Title: A Moonlit Christmas
disclaimer The characters do not belong to me. They belong to JKR and the various publishing houses. I use them as I wish.
Summary: In the days prior to a full moon Christmas, James, Remus and Sirius stay together at the Three Broomsticks
Here is the story:
It was Friday the twenty second of December. Hogwarts students had gone home for Christmas break. Monday was Christmas. More importantly, Monday was the day after full moon.
Most students would be celebrating the holiday with their families, going to bed after a Christmas eve of eggnog and carols, waking up to presents and a large Christmas meal, but not Remus. He would be waking up in the shrieking shack, tired and aching.
The marauders usually stayed with Remus during his transformations and this month would not be much different. Yet, Sirius would not hear of Remus being stuck in the castle over the holiday. He had 'taken care of everything'. James, Sirius and Remus were to stay in Hogsmead, James going home on Christmas day. Sirius and Remus were going to Sirius' house as soon as Remus felt like traveling. Peter's mother insisted he be home for the holiday, so he would not be with the others.
At the Three Broomsticks
James unlocked the door and the three friends walked into the dark attic room above the Three Broomsticks. He fumbled for the string and pulled it.
The lone light bulb hanging from the ceiling shone onto a small single bed, casting shadows onto the dusty wooden floor. An orange and yellow blocked quilt was tucked tightly around a mattress that sagged through worn springs. The feather pillow lay half off the bed as there was no headboard. At the foot was a cedar chest with extra blankets piled on top.
One could take three steps either side of the bed before running into the wall. In the corner was a washstand with a pitcher and bowl.
"Told you I'd take care of everything," smiled Sirius.
Remus was not so sure about this. Why did Sirius pick this room? The dust would probably make him sneeze all night and there didn't seem to be any comfortable place to sleep. How was he supposed to rest up before full moon?
Sirius had been unpleasantly surprised at how little 'room' his money would buy. His uncle had left him a bit of gold last year, but most of it was gone. His new house had taken most of it, but he had bought that purple velvet robe for Remus last year. He and Remus had bought several new outfits as well, including the leather they were now wearing. This room took the last of Sirius' money, not counting the bit that he saved back for their celebration.
"Sirius, how should we do this?" asked Remus as he moved into the room, the bed creaked as he sat down. "Can't all three get the bed."
"Remus, you get the bed. You will have trouble enough settling down to sleep for the next two nights. James and I will take the floor."
They used blankets from the cedar chest to make up sleeping areas on the floor to each side of the bed. James was to sleep on the floor on the far side of the bed and Sirius would sleep just inside the door.
"Let's get the party started," Sirius said excitedly. "Drinks on me!"
James flung open the door and hurried down the stairs, "I'll get us a table."
Sirius sat next to Remus on the bed, a look of apology in his eyes. Putting his arm around his lover, he stroked the leather directly above the place where Remus had the dog star tattoo burned into him. "Don't worry Remy. I'll take care of you, trust me. And we'll have fun too."
He stood up and held his hand out. "Shall we go, luv?" Remus took Sirius' hand and stood up. The two walked out of the room and down the steps hand in hand, on their way to meet up with James.
In The Bar
The December wind blew through the room as the girls entered, squeezed their way through the crowd and sat at the bar. Snape glanced up and then quickly looked back at his drink. Cloaks removed and drinks poured, the two looked around, giggling and commenting to each other on every male in the place.
A few feet away, at a small wooden table, James, Remus and Sirius sat playing cards. The pile of sickles in front of James was at least twice that of Remus and Sirius' combined. Sirus laid two cards face down on the table, "I'll take two."
As James dealt Sirius his cards he asked, "Ellen sure is pretty, dontcha think?" When Sirius ignored him, he continued, "And Tina. Wouldn't you just love to have a go at her?"
Almost as if it were rehearsed, in unison, Remus and Sirius took their eyes off their cards, glanced across the table at each other, rolled their eyes to the ceiling, took a deep drink of butterbeer, then stared back at their cards.
"Well Sirius, don't you think Tina is beautiful?"
Not looking from his cards, Sirius said flatly, "Yes, James, she's beautiful."
"And Ellen, whatcha think of her?"
Sirius took another swig of butterbeer, but kept looking at his cards. "She's beautiful too."
James looked around and spotted a tall dark haired woman. "What about Angie?"
