Remus
The door to the Lupin’s bungalow took a bit of persuasion to lock, but after a couple shoves and a click, Remus finally burrowed his hands into his jacket pockets. He trudged through the snow-covered driveway, pushing his head further into his scarf like a tortoise. The tire marks where Lyall Lupin parks the car are long gone, and last night’s snowfall made sure of it.
It wouldn’t have been Remus’ choice to be late to work, but after a couple too many drinks last night, the bike had been ditched at the Leaky Pail for a tourist with a room at the Railview Hotel and a train ticket back to Scandinavia this morning. It was always better to seek out hook-ups who were guaranteed to leave Phoenix valley and they would both know that the night would end when the time on their boarding passes turned up and no later. December had just arrived, along with the start of holidayers escaping their city jobs.
It always intrigued Remus that so many people spent months and years in office cubicles to pay for the couple days they spend in the mountains where they can be one with the clouds and too far up to see the problems on their google calendar. Alas, Remus thought as he checked the time on his wrist, if they didn’t have Fenir as their boss, it was looking to be quite desirable right now.
The walk from the house to Howler Snowsport Gear Rental lead Remus down the main road of Spinner’s End, a village on the south-western side of the mountain, only boasting a couple shops and pubs. It lay in the shadow of Phoenix, a wealthy world-renowned snow sporting capital, a famous stop on the skiing and snowboarding world competition circuit. Remus was used to staying in a shadow, made life off the slopes easier to manage. Even in school, he was the one in the house paying the gas bill and calling the town’s electrician after his own attempts to fix a faulty stove or light failed. Most of the time life was good, however unfortunately Fenir Greyback caused the ‘most’ part of that statement.
“Hurry the hell up, kid”, Fenir huffed, “You better run stock again on the helmets and boots before the real money season begins, ay? I ain’t paying ‘er to sit on ye arse, get behind the til while I ‘ave breakfast”, the man didn’t wait for any reply and shoved his way through the door with a box of cigs. Remus hoped that he’ll be out until past noon.
Even with obnoxious retail Christmas music droning on, Remus enjoyed working at Howler, as long as his boss stayed at least a wall away. People had warned him of Fenir’s temper before he accepted the job, but at this point in life for Remus, he should have been given a full degree in dealing with middle-aged victims of divorce-court who find glee in being a right git.
Besides, the benefits of having access to snowboarding gear was too good to turn down.
Remus pulled out a book from his bag, dog-earred and curled at the sides. When he wasn’t helping customers find rentals or a new pair of gloves, he spent much of his shift reading in the armchair tucked behind the service counter. Remus was about 3 pages in when the store’s bell rung. He looked up and smiled. Hello, welcome to Howler Snowsports. Looking for anything particular? Yes, of course. The boots are this way, I’ll show you.
Remus was locking up the store around sunset when the text came through.
Might be a bit late tonight, wait for me at lower chairlift.
A grin split across his face only for another message to appear from Dorcas.
be ready to get absolutely destroyed like usual
Sirius
It hadn’t been the first time Sirius Black had missed the last chairlift, definitely won’t be his last either, but he had to admit that it was his first time snowboarding alone in the dark, down an unfamiliar slope and he had no clue where he was. The night chill was setting in and the sun had basically disappeared by now, leaving the empty sheets of snow leading down the mountain to glow in the moonlight.
He must’ve been less than 10 minutes behind the last gondola when he had turned up at the station, and the slope usual taken down to Phoenix had been closed for maintenance for the upcoming season. He had juggled the idea of going under the netting which was across the route and just hoping he could make it down, but that idea was pushed out when he saw the flood lights of a piste-basher machine through the trees.
Instead, he had tried another run which he was sure lead back to Phoenix. But after a long curve west, and kilometres without signage or at least none which he saw in the darkening mountain, he was doubting himself. Sirius was hoping to find someone who would know the way, anyone really, but with his luck, the slope had been empty for the whole way down.
Fuck this. In the middle of nowhere, freezing his ass off, probably barrelling towards some hungry bear coming out of hibernation just to secure Sirius’ shitty luck. He swore he could hear something to his left, through the tree line, but the wind in his ears blocked most out. Veering towards the side, Sirius felt the board hit something below him before he was shot left. The nose of his snowboard lifted up and the heel edge dug into the built-up snow at the tree line. It should’ve been an easy turn out, Sirius should’ve leaned downhill and turned his board towards the dark twist of the slope. Of course, he does none of this.
