#marauders fic
‘What Is This?’ Part Two.
Reader x Poly Marauders
Contents: Abortion, Angst, Abusive Acts, Swearing, Sadness and way too much use of the word 'you’.
After 11 years of living there, someone knocked on your door
It was Albus Dumbledore.
*******************************************************
You were in noticeable shock and gasped.
'Fucking Hell’ You thought.
“Indeed Ms L/N” Dumbledore smiled.
“Don’t do that” you stated coldly.
“Ms L/N, I have an inquiry and would like to be let in.” He gave 'that’ look with his sparkling eyes.
Oh, but you knew that look all too well. It was the same look he gave you when you played a prank on Barty Crouch Jr. and he wanted information out of you.
“No. Say it now” you were not budging this time.
No one ever spoke to the old Professor that way and it was clear to see. He looked slightly alarmed but gathered his usual composure quickly.
“I want you for the Defence Against the Dark Arts Position and Hogwarts.” He still gave you his warm attitude.
You took several moments.
You had all this success and Fame… Why should you leave a relationship? The relationship in which for a fact you knew he was sleeping with other women… But your career, where most of your job was done because you did such a good job at your job… The Dog… That you were thinking of getting.
'Why am I staying?’ You questioned.
“September First I’ll start I suppose. And I want a big office none of those shitty corner offices… And I want a higher pay than the rest of the” you stated your wants clearly to the professor.
“Done and Done… Professor L/N” He smiled.
“Thank you… Sir” you shook his hand and quickly shut the door. With your back leaning against the closed door… For the first time in eleven years, you began crying. You mourned for the eleven years you spent without your boys. The life you could have had.
After a good half, an hour of crying you composed yourself.
It was August 30th 1995. Albus was a little late with the offer you had to say. But… A little part of you was excited. Life was slowly getting better.
Your bag had been packed for years now. That should have been the first sign to leave. But you were scared like always. You wrote a quick note to your boyfriend saying your goodbye and telling him how to sort all your affairs.
You left the apartment you have had for a decade. A decade of wasted useless memories… If you could even call them that.
The Leaky Cauldron is where you decided to reside. It was where you spent a lot of your teenage years with your ex-boyfriends.
Tom the owner recognised you immediately not for your fame but from when you were younger. It was a nice refresher.
Unfortunately the Jet Lag really got to you and you ended up sleeping for 36 hours. You were late for the grand feast at Hogwarts.
The feast started at 7:00 pm it was now 7:15 pm.
“Shit. Shit. Shit” you began quickly getting dressed and putting on your make-up with very useful enchantments.
You quickly grabbed your two suitcases and ran down the rickety old stairs.
“Bye Ms L/N” Tom the Owner gave you his famous welcoming smile.
“Nice seeing you Tom” you waved goodbye and quickly hopped into the fireplace and floo* away.
You arrived just outside the great hall where Filch was with his scrawny little cat.
'That Thing is still alive" You thought.
“Hey Filch” you gave him you cheeky grin.
“No, Not you it’s bad enough with the others” He snapped.
“Others?” You mumbled to yourself.
“Anyways, would you kindly take my luggage up to my room” You gave him a darling smile “and if you even try to open it will bite”
He grumbled and snatched the two cases off you.
You began making your way to the entranceway to the great hall when you heard a distant 'ouch’ from Filch. You chuckled to yourself knowing you still got it.
The doors were closed meaning you were going to have to make a dramatic entrance and not a quiet one like you hoped. You quickly took out your wand and swung the doors open with power.
The students and staff were greeted with an enormity of wind from the doors and you.
You made your way in boots clicking on the floor.
The hall was silent all eyes were on you.
Then there was a “HOLY FUCK THAT’S Y/N L/N THE AUROR” and the hall erupted into chatter.
Then you saw them. Remus, James and Sirius. Looking at you with mixed emotions of Shook, Anger and Sadness.
You greeted Dumbledore and he showed you your seat right beside Hagrid and… Remus.
’Fuck’
You promptly sat down not even acknowledging the werewolf beside you who was staring at you with all his might.
The chattering was still going on to which Dumbledore shouted 'SILENCE’.
Boom. The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
“Now, Professor L/N is going to be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher so I think we should give her a proper welcome”
The whole hall erupted into applause but you didn’t stand up. You were used to standing ovations this was nothing you were not really bothered.
The clapping quietened down and everyone went back to their meals.
Hagrid made light conversation with you and offered you food around five times but you could!’t eat you felt sick with them around.
They all took turns glaring daggers at you.
You just remained staring at your lap the whole time.
“Erm Y/N-” Remus’ soft voice started.
You quickly got up from your chair,
“I think I am going to retire for the night, Goodnight Professor Hagrid” he nodded to you with a concerned smile and you quickly got up and left the room.
*******************************************************
It was the next day and you started your first lesson with First Years. They were all scared and new so it was easy to get things done and it was a quiet class. Next was a set of Fifth Years in which you threatened maybe too harshly so they were quiet for the rest of the lesson.
Now it was third years.
They were all filing in and about to sit down.
“Don’t sit down” you said flatly.
“Assort yourself Alphabetically statting with A’s at the front”. It took about three minutes for everyone to get into their seats which took a bit of shouting from you to get them to move faster.
You then went through the role.
“Pansy Parkinson”. “ Here, Professor”
“Parvarti Patil” “Here”
“Harry…”
'What the actual Fuck… THEY PROCREATED’ Your mind was racing.
There it read 'Potter-Lupin-Black’. This was going to be shit.
“Harry Potter-Lupin-Black” you repeated stiffly.
“H-here Professor” “Don’t Stutter. It lets your opponents know you’re scared” you gave him 'the look’.
He gulped and looked down.
You got on with the role and class began.
“So, what defensive spells do you know?” You asked.
No one put their hand up.
“Did you learn anything in the past 2 years?” You snapped in and the students all jumped.
A girl with curly brown hair put her hand up.
“Yes?” You questioned.
“Eh s-stu-”
“Don’t stutter” you cut her off.
She quickly composed herself not looking you in the eye.
“Stupify,” she said more confidently.
“Name?”
“Hermione Granger,” she said quickly still refusing to look you in the eye.
“Next?” You questioned.
Then the one you knew to be Harry put up his hand. There was no questioning that he was James’ son, He looked almost identical… Except for the eyes. You have seen them somewhere but you couldn’t put your finger on it.
“Go”
“The disarming spell,” he said proudly.
“And it’s name?” You questioned.
“Expelliarmus”
“Okay, any others?” You quickly moved off from him.
No one out their hand up.
“Are you serious? Does anyone know anything? Merlin’s saggy balls. Who was your teacher?” You wondered how they knew absolutely nothing.
“Eh… Professor Lockhart” a girl told you.
“That dumbass? No wonder?” You rolled your eyes.
“I think expelliarmus works quite well” Harry said.
“What?” You asked him
“It does is a really good spell… Do we need much more?” The boy questioned pathetically.
“Oh I’m sorry”
“What?” He asked looking confused.
“I’m sorry. Why don’t you get up here and teach the class? You seem to know quite a lot about disarming spells Mr Potter-Lupin-Black. I didn’t mean to impose on your magical ability.” You were harsh but it was necessary.
“I eh- erm”
“What did I say about stuttering?” You snapped “It seems the great Harry Potter-Lupin-Black thinks one can get through life by simply snatching someone’s wand! Believe me Harry there are much worse ways someone can threaten you without a wand. Ways your mindless brain couldn’t even comprehend. Do you think I got where I am today by simply disarming someone Potter?” You were now leaning over the poor boy giving him daggers.
“No… And it’s Potter-Lupin-Black” he looked down shamefully.
“It’s Potter in this class. And don’t you dare correct me again.” The class was in terror and the boy was shaking.
“Give me your wand Potter” you held your hand out to take it from him.
’“But prof-” he started to whine.
“Looks like your precious disarming spell might come in handy Potter. Give me the fucking wand” He quickly put the wand in your hand and you placed it on your desk
“You shall not get this back until you write a list of every defensive spell you can find in your textbook and library and write them all down with what their purpose is and the motion used. All of you will do it and it should be on my desk, next class” The class collectively groaned.
“Class is dismissed for the day” you waved them off.
“But professor the bell has not rung yet” the Granger girl said.
“I am the professor and what I say goes. Now, leave all of you!” You sort of shouted the kast bit and they all scattered out the class room.
*******************************************************
It was dinner time but you decided to skip out and start writing. You were writing a book on all your best wizarding battles in America.
You were sitting at your desk with the dim candlelight shining on your face accentuating your featured and Suddenly your door burst open with the three men you knew more than yourself came in.
You didn’t look up and kept writing.
“Threatening Our Son now L N” James snarled.
“Would have been nice of you to knock” you smirked to yourself still not giving them your full attention.
“Oh cut the crap L/N, You’re not impressing anyone” Sirius’s infamous voice rang in your ears.
“Wasn’t trying to, I think I am enough for all my adoring fans” you finally looked up at them and gave them a cheeky grin.
They hadn’t changed much in eleven years.
The three men stood there looking very tall and assertive.
Most of Remus’ scars had faded there were just one or two new ones. You knew every single scar on his body since you used to kiss each one after a full moon. He had some dark eyebags which wasn’t surprising since the full moon was only 2 days away.
Sirius had grown a beard which made him look older, mature and sexier. His eyes were still the same mysterious grey colour that at times you couldn’t stop looking at them. They consumed you.
James was still buff from quidditch. His hair was no longer as messy and as unruly as you remembered. He still had a mischievous glint in his eyes and smile lines embedded in his face from his famous 'Potter Smirk’ as Marlene McKinnon used to refer to it.
“See you’re still sitting on your fat ego” James smirked.
“Oh don’t worry Potter, couldn’t nearly compare to yours. Looks like you still have two bitches kissing your ass every night” you smiled which seemed to infuriate the three men more.
“Give me Harry’s wand” Remus spoke up in an angered tone.
“Oh no the big bad wolf is mad. Oh Please Remus don’t blow my house down after all I’m just an innocent little girl” you teased.
Sirius looked like he was about to pounce.
“Easy there mutt don’t want to go barking up the wrong tree, do we?” You were having the time of your life.
“We are all adults we can remain civil” James tried to calm the room.
“Not to worry Jamsie I won’t do nothing… Just having a little fun”
“Seemed to be having a lot of fun being a bitter bitch to my son? Jealous L/N” Sirius questioned.
“Your son can’t even rub two brain cells together to come up with a better spell than expelliarmus” you snorted.
“Typical L/N ignoring the question. I asked if you were jealous? Huh L/N. Oh I get it she’s scared again” You quickly pulled your wand out and pointed it right at him.
James and Remus quickly pulled out their’s.
“Say it fucking again Black. I dare you. I could do things that not even Grindlewald could fathom” you seethed.
“Look at you again. Putting up all these walls cause your scared. You act all tough with your top Auror position but deep down you are a scared little Bitch” He smirked.
“And you don’t fo the same thing Black? Hows Mummy?” You snarled.
“Okay, what crawled up your bitter arse and died?” He shouted.
“YOUR FUCKING CHILD” you screamed back and immediately realised what you said and clamped your hand over your mouth and gasped.
You couldn’t believe what you just said.
The room went deadly silent.
It was terrifying.
Then there was a burst of laughter from Remus.
Followed by the two other men.
You started laughing as well.
For the first time in years, you had a proper laugh.
The laughing went on for a good minute until it died down to a few chuckles. You were all wiping the tears from your eyes.
“Fucking hell” James sighed still laughing a little.
The room was in comfortable silence for a few moments.
“You are right” you admitted.
“What?” They all questioned at the same time.
“I am scared. I’ve been scared for the last thirteen years. I was scared for a child… Then I left and was scared to leave my stupid boyfriend and I am scared to face you.” You hated to admit it but ur was true.
“I’m sorry. Truly I am I don’t regret what I did though. I don’t want children. Never have and never will. I do regret leaving you though. But then at the same time, I don’t because I think you could have fought harder to find me. But you didn’t” you had tears in your eyes threatening to spill.
“It was better that you left anyways” Sirius said.
You knew what he was going to say the one thing you didn’t want to them to say but it was gojng to happen.
“We were cheating on you” There it was.
Deep down you knew it all along.
“How is Lily doing?” You asked. It was Lily it had always been Lily. They loved her first and she would always be first. The girl with emerald green eyes and flaming red hair. They told you not to worry about her but you knew and you were right. No matter who you were you would always be the second choice. Because why choose Y/N L/N when they can have Lily Evans.
“How di-”
“Wha-”
“This was a mistake” you stood up from your desk and walked to your room. You grabbed your suitcases not been unpacked yet. And grabbed your book from the desk.
“Tell Dumbledore I am sorry but something else came up” you stated flatley.
“Y/N-” Remus started but you cut him off.
“I refuse to be second choice again not with you or this job. He wanted you first and you refused… For the first time in my life, I’m not going to be second… Goodbye, My Loves, I’m sorry” With that you stepped into the fireplace and vanished in the flames.
*******************************************************
Harry came into the Potter-Lupin-Black household holding a book in his hand.
“Hey Look what I found in the Muggle Book shop” Harry came in and showed his three fathers.
It was a light lilac book, average size with gold accents.
On the cover, it read 'to my first choice, from your second - Y/N L/N’
I’M BACK LOVES!!!
sorry I went M.I.A. I am studying A lot because I have a Big Exam in June so yk. Also, I’m a lazy Bitch. Anyways you can now stop your enquiring about when will Part Two be out. It’s here now also on April Fool’s Day it’s not a joke though I promise. Also Happy Birthday to the Weasley Twins who are both very alive and well. Sorry for the like Year-long wait.
See you guys later xx
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Orion Black offers Remus more money than he could’ve dreamed of. The only condition? Stay away from his son.
(This got way fluffier than I anticipated towards the end)
A slow smile spreads across Orion Black’s face as he writes something down on a piece of paper, and slides it over the broad, wooden desk towards Remus. “Read the number on that paper,” he says confidently. “And tell me again how much you love him.”
To Put a Price On Love
“How much?”
Remus hardly dares to move under the intensity of Orion Black’s scrutinizing gaze. The man is sitting behind his polished wooden writing desk, one large hand holding a pen hovering above some sort of notebook.
Remus is visiting the Black Manor for a couple of days, finally meeting his boyfriend’s family. Much to Remus’ dismay, his boyfriend had been reluctant to take him home, but after some insisting on Remus’ part, he finally agreed. After the first day of staying at the posh manor, Remus had changed his goal of making his boyfriend’s parents like him, to making his boyfriend’s parents not kill him in his sleep.
Orion and Walburga Black are stiff, formal and standoffish people. Their noses are constantly scrunched up in distaste, and their lips pressed in a thin line. They hardly say a word to Remus, and Remus hasn’t once seen them smile. He honestly can’t even imagine it. Where his boyfriend’s silver grey eyes are bright and sparkling with vibrant energy, Walburga Black’s eyes are cold and empty, while Orion Black’s gaze is hard as steel.
That gaze is now intently fixed on Remus, and Remus feels like he’s being weighed and found wanting.
Thanks for the help with the pic @signifiquint
The angstiest fic I have ever written… you have been warned… read the warnings!
Chapter One: In This Valley of Dying Stars
Sirius will never forget this day. It’s a miserable, wet Wednesday, 10th March 1999. Remus’ thirty-ninth birthday. He doesn’t want Remus to be stuck here in St. Mungo’s, lying in the neat, starched, white hospital bed. The disinfectant smell makes him gag, perhaps it’s the dog in him, it’s overwhelming. The walls are white too, the dark shadows under Remus’ eyes a stark contrast. He paces up and down the small room, looking at Remus. There’s a gnawing feeling pulling at his chest. He needs to get them both out of here, quickly. Before it’s too late. Too late for what?
Remus is acting strangely, he thinks. For one, he isn’t complaining about his constant moving, telling him to sit down. He should be, it’s irritating. And the look in his eyes, it’s hard to describe, but if Sirius had to put a name to it, he would say that Remus is worried, about him – eyes following him, wordlessly, as he continues his pacing. Concerned.
“I think we should leave,” he says abruptly.
“The Healer wants to talk to you, to us,” Remus corrects himself. “Before we go.”
His voice is kind, compassionate. But firm. And a bit fragile. Sirius doesn’t like it, what it means.
“This is a waste of time. It’s your birthday, we don’t have time to- “ he digs his nails into the palm of his hands.
Sometimes he hates being an Animagus. A dog, specifically. That sixth sense. Pheromones, body language, whatever the hell it is, he’s always been right before. Death. Doom. It sounds melodramatic. Such a histrionic, contrived boy, an embarrassment, nobody believes your ranting – he can still hear his mother’s voice, venom, making him doubt himself. Maybe it’s bullshit. But he can smell it.
“Please, Moony,” he shivers, standing at the foot of Remus’ bed, gripping the iron railing.
Keep reading on Ao3
Gems [Wolfstar Drabble]
Note:I’ve never written in present-tense before so it’s so inconsistent…I just don’t know how to write akldjfhal
Summary:On their wedding day, Remus doesn’t feel good enough to marry someone like Sirius Black, so Sirius helps out a bit ;)
“Are you ready?”
Sighing, Remus straightens his posture for the mirror. “I think so.”
“Are you sure?” Lily tilts her head as she looks him over. “You look…wonderful. Why don’t you feel it?”
That’s what he’d been asking himself. All Remus can do is shrug, but the answer doesn’t come. Instead, he swallows hard and asks, “Where’s Sirius?”
“Here.” His groom pops his head in, his body following a second later. His lips, glossed with a light rose, spread into a dazzling smile. The white of his robes bring out his eyes, grey like the moon and popping due to the mascara in his lashes. Even his cheekbones somehow look polished. His lustrous black hair was pulled into a ponytail and tied with a ribbon so red it looked to be made of hundreds of drops of blood, to match the glittering jewels that adorned his neck and fingers.
“You look like a sexy vampire,” Remus mumbles. “Do I match?”
His own reflection gave him all the answers he needed. His robes were also white, but there were not blood red accents, but light blue accents, like aquamarine. No jewellery, leaving his collarbone bare and his hands empty. He wore nothing in his hair but a tiny bit of Sleakeazy’s Hair Gel, and the only makeup on his face was a bit of cherry-flavoured Chapstick. Overall, he looked about ten times more plain.
“We don’t need to match,” Sirius says with a wave of his hand. “You look beautiful. Ethereal, even.”
“Wow. Who taught you that word?”
“Oh, shut it.” Drawing closer and snaking an arm around Remus’ waist, he begins to admire both of their reflections. “We look fuckin’ sexy.”
“You do.” Remus sighs. “I…I don’t know, I’m just not feeling…what I thought I was going to feel. I feel bare next to you. And Lily, and James, and everyone.”
“Us?” Lily puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We don’t look half as good as you do. James is just wearing a blazer and pants, not even a tie. I’m wearing a sundress. Everyone’s semi-formal, but you two look regal.”
“Thank you, Lily.”
“Wait. Shut up.” Sirius puts a hand up. “Oh, shut up, I’ve got it!” And like wind he sped from the room, robes flying behind him like something from a painting.
Lily patted his back. “I’ll be right back. Good luck.”
As she left, Sirius burst back into the room, hands behind his back. “Close your eyes.”
“Wha-”
“Close your eyes or I’ll marry Peter instead,” he warns with a little bounce. “We’ve got to hurry, I think the crowd is getting restless–and by ‘crowd’ I mean James. You know he can’t sit in a chair doing nothing for long.”
As soon as he closed his eyes, Remus heard something click, and then after that, felt a brush patting into his face.
“Please don’t let that be any sort of colour,” Remus pleads half-heartedly.
“It’s not.” Sirius promises in a tiny voice, as though he was focusing really, really hard. Every so often the brush gets replaced with his fingers, pushing and sliding on his skin. His hands were warm. Always warm.
A few times, Remus opened his eyes a smidge, only to see Sirius with his tongue poking out, eyes narrowed as he put all his concentration on the task at hand. And for looking when he wasn’t supposed to, got poked in the eye.
“Okay. Open.”
Remus looked unsteadily at his groom, who was beaming, before turning to the mirror.
“…Oh.”
He leaned closer. His scars glittered like a thousand tiny gems embedded in his skin. Only his scars. They were…
“Beautiful.”
Sirius takes his hand and kisses it gently. “Good. Now lets go get married, shall we?”
Clutching Lily’s hand, he began to walk the aisle. Sirius had plucked bluebells and stuck them in Remus hair on the way to the garden, so now they too added to his aura. His stomach twisted and the deep-rooted feeling of anxiety thrashed, but with his eyes trained on the man waiting for him up ahead, he could live with it.
He was beautiful. He looked it. He knew it, judging by the red of his new husband’s eyes. He even felt it.
Chapter 2: He blamed himself read here on ao3
Chapter two of my fix it fic
He blamed himself. Everyday until the department of mysteries he blamed himself. He blamed others too. Peter, Voldemort, Dumbledore. In fits of anger he even blamed Remus, but that blame never lasted and he laid the blame with himself again.
Thinking of Remus was what almost broke him. They had argued all the time, just as much of his fault as it was Remus’, and in the last few months he hadn’t trusted him and he regretted that constantly, but he still loved the man with all his heart.
From the moment Sirius had laid eyes on the boy sitting in that train carriage he wanted to know him.
For the first few years he had protested in his mind that he just wanted to be friends with him but there was always an inkling that he never thought of Remus like he thought of James. And that had scared him. His family’s prejudices were so deeply ingrained into him that even now, at the age of 22, he still occasionally felt that his and remus’ relationship was wrong.
When he and Mary started dating it had just been to keep James off his back and then Remus had kissed him on his birthday. Sirius remembered the kiss more vividly than anything else. It had been perfect but he was terrified of admitting, even to himself the feelings he had for Remus. And so he had continued to date Mary and started to shut Remus out a little bit.
The next while of him and Remus shagging secretly and then pretending that they weren’t attracted to each other had been torture for the both of them. Sirius had let Remus believe that he simply didnt care about him in that way as a way of trying to convince himself hadn’t worked so he had been unbelievably cruel to the wolf and to himself.
Then in Cornwall when they had admitted their feelings Sirius had felt freer than ever before and even with the war it had stayed that way until James and Lilys’ deaths.
He loved Remus with all his heart. When he wasn’t there it hurt physically and even when the two of them were arguing he never wanted to even think about another person.
He loved Remus more than anyone could ever love anything he thought, with perhaps the exception of Lily and James. The two were perfect together and were perfectly matched. He would never admit it but he was incredibly jealous of the two of them. They had been destined for eachother from the beginning, so unlike him and Remus, and had barely had a minute of hardship in their relationship.And they had yet to be parted. Even in death. Perhaps it was the place he was in but Sirius wished constantly that Voldemort had killed him too and that he wouldn’t have to live without Remus anymore.
Live knowing that Remus hated him so much. And that was what almost broke him. That Remus probably would never learn the truth.
I just finished “all the young dudes” after reading it for two days straight and fuuuuuuucccckkkk. It hurts!
Ok first of all. Its amazing! The writing is so good and the characterisation is on point. Wolfstar is portrayed so well and I ship them so much now.
James and lily were amazing in it as well as Mary and Marlene.
The plot(non canon) was so thought out and played off so well.
And yeah I did cry for the last like 15 chapters.
But I highly recommend it if you haven’t already read it.
I just finished “all the young dudes” after reading it for two days straight and fuuuuuuucccckkkk. It hurts!
Ok first of all. Its amazing! The writing is so good and the characterisation is on point. Wolfstar is portrayed so well and I ship them so much now.
James and lily were amazing in it as well as Mary and Marlene.
The plot(non canon) was so thought out and played off so well.
And yeah I did cry for the last like 15 chapters.
But I highly recommend it if you haven’t already read it.
Hey everyone~ I’m not on the Jily Discord but I’ve read everything on Tumblr as it appears on my dash, and I just want anyone who’s been hurt by it to know I hear you and I support you I’ve never had plans to write DE James and I never will because that’s not who he is to me. My stance on the Death Eaters is clear in my writing; I refuse to romanticize, validate or support their beliefs through my depictions of the characters or plots.
On that note, I do have a fic where Sirius is a Death Eater though it’s revealed he’s actually a spy; he subtly helps James when he came and flees to the Order when he’s exposed. He’s still Sirius, firm in his beliefs of right and wrong and with a good heart.
I’ve never been good at tags, and the ones on that fic are kinda sparse, but I do have ‘death eater Sirius’. I understand why someone would turn away from that so, what can I add to the tags to protect anyone who might not want to see/read it in their searches?
(Wolfstar Crush Confession with just Fluff and Humour, starring Matchmaker Remus Lupin and his client Sirius Black)
“Let me make one thing very clear,” Madame Puddifoot snaps. “You better start arranging dates for Sirius Black, so he can find his perfect match, or otherwise, there may not be a future for you at this agency.”
Remus works as a matchmaker at Madame Puddifoot’s Dating Agency, and if he wants to keep his job, he has to find a match for ‘most eligible bachelor’ Sirius Black. While there are plenty of very willing candidates, for some reason, Remus is reluctant to let any of them go on a date with Sirius Black.
A Worthy Match
“Okay, listen to this,” Lily says. “Dorcas Meadows, with Marlene?”
Remus taps his pen on his paper in thought. “Alright. That could work. That could really work. They could be good together, and it could be really good, but it could also be a complete disaster. They are both very strong-willed. Dorcas can be snarky, and Marlene can be a lot. They can either end up loving each other, or killing each other.”
“True,” Lily says, leaning back on her desk chair. “But think about it like this: do you see either of them with someone who’s not strong-willed? They need someone who doesn’t go along with everything they say.”
“Good point,” Remus says. “I’d say make it happen!”
Lily grins and starts typing on her computer.
Remus scrolls through his email. “Oh lord,” he groans. “We received another application from Gilderoy Lockhart.”
Lily raises her eyebrows. “Really? After the background check we did?”
Remus scans the email. “He says the plagiarism case is just a ‘minor inconvenience that he’s sure will be resolved soon’.”
Lily snorts. “Good god, does he believe those stories himself?”
Remus shakes his head. “Can you imagine if we had taken him up into our database and set one of our clients up on a date with him?”
Lily shudders. “That would’ve cost us a client in the least.”
The database is filled with singles of all ages, genders and preferences, but all have gone through an extensive selection process. When a client enlists at their agency, they first check whether they have the proper financial means to cover their services and the right intentions when it comes to finding someone, and when a client is accepted, they are set up with members from the database who could be potential matches.
Remus lets his fingers glide over the keyboard. “Let me see, how do you say ‘fuck off’ in a professional way?” He starts typing. “ ‘Dear Mr. Lockhart. As per my last email…’ ”
Lily chuckles, but she immediately shuts up when they hear the tell-tale sound of high heels ticking on the hardwood floor.
In all her promotional material and public appearances, Madame Puddifoot looks like your favourite aunt, with her bright pink suits, neatly curled blond hair and wide, red lipstick smiles. But working for her has taught Remus that beyond the scenes, she’s actually a hands-on, ruthless business woman, who’s willing to go to any length for her company. It’s what it takes to run the most prestigious dating agency in the city and the surrounding area, known for its high-quality database, long-term successes and discretion. Madame Puddifoot’s Dating Agency is a household name, that caters to a large variety of prominent clients; celebrities, athletes, socialites, business men, politicians, you name it.
(Wolfstar Crush Confession with just Fluff and Humour, starring Matchmaker Remus Lupin and his client Sirius Black)
“Let me make one thing very clear,” Madame Puddifoot snaps. “You better start arranging dates for Sirius Black, so he can find his perfect match, or otherwise, there may not be a future for you at this agency.”
Remus works as a matchmaker at Madame Puddifoot’s Dating Agency, and if he wants to keep his job, he has to find a match for ‘most eligible bachelor’ Sirius Black. While there are plenty of very willing candidates, for some reason, Remus is reluctant to let any of them go on a date with Sirius Black.
A Worthy Match
“Okay, listen to this,” Lily says. “Dorcas Meadows, with Marlene?”
Remus taps his pen on his paper in thought. “Alright. That could work. That could really work. They could be good together, and it could be really good, but it could also be a complete disaster. They are both very strong-willed. Dorcas can be snarky, and Marlene can be a lot. They can either end up loving each other, or killing each other.”
“True,” Lily says, leaning back on her desk chair. “But think about it like this: do you see either of them with someone who’s not strong-willed? They need someone who doesn’t go along with everything they say.”
“Good point,” Remus says. “I’d say make it happen!”
Lily grins and starts typing on her computer.
Remus scrolls through his email. “Oh lord,” he groans. “We received another application from Gilderoy Lockhart.”
Lily raises her eyebrows. “Really? After the background check we did?”
Remus scans the email. “He says the plagiarism case is just a ‘minor inconvenience that he’s sure will be resolved soon’.”
Lily snorts. “Good god, does he believe those stories himself?”
Remus shakes his head. “Can you imagine if we had taken him up into our database and set one of our clients up on a date with him?”
Lily shudders. “That would’ve cost us a client in the least.”
The database is filled with singles of all ages, genders and preferences, but all have gone through an extensive selection process. When a client enlists at their agency, they first check whether they have the proper financial means to cover their services and the right intentions when it comes to finding someone, and when a client is accepted, they are set up with members from the database who could be potential matches.
