Our stern alarums chang'd to merry meetings (blanketforts Day 31)
Title: Our stern alarums chang'd to merry meetings
Rating: PG for language
Disclaimer: They're not mine. I'm just borrowing them because I like them.
Wordcount: 1725
Prompt: Two boys kissing on a bench.
Notes: The end ^_^ I finished it! You guys are amazing - I really wouldn't have managed this without your comments. Title from Richard III.
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Lily grabbed a corner of the umbrella, taking a breath. James was still holding on to her, and she pressed back against his shoulder, darting a smile up at him. He might be a daft fool with a mustard obsession, but he was her daft fool.
She wasn’t the only one holding onto someone else. Ted had Andromeda, of course, and Frank had his free hand on Alice’s shoulder. Fabien Prewitt was leaning on McKinnon, his face pale.
“Four, three,” Peter counted down.
Sirius was holding onto Remus as if he’d never let go.
“Two, one.”
She closed her eyes as the world swirled. Portkeys always made her feel sick.
A moment later she felt carpet under her feet and opened her eyes.
They were in a large, dark room. The light from a streetlamp was coming in the window, and she could see the shapes of chairs and a big sofa, like the one James’ mum had put in the old guestroom.
“Hang on,” Remus said. “I’ll put the light on.”
Lily blinked as the bulb flickered. Muggle lights. And a lampshade. She’d thought Pooh Corner was a code word between the four of them, but this was a house.
Ted had sunk onto the sofa with Andromeda, and Alice bent over them, looking worried. It really was very like Mrs Potter’s old sofa.
Peter closed the umbrella, and said, “I need a drink.”
“Help yourself,” James said, and Lily frowned, suspicion beginning to curl through her. Whose house was this?
“Have you got a first aid kit?” McKinnon asked sharply. “Fabien’s hurt.”
“Hang on,” James said, pulling away from her. “There’s bandages in the bathroom.”
“There’s all the standard potions, as well,” Sirius said. “I filled it up last week.”
“Did you?” James said, hurrying out of the room. “Ta.”
What?
It was a nice enough room, as living rooms went. It could do without the stacks of Quidditch magazines, and the empty beer cans, but it was clean. It was also quite obviously lived in.
Lily was beginning to feel rather angry. She’d known they were keeping something from her, but this was somewhat beyond some brainless prank.
“Are you okay?” Remus said softly, and she shook herself.
“I’m fine,” she said. “They missed me. Are you alright? You swallowed quite a bit of smoke.”
“We all came out of it alive,” he said. “That’s good enough.”
She nodded, shivering. When Ted had gone to answer the unexpected knock on the door, she hadn’t expected it to be the first wave of an attack. She still wasn’t sure of why it had all happened. It had been too fast, and it seemed like there had been bare seconds between laughing over dessert, and racing behind Andromeda as she tried to get upstairs to Nymphadora. She hadn’t even realised they were in the house until a cold voice said, “Crucio!” and Andromeda collapsed.
She’d hurt that one badly. She wasn’t proud, but she wasn’t sorry either.
“It’s done,” Remus said. “Don’t dwell on it.”
She bit her lip, and nodded, trying to think of a new subject. “Where’s Sirius?”
“Talking to Dumbledore.” His cheeks had gone pink.
“Back together then?” she asked, because the blush amused her.
“Yes,” he said, and grinned at her. “Looks like you lost out on the sweepstake, though, Miss Evans.”
“You know about that?”
“I’m fine,” Andromeda said weakly from the sofa. “Nymphadora?”
“I’ve got her,” Alice said. “She’s fine. Going to be a Gryffindor, this one.”
“Nonsense,” Andromeda said tartly, and held out her arms. “She’s far too bright.”
Alice passed Nym down. She blinked and yawned, before leaning against Andromeda’s shoulder. Andromeda winced.
