Dog Days: A Harry Potter Fanfic, Sirius/OC
{Prologue}
There was never a shortage of firewhiskey in 12 Grimmauld Place; most of it concealed by charms and hidden in cupboards away from the reach of underage hands. The rest of it could usually be found bottled and resting lazily against Sirius Black's lips. Although almost never drunk (or so he'd have everyone believe), Sirius maintained an unhealthy amount of alcohol in his daily diet, despite the constant pestering from Molly to "Put down that glass, Sirius, or so help me Merlin I will take it from you myself!" as she fussed over the brooding residents of the house. So when he padded down the stairs into the kitchen for his nightly drink, Sirius was shocked to find the cellar empty.
"Can't stay sober for a single night, Padfoot?"
Sirius scoffed at the quiet, sarcastic voice of Remus Lupin, turning to find his friend reclined in the faded red armchair adjacent to the softly burning fireplace. A bottle of firewhiskey gleamed gold in his hand.
"Moony, you thieving bastard," he said gruffly, collapsing into the couch across from Remus. He eyed the drink in Lupin's hand. "Seems you've caught on to my deplorable ways."
His mischievous eyes glinted grey in the firelight. Remus snorted, taking a swig of whiskey, letting the pleasant magical burn warm his throat.
"Molly quite thinks you'll drink yourself to death."
Sirius rolled his eyes.
"The woman's a bloody saint. It's awful."
The two shared a rumbling chuckle. Sirius reached to the table and grabbed a bottle of firewiskey for himself, casually popping the lid and bringing the fiery liquid to his lips, letting it sear his throat. The crackling fire illuminated the dark living room in flickering shadows, casting Remus and Sirius' careworn and carefree faces in an orange glow, along with the slowly accumulating effects of alcohol. Sirius didn't ignore the new wrinkles creasing his friend's forehead under the light brown hair that just barely swept his face.
"Furry troubles, Moony?" Sirius asked, eyebrows disappearing beneath the shadows on his face, dark hair falling into the light as he leaned forward. Remus shook his head, scoffing.
"If only," he mumbled, sipping firewhiskey.
"Impossible! The most troubled man alive, wishing for the very thing that haunts him?" Sirius joked, steely eyes glinting. Remus let a half-hearted chuckle raise the side of his mouth. "And here I was thinking there couldn't be another woe to add on to that sorry list of yours."
"Apparently I attract sorrow."
Sirius nodded. "Like a Summoning Charm," he said, studying Remus. Suddenly, a light of realization flicked on in Sirius' head and his thoughts immediately centered on a certain pink-haired cousin of his. "Ah, but that's not the only thing you attract, is it?" Sirius waggled his brows lewdly, letting out a bark-like laugh as Remus sagged back in the armchair and groaned.
"It can't happen, Padfoot; I've told her a thousand times, I'm too old, too poor—"
"Too wolfy?" Sirius offered, cackling at Remus' stony glare. "C'mon, Moony, she's obviously mad for you, and Tonks isn't exactly one to give up easily."
"She's stubborn as a damned gnome."
"And you bloody love it!" Sirius laughed, raising his bottle and drinking. Remus sighed, running a hand through his thin hair in a practiced way. "You'd be all over her by now back at Hogwarts," he added, whiskey bubbling deliciously against his tongue. Remus blew a stream of air out of his nose, similarly tipsy. "Since you obviously still can't get a girl to save your life."
Remus choked on his drink, disbelief thrown across his face like an open book.
"And you couldn't keep it in your pants, you hound, giving all those airheaded swooning girls...oh, what did they call it—"
"Don't, you traitorous prick—"
"Black Attacks!" Remus burst into uncontrollable laughter, pulling Sirius' barking laugh out along with him. "You'd waltz around bewitching those poor girls with your arrogant lack-of-charm and leave them after a quick shag, breaking all their hearts. They'd all mutter curses at you, damning the notorious dog you were." Remus couldn't continue, seized by drunken guffaws. Sirius chuckled dizzily, his own drink turning his thoughts drowsy and light.
