A/N Teasing this story here before publishing it elsewhere, so let me know what you think. It will be finished but don't ask me when. Next chapter should be less than a week x
Disclaimers: Includes swearing. In later chapters it is revealed Remus Lupin has synesthesia, a way of perceiving things through multiple senses which may seem disconnected from the original stimulus, such as hearing sounds and also registering colours. I write about this from my own experiences so it's not representative of all synesthete's experiences. Obviously I don't own these characters, and fuck JKR.
"Shit Pads, do you actually think you can make it work?"
"Well I don't know! I mean, I know the theory, but I can't really test it can I? It's too close to the brain if it goes wrong. And besides, who would let me poke around in their head like that?"
"Well, try it on me, I tell you everything anyway."
"Yeah, that and there's not much in here to mess up," Sirius laughed, grabbing his best friend in a headlock and messing with his already unruly hair.
"Alright, alright, piss off!" James grumbled as Sirius released him. His weak protest of "Well perhaps I won't let you after all," as he adjusted his glasses very much undermined by their matching grins. They held each other's stare in silent brotherly competition before James scrunched up his nose in a defeated smile and said, "Well, go on then."
Count on James Potter to be down for anything, no matter how insane.
As he repositioned himself on James' bed, Sirius thought about what the actual hell he was about to do. Messing around with a mind reading spell? Technically and adaptation of Legilimency, allowing you to hear a person's active thoughts, without them knowing, instead of rifle through their memories. So, slightly less invasive?
Theoretically.
Maybe.
If he did it right...
"Alright hit me," James said, drawing Sirius out of his unease with a smile as he took in the sight of James Potter, eyes closed and arms extended in anticipation, looking like he was about to either take flight or have a demon exorcised from his chest.
"Ready to give up all your dirty little secrets Potter?" he smirked raising his wand.
"To you darling? Always."
Sirius barked out a laugh before concentrating and muttering the incantation with a soft flick of his wrist;
"Invadere,"
There was silence. James unsquinted his eyes, looking at Sirius's deadpan expression expectantly.
"Wow Prongs. Either that did not work or your head is really as empty as I thought."
James stuck out his tongue at the other boy and they chuckled softly.
"Go on," he said waving his hand non-committally, "Give it another go, try and be more intentional with the movement maybe?"
Sirius nodded and tried once more, emphasising the final sweep of his hand. A concentrated glow snuck from the tip of his wand and reached feebly towards James, but no telepathic link.
The two friends, caught up in trying different combinations of pronunciations and gestures, trying to replicate and develop the results, failed to register the opening of the dormitory door when suddenly a blinding light shot from Sirius's wand, blinding both them and the third Marauder entering the room.
What the fuck was that? thought Sirius, clear as if he'd said it aloud.
"What the fuck was that?" he was immediately echoed by Remus, who Sirius turned to see rubbing his eyes and blinking from the light. Sirius grinned and turned his body to face the the lanky boy as he shut the door behind him.
"Wotcher Moons. How's it going?"
That damn smile, he thought, before Remus even cracked a grin. That was weird. I guess, Sirius supposed, once you know a person long enough, they just start becoming predictable that way.
"Nothing as interesting as whatever you two have going on," he said mildly leaning back against the door, arms folded over a sweatered chest. It was just a little bit hot and a very lot endearing.
"Whenever something happens it's always you two," Sirius heard him say, never breaking his small smile.
"Hey that's not true!" He replied, before it hit him. Remus hadn't said anything. His scared mouth was still pressed into that adorable smirk as he raised an eyebrow. But if Remus hadn't spoken then-
"Oh? Invested in my very busy and interesting schedule are you? Fuck off Pads, you know all I ever do is study. Something you two ought to consider trying one of these days," he said, pushing off the door and crossing the room to his bunk.
"Not at all! Just that James and I weren't up to anything interesting is all," Sirius spluttered, trying to both cover himself and register what on earth was happening.
Something in Remus shifted, as he picked up his pyjamas from his bed and folded them over in his hands. Something beneath the surface of Remus Lupin was now guarded and suspicious. Not outwardly, Sirius could just feel it, and his stomach dropped.
"What was with the light then?"
