Adventure on Christmas Eve (4)
Remus walked around the Quidditch pitch, waiting for Sirius to come out of the changing room. It honestly baffled him why Sirius put on full Quidditch robes every single time he got on a broomstick, but Remus had stopped asking after a while. Ever since yesterday, oh gods, what a wonderful day that was, Sirius and Remus hung out even more than usual, a great feat in and of itself. They were never apart. This was evident everywhere, but mostly on the Quidditch pitch, where Remus was now. It was no secret Remus didn't really care for the game ("why is it so bloody important? Please, enlighten me." he asked James once, only to get a very vague, very non helpful answer), so normally he was inside reading whoever Sirius and James decided to practice. Actually, he was inside for most matches, too. Now, he walked around the pitch, yelling encouragements and watching Sirius zoom about, beating bludgers with accuracy that Remus didn't know he had.
Sirius walked out of the changing rooms and towards Remus, who was at the other end of the pitch. A voice in Remus's mind tugged at his emotion, and he bit back a frown. He doesn't love you, it snarled, he's under the effect of a basic love charm. Quite a good prank, no? Maybe it's Severus's work. Or Row's. Remus shook his head. He really doesn't want to think of Row now, and besides, he's a good person. He wouldn't do anything of that calibre.
Anyways, Remus tried to banish those thoughts, of course he loves him. They made out for pete's sake! Words and actions can be modified! By hexes, jinxes, charms, spells! How do you really know? This time Remus did frown, not noticing that Sirius had finally arrived. He gave Remus a look of concern, scowling at nothing is never a good sign. "Remus? Y'alright?" Remus snapped into attention. "Huh? Oh, sorry! Just thinking about something. I'm fine!" Sirius didn't really believe it but decided not to push it. Maybe he'll bring it up later. "Okay-shit," Sirius patted his pocket and realised his left his wand in the changing room. "Gotta get my wand, give me a second."
He sprinted back towards the changing rooms. Remus began to shake slightly. "You can do this, you can do this...." He wanted to cast a full spell reversal on him. Just to make sure Sirius wasn't acting against his will. But, but what if Sirius really doesn't love him? What if it is just somebody's sick prank? He'd lose him. He'd throw away the best thing in his life. Something he wanted for years! Years, dammit! And he'd the friendship between them would take a massive hit. How would you recover from something like this? Remus was pretty sure they'd fuck soon, too. But, I can't keep him if he doesn't want to be kept. That would be even worse.
He saw Sirius running back towards him. It was now or never. After this they'd be practically joined a the hip, not that was a bad thing, but still. "Finite Incantatem!" Remus whisper-shouted. Purple burst from his wand before disappearing around in a cloud around Sirius. He held his breath. Will Sirius still kiss him? Would he push him away? He'd have to try it out. "What, what was that?" Sirius asked, slightly out of breath. "Hm?" Remus played dumb while he tried to think a spell other then Finite that was purple. What the hell is purple? "The purple. Did you cast a Finite?" "Nope! Just an... I.I.P."
"A what now?" Sirius stared at Remus, who was currently thanking his Latin books. "Ignis, innoxius, purpureum," Remus grinned while he pronounced every syllable. Thank god he knows Latin, and thank god Sirius will never check that it's a real spell (it isn't). "Fucking hell, what does it mean?!" Sirius was never good with latin. Better with Greek, surprisingly. "'Harmless purple fire', just something to do while you wait. Quite pretty." Sirius was satisfied with the answer (why would Remus cast a finite anyway?) but before he could start walking towards the castle, Remus advanced and placed his lips on his. Sirius kissed back and grinned, before pulling away. "Somebody's eager," He looked into Remus's eyes and he saw...relief? Why relief? But he quickly forgot those thoughts as Remus's lips came crashing back down on his. He didn't even notice the raven that flew overhead, but it was gone in an instant anyways. Gods, Sirius thought, what did I do to deserve him? This is perfection!
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"Sirius, I love being your boyfriend!" Remus clasped his hands together and looked into those, amazing grey eyes, blushing. He'd never done this before. Not even with Row. "Holy Jesus help me, you. are. so. cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!" Sirius squealed. He cupped Remus's face and kissed him. Remus giggled like a six year old girl. "I'm not always cute, you know," He pinned Sirius against the wall suddenly with a surprising amount of strength, and Sirius smirked approvingly at the change of tone. "I can be passionate," Remus purred, looking back into his best friends eyes.
