood on the edge of the knife a couple of drops at a time and then carefully counting out the drops into the cauldron. Remus counted seven drops as he fought down the surge of bile at the back of his throat.
James hissed through his teeth, knuckles white where he was gripping at a nearby tree trunk. It looked as though it was only the tree that was holding him up.
"We're too late," Peter whispered almost inaudibly. "The blood is the last bit. Once it's included, the only way out is to drink the potion and bind him to the person that makes up the other half of the potion."
"How do you know so much about this?" James asked, frowning, unable to look away from where Sirius stood frozen next to the hissing potion.
"My grandparents were soul bound," Peter shrugged. "They hated each other, but they were stuck together until death. They were both more than willing to spew venom about the process any time they were in the same room." He paused, then added, "Not that it kept either of them from having more affairs than I could keep track of."
"Quiet!" Remus snapped.
"I trust you've brought the blood?" Walburga was demanding, turning to face Amelia's father, her face pinched tight as she whirled around.
"Of course." Amelia flinched as her father squeezed tighter on her shoulder while he spoke to Walburga, completely disregarding his daughter's distress. She shook slightly but said nothing in her own defense, eyes glued to Sirius. Remus didn't want to think about what her family had done to acquire that blood.
After a hastily cast muffliato, Remus, leaning against a broad oak tree, the rough bark digging into his back, pain keeping him focused, glanced at Peter to ask, "Is the blood the only thing that ties two people to the potion?" He managed to keep one wary eye on Sirius and the potion he was now blood bound to while waiting for Peter to respond. The handful of seconds it took Peter to focus on him felt like giving Walburga too much time.
Peter nodded.
"What are you thinking?" James asked quietly. Most of his attention was split between where Walburga was stalking towards Amelia and her father and where Sirius was held captive, but he did glance at Remus when he spoke.
"That Padfoot is probably going to hate me when this is over," Remus muttered almost to himself, before biting his wrist, hard. The sharp sting was almost familiar, and he squashed down the low growl of the wolf at the copper tang at the back of his tongue. Blood welled up on his arm.
James seemed to understand, because he just nodded once, sharply, and then turned to Peter. "Distraction time. We'll meet back at Moony's in an hour, no matter what happens."
There were two pops, and suddenly Remus was alone. He was just starting to worry that they weren't going to be fast enough when there was an explosion to the north.
Walburga froze, letting out a little shriek of frustration. "Go!" she shouted, and half the small crowd peeled off, heading towards the sound.
"It's not enough, come on, where's that second distraction?" Remus whispered to himself, watching. It took him a solid count of six before the second explosion, this time to the south. Swearing to himself, Remus darted to the side with a hastily cast disillusionment charm just before three people came sprinting past him.
Now the only people left with Sirius were Walburga, Regulus and Amelia. Hoping that Regulus would at least not try to stop him, Remus slipped into the clearing, spitting out an accio and summoning the little vial of blood that Walburga was still holding.
"Filthy vermin," she hissed.
Before Remus had to face her, however, Regulus whispered a quiet finite incantatem, setting Sirius loose.
Sirius immediately fell away from the flames, holding his burned arm to his chest gingerly.
It took every ounce of willpower Remus possessed to keep from flinging himself at Sirius. Instead, he walked very slowly, keeping Walburga in his sights, until he reached Sirius' side. He didn't have to decide if he should try and touch him, though, since as soon as he was close enough Sirius slumped against him, now heedless of the burns on his arm.
"Moony," he breathed, warm air ghosting across Remus' neck and making him shiver. "I can feel it pulling at me, Moony." He sounded pained, and Remus fought the urge to flinch. Falling apart could happen later- there wasn't time for that right now. He wrapped an arm around Sirius, trying to ignore how warm his skin was. Sirius wrapped both arms around Remus in return, clinging slightly, as if he was using Remus as an anchor to keep himself from physically being pulled toward the cauldron.
"I know, Padfoot. I'm going to take care of it."
"If this is a rescue, can I be included in it?" a soft voice asked.
Remus glanced to his right to find Amelia watching them, spine straight for the first time he had seen all night.
