#this is literally remus to sirius after the prank
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allamericanb-tch · 7 months ago
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remus “it hurts to be something it’s worse to be nothing” lupin
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ynscrazylife · 7 months ago
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seekers get stitches (poly!marauders x slytherin!seeker!reader)
In your opinion, the Marauders are arseholes. They were tolerable as first years, even as second years, but was they grew up, they only got more annoying as their pranks got bigger and bigger. It doesn’t help that they seem to hate all Slytherins, which is the house you belong to. You understand that yes, many of the students have given the house a bad name, but it’s not all of you! Yet somehow, you frequently ended up on the unfortunate end of many of their pranks.
Now, you’ve had the chance to stand up to them, being the Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch Team this season. James is the Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, giving the Marauders even more of a reason to dislike you. James and Sirius even go as far as to hang around during your team’s practice time, booing you or making jokes at your expense from the stands.
Well, it’s the semi-finals. Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Whoever wins this will go up against Ravenclaw for this year’s Quidditch Cup. Everyone is talking about this game — Remus even put his book down to pay attention. Both teams’ chasers have been scouring points, but the crowd’s eyes are locked onto you and James. You can feel hundreds of stares lasered on your back as you race around the pitch. When you finally spot the golden blur of the snitch, you don’t think twice before racing towards it. James follows you and soon, you’re quite literally neck and neck.
“Just give up now, Y/LN! You’re not gonna catch it,” James yells over the wind.
His words vaguely register in your mind, but you don’t pay attention. Everything is riding on this. You’ll either return to the common room as your house’s hero to pat on the back or their villain to torment.
“What, no comeback?” James prods.
You grunt, stretching your hands out. The snitch’s wings flutter against your fingertips. You lean forward as far as possible, one shaky hand remaining on the broom, you’re so close.
But so is James. His hand joins yours. Curse his tall stature, you think. It’s just not fair!
You swear you’re about to have it in your hand when—a bludger beams your shoulder, knocking you sideways and directly into James. The snitch flies away as the both of you fall, tumbling straight towards the ground. Lights out.
//
When you open your eyes, you find the faces of a couple friends staring back down at you. They tell you that you’re in the hospital wing after a Quidditch accident, with a dislocated shoulder, a concussion, and a broken ankle. Madame Pomfrey used a spell to set your shoulder, but you still need to stay in bed and take potions for your injuries, requiring a longer stay here.
“Who caught the snitch?” You ask, the memories hazy.
“I did.”
You turn your head, only to see James Potter lying in the bed next to you. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are sitting by him and they wave. James’ nose, arm, and leg are all bandaged up.
“Caught it right before you knocked into me,” James elaborates.
Your stomach churns, realizing why only your friends are here and not your team. You lost the game for them, they must be disappointed.
“I’m sorry,” you murmur, unsure of what you’re supposed to say to that.
“Don’t be, it’s the bludger’s fault. James is just being difficult,” Remus says, waving his hand. Out of the three of them, he’s definitely the nicest.
//
As the days go on, Sirius and Remus are there every day. Your friends aren’t. They visit a couple more times, then they stop. They’re busy, they have classes, you understand. At least, that’s what you tell yourself. Oftentimes, you end up accidentally listening to the Marauders’ conversations. James gives Sirius and Remus his plans for pranks, the other two update them on what’s going on around the castle.
They visit a lot.
One afternoon, you wake up from a nap to find them visiting again, though, and talking about you.
“Isn’t it weird that her friends barely visit her?”
“Haven’t seen her team around either. Thought Slytherins cared about their own.”
“Must suck for her.”
“Yeah.”
Your nap wasn’t particularly good, with the uncomfortable mattress and scratchy sheets. You open your eyes, frowning at the trio, in a bad mood. “You know, I don’t need your pity,” you say.
Three heads snap towards you, all looking like deer in headlights (you have no clue that for James, it’s truer than you think).
“It’s not - we’re not pitying you. It’s, uh, empathy,” Sirius rushes to cover them.
You roll your eyes. “Uh-huh,” you say, not believing him. You shake your head, tired of lying in this bed and being in pain and having the three of them sit next to you day after day after day. You decide you’re done here, your arm’s in a sling, your ankle’s almost 100% healed, it’s fine.
You throw the blanket aside, standing up, only to stumble. It’s not your ankle, it’s your head. Damn concussion.
“Woah, woah,” Remus says, both him and Sirius getting up to approach you. “You should sit back down.”
“I’m fine,” you say stubbornly, taking a couple more unbalanced steps only for Sirius to grasp at your arm.
“Come on, don’t make us tell Pomfrey on you, it’d really hurt my reputation,” Sirius says, smiling.
You snatch your arm away, anger flaring up. “Like I give a bloody hell about your reputation!” You exclaim.
“Hey, what’s the problem?” Sirius asks, putting his hands up.
“My problem? You guys are the ones who have a problem with me! You’re always asses to me, then you talk about me behind my back . . . I don’t even see why you care where I go or what I do. I’m a Slytherin, remember?” You say.
That quiets the Marauders. They’re not sure how to respond because, well, you’re right. Slytherins are easy to hate, so they hate them.
“Y/L/N, back in bed.”
Crap. It’s Pomfrey. You sigh and do what he says. The Marauders don’t say anything else.
//
After a couple more days, James is out of the hospital wing, managing to talk Pomfrey into releasing him. You’re still stuck there, as the concussion’s giving you trouble.
It’s lonely without their chatter. As much as they annoy you, you miss it. You miss them. Just a little bit. When they’re not hating on Slytherins, they’re . . . Nice. Fun.
It’s just your luck that they come around again, to visit you.
“Hey,” James says, Remus and Sirius behind you.
You huff. “Hi,” you say, making a tight line with your lips. What are they doing here? They don’t care.
“We wanted to see how you were doing and, uh, talk, if we can?” Remus says, politely smiling at you.
“If it’s more bullshit on pitying me—” you start.
“It’s not. We don’t like Slytherins, okay?” Sirius says, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to you. James and Remus follow.
You take a breath and stare, waiting for the explanation.
“A lot of them believe in all the Death Eater shit,” James says.
“But not all,” you point out.
James nods. “Not all. But we’re pranksters. We prank Slytherins because it’s easy. We also prank other houses but you’re right, we like to target Slytherins. There’s no reason for that other than that we can. It’s-it’s easy to not like them. To convince ourselves that they deserve it. For you, it was easy to . . . To not like you, either. Quidditch rivalry, right? But you have a point. We shouldn’t . . . We shouldn’t be so, ah, mean to all of them. The ones who aren’t into the Death Eater shit,” he explains.
You’re a bit surprised, a bit suspicious. Is this really the truth?
“Not so easy to convince yourself anymore, is it?” You ask.
“No, it’s not,” Sirius affirms.
“We brought cards,” Remus offers, taking a deck out of his pockets. “Figured you were pretty bored in here.”
“Prove it to me that you’re being honest, then I’ll think about playing cards with you,” you say, putting on a brave face. You have no clue that if they’ll actually do it or not.
But they agree to your terms. They start being real, not targeting random Slytherins. They stop being mean.
Eventually, you do agree to play cards with them. You’re almost out of the hospital wing, too. In fact, it’s your last night there, you’ve just beat them all in the game, when you decide to ask them why. What compelled them to come seek you out after James got out of the hospital wing, if not just feeling bad?
“Isn’t it obvious?” Sirius asks, grinning. “We’ve all fallen for you, love.”
That sparks the start of something new for the four of you.
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marauder-misprint · 14 days ago
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More James Potter pleasseeee. I'm literally begging. I've never loved a fanfic more, but you only have the one of him :_(
I'm glad you loved Broom Polish! Here is a second James fic! I promise I'm trying to write more for him ❤︎
Crossword
James Potter x fem!reader
567 words
cw: fluff
“I need a five letter word for arrogant…” you say to no one in particular as you do the crossword in your Daily Prophet. 
“Oh, that’s easy,” Marlene says, leaning over your shoulder to look at the puzzle. “James. J-A-M-E-S.”
“What’s up, ladies?” James asks, perking up at the mention of his name. 
Sirius, Remus and Peter go quiet as James turns his body more toward you and Marlene. Marlene gives him a saccharine smile.
“Five letter word for arrogant,” Marlene says. 
Lily chokes back a laugh as James gasps. The boys are also holding laughter. 
“Am not!”
“Just a suggestion,” Marlene replies with a shrug.
“What about cocky?” Mary suggests.
“Or lofty,” Lily adds. 
“Proud?” Remus pipes in.
You hum as you look over the puzzle. 
“Sadly, it’s going to either Mary or Lils. I have a ‘y’ in the down,” you announce. “But for the record, all of those words are synonyms.”
“Even James?” Marlene teases, still smiling that sickly sweet yet knowing smile. 
You reflect that smile. “Even James.”
James scoffs as he turns back away from you. The girls around you are reduced to giggles as the boys return to the conversation that was interrupted, although the other boys seem just as amused as the girls. 
After breakfast, everyone heads to classes. You take up the back of the group, having taken a few seconds longer to shove your paper into your bag. You’re shocked when James falls into step with you rather than intermingling among the rest of the group, namely Lily who was at the front of the group.
“You don’t really think I’m that arrogant, do you?” he asks, keeping his voice steady but low. He sounded confident but not wanting the others to really hear him.
You give him a sideways glance.
“So what if I do? It’s warranted.”
“Is it?”
“I’d say you’re pretty damn conceited. And it was Marlene who suggested it first.”
James sighs. “You hurt me, love.”
“Don’t be so full of yourself then, James.”
“But I’m great!”
“What makes you so great? Convince me.”
“Might be a prefect but I am Quidditch captain. And I’m great at Quidditch. You’d know that if you went to a match.”
You roll your eyes. “I’ve been to matches.”
“So you know I’m the best on the pitch,” he says with a nod. “And I’m bloody brilliant. E’s and O’s on my O.W.L.s.”
“Which surprised us all.”
“I earn a bunch of house points too!”
You snort a laugh. “You lose more than you earn. Don’t forget that!”
He smiles down at you. “Only in the most entertaining ways though. You have to admit that you enjoy our pranks.”
“Only when they don’t actually harm someone.”
James shrugs in a way to say ‘if that’s what you think.’
“Oh!” he exclaims, stopping in his tracks which causes you to stop in yours to give him a confused look. “I’m also sexy and an amazing kisser.”
You cross your arms over your chest. The group didn’t notice that you two had stopped walking and continued on their way to class. 
“There’s that conceitedness, James. You can’t just declare yourself sexy and an amazing kisser.”
“Hm… Care to prove me wrong?” he asks, glancing around the hallway before pulling you into a closet. “I have an eleven letter phrase for a good place to snog.” (broom closet)
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ddejavvu · 1 year ago
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hiya! i’m literally in love with your writing!
i was wondering whether you do another part of the cat animagus collection?
maybe one where no one can find where r is, they spend ages looking for her. when they reach the dorms or something she’s in a really odd spot that only a cat could get to
part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4
--
After a thorough search of both the grounds and the castle, Sirius Black bursts through the door to his dormitory and looks wildly around the messy room. He sees Remus studying at his desk, James reading upside-down on his bed, several piles of dirty laundry strewn across the floor, but no you.
"Jesus, mate," James hisses, righting himself and looking bewilderedly at his friend, "What's the matter with you?"
'Gimme the map," Sirius demands, and when James doesn't scramble for it fast enough, he barks, "The map, Prongs! Y/N's missing."
Remus's nose scrunches, "She had a headache earlier. She's probably in her dorm."
"I've checked her dorm, Moony," Sirius resists the urge to sneer at the man, "I'm not stupid, thank you very much."
Remus doesn't appreciate Sirius's tone, no matter how restrained it is from what it could have been. He mutters something disdainful when he turns his attention back to his studies, seriously doubting Sirius's assertion of his own intelligence.
Sirius chooses to ignore it in favor of snapping at the map, the trigger words lighting it up in a coffee-brown display of home. His eyes flit to your dormitory first, finding it, of course, empty. Then the library, also devoid of your presence. The grounds show similarly none of you, and it's James who spots your name in their own bedroom, nose scrunching and raising his glasses as he points at the banner.
"Prongs, she's not- wait," Sirius huffs, shooting a glance at the corner of his room where you're supposedly lurking, "She hasn't borrowed your cloak, has she?"
"No, it's in my trunk," James shakes his head, studying the empty space of Sirius's bed and puzzling how you could be there and nowhere all at once, "Moony, is there an invisibility potion?"
"Not one that would last her since we've been here," He doesn't bother turning from his work, "We would have seen her by now."
"Well she can't just be there," Sirius scoffs, studying and re-studying the map like it'll admit to pranking him and showcase your real location in some hidden chamber, "Has anyone been in the closet today?"
"You think your girlfriend is hiding in the closet?" Remus verifies, once more not dignifying Sirius with a glance. It aggravates him, but he withholds from swatting Remus upside the head.
"Well, Moony, she can't have just disappeared, can she? She's gotta be in here somewhere, or else this map is shoddy. And I made it myself, so..." Sirius clenches the parchment in his fingers, grip too-tight and bruising it like skin. His eyes catch an old, out-of-use beater's bat that's protruding from the end of his bed and his words catch in his throat, silencing what would have been a very boastful statement about his magical craftsmanship.
"Hang on," He shoves the map at James, who smooths out its wrinkles with a grimace. Sirius darts for the end of his bed, reaching a tentative hand beneath it until his fingers meet soft fur and the blood rush of a beating heart.
"Gotcha," Sirius hums, peering beneath the space and, though his eyes have to strain in the little light offered by the rest of the room, he discerns that you've managed to wriggle your way into an old jumper of his; likely why you haven't heard their bickering.
"C'mere, darling," He croons, flat on his stomach as he gently pulls you out of the space. Your head comes uncovered and you wake with a start, but he's got a firm enough grip on your furry belly that you can't wriggle away from him.
"You gave me quite a scare," Sirius's tone should be admonishing like his words, but it's light and airy with mirth, "And a lot of exercise, darling. I was running up and down the grounds looking for you."
You knock your face against his in a love-warm apology, the fur lining your features ticklish to his slightly sweaty skin. He feels the stress of the hunt melt off of his muscles as he plants himself permanently on the floor, letting you curl yourself up again, this time against his face.
He should pick you up and move to his bed. He should give his sore body some reprieve on the mattress, but you look so perfectly coiled on the floor that moving you would be a sin. So he gets as comfortable as possible with his bony arm beneath his head, and lets your purrs pulse through his body and lull him into the same sleep that comes so easily to you in this feline form.
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empress-simps · 9 months ago
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Can I request a fic with Remus (I love him), with a shy fem!reader girlfriend? House doesn’t really matter, but Hufflepuff might be fitting lol. She wants to meet his group of friends officially for the first time (she’s dating Remus and she hasn’t yet), but she’s too anxious despite trying to hype herself up for it? Maybe Remus comforts her
Darling, this is such a cute request! 🫶 Also, who doesn’t love Remus? We all do, no questions asked (I would do anything for him and Regulus). I absolutely love to write for this man, and I think Remus with a shy s/o is stinking cute. Thank you for requesting! 🫂 (Not edited so there may be grammatical errors or typos lurking around)
Loving Yellow and Black
Pairings: Remus Lupin x Fem! Reader CW: Language and mentions of smoking.
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In many ways, you were different from his friends.
You were polite, kind, and willing to help others- basically what everyone thinks of when they picture an ideal Hufflepuff student. Not saying that James, Sirius, and Peter were rude or anything like that, but there was just something gentle about you that Remus saw. As for them? They’re a rambunctious mess, a bit rough around the edges.
Remus found it quite charming, you try your best to blend in, be a wallflower so your student life at Hogwarts would be smooth sailing. Although, to Remus, no matter what you do, you stand out effortlessly. When he first expressed his interest in you, you were hesitant and cautious. You thought it was just one of the many other pranks that he and the other marauders had planned on other students.
“Go out with me, Y/n?” Remus asked nervously, after a week of him approaching and befriending you.
“Erm…” You looked around, making sure he was talking to you. “Are you talking to me?”
So, he did everything he could to make sure you know that he’s serious about you and that you won’t feel anything but that.
Slowly but surely, the hesitance and doubts started to go away as you got to know him better. You learned that he loves chocolates, his eyes would light up when you bring him chocolate frogs whenever you and your friends would go to Hogsmeade. His eyes having literal stars as he took in the sight of you, and how his laugh would make you smile as he whisks you away from your common rooms to hang out (snog) in the Astronomy tower and bringing you back just before the clock strikes twelve.
You bring out the best versions of yourself when you’re both with each other. Remus helps you to be a bit more adventurous, making you try things you never even thought of doing, such as sneaking out past curfew. Remus was your many firsts.
Remus found himself being more patient and calmer than before, maybe your nature rubbed off on him like how his rubbed off on you.
“Moony, are you smoking… you know?”
Remus nearly choked on his breakfast one morning. He turns to look at Sirius, eyes wide with shock. “Just why would you think that Padfoot?!” Sirius shrugged, putting his arms up as if he was surrendering. “Geez, just asking a question, don’t get your knickers in a twist, Moony.”
“I’m not smoking, or doing whatever you think I’m doing, you sod.”
Remus grumbles while James just laughed, “Alright, there’s our original Moony.”
“You seem calmer recently, Moons. We were just curious.” Peter shrugs, taking a bite out of his pancake, Remus raised his eyebrow. “Oh really?”
“Yeah, it was like you turned into a saint. You don’t even scold James and I anymore for our boxers strewn across the floor- “
“Hey! Shut it, what if Lily hears?!”
“Mind you, we are in the great hall eating breakfast, Padfoot.”
“I’m just saying!”
“Quiet down, people are looking.”
It was just a matter of time when your friends found out you’re dating Remus and managed to keep it under their noses for a few months.
