Harry Potter fanfic - Tease [James/Sirius; PG]
Merry Christmas, Mosh! ♥
Title: Tease
Author: Akuni
Universe: Harry Potter
Pairing: James/Sirius
Genre: Romance
Spoilers: For sure for PoA and OoTP, but let's say the whole series just to be safe.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1604
Summary: A hair-raising realisation in a single strand of time.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I’m just borrowing it for a while.
Distribution: This is just for moshesque, so no. :) Crossposted eventually.
Dedication: For Mosh, because she is awesome. Written for a writing group Secret Santa exchange.
A/N: I did it, Mosh! I wrote HP! Probably not the kind of story anyone would’ve expected from me, but it’s good to shake things up now and then. :) Your prompt was tons of fun, and this was unexpectedly easy to write once I got in the groove. (You probably guessed it was me by all my not-answering, and by the fact that you didn't do the beta. I didn't have the heart to tell you bigger fibs than I already did. ;) )
Thanks to annieroo2, who by guessing which name I'd drawn in the SS, was able to help me brainstorm ideas and make sure I didn’t choose something totally stupid.
Special chocolate-covered thanks to whymzycal for her fantastic beta work. You rock like an awesome rocking thing! :)
Tease
‘This is a really stupid idea.’
‘Are you kidding? This is brilliant.’
James bit back a yelp as Sirius trod on his foot. ‘That’s what you said the last time, and we ended up with detention for a month.’
‘And yet you’re here,’ Sirius pointed out as they slipped through the widest gap they’d dared open in the Library doors.
‘Yes, well, someone has to be, and Remus’d never believe it if I asked for help on the Charms essay since he saw me finish it last week.’
‘Pity, really,’ said Sirius regretfully. ‘Peter’s a fabulous sneak. You, on the other hand, are all tall and elbows and-hang on, the cloak is…’ James stood still and held his breath as Sirius gingerly tugged the end of the cloak out of the door. ‘Honestly James, if you grow any more, we’re going to need another one of these next year.’
They fell silent as they threaded the tables, heading deeper into the Library. Pausing at the edge of the Restricted Section, they were careful not to trip any of the Boundary Hexes as they stepped over the rope. It wasn’t until they’d safely bypassed the barrier that they shrugged off the cloak.
‘Where’d you reckon we should start?’ James eyed the ponderous shelves stuffed full of books. Thick, leather-bound tomes rested next to tall codices. One shelf held only slim vellum scrolls, which were warded with such heavy magic that not even the bravest rule-breaker would consider touching them.
Sirius pulled a crumpled bit of parchment from his pocket. ‘Might Makes Right: The Art of Magical Persuasion is supposed to have stuff on involuntary transformations and forced-state hexes, so either with the Transfigurations books or the Dark Arts section.’
‘Maybe check the latest medi-journals, too,’ James suggested.
‘Good thinking. I’ll check the Dark Arts.’
‘And be quiet this time. Pince has chased you off twice this week. I wouldn’t be surprised to find her waiting in the stacks to catch you.’
‘That old bat.’ Sirius snorted. ‘She couldn’t catch a niffler with a sack of new Galleons.’
‘Maybe not,’ James replied as he strode down the aisle towards the Transfigurations books, ‘but Filch could, so we’d best get this done fast. I swear he’s got some eighth sense for when we’re out, and it tells him the absolute worst time to show up.’
*
‘Nothing?’
James shook his head and pushed Might Makes Right across the table to Sirius. ‘Nothing useful. Unless you want to know how many people died while Anura Amphibia developed the counterspell for the Bufonis Curse?’
‘Not really.’
James rubbed his eyes and swallowed a yawn. ‘D’you really think the answer could be somewhere in these books?’
‘I don’t expect to find someone’s jotted a cure, no.’ Sirius frowned and flipped towards the back of the tattered orange book he was studying. ‘But there might be a clue as to where to start.’
‘Why’s this so important?’
Sirius rolled his eyes and opened his mouth.
‘Yes I know why,’ James said hastily before Sirius could give him a smartass answer. ‘I mean… why is it so important right now?’
Sirius was silent for a long moment. When he finally replied, he was unusually grim. ‘The year’s almost over. In two months, we’ll all go home. That’s all right for you and Peter, but Remus will have to spend every full moon locked in a cage and drugged to his very long teeth.’ Sirius’ lips twisted in a grimace. ‘On the plus side, I might be able to find something in my father’s library. There’s an entire bookcase that needs to be Concealed whenever the Ministry sends someone; there’s loads of books I can check.’
James didn’t know what to say to that. Sirius’ family was a touchy subject, and Sirius’ black humour (oh ha ha, Potter) only stretched so far. ‘That ought to keep you out of trouble for at least a week,’ he said lightly, hoping to stave off the dark mood he could see brewing. Sirius’ brow furrowed. ‘It’s only another year, Padfoot.’
‘That’s another year too many,’ muttered Sirius, hunching further over his book.
James sighed and pushed himself up from the table. ‘We’re out of time,’ he said ruefully, stretching one arm over his head. ‘We’ve got Quidditch tomorrow.’
