- CHAPTER THIRTY -

A Positive End to the Year

Gryffindor's humiliation in losing the final match of the year lasted several weeks until all memory of it was eclipsed by the exams. The students were suddenly forced to work their noses to the grindstone in order to keep up. If the teachers had had Exam Fever before, it was nothing compared to what was going on now. The fever seemed to have turned into a terrible pandemic. Mary MacDonald actually broke down in tears during Transfiguration and had to be escorted to the Hospital Wing for a Calming Draught.

"I assure you that you are not too stupid to pass the exams," said Professor McGonagall kindly when Mary returned, still hiccuping. "If you were, you would not have made it this far. There is no need to worry about your results. I can assure you that each and every one of you will pass. Yes, even you, Mr Pettigrew," she added as Peter gave a sad little squeak.

James squeezed his arm under the desk. "Don't worry. We'll help you revise."

But there was a lot more to revision than just looking over old notes, as the first-years quickly discovered. Every day, without fail, they would sit in the chairs in the common room, muttering wand incantations under their breaths or practising enchanting things in their dormitories. Sirius chose to revise by levitating Remus' books whenever Remus disappeared behind one, which caused Remus to ignore Sirius for hours on end. He was becoming pale and weary, spending the hours he wasn't almost falling asleep in the library pouring over more books.

James began to worry Remus was overworking himself and became even more worried when Remus disappeared when they were waiting for Charms.

"Where is he?" asked Sirius as they stood outside the classroom, four days before their first exam.

James whipped around, his heart already sinking. He had a feeling he knew exactly who Sirius was talking about and he was not wrong.

"Remus. He's not here, but I swear he was a minute ago."

"He was supposed to be following us from breakfast," agreed Peter, also looking around. "But he's gone."

"Maybe... Maybe he went to the bathroom or something?" suggested Sirius, but James shook his head.

"He was looking really ill this morning. Like really ill. Like he does every now and again."

Peter gasped. "Do you think it's the illness? The muggle one?"

"Maybe," said James anxiously. "But I hope he's okay. Why would he leave without telling us?"

"He does that every time," Sirius pointed out, just as Professor Flitwick's tiny head appeared in the gap between the door and the doorframe. "He's a bit weird like that."

"You mean 'reserved'," said Peter, following him into the classroom and sitting down at his usual desk. Next to him, Remus' empty chair drew in the others' attention like a corpse.

"Well, yeah," said Sirius, dumping his bag on the floor. "That too. Remus is really reserved. But that doesn't matter now. What matters is that he's okay."

"Well, he can't be visiting his mother," said James, reaching for a quill. "Not in the middle of the day. He's probably just in the Hospital Wing. We can go and see him at break."

But the interval between break and their lessons seemed excruciatingly long. James stared out of the window for most of Charms, his thoughts constantly on Remus, even though Lily Evans sat in front of him. Potions passed just as slowly, if not more so. Time itself seemed to have stopped and nothing the three of them could do could make it go any faster.

But at last, the bell rang and they were free.

"Thank Merlin!" said James, running up the stone steps out of the dungeon, his bag bouncing against his hip. Peter and Sirius followed, ignoring the odd glances they were getting from their classmates. "I hope Madam Pomfrey lets us in. There's no reason why she shouldn't; we're perfectly entitled to visit a friend who's in the Hospital Wing."

They passed a couple of pearly ghosts gliding in the opposite direction, then skidded to a halt outside the Hospital Wing door, gasping for breath. Sirius pushed it open. Nearly all of the narrow, white beds were empty. Sunlight danced over the floor from the windows above their heads and Madam Pomfrey, tall in her crisp apron, was bending over a bed at the end.

"Is Remus in here?" asked Sirius loudly, striding forwards.

Madam Pomfrey straightened up, swallowing hard. James caught a glimpse of a pale, brown-haired figure tucked under the blankets. "Please do not enter without knocking," said the matron stiffly, fiddling with her apron in the way she always did.