Sirius cupped Remus's face again. "Still cute!" Remus growled as Sirius wiggled out from underneath him, then melted back into a smile. You can never, ever stay mad at Sirius. He grabbed Sirius's hand. "Where are you going?" He asked. "The kitchens," He replied. "We didn't go to lunch and-" Remus enveloped Sirius in a bear hug. "No ew arn't, tay, irius," He mumbled into Sirius's neck.
The vibrations and the wet, warm breath on his neck were unexpectedly arousing, and Sirius let out a small, almost inaudible moan completely by accident. But Remus's the-full-moon-is-near-enhanced hearing caught it. "You like that, do you?" He whispered in Sirius's ear. Sirius nodded, very flustered, and Remus saw an opportunity. He wrapped his arms around Sirius's waist, tracing his tongue along the ear, and back down to his neck, nipping and sucking occasionally. Sirius let a full moan when Remus nipped at a certain spot, so Remus gave him a hickey there. It gave him great pleasure to mark him. He's his, after all.
Sirius felt like he was on fucking cloud nine. Normally he was the dom, but then again he'd never considered the alternative before. He felt nice to have somebody else lead. Remus's tongue glided up to his lips and they stared at each other for a brief second before kissing. It started slow but quickly grew rough and sloppy as the teens want for one another grew. Remus pinned Sirius against the wall again. Sirius slipped his hands under Remus's shirt subconsciously, but he stopped when Remus stiffened. "Sorry! Should've gotten consent first," Sirius shook his head at his own idiocy and looked into Remus's eyes.
"I'm fine, it's okay, I don't mind-I just," Remus hung his head. He wanted to take things further with Sirius so very bad, very, very bad, but he just felt so self-conscious, especially about his scars. His body is hideous! H, I, D, E, O, U, S. Hideous! Too skinny and scarred. He didn't talk very openly about it, but Sirius had an idea. He lead Remus over to the common room couch (there was a snowball fight outside so they were alone) and they both sat down. "Remus, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking an-" "No, Siri, it's not your fault! I want to take things further, believe me, I really, really do! But, I," Remus slowed, then did something that surprised both of them. He tore off his shirt.
He pointed a particularly long, jagged scar on his ribs, disgusted. Then pointed at other small ones. "How?! How could you like somebody when they look like this, Sirius?! I'm horribly scarred, I'm-" "Your fucking beautiful, Remus! You hear me?! Beautiful! These scars-" Sirius traced his slender fingers along Remus's scars tenderly, "-they show how fucking brave you are. I've seen your transformations, they're hard, painful, fucking horrible. Yet you go through it every month, I can't tell you how bloody much I admire that. Remus, I fucking like you more than anybody in the world! And I will stand by you whether or not you have scars, bruises, or any other bloody marks!" Sirius hugged Remus fiercely, and Remus cried into his shoulder. Being praised for something he'd become an outcast in wizard society for was so different, he couldn't handle it.
Sirius rubbed circles Remus's back soothingly as Remus let out all of his bottled up insecurities. Those same insecurities had been plaguing him for years, it only got worse with relationships. They weren't like daggers, more like poisoned scratches. You probably won't notice them at first, but then the pain spreads until it consumes you, bit by bit until it's all you can think about and you can't live with yourself. Fucking horrible, they are. Better you don't have them in the first place.
After a little while, Remus's breathing calmed and the tears stopped flowing. Sirius was happy about this. It didn't bother him (Remus could ruin every one of his shirts and he still he wouldn't care). He wanted the love of his life to realise how fucking perfect he is!
"Y'okay?" Sirius asked softly, patting Remus on the back. "Y-yeah," Remus hiccoughed from crying so hard. He gave Sirius a small kiss and an apologetic smile. "I soaked your shirt," He stared at the wet spot. "Whatever, I'm probably getting a new one tomorrow. Lily knows how to pick shirts!" Then it donned on Remus. Tomorrow is Christmas! "Wait, it's Christmas Eve?" "No, it's motherfucking wear brown shoes day eve, yes it's Christmas Eve." Remus did a double take. Fuck.
He hadn't gotten anything extremely special for Sirius this year, only a small necklace that Sirius was intrigued by one day and a card. He stared off into space trying to think of a remedy to the problem while Sirius went up to the dorm to get Remus another shirt. In his haste, he had completely torn the other one in half. I could make him something...no, he'd see me do it. Then it suddenly came to Remus. He'd have to sneak into Hogsmeade tonight. No other solution was in sight. Yay.
