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rarepair_shortsTitle: Just Another Wednesday...
Prompt: "This is Wednesday"
Rating: PG
Word Count: 780
Prompt Table: Here.
Summary: “Do you know what day it is?” He asked in a whisper...
Author's Notes: Part I of II. Although they're posted together because I just happened to write them back-to-back.
Lily had been examining her fingernails when it happened, and rightfully so, because normally people did not careen around corners at sixty miles an hour and directly into her chest.
So she was caught off guard when Remus did just that, sending the two of them toppling in opposite directions on the cold stone flooring.
“Merlin! Watch where you’re going -- ” she snapped as she sat up, but the minute she saw Remus’s entirely bewildered face staring back at her, the sentence fell short. She expected this of his partners-in-crime, not him. His face was whiter than a sheet as he scrambled upward and muttered hasty apologies.
“What’s going on?” She dusted herself off and stood up with the support of the wall. Remus fidgeted by her side, his eyes everywhere except on her.
“Do you know what day it is?” He asked in a whisper, leaning in close.
“...Wednesday?”
“No,” he breathed. His hand clutched at the sleeve of her robe desperately. “It’s St. Valentine’s Day.”
“No -- no, it can’t -- can’t be...” Her whole body tensed and she leaned into the wall, grasping the stone with blanching fingers. She did the math; counted through the days. Only last week it had been January, hadn’t it? It was too early -- much too early for that. She recounted, straining to remember the dates that matched the memories. And then it all clicked into place.
“Oh no,” she gasped. “Then -- ”
Remus nodded curtly, “Yes -- ”
“ -- James,” they both uttered.
“Is that why you’re running?”
“Mhmm. It’s still early -- he didn’t see me get up this morning. I know he has something planned. He and Sirius. Every year. And they’ve nearly succeeded in the past. I figure if maybe I can avoid them today, I’ll be okay...” Remus glanced warily down both ends of the hall.
“But they know the school better than even Dumbledore...”
“That’s the problem.” And they have the Map, Remus added with a mental cringe.
Lily didn’t know what the annual Valentine’s tradition for Remus was, but that didn’t make her a stranger to the Marauders’ -- or more specifically, James’s -- past Valentine’s plans.
“We have to keep moving.”
She didn’t need telling twice, and they were down the hallway at a brusque jog before he could finish the last syllable.
They’d turned several corners and were approaching a large tapestry when Lily stopped. Remus paced ahead, but she called out to him. “Remus, wouldn’t it just be better to find a safe place and hide-out?”
“No, I don’t think so.” He didn’t elaborate, thinking. They could run all day, but James and Sirius would always be able to find them. What they needed was someplace untraceable -- someplace even the Map couldn’t see, but that was impossible. It would never happen. Why hadn’t he swiped the Map this morning? He groaned at his stupidity; he’d been in such a hurry to get out of the Dorm before they woke up that it hadn’t crossed his mind.
“What are you thinking?”
“They’re going to find us. It doesn’t matter what we do, they’re still going to find us.”
“Bollocks. The school’s simply too big and even if they -- ”
“Sssh!”
The two tensed up as the sound of footsteps and low, hurried conversation grew close from the opposite direction. Remus strained his ears but couldn’t make out what the voices were saying; he could discern that two men were talking, and very fervently. The sound became rapidly louder as the seconds crawled by. He sucked in a deep breathe. This was it, then.
“Remus, back here!” Lily hissed from somewhere beyond his left shoulder; he hadn’t realized she’d left his side. He frowned back at her. She stood in the doorway of what appeared to be a small broom closet just across from the tapestry -- funny, he hadn’t noticed it before. “Hurry!”
He glanced ahead once more. He could make out words now: 'Map'. 'Find'. 'Close'. Laughter.
He turned on his heel and darted to where Lily stood, shoving into the small closet and slamming the door. It was the only choice he saw -- maybe they could barricade the door? That would buy them some time.
The closet wasn’t very large, and he found himself squished up between the door and Lily. It smelled like dust and he stifled a cough into his sleeve. When he finished up and began to pull out his wand to charm the door stuck, he noticed that Lily already had hers pressed firmly to the wood while her lips moved silently to herself. All he could really hear though was the sound of his heartbeat and ragged breathe.
Title: ...Or Not.
Prompt: "Take Your Pick"
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~500
Prompt Table: Here.
Summary: “I don’t get it,” Remus mused. “They didn’t even try to open the door. It’s not like we’re hiding out in a bloody fortress or anything.”
Author's Notes: Part II of II. Hate to disappoint, but there's no actual romance in these. I'm having a harder time getting these two together then I thought I would!
In the dark, time seemed infinite, and he could have sworn hours passed before the voices finally reached the hallway outside the door, even if Lily was just pocketing her wand when they did.