“Y/n! How could you? We trusted you!” El, one of your friends shrieks dramatically, plopping down her bed, making you furrow your eyebrows. “Erm… is there something going on?”
“of course there is! Why did you keep it a secret?” She whined, pulling you next to her.
“Keep what a secret?”
“You and Lupin!”
“Oh, erm…” You trailed off, trying to fight the blush forming on your face. Your other friends started to tease you, “So it’s true!”
“Yes.” You confirmed with a nod, your hands over your face as a poor attempt to cover your blush.
“Alright, we need to know if the bloke is good enough to date our Y/n.”
It quickly became known to other students within your house that you were dating the witty marauder. Of course, this kind of news spreads like wildfire across Hogwarts; even reaching the three marauders who were in the dark with their Moony’s love life. They need to meet you as soon as possible and didn’t even let Remus have peace and quiet until he asked you if you were okay about it.
“So, they found out about us.” Remus bit his lip, looking nervously. You blinked, “Well, it was bound to happen, my friends were… vocal about it.” She chuckled as Remus cracked a grin.
“Tell me about it.”
“I’m guessing they want to meet me?”
Remus nodded, sighing. “Sorry angel. I tried to tell them- “
“It’s alright, honey. I figured it would be good after my friends also demanded you to meet them.”
To say that you were terrified would be an understatement; you felt like you were going to throw up in your shoes, break out in a cold sweat, or even stumble because damn it- your legs are shaking, as if you’re going to collapse under your own weight.
Well yeah, you were the one who kinda brought it up, but it still didn’t lessen the nerves you have. You wanted them to at least be civil towards you and to recognize your relationship with their friend. You were thinking of what outfit you should wear a week prior to the meeting, and you carefully planned out how you would respond to the possible questions they’d have. Call it over thinking, but you were just preparing for every single possible outcome.
“Alright, I can do this.” You chanted, looking at the mirror then at your watch, only 30 minutes before Remus arrives in the Hufflepuff common room. You checked your hair, smoothing it out as you checked yourself for the umpteenth time.
“Merlin, Y/n. You’re acting like you’re meeting the Prime Minister of Magic.” El commented, shaking her head. “You’ll be fine, if they don’t like you… then they better prepare themselves for a Hufflepuff’s wrath.”
Remus casts a glance worriedly at you, fixing your black and yellow scarf on your neck. “Darling, it isn’t that cold out, you don’t have to practically cover your face with it.” He chuckles, kissing your reddening cheeks as you huffed, “It would be a great help when I meet your friends.” Grinning, he pinched your cheeks, making you glare at him.
“They’ll love you. Don’t worry too much, yeah?” He whispers, before giving your forehead a kiss, at this point, Remus and the cold weather’s mission is to make you look like a tomato.
You gulped nervously, fiddling with the ends of the scarf. “But… I…”
To be honest, you are kind of expecting them to be disappointed when they meet you. A Hufflepuff girl, fairly average, wallflower, and a goody-two-shoes. Quite boring, in your opinion. Remus’s gaze hardened, as if scolding you. “I know what’s going on your pretty mind, darling. Just be yourself.” Squeezing your hand in his, you made your way to the Gryffindor Tower and to the dorm room he and his friends share.
“There you are, Moony!” James smiled as he opened the door to their room, his smile widening as he casts, a glance at you. “You must be Y/n! Come in!” He excitedly ushers both of you inside the room, you gave Remus’s hand a squeeze, he looks at you and squeezes back. You took a glance at their room, there was Sirius laying down lazily on his bed, Peter sitting on a random beanbag on their dorm room, and Lily sitting on her boyfriend’s bed, beaming a smile in which you returned; albeit a little more nervously.
“Any second further than that and I’d thought Moony was lying about finally getting a girl, isn’t that right, wormtail?” Sirius grinned, teasing Remus before standing up and giving you a hug. Which made you widen your eyes and stiff up, but recovering quickly to hug him back, pulling away after a few moments.
“Nice to meet you, love. I’m Sirius.”
You smiled shyly, “Nice to meet you too, I’m Y/n.”
“Remus, tell me again how’d you manage to get someone as gorgeous as she is?”
Remus rolled his eyes, “Sod off, Pads.” Sirius just laughed, smiling as he looks at you and Remus together.
“Hi Y/n, I’m Peter. Nice to meet you.” Peter smiled politely, holding out his hand which you took, shaking it. “Nice to meet you too, Peter.”
Lily smiled, pointing at her boyfriend. “That one’s James! Don’t pay attention to him- “ cue a protest from James, who’s pouting  “-and I’m Lily, so glad there’s another girl in the group! They’re driving me crazy!” She practically bounced off her feet and hugged you, making you stumble, and Remus put a hand on your back to support you.
Okay, this wasn’t what you expected. Quite far actually.
Your heart fills with warmth as you allowed a smile to appear on your face, looking around, seeing how they felt so comfortable with you already. Sirius was busy bothering Peter, who shoos him away, complaining that he’s being annoying even when you’re with them. “Have you got any shame left with you, Padfoot?”
“Hm, last time I checked none.”
James was trying to get your opinion on how to pull off one of their pranks, and Lily scolding him not to drag you onto his shenanigans.
Remus pulls you close to him, wrapping his arms around your waist, he whispers. “Welcome to the family, darling.”
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thebestofoneshots · 24 days ago
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Gilded Constellations | (wolfstar x reader)
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Series Masterlist | Previous episode
Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 7.9 K Warnings: none Prompt: The world goes on, and so do the classes, more throuple shenanigans, Not proofread
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Chapter 69: Livin’ Thing
“What do you mean they know?” James asked in a whisper. “Why the hell do they know?” 
“Severus,” you said. “I think he saw Rem and Sirius while we were–” You stopped yourself, not sure how to break down those details. “Together.” 
“What do we do?” he asked, not quite understanding why you looked more exasperated than desperate.
“They won’t tell anybody,” you reassured him. He seemed hesitant. “I’m certain.” 
“How?” 
“They stopped Severus from opening his big fat mouth. They wouldn’t have done it if they wanted to share the secret with the world.” 
“What if they want to be the ones that bring you down?” 
“I’m sure they’d love to, but never like that. After Christmas,” you bit your bottom lip as you thought of a way to explain it without outing them. “And it’s not that I excuse their earlier behaviour,” and you really didn’t. You’d never forget the downright abuse they’d made you go through, “but I guess I understand them a little bit better. I’m sure they won’t tell anybody.” 
“Not even if we prank them and they get pissed?” 
“Not even then,” you said calmly. “They thought Remus and Sirius were cheating on me, that’s why they told me about it, though it seemed they didn’t really want to tell me much either.” 
“Who would have thought those Slytherins had an ounce of integrity somewhere in their reptilian body.” 
You laughed, shaking your head as James looked at you with a small smile. “When Barty appeared and shook me, I thought I was hallucinating,” you said. “I never thought, out of all people, they’d be the ones to help me escape.” 
James gave you a long, analysing look. Sirius’ retelling had been enough for him to know what’d happened, but you had never talked about it, let alone in such a calm manner. He was glad to see you were getting better. 
“Unexpected allies and unexpected enemies,” James said. “Isn’t that a casualty of war?” 
“Since when are you poetic like that?” you teased as you turned to him with a smile. 
He cleared his throat. “I’ve um… been reading Shakespeare.” 
“Yeah?” 
“Lily said I might enjoy some of his other stuff,” James said with a shrug. “I thought Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing were funny.” 
“Who would have thought you’d be reading more muggle books?” you said with a smile. “Next you should read The Hobbit.” 
“Again with that! ” He said as he turned to you. 
“You can’t not have read about elves and hobbits. It’s literally a crime never to have entered the wonderful world of Tolkien!” 
“I don’t know about Hobbitses and–” Your laugh cut him off. “–What?” 
“Nothing, it’s just– It’s Hobbits, not Hobbitses. The only character who ever calls them that is Gollum.” 
“And what’s wrong with Gollum?” 
“Oh well… You’d have to read the books to know,” you added with a sneaky smile. 
“Cunning little vixen, aren’t you?” 
“Well, I got my nickname somehow, didn’t I?” You said with a teasing smile, raising an eyebrow at James. “Besides, Lily really likes those books. You’d probably surprise her.” 
“Should have started there!” He retorted.
Saturday, 15th, 1997
Since you were all still pretty tired from the prank, and since neither you, not Sirius or James, had recovered even in the slightest, you had all –all being just you and Sirius– made the executive decision of not flying that Saturday. How exactly had you managed? You’d placed a sound muting spell on James’ bed, and you’d set an enchanted cloth by their window so it looked like night instead of day when he woke up. 
That night, you’d also decided to stay in your own bed, since two nights in a row with the boys, so far from the moon, and with nobody wanting to turn into their animagus form, were already suspicious. Not to mention that Remus had prefect duty that night, and neither you nor Sirius would have seen much of him. So Friday night, after telling the boys what’d happened with the Slytherins, you’d bid your goodbyes to each other in the common room, and you’d all gone back to your respective rooms. 
Lily was more than happy to have you back, and the two of you laid next to each other on your bed, catching up with all the stuff she did on her vacation and, of course, all about that train ride that she’d hadn’t had time to tell you about. You chatted about her life, new music, and the movies she’d gone to see at the cinema, both the ones she recommended and the ones she thought had been shit, and you fell asleep by each other much later than you had expected to that day. 
“Hey!” you heard someone call, followed by your name and a shake of your shoulder. “Aren’t you coming to Apparition?” 
You blinked, seeing the blurry, dirty blonde wolf cut that you would have recognised anywhere in the world, “Mars?” 
“Mhm,” she said. “Time to wake, princess, we have class. You know Dumbledore does not like anyone being late.” 
You grumbled something as you covered yourself with the pillow, only to realise you weren’t alone on your bed. “Evans’s still here?” you said as you turned your face to see Lily’s ginger locks tangled next to your hair. 
“Mhm,” confirmed Marlene as she sat on the bed. “Drink this,” she added. 
You grabbed the bottle she handed and took a zip, making a face the minute the bitter taste hit your mouth. “What on earth did you just feed me?” 
Marlene smiled, “It’s my morning potion, been working on it for a while now.” 
“Tastes like shit,” you said as you licked your lips. 
“I know, it’s the part I’ve been working on. But it’s basically an energy booster. I’ve added Mandrake leaves and Gurdy Root extract, some Billywig Sting too, and I tried to get rid of the taste with honey water and lavender, but it does not seem to work.” 
“Sweetroot,” Lily said as she slowly blinked, yawning as she looked at Marlene. “Use Sweetroot after the potion is done, and then add the Lavander, It’ll kill the other tastes and keep only the one you add afterwards.” 
“Can you do that to Polyjuice?” you asked, turning to her almost instantly. 
Lily frowned, about to ask why you’d need polyjuice before deciding it would be much better if she didn’t know your reasons. “No,” she said with a shake of her head and then yawned. “The” –she yawned again– “the Sweetroot kills the fluxweed and mushes the lacewing flies. There is no way to make Polyjuice taste better, unfortunately.” 
“Truly unfortunately,” you thought, thinking back to the last time you’d taken it and how dreadful it had been. Not that being able to turn into other people wasn’t worth the itch to puke. 
“You want some too?” Marlene asked Lily as she sat on the bed. You threw her a look, shaking your head ever so slightly.
“I’m good, thanks,” Lily said as Marlene took another sip from her potion and winced. 
“I take this one every time we have charms,” she retorted. “There’s just something about Flitwicks voice that puts me right back to sleep, I swear.” 
“I know what you mean,” you said. Professor Flitwick really did have a very calming voice, but you were always filled with adrenaline from flying that it had never made you fall asleep, even after you’d seen other students nodding off, especially during the classes where he got carried on talking about the history of spells. The practical classes, on the other hand, were always fun; sometimes they were calm –when the spells were simple–but other times, especially on combination spells, there was always someone who didn’t quite get it right. A flick of their wand in the wrong way, and they’d cause an explosion, or a quill stab to the table, or even –one time– for one of the metal balls to roll over someone’s feet while playing a Summoner’s Court Match. Poor Michael Stadletter, he tended to have real bad luck in charms. 
“What’s the time?” you asked, turning to the clock. 
“Barely enough for breakfast and running to class,” Mary said as she unwrapped her hair. She had already changed into her uniform. Her curls bounced down from her red, silk, scarf, and she added just a bit of potion to the ends to spring the small, unruly curls, back to life. Her hair looked amazing by the time she was done. 
“Good, I’m starving,” you said as you stood, and turned to look at the small corner of pillows by the window, Nieve was awake, one of her wings open as she dug her head inside as if she was looking for something, or perhaps cleaning herself.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to eat before Apparition? We were thinking of skipping,” said Marlene, now taking a pear and giving it a bite. “‘xcept for this.” 
You had skipped dinner last night in favour of getting boswelia and chamomile from the herbology classroom, chopping some of it while you all talked together by the fireplace and dividing the chopped and magically dried leaves on two different glass jars. Owls normally hunt by themselves, and the treats they got from wizards were nothing but an extra, but since Nieve couldn’t fly, you’d had to get actual food for her. And so, you’d gone to Nimbletwist and convinced her to give you some raw meat. 
Nieve seemed to much prefer the full steak to the minced meat, so you had to marinate them with the leaves for her to eat them. Although last night you’d heard some shuffling, which made you suspect she was hunting down some kind of smaller insect.
“I’m pretty hungry, though,” you said as you leaned down next to Nieve and opened a small box, levitating an already marinated piece of raw stake and placing it next to her. She didn’t pay much attention until you placed a spell on it that made it start dancing around like a small mouse. Nieve grabbed it with her claws, pinning it down to the floor before leaning down and gobbling it up. When she was done, she turned to you with a satisfied air. “Hope you’re feeling better, girl,” you said as you tilted your head and gave her a small, tight-lipped smile.
She cooed in return, tilting her head to the side and chirping as she looked behind you. You looked back to see Lily sitting on the bed. You narrowed your eyes at her, and she smiled guiltily. “I think she might want some of the treats I’ve been giving her,” she said as she stood up and walked towards her trunk, taking out a small pack of owl treats. “I got this one for all the owls that brought me stuff on Christmas, but there was some leftover, and I thought Nieve might like them.” 
 By then, she had leaned next to you, pulling out a rather large cookie-like treat that she later broke into smaller pieces and offered to Nieve. The small owl leaned next to her hand and carefully took one of the pieces before swallowing it whole and chirping excitedly. Lily left the rest of the treats on the pillow before she stood up. You looked at Nieve one more time and took a deep breath. 
You weren’t sure what to do with her, at least not after she was healed. You had Reese, and you had already inherited one too many things from Nina. But you didn’t want Nieve to be left alone either; you wanted to find her a home and a person who would take care of her and love her as much as Nina did. A memory came to you briskly,  how, on her birthday last year, Nina had told you about her new pet. Her parents had sent Nieve with a big blue and silver bow, and she had flown straight into her table, clashing clumsily against one of the plates since she was so small. She held a note on her beak and chirped happily once she saw Nina for the first time. 
You sighed and stood up, leaving Nieve to chirp as she ate some of the other treats. Lily had already gone into the bathroom, and you opted to change into your uniform in the room instead of waiting. When she was out, all that was left for you was a quick wash of your teeth and face and getting your hair untangled.
When you were ready, Lily and Mary were gone, but Marlene had stayed to walk with you towards the Great Hall. “Why’d they leave?” you asked as you looked around the room.
“Mary wanted some anti-dizziness potion, and Lily said she’d come with her to Pomfrey.” 
“Oh, that’s actually pretty clever,” you said, thinking back to how they had both ended up feeling rather dreadful after the first class. You’d had a few others afterwards, and while you had managed your PTSD (if you could call it that), Lily and Marlene almost always ended up, at least, with a mild headache. 
“Let’s go,” Marlene said as she tilted her head towards the door, and you nodded in return, following behind her. 
“I just don’t understand what happened,” James said loudly as he shook his head, he was talking to the boys on the sofa. “My alarm has never failed me!” 
“Beats me,” said Sirius as he shook his head. 
“And not even the light woke me up,” James complained. 
“Probably cloudy in the morning,” said Remus, who was well aware and had helped you and Sirius with your plan of skipping flying that morning. 
“Maybe you were just really tired,” said Peter as he yawned. “Godric knows I am.”
“And Vixen!” he said as soon as he spotted you on the stairs. “Why didn’t you wake us up?”
“She fell asleep,” Marlene retorted. “Had to wake her a few minutes ago.” 
“Wait, you did?” James asked with a frown. 
“Must be our lack of sleep.” You shrugged. “I just couldn’t wake up. Besides, I stayed chatting with Lily a good deal of the night and– oh.” You’d been yanked by the arm and pulled towards the sofa in the middle of your sentence, having you fall half on top of Sirius and half on top of Remus, who’d been sitting by the other. Sirius was quick to press a kiss to your cheek and lean his head on your shoulder with a contented sigh, and Remus, who’d been tempted to follow his example, had to hold back, giving you a light pat on the thigh. 
“Morning, Luv,” he said with a small, almost imperceptible smile. 
You had no idea when you’d tell your friends, but you wanted it to be sooner than later. Even if secret relationships were exciting, the fact that you couldn’t give affection to Remus the same way you gave it to Sirius –when in public– worried you since you knew how hard it had been for him. You turned your head to the side to give him a good, long look and smiled. “Morning, Moons.” 
Marlene tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at the two of you; there was a certain complicity there that she hadn’t seen before. Or perhaps she had seen it, but it had never been as openly shown before. Could it be because of the prank? She wondered. She also noticed James smiling as he looked at the three of you as if he was in on whatever secret your glances meant. 
“Let’s get breakfast,” Peter said as he stood up.