“Give her back,” Alice said. “She’s almost asleep. I’ll hunt down a bed for her, and she can sleep until we’re ready to move.”
“Thank you,” Andromeda said, and closed her eyes again. “Oh, Merlin, the house. Where-”
“You’re coming to us,” Frank said, and Alice added, “Don’t be daft, Andie. Right then, sweetheart, let’s find out whose house this is and if they’ve got a spare room for you to sleep in.”
“Spare room?” James said, coming back with an armful of bottles. “Plenty. First right at the top of the stairs - the bed’s made up.”
“Grand,” Alice said, shifting Nym on her hip. “So, Potter, is this your house then?”
“Er,” James said, shooting a worried glance at Lily.
She had had enough. She folded her arms and said, “Actually, I’d rather like to know the answer to that question, too.”
“Er.”
“And the explanation will not involve mustard.”
James gulped. “I - er - Lily.”
“Is this your house?”
He nodded, wild-eyed.
“And you now live here?”
Another jerky nod.
“Were you intending to mention this to me at some point?”
Another nod. It looked sincere, as far as she could read James. She stepped forward, and poked him in the shoulder. “You bought a house. You moved in. You’ve been talking about mustard since November. Is there anything else you need to say to me?”
She could see his mouth working but no words were coming out. Behind him Peter was wringing his hands. Sirius was grinning, mouth open.
“Well?” she demanded, prodding him again.
He caught her hand. “Lily.”
She frowned up at him, attention caught by the note in his voice. She had learnt to appreciate his good humour, but there was more to James Potter than the fool. It had been glimpses of that solid, resolute core which had first made her look at him more carefully. She knew she was one of the few to see it, and that made it more precious to her.
“James,” she said gravely. “I just want to know what’s going on. Please.”
He’d fought Death Eaters tonight. What could he possibly have to say to her that was more frightening than that?
She was vaguely aware that everyone was watching them. She didn’t care. She’d been waiting weeks for him to stop behaving strangely.
Perhaps he was thinking the same thing, for he summoned a nervous grin, and said, “Lily, will you - will you marry me?”
What? That - he - what? “Say that again.”
He still looked like he was about to faint, but he gulped and said again, “Lily, will you marry me?”
He didn’t hate her. He hadn’t gone mad. He wasn’t trying to dump her because he thought she’d be better off without him. He wanted - she stopped thinking and flung her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the happiness bubbling through her.
When she drew back he was still looking dazed, but he was beginning to grin. “Well, will you?”
“Of course I will, you imbecile,” Lily said, and dragged him down again.
*
Sirius joined in the general cheer with enthusiasm. Then he bounded over to join Remus, who was leaning on the wall, shaking his head in amusement.
James let go of Lily for a moment to bellow, “Padfoot! I asked! Did you hear me? I asked!”
“Good man,” Sirius called, and wound his arm between Remus and the wall.
“He finally did it,” Remus said, laughing.
“Took him long enough,” Sirius said blithely, and turned Remus round so he could reach his lips.
He didn’t pull back until someone started clapping beside him.
Alice Longbottom was smirking at them. “Is there something in the air?”
“It’s your company, Alice,” Sirius said. “Like Typhoid Mary.”
She cackled and leant back beside them. “Took your time. I had my money on the 21st.”
Remus winced.
She grinned again and leant forward to murmur, “Word of advice. Partitions at work - can’t hold two people’s weight.”
“Voice of experience?” Remus asked demurely.
“Frank’s not the only happily married man in the office,” she said and tilted her head towards the sofa.
Sirius snorted with laughter. “Alice, I adore you. We’ll give Remus to Frank and you I can run away to Morocco.”
“Just try it,” Remus murmured, and slid his arms around him.
Sirius knew he was grinning like a fool. He couldn’t quite bring himself to care.
Alice shook her head. “You’re a lost cause, gorgeous. Right. Looks like Potter’s busy. Do you know if there’s another spare room? Andie’s not as tough as she thinks she is.”
