Sunday, February 27, 1977
"Looks like it snowed at least a foot overnight," Peter observed, peering out the common room window through the frost that covered the glass. "And it hasn't let up yet."
"I love when it snows," Remus said. He glanced up from his book and watched the snow slowly blanketing the grounds outside the window, a contented smile brightening his pale face. "It's perfect reading weather."
"It really is, isn't it?" Lily agreed, tucking her blanket tighter around herself. "It makes me feel so cozy." She sighed happily and turned a page of her book.
Remus opened a chocolate bar and broke off a piece, then passed it to Lily wordlessly. She smiled and broke off a piece for herself. They both chewed slowly, savoring the taste of the chocolate and the warmth of the fire.
"You know, sometimes I feel like you two are the same person," James remarked thoughtfully.
"Shit, you're right, Prongs," Sirius said. He watched as Remus popped the rest of his chocolate into his mouth before pulling his baggy cardigan sleeve over his hand so that only the tips of his fingers peeked out.
"Definitely the same," Peter agreed, nodding.
"But if they're the same person, how come you've never asked out Lupin?" Mary pointed out. She lay on her stomach in front of the fire; she had one of her textbooks spread out in front of her, but apparently she had run out of motivation, because she had taken no further steps to complete any homework. "Actually, he has a nicer arse than Lily, if I'm being honest."
Remus chuckled and looked at her strangely. "Er, thanks?"
"You're quite welcome," Mary said without even the barest hint of embarrassment. "I definitely wouldn't throw you out of bed."
"Are you saying I have a flat arse?" Lily asked indignantly, setting down her book and crossing her arms.
"Technically I didn't come out and say it, I only implied it," Mary pointed out.
"Don't listen to her, Evans," James said bracingly. "Your arse is lovely. Not that, you know, I've been looking."
Lily shook her head and picked up her book again. "I've had enough of this odd conversation. I'm going back to reading."
"Me too," Remus agreed, settling into his chair.
"Enjoy the next half hour of reading, because after that we're going sledding," James announced.
"Oh, are we?" said Lily. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were making decisions for all of us now."
"That's all right, now you know," James replied cheerfully.
"Where do you propose we get sleds?" Mary asked. "Unless you happen to have some just lying around."
"As a matter of fact, I do," James said. "There are only four, so some of us will have to double up."
"Let me guess," Lily said, rolling her eyes but not quite managing to hide the slight smile playing at her lips. "You're going to suggest that I share a sled with you."
"Actually, I was hoping to share with Remus," James said. "But if you insist, Evans, I suppose we can share instead. Now, I'll stop bothering you so you can enjoy your uninterrupted half hour of reading before we go."
Lily sighed and glanced at Remus. "What do you think, should we just give in and go now?"
"Yeah, we may as well," Remus agreed, closing his book and getting to his feet, then offering Lily a hand up. "But when we come back in, we're reading for the rest of the evening, and you better not bother us. That means you, Padfoot! No asking questions about the plot of the book, and then making comments about how boring or silly it sounds." He stared at Sirius pointedly.
"I would never do such a thing," Sirius protested.
"We promise not to bother you," James said. "In fact, we'll shout at anyone who does. Now let's get going."
A short time later they all stood gathered at the top of the hill behind the Quidditch pitch, bundled in multiple layers and dragging four sleds. Snow fell slowly and collected in their hair, and the brisk February air brightened their cheeks and numbed their fingers.
"Want to go first, Padfoot?" James asked. "Test out the conditions?"
"Why not," Sirius said, hopping onto the sled. James gave him a push, and the sled began to inch slowly down the hill, gathering speed as it went, so that by the end Sirius was flying and had to jump off at the last second to avoid crashing into a tree. He stood, dusting snow from his knees, and gave them a thumbs up.
"This seems a bit dangerous," Lily pointed out, eyeing the trees at the bottom of the hill pointedly.
"I mean, it's us," James replied. "Most of what we do is a bit dangerous." He turned to Remus and Peter. "You two want to go next and race down? Evans and I will give you a push."
After Remus and Peter hurtled down the hill and came to a stop at the bottom where Sirius declared Peter the winner, James gestured at the last sled. "You two can go next. Just keep an eye on how close you're getting to the trees, and be prepared to jump off if you need to, because if you don't it's not pretty." He grinned and pointed down the hill. "See that big tree next to where Peter's standing? I hit it at full speed. I was standing up on the sled, because Sirius did it, so of course I had to try. I stayed upright the whole time, it was brilliant, but I was so excited that I'd managed it that I forgot to jump off before the tree." He grimaced.
