Written as part of the Wolfstar Big Bang Fest 2019, thank you guys for organising this! Story inspired by Ruthsic's artwork (check out her work on deviantart)
Sirius Black was many things: Prankster. Marauder. Gryffindor. The hottest guy in his year (and that wasn't merely an opinion but an empirical fact, according to Moony). He was a dab hand at Transfiguration and a shameless Mugglephile. He had been accused of being a bit of an insensitive git at times—and he would be the first to admit that was true—but above all else, he was unabashedly crazy in love with one Remus John Lupin. Yes, Sirius Black was all of these things and much more.
But a romantic?
"You're having a laugh," he scoffed.
"I'm serious!" said James. "Look, I get it, you're not the romantic type, but Moony will be expecting you to do something for Valentine's Day."
James and Sirius walked slowly up the path from Hogwarts towards the nearby village of Hogsmeade, their feet slipping every so often on the soft muddy trail. Sirius looked uncertainly at his best friend.
"You really think so?" he asked.
"I know so," said James. "I heard him and Lily talking about it last night in the library. He said that since it's your first Valentine's together as a couple, he wanted to get something extra-special for you to celebrate."
"Really?" asked Sirius interestedly. "Did he say what he's got me?"
"He did," James laughed, "But I'm not telling you."
"Come on, Prongs, at least give me a clue!" Sirius implored, but James refused.
"Rather than wasting your time guessing what Moony has got for you, you ought to think about what kind of gift you're going to get him," he suggested lightly.
"Oh, I don't know. I'm going to need some time to think about it—hold up! What were you doing in the library?" asked Sirius accusingly.
"Studying, if you must know," he replied defensively. "Not all of us can coast on natural ability alone, Padfoot. Besides, if I want to have any chance in hell at getting a place at the Auror Academy, I need to ace Potions this year."
"Ah, so your late night study sessions with Evans isn't just a thinly-veiled excuse to get a shag?" Sirius winked licentiously at James, who rolled his eyes.
"No, we actually do study together," he replied irritably. "Unlike you, I'm capable of sitting with my significant other for more than a few minutes without wanting to jump their bones."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," smirked Sirius.
"We're getting slightly off-topic here," said James. "We're going to go into Hogsmeade today and find you a decent gift for Moony. And it better be something romantic, not like the stuff you usually give each other."
Sirius frowned. A romantic gift? This was unfamiliar territory for him.
It had been a few months since Sirius and Remus had officially started dating, but their relationship hadn't changed all that much: they didn't buy each other flowers or recite poetry to one another, and the gifts that they had exchanged had been of a more humorous nature than anything of romantic intent. On Remus's last birthday, Sirius had gifted him a handsome dragon-leather dog collar and then, for Christmas, he had given Remus a box of 'Formula 'D' Flea' powder. 'For your furry little problem', he had joked. Remus had not been amused by that particular gift. But his boyfriend gave as good as he got: for Sirius' birthday, Remus had gifted him a dog grooming kit, which Sirius would never admit actually came in handy. And his last Christmas present had been particularly devious...
Remus handed over a large box of Honeydukes finest chocolates to Sirius, a placid smile on his face.
"Merry Christmas, Pads," he said serenely. Sirius grinned broadly at him.
"Now, Moony, you know that chocolate is bad for dogs," he joked. He tore the lid off of the box and stared hungrily at the delectable treats. "But you know that I like things that are bad for me so...carpe diem!"
Sirius plucked a large piece of chocolate from the centre of the box and popped it into his mouth, expecting there to be a soft, chewy texture, but when he sank his teeth into the confection, there was an unexpected crunch. Sirius chewed slowly, trying to figure out what on earth he was eating as a wicked grin spread across Remus's normally placid face.
"This tastes...weird," mumbled Sirius through a mouthful of food. He eyed Remus suspiciously. "Did you tamper with this?"
Remus grinned as he pulled from behind his back a box of dog biscuits. "I may have made some slight improvements."
After Sirius had chased a howling Remus around the Gryffindor Common Room for a few minutes, he had seen the funny side to the prank.
But now James was telling him that his usual prank gifts weren't going to be up to scratch. Worse still, Remus was himself planning something 'extra-special' to celebrate the occasion. Sirius thought about what kind of gift he should get Remus and felt a stab of panic as his mind drew a complete blank.
"Urgh, I'm no good at this kind of thing," he despaired. "What am I going to do?"
"Not to worry, Pads!" James patted him jovially on the back. "I'll help you find the perfect gift. I am a veritable Casanova, after all."
Sirius snorted, "Oh yes, pining after Evans for the last three years until she lost the plot and decided that you were boyfriend material after all. Please, tell me your secrets of seduction!"
"Do you want my help finding a gift or not?" James grumbled.
"Yes, please," he smirked.
"Alright," James nodded, a look of determination fixed on his face. "So, where to first?"
They stood at the top of the hill overlooking the long row of village shops, students and locals milling along the street enjoying a rare bit of winter sunshine. Each shop was taking advantage of the upcoming festivities and was touting Valentine-themed wares in their display windows. James nodded in the direction of Zonko's Joke Shop which had a display of fireworks in the shop window.
"What about fireworks?" he suggested. "Those ones spell out the name of your Valentine."
Sirius, however, was quick to dismiss this idea. "I don't think he'd appreciate that, mate. Canines like myself and Moony don't like loud noises."
