James, Sirius, and Remus stood by the empty bed, staring at the closed doors for several long seconds. They were holding hands, with Sirius in the middle, completely lost and when Dumbledore spoke, they all jumped.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine."
"Yeah," James said, letting go of Sirius's hand. "He'll be back tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, of course," Pomfrey promised.
Remus realized he was still holding Sirius's hand and he let go, but Sirius still held his hand and continued to do so. Then he realized he wasn't even supposed to be there. Of course the Marauders knew he would be, however Pomfrey and Dumbledore didn't—and couldn't—know they knew!
"I—I guess I should explain what I'm doing here," Remus said.
James and Sirius both looked at him, and understanding dawned in Sirius's face. "What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused. "I thought you were visiting your mother!"
Remus searched his brain for a plausible explanation. "I was... she's doing better. A lot better. I—I was going to come back yesterday but—but I began to not feel too well." He shifted a bit, wishing Sirius would let go of him. "I was going to stay home till I felt better, but it wasn't as bad as it normally gets, and I didn't want to be in the way—didn't want Dad taking care of both of us since it's hard on him—so I came back here last night."
Both his friends nodded. "Glad your mum's better," James said with a smile, "but sorry you're not doing well."
"I'm starting to feel better today already," he promised. "I might be able to come back to the dorms tomorrow morning, or even tonight. I should have been resting but I heard Peter screaming and got scared."
"You need to go rest," Sirius said, and used the fact he had a grip on Remus's hand to turn him towards the door to his room, giving him a gentle push.
At least he had let go of Remus's hand. "Yeah. Um, I'll see you later..." He hurried back to his room, wishing his friends could come too. He was so worried about Peter and didn't want to sit and fret alone. Surely Peter would be okay! It was a routine procedure. Sirius had it done at ten. Pete would be fine... right?
Remus asked Pomfrey when she came into his room a little while later. She promised him Peter would be fine. "It hadn't ruptured yet, so the recovery rate is extremely high," she said.
"A ruptured appendix isn't?" he asked.
"No," she said hesitantly. "It complicates the process greatly, and there is a risk of—of death. However Peter's appendix was not ruptured."
But Remus was thinking of Sirius, and the fact Sirius's appendix had ruptured, and why it had gotten to the point where it did; hadn't his parents taken him to Saint Mungo's when he was in a lot of pain...? "Why does it take so long to recover?" he asked.
"Really, he'll be healed up within an hour or two after they remove his appendix," Pomfrey said with a smile. "He needs to remain in the hospital for observation, to make sure everything went well. I'm certain he'll be back at school by lunch tomorrow, or supper."
"It's his birthday tomorrow," Remus said, not sure even why he said it.
"Oh! Well, he'll be back. What we need to talk about is the fact you ran out there..."
Remus shrank back a bit, fiddling with the blanket. "Ahh. When I heard Pete shouting I p-panicked, I got scared and ran out without thinking. I did cover my bandages so they didn't see... I think they believed my excuse though."
Pomfrey nodded. "Yes, it seems that they did, thankfully. Please be more cautious in the future."
"Yes Madame Pomfrey. And—and Pete will be okay?"
"Yes."
Remus stayed in the hospital wing for a while longer, unable to rest at all due to worry over Pete. He knew Peter would be all right however he couldn't help feel an icicle of dread trickling down his spine. Finally he couldn't stand being alone a second longer and changed into his clothes. He stared at his reflection, tugging at his jumper this way and that. No matter what he did, the jumper's neck hole was too big and you could see the bandages across his neck.
"Madame Pomfrey?" He tapped at her door, not wanting to bother her but not sure what to do. "I'm feeling a—a lot better but..." He reached up, tugging at the neckline.
"I see. Perhaps you should wait..."
"I—I really... don't want to. I—I have a jumper that'll cover it, but I was wondering if I could... borrow a scarf or something? To get to the dorms?"
"Of course," Pomfrey said, and fetched a pale grey scarf which Remus wrapped around his neck. He thanked her profusely before heading out, casting one last look at the bed Peter had been in.
Remus mostly took back corridors to get to the common room, avoiding as many people as possible. He scurried through the tower, up the stairs, and into his room which was quite empty. Breathing a sigh of relief, he dug through his trunk until he found the top he was looking for. It was a rather large cream-colored cable knit turtleneck jumper his mother had bought for him. It was so big he never even bothered wearing it, though he figured it would fit him well enough next winter. Hopefully.
