Quaint and Curious Volume III (La Onza)(6 December)
Title: A Quaint and Curious Volume III
Author: La Onza
House: Hufflepuff
Date/Challenge: 6 Dec - ladies bright of hair
Character/Pairing: Sirius; Remus; James/Lily
Rating: PG-13
When Harry's head had withdrawn and the color of the fire returned to normal, they looked at each other with shared discomfiture.
"Well," Sirius said wryly, "I wasn't prepared for that. Bloody Snape."
"Did you see his face when he asked why she married him?" Remus countered ruefully, "I think he suspects James of perpetrating some sort of reprehensible love magic on her."
"Reprehensible love magic doesn't usually involve marriage, does it?" Sirius asked with the shadow of a grin.
"Oh, often, it does," Remus answered, with a suppressed bubble of laughter in his voice. "Just not in that old book of your father's that you nicked. 'Make passion enter her not through her eyes, nor through her heart, but between her legs, and burn her liver until she comes to me,'" he quoted.
Sirius snorted. "Do not let insert-name-here eat, nor drink, nor sleep, nor work at her embroidery, until she has given me what I desire."
"Make insert-name-here to leave her home, her parents, her fortune and future marriage, for the longing of me."
Sirius's reminiscent smile faded, and he grew morose. But after a moment's silence he said, "Here's a story for you," with a trace of his old liveliness, only a spot more bitter.
"One night, James and I returned to the Common Room late. I don't remember why. And what do we find but Lily Evans, curled up asleep in the seat of one of the armchairs by the fire. Asleep, she looked as soft as a baby animal you could pick up and pet. James was utterly smitten. He had to sit near her and sneak looks at her until she woke up."
"And when she woke?"
"She woke up grumpy. She sat up rubbing her face and said, 'What do you think you're doing, Potter?' And he just said, 'Watching you,' or 'Looking at you,' something like that. And she said, 'Well, you can stop now. I don't care to be stared at.' And huffed off to bed. James was angry and embarrassed, of course. And then his eyes fell on something. You know what he saw, on the arm of the chair?"
"I think I can guess," Remus said, smiling, effortlessly playing the old familiar part of attentive audience of one.
"Right. A long strand of gleaming red hair. When his eyes fell on it, he completely forgot that I was there. He picked it up, ran it between his fingers, then began wrapping it around his fingertip like a tourniquet. He rubbed it across his lips, staring into the fire. I knew exactly what he was thinking. With that hair, and our old friend Incantations of Eros, he could have that girl who had snubbed him any way he wanted, make her beg to have him in as far as he could go."
"That was never really what he wanted, though," Remus said, "Not from her."
"I know that," Sirius snapped, "I was getting there, wasn't I?"
Remus was silent for a moment, watching the flames, letting the sudden tension flicker and die.
So," Sirius resumed eventually, "he was staring into the fire - as you're doing now - and the tip of his finger was growing white from loss of blood. And then he held his hand over the fire and let the hair fall. It burned brightly for a second and was gone."
"He must have been tempted, though," Remus offered.
"Of course, he was. Else why bother burning it? Unless to make sure he could never change his mind."
Author: La Onza
House: Hufflepuff
Date/Challenge: 6 Dec - ladies bright of hair
Character/Pairing: Sirius; Remus; James/Lily
Rating: PG-13
When Harry's head had withdrawn and the color of the fire returned to normal, they looked at each other with shared discomfiture.
"Well," Sirius said wryly, "I wasn't prepared for that. Bloody Snape."
"Did you see his face when he asked why she married him?" Remus countered ruefully, "I think he suspects James of perpetrating some sort of reprehensible love magic on her."
"Reprehensible love magic doesn't usually involve marriage, does it?" Sirius asked with the shadow of a grin.
"Oh, often, it does," Remus answered, with a suppressed bubble of laughter in his voice. "Just not in that old book of your father's that you nicked. 'Make passion enter her not through her eyes, nor through her heart, but between her legs, and burn her liver until she comes to me,'" he quoted.
Sirius snorted. "Do not let insert-name-here eat, nor drink, nor sleep, nor work at her embroidery, until she has given me what I desire."
"Make insert-name-here to leave her home, her parents, her fortune and future marriage, for the longing of me."
Sirius's reminiscent smile faded, and he grew morose. But after a moment's silence he said, "Here's a story for you," with a trace of his old liveliness, only a spot more bitter.
"One night, James and I returned to the Common Room late. I don't remember why. And what do we find but Lily Evans, curled up asleep in the seat of one of the armchairs by the fire. Asleep, she looked as soft as a baby animal you could pick up and pet. James was utterly smitten. He had to sit near her and sneak looks at her until she woke up."
"And when she woke?"
"She woke up grumpy. She sat up rubbing her face and said, 'What do you think you're doing, Potter?' And he just said, 'Watching you,' or 'Looking at you,' something like that. And she said, 'Well, you can stop now. I don't care to be stared at.' And huffed off to bed. James was angry and embarrassed, of course. And then his eyes fell on something. You know what he saw, on the arm of the chair?"
"I think I can guess," Remus said, smiling, effortlessly playing the old familiar part of attentive audience of one.
"Right. A long strand of gleaming red hair. When his eyes fell on it, he completely forgot that I was there. He picked it up, ran it between his fingers, then began wrapping it around his fingertip like a tourniquet. He rubbed it across his lips, staring into the fire. I knew exactly what he was thinking. With that hair, and our old friend Incantations of Eros, he could have that girl who had snubbed him any way he wanted, make her beg to have him in as far as he could go."
"That was never really what he wanted, though," Remus said, "Not from her."
"I know that," Sirius snapped, "I was getting there, wasn't I?"
Remus was silent for a moment, watching the flames, letting the sudden tension flicker and die.
So," Sirius resumed eventually, "he was staring into the fire - as you're doing now - and the tip of his finger was growing white from loss of blood. And then he held his hand over the fire and let the hair fall. It burned brightly for a second and was gone."
"He must have been tempted, though," Remus offered.
"Of course, he was. Else why bother burning it? Unless to make sure he could never change his mind."