A Profusion of Prefects (scarvesnhats Day 19)
Title: A Profusion of Prefects
Rating: PG (for language)
Disclaimer: They're not mine. I'm just borrowing them.
Wordcount: 1460
Prompt: Bonfire
Notes: Sixth year. The Feast of St Frideswide.
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Adding the Erumpent horn had been an inspiration, Sirius decided happily, as little explosions popped away in the heart of the fire. The puffapods might have been a mistake, though, - he wasn’t sure if bonfires were meant to emit pink bubbles.
His arms were black with soot, his eyes stung and his hair was standing on end. It was brilliant. Now where had he put the sausages?
By the time he had found them and set them to hovering in the flames, he could hear the others approaching. James was protesting loudly and he could hear Lily giggling. Remus’ voice cut under them, low and amused.
Sirius stepped back from the fire to watch in amusement as they led a blindfolded James into the clearing, tugging him to halt. All three of them were wrapped in heavy coats and scarves and Lily had James’ glasses folded into her pocket.
“What’s going on?” James protested. “What’s on fire? What’s cooking?”
“Venison,” Remus said and laughed hollowly.
Sirius wished Pete was here. It would have been the perfect moment for a McGonagall impression.
“Oh, you’re so funny,” James said as they released his arms. “Where’s Padfoot? What’s he up to?”
“That’s no way to speak of your revered host,” Sirius said. “See if you get any sausages.”
“Sausages?” James said, pulling his scarf off his eyes. “You kidnap me to feed me sausages? I can’t see a thing.”
“Sorry,” Lily said and came round to put his glasses back on his face.
James blushed and spluttered. Sirius smirked.
“Ahem,” Remus said. “We have gathered here on the Feast of St Frideswide-”
“Who?” James demanded.
Remus fixed him with a stern gaze. “A holy maiden who was saved from a suitor who refused to cease his advances until the scoundrel in question was struck blind.”
“You’re making this up.”
“No, he’s not,” Sirius said. “We checked. Though he only knows in the first place because he’s a freak.”
Remus glared. “On the all too appropriate Feast of the persecuted St Frideswide, the extremely well-known patron saint of Oxford, to welcome back to our number the lovely Miss Evans and the village idiot standing next to her.”
“With feasting and merriment and lots of burning things,” Sirius added helpfully, waving his wand at the sausages. “Did anyone bring rolls?”
Remus rolled his eyes and produced a squashy parcel from under his coat. “It’s a good thing I only asked you to burn things, isn’t it?”
“I like burning things,” Sirius said and grinned at him.
“Why am I not surprised?” Lily said and produced another parcel. “I have a bowl and chocolate.”
“For?” James asked.
“Melting to dip the marshmallows in, obviously,” she said. “You’ve obviously never been to a campfire.”
“And you have?” Remus asked as he split the rolls open.
“I was a Brownie.”
Sirius blinked. She looked human enough. Even Remus looked baffled. She looked between them and said, “Alright? What does that mean in the wizarding world?”
“Wild house elf,” James said, staring at her. “You don’t look that short.”
“It’s a sort of club for Muggle girls. You go once a week and learn crafts and play games and try and earn badges to show you’re good at things. Um. Then you move onto Guides which is the same but older girls and they go camping. In my district they always used to invite the Brownies to their practice campfires and we had marshmallows dipped in chocolate and I should never have started trying to explain, should I?”
“Muggles are weird,” Sirius said comfortably. “Sausage?”
She sighed and flicked her wand, charming one out of the fire and into a roll.
Sirius had dragged a couple of logs over to make seats and they perched around the fire, grease-smeared and contented. Lily gave up after three sausages but James, who had subjected the others to his death glare when they chose their seats, took the rest of her share out of her hands and ate them. Stuffed, they settled to watch the flames and fill James in on all he’d missed while he was ill.
“Is someone telling Pete all this?” James demanded.
Sirius nodded. “We’re taking turns to write. Poor git.”
