Post by kcsficmas on Dec 31, 2011 0:46:20 GMT -8
Title: No Frigging Way part 2
Rating: G
Word count: 1836
Warnings: None.
Summary: Dumbledore has some unfavourable news for Sirius and Company.
Request: Must include Sirius, Snape, and must be deep/angsty/emotional. Must NOT include Next Generation characters, explicit mention of the war, and non-canon pairings.
Author’s Note: HAPPY CHRISTMAS, CRYSTAL!!! I really tried to deliver on the angsty/emotional stuff...I'm not sure if I succeeded though
Three days into their entrapment in the cottage, Harry descended the stairs at around nine in the morning, heading down to the kitchen, wearing a pair of baggy pants and an extremely long, loose t-shirt that almost dwarfed him. Absently, he scratched his abdomen as he slipped into the kitchen, where Snape was sitting at the table, a goblet of steaming Earl Grey beside him, his daily issue of the Daily Prophet open in front of him, hiding his face from view. But the black robes were a dead giveaway. Harry let his gaze roam the tidy kitchen, and his face brightened immeasurably when he spotted a cardboard box with his name on it, sitting on the table.
Snape flicked down the corner of the paper as Harry approached, but grunted and hid himself away almost immediately. Harry stuck his tongue out at the man, and stepped up to the table. He opened the box and smiled at the contents. There was a horde of pure white decorations; tinsel, baubles, lights and figurines. Upon these items, there sat an envelope. Harry picked the envelope up, opening it, slipping out the parchment that was inside. Harry unfolded the parchment, and read the contents, smiling softly to himself.
He obeyed Remus’ letter, to the letter, and carried the box of decorations into the living room, setting it down on the floor, next to a rather stunning pine tree that had not been there the day before, but which had been mentioned in the letter. Leaving the box on the floor, Harry raced up the stairs, bursting through Sirius’ bedroom door. “Sirius, wake up!” Harry exclaimed exuberantly, tugging the blanket off of the man, earning himself a hastily thrown pillow from a sleep-deprived Godfather.
“Go ‘way,” Sirius grumbled, burying his face.
“No,” Harry replied playfully, “I have orders to get you out of bed, and down to the living room. Come on.” Harry took hold of Sirius’ ankle, and gave hard tug, pulling the scrawny older man right out of the bed, earning a whine of disapproval. “Come on, Sirius! Moony told me to get you down to the living room. There’s a surprise waiting for you, he said, in the letter he left for me on the table.”
Sirius glared up at him, from the floor, his hair falling in to his eyes. But, after a moment, the man sighed, climbing to his feet. “Alright, alright, I’m up. Show me the surprise, so I can go back to bed.” Harry bounded out of the bedroom, with Sirius following along behind him at a more sedate, weary pace. Harry could almost hear the man’s joints creaking. Sirius followed Harry into the living room, pausing in the doorway as he took in the presence of the bear Christmas tree. Then, in one movement, his eyes dropped to the box on the floor. “Harry...” Sirius began, his voice a whisper, even as it trembled. “What’s in the box?”
“Why don’t you go and see?” Harry encouraged, gesturing for him to do so.
Sirius swallowed thickly and then took a several steps forward, dropping gracelessly to his knees once he reached the box. Harry watched as Sirius leaned forward, peering down into the box. Sirius sucked in a sharp breath, and toppled backwards in surprise, hand rising to cover his mouth. Sirius turned his head away from the box, and looked upon Harry with wide-eyes, causing Harry to start feeling a little uncomfortable at the intensity burning in the man’s grey eyes. “Harry...do...do you know what this is?”
Harry knelt down beside him, looking into the box at the decorations. “No, but Remus’ letter said that they would be important to you.”