"What can I say? The ladies couldn't resist me," he gloated, leaning back on the couch, knees and arms wide.
"They most certainly could. Remember that time just before Christmas holidays, fifth year, when you dumped Georgiana Moran in the broom closet behind the Great Hall to avoid her going home with you and James, and she—"
"Oh, Merlin," Sirius moaned, chuckling into his palm.
"She stormed out after you into the Hall, grabbed the wizard's chess set from Frank and I as we were playing, and bloody beat you senseless with the thing! She was merciless!" Remus roared with laughter at Sirius' expense. Sirius shook his head in a rather doglike manner, pointing the tip of his bottle to Remus and chuckling.
"Alright, dear friend, but do you recall a Miss Jane Brownell?" It was Sirius' turn to cackle as Remus' face turned ashen. "The Madam Puddifoot's Incident, of course you remember? The following year, around our NEWTs, we'd gone out to Hogsmeade and the Marauders and I let it slip that you were having tea with Nathalie West, so Jane sent Nathalie's tea straight down her shirt in a jealous rage as you were pouring it so Nathalie threw the entire kettle all over your sputtering face!" Sirius howled and Remus chuckled warily, face heating as he remembered the unfortunate event.
"Scalding hot, that tea," he said, taking a drink. He snickered. "Not as hot as Collette Winterby, sixth year, after she hexed you in the common room and all you could do was bark like a sad shepherd, not something you're unused to of course, as she screamed at you for the whole house to hear." Remus grinned at Sirius' exasperated sigh.
"You'd have thought she was a Howler, the way she was going off about it." Sirius took a long swing of firewhiskey. "Ophelia Walsh, the one who spit in your Sleeping Draught and set the entire Potions room on fire. Your eyebrows were singed for weeks." He recounted, eyes mirthful despite their sunken hollowness.
Remus' own eyes lit up at the mention of explosions, giving Sirius a sniggering glance.
"Your precious hair didn't grow past your ears for six months after Anastasia Silver," Remus jeered. "You moped around for ages, whining about your 'Beautiful, voluminous hair!' like a narcissistic pig!"
"Rebecca Sothenbury, at the lake—"
"Marissa Fletcher, the Whomping Willow—"
"Beatrice Taylor."
"Vanessa Redding!" Remus yelled, pointing vehemently at Sirius.
"Oh, you wouldn't stoop that low, Moony—"
"Heather Appleby." Remus interjected, grinning wildly. Sirius' eyes blazed with the burning fire.
"Danielle Williams!" he shouted, laughing at Remus' flustered expression.
"That's just cruel, Padfoot." he muttered, both of them taking long swigs from their nearly empty bottles. "Not everyone has your inept and annoyingly obvious flirtatious personality."
"Jealous, Moony? There wasn't one girl I couldn't get." Sirius tipped his bottle to his lips cockily, tone playful. Remus made a halting sound at the back of his throat and slowly shook his head, catching Sirius' attention. He leaned forward, his weary brown eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Mira Stone."
Sirius froze, lips halting against the lip of his cool bottle, nearly spitting back his drink. He forced the firewhiskey down his throat, where it burned uncomfortably as his eyes went wide in shock. Remus' words echoed in Sirius' spinning head, her name surfacing abruptly in his memory where he had submerged it so long ago, spilling fleeting images of dark hair and red ribbons and snarky smiles across his vision like toppled ink. Sirius sighed deeply.
"You've got me there, mate," he muttered, half-chuckling, raising his empty bottle to his lips again, noticing the lack of liquid in it with a frown. Remus sat back slowly, content with victory, and observed the sudden quiet that had captured his normally rambunctious friend. He risked a question, spoken softly.
"Did you …?"
Sirius looked up.
"Love her?" his voice crackled deeply, much like the fire that had begun to dim beside them. He gave a lopsided smile.
Remus nodded, and the two sat in silence, watching the dance of the flames and wondering of love, each thankful for the other's presence, alive and well, friends through and through.
In his silence, Sirius' heart sang a lament, beating to a waltz he wished he could dance again.