They were all quiet for a moment. The fire crackled and heaved. Remus yawned. Sirius, who’d slept well last night, eyed him in worry. He’d woken up tangled around him again this morning but he thought he’d got away with it. However, if Remus was tired that suggested that Remus had been awake at some point last night which meant that Remus might know that Sirius had spent the night wrapped around him like an extra blanket.
Lily said something soft to James who turned to murmur a reply. His cheeks glowed red and and Sirius couldn’t tell if it was a blush or the heat of the fire.
Sirius muttered into Remus’ ear, “Bet she wouldn’t be so nice to him if she knew about those photos.”
“She’s not going to find out,” Remus whispered back sternly.
“Spoilsport.”
Remus gave him a look. Sirius grinned.
Remus’ gaze dropped. “So.”
“So?” Sirius said cautiously.
Remus lowered his voice. “Are you going to sleep in your own bed tonight?”
“Suppose so,” Sirius said, staring into the flames. “Prongs might object now he’s back.”
“You could always share with him.”
I don’t fancy him, Sirius almost said. He choked it down and said, “Nah. Don’t like his photo collection.” Then he thought, what? Oh, fuck.
He did not fancy Remus Lupin. He might fantasise about him having it off under Brighton pier. He might like sharing a bed with him but really, it was cold, and Remus was always warm. He might always know when he was in a room. He might sit up waiting for him to get back from detention like some besotted girl. That didn’t necessarily mean…
Bugger.
It was entirely possible it was just physical proximity. If Remus had been carted off to the Hospital Wing he could have got into this mess with James or Peter.
He considered it for a moment and then shook his head.
“Earth to Padfoot. Hello.”
Some prat was waving their hand in front of his face. He batted at it in annoyance.
“I said,” James said loudly. “Did you bring the booze?”
“Behind that log,” he said absently as Lily exclaimed, “James! Not on a Tuesday!”
“Ah, but my dear Lily, this is no ordinary Tuesday. This is St Frideswide’s Day, right, Moony?”
“That’s right,” Remus said with a chuckle. “Be careful, Prongs. You’ll get your prefect’s privileges revoked.”
“My what?”
“Didn’t anyone tell you about that?”
“I’m a prefect? What did you do to Regulus Black?”
“We’re all prefects,” Sirius said, pulling himself away from an uncomfortable trail of thought. “I’m a prefect.”
“Lily?”
“Sad but true.”
“I’m a prefect?”
“Slow, isn’t he?” Remus said.
“Padfoot’s a prefect?”
“It’s no fun,” Sirius said gloomily. “Not allowed to take points from Slytherins.”
James stared between them. “What are you doing, letting me set a bad example? Prefects shouldn’t be having illicit bonfires in the Forbidden Forest. Remus doesn’t count, before anyone argues with me.”
Remus sighed.
Lily said pointedly, “That’s not what you said to me last time we broke bounds.”
“That was different. I’m a prefect?”
“Kill him now, Evans. No one will mind too much.”
“Peter might,” Remus suggested. “Can’t really kill him without a full vote.”
Sirius sighed. “Wormtail only wants him back for the orgy. We can kill him afterwards.”
“For the what?” Lily exclaimed.
Remus glared at him. “Padfoot - we are not having an orgy.”
“What else did I miss?” James demanded.
Sirius still didn’t see what the problem was. An orgy would be ideal. If everyone was involved no one would notice it was Remus he was most interested in.
“Moony,” James said, sounding rather alarmed. “Please tell me Peter doesn’t…”
“You’re safe. Sirius is being delusional again.”
“Some people,” Sirius said, “don’t appreciate genius.”
“It’s a hard life,” Lily said. “Would the genius appreciate marshmallows?”
Lily was alright, really, Sirius thought. He probably wouldn’t mention the photos to her after all. She deserved better than Prongs but he wasn’t interested and Remus wasn’t available so she’d have to make do. He might even help.
“Are prefects allowed to eat illegal marshmallows?” asked James.
“No, mate,” Sirius said, “but don’t worry. I’ll have yours.”
“Like hell you will.”
Sirius grinned. He could already tell the evening would end with melted marshmallows stuck in people’s hair and charcoal up people’s shirts. Why worry about complicated things like emotions when the simple things were so good? So he fancied Remus. He’d think about it later. You could put problems off for years that way.