“There’s plenty,” Sirius said, and began to untangle himself.
She shook her head at him. “Tell me where, and I’ll do the rest.”
“There’s two more rooms behind the one you put Nym in. There’s sheets in the airy cupboard.”
“Thanks.”
Sirius watched her go, his mood sobering. There was plenty to celebrate tonight, but there were sorrows, too. Meda had lost her home, and Steven Radcliffe was an orphan in truth. Regulus - he still didn’t want to think about Reggie.
Remus leant against him and said softly, “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die.”
“That’s cheery.”
“Cheerier than you. Don’t think about it.”
He nodded, thinking, and then grabbed Remus’ hand and dragged him out through the kitchen.
“Where are we going?” Remus protested.
“Outside,” Sirius said. “I want to tell you something.”
“It’s fucking cold out there.”
“You won’t freeze.”
There was a bench in the garden. The fence behind it was already glittering with frost, but Sirius swung up onto it anyway. Remus scrambled up beside him, muttering. The moon was only a slither, and he could only see the shadows on Remus’ face. It made it somehow easier to say, “I told Dumbledore about Regulus.”
Remus took a breath, and then squeezed his knee.
Sirius stared up. He could see the stars, faint beneath the glow of the city. “I reckon - well, if anyone can give him a chance, it’s Dumbledore, isn’t it? And then, well, at least he knows.”
“I’m glad you did it,” Remus said.
“Yeah.” It didn’t explain why he still felt like a traitor to something intangible.
“Nothing to worry about now, then,” Remus said.
“Except the war, my family, the moon-”
“The TV licence,” Remus added thoughtfully.
Sirius gave up, and let him lighten the mood. “I still don’t understand why they’re sending me letters.”
“They want money.”
“Everyone wants money,” Sirius said, adding a whine to make Remus smile.
“I don’t.”
“Oh, you,” said Sirius happily, snaking an arm around him. “You’re just after my body.”
“Idiot,” Remus said fondly and kissed him.
Rating: PG for language
Disclaimer: They're not mine. I'm just borrowing them because I like them.
Wordcount: 1725
Prompt: Two boys kissing on a bench.
Notes: The end ^_^ I finished it! You guys are amazing - I really wouldn't have managed this without your comments. Title from Richard III.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Lily grabbed a corner of the umbrella, taking a breath. James was still holding on to her, and she pressed back against his shoulder, darting a smile up at him. He might be a daft fool with a mustard obsession, but he was her daft fool.
She wasn’t the only one holding onto someone else. Ted had Andromeda, of course, and Frank had his free hand on Alice’s shoulder. Fabien Prewitt was leaning on McKinnon, his face pale.
“Four, three,” Peter counted down.
Sirius was holding onto Remus as if he’d never let go.
“Two, one.”
She closed her eyes as the world swirled. Portkeys always made her feel sick.
A moment later she felt carpet under her feet and opened her eyes.
They were in a large, dark room. The light from a streetlamp was coming in the window, and she could see the shapes of chairs and a big sofa, like the one James’ mum had put in the old guestroom.
“Hang on,” Remus said. “I’ll put the light on.”
Lily blinked as the bulb flickered. Muggle lights. And a lampshade. She’d thought Pooh Corner was a code word between the four of them, but this was a house.
Ted had sunk onto the sofa with Andromeda, and Alice bent over them, looking worried. It really was very like Mrs Potter’s old sofa.
Peter closed the umbrella, and said, “I need a drink.”
“Help yourself,” James said, and Lily frowned, suspicion beginning to curl through her. Whose house was this?
“Have you got a first aid kit?” McKinnon asked sharply. “Fabien’s hurt.”
“Hang on,” James said, pulling away from her. “There’s bandages in the bathroom.”
“There’s all the standard potions, as well,” Sirius said. “I filled it up last week.”
