Chapter 95

Snowball fight

"How many caudal vertebrae are in a rat's tail?" James asked, he was laying on the ground, book floating in the air, and empty coffee cup right beside his head.

"Twenty-six to thirty." Peter said, actually proud of himself since he knew the answer.

"You have to be exact, Pete."

Peter slumped over, "But the books didn't say exactly."

"Make it up. It's a tail, it's not like you're gonna lose a finger over it." Sirius added in with closed eyes, he was considering taking a short nap while they quizzed each other. He couldn't concentrate with them chattering anyway.

"He is right, as long as you have an exact number in your head it should be fine."

"Oh, okay."

"How many are there?"

"Um... thirty?" Peter didn't sound so confident.

"Creative." Sirius mumbled.

"Whatever, it works."

"Food." Sirius said suddenly, lifting himself up. "We forgot about food. James, how did we forget about food?"

"And now my stomach is eating itself, c'mon Peter. It's time for a break."

"Good." Peter nodded, letting James help him to his feet. It was a slow walk, but thanks to their secret passages it didn't take long.

The kitchens were mostly empty since the majority of the houselves were cleaning the dorms this time at night, there were just enough to get them some food and leave them alone once given permission.

"Y'know, we are stupid." James complained. "If we'd just waited until after we came of age we wouldn't be doing this right now."

"Nope." Sirius replied, his arm was stretched across the table and his head lay on it. Not caring in the slightest if he choked while eating.

"Remus might not even let us help him, even after we finish."

"Yep."

"So, why am I so tired right now?"

Sirius sighed and raised head, looking at his best friend. "Because Remus is worth it."

"Right, Remus..." James fell quiet. "What if it doesn't help?"

"It will."

"How do you know?"

"Because we're the ones doing it."

"Yeah, I guess." James gave a small smile. "And we're kind of awesome, aren't we?"

"We are very awesome." Peter piped in a tired, but big smile on his face.

"Right." Sirius returned the smile, though it was more of a smirk than Peter's innocent smile.

The walk back was worse than the walk there, being up the stairs rather than down, they didn't even bother using James' cloak half hoping someone would catch them and force them to bed.

"Snow!" Sirius exclaimed and the others turned to where he'd stopped, looking out a window. "There's snow on the ground, James."

"Oh, merlin's bum, no. You can't seriously have the energy to go play in the snow." James whined, visibly deflated.

Sirius just smiled brightly at him.

"It's the middle of the night. We'll get caught."

Sirius' smile didn't falter.

"You honestly can't wait till the sun comes up?"

"The sun might melt it all away."

James groaned, rubbing his face. "Fine, you nutter. But not for very long, you hear me?"

"Yes!" Sirius turned and headed back down the stairs, with James and Peter following much more slowly.

James couldn't help but smile at him. It was ridiculous, they were exhausted, and filled to the brim with caffeine that was only just enough to keep them awake, and none of them even had long sleeves on, but there was something refreshing about seeing Sirius get excited about the first snowfall of the year.

Walking out of the entrance hall and into the grounds they were both greeted by a snowball to the face.

"Too slow." Sirius called, laughing at him.

James glared at him, "We'll see about that, Black!" He yelled back gathering up a snowball of his own and chasing the other around with it.

"You'll never get me alive!" Sirius laughed dodging the snowball easily.

"Dead works, in fact I think I like that idea." He tossed another, an impact on his back throwing off his aim. "Peter!"

"Oops, I was aiming for Sirius." Peter winced.

Sirius laughed at them both, ducking and grabbing another pile of snow. "Thanks, Pete."

"But I wasn't trying to help you?"

"You're supposed to watch my back, not hit me on it!" James retaliated, lobbing a new snowball at Peter hitting him square in the face. "See if I trust you again!"

Peter fell on his butt from the snowball just as another snowball hit James in the back of the neck.

Sirius blew a raspberry at him from way too far away for him to aim properly.

"Curse his beater's arm!" He growled, pulling out his wand, and deciding it was time to cheat.

Sirius had just enough time to cry out before a large pile of snow fell out of the tree he was under right on top of his head.

James' laughter was long and loud.

"I'll get you for that, Potter!" Sirius yelled when his head popped out of the snow.

"I'd like to see you try, Black!"

"I need a carrot." Peter said, "Darn it, should have grabbed one from the kitchens."

Both boys looked at Peter, Sirius only half out of the snow pile.

"Snowman!" Sirius caught on quickly enough and looked at James. "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

James shrugged, "It won't have a nose." He helped Sirius out of the snow pile before they returned to where Peter had started piling the snow for the body.

"Who needs a nose?"

"My thoughts exactly, Peter." Sirius laughed, shaping the snow Peter piled into as circular a shape as possible. James began working on the torso while they did that, placing it on top took some strength, since it was a big snowman, but between Sirius and James it wasn't too hard.

"You start on the head, Sirius. Peter and I'll go find stuff for his face and arms."

Sirius nodded and placed a tiny snowball on top of the huge torso. "Tada!"

The only response was a snowball to the face.

When James and Peter returned from their gathering the snowman had a proper sized head, thankfully.

"We didn't find anything for a mouth." James complained as he and Peter stuck to proper sized twigs in the torso and two cherries they'd stolen from Hagrid's empty hut for the eyes. How they got into the hut or why there was nothing there that could be used as a mouth they chose not to speak of ever again.

"Oh, I got it." Sirius pulled the hair tie from his own hair and broke it placing it in a smile under the cherries. "This'll work."

They stood there, admiring their work until Peter sneezed.

How that one sneeze make them all realize just how cold they all were they didn't know, but they all ran for the castle only to stop at the entryway as a peeved off McGonagall stood there.

James and Sirius looked at each other then at McGonagall and spoke simultaneously.

"Worth it!"

A/N) I severely owe you guys a snowball fight, four years into the story and there hasn't been one. That's just criminal. Criminal I tell you.