Disclaimer: Everything here (besides the few things you don't know) belongs to JK Rowling, creator of the worlds of Harry Potter.
A/N: Ho-hum. Long time no see. Busy at work, busy life. I don't have any other excuse than that. On the other hand, I might be able to update a few times this week, seeing as I'm home until next Sunday - a whole week off!
Now, I want to apologise for my lack of answering to reviews lately. I hardly have time during the weekend, though I do my best. I just want to give a collective thank you to all those who reviewed the last few chapters - I will send replies, once my life become a little more free again...
So anyway, thank you!
Also, I thought I'd make something clear. A few of you complained about the obviousness of James getting the highest score. I hope that the explanation in this chapter would be enough. If it isn't - let me know and I'll clarify my way of thinking :)
Enjoy!
Chapter Thirty Five - Beginnings
It was the evening on the day after James had gotten his answering letter from St Mungo's, when Sirius entered the flat, looking smug and satisfied with himself. Knowing his friend for as long as he did, all the warning bells went off in Remus' mind.
"What did you do?" he asked without preamble, his eyes narrow with suspicion.
"What makes you say that, Moony?" he said with a broad smile. "I'm as innocent as an ickle first year."
Remus itched to tell him that as first years they had blown up everything they could put their hands on, but realized with frustration that this was exactly what his friend wanted. He sighed. "Just tell me what you did, Padfoot."
Sirius' grin widened. "We'll wait for James and Peter to come before I show you."
The Marauders had planned a goodbye party for Peter, since two days later he was due to start the vacation with his mother, and so they had sent Peter to get all sorts of groceries (some of them almost impossible to find) while James went to his home in order to bring all the goods his house-elves had worked on for two days.
"It's Peter's surprise party," Remus found himself saying in annoyance. "Don't take all the fun out of it for him by putting yourself at the center of things again."
Sirius looked a little affronted. "I won't! He'll be the first to try it with me!"
That made Remus even more suspicious, but he kept his mouth shut. He had an idea as to what Sirius' surprise was and was not sure Peter would like to be the first to try it with him at all. Still, it would make for an interesting evening, at least.
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"I can't bloody believe it," James said as the four of them stood in front of Sirius' latest acquisition after all the food had been eaten later that night. "You've gone ahead and gotten it."
Sirius looked so proud that he could burst. "Yep. I saw it in a Muggle display window and just had to get it. It fit right inside the budget as well!"
It, was a big, black, shiny Muggle motorbike, that looked too dangerous to be allowed anywhere near Sirius. It was parked on the walkway next to Sirius' building, and, until he had unveiled it, was covered by a white cloth. They all stood by it, staring at the sheer monstrosity of the thing.
"So... Wormtail," Sirius said after a short while, his teeth gleaming as he smiled widely. "Want to be the first one to try it out with me?"
Peter gulped. Remus could swear he knew exactly what was going on in his friend's head. The last thing he could possibly want was to be on that two-wheeled creation with someone who had the responsibility of a three-year-old and the knack for trouble. That was one side of the dilemma. The other one was that, for once, Sirius treated Peter as a complete equal, wanting to help James and Remus in their attempt to make his last day with them before the trip as enjoyable as possible. He could not pass this chance, and he knew that all too well.
Finally, he nodded, and Sirius, with the smile on his face growing so wide it split said face almost in half, mounted the bike, waiting for Peter to join him.
It was late. Not one window in the neighbourhood was lit. It seemed that Sirius was waiting precisely for that before he showed them the bike. The moment Peter sat behind him, Sirius started the engine that made the most horrific sound as it rose to life. Remus was certain that it had waked the entire street. But all the windows remained dark.
And then the bike started moving. James and Remus, who were standing on the walkway, watched with growing alarm as the bike moved not only forward, but also up.
Sirius had charmed his bike to fly.
Open mouthed, they watched as Sirius took the bike high over the buildings, with poor Peter clutching at him desperately. He did not make a sound. Remus guessed he was far too scared to do so. At that precise moment he swore to himself. Sirius would never get him on that horrible machine. Never. Broomsticks were bad enough of a deal. A flying monster such as this... It was completely out of the question.
