#marauders christmas morning

[lulublack90]

Prompt 25 - Cosy

@wolfstarmicrofic December 25, word count 413

The next morning of yesterday's Prompt - Sleigh

He woke up the next morning feeling all cosy and warm. It took him a moment to understand what was going on as the sleepy fog cleared from his mind. He was curled up in bed with someone. It was not his bed. He shuffled his head, craning his neck to get a better view of the face of the person he was tangled with. He drew in a soft gasp when he realised it was Remus. The entire night before, suddenly came rushing back to him. They’d kissed and then Effie had caught them in the sleigh, not that she realised that was what had happened. Then he’d laid awake unable to sleep, so he’d snuck into Remus’s bed. 

Remus stirred, and his eyes slowly blinked open. “Hi,” He smiled sleepily at Sirius as he stretched around him. 

“Hi,” Sirius was suddenly feeling nervous. What if Remus regretted it? What if he got upset that Sirius was in his bed? All of Sirius’s worries were quickly quelled when Remus opened his arms, dragged Sirius on top of him and kissed him. 

They were very late going down for breakfast, but Effie didn’t mind, simply sending plates that had been kept magically warm of scrambled egg and bacon over to them and went back to reading her newspaper after wishing them a Merry Christmas. 

“How much did you have to drink last night, Sirius darling? Because when I went to check on you, you were in Remus’s bed, sprawled over the poor boy. It’s a wonder he could breathe the way you were clinging to him,” She chuckled. “Oh, and Remus, dear, don’t be afraid to kick him out of your room if he ever does it again,” Remus’s cheeks flamed red as he nodded sheepishly to Effie. Sirius beamed, he loved it when Remus’s cheeks did that. 

“You guys ready for presents?” Monty asked, popping his head around the kitchen door. Sirius’s and Remus’s eyes met. 

“Presents!” They exclaimed excitedly in unison and shot up from the table and rushed into the living room where James waited, surrounded by piles of brightly wrapped gifts. 

Remus timidly held out a small, neatly wrapped parcel for Sirius and moved to the pile James pointed out was his. Sirius put Remus’s present in his pocket, deciding to leave it until last. 

They caught each other's eyes again, and the smile Remus gave him made his stomach swoop. He couldn’t wait until they were alone again.  

[emlovessid]

@jegulus-microfic december 16, eyes closed, 121 words

“Happy Christmas, love,” James whispers.

Regulus smiles, eyes closed as he wakes up, “Happy Christmas.”

Shuffling closer, James pulls Regulus into a soft kiss, hand running through his hair as he holds Regulus close.

“Don’t squish me!” comes a muffled voice from underneath the covers, before a small head of messy black hair pokes out between them.

“Oh, good morning, Haz,” James laughs. “What are you doing in here? Last time I checked, your bedroom was across the hall.”

“Because it’s Christmas, Dad,” Harry says, snuggling in close between them.

“Of course, how silly of me,” James says, ruffling a hand through Harry’s hair before reaching over him to tangle his fingers with Regulus’. “Happy Christmas to both of my boys.”

[everythingsbetterunderthestars]

Help for some reason my brain decided to have tons of fanfiction ideas except I literally DO NOT HAVE THE TIME to write them at this point in my life so for now I’m just playing them out in my head 24/7 waiting for the holidays to come so I can start up on at least ONE project because I quite frankly CANNOT LIVE LIKE THIS ANYMORE

[inkdrinkerworld]

Hiii could you do marauders x reader who has a stuffed animal from when she was a baby that she hides from them and maybe they find it one night when they’re all going to be :)))

There’s a battered yellow bear on your bed. As best as you’ve tried, your bear is old and has had his fair share of rotations in the washer and dryer.

He’s aged but you love him.

In that love, you can’t bear to put him anywhere else.

That kind of comes to bite you in the ass when your boyfriends are over for the first time.

Remus has made you a cup of nighttime tea, Sirius has just come out of the shower and James lays his head in your lap, curls bouncy on your thigh.

“Your soap is the best thing ever.” Sirius moans as he throws himself into the sofa.

It’s a honey and cream soap, the scent soft and a little clean. It smells like you is what Sirius means to say.

Remus smiles as you grin. “I’m glad you like it.” Sirius has always been vocal about how great you smell; be it your soap, laundry detergent, perfume: Sirius loves it all.

“Can we go to bed?” A yawn breaks apart James’ question, eyes heavy as you pet his head.

“Course Jamie.” You whisper, watching him stretch to standing and reaching an arm back to you.

Remus and Sirius follow, your mugs discarded in the table for tomorrow morning.

“Are we all gonna fit in your bed?” Sirius asks and you roll your eyes. James pushes open your door and your stomach drops.

There in the middle of your bed, on top of your Christmas sheets and duvet, sits your yellow bear with his roughed up ear and his red shirt.

“Oh dove,” Remus coos and you feel your blood rush faster.

“Don’t.” You mumble, but Sirius has already launched himself onto your bed and is cradling your bear.

“What’s his name?” Sirius asks, James following him in bed and sprawling out long before tickling under your bear’s chin.

“How long have you had him?” Remus asks, voice soft in an attempt to keep you from embarrassment.

It doesn’t help. You’re not embarrassed you have a stuffed animal, just that they’ve seen it so casually.

“Since I was a kid.” You mutter, Sirius leans off the bed and presses a kiss to the closest part of you.

“You’re fucking precious.”

You climb in bed and take him from Sirius, pressing a kiss to the back of the bear’s head and then James’.

“I for one think he’s very adorable, angel.”

Remus seconds the claim. “He is. Are you putting him between us or on the nightstand, baby?”

He’s buttering you up, and it works.

“Between us if that’s fine.”

Sirius holds your chin and smacks a kiss to your lips. “Of course it’s fine. You’re adorable.”

You sleep with James on one end, you beside him, your bear, then Sirius and Remus on the other end; cuddling well into the morning.

[moonstruckme]

ok request coming in

poly!marauders play a prank at a holiday party where they spike the eggnog, but reader doesn’t get the memo and ends up drinking it. they find reader totally out of it, guilt and groveling ensue as they take care of them

Finally, the oldest request in my inbox! Thanks for being so, so patient anon, and thanks for your request <3 I varied it slightly but I hope you still enjoy it

cw: spiked/drugged drinks (if it makes it better they were only trying to drug bigots? (I know it doesn't really make it better))

poly!marauders x fem!reader ♡ 852 words

Someone has found James’ eggnog. Well, really it’s all of their eggnog, but it was James’ idea to spike a bottle of the stuff with befuddlement draught, tie it up in a ribbon, and leave it in the Slytherin dorms for Snape and his lot to find on Christmas morning. The marauders had hidden the bottle in the Gryffindor common room until then—they couldn’t very well be found to be keeping prank materials in their dorm again—quite well, Sirius had thought. Still, he perhaps should have known better than to think that a room full of merry, intoxicated students wouldn’t unearth it. 

James is trying to wrangle the students who’ve drunk it, Remus has gone to whip up an antidote, and Sirius, by a combination of luck and willful argumentation, gets to watch over you. 

“Do I have wings?” you ask. You’re sitting on Sirius’ lap, his hands planted on either side of your hips to keep you there. 

He raises his eyebrows. “Have you had wings before?” 

“No,” you say, perplexed. You lift and lower your elbows experimentally. “I think I do now, though.” 

“You don’t, lovely girl.” 

You watch your arms a moment longer, and then the look you give Sirius is near pitying. “I think only I can see them,” you tell him sympathetically, “but I’ll show you. I can fly down from the top of the stairs.” 

You start to get up from his lap, frowning when Sirius plonks you right back down. 

“Sirius,” you say, suddenly stern, “I can prove it. I’m telling you, it’s probably a side effect of that thing Remus said I took.” 

“I have no doubt this is an effect of what Remus said you took,” he agrees, running his thumb over your hip through the material of your jumper. “And our Remus is a very smart boy. Considering that he told you to stay put right here, I think we ought to listen to him, don’t you?”

You’re growing sullen. “You don’t believe me.”

“My darling,” says Sirius, “you would make a very beautiful bird, but I like you even better without wings.” 

Your lips purse into a concerned pout. “Then what are you going to think of me now that I have them?���

Sirius isn’t entirely sure what to say to that.

Luckily, he sees James and Remus moving about the room in his peripheral vision. Sirius waves Remus over, spotting the vial he holds in his hand. 

“What, only one left? Did you really leave our girl until last?”

“We had second years trying to sled down the staircases.” Remus comes to sit beside the both of you. “We had to prioritize. Sorry, dovey.” He kisses you on the cheek. Your mood seems to lift slightly. “You seem to be fairly placid over here by comparison.” 

“Hardly. She keeps wanting to jump from high places.” 

“Well, yes, that’s what befuddlement draught does,” Remus says drily, unstoppering the vial of antidote. “It makes people reckless. Things you ought to know if you plan to distribute it, I reckon.” 

Sirius ignores the jab, taking the vial from Remus and lifting it to his nose. “Oh, fuck.” He recoils. “Merlin, Rem, you couldn’t dilute it with something nicer? That’s got to taste like ass.” 

“You’d know,” you chirp. “You eat plenty of it.” 

Remus snorts, and Sirius makes an appalled scoffing noise. “Reckless indeed!” He pinches your chin, not enough to hurt. “Alright, my loveliest nuisance, bottoms up.” 

Despite Sirius’ warnings you drink it without hesitation (perhaps the recklessness at play), gagging only once the vial is empty. James comes up behind you then, rubbing between your shoulders while you cough. 

“I’m sorry, lovie,” he says ruefully. “This should never have happened. We’ll have to start hiding our impending pranks more safely.” 

“Or,” Remus suggests, “you could stop trying to drug other students and then being surprised when it backfires.” 

Sirius pats your boyfriend’s thigh. “Be realistic, love.” 

“Ugh.” You smack your tongue against the roof of your mouth. “I feel…weird.” 

“It’ll probably take a few minutes for the effects to wear off fully,” Remus tells you, his expression going soft as he focuses on you. “Do you feel alright, sweetheart? Sick?” 

You shake your head, though you’re still grimacing, rolling your tongue around in your mouth as though it doesn’t fit. “No, I’m okay. Not sick.” 

“Are you upset?” James frets. 

Remus shoots him an exasperated look, but you only tilt your head at him consideringly. “I don’t think so,” you say. “Ask me tomorrow.” 

James looks a bit unsettled, but Remus rubs your leg, smiling slightly. “Smart girl,” he murmurs. 

“Can I let you go now?” Sirius squeezes your hips teasingly. “Or do you still think that you have wings?” 

James’ eyebrows lift. “That she what?” 

“I’m not going to try to fly anymore,” you say placidly, laying your head down on Sirius’ shoulder, “but you don’t have to let me go either, if you don’t want to.” 

“I can tell the effects are wearing off already.” Sirius stamps a happy kiss to the side of your head. “That’s my girl.”

[crescenthistory]

💌 = fluff I 📭 = angst I 📬 = hurt/comfort I 📜 = smut I 🪧 = humour

𖤐 marauders

includes: james, sirius, remus

james fleamont potter

(3.7k) The Boy with the Glasses is Blind (💌📬: pining, james mistakenly thinks you're in love with your best friend barty)

remus john lupin

(14.4k) It's Nice To Have A Friend (💌📬: childhood best friends to lovers, you are the only person remus is comfortable being physically affectionate with publically)

(4.8k) A Little Push (📬💌: sirius finally tells you about your best friend remus' feelings for you after you almost kiss him at a party)

(3.7k) i'll hold your hand through all of christmas day (📬💌: remus supports you through your grief during the holidays)

drabbles:

(581) morning touches (💌: waking up with bf!remus)

features in:

poly!moonwater ─ (1.9k) What Now? (💌: your concerned boyfriends find you feeling poorly in the infirmary and dote on you)

poly!marauders

(6.9k) Miracles All Around (💌📬🪧: series, AU where reader and her partners are hired at hogwarts post-war)

(3.5k) What You Became (💌🪧: poly!marauders react when their clumsy girlfriend becomes a swan animagus)

platonic!bestfriend!marauders are heavily featured in animagus!reader x regulus black:

Feline Touches & Sweet Like Honey; Karma is a Cat & Padfoot vs. Whiskers & Where Padfoot Lays His Head & the furred shoulder & not sneeze proof

[starofthesea37]

POV: you taught yourself how to bind your favourite fanfics completely from scratch, and now you have a fancy collection!

Fics are:

“straight on ‘til morning” by merils (DC, Conner Kent centric, Mature)

“hot rod heart” by merils (DC, TimKon, Explicit)

“the courage of stars” by merils (DC, Conner Kent centric, Mature)

“androecia” by merils (DC, TimKon, Explicit)

“notes on divinity”by merils (DC, TimKon, Explicit)

“racing on the thunder” by merils (DC, Conner Kent & Lois Lane, Teen)

“Leap of Faith (Catch Me, If You Can) by erinwantstowrite (DC & Marvel, Spider-Man in Gotham, Teen)

“The Mystery of the Pears” by sonwar (Marauders, jegulus, Explicit)

“And so, Happy Christmas” by her_smile_forges_galaxies (Marauders, jegulus, Gen)

“Christmas Preceding the End of The World” by otrtbs (Marauders, jegulus, Teen)

“skeletons you hide (show me yours, i’ll show you mine)” by mraudersmoon (Marauders, jegulus, Teen)

“As If Through Water” by third_crow (Marauders, jegulus, Teen)

“Apocalypse” by jiangchxngs (Marauders, jegulily, Gen)

“Choices” by messermoon (Marauders, jegulus, Mature)

All on ao3! I highly recommend all of these, they’re all amazing!

Authors whose tumblr I know (let me know if there’s more I should add!): @mamawasatesttube @erinwantstowrite @otrtbs @sophsicle

All of these were done entirely by hand, for personal use only, and I make no profit from them. I made most of the typesets myself, and no I will not be sharing them unless I know you or you’re the author.

I learnt from a tutorial by hana_bob on TikTok if you’re interested :)

[fairytaleendingss]

Room for One More?

Chapter 6

Summary: You aren't sure what gift to get for your Secret Santa.

CW: Swearing.

Pairing: Poly!Marauders x fem!reader

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Here's a bit of a long one for you guys! Enjoy!

--

"Fuck!"

You were laying in bed, nestled under your softest duvet, looking in horror at your laptop screen.

It was just after 7am and you weren't sure how many of the boys would be up at this time, especially on a weekend. You knew Sirius had a gig the previous night and he liked a sleep in, but this was kind of an emergency.