Remus lets his fingers glide over the keyboard. “Let me see, how do you say ‘fuck off’ in a professional way?” He starts typing. “ ‘Dear Mr. Lockhart. As per my last email…’ ”
Lily chuckles, but she immediately shuts up when they hear the tell-tale sound of high heels ticking on the hardwood floor.
In all her promotional material and public appearances, Madame Puddifoot looks like your favourite aunt, with her bright pink suits, neatly curled blond hair and wide, red lipstick smiles. But working for her has taught Remus that beyond the scenes, she’s actually a hands-on, ruthless business woman, who’s willing to go to any length for her company. It’s what it takes to run the most prestigious dating agency in the city and the surrounding area, known for its high-quality database, long-term successes and discretion. Madame Puddifoot’s Dating Agency is a household name, that caters to a large variety of prominent clients; celebrities, athletes, socialites, business men, politicians, you name it.
Madame Puddifoot demands full effort from all her employees. With her, there are three clear signs you’re in trouble. One, she says the dreaded words ‘my office’, two, she calls you by your last name, and three, worst of all, she calls you ‘sweetie’.
Remus almost lets out a relieved breath when Madame Puddifoot has passed his desk, but then she says, without even a glance in his direction, “Lupin, my office, sweetie.”
Remus groans, and the whole office throws him pitying looks. Lily bravely manages to give him an encouraging smile as Remus gets up and follows Madame Puddifoot into her office.
Well, he knew this was coming.
“I assume you know the reason you’re here.”
“Yes, madam.”
“And that is…?”
Remus sighs. “Sirius Black.”
Everyone in the area and beyond knows the name Sirius Black. He’s sort of a socialite. He’s the eldest son of the illustrious and powerful Black family, and heir to the Black family fortune. But he’s not just some party-boy rich heir. He studied Medicine, and volunteered with Doctors Without Borders for a few years. Now, he’s running a department in the city’s largest hospital, and often campaigns against the poor coverage of medical costs for vulnerable people.
Now, combine all that with the fact that Sirius Black is drop-dead gorgeous. Like, magazine cover gorgeous. Literally. Tabloids are fascinated with the famous heir and handsome doctor, and their covers often feature stories about him. If you’re launching a product, you’ll want Sirius Black to endorse it. If you’re hosting an event, you’ll want Sirius Black on the guest list. Of course, after being the city’s most eligible bachelor for years, the fact that Sirius Black has gone to a dating agency to find love caused quite a stir. Finding Sirius Black his perfect match will undoubtedly generate an immense amount of publicity for Madame Puddifoot’s Dating Agency.
“I do not have to tell you how much it will benefit our business if we can add the name Sirius Black to our list if satisfied customers,” Madame Puddifoot says.
Remus nods.
“Well then,” Madame Puddifoot folds her hands together. “Let me try a different approach then. Let me tell you what it would mean for our business if we fail in making a success story out of Sirius Black. Sirius Black is young, handsome and rich. If we can’t find him someone, then what hope is there for the rest? Why would anyone still come to us to find their match if we can’t even find a match for someone like Sirius Black? We might as well go out of business! Do you understand, Lupin?”
“Yes, Madam. I do.”
“Then explain to me, if you understand all that, why are you doing such a poor job?”
“I’m trying-” Remus protest.
“No, sweetie, you are not!” Madame Puddifoot interrupts. “At least I hope you’re not, because if this is you trying, it’s even worse then I thought.” She shakes her head. “And it started off so promising, when you had your exploratory business dinners.” When a client is accepted, the agent the client is assigned to usually arranges one or more business lunches or dinners with the client, to get a better read on them, get a clear idea of what they are looking for, what their likes and dislikes are, and in what points they might be willing to compromise, which is all incorporated into the client file. “Sirius Black was actually very enthusiastic about you.”
“He was?” Remus asks, feeling a rush of excitement, but Madame Puddifoot ignores him.
“I don’t understand how he hasn’t started complaining yet. Your performance has been absolutely unacceptable.” She picks up a report from her desk. “He has been our client for months now, and so far, you have set him up on… two dates.”
She looks up at Remus from over the report. Remus stays silent, so she continues. “One dinner, which they both reported to be quite pleasant, but then, immediately afterwards, you put his date in a cab home.” She puts down the report and gives Remus a pointed look. “Dare I ask why you were even there?”
“To chaperone!” Remus quickly says. “Like you said, Sirius Black isn’t just any client. I needed to make sure our member was on his best behaviour.”
Madame Puddifoot just looks at him.
“I sat at a different table,” Remus mumbles.
Madame Puddifoot pinches the bridge of her nose. “And sending his date home on his own immediately after?”
“He didn’t make any move to pay for his dinner when the check came!” Remus says indignantly. “Nothing! Not even a half-hearted attempt at suggesting to split the bill! We can’t have Sirius Black thinking our member are gold-diggers or something.”
Madame Puddifoot sighs and flips through the report. “And the other date, seeing the City Orchestra playing in the Royal Theatre. And you were sitting behind them.” She looks up at Remus again. “To chaperone.” She says sceptically.
“To chaperone,” Remus confirms.
“And then,” Madame Puddifoot scans the report. “In the break, you sent his date home and took his place.”
“He placed his hand on Sirius Black’s thigh!” Remus protests. “Not even halfway through the first date! It was highly inappropriate! I had to intervene. We can’t have Sirius Black thinking we’re that kind of agency, can we?”
“And that’s all you’ve done so far,” Madame Puddifoot continues undeterred. “Two dates, nothing more.”
“Well, if anything, those dates proved that I had to be even more selective!” Remus retorts. “I don’t want to send him on just any date, I want to wait until I’m sure I’ve found him the perfect date!”
“Only Sirius can decide whom he finds perfect for him, and you should’ve been presenting him with options.”
“If I could find options that are good enough…”
“Lupin,” Madame Puddifoot says firmly. “Each young man in our database has been hand-picked by me, and each of them is highly educated, accomplished, and well-spoken. And you honestly claim that after months, you weren’t able to find more than two options?”
“It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality.”
“And you haven’t been delivering either!” Madame Puddifoot slams her papers down on her desk, and then takes a deep breath to compose herself. “Truthfully, I wanted to pass your client on to a different agent, but Sirius Black insisted he’d like to keep working with you, God knows why.”
“He did?” Remus asks, unable to stop his lips curling into a dopey smile.
“Wipe that smile off of your face, sweetie,” Madame Puddifoot snaps. “If I could’ve given your client to someone else, at least you would’ve kept your job, but as it is, let me make one thing very clear. You better start arranging dates for Sirius Black, so he can find his perfect match, or otherwise, there may not be a future for you at this agency.”
“Lily, will you take care of my plant when I’m gone?”
“No,” Lily says, from where she’s sitting perched on the corner of Remus’ desk. “First of all, that has got to be the ugliest plant I have ever seen.”
“Oi, she can hear you!” Remus hisses.
“Secondly,” Lily continues undeterred. “You are not going to lose your job! Madame Puddifoot is right. Sirius Black is handsome, rich, and successful, how hard can it be to find him a match?” She picks up the folder with their database from Remus’ desk and starts flipping the pages. “Oh, what about Fabian Prewett?” She exclaims. “They will look good together!”
Remus purses his lips. “Didn’t he just get divorced? We don’t want Sirius Black to be used as some kind of rebound.”
“He married way too young, and he got divorced three years ago.”
“Sounds pretty fresh to me,” Remus says.
“Okay,” Lily starts flipping the pages again. “Caradoc Dearborn then? He’s a great guy!”
“Caradoc Dearborn doesn’t like dogs,” Remus says pointedly.
“So?”
“Sirius Black loves dogs!”
Lily takes Sirius’ file from Remus’ desk and scans the document. “He hasn’t listed a hard demand about liking dogs anywhere!”
“No,” Remus admits. “But someone who doesn’t like dogs is obviously a psychopath, Lily. I can’t send Sirius Black on a date with a psychopath, now can I?”
“Remus, you’ve known Caradoc for years. You know he’s not a psychopath!”
“Do I, Lily? Do I really?”
Lily narrows her eyes at him. “Alright, let’s see… Benjy Fenwick! Everyone always loves Benjy! He’s such a sweetheart.”
“Yes, he’s sweet…” Remus says.
“But?” Lily asks, with barely suppressed annoyance.
“But he’s too sweet! I mean, Sirius Black is a bit of a rebel. He’s the kind of guy who likes to live his life with a little risk, and thinks rules are meant to be broken. Benjy is the kind of guy who gets a panic attack when he’s a day late returning a library book.”
“Evan Rosier then? No one can accuse him of being too sweet.”
“No, he’s too posh.”
“Sirius Black is posh!”
“No, he’s not!”
“Remus, he’s a Black. That family is the textbook-definition of posh.”
“I know he seems posh, but once you get to know him, you’ll see that he’s really not. He’s actually very down-to-earth, open and approachable.”
“If you say so,” Lily says, rolling her eyes. “Well, there’s Edgar Bones?”
“He’s alright.”
“So… you’ll let him go on a date with Sirius Black?”
Remus shrugs. “If you think just ‘alright’ is good enough for someone like Sirius Black.”
They continue like that for a while. “He’s too pretentious.” “He talks too much.” “He doesn’t talk enough.” “He’s not socially aware at all.”
“What about Victor?” Lily asks.
“He won’t get Sirius’ humour,” Remus replies directly.
“Now you’re just making shite up!” Lily throws the folder back on Remus’ desk. “There isn’t even a Victor in our database!”
Remus crosses his arms over his chest. “But if there was, I’m sure he wouldn’t get Sirius’ humour!”
Lily jabs her finger against Remus’ chest. “You’re just being purposely difficult!”
“I’m just making sure we uphold to a certain standard in quality! I’m just doing my job, and I don’t know why everyone is on my case about it!”
Lily opens her mouth to protest, but then the door to the office opens and Lily groans. “Oh, for the love of God, what is he doing here?”
James Potter has just walked in. He’s a professional athlete. Neither Remus nor Lily knows the first thing about sports, but apparently, he’s the next big thing in football or something. At first, Lily was very excited to have him as her client, but at this point, that excitement has turned into frustration.
“It’s the same thing every time,” Lily has often complained. “I set him up on this lovely date with this lovely girl and they have a lovely time- afterwards, they all gush about what a perfect gentleman he is, so he’s not just in it for an easy shag- but he says the same thing after each date: ‘There wasn’t a spark’. I swear, Remus, the guy just doesn’t know what he wants!”
Truth is, James Potter knows exactly what he wants: a fiery red-head who scolds him when he forgets to hold the door open for his date and rolls her eyes at him when he talks about sports too much.
James grins broadly when he approaches them. “Hi Lily, Remus. That’s an… interesting plant you got there. How are you?”
“Busy,” Lily says curtly, as if she isn’t currently sitting on top of Remus’ desk, clearly not working. “And I do not believe we have an appointment today.”
“We don’t,” James says. “But you’ve arranged this lunch date with Emily this Saturday-”
“Emmeline.”
“Right. This lunch with Emmeline this Saturday. Now, I found this Italian sandwich shop, but I’m not sure if it’s suitable for a date. I was thinking that maybe we can check it out together, so you can see if it’s something Emmeline would like?”
“I don’t think you can go wrong with an Italian sandwich shop,” Lily replies, idly inspecting her nails.
“It might be good to get a woman’s input,” James urges.
“What a woman considers a good lunch place isn’t that different from what a man considers a good lunch place, Potter.”
“Still,” James says. “Best to be sure. My treat, of course!”
Lily looks over at Remus, who shrugs. “Free lunch?”
Lily lets out an exasperated sigh, as she jumps off of the desk. “Fine!” She grabs her purse and marches towards the door. “But I’m putting these hours on your bill!”
James, smiling like the cat that got the cream, gives Remus an awkward wave before quickly following Lily outside.
Remus shakes his head. James is a good guy, bless him. And actually, it’s not a bad idea, checking out a location beforehand with your client. You know, to see if it has the right feel and atmosphere before you send them on a date there. He knows this really cute restaurant down at fifth street, maybe he should ask Sirius if he’d like-
“Lupin!”
Remus is pulled out of his thoughts by Madame Puddifoot slamming down a form on his desk.
“After you left, I realised that I just couldn’t leave the future of my agency in your incapable hands, so I decided to take it upon myself to organize a Mix and Match Event for Sirius Black! I have already made a list of all members I want to be invited and booked a venue. Now, after the event, Sirius Black will fill out the names of the young men he’d like to see again, and then all you need to do, is set up follow-up dates with the persons whose name Sirius Black has written down. I trust even you can do that much?”
Remus nods dumbly, and Madame Puddifoot gives a satisfied smile before stalking away, leaving Remus to stare at the list like it has personally offended him.
The venue Madame Puddifoot has booked is the lobby of a fancy hotel. The standing tables are covered in crisp white tablecloths with intricate flower arrangements in the middle, waiters are walking around with trays filled with high glasses containing expensive wine or small hors-d’oeuvres, and soft, classical music is playing. The place is fancy, polished and clean.
Exactly the kind of place Sirius hates.
Sirius would’ve preferred a casual pub, Remus thinks as he looks around with frown. Somewhere with pints of beer, fried onion rings, band music playing in the background.
But despite not liking it, Sirius Black fits in perfectly. In his fitted trousers, suit jacket, and long hair tied into a neat, high ponytail, he looks devastatingly handsome. Even the waiters, however professional they may be, are giving him looks. He’s charming, and seems comfortable and at ease, making easy conversation.
Nearby, Sirius is currently talking to Fabian Prewett, both of them smiling and chatting animatedly. Remus scoffs. So Lily thought they’d look good together? Well, he really can’t see it.
“Really?” Fabian smiles up at Sirius. “You drive a motorcycle?”
“I do,” Sirius replies.
“Because a leather jacket looks so good on you?” Fabian asks with a wink, and Remus has to quickly put his glass down, as it makes a dangerous cracking sound as he subconsciously tightened his grip around it.
“Oh, definitely,” Sirius laughs. “But that’s not the only reason. It just gives you this great sense of freedom.”
“I’d love to know how that feels.”
“Do you know how to drive?”
“No,” Fabian replies. “But I’d let you give me a ride any day.”
And that’s just it! If that’s not inappropriate then Remus doesn’t know what is! Surely he must intervene now.
“Fabian,” Remus says coldly, walking up to them. “Could you give me a moment with Sirius please?”
Fabian looks from Remus to Sirius, and back to Remus, an amused expression appearing on his face. “Sure, Remus. Whatever you want,” he says with a smirk as he walks away.
Remus stares after him. Now what was that all about? Then he notices Sirius gazing at him, and all thoughts of Fabian immediately disappear from his mind.
“I, ehm, I just wanted to check how you’re doing?” Remus says. “How are you enjoying getting to know the other men?”
“You know,” Sirius replies with a teasing smile. “It would be easier to get to know them if you would let anyone talk to me for longer than five minutes.”
Remus’ cheeks flush. “Well, that’s… just my job. I need to make sure you don’t get overwhelmed, you know. These events can be a lot.”
Sirius nods. “It is quite overwhelming to think that these amazing men would all be interested in me. Well, my looks and money, at least,” he adds with a shrug.
“I promise you that each member of Madame Puddifoot’s would never-” Remus begins to protest, but Sirius cuts him off.
“It’s okay! Don’t worry, it’s fine. I mean, I went to a dating agency to be set up on dates with men whom I don’t know, and who don’t know anything else about me, so it’s kind of what I signed up for.”
“They might not know much more about you now,” Remus admits. “But once they’ll get to know you, they’ll have so much more and so much better reasons to like you! You’re so funny, incredibly smart, kind…” He trails off as Sirius looks at him with an unreadable expression on his face, and for a moment, they just look at each other.
Then Sirius shakes himself out of it and a clears his throat. “So, how does this thing work? Do I get to hand out roses at the end?”
Remus chuckles. “Nothing that fancy, I’m afraid. You just write down the name of each person you’d like to go on an actual date with on this form and hand it back to me, and I’ll arrange the follow up dates for you.”
“I can do that,” Sirius says with a bright smile as he takes the form from Remus.
I can’t, Remus thinks, reading the piece of paper for what is probably the hundredth time. Well, he can, but he shouldn’t. Should he? It’s probably not just frowned upon, but actually forbidden. Yes, Remus is pretty sure there was something about this sort of thing in the contract he signed when he started working for Madame Puddifoot’s.
But then again, it is his job. The client writes down the names, Remus sets up the dates, plain and simple as that. Madame Puddifoot’s words echo in his head
“All you need to do, is set up follow-up dates with the persons whose name Sirius Black has written down. I trust even you can do that much?”
He can do that much. Madame Puddifoot has been very clear in what she wants him to do, so the least Remus can do, is simply do it. He doesn’t have a choice, really. He has to do his job, after all.
Remus grins broadly as he unlocks his computer and starts typing in the name of his favourite restaurant in the search bar. He glances one more time at piece of paper, the form Sirius Black has filled out, where only one name is written down in his elegant handwriting: Remus Lupin
“Wow!” Sirius exclaims as he steps onto the rooftop terrace and takes in the table setting, the candles, and Remus in his favourite jumper.
“Hi,” Remus says.
“Hi,” Sirius replies.
“I, ehm,” Remus is nervously wringing his hands. “I hope I didn’t misinterpret?”
Sirius barks a laugh. “Remus, I was asked to write down the names of whom I’d like to date, and I only wrote down your name. There’s hardly any room for interpretation.” Then a slightly uncertain look appears on his face. “Though, I know I am your client, and I don’t want you to feel obligated to do anything. I can imagine it’s not-done in your profession, and you don’t want to jeopardize your job. But the truth is, I really like you, and I think you may like me too. The only reason I came to a dating agency is because I was hoping to find someone who can make me feel the way you make me feel, so I thought I at least owed it to myself to try.”
“I took this job because I believed in love,” Remus says slowly. “And I thought that if I could help at least one person find it, it’ll be worth it. So, it would be rather counterproductive to give up on a chance at love in order to keep my job.”
“Love?” Sirius asks, his face lighting up.
“Chance at love,” Remus corrects with a smile. Then he holds out his hand. “If that’s a chance you’re willing to take?”
Sirius doesn’t hesitate for a second as he takes Remus’ hand. “In a heartbeat.”
One year later
“I’m just worried she’s making a mistake,” Lily says, leaning back against the soft cushions of the large suede corner sofa. “And God knows what she sees in him! Vernon Dursley has got to be the most boring person you’re ever going to meet.”
“You’ve always had a different taste than your sister,” Remus says, while taking a chocolate truffle made of rich, Belgian chocolate from the crystal bowl on the table. “In the end, she’s a grown woman and it’s her decision.”
“And it’s such a terrible cliché,” Lily sighs, hugging one of the silk cushions to her chest. “The secretary hooking up with her boss. What will her co-workers say? The whole thing is inappropriate and unprofessional!”
“Lily,” Remus says. “Neither one of us is in any position to judge someone for inappropriate and unprofessional work relations. After all, we both took a job at an exclusive dating agency, snatched up the hottest, richest guys for ourselves, and bailed.”
Lily stares at him in horror. “Oh God, we really are that kind of people, aren’t we?”
Remus nods. “We are.”
Lily looks over at the kitchen, where Sirius is leaning on the kitchen island, looking like a model in an add with his dark hair gracefully falling over his eyes and wearing a white button-down with the top buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, animatedly talking to James, who looks dashingly handsome in his soft cashmere sweater, and has just taken four crystal wine glasses out of the cupboard and is now opening a bottle of wine that most likely costs more than what Remus and Lily used to pay for rent summed up.
“Oh well,” Lily sighs. “It was worth it.”
“So worth it,” Remus agrees, putting another chocolate truffle in his mouth.
A Far Cry From Perfect
New chapter: Happy nonetheless
I…” Remus hesitates. “I’m happy, but I can’t… enjoy being happy. Because to enjoy being happy, I have to be aware that I’m happy, and as soon as I’m aware that I’m happy, I automatically start to remind myself of all the reasons why I shouldn’t be happy.” He doesn’t have to say what those reasons are. It’s as clear as day. As clear as the recently healed wound on Sirius’s abdomen.
Sirius frowns. “What use is being happy if you can’t enjoy it?”
“I do enjoy having these moments with you,” Remus says. “But I can’t… stop and think about it. I can be happy, as long as I don’t consider it too much.”
“You know that I want you to be happy, right?” Sirius’s fingers softly stroke his cheek. “Now, when I get sicker, when I’m gone. No matter when, where, or why, I’m always going to want you to be happy.”
Okay, so maybe in the past Sirius has said once or twice that he’s not really a fan of Valentine’s Day, but at least he’s keeping an open mind!
Have some short Wolfstar Valentine Fluff!
“Prongs, have I told you how much I hate Valentine’s Day?”
Yes, Padfoot, James wants to say. As a matter of fact, you have. A few times even. And with a few times, I mean a few hundred times. In the last hour. At the very least.
But James knows by now that it doesn’t matter what he says, Sirius won’t shut up about it, so he doesn’t even bother anymore. “Why, Padfoot, you don’t say!” He says, without even looking up from his book, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You? Disliking Valentine’s Day? Who would’ve thought! What a complete and utter shock!”
“It’s just so tacky!” Sirius continues, undisturbed. “Gross couples are always gross, do we really need an entire day dedicated to them being gross?”
“It’s not only for couples, y'know,” James remarks dryly. “You can also just go on a date with someone.”
“That’s even worse!” Sirius exclaims. “Walking to Hogsmeade together in a long line of other pairs walking to Hogsmeade together? Why, how romantic! And then what? Squeezing into Madam Puddifoot’s, where everything’s decorated in the most horrific shade of pink, to eat one of those pink monstrosities she calls pastries that taste like nothing but sugar? I think not! And don’t get me started on those Valentine chocolates they sell at Honeydukes! I mean, are people stupid? Those boxes contain less chocolate than a normal one, but cost twice that much, only because they’re shaped like some ugly heart. The only thing that’s worse are those roses people are giving each other. What on earth are you supposed to do with a single rose? And an enchanted one that never withers at that! Who in his right mind would want to keep some useless rose for long anyway?”
James shakes his head while listening to Sirius being some kind of Valentine-grinch. He’s relieved when he sees Remus walk over to them, he can use some other company. Unlike Sirius, Remus looks excited, and he’s wearing his red jumper especially for Valentine’s Day, bless him.
“Hi Padfoot,” Remus says, as he stops in front of them, sounding slightly anxious.
“Hi Moony,” Padfoot replies.
Hi Prongs, James thinks.
“So,” Remus runs a hand through his hair while nervously glancing at Sirius. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go to Hogsmeade? For Valentine’s Day? You and me? Together?”
“Going to Hogsmeade together for Valentine’s Day?” Sirius’ eyes grow wide.
Remus nods.
“That sounds wonderful!” Sirius exclaims.
“Really?” Remus asks, his face lighting up in a smile. “Great! I mean, I wasn’t sure if it’d be really your thing…”
“Are you kidding me?” Sirius says. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do!”
“I was thinking we could go to Madam Puddifoot’s,” Remus’ eyes sparkle as he speaks excitedly. “I’ve been really wanting to eat one of her famous pink Valentine’s Day pastries!”
Sirius doesn’t skip a beat. “Those are my favourite!”
“Wait,” Remus suddenly says. “I almost forgot! I got you something.” He reaches into the pocket of his robes, and pulls out one of the enchanted single roses. Blushing, he hands it over to Sirius. “I know it’s rather cheesy, but…”
“I love it!” Sirius breaths, staring at the rose like it’s the most precious thing he has ever seen. Well, second most precious thing he has ever seen, as he looks up at Remus. “I’m going to keep it forever! But I didn’t get you anything.”
“Oh, that’s okay, I-”
“I know!” Sirius interrupts. “I’ll get you one of those heart-shaped chocolate boxes from Honeydukes!”
Remus beams at him. “You’d really do that for me?”
“I’ll get you two! Three! Anything for you, Moony!”
Remus beams even brighter. “I can’t wait!”
“Me neither,” Sirius agrees, beaming right back at him.
Sirius sighs as Remus returns to his seat.
“Prongs, have I told you how much I love Valentine’s Day?”
Sirius’ principles are nothing if not flexible!
Okay, so maybe in the past Sirius has said once or twice that he’s not really a fan of Valentine’s Day, but at least he’s keeping an open mind!
Have some short Wolfstar Valentine Fluff!
“Prongs, have I told you how much I hate Valentine’s Day?”
Yes, Padfoot, James wants to say. As a matter of fact, you have. A few times even. And with a few times, I mean a few hundred times. In the last hour. At the very least.
But James knows by now that it doesn’t matter what he says, Sirius won’t shut up about it, so he doesn’t even bother anymore. “Why, Padfoot, you don’t say!” He says, without even looking up from his book, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You? Disliking Valentine’s Day? Who would’ve thought! What a complete and utter shock!”
“It’s just so tacky!” Sirius continues, undisturbed. “Gross couples are always gross, do we really need an entire day dedicated to them being gross?”
“It’s not only for couples, y'know,” James remarks dryly. “You can also just go on a date with someone.”
“That’s even worse!” Sirius exclaims. “Walking to Hogsmeade together in a long line of other pairs walking to Hogsmeade together? Why, how romantic! And then what? Squeezing into Madam Puddifoot’s, where everything’s decorated in the most horrific shade of pink, to eat one of those pink monstrosities she calls pastries that taste like nothing but sugar? I think not! And don’t get me started on those Valentine chocolates they sell at Honeydukes! I mean, are people stupid? Those boxes contain less chocolate than a normal one, but cost twice that much, only because they’re shaped like some ugly heart. The only thing that’s worse are those roses people are giving each other. What on earth are you supposed to do with a single rose? And an enchanted one that never withers at that! Who in his right mind would want to keep some useless rose for long anyway?”
James shakes his head while listening to Sirius being some kind of Valentine-grinch. He’s relieved when he sees Remus walk over to them, he can use some other company. Unlike Sirius, Remus looks excited, and he’s wearing his red jumper especially for Valentine’s Day, bless him.
“Hi Padfoot,” Remus says, as he stops in front of them, sounding slightly anxious.
“Hi Moony,” Padfoot replies.
Hi Prongs, James thinks.
“So,” Remus runs a hand through his hair while nervously glancing at Sirius. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go to Hogsmeade? For Valentine’s Day? You and me? Together?”
“Going to Hogsmeade together for Valentine’s Day?” Sirius’ eyes grow wide.
Remus nods.
“That sounds wonderful!” Sirius exclaims.
“Really?” Remus asks, his face lighting up in a smile. “Great! I mean, I wasn’t sure if it’d be really your thing…”
“Are you kidding me?” Sirius says. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do!”
“I was thinking we could go to Madam Puddifoot’s,” Remus’ eyes sparkle as he speaks excitedly. “I’ve been really wanting to eat one of her famous pink Valentine’s Day pastries!”
Sirius doesn’t skip a beat. “Those are my favourite!”
“Wait,” Remus suddenly says. “I almost forgot! I got you something.” He reaches into the pocket of his robes, and pulls out one of the enchanted single roses. Blushing, he hands it over to Sirius. “I know it’s rather cheesy, but…”
“I love it!” Sirius breaths, staring at the rose like it’s the most precious thing he has ever seen. Well, second most precious thing he has ever seen, as he looks up at Remus. “I’m going to keep it forever! But I didn’t get you anything.”
“Oh, that’s okay, I-”
“I know!” Sirius interrupts. “I’ll get you one of those heart-shaped chocolate boxes from Honeydukes!”
Remus beams at him. “You’d really do that for me?”
“I’ll get you two! Three! Anything for you, Moony!”
Remus beams even brighter. “I can’t wait!”
“Me neither,” Sirius agrees, beaming right back at him.
Sirius sighs as Remus returns to his seat.
“Prongs, have I told you how much I love Valentine’s Day?”
(High school AU! Well, I suppose Hogwarts is also high school, but the more cliché high school AU And the first fic where I’ve written Sirius not as super popular)
Remus and Sirius are all the way at the bottom of their high school’s social hierarchy, but still, Remus can’t help but admire the popular group, with their easygoing manner and confidence. So of course, when one of the popular guys starts showing an interest in Sirius, Remus feels jealous. Just not in the way he expected.
Newfound Popularity
“Glad you could make it!” Fabian Prewett smiles brightly at Remus, holding the door open to the ice cream shop that’s right next to their school.
“Yeah,” Remus says, his cheeks slightly reddened. “Glad you asked me.”
They walk inside and stop in front of the counter. Fabian Prewett turns to Remus. “What would you like?”
“Eh, I’ll have a chocolate milkshake with caramel syrup?”
“A chocolate caramel milkshake for him, and a plain frozen yogurt for me please,” Fabian Prewett tells the employee with another one of those charming smiles, who blushes and nods.
They sit across from each other at a small table, Remus awkwardly fiddling with the lid on his milkshake. Maybe he should’ve ordered something cooler, something less sweet? Sirius is always teasing him about his love for sugary drinks…
“So, I don’t think we’ve ever really talked much, huh?” Fabian Prewett asks.
“No.” Remus scrapes his throat. “No, not really.”