Which goes to show how little power Remus had against Sirius' forces of persuasion.
Ten minutes later he was on that bike, his eyes tightly closed and wishing he had listened to his inner voice and stayed on the ground. The wind whipped his skin. It was cold and painful. He was not precisely dressed for such a trip. He now could completely sympathize with the look of abject horror that was on Peter's face only minutes before. He was pretty sure that his own face sported that selfsame look at that moment. He wanted to be off the diabolical creation of Sirius' wild imagination - safe and sound on the ground.
"Oh, come on, Moony!" he heard Sirius shout over the roar of the wind as the bike sped up even more than before. "Open your eyes! This is great!"
"I'll open my eyes once we're back on the ground, thank you!" he shouted back and then felt his stomach heave as Sirius' made yet another impossible loop in the air. Maybe opening his mouth was not that much of a good idea. He could feel the bile coming up his throat.
Sirius, apparently, was not completely unaware of Remus' plight, and shouted, "Hang on, Moony! We're going down!"
Remus clamped his mouth shut and kept his eyes even more tightly shut. Seconds later he felt the bike's front wheel hit the ground and then they slid to a stop. The moment the bike was no longer moving, he slipped, face first, to the ground, where he stayed, taking in large gulps of air as his stomach settled.
"Are you all right, Moony?" James asked from somewhere to his right.
"Never... ever... going... on that thing... again," he managed to let out before shutting his mouth again trying to hug the ground with his shaking arms.
In the end, of Sirius' three friends, only James seemed to appreciate the bike. He had enjoyed his ride very much, if his laughter was anything to go by. Remus remained sprawled on the walkway until the bike landed for the last time, with Peter by his side, muttering about crazy people with even crazier obsessions. Once Sirius turned off the engine, a laughing James helped Remus up the stairs and back into the flat.
Remus remained true to his word. That was his first and last time on Sirius' bike.
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"So? All ready for the big day?"
James was standing by the kitchen table in his smart, practical robes, sipping tea from the only clean cup in Sirius' kitchen. His robes were newly-made, dark blue in colour and simply cut. No one, however, was the deceived. The robes were made of the finest material, pleasant to the touch, but strong and charmed against the more common causes for tears, burns and stains. They had cost quite a bit, but would serve him well in the period before he would get the St Mungo's trademark lime green robes.
"Not really," he said, though there was a smile on his face. Ready or not, he was excited and quite confident that he would make it.
Sirius was also there, looking as though he would have rather stay in bed instead of wishing James good luck on his first day at work. Only the week before he and Keira had gotten their NEWTs results and were gratified to find that they both qualified for Auror Academy. They would be starting there at the beginning of September, and Sirius claimed he had to get as much sleep as possible before that. The fact that it was barely the start of August did not register in his mind.
"G'luck, mate," he mumbled through a yawn. "You going yet?"
James snorted. "So eager to get me out of the flat, Padfoot? I'm flattered."
Sirius made a face, but said nothing.
"Well, then. I suppose I should go," James said, picking up his bag from the floor.
"Have fun!"
Sirius and Remus spent the day in Diagon Alley, with Remus helping Sirius to shop for various house appliances and food. They came back just in time to greet James back. Their friend, sadly enough, looked a lot let certain of himself and a little pale. When asked what happened, he refused to speak before he ate something and showered. When he was finally ready, a cup of tea close by and a plate of cookies (freshly baked by Remus' mother that morning and brought to them by her on her way to work) next to it, he said, "Well. It wouldn't be as easy as we all assumed."
They waited for him to compose his thoughts.
"When Healers Anemone and Lip said I scored the highest, what they actually meant was that my mark was one of the three highest. There were sixty people who sat the exam, but there were also three positions open. The thing is, it doesn't end here. I was lucky to be among the first three. Now I have to prove that I actually deserve it. They made it absolutely clear that scoring highest in the exam is a stroke of luck. If in the next months I fail to prove myself to them, I will be kicked out and the next on their list would get the position and so on and so forth.
