Once in a Blue Moon (COMPLETE)

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The Big Bad Wolf
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Walburga Black wasted no time in niceties where her eldest son was concerned. As soon as Sirius had stepped through the front door of Grimmauld Place, he found himself summoned to Walburga’s study where she thrust an itinerary for the rest of the summer into his hands.

Sirius scanned the engagements and was pleasantly surprised to see that she had remembered to make allowances for the full moons. He noticed that the day immediately following the first full moon of the summer included a late brunch with the Lestranges, but he decided not to say anything about it. He would return from Remus’s as and when he wanted to, and take the consequences afterwards.

He looked back to the top of the page and saw that he was due to have dinner at the Crouch residence that evening.

“We’re expected at six o’clock sharp,” Walburga told him. “Dinner will be served at seven. I don’t need to tell you to be on your best behaviour, do I?”

Sirius shook his head. He knew that one false move from him would mean a retraction of the promise that was allowing him to spend the full moons with Remus. Not that it would stop him going there, but it would be easier all round if he didn’t have to sneak out.

“Oh, and Sirius?” Walburga called him back just after he reached the door.

Sirius turned to face her and she waited until she was sure she had his undivided attention.

“You will say nothing about your werewolf lover or your sexual preferences,” Walburga warned. “Once you are married and there is no risk of an annulment, you may confide in your wife if you wish, but until then you will hold your tongue.”

Sirius smiled. “You may find that some of those girls you keep sending in my direction already know,” he replied. “I got outed at school, the whole of Hogwarts knows I’m gay.”

Walburga frowned, and Sirius could tell that she was trying to figure out whether he was lying or not.

“It’s true,” Sirius added. “But don’t worry; if the other guests don’t know about me, I’m not going to go around advertising it.”

He knew his tone was somewhat bitter, but he couldn’t seem to stop it. He turned to leave once more, but was called back a second time.

“Sirius?”

He turned to face her, trying not to sigh too loudly with impatience. He still had to unpack and he wanted to see Regulus as well.

“Did something happen?” Walburga asked quietly. “When the other students found out about you?”

Sirius gave a snort of contempt. “What is this, Mother? Worry? Don’t you think it’s a little late to be playing the concerned parent?”

Walburga flushed slightly and rose to her feet. “Did something happen?” she repeated icily.

“Nothing you need to trouble yourself with,” Sirius assured her. “Just a few older lads showing me how disgusted they were.”

“You stood up to them, didn’t you?”

“I was on my own and outnumbered,” Sirius said. “I didn’t exactly have much of a chance to do more than take what they dished out.”

“Are you all right?”

Sirius was about to make another sarcastic comment about her previous lack of concern, but there was something in her voice that halted his tongue. Instead he nodded slowly. “I am now, and thank you for your concern,” he replied politely. It wasn’t entirely true, but the idea of confiding in his mother was entirely foreign to him.

Walburga nodded and turned to look out of the window. “Do you really think me so uncaring?” she asked. “Did you not think I might want to know if my son and heir had been attacked?”

Sirius bit his lower lip and wished he could just turn and leave the room. “I…”

“What spells did they use?” Walburga asked. “Nothing with lasting effects, I hope?”

“They didn’t use spells,” Sirius replied. “Just their fists and boots.”

Walburga turned back from the window, her eyes narrowed. “Muggle methods,” she sneered.

Sirius shrugged. It was over and done with and he didn’t really want to be discussing what had happened with anyone, least of all, his mother.

Walburga, insensitive though she was most of the time, seemed to sense something of Sirius’s reluctance and nodded firmly. “You are dismissed. Please be in the hall, ready to leave at quarter to six.”

-o-xXx-o-

“You should try and find a holiday job,” Romulus suggested to Remus as the young werewolf sighed at the latest bill that had arrived.

“I’ll ask in the village,” Remus agreed. “Maybe Aberforth will give me your old job?”

Romulus shook his head. “I doubt it. He has someone else now. It’s not like he could wait around for me to return. It wouldn’t hurt to ask around the village though. You could even look further afield now you have your apparating licence.”

Remus hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Everyone in Hogsmeade knew who he was, and more importantly, what he was. He didn’t fancy the idea of having to come up with lies for employers each time the full moon came around.

