A/N: It's been a while. No history lecture in this note, just that I have a
basic plan of action, it will probably go fairly slowly, because Sirius's
attraction to his best friend needs building up and so forth, which doesn't
happen at the drop of a hat, thanks very much, Hollywood. *sigh*. Anyway.
Story.
*
Remus was stretched out languidly by the fireside in the Room of Requirement. He looked over at Sirius, whose head was pillowed against him.
"Three across," he muttered, tapping his pen against the crossword propped on his chest in bemusement, then stroked Sirius's cheek with a feather light touch from the tip of his fingers. "Three across," he repeated, smiling down at Sirius.
"Sirius," James called, laughter filling his voice. "Eh, Padfoot." Sirius moaned, and rolled over in bed, pulling the pillow further over his head. There was a short pause, which Sirius knew, deep in his sleep-befuzzled mind, that meant James and Peter were plotting. It was always James and Peter. Remus was above plotting.
"Oh, come on, Sirius," James complained, with a half-hearted tug at his bed sheets. "Get up."
The eloquence required to inform James that it was a) the middle of the night, b) the night after Remus's transformation nights of the month, and c) he far preferred the comfortable warmth of his bed and dreams than being forced to confront the bloody cold of Hogwarts corridors, Sirius sadly lacked at two o'clock in the morning. So a muffled 'Bugger off', was all that James received. Which the grinning, far too energetic Seeker regarded as a challenge.
"It's nice and warm in the Room of Requirement," Peter whispered enticingly somewhere in the vicinity of his left ear. Sirius considered it, as he waged a war with James over who had control of the luckless pillow. He could get up, pad downstairs, across several cold corridors to a nice warm room, or be annoyed incessantly until James gave up, which Sirius knew from experience, was never.
Sighing, he tossed back the covers, shivered as the chill of winter in a Scottish castle hit him, to choked cheering from James and Peter, who looked far too self satisfied at their achievement.
*
"Well, there's one possibility you haven't tried," Sirius yawned, trying not to fall asleep. Remus looked up from the chess match he and James were hunched over. As the older boy was considerably more considered about his moves, James seemed to lose. A lot.
"What's that?" he asked, placing a knight in front of James' king. "Checkmate," he added, by way of an afterthought.
"Be nice to Snivellus," Peter suggested, from his seat by the fire. On winter nights, the Room of Requirement sufficed as a cosier, hidden common room for the boys, long after the fires in Gryffindor Tower had gone out.
Sirius screwed up his face in disgust at the idea. "I meant locking them both in a room, but what on earth got you thinking about that, Peter?"
"It's the only thing he hasn't tried," the freckled boy shrugged, looking back at James with an easy grin. "He's tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to make her jealous-"
"It was working!" James protested, indignantly, still studying the chess board for his mistake, "It was. She was getting there, you could tell."
"Yes, James," Remus drawled, deadpan.
"And I've tried asking her nicely-"
"When you've got your wand pointed at Snivellus."
"Annoying git."
"That aside, James-"
"Do you mind?" Remus asked mildly, interrupting the slightly heated argument. "James, Peter and Sirius are perfectly right. Lily has indicated that she prefers those who don't torment poor little Severus," his utter disgust for the boy in question was etched upon his features, "So possibly pretending that you've changed your ways is a good idea. She seems to find your rule breaking, and that the rest of the girls treat you as some kind of god rather irritating. I wonder why?" He raised his eyebrows at the others, with a small grin.
James's face twisted into a sulky scowl. "I can't help being brilliant at Quidditch." Remus sighed, and looked back at the chess board.
"One more game, anyone? Sirius?" he asked, fiddling with his rook. The younger boy nodded, shoving his shaggy dark hair out of his eyes with a tired yawn. Remus set the pieces up carefully, looking up at James as he did so. The firelight flickered across his profile.
"So try it," he suggested. "Be nice to Snivelly for a week or so." A rakish grin slid onto his features. "Then we lock you in a room together."
James gave a shout of laughter. "I love it! Perfect solution to my problem."
*
"It's awful," James grumbled to Sirius as they made their way to the next lesson, along the crowded corridor. "You don't understand, Sirius. It's so difficult! He glowers at me from corners, I've got to dodge him. You can't be nice to him as he's such a great git that it's not possible." He sighed heavily, staring down at the picture of Lily he kept tucked inside one of his textbooks. She glowered back, and ducked inside the photo's border. The real Lily hated that he'd managed to get the photo under false pretences.
"You want the girl," Sirius shook his head in disbelief. "In my family, the solution would be the Imperius curse. You think you've got problems," he glanced down at the letter from his mother. He'd smoothed it out, and kept it, and the follow up, reminding him that the Yule Ball was only three weeks away.
"What's that?" James' sharp, Quidditch-player's eyes caught sight of the letter, and snatched it from him. He read it quickly, then shrugged.
"What's the problem? You've got to invite a girl to the Ball. Try your fanclub, most of them would leap at the chance." He tossed the letter up in the air. "Hey, you lot!" he bellowed to the corridor. "Sirius needs a date to the Ball. Any offers?"
"I can't believe you just did that," Sirius muttered, plunging into the classroom, grateful it was within reach, blushing furiously at the catcalls from the corridor.
