A/N: Sometimes all you need is the trust of a friend to help you through hard times. There isn’t really a plot; it is simply a moment in their lives, so you can end it anyway you want. ^_^

Written March 11, 2004

~ Soggy Summer Days ~

By Eizoku

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His lower lip was cut and bloody, his wet bangs stuck together in thin chunks as they hung in his unnaturally dull eyes. A few purple-gray marks could be seen on his pallid face, and his clothing hung loosely on his body, moisture dripping off of the hems. He opened his mouth a little, and tried to step forward on the doorstep.

“S...Sirius?”

Jolted to his senses, Sirius started forward and seized Remus by the shoulders, yanking him through the door.

“You fool,” Sirius scolded half-heartedly. “Get inside before you catch something. What happened?” he added as he shut the door on the wind and the rain that was coming down in sheets.

The two teenagers – though they were almost men – walked into Sirius’s living room, which consisted of a small couch, a makeshift coffee table, a fireplace, and a few odds and ends scattered about. Sirius switched on one of the lamps, and then he turned to examine Remus’s appearance, a frown marring his features. Remus still hadn’t answered his question.

“You stay here. I’ll go get you some dry clothes to wear,” Sirius said finally, and he walked down the hall to his room.

A few minutes later, when Sirius returned with an armful of clothing, Remus hadn’t moved. He was still staring at the empty fireplace.

“Remus?”

Remus tensed for a split second before his shoulders slumped, and he turned his head to look at Sirius.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “I was just thinking.” He absently licked his lower lip to clean away the blood, but that did nothing more than open the cut again.

Sirius set the bundle of clothing on the coffee table.

“What about?”

Remus didn’t answer.

Sirius sighed. “Well, there’re some clothes. They should fit, but they may be a little loose.”

Again, the smaller man was silent, but instead of just standing there, he took his muddy shoes off. When Remus began to peel his wet shirt over his head, Sirius politely turned away, knowing that if Remus had been in his right mind, he’d never change in someone else’s presence. Sirius figured he’d save Remus from the embarrassment afterwards and headed into the kitchen.

“I’m going to make some tea,” he told Remus as he left. “You can put your clothes in the washroom; I’ll wash them later.” He turned the dial on the thermostat a little higher on the way, knowing that Remus would be cold after being out in the rain, even though it was only late August.

A few minutes later, Remus walked into the kitchen clad in one of Sirius’s white undershirts – the only shirt Sirius had suspected would not be too loose for Remus’s likes, as Sirius wasn’t quite as skinny as the other male – and Sirius’s black jeans – which had been held tightly around Remus’s waist with the belt Sirius had intelligently picked up along with the other clothes. Remus had Sirius’s gray sweatshirt draped over on of his arms, in the process of folding it.

“Why aren’t you wearing that?” Sirius asked him.

Remus shrugged. “I’m not cold yet. Can I just leave it here for now?” he said, indicating the two-person kitchen table in the middle of the room.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” As Remus was setting the sweatshirt down, Sirius noticed some black cord and a metal tag wrapped around Remus’s left wrist. “What’s that?”

Remus’s eyes flickered up to his face, a slight crease in his forehead. “What’s what?” he asked quietly. He obviously wasn’t intent on speaking much that afternoon.

Sirius pointed. “That. What’s that for? You never wear jewelry.”

“Oh.” Remus was silent for a few seconds, gazing down at his wrist. He tentatively touched it with the fingers of his right hand. “It’s my...‘dog tag,’ in a manner of speaking. I should actually have it around my neck, so they can find it easier. But I hate having things around my neck, so I wrapped the cord around my wrist until I knew it wouldn’t come off.”

Sirius took Remus’s wrist and looked at the metal. “Remus J. Lupin, Lycanthrope (Werewolf),” he read. He released Remus’s arm and looked at his face. “You have to have an identification?” he asked, annoyed. “You shouldn’t have to do that sort of thing.”

Remus shrugged. “It’s something you get used to after a while.”

Sirius scowled. “Can’t you fight back or something?”

“No.”

“Bloody hell.” Then, remembering the state Remus had been in when he’d arrived, Sirius quickly set the tea down on the table along with two cups, and then said, “I’m going to see if I have any healing potions or something in the bathroom cabinet. Be right back.”