"Were you hurt?" Mary asked.
"Not too bad. I broke my glasses and was a bit bruised and cut up, but I've had worse. It could have been bad, though, so keep your wits about you, all right?"
"We'll be fine," Lily assured him. She settled herself onto the sled and gestured for Mary to sit behind her. Mary squeezed onto the back of the sled and wrapped her arms around Lily's waist. She felt a delicious thrill of anticipation as James gave the sled a shove and they started the descent down the hill. As the sled picked up speed, the wind tugged at her hair and the falling snow obscured her vision so she could hardly tell where they were going. She tightened her grip on Lily and let out an involuntary shriek of fear and exhilaration.
"Are we heading for the tree?" she asked, her mouth close to Lily's ear.
"I can't exactly tell," Lily admitted. "I think we'd better jump off just to be safe."
"Now?" Mary asked.
"Let's go on the count of three," Lily replied. "One, two, three!" Mary released her arms from around Lily's waist and flung herself off to the right as far from the sled as she could, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Lily jump in the opposite direction. For a moment, time slowed down and she felt weightless as her body flew through the air. Then she landed hard, sending a puff of powdery snow into the air as her body hit the ground. She heard whoops and cheers, and blinking to try to clear the snow from her eyes, she looked up to see Sirius standing over her and grinning.
"Well done, Macdonald," Sirius said, grasping her hand and heaving her to her feet. "You got some real air when you jumped off. You didn't actually have to jump off, as you weren't even close to the tree, but still, it looked rather impressive."
"I couldn't see shit, and I don't think Lily could either," Mary explained, chuckling and shaking the snow from her clothes. She noticed a few snowflakes resting on Sirius's long eyelashes; she also noticed how irresistible he looked, with his cheeks flushed from the cold and snow collecting on the shoulders of his leather jacket.
"Aren't you cold?" she asked, brushing snow from his jacket and tugging on a half-frozen lock of hair. "You're hardly dressed for the weather."
"I'm never cold," Sirius said indifferently. "I can't stand wearing a bunch of layers - it's not really my style." He adjusted her red and gold woolen hat, which had been disarranged when she jumped off the sled. "The bundled up look suits you, though."
She laughed and looked at him skeptically. "Oh, yeah, wearing two jumpers and having melting snow dripping down my neck is the sexy look I was going for today."
He shrugged. "It's working for me," he said, then he leaned in and kissed her, warming her numb lips and making her heart race even faster than when she had believed herself about to crash into a tree. When he pulled away, he smiled at her for a moment, then grabbed her gloved hand and led her back up the hill.
"Let's go, Padfoot. You and Macdonald versus me and Evans," James said, taking a seat on one of the sleds and motioning for Lily to join him.
"All right," Sirius agreed, sitting down at the back of the sled. "You go in front, Macdonald. It'll make us more aerodynamic."
"But if we crash, I'll be the first to die," she said, nevertheless grinning and sitting down in front of Sirius.
"Then I just won't let us crash," Sirius replied, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. "Moony, give us a push, will you?"
Remus obliged, while Peter gave James and Lily a push. After a slow start, the two sleds picked up speed until the four passengers were careering down the hill. Mary felt her hair pull free from her hat as the wind whipped her face and chilled her body, and could barely tell where they were going, but she found she did not care. She felt safe with Sirius's arms holding her, and she closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the moment of pure, exhilarated bliss.
Eventually, she felt the sled slowing down, and she opened her eyes to see they had come to a stop at the bottom of the hill, perilously close to the tree.
"Why didn't you have us jump off?" Mary demanded.
"Cause I knew we weren't going to hit it," Sirius replied, completely unconcerned. "We beat them, too, absolutely no contest." He pointed a short distance away at James and Lily, both sprawled on the show on their backs after apparently having ditched the sled to avoid hitting the tree. They both watched as James leaned over and said something inaudible to Lily, who giggled before grabbing a fistful of snow and mashing it into his hair. James let out an undignified shriek, then attempted to force snow down the back of Lily's jacket.
"I wish they would go ahead and date already," Mary muttered to Sirius, watching their two friends flirt with a wistful expression on her face. "They'd be so cute together."
"You don't have to convince me," Sirius replied. "I want it to happen almost as much as James does. It's Evans who's holding out. Maybe you could put in a good word?"