Fabian Prewett is really handsome, looking at him with those sparkling green eyes, and those cute freckles. Not to mention that, as captain of the swimming team, he’s in excellent physical shape. Tall and lean, and those shoulders… Which immediately explains why Remus and Fabian Prewett have never really talked before. They are in completely different leagues. Remus at the bottom of the social ladder, Fabian Prewett all the way at the top. Remus was shocked when Fabian Prewett asked him out for ice cream, to say the least.
“So…” Fabian Prewett drawls. “I actually wanted to ask you about Black.”
Remus’ eyes narrow in suspicion. “Sirius? What about Sirius?”
Fabian Prewett might be all handsome and charming, but if he thinks he can talk crap about Remus’ best friend in front of him, he’s got another thing coming! Even if Sirius and Remus aren’t on the best of terms right now, they will always have each other’s back. While Remus was all excited after Fabian Prewett’s invitation, Sirius had reacted irritated, and had cut Remus off whenever he spoke of it. Almost as if he were jealous, or in any case, like he just couldn’t bring himself to be happy for Remus and that stung.
At the start of high school, the social hierarchy is established, and people are looking for easy victims to pick on to make their on position more secure. Remus was, unfortunately, the perfect victim. He was a pale, sickly boy, and because he was so often sick as a child, he had grown up isolated, making him socially awkward to top it off. Another easy victim was the boy who came from that weird, posh family, who lived in that creepy old manor just outside of town. The Blacks were known for acting like they still lived in the middle ages, thinking they’re better than everyone else and looking down their noses at other people. They dressed their son up in stuffy old clothes and cut his hair in a weird, outdated style. On top of that, Sirius had prominent cheekbones and exaggerated features that did not match his boyish face and gave him an awkward appearance.
Remus and Sirius were forced together solely due to the fact that no one else wanted to be around them. At first, Remus had been reluctant to spend time with the odd boy, thinking that maybe having no friends would be the preferable option. Sirius had a permanently haughty look on his face and was very blunt in his interactions. But then again, could Remus really afford to be picky?
He had given Sirius a chance, and that was the best decision he ever made. Upon getting to know him better, Remus found Sirius to have his heart in the right place, and to be intelligent and funny. Sirius, in turn, seemed appreciative of Remus’ kindness and dry wit. They hit it off, and what had begun as a forced companionship, became a deep friendship. Sure, people still made nasty remarks and there was the occasional ‘shoving against the lockers’, but honestly, high school wasn’t all that bad with a best friend you can always rely on.
At one point, Sirius went with Remus to Remus’ house after school to work on a project together. From that moment on, it became customary for Sirius to go to Remus’ after school, and he was there every day. Remus started noticing that Sirius was reluctant to go home. Whenever Remus mentioned his home life or his family, something haunted would appear in Sirius’ eyes and that usual mischievous glint would disappear. One day, Remus’ mother came home much later than usual due to a flat tire, and Sirius and Remus were still watching a movie in the living room, having completely lost track of time. Worriedly, his mother asked Sirius whether his parents won’t be missing him for dinner and whether he’d told them he’ll be late. “Oh no,” Sirius said with a shrug. “Both my parents and I prefer me being around as little as possible. The maid will sometimes leave some food on the fridge, but most often, she forgets…” Remus’ mother had been horrified. It was never discussed, but from that moment on, she cooked extra large portions and set the table with one extra plate.
It was Remus and Sirius against the rest of the world. Well, the rest of the school at least, but when you’re in high school, that is the rest of the world. That was another thing Remus had learned and come to appreciate about Sirius: his fierce and unwavering loyalty. Sure, they would tease each other and poke fun at one another, but when it came down to it, Sirius was always on his side. He ignored what people said about him, and barely batted an eye when people would shove him against a locker. Yet, he was often in detention for getting in fights, as he refused to let anyone get away with targeting Remus. He was very protective of Remus. The same fierce protectiveness Remus felt when Sirius had been with his parents and quickly pulled down his sleeve to hide the bruises on his arm, claiming it was ‘nothing’.
Where they were different, was that Sirius didn’t care what people thought of him, and he scoffed at that pretentious, popular lot. Remus, on the other hand, had inherited this very unfortunate trait from his mother, namely a desire to be liked. He looked up to the popular kids. It were almost never the popular people who were mean, and sometimes even cruel. The ones who were really popular were comfortable and secure enough that they didn’t need to put others down to make themselves feel better. People like Fabian Prewett and his brother Gideon, Caradoc Dearborn, president of the student council, Lily Evans, captain of the debate team and according to many the cutest girl in school, maybe only equalled by her best friend Marlene McKinnon from the gymnastics team, and of course James Potter, captain of the football team, weren’t necessarily mean to people like Remus and Sirius, but they just lived in their own perfect worlds and simply didn’t know Remus and Sirius existed. Actively bullying was more the way of those lower on the social ladder themselves, such as Severus Snape, who was desperately trying to get Lily Evans’ attention, or Peter Pettigrew, who was continuously following James Potter around and craved his approval, or Mary McDonald, who lived to gossip and spread rumours, or Avery, Mulciber, and their little friends, who just enjoyed throwing punches and being mean for the sake of being mean.
Remus admired the popular people in some way. Not because of their looks or status or money, but because of their charm and charisma that draws people in, how they make everything look easy with their easy-going confidence that Remus knows he will never possess, and is therefore intrigued by. His admiration has lead to quite a few, admittedly embarrassing, crushes, of which Fabian Prewett was just the latest one. Which is why it was so shocking Fabian Prewett invited him to get some ice cream together.
“What’s his deal?” Fabian asks, leaning forward on his elbows.
“His deal?” Remus repeats still eying Fabian Prewett suspiciously.
“Yeah, like, is he single? Does he like boys, girls, both, neither? Does he even date at all?”
Remus blinks. “Why do you want to know that?”
Fabian Prewett raises an eyebrow. “Come on, Lupin. Surely you must’ve noticed.”
“Noticed what?” Remus asks, taking a sip from his milkshake.
“Lupin,” Fabian Prewett says pointedly. “Black has gotten hot.”
Remus chokes on his milkshake and starts coughing violently. “W-what?”
“It’s true,” Fabian Prewett says. “He’s so fit! He might be the hottest guy in school at the moment.”
Remus stares at him incredulously.
“Really,” Fabian Prewett says, shaking his head. “You can’t have missed that!”
Well, Remus isn’t blind. Of course he has noticed Sirius doesn’t look the same anymore as when they started junior year.
There’s the growth spurt, for starters. Sirius has teased him too often about getting his growth spurt before Remus for Remus not to have noticed. And after Sirius discovered that working out is a way to get away from his family even more, and a great stress relief at that, he got physically rather fit, so instead of short and scrawny, he’s now lean and muscular. Yes, you can definitely say that Sirius has really grown into his features, and those sharp angles that looked so awkward on a little boy, have turned out to look quite striking on a young man.
Sirius started to seek more stress relief and started working out even more when the situation at home became more dire after his sixteenth birthday, when he came over to Remus’ house late at night, saying that his parents had forgotten, and pretending not to care. Though he did swear that night that he was done. Done talking like they wanted him to talk, done wearing his hair like they wanted him to wear it, done dressing like they wanted him to dress, done trying to be what they wanted him to be. And he stayed true to his words. He has grown out his hair, that is now reaching his shoulders and is long enough to wear in one of those messy buns. Instead of old fashioned formal clothes, he now wears ripped jeans, with scuffed sneakers or even combat boots, band shirts, and of course, the leather jacket.
So yes, Remus has noticed Sirius changed his style, and he’s proud of him for it. And now that he thinks about it, people in school have been looking at Sirius differently. Before, Sirius was mostly invisible, and if people did look at him, it was mockingly or with disdain. Now, Remus realises, people are always looking, and there’s something entirely different in those looks. And yes, Remus may have found himself looking as well, staring at Sirius’ hair at times, amazed at how effortlessly elegant it falls over his face and how soft it looks, and all right, perhaps also wondering if it would feel just as soft. Or when Sirius and he are making homework together, Sirius will sometimes glance up at him, with those striking grey eyes behind that raven black hair, and Remus will feel this tightening in his chest… And yes, he has also admired Sirius’ new, edgy style, and in particular how broad his shoulders look in that leather jacket, or when he walks up the stairs wearing those tight jeans, maybe, Remus has once or twice…
Remus’ face turns red. Fabian Prewett leans back in his chair with a smirk. “See?”
Suddenly, another idea strikes Remus. The idea of Fabian Prewett eying Sirius as he walks up the stairs! He feels a wave of anger rush through him. Fabian Prewett has no right to be ogling Sirius, Sirius isn’t his to ogle! He’s not yours to ogle either, a voice in the back of his mind says. But Fabian Prewett has never liked Sirius before, he has always liked Sirius! But not romantically, right? …Right?
“I know so little about him,” Fabian Prewett sighs. “He’s so brooding and mysterious.”
Mysterious? Remus scoffs. Sure, someone can seem damn bloody mysterious if you’ve never made any bloody effort to talk to him!
“Do you have any idea whether he might be interested in going on a date?” Fabian Prewett asks.
“I… I don’t really…” Remus trails off.
“Right.” Fabian Prewett nods understandingly. “I reckon it’s not a topic you have really been discussing.”
He doesn’t say it, but Remus hears it anyway: since no one ever wanted to date either of you before.
Fabian Prewett scribbles something down on a note, and slides it over to Remus. “Here, my phone number. Give it to him and tell him to text me, okay?” He gets up from his chair and flashes Remus a smile. “Thanks, Lupin. You know, you’re actually a pretty decent guy.”
As Fabian Prewett leaves the ice cream shop, having eaten at most three bites from his frozen yoghurt, Remus stares at the offending piece of paper. If someone would’ve told him beforehand that this would end with Fabian Prewett giving Remus his number, he would’ve been delighted, but now, he wants to burn the paper and flush its ashes through the toilet.
But that wouldn’t be fair to Sirius. He thinks back on these last days, and how, whenever he would mention Fabian Prewett, Sirius’ mood would turn sour. Perhaps he wasn’t afraid his friendship with Remus would change, or envious that it seemed to be Remus, and not him, who got the attention of one of the popular guys, which Remus had already found hard to imagine. Maybe he just genuinely liked Fabian Prewett himself. It would be wrong of Remus to keep this from him.
Remus tries to imagine it. Fabian Prewett and Sirius on a date, holding hands, gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes, their shoulders brushing… He feels sick.
Which is normal, of course. He fancied Fabian Prewett himself, he had hoped that maybe Fabian Prewett would be interested in him, only to find out he just wanted to ask him if his best friend would be up for a date, and well, that straight up sucks. What’s not normal, is that the mental image of Sirius in Fabian’s arms makes him want to punch Fabian in the face, and pull Sirius away into his own arms, where he belongs.
Oh no.
“You’re late,” Remus’ mother says while stirring in a pan of sauce.
“I was out with a friend,” Remus replies absentmindedly.
His mother frowns. “Sirius wasn’t with you.”
“An other friend.”
“You don’t have any other friends,” his mother says plainly.
Remus wants to deny it, but the problem is, she’s not wrong. So instead, he just crosses his arms over his chest and says “Sirius and I ate not attached by the hip.”
“Yes, you are,” his mother says plainly.
Remus opens his mouth to protest, but closes it, because, again, she’s right. They are, and Remus has never truly realised what that means to him.
“And I don’t like it one bit,” his mother continues. “Going out with other boys behind Sirius’ back.”
“It isn’t like that.”
“Just be careful, Remus.” His mother waves her spatula at him. “You know what they say, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”
Remus rolls his eyes. “Any more wise words, or can I go to my room now?”
His mother ignores the sarcasm in his voice, and thinks for a moment. “Just this: sometimes what you’re looking for is right in front of you.”
Remus walks up to his room. It was never a question for Remus that Sirius would be there. Even without Remus being there, even with the tension between them lately, it was never a question that Sirius would come here.
When he opens the door, Sirius is lying on his bed, pretending to be reading a book, but Remus knows him too well to be fooled. He can see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hand tightens around the cover, and how his eyes are too fixated on one point. Also, what Remus supposes he subconsciously already knew, is now clear as day: Sirius is incrediblyhandsome.
Remus scrapes his throat, and Sirius makes a big show of looking up from his book and pretending to be surprised to see Remus standing there. “Oh, hello there, Remus. I didn’t see you there. Where have you been?”
Remus shakes his head. Sirius knows very well, but Remus decides to humour him. “I was meeting Fabian Prewett today, remember?”
“Oh, was that today?” Sirius might have the face for it, but really, the boy should never pursue an acting career.
“It was,” Remus says. “But you don’t have to worry. Fabian isn’t interested in me.”
Sirius immediately sits up on the bed and tosses the book aside. “He’s an idiot. It’s his loss. You deserve better. The guy smells like chlorine anyway.”
Remus smiles softly. Sirius always has his back. He never needs to doubt that. He sighs. He owes it to Sirius to be honest with him and support him. “Here,” he says, dropping the piece of paper in Sirius’ lap, that, no, he definitely did not want to throw in a trash can on his way home.
Sirius just looks at him. “What’s this?”
“Fabian Prewett’s phone number,” Remus says sourly.
“What on earth do I need Prewett’s phone number for?”
“You should text him,” Remus replies.
“To… tell him he’s an idiot?”
“What? No! No, he’s… Well, he’s into you.”
Sirius stares at Remus like he has grown two heads. “Fabian Prewett hates me.”
“Nah, he doesn’t,” Remus says. “And if he did, it doesn’t matter anymore, because you’re hot now.”
“I am what now?”
“It’s true,” Remus shrugs, trying to act casual about the whole thing. “Apparently, you’re the hottest guy in school now.”
“That’s crazy!” Sirius says incredulously.
“And all the things that made you ‘antisocial’ and ‘weird’ before, apparently make you ‘brooding’ and ‘mysterious’ now that you’re hot.”
Sirius shakes his head. “People are so weird.”
“Anyway,” Remus says. “You should text Fabian.”
“I still don’t see why,” Sirius points out.
“He wants to go on a date with you.”
Sirius raises an eyebrow. “That sounds like his problem.”
“Look, Sirius,” Remus says, taking a deep breath. “I know what you’re doing. I was hoping that Fabian Prewett might’ve been interested in me, and you don’t want to hurt my feelings. I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary. I saw the way you acted when it seemed like Fabian Prewett had asked me out. You were jealous, weren’t you? Well, if you like Fabian Prewett, then I’m going to be supportive.”
Sirius stares at him, then presses his hand to his forehead. “God, Remus, you’re such an idiot.”
Well, that surely wasn’t the grateful response Remus had expected after his grand gesture.
Sirius gets to his feet. “Yes, Remus. I was jealous. But I wasn’t jealous at you because I thought Prewett liked you. I was jealous at Prewett because you like him!”
“You… What?” Remus stammers.
“For the love of- Do I really need to spell it out for you? I. Fancy. You. You. Not Fabian. You.”
“You… you do?”
“Yes, Remus. I do. I have done for a very long time.”
“Why did you never say anything?” Remus exclaims.
“What would’ve been the point?” Sirius retorts. “You were always fancying the next popular hot guy. Artsy Dearborn, jock Potter-”
“We agreed never to talk about that!”
“And now preppy Prewett. Guys all much better than me…” Sirius trails off.
“Oh, Sirius,” Remus says, instinctively cupping Sirius’ cheek. “They can’t hold a candle to you.” He takes a deep breath, readying himself for his Grand Romantic Love Confession. “It has always been you.”
Sirius snorts.
Remus glares at him and swats his arm. “I’m trying to be romantic here! You’re ruining the moment!”
“Sorry, sorry!” Sirius chuckles, holding up his hands. “But you can’t say that like you weren’t hoping to stick your tongue down Fabian Prewett’s throat just ten minutes ago!”
Remus crosses his arms over his chest. “Okay, so maybe not always.”
Sirius smiles, but again, Remus knows him well enough to see the insecurity behind that smile.
Remus runs a hand through his hair. “But I need you to know that there’s some truth to it! I’ve had feelings for you for longer, I just didn’t realise those feelings were more than friendship. And it’s not just because you’re so hot now! I mean, sure, I like looking at you. Who wouldn’t like looking at you? You’re so ridiculously beautiful!”
Sirius blushes, and frustratingly so, that makes him even morebeautiful.
“I only realised when I imagined you and Fabian together, and it just made me so angry. No, that’s not right, now I’m making it sound like I just want you because someone else wants you. I still would’ve wanted you ugly and unwanted!” Remus lets out a frustrated sigh. “I’m really screwing this up, aren’t I? I’m just trying to say that I like you for you, your annoying jokes, your stupid sense of humour that no one ever gets, how bloody stubborn you are, the way you never think before you act –”
Remus doesn’t mind when Sirius cuts off his rambling. He minds even less with Sirius’ method of choice being to press his lips against Remus’.
When he pulls back, Sirius is grinning broadly. “You really think I’m beautiful?”
Remus rolls his eyes. “Don’t let it get to your head.”
(I feel like I haven’t posted in too long, but here’s my signature dish: Wolfstar accidental public love confession with Super Oblivious Remus)
“That has got to be the most embarrassing thing to have ever happened in Potions class.”
“Well, I don’t know,” Remus says, sitting down on the bed across from Sirius cross-legged. “You weren’t there when this one guy asked why his potion didn’t work, and then his fifty-year-old professor had to explain to him in front of the whole class that the guy he has a crush on actually fancies him.”
Things You Can Learn In Potions Class
“Black!” Wilkes grabs Sirius by the collar of his robes and shoves him against the wall.
“Why, hello Wilkes,” Sirius says calmly. “To what do I owe this… enthusiasticgreeting?”
“You listen to me-!”
“You’ve surely gotten my attention.”
“I’m warning you, Black,” Wilkes spits. “You stay away from my girlfriend!”
“Gladly,” Sirius replies instantly. “Now if you could please have this conversation with your girlfriend as well? Though I might suggest you do it without the ‘shoving against the wall’-part.”
Heloise Lestrange. Wilkes’ girlfriend. Her parents are family friends of the Blacks, and they stayed at the Black manor for a week during the summer. There, Heloise had let her eye fall on the handsome, rebellious, oldest son of the Blacks.
Remus couldn’t really blame her, especially with her boyfriend having both the looks and personality of a goat. Well, maybe that’s a little uncalled for. Some goats are actually cute.
Back at Hogwarts, Heloise didn’t let her boyfriend being around stop her from making eyes at Sirius, causing rumours to fly about what had happened between the two during the summer. Though according to Sirius, that was mostly him hiding in his room in his attempt to avoid her.
SCREAMING CRYING DYING OVER THIS!!!
This is so cute!!!! Professor Slughorn: secret wingman
Hahaha, professor Slughorn was mostly like “they don’t pay me enough for this”
(I feel like I haven’t posted in too long, but here’s my signature dish: Wolfstar accidental public love confession with Super Oblivious Remus)
“That has got to be the most embarrassing thing to have ever happened in Potions class.”
“Well, I don’t know,” Remus says, sitting down on the bed across from Sirius cross-legged. “You weren’t there when this one guy asked why his potion didn’t work, and then his fifty-year-old professor had to explain to him in front of the whole class that the guy he has a crush on actually fancies him.”
Things You Can Learn In Potions Class
“Black!” Wilkes grabs Sirius by the collar of his robes and shoves him against the wall.
“Why, hello Wilkes,” Sirius says calmly. “To what do I owe this… enthusiasticgreeting?”
“You listen to me-!”
“You’ve surely gotten my attention.”
“I’m warning you, Black,” Wilkes spits. “You stay away from my girlfriend!”
“Gladly,” Sirius replies instantly. “Now if you could please have this conversation with your girlfriend as well? Though I might suggest you do it without the ‘shoving against the wall’-part.”
Heloise Lestrange. Wilkes’ girlfriend. Her parents are family friends of the Blacks, and they stayed at the Black manor for a week during the summer. There, Heloise had let her eye fall on the handsome, rebellious, oldest son of the Blacks.
Remus couldn’t really blame her, especially with her boyfriend having both the looks and personality of a goat. Well, maybe that’s a little uncalled for. Some goats are actually cute.
Back at Hogwarts, Heloise didn’t let her boyfriend being around stop her from making eyes at Sirius, causing rumours to fly about what had happened between the two during the summer. Though according to Sirius, that was mostly him hiding in his room in his attempt to avoid her.
“I swear, Black,” Wilkes hisses. “If you dare hook up with her…”
“I’m no expert in relationships, Wilkes,” Sirius says dryly. “But you might have some bigger problems if you assume your girlfriend will cheat every time someone more attractive than you comes along. Because, let’s face it, that’s a substantially large group.”
“You little…” Wilkes brings his fist back.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” James says calmly, stepping up beside Sirius with his wand drawn.
“Come to defend your boyfriend?” Wilkes sneers.
“Aw,” Sirius says. “Your girlfriend, James, you must think everybody wants me! Honestly, I’m flattered. Do you perhaps have a little crush on me?”
“In your dreams!” Wilkes’ face flushes red in anger.
“Oh, are you blushing?” Sirius coos.
Wilkes opens his mouth, but at that moment professor Slughorn opens the door to the Potions classroom, calling for the Gryffindors and Slytherins to enter.
Avery grabs Wilkes’ arm and drags him inside, probably knowing Wilkes is only going to embarrass himself further.
Sirius pushes himself away from the wall and straightens his robes. “What a tosser.”
“Did really nothing happen between you and his girlfriend?” Peter asks again. “I mean, she’s rather pretty, and if she’s in your house throwing herself at you… Plus, pissing Wilkes off seems like an added bonus.”
“Pete, she’s a Slytherin!” Sirius exclaims. “The pureblood, Sacred Twenty-Eight, blood supremacy kind!” Sirius shudders. “Honestly, I’d rather compete with Evans for the giant squid’s affections.”
“Oi!” James scoffs.
“Come on, Prongs,” Remus says, slapping him on the shoulder. “If Sirius snatches up the giant squid, your chances might increase!”
“Remus John Lupin!” Lily, passing by on her way to the classroom, pauses and places her hands on her hips, giving Remus a mock-glare. “Are you seriously implying that the giant squid would chose this plonker-” She gives Sirius a playful nudge “-over me?”
“Oh, bring it on, Evans!” Sirius grins, walking after her into the classroom.
Remus pairs up with Sirius for Potions. They always do, mostly because after three exploded kettles, Sirius is the only one still willing to pair up with Remus. At first, Sirius tried to teach Remus, but after fishing green slime out of his hair for over a week, he decided it was better for Remus to just watch.
Now, Remus might not be very proficient at potion brewing, but sitting and staring at Sirius, the focused look on his face, the way he bites his lip in concentration, how his eyes light up when the potion changes colour at exactly the right moment… Well, that Remus can do.
“…Moony? Moony? Moony!”
Remus gives a start, realizing Sirius has asked him a question. “Sorry, what was that?”
Sirius chuckles. “I asked what do you smell?”
Remus inhales deeply, but even with his enhanced sense of smell, Remus doesn’t pick up anything from the clear, colourless liquid. “Ehm, nothing?”
“Excellent!” Sirius grins.
“Alright everybody!” Professor Slughorn claps his hands. “Let’s see… Rosier, can you tell me what potion you have just brewed?”
“I guess… Veritaserum?”
“Indeed! The truth potion. Ten points to Slytherin!”
“Figures,” Sirius grumbles under his breath. “Giving the easy question to a Slytherin, so he can give his own house easy points.”
“If you’ve gone through the steps correctly,” professor Slughorn continues. “You will have obtained a potion that is without colour, without smell, and without taste. Thereby, ideal to slip to someone unnoticed. It is important that you learn what it feels like to be under the influence of the truth potion, to experience it pulling your mind, bending your intentions, and twisting your tongue, so that you can recognize these symptoms.”
Nervous whispers echo around the room. Brewing potions they do often enough, trying them out is another thing. “When I call your name,” Professor Slughorn says, drawing the class’ attention back. “You’ll fill a flask with your potion, walk forward to come stand in front of the class and take one sip. I will then ask you one question, a simple question, just your name, nothing more. You will try as hard as you can to lie. That way, we can immediately see whether your potion was brewed correctly. Please, do not pretend your potion works if it doesn’t. This isn’t for a grade, so it is in your own best interest to be honest, so that we can decipher where the mistake lies, and you have a chance to improve.”
“And one more thing,” professor Slughorn adds after letting his words sink in. “Someone in front on the class under the influence of Veritaserum is placing themselves in a very vulnerable position. Therefore, only I will ask a question, just one question, and I want nobody else to ask anything, or even dare speak. If you try to take advantage of your classmate who has taken Veritaserum, I will deduct one hundred-” Shocked sounds are heard throughout the classroom- “Yes, one hundred points from your respective house,” Professor Slughorn finishes, looking around the room sternly.
They watch James grimace and make a face like he’s having a stroke, before sighing in defeat and replying “James Potter.” Peter immediately squeaks “Peter Pettigrew.” “Marlene McKinnon,” Marlene replies directly, before her eyes widen in surprise. After a lot of stuttering and stammering, Frank manages to say in a shaking voice that his name is Hank. After some back and forth, professor Slughorn determines that he used only two Jobberknoll feathers instead of three, which makes lying difficult, but not impossible. Frank’s shoulders sag, but he visibly brightens once professor Slughorn tells him that he must have a very strong mind to be able to lie even with only two Jobberknoll feathers. “Fabian Prewett,” whom professor Slughorn had thought was Gideon Prewett replies, and professor Slughorn scolds the twins for having switched places again.
Eventually, Sirius fills his flask and walks to the front. Remus isn’t worried in the slightest that the potion is anything less than perfect. Everything Sirius does is perfect.
Sirius takes his sip, and professor Slughorn opens his mouth to speak, but then Wilkes shouts from his bench “Do you want to hook up with my girlfriend?!”
Professor Slughorn tries to intervene, but Sirius, caught off guard and under the influence of the truth potion, immediately replies. “Absolutely not. I’m in love with Remus.”
A stunned silence falls over the room, as Sirius stands in front of the class, looking shocked, his face gone pale.
Then Wilkes snorts loudly. “Merlin’s beard, I really was worried over nothing!” He says mockingly. “I can’t believe you’re a bloody-”
“Mr Wilkes!” Professor Slughorn interjects sharply. “You have already cost your house one hundred points, and you better believe that me being Head of House for Slytherin won’t stop me from making it two hundred if you so much as dare to open your mouth again.”
Wilkes notices even his own housemates glaring at him furiously, and he snaps his mouth shut.
The sound of a door slamming shut alerts the class to the fact that Sirius has stormed out of the room. Everywhere, groups of people start talking to each other in hushed tones.
“Silence!” Professor Slughorn demands. “We will continue with class. So, who’s next…”
“Professor!” Remus raises his hand.
“…Yes?” Professor Slughorn eyes Remus warily.
“You haven’t told us what we did wrong,” Remus says.
“Wrong?”
“Well, yeah,” Remus glances around the room, seeing his schoolmates blink at him. “Clearly, we made some mistake with our potion. Instead of truth serum, we must’ve accidentally made some sort of love potion or something.”
The whole class stares at Remus in disbelief.
“I can assure you,” Professor Slughorn says. “That it is absolutely impossible to accidentally brew a love potion using the ingredients for Veritaserum.”
Remus frowns. “Well, there has to be some sort of explanation! What else could’ve made Sirius have such a reaction?”
Remus can hear James softly groan beside him.
Professor Slughorn wrings his hands uncomfortably, looking like he wants to be anywhere but here having this conversation. “Mr Lupin,” he says slowly. “The most logical explanation for the potion causing this reaction, is Mr Black being, in fact, in love with you.”
Remus stares at his teacher. “He’s not.”
“Yes, he is!” James and Peter say, Lily, Marlene, Dorcas and Mary say, Fabian and Gideon say, Avery, Rosier and Mulciber say, the Bloody Baron says, the portraits on the wall say.
Remus looks around the room, processing, and then raises his hand again. “Professor!”
“Yes, Mr Lupin?” Professor Slughorn asks reluctantly.
“May I be excused?”
“Oh, thank Salazar.” Professor Slughorn releases a breath. “I was almost considering deducting points of you hadn’t asked permission to leave. Yes, please, go!”
Remus hurriedly leaves the room and rushes up the stairs out of the dungeon.
Sirius, sitting on his bed with his knees tucked against his chest, looks up as Remus enters the room. He sighs. “That has got to be the most embarrassing thing to have ever happened in Potions class.”
“Well, I don’t know,” Remus says, sitting down on the bed across from him cross-legged. “You weren’t there when this one guy asked why his potion didn’t work, and then his fifty-year-old professor had to explain to him in front of the whole class that the guy he has a crush on actually fancies him.”
Sirius blinks. And then bursts out laughing. “Godric, Moony! I literally stood in front of the class, took Veritaserum, and said ‘I am in love with Remus Lupin’, and your reaction was ‘Hmmm, what could this possibly mean?’”
Remus hides his face in his hands. “I’m never going to live down this embarrassment!”
He feels Sirius shift on the bed, and when he peaks through his fingers, Sirius is sitting right in front of him, leaning in with a suggestive smile. “Maybe I can help take your mind off of it?”
As it turns out, Sirius is very good at that.
With Sirius straddling him, pinning him to the bed and snogging him senseless, professor Slughorn is definitely the last thing on Remus’ mind.