Little did Remus know, in the dorm, Sirius was fretting about the same problem. "A small statuette and a card, that won't bloody do!" He ran his hand through his hair, a sure sign he's agitated. He snapped his fingers suddenly, an idea had formed in his brain. Guess who's flying to Diagon alley tonight? Hint, his name has to do with stars, and he's a bit excited.
Sirius grabbed one of Remus's shirts and headed back down to the common room. He tossed it to Remus, who put it on. Sirius sat on the couch laid back. "Here," He said softly, patting his chest. Remus smiled and laid down on top of him, cuddling into his chest. "Thanks, Siri. You're the best," Remus whispered. Sirius smiled warmly, and Remus cuddled in closer to him. They fell into a peaceful sleep and didn't see the raven, who had been there the entire time, fly out the window. If they had seen it, they would've noticed the odd marking on it's left wing, but it was just a raven, it doesn't matter.
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"Sirius, did James leave the invisibility cloak here by any chance?" Remus asked. He wanted to use it for tonight. If he couldn't find it then he'll have to settle for a disillusionment charm, but he'd rather the cloak. He hasn't cast a disillusionment charm in almost a year! "Uhm, no. He took it. Why?" Sirius lied. He'd hate to lie to Remus, fucking breaks him, but he needed the cloak. He ain't going to Diagon Alley without it. "Oh, uh, no reason. Just wondering. I know he's pretty forgetful," Remus hid his disappointment. He got up went to the loo.
He paced back and forth in the bathroom, trying to remember how to do a disillusionment charm. After a minute or two, he finally remembered the sequence and the words. "Γίνετε ένα με το φόντο," He said clearly, twirling his wand (which was glowing with a white light) around himself like he was wrapping himself in some rope. He shivered for a second (that was a sign the spell was working) and then declared, "Δεν βλέπουμε πια!"
His wand stopped glowing, and he looked down at himself, except, he was barely there. The disillusionment charm worked perfectly, you couldn't where he stood in front of the wall, because, well, he basically turned himself into the wall. He smiled, happy he could still do a bloody perfect disillusionment charm, and then pointed his wand straight at his heart. "Να είναι ορατή ξανά" His wand glowed white, he shivered again, then checked in the mirror to make sure he was completely visible.
He pulled walked out of the bathroom again, only to find Sirius rustling through his bedside table. Remus stared at him quizzically. "Lost something, mate?" Sirius snapped his head up. He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, have you seen my favourite quill? I thought you might've taken it by mistake." Remus stared at him, feigning ignorance. "The big black one I've been using for the past two years but never seems to deteriorate?" Sirius explained.
"Oh, that one! Have you looked in James's table? He's always accidentally nicking our stuff," When Sirius had his back turned, now looking in James's table, Remus quickly took the quill out from under his pillow and laid it under his bed. The reason it was under his pillow in the first place is that he secretly keeps putting reparo's on it because Sirius loves it so much, and he forgot to put it back. "Hey-look! It's under my bed. Why I don't know, but here." He gave the quill back to Sirius. "Thanks, I was just about to start that D.A.D.A essay when I realised it was missing. I'll put it away though, the sun has begun to set and dinner is about to begin. Professor Slyginio can suck my ass," Sirius put the quill on his bed, grabbed Remus's hand, and pulled him down to the great hall.
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"G'night, Sirius." Remus hoped he would go to sleep quickly. "Night," Sirius replied. The boys both closed the curtains around their own beds simultaneously. It surprised Remus just how easy it was to convince Sirius that they should sleep in their own beds tonight, but he wasn't complaining (okay, maybe a little bit), but it made thing a whole lot easier.
As soon as soft snores came from Sirius's bed a few minutes later, Remus carefully opened the curtains and stepped out. He had wrapped himself in a blanket his Grandmama had knitted him so that Sirius couldn't see that he had on a tee shirt and jeans. He shook off the blanket and hauled one of his jumpers, socks and laced up his boots silently. He grabbed his wand and closed his curtains. He stepped very slowly and quietly over to the door, ears strained to hear if Sirius was still asleep. He didn't think he could talk his way out of this one if Sirius caught him. He slipped through the door, closed it, and let out the breath he'd been holding. He strode down to the common room, which was empty. Looks like everybody's waiting for father Christmas...