Remus looked as if he was going to say something, but he instead sighed and picked up the teapot as Sirius left the kitchen. By the time Sirius returned, Remus had poured tea for them both and had begun to gingerly drink his, as it stung his cut lip to drink anything.

“I couldn’t find any healing potions, but I found this cream stuff that helps with bruises.” Sirius held up a small jar of a pale white, gel- like substance. “So. I know you got punched in the eye and cheek—”

“How do *you* know I was punched?” Remus asked, frowning. “For all you know, I could have—”

“I’m not stupid, Remus. I’ve been in enough fights myself to recognize the outcomes of them. Now, if you don’t want to tell me what happened, then fine. I won’t pry. But I’m going to help you, whether you like it or not.” He moved his chair over next to Remus, setting it down with a bang, and sitting down in it sideways. Then he unscrewed the cap of the jar and scooped some of the cream onto two of his fingers.

Seizing the side of Remus’s head, and some hair as well, Sirius began to smear some of the cream over the already coloring areas of Remus’s face. The cream turned clear as it was spread over the skin.

Remus tried to pull away, but that only resulted in having his hair yanked. “Sirius, stop i—*ow*! Careful! That hurts, you know,” he snapped, as Sirius accidentally pressed too hard on a tender spot.

“Sorry, but if you want to not be covered in ugly bruises, then you need to let me do this.”

Remus frowned and sat still, allowing Sirius to cover the bruises. When Remus hissed in pain again and looked as if he was about to bite his lip, Sirius scolded him again.

“How do you expect your lip to heal if you keep biting it?”

Remus sulked.

“Don’t be a baby.” He sat back in his chair. “Alright, where else did ‘e get you?”

Remus tensed, and then snatched the jar from Sirius’s hand. “I can do it myself.”

Sirius narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean? Where else?”

Remus pulled up his shirt a little, and Sirius winced. “Merlin, what *happened*? Why won’t you tell me?” His voice sounded hurt. “Are you worried I’ll tell James or something?”

“Not just James. You’ll tell him, and then he’ll want to tell Dumbledore, and then *he’ll* want to know, and I don’t want to get any more involved than I already am.”

Sirius hesitated. “Why did you come to me?”

“You were closest,” Remus replied, rubbing the cream onto the sore areas of his front. When Sirius didn’t respond, he looked up with a trace of a smile on his lips. “Sirius, I was only joking. Well, only a little. You *were* the closest person around, but even if you weren’t, I’d probably still come here.”

“Why?” He didn’t sound quite as wounded this time.

Remus shrugged. “I dunno. I guess it’s because I knew you’d know what to do, and I would...I’d feel safe here.” He shrugged again. He hesitated, and then pulled the back of the shirt up and turned on the chair. He set the cream on the table, sliding it over to Sirius’s hand. “Could you...?”

Sirius took the jar and silently began to coat the marks on Remus’s back with the healing cream. In the silence, they could hear the distant sound of thunder. The sky outside was a mixture of bright white and dark gray, but the darkness was slowly taking over.

As a particularly strong gust of wind went by, Sirius was reminded of the fact that the kitchen window was slightly ajar when a few dishes were knocked over and he felt a spray of mist. Swearing quietly, he slammed the jar back down on the table and turned around to the window. He slid it shut, and then he cleaned up the mess. When he glanced back over at the table, Remus was looking at him with a slightly questioning expression.

“Oh...I’m done, by the way,” Sirius told him.

Remus nodded and let the shirt fall back down over his torso.

Another rumble of thunder came through the shut window, and Sirius grinned. “Thunderstorms. I love them so much.... I just hope the power doesn’t go out.”

Remus’s lips turned up a little as he sipped his tea. Then, as he brushed a lock of damp hair behind his right ear, Sirius saw something.

“What’s that on your neck?” he asked sharply, striding forward.

Remus jumped and stared at Sirius in confusion, as well as a bit of fright. “What?” He uncertainly reached back and ran his fingers along the side of his neck, and he jerked his hand away when it came in contact with something.

Sirius tilted Remus’s head to the left, and examined the strange object that was lodged in his friend’s neck.

