Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Except that which is not owned by J.K. Rowling or her affiliates or her lawyers or Warner Brothers or Scholastic Books or anyone else associated with Harry Potter. Please don't sue. I'm not making any money off of this, nor am I attempting to.
Chapter 4- Ymddiddan
Sirius Black had decided five minutes into the feast the night before that he was in love with the kitchen staff at Hogwarts. He was sure his father had mentioned once that there was a veritable army of House Elves at Hogwarts; presumably, it was they who did the cooking. Sirius didn't especially care- he just loved the food. He concentrated on his lunch, trying very hard to keep himself from bursting with all of the questions he wanted to ask Remus. He restrained himself only because he saw how nervous they were making him with all of the questioning. As much as Sirius wanted the information, he was unwilling to make Remus that uncomfortable trying to get him to answer their questions. Sirius decided it didn't matter; they would find out in due time. After all, it wasn't as if anyone could keep secrets from James Potter and Sirius Black, hard as they might try. And Remus was definitely keeping secrets.
After lunch, they had History of Magic class. Sirius tried very hard to pay attention and take notes for the first five minutes. Failing that, he decided that merely staying awake and maintaining a pretense of interest would do just as well. This plan, too, was scrapped within moments. Professor Binns was just too boring to listen to for any amount of time; his voice droned on and on incessantly, and his subject matter was horribly dull.
Fifteen minutes into class, Sirius gave it up as a bad job and put his head down on his arms, unable to keep awake any longer. He spent a moment hoping before he drifted off to sleep that he wouldn't snore too loudly and get himself in trouble; he didn't think that would be a huge problem, though, as Peter was already snoring loudly enough to disrupt any other class, and Binns hadn't noticed at all.
"Guys? Come on, wake up. Class is over- we need to get moving." Remus' voice woke Sirius from his blissful slumber; he had been having a very nice dream. Raising his head, Sirius saw that the class was filing sleepily out of the room, the Hufflepuffs with whom they had shared the lesson turning left out the door, and the Gryffindors heading to the right. Sirius stood, grabbing his books and parchment, and yawning, followed James out the door. All four boys walked a short distance behind the other Gryffindor first years, all on their way to Transfiguration class.
"Did all of you fall asleep too?" Peter asked curiously. "I mean, I just couldn't stay awake- I wanted to, because I'm sure this class will be really important, but it was just so dull!"
Sirius laughed. "It was, wasn't it? I fell asleep too- had a lovely refreshing nap! I think I like this class."
James agreed, grinning. "I didn't manage to stay awake either. I didn't really try." They continued walking, Sirius expecting Remus to reply to the question as well. When he didn't speak after a few moments, Sirius felt it his duty to bring Remus into the conversation. It was no good having a member of the group refuse to talk; Remus needed bringing out of himself.
"What about you, Remus? Did you fall asleep?" Sirius was sure he must have- Remus had been so tired the night before, and didn't look much better now. He looked, in fact, as though he might fall asleep as he walked.
"No, I didn't." Remus replied, looking a little surprised to be spoken to. Sirius hoped he would stop that soon; it was no fun being able to shock someone just by being friendly at them. Sirius loved making people jump, and there wasn't much in life more enjoyable than scaring someone he disliked senseless, but he didn't feel it was quite fair to scare someone who was that easily shocked. It took the fun out of things.
"I took notes," Remus was saying hesitantly, "if any of you would like to copy them. I honestly wouldn't bother, though- everything he said was straight out of the textbook; you would learn just as much by reading the chapter we were assigned."
"What a bore" James said lazily as they reached the Transfiguration classroom. Sirius wanted to point out that they had managed to find it without getting lost even once, but restrained himself as he saw the teacher approaching them, her face stern.
"If you've finished your conversation, gentlemen, won't you come in?" Her voice was stern, and the look on her face promised dire consequences if they didn't move. Sirius realized with a start that they were, in fact, late for class. He scrambled in after the other boys, and they all took their seats in silence. The teacher moved to the front of the classroom and cleared her throat.
"Good morning, everyone. I am Professor McGonagall. I teach Transfiguration, and I am also Head of Gryffindor House. This does not mean, however, that you will have an easier time in my lessons than students from other Houses, and I will take points from you if your behavior warrants it." She fixed a sharp glare at the four latecomers before continuing. "The study of Transfiguration is one of the most important things you will learn during your time at Hogwarts. I expect all of you to pay attention and make an effort to do well in this class."