A Far Cry From Perfect
New chapter: I could picture it
“Personally, I think we can do a few more Blood Replenishment Treatments, before his condition will have worsened to the extent that the positive effect will no longer outweigh the negative effect. But you must keep in mind that he will experience a few days of severe sickness after each treatment. A few days might not seem like much, but if your time is as limited as Sirius’s…”
“But it can give him weeks, maybe even months, more!” Remus exclaims.
“Yes,” Healer Pye says, again with that patient calmness. “But you must keep in mind, these are the good days. The days during which he still has energy, can still undertake activities, isn’t too tired or in too much pain yet. You must remember that from here on, it will only get worse. There’s nothing that can be done about that. He’ll be trading in good days now for uncertainty later.”
“But still,” Remus says stubbornly, almost desperately. “A few days to gain months…”
Healer Pye shakes his head. “It’s not just the quantity that counts, it’s also about the quality. A few good days now might turn out to be more valuable than a few months towards the end.”
‘Well, liven up the party Remus did, though probably not in the way James had imagined, when Remus was caught by Lord Orion Black in the storage room fooling around with the lord’s eldest son and heir…’
(Back to Fluff and Humour! Sort of a short Historic AU? Wolfstar, of course.)
The Fancy Things In Life
“One party,” James says, rubbing his temples. “One party! I took you to one party!”
Remus bites his thumb nail. “Well, at least you can’t say this party was boring.”
James just glares at him.
It is true, though.
James Fleamont Potter, as first and only son of the House of Potter and therefore the future Lord Potter, is expected to make an appearance at all the fancy events the elite organises, which is a lot. The same stiff people with the same fake smiles engaging in the same tedious conversation. Remus, on the other hand, is just a local town’s boy, who would normally never be at a party such as this, were it not for his unlikely friendship with James. When James, after pushing Lucius Malfoy into a pond during a hunting party to prevent him from killing a deer, had come into the local inn where Remus works, hoping for a place to hide, Remus had kept him hidden when a disgruntled Abraxas Malfoy later appeared in town demanding information. Now, James had the idea that maybe these parties would be better bringing his friend along, so he dressed Remus up in one of his costumes and took him with him as a guest, hoping that Remus would liven up the party a bit.
Well, liven up the party Remus did, though probably not in the way James had imagined, when Remus was caught by Lord Orion Black in the storage room fooling around with the lord’s eldest son and heir.
After staring in utter shock and outrage, Lord Black had said in a booming voice “What in the devil’s name do you think you’re doing?! Do you have no shame, defiling one much above your station like some scoundrel! I demand to know what family you are from! They’ll be rightfully embarrassed by your shameful behaviour.”
Remus had blinked at the red-faced man in his fancy coat with his flaring nostrils, then straightened his clothes before saying with a grin “I wouldn’t worry ‘bout that, m’lord. Mum and da run an inn, so they’ve surely seen much worse!”
Lord Black must’ve assumed Remus was some minor nobleman. Makes sense, as no one but a nobleman would normally be at an event such as this, and since he doesn’t know Remus, he can’t be anyone important. Knowing that Remus is a common innkeeper’s son did not make the situation any better. At all.
While the young man Remus had been… interacting with, Sirius Black, whom he noticed still had his hand on Remus’ hip, had to stifle his laughter in his sleeve, Lord Black’s head looked like it was going to explode.
To prevent the situation from escalating, James had dragged Remus away, while Sirius tried to calm down his father.
And that’s where they are now.
The door opens and closes and Sirius walks into the room, running a hand through his hair, that still looks dishevelled from where Remus had been running his hands through it, and Remus feels a, probably quite inappropriate, swell of pride at that. Remus gazes at Sirius for a moment, as he looks just beautiful. Sirius Black is widely regarded as the most handsome young man in the land. Really, how had James expected him to resist when Sirius admitted that the pang of attraction Remus felt towards him was very much reciprocated?
“I am ever so sorry about this whole situation,” Sirius says, in that posh way of speaking Remus finds so annoying in other nobles, but for some reason finds endearing in Sirius. “I at least managed to calm him down to the extent where he won’t try to strangle Remus the moment he sees him,” Sirius continues. “He is still very much affronted, but I am quite sure it is nothing I cannot handle.”
James lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness for that.”
“Jamie,” Sirius asks. “Might I have a moment of privacy with your friend?”
“Absolutely not.” James crosses his arms over his chest. “As I recall, this whole mess started with you ‘having a moment of privacy’ with Remus!”
Sirius rolls his eyes. “See for yourself then.” He turns to Remus and takes his hand. “Remus, you have my sincerest apologies for the way my father unjustifiably mistreated you, and I regret very much how we were rudely interrupted.”
“Yeah,” Remus says, and he scrapes his throat. He hates how rough his voice sounds, and wishes he could use fancy words to puzzle together nice sentences in a soft, melodious voice, like Sirius. “I’m sorry too. Hope I didn’t put you in too much trouble with your da?”
Sirius shrugs. “Like I said, I can handle it. And in any case, it was worth it. I have no regrets.”
Remus smiles. “Me neither. It felt… right.”
“Right indeed,” Sirius smiles back. “You know, Remus, my days are always filled with stiff protocols and strict rules, but tonight, with you, I felt more alive than I’ve ever felt before.”
Remus opens his mouth to reply, but a loud groan makes them turn their heads to James, who is pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. “Good lord. I had thought this was just an ill-advised hook-up, that blew up in your faces, and now we deal with the aftermath, do some damage control and be done with it. But no! You two have to actually be in bloody love with each other!”
He points at Sirius. “All these wealthy members of the high society competing for your attention, and you’ve never had even the tiniest bit of interest in any of them, but now you go and fall in love at bloody first sight with a town’s boy who works in the local inn! It is just so typically you to go for the whole ‘impossible lovers from different worlds’ trope. God, Sirius, you’re so dramatic!” He lets out an exasperated sigh. “Now what do we do? We’re going to have to arrange secret meetings in secluded gardens, and those kind of things. After tonight, Lord and Lady Black will surely be suspicious about everything. You mother will most likely send her manservant Kreacher to spy on you, which means we’ll have to ask Regulus to deal with that, and God knows Regulus’ help always comes at a prize. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if your parents will now try and arrange a proper marriage for you as fast as possible! Now how are we going to get you out of that? And speaking of marriage, can you two even ever get married? Will your family acknowledge it? And if they don’t, how do we find a pastor willing to marry you if Lord and Lady Black disapprove of it?”
“James, Jamie,” Sirius says, holding up his hands. “Remus and I have known each other for a couple of hours. There’s no need to already start panicking about when we’ll get married!”
Remus arches an eyebrow. “When we’ll get married?”
Sirius smirks. “I consider myself an optimist.”
“Even with all the troubles we’ll face? Society’s judgement, your family’s anger?”
“I’m ready to face all of that. Besides, it does kind of make it more romantic, doesn’t it? Two lovers, crossing social borders, defying society’s expectations, and overcoming all obstacles, to fight for their love!”
“Oh God,” Remus rolls his eyes. “James was right. You aredramatic.”
“I prefer the term passionate,” Sirius grins. “But all joking, and all premature panicking-” he eyes James “-aside, I do genuinely feel something for you that I haven’t felt for anyone. We’ve only just met, but I feel this instant… attraction? Connection?. Now I don’t know if it’s going to end with us running off for a secret marriage on the countryside with James as our only witness, but I do know that I’d very much regret it if tonight will be the end of it.”
Remus can feel a bright smile spread over his face. “Me too.” He reaches out and cups Sirius’ face in his hands. “I feel it too, and I don’t want to walk away from this either.”
The next moment they’re kissing. It’s perfect. Perfect until they hear a loud shriek.
Lady Black’s shriek is immediately followed Lord Black thundering “What the-?! AGAIN?! Why, you filthy little…!”
Remus reluctantly pulls away, and Sirius chuckles softly as he rests their foreheads together. “Well, here we go.”
James can’t produce a patronus for ages, he just can’t stay focused.
DADA in the last year, when they’re learning it, Minnie just happens to be walking by and sees him struggle. She stops in on the class, and Lily finally provides a full body patronus of a doe. Minnie goes over to James and says to him quietly “Evans looks happy with hers,” and James looks at his girlfriend. She has a bright smile looking up at the creature from her wand.
James focuses on this, on Lily, on her smile. He holds our his wand once more and speaks the charm, and a large bright stag escapes his wand and joins the doe in the sky.
McGonagall said something then, barely loud enough for James to hear, and he can’t be sure that he did, but he thinks her heard her mutter “good job, Prongs.”
Twenty/Twenty Vision
James Potter x Reader
a/n: Trying this format out bc there are a surprisingly low number of gifs of ATJ smiling. Both reader and James have glasses in this. This is for the glasses wearers!
summary: James finds you that morning struggling to cook breakfast. Among helping you, he realizes you may need to get new glasses and he gets very comfortable in helping test out his theory. Close is not close enough when it comes to James Potter
word count: 2.2k
James walks throughout your home, feet padding against the floor. He rubs his eyes, attempting to wipe away the drowsiness of having just woken up.
Hearing the clanging of pots and pans, his attention moves toward the kitchen and his heart skips a beat. He knows you’re in there, trying once again to cook something. He grins, breathing in deeply and brushing a hand through his hair to ruffle his uncontrollable locks.
Walking into the doorway, he leans a shoulder against it, crossing his arms and smiling at you as you try and figure out a box of waffle mix. Your brows were furrowed deeply as you attempted to read the instructions.
“But if I wanted to make more servings, how many extra eggs would I need? You don’t tell me that now do you, you dumb box of trash,” you murmur through gritted teeth. James let out a few silent laughs before heading over to you.
Your gaze moves towards the sound of feet moving and you inhale deeply at the sight of James, as if just his presence was a breath of fresh air. He hums as he slides up behind you, his arms curling around you and pressing against your stomach so that your body molds against his. You sink back into the hold, resting your head against his shoulder and smiling up at him.
“Good morning, love,” you say softly as James starts swaying you both back and forth. He leans down and gives you a soft kiss.
“Good morning. How’s breakfast going?” He asks amusedly, his lips still brushing against yours as his face remains centimeters away. You snort, shaking your head lightly.
“As if you don’t already know,” you say, eyes narrowing playfully. James’ face breaks out into a wide grin as he visibly holds back his laughter.
“Alright, move on over,” he says, squeezing your waist before his arms leave you. You jump as he gives your butt a few light pats, looking over your shoulder to grin at him before you move away from the burner, turning around to face him fully. You see him pick up the box of mix and your brows furrow.
“What are you doing?” You ask, shoulders tensing as his hand fiddles with the edge of the skillet. He looks up, noting the ingredients you had already gathered.
“I’m making breakfast, what does it look like I’m doing?” He murmurs, his attention on the food. Your jaw drops as a small sound of disbelief falls out. You step forward, placing your hand on the box, effectively getting James to look at you.
“No— James! I wanted to make you breakfast,” you argue, brows set in determination. James grins, appearing amused and you don’t entirely appreciate it. He turns to you, hip leaning against the oven, box still held in both your hands.
“I think we’d both be happier if I at least helped,” he says, smugness dripping from his tone and expectations clear in his gaze. Your face drops as you stare at him. You both silently watch each other, your eyes narrowed slightly.
Eventually you sigh, hand dropping from the box mix. You blink back, breaking the stare down.
“Fine,” you mumble, moving to cross your arms. James smiles, laughing and shaking his head lightly.
He moves quick, his hands grabbing onto your waist and before you know what’s happening, he’s lifting you up into the air before plopping you down on the counter. His hands move to the outside of your legs as they begin caressing up and down your thighs, hands slipping past the edge of your loose pajama shorts. You stare at him wide-eyed as he smiles brightly.
“There we go, dove,” he says softly, squeezing your thighs before letting go and moving back to the waffle mix. You lean back against the cupboards watching his hands as they move around the ingredients.
“I guess I’ll just sit here and make unhelpful commentary that you pretend to take into consideration before you ultimately ignore it, which is usually for the best if I’m being honest. But I seriously don’t know what’s wrong with a pancake omelette—“ you start before James interrupts you.
“Love…” he says, trailing off with a tone of confusion. You look up to meet his gaze, noticing his furrowed brows and the concern edging along outside of his eyes as he holds the box of waffle mix in hand.
“Yes?” You ask cautiously, not knowing what could cause such a wariness in James.
“Are your eyes alright?” He asks, looking between them as if simply gazing at them could help him spot a possible issue. Though there were none you knew of.
“Yeah, why?” You respond with a nod, curious as to why this was brought up. James brows furrow further, his gaze sharpening as he looks at you. He holds up the box next to him.
“Because the instructions for additional servings are right here in block letters,” he says plainly, shaking the box slightly. Your lips part and your hands start to move toward the box but James is quicker as he brings it close to your face.
You push your glasses back up your nose as you both hold the box close. Eyes narrowing, you notice now the letters are quite blurry.
“Oh,” is all you can say once James taps his finger against the area that held those specific instructions and you realize you just weren’t able to see it. Your cheeks burn with embarrassment.
James tugs the box out of your hands and sets it on the counter. He then taps at your knee, silently instructing you. You spread your thighs, allowing him to step into the space between them.
“Might have to get you checked out soon. Here,” he notes before moving. He takes off your glasses and you let him, sitting there as you come to terms with your vision worsening. With your glasses off, everything is basically a blur. But you can see James spread his arms out to the side. “Am I more blurry than usual?” He asks, head tilting. You grin and mentally promise yourself that you won’t let this news ruin your morning.
“Mmm, I don’t know. Come a bit closer,” you request with pursed lips and a dubious expression. James listens, coming closer. You shake your head. “Closer…” you trail off, needing him close and unsuspecting. Once James inches close enough, you smirk and jerk forward, arms darting out and snatching his glasses right of his face. “AHA!” You shout, hiding them behind your back. James leans back, shocked.
“Are you serious right now?” He asks, a grin threatening to take over. You laugh, shaking your head.
“No, I’m not Sirius!” You deny, causing James to break out a few hearty laughs.
“You know what I mean,” he says, voice serious but expression delighted as he knows that joke will never get old. You raise a brow at him, inclining your head forward.
“Do you want your glasses back?” You ask, changing the subject as you fiddle with them behind your back before placing them on the counter, still behind your back. James swipes his tongue over his teeth as he grins wide.
“Yes, in fact I do,” he says with a floppy nod. You bite your lip, noticing his attention flicking down to the action.
“Then come take em’” you whisper the challenge. But James merely leans back looking curious yet pleasantly surprised.
“You’re in a playful mood,” he notes, finding it odd given the breakfast and glasses situation. Your playfulness lulls as you stare at your boyfriend fondly, his words echoing in your head. You shrug before responding.
“I’m just trying to be happy about this,” you state, voice quieter than before. James’ features soften. His hands move from his side to hold your waist, tugging you close to the edge of the counter.
“I love it when you’re happy. I love it even more when I’m the one making you happy,” he expresses lowly, appearing exposed and sincere, yet comfortable looking so. You smile.
“You always make me happy, James,” you whisper. James inhales sharply and his shoulders rise as if a huge weight has been lifted off his back. He exhales as he moves closer, not stopping till he’s nose-to-nose with you.
“Can you see me now?” He asks as his face comes into focus. You nod, expression dazed as you remain shocked by how beautiful this man is.
“Crystal clear,” you whisper breathlessly as you gaze deeply into his eyes. James does the same, both of you needing and wanting to be this close in order to see each other perfectly.
“Merlin, you’re beautiful,” James compliments after a few moments of silence. You let out a small laugh.
“How would you know? You’re practically blind without your glasses,” you tease, knowing what he meant. But James scoffs as a smile lights up his face.
“Glasses get in the way. I see you most clearly when I’m close to you, just like this. And suddenly my vision has never been better because you are the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen or could ever imagine in my entire life,” he speaks, the words flowing out of him like he didn’t even need to think about it. They were just there, on the tip of his tongue, waiting to be spoken. And they stole the breath from your lungs. You leaned back against the cupboards, staring at him fondly.
“You’re in a romantic mood,” you note, repeating similar words to what he had said just minutes ago. James’ eyes spark to life with mischief and mirth.
“I’m just really in love with you,” he responds, playing along. Your heart skips a beat as you’re filled with a warmth by his words. Your teeth nibble on your lip as you try and reign in the smile that threatens to break loose.
“I love the way you speak to me, and I love that it’s me making you feel this way,” you continue, scrunching your nose toward him, feeling cheeky. James stares, eyes flickering between your eyes and your lips.
“I wouldn’t want it to be anyone else,” he says absentmindedly as he slowly starts to lean in. You smirk, following his lead.
“Neither would I,” you say, matter-of-factly. You lick your lips, your breath hitching as James’ hands move to your waist.
He stops a hair’s breadth away from you, his eyes locked onto your lips. You watch him closely. His hands squeeze your waist before he leans down, taking your bottom lip between his teeth. Your heart seizes as he tugs on it. You shudder slightly, grip tightening on the edge of the counter.
James releases your lip and before it can even fully snap back in place his mouth is on yours, kissing you deeply. You groan into the kiss, hands darting to bury themselves in his curls. You tug and he grunts, responding by teasing his tongue against the seam of your lips. Opening your mouth you meet him in the middle, tongues taunting each other, fighting for dominance.
Spreading his hands across your stomach, his thumbs brush the underside of your breasts and you exhale shakily into his mouth. You melt against the cupboard, letting him take dominance over the kiss. You internally curse him, both of you knowing that was one of your greatest weaknesses.
You kiss until your chest tightens and your throat starts to burn. James starts to break away, taking your bottom lip in his mouth once again and sucking on it before letting it go with a pop and fully breaking the kiss. You whine, sinking deeper against the cupboard as you look at him with wide eyes. His eyes slide open, meeting yours with a smirk already decorating his face.
“Now how about some breakfast and then I can make a call and schedule your appointment?” He offers, fingers brushing across your torso before letting it go, hands moving to rest on the counter.
“Deal,” you say breathlessly with a light nod. James huffs out a laugh, his smirk widening as he looks over your slacked form, gaze zoning in on your eyes and swollen lips.
“Right then,” he affirms, starting to move in again. You sit there stunned as he gives you two more quick kisses before stepping out from between your legs and grabbing the box of waffle mix once again. He looks back at you and raises something in the air. You narrow your eyes before picking up your discarded glasses and putting them back on.
With your vision restored, you look to see James holding up his glasses that you had stolen. Your jaw drops.
“How did you get those?!” You ask, demanding answers while trying not to laugh in disbelief. You glance back behind you, seeing there was nothing there. When you meet his gaze once more, he has his glasses back on but you can still clearly see the mischievous glimmer in his eyes.
“I’ll never reveal my ways,” he whispers conspiratorially, eyes narrowing. He turns away, heading toward the fridge to gather the additional ingredients you must have forgotten.
“Now wait a minute—“ you start, even jumping off of the counter to follow him before being cut off by James’ boisterous laugh. You stop in your tracks, your heart fluttering rapidly at the sound. James glances at you from over his shoulder, his smile wide. He pushes his glasses up his nose and you mirror the action by instinct.
His smile softens before he turns back to the fridge. You shake your head fondly before moving back to sit on the counter, waiting to watch him cook breakfast.
Tag list:@iliveiloveiwrite@imboredandneedalife@maat-the-prescriptive@willowbleedsonpaper@awritingtree@theweasleysredhair@fuckthenewyorkpost@haphazardhufflepuff@adoregin@hahee154hq@trickylittlewitch@inglourious-imagines@freds-slut@zzzfour@bstrones@milkiane@neptunes-curse
➴ Summary: Based on the One Direction song “she’s not afraid”.
➴ Pairing: Sirius Black / fem!reader (3rd pov).
➴ Warnings: None I can think of.
➴ Wordcount: 1.1K
➴ Requested: Yes. By anon.
➴ Tagged: @angelaiswriting@jj-maybnk@figlia–della–luna
➴ Author Note: I can’t believe an anon forced me to listen to a 1D song but you know what… them lyrics was good. I hope you like it, it’s angst as fuck for some reason.
Sirius Black watches from a corner, drinking something he can’t remember the name of, but that is strong enough to make him forget the pain growing inside of him.
She dances and laughs, and spins around with people she has never met before. She makes the room gravitate towards her, as if she’s the light those people need to live. Men and women stop in their tracks to look at her, smile and speak as if an old friend was.
She doesn’t fear the attention. She’s not afraid of this, no.
When she’s tired, all she does is look towards the corner Sirius spends most the night in. She has tried to get him to dance before but he refuses, because he knows she doesn’t want people to know that when the night ends, he will be the one taking her home. This is their secret.
Sirius is the first to leave the place, walking a couple of streets to where he parks his bike. He is often tempted to show her what it can do, but he can’t expose himself and his magic like that, no matter how much he trusts her. He just can’t.
After a few minutes, she sneaks up behind him, kissing his neck and laughing. She spins around like she’s still on the dance floor.
“What’s wrong, babe?” She whispers against his mouth.
I want more, he thinks, but never again will he speak those words. He knows the consequences.
He shakes his head, “nothing.”
Another laugh, one kiss in the dark that gets her moaning, and she’s against his back on the bike passing the streets of London like… magic. He can hear her breathing and feel it fall against his neck. She moves a little bit closer to him, making his heart go wild.
He isn’t sure for how much longer he’ll be able to take it. Almost afraid his heart will give out. She is killing him each time she kisses him, each time she welcomes him to her house, then closes the door on his face after he asks for more…more…more. He should know better.
There’s nothing she’s afraid of, except for falling in love. Sirius can see the fear present when he holds her hand, when he hugs her after climax. When he tells her that he’s in love with her, begs for a chance to prove to her their relationship is fate, all she has to tell him is…
…”No. It’s not real. Come back to the real world. Goodnight.”
Sirius turns off the bike and she gets off. She runs up to her doorstep and opens the door, going in. She leaves the door open for Sirius to come in after her.
He could turn on the bike and go home. He’s tired of showing her he knows her worth and he’s not with her for a game. What more can he do? How can he stop this madness from occurring if this madness is keeping him alive? He’s weak. He can’t help it.
He goes in tonight. He’s fallen again.
_______________________________________________________
“I think it was her friends. Told her that I’d break her heart and she doesn’t want that to happen.” Sirius tells James while the two are shopping for the summer vacation.
James, who doesn’t know and doesn’t bother to learn how to hold back, laughs at his friend. It’s not an uncommon thing to see… not since Sirius met her. “It’s not her friends. Just like a month ago she was not testing you to know if you knew her worth. You’re a fool, mate.”
Sirius shoves James, but he knows his friend is right. He’s done all he could to be there for her and take that fear from her heart but nothing’s worked.
“I can’t help it, James. I love her. Nothing’s going to change that. Each night she calls and tells me all of her dreams and I know I want to be there with her when she makes them happen. But, I also know that she won’t let me. It’s killing me, James.”
He turns his face when he sees the pitiful look that Prongs is giving him. “We can tell. Mum tells me about the late night calls. She also told me the phone has not rung in almost a week.”
Sirius nods, sighing and letting his head fall down. It’s his fault.
A week ago he again told her he loved her, he hasn’t talked to her ever since. He misses the late night calls and the talks of hopes and dreams. He misses her, plain and simple.
“We’re in the middle of a war,” Sirius whispers all of a sudden, “and I’m here, worried about some girl that will never love me back. I’m a fucking idiot.”
“Love is complicated, would it not be, I know a few hundred thousand artists who would be out of business.” James tells him, grabbing a box of cereal Sirius hates. “Even if we weren’t at war, she still would exist. You still would be hurting over her. This has to end, Sirius.”
Sirius watches as James goes to the checkout. He runs up to him, “I’ve got something to do.” As he receives approval from James, Sirius takes off.
It’s past midnight during mid-winter, London is covered in snow and the golden lights that illuminate the streets reflect upon it, making it seem as if the ground and the top of the houses are glowing. This is such a beautiful sight that Sirius needs to take in, forgetting for a few moments what he’s going there, and the war, and all the pain.
“Sirius?” It’s her voice that brings him back. Making him turn around in surprise. Some people walk past them, some have tears running down their faces. Sirius looks behind her and sees the cinema closing up, with a big poster of a new horror movie at the front.
She loves horror movies. She’s not afraid of them. No, she’s not afraid.
He clears his throat. “Was it a good movie?” She nods, smiling. He fights himself to not get lost on that smile and let his lips speak the words his mind is begging him to speak.
“I can’t keep doing this. I know I’ve said this before, but I can’t.”
She’s holding his hand before he’s gone, because each time he’s told her he can’t do this, she’s been back at his door.
She’s kissing him before he can’t react, but when he does, instead of pushing her from him, he brings her closer to him.
She’s so afraid of falling in love…
➴ Summary: He had a chance to change. why did he discard it?
➴ Pairing: Sirius Black / fem!reader (3rd POV).
➴ Warnings: Angst, cheating, underage smoking.
➴ Wordcount: 1.2K
➴ Tagged: @angelaiswriting@jj-maybnk
➴ Author Note: No, I’m not in a Harry Potter phase. I am simply posting unposted fics while I manage to finish new ones. You may call it lazy, I call it genius.
Out of all the times Sirius could’ve chosen to cheat he had to do it first week of school. As if walking in on Sirius and Marlene making out in the Common Room hadn’t been humiliating enough, now she had to put up with the gossip, gazes and laughs for ten months. Fantastic.
She scoffed, drawing a long breath of the cigarette between her lips and breathing out the smoke short after, watching it disappear into the wind and fixing her gaze on the moon. Most of her friends warned her about Sirius Black, but she didn’t listen. She thought his intentions were honest, that he had changed and was worth fighting for; in that moment she realized she had been an idiot, a puppet he had used to have some fun and prove himself irresistible. But that wasn’t the worst part, no. She could get over a heartbreak; most people did through their lifetimes. No, the worst part was that Marlene had been her best friend - hell, she even considered her a sister. Somewhere deep in the back of her mind, she had been expecting Sirius to pull something, hell she even had been surprised it took him so long, but Marlene?
Was she supposed to expect her best friend to betray her like that, even after been friends for ten years? She didn’t know where she went wrong with them, if she had been so horrible to deserve such pain. But one thing was clear, it hurt like hell.
“Enough,” she said out loud, hoping if she did so she’d follow her advice and let it pass. She couldn’t keep thinking about it. She wouldn’t find an answer because there wasn’t a question. Sirius must had been tired of being in a relationship and Marlene must had been a liar all along but she hadn’t noticed. Letting herself fall back against the grass, she finished her cigarette and killed it, throwing it to the side. She had pitied herself enough, now it was time for people to do it - which, she was sure had begun.
It wasn’t as if those two treacherous bastards had thought about backstabbing her in secret to spare her from the public humiliation. She had been one of the last students to go into the Common Room after classes, she was well aware she hadn’t been the first one to see them.
It would be fine, she told herself. Ten months wasn’t that long of a time and before she knew, it would’ve passed. She’d graduate and she would leave Sirius, Marlene and the pain behind as if it never happened in the first place. Yes, it was going to be hard and she would have to put up with a lot of shit and it was going to come from friends, other students and even some of the professors (she was sure Minerva would give Sirius detention twice as much as a form of revenge for hurting her), but there was nothing she could about it. Even if it was going to be fine in the end - and she knew it would, the path there was going to be painful.
She heard footsteps coming from her side, but she didn’t bother to look up to see who it was. It was stupid, weird even, she knew he didn’t care about her feelings - that much had been proved, but she also knew he would look for her to apologize because he couldn’t fathom the idea of someone thinking he was a horrible person for the wrong reasons.
He sat down next to her, looking forward. He seemed tense, nervous even. She couldn’t bother herself to hide the pleasure his discomfort brought her and allowed a humourless laugh to escape her lips. He sighed next to her, forcing his gaze up to avoid looking at her.
She didn’t know when the tears had started to fall, she just knew she didn’t had the strength to wipe them off her face and so, she let them run hoping that he wouldn’t notice.
“I,” he started but stopped right after, the words getting caught in his throat. She couldn’t look at him even if she wanted. He took a deep breath that came out ragged right after. “I came to apologize, and if I have the chance, to explain what happened.”
“You were gonna shag Marlene when I walked in. That’s what happened,” she explained for him. It came out as harsh as she felt the words and he winced. “You can apologize now.”
Sirius turned around, the moonlight was right behind him and so it was difficult to distinguish his features, but even in that moment, from her position on her back she could see the storm that were his eyes, and the redness around them; as if he had been crying too.
He took a breath before speaking, clearing his throat to get rid of the soreness. “I don’t know how it happened and I didn’t want it to happen. It was a mistake and I am, believe it or not, sorry. Marlene had been flirting with me since school started again and then this morning I was in the Common Room waiting for James and Remus and she started talking about how she loved me first and it wasn’t fair that we weren’t together; next thing I know she’s all over me. I know the damage is done but, that is the truth and you had to know.”
His voice came out ragged, sore. He had wasted his throat out prior the conversation. It was for a moment she doubted, until she heard him sniff; that and how he pursed his lips together told her all she had to know. Indeed, he had been weeping as well. She cried for a lost love, for a friendship that had meant nothing, but what did he wept for? What had he lost?
No, she thought. It couldn’t be, even if the thought made her skin tingle. Sirius Black didn’t, and had never loved her. If he had done so, then he wouldn’t have done her like that.
“Now I know,” she said while nodding, breaking apart from her thoughts. Her own mind driving her insane. Her voice cracked and it made Sirius aware that she was sobbing. He tried to touch her but she stopped him, slapping his hand away. “Just leave.”