“What the hell...?”

The blackish metal object appeared to be about an inch long, and only a little thinner than the width of a quill tip.

“Hang on, I’m going to try to get it out,” Sirius warned him. Sirius returned from the bathroom with a pair of tweezers and a thin knife. As Sirius began to try pulling the object out of Remus’s neck, Remus turned a pale gray color, and moaned unhappily.

“I don’t feel too well,” he whimpered, putting a hand to his stomach.

“Try to hold it in until I get this out, will you? I really hope this wasn’t poisoned...or bugged, come to think of it.”

Remus grunted half-heartedly and dropped his forehead onto Sirius’s shoulder.

Glancing quickly down at the top of Remus’s head – it was all Sirius could see at the moment – Sirius took the tweezers and pressed them against the area where the tip of the metal was under the skin, and then he took the knife and cut the thin layer of skin, shoving the metal out of its little created pocket of bloody skin.

Remus cried out and pulled away from Sirius, his eyes watering with pain. “You cut me!” He was about to put his hand on the cut, but Sirius grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t touch it yet. I want to get it cleaned first. And then I’ll heal it magically. You’ll be fine in a second.”

Remus slumped in his chair, his eyes following Sirius as he wet a paper towel and began dabbing at the cut. When the cut was no longer bleeding quite as much, he tapped it lightly with his wand, and the skin closed, leaving no mark. Remus shuddered at the magic working on him, and he seized the sweatshirt from the table.

“I don’t feel well,” he said, his voice muffled as he pulled the gray sweatshirt over his head and then down by his hips. “Can I go lie down somewhere?”

“Sure,” Sirius replied, picking up the strange metal rod that had been the cause of so much trouble. “There’s the couch, or my bed, though you may have to clear it off a bit.”

“Thanks.” Remus stood up, but a second later he was on the floor. His legs had suddenly collapsed underneath him. He grasped the table in surprise.

“Remus!” Sirius exclaimed, dropping the metal into a cup saucer on the table.

Remus looked up at Sirius. “Well. That was fun,” he said sarcastically, and pulled himself back up into an almost-standing position, leaning heavily on the table. His legs didn’t look as if they were helping much; they seemed slightly limp, and his feet were sliding a little as he leaned there.

Sirius hurriedly helped him stand. “What happened?”

“Er, I think...well, I was running a bit to get here – I couldn’t Disapperate while I was so unraveled – and I think all of the sudden exercise has put my legs in shock.” He offered Sirius a half-smile.

Sirius sighed and asked, “Where were you planning on lying down?”

“Couch. Can’t make it down the hall, I don’t think.”

“Alright.” The two of them stumbled out into the living room. The storm seemed even louder from there. As Sirius helped Remus down onto the couch, there was a loud crack, followed by a sizzling sound, and the lamps went out. “Dammit!” Sirius swore, and accidentally bashed his shin on the coffee table. “Lumos.” He turned toward the empty fireplace and started a small, enchanted fire in the grate; just enough to see around the room, but not too large that it would get stiflingly warm in the room. After all, it was August.

Remus sighed. “Lovely day, isn’t it?”

Sirius groaned and sat down heavily on the couch, causing Remus to almost get squished. Remus shifted out of the way so there was enough room.

“I guess you can stay the night, if you want,” Sirius muttered. “I won’t make you go back out into that storm.”

Remus raised his eyebrows. Had Sirius completely forgotten that Remus was able to Floo to his house? Oh, well. If he had an invitation, he certainly wasn’t going to ignore it.

“Thanks.” He paused. “Did you figure out what that thing was in my neck?”

Sirius sat up straighter. “No,” he replied, standing up. “I had to half-carry you in here, remember?” His words held a hint of amusement in them, and not the annoyance Remus had expected to hear. “I’ll go get it, though. Maybe you can help me figure it out.” He walked out of the room, and a moment later he was back with the small rod in his fingers. “I can’t believe you didn’t even notice it getting shoved into your neck,” he added slightly condescendingly, sitting down beside Remus again.

Remus looked down at his hands. “I sort of blocked everything out after a few minutes, Sirius. I’m not very surprised I don’t remember that one moment.”

