Title: Resolutions
Author: tarotgal
Fandom: Harry Potter, marauder year
6
Rating: G
Pairings: none
Disclaimer: For goodness sakes, if they
were mine there wouldn't be a 'fan' in fanfic and I'd be rich. As it is,
they're not and I don't have a galleon to my name.
Summary: The marauders make
resolutions for the new year
Notes: This was written in about
an hour
More Notes: Written for the Sneezefic
Winter Celebration Challenge using bunnies #1, #19: Write a story
using the situation 'Characters make/try to keep New Year's resolutions' with a
length of 2004 words
Feedback: If you have some, send it my
way
|
Resolutions "Well, there's no need to ask Remus
his," said Sirius, turning his head up to stare at the stars. His eyes scanned
the formations, searching for the dog star, but either
it was on the wrong side of the tower or covered by clouds. The moon, on the
other hand, could not be missed as just a glorious sliver in the sky. The
monthly cycle of the moon was a constant reminder of the passage of time. Sirius shoved his hands into his coat pockets to
stay warm. His breaths outward and his words came in cloudy puffs that could
just be seen in the dark of the night. "Because he..." Sirius' words died away
and his breath came in sharp gasps. "hah-Hah-Ehhshhh! Hah-Chuhhh! Hih-Chuhh! Sniff!" He wiggled his nose as he sniffled
and waited for the tickly, itchy feeling to die down before trying again.
"Because he says the same thing every year..." There was a brief pause, then,
"Study more!" the marauders, minus Remus, chanted in unison. Remus bit his lip and absentmindedly
fingered the braided tassels at the end of his Gryffindor scarf. "Well, it's as
good now as it is every year I make it." He stuck his tongue out at the lot of
them. "Aww,
you're regular and predictable, Moony," James laughed. "But that's why we love
you." He leaned over and caught Remus in a rough hug, rubbing a fist against
the top of his head which would have messed his hair if not for the matching
Gryffindor knit hat Remus wore. "Really though, we just finished O.W.L.s this last spring. You can relax the studying a
little now." Remus shrugged and readjusted his
hat. "Yeah, but we have N.E.W.T.s next year and I do
need top marks in at least three subjects." "You'll get them," Peter said reassuringly.
"You always do." His teeth chattered both with cold and a bit of nervous
fright. Marauder tradition dictated they sit outside on the steeply sloping
roof of the Gryffindor tower as So the night found them lined up on
the roof of the tower, their rears numb from cold against the shingles, their
legs dangling off the edge. Each wore a thick winter coat, which was warmer
than their cloaks, they'd found over the years. And there was a general
assortment of hats, scarves, gloves, mittens, and ear muffs among the four,
which poofed them up so they resembled four snowmen
sitting and waiting to ring in the new year.
Coincidentally, they were as cold as snowmen as well. The night air was chill,
but the blessing was that the sky was clear enough to see the stars and not a
bit of snow was in sight. "So... your turn, James," Sirius said
as he dug a tissue out of the depths of his coat pocket and rubbed it against
his chapped and runny nose. As it was freezing outside, everybody's noses were
getting a bit sniffly, but none so
much as Sirius'. James paused a moment for dramatic
effect. "I want to be Head Boy come fall," he admitted plainly. "I'm going to
work towards that." No one said anything. "And... so that's it. That's my New
Year's resolution." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and looked
around at the others. For one, Sirius burst into laughter,
though the others quickly joined in. "What, you? Are you serious?" asked
Sirius, sounding as though the idea broke through the boarder of the absurd. He
coughed and held the tissue to his nose, waiting for a few moments for the
sneeze to strike. "hahUhshhh! Hah-Chuhhh! Sniff, sniff!" He rubbed it beneath his nose
and tried to pick up where he'd left off. "Yeah, right.
Good luck with that one, James!" he laughed. "Why not me?" retorted James,
sticking out his chest proudly as he began to recite his résumé, which he'd
clearly given considerable thought. "I get some of the highest marks, I'm a
Quidditch cup winner, and I'm captain of our house team to boot, I--" "You're a marauder and get detention
as much as I do, maybe more!" argued Sirius, waving his hand with the tissue in
it around to emphasize his words. But a cold gust of wind caught it and sent it
flying off into the black winter sky. "Bollocks!" Sirius swore, and accepted
with a nod a replacement tissue Remus was already holding up for him. Sirius
rubbed it against his nose. "Besides, Moony's the prefect around here. If it's
any of us who gets it, it'll be Remus." This was hard to argue with. Despite
all the obstacles Remus had in his path, Remus had a decent repertoire with
both the staff and his peers, he still made good grades, and he appeared to
obey most of the rules. He also had tissues at the ready whenever they were
needed, much to sniffly
Sirius' relief. Why James Rules-are-made-to-be-bent Potter even wanted it
seemed beyond their understanding. "I bet," said Peter slowly and with
a deep breath. He wanted to get it right now that he'd broken the silence and
drawn the others' attentions. "I bet he's trying for it because Lily Evans is a
sure thing for Head Girl." Silence filled the air again as the
other three looked at him hard for a moment. Peter flushed profusely but his
cheeks were so red from the cold already and his ears covered in ear muffs that
it was impossible to see any difference. "Peter," said Remus finally,
sounding quite impressed. "You know, I think you might be on to something
there. I bet you're absolutely right." Sirius echoed the sentiment with a punch
to Peter's upper arm, while James was still struck silent by the truth.
