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Sep. 19th, 2004 10:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivendellroseTwo days in a row with actually writing something must be some kind of record for me. This idea sparked off of the drabble word for the week, which, I'm told, is 'harvest.'
What can I say - I just can't limit myself to a drabble.
Pairing: Snape/Lupin, of course.
Rating: G (someday I'll go higher...)
Disclaimer: Not mine, sadly, and no money's coming out of it.
Summary: Remus convinces Severus that maybe a day at Hogsmeade's harvest festival isn't a complete waste of time, after all.
“But I don’t want to go out.”
“You’ll like it once you’re out, just come with me!”
The black-haired Slytherin folded his arms across his chest, a pillar of darkness in the snow-whitened light of the Great Hall. “I. Don’t. Want to. You’re mad if you think I’m going out in that weather for no good reason at all.”
“It’s not no good reason, it’s a harvest festival! It’ll be so much fun if you just let yourself relax a little. Besides, Prongs and Padfoot have practice today, and Wormtail won’t leave them.”
“Puppy-dog eyes shall avail you nothing, Lupin. Take one of your prefect friends or something. Take Evans, if you’re so desperate for company.”
“I don’t want to take her, I want to take you,” Remus insisted, his expression taking on that peculiarly determined look that Severus would once have said the other boy didn’t have the spine to master. “It wouldn’t be the same without you. And I’ll make it worth your while, if you go…”
Severus sighed, recognizing a losing battle when he saw one. “Fine. But I won’t promise to be at all pleasant while we’re there.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Remus agreed, an annoyingly cheerful grin breaking across his face. “I’ll meet you in the courtyard, then, tomorrow morning. Don’t be late, or I’ll come find you!”
Severus watched him leave, shaking his head. He wouldn’t be surprised if the werewolf did exactly that.
~ * ~
The next morning was crisp and grey – the perfect day for a harvest festival, in Remus’ mind. And when he arrived outside, he was amused to see how well the grey light set off Severus’ pale skin and customary black sweater and jeans, only slightly coloured by his Slytherin scarf.
“Thanks for coming with me.” He slipped his hand into Severus’, squeezing the bare fingers with his gloved hand.
“You wouldn’t have shut up til I agreed,” Severus growled. “Let’s just get this over with, shall we? I have work to do this evening.”
“It’s a Saturday, Severus. You can spare a few hours.”
Their walk to Hogsmeade was spent mostly in companionable silence, with intermittant commentary by Remus about the day, the weather, and classes. Severus’ replies, if he made them, were either non-commital or vaguely hostile, but that was hardly unusual. Remus smiled on, knowing the other boy was mostly just venting his frustration. As they drew near to Hogsmeade, though, Severus looked a bit perplexed.
“Exactly what are we doing today, Remus? You never did make clear what all of this was about.”
“You’ll see.”
“That means you’re afraid that if you tell me I’ll turn around and go back to the castle right now, doesn’t it?”
“No, it means I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”
Severus snorted and shook his head, but continued walking. “You really are difficult.”
“That’s why you love me,” Remus teased, smiling sneer and rolled black eyes he received in return.
When they finally arrived in Hogsmeade, they found the village decorated all over with the browns and golds and reds of autumn, in which Remus seemed entirely at home, but the bright colours seemed to wash Snape out almost immediately – or perhaps it was the clusters of laughing townsfolk and students who made his cheeks seem suddenly even more pale than usual. Remus squeezed his boyfriend’s hand once again and guided him gently toward one of the outdoor stalls that was selling food.
After a few moments debate (and some arguing in which Severus nearly insisted on buying his own food before Remus pointed out that he’d dragged Severus along, so it should be his treat), Remus counted out twelve sickles and four knuts in return for two cups of spiced hot cider, two pumpkin pasties, and an ear of roasted corn. They wandered around looking at displays of livestock and produce (including a jack o’ lantern the size of a small house, ‘encouraged’ along by a farmer’s engorging spells), and Severus watched tolerantly as Remus tried to explain that he had no idea why the horses on display shied and seemed a bit panicked around him.
“Are you happy, now? Or will you not rest til you have the ‘seasonal fun’ of having the villagers chase us back to the castle with pitchforks and torches?”
Remus shook his head and brushed his hair back out of his face. “I’m telling you, it could have been anything. They’re probably spooked by the crowds.”
Severus looked back toward the stalls they’d just come from. Remus followed his gaze and saw the same horse that had just moments before been rearing and kicking up dirt in a frenzy… now sweetly nuzzling its owner’s pocket for a carrot.
“Or not.”
“Face it, Remus, horses don’t like… you.”
Remus sighed. “Thank you for your discretion. Alright, then, I’ll stay away from the livestock from now on. I promise.”
“Then are we done, yet?”
“Not yet.” Remus looked around, his eyes squinting slightly in the afternoon sun as though he was looking for something specific.
