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Remus strolled into the forest, enjoying the crisp spring day. He was looking forward to his hike. The sun was mild, the breeze light, and the wildlife cheerful. Remus practically skipped along the overgrown path, whistling snatches of melodies as they flitted through his head.
It seemed like there was no end to the gorgeous scenery, but then he spotted something odd around a bend in the trail.
It was a large, ancient house with a crumbling facade and ivy-clad walls. He wondered how long it had been left and forgotten out here.
He was pretty confident it was uninhabited, but he pulled his wand out as he crept up to the door, which opened easily, without even a squeak from the hinges.
He entered and walked slowly down the hall, wary of any magical beings that may have moved in, but nothing jumped out at him. Although, the plaques of old house-elf heads were creepy, and their eyes looked like they were following him.
He passed by an open door and stopped, astonished to see a dark-haired man and a redheaded woman sleeping in a parlor on a couch and a wingback chair, respectively.
"Hello?" Remus said, stepping into the room. Neither of them stirred. He repeated himself, a little louder, but there was still not so much as a twitch from either. Cautiously, he reached out and felt the wrist of the woman in the chair. It was cool, but he felt a pulse slowly beating.
They were alive, but what was wrong with them? A potion? A curse?
Remus turned, determined to search the rest of the house for clues—and anyone else who might've been sleeping.
He found a house-elf in the kitchen, slumped on the floor, and a boy in the library, asleep on a transfiguration book.
He headed upstairs. There were numerous rooms, and by the time he got to the last one, he didn't expect to find anyone else but discovered it to be very much occupied.
A young man lay on the bed, fully dressed and on top of the covers, as if he'd fallen asleep in the middle of his day, just like the others. Dark, curly hair reached his shoulders, and Remus was sure his face was made for laughter and smiles. He was beautiful. Remus walked toward the bed slowly, feeling enchanted himself.
There was a chair next to the bed, and he sat in it, intending to wrack his brain for any curse that would plunge an entire house into sleep, but the moment he sat in the chair, he heard a soft ticking noise commence.
It seemed to be coming from a cluttered writing desk in the corner of the room, but as soon as Remus stood up, it stopped. He frowned and sat back down, and the ticking began again. He thought for a second, and then tried standing while keeping one hand on the chair.
The ticking didn't stop. So, he only needed to be touching the chair. Remus dragged it over to the writing desk with him. He searched the desk, pushing aside drafts of letters and broken quills, and at last found the source of the mysterious ticking noise: a silver filigree pocket-watch.
He turned it over and found an inscription on the back:
Sirius Orion Black
The man on the bed must be Sirius, Remus decided, and the watch must be connected somehow, but was it furthering the effects of the curse or was it a way to undo it?
With a regretful look at Sirius, Remus set the watch down on the desk and left.
He needed to find an answer.
Two weeks later, he found it.
It was in an old tome with a cracked spine and crumbling pages. Remus had to carefully cast preservation spells every time he turned the page to make sure the next didn't tear, but he had finally found the curse that Sirius was under.
Tempus Dormienti.
He stared at the page for a long time, going over the requirements.
Did he really want to do this?
Could he drop everything to go sit by some stranger's bed for three years, three months, three days, and three hours?
The curse had been a favorite of a Dark witch named Walburga some two hundred years ago, and the book was very specific as to how it must be broken. To free all those trapped by sleep, a vigil had to be kept by the cursed person's side until the allotted time was completed. If the vigil was stopped, the timepiece would reset.
That was it. It was almost deceptively simple, and Remus was sure there would be a catch, but his mind was already made up. It had been from the moment he saw Sirius' face.
The first week was weird.
It was very difficult to sleep in the chair, no matter how many cushioning charms he laid on it, and the ticking of the watch always seemed to get louder at night. He kept waking up from nightmares of falling off the chair and the pocket-watch resetting.
But everything was fine. He'd set up owl delivery for food, Wolfsbane, and books. There wasn't much else he needed.
By the end of the first month, he was having conversations with Sirius.
Not real conversations, obviously, but he kept leaving conscious pauses after his sentences as if Sirius might suddenly wake and respond.
And then, somewhere around the first year mark, he started having dreams.
At first, he couldn't tell who the other person was, but as they kept happening, Remus understood he was dreaming of Sirius. Or perhaps, Sirius was dreaming, and he was merely joining in. Neither of them ever spoke, but Remus didn't care. In the dreams, Sirius smiled, danced, and laughed. Remus wished every waking moment he could fall back asleep to watch him do it again.
It was the beginning of the second year when he realized he was in love with Sirius.
It sounded absolutely ridiculous, but he couldn't deny it any longer. He loved Sirius, yet Sirius had never spoken a single word to him.
