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lumosinlove · 3 years ago

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Between Fifth And You

AO3

chapter two

It’s Saturday night for Manhattan’s elite, and we know what that means. The Noble House of Black beckons, and one particularly family seems to be a little behind on preparations—at least, their youngest son is.

Spotted—Logan Tremblay, looking hot in nothing but basketball shorts. Better soak up that fading blue August heat while you can, Lo. Or are you more interested in something a little more…fiery? But in the LES? Why so far from home, Dorothy? Eye color isn’t the only thing green about the Tremblay family. And they have a bad habit of sorting everything out with a little help from Ben Franklin.

“Shoot, shoot!”

Logan pivoted on his heel and was able to toss the ball around his opponent’s shoulder. He only caught a glimpse of red hair as Finn caught it with ease and jumped it up to the rim.

Finn O’Hara. One of these days Logan was going to step on his own shoes watching Finn O’Hara. His pale chest looked like sugar dusting, his exertion-red cheeks the goddamn cherry.

“Point moo-oi!” Finn shouted, slapping Will Morgan and Percy Marshall on their bare backs. “That’s how you say it, right, Tremblay?”

Logan feigned a shudder. “Non.”

“Shorty’s got game,” Will laughed, sweat dripping down his dark brown skin, darkening the leather bracelets he wore.

Percy shook his head, swallowing over a caught-breath, his silver Star of David swinging at his throat. “Shorty must be cheating with his Upper Side shoes.”

Logan just narrowed his eyes and laughed, pushing his hair out of his eyes. “You’re just tall. Doesn’t mean you’re good.”

“Yeah, yeah, Mazel tov, you fucker.”

“I’m finally winning,” Finn grinned. “And now I gotta get back to the shop. I said be back in five…pretty sure it’s been fifty-five.”

Logan swallowed. “I’ll—I’ll walk you.”

Percy slapped him on the back as they left, and Finn held the cage door of the basketball court open for him.

“So, you’re back at school?” Finn asked as he pulled his shirt on. Logan nodded, following suit, picking at the neck where it stuck to his sweaty skin.

“Yeah,” Logan nodded. “I’m supposed to be getting fitted for a suit right now.”

Finn snorted. “What does that have to do with school?”

“Oh,” the corner of Logan’s mouth raised as he realized. “Nothing, I…well, you know. The social scene. It sort of all feels like one thing, up there.”

Finn pouted at him. “Poor baby. Too many parties.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Logan laughed.

“Hey, feel like lunch?”

“I thought you had to be back.”

Finn shrugged. “I’m hungry.”

Logan bit his lip, wondering how many different ways his older sisters could actually kill him. Honestly, he thought he’d just die on the spot of he passed up the change to be squeezed into one of the small restaurants that Finn frequented. Screw the grand tables of his life. Logan wanted cracked leather booths small enough to let their ankles brush. Not that he’d ever say that out loud.

Finn didn’t disappoint. They walked down the shade of Mott street, then turned at a bakeshop on the corner. Finn pointed at it.

“You’ve been here, haven’t you?”

Logan raised a shoulder. “I don’t get down here much.”

Finn snorted. “Listen to you. Down here. You’re down here enough to pop into my bookstore all the time.”

Logan studied the cakes in the windows, biting his lip when he realized Finn’s eyes were still on him in the reflection. “I…yeah.”

Finn flicked the bill of Logan’s hat which shaded the back of his neck. “How’s that latest book you bought?”

Logan turned away from the window to get them walking again, not sure where they were going but trusting Finn to lead. “I’m starting school, man, I don’t have all the time in the world.”

Finn just laughed. “Come on, let’s catch the 6.”

Logan found himself squeezed into a tiny French restaurant in the West Village that served them even tinier croissants.

“I know the chef,” Finn said popping one he had spread jam and butter on into his mouth. “Dumo. Don’t pay a cent. I fucking love these things.”

Logan would have bought Finn a thousand of the tiny pastries without a blink just to see him lick a bit of jam from his thumb again.

“Dumo doesn’t sound very French…” Logan began cutting up his waffle.

Finn laughed. “Pascal Dumais does.”

“Oh. Yeah, that’s more like it.”

Logan glanced at a woman and her baby, who had started crying. He tried to think of something to say. For someone who’s job seemed to be making small talk at various parties and charming people with his accent—or so his mother sometimes said—he sure was horrible at it.

“So, what’s the suit for?” Finn asked, taking a sip of his black coffee.

“A fashion show,” Logan sighed, hiding his surprise—and maybe delight—at Finn’s unknowing shrug. “It’s…sort of a lot. Lots of people and cameras. And I always have to wear something green.”

Finn hummed in understanding. “It’s the eyes, yeah?”

Logan nodded. “A lot of fast English, too.”

Finn tilted his head. “I didn’t know that was hard for you. You’re perfect.”

Logan tried not to flush and covered it with a shrug. “I lived in France until I was fifteen before we finally moved to my dad. It’s still nice to be able to read lips sometimes. With the flashes and they make it super dark…I don’t know.”

“No, that makes sense,” Finn said, brown eyes soft. He smiled. “Hey, well, if you don’t want to go to the fitting, come man the shop with me. I’d love the company.”

Logan looked at him and ached, but saw his older sister Noelle’s pleading, excited expression in his mind. He might not love the scene, but he loved his sisters. “I wish I could. Really.”

They finished up their food and Logan had to admit that he lingered over his coffee until Finn said he absolutely had to leave.

“Hey, Tremblay,” Finn called from down the sidewalk, and Logan turned in the full knowledge that seeing the smile Finn sent him would only make him want to stay more.

The dutiful son wants the bookshop boy…I don’t know, Lo. How will their royal highnesses feel about that?

“Come buy more books you don’t read soon, okay?”

Logan couldn’t help but smile back. “D’accord.”

Finn walked backwards a few steps, yelling, “And bring me something green!” before turning and jogging down the subway stairs.

Logan laughed as he called his driver to him, escaping the heat for air conditioned leather.

XOXO

Pearls or diamonds, Upper Siders? Armani or Ralph? What, like you have other questions tonight?

Well, I have one for you. A tip from a friendly scroller gave me a peak at tonight’s guest list. Do you think we’re in for more than just a showdown on the runway? Cat fights over cat walks is what I always say.

XOXO.

[Image description: Two name cards reading, from left to right, Leo Knut and Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Sebastian Montague]

Remus found Julian already dressed and tapping at a game on his phone when he descended the winding staircase of their penthouse.

“You waiting for mom and dad?” Remus said, dropping a kiss to the top of his head.

“And you,” Julian said.

“Right, right,” Remus smoothed his black tuxedo, trying to ignore the subtle glint of blue-silver embroidered into the black velvet. His mother was a planner—which Remus liked usually—but this design had not aged well. This suit had a twin that it no longer belonged with. Remus clenched his jaw as he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He’d hoped wearing it would feel like defiance.

But it only felt like he was lonely. He gave his head a hard shake. He had Leo. He couldn’t let New York throw him.

“Gossip Girl’s going crazy. Of course,” Julian said.

“Jules, you shouldn’t read that stuff,” Remus sighed. “It’s just gossip—”

“Just posted about Sirius,” Julian murmured.

Remus huffed, pushing his hair out of its too neat style in the mirror. “So?”

Julian shrugged, but pointedly looked away when Remus took out his own phone.

The photo looked like one from the paparazzi, but the sight of Sirius on the red carpet made Remus’ throat close up.

I spy a statement piece. Or maybe it’s just a statement. Sirius Black arrives on the red carpet—or should I say black carpet—with none other than New York’s favorite icon, in worship and fashion alike. The Saint of these streets is looking particularly dashing tonight, hand in hand with the heir of this city. Ouch, Re. Looks like you’ve been dethroned.

Remus stared down at the screen, neck hot. Sirius’ suit sleeves had the barely there leather half moon cut-outs that Remus remembered tracing onto his skin.

Sirius had smiled into their kiss. Think anyone will notice?

Remus had just laughed. Everyone will notice.

But there was Saint, a crown of moonstones in his golden hair.

Remus looked down at his own suit. Of course Saint had thought of a way they’d match, that was all it was, but it still felt like a snub.

“I sort of miss him,” Julian said quietly.

Remus’ heart pulled. He swallowed and clicked his phone off. He looked at Julian, who looked almost sheepish.

“Do you?” Julian asked even more quietly.