It was a simple request. Leave. He had broken her, it was painful enough to know she had to see him in the halls, in class, in the Common Room, the last thing she needed was for him to pester her until she forgave him. She couldn’t, not in that moment. The wound was fresh, her heart was ripping apart and she had trouble breathing.
She wanted him to leave, but he didn’t. She sobbed out loud, shaking. It was in that moment she knew, she had reached bottom. It was one thing he knew about her sadness, another to show him how her hopes and dreams for them had died.
Sirius wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to him. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, kissing the exposed skin.
He wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
➴ Summary:Sirius promised to take care of baby Harry, but things can never go accordingly with him.
➴ Pairing:Sirius Black / fem!reader (3rd POV).
➴ Warnings:Language(?)
➴ Wordcount:1K
➴ Tagged:@angelaiswriting@jj-maybnk
➴ Author Note:Requests are open until the 15th.
If she killed Sirius but didn’t use magic, would she still go to Azkaban or to a muggle prison?
Azkaban was a horrible place and she wouldn’t risk being imprisoned there - although he was making it difficult to think about the consequences, but a muggle prison? She wouldn’t think twice before kicking his ass into the afterlife.
“You’re not listening to me, huh?” She was. Much to her own despair, she was.
Grunting, she got up from the couch and walked up to him. Sirius felt her anger and it scared him enough to make him walk backwards until he hit the wall.
Standing at arm length from him, she cleared her throat. “So, let me get this straight - James being the idiot he is thought that to make our uncle-aunt-nephew night more interesting, it would be fun to use the cloak for hide-and-seek?” Sirius nodded. “And I dared to leave for a second to get some water, so instead of using his actual blanket to wrap him up and put him to sleep- like I asked… You wrapped him up with the cloak and… lost him?” Another nod.
Even if it meant going to Azkaban, murdering him sounded like an appropriate response. But first, she had to find the four months old running through her apartment… being invisible.
Sirius didn’t lose him on purpose, alright, but he still did. He was old enough to understand that giving a child a cloak that would make him invisible was not a good idea at all but there she was looking for an invisible kid after his parents entrusted them with his well being.
“Fine,” she sighed. “Let’s split. You look through the kitchen and living room and I will check the bedrooms and bathroom. Be careful while walking, use a stick or something.”
Before he could agree or disagree - which he wouldn’t, she left for the master bedroom.
She walked with caution through the room, taking steps so small it got her wondering if she was moving at all. She wanted to see the comical part of the situation, imagine Harry running around and the two of them searching like idiots - it did sound fun, but it was also dangerous and what scared her the most was that, it didn’t seem like Sirius understood that. He was so used to be reckless, to not think about the consequences of his actions that sometimes he’d put other people in danger without realizing. Of course, Sirius didn’t want people to get hurt, but he needed to start thinking before he acted, otherwise it wouldn’t be long until he found himself in a dark corner, with no escape option whatsoever.
Kneeling down, she checked under the bed but all she found were her sneakers. Since she had checked the rest of the room, she got up from the floor with a long sigh. After exiting the master bedroom, she went into the guests’, carefully opening the door and stepping inside. Repeating the same process again, with no sign of Harry there either. Now, even more worried than before, she sat down in the bed and tried to think. Where would have Harry possibly go? Their apartment wasn’t big and all windows and doors were locked with magic and locks to ensure their safety with the ongoing war. He couldn’t have gotten far, right?
She looked towards the crib Sirius was supposed to put him to sleep and then a thought entered her mind. What if? Oh, Merlin! She scolded herself for not thinking about it earlier, then she ran towards the living room, where Sirius was still searching through for the child. Upon seeing her running around, all colour disappeared from his face.
“Be careful! You could step on him!” He caught her in his arms, forcing her to a stop.
She had the gift to laugh at the most inconvenient of times - hell, she couldn’t attend funerals because she would laugh the pain off. However, this time as she fell into his arms, shaking as she laughed and laughing even more as she watched Sirius’s confused face, she had a good reason. All the time she had worried Sirius had lost Harry, however, she had missed one important detail. When was the last time he saw him?
“I can’t believe I’m being the mature one but… I don’t think this is a laughing matter.”
“Sirius,” she shook her head and took a breath before continuing: “when was the last time you saw Harry before losing him?”
He thought about it for a moment, then replied: “when I wrapped him with the cloak.”
“And where was that?”
“In the room, where his crib is.”
She nodded. “Right, and now explain to me how could a four months old jump from his crib without us noticing? Or at least without me noticing?”
She waited for a few seconds and then, boom! Realization hit him right in the face and he let go of her and sprinted towards the room. Still giggling she followed him, a bit slower though. She had run enough for one night - and one life as well. When she reached the door to the room, Sirius had Harry in his arms - the baby was still asleep, unaware of the mess his uncle had just created for a simple distraction. Sirius was relieved, kissing him on his head and whispering words she couldn’t hear from where she was standing.
It got her thinking… She was sure as hell going to wait until he grew at least one brain cell before having children. Next time - and she was sure there would be a next time, he’d end up losing him for real. It was bad enough it was happening to her nephew but, her own kids? Oh, hell no, then she would murder Sirius without thinking twice and then her babies would grow up without parents because she would go to Azkaban. She couldn’t let that happen.
“Love!” Sirius called her out of her thoughts, smiling at her. “I didn’t lose him! You should have a little bit more of faith in me from now on!”
You know what? No children also sounded good.
12 Grimmauld Place (23/?)
Pairings:Sirius Black x reader, Remus Lupin x reader’s brother, Sirius Black (post-Azkaban) x reader, Sirius Black x Slytherin!reader
Word Count: 2,663
Warnings: Torture, injury,
A/N: Ahh!!! Time to get excited I am finallyfinishing this damn story. I’m guessing there will be around 5-10 more chapters to tie up loose ends, unless I get a stroke of genius and continue the story lol. Thank you so much to everyone who still reads my stories and an extra thank you to everyone asking how I’ve been and taking time out of their day to think ab me, like UGH so sweet!!! Anywaysss lemme know what you guys think or if there’s anything you’d like to see/are confused about!
“Always were such a gossip,” Sirius teased, his figure slowly coming from the shadows, his wand out and poised.
“I think you have me confused with Cissy, always had trouble keeping those pretty lips closed,” Bellatrix returned, turning her attention towards Sirius.
“Yes, well, the pretty ones are always easier to remember,” Sirius said, slowly advancing. He didn’t dare look at you; the last thing Bellatrix needed to know was that not only were you Remus’ sister, but she could hurt Sirius just as deeply through you–almost a sort of two-for-one. It was a good thing he didn’t, for you were still seated, cradling your throbbing ankle.
“Just as shallow as always, I see,” she sneered, “It seems as though your time in Azkaban taught you nothing, cousin.”
“Back on the Dark Side, all loud and proud, and your precious Lord hasn’t even fully risen to power yet; seems as though you learned just as much as I did,” he threw back. Her face contorted in rage, and her words came out like a growl.
“He broke me out of Azkaban! He saved me! How can he not be what he once was, yet touch Azkaban–no, break Azkaban? No one has escaped from Azkaban, the precious prison where you filthy Muggle-lovers love to throw true witches and wizards like me!” she shrieked madly.
“First of all,Iescaped from Azkaban, all by myself, no Dark Lord pulling the strings with the dementors in league,” Sirius sneered. You held your breath as he spoke to her so brazenly. “And Good Godric, you are just as deluded as ever. He’s the one who put you there! You wouldn’t have even ended up in that godforsaken place had it not been for him! Neither of us would’ve been! Can’t you see that? You are only as important to him as what you can do for him. You are nothing to him. Can’t you see that?”
And then, the cave was filled with bright green light.
All noise ceased as the blood swam in your ears. A silent but surely blood-curdling scream to everyone else ripped from your throat, Sirius’ name leaving your lips as the pitch-black replaced the deadly green. You pulled yourself up against the bars, pain seeping into your screams as you did so, but you had to see he was okay; he had to be okay. The silence stretched on, Bellatrix’s enraged, heavy breathing filling the quiet. The feeling was seeping from your limbs, your knees on the verge of collapse, chest beginning to heave with angry, suffocated sobs.
“Oh, hit a soft spot, did I? Getting a bit touchy,” Sirius laughed suddenly. With a spring, he jumped back up, his hair bouncing with him. The feeling returned to your body like a tidal wave, and your knees finally gave out, but with relief. She hadn’t gotten him; he was still here and somehow going to save all of you.
From your spot on the ground, you could’ve sworn you saw a flash of a shoe visible from the light of the mouth of the cave, but a second later, it was gone.
“How dareyou speak of him like you know him! Like you understand him?! You know nothing!” she yelled, her voice rebounding off the walls of the tiny cave. “This is nothing like the last time. That was nothing but a blip in my Master’s grand plan. Your preciousfriends, ickle Jamesy and Lily with itty, bitty, baby Potter. All of them, they all meant nothing. Their deaths meant nothing. In fact, I’m told it was amusing for my Master to chase James as he fruitlessly searched out his wand, almost as amusing as Lily throwing herself in front of my Master’s wand, as if it would do anything at all. Stupid, stupidgirl–but really, what did we expect from a filthylittle Mudblood.”
And then, Sirius lost it. Flashes of every color burst from the tip of his wand spells flying left and right. Using your good foot, you pushed off of the ground and flew to the corner, covering Alastor and Circe, the latter balled in his lap, doing your best to shield them.
“You don’t get to say their names! To talk about them!” he shrieked madly, looking more and more like his cousin as he did so. “I’ll kill every last one of you!”
“I wish I was there! I wish I would’ve gotten to see my Master leech the very last drop of light from James’ eyes!” she shrieked, cackling as she threw her own defensive spells. Amazingly, the two hadn’t been hit yet, still throwing curses with as much gusto as before.
Idly, you wondered what had happened to her henchmen–shouldn’t this be the exact situation they were here for? Squinting in the darkness, you found them all strangely slumped over, dead to the situation around them.
Concerned for Remus, you next looked for him. Confused, you saw him working his way to a standing position, grimacing in pain as he did so. How was he standing on his own? Then, a second later, you saw a freckled arm appear from nowhere, and a second after that, Remus had been swallowed by the darkness.
“What the hell?” you whispered, furrowing your brows in confusion.
“What is happening?” Alastor whispered, a crazed look on his face now that Circe couldn’t see him.
“It’s alright. You guys are going to be okay,” you reassured them.
“That’s Sirius Black,” he whispered, terrified. “Like hell we’re going to be okay.”
“The Daily Prophet’s propaganda machine never ceases to amaze,” you whispered, mostly to yourself. “He’s here to rescueus. He’s not bad, not evil, and certainly not a sodding Death Eater. It’s all a lie.”
“And why would I believe that?” he frantically whispered back, spells still pinging off the walls.
“If he’s a Death Eater, then why the hell is he trying to kill Bellatrix in their own cave?” you hissed, trying to remain patient. “You’ve just got to trust me on this. Okay?”
He gave you a look but nodded slowly after a minute.
“Alright,” he said, encircling Circe tighter.
“I’ve got to get out and help him, please tell me you have something to pick a lock with?” you whispered.
“There’s a rusty nail under that bench, in the hole in the rock. I never knew how to use it,” he said, nodding to the opposite corner of the cell. Feeling incredibly thankful for your Muggle cousins your mother called ‘bad influences,’ you pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead.
“We’re going to make it out of this, okay? Almost there,” you said, gripping his face seriously. He merely looked at you with the same expression as always.
Crawling over to the bench, you dug the nail from the hole with your fingers, shaking as you turned to the bars to poke your arm through the bars. Putting all your weight on your left foot, you fumbled about for a bit as your hands searched for the lock.
Finally finding the lock, you pushed the nail in and quickly got to work trying to pick the lock. Twisting your wrist to try a new angle, you cursed loudly when you dropped the pin.
“No!” you all but screamed, trying your damnedest to get the pin and help Sirius.
“Alohomora,” you suddenly heard a young girl’s voice whisper. With a click, the lock opened, and the door swung open.
Confused but grateful for the assistance, you figured your best bet was to crawl and keep in the darkness.
Heart pounding in your ears, you trusted Sirius not to hit you by accident as you got closer. Finally, when you were within arm’s reach, you took a deep breath and went for it. Reaching out, you wrapped both arms around Bellatrix and held tightly as she screeched in shock and thrashed madly in your arms. Pushing off with your good foot, you took her to the floor. Through her thrashing, you managed to get your hand wrapped around hers and pried her fingers from her death grip on her wand. The tell-tale light clatter of wood on stone gave you a new rush of energy.
“What? Who?” she shrieked, trying her best to turn and see who had her.
“Leave! Him! Alone!” you yelled, holding tighter as she thrashed.
“It’s over, Bellatrix,” Sirius suddenly huffed. Just as shocked as she was, you turned your neck and saw Sirius, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Remus, and Tonks all standing with their wands pointed directly at the two of you. You were pleased to find Hermione gripped Bellatrix’s wand in her hand.
“The filthy Mudblood darehold my wand?!” and the thrashing started once more. Ignoring the pain, you hooked your leg around her hip, turning to smother her.
“Shut up!” you roared, bringing your fists down on her.
“Y/N?” Sirius said, his voice laden with surprise.
“Somebody get the bloody attack dog already!” she shrieked from under you.
You felt a strong arm wrap around your torso and lift you from Bellatrix with ease, all the while thrashing to get back to her.
“We’re leaving,” Remus heaved, his chest stained with blood.
“And we’re taking them with us,” you said, pointing to Alastor and Circe, who were just now crawling timidly from the cell.
“It won’t matter,” she said, grinning a mad smile as her teeth were red with blood. “We’re going to win.”
“No you won’t,” Harry spat, looking angry. At his anger, Bellatrix let out another cackling laugh.
“Silencio!” you shouted, snatching Sirius’ wand from his hand. Sirius looked at you, highly offended, and you placed the wand back in his still outstretched palm. “I was tired of hearing the bloody twit squawk.”
“I second that. In fact,” Hermione added, “PetrificusTotalus.”
And with that, Hermione used Bellatrix’s own wand to bewitch her into stillness, her face frozen in an angry shriek.
“With her own wand,” you clucked, giving Hermione a small smile. “Excellent touch.”
“I vote we leave,” Ron said, looking around anxiously.
“I second that,” Remus said, laughing breathlessly. Tonks wrapped her arm around Remus’ waist and slowly led him from the cave. Hermione guided Alastor and Circe out into the snow, Harry and Ron following. Just as you turned to leave, Sirius spun you around and pulled you to him.
“I’m so, so, sorry, Y/N,” Sirius said against your ear.
“C-can’t, breathe,” you choked out. He loosened his grip, but didn’t let go.
“I never meant any of what I said–” he started, but before he could finish, you reached up and grabbed hold of him, wrapping your legs around him.
“I’d kiss you, but I’m pretty sure I got sick back there,” you laughed with tears in your eyes. Joining you in laughter, Sirius held you tightly against him.
“I’m so glad you’re okay, Godric. I was so worried about you and–” seeming to remember, he dropped you and whipped around. “Moony!”
“Ow!” you yelped out, your ankle exploding in pain once more.
“Are you alright?” Sirius said, spinning around to you once more and looking concerned.
“Better than I was when I first arrived,” you joked–he didn’t laugh. “Just broke my ankle, is all.”
“Oh, well, if that’s all then,” he rolled his eyes at you. Turning his back to you, he squatted slightly and held his arms out. “Go on, then.”
Rolling your eyes but grinning, you hopped onto his back.
As the two of you stepped out of the cave and into the cold night air, you saw Hermione speaking to Alastor and Circe.
“I’m alright, honest. I can stand on my good foot, you go and see my brother,” you said as Sirius came to a halt.
“Are you sure? I can have Ron take my place,” he asked you, turning to look at you.
“Promise,” you smiled, pecking his cheek. Smiling back, he gingerly set you on your feet, looking concerned when you winced.
“Are you alright?” Hermione asked them. Dropping to her knees, she enveloped Circe in a hug as she cried freely. Alastor didn’t answer; he still had the dead look in his eye, staring blankly into the distance, seemingly indifferent to the cold around him. You were about to walk over to him when you saw his eyes swim back into focus.
“H-Harry Potter?” Alastor blinked, life slowly seeping back into him.
“Yeah,” Harry half-smiled, walking up to him. “Are you okay? You’re bleeding.”
“I’ve been bleeding for months,” he answered darkly. “But not anymore, thanks to you.”
“Honestly, I barely did anything at all,” Harry answered honestly. “In fact, I wasn’t even supposed to be here.”
“But you are,” Alastor said simply.
With a rush of emotion, you realized Harry was the answer. Though he might not have been the formidable wizard his reputation held him up to be, you saw he was the equal to Voldemort; he was the life to Voldemort’s death, the good to his evil. He always had been. More importantly, though, the people believed him to be Voldemort’s equal, the only hope against him. As long as Harry lived, and as long as people saw him living, fighting against Voldemort, hope would live on.
Looking away from Harry and Alastor, you noticed Ron approaching you, shrugging out of his coat.
“Here, you’ll freeze,” he said, holding the dark-blue fabric out to you.
“Oh, no, I’m alright,” you lied, a cold shiver betraying you as the wind picked up.
“I’m not taking it back,” he said stubbornly. “Besides, if you get this one all bloodied up, maybe Mum will buy me one of my own finally.”
“Alright, thanks, Ron,” you said after a moment, smiling and taking the heavy fabric from him.
Pulling on the still slightly-warm fabric, the forest around you was suddenly filled with the yells of Sirius.
“What? So, you just figured you go on and take him on yourself, did you? Aren’t you supposed to be the bloody smart one? I mean, exactly whatis the point of the mirrors if you don’t even alert me to at least let me know what you’re walking into? You could’ve died, you stubborn, detrimentally independent, crazy bastard! And then what? Just gonna leave me then too?”
“No, of course–” Remus started, looking both pained and guilty.
“No, I’m still bloody talking,” Sirius cut him off, looking fierce. “Don’t you ever do that to me again, Remus or I swear on James’ grave it’ll be me who finishes the job. In fact, if they hadn’t already done you in so well, I’d take you to the floor right now for putting me–us, through this. Matter of fact, where are the miserable sods? I’ve got some things to work out just now.”
Tearing off once more towards the caves, Harry and Ron followed him dutifully while Tonks stood with Remus, grabbing his face and wiping the grime from it, the tears in her eyes freely falling.
“Oh, darling,” she said softly, pulling his tall frame down to her. After a moment, you saw Remus’ shoulders shake slightly, and looked away from the tender scene.
“Guys, they really need a doctor, as does Y/N and Remus. We need to go,” Hermione fretted, using a cloth to sop up some of the blood on Alastor’s face.
“I’ll go on and take Remus to Hogwarts, Madam Pomfrey will know where to start. The rest of you can meet us, yeah?” Tonks suggested.
“Here, take Alastor too, I’ll bring Circe. I don’t think I’m strong enough to apparate with both just yet,” you said.
“I forget they aren’t old enough yet,” Tonks sighed, gesturing for Alastor to join her.
“Go on, Alastor, Circe, and I will be right behind you,” you assured him.
“Alright,” he said, his voice dead again.
With a pop, Remus, Tonks, and Alastor disappeared from view, leaving you, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Circe and Sirius in the cold.
Perpetual Freak (6/?): Greenhouse Grudges
Pairings:Sirius Black x reader, Sirius Black x Gryffindor!reader, marauders era! Sirius Black x reader, Marauders x reader
Warnings:Dueling, violence, blood/injury
Word Count: 3,683
“Please,” Lucius scoffed. “It’s likely Sirius here would be expelled if he was found in another duel.” His blonde hair glinted white in the pale moonlight, and it was mildly distracting.
“Been watching me then, have we? I don’t blame you. I mean, I am simplydevilishly handsome,” Sirius responded, checking himself out in the glass panes of the greenhouse. Bellatrix made an exasperated noise, and Lucius clicked his tongue.
“Sorry, handsome. I don’t swing that way,” Lucius sneered, Bellatrix giggled from next to him.
“Sure?” Sirius grinned maliciously.
Lucius’ skin was already ghostly pale, but somehow it turned paler. Looking over at him curiously, he mouthed Yaxley’s name, and you immediately caught on to him. Your mind conjured the image of the two blonde boys trapped in a heated embrace. Grinning a little, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath, pushing the thought. After a beat, Bellatrix gasped, and Lucius produced an almost howl of rage.
“Stop that!” he growled.
“Twitchy…” Sirius crooned. At his utterance, you pulled the bubble back, and their eyes unglazed and refocused on the two of you. “Let’s not play with our food.”
“How did you do that?” Lucius yelled, his pale features pink with rage.
“You like it? It’s a specialty of mine,” you grinned at him. Just as you turned to Bellatrix, you saw a slight flick of her wand, and you went airborne. Time seemed to move in slow motion as you soared through the dark night–the greenhouse, however, was coming up on you at an alarming rate. As quick as your brain could, you cast a hovering spell; it managed to catch you before you hit the ground, but not before you crashed through the roof of the greenhouse, glass shattering all around you. Several shards slit your skin, and you yelled in fury.
“Twitch?” Sirius called, voice sounding anxious as the sounds of spells clashing filled the night.
“Alright!” you called, gritting your teeth and steeling your stomach as you pulled a decent-sized shard of glass from the inside of your forearm. The feeling nauseated you, but you had to get back to Sirius. Hasting to help, you trampled over the broken glass and pots inside the wrecked greenhouse, taking care to steer very clear of the tentacula plant.
Bellatrix and Lucius were flinging spells with all they had, and you could tell it was all Sirius could do to simply block them. Bellatrix must’ve thought that would’ve taken you out, as neither of them looked over to see if you were coming. Seizing the opportunity, you pushed open the glass door and used your own wand to fling Bellatrix. She was sent flying and landed with a dull thud against a large tree trunk nearby. Even from the distance you could see her eyes bulge as she gasped like a fish out of water, trying to get air back into her stunned lungs.
From your left the sound of breaking glass sounded and you turned to find Sirius tucked into a roll, sending himself far away from the exploding glass. Just as he came to a stop, he twisted his wand towards Lucius and sent his wand flying into the air with a simple disarming spell. Turning back towards Bellatrix, she struggled to get to her feet. Her savage hair was whipping wildly in the wind, and the sight gave you an idea of your own. Pointing your wand, you grinned and spoke.
“Calvorio,” and with that said, her hair began falling from her scalp. The first few chunks caused shocked gasps to fall from her lips, but after the fifth or sixth tuft, she was beginning to truly freak out.
“Lucius!” she screamed, causing the blonde to whip his head around to look for her. Sirius seized his chance and sent him flying backwards.
“Wha’ in the ruddy hell?!” a gruff voice began booming from somewhere nearby. You and Sirius locked eyes–fun as this was, Lucius was right; another fight would not be good for Sirius’ standing.
Bellatrix was positively wailing now, her hands shaking as they ran over her quickly balding head. Using her noises as cover, you ran back towards Sirius and grabbed his robes, pulling him back from advancing on Lucius.
“Come on, we have to go!” you said, pulling on him, but for all the good it did, you might as well have not said anything at all.
“Sirius, we have to go!” you pushed, this time raising your mental voice to where he winced and covered his ears.
“Oi!” he called, turning back to you.
“Sirius, if you want to live to duel another day, we’ve gotta disappear, and we’ve got to do it now!” you hissed desperately. The gamekeeper’s footsteps began to shake the ground with their proximity and intensity. Just when you thought he’d be caught, he whirled around and pushed you back into the tunnel, which closed off at a flick of his wand, and the two of you were consumed by the darkness.
“Wha’s wrong? Ou’ here screamin like you bin stung by a skrewt,” the gameskeeper said gruffly, likely coming up on Bellatrix and Lucius. “Good Godric! The greenhouse! Ooh, Professor Sprout is notgoing to be happy abou’ tha’.”
“Who cares about the stupid greenhouse? Clearly, she’s been cursed; even you could see that you oaf,” Lucius sneered, causing Sirius to get riled up once more. You grabbed his wand arm and put it down, putting your other hand to your lips.
“Oaf?” the gameskeeper boomed, equally outraged. “Now you jus’ watch yer mouth, Malfoy. C'mon, let’s go see wha’ Slughorn has ter say abou’ it all,”
And slowly, the sobs of a deranged Bellatrix grew quieter and quieter until all you could hear was the wind whistling through the now shattered frames of the greenhouse.
“C'mon,” you said after a moment, grabbing Sirius’ wrist. He grinned after Lucius and Bellatrix in a pleased sort of way and let you drag him into the tunnel, whistling a tune softly.
“Are you whistling?” you asked, laughing slightly.
“We just got ol’ Lucy and Bellatrix nice and stuck. Even Slughorn can’t ignore the broken greenhouse!” he let out a barking laugh into the tunnel, and you couldn’t help but join in at the thought of a bald Bellatrix getting berated by Slughorn.
“Nice jinx, by the way, she loves her hair,” Sirius said, winking as you smiled back at him. You thought a funny feeling erupted in your stomach, but it must’ve just been the excitement of them getting into trouble.
“Wasn’t it? I thought she’d like it,” you laughed at the image of her hair falling out onto the dark grass, her deranged sobs filling the night air as she tried to keep it in place with her fingers. “Gives excellent ammunition for later.”
“You’re gonna get into trouble for that one of these days,” Sirius said as the two of you slowed to a walking pace in the dark, dank tunnel.
“I’m friends with you lot; I’m always in trouble,” you reminded him, laughing.
“Touche, Twitchy,” he laughed back. “Though, it’s mostly James, and I really that get into trouble–everybody’s got a soft spot for Remus, ya know, the teenage werewolf.”
“I was aware of that, funnily enough. And I think you forget about Peter. He doesn’t get any special treatment.” you reminded him, with an image of an anxious Peter wringing his hands behind James as McGonagall scolded.
“Well, I was trying to, and here you are bringing him up again,” he teased, shaking his head, a smile on his face.
“What’s your problem with him, anyway?” you asked him, “I mean, I know he’s always preferred James, but it seems it’s about all the two of you can do to sit in the same room anymore.”
“I dunno, I’ve never really liked him. Prongs does, of course, because Peter absolutely fawns over him. I don’t think he’d even be brought along if he didn’t spend every other minute kissing James’ arse–and I’m supposed to be the arrogant one,” he rolled his eyes.
“So, you don’t like him because he doesn’t have a slightly homoerotic infatuation with you?” you asked, a laugh slipping through your lips.
“Well, when you put it like that, I suppose it does sound a bit odd,” he laughed with you, “But really, that’s just part of it. I dunno, I just don’t trust him. There’s something about him that just rubs me the wrong way, can’t quite put my finger on it. Can’t believe the little sod made it into Gryffindor, sometimes I think every now and then that hat makes a mistake.” Sirius said.
“Well, it’s bound to. It’s a hat, innit?” you laughed.
“And then there’s the whole thing with his Animagi being a rat. I mean, come on, does that not make anybody else nervous?” he pointed out, looking at you imploringly.
“It’s a little weird, I suppose. But we can’t exactly go judging each other for our animal forms. I mean, does Remus strike you as a werewolf?” you asked.
“Well, of course not, but that’s not voluntary, is it? He didn’t choose that form. I mean, James choosing a stag makes sense– bloke has to be the biggest one out of all of us–plus it just sounds cool, stag,” he said in a funny voice, making you laugh. “I dunno, I think mine makes sense. A big black dog,”
“Dark and scary looking, but really a softie at heart,” you teased, nudging him with your shoulder. The two of you finally entered back into the castle, older students milling about as they made their way back to their common rooms. As you made your way into the main corridor, the two of you saw a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin lip-locked in a notch in the walls, causing a slight snicker from the both of you–though, they didn’t seem to notice.
“I dunno, I think Peter’s makes sense. I mean, he’s a rat of a boy. Always nervous, always simpering, rubbing his hands together like he does, always trying to worm his way out of things,” you said, understanding Sirius’ point of view more and more as you spoke.
“Precisely. Sod makes me nervous, and I’ve got my bloody eyes on him,” he all but growled, a dark look coming over his hooded features. For a second, he looked just like a true Black. He must’ve realized the same thing because, after a moment, he shook his head and let the boyish glow back into his cheeks.
“Now, yours, well yours makes perfect sense. A cute little bunny wabbit,” he said, turning to you and brushing the tip of your nose with his finger.
You rolled your eyes, though your heartbeat funnily from his touch; the boys loved to tease you for your inherently cute and slightly feministic animagi of a spotted white rabbit, the spots being the same color as your hair.
“I’m not cute,” you grumbled, beginning your ascent up the stairs to Gryffindor tower for the second time that night.
“Say that again, but slower,” he teased, laughing at you. Just as you were about to retort with a smart remark, your foot caught on one of the stairs, and you let out a swear word as you tumbled forward. Sirius managed to catch just before your face smashed against the staircase, and for that, you were grateful.
“Thanks,” you said, blushing slightly as he helped you up, hands resting on your hips to steady you.
“Alright?” he asked, his storm grey eyes holding yours.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” you said, turning to continue up. He kept a hand on the small of your back the rest of the way up, probably just ensuring you wouldn’t fall without him noticing once more.