Cocking his head to listen for anyone coming in, he quickly shed the jumper he had been wearing and pulled the turtleneck one on. It felt so bulky. However it covered his neck, and the bulkiness only aided in keeping the bandages on his throat, shoulder, and arm hidden. He had to push the sleeves way up to get his hands out the end, and the hem of the jumper went well past his hips. His mother had... a lot of hope for his height, which he wanted to fulfill.
Next, Remus took the box out of his bag. Peter's blanket had stayed at the house for the time being, though he considered bringing it in to see if the house-elves could get the blood out. Of course, what would be the point in that, when it would get bloody next time?
"Mellon," he said, and took the book out. He shut the box and tucked it into his trunk.
Remus put his pranks notebook into his satchel along with a few schoolbooks, and headed out of his dorm to go search for his friends. The other students he questioned in the common room had no clue where they had gone, so it seemed he would need to take a few guesses. If that failed, he figured he'd go study in the library.
His first guess, however, turned out to be right. He went into the passageway with the pits and heard their voices.
"Oi!" he called out, and their voices went silent as he inched along the thin ledge that took him across the first hole. "It's Remus."
"Remy?" A second later James flew over the impassable hole. "You're out already!"
Remus got on the broom and they flew back over where Sirius was. Sirius gave him a rather strange look, which made Remus feel a bit self-conscious. He tugged at the bulky jumper, and set his bag down.
"I didn't want to be alone," he explained. "Pete..."
James's face fell. "I know what you mean. All I can do is worry. I mean, I know he's safe but... it's so scary. What if something happens?"
"Saint Mungo's is an excellent hospital," Sirius murmured, glancing out the side of his eyes at Remus.
"I'm f—fine," Remus stammered, thinking perhaps it was how awful he looked that was causing the stares.
"Huh?"
"You keep looking at me."
To his surprise, Sirius flushed a little. "Yeah, of course. That's not... um, anyway, I don't think you've ever worn that."
Remus looked down, hand brushing against the stomach of the jumper. "No, it's too big for me. I know it looks dumb but it was the only thing I have that covers the bandages."
"Bandages?" James asked.
He made a face then pulled at the neck a little so they could see. "I hurt my neck pretty bad."
"Should you be out of the hospital wing?" James asked, surprisingly being the one concerned and not Sirius, however Sirius was still giving Remus odd looks.
"Yes, I'm all right. Mostly worried about Peter."
"Oh!" James snapped his fingers. "By the way, we had an idea. Okay, I know you're going to say no, but at least hear me out."
Remus narrowed his eyes. "What rule does it break?"
James gave one of his Potter smiles. "What makes you think it involves breaking a rule?" Remus folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, okay, sneaking out of the school, but—"
"No."
"—I propose we sneak into Hogsmeade—"
"No."
"—and go to Saint Mungo's!" James looked at him now with an even bigger grin, and a flourish of his arms as if to magnify his 'amazing' idea.
Remus sighed. "No!"
"But—"
"James, if we get caught at Saint Mungo's there will be hell to pay!" Remus felt itchy, and wanted to push his hands up the sleeves to scratch. He had too much anxiety at the moment to even fathom such a disaster of a plan. Not only was it utterly stupid, absolutely reckless, and beyond careless... if his parents found out... they would move to a different country in a heartbeat. It was idiotic enough going into Hogsmeade... but Saint Mungo's?
"We could surprise Peter in the morning," Sirius said.
Remus sank down to the floor, huddled against the wall. "He's—he's coming back in the afternoon..."
"For his birthday though," James said, clapping. "It'd be a nice surprise."
Be a nice surprise for my parents, getting a letter saying I was caught at Saint Mungo's. "I would love nothing more than to show up as a happy birthday surprise for Pete, however I absolutely will not do that, it is too risky." He pulled his hands into the sleeves so the ends dangled. He began flapping them, smacking the ends against the floor. "We should set up a surprise for when he comes back. Decorate the dorm. Make cake...!" He jerked his chin up, smiling. "Let's make him a cake. Ourselves. That would be very special. We could ask McGonagall if we could use the kitchens."
"That'd be kinda fun," James mumbled.
Sirius tilted his head. "You know how to bake?"
"No..." He sat upright, a memory popping into his head. "But I know who does!"
/\/\/\/\/\
"Bake?" Lily glanced up, pressing her book against her chin, eyes darting between the three Marauders suspiciously. "Why d'you want to bake a cake?"
"For Peter," Remus said. "It's his birthday tomorrow and..." He wasn't sure if he was supposed to share what happened, except Lily could keep a secret. So he sat down and explained.
