halloween fic the first!

[rivendellrose]

At the request of theladyfeylene, here's the first of my Halloween fics - the Marauders go out to a harvest maze, and run into some unexpected company after getting lost. Remus-centric.



"Oi, Moony, are you coming or not?"

Remus started, wrenching his eyes away from the mist-covered hills beyond the castle. For a moment he'd been sure he smelled something that didn't belong to the wet leaves and grass and heather of the countryside, something he couldn't quite put a finger on...

"Moony?" Sirius touched his shoulder, the scent of leather and cologne covering whatever Remus had sought, driving the near-memories from his mind.

"I'm coming, I just thought I smelled something."

"Lady wolf?" Sirius laughed and shook his head. "Head out of the clouds, Moony. The maze is only open for this one day, we don't want to miss it, do we?"

"No..." Remus shook his head, trying to clear whatever had grabbed him from his mind. It could wait. He'd figure it out later, if he caught the scent again.

James and Peter were a few meters ahead of them, already on the downslope toward Hogsmeade, where, just peeking out of the mists, Remus could see a huge labyrinth constructed out of haystacks and bales, corn and pumpkins. The whole thing had been the idea of the Headmaster, as part of a harvest and Halloween celebration - something new each weekend, all on a fall theme, to keep the students busy and out of trouble. Some had gone better than others, like the apple bobbing in the Great Hall after dinner last week that had ended with half the students who participated dripping from head to toe once Peeves got the idea to join in on the fun, but Remus and his friends had been particularly looking forward to the maze.

"We should've gone earlier," Peter pointed out, stuffing his pink hands into the pockets of his robes, and snuggling his chin into his bright Gryffindor scarf. "It's getting cold, and it'll be dark by the time we get there."

"Scared of the dark, Wormtail?" Sirius grinned, a canine baring of teeth that Remus recognized as half dominance display. When Peter sputtered, Sirius backed off, appeased, and clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Come on, we'll stop by the Three Broomsticks on the way back, and I'll buy us all hot butterbeers and beef pasties, right? Just as soon as we get through the maze."

"S'not like I'm scared," Peter grumbled. "I just have work to do, and it's cold out."

"We all have work to do, Pete. But it's only Saturday. All work and no play makes Wormtail a dull rat, eh?" James smiled as they took their places in the lingering line of students waiting to get into the maze. There were only a few left, the rest having apparently gone through earlier or abandoned it when the skies began to darken and when the mist settled over the land, leaving the grass damp and the earth slightly muddy. "This is perfect."

Although he normally would have been a bit closer to Peter's feelings on the situation, Remus found himself in agreement with James. The smell of wet hay and grass comforted his human mind, while something about the crisp autumn twilight and the way the damp air made every scent hang like a cloud of perfume woke up the wolfish part of him. He wanted to run, to hunt, to play... or, failing that, at least to make a fool of himself in a dusky maze, and enjoy a night out with his friends. They had just stepped up to the front of the line, the place before them abandoned by a trio of Hufflepuff girls who'd decided that a quick stop at Honeydukes sounded better than a wet and muddy maze, when he caught That Scent again.

"Go on in, then, since them girls just left," the maze-minder told them, waving the cluster of Gryffindors through the arched entrance decorated with maize stalks.

Remus hesitated. If the man would just turn, he could get a closer sniff at the maize stalk that seemed to have caught the scent, but instead the minder seemed intent on watching the boys enter the maze. For what reason, Remus could not imagine - they'd been the last in line, so it wasn't as though he was trying to gauge how long until he could let the next group in. Still, he certainly didn't want to be caught sniffing at foliage... hopefully the smell would turn up later. And so, nodding to the man, Remus entered the maze on Sirius' heels.

Darkness drew on, creating long shadows and turning the bales and haystacks into something legitimate, something almost sinister despite the comforting, country smell that hung in the air... and the maze was more complicated than they'd expected. Sirius and James had been sure they'd be through it quickly and easily, but either they'd been paying less attention than they meant to, in all their horseplay, or Dumbledore's design was more complicated than they'd collectively expected. Dusk turned to darkness, and the Gryffindors still hadn't found their way out.

"Can't you sniff the way out, Moony?" Peter's voice held just the barest hint of a whine as he rubbed his arms, his teeth chattering.