In the end, Remus found himself running errands for various shops in the village. He found that it helped to pass the time until the full moon that much quicker, and whilst the pay wasn’t exactly great, it did help him afford a few extra luxuries. He ordered a new subscription to Quidditch Quarterly and paid for proper repairs to Romulus’s old broom, a Silver Arrow, so that he could finally use something other than a school broom in his Quidditch matches.

He hardly realised that the next full moon was only two days away until Romulus reminded him.

“So soon?” he asked, looking up at the night sky with surprise.

“You really should start keeping a closer eye on the lunar cycle,” Romulus chided.

“I do,” Remus argued. “And even if I didn’t, I’d know about it the morning of the full moon anyway. That’s when my joints start to ache.”

Romulus nodded, knowing that it was true. “You should still take more notice, you’ll need to know the full moons well in advance when you find a proper job. Just calling in sick won’t cut it with most employers, you’ll need to plan your excuses in advance if you can.”

“I’ll worry about that when it happens,” Remus replied, banishing his empty mug to the kitchen sink, which hadn’t been emptied since Sirius had left.

-o-xXx-o-

Sirius arrived in Hogsmeade with a small bag of belongings and his mother’s orders ringing loudly in his ears. He knew that she would be furious when he didn’t return in time for the social engagements she had planned for the following day, but he had promised to go with Remus when he visited Greyback, and he intended to keep his word.

“Sirius!” Remus exclaimed, hurtling down the stairs and throwing himself at Sirius with so much enthusiasm he nearly knocked him right back out the front door.

“I take it this means you missed me?” Sirius said with a grin as he returned Remus’s hug.

Remus nodded as he pulled Sirius the rest of the way inside and closed the door behind him. “You have no idea!” he declared as he pushed Sirius up against the door and tugged his robes open.

Sirius chuckled. “Oh, I think I’m getting the idea,” he gasped as Remus’s questing hand found what he was searching for.

“We’ve got nearly an hour before the sun sets,” Remus told him, swallowing Sirius’s reply with a heated kiss.

They stumbled into the living room, Remus complaining that Sirius was wearing far too many clothes for his liking.

“I’ll remember that for next time,” Sirius promised, realising as he pushed Remus’s own robes aside that the werewolf clearly hadn’t intended to waste any time with such things as undressing. “Have you been naked under your robes all day?” he asked.

Remus grinned at him and shrugged. “Rom keeps telling me I have to learn to prepare for the full moon,” he explained.

“I don’t think this is what he had in mind,” Sirius pointed out with a grin of his own.

“You complaining?”

Sirius shook his head. “Definitely not.”

“Then shut up and kiss me again,” Remus told him, winding his arms around his neck and pushing him down onto the sofa. He climbed on top of him and immediately set about making up for lost time.

-o-xXx-o-

The next morning, after Remus had been sufficiently fed and patched up, he turned to Sirius with a hesitant smile.

“What?” Sirius asked as he continued eating his own, now rather cold breakfast.

Remus’s smile widened and he shook his head. “Nothing.”

Sirius shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“Aren’t you going to pester me into telling you?” Remus teased.

It was Sirius’s turn to shake his head as he continued to eat.

“Finish your breakfast, then come through here,” Remus said with a grin as he walked through to the bedroom.

Sirius rolled his eyes. He wondered briefly how many times they could get each other off before they had apparate down to Cheshire. He quickly stuffed the last of his toast into his mouth and hurried after Remus.

When he entered the room he found Remus sitting on his bed, naked and very much aroused. He wasn’t surprised, and the sight before him was enough to stir his own blood. Then he saw that Remus was reaching out to him, holding something in his hand.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“You don’t recognise it?” Remus asked, tossing the jar to him. Sirius, while not on the Quidditch team, did have pretty fast reflexes, and they were more than enough to catch the lubricant.

Sirius walked towards the bed and looked down at Remus, his eyes asking the unspoken question.

“I’m sure,” Remus replied. “It’s supposed to be easier with that stuff, right?”

Sirius nodded. “If you remember to bring it with you,” he said with a rueful smile.