“Don’t you like Leo?” Remus asked.

“Of course,” Julian nodded quickly. “But…”

“Remus,” Hope smiled, coming down the stairs arm-in-arm with their father. “Jules. Ready, boys?”

Remus didn’t think saying no was an option. He cleared his throat, pushed his hair back.

“Almost,” he said, backtracking towards the stairs. “Just a second. Gotta call Leo, make sure he hasn’t left yet.”

XOXO

“We can watch a livestream of the red carpet and the show,” Natalie said. “Sit.”

Finn groaned, squished beside Natalie on her tiny sofa. “That feels like I’m stalking him.”

“We’re allowed to stalk the boys we like.”

“You’re dating my brother, Nat. Does this mean you stalked him?”

“It really does,” Alex said, coming in from the kitchen with their margaritas and dropping a kiss to Natalie’s temple.

“Hm,” Natalie smiled up at him, accepting a kiss to her lips. “Scruffy.”

Finn sighed and pulled a knee up to his chest, watching the loading video Natalie had pulled up.

“Your wifi sucks,” he mumbled.

“It’ll load,” Natalie scooted over for Alex and passed Finn his drink.

“Salsa, too,” Finn said, waving it over.

Finally, the video popped up to a view of the red carpet.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Alex said.

“Be nice,” Natalie laughed. “It’s fashion!”

“Look,” Alex sighed. “I know they’re wealthy and it’s suppose to be all, I don’t know sandy beaches and wristwatches, but not a single one of these people look remotely happy. Like take a look at this guy—“

Finn looked over the sandy-haired man posing in front of the cameras—well, not posing, really. Kasey Winter, the commentators were saying.

“Nice hair,” Natalie crunched on a chip. “And listen to that, his mother’s one of the biggest producers at Weird Sisters Records.”

“Fine, but he looks like he’s ready to kill someone. I mean, anyone else think its kind of fucked up that the New York families go to a New York university where New York businesses draw from New York’s elite?”

“Yes,” Finn and Natalie said in unison.

And then there was Logan.

Finn let out an embarrassing sound and set his drink down, leaning forward.

Logan walked out in front of the cameras with three girls—his sisters, Finn remembered. Not to mention he followed all of them on Instagram. They had a lot of shoes, sure, but they seemed all right.

“I saw this thing on Gossip Girl about one of the sisters,” Natalie said. “She—”

“Nat, why the hell do you read that?”

Natalie shot him a look. “Like you don’t.”

Finn ignored them, too focused on the dark, nearly black, velvety green cape—or was it cloak?—that covered Logan’s shoulders down to above his elbows, falling to an elegant point at the small of his back over his black suit. The sisters had a similar get-up in one way or another—a green train, a shawl, a corset. Logan’s clasp was a silver fleur-de-lis.

“Green,” Finn breathed.

“What?” Alex asked.

Finn bit the inside of his cheek at Logan’s expression. It was meant to be blank, Finn thought, at-ease and untouchable, but it came off almost enticing. His dark eyelashes swept against his cheeks. Finn watched his throat bob around a swallow, his adored eyes shifting from flash to flash.

“Nothing,” Finn answered his brother.

“How’d you meet this kid anyway, Fish?” his brother asked.

“I was closing up shop about a month ago,” Finn said. “And he stopped at one of our windows. Looked like he’d run the entire island, he was breathing so hard. Not to mention it was pouring like nothing else. Thought he was gonna pass out, so I unlocked the door and let him in to get dry. I don’t know, he was kind of shy at first. Listened to me talk for about an hour before he started giving anything back.” Finn shrugged, watching Logan walk off screen. “I invite him to play basketball with me, Morg, and Percy now. We get lunch after sometimes.”

Natalie sighed. “He looked like one unhappy camper.”

“I think his family puts a lot of pressure on him. He’s the baby. Only son. All that bullshit.”

“I kind of want that cape,” Natalie said.

Alex sighed. “That’s the idea.”

Natalie slapped his chest, then kissed his cheek, and Finn watched Logan walk off-screen.

XOXO

“What say you, Capulet?”

Sirius looked down at Saint at his shoulder. “They’re out of crab puffs.”

“Boo,” Saint said. “You still closing the show?”

“Yep.”

“Shouldn’t you be in hair and makeup?”

“Yep.”

Saint stepped in front of him, the gold band of moonstones nestled in his curls glinting in the dark stage lights. “Looking for someone?”

Sirius just reached out and ran a gentle thumbnail beneath where Saint’s golden eyeliner had smudged against his brown skin, striking it back to a point. “Nope. See you after the show.”

Saint clucked his tongue. “I’m unimpressed.”

“What else is new?” Sirius said.

Saint went to smile, when his eyes flickered behind Sirius and he raised his eyebrows. “That.”

Sirius turned around, and quickly schooled his expression. The cameras were going wild, and in front of all the flashing lights was Remus, hand-in-hand with Leo Knut.

“They make a sunshine pair,” Saint said from beside him. “How’re you feeling?”

Sirius touched two fingers to one of the black-leather moons on his jacket sleeve. They were meant to go with Remus’ stars. He remembered planning for them. He’d thought…part of him had thought if he’d worn them tonight—

“Cloudy sky,” he replied to Saint.

“I was gonna say dappled sunlight in…” Saint glanced around. “A dark forest.”

Remus and Leo were wearing dress shirts, collars rumpled and unbuttoned at their throats, each in a smooth shade of cream. Their hands, decked out in golden rings, were laced together, and they both wore pale gray slacks, slim cut, and laceless nikes.

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun…hmm, but don’t I spy some burning jealous?

“What are we going for here,” Saint raised an eyebrow. “Left in a hurry and didn’t get the dress code?”

“We’re going against me,” Sirius replied, slipping his hands into his pockets and trying to stand straight. “That’s all.”

“Sunlight in a dark forest, indeed.”

Sirius watched them looking out over the flashes, and tried not to look surprised when golden eyes met his own. Remus’ expression didn’t change either. Instead, he simply blinked, then looked away. Leo, tall and lean, leaned into his ear, and Remus smiled. The cameras popped like champagne.

I love right here, Sirius remembered his own voice, the feeling of the soft skin by Remus’ eye beneath his thumb. I love right here when you smile.

“I need to get backstage,” Sirius said shortly, and turned on his heel.

“I’ll be watching.”

“Don’t I know,” Sirius called as he weaved his way through the crowd, heading backstage. The woman with a radio in her ear looked annoyed and nervous when he slipped past her, and radioed that he had arrived to whoever it was that needed to know.

“Sirius!” Alice called, hands full of makeup brushes and up in the air. “Jesus Christ, do you think I have all fucking night?”

Sirius shrugged out of his red carpet jacket—which someone took—and slid into her chair. “Sorry, Al.”

She twirled a protective cape around his shoulders, snapping it at the base of his neck. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty. But then again, I think everyone’s pretty.”

Sirius closed his eyes, letting her begin. “People are.”

Alice had just finished contour when Sirius all but felt his mother’s presence. A shift in the air. A cooler wind. People standing up straighter and shivering.

“Sirius,” his mother’s face appeared in the mirror. Her red lipstick was the brightest thing about her, and even that was almost mauve. Her dress was tight around her breasts, but cascaded in thick waves of velvet behind her, and she wore tall leather boots. It almost looked like armor. “You’re very late, darling.”

“Sorry,” Sirius said. “Saint and I got caught up in the crowd, I guess.”

She hummed. “You two looked fetching out there. He’s much more pleasing than that other boy ever was. His family is important, too.”

It was true, that his mother had never liked Remus much. Though, Sirius couldn’t compare him and Saint. They were two different oceans.

“Get dressed,” his mother breathed, and was already snapping her fingers at one of the other models before Sirius could say another word.

“All right?” Alice asked him quietly.

Sirius looked at himself in the mirror. Her contour made his face look almost gaunt, as was the general makeup for all of the models, and he knew he’d be given dark eye makeup next, his hair fluffed into perfect curls.

“Fine,” Sirius said, and closed his eyes to let her work.

Sirius was shrugging into his given outfit—a billowing longcoat, 20th century in fashion, and a longer tunic made almost entirely of the thinnest black silk. It would shimmer when he walked, he knew, and his tall, lace-up boots, the flat sole so thin and delicate that he almost felt barefoot, would disappear beneath the shimmer. His mother was cold, stubborn, and cruel sometimes, an unfeeling, yawning sort of dark, but she was talented.