"Those two others with me - Anne Larsson and Henry Beauchamp - they've been out of school for a few years now. Larsson was at Hogwarts in Narcissa's year, and Beauchamp finished at Beaubattons two years ago. They had ages to prepare. They know more about Healing than I do and they've made no mistakes today.
"I did."
He told them how Anemone quizzed them about all sorts of things practically the moment they entered the staff room, and that he had made so many mistakes, that he was sure they would kick him out in less than a week. Seeing James so dejected hurt both of his friends. They did their best to encourage him, but as it turned out, the true cure to his foul mood came in the shape of Lily, who arrived at the flat around eleven that night, wearing a simple dress of blue silk, unadorned, and with her red hair all over the place.
"Just got back from Petunia's wedding," she said, looking exhausted. "I looked so pathetic without a date. But Petunia forbade me to bring anyone of my sort to her wedding. Blah!"
"Was it bad?" James asked curiously, looking a little more alert than before. Remus remembered his saying something about Lily being in a very bad mood because of her sister's upcoming wedding.
"It was horrible," Lily said, apparently torn between wanting to cry and wanting to laugh. "If my wedding would be like that, I wouldn't know where to bury myself. The bridesmaids wore salmon pink. Have you ever known anyone who looked good in salmon pink?"
"There are people to whom it fits," Remus said slowly. "Can't think of anyone I know, but I'm sure there are..."
Lily waved it off and said," All of my sister's bridesmaids were in the most wrong colouring for salmon pink. They looked like pink balls of fluff with all those ruffles and frills. Oh - and Marge-" she dissolved into tears of mirth.
"Who's Marge?"
"Vernon's sister," she managed to gasp out. "She looks like a female version of him - complete with the mustache!"
James nodded, a small grin appearing on his lips. "Oh, yeah. I remember. I caught a glimpse of her once before Lily and I snuck out of the house through her bedroom window. What a cow!"
Sirius and Remus glanced at him sharply, having not heard the story before.
"I was at Lily's two weeks ago," he quickly explained, sharing a quick smile with his girlfriend. "We didn't know that Vernon's family was coming for dinner. Lily's mum was so sure she had told us. Anyway, we really weren't up for three hours of having our... what did he call it?"
"Eccentricities," Lily said, making a face.
"Oh, right. Anyway, we didn't want our eccentricities discussed for three hours, so we've decided to make a run for it. And we did. But anyway, as I was saying, as we climbed out of the window, I just caught a glimpse of that Marge character. She was ugly. Horrible creature."
After that, James' mood rose marvelously. They spent the night listening to Lily telling about the catastrophe that was her sister's wedding - from the lurid flower arrangements to the point where Marge Dursley got drunk and started dancing on the food tables. In the morning, when James had to get back to St Mungo's, he was just as cheerful and optimistic as he was the day before, ready to greet the day.
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Peter returned home earlier than anticipated, around late August. His mother, he explained as he sank gratefully into a chair back at Padfoot's Doghouse to which he had escaped the moment they got home, had an upset stomach, caused by something she ate that must have been off. "Personally," he said, "I think she just got tired of being away from home and looked for an excuse to cut the trip short."
Apparently, the trip was just as bad as Peter had envisioned it. It seemed as though he had not enjoyed one moment of it and spent its entirety miserably thinking about what he could be doing with his friends at that precise moment.
From the flat, they Apparated to Remus' house. His mother said that it was her turn to make sure they ate properly, and invited them all to dinner. When Remus helped her set the table, however, she confessed to having different reasons for asking them to come.
"You're hardly home, Remus," she said quietly, setting the steel cutlery in place. "I could handle it when you were at Hogwarts, because I knew how it is, but... Now that you're out of school, you could continue living with us. I really do miss you, darling, as does your father. You only come around during the full moon when you need a secure place to stay."
"I know," he whispered, for the first time feeling guilty at crashing at Sirius' almost the entire summer. His parents had given up so much for him. Was that how he repaid them? He vowed to spend more time with them.