“They are,” Sirius whispered, before reaching into the box with a pair of gentle hands, as though the slightest rough gesture could shatter the decorations in to a million pieces. With a delicacy Harry had never seen before, the man lifted out a small reindeer, with a string threaded through the small loop between the antlers. Sirius held the reindeer in both hands, staring down at it with the softest expression Harry had ever seen. “These were the decorations that were put up on the tree during your first Christmas.
“I bought them for Lily, because she couldn’t get out to do her Christmas shopping. She loved....” Sirius blinked away a layer of building moisture “...she loved Christmas...so much. It was her favourite time of year – James’ too.” Sirius lay the reindeer gently back into the box, and before Harry knew it, he was being drawn into a tight, warm hug. Harry hugged him back, just as tightly, as Sirius took a long, shuddering breath, as if fighting off a wave of pain. When Sirius pulled back, he ran a hand across his face, and avoided looking at Harry for a long moment. Finally, Sirius said, “how about we decorate this tree, huh? It looks a bit lonely!”
Harry could hear the strain of forced enthusiasm in Sirius’ voice, but he did not comment. The two of them rose to their feet, looking at the tree for a minute “The lights go on first,” Sirius advised, before bending over, retrieving the lights – which ran on magic rather than electricity. Sirius took one end of the rope of lights and Harry took the other. Together, they began wrapping the rope of lights around the tree, beginning and the bottom, and working their way up to the top, with Sirius using a Levitation Charm on Harry to get the top branches.
Sirius flicked his wrist and the lights came on, slowly changing colours from blue to green, to red, to yellow, to purple and back to blue again. “The tinsel is next!” Sirius said, some real enthusiasm beginning to creep into his voice now. Harry picked up a few strands of tinsels, and began wrapping them around the Christmas tree, working clockwise, just like they had with the lights. Standing back, Harry thought the tree looked pretty good for an amateur job. Now, only the baubles and other hang-able ornaments were left in the box.
With the bubbling excitement of children, Harry and Sirius started hanging the baubles from the tree, laughing when the reindeer started prancing around in circles and laughing even harder when the little kittens started preening themselves in front of them. It was so silly; it was comical to the pair of them. It was not long, at all, until Harry and Sirius stood away from the tree, hands on hips, admiring their handiwork with expressions close very similar to that of pride.
Harry supposed they should be proud of what they had done. It was, after all, the first tree that they had decorated together...as a family. The realization hit Harry like the Hogwarts Express and left him rather winded. Harry’s vision grew blurry. He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his arm. He ran the back of his hand across his eyes, clearing his vision, and looked at Sirius, who was gazing at him with the most understanding expression Harry had ever seen the man wear. “What?” Harry asked, swallowing slightly.
“It’s alright, you know,” Sirius said softly, “to give in, once in a while.” Sirius offered his arms and Harry, looking at them for only a moment, moved into the span of them rather quickly, wrapping his arms tightly around Sirius in return. They hugged tightly, warmly, for a long moment, Harry’s face half-buried in Sirius’ shoulder. Harry had never felt so grateful in his life, as he did now, for the comfort Sirius was offering him. After a moment, Sirius pulled away, and gave Harry a slight shove towards the sofa. They settled on the sofa together, with Harry resting his head against Sirius’ leg as the man ran a casual hand through Harry’s messy hair. “Do you want to talk about it?” Sirius asked gently.
Harry looked at the tree, even as a tidal wave of thoughts tumbled into the forefront of his mind – a terrible jumble of muddied thoughts! He wanted to talk...he always wanted to talk to Sirius...but...most of the time...processing his thoughts seemed an insurmountable task. But, right there in that moment, with Sirius’ fingers carding through his hair, words just fell from his mouth, without any thought behind them, at all. For once, he felt free...free to say or do what he wanted, when he wanted.
“I think about them, Sirius...about mum and dad...every day. I feel...sad...when I think about them...but I don’t....I don’t miss them. Is...Is that...horrible of me?”
