The Benefits of Being Bored
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. However, since Rowling discarded my favourite characters I picked them up and took them into my care to give them the love and attention they deserve...and occasionally give them reason to need that love and attention no matter how much they deserve it without needing a reason.
Summary: The Marauders' first Hogsmeade visit turns into a nightmare as Death Eaters attack.
Warnings: Strong bromance, can't stomach boys being extremely close without it being sexual, then this is not the story for you and you should hit the return button.
Described Death Eater attack and duelling, injuries caused by said attack and possible use of language.
This story is part of a series called A Bond of Family. If you are interested in reading the entire series, then the chronological order can be found on my profile.
Special thanks to Kitty for beta-ing this story, for your endless support and the inspiration you always give me. And most of all, thank you for your endless patience and help with pre-reading and beta-ing these stories for me. You're the best!
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"Are you guys ready?"
Remus nodded enthusiastically at James' question, waiting in line to leave the castle.
"Yes! Did you know it is the only purely Wizarding village in all of Britain? Hengist of Woodcroft..."
"You've told us that seven times already!" Peter rolled his eyes, making Remus flush.
"Ah, let him be excited, Pete," Sirius hummed, looking through a brochure as they waited. "Where would you like to go first?"
"Honkeydukes!...or Zonko's!" James cheered.
"Why am I not surprised," Remus laughed but Peter frowned.
"Not Spintwitches?"
"I'm sure we'll stop by there, but that shop won't interest these two half as much as it does us," James indicated to Remus and Sirius.
"Well, that might be true but I'm sure there's shops we'll want to see that don't hold your interest either," Remus smiled as they were finally past Filch and made their way down the lane.
"True, but there's time to visit everything. Do you want to send a postcard to your Mum when we pass the post office?"
"That would be nice."
"There's a post office?" Peter asked.
"There is even a hairdresser if you want to get rid of that mane of yours," Sirius commented distractedly as James steered him away from walking into a tree as his eyes were still on the brochure in his hands.
"What on earth are you reading that has your interest so much?" James accepted the brochure when it was held out to him. "Duel competition?"
"Professor Flitwick gave it to me, said I might be interested," Sirius said. "It is during the Easter holidays so if I can manage to stay at Hogwarts, he offered to take me there."
"To watch people duel?" Peter frowned as he looked at the folder as well.
"You'd be a good participant," Remus said but Sirius shook his head.
"I'm no better than James is."
"Are you kidding me? You can do things with your magic that leaves me drooling," James exclaimed. "The only reason I usually win our duels in the club is because you withdraw the moment you think I've been hurt."
"Yeah well, I don't want to hurt you."
James used the grip on his hand to pull him in and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "You don't have that problem with other opponents, you make toast of them!"
"I don't care about them," Sirius smiled as he leaned into the half embrace.
"Maybe you could join, it would be interesting to see," Remus grinned.
"I'll think about it. But why are we talking about duelling when we're going to Hogsmeade?"
"Because you don't seem as excited as the rest of us," James pulled away again so they could resume walking.
"Sorry," Sirius sighed. "I'll try harder. I'm just not very interested in Wizarding shops."
"I agree that a Muggle village would be more interesting for us," James nodded thoughtfully.
"Not just Muggle villages," Sirius put the brochure into his pocket. "There are so many different cultures out there, but we hardly even learn about those."
"We learn about the Goblins," Peter argued.
"About their many wars, yes. But what about their culture, their way of life? Surely not every goblin works for Gringotts?"
"I've never really thought about it," Remus admitted, seeing Sirius' point.
Although they learned about the Goblin wars, they knew little to nothing about the Goblins behind those wars or what they did in between.
"And not just Goblins, what about Merpeople, giants or even just Wizards in other countries?"
"All we learn is magic and about wizards," James agreed. "But you're following Muggle Studies now, surely you learn something there?"
"Only about Muggle technology. I read through the book but it says little to nothing about their religions or culture. Traditions and values are glossed over enormously. The only magical creatures I've learned anything about are ghouls, and that's because I follow the specific subject."
"Then I guess we'll just have to study it ourselves," James decided.
"Another side project?" a hesitant look slid over Peter's face.
"No worries, we'll do the research and just share our findings with you," James patted his back reassuringly.