“Lord Vader,” came a voice from behind him, and Sirius laughed even before he turned to face Thomas Walker.

“Sounds about right,” Sirius said, and they clasped hands, pulling them into a one-armed hug. “You look fantastic, though.”

Thomas spun slowly on his heel, letting the long, loose fitting white linen of his button-down—which went out in two, tuxedo-like tails at his back—flare out above his slim, black trousers. He wore a thin scarf of distressed wool.

“Like a fallen gentleman, no?” Thomas grinned. “I might try and steal these pants. And maybe the shirt for Noelle.”

“Oh, yeah,” Sirius smiled, spying Noelle’s green eyes behind his shoulder. “She’ll love that.”

Noelle wrapped her arms, which were draped in a transparent green cloth, around Thomas’ waist. “Thanks for thinking of me, T baby.”

Thomas laughed in surprise. “Who let you back stage?”

“I’m a Tremblay, they’ll let us in anywhere.”

Thomas turned his head to capture Noelle in a soft kiss.

“See you after, hm?” Noelle said. “I’m gonna go say hi to my friend, she’s walking tonight, too.”

“Yeah, we’ll ride to Honeyduke’s together.”

Noelle raised an eyebrow at him. “You coming, Black?”

“Saint all but owns the place,” Sirius said. “Of course I am.”

Sirius walked. He didn’t look down, or hear the cameras. It wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, to be up here, not able to see past the lights—but something tonight was different. It felt as it had the night of his and Remus’ first kiss.

In that show, he had had one, thin line of black lipstick traced over the center of his bottom lip. It had marked Remus’ throat and cheeks like soot by the end of it all.

Remus had been waiting for him back stage.

“Come here,” Remus had whispered, and laced their fingers together.

“Where?” Sirius had answered, surprised by their palms pressing together.

But it hadn’t been a place. Remus had pressed them back in between clothing racks, and crashed their mouths together.

Here, Remus had whispered, and kissed him again.

Sirius felt the absence of the stage lights like a wash of cold air, and he stretched out his back, letting his stony face drop a little. He glanced around, but there was no one to be found. His cheeks were warm just thinking about it.

“Good,” his mother said as he passed her by to take off the makeup, and that was all.

XOXO

Saint looked across Honeyduke’s and felt like it was his. Logan was laughing with Thomas and Noelle, and he had Kasey Winter beside him, securing tickets to one of their favorite bands to see together.

“Done,” Kasey said, and flashed one of his rare smiles.

“I knew you were my favorite,” Saint took a sip of his drink, and Kasey scoffed.

“Me or my mom?”

“Maybe a little of both. Oh, and we’re going to sushi beforehand.”

Kasey’s smile was larger now. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. You gonna leave with that drummer again? What’s her name?”

Saint smiled. “Oh, Sally. And I make it a habit to always leave with the drummer.”

Kasey just shook his head. “Yeah, yeah. I’m getting a drink and leaving you to your one-liners.”

Saint watched him go, feeling settled, and set about scanning the room for Sirius. He was sure he’d know if he was there—people tended to swarm to Sirius, even if he didn’t ask for it. It was part of the reason they were so close. People flocked to Saint, too. So, they asked for each other’s company. A more intimate, calm part of life. Sirius was quiet. Saint wasn’t, but he let Saint , for a moment, be that way, too. Saint was loud. Sirius wasn’t, but Saint had his ways to fire him up.

“Another drink, sir?”

Saint looked over his shoulder, only to turn all the way around, interest peaked. The bartender had sandy hair, and a strong jaw, his cheeks textured by acne scars in some places. He had brown eyes—save for a sliver of green in one.

“Only if you have one with me,” Saint said, and glanced down at his name-tag. “Luke.”

Luke arched an eyebrow, pressing the heels of his palms onto the bar between them, revealing rolled up sleeves and some type of vine tattoo, wrapping all around both of his forearms.

“I’m working, sir.”

“Is that a later?” he nodded at the tattoo. “Nice.”

“I don’t think so,” Luke said.

“Oh, no?”

Luke scowled—how did he look so handsome doing that?

“Do you make it a habit to go home with all the waiters, too?”

Saint didn’t let his expression flicker, just smiled nice and slow.

“Hillrock,” Saint said. “Neat.”

The barkeep turned away.

Ouch. Looks like not everyone worships at your alter, Saint.

XOXO

The elevator doors opened, revealing the party to Sirius one outfit after the next. He had changed for the afterparty—the first of three. He wore a tight, thin black t-shirt and dark jeans. He hadn’t bothered to wash off the dark, smudged eyeliner from the show. His combat boots went up to just below his knee, and had the same nearly naked feeling sole. It made him feel soundless, like a shadow.

Maybe that’s why it was easy to find Remus and stand beside him without him stirring.

“You’re a little underdressed,” Sirius said without looking at him.

“Says the boy wearing a t-shirt,” Remus replied evenly.

Sirius scowled. “I meant at the show.”

“People like to be surprised,” Remus replied evenly.

“Who’s Leo?”

“My boyfriend.”

Sirius turned towards him. “You didn’t tell me you were coming home.”

Remus matched him. They were nearly chest to chest. “You didn’t say a word to me in class.”

“You didn’t—“

“I had the last word,” Remus snapped. “I figured maybe you’d finally have something to say back.”

Sirius stared at him, heart pounding in his ears. For a moment, he let himself look. At the golden eyes, hair more blond than ever from the summer’s sun. Sirius couldn’t stand that mouth set in a frown.

“Guess not,” Remus said softly, lips dropping open in the way they used to before they kissed.

Sirius all but felt him vanish into the writhing crowd.

XOXO

Finn looked up when a flash of color on the morning-silent street outside caught his eye. He set the books he was holding down, took the pen out from between his teeth.

Green.

“What the hell?” Finn laughed as he pulled open the door to his bookshop to find Logan standing there. “It’s five in the fucking morning, what are you doing here? Couldn’t sleep?”

“Never did,” Logan said, and that’s when Finn saw that Logan was still in his suit from the livestream.

“Ah, I see,” Finn said, eyes flicking up and down his broad form. He swallowed dryly. “The nature of afterparties, I suppose. Well, you—you look good. For someone who’s been up all night, I mean.”

Logan just smiled, one of his small, secretive ones. Finn watched as he stepped forward so they were almost toe to toe in the doorway.

“Wh…” Finn’s voice dropped off with a breathless laugh. He couldn’t help but look at Logan’s mouth. His full lips that could speak a language Finn couldn’t even begin to describe.

Logan just reached up to the base of his own throat and unclipped the fleur-de-lis clasp there. In one smooth swoop, he drew his short cloak from his shoulders and around Finn’s, right over his worn gray t-shirt, clicking it in place. The fabric brought a gentle scent, and he figured it must be Logan’s cologne.

“Something green,” Logan said softly. A warm, early morning breeze ruffled his hair, pushing the curls forward. Finn couldn’t move. “What are you doing here?”

“Inventory,” Finn whispered, then cleared his throat. “Inventory.”

“Okay,” Logan said. “I’ll help.”

#between fifth and you lumosinlove #lumosinlove #gossipgirl!au #wolfstar #wolfstar au #o'knutzy #hazelverse #harry potter #Harry Potter au

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dancethroughthethunder · 4 years ago

Text

A Little Gryffindor Courage

Word Count: A little under 4.6k

Pairing: Young!Remus Lupin x Ravenclaw!Reader

Request: “Hi! Can you please do a young Remus Lupin x Ravenclaw! reader where she smells amortentia for slughorns class and she smells chocolate and panics bc woah, Remus likes chocolate! And he smells her scent (whatever you decide) in his own and gets the marauders go help set them both up? Tysm!!”

Authors Note: Am I using the “Marlene, Dorcas, Lily and Reader as girl group parallel to the Marauders just because four people get sat at a table in my brain”? You bet I am. Also, fem!reader as the request specified pronouns! This is my first request and I’m super excited to write it. I made the reader smell like lilacs because that’s what I smell like and it’s the first scent that came to mind lol. Reader smells more than just chocolate in the Amortentia bc I firmly believe it’s about more than romantic love. So I’ll say it now, only the third and final smell for Reader is meant to be romantic. I’m a sucker for an amortentia fic and a young!Remus so this is the perfect first request- it’s like you picked my brain to come up with it. I hope you like it! Xoxo (tagging @ragnarachael bc I promised her I would)

Summary: Sixth year students Remus Lupin and Y/N L/N have been good friends and potions partners for a while. One day, Professor Slughorn decides to switch up the pairs and you find yourself partnered with your dear friend Lily Evans while you study and make Amortentia. What happens when you find yourself smelling chocolate? Some teasing from Lily, and a push in the right direction from your friends help you and Remus figure out that there might be more than just friendly feelings between the two of you.

