"Five Hours in the Night", Harry Potter (Marauders), G, Sirius/Remus.
Title: Five Hours in the Night
Fandom: Harry Potter (Marauder-era/First War)
Rating: G.
Length: About 1065 words.
Characters/Pairings: Sirius/Remus.
Summary: Remus awakens in a sweat.
Notes: For dogdaysofsummer, prompt 28. ( Original post, Dreamwidth, AO3.)
Five Hours in the Night
12:21 am
Remus awakens in a sweat. The wind whistles through the branches of the trees outside, and he gets up to close the cracked window.
The room quiets.
He lies on the top of his sheets and tries to push the dream out of his mind. The idea to wake his parents leaves his mind as quickly as it enters. He blinks multiple times to rid his eyes of water, breathes deeply, and wills his heart to slow.
1:48 am
Remus dreams of the full moon for the second time. Saliva collects in his mouth, his skin itches, and he knows it's an actual memory.
He runs through the brush, and the smell of rabbit fills his nostrils. A lunge, and his teeth hook into fur. The body wriggles, but he applies pressure, and bones crack. The rabbit in his jaw is limp, and he feeds on meat and blood.
2:32 am
Tapping on the glass draws Remus out of his dream. He rubs his eyes and wonders, half-awake, if the wind picked up.
Except...the wind doesn't know his name.
He leaps out of bed and grabs his wand from the bedside table. If he was older, he could use it without fear of punishment. Since he isn't, he clicks the light by his bed on.
Sirius's face stares back.
He drops his arm and goes to open the window. Sirius bounces in his tree branch while he waits.
"I'm here to burgle you," he says as soon as the glass is out of his face.
Remus puts a finger to his lips and steps away. "My parents are asleep."
"Then I'll burgle you quietly," Sirius whispers. He climbs inside, and Remus winces at the sound of his feet on the floorboards.
"Is there any reason you're here at two in the morning?"
Sirius consults the bedside clock. "Two-thirty, actually. And yes."
Remus sits on his bed and yawns. "Well?"
"I usually surprise James before we go to Hogwarts," Sirius says, stretching his arms in the air. "But this year, the slimy git snuck off to London without me."
"So I get the treatment."
"No, no." Sirius waves his hand. "We're going to surprise James."
"Tonight?"
"Yes, tonight."
"I can't go tonight!" Remus quiets. "My parents--"
"You can leave them a note."
"I'm underage. I can't run off."
Sirius's face falls. He furrows his brow, and his face lights up. "We'll ask in the morning. I've never run into James during the day."
"Great," Remus says. He pulls the sheets on his bed. "Come back tomorrow."
Sirius freezes midstep. "I have nowhere to go, Moony."
"What?"
"The Knight Bus took most of my pocket money."
Remus frowns. "Since when can you barely afford the Knight Bus?"
"Since..." He sits on the edge of Remus's bed and sighs. "Since I fought with my parents. They withheld my allowance."
"Oh." Remus knows this to be a serious occasion. No matter what Sirius did - the sorting into Gryffindor, the multiple pranks with James, sneaking off school property - his parents always supplied him with funds. But he also knows better than to ask what merited the special treatment, so he doesn't.
Sirius stands and walks to the window. "Will your parents go Grindlewald if I sleep in your yard?"
"I..."
"Don't worry, it won't be the first time." He smiles. "Poke me when your parents wake, yeah?"
Before Remus's thoughts catch up, Sirius is in the tree, climbing his way down. He runs to the window and watches him jump to the ground, settle in the base of the tree, and close his eyes.
"Sirius," Remus whispers. "Come on, sleep up here."
Either Sirius doesn't hear or he ignores Remus; his eyes stay closed. Remus sighs and climbs back into bed.
3:17 am
Remus doesn't get to sleep again. He listens to the wind pick up and die down and feels intensely guilty. He breaks the rules all the time at Hogwarts, and he can't understand why he doesn't slip away with Sirius or let him in the house.
The longer he waits, the worse he feels.
Finally, he gets out of bed, creeps past his parents' room, and goes outside. The lawn squishes under his slippers, and the edges of his pyjama bottoms flap in the breeze.
Sirius snores at the base of the tree. Remus kicks him, and he snorts.
"Morning?" he says without opening his eyes.
"No," Remus says. "You're sleeping in my room."
"But I like it here."
Remus doesn't doubt it. But he waits, and Sirius stands with bleary eyes just moments later. He follows Remus back to his bedroom without making any noises louder than breathing.
Sirius starts to sit in Remus's desk chair, but Remus shakes his head. "The bed'll fit us both."
It does, but not as comfortably as Remus expects. Their backs are in contact, and the bed is stifling. But Sirius snores within moments, and Remus follows not long after.
4:00 am
Another memory invades Remus's dreams. This one has vague, tall figures in it, and he realizes as the chase begins that they're people.
He wakes up when arms wrap around him.
"Hey," Sirius whispers. "It's okay. It's a dream."
Remus pants so hard he's dizzy. "What..."
"You were screaming."
"It's not the first time," Remus says. He shifts to look at Sirius.
"I do sleep in the same dorm as you."
Remus frowns. "I have a Silencing Charm on my bed."
"Doesn't mean I can't see you." Sirius tilts his head. "What do you dream?"
"The change. I remember when I dream, sometimes."
Sirius sighs. "It'll be this year, Moony. I swear."
"It's okay," Remus says, pulling his side of the covers up to his chin. "I'm used to being alone."
"I won't leave you alone."
Remus's stomach tingles. It's an odd sensation, but not unpleasant.
He falls asleep quickly and dreams. This time, he's led by a black dog tearing through the brush, and he knows it isn't memory.