"She hasn't been included in the potion yet," Regulus added, coming to stand on Sirius' other side.
"Traitors! All of you!" Walburga shrieked. "Besides, it's too late! Sirius will be bound tonight. His blood has been tied; he can't escape. He will continue the purity of the Black line!"
There was a strong urge to flinch away from Walburga, but Remus fought it, bolstered by the fact that she wasn't doing anything more than raving. Faced with four people staring her down, she seemed hesitant to actually cast any spells, for which Remus was incredibly grateful.
"She's right, unfortunately," Regulus muttered, sinking in on himself slightly at the sight of his mother raging.
"I know," Remus replied, voice grim, holding up his still bleeding wrist.
"Do it, Moony," Sirius said, voice soft but unwavering. He tightened his grip on Remus. "Regulus, take Amelia to my flat." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small antique key, struggling to get into his trousers pocket without letting go of Remus, eventually giving up and releasing his strangle-hold on Remus' waist. "That'll get you through the wards."
Regulus took the key with a nod, slipping Sirius back the wand that Remus assumed had been confiscated when they had absconded with Sirius in the first place. Remus gave him a sharp nod in thanks just before Regulus took Amelia by Side-along and they Disapparated.
As soon as Sirius was armed, Remus walked slowly to the still bubbling cauldron. "Are you sure, Sirius? You'll be stuck with me forever."
There was no hesitation when Sirius spoke. "There's no one I'd rather be stuck with. Do it."
With a deep breath and a tight smile that was more of a grimace, Remus counted out a very steady seven drops of blood.
The potion fizzed up bright orange for a handful of seconds before settling down into stillness and turning a pale blue. Remus felt like an invisible hand was reaching inside his chest and tugging, making it difficult to breathe.
"I think we both need to drink, now," Sirius said quietly, coming up beside Remus with a small cup he had transfigured out of a leaf.
Remus was having a hard time looking away from Sirius, but he wasn't sure if that was the potion, or if it was simply that the potion gave him the excuse to do what he'd wanted to do for a while. Judging from the way Sirius was looking at Remus as if he was the most amazing thing ever, Remus was guessing that the potion was certainly helping.
"I'm sorry," Sirius said quietly, filling the cup.
"We'll talk about this once we're out of here. I'd like to be safely away before we're outnumbered again," Remus replied, shaking his head and taking the cup from Sirius. He drained it quickly, pulling a face at the acrid taste, and then filled it again before handing the cup back to Sirius.
The second Sirius drank, the tugging sensation in Remus' chest settled and his breathing came easier.
A crack to their left had Remus flinging a blind stupefy towards the sound and pulling Sirius to him for a hasty Side-along. Only when they were safely tumbling to the floor in his tiny flat did he force himself to let go, wrenching himself away and collapsing on the sofa.
There was a brief moment of panic when he realized that James and Pete weren't there yet, until he looked at the clock. Remus was startled to find that despite the events of the evening feeling like they had lasted interminably, it had barely been a quarter of an hour. He allowed for a moment for them to both catch their breath, trying desperately not to stare while Sirius paced.
"James and Pete should be meeting us here in a little under an hour," Remus muttered, just to have something to break the tension in the air.
"Then we should probably have this conversation quickly."
"Do we need to be worried about your mother chasing us down?"
"Unlikely. She can't force me to marry some nice pureblood girl now, so she'll probably go back to pretending I don't exist, " Sirius replied, flopping himself next to Remus, completely heedless of the fact that he was still shirtless and bleeding.
Remus blinked hard a couple of times before flicking off a couple of quick healing charms, both for the deep gouge in Sirius' chest and also for the burns on his arm. Sirius didn't seem to notice.
Finally, Remus couldn't take the silence. He dropped his head into his hands and took a deep breath. "I promise I won't put any restrictions or expectations on you because of this," he started. "At least, no more than were already in our friendship."
"You thought, out of this whole thing, that that's what I would be worried about?" The edge in Sirius' voice made Remus flinch and look up, meeting Sirius' eyes for the first time since they had gotten away safely. What he saw there made him bristle.
