Author's note: sorry this was late today I am having internet and computer troubles. There may be a small chance I won't be getting Friday's chapter out, it just depends on how things go. I'm trying to at least get my computer issue fixed but the internet thing isn't anything I have control over.
Anyway, warning for a bit more homophobia revolving around the slur incident.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
James was extremely grouchy on Sunday morning. Remus woke up to his grumbling, not sure what the problem was until he noticed the heavy rain pattering against the window. The plan had been to go into Hogsmeade after James's practice, to celebrate his birthday a bit early.
"Guess we'll have to wait till Saturday," Sirius said, standing between his and Remus's bed, staring out the window at the black sky.
"I'm going back to bed," Peter said, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry, James."
"Nah, it's fine." James didn't really mind when they missed his practices. He had told them before they absolutely did not have to go, it was just something they all enjoyed doing. Showing their support. Just… maybe not so much in a storm.
Remus didn't go back to sleep. Instead, he continued reading one of the books he had borrowed. He was reading Slytherin's biography, feeling as though this book out of all of them would give him some sort of hint. Since the copy of Hogwarts, a History had been missing the Chamber of Secrets pages then perhaps there was a clue in this? If the books were from the same person; there was every possibility they weren't.
Most of the day was spent in the book, when he wasn't working on homework or spending time with Lily, and Monday was much the same. Slytherin's biography was very interesting. It was obviously written by someone who worshiped him. All of the nasty stuff was glossed over or presented in other ways. Slytherin's absolute hatred of non-purebloods was reworded in a way that spoke of how the purity of magic was vital, and those who were not born into families with a magical ancestry were never going to properly understand. It was all hippogriff poop, but Remus could see why people fell for it.
Still fall for it, he thought Tuesday morning when he saw the Daily Prophet's headline was about the possibility of more Squib protests. Remus barely paid attention to his porridge as he gazed across the table at the newspaper in the hands of an older student. He couldn't see the article contents from there, but there were a few sentences which were bold for emphasis. More Pureblood Riots? and Push For Muggleborn Equality.
Remus blinked, tearing his gaze away from the paper, not wanting to think about that on an otherwise happy day. James was now thirteen, and all the Marauders were officially teenagers.
"It's not fair my birthday doesn't fall on the weekend," sighed James as they headed to Herbology after breakfast. "Let's skip classes today."
"I'm all for that," laughed Sirius.
When they walked into the greenhouse James went up to Sprout. "Professor, it's my birthday, can I miss class?"
Sprout stared at him in disbelief, as did most the students who had arrived already. "No, Mr. Potter," she said slowly. "You may not."
There were several giggles which James ignored. "Can't hurt to try," he said as they went to their usual table.
"It was a good attempt," Sirius reassured him, patting his shoulder.
Lily leaned across her table. "It's your birthday? I must mark it down on my calendar." She pretended to write on a piece of parchment. "Note to self: the twenty-seventh of March is a national day of mourning."
James blew a loud raspberry, giving her a two finger salute which lost Gryffindor a couple points. Twenty minutes later he tried to sneak fertilizer into her satchel, only to have a bucket full of slimy mud dumped over his head. He shrieked, flailing around.
"Oops, sorry Potter, didn't see you skulking around on the floor there!" Lily gasped out quite innocently. "Did you lose your glasses again?"
James straightened up, shaking the mud off his arms in her direction. She gave a squeal, jumping out of the way. "You did that on purpose!"
"I did not! I had no idea you were there!"
"What, you were just dumping mud on your schoolbag?!" he demanded.
Lily waved her arm at the tray of plants on the edge of the table. "I was putting mud in there, or trying to. It was an accident, Professor," she added as Sprout had come over.
Sprout gave Lily a look. "I'm sure it was," she said as she waved her wand, making most of the mud disappear off James. There was still some stuck in his hair and clinging to the back of his neck. "The rain will wash the rest away. Five points from Gryffindor. Please stop causing disturbances!"
James stuck his tongue out at Lily, and she stuck hers right back.
"Cow," James muttered when he returned to the desk.