Sirius sat up a little in his chair, hoping to make a good impression. He was looking forward to this class; Transfiguration had always sounded so fascinating, and even the text for the class looked better than most of their other books. He listened as McGonagall began to instruct them in how to Transfigure a match into a needle, and when she handed out the matches, Sirius began at once to try to make his change. He struggled for a few minutes, until finally, it began to grow sharp and shiny. At just that moment, James let out a small cry of triumph beside him. He had managed to create a perfect needle! Sirius clapped him on the back in silent congratulation before turning back to his own match and concentrating again.
It only took a few more minutes before Sirius' match changed into a perfect needle, which he immediately showed James. James grinned at him and whispered a quick congratulation, then went back to his needle, which he was now absently changing back to a match, and then to a needle again with little apparent effort. Sirius continued to practice, and it because easier, though he wasn't as comfortable with it as James.
Remus, Sirius soon saw, had also gotten the hang of the spell, though it took him a bit longer than either of the others, but he looked quietly pleased as his Transfiguration worked. Peter looked ready to explode with frustration; McGonagall was standing beside him, coaching him with more patience than Sirius would have believed from her.
At the end of the class period, the three boys were the only ones who had managed to complete their Transfigurations, although several of the Gryffindor girls had come close. Peter's match had barely changed at all. McGonagall assigned the class several chapters of reading from their textbook before coming around to collect their matches and needles. She picked up Remus' silver needle from his desk and dropped it into the box, which she then passed around for all the others to put their needles or matches into.
The class left the room, talking loudly and comparing results. James and Sirius both agreed that Transfiguration was the best class yet, even if old McGonagall was strict. Sirius privately thought her a good teacher.
At dinner that night, the four boys again sat together. They were fast becoming a tight-knit group. The Gryffindor girls all clung together, and tended to avoid the boys, and as they hadn't really met any of the boys their age from the other Houses, they didn't really have that many options for other friendships. That was fine by Sirius, though; he and James had been friends forever, and would always be so. He quite liked the other two boys as well, and thought they made a good group.
The next two days seemed to fly by. They had lessons in Herbology and Potions, and discovered that Peter was very good at Herbology. He was very happy to discover this, and offered magnanimously to assist any of the others at any time, if they should need it. Sirius found this very amusing, though for the sake of Peter's feelings, he didn't laugh out loud. The Herbology teacher, Anabel Berch, was a nice older witch, a motherly sort who seemed to take to Peter as well. That was one class he was sure to have no trouble in!
Potions wasn't a bad class either, Sirius though, though the dungeons where class was held were very cold. Sirius found himself worrying about Remus all through the class, as he seemed to be shivering. He looked less well every day, it seemed, and James had asked Sirius quietly the third morning whether they shouldn't take him to see the nurse. They decided in the end to let Remus handle himself, as long as he was alright. Potions class was taught by a wizard named Hai Baltazor, who seemed fine to Sirius, though he couldn't help but scowl when he found Baltazor had been a Slytherin while at school himself. Baltazor couldn't be any older than thirty, and the girls in the class assured the boys that the Potionsmaster was "very handsome". They had Potions class with the Slytherin first years, though the two Houses sat on opposite sides of the dungeon classroom and did not speak to each other their entire first lesson.
The third day of classes, they had Astronomy class in the highest tower at midnight. Thankfully, they noticed that their schedules had no classes until early afternoon the next day, and Sirius was looking forward to staying up late for the new class. The four, who had become quite inseparable now, walked to class together late that night, Remus stifling a yawn.
Astronomy was taught by a short, pleasant faced witch with very bright eyes. She introduced herself cheerily. "I am Maranda Fiato; I've been teaching Astronomy here at Hogwarts for the past twelve years. I will be introducing you to the fascinating field of Astronomy, and I do hope that you will find it interesting. I will ask that you all pay attention in this class, as there is so much practical observation to be done to be done each week. Now, do any of you know much about Astronomy at this point in time?"
Sirius raised his hand. He had always found Astronomy interesting, and had sat up late many nights watching the sky through the telescope in his bedroom. It was a distraction from the world around him, and he loved to lose himself in the stars; there was not much more beautiful than a clear, starry night in Sirius' opinion. He didn't know all the names of the stars, but he knew many of the major constellations.
Remus, standing beside him, raised his hand rather hesitantly, looking rather pensive. They were the only two, and Fiato beamed at them.