"She's very beautiful. Now can we quit with the small talk and get to playing cards. I want to win some of this back."
James would not be deflected. He continued, "Lupin, if you could choose any of the girls in the school, who would it be?"
Sirius looked up from his cards, straight at James as if he wanted to thump him. "Did you mean if he could choose or if he had to choose?"
"OK, if he had to choose. Lupin if you could not have this bloke and had to choose a girl, who would it be?"
Remus was concentrating on resorting the cards in his hand and did not answer. He knew full well who it would be and he wasn't going to tell James.
"Enough James, leave Remy alone."
"OK…then…Sirius, which girl would you pick?" A low growl could be heard coming from the Remus' direction.
Sirius had about had enough. "Ok James. Don't think I'd pick. Like to shag every girl in the school and then once they came up for air shag them a second time. Good 'nuff?" He downed his butterbeer and looked disgustedly at the bottle. "Now, I vote to move this game to the Hogshead. We can get a decent drink there."
"No Sirius, I think we should stay here," said James a bit nervously.
Sirius snorted, "What' s up James, afraid Lily will find out?" Then, after a bit of thought, "I got another idea. Let's move the party upstairs. You two go up now and I'll meet you in a bit."
Sirius stood up and rushed out of the bar.
Back in the room
"Ta da da da," sang Sirius as he stepped through the bedroom door, carrying a large brown paper sack.
He joined James and Remus who were sitting on the floor atop Sirius' blankets. He took two bottles from the sack and stood them on the floor, "Whiskey ala Dung Fletcher." He reached into the sack again and pulled out a shotglass, placing it in front of the bottles.
"Only one?" asked James.
"One is all we need." Sirius said with a smile, "only one of us will be drinking at a time."
"Got something else here." Sirius reached into the sack a third time and pulled out two cigars. "One for you, James. And one for Remy and me."
"Now, pass me the cards James. As you dealt last time, it is now my turn."
James reluctantly passed Sirius the cards.
A glint in his eye, Sirius continued,"Well, since James has been so kind as to relieve me of my excess coinage, we need to play for something else. This time we play for drinks. The person who wins the hand will pour a shot and pass it to the person of their choice…..agreed?"
Remus smiled and nodded. He was only too happy to play this game, as he could drink both James and Sirius under the table.
"OK, Sirius. Get ready to end up pissed." James smirked confidently.
"Just one to get us started." As the whiskey was poured, the 'M' etched into the glass could be seen clearly. Remus wondered which unfortunate family was one shot glass poorer tonight.
Putting the glass to his lips, Sirius downed the shot. He refilled the glass and handed it to Remus, who likewise, downed it, tossing the glass back to Sirius. Once more Sirius poured, this time handing it to James, who emptied the glass as well.
James lit his cigar and took a puff, leaning back and exhaling slowly. Sirius took a puff on his Cuban tobacco and leaned across the 'table' towards Remus, who kissed Sirius and opened his mouth. Tongue and smoke entering at the same time, Remus inhaled both.
When they finally separated, Sirius stopped and pressed his forehead to Remus'. He quickly 'kissed' Remus' bottom lip a few times. Looking mischievously into Remus' eyes, he raised his eyebrows twice. Taking one last kiss, Sirius moved away and sat back down ready to play cards. Remus smiled expectantly. Sirius was up to something.
A few hands later, Sirius was handing James another shot. This was the eighth time in a row that James had lost. Putting the glass to his lips, he spilled a bit as he missed his mouth. James placed the almost full shot glass back on the floor and watched, glassy eyed as Sirius and Remus shared another puff from the cigar. "Ya know. I'd never have thought it."
"Thought what?" asked Sirius, now sucking Remus' bottom lip again.
"You know."
Sirius looked at James, warily, "What do I know?"
"The two of you….that you ended up….well."
"What did we end up James?"
"Thought it was a phase. You know… you'd get tired of it."
Sirius kept a straight face. "I was wondering what was going on downstairs. You prat. I just thought you were missing Lily. Thought you might be feeling a bit lonely, looking at all the girls. Was gonna offer to help you out." He glanced quickly towards Remus, and noticed the corners of Remus' mouth twitching slightly. Sirius himself was having trouble not breaking out in a laugh.
Remus crawled over the 'table' and sat next to Sirius, kissing him under the ear.