“And where have you two been?” the Fat Lady asked, looking appraisingly down at you and Sirius, probably knowing it was nothing good. You were grateful for the long sleeves that hung on your robes–they blocked the dozen slits decorating your arms. They stung as the fabric brushed against them occasionally, and you were happy you made it to the common rooms for the night so you could shed them.
“Out,” Sirius said, eliciting an exasperated sigh from her. “Pillyknox.”
And with that, she swung open, grumbling about a lack of respect as she did so.
“Oi!” James called immediately upon seeing his best friend. At the noise, James rose from his spot on the couch and bounded over to Sirius, running a hand through his hair subconsciously as he did so. “What were you doing out by the greenhouses?”
“How’d yo–you checked the map, didn’t you?” Sirius asked.
“Course. The two of you just bloody disappeared after Twitch here spent all night in a mood. Makes a bloke nervous,” he said as the group of you made your way back over to where James had been seated. Remus and Peter sat on the floor next to the couch, locked in a game of chess; Peter squealed with delight as Remus’ rook took out a knight of his, the sound of scattering pieces joining his laughter. Lily was laid out on the couch, reading a book, her scarlet hair glinting off the roaring fire behind her. Several boys watched her as she read, and their eyes fell as she grinned up at the arriving James, all looking quite put out.
You followed Sirius to the couches and noticed about the same number of girls’ eyes trailing him. Disgruntled, you tore your robes off, seemingly momentarily forgetting about your arms. Hissing, they reminded you of their presence.
Lily’s head flicked up from her book at your telltale wince of pain, and she gasped softly.
“Your arms,” she breathed, closing her book.
“What the bloody hell happened?” Remus asked, concern lacing his tone as he got up from his game.
“I’m getting to it,” you said, pressing your sleeve to a cut above your eyebrow.
“Oh, stop it, you’re just going to make a mess,” she said, pulling out her wand. “Tergio.”
And with a funny sucking sensation, for the second time that day, you felt all the blood be siphoned off your face. Putting your other sleeve to the same bloody spot, it came back dry, and you smiled at her.
“Cheers.”
Turning, you made to sit against the couch when all five let out an involuntary gasp.
“Fuck,” you sighed, knowing it had to be another cut. “Who knew greenhouses could put up such a fight.”
You tried to joke, but evidently, whatever had made them gasp was too consuming.
“Well, what is it then?” you asked, starting to get worried.
“Well, goodnight, boys,” Lily finally spoke, handing her book to James and picking up your hand.
“What?” you asked blankly.
“We’re going to see Madam Pomfrey, of course,” she replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“No, we aren’t,” you said, pulling your hand out of Lily’s as you neared the door.
“What?” she blinked. “Twitch, your arms are covered in cuts, and the entirety of the back of your shirt is soaked in blood. We have to go.”
“No, they’ll know the greenhouse was me, which means they’ll know it wasn’t just me, and Sirius can’t get into trouble again. There’s only so much even Dumbledore can do,” you reasoned, shaking your head.
“James,” Lily sighed, looking to him for support.
“Er,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck. On the one hand, he was surely worried about you and wanted nothing more than to please Lily, but on the other, he didn’t want to watch his best friend leave Hogwarts because of their behavior.
“Thanks,” she said venomously. “Twitch, seriously, let’s go.”
“She’s right,” Remus sighed finally.
“Thank you, Remus,” she sighed gratefully.
“I’m not going,” you said, crossing your arms stubbornly–you fought the hiss of pain that would prove their point.
“You are so bloody stubborn,” Lily said, putting her hands on her hips and taking a calming breath. You met her glare with one of your own, and after a moment, she unclenched.
“Fine,” she said breezily. “Let’s go up to your room then, boys.”
“Sorry?” James said, coughing slightly on his tea.
“Well, if she won’t go to Madam Pomfrey, she’s going to have to let us close up the cuts because her shirt is the same color as the scarlet drapery. Dunno about you lot, but I don’t fancy my blood drenching my shirt scarlet.” Lily said in a commanding tone.
“She’s right; she’s losing a lot of blood,” Remus said thoughtfully, his hands brushing your back ever so slightly. Your stomach clenched with nerves at the thought of not only leaving your wellbeing in the hands of the Marauders, but having them do so in their bedspace with you at least semi-undressed.
“Right, I’ll just lead the way, then,” James said haltingly, probably nervous about having girls in his room as well.
“Wait!” Peter squeaked, rushing up to James and whispering frantically in his ear.
“Right, Wormy, yes, go on and do that. Thank you.” James said evasively, his face slightly ashen. With that, Peter darted up the stairs immediately.
“I’ll grab my kit,” Remus said and followed Peter up.
“Right then, follow me, ladies,” James said suavely, smirking back at the two of you. Lily rolled her eyes but took his outstretched hand.
You were starting to feel a little funny and figured it best to move more slowly than usual. As you did so, you noticed people around you watching the group of you, eyes flitting between James and Lily and Sirius and you–evidently, they couldn’t tell which was a juicer. They whispered loudly behind their hands, making it hard not to listen in passing.
“Nosy sods,” Sirius shook his head, evidently noticing as well. He followed you up and remained almost silent as you followed Lily into the room.
The rooms were decorated in nearly the same way as the girls’, but their room was already undoubtedly messier. Various items of clothing were strewn everywhere, and bits of parchment resting on every other available surface–most were in Remus’ handwriting. It hadn’t even been a day, how the hell did Remus write so much already? Where did this mess come from?
Peter was seated on his bed cross-legged, munching on a chocolate frog as he watched the group of you. His bed area was decorated with candy wrappers and crumbs.
“Here,” Sirius said as James shut the door behind you all. With a grand sweep, he knocked everything on his bed onto the floor and beckoned you.
“Thanks, Siri,” you smiled and sat on his bed. “I dunno what you guys were planning to do, but we should probably get to it. I feel a bit funny.”
“Moony!” Sirius barked suddenly, causing you to jump a bit.
“Calm down, Pads, I’ve got it right here,” he responded, shuffling back across the room with a small chest in his hands. His arms and hands were littered with scars, and you felt a rush of sympathy as you sat littered with cuts of your own. Remus had to do this once a month, for forever, with the only hope of his being he never hurt anyone–hurting himself instead was of no matter.
Remus, seemingly in the element of a Mediwizard, took your arms in his surprisingly soft hands and turned them over once each.
“Mostly superficial, aside from the one on the inside,” he noted, gesturing to the area you’d pulled the shard out of on your left arm. “Go on and lay down on your stomach.”
“Yes, Mediwizard,” you teased. He gave a small smile as you turned to lay down.
With your face in Sirius’ sheets now, his smell was overwhelming. Pine needles were the first scent you could pick out, like the bed of a forest. The sickly sweet smell of the tobacco he insisted on smoking was next, covering everything in a light layer. You were amazed the smell held up like that over the holiday–there was no musk, no heavy smell like he slept there every night, but the scent held up enough to decipher it.
“You really should go see Madam Pomfrey to close those up,” Lily said once more. Turning your head, you found her lounged across what must’ve been James’ bed–it was right next to Sirius’. You said nothing but made sure she saw you roll your eyes. “Fine, go on, then. Be stubborn.”
“I will, thanks,” you responded, grinning slightly. It was her turn to roll her eyes.
“Er, Lily, could you come lift Twitch’s shirt?” Remus asked, clearing his throat several times.
“Eh, Sirius can do it,” Lily shrugged, having grabbed a book from Remus’ pile and flipping through it. Stuck between hissing for her to do it and liking the idea of Sirius doing it instead, you remained quiet.
“Er, I mean alright,” Sirius said from next to you.
“Not as if you aren’t well-practiced in that,” James laughed as he collapsed next to Lily. You stiffened at the thought.
“C'mon, Lils,” you said, suddenly less interested as Sirius was already so well-practiced. With a small sigh, Lily pushed off of James’ bed.
“Great, cheers, mate,” Sirius griped, throwing James a dirty look. Seemingly realizing his mistake, he winced back apologetically as Lily lifted your shirt gingerly.
“So, what happened, anyway?” she asked as she resumed her spot.
“Why don’t you tell it, Twitch?” Sirius offered.
“Too tired, you do it,” you said, your head beginning to spin. Just as you were about to say something, you heard the chest open and knew Remus was seconds away from helping.
“Well, after we left the Great Hall, she was still pouting and pissy, probably planning to mull over it all night–hate it when she does that. So instead, I suggested we go after them.” Sirius started.
James let out an appreciative rip of laughter.
You felt Remus’ hands begin to touch against your back, and somehow, the room seemed to spin faster.
“Guys, I think,” you started, interrupting Sirius’ story. “I don’t feel…”
You tried to get the sentence out, but your tongue wouldn’t cooperate before the darkness took you under.
Perpetual Freak (5/?): To the Dungeons
Pairings:Sirius Black x reader, Sirius Black x Gryffindor!reader, marauders era! Sirius Black x reader, Marauders x reader
Warnings:language, hinted fighting
Word Count: 3,240
A/N:Holy shit I’m aliveeee. School kicked my ass this semester as always :) but it’s all over now. I’ll probably be uploading another chapter of this soon and I even opened up my Grimmauld Place doc for the first time in months. Idkkkk. Anyways Merry Christmas and enjoy! Because it’s a bit of a cliffhanger I’ll be posting the next chapter hopefully tomorrow!
Ambient noise filled the Receiving Chamber as you walked into the towering castle. Turning towards the Great Hall, the sound only increased. Each of the tables had a few dozen people already seated, chatting quietly. The girl from Hufflepuff with a horrid case of acne seemed to have found the right salve, and the redhead from Ravenclaw started wearing glasses. Turning towards the Slytherin tables, you took your time to scowl at a haughty-looking Narcissa Black. She turned to her deranged sister and whispered, and both of them turned towards you, giggling. Your face flushed with anger as you looked at the two of them; whatever had been said had now been told to the whole group, and they all turned towards you, snickering.
“What?” you snarled, unable to hold back. This, of course, only caused them to slightly lower their laughter but continue.
“Problem, mates?” Sirius said, stopping beside you and draping a playful yet protective arm around your shoulders.
“Not at all, cousin of mine,” Narcissa said, smiling wickedly. Even as hateful as she was, there was no denying her beauty; her pale skin and equally pale hair seemed to almost twinkle underneath the thousands of floating candles lighting the hall.
“Cousin?” Sirius snorted. “Haven’t you heard? I’ve been disowned, not your family anymore, Cissy,” he sneered, using Bellatrix’s nickname.
Disowned? You knew he came to James’ early this summer, but had no idea that was the reason. It took everything in you to quell your curiosity. Besides, to get any real answers out of Sirius, you knew you’d have to get him alone.
“You say that as if that’s a good thing,” Bellatrix hissed from next to Narcissa, her lip curling as she glared at Sirius.
“Honestly, it’s about bloody time,” Narcissa sniffed. “Never did behave as a Blackshould.”
But Sirius ignored her, instead choosing to respond to Bellatrix.
“A good thing?” Sirius snorted, “Bella, darling, let’s be reasonable here. I hate you, you hate me, now we’re not even family,” Sirius rolled his eyes, continuing walking once more towards the Gryffindor table. “Even you have to admit it’s better this way. Now you hateful, snobbish, deluded lot can have your way with each other without any interference from little old me.”
“Oh, it is; we’ve finally gotten rid of the blood traitor.” Bellatrix snarled, enraged he’d bad mouth their family. “Look at you, hanging round with that mudblood. It’s pathetic.”
The group of you simultaneously tensed at the word Bellatrix used.
“Indecent, really. I expected better of you,” Narcissa sighed, her lips turning up in a small smile. James stepped in at that point.
“Watch your mouth, Black,” he said, taking a step next to Sirius.
“Careful how you speak to a lady, Potter,” Lucius sneered from a couple spaces down. Narcissa’s eyes flicked down to his spot, and her grin grew.
“Uh oh, looks like I’ve made the Mudblood lover angry, watch out, everybody!” Bellatrix cackled, her wild mane of hair shaking with laughter.
“I would, or maybe you should ask Severus here what happened last time he pissed Jamesy here off,” you lilted, gesturing to the sallow boy hunched over in front of them. His head snapped up, and he blushed with anger. Smirking, you decided to push him farther; if it wasn’t to be a secret anymore, you might as well have fun with it.
Closing your eyes and hoping it worked–you’d never done it on so many people–you took a deep breath.
Communicating in your special way with one person was easy, pushing the same thought to several people was possible–but much more difficult. It’d taken till 4th year to push to more than two people at once. Conjuring the image of an upside-down Snape, with his sickly, pale legs on display, you pushed hard towards the seated Slytherins in front of you. Clenching your fists, you pushed harder, finally breaking into a smile as you heard each of their gasps.
Suddenly, you felt a hand on the small of your back, steering you away. Opening your eyes, you found it was Sirius leading you.
“Come on, Twitch,” he said, pulling you towards an already seated Remus and Peter.
“It’s all right, I’m done,” you shrugged, smiling nastily at a glowering Bellatrix over your shoulder. Suddenly, she was on her feet.
“How did you do that?” she screeched madly, her wand in hand.
And then all hell broke loose.
Suddenly Remus, Lily, James, Peter, and Sirius all had their wands drawn, pointed at the equally tense group in front of you. Narcissa, Lucius, Severus, and Avery had joined Bellatrix. Your temper was running wild, heart hammering in your chest, the sound drowning out much of the chatter in the Great Hall–or perhaps everyone had stopped to watch.
“Like this,” you sneered, this time pushing an image of a wailing Bellatrix, sobbing as her hands were covered in boils. Just as she opened her mouth to hex you, Slughorn’s massive figure teetered into view.
“Malfoy? Black? Potter? Black? What in Merlin’s beard is going on here?” he said, looking confused.
“Bellatrix here pulled her wand on Y/N. We’re just backing her up, Professor,” Lily simpered, batting her eyes at Slughorn.
“As are we,” Severus said severely, lowering his eyes at James, the both of them still holding their wands to one another.
“Alright, alright. Enough! You boys–the testosterone between Slytherin and Gryffindor will be the death of this school–everybody put down your wands!” he bellowed, causing everyone who wasn’t already watching the scene to look at you now.
“Now then, you five, get to your table,” he said, pushing the group of you forward. James and Severus glared at each other until James sank into his seat and was distracted by Lily whispering in his ear. Your eyes, however, had yet to leave Bellatrix’s–who glared at you still from her seat at the Slytherin table.
“Let it alone, she’s insane,” Sirius whispered into your ear as the two of you sat opposite James and Lily. Pulling up an image of you viciously hexing Bellatrix, you pushed to her again and were pleased to watch her fist hit against the table, causing everyone nearby to jump.
“Maybe I’m just as bad,” you shrugged, watching her squirm in her seat.
“Hey, look at me,” Sirius said. Unable to tear your eyes away, you continued to fuck with her, pulling up various hexes for her to watch.
“Hey,” Sirius said once more, this time grabbing your jaw with his hand and pulling your face to look at him, “I said look at me. Stop.”
Something in the tone in his voice kept you from smartly retorting–besides, how were you supposed to focus with his storm-grey eyes boring intensely into yours. A tingly feeling erupted in the depths of your stomach, and you complied. After a moment, you came to your senses and pulled yourself out of his grip.
“Fine,” you grumbled, cheeks beginning to heat as Sirius’ fingers left your face tingling.
“She’s gonna end up killing that cousin of yours one of these days,” Lily said, looking at the two of you from her seat with James across the table.
“You say that as if it’s a bad thing. She’d just as soon curse you dead right in this bloody hall,” you grumbled, crossing your arms.
“They’ll get theirs,” Remus reasoned, closing his book as Dumbledore scraped his chair, rising to begin his speech.
“Yeah, I’ll be the one giving it to them,” you replied, growling slightly.
“That’s my girl. Give ‘em hell, Twitch,” James smiled, popping a bite into his mouth. “I’ll be right behind you,”
“Alright, you two,” Lily said, quelling the two of your aggression. Though you remained silent, you seethed in your seat and caught Bellatrix’s eyes frequently. The surrounding chatter quickly quieted as Dumbledore reached the podium.
“Another year passed, another year started,” he began, smiling warmly at the students around him. “How lucky I am to stand before your smiling faces. How fortunate we are to fill you with knowledge.”
Though he continued speaking, James’ commentary drowned him out.
“That’s not all they’ll be filled with, eh, Pads?” he grinned, nudging Sirius’ arm from across the table. Sirius didn’t have time to respond before James yelped.
He pulled his leg up from under the table where you’d kicked his shin and used his other hand to rub his bicep where Lily had pinched him.
“It was a joke,” he pouted.
The two of you shared a small grin and turned back to Dumbledore.
“–but that’s of no matter. Now, let us welcome a new batch!” With that, he spread open his arms in greeting, and the doors of the Great Hall swung in. Led by a tight-lipped McGonagall, the first years shuffled quickly behind her, their faces a mix of intense anxiety and awe of the room before them.
“Oh! Just look at the ickle firsties!” Lily simpered, smiling widely at the group–a small boy with curly black hair tripped over his robe.
They reached the top of the room, and all stiffened as McGonagall grabbed the ancient hat and placed it on the rickety stool.
“This is the Sorting Hat, its job is to place you in your House. The House which the hat places you in shall be your family here. You shall dine together, study together, and sleep in the same rooms. Once I call your name, take a seat on this stool and place the hat on your head. That hat shall then place you, and you will take your seats at your table.” McGonagall explained, eyes dancing over the students. One of the students towards the back seemed to actually be shaking.
Unrolling the piece of parchment, she cleared her throat.
“Abernathy, Owen,” she called, and a boy with curly back hair shuffled his way to the stage.
“Do not fancy trading places with any of those lot,” Peter muttered, looking anxious for them.
“Wasn’t that bad, Wormtail,” Remus responded, casting a quick look back at him.
“Easy for you to say! The hat didn’t take nearly 10 minutes with you, did it? Thought I’d broken the bloody thing,” Peter quivered, remembering the day. James and Sirius laughed under their breath.
Hufflepuff clapped loudly as the first of the new batch came to join their table.
“Crawden, Caleb,” she rang out. A round of applause from Ravenclaw.
“DePonte, Leila,” a small girl with long brown hair seemed to tip-toe to the front and sat down on the chair. The hat had no sooner come to rest before it shouted, “Slytherin!” She grinned and danced towards the table on the far end of the room.
“Definitely a Slytherin,” you and Lily said at the same time.
“Flintwood, Jacob,” another round of applause from Ravenclaw.
“Bloody hell,” Sirius sighed.
“No new Gryffindors this year, then?” James finished.
“We’re only at F,” Lily said.
“Yes, but this must not have been a good batch. There are only about a dozen left,” Remus pointed out.
“Gold, Penelope,” another Hufflepuff. You exchanged a glance with Sirius.
“Gore, Ben,” a small boy with black hair similar to James’ detached from what must’ve been his twin and walked up to the stool. After shooting a nervous glance back down at his brother. He placed the hat on his head.
“Gryffindor!” the hat ripped. Happy to have at least one, your table erupted into thunderous applause. Finally, a new Gryffindor.
“10 sickles says his twin gets in,” Sirius grinned, sticking his hand towards James.
“10 sickles says he doesn’t,” James grinned back, reaching a hand across the table.
“Gore, Wren,” a girl who looked just like her brother traipsed up to the stool and shot a hopeful glance towards your table.
James and Sirius shared an excited grin as she placed the hat on her head.
“Gryffindor!” The boy let out a visible sigh of relief as his twin punched her fist in the air in an excited sort of way.
“Whenever you’re ready, mate,” Sirius teased.
“Oh, shut it, pretty boy,” James grumbled, laying a couple of silver coins in Sirius’ outstretched hand.
“Have you ever noticed, even when I’m being insulted, they can’t help but notice my looks,” Sirius said, lifting a spoon to study his reflection. You all collectively rolled your eyes and sighed.
As your eyes settled, they happened to land on Bellatrix, who still sat glaring at you from her table. And just as though the last few minutes hadn’t happened, the anger settled back into you tenfold.
Dinner passed quickly, though you didn’t eat much, instead spent your time stabbing at your food.
After the annual speech from Dumbledore, it was off to the common rooms for the night.
“Are you still upset?” Sirius asked as the group of you began trodding up the never-ending staircases to Gryffindor Towers.
“No,” you lied. He gave you a knowing look, and you looked away. There was just something about Bellatrix that grated you beyond belief. Perhaps it was Sirius’ connection to her, or your years of quarreling, all starting after she’d laughed as you gave a wrong answer in first-year Transfiguration. The thought alone sent your blood boiling, and it was lucky Peter and Remus happened to be trailing behind, or you’d have slinked back and searched her out in the halls.
The group of you had finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady at the entrance, her smiling graciously as her students disappeared behind her.
“Twitch,” Sirius whispered as James and Lily stepped through. Remus gave the two of you a curious glance, but followed in after a hurrying Peter.
“What?” you grouched.
“Come on,” he jerked his head back down the stairs. Before you could ask him what he was on about, he grabbed your hand and pulled you down the stairs.
“If we hurry, we might be able to catch them,” he said, looking back at you as he ran. His dark hair whipped around his face, and a mischievous smile pulled at his pale pink lips as he grinned back at you.
Sirius would be the death of you.
The two of you sprinted through the winding halls and down the towering staircases. You’d been so distracted by the sight of the sun setting through one of the glass panes, you didn’t even see Nick. Feeling as though you’d just stepped out of an icy shower, you yelled out an apology to him as Sirius raced on, his tight grip on your hand forcing you to keep up.
“Be more careful!” Nicolas yelled back, sounding grumpy.
Finally, out of breath, the two of you skidded into the stairwell leading down to the dungeons. Grinning, you realized what he had in mind.
The corridor was filled with the robes of the Slytherin students heading back down into their own common rooms for the night. Your eyes flitted over everyone’s head, looking for the wild bunch of curls. Finally, you saw them just about to disappear into the same hole dozens of other Slytherins had, in a wild act of desperation, you called out.
“Trixie!” you shouted. It worked. She dove back out of the hole, shoving two Slytherins to get past. “Fancy a little duel?”
“C’mon Lucy, you know it’ll be fun,” Sirius taunted, prompting the white-blonde boy to whip his own head in search. Each of you had a favorite to fuck with; For James, it was Severus–though Sirius never said no to joining in–for you, Bellatrix, for Sirius, it was Lucius. Remus thought himself to be, and truly was above all it; he only got involved when it was about to go too far.
Just as the two had locked eyes with you, you turned to Sirius and smiled. Nodding, the two of you took off at a sprint once again.
“Coming to get me, Trixie?” you yelled out, taunting her. You heard her let out an annoyed shriek, but she didn’t dare pull her wand with the looming threat of Professors so nearby.
“Where are we going?” you hissed to Sirius as he expertly sprinted through the maze of hallways–you really had to start studying that damn map.
“On the grounds, by the greenhouses. Nobody should be out there this time of night,” he panted, turning quickly and bounding up the set of stairs in front of him.
“Scared, Y/N? Is that why you and lover boy are running?” Bellatrix yelled, likely needing to hear your voice to know where to follow; she and Lucius had fallen far behind in their confusion of the entangled corridors of their own dungeon.
“You wish, you twit,” you laughed. At the end of your sentence, you heard the thunderings of running footsteps and knew they were on your trail again.
“Come on, Lucy. Keep up, won’t you? My mother runs faster than you,” Sirius laughed.
After another few quick turns, you were running up a sloping tunnel. Seconds later, the two of you came out just a few yards from the greenhouses, panting wildly.
“Now what?” you said, putting your hands on your knees and forcing deep lungfuls of the cool night air into your body.
“Now, you duel,” Sirius said, putting his hands on his head and catching his breath.
“What?” you said. Dueling was always the way he and James handled their disagreements, but they didn’t understand the more refined art to girl arguments.
“If you aren’t angry enough to duel, you aren’t angry,” Sirius shrugged, grinning at your surprised face.
“You best hope I don’t turn my wand on youafterwards, Sirius,” you hissed at his dark face.
“Here they come–I’d start thinking of spells if I were you,” he grinned, pointing his wand at the opening that now was leaking the sounds of arriving footsteps. You took his advice and conjured all the hexes and jinxes you’d watched them perform over the years.
“Merlin, did you have to run through the entirety of the castle?” Bellatrix hissed as she saw your faces in the moonlight. “Couldn’t you have found an empty classroom like a normal person?”
“Come on now, cousin; where’s the fun in that?” Sirius grinned, looking utterly relaxed as he leaned against the greenhouse, twirling his wand in his hand.
Draw me like one of your French girls, James
Pairings: James Potter x reader, Marauders era
Warnings: Fluff, implied smut, very light smut, erotic tones
Word Count: 3,440
A/N:Obviouslyyyyy this is based on the sketching scene in Titanic with Jack and Rose. I just watched it last night and just haddd to write a fic off it. Jamesy just gives me the soft boi vibes needed for a scene like this
With his mussed hair, swaggering stride, and infectious personality, James Potter was undeniably attractive. With Sirius by his side, the two were unstoppable. Sirius was as dark and mysterious as James was light and boyish–the two complimented one another perfectly. Together, they held every eye in the room.
Everybody knew James was a Quidditch star, one of the best Seekers the Gryffindor house had ever seen. He could’ve been just as good academically if he could sit still long enough, or if Sirius would let him alone long enough to study for any measurable amount of time. However, luckily for him, his natural skill saved him. He lived to make people laugh, even out of exasperation if necessary–even McGonagall fell to his charms on occasion. But most people didn’t know about his true gift. It seemed he liked to keep it a secret.
To be clear, you weren’t a stalker; you didn’t have their class periods sketched out in a notebook, you didn’t trail behind them in the halls, you didn’t eavesdrop on their conversations, it just seemed you and James preferred the same section of the library at about the same time. He’d turn the corner, find you seated on some sort of plush seating and give you a small smile before commandeering the table in front of you–James couldn’t be anywhere without demanding some sort of attention.
James’ secret was what you looked forward to most each day; James could draw. Not just stick figures, or abstract pieces that could probably qualify as art by definition, but truly beautiful work. Throughout the years, he drew many things, the towering shelves, the roaring fireplace, the Hogwarts grounds through a windowpane, and even caricatures of mean old Madam Pince as her beady eyes scanned for book abusers. Over the years, you watched his talent grow and his subject preference change. As he improved, he moved towards people. Girls studying with their hair tucked behind their ears, boys looking disgruntled as they glared down at their homework, eventually groups of them, working quickly to capture all of them candidly before they lost focus or left. Slowly, though, his subject and medium became slightly voyeuristic. Though he still drew in the library, usually choosing a pretty girl to sketch, the setting changed. From studying solemnly in their robes in the library, they were drawn looking up provocatively from their studies, their robes slit in promiscuous areas. This year, though, this year they become true art. His linework was precise, his shading improving as his shoulders hunched over in concentration, his head flicking up every so often to perfect an aspect of the portrait. You began to memorize his back, the way he’d tilt his head when he was unsatisfied with proportions, the way he’d roll his neck after finishing a section, the way his shoulders would tense when he’d have to leave before completing a sketch.
It was just as you were watching him now that he rolled his neck around and stretched. Lifting up the piece, you about dropped your book as he spoke to you.
“What do you think?” he said, without looking back. His voice was quiet enough to not disturb anyone, but loud enough to know it was for you.
The drawing was of a brown-haired girl sitting across the library at one of the open tables, but it was only her wild curls that told you it was the same girl. She didn’t sit at the table in front of you, studying. Instead, she lay splayed out lazily on one of the armchairs in the common rooms, her elbow resting on the arm, her hand in her hair. Her legs were splayed open; the only thing covering the apex was a conspicuously placed cat laid on her lap. Completely nude, the woman in the photograph was beautiful, without a doubt.
“Sorry?” you coughed, shocked. Bewildered in every way, you couldn’t help but stare at the woman in the photo, the expression on her face, the honesty and peace in the way she laid, the curvature of her breast, the lines of her hips; the clear adoration in the drawing made your cheeks warm.
“What do you think? Hard to tell what you women look like sometimes underneath the robes. D’you think it’s accurate?” he tilted his head as he spoke, his back still to you.
“Er,” you furrowed your brows. The art was gorgeous; how could you tell him any different? “It’s gorgeous.“
“But do you think it’s accurate?” he asked again, this time turning around in his seat and looking at you.
“Er, dunno. Haven’t exactly seen her naked,” you shrugged.
“Me neither. Bit funny, really. Drawing nude women without ever actually having seen one,” James said, grinning a half-smile.
“Why do you, then?” you asked, closing your book. James was simply not someone one skipped out on a conversation with. The way his hazel eyes gazed at you, you could feel the intensity, and it made your heart thrum.
“Can you think of anything better to draw than beautiful, nude women?” he asked, grinning a full grin now.
“No, suppose not,” you agreed, smiling softly. “We are mesmerizing.”
“You’ve no idea,” he grinned cheekily.
“Prongs! There you are, should’ve known,” Sirius all but yelled, striding over to where James sat with you. Ponce could be heard ‘shushing’ him from rows away. “Oh, and who have we here?”
Sirius smirked down at you from your seat on the floor, and the sole attention of both boys was simply too much for you. You could feel the heat in your cheeks.
“Y/N,” you breathed, eyes bouncing between the two beautiful boys.
“Y/N,” Sirius repeated. “Beautiful,”
The blush in your cheeks was absolutely blazing at this point, and it was all you could do not to hold the book over your face.