"Look, I know it can't be easy, being tied to a werewolf for the rest of your life, no matter how easily you call him a friend. I'm just trying to make this as painless as possible." Remus couldn't quite bring himself to regret the biting tone of his voice. There was an ache starting beneath his breastbone that bloomed every time Sirius' tapping fingers brushed against the edge of his thigh. He was slowly beginning to realize he would have to endure it for the rest of his life as he watched the man he was now bound to take other lovers, other loves. "If I had seen another way, I would never have done this to you. I know you told me to do it, but honestly, what choice did you have? It was me or her, and I'm not so foolish to believe I'm not the better choice over some witch your mother chose for you. At least I will respect that you had no options and try and treat this like nothing has changed," he added, drained, trying to keep the dejection from his voice. Anger he could explain away; bitterness would be a little more difficult.
"And what about you? It's not as if you asked to be dragged into my family's insanity," Sirius snapped, fingers still drumming erratically, mimicking the arrhythmic beat of Remus' heart. "Not much chance of pulling with me attached to your side. Magically. Forever."
Fighting the urge to laugh, Remus dropped his hand over Sirius', stilling his fingers for a moment. "Padfoot," he started gently, "I'm a werewolf. I know you honestly don't seem to care, but most of the world still does. I didn't have much chance of pulling without you attached to my side." He paused, then gave in and added, "And I haven't much wanted to, anyway." Lacing their fingers together, Remus shrugged. "Besides, I couldn't have done much better for myself. You're quite the catch, Mister Black."
Sirius tensed; Remus could feel it even through the handful of centimeters between them. "Wait," he started slowly. "Don't you fancy birds?"
Remus shrugged again, starting to feel that if this conversation kept going the way it was his shoulders would climb up past his ears and wander off on their own. "Not exclusively."
There was a beat, and then Sirius disentangled their fingers so that he could grip Remus by the shoulders, turning him so they were facing each other, noses nearly touching. "So you're telling me that, if you hadn't been so bloody determined to keep secrets for the sake of having them, I could have asked you out months ago? Years ago? And we could have ended up exactly where we are right now, only without the magical bindings?" There was a note of desperation in Sirius' voice that made the bands around Remus' chest relax, his breathing coming a little easier than it had all night.
"Is that something you would have wanted, Padfoot?"
"And here I thought I had been so bloody obvious that I fancied you," Sirius muttered, almost to himself. "I thought that's why I had to come crash on your sofa to get to see you these days."
"You mean it isn't because my sofa is so comfortable?"
"Are we going to address the fact that I already fancied you before all of this?"
"Well, it looks like you're not going to let me avoid it, so, fine. Er, does it help if I tell you that it actually makes all of this easier?"
Sirius blinked a couple of times, and from as close as they were Remus could see the way his eyelashes depressed against his skin, stark against his pale face.
"How, exactly, does that make this any less awkward?" Sirius demanded, still not moving back.
Rather than answer, Remus gave a self-deprecating smile and shook his head. "If you don't back up, Padfoot, I'm probably going to do something stupid like snog you right now, and I'd really rather you not be able to claim it was the adrenaline later."
Sirius laughed, that barking laugh that never failed to make Remus feel like he should have known that Sirius had always been a dog at heart, and sat back just slightly. "I suppose that's as good an answer as any, Moony. We could always snog now and then do it again later just to prove it wasn't the adrenaline."
"We still have a few minutes until James and Peter get here," Remus said by way of reply. They were still going to have to talk this out, but if a little snogging was what it took to get the wild look out of Sirius' eyes Remus was more than willing to be selfish and take the opportunity where it was presented. They had all the time in the world to talk when they were both calmer.
As Sirius kissed him, a gentle press of lips that was so far from everything else that had happened that night, Remus promised himself they would talk in the morning. Or next week. Eventually they'd stop kissing long enough to talk about it, he was sure.
