small_gifts | Fic: Before Dawn, for beckaandzac, rated R

Title: Before Dawn
Author/Artist:

rufus
Written for:

beckaandzac. Merry Christmas!
Beta: Many thanks and Christmas cookies to

sambethe.
Word count: 932
Rating: R
Summary and/or Prompt: warm wool socks
Any other random notes, warnings, etc.: Special features include a cameo appearance by Padfoot, Remus with freckles, nuzzling, long kisses, references to tea, and a happy ending.

24th December, 1978
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hogsmeade
Scotland

Dear Mr. Lupin,

Happy Christmas, and best wishes for a joyous New Year. I have been instructed to convey Professor McGonagall's felicitations as well. I do hope you and yours are enjoying the season. We are besieged by snow, here at Hogwarts, but I expect a tremendous feast will be laid on tomorrow just the same.

Anyway: to business. Please excuse the terrible tardiness of this message

"Moony?" Sirius appeared out of the gloom, wrapped in his dressing gown, rubbing at his eyes. "I heard a funny noise, and then y'weren't there. 's dark outside," he said, sounding both lost and vaguely offended – by the darkness, or by the emptiness of the bed, Remus was not sure.

"Owl woke me up, and then I couldn't sleep – decided I'd have some tea," he said, and Sirius made an understanding noise in his throat. "There're biscuits, as well, on the table," he murmured, and Sirius shuffled off into the kitchen, humming under his breath.

but unfortunately I received this information quite late myself. I should like for you to voyage into Diagon Alley tomorrow evening at about six o'clock – unaccompanied, please – and meet an acquaintance of mine at the Leaky Cauldron. His name is Mundungus Fletcher, and he

"Do you have to leave straightaway, or can we open presents first?" Sirius asked, softly, and Remus heard a faint whoosh! as he cast an Incendio on the stack of wood in the grate.

"Presents, I think, since you're stuck with me until tea-time," Remus said, tucking his toes into the hollows of his knees. Sirius snorted and then rippled into Padfoot, his tail wagging slowly as he nosed among the brightly wrapped packages under the tree. Remus watched him for a while, and then turned back to the letter.

may have some work for you for the next month, and possibly longer, if you are agreeable. The hours are long, but I understand the wages are quite generous, and the location excellent.

That said, I am compelled to tell you that, while neither Mr. Fletcher's hygiene nor his scruples are all one could wish for, I have found him to be reliable in important matters, and I ask that you trust him, and permit him to guide you. If, however, you have any concerns, please do feel free to pass them on to me through the usual channels.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

He was re-reading the part about generous wages when he felt something cold and wet on the back of his hand, but when he reached out to scratch Padfoot behind the ears, he got a handful of Sirius' hair instead. He scratched the proffered neck anyway, warmed by the possibility of a job he might be able to keep, and was rewarded first with a large squashy parcel bearing a bright golden bow, and then with a lap full of Sirius.

Mmmmmmm, Remus thought, as Sirius nuzzled his neck, and dropped his little kisses along his jaw, muttering something about freckles as he did so. Remus curled one arm around Sirius and used the other to open his present. After a moment or two of struggling with the bow (he suspected Sticking Charms had been used in place of Spellotape) he as able to tear off enough paper to reveal he had been given at least a dozen thick wooly socks.

"There're special Locating Charms on them, as well," Sirius murmured in his ear, "so you don't ever just end up with only one."

"Thank you, Padfoot," he said, and Sirius made a contented noise and pulled him closer, licking and sucking on Remus' lips until he opened his mouth and let him in. They kissed for a while, tongues sliding around and occasionally getting tangled, hands roaming over shoulders and under pyjamas, until Remus rolled Sirius onto his back, and moved to straddle his hips. They looked at each other for a moment, and then Sirius slid his hands up Remus' thighs and around his waist, pulling him down into another kiss and easing his pyjama bottoms down over his hips and thighs in one smooth move.

"Hmmm," Remus said against Sirius' mouth, trying to get them the rest of the way off, and then suddenly his legs were free, and Sirius' pyjama bottoms were gone as well, and he could feel Sirius' cock pressing against his own.

Sirius made a soft noise and rolled his hips upward, and Remus pushed them back down, the tug of skin against skin making him a little dizzy, until pre-come and sweat changed it to a delicious slow slide. Sirius moaned softly and turned his head to one side, and Remus lowered his head to mouth the curve of his neck and the swell of his Adam's apple. When Sirius' breathing became rapid and shallow, Remus increased the pace of his thrusts, curled their hands together and bit down gently on his neck. Sirius gasped and came, and Remus pushed down once more before following him over the edge. They lay still for a while, and then Remus felt Sirius shift beneath him, and heard him mutter a cleansing spell.

"Cold out here," Sirius said, coughing a little, and Remus felt a hand settle on his back and start moving in slow circles. "Bed now. We'll open the rest of the presents tomorrow – later today. Before you leave, anyway." Remus grunted in agreement, pushed himself up, and followed Sirius back to bed, and a deep, restful sleep.