“Well, if you’re all done, Picasso, we’re gonna be late for practice,” Sirius sighed, picking up the most recent drawing and giving a complimentary nod towards the picture and the subject in front of them. “Though I do think she’d have a bit more of a tummy, those adorable little cheeks of hers can’t be the only extra there.”
“See?” James said, turning back to you. “Anyway, suppose I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“I’ll be here,” you said quietly, watching their backs as they walked out of sight.
The next day, it was all you could do to get through your classes, to get back to the library in hopes James might talk to you again.
You needn’t be told you were hopeless; it was obvious.
In a moment of courage, you steeled your spine and chose the side opposite of James’.
Pulling out your Herbology textbook, you got to work on writing the essay about the Tentacula plant.
“You changed spots,” a deep, warm voice suddenly rang out. WIth your beat skipping into a frenzy, you looked up at James coyly. “Careful, with a look like that, you’ll get your very own page.”
Forcing yourself to breathe regularly and appear poised as though this occurred everyday, you decided to go for a playful response.
“You know, it is a bit weird,” you smirked, your tapping pencil the only giveaway of your nerves.
James pulled his seat out and sat across from you, smirking back. “What’s weird?”
“Drawing naked schoolgirls, without their knowledge. Bit voyeuristic,” you teased.
“It is not! I don’t actually spy on them while they’re naked, or doing anything naughty,” he added, winking at you.
You banged your knee on the table as his foot touched yours under the table. Blushing violently, you worked to quickly recover.
“Maybe not, but do you really think girls want you sketching what you think they look like naked?” you asked, setting down your pencil.
“Er,” James looked awkward for a moment, “yeah?”
You had to reward him with a small laugh.
“Besides, not as if I’m going round with them on display. Pads sees them, but it’s downright difficult to keep things from him, haven’t got the time. And you’ve seen them, but that’s just because you’re nosy,” he teased back, grinning slightly.
“I am not!” you hissed, offended.
“Are too! Been bloody watching me for years,” he grinned fully now, loving the way your blush lit your cheeks.
“Have not! Besides, I think you have a very skewed vision of women,” you said, straightening your papers haughtily, desperate to get the attention off you watching James.
“What?” he said, fully buying into your distraction.
“We don’t all look like that, you know, Sirius was right,” you grumbled.
“Sorry?” he scoffed, looking bewildered.
“It’s just,” you thought about how best to say it, “we don’t all look like bloody adult film stars. Breasts don’t usually sit like perfectly symmetrical balloons on the chest. Hip dips are a thing. Body hair? Women have it too, not all of us spend hours plucking ourselves bare.”
“Hang on,” James said, ruffling through his bag and pulling out a piece of parchment. “Alright, asymmetry, less perfection, hip dips, hair. This is good. This is what I was talking about. What else?”
He seemed hungry for how to improve, looking at you eagerly.
“I dunno, er, some women have a bit of a tummy, large thighs,” you wracked your brain for more, “I could probably show you better than I could tell you.”
As soon as the words left your mouth, your eyes grew in shock at your own forwardness. Hoping he would just think it a turn of phrase, you steeled yourself for his response.
He relaxed his quill and looked up from his notes.
“Show me, then,” he all but purred. Your heart sprinted at an unbelievable pace, your stomach bubbling nervously.
“Alright,” you breathed, surprising even yourself.
“Alright?” James repeated, his pupils blown instantly.
“Alright,” Sirius repeated cheerily, seemingly popping up out of nowhere. Jumping slightly, you cursed yourself and turned back to your books.
“You’ve really got to work on your timing, mate,” James huffed. Sirius looked put out at his friend’s reaction.
“Maybe if you could keep track of time yourself, I wouldn’t have to. Quidditch,” Sirius said, gesturing to the large clock on the wall; one of the many hands was Scarlett red and pointed at the Quidditch field.
Grumbling and stuffing the parchment into his bag, James turned back to you.
“Tonight, here, 2am,” he commanded.
“In the middle of the library?!” you whisper yelled. Laughing at your reaction, he waved you off.
“It’ll be empty, I’m sure of it,” he reassured you.
“What’s at 2 am?” Sirius asked quietly as the two of them walked away once more.
“Doesn’t matter,” James shrugged. “Listen, I need the library empty tonight, don’t ask questions…”
His voice trailed off as the two of them disappeared from view, and you couldn’t believe yourself as you sat alone with your courageous words.
Wrapping a scarlet satin robe around yourself a bit tighter, you silently paced the room as your bedmates slept on, the nervous energy reaching a height.
“What the hell is wrong with me?” you cursed at yourself, biting your lip anxiously.
You’d barely even had a full conversation with a man, let alone James. And now you were about to strip nude in the middle of the bloody library so he could sketch you?
Casting another nervous glance at the clock, you held your breath as the clock struck 1:50. Cursing quietly and half hoping he wouldn’t be down there, you began your descent down the spiral staircase and out of the common rooms into the drafty night. Hugging the walls, you kept a keen ear out for Filch and an eye peeled for his dreaded cat.
Finally, after 10 anxiety-filled minutes, you reached the library; your anxiety only increased tenfold.
Padding silently through the spacious room, you headed towards your corner.
“James?” you whispered in the darkness. No response. Steeling yourself this time for rejection, or his absence, you called out once more. “James!”
Suddenly, a hand touched the small of your back, and the other hand quickly came up to your mouth.
“Hello,” he whispered into your ear, causing a fresh wave of goosebumps to cover your skin. Moving his hand, you smacked his chest.
“You scared the bloody hell out of me,” you sighed. “What’s this?”
It seemed he’d brought one of the black velvet sofas to your section and had it catty-corner with the shelves, the smoldering fireplace in the background. The table seemed to be providing the light, with several candles lit on it.
“Thought you could lay across it,” he said, scratching the back of his neck.
“Alright,” you said, breath oddly becoming more calm as the moment came closer.
Turning around to see him for the first time that night, you nearly melted there. He had a simple shirt and trousers, but his sleeves were rolled up a couple times to expose his forehead, his hair looked as though he’d just rolled out of bed–as it always did. He seemed to be nervous as his hands fidgeted with different parts of himself. Sitting in the seat he placed facing the couch, he grabbed his parchment and splayed his pencils out on the table next to him.
“Whenever you’re ready, then,” he said, grabbing a pencil.
Taking a deep breath, you walked towards the couch and turned back towards him. Lifting your hands, you brought them up to the sash tying your robe together, and grabbed an end. Pulling, the robe fell open, and you shook it off your shoulders, standing utterly bare in front of James. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, pulling slightly at the crotch of his pants.
His reaction only boosted your ego, and you found yourself almost at ease.
“Draw me like one of your french girls, James,” you simpered, unable to miss out on the opportunity.
“My French girls?” he questioned. Remembering he was brought up in the Wizarding world and wouldn’t understand your reference, you waved it off. “Er, just, er, go ahead and lay across the couch.”
Lying slightly on your side, you began adjusting yourself when James began ordering your pose.
“Lay your arm like you had it,” he directed, and you moved how you thought he meant, but his facial expression told you that wasn’t it.
“Come pose me, James,” you whispered. It was hard for you not to speak seductively in such a setting. He cleared his throat once more.
“Alright,” he placed his parchment on his seat as he walked towards you, and you were pleased to see his trousers looked a bit tight.
He gingerly grasped your wrist and draped your arm over your head. His hand then went to adjust your knee, and you jumped slightly at what could only be described as electricity brushed your skin. Bending it slightly, he straightened out your other leg slightly and turned to your other arm, bending the elbow so that your fingers lay against your head.
It was all you could to not point out the irony.
“Perfect,” he said under his breath, clearly assuming you couldn’t hear.
He took back his seat and bent over his parchment, his wrist moving slightly as he began his sketch.
The library was utterly silent aside from the flickering of the flames and James’ pencil as it moved across the page. After several minutes, you couldn’t take the silence.
“How’s it coming?” you asked quietly.
“You’ll see,” he smirked. “Now, stay still.”
“Sir, yes, sir,” you grinned slightly before relaxing your face once more.
His hazel eyes zeroed in on your chest as he drew, determined to do his muse justice.
“I see what you mean, about the asymmetry,” he murmured, almost to himself. Suddenly self-conscious, you began to adjust yourself.
“No, no,” he held up his hands to stop you. “It’s natural; it’s beautiful. Trust me, darling, the real thing is so much better.”
His words calmed you, and you shook your head slightly, trying to get out of it. Settling back into your old pose, you instead focused on James. It was odd, almost, seeing him sketch from the front. The way his head tilted when he was unhappy with something was accompanied by a furrowing of his brow, his eyes flitting quickly from you back to the page as he figured out what was wrong. His hazel eyes seemed almost brown in the darkness of the empty library. His breathing was steady, his face poised in what only could be described as intense concentration. He switched his legs back and forth as time wore on, shading more closely now–he must be finished with the linework.
“Move your hair forward a bit,” he directed, and you pushed your Y/C/H onto your face a bit, so that your fingers on your other hand brushed it.
His face returned to the intense concentration, and you suppressed a smile as his tongue poked out of his lips as he clearly focused on one detail.
Finally, his constant movements slowed, and he began to straighten his back more regularly, his eyes flitting back to you and the paper as he checked over his work.
“So?” you breathed, unable to hold yourself back any longer.
“I think this might be my best work yet,” he smiled lightly, his eyes now steadying on you more frequently. “Having a real model instead of an idea in my head is so much better.”
“So I don’t disappoint, then?” you asked, fully aware you were fishing.
“Disappoint?” he breathed, looking mildly bemused. “It’s all I can do to remain seated professionally in this chair right now.”
Your heart thrummed in your chest at his words.
After a few erasings and redo’s, he rolled his neck.
“All done, then?” you asked. He nodded, still studying his work. Sitting up, you rolled blood back into your stiff limbs. “Well, go on then, let’s see it.”
He stood up and walked over to the couch. Handing you the sketch, it took you several seconds to comprehend that it was you.
The woman in this photograph was stunning. Her curved, nude body quietly dominated the scene. The swell of her breast was accentuated by the sharp peak of the nipple as the cold castle air blanketed her body. The curvature of her hip contrasted greatly with the vague shadowing of her ribs as she stretched her body. Her legs draped along the couch like a string of pearls, eye-catching with a ghostly shine on the pale tone of her body. Her hair cascaded off the side of the couch like flowing water, shining in the candlelight. Her face told you she knew she was beautiful, she knew she had the full attention of the man in front of her, and she knew what to do with it. Her thin lips pulled into the slightest of smirks. Yet, her big Y/C/E eyes held an innocence in direct contrast with the confidence her entire face held. A quiet feminine dominance spilled from the page, infecting you.
This was a mythical siren, her beauty so enticing, so fully encapturing; how could anyone deny her?
“James…” you breathed, sudden tears beginning to pool behind your eyes. You sniffled, and he looked up in horror.
“Oh, Godric, you hate it,” he moaned, trying to pull the sketch from you.
The fact that you were still completely nude seemed long forgotten as you reached a hand up to pull his face back towards you. To make him see these were happy tears.
“This is really how you see me?” you asked, smiling softly with watery tears in your eyes.
“I can only draw what I see,” he answered.
“Oh, James,” you all but sobbed, wrapping yourself around him.
The feeling of his shirt on your bare breast was enough to shock you back into reality. Pulling back slightly, his hand on the small of your back was enough to keep you from pulling away entirely.
As if on cue, a candle on the table faded to blackness as the wax ran out. You didn’t need to look to see within seconds the rest would be out too. His eyes held you too intensely for you to look away. Reaching up, you traced his lips with a brush of the pad of your finger. As his eyes slid closed in temptation, yours fell to his sketch once more.
The woman in the drawing grinned coyly at you, her nude frame emboldening you just as the last candle burnt out, plunging a very naked you and James into complete darkness.
Perpetual Freak (4/?): The Carriage Ride Home
Pairings:Sirius Black x reader, Sirius Black x Gryffindor!reader, mauraders era! Sirius Black x reader, Marauders x reader
Warnings:Language, slight bullying (?)
Word Count:3,196
Y/N POV
“What does he want with me, though?” you hissed anxiously to Lily, adjusting your robes as you followed her. You’d never been invited to any ‘Slug Club’ events.
“Dunno, he’s alright, though. Little snobbish, but harmless,” she shrugged, leading the way.
“Maybe it has something to do with my gift,” you wondered aloud. “What if it has something to do with my gift?”
“I thought we were the only ones who knew about it?” Lily asked, turning to look at you with her bright, emerald eyes.
“Well, you, James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, McGonagall, and Dumbledore,” you said, frowning as you realized the number kept growing; you doubted how much longer you’d be able to keep it a secret.
“Maybe one of them let it slip? I mean, it’s not exactly an express secret, is it?” Lily asked.
“Not really. But if the whole school finds out I can push thoughts into people’s heads and potentially make them do things, well, I’d never get left alone,” you said. “And that’s the best-case scenario.”
“I suppose that’s true. We’re an understanding lot,” she grinned, turning to you as she slowed her pace.
“I’ll say; took in a psychic and a teenage werewolf. Maybe it isn’t compassion so much as it is a desperate need for adventure,” you teased.
“For Potter and Black? Undoubtedly a pathological need for adventure; me? Compassion, definitely compassion,” she teased back.
Stopping suddenly at a solid compartment door, she turned towards you and fluffed your hair.
“Alright, mum, thanks,” you sighed, swatting at her hands as they brushed your robes. Laughing at your comment, she pushed open the doors to expose a spacious compartment filled with about 8 people.
Groaning to yourself, your eyes first fell to Lucius Malfoy and Theodore Nott. Standing in the middle of them was Severus Snape, hair greasy as ever. His eyes followed Lily for a while until they met your icy glare.
“Malfoyand Snape?” you hissed, tugging on her robes, “I thought you said Slughorn was alright?”
“Lily! Hello, my dear!” Slughorn called jovially. At his words, every pair of eyes fell onto the two of you. “Oh, and I see you’ve brought the lovely, Y/N.”
“Hello,” you smiled sheepishly, not really sure what you were doing there.
“Well, now that we’re all here, shall we?” Slughorn said, gesturing to a round table with seats for all in the compartment.
Lily walked forward and chose a seat, you filled the one next to her. A Hufflepuff you recognized as Wendy Slinkhard sat next to you and gave you a small smile, which you returned.
“Have a good Holiday, Lucius?” Slughorn asked the blonde seated next to him.
“Excellent, Professor, excellent. My father sends his best,” he smiled graciously, his voice as oily as the hair of the boy next to him.
“Ah yes, Abraxas, good man,” Slughorn laughed, his belly falling up and down.
“Slimy git,” you whispered, causing a giggle to bubble from Lily’s lips. At your noise, Slughorn’s eyes fell to the two of you and broke into a great smile.
“Lily, Lily. Whispering again, are we?” he said, though there was no tone of scolding.
“Well, it’s just Malfoy mightget offended if I called him a slimy git to his face, sir.” Despite her words, she smiled serenely, and Slughorn let out a loud laugh.
“That he might, that he might,” he allowed, still laughing. Smugly, you turned to a highly annoyed Lucius and grinned.
“And you! Ms. Y/L/N! It’s a wonder we haven’t met yet,” Slughorn smiled, now turning to you.
“I’m in your Potions class, sir,” you said, slightly annoyed. Lucius and Theo snickered, and you shot them murderous glares.
“Ah, yes! I remember now, your Draught of Living Dead was almost as good as my two stars’!” he laughed, gesturing to Snape and Lily. “Sorry, so many students, you understand.”
“Almost,” you said, forcing a laugh out as Snape’s smug face swam before your own.
“You should see her charmwork, sir. She outdoes me every class,” Lily offered, smiling at you. It was true; where Lily was truly gifted in Potions, your subject was Charms.
“Yes, I’ve been hearing great things about Y/N, lots of great things,” he smirked. Lowering his voice dramatically, he leaned forward as much as his massive figure would allow. “Some of which are truly incredible. Is it true?”
Sighing, you knew he was referring to your gift.
“So much for a secret,” you pushed to Lily, eyes falling to the Slytherins. She gave a sympathetic shrug.
“Yes, it’s true,” you pushed, looking into Slughorn’s black eyes. He let out a great rip of laughter, and everyone in the compartment looked incredibly confused except Lily.
“Sorry, sir. But is what true?” a Ravenclaw boy you knew to be named Holden said.
“Y/N here is truly gifted. More so, I daresay, than anyone in this room.” Slughorn complimented, looking at you with a special glint in his eye. Your bruised ego was soothed as the Slytherins glared at you from across the small table. “Y/N here holds a gift I’ve seen in any capacity only once before.”
In front of you, you saw Snape straighten his back, and his face lost what little color it ever held.
“How?” Lucius snapped, “Sir?” he added as Slughorn’s head snapped to him.
“This is how you slimy git. You can hear this, can’t you? Well, no one else can. See, I can put my thoughts right into that empty blonde head of yours–I mean, seriously, it feels especially spacious up here.” you pushed, smiling maliciously at the icy blonde as his eyes were stuck open in horror. “I could make you do whatever I want, if I pleased, been working on it. And when I say whatever I want, I mean whateverI want. I wouldn’t push it, Malfoy.”
Lucius was looking at you in horror, mouth fallen open. Unlocking your eyes, they fell to Snape, who wore a look of mild interest.
“Would you like a taste, Snivellus?” you sneered, peering into Snape’s black eyes. He looked shocked for a moment but quickly recovered back to his constant glare.
“Lovely, isn’t she?” Slughorn laughed, having no idea you just threatened the Slytherins in front of you with mind control.
“Lovely,” Snape sneered, still looking at you. “Tell me, wherever did you learn such a thing?”
His tone was condescending interest, but behind the facade, you could see his eyes burning with envy.
“Didn’t. Born with it. The first time I did it, I was still in diapers,” you shrugged, loving the way this answer seemed to infuriate him more.
“Fascinating,” Slughorn breathed, his massive figure pressed against the table in interest. His gut spilled over onto the table, and you vaguely wondered whether he had much feeling around his massive midriff.
The rest of the train ride was spent in the compartment with Slughorn as he gushed about both previous and current students. It wasn’t long before you all felt the train begin slowing down, causing Slughorn to trail off.
“Ah! She’s slowing now, it seems. Best be off to your compartments!” he said. “Snape, Malfoy, Nott, I’ll see you later tonight? To welcome all the young new Slytherins?”
“Certainly, sir,” Nott said, smiling his awful smile as the group of them slithered from the room.
“Lily, dear, whenever you’re passing! Same for you, Ms. Y/L/N!” he called as the two of you made to leave.
“If I ever make it down to that wretched dungeon,” Lily teased, causing another great rip of laughter from Slughorn.
“Come now! You know you love that Potions room!” Slughorn called into the hall from his room.
From the semi-crowded hallway, Lily allowed a soft laugh as everyone returned to their compartments. Though, you didn’t make it too far before you were halted by an incoming Ravenclaw.
“Oi, Evans!” a tall, blonde boy called, coming to rest by her side. “Good Holiday?”
“Alright. What do you want, Boot?” she sighed. The boy looked shocked at her bluntness, and you shook your head. Boys fawned after Lily almost as girls did after Sirius, yet Lily’s suitors had much, much less luck. You understood, of course, Lily was gorgeous with flaming locks of hair and the brightest green eyes you’ve ever seen–but after a while, it started doing things to one’s self-esteem.
“Just wondered if you fancied a Hogsmeade trip?” the boy asked, leaning against the wall, trying to recover.
“The first one’s not for weeks,” she said, looking confused.
“I know, though I just might go ahead and ask. You know, before anyone else does,” the boy said, smirking down at her.
“Oh!” she said, looking shocked. “Like a date?”
The boy seemed to be losing confidence as Lily spoke, and you bit your lip to keep from giggling.
“Er, yeah. Like a date, if you want,” the Ravenclaw said, eyes falling to the floor.
“Oh, er. I’m sorry. No,” she said, smiling apologetically.
“Why not?” the boy asked, affronted.
“Because I said so, you git,” she responded, getting angry.
“You haven’t got a reason! Can’t just turn down a man without reason. Not like you have a boyfriend or anything,” he pouted, sounding more and more childish as he spoke.
“I do have a reason: I don’t want to. Besides, maybe I have got a boyfriend,” she said maliciously, her red hair shaking down her back as she angrily crossed her arms.
“Where the hell are you going with this?” you asked, confused. Lily ignored you.
“Oh yeah? Where is he then?” the boy asked, taking a step closer.
He was bold; you’d give him that. Super creepy, but bold.
“He doesn’t have to be with me all the time for me to say no to you,” she fired up. “No means no, you prick.”
Grabbing your hand, she made to walk away, but the boy caught her by the elbow.
“James!” Lily suddenly called out, putting a scared tone in her voice. It was purposeful, you knew. She loved to tease James, always giving enough lead to get him on it, but neverquiteenough.
Not even a second later, you saw James’ messy-topped head poke out of the compartment down the hall. At the sight of her and a male in such close quarters, he reached you in seconds. James’ eyes locked on the Raveclaw’s grip on her arm, and upon notice, the boy dropped her like she was poison.
“Oi!” he called, a dark look coming over his face. At the sound of his friend, Sirius’ curls came poking out a second later. A grin came over his face as he saw the determination in James’ step, and he followed, jogging to catch up. At the sight of James and Sirius approaching, the boy took a slight but noticeable step back.
“Oh, not so tough now, are we?” Lily snapped, walking to meet James. “He couldn’t take no for an answer. I told him I had a boyfriend, but…”
“Boyfriend?” James repeated, torn from his anger. The rolling waves that were just leaking from his essence turned to bright swirls, and you shook your head as you watched him look at her.
“Oh, shame on you, Lily. You know how he feels about you,” you pushed defensively; It was one thing to tease James, but the excitement rolling off of him was tangible. The cloud that would come when she shut him down once more would likely bring you down as well. That was one of the downsides of being psychic; others’ moods were genuinely infectious, for better or for worse.
“Oi, got a problem keeping your hands to yourself?” Sirius said, taking charge of the situation as his friend stared in shock at the redhead in front of him.
“Well, I didn’t think she was serious. Didn’t mean to hit on your girl, Potter.” the boy said, backing into the wall.
“Well, that’s not the point, is it?” James said, suddenly coming to his senses. Pulling Lily behind him protectively, you noticed how she gripped the top of his arm and rolled your eyes.
“Really laying it on thick, aren’t we?” you pushed, annoyed at her toying with James. She met your eyes with an identical glance, but she wasn’t the only irritated one here; you returned it.
“If she said no, she means no, you prick,” James said, advancing towards the boy.
Sirius took a step closer, smiling maliciously at the boy in front of him, and sensing danger, you too grabbed his arm like Lily had James’.
“Alright, come on, boys. I think he gets it,” you said, pulling Sirius back. You could feel the Quidditch games with James in his biceps.
“No, I think he could use a refresher,” Sirius said, taking another step forward but allowing your grip on his arm.
“Precisely what I was thinking, Padfoot,” James smiled at Sirius. Just before you physically stepped in between them, another voice sounded.
“Problem, boys?” Remus said, appearing behind you, stalling their advance.
“Yeah, Boot here never learned to keep his hands to himself,” Sirius said, backing from the boy considerably.
“Lily called, and I walked up to find him bodily restraining her,” James said, gesturing to the redhead behind him.
“Is that true?” Remus turned to the Ravenclaw.
“Bodily restraining?” the boy repeated, incredulous, “I just grabbed her arm!”
“So you were gripping her body, in a manner meant to restrain her?” Remus said, lowering his eyes. You found yourself staring; Remus’ anger was so seldom seen. The boy blushed with anger, but turned and left the group of you nonetheless.
“Come on, we’ve arrived,” Remus said, gesturing for the group of you to follow him and Peter.
Knowing a particularly interesting conversation was about to unfold, you let James and Lily go first, holding Sirius back,
“Hang on, trust me,” you pushed, smiling at him as he looked at you confusedly. He grinned back, and you swore your heart skipped a beat.
“What was that about?” James asked quietly. “You could’ve handled that. Hell, just last year, I watched you hex that 7th year Slytherin.”
“Dunno, though you might have liked to. Guess I was mistaken,” she shrugged, an airy tone in her voice.
“No!” James said hastily, “No, no. Of course, I’d like to–you just threaten to hex me as well every time I’ve tried.”
“Well, perhaps I was a bit hasty with you all these years,” she lilted ambiguously. Ahead, you saw Remus’ pace slow, and you knew he too was listening.
“What’s that mean?” James said, louder than he meant to. Excitement was beginning to leak out of him; you could feel it in the air around him; it was lighting color spots all over the compartment, like big, colored bubbles visible only to you.
Lily merely shrugged nonchalantly and smiled at him slightly.
“And don’t think I missed that part where you called me your boyfriend,” James continued on, determined to get her to reply.
“Yes, well, if you’re just going to continue telling people we’re together anyway, we might as well be, yeah?” Lily said, a small smile on her lips.
Practically dripping with emotion, James came to a complete stop. Being too wrapped up in the feelings exuding from James, you ran straight into him and nearly fell, Sirius catching you just in time as he was behind you.
“Oi, Prongs, the hell?” Sirius said, looking properly shocked, as though you hadn’tbeen listening in.
“Lily’s just called me her boyfriend,” James said, looking at Sirius with an expression of pure elation.
“Cheers, mate! That’s great, just when I was starting to think it’d never happen,” Sirius smiled, wrapping an arm around his friend.
“I’ve just agreed to date him after nearly 6 years of begging, and yet he embraces Sirius first,” Lily said, shaking her head at the boys before her.
“Sorry, Lils. I’mnumber one in James’ life,” Sirius said haughtily, releasing James but keeping a protective arm around his shoulders. James rolled his eyes, but grinned at Sirius.
“I can see that,” Lily laughed, rolling her eyes as well.
“Lovely as this is, mates, we’re stopping up the hall,” you said, turning around to glare at a Slytherin as she bumped into you.
Grabbing James’ hand, Lily pulled him away from Sirius, their robes billowing in their haste.
“You nosy girl,” Sirius teased, poking your side as you two made your way to the platform.
“Oi! Remus was listening too,” you defended, though you laughed.
As you neared the exit, the sound of pounding rain wafted through the doorway, the smell of warm, wet pavement following soon after.
“Why is it always bloody raining?” you grumbled, pulling the hood of your cloak over your Y/C/H hair.
“Fucks up my hair every year,” Sirius groaned, equally upset.
“Pads! Twitch! Come on!” James called, waving you all ahead.
The carriage carrying the four of them began moving, and you and Sirius held your breath, running into the rain, jogging to catch up. James held the door open for the two of you and grinned as Sirius grabbed his outstretched hand, pulling him into the carriage.
“Faster, Twitch!” Sirius yelled, a wide grin on his face as he held his hand out to you. Finally, your fingers wrapped around his hand and James grabbed your other, pulling you into the dry carriage.
“Gross,” you muttered, using your sleeve to dry your face.
“I thought you liked the rain?” Remus asked, looking teasing.
“I do,” you answered shortly. “Doesn’t mean I want to be out in it when it’s pouring bloody cats and owls.”
“Oh, I’m starving,” Peter whined, looking hopefully up at the castle, largely ignoring the conversation.
“How? You about bought out the trolley,” Sirius laughed, swaying slightly with the carriage. Peter turned to scowl at Sirius, who playfully grinned back.
“I bet Moony here is looking forward to dinner as well,” he then turned his attention towards Remus, nudging his knee.
“And why’s that?” Lily asked from her seat next to James.
“That pretty Ravenclaw he fancies always sits right behind him at meals,” Sirius smiled, jeering at a blood-red Remus.
“Oh, piss off,” he mumbled. Sirius let out a barking laugh and leaned forward.
“Oi, Moony, I’m just fucking with you, relax,” Sirius said. Your favorite goofy grin lit up his dark features, and you couldn’t look away. As you made your way up the hill to Hogwarts, the moonlight lit at his bone structure, highlighting his carved features. His dark hair was tucked behind his ear on the side closest to you, putting his cutting jawline on full display.
Suddenly, you felt a nudge against your foot and tore your eyes away from Sirius to find a smirking Lily. Blushing furiously as she’d caught you, you tilted your neck down and hid your face behind your hair.
“Finally,” Peter squeaked after a few minutes of idle chatter, hopping from his seat. The group of you followed, and you smiled up at the towering castle in front of you; you were home.
**************************************
The Perpetual Freak (3/?)
Pairings:Sirius Black x reader, Young Sirius Black x reader, Marauders x reader
Warnings:language, fighting, very very slight hints of smutish behavior
Word Count: 2,721
A/N: The next story I will be uploading a part for is ‘A Shit Tutor’, so all my fellow Draco stans, fear not, more is on the way. Anywayyyy hope you all enjoy this chapter, enter Lilyyyy!
Ch 3: Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff
Just then, a group of Hufflepuff girls came walking down the aisle, and after having made eye contact with a smirking Sirius, all started giggling and whispering intensely, shooting off random bright smiles as they passed. Peter smiled at one in the back hopefully as they slowed, and to your intense surprise, she smiled back timidly.
“Emmaline Nelson, Hufflepuff obviously, she’s in our year. I believe we have Transfiguration together this year if you fancy talking to her,” you pushed to Peter, who blushed something awful and stared at his feet.