Author/Artist: museinabsentia
Recipient: rhye
Rating: Light R/Dark PG-13
Contents or warnings (highlight to view): *Blood, Coerced Magical Marriage *
Word count: ~4400
Summary: Arranged marriages had gone out of fashion decades ago in all but the strictest of families. Pureblood arranged marriages were terrifyingly archaic. And just downright terrifying.
Notes: Happy holidays, Rhye! I did my best to tackle your request for a dark Samhain ritual, but I fear it may have gone a touch fluffy towards the end. Also, so many thanks to Sostrata and little_werewolf for the amazing, speedy, incredibly helpful beta work. This fic wouldn't be nearly as good without you!
Remus was dozing when the Floo crackled to life. His attempts to work his way through The Hunchback of Notre Dame in the original French were proving that he wasn't nearly as fluent as he had previously thought. He had succumbed to boredom nearly an hour earlier, the book splayed across his chest, pages a shoddy blanket against the chill.
Blinking blearily, Remus fought down his drowsiness to confront whoever had appeared in his Floo only to find that it was empty. At least, of any physical presence. It was hard to miss James' voice, however.
"Lily, come get your son before he thinks it's safe to stick his head in the fireplace!" Remus couldn't see James yet, but he could hear the scrabbling sound of four-year-old feet on the edge of the hearth. He chuckled and waited.
"Why is he my son when he's trying to stick his head in the Floo and your son when he's zipping around on that broom Sirius got him?" Lily's drawn voice floated through, followed by Harry giggling.
"Because you love mischievous things, or you wouldn't have married me."
Lily snorted. "You keep telling yourself that, Potter." Her voice faded out with her reply, Harry's continued giggling dissipating with it.
Head shaking, Remus grinned when James's head appeared in his Floo, but the grin died quickly when he saw the tension lines, little tremor faults, at the corners of James' eyes.
Remus recognized the patented James-is-worried look. The look that was broken out for everything from thinking that a prank might not go off to finding out one of his mates was a werewolf, to his best mate running away from home, and sometimes simply because Lily was making something with greens for dinner. Sometimes it was difficult to tell if Lily had one or two four-year-olds to wrangle.
"Is this an all-my-decorations-haven't-arrived-for-the-Halloween-party-tonight worried or a Padfoot-crashed-that-blasted-bike-and-is-dying-in-St.-Mungos worried?" Remus asked by way of greeting.
"Sometimes it's a little creepy that you can read minds," James muttered, stepping fully through the Floo and brushing himself free of soot. "And I'm not sure, exactly. Sirius hasn't answered my owl asking if he could supply the Firewhiskey, and it's been nearly a week. I don't suppose you've heard from the git?"
The nauseating, roiling sensation in the pit of his stomach was no longer just from being woken up abruptly. "I haven't. And I probably should have realized something was wrong when he didn't try to crash on my sofa even once this week."
James was pacing now, stopping every time he hit the edges of the tiny combined sitting room and kitchen. Seven steps, stop, turn, stop, seven steps, stop. It was rhythmic, a staccato pulsing from Remus' jangled nerves directly to James' feet.
"I haven't heard from Pete, either," James finally sighed, shaking his head. "Although, with the way his mum has him running ragged, that's not all that strange."
"I'll go check in on Pete," Remus offered, shoving his hands into his pockets and picking at the hole that had frayed through the left one, so that James wouldn't see them shaking. He refused to think about something being wrong with Sirius. If he let his mind start down that path he'd forget how to breathe. And he couldn't explain to James that he'd been abusing their friendship for years now, in love with his best friend and unwilling to say anything. It wasn't as if he thought James would care that it was another bloke. Both Pete and James had taken it remarkably well when Sirius had come out two years earlier, but something kept Remus from talking. Probably fear.
James nodded, his shoulders slumped in resignation, his body tense and slightly curling in on itself. "I'll see if I can't sneak into the Black family home- maybe Regulus knows something. I'll meet you back here in an hour?"
It didn't sound much like a request, and Remus wouldn't have denied it even if it were, so he just nodded and Apparated to Pete's.
*****
An hour later found Peter and Remus back in Remus' tiny flat, waiting for James to return, hopefully with news on Sirius. Peter was curled up on the edge of the sofa, tapping his foot against the threadbare throw rug. Remus was now the one pacing.
