Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition
[Season 9] - Round 7: Whoops!
Team: Chudley Cannons
Position: Beater 1 - Write about a backfired hex or jinx
Bonus Prompts:
2. (setting) Hogwarts Hospital Wing,
4. (word) invisible
11. (relationship) rivals
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Written for Chudley Cannon Team Challenge
Prompt: Write your least favourite character(s) in a positive light: Snape
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Thanks to Ashleigh and Hannah for betaing!
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Word count: 2097
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A/N Remus is a Slytherin in this one.
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Sirius turned around, only just catching Lupin's face turning from delighted to displeased. He sent a growl Sirius' way. Both boys stared at each other, neither giving any signs of moving.
Slughorn had made new pairs for them in Potions and had put Sirius and Lupin together. Peter was thrilled, probably, because he was partnered with James. Sirius was also secretly thrilled about being partnered with the Slytherin, though he would never admit it.
Peter was hanging by the table, waiting for him to leave, and Sirius wished he would go away. Seeing as Lupin was sitting alone - like he always did - Sirius would have to be the one to move, and he did not want to lose. They kept staring at each other.
"Black, move next to Lupin, will you?" Slughorn said.
Lupin smirked, looking all too pleased with himself, as Sirius dragged himself across the room, threw his bag at Lupin's feet and slumped into his seat. Lupin obviously had perfect posture, and Sirius knew it was only to add a few extra inches to his height.
Slughorn clapped his hands and began the lesson.
Lupin immediately picked up his quill, ready to scribble notes. Sirius didn't, intent on annoying Lupin. He knew it pissed Lupin off that he barely tried, yet succeeded in every class.
"Today we will be brewing a mild form of amortentia. Can anyone tell me anything about this potion?"
Sirius' and Lupin's hands both flew into the air, both eager to answer the question and gloat when getting it correctly. Slughorn, who favoured his own house and usually always gave them the options to earn house points, pointed at Lupin.
"Amortentia is known as a love potion, although it can't create true love. It has a different aroma to anyone who smells it according to what attracts them, and might even know what or who will attract you, before you do."
"Very well put, Mr Lupin. Ten points to Slytherin."
Lupin leaned back, turning his head ever so slightly to glance at Sirius with a smirk on his lips. Sirius rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to Slughorn, who was explaining that they were brewing a mild form of the potion today; the same kind you would find in joke shops, which was designed to only affect in a mild degree and for a short amount of time.
As soon as Slughorn said go, Lupin was out of his seat to gather ingredients. Sirius slumped back in his seat, ready for what was about to come. Lupin might be brilliant and smart, but he was rubbish with the practical side of potions, and Sirius took great pleasure in correcting every little thing he did.
Lupin came back and put the ingredients on the table, and had already made his first mistake, much to the delight of Sirius.
"You can't put the peppermint next to the powdered moonstone."
Lupin rolled his eyes. "You're making that up."
"Nah. Peppermint has a very strong scent that can affect the effectiveness of the powdered moonstone which has a milder scent." Sirius leaned forward in his seat to see Lupin's face more clearly. "This is basic stuff; any decent student would know."
Sirius smugly watched the confusion and inner turmoil Lupin had. Sirius had him trapped; Lupin either had to admit defeat and separate the ingredients or ignore what Sirius said and possibly ruin the Potion.
In the end, Lupin separated the ingredients and very pointedly ignored Sirius' gaze.
They continued like that. With Sirius criticising everything Lupin did, and in the most annoying way possible, showed him how it actually had to be done. Sickly sweet fumes rose from their cauldron, and as they progressed, it turned into something else.
Two of the scents were easy to identify. The first one was from a burning fireplace, wood furniture and sweets from Honeydukes, clearly, the Gryffindor common room. The second scent was a Christmas dinner, warmth and the flowery perfume Mrs Potter used. But he couldn't quite place the last one because the scent of Lupin's cologne was too strong.
Sirius glanced at Lupin, who was hovering over the cauldron with closed eyes. A red colour slowly painted his cheeks and neck, making all his freckles stand out even more. Sirius hadn't realized he was staring till Lupin suddenly fumbled backwards. He quickly began clearing the table and refused to meet Sirius' gaze for the rest of the class.
Lupin even stormed out of the room once class was finished, leaving Sirius to stare after him and wonder what had happened.
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Sirius was biting his quill in the common room later that evening. He had spent all day wondering why Lupin had acted so strange, but not coming to any satisfying conclusion.
He threw the quill across the table and groaned in frustration.
Lily looked up from her essay, eyebrows furrowed. After James and she became prefects, they had gotten quite close, and slowly, Lily had joined their little group of friends from time to time. Although it was all still recent, and she wasn't used to his antics.
"What's that about?"
Without looking up from his book, James answered. "He's thinking about Lupin, again."
Lily's frown deepened. "Who?"
Sirius stared at her for a long moment. "Remus Lupin."
She raised her eyebrow, looking as confused as before. Sirius continued staring at her till she shrugged.
"Slytherin. Our year. We have Potions and Ancient Runes with him. He's super tall, has tawny hair and eats chocolate all the time. Always sits in the back of the class."
Lily hesitated. "I think I know who you mean."
Sirius kept staring at her with wide eyes and furrowed brows. She didn't seem like the sort to take the piss on him, so he ruled that out.
But the whole interaction had Sirius confused. Why hadn't she remembered him? Remus Lupin was a very memorable person with that stupid hair and smug smile and perfect lips. And they had gone to school with him for five years now. He stared at James for help, but he just shrugged.