“Right, you said you were starving,” she said as she looked at you. 
“I am,” you said with a smile and stood, offering both of your hands to help your boys up. Sirius smirked as he took your hand. Remus was much calmer as he took a hold of it, both standing at about the same time. 
“I see you’ve got your preferences,” said James as he gave you a feigned look of disdain. 
“You were much further away,” you retorted with a shrug. 
James scoffed, diverted as he stood. “Whatever you say, Vix. As long as it lets you sleep at night.” 
“Oh, she sleeps mighty well at night,” Marlene said with a smile. “With Lily’s cuddles and all.” 
“With whose cuddles?” asked James as he turned to you with a shocked expression. 
“Lily slept by her side last night,” Marlene said nonchalantly, she loved to tease James. “Not the first time either, didn’t you know?” 
“She did?” James asked you in shock. 
“We stayed up late talking,” you said with a shrug. 
“You should be careful, Sirius,” she added, trying to get a rise out of him too. “You know she likes redheads.” 
You rolled your eyes, at some point, somehow, it’d gotten to Marlene’s ears that you liked redheads, and she hadn’t stopped teasing you –and Lily– since. She must have said you looked like “the cutest little lesbian couple” over a hundred times. 
Sirius shrugged. “I don’t mind sharing all that much,” he said as he threw a complicit smile at Remus, who tried not to react to Sirius’ silly way of incognito flirting. Marlene raised an eyebrow at his reaction while James threw an amused look his way. 
“Can we hurry this up?” Asked Peter with a small frown. “I’m starving!” 
“Me too!” you said as you stepped forward, catching up with Peter as you walked towards the exit of the common room. “We can continue with the teasing while we eat, I don’t want to be late.” 
It didn’t take too long for you to get to the Great Hall. Remus was exceptionally good at finding the right stairs, and in less than 10 minutes, you were already crossing the door. Most students stayed in their rooms on Saturday mornings. So the room was almost empty except for the few 7th years who were taking extra classes while they prepared for their N.E.W.T.s. 
Marlene sat beside you and prepared some sandwiches for the girls and herself to eat after class was over while you had some simple eggs and toast. Although you were used to the stomach-churning feeling of apparitions and the slight coppery taste it often left in the mouth, you did not want to go overboard with your breakfast and end up puking all of it onto the garden.
“You should add more cheese,” Peter said as he handed Marlene a cutting board filled with all kinds of it. 
“Thanks, Pete,” she said as she took the board and placed it in front of her, picking out each’s favourite cheese and adding it to the sandwiches.
“Welcome,” he replied before taking a huge bite of his own breakfast muffin. He always took careful care and consideration while preparing it, first cheese, then the eggs, then the sausage. Sometimes –if it was available– he added roast beef, and he often topped it with a few slices of bacon and his favourite dressing, brown sauce. 
As soon as you were done with your food, you moved your plate to the side and grabbed some of the fresh veggies to add to the sandwiches. Tomato, bell peppers and fresh cucumber for Mary dried tomato and cucumber for Lily and just cucumber for Marlene. You also added some of your favourite veggies and topping to the one she’d made for you and random stuff for the three extra sandwiches Marlene thought to make in case anyone needed any food after the class, which was rather likely. 
“How are we gonna take this?” you asked as you looked at the rather huge pile of sandwiches on the table. 
“I thought about it,” Marlene said as she pulled a tiny picnic basket from one of her pockets. It was so small it might as well have been made for a pixi rather than a human. 
“That’s adorable!” you said as you looked at it. 
“It’s definitely not gonna fit,” Peter said. 
Sirius burst into a laugh, and Remus gave him a disapproving look.
“What?” 
“Nothing, It’s just… never mind.” 
“No, I want to know!” Peter demanded. 
“A bad joke,” you said as you looked at Sirius, who looked offended. 
“Yeah, since you’ve never had that issue. Right, Sirius?” Marlene added with a smirk, and Sirius turned to her, now even further aggravated. 
“For your information,” Sirius said as he stood up, but Remus was quick to pull him right back in his chair while Marlene exploded into a fit of laughter. 
“By Merlin! Should have seen your face,” she said in between giggles. 
Sirius was sitting with his arms over his chest and pouting ever so slightly; he looked pretty cross. Adorably so, if you might say. You leaned closer to him and placed your head over his shoulder; his hair tickled your cheek as you grabbed his arm with your hands. Remus, who was sitting on the other side of Sirius, was looking at the two from the side of his eye as he munched on some pancakes. He deliberately brought one hand down and placed it just above Sirius’ knee reassuringly. 
You smiled when you noticed and pressed a loud kiss to Sirius’ cheek. “Never mind them, Puppy,” you started, even if Marlene was still laughing as she tried to explain the joke to Peter, who still looked quite confused. “We both know that’s not true.” 
Sirius hummed, not quite satisfied yet, although, had you been looking at him from the front, you would have noticed the tension in his cheeks from attempting to hold back a smile. There was nothing more that he loved than being the centre of your attention, or Moony’s. And at that moment, he was the centre of both.  
You moved one of your arms to play with his hair, allowing your fingers to dance at the nape of his neck as you pressed yet another kiss, this time closer to his ear and lingering just a bit longer before whispering, “Perhaps we should have some witnesses?  We could show Moony later what we both know…” 
Sirius turned to you and cleared his throat as he pulled on the neck of his shirt, loosening his tie a little in the process. 
“Marlene, make sure to tease me more often when Lily’s around,” James said as he leaned next to her and took a cucumber from one of the sandwiches. 
“Oi, that’s not for you, Potter!” she said as she smacked his hand lightly. 
“I mean,” James said as he took a bite of the cucumber he had managed to steal from her. “He was upset for a second, and then he got pampered and all by Vix and–” 
“Look!” you cried as you pointed at the clock behind the two of you. Remus kicked James on the shin, and he yelped rather loudly.  “It’s late; we really should get going now!” 
Marened frowned and turned to look at the clock, by then, Remus had already made the minute hand advance by at least 15 minutes, making it seem like it was much later. “Huh, I would have sworn we still had time,” she said, turning back to you as she tilted her head. “Anyway, we should get going,” she said as she stood up and pointed her wand at the small basket. “Engorgio.” 
Suddenly, her basket grew into a normal-sized picnic basket. She smiled and started placing the sandwiches inside. You helped her add some other sugary fruits like apples, bananas, cherries and even some peeled oranges since you thought it might be of use in case someone got low bIood sugar like in the previous class.
“Here,” Remus said as he passed over some berries in a small linen bag, “Pomfrey said these are good for dizziness.” 
“Thanks,” Marlene said as she took the small bag and placed them in the basket.
Peter was quick to finish his second breakfast muffin, and you all stood up and walked towards the lawn. Marlene and Lily were sitting on the snow next to Tom and Beth, talking as they waited. Marlene caught up with them faster than the rest, taking her gloves out and putting them on before allowing her hands to fall on the snow. 
“What happened? Is he not here yet?” 
“Still a few minutes early,” said Tom as he checked his wristwatch. 
“What? I thought we were late,” Marlene said, confused. 
“Clock must have been wrong,” you said as you plopped down on the floor next to Tom, not bothering with the gloves and resting your hands on your thighs instead. 
“We haven’t talked,” he said with a small smile and a low, dignified tone.
“Right,” you said with a smile as you wet your lips. While you had seen Tom pretty much every day since Wednesday, you’d been so caught up with the prank and then with Nieve and classes that you really hadn’t had a talk with him. And least not a talk in which he could ask you the things he wanted to ask. Even if he already had a fair idea of how your talk with the boys had gone. If he had to guess, he would say it had been brilliant. “We’ll make time, I promise,” you said with a smile. 
He was about to say something else when Dumbledore appeared in the middle of the yard with a rather smug-looking expression. “Nice to see you all again,” he said with a smile. A few students had quit the class after too much vomiting, but most of the kids that survived the first two apparition classes were still there. In fact, the only person you knew who had quit was one of Beth’s roommates.
“Today,” Dumbledore said as he turned around to motion the students sitting behind him to move closer to where you stood, their steps crunching the snow were muffled by his next words. “Things are going to be a little more complicated than the previous classes.” You smiled, there was something about a good challenge that always called your attention. “You’re going to start attempting to apparate by yourselves.” 
“But, professor,” someone protested. “I don’t feel ready yet.” 
“I will continue to work on apparitions with those who don’t feel ready yet, but for those willing to try, we’re ready as well. In case of Splinching, Fizzy and Sproots will be ready to transport you to the hospital wing with Pomfrey,” he said. “Madam Ponfrey has already prepared a few beds and potions and is ready to deal with any case kind of injury, be it mild or more serious.” 
James seemed pretty pleased at the idea of being able to apparate by himself if the shine in his eyes and the jittery tapping on his feet against the snow was anything to go by. Sirius looked quite excited as well. But Remus, who remembered how you’d been the last time you apparated in class, was looking at you apprehensively. 
You, on the other hand, were only thinking that this was perhaps one of the most practical classes in the entire school. Not that Charms, Potions or Care of Magical Creatures weren’t useful. But in times of war, you couldn’t help but think that having a way to disappear was more useful than most things, even if that meant running out of the barrier in a safe house. Perhaps purchasing one of those Vanishing Cabinets, like the one back in Burgin and Burkes wasn’t such a terrible idea. Not for Hogwarts, but for whatever it was you were going after, and of course, during the summer break. 
“The ones who are willing to do it by themselves, please step behind me, you’ll be working with Professor Spellman, who kindly agreed to join us today to make sure everyone is safe.” 
A good deal of people stayed by Dombludore’s side while you stood up. “You are coming?” you asked the girls. 
“I’m staying,” Said Mary as she shook her head with determination. 
“I’ll come,” Said Beth as she too stood. “Tom?” 
“I don’t know,” he said with a frown, although he didn’t get up.
Peter opted to stay while the rest of the marauders were more than ready to cross over to the other side. You were about to walk that way when James crouched, levelling himself with Lily, who was sitting on the snow with her arms crossed over her knees. She was biting her lip as she looked attentively at the floor near her snow-covered boots as if they could give her the answers she needed. 
“Are you okay?” James asked as he tilted his head, trying to steal her attention away from the freshly chopped grass. 
“Huh?” she said as her attention focused on him. She smiled. “Oh, yeah.” 
“What’s got your pretty head so preoccupied?” 
“I don’t know if I’m ready to do it by myself,” she replied with a sigh. “You see, I know all the theory, and I’ve done it with Dumbledore enough times to be able to do it by myself… but I’ve seen what splinching looks like…” She threw a look your way. “I’m scared to end up like that, or much worse.” 
You were about to say that splinching hadn’t been all that bad, but Remus noticed, and he placed a hand on your shoulder, shaking his head to stop you and then nodding towards James. You nodded and turned to look at the two of them again.
“I’m sure you’re more than capable of doing it by yourself.” He smiled. “But there is absolutely no pressure for you to do it right now–” he then pulled his hand up and offered it to her “–if you decide to go for it, I’d be right there beside you. How does that sound?” 
Lily gave James a confused look as if she was not used to him being the serious one. Even you and the boys were looking at the interaction relatively impressed. Lily smiled and took hold of James’ hand. He got up and pulled her along with him, spinning her around and landing his arm over her shoulders seconds later. “So you don’t get cold,” he said casually. She laughed and shook her head, and the two of them started walking to the other side. 
Mary and Marlene looked at each other with impressed glances as if they couldn’t quite believe what had happened. “When did James become more clever than the three of us combined?” you said softly, almost on an impressed breath. 
“They grow so fast, don’t they?” Tom said dramatically as he wiped an invisible tear from his eye. 
“So silly,” you said as you nudged Tom with your knee and then turned to look at your other friend, “Mars?” 
“Oh, I’m definitely coming,” she said as she stood up and walked over to the other side, right behind James and Lily. 
“Maybe Prongs didn’t need all that help in the end.” 
“You’re joking,” Remus said sceptically. “You’ve read his letters!” 
You cringed at the memory of some of his quidditch comparisons, “You’re right, he wouldn’t have made it without us.” 
“No, he wouldn’t.” 
“Let’s go, then,” Sirius said after a small silence, looking in between the two of you as he bit his lip.
“Let’s go,” you agreed with a wink. The three of you walked over to the other side. 
Spellman was already there. He had a huge dark purple coat with black fluffy ends and a matching ushanka that made him look like Father Christmas if Father Christmas was Father Halloween. 
“What’s with the attire?” Marlene asked nonchalantly, only to get elbowed by Lily, who knew how indiscrete the question had been. 
“I’m rather sensitive to the cold,” responded Professor Spellman coolly. 
“What about warming spells?” asked James, who knew no more about indiscretion than Marlene.
“Oh, it has plenty, but still,” he retorted and shivered just by looking at the snow. “Who’ll go first?” 
“We’ll do it one by one?” asked Lily. 
“We don’t want to risk any of you splinching or crashing against each other while trying to get somewhere else.” Spellman nodded.
“Well then,” she said as she unconsciously leaned a little closer to James. From the group, which wasn’t all that large to begin with, nobody seemed to want to be the first one. Or at least nobody jumped to the opportunity like they sometimes did in class. 
“Should I choose?” Asked Spellman as he quirked an eyebrow, taking his hands out of his pocket to adjust his ushanka down again. 
You looked around. Still, everyone remained glued to their spot, as if the snow were resin sticking them to the ground. You sighed about to step in, but Sirius noticed, and, imagining your reluctance, stepped forwards himself. 
“I’ll do it,” he said hastily. 
Spellman nodded and beckoned him to walk towards him.  
“You got this, mate,” said James with a thumbs up. Sirius responded with a confident wink and stepped right next to Spellman. 
Spellman cleared his throat. “You’re going to attempt to jump from here to the other side, right there next to the red flag, do you see it?” 
Sirius narrowed his eyes, in the distance, about a hundred metres from where they stood, stood a small wooden peg, about 40 cm above the snow, with a small scarlet handkerchief tied to it, “Yeah,” he said. 
“Measuring distance is much harder while apparating than it is while walking, so don’t be too disoriented if you don’t land too close to the spot.” Sirius raised his eyebrow at that. “That’s why the risk of splinching is very high when you apparate to a place you don’t know. “You always run the risk of apparating in the spot where another object lays, and in that case, splinching would be the last of your issues.” 
“Professor,” said Lily as she raised her hand. “I read somewhere that Apparating a few feet above the ground is recommended for younger wizards since it helps them avoid smaller objects that might be on the ground.” 
“You can definitely do that. It’s especially recommended if you can’t see the place you’re apparating to. In part, it’s why we start apparition in winter, the snow cushions bad falls and helps numb you down if you splinch badly. At least until you’re taken to the infirmary.” 
“Does that happen often?” Marle asked.
Spellman shrugged in response; his expression wasn’t all that reassuring either. “Mr. Black, are you ready?” 
“Yeah,” he nodded. 
“Good,” Spellman smiled. “Whoever apparates close enough to grab the flag without having to take a step towards it will earn 20 house points.” 
“But we’re all Gryffindors,” said Beth. 
 “Makes no difference, it’s very rarely achieved on the first try,” Spellman said with a shrug. “If any of you achieve it on their second try, then it will be 10 points, and if you do it on the third, then only 5.” 
“It’s all right,” said James,  his voice turning almost instantly into the one he used on the pitch.  “We have seven tries, that’s more than enough to get in the first go, isn’t it?” Lily, who stood next to him, seemed pretty impressed at how fast he’d gotten a hold of the situation; she had never been to a quidditch training with him, but it was the soft, authoritarian manner in which he carried himself that got the most of her attention. He was a brilliant leader. He’d make a fantastic prefect, she thought. 
“Should I go for it?” 
“Please,” Spellman said as he nodded and extended his hand in invitation. “Make sure you’re all at least a metre and a half away from him,” he added as he turned to the rest of you. 
Sirius stepped forward and turned around, Remus took a step back and gently pulled you along with him, “for good measure,” he softly whispered in your ear as he leaned towards you. His warm breath prickled against your skin, and you almost shivered at his closeness. And assuming it was because of the cold, he took a step closer to you. You smiled and leaned your head on his shoulder in what you hoped was a friendly enough gesture for it not to be suspicious. Is it something you would have done to James? Right?
You tried to recall if you had ever done that to James, or Tom even, while Sirius looked ahead, his feet tapping on the snow and his breathing steady as he tried to hype himself up for apparating. It’s something I’ve done to Marlene and Lily countless times, you recalled; Beth and even to Clara from the reading club, back when she was complaining about the werewolf book. It’s a friendly enough gesture, you thought. As you leaned and you snuggled a little closer to Remus. Besides, it’s cold, and nobody’s looking. 
Except someone was looking. Marlene had kept a close eye on the three of you since she was scared the complicit smiles could mean another prank, which meant more risk for the quidditch team. After all, they only had two reserve players, and you were three troublemakers; Teddy wasn’t all that great of a substitute captain, and games were always more fun with you around. And although she regarded the way in which you leaned onto Remus as nothing out of the ordinary –since it really was cold– and she was basically hogging Beth at that point, she did think the small, pleased smile from Remus as he looked at you was rather odd. 
But by then, Sirius was nodding, ready to apparate by himself for the first time. He focused, and after another deep breath, he disappeared. There was a light shuffly sound, accompanied by a crack. Next thing you knew, Sirius was on the other side, about 2 metres away from the peg. He smiled triumphantly since he had done it on the first try. 
“Are you hurt anywhere?” Spellman asked Sirius, his voice loud and clear. 
Sirius looked down to his chest and then to his arms, softly patting himself all over, he shrugged and then lifted both of his thumbs towards Spellman. Then he leaned down and tried to reach for the flag, but it was too far. 
Spellman shook his head. “Come back, Mr. Black, it’s time for the next person to do it.” He turned back at your group. “Who’ll be next?” 
