The Chocolate Remedy

Shame

By Kytti Finnegan

"Shame, shame, shame,

We never thought we'd get so troubled,

We could never think that much,

It should never get this bad...

Funny in a certain light, how we all look the same,

And there's no one in life you can ever remember ever stood for you..."

-- "Shame" by Matchbox 20

To say that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were kind of friends would be like saying that Lucius Malfoy was a bit of a git, making it the biggest understatement of a century. They were the best friends that anyone could ever hope for.

And to say that the Black family was shameful would be like saying that werewolves turned into cuddly puppy dogs once a month. Basically, that would be the largest understatement of the millennium. The Black family had everything from alcoholism to abuse in their household.

~*~

It was the Marauders' sixth year at Hogwarts and the school was filled with happy chattering. It was the end of the winter holidays and students were all returning to their second home.

James Potter, Quidditch star extraordinaire; Lily Evans, Gryffindor Prefect and ideal student; Peter Pettigrew, our favorite rat; and Remus Lupin, Gryffindor's werewolf bookworm, were all sitting in the nearly deserted library. Lily and Remus were adding the last touches on their homework, like any good student would. James and Peter, on the other hand, were making silly comments about the names in various textbooks.

"Look here, James," said Peter as he started laughing, "look at this one: Newt Salamander." Lily and Remus shook their heads.

Remus sighed as he said, "It's Scamander, Peter. I mean really, we had that book in our first year."

"We did?" James asked. "I don't remember ever reading it."

"That's because you didn't, you prat. Remember, Sirius fed both his and your copy to a, ahem, werewolf in our second month of school because he needed an excuse not to read it."

James laughed and said, "Oh right, I remember that! Didn't you, ahem, that werewolf complain that they tasted funny?"

Remus growled, playfully, "Yes, as a matter of fact, that werewolf did say that those books tasted funny. And, speaking of the devil, where is Sirius?"

"Hmmm, dunno," said Peter.

James added, "Getting in trouble, most likely." Lily chuckled and finally spoke.

"He's not back yet. I heard Severus mention that he wasn't on the train from King's Cross."

"Hmmm, that's odd, he should've--wait, what do you mean Severus said? I wish you would stay away from him, Lily..."

Remus mentally blocked out James' ranting. He thought about his missing friend, his missing best friend. Sirius always seemed to be late whenever he came back to Hogwarts from his house. Remus knew that if Sirius had a choice, he would never even go to the Black Estate. Instead, he would stay with James, or anybody else for that matter.

Remus' thoughts were pulled back to reality as James yelled halfway across the library, "Hey! Andromeda!"

Andromeda Black spun around and smiled. Since she was nothing like any of the other Blacks, except maybe Sirius, she was well liked by almost everyone. She smiled at everyone as she greeted them all in turn, "James, Peter, Lily, Remus, what can I do for you?"

"Have you seen Sirius around lately?" James asked. Andromeda's smile died on her face.

"No, I haven't. Sorry." She spoke briskly and then turned and walked away. With a concerned look on his face, Remus got up and ran after her.

Remus didn't catch up until four hallways and three staircases later. They were in a remote, out of the way part of the castle.

"Andromeda, wait! Please!" Remus said, panting. She stopped to let Remus catch up. Remus continued as they started walking again, this time slower. "Is he alright, Andromeda? Is Sirius okay? I know your family's business is none of my concern, but Sirius is."

"Remus," Andromeda began, slowly, "you're right about one thing: our family's business is not yours. But, since Sirius is your best friend, I'll tell you that no, he probably is not all right. He will be back sometime tonight, though. Aunt Gemini won't let him be late coming back to school." She paused and smiled gently, "I'm not trying to be mean, Remus; it's just none of your business, so don't bug him about it, please."

With that, Andromeda jogged up the next staircase, leaving Remus alone with his thoughts.

~*~

Four hours later, Remus was once again alone with his thoughts, this time in the deserted common room. He was staring moodily into the fireplace. His wolf-heightened senses heard soft footfalls outside of the Gryffindor common room. The portrait swung open and in walked the object of Remus' concerns: Sirius. Remus shot out of his seat, dashing over to his friend.

"Where have you been?" Remus scolded harshly. The young werewolf continued, softer, "I was so worried, Sirius." He stopped short, though, as he took in Sirius' appearance. His friend often looked drawn and tired whenever he came back from the holidays. This time, though, the animagi looked like he hadn't slept at all in the past week and a half and he was completely silent, which meant something was very wrong.

Remus sighed and pulled his silent friend over to the couch in front of the fire. As Sirius stepped into the firelight, the werewolf gasped. Sirius had black and blue bruises all along his jaw and across his left cheek, a split lip, and his robes and the clothes under them were wrinkled and disheveled.

"Oh, God," Remus whispered softly. Sirius bent his head in shame, and spoke for the first time, since his return.

"I was hoping everyone would be asleep. I'm sorry, Moony. I didn't mean for you to worry about me," Sirius whispered. Underneath the bruises, Remus could see that he was blushing from both embarrassment and disgrace. The amber-eyed boy sat down on the couch and beckoned his anxious friend over next to him. Sirius slowly walked over and sat down. His werewolf friend saw him visibly flinch and clutch at his left side.