Remus took an experimental sniff and shook his head. "Too many trails all laid one over the other - I might be able to smell the way to Hogsmeade if it were the actual full moon, but with all the layers and the hay to cover everything, I doubt it. Padfoot could try... but he'd probably have the same problem."

Sirius shrugged, his hands stuffed into his black leather jacket. "I believe you, Moony. If you can't, I probably can't either."

"Yeah... there's just too much..." Remus trailed off, squinting into the darkness. "Hang on, I smell something different."

"What is it?" Peter asked eagerly. "Can we follow it out?"

"I don't know..." That mysterious scent he'd caught earlier seemed to be layered into it, along with cigarette smoke, sharp and tangy and strange amid the clean smells of autumn.

"It's better than sitting here on our collective arses," James announced, rubbing his hands briskly. "Let's get moving, men. Lead on, Moony - it's your trail."

Remus nodded to their leader and set out in the direction of The Scent, nostrils flared to catch the ways it wafted and twisted on the wind. Twice he was led into false ends by the maze, and then around a curve into... another dead end, at the back of which slumped a familiar black-haired figure, his head bent over a cigarette and his lank hair not quite managing to mask a hooked nose and sullen, pale face. Perched atop a hay bale, Severus Snape looked like a crossed mockery of scarecrow and raven in one body. Suddenly grateful for the darkness, Remus realized that his was the scent he'd been catching all evening, the one that brought out strange memories and still stranger feelings.

It was on the tip of his tongue to announce another false lead, to turn back and herd the others along the paths away from the Slytherin, leave the boy to some unaccustomed peace... but poor luck or some uncanny sense tipped Snape off, and the lanky boy looked up, then pulled his wand in a defensive gesture.

"Brilliant," Sirius' voice hissed over Remus' shoulder. "What're you doing out here, Snivellus? Remind you of home, with all the mud and muck?"

"Fuck you, Black." Severus took a slow drag on his cigarette, and Remus hoped he was the only one close enough to see that the other boy's fingers shook as he pulled it away. "Get the fuck away from me."

A quick exchange of hexes that Remus barely caught in the scuffle, and Snape was bound - silent and scowling, wriggling as he attempted to break magical ropes that held his arms against his sides and gagged him so he couldn't speak.

James whistled, bolstered by a high snicker from Peter. "Whoooo, Pads, I think old Snivelly's got quite a mouth on him tonight, don't you? Maybe we oughta teach him a lesson about proper respect, proper way to talk to people, eh?"

"Mates, let's just--"

"I'm thinking you've got the right of it, Prongs," Sirius agreed, completely ignoring Remus' half-hearted attempt at interference. "Boy with a mouth like that, I'd say he's looking to have the grease beat right out of him. And out here all alone without anybody to step in, too..."

"Padfoot, this isn't--"

"No worries, Remus. We're far away from the school, and old Snivelly won't have the balls to tell on us tomorrow morning, will he?"

"Not if we make sure he's not awake til noon," James agreed, grinning at Sirius in a feral fashion that made Remus' spine tingle. James was definitely the alpha of the group, and Sirius had always been his second - it wasn't in Remus to challenge either of them for the ruling of their little pack. He wasn't leadership material, in any sense of the word beyond prefect status... and nights like tonight reminded him that he wasn't even really suited for that.

And so it was that his attempt came out more plea than command. "But don't you think... Why don't we just move on, James? Go to the Three Broomsticks like we said we would? Peter's cold, and... we've all got work to do."

"I don't mind," Peter piped up, and Remus was disturbed to see the smaller boy's eyes glinting a bit in the misty night. The hero-worship in his eyes when he glanced at James for confirmation assured Remus he wasn't going to be getting any back-up from his smaller friend on this subject. Remus glanced again at Snape, and found black eyes glittering with rage, all the other boy's frustration and humiliation leveled at him. No thanks would come out of this, if he pressed onward, and his friends would be upset at the loss of their fun. There was no good reason not to give in, and just wander away, if he felt he needed to not watch.