“Don’t you want to?” Remus hesitantly asked. “I thought you liked what we did?”

“I did, but…”

“But what?”

“What about Charlene?” Sirius asked. “The longer this goes on, the more guilty I feel about what we’re doing behind her back. I still remember how I felt when I found out you had kissed her; it’s not a pleasant feeling. And this… this is a hell of a lot more than getting each other off.”

Remus remained silent, but placed a hand on Sirius’s arm.

“It’s not that I don’t want you,” Sirius continued. “You know I do, but the longer this goes on, the more hurt she’s going to be when she finds out.”

“She doesn’t have to find out,” Remus pointed out.

“You know she will eventually,” Sirius replied. “She’ll find out and she’ll get hurt; don’t you care about that at all?”

Remus sighed and nodded. “Of course I do. But I hope that one day she’ll come to understand about the wolf and his needs, the same way that you do.”

Sirius snorted. He didn’t believe the nonsense about the wolf being gay, and he had no doubt that Charlene would treat the explanation with a similar amount of scepticism and contempt.

“If you don’t want to do this any more, just say so,” Remus whispered.

Sirius looked down at where Remus’s hand was still resting on his arm and placed his own hand over the top of it. This was better than nothing he told himself again. The guilt was the price he would have to pay in order to be with Remus, and when Remus was touching him, holding him and kissing him, it was a price he was happy to pay.

“Do you want to top this time?” he asked, slightly nervously.

Remus shook his head. “No, I need you inside me.”

“If you’re sure?” Sirius replied. “You know it hurt last time.”

“This time will be better,” Remus assured him, taking the jar of lube from Sirius’s hands and removing the lid from the same.

As Sirius slowly disrobed, he hoped that Remus was right.

Remus dipped his finger into the jar sat back on the bed. He reached down between his legs, and Sirius could see that his hand was shaking ever so slightly.

Sirius reached across and took hold Remus’s wrist. “Let me,” he said, and Remus nodded slowly.

“Lay down,” Sirius advised, moving slightly to give Remus room to do so.

It wasn’t like their first time, or like any of their frantic gropes in darkened corners in and around Hogwarts. Instead, Sirius was determined to take his time, and hopefully this time it would be far more enjoyable for both of them.

He gently pushed Remus’s legs apart and knelt between them. “You okay?” he asked, and Remus nodded, his teeth already biting into his lower lip in anticipation of the pain.

Sirius leaned forward to kiss Remus, sucking the lip out from between the teeth, before turning his attention back to the matter at hand.

He suspected he had scooped up too much lube, but he didn’t want to risk using too little either. He realised his hand was shaking and he took a deep breath to steady his nerves, before reaching tentatively between Remus’s legs.

He heard Remus hiss before he had ever inserted a single finger.

“Cold,” Remus explained.

Sirius, relieved that that was all it was, reached further back until he found what he was searching for.

Remus gasped as he inserted a single finger. “More!” he rasped.

“Slowly,” Sirius replied, shaking his head slightly. “This time we’re going to go slowly.”

Remus bucked his hips in response, pushing down on the finger with determination. “Stop teasing,” he begged.

“Not teasing,” Sirius replied. “Preparing, there’s a difference.”

Remus pushed against his finger again, and Sirius inserted a second finger, slowly stretching him.

“How’s this feel?” he asked. He noticed that Remus’s arousal wasn’t standing quite as proudly as it had been a few minutes before.

Remus nodded and pushed against his fingers. “More,” he pleaded. “I can take it.”

Sirius frowned and stilled his hand. “I don’t want you to ‘take it’,” he said. “I want you to enjoy it.”

Remus looked up at him and nodded. “I want this, Sirius. I will enjoy it. There’s this spot I read about in that magazine of yours.”

Sirius grinned down at him. “I knew you’d been reading it,” he crowed. “You’d read it before our last time, hadn’t you?”

Remus flushed, but nodded. “Try and find that spot,” he whispered.

Sirius hoped that he was up to the challenge, and inserted a third finger, causing Remus to wince and his erection to wilt again. “We don’t have to do this,” he reminded him. “We can just do the other stuff.”

Remus shook his head. “I have to have you inside me,” he insisted. “I can’t explain it, but I have to!”

