Fic: Unexpected Guests for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cypress_33
Nov. 28th, 2013 01:22 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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small_giftsTitle: Unexpected Guests
Author:kingzgurl
Recipient:cypress_33
Rating: PG
Contents or warnings (highlight to view): *none *
Word count: 1,335
Summary: Sirius expected to spend Christmas alone at Grimmauld Place, but the attack on Arthur Weasley changed that.
***
With just a few days to go before Christmas, Remus had been gone for almost a fortnight on Order business with no return date in sight. After the news Harry would be spending the holidays at the Burrow with the Weasleys, Sirius had no hope for company at Grimmauld Place and as a result had succumbed to drinking himself into a stupor to numb his thoughts and wandered the house in the wee hours of the morning.
One particular night, he found himself in the drawing room and built up a fire that slowly burned some of his parents’ possessions that he hadn’t thrown out yet. The flames were mesmerizing to his alcohol-addled mind, lulling him into a hazy state where vague shapes appeared to dance around each other as they whisked up the floo and faded to smoke. James’ face flashed in the fire and Sirius did a double-take, trying to tell himself that he was pissed and imagining things, but then he was there again with Lily before they vanished up in smoke. A scene played out before his eyes - James and Lily putting baby Harry to bed – a snake coiling itself for attack – Voldemort chasing James up the stairs – Peter’s laughing face, malicious and cruel – Lily standing between Voldemort and baby Harry – the fire popped suddenly, burning bright and hot as some object caught fire, causing Sirius to jump in the otherwise silent room as the scene disappeared into tendrils of smoke. His breathing was too fast, shallow and more labored as his nightmares slipped into his waken state, threatening to overtake him if he couldn’t push them away.
“Moony?” He took a ragged breath, panic gripped tightly in his chest as he looking around the empty room and willed his lover to appear, but of course no one came. Faced with a night haunted by his own personal demons and nightmares, Sirius slid off the sofa and faded into the form of a large, black dog that slipped out of the room and upstairs to Sirius’ childhood bedroom to sleep under the bed in a pile of Remus’ robes. It was less painful as an animal, less vivid, the coping mechanism he’d learned in Azkaban to protect himself against the dementors still useful in his own personal prison.
***
Sirius had been overjoyed to hear that Harry and the Weasleys would be staying at Grimmauld Place for the holidays rather than the Burrow, and though the circumstances with Arthur in St. Mungo’s were not ideal, he latched onto it with as much cheer as he could muster. After the group of Weasleys had returned from visiting their father, he set them up decorating and making the house festive in ways it had never been when he was growing up, doing his best to find happiness in their company but with the two most important people missing, there was only so much joy he could take from the current situation.
Harry had been reclusive since he arrived, which Sirius knew there wasn’t anything he could do to fix. If Remus was there, well, he would know what to do, but it was just Sirius and his instinct was to let Harry work through his thoughts on his own rather than risk getting pushed away. He couldn’t handle that, if Harry rejected him at Christmas, so he left the boy to himself. Harry hadn’t even come down for supper, though if it weren’t for the arrival of Remus’ patronus, Sirius would have gone up to get him. Instead, Molly sent Ron to fetch him while the large, translucent dog bounded in circles around Sirius, drawing laughter and a bright smile from the wizard. There was no verbal message delivered, but Sirius got the message loud and clear: Remus was alive and on his way home.
“Who sent that one?” Fred asked curiously from the table where the twins were setting out plates and cutlery. “I don’t recognize the patronus.”
“Order member,” Sirius replied with a grin, unable to keep it off his face. “Don’t worry about it.”
Molly smiled at him knowingly throughout the meal, while Sirius ate heartily rather than the usual way he picked at his food, and afterwards even served him an extra bit of dessert as a treat.
It wasn’t until much later, everyone but Sirius was upstairs and sound asleep in bed, that Remus returned to the house. Sirius was in the kitchen making tea when familiar arms wrapped around him from behind and he leaned back against his lover’s warmth without a word.
“You smell good,” Remus whispered quietly, his cold nose and cheeks tucked against Sirius’ neck to warm them.
Sirius laughed, low and quiet in the embrace, and turned to kiss Remus softly. “You’re home,” he whispered so as not to disturb the quiet of the room.
“For some time, too…” Remus smiled back and kissed him sweetly a second time. “I’ll be posted here at least until the new year.”
“Good,” Sirius replied quietly and settled back into his arms. “Tea?”
It was Remus’ turn to chuckle, “Do you even have to ask?”
***
When Harry slipped down to the kitchen to find food in the early hours of the morning, he spied them through the open door, both of them sipping tea with Remus’ arms wrapped tightly around his godfather as they whispered quietly to one another. He watched them for a few minutes, hesitant to go in because he didn’t really want to talk to anyone. He only retreated to the stairs when Remus kissed Sirius’ forehead tenderly and he realized that he was intruding on a private moment.
He hadn’t realized how close Sirius and Remus were until that moment, but it made sense as he thought about it in the safety of his bedroom. They were good for each other, he thought, and Sirius deserved some happiness in the depressing shadows of Grimmauld Place.
