Chapter 1: One fine Morning
Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. ~Steven Kloves (screenplay), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 2004, spoken by the character Albus Dumbledore
Remus woke with a light pressure weighing down on his lower chest. A soft smile tugged at his lips as he let out a blissful and satisfied sigh. Snow was falling hard against the frosted window, chilling the air inside the room. Despite this, he was completely warm. Ever so carefully he wiggled his hand free from the soft red comforter and ran a few fingers though the chocolate locks of Emma Meade. Forgetting the events of yesterday evening, he squirmed to get further into the warm covers. The smell of a sweetened black tea and a hint of lavender lulled him; dragging his eyelids closed as he continued to stroke her silk hair.
They were all there, the Marauders, Lily, and the Meade sisters. Bundled under various blankets of red and blue alike they slumbered peacefully. The tragic and terrifying events of Hogsmeade had left fifteen students dead in the snow. If the great Albus Dumbledore hadn't shown…Remus shuddered at the thought of what worse aftermath would have ensued. They had returned to their dormitories, but had shared the same mind set of not wanting to be alone during the night. The Meade sisters had brought their own blankets and nightwear from Ravenclaw Tower, while James pushed the four beds in the room together.
Remus was in the middle, his arms wrapped around Emma as she dozed on his lower chest. Her younger sister Rene was on her other side, facing away from them. Her thick fluffy cat Socks, was curled in between the two girls, his head resting on Emma's neck. Sirius Black was located on the end, next to Rene. On Remus's other side, Lily and James were cuddled together.
He had laid awake for a few hours listening to the sounds of the castle last night; his mind still alert and searching for any signs of danger, though there was none there. Late in the night he had heard Emma and Sirius whispering. Mostly, their hushed conversation centered on Rene. Idle, meaningless talk to distract them until they eventually fell asleep, but effective none the less. He wiggled his way deeper into the warm cave of cloth, stopping when Emma gave a soft moan and readjusted; her head now higher on his chest.
"Emma." He murmured, to see if she was awake. No reply came, so he chanced another hand through her beautiful curls. The sound of different rhythmic breathing reached Remus's ears faintly. He turned his head towards Sirius, who was looking at him. Ironically, Sirius looked…well serious. A coy smile wormed its way onto Remus's face at such an absurd thought. The joke was always there, greatly used by the Marauders but seemed out of place in this moment.
"What are you smirking at?" Sirius whispered. It disappeared quickly and was replaced with a frown. Sirius eyed Emma's position and glanced back to his friend, his face unreadable and stony still from last night's events. This was disturbing to Remus, to see his friend in such a state. On a normal occasion he would be congratulating and encouraging the sandy haired boy, but he received no cheers at this time.
An unintelligent, "no," resounded from his mouth, causing a queer quirky smile to appear on his friend's face. Better, that was more like the Sirius that he knew. They lay there silently now. Smirks lining their faces as they mused at such a simple conversation.
"Remus?" The soft whisper came from Emma, whose pools of blue stared at him, watering. Both Remus and Sirius sat up; the black haired boy placing a gentle hand on her back as she crossed her legs to sit. Remus felt a strong focus, a will to be there for her and listen to every word she spoke. He didn't have too.
"Look, Emily, I know you're scared, but we swear- solemnly swear," He added with a kind smile, "that we won't let them get to you or Rene."
The boys locked eyes as Sirius pulled her closer to hug her from behind. Remus wasn't jealous of the action, he knew Sirius wasn't attracted to Emma that way, but he wasn't sure of her feelings for the womanizer. Sirius had his face buried in her neck, his long dark hair falling over his face handsomely. Her hand traveled to meet his cheek, rubbing it tenderly. Remus had seen them like this once before, when the group had decided to tell her about his furry little problem. It was unclear then, and now, who was comforting who.
Throughout the day the group scattered and reassembled frequently to take care of different needs. The Meade sisters went back to Ravenclaw tower during lunch. When Remus saw them again they were noticeably more proper looking. Not that he had minded the cute bedhead that Emma had adorned early in the morning. Rene's golden mane of hair was still slightly damp, but exquisitely braided; Emma's handiwork no doubt. She placed a tiny porcelain hand on her sister's coat as she led her to the tree that the boys were lounging under.
"Aren't you all freezing out here?" Emma asked as the duo approached.