"Γίνετε ένα με το φόντο," He repeated the sequence of wand movements, then said the rest of the spell. After looking in the large mirror in the corner of the room to make sure he was completely blended into the wall, went through the portrait of the fat lady. "Who's there?!" The fat lady looked around for the student that had crawled through, but after finding and hearing nothing decided it was a draft and went back to sleep.
Remus pondered on which secret passage to use. The one leading to Honeydukes from the one-eyed witch? Or the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor that leads to Dervish & Banges? Even though the Dervish one was a little quicker, he decided to go to Honeydukes first. He went over to the statue, tapped the hump and said "Dissendium," He then crawled into the passageway.
An hour later, he was in the cellar of Honeydukes. He thought back to the many train rides to and from Hogwarts, trying to remember what sweets Sirius liked the most. He chuckled softly as he fondly remembered fourth year when Sirius had nicked a couple galleons from his mother right before he got on the train. He used said money and bought a fuckton of cauldron cakes. Like he bought every friggin' cauldron cake the trolley lady had. Every. Single. One. She had to restock! Man, what a train ride that was, probably the least Peter ever ate at the feast, though. Deciding that would be the sweet of choice, he went up to the main floor and strolled on over to the shelves of pastries. This was surprisingly easy so far. Security is very lax around this place, I guess...
The shelves that held cakes and other pastries were magically modified to keep them cool and fresh. Remus checked the date, these ones were made this morning. One single cauldron cake costs a sickle, and there was a sale for 5 cauldron cakes for 4 sickles. Remus decided to buy 10 cauldron cakes (A/N this sounds like it's about to become a math problem, it even has a person with an odd name) so he grabbed a paper Honeydukes bag, put the 10 cauldron cakes in it, enchanted it to be like a mini fridge (he didn't want them to spoil) and put 8 sickles on the counter with a note saying 'For the 10 cauldron cakes, thanks.'
Wizard shops in low crime rate areas like Hogsmeade didn't have very much security, Remus remembered. Normally just a standard-issue statue that screams like hell if you go past it without paying for your shit. Oh, and a Lumos detector. Remus worried that since it was after hours, the statue (the Honeydukes one was a very large white mouse) would scream anyways. But, since he did technically pay for the cauldron cakes (and since he was basically invisible), the statue did not move at all when he unlocked the door and stepped outside. He replaced the locking charm and started to go to his next destination, Dominic Maestro's Music Shop.
Remus had met Dominic once. It was last year, around spring time. He, James, Sirius and Peter were a bit bored, and Dominic had just opened the shop a few months ago. When they first walked in, Remus was impressed by how friendly the place seemed to be. Dominic himself walked around the store, helping people choose the music they'd like. All different types of music to displayed from heavy metal to classical to jazz to gospel, everything. There was even a section for MUGGLE bands! It was here that Sirius discovered his love for Muggle music, laughing merrily about how he was going to annoy his mother with his newfound musical tastes, ("A few howlers are in order, I think!"). Remus grinned to himself. Sirius was so damn cute! No matter how hard he tries to be the suave, badass wizard of the group, Sirius will always be cute.
He grabbed the door and pulled it without a saying alohomora out of habit. Much to his surprise, the door opened and Dominic was still there, puttering about the shop, putting up new albums and fixing ones that people knocked down. Remus couldn't believe his bad luck! Or... He thought suddenly, perhaps this is good luck...
One thing about Dominic is that he loves his customers, especially his 'regulars'. Sirius was definitely a regular, he went to this shop every time they went to Hogsmeade (and even sometimes when he snuck into Hogsmeade, Dom never reported him or asked him questions). When you become a regular, Dom asks you about your music tastes, your favourite bands, if you play an instrument, etc. Then he puts you on a list. He looks for new songs that you like so that when you come in again, you'll walk out with something new. A very cool system. Remus had briefly seen the list one day, just before closing time when Dominic put it in the cash register. Remus walked silently over to said cash register, which was open, and took out a notebook labelled 'Regulars' and flipped through until he found Sirius.
Name: Sirius Orion Black (some people obviously like stars, even has a brother named Regulus Arcturus, like wow).
Muggle tastes or wizard: Prefers Muggle bands, but also enjoys singers like Blodwyn Bludd.
Instrument: Possesses a very nice singing voice, plays the guitar well. Expert at the piano.
Bands of choice: The Sex pistols, Blodwyn Bludd, The rollings stones, The Beatles, AC ϟDC, etc.
Favourite genre: Generally enjoys rock, punk rock, hard rock and jazz, with the occasional opera song thrown in. Also enjoys classical music, written by Bach, Mozart and the like.