"Do we have time for side projects?" Remus wondered. "We are swamped in classes and that's not even taking Sirius into account."
"I don't follow that many classes," Sirius protested.
"You follow thirteen classes!" Peter exclaimed.
"Technically fourteen, if you count Muggle Art," James corrected him. "But we won't be swamped. We've asked the fourth and fifth years what assignments they'd gotten in our year, remember? And got copies of several students' notes."
"So that you could get a head start at the assignments since aside of Defence, they are always the same each year, Professor McGonagall confirmed as much," Peter parroted. "But how does a small head start prevent you from being swamped?"
"They've been working in advance since starting Hogwarts. What do you think they are doing while we're doing our homework each evening?" Remus glanced at Peter, surprised he hadn't noticed what the two had been doing.
"How far did you work in advance?" Peter looked up to Sirius.
"We've just finished the required essays for after the Easter holidays."
"But it's not even Christmas yet!" Peter squeaked.
"Exactly, so we won't be swamped in homework and can both help you guys with your homework and have time for side projects," James grinned. "And since we don't slack off and use our study hour to keep working in advance, we won't lose any progress."
"Well, no one can accuse you of not thinking ahead," Remus chuckled. "But what am I taking notes for then?"
"It helps you remember better when you take notes and since you write in shorthand, they will make perfect study notes for exams," Sirius smiled. "And I do read them."
"I know you do, that's why I wondered. And you are one sneaky guy because you were the one who advised me to write in shorthand in the first place," Remus fondly shook his head as the dark-haired boy smiled at him guiltily.
"Always wonder why you read those notes, the two of you are the best students of our year!" Peter exclaimed. "Always have been."
"Only because we work hard and study instead of secretly reading comics in class," James poked Peter in the side, making him squeak.
"Think we could set some time aside tonight to help me with my transfiguration?"
"Sure, McGonagall was unfair to make you practice that. Your tortoise was almost perfect."
"He still had spots and breathed steam," Remus sighed.
"You would have gotten it perfectly next class."
"So you say," Remus readily agreed, aware that Sirius was rarely wrong about his progress and could usually point out exactly what he was doing wrong.
"So, where do we start? Honeydukes so you can stock up on more chocolate?" Remus flushed at Sirius' teasing.
"I don't..." Remus trailed off as two dark-haired boys turned to him in unison. "I'll pick what I like and not complain about the costs."
"Good boy," Sirius patted him on the shoulder. "Uncle Alphard and Grandfather sent me some money, so if you guys see anything you want for Christmas, warn me."
"What did they send you?" Peter asked.
"Twenty Galleons so that I could get you guys something nice and treat to some ice cream if I wanted."
"In this weather?" James laughed. "Might be better to treat us to hot chocolate. I'll buy us something to go with that."
"One day I am going to take you guys out on my treat," Remus sighed.
"You bring the games, remember? And you share your candy with us," James waved him off.
"Candy you usually buy me in the first place," Remus looked around as they entered the High Street, enjoying the sight of snow covering the cottage and shop roofs, giving the entire village a Christmassy look.
"Not always. You always bring various Muggle candy after holidays for us to try," Sirius disagreed as he looked around as well. "It's like the picture on a postcard. Do you think they'll sell them with this view?"
"It would be a good marketing move," James hummed. "So, Zonko's or Honeydukes?"
"Let's take Spintwitches first, that's the first shop we'll pass. Zonko's after that, Honeydukes and I can see a sign for Tomes and Scrolls at the end," Sirius suggested.
Agreeing to that logic they followed James as he almost skipped into the sports shop and they had fun watching him drool over the various equipment.
They calmly worked their way down the street, not paying attention to the students hurrying up and down the street around them to make sure they got to certain shops first.
In Zonko's they had a look at all the prank products that were sold, but to Remus' surprise Sirius and James were very selective in what they picked out, not even sparing the Dungbombs or tricks a glance.
"Why didn't you get any Dungbombs?" Peter asked, his pockets full of them and as a consequence Remus was walking on the far side, the smell making him nauseous.
"They just smell bad and affect him even when they're not in use," James indicated to Remus.
"You didn't get any because of me?" A wave of guilt washed over Remus, aware how popular the things were.