Remus lowered his head, ready to bow out of the argument before it even started, as he usually did, when a kick of breeze slipped in over the hay bale Severus' now-prone form rested on and carried with it that same scent that had brought him up short so many times already that evening. He still couldn't put a name to it, but it made something in him sit up and take notice, made him pause that last second, and take another look at Snape's black-clad form in the spotty, mist-drowned moonlight. Maybe it was the nearness of the full moon in his blood, but there was something fae and wild about Snape, with his black hair trailing over his face. His skin was almost silver in the moonlight, and his defiant fury reminded Remus of an animal caught in a trap, as likely to rip into the hand that freed it as the one that meant more harm.

The wolf arose at that thought, and Remus caught Sirius' sleeve just as the other boy was moving past him toward the object of their intended fun. "No."

Sirius stopped dead in his tracks, turned to Remus with eyes that glowed almost silver in the gloom. "No?" He laughed, but it rang a bit tinny and weak in Remus' ears. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean 'no,' Padfoot. Let's leave him. Let's go." Remus took a deep breath and watched it rise in a silver cloud from his lips. "I want to go. Now."

"Fine, go home, then - you don't have to join in on the fun, we're more than capable of handling--"

"Padfoot."

James' voice was soft, low with authority and confidence in his place as leader, and his hand rested firm and warm on Remus' shoulder. The wolf in Remus wanted to nuzzle his friend's chin, keen with grateful submission at the way their alpha had stepped in. The boy, disturbed by the strength of his own reaction, could only watch, stunned.

"What, Prongs? It's Snivellus..."

"I know it is. But Moony's right. We should... Let's just forget about it, tonight, okay?"

Sirius looked from one to the other, and then to Peter, incredulous, but the smaller boy had already taken his cue from James, as always. "I can't believe you lot... it's Snivellus!"

"Leave it, Padfoot. Another time. Not tonight." James clapped Sirius on the shoulder. "Come on - I'll buy the butterbeers, this time. And pasties, too. The works."

Sirius sighed, but stalked past his friend with only a grumble to betray his feelings. "Fine. Whatever."

"No promises, though, Snivelly," James added, turning back to their quarry for a moment. "This is a one-time thing." With a slow, significant look at Remus, James joined his friend, and Peter trailed at his heels, amicably chatting about what kind of food they should get at the pub... and leaving Remus alone with their erstwhile captive. Remus hesitated, then lifted his wand and released the bonds that held the other boy.

"Is this the part where I piss myself with gratitude?" Snape sneered. "Bugger off, Lupin. Go lick Potter's boots like you know you want to. Maybe he'll let you in on his and Black's little fete of buggery, for the night. Let you whine in his lap like Pettigrew." Waves of anger and shame flowed from his shaking frame.

Remus closed his eyes, took a slow breath, and when he opened his eyes he found Snape entirely too close, glaring directly into his eyes. He'd never imagined that such a scrawny body could put out so much heat, although it probably had more to do with the thinness of Snape's robes than any unusual warmth in his body. The scents of herbs, of stone and hair oils and formaldehyde, with cigarette smoke layered over it all, washed over him, and he swallowed. He was alone, with what he couldn't help recognizing as another predator.

"This doesn't make us even."

"I..." Remus licked his lips. "I know."

"Get out of here."

The last vestiges of the bravery that had come on him moments ago buoyed Remus, and he held his ground.

"Are you trying to get hexed?"

In the distance, he could hear his friends calling for him. They'd come back if he didn't catch up to them quickly, and even James wouldn't feel any pity, then, that would prevent him attacking Snape. But there was something under his tongue, words for a feeling he couldn't quite grab hold of, dancing out of his reach like wills of the wisp that always danced just beyond reach. Impulse pushed him and, figuring it couldn't take him so very much farther from his normal life, after everything else he'd done already this evening, he went along with it.

Almost before his higher brain was aware of the action, he closed the last inches between them and pressed a quick kiss to the Slytherin's cold, chapped lips, then turned and fled into the darkness toward the sound of his friends' voices. He didn't look back. He was too afraid of what he might see, and how he might react to it.

Comments

[theladyfeylene.livejournal.com]

Aw! I loved that! I really liked how Remus was his usual waffly self, but dug in his heels and stood up when it came right down to it. Thank you so much for writing that!

Those two are so very angsty and confused.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it! I was kind of worried about having Remus buckle down finally, but it seemed like the thing to do - it was important to me that it have a happy ending. *g*

They are indeed. But every now and then they have their moments.