Remus had to stop himself from laughing. The only way Dominic would know that Sirius has a nice voice was if Sirius belted out a song in the middle of the store (Remus doesn't doubt it happened, he'd be more surprised if it didn't actually). He put the list back, and silently ventured over to the Muggle section. He was intrigued by all the different albums by all the different bands, there were a lot of them, more then he first realised, but the reason he was here was for sheet music. It sounds boring at first, but wizard sheet music, like everything else wizard, is awesome. If you tap the sheet with a wand, it will play the song (this is preferred by people who play music by ear) and if you double tap it, it will give you advice after you play. (Albeit some songs aren't nice to work with, your taking a chance asking those for advice because like 50% of the time all they'll do is laugh). The best of all though is that if you say alteratio and then the name of the instrument and key you want, the music will change to accompany that instrument and key! A music lovers wet dream.
Even Muggle music sheets can be enchanted. He looked through the racks of Muggle music (frequently looking over his shoulder to make sure Dominic had his back turned) until he found three songs he'd think Sirius would like. Blackbird by the Beatles, God Save The Queen by the Sex Pistols, and Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones. He slowly and carefully placed them in a paper bag that he got at the front desk and left 6 Knuts on the counter (2 Knuts per sheet, pretty cheap) before opening the door and slipping out, past the security statue of a songbird and back into the night.
Remus had one final stop. He was tired, cold, sore, and uncomfortably jumpy (it's too damn close to the full moon to be running around Hogsmeade at 11:30 at night dammit) but he wanted to see Sirius's face light up tomorrow morning, so he kept going. Down the high street, he went until he found himself in front of Scrivenshaft's. He had one thing in mind, it was more of a gag gift than anything else, but Sirius would get a great laugh out of it and possibly even use it, so it was worth it. He used another alohomora (a bloody useful charm that is) to get in. He walked over to the luxury quill section.
Finally, he found it. The quill he was looking for. The luxury 25-inch tail feather quill of a Golden Pheasant. Perfect. (A/N You know that weird ass bird with the long tail feather I put and the top of the chapter? That's the bird). He took the quill down (only one was there, weird), and put it in the slim cellophane bag from the front desk, then left a galleon on the counter. He let out a contented sigh. He had perfect gifts for Sirius! A near disaster avoided! But now came the hour trek back to the castle... Remus sighed and set off back towards Honeydukes. If he rushed he'd be back at Hogwarts at 12:00, but he didn't want to run so he'd be back at around 12:15. Sirius better appreciate this...
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Sirius thanked every muggle and wizard deity he could think of for his good luck. First, James forgetting his invisibility cloak and still not asking for it back yet. Second, the fact he knows enough Greek to do an okay disillusionment charm. Third, Remus wanting to sleep in his own bed tonight. Sirius'll definitely miss the cuddles, but holy hell it sure simplified things. "G'night, Sirius," Remus said. "Night," Sirius replied.
Sirius had a Gryffindor blanket wrapped around him so that Remus couldn't see that he never changed. He got into his bed briefly, sliding the curtains across, before getting back out again silently. He closed the curtains again, pulled on a pair of trainers, and walked to the door, all the while being very careful and silent. You could never tell if Remus was asleep or not, he slept so quietly it was easy to forget he was there! He opened the dorm door, but before leaving he released the beetle he'd been keeping captive in his left hand. It flew about, making the exact same sounds he makes when he's asleep (that was a weird trip to the library, to find that spell). He didn't want Remus to wake up in the middle of the night wondering where he was.
He slipped out the door, closing it firmly behind him. He then threw the invisibility cloak on himself and checked to make sure he'd brought enough money before walking down to the common room and crawling through the portrait. The fat lady didn't even stir, lazy witch.
Sirius ran down to the Quidditch pitch and opened the Gryffindor team broom closet with his key. He got his broom (a Nimbus 1001, best on the team, well, except for James, he had one too) and cast an okay disillusionment charm. The broom still shimmered a bit, but it was good enough. From his calculations, it would take him about an hour to get to Diagon Alley if he didn't stop and went full speed the entire time. (A/N you better appreciate this math because I just spent 15 Goddamn minutes pulling my hair out trying to calculate it! Btw, I know the Nimbus 1001 can't go 200 mph but cut me some slack please I don't have time to send Sirius on a 6-hour broom ride!) But Sirius wasn't stupid. He can't go 200 mph for an hour without any protection, his brain would probably explode. But he needed to get to Diagon Alley, and he needed to get there quick. So, he cast a rather strong Protego, hoped it repelled gravity and got on his broom and set off at top speed.
