Not ten
minutes down the hallway, Remus Lupin fell back against a wall. He dug around
in the right pocket of his robes for a handkerchief, feeling nothing but a few
balled-up tissues. He wasn't much for swearing, but a few of the more colorful
words the Marauders used when stuck in dreadful situations popped into his
mind. He held a hand up to his face as he fumbled with the other in the left
pocket.
The sneeze
came just as his hand closed around the very thing he'd been searching for and
another less than tasteful word filled his mind as he doubled over. "ihhhYIHshhhh!" His two hands met at
chest-level as he wiped one dry. He sniffed liquidly and mopped at his nose
with the hanky. "Wretched cold," he muttered through a sigh. "ihhh..." His head snapped forward. "HIHShhh! ihhhKShhh!"
Remus was certainly
no stranger to head colds. It was something about the colder months and the terribly
drafty castle that brought them about. He seemed to attract colds like a
magnet. He'd felt a bit weary and off-color earlier that day, but a cup of tea
had put him right. Or so he'd thought at the time. For now he was a very
sniffly, sneezy magnet who couldn't manage to make it from one room to the
other without stopping in-between to tend to his nose.
He sniffed
hard again and lifted his head. Several girls ran past him, wearing orange and
black ribbons in their hair. He could hear the excitement rising from the Great
Hall even though he was not yet there. He would expect nothing less than a fine
celebration for this year's Halloween at Hogwarts. Dumbledore always went
all-out for this sort of thing. And considering this was also a Hogsmede
weekend, the Remus anticipated that the excitement in the Great Hall would be
at a fever pitch.
However,
Remus did not feel especially festive just now. He felt like going to his room
and curling up in his four-poster bed with a book and another cup of tea. And,
perhaps, a embarrassingly tall stack of handkerchiefs. "ehhhh..." He brought his current handkerchief to his face, rubbing
his nose through it for a moment, then, "ehhh-ihhh-YIHHKChhhh!"
His breath caught almost immediately afterwards. His jaw dropped wide and his
body tensed up even more than before. "IhhhTChuhhh!"
His blows were moist and deep but thankfully muffled by the handkerchief.
No one in
the hallway paid him any attention. In all the excitement over the holiday,
there was no reason they should notice him, really. He had a feeling that might
change once he got to the Great Hall. He could imagine being swarmed with
well-wishers and advice and he wasn't overly anxious to call such attention to
his cold. Though he could also envision the looks he'd get from Snape or Madam
Pomfrey and definitely preferred the well-wishers to sinister glances and
smothering. Somehow, the hallway seemed like the place to be for now.
*
Not ten
minutes down the passage, Sirius Black froze and fell back against the wall. It
was busy now, as everyone was headed into the Great Hall for the Halloween
Feast, but through the masses of students he spotted Remus. He wasn't really
surprised at this as he'd been attracted to Remus like a magnet since their
very first day at Hogwarts.
Remus stood
snuffling into a handkerchief, looking a little lonely and looking quite
off-color. Sirius saw Remus' lip twitch slightly and knew a sneeze was brewing
perhaps even before Remus knew it himself. But he already had the handkerchief
up and nearby. He buried his nose deep in its folds as he snapped forward. "ihhhh-YIHShhhh! Hehh... hehh-IHHChahhh!
HihhShuhh!"
"He's come
down with another bloody cold," Sirius whispered to himself with a considerable
amount of sympathy for his friend. He had been hopeful that maybe it was just a
case of the sniffles and fatigue from the fact that the full moon was so near.
Sirius knew it was near, and could practically sense it was near. Just as he
could sense the discomfort Remus was in just now. It was clearly a head cold,
though.
Sirius
wanted to rush right over, take Remus in his arms, and sweep him off to bed. After
brewing some tea, Sirius would curl up with Remus under the layers of covers
and read him to sleep, taking care that there was a liberal supply of fresh handkerchiefs
as Remus' colds always tended to require so many.
"hihhh-YIHChhhh-KISHHH!" The strong
double-sneeze was almost too much for Sirius to bear. Remus had never been one
for public displays of affection, but Sirius wanted so badly to go to him and
hold him right then and there until the sneezes passed. It felt horrible to
know that could not happen. Damn Remus for being so irresistible and needing
him.
"ihhhh-yih-HIHShhhh!" Remus sneezed
again, and blew his nose. The crowd had thinned by now and finally Remus left
his spot to head towards the Great Hall. Sirius left his own spot and followed
Remus with his gaze. He saw the doors to the Hall swing open for a moment,
revealing the brilliant decorations from colorful streamers to levitating, lit pumpkins
and candles. He saw the sea of students with their bright faces and oblivious smiles,
just as he'd seen in Hogsmede earlier that day. He watched as Remus in his
patched robes disappeared out of sight, heading for a seat.
Sirius
sighed deeply. More than almost anything, he wanted to go to Remus and help
Remus feel better. But he could not. There was something he needed to do that
he felt was even more important. Sirius ran a hand through his long, tangled
hair. With a deep breath he turned on his heals and walked away towards Gryffindor
Tower, desperate to get to the
third years' dormitory room. Distracted by the sight of Remus, however, Sirius
forgot the fact that he didn't know the password.