Title: Days at Grimmauld Place – The Pantry – Follows on from 'Birthday Celebrations'
Author: Raven Grimm
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Remus/Sirius - Sirius's POV
Genre: Slash
Rating: PG-13
Summary: In a house filled with people, where do you go to get some privacy?
Note: This is set towards the beginning of 'Order of the Phoenix'
Days at Grimmauld Place -
The Pantry
Molly was cooking again; she hardly ever seemed to be out of the kitchen these past few days, but then having a house almost filled to bursting meant there was a lot of mouths to feed. That was one drawback to having so many people under Sirius's roof.
The other, Sirius found, was finding time to be alone with Remus. Sirius had been happy to donate Grimmauld Place to the Order to act as Headquarters, but that was before he and his ex-lover had got back together. Sirius never dreamed Remus would want him back after his long spell in Azkaban, but remarkably it was he, Remus, that had broached the subject. Sirius couldn't have said 'Yes' any faster.
So nowadays Sirius and Remu had to sneak kisses in dark corners, behind closed doors, anywhere that held a shadow, and on numerous occasions they were nearly discovered, on one such occasion they were, poor Mr Weasley…
Sirius found the prospect of being found, thrilling however, which is probably why he grasped Remus' wrist just as Molly left the kitchen, and tugged him into the pantry, closing the door behind him as he crushed Remus's lips with his own.
A moment later Remus's hands were on his back, one threading up through his ruffled black hair, the other sliding down his back and clutching tightly at the waistband of his trousers.
Another moment and Remus was pushing him back, flushing scarlet and gasping for breath as he hissed, "Are you insane!"
"Maybe," Sirius said into Remus's mouth before smothering it with his own again. Remus moved himself this time, his back thumping hard into the shelving and rattling jars of Brandy Knuts and Shrimgut seeds.
"Padfoot!" he hissed, his hands now between them, trying to hold Sirius at bay, but with not much conviction as they were already bending at the elbow as Sirius leaned closer. "M-Molly could walk in at any second!" Remus tried to reason.
Sirius laughed. "I know," he smirked.
The door opened and Sirius's smile dropped as he whipped around.
Arthur Weasley was staring at them, wide-eyed, his mouth moving as though trying to speak but no words escaped. He jerked the door almost closed at the sound of footsteps.
"Have you found it?" Molly said sternly, her footsteps growing closer. "Let me look, I think it's by-"
"No, no, I'll find it, Molly dear," Arthur said hurriedly. There was the sound of retreating footsteps before Arthur reopened the door and lent in a fraction, apparently trying to ignore the two men hiding there as he looked for something. Sirius couldn't help feeling sorry for the man having walked in on them for the second time.
Arthur was flushing red, the hue brightening with every second as he looked everywhere but at Sirius or Remus.
"What do you need?" Remus hissed and Arthur jumped as though he really had managed to forget they were there. His whole face was scarlet, his eyes fixed on a faintly visible cobweb in the top right corner of the pantry as he said, "The… the Brandy n-Knuts."
Remus squirmed – he knew where the jar was, having replaced it himself, and it currently resided in the groove of his buttocks. He coughed uncomfortably and spared Sirius a pointed glare for putting him in this position, before casually reaching behind himself to remove it. He held it out and Arthur reached forward, and in his attempt not to see them he very nearly throttled Sirius, completely missing the jar. Remus took his wrist and placed the jar firmly into his hand.
Arthur nodded, clearing his throat a little as he whispered, "Thanks," and disappeared from sight, closing the door firmly behind him.
Remus looked thoroughly embarrassed when Sirius turned to face him again, but he was soon laughing mutely into Sirius's shoulder when Sirius himself burst into restrained fits of giggles.
"Insane!" Remus snorted, his breath hot as it brushed Sirius's neck making him shiver. Remus's lips grazed Sirius's neck now making him shiver again, and Sirius clutched him tightly to his chest.
The door opened a crack and they both froze to the sound of Arthur Weasley hastily saying, "I-I'll look for the cable Leaves, Molly! Y-you take care of the spuds."
"Are you alright, Arthur? You sound out of breathe," Molly said, her voice much too close for comfort. The door opening a fraction more and Sirius could just make out the hem of her knitted jumper, so close he could almost touch it.
"Fine, fine… Um, the spuds, Molly, I think they're boiling over."
"Oh!"
The door swung shut.
Remus looked at Sirius, his hands still wrapped around him.
The door creaked open again and Arthur's face reappeared. Eyes focused intently on a dusty jar of Essence of Wing-tailed Bandawhip, Arthur opened his mouth – presumably to ask for a jar of cable Leaves – but Remus had already found it. He held it out; placing it, like the last, into Arthur's outstretched hand. Arthur nodded his appreciation then closed the door.
