Collide: Chapter Three, part one
Title: Collide
Pairing: Remus/Sirius of Harry Potter fandom
Rating: NC-17 overall, this part is closer to R.
Summary (for all parts): AU (Remus never went to Hogwarts). Everytime Remus gets close to someone, they start to uncover the truth about his strange disappearances and injuries. He can't stand the look on their face when he tells them the truth so instead he erases any trace of their relationship from their mind with a simple obliviate. Tired of getting intimate with someone only to become strangers again, Remus resolves never to get involved with anyone ever again. Of course, resolutions are made to be broken.
In this part: Remus makes a trip to his "favourite" department in the Ministory of Magic, answers embarrassing questions and runs into someone unexpected.
Previous parts: Chapter 1: part one | two | three
Chapter 2: part one | two
Collide
The last Friday of the month was consistently Remus' least favourite day. The Ministry of Magic declared that all werewolves should check in on the same day every month with the Werewolves Support Services, an office under the Being division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
It wasn’t that Remus disliked the actual check-ups, though they were mundane and often very personal. No, the part he disliked the most was being reminded of what he was more than the one time a month when he transformed. The very act of stepping into that office felt like exposing himself to the entire magic community even though only the same three people ever worked there.
Remus smoothed his hair down as he waited for the elevator to take him to the fourth floor. He smiled at the young girl next to him holding her mothers hand. She had her dark hair in pigtails, which turned a light shade of purple to Remus’ alarm when she returned his smile.
“Dora,” he mother admonished after looking down and seeing her daughter’s unconventional hair colour.
“I like purple,” Dora said fiercely to her mother, who sighed. “Children,” she said to Remus in an exasperated tone. Remus smiled in response and resisted the urge to say, I’ll never know.
Finally the elevator chimed and the doors opened. Remus took a deep breath and stepped out onto the bland brown carpet.
“Fourth floor! That’s for magic creatures,” Dora’s awe-filled voice floated after him.
“That’s right, honey,” her mom replied with pride just before the doors closed. Remus smiled slightly. Only children and those researching them seemed to find magical creatures fascinating. The rest of the world, well, it was best not to contemplate that just now.
Remus found the office easily enough, his feet taking him there without conscious navigation. He peeked into the open doors of other offices and spied a couple sobbing house elves and a grumpy goblin. Another goblin passed him in the narrow corridor and gave him a nasty glare, his hatred of humankind behind it. Great, thought Remus, even those who think I’m a normal human still despise me.
When he arrived at the office, marked by an unremarkable door, he let himself in. As usual, the office was empty except for a secretary seated at a desk. Remus was never sure if this was to protect privacy or to keep werewolves from getting in touch with others of their kind. Either way, it always made Remus feel even more alone in his condition.
“Remus Lupin,” he said politely to the brunette at the front desk.
“One moment please,” she said in an automated tone. Remus tapped his fingers against his thigh subconsciously.
“Ms. Wood will see you now,” the secretary said in that same bright cheery automated tone.
“Thank you,” Remus replied and went through the door that had appeared in the wall.
“Remus!”
The woman sitting behind the desk could only be described as burly. Gloria Wood’s white poofy blouse did nothing to disguise her large arms or thick neck and although she was seated at a desk, Remus had no doubt her legs were just as muscular and large as her arms.
He shook her hand, wincing a bit at her strength before sitting down.
“How are you?” she asked and while Remus would like to think she genuinely cared, he knew it was actually question one on the inventory in front of her.
“Fine, thank you,” he replied. “Nothing out of the ordinary,” he added, anticipating question two.
“Still living at the same address?”
“Yes.”
“Sleeping well?”
“Yes.”
“Eating well?”
“Yes.”
“Any injuries or maladies in the past month other than those at the full moon?”
“No.”
“Okay, moving on from health,” she said in a preoccupied tone as she flipped through pages of parchment. “Seeing anyone?”
Remus stumbled and Gloria glanced up from the parchment in front of her.
“No,” he said finally.
“Have you had intercourse with anyone in the past month?”
“Yes,” he said. He knew why she asked, werewolves were definitely not allowed to reproduce, but the question was still jarring. If he didn’t answer though, or if she had any reason to doubt him, she was allowed to use the veritaserum she kept in the top drawer of her desk.
