He would
never admit Remus was right... but he really should have put on that extra jumper
before going out. He could have used an extra layer of warmth just now. Snow
was soaking into the legs of his jeans as he knelt behind the bush. And were he
not trying to be motionless and silent, he would have stood up and brushed off.
As it was, the snow was falling heavily upon him and the wind was brutally
sharp, stinging his face. He ducked his head down a little, burying his chin
and mouth in his dark maroon scarf and breathing warmly into it to keep at
least that part of himself warm. It wasn't that his coat and gloves weren't
helpful as well, it was just that it was frighteningly cold out this afternoon
and sitting still right in the middle of it made it ten times worse.
Sirius
heard a shuffling right behind him and before he could turn, someone landed
right behind him, using him for cover just as he was using the bushes in front
of him. Sirius glanced back to see Remus, his cheeks bright red with cold. Of
course it was Remus. If it had been Peter or James or Lily they would have
pummeled him with snowballs since they were playing teams now during the
snowball fight.
A deep sigh
escaped him, though muffled by the scarf, as Remus wrapped arms around him from
behind and hugged warmly. "So cold!" Remus exclaimed in a soft whisper,
nuzzling his face into the back of Sirius' neck and head. "Can't we just go inside
and have some hot cocoa?"
Sirius felt
Remus' fluffy gray scarf blowing against his back, pestering him regarding the tempting
suggestion. But he refused to admit defeat. Sirius chuckled and shook his head.
Unfortunately,
the shake made his hair brush against Remus' face, which tickled his nose. Remus
gasped and stiffened, realizing he was going to need to sneeze.
Coming to
the same realization, Sirius reached back blindly and stroked the back of
Remus' head. He eased Remus' head forward. "Sneeze into my scarf," Sirius
suggested. "Quietly! Or they'll hear!"
Remus' head
bobbed up and down, then he buried his face into the scarf wrapped around
Sirius' neck several times. "hihhhh...
hihhhh-chhhh!"
Sirius
closed his eyes, bracing himself as the sneeze struck and shook him along with
Remus. He waited to see if there would be more. But it turned out the sneeze
was alone, apart from a few accompanying sniffles which happened as Sirius
opened one eye and looked back at Remus.
The sneeze
hadn't been silent exactly, but it had been quiet enough so they wouldn't be
found by the other team. Sirius stroked the back of Remus' head again as Remus
hugged him tighter to thank him for the suggestion.
They both
froze and held their breath as they heard movement. Suddenly, Peter appeared from
behind a tree not twenty paces from them. He looked straight at their bushes,
but then turned and moved off in another direction with a snowball cupped in
each fuzzy blue mitten.
Remus' nose
was still a little sniffly, and he rubbed his nose against Sirius' scarf again
as they both sighed with relief at not being caught.
As another
cold wind blew against them, not at all stopped by the bush whish had the
audacity to be planted in the wrong place, Sirius shivered hard. He looked back
over his shoulder. "What do you say we win this the smart way?"
Remus
cocked his head curiously and sniffled again.
"Let's go
in and have hot cocoa and get all nice and toasty warm under a blanket in front
of the fireplace while the others keep looking for us."
Remus
chuckled and squeezed Sirius in an even tighter hug. Sirius' gloved hand dug
beneath Remus' snow-flecked hair and massaged his scalp. The only things preventing
them from being more intimate were the multiple layers of clothing that didn't
seem to be doing enough to keep away the cold.
Finally, Remus
grinned and nodded decisively. "Hot cocoa it is."
Even though
it was still freezing cold, and he was still wearing just the one layer of
clothing beneath his long white coat, just one look at Remus' brilliantly
glowing face warmed him more than a fireplace and a hot drink could ever hope
to.
Of course
that didn't mean he was going to pass up the opportunity to snuggle beneath a
blanket with Remus. He glanced around to be sure none of the others were around
to see them. Then he grabbed Remus' hand through two layers of gloves and they
made a run for the castle, trying not to laugh out loud until they were safely
inside.
