See The Rainbows In My Eyes

Snowfall

Saturday 29th November 1975

"WAKE UP!" Sirius furiously shook James by the shoulders until he swore he heard a joint pop. "James mother fucking Potter, WAKE UP!"

James groaned deliriously, blankets wrapping him snugly. He attempted to sit up, all hazy and confused with a wild head of hair, but only fell off his bed with a heavy thump to the floor. When he managed to find his glasses somewhere on his nightstand, wobbly placed them on, squinted outside, then squinted at the time, he immediately took off his glasses and collapsed back into bed with a dramatic sigh.

Sirius turned abruptly. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Sleeping you dolt, it's 2 am."

Sirius rolled his eyes, James would get up eventually. Instead, he crossed the room, pulling back Peter's curtains. "Peter," Sirius sang in a high, Victorian accent like those women who wore puffy ball gowns and pampered white faces. "Peter Pettigrew..." He began to prod his cheek but the boy, whose mouth was gapped and snoring deeply, didn't even twitch. Sirius groaned, then took in a deep breath. "PETER FUCKING PETTIGREW!"

Peter's eyes snapped open, startled in sweat, and darted his gaze every which way until it landed on Sirius' mischievously grinning face. "Morning babe."

He blinked. "Sirius...what the fuck?"

Sirius shrugged, kissing his two forefingers and pressing them to Peter's temple. "Now get up you shit." He turned on his heels, leaving Peter in bemusement, skipped over to the next bed, and cleared his throat before bellowing, "MOONY WA-"

"I'm already up," Remus calmly interrupted, drawing back his curtains to reveal his perched body against his headboard as if he'd been awake all along.

His curls were only slightly tousled and his nightshirt was wrinkled but his eyes, fuck, his bloodshot eyes made Sirius' heart just halt. If it were possible to paint something in exhaustion then Remus' eyes would be the canvas. It was as if someone had smeared soot under his lids and then left it to slowly fade.

Annoyance bubbled up in the pit of Sirius' stomach, wanting nothing more than to shove a sleeping draught down that boys' throat so he could get some fucking sleep. But then Remus smiled that fucking Moony smile and Sirius felt all his anger whither into a thin stringed line, forgetting what he'd been so upset about in the first place.

"It's snowing," Remus acknowledged with that smart quirk of his brow.

"IS THAT WHY YOU WOKE ME UP? BECAUSE OF SOME BLOODY SNOW!" James yelled from his bed.

Sirius grinned, partly because of the weather then partly because of that fucking smile that always got him so twisted and gitty. "Right indeed, now get your arses up so I can play in some god damn snow!"

***

It was truly a sight. Four boys all bundled up in coats that made them look double their size, hats smushed on their heads, mittens, scarfs, squeaky rain boots, all because James refused for them to go outside in the ice-cold climate without proper apparel.

But Sirius didn't complain one bit because once they'd squeezed under James' cloak, sneaked outside after hours at three in the morning, and emerged onto the empty grounds, Sirius couldn't help but feel warmth rush to his freezing cheeks.

It was as if they were trapped in a snow globe, the entire earth sheeted in a foot high of whiteness, small flurries sprinkling down and coating blue spruce trees. The night was black and silent and he could hear the snapping of branches from the Forbidden Forest and yet all of it was the most magical thing he'd ever witnessed.