But he was skipping through the rain after class, not letting Lily get him down on such a wonderful day. Once all four of them got their showers, they crowded on James's bed to watch him open the presents his parents had sent him that morning. Inside a large box were half a dozen more boxes. He spread them out, rubbing his hands eagerly.
"What shall I open first?" he asked.
"That one," Peter said, pointing at the biggest.
"I could tell you which one has sweets," Remus offered.
James picked up the big one. "Which one has sweets?" he asked, and Remus pointed at the one giving off delicious smells. "I'll get that one next."
He ripped off the paper revealing the brand new board game all of them had heard of from the newspapers and magazines. Wild Adventures. The Mega Deluxe version. It involved creatures of all kinds, and the creatures would move on their own. James opened the board and it was a great big map with real hills and a very realistic stream. Sirius stuck his finger in a pond but didn't get wet. It only looked like it. There were enemies hidden on the board—a new configuration each time—and the first to reach the other side won. Then they found out that every time you opened up the map it had a new layout, though essentially it was all the same sort of thing just in different spots. Though once when James reopened the map there was suddenly a lake, so sometimes things were completely different.
"We'll play in a bit," James said, giving the box of creature tokens a longing look. Then he opened the box. "Cool!" He dumped them out and the pieces wriggled about, hopping to their feet, claws, hooves, or fins. They all looked so realistic… even the little werewolf that made Remus's chest seize up a little.
The others saw it too, and James silently picked it up and plopped it back in the box. "Look at the griffin!" He picked the griffin up, admiring the feathers and the realistic talons that prickled across his palm.
"Oh, I love this one!" Peter picked up a chimaera then dropped it. "Um, it won't bite, will it?"
Remus picked up the box. "No, they're of no danger to us."
Peter picked it back up, lightly stroking the lion's mane. Sirius chose a hippogriff, and Remus picked up the nearest token to him which was a little demiguise that kept fading in and out.
"It actually turns invisible," he gasped out. "These pieces are amazing." He didn't add that this game must have been extremely expensive with all the enchantments on it. He couldn't imagine how pricey it was.
The four of them spent the better part of ten minutes checking out every token and every bit of the map. James put a piece on the board and rolled a dice, moving the piece. A shadowy sort of creature jumped out and they watched the two fight. James had a list of his token's moves and he had to command his token what to do. Once his token won, he put everything up so they could move on to the other presents.
Nothing else was as cool as the game. The next box was chock full of sweets that would have probably used up all of James's allowance. Then he also got a new waterproof cloak in Gryffindor colors, new trainers, a purple-pink-and-red paisley shirt with a very pointy collar, and finally a new poster of the Appleby Arrows which James immediately stuck up on the wall.
Then they began playing the board game. There weren't turns, so all four were rolling dice and commanding their creatures at the same time which felt quite chaotic, in a fun way. All of the creatures had pros and cons, and Remus's choice of demiguise had the advantage of being able to hide from enemies with the con of it being very weak in fighting. He tried guiding the little thing as best he could, darting between trees and hiding in bushes.
"SLASH! KILL!" James was shrieking as his griffin came into battle against Sirius's troll.
"BASH! USE BASH!" Sirius shouted. The troll swung its club, knocking the griffin out of the air.
While they were locked in battle, Peter won since Remus was being a bit too cautious. Peter whooped happily, pumping his fists in the air. They all congratulated him and then played again, choosing new pieces. By the time Sirius won with his ashwinder that burnt down half the board (killing Remus's acromantula in the process) they barely had time for lunch. James closed the board then opened it quickly to make sure it wasn't still burnt (it wasn't, it was all fresh and new) then they put the game away before running as fast as they could to the Great Hall.
They barely got any food down before needing to get to class where James tried his birthday request again with Professor Prewett, who seemed more amused than anything else.
"If I don't get my birthday off from classes, Mr. Potter, neither do you," he said merrily.
"Awww! You know, you could take the day off too, you know, and we could celebrate." James cracked a very brilliant Potter grin. "A good ol' Gryffindor party."
"Now, what makes you think I was a Gryffindor?" Prewett inquired.
"Aw, most Prewetts are Gryffindors," James answered, waving his hand. "Come on, Professor. You could party with us."