“What more can there possibly be to do, Lupin? You’ve carved a lovely turnip lantern, nearly made a disaster of that pinata back there, and bought more candy than any person should be able to eat without dying of sugar shock. And we’ve seen every gourd, pumpkin, rabbit, and hand-woven rustic project that’s on display. Please, Remus, let’s just go home.”
“It must really be serious, if you’re calling me by my first name, now.”
Severus sighed and stepped in close to the Gryffindor, amused by the glimmer of surprise behind the constantly polite expression in Remus’ honey-gold eyes. “You know I avoid your given name out of propriety at school, Remus. If my housemates or yours knew about us…”
“I know.” Remus smiled, touching Severus’ cheek with a warm, calloused hand and then dropping it to squeeze Severus’ hand (now covered in his own gloves, since his metabolism created heat more easily). “And I promise we’ll go home after this one last thing. Okay?”
“Very well. Have your one last thing, then,” Severus growled.
Remus led the way out past the stables (where the farmer with the skittish horse still eyed him a bit nastily, clearly having heard of his association with the infamous James and Sirius) and out to a wagon stationed with a pair of draft horses and a rather bored-looking farmer leaning against the box of the wagon.
“After a ride, then?” the man asked. Remus nodded and handed him two galleons before meeting Severus’ shocked expression.
“A ride?” The Slytherin’s eyebrow shot up into his stringy black hair. “You couldn’t even feed a carrot to that horse back in the stables!”
“It’s just a wagon, Severus. The horse won’t mind. I’ve done it before, back home,” Remus assured him, hopping up into the box of the wagon and bending to help Severus in. A collection of hay bales had been placed in the wagon for seats, and the sweet scent of the hay mingled with the scents of earth and grass and rain from above as they settled themselves. The driver handed them back a pair of wool blankets, not commenting as Remus wrapped around both their shoulders and draped the other over their legs. The wagon lurched into motion to the tune of the horses’ hooves thumping into the firm dirt and the soft creaking of old wheels.
“There.” Remus slipped his arm around Severus’ waist beneath the blanket and nestled his cheek against his shoulder, taking a deep breath of the fresh autumn air. “This is worth all the rest, isn’t it?”
As they passed the next hour driving through the late afternoon countryside without a single suspicious and sneering classmate or irritable professor to question them or trouble their time together, Severus decided it certainly was. Even if he wasn’t quite ready to tell Remus so.
~end~
What can I say - I just can't limit myself to a drabble.
Pairing: Snape/Lupin, of course.
Rating: G (someday I'll go higher...)
Disclaimer: Not mine, sadly, and no money's coming out of it.
Summary: Remus convinces Severus that maybe a day at Hogsmeade's harvest festival isn't a complete waste of time, after all.
“But I don’t want to go out.”
“You’ll like it once you’re out, just come with me!”
The black-haired Slytherin folded his arms across his chest, a pillar of darkness in the snow-whitened light of the Great Hall. “I. Don’t. Want to. You’re mad if you think I’m going out in that weather for no good reason at all.”
“It’s not no good reason, it’s a harvest festival! It’ll be so much fun if you just let yourself relax a little. Besides, Prongs and Padfoot have practice today, and Wormtail won’t leave them.”
“Puppy-dog eyes shall avail you nothing, Lupin. Take one of your prefect friends or something. Take Evans, if you’re so desperate for company.”
“I don’t want to take her, I want to take you,” Remus insisted, his expression taking on that peculiarly determined look that Severus would once have said the other boy didn’t have the spine to master. “It wouldn’t be the same without you. And I’ll make it worth your while, if you go…”
Severus sighed, recognizing a losing battle when he saw one. “Fine. But I won’t promise to be at all pleasant while we’re there.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Remus agreed, an annoyingly cheerful grin breaking across his face. “I’ll meet you in the courtyard, then, tomorrow morning. Don’t be late, or I’ll come find you!”
Severus watched him leave, shaking his head. He wouldn’t be surprised if the werewolf did exactly that.
~ * ~
The next morning was crisp and grey – the perfect day for a harvest festival, in Remus’ mind. And when he arrived outside, he was amused to see how well the grey light set off Severus’ pale skin and customary black sweater and jeans, only slightly coloured by his Slytherin scarf.
“Thanks for coming with me.” He slipped his hand into Severus’, squeezing the bare fingers with his gloved hand.
“You wouldn’t have shut up til I agreed,” Severus growled. “Let’s just get this over with, shall we? I have work to do this evening.”
“It’s a Saturday, Severus. You can spare a few hours.”
Their walk to Hogsmeade was spent mostly in companionable silence, with intermittant commentary by Remus about the day, the weather, and classes. Severus’ replies, if he made them, were either non-commital or vaguely hostile, but that was hardly unusual. Remus smiled on, knowing the other boy was mostly just venting his frustration. As they drew near to Hogsmeade, though, Severus looked a bit perplexed.
“Exactly what are we doing today, Remus? You never did make clear what all of this was about.”
“You’ll see.”
“That means you’re afraid that if you tell me I’ll turn around and go back to the castle right now, doesn’t it?”