"Honestly, I wouldn't have known who he was if it wasn't for you talking about him all the time. That guy is invisible."
"Screw that," Peter chipped in. "He would be more noticeable if he was invisible."
James snorted and Peter leaned back in his chair, satisfied at having made him laugh.
Sirius leaned back as well, but to ponder over what he just learned.
Lupin always sat alone in class and in the Great Hall. Even in the library. He didn't appear to have any friends either. Sirius hadn't even noticed him before their duel in third year.
Some seventh years had taken it upon themselves to teach younger students about duelling, and Sirius had been paired with Lupin, thinking it was going to be easy. But Lupin had proved him wrong. They fought for an hour before Lupin won.
It had been devastating. The Black Heir had lost to some half-blood outcast. From that day forward, Sirius swore to never lose to Lupin again. It seemed Lupin had had the same idea, because ever since then, they had been competing constantly.
As a side effect, Lupin was always on his mind, and therefore Sirius couldn't comprehend that no one else seemed to notice him.
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Sirius didn't see Lupin until two days later. He was walking down the hallway, keeping to the shadows and went unnoticed by everyone. Unable to control himself, Sirius followed.
They were alone in a hallway when Sirius loudly yelled: "Lupin!"
Lupin started and turned around slowly. Usually, he would be smirking, ready for whatever challenge Sirius would throw at him. But now he was hunched over and refused to even meet Sirius' gaze.
"What are you up to?"
Lupin bit back a smile and some of his usual cheekiness came back. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Yes. That's why I asked." Sirius took a step forward and cocked his head. "Are you stupid or something?"
Lupin hesitated, almost as if expecting him to continue. He spoke after a few moments. "Is there anything you want, or did you just come to bother me?"
"I know you love it when I do," Sirius smirked.
Lupin's face quickly turned red. His eyes flickered between Sirius' face and the floor and he was about to speak, but someone behind Sirius beat him to it.
"Aw look. Loony Loopy Lupin has got a crush."
Sirius turned around and found himself face-to-face with Severus Snape. As usual, he didn't appear to have showered for days and certainly smelled like he hadn't. He was wearing a creepy smug smile on his lips.
"Run along, Snivellus!"
But Snape stood still, smile only getting wider and creepier. "Sure. Bet Loopy would love that. Would love to get you alone. Wouldn't you, Loopy?" The last question was directed at Lupin.
Sirius dared a look behind him. Lupin's whole face and neck were red. He was pulling down on his beanie, trying to keep his face hidden from Sirius. Snape suddenly laughed mockingly, making Sirius turn around again and point his wand at him, though he knew Snape was the best dueler in school.
"Piss off," Sirius snarled.
Unaffected, Snape casually walked in a big circle around them, twisting his wand between his fingers. "I heard him; you know. In the dorm when he thought everyone was asleep. Always knew he was loopy, but this…" Snape came to a halt. "Imagine my surprise when he moaned your name, Black."
Sirius was momentarily rattled, and Snape took the opportunity to point his wand at Lupin. Sirius quickly jumped in front of Lupin, and the hex hit him instead, causing red boils to grow on his skin. They stung, but Sirius didn't let it stop him.
Snape seemed satisfied at this development and cast a spell on himself, just as Sirius yelled: "Locomotor Wibbly."
The hex shot across the hall and hit Snape in the chest, but immediately bounced back, hitting Sirius instead. His legs gave up and he fell to the ground, landing face-first on the floor.
Lupin fell to his knees and grabbed Sirius' shoulders to turn him around and assess the damage.
Snape cackled. "Backfiring Jinx. Very effective." He stayed silent as Sirius grabbed Lupin and pulled him closer, then smirked just as creepily as before and winked at Lupin. "You're welcome."
He left and Sirius passed out.
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He woke up to the bright light in the Hospital Wing.
Sirius blinked, then glanced down his body. The boils were gone, but there were still a few itchy spots on his skin. He moved his toes and happily noted that the jelly-leg jinx was gone.
"You okay?"
Sirius started. Lupin was sitting next to the bed, wringing his hands and looking very uncomfortable.
"What, you're worried about me or something?" He smirked.
Lupin rolled his eyes and held back a smile. "Just making sure you're at full health so it'll be fair game when I win. And, well… because you saved me by jumping in front of Snape's hex."
Madam Pomfrey chose that moment to come over and do a checkup. She asked about a million questions about how he was feeling, and where it hurt before giving him a potion for the itching and because it was dinner time, she also gave him a sandwich with instructions to eat all of it.
They sat in silence several minutes before Lupin spoke.
"About what Snape said… it was all a lie. He just said it because he's the worst." Lupin wouldn't meet Sirius' eye as he said it, instead, staring firmly at the floor. His face slowly turned red again.
Sirius smiled lazily, not even realizing what he was saying before the words left his mouth. "That's disappointing."
Lupin almost snatched his neck. He stared at Sirius with a glint of hope in his eyes. "It is?"
He blinked at him. "Yeah."
Lupin had this dopey grin on his face and the blush made his freckles stand out; Sirius had to admit he was cute.
And suddenly it dawned on Sirius. Why he always wanted Lupin's attention. Why he always wanted to prove himself and why he had smelled Lupin's cologne so strongly when they were brewing amortentia. He felt his face grow hot.
The next words left his mouth before he could stop them.
"There's Hogsmeade next weekend, and I bet I could be a better gentleman on a date than you."
Lupin's eyes lit with happiness, and he smirked. "You're on."
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