Of Ice Mice and Men – by cheesekakke
Subtitle: The Marauders and Candy
A/N: The idea popped into my head sometime back, and seeing as I am currently unable to write anything new, I thought I might post this to tide you guys over. The character's are Jo's not mine, so if you're going to sue, find someone else.
Sorry to disappoint if you were wanting something long and drawn out like Charles Dickens. This fic is short, sweet and to the point.
The first rays of the waning gibbous attacked and won the battle with the gauzy curtains that tried in desperation to keep the light out of the now quiet room. But it did absolutely nothing to disturb its occupants; both were wide eyed, eagerly waiting for their fellow friends of the night to show up. The heavy oak door of the Hospital wing creaked open slowly and the two slipper-clad Gryffindors crept into the room, being careful not to wake the sleeping adults. There was suddenly a muffled thump, a small 'oh' of pain, and an over-exaggerated 'shhh' that could have only been made by two people.
Remus pulled his aquamarine shirt over his head, in an attempt to hide the hideous scars that lay in jagged stripes across his back, evidence of the torture that the full moon had delivered to him. He had gone ridiculously 'wolf-mad', as Sirius might say, from seeing Snape. The sight and the longing for the taste of human had gotten both Moony and Prongs landed in the Hospital wing, for Moony had fought hard against Prongs for the taste of human flesh. Moony's report said nothing more than the usual cryptic information, 'his regular monthly symptoms' accompanied by a footnote that read, 'a bit worse than usual, must deliver a stronger dose of medication'. Prongs' report, the poor thing, was equally cryptic (massive blood-loss, life-threatening cuts and internal injuries; reason unknown) but enough that Madam Pomfrey would treat it. Remus actually doubted the 'life-threatening' part, he was positive that James would be seen wreaking havoc in the corridors by the next morning. He also doubted that Madam Pomfrey couldn't guess the cause, after all, she had been treating werewolf inflicted injuries for nearly six years now.
James didn't blame Remus for anything, he had just said that it wasn't his fault; his alter ego had taken over and corrupted his brain. The Remus they knew wasn't at all like the werewolf they encountered once a month. But as Remus sat there, waiting for Peter to stop whimpering and nurse his toe wounds, he couldn't help but try and face the fact that they were the same person, that the wolf was always dormant inside Remus, and could be woken at any moment, and that the Remus lived inside of the wolf too. Three years of trying, endless scratches and bruises only confirmed that the wolf couldn't be broken to reveal the human underneath.
"Honeydukes tonight! Lambert promised to sneak some prototypes of the new candy they're planning. Should be good. I also got Rosemerta to give us some Butterbeer, but she was serving some rum at the time, so maybe…" Sirius trailed off looking hopeful. James had wrenched open his curtains at the mention of Honeydukes, then chuckled softly at the optimistic note Sirius had ended on.
"Forget it Pad. If she's kept her job this long, then she's sure as hell not been serving alcohol to minors. But what's this about the prototype?" James had been speaking quite softly, for one of his serious cuts had been right across his Adam's apple, which now was swollen and red. Sirius drew out two packages, one wrapped in an ice blue wrap, the other in brown. He set one in front of James, and then wrenched open the curtains to Remus' bed, where he was wide awake, eagerly waiting for his. Both ripped open the wrap, like hungry lions devouring a scrap of meat. To their disappointment, what lay in front of them were nothing but four ice cubes, fresh and glistening, waiting to be dropped in the evening's pumpkin juice.
"Sirius-" Remus began warningly, but Sirius stopped him with a raise of his hand.
"Lambert snuck them to me as I was leaving. He said for me to try them out on my little friends then come back with suggestion of what to add, and what to take away. He's only just developed them, so he advised us not to give to a sick person." Sirius' face fell, when he saw Remus push them away, a seeming look of disgust plastered on his visage. Inside, Remus just wanted the candy.
"Well, I could just take them back, you know. He gave them to me seeing that I was a valuable customer-"
"-Rich bastard' Sirius rolled his eyes and shot Peter a death glare that he usually just reserved for Snape.
"Whatever, same difference. Anyways, do have them, please Remus, I brought them just for you. You'll enjoy them, I'm sure." Seeing Remus trying to make a tough decision, Sirius just couldn't resist adding, "It tastes chocolaty." Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius, then grabbed an ice cube and put it into his mouth. The others watched his face as he sucked the sweet, and then swallowed it. He paused, savoring the taste in his mouth then turned to Sirius eagerly. He swallowed, screwed up his face and shook his head.
"What are they called?" James popped one of his in his mouth and sucked it, flinching every now and then. Sirius looked at Peter for a suggestion, then shrugged when he received no answer.
"Dunno. Lambert said we could name them." James had finished his and turned to Remus nodding in approval. The experience had been the same for both boys, a tasty ice-like sweet going down the throat and the moment it reached the stomach it squirmed like there was a particularly nasty rodent in there. Remus got a gut feeling in his squirming stomach that told him that he was about to be attacked in some way or the other.
"Good." James finally concluded, and Sirius jumped on top of Remus with his mouth open eagerly waiting for a bite. Remus stuck one into his mouth, at the same time recoiling in disgust, and James, the ever diplomatic handed his solemnly to Peter, and had another one himself. The four boys sat in silence for while, their mouths moving until they were done. There was a still pause right before Madam Pomfrey was awakened to the shout of:
"ICE MICE!"
A/N: See, it's very old. I don't expect too many reviews with this one, just a little fun thing that I decided to post. Surprise me by clicking the little button that says review. I will be continuing my Mirror fic, so don't give up on me there yet.
And kudos to whoever can tell me who wrote the book that the title of this story came from.