HOLY MOTHER OF MERLIN!
Sirius never went at top speed before. Quidditch hasn't required it so far. Long story short, going 200 mph with a Protego was bloody amazing. Everything zoomed by, the wind roared in his ears, he could feel his blood pumping in his veins. He felt the more alive than ever! The protego kept his hair from failing about, and it kept the force at bay. Sirius held on for dear life and enjoyed every minute of the hour-long trip. This is why flying is his second favourite thing to do! The adrenaline rush, the everything! The first thing, however, will never change from cuddling Remus. Sirius abandoned all common sense (he seemed to leave it on the ground) and shouted into the wind,
"SEE YOU LATER, HOGWARTS!"
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"Holy-" Sirius fell face first on the ground. "-fuck." He braced himself on his invisible broomstick and he slowly rose again. Note to self, after flying for an hour at 200 mph, walking is fucking impossible.
He practised walking in a straight line for a bit before finally getting enough confidence that he could walk without landing on his face. He put his broom next to a dumpster in an alley, before walking into the leaky cauldron. Thank god it's open all night... He thought. Wait, never mind. It's only 10. After he shook his head no at the bartender to show he didn't want a drink, he walked to the rear courtyard and counted three up and two across three times and tapped the brick.
Diagon Alley was silent, dark and not at all like it was in the daytime. It was unsettling. Sirius was used to it being cheery and loud and full of wizards. All the shops were closed and had been since around 9:50. Sirius donned the invisibility cloak once more (he took it off when he went to the inn) and strode through the familiar streets. First up, Scribbulus Writing Implements. Sounds fun, I know.
Sirius alohomora'd the door and closed it behind him. He didn't dare try a Lumos, stores had detectors for things like that. He ain't making the same mistake twice (don't ask). He picked up what he was looking for (a bottle of rainbow sparkly colour changing ink that represents the perfect gayness that is Remus John Lupin) and left 12 sickles on the counter. He slipped the ink into his shoulder bag and moved on. The security statue (a weird swan-beaver hybrid thing) didn't move.
Onward he went until he came upon Rosa Lee Teabag. He was going to all the interesting stores tonight! Again, he used alohomora and walked in. He looked around, the decor reminded him of french cafés he went to when he was little mixed with the divination classroom. He picked up a box of Remus's favourite tea, and a couple of chocolate bars up at the front counter. Remus had revealed that he all-time favourite chocolate was in the form of the bars on Rosa's countertop, not Honeydukes! Now that was a revelation and a half. Sirius wondered what was in it to make it so good. It was incredibly expensive though, he got three bars for Remus it came to one galleon and 17 sickles! That didn't even include the tea! No wonder he keeps it for special occasions only...
Finally he went to a store he goes to often. Flourish and Blotts. Everybody know's it's the perfect place for reader Remus! He had one book in mind that Remus had casually mentioned/nearly killed himself over last summer when Sirius had visited him. Apparently only pure-bloods could reveal it (what?), and that's why Remus nearly made a hole in the wall whenever it was mentioned. Sirius was confused why, both him and James were pure-bloods, was it that hard to reveal it? The title of it was The history of Pure-bloods, Muggle-borns, werewolves, giants and literally everything else by Pixyxaryl 'Pix' Goodhorn. Sirius was amazed he could still remember the unwieldy name. Why only Pure-bloods could reveal it (still don't know what that means) was beyond Sirius, but he'll get for Remus and hope he could reveal it to him. He seemed to want it pretty bad.
Since it had such a long name and since the history of what seemed to be everything with even a drop of wizard blood in it was in the book, Sirius went over to the large book section. It took him about 5 minutes, but he finally found it. Then he spent the next 2 minutes trying to pronounce Pixyxaryl (like what the fuck kinda name is that?). The book was a bit bigger than a paving stone, and it was so thick Sirius couldn't believe the spine was still intact. It was very nice looking though in it navy leather covering and gold lettering. After a quick check on the inside, the book was...blank? Sirius touched one of the blank pages in confusion and nearly dropped the humongous thing because as soon as he finger hit the page, all the words on that page became visible. Sirius finally realised what 'can only be revealed by Pure-bloods' meant, and how tedious the task of revealing the whole book would be. There's got to be at least 7500 pages; and the letters are on the smaller side, too!