“Me!” Marlene said as she walked towards Spellman. Sirius was about halfway back when the Professor nodded. Marlene took a deep breath, and there seemed to be a flicker, the hint of a crack, but she was still right where she stood. 
“That’s good, you’re getting there,” Spellman encouraged. 
“You’ve got this!” you said with a smile. 
Merlene nodded to herself, holding her wand tighter than before and closing her eyes. She felt compressed all over, like she had before. By the time she was on the other side, her eyes ached, and she felt like she might get a headache. But as soon as she realised she had done it and that she was on the other side, you heard a nervous yet delighted laugh as she allowed herself to fall back on the thick layer of snow behind her. The coldness of it helped the soreness of her eyes that had –for a second– felt like they would recede back to her fucking brain.
Spellman looked at her and shook his head. “Miss Mckinnon, you may lay on the snow over on this side, we require you to continue with the exercise.
“Right,” Marlene said to herself as she looked up at the sky. It was cloudy, but in a nice cloudy way where you could still see the blue of the sky above. “Just a minute,” she shouted after, letting her head fall back and taking a few deep breaths. By then, Sirius had already returned.
“I was so close,” Sirius said as he approached the lot of you. “A meter closer and I would have gotten the flag easily. I know I’ll make it on the next try.” 
“If I don’t get it on mine,” Prongs replied teasingly. 
Sirius hummed in return, a complicit smile as he sat down beside you and Sirius on the snow. Once Marlene stood up, Spellman turned back to the group. “Who’s next?” 
“I’ll go,” Remus said as he stood and walked a little further. You missed his warmth almost the second he left, a small shiver crawling from your lower back to your neck. Remus managed to do it on his first try. And while he was much closer to the peg than Sirius had been, it wasn’t close enough for him to reach it. 
“How are you?” you asked Sirius once you made sure Remus was okay. 
“Fantastic,” he said with a smile, taking your hand in his. “You didn’t bring your gloves, did you?” 
“Nope,” you said as you curled your fist and dug it under the hem of your sweater. “You didn’t either.” 
“Yeah, but I don’t have chronic cold hands,” he teased, pulling your hand to his stomach. “You don’t mind, do you?” 
You smiled, pushing your hand down teasingly. “Do you?”
Sirius laughed at the way you brushed your fingers downwards. It was elating, and it certainly did a great deal to warm him, bIood running from his limbs to his cheeks and then south.
“Such a tease,” he laughed. 
“Who's next?” Spellman asked. 
You looked around, James looked rather comfortable and engaged in a conversation with Lily. And Beth didn’t look like she was going to go either, so you raised your hand. 
“Excellent, please come forward.” 
Remus was already halfway through the walk back when he noticed you’d be next and decided to wait for you where he was instead of continuing to walk. You stood from where you were, Sirius’ hand gently squeezing yours as you pulled it from his sweater. 
You walked towards the place Spellman pointed, and once you made sure you were far enough from everyone, you concentrated on the other side. Thinking of landing right beside the pole as you closed your eyes. The Black lake looked dark and crisp ahead, Sirius looked at you from the side and gave you an encouraging thumbs up. Your mind went back to the last time you had apparated; you shook your head as if that could shake away the thought. 
You looked at the wooden peg again, the flaming carmine flag waving proudly at the end. You breathed, trying to concentrate on that rather than on the disturbing memories that flashed through your head. That fact that none of the times you had appeared lately had any positive connotations not helping at all. As if you had been conditioned to associate apparition with something bad. And while your mind was more than ready, your magic seemed to refuse to cooperate. 
But you had always been stubborn. You took a deep breath and looked at the flag again, Remus was there, not so far from it, perhaps about 10 meters or so. He was waiting for you on the other end, like he had always been. Calm, ready to pull you close and hold you until you feel better. You ought to have known you were in love with him way before you did. You smiled, and then you felt the pressure all around you. Breathing stopped, and you felt the discomfort on your chest, as if all of your limbs were being pressed into each other. It wasn’t pleasant, but none of it had bothered you before, and it wasn’t bothering you now, either. You heard the familiar pop; there was a change of air, colder, brisker, the breeze smelling much more of the familiar tangy smell of the Black Lake. The wind carried a distant gasp to your ears, and right as you opened your eyes, you saw Remus, looking quite startled, right by your side.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he took the one step that separated the two, placing his hands on your face as if he were checking for a fever. “You landed way too close to me.” 
“Yeah, I’m…” You looked around; the flag was far from where you stood. You’d missed the mark by quite a lot. Nobody had landed that far from until then. Even Marlene, who'd had a hard time apparating, had landed closer than you. You looked at yourself: no splinching, no headache, no nausea. “I’m perfect,” you added, dumbfounded almost. “You? Didn’t hurt you, did I?” 
“Not at all, it was a delightfully clean landing. You did startle me a little, though, I thought you’d get the flag.” 
“I guess my mind focused on something else,”  you added with a simple smile and an attentive look at him.  He tilted his head to the side, about to reproach you because of how dangerous it had been when Spellman apparated a few metres away. 
“Did she splinch?” he asked in a rush since Remus still had his hands over your shoulders. With a snap of his fingers, the house elves were also rushing towards the two of you, along with a hospital bed. 
“Uh, no,” Remus said as he pulled his hands from you. “She’s fine.” 
Spellman turned to you as if to confirm. “Yeah, yeah,” you nodded. “Perfectly fine, just got directions messed up, I guess.” 
Spellman nodded, waving his hand at the elves, and they apparated back to where they had been initially: out of the way but ready to help if it was necessary. “I’ll apparate back there; please walk the way back together.” He said and then turned to Remus. “Mr. Lupin, if she starts feeling odd in any way, please inform me as soon as possible. Shoot red sparks to the sky if it’s necessary.” 
“Yes, Professor.” 
Spellman nodded and apparated back to the other side effortlessly. “Do you think we’ll ever be that good?” 
You are already that good, he thought. If you really had been thinking of him and managed to apparate yourself less than a metre away without hurting him or yourself in the process. “Certainly,”  he nodded.
Back with the rest of the group, Sirius was looking at the two of you with a smile while James walked over to the side, ready to be the next to try. He looked at the flag with a smile on his face, and once both you and Remus were far enough away, he got the nod from Spellman he was expecting. He landed half a meter away from the flag and picked it up, raising it in his hand while screaming, “I got it,” in delight. 
He ran towards you and Remus, placing his hands on each of your shoulders as he dangled the red flag right next to your face. “You missed it, I landed so close, like Vix, but next to the actual flag and not you.” He said to Remus. “You should have seen it!” 
You threw a look at Remus as James rambled on.  There was nobody in the world that could boast as much as James and still be as likeable, you were certain. 
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neytirisheaven · 1 year ago
Text
i can’t lose when i’m with you
warnings: you know the drill: no use of y/n, strong language, sirius calls reader “darling/my darling”, reader is a gryffindor, reader almost gets attacked by remus, slightly suggestive near the end, ooc peter (NO YOUNG PETER SLANDER), a few smoochies at the end, this is barely proofread so i apologize for any mistakes
sirius black x fem!reader word count: 6.5k
summary: in which sirius struggles to ask you out on a date, so the marauders assist him in his goal, aka the 4 times sirius black tries to ask you out and the 1 time he succeeds
notes: so…….. let’s not talk about the fact that i posted this so fucking late and let’s talk about the fact that it’s sirius black…..!! anyways so this is probably not cohesive and there are probably a lot of plotholes and inconsistencies in here but i was STRUGGLING to write this okay, like i would write 700 words and then dip because i literally couldn’t pull anything else out of my ass
LUCKILY, OUT OF the seven years you’ve spent at Hogwarts, you’ve never been so much as looked at by the infamous Marauders. Sure, they messed around with your friends, and you’ve attended their rambunctious parties after a Quidditch win, but you were fortunate enough to not be bothered by them. 
That was, until the one and only Sirius Black laid his eyes on you. 
You had vowed to never even come close to fraternizing with a Marauder—besides the occasional conversations with Remus—let alone fall into their trap of tricks with their corny pickup lines and their woo-worthy smiles. 
And you were going to stand by that vow. No matter what. Or so you thought.
i. i’d touch that fire for you
It all started when you were peacefully sitting at your regular table in the Great Hall, talking to your friends about the newest gossip about a few of the prefects in the year below you. You prodded at the slice of your pumpkin pie, not too interested in the food as you were in the drama that seemed to be unfolding before your eyes.
But, to your demise, your gossip was cut short by a loud declaration of your name—wait, your name? No, this had to have been a joke. Right?
You slowly turned around in your seat to find Sirius Black standing right behind you, a bouquet of flowers magically appearing in his hands as soon as you locked eyes with him. He tossed his luscious hair over his shoulder and beamed brightly at you, gaining a few coos from the girls sitting around you. 
“My darling,” he began, “it would be an absolute honor if you would allow me to take you out on a date to Hogsmeade next Saturday. Would you fancy a trip down there with me?” It was probably the fanciest he had spoken since he had dinner with his whole extended family, and he could’ve only hoped that he could woo you over and finally gain your affections.
You, on the other hand, were not willing to fall for what was obviously supposed to be a prank. Why the four pranksters had chosen you, of all people, to be the butt of this prank, you would never know, but it didn’t mean you were to act clueless about it the whole time. 
“Go find someone else to prank, Black,” you muttered under your breath, sending your friends a confused look as you turned back to them. Only a few moments later, you felt the gentle tap of someone’s finger on your shoulder, causing you to turn around once more and look at the same boy that had now turned the bouquet into a three-tiered cake in a matter of seconds. You repeated yourself once more, “I’m not interested in your little jokes. It’s not something I look for in a person. But good job for trying.” You sent him a pitiful smile and returned to your conversation with your friends almost immediately, as if you were desperate to get out of the situation you found yourself in. You were desperate.
Sirius’ face fell as soon as you turned around, finally understanding that you were serious about everything you said. He just assumed you were playing hard to get. He didn’t think you saw it as some prank he was trying to play on you.
His dejected eyes met James’ soft, brown ones, only encouraging him to go even more all out compared to what he just did. It wasn’t the best idea, and both Remus and Peter could see it, but when Sirius was as enamored with someone as he was with you, it meant he was serious. Pun intended.
The raven-haired boy practically skipped over to his friends, James transfiguring the layered cake back into Remus’ water goblet and placing it in front of his friend. “We thank you for your sacrifice,” he spoke with no humor laced in his tone, causing the brunet to scrunch his nose up and return to the Muggle book he was currently reading; The Hobbit.
Sirius’s gaze flickered to the thick book in his friend’s hands, then shot up as if a bolt of lightning had struck him. “That’s perfect, Moony! My darling loves reading Muggle books! I’ve seen her with them in the library many times,” the boy exclaimed excitedly, bouncing around like a kid in a candy store.
“You go to the library? Willingly?” Peter questioned with his mouth full, earning a chastising smack to the back of his head.
Remus spoke up, “He’s trying to get her attention. We’ve got to give him some credit for that.”
“Thank you,” Sirius thanked the boy through gritted teeth, a bit peeved that one of his best friends had no faith in him. They had known of his crush on you for all of two months, and in all of his experiences with girls during his time at Hogwarts, he’d never been prepared for a feeling like the one you gave him. “Anyway, since you’re so invested in all your Muggle books, d’you think you could grab me one on your next visit to the Muggle bookstore?”
The three boys tried their hardest to look past Sirius’ flushed, pink cheeks as he requested a simple yet slightly embarrassing task. Peter and James shot each other a look before the latter leaned over the table with some brotherly advice hanging off the tip of his tongue.
“Just don’t be too annoying about it, Pads. You don’t have seven years for it to get less annoying like I had with Lily. Just, y’know, charm your way through it like you always do. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
ii. long as you dreaming ‘bout me, ain’t no problem
The atmosphere of the Quidditch stadium was always tense, especially whenever it came time for Gryffindor to play against Slytherin. The stands were full of students boasting their house colors, strictly separated into hues of greens and reds. Linus Spinnett animatedly narrated the gameplay, throwing in a few jabs at the Slytherin players here and there. 
You watched as James and Sirius sped past you, side-by-side, unable to avoid their gazes. The latter called out your name, but you only ignored him and hid the bottom half of your face behind the scarf wrapped around your neck. He took a sharp turn and began spinning in small circles right in front of you in an attempt to get your attention, but you remained unbothered.
“Don’t you have better things to tend to, Sirius?” Your friend groaned from beside you, wrapping a comforting arm around your shoulders as she tried to shoo him away. “Go win the game, and maybe she’ll talk to you.” 
Planting a chastising hand on your friend’s bicep, you whispered through gritted teeth, “Don’t encourage him! He’ll have the wrong idea.” Before you could even turn to Sirius to correct your friend’s statement, he already flew away with a dopey grin plastered on his face. It only motivated him more throughout the game, the quaffle landing in his arms more than anyone has seen before. Even James was surprised. 
“Pads, what’s with you?” The Potter boy muttered, inching closer to his best friend. His eyes were trained on the bludgers being beaten around, but his complete focus was on his friend and his out-of-character actions. “I appreciate the need to win, but mate, don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh?”
Sirius took the time to look around at the stadium, his eyes landing on the three Slytherins clutching their arms, then at the scoreboard that showed Gryffindor leading by thirty-five points. “I’m being perfectly normal, Prongs. Thought you’d want to win.”
“I do, but–” James’ rebuttal was cut off by the sound of Linus’ voice echoing through the stadium, rejoicing in the Gryffindor seeker’s successful accomplishment.
“Berthia Thomas has caught the golden snitch! Gryffindor wins the game!” 
Sirius’ ears perked up at the exclamation, immediately soaring down to the young seeker and not-so-gently taking the snitch out of her hands. “Do you mind if I take this? No? Great, thanks!” The ends of his Quidditch robes chased closely behind him as he flew all the way up to the stands, meeting you with a smug grin. The golden, engraved ball sat peacefully in his hand, its wings flapping softly against his palm. “For you, my darling,” he smiled at you, offering the snitch like an olive branch in a peace offering.
You eyed the small object in his hand, then glanced up at the scoreboard with the teams’ respective points: Gryffindor, 220 and Slytherin, 70. With a heavy heart and a sharp glare at your friend beside you, you reluctantly took the golden snitch from his hand and held it between your thumb and your forefinger. 
Sirius felt a shiver climb down his spine at the feeling of your soft fingertips brushing against his calloused palm. Even the slightest touch between the two of you could make him melt. 
“Thank you, Black.” Your voice was almost as soft as your touch. Offering him a small smile, you ushered your friend away from the front row and pushed past the crowd that was now gawking at the supposedly sweet actions of the infamous Sirius Black.
But you didn’t want to fall for it. Everyone who attended Hogwarts, even the clueless first years, knew about them. Everyone who attended Hogwarts had either witnessed, experienced, or heard of their silly little pranks, and you were not one to be fooled so easily by them. 
With a fleeting glance, you looked back over your shoulder to see the boy’s figure slumped over the end of his broomstick, sadly looking down at the area of his palm where your fingers so happened to touch.
iii. i don’t got nobody, just with you right now
“Oh, come on! He’s practically courting you at this point! Just let him confess to you, and maybe you’ll see that he’s not trying to pull some elaborate prank on you!” Your friend lectured in the safe space of your dorm room, tugging on the collar of your sweater to try and knock some sense into you. 
You protested her points, “You say that as if he isn’t known for leading girls on and breaking their hearts. I don’t want to be another girl for him to add onto his list.”
“James has matured, look at him and Lily! I’m sure if you give him the chance–” “Have you seen him? Potter may have matured, but I’m not too confident in Sirius. He has to do more than just offer me a golden snitch or flowers or a three-tiered cake. Physical offerings do nothing to rid him of the reputation he’s been building for himself since first year. If he’s serious about fancying me, then he has to do something meaningful.” 
Before your friend could refute you any further, you looked at her with a heavy gaze to effectively quiet her. The two of you returned to the light gossip you were talking about prior to bringing up Sirius Black, and a few hours later, you both agreed to part ways so you could find a comfy spot in the library to study.
She dropped you off at the entrance on the way to her rendezvous with a Ravenclaw boy in your year, bidding you a curt goodbye before breaking out into what could be considered a skip through the long hallways of the castle.
You pushed through the doors and felt solace in the smell of the books and the soft rustling of students passing between the aisles. The librarian promptly gazed at you and offered a nod, to which you returned with a small smile. 
Gazing up at the tall shelves of books, you thought to yourself and began trying to think of which books you required for a successful study session for the evening. Your feet seemed to be leading you to the very back of the library, where you noticed the smallest flicker of yellow light behind a multitude of bookshelves. As you inched closer, your ears picked up the softest whispers being passed between what seemed to be two people.
You furrowed your eyebrows, wondering who could possibly study back here, where the bookshelves are impossibly closer to each other and leave no room for a singular person in the aisle, let alone two people to comfortably study. Grabbing a book off a random shelf to incriminate yourself less in case it was two students chatting about something not meant for curious ears, you pushed past the last row of books to find—
Sirius and Remus? In a rather spacious area, might you add. 
They sat at a table placed flush against the wall, a small candle being the only source of light besides the sunlight from the windows that barely reached the back of the library. It was a comfortable spot, albeit the many efforts it took to get past all the tight bookshelves. They hadn’t even noticed you at first, too engrossed in a piece of parchment they had placed onto the table. 
The two boys only noticed you when James had joined in, your eyes bulging out of their sockets when you watched him walk through a bookshelf. Well, it was supposed to be a bookshelf. You weren’t surprised that he had seemingly walked through a solid object, no. You’d done that plenty of times whenever you boarded or left Platform 9 ¾ throughout the years. You were left rather bitter that you put in all the effort to squeeze through all the stacks when you could’ve just walked through the bookshelf. Not that you would’ve known, though.