Rating: PG (for language)
Disclaimer: They're not mine. I'm just borrowing them.
Wordcount: 1460
Prompt: Bonfire
Notes: Sixth year. The Feast of St Frideswide.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Adding the Erumpent horn had been an inspiration, Sirius decided happily, as little explosions popped away in the heart of the fire. The puffapods might have been a mistake, though, - he wasn’t sure if bonfires were meant to emit pink bubbles.
His arms were black with soot, his eyes stung and his hair was standing on end. It was brilliant. Now where had he put the sausages?
By the time he had found them and set them to hovering in the flames, he could hear the others approaching. James was protesting loudly and he could hear Lily giggling. Remus’ voice cut under them, low and amused.
Sirius stepped back from the fire to watch in amusement as they led a blindfolded James into the clearing, tugging him to halt. All three of them were wrapped in heavy coats and scarves and Lily had James’ glasses folded into her pocket.
“What’s going on?” James protested. “What’s on fire? What’s cooking?”
“Venison,” Remus said and laughed hollowly.
Sirius wished Pete was here. It would have been the perfect moment for a McGonagall impression.
“Oh, you’re so funny,” James said as they released his arms. “Where’s Padfoot? What’s he up to?”
“That’s no way to speak of your revered host,” Sirius said. “See if you get any sausages.”
“Sausages?” James said, pulling his scarf off his eyes. “You kidnap me to feed me sausages? I can’t see a thing.”
“Sorry,” Lily said and came round to put his glasses back on his face.
James blushed and spluttered. Sirius smirked.
“Ahem,” Remus said. “We have gathered here on the Feast of St Frideswide-”
“Who?” James demanded.
Remus fixed him with a stern gaze. “A holy maiden who was saved from a suitor who refused to cease his advances until the scoundrel in question was struck blind.”
“You’re making this up.”
“No, he’s not,” Sirius said. “We checked. Though he only knows in the first place because he’s a freak.”
Remus glared. “On the all too appropriate Feast of the persecuted St Frideswide, the extremely well-known patron saint of Oxford, to welcome back to our number the lovely Miss Evans and the village idiot standing next to her.”
“With feasting and merriment and lots of burning things,” Sirius added helpfully, waving his wand at the sausages. “Did anyone bring rolls?”
Remus rolled his eyes and produced a squashy parcel from under his coat. “It’s a good thing I only asked you to burn things, isn’t it?”
“I like burning things,” Sirius said and grinned at him.
“Why am I not surprised?” Lily said and produced another parcel. “I have a bowl and chocolate.”
“For?” James asked.
“Melting to dip the marshmallows in, obviously,” she said. “You’ve obviously never been to a campfire.”
“And you have?” Remus asked as he split the rolls open.
“I was a Brownie.”
Sirius blinked. She looked human enough. Even Remus looked baffled. She looked between them and said, “Alright? What does that mean in the wizarding world?”
“Wild house elf,” James said, staring at her. “You don’t look that short.”
“It’s a sort of club for Muggle girls. You go once a week and learn crafts and play games and try and earn badges to show you’re good at things. Um. Then you move onto Guides which is the same but older girls and they go camping. In my district they always used to invite the Brownies to their practice campfires and we had marshmallows dipped in chocolate and I should never have started trying to explain, should I?”
“Muggles are weird,” Sirius said comfortably. “Sausage?”
She sighed and flicked her wand, charming one out of the fire and into a roll.
Sirius had dragged a couple of logs over to make seats and they perched around the fire, grease-smeared and contented. Lily gave up after three sausages but James, who had subjected the others to his death glare when they chose their seats, took the rest of her share out of her hands and ate them. Stuffed, they settled to watch the flames and fill James in on all he’d missed while he was ill.
“Is someone telling Pete all this?” James demanded.
Sirius nodded. “We’re taking turns to write. Poor git.”
They were all quiet for a moment. The fire crackled and heaved. Remus yawned. Sirius, who’d slept well last night, eyed him in worry. He’d woken up tangled around him again this morning but he thought he’d got away with it. However, if Remus was tired that suggested that Remus had been awake at some point last night which meant that Remus might know that Sirius had spent the night wrapped around him like an extra blanket.