"Fair enough, that's a no to fireworks. How about…" James nodded towards Madam Puddifoot's. "Afternoon tea? I'm thinking about taking Lily there, we could make it a double date!"
Sirius scrunched up his nose at the idea. "Do Moony and I look like a doilies-and-frills type of couple? I'd be better off taking him to The Three Broomsticks for a pint at this rate."
"How romantic," James replied dryly.
They wandered up and down the street, in and out of shops, in search of the perfect gift, but coming up empty-handed. Sirius proceeded to shoot down every suggestion that James threw at him. What about a book? Moony loves poetry. No, that was too boring. What about buying him some nice clothes from Gladrags Wizardwear? Certainly not, Moony would take offence at Sirius spending too much money on him. After Sirius scoffed at James's suggestion that he should buy Remus a personalised stationery set, he stopped dead in his tracks and glowered at Sirius.
"Well, since all my ideas are rubbish, what do you suggest?" he asked, sounding frustrated.
Sirius sighed and stared helplessly up and down the street, peering into the shop windows but seeing nothing that sparked his interest, "I suppose I could always get him chocolates from Honeydukes. But that's not very special, or funny."
"Oh yes, I'm sure what Moony desires more than anything else in the world is another one of your pranks," James joked.
"What's wrong with my pranks?" asked Sirius defensively.
"Nothing, I think you're hilarious. But it's not really in the spirit of the occasion to prank your Valentine, is it?"
"Well, what are you getting Lily, since you're such an expert?" he grumbled.
"Come on and I'll show you," said James, pulling Sirius by the elbow in the direction of the post office.
While James approached the counter to speak to the clerk, Sirius waited by the door admiring the many hundreds of owls who sat perched on colour-coded shelves, each waiting to deliver letters and parcels up and down the country. He'd always been rather fond of birds and somewhat envious of their ability to fly. If his Animagus form hadn't taken that of a dog, he was certain it would have been something of a feathered variety. After a few minutes, James hurried back towards Sirius carrying a long, rectangular box. Sirius eyed it curiously.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Not here, I'll show you back up at the castle." James slipped the box deep inside his cloak and out of sight. Having given up their search for a gift, they headed back up to the castle. James waited until they were back in the seclusion of the boys' dormitory before pulling the gift out from his cloak again.
"I had it sent to the post office rather than the Great Hall. That way, I could keep it a surprise from Lily," he explained, carefully unwrapping the brown paper and removing the cardboard lid from the box. Sirius peered inside the box and frowned.
"Well, that's a little underwhelming," he mused as James lifted a single tiger lily flower from the box and inspected it closely, twirling its long stem between his forefinger and thumb.
"It's perfect," smiled James.
"For what, exactly?" asked Sirius. "I'm assuming that there's something more to this than meets the eye?"
"Well, obviously this isn't the finished product. I'm going to have to spend some time transfiguring it. But when it's finished…" James carefully placed the lily back into the box and replaced the lid. "It's going to look pretty spectacular."
The dormitory door creaked open and James quickly hid the box behind his back, then visibly relaxed when he realised that it was only Remus who had entered the room and not his girlfriend. Remus, however, stopped dead in his tracks when he caught sight of Sirius. He quickly fixed a smile to his face and tried not-too-subtly to hide a large bag beneath his cloak.
"Afternoon, lads," he greeted them as he beelined for his trunk. "How was your shopping trip?"
"A roaring success!" lied Sirius, clapping James on the shoulder. "Prongs has got Evans the most original gift imaginable for Valentine's Day. Can you guess what it is?"
"It wouldn't be lilies, would it?" asked Remus lightly, stuffing the mysterious bag into the bottom of his trunk and out of sight. James glowered at his friends.
"Give me some bloody credit, I'm not just giving her flowers," he grumbled. "I actually try and make an effort with my gifts, unlike some people…"
Sirius ignored the jab directed at him and eyed Remus' secretive behaviour with interest. "What's that you've got there, Moony?"
"Nothing for you," he teased, slamming the lid of his trunk shut before casting a locking charm on it for good measure. Rising to his feet, he smiled at the pair and nodded in the direction of the stairwell. "Wormtail's thinking about sending a Valentine-gram to Emmeline Vance. He's sitting in the common room at the moment getting his wand in a right knot trying to figure out what to say to her."
James raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Emmeline Vance? Merlin, I think Wormtail's punching above his weight a bit where she's concerned."
Remus shrugged. "I'm not privy to who Emmeline spends her time with, but Wormy seems pretty determined to declare his undying love for her. I think he might need our help."
"Poetry is more your area of expertise, Moony," James pointed out, stowing the cardboard box at the very top of his trunk. Sirius's ears pricked up at that comment and Remus laughed.
"I like reading it, but that doesn't mean that I'm any good at writing it!" he argued. "Still, I think we should try giving Wormtail a hand...he seemed pretty desperate when I spoke to him."
"Alright," sighed James, relenting. "At the very least it'll give us a laugh."
Sirius followed James and Remus down the spiral staircase towards the common room, feeling a little irritated at James's insinuation that he wasn't making an effort. James might think that he was not capable of taking anything seriously—on the contrary, if there was one thing that he did take seriously, it was his feelings about Remus. His determination to make his best mate eat his words was only matched by his desire to find a gift worthy of his beloved beau. He smiled to himself as an idea for the perfect Valentine's gift began to take form in his mind.
Oh yes, this was going to be the best Valentine's Day ever.