A pop made Remus jump slightly, and he whirled to see James, his face drawn.
"Anything?" Remus asked, wincing inwardly at the hint of desperation in his voice, hoping it would come across as nothing more than worry for a friend and not that his lungs felt too tight every time Sirius smiled at him.
James ran his fingers through his hair, more a gesture of helplessness than anything else, and let out a slow breath.
"Regulus says that their mum has gone more nutters than usual. They have Sirius. Seems they intend to perform a soul binding ritual, with or without his consent."
Peter swore, eyes wide, the foot tapping having stopped abruptly.
"A what?" Remus asked, the tremor in his voice now unavoidably obvious.
"It's actually where the Muggle myth of soulmates came from," Peter started slowly, glancing between Remus and James, the latter of whom didn't look like he was in any state to explain. "It's an old, incredibly outdated Dark ritual that used to be practiced by the staunchest of pureblood families who wanted to ensure that the line stayed clean. On All Souls Night, two souls would be bound together by ritual rather than law. It was much like a marriage, only unbreakable."
Remus' knees gave up on supporting his weight. He sank to the floor, shaking, his breath coming in short, gasping bursts. "They can do that against his will?" he managed to grit out, voice tight, brittle, ready to crack apart at the slightest impact.
"Apparently," James whispered, eyes closed, hands balled into fists at his sides.
A full minute. That was how long Remus allowed himself to let the panic run rampant through his entire body, limbs shaking, head spinning. Then he dug into that place he went every month for the full moon, held his breath for a count of three before letting it out very slowly through his nose.
"Then we'll have to rescue him."
*****
Dry leaves crackled beneath their feet as they tried to sneak towards the clearing. The moon was not quite half full, but there was just enough light for them to not need a lumos that might give them away.
Regulus had come through, sending an owl to James telling him where the ritual was taking place and saying that he would try to stall as long as he could, but that he wouldn't openly disobey his mother. He still had to go home with her at the end of the day.
Remus wanted to scream, to make Peter and James move faster, but he restrained himself. He knew that silence was more important than speed right now, and silencing charms wouldn't travel with them. Fortunately, the Apparition point to which Regulus had directed them wasn't far from where they needed to be. North about a half kilometer to the clearing, and supposedly they wouldn't be able to miss it.
The green glow emanating from between the trees was a fair indicator that Regulus had been right.
Feet leaden, Remus slowed to a near stop, not sure he could face what was happening in that clearing. Peter was disentangling his sleeve from where he had gotten caught in some brambles.
"Remus?" James whispered from a few paces ahead, backlit into silhouette. Remus tried to keep the foreboding chill that ran down his spine from showing.
There was something about this little grove that left Remus feeling uneasy. He was fairly used to woods at night these days, but this one felt different, malicious. The trees were too close, their branches making inanimate grabs for clothing. There were no insects buzzing or bats chirping, not even any pixies trying to bite at their ankles.
Ignoring his growing trepidation, Remus just nodded at James and Peter, who were waiting for him to catch up, and quickened his pace until they were all edging into the very outer limits of the clearing.
The small crowd that had gathered for the ritual was situated in a circle around the cauldron. Remus wasn't entirely sure if this was part of the ritual or simply to make sure that Sirius was surrounded. However, they caught a bit of luck, and no one spotted them as Regulus was across the circle, facing where they had come into the clearing. The rest of the circle was made up of the Lestranges, the Malfoys, Rosier the younger, and the Dubois family. Remus recognized the Dubois' daughter, Amelia, a Slytherin who had graduated the same year they did. She didn't look particularly happy as she stood next to her father, who had a tight grip on her shoulder.
The part that made Remus sick to his stomach was what was in the middle of the ring of people. Sirius' face was almost completely obscured by the nearly violently purple smoke billowing out of the small bronze cauldron that sat over a crackling green fire. He was held in a full Body Bind a little too close to the flames, and there were faint blisters slowly welling up on his forearm from the heat. Someone had stripped him to the waist, and there was a trickle of blood running from just above his heart. Grey eyes were wide, rings of white all the way around them. Remus could just see them by the firelight. He had to fight the urge to charge in there with no plan at all.