Sirius Black, the prodigal first son of the snowsport empire Black Ice, dives headfirst into the foot-high snow.
Sirius felt himself roll down, through the snow, curling his arms in so they aren’t caught on any stray branch. After a break in his fall, Sirius digs his snowboard hard into the snow, stopping any more sliding further into the power.
It took him a second to realise the darkness around him was the forest, as he stared up to the sky covering branches of evergreens. His body was twisted oddly into the foot of fallen snow, he could feel the frozen ground through his jacket. It had been a while since he last fell, maybe it was the dark? Or he caught a tree root? Sirius let himself close his eyes, staying buried in the moonlit snow, dappled by dark twisting branches. He would have let himself have a few more minutes, lying in the snow-covered ditch, but then he heard someone above.
“Hey! Mate! You okay- shit, Docas, get down here. The fucker is not movin’”, a stranger’s voice to his left shocked the forest. At that, he snapped his head back to see two figures on a hillcrest further into the forest.
“I-I’m fine, just great”, Sirius responded, twisting his board to rest below him, dug further into the snow to act as a platform. He heard them behind him, and suddenly he turned to his left again and there they were.
“Jesus, you really know how to scare someone, don’t you?”, the girl said. She was wearing a light blue jacket and white pants, on skis, and as she stopped, she carved sideways against the incline and sent a chunk of snow downhill. She switched her ski poles to her right gloved hand, and with the left reached down to offer a hand. Sirius took it, it felt polite, especially when you have scared these people by lying like a corpse in a forest. He thought he must’ve looked insane.
“Yeah, my bad. My board got caught on the treeline”, Sirius answered, although the smirk on the girl’s face told him he must sound stupid as well as insane.
“What? Thought you’d have an overnight stay on the mountain then?”
“Missed the last lift, so was looking for a way down”, he shrugged. She looked like she was about to answer when the other person, the one who Sirius first heard, appeared at his other side.
“Staying in Phoenix then?”, the guys asked. He had a greenish jacket and dark pants, and a snowboard attacked to his feet. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, instead just a beanie with his dark brown curls escaping out at the sides. After a second, he rose an eyebrow. A question, right.
“Yeah, yeah, down in Diagon Square. You know where it is?”, Sirius just hoped one of these night skiers knew how to get back across the mountain, preferably not including a compass, hours of walking and luck. Luck was not a Sirius Black talent.
Confusingly, the boy just grinned and shared a look with the girl like Sirius had just told the funniest joke.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find you a way back”, the guy said, “Can you ride one footed?”
The brown-haired guy was looking down at Sirius’ board. His left foot was slanted out of the binding, and the lock was broken.
“Shit. Yeah, I’m all good”, Sirius said as he pushed his foot out of the foothold and kicking his foot board forward so it caught the loose bindings against the snowboard. Easier to ride when the binding straps weren’t catching in the snow.
“I’m Dorcus, by the way”, the girl said. From this close, Sirius could see a couple freckles across her face, matching her dark brown eyes, and the moonlight made her gold septum ring glint.
“Sirius”, he responded, ”Thanks for the help, it’s been a while since I’ve been skiing here”.
“No problem, we’ll use the cat-tracks”, The guy said and was already leaning his board downhill and picking up pace, his snowboard carving through the powder. Dorcas followed the guy down, and despite Sirius expecting them to join back with the slope further down, they headed further into the forest.
It occurred to him now that the two hadn’t come from the slope, like Sirius had, but from the forest side. He’ll ask to have to ask which piste they had come from when they made it down. For now, he focused on keeping his left foot pressed against the side of his binding as he followed them.
The two of them drifted through the trees, the powder looked to be almost shifting out their way. To Sirius, the towering bare trees around them made it impossible to keep a steady turning pattern, but to them, the trees were like marks on their route, daring them to use to the clumped-up snow at their base as turning aids.
At a point, Dorcas slowed and turned her head so Sirius could hear.
“The cat track is just up ahead, a bit of a dip down though”, then she smirked. Sirius could swear he would be able to tell just in her voice even if he couldn’t see her face.
“No more face plants, Mr Black”, she didn’t give him time to be surprised before she sped off, using a dug-in pole to propel her forward.