Since living with the boys and becoming friends with Mary, you were slowly being integrated into their friend group. You didn't mind of course. In fact, you liked having people to hang out with since moving to the city. Everyone was so lovely and inclusive and you really liked being part of a group. However, that meant that not only were the four of you hosting their annual Christmas party, but you were roped into participating in their Secret Santa as well.

Upon waking up that morning, you'd received a message from Mary, letting you know that the Secret Santa assignments had been sent out the night prior. You'd checked your emails, only to realize you were severely fucked.

The name of your draw was none other than Dorcas.

Now, it wasn't her in particular you had a problem with. In fact, quite the contrary. You liked Dorcas. She was cool and funny and had amazing style.

Your problem resided in the fact that you'd only met her maybe four times over the month you'd been living with the boys and she wasn't a particularly open person. You had no clue what kind of gift she would like.

"No. You know what? This is fine," you told yourself, throwing your blanket off and marching out of your room.

You weren't surprised to see that the living room was empty. You did notice that James' running shoes were not in the stand by the door, which meant he was probably out for a morning jog (in the freezing cold like a crazy person).

With a huff you wandered down the hall. You bypassed Remus' room, during which you were sure you could hear the clicking of a keyboard. You came to a halt in front of Sirius' door, preparing yourself for an onslaught as you hesitantly reached out to knock.

"What?" a sleep-garbled voice muttered lowly from beyond the door.

Gently you pushed it open, a sheepish smile painting your lips as you peered into the room.

Sirius was laying on his stomach in bed, blanket splayed lazily over his hip bone and an arm squashed beneath his pillow. He was shirtless and you couldn't help but let your eyes trace the contours of his bare back. His face was pressed against the pillow, eyes closed, lashes fluttering against his cheeks and long, dark hair splayed across his face.

Even in the early hours of the morning, still riddled with the remnants of sleep, he looked like a work of art.

"Hey!" you muttered softly, feeling slightly guilty now for disturbing him.

He sighed thickly, rolling over to squint at your through half lidded eyes. "Is everything okay?"

His voice was deep and croaky like it always was after he woke up but it never failed to send a shiver down your spine.

"I need your help with something."

He frowned slightly, blinking as if still trying to regain awareness. "Sure. Come in."

He patted the bed beside him and your eyes widened. You approached cautiously and sat down tentatively on the edge. You looked around the room. It was encased in darkness with the blinds half drawn shut. You hadn't been in her all that often. Come to think of it, you'd never really made it past the doorway before.

The bedsheets were dark grey to match with the black furniture that was placed around. There was a guitar on a stand in the corner and the walls were adorned with band posters and what were clearly centerfolds torn from various bikini magazines.

You cleared your throat as you perched yourself awkwardly, not wanting to encroach on his space.

He chuckled softly. "Come on, doll. I don't bite."

"Somehow, I find that hard to believe," you teased softly as you moved to position yourself back against the pillow beside him.

He let out a throaty laugh and rolled over to face you, leaning up on an elbow.

"So, what was so important that you had to wake me up at the crack of dawn for?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," you chuckled nervously. Sirius always seemed to have that effect on you. "I, um, don't suppose you've had a chance to look at your Secret Santa draw yet?"

He raised a brow. "No I can't say that I have."

"Well, I looked at mine this morning and I need your help picking out a present. I got-"

"Hey! No!" he cut you off. "You're not supposed to tell me! That's the rules."

You gave him a pleading look. "I know but I really don't know this person that well and I thought you could help me pick a gift for them."

"No! Nope!" He shook his head firmly. "If I know who you got, and I know who I got, it won't be hard to figure out the rest and I definitely don't want to know who got me!"

"Come on Sirius! Please??" You pleaded with him.

"No. Sorry, I can't help you."

"Please! it was just-"

"Lalalalalalala."

You raised a brow as he put his fingers in his ears, interrupting you the way a child would.

"Wow, Sirius. Very mature," you deadpanned.

"Sorry! Can't hear you," he shrugged.

You rolled your eyes, getting up of the bed.

"Ugh, you're no help," you groaned. You exited his room and wandered back out towards the kitchen, plopping yourself down at a bar stool.

If by some magical miracle of timing, it was right then that the door swung open and James entered the apartment. He was sweaty and wearing a long-sleeved, skin tight, running shirt that clung to his skin, giving you a very direct view of his abs. You couldn't help but admire him for a moment as he took off his joggers.

"Hey love! You're up early for a Saturday."

"Well, at least I'm not a maniac that goes for a morning jog when it's snowing outside!" you rebutted.

He chuckled deeply. "Gotta keep myself in shape somehow."

You just smiled as he grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"So what are you doing up so early?" He questioned, leaning back against the counter and taking a long sip.

"Well, I've found myself in a bit of a... situation."

He quirked a brow. "Do tell."

"I checked my Secret Santa assignment this morning and I kind of got someone I have no idea what to buy for."

"That does seem like a bit of an issue," he noted playfully.

"Do you think you'd be able to help me? Sirius said no," you asked bashfully.

He smirked. "Of course, love. Although I am a bit offended, you didn't come to me first!"

You rolled your eyes affectionately. " I would've if you were actually here and not out trying to give yourself hypothermia."

He chuckled once more. "Touché."

--

The mall was crowded with it only being a few days out from Christmas. You had hoped that Mary would've left a little more than a day for you to purchase your gift before the party tomorrow, but in true Mary fashion, she'd gotten distracted with a final project at work and had forgotten to do the draw earlier.

You looked up at James who stood beside you. "So what kind of stuff do you think Dorcas would like?"

He furrowed his brows thinking for a moment. "She likes painting. And I know she works out a lot."

You sighed. "Okay, I can work with that. Come on."

You grabbed him by the arm and dragged him through the masses of people.

--

You were walking around an expensive homewares shop and hour later, still yet to find the perfect gift for Dorcas. You picked up a ceramic elephant and examined it. You swiftly placed it back down when you noticed the price.

"Hey? Do you think Mary would like this?" James called from across the store.

He was holding up a pretty crystal vase.

You turned away from what you were looking at. "Didn't you already buy her a coffee mug and an eyeshadow palette?"

"Yeah but this is so pretty! I think she'd really like it."

You shook your head. "James, you are aware that there's a £30 spending limit, right?"

He sighed dramatically. "I know but I there's just so much good stuff here!"

You chuckled. You knew he was already way over the limit anyway, money clearly not being an issue for James. You felt the need to intervene before he bought her the whole store.

"I love the enthusiasm but sometimes smaller is better, okay? You don't want to upstage everyone else."

He huffed and placed the vase back on the shelf. "Okay, fine."

"Good. Now, you're supposed to be helping me find my gift," you reminded him.

"Yeah, right. Okay."

He was pouting like a little kid and you reached a hand up to ruffle his hair affectionately. "I'm sure you'll be fine with what you have, James. Mary is going to love it. Now come on, lets try somewhere else."

You left that store and continued wandering through the mall. You looked up at the Christmas decorations that lined the rows of shops, and the people running too and frow, trying to finish their last minute Christmas shopping. You always loved the atmosphere at this time of year, when the festive spirit was running high, and you knew for a fact that James felt the same. Your gaze drifted over to the man walking beside you as his eyes scanned the rows of shops, He had number of bags in hand, all containing gifts for his loved ones. The thought made you feel giddy and a soft smile graced your face. You didn't think you'd ever met someone as generous and thoughtful as James was.

"What about over there?" He pulled you from your thoughts as he pointed to an art shop that was a few metres away.

"It's worth a try," you replied.

The shop was rather large, you realised upon entry, filled with various paintings, canvases and art supplies, ranging from reasonably priced to vastly expensive.

You felt a little overwhelmed, looking around at all the items.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" a voice emerged from behind you. You turned to see a young woman, probably a few years older than the two of you. She was smiling kindly, her long blonde hair pulled into a neat ponytail.

"Yes actually," you stated. "I'm looking for a Christmas present for a friend. I know she likes to paint but you have so many things in here, I'm not sure where to start."

"Not to worry," she said kindly. "Lets see if it can point you in the right direction."

You followed the lady through the shop, assessing various items and trying to find something that both jumped out at you, but was also within your assigned budget.

"What about this?" She asked eventually. "It's very popular with people who come in. In fact, I think this might be our last one."

It was a set of paintbrushes in a wooden case, each with a different coloured handle and varied in size.

"I'm sure your friend already has her own set of brushes but these ones come with portable case. Great for someone who likes to paint in different locations."

"it's perfect," you told her. You looked at the price. It was £30 exactly.

You snatched up the item and headed towards the counter to pay. It was then that you realised James was missing.

You paid for the item and once you had it secured in your possession, you looked around the shop in search of him.

"Sorry, have you seen my friend?" You asked the lady that was serving you.

"No, I haven't. Sorry," she shook her head.

"That's alright. He seems to have wandered off."

You took your bag and walked back through the aisles, searching. You wondered how such a tall, burly man was able to disappear so easily.

It was the Christmas section of the shop that you found him in. You couldn't help the laugh that escaped you when you saw him.

"James! What on earth?"

He smiled at you sheepishly. He was wrapped up in tinsel like a Christmas tree.

"I'm sorry. It's just so pretty. I didn't have enough hands! I slung it over my arm to carry it to the counter but then it got all tangled. I think I might be stuck."

"Can't take you anywhere!" you told him, playfully. "Here let me help."

Slowly you managed to uncoil the ribbon from around his biceps and place it back on the shelf it came from.

"I think we should probably stay away from tinsel for now."

"You're probably right," he chuckled. "So did you find something for Dorcas in the end?"

You looked up at him, staring into his big hazel eyes.

"Yeah, I did."

He smiled that ridiculously charming smile of his.

"Good. Now lets get out of here before I accidentally destroy the place."

You giggled as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders, guiding you out of the shop.

--

You were on your way out of the mall when you stopped dead in your tracks.

"Oh my god," you sighed whistfully.

In a shop window, on display as part of a Christmas themed clothing line, was probably the most beautiful dress you'd ever seen. It was thigh-length with a square neckline and adorned with gold glitter that twinkled in the light. It was breathtaking.

"That's beautiful," James stated, coming to stand beside you.

"It really is," you responded.

"You should try it on!"

"Oh no. I don't think they'd have it in my size."

"I'm sure they do!" James encouraged. "Come on, lets go in."

Before you had time to respond, James had taken you by the hand and was pulling you through the doorway into the shop.

"Excuse me," he called to the assistant that stood behind the counter. "My friend would like to try on the gold dress in the window. Do you think you'd have it in her size?"

"Certainly," the lady replied with a smile. "Right this way."

--

You stood in the change-room, staring at yourself in the mirror. You had to admit, the dress looked amazing on you. It hugged all your curves perfectly.

"Can I see it?" you heard James call from outside the closed curtain.

"Okay," you responded.

You took a deep breath. Why were you suddenly so nervous?

With a shaky hand you drew back the curtain and James' jaw all but dropped to the floor.

"Oh my god," he muttered, eyes wide behind his glasses.

"Do you like it?" you asked shyly.

"You look incredible, y/n! Give me a spin."

You couldn't help but chuckle as you spun around awkwardly. You weren't used to this kind of attention. Especially not from a man as utterly gorgeous as James.

"You should get it!"

You smiled but shook your head. "It's beautiful but it's unfortunately wayyy out of my budget."

"Okay, no problem. I'll get it for you!"

Your head snapped up to look at him. "What? No. I can't ask you to do that, James."

He just smiled. "You're not asking. I'm offering. And it would be a tragedy not to buy it! Not when you look like that."

"Are you sure?" you muttered. You could feel your cheeks growing hot.

"Absolutely."

He stood up abruptly, walking over and placing a kiss on your cheek. You felt your breath leave your body at the gesture.

"Now go get changed while I pay," he instructed.

You looked up at him, feeling electricity buzz against your skin where his hand sat on your waist. You nodded, sure that if you tried to speak in that moment, nothing would come out. He had literally left you speechless.

Then he pulled away, venturing across the shop to pay for your new dress. You let out a heavy sigh as you watched him. It's official, you realised.

You were doomed.

--

Taglist:

@hisparentsgallerryy @navs-bhat @shushbruv @magicwithaknife @eeviee4 @notapoetjustscar @gugggu6gvai @robertsmithclone @ilovesugurugeto69 @taytayy178 @its-notkiee @bugworldsworld @switchingfandomslikecrazy @evangelquill

[ikkyfics]

Snowball Fight

James Potter x fem!reader

Summary: “You’re impossible,” you whispered, unable to hide the fondness in your tone. “And you’re stuck with me,” James replied, his voice filled with a mixture of pride and adoration that made your chest feel impossibly light.

Warnings: just fluffy - a snow fight with the Marauders, James finding any excuse for a kiss, Peter being a traitor (with good reasons, of course), Sirius and Remus because they're adorable

N/A: yeaaaaaaah did you think there wouldn't be a christmas fic? well, I thought so too - but here we are. I've never seen snow, so it's a little ironic lmao

Masterlist

It was a perfect Christmas morning at Hogwarts. Freshly fallen snow blanketed the castle and grounds like a white mantle, reflecting the pale sunlight and transforming everything into an even more enchanting magical world. James Potter, however, seemed to have boundless energy—perhaps more than usual, given the enthusiasm he showed while holding your hand and pulling you toward the castle’s main doors.

“James, it’s freezing out there!” you protested, laughing as you tried to keep your balance on the slippery floor.

“Exactly! It’s a golden opportunity, my dear. Snow and Christmas go together like... well, like you and me.” He winked dramatically, though the playful expression couldn’t quite hide the faint blush on his cheeks—and it wasn’t just because of the cold.

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t suppress the smile that threatened to escape. “And what do you have in mind, then? A mischievous Marauder plan or something truly innocent for the first time ever?”

“I’d say you’ll just have to trust my charm,” he said with a grin so daring it was almost impossible not to go along with him.

A few minutes later, the two of you were outside, the cold morning air wrapping around you both. The world seemed incredibly quiet, save for the muffled sound of your boots crunching through the snow.

“So,” James began, his voice loaded with a false casualness as he bent down to scoop up a handful of snow. “Do you think you can get away from me so easily?”

You raised an eyebrow, noticing the mischievous glint in his eyes. “What—”

Before you could finish your sentence, a snowball hit your arm.

“Potter!” you shouted, already leaning down to retaliate, and within seconds, the two of you were laughing and running like children. James moved quickly, almost always dodging your attempts to hit him, but you weren’t exactly easy to catch, either.

That was when unexpected reinforcements arrived. Sirius appeared out of nowhere, dressed in a thick overcoat and sporting a grin that promised trouble. “Need some help, Prongs?”

“Knew you couldn’t resist!” James shouted back, already moving to Sirius’s side as you stared at both of them with a mix of desperation and determination.