Mary laughed. "I've been putting in a good word for over a year, not that it's done any good, as I apparently have terrible taste in men and can't be trusted to give romantic advice." She paused, watching Lily show James the correct way to make a snow angel. "Maybe I should tell her she's been right all along, James Potter is an arrogant git and she'd be better off dating literally anyone else in the school. You know? Because so far when I've given her advice she does the opposite, so maybe it will work the other way?"
"Hmmm," Sirius mused. "It's an idea. Can't hurt to try, I suppose, but something tells me Evans isn't going to fall for that. She's bloody stubborn."
Mary sighed. "So bloody stubborn. Oh well, I suppose we'll have to just be patient."
"Patience is not a trait I have an abundance of," Sirius said, grinning and starting up the hill again. "Come on, let's have another go. I think we can go even faster if Remus gets a running start."
When they reached the top of the hill, they found Remus and Peter avidly watching James and Lily throwing snowballs at each other.
"You seeing this, Padfoot?" Remus asked.
"Sure am," Sirius confirmed. "Best thing I've seen in a while, except maybe when I saw you walk into the common room wearing four jumpers earlier, beating your previous record of three jumpers at once."
"Well, it's bloody cold out here," Remus replied.
"I know, I know, I just enjoy giving you shit." He pulled his wand from his pocket and Summoned the sled, then positioned it so they had the best chance of avoiding both the tree and James and Lily, who seemed to be in the exact state of flirtatious obliviousness that would prevent them from noticing a sled hurtling toward them at top speed. "Can you give us another push, but this time get a running start?" Sirius asked. "I want to see if we can go a bit faster. I swear once I got the sled to lift off the ground going over that bumpy bit in the middle of the hill."
"What if you sit in the front?" Peter suggested, tearing his eyes away from James and Lily to join the conversation. "Maybe if there's more weight in the front it will let the sled pick up more speed."
"Is that a bloody fat joke?" Sirius asked, assuming an offended air, then dismissing Peter's spluttered reply with a wave of his hand. "No, it's fine, Wormtail, just don't be surprised if Clarence makes a reappearance." He hopped on the sled and slid all the way to the front, leaving room for Mary to sit behind him. "Even though I found your suggestion horribly offensive, I'll try it anyway, just for kicks."
Mary squeezed in behind him and held on tight, then a moment later she felt the sled shoot forward after Remus gave it a hard shove. She heard Remus and Peter cheering them on, but their voices already sounded muted and far away as the sled rocketed down the hill. Sirius let out a gleeful whoop as the sled hit a small bump and was airborne for a few seconds.
"That was brilliant, wasn't it?" he said, turning around to face her, and before she had a chance to respond his mouth was on hers. She reached up and tangled her fingers in his slightly frozen hair, and his breath felt warm on her chilled skin. For a few moments they both savored the intoxicating feeling of being pulled swiftly and inexorably toward potential bodily harm and yet not caring in the slightest. Mary closed her eyes and thought wildly that this might be the happiest she had ever been.
Then everything came to a jarring halt as the sled hit the tree with a sickening crunch. Mary was thrown forward; her face hit the tree trunk before she slumped sideways into the snow, slightly dazed and afraid to move.
"Bloody hell, that might have been the dumbest thing I've ever done," she heard Sirius say from somewhere to her left. "Prongs, did you see that?"
"Did you start snogging and forget you were on a sled, you prat?" James asked, sounding both incredulous and amused.
"I did!" Sirius confirmed, almost proud.
Mary blinked several times, then rubbed snow and what she suspected might be blood from her eyes. She saw Sirius laying flat on his back a few feet away, examining a cut on his knuckles and laughing hysterically. He heaved himself to his feet, stumbling several times because he was laughing so hard, and offered her a hand up. The laughter died in his throat as he took in the sight of her.
"Shit, Macdonald, are you all right?" He had split his lip in the crash, and a droplet of blood rolled slowly down his face to drip onto the snow, the bright red contrasting sharply against the fluffy white powder.
"I dunno," she answered honestly. "I think I might be bleeding." She grabbed into his hand and got to her feet unsteadily.
"Are you the sort of girl who panics when you see blood?" Sirius asked, keeping his tone casual.
"No, not really," she replied, reaching up to touch her face, then pulling her hand away to find blood spotting her gloves. "I am bleeding." All of a sudden she realized there was a dull, throbbing pain in her face. "My nose is broken, isn't it?"