“They were right here.”
Lily placed a hand on Remus’s chest, grasping at the cloth and letting out a started gasp at the sound of James’s voice so near. They shared a frightened glance and Remus’s shoulders stiffened against the wooden door behind him.
“‘Were’. But they’re not now.”
“They have to be. Where else would they have gone? Unless it’s malfunctioning?”
“Since when’s it malfunctioned? Not once in pretty much ever.”
Remus looked nervously at Lily. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion at him. He feigned an equally confused shrug.
“Well maybe he figured out some sort of cloaking spell.”
“Whatever -- let’s check the 5th floor. There’s that one passage he always likes to use, cloaking spell or no...”
“Right-o. And we’ll check back here in a bit.”
“Brilliant, let’s go...”
The words progressed into faint obscurity, until finally Remus couldn’t hear them any more. And yet, his heart still pounded in his ears. What had happened? Why hadn’t James and Sirius been able to see them on the Map?
“I don’t get it,” Remus mused. “They didn’t even try to open the door. It’s not like we’re hiding out in a bloody fortress or anything.”
Lily shrugged, her hand loosening and slipping off his chest.
He rubbed at his chin, his eyes boring into the space right above her head.
She watched him silently, although when he started muttering to himself she had to shake her head and give him a little nudge in the shin with her foot. “Cut it out. What matters is that they didn’t check the door, and we’ve safely evaded another St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.”
“True.”
“So let’s go!” She reached past him with a soft smile for the doorknob, but Remus quickly grabbed her wrist -- “No!”
“Remus?” She asked, startled.
“They have the -- I mean, they said they’d be coming back, didn’t they? We should maybe wait it out a little.” He didn't know why the Map hadn't worked, and he didn't feel like testing their luck so soon.
Her wrist went limp in his hand, and with a resigned sigh she nodded and he let go. “No use going through all that trouble just to get caught afterwards, I guess. So take your pick, Mr. Lupin -- would you prefer to sit on the -- the tin bucket, or the -- ” she regarded the closet’s interior, “ -- the pile of deflated quaffles?”
“Hmm. Difficult decision.”
They laughed and smiled at each other.
“How about I just sit on the floor right here and you take the bucket?” Remus proposed, “We’ll let the quaffles, er, rest in peace.”
“Perfect. I think this is turning out to be a great Wednesday, Remus.”
“Ignoring the whole cramped in a closet part -- I’d agree.”
Prompt: "This is Wednesday"
Rating: PG
Word Count: 780
Prompt Table: Here.
Summary: “Do you know what day it is?” He asked in a whisper...
Author's Notes: Part I of II. Although they're posted together because I just happened to write them back-to-back.
Lily had been examining her fingernails when it happened, and rightfully so, because normally people did not careen around corners at sixty miles an hour and directly into her chest.
So she was caught off guard when Remus did just that, sending the two of them toppling in opposite directions on the cold stone flooring.
“Merlin! Watch where you’re going -- ” she snapped as she sat up, but the minute she saw Remus’s entirely bewildered face staring back at her, the sentence fell short. She expected this of his partners-in-crime, not him. His face was whiter than a sheet as he scrambled upward and muttered hasty apologies.
“What’s going on?” She dusted herself off and stood up with the support of the wall. Remus fidgeted by her side, his eyes everywhere except on her.
“Do you know what day it is?” He asked in a whisper, leaning in close.
“...Wednesday?”
“No,” he breathed. His hand clutched at the sleeve of her robe desperately. “It’s St. Valentine’s Day.”
“No -- no, it can’t -- can’t be...” Her whole body tensed and she leaned into the wall, grasping the stone with blanching fingers. She did the math; counted through the days. Only last week it had been January, hadn’t it? It was too early -- much too early for that. She recounted, straining to remember the dates that matched the memories. And then it all clicked into place.
“Oh no,” she gasped. “Then -- ”
Remus nodded curtly, “Yes -- ”
“ -- James,” they both uttered.
“Is that why you’re running?”
“Mhmm. It’s still early -- he didn’t see me get up this morning. I know he has something planned. He and Sirius. Every year. And they’ve nearly succeeded in the past. I figure if maybe I can avoid them today, I’ll be okay...” Remus glanced warily down both ends of the hall.
“But they know the school better than even Dumbledore...”
“That’s the problem.” And they have the Map, Remus added with a mental cringe.
Lily didn’t know what the annual Valentine’s tradition for Remus was, but that didn’t make her a stranger to the Marauders’ -- or more specifically, James’s -- past Valentine’s plans.
“We have to keep moving.”
She didn’t need telling twice, and they were down the hallway at a brusque jog before he could finish the last syllable.
They’d turned several corners and were approaching a large tapestry when Lily stopped. Remus paced ahead, but she called out to him. “Remus, wouldn’t it just be better to find a safe place and hide-out?”
