Hey, Dem here! So, this one-shot, bloomed in my mind from a dream I had while dozing in Music Hist. and Appreciation(Sorry Mr. Bingham!). I was Sirius and apparently I had been sleep walking and walked up to the Owlery and I couldn't figure out who this light brown-haired person was as I looked at them. I thought it was my best friend, but soon came to my senses and deduced that it couldn't be her because A: she doesn't have short hair, and B: she's too blonde. Besides, they had three claw-shaped scars down from the left and bottom of their lips to their chin. So I said, "Oh, it's just you, Remus." And then I woke up. I didn't even think to make it a one-shot until I went to lunch and told the friend I confused Remus with and she turned to me and gasped, "One-shot!"
So thank you, my dear Madison. For you are often my Muse. As such, I would like to say, "I LOVE YOU MADDZ!"
-Much love and Harry Potter's, The Menace
Embers and Envelopes
A dark figure roamed around the pitch black halls of Hogwarts aimlessly. He took a turn at the Great Hall, clearly headed outside. The door opened soundlessly with a wave of his wand.
His clouded gray eyes half-mast and long black hair drawn into a low ponytail, he scuffled onto the snow-white path, moving towards the Owlery. The raven shuddered in the cold, but otherwise made no notion of noticing it.
Sirius Black moved with the grace and confidence of an aristocratic and pureblood childhood. As much as he loathed his family, he would never completely get rid of a full eleven years worth of them teaching him to be as arogant and disgustingly purist as they.
The half-moon illuminated his hair and maroon sweater eerily, casting an almost unhealthy glow to his otherwise handsome features.
His frame shook more and more as he continued to trek through the cold weather. His hole-ridden socks had long since been soaked with melting snow, and he clutched his thin sweater and pajama pants to him as best he could.
Sirius, finally to the stairs, began to take the icy steps two at a time, coming precariously close to falling more than once. His frame shook once more as a vicious wind howled at the Owlery.
Like a switch suddenly flipping on, the clouded gray irises suddenly cleared, and Sirius stopped moving.
Where am I? Why am I this cold? And how did I...
Sirius took it upon himself to look around, noticing a few things were off. Number one; He was standing in the snow half-way up the stairs to the Owlery. Number two; He was not dressed for the weather, still in his holey socks and night-wear. Number three; HOW THE BLOODY HELL DID HE GET UP HERE?
In the most dignified and least energy consuming way, Sirius shuffled down the staircase, wand in hand, as he desperatly tried to pry his brain for a spell that would warm his already freezing toes.
Near the end of the long spiraling steps, Sirius could barely see straight, let alone walk in a straight line. His vision blurred, and he soon realized he was crying.
How out of character for the pureblood. Noble Sirius Black, crying over not being able to control where his sleep walking gets him.
Sirius felt oddly detatched, and that worried him to no end. Hot tears rolled down his frost-bitten cheeks, and he knew he would not be able to last very long.
Soon after, he was sitting on the bottom step, his bum soaking, crying softly into his hands.
He felt so utterly helpless. How did this happen? You would think Hogwarts would have better security on a night like this! Why did I have to bring my wand this time around? I could have just woken up laying in front of the large oak doors that sealed the school from the pathway that not only led to the Owlery, but to Care of Magical Creatures lessons, and, of course, the Forbidden Forrest.
Fear overtook his helplessness and he suddenly felt grateful. I could have ended up in the Forbidden Forrest, just as well as here.
Over his very unmanly whimpering sounds and heavy pants, he could hear a loud shout, sounding similar to "Sirius." He couldn't be sure though.
Sirius stood shakily, holding his wand out and casting the first spell that came to his fear-clogged and fatigue-riddled mind.
"Lumos!" Snow in front of the raven teen sparkled in the light now enveloping the end of his wand, and the shouts became more hurried.
"Sirius! Where the hell are you!" The worried cry sounded so familiar, Sirius almost dropped his wand. Who was that?
Another, skinnier and slightly taller figure ran into Sirius' line of sight. All he could do was stare.
The white light of Sirius' spell hit Remus Lupin's scarred, yet incredibly handsome face with enough glow to make the snow around him shimmer. He looked godly.
His honey-brown hair twinkled softly, having collected it's fair share of snowflakes. The three claw-looking scars drew down from the middle of his cheek to his chin, shining an odd pinkish brown. His golden eyes radiated worry and concern for his friend, and Sirius couldn't help the small shiver that ran through him that had nothing to do with the cold.
