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Lunaticus Book One: Half Moon	By : JBankai89 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Remus Views: 18438 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I gain nothing from this but a way to pass the time.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
A/N: I am pleased to announce that the first draft of book one is thiiiiiis close to being complete, which translates to I'm hopeful that I'll be able to begin posting more frequently than once a week soon. We shall see, but as I said, I'm hopeful. Here is the next instalment, I hope you guys enjoy it.

Chapter 3 – Slouching Toward Bethlehem

Harry forced himself up and walked over to the window where Ginny stood. His stomach was tied up in knots, his panic mounting as he approached the window, a feeling which only intensified as he reached the ledge and looked outside.

As Ginny had said, Remus stood in the square, pacing back and forth along the houses numbered eleven through fourteen. His brow was furrowed and his fists were clenched, and he looked as though he was physically in pain, his red-rimmed eyes staring ahead of him and barely casting the houses he passed a fleeting glance. Harry pressed his palm flat against the window, feeling guilt replace the bubbling panic in his gut. He had done this to Remus. If he hadn't been so rash, maybe none of this would have happened. Remus stopped before number eleven and sat down heavily on the kerb, burying his face in his hands.

Harry stepped back, and Ginny steered him over to the sofa. He sat down heavily and leaned back, pressing the back of his head into the upholstery. Harry didn't look at her, the mishmash of guilt and panic crammed into his head left him at a loss for words. She seemed to understand his silence, and Harry felt the cushions dip as she sat next to him. Her arm coiled around his shoulder as she reached up to toy with his hair. The light touches helped him relax, though he was still painfully aware of the unwanted visitor that was loitering barely twenty feet from where they sat. Suddenly, the front door snapped open, and they both jerked up, spinning around wildly.

“Don't panic, it's me!” Harry let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding at the sight of Hermione. Her hair tied back in a loose, messy ponytail and her clothing was distinctly wrinkled; it appeared as though she hadn't slept since the last time they'd seen her.

“Damn it,” he hissed, glaring at her, “you scared the living daylights out of us.” She smiled apologetically, kicking off her shoes as she stepped into the sitting room. Hermione plopped down in one of the available armchairs and turned to face the couple.

“You have a visitor outside, did you know?” She asked, ignoring Harry's comment.

“We're aware,” Ginny said tensely, frowning at Hermione. Her appearance did not exactly bode well, and Harry suspected that she, too, was waiting to hear what his supposed stalker had been up to. Harry cocked a brow at Hermione, inviting her to speak.

“He hasn't done anything, well, bad,” Harry frowned at her less than reassuring tone of voice. “Last night he started asking around for you, and obviously no one told him anything, but...” She frowned, casting a quick glance towards the window. “I dunno, maybe it's a werewolf thing, like he can smell you or something?” Harry felt a little queasy at her words, and far from placated by the hypothesis. He stood quickly, reluctantly letting go of Ginny and he went back to the window.

The sight of the older man caused a flood of confused panic to rush through him. Remus's head whipped up abruptly and his fierce amber gaze spun and locked on Harry. Harry's breath caught, but a split second later the expression softened, and he turned back around. Had Remus actually seen him? With the extra protections in place it was impossible, wasn't it? Harry hoped the fierce look had been some sort of wild fluke.

“I can't believe...” he trailed off and shook his head. It would do no good to repeat the same sentiment for the millionth time; everyone felt the strangeness at the concept of hiding from an old friend like Remus. Harry turned away from the window and sat on the edge of the sill while he looked over at Hermione. “If he didn't do anything bad, what did he do?”

“He went to the Burrow last night, but obviously with the extra wards, he couldn't get in.” Hermione's expression softened, looking away from Harry and into the fire grate. “He wandered around the edges for a while, then Arthur went out to try and talk to him,” Harry exchanged a panicked look with Ginny. “He's fine,” Hermione added quickly, catching the look. “I wasn't there so I didn't see it, but Molly told us that they shouted a bit, then Remus took off. Arthur wouldn't tell her what Remus had said, but he looked fairly shaken, from what I gathered.”

“That's not very reassuring, Hermione.” Harry crossed his arms, and struggled with the temptation to look back to see if Remus was still outside. With difficulty, he stayed where he was and kept his eyes fixed on his friend.

“I don't know what to tell you Harry,” she said snappily, shooting him a glare. “I wasn't there, I didn't see it. I only know what Molly told us. After that I got an owl from Bill, he said that Remus showed up at Shell Cottage and about lost his mind when he realized that he was warded there too.” Her mouth twitched into a small frown. “That's what I'm here about, actually. Bill wanted to know if he could come talk to you, but obviously I'll need you to let him in, as you're Secret Keeper here.”