Sirius sighed, and knew there would be no talking Remus out of this. He removed his fingers and reached for Remus’s cock. He took the limp organ into his hand, and with a few slow strokes he revived it to something resembling its former state of arousal.

He silently vowed that this time was going to be better for Remus.

When Remus was gasping and writhing on the bed, Sirius sat back and looked down at him. “You ready?” he asked.

Remus nodded and sat up. He turned round and crouched on the bed on all fours. “This way is supposed to be better,” he explained.

Sirius, knowing that Remus could not see his face, smirked slightly at another example of Remus knowing rather more than he had ever let on about gay sex. “If you’re sure?” he said.

Remus nodded and Sirius moved into position. He placed his hands on Remus’s hips, steeling himself for what he was about to do. He wasn’t sure that he had prepared him enough, but the only way to tell would be to simply get on with it.

He closed his eyes, wishing that he could find a way to give Remus the pleasure he deserved without the accompanying pain.

Then, Remus pushed back against him and he knew he could put off the moment no longer. He took himself in his hand and moved forward, slowly pushing his way inside. Once he was in as far as he could go, he stalled his movements, waiting for any sound from Remus. He wished he could see his face, to know whether he was all right.

Sirius pulled back slightly, before pushing in again, all the while listening carefully to Remus, ready to stop his actions the moment he heard so much as a whimper of pain.

Then, suddenly, Remus shifted beneath him, lifting one hand from the mattress and transferring his weight to the other. “Give me your hand,” he ordered, reaching back to pull Sirius’s right hand away from where he had once again placed it on his hip.

Sirius let Remus guide his hand to his cock, and wrap both their hands around it. Sirius squeezed it slightly, causing Remus to let out a choked cry. “Again?” he pleaded, and Sirius immediately complied.

Remus thrust forward into his hand, and then backwards onto his cock. They hadn’t found a rhythm, and it was far more luck than anything else when Remus suddenly felt a new sensation, one that caused him to shudder violently, and forced him to put both of his hands back onto the mattress in order to keep his balance.

Sirius stumbled along with him, and it was all he could do not to pull out of Remus completely. “Are you okay?” he asked, placing both his hands back on Remus’s hips to steady himself.

Remus nodded. “That was… damn… Can you do that again?”

Sirius chuckled. “I’ll try my best,” he promised as he pushed back into Remus once more. It took four more thrusts before he managed it, but once he found the right angle, he was rewarded with another cry from Remus.

“Again!” Remus gasped.

Sirius groaned and thrust harder, Remus matching his movements with cries for more.

“Touch me,” Remus begged. “Please… Sirius… just…”

Sirius reached his hand round to fist Remus once more; it took just two strokes before Remus was crying out and spilling himself over the mattress. Sirius followed him a few moments later, collapsing on top of Remus with a harsh cry of his own.

It had still hurt a little, Sirius could tell that it had. But Remus had assured him that this was what he wanted, and that he would want it again. He would want him again.

“I wish we could stay like this forever,” Remus whispered sleepily as they snuggled in the bed.

“Me, too,” Sirius agreed. “What time do we have to be at the camp?”

“Visiting hours are between one and three,” Remus replied between yawns.

Sirius nodded thoughtfully, pushing thoughts of the plans his mother had made to the farthest corner of his mind.

-o-xXx-o-

They arrived at the camp by public port key at one o’clock prompt. Next time they could apparate there, but this time they had no idea how to visual the place since they had never seen it before.

“Doesn’t look very intimidating, does it?” Sirius commented.

“Probably in case muggles are passing this way,” Remus replied, pointing to the traffic passing on the main road in the distance.

Sirius watched the vehicles whizzing past, inwardly marvelling at the speed they were achieving. Remus was probably right. They followed the others who had travelled with them from Dove Town towards the entrance. There was a sullen-looking witch, who appeared to be in her thirties, and two elderly wizards who told them that they were making their monthly visit to see their brother.

“Why doesn’t he live with you?” Remus asked curiously.

“No facilities for a werewolf,” the taller of the two replied. “At least not good enough for the inspectors from the Ministry. One of the neighbours reported him, and by the next full moon they’d sent him here.”