Warnings: If you count some terrible puns as a warning, then there’s that.

“Hey pretty lady, can I walk you to your class?”

“Oh my, a suitor of my own. I can’t wait to tell mother.” Your best friend Lily Evans giggled as she turned around to see you standing behind her, hand extended to her.

“Oi L/N, you make a better James than James.” Sirius yelled out from down the table as you watched Peter duck so James could have the perfect line or sight to toss a piece of cereal at his best friend.

“Good morning boys.” You waved, laughing as Lily took your hand and began to walk with you away from the Gryffindor table and out of the Great Hall to go to your first lesson, Potions.

You loved having Potions first thing in the day, and certainly not because of your professor. Sure Slughorn meant well but there was only so much fawning he could do over you and your best friends before you were practically begging for Professor McGonagall’s tough no nonsense attitude. No, you liked Potions because it meant you got to start your day with your best friends, as Ravenclaw and Gryffindor shared the class together.

The second you left the Great Hall, you were joined by Dorcas Meadowes and Marlene McKinnon, the other half of your friend group. You supposed people thought it was strange that your closest friends were in a different house, but hey houses are about the qualities you espouse and hold dear, not a binding group of exclusive friends that you can’t stray beyond. The four of you made your way down to the dungeons while the three Gryffindors caught you up on the nighttime shenanigans the Marauders had been up to since you saw them last.

Walking into the classroom, you saw a note on the front board telling you that Professor Slughorn would be late and to divide into the pairs up on the board. Huh, that’s weird, you thought, Slughorn usually keeps the same partners. Well, I hope my new one is as good as my current one. You scanned the board to find your name and breathed a sigh of relief when you saw that luckily you were paired with Lily. Okay, so maybe there were some benefits to being the teacher’s favorites.

“Aww poor Y/N/N, she won’t get to stare at her boy all class.” Marlene teased as her and Dorcas took their seats on the opposite sides of the table from you and Lily. Huh, me and Lil and Dorcas and Marls? Slughorn must be in a really good mood.

“Oh hush, Remus and I are friends okay, nothing more. You’re just projecting your love for Sirius onto me, Marlene McKinnon.” Marlene shrugged, smirking, but dropped the subject as the boys in question walked into the room.

“Sluggy, Lily, ladies, other members of the class.” James Potter came strolling into the classroom first, with a smirking Sirius Black, an amused looking Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin, lovingly rolling his eyes at his friend. James stopped to acknowledge Lily, then the rest of your table before turning to realize that your professor was nowhere to be seen.

“We’re supposed to be getting into the pairs listed on the board, and starting to brew Amortentia. But then again, those of us who can read already know that, Potter.” If it was anybody else you were sure the harsh comment would be enough for a jinx thrown behind their backs later, but with Lily and James it was just par for the course.

You went to the storage cupboard to get the ingredients you needed, while Lily was setting up your cauldron with the proper equipment you would need to make the potion.

“Good morning, Y/N.” You heard the familiar voice of your typical potions partner and turned around to find Remus Lupin standing behind you, waiting to grab his own ingredients.

“Morning, Remus. I have to say, as glad as I am that it’s Lil, I’m going to miss my favorite potions partner”. You teasingly bumped his hip with your own as you said this, your arms full of potions ingredients.

“Don’t let Lily hear you say that I’m your favorite, not her, she’ll kick both of our arses.”

“Oh Remus, who said I was talking about you?” You giggled as you ducked under his arm to head back to your table.

“I’m wounded, truly.” Remus smirked at you as you tried to hide the blush that was undoubtedly creeping up your face.

“Somehow I think you’ll survive, Rem.” You quickly walked away before Marlene or the girls could notice the interaction and tease you even further about it.

You walked back over to your table, trying not to look back at the tall boy that had captured your attention. As much as you liked Remus, you weren’t going to say anything. Sometimes you thought he was flirting with you, but you were sure that you were reading into it. Besides, with best friends like James, Sirius and Peter, there was no way he could possibly like you without the three of them turning it into a spectacle a la Lily and James.

Sometime later, Professor Slughorn had appeared, apologizing for his absence and mumbling something about a group of first and second years that had needed a big enough disciplinary meeting that included him as their Head of House, and the Headmaster. You barely paused to register what he was saying as you continued focusing your attention on brewing your, fairly complicated potion. Soon enough, the liquid in your cauldron was taking on a mother-of-pearl shine as steam came piling out of it. You wiped your hand over the back of your forehead, to hopefully reduce the bit of sweat that was appearing as everyone’s potions were giving off hot steam.

“Hey, Marlene?”

“Yes, Dorcas?”

“I wonder what exactly a tall, sandy haired Gryffindor prefect smells like?” You looked up from your potion and groaned as your two best friends on the other side of the table exchanged wicked grins, that you knew meant trouble.

“Well you know Dor, I bet there’s one way to find out.”

“Just ask Y/N/N what her Amortentia smells like.” Dorcas and Marlene finished together as Lily laughed and you groaned.

Unbeknownst to you, there was a similar discussion occurring over at the Marauders table.

“Hey James, how many galleons do you want to put on a bet that whatever Y/N smells like, our Moony here smells in his potion?”

“It’s lilacs!” Peter excitedly claimed.

“What?” His three best friends turned, faces screwed up in confusion, to stare at him.

“What Y/N smells like? She smells like lilacs.” Peter smiled as he offered this information.

“Now how in Merlin’s name do you know that Pete?” Sirius turned to look from Peter to you, back to Peter with one eyebrow raised.

“That Hogsmeade weekend when she was sick and couldn’t go, she asked me to pick up some more of her soap for her, don’t you remember?”

“No Pete literally nobody remembers that, and loverboy, do you feel like you’ve got competition now?”

“Don’t be a hippogriff’s left nut James, you two probably just had detention that day. And regardless, anyone could tell you that she smells like lilacs.”

“Again, no, nobody just knows that off the top of their head. Unless they’re Peter or they’re in love.”

Before either you or Remus could give some sort of (honestly well deserved) snarky remark to your respective friend groups, Professor Slughorn called the class to attention and began to wax poetic about Amortentia.

“Ahh Amortentia. The strongest love potion in the world, but I’m sure you all know that from the chapter. It smells different to each person, depending on that which attracts them. Some people smell purely based on the romantic love in their life, but for many of us, Amortentia’s smell reminds us of love both familial and romantic, platonic and intimate. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, maybe love is in the nose of the potion maker.” Slughorn paused here to chuckle, with one hand on his stomach and the other rested on his desk, clearly incredibly amused by himself.

As badly as you wanted to keep a straight face and not encourage the man from any further attempts at humor, you couldn’t stop the laugh escaping from your mouth. Before you had a chance to cover your mouth with your hand, Remus turned around and the two of you shared eye contact and a smile that Lily (who was of course, observing) would swear had nothing to do with the joke you were both unsuccessfully trying not to laugh at. That was one thing you liked about having Remus as a potions partner, you had similar senses of humor and he wasn’t afraid to laugh at a professor’s bad jokes with you. Unfortunately, Professor Slughorn caught the eye contact between you two and decided that you were the perfect person to pick on as the next, and final, part of the lesson.

“Now, class, as we can see Miss Evans and Miss L/N’s potion is absolutely marvellous, see the mother of pearl sheen? The spirals of steam? I can see that not all of you had as much luck, so after we have Miss L/N demonstrate for us how to properly smell the potion and describe for us what she smells, I want you all to come over here and smell their potion. Then you may pack up for the day. Remember, I want a foot of parchment on Amortentia and you will not receive complete marks unless I see you smell this potion and you make mention of your specific type of scent in your essay. Have a good day, I’ll be at my desk to observe if you have any questions. But first, Miss L/N?”

You were hoping he’d forget. But, he didn’t. What a man, forgets when you need him to remember and remembers when you need him to forget. Oh well, at least he means well. You tucked your hair behind your ears so as to not get any of it in the potion and leaned forward to inhale just a little bit of the steam to be able to smell your potion.

