Fic: A Merry Chase
Title: A Merry Chase
Author: bookish_brownie
Rating and Warnings: PG, nothing specific
Prompt: "...he can move faster than Severus Snape when confronted with shampoo when he wants to"
Format and Word Count: Fic, 1632
Summary: Tonks hunts Remus through Grimmauld Place. OotP era.
Author's Notes: I was unsure what to do when I received this quote prompt, but then the idea for this story popped into my head.
“I’ll go right; you go left.”
“Good idea. We’ll catch him between us.” She and Sirius were preparing in the tinsel-bedecked and ready-for-Christmas drawing room. It was ten days before Christmas, and she couldn’t think of a better time to pull off their plan.
“Just remember that he can move faster than Snivellus when confronted with shampoo when he wants to.” Tonks almost burst out laughing at that, but Sirius put a finger to his lips to remind her of the need for stealth.
They began their hunt.
She went up the stairs. When she reached the landing, she began to go through every room methodically. First, she would crack the door open and peer inside with just the tip of her lighted wand to guide her to check for any obvious signs of habitation. It was a dangerous proposition, but she hadn’t tripped yet. Next, she made a more thorough pass, looking under furniture and behind curtains, in case he had heard her coming. Finally, she stood outside the door for several moments and then jumped back in, trying to catch him leaving his hiding spot. But the first seven rooms she entered were completely untouched.
She went up more stairs and started the process again. She wondered how Sirius was faring. He was only slightly drunk by her reckoning. They had agreed not to communicate until one of them had their target secured, lest they alert him to their mission, but she still expected to cross paths with him eventually. She continued on until she saw a room with a light showing under the door. If she remembered correctly, it was part of Walburga Black’s suite of rooms. She had a suspicion about why there was a new awkwardness between her and Remus, but it was nothing that two close friends such as themselves couldn’t recover from in time. He had to be terribly desperate to choose this place over her and Sirius’ company.
There was nothing for it but to make him give her an answer. She prayed to Merlin that the door wouldn’t creak as she opened it. The ancient wizard did not heed her request. Remus lifted his head quickly and snapped his book shut at the noise. “This was shoddy hiding; it’s very unprofessional to give yourself away so easily with the light.”
“Perhaps it’s not my hiding that’s shoddy. If I had really been trying to hide, I would simply have absented myself from Grimmauld tonight. I heard you and Sirius scheming the other night.” He said all this lightly, but she still felt professional disappointment at this lack of verbal stealth, which was at least as important as the physical.
Her irritation made her voice sharp. “Fine, but if you’re not hiding, why are you here?” She gestured around the room to the peeling wallpaper, moth-eaten carpets, and the lone elf head that she presumed was left over from the hall. He had the gall to shrug. It was evident that no further reaction would be forthcoming if she did not provide further stimuli.
“You have to admit that you have been avoiding us.”
“I have not.”
“Yes, you- Let’s not get into this.” She smirked at him. She was struck with a brilliant idea. If this didn’t bring out more of the Marauder in him, nothing would. “You know, Sirius said that you could run faster than Snape when confronted with shampoo.”
He mulled this over, rubbing his lips contemplatively. “For how clever he is, he does lack originality. He was using that remark when we were fifth years. However, he does have a point. I could escape you easily.”
“Then, why don’t you prove it and give me a challenge.”
He smiled that smile of his that was half mischief and half sweetness, and melted her just a little. “I might be persuaded.” She could have sworn that he winked at her. This was the side of him that she had missed recently.
“Please.” She clasped her hands at her chin and morphed her eyes exaggeratedly large for extra drama.
“Well, I can’t say no to that.” He was barely containing laughter, but he didn’t pause for a minute longer. He ran to a door that was obscured by the wallpaper that covered it. She was at the door a moment later, but he had locked it behind him. She didn’t know where the door led to, and she didn’t have time to search for the house plans. Her entire reputation as Auror and mischief-maker was on the line.
