Trying Too Hard
a Harry Potter story
by Tina
Sirius Black strode into the Gryffindor boys dormitory. "Oi, Remus, come on it's time to get up!"
The response was muffled mumbling from Remus Lupin who rolled over and pulled his blankets tighter around him.
"C'mom Remus, I let you sleep in but we've got to get to the Quidditch pitch, James' match starts in 20 minutes. Peter's saving us seats but I don't want to miss any of the game. I've brought you a muffin for breakfast, you can eat it on the way..."
Remus lifted his head wearily, "I said I'm not going!" he called hoarsely, and then retreated back under the covers.
"Course you're coming Moony! They're playing Slytherin today!" Sirius pulled at his covers, whining in a very dog-like way. "No, I'm not!" Remus muttered without lifting his head, holding his blankets tightly.
"Oh come on Moony why not?" Sirius called as he transformed into a big black dog and leaped toward the bed.
Remus sat up, not noticing Padfoot's arrival, "Because I'm sick!" And as if to illustrate his point he sneezed harshly. "HETCHOOOOOO!!! Ishhhhhhhh"
Unfortunately for both, the leaping Padfoot landed on Remus intending to nuzzle him just as Remus started sneezing. The impact knocked Remus off balance and both crashed off the side of the bed and onto the floor. Sirius had not time to react and landed heavily on top of Remus. He immediately transformed back and looked sheepishly at his friend, "Er.... bless you? Sorry Remus, I was...."
The glare he received from Remus was enough to stop Sirius in mid sentence. Remus stood up slowly and painfully, he already ached all over from his recent transformation and the cold he was coming down with, and now he was sure he had a few new bumps and bruises thanks to Padfoot's ungraceful wake up call. He remained silent, having nothing to say to his friend at that moment and climbed back into bed, pulling the covers over his head.
Sirius walked over and sat on the edge of the bed hesitantly, at first not knowing what to say. Finally he couldn't stand the silence any longer, "You're sick Remus?" No response form the lump in the bed. "Do you need to go to hospital?" asked Sirius with worry in his voice.
That question prompted Remus to pull the covers down, "No!" He spoke emphatically, "I don't need to go back down there again." He rubbed at his nose with the back of his hand, trying not to sniffle.
"Are you alright? I'm really so sorry Remus, it really was an accident..."
Remus saw Sirius looking at him with those puppy dog eyes and just melted. "Yes, I'm alright, I've just got a ruddy cold, and I know it was an accident," he shook his head at his friend, "But one of these days one of your accidents is going to kill me! Heh....CHOOO!!!"
Sirius grinned at this, realizing that Remus was indeed alright. " Bless you again Moony. I'll do my best not to kill you, at least not today. Now, are really sick enough that you don't want to go to the Quidditch match?"
Remus almost chuckled at this, he didn't need to be sick to not want to go to Quidditch, he never wanted to go to the matches. He just went because James was his mate and it was important to him, and because Sirius always dragged him along. He did however feel terrible. Besides all his aches and pains, his throat was killing him, his head was full of congestion and he couldn't seem to stop sneezing for more than 5 minutes at a time. He just nodded to Sirius, trying to hold back another sneeze.
"Well, what can I get you then, to help you feel better?" Sirius leaned over and brushed the hair back form Remus' forehead.
Remus pulled away quickly, trying to smother several wet sneezes into his hands, "ESHOOOOO!!! Ishooooo!!!!!! Ishhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! " He looked up at Sirius somewhat embarrassed, "Excuse me," he sniffled wetly. "A handkerchief would be lovely Sirius."
"Of course, " Sirius leapt off the bed to retrieve one of Remus's handkerchief from his dresser drawer, "Here you are Moony, and bless you." His pale gray eyes lingered on Remus appraisingly. He really did look ill, he was even paler than usual with dark circles under his eyes and his nose was reddened an chapped. Sirius felt badly to not have realized that he was sick earlier, especially before tackling Remus and knocking him off the bed.
Remus turned away form Sirius before blowing his nose. It was a long wet gurgling blow that made Remus cringe with embarrassment and Sirius wince with sympathy. "Merlin Moony, you sound horrible."
Remus repeated his glare from earlier, "Thanks so very much Sirius."
"Oh, sorry Moony, you know that's not what I meant..... I meant...well, that.......er" Sirius stammered finally stopped by Remus raising his hand and smiling slightly at him. Sirius smiled his thanks back. "Right, well, you know what I mean. Anyway what can I get you now Remus?"
"Nothing Padfoot, I'm fine," Remus answered hoarsely.