“Well, go on girl, tell us what you smell.”

As you breathed in, the first thing you noticed was the indescribable scent that you knew without hesitation, “It smells like my grandmother’s kitchen. If I could describe happiness and childhood in a scent it would be this.” You sighed contentedly as you continued describing the scent of your potion, “and something.. Comforting, clean, but I can’t totally tell. Oh, Lil can you move away for a moment?”

As Lily moved to the other side of the table, you realize that you can still smell what is just so fundamentally Lily. “Well that makes sense, the next scent is my best friend. It’s you, Lil.” You smiled at her as you tried to hone in on the third and final discernible scent in your potion.

“Anything else Miss L/N?” You sensed that Slughorn could tell you weren’t quite done with your potion.

“It’s… hmm I mean it’s sweet but not like a pudding. I think it’s, yes it’s chocolate.” You were so focused on your potion that you didn’t see the way that Remus froze in his chair, eyes on you while Sirius was (not subtly at all) tapping Remus on the knee under the table, as if to say “Hey Remus that’s you in case you didn’t know, that friend of ours that you’ve fancied for years smelled you and you’re chocolate”. You know, the way an excited puppy might hit you with its wagging tail.

But you didn’t notice, you were too busy trying to think through who you associated with the smell of chocolate because smelling Remus? Certainly not, how fanciful and romantic- you didn’t have time to be a hopeless romantic. No, there had to be some other explanation than the boy who you knew always had chocolate for a friend in need and who threatened to die Sirius’ beloved hair if he stole his last bar of chocolate one more time. It couldn’t be Remus, who always let Lily raid his chocolate stash for you when he knew it was your time of the month, Remus for whom you made sure to return the favor (what? You were a Ravenclaw for Rowena’s sake, it wasn’t like you hadn’t put two and two together, I mean really it didn’t take a potions master to figure out why his friends called him Moony). Nope, there was another explanation and that was that.

While you were typically to dispose of your own potion and clean up your workstation, Professor Slughorn allowed you and Lily to be the first to leave class and have someone else (likely him) clean up your area, that way everyone else could use your perfect potion to find their own smell. You and Lily grabbed your bags and books, told Marlene and Dorcas you’d meet them in the courtyard and headed out of the classroom.

As you made your way to the courtyard, Remus was taking his time clearing his own cauldron, hoping that if he went slowly enough his friends would give up and go smell the Amortentia without him. He could have smelled his own except Peter accidentally bumped his arm while he was pouring one of his ingredients into his cauldron. While Peter apologized profusely, Remus didn’t mind; it was one of the most advanced potions they had attempted so far and it was likely that a mistake would be made somewhere along the way. Regardless, Remus wasn’t necessarily afraid of what he might smell, he was afraid of admitting it to his friends.

“Cmon Moons, time to go find out what gives you a nose boner…. A noner”

“Sirius, do you hear the things that come out of your mouth?” Being best friends with James and Sirius, one might think that they would cease finding things surprising. They would be wrong.

“Nope, it’s a surprise to me as well, more fun that way. Let’s go!” Before Remus could protest or find something else to occupy his time and attention, Sirius had grabbed his one arm, James the other and Peter was standing behind him making sure that he had no choice but to move forward towards the cauldron.

The three boys shoved Remus so hard he nearly went head first into the cauldron, a little too excited to see what the potion would reveal. When the tall blonde boy softened, and the corners of his mouth turned up instinctively at the first smell of the potion, the boys knew that look meant one thing and one thing alone: lilacs.

Remus would deny it (“Denial is a hell of a drug, my wolfy little friend”) but he had a Y/N face. James could put a bell around your neck and it still wouldn’t be as reliable as Remus’ face to notify others that you had entered a room. Then again, as he’d remind his friends, unless you’re carrying a mirror around everywhere, one can never really know what the nuances of their different facial expressions can look like. Regardless, the Y/N face never lies, and without having to ask, the Marauders knew that the potion had confirmed what everyone with a pair of eyes knew, that you and Remus both fancied each other deeply enough to impact the smell of your Amortentia. As Remus began to straighten up, the three boys exchanged looks and knew that they needed to do something to help the two of you figure out how to express your feelings before someone in your respective friend groups just put it in a Howler for the entire Great Hall to hear.

As you went on with the rest of your day, completely unaware of what (or perhaps more accurately, who) Remus smelled in his Amortentia, your friends realized that the Marauders were up to something. After Potions, you didn’t have another class with Gryffindors for the rest of that particular day so until dinnertime (you liked to spend lunch with your fellow Ravenclaws) you wouldn’t have a really good chance to catch up with any of them. That left the Marauders free to scheme and your friends free to try and find out what their favorite trouble makers were up to.

“Alright Pettigrew, tell us what’s going on.” Lily Evans walked up to Peter Pettigrew who, instead of using his break to go into the courtyard or even the library, was standing outside the very same potions classroom they were in that morning.

“What? Erm, nothing really… what’s… going on with you?” Peter looked around nervously wondering why now of all times, it was his turn to be the lookout. They should have known better than to come up with a plan regarding Y/N without bringing Marlene, Lily, and Dorcas in on it.

“Come on Peter, you can’t think we’re that stupid. Now where are the other three? And what trouble are you getting into?”

“My sweet Lilyflower.” The three girls jumped as Sirius appeared behind them, having snuck up behind them silently.

“Ugh, Sirius. Come on, we know you’re up to something and I don’t have time for another one of Potter’s proposals.” Lily rolled her eyes, while Marlene and Dorcas laughed.

“Now now Lilypad, you’re not the flower we’re concerned with today. We’re on more of a… lilac kick today.” Sirius smirked, feeling so clever as he said this.

“So it has to do with Y/N?” Marlene’s eyes lit up as she started to put the pieces together.

“What? Erm, what?”

“Everyone knows she smells like lilacs, she’s always getting more lilac soap and perfume when we go into Hogsmeade.” Dorcas rolled her eyes as Sirius looked around, clearly not expecting that answer.

“Huh, Remus was right, everyone knows that.” Before Sirius could answer, the door behind Peter opened and James came out of the classroom.

“Okay, we take it back Pete, maybe that is something everyone knows.” Peter smiled triumphantly as Sirius shrugged. “Anyways, follow us ladies.” The six students walked up towards the Gryffindor common room together, as the boys filled the girls in on their plan for dinner.

Dinnertime arrived and you walked into the Great Hall, surprised to find that none of your friends were at the Gryffindor table. You quickly scanned the other three tables, taking extra time when looking at the Ravenclaw table, in case they decided to switch things up and were waiting for you at a different table tonight. You even glanced over at the Slytherin table, knowing that the chance of them being there was greater than the chance of you suddenly owning all the gold in Gringotts.

Suddenly there was an arm around your shoulder, and Sirius was by your side. “M’lady, would you care to join me for dinner?”

“Oh well of course good sir”. You laughed as you allowed Sirius to steer you towards the Gryffindor table. You sat down next to him and saw James, Marlene, Peter, and Dorcas all walking in together, talking as they made their way over to you and Sirius at the table. You started to pour yourself a glass of pumpkin juice when you realized that your friends were definitely up to something. The girls acting this cozy with the boys? All while wearing mischievous smiles on their faces and staring at you? Yep, something was definitely going on. You wondered if it had anything to do with Lily and Remus’ absences and wondered for a moment if that meant James was planning another elaborate show of love for Lily with Remus acting as the distraction.

“Alright, you lot are up to no good, what is it this time?” You did your best impression of Professor McGonagall, making Dorcas, Marlene, and Peter burst out in laughter and earning impressed smirks from Sirius and James.

“My dear, wonderful, talented potion maker Y/N/N, could you kindly identify this potion for us?” James pulled a vial out of his pocket, took off the lid and handed it to you. Even if you hadn’t noticed the distinct coloring, the immediate smell of chocolate and Lily’s fresh linens hit you and you knew that somehow your friends had gotten ahold of their own bit of Amortentia.

“Guys, you can’t be serious? You can’t give someone Amortentia, that’s incredibly unethical and not to mention-”

“Don’t worry my wise little friend, we aren’t dosing anyone. But, you can confirm this is Amortentia?” Sirius smirked at you while taking the vial out of your hands, all the while leaving the cap off.