Lily gasped, clutching her book tightly as her eyes went very wide. "Oh no! That's dreadful! He's going to be okay though, right? Poor Peter! And—his birthday too. Yes, of course I'll help. Um, are we even allowed to do that though?"
"We're gonna ask McGonsie," Sirius said, squeezing into the armchair Remus was in. It was just barely big enough for them, and they were pressed up together which definitely wasn't ideal for the box situation. He tried his best to stay calm, and ignored the fact his palms were getting very sweaty. He pulled his hands back up into his sleeves, pressing them against the wool. Sirius didn't seem bothered at all being squashed together. "See if we can use the kitchen."
James sat down on the arm of the chair Lily was in, ignoring the glare she gave him. "Should we bake it tonight, or tomorrow morning?"
"Probably tonight, it will store overnight fine," Lily said, closing her book. "What's his favorite kind of cake?"
All three of them spoke at the same time.
"Chocolate," Sirius said.
"Lemon?" Remus asked.
"Battenberg!" James suggested.
They looked at each other, and Lily put her hand to her face. "Okay then," she sighed.
"Er, he likes all sorts," James said, trying to lean back against the back of the chair without touching Lily. "I'm not sure of his favorite though."
"He does like sponge cakes though," Sirius said.
"All right, what about a Victoria sponge?" Lily suggested, and Sirius shrugged.
"I'm pretty sure he'd like that," Remus said, trying to remember what desserts Peter ate. "Maybe we could make some biscuits too. He loves iced biscuits. I can make biscuits."
Lily tapped her chin. "All right, we can do that. You're sure he likes sponge cakes?"
"Yes," Sirius and James chorused while Remus nodded.
"We should go talk to McGonagall," James said, and hopped off the chair.
The four of them headed out of the common room which was very bizarre to Remus. James, Sirius, and Lily... working together. This was going to be really weird. Hopefully they'd be able to get along well enough for the baking part. He really wanted something super special for Pete to come back to, and also a reason for the others not to sneak into the hospital!
Professor McGonagall wasn't in her office, so they had to hunt her down which took the better part of half an hour. Eventually they ran across Sir Nicholas, one of Remus's ghost friends, who gladly helped. He tracked her down to the teacher's lounge, floating through the wall to get her. She came out, lips thin as she surveyed the group before her.
"Did something happen?"
"Professor, what makes you automatically think something happened?" James asked.
She looked down her nose at him. "Because typically if I'm seeing you outside of class, you've done something!"
Sirius stepped forward, pushing some of his hair back, one of his charming smiles spreading on his face. "Professor, I'm guessing Professor Dumbledore told you about what happened with Peter?" he inquired, and McGonagall nodded. Sirius launched into a big explanation of what they wanted to do for him. Remus could see McGonagall's face softening as he spoke, until she had one of her rare smiles.
"That would be very nice of you. Are any of you acquainted with baking magic?"
All four of them shook their heads, and Remus's heart sank as he realized they'd probably have to get the house-elves to make it, which... would be all right, just not quite as special.
"I can bake the Muggle way," Lily said, folding her hands demurely in front of her. "If there's any way to get Muggle baking tools we can do that."
"Wait, bake the Muggle way?!" Remus heard Sirius whisper fearfully to James.
"Actually, we have plenty of Muggle cooking utensils at Hogwarts," McGonagall said, surprising them. "While the house-elves mostly use magic, Professor Lewis—who teaches Muggle Studies—will have Muggle cooking or baking lessons. I'll speak to her, and I'm sure she'll be glad to lend what she has. Mr. Pettigrew should be back tomorrow afternoon, will tomorrow morning be all right for you?"
"Yes, Professor!" James said excitedly, then stopped. "Oh. I have—I have practice in the morning.
"Would you be able to bake after?" McGonagall asked.
"It'll be lunchtime, and the house-elves will be busy," James said.
"You won't be bothering the house-elves," she said. "There's enough room, it should be fine."
"Really?" James asked, and McGonagall nodded. "Okay, great! Tomorrow it is."
/\/\/\/\/\
The Marauders didn't do much else that evening, mostly hung out in their dorm trying not to be too worried about Peter. At around eight a prefect came up and told them McGonagall needed to see them. They went down to the common room, extremely scared and anxious until they saw her smile. She pulled them into a corner, and informed them Dumbledore had heard back from Saint Mungo's; the procedure had gone without a hitch—and that's all she got out before James let out a whoop and hugged McGonagall. She staggered back, pure shock filling her face as he hugged her. Sirius pumped his fists, jumping up and down, while Remus clapped and pumped one fist too.
Several students were watching James hugging their Head of House with amusement. None of them had heard what was said to trigger the hug, of course.