Sirius did not look apologetic. "Sorry," he said. "But we need to see Remus."

"He is unwell," replied Madam Pomfrey, glancing towards the bed again. James followed her gaze and saw that the figure was Remus, looking just as sickly as he had done at breakfast.

"We know. That's why we want to see him."

"Is it his muggle illness?" squeaked Peter, standing on tiptoe to see too.

Madam Pomfrey blinked at him. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're-"

"His muggle illness," repeated Peter, looking confused. "The one he's sometimes affected by. The one that his mother has too. Is it affecting him again?"

"I- Yes. Yes, I suppose so," said Madam Pomfrey, her cheeks flushed. "Very well, then. You may come in and see him. But not for too long. He needs rest."

"We'll be quick," James promised her, already darting up the ward towards Remus' bed. "Remus! How are you? Why did you run off?"

His face the colour of the bedsheets around him, Remus raised himself up on his pillows and winced, biting his lip. "I- I wasn't feeling well," he muttered, his eyes on the floor. "I was going to tell you, but I thought you'd... worry."

"Oh," said James, sinking down next to him. "Well, I hope you get better soon. Is it your mother's illness that's causing the trouble?"

Remus bit his lip some more. "Y-Yes. She's feeling unwell too. I'm going to visit her this evening."

"Tell her to get well soon from us."

"I- I will."

There was a long silence. James noticed Remus looked panicky, almost worried, and wondered whether his mother was more ill than he was letting on. "Your mum will be okay, won't she?" he asked and Remus jumped, his eyes wide.

"Oh, yes. She's- She's fine. Sort of. I mean, she'll get a bit better. Eventually."

"It must be horrible to have a parent who's so ill," said Sirius sympathetically, sitting down on Remus' other side. "But we're here if you need us. Just- maybe don't vanish in future."

Remus gave a weak smile. "I'll try," he said, but James had a funny feeling that Remus wasn't going to stick to that promise. He stood up.

"Look, I think we'd better get going. Try to get some rest and we'll see you in the morning. Don't overwork yourself too much, either. I know there are exams, but you've still got a few days to prepare."

Remus turned white. "I- I won't overwork myself," he promised but, as the three of them left, James turned back to see Remus immersed in a book.

"I wish we could find a cure for this weird muggle disease he has," said James the next morning, as they made their way back to the Hospital Wing to check on Remus. "I mean, there's got to be one. Muggle diseases are supposed to be easy to cure by magic."

"Maybe it's a different sort of muggle disease," suggested Sirius, shrugging and hitching his bag more securely onto his shoulder. "I mean, I don't know anything about muggles. Maybe wizards don't know enough to help."

"Maybe," said James, but he was thinking. There had to be a way to stop Remus from getting sick. It wasn't fair for a twelve-year-old to spend their whole life plagued by illness. He was hardly ever ill, unless you counted Quidditch injuries or that time he accidentally drank one of his dad's hair-care potions. But Remus seemed to get ill all the time. Every month, to be precise.

"Hi, Remus," said Sirius cheerfully, striding into the Hospital Wing when Madam Pomfrey grudgingly let them in. "How's your mum?"

Remus raised a shaky hand to his forehead and pushed his brown hair out of his eyes. James made out several nasty cuts etched on his forehead. "She's all right. But the cat attacked me again. It always does, you know."

Sirius swore loudly. "That cat!" he said, shaking his head. "I keep telling you, Rems, it's dangerous! You can't keep a monster like that around people - it's not fair! You could get seriously injured."

"You have been seriously injured," said James, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the rest of Remus', thin, tired body. Beneath his pyjama top, a large white bandage protruded, concealing more heavily-scarred skin on his torso.

But Remus shook his head. "It's nothing. So, how has your revision been going? Have you been getting ready for the exams?"

"No," said Sirius, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, Remus, you should know me better than that. But that's not the point. You need to do something about that cat-"

"And you need to do something about your grades. Why aren't you revising? It's very important!"