You looked up when James called your name. Sirius and Remus did, too. “When did you get in here? I would’ve noticed if you walked in,” the curly-haired boy frowned. 
“I, uh, wedged myself through those bookshelves. Didn’t know there was an actual entrance.” You jutted a thumb over your shoulder and pointed to the very compressed bookshelves. Feeling quite awkward in your current position, with James frowning at you (or more specifically, how you got in), Remus smiling softly at you, and Sirius staring at you, you shuffled closer to the exit. “I’ll see myself out, now. Sorry. I won’t tell anyone about this, either, if you’re worried about that.”
As soon as you stepped foot past the fake bookshelf, you heard Sirius whisper-shouting at James to bring you back into the secret space. 
“Wait!” He called out for you louder than he should have, quite possibly alarming the whole library of their whereabouts. With pursed lips, you swiveled on your heel and walked back through the bookshelf, shooting James a questioning look. “So, uh,” he repeatedly looked at you, then behind you, then at you again, “you said you went between those small gaps in the bookshelves?”
You nodded your head, unaware of how Sirius was urging the boy to keep the conversation going while Remus struggled to fish something out of his bag.
“We’ll have to seal that, then.” James spoke more to himself than to you.
Glancing over to the gaps, you spoke up once more. “And just so you know, the only reason I came back here was because I could hear Remus and Sirius whispering. You might want to look into that since you yelled rather loudly. Don’t want anyone else coming back here, do you?”
At your revelation, James immediately turned to his two friends with his eyes blown wide. You then heard a whispered chorus of “You didn’t cast it? I thought you did! Well, I didn’t cast it!” and before they could say much more, you lifted your wand and silently casted Muffliato around the whole area. 
Sirius looked at you with more admiration in his eyes than ever before. He was practically looking at you with heart eyes, as if you were all the stars in the world joined together into one girl. 
“Also, those gaps are wide enough to be peeked through. You might want to seal it up or put some charm on it so that no prying eyes look through.” The bell of the clock tower rang and bounced around the castle walls, almost as if cueing you to leave. “Well, that’s where I take my leave. And I stick by what I said earlier. I won’t speak a word of this.”
Finally leaving, you walked through the exit and shuffled through the aisle, only to be caught by the wrist. You looked over your shoulder to find Sirius smiling cheekily at you, holding a book in his hands. You turned around, a bit uncomfortable at how your arms harshly grazed at the wood of the bookshelves on either side of you. They were much more spacious compared to the shelves on the other side, but it still left little room for two people to be standing together.
He held the book up to you, allowing you to read the cover. “I bought this for you. I know you’ve been wanting it for a while,” he offered, gently putting it in your hands. “I also wanted to let you know that I didn’t conjure it up or anything. I bought it with my own money and all. If that means anything to you.” Bringing a hand up to his nape, he shyly rubbed at it as he watched your eyes dart from the book to his face.
Your mind was running at unfathomable speeds, trying to figure out how Sirius Black, of all people, found out how you wanted that specific book. You only told two people about it, and you and Lily had only spoken about it today in the confines of your N.E.W.T.-level Potions and Arithmancy classes, neither of which you shared with any of the Marauders. It wouldn’t have been enough time for Sirius to go out and buy it himself, if you were to trust his word on it.
That only left—Remus. You were quietly discussing it in Transfiguration while Professor McGonagall was helping a struggling student. The both of you had already completed the task as soon as she assigned it, so you turned to each other and talked about your shared love for Muggle books. Merlin, you felt so stupid. You thought he would respect your wishes of not wanting to be bothered by Sirius, but apparently not. “Remus,” you whispered lowly, quiet enough for the boy standing before you to barely hear what you said.
“What?” Sirius’ face flushed. “No, no. Moon—Remus didn’t have anything to do with it. Well, not really. But I bought this because I overheard you telling him about it in Transfiguration last week.” 
You brushed away the odd nickname for Remus and visibly relaxed, hesitantly hugging the book to your chest. “I see. Well, in that case, I’ll use this book well. Thank you, Sirius.” Turning around and walking away, you spared no time exiting the library with the book in your hands, leaving the raven-haired boy to celebrate. 
You had accepted his gift and called him by his first name! Two wins in a row!
iv. how can i snooze and miss the moment?
Surprisingly, Sirius had left you alone for the past three days. You hadn’t seen a day without him at least trying to court you, but for some reason, it was as if he’d turned into a ghost. It wasn’t like you minded, but it felt odd. Unnatural, even. 
When it came nighttime, and you’d officially been left alone for three whole days, you decided to take a walk down to the Black Lake. You wanted to be left alone with your thoughts, the cool breeze of wintertime nearing, and the glimmering light of the full moon. The sound of a wolf howling flew past your ears, but you paid it no mind as you knew you were safe. There was no such thing as a werewolf on school grounds, it was impossible. You’ve had some suspicions in the past, but they can’t have been true.
Your hands plucked at the blades of grass beneath you, feeling the lush plant life beneath you. You had found a spot against a tree facing the lake and watched peacefully as the ripples of the water distorted the mirrored image of the moon and the trees around it. 
Twigs snapped behind you, and your right hand flew to your coat pocket where your wand lie, but you were just taking precautions. It was probably just some other student wandering around after curfew, too. Everything would be just fine. 
After half an hour of thinking to yourself, the sounds of the nature around you were becoming more stressful than relaxing. With a cautious step to the side and a meek glance past the thick tree trunk, you slowly made your way away from the Black Lake and towards the castle. 
The faded footpath beneath you had turned into a muddy walkway long before you began attending Hogwarts, but it still felt unsettling. The canopy of the tall trees blocked the moonlight shining down on you, and their rustling leaves became ominous rather than peaceful. 
Your hand remained snug in your coat pocket, feeling the wood of your wand against your palm. The howling wolf that was once far, far away now sounded impossibly close to you, and the multiple twigs snapping all around you caused you to grip your wand even tighter. “Hello? Is anybody there?”
No response. More twigs snapped. The ground beneath you began to shake.
“Hello? This isn’t funny! If this is supposed to be a prank, then cut it out!”
Still no response. 
And then, out of nowhere, an earth-shattering growl echoed from right behind you. You turned slowly, pulling your wand out of your pocket in a fearful manner. Coming face-to-face with a werewolf, you realized all your reassurances of it being impossible were wrong. And you were about to die.
Pointing your wand at the creature, you looked into its eyes. They seemed familiar. Comforting, even. But this was a werewolf, and they were monstrous creatures, according to your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. You took a small breath and shakily held your wand up.
Just before you could cast a spell in its face, you got pushed to the side. You fell back against a tree with a wince, watching as a stag headbutted the werewolf in the chest with its antlers. “What the—” Your words were cut short by the feeling of something harshly tugging at the hem of your coat, successfully dragging you away from the scene. A yelp left your lips, your fingertips clawing at the ground in an attempt to escape whatever wrath you were facing now.
Looking down, you found a black dog pulling you by its sharp teeth, its eyes boring into you like you’d known each other before. You stopped trying to escape. You just let everything happen as you stared back down at the dog. ‘What was so familiar about these animals,’ you asked yourself, unaware of the werewolf bounding after you. 
It had gotten past the stag, which was nowhere to be seen. You assumed you were going delusional. The werewolf, still familiar as ever, picked you up and growled, your wand now in your hand as you prepared to cast as many offensive spells as you could. Incantations left your mouth as quickly as you’ve ever casted before, but they did nothing to stop your impending doom. 
The most you did was a large gash along the creature’s arm, but the injury only aggravated it more. Lifting you up as high as it could, the werewolf threw you to the ground as you braced for impact, feeling your body hit the ground just before you blacked out.
When you woke up, you found yourself in one of the infirmary beds with Madame Pomfrey tending to your injuries. Your collarbone was shattered, and you received a few cuts on your cheek, but it was nothing the lady couldn’t fix. You were only in the infirmary for observations and precautions. 
As soon as she stepped away, you were met with the embarrassed smiles of James, Sirius and Remus all on infirmary beds opposite of you. “Wha—why are you three here?” You questioned suspiciously, examining each of their injuries for ones similar to the wounds you saw on the creatures the night prior.
James had bandages wrapped around his ribcage and an ice pack on his head. Sirius had multiple gashes along his side and a cast on his left hand. Remus had the most wounds of them all: a large scratch along his cheek, a deep cut on the side of his head, a bandage wrapped around both his forearms, a cast on his right foot, and a gash on his bicep.
Wait, a gash on his bicep?
“It was you, wasn’t it?” You spoke quietly, finally realizing why Remus always disappeared whenever it came time for a full moon and why James and Sirius always missed classes the day after. “James, y—you were the stag. Sirius, you were the dog, weren’t you? And Remus, oh, Merlin,” you gasped softly, remembering all the painful spells he must have had to endure from your wand. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve known.”
The lanky boy shook his head, “No, there was no way of you knowing.” He tried to reassure you even though they all knew it become more obvious every month. “And if you’re concerned about the spells, I’m fine. I got more wounds from these gits than from whatever you casted.”
“Only if you’re sure,” you muttered softly, eyebrows furrowed from the concern for someone you hoped to consider a friend. In fact, you hoped to consider all of the Marauders friends. It was obvious they’d matured from the pranksters they used to be in their younger years, and you were frankly relieved to find out that they were as bad as you thought they were. 
You didn’t seem to notice how Sirius looked at you like you held the earth up with your bare hands, and if you did notice, you didn’t mention it. You kept your focus on Remus, his terrible injuries, and how he seemed to be unfazed by them. You felt horrible.
“Stop looking at me like that,” Remus said lightly, as if reading your mind. “I know what you’re thinking. You don’t have to feel bad. I’m used to it at this point.” Opening your mouth to explain how that was why you felt bad, the boy shot you a look and spoke your name chastisingly. You stayed quiet for a while.
“Sirius?” You called out for the boy in the bed directly in front of you. He reacted far too quickly and far too eager to not be embarrassed, but you ignored his actions and spoke up once more. “Why did you save me? You could’ve helped James with Remus.”
The boy pushed himself up so he could sit properly with his back leaning against the headboard of the bed. He ignored the sharp pain in his hand and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “Couldn’t let you die before the Hogsmeade trip. Speaking of that, since I saved your life and all, I think it’d be a great opportunity to repay me by being my date to Hogsmeade?” Sirius’ statement came out as more of a question. His shoulders were tense and his breathing became rapid, though he wouldn’t admit to anyone how easily you could break down all the confident walls he’d built up. 
“I would’ve rather died, then,” you joked. 
“Ah, then I’d just have to save you all over again.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
Sirius beamed brightly at you. “Is that a ‘yes’ to Hogsmeade?” 
Shaking your head at him, you let out a small chuckle. “We’ll see.”
While you and Sirius playfully bantered back and forth across the infirmary, James leaned over to find Remus smirking right back at him.
“Are they flirting?” The curly-haired boy mouthed to his friend. 
“It seems like it.” Remus mouthed back, a smile tugging on his lips.
“I bet five galleons we catch them snogging after Hogsmeade.”
Remus smirked between you and Sirius, still too engrossed in your conversation to notice what was going on around you. “I bet you ten galleons we’ll catch them snogging as soon we get released from here.”
“Deal.”
v. you just too important
After you got released, you returned to your classes like usual and dodged the multiple questions your friends asked daily. You only brushed them away when you couldn’t come up with a sorry excuse as to why you ‘suddenly started talking to Sirius Black,’ but you always told them the most extravagant lies you could string up when you had the chance. 
The more time you spent talking to each other, the more you realized why all the girls dropped to their knees at the chance of being with him, even if it was just for one night. The more time you spent talking to each other, the more you realized that you were starting to fall for him. And it scared the hell out of you.
You even tried avoiding him when you first came to the realization that your feelings for Sirius were more than simply platonic, but your efforts only lasted a day before the boy sought you out and annoyed you until you were forced to give in. 
So, as the days went by, you became closer and closer. And your feelings for each other became stronger and stronger. This time, though, you didn’t want to fight it. Not at all.
“Darling,” Sirius called out in his usual sing-songy tone as he strode into the Gryffindor common room. He ignored all the odd looks he received from the others and grinned once he found your figure next to the fireplace, entertaining a first year by feeding the flames a few old textbook pages. “Ah, there you are! Remus and I were looking for you!”
You smiled softly at the sound of the boy’s voice, but you didn’t turn around to let him see how he’s finally broken down your walls. “Did you need me, Siri?” 
The new use of the nickname might have made Sirius scream his lungs out if he wasn’t in public and wasn’t still actively trying to hide that he was terribly in love with you. Instead, he only stared at you with a lovesick expression plastered onto his features, causing you to scrunch your nose up at the lack of a response.
You turned your head to look up at the boy, your doe eyes only pulling him in even more. “Sirius? Are you okay?” Chuckling awkwardly as he continued his intense, locked gaze on you and your pretty face, you redirected your attention to the equally awkward first year sitting beside you. “Well, if you’re going to stare, then you might as well sit down, yeah?”
Almost immediately, the raven-haired boy fell to the ground and sat crisscrossed, politely placing his hands in his lap as he watched you speak quietly to the young girl, her body relaxing when you placed a comforting hand on her. It was weird to have Sirius just staring at you in the beginning, but after a while, it was like he wasn’t even there. All he did was observe and listen.
He observed how you smiled gently at the girl whenever she spoke up in her small voice. He observed how your eyes lit up with fondness whenever you felt her touch. He observed how she leaned into you without hesitation when you offered to braid her beautiful, light brown hair. He observed how amazing you were with people younger than you, with kids. And he sure as hell observed how you would be a great mother and how he so desperately wanted to make y—well, that was a thought for another day.
Your gentleness was so endearing to him, it only made him fall for you more than he already had, if that was even possible.
Peter, who had been watching the interaction from afar, seemed to have had enough of the lingering tension and opportunities that weren’t acted upon. He wasn’t as aware of the whole situation as Remus and James were, but he was smart enough to piece all the little details together and figure out that both you and Sirius were too scared and were just waiting for the other to make a major move.
So, the boy took the situation into his own hands and dragged his friend away by the collar, taking him up to their dorm room despite the many, many efforts (albeit weak) made by the stronger boy. 
“Wormtail,” Sirius whined as soon as he heard the door shut. He pretended like he didn’t know what was going on, but in reality, he was grateful that Peter inserted himself into the situation before the pining became too strong. “Why’d you bring me up here?”
“You know why,” the boy hummed as he scoured through his bedside drawers, looking for his stash of food he always had stocked up. “She likes you. A lot. And Pads, if you don’t make a move on her now, who knows who’ll be there to take her away from you. I know how you feel about her, she knows how you feel about her, and practically everyone else at Hogwarts knows how you feel about her, so just snog her already!”
To Sirius’ surprise, as soon as his friend found the box of chocolates, he didn’t take any for himself and instead walked straight out of the dorm room. The blond boy walked down the curved stairs of the tower and found you sitting in the same spot you were in before he dragged Sirius away. 
As soon as you laid your eyes on him, you furrowed your eyebrows and beckoned him over. “Peter, did something happen with Sirius?”
“Ah, perfect! I was just coming to find you. Pads says he doesn’t want to eat, and I was thinking that if you offered him some chocolates instead of me, he might want to eat them. He hasn’t eaten the whole day.” The boy was speaking out of his ass, but he was tired of your unbearable pining, and frankly, so was everyone else.
You furrowed your eyebrows, confused by the sudden shift in character, but you shrugged your shoulders and took the box out of Peter’s hands. Patting the first year’s shoulder, you bid her goodbye and explained your task to her, pushing yourself off the ground and following the blond boy up to his dorm room.
The light box sat in your hands as you watched him rap his knuckles against the door, backing up until he stood behind you. The two of you patiently waited for Sirius to open the door, and as soon as he did, you felt Peter’s hands on your shoulders. Before you knew it, you had fallen directly into Sirius’ arms, effectively pushing the both of you back into the dorm room while the door shut behind you. 
The box of chocolates fell from your hands, but it was the least of your concerns when your front was pressed against Sirius’ chest and your faces were centimeters away. 
“Oh, um, I—“ you stammered, placing your hands on his chest to gently push him away.
Sirius, on the other hand, had other plans. He wrapped his arms around your waist with a smirk, his eyes flickering down to your lips every few seconds as he spoke. “You know I fancy you, right?” You only nodded at his question, but your flustered expression was enough to encourage him further. “And I fancy you a lot. Like, a lot, darling.”
Your inability to hold eye contact with him may have been embarrassing to you a month ago, but right now in his arms, you could care less. He spoke softly to you, his gaze filled with awe. He made you feel loved, despite all your past thoughts about him and his attempts to get you to go out on a date with him. 
Sirius’ voice grew impossibly quieter as he looked into your eyes. “Please tell me you like me, too.” 
Looking at his pleading expression and the way his lips just looked a bit too tantalizing with the way he bit it while awaiting your response, you couldn’t help but wrap your arms around his neck and pull him in until your lips collided.
It felt like fireworks, the way his lips moved perfectly with yours. It was like nothing you had ever experienced before. Granted, you were never too occupied when it came to your love life, but Sirius was the best kisser you’d ever come across. His hands were planted on the small of your back, bringing your body even closer to his, and your hands raked through his luscious hair.
Pulling away and ignoring the small complaint that left his lips, you smiled at the boy, “Yes, I like you too, Sirius.”
Despite the fact that you had just kissed him, his eyes still lit up brighter than you had ever seen before. “Really? Are you serious?”
“No,” you laughed, the teasing glint in your eyes telling him exactly what you were about to say next. “You’re Sirius.”
He threw his head back and groaned at the joke, “Merlin, you’re perfect.” And then he pulled you in once more. 