The book must've weighed at least 8 pounds. He took out the three galleons (three galleons! Remus better appreciate this!) it cost and left it on the counter before carrying the book beneath his cloak out the door. Sirius managed to cast a Tempus while holding the book, and realised that if he booked it back to Hogwarts now he'd be there at least 12:00! He hurriedly recast the locking charm on the Flourish and Blotts door and speed-walked back to the leaky cauldron. How he's going to balance an 8-pound book on a broomstick going 200 mph is beyond him.
Now was the most stressful part of the plan. Getting out of the leaky cauldron. If he gets caught, say by dropping something or running into a table, he'll have to explain one, why he has a bunch of stuff even though all the stores are closed, two, how and why he's outside of Hogwarts, and three, how he has an actual invisibility cloak, not some cheap knockoff. Long story short, if he's caught, he's fucken dead, bro. He readjusted his satchel and his cloak so that he could carry the large book in one arm and still have a hand to open the door and carry his wand. He went back tapped the brick again and walked through the courtyard. He went through the back entrance and stepped as silently as he could into the bar area. The barman stood only a foot or two away, cleaning a glass.
Sirius walked quietly, trying not to run into anybody. It was pretty full for 11:00. He made it the front door, and just as his arm was about to give out, somebody walked in. They had light coloured skin, was wearing a black, fur cloak, was extremely tall, and the most notable thing about him was how hairy his hands were, they looked extremely unkempt with long yellowish nails. "Hello, F-" But Sirius did not have a chance to see the man's face, or hear his name because he had to run out the door before it closed behind him. Odd fellow...at least he opened the door for me.
Sirius walked over and felt around for his broom in the alley. He found it and quickly balanced his book on top of it. He stretched his left arm to make sure the muscle wasn't strained, he needed to be in top shape for the Ravenclaw/Gryffindor Quidditch match that was scheduled for the day after Christmas hols ends. Ravenclaw just got a new seeker, Robert or Rowan or something like that, the old one had quit just after the last game against Hufflepuff. He mounted the broom and flew up into the air, finally deciding to keep the book on his broom with a fixing charm and hoping for the best. He cast another protego and took a deep breath, then sped off back towards Hogwarts at 200 mph. He would arrive at 12:04 AM.
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"Fuck-" Sirius fell face first on the ground. "I forgot about that," He braced himself on his broom and rose, feeling a bit of déjà vu. He took the disillusionment charm off his broom, waiting for his brain to start being a fucking brain and stop spinning goddammit. It's not ballerina time! Sirius eyes widened at the thought. It's never ballerina time!
After his brain got it's shit together he took his broom and went to put it back in the Gryffindor team broom closet (it was a shed right next to the changing rooms). But right next to the closet, he saw a raven hopping along on one foot the ground. He crouched to the ground and revealed only his head. "Hey, buddy, did you get hurt? Can you fly?" The raven cawed and Sirius sighed. "Here, I'll get you to Kettleburn, give me a second." He unstuck the book from the broom and laid it on the ground, along with the bag of tea and chocolate. He put away the broom quickly. He quickly scribbled out a note to Professor Kettleburn and gave it to the raven, who held it in its beak. Pretty smart for a bird, he thought.
He picked up the bird. He noticed a weird marking on its left wing, but that could easily just be scratches. Professor Kettleburn normally took a midnight walk (at least he does on the map) so Sirius quickly took the Raven and placed it where Kettleburn was to surely see it. "Get well, buddy," Sirius whispered. He covered his head with the cloak and went back to the closet. Kettleburn was sure to help the bird, he loved animals. Confident it would make a full recovery, Sirius put the bird out of his mind and picked up the bag of Rosa's stuff and the book.
He carried the book in both arms this time and went up to the Gryffindor tower quickly. He had to shout the password three times until the fat lady finally let him in without revealing himself ("All you kids and your disillusionment charms, disrupting me from my sleep!"). He ran up to the closest table and laid his stuff down carefully on it. He tore off the invisibility cloak and stuffed it in his bag. He took some wrapping paper, and a quill and ink he had stashed underneath it earlier and cast a wrapping spell, watching contentedly as the present wrapped themselves neatly. He signed his name on the name tags, stuck them on and took the presents and carefully opened the dormitory door.
Sirius slipped in, closing the door softly behind him. He heard his snores coming from around his bed, and was happy that his beetle had done the job. He quietly laid the presents at the foot of Remus's bed along with all the other gifts that had appeared there and opened a window. He then collected the beetle that was currently crawling on his nightstand and realised it into the night. He then gathered his PJ's and went into the bathroom to change.
