Unrelenting Fate: A Marauders Era AU

Chapter 54

Sirius sighed and scratched the back of his neck, wondering if perhaps he shouldn't have gotten Wren a bouquet of roses. Maybe it was too much.

Right as he was about to knock on the door again, it opened and an angry Wren stormed out, slamming it closed behind her.

She stomped passed a stunned Sirius and continued down the front stairs, not taking any time to acknowledge him.

The curly-haired boy gulped and rushed after her.

"Wren!" He called, skidding around to stop her. "What's wrong!"

Wren's harsh glare softened slowly as she finally took in his presence.

"What's not wrong in this world!" She growled, crossing her arms.

"There is an exponentially large number of things, so I can't answer that question, but I can say that no matter what bad has happened I'll always be there to try and brighten your day," Sirius said, giving her a shy smile and thrusting forward the roses.

Wren arched a dark brow at the ridiculous amount of red flowers he was holding, and for a few seconds, Sirius was sure she would laugh at him.

Suddenly, the corners of her lips tilted up, and Wren met his gray eyes with delight.

"No one has ever given me flowers before," She mumbled, gently taking them from him and bringing them to her nose to inhale their sweet scent.

"No one? Well, you deserve a mountain of roses and whatever other blossoms you can think of!" Sirius said, making a mental note to get her flowers any chance he could.

Wren chuckled, smiling at him while a warm buzz filled her chest. "Thank you, you egotistical pretty boy Gryffindor."

Sirius beamed at her. "Of course, anything for you, my malicious Slytherin princess!"

They continued walking down the street when the gray-eyed boy turned to her once more and asked, "Will you tell me what upset you?"

Wren's smile fell slightly and she sighed. "One day, yes. But not today, when we should be happy."

Sirius nodded, understanding completely, and hooked his arm around her waist to pull her close and kiss the top of her head.

********

Alexander was not expecting his afternoon a week before going back to Hogwarts to consist of leaning against a bookshelf and watching his 'Other' scour through comically heavy tomes.

Remus was searching for some last-minute texts to read on the train, prepping himself for the N.E.W.T's they would face at the end of the school year.

Alexander thought it was ridiculous for him to already be stressing out, but couldn't bring himself to burst Remus' book shopping bubble.

The young werewolf did look so cute with his brow furrowed and a studious frown on his face.

Chuckling, the blonde boy moved from his place at the end of the bookshelf and took a few large steps toward the oblivious Gryffindor.

Reaching over and gently grabbing hold of the book in Remus' left hand, Alexander placed it on the growing stack of leather-bound books, before returning his attention to a confused pair of brown eyes.

"What are you doing? I need that." Remus protested.

"You already have a copy," Alexander said, a smirk growing on his lips.

"No I don't, that's not - oh. I suppose I do." A lock of brown hair fell over the boy's eyes as he glanced at the cover, making a lump form in Alexander's throat.

He couldn't help but think of how perfect his Other was.

Not perfect because he was the most handsome person Alexander had ever seen, or the smartest, or the most charming.

No, Remus John Lupin was perfect because he could be the right amount of all of that, and because when he met Alexander's gaze and smiled at him, there were no words to describe how full it made the Ravenclaw feel.

Full of warmth, happiness, and love. Everything someone could hope to find, and everything that Alexander never thought he could have.

When he was in his Third Year at Hogwarts, Alexander knew that he was not attracted to girls, and at the beginning that bothered him.

What would his parents think? His siblings? Della and Birdie?

The thought that any of them would hate him for this was one of the few moments in his life when Alexander Lark was truly terrified.

He had avoided his friends and ignored the letters from home, causing Della and Adelaide to become concerned.

One day, late into their Third Year, when the anxiety and stress of keeping hidden from everyone he loved in his life became too much, Alexander had his first panic attack alone in a corridor.

Adelaide and Della had found him curled into a tight ball crying his eyes out.

The girls rushed to him, worried beyond belief, and tried to soothe their sad friend with kind words and gentle hugs.

Unable to hold his secret in anymore, Alexander blurted it out and waited for them to get mad and leave.

Adelaide and Della glanced at each other and their faces softened.

"Oh, Alexander, love," Adelaide whispered, brushing back his blonde bangs. "If you think that we would care about you any less when we found out then just know we could never feel that way."

Della nodded, hugging him to her as he slowly stopped crying. "You are one of the greatest souls in the world, and I can promise you we will love you till the end of time!"

Alexander sniffled and pulled back to look at them. "Truly?" He whispered meekly.

"Sorry to say, but, you're stuck with us buddy!" Adelaide said, smiling at him.

That was the first day Alexander truly understood what it felt like to be whole again, and one step at a time he had become more the person he was today by knowing that he had people around him to love.

And now he had one more.

Remus was still watching him with a furrowed brow.

Alexander chuckled and took Remus' hand in his, pulling him closer before he began moving to an invisible tune in his head.

Confused but following along, Remus stepped in rhythm with him, and soon a smile was gracing his lips.

"What's this for?" He asked.

"Because we can," Alexander said quietly, leaning in to press a loving kiss to the boy he could never have imagined he would be dancing with in the back of a bookstore, and cherishing every second. "And because I'm happy to be with you," He said in between kisses.

Remus would remember this moment for the rest of his life and look back on it whenever he thought of just how much he loved Alexander Lark.