"That was really close this time, Sirius," Remus whispered, though he obviously couldn't help being a little excited himself by the sound of his voice.
Sirius didn't bother to reply. He grabbed Remus roughly by the collar of his well worn jumper and kissed him, pushing forward at the same time and causing Remus to bump the shelves again.
When the pantry door opened for a third time, it wasn't Arthur staring at them, or even Molly, it was Harry…
"Mr Weasley said I'd find you in here," Harry said, quickly averting his eyes, to stare fixedly at the pantry light's pull cord swinging from the ceiling. Sirius felt his cheeks fill with heat; he'd only told Harry yesterday about his and Remus's relationship, and had planned to leave some time before actually kissing Remus in front of him. "He… he also said, 'the coast is clear, he's talking with Mrs Weasley upstairs'."
Harry blushed a little as he said, "When you're… uh, ready, I still haven't given you your birthday present, and we'll be going back to Hogwarts soon…" Harry said, then smiled faintly to the wall and closed the door.
"I think now's a good time to leave, Sirius," Remus said, reaching for the handle just as the door opened again and someone rushed inside, closing the door behind them.
"Um, Harry," Sirius hissed to the darkness.
There was a shuffle in the corner. "Yeah," Harry whispered. "Sorry… Mrs Weasley doesn't look happy, I think, um… she might have heard us talking last night…" he trailed off.
"So the coast isn't clear any more?" Remus asked.
"I don't know… I heard-"
The door opened and two red haired boys flew inside, the door closing swiftly.
There was some shuffling in the now very cramped pantry, then, "Hey Harry, sorry to nick your hiding place-"
"Mum's on the war path," said George
"Thinks we've been keeping Doxys," said Fred
"But we'd never do that," said George
There was a muffled laugh from Harry by the corner.
"Who else is in here?" Fred asked as he bumped into Sirius, then said, "Lumos," and the light from his wand illuminated the five of them. "What's she after you two for?" Fred asked, and Remus squirmed. Before he or Sirius could think up a lie that would adequately explain why two grown men were apparently hiding in a pantry, Harry produced one for them…
"You know the cupboard by the stairs?" Harry started.
"Hogboard!" both George and Fred said in unison.
"Well, the door handle's started talking-"
"Yeah, we know," said Fred.
"Rude, isn't it," said George grinning wickedly. "Told Mundungus to shove off 'cause he smells."
"And it spat at Crookshanks, Hermione wasn't pleased about that," Fred sniggered.
This was all news to Sirius, and by the look on Remus's face it was for him as well.
"I'd say you need this hiding place more than we do," Fred said, sympathetically. "Come on George, I think I saw a bottomless trunk upstairs where we can lie low for a week or two."
The door handle was snatched out of Fred's hand as the door opened and Ron squeezed himself into the pantry. Sirius's back was now wedged tightly against Remus's chest, Fred and George inches in front of him. And after a moment Remus's arms snaked around his waist, low enough that no one would notice, and Sirius rested his arms on top of them, their fingers twined together.
"What's she got on you?" George said, gleefully as Ron attempted to turn and face them.
"Nothing!" Ron said, grumpily. "She's after you two."
"What did we do?" George and Fred said together, though they didn't quite manage to hide their smirks.
"Sorry you're getting the flack for this, Ron-" Fred said.
"But someone's got to," George added.
Ron went red in the face and looked about to speak when the door opened again.
Hermione stood on the other side, tapping her foot, her arms folded. "What are you all doing in there?" she demanded. She looked determinedly at Fred then George. "Your mother's looking everywhere for you two," she scolded, just as Molly's voice filtered into the pantry from the room outside the kitchen.
Fred grabbed Hermione by the front of her jumper and pulled her in to the pantry, remarkably managing to wedge the door closed behind her.
"What are you-" Her words were cut off by Georges hand clamping over her mouth as Fred muttered, 'Nox,' and the light from his wand blinked out.
Molly's voice was muffled by the door, but by her tone it was clear she was still – as George had put it – 'on the war path'.
"This is cosy," Sirius whispered over his shoulder at Remus who was shifting awkwardly. "What's wrong?"
"The shelves digging into my back," Remus hissed, to a chorus of shh-es and a muffled 'mmnhm' from Hermione. Sirius twisted around – still wrapped in Remus's arms – and scooted slightly to the left so that Remus could move a fraction away from the sleeves. They were facing each other again, but thankfully no one could see in the dark as Sirius lent forwards and kissed Remus lightly on the cheek.
"You're going to be in so much trouble when Mrs Weasley finds you," Hermione snapped, apparently having managed to free herself from the twins restraint, and Sirius's heart stopped beating…
"You too," said George. "You're an accomplice now."