***
With Remus and Harry both around for Christmas, Sirius didn’t need to pretend anymore because he couldn’t remember being quite so happy since before he went to Azkaban. His joy was infectious, and by Christmas Day even Harry was enjoying himself and spending time with the rest of them.
That evening, with the Weasleys gathered in the parlor, Remus and Sirius slipped up to the drawing room for some time alone in front of the fire. They lay curled together on the sofa, talking quietly as they used to in the Gryffindor dormitories while the fire crackled quietly behind Sirius.
“It’s been good having everyone here,” he commented quietly. “I don’t want them to leave.”
“The kids have classes to get back to the week after next,” Remus reminded him gently, tracing Sirius’ cheek with a light touch of fingertips. “But you still have plenty of time to spend with Harry, and I’ll be here for a while after that.”
“I missed you,” Sirius confided quietly, his gaze focused on the hollow of Remus’ throat to avoid meeting his eyes.
“I didn’t think I would be gone so long,” Remus whispered, his fingers cupping Sirius’ face to tilt it up to look at him. “How were you while I was away?”
“The nightmares came back,” he murmured, avoiding Remus’ gaze. “I… It wasn’t good.”
Remus pulled him close, arms wrapped around him tightly, “It wasn’t your fault, Sirius. You did what you thought was best to protect them… none of us had any clue that it was Peter.”
Sirius buried his face in Remus’ shoulder, shoulders shaking as he succumbed to the embrace and let go of everything he had dealt with while his lover was away. Remus was the only person on Earth who could understand the guilt that Sirius carried, and with him there, his burden was a bit lighter and the nightmares kept their distance. The same way a patronus kept the dementors back, Remus’ arms protected Sirius from the darkness of his own mind and the cold emptiness of Grimmauld Place.
Author:
kingzgurlRecipient:
cypress_33Rating: PG
Contents or warnings (highlight to view): *none *
Word count: 1,335
Summary: Sirius expected to spend Christmas alone at Grimmauld Place, but the attack on Arthur Weasley changed that.
***
With just a few days to go before Christmas, Remus had been gone for almost a fortnight on Order business with no return date in sight. After the news Harry would be spending the holidays at the Burrow with the Weasleys, Sirius had no hope for company at Grimmauld Place and as a result had succumbed to drinking himself into a stupor to numb his thoughts and wandered the house in the wee hours of the morning.
One particular night, he found himself in the drawing room and built up a fire that slowly burned some of his parents’ possessions that he hadn’t thrown out yet. The flames were mesmerizing to his alcohol-addled mind, lulling him into a hazy state where vague shapes appeared to dance around each other as they whisked up the floo and faded to smoke. James’ face flashed in the fire and Sirius did a double-take, trying to tell himself that he was pissed and imagining things, but then he was there again with Lily before they vanished up in smoke. A scene played out before his eyes - James and Lily putting baby Harry to bed – a snake coiling itself for attack – Voldemort chasing James up the stairs – Peter’s laughing face, malicious and cruel – Lily standing between Voldemort and baby Harry – the fire popped suddenly, burning bright and hot as some object caught fire, causing Sirius to jump in the otherwise silent room as the scene disappeared into tendrils of smoke. His breathing was too fast, shallow and more labored as his nightmares slipped into his waken state, threatening to overtake him if he couldn’t push them away.
“Moony?” He took a ragged breath, panic gripped tightly in his chest as he looking around the empty room and willed his lover to appear, but of course no one came. Faced with a night haunted by his own personal demons and nightmares, Sirius slid off the sofa and faded into the form of a large, black dog that slipped out of the room and upstairs to Sirius’ childhood bedroom to sleep under the bed in a pile of Remus’ robes. It was less painful as an animal, less vivid, the coping mechanism he’d learned in Azkaban to protect himself against the dementors still useful in his own personal prison.
***
Sirius had been overjoyed to hear that Harry and the Weasleys would be staying at Grimmauld Place for the holidays rather than the Burrow, and though the circumstances with Arthur in St. Mungo’s were not ideal, he latched onto it with as much cheer as he could muster. After the group of Weasleys had returned from visiting their father, he set them up decorating and making the house festive in ways it had never been when he was growing up, doing his best to find happiness in their company but with the two most important people missing, there was only so much joy he could take from the current situation.
Harry had been reclusive since he arrived, which Sirius knew there wasn’t anything he could do to fix. If Remus was there, well, he would know what to do, but it was just Sirius and his instinct was to let Harry work through his thoughts on his own rather than risk getting pushed away. He couldn’t handle that, if Harry rejected him at Christmas, so he left the boy to himself. Harry hadn’t even come down for supper, though if it weren’t for the arrival of Remus’ patronus, Sirius would have gone up to get him. Instead, Molly sent Ron to fetch him while the large, translucent dog bounded in circles around Sirius, drawing laughter and a bright smile from the wizard. There was no verbal message delivered, but Sirius got the message loud and clear: Remus was alive and on his way home.