The kiss, this time, was more heated, more intense than the first. It was hungrier, with your lips mashing together and your teeth clashing. But it was still filled with love. Filled with the thing Sirius had fought for when he approached you that day in the Great Hall. Filled with the thing he was desperate to gain when he offered you that golden snitch after his Quidditch game. Filled with what he hoped to receive when he bought you that Muggle book you were obsessing over. And most importantly, filled with the very thing that took over when he saw you at the Black Lake, terrified of what would happen if he lost you. 
You were both so engrossed in the kiss that you didn’t even notice the door creaking open. James, Remus and Peter peeked through the small crack to find you and Sirius all over each other, your hands tangled in his hair and his hands inching lower. 
Remus smirked at the curly-haired boy squatting next to him, holding his hand out with a cocky grin. Annoyed, James pulled ten galleons out of his pocket and begrudgingly placed it into his best friend’s palm, but all three of them knew that no matter who lost the bet and no matter how annoying Sirius would get later on, they were all just happy that you two were happy.
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my-castles-crumbling · 1 year ago
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James and Sirius bugging the everloving shit out of Remus after he got his Prefect's badge by following him around and making siren noises.
"Watch out everyone, he's got to go stop ill-intentioned youths!"
"Oi, get out of the way! Moony has to catch the hooligans!"
"Prongs! Watch it! Merlin forbid, Moony could catch you making mischief!"
Meanwhile, Remus is the literal mastermind of 90% of their pranks.
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forestdeath1 · 10 months ago
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Canon Sirius through quotes
Part 3. Harshness and toughness (and how Sirius Black differs from James Potter). It's long. Really long.
Sirius isn't a soft crybaby. His harshness (and even cruelty) goes beyond the silly teenage pranks we usually see in fanfiction. Sirius is often either whitewashed by newer fans or overly demonized by anti-Marauders fans. Sirius has a tough exterior but a heart of gold. He's not childish and had to grow up early, though he can still be quite fun.
‘Do you know, I still have trouble believing it,’ said Madam Rosmerta thoughtfully. ‘Of all the people to go over to the Dark side, Sirius Black was the last I’d have thought ... .’
"Of all the people to go over to the Dark side, Sirius Black was the last I’d have thought" – this shouldn't be taken literally. Rosmerta saw many others regularly, Dumbledore, Lily, Remus, and many others, and out of all of them, Sirius Black was the last who could turn to the Dark side? Seriously? Did Sirius walk around with a halo and angel wings?
One trait that is always emphasized in his appearance is his haughty, bored look.
Rosmerta speaks metaphorically, not literally. She saw Sirius once a month or two when they went out to Hogsmeade to have fun and drink. In those moments, Sirius was lively, funny and noisy (especially lively after running away from home), and perhaps he even flirted with Rosmerta in a childish manner, melting the heart of the adult woman.
Sirius can be funny, although his humor is always edging towards dark:
"Imagine wasting your time and energy persecuting merpeople when there are little toerags like Kreacher on the loose.’ 
Ron laughed but Hermione looked upset. 
‘Sirius!’ she said reproachfully. ‘Honestly, if you made a bit of an effort with Kreacher, I’m sure he’d respond. After all, you are the only member of his family he’s got left, and Professor Dumbledore said –’ 
‘So, what are Umbridge’s lessons like?’ Sirius interrupted. ‘Is she training you all to kill half-breeds?’
Moreover, he interrupts Hermione, not letting her finish her point. He sharply outlines if he doesn't want to listen.
"the stuffed elf-heads on the hall wall wore Father Christmas hats and beards"
Dark humor.
‘Kreacher is cleaning,’ the elf repeated. ‘Kreacher lives to serve the Noble House of Black –’ 
‘And it’s getting blacker every day, it’s filthy,’ said Sirius.
Here he responds with a clear "Black" shade. His mother also loved to talk about filth.
‘Sirius – it’s me ... it’s Peter ... your friend ... you wouldn’t ...’ Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled. ‘There’s enough filth on my robes without you touching them,’ said Black.
And again. And here’s his mother:
‘Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers –’ 
‘Stains of dishonour, filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, children of filth ...’
Sirius desperately wants to be unlike the Blacks, but he is still Sirius Black.
‘I thought it was the perfect plan ... a bluff ... Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they’d use a weak, talentless thing like you ... it must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters.’
Sirius's humor isn't the only harsh thing about him. Even though here he has a reason – after Azkaban he met James's traitor – his way of speaking reflects his overall personality. The way one speaks is a mirror of personality, even if Sirius has PTSD, it only exposes even more vividly what he might control in a calm state.
‘Nasty temper he’s got, that Sirius Black.’ (Peeves)
At the same time, yes, he can be cheerful and infect everyone around him with his cheerfulness. If he's in a sombre mood, he creates a quite oppressive atmosphere around him that everyone feels. Just as with a good mood – everyone feels it.
Harry could not remember Sirius ever being in such a good mood; he was actually singing carols, apparently delighted that he was to have company over Christmas. 
-
Sirius tramping past their door towards Buckbeak’s room, singing ‘God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs’ at the top of his voice. 
-
Sirius’s delight at having the house full again, and especially at having Harry back, was infectious. He was no longer their sullen host of the summer; now he seemed determined that everyone should enjoy themselves as much, if not more than they would have done at Hogwarts, and he worked tirelessly in the run-up to Christmas Day, cleaning and decorating with their help.
But the ability to be cheerful is in no way connected to being very harshn at the same time. This is precisely the case with Sirius.
Of all the Marauders, only Sirius is really harsh and can be truly dangerous (the author wrote about him, “The best-looking, most rebellious, most dangerous of the four marauders”). James was also a bully, but he's not harsh, despite the fact that it was he who pulled down Snape's trousers. Why? I think Sirius was already aware of what they were doing. James – not. Without awareness, it's too early to speak of any harshness and cruelty. Sirius had this awareness and still continued to do it.
Let's consider the reactions of Sirius and James in comparison.
‘Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?’ 
Sirius did not smile. ‘My whole family have been in Slytherin,’ he said.
‘Blimey,’ said James, ‘and I thought you seemed all right!’ 
Sirius grinned. ‘Maybe I’ll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you’ve got the choice?’
A small note: Sirius didn't even react to James's "I'd leave", even though he knew his whole family was from Slytherin, and he was likely to go there too.
James lifted an invisible sword. ‘“Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!” Like my dad.’ Snape made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him.
‘Got a problem with that?’ ‘No,’ said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. ‘If you’d rather be brawny than brainy –’
It was Snape who starts the confrontation on a personal level. James in his insults in this memory refers to moral qualities. "Who wants to be in Slytherin?" Only bad people. He is prejudiced against Slytherin because Slytherin is evil. Voldemort is gaining momentum. The first Muggle-born Minister was recently ousted. Attacks are happening here and there. Dark forces are growing. More and more of the pure-blood society talks about "Mudbloods" not belonging in this world. And "amazingly", they all turn out to be from Slytherin. James sees himself as a noble knight "James lifted an invisible sword", and he is against Slytherin not so much personally as against the moral component of Slytherin.
‘Where’re you hoping to go, seeing as you’re neither?’ interjected Sirius.
James roared with laughter. Lily sat up, rather flushed, and looked from James to Sirius in dislike.
Sirius immediately strikes at Snape's personality. Sirius is sharp-tongued, self-assured, and likely accustomed to considering others below himself. He probably assessed James as his equal right away. Brave, cheerful, sincere.
'Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment.'
'Oooooo...'
James and Sirius imitated her lofty voice; James tried to trip Snape as he passed.
'See ya, Snivellus!' a voice called, as the compartment door slammed...
James tried to trip Snape. James most often uses physical/magical force. He trips Snape, he pulls down Snape's trousers, he uses most of the spells on Snape in SWM. But it's Sirius who goes after Snape's personality. It looks like James has concocted a "noble justification" for his behavior and attitude and punishes Snape for existing just as he is.
Sirius, on the other hand, hardly uses magical/physical force in memories; he finds painful points in Snape's personality – from character to appearance, intentionally demeaning his personal traits.
Moreover, it was Sirius who focused on Snape's appearance. No one, except him, places such an emphasis on Snape's unattractive appearance and his untidiness.
'Snape's always been fascinated by the Dark Arts, he was famous for it at school. Slimy, oily, greasy-haired kid, he was,'
Very vivid epithets. Sirius is very eloquent when it comes to demeaning someone he dislikes.
Moreover, it's James who's the attention seeker. It's James who plays with the snitch, drawing attention, glancing at the girls by the lake, and ruffling his hair to show everyone how cool, strong, brave, and awesome he is.
After five minutes of this, Harry wondered why James didn’t tell Wormtail to get a grip on himself, but James seemed to be enjoying the attention. Harry noticed that his father had a habit of rumpling up his hair as though to keep it from getting too tidy, and he also kept looking over at the girls by the water’s edge.
While Sirius, likely, isn't much interested in societal validation. Sirius is more reserved, with firmer boundaries, he's not as interested in public adoration as James might be.
Lupin had pulled out a book and was reading. Sirius stared around at the students milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored, but very handsomely so.
This is a typical expression for Sirius – bored and haughty. He spent nearly five full years in Gryffindor alongside James, and the bored and haughty expression is still with him. It's not just a random trait in his character – it's one of the pillars of his personality, reflecting his attitude towards random people around him.
‘Put that away, will you,’ said Sirius finally, as James made a fine catch and Wormtail let out a cheer, ‘before Wormtail wets himself with excitement.’
As I've said, Sirius cuts with his words without a knife. They've been studying together for five years, been friends with Peter, and he jokes about Peter like this. I think they all joked about each other in the same way, just James's "jokes" are blunt and probably he just says whatever comes to mind, whereas Sirius's are more subtle and hurtful.
Moreover, when people say this is the only episode we know of bullying by James and Sirius and that it's the worst in their history, that's not correct. This episode is the worst in Snape's life. And not because they pulled down his trousers. But because he lost Lily forever that day. This episode, likely, was quite typical for the Marauders. They were in a good mood, had finished exams, Snape just happened to pass by, there were no obvious reasons for this bullying. Harry sifted through their detention records, and there were many, very many, and how many more when they weren't caught?
Sirius got bored, and there they decided to "have some fun."
‘I’m bored,’ said Sirius. ‘Wish it was full moon.’ 
‘You might,’ said Lupin darkly from behind his book. ‘We’ve still got Transfiguration, if you’re bored you could test me. Here ...’ and he held out his book. 
But Sirius snorted. ‘I don’t need to look at that rubbish, I know it all.’
I won't discuss The Prank here, many have written about it. In general, Sirius doesn't show empathy in everyday interactions even with Remus. Sirius has a heart of gold, but his shell, especially as a teenager – tough, harsh, sharp, and cutting. The grown-up Sirius interacts with close people much more politely, though he still occasionally shows his harshness (for example, with Hermione).
‘This’ll liven you up, Padfoot,’ said James quietly. ‘Look who it is ...’ 
Sirius’s head turned. He became very still, like a dog that has scented a rabbit. 
‘Excellent,’ he said softly. ‘Snivellus.’
I don't want to justify Sirius and James, but for context – Snape is fascinated by the Dark Arts, hangs out with future Death Eaters (= fascist), and they have mutual dislike from the first year. No, the act is immature, but James justifies it in his head exactly like this – Snape is bad for him, so anything goes, and anyway, "so what?" Sirius doesn't need justifications. He's just bored.
Even when James uses all the spells on Snape, he still glances at the lake:
Snape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius advanced on him, wands raised, James glancing over his shoulder at the girls at the water’s edge as he went. Wormtail was on his feet now, watching hungrily, edging around Lupin to get a clearer view.
Why look at the girls by the lake when you're humiliating someone, if you know you're doing something really bad? James genuinely sees himself as a noble knight, deserving of admiration. Moreover, many do admire him (''Students all around had turned to watch. Some of them had got to their feet and were edging nearer. Some looked apprehensive, others entertained. Several people watching laughed''), and Lupin mentioned several times that James was popular at school.
‘How’d the exam go, Snivelly?’ said James. 
‘I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment,’ said Sirius viciously. ‘There’ll be great grease marks all over it, they won’t be able to read a word.’ 
Again, Sirius harshly targets Snape's personal traits, including his appearance.
‘You – wait,’ he panted, staring up at James with an expression of purest loathing, ‘you – wait!’ 
‘Wait for what?’ said Sirius coolly. ‘What’re you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?’ 
And again – Sirius strikes with words.
Snape let out a stream of mixed swear words and hexes, but with his wand ten feet away nothing happened.
‘Wash out your mouth,’ said James coldly. ‘Scourgify!’
And James responds with a spell to what? Snape's insults. He says ‘Wash out your mouth.’ He appeals to the moral side of the issue.
‘I don’t need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!’
‘Apologise to Evans!’ James roared at Snape, his wand pointed  threateningly at him. ‘I don’t want you to make him apologise,’ Lily shouted, rounding on James. ‘You’re as bad as he is.’ ‘What?’ yelped James. ‘I’d NEVER call you a – you-know-what!’
This also proves that James is sure he's doing everything right. James is like a volunteer in the allies' army against the fascists, a brave Gryffindor, and his sword is to cast spells on anyone he deems not fitting his moral standards.
‘Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you’ve just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can – I’m surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK.’
And from the outside, it looked like this.
‘What is it with her?’ said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him. 
‘Reading between the lines, I’d say she thinks you’re a bit conceited, mate,’ said Sirius.
And Sirius understands it all too well. Who he is, who James is, and what Lily thinks about it all. Sirius knows about James's crush on Lily and finds it even funny that she rejects him. Likely because Sirius understands that they often cross the line. I don’t think Sirius could have stopped Potter. I don't even think Sirius wanted to stop Potter. He found it all funny. Azkaban, on the other hand, softened Sirius in his interactions with others. It knocked down his pride and arrogance. Showed him that life can be unfair and you don't need to act like a haughty jerk who thinks the world revolves around them.
At school, Sirius was more about psychological bullying, while James was about the physical. Given that James and Sirius were very popular at school and within their house, their bullying was likely directed mostly at Slytherins or at arrogant jerks like themselves who they just "didn't like."
And the adult Sirius understands that they were “arrogant little berks.” And he’s “not proud of it,” but his next words speak for themselves:
“ I think James was everything Snape wanted to be – he was popular, he was good at Quidditch – good at pretty much everything. And Snape was just this little oddball who was up to his eyes in the Dark Arts, and James – whatever else he may have appeared to you, Harry – always hated the Dark Arts.”
Sirius justifies James while simultaneously praising him. Justifications always imply a partial denial of guilt. Someone fully aware of their guilt doesn’t seek to justify or be justified. Of course, Sirius said this for Harry's sake too. To ensure Harry didn’t think his father was just a bully for no reason. His father was actually “on the side of good,” is what Sirius wants to convey. About himself, he remains silent. But he doesn't miss the chance to insult Snape again “little oddball.”
Even Remus, as an adult, sincerely justifies James.
‘She started going out with him in seventh year,’ said Lupin. 
‘Once James had deflated his head a bit,’ said Sirius. ‘And stopped hexing people just for the fun of it,’ said Lupin.
 ‘Even Snape?’ said Harry. ‘Well,’ said Lupin slowly, ‘Snape was a special case. I mean, he never lost an opportunity to curse James so you couldn’t really expect James to take that lying down, could you?’ 
‘And my mum was OK with that?’ 
‘She didn’t know too much about it, to tell you the truth,’ said Sirius. ‘I mean, James didn’t take Snape on dates with her and jinx him in front of her, did he?’
Lupin finds a genuine justification for James. The concept of “violence in any form is bad” isn’t fully grasped by them. They follow an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Lupin even was ready to kill Peter, and he insisted that war is not a playground and that killing is sometimes necessary in war. Remus, though gentler and kinder, and preferring not to engage in conflict, genuinely wished Sirius and James hadn't bullied anyone at school, but yet, he still reconciles with all they do and even justifies James.
In Sirius's mind, James may have acted like a fool, but Sirius doesn’t genuinely condemn it. He just thinks they were too arrogant. And Sirius’s behavior after Azkaban (how he became gentler with others) indicates he truly realized – you don't need to belittle everyone you dislike or even like. Yet, Sirius’s harshness, even after Azkaban, didn’t disappear; it was just redirected towards what he genuinely hates.
‘Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defence Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons ... you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me –’ 
Black made a derisive noise. 
‘It served him right,’ he sneered. ‘Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to ... hoping he could get us expelled ...’
Remus's reactions are much softer, but Sirius’s reaction, even years later, is harsh and even a bit cruel. ‘It served him right.’ Because it's an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
However, Sirius’s harshness still occasionally breaks through even towards his close ones when he slightly loses control over himself after Azkaban.
‘You’re less like your father than I thought,’ he said finally, a definite coolness in his voice. ‘The risk would’ve been what made it fun for James.’ 
‘Well, I’d better get going, I can hear Kreacher coming down the stairs,’ said Sirius, but Harry was sure he was lying. ‘I’ll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, then, shall I? If you can stand to risk it?’
Sirius calls themselves “arrogant little berks,” but the peculiarity of Sirius’s arrogance is that it's due to his personal qualities, not external “glamour”.
 ‘I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter – I’ll never understand why I didn’t see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who’d look after you, didn’t you?’
He despises Peter for groveling, for weakness, for the same reasons he despises Regulus, considering him a soft idiot. Sirius’s arrogance was never built on finances or blood purity, on popularity, on playing Quidditch, not on his name, although the family dynamics undoubtedly influenced his pride. But overall, his arrogance is of a different level – that of a rebellious spirit, a very strong person, not like the Malfoys. Lucius Malfoy is intentionally depicted as the complete opposite of Sirius Black (in character – the most rebellious of their pure-blood circle and the most sycophantic, and in appearance – black and white).