"No really Moony, anything you need, I'm your man. Tea? Soup? Breakfast? An extra blanket? A pillow?" Sirius enthusiastically listed everything he could think of that Remus might need. He was almost excited at the prospect of being able to take of Remus for once as Remus always did for the rest of them.
Remus smiled at his friend's enthusiasm. "Really Padfoot, I just want to get some sleep. Why don't you go on to the match. James is expecting you. Tell him I'm sorry not to be there..."
"Are you sure that I can't get you anything Moony?" Sirius looked dejected.
"Well, "Remus tried to think of something he might need, "Maybe just a glass of water before you go. I'm sure I'll be in need of something else later on after the match." He really just wanted sleep, and for Sirius to leave so that he could sleep.
"One glass of water coming right up." Sirius leapt into action, and quickly returned with a glass of ice water. As Sirius was about to hand the glass to Remus, Remus was quite suddenly, and without warning, overcome by a violent fit of sneezing. Sirius jumped in surprise and spilled the entire glass of icy water onto Remus, who managed to yell in shock between the unrelenting sneezes.
Sirius of course felt terrible and poor Remus was sneezing so violently he couldn't even manage to remove his soaking wet pajama top. Finally after several attempts Sirius was able to remove the top and brought Remus a clean, dry one and a towel to dry him off.
When the sneezing finally subsided, an exhausted and shivering Remus just fell back on the bed, too tired and cold to even speak. Sirius, between apologies, managed to dry him off and help him put on the new top. He wanted to stay with Remus, but knew it was best not to even ask at that point. "Well, I guess I'll be off to the match then. I'm really sorry Remus, How about I come back after the match with a bit of tea for you?" Remus smiled faintly and nodded before curling back up snugly under the covers.
Sirius hurried down to the Quidditch pitch, worrying about Remus and feeling like an idiot all the way. The match had already started when he found his spot next to Peter.
"Where's Remus?" Peter asked with surprise to see Sirius alone.
"He's sick," Sirius looked very worried which concerned Peter.
"Is he alright Sirius? Is he with Madame Pomfrey?" Peter asked sounding anxious, wondering if Remus was seriously ill or if Sirius was just being dramatic.
"No, he's in the dorm. He's just got a rotten cold, I'm worried about him though. I wanted to stay, but he sent me along and he was going back to sleep."
Peter knew Sirius must be really worried, because he never confided in him. He tried to be reassuring, "I'm sure he'll be fine." He patted Sirius on the arm.
Sirius smiled faintly appreciating Peter's attempt and tried to focus on the game. He was distracted through most of it, thinking about Remus, sick and all alone in the dormitory. Fortunately for Sirius the game was a quick one with James capturing the snitch and trouncing the Slytherin team. Sirius turned to Peter, "Let James know I've gone to check on Remus. " and he was off.
He walked around the back of the Quidditch pitch and took a different path back to the castle. He wondered why they didn't usually take the path, it actually seemed shorter. He noticed on the way a huge hedge of wild roses. Sirius was sure that Remus would find them beautiful. In fact, if it wasn't for Remus, Sirius wouldn't have even looked twice at the flowers. That was one of the things that Remus did for him, he made him appreciate things he never would have even noticed before. He picked an enormous bouquet of the roses for Remus, hoping to cheer him up and set back to the castle.
He made his way back to the dormitory to find Remus still sleeping. He rummaged around the room until he found an empty butterbeer bottle which he filled with water for the roses and set on Remus' bedside table. He sat back on his own bed wondering if he should let Remus sleep a bit longer or wake him up.
Remus soon answered the question for him by stirring in bed. He seemed to be pawing at his nose and sniffling even before he was completely wake. Suddenly he sat up, breath hitching and fumbled for his handkerchief. He was overcome by sneezes before he could even speak. "Ishoooooo!!! Eshoooo!!!! CHOO!!!! Ishhhhhhh!!!! Ishoooo!!!!" He struggled to catch his breath as Sirius looked on with concern, feeling helpless. "Choo!!!! hehchoooo!!! heshhhhhh!!!" Finally Remus' eyes focused on the roses and grew wide with surprise. "Sirius....." he murmured breathlessly, "Ahhhhhhchoooo!!! CHOOOO!!!! The.......heh.....heh.... roses....CHOOO!!"
Sirius was surprised that Remus had even noticed the roses in the midst of his sneezing fit. "Do you like them Moony?"
Remus shook his head, "No..........ehchooooooo!!!!! They ahhhhh..... ahhhhCHOOOOOO!!!! make..... heh.....me......sneeze!!! CHOOO!!!!" He finally managed to say.