“Who you visiting?” the other wizard asked. “Werewolf or banshee?”

“How do you know it’s one of those?” Sirius asked.

“Different creatures have different visiting hours. Those are the only two you can visit on a weekday afternoon.”

“Oh,” Sirius replied.

“Werewolf,” Remus explained.

“Relative?”

“Guardian.”

The wizard looked at him curiously, but they had reached the main gate, and there was no time for further questions.

Remus and Sirius found themselves in a waiting area where a young witch with a clipboard checked off the visitors against the names on her list.

“Winters,” the sulky looking witch who had arrived with them said.

The witch with the clipboard nodded. “Relation?”

The witch glared at her. “Do we have to go through this every time I visit?” she snapped. “I’d rather just get it over with.”

The witch with the clipboard made a note on her parchment. “Yes, we do. Relation?”

“Aunt,” the witch replied.

The witch with the clipboard nodded and turned to Remus. “New here?” she asked.

Remus nodded.

“Your name?” the witch asked.

“Remus Lupin.”

“And you’re visiting?”

“Fenrir Greyback.”

One of the elderly wizards drew in a sharp breath and exchanged a glance with his brother. It was obvious he had heard of him.

“Relation to the resident?” the witch continued.

“He’s my guardian,” Remus explained.

“Visitors must be seventeen years of age,” the witch told him.

“I am,” Remus confirmed.

“Former guardian,” the witch amended, making another note.

She then turned to Sirius. “Name?”

“Sirius Black.”

The witch looked at her parchment for several moments. “I’m afraid you’re not on my list,” she finally said.

“I’m with him,” Sirius said, nodding to Remus. “Moral support and all that.”

The witch smiled. “Well, I’m afraid that without the resident’s permission, you’ll have to show moral support here in the waiting area. Only officials from the Ministry of Magic and those who the resident has invited are permitted to visit.”

“Are you going to be okay on your own?” Sirius asked quietly.

Remus looked nervous, but he nodded. “You can go home if you like. I know your parents will be expecting you back.”

Sirius shook his head. “I’ll just wait out here.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m curious to know what he wants to see you about.”

The witch, satisfied that she wasn’t going to have any trouble from him, moved on to the last of the visitors, and finally guided everyone except Sirius through the door on the opposite side of the room.

“Good luck,” Sirius said, and a brief thrill of pleasure shot through him when Remus reached out, of his own accord, and briefly squeezed his hand in thanks.

The action, so simple, so brief, and so innocent, pleased him like nothing else could have. It was something Remus used to do all the time, at least before Sirius had kissed him. It wasn’t that Remus hadn’t touched him at all since that night, just that it had been either forced or awkward, or in the moments of heated passion. Now, for the first time that he could recall, Remus had touched him like he had before.

Remus, who hadn’t noticed how much his unconscious action had pleased Sirius, followed the witch out of the room and down a long corridor with the rest of the visitors.

Since he was the only visitor who had never been to the camp before, the witch leading them walked alongside him, explaining the procedures and security measures as they went.

“The room you’ll see your guardian in is private,” she told him. “However, if you’re in difficulty then the guards are only a call away. Cry out loudly and they’ll hear you. I assume you know that werewolf bites are rarely dangerous when it is not the full moon?”

“Rarely?” Remus questioned, remembering the numerous times he had bit on Sirius’s lips and his neck without even thinking about the consequences.

“You’ll be in no danger,” the witch assured him.

“I’m already a werewolf,” Remus told her, keeping his voice down so that only she could hear him. “But what do you mean by rarely?”

“There are only two reported cases of a werewolf being created following a bite from a wolf in human form,” the witch explained. Remus’s confession about his own Lycanthropy didn’t seem to have phased her at all.

Remus tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat.

“Are you all right?” the witch asked.

Remus stopped walking and sat down on one of the chairs that was positioned along the wall of the corridor.

The witch was looking concerned now, but she still had a job to do. Leaving Remus in his seat, she directed the rest of the visitors a little further down the corridor, and into separate rooms where the residents were waiting for them.

“Do you need to go back?” the witch asked as she sat down beside him.

Remus shook his head.