“This is unfair! Two against one?” you exclaimed, though you were smiling.

“Two against one?” A calm voice chimed in behind you. Remus. “Doesn’t sound very fair to me.” He smiled slightly, tilting his head in your direction. “Perhaps I’ll root for you.”

“Don’t just root, help!” you said, laughing as Remus discreetly launched a snowball that hit Sirius squarely in the back of the neck.

At that moment, Peter came running in from the side, carrying what looked like the beginnings of a stockpile of snowballs in his arms. “What’s going on here? Need a referee?”

“More like a traitor in the making,” Sirius grumbled, narrowing his eyes at Peter.

“Traitor? I prefer opportunist,” Peter replied with a mischievous grin, tossing a snowball at Remus. “For now, I’m on their side!” He gestured to James and Sirius, but before they could celebrate, Peter had already switched sides. “Or maybe hers. Watching you covered in snow, Sirius, is pretty entertaining.”

The battle raged on with laughter and teasing—James and Sirius forming a chaotic duo while you, Remus, and eventually Peter balanced the scales with clever strategies (and a few playful betrayals). At one point, an explosion of snow flew in all directions, leaving everyone breathless and laughing uncontrollably.

It was then that James, with an unexpectedly clever move, managed to gently “knock” you into the snow. Laughing triumphantly, he leaned over you, his knees sinking slightly into the fluffy blanket of white. The wide grin on his face softened almost instantly as his vibrant blue eyes locked onto yours. For a moment, the world around you seemed to fall silent—not because of the snow’s muffling embrace, but because of the intensity between you.

The messy black hair that always seemed to defy gravity fell into his forehead, framing his flushed cheeks. His glasses had slipped down slightly, fogged up at the edges, making him squint just a bit. That small imperfection made your heart skip in ways that felt both ridiculous and undeniable.

“Caught you,” he said softly, the teasing edge in his voice giving way to something warmer. His breath came out in soft, visible puffs, brushing against your skin in the cold air.

You didn’t respond immediately, your gaze flitting over his features. The unruly hair, the slight tilt of his lips as if he were about to say something funny, the way his eyes seemed impossibly bright against the pale winter landscape—it was all so James.

“Well done, Potter,” you finally managed, a playful lilt in your tone. “You’ve bested me. What are you going to do now? Gloat?”

James chuckled, his weight shifting slightly as he propped himself up with one arm. “Tempting, but I think I’ve earned something better.” His eyes sparkled with mischief, but there was a shyness underneath that made your heart flutter.

“Oh?” you replied, lifting an eyebrow even as your cheeks grew warm. “And what exactly do you think you’ve earned?”

He hesitated, his confidence faltering just enough for you to notice. That hesitation, paired with the way his fingers absently brushed the snow near your shoulder, was unbearably endearing.

You smirked, closing the small gap between you as your voice dropped to a whisper. “James,” you said his name with just enough tenderness to make him stop fidgeting and focus entirely on you. “You’re staring.”

“Can you blame me?” he shot back, his grin returning, though his voice was quieter now. “It’s not every day I get to see you like this. All…” He trailed off, gesturing vaguely before rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re just… you know, perfect.”

The words hung in the air between you, his earnestness making your chest tighten.

“You’re terrible at this,” you teased, though your voice cracked slightly from the rush of emotions threatening to bubble over.

“Maybe,” he admitted with a shrug, his own cheeks reddening even more. “But I’m not giving up.”

You laughed softly, the sound breaking the tension for a moment, though neither of you moved away. James leaned closer, his breath warm against your skin despite the chill of the air.

“Is this the moment I get a kiss?” he murmured, his voice low but firm, his blue eyes flickering between your eyes and your mouth.

His smile softened, and you nodded. “I thought you’d never ask.”

That was all the permission he needed. James lowered his head, his lips brushing yours in a kiss that was as sweet as it was right. The world seemed still around you, the snow falling silently as his warmth filled every part of you.

When he pulled away, your cheeks were an even deeper shade of red, and you could feel the heat rising to your own face.

“Oi, Prongs!” Sirius’s voice shattered the moment, his tone exaggeratedly scandalized. “Are you two snogging or strategizing? Because from here, it looks like we’re down a teammate!”

“Merlin, James, we’re trying to win here!” Peter chimed in, his breathless voice somewhere between a laugh and a groan.

“Get on with it already, mate!” Remus added, though his tone was more amused than annoyed.

James groaned, clearly reluctant to move, but the way he looked at you—his nose almost brushing yours again—made your stomach flip. “Don’t mind them,” he muttered.

You laughed softly, reaching up to adjust his glasses, which were still slightly askew. “They might actually freeze solid if we keep this up.”

“Let them,” James murmured, stealing another quick kiss that made your cheeks burn just as much as his.

Sirius groaned even louder. “Unbelievable! Right, lads, let’s pelt them with snow until they remember they’re on a team!”

Before you could react, a handful of snow hit the side of James’s head, courtesy of Remus. Peter followed up with his own poorly aimed snowball, which hit Sirius instead.

James laughed as he pulled you to your feet, his hand lingering in yours, his thumb brushing over your knuckles as you both struggled to stifle your laughter.

“You’re impossible,” you whispered, unable to hide the fondness in your tone.

“And you’re stuck with me,” James replied, his voice filled with a mixture of pride and adoration that made your chest feel impossibly light.

The teasing voices of the Marauders grew louder as they approached, Sirius leading the charge with an armful of snowballs. But as James wrapped his arm around your shoulders, pulling you close, the chaos around you seemed to melt away.

“I hope you know this is the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” he said softly, his lips brushing against your temple.

You smiled, leaning into him as the snow began to fall again. “It’s definitely up there.”

“And next year,” he added, his voice low and full of promise, “I’ll make it even better.”

The snowball that hit the back of his head moments later didn’t do much to ruin the moment. If anything, it only made the laughter that followed even sweeter.

[enviedear]

･*:｡☃︎⁺₊❅. enviedear's winter wonderland

welcome to the winter wonderland! a time for candor and comfort—and fics that i hope you'll all enjoy! i just want to celebrate all of you that make this blog an absolute joy—by hyperfixating on something new every few months i’ve amassed so many lovelies from so many fandoms. i thought it was high time i did a little celebration with most of the characters i write for. think of it as my little gift to you—especially to the long term followers (crying w a smile)

without further ado...let's take a stroll through the winter wonderland ❆₊⋆𐂂 𖠰･⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

starts on december 4th until december 25th

week one — jason todd

baby—it's cold outside

after a mission goes horribly wrong, you get snowed in at a safehouse (rickety old cabin) with jason. you're both blaming each other for the failed mission, but the discovery that there's no firewood or heating has the two of you begrudgingly sharing body heat and blankets. OUT NOW !

christmas dreaming

when jason todd overhears your complaint about the town’s lackluster christmas trees, he takes it as a challenge. every day, he stops by your store with an update—always casual, always shrugging off your insistence that it’s unnecessary. but beneath the easy smiles and weather-worn jacket, jason is on a quiet mission.

for weeks, he’s combed through forests and farms, chasing the impossible—your perfect tree. and while he won’t admit it, this isn’t just about holiday spirit. it’s purely about you—and the way your smile might make the coldest december day feel warm. OUT NOW !

week two — dick grayson

love to keep me warm

dick grayson is your best friend, and has been since he moved to blüdhaven. you're more than familiar with taking trips to gotham with him, especially during the holidays! you've yet to miss one of bruce wayne's christmas galas—but this year is different. this year, you're hopelessly trying to hide the recent crush you've developed on your best friend. OUT NOW !

santa baby

to you, dick grayson might as well be santa claus. by day, he’s blüdhaven’s resident holiday hero, delivering toys to kids, lending a hand at soup kitchens, and visiting anyone spending the season alone. by night? well, nightwing doesn’t exactly take time off. you don’t mind him spreading christmas cheer—it’s one of the million reasons you fell for him—but when the twinkling lights and warm cocoa leave you longing for his touch, your thoughts start drifting toward a wish list of your own. all you want this year is him.

week three — jacaerys velaryon

walking in a winter wonderland

recently married and entrusted with the titles of lord and lady of dragonstone, jacaerys and you are adamant upon making the gloomy castle a respite for the winter. your plans falter, however, when the chill becomes too much for you. luckily, your husband is the blood of the dragon—and your own personal fireplace.

all i want for christmas—is you

the office is buzzing with holiday chaos, but you’ve got your own chaos. twelve days before christmas, a mysterious gift appears on your desk, and each morning brings another. thoughtful, perfect little things that make your heart race more than they should. it doesn’t take long for you to piece it together—jacaerys velaryon—isn’t as coy as he assumes. by christmas, you decide it’s time to return the favor. not with gifts, just with the words he’s been waiting to hear.

week four — the marauders

since we've no place to go—let it snow

at alice fortescue’s holiday party, you find james potter, your ex, sitting quietly by the fire. it’s been three years since you last saw him, but one heartfelt conversation—or atrocious snowstorm—just might be enough to glue the two of you back together.

a wonderful christmas time

single and surrounded by happy couples at your holiday trip is enough to send you spiraling. you feel like you're falling behind, and you're desperate enough to fall into an obvious tourist trap. it's said (the receptionist told you) that tying a red ribbon around a branch of the old oak during a snowfall will assure you a christmas miracle. only you don't find a miracle—just sirius black.

🗣️— + mystery bonus fics for the new year !!

can you guess for who?? hehe

🖇️ tags — if you want to be added to the taglist for this celebration, just comment below

[imthebadguyyy]

Arms

pairing : sirius black x reader

fandom : marauders/hp

synopsis : sirius realizes there's no place that feels more like home than your arms.

warnings : self depreciating thoughts, insecurity

a/n : felt like wandering into the realm of the marauders! do let me know if you want more :) inspired mildly by francesca by Hozier

sirius sat with james, while remus and peter sat across from them, both pouring liberal amounts of gravy onto their plates. james was also digging into an obnoxiously large amount of roast potatoes and chicken, barely pausing for a breath as he scarfed down the food.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

the great hall was not buzzing with the sound of students chattering as it usually did, and the sound remained at the decibel of a small hive of bees, while the professors murmured softly at the grand table, the munch of the many treats laid on the table for the christmas eve dinner.

sirius himself didn't feel that hungry, fork half heartedly poking at the beans on his plate. his eyes roamed around the hall, taking in the tiny mass of people at the other tables, and at dumbledore pulling mice out of his purple witches hat - his christmas special.

that very morning, his owl had dropped off a rather nasty howler from his darling mother, once again choosing to call him a colourful variety of insults and ending with her usual "disgrace and traitor to the black boodline" bullshit, followed by a chorus of "mixing with mudbloods and muggles" that had him clenching his fists in frustration.

then, his father orion had also decided to grace him with a scathing letter he burned the moment he received, but not before catching the words "shame to my bloodline", which once again had him sighing and rubbing the sore spot on his temples.

he had ignored it initially, focusing instead on the beautiful hand knitted scarf, golden watch and basket of sweets and treats he had received from euphemia and fleamont, with a small engraved gryffindor lion at the back of the watch.

he had also received a leather jacket from you, and homemade strawberry pies that you had made with help from the elves in the kitchen, and a set of silver rings to go with his pre existing ones.

remus had gifted him a muggle record called rumors from a band called Fleetwood Mac, that you had freaked out over and told him you'd listen to together because they were your favourite band ever and you'd be damned if he discovered your favourites on the album without you.

james himself had bought him bundles full off tricks and games from hogsmeade, and a framed picture of the marauders, along with a small replica of his own quidditch jersey because, "everyone has to know you're my number one fan pads!"

even marlene had gifted him a bunch of chocolate frogs, and mary had got him a postcard from venezuela and chocolate because her parents were visiting. lily had sent him muggle posters of his favorite bands as well.

but despite the merriment, the niggling insecurity of not being enough played on his mind the whole time, creeping like a shadow, insecurity slithering through the corridors of his mind, casting doubts where there once was light.

his mind was spiralling, as he looked at his plate, gulping as a sudden lump appeared in his throat. james was reading a letter from his mum to remus and peter, telling him about their travels in egypt, and peters mum had sent sweets for them to share at dinner.

oh how he longed for a mom who would write him sweet letters and send him sugary treats instead of venom coated words and flame bursting letters, a father who would teach him how to tie his tie properly for class, or tell him tales of his childhood.

sirius longed for a family to love and hold him always. and the closest he had to that was you and james.

as his thoughts turned to you, he was distracted by a sudden crash as the doors were flung open, as you rushed in, followed by the two friends with whom you sang as part of the hogwarts band, your red robes flaring as you rushed to find your spot beside him at the table.

with a pant, you flung yourself down, taking heaving breaths to calm your racing heart.

"well hello little miss" james said through a mouthful of peas, making you scrunch your nose in disapproval. "where were ya?" remus asked, piling on food onto your plate before it changed course.

"i was at band practice! we just lost track of time and then had to rush because we were so hungry!" you exclaimed, while your hands reached for sirius' under the table, taking his cold palm in yours, squeezing it tenderly to get the blood flow back in them, bringing it up for a quick peck to the knuckles before interlacing his fingers with yours.

sirius felt his heart physically slow down as he watched you, laughing a joke remus made, poking fun at james and messing around with peter. he watched as you cut the roasted potatoes into smaller chunks, dipping them in extra butter as you popped them into your mouth, and the way your eyes sparkled when you smiled.

he watched the way your hair fell, little strands framing your face as you brushed them off impatiently, all while leaning forward for a slice of a chocolate tart and icecream that had just appeared.

he watched as you put a slice of apple pie on his plate, topping it with a healthy dollop of cream, and passing it to him with a saccharine sweet smile and a murmur of "your favourite siri!" and he felt his heart flutter again.

what he didn't note was the crease in your eyebrow as you looked at your friend, the darl circles under his eyes, the slight stoop to his posture, the way his smile came out forced, lips pressed tight together with none of his gorgeous smile lines appearing around his eyes and lips.

he failed to note the way you drew a sharp breath when you felt the rough skin of his palms, coarse from all the times he dug his nails into the delicate skin to control the rage and hurt he felt at his family. the way your eyes softened as you looked at him, the way his lack of obnoxiously lewd jokes and quick wit made him look so vulnerable that it shattered your heart into a million pieces.

after the crackers were pulled and you had packed up a "grow your own warts" kit and many a butterbeer flavoured candy and a few white mice, he squeezed your hand again, gesturing towards the gryffindor common room, leaving the boys chatting with a few members of the ravenclaw quidditch team who had stayed back for christmas as well.

murmuring the password to the fat lady, you stumbled into the common room with sirius, who had his arm wrapped tightly around your waist. you sunk into your favourite armchair, and giggled when sirius fell into you with a muffled "thump"

even though you were 'just friends', you knew him better than anyone else and he knew it as well as you did.

the cozy red armchair with its plush cushioning looked as inviting as ever as he settled into it, legs haphazardly tossed over yours. affection was a major part of your relationship with sirius, having become fast friends since the first year at hogwarts.

ever since you were joint at the hip, bonding over a shared love of music, shared comfort in silence, shared trauma and a love for leather. you were as much a part of the marauders as any of the other boys, and sirius couldn't quite point to the time when you had become such fast friends.

he buried his head into the crook of your neck, inhaling deeply, absorbing the lilting notes of vanilla and shea, and fiddling with the loose strands of hair at the base of your neck. you hummed softly, some melody that had been playing on your mind, hands gently running through his dark locks, nails scratching softly at his scalp.