“Aaaand, here we go,” James sighed playfully as Sirius beckoned one forward with his finger. She and her friends had evidently been pondering entering and stood in wait at the door. They all watched with jealous eyes as she approached him.
“Hello, love,” Sirius said, donning the silk voice he always did when talking to girls. A bitterness seemed to fill you entirely.
“Hi,” she giggled, going red in the face, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Something you needed?” Sirius asked, grinning cockily at her.
“Uh,” she stuttered, giggling more.
“I might be sick,” you rolled your eyes as you looked at James, who made a gesture of agreement.
“Not really. Just, I mean, if you ever like, want a study partner or something, or whatever,” she seemed to be losing her nerve as Sirius continued to rake his eyes over her. “You can just let me know, ya know if you want.”
Leaning back, feeling suddenly intensely annoyed and wanting to look anywhere but at the two of them, you got out Jinx and began stroking him as he perched on your knee.
“Pretty bird,” the girl breathed, smiling at Jinx. You pulled a face in response, but hers told you it came off ruder than you intended.
“To study?” Sirius smirked, looking at her accusingly.
“Yeah, or whatever,” the girl smiled, grasping the ends of her hair nervously. It was simply more than you could take.
“Happy as I am the two of you are going to, er, study, perhaps spare us from the rest, yeah?” you quipped as Sirius smirked and opened his mouth to silkily retort.
Everyone’s eyes fell upon you, and you curtained your hair over your face, returning to stroking Jinx.
What the hell was that? Girls flirted with Sirius all the time; there was never a moment you didn’t catch at least one set of eyes on him. Sirius was hot, cocky, sexy, arrogant–but with the talent to back it up. And top it all off with a gorgeous set of dark curls framing a shadowed, structured face with high cheekbones and dark eyes. It wasn’t hard to see why he encaptured the attention of so many.
Face burning, you realized you found him hot too. Incredibly so.
The girl then looked at you, affronted, but turned nonetheless and stormed from the compartment.
“The bloody hell was that, Twitch?” Sirius said in an offended tone, gesturing to the storming Huffelpuffs shooting you dirty looks.
“Nothing, I don’t know,” you said quickly, tearing your eyes from the group of them. All four boys were peering at you confusedly, and you stood up sharply, causing Jinx to fall from your lap. Hissing in pain, you looked down to see three claw marks on your knee as he was shocked by the abrupt change. He hooted sharply at you and went back into his cage, turning away from you. “I uh, have to go to the bathroom.”
Face and knee burning, you walked with your head down to the bathrooms, mind reeling the whole time.
Sirius was no stranger to being flirted with, regardless of present company–hell, last year, he’d taken to snogging several on the couches in the common room as the younger years trailed off to bed. You remembered feeling annoyed when he did so, but that was logical, right? Who the hell wanted to watch that? Especially week after week with girl after girl. Perhaps you were just being prudish; sure, all the experience you had involved Alekand Nole, a dare, and a broom closet, but surely it was abnormal to blow through girls like that? Or do those kinds of things in front of prying eyes, right?
Pushing open the bathroom door, you groaned internally as you saw the same girl whispering angrily with her friends. Their looks turned murderous as you walked in.
Great. Well, too late now.
Trying to be quick about things, you almost made it out without a scene, but just after washing your hands, you were stopped.
“Oi, what the hell is your problem, Y/N?” the girl asked, her blonde hair shaking as she rolled her neck angrily.
“Excuse me?” you said, turning around to face them, temper already flaring.
“You heard me. What do you care what I do with Sirius, not like he’s your boyfriend or anything.” her friend giggled ruthlessly as she sneered, “Tell me, how is it that you’re best friends with the bloody Marauders, the hottest guys in our year and you can’t get even oneof them to snog you?” she said, laughing haughtily as her friends howled. Your blood boiled as their biting laughter filled the little room. “Not even that trail along. What’s his name, Peter?”
At the jab of both you and your friend, you snapped.
“See,you, unlike me, are a whoring slag who can’t wait to be the latest notch in his belt. AndI, unlike you, have self-respect, love. It’s quite simple,” you all but growled, turning to walk out of the room. You heard the outraged noises and almost made it back to the compartment when you felt a harsh tug on your hair.
“The bloody hell?” you yelled, jerking backward as she pulled, pain rippling from your scalp.
“I am notawhoring slag, you bitch!” she screeched, lifting her arm up to strike you. Seizing your chance, you bent and rammed your shoulder into her stomach, knocking her wind out and sending her flying onto her back.
After years of having an older Muggle, boy cousin who tormented you for sport, you learned how to take care of yourself.
“Y/N?” you heard Sirius’ voice sound out suddenly. In the midst of it all, the girl had gotten an iron grip on your hair and was now using her legs to kick angrily at you from the floor as her hands held you in place by your hair.
“Let go of my hair, you cheating whore!” you screeched, trying futilely to pry her deadlocked fingers from your hair.
Footsteps sounded down the compartment hallway, followed by various annoyed noises as they were pushed against the sides, Sirius barrelling down the hall to reach your voice.
“What the hell?” he questioned. “Let her alone!!”
For a wild moment, you thought he was telling you to leave her alone, but a second later, you felt a pulling sensation around your midriff. Yelling out, you reminded him of her grip on your hair, and he yelled out an apology and dropped you, warning James as he came skidding to a halt seconds later.
“What in the bloody–” Remus cut off, seeing the girl kicking at you like a monkey from her back.
“Little help whenever would be great, boys!” you called, scratching at her arms and wrists to loosen her grip on your hair. “Only bitches pull hair!”
“Stupefy!” someone called, and suddenly you were airborne. As you flew back, you noticed several strands of your Y/C/H hair had come loose in the girl’s fists.
You hit the ground with a thud and gasped as you fought to force air back into your stunned lungs.
What happened next was utter chaos.
Spells went flying from behind you at all angles as each of the boys shot a different hex at the wand that’d sent you flying. Various crowd members who had poked out to figure out what all the noise was about began screaming and jetting off in different directions in the cramped hallway space, trying to dodge the bouncing hexes. Spells then started flying towards the boys in retaliation, and finally regaining your breath, you got to your feet and pulled your wand to help.
“What in the hell is going on here?” you heard the voice of Lily Evans enter the scene, and James immediately straightened and fluffed his hair before she came into view. Finally, she broke the crowd and turned, glowering at the group of you.
“Should’ve known you gits were involved, honestly Remus, you’re a Prefect!” she hissed, scolding the boys, who all began to interject.
“Y/N? What’s happened?” Lily asked, walking concernedly over to you as you sopped the flow of blood free-streaming from your nose. Seemed the twit managed to get one good hit in.
“Thatslag attacked me; evidently, somebody’s a little sensitive,” you sneered, lowering your eyes at the girl in front of you who was now sporting an ever-growing nose as small antlers were making their way out of her head. Looking down, you saw her hands twitching violently and smiled at the boys in front of you.
“Is that true?” Lily turned to the girl, who was bright red with embarrassment and fury.
“I wouldn’t have had to if the stupid bitchhadn’t poked her nose where it doesn’t belong!” she screeched, pointing her finger at you accusingly.
“Well, it looks like you’re about to do the same, Pinnochio,” you jeered, causing her to pounce once more, this time being dragged back by the male Hufflepuff Prefect.
“Alright everyone, show’s over! Back to your compartments before I hex the lot of you nosy sods!” Lily yelled at the onlookers, causing all to duck back into their compartments, shutting the doors tightly behind them.
“Excellent handling of the situation, might I say, Ms. Evans,” James simpered, already kissing Lily’s arse.
“Potter, you are downright shameless,” she said, lowering her bright green eyes at James as he grinned back boyishly, “And you, Remus, been shirking on responsibilities again, have we? I’ve just finished situating the first-years when I hear what sounds like a fightat the Gryffindor end of the train! Honestly, theleastyou could do is control yourlittle friends if you’re going to leave the rest to me, yeah?”
“Right. Sorry Lily, most rude of me…” Remus nodded solemnly, feeling as though he wholeheartedly deserved her reaming. Lily seemed to soften slightly under Remus’ guilt, and she breathed out, relaxing her shoulders and unclenching her fists.
“Well, I dunno about everyone else, but I’m starved,” you said, pulling your sleeve back to see the bleeding had finally ceased.
“Come here, Twitch,” Remus beckoned, pulling out his wand once more, “Tergio.”
You felt the funny sucking feeling of all the blood leaving your face, and you wiped a spot to find your fingers clean.
“Cheers, Moony!” you smiled as he blushed slightly and grinned back.
“I could’ve done that,” Sirius said, sounding oddly annoyed, “Come on then, here comes the trolley.”
Sure enough, you heard the comforting voice of the old woman with the Honeydukes trolley wafting down the hallway as she made her way down the train.
“Care to join us?” James asked Lily hopefully, gesturing forward with his arm. Not bearing to see your friend’s crestfallen face when she likely refused as always, you intervened.
“I’ll make sure he’s on his best behavior,” you pushed, looking at her meaningfully. “C’mon, Lils, he’s really not thatbad…”
And to your intense surprise, she caved.
“Alright,” she sighed, stepping into the cabin. You didn’t need to be part psychic to feel the excitement rolling off of James as she stepped by him, sinking into the seat next to his.
“Didn’t even know Hufflepuff’s fought,” Remus sighed, collapsing into his seat.
“Haven’t even made it off the train, and little Twitchy is already getting in duels,” Sirius jeered, knocking your knee with his hand. A rush of heat flooded you, and you blushed, hoping the others would take it as embarrassment about the fight.
“Well, if you’d stop entertaining rubbish like that, I wouldn’t have to,” you quipped, glaring at Sirius before offering him a small smile. Peter giggled at your comment and kept checking the window every few seconds, anxiously awaiting the trolley.
“Oh, believe me, I’ve learned my lesson,” Sirius said, looking at you rather intently. Before you could blush again or give yourself away some other way, Lily spoke.
“Oh, I see. So I tell you off about those girls of yours for years, and you can’t get it through that thick skull of yours, but Y/N gets in one little row…” Lily shook her head, leaning back before she could get her temper going again.
“Amazing, isn’t she?” James said quietly, his voice in awe as he gazed, mesmerized at Lily–who blushed pink at his comment.
“Oi, Prongs, mate. We can all hear you,” Sirius laughed, whispering playfully at his friend. Everyone’s laughter was interrupted at the arrival of snacks.
“Anything from the trolley, dears?” the old woman smiled sweetly at the group of you.
After spending most of her time there dolling out Peter’s numerous sweets, each of you had your treats, and she was off to the next compartment.
“Coconut ice and cauldron cakes?” Lily laughed as you happily sucked on a coconut cube. As you sheepishly looked around, you caught Sirius watching you, his eyes seeming darker than usual, somehow.
“What? They’re my favorite!” you defended, loving the way the sweet spread across your palette. After months of your grandmother’s unimaginative cooking, this was heaven–it had to be.
“Oooh, can I have a chocolate frog?” you asked, seeing Sirius’ stack on his lap.
“Help yourself, Twitch,” he shrugged, opening one of his own. “Alberic Grunnion?”
“Oh, you boys best stand up and salute!” Lily laughed as Sirius read out the name. The boys merely shared confused looks.
“The maker of the dungbomb!” you explained, to which they all erupted into a chorus of ‘oh’s’ playfully gave a salute to the card in Sirius’ hand.
As you leaned in to grab a chocolate frog, you caught a whiff of the new fragrance potion he must’ve been trying out. He smelled of pine, smoke, and something sweet you couldn’t quite name. As you were distracted, your hand brushed across the seam in his jeans, and the both of you met eyes, you blushing a furious shade of red.
“New potion?” you pushed after a second, unable to bear the awkward silence between the two of you. He nodded imperceptibly and smirked slightly.
“Very nice.” you complimented. He shot you a small smile, and James turned to Lily.
“Have a good Holiday, then?” he asked her, looking hopeful.
“‘Was alright, try as Petunia might to make it hell. I wish Muggle schools and Hogwarts had opposite schedules,” she sighed, drawing one of her long legs up onto the seat.
“My god, could you imagine? Virtually never even having to see Blakely anymore?” you said, painting a dramatic look of longing on your face.
Everyone laughed, Peter actually choking on the three cauldron cakes he’d stuffed into his mouth.
“Apapneo,” Lily said, pulling her wand. Peter coughed once and looked up at Lily.
“Thank you,” he wheezed, smiling as he dabbed at his now watery eyes, bits of chocolate spilling from his mouth.
“Uhm, Lily Evans? Y/N Y/L/N?” a small girl in blue-lined robes asked, looking wide-eyed at the boys around you.
“That’ll be Slughorn, then?” Lily said, rising from her seat.
The girl nodded and ducked off, running back to the Ravenclaw section of the train.
“What’s he want with you?” James asked bluntly, looking put-off that she was leaving.
“Charming, Potter. He happens to like me. And Y/N, evidently.” Lily said, smiling at you. “Let me just get my robes,”
Using her wand, she sent her robes flying from her trunk, and you dug yours out.
“Have fun, girls,” Sirius said as the two of you made to leave the compartment.
“See you there, boys,” Lily sang back.
“Save us a carriage seat,” you said, turning back to shoot a wink at Sirius. His face looked funny for a minute, but he recovered quickly and shot one back.
**********************************
The Perpetual Freak (2/?)
Ch 2: Aboard the Hogwarts Express
Pairings:Sirius Black x reader, Marauders x reader
Warnings:none, slight language (but that’s for every chapter rlly)
Word Count: 3,108
As if on cue, you heard a knock at the door just as your foot touched down onto the landing. The sound of quick, heeled footsteps sounded immediately after; Grandmother briskly coming down the hall followed by the slower steps of Blakely as he surely wanted to gaze curiously at your friends.
“Prongs!” you breathed upon seeing James, smiling fondly at the messy mop of black hair atop your friend’s head.
“Twitchy!” he smiled back, opening his arms in greeting. You wasted no time in falling into them, smiling into his chest as his hug signaled the true return to Hogwarts.
“Mrs. Killianis,” James said, suddenly formal as he looked to your severe grandmother behind you. Following his gaze, you saw her eyes narrowing as Sirius and Remus all but fell out of the car, Peter’s wheezing laughter following them out.
You smiled fondly after them as Remus brushed the dirt from his knees, frowning up at Sirius. Sirius grinned back and ran a hair through his raven black hair, brushing it from his eyes.
“Hello, Mrs. Killianis,” Sirius said, his voice taking on a tone you’d never heard before. You and James glanced warily at each other.
“Hello, boys,” she said stiffly, her eyes now staring rudely at the scars littering Remus’ exposed skin.
Remus cleared his throat, clearly catching your grandmother’s eyes. “Shall we get your trunk then?” he said, clapping his hands together as he smiled at you.
You offered him a sympathetic smile and pushed an apology into his head at your grandmother’s rudeness.
“That’d be great, Moony, thanks.” you nodded. Peter followed him up into your room dutifully. After a moment or two, you heard what sounded like a reprimanding noise followed by a sharp smack and idly wondered what was going on.
“I suppose you’ll be staying at the school for the Holidays again, yes? Blakely and I were planning a trip,” Grandmother said suddenly–it didn’t take a genius to figure out you weren’t invited.
“Definitely,” you answered briskly. The choice between a Hogwarts Christmas with the boys and a visit to Grandmother’s sister’s house in the States with Blakely was a no-brainer.
“Lovely thing Hogwarts does, providing a home for the holidays,” James grinned, putting an emphasis on ‘home.’ Grandmother lowered her eyes, but Remus and Peter were already coming down the stairs, hauling your heavy trunk between them.
“Bloody hell, Twitch,” Remus huffed, blowing his thin brown hair out of his eyes, “What’d you pack?”
“Mind your tongue, boy,” Grandmother snipped as the two of them passed through the front door. “You won’t behave like the heathensthat you are in my presence.”
“Er,right,” Sirius scoffed, rolling his eyes and laughing under his breath. “C’mon, Twitch, don’t want to be late.”
Eager to leave the situation, you quickly followed the boys out and made your way into the baking heat. Just as they made to load your trunk, you clucked your tongue as Peter fumbled his end and dropped it roughly into the undoubtedly magically enhanced trunk.
“Sorry,” Peter winced, rubbing his hands together in an anxious sort of way.
“S’Alright Wormtail. Now, shall we get a move on, then?” James said, using his wand to swing open the car door for you. You heard your grandmother let out a small gasp, and Blakely took a step back. As most parents took the time to drop their children off at Platform 9 ¾, the journey there was generally a sort of grace period if you wanted to use magic; the Ministry wouldn’t take the time to differentiate each use of magic on this day between parents and students. Per wizarding law, they’d never seen magic as you didn’t use it during your time here–aside from your special gift.
“Please,” you said, turning to leave without glancing back.
“You aren’t going to say goodbye?” you heard Remus ask. You turned to answer him before you slipped into the car, but he wasn’t talking to you.
“Excuse me?” Grandmother said, clearly affronted he was saying anything more than ‘hi’ and ‘bye.’
“Honestly, Moony, just let it alone,” Sirius moaned as he made his way back out of the car to gather him.
“You aren’t going to see your granddaughter for 9 months, surely you’re going to at least say goodbye?” Remus pressed on, equally affronted. Sirius took a step closer to his friend, and you saw your grandmother’s eyes fall upon the several tattoos that already littered his arms; Sirius lived to upset his family, and tattoos were such a Muggle form of rebellion it only bolstered his point.
Her eyes then fell to the both of their wands, which were gripped tightly in their hands, and let out a breath she’d been holding. Lowering her eyes but acquiescing nonetheless, she sighed.
“Goodbye, then,” she said stiffly, nudging Blakely, who was locking eyes with a mischievous looking Sirius. Glancing behind Blakely’s head, you saw a dish hovering dangerously above his head and looked to see Sirius’ wand pointed right at it. Rolling your eyes, you pushed the dish back with your own and threw a knowing grin at Sirius.
“Naughty, naughty boy,” you said silently. He grinned back boyishly at you and threw you a wink.
“See you next summer,” Blakely allowed, lowering his eyes at you and grinning in an awful sort of way. You could’ve sworn you heard a growl on your right and found Remus glaring at Blakely, who swallowed harshly and disappeared back into the house. At that, you slipped into the front seat next to James, the rest of the boys piling into the backseat, Remus scolding Sirius for shoving Peter out of the way to get in first. Fondly, you smiled and listened to them bicker.
“Merlin, glad that’s over.” Remus shook his head as James smoothly pulled away from the house. “Don’t know how you do it all summer.”
“Aw, what’s the matter, Moony? Not a big fan of familial tension, are we? I think it’s rather quite nice; reminds me of home,” Sirius said with a fake voice of longing. James looked through the rearview mirror and rolled his eyes at Sirius.
“Muggles giving you hell again?” Peter squeaked from the backseat, grabbing the head of your seat and leaning up towards you.
He’d always been a mousy boy, but after his first successful transformation, his commonalities with his Animagi only became more pronounced.
“When do they not, Wormtail?” you laughed, throwing a gum wrapper at him playfully as you popped a piece into your mouth.
“Ooh, is that gum?” Sirius asked, peering over your shoulder from the backseat.
“Yes, but it’s Muggle-gum.” you reminded him.
“Bit boring, but it’ll do. Jamesy won’t let me smoke in the car,” Sirius sneered, looking amusedly at an annoyed-looking James in the mirror.
“It smells! Isn’t my fault Dad has the nose of a bloody hound,” he defended, looking disgruntled at the thought of being a do-gooder.
“Good ol’ Fleamont, what a chap,” Sirius laughed, spreading out on the backseat and draping his arm along the seats. He reached and affectionately gave Remus’ hair a tussle, jostling Peter in the process, who grinned.
“So, now that we’ve all been reminded how horrible my lovely grandmother is, how was everybody else’s Holiday?” you asked as James drove the car expertly around the busy London streets–Muggle driving was a skill he was particularly proud of.
“Oh, you know, wonderful as always. Mother only threatened to have me disenfranchised and disgraced twice this year, so that’s a mark better than last Holiday.” Sirius laughed, blowing bubbles with his gum but frowning in disappointment when they popped.
“Didn’t you go to Prongs’ early this year?” you asked, remembering James’ letter that Sirius had arrived a few weeks into break.
“Yeah, don’t know why the evil hag insists on having me around anyway. All she does is dote on Regulus and send the nearest object flying at my head. Don’t even get me started on Kreacher…I don’t think I’ll go back next year.” a dark look came over his features, and you found yourself staring at him.
“What?” you asked, shocked at the nonchalant tone of his serious words.
“Yeah, I didn’t so much go to Prongs’ early this year as I did run away,” he said, looking slightly sheepish as you looked accusingly at him.
“What? What happened? Why didn’t you tell me?” you gasped, turning in the front seat entirely to glare at him.
“Dunno, I mean, I’m telling you now, aren’t I?” he shrugged.
“Well, go on then, tell me more,” you insisted.
“Just more of the same Twitch. You don’t understand,” he paused, and his usual carefree, light demeanor vanished and was taken over by a dark cloud that seemed to fill the car. “That house, it’s like a black hole. It swallows you whole. It’s like a bloody residential dementor. Every decent thought you have gets sucked into the black wallpaper, every horrible thought you’ve ever had on repeat, magnified. I can’tbreathe in that house; they’re all so cozy, so comfortable in that dark, that evil. The Noble House of Black, it’s killing me slowly, draining the life out of me.”
He seemed aware of how much he was saying, how serious he’d gotten, because, at the end of the little speech, he let out a deep breath and forced a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck subconsciously.
“Nothing like Prongs’ here, for example,” he grinned up at his friend, who shot him one from the mirror.
“I mean, you basically already lived there,” James shrugged. “Besides, Mum was thrilled–you know, I think she likes you better than me sometimes.”
“Oh, she definitely does, mate. Euphemia and me? Kinda besties,” Sirius grinned, and the dark cloud dispersed. You found yourself staring at Sirius, chest full of emotion. The quickness with which he dismissed himself was almost worse.
“And, Moony? How was yours?” James asked, filling the silence.
“Decent, I suppose. Though I’ve almost worked my way through every decent book worth reading at the library closest to home, all the rest are the silly little Muggle books in that dingy section they have in the back…though I started reading this one called the ‘Bible’; Merlin does it tell some truly fantastic tales…whales eating people, turning water to wine, healing the blind–this Jesus bloke even rose from the dead! I reckon he was some type of early wizard or something, don’t know how the Muggles don’t…” he trailed off while the rest of you shared knowing glances. Moony was prone to monologues full of on-the-spot thinking, constantly prattling on about something he’d read in some book.
“You’re doing it again,” you shot a meaningful look at Remus, who blushed scarlet at your mental words and trailed off.
“Hey, no fair!“ Sirius whined from the back seat at you. "I wanted to see where he was going with that. There definitely could’ve been something in there well worth making fun of!”
“Opportunity missed, Padfoot.” James hissed in sympathy at his friend, smiling at him in the rearview mirror.
“You all leave Moony alone. Just because he gets abnormally excited about really obscure Muggle things doesn’t mean we get to make fun of him for it,” you shot a smile at Remus in the back seat, who rolled his eyes but nonetheless smiled around sheepishly.
“How was your summer, James?” Peter asked from the backseat, leaning up hopefully.
“Alright, my parents set up a little Quidditch pitch in the back; Sirius got his arse handed to him a couple times,” James smirked, throwing a playful grin at his best friend in the backseat.
Wormtail laughed gleefully at James’ story as he described a match while Sirius sat up indignantly, poised to argue.
“I’m a Keeper, Potter. Not a sodding Seeker. Not too quick to tell everyone how miserable you were at trying to get the Quaffle in, though, are you?” Sirius quipped from the backseat.
“Down, boy. We all know how great of a Keeper you are, wouldn’t have won that last match against Ravenclaw without you..” you pushed into Sirius’ head, stroking his bruised ego. He met your eyes in the rearview and smirked up at you, clearly appeased by your comment. Lounging lazily once more in the roomy backseat, he turned to Peter.
“What about you, Wormtail? Your Holiday good?” Sirius said, cocking his head at his friend with a mischievous glint in his eye.
“S’alright..” he trailed off, looking around nervously as Sirius grinned at him.
“Really? Didn’t miss having Prongs’ arse to kiss?” he sneered at his friend, who blushed and stuttered.
“Let him alone, Pads,” Remus smiled at his friend from across the seats.
Just as the boys began to bicker more harshly, James pulled into the parking lot at Kings Cross, and the group of you piled out of the car.
“Wormtail, go find us a trolley,” Sirius said, and with a wave of his hand, Peter was gone.
“Obedient little bugger, isn’t he?” Remus said praisingly, rubbing his chin.
“Why d’you think he’s made it this long?” Sirius laughed, lifting his trunk out of the car as Peter came wheezing around with the trolley.
“I’ve got it, Y/N,” Peter said, exerting tremendous effort to lift your trunk until Remus saw him and reached in to help.
“Thanks, Peter…always so helpful.” you pushed to him in thanks. You saw him blush violently and smile to himself.
Your gift had taught you many things, but perhaps above all: people were so easily manipulated, one well-timed compliment, and it could send a person fawning. Though you weren’t shy to use it to your advantage, it was lucky a person of your moral stature had the gift. It could be so easily used…perhaps it was thoughts like these that led to the Sorting Hat’s consideration of your placement in Slytherin.
Half an hour later, your trunks were placed in the train’s storage carriages, and the group of you were lounging in a compartment, your various pets making random noises as they settled in for the long train ride.
Jinx hooted sleepily in his cage before lifting his wing and drifting off to sleep. Sirius’ handsome jet-black Screech Owl, BamBam, seemed to take a cue from Jinx and buried his head into his wing as well. They almost resembled salt and pepper shakers as they stood next to one another in direct contrast. To most everyone’s intense surprise, Remus’ pet was a fluffy siamese cat named Cleo. Unsurprising, however, was Peter’s choice of a pet rat named Nibbles. Though, Nibbles was on his last leg–most common rats only lived a couple of years, and Nibbles had been with Peter since first year.
“What’re you doing?” Peter asked, sitting up interestedly in his seat as Sirius drew out his wand and flung open the compartment door.
“Having some fun,” Sirius shrugged, the grin you all loved so much donning his face. James watched his friend and broke into a smile; Peter seemed to be struggling to sit still with excitement; even Remus peered over the top of his book to watch.
Fully aware he was holding all of your attention, Sirius pointed his wand at the wall opposite your door.
“Carpe Retractum,” Sirius said, and a length of rope came spouting out at the end of his wand. “Bollocks…what’s that one to get something to stick to something else?” he asked into the compartment after a moment.
“Epoximise,” Remus answered from behind his book once more, seemingly having seen everything he needed to.
“Right, cheers, Moony,” Sirius smiled and did the incantation, sticking the other end of the rope to the wall. Pulling on his wand, he seemed to test his theory and smiled in success as the rope pulled taught–effectively making a tripwire.
“Very nice,” you complimented, to which you received a playful little bow of his head.“Might I suggest something, though?”
“By all means, Twitch,” Sirius said, gesturing to the tripwire.
“Omnino dissimulare,” you spoke, pointing your wand at the length of rope. As the white beam of light hit it, the rope disappeared from view, and you smiled triumphantly. You’d been working hard on that one towards the end of last term and were worried you’d have to start over with the holiday break.
“Excellent!” Peter cheered, clapping wildly at the two of you.
“Where’d you learn that?” Remus said, finally putting his book down and looking at you curiously.
“Been working on it for a bit. Found it in a book Madam Pince let me take home last Christmas,” you answered, feeling a bit smug that you’d impressed Remus.
“Pince let you take home books?” Remus said, incredulous.
“You know she pities me,” you laughed, waving a hand. “Though, she did threaten to turn me inside out if there was so much a creased page–so only marginally.”
“Wait, wait!” Sirius called, pointing to the door excitedly; Peter was positively quivering.
A group of already-robed Slytherins came strolling past your window, and you smiled in anticipation. At the last second, Sirius jerked his wrist and tightened the rope, sending the group of Slytherins sprawling across the floor.
The group of you exploded into laughter, and they all got to their feet, whipping their wands out, looking for a culprit. Given the rope was invisible, however, they found no such thing and resigned to giving the group of you ugly looks before grumping off.
“Oh, very good, Padfoot,” Peter simpered, laughing heartily as tears of joy rolled down his plump cheeks.
“A little juvenile,” Remus scolded, smiling ruefully at his friends, “But funny. However, as a Prefect, I am not to indulge in such behavior and as such must sincerely reprimand you.”
“Most eloquently spoken, dear Moony. Tell me, does being a Prefect mean you have to be just a bit of a prat on principle?” James asked his friend, painting a serious look on his face as Sirius and Peter erupted into laughter. You let out a small giggle as Remus blushed slightly and put down his book.
“Well, you should sure as hell hope not,” Remus began, smiling mischievously at his friend. “Imagine fawning after Lily Evans for years, at her often utter disgust, only for her to end up being a prat. Talk about unfortunate, mate.”
The group of you were in stitches over Remus’ response, and even James let out a laugh.
“Touche, Moony. Touche,” he laughed, shaking his finger at Remus in a playful manner. A warm feeling spread through you; you were so happy to finally be going home.
************
Taglist:@whiskeypowder
Remus, at Hogwarts graduation: I started Hogwarts with straight A’s
Remus: Now I’m not even straight
