Disclaimer: Oh, this is so J.K. Rowling's world. I mean, totally.
Massive thanks to the Harry Potter Lexicon and Wikipedia for being invaluable resources.
Britspeak notes: Boxing Day is the day after Christmas. Smarties are the British (and Canadian and Australian) equivalent of M&M's. Or, according to Wikipedia, "Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of about 5 mm and a major axis of about 12 mm." Indeed.
Boxing Day, 1995
"I think I've got a flush," said Sirius. "Remus, is this a flush?"
"Don't show me your cards, you idiot."
"I fold," said Tonks, throwing down her cards.
"Let's just say I win, all right?" said Remus brightly.
"What have you got, then?"
"A full house." Remus displayed his hand, then reached out to claim the large pile of Smarties in the middle of their circle.
It was a homely scene at Number 12, Grimmauld Place. The drawing room was softly lit with Christmas decorations, a fire was roaring in the hearth. Mundungus was passed out on the couch with a bottle of gin in his hand. Everyone else was upstairs asleep. It was two weeks till the full moon, his belly was full of Christmas leftovers, and Sirius had brought out a bottle of very old and fine wine from the pantry. Remus was feeling quite pleasant. Tonks' hair was shoulder-length and purpley-black tonight, and she looked lovely. Sirius' Christmas cheer had faded a bit, but it was still officially a holiday and he was keeping up appearances.
"Shall we play again, then?"
"Yeah, all right," said Tonks, sounding determined. She had won the first game, even though she had been strictly forbidden to use her abilities to create the perfect poker face. Wands were forbidden as well. Remus remembered that Sirius had been a notorious card cheat at school.
"Can't we play something normal instead?" Sirius asked.
"You're outvoted, Sirius. Look, I'll make you a cheat sheet." Remus wrote down the different hands on a slip of paper and handed it over. Sirius looked mollified, and Remus shuffled the cards and began to deal.
The bottle of wine went around again several times as the game progressed. Sirius was actually putting some effort into it this time, consulting the cheat sheet frequently. The stakes were high, Tonks and Sirius were trying to out-glare each other, and finally Remus folded. Sirius looked smug and displayed a straight flush. A murderous expression crossed Tonks' face. "I loathe you with every fiber of my being."
"I love you too, darling." Sirius tossed a Smartie up in the air and caught it in his mouth.
"I'm going to bed." She got up, then leaned down and kissed Remus on the cheek, her hair swinging forward to brush against his skin. He suppressed a shiver.
"How about a little sugar for your cousin?" Sirius inquired, raising his eyebrows, and she kissed him on the forehead before bidding them goodnight and going upstairs. He grinned at Remus, showing his yellowing teeth. "You're blushing, Moony."
He rubbed his cheek without thinking about it. "She caught me under the mistletoe a few days ago."
"Nice one."
"I think she feels sorry for me."
"You are quite pitiable, I must admit." Sirius tossed another Smartie up in the air. It bounced off his nose and fell in his lap. He picked it up and ate it. "These aren't bad, for Muggle sweets."
"They're good, aren't they?"
Sirius drew his knees up and put his arms around them, and regarded Remus thoughtfully. In the dim, flickering light, the marks of age and troubles were more difficult to see. Except for the long hair that he now had tucked behind his ears, he bore a striking resemblance to the young man who had recklessly disregarded every lesson his family and his world had taught him, and befriended a monster.
"You're pathetic, Moony," he said. "A beautiful woman throws herself at you, and all you can say is, 'Oh, she must be feeling sorry for me.' You're completely useless."
"She's not throwing herself at me, Sirius. She's kissed me twice. On the cheek, mind you. For heaven's sake, Molly Weasley has kissed me more often than Tonks has. Tonks is fond of me, that's all. I'm fond of her too."