Sirius and Kreacher's story demonstrates that Sirius does not forgive those he hated and can carry hatred through the years. People usually soften over time, but Sirius has an excuse – Azkaban. Nonetheless, the behavioral pattern remains unchanged. Azkaban does not change the essence of people, it makes certain traits more vivid and pronounced. Sirius became calmer towards the people around him who help fight against evil, he toned down his arrogance and pride (even towards Snape, he no longer hurls insults first, it’s Snape who insults Sirius first), but Sirius became even harsher towards those he hates.
‘Sirius was horrible to Kreacher, Harry, and it’s no good looking like that, you know it’s true. I’ve said all along that wizards would pay for how they treat house-elves. Well, Voldemort did ... and so did Sirius.’
Harry had no retort. As he watched Kreacher sobbing on the floor, he remembered what Dumbledore had said to him, mere hours after Sirius’s death: I do not think Sirius ever saw Kreacher as a being with feelings as acute as a human’s ...
And he himself demonstrates this repeatedly:
At which Sirius, ignoring Hermione’s protests, seized Kreacher by the back of his loincloth and threw him bodily from the room.
Dumbledore believes Sirius showed cruelty to Kreacher through his indifference and neglect. That is, Sirius could shut off his empathy towards a being, despite generally being friendly towards house-elves.
‘He (Sirius) regarded him (Kreacher) as a servant unworthy of much interest or notice. Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike… Sirius was not a cruel man, he was kind to house-elves in general. He had no love for Kreacher, because Kreacher was a living reminder of the home Sirius had hated.’
Sirius was not evil. But the neglect emanating from him was very cruel, harsh, and cold. Sirius can shut away all the good within him towards anyone he despised – “And whatever Kreacher’s faults, it must be admitted that Sirius did nothing to make Kreacher’s lot easier –”
‘– comes back from Azkaban ordering Kreacher around, oh, my poor mistress, what would she say if she saw the house now, scum living in it, her treasures thrown out, she swore he was no son of hers and he’s back, they say he’s a murderer too –’
‘Keep muttering and I will be a murderer!’ said Sirius irritably as he slammed the door shut on the elf.
However, Sirius likely never killed anyone, even while serving in the "Order."
Regarding his family and even Regulus, Sirius is also harsh. Even if he, like any child, deep down loved his family, it doesn’t matter because his real words and actions are very harsh and aimed at severing ties. The possible love for them deep down only further highlights his harshness and readiness for confrontation.
“I hated the whole lot of them: my parents, with their pure-blood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal ... my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them”
Likely, he’s ashamed of them, and his hatred also builds a wall between them and himself.
‘Does it matter if she’s my cousin?’ snapped Sirius. ‘As far as I’m concerned, they’re not my family. She’s certainly not my family. I haven’t seen her since I was your age, unless you count a glimpse of her coming into Azkaban. D’you think I’m proud of having a relative like her?’
And at the same time Dumbledore about James:
‘I knew your father very well, both at Hogwarts and later, Harry,’ he said gently. ‘He would have saved Pettigrew too, I am sure of it.’
I don’t know how true this is (though likely, the author speaks through Dumbledore here), but considering that Harry himself is a character whose main traits include the ability to understand and forgive others, perhaps James had this to some extent too. But Sirius lacks the ability to forgive, and this is deliberately shown in the book – that he suffered precisely because of his excessive harshness.
In conclusion, Sirius's harshness and toughness is not just teenage arrogance; it's directly a trait of his personality, something that cannot be overlooked when talking about the canonical Sirius, not his sugar-coated substitute in fandom. Sirius had to grow up very early, and all this left its mark on him.
Of all the Marauders, only Sirius is really harsh and can be truly dangerous.
But Sirius was not cruel in a moral-ethical sense, or more precisely – ideologically. There's no reason to believe Sirius is constantly drawn to the dark side or that he's amoral. His constant fight against his family suggests instead that he formed high ideals within himself. No, Sirius is not amoral; he has difficulty with empathy (especially in childhood), a tendency towards aggression and cruelty (mostly in childhood, he controls himself quite well as an adult. Well, for Sirius Black quite well), arrogance, but he very well understands what is right and what is wrong.
‘She’s got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.’
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twink-remus-lupin · 7 months ago
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my unpopular marauders opinions
- remus is trans coded
- sirius and james were the tallest
- jegulus is a bad ship
- regulus is aroace
- snape was awful
- james was better for lily
- atyd remus is too mean to be canon (i like him he’s just not canon remus)
- peter was a good friend until the betrayal
- remus & james have an underrated friendship
- jily is one of the best maruaders era ships
- the slytherin skittles were terrible people and we’re acting like they’re all gay icons with tons of piercings who like wearing crop tops and blah blah
- ^ like no they were racists??
- i still don’t like jegulus if you’re looking for a good mlm ship WOLFSTAR IS RIGHT THERE
- rosekiller is a good ship i just don’t like how they’re characterized in fanon
- sirius wasn’t feminine
- remus is gay and sirius is queer
- sirius was a ladies man before he and remus got together
- marlene is a lesbian
- dorcas is also a lesbian
- marylily isn’t a good ship
- james is straight
- james was more sirius’s brother than regulus ever was
- sirius wasn’t a monster for leaving regulus he was just a kid
- hope lupin was an amazing mother
- remus wasn’t angry after the prank, just heartbroken. it was james and peter that were angry
- remus, peter and james were super close, especially post-prank
- snily is literally the worst goddamn ship ever
- wolfstar is oversexualized in the fandom
- remus had daddy issues
- james was desi
- the marauders weren’t that popular they were just nerds
- james has adhd
- remus is made way too mean/possessive/overly masc in 90% of fanon
- people make sirius gender-fluid just because he has long hair
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maxdibert · 24 days ago
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I feel like the main reason why people love the marauders era so much is because it is very easy to create a bunch of aesthetics out of it. It's the 70s so people already glamorize it and make it edgy etc. and that's why the fans get lost in their stories. It's all fun and games, dancing, fighting, passion and rebellions that people just romanticize every single character and completely erase or downplay who they actually were. Like with Lily, James, Remus and Sirius. They all smoke cigarettes while listening to ABBA after a day of making silly pranks or fighting for a "cause" during a war. People just project their desires and fantasies into these characters when in reality they all kind of sucked and noone would probably want to live in an era of war and rising fascism with these people.
Honestly, I have no issue with them creating a parallel universe where it's practically a Muggle school with occasional spells because everything about that fandom’s dynamic is basically your average teen drama series. I get where that comes from, and that’s fine—the inseparable friends trope, high school drama, self-discovery, and all that stuff we’ve all related to at some point, even if those of us over 25 find it boring now because it feels far removed from our lives, which are more about paying bills and antidepressants. But I understand the fandom. I understand why they love to idealize it. I get why they’re so into creating "headcanons" that aren’t even headcanons but just rewriting the canon to reflect their image and make them feel seen.
My only real issue, the one thing that genuinely bothers me about that fandom, is that they include absolutely everyone—characters who canonically didn’t even overlap in school years, characters who are canonically psychopaths and torturers, characters who are literal garbage—and they justify everyone. Everyone except one. And that one character, unsurprisingly, is Severus Snape. The canonically poor, canonically unattractive, canonically unmasculine, canonically non-conforming to hegemonic standards of masculinity in both his time and ours. He’s the one who always gets all the hate. He’s the one labeled the homophobe, the sexual predator, the violent one. The one it’s okay to call ugly, disgusting, or make fun of for supposedly not showering or mockingly use his bully-given nickname. Only him. No one else. Just him.
And it disgusts me because that fandom didn’t used to be like this. They didn’t do bashing for no reason; they weren’t this childish.
Can someone from that crowd explain to me why they hate J.K. Rowling so much when they’re perpetuating the same garbage stereotypes? Why do they think they’re so avant-garde by changing the sexual orientation of every male character while relegating the female ones to decorative props, pairing them off so they don’t interfere with their MALE ships? Why do they think they’re more progressive for making Sirius "feminine" while villainizing Severus, a character canonically mocked for being unmasculine? Why do they label James Potter as a saint under the rainbow flag and call Snape a homophobe when it was James who canonically mocked Snape for his appearance and for not fitting the mold of hegemonic masculinity? Why do they go on about body positivity, headcanoning Regulus with crooked teeth or Lily as plus-size, while turning around and mocking Snape for—God, this is so laughably ridiculous—not fitting beauty standards? They literally have posts laughing at him for having a big nose or greasy hair and then have the nerve to act like making Lily plus-size in their fics is groundbreaking?
Do they not realize how utterly hypocritical, cynical, and cringe they are?
If this wasn’t the case, I honestly wouldn’t give a damn about that fandom. I wouldn’t care if they idolized a bunch of bullies or treated a group of budding psychopaths as misunderstood kids. Really, I wouldn’t care. But trying to sell this idea that they’re so inclusive, so free of prejudice, and that their view of these characters is doing the world a favor when they’re perpetuating the same prejudiced, discriminatory, classist, and misogynistic crap as J.K. Rowling on one of her better days on Twitter? They can go straight to hell with that.
Stop bashing a character for no reason, especially when that character canonically embodies everything they claim to be fighting for with their pastel pink version of "That '70s Show." Give me a break. Tell it to someone else.
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ellecdc · 3 months ago
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Hi Elle! I have a here for the drinks prompt for ya:)) James Potter with the forced proximity trope.
I hope I did this right 🫶
yes!! thank you for playing!
♧ here for the drinks: pick a character & trope [or idea/prompt], and I'll give you my headcanons!
so my immediate thought with this is James is running from Filch after a prank and you happen to be in the hall at the same time, so to avoid either of you getting into trouble he grabs you and shoves the two of you in a broom closet
you start to squawk at him and he's quickly placing a hand over your mouth, his chest heaving as he was quite literally running for his life (read: his educational hopes and dreams)
you have half a mind of licking the palm of his hand just to get him to remove it from your face but you hear Mrs. Norris coming down the hall and his eyes widen in warning
You end up holding your breath which makes you tense as hell; pressed up against the James Potter (and...iykyk) and he slowly removes his hand from your mouth to your side and starts rubbing his thumb just below your ribcage - his smirk reading "you can breathe, angel"
finally, the two of you hear Mrs. Norris and Filch carry on down the hallway and let out a breath of air, waiting a few minutes before trying to open the door, only to realize it's locked
"You've got to be kidding me, Potter." "I didn't do it!" "then who did? Mrs. Norris??" "I wouldn't put it past that wretched cat.." "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" "What? to get you alone in a broom closet?..... actually, you know what? I'm not mad at the outcome; I sort of wish I had planned this"
after an unknown amount of time, most of which was spent bickering though his hands never left your sides nor yours from his chest, the door opened rather unceremoniously and Peter was standing there with a look of concern, Remus with a look of exasperation, and Sirius salaciously.
"Well...doesn't this look cozy?" Sirius would offer before you went shoving past him
"Well? did you kiss her?" Peter asked James once you were out of earshot. "that was you guys?!"
Remus would roll his eyes. "listen, you nearly blew the whole prank, and we had the chance to get you to stop waxing poetic about the poor witch, we had to capture the moment while it was here."
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moonydoodlez · 9 months ago
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God, Shut Up
Pairing: James Potter x F!reader
Summary: You and James had always been close but you think he's in love with Lily. Turns out you were just too oblivious to see who he really liked.
Warnings: underage drinking
Wordcount: 1.4k
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You and James had grown up with each other. Always attached at the hip, from the moment you met to now. After all these years you still remained the best of friends, despite your unrequited crush you've had for years.
The marauders sometimes found it annoying how you guys had your inside jokes and the secrets you kept. Well it was mainly Sirius but that's because he had always claimed the role of being James's bestfriend.
The week had been going slow so instead of paying attention to potions you stared at James who was sitting across the room. He was paired up with Lily Evans, again.
You didn't hate Lily, how could you. She was literally the nicest person you had ever met. It was no secret either that she was absolutely stunning too.
"You know, you should tell him" Sirius said breaking you out of your daze.
"What" You said confused looking at Sirius who was sitting in the chair next to you.
"Tell James that your in love with him... duh" Sirius says annoyed as his eyes wander off to Remus.
"Fine then tell Remus your in love with him" You spat back at him.
Sirius eyes narrowed at you before he scoffed and dropped the subject. Well at least you thought he had.
"You know I don't know where you got the idea I love Remus" He whispered to you.
"Really" You deadpanned before chuckling and going back to your reading.
"No really.. like where did you get that. I can have a best mate. Me and Remus are like you and James" he said before his eyes widened. "No that was a bad example.
"No it wasn't" You said laughing as you went back to reading the instructions.
Except it was a bad example because at least it was obvious Remus liked him back. James on the other hand clearly had no romantic feelings. How could he when he had Lily to fawn over.
...
The weekend had finally rolled around. Sirius continued to badger on about how you should tell James your feelings. Apparently he had a gut feeling that he liked you back. You just couldn't let yourself believe that no matter how much you wanted to.
"You coming to the game later" Peter asked looking at you as the five of you sat in lunch together.
"Of course" You smiled at Peter before briefly glancing at James who was sitting next to him. "I never miss them".
"James can i talk to you real quick" A flowery voice asked. You looked up to see Lily standing there as her long red hair glimmered in the light.
"yeah" James said as he stood up from his chair. "I'll be back" He said as you looked away from where Lily and James were. However when you looked back everyone's eyes were on you. James had told you specifically he'd be back.
"O- ok" You smiled not sure what else to say.
He followed Lily away from our table and out the great hall. You watched them walk out still confused on why he had pointed you out specifically.
"What was that.. did you finally tell him" Sirius said staring at you creepily.
"Um no".
"Tell James what" Remus and Peter said at the same time
"Nothing" You and Sirius said the same time causing the two of you too start laughing maniacally.
...
You hadn't meant to miss the game. You knew how much these matches meant to James, especially how much he usually wanted you there.
From the late nights of helping the marauders with there pranks to the lack of motivation you've had for the last week; your homework had started piling up. You decided that you could get some done before the game.
Of course that ended up being a terrible idea since you had fallen asleep whilst working on an essay. You woke up with your body aching and the feeling of parchment stuck to your face.
You had scrunched your eyes together expecting for the bright mid day sun to hit your face except there was no sun. It was completely pitch black outside.
Your face dropped as you heard the loud music coming from the Gryffindor common room. Shit.
You quickly ran out wanting to find James. Knowing him you knew he was gonna end up being upset. As you ran down the stairs. Sirius's voice boomed as he called out your name.
"Where's James?" You asked calmly even though you could tell he was black out drunk. He stumbled forward and you tried to help catch him despite him being much taller.
"Jesus ok" You breathed out trying to get Sirius to sit down. You pushed him down onto the couch. He grabbed onto your hand almost making you stumble onto him. Suddenly he yelled that he could see James as he jumped to his feet.
James head whipped toward you and Sirius. A smiled formed on his lips before his eyes drifted to you. His smile dropped as he stood up and grabbed a few bottles of beer and headed up the stairs.
"No James wait" You yelled as Remus came over to grab Sirius who was now laying on the couch looking dead. "Yeah can you um..." You start.
"Yeah of course" Remus said grabbing Sirius and taking him over to where there were water bottles and another couch. He sat Sirius down and unscrewed his water bottle making him chug the cold water.
Your ran as fast as you could and knocked on the dorm door rapidly. "James" You yelled knocking harder.
"What" He said opening the door slowly. Only enough where you could only see a sliver of his face. The light shined on his chocolate brown eyes and glowing skin making your heart race.
"I'm sorry... I know i told you I'd be there" you tried to explain. "Please I fell asleep, I'm so sorry" You said as your shoulders slumped. James made eye contact with you again.
"Just come in" He sighed opening the door all the way to let you in. James went to go sit in his bed and sulk as you stood there at the entrance of the room.
"It's fine, I just really wanted you to be there" he whispered after a few minutes, so quiet you almost didn't hear him.
"Was Lily at least there" You asked curiously. You knew that it was probably stupid to bring her up right now, but you had no clue what to say.
"Uh yeah" He shrugged. "What does Lily have to do with anything" He asked confused as he stared daggers into your head.
"I just wanted to know if you had the girl you like there" You blurted out but instantly regretting it.
"What" he blushed staring at you.
"Lily... you like Lily" You stuttered looking at his tomato red face. Had you been wrong somehow?
"No. No yeah uh no" He laughed awkwardly. He shook his head trying to come up with something to say to explain to you how he felt.
"Are you laughing at me".
"Yes" James said starting to laugh harder. The awkwardness had begun to fade as a smile peaked at your lips watching him laugh. Even though he was laughing at you.
"Lily's dating Mary... everyone knows this" He laughs as you blush beet read.
"Oh" You in fact did not know this.
"Plus the girl who likes me wasn't there" He admitted staring at you with a longing look.
"Oh sorry" You apologized feeling bad. "Oh" Your eyes widened as you realized he meant you.
"Oh god" He groaned. "You really didn't realize... honestly i thought the past year was you trying to nicely reject me" he laughed.
"I'm doing the opposite of rejecting you actually... wait what's the opposite, I'm open" You say. "Well that not right either" You laugh embarrassed as you tried to think of what you were actually trying to say.
James stalked toward you before grabbing your hips "God, shut up" He muttered before holding your body flush against his as he kissed you. His lips moved slowly against yours as his hands gripped your hips. A warm feeling flooded your body as he kissed you harder.
He pulled back breathless holding your face in his hands. "Thankyou" You smiled looking down at your feet.
He laughed lifting your chin up so you would look up at him. "Your welcome" he chuckled placing a kiss on your sweet lips.