"you okay?" you asked, noting the tenseness of his shoulder muscles, and the still present frown between his eyebrows.

a non commital shrug was the only response.

worry began to seep into your mind, surprised at how your usually bubbly bestfriend was decidedly unbubbly.

"you don't seem okay babe" you stated, lifting his chin so he was looking at you.

his stormy gray eyes reflected doubt and insecurity dancing like lightning, casting shadows of uncertainty that loomed deep in his mind.

to your surprise, tears welled up in his eyes, mirroring raindrops, poignant with a tempest of emotions swirling within, creating a tumultuous scene of vulnerability and insecurity.

"oh sweetheart.." you cooed softly, shuffling so he was engulfed in your arms. you felt him bury his face deeper into your neck, clinging to you desperately as if he was worried you'd disappear into thin air.

"talk to me honey" you whispered, trying to coax him out of his hiding place.

just as he opened his mouth to speak, the door to the common room swung open and remus james and peter trooped in, followed by a few other gryffindors.

they stopped short, taking in the scene before them, their best mate in tears in the arms of the girl he loved who happened to be his best friend.

"mate are you-" james began, only to be cut off by a glare from remus.

"who don't you go up to our dorm y/n? I'll make sure no one goes up" remus said, staring at your pointedly, offering a soft smile to you when you nodded.

"i think we'll take you up on the offer, is that okay with you siri?" you asked, still softly stroking his hair.

he nodded against you, and followed you silently as you took his hand in yours and draped an arm around his torso, pressing a kiss to his temple as you led him up the winding staircase to the boys dormitory.

as soon as you were inside, you led him over to his bed, gently pushing him down so he was sitting, eyes looking unseeingly at the posters and polaroids that graced his headboard.

with worried eyes, you watched his gaze flicker back and forth, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to spill over.

"talk to me siri, im right here" you cooed, kneeling down in front of him, hands resting on his knees, drawing tiny circles with your pinky over the material of his robes.

"are you here with me love?" you asked, watching the black in his pupils darken as he spaced out. you watched as he jolted a little, looking at you almost alarmed, before the tears began to drip down his cheeks.

the first drop had you sprinting into his arms, wrapping your own tightly around him, kicking your shoes off as you squeezed him tight, knees resting in between his own, as he sobbed into your chest.

you'd seen him cry before, but never like this. broken sobs spilled from his salty lips, dampening the material of your robes, and small choked sounds escaped his lips, along with deep strangled breaths as he gripped your waist to keep himself grounded.

he cried for what seemed like hours while you whispered sweet reassurances to him, kissing his cheeks, his nose, his forehead and his hands, placing his hand on your chest to feel the steady beating of your heart.

"m' right here darling, let it all go, I've got you, i promise, I'll be right here to hold you honey" you whispered to him, rocking him back and forth like a child.

sirius gripped you even tighter, clinging to you as if you were his lifeline.

eventually, his sobs slowed,and he pulled back, eyes red and swollen and face glistening with tears. even when his hair was messy and he looked like a wreck, he looked ethereal.

"oh my beautiful boy" you said, kissing the top of his head. "tell me what you need" you said, interlacing your hands.

"you, just need you" he said, and the way his broke on the word 'you' shattered your heart into a million pieces.

"just give me one second darling, okay?" you said, walking into their bathroom and taking out a clean handkerchief from your pocket. you soaked it in some water, bringing it back to him, gently wiping his eyes and then his face with it, leaving kisses on every spot you cleaned for him, before taking a comb from his nightstand and slowly untangling the mess that his hair was.

sirius watched as you combed his hair, eyebrows furrowed in attention, and he swore his heart fell even more for you.

"d'ya think you can tell me what's wrong sugar?" you asked, biting you lip when he flashed you a smile at the nickname.

"yeah" he nodded, tugging you down so you were cuddled into his side. "oh wait!" you exclaimed, fishing some chocolate out your pocket and offering a piece.

he took it with a smile, letting it melt on his tongue as he looked at you.

you were now snuggled into his shoulder, your ankle intertwined with his as you lay across from him, hand gently holding his, as his other hand traced patterns on your hip.

"darling mother of mine sent me a howler this morning for a christmas present" he said with a dry chuckle.

"did she now?" you said, anger simmering deep in your bones. "yeah, and then sperm donator sent me a lovely letter as well" he said, chuckling a little at his own nickname for his father.

"mmhmm" you said, tracing his thumb.

"yeah, jus' caught me off guard" he mumbled

"you do know that whatever they say is not true, right?" you asked, looking straight into his eyes.

"yeah but- fuck, darling, it gets hard sometimes. sometimes I feel like I am a traitor and failure. sometimes i feel like I'm not worthy of being a human, I'm not worthy of being a friend, I'm not worthy of being loved i-" he broke off, looking at the ceiling.

"you are more than just a name, sirius. you are worthy of being loved. you are worthy of being human, and you are worthy enough to have friends who care about you" you said firmly, forcing him to look back at you.

"it just hurts me sometimes" he admitted

"i know sweetheart" you cooed again. you felt like no words you said were enough when it came to this topic.

"am i really worthy of being loved?" he asked suddenly, turning his face to look at you.

"of course" you said. the silence got louder for a moment. "siri?" you asked, voice lighter than honeycomb.

"theres something Ive been wanting to tell you" he got out in a rush. "ever since we met on the train on our way here, from the tender age of eleven, my heart silently declared its allegiance to you. each passing day has been a testament to a love that started as a whisper and has grown into a resounding echo in my soul. darling, with every sunrise and every moonlit night, my affection for you deepens, as if there's an infinite well within me, filling with the boundless affection i hold for you. you are the constant melody in the symphony of my existence, and i fall harder for you with each beat of my heart" he said, turning to look at you.

you felt tears welling in your own eyes, and it only felt right when you leaned forward, pressing your soft lips to his slightly chapped ones.

to him, you tasted of strawberries and cocoa, warm and sweet and oh so extravagant, a taste so luxurious he couldn't get enough of it.

to you, he tasted of cigarette smoke, mint and cocoa, an intoxicating taste you couldn't get enough of

his lips pressed deeper against yours, hand grasping your waist tightly, pulling you flush against him, as he poured all his love and passion out for you.

time stopped, the world slowed and your heartbeat dropped to the lowest of lows. relaxed. calm. loved.

finally, when your lungs began to burn from the lack of oxygen, you drew away, chests heaving as you looked at each other.

a slight flush lay on his cheeks, tinges of red littering his cheekbones. you could feel a heat thrumming in your own cheeks, and your heart felt like it was racing a million miles an hour.

"i don't know how long I've waited to say that to you" he breathed out, nuzzling his nose to yours.

"since our shared days at eleven, my heart has been a clandestine haven for the enchantment you brought into my life. you don't know how happy you made me with this. in the quiet dance of our days, my affection for you has blossomed into a resplendent garden, and with every sunrise, I find myself immersed deeper in the captivating allure of our love. you are the symphony that resonates in my heart, and i cherish you always" you told him, pressing a kiss to the swell of his cheekbone.

sirius felt his cheeks burn a deep red, and he tilted your lips up to press a searing kiss to them again.

"i love you" he gasped against your lips, drawing you closer to him.

"i love you too" you murmured against his lips moulding your body to him.

and as sirius lay there in your arms, pressing kisses as sweer and delicate as spun sugar against every part of your body but especially your lips, he realised there was no other place that felt more like home than your arms.

you.

you were his home.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

a/n : I've missed writing so much!! i really hope you enjoy this, and as always likes reblogs comments opinions etc are appreciated!! sending u all love and happiness and remember, my inbox is always open and i love making new friends!! marauders is a new field for me but if u have any reqs/ideas please do send in asks! happy reading ☺️♥️

TAGS

general : @roslastyles420 @hopeful in love @bluesongbird

TO BE ADDED TO THE TAGLIST SEND ME AN ASK OR A DM SPECIFYING WHICH FANDOM ❤️

[moonsandmobilityaids]

The Brownies

Pairings: Poly!marauders x disabled!reader Summary: You let James and Sirius try your brownies. Warnings: Chronic pain, marijuana usage Series Masterlist

The evening unfolds like a sigh of relief, tension ebbing away as the night draws near. You're nestled in your room with Sirius and James, the three of you lounging on your bed. The fire crackles softly in the hearth, casting flickering shadows along the stone walls while its warmth seeps into every corner, warding off the chill of autumn that lurks outside.

"Another Saturday well spent," Sirius remarks, stretching his long limbs out before him. His eyes are half-closed, a contented smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "D'you reckon we could make this a tradition?"

James chuckles from where he's sprawled nearby, propped up against headboard. He runs a hand through his already messy hair, making it stand up even more. "Only if Y/N promises to keep providing the snacks."

Your room is spacious for one person with its double four poster bed draped in red and gold curtains, a self-adjusting fireplace that keeps the temperature just right no matter the season, and an ensuite bathroom complete with a large bath. It's become something of a sanctuary within the castle’s ancient walls—a place where laughter rings loud and worries grow quiet.

Tonight, though, it's not just the allure of good company or the promise of a reprieve from homework that has drawn them here. Earlier in the week, they'd learnt about your marijuana usage, and now both boys were eager, albeit slightly apprehensive, to see what all the fuss was about.

Sirius is all too willing, of course; the very idea of trying something new and seemingly forbidden ignites a spark in his grey eyes. His life has always been a dance between rebellion and seeking approval—from his family, from society—and so, when faced with an opportunity to push boundaries, he never hesitates.

"Alright then," he says, sitting up straighter, anticipation colouring his tone. "Let's see what these treats can do."

"Patience," you chide, a hint of laughter in your voice. You summon the box from your shelves, setting it down between Sirius and James who lean in closer, their curiosity piqued. With a flourish, you lift the lid, revealing the brownies nestled together. They're unremarkable at first glance—just squares of baked chocolate—but there's an unmistakable scent wafting up from them, something earthy underlying the rich sweetness.

Sirius reaches out almost instinctively, but you pull the treat away before his fingers can close around it. His brow furrows, confusion lining his face until he catches sight of your smirk.

"I have to make them last until Christmas," you explain, placing the brownie back into the box. "They need to be rationed properly."

James' hand hovers over the opening, as if debating whether to snatch one for himself. But your warning gives him pause. He withdraws, settling back on his heels while watching you with renewed interest. It isn't often they see this side of you—the one that plans ahead, that tempers impulses with reason—and though it's different from their usual recklessness, they find themselves drawn to your resolve.

"Alright then," Sirius concedes, leaning back. There's still a glint of mischief in his eyes, but it's tempered now, held at bay by intrigue. "So how do we go about this?"

"First things first," you begin, reaching for a knife on your bedside table. The blade glints under the firelight as you slice through the soft texture of the brownie, cutting it into smaller pieces. "You’ll start with half each. Any more than that... well, let’s just say you'll be begging for Madam Pomfrey's Pepper-Up Potion come morning."

The two boys exchange wary glances before turning their attention back to you. Their playful bravado seems to have faded, replaced by a cautious curiosity.

"And remember," you continue, your tone serious despite the faint smile tugging at your lips, "the effects are not immediate. You might feel nothing for a while, but don’t eat more thinking it didn't work. Give it time."

There's silence as they digest your words, the gravity of the situation sinking in. For all their daring escapades and mischievous pranks, they've never quite ventured into territory like this before. It feels both thrilling and daunting—a line being crossed, yet also a door being opened.

"Are you nervous?" you ask, breaking the quiet.

"A little," James admits, running a hand through his unruly hair once more. His gaze doesn’t leave the brownie piece you’ve set aside for him.

"Excited," Sirius corrects, grinning despite himself. "It's not every day you get to try something so... unconventional."

With a roll of your eyes, you pass them their portions. "Just remember what I said."

Sirius takes his share with a nod, studying the morsel closely. Beside him, James does the same, his eyebrows knitting together in concentration.

On any other night, such seriousness would be out of place. But tonight, it fits. Tonight, they aren't simply Gryffindor boys seeking their next adventure—they're explorers standing on the brink of unknown territory, maps unfolded and compasses pointing toward unseen horizons.

After Sirius and James have eaten their portions of the brownie, the three of you wait for the effects to start. The anticipation is palpable, an electric current that seems almost alive in its own right.

The mood in the room shifts from anticipation to something softer and more intimate as the minutes tick by. Sirius leans back against the pillows on your bed, his usual smirk still present but there’s a tenderness in his gaze as he watches you and James. It’s a look you’ve seen before, often followed by some mischievous comment or playful jab, but tonight it feels different—less guarded, more genuine.

James settles beside you, his arm wrapping casually around your waist and pulling you closer to him. His touch is familiar, comforting even, yet it sends a jolt of excitement through you each time. There's a certain thrill to being this close, surrounded by warmth and the faint scent of chocolate lingering in the air.

There’s a moment of quiet as the three of you sit together, the warmth of your bodies pressed close in the soft glow of the fire. The setting of your room, with its self-adjusting fireplace and the large bed, adds to the intimate atmosphere. You can’t help but feel a sense of contentment wash over you, a feeling so overwhelming it nearly takes your breath away.

"Feel anything yet?" you ask after a while, breaking the silence.

James shrugs, a small smile creeping onto his face. "Maybe. It's hard to tell."

You watch him closely, noting the subtle shift in his demeanor. His movements are slower, more deliberate as if he's taking care to savour every sensation. The corners of his mouth twitch upwards into a soft grin, and there's a certain lightness in his eyes that wasn't there before—a calmness that seems to radiate from within.

"Hmm," Sirius hums, his voice low and steady. He blinks slowly, almost languidly, and leans back against the pillows propped up behind him. There’s a quiet ease about him now, a stark contrast to the playful energy he usually exudes.

The tension in the room begins to dissipate, replaced by a wave of warmth and comfort that envelops the three of you like a blanket. You can’t help but let out a content sigh, leaning back against James, who wraps an arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer to his side.