After dinner, they all sat together in the sitting room, talking mostly about Hogwarts, telling Remus' parents about their adventures and everything funny they could think of. Somehow, the conversation got around to James and his obsession with Lily.
"-she was so oblivious," Sirius said, laughing. "She had no idea just how obsessed he was about her. So I decided to take matters into my own hands."
James threw an embroidered pillow at his friend's head, but that did not stop William Lupin from asking, "What did you do, then?"
"Sent her one of his drawings, sighed with Your Secret Admirer."
"You can't be serious!" Remus' mother said in disbelief.
"Oh, he's serious, all right, Mrs. Lupin," Peter said. "And he continued sending them to her until she finally said yes."
"And how did she react, discovering this?"
An uncomfortable silence ended the light-hearted atmosphere. Three pairs of eyes fixed themselves on a very conscious James.
"I... Didn't tell her," he finally said, not meeting any of those eyes.
"Oh, James," Saffron sighed. "You really should. She might not like the fact that you've kept it away from her."
James did not answer.
Later that night, when the Marauders were getting ready for bed, Sirius confronted James with the problem once more.
"It's really about time you told her," he said, more serious than ever. "Do you want her to spend the rest of her life wondering what it could have been with her secret admirer? I don't think you do. It's time to come clean."
All of James' three friends looked at him with the same expression in their eyes. He had kept the lie going for too long. It was truly the time to tell Lily the truth.
The next morning, he made a floo call to her place via the Lupins' fireplace, with the other three sitting close beside him to make sure he stayed with the original plan that they had concocted during the night.
"Oh, Hello, Mrs. Evans," they heard him say. "Could you call Lily for me, please?"
Minutes later, Lily came. Remus could faintly hear her voice coming through the connection, but he doubted that anyone else could hear her.
"Hey, love," James said, unabashed, despite knowing that her mother may still be in the room. "Mum invited the others over for the weekend - Dad is off on some convention during the day and I think she's getting a little lonely - it means good food and good company, so I wondered if you'd like to join us? I do believe it's high time for you to meet my parents, Lily."
"I've already met them, you know," her whispering voice reminded him. "Back in the summer between second and third year? When Keira invited all of us there? You spilled hot chocolate all over my knees."
"Yes, I know you did," he said, laughing sheepishly at the stupidity of his thirteen-year-old self. "What I meant is that it's time for you to meet them as my girlfriend, and not as this girl I hated half to death."
Remus could not hear the reply this time, but apparently it was affirmative, for when James withdrew from the flames seconds later, his face looked worried.
"I don't think I can do this," he muttered hopelessly.
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They Apparated away from Remus' home the next morning, but not before Saffron warned her son to behave for a change, and that if his post-full moon symptoms appear again, to come home immediately.
The Marauders spent the morning helping James' mother around the house. It was time for summer cleaning, as she had put it, and why not use help when it was so freely available? The boys grumbled and muttered under their breaths, but said nothing. You just did not say no to an old woman with the energy of a twenty-year-old, the temper of a redhead and a well-used wand in hand.
Lily arrived shortly before dinner to find the Marauders sprawled on the bare floor of the newly-painted Northern drawing room, covered in soot, fresh paint and dust. Even though they were allowed to use magic now that they were fully trained wizards, house cleaning was not an easy work.
"I see you've been kept busy," she told them with a grin. "Your mum said I could find you here."
James groaned and picked himself up from the floor. "That's nice... So you've met her?"
"I told you," she said, rolling her eyes. "I've already met her before. But, yes, we talked a little and then your dad came back, so I went to find you. Your mum seems to think that you'd be up to no good if she wouldn't give the lot of you work to do."
"How well she knows us..." Sirius said dreamily from his place on the floor. "Get going, Prongs, or I will personally hex you into hell and back."
Lily glanced at him, confused.
James looked helplessly from Sirius to Remus and then to Peter, hoping the last two would save him and contradict Sirius' words, but they all glared at him. Remus knew when James was trying to weasel his way out of something, but this was neither the time nor the place. James had to tell Lily.
His shoulders slumping in defeat, James took Lily's hand. "We have to talk, love. Let's go to my room."
