Marauders Era Short Stories

Nightmares

Remus tossed and turned in his sleep. Images flashed behind his eyelids, combining terrible memories and horrid figments of his imagination. He saw himself as if through the eyes of another person. Except he wasn't himself; he was the werewolf. He watched as his monstrous self wrecked and destroyed everything and everyone he loved until he was left with nothing. He cried in his dream, gasping and sobbing as tears streamed down his cheeks. Suddenly, a faint sound cut through his cries.

"Remus? Remus, wake up,"

The sound grew louder and louder, and Remus registered the faint feeling of a hand on his arm. He jolted awake, nearly hitting Sirius who stood over him.

"Merlin, you gave me a fright!" exclaimed Remus, staring wide eyed at Sirius who was standing over him.

"Bad dream again?"

Remus nodded, still trying to shake the horrible images that lingered in his brain. He felt movement on his bed as Sirius climbed in beside him. This had been something of a routine for the past couple years. Whenever Remus had a nightmare, or Sirius was lonely, Sirius would get up and tuck himself into bed beside his friend. They had a calming effect on each other.

They lay together, separately at first, but after they had drifted off into their own peaceful slumbers, their bodies seemed to gravitate towards each other, their legs tangling together.

The next morning, Remus woke tangled up in the arms of the space heater that was Sirius Black.

James was already awake, glancing curiously at the two boys in the same bed. "Why do you always go to Remus' bed?"

Sirius looked at Remus, but the boy shook his head, not wanting to reveal his nightmares.

"I dunno, I just like cuddling when I sleep," said Sirius.

"Well, why don't you come to my bed? I also like cuddling,"

Sirius shrugged. "Remus is cuddlier."

"Oh come on! You've never even cuddled me before, therefore you have no right to judge my cuddliness." Suddenly, James ran at Sirius, jumping on him and tackling him onto his bed. He then proceeded to squeeze Sirius, the two cackling with laughter.

"Oi, James, you reek of perfume!" Sirius gagged, gasping for air.

"Is it too much?" he asked, climbing off of his friend. "Lily said she liked flowers, so I got a flowery male cologne."

"You smell like a garden," he said, plugging his nose. "Are you sure you didn't just rub flowers all over yourself?"

James pouted. "Go big or go home, yeah? Besides, Lily will like it, you'll see."

Soon the boys were headed downstairs for breakfast. James sat down beside Lily, who was chatting with Marlene and Alice.

"Hello Evans," he said, his crooked smile playing on his lips. "See anything you'd fancy?"

"Yes, I do reckon this jam will go quite well with my bread," she said, making Marlene snicker. Lily sniffed. "What's that smell? It smells of... flowers?"

James smirked, and Lily gagged when she realized where the smell was coming from. "Potter, it's you!"

"Wow, that's not how I imagined you saying that,"

"You bloody reek!"

"You said you like flowers!"

Lily stuttered, dumbfounded, but quickly regained her composure. "You just reek, alright? You smell as if you bathed in the stuff."

James groaned in defeat. "Bloody hell, fine, I get it. But I haven't any time to shower before Transfiguration, so you're going to have to deal with it for the rest of the day." He got up and went back to his friends who were all chortling with laughter. "Oh, shut it."

"James, couldn't you tell?" said Remus. "She loved it!"

"What? But she told me I reek!"

"Oh Jamesy, you clueless dimwit," Sirius said. "You're clearly not the ladies man of the group."

James rolled his eyes. "So, you're saying that I should keep wearing it?"

"Yes!" all three said in unison.

"Although... maybe a little bit less," said Peter. "It does come on a bit strong."

"Duly noted."