For a moment, you simply sit there, basking in the closeness and the peace that has settled over the room. You glance at Sirius, whose eyes are now half-closed as he lounges comfortably on your bed. A lazy grin spreads across his face, and for once, he doesn't seem to be plotting any mischief or planning any pranks. Instead, he looks... relaxed, truly relaxed, something you realise you've never seen before.

And then there's James. Despite being naturally laid-back, there's always been an underlying restlessness to him, a constant need to do, to act. But now, all traces of that have melted away, leaving behind a tranquillity you didn't know he was capable of. His arm around you feels heavier, not with pressure, but with presence—steady, grounding, real.

"Y/N," Sirius' voice is softer now, a low murmur that barely penetrates the silence. You turn to look at him, and he's already moving closer, his hand reaching out to gently slide along your waist, moving James’s arm out the way.

His touch sends a shiver through you, not from cold but from something else entirely—something warm and thrilling that starts in your belly and spreads outward until it reaches every corner of your body. He leans in then, his lips finding the crook of your neck with an ease that speaks of familiarity yet holds a certain novelty that has your heart racing.

His breath against your skin sends goosebumps trailing down your arms, and even the faintest brush of his fingers feels electrifying. It’s as if all your senses have been heightened, attuned to every minute detail—the way his chest rises and falls against your back, the warmth radiating from his body, the scent of him filling your nostrils.

You close your eyes, letting yourself sink into the moment, into him. Your hands find their way into his hair, tangling into the dark strands as you angle your head to give him better access. You can feel the tension draining from your body, replaced by a sense of peace and contentment.

Sirius pulls away slightly, just enough to meet your gaze. His eyes are heavy-lidded, a clear sign of the drug taking effect, but there’s something else there too—a depth of emotion you didn’t expect to see. And then he’s leaning in again, capturing your lips with his in a slow, languid kiss that makes your heart flutter.

James, sitting beside you, watches this interaction with darkened eyes. His gaze is intense but tempered by the effects of the marijuana brownie. He doesn't interrupt, doesn't make any sarcastic comments or tease Sirius about his newfound tenderness. Instead, he remains quiet, observing.

You feel James' hand on your shoulder, pulling you back towards him. You turn your head to look at him and find yourself caught in his gaze. His hazel eyes are soft but hold a depth that makes your heart flutter. Then he's leaning in, closing the distance between you until his lips meet yours.

The kiss is slow, deep—the kind that makes you forget everything else exists. The warmth of his mouth against yours sends a shiver down your spine, and for a moment, you lose yourself completely. It's different from the playful kisses you're used to sharing, less hurried and more... meaningful.

James' hands slide up to cup your face, tilting your head slightly to deepen the kiss. You let out a soft sigh, parting your lips further as you lean into his touch. The world outside fades away, leaving only the three of you in this intimate bubble where time seems to stand still.

"Y/N," James breathes out, his voice barely above a whisper. There's an intensity to his gaze that matches the fervour of his earlier words. "I love you."

Your breath hitches in your throat as he pulls himself closer to you, erasing the last bit of space between your bodies. His fingers trail along your jawline before coming to rest on the nape of your neck, sending shivers down your spine.

And then he's kissing you again, deeper this time, his tongue exploring your mouth with a boldness that leaves you breathless. Your fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt, holding onto him like he's the only thing keeping you grounded.

It's intoxicating, the way he consumes all your senses, leaving no room for anything else. And despite the fear creeping at the edges of your consciousness—because how could something so wrong feel so right?—you can't bring yourself to pull away.

Instead, you press closer to him, losing yourself in the rhythm of his breaths, the taste of his lips, the reassuring solidity of his chest against yours. A low moan escapes you, muffled by his mouth, and you can feel him smile against your lips—a small victory in this game that neither of you are quite sure how to play.

James pulls back from your lips, a grin spreading across his face as he brushes a strand of hair away from your eyes. "You're amazing," he murmurs, voice low and rough with emotion.

His gaze is soft, unfocused—the same look he gets when he's lost in thought or simply enjoying the moment for what it is. You can't help but smile back at him, leaning into his touch as his fingers trace lazy patterns on your skin.

Sirius remains close, his arm draped around your waist and his hand tracing small circles. Every so often, his lips find their way back to your neck, each kiss sending a shiver down your spine despite the warmth radiating from both boys.

There's a quiet intimacy in these shared moments, a sense of closeness that goes beyond physical proximity. And even though you know this isn't how things should be—that there are lines being blurred and rules being broken—you can't bring yourself to care right now.

James leans in closer, his hand reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear. His touch is gentle, almost reverent, and you can't help but lean into it. "We've got all night," he murmurs, his voice low and soothing.

Sirius chuckles softly, the sound rumbling through his chest against your back. "James is right," he agrees, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on your stomach. "We're staying."

"Feels nice," James admits, his eyes fluttering shut as he sinks further into the mattress. A smile plays at the corners of his lips, revealing just how much he's enjoying the effects of the joint. His usually restless energy is nowhere to be found, replaced instead by a languid calm that matches the slow rhythm of the music playing softly in the background.

Sirius lets out a low hum of agreement, his eyelids heavy as he rests his head against the pillows. His gaze remains fixed on you, though, half-lidded and full of admiration. "More than nice," he corrects, grinning lazily.

There's no denying the intimacy of the situation—the way their bodies curve protectively around yours, the faint smell of musk and cologne, the lingering taste of James' lips on yours...

But beyond the physical sensations, there's something else too—a sense of belonging that warms you from the inside out. It's in the way they look at you, not as some piece in a game of rivalry and one-upmanship, but as someone they genuinely care for and want to share this experience with.

For the first time in what feels like forever, you allow yourself to fully relax, sinking deeper into the embrace of the two boys who have somehow become an integral part of your life. Your mind still buzzes with questions and uncertainties, but for now, you push them aside, choosing to focus instead on the present moment and the undeniable connection you share with James and Sirius.

[starrystormwritings]

The Water Is Fine

The Water Is Fine

Master List <3 Request List <3 Marauders Master List <3

James Potter x Black! Reader

A/n: This is inspired by the song The Water Is Fine by Chloe Ament and I tried to write proper conflict in this and I don't think it's great lol

Summary: After retuning home for Christmas you end up following in the footsteps of Sirius.

Warnings: Blood, cuts, abuse, swearing, arguing, she/her, reader is a member of the Black family and is the same age as Sirius but isn't called a twin or described in anyway.

Word Count: 2890

(NOT MY GIF)

I walked into the great hall with a quicker pace than normal since I'd accidentally slept in a little and still wanted time for breakfast before the train left for Christmas break.

I spotted my brother and our friends sat on the Gryffindor table laughing at something as I approached, causing my speed to pick up even more.

"Morning!" I said whilst wrapping my arms around James's shoulders from behind him before pressing a quick kiss to his head and taking a seat in the spot left empty next to him.

"You're cutting it very close." James said with a laugh, kissing my cheek in response, his arm resting over my shoulders as I began to load my plate with breakfast.

"I know, I slept in and realised I hadn't done my packing."

"Organised as ever." Sirius said with a laugh, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"You're one to talk." Remus laughed from next to him.

James coughed awkwardly and looked down at me with a more serious face, "So, have you made up your mind on where you're spending Christmas?"

James and Sirius had been trying to persuade me to spend Christmas with the Potters for weeks now, Remus was spending New Years there as well and Peter only lived five minutes away so we could all be together.

I shook my head slightly and turned away from the boy, picking at the breakfast in front of me. "I don't know still, I'll decide on the train."

"C'mon love, please? I don't like the idea of you being stuck in that house with those people for two weeks. They won't even let you send me an owl so I know you're okay."

His pleading was cut off by the squawking of the owls delivering the mail from above us.

Two small black envelopes were dropped onto the table in front of us, causing me and Sirius to look at each other with an identical worried look in our eyes.

I picked up the one addressed to me and inspected it for a moment. Looking up and over at the Slytherin table to see Regulus already looking at me nervously, the same black envelope in his hands.

I sighed and slowly opened it, the silence that had now taken over our small group as they watched me and Sirius not helping with the anxiety growing in the back of my throat.

'Dearest Y/n, You are expected for an appearance at the Black home immediately for the Christmas holidays. Alliances must be made immediately and we intrust in you to make the correct decision. Orion and Walburga Black.'

I look up from the paper to see Sirius rolling his eyes and using his want to quickly set his letter aflame.

"They can't be serious." James said from next to me, obviously reading from over my shoulder.

"On what part?" I said with a sigh, folding the letter into a small square and slipping it into my pocket.

"On what part? The allegiances must be made part, obviously!" He said with a raised eyebrow.

"You can't be seriously considering still going? After what they're obviously asking from us?" Sirius said, giving me an unreadable look as he shook his head.

"We don't know exactly what they're asking yet. I mean I don't know how they'll react if neither of us go!" I look over his shoulder to see regulus looking at me again, his hands shaking slightly as he held the letter, his nervousness obvious to anyone.

"It's obvious what their asking Y/n, your not stupid. They want a decree of allegiance to the dark lord what else?" Sirius said, obviously pissed of that my letter wasn't in a pile of ashes next to his.

"Sirius I can't leave Regulus there alone! They probably just want us to attend a meeting or something. I might even get some information that could help Dumbledoor. I have to go Reggie's can't deal with this alone."

He huffed at me, quickly standing from the table angrily "Well I hope you have a very merry fucking Christmas then, I'll see you in the new year if you haven't already been made into a death eater."

He stormed out of the hall before I could respond, Remus running after him with an apologetic look.

I pushed the plate in front of me away, suddenly loosing my appetite.

"You okay?" James asked gently, rubbing my shoulder.

I sighed and nodded, spotting Regulus trying to wave me over in the corner of my eye.

"I will be. I just need to sort this out."

~~~~~

It was obvious that Sirius didn't want me joining their carriage on the way back and since I didn't fancy the idea of sitting with Reggie's friends either I decided to just look for an empty carriage.

After finally finding one at the end of the train I took a seat, pulling the letter out of my pocket and re-reading it again and again.

"Mind if I join you?" My boyfriend's voice said from the doorway.

I looked up with a smile, scrunching the paper back into my pocket as I nodded at him.

"Of course you can."

He smiled back and took the seat next to me, pressing a gentle kiss to my lips before pulling me into his side for a hug.

"What're you thinking?"

I shrugged slightly and sighed again.

"Honestly James I don't know what to do. I don't want Sirius to be mad at me and I'd love to spend the next two weeks with you but I don't think I can bring myself to leave Reggie there alone. I know what that house is like James, I know what they do. I always had Sirius, I wouldn't have gotten through it alone. He needs me there."

James took a deep breath, obviously upset by the conversation.

"Y/n/n I know what you mean, but please. I'll do anything if you followed me off this train and spent the next two weeks in my house, singing carols, opening presents, cuddling by the fire and drinking hot chocolate. That's what Christmas should be, not being in that cold house. I don't know what it's like I know, but from what Sirius has told me I know that you shouldn't be there. Please, I'm begging you."

I looked up at him to be met with desperate eyes. I lent in to press another soft kiss against his lips, letting my fingers caress his cheek even after I pulled away.

He rested his forehead against mine and used his arm to try and pull me even closer.

"I'm sorry James, truly. But I can't spend Christmas happy knowing what they might be doing to him. I'll be okay. I promise."

He didn't respond for a moment before just giving me a small nod and pulling me tight against his chest.

~~~~~

My mother was furious when Sirius followed after James at the station, and she was even more furious when James gave my head a gentle kiss goodbye.

She harshly gripped Regulus's arm and apparated away without looking at me.

I sighed before looking over my shoulder to see James, Sirius and Peter looking at me.

I offered a small wave and apparated away before they could respond and possibly convince me to change my mind.

As I appeared in the living room of my house I was met with my family and a few faces of men I hadn't met before.

"Follow me." My mother's voice said sternly as she swept away from the room and down the corridor.

I glanced over at Reggie who looked terrified and offered him a reassuring smile before following after her into my bedroom.

"So the Potters have sunk their teeth into you as well?" She asked after the door was shut.

Her voice still made my blood run cold, although her intimidating presence no longer held the same effect as it did when I was younger.

"I'm here aren't I?" I tried to sound strong, self assured. Like a Black would.

"Their a family of blood traitors, just like your brother. There will be no more of that from now on."

I didn't respond to that, instead just looking away from her eyes and clearing my throat to try and build my confidence again.

"What was that letter about?"

She straightened up slightly, obviously ready to deliver news that she knew there would be a reaction to.

"As you know things are changing, the Dark Lord is rightfully raising to power and it has become time for everyone to decide what they think is right. As you know your brothers already made his decision and we will have no more embarrassment put on this house. Orders have been put in place to ensure that."

"Orders?"

"You and Regulus are lucky to hold the Black family name and we expect you to wear that privilege with pride. That means no more messing about with the Potters it's time to make your family proud. Your allegiances will be cemented today and you my dear, will be Married off to the Rosier boy to continue this noble bloodline and ensure that you don't follow in your good for nothing brother's footsteps."

I looked at her dumbfounded for a second. "Evan? You can't be serious-"

Before I had a chance to argue my point I was cut off by the sound of Regulus's screams from the other side of the door.

"What was that? What're they doing to him!" I rushed towards the door but she had caught my wrist before I could move.

"Your brother is making the correct decision."

"Decision, what?" I looked at her with confusion before my eyes caught a glimpse of the mark that covered her arm and I felt a chill down my back at what was happening.

"No. No way. He's sixteen you can't brand him like that!" I ripped my arm away from her and made a move towards the door. Before I could open it though I felt a sharp cutting pain shoot up my leg.

I fell to the floor with a yelp and looked up to see my mother holding her wand sternly towards me.

The sharp burning pain was agonising but I clenched my teeth as hard as I could, refusing to give in.

"You are an adult Y/n. This is your birth right. Take it." She lent down and grabbed my arm, yanking me up to her height again. The weight on my burning leg causing me to let out a short scream.

"This isn't right. I'm not allowing you to do this to me, to him. I won't do it. I'm not marrying Evan, and I'm sure as hell not pledging my allegiance to the Dark Lord!" I shouted through gritted teeth, tears quickly streaming down my cheeks despite my best efforts.

She let go of the spell she had cast against my left leg, causing me to let out a breath of relief despite feeling the blood dripping into my shoes.

"I am your mother." Her wand now pressed against my arm, hard. "This is my blood that runs in you, the blood of hundreds of years of purity and strength. The blood of the noble house of black! This blood runs thicker than anything. You are my daughter! My skin! My flesh! My soul! You have no say in the matter, you do as I say or you pay for it!"