Looking even more confused, and even slightly fearful, Lily allowed James to drag her after him, leaving the three Marauders alone.
"You think she's going to take it badly?" Peter asked the room in general.
Sirius shrugged. "You never can tell with Lily, now can you? We'll have to wait and see.
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Lily had only once been to Potter Manor before, and it had been years since that single visit. Because of that, everything on their way to James' room was just as magnificent and awe-inspiring as it had been all those years ago. And yet, she could not completely enjoy the sights and sounds that were her boyfriend's home. Her stomach was churning. What could James possibly want to talk to her about? It sounded so ominous... Had he not called her 'love', she would have thought he was about to break up with her. But if it was not that, then what could it be?
Finally, they reached James' private wing. She vaguely remembered the way it was built, and vividly remembered the room she shared with Keira and Haley. There was only one room there that she had not been allowed anywhere near, and she could see James was becoming nervous as they approached the door that led to that very same room. He stopped when they reached it and turned to face her. His face was somewhat pale and he gulped, as though wanting to tell her something and afraid it would not come out as it should.
Finally, he said, "Whatever you see in there... please remember that I was young and that you wouldn't give me the time of day."
She wondered what could possibly be this bad that he felt he had to warn her. And then he opened the door, and she wondered no more. Instead, she stared at the wall on which so many pictures hung, her mouth open. Taking small, slow steps that led her closer to the wall she began taking in the magnitude of what she was seeing.
"All these years..." she whispered. "It was you..."
There was no mistaking that style and no mistaking the fact that the main figure starring in most of the pictures hanging on the walls of James' room was hers. She walked from picture to picture, taking in the details, the extent to which James' interest - obsession even -went to.
"You stopped sending them after we started dating," she said softly, as though almost talking to herself. "I thought the person sending them was someone else that realized he had no chance now that you were in the picture."
"Nope," he said, half-proud, half-embarrassed. "All me."
"I... I really don't know what to say, James," she let out, still looking stunned.
"Did you like them?" he asked carefully.
"Well, yes. They are beautiful. I kept them on my nightstand back at Hogwarts."
"I know. Keira told me."
"Keira told - For how long has Keira known?"
"Not long. She barged into here during the Christmas holiday while I was out. I had no choice but to explain, and she promised she won't breathe a word of it to you. I didn't want you to discover it like that."
Lily was absolutely speechless.
He touched his fingers to her chin, raising it so that she looked into his eyes. "I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid that you would hate me for that - for hiding all those years and not telling you it was me when we were finally dating. The boys pushed me into it. They said I had to tell you or you would forever wonder if I was the right choice. I just... hope that you understand that when I drew those pictures, it was because I truly and honestly felt strongly for you and wished you would have me."
"James..." she took a deep breath before continuing. "I won't deny that I kept wondering who the person who sent me those pictures was, but when we started dating and I saw that it was becoming the real thing, I packed those pictures at the very bottom of my trunk. I did not throw them because I wanted to remember that there was someone out there who thought so highly of me, but I did not continue to look at them, because I had you. I am certain that you are the one for me, and discovering that it was you... It only makes me that much more certain."
No more words were exchanged after that.
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When Lily and James came back down, more than hour after leaving Sirius, Peter and Remus at the Northern drawing room, they both had wide smiles stretched on their faces. Something told Remus that he really did not want to know what had gone on in James' room only minutes before. The only thing he needed to know was that the discovery of her secret admirer's identity did not unhinge Lily's faith in her boyfriend, and that was good enough for him. He was certain that his two friends were destined to one another.
That evening and the morning after were of the happiest of that summer. The four boys and Lily spent their time at the family's private lake, trying to ride on the family's horses (with only James being really successful at it, seeing as he had practice) and simply lazing about.
Lily had gone to visit Keira late that afternoon, promising to come back the next morning before they left Potter Manor. The girls were planning on taking Keira out for her last free night before committing her life to being an Auror. It was a little sad for them that Wren could not join them, being stuck on that isle so far away, but they would make sure, Lily said, to take pictures and send them to her so that she would not feel left out.