“Did you?” James said, hurrying out of the room. “Ta.”
What?
It was a nice enough room, as living rooms went. It could do without the stacks of Quidditch magazines, and the empty beer cans, but it was clean. It was also quite obviously lived in.
Lily was beginning to feel rather angry. She’d known they were keeping something from her, but this was somewhat beyond some brainless prank.
“Are you okay?” Remus said softly, and she shook herself.
“I’m fine,” she said. “They missed me. Are you alright? You swallowed quite a bit of smoke.”
“We all came out of it alive,” he said. “That’s good enough.”
She nodded, shivering. When Ted had gone to answer the unexpected knock on the door, she hadn’t expected it to be the first wave of an attack. She still wasn’t sure of why it had all happened. It had been too fast, and it seemed like there had been bare seconds between laughing over dessert, and racing behind Andromeda as she tried to get upstairs to Nymphadora. She hadn’t even realised they were in the house until a cold voice said, “Crucio!” and Andromeda collapsed.
She’d hurt that one badly. She wasn’t proud, but she wasn’t sorry either.
“It’s done,” Remus said. “Don’t dwell on it.”
She bit her lip, and nodded, trying to think of a new subject. “Where’s Sirius?”
“Talking to Dumbledore.” His cheeks had gone pink.
“Back together then?” she asked, because the blush amused her.
“Yes,” he said, and grinned at her. “Looks like you lost out on the sweepstake, though, Miss Evans.”
“You know about that?”
“I’m fine,” Andromeda said weakly from the sofa. “Nymphadora?”
“I’ve got her,” Alice said. “She’s fine. Going to be a Gryffindor, this one.”
“Nonsense,” Andromeda said tartly, and held out her arms. “She’s far too bright.”
Alice passed Nym down. She blinked and yawned, before leaning against Andromeda’s shoulder. Andromeda winced.
“Give her back,” Alice said. “She’s almost asleep. I’ll hunt down a bed for her, and she can sleep until we’re ready to move.”
“Thank you,” Andromeda said, and closed her eyes again. “Oh, Merlin, the house. Where-”
“You’re coming to us,” Frank said, and Alice added, “Don’t be daft, Andie. Right then, sweetheart, let’s find out whose house this is and if they’ve got a spare room for you to sleep in.”
“Spare room?” James said, coming back with an armful of bottles. “Plenty. First right at the top of the stairs - the bed’s made up.”
“Grand,” Alice said, shifting Nym on her hip. “So, Potter, is this your house then?”
“Er,” James said, shooting a worried glance at Lily.
She had had enough. She folded her arms and said, “Actually, I’d rather like to know the answer to that question, too.”
“Er.”
“And the explanation will not involve mustard.”
James gulped. “I - er - Lily.”
“Is this your house?”
He nodded, wild-eyed.
“And you now live here?”
Another jerky nod.
“Were you intending to mention this to me at some point?”
Another nod. It looked sincere, as far as she could read James. She stepped forward, and poked him in the shoulder. “You bought a house. You moved in. You’ve been talking about mustard since November. Is there anything else you need to say to me?”
She could see his mouth working but no words were coming out. Behind him Peter was wringing his hands. Sirius was grinning, mouth open.
“Well?” she demanded, prodding him again.
He caught her hand. “Lily.”
She frowned up at him, attention caught by the note in his voice. She had learnt to appreciate his good humour, but there was more to James Potter than the fool. It had been glimpses of that solid, resolute core which had first made her look at him more carefully. She knew she was one of the few to see it, and that made it more precious to her.
“James,” she said gravely. “I just want to know what’s going on. Please.”
He’d fought Death Eaters tonight. What could he possibly have to say to her that was more frightening than that?
She was vaguely aware that everyone was watching them. She didn’t care. She’d been waiting weeks for him to stop behaving strangely.
Perhaps he was thinking the same thing, for he summoned a nervous grin, and said, “Lily, will you - will you marry me?”
