Hogwarts Assignment #6, A Study of Magical Objects, Task #2: Write about someone using an otherwise banned object to cheat in something. Whether or not they get away with it is up to you.
Written for Liza for the February Gift-Giving Extravaganza. Prompts chosen: WolfStar + End up getting married in vegas although we're total strangers.
When Remus Lupin woke up in a fancy hotel room bed, he was certain he was dreaming. There was no way any sensible hotel would allow such a shabby human to stay in one of their rooms, especially when he had fallen asleep in his usual ragged attire.
He pinched himself and frowned when he still hadn't woken up. Remus then yawned and started to attempt a sort of his memories from yesterday. Those would hopefully explain why he was still in the room.
The one thing that Remus knew for sure immediately was that he had gotten drunk, as the hangover was evident. He sat up slowly, rubbing at his temples and cursing under his breath. He hadn't gotten that drunk in years.
As he contemplated stirring further to get to the hotel bathroom to get a glass of water when he noticed the plastic ring sitting on his left ring finger.
Yesterday evening...
"Sorry kid, I've got to stop here for the night. Find a bus or something to take you all the way to California."
Remus frowned slightly at being called a kid, since he was in his late-twenties, after all. Then the full meaning of the man's words hit him.
"Wait, so you're leaving me alone in Las Vegas? I don't have the money to grab a bus," he said. He would also have to pay for staying the night somewhere if he were actually to sleep, and Remus had learned to ration his funds from an early age.
Earlier that day, the man had, out of kindness, offered to drive Remus from Nebraska into California, where he was hoping to find a job or do something useful in his life instead of staying with his parents in the most boring state.
Remus gave the man his best "please listen to me" puppy eyes, until the man sighed quietly and pulled out a wad of dollar bills from his wallet. "Here you go. Try not to blow it all on gambling. It's been a pleasure getting to know you... Remus, was it?"
He nodded. "Thank you for the ride, kind sir. Maybe our paths will cross sometime in the future."
With one final wave, the man drove away in his car, and Remus was left staring at the money in his hands in awe. He then turned around and continued gawking at the giant casinos and hotels and all the fancy lights of Vegas.
"What're you just standing there for, kid? Get out of the street," a rough-looking guy said, elbowing Remus out from the middle of the sidewalk and right through one of the casino doors.
It was obvious at once that Remus was extremely out of place there, and he tried to slink into the shadows as much as possible. He accidentally bumped into a waitress serving drinks and nearly fell flat on his face.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you," Remus stuttered, spewing out apologies. The waitress only chuckled.
"You must have never been in Vegas before. Here, take a drink," she said, shoving a glass of who-knows-what into Remus's hands. Then she was gone again in the blink of an eye.
Remus looked around, confused as ever, but decided to take a sip of the mystery drink. Instantly, he felt woozier than he had before, but then he chugged down most of the rest of his drink before thinking.
One guy in particular caught his eye at a blackjack table. He had jet-black hair, leather clothing, a handsome twinkle in his eye, and... not one or two but three duplicate aces up his sleeve. Those were most certainly banned and against the rules, and so Remus stumbled towards the man to alert him, not really thinking at all.
He prodded the man's shoulder, forgetting again about his dirty cardigan. "Jesus, you're hot," Remus said when the man turned towards him, not realizing he had spoken aloud. The man didn't turn back towards the cards game, though, and kept staring at Remus with a strange look on his face that Remus might have been able to analyze had he not been so utterly drunk.
"Hey! Those are cards up Sirius's sleeve!" one of the other men at the table shouted out. It was only then that Sirius broke his long gazing at Remus.
"What the hell are you talking about? I would never cheat, especially at such an amazing casino," Sirius slurred, his face starting to flush red. But as he was speaking, all three of the fake cards fell out of his sleeve, causing Sirius to swear loudly.
Remus felt the need to jump into the argument, despite not knowing any of the men. "Yeah, Sirius would never cheat! You're just delusional."
The other drunk men's attentions turned towards Remus. "And who're you?" one of them asked. "Don't defend a cheater. You're quite obviously new around these parts," he said, giving Remus's cardigan a distasteful glance.
"He's my husband," Sirius said, and Remus could almost believe it in his inebriated state.
"Sure he is. Where're the rings, then? And how come such a cool dude like you would ever like a guy who wears ragged cardigans?"
Sirius hesitated here, but then took Remus's hand. A jolt of warmth shot through him, increasing further when Sirius slipped two cheap and tacky rings onto each of their fingers.
"We're fiances. The wedding is tomorrow. You lot of idiots are all cordially invited, if you wish to come and see for yourselves that we are very much in love. Now if you excuse us, me and my fiance are headed back to a hotel now."
Sirius gave them all the middle finger before walking away, still hand-in-hand with a slackjawed Remus.