"Sirius! Oh my-Merlin, are you all right!" Remus rushed to Sirius' side, holding his arms out in response to the sudden relieved shudder that shook the teen.
The last thing Sirius remembered was pair of arms cirlcling his waist, and Remus lovely voice calling to him softly.
"Rem...us?" Came Sirius' broken whisper, and relief coursed through the werewolf.
He sighed, smiling slightly, but still keeping his arms around the raven tightly. Not a minute after Sirius had fainted did he wake up.
"Yes, Pads. I saw your bed empty and decided to look at the map, to see where you'd gone, but your footsteps were missing, so I knew you'd be outside; James hasn't begun working on the Owlery or the Forbidden Forrest yet." Remus explained knowing Sirius' questions before he asked them. He hauled Sirius further into his bridal style embrace, as his friend was shivering again.
"Moony..." Sirius managed to whine, tucking his head into the crook of Remus' neck, and breathing ragedly into the skin there. Remus tried not to flinch as Sirius's freezing nose came into contact with his warm collarbone.
Remus' goal, a sitting bench about thirty feet from the Owlery, came closer and closer, and he found himself almost running to it. Sirius wasn't heavy, but he knew his friend would not survive long in his current clothes.
Remus waved his wand, casting a spell to melt the snow on the bench, and dry it after that was done. He set the shaking teen down, though not without protest, but he ignored it in favor of conjuring Sirius' clothes for the short but sure-to-be cold trek back to the castle.
First to pop into existence were Sirius' worn shoes, which he slipped on the feet swiftly, waving his wand again to cast a spell in which the feet would thaw and become warmer.
Sirius sighed in near-content as his jacket came next, Remus gently dressing his friend in it. After a moments thought, Remus unwrapped his Gryffindor-colored scarf, twisting it and tying it around Sirius' neck.
The pureblood teen smiled under the scarf, blushing at their close-contact.
Remus himself shook slightly, his unhealthy lack of fat on his bones starting to make him shiver. Luckily for the werewolf though, Sirius rasied his hand, asking Remus silently to help him up. He welcomed the extra body heat, even if he would have to help Sirius gain his back.
Remus obliged, wrapping an arm around Sirius' waist and taking the male's own arm and winding it around his neck, more than happy to help Sirius, even if it meant carrying half his weight.
As a second thought, Remus pulled out The Marauders Map, still in the making, and James' invisibility cloak.
He swung his free arm, the one that held Sirius' wrist, around them both in an attempt to conceal them from the possibility of Filch finding them and giving them detention.
By the time Remus could get a proper hold on Sirius, they had made it to the castle, and the map was thrust into Sirius' hand so he could watch for the caretaker and his dreadful cat.
With no sign of Mr. Filch or Mrs. Norris, Remus made it up to the Gryffindor common room entrance, a portrait of a now-snoring fat lady. By then, Remus had given up attempting to keep a hold of Sirius without being too intimate, and had threaded his fingers with his friend's in order to keep a better grip on the arm thrown around his shoulders.
He had no idea how Sirius felt about the intimacy of the contact, mostly because Sirius was still engrossed in the Map and how well he and James were contributing to it, their part being the unknown passageways out of Hogwarts and the entire outside area, including the edge of the Forbidden Forrest.
"Fizzing Wizzbees." Remus murmured to the painting, and it swung forward to reveal an empty common room. Well, what was he expecting? It was nearly three in the morning.
Sirus jumped a bit at the removal of the cloak from around his shoulders, but made no move to get away from Remus now that he was safe in the Gryffindor tower.
Remus hesitated, but then made for the firelight-lit loveseat Remus and Sirius shared almost everytime they sat in the common room, with James usually in the recliner to the left of it, and Petter more than likely on the floor.
The werewolf set his friend down, moving quickly for a blanket for Sirius, before crouching in front of the fireplace to get the dying embers back up to warm the two teens.
Remus turned to look for wood, with a quick idea of summoning up two mugs of hot chocolate. He knew it was Sirius' favorite when it got too cold.
The crimson cup floated into awaiting hands, and Remus barely caught Sirius' muttered, "thank you," and warm smile.
Remus returned the gesture before bringing his own gold mug to his lips while he prodded dying embers with his wand tip, to get the newly aquired wood to burn.
After a few moments of silence, Remus had succeeded in bringing the fire back to life, and with a final flick of his wand, he scooted the couch closer, in order to warm some life back into his black-haired friend.
Sirius started at the sudden movement, but settled down enough to offer Remus a bit of the blanket when the werewolf moved to sit down.