“Greyback is waiting for you in the room at the end,” she told him, pointing down the corridor. “Do you still wish to see him?”

“I can’t back out now,” Remus said. “I didn’t know that biting someone while human could turn them.”

“As I said, it’s rare. But surely you’ve not been going round biting people, have you?”

Remus felt his face flushing bright red.

“Or have you?” the witch asked, edging away from his slightly. “You realise that if there’s a risk you’ve infected someone, it has to be reported to the Ministry?”

“Oh, shit!” Remus breathed, burying his face in his hands and wishing himself anywhere but here.

“Have you bitten someone?” the witch asked, and from the corner of his eye, Remus could see her reaching for her wand.

“I didn’t know there was a risk,” he whispered. “I swear I didn’t. We just… I just… oh shit!”

The witch was looking a little less worried now, but she still had her hand on her wand.

“Sometimes we get a bit carried away,” Remus said. “You know… when we’re…”

“Oh, you mean you’re a biter during sex?” the witch asked when understanding had dawned.

“I didn’t know there was a risk,” Remus repeated.

“Well, as I said, it’s very rare that someone can turn from a bite from a werewolf in human form. The only recorded cases were of victims who had the Lycanthropy gene in their blood already.”

“They did?”

“They each had a parent or grandparent who was a full werewolf. Even though they were not born werewolves, the bite was enough to push them the rest of the way. Do you know if she has a werewolf in her ancestry?”

“I don’t think so,” Remus replied, reluctant to correct her assumption that the person he was talking about was female. “How long did it take for them to change?”

“The next full moon, just like anyone else who’s bitten.”

Remus nodded. He knew he had bitten Sirius often enough before the most recent full moon, and he suspected that if the Blacks had a werewolf in the family, he would have heard about it before now. But even so, he intended to check with Sirius just as soon as he was done with visiting Greyback.

“The bites they suffered were also very vicious,” the witch added. “They were bitten by those who are monsters on other days besides the full moon. They were trying to turn them.”

“That makes a difference?” Remus asked.

“The reports said that their throats had nearly been torn out. Which causes a lot more damage than biting a lover during a bit of rough sex.”

Remus nodded, his mind easing a little.

“Are you ready to see Greyback now?” the witch asked.

Remus stood up and nodded. They continued the short distance down the corridor until they reached the door at the end.

“One thing, before you go in,” the witch said.

Remus nodded and the witch cast a quick glance back down the corridor to check that no one was about.

“One of the victims,” the witch whispered. “One of those who was turned by a bite from a werewolf in human form…” Remus nodded, curious as to what else she could have to say. “He was bitten by Greyback.”

Remus’s hand froze on the door handle, but the witch’s manner had returned to strictly profession.

“You’ll have a little under the three hours,” she explained as Remus entered the room.

Remus closed the door behind him without taking his eyes off of the older werewolf.

He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but Fenrir Greyback wasn’t it.

The werewolf was dressed in a set of robes that looked, if not fashionable, at least clean. He was cleanly shaven and his dark brown hair, greying at the temples, was tied back neatly. At first glance, there was nothing to differentiate him from any other wizard. Then he smiled and Remus caught a brief flash of fangs between the thin lips.

“Remus, I’m glad you’ve come to see me,” Fenrir said, waving him to the seat opposite his own. Remus took the seat, and was quite thankful for the table that separated the two of them.

“Hello,” he said, not sure what else he was expected to say.

Fenrir smiled again, not as widely this time and Remus got the impression he was trying to conceal the fangs.

“How did you do in your end of year exams?” Fenrir asked, sounding pleasantly interested rather than stern.

Remus shrugged. “Okay, I think. Only one Outstanding.”

“In Astronomy?” Fenrir guessed.

Remus shook his head. “Defence Against the Dark Arts. I got Exceeds Expectations in Astronomy.”

“You got a werewolf question in Defence, didn’t you?”

Remus grinned. “Yeah, got lucky on that one.”

They chatted for a few more minutes about Remus’s schoolwork, with Fenrir giving every impression of casual interest and pride in the younger man’s achievements.

“I guess you’re wondering why I asked you to visit?” Fenrir said, and Remus nodded.