‘Right.’ Sirius stood, still reading. ‘Oh here, this looks interesting. A spell to force an Animagus back into their human shape.’
‘What would you want that for?’ James moved behind him and peered over Sirius’ shoulder. ‘Though I suppose it’d come in handy if you were an Auror chasing down someone who could turn into a lion or something.’
‘Or an elephant.’
‘Imagine your animagus being an elephant.’ James grinned. ‘The size of your body would finally match your ego.’
Sirius dug his elbow into James’ side. ‘Funny, Prongs.’
‘Here, I’ll put away Might Makes Right.’ James hefted the bulky volume. As he replaced the book and returned to their table, he could hear Sirius muttering to himself somewhere in the stacks.
All at once the muttering broke off, and there was a mighty clatter and a muffled curse.
‘Sirius?’ hissed James, darting towards the noise. He rounded the corner to an astonishing sight. Sirius stood ankle-deep in a spill of books, some of which were still fluttering, and some that were flapping at the edge of his robes. One book had fastened itself to Sirius’ hair, one long strand caught firmly in its pages.
Bemused, James watched Sirius make a grab for the devilish thing. ‘What-’
‘Don’t just stand there, get it off!’ Sirius continued batting at the book, which seemed to take great delight in lurching away from his fist and yanking his head around.
James pulled his wand. ‘Finite Incantatum,’ he whispered. The books at Sirius’ feet stilled, but the book at his hair only flapped its deep magenta-striped cover at James and continued to tug Sirius’ head about.
‘Bloody miserable cursed…’ ranted Sirius, the rest of his hoarse whisper lost under the sound of dozens of pages being flipped.
James took careful aim. ‘Alohomora.’ He tried not to laugh as the book gave a frustrated twirl, then spat out the well-chewed lock of hair before it fell, landing on top of the pile.
‘Damned thing nearly scalped me!’ snarled Sirius, combing his fingers through his hair and shooting dirty looks towards the still-twitching book. ‘Is there a bald spot? If there is, so help me-’
James peered at the back of Sirius’ head. ‘Don’t think so.’ He lifted a handful of Sirius’ thick black hair, and gave it a tug for good measure. ‘It’s not going anywhere, either,’ he joked.
Abruptly, Sirius pulled away, face flushing. He shook his head, sending his hair flying about, and straightened his clothes.
‘Er…’
‘Stings a bit.’ Sirius shrugged. ‘Must’ve got a bigger bite than I thought.’
James frowned. ‘Really? That’s a hell of a papercut. I should do a Disinfection Charm on it.’
‘It’s fine,’ said Sirius shortly. ‘We should get going - we don’t want to get caught, and that blasted book might start up again.’
‘Let me see, Sirius. Merlin knows what’s on these things, and we don’t want to have to explain what happened to Madam Pomfrey.’
Sirius clenched his fists, then nodded jerkily and looked away. ‘Be quick.’
James carefully lifted the mass of hair to inspect the scratches on Sirius’ scalp. He cast Disinfection Charms on the worst of them, then circled around to do the other side. Through it all, Sirius stood rigidly, eyes fixed straight ahead.
‘Finished?’ Sirius was sweating and breathing like he’d just run a race.
‘Almost,’ murmured James, leaning in closer, fighting a shiver as his cold hands soaked up the heat radiating off Sirius' neck.
‘That’s enough,’ croaked Sirius. He nudged James away with his arm.
James gave the hank of hair in his hand an offended yank. ‘Look, don’t be a prat, just let me-’ Sirius toppled against him, and James froze as something hard burned against his hip. Oh holy hell. James' heart thudded madly, his gut flipping over in a not-unpleasant fashion. Sirius’ frantic eyes bored into his, and then a firm shove sent James sprawling down the aisle. ‘What the-Sirius!’
‘Leave it,’ Sirius grated, snatching books up off the floor and shelving them hastily.
James silently watched the quick, nervous movements. He thought about the desperation in Sirius’ terrified gaze, and he considered the curious twist in his belly when he’d felt the heat of the hard ridge that had pressed against him.
Pushing himself up on his elbows, James swallowed around the constriction in his throat and took a deep breath. ‘I don’t think I can do that,’ he said quietly. ‘My best friend pitches me down the hall for no good reason and I’m supposed to leave it?’
Sirius glared. ‘No good reason?’
‘No good reason,’ repeated James firmly. He scrambled to his feet and brushed dust off his robes. ‘You about finished with those books, Padfoot?’
Sirius stared, then nodded.
‘Good, then we’d best be off.’ James slung his arm around Sirius’ shoulders and steered him back towards the table where they’d left their notes and the invisibility cloak. Without stopping to think about how he’d explain the black eye he’d get if he was wrong, James grasped the strands of hair tickling the back of his hand and gave them a deliberate pull.
Sirius whipped his head around. ‘Don’t tease me,’ he said hoarsely.
‘I’m not,’ replied James, pulling again. A nervous smile tugged his lips as a slow grin spread over Sirius’ face.
END