Chocolates for Someone Special
Author's Note: Aww Remus, you're my favorite. All recognizable elements belong to J.K. Rowling.
Blood red and cough syrup pink lollipops, the light shining through their transparent sugar surfaces. Doves sculpted out of almond paste, their black icing eyes staring blankly out onto the street. Tiny cakes layered with strawberry filling, covered in chocolate, and frosted with wobbly red hearts. Gaudy cupids molded out of dark chocolate, looking like some sort of winged babies spawned in a muddy swamp.
These things filled the front window of Honeyduke's candy shop, this being the final weekend before Valentine's day. In stared the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, this also being the Saturday of their celebrated Hogsmead visit.
"I'm just going to be a moment; I know exactly what I want," Remus Lupin was telling his friends as he stood near the door, almost ready to open it, "I'll join you as soon as I'm finished."
"We'll just come in with you; maybe there's something I can get for…," James mumbled, entering the shop and beginning to move from display to shelf to counter. Peter naturally ambled after him, staring hungrily at almost everything, his face betraying the fact that he would obviously purchase something, but he was not sure what. Sirius was drawn to the window display for one reason or another, and Remus did not want to know exactly why.
It so happened that Sirius Black thought the abhorrent cupids might look more appealing if they appeared to be eating the cakes and lollipops, staring blankly and eerily out of the window, and hunting the doves with their chocolate bows and arrows. How he accomplished his rearrangement of the display without drawing an unusual amount of attention to himself is not understood, as are so very many other things about Sirius Black.
Remus glanced furtively about the shop, placing each of his three friends. He had not expected them to join him in the candy shop, and he had to admit that this complicated things. The pale boy had expected to be able to make his purchase quickly and efficiently…without James, Sirius, and Peter knowing what it was. He preferred that they not know. In fact, it was almost not worth buying if they knew…
"I thought you knew what you wanted," Peter appeared at Remus's side, a sugar quill in one hand and a few questionable gobstoppers in the other.
"I…I do," Remus pretended to be intensely interested in a display of leftover Christmas candy, especially low-priced because it was so old…and, well, unappealing. Who in their right mind would buy a shriveled mould-green gummy elf, or those crusty wads of spun sugar tastily named "Beard of Father Christmas"?
"Ha! It looks worse than Kreature!"
Sirius, that was who.
Remus sighed, looking on as Peter nearly wet himself laughing as Sirius danced the boxed gummy elf around, muttering as his family's house elf did.
"Filthy Potter!" Sirius grumbled, thoroughly amused with himself and pushing the box into James's face, "Potter's got something for nasty Evans, doesn't he?"
Remus took the opportunity to cross to the other side of the store, get what he wanted, smile awkwardly at the beaming clerk while paying, and reach the door.
"Hurry up! I thought you wanted to stop in at the Three Broomsticks!"
Sirius Black was not overly concerned about Valentine's Day. He had yet to decide if he would do anything special for anyone or not – it would not be difficult to if he wanted, nor would his reputation be at all tarnished if he did not. At this stage in his life he was content to be admired, to be sought after, to be noticed, relished, and lustfully desired.
Love only complicated things. Poor, pathetic Prongs was a prime example.
Therefore, not being preoccupied with Valentine's Day worries, Sirius instead focused his thoughts upon such things as whether or not to start (much less complete) his transfiguration homework (he had gotten the spell right during in-class practice…why give it more attention than necessary?), what might be served at dinner, and where Snape might be lurking and what sort of prank the location might be conductive to.
"Sirius!"
Sirius found himself nearly striding right into one Remus Lupin, evidently caught off guard. He took advantage of his close proximity to the other boy to pat him heartily on the back, "'Lo, Remus!"
