Chapter Four
After New Year's the Marauders and Lily were sent back off to Hogwarts. James and Sirius grumbled the whole ride back to school because they hadn't finished the homework that they had been assigned before Christmas break.
"It's your own fault," Lily said sharply.
"Who do they think they are, giving us homework before a break? They know that we'll just forget," James groaned.
"Remus, Peter, and I haven't forgotten," Lily reminded them in a clipped tone. She seemed tired of their rants.
"Let me see your essay, Moony," Sirius demanded. "Professor Slughorn will give me detentions for a month if I don't finish it."
Remus, though he knew that he should refuse, felt it hard to say no. "You could always start it now," he suggested lightly. "I have the books if you need reference."
"You know I won't finish it in time," Sirius groaned. "Please. Please, Moony. Please."
"Quit your begging," Remus said, although he felt a strong desire to just hand his essay over. "It's your own fault that it's not finished."
"Who cares whose fault it is? Please, just this once, Moony." Casting a gaze at Lily, who raised her eyebrows in a don't-you-give-into-him sort of way, Remus sighed and said, "Fine. Just this once."
Lily exploded. "What? No, I forbid it. I will tell Professor Slughorn what you've done. And you will both get in trouble. I will make sure he knows that you both cheated."
"OK, jeez Lils, calm down," Sirius said, sounding alarmed.
"Don't call me Lils," Lily warned him in a dangerous voice. "You know how much I hate it."
"Which is why I do it, sweetheart," Sirius said loftily, pretending to yawn and draping his arm over Lily's shoulder. Remus, Peter, Lily, and Sirius burst into laughter at James' expression.
"I'm only teasing, Prongs," he said, though he made no attempt to move his arm.
The rest of the train ride the five friends played numerous games of Exploding Snap (Peter, Sirius, and Remus against James and Lily; Sirius was only able to claim his victory once) and chasing Chocolate Frogs around the compartment, which Lily agreed to only reluctantly as long as they cleaned the chocolate off of the window and seats.
"I should go see if I'm needed up front," Lily said a couple of hours later. "I'll see you at school." With that she got up and left the compartment. James watched her dreamily as she left and his gaze lingered on the door a moment after.
"Isn't she the best," he sighed, eyes glassed over. Nobody heard him, however; Remus was riffling through his bag for the essays Sirius hadn't completed and Sirius was hastily copying off of the bits of parchment Remus was handing him. Peter was on the floor, searching underneath the seat for the last Chocolate Frog, which seemed to have disappeared.
"You got Flitwick's essay with you?" James asked, looking over at Remus' and Sirius' trade.
"Just a moment, I'm using it," Sirius said, quill between his teeth as he scanned over the mentioned essay before scribbling furiously on his own piece of parchment.
"No copying," Remus warned. "You use your own wording."
"Don't worry, I will," Sirius said dismissively, although Remus reminded himself to check over the essays once they were complete.
"We can get the rest finished tonight," Remus promised Sirius and James as the school loomed into view. The four Marauders were now seated in a carriage, and Sirius and James still had Professor Slughorn's essay to do. (Funny how it all turned out, seeing as Sirius had been complaining about that particular essay not being finished during the train ride.)
"Thanks, Moony," Sirius said, handing back the remaining essays. A small smile played along Remus' lips but he simply pursed them and said,
"Next time finish your homework on your own."
"So," James said, casting his gaze around for Lily and lowering his voice considerably. "What about those buttons, eh? We should try them out soon."
"Give it a couple of days, Prongs," Remus said. "We've just gotten back and most likely we'll be drowning in homework. At least wait until we have time to do it."
"It won't take much," Sirius said, frowning. "All we've gotta do is plan out where we want them to go off, take them there, and then set them off."
"It would be the most effective between classes," James mused, "what with all the students in the hall. Besides, no one would be able to figure out who set it off with all the people."
"We don't need Moony, though," Sirius said thoughtfully. "We could do it ourselves, eh, Prongs?"
Even though Remus didn't particularly approve of the pranks they pulled, he couldn't bear to be left out. He always had to do it with them. He claimed it was to make sure that they didn't get in too much trouble, but they knew that it was because he secretly enjoyed them. If he thought about it, it was actually quite fun, especially when he didn't get caught.
"If we get caught and land ourselves in detention," Remus warned, "I'll never forgive you."
"'Nuff said," Sirius said happily. "We just have to make sure Lily doesn't find us out."
"Easy, Padfoot," James said, waving it away. "Too easy. She don't spend as much time with us at Hogwarts, does she? It will be a cinch."
Remus raised his eyebrows. "She knows we have it. She's more sly than you think, Lily."