Sirius looked uneasy. “Erm, they didn’t do anything...er, *scarring* to you, did they?” He hoped Remus caught his meaning, because he didn’t think he’d want to expand that statement.

Remus looked startled for a second, staring at Sirius with an unreadable expression. Then, to Sirius’s relief, he shook his head slowly. “No, they didn’t do anything like that, Siri.”

He heard Sirius release a loud and rather shaky breath of air. “That’s good. I was a little worried, what with the way you’ve been acting. So....”

Remus held his hand out for the small metal rod, and Sirius dropped it into his hand. Sirius once again lit the end of his wand for more light, and they examined it.

“It looks just like some kind of part of a weapon,” Sirius said. “Look at the end, there. See how it looks like it was broken off of something?”

“Well...they did have some strange weapons,” Remus replied softly, in a faraway voice. Sirius felt him shiver slightly and draw his legs up onto the couch.

“Maybe...maybe if you told me what happened, it’d take the sting away...?” Sirius ventured. “I swear I won’t tell...anyone...about it.”

Remus was silent for a long while. “I...I don’t really know who they were,” he began finally, setting the metal down on the coffee table and slouching back against the couch at a slight angle so he could have his legs folded to the side of him. There was a hole in the bottom of one of his socks.

“I know they were wizards, though.... I was walking through town...it hadn’t begun raining at that time, and I wanted some fresh air.... When it started to rain, I decided to head back, and I was walking close underneath the awnings to keep out of the downpour. The...the next thing I knew, I’d been grabbed by the arm and swung completely around into one of those small alley spaces between two buildings.”

He stopped talking suddenly, and Sirius risked a glance down at Remus’s face in the semi-darkness. Remus’s expression was completely blank, as if he didn’t want Sirius to know how he was feeling. Which was probably the case, Sirius realized unhappily, and closed his eyes.

“I can’t remember much of what happened next,” Remus continued abruptly, and Sirius opened his eyes. “They knew who I was...or at least, they knew *what* I was. I couldn’t see them properly since the rain and wind was everywhere. I got over my confusion rather quickly though, when I felt the first...the first blow. It was then that I knew I was in deep trouble, and I did exactly what I’m always telling you guys *not* to do. I panicked.

“I didn’t even think of using my wand. All I can really remember...is that after a while, the wolf part of me got scared, since I wasn’t fighting back, and so it sort of took over.” Remus swallowed. “I slammed one of them up against a wall...and another of them tried to get at me from behind, but I...I don’t really know, but I think I almost bit him. My human consciousness woke up at that point, and I kicked him aside instead, and then I bolted.

“I wasn’t actually aware of where I was going until I was about a block away from here. I slowed down a bit to catch my breath, but it didn’t help much, as it was pouring on me. I just barely made it up your steps.”

They were silent for a time, and Remus shifted on the couch to be more comfortable.

“You won’t tell?” he suddenly whispered.

Sirius sighed. “No; I promised. I don’t break my promises to you, Moony.”

“Only that once....”

Sirius frowned. “That was a long time ago, Remus. I was foolish boy.”

Remus couldn’t keep the small smile from his lips. “It wasn’t that long ago, you know.”

The power didn’t return as night came, and after a quick supper of cold chicken sandwiches (Sirius had to put a cooling charm on the refrigerator in order to keep his food from going bad), Remus lay down on the couch to sleep away his exhaustion, while Sirius stayed up for a time finishing the papers he needed in work the next day. Around eleven, he checked on Remus before heading to bed himself. Remus was fast asleep with the hood of Sirius’s sweatshirt drawn over his head. His right arm was hanging off of the edge of the couch, while his left was draped across his stomach. Sirius carefully lifted Remus’s right arm back onto the couch, and then he left to go to bed.

In the morning when Sirius entered the living room, he found the couch empty, and Remus’s shoes were gone. However, Remus’s damp clothes were still lying on the washer in the washroom from the previous night. Grumbling, Sirius put them in the washer and turned it on. It looked as if he would have to trade clothes with Remus when he next saw the other man.

Walking into the kitchen, he discovered that the dishes that he’d left undone had been washed, dried and put away. A small note lay on the table, with a single sickle on top. Sirius picked the note up and absently read it as he opened the fridge to get the milk out for cereal.