“Yes of course, how did you get it? What are you doing with it?”

“Never mind that, and just wait and see.” Sirius said as Marlene leaned into your ear to whisper (“nicked it from Sluggy’s office earlier”).

At that exact moment, Lily and Remus came up to the table, deep in discussion. “Hey everyone.” Remus smiled at you as he greeted everyone.

“Here, mate. You can take my seat and I’ll move over- woah, sorry Moons.” In his attempt to stand up and allow Remus to swap spots with him, Sirius slipped and managed to pour the entire vial of Amortentia down Remus’ robes. Before anyone could offer him a napkin to wipe it off the Muggle way, or could get their wand out for a quick Scourgify, Remus started laughing.

“Merlin, Sirius, it really wasn’t that important for you to prove. We get it, you don’t know that Y/N usually smells like lilacs, you didn’t need to go out and nick her perfume to prove that the rest of us recognize it.” Remus continued laughing as your jaw dropped.

All of a sudden, it made sense. As the pieces fell together, you realized why Sirius had stolen the Amortentia from Slughorn’s office and why ¾ of the Marauders were conspiring with your friends. You quickly realized that the reason no one was quick to help clean up the mess was because unlike you, they knew it was coming and wanted to make sure that Remus would identify your scent before it was gone. You also figured that the reason Lily came late was to distract and slow down Remus so everyone else could have time to have you identify the potion, and that Sirius’ spill was as purposeful as him initially taking the seat next to you. Not for the first time that day, you knew that Remus unknowingly caused you to both smile, and blush while trying to hide both.

“I suddenly remembered that I need to ask my girl Minnie McG about Quidditch and that I need Sirius, Peter, Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas with me for moral support.” James jumped up from the table, and after a nod from Sirius, the rest of your friends stood up and quickly headed towards the front of the room.

“All of them? That’s so odd. Y/N, your perfume is rather lovely as always, but would you mind passing me a napkin?” Remus awkwardly brought his hand up to scratch behind his ear as he sat down across from you, waiting for an explanation and a napkin. You instead got your wand out and muttered a quick scourgify, handing Remus a glass of pumpkin juice instead.

“Erm, Remus.”

Before you could say anything else, Remus (finally noticing the hesitation in your voice and amusement on your face) panicked that he had made you uncomfortable by recognizing your perfume, “Oh so earlier the boys and I were talking about our friends and Peter mentioned that he knew that you smelled like lilacs because of that one Hogsmeade trip and then-”

“Remus!” You reached across the table and placed your hand on his, hoping that you were guessing correctly in that your scent was romantically in his Amortentia, and that it wasn’t there just as a good friend.

“Yes?” This time, it was Remus’ turn to flush, and though his hand twitched nervously under yours, he didn’t dare move a muscle.

“That wasn’t my perfume Sirius spilled on you. It was, well, it was some leftover Amortentia from this morning. Wait, hey, wait, let me finish okay?” You smiled sweetly at him, knowing that his nerves had to be extreme right now. “Do you remember the third thing I smelled this morning? The chocolate? It’s you, of course it’s you Remus. I mean honestly, do you think I fancy the cashier at Honeydukes?” You winked at him, then took a deep breath.

“Listen, Rem, if I’ve got this all wrong and you smelled my perfume platonically like I smelled Lily, just say the world and we’ll never mention this again but, I fancy you, a lot. I figure that I know us both well enough to know that neither of us are really keen on being the one to make the first move. So I was wondering if I could borrow a little of your Gryffindor courage?”

Remus (who was displaying the strongest case of Y/N face in recorded history) nodded, happy but also curious to see where you were going with this. You smiled and took a breath to steady yourself as you lifted the hand that wasn’t currently on his and placed it lightly on the side of his face. If hearts could melt, yours would have been absolute liquid at the sight and sensation of Remus smiling and leaning into your hand. You slowly started to lean in, wanting to give him the opportunity to change his mind.

Finally, for the first time since he realized he fancied you all those years ago, Remus Lupin decided to do something about it and leaned in to meet you halfway. Remus turned the hand on the table upwards, so as to hold your hand properly while kissing you and you smiled into the kiss thinking that if Gryffindor courage meant getting to kiss Remus like this, you might talk to Dumbledore about a house transfer.

As you pulled away, you heard a noise behind you and turned around to find Professor McGonagall staring at the two of you, as you both blushed but remained holding hands.

“Miss L/N, Mr. Lupin, I assume I don’t have to remind you that public displays of affection need not occur in the Great Hall?” McGonagall tilted her head and spoke sternly, and before you could apologize, Sirius and James came quite literally running up to the three of you.

“Minnie, it’s young love!! You can’t deny them that!” Sirius yelled as James dramatically pretended to cry, hand clutched to his chest.

“Oh pull yourselves together boys, and get on with dinner.” As soon as Minerva McGonagall turned away from you, she could no longer keep a smile from creeping onto her face. She was ready to collect her galleons from Pomona Sprout about which of the two of you would make a move first (she counted your declaration as a move as the kiss was mutual), and could later be heard laughing over pudding “Well of course, I wasn’t going to deny them that, I mean did they see me revoking house points? No, but I can’t let them know we approve, Albus, it takes away half the fun”).

#remus lupin x reader #young!remus lupin #young!remus lupin x reader #marauders era #remus lupin x you #meg gets requests #my writing #in which meg writes

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marauder--harder · 6 years ago

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Mission: What If- A Sirius Black Imagine (Part 5 of Mission: Improbable)

A/N: This is a lil filler, fluff type chapter till we can get to the good bits. Someone remind me to stop making slow burn fics, yeah? lmao, I hope y’all enjoy. Much love, xoxo. :)

Word Count: 3,050.

The incessant sound of your muggle alarm clock ringing woke you that morning. You groaned, burying your head back into pillow, determined to get at least another few minutes of rest before you had to start your day. Blindly reaching out in the direction of the snooze button, you stopped as you heard it quiet suddenly. Your tired mind did little at the confused thought as to how it turned off, instead snuggling deeper into your covers.

“As cute as you look bundled up in your sheets, I didn’t sign up for my partner to be a flobberworm in disguise.”

Your eyes snapped open at the sound of the deep voice coming from your right and you quickly peeked out from your hut of warmth to have a look at who was bothering you this early. A set of twinkling gray eyes met yours, causing them to roll on their own volition. Of course it was Sirius.

“You know,” you drawled lowly, voice still laced with sleep. “Keep sneaking into my room, Sirius, and I’m going to think that you are a pervert.”

The sound of his barking laugh, while much too happy for such an ungodly hour, brought the faintest of smiles to your face.

“I’d hardly call this sneaking, love.”

“Yeah? Then what do you call it?”

Sirius palmed your alarm clock, shoving it in your general direction. “A service to all mankind. This bloody thing was going off for nearly five minutes before I shut it off.”

“I was getting to it,” you huffed, a slight flush rising on your cheeks at your obvious ignoring of the annoying contraption.

“Well, now that you’re up,” Sirius smiled suddenly and plopped onto the foot of your bed. “Shall we discuss our plan for the mission today? We need some sort of cover; this is a rather small town and I wouldn’t imagine that they get many visitors.”

“Lily and James are already stopping through on their trip to Italy,” you surmised with a yawn. “Can’t we just be two patrons again?”

Sirius shook his head, giving you his ‘I’ve got a plan’ look. “Three groups of random people passing through all at the same time? Not likely, love.”

“What were you thinking then?”

“You and I head in today, get settled and scope the place out then Lily and James head through in two days time. We don’t exactly know when they are planning on striking this week, so we need to be prepared for them. Establishing a spot in the community is a smart move.”

“You act like we’re setting up for a month long stakeout, Pads. This shouldn’t take more than a few days.”

“Unless they alter their plans because they realized someone from the Order was spying on their meeting.”

A cold pit formed in your stomach at the thought. You knew that they hadn’t actually gotten a good look of your face, but they had seen you. This meant that they could change their plan, attack at any time. Worse yet, they could have already set the village to burn. Sitting up in your bed, you threw the covers back and quickly moved to your armoire.

“Has Dumbledore secured that the town was safe as of this morning?” you asked, beginning to pilfer through your clothes, pulling everything you thought you might have needed for the mission.

Sirius furrowed his brows at your sudden haste, yet nodded all the same. “Yeah, his contact said that there’s been one Death Eater that’s infiltrated the city so far; we’re being sent to draw him and his slimey mates out.”