"As fascinating as it would be to see what one of your parties would be like, I must decline." Prewett shook his head. "Take your seats."
Remus knew Prewett wouldn't, but was still glad he didn't need to worry about it. The room beyond the dragon painting and the books he found had pushed aside the whole (homosexual man) poof thing for the most part (though it did lurk in the back of his mind) but sometimes it bothered him when he was close to Sirius, and it was bothering him again being in Prewett's class. He wished he could forget it, could forget what it meant, could forget it was used against him.
Remus glanced to the side at Spinnet, who was taking notes though obviously bored. He yawned and stopped mid-yawn when he noticed Remus watching him. His mouth snapped shut and a slight flush spread across his face. Quickly he looked away, turning back to his notes. Remus ducked his head, going back to his own notes as well.
After Prewett dismissed everyone, Spinnet was the first one out of class, however he was waiting across the hall by the time the Marauders emerged. Remus didn't think anything of it until Spinnet took a step forward, directly in front of Remus. Before anyone could react, Sirius wedged his way between him, standing at full height.
"What do you want, Spinnet?" he demanded.
Spinnet took a step back now, eyes darting between Sirius and Remus. "To apologize," he said. "A—a real one."
Remus clutched the strap of his satchel, not sure what to say in response. It sounded pretty genuine. It wasn't full of anger…
"Apologize for what?" James asked cheerfully.
Spinnet glowered at him. "You know what."
"Nah, I think you should make it clear what you're apologizing for," James said, still grinning but his tone was extremely firm.
Spinnet looked uncomfortable. "For what I said. What I called you. I shouldn't have said it, and I'm sorry. All right, L—Lupin?" He stuck his hand out, eyes focused on Remus.
Remus still wasn't quite sure, and still felt hurt and angry over the whole thing. He wanted to say no. To throw it back in Spinnet's face again. To point out how awful what he said was. However, as much as he liked that, he didn't have the wolf's anger backing him up this time and he took Spinnet's hand.
"Yes, all right," he said, shaking once quickly before pulling his hand away.
There were other students coming, needing to get into the classroom, so the Gryffindors headed off in opposite directions. Spinnet towards a stairway to take him up, the Marauders towards the main stairway to head upstairs in a different route.
"How weird was that?" Pete asked as soon as they were alone again.
"If it'd been me, I would have refused," said Sirius, sticking his hands in his pockets. "You should have refused."
"It's fine, it's done with," Remus muttered. "I'm angry but I want it in the past. I already refused him once anyway, and this time at least it felt more genuine."
"He's such a twat," James grumbled. "He shouldn't be a Gryffindor, he should be a Slytherin."
Remus looked at the floor. "Not all awful people are Slytherins. Just as not all Slytherins are awful people."
"Most are," Sirius said as they passed a group of older Slytherins, all of them sneering at the Marauders. Sirius gave them the two finger salute along with a raspberry.
They played Wild Adventures for the rest of the afternoon, blasting music on James's phonograph player. James wanted to sneak into Hogsmeade right then, but Remus reminded him he had Occlumency later.
"I still need to meet with her," James sighed, rolling the dice. Even though there really weren't turns in the rules, they were taking them now so they could talk while playing. "It's just so hard with her coming in on a Quidditch night—oh! I know, maybe we could meet in Hogsmeade Saturday? D'you think she'd be willing? I mean, if she can't, I can be half an hour late to next Tuesday's practice."
"I don't want you to be late," Remus said, watching James's acromantula get an enemy in its web. "She suggested coming in early, and meeting with you at five-thirty or so. If you're willing."
"Yeah, I could probably do that," James agreed.
But that night one of the memories Fawley saw was the plans to meet in Hogsmeade, including what James said, and she told Remus that if James wished to meet in Hogsmeade she could come in. Remus said he'd ask.
Then the worst thing possible happened: one of the memories was of Valentine's day. It had been about a month and a half—four nights of Occlumency managing to avoid the instance, but suddenly Fawley was seeing James and Remus fleeing from the Great Hall with the desserts and Remus in full pink-and-white frills.