Lazily, Sirius flicked snow off his trousers and stood from the frigid ground.
"No, we seem to be alright." He said. Remus took off his jacket and placed it around Rene's tiny frame. The first year gave a bright smile and a sneeze before sitting in James's lap.
"Maybe we shouldn't be outside." Peter remarked quietly.
"I agree. It just doesn't feel safe outside the castle." Emma added softly. Glancing at the ground ashamedly, Remus silently agreed, giving into his own fears. After a moment of morose silence between the friends, James stood.
"Back to the castle, then. Are you ladies staying the night in our room again?"
"I think we should probably return to our room tonight."
Rene clung to James's leg.
"Sissy, no!" She whined.
"Alright." Emma replied flatly. She gave in quickly, not wanting to be alone herself.
The group headed back to the castle in silence, Rene riding on James's back. They trotted up the dozens of stairs leading to the Gryffindor common room until they reached their destination and bolted up the stairs to the dorm. The sudden expense of energy sent them into higher spirits as they shoved and wrestled their way to the pushed together beds, throwing off socks and shoes and other accessories that limited their movement. Lying side by side they forgot their troubles and the terrible feeling that loomed over the castle. Their random joy lasted well into the night as they sought comfort and laughter from each other.
James had collapsed into a sleeping heap by two o' clock, and thirty minutes later Rene fallowed in suit. Soon, everyone had buckled and was in various sleeping positions. Remus watched as Emma's sleeping form moved up and down with each breath. He couldn't help but reflect on their first meeting.
It had been early in the morning when the Marauders were headed to breakfast in the Great Hall. Their laughter echoed off the stone walls of the castle as Sirius made a joke about Snape. It was only their second year, but the feud had already escalated beyond what anybody expected. Remus rounded a corner, slightly ahead of the group and was immediately flattened when someone crashed right into him. Much to his horror, when he cleared his groggy head, two big blue eyes were staring back at him. And those two eyes belonged to a girl.
There were noises from further down the hall as a forth year Slytherin boy appeared.
"You! Meade! Get back here!" He barked. The girl looked as if she wanted to cry.
"I'm sorry!" She wept. Remus wasn't sure if she was talking to him or to the older boy. She stood back up as the rest of the Marauders helped up a speechless Remus.
"What's wrong?" Sirius asked her. By then the older boy had caught up to the group.
"She spilt ink on my cloak!" He roared. "How stupid can you be?"
"It was an accident, I promise."
"Leave her be!" James snarled.
"Yeah, you heard her. She didn't do it on purpose. Just remove it with magic!" Sirius added, backing up his friend. Luckily, the older boy was more reasonable than the majority of his house and after much grumbling, headed back to the library. The boys turned their attention to the girl. She was dressed in her school uniform with a blue and bronze striped tie.
"Hey, come on. Don't cry. He's just a big jerk." Sirius said with a kind smile.
"I'm James and this is Sirius."
"And I'm Peter!" The cubby boy squeaked. With a nudge from James, Remus remembered his manners and introduced himself to the girl.
"My name is Remus, what's yours?"
"Emma." She sniveled. "I'm sorry I ran into you."
"That's alright."
She had been their friend ever since, though they had been distanced because of being in separate houses. There was a time when they hardly talked at all, after Peter scared the poor girl off with his obsession. After Remus had found a collection of photos of Emma under the rat boy's bed one evening in their fourth year, it nearly ended their friendship. He had been appalled, enraged even, and while Peter desperately fumbled after him, Remus had ran straight to the girl and told her everything.
"Peter's been stalking you!" He blurted out just as the other boy burst into the room after him.
"You're a terrible friend!" He shrieked. Remus couldn't hide the hurt from those words but Emma intervened quickly.
"No! He'd be a terrible friend if he hadn't told me. Peter what are all of these?" She motioned to the pictures, but the boy merely ripped them from her hands and dashed away.
Come to think of it…Peter had been strangely absent these past few days.
"Emma." Remus whispered sharply. He shook her awake. "Emma, where's Peter?"
Yawning, the girl turned over to face him. "Who knows? He's probably around here somewhere. Go back to sleep Remus." She said sleepily before cuddling up next to him. He smiled softly and welcomed her closer, hugging her to his chest as she drifted off to sleep. He too, then flowed into a deep slumber.