"What? I would never-"
"Then why are you hiding?" Ron said, joining in, and sniggering, and Sirius's heart started to beat again.
"I'm not! I'm-" The hand must have fallen over her mouth again, as she didn't say another word.
"Do you think the coast is clear?" Fred whispered.
"I can't hear anything," Ron offered.
"Harry you check," George said.
"Why me?"
"Because you're not in any trouble," George explained.
"And mum loves you," Fred added. "Off you go."
There was a lot of awkward shuffling, and muffled 'ouches' as Harry squeezed his way toward the door. There was silence as he listened, and then opened the door a crack. After a moment he lent his head out, his face lit slightly by the lights in the room.
"Looks clear," he said over his shoulder.
"You first, Ron," George said, as he shoved his younger brother forwards.
"Ouch, that was my foot, Ron!" Hermione snapped as Ron barged past her, the hand still attempting to cover her mouth judging by the muffled sound of her voice. "Well, I'm getting out. Move out of the way, Ron."
In their attempt to get out of the pantry, Harry, Ron and Hermione all tumbled out onto the kitchen floor where Molly had apparently been hiding behind the door. She stood over them tapping her foot in much the same fashion as Hermione had been. Fred and George froze at the sight of their mother, red faced and ready to blow. "You two, out!" she said to them, not having notice Sirius or Remus in the shade at the back of the pantry.
"Nice one, Ron," Fred grumbled, stepping over him as he tried to get to his feet, Hermione weighing him down. Harry glanced over his shoulder as he got to his knees, his eyes finding Sirius's in the dark. He smiled faintly before casually nudging the pantry door closed.
After telling Harry, Ron and Hermione that they shouldn't be playing in the pantry, she started her inevitable rant at the twins, and Sirius could still hear it once the three of them had gone through to the lounge, Fred and George not backing down about their innocence.
Knowing Molly would be too busy with the twins in the other room, Sirius decided they should probably get out of the pantry, plus with dinner immanent he'd much refer to be eating it and not trapped in the pantry while everyone else enjoyed the roast that smelt so delicious.
He kissed Remus more deeply than all the times before, fisting his hands in Remus's sandy hair, and Remus let out a soft sigh into his mouth.
"Worth it?" Sirius asked, breaking the kiss to stare into Remus's eyes.
"Definitely," Remus nodded, kissing him quickly before turning and tugging him out of the pantry by the hand.
"So," Sirius started, giving Remus's hand a squeeze, "Same place next time?"
Remus rolled his eyes. "We'll see," he said, kissing the back of Sirius's knuckles.
"Um…"
Sirius and Remus turned quickly, letting go of each other, but it was only Harry, Hermione – who was blushing – and Ron – who was positively radiating heat as he stared at the floor.
"Sorry," Harry said for the umpteenth time. He held out a piece of parchment. "Happy Birthday," he said.
Sirius smiled at him as he took the parchment.
"I had gotten you something different, but then we thought this would be better," Harry said, flushing slightly as Sirius opened out the flaps.
"'Messrs Ruddy and Specs and Miss Brains proudly present Snuffles with the Marauder's Map - Mark 2'?" Sirius read aloud, and Remus frowned at him.
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," Harry recited, tapping to parchment with his wand and a map titled; Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London, crept its way across the page.
"We thought it would come in handy," Hermione said sweetly, though something seemed to be bothering her.
"See," Harry said, pointing at a little dot that was pacing back and forth in a room labelled; First Bedroom on the Left – second floor, the dot itself labelled Mrs Weasley, and just beside it were two more, labelled Fred and George.
Sirius beamed at Harry, and hugged him. "It's brilliant," he said, hugging Hermione and then Ron.
"It wasn't easy," Ron said, the tone of his voice making it sound even harder. "We had to ask Moody to help us," he admitted.
Harry looked extremely pleased, and Sirius felt proud that his Godson and his friends could make a map like the one himself, Remus, James and Peter had made in their days at Hogwarts, even if it was with Mad-eye's help.
"Moody said it would go blank, and never work again if it's taken out of the house," Hermione said, "something to do with the Secret Keeper. So it will only be useful for someone who's already inside."
"Somebody who's always inside," Sirius said, lightening the statement by smiling. "Like me."
"And the mug that wants to keep you company," Remus added, nudging him with his elbow.
"Just don't tell mum, or we'll all be in trouble," Ron said, glancing at the door nervously.
Sirius examined the map as Harry, Ron and Hermione left – Hermione saying something about wishing they hadn't chosen to call her 'Brains' - and noticed it even labelled Buckbeak in his mother's room.
He smiled. "Now this'll be handy," he said, and with a quick glance at the map to see that they really were alone, he grabbed Remus by the collar and kissed him right there, in the middle of the kitchen.
~ The end ~