‘I was starving, so I finished off the milk and the last two rolls. I’m sorry for troubling you last night. I am in your debt.

Remus’.

Sirius shut the fridge without taking anything out and leaned heavily on the counter as he glanced out of the window at the white-blue sky.

“He might’ve died last night if he hadn’t come to me, and all he can think of is being a *bother*,” Sirius muttered angrily. “And he pays for the food he was welcome to eat....” He pocketed the sickle and then wrote a second note on a fresh scrap of parchment:

‘I don’t want you in my debt. Take this back, because you are my brother, and yesterday was an example of what I’m here for.

Sirius’.

He placed the note into the same pocket as the sickle, intending on sending them when he got a chance to borrow a post owl.

The moment he stepped into his office on the second level of the Ministry of Magic, Sirius found himself quite sick of being so serious. He’d been serious most of the afternoon previous, and all throughout the night, as well as that morning. Sirius was just not made to be mature for lengthy periods of time. He warmly greeted Fabian Prewett as he headed over to get a cup of strong coffee.

“’Morning, Fabian! You look a wreck,” he grinned. “Did you not have a good night?”

Fabian smiled slightly as he stirred the cream into his steaming cup. “Ah, I was out on call. Actually, it wasn’t too far from your place. A group of blokes were caught near Stevensen’s, and half of them were pretty banged up. And they had cooked up some wild story about being attacked by a werewolf.” Fabian rolled his eyes and snorted. “I asked one if he’d checked the calendar recently, and he lost his temper. We had to place charmed restraints on them to make them cooperate with us, but they refused to listen.”

Sirius’s grin had begun to fade during Fabian’s tale, and he quickly forced a laugh. “They gave you that much trouble, eh?” he asked. Fabian nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. “So...what kind of injuries did they have?”

Fabian raised his eyebrows. “I’m surprised you’re even interested. But then again, you *are* close friends with Lupin – hey! I wonder what he’d think of it if I told him? He’d probably get a laugh out of it—”

“No!” Sirius exclaimed before he could help it. “No, I don’t think that’d be a good idea,” he amended in a softer tone. “Remus likes to separate himself from others of his kind, so he doesn’t especially enjoy hearing about the violent habits of others.”

“So you think it may have actually been a werewolf?” Fabian asked curiously.

“I didn’t say that. It was probably just some...some fight that they didn’t’ want to be found out about.”

Fabian shrugged. “Well, it’s over and done with, so there’s not much else I can do about it anyway. Oh,” he said suddenly, looking more sharply at Sirius, and then he lowered his voice a bit. “We’re supposed to meet at Potter’s around lunchtime to get briefed about the new situation. Potter put me in charge of letting you know.”

Sirius nodded. “Thanks.”

When Sirius Disapperated from outside of the building once he was dismissed for his lunch break, he Apperated across the street from James’s house, which used to belong to the late Mr. and Mrs. Potter. He walked swiftly across the street and rang the bell. Not a minute later, Alastor Moody opened the door, frowning piercingly at him.

“They’re in the kitchen,” he said gruffly, and shut the door behind Sirius.

Ten minutes after Sirius had arrived, Remus walked into the kitchen alongside Moody, still clad in his borrowed clothing, the sweatshirt tied around his waist. He hesitated for a second before taking a seat on the stool next to Sirius. Smiling slightly, Sirius took the note and sickle from his pocket and placed it down in front of him.

Remus looked questioningly down at the folded piece of parchment before flipping it open to reveal the sickle and message. His head snapped up to look at Sirius, but Sirius was speaking animatedly with James and did not see the pleased yet sad expression on Remus’s face. Remus tucked the note and sickle into his pocket.

James suddenly looked up. “Hey, Remus.” Then he frowned in puzzlement. “Why’re you wearing Sirius’s clothes?”

As Remus tensed, Sirius laughed easily and replied, “Ran into him in that storm, and I let him borrow those since his were soaked. Which reminds me: Rem, your stuff is all cleaned, so you can get it whenever.”

Remus nodded and smiled at him, silently thanking Sirius for keeping his promise.

~THE END~