Work Text:
December 22, 1978
“Moony?”
“Yes, Padfoot.”
“How do you light a fire?”
“… You’ve been doing that since First Year, Pads.”
“Well, obviously it’s easy to light things on fire with a poke and a little magic, but I mean the muggle way.”
“Oh, well, it’s quite similar, I suppose, there’s just matches involved, instead of wands.”
“Can you show me?”
Remus glanced at the clock, yawning. It was only 9:30 p.m.
“I suppose so.”
“Brilliant! What do you need me to get?” Sirius leapt up from his chair, abandoning Lily’s recipe book (which he had yet to return).
“Well, some old newspaper and wood for starters.”
*ten minutes later*
“Is this enough? I can get more!”
“Er, no, we do not need more sticks. 100 was quite sufficient.”
“All right!” Sirius cross his legs as he sat down, eagerly watching Remus arrange the wood in the fireplace.
He looked utterly, childishly adorable.
He was not allowed to hear such a thing.
“Could you pass me the newspaper?”
Sirius thrust the shredded paper in front of Remus’s face.
“Ta Pads, now it’s quite simple, just arrange the paper like so, and—”
There was a puff of flames and blue sparkling smoke.
“Er, Moony, is your hair smouldering?”
“…Padfoot, was that the Daily Prophet?”
“It was the only newspaper in the flat!”
“SIRIUS!”
One water spell and a lot of cursing later, they were back in front of the fireplace.
“What is our safety margin?”
“Er—”
“Never mind.” Remus rubbed at his temples. Thankfully, the paper only exploded a little, so only a small portion of his hair had burnt off. He made a mental note to get Lily to check it, and even it out at the next most convenient time.
Sirius arranged his sticks almost exactly like he’d seen Remus do before.
“No, not like that.” Remus reached out and grabbed Sirius’s hand. Someone’s breath hitched. He wasn’t quite sure whose, but he cleared his throat and continued on as if nothing had happened. “It’ll collapse, and be a general fire hazard.”
“Oh, right—er—of course. Silly me.”
Sirius fixed his structure, complete with muggle paper.
“Now, carefully light it, like I showed you before.”
“Like this?”
“Yes, no, wait. Padfoot. Put it down. Put it down! PUT IT DOWN!”
*some time later*
“It’s nearly midnight.” Remus didn’t whine, no matter what Sirius says. He wasn’t whining.
“Moony, it’s barely half past 10!”
“Really? It feels like we’ve been at this much longer than that.”
“I think I’ve got it this time.”
“Good. As you know, all good things take time. Now, shut up and try harder.”
11:11 p.m.
Sirius and Remus leaned back against the coffee table, admiring the duo’s handiwork.
“Good job, Pads.”
“Ta Moony, you know I had the most brilliant teacher, so it’s no surprise.”
“Just how many tries did it take you to get that right?”
“Details, Moony, details. Shut up and enjoy it.”
That’s exactly what Remus did. He did not lean his head against Sirius’s, no matter what he said. Well, maybe just a little. It was rather convenient for him.