"Don't think Remus would mind helping you out. Since we are all so close together in this room and since Remy and I will be shagging in a bit, thought it may be nice if you join us. Know Remy wouldn't mind…"
'Glad to have you James," smiled Remus. He then began unbuttoning Sirius' shirt while sucking his ear lobe. The shirt was now opened Remus licked Sirius' chest with long definite sweeps.
"See James, a threesome, Whatcha say? Wanna shag with the poofters?"
James downed the shot and swayed, unable to sit straight. Standing up on each side of him and holding James under his arm. Remus and Sirius helped him to his feet and led him to Remus' bed. "Up you go James." As Remus tucked the quilt around him, James fell fast asleep.
"Siri, why did James lose every game? What did you do?"
Sirius grinned proudly, "The question is not how James lost every game here; it is how he won every game downstairs."
"Hell, I knew James was using marked cards downstairs. That's how he won all my money. But he was getting on my nerves. Thought he needed to loosen up a bit. So when it was my turn to deal, I switched decks….Never thought he'd end up like this though."
"Now, let's go downstairs and finish our party. James'll be here when we get back."
Remus adjusted James' head on the pillow.
"He'll be fine Remus. Just needs to sleep a bit. Nothing we can do for him now."
"Come on Remy, let's go back downstairs and sit for awhile. Feel like a big celebration tonight."
Remus could think of nothing better than getting out of this small, dark room for awhile and expending some of this energy that always preceeded the full moon.
As they were headed downstairs, Remus laughed. "Marked cards Siri? Remind me never to play cards with you for money."
The lights had been turned out and the embers in the fireplace gave the bar the appearance of twilight. Sirius and Remus stood at the bottom of the steps. The Three Broomsticks seemed to be closed for the night.
Taking Remus' hand, Sirius led him across the floor and sat him at the same table they occupied earlier that evening, lighting the candle in the center. "Let's just have one drink, shall we?" Sirius walked over and removed a bottle of rum from behind the bar, leaving a few coins in its place.
Joining Remus at the table, Sirius took a large swig and handed him the bottle. "Sirius, where did you get that money?" said Remus suspiciously.
"Borrowed a little from James…..Don't look at me that way. I'll settle tomorrow. Anyway, James was cheating. Marked cards, remember?"
"Come on," whined Sirius. Remus shook his head, raised the bottle to his lips and drank.
Sirius' face brightened, " Want to see what else Dung had?"
Reaching into his pocket, Sirius pulled out two small black disks about the size of a galleon and placed them on the table.
"Music!" smiled Remus excitedly. "Are there more pirate songs? I liked the last ones you got."
"Pirated, Remy, not pirate…..anyway, Dung's source said we would like these."
Remus smiled and got ready for a romp. He was so thankful that he had a friend like Sirius. Remus knew that Sirius would rather just sit here and drink, but as Sirius wanted to take care of him and as Sirius knew Remus would enjoy this, Sirius was game.
Remus stood up and cleared his throat, "Hm…Hm…Hm".
He bowed. "Mr. Padfoot, would you care for a dance?"
Sirius curtsied. "Love to Mr. Moony. A silencing charm if you please."
"Glad to," and Remus waved his wand.
Sirius pointed his wand at a disk and it glowed, then out of the disk a deep voice said, "An outstanding number called Joy to the World. Let's hear it for Three Dog Night."
Sirius took another swig from the bottle.
"Jeremiah was a bullfrog. Was a good friend of mine. Never understood a single word he said, but I helped him drink his wine…."
"Bet you wouldn't mind a three dog night, wouldja Remy?"
"ayooooooooooooooooo" Remy answered, pointing his wand at the fireplace. Flames began leaping wildly inside the grate.
Sirius and Remus began dancing freely in a kind of uncontrolled way. Holding each other, twirling, no steps, doing whatever they felt, laughing.
"If I were the king of the world. Tell you what I'd do. I'd throw away the cars and the bars and the wars, and make sweet love to you."
Sirius stopped, held Remus close, cupped the back of his head and pulled him roughly to him, kissing him firmly, biting his bottom lip. Remus let out a growl, locked his hands in Sirius' hair and pulled his head back, breaking the kiss. He looked Sirius in the eye and ran his tongue along his teeth. Then he pushed away, picked up the bottle and had another swig and began dancing again.