Sirius looked shocked and horrified as he jumped up to grab the flowers and get them out of the room as fast as he could. He returned a few minutes later to find Remus still in the midst of his sneezing fit. He felt terrible, he had been trying to make Remus feel better and he had made him even more miserable than his cold already had.
Sirius sat silently on the edge of Remus's bed, completely at a loss for words. After all, how many times could he tell Remus he was sorry in just one morning of completely screwing up. Remus's sneezing finally seemed to be stopping and Sirius fetched him several new handkerchiefs from his drawer and remained silent, avoiding Remus' eyes.
Finally after several minutes of wet nose blowing Remus spoke softly. "I'm allergic to roses, " He spoke seemingly with embarrassment at his outburst.
"Oh Moony, I.... I didn't know.... I'm so sorry!" Sirius spoke with obvious regret and still could not bring himself to look at Remus. " I saw the roses and thought you would love them...... I found them on the back path, behind the Quidditch pitch, the one we never take."
Remus smiled tiredly at that, "Sirius, the reason we never take that path is because the roses make me sneeze!" He almost laughed." Don't you remember?"
Sirius paused thoughtfully, "Was that the time last spring, that Peter and I had to bring you to the infirmary?" Remus nodded. "Oh, so sorry Remus! I had forgotten all about that. What a git I am!"
"It's okay Padfoot, I know you were trying to make me feel better, " Remus reassured him. "Etchuh!! Excuse me." Remus tried to blow his nose again but it was completely blocked. "Ugh! I can't breathe at all though." He groaned flopping back on the bed.
Sirius desperately tried to think of what he could do to help Remus feel better. Wracking his brain he finally thought that some tea might be a help to Remus' congestion. "Moony, " he asked hesitantly ,"Do you think some tea might help your stuffiness?"
Remus smiled at the suggestion, "That would be just perfect Sirius. You wouldn't mind?"
"Of course not, it's the least I can do. Especially after all the torture I've put you through...." Sirius mumbled apologetically. "I'll be right back."
As Sirius exited the room Remus closed his eyes, feeling exhausted. He felt absolutely horrible, it was hard to tell how much was his cold and how much was from the allergic response to the roses. He was also starting to feel very cold and hoped that the tea would help that as well.
Sirius returned soon after with a steaming hot mug of tea. "I put a warming spell on it so it wouldn't cool on the way back form the kitchens." He announced proudly handing the mug to Remus.
Remus smiled and took a sip of the tea, stopping suddenly and groaning as the scalding tea burnt his tongue."Owwwww!!! Too hot!!!!" He thrust the cup back to Sirius fanning his tongue.
Sirius looked almost ready to cry after sticking his pinky into the cup and realizing how hot the tea actually was. "Oh Remus! I'm so sorry .....again! I didn't mean to make it so hot! Should I try to cool it?"
"NO!" Remus insisted, "Just leave it to cool on it's own. Please!" He once again flopped back on the bed and closed his eyes.
After several minutes of silence Sirius finally spoke, "Remus? Should I just go? I don't know what else to say, except I am so very sorry.....all I wanted was to make you feel better....to take care of you really...."
Remus slowly opened his eyes, "You don't need to go Sirius, I do feel better when you're around. But, " he smiled weakly. "Maybe you should stop trying to help me and just stay here to be with me."
"Are you sure? Because I can go if you want..." Sirius asked quietly.
Remus shivered involuntarily, "Heshhhhhhhh!!! Excuse me. I want you to stay Padfoot. If you don't mind my germs that is...."
"Of course I don't Moony. I'll stay as long as you want. And I promise not to "help" you anymore." Sirius grinned sheepishly. He stood for a moment and watched Remus shivering before making his way to the bed and climbing in. He curled up behind Remus wrapping his arms around the shivering young man. "How about I just keep you warm?"He nuzzled the back of Remus' neck affectionately.
Remus leaned back into him and smiled, "Mmmmmm I feel better already. Why is it we just didn't do this from the start?"
The boys belong to JKR not me, I don't get anything for my playing. This is in response to Weekly Hatching(general) #71 One character is sneezy and suffering. Another character tries to help, but despite his best efforts, only seems to make the situation worse. Lady Korona requested slash with this bunny, but as much as I love Remus and Sirius together I have never written slash. So, unfortunately there is some cuddling, and I do consider the pups to be a couple in the fic it's pretty much understated. Sorry!!! Also this is one of those bunnies that I instantly loved and thought I had such a great idea for the story. I think the original idea was way better than the story itself, but hopefully it's not too bad.