“Alright, good. Go tell Lily and James the plan, I’ll be ready in fifteen,” you added quickly before walking into your washroom and shutting the door with a hurried slam.

Sirius stared at the door for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what just had happened. You had jumped to accept his plan without even fully hearing it through. Yet, his mind was more preoccupied with the sight of your baggy ABBA t-shirt hanging off your shoulder, dipping just past your bum. The long expanse of your legs drew Sirius’ eyes and he took in a deep breath, trying to rid himself of his thoughts. This wasn’t the time; you all had a mission to do.

Twelve minutes later, not that Sirius was counting, you emerged from your room looking all the part muggle-ready-for-winter-holiday. Sirius stared for a moment, looking at just how adorable you seemed all bundled up in your favorite sweater and scarf. You tended to wear muggle clothes often, thinking that they were much more comfortable than your robes. Sirius agreed with you, for the most part; but the selfish part of him agreed just so he could see you donning more muggle fashion trends.

“Did Dumbledore tell you the apparition site, Pads?” you asked, shaking Sirius from his thoughts.

He nodded before clearing his throat. “Uh, yeah.”

“Ready then?” Another nod in affirmation had you smiling softly, walking over to Lily and James. You wrapped them both in a quick hug. “We’ll see you both in a few days, yeah?”

“Of course; send along a patronus if you need backup. James and I will be waiting at the apparition site just one town over. We’ll be right behind you both.”

“Excellent,” you muttered before pulling away to stand next to Sirius again. “Ready?”

Sirius extended his arm, looking at you with such a fond expression that you couldn’t help the slight acceleration of your heartbeat. That was odd. “Let’s blow up this joint.”

“It’s ‘let’s blow this joint,’ you ponce.” You slowly linked your arm with his, readying your knees for the blow you knew was to come. Being a side along wasn’t always preferable, but Sirius tried to make the experience as easy as possible for you. You winced at the lurch in your stomach, before the tightening of your body made you stiff and tried to relax. Apparition always was made more difficult if your body went rigid. That was asking for a splinching to happen.

When you opened your eyes, you looked around to see a quaint little alley in what you assumed was the neighboring town. It was a rural town, not many people in it, so you figured it was the perfect place to set up as your apparition point in order to stay under the radar of the Death Eaters you knew were in the neighboring village.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being your side-along,” you muttered, waiting for your stomach to settle before letting go of Sirius’ arm.

He merely chuckled lowly beside you, offering a comforting pat on your arm. “You always say that. It can’t be that bad.”

“Yeah, well, I never see you being a side-along here,” you grumbled as you pulled away.

“That’s because neither of us want to get splinched and you know it,” he joked with a wink. “Now come on, we’ve got a bit of a hike to trek and I want to get in before lunch.”

“Is food the only thing ever on your mind, Sirius?”

Another bark of laughter could be heard coming from the man in front of you, before he smirked devilishly. “I can think of a few other things,” he winked again.

Rolling your eyes, you sighed and grabbed your duffel. “I shouldn't have asked, you perv. Let’s just get a move on.”

“So you expect me to just ignore the way your legs looked this morning?”

A gasp escaped your lips before you could stop it as you stared at him, wide eyes, “Sirius Orion Black! You right cheeky bastard!”

He dodged your swats with another round of peeling laughter, and hurried along in front of you. “Can’t say it wasn’t worth it, love!”

The two of you walked in relatively amicable silence for a while, falling into a comfortable pace. Sirius had suggested you take a muggle taxi to the next town but you didn’t want to raise any suspicion or have any connection to the town you apparated to. The less muggles you came in contact with along the way, the better.

After a while, however, you couldn’t help but think about just how much the war has affected each of your friends. It touched everyone in the wizarding world, you knew; but it really changed the entire course of your life. You wondered what your life would be like if you weren’t in the war.

“You alright?” Sirius asked, after trying to get your attention nearly three times. You had spaced out so far that you hadn’t even heard him.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Sirius nodded and continued to walk in silence before asking softly, “where’d you just go?”

“Just thinking a bit, tha’s all,” you responded, voice equally soft and careful.

“‘Bout anything in particular? You seem… a bit upset.”

As soon as you turned to look up at Sirius, you noticed the gentle concern he held in his gaze. Staring down at you with an intensity that probably should have made you self-conscious, you simply smiled. His stare was piercing, yet soft and gentle. You could tell how curious he was, yet how easily he would drop it if you only said the words. Strangely enough, you didn’t mind the thought of telling him. He had never been one not to understand your plights before.

“You ever think about where you would have ended up if not for the war?”

A sad smile lifted Sirius’ frown for a moment. “Not really, no.” Oh. There were a few beats of silence, and then, “I’ve learned to stop asking ‘what if’s a long time ago, actually.”

“Why?”

“Dunno—just seemed easier. Less disappointment. As a kid I used to ask a lot of ‘what if’s. What if I had been put into Slytherin? What if my parents weren’t part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight? What if Walburga were more like James’ mum?”

Suddenly, you felt awful. “I’m sorry, I had no idea.”

“It’s not your fault,” he said with a wave of dismissal. “You wouldn’t have known. The Potters have been my family since sixth year—hell, before that if I really thought about it.”

“You’re a good fit with them,” you responded quietly. You thought back to the smile on Sirius’ face when James’ mum would give him a big, sloppy kiss on both of his cheeks at King’s Cross his sixth year. He looked happier than you had ever seen him. You now realized that it was probably because Sirius had been rid of his old family, and living permanently with the Potters.

“They are the closest thing I have to family.”

“You’re lucky to have them,” you smiled, thinking of your own family and how much you would have loved to see them recently. Yet, with the war on the rise you had told them that your new job required you to be travelling a lot and that you wouldn’t see them often. They were muggles themselves, so it wasn’t difficult to convince them. They knew little about the world you lived in and you would keep it that way until it was safe enough for them.

Sirius and you didn’t say much after that, both pondering the lives you lived without your parents. Sirius knew you were a muggleborn and had wondered if you were missing your own family right now. He had the luxury of writing the Potters on the off days he and James weren’t working for the Order. He had just talked with them last month, ensuring that they were both well and safe. Yet, you were forbidden from contacting your family in fear that it may be intercepted and they become targets. A deep pang stabbed at his heart and Sirius glanced over at you sadly.

“So, what about you?” he asked. At your confused look, he continued, “What would you be doing if not in the Order?”

A small smile grew on your face at his obvious attempt of changing the subject. Sirius’ heartbeat stuttered again in his chest and he didn’t even fight the feeling this time. “It’s silly, really.”

“Try me.”

“You’ll laugh.”

“Well, only if it is stupid,” he joked.

“Sirius! Now I’m definitely not going to tell you.”

“Oh come off it,” he whined. “You’re a brilliant witch; I’m sure whatever you wanted to dedicate your life to will be just as amazing.”

Glancing up at him with narrowed eyes, you only saw sincerity shining back at you. His face was the same gentle concern that was held earlier, letting you know that you had an out as long as you said so. Maybe that was your curse, you realized. You could never say no to such genuine curiosity. Sirius’ gaze was piercing and beautiful and you knew right then and there that you were in for danger because you’d never be able to deny him any part of yourself if he looked at you like that.

“I always wanted to be an astronomer,” you spoke softly, so softly that Sirius had to strain just to hear you.

Yet, he did. The smile that lit up his face, then, was blinding. Your heart leapt in your chest and you had to stop yourself from mirroring his borderline stupid grin as you stood your ground. You would not give into him this easily. Still, Sirius looked so genuinely pleased with this information and you couldn’t place why.

“Yeah?” he asked, grin still wide and happy. “Is that why you were always sneaking out in the middle of the night at Hogwarts?”

“It doesn’t count as sneaking out if you are going to class, Sirius,” you laughed. Then, you stopped. “Wait, how did you know that I was leaving my common room at night?”

Sirius’ smile turned sheepish as his hand came up to rub at the back of his neck. “Uh, the marauders and I, uh, kind of had a map that kept track of everyone on school grounds.”

“You spied on people!” you screeched, both shocked, embarrassed, and quite amazed at the idea of a map of everyone, everywhere, at all times. “Is that how you lot got away with so many of your pranks over the years?”