I could feel blood dripping from my wrist as well now, I glanced down to see the shape of a T and an R being carved against my skin in her neat handwriting.

I took a couple shaky breathes, and thanked Merlin that my adrenaline seemed to numb the pain slightly.

"I am not my family. And maybe if you weren't you would still have a son and daughter. You are a sick, sad, bitter woman who'll live the rest of her life in misery until she dies a forgetful and deserved death. You'll rot."

She stared at me, her wand pushing harder against my arm as the pain quickened. Neither of us spoke for a second before I ungritted my teeth so I could spit on her face.

She didn't respond for a second, her face full of fury before I felt a swift sting to my face as she slapped me, hard.

She'd used magic to punish me and Sirius before, but never her own hand.

She screamed before withdrawing her wand from my arm and casting a spell that dropped me back to the floor, screaming in pain as my whole body felt like it was on fire.

I laid there for a second, trying to muster the strength to move as she held the spell over me. I thought of Sirius and Regulus, and us playing outside by the lake as kids. And I thought of James and how he held me, how he made me feel save and happy. How he taught me what a home actually was.

My hand shifted to the pocket of my robes slowly, gripping my wand as tightly into my hand as I could.

I used any and all the strength I had left to pull it out, casting a spell I never thought I would against my own mother.

"Crusio!"

She dropped to her own knees with a scream, calling me every name under the sun as she writhed on the floor.

I watched horrified for a second before I saw the door open, my father's furious face prompting me to apparate out of there as quickly as I could before he could reach me.

Before I knew what was happening I was laying on the porch of the Potters house, every bone in my body burning and aching as I used the only strength I had left to weakly knock on the door.

It took a second but before I knew it the door opened to the smell of firewood, mint and vanilla and I knew he was there.

"Y/n? Merlin!"

I felt his arms wrap around my and lift me off the floor and the second I entered his embrace I allowed myself to let go, to cry.

"Mum! Dad! Sirius! Help! Please!"