"Don't pretend that you understand her all the sudden," James scoffed.
"I'm not," Remus said mildly. "I just believe that I know her more than you two; she has been on talking terms with me longer than you two."
"Not something to brag about," James sniffed. Remus rolled his eyes.
"Of course it isn't."
Just as Remus promised, their first day back from Christmas break was a busy one. Teachers gave detentions to any and all students that hadn't finished their homework, then proceeded to give long lectures about what they missed and how everything must get caught up. Even Remus was having problems paying attention, and felt his mind slipping away as he frantically scribbled down notes. Loads of homework were assigned in each class. They had no opportunities to do their little prank, because during breaks they could be found tearing through books in the library or working on long, intricate essays back in the common room. Even lunch didn't have its usual fun; Sirius was filling out a complicated Astronomy chart over his steak and kidney pie, Peter was making his roll do flips and cartwheels, James was checking his essay for Professor Flitwick's class for any mistakes underneath the table, and Remus had a book propped open against his flask of pumpkin juice, eyes scanning the pages. Even though he was intent on finishing up the chapter before their next class, the words began to jumble together and he found himself rereading whole sentences without getting a single thing out of it.
"Your soup, Moony," Sirius said suddenly, jerking Remus away from his reading. "It's dribbling all down your front." Remus was surprised to find his fingers wrapped around a spoon that was tipping slightly, sending a thin stream of chicken soup into his lap.
"Whoops," he said, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I was so trained on my book I didn't even realize I was eating anything."
"You weren't, Moony," Sirius said seriously. "You were sitting there with your mouth half open and a spoon full of soup in your hand, and you looked like a complete idiot." This earned a laugh from James, Peter, and Remus. The other two had long abandoned their attempts at finishing their schoolwork.
"Class is about to start, we should get heading," James said, observing his watch. "Don't want to be late for Professor Kettleburn's class." Sirius groaned.
"I haven't got that sketch finished," he said, looking helplessly at Remus. "Help please?"
"Certainly," Remus said, amused. "It's correctly said 'I don't have that sketch finished', not 'I haven't got that sketch finished.' Learn English correctly, Padfoot."
"You know what I mean," Sirius said crossly while James stifled a laugh in the background. "Please, let me take a look at your drawing, it'll only take a moment."
"No," Remus said, staring down at Sirius' pleading face. "It's your own fault you haven't got it finished."
"I'll get down on my knees and beg you if I have to," Sirius said.
"Beg all you want," Remus invited, envisioning in his mind how amusing it would be to have Sirius down on his knees, begging. Sirius promptly got down on one knee and grabbed Remus' hand in his own, halting the two in the middle of the corridor. Without warning, a shock jolted up Remus' arm that was so strong and so fierce that he almost jerked his hand away. Self-consciously his eyes locked on Sirius' gray ones. Since Christmas he hadn't stared so intently into his eyes, and strangely, it felt good. He felt his hand relax beneath Sirius'.
"Oh mighty Moony," Sirius began, "Will thou please let me examine thy homework? For the sake of my well-being?" Remus extracted his hand from Sirius' before he did something stupid like blush and said firmly, "No."
"Please?" Sirius stood up as the four continued on. "Please? Pretty please?"
"Shut up already," James groaned. "You'll live; this isn't the first time you've forgotten homework for a class."
"Pathetic, Moony," Sirius sniffed. "You won't help a friend in time of need?"
"If I promise we'll do those destructive button thingies tonight, will you get off my back?" Remus asked. Sirius brightened considerably.
"They're called Destructors," he told Remus. "Not 'those destructive button thingies.' Get it right."
"I'm so sorry," Remus said sarcastically. "My bad."
"Yes, it is your bad," Sirius said, eyes twinkling. Remus looked at him for a moment before looking away, feeling slightly giddy.
That night the four Marauders were waiting in the common room for their next class. Never had Charms been so anticipated.
"I think we can go now," James said, glancing down at his watch. "Yep, we can go." Remus gripped the Destructor in his hand, concealing it underneath his cloak. "Let me see them all," he said. "I'll drop them underneath the Cloak."
"C'mon, can't we join in on the fun?" Sirius whined.
James glanced around and then said quietly, "Fine. Get under here." He whipped the Cloak around himself and disappeared at once. Sirius grabbed the edge of the Cloak as it vanished and squeezed under it as well. Remus and Peter quickly followed.
"Blimey; I forgot what a tight squeeze this was," Sirius grumbled as Remus elbowed him in the stomach by accident.
"Whoops, sorry! I have no space to put my arms," Remus apologized, although he wasn't upset about the arrangement at all; for some reason he felt quite happy to be this close to Sirius.