Masterlist James Potter Masterlist
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mrstellmeafuckingsecret · 3 months ago
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not even joking fanon sirius doesnt even make me mad anymore (that's reserved for everyone else fanon <3) but he just makes me........... so sad.......... like bro is in a straight up abusive relationship with the man he idolizes more than anything. and he is IN this abusive relationship because of his HORRIFIC home life in which his parents use illegal torture methods on him weekly/daily and he severely lacks any healthy relationships around him, he also never gets any praise (because he's stupid&horrible&bad at everything) meaning he's just going around begging for validation and love? and it's just a joke? like he is literally willing to hurt himself like omg by bby??
(that one incorrect quote where remus kisses sirius' hand because he gets a papercut and sirius asks james to punch him in the face. how is that funny. i literally was so sad. wtf guys.)
and like he gets into this rsp after going through a TON of homophobia and hes like constantly made fun of because he happens to love his bf (who HATES him). everyone (namely his brother: well talk abt him dw) is like "you can do sm better than sirius lmao" and remus is like "yeah lol" like blatantly in front of sirius and sirius is sad and its a funny haha joke like GUYS ITS HORRIBLE
and like !!!! he has no support system!!! he has no friends !!!!! no one loves him !!!!!!! fuck love no one even likes him !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hes constantly patronized and talked down to by everyone. his hobbies are taken over (pranks: remus remus remus, bikes: i dont actually know but ive seen a couple "remus on sirius' bike 💞" and sirius freaking out when like bfr guys) . his best friend. his BEST FRIEND. goes BEHIND HIS BACK. TO DATE. HIS NAZI YOUNGER BROTHER.
THE NAZI YOUNGER BROTHER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOM HE WAS CONSTANTLY COMPARED TO AND DEEMED LESS WORTHY HIS ENTIRE LIFE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHO HE WA SALWAS THE SECOND OPTION TO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hes their parents favored son AND his bfs favored brother and now his BEST FRIENDS favored too???????? go away. fuck you.
and like . his younger brother whom sirius CONSTANTLY TOOK BEATINGS FOR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WITH NO REGARD FOR HIS OWN SAFETY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nad everyones like lmfao why is he overreacting ths is why no one loves him lets ignore him 💀💀💀
and like his brother btw tf like he s always th emartyr nd sirius is indebted to him bc its only because of regulus apparentl y that siriu s was able to escape like gsgnlksfskl
and the PRNAK!!!!!!!!!! omg sirius is like gone in ths universe ok theres no way it wasnt n accident he told snape that and then remus HATES HIM for MONTHS?????? kys he tried so hard
dont even get me on post azkaban "im sorry remus ☹️" "my brothers a hero 🥺"
ugh i cant even word thngs anymore. but like have these these made me REALLY sad.
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im in tears. i cant believe you fucks took everything away from sirius and then left him w his trauma. and the fact that this isn t evn a fraction of whats going on, like ffuck you all
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dramaticallycryingblood · 9 months ago
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Things I don’t get about the marauders fandom as someone who’s been obsessed with them for literal years
1. How we let so many characters be only children?? like I get that people don’t necessarily want to make OCs but HOW did it get to this? James, Marlene, Peter, Remus, Mary, Barty, Dorcas, Alice, Frank and so many others! Idk maybe it’s just where I’m from but look me in the eyes and tell me you know that many people who don’t have siblings ALSO the ratio is so off and barely any of them have only child energy. It’s just not right.
2. How sooo many of you aren’t multi shippers. Like what do you MEAN you can only see James with Regulus and Regulus with James?? What about bartylus? what about sunrose? what about draksun/sunkiller? what about moonwater? what about jily? what about prongstail? WHAT do you read?? Aren’t you bored??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN you only have ONE ship for each character???? As a multi shipper, I can be convinced of any ship with anything ranging from a real good fic or a pretty edit to an enthusiastic rant from a random person on TikTok and it just makes things interesting. Maybe my adhd brain just needs more ships to focus on or maybe some of you just lack flexibility ( or imagination), but we need to fix this cause there aren’t enough fics with the ships I like 😭😭
3. THE SHIP NAMES. I can’t be the only one who thinks some of these suck right? Like why are we saying jegulus when starchaser and sunseeker are RIGHT THERE?? Same with jily and flowerpot, and bartylus and starkiller. ALSO some names make me wonder if some of you just haven’t grasped the concept of ship names or if I just got it all wrong cause marylily and jegulily are just annoying, why are we keeping the L in Lily? The point is to merge the names together not stick them one beside the other, I just say marily and jeguily because it rolls off the tongue so much more easily
4. The Peter erasure. I just don’t get it, it’s so easy to include him in things, you don’t have to make him a main character, but just mention him every once in awhile. Sometimes I’m reading an important scene in a fic and everyone is mentioned EXCEPT for Peter! It’s so easy, just make him roll his eyes at his friends being idiots or something. And it’s not like you’ll get his personality wrong, ALL THESE CHARACTERS PERSONALITIES WERE MADE UP BY FANS but I understand that some people lack imagination so here’s some things about Peter I like to imagine: he’s a HUGE gossip, like my man sees and hears everything and he takes notes!! He likes to randomly turn into a rat and take a nap in one of the other marauders’ pocket, he does it so much that they had to tell the girls that they had a pet rat cause they were asking too many questions. He’s really perceptive and his friends are all oblivious so it leads to funny scenarios like:
Remus & Sirius after YEARS of pining: we’re dating
Peter: I thought you guys had been together since third year?
Sirius: I’ve literally introduced you to people I was dating?!
Peter, shrugging: look mate I don’t question you lot anymore, you do whatever you want, I don’t care what you’re into, I just don’t wanna know about it
He also pulls people, like he’s really nice and will gossip to anyone who’s in his vicinity so he’s friends with basically everyone and he’s funny and pretty and he’s got charisma so he just charms everyone and when I say everyone, I mean everyone, even the slytherins have a soft spot for him (that’s how he gets accepted among the death eaters during the war actually). In pranks he’s the lookout so he often has to distract the teachers so he asks them random things and spits out half-made up facts about anything so he’s besties with most of the teachers which means he doesn’t get many detentions.
5. The Black brothers, more specifically the way the speak to each other in most fics, like they call each other “brother” so often and as someone who has a brother I’ve never called him that. Is it an anglophone thing? Like do people who speak English at home all do that or are fic writers only children?? (That would explain my first point actually) Or is it more a rich people thin?? Cause I know it’s not a francophone thing that’s for sure (also special mention to people who don’t know anything about French writing Sirius and Regulus as French speakers, I can tell you don’t know what you’re writing about but I eat it up everytime anyway)
6. This is actually just about ao3 but I WANNA BE ABLE TO LEAVE MORE KUDOS!!! I just loooooove fics but I can’t leave kudos at every single chapter and I’m bad at writing comments so I can’t show the author how much I love their work, I hate itttt 😭
7. Why there aren’t more fics about the Black family, and not just Sirius and Regulus, but Andromeda, Bellatrix and Narcissa as well like that would be so interesting and maybe like a deep dive into the Black family ideals and all that (if you have fic recs I’m all ears!!)
8. How jegulily is a pretty popular ship (which I LOVE) yet SO FEW people ship Regulus and Lily outside of it! They are a power couple and I love them and they don’t need James to work!!!
9. Why there isn’t more background Minnie x Poppy cause they are my mothers and I wanna see them moooooreeee
If you read all of this I love you 🥰 have an amazing day/night
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empress-simps · 9 months ago
Text
Missed Hints
Pairing: Remus Lupin x Fem! Reader CW: Language Genre: Fluff Summary: Remus Lupin wanted to make his feelings known; he is trying numerous ways to tell you, but you are simply quite oblivious to the poor boy’s advances.
Note: Am I a bit too obsessed with Rems? Probably. This one's a bit shorter than the rest. Enjoy reading! Pictures used are from Pinterest, credits to the owners!
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Sometimes, all Remus wanted to do was run into a wall to knock himself out.
Maybe it’ll help formulate a reason why you couldn’t pick up his signals and actions that he wants to be more than friends. Please cut this poor boy some slack; he’s literally done everything he could to hint that he likes you.
The problem is that you are quite oblivious- being as dense as the castle walls in Hogwarts. Although this hasn’t stopped Remus from pursuing you after several pitiful (also quite funny) attempts, if anything, it made him work even harder to let you know he fancies you.
“Y/n, wait up!” Remus calls out to you, leaving his mates, who were whispering words of encouragement and ‘good luck’ to him. Hearing your name made you turn around, a book in your hand, as you smiled at the taller boy. “Remus, hi!” He smiled, walking beside you and settling in at the same pace as you. Suddenly, a friend of yours piped up, “Y/n, we have to go get something in the dorms; stay with Remus, yeah?” before you could even reply, they were rushing to leave. Remus could only blush as your friends shot him a thumbs up before escaping the scene, trying to stop the giggles escaping their mouths.
It was all up to him now.
“Erm, so how were the holidays?” he asked, trying to act casually as he placed his hands in his pockets. The question made you hum, your eyes lit up. "Oh, it was wonderful! We spent the holidays in Canada, lots of snow, I made a snow man and visited some parks.” She nods, holding her book closer to her chest, seemingly lost in thought. “It was also freezing.” Remus hums in agreement. “Is that so? I’m glad you had fun.” He smiles, and you both walk towards the great hall to have dinner.
You looked up at him with a bright smile and said, “Tell me about yours, Rems! I’m sure it was also fun.” Remus blushed, hearing his nickname roll off your tongue so casually. Even after all the years you’ve known each other, simply calling him by his nickname that you specially made for him has an effect that never faded away. “Well, it was just simple, really. I just stayed at James’ and had fun.” He shrugged his shoulders, smiling at you. He could care less about his holiday shenanigans, preferring you just talk his ear off about every little thing you did, he will absorb what you say word by word, like a sponge.
 "Well, James is quite an interesting person.” She hummed in agreement, Remus felt his eyebrow twitch, a small twinge similar to jealousy creeping up into him. What about him? Do you think he’s interesting too? Was Remus someone who could be worthy of your time?
 “Yeah, that bloke was conjuring up some pranks to pull this year.”
You let out a small giggle and oh merlin please take the poor boy to Madame Pomfrey because he thinks his poor heart can’t handle all the feelings he has towards you. Remus Lupin is such a simp.
He clears his throat, trying to muster up some courage as he asks you the million-galleon question. “So, are you free tomorrow? It’s Hogsmeade day.” Remus smiles, thankfully, his clammy hands are kept under his pockets, making his nervousness almost unnoticeable. Your eyes lit up “Oh! I forgot, but yes, I am free tomorrow.” Remus saw his chance and took it. “Great, how about we hang out in Three Broomsticks?”
For Merlin’s sake, please make this turn into Lupin’s favor. He’s done too many ways to confess to your clueless self.
“That would be fantastic! I can bring my friends along, and you can bring James, Sirius, and Peter too!” you clapped your hands excitedly, not noticing how the werewolf visibly deflated as you exclaimed. Right, might as well reject him right now on the spot to end his misery.
He could probably shout “I love you” and stare at you directly- but you’ll just think he’s talking to someone behind you. Remus had also tried to pass you a note containing his feelings for you back then. Grabbing it without much of a thought, you passed it to your friend, thinking he wants you to give it to her, who shakes her head and sighs, looking at Remus.
The rest of the Marauders and your friends think Remus’s plans of confessing to you were a lost cause.
“Our poor Moony…” Peter frowns, as James shakes his head. “At this point, Moony should just kiss her.” Sirius sighed, feeling pity for his friend. “She would probably think it was a friendly kiss.” Peter snorts, trying to control his laughter, James glared at Sirius jokingly before pushing him. “Bugger off Pads, Y/N’s just… super innocent? I guess.” They resumed watching the two from a distance, a look of anticipation evident in their faces.
“I was kind of hoping it’ll be just us?” Remus grins nervously, sitting beside you as you reach the Gryffindor table. You took a bite out of the apple pie from your plate before replying, “Sure, it’ll still be fun. You’re a great company, Rems.” She smiles, before resuming on eating the remaining apple pie slice. Little do you know the simple compliment you made had a tremendous effect on Remus.
“Moony, your smile hasn’t left your face ever since Y/n agreed. Stop it, I’m getting scared.” Sirius states, Remus turns to look, a hint of a small dopey smile on his face. “Hm?”
“Oh merlin, Y/n broke him.” Peter blanches. They were smacked upside their heads lightly by James. “Come on now, don’t rain on his parade. Moon’s just… well- over the moon.” James laughs lightly, Sirius snorts while Peter tries to hide his smile. Remus rolled his eyes playfully, opening his trunk to pick out the clothes he’s going to wear tomorrow. “Whatever, now help me decide what to wear, you sods.”
“Rems! Over here!” You exclaimed, standing on your tiptoes, arms up and waving in his directions. Remus smiles, maneuvering through the line of students waiting to get out of Hogwarts and to Hogsmeade. “Y/n! you look… pretty.” He blushes, drinking in the sight of you. Remus could swear on his life that he saw a light shade of pink dust your cheek as you tucked a stray hair behind your ear.
“Thank you, I like your sweater. It suits you.” You said, eyes going over his body and one of Remus’s signature sweaters. You can’t deny it; you like what you see, you were pulled from your thoughts when someone spoke.
“Oi! Get a move on you half-blood and goody-two-shoes! Holding up the bloody line is what you’re doing!” Evan Rosier, a Slytherin student complained a few feet away from you and Remus, Mulciber and Dolohov backs their fellow Slytherin and friend up. He snarls, those blokes, looks like they’ll have a new target for one of their nasty pranks.
“If I were you, I would shut my mouth.” Remus warns, standing in front of you, blocking your frame from their view.
Evan raised one eyebrow, amusement swimming in his eyes. “What are you going to do? Pesky little Gryffindor like you are always running around trying to be brave.” He taunts, moving closer to their direction.
“Rems, I’m fine. Let’s go, yeah?” She gently tugs the sleeve of his sweater, he looks down at you, his expression softening. “Alright then.” He threw one last warning look at Rosier over his shoulder; that punk needs to just wait and see what’s going to come and bite his ass.
The two of you are sitting in the Three Broomsticks, talking about basically anything under the sun. Well, you mostly talked while Remus just listens, humming and sometimes sharing his two cents on the topic you are on.
“Rems, thank you.”
Remus’ eyebrows shot up in confusion, “Thank you? What for?”
“Earlier, Evan Rosier.”
“Ah, that prick. It was nothing, y/n.” He offers a gentle smile; he wants to touch your hand that was directly across his from the table but ultimately deciding against it, the last thing he wants to do is make you feel uncomfortable.
“Thank you for being my friend. You’re an amazing person who deserves the world.” She smiles, slowly taking his hand onto hers and squeezing it tightly.
He felt a crack in his heart. “Yeah, you are too.” He managed to choke out, offering a wry smile.
Friends. Is that it? Is he just one of the many friends you have in your life? Is he a friend that will slowly drift away after you graduate from Hogwarts? Merlin, he would even count himself lucky if you invited him to be at your wedding, and if he wants to push his luck then he might even be the godfather to one of your future kids.
You furrowed your brows, “Is there something wrong, Rems?” He looks at you, quickly shaking his head. “Nothing’s wrong. Why do you ask?” You hummed, “Well, you have this kind of haunted look on you when you’re bothered about something; you’re doing it right now.”
Remus blinks, even he himself wasn’t aware of that. He closed his eyes and sighed; fuck it. He’ll push his luck to the extremes by confessing his love for you. Doesn’t matter if you see him as just a friend, you deserve to know.
“Y/n, I have to tell you something.”
“Of course. What would that be?”
“Well, I don’t know how to tell you this without being upfront about it…” He starts, you urged him to continue; well, here goes nothing.
“Y/n, I-“
“Two butterbeers, correct?”
Remus wants to pull his hair out of frustration as the server walked towards them and set down the butterbeers they ordered, interrupting his speech. You smiled, thanking them before turning to Remus, who was frowning.
“What was it you were trying to say, Rems?” You asked, sipping your butterbeer.
“I like you, a lot. Ever since we met.” He simply blurts out quickly, as if he’s scared someone is going to interrupt again. You blink slowly, setting your butterbeer down gently.
“I like you too, Remus.”
“No- you don’t understand,” He shakes his head as you furrowed your eyebrows, utterly confused.
“I fancy you, love.” He emphasizes, taking both of your hands into his large ones, looking at you straight in the eyes, completely serious. She widens her eyes ever so slightly, her heart rate speeding up a bit.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve always fancied you too, Rems.”
Remus felt as if the time slowed down, his heartbeat pulsing faster, eyes blinking owlishly, his jaw slack in shock.
Did he hear that right? Please tell him that he heard that right.
“I-I… I gave you hints, love!” He sputtered, “But you’ve just ignored them every single time!” She frowns, “I didn’t notice…” Remus agreed, “Forgive me, but you were quite oblivious.” A small smile was on his face.
“You could’ve just said outright that you fancy me, Rems.” She chuckles, a faint blush on her cheeks.
“If you like me too, then why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to force you.” She said, looking at the beverage in her hand. His eyes softened, “Force me? To what, love?”
She sighs, looking up at him. “I didn’t want you to force yourself to try to love me just because I feel that way for you.”  Before Remus could even speak, she opened her mouth again, “I know you, Remus. You would’ve tried either way, that’s just who you are.” She chuckles, sipping butterbeer before continuing.
“You have a heart of gold, Rems. That’s one of the things I love about you.” She rubs her thumb across his scarred knuckles gently. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, the simple and gentle touch made his spine shiver.
If this was some kind of dream, then he would be more than happy to not wake up.
“Can I kiss you?” He breathes out, making you giggle. You stood up from your seat and leaned towards him, you can feel and smell his peppermint toothpaste fanning against your lips, beckoning you closer.
“You don’t even have to ask.” You closed the distance between you and sealed both of your lips with a kiss.
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