What? That - he - what? “Say that again.”
He still looked like he was about to faint, but he gulped and said again, “Lily, will you marry me?”
He didn’t hate her. He hadn’t gone mad. He wasn’t trying to dump her because he thought she’d be better off without him. He wanted - she stopped thinking and flung her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the happiness bubbling through her.
When she drew back he was still looking dazed, but he was beginning to grin. “Well, will you?”
“Of course I will, you imbecile,” Lily said, and dragged him down again.
*
Sirius joined in the general cheer with enthusiasm. Then he bounded over to join Remus, who was leaning on the wall, shaking his head in amusement.
James let go of Lily for a moment to bellow, “Padfoot! I asked! Did you hear me? I asked!”
“Good man,” Sirius called, and wound his arm between Remus and the wall.
“He finally did it,” Remus said, laughing.
“Took him long enough,” Sirius said blithely, and turned Remus round so he could reach his lips.
He didn’t pull back until someone started clapping beside him.
Alice Longbottom was smirking at them. “Is there something in the air?”
“It’s your company, Alice,” Sirius said. “Like Typhoid Mary.”
She cackled and leant back beside them. “Took your time. I had my money on the 21st.”
Remus winced.
She grinned again and leant forward to murmur, “Word of advice. Partitions at work - can’t hold two people’s weight.”
“Voice of experience?” Remus asked demurely.
“Frank’s not the only happily married man in the office,” she said and tilted her head towards the sofa.
Sirius snorted with laughter. “Alice, I adore you. We’ll give Remus to Frank and you I can run away to Morocco.”
“Just try it,” Remus murmured, and slid his arms around him.
Sirius knew he was grinning like a fool. He couldn’t quite bring himself to care.
Alice shook her head. “You’re a lost cause, gorgeous. Right. Looks like Potter’s busy. Do you know if there’s another spare room? Andie’s not as tough as she thinks she is.”
“There’s plenty,” Sirius said, and began to untangle himself.
She shook her head at him. “Tell me where, and I’ll do the rest.”
“There’s two more rooms behind the one you put Nym in. There’s sheets in the airy cupboard.”
“Thanks.”
Sirius watched her go, his mood sobering. There was plenty to celebrate tonight, but there were sorrows, too. Meda had lost her home, and Steven Radcliffe was an orphan in truth. Regulus - he still didn’t want to think about Reggie.
Remus leant against him and said softly, “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die.”
“That’s cheery.”
“Cheerier than you. Don’t think about it.”
He nodded, thinking, and then grabbed Remus’ hand and dragged him out through the kitchen.
“Where are we going?” Remus protested.
“Outside,” Sirius said. “I want to tell you something.”
“It’s fucking cold out there.”
“You won’t freeze.”
There was a bench in the garden. The fence behind it was already glittering with frost, but Sirius swung up onto it anyway. Remus scrambled up beside him, muttering. The moon was only a slither, and he could only see the shadows on Remus’ face. It made it somehow easier to say, “I told Dumbledore about Regulus.”
Remus took a breath, and then squeezed his knee.
Sirius stared up. He could see the stars, faint beneath the glow of the city. “I reckon - well, if anyone can give him a chance, it’s Dumbledore, isn’t it? And then, well, at least he knows.”
“I’m glad you did it,” Remus said.
“Yeah.” It didn’t explain why he still felt like a traitor to something intangible.
“Nothing to worry about now, then,” Remus said.
“Except the war, my family, the moon-”
“The TV licence,” Remus added thoughtfully.
Sirius gave up, and let him lighten the mood. “I still don’t understand why they’re sending me letters.”
“They want money.”
“Everyone wants money,” Sirius said, adding a whine to make Remus smile.
“I don’t.”
“Oh, you,” said Sirius happily, snaking an arm around him. “You’re just after my body.”
“Idiot,” Remus said fondly and kissed him.