Sirius only waved a hand. "Oh, well. Anyway, stop changing the subject. That cat is dangerous-"

But Remus has gone into full-flow about exam revision and nothing Sirius or James could do made any difference. Remus just drowned them out.

"I wish he would just do something about that cat," said Sirius, when Madam Pomfrey came to shoo them away. "Did you see him? He looks like he's been in a fight with a chimaera!"

"I know," said James, sighing. "But he's genuinely worried about the exams. They're Remus' biggest priority at the moment."

"They're my biggest priority too," squeaked Peter from James' elbow. "If I fail, I'm screwed."

"You won't fail, Pete," said James, patting the smaller boy's arm. "You heard what McGonagall told Mary. Everyone will pass. Even Snivellus."

"Unfortunately," muttered Sirius, his eyes on Snape, who was hovering near the Entrance Hall in the distance.

But as much as Sirius wished Snape would fail, his wish did not come true. Remus returned to the school within two days and the exams were upon them at last. James thought he'd done rather well in most subjects and was pleasantly surprised when Professor McGonagall gave him a small smile at the end of their practical Transfiguration exam. He wasn't sure he did quite as well in Potions, but he and Sirius were at least convinced they had done better than Remus and Peter; their cauldrons managed to stay intact for the whole duration of the exam.

Their last exam was Defence Against the Dark Arts, in which Professor Oden asked them to demonstrate the defensive spells they had learnt that year. All four of the boys did remarkably well, although Sirius was delighted when Remus successfully disarmed Snape and jinxed him into a large toadstool.

"I can't believe you got away with that!" he told Remus admiringly as they walked around the lake on the final day of term. "Oden was actually impressed!"

Remus smiled shyly and bit his lip. "I know. I even got some bonus points. And Severus looked hilarious!"

"There he is now," said James, pointing across the grass towards a large beech tree, in the shade of which Snape sat, his greasy nose inches from a large potions book. He watched the other boy for a while, relishing the memory of Snape as a spotted fungus. "Still looks twitchy, doesn't he? Let's go and shove him in the lake."

Sirius grinned. "All right. Come on-" He led the others towards the lake edge, where Snape still sat under the tree. He did not look up until they were feet from him. "Hey! Snivellus!"

"Get lost, Black!" snapped Snape, his eyebrows contracting.

"Make me," replied Sirius coolly. "I was just coming to give you a wash."

Snape lowered the book and glared at Sirius suspiciously, while Peter sniggered in the background. "What do you mean, Black?" he asked, standing up, his round shoulders hunched.

Sirius flashed him an angelic smile. "What do you think?"

"I haven't got time for this," snapped Snape, now pulling his wand from his robes.

But the others were too quick for him. Before Snape had time to open his mouth, Sirius and James seized him by the scruff of his neck and hurled him into the lake.

"POTTER!" screamed Snape, emerging from the depths of the sun-dappled water, spitting pondweed from his mouth and swearing. "POTTER, YOU EVIL, FAT-HEADED LITTLE-"

But James and Sirius were already off, sprinting across the grass with the wind in their hair and the warm sun against the backs of their heads. Peter and Remus stumbled behind, their laughter mixing with James and Sirius' shouts.

"I'm going to miss Hogwarts," said Sirius finally, flopping down on the grass to catch his breath. Behind them, Snape was still floundering about in the water.

Remus smiled sadly, his eyes on the Whomping Willow in the distance. "Me too," he said, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "But we'll be back next year for more lessons and fun."

"And more pranks!" said James enthusiastically, grinning as he thought of all the places they had yet to explore, all the tricks they could play.

Peter nodded. "Definitely more pranks," he said. "And we'll see each other after the summer."

"You will write to me, won't you?" asked James, glancing at his friend's bright faces. They all looked back at him, smiling.

"Of course, James," said Remus. "It'll be a novelty for me."

"And for me," said Sirius. "It'll be nice to know there are people out there who don't think I'm a waste of space."