“And contraceptive spells were used?”
“It was with a male,” Remus said, if nothing else to see her blush. Gloria Woods did not even bat an eyelid, much to Remus’ dismay. She did however check off a box.
The questioning went on from there covering Remus’ occupation, his finances and his arrangements for the full moon. All in all the session lasted about an hour, after which Remus was drained.
“Since it is the beginning of the year,” Gloria said as she filed away the parchment under ‘L’. “You must sign an updated copy of the Werewolves Rules and Regulations.”
Remus nodded resignedly. He flipped through the pages she gave him, scanning them quickly with his eyes. He knew a lot of the clauses almost from memory. The regulations had been there since his very first appointment here when he was young. There were regulations concerning interactions with other children, regulations about schooling, regulations about interactions with other students his age, rules about where to be during the full moon and with whom, regulations concerning where he could work and who he could marry, should he find someone willing to marry him. Remus was half-surprised there weren’t regulations on how he should shit.
He signed his name with a flourish and a wry smile before giving the paper back to Ms. Wood.
“Until next month,” she said as farewell and handed him a slip of parchment declaring his successful appointment and acceptance of the rules and regulations.
Remus nodded and hurried out the door. He had seen more than enough of the office of Werewolves Support Services for one month. He was so concentrated on getting out of there he didn’t notice a familiar face until there was a hand on his arm.
“Sirius,” he gasped. His heart started beating double-time as he racked his brain looking for excuses why he might be there.
“Remus,” Sirius greeted him. Even while panicked, Remus noticed that Sirius also looked a bit preoccupied and was wearing semi-formal black robes that made him look very sharp. “What brings you here?” Sirius asked.
“Uh, library business,” Remus lied swiftly. Sirius nodded, seeming to accept the explanation. “I’ve got to run though,” he said quickly and before Sirius could reply he was down the corridor, walking briskly.
He didn’t start breathing until he was in the elevator and the doors were shutting behind him. His pulse didn’t slow until the doors opened on the second floor and four other wizards got in. It wasn’t until the elevator doors were opening once more however and he was stepping out into the lobby that he realized he hadn’t asked Sirius why he was there.
(slowly but surely...)
next part >
Pairing: Remus/Sirius of Harry Potter fandom
Rating: NC-17 overall, this part is closer to R.
Summary (for all parts): AU (Remus never went to Hogwarts). Everytime Remus gets close to someone, they start to uncover the truth about his strange disappearances and injuries. He can't stand the look on their face when he tells them the truth so instead he erases any trace of their relationship from their mind with a simple obliviate. Tired of getting intimate with someone only to become strangers again, Remus resolves never to get involved with anyone ever again. Of course, resolutions are made to be broken.
In this part: Remus makes a trip to his "favourite" department in the Ministory of Magic, answers embarrassing questions and runs into someone unexpected.
Previous parts: Chapter 1: part one | two | three
Chapter 2: part one | two
Collide
The last Friday of the month was consistently Remus' least favourite day. The Ministry of Magic declared that all werewolves should check in on the same day every month with the Werewolves Support Services, an office under the Being division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
It wasn’t that Remus disliked the actual check-ups, though they were mundane and often very personal. No, the part he disliked the most was being reminded of what he was more than the one time a month when he transformed. The very act of stepping into that office felt like exposing himself to the entire magic community even though only the same three people ever worked there.
Remus smoothed his hair down as he waited for the elevator to take him to the fourth floor. He smiled at the young girl next to him holding her mothers hand. She had her dark hair in pigtails, which turned a light shade of purple to Remus’ alarm when she returned his smile.
“Dora,” he mother admonished after looking down and seeing her daughter’s unconventional hair colour.
“I like purple,” Dora said fiercely to her mother, who sighed. “Children,” she said to Remus in an exasperated tone. Remus smiled in response and resisted the urge to say, I’ll never know.
Finally the elevator chimed and the doors opened. Remus took a deep breath and stepped out onto the bland brown carpet.
“Fourth floor! That’s for magic creatures,” Dora’s awe-filled voice floated after him.
“That’s right, honey,” her mom replied with pride just before the doors closed. Remus smiled slightly. Only children and those researching them seemed to find magical creatures fascinating. The rest of the world, well, it was best not to contemplate that just now.