"Most likely," Sirius said calmly.
"Merlin, you look a mess!" Lily called shrilly, rushing over to peer at Mary's face, then rounding on Sirius. "Why would you think snogging on a moving sled is a good idea?"
"Don't shout at me, Evans, I'm injured, too!" Sirius argued, pointing at his split lip. "Besides, Macdonald didn't exactly tell me to sod off and steer the sled - she had her hand down my bloody trousers!"
"Whose hand was down whose trousers?" Peter asked, hopping off the sled that he and Remus had ridden down the hill when they noticed something had gone amiss.
"Bertha Jorkins's hand was down your trousers, Pete, if I remember correctly," Sirius retorted, smirking.
"Is this your fault, Padfoot?" Remus asked, giving Mary a sympathetic look.
"Are we just going to stand around talking, or are we going to take her to the hospital wing?" Lily asked, gesturing at the blood now flowing freely down Mary's face and onto her coat.
"No need," James said, drawing his wand. "Unless you'd like to do it, Padfoot?" He raises his eyebrows at Sirius.
"Nah, you better take this one, you're better at it," Sirius said. "Macdonald has a rather adorable nose. I'd hate to be the reason it's crooked."
"Fair enough," James said, before pointing his wand at Mary's nose and saying "Episki."
"How do you know how to do that?" Mary asked, feeling her nose gingerly and finding it entirely healed. "We haven't learned any healing spells yet."
James and Sirius glanced at each other meaningfully, then grinned.
"It comes in handy, considering all the reckless shit we do," Sirius answered.
"Sometimes it's not exactly advisable to go to the hospital wing," James added. "So we've learned to do a few things ourselves. Sirius is the best at healing cuts."
"Are you?" Mary's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"I'm a man of many talents," Sirius replied, winking at her.
"And you're the official broken nose mender?" said Lily.
"Not just broken noses," Peter put in, the admiration in his voice impossible to miss. "He did Sirius's arm once."
"How'd you break your arm?" Lily asked, but Sirius grinned and shook his head.
"Sorry, Evans. Can't tell you, otherwise we'd have to kill you," James replied. He ran a hand through his hair. "You look impressed."
She met his eye, then glanced away, her cheeks slightly pink. "Well, it is rather impressive," she admitted.
"You shouldn't have said that," Remus warned her, nodding his head in James's direction. "Now it's going to go to his head."
"Oh, hush, Moony, when have I ever let anything go to my head?"Although James tried to keep his tone neutral, he couldn't suppress the huge smile that lit up his face."Anyone up for a four way race before it gets too dark and we're forced to go in for a riveting night of reading?" James, Remus, Peter, and Lily trudged up the hill while Sirius and Mary stayed behind to judge the race. Mary reached up and touched Sirius's split lip gently.
"Are you going to fix this later so I can be impressed by your mysterious ability to perform advanced magic?"
Sirius grinned, then grimaced as the motion caused his lip to start bleeding again. "If you're lucky," he replied.
"How's my nose look?" she asked. "Crooked?"
He scrutinized her face, then shook his head. "Not even a little. James knows what he's doing. Although you're still covered in blood. You look a bit like the Bloody Baron, actually."
She laughed. "Brilliant. Does it suit me? Is the Bloody Baron look doing it for you?"
He tilted his head slightly to the side and looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "You know what, it actually is." He chuckled. "What the fuck is wrong with me?"
She shrugged. "Nothing really, except you're possibly the horniest person I've ever met. But that's all right, I rather like it." She slipped her hands into his front pockets.
"Now who's the horny one?"
"Shut up, Black," she replied, grinning. "I'm keeping my hands warm."
They both turned, then hastily jumped out of the way as their four friends came rushing down the hill, laughing and cheering.
"Shit," Mary muttered. "We were meant to be judging the race, weren't we?"
"We were," Sirius said. "Did you happen to see who won?"
"Nope," Mary replied, shaking her head. "Did you?"
"Nope." Sirius grinned. "Want to just say Remus won, then?"
"Why Remus?"
Sirius shrugged. "I dunno, I just feel like out of all of us, he could use a win, you know?"
Mary looked at Remus, clad in his many layers, with his pale face flushed from the cold and lit up with laughter, then glanced at Sirius and smiled. "Yeah, all right."
"It was Moony, no contest!" Sirius called, bounding over to join the group. "None of you tossers even came close!"