"Fantastic!" She said happily. "Well, would you two mind helping me with the beginning of this class?" Neither of them did mind, and she began quizzing them on the use of basic telescopes, reading star charts and finding constellations. Sirius and Remus both knew all of these things quite well, and were able to answer her questions, giving the rest of the class a chance to learn these things. Sirius wondered why she didn't just lecture on these things herself, but decided that this method of teaching must work for her, and it didn't hurt anyone to do it her way.
Finally, Fiato finished her questioning, and began to address the evening's specific plan of study. "Tonight, we will begin studying the brightest object in the sky, the moon. As you can see, it is nearly full, and as the evening is quite clear, you should be able to see very clearly some of the major lunar markings- some of the mountains and 'seas' are visible to the naked eye." She turned back to Sirius and Remus. "Would either of you care to assist me in pointing some of them out?"
Sirius had to decline; his studies had always been focused on the stars, and he had paid little attention to the moon. Fiato asked Remus if he knew enough to help her, and he nodded silently. At her prodding, he began to name all of the features the should be able to see, explaining exactly where to look for each; Mare Crisius, Mare Humorum, Mons Herodotus, Mare Imbrium, Montes Archimedes, Mare Tranquilliatus.
Remus' voice was flat and tired, but Sirius watched his face as he talked. Remus stared at the moon, as if he were speaking directly to it, his gaze never wavering. Sirius didn't know how to interpret the look on his friend's face; intense emotion flickered over Remus' features, as if he struggled for control and kept losing. His expression kept changing, and Sirius had no idea what to make of it. Remus continued to speak, quietly and firmly, seemingly unaware that the entire class, as well as the teacher, was staring at him in amazement.
When he had finished, he tore his gaze from the moon, turning to look at Fiato, face set in a pleasant, emotionless mask. She blinked at him a few times before speaking.
"Well done! I must say, even I could not have given a better introduction to the face of our moon! Twenty points to Gryffindor, Mr.?"
"Lupin." Remus said tiredly. "Remus Lupin."
" Oh." Fiato looked startled. "Yes, thank you, Mr. Lupin. That will conclude tonight's lesson, class- please be sure to read chapters one and two in your textbooks before next week; also, I would like you all to write at least twelve inches for me on aspects of the lunar surface. Good night."
The class began to move at once, everyone eager to get to bed, as it was very late by this point. Fiato, however, moved over towards Sirius and the others, and asked Remus for a quick word. Remus nodded, looking more exhausted than ever, and walked with her to the other end of the classroom, where Fiato began to talk to him in an urgent low voice. Sirius listened as hard as he could.
"I'm sorry to have asked you, Mr. Lupin- you were, of course, wonderfully well informed, well done, but if I had realized, I wouldn't have called on you..."
"Don't worry about it." Remus interjected politely. "It was no bother to me. I'm glad I could help."
"Mr. Lupin, allow me to say that if you continue in this class the way you have begun, you will be one of the best students I have ever had. I am very glad to have you here." Fiato smiled warmly at Remus, who looked about ready to cry at these words.
"Thank you." Remus said quietly. "You don't know how much that means to me."
Yes, Sirius decided, Remus was a weird one. But that was alright, because Sirius liked him anyway, and he knew James did too. The kid just needed to spend more time having fun with other children and less time studying; he was already ahead in the readings for all of their classes, and Sirius suspected he knew more about their schoolwork than any of the rest of the first years. Remus had been schooled at home, he said, and seemed to be quite a bit ahead of the other students.
When Remus rejoined them, Peter said in an awed tone, "Remus, you were fantastic! And Sirius, you were great too, mate!" Sirius laughed, and took a huge mock bow. Remus said nothing, just smiled a little at Peter, but even that looked a bit tense. They headed for their dormitory, and were all asleep within minutes of crawling into their beds.
Sirius didn't know what time it was when he awoke, but it didn't feel as if he'd been asleep for more than a few hours. He lay still, trying to figure out what had woken him up; it only took him a second. It had been the noises coming from the other side of the room, from the bed next to the window. Moonlight was streaming in through the open curtains, showing clearly the small figure in the bed.
It was Remus, clearly in the grip of a terrible nightmare. Sirius climbed out of his bed and made his way over to Remus', trying to step quietly to keep from waking the other boys. Remus was curled into a little ball on his bed, shaking, his voice a whimper in the quiet. "No! No!"
"Hey!" Sirius said, trying to wake his friend. "Hey Remus! Wake up, mate!" Remus didn't awaken, not even when Sirius raised his voice and tried again. "Remus! Come on, Remus, wake up!" Sirius darted over to James' four poster, grabbing him by the shoulder and shaking him. "James, come help me! Remus is having a bad dream and I can't get him to wake up."
James sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes and taking in the situation. With one fluid movement, he grabbed his glasses from the table beside his bed, shoved them onto his face and pushed his hair out of his eyes, then moved quickly over to the bed by the window. He tried to wake Remus just as Sirius had, and had no better luck. Sirius was getting worried; Remus was growing more agitated by the moment; Sirius didn't think he wanted to know what his friend could be dreaming about that would upset him that badly.
Finally, Sirius leaned over, grabbed Remus by the shoulders and shook him, saying, "Remus! Wake UP!" To his relief, it worked- Remus sat bolt upright, jerking himself violently away from Sirius' hands and almost falling off the bed. He was breathing heavily, and his face, which had been hidden while he still slept, was streaked with tears. He eyes were dark and frightened.
"Are you alright?" James asked quickly.
"I'm fine." Remus said, though his voice was so unsteady that Sirius could have laughed at the obvious falseness of the statement. "I- it was just a bad dream."
"Must have been pretty awful" Sirius said, looking closely at Remus. "We couldn't wake you up!"
Remus looked away, wiping his face with his fists. "Umm, yeah, it- it was bad. Thank you- for waking me up." He seemed unwilling to say anything else, so James and Sirius quietly got up and moved back to their own bed. Sirius listened for a few moments, hearing James fall asleep again quickly. Remus was still sitting motionless on his bed, staring into space. Sirius purposefully slowed his own breathing, making it deep and even to simulate sleep.
After a few minutes, he saw Remus look around before beginning to move in an eerie silence. Without making a noise, he gathered his blanket around his shoulders and climbed into the broad windowsill next to his bed, leaned his head against the wall behind him, and looked up into the night sky outside. To Sirius, Remus suddenly appeared very small and fragile, the moonlight turning his face terribly white. He looked horribly sad, Sirius realized; sadder than Sirius had ever seen a child his age before.
Sirius lay still, feeling he should do something to help, but not having any idea what to do. Remus sat frozen, staring still into the night. After a few minutes, Sirius couldn't stand it any more; he crawled silently from his own bed and made his way toward Remus as quietly as he could. Remus didn't move, didn't look at him, but said quietly, "Sirius. I thought you were sleeping."
How does he do that? Sirius wondered. He couldn't see me, and I know I was being quiet. Shrugging the thought off, Sirius sat cross-legged on Remus' bed, looking up at his small friend in the windowsill in front of him.
"You should be sleeping, Remus." Sirius told him quietly.
"Not likely, not after that." Remus' voice was exhausted and heavy with emotion; he still did not turn his gaze away from the sky. Sirius looked out the window as well, trying to see what could be so captivating. True, the night was beautiful; the stars were bright and clear, the moon appeared perfectly round- a friendly looking face in the dark.
"It's beautiful out there tonight." Sirius said gently, desperate for anything to say to fill the silence. It made him uncomfortable.
"All the world will be in love with night, and pay no worship to the garish sun." Remus' voice was soft and slightly sarcastic.
"What?" Sirius asked. "That was rather random."
"Shakespeare." Remus said, finally looking at him. "A Muggle playwright. It's something he wrote."
"You read Muggle plays?"
"I read everything." Remus said matter of factly, with a shrug. "Shakespeare had much of interest to say."
Sirius nodded, unsure of what to say. Remus again turned to look at the sky.
"Are you alright?" Sirius said after a moment. "You don't look so good, and you really should get some sleep."
Remus smiled sadly at him. "Don't worry about me; I'll be fine. I have nightmares sometimes; I've learned to live with them. And I promise, I will try to sleep. You need to sleep, too, though." He looked sternly at Sirius, who nodded after a moment.
"If you'll sleep, I will too." Sirius stood up, and was about to clap a friendly hand on Remus' shoulder before remembering that that might be a bad idea, considering how Remus always reacted to anyone touching him. "Good night, then."
"Night." Remus said quietly. Sirius crept back to bed, and, to his own surprise, fell asleep rather quickly. He kept an eye on Remus as he drifted off, though, watching the small boy who sat so quietly, so sadly, gazing into the night.
When Sirius awoke the next morning, he saw that James was already up and moving. Peter was still snoring, sound asleep, and Remus, to his relief, had apparently kept his promise and gone to sleep. He was curled in a little ball in the center of his four poster, dead to the world. Sirius and James exchanged glances, communicating silently the way only they were able to do; it was clearly understood that Remus was to be left to sleep as long as possible.