Walburga was collecting the blood on the edge of the knife a couple of drops at a time and then carefully counting out the drops into the cauldron. Remus counted seven drops as he fought down the surge of bile at the back of his throat.
James hissed through his teeth, knuckles white where he was gripping at a nearby tree trunk. It looked as though it was only the tree that was holding him up.
"We're too late," Peter whispered almost inaudibly. "The blood is the last bit. Once it's included, the only way out is to drink the potion and bind him to the person that makes up the other half of the potion."
"How do you know so much about this?" James asked, frowning, unable to look away from where Sirius stood frozen next to the hissing potion.
"My grandparents were soul bound," Peter shrugged. "They hated each other, but they were stuck together until death. They were both more than willing to spew venom about the process any time they were in the same room." He paused, then added, "Not that it kept either of them from having more affairs than I could keep track of."
"Quiet!" Remus snapped.
"I trust you've brought the blood?" Walburga was demanding, turning to face Amelia's father, her face pinched tight as she whirled around.
"Of course." Amelia flinched as her father squeezed tighter on her shoulder while he spoke to Walburga, completely disregarding his daughter's distress. She shook slightly but said nothing in her own defense, eyes glued to Sirius. Remus didn't want to think about what her family had done to acquire that blood.
After a hastily cast muffliato, Remus, leaning against a broad oak tree, the rough bark digging into his back, pain keeping him focused, glanced at Peter to ask, "Is the blood the only thing that ties two people to the potion?" He managed to keep one wary eye on Sirius and the potion he was now blood bound to while waiting for Peter to respond. The handful of seconds it took Peter to focus on him felt like giving Walburga too much time.
Peter nodded.
"What are you thinking?" James asked quietly. Most of his attention was split between where Walburga was stalking towards Amelia and her father and where Sirius was held captive, but he did glance at Remus when he spoke.
"That Padfoot is probably going to hate me when this is over," Remus muttered almost to himself, before biting his wrist, hard. The sharp sting was almost familiar, and he squashed down the low growl of the wolf at the copper tang at the back of his tongue. Blood welled up on his arm.
James seemed to understand, because he just nodded once, sharply, and then turned to Peter. "Distraction time. We'll meet back at Moony's in an hour, no matter what happens."
There were two pops, and suddenly Remus was alone. He was just starting to worry that they weren't going to be fast enough when there was an explosion to the north.
Walburga froze, letting out a little shriek of frustration. "Go!" she shouted, and half the small crowd peeled off, heading towards the sound.
"It's not enough, come on, where's that second distraction?" Remus whispered to himself, watching. It took him a solid count of six before the second explosion, this time to the south. Swearing to himself, Remus darted to the side with a hastily cast disillusionment charm just before three people came sprinting past him.
Now the only people left with Sirius were Walburga, Regulus and Amelia. Hoping that Regulus would at least not try to stop him, Remus slipped into the clearing, spitting out an accio and summoning the little vial of blood that Walburga was still holding.
"Filthy vermin," she hissed.
Before Remus had to face her, however, Regulus whispered a quiet finite incantatem, setting Sirius loose.
Sirius immediately fell away from the flames, holding his burned arm to his chest gingerly.
It took every ounce of willpower Remus possessed to keep from flinging himself at Sirius. Instead, he walked very slowly, keeping Walburga in his sights, until he reached Sirius' side. He didn't have to decide if he should try and touch him, though, since as soon as he was close enough Sirius slumped against him, now heedless of the burns on his arm.
"Moony," he breathed, warm air ghosting across Remus' neck and making him shiver. "I can feel it pulling at me, Moony." He sounded pained, and Remus fought the urge to flinch. Falling apart could happen later- there wasn't time for that right now. He wrapped an arm around Sirius, trying to ignore how warm his skin was. Sirius wrapped both arms around Remus in return, clinging slightly, as if he was using Remus as an anchor to keep himself from physically being pulled toward the cauldron.