Fawley ended the memory and Remus curled away, covering his face even though she couldn't see him. He had hoped to avoid this ever happening. Fawley seeing this—knowing this—wasn't as awful as McGonagall, but it was still embarrassing.
It felt like forever until she spoke. "What prank were you doing?"
Remus swallowed, twisting around on the couch. "Revenge. Against Inkwood. For all she did with the—"
"Lily kissing your cheek," she supplied, since she knew all about that issue.
"Yeah, uh. Yeah. It was—it was James's idea. You need a date to—to get into the dessert," he explained. "He couldn't really pass for any girls easily, so it had to be me."
"I understand," she said. "What was it? What was the revenge?
"Bubble Belch."
"Oof," she giggled. "That must have been embarrassing. Poor girl." Fawley let out a sigh, fingers twitching a little as she tried to smooth down her skirt. "May I ask, if—is—if your recent letter had anything to do with this?"
"My…? You mean, being called that? No, it was because of what I wore to the Quidditch game," he said, a little confused. "Didn't I say in my letter?"
"You did, however I wasn't sure since seeing that perhaps it was really because of the dress," she said, shaking her head. "I am sorry that happened. I really hope you're not taking it to heart. People—children—can be very cruel for no reason."
Remus shrugged. "No. I mean, it—it still upsets me but Spinnet apologized. I accepted."
Fawley found his hand, giving it a squeeze. "You're a good kid, Remus. Not many people would do that."
"I—I'm still upset."
"That's only natural," she reassured him. "And it doesn't make you any less of a good person. Now, let's continue."
/\/\/\/\/\
The Marauders took over the dorm once James returned from his shower. Music blared while they celebrated with noisemakers, some party poppers, and a cake stolen from the kitchens. Sirius, Peter, and Remus lit up their wands and sang For He's A Jolly Good Fellow. James blew on the wands, and they turned the lights off.
"You know, one time when my cousin was blowing out candles on her cake she blew so hard her loose tooth was knocked out and landed plop right in the middle," Peter said as Sirius cut the cake. "Blowin' candles out off a cake never seemed too keen to me since. I like this better."
"Lovely story to tell while we're eating cake," James teased.
"Technically we're not eating it yet," Peter replied then gave a squeak, ducking as James flicked some frosting at him. "Just saying!"
"Remus, you're infecting Petey with logic-brain," James accused.
"That's probably the only thing I have that I'd be happy to infect others with," Remus said without thinking. Before he could realize he had cracked a lycanthropic joke, the others were laughing hard. Something warm blossomed inside of him, and he ducked his head, putting cake in his mouth to avoid looking at his friends. It—it felt good to make a joke about that and it be responded with laughter instead of shouts of anger and horror.
After cake came the presents. Remus hoped his would be okay. He had knitted a Gryffindor-colored glasses case and embroidered a wonky pair of glasses in the style James wore on the front, a pair of socks, and he also got a deluxe wand dip package (courtesy of Sirius, using the sickles leftover from the vet earlier in the month). Wand dips were one of James's favorite sweets at the moment. As it turned out James loved everything, hugging Remus tightly and putting the socks on right away.
Peter's present was, as usual, a picture. A beautiful action shot of James getting a goal, done in a mixture that Peter tried himself: a mixture of magic and Muggle. So the shot kept repeating without photo-James having the typical 'mind of his own' thing magical photographs did. It was amazing, though Peter insisted it wasn't his idea. The idea was mentioned in loads of photography journals however the magical folk who did it kept their secret close at hand, so nobody knew the proper amounts to use.
"I spent ages until I got it right," Peter said. "I hope it's okay."
"Peter, it's absolutely brilliant," James said, hugging Peter tightly. There were some sweets, too.
And from Sirius: a jar of broom handle polish, a bucket full of various pranks, some sweets, and a cool drawing of one of James's favorite Quidditch players.
James hugged Sirius tightly. "These are brilliant, I love everything so much!"
"It's no Wild Adventures," Peter said with a fake laugh.