"What, never seen a Lumos charm before?" Sirius joked, trying to keep his nerves in check, flashing a cheeky smile across the room and feeling something fluttery inside.
"Oh Moony, you'll never guess what Sirius came up with!" James said excitedly, jumping from the bed and swinging absentmindedly around one of the bed posts.
"Knowing Sirius, something equally brilliant and horrific I suppose?" Remus replied, disappearing briefly the bathroom.
"Ooh so close! It's actually a sort of telepathy charm and-"
"What!" Remus replied, reappearing in the doorway. "Telepathy? As in reading people's minds?"
"Well yeah, and-"
"Do you have any idea how big an invasion of privacy that is?"
Sirius felt a lot of really unpleasant feelings bubbling up to the surface of Remus across the room as soon as he was back in view. O-kay, so that was possibly a parameter of the charm, Sirius guessed. You have to be able to see the person for it to work.
Oh god they better not ask me to try this out, I can't have either of them poking around in my head. Oh god especially not Sirius, if he-
"Good thing we couldn't get it to work then, hey Potter?" Sirius said, leaping to his feet hoping to interrupt Remus's chain of thought before he heard something the other boy wouldn't be able forgive him for.
"Yeah, shame that. And you're right Moony, we wouldn't ever do it without someone's permission! And if it worked it would be way too powerful to just spread around! Could you imagine what would happen if any of the Slytherins found out about it? We just thought..."
Whatever reasonable and compromising point James was oh so nobly making, Sirius was not listening. Maybe his research started out purely for prank related purposes. And maybe James was only initially interested because he wanted to know what Lily Evans really thought about him. They had briefly clued into the potential promise of the charm should it work, for the war effort. But now that Sirius was inside Remus' head he could really see his point. Trying not to listen in on his friends thoughts out of respect for his privacy was like trying to ignore a heavy metal band playing on a stage 5 feet in front of you. Difficult and maddening.
When Remus disappeared back into the bathroom post James' monologue, Sirius sat down heavily on the bed, grateful for the quiet of not experiencing two lots of thoughts at once. Remus would tease me for saying that, he thought. Shit, Remus.
"James! We have a serious problem!" He hissed.
"All your problems are Sirius. Most of mine are too actually-"
"This isn't funny. I mean you're hilarious and never stop, but this is a real problem! The spell worked."
"It did? Wicked! What am I thinking about right now?"
"Not you" Sirius whispered, and in their silence, they heard the shower start to run. As the light caught his glasses, understanding flashed in James Potter's eyes.
"Oh shit", he said, bringing a hand to his mouth, eyes flicking towards the closed door.
"Damn right oh shit! He's going to be so pissed when he finds out!"
"Wait so he can't hear you? Your thoughts I mean?" James asked.
"Doesn't seem like it" Sirius replied, as they turned their heads to the bathroom. A few seconds of silence passed, as Sirius's mind whirled with potential scenarios of telling vs not telling remus and an overall rising sense of dread.
"Hmm, Moony shower thoughts," James commented aloud, breaking Sirius's thought process.
"Ew gross!" He said, giving James' shoulder a shove. "It doesn't work when I can't see him."
"Lets hope it wears off soon then?"
"Oh god, I hope so."
Telling Remus was not an option. Sirius would just avoid him until it wore off.
Hearing the water stop a few minutes later, Sirius pushed James off the bed and whipped his curtains shut in panic before Remus could open the door.
"What on earth are you doing down there?" he heard Remus ask as he stepped out of the bathroom. He held his breathe in anticipation, waiting for the onslaught of thoughts that meant he was still in Remus' head, or James' response that would confirm he wasn't. If it was the former? Well... sleeping in the common room wouldn't be that bad, he supposed.
"Making sure to see you from all your best angles of course! Oomph-"
Sirius couldn't help but grin at the sound of a pillow being thrown across the room and, he imagined, hitting Prongs square in the face. And, even better, no awkward telepathic intrusions. Out of sight out of mind, so to speak.
Sirius lay back defeated, and though he wasn't in his head, his thoughts drifted as they usually did, to Remus Lupin. Who incidentally, only a few feet away, was thinking of him too, both as unaware as each other.