The scarred teen nodded, blushing fiercely at the fact that the blanket was simply too small, and they had to huddle together to keep it on them both.
Remus found that he didn't mind being in such close contact with Sirius, though neither of his other friends (AKA James or Peter) could get this close, even on a good day. He worried his bottom lip in thought. What if Sirius was uncomfortable with being so close to a boy?
His brain beat down that thought with logic; why would he have offered then?
Before Remus could start up again with his analysis of Sirius's feelings towards him, the teen spoke.
"Thanks for saving my life, Moony. I don't know what I would've done without you..." Sirius swallowed a scalding hot gulp of hot chocolate to save himself the embarassment of finishing what he was about to say.
I think you're amazing.
"No problem, Pads. What are friend's for?" Remus replied nervously, swallowing a large amount of steaming hot chocolate as well. Neither teens wanted to voice what was clearly eating at them both.
"Sirius..." Remus began after about ten minutes of awkward silence.
He was greeted by a soft snore, and found an adoring grin reaching his lips. He really did love the teen. As much as he may try to convince himself it was purely platonic, only best friend love. He was quickly finding even his own mind not believing it.
Remus gently stood up, crawling out from beneath Sirius, as at some point in time his head had dropped to the werewolf's shoulder.
Remus reached into his pocket for his wand, making both mugs he had summoned dissappear again, for the house elves to wash.
Bridal style, he carried the raven to bed, more than once catching himself sneaking glances at the teen's peacefully elegant features.
Once he was in the fifth year boys dormitory, he walked straight to Sirius' bed. He made sure the teen's legs hung off the side, so he could take his shoes off and not risk dirtying the comforter.
Remus slid his hand down Sirius' thigh and to his knee, where he crouched to unlace the worn sneakers, slipping them off one after the other. He then drew up to his full six foot two inches, unzipping Sirius' jacket and gently taking it off. He also withdrew his scarf from around the male's neck, tossing it back onto his bed, the one directly to the left of Sirius'. He hadn't noticed the grey eyes slowly open, nor had he noticed the fluttering eyelids, or the blushing cheeks. He also didn't notice when Sirius licked his lips or, after Remus had drawn the covers over the teen's body, Sirius' arm shoot out to grab onto Remus' elbow.
"Sirius?" Remus sounded surprised. He certainly wasn't expecting the teen to still be awake.
Sirius tugged on Remus' sweater until the werewolf was leaning over him.
Before Remus could blink, he felt Sirius' lips pressing to his own in a sudden ruffle of blankets.
Sirius drew away briefly, "Thank you again Moony. I...hope this won't be the last time I...I get to make this up to you..."
Without giving the other teen time to think about what he had just said, he leaned up for another gentle but sweet kiss.
"Goodnight Remus." Sirius whispered, his breath ghosting over the werewolf's now-wet lips.
Sirus didn't acknowledge his own tender smile aimed at Remus, before laying back down and turning his back on the shocked teen.
Remus' finger traced his bottom lip in disbelief, the smallest of smirks settling on his features.
"Wow. I need to save your life more often." Remus muttered, making his way back to his own four-poster and drawing the curtains. He couldn't help the quiet delighted giggle that issued from his mouth, nor the idiotic grin now boasting itself on his lips. He missed the abashed grin and acompanying chuckle from Sirius' bed, but he knew it wouldn't be the last of many secret kisses between the two.
So, I hope you like it. I tried to make it as legit as possible. Thank you again, Madison. I love you dearly. And I must say, the name of this fic is from the fact that Sirius made it to the Owlery (envelopes) and the fire in the Gryffindor common room (embers). The title is a song, from my FAVORITE BAND, Mae. They are an absolutely fantastic, music-making...machine! And they are even more amazing live. You should really look them up if you've never heard of them before.
The song really had nothing to do with the fic, but the title seemed to fit XD I apologize for not making the choice for title deeper XD well, i'm sure if you REEEEALLY listened to the lyrics, you could find SOMETHING. Not that I was looking...*coughs in an obviously contradictory manner*
Review, tell me what you liked, what you didn't, tell me if I made any errors, and whatnot. Just, tell meh. I might come out with more one-shot's like this one, or, my Muse and I (AKA Madison) are currently sorting out an idea I had for a SiriusxRemus fanfic. I'll just have to see how that's going along soon...
-Much love and yaoi kisses, The Menace
P.S. Long live Sirius Black! Long live Remus Lupin! Long live James Potter! Long live Severus Snape!