“I suppose you know all about werewolves that get supervised,” Fenrir commented.

Remus frowned and shook his head. “Not really.”

“Oh.” That seemed to stall Fenrir somewhat, but he soon recovered. “Well, it’s like this; werewolves are pretty much left to their own devices until the Ministry steps in, but once they have, they insist on certain measures to ensure that the public is safe from us monsters.” He chuckled slightly and shook his head. “Measures like locking us up in here, or getting some responsible wizard to supervise us during the full moons.”

Remus nodded that he understood this.

“Did you know that werewolves can supervise each other?” he continued, and Remus shook his head.

Fenrir nodded that this was the case. “But only werewolves who aren’t on the Ministry watch-list can supervise another werewolf. Werewolves with a clean record, that is to say, werewolves with no victims. It also helps if they’re related to the werewolf they’re supervising. Mothers who have passed the Lycanthropy onto their children are often called on to supervise the children if they get a bit out of hand and run foul of the Ministry later in life.”

“I’m not sure what this has to do with me,” Remus replied, although he had a sneaking suspicion he knew what was coming. He just hoped that he was wrong.

Fenrir smiled, showing a bit of fang once more. “According to the law, you’re my son,” he said. “A son with a clean record with the Ministry.”

“I was on the run from the Ministry,” Remus pointed out. “That’s hardly a clean record.”

“But you have no victims,” Fenrir reminded him. “And according to the Ministry, we’re related.”

Fenrir sat back in his seat and grinned. “You’re an adult now, though I don’t imagine the Ministry would let you supervise me whilst you’re still in school. But this time next year…”

Remus chewed on his lip as he realised what was being asked of him. He wasn’t quite sure what to say. He had seen Fenrir’s record and knew how long the Ministry had been tracking him before they finally captured him. He very much doubted that the Ministry would be amenable to letting him out in public again, and certainly not under the supervision of a teenager.

“Isn’t there anyone else who could supervise you?” he asked. “Right now, instead of next year?”

Fenrir shook his head. “Afraid not. Not got a lot of relatives and most of them don’t want anything to do with me.”

“Sorry.”

Fenrir snorted. “The feelings entirely mutual, I assure you. So, what do you think?”

“You want me to supervise you?” Remus questioned, hoping that despite everything he might have misunderstood.

“Isn’t that what we’ve just been talking about?”

Remus rubbed at his nose and couldn’t bring himself to look Fenrir in the eye.

“It’s a lot to think about,” Fenrir continued. “Especially since you didn’t know about the whole supervision thing at all. You’ll want time to think it over. And by this time next year, I know you’ll have come to the right decision.”

Remus took a deep breath and finally looked Fenrir in the eye.

This was the wolf that had bitten him, the one who had made him what he was and altered his life forever.

It had taken years for the Ministry to track him down and remove him from the rest of society.

He was the werewolf that everyone had heard of, the monster that attacked in the dark of the night, the one that parents threatened young misbehaving children with.

Remus shivered involuntarily, but did not flinch from the steely gaze he was facing.

Ever since the day Greyback had become his guardian, Remus had wondered why he had done so. The more he had thought about it, the more reluctant he had been to believe that Greyback had done what he had, merely to gain a few more freedoms within his prison. Now he knew that he was right.

Greyback didn’t want to be a guardian for Remus; he wanted Remus to be a guardian for him.

No, Remus realised almost immediately. Greyback didn’t want a guardian; he just wanted to get out of the camp. Remus had no doubt that the man sitting across from him would vanish into the morning mist as soon as he had won his freedom, leaving Remus to face the consequences for failing to keep him under control.

“I don’t need time to think it over,” Remus finally said, his voice strong and clear.

Fenrir’s smile widened and the fangs flashed again. “Knew you’d do the right thing!” he exclaimed.

“I won’t be your supervisor,” Remus interrupted. “Even if I thought the Ministry would ever let you out.”

“What?” Fenrir spluttered. “You’ve forgotten all I’ve done for you so soon?”

Remus could see that he was getting angry and he hoped that the guards were really in hearing distance. He hadn’t seen them when he’d entered the room, but he knew that didn’t necessarily mean anything. “I’ve not forgotten,” he replied.

