If In The Future

July 6

When I woke up today, the first thing I realized was that bright sunlight was streaming through the window. The next thing I realized was that it was two o'clock in the afternoon. The third thing I realized was that there were two men sitting side by side on the bedroom floor with identical grins. One was short and fair-skinned, with short hair and a broad face. The other was tall and dark-skinned, gracefully thin and starting to go gray.

"Hello," said the tall and dark-skinned one. "You must be Remus."

"You must be Lyrio," I said.

"None other."

"So," said Polaris, smiling broadly. He looked over at Sirius (who was still asleep), then back at me, raising a mischievous eyebrow. I raised mine in return. Lyrio laughed.

"I like him already," he said to Polaris. "Now, we'd better get Sirius up."

Polaris walked over to Sirius's side of the bed and shook him gently. "Come on, kid, wake up. You're got company."

Sirius muttered a few choice obscenities and pulled the pillow over his head. I pulled it back off. "Come on, love, wake up."

Sirius opened his eyes and gasped. "Polaris!" He threw his arms around his brother and grasped him tightly. It was almost a minute before he noticed the other guest. "Lyrio! Oh my God! I can't believe this!"

"Neither can I," said Lyrio softly. "Now, I suppose we'd better explain what we're doing here three days early."

"I was wondering about that," I said.

"Dumbledore Apparated into our apartment last night and told us he's going to need the two of you at Hogwarts on the ninth," he said. "He mentioned that you'd be at home today, so we decided we couldn't wait much longer to see you."

"He also told us you're...together," said Polaris, a little shyly.

"Congratulations," said Lyrio. "Remus, you're a very lucky man."

"I know," I said, smiling at Sirius, who smiled back.

"Lyrio's boyfriend is moving in next month," said Polaris. "That's also when I'm moving out."

"Look, I told you you didn't need to leave..."

"I know, but you're going to want to be alone with him. Besides, I need a change of pace. I just found out my transfer request at work got accepted this morning," he said to Sirius. "I'm going to be working at the British Wizarding Embassy in France."

"Hey, congratulations!" exclaimed Sirius. "I'm jealous...France is such a beautiful country."

"It is," I said, remembering when I was young and used to visit my father's family there during the holidays.

"I've got an idea," said Lyrio. "How about you two get out of bed and get dressed while we make you lunch."

Lunch was fantastic...very light and fluffy omlettes and pumpkin juice. After we ate I showed them around the house a bit and then we sat down in the parlor to catch up on everything that had been happening.

Lyrio's lover is named Oberon Winter. They've been together for two years. Oberon works with Lyrio at Obscurus Books, where they're both editors. And (this really surprised me) Oberon is also a werewolf. Luckily for him, he got bitten only three years ago and has never been without the Wolfsbane Potion.

Polaris worked, until recently, as a translator at the Department of International Magical Cooperation. He'll be doing the same thing in Paris.

It was about seven in the evening when they decided to go, leaving us with some of Sirius's books and other things from when he was younger, five bars of chocolate ("Sirius says you love it so much it borders on obsession," Lyrio said), and a promise to come and see us again soon.

"Sirius," said Polaris, just before they were about to Disapparate, "I want you to know that I always believed you were innocent. Always."

Sirius grasped his hand. "Thank you for that."

"Goodbye, Sirius," said Lyrio warmly, and Disapparated.

"I'll come back and see you very soon," said Polaris. "Oh, and there's something that belongs to you in the yard." With a twinkle in his eye, he Disapparated.

Sirius and I looked at each other. "Well, let's go see!" he said. He transformed into a dog and we went outside.

Next to my front steps, looking like a dark animal in the twilight, was a motorcycle. Sirius barked excitedly.

"Oh, go on, change back, there aren't any neighbors for a few miles and they're mostly Muggles anyway," I said.

Sirius's face as he looked at his motorcycle was one of pure joy. "It looks just like it did when I left it," he said blissfully. "They've kept it in excellent condition."