"Shut up! What do you imagine someone would think if they came in here and heard voices?" Sirius did a sharp intake of breath and Remus knew he was ready to retort, but Remus breathed,
"Let it go." The four hobbled across the room and out the door. Thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed the door to the boys' dorm randomly open. Remus thought that it was just a matter of time before they did.
It was only with expertise that the four were able to climb out of the portrait hole without being suspected. After almost seven years of sneaking around, they knew just how to get by without being seen.
Remus thought it was rather a waste to wear the Cloak; the halls were so packed that they wouldn't have been able to be seen even without concealment. James led the way to the fifth floor, usually where the most traffic was. Marauder's Map held aloft, they made their way through the halls without bumping into anybody.
"Ready?" James breathed. Sirius nodded. Remus gripped his Destructor and showed it to James. He got the message and pointed to a spot on the floor right in front of the door. Remus bent down and made to set it on the ground, but in the process he elbowed Sirius again.
"Ouch!" he said.
"Well, I have to set it down," Remus whispered.
"Here's an idea," Sirius grumbled, massaging his knee, "why don't you get out and then set it down?"
"Fine idea," Remus said sarcastically, but James nodded.
"Good idea," he said. "Just get back under here when you get it."
"How will I know where you guys are?" Remus asked. "In case you haven't noticed, you're kind of invisible."
"Here." James ripped the Cloak off and handed it to Remus. "We'll each take a turn. We'll be around the corner." Remus glanced around, afraid that someone had noticed four boys randomly appear in the hallway, but no one took a notice to them. Watching the other three disappear around the corner, Remus took a look at the students passing him. No one took a second look.
Quickly, he slammed the button on the ground and covered himself with the Invisibility Cloak, getting as far away from the scene as possible.
The thing exploded, causing a loud boom and sending smoke in every direction. Remus couldn't help but cough, although no one seemed to notice. He disappeared around the corner, pulling the Cloak off of himself and handing it to James.
"Good job," James said, grinning.
Remus was heading back from dinner later on that night. Full and content, not even the promise of homework back in the common room could spoil his mood. Peter and James trotted beside him. Sirius had disappeared with Mary shortly after dinner had begun, which caused Remus to be slightly annoyed.
When the Fat Lady came in sight Remus realized something. "Left my Astronomy chart in the library, catch up with you guys later." With that he turned on his heel and headed in the opposite direction.
Returning from the library no more than five minutes later, he was rounding the corner when he heard a noise. Curious as to what it was, he wandered off in its direction.
He soon found the noise to be coming from a dormant classroom. Swinging the door open he found Sirius and Mary sitting on a desk, entwined together, and kissing so fiercely that it looked like they were eating each other's faces. That sparked anger deep in Remus' chest, and he found himself slamming the door shut and running down the hall, hands clenched tightly in fists. After muttering "Bubotuber" to the Fat Lady he climbed through the portrait hole and dashed up to his dorm as fast as his legs would allow. Falling on this bed, he tossed the chart carelessly aside. Hot tears began to splash down his face as he hid it in his pillow. He clenched the sheets and found himself swearing loudly and furiously into his pillow. He didn't realize that someone else had entered the dorm until he felt his hand on his back and heard his voice.
"Alright there, Moony?" Sirius spoke out of concern, but it just angered Remus even more. He chose to ignore him. "Moony. What's wrong." It wasn't a question; it was a demand. Sirius was demanding Remus to tell him what was wrong. Finally, he sat up, letting the rest of the swears roll off his tongue and furiously wiping the remainder of the tears from his face.
"Are you crying?" Sirius asked.
"N-No," Remus stuttered.
"Don't lie," Sirius scoffed. "Why are you crying?"
"I walked in on you and Mary," Remus mumbled, gaze fixed intently on his hands.
"And?" Sirius prompted.
"I dunno," Remus said. "That's it. End of story."
"No, it's not!" Sirius said indignantly. "You're obviously upset by it."
"You two- you two just can't run around snogging everywhere!" Remus burst out, twisting his hands.
"We weren't running around snogging everywhere!" Sirius said angrily. "We were in a deserted classroom!"
"Still- I- You think you can snog every girl in this school! You can't!" Remus said, fumbling over his words in frustration.
"I can't? I can't? Since when do you decide who I can kiss?"
"You're at perfect liberty to kiss whoever you want!" Remus yelled.
"You're not acting like it!"
"Maybe that's because-" Remus stopped abruptly, unable to voice his thoughts.
"Maybe that's because what?" Sirius snapped.
Remus looked at his hands, twisting them more violently. Finally he said what he'd been unable to face; unable to accept.
"Maybe that's because I love you."
It's super rushed, sorry guys :I