"No, you're just the other reason. Neither of us sees the fun in making a stench and although they could come in handy when needing a distraction, there are plenty of other methods to do so," Sirius explained.
"Should I bring them back?" Peter glanced at Remus worriedly.
"Nah, just put them in an isolated bag when we get back to the castle because I really don't want the whole dorm to smell after them," James warned him.
"I will."
"Honeydukes is next," Remus grinned as Sirius looked at him specifically. "You pick any chocolate you'd like, got it?"
"Didn't I already say I would?"
"Good," James laughed as they stepped inside, the smell of chocolate and candy immediately infiltrating Remus' nose.
"I think he might drooling, James," Sirius teased him, poking him in the side. "Go look around, I'll follow you."
"You'll pick some stuff, too?" Remus asked as the other picked up a shopping basket.
"If I see something I'll like," content with the promise, Remus made his way through the shop, trying and failing miserably to not have Sirius and James fill the basket with everything he looked at.
"Now that that is done, Tomes and Scrolls?" James looked entirely too smug with himself as he shrunk the large bag of candy they'd bought so that Remus could pocket it as Sirius put a few sugar quills he'd bought into Peter's grateful hands and they made their way towards Tomes and Scrolls.
"Next time, I'm wearing eye patches."
"That would be a sight," Sirius grin quickly turned into a frown. "Pete?"
"I think I lost my wallet," Peter sounded absolutely miserable as he felt in his pockets.
"How did you manage that?" James frowned as he patted Peter's pockets down.
"You used it to pay in Honeydukes, so why don't we return there to see if we can find it?" Sirius suggested.
"We'll go with you," Remus immediately offered but Sirius shook his head.
"No, you and James just continue on to Tomes and Scrolls while Peter and I go back. It's quicker to manoeuvre with just two and you can pick me something I'll like in the time you're browsing without us."
"All right, we'll wait for you there then," James said. Remus frowned as they watched Sirius and Peter hurry back the way they'd come from.
"Shall we?" James turned as the two disappeared in the mass, Remus quickly following him.
"Do you think they'll find it?"
"I hope so, but luckily he didn't have much money left in it."
"He spent most of it in Zonko's and Honeydukes," Remus agreed.
"Sirius said Peter placed a special order for some Muggle sweets."
"He did? What kind?"
"Gummy Bears," Remus laughed at the face James pulled.
"You don't like them?"
"I can't say it's my favourite sweet in the world, no. Do you like them?"
"They are all right. I know Sirius doesn't like them at all."
"Sirius doesn't really care about sweets in general. I used to call him weird, because what teen doesn't, but we know the reason behind it now and that just makes it sad," James sighed. "But Gummy Bears and wine gums are a specific brand of dislike for him and I can't really blame him as they have a weird rubbery taste to them."
"It's why I rarely bother to bring them from home," Remus smiled. "Have you got any idea what you'll get him for Christmas yet? I found Peter and you easy, but it's difficult to find something for him."
"You could always get him another book. He's enjoyed the ones you've given him so far," James blew in his hands to warm them up. "Gosh, it's cold, could give him one of your sweaters."
"Won't that give him the feeling we're not all right with him stealing our clothes at times?"
"I don't care if he'd wear my shirts and sweaters every day, he knows I don't mind and he draws comfort out of it when he's upset or scared," James sighed. "But you could be right that it might give him the wrong idea even if it is meant well."
"What are you getting him?"
"I bought him a cat," James confessed softly, looking down at his snow covered shoes.
"Because he loves them and his owl was killed a few weeks before term, which you feel guilty about," Remus allowed a small smile to cross over his lips. "You do know it's not your fault, right?"
"I managed to make him admit that they killed her so he couldn't communicate with unacceptable people any more."
"So?"
"For your safety, Sirius doesn't communicate with you during the holidays and Peter never writes letters if he can help it. Meaning that I am the only one who he was corresponding with."
"That still doesn't make it your fault," Remus frowned.
"So Sirius keeps telling me, but that doesn't make me feel less guilty. And he won't let me buy him a new owl either."
"What would stop them from killing that one, too?"
"Nothing, which is why I decided to get him a cat. She can come with me during the holidays he has to go back to that place and keep him company all through the school year," James said.
