Title:
Dazzling Memory Revive | ||
| They knew that Sirius
had something spectacular planned, but he'd outdone himself this time.
Every bit of furniture in the Gryffindor common room had been pushed against
the wall and their coverings spelled white. The fireplace had been transfigured
from its usual red and gold to gleaming white marble and there were actual
Greek columns at the bottom of the staircases.
Remus still had no clue where he had come up with this, but when Sirius was possessed with an idea, it was best to just let him get it out of his system. Remus, however, wished that Sirius could have picked a holiday where costumes had not been involved. Of course, to Sirius that was least of his worries. From his spot on the landing, he could see everyone that was coming through the portrait hole. Kingsley Shacklebolt, a seventh-year Ravenclaw, had just come in dressed in blue robes charmed to shimmer like the scales of a fish and holding a scepter that looked suspiciously like a trident. "Well, I see we have our first Poseidon," a voice said from his left. He turned to find Lily standing beside him. Her dress was pale green, with gold and brown leaves charmed to float around the hem. Her hair was back off her face and she was wearing a headpiece made of smaller matching leaves and dark green ribbon. She looked stunning and he hoped James knew how lucky he was to have her. "Have you lost your patron stag, my lady?" Remus asked with a smile. "He's somewhere around here. Still trying to get those sandals to fly for real, I'm sure," she said, rolling her eyes. They watched as Peter went past with a Hufflepuff girl dressed as a Muse and three Gryffindor girls clad as the Furies pushed past them and entered the fray below. Remus let out a long, slow breath and he felt Lily's hand on his arm. "You can't avoid him all night, you know," she said softly. "I don't know, I've done a pretty good job of it so far," Remus replied. And he had, especially with Sirius skipping the feast to make sure everything was ready. Ever since in the incident with Snape last May, they'd barely had more that three conversations that didn't end with Sirius apologizing and Remus stammering some excuse to get out of the room as fast as he could. Lily smiled at him. "I won't pretend to know how you feel about what he did, but I know how you both felt about each other before that. He's never going to be exactly what you want him to be and he's going to make mistakes. You know him; he speaks before he thinks, he does the most idiotic things on the face of the earth, but underneath he really does mean well. And James and Peter and you, the three of you mean the world to him." "I can't believe it. I never thought I'd live to see the day that Lily Evans would defend Sirius Black," Remus said with a shake of his head. "Did I miss the announcement about Hell freezing over?" She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Oh, shut up. I am dating James, so it was only a matter time, really. You lot are a terrible influence on people." She leaned over and adjusted his robe so that the scar on his collarbone was completely covered by the pale gold fabric. "I'm glad you let me help you with this costume. It's rather flattering, if I do say so myself," she said with a grin. "You'll have to fight them off with a stick." Remus couldn't help but smile at that. "Well, I guess it's a good thing that you'll be there to protect me, 'sister' dear," he said, picking up the lyre he'd transfigured from Peter's old guitar. Checking that his laurel leaf crown was straight, he offered Lily his arm. "Shall we go and find your winged messenger?" he asked. "Yes, before he drinks too much and makes a complete arse of himself," she said with a laugh. They wove through the crowd that had amassed at the bottom of the stairs and it was then that he realized how much louder it was down there. There was a mixture of people from each house, except Slytherin of course. Someone, most likely James, had charmed a Muggle record player that was also contributing significantly to the din. He spotted James near the fire, making messages that appeared from his charmed pouch burst into sparkling flame, much to the delight of the rest of the Muses, who congregated around him. Lily's face was a mixture of annoyance and utter adoration. "Go rescue him from the mob," he said, letting go of her. She looked at him uncertainly and he gave her a little shove. "I'll be fine, I promise." She kissed him on the cheek. "Remember what I said. Oh, and try the wine. I hear it's heavenly." He raised his eyebrow. "Is the Head Girl encouraging me to drink? And how do you know how it is?" "I'm ordering you and it's Muggle wine. Who do you think smuggled it in here in the first place?" she replied with a saucy wink as she slid toward James, leaving Remus to navigate the room alone. He spied Peter near the makeshift bar and made a beeline for him. Peter was speaking to the same girl he'd seen him with earlier, a Hufflepuff named Amanda Finch, when Remus made it over to him. Peter beamed at him and handed him a goblet full of something warm and spicy smelling. "Remus, you made it. We thought maybe you had chucked us to hide in the library," Peter said with a broad smile, his dark red robes making his cheeks look pinker than usual. Lily had obviously helped him too, with the flames that were glowing around the bottom of his robes and the hammer at his side. "Sirius was looking for you a bit