Sirius remained silent for so long Harry was beginning to think that the man had not heard what Harry had said, but just as Harry opened his mouth to say it again, Sirius began speaking quietly to him. “No, Harry, that isn’t horrible of you. You were too young to really know them, so how could you miss them? Yes, there are those few memories that you have; your parents’ voices, the warmth of your mother’s hug. But that isn’t the same as truly knowing someone. They won’t be angry with you, for the feelings you do or don’t have; they are more understanding than that, so, don’t you dare feel guilty for the way you think or feel. Alright?”
Harry answered by half-burying his face in Sirius’ leg. “I know, pup,” Sirius whispered, sounding as if he truly knew, “I know.”
“That was so sweet, Black; I think I might throw up.” Sirius and Harry looked up to see Snape standing in the doorway, arms crossed across his chest, and a derisive sneer curling his thin lips. The man’s obsidian eyes flicked towards the tree. “Your tree is looking a bit bland,” Snape said, eyes gleaming. “Here, let me help you with it.” With a flick of his wrist, the decorations changed to the colours of black and silver.
Sirius threw himself off the couch so fast Harry almost fell off when Sirius jostled him so roughly. With a snarl, Sirius flourished is wand, and the colours of the decorations changed to red and gold. Snape’s eyes narrowed and a moment later the decorations were black and silver once more.
Then, red and gold.
Then, black and silver.
Red and Gold.
Black and Silver.
Red and Gold.
Black and silver.
Red and Gold.
Black and silver.
“Stop it, Snivellus!!!” Sirius roared, changing the decorations back to red and gold. “You slimy, Slytherin bas –”
“Careful, Black, you don’t want to damage Saint Potter’s ears with your obscenity.”
“Why, you –” Sirius began, aiming the point of his wand directly at Snape’s heart, but Snape’s own wand was up instantly.
“Can’t we all just get along and come to a compromise?!” Harry demanded of the pair of them, who were acting as childishly as Malfoy and Ron.
“No frigging way!” Sirius retorted, before throwing his arms up in the air in defeat, storming out of the living room. “I hope you die, Snivellus!”
The End
Rating: G
Word count: 1836
Warnings: None.
Summary: Dumbledore has some unfavourable news for Sirius and Company.
Request: Must include Sirius, Snape, and must be deep/angsty/emotional. Must NOT include Next Generation characters, explicit mention of the war, and non-canon pairings.
Author’s Note: HAPPY CHRISTMAS, CRYSTAL!!! I really tried to deliver on the angsty/emotional stuff...I'm not sure if I succeeded though
Three days into their entrapment in the cottage, Harry descended the stairs at around nine in the morning, heading down to the kitchen, wearing a pair of baggy pants and an extremely long, loose t-shirt that almost dwarfed him. Absently, he scratched his abdomen as he slipped into the kitchen, where Snape was sitting at the table, a goblet of steaming Earl Grey beside him, his daily issue of the Daily Prophet open in front of him, hiding his face from view. But the black robes were a dead giveaway. Harry let his gaze roam the tidy kitchen, and his face brightened immeasurably when he spotted a cardboard box with his name on it, sitting on the table.
Snape flicked down the corner of the paper as Harry approached, but grunted and hid himself away almost immediately. Harry stuck his tongue out at the man, and stepped up to the table. He opened the box and smiled at the contents. There was a horde of pure white decorations; tinsel, baubles, lights and figurines. Upon these items, there sat an envelope. Harry picked the envelope up, opening it, slipping out the parchment that was inside. Harry unfolded the parchment, and read the contents, smiling softly to himself.
He obeyed Remus’ letter, to the letter, and carried the box of decorations into the living room, setting it down on the floor, next to a rather stunning pine tree that had not been there the day before, but which had been mentioned in the letter. Leaving the box on the floor, Harry raced up the stairs, bursting through Sirius’ bedroom door. “Sirius, wake up!” Harry exclaimed exuberantly, tugging the blanket off of the man, earning himself a hastily thrown pillow from a sleep-deprived Godfather.