James laughed. "How could anyone think that the great Sirius Black is a waste of space?" he asked. Then he caught sight of his best friend's face and sighed. "I'll miss not having you around for six weeks."

"Yeah," said Sirius. "But let's not be miserable. We've got a feast to attend."

Scrambling to their feet, they set off across the deep lawn, laughing and joking, exchanging summer plans and wondering what they would get up to next year. On the train ride back to King's Cross Station, James spent the majority of it grinning at his friends, silently thanking them for the things he'd learnt and all the things that were still to come.

"Bye!" called Remus over his shoulder as they finally dragged their things onto Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. His parents stood in the distance, pearly silhouettes in the steam.

James hugged him tightly. "Bye, Remus! Have a great summer! And, don't forget to write."

"I won't," laughed Remus, hugging Sirius and Peter too. "Have fun! See you!"

"Yeah, see you," said Sirius, squeezing Remus one last time, then stepping back to wave. "We'll miss you loads. And you, Pete."

"Bye!" squeaked Peter, also disappearing into the crowd. James grabbed him and hugged him before he vanished and Peter beamed with pleasure. "Thanks, James."

"Bye, Peter!" called James, watching the smaller boy drag his trunk away. He turned to scan the platform with Sirius by his side, looking for his own parents. At last, he saw them, tucked away at the back of the platform, his father's messy hair visible over the rest of the crowd. "Mum! Dad!"

"James!" cried his mother, hurrying forwards to hug him. "How are you, dear? Did you have a good term? Merlin - I think you've grown! We'll need to get you some more robes... And who's this?" She had spotted Sirius.

Sirius tried and failed to blend into the background, and James seized his hand, dragging him into view. "Oh, this is Sirius. He's one of my best friends. Remus and Peter have already gone, but-"

Only one word of this seemed to have registered with Euphemia and Fleamont Potter. "Sirius?" asked Euphemia, taking in Sirius' haughty looks with an expression of wonder. "Sirius Black, you mean?"

"Erm, yes," said Sirius, biting his lip. "But I'm not like the rest of my family, I swear."

"No, no, dear, I didn't mean- Oh, it's lovely that you've made friends with him, James! He seems like a lovely boy."

James grinned and clapped Sirius on the shoulder. "Yeah, he said," ignoring Sirius' protests. "He's pretty cool."

Mr Potter laughed. "Nice to meet you, Sirius. I'm Fleamont Potter and this is my wife, Euphemia."

"Nice to meet you too," said Sirius, his dark eyes scanning the platform. His expression hardened as he caught sight of a group of people a little way away. "Erm, I should probably get going. My- My parents are over there."

"Right," said Euphemia, her eyes narrowed as she took in the tall, stately forms of the Black family. "Well, then dear, we won't keep you too long. Take care of yourself, stay safe, and have a wonderful holiday."

James half expected Sirius to shake his head and look gloomy, but he was grinning.

"Oh, I will," he said, casting a sly look in his mother's direction. "I'll have a lot of fun with my family this summer. See you, James."

"Yeah, see you, mate."

Then, still grinning, Sirius seized one end of his trunk and dragged it into the steam. James and his parents watched him go, their eyes filled with apprehension. But James couldn't help feeling that Sirius' parents were in for a shock. And a grin of his own spread across his face as he watched his friend vanish, his dark hair fading into the crowd.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you so much for reaching the end of the first book. It's been such an amazing journey and I'm grateful to each and every one of you for your support, your feedback and your patience. You've inspired me to keep going, even when I feel exhausted and I'm indebted to you all.

So thank you for being such amazing readers and for helping me complete my first full-length fanfiction! If you'd like me to post the second book on this site, please let me know and, if you have anything you'd like me to add in future books, any favourite bits or least favourites from this one that you'd like to mention, don't be afraid to - I wouldn't be able to do this without your input and constructive criticism is what helps me to improve.

I've already promised to include a scene between Snape and James, some wolfstar references, Blackinnon references, and more of Lily, but feel free to add to that list.

See you in the next book, I hope :)