“You’d be dead now, if it weren’t for me!” Fenrir shouted. “You owe me this!”

“I don’t owe you anything,” Remus replied, his own voice rising with suppressed anger.

“I’m your guardian!”

“I’m of age now,” Remus reminded him. “That means I no longer need you.”

“You owe me!” Fenrir repeated. “I gave you your freedom, you owe me the same.”

Remus stood up and slammed his fist down on the table. “I owe you nothing!” he yelled. “You were one who bit me! You made me what I am and ruined my life, and now you dare to say that I owe you. You only became my guardian so that you could ask this of me, didn’t you?”

“I don’t deny it,” Fenrir replied coldly. “I would advise you to strongly reconsider your decision.”

“I’ll never be your supervisor,” he hissed. “You’re right where you should be, and I hope you rot in here. I only wish they’d executed you when they caught you, instead of just locking you up.”

For a moment, Remus thought that Fenrir was going to leap across the table and attack him. Then, to his complete surprise, Fenrir leaned back in his seat and laughed loudly.

“What’s so funny?” Remus asked, disconcerted by the response.

Fenrir shook his head and stopped his laughter. “You say I made you what you are, and what a job I did, too. Even shut away in this prison my influence on you is evident to see. You’re as cold and unfeeling as I am. What a team we would have made had I taken you the night I bit you!”

“I’m not cold and unfeeling,” Remus argued. “I’m nothing like you.”

“Oh, but you are,” Fenrir replied, leaning across the table, this time deliberately displaying the pointed fangs. “You want to know why they didn’t kill me? It’s because I’ve got several pureblood connections still out there. It’s always handy to have friends in high places. They couldn’t get me my freedom, but those connections are what kept me alive. I hear you’re friends with the young Black heir…”

“I’m not friends with Sirius for what he can do for me!”

“Maybe you should be. There may come a time when being friends with a pureblood is the only thing that stands between you and the executioner’s axe.”

“I’d never use Sirius like that.”

Fenrir gave him a hard look. “You don’t know what you are capable of until the time comes. You’re more like me than you realise. Anyone else would be grateful for what I’ve done for them, eager to return the favour and repay the debt, but not you. You owe me a life debt, and don’t you forget it.”

“Your life isn’t in danger,” Remus pointed out. “How about you look me up again when it is?”

Fenrir shook his head. “Looking at you, I’d say that your life will be the one in danger before mine is.”

“I think I’m done here,” Remus said, standing up and backing towards the door.

Fenrir shrugged. “You’re more like me than you know. It’s only a matter of time before you realise it.”

Remus shook his head and opened the door. He wouldn’t be visiting Greyback again, and he sincerely hoped that he never heard from him again at all.

“That was quick,” Sirius commented when Remus returned to the waiting area.

“Let’s get out of here,” Remus said, hurrying towards the door.

“So, what did he want to see you about?” Sirius asked after they had arrived back at Remus’s house.

Remus just shook his head.

“Are you okay?” Sirius asked as he pulled Remus down beside him on the sofa.

“Do you think I’m cold and unfeeling?” Remus asked quietly.

“What? No! Of course not.” Sirius put his arm around Remus and was pleased that he didn’t try to pull away. “Did he say that to you?”

Remus nodded. “I don’t want to be like him,” he whispered.

Sirius hugged him close. “You’ll never be like him. I know it.”

Remus turned to face him, and the next thing that Sirius knew Remus was pushing him down onto the sofa, straddling him and tugging his robes open.

“I’m not cold and unfeeling,” Remus insisted, even though Sirius had never said he was. “I’m not!”

“I know you’re not,” Sirius replied as he pulled Remus down for a kiss.

Remus pulled back almost immediately. “Sirius, do you have any werewolves in your ancestry?” he asked.

Sirius frowned up at him. “No. Why do you ask?”

Remus shook his head and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh, come here you daft sod,” Sirius chided, pulling Remus back down to him once more.

Sirius wasn’t sure what had happened in the meeting with Fenrir Greyback, but cold and unfeeling were the last things he believed Remus to be, and as he reached his hands inside Remus’s robes he set out to prove it the only way he knew how.