"I know, Padfoot. I'm going to take care of it."
"If this is a rescue, can I be included in it?" a soft voice asked.
Remus glanced to his right to find Amelia watching them, spine straight for the first time he had seen all night.
"She hasn't been included in the potion yet," Regulus added, coming to stand on Sirius' other side.
"Traitors! All of you!" Walburga shrieked. "Besides, it's too late! Sirius will be bound tonight. His blood has been tied; he can't escape. He will continue the purity of the Black line!"
There was a strong urge to flinch away from Walburga, but Remus fought it, bolstered by the fact that she wasn't doing anything more than raving. Faced with four people staring her down, she seemed hesitant to actually cast any spells, for which Remus was incredibly grateful.
"She's right, unfortunately," Regulus muttered, sinking in on himself slightly at the sight of his mother raging.
"I know," Remus replied, voice grim, holding up his still bleeding wrist.
"Do it, Moony," Sirius said, voice soft but unwavering. He tightened his grip on Remus. "Regulus, take Amelia to my flat." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small antique key, struggling to get into his trousers pocket without letting go of Remus, eventually giving up and releasing his strangle-hold on Remus' waist. "That'll get you through the wards."
Regulus took the key with a nod, slipping Sirius back the wand that Remus assumed had been confiscated when they had absconded with Sirius in the first place. Remus gave him a sharp nod in thanks just before Regulus took Amelia by Side-along and they Disapparated.
As soon as Sirius was armed, Remus walked slowly to the still bubbling cauldron. "Are you sure, Sirius? You'll be stuck with me forever."
There was no hesitation when Sirius spoke. "There's no one I'd rather be stuck with. Do it."
With a deep breath and a tight smile that was more of a grimace, Remus counted out a very steady seven drops of blood.
The potion fizzed up bright orange for a handful of seconds before settling down into stillness and turning a pale blue. Remus felt like an invisible hand was reaching inside his chest and tugging, making it difficult to breathe.
"I think we both need to drink, now," Sirius said quietly, coming up beside Remus with a small cup he had transfigured out of a leaf.
Remus was having a hard time looking away from Sirius, but he wasn't sure if that was the potion, or if it was simply that the potion gave him the excuse to do what he'd wanted to do for a while. Judging from the way Sirius was looking at Remus as if he was the most amazing thing ever, Remus was guessing that the potion was certainly helping.
"I'm sorry," Sirius said quietly, filling the cup.
"We'll talk about this once we're out of here. I'd like to be safely away before we're outnumbered again," Remus replied, shaking his head and taking the cup from Sirius. He drained it quickly, pulling a face at the acrid taste, and then filled it again before handing the cup back to Sirius.
The second Sirius drank, the tugging sensation in Remus' chest settled and his breathing came easier.
A crack to their left had Remus flinging a blind stupefy towards the sound and pulling Sirius to him for a hasty Side-along. Only when they were safely tumbling to the floor in his tiny flat did he force himself to let go, wrenching himself away and collapsing on the sofa.
There was a brief moment of panic when he realized that James and Pete weren't there yet, until he looked at the clock. Remus was startled to find that despite the events of the evening feeling like they had lasted interminably, it had barely been a quarter of an hour. He allowed for a moment for them to both catch their breath, trying desperately not to stare while Sirius paced.
"James and Pete should be meeting us here in a little under an hour," Remus muttered, just to have something to break the tension in the air.
"Then we should probably have this conversation quickly."
"Do we need to be worried about your mother chasing us down?"
"Unlikely. She can't force me to marry some nice pureblood girl now, so she'll probably go back to pretending I don't exist, " Sirius replied, flopping himself next to Remus, completely heedless of the fact that he was still shirtless and bleeding.
Remus blinked hard a couple of times before flicking off a couple of quick healing charms, both for the deep gouge in Sirius' chest and also for the burns on his arm. Sirius didn't seem to notice.
Finally, Remus couldn't take the silence. He dropped his head into his hands and took a deep breath. "I promise I won't put any restrictions or expectations on you because of this," he started. "At least, no more than were already in our friendship."