The realization didn't change much. He still did all the same things, except now instead of staring out the window while he waited for the owls to bring more supplies, he spent a great deal more time staring at Sirius' face.
At some point, Remus lost track of time. He knew another month had passed when his Wolfsbane showed up, but he wasn't sure how much longer he had left.
Remus kept telling himself he'd check the next month, but he never did. He didn't want to know how much time was left, and truthfully, he was scared. He'd been sitting here for years, and he was afraid that when Sirius woke up, he'd want nothing to do with Remus.
Unfortunately, his wilful ignorance was broken one morning when the owl from the apothecary arrived, not with his Wolfsbane, but with a letter.
Mr. Lupin,
We regret to inform you that due to a potions catastrophe in our lab, we will be unable to provide your potion this month. We hope this is not an inconvenience.
Regards, Dreaht Apothecary.
Remus' heart beat furiously. He groaned, putting his head in his hands. For Sirius' safety, he'd have to leave. Time would reset. He'd have to start over. He looked regretfully at the top drawer of the writing desk and scooted the chair close enough so he could reach it. If he was going to have to leave, he wanted to know how close he'd come to freeing Sirius.
Slowly, he slid the drawer open, and retrieved the parchment he'd charmed to keep time.
It had been three years, three months, one day, and eighteen hours.
Remus stared at those numbers until a tear dripped down his nose and landed on the page. There was one day and nine hours left, but tonight was the full moon. He stared out the window and into the forest where he would roam tonight, wild and dangerous and out of his mind, and he cried.
The sun was much higher in the sky when he finally dried his cheeks and took a deep, shuddering breath.
He should just get up now. There was no point in putting it off, and he could use the time to get far away from this house, to be sure Sirius would be safe.
Remus looked at the man before him, lying peacefully, and gripped the arms of the chair. He stood, but he couldn't bring himself to release his hands.
He turned his head to the window, unable to look at Sirius while he tried to let go. A few deep breaths, he told himself, and then he'd do it.
Something moved in the forest below, and immediately, Remus took the distraction, forgetting his resolve to leave, and watched the spaces between the trees. For a few seconds he thought he'd imagined it, but then he saw a man there, walking up the same path he had thought to explore three years ago.
Remus couldn't believe his luck.
"Hey!" he yelled out the window. The man, having just reached where the path opened to the house, jumped in surprise.
"Up here!" Remus called again, and the man squinted at him in confusion. "Help!"
The man moved immediately, scurrying up to the house. Remus waited anxiously as footsteps drew nearer; up the stairs, down the hall, and finally, through the door, revealing a pudgy, nervous-looking man holding his wand.
"D-did you k-kill these people?" the man squeaked, his hand shaking.
"No!" Remus cried, shocked. "They're not dead; they're just sleeping."
"Oh," the man said. "Alright. Um, you needed help with something?"
Remus came back to himself the next morning with a tired groan and knew that his night in the forest had not been particularly pleasant. He really didn't want to move, but when he finally cracked his eyes open and saw that the sun was nearly at its zenith, he sprang to his feet.
He couldn't be sure exactly what time it was, but Sirius would definitely be awake soon.
It took Remus several hours to get back to the house as he'd roamed pretty far. It was late afternoon by the time he saw it again. He suddenly felt nervous. What was he going to say? What if Sirius hated him? Or, even worse, what if Peter had left the chair and he had to start all over?
He didn't have to worry about the last question for very long, though, because as he approached he heard several voices coming from the open windows, and then the sound of sweet laughter he'd only heard in his dreams before. Remus nearly collapsed in relief, but he forced his weary legs onward, until he was at the door.
His knock brought a lapse in the talk and laughter, and when the door opened, he was greeted by the man who'd been asleep on the couch in the parlor.
"Hello," Remus said, politely. "I'm Remus."
The man just looked at him for a few seconds, blinking at him behind his glasses.
"You don't happen to know anything about de-doxying curtains, do you?" the man asked. "Or boggarts? We've got an infestation in the attic, turns out."
Remus smiled. "Yeah, I can handle those."
"Oh, excellent." The man grinned and stuck his hand out. "I'm James, nice to meet you."
Remus shook his hand, feeling rather bemused.
"Come on in, then," said James, opening the door wider. "I'll introduce you to the rest."
Remus followed him, his heart beating quickly. He'd imagined this moment for so long, and although it wouldn't be happening upstairs by Sirius' bed, his excitement was just as great.
"I've found someone to help us with our doxy problem!" James announced, just before they entered the parlor.
Remus was aware that there were other people in the room, but he really only had eyes for Sirius, who was sitting next to Peter on the sofa. He vaguely heard James introducing him, and then introducing his wife, Lily, and Sirius' brother, Regulus, and then —
"Sirius, and his fiance, Peter."
"Fiance?" Remus asked, hardly able to keep the astonishment out of his voice.
