22A/N: Only three reviews, but that's okay! Only one would've persuaded me to keep going. (But don't let that stop you. –winkwink-) Anyway, I'd love to thank Amberhawk for helping me correct my mistake that I definitely wouldn't have noticed on my own, Angels-above and thequeeneb just for reviewing! Love you all!
Disclaimer: The only thing that's changed is the gun I shoot Harry with. Today's gun: Beretta
"Well? Are there?"
Everyone started talking at once, only the better to cover up their burning faces. Well…except Lily. James just grabbed her hand and it made her rather flustered.
"Um…"
"I don't know, Sirius."
"Do you want to go to the library?"
The last statement was made by Remus, just because if you couldn't' find something, it was more than likely the library had it. Even if a werewolf was staring him in the face. Sirius looked from one person to the other, eyes lighting on Remus when he made the suggestion. "Remy!" He leapt out of the chair and latched onto Remus' robes.
"…You're older. What happened?"
"Do you know me, Sirius?"
"Of course!" The little boy beamed, showing the gap where his front teeth should've been.
"Your mama used to bring you over to play with me, 'member? And my mama," he shuddered at the mention, "used to bring me over to play with you. You spent the night once, helped me knock out these teeth. Didja f'get, Remy?"
Yes, he did forget. He did remember that his mother didn't want him stuck in the house all the time, but she never said where she was taking him. But there was a creepy house and a little boy he nicknamed… "Siri-B?"
"Yes!" He jumped up and down, showing off his toothless gums proudly. "You 'member!"
"Only a little, Siri." He hugged him close and smelled the soap his mom made him use at the time: raspberry.
"So that's why he was always so friendly towards you," James muttered. "You two were friends."
"I guess so."
Lily was about ready to pass out from sleep deprivation, so she waved goodbye and left for her dormitories. She would sort out everyone's problems after she had a good morning's sleep. And not before.
James sighed after her. "She'll be mine one day. Just you wait, Moony. She'll be mine."
"Yes, James." Remus picked up the tiny Sirius and situated him on his hip.
"How long is this stuff gonna last?"
"Huh?" What? He was thinking about Lily, run that past again?
"The…whatever you did to Sirius. Prank, I guess. How long?"
"Oh, right. Yeah. Um…a couple of days."
"How about this?" He started to climb out of the portrait hole and looked back at James, earthen eyes sharpened to a golden brown.
"If he's not back to normal by Tuesday, I'm hexing you so badly your parents will suffer from it." With that, he left, faintly hearing James' 'yes, Moony'.
That idiot! They had a Charms test on Monday; Merlin knows Padfoot needed to study. And what if he didn't change back on Monday? What then? Seven-year-olds couldn't go to Hogwarts. Thank goodness for the professors. If Sirius wasn't back to normal Monday morning, he was telling…whom should he tell? McGonagall? Well…to be honest, all she could do was give James a year's worth of detention. This wasn't grounds for expulsion.
Sirius was a better seven-year-old than a teenager, quiet with his thumb in his mouth as Remus walked down the corridors to the library. Luckily Ms. Big Bird (also known as Madam Pince) wasn't at her post, so Remus walked in unnoticed with Sirius. He set him down at a table far off in the corner and knelt down beside him. "What would you like to read?"
"I don't like to read." Again, that gap-toothed smile. "But if it's on werewolves, okay!" He beamed and it was as if rays of cuteness were aimed directly at Remus. This had to be illegal for a seven-year-old…
He gathered three large books with faded titles he couldn't make out, but remembered the books from when he had looked up his own condition in a fit of boredom. "Here."
"Yay!" But the child didn't open the books, just rested his chin in his hands and looked across the table at Remus. And while the werewolf was busy looking through a book he found under his seat, the piercing gaze of a minor was starting to unnerve him.
"Yes, Sirius?" He looked up and Sirius hadn't moved an inch – still staring.
"Remy?"
"Yes?"
"You're pretty."
"What?" He looked around to make sure Big Bird wasn't about to swoop down on them from his outburst. Did the boy just call him 'pretty'? (Pronounced: Preety) What the deuce did that mean?
"What do you mean preety? I mean, pretty."
"I said you're preety."
"What? Like…like a girl?"
"No!" He pulled a face in obvious disgust. "Girls are ucky."
That's not what he'll be saying in a few years. "Then what?"
"Like a…um…I forgot the word. Those, um, peoples with the wings and the halos…"
"Angels?"
"Yeah! Angels! That's the one!" Casting his gray gaze back and forth, he leaned closer to Remus. "I always thought you were preety. And then, now you're old. You look preetier."
His eyes must've been as big and round as dinner plates. Sirius Black, the official Ladies Man of Hogwarts, thought he was pretty? His seven year old self anyway. You could never be sure of what fifteen-year-old Sirius thought about anyone except Severus. That was hate you could only miss if you were a rock.
"Um…thank you." Did he always think this or was it just when he was seven?
"Are you a werewolf, Remy?"
"Yes. …Hey, wait!" Where did that come from? The question was so sudden, he didn't think about answering. If this were a complete stranger things would've been different. This was Sirius! But it wasn't a (almost) mature Sirius…
It was like two thousand-watt bulbs clicked on behind the boy's eyes and he bounced out of his chair. He started jumping around, pointing at Remus, the world's biggest grin on his face. "Remy is a werewolf! Remy is a werewolf!"
"Shh! Be quiet!" Remus flailed at him to be quiet, panic freezing his veins. If anyone heard…
"Remy is a werewolf! Remy is a werewolf!"
"Hush, you little runt!"
"Remy is a werewolf! Remy is a werewolf!"
Okay, that was enough. "Shut up, dog-boy!"
He froze, cute face twisted in confusion. "Who's dog-boy?"
"You are. Now let's go." A little rougher than he intended, he grabbed Sirius' hand and almost dragged him out of the library, ignoring the angry looks he got from Madam Big Beak. Augh. Now he knew how it felt to be a father with a big-mouthed child. He felt sorry for his parents who actually had to deal with this nutter. No wonder Mrs. Black always seemed like a few screws were loose.
"Now, Sirius, you have to promise me something, okay?"
"Okay, Remy!" He was bouncing along again, showing off his gap like it was something to be proud of.
"Don't tell anyone you see that I'm a…werewolf. Promise me, Siri! Swear on your…swear on your werewolf books!" To be honest, he had no clue if he had any. Books weren't number one on Padfoot's priority list. But obviously it worked, as Sirius' face got very grave.
"I swear on every book of werewolves I own, that I won't tell no one."
"Very good," Remus breathed at last. He stopped to pick him up and continued down the corridor. Great. Just flippin' great. It wasn't as bad having mature teenagers that knew how to keep their mouths shut know your deepest, darkest secrets. But a little kid? Can you say 'nightmare' with a capital 'N'?
"Hey, Remy?" Sirius whispered. It was amazing how innocent he could sound, even while holding Remus' fate in his tiny hands.
"Yes?" he whispered back.
"Did you know that the first werewolf was a bloke named Peter Stubbe? See, he started practicing sorcery…"
Remus groaned inwardly and wished he could disappear into his own furry little curse.
This felt like the start of a long day.