“No, I don’t think so.” He didn’t elaborate, thinking. They could run all day, but James and Sirius would always be able to find them. What they needed was someplace untraceable -- someplace even the Map couldn’t see, but that was impossible. It would never happen. Why hadn’t he swiped the Map this morning? He groaned at his stupidity; he’d been in such a hurry to get out of the Dorm before they woke up that it hadn’t crossed his mind.
“What are you thinking?”
“They’re going to find us. It doesn’t matter what we do, they’re still going to find us.”
“Bollocks. The school’s simply too big and even if they -- ”
“Sssh!”
The two tensed up as the sound of footsteps and low, hurried conversation grew close from the opposite direction. Remus strained his ears but couldn’t make out what the voices were saying; he could discern that two men were talking, and very fervently. The sound became rapidly louder as the seconds crawled by. He sucked in a deep breathe. This was it, then.
“Remus, back here!” Lily hissed from somewhere beyond his left shoulder; he hadn’t realized she’d left his side. He frowned back at her. She stood in the doorway of what appeared to be a small broom closet just across from the tapestry -- funny, he hadn’t noticed it before. “Hurry!”
He glanced ahead once more. He could make out words now: 'Map'. 'Find'. 'Close'. Laughter.
He turned on his heel and darted to where Lily stood, shoving into the small closet and slamming the door. It was the only choice he saw -- maybe they could barricade the door? That would buy them some time.
The closet wasn’t very large, and he found himself squished up between the door and Lily. It smelled like dust and he stifled a cough into his sleeve. When he finished up and began to pull out his wand to charm the door stuck, he noticed that Lily already had hers pressed firmly to the wood while her lips moved silently to herself. All he could really hear though was the sound of his heartbeat and ragged breathe.
Title: ...Or Not.
Prompt: "Take Your Pick"
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~500
Prompt Table: Here.
Summary: “I don’t get it,” Remus mused. “They didn’t even try to open the door. It’s not like we’re hiding out in a bloody fortress or anything.”
Author's Notes: Part II of II. Hate to disappoint, but there's no actual romance in these. I'm having a harder time getting these two together then I thought I would!
In the dark, time seemed infinite, and he could have sworn hours passed before the voices finally reached the hallway outside the door, even if Lily was just pocketing her wand when they did.
“They were right here.”
Lily placed a hand on Remus’s chest, grasping at the cloth and letting out a started gasp at the sound of James’s voice so near. They shared a frightened glance and Remus’s shoulders stiffened against the wooden door behind him.
“‘Were’. But they’re not now.”
“They have to be. Where else would they have gone? Unless it’s malfunctioning?”
“Since when’s it malfunctioned? Not once in pretty much ever.”
Remus looked nervously at Lily. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion at him. He feigned an equally confused shrug.
“Well maybe he figured out some sort of cloaking spell.”
“Whatever -- let’s check the 5th floor. There’s that one passage he always likes to use, cloaking spell or no...”
“Right-o. And we’ll check back here in a bit.”
“Brilliant, let’s go...”
The words progressed into faint obscurity, until finally Remus couldn’t hear them any more. And yet, his heart still pounded in his ears. What had happened? Why hadn’t James and Sirius been able to see them on the Map?
“I don’t get it,” Remus mused. “They didn’t even try to open the door. It’s not like we’re hiding out in a bloody fortress or anything.”
Lily shrugged, her hand loosening and slipping off his chest.
He rubbed at his chin, his eyes boring into the space right above her head.
She watched him silently, although when he started muttering to himself she had to shake her head and give him a little nudge in the shin with her foot. “Cut it out. What matters is that they didn’t check the door, and we’ve safely evaded another St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.”
“True.”
“So let’s go!” She reached past him with a soft smile for the doorknob, but Remus quickly grabbed her wrist -- “No!”
“Remus?” She asked, startled.
“They have the -- I mean, they said they’d be coming back, didn’t they? We should maybe wait it out a little.” He didn't know why the Map hadn't worked, and he didn't feel like testing their luck so soon.
Her wrist went limp in his hand, and with a resigned sigh she nodded and he let go. “No use going through all that trouble just to get caught afterwards, I guess. So take your pick, Mr. Lupin -- would you prefer to sit on the -- the tin bucket, or the -- ” she regarded the closet’s interior, “ -- the pile of deflated quaffles?”
“Hmm. Difficult decision.”
They laughed and smiled at each other.
“How about I just sit on the floor right here and you take the bucket?” Remus proposed, “We’ll let the quaffles, er, rest in peace.”
“Perfect. I think this is turning out to be a great Wednesday, Remus.”
“Ignoring the whole cramped in a closet part -- I’d agree.”
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