Ten minutes before breakfast, James and Sirius woke the other boys. Peter was his normal, easy going self, yawning and rubbing his eyes as he shuffled out of the room. Remus, however, looked about three-quarters dead, in Sirius' opinion. It wasn't a good look. He had dark, tired circles under his eyes, and was even paler than usual, which was saying something. He didn't speak as they all got themselves ready and headed down to breakfast.
Remus didn't eat, either, to Sirius' consternation. He put some food on his plate, but then only shoved it around with his fork, staring dully at the food. Sirius thought that the nightmare in the middle of the night must have really upset his friend.
All day, he kept a close eye on Remus, as did James. Peter was oblivious, having slept through the events of the night. Remus seemed to be struggling to stay awake through all of their classes, and by late afternoon, looked on the verge of collapse. After their last class of the afternoon, the four made their way slowly up to Gryffindor Tower. Sirius and James threw their bookbags in a corner and began planning their first big foray into mischief making at Hogwarts. Peter listened eagerly, desperate to be a part of the fun. Remus sat at one of the tables and appeared to be trying to study.
When the basic plan had been established for the attack on the Slytherins that James was insistent on being their first shenanigan, James darted over to Remus, Sirius close behind him.
"Hey, Remus!" James said excitedly. "We've come up with an excellent plan to prank the Slytherins! Want to help us?" Remus jumped as James started to speak, and dropped his quill onto the parchment in front of him. As he picked it up, Sirius noted with concern that his hands were trembling.
"You alright there Remus?" Peter appeared concerned as well, and Remus looked a little panicky, staring at all of them with wide eyes.
"Umm, yes, thank you, I'm fine." His voice was controlled and polite as always. "What's your plan, James?" But Sirius was not easily distracted, and he broke in before James could reply.
"Remus, you don't look fine. Maybe you should go to the Hospital Wing."
"No! I'm fine!" Now Remus was definitely a little panicky, and Sirius frowned.
"Remus..." James tried to reason with him, but Remus broke in.
"Look, I'm fine, really. I'll- I'll go to the Hospital Wing in a bit. Just not yet. It's not even dinner time yet."
"Remus, I really think you should go now. And I don't see what the time of day has to do with it." James said firmly.
Remus looked ready to protest again, so Sirius added, just as firmly. "Yeah, come on. We'll walk you down- I'm sure they'll be able to give you a potion or something and send you right back."
Remus shook his head miserably, but stopped trying to object. James, Sirius and Peter walked to the portrait hole and turned, looking expectantly at him. With a sigh, Remus stood shakily and joined them. As the four made their way to the Hospital Wing, Sirius couldn't help but wonder just why Remus looked so very miserable. They all walked slowly, mindful of the fact that Remus seemed hardly able to walk. He looked worse and worse as they continued, and Sirius was highly relieved when they reached the Hospital Wing.
Sirius dashed ahead of the others, searching for whoever was in charge. His search ended when a woman's voice snapped, "What do you think you're doing, running around in here like that? This is an Infirmary, young man!"
"Oh, are you- do you work here?" Sirius asked quickly.
"Yes, I do. I'm Madam Pomfrey, the matron. Are you ill?" She peered at him sharply, looking for signs of injuries or illness. Sirius shook his head.
"No, my friend Remus is. He didn't sleep well last night, and he hasn't eaten today, and he looks really awful- he's all shaky and stuff. We were worried about him, but he said he didn't want to come see you yet. Look, there he is." Remus had just entered, followed closely by James and Peter. Madam Pomfrey hurried over to him and looked critically at his face.
"Remus- you'd be Remus Lupin, then?" Her voice was kinder now as she took in his pallid appearance.
"Yes." Remus sounded exhausted. Madam Pomfrey put out her hand and felt his forehead; he pulled away quickly, but she was frowning.
"You have quite a fever! You should have come earlier, with symptoms like this." Pomfrey said sternly. "Come with me, please. The rest of you may go back to your Common Room now; thank you for assisting Mr. Lupin."
"We wanted to wait for him." James said, as firmly as she had spoken.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible. Mr. Lupin will have to spend the night here; you may be able to see him tomorrow, if he is feeling better. Good night." She had escorted them to the door, and now nudged them outside and closed the door gently in their faces, shutting them off from the sight of Remus staring after them, looking forlorn.
Sirius sighed. "Guess we were right- he really was sick." James nodded in agreement, and the three began to walk back up to Gryffindor Tower. Halfway there, a thought struck Sirius. "Hey, won't Remus need his stuff- I mean, his toothbrush and a change of robes and things?"
