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rarepairs_mod ([personal profile] rarepairs_mod) wrote in [community profile] rarepair_shorts2018-01-08 05:52 pm

A Gift For snax0: Ghosts, (Sirius/Harry)

Author:
Recipient: [livejournal.com profile] snax0
Title: Ghosts
Pairing: Sirius/Harry
Rating: G
Word Count: 534
Summary: Harry never used to believe in ghosts. Before Hogwarts, such things were impossible. Now, he feels like he’s drowning in them.
Author's Notes: Merry Christmas [livejournal.com profile] snax0! I hope you like your fic. Thanks go to S for her speedy beta work, and to the mods for all of their hard work and patience.

“Hey kiddo.”

Harry doesn’t turn around. There are Death Eaters staring up at the house from the park across the street; dark shapes amongst the trees. He knows they can’t see the building; can’t see him staring down at them, but still. Their presence is less than reassuring.

Behind him, Sirius moves like a ghost. His reflection in the dark window pane is transparent and colourless. But Harry can feel the heat radiating from his thin form as he comes to stand behind him. He can feel Sirius’ breath on the back of his neck.

He never used to believe in ghosts. Before Hogwarts, such things were impossible. Now, he feels like he’s drowning in them. Like he is one, almost. Something invisible and powerless; a relic.

Downstairs, the Order are arguing again.

He watches as Sirius steps closer. He watches as a thin hand rises, white, and then he exhales softly as he feels it curl over his shoulder. Sirius is almost burning-hot through the thin material of Dudley’s castaways.

“Harry,” Sirius whispers, and Harry feels his name more than he hears it. The rush of it against the back of his neck, stirring the stands of his hair.

“Do you see them?” Harry asks.

“Yeah,” Sirius replies. “That’s Rowle, looking at the way he’s standing. Vicious fighter, that one.”

“Aren’t they all?”

“Nah.” He feels Sirius crowd up behind him; the space between them is so small that if he shifts only slightly then he’ll be resting back against Sirius’ chest. He’ll be in his arms.

“Most Death Eaters’ll hex you six ways to Sunday, and they’ll know some nasty enough curses to do it, but Rowle? He’s as likely to use his fists as his wand.”

Harry remembers Harry Hunting and the frying pan and Vernon’s meaty fists. “Charming,” he says.

So close. So, so close. He feels Sirius smile. He takes a breath. He leans back.

Behind him, Sirius is reassuringly solid. Harry doesn’t fall through him like he almost thought he might. He doesn’t phase out of existence and tumble through the floor back to where Mrs Weasley is shrieking at Moody and Shacklebolt. Instead, the hand Sirius has on his shoulder dips lower as he loops his arm around Harry’s chest to hold him steady. His other hand curves around the sharp bone of Harry’s hip. He holds Harry close, saying nothing; he breathes and stays silent and Harry finds himself matching his own breathing to each of Sirius’ soft exhales.

He lifts his hands to cover Sirius’ own. He tips his head back against Sirius’ shoulder and breathes in the scent of him. Whiskey and cigarettes and just a hint of dog.

Below them, echoing through Grimmauld Place’s draughty corridors, Sirius’ mother begins to scream. Echoing her, Teddy Lupin begins to cry.

Harry closes his eyes. He tilts his head back and turns his face and he catches Sirius’ soft kiss as it descends towards him. He hums softly, leaning into it. The Order, the Death Eaters, the shrieking portrait and the crying baby...none of it matters as long as Sirius is here. With him. Keeping him grounded and, above all, keeping him from becoming another ghost.

[identity profile] snax0.livejournal.com 2018-01-08 05:59 pm (UTC)(link)

Oh, MA!!! This is beautifully poignant. You’ve captured so much of their relationship and the atmosphere they’re living in so little words, it’s honestly impressive. I adore the melancholic feel to it, the impending sense of danger. It’s really rather brilliant.

Thank you so much for this lovely gift!

[identity profile] legorli.livejournal.com 2018-01-08 06:11 pm (UTC)(link)
This was so lovely. And sad. And canon. I can so imagine Harry needing Sirius back, to hold him and ground him, as you wrote. And Sirius silently doing so, without words. They are not needed. Because "the person Sirius cared most about in the world was Harry". *sigh*

Well done!
digthewriter: (scarstar_art)

[personal profile] digthewriter 2018-01-08 06:50 pm (UTC)(link)
This is beautiful. This is legit the best Harry/Sirius I have read in a very, very long time. OMG... my heart is aching and not for the reasons one would think obvious. This is why I love them. You've captured this moment so beautifully in such little words - it hurts - and in a good way.

Amazing job, MA. Wonderful work.

Thanks for sharing.

[identity profile] are-guile.livejournal.com 2018-01-09 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
Yep, whiskey, cigarettes and a whiff of dog is exactly what Sirius smells like. Like the other reviewers, I'm really taken with the economy of this -- you've evoked so much. Feels like a much longer piece.

(Anonymous) 2018-01-12 01:44 pm (UTC)(link)
This is breathtakingly beautiful! I loved how you were able to mix together the haunted atmosphere with hope and surrender and love. Most of harry/sirius fics I've read deal with the "forbidden" aspect of their relationship, so this was a nice and welcome change!

[identity profile] sirmioneforever.livejournal.com 2018-01-13 04:43 pm (UTC)(link)
This is so haunting and beautiful at the same time. I love the fact that Sirius is the one person who is able to ground Harry to the living. It seems it really is the only thing tethering him to the real world as they actually are living like ghosts by living in Grimmauld Place.
ext_1891675: (Default)

[identity profile] articcat621.livejournal.com 2018-01-15 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
Oh my goodness, my heart. You were so poignant with your words here, mystery author. Well done. Xx

[identity profile] lenapinewoods.livejournal.com 2018-01-16 07:49 pm (UTC)(link)
This is me, btw :D I accidentally commented as an anonymous xD

[identity profile] kiertorata.livejournal.com 2018-01-17 06:39 am (UTC)(link)
Wow, that was so beautifully haunting. I love how it was so ambiguous and subtle, I wish I knew how to write like that *_*