Sirius followed, and shifted to watch the guy further ahead take a turn right, up a snow hill and when at the top, he bent his knee and rocketed himself towards the tree branches above. Power flew with him and vanished away as he fell on the other side. He would have followed, and almost did, but a shift in his feet reminded him of the broken bindings.
Then Dorcas shook him out of his thoughts, by tapping hard against a tree she passed with her pole. A warning, he thought, and was proven right as Dorcas’ figure dropped and disappeared as well.
Sirius is a park rat at heart, always on the big jumps, half pipes and rails. Maybe it was a reaction after forced to be a speed skier for years that he gravitated and fell in love with the most opposite discipline on the slopes.
He had decided to do a 360 turn before he pushed off and even with his free left foot, he was sure he could do this jump blind. Sirius shot off the edge, finding lift with his right leg and jumped to the tire-tracked route below. It ran perpendicular to Sirius’ direction, but he easily broke his spinning momentum with a quick turn-and-dig into the snow, skidding some light power off the edge of the road with his force. A piece of his black hair fell in front of his eye, and he pushed it back under his helmet with his glove, turning to face the two others.
Dorcas gave him a nod and turned back to face down the road, using her poles to glide along the flat ground towards the decline. What surprised Sirius is that the snowboarder waited for him to push away from the edge and followed.
“Nice landing”, the boy commented, as he undid his left foot binding, “Was waiting for you to do another fall”. Sirius wasn’t sure if it was meant to be an offence or a compliment.
“I guess I’m full of surprises”, Sirius began pushing himself with his left foot, skating towards Dorcas. The snowboarder just smiled and followed.
“It’s Remus”, the boy said.
“Huh?”
“My name, Remus”, he pushed again with his foot, “So you can properly thank me when I fix your board”,
Remus wasn’t looking at him now, instead facing down and picking up pace.
“Fix my board?”, Sirius mumbled through his buff, but Remus didn’t seem to hear. The wind around Sirius out on the open slope speeding up past his ears made talking not worth it. Instead, the two snowboarders picked up speed as the decline increased.
Without trees blocking the view, the skiers and slope was bathed in the moonlight. All three of them made loose, snaking turns down until the lights marking the end of the slope and the beginnings of a town came into view, cutting in between the trees ahead. A chairlift was to the left, now dormant with the chairs swinging in the night’s wind. Sirius noticed the lights were on in the operating box.
The three of them halted at the end of the slope, a flat field of snow led up to the start of Spinner’s End, made clear by a wooden welcome sign next to a map of the mountain. It was deserted, the night wind had died down as they reached the town so the silence of the foreign mountain town became all the more apparent. Thankfully, Dorcas and Remus looked familiar with the area, maybe they’re staying here? They took off their skis and snowboards when they’re close to end of the snowed ground, leaving only icey road left.
Dorcas slid her skies together and hoisted them over her shoulder and turning back to Remus, “Fenir won’t mind if I store these in Howler again, right?”
“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him”, Remus responded, before turning to Sirius, “C’mon this way, reception is easier to get further into town”,
“You guys are staying here?”, Sirius held with own snowboard by the foot binding like a handle. He wouldn’t lie, the idea of going into an unknown town at night with two strangers was ringing little alarm bells but so far they seemed friendly enough.
“We both live here”, Dorcas said, already turning and walking down the road. Remus and Sirius follow, snowboards held at their sides, causing their walk to sway with the weight.
“Live here? Like in Spinner’s End?”, Remus glanced sideways at him.
“Yep”, he popped the ‘p’, “been here since I was a kid”
“So you snowboard a lot then?”
“Yeah, Most days in winter I’m on the slope”, Remus said, the lights from the slope behind them kept his face in darkness. There was no sidewalk, so they kept an eye out incoming vehicles. Sirius dug his boots in surely every step, trying to create grip on the road. They pass sleepy wooden homes, snow built up at the fronts and side, fireplace smoke floating from their roofs. He had never been to Spinner’s End, only viewing the hamlet up high up on the mountain where the mismatched houses and curving ice-covered dirt roads contrasted against the blinding snow.
It’s a couple minutes of walking before Sirius sees Dorcas wait ahead at the doors of a low roofed store. The windows, boasting an assortment of skiing gear, were dark and above was a sign with ‘Howler Snowsports’ in 90s graphic font.