ago." He took a swallow of the wine and smiled back at him. "You know I'd never miss this, Peter. There's not going to be many more of them, you know," he answered, ignoring the remark about Sirius entirely. "It's sad, isn't it?" Amanda said. "It seems like only yesterday we were first years, being sorted into our Houses. Now we're studying for N.E.W.T.'s and getting ready to graduate." The music changed to something slow and Remus knew that look in Peter's eyes. "Amanda, why don't you take Peter to dance? I'd ask him, but I'm a wretched dancer. No coordination at all," he said, taking the glass she was holding. She held out her hand and began to lead Peter away. "Thanks mate," Peter said softly over his shoulder. Remus nodded and took Peter's place, leaning against the wall. Looking around, it occurred to him didn't actually know most of the people here. He had classes with many of them, but since his second week here it'd been nothing but the four of them, closing off their circle to anyone else. They were practically invincible together, taking everything, including his lycanthropy and Sirius' hateful family, in stride. But when he'd begun to understand that his feelings for Sirius were becoming something more than friendly, he pulled away slightly. Sirius was popular and well-liked; despite the chaos his pranks caused and had never wanted for attention or affection from the opposite sex. There had been a boy too, Fabian Prewett, in Sirius' fifth year that had caused a quite a scandal for all of ten minutes. That had been the worst of all, because it lit a tiny spark of hope in him. But there was more at stake than a quick fumble in a dark corner and Remus found other places to indulge himself. He had even convinced himself that he was over it, until last winter, when Sirius kissed him. Remus had been ill with the flu and the full moon on top of that, so one day he skivved off Divination to catch up on his sleep. He went upstairs and collapsed into bed and slept straight through dinner. When he finally woke up, Sirius had been sitting at the end of his bed reading. "'Bout time you got up, you lazy git," Sirius said, rummaging in a bag on the floor. "I had Peter nick you something from the kitchen when he and James went down." Remus took the apple from him and when their fingers brushed, he felt a shock. There was something in Sirius' eyes that he couldn't quite read, but he dismissed it and bit into the fruit. "Thanks. I guess I was more tired than I thought. Did I miss anything?" he asked. Tossing his book aside, Sirius stretched his arms up and Remus caught a glimpse of skin. He had to blink a few time to clear his head. "I'm sorry, what?" Sirius had just smiled. "Nothing, Moony. Just more predictions of James' untimely death or some such rot." He reached over and ran his thumb over the corner of Remus' mouth. "You had something..." he trailed off, unexpectedly shy. Remus, on the other hand, was frozen. The one time he needed it, his brain had completely abandoned him. "Bugger it all," Sirius muttered and leaned over and kissed him. Once he kick started his mind again, Remus was kissing him back. They kissed for what seemed like hours and after Sirius finally fell asleep, Remus stayed awake, staring at the ceiling and wondering when his life had taken such an abrupt and wholly pleasant turn. He still couldn't bite into an apple and not think of the way Sirius' mouth had felt on his, warm and tentative. Then May came and Sirius pushed too far and everything shattered. Remus retreated into himself, Sirius was sleeping in the common room, and poor James and Peter were caught in the middle. The summer holidays couldn't have come at a better time. And now here he was, standing in the middle of party he didn't want to be at and wanting the one person who he wasn't sure he could trust with his heart again. This is ridiculous, he thought. Gulping down the last of his drink, he was starting for the dorm as the music stopped and a hush fell over the room. When Remus looked up, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Sirius was standing on the stairs, the very vision of Dionysus himself. The white fabric he was wearing draped across his waist and was riding low on his hips. A length of vine that cut diagonally across his chest had tiny, real grapes on it, and it wrapped around him like a belt, matching the wreath on his head. His eyes were lined in kohl and he was barefoot, skin still golden from spending the summer playing Quidditch outside. All of a sudden, Remus was extremely glad he was still standing near the wall, since he wasn't sure his legs would support him. Sirius raised the gold goblet he was holding and began to speak. O Bacchanals, come, He smiled and drank from the goblet and for a moment, Remus swore Sirius was looking right at him as he licked the wine off his lips. "Well, what are you lot waiting for? This is a party, isn't it? Put that music back on and pick up your drinks," he called out as he started down the stairs. Within moments, he was surrounded and Dorcas Meadows, a stunning blonde Ravenclaw dressed as Aphrodite, had slipped her arm though Sirius' and was leading him to the dance floor. Remus let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. There must be some cosmic force having a great laugh at his expense somewhere, it was the only explanation he could think of. It was time for him to go. Ducking his head to avoid eye contact with anyone, he made for the