"Well, of course," Sirius said, smiling at Peter. "He sat faithfully by my bed in order to free us all from the curse we were under. It is the only fitting reward."
Peter shot him a triumphant smirk, and Remus felt his mouth go dry.
"Do I know you?" Sirius asked him, head tilted curiously.
Remus nearly told him, but then he saw Sirius' arm slung across Peter's shoulders, and how close they were sitting, and the look of contentment on his face, and he shook his head.
Sirius was happy. He wouldn't get in the way of that.
James was very serious about cleaning the house, as Remus found out the next morning. He seemed to take it as a personal insult that so many magical beasts had taken up house while they were sleeping and approached the endeavour with all the seriousness of a knight on a crusade.
Sirius laughed and came up with excuses not to help, dragging Peter off with him. Regulus rolled his eyes and slunk off to hide himself in the library, and the house-elf, Kreacher, grumbled at everything they did either way, proclaiming everything 'a disgrace on the House of Black.'
So, only Lily and Remus joined James in his self-proclaimed quest, but after three attempts to be rid of the doxies, Remus finally threw up his hands and said they should probably just get new curtains.
"Did I hear you say we need to go shopping?" Sirius exclaimed, bursting into the room.
"We can get the doxies out," James said, stubbornly.
"Nonsense," Sirius said, waving a hand at him imperiously. "I hate them. Peter says Godric's Hollow has some lovely shops, and he can Apparate me there."
"Fine!" James grumbled. "But make sure you bring back a newspaper. I want to know if the Cannons have won since we've been asleep."
"Anything for you, James," Sirius said, fluttering his lashes dramatically. "Lily-flower? How about you?"
"Toothpaste," she said promptly. "James' breath stinks."
James looked offended. "So does yours!"
They both glared at each other, and then began insulting each other very creatively. Remus got the feeling this was normal for them.
"Do you want me to get you anything?" Sirius asked, looking at him intently.
Remus reveled in the sensation of having Sirius' eyes fully focused on him for a moment. He knew exactly what he wanted, but it wasn't something he could ask for. He started to shake his head, but then changed his mind.
"Yes," Remus said. "I'd like the first thread that unravels from your robe, and — and a potion vial."
"Those are very strange requests," Sirius said, looking very puzzled. "You're not trying to put me under some curse again?"
"No!" Remus cried. "Never!"
"Alright," Sirius shrugged. "Consider it done."
Then he was off, twirling out of the room gracefully in his bright robes. Remus watched him go, wishing it was he who was taking Sirius to Godric's Hollow.
They tackled the boggarts in the attic next, and by the time they were done, the sun was setting, and they were all very hungry.
When they entered the kitchen, Sirius and Peter were back, handing out the requested goods. James got his paper, Lily her toothpaste, Regulus a large book on Dark curses, and at last Sirius turned to Remus, digging in his pockets.
"Here you are," he said, depositing into Remus' hands a long blue thread the same color as his robes, and an empty glass vial. "What're you going to do with them?"
"Nothing," Remus said quietly, meeting Sirius' eyes. "Thank you."
Remus couldn't fall asleep that night, so he made his way downstairs to the kitchen. He sat at the table, taking the thread and the vial from his pocket, and absently tied the thread around the vial.
He hadn't really wanted Sirius to buy him anything; he'd just wanted something from him, which was why he'd asked for the thread. It had been impulsive, to ask for the vial, but Remus had been struck by the thought that it would be torture to stay and watch Sirius be with Peter, and he also couldn't make himself leave while he was still in love with Sirius.
But there was a way to remove the memories of loving Sirius, although now, holding the vial in his hands, he wasn't sure he could do it.
"What should I do?" Remus asked it, and then realized that it should probably know the whole story first. He started at the beginning.
"And that's how I fell in love with a sleeping man," he finally finished, some minutes later.
"Oh, good, I was worried I'd be stuck with Peter."
Remus jumped out of his chair in fright, turning to see Sirius standing in the doorway. How long had he been there?
"You… but…"
"Reg was suspicious of Peter, you know," Sirius said, moving closer, until he was nearly touching Remus. "And so was I, because I'd had these lovely dreams, and he looked nothing like the bewitching man that was in them with me, but you do."
He smiled beatifically, and Remus nearly lost his breath.
"Oh," Remus whispered. "You don't care that I'm a —"
"Werewolf? No, don't be silly. Besides, James and I are Animagi — we could have fun on a full moon!" Sirius declared.
Remus' mouth dropped open. "Are you serious?"
"Yup," Sirius said, grinning wickedly. "Now, have I convinced you? Because if not, I'll let Reg try one of his new curses on Peter — "
Remus growled. "Do not talk about Peter right now."
"Deal," Sirius said, and then he leant forward, closing that last remaining distance between them, and kissed him.