*
A/N: Next chapter, (hopefully, things rarely go to plan) an encounter with Lily, a further look at Sirius's attraction to Remus, a meeting with Bellatrix and Regulus, and a prank by Snivellus.
*
Remus was stretched out languidly by the fireside in the Room of Requirement. He looked over at Sirius, whose head was pillowed against him.
"Three across," he muttered, tapping his pen against the crossword propped on his chest in bemusement, then stroked Sirius's cheek with a feather light touch from the tip of his fingers. "Three across," he repeated, smiling down at Sirius.
"Sirius," James called, laughter filling his voice. "Eh, Padfoot." Sirius moaned, and rolled over in bed, pulling the pillow further over his head. There was a short pause, which Sirius knew, deep in his sleep-befuzzled mind, that meant James and Peter were plotting. It was always James and Peter. Remus was above plotting.
"Oh, come on, Sirius," James complained, with a half-hearted tug at his bed sheets. "Get up."
The eloquence required to inform James that it was a) the middle of the night, b) the night after Remus's transformation nights of the month, and c) he far preferred the comfortable warmth of his bed and dreams than being forced to confront the bloody cold of Hogwarts corridors, Sirius sadly lacked at two o'clock in the morning. So a muffled 'Bugger off', was all that James received. Which the grinning, far too energetic Seeker regarded as a challenge.
"It's nice and warm in the Room of Requirement," Peter whispered enticingly somewhere in the vicinity of his left ear. Sirius considered it, as he waged a war with James over who had control of the luckless pillow. He could get up, pad downstairs, across several cold corridors to a nice warm room, or be annoyed incessantly until James gave up, which Sirius knew from experience, was never.
Sighing, he tossed back the covers, shivered as the chill of winter in a Scottish castle hit him, to choked cheering from James and Peter, who looked far too self satisfied at their achievement.
*
"Well, there's one possibility you haven't tried," Sirius yawned, trying not to fall asleep. Remus looked up from the chess match he and James were hunched over. As the older boy was considerably more considered about his moves, James seemed to lose. A lot.
"What's that?" he asked, placing a knight in front of James' king. "Checkmate," he added, by way of an afterthought.
"Be nice to Snivellus," Peter suggested, from his seat by the fire. On winter nights, the Room of Requirement sufficed as a cosier, hidden common room for the boys, long after the fires in Gryffindor Tower had gone out.
Sirius screwed up his face in disgust at the idea. "I meant locking them both in a room, but what on earth got you thinking about that, Peter?"
"It's the only thing he hasn't tried," the freckled boy shrugged, looking back at James with an easy grin. "He's tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to make her jealous-"
"It was working!" James protested, indignantly, still studying the chess board for his mistake, "It was. She was getting there, you could tell."
"Yes, James," Remus drawled, deadpan.
"And I've tried asking her nicely-"
"When you've got your wand pointed at Snivellus."
"Annoying git."
"That aside, James-"
"Do you mind?" Remus asked mildly, interrupting the slightly heated argument. "James, Peter and Sirius are perfectly right. Lily has indicated that she prefers those who don't torment poor little Severus," his utter disgust for the boy in question was etched upon his features, "So possibly pretending that you've changed your ways is a good idea. She seems to find your rule breaking, and that the rest of the girls treat you as some kind of god rather irritating. I wonder why?" He raised his eyebrows at the others, with a small grin.
James's face twisted into a sulky scowl. "I can't help being brilliant at Quidditch." Remus sighed, and looked back at the chess board.
"One more game, anyone? Sirius?" he asked, fiddling with his rook. The younger boy nodded, shoving his shaggy dark hair out of his eyes with a tired yawn. Remus set the pieces up carefully, looking up at James as he did so. The firelight flickered across his profile.
"So try it," he suggested. "Be nice to Snivelly for a week or so." A rakish grin slid onto his features. "Then we lock you in a room together."
James gave a shout of laughter. "I love it! Perfect solution to my problem."
*
"It's awful," James grumbled to Sirius as they made their way to the next lesson, along the crowded corridor. "You don't understand, Sirius. It's so difficult! He glowers at me from corners, I've got to dodge him. You can't be nice to him as he's such a great git that it's not possible." He sighed heavily, staring down at the picture of Lily he kept tucked inside one of his textbooks. She glowered back, and ducked inside the photo's border. The real Lily hated that he'd managed to get the photo under false pretences.
"You want the girl," Sirius shook his head in disbelief. "In my family, the solution would be the Imperius curse. You think you've got problems," he glanced down at the letter from his mother. He'd smoothed it out, and kept it, and the follow up, reminding him that the Yule Ball was only three weeks away.
"What's that?" James' sharp, Quidditch-player's eyes caught sight of the letter, and snatched it from him. He read it quickly, then shrugged.
"What's the problem? You've got to invite a girl to the Ball. Try your fanclub, most of them would leap at the chance." He tossed the letter up in the air. "Hey, you lot!" he bellowed to the corridor. "Sirius needs a date to the Ball. Any offers?"
"I can't believe you just did that," Sirius muttered, plunging into the classroom, grateful it was within reach, blushing furiously at the catcalls from the corridor.
*
A/N: Next chapter, (hopefully, things rarely go to plan) an encounter with Lily, a further look at Sirius's attraction to Remus, a meeting with Bellatrix and Regulus, and a prank by Snivellus.