“What does Bill want to talk about?” Harry gave into temptation and cast another glance outside, only to find that Remus had gone. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, but forced it from his mind as he pushed himself off the sill to rejoin Ginny. He wasn't sure how another werewolf—or in Bill's case part-werewolf—would react to what he'd done.

“Mostly he wants to go over what Remus said, and he said he'd clarify some of the aspects of this...bond-thing.” Hermione grimaced, her eyes flitting briefly to the window before refocusing on Harry. He didn't like the sympathetic look he saw in her eyes when she refocused her gaze upon him. “Harry, I know you didn't mean for this to happen, but it's going to be very hard on Remus. He made it quite clear, or, as clear as he could, given his state, that he would break this if he could, but he can't. That's basically what he told Bill. The wolf side of him wants you, Harry, and it won't be satisfied until it has you.”

Ginny's lithe hand at his back was not as comforting as it had once been.

~*~

Harry had given Hermione a piece of parchment with the address to give to Bill without complaint. He knew the eldest Weasley child would likely have insight into the whole situation that Hermione may have missed, it made him no less anxious about the entire thing.

The following afternoon, Remus had returned and resumed his pacing of the square. Even from the window, Harry could see that he looked awful. Dark circles ringed his bloodshot eyes, and his entire form seemed to be shaking. Harry couldn't tell if the shakes were from some physical ailment or the emotional repercussions of the bond. It was deeply unsettling, and again Harry was awash with guilt for having done this to the last surviving Marauder.

Harry watched as Remus was approached by a muggle policeman, and Harry's eyes bulged a little. It seemed as though his fears were unfounded however, as Remus spoke politely to the man. It seemed wildly out of character, given his physical state, and what he'd been told that Remus had done at the Burrow and Shell Cottage. Harry did not miss the way Remus casually flicked his wand at the muggle, and a glazed expression crossed the man's features before he wandered off. Remus sat down on the opposite kerb and stared at the line of the houses with an unsettling intensity.

Harry was distracted from the werewolf's presence by the muffled crack of someone apparating onto the top step of Number Twelve. He jumped up and rushed into the front hall in time to see Ginny letting her eldest brother in.

He looked the same as he had the last time Harry had seen him. Long ginger hair pulled back into a ponytail, fang earring, dragonhide boots, and distinctive scarring on his face. The sight of the scars made Harry's stomach turn over in a way that they never had before. Bill's eyes found Harry's, and he nodded. “Harry, I wish I could say it was good to see you,” Harry choked out a feeble laugh.

“C'min,” he said, waving halfheartedly towards the sitting room he'd jest left. Bill followed Harry and Ginny into the room, where a pot of tea and plate of biscuits was waiting for them. Harry shook his head with an amused smile; he knew that hadn't been there when he stepped out.

“Did you talk to Kreacher, Ginny?” She smirked knowingly at him.

“I figured you'd be calmer with some orange pekoe and sweets in you.” Harry laughed weakly and sat down heavily on the sofa. He flicked his wand to serve up the beverages, his hands shaking too badly to properly handle the china at the moment. Bill and Ginny accepted the floating cups, she sitting at Harry's side while Bill took an armchair opposite.

“So Harry,” Bill began, regarding Harry with a calculating look. “I'm sure Hermione told you that Remus popped by Shell Cottage last night.”

“Er—yeah. She didn't say much about it, other than he apparently went ballistic.”

“That would be an understatement. Had it not been for the wards, I would have not put it past him to hurt Fleur or Victoire.” Harry blanched at the admission, choking a little on the biscuit in his mouth. Ginny clapped him on the back, and Harry took a large gulp of tea to clear his throat. “But it's not Remus's fault, not really,” Bill frowned. Harry looked down at his lap at the words, picking at a loose thread on the sofa.

“Yeah, it's mine,” he mumbled, picking at the remains of the biscuit in his hand, no longer hungry.

“That's not what I meant, Harry,” Bill's hard tone caused Harry to look back up, while their guest set his nearly untouched cup on the table. “The werewolf is a creature of pure instinct. It has no conscience, and it's driven by base Primal Magic. It surfaces at the full moon fully, but it is present in other small ways within all aspects of the werewolf's life. Keener senses, often they are more—er—domineering in certain aspects of their personal life, that sort of thing.” Harry had a feeling that Bill meant sexually, and he felt his stomach twist with panic again. “At certain phases of the moon, there are other things...as you've no doubt learned.”

“That would be putting it mildly,” Harry replied, unable to keep the sarcasm from his tone. He had known most of what Bill had said already, but he felt that it would be rude to say so.