McGonagall gave James a pat and he peeled himself off of her. She straightened her glasses and finished what she was saying, which was that Peter was okay, he was recovering well, and he'd be back before supper tomorrow, probably right after lunch.
That night, Spinnet and Struthers were curious where Peter was—Spinnet even asked nicely—and James told them that Peter was in the hospital. He didn't specify whether it was the hospital wing or Saint Mungo's, and later that night he told Sirius and Remus he wasn't sure what Peter wanted people to know. Sirius and Remus agreed that was for the best.
The three of them stayed up late in the common room, wrapping presents for Peter while listening to music. James and Sirius danced a lot and tried to get Remus to dance too but he shook his head. Sirius offered his hand which was... very tempting for Remus to take. Instead, he shook his head again and tugged down the turtleneck.
"My shoulder still hurts," he said, and let the neck spring back up, glad to have an excuse.
"Ohhh, right, yeah, I—yeah," Sirius mumbled, looking awkward.
Remus smiled. "It's fine. I'm having enough fun watching you freak out—errr, I mean dancing, if that's what you call it."
James stuck out his tongue and Remus giggled, going back to carefully wrapping Peter's last present.
/\/\/\/\/\
Sirius and Remus watched James's practice with very little interest. They kept talking about the cake. Sirius was worried about messing the baking up and Remus tried to reassure him it'd be fine. Lily was good at baking, and he was okay. And even if the cake didn't turn out perfect he had a feeling Peter would be happy.
James finished his practice and wanted to go right into baking even though he was soaked from the sleet and sweat. Remus made him get a shower first, which only took a few minutes (and he smelled like he rinsed off, not really washed). Then they were ready to go. They met up with Lily in the common room and trooped down to the kitchens where they found a table set aside for them which had loads of Muggle utensils, and all the ingredients they needed. Plus four aprons hanging up. Two white ones, one green, and one pink. They all dove for the aprons, and James wound up with the pink one. Remus and Sirius were in white, and Lily in green.
"Okay," she said, pulling her hair back into a high ponytail. "First off, wash the hands. Second, let's check the recipe."
Lily didn't have a recipe at hand for a Victoria sponge but McGonagall had kindly gotten them a book with a recipe inside.
"Remy sucks at Potions, how's he supposed to bake?" Sirius asked, pulling his own hair back too.
Remus elbowed him. "The smells are the worst part of making potions. These smell fine."
"All right. Potter, you can butter those tins then put the baking paper in. Let's see... Black, we need two hundred grams of sugar and the same amount of softened butter."
Sirius peered at the butter. "How do I soften it? Incendio?"
"Wha—" Lily turned as Sirius got his wand out. "No!!" She dove over, grabbing his wrist. "Bloody hell, you're not to set anything on fire!"
"How do I soften it?!"
"Boil some water, and put the dish in the water."
"The butter will get wet."
Lily rubbed her forehead and muttered under her breath about not murdering anyone. "I'll soften the butter," Remus said, hurrying over to fill a pan with water. He set it on the stove and then nestled a bowl down in there, needing one of the house-elves to help him get the stove on since he wasn't completely sure. It needed to be lit with magic but soon the water began bubbling. Remus put the butter in the bowl and once it softened enough he transported it to the scales to get the proper amount, and dumped it in with the sugar.
Lily had Sirius beat some eggs in the meantime and he was going hog wild with the whisk, sending egg flying everywhere. There were bits of shell still in there too. Remus took the bowl from him and got a new one. Cracking eggs, however, wasn't something he could do easily. More often than not the eggs wound up on the floor. He cautiously tried one, and pieces of shell went everywhere.
Sirius snorted and Remus rolled his eyes, dumping the ruined egg out. "You try again, then, this time without the shell."
Sirius cracked one of the eggs, and shell flakes went everywhere. Lily swore and flounced over, taking the eggs and the bowl, easily cracking them without a fleck of shell. She shoved the bowl back to Sirius. "Beat them without sending the eggs everywhere please?"
While Sirius worked, James helped Lily add the other dry stuff. The flour and the baking powder. While they worked, Remus took some other bowls and began working on the sugar biscuits. The recipe in the book wasn't quite the same as the ones Remus made with his mother, but since he couldn't remember that recipe exactly he had to use the book. At least there weren't eggs involved, so he didn't need to worry about that.
"How did you get so much flour on you?" Lily demanded.
Remus glanced over, seeing James with flour all over his apron, arms, and face. "I dumped it in the bowl to weigh it and it poofed up on me."