That left the four boys alone once more and quite under Laura Potter's feet.
After they had blown up yet another firework by mistake in the Western drawing room, James' mother snapped.
"James, take your friends outside," she said quietly, but with fire in her eyes that told her son that they had taken things too far. "I don't care if you insist on blowing up things, but please - not inside the house. Go play Quidditch or something."
Behind Sirius and James' backs, Remus tried to signal to her, ask her to offer something for them to do. Quidditch really was not his cup of tea - not watching and definitely not playing. He had gone to every match at Hogwarts and enjoyed them immensely because of the adrenalin that ran through him together with the rest of the crowd, because of the competition and the fun, but anything else that had to do with the popular game just did not speak to him.
Laura, however, thought it was a great idea to have the boys out of the house and doing something mostly harmless. "Yes," she said. "Why don't you go and play Quidditch? We have more than enough broomsticks and you haven't aired up the Quidditch balls in quite a while, love. And your dad got them especially for your eighteenth, remember?"
The woman was a master manipulator, Remus thought with an inner groan. She was playing on James' guilt and passion professionally. Thinking about it, he had never known a mother who knew her own son so well. She knew precisely where to hit, and it worked like a charm.
James' eyes lit up.
"Who's up for Quidditch?" he asked excitedly, already leaving the drawing room and leading them towards one of the back doors out of the manor.
There was no need to ask Sirius for his opinion, seeing the extra bounce in his steps, and Peter merely shrugged and said, "Why not. Could be fun." All eyes turned to Remus, who had stopped in his tracks, hands planted on his hips like some angry mother hen.
"You're not getting me on a broomstick," he said flatly. "I'm still traumatized from Peter's party last month."
He was not lying. Though he had nothing against broomsticks and was a rather good flyer, the experience on Sirius' bike told him he would need to have his feet on the ground for a little while longer. Every time he saw a broomstick - or worse, Sirius' bike - he would get a sick feeling and feel his stomach starting to heave again, remembering the loops and swoops so high in the air. He decided that the sky would be off-limits to him until he felt safe in his own abilities again.
"Oh, but, Moony!" Sirius whined. "We can't play Quidditch in three!"
"You can play one on one in turns," he said, not budging from his stance.
"But that's no fun!"
"I don't care. Let's go. I'm sitting on the ground."
Sirius made a sad face, but James took him by the arm, saying, "It's his right, Padfoot. Let's go get our brooms."
Happy in his absolute victory over Sirius' powers of persuasion this time and satisfied that James had supported him in his decision despite the fact that he obviously wanted Remus to play just as badly, he did not pay attention to the two. James and Sirius walked slightly ahead of him, with Peter somewhere in-between. Then, all of a sudden, Sirius broke away from James and almost raced towards Remus, a determined look in his eyes.
"Please, Moony?" he said, falling to his knees in front of Remus and putting his hands together in a begging motion. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeease? I'm leaving in two days. Indulge me. Please?"
Remus was caught so much by surprise, that his kindness took over his better sense, making him shake his head exasperatedly. "Well... If it's that important to you-"
Before he even finished the sentence, Sirius was back on his feet, punching the air in victory as he did. "Yes!"
Beside him, James shook his head. "Really, Moony. I thought you had more fiber than that. But - let's go play Quidditch! Told you he'd fall for that, Padfoot! You owe me five Galleons!"
Remus knew he should feel betrayed, but he knew his two friends all too well. And, well, if playing Quidditch for once in his life would make them happy...
They played fairly enough, with James on one side and Sirius on the other. Peter was James' Seeker, and Remus was Sirius'. They both had no practice in that position, so it was quite all right.
The Potters' private Quidditch pitch was half the size of the one at Hogwarts, and there was only one stand for people to sit and watch. It was still a grand construction, with the Potter Coat of Arms decorating the low, marble wall that marked the border of the pitch in regular intervals.
They played without Bludgers, but that did not mean the game was not exhilarating. On the contrary, the fact that two inexperienced players were on the field made for a very interesting game.