Without much thought, Sirius spoke, “Jesus, I don’t know who to pity more. The owner or the graphic designer?”
Remus just did another one of his sideways glances before walking to join Dorcas. He silently passes her, and with a metal key now in his hand pushes it into the lock with practice. The door swings open on old creaky hinges and Remus, without delay, flicks the switch on the wall. The lights of the store switch on and Sirius shuts his mouth.
Great one, Black.
The walls of Howler were lined with all the snow equipment Sirius could think of; helmets, gloves, ski poles and, of course, snowboards. A cashier’s desk sat to the side but Remus headed to the back, where racks of skis were lined up. There was a bench looked to be used to readjust ski bindings. Dorcas takes both her skis and Remus’ board, resting them against the wall next to the staff room door.
“Lemme take a look at the bindings”, Remus calls.
“This your…store? Or something?”, Sirius tried.
“Not mine, my boss’s”, Remus’ mouth curled up. Sirius didn’t think he had met someone so annoying and sarcastic. He wasn’t as infuriated by it as he should, in fact, he rather liked the small, jaunty smile.
“Wow”, Sirius leant his snowboard on the bench, “I’m pretty darn lucky to meet an elusive snowboarder who also fixes bindings then”. He wasn’t going to lie, he was trying to make up for his big mouth, especially after they just helped him.
“Meet? I think you mean be saved by”
“comme ci comme ça”, Remus just rolled his eyes in response. Sirius smirked.
Dorcas disappeared into the staffroom, obviously familiar with the store layout, so Sirius turned back to Remus.
“So you work here?”
“Yeah, mainly just at the register but an old co-worker taught gear maintenance, so I help out here sometimes as well”
“Dorcas too?”
“No, definitely not, she would be in a fist fight with Fenir on the first day”, Remus laughed a little like he was imagining it.
“They don’t get along then?”
“No sane person would get along with him, trust me”
“I have a feeling you’re also not a fan”
Remus scoffed, “What gave it away?”, then he sighed, “I’m here for the paycheck and all this”, he makes a gesture to the racks of snowboards.
Sirius never had a job, even after boarding school. His schedule was mainly training and getting shitfaced.
Remus had the snowboard along the bench, unscrewing the broken binding and placing it to the side.
“Got anyone to call?”
“Hm?”
“To come get you. Anyone in Phoenix?”
“Yeah, yeah”, Sirius was already pulling out his phone and tapping on his most used contact. There was already a couple texts from James asking where he was, which was expected. He typed back a beg for him to drive over to Spinner’s End and slipped it back into his jacket’s inside pocket, next to his wallet.
“How much you want for it?”, Sirius asks.
“What? The new bindings?”
“Yeah”
“Nothin’, it’s all good”, Sirius looked up to see if he was joking.
“No way, mate. I got cash”, Remus just smiled.
“Nah, you’ll actually be doing me a favour, so no worries”
“Not paying you is a favour?”
“Those bindings-”, Remus pointed to the board, “-are from the stores’ own sample sizes. I don’t handle the orders per say but my boss doesn’t notice a couple more sets on the receipt for my own use as long as they aren’t sitting around the store too long”
Sirius couldn’t help but grin back at the ingeniousness.
“Love your work ethic, Remus”, Sirius lifted the board and tugged on the bindings.
“I’ll put your Black seal-of-approval on my resumé then”
“Anything to help inconvenience your lovely boss”
“My life’s mission, truly”, Remus crossed back from behind the bench, chucking the screwdriver back into the drawer as he walked. Then, Dorcas walked back in.
“Had fun, boys?”, she was reapplying lipstick in the reflection of ski goggles attached to the wall. Remus gave her the finger.
As they exited Howler Snowsports, Sirius got a couple messages back from James.
On my way! now.
Scared us a bit mate, Mum is gonna kill u
Better start picking out flowers for your funeral.
Sirius typed back immediately.
Open casket remember, people need to be graced by my gorgeous face one more time.
Dorcas swings her leg over a shiny black motorbike, securing the clasp of her helmet, then turning back to the two boys. It was an old model and the leather seat had breaking along the seams but that didn’t stop Sirius’ envy.