“Go ‘way,” Sirius grumbled, burying his face.
“No,” Harry replied playfully, “I have orders to get you out of bed, and down to the living room. Come on.” Harry took hold of Sirius’ ankle, and gave hard tug, pulling the scrawny older man right out of the bed, earning a whine of disapproval. “Come on, Sirius! Moony told me to get you down to the living room. There’s a surprise waiting for you, he said, in the letter he left for me on the table.”
Sirius glared up at him, from the floor, his hair falling in to his eyes. But, after a moment, the man sighed, climbing to his feet. “Alright, alright, I’m up. Show me the surprise, so I can go back to bed.” Harry bounded out of the bedroom, with Sirius following along behind him at a more sedate, weary pace. Harry could almost hear the man’s joints creaking. Sirius followed Harry into the living room, pausing in the doorway as he took in the presence of the bear Christmas tree. Then, in one movement, his eyes dropped to the box on the floor. “Harry...” Sirius began, his voice a whisper, even as it trembled. “What’s in the box?”
“Why don’t you go and see?” Harry encouraged, gesturing for him to do so.
Sirius swallowed thickly and then took a several steps forward, dropping gracelessly to his knees once he reached the box. Harry watched as Sirius leaned forward, peering down into the box. Sirius sucked in a sharp breath, and toppled backwards in surprise, hand rising to cover his mouth. Sirius turned his head away from the box, and looked upon Harry with wide-eyes, causing Harry to start feeling a little uncomfortable at the intensity burning in the man’s grey eyes. “Harry...do...do you know what this is?”
Harry knelt down beside him, looking into the box at the decorations. “No, but Remus’ letter said that they would be important to you.”
“They are,” Sirius whispered, before reaching into the box with a pair of gentle hands, as though the slightest rough gesture could shatter the decorations in to a million pieces. With a delicacy Harry had never seen before, the man lifted out a small reindeer, with a string threaded through the small loop between the antlers. Sirius held the reindeer in both hands, staring down at it with the softest expression Harry had ever seen. “These were the decorations that were put up on the tree during your first Christmas.
“I bought them for Lily, because she couldn’t get out to do her Christmas shopping. She loved....” Sirius blinked away a layer of building moisture “...she loved Christmas...so much. It was her favourite time of year – James’ too.” Sirius lay the reindeer gently back into the box, and before Harry knew it, he was being drawn into a tight, warm hug. Harry hugged him back, just as tightly, as Sirius took a long, shuddering breath, as if fighting off a wave of pain. When Sirius pulled back, he ran a hand across his face, and avoided looking at Harry for a long moment. Finally, Sirius said, “how about we decorate this tree, huh? It looks a bit lonely!”
Harry could hear the strain of forced enthusiasm in Sirius’ voice, but he did not comment. The two of them rose to their feet, looking at the tree for a minute “The lights go on first,” Sirius advised, before bending over, retrieving the lights – which ran on magic rather than electricity. Sirius took one end of the rope of lights and Harry took the other. Together, they began wrapping the rope of lights around the tree, beginning and the bottom, and working their way up to the top, with Sirius using a Levitation Charm on Harry to get the top branches.
Sirius flicked his wrist and the lights came on, slowly changing colours from blue to green, to red, to yellow, to purple and back to blue again. “The tinsel is next!” Sirius said, some real enthusiasm beginning to creep into his voice now. Harry picked up a few strands of tinsels, and began wrapping them around the Christmas tree, working clockwise, just like they had with the lights. Standing back, Harry thought the tree looked pretty good for an amateur job. Now, only the baubles and other hang-able ornaments were left in the box.
With the bubbling excitement of children, Harry and Sirius started hanging the baubles from the tree, laughing when the reindeer started prancing around in circles and laughing even harder when the little kittens started preening themselves in front of them. It was so silly; it was comical to the pair of them. It was not long, at all, until Harry and Sirius stood away from the tree, hands on hips, admiring their handiwork with expressions close very similar to that of pride.