The panic in his voice caused me to grip onto his shirt as hard as I could and that's the last I heard before everything went silent.

~~~~~

I woke up in the most comforting bed I could image. The reassuring smell of James engulfed me and soothed my aching body as my eyes adjusted to the warm light of the room.

James was asleep on the arm chair next to the bed, a worry line creasing his forehead and I felt a pang of guilt in my gut for what I probably put him through.

I sat up slightly, feeling a pain shoot up from my leg. I looked under the covers to see that my leg had been carefully wrapped in a bandage up to my knee and I spotted from the corner of my eye that my arm had a matching one.

I slowly unwrapped my arm to assess the damage and let out a quiet gasp when I saw the word 'traitor' neatly carved against my skin.

I felt a few tears roll down my cheek as I quickly tried to wrap it back up, not wanting to look at the word.

"My mum said it shouldn't scar, Pomfrey is coming by tomorrow with some ointment for it. If it does leave any mark it should be faint. Your leg was the problem." James's sleepy voice said from next to me, he carefully took my arm to re-wrap the bandage himself since my hands were shaking to much.

"Jamie I'm so sorry." I said with a sniff, causing the boy to frown at me.

He walked around to climb into bed next to me, pulling me into his arms gently.

"None of this is your fault, at all. You don't deserve any of it." He kissed my hair, letting his face rest there for a moment.

"I should've just came back with you. I tried to get to Reggie, I really did. But it was already too late and she wouldn't let me go to him. She wanted me to get the mark and marry Rosier, Regulus already has it. I couldn't help him." I cried softly into his shoulder as he smoothed my hair comfortingly.

"You're never going back there, they can't hurt you anymore. Regulus will be okay, he's welcome here if he decides to leave. But I'm here now, nothings going to hurt you when I'm around. I promise."

I nodded, allowing him to wipe the tears from my cheeks before leaning in to kiss him.

I was safe in his arms, in his bed, in his home. The looming knowledge of the war was pushed away by his room. The sense of home breaking my thoughts away from anything other than him.

Him and his soft hair, his infectious smile, his gentle laugh and his addictive touch.

"I love you so much." I said as his lips pulled away, resting my head against his and rubbing our noses together softly.

"I love you too"

[siriuslovebot]

˖ ࣪⭑˖ ࣪𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 ➸ 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒖𝒔 𝒍𝒖𝒑𝒊𝒏˖ ࣪⭑ ˖ ࣪

𓏲 ࣪₊♡𓂃 𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵𝒀𝑴𝑶𝑼𝑺 𝑨𝑺𝑲𝑬𝑫: hello my love! ik you’ve already made a couple but i was wondering if you could make another one of those mouse ones, if you’re not up for it that’s completely fine! thank you for taking the time to read this!

𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵𝒀𝑴𝑶𝑼𝑺 𝑨𝑺𝑲𝑬𝑫: we all need more remus x mouse!!!

𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵𝒀𝑴𝑶𝑼𝑺 𝑨𝑺𝑲𝑬𝑫: please write another remus lupin x mouse fluff please. i love your writing style. it's just perfect<33

𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺: injured reader, the nickname 'mouse', some embarrassing (possibly?) moments, nothing else i can think of??

𝑺𝑼𝑴𝑴𝑨𝑹𝒀: after convincing the reader to go ice skating, things end up going a bit sideways for the marauders.

𝑨/𝑵: merry christmas (and happy holidays) everyone! here is a bit of a late gift for you all! i was astonished to see the amount of requests for more remus x mouse! i didn't even include all of them here. i'm sorry i've been mia for so long! this one may be a bit rusty, but i hope you all enjoy even if i am a little out of practice! (also this is unedited so if you see any typos/mistakes no you didn't)

𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝑪𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑻: 3.3k 𓂃♡₊⭑

·͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺

“it’s bloody freezing out here,” mutters sirius, his voice gruff in the early morning air.

you roll your eyes, glancing at him out of the corner of your eye. in your peripheral, you can see his mussed hair and dark circles, as well as the scowl that colours his handsome features. 

“you should’ve stayed behind if you’re going to whine, sirius,” you respond, raising your brows.

he wrinkles his nose, looking an awful lot like he’s smelled something foul. “are you mad? i’m not staying cooped up in that castle when you lot are out here having fun. where’s moony?” he looks at you expectantly.

“running late, i suppose,” you glance at your watch, a christmas gift from remus. it’s charmed, the tiny mice printed on the watch frolicking around as you get the time. your face turns pink, embarrassed although you love the little watch. you hope sirius doesn’t see. you’d never hear the end of it. 

“well, it’s half eight. earliest i’ve been up in weeks.” sirius yawns, swiping his sleeve across his face.

you roll your eyes again. you knew the lot of them would be menaces upon returning from the christmas holidays. sirius spent the two weeks of holiday break at james’s house, the two of them likely driving the potters out of their minds. the pair of them had clearly suffered from a lack of sleep, made clear by sirius’s incessant complaining about being up early. 

you wanted to spend the holidays at hogwarts, hoping that remus might convince his parents to let him do the same, with no luck. you suffered a miserable two weeks at home, your parents refusing to let you out of their sight for a second. you hardly even had time to respond to the owls sent by your friends; notably, a muggle christmas card of lily and her family, an odd photo of sirius and james wearing charmed elves’ hats, and a sweet note from remus wishing you a merry christmas and promising you a gift upon your return to school. 

thus, you are excited to spend a few hours having fun with your friends without worrying about lessons. if only you can wrestle sirius out of his grumpy mood. 

there’s a chorus of boots crunching through snow behind you, and you turn to find lily approaching. james and remus trail close behind, with marlene at the back. 

“what’s with the frown?” lily makes a face at sirius, who makes another disgruntled face.

“hasn’t got his beauty sleep,” you warn, a smile playing on your lips.

“you’d know about that, wouldn’t you?” sirius says crossly.

you raise your eyebrows at him.

“simmer down, pads,” james says, bright as ever. “don’t mind him. he’s just peeved because of that detention mcgonagall gave him.”

he pats his friend on the back, accompanied only by a grumble from the long-haired boy.

“yes,” says remus, “who knew she would catch him trying to turn marie littletree’s quill into a bowtruckle?” 

“all right,” says sirius. “i get it. i’ll paint a stupid little grin on my face like prongs here. can we get on with it?” he grins at the confused half-smile on james’s face, then nudges his friend in the shoulder. 

“right,” says marlene. “lily’s got an itinerary.”

“yes,” says the redhead. “first hogsmeade weekend back, and i’ve got plans. now, the three broomsticks is going to be absolutely swimming with people.”

“it’s always swimming with people,” james chimes.

“right,” she gives him a sharp look, and he scratches his neck awkwardly. “i was thinking, we should skip the morning crowd, and have a go at ice skating.”

“ice skating!”

“ice skating?”

james and your exclamations mirror one another, as you both gawk at lily. james looks like a child on christmas morning, and you look… well, terrified. 

“oh, godric, i’m going to be so embarrassed. i can hardly walk, lils, much less skate!” you groan, feeling the exasperation sirius has been bleeding all morning. 

“c’mon, y/n!” james gives you a shake around the shoulders, looking excited. “you’ll be fine. a little arresto momentum, and you’re saved.”

“right, and which one of you is going to babysit me to keep me from face planting?” you glare at him.

“sounds like a job for moony, if y’ask me,” says sirius smugly. he’s already strutting towards the pond, james close on his heels. 

marlene grins, and lily looks at you pleadingly. “c’mon, y/n,” she begs, pouting like a child.

“it’ll be fun,” marlene adds.

you huff, not wanting to feel like a buzzkill. 

remus places a gentle hand on your shoulder, squeezing gently. you sigh.

“you’ll be all right,” he urges, voice soft. 

you sigh, but concede. “fine.” 

lily and marlene cheer, taking off behind james and sirius on their way to the pond.

you frown, glancing over at remus as you fall into a slow pace following them.

“do i have to?” you wonder aloud, hooking your arm through his as you crunch through the hardened snow.

remus smiles down at you, a gentle smile finding his lips. his cheeks are pink from the cold already, his honeyed hair sticking out in tufts from beneath his knit hat. your stomach does a flip, and you have to force yourself not to look away.

“don’t tell me you’re scared, mouse,” he says, raising an eyebrow.

“scared? pfft, i don’t get scared,” you mutter, rolling your eyes.

“oh, really?”

“really. but i know my strengths. and ice-foot coordination is not one of them. i’m preparing to embarrass the wits out of myself.” 

“it can’t possibly be that bad,” he says.

“have you met me, rem? i tripped over the air just last night.”

“i actually think that was a badly timed jinx from sirius.”

“i hope you’re joking.”

“afraid not.”

“oh, he’s got it coming.” you shake your head, remembering the burn of your cheeks as you tumbled in a heap in the common room. remus came over, smiling to himself as he helped pick up your things. you’d wanted to crawl into a hole and hide for the rest of the night.

as you approach the pond, you blink at the sight of a few other students gliding over the frozen water. you blink, not feeling confident in your abilities. you can feel your legs wobbling already, hearing the sound of yourself crashing into the ice. 

“okay,” you stop in your tracks, grabbing remus by his wrists. he faces you, eyes expectant.

“yes?” he humours you, looking as serious as you feel.

“promise you won’t laugh if i fall.”

his features crack into a smile, his head falling as he laughs softly. “c’mon, mouse,” he nudges you, draping an arm over your shoulders. he’s warm, and you lean into him as he leads you closer to the water’s edge, where your friends have already conjured up their ice skates. 

“if you laugh, i’ll never forgive you.”

“i’ll keep an eye on you,” he says, “and i promise i won’t laugh.” 

“holding you to it,” you say, joining marlene and lily by the pond.

“here,” marlene takes half a second and conjures you a pair of skates, untied on your feet. 

james and sirius are already on the ice, flitting around faster than you can keep up with. they’re a pair of blurs, their laughter ringing through the air. 

you make a face, your ears burning just at the thought of how you’re going to look trying to keep your feet beneath yourself. you don’t even notice your untied laces as you wobble towards the ice.

“just a second, mouse,” remus says softly, his large frame stooping to tie your shoes.

your face goes red as you glance down at him, feeling sheepish. “sorry,” you say, “i could have done that.”

“i’ve got it,” remus hums, his scarred hands tying your skate laces with expertise. 

he’s towering over you again in half a second, winking at you as he reaches down to grasp your hand. his skin is warm, even through both pairs of your gloves, and you feel a bit better. 

“y’alright?” remus wonders aloud, guiding you to the edge of the ice. he steps on gracefully, somehow able to keep his feet from sliding beneath him. you stare down at his skates, nervous.

you frown. “i’m scared,” you admit, face darkening with embarrassment.

“don’t be scared,” remus says. 

he tugs your hand, smiling warmly. you hate how persuasive he is; his soft voice and gentle smile have a way of turning you into a gushing mess in the palm of his hands. no one knows how to make you feel better like remus does. 

“you’ll still love me if i make a fool out of myself, right?” you wonder aloud, stepping slowly onto the ice. you tuck your bottom lip between your teeth, focused on keeping yourself upright. 

“i’d love you even if you made a fool out of the whole world, love.”

he’s laughing as you join him on the ice, the velvety deep sound sending butterflies rampaging through your stomach. he grasps your hand, ever so gently, and pulls you to the center of the ice, where fewer of the other students are. your classmates fly by, agile and quick on the ice. you feel somewhat like a baby deer, your legs wobbly beneath you. 

“see, not so bad, is it?” remus encourages, his features now split in a jovial grin. his tawny eyes glitter with amusement, the corners crinkled by his big smile.

“no, i guess not,” you agree, fingers still gripping the sleeve of his coat in a vice.

“d’you want to try on your own?” he inquires. his long fingers loosen their hold on your wrist, but you tighten your own around him.

“no–not yet!” you squeak, moving closer to him and throwing your arms around his middle. he laughs, his chest rumbling against your cheek. you take a deep breath.

“sorry,” he chuckles, smoothing a hand over your hair. “i’ve got you, m’little mouse.” 

you blink, peeking around his frame to see sirius and lily engaged in a race across the pond, their speeding frames silhouetted by the snowy landscape behind them. a grin spreads over your features, watching as james and marlene cheer them on. 

“i don’t know how they do it,” you muse, shaking your head.

“you’ll be racing them in no time,” remus says teasingly, slowly unraveling your death grip around him. 

“if you say so,” you murmur.

remus pulls you along gently, gaining some speed as you become more comfortable at the feeling of being on the ice. after several minutes, you’re no longer as unstable on your feet. you hardly even shriek when james charges at the pair of you at full speed, spraying you with a shower of ice as he stops at the last second.

“you git,” you hiss, sending a snowball his way with a flick of your wand.

he curses loudly, already halfway across the pond when it hits his back. lily and marlene dissolve into a fit of giggles, while remus chuckles gently. 

you don’t even notice that he isn’t holding you steady anymore. distracted, you’ve released your grasp on his sleeve, and are slowly gliding alongside him. you’re closer to the edge of the pond, your feet steady beneath you as you gather confidence. 

“feeling okay?” remus has spun around, facing you as he skates backwards.

what a showoff, you think, but you say nothing. he doesn’t know it, but you adore just how easily he picks up on the things you find to be absolutely mind-boggling. despite his insistence that he’s nothing special, he picks up on skills with ease. he’s a talented wizard, quick-witted and good at solving problems under pressure. it’s precisely why he excels in school, despite being out around each full moon and sometimes struggling to come out of his shell.

“thanks to you,” you say, flushing. “i wouldn’t be out here if it weren’t for you, you know.”

he smiles sheepishly, his wind-chapped face going a deeper shade of pink. “sure you would.”

you laugh, shaking your head. “i’m serious, rem,” you say. “thank you.”

“don’t thank me,” he says, looking more than a little embarrassed. 

you reach for him, wanting to hold his hand, but you see concern flash in his eyes. your eyes widen, but before you can say anything he’s already reaching for you.

“watch out–”

but you’ve both reacted too late. another student slams into your shoulder, knocking you off kilter. you squeal, falling to the ice too quickly for either you or remus to react. the air feels as if you’re caught in slow motion for a second; the ice is approaching your face with extreme speed, glistening in the morning sun. without thinking, you brace with one hand, the other halfway reaching towards remus. 

your arm breaks your fall, and there’s a sickening crack as you hit the ice. it’s harder than you thought. you shriek, a sickening pain rocketing up your wrist and shoulder as you finally collapse completely.

“shit,” remus hisses, crouching as you feel his hands on your shoulders, trying to help you up to a sitting position.

you’re too focused on the excruciating pain in your arm to realize that you’re crying. the tears are hot against your skin, burning your cold cheeks as you sit up. you clutch your arm with your other hand, looking at the horrible purple lump already protruding at your wrist.

“merlin,” you sob, “it’s broken!” the sight of the bone jabbing at the inside of your arm makes your stomach do a turn, and you force yourself to look away. remus crouches in front of you, his worried face swimming in your teary vision. 

you hear your friends shouting, and several nasty words directed at the student who slammed into you. you glance over, seeing marlene dragging sirius away by his scarf as he tries to throttle the poor third-year student. 

lily skates towards you, slowing as she approaches.

“oh, dear,” she says, as she sees your arm.

“it’s bad, isn’t it?” you ask, glancing between remus and lily. you can’t force yourself to look back at the arm, feeling as if you’re going to faint if you have to see the bruises blooming over your arm.

“not so bad,” lily lies, offering a forced smile.

“we’ve got to get some help. you need to see madam pomfrey.” remus says. he’s crouched, one hand coming out to wipe the tears from your face. you breathe in his scent, trying to ground yourself. 

james, sirius, and marlene finally join you, sirius still cursing the student as marlene drags him over. 

“ugh,” james says as he sees your injury. 

sirius peers over remus’ shoulder, his eyes blazing with fury as he sees the extent of your injury. “i’m going to curse the bollocks off of that kid!” he hisses, reaching for his wand, tucked into his coat pocket.

“sirius, stop it!” marlene scolds. “we have to do something about that arm. there’s no way y/n’s making it back to the castle in this state.”

“i’m fine,” you insist, though your stomach is rolling unpleasantly. you think you’d likely vomit if you had to stand. 

“you’re not fine,” remus says, his voice stern. “your arm’s gone sideways. you need to be in the hospital wing.”

“we can’t move her like this,” james says, sounding as sick as you are.

“let lily have a go at it. she put my pinky right when that bludger hit it at practice,” says sirius. 

“your pinky?” remus says incredulously. “i think an arm’s a bit more important than a pinky.”

“rem,” you say, nudging him with your foot. “it’s fine. i trust lily. besides, i think i’ll be sick if we don’t do something now.”

remus sighs, his eyes dark with worry. he places a hand on your knee, shifting slightly to let lily get closer. “fine.” you can tell he’s not happy about it. 

“marlene, go get some help, will you?” you say, your head swimming. you feel closer to fainting by the minute, shock setting in.

“‘course i will.” she’s gone in a flash.

“okay,” you breathe, closing your eyes as you wait for lily to fix your arm. 

“right, then,” she pulls her want out of her pocket, leaning closer. there’s a second of silence before she says, “episkey!”

only, the spell doesn’t go quite right. a blinding hot pain blooms in your arm, and you shriek again. this time, you’re not strong enough to keep from fainting. white spots bloom behind your vision, and you collapse. 

you wake hours later, in the hospital wing. you stir, your throat dry as you turn over in the cot. your vision is blurry as you peel your eyes open, finding your arm wrapped in some kind of sling. madam pomfrey is nowhere in sight, but remus is slumped in a chair at your beside.

his eyes are closed, his breathing steady as he sits. his head rests lazily against the back of the chair. you study his face; his scars shine in the sliver of evening light that spills in from the window behind you. you groan as you move, your entire body aching.

your muscles throb, the fall having taken its toll on you. you watch him for a few minutes, the delicate rise and fall of his chest. his hair falls in golden wisps over his forehead and his ears, tickling the nape of his neck. you smile, glad he’s getting some rest. you’re sure he’s been perched in that uncomfortable chair all day. he’s probably missed all of his meals, crouched by your bed worrying.

you smile to yourself, wondering how you’ve ended up with someone so perfect. 

he stirs finally, his eyes crinkling as he yawns.

“rem,” you say softly, catching his attention as he opens his eyes.

“hey, sleepyhead,” he says, a tired smile painting his features.

you reach for him with your good hand, his long fingers reaching out and enveloping yours with ease. his skin is warm as he brings your hand to his lips, holding it there for a moment. your face heats up. embarrassed, you want to sink down into the cot and disappear, but you can’t run from him. he knows you too well.

“have you been here all day?” you wonder.

“of course,” he says, as if you’d be crazy to think otherwise. 

“you didn’t have to do that.”

“yes i did,” he says, frowning. “it’s my fault you went out there in the first place. you wouldn’t be hurt if i hadn’t convinced you to go skating.”

“hey,” you scold, “don’t say that. it’s not your fault. none of it’s your fault.”

he shakes his head, looking apologetic. you sigh, squeezing his hand.

“i’m serious, rem. i don’t blame you. i had a lot of fun, until that kid ran into me, at least.” you grin, trying to lighten the mood.

he can’t help the smile that creeps onto his features. “poor guy,” he says, “sirius wanted to hunt him down so badly. said he was willing to have detention for the rest of the year, if it meant he got his revenge.”

you roll your eyes. “what a hothead,” you laugh. 

“yeah, think the kid was pretty scared too. he send a card up, and some chocolate frogs.” remus passes you a card. you open it up, and a flock of little birds explodes from the paper, as well as a bright, sparkling message that says get well soon!

you smile, feeling much better already. you squeeze remus’s hand again, closing the card as he passes you a chocolate frog. 

“thank you,” you say in response, though both of you know you’re not just thanking him for the chocolate.

he nods in response, leaning over to press a kiss against your forehead.

tags: @delulu4marauders

[danaewrites]

you with the dark curls (you with the watercolor eyes)

part ii: i wanna hear you speak to me

james potter x reader // read it on AO3

word count: 3.6k

summary: “Falling in love with your best friend was never a good idea, but you’d managed to do the idiot thing anyway, carrying a torch for a boy who would never look past Lily’s emerald eyes to see the watercolor ones that had always been by his side.”

tags: best friends to lovers, angst with a happy ending, based on the song "dear arkansas daughter" by lady lamb, fem!reader

author's notes: new year, new chapter! i started writing this one back in SEPTEMBER and finally had enough time away from the terrors of calculus homework to finish it. thanks for reading my story so far and i hope you enjoy this incredibly self-indulgent chapter, because i had way too much fun writing it!! i promise that the angst in this chapter *will* be resolved, but it was too deliciously tempting to resist sprinkling a wee bit of hurt/comfort and dramatics in there as well. sorry not sorry!

read it all here: part i, part ii, part iii (coming soon!)

“I’ve got no bloody clue how Dumbledore can be so energetic all the time,” you groaned, head in your hands as you peeked out at the headmaster’s more-than-slightly manic grin from your seat at the Gryffindor breakfast table. You were far too sleep-deprived to process his latest choice of garish attire: a bright chartreuse robe covered in plaid polka dots, topped off with what appeared to be rhinestones and tinsel attached to his beard.