Protesting such a thing in front of his friends would only make it that much
worse for him, though. Remus smiled over at Peter. "See, you're getting braver
and bolder already and it's not even the new year
yet!" Peter beamed and looked back at his
watch. "It will be in a minute and... and thirty-eight seconds," he said, doing a
quick bit of math. "Thirty-seven. Thirty-six.
Thirty-five..." "Hurry, Sirius," said Remus, always
a stickler to punctuality and tradition. He tugged on Sirius' sleeve. "You'd
better make yours before Peter continued to count down. "A minute twenty-eight. Twenty-seven..." Sirius created some tension as he
pretended not to be able to think one up. The others leaned closer to him
anxiously, waiting for it and prodding at him to hurry. Peter stared at his
pocket watch as though trying to decide if he wanted the hands to slow so
Sirius could make a resolution in time, or to quicken their pace so he could go
inside and get warm. But then Sirius grinned that
mischievous grin of his. Instead of speaking, however, his nose twitched and he
pitched forward with several sneezes. "HahChihhh! Heh-Ehhhshhh!" After rubbing his nose he blurted
out, "I resolve to get even with James for giving me his cold!" "Hey, no fair!" called James, in
surprise. Sirius pitched his used tissue at James' head but the wind caught it,
too, and carried it away. James laughed triumphantly. "It's not my fault!" he
declared. "I caught it from Remus, you know." Remus flushed a bit at that and
wished he could say he caught it from Peter, but Peter was the type who hardly
ever got sick. And when he was sick, it was usually nothing so
simple as a little head cold, either. However Remus was saved from
thinking of anything to say as Peter, his gaze fixed on the pocket watch, began
the countdown. "Ten. Nine. Eight." The others joined
in. "Seven. Six. Five." In anticipation, they rushed
the count so it ended a half second earlier than it should have. "Four. Three. Two. One!"
But their cheer of celebration lasted long enough to cover the time difference
so when they shouted "Happy New Year!" it was indeed the new
year. All four cheered loudly, hugging each other carefully, so as not
to lose their balance and slip off the roof. The hugs could barely be felt
through their large, bulky coats but the sentiment was what mattered as once
again the marauders were together to welcome in the new year. Then they broke
into a marvelous rendition of Auld Lang Syne with
Remus and Peter taking care to supply the base of the harmony, James making it overly dramatic by stressing and
exaggerating certain words and conducting with a flair, and Sirius going in and
out as he felt a sneeze coming on. Remus gave him another tissue, and
missed a bar or two in singing as he did so. Sirius didn't actually sneeze
until the song was over. "hah-Hah-CHIHH! HehShhh! HehhChuhhh! Sniff!" It was clear from Peter's agitation
and Sirius' violent shiver which followed his sneezes and sniffles
that it was time to go in and get warm. Peter led the way inside, shivering
still but smiling. James went in next and though Remus was closer, Remus
gestured for Sirius to follow James and get inside to start defrosting as soon
as possible. Remus took one last look of the stars as they welcomed in another
new year, then climbed in, closing the window and its shutters behind. The
empty room at the top of the tower was still cold, but at least they were out
of the wind. Before any had a chance to remove their bulky coats, gloves,
scarves and what not, Remus grinned and yelled excitedly, "Last one in bed is a
flobberworm!" All four boys, still shivering and
stiff from the cold, tore from the room and raced down the stairs to their
dormitory room and their beds. No one was quite sure which thump of
the four was the first or whose it was, but the whole point was forgotten
completely as Sirius sneezed again, "hahhCHihhh!" and
James yelled bloody murder at the top of his voice. It was a good thing they
were the only students left in Gryffindor for the holiday break, or James might
have woken the whole tower with his shout. Though Sirius' sniffles and coughs
following the sneeze did not sound good, Remus and Peter raced to James' bed
where something seemed even worse. Sirius, however, slipped under his covers,
pulling them up over his head to muffle the sound of his laughter. Shaking,
James pointed to his bed. "Th-the sheets are frozen.
They're like ice!" Remus and Peter touched them and confirmed the story with
nods. The blankets and sheets were indeed frozen solid against the mattress and
very cold to the touch. Remus pulled out his wand and shook
his head as Peter tried to hold back his laughs. "Nice one, Padfoot!" James
called over to him, loud enough to be heard above Sirius' roars of laughter. "hah-EHShhhh! Heh... HehIhshhh! Sniff! Sniff! Thanks for the cold, Prongs!"
Sirius called back. Only a few minutes into the new year, and it looked like at least one of the marauders
had been able to keep his resolution already. And as Peter already seemed
braver and James had ulterior motives driving his, Remus clenched his fist and
muttered the counter spell to unfreeze James' sheets, determined not to be the
only one to fall short on his resolution for the new year.
Remus sneaked a book under the blankets with him when he went to sleep that
night, glad the others were already fast asleep and couldn't chide him for it. |