She exited the sitting room and checked the adjoining rooms. There was nothing. She moved down the hallway and went down the stairs, wagering that no matter where he went he wouldn’t stay in one place for long. She caught sight of him and sprinted forward just to see him disappear with the pop of apparition. “That’s cheating,” she yelled to the empty air.
Two could play at the game. She apparated to the third floor. She went into several rooms before deciding to try lying in wait for a while. She didn’t see him for at least five or ten minutes; then, she heard something that sounded like it was coming from the next room. There was a connecting door, and she tiptoed in as silently as possible. Fortunately, his back was to her. She pounced on him, and he fell to the floor with a small cry. She rolled him over and captured both of his wrists with her hands; she made sure that she had him firmly pinned.
He seemed well and truly trapped, but it never served to underestimate Remus Lupin. Despite his apparent vulnerability, he looked completely cool and unconcerned. And not at all chagrined that she was basically lying on top of him.
“Ha! You’re not as slippery as you thought you were.”
“You should be grateful for that.” She made a face at him, but he merely smirked.
“Remus, I have to ask again. If you aren’t avoiding us, why were you sulking in dear old Auntie Walburga’s sitting room at the farthest corner of the house from where we usually are?” It was not perhaps the best question she could have thought up, given her several years of interrogation training. However, it was asked with the properly pointed Professional Auror Tone.
He pursed his lips slightly, obviously trying to invent a smooth lie. Failing that, he chose to miss her point entirely. “I was not sulking; I was simply reading. It’s very difficult to concentrate when you two are nattering on.” She could have throttled him right there. He was completely ignoring the fact that it was his stories that were often the most raucous and drew the most laughter from them. She hated that for the past few weeks she hadn’t been able to reach any part of him besides the staid Hogwarts professor.
“Don’t patronize me. You know very well that’s not true.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be condescending.” He sighed. “Look, if I promise not to run away, will you please get off me, so that we can discuss this more comfortably.”
“Okay.” They clambered off the floor and moved to the two convenient armchairs that, while distinctly musty, looked conducive to talking. She decided to simply stare at him until he cracked. It didn’t take very long.
“All right, I have been avoiding you, but not by choice. Believe me when I say that I have thoroughly enjoyed all the evenings talking and laughing with you and Sirius by the fireplace.” She had completely forgotten about her cousin. She realized that this was probably his idea of a set-up. She would have to have words with him later, but she might be merciful if this conversation went well. “It’s just that when we shared a joke or even looked at each other Sirius was always winking at me covertly from across the room. And some nights Sirius wasn’t there, and we really talked. I’ve told you things about me and my life that I have never shared with anyone.” He winced as if he had given too much away, but plowed on, “I’ve begun to feel that I might do something unwise and reveal certain things that I’ve kept hidden for a long time, that I wish to remain so.”
She was loath to interrupt him when he was talking more freely than usual, but he’d come to a dead stop seemed to be forcibly closing himself off. “Such as?” She hoped she didn’t sound as desperate as she thought she did.
“Such as wanting to kiss you terribly. I was still reluctant to admit it. But you’ve seemed a touch somber lately, and I was arrogant enough to impute it to my behavior. Then, you ambushed me.” He smiled wryly.
She could not express her relief at that moment. She had thought that she had seen signs that he wanted what she wanted, but she still believed it could all be wishful thinking. She grinned fully at him. “It was either this or ambush you under the mistletoe.”
There was only one thing left to do after their dual admissions. They both rose slightly from their chairs and leaned closer together. Their first kiss was a brush of lips against lips, but their second was more satisfying. “I’m glad we finally did that,” Remus breathed against her mouth.
“Me, too,” she said after another kiss.
“I’m sorry that I held back for so long.”
“’S all right. We got here, and you can’t run from me now.”
He sat back down on the chair and pulled her into his lap. “I wouldn’t want to, love. You’re welcome to ambush me any time you please. With or without shampoo.”