“Who sent that one?” Fred asked curiously from the table where the twins were setting out plates and cutlery. “I don’t recognize the patronus.”
“Order member,” Sirius replied with a grin, unable to keep it off his face. “Don’t worry about it.”
Molly smiled at him knowingly throughout the meal, while Sirius ate heartily rather than the usual way he picked at his food, and afterwards even served him an extra bit of dessert as a treat.
It wasn’t until much later, everyone but Sirius was upstairs and sound asleep in bed, that Remus returned to the house. Sirius was in the kitchen making tea when familiar arms wrapped around him from behind and he leaned back against his lover’s warmth without a word.
“You smell good,” Remus whispered quietly, his cold nose and cheeks tucked against Sirius’ neck to warm them.
Sirius laughed, low and quiet in the embrace, and turned to kiss Remus softly. “You’re home,” he whispered so as not to disturb the quiet of the room.
“For some time, too…” Remus smiled back and kissed him sweetly a second time. “I’ll be posted here at least until the new year.”
“Good,” Sirius replied quietly and settled back into his arms. “Tea?”
It was Remus’ turn to chuckle, “Do you even have to ask?”
***
When Harry slipped down to the kitchen to find food in the early hours of the morning, he spied them through the open door, both of them sipping tea with Remus’ arms wrapped tightly around his godfather as they whispered quietly to one another. He watched them for a few minutes, hesitant to go in because he didn’t really want to talk to anyone. He only retreated to the stairs when Remus kissed Sirius’ forehead tenderly and he realized that he was intruding on a private moment.
He hadn’t realized how close Sirius and Remus were until that moment, but it made sense as he thought about it in the safety of his bedroom. They were good for each other, he thought, and Sirius deserved some happiness in the depressing shadows of Grimmauld Place.
***
With Remus and Harry both around for Christmas, Sirius didn’t need to pretend anymore because he couldn’t remember being quite so happy since before he went to Azkaban. His joy was infectious, and by Christmas Day even Harry was enjoying himself and spending time with the rest of them.
That evening, with the Weasleys gathered in the parlor, Remus and Sirius slipped up to the drawing room for some time alone in front of the fire. They lay curled together on the sofa, talking quietly as they used to in the Gryffindor dormitories while the fire crackled quietly behind Sirius.
“It’s been good having everyone here,” he commented quietly. “I don’t want them to leave.”
“The kids have classes to get back to the week after next,” Remus reminded him gently, tracing Sirius’ cheek with a light touch of fingertips. “But you still have plenty of time to spend with Harry, and I’ll be here for a while after that.”
“I missed you,” Sirius confided quietly, his gaze focused on the hollow of Remus’ throat to avoid meeting his eyes.
“I didn’t think I would be gone so long,” Remus whispered, his fingers cupping Sirius’ face to tilt it up to look at him. “How were you while I was away?”
“The nightmares came back,” he murmured, avoiding Remus’ gaze. “I… It wasn’t good.”
Remus pulled him close, arms wrapped around him tightly, “It wasn’t your fault, Sirius. You did what you thought was best to protect them… none of us had any clue that it was Peter.”
Sirius buried his face in Remus’ shoulder, shoulders shaking as he succumbed to the embrace and let go of everything he had dealt with while his lover was away. Remus was the only person on Earth who could understand the guilt that Sirius carried, and with him there, his burden was a bit lighter and the nightmares kept their distance. The same way a patronus kept the dementors back, Remus’ arms protected Sirius from the darkness of his own mind and the cold emptiness of Grimmauld Place.
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no subject
Date: 2013-12-08 01:59 am (UTC)Thanks so much for the gift! I hope you have a great holiday! :)
no subject
Date: 2013-12-08 04:42 am (UTC)I am a huge sucker for post-Azkaban - especially hurt/comfort post-Azkaban, and this was a perfect example of why. I felt so sorry for Sirius in the beginning, and the bit about the fire was so vivid.
Also, I love the way that Harry found out. NOt just the intimate moment of the scene he saw, but his reaction was beautiful: He hadn’t realized how close Sirius and Remus were until that moment, but it made sense as he thought about it in the safety of his bedroom. They were good for each other, he thought, and Sirius deserved some happiness in the depressing shadows of Grimmauld Place/<.i> That is EXACTLY the way I like to think of it.
****applauds****
no subject
Date: 2013-12-08 09:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-08 11:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-09 10:20 am (UTC)And of course Harry is lovely here.
Nicely done!!
no subject
Date: 2013-12-09 08:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-09 09:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-10 03:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-10 10:31 am (UTC)I loved the way that you dealt with Sirius' lonliness in the house, and you really managed to capture the feeling that he was trapped there on the outskirts as people made plans around him.
You managed to balance the beautiful moments with the sad ones too, it just felt so right for the time the story was set in. I loved that you had them happy, if only for a moment, but you didn't ignore their situation at the same time.
Just so many kinds of lovely~
no subject
Date: 2013-12-10 03:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-11 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-15 03:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-23 06:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-26 06:20 am (UTC)