Sirius smirked and took a swig from the bottle of wine, and passed it across to Remus. According to the label, it was a Sauternes, and thus intended (he had read somewhere) to be sipped delicately with dessert or cheese. He reckoned the Smarties counted as dessert. He took several large swallows and stifled a belch. "This is really excellent wine."
"Yeah, it was one of my father's favorites. Which is why I'm letting a half-blood werewolf drink it."
"It all makes sense now."
They passed the bottle back and forth a couple of times. "You know," said Sirius, wiping wine from his chin, "if you married Tonks, you'd be my cousin."
"I'm not marrying Tonks."
"I just hope your kids take after her, because let's face it, Moony, you have a certain charm - I mean in a darkened room, of course, or if your eyesight's poor - but no child should have to go through life with a nose like yours."
"I happen to be quite fond of my nose. And I'm not marrying Tonks! I hardly even know her!"
"No need to shout."
"I wasn't shouting!"
Sirius took another swig of wine. "Look, Moony, I don't mean to get your knickers in a twist. I'm just trying -"
"Sirius, my love life, or lack thereof, is none of your business, unless you've been thinking of starting an advice column."
"Ooh, that's an idea. 'Dear Sirius Black: I am a 35-year-old unemployed werewolf looking for love in all the wrong places.' Do you think The Quibbler would run it? I should ask Harry to ask Lovegood's daughter how much they pay. . ."
Remus snorted. He accepted the proffered bottle and drank more of the heavy sweet wine. "'Dear Sirius Black: I am a filthy layabout in desperate need of a haircut, recently escaped from prison. . .'"
"'Dear Sirius Black: I am an ugly greasy foul-tempered git despised by everyone around me. And yet, I yearn for love. Please help! Sincerely, S. Snape. Dearest Snapey-kins: Try taking a shower. Alternately, you might want to do the world a favor and kill yourself. Love and kisses, your pal, Sirius Black.'"
"Poor old Snapey-kins." Remus shook his head and passed the bottle back to Sirius, who drank, his adam's apple bobbing in his skinny neck. Wine trickled from the corners of his mouth and spilled on his shirt. "You know Snape is coming here, don't you? He's going to talk to Harry about occlumency lessons."
"Oh, bloody hell." Sirius looked deflated all of a sudden. He looked down into the neck of the bottle, then set it down on the rug. "That's the thing, Moony," he said, looking up and brushing a strand of hair out of his face. "I don't want you to end up like Snivellus."
"I take a bath every day."
"No, no. I don't want you to end up a miserable loathsome bastard. I want you to be happy."
"That's awfully sweet of you."
"No, really. You're my best mate, you deserve it. If I can't be happy, at least you can be happy."
"Your time will come, Sirius."
"Yeah, well. . . it had better come soon. That's all I'm saying." He sloshed the remaining few inches of wine around in the bottle. "Shall I get some more wine, then?"
"No, I think I'm going to sleep." He didn't realize how drunk he was until he got up. He had to brace his hand against the mantelpiece to keep from falling over. Low alcohol tolerance - he didn't think he'd drunk that much. He glanced down at the mess of cards and Smarties on the floor. "You want some help cleaning that up?"
"No, that's all right, I'll do it." Sirius got up as well, more steady on his feet than Remus. He glanced at Mundungus, who was sprawled on his back with his mouth hanging open, clutching his empty bottle of gin to his chest like a teddy bear. "Do you think he's still alive?"
"He's still breathing. Look, his nose hairs are moving."
"Oh, good. I don't want anyone dying in my house."
"Good night, Padfoot." Sirius smiled and Remus went to give him a manly slap on the shoulder. Before he could dodge, Sirius lunged forward and hugged Remus so hard that Remus felt bones in his back pop. "Good night, Moony."
As Remus headed for the stairs, he looked over his shoulder and saw Sirius stoop to start picking up the cards as Mundungus began to snore. When Sirius straightened, he saw Remus watching him and waved. Remus waved back, then turned away, his ribs still aching, and went up to bed.
to be continued