"Hey, James, do you know what the difference is between a Hodag and a Clabbert is?" Remus asked in his quiet tone, his silver-scarred hands flipping through the pages of his pristine copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
"Hodag looks a lot more like a pig, I think." James said absentmindedly from his spot on the floor, turning his wand over and over in between his nimble Seeker's fingers. Sirius rolled his eyes, still fingering the red rubber ball in his palm. He bounced it across the floor, against the pillar across from them, and back into his hand.
"A Hodag looks like a cross between a dog and a badger. It walks around on all fours and has big claws." Sirius uncrossed his arms and stood up a little straighter, leaning against the glass panes of the window. He mimed slashing through the air with his fingers curled. "A Clabbert is more like a monkey, lives in trees." He smirked, pointing a thumb down at James, who wasn't even paying attention anymore.
Remus's eyebrow shot up, and he smiled.
"Thank you." There was a brief silence. "..What can you tell me about a Runespoor? I know it's that bloody snake with two heads."
"Three, actually. Ministry calls 'em four x, but I've never even actually seen one, so I dunno how right they are. Each head has a special thing, like the head in the middle does the dreaming or something? Dunno. I do know that it lays eggs in its mouth-" James made a retching sound and pulled a face. Sirius tossed his scarf against James' face and continued. "-and those are super valuable. Used for all sorts of potions and things. Slughorn'd probably chop off his left one for an egg." There was a chortle of laughter as Sirius continued. "The Runespoor itself is poisonous, and that's about all I can think of." He kicked James (who, a moment ago, had been singing "Nerdy Puppy, Nerdy Puppy under his breath), who made a pouty face and poked Sirius in the arse with the tip of his wand.
Sirius nodded his "you're welcome" to Remus and continued tossing his ball in the air, bouncing it against the pillar. It was a relatively quiet afternoon in the fall, most classes in session with the exception of those giving their first sessions of N.E.W.T.s early, such as their Care of Magical Creatures class and a few other classes held for sixth years, like Divination or Astronomy.
"Why are we here again? I thought we were meeting Peter in Honeydukes. Remus, you owe me a Sickle for-" A wolf whistle sounded across the courtyard as a couple seventh years spotted a group of girls walking across the stones. The Marauders grimaced, and James made a face. "Disgusting, the both of them. Idiots. Catcalling them like that." Sirius chuckled softly.
"Aye, Prongs, that was you not too long ago, though. Remember Tabitha Vane, fourth year?" James groaned.
"No, I've done my absolute best to forget. Thanks very much for reminding m-" He stopped mid sentence, his gaze following a couple of the women who had fallen apart from the group. One was a blonde, decked in an odd sort of jumper of all colors, blue jeans spattered with some sort of glitter, paired with a striped Hufflepuff scarf round her neck. Pandora Pepridge was her name, and she was a curious one. Always had some sort of paintbrush stuck through her hair, and her light blue-grey eyes often made her look distracted. She had a pealing laugh, though, and was always kind to everyone. The other had red hair, knotted elegantly, her sweater shades of yellow, green, and brown. Her smile was lovely, laughter bouncing across the yard at the three men. The two sixth years were talking amongst themselves, giggling and shaking their heads. The redhead extended an elegant finger towards the seventh years, earning whoops and hollers from them. Meanwhile, James had undone all the buttons of his shirt and ruffled his hair, untucked the t-shirt from his jeans, and cleaned off his endlessly dirty glasses.
Remus groaned under his breath, rolling his eyes and Sirius grinned, flashing his white canines.
"It's never going to happen, James."
"AH Moony, give the man a break!" Sirius clapped James on the shoulder and winked. "C'mon, mate. Give it another go."
The three sixth years turned to look at the red-headed young woman walking past, her hair done up in braids and her Head Girl badge winking on the strap of her bookbag. The Hufflepuff beside her poked her in the ribs, but she pretended not to notice. James bit his lip and sighed softly before shoving a hand through his dark chocolate waves, making his style immensely worse. Remus groaned inwardly. Lily Evans didn't even glance their way, her pink lips moving slightly as if she was muttering something to the girl next to her as she walked.
"Oi, Lily. Evans. EVANS!" Sirius shouted, trying to get her attention, but she kept walking. The blonde, however, waved at them with a smile. "Hullo, Pandora." Remus smiled and Sirius winked at her, making her giggle. The two girls disappeared behind the next pillar, into another section of the castle. James smacked him in the stomach with the back of his hand and Sirius winced slightly, elbowing the dark haired Head Boy. "Man. That's a dead case, Prongs."
"Absolutely hopeless." Remus grinned, never even looking up from his textbook. Students began filling the halls, the sound of chattering, footfalls, and turning pages filling the great halls of Hogwarts as class let out for lunch. Peter met up with the other Marauders, a small smile lighting up his watery eyes.
"Hey you lot, what's we waiting around for? I thought we were meeting at Honeydukes."
"We were, then Prongs' tongue fell out of his mouth when Lily walked by. It took us ages to shove it all down his big mouth again. Plus, we waited for you." Sirius had opened his mouth to speak, but it was Remus who had uttered the sassy comment from behind his book. A huge grin crossed Sirius's face, Peter's quiet squeaking laugh sounding from a couple feet away. He had already started walking. James followed the short blonde with a sour look on his face, his hair still mussed from when he'd stuck his hand through it. Sirius's laughter followed the group all the way down to Hogsmeade.
The sweet shop was filled with students, though not as packed as it usually was. People were studying for upcoming O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, hence the book that had occupied Remus's attention for the majority of the weekend. The four Marauders picked and paid for their sweets, collecting by a fence to sit around some old trees and eat. They talked for a while, mainly about Quidditch. Remus continued trying to study, but eventually put his book down. They spoke until the sun was down on the horizon, then set up to the castle together for dinner.