Wide eyes soon turned to barks of laughter pulled deep from Sirius’ throat. He couldn’t believe your first thought was its use in all of his pranks throughout his schooling. “Yeah, just about. Our skill with charms was also part of it; and Pete’s ability to weasel out of just about anything, really.”

“That’s…” you trailed off, trying to find the word for it. “Well, bloody brilliant is the only thing that really comes to mind. Did you boys come up with it on your own?” At his nod, your eyebrows rose high. “Mighty impressive, then, Black. It must have taken ages to figure out every place in the castle though.”

“The secret passageways too, no doubt,” he added with a fond nod, remembering the months of preparation and surveillance their map had taken.

“Hogwarts had secret passageways??” Sirius’ laughter was now almost uncontrollable at the look of absolute shock on your features. “You arsehole! Never telling me any of this! I could have taken shortcuts along the castle this whole time!! It would have saved me hours of getting lost over the years.”

“Hey, you said it yourself, love: we weren’t close.”

Your mouth snapped shut at that for a moment, before nodding. “Remind me to hex Moony when we get back; he’s got a lot of explaining to do.”

“Merlin, what did I just set up for the poor bloke,” Sirius moaned. “It was a marauder’s secret; it was no wonder he didn’t tell you.”

“Oh, pish posh, like everyone didn’t break at least one of those secrets over the years.”

“I didn’t,” Sirius said confidently.

“Well, you’re… very noble then, Sirius.”

“Nah, they’re my mates. I’d trust them with anything and they’d do the same for me.”

You smiled, then. It was a soft, sort of fond smile that similarly mirrored Sirius’ own nostalgic grin. “Sorta like your family, yeah?”

“Yeah, a bit like that,” he responded lightly, thinking of just how lucky he was to have three friends as good as the marauders. He really did think of them as family.

“Seems to me like you’ve got family in all sorts of places, Sirius. I guess you’ve no need for what if’s. ‘Been dealt a bit of a shite start, but you’ve managed to right things for yourself. I think all we can really ask for is a group of people to care ‘bout us.”

Sirius was silent as he thought about all the people that he could now call family. James, the Potters, Peter, Remus, even Lily—they were all family to Sirius now and he couldn’t be more grateful. “I’m a lucky bloke, aren’t I?”

“Not lucky if you deserve it,” you smiled, bumping his shoulder with yours as you walked. “Hope you're not fishing for compliments here but you’re a good man, Pads; I’ve told you this before. You deserve happiness and I’m glad you’ve found it in the boys.”

“They make me good,” he said quietly but you were quick with your response.

“You do that all on your own. They just give you more opportunities to show it,” you smiled. “Now, come on; we’re almost here.”

Sirius watched as you sped along to the front doors of the small bed and breakfast the two of you were staying at. His eyes watched you open the doors, knocking softly and putting on the most charming smile he had seen. Your absolute sincerity in your conversation had his stomach a churning, fumbling mess and yet, he couldn’t seem to care. The way you were affecting him hadn’t happened as such since he was a young boy. Yet, a beautiful and kind, grown woman had him nearly blushing and grinning like an idiot over a few teasing quips. Merlin, the more he got to know you, the more he couldn’t rationalize why he should try to take things slowly. He realized, now, that he wanted you and he wanted to know as much about you as possible.

This was going to be a very long mission.

Tag List: (please let me know if you’d like to be tagged!)

@obscurilicious // @mgc-its-easy-as-123 // @whompingwillowy // @mischief-siriusly-managed // @marauderskeeper // @emi-loser // @bxckybxrnxs // @amelya5567 // @thisismysecrethappyplace // @dude-whatawave // @the-apple-princess // @fantasticchaoticwho // @i-padfootblack-things // @cutie-bug // @sly-vixen-up2nogood // @hufflepeople // @marveliskindacool // @clockworkherondale // @dreamgirl8704

#sirius x reader #mission: improbable #sirius black imagine #marauders imagine #harry potter imagine #sirius black x reader #sirius imagine

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fortisfiliae · 6 years ago

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random question :-) what do you think of regulus black? do you think he was a good guy? do you think if he survived he would fight for good side? just wat are your thoughts about him? im just interested in your thoughts. i love your blog btw! :-)

Hi nonnie & thank you! :)

I haven’t read much into Regulus’ character, so feel free to correct me. Here are my thoughts:

Regulus Black

Regulus was the shy, more quiet Black brother. He might have witnessed the punishments Sirius had to go through when they were children, so he figured if he just obliged, he would not get himself into unnecessary trouble.When he was sorted into Slytherin, like his parents had expected him to be, his relationship with Sirius was weakened even more and their brotherly bond started to fade.

His parents had always manipulated him, because unlike Sirius, he would listen and believe them. Like most people, he would trust them with everything they did, no questions asked. Why would they lie to him?Not only them, but each of his parent’s visitors, his dorm mates in Hogwarts, who were children of highly respected families too, even his house elf Kreacher, were constantly talking about the importance of blood status, reputation and that Voldemort’s plans were righteous. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that he was born into this family. It was fate. Sirius might have wasted his chance, but Regulus was in for too long to give up the comfort and fortune.And clearly everyone had to be right. He had behaved so well these years after all and was granted parental affection and well being. They couldn’t have been wrong, when all he had done so far, had made his life so pleasant.

His father would preach day after day that muggles were born weaker than wizards, so they were simply predetermined to eventually serve them. Mudbloods were polluting the bloodlines of mighty wizards, or even worse, blood traitors decided to voluntarily reproduce with the worthless. Such children would dilute the magic blood and made the whole wizarding species weaker and weaker with each generation. A disgusting thing to even think of, to bond with the fragile and worthless.

Some things were meant to be and if everyone knew their place and would accept their fate, no one would have to be hurt. Wizards were meant to be on top, creatures and muggles were meant to be serving them and blood traitors were meant to be punished. That’s just how it was.

Or was it?

This question started to circle in his head when he was lying in his bed at home and thought of Sirius. Why would his brother leave if he had the opportunity to live a good life? Why would wizards stand up against their own kind, to protect someone clearly beneath them? Why would anyone give up their privilege to fight for the weak?

It had been about two years since Regulus became a Death Eater, when his Lord finally reached out to him and asked for Kreacher, his family’s house elf. Now was Regulus’ time to shine, so he accepted and handed over the elf he had be growing up with.Weeks after, Kreacher appeared in Regulus’ room, wounded, shivering and on the threshold of death. The elf was lying on the floor, curled up in a ball, crying silently and wrapping his bony arms around his naked chest, while strings of blood dripped down slowly from the corner of his mouth. Regulus had never seen him, or anyone in such a state.

He did what he had never done before, took the feeble creature and laid him onto his bed to try and save his life. While he did so, he tried to remind himself that it was meant to be like that. Elfs were meant to be used. The whining little thing was meant to be hurt, if it brought victory to wizardkind. The elf who accompanied him since birth was meant to be screaming in pain, if a wizard wanted him to. The servant who had always been loyal was meant to suffer and die, if the Dark Lord wanted him to.That’s just how it was. Or was it?

Regulus managed so save Kreacher’s life that day. He told him what had happened, that Voldemort had used him to test the defences around his locket Horcrux and left him to die. That was when Regulus knew it wasn’t meant to be like that. It couldn’t. He was embarrassed, more than ever, that he had to see the cruelty with his own eyes, before it came to his mind, but he wanted to stop Voldemort now and started to make a plan. He understood now why people would step in for others, for their friends, despite the fact or perhaps indeed because they weren’t wizards.

Regulus tried to find Sirius, wanted to apologize and ask to be forgiven, but couldn’t find his brother; so he decided to make a plan and stop Voldemort from succeeding, even if it meant he had to sacrifice himself.

Kreacher begged him not to go back to the cave where the locket was, but Regulus promised he would not be harmed again. So the elf took him there and guided him past the defences. Regulus gave him the duplicate locket, ordered him to replace it with the Horcrux and destroy it, once he had emptied the vessel with the potion himself.And so he did. For his friend the elf, for his brother and for every other so called worthless being. Kreacher was not able to save him from the Inferi, when Regulus tried to get water from the lake, but he switched the lockets before escaping.

So no nonnie, I don’t think he would have fought for the good side if he survived. Regulus Black died for the good side already.

xoxo :)

#regulus black #regulus black headcanon #regulus black oneshot #regulus black drabble #kreacher #sirius black #black family #regulus black hc #headcanon #hc #sweet anon #ask

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