“All good to get home?”, Dorcas said to Remus.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine”, Remus stood with his hands in his jacket pocket, his beanie taken off too, “Lily is coming over if you want to join?”
“Nah, gotta get back to help out for dinner”
“’course, see you Dorcas”, the girl nodded in response and the engine came alive, taking only seconds for her to turn the motorbike around. Remus and Sirius took a step towards the sidewalk as she disappeared up the road. The bike’s motor could be heard for a couple more seconds after she was gone.
The cool night air settled over them, as they were left in the quiet. They both watched as their own breathes escaped their mouths, like smoking without the cigarette. Sirius could feel the air grow tight, he never liked silence.
“Should I send a full bouquet of flowers or just a letter of my gratitude?”, Remus looked up confused, “For the thank you I’m supposed to give you”, Sirius added. The boys broke out into grins.
“Oh, I was expecting a full parade, floats, ice carving, full marching band, and of course, a massive banner”, Remus brought his hands into a wave, mimicking a sign above his head.
“Sincere thanks to Remus, best and brightest of the Phoenix Valley, for saving me from freezing my fucking arse off”
“What’s your last name? Surely, you’ll only get full credit when people know exactly who you are”, Sirius affirmed.
“Ah, now you’re asking the big questions”
“You know mine, c’mon, it’ll be like a ‘I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours’ kind of deal”, Remus smile grew and Sirius thought he had finally got through to him.
“I guess you will have to be saved again by an elusive snowboarder in the dark to get that, Sirius Black”,
Sirius found that he didn’t find Remus’ odd answers nearly as frustrating he should.
It was then when the lights of James Potter’s car come around the bend, flooding the snow-mounded sidewalks and piercing their vision. His best friend’s truck was a maroon red, made for the snowy country roads in the valley with front bar and off-road tires. It had been the compromise James had agreed to when he had first wanted a Lightning McQueen inspired car. Sirius still remembered a younger James turning to him lamenting about all the bets he will lose, including ones to Sirius himself, if he didn’t get a red and yellow sports car.
Sirius turned back to Remus, now bathed in the almost sun-like light. His brown curls looked almost blonde and his previous hazel eyes shone a vibrant, fiery yellow.
He kept his gaze for a split second only for the car horn break it. Remus glanced down at the floor for a second with a too-short cough. Sirius turned to an open car window with James facing him with a grin.
“Got a bit lost, mate?”, Sirius’ eyes rolled.
“Shut up, Potter, at least I didn’t ditch training today like some swot”,
“Not in school anymore, got to show Dad I’m really serious about the job, y’know”,
“Yeah, yeah”, Sirius opens the door before remembering and turning back to Remus, “thanks for the help”, lifting his board up, “and this too”
“All good”, he had moved to leaning on the street lamppost, arms crossed over his body, “besides I’m expecting a really big parade”
“Wouldn’t want to disappoint then”, Sirius couldn’t help the grin on his face. Remus’ eyes flicker to James in the car and nodded, before turning to face down the road and responding.
“Get home without detours this time”, Sirius heard James cackling at Remus’ reply.
“Fuck off”, Sirius shot back, laughing, but Remus was already walking away. James started the car and tore away from the sidewalk.
“Now, tell me how the fuck you found yourself in Spinner on a Tuesday night?”
“Honest to God, it was just a couple wrong turns and an inviting looking ditch”, Sirius answered with his arms up in surrender.
“The only thing you’re inviting is hypothermia, Black”
It was only then did Sirius realised that Remus hadn’t even given his phone number over. That didn’t stop him from pulling out his own phone for a quick scour over a couple different socials for anyone who could be him, but to no avail. He even tried Dorcas, but after a few different spellings, that search came up with nothing too.
Now he was pissed and thought it would have been great to have a contact who could fix equipment, maybe with a friends-and-family discount being added along the way, not that either James or Sirius need it.
The drive back to Phoenix wasn’t long and the dark mountains around them brought Sirius back to the past winters James and he have spent on the mountains with their friends. Both of them had said this season would be the first real one, as they were now of age to compete for a spot of Phoenix’s team, not just youth races. Black Ice and Phoenix always were head-to-head in the regionals, and both fought for a spot on the international stage. It had been their dream for years to join Phoenix's team, not to mention a big ‘fuck you’ to his family along the way.
This season is ours, Sirius thought as the two boys drove past the Phoenix town sign.