Remus found the office easily enough, his feet taking him there without conscious navigation. He peeked into the open doors of other offices and spied a couple sobbing house elves and a grumpy goblin. Another goblin passed him in the narrow corridor and gave him a nasty glare, his hatred of humankind behind it. Great, thought Remus, even those who think I’m a normal human still despise me.
When he arrived at the office, marked by an unremarkable door, he let himself in. As usual, the office was empty except for a secretary seated at a desk. Remus was never sure if this was to protect privacy or to keep werewolves from getting in touch with others of their kind. Either way, it always made Remus feel even more alone in his condition.
“Remus Lupin,” he said politely to the brunette at the front desk.
“One moment please,” she said in an automated tone. Remus tapped his fingers against his thigh subconsciously.
“Ms. Wood will see you now,” the secretary said in that same bright cheery automated tone.
“Thank you,” Remus replied and went through the door that had appeared in the wall.
“Remus!”
The woman sitting behind the desk could only be described as burly. Gloria Wood’s white poofy blouse did nothing to disguise her large arms or thick neck and although she was seated at a desk, Remus had no doubt her legs were just as muscular and large as her arms.
He shook her hand, wincing a bit at her strength before sitting down.
“How are you?” she asked and while Remus would like to think she genuinely cared, he knew it was actually question one on the inventory in front of her.
“Fine, thank you,” he replied. “Nothing out of the ordinary,” he added, anticipating question two.
“Still living at the same address?”
“Yes.”
“Sleeping well?”
“Yes.”
“Eating well?”
“Yes.”
“Any injuries or maladies in the past month other than those at the full moon?”
“No.”
“Okay, moving on from health,” she said in a preoccupied tone as she flipped through pages of parchment. “Seeing anyone?”
Remus stumbled and Gloria glanced up from the parchment in front of her.
“No,” he said finally.
“Have you had intercourse with anyone in the past month?”
“Yes,” he said. He knew why she asked, werewolves were definitely not allowed to reproduce, but the question was still jarring. If he didn’t answer though, or if she had any reason to doubt him, she was allowed to use the veritaserum she kept in the top drawer of her desk.
“And contraceptive spells were used?”
“It was with a male,” Remus said, if nothing else to see her blush. Gloria Woods did not even bat an eyelid, much to Remus’ dismay. She did however check off a box.
The questioning went on from there covering Remus’ occupation, his finances and his arrangements for the full moon. All in all the session lasted about an hour, after which Remus was drained.
“Since it is the beginning of the year,” Gloria said as she filed away the parchment under ‘L’. “You must sign an updated copy of the Werewolves Rules and Regulations.”
Remus nodded resignedly. He flipped through the pages she gave him, scanning them quickly with his eyes. He knew a lot of the clauses almost from memory. The regulations had been there since his very first appointment here when he was young. There were regulations concerning interactions with other children, regulations about schooling, regulations about interactions with other students his age, rules about where to be during the full moon and with whom, regulations concerning where he could work and who he could marry, should he find someone willing to marry him. Remus was half-surprised there weren’t regulations on how he should shit.
He signed his name with a flourish and a wry smile before giving the paper back to Ms. Wood.
“Until next month,” she said as farewell and handed him a slip of parchment declaring his successful appointment and acceptance of the rules and regulations.
Remus nodded and hurried out the door. He had seen more than enough of the office of Werewolves Support Services for one month. He was so concentrated on getting out of there he didn’t notice a familiar face until there was a hand on his arm.
“Sirius,” he gasped. His heart started beating double-time as he racked his brain looking for excuses why he might be there.
“Remus,” Sirius greeted him. Even while panicked, Remus noticed that Sirius also looked a bit preoccupied and was wearing semi-formal black robes that made him look very sharp. “What brings you here?” Sirius asked.
“Uh, library business,” Remus lied swiftly. Sirius nodded, seeming to accept the explanation. “I’ve got to run though,” he said quickly and before Sirius could reply he was down the corridor, walking briskly.
He didn’t start breathing until he was in the elevator and the doors were shutting behind him. His pulse didn’t slow until the doors opened on the second floor and four other wizards got in. It wasn’t until the elevator doors were opening once more however and he was stepping out into the lobby that he realized he hadn’t asked Sirius why he was there.
(slowly but surely...)
next part >