stairs. He heard Dorcas' laugh somewhere behind him and tenaciously ignored the ache that filled him. Forget making through the rest of the year, he wasn't sure he was going to make through the rest of the night. He was at the foot of the stairs when someone grabbed his hand. Turning around abruptly, he found himself face to face with Sirius. "Going somewhere, Moony?" he asked, his gray eyes shining. The air around Sirius was heady and ripe and he couldn't stop himself from being drawn into it. "I was just going to, ah, find James," Remus stammered out. His hand was still in Sirius' and he could feel the press of Sirius' fingertips on the back of his hand. "Now, my Lord Apollo, aren't you the God of Truth? No false words shall fall from your lips. Where are you really going?" Sirius teased. Someone bumped into him and before he could stumble, Sirius's hand was on his hip, steadying him. Everything seemed to be in slow motion and he wondered what exactly was had been in that cup, because he suddenly felt drunk. "Remus, are you all right?" Sirius said, concern coloring his voice. They were about the same height and the question danced across Remus' lips. No, I'm not all right, not at all, he thought as he crushed his mouth against Sirius', taking him by surprise. His mind went blank, the noise and chaos of the party slipped away when he felt Sirius kissing him back, the tart taste of wine still lingering on his tongue. He didn't remember going upstairs, so he didn't see Lily's knowing smile and Peter's significant look to James from across the room. When he finally came back to himself, they were standing in the middle of their room and Sirius was looking at him as if he was seeing him for the first time. "Remus, I..." "Sirius, don't," Remus said, running his thumb over Sirius' swollen lips. "If you start talking, I'll start thinking and this will end far sooner than either one of us wants it to." He pulled Sirius back to him, fingers tangling in his hair. The vine was getting crushed between them and the rich smell was all around them again, the fruit staining his robes a deep purple. He brushed his fingers over the crest of Sirius' exposed hipbone and when he moaned and pressed his body closer against him, Remus felt desire shoot through him. They were near a bed now, his he thought, and Sirius' hand was sliding across his collarbone, leaving a trail of warmth in its wake. His own hands were slowly unwinding the ivy from Sirius' waist and when he collapsed back onto the bed, the shimmering fabric slid to the floor. Lying that way – skin flushed, black-lined eyes half closed and the wreath still on his head, the only word the filtered through the haze in Remus' mind was sinful. "Don't stare, Moony. It's not polite," Sirius said, tugging him down next to him. Remus' eyes slid shut as Sirius dropped open-mouthed kisses down his throat, fingers undoing the clasp of his robe. Sirius pulled it off him and tossed it onto the floor, pushing him gently onto his back. Remus gasped as he felt their cocks brush, heat flaring over his skin and he couldn't stop himself from thrusting his hips up to feel it again and again. This was all he'd thought about for months, the sweat-slick slide of Sirius' skin against his and the play of his muscles under his fingers as pulled him in closer. He heard Sirius moan, hot and dark in his ear and he turned his head, nipping at Sirius' bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. Sirius' hand was on his cock, stroking him in time to the movement of their hips. "God, Sirius, I missed you," he ground out, the pressure building in his spine. His pulse was pounding so loudly, he almost missed what Sirius murmured in his ear. "Missed you too, so much. Love you, Moony." Before he could say anything more, Sirius stiffened above him and came, warm stickiness pooling between them and Remus' name on his lips. Another stroke and Remus was right behind him, trembling with the force of his release. He reached under the pillow for his wand and whispered a cleansing spell, and Sirius rolled onto his side, his hand still lingering on Remus' hip. Remus could tell he wanted to say something, but he was holding back and waiting for Remus to make the first move. "This doesn't change the fact that what you did was spectacularly stupid and foolish. Everything is different now, I'm different," Remus said. His voice was soft, but his tone was steely. Sirius nodded. "I know and I won't say I'm sorry again because you'll probably hex me, but I am. Whatever it takes to earn your trust back, I'll do it," he said sincerely. "I know, Padfoot, I know," Remus said, curling against him. They lay in silence, the sounds from the party downstairs filtering up to them. "You're missing your party." Remus felt him shrug. "It's fine. I don't think my heart was really in it this year. Prongs and Evans did most of the work anyhow. The Greek theme was her idea." "Then how did you pick your costume?" Remus asked incredulously. "Lily suggested it. She was the one that gave the poem I read, too. Told me Dionysus was perfect for me," he said, lacing his fingers through Remus'. "Why, was she wrong?" "No, not at all. And you know, I think she's going to fit in just
fine around here," Remus said with a chuckle. Pulling up the blankets,
he settled in behind Sirius and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of golden
skin and lush, green vineyards.
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