“So, when Remus came to my home yesterday, I knew that it wasn't him. It was his instincts in overdrive, looking for the one thing that would ease his mind and body—you.” Harry felt his face heat uncomfortably, and looked away from Ginny shamefully.

“I didn't mean for any of this to happen to him,” Harry mumbled, staring down at the stone floor. “I just, I didn't know about the half moon thing. If I'd known—”

“—You would have done exactly the same thing, because saving people is what you do, Harry.” Harry looked up to Bill's kind, understanding smile and he nodded meekly, uncertain what he could say. Bill was right, of course. He would never have let someone be hurt if he had it in him to stop it. The thought was less reassuring than Bill had probably intended.

“What should I do?” He looked briefly back at Ginny, and felt an agonizing pull at his heart. Did he really have to leave her and go through with this?

“What do you know about the claim, Harry?” Harry turned back to Bill, the gentle tone he'd used doing nothing to calm Harry's shattered nerves.

“Er—some stuff. Remus will track me down, get possessive and jealous,” he shifted uncomfortably as he spoke, “and...other s-stuff.” He felt his blush rise again, but he couldn't bring himself to say sex. Bill nodded a little to his words.

“When you accept Remus's advances,” Harry grimaced at Bill's choice of adverb, “the claim will settle, and you two will be able to live fairly normal lives.” Harry swallowed thickly and looked over to Ginny again as Bill continued. “It won't settle straightaway, it will take some time, but it will.”

“How much time?” The tentative question made Harry's insides squirm uncomfortably; he had an idea what Bill's answer might be.

“Most couples who enter into this bond were already involved, as you no doubt know,” Harry nodded mutely. “Following the claim, many of them take an—er—Honeymoon, of sorts,” he cocked a brow pointedly, and Harry felt his face go bright red. “Because of your unique situation, the bond will only settle with time as you two...” he trailed off, and looked sadly at his little sister. He didn't need to say it, Harry could fill in the blanks of his statement, and he, too, turned to look at her.

She was clearly putting on a brave front for her brother, but it was obvious to Harry that the words hurt her as much as they did him. They linked hands, her knuckles white as she held onto him. “He'll still be a little different from the Remus you knew, in some ways,” Bill added in a softer tone of voice.

“Different, how?” Harry's hand tensed in Ginny's; he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

“Well, overall, he'll be the same. But he might be more protective of you than before. This could mean he might attempt to make decisions for you, believing that it's for your own good. Or, he might follow you out on cases, to ensure you don't get hurt.” Bill frowned as he stared down at the table thoughtfully. “It's different with every werewolf, the claim never reacts the same way, so there's no telling exactly what will happen when you accept him. It's possible nothing will change, and he'll be the same Remus you have always known.” Harry cringed again at Bill's use of when in lieu of if. Harry jumped to his feet, yanked his hand from Ginny's, and buried his face in his hands as he paced restlessly.

“Everyone has told me I have to accept this...this claim thing,” he turned back to look at Bill, his gaze momentarily shifting to Ginny. “Do I really have no choice?” Bill smiled sadly.

“No Harry, you really don't.”

~*~

Remus was still outside when Bill left that evening.

Even with the extra wards in place and Bill apparating off the top step, Harry kept well out of sight of the front hall just to be on the safe side. Harry had not moved from his spot on the sofa, his head buried in the crook of his elbows, his hands gripping at the back of his head. He jumped a little when he felt Ginny's arm coil around his midsection, and she pressed a kiss to his shoulder. Everyone had told him that he had to leave her...for Remus. What would his hands feel like on him, in place of hers? He shivered at the thought.

“God Ginny...” His voice sounded strangely hoarse in his ears, and he lifted his head to look at her. She smiled weakly, looking as lovely as ever. “I'm so sorry, I didn't want this—any of this.”

“I know,” her voice was steadier than his, and she pressed closer to him, “trouble just follows you around like a duckling.” Harry snorted, and nodded slightly.

“Tell me about it,” Harry moved to look out the window, but Ginny caught his cheek in her hand, and turned his gaze back to her. Her eyes were blazing, and a small, almost bitter smile was painted across her lips. She crawled into his lap and kissed him deeply, and Harry coiled his arms around her trim waist to hold her there as he groaned softly. She felt so good in his arms, and he wished, not for the first time in recent days, that none of this mess with Remus had happened.

“Come on,” she whispered, her breath tickling his mouth, “there's nothing we can do about...anything tonight. Let's just...enjoy ourselves.” Grinning, she slid from his lap and tugged at his hand. Harry needed no further encouragement as he stood and allowed her to lead him upstairs.
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Lunaticus Book One: Half Moon