"Padfoot, are you all right? Do want me to..." Remus trailed off when he realized that his best friend was crying and shaking his head.

"No, Moony, I'm not all right. I'm just so tired... just so tired of it all." Remus shifted over so that he could wrap his arms protectively around Sirius. Remus made soft, soothing noises and eventually Sirius relaxed and stopped crying.

"Padfoot? D'you want me to cast a healing charm, or actually..." Remus trailed off and didn't wait for his reply as he reached into the backpack that lay near his feet. Remus pulled out a jar and Sirius gave him a questioning look.

Remus smiled and said, "It's something that Professor Dumbledore gave me to help with the pain, you know, last week."

Sirius nodded said quietly, "The full moon. You were okay, right, Moony?" Remus smiled at the concern in his friend's voice and nodded.

"Yeah, it went fine. Anyway, it really works well. It heals bruises, cuts and even any broken bones you have. So I'm pretty sure that it'll help your, er... injuries." Sirius once again dipped his head in embarrassment.

He mumbled, "What do you want me to do, Moony?"

Remus shifted uncomfortably and stuttered out, "Well, er... you kind of have to... er... well... um, you kind of need to... er... take your... er... robes and... um, your shirt... er... off." By this point, Remus was beet red and Sirius was actually smiling a bit. Sirius shook his head ruefully and slipped his robe off, tossing it onto a near by chair. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a too-tight gray t-shirt. Sirius winced as he slipped his shirt off his head.

Remus gasped, and again whispered, "Oh, God," Sirius shifted nervously, uncomfortably. Remus shook his head and opened the jar. He scooped out a generous amount of the pasty, white cream. Sirius flinched as Remus began to message the cream onto his chest and arms, all of which were bruised and even cut in places. Sirius felt Remus moving and massaging towards his left side and braced himself for the pain. Even so, Sirius gasped and almost fainted. Remus caught him and held him till he regained his composure, what little he had left.

Remus finished applying the ointment and sat back against the sofa. Sirius was slowly relaxing and healing, as the potion did its job, healing bruises and cuts and even his broken ribs. Remus felt Sirius lean his head against his shoulder.

"Padfoot?"

"Yeah, Moony?"

"Andromeda told me not to ask what happened, but if you want to tell me, I'll listen. You know that you can tell me anything." Remus felt the troubled boy nod. A few minutes later, Remus was surprised when Sirius began to speak. He started slowly, haltingly, pausing often to think.

"When I went back to the estate, I... got into a fight with my father," Sirius winced at the memory of it but continued anyway. "And then right before I left, we had another fight... I know that you've known for a while, Moony, that my father..." Sirius trailed off, blushing again in shame.

"Hurts you," Remus finished. Sirius nodded sadly. Remus thought for a moment and then smiled.

"I know what'll cheer you up!" Sirius slowly grinned up at his friend, cocking an eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, two things actually. First: CHOCOLATE!" Sirius laughed. Remus was undeniably a chocoholic, and it was his theory in life that enough chocolate will cure anything; from hunger to the common cold to world conflicts. Remus grinned and handed Sirius a thick chunk of Honeyduke's dark chocolate, Sirius' personal favorite.

After a good deal of chocolate, Remus became a little more serious as he said, "Padfoot, you know that this is the last holiday you ever have to spend with them, since you turn 17 this coming January," Sirius nodded; he knew. "Just think, this Easter, you and Peter and I get to spend it with James and his parents. You'll never have to get hurt like this ever again. I promise, Padfoot."

"Thanks, Moony, for everything," Sirius whispered. Remus smiled.

"Anytime, Padfoot," he replied. Remus slipped a hand around Sirius' waist and pulled him closer. Sirius in turn wrapped an arm around Remus' waist and leaned into him. Remus was surprised by his friend's closeness. Blue and amber eyes locked and Remus saw that the pain and suffering in his friend's eyes had been replaced by his usual look of easy-going mischievousness. Eyes sparkling, Sirius grinned.

"Hey, Moony?"

"Yes, Padfoot?"

"Have you ever kissed a boy before?"

"What?" Remus yelped, his voice several octaves higher than normal. That was not what he had expected to hear from his best friend.

Sirius smiled and asked again, "Have you ever kissed a boy before, Moony?" Remus quite confused at to where this was going shook his head, not trusting his voice. Sirius slowly lifted his head so that his lips were almost touching Remus'.

The blue-eyed boy whispered, "Wanna give it a go?"

Remus made a sound that suspiciously sounded like, "Meep!"

"I'll take that as a yes." Sirius leisurely pressed his lips against Remus', kissing his friend's soft, bow-like mouth, flicking his tongue across Remus' lips, seeking entrance. Remus eventually opened his mouth to his friend's exploring tongue. After much exploring, from both parties, Sirius finally broke the kiss. Both boys were panting a bit.

Sirius said slowly, "So? Would you ever kiss a boy again?" The werewolf knew that his friend didn't mean "a boy", he meant "me". Remus smiled and gave Sirius his reply: a kiss.

So what if the Black family was shameful and disgraceful? That did not, no, it definitely did not affect Sirius Black that night. In Remus' humble opinion, Sirius was still one hell of a kisser.

Sirius, on the other hand, decided that yes, chocolate really does cure anything.