"He'll love it; I assume she'll be delivered on Christmas morning?" Remus smiled.
"Yes, she's a Muggle cat I found at the Shop. Madam Pomfrey said she wouldn't have a problem getting her in time for Christmas."
"I didn't think the Shop sold other things than school supplies and some sweets," Remus said surprised.
"Normally they don't, but I figured it was worth a shot and she hunted down several catalogues for me when I told her who it was for," James blinked. "What was that?"
"What was what?" Turning to see what James was staring at, Remus was almost knocked of his feet by an explosion and only James grabbing his arm kept him on his feet.
They both stared at the chaos that followed in shock, students running from the place the explosion had occurred at and Remus tried to control the ringing in his ears when the first students reached them.
"Death Eaters are attacking!" Someone screamed and panic broke out.
"Sirius and Peter are there!" James pulled his wand, immediately beginning to make his way through the students trying to get away.
"James, that explosion looked like it was near Honeydukes," Remus called to him as he ran after him, not even thinking of leaving their friends behind to get to safety. "If they were near, then Sirius will be fighting."
More explosions followed as jets of light hit both people and buildings, some people beginning to fight back, though even more lost their head completely in the panic and chaos.
"They're all coming this way," James noted as they fought their way through the crowd.
"That can't be accidental," Remus pulled James to the side to avoid being trampled as the float of people became even thicker.
"No, they are being guided here."
"So either the Death Eaters are rounding them up like livestock for the slaughter..." Remus stared out over the crowd of panicked students.
"Or someone is trying to herd them together to make it easier to protect them," James began to push stray students into the large stream so they'd automatically follow the rest like cattle. "Sirius is doing this."
"How can you be sure?" Remus automatically followed his lead, blocking some stray spells from hitting the students they were now assembling.
"I just do, it's what I would do if I were in the middle of things. Get people together someplace as far as possible, so that it's easier to protect them. Sirius' shielding is fantastic, if he rounds the people up and puts them under his shield together they'll stand a better chance of surviving than when they're all running around in full blown panic," James was on the move again as the end of the mass came into sight, beams of spells being shot back and forth visible now as people were clearly fighting back.
Remus hurried after James' quickly vanishing form, having less difficulties getting through than his friend had as he was both taller and broader than him.
"James! Remus!" Sirius appeared out of nowhere, blocking two jets of red light from hitting James as several Death Eaters came into view and Remus' heart missed a beat as Sirius narrowly sidestepped a green one, immediately turning to shoot several spells back.
"They are locking the students out," Sirius yelled over the noise.
"What?!" Remus blocked a curse send his way, returning fire with the spells he had both learned in duel club and from the two dark-haired boys fighting beside him.
"The cowards closed up their shops. The students are sitting ducks out here, there's nowhere to go," Sirius fired off several more spells as the last students passed them. "The Death Eaters placed anti-Apparition wards around Hogsmeade and the few shops still open are being targeted so they can't flush the students out through the Floo system."
"What about the streets?" James inquired.
"As far as I can tell, they are covering all exits," Sirius blocked another attack, pushing James aside as a jet of purple light came his way. "There's an old man fighting on the other side, he's sending students to his house to send them through his Floo and I know two other shop owners are trying the same thing."
"They're connected to Hogwarts?" Remus ducked to avoid another spell he couldn't identify.
"Does it matter as long as they get the hell out of here?" James yelled but Remus couldn't answer him as they were forced apart by their separate fights, needing all his concentration to keep up with the spell casting.
He lost sight of both James and Sirius as he ducked behind a wall to briefly catch his breath. Despite the training his friends had insisted on giving him, he was quickly tiring and his spell range still limited.
He gasped as someone roughly grabbed his shoulder and pushed him away from the wall, blinking furiously as the wall exploded moments later under a rain of spells and someone cried out in pain.
"Sirius..." Remus allowed his friend to manhandle him out of the way of another spell, immediately opening an attack on another Death Eater and Remus hurriedly glanced around to find the man he'd been fighting himself lying unconscious on the ground.
"Get out of here, Remus," Sirius ordered him, but Remus barely heard him as several people were on the ground, the street blown up and fires ongoing all around them.
"Remus!" Sirius' warning blinked Remus back into awareness, but he couldn't avoid something from slamming into him.