Lily said something soft to James who turned to murmur a reply. His cheeks glowed red and and Sirius couldn’t tell if it was a blush or the heat of the fire.
Sirius muttered into Remus’ ear, “Bet she wouldn’t be so nice to him if she knew about those photos.”
“She’s not going to find out,” Remus whispered back sternly.
“Spoilsport.”
Remus gave him a look. Sirius grinned.
Remus’ gaze dropped. “So.”
“So?” Sirius said cautiously.
Remus lowered his voice. “Are you going to sleep in your own bed tonight?”
“Suppose so,” Sirius said, staring into the flames. “Prongs might object now he’s back.”
“You could always share with him.”
I don’t fancy him, Sirius almost said. He choked it down and said, “Nah. Don’t like his photo collection.” Then he thought, what? Oh, fuck.
He did not fancy Remus Lupin. He might fantasise about him having it off under Brighton pier. He might like sharing a bed with him but really, it was cold, and Remus was always warm. He might always know when he was in a room. He might sit up waiting for him to get back from detention like some besotted girl. That didn’t necessarily mean…
Bugger.
It was entirely possible it was just physical proximity. If Remus had been carted off to the Hospital Wing he could have got into this mess with James or Peter.
He considered it for a moment and then shook his head.
“Earth to Padfoot. Hello.”
Some prat was waving their hand in front of his face. He batted at it in annoyance.
“I said,” James said loudly. “Did you bring the booze?”
“Behind that log,” he said absently as Lily exclaimed, “James! Not on a Tuesday!”
“Ah, but my dear Lily, this is no ordinary Tuesday. This is St Frideswide’s Day, right, Moony?”
“That’s right,” Remus said with a chuckle. “Be careful, Prongs. You’ll get your prefect’s privileges revoked.”
“My what?”
“Didn’t anyone tell you about that?”
“I’m a prefect? What did you do to Regulus Black?”
“We’re all prefects,” Sirius said, pulling himself away from an uncomfortable trail of thought. “I’m a prefect.”
“Lily?”
“Sad but true.”
“I’m a prefect?”
“Slow, isn’t he?” Remus said.
“Padfoot’s a prefect?”
“It’s no fun,” Sirius said gloomily. “Not allowed to take points from Slytherins.”
James stared between them. “What are you doing, letting me set a bad example? Prefects shouldn’t be having illicit bonfires in the Forbidden Forest. Remus doesn’t count, before anyone argues with me.”
Remus sighed.
Lily said pointedly, “That’s not what you said to me last time we broke bounds.”
“That was different. I’m a prefect?”
“Kill him now, Evans. No one will mind too much.”
“Peter might,” Remus suggested. “Can’t really kill him without a full vote.”
Sirius sighed. “Wormtail only wants him back for the orgy. We can kill him afterwards.”
“For the what?” Lily exclaimed.
Remus glared at him. “Padfoot - we are not having an orgy.”
“What else did I miss?” James demanded.
Sirius still didn’t see what the problem was. An orgy would be ideal. If everyone was involved no one would notice it was Remus he was most interested in.
“Moony,” James said, sounding rather alarmed. “Please tell me Peter doesn’t…”
“You’re safe. Sirius is being delusional again.”
“Some people,” Sirius said, “don’t appreciate genius.”
“It’s a hard life,” Lily said. “Would the genius appreciate marshmallows?”
Lily was alright, really, Sirius thought. He probably wouldn’t mention the photos to her after all. She deserved better than Prongs but he wasn’t interested and Remus wasn’t available so she’d have to make do. He might even help.
“Are prefects allowed to eat illegal marshmallows?” asked James.
“No, mate,” Sirius said, “but don’t worry. I’ll have yours.”
“Like hell you will.”
Sirius grinned. He could already tell the evening would end with melted marshmallows stuck in people’s hair and charcoal up people’s shirts. Why worry about complicated things like emotions when the simple things were so good? So he fancied Remus. He’d think about it later. You could put problems off for years that way.