Operation last minute Moony gifts (or operation L.M.M.G. for short) was a success! He thought contentedly.
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Remus staggered out from behind the statue, panting, dirty, and sore. But happy too. Very happy. In fact, he didn't even notice his screaming muscles as he happily strolled on over to the Gryffindor tower. Before he got the fat lady though, he pointed his wand at himself and said Γίνετε ορατοί πάλι again. "Lady, wake up, I'm not spending all night out here!" The fat lady opened one eye and glared at him. "Password?" "Christmas cheer." "This better be the last one...portraits need sleep too you know." She mumbled as he crawled through. Remus walked into the common room and noticed a table full of wrapping paper. That wasn't here before...actually it probably was, someone probably forgot to wrap something.
He walked over to a desk in the corner and pulled out his own Christmas themed bag. He pulled out some tissue paper, stuffed the bag full and as a finishing touch, he tied a large bow out of ribbon and put it on top. He liked tying bows. His Grandmama had taught him long ago, and it was just generally satisfying. He took the bag up and quietly pushed open the door. He glanced around cautiously, noticing how silent it was.
There was some light (most likely a Lumos) peering through a small opening in the curtains of Sirius's bed. Remus's heart nearly stopped, but he realised that Sirius couldn't see nor hear him. He crept over to his bed and placed his gift in the pile of other gifts. He then crept over to his own bed, got his PJ's, and walked over to the bathroom, giving a fake yawn along the way to make it seem like he just woke up. He changed into his jams and splashed water through his hair and down his face, he couldn't get a shower this hour at night. That'll have to be tomorrow. He towel dried his hair and walked out of the bathroom, blowing out the candles along the way. He was going to go back to his bed, but he realised that would be a very, very poor choice.
He walked over to Sirius's bed instead and peered through the opening. He was caught by surprise as he realised what Sirius was doing. He was drawing by wandlight? Since when did Sirius draw?
He had a container of ink next to him, and he enveloped completely in what he was doing. The drawing was simple, yet beautiful. It was a tree, a magnificently big tree, and underneath it was two people holding hands. Remus nearly squealed out loud when he realised those people were them. "I love it, Sirius." Sirius dropped his quill he was so surprised. "Rem? I didn't hear you." He blushed and picked up his quill again, and Remus removed the ink spot on the covers with his wand. "Is that us?" Sirius blushed even redder as he closed the inkwell. "Y-yeah. I've been working on it for a few days now." Remus got the urge to jump on his boyfriend and snog him senseless, an urge he was this close to acting upon.
"Mind if I join you?" Sirius smiled. "Come on, just don't crush the picture." Remus smiled and crawled in while Sirius put his quill, ink and picture on the nightstand. Remus pulled the curtains closed and put his wand with Sirius's, on the foot of the bed. The Lumos illuminated Sirius's face, and Remus decided to throw self-control out the window. "I love you, Sirius." Remus was surprised at how easily the words rolled off his tongue. Sirius smiled so wide he'd give the Cheshire cat a run for his money. "I love you too, Remus!" Remus practically pounced on Sirius.
It's safe to assume that 'Kissing Sirius' is now at the top of the list of Remus's favourite thing to do. Sirius's lips were smooth, full and delicious, Remus couldn't enough of them. Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus's back, stroking the soft hair at the nape of his neck. He earned a moan from Remus. Remus licked Sirius's bottom lip and Sirius opened his mouth, a battle for dominance ensued. Remus won and explored the wet cavern. Breathing is a horrible, horrible thing. When they had to pull away, they were panting, and a small string of saliva was still stretched between them. "Really, really love you, Sirius."
Sirius hugged Remus fiercely and then they both cuddled together under the blankets. It was a mess of arms and legs and it was super complicated but it was comfortable dammit. They rested their foreheads against one another, and soon both of them were in a deep peaceful sleep.
They did not see the crow with the strange making on it's left wing that had flown inside from the window, watching the entire time, leave. They did not see the crow fly back to it's home in the Ravenclaw tower, they did not see it transform back into a black haired boy. And they did not see said boy smile, looking awfully content.
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Hey! Sorry for the little teaser at the end, I like doing things like that. I also hope I didn't make this chapter too long (it's 7372 words! Biggest chapter yet!) but I may have gotten a little carried away. Comment or vote or do both if you liked it, and I'll get on with writing the next chapter!
~Misty
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