"You know I love the ladies, love to have my fun…" Remus laughed and sprayed rum on Sirius' shirt, "they wish! Play something else. This is too bouncy."
Sirius looked toward the disk and the music changed. "Carlos Santana and music from Abraxas..next up, Black Magic Woman."
The rest of the evening passed in pure enjoyment, the dancing getting wilder, uncontrolled and unrestrained. The bottle of rum exhausted, another had been opened.
Sirius reached again for the bottle.
"noop. No more for you tonight." Remus snatched it away.
"Give it here."
"No way, you won't be worth a shit," and he backed up and moved quickly across the room.
Sirius ran after him, "Remy, come on."
Remus sat on the floor bottle in his hand, motioning for Sirius to come closer. Sirius knelt in front of Remus and Remus pulled him into a kiss. Opening his mouth so that Sirius could enter. Remus threw the bottle a few feet where it broke. But Sirius didn't seem to mind. Sirius pushed Remus to the floor and laid on top of him, pressing his hips firmly again Remus, tearing the buttons from his shirt.
"N-n- not here." Came a sound from Remus.
"mmmm?"
"the floor. Please…not on the floor."
Sirius picked Remus up in his arms and carried him a few steps, placing him on the bar.
"mirror Siri."
Sirius waved his wand and the mirror turned black with no reflection.
"music Siri"
Sirius waved his wand, pausing the music.
Climbing on the bar, Sirius knelt atop his lover, Remus tearing the buttons from Sirius' shirt, pulling both shirt and jacket off his shoulders and to his elbows. Sirius quickly removed both and leaned down to kiss Remus. This wouldn't do. He wanted to feel Remus' skin against his. Pulling Remus up by his collar, Sirius began frantically removing Remus' leather jacket. Remus kicked off his boots as he allowed Sirius to slip the jacket off his shoulders and down his arms. Soon their clothes were strewn across the barroom floor.
Sirius cupped the back of Remus' head and kissed him, pulled him down onto the bar and laid atop him, skin against skin. Remus took his tongue in deeply as Sirius moved slowly. Feeling the change in his lover, Sirius broke the kiss and sucked Remus' lips. He kissed Remus' neck and began slowly to move towards his chest and down his body. Finally reaching his goal, Sirius caressed him and took him in.
His breath coming more shallowly, Remus dug the nails of one hand into Sirius' shoulder and locked the fingers of his other hand in his hair, following Sirius' every move and willing him to caress him further, all the while fighting the urge to possess Sirius.
Finally, unable to control it any longer, Remus pulled Sirius' head roughly away and sat up. "Let me make love to you Siri."
Sirius raked the curtain of hair from his eyes, stretched his legs out and then knelt again on the counter. Remus knelt over him, kissing the nape of his neck and then open mouthed, tasted and kissed him as he moved down his spine. Sirius gasped when Remus remained stationary, continuing the kissing and tasting. Leaning over and opening the drawer behind the bar, Remus found the jar of cream that Mme Rosemerta used to soften her hands after tending bar and spread it over his fingers. Sirius let out a groan and held tightly to the edges of the countertop where it hung over the sides of the bar.
"Make love to me Remy," begged Sirius as he turned over. Remus handed him the pillow from Mme Rosemerta's stool and Sirius placed it under his hips. Siri lifted his legs towards his face, grabbing Remus' back and thigh as Remus knelt over him and made love to him.
A while later Remus laid across Sirius, his head resting on Sirius' chest. Sirius stroked Remus' sweaty hair and whispered, " I think we need to get up, luv."
"Just a bit longer, Siri."
Sirius slid from under Remus and attempted to sit up, falling off the bar and onto the floor. "ouch!"
Remus turned and looked down, "Are you OK?"
"Yes, just help me get up." Remus got off the bar and held out a hand to Sirius, who pulled him to the ground and kissed him. "Think we ought to be getting upstairs?"
"Think so." As they looked around the room they laughed.
"Did we do that?" asked Remus looking at the overturned chairs, broken bottle, and the bar. "Need to fix up a few things before we leave. The bar could use a thorough scrub." Remus looked at the two of them and laughed, "just like us."
It was early morning and the bar was opening by the time they settled upstairs in Sirius' 'bed', Sirius resting his head on Remus' chest. "I have a feeling we forgot to do something downstairs," Remus said with a yawn.
"Not to worry, luv. Everything looked fine." With that they fell fast asleep.