The bowl on the scales was overly full, flour spilling everywhere. "You don't dump ingredients in like that, you need to be careful—"
"I was being careful!"
"How is that being careful?"
"I... underestimated how much would come out when I poured it."
"Did—did you just tip it completely over? Upside down?"
James looked guilty, tugging at his collar. "Uh, no, obviously not!"
Lily groaned and put the flour back into the bag. She swept the flour off the scale and table, then carefully poured the correct amount out. James rolled his eyes and shuffled over to Remus, helping him. Or trying to help him. When he dumped out the sugar the same thing happened: it all poured out and overflowed.
"Uh, whoops."
While Sirius and Lily worked on the cake—arguing, though not as bad as Lily and James—James and Remus worked on the biscuits. This was a disaster duo as James wasn't careful and Remus was clumsy. He dropped things while James tended to knock things over in his rush to help. At least Sirius wasn't somehow amazing at cooking, and kept messing up too. Remus felt a bit guilty for saddling Lily with all of this stress; perhaps it should have just been the two of them, but he knew James and Sirius would have been hurt. Besides, the treats were better because they all worked on them, right?
Finally, Lily poured the cake batter into the tins and slid them into the oven. She flopped back in a chair, blowing a loose strand of hair away from her face.
"This was fun!" Sirius said, egg all over him.
"Definitely fun," agreed flour-covered James. "What a great afternoon's work."
"We're not done yet," Lily said and both boys looked at her. "We have to make the filling and put the cake together."
"And make the icing for the biscuits," said Remus, collapsed in a seat next to Lily. "Peter likes his with frosting on them."
"How do Muggles survive doing everything like this?!" James wailed.
Lily laughed. "We do very well, thank you very much. We've survived this long. And I stand by what I've said before, in some ways Muggles are so much more advanced than magic!"
"Name one thing," James said.
Lily smirked. "Muggles have gone to the moon? They can fly without magic. Electricity is amazing. Plus wizards don't have tellies, which is a downright shame."
"What's tellies?" Sirius asked.
Lily tried her best to explain, but it was pretty obvious James and Sirius weren't really getting it. Soon, the timer for the biscuits dinged and Remus took them out, setting them on a counter to cool. Sirius came over to help mix the icing up which resulted in icing going everywhere. Sirius accidentally got some on Remus's sleeve, so Remus flicked some at him, and soon icing was flying back and forth. Remus reached into the bowl for more and came out with hardly any on his hand.
"Blast it, now we have to make more," he grumbled.
Sirius was laughing, icing all over his apron, clothes, face, and in his hair. Remus knew he looked just as bad.
"Are you two done making a mess?" Lily teased as she took the sponge cakes out of the oven.
"No," Sirius said at the same time Remus said, "Yes."
Sirius reached over and smeared a dab on the end of Remus's nose. He rolled his eyes and went to wash his hands so he could make another batch of icing, while James and Lily worked on the sponge cake filling.
"If you throw any of this at me, I am going to throw you into the oven," Lily threatened. James swiped some up onto his finger. Lily pointed the wooden spoon at him. "I mean it!"
Remus shook his head vigorously behind Lily, and James stuck his finger in his mouth as if that's what he intended to do all along.
They got the house-elves to cool down the cake and biscuits so they could finish making them without having to wait. Remus let Sirius and James decorate the biscuits while he helped Lily spread the buttercream and jam. Despite being careful, Remus got jam all over his fingers and kept having to wipe them off on his apron, leaving long red streaks that reminded him of blood.
"Think Pete will like these?" Sirius held up two biscuits that with the icing and held together looked like boobs.
"You're disgusting," Lily complained.
Sirius grinned and held up another that had a penis on it. He and James dissolved into giggles, and Remus tried not to giggle too. He finished with the jam and stepped back so Lily could put the top cake on, pressing gently down. They dusted the top with powdered sugar and then stepped back to admire their work. It was... a bit messy and sloppy, but looked good enough.
"Can I put a penis on the cake?" Sirius asked, holding up the bag of icing.
"No!" Lily snapped.
"Boobs?"
"NO! This is supposed to be a nice gift for Peter!"
Sirius shrugged. "Peter likes boobs." At that Remus began choking trying not to laugh, while James had to grab one of the chairs to stop himself from falling over laughing.
Lily gave him a look then threw her hands in the air. "Why are boys so immature?! Do what you want with the cake."
Sirius skipped over and carefully began squeezing icing out. Remus thought he might be putting boobs but when Sirius stepped back, they saw he had drawn a heart.
Sirius winked at Lily, and skipped back to James's side to finish decorating the biscuits.
