James knocked on the door and held his breath. The day after the full moon was always hit-or-miss, whether Remus would be well or not...
"Announce yourself," came a hoarse voice, and James braced himself.
"My name is James Tiberius Potter, though I go by the nickname Prongs. I know that you, Remus John Lupin, go by Moony, particularly once a month, and that is a nickname that myself and two others gave you when we were thirteen."
No answer. James stood outside the flat's battered door for what felt like several minutes, listening anxiously. He finally picked up his bags and turned to go when the lock opened with a soft click.
It wasn't worse than he could have imagined (he'd been there when Sirius almost got Snape killed, after all), but it was still bad. The flat was dark, and there were pieces of broken furniture scattered on the floor. Remus himself was hunched protectively around himself on the sofa, which looked as though the only thing holding it together was a weak Reparo. He was wrapped in old, threadbare blankets, shivering madly, and he was at the very least shirtless.
The men stared at one another for a long moment. Finally, James broke the silence.
"Wotcher, Moony."
Remus stared warily. "James." He shifted, and James averted his gaze - Remus wasn't wearing any trousers, or pants for that matter - "Where's Harry?"
"Poppy Pomfrey's got him."
"Good, then I can say this without fearing Lily's wrath from beyond the grave: Fuck off, Potter."
James winced. "I suppose I deserve that."
Remus snorted. "I suppose you're right," he mocked.
"I wanted to apologize," James said, determined to repair the bridge with his old friend. "I understand you're pissed - I don't blame you for that - but if you don't want to hear it, then I won't bother saying it." He held out the bags of takeaway that he'd picked up. "But I figured you'd want a spot of breakfast. There isn't anything I can do to fix this," he said hastily at Remus' murderous expression. "I just thought you'd be hungry. That's it."
Remus eyed him warily for another long moment, then sat up silently and held out his hand for the bags of food. James handed them over and watched Remus tuck into the eggs, bangers, and toast with zeal. After they left school, the Marauders had discovered that Remus was starving after each transformation. It made sense, though, that completely changing shape twice in a night left him feeling half-starved.
James nibbled on a couple leftover rashers and anxiously tried to think of what to say to his friend. Moony finally dropped the last of the takeaway boxes. He looked - well, not good, but better, like he'd taken several steps away from the edge of death.
"Well?" Remus asked, and James sighed. The truth, then.
"I wasn't thinking, Moony," he said quietly. "I wish I had an excuse - any excuse - for what we did, but I don't." He shifted anxiously, wanting to pace, though he knew that Remus would immediately be put on the defensive if he did. "I was scared because Voldemort was coming after Lily and Harry, and I didn't know who to trust."
"We've been friends for ten years, James, that didn't clue you in?" Remus asked bitterly.
"I was stupid," James said. "I let Malfoy get in my head, and I just didn't think."
Remus sat up and stared. "For Merlin's sakes, James, you let Lucius Malfoy screw with your head, but you didn't think about the evidence?" He shook his head. "You really are stupider than you look."
The words were the joking ones that the Marauders had used countless times before, but the tone was hard and cold.
"It's not an excuse," James said finally. "I'm not trying to make an excuse. I was wrong, and I'm sorry." He opened his mouth once or twice to add more, but thought better of it, and simply kept his extra thoughts to himself.
The two men stayed where they were for several long minutes. James's head was bowed and his hands were clasped between his knees, while Remus stared blank-faced through James to the wall beyond.
They were some of the longest minutes of James's life.
Finally, finally, Remus spoke.
"I forgive you," he said quietly.
James looked up, but Remus still was staring off into space.
"I'm not happy with you - or Sirius, either - but, well, I figure it'll be a hell of a lot more miserable without you than with you."
James shrugged. "I'm just glad to have you back," he said.
"So what's next?" Moony asked after a moment of silence.
James stared into the disgusting carpet. "I get a home for the rest of the Marauders and prove that I'm a suitable guardian for Harry. Then I convince the Wizengamot that Sirius is innocent. Then I go after Lucius Malfoy and put the bastard down for good."
Remus tilted his head. "You don't think that they'll have a problem with the Boy-Who-Lived in a house with a werewolf and an ex-Azkaban resident?" he asked sardonically.
"I think the Ministry will let me have a couple favors after I survived a Voldemort attack," James said.
Remus shook his head. "James, use your head," he said. "The Ministry doesn't care about you; Voldemort could just as easily have Stunned you as cast Avada at you. They care about Harry, and what's best for him. He's the one that made Voldemort disappear, not you."
"I'll prove it," James snapped. "I'll let anyone take a look into my head if it means they'll drop their ridiculous prejudices toward lycanthropy and treat you like a normal person who just has a furry little problem."
"It's not a rabbit, James, it's a curse," Moony said, exhaustedly. "Look at me now. I'm weak, I'm hungry, I'm sitting here starkers in a flat that Mundungus Fletcher would turn his nose up at, and I'm a werewolf."
"We can change most of that," James said. "I know you at least own clothes, and we'd get you in a house with a nice basement. Moony can play with Padfoot and Prongs again, we can take care of each other."
"Prongs, I appreciate what you're trying here to do, but I just don't think it's possible," Remus said. "But I appreciate it more than I can say."
James grinned, and blinked hard to keep the lump in his throat down. "I'd hug you, but you at least need to put on pants first," he said.
Remus threw a sheet at him.
Everyone, wish my beta luck on their finals!