Harry supposed they should be proud of what they had done. It was, after all, the first tree that they had decorated together...as a family. The realization hit Harry like the Hogwarts Express and left him rather winded. Harry’s vision grew blurry. He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his arm. He ran the back of his hand across his eyes, clearing his vision, and looked at Sirius, who was gazing at him with the most understanding expression Harry had ever seen the man wear. “What?” Harry asked, swallowing slightly.
“It’s alright, you know,” Sirius said softly, “to give in, once in a while.” Sirius offered his arms and Harry, looking at them for only a moment, moved into the span of them rather quickly, wrapping his arms tightly around Sirius in return. They hugged tightly, warmly, for a long moment, Harry’s face half-buried in Sirius’ shoulder. Harry had never felt so grateful in his life, as he did now, for the comfort Sirius was offering him. After a moment, Sirius pulled away, and gave Harry a slight shove towards the sofa. They settled on the sofa together, with Harry resting his head against Sirius’ leg as the man ran a casual hand through Harry’s messy hair. “Do you want to talk about it?” Sirius asked gently.
Harry looked at the tree, even as a tidal wave of thoughts tumbled into the forefront of his mind – a terrible jumble of muddied thoughts! He wanted to talk...he always wanted to talk to Sirius...but...most of the time...processing his thoughts seemed an insurmountable task. But, right there in that moment, with Sirius’ fingers carding through his hair, words just fell from his mouth, without any thought behind them, at all. For once, he felt free...free to say or do what he wanted, when he wanted.
“I think about them, Sirius...about mum and dad...every day. I feel...sad...when I think about them...but I don’t....I don’t miss them. Is...Is that...horrible of me?”
Sirius remained silent for so long Harry was beginning to think that the man had not heard what Harry had said, but just as Harry opened his mouth to say it again, Sirius began speaking quietly to him. “No, Harry, that isn’t horrible of you. You were too young to really know them, so how could you miss them? Yes, there are those few memories that you have; your parents’ voices, the warmth of your mother’s hug. But that isn’t the same as truly knowing someone. They won’t be angry with you, for the feelings you do or don’t have; they are more understanding than that, so, don’t you dare feel guilty for the way you think or feel. Alright?”
Harry answered by half-burying his face in Sirius’ leg. “I know, pup,” Sirius whispered, sounding as if he truly knew, “I know.”
“That was so sweet, Black; I think I might throw up.” Sirius and Harry looked up to see Snape standing in the doorway, arms crossed across his chest, and a derisive sneer curling his thin lips. The man’s obsidian eyes flicked towards the tree. “Your tree is looking a bit bland,” Snape said, eyes gleaming. “Here, let me help you with it.” With a flick of his wrist, the decorations changed to the colours of black and silver.
Sirius threw himself off the couch so fast Harry almost fell off when Sirius jostled him so roughly. With a snarl, Sirius flourished is wand, and the colours of the decorations changed to red and gold. Snape’s eyes narrowed and a moment later the decorations were black and silver once more.
Then, red and gold.
Then, black and silver.
Red and Gold.
Black and Silver.
Red and Gold.
Black and silver.
Red and Gold.
Black and silver.
“Stop it, Snivellus!!!” Sirius roared, changing the decorations back to red and gold. “You slimy, Slytherin bas –”
“Careful, Black, you don’t want to damage Saint Potter’s ears with your obscenity.”
“Why, you –” Sirius began, aiming the point of his wand directly at Snape’s heart, but Snape’s own wand was up instantly.
“Can’t we all just get along and come to a compromise?!” Harry demanded of the pair of them, who were acting as childishly as Malfoy and Ron.
“No frigging way!” Sirius retorted, before throwing his arms up in the air in defeat, storming out of the living room. “I hope you die, Snivellus!”
The End