"I remember when you first got that thing," I said. "It was a couple of weeks before graduation. We were all in the dormitory studying for the last exams we would ever take, when James looked up and said, 'Hey, where's Sirius?' And then we heard this terrible racket from outside. I raced over and threw open the window and there you were, sitting on that thing and grinning madly. 'Come on, then,' you said, 'I'll take you for a ride.'"

"But you had to go and study for those blasted N.E.W.T.s," said Sirius. "I took James instead." He looked over at the motorcycle and smiled. "It's got a full tank."

The next thing I knew, I was sitting on the motorcycle behind Sirius, my arms encircling his waist. He flipped the Invisibility Switch and the built-in Silencing Charm and revved up the engine. "Ready?" he said.

"Yes."

Within a minute, we were high over Tellery, flying through the clouds. It was a pleasant night with a slight breeze, and Sirius's hair blew in my face. I leaned close and inhaled, tasting the sweet scent of him. The stars shone brightly and I felt like I could reach out and touch one if I wanted to.

Sirius flew higher, skimming the bottom of a cloud. I held him tighter, a little afraid to be up so high, but he turned his head around and gave me a reassuring smile. I smiled back. We flew on, grazing the tops of the birch trees and feeling the wind in our hair. The moon was luminous and for once I looked at it and saw its beauty rather than its power. I tilted my head back and let the breeze tickle my throat, feeling exhilarated and daring and bold and reckless.

Too soon we were landing in the yard again. As I climbed off, I looked at Sirius and one look told me he felt the same way I did.

Before I knew it, we were back inside, practically running for the bedroom. When we reached it, I lay down first and pulled him on top of me. He kissed me, long and sweet, and I knew that tonight there was no going back.

His mouth moved from my face to my neck, kissing it with an open and wet mouth. I sighed and closed my eyes, placing my hands on the front of his robe and undoing the fastenings.

"Yesss..." he moaned, his breathing heavy and gasping. I took the robe off and than began to unbutton the shirt he was wearing under it.

"Remus," he groaned as I slid the shirt off of him and began to caress his bare chest. I kissed him again, our lips undulating together, unable to get enough of the intense pleasure we were feeling. My hands moved down to his waist and took off his trousers.

Now he was naked, lying on top of me and caressing my neck with one hand and my backside with the other. Then he moved his hands to the front of my robe and began to unbutton it.

"Wait a minute," I said.

"What is it?"

"I've just got to warn you...my entire body is covered with scars. It's not a pretty sight."

"I don't care," he said, kissing me. "I love you, Remus, I love everything about you."

I let him ease my robe off of my body and take off my shirt. His fingers slid over my scars - the one on my arm from where I first cut myself, the slash marks on my chest, the mark on my shoulder from where I received the bite. He looked at me and kissed me again, tenderly. Then he undressed me the rest of the way and we were naked together.

We took a second to look at each other. His body is long and white, with no hair on his chest and only some very thin hair on his legs. His pubic hair is black and curly and his penis is shorter than mine but thicker.

In contrast, my skin is marred by scars and covered with hair. I've never understood how my body could attract anyone. But he ran his hands over me, sending shivers down my spine and causing my erection to grow even larger.

His hands ran down the length of my body until they settled on my pelvic bones. Then, with a look of determination, his head followed his hands and stopped an inch away from my penis. He looked up at me, his eyes asking the question. I nodded.

He went slowly at first, sucking on me and stroking me. I closed my eyes, letting my mind go wonderfully and blissfully blank. His mouth was soft and wet, and his head thrust back and forth, engulfing all of me.

A fresh wave of pleasure washed over me. "Sirius," I gasped, "I'm - " And with one final thrust of his head, I climaxed, and the ecstasy was complete.

He was still very aroused. "Here, lie down," I said. He did. I sucked on his nipples and then let my mouth move downwards - over his heartbeat, on his stomach, between his legs. He moaned as I took him into my mouth.

His orgasm came faster than mine, throbbing and intense. He said my name as he climaxed, his voice between a shriek and a moan.

When it was over we clung to each other, sweaty and tired, but fully satisfied. "I love you," he whispered before we fell asleep.

"I love you too."

As I felt his body relax in my arms, I realized that I was no longer afraid of love.