The rest of the night passes without further remembrance.
Fandom: Harry Potter (Marauder-era/First War)
Rating: G.
Length: About 1065 words.
Characters/Pairings: Sirius/Remus.
Summary: Remus awakens in a sweat.
Notes: For dogdaysofsummer, prompt 28. ( Original post, Dreamwidth, AO3.)
Five Hours in the Night
12:21 am
Remus awakens in a sweat. The wind whistles through the branches of the trees outside, and he gets up to close the cracked window.
The room quiets.
He lies on the top of his sheets and tries to push the dream out of his mind. The idea to wake his parents leaves his mind as quickly as it enters. He blinks multiple times to rid his eyes of water, breathes deeply, and wills his heart to slow.
1:48 am
Remus dreams of the full moon for the second time. Saliva collects in his mouth, his skin itches, and he knows it's an actual memory.
He runs through the brush, and the smell of rabbit fills his nostrils. A lunge, and his teeth hook into fur. The body wriggles, but he applies pressure, and bones crack. The rabbit in his jaw is limp, and he feeds on meat and blood.
2:32 am
Tapping on the glass draws Remus out of his dream. He rubs his eyes and wonders, half-awake, if the wind picked up.
Except...the wind doesn't know his name.
He leaps out of bed and grabs his wand from the bedside table. If he was older, he could use it without fear of punishment. Since he isn't, he clicks the light by his bed on.
Sirius's face stares back.
He drops his arm and goes to open the window. Sirius bounces in his tree branch while he waits.
"I'm here to burgle you," he says as soon as the glass is out of his face.
Remus puts a finger to his lips and steps away. "My parents are asleep."
"Then I'll burgle you quietly," Sirius whispers. He climbs inside, and Remus winces at the sound of his feet on the floorboards.
"Is there any reason you're here at two in the morning?"
Sirius consults the bedside clock. "Two-thirty, actually. And yes."
Remus sits on his bed and yawns. "Well?"
"I usually surprise James before we go to Hogwarts," Sirius says, stretching his arms in the air. "But this year, the slimy git snuck off to London without me."
"So I get the treatment."
"No, no." Sirius waves his hand. "We're going to surprise James."
"Tonight?"
"Yes, tonight."
"I can't go tonight!" Remus quiets. "My parents--"
"You can leave them a note."
"I'm underage. I can't run off."
Sirius's face falls. He furrows his brow, and his face lights up. "We'll ask in the morning. I've never run into James during the day."
"Great," Remus says. He pulls the sheets on his bed. "Come back tomorrow."
Sirius freezes midstep. "I have nowhere to go, Moony."
"What?"
"The Knight Bus took most of my pocket money."
Remus frowns. "Since when can you barely afford the Knight Bus?"
"Since..." He sits on the edge of Remus's bed and sighs. "Since I fought with my parents. They withheld my allowance."
"Oh." Remus knows this to be a serious occasion. No matter what Sirius did - the sorting into Gryffindor, the multiple pranks with James, sneaking off school property - his parents always supplied him with funds. But he also knows better than to ask what merited the special treatment, so he doesn't.
Sirius stands and walks to the window. "Will your parents go Grindlewald if I sleep in your yard?"
"I..."
"Don't worry, it won't be the first time." He smiles. "Poke me when your parents wake, yeah?"
Before Remus's thoughts catch up, Sirius is in the tree, climbing his way down. He runs to the window and watches him jump to the ground, settle in the base of the tree, and close his eyes.
"Sirius," Remus whispers. "Come on, sleep up here."
Either Sirius doesn't hear or he ignores Remus; his eyes stay closed. Remus sighs and climbs back into bed.
3:17 am
Remus doesn't get to sleep again. He listens to the wind pick up and die down and feels intensely guilty. He breaks the rules all the time at Hogwarts, and he can't understand why he doesn't slip away with Sirius or let him in the house.
The longer he waits, the worse he feels.
Finally, he gets out of bed, creeps past his parents' room, and goes outside. The lawn squishes under his slippers, and the edges of his pyjama bottoms flap in the breeze.
Sirius snores at the base of the tree. Remus kicks him, and he snorts.
"Morning?" he says without opening his eyes.
"No," Remus says. "You're sleeping in my room."
"But I like it here."
Remus doesn't doubt it. But he waits, and Sirius stands with bleary eyes just moments later. He follows Remus back to his bedroom without making any noises louder than breathing.
Sirius starts to sit in Remus's desk chair, but Remus shakes his head. "The bed'll fit us both."
It does, but not as comfortably as Remus expects. Their backs are in contact, and the bed is stifling. But Sirius snores within moments, and Remus follows not long after.
4:00 am
Another memory invades Remus's dreams. This one has vague, tall figures in it, and he realizes as the chase begins that they're people.
He wakes up when arms wrap around him.
"Hey," Sirius whispers. "It's okay. It's a dream."
Remus pants so hard he's dizzy. "What..."
"You were screaming."
"It's not the first time," Remus says. He shifts to look at Sirius.
"I do sleep in the same dorm as you."
Remus frowns. "I have a Silencing Charm on my bed."
"Doesn't mean I can't see you." Sirius tilts his head. "What do you dream?"
"The change. I remember when I dream, sometimes."
Sirius sighs. "It'll be this year, Moony. I swear."
"It's okay," Remus says, pulling his side of the covers up to his chin. "I'm used to being alone."
"I won't leave you alone."
Remus's stomach tingles. It's an odd sensation, but not unpleasant.
He falls asleep quickly and dreams. This time, he's led by a black dog tearing through the brush, and he knows it isn't memory.
The rest of the night passes without further remembrance.