"You thought, out of this whole thing, that that's what I would be worried about?" The edge in Sirius' voice made Remus flinch and look up, meeting Sirius' eyes for the first time since they had gotten away safely. What he saw there made him bristle.
"Look, I know it can't be easy, being tied to a werewolf for the rest of your life, no matter how easily you call him a friend. I'm just trying to make this as painless as possible." Remus couldn't quite bring himself to regret the biting tone of his voice. There was an ache starting beneath his breastbone that bloomed every time Sirius' tapping fingers brushed against the edge of his thigh. He was slowly beginning to realize he would have to endure it for the rest of his life as he watched the man he was now bound to take other lovers, other loves. "If I had seen another way, I would never have done this to you. I know you told me to do it, but honestly, what choice did you have? It was me or her, and I'm not so foolish to believe I'm not the better choice over some witch your mother chose for you. At least I will respect that you had no options and try and treat this like nothing has changed," he added, drained, trying to keep the dejection from his voice. Anger he could explain away; bitterness would be a little more difficult.
"And what about you? It's not as if you asked to be dragged into my family's insanity," Sirius snapped, fingers still drumming erratically, mimicking the arrhythmic beat of Remus' heart. "Not much chance of pulling with me attached to your side. Magically. Forever."
Fighting the urge to laugh, Remus dropped his hand over Sirius', stilling his fingers for a moment. "Padfoot," he started gently, "I'm a werewolf. I know you honestly don't seem to care, but most of the world still does. I didn't have much chance of pulling without you attached to my side." He paused, then gave in and added, "And I haven't much wanted to, anyway." Lacing their fingers together, Remus shrugged. "Besides, I couldn't have done much better for myself. You're quite the catch, Mister Black."
Sirius tensed; Remus could feel it even through the handful of centimeters between them. "Wait," he started slowly. "Don't you fancy birds?"
Remus shrugged again, starting to feel that if this conversation kept going the way it was his shoulders would climb up past his ears and wander off on their own. "Not exclusively."
There was a beat, and then Sirius disentangled their fingers so that he could grip Remus by the shoulders, turning him so they were facing each other, noses nearly touching. "So you're telling me that, if you hadn't been so bloody determined to keep secrets for the sake of having them, I could have asked you out months ago? Years ago? And we could have ended up exactly where we are right now, only without the magical bindings?" There was a note of desperation in Sirius' voice that made the bands around Remus' chest relax, his breathing coming a little easier than it had all night.
"Is that something you would have wanted, Padfoot?"
"And here I thought I had been so bloody obvious that I fancied you," Sirius muttered, almost to himself. "I thought that's why I had to come crash on your sofa to get to see you these days."
"You mean it isn't because my sofa is so comfortable?"
"Are we going to address the fact that I already fancied you before all of this?"
"Well, it looks like you're not going to let me avoid it, so, fine. Er, does it help if I tell you that it actually makes all of this easier?"
Sirius blinked a couple of times, and from as close as they were Remus could see the way his eyelashes depressed against his skin, stark against his pale face.
"How, exactly, does that make this any less awkward?" Sirius demanded, still not moving back.
Rather than answer, Remus gave a self-deprecating smile and shook his head. "If you don't back up, Padfoot, I'm probably going to do something stupid like snog you right now, and I'd really rather you not be able to claim it was the adrenaline later."
Sirius laughed, that barking laugh that never failed to make Remus feel like he should have known that Sirius had always been a dog at heart, and sat back just slightly. "I suppose that's as good an answer as any, Moony. We could always snog now and then do it again later just to prove it wasn't the adrenaline."
"We still have a few minutes until James and Peter get here," Remus said by way of reply. They were still going to have to talk this out, but if a little snogging was what it took to get the wild look out of Sirius' eyes Remus was more than willing to be selfish and take the opportunity where it was presented. They had all the time in the world to talk when they were both calmer.
As Sirius kissed him, a gentle press of lips that was so far from everything else that had happened that night, Remus promised himself they would talk in the morning. Or next week. Eventually they'd stop kissing long enough to talk about it, he was sure.