“No, it means I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”
Severus snorted and shook his head, but continued walking. “You really are difficult.”
“That’s why you love me,” Remus teased, smiling sneer and rolled black eyes he received in return.
When they finally arrived in Hogsmeade, they found the village decorated all over with the browns and golds and reds of autumn, in which Remus seemed entirely at home, but the bright colours seemed to wash Snape out almost immediately – or perhaps it was the clusters of laughing townsfolk and students who made his cheeks seem suddenly even more pale than usual. Remus squeezed his boyfriend’s hand once again and guided him gently toward one of the outdoor stalls that was selling food.
After a few moments debate (and some arguing in which Severus nearly insisted on buying his own food before Remus pointed out that he’d dragged Severus along, so it should be his treat), Remus counted out twelve sickles and four knuts in return for two cups of spiced hot cider, two pumpkin pasties, and an ear of roasted corn. They wandered around looking at displays of livestock and produce (including a jack o’ lantern the size of a small house, ‘encouraged’ along by a farmer’s engorging spells), and Severus watched tolerantly as Remus tried to explain that he had no idea why the horses on display shied and seemed a bit panicked around him.
“Are you happy, now? Or will you not rest til you have the ‘seasonal fun’ of having the villagers chase us back to the castle with pitchforks and torches?”
Remus shook his head and brushed his hair back out of his face. “I’m telling you, it could have been anything. They’re probably spooked by the crowds.”
Severus looked back toward the stalls they’d just come from. Remus followed his gaze and saw the same horse that had just moments before been rearing and kicking up dirt in a frenzy… now sweetly nuzzling its owner’s pocket for a carrot.
“Or not.”
“Face it, Remus, horses don’t like… you.”
Remus sighed. “Thank you for your discretion. Alright, then, I’ll stay away from the livestock from now on. I promise.”
“Then are we done, yet?”
“Not yet.” Remus looked around, his eyes squinting slightly in the afternoon sun as though he was looking for something specific.
“What more can there possibly be to do, Lupin? You’ve carved a lovely turnip lantern, nearly made a disaster of that pinata back there, and bought more candy than any person should be able to eat without dying of sugar shock. And we’ve seen every gourd, pumpkin, rabbit, and hand-woven rustic project that’s on display. Please, Remus, let’s just go home.”
“It must really be serious, if you’re calling me by my first name, now.”
Severus sighed and stepped in close to the Gryffindor, amused by the glimmer of surprise behind the constantly polite expression in Remus’ honey-gold eyes. “You know I avoid your given name out of propriety at school, Remus. If my housemates or yours knew about us…”
“I know.” Remus smiled, touching Severus’ cheek with a warm, calloused hand and then dropping it to squeeze Severus’ hand (now covered in his own gloves, since his metabolism created heat more easily). “And I promise we’ll go home after this one last thing. Okay?”
“Very well. Have your one last thing, then,” Severus growled.
Remus led the way out past the stables (where the farmer with the skittish horse still eyed him a bit nastily, clearly having heard of his association with the infamous James and Sirius) and out to a wagon stationed with a pair of draft horses and a rather bored-looking farmer leaning against the box of the wagon.
“After a ride, then?” the man asked. Remus nodded and handed him two galleons before meeting Severus’ shocked expression.
“A ride?” The Slytherin’s eyebrow shot up into his stringy black hair. “You couldn’t even feed a carrot to that horse back in the stables!”
“It’s just a wagon, Severus. The horse won’t mind. I’ve done it before, back home,” Remus assured him, hopping up into the box of the wagon and bending to help Severus in. A collection of hay bales had been placed in the wagon for seats, and the sweet scent of the hay mingled with the scents of earth and grass and rain from above as they settled themselves. The driver handed them back a pair of wool blankets, not commenting as Remus wrapped around both their shoulders and draped the other over their legs. The wagon lurched into motion to the tune of the horses’ hooves thumping into the firm dirt and the soft creaking of old wheels.
“There.” Remus slipped his arm around Severus’ waist beneath the blanket and nestled his cheek against his shoulder, taking a deep breath of the fresh autumn air. “This is worth all the rest, isn’t it?”
As they passed the next hour driving through the late afternoon countryside without a single suspicious and sneering classmate or irritable professor to question them or trouble their time together, Severus decided it certainly was. Even if he wasn’t quite ready to tell Remus so.
~end~
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Date: 2004-09-19 11:02 pm (UTC)Hi there! I just found your journal while randomly browsing LJ. ^^; I hope you don't mind that I friended you before I bothred to ask, but I figure if people are posting things open to the public, then it must be okay.
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Date: 2004-09-19 11:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 07:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 04:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 07:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 02:14 pm (UTC)Lovely writing, thanks!
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Date: 2004-09-20 06:03 pm (UTC)Rambling along.....
Date: 2004-09-21 10:52 am (UTC)Re: Rambling along.....
Date: 2004-09-21 10:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-23 04:27 pm (UTC)love, lore
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Date: 2004-09-23 09:27 pm (UTC)