"Wormtail!" Sirius yelled angrily after the fifth time Peter had nearly unseated him in a desperate attempt to regain control of his own broomstick that was needed after a complicated loop he had tried to do, flying after the elusive Snitch.
"Sorry!"
And that was when Remus lost control of his broomstick and crashed into the stands, making James shake his head and then steal the Quaffle straight out of the distracted Sirius' hands.
Speeding towards Sirius and Remus' side of the pitch, he made a spectacular double loop and scored neatly in the middle ring.
"AND POTTER SCORES!" Sirius hollered, laughing, as James swooped around the field in a mock-victory lap.
"Thank you! Thank you!" James cried, feigning tears. "I never thought you would all admire me like this!"
"AND HIS HEAD IS STILL AS BIG AS IT USED TO BE! PRAISE BE TO MERLIN!" Sirius continued, making James swoop down on him in mock anger, attempting to knock him off his broom. Sirius laughed and swerved to one side, instigating a game of chase around the pitch.
Only after James had caught up and pummeled Sirius with the handy Quaffle did the four boys touch the ground and got off their brooms. It was a hot day and Sirius and James in particular were sweating profusely.
"Let's go sit in the shade for a while before we take this up again," Remus suggested, feeling wilted. It was the first time in a very long period that James and Sirius managed to convince him that playing Quidditch with them would not be such a bad idea. While it was fun, he felt tired and drenched in sweat. A little rest would do him well.
Led by James, they made their way to the low wall that marked the boundaries of the pitch. The space just bellow the wall was pleasantly shadowed. They settled comfortably on the grass with their broomsticks by their side. Remus and James were sitting with their backs to the wall while Sirius was sprawled on his back, arms cushioning his head, and Peter on his stomach, lazily tracing the grass with his finger. None of them felt the need to talk.
"So..." Remus said after a while, looking at Sirius. "We won't be the seeing you and Keira for the next three months unless you fail the basic?"
"That's right," Sirius replied, staring at the sky.
"So... do that mean James and I get the flat?"
"Why, Moony, old boy!" James burst in laughter. "Didn't know you had it in you!"
Remus grinned and Sirius sat up. He clapped Remus on the back in appreciation. "Yes, Moony. The place is yours to have and to hold for the next three months. What about you, Wormtail? Want to join in on the fun?"
Peter jerked suddenly, not at all ready for someone addressing him. "What?" he said. "Well... I'd love to, but... Mum sort of put her foot down on that just before I came to the flat last week. I'm allowed to stay at the flat while I still don't have a job, but once I get accepted she said I have to stay at home so she can make sure I'm eating properly and getting enough sleep. You know how she is..."
They all nodded. Peter's mother had always been a little too overprotective of him. It came from being a single child of a woman who had lost her husband rather early on in life. Peter had always handled it rather well, but they all knew he missed his father and felt quite exasperated with his mother's antics.
They continued to lie there in silence until once more Remus broke the silence.
"Are you all packed?" he asked Sirius. "You're leaving in two days, after all."
"Don't have much to pack," his friend replied, shrugging. He was once again on his back, staring upwards. "I talked about it with Gavin and Laura. They said to bring as little as possible, seeing as they allow only very specific things to be brought along during basic. We'll be supplied with a uniform and every essential we might need - but only the bare minimum. It's supposed to be tough and all that."
Remus happened to glance at James at that moment, thinking he had heard a tiny sigh coming from him. He just caught the edge of a wistful look before James schooled his features once more. It suddenly struck Remus that no matter that James said about being happy with his decision and knowing Healing was the best career choice for him, he still wanted to be an Auror and work with Sirius and Keira out on the field, catching Dark wizards.
"Well, then," the spectacled young man said, however, in a cheery voice. "You two will be having the time of your lives, to judge by my parents' stories! And I'll be there to patch you up when you're through!"
Too cheerful. Much too cheerful.
Okay, so what I said would be in this chapter wasn't really precise, but I hope you have enjoyed it all the same... Tell me what you think!
In the next chapter: James and his problems, Remus and his, jobs, fights and something dark is in the air...
See you all there!
Hugs and kisses to all!
-Star of the North