The Marauders: Year Six Part 2 #Wattys2017

Brave

Sirius said, "I'm going to take care of you, that's what." Remus winced as Sirius started to rub the tight muscles in Remus's shoulders, staring down into his eyes. "I'm going to see to it that you're alright, that's what." He paused for a moment and reached into his pocket. "Speaking of which..." he held up a few sprigs of aconite and stripped a couple of the leaves from the little branch, "Here you are."

Remus chewed the leaf thankfully, though it was little help against the intense pain he was feeling. "I'm sorry I was no help in the rescue," he said thickly.

"No help? Moony, it was your idea to create the bloody map of Durmstrang! It was your idea that saved Pete!"

Remus was quiet, chewing the leaves in silence as Sirius's hand worked the muscles in his arms.

"I'm going to turn you over so I can rub your back," Sirius warned him and Remus grit his teeth to hold back anguish as Sirius did exactly that with a few flicks of his wand and Remus grabbed onto the pillow beneath his head and dug his fingers into it, squeezing as tight as his bones would allow him to, taking on the pain in near silence. "You're brilliant, Moony, you're always brilliant. You're the most brilliant of the lot of us."

"I nearly got Chriselda Blythe killed," Remus murmured. He paused, then, "Sirius. Derek Bell was there."

"Come again?" Sirius asked.

Remus explained, voice strained, "I - I fell down, when we were escaping the Death Eaters, in the hallway upstairs. And it was when the Prewetts, Dorcas, Bilius, and Chriselda arrived and she had leaped forward to help, her and Dorcas, and one of the Death Eaters had shot the killing curse and --" he realized how mad what he was about to say would be, "And Derek Bell blocked it. Derek Bell saved us."

"Remus," Sirius said, "Derek Bell's long dead."

"I know," Remus replied, "I know, but I know what I saw, too."

Sirius reached up to feel Remus's forehead, which was hot with fever, and he frowned and returned to rubbing the knots that lined his boyfriend's spine, his fingers expertly loosening the painfully tight muscles, bringing some small relief to Remus's agony, though far from eradicating it from his body. The knots were so deep that after Sirius worked them out, as soon as he moved on to the next one, the prior one began to return.

"Is James alright?" Remus asked.

"They say he is," Sirius replied. He watched his fingers moving, watched the twitching of Remus's skin beneath his administrations.

"Haven't you spoken to him yet?" Remus questioned.

Sirius shook his head. "He was only awake for a very short amount of time, Madam Pomfrey said. Minnie talked to him some... I s'pose he must be alright..." Sirius looked anxious. "Lily came and we sat playing cards on the next bed over 'til Dumbledore arrived with Mr. and Mrs. P. Then Lily had to go to the Ministry - her mum was waiting to collect her there, he said - and I came to look for you. I went to the dormitory first. Pete said this was where you were."

Remus nodded. "I hurts as much as a full moon night, Padfoot."

Sirius frowned, "I'm sorry, Moony." He paused. "Why do you reckon... with the moon so far off...?"

"I don't know," Remus replied.

Sirius frowned.

Remus was quiet a moment. "But I know that you're making it better by being here."

Sirius bent forward and pressed his lips to Remus's forehead. "For that, I'm glad."

Remus closed his eyes at the touch of Sirius's kiss.