James picked up the photo, the drawing, and the glasses case. "No, these are better," he said, clutching them all. "You guys made these. It—it means a lot. A lot a lot. It's a million bazillion times better than Wild Adventures, and I mean it." He hugged everyone again, yanking them in for a group hug. "You guys are the absolute best. Now come, let's dance!"
They danced for a while, even getting Remus to awkwardly dance for a bit until Spinnet and Struthers came up. The Marauders turned the music off and headed down into the common room to continue the celebration, taking Wild Adventures with them. The common room was getting empty so they snagged the best table. Almost as soon as James spread the map out, a bunch of the remaining students began crowding around.
"Is that Wild Adventures?"
"Sure is!" James said, plucking the griffin token out of the box before handing it to Peter. "Got it today."
"Wow, that's amazing!"
Remus felt uncomfortable as they had an audience watching them play, though James and Sirius certainly enjoyed being watched. Lily, Inkwood, and Colgate even came over to watch and after James won the round, he offered to let them play too.
"Us?" Lily asked, disbelieving. "You're actually inviting us to play?"
"I think it'd be more fun with more people. Honestly, I'd just ask Inkwood and Colgate, but unfortunately you're part of them," James said right back. "You have to sit next to Remus though."
"Gladly." Lily plopped down next to Remus who quietly explained the rules to her.
Wild Adventures with seven people was quite a bit more chaotic than four, especially since Colgate really had a knack for what she was doing. She demolished James, Peter, and Lily's tokens, crippled Remus's centaur, and then won without any trouble.
"YES!" she shrieked, curly hair bouncing as she jumped up and down.
"Bloody hell that was a game, Colgate!" James said. "You're good at this."
"Thanks," she giggled, sitting back down. "Can we play again?"
They played multiple more games, well into the night. Slowly the crowd around them dispersed as students went to bed until it was quite late, and they were the only ones up aside from a couple seventh years studying in a corner. The seventh years continually hushed the second years whenever they got too loud. Finally it was too late—nearly three in the morning—and the seven of them decided to finish up.
"Final tally," Peter announced as James began putting things up. "Colgate, three wins." Colgate put both her arms in the air victoriously. "Sirius, two wins. And James, Lily, and me each with one win. Remus and Inkwood: naught."
"We'll get you next time," Inkwood said, giving Remus a nudge. "Right? Especially if some people don't cheat."
"I did not cheat," Sirius said, very affronted. "There is nothing in the rules stating we cannot blind ourselves when fighting a basilisk. I took a risk, sacrificed some hit points, and voila. A win."
Inkwood pursed her lips. "Voila, an idiot."
Remus couldn't help but snicker at that. Sirius shot him a look. "Traitor."
"It—it was a b-bold move, I will g—give you that," Remus admitted.
"What you give me doesn't matter, because what I got?" Sirius stepped up onto the chair, doing a victory pose. "Was the victory! Two wins, oh yeah!"
"And Ali won three," Lily reminded him.
Sirius sighed, arms dropping to his sides. "And Alice Colgate won three. I shall bow to her, the reigning queen of Wild Adventures." He gave a very theatrical bow which turned into flails as he fell off the chair.
All six of the others (and the seventh years still studying) burst into laughter. James helped Sirius up. "You all right, buddy?"
"Might need some bruise balm," he moaned, rubbing his butt.
"Hey, maybe Cassie can help you," Lily said and Inkwood gave a shriek, smacking Lily who dissolved into giggles.
"Goodnight, boys!" Inkwood snapped, shoving Lily towards the stairs. "I am going to murder you in your sleep!" she hissed out while Lily laughed harder.
"Goodnight," Colgate said, hurrying after her friends, also giggling. "Lils I can't believe you said that!"
"Sooooorr-eeeeee!"
"No you're not!" Inkwood moaned as they disappeared up the stairs. "You say anything like that again and I'll—"
What she'd do was lost as they got too far for Remus to hear their very quiet whispers.
"You want Inkwood to rub bruise balm on your butt?" James snickered to Sirius.
"Shut up!" Sirius said, pretending to be annoyed but clearly enjoying all of this. "Either way, happy birthday, Jimsy."
James beamed. "The best one ever. Till next year at least, eh? Now come on, let's go get some sleep."