Perhaps if Kettleburn hadn’t assigned you three feet of parchment on the seventeen glorious properties of dragon dung yesterday and expected it done by this afternoon, you might have appreciated the headmaster’s creative fashion choices– oh, who were you kidding. There really was no understanding that wizard, even properly rested. James and Peter had made a bet during fifth year on how long it’d take Dumbledore to crack under a constant deluge of pranks in his office, but they’d quickly realized that the man was too far gone to do anything but take inspiration for school events– an idea that was quite frankly, comically frightening, and the sort of thing you weren’t keen on pondering on a normal Tuesday morning.

Sirius wrinkled his nose sympathetically and slid the pile of raspberry jam tarts closer to you. “Late night in the library again?”

You nodded sheepishly, gratefully taking a pastry from the pile. “I honestly don’t know why Pince allows me to stay past curfew. Marauder’s luck, I guess?” Your attention was diverted by the sound of hoots and flapping wings as the morning owl brigade arrived, apparently choosing a kamikaze dive-bomb approach to deliver this morning’s newspapers. Ah, the joys of living at the world’s most advanced magical school.

Sirius, ever the epitome of grace, slipped under the table as a rogue owl zipped past, popping himself back up just enough to throw you finger guns. “Exactly right, doll, exactly right,” he grinned. “Trust me, Marauder’s luck gets you everywhere. And I mean everywhere,” he winked, sending you a lecherous smirk.

“Ew, Sirius, I don’t even want to know,” you sniffed. “I’ve learned my lesson after the mental trauma your tales of Dorcas’ birthday adventures inflicted upon my psyche. Please, spare me the details.”

“What? All I meant was Slughorn’s Christmas Party, of course!” He batted his eyelashes angelically, still partially covered by the tablecloth.

Your mouth gaped open in shock. “Last year’s Christmas party? Sirius Orion Black, I refuse to hear another word! What on earth would your ancestors think, with you bragging about such exploits-”

He leaned over, eyes wide with laughter. “No, I meant the one Slughorn is throwing on the 21st, it’s exclusively for us lucky seventh years this time. Although, you bring up some very fond memories… okay, okay, I’ll stop, don’t kick me–”

“What are we kicking Sirius for?” James slid onto the bench across from you, eyeing a groveling Sirius with interest. Peter joined him, but wisely chose to stay away from the ruckus, piling his plate high with the bacon the owls had spared. Remus was noticeably absent, spending the morning resting in the infirmary after a rough night of shifting– which you assumed was much more peaceful than the current chaos at the Gryffindor breakfast table.

“Oh! Good morning, Jamie,” you beamed up at him, passing him the plate of desserts you’d been protecting from Sirius’ nefarious advances. “Morning, dove,” he greeted you, and then paused. “Ha, get it? Morning dove?” He puffed up his chest smugly and nudged Sirius with his elbow in a futile effort to make him laugh. You huffed fondly at his antics. Boys.

Sirius rolled his eyes and took advantage of your momentary distraction, retreating back onto his seat to nurse his wounds– to your ever-growing delight (and Sirius’ woe), you had recently discovered that the Hogwarts girls’ uniform shoes were quite sharp. “At this point we should call you Lames. ‘Cause your puns are lame,” he muttered.

You shooed him away with a brush of your hand, remembering what Sirius had mentioned earlier. “According to Sirius, Slughorn’s hosting a Christmas Party again this year. Let’s pray it won’t be like the last one.” You muttered. James and Peter both looked vaguely ill at the prospect, shuddering in unison. “My tie will never look the same again,” Peter griped, but suddenly sat up straight in his seat. “Hey, wait, we’re finally old enough to bring dates to this one! Without sneaking them in, I mean.” 

Sirius snickered and lightly punched his shoulder. “Why, Petey, got some lucky girl in mind?” Peter reddened and glanced over at the Hufflepuff table, where a certain freckled blonde was chatting with her friends– a move that didn’t go unnoticed by James, who gave a delighted wolf-whistle. “You got a thing for Lucy Abbott, huh? Might want to make a move before Smith does,” he grinned, gesturing to the tall brunette boy who’d just arrived and sharing a knowing smirk with you. You giggled at Peter’s increasingly pouty expression; he’d figure out sooner or later that Smith was definitely not interested in Abbott– or witches in general– but it was entertaining to see him out of his comfort zone. Peter had always been the quietest of your little group, and you privately thought that a bit of momentary romantic angst might spur him to be more assertive. An ironic opinion, considering how your own love life revolved around the fact that your best friend had feelings for someone else… and you couldn’t do anything about it except mope.

Peter scowled. “Easy for you to say, Prongs, you’ve finally got precious Lily-flower wrapped around your finger. I bet you’ve already asked her!”

There it was: another reminder that James wasn’t yours, and never would be. You watched as the Gryffindor boys good-naturedly jostled his shoulder and tousled his curls. James grinned sheepishly, shrugging off their teasing. “Not yet,” he admitted, glancing hopefully at the end of the table, where Lily was chatting with her friends. 

Peter rolled his eyes. “Aw, come on, we all know she’ll say yes this year.” Sirius winced, looking at you out of the corner of his eye. Peter glanced at Sirius, drawn by the movement. “What’ve you got to worry about? Half the population would kill Dumbledore to get one dance with you. The only person who’s got to worry about a date is me– well, and maybe Y/n, I guess.” His face suddenly turned contemplative, looking you up and down. “Are you going with someone?” 

Sirius’ grimace became doubly pronounced at Peter’s tactlessness, and you felt your face heating up. Peter had a way of accidentally hitting on the issues others tried to hide. It wasn’t his fault he’d never heard about your trips to Hogsmeade with a paramour– in fact, none of the boys had. Because there hadn’t been any. You’d spent your entire time at Hogwarts pining after James, and as a result had missed the romantic milestones your classmates had already blissfully bragged about. 

Peter looked at you expectantly, waiting for a response, and you opened your mouth to confess your lack of experience when you spotted a familiar redhead walking gracefully towards your side of the table– to James, you realized with a start. Something within you ignited as you watched her glow with confidence, carefree and lovely as ever. Lily would never pine after someone uselessly; she knew she could get anyone she wanted with the right amount of banter and flirty gestures. You... Well, you weren’t there quite yet, but maybe it was time to take inspiration from the Muggle saying and ‘fake it til you make it’. And before you could think about what you were about to do, you turned to Peter and smiled coyly. “I might.”

James’ and Sirius’ heads snapped up immediately from their perusal of the breakfast lineup as they let out an identical murmur of surprise. “What?” James furrowed his brow, looking you up and down– seemingly trying to discern whether you had taken a holiday from your senses, most likely via Bludger-induced concussion at the last Quidditch match. Sirius merely raised a questioning eyebrow at you. You groaned internally, knowing that you’d have to explain yourself later… although, if your half-baked idea worked, you’d be spending a lot more time with him anyway. For now, you beamed innocently at both of them and took a sip of your pumpkin juice. Apparently, the Sorting Hat had placed you in Gryffindor for a reason- you were either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish to commit to this plan, but with Evans quickly approaching, you saw no other choice.

Peter looked momentarily shocked, then glumly began to assemble an egg and bacon sandwich seasoned with the occasional mutterance of “unfair” and “perpetually single, my arse”.

James’ eyes were still trained on you. “Who is it?” he asked, searching your face again as if he was looking for some indication that you were joking. You shrugged, trying to look casual. “I guess you’ll just have to find out, won’t you?”

“Dove-” he began, but Lily finally reached his seat and placed one stupidly perfect hand on his shoulder, diverting his attention momentarily. “Sorry to interrupt your breakfast, but Professor McGonagall asked me to bring you to her office for Quidditch scheduling.” James blinked, glancing up at her and then at the rest of the table. He stood up and focused on you again, expression clouded. “I’ll see you in Potions, yeah?”

Sirius stood up quickly, ushering him out of his seat with a speed you’d only seen him use to gulp down cheap Firewhiskey. He gave you a significant look. “Actually, Y/n and I were just about to take a walk, isn’t that right? So we'll both see you in Potions, what a sublime coincidence, now don’t be late for your meeting–” he chattered on as he shoved James toward the doors of the Great Hall, the latter eyeing him suspiciously but moving nonetheless. Sirius turned to you and pointed to the courtyard entryway. “You. Me. Talk, as in right now.”

Once you were sure that you’d made it out of earshot of Peter and the rest of the Gryffindor table, you wheeled around to face him. “Okay. First of all… I didn’t plan that.” Sirius raised an eyebrow again. “Second of all, I need a favour,” you pleaded, staring up at him with the most adorable doe eyes you could physically summon. They were usually most effective on James, for some reason, but you were sure that Sirius wasn’t immune to your manipulation either. He groaned, resting his face in his hands. “How do you even have a date? Last time I checked, also known as yesterday, you were still head over heels for Prongsie, doll. So do I need to check you for Amortentia or somethi–” He peered out from between his fingers with annoyed realization. “You don’t have a date, do you.” 

You blinked innocently up at him. He let out a long-suffering sigh and ran his hands through his hair. “This is what you need the favour for? You want me to go with you to Slughorn’s party so you can pretend in front of the rest of Hogwarts that you’re not madly in love with Jamie?” 

You grinned confidently up at him and slung an arm around his shoulders. “Aw, Siri, you know me so well. It’s almost as if you were maaaade to be my date for the party...” You fluttered your eyelashes up at him one more time for good measure, trying to hide a smirk. “Alright, alright, stop with the Bambi act, I’ll take you.” He scowled good-naturedly. “You know, this is going to ruin my dating pool for the next month.” 

You scoffed. “As if! If anything, you’ll just have more people fawning over you– temptation of the forbidden apple and all, you know.” 

Sirius brightened up considerably at this revelation. “Well, why didn’t you say so in the beginning, doll! I vote that we match in purple velvet, it does wonders for my complexion–”

You gave a very unladylike snort at the thought of you and Sirius swanning into the party in some sort of horrendous plum-coloured disco getup, and shooed him away towards the Potions classroom. That was an eyesore to imagine sometime when you weren’t about to get a headache from the dim dungeon lighting.

Slughorn greeted you and Sirius by directing you to the front of the classroom with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Oho, a pair of latecomers, I see!” He winked at you and Sirius in exaggerated motion. You winced as Snape jeered and nudged Malfoy, who was busy enjoying Flint’s crude gestures at you. Ugh, Slytherin boys. The worst of the lot. Their snickers were quickly stopped by James chucking a handful of powdered wormwood at their heads when Slughorn turned away, making Malfoy’s prized hair appear covered in soot. You shot him a grateful smile. 

“Since you two missed my initial remarks, let’s see if you can make it up by identifying today’s potion, hmm?” Slughorn gestured dramatically to a shimmering green brew in a cauldron next to his desk, cherry-coloured smoke curling off of the top invitingly. 

Sirius shot you a panicked look, clearly not expecting to be put in the academic spotlight, but you shook your head and stepped closer. You smelled something rich and incense-like, which meant that Bumburrel leaves were a key ingredient. And combined with the way the smoke was drifting lazily around your wrists, curling higher and higher… “Brew of Mandelian, sir. Used for sharpened acuity under times of pressure.”

Slughorn gave a delighted chuckle and clapped his hands. “Well then! Ten points to Gryffindor for paying attention in lectures!” He dismissed you and Sirius with a wave, moving on to explain the finer points of ingredient preparation to a very bemused George Goyle as you slipped into your usual seat beside James.

You worked in quiet harmony for a moment, methodically slicing and crushing the slippery beetles needed to give the brew its signature green colour while James handed you the insects. He broke the silence after six beetles (not that you had been counting or anything) with an awkward, “So… you have a, erm, date?”

You huffed, motioning for him to hand you the foul-smelling Moorish tubers next. “Honestly, James, is it that surprising?” He scratched the back of his neck, frowning. “Well, I– yeah, I guess.” he trailed off, seeing your expression. 

“The tubers, Jamie, thank you. I mean, you looked at me like I was a ghost back in the Great Hall!” You were decidedly not making eye contact with him, trying your best to focus on the slimy plants in front of you and not the fact that your best friend-slash-unrequited crush doubted your romantic potential. What a way to be humbled– and while covered in tuber juice, no less!

He huffed, running a hand through his already messy curls. “Come on, Y/n, it’s not like that. What did Sirius want to talk about in the Great Hall, anyway? You two looked… chummy.” 

You glared down at the copper slicing board. “Well, it’s none of your business how chummy we are, is it? I don’t interrogate you every time you converse with Peter. In fact, it’s rather expected that Sirius and I speak to one another on occasion, considering the amount of time we all spend together thanks to you.”

You moved to grab another tuber from the jar, but James reached out and grabbed your hand, forcing you to look at him. His hazel eyes were alight with frustration, a look you knew by heart thanks to the hours you’d spent tutoring him in History of Magic after he napped his way through the entire first semester. “Are you serious? You’re actually going with someone?”

“Please, Jamie, do enlighten me on whyever you think I couldn’t possibly get a date with my numerous and diverse charms,” you sniffed, hoping to Merlin that he would just leave the entire subject alone. 

“No, it’s–” he groaned, leaning back in his seat. “The other boys, they don’t know how– you’re so, I mean, just look at you!” he exclaimed, gesturing at you. He stopped, frowning to himself, looking more confused than before. He glanced over at Lily, expression becoming even more muddled, brow furrowed and hard to read to anyone but you. 

Your mouth parted in shock, and to your dismay you felt tears bubbling up again. You blinked fiercely, refusing to let him see you cry. James thought the issue was… your looks? You suddenly wanted to crawl under Slughorn’s desk and never come out again, except perhaps to find a shovel to dig your grave with. This was far, far worse than watching him transfigure chocolates for Lily every Valentine’s Day. Now you knew for a fact he didn’t find you attractive– thought other boys didn’t either, even! And the way he’d clearly mentally compared you to Lily after what he’d admitted… well. There was no recovering from that. Teenage boys could be dense, but Merlin, how you had wanted him to at least let you down gently. 

You wished you’d never opened your mouth to lie about having a stupid date in the first place, but you forced yourself to laugh and mutter something trite about how that could all be fixed with a couple glamour charms anyway so it really wasn’t an issue for the party, thank you very much. He looked even more confused, opening his mouth to respond, but Snape chose that moment to interrupt.

“Hey, Potter!” James turned to scowl at the greasy Slytherin as you thanked your lucky stars for Snape’s interruption (a rather disturbing thought– potentially a harbinger of an imminent apocalypse. You’d never thanked Snape before in your life and hoped to never do it again). “Here’s payback for earlier,” he smirked, checking that Slughorn had dozed off and the other students weren’t paying attention before whipping a mottled yellow bottle at James.

James’ carefully honed Quidditch reflexes kicked in and he quickly dodged the object, but as the vial soared up, up, past your carefully diced tubers, over James’ messy notes, it hit your arms and shattered. You flinched in pain, crying out as the glass shards embedded themselves in your arm and the congealing, repulsive liquid dripped down your hands and onto your thighs. James lunged towards you, but it was too late– the potion had already seeped into your skin, causing an awful sparking sensation. 

You gasped, grabbing onto the desk as the feeling bubbled upwards. “Jamie, I don’t– I don’t feel–” you stuttered, suddenly lightheaded, and you heard someone gasp as you began to taste something metallic. You absently touched your nose. Why was it so cold and wet? You had been so careful not to touch your face around those horrid tubers and oh, oh Merlin and Morgana what was that pain in your hands and legs, please no make it go away someone help me help me HELP

You vaguely registered someone whimpering in the background. It might have been you, but you weren’t entirely sure what was happening outside of the electric symphony of agony crescending in your nervous system. The pain built swirled flooded through until you weren’t sure where you ended and the potion began which was a funny thought because of course you were you, but you couldn’t remember who you were before this so you laughed but that really hurt, oh how that hurt no no no no no bad idea–  

“Fuck– no–” James? Was he here too?

You blinked– when did your eyes open?– and saw him reach for you, frantically pushing his dark curls off his forehead. Why would he do that? You loved his hair, even when you were feeling funny awful things from the potion. You felt his arms scoop under you, lifting you off your seat as he caught your head from falling back. You heard a door slam open, footsteps, darkness clouding your vision–

His voice. “Sweetheart, no– don’t do that, I need you to keep your eyes open.”

You blinked again, trying to focus on James’ face. He looked pale, jaw set and tensed like it was before his Quidditch games. Were you moving? You couldn’t tell whether James was walking or the hallways were walking around you. He glanced down again, exhaling with relief once he saw whatever he was looking for. “Yeah, just like that. Keep those pretty eyes focused on me, okay?” 

He thought your eyes were pretty? 

James gave a tight laugh. “Yeah, I think your eyes are pretty, dove. Hold on a bit longer, we’re almost there,” he choked out. 

Oh. Had you said that out loud?

But you thought– he had said something, before, you couldn’t remember now but it was important and it hurt–

Some part of you, deep where the potion hadn’t reached, had melted at his words. That part was tinged with pain, too, but in a different way, raw and honest and hopeful and all for him. Or maybe that was the potion, you were pretty sure witches weren’t supposed to melt unless they were green and lived somewhere much further west, but your thoughts on the whole process evaporated as you reached a white door and a woman and your words started to swirl until they melted too and everything went black.

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[grassyhorizon45]

Birthdays.

Marauders x Shy!Reader celebrating her birthday :D

Warnings: none, just fluff.

Words: 643

a/n: To my dear friend FaithfulSummer (@Quotev | Ig: a_corner_of_solace), Happiest of Birthdays <3

“Haaaapy birthday to you~”

It was the first thing Y/n heard as she woke up that morning. Dazed as she was, the corners of her lips still managed to twitch up into a shy smile.

Sirius climbed into her bed, running a gentle hand through Y/n’s messy hair. James and Remus stood by the bedside, one holding a nicely decorated chocolate cake while the other held the biggest freaking present Y/n had ever seen. 

“Y-You guys didn’t have to……”

“But we wanted to,” said Sirius smugly.

Remus nodded, “You mean a lot to us, bunny–”

“No day better than your birthday to express that, no?” James added, grinning.

What the boys didn’t know was that Y/n wasn’t the most comfortable with the idea of an entire day revolving around her. She hated unnecessary attention with her life and birthdays fully contradicted that.

The four cut cake and ate together in the shared dorm as per Y/n’s request.

“Open the gift, open the gift!” James beckoned, practically bursting with excitement.

Another thing Y/n avoided: Opening presents in front of people. She was terrible at reacting to things, which she realised would sometimes disappoint the giver……

“I’ll open it later. Th-Thank you Jamie.”

Remus smiled knowingly as he took another bite of cake, “How about if we all close our eyes while you open it?”

Y/n paused in the middle of taking a bite of cake. 

“Y-Yeah… Th-That would be okay.”

The three put hands over their eyes, following Remus’ suggestion.

“Wait– I don’t get it. Why do we need to cover our eyes?” James whispered as if Y/n couldn’t hear him.

“So we’re not watching her when she opens it, stupid…” Sirius playfully whispered back, earning a giggle from Y/n and a chuckle from Remus.

Y/n made her way to the spot where they’d left the massive gift. She opened it slowly, careful not to rip the wrapping paper.

“Just tell us when you’ve finished, okay bunny?” Remus said attentively.

Minutes passed of the three having their eyes shut and Sirius trying to blindly shove cake in his and James’ mouth.

“You can open your eyes now…”

Sirius, James and Remus were met with the sight of Y/n sitting on the ground, beaming from ear to ear. In front of her were the gifts they’d previously decided to wrap all together like a giant gift monster. The stack of novels from Remus, a lovely necklace from Sirius and a freshly polished broom— Comet 260 to be exact, from James.

Y/n’s smile was enough of an indication of how much joy was coursing through her veins right that instant.

Maybe birthdays aren’t so bad after all……

The rest of the day was warm and merry, feeling a little like Christmas came early with the amount of butterbeer Y/n, Lily and Marlene had at Hogsmeade. Not to mention the presents…

There was So. Many. Presents.

It wasn’t like this the previous years; being the marauders’ special one meant Y/n had a whole lot more social connections now and of course her new friends were kind enough to make this special day even more special for her.

Even Sirius’ brother, Regulus, got her a pretty notebook.

Y/n’s day would’ve been very different had the marauders not fallen in love with her first. She was grateful for them and how much their love had influenced her life.

* * *

“Hey Y/n…” Lily tapped her shoulder before passing her a neatly wrapped gift. “Got it from Dorcas, who got it from Pandora… who said it’s from Barty but he was lazy to– Nevermind. It’s for you from—”

“Happy Birthday Y/n!” 

Y/n read the pretty green card, eyes going wide as she continued reading.

“Hope you had a good one. Love from… 

“Severus Snape???”

what do you think Snape's present is? :)