Instead of returning the greeting promptly, Remus was hastily shoving something under his arm and looking…guilty about something. Sirius smiled inwardly – he knew that look. That was the look Remus got when he took a break from his homework to re-read books he'd read in first and second year. The look he got when he attempted (rather futilely, in Sirius's ever so humble opinion) to improve his appearance. The look he got when he felt foolish or guilty about doing perfectly normal and fairly innocent things.
Making Remus squirm was always such fun.
"What've you got there?" Sirius inquired nonchalantly, quite able to see that Remus was making a very bad attempt at concealing a large, shiny red box under his arm.
"Oh, this." With a slightly embarrassed expression Remus held out the box for Sirius to examine. It was about the size of a proper chess board, except it was heart-shaped. Its glittering red foil paper was trimmed with lace and a large white bow, and the words Happy Valentine's Day shimmered in shifting silver, pink, and gold across the cover. Such a box could contain only one thing.
Sure enough, a sticker on the side read Sweet Bea's Finest Hand-dipped Chocolates.
"Pick that up for James to give to Lily?" Sirius asked dully, offering the question only to eliminate the unlikely possibility. It was rather unfortunate that the box was not for Lily, because Remus's current possession of it would have created an ideal opportunity to play a good-natured prank on James, one that even Evans might be grateful for, as it would give her an excuse to huff, prowl, and proclaim the never-ending annoyances and short-comings of one James Potter.
"No," Remus supplied Sirius with the expected answer.
"Oh," Sirius nodded, waiting patiently for his friend's expression to relax ever so slightly. Over the years, making Remus squirm had become somewhat more difficult, since any friendly provocation only made him sigh irritably and take on an air of rather adult-like resignation. One had to catch Remus when he was at least slightly unaware and relaxed, and Sirius knew this well enough.
Remus's forehead seemed to smooth, a small smile starting to tug at his lips.
"Oh…" Sirius repeated quietly, nodding again. Then he struck, exclaiming, "Oh-ho! So you've finally found yourself a girl then!"
The result was well worth the patience. Remus's cheeks were infused with a bright pink, and he clutched the box to his side a bit protectively. "Well," Remus answered slowly, still looking slightly awkward but also fairly proud of himself, "They are for someone special, I suppose."
Sirius wondered briefly just who exactly this someone special was, and knew he might be able to pry the answer from Remus if he worked carefully, but he decided to save that for later. No sense in getting Moony too nervous to actually deliver the box. Instead he patted Remus heartily on the back, "Sure…sure, whatever you say. Have a happy Valentine's, mate."
And with that, Sirius continued on his way down the stairs to investigate the possibilities of providing Snape with some sort of festive holiday gift, looking over his shoulder only once in order to instruct Remus not to wear that particular sweater when he went to call on the girl.
Remus stood outside the door to the room he shared with his fellow sixth years, watching as Sirius made his way to the Gryffindor common room. There was a pronounced bounce in Padfoot's steps, which probably came as a result of the knowledge that he, Remus, had finally gathered up enough courage to approach a girl.
Knowing that Sirius was not going to look back again, Remus allowed himself to grin. It was not his usual easy, sometimes slightly exasperated grin, but a grin much more commonly seen on Sirius's own face or equally as frequently on James's. The sort of grin that came from pulling off a prank with delicious perfection. He reveled in it for a short moment before re-entering his room.
He had planned to pull off his plan in the prefects' supply closet, but with Sirius out of the way for awhile, he could carry out everything right here. James would be attempting to keep Lily Evans company, and Peter, as always, would be attempting to keep James company. Contrary to Sirius's errant belief, Remus had not worked up the courage to approach a girl, and he doubted he would any time before graduation.
He climbed up onto his bed, placing the red heart-shaped box out in front of himself. Gently he lifted off the lid, placing it upside-down nearby. Two dozen chocolates peered up at him. Nougats, caramels, and a wide assortment of crèmes: chocolate, strawberry, coconut, orange…
"Someone special," Remus selected a particularly delectable looking piece with a swirl of yellow frosting, popping it into his mouth, "I should think so!"