"Yeah, I guess he will." James said. "Wonder why Pomfrey didn't just ask us to get them for him?"
"I'm going to go back and ask her if she wants me to get them." Sirius said, anxious to do anything to help Remus. It frustrated him no end to feel so useless. Without another word, he turned back toward the Hospital Wing.
When he reached the door again, he paused; he could hear snatches of a discussion going on inside. It was getting a bit ridiculous, the way he was always listening in on conversations these days, but there always seemed to be a need. Everyone at Hogwarts seemed to enjoy quiet, secret talks that involved his friends, and he couldn't very well not listen, not where friends were concerned.
Madam Pomfrey was talking, to Remus, Sirius assumed. Her voice was gentle now, and Sirius got the impression she was trying to cheer Remus up a bit.
"You're lucky in your friends there, Remus. They were quite concerned for you."
"I know." Why did Remus sound so sad? "I've never had friends like them- not in years and years, at least."
"Well, I'm sure you must be very glad to have met them so soon."
"Yes. I- I hadn't expected to make friends here. It was probably a very bad idea." Now he sounded downright miserable, and Sirius wondered why he would think that making friends was a bad idea.
"You think it's too risky?" Madam Pomfrey asked quietly, her voice sympathetic.
"It's a horrible risk! My parents said I should do my best here and make friends and have fun, but I have so much to lose if something should go wrong. I can't help but think perhaps friendship's too great a hazard."
"Remus, dear, sometimes you have to take chances. You can't spend your entire life alone."
"I could, you know. That would work."
"That's no life. Listen to me, Remus. You have found three wonderful friends. Hold onto them as long as you can, and be as good a friend to them as they are to you. You need them."
"I know." Remus murmured, so quietly Sirius could barely hear. "I know."
Sirius walked away, his earlier errand forgotten. The more he learned about Remus, the less he understood him. Sirius meandered to Gryffindor Tower, and up to his dorm room, where he found James sitting on his bed, reading a Quidditch book. James looked up when Sirius came in, and asked "What did she say? Doesn't he need anything?"
"Oh. I forgot to ask. D'you know, I heard the oddest conversation, though." At James' curious inquiry, Sirius told him what had passed between Madam Pomfrey and Remus. When he had finished, James looked as confused as Sirius felt.
"I suppose that if he hasn't ever had friends before, or not for a really long time, it would seem rather scary to be close to a bunch of people." James said finally, as though this must answer the problem. Sirius thought about this; it did make sense, sort of.
The next morning, the three boys hurried to the Hospital Wing before breakfast, hoping to be allowed to visit Remus. Madam Pomfrey stopped them at the door, looking weary.
"No, you may not visit Mr. Lupin yet. He needs his rest; try again this afternoon."
"Is he alright?" Peter asked worriedly.
Sirius thought Madam Pomfrey looked sad, but she answered briskly "Nothing a bit of sleep and some good food won't mend. Now, run along, all of you- I won't have you disturbing him yet."
Disappointed, they went as ordered; all through the rest of the day, they wondered to each other what could be wrong with Remus. Interestingly enough, none of their teachers asked where he was, or commented on his absence at all, except for asking that they make sure he got the notes and homework assignments for each class. Sirius supposed Madam Pomfrey must have told them that he would be absent that day.
Immediately after their last class of the day, James, Peter and Sirius headed straight for the Hospital Wing, intent on visiting Remus. Madam Pomfrey looked reluctant to allow them in, but granted them permission for a short visit. She led them to the farthest end of the Infirmary, to a bed surrounded by tall white curtains. With a stern warning not to tire Remus, Madam Pomfrey moved away, and the boys ducked around the curtains.
Remus was awake, and looked wearily up at them as they came into view. He looked even worse than he had the night before, Sirius thought.
"Hi." Sirius said softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. James followed suit, and Peter stood rather awkwardly at the foot of the bed, all of them looking uncomfortably at their friend.
"Hi." Remus replied; his voice took them all by surprise. It was hoarse, barely above a whisper.
"How are you?" James asked.
"I'll live. Madam Pomfrey says maybe I can leave this evening." Remus looked hopeful.
"Oh good!" Sirius said. "Well, you didn't miss much today." All three visitors tried to describe all of the events of the day to Remus at the same time, leading to a very confusing noise. Madam Pomfrey only put up with this for a few minutes before ordering them out. While she was occupied with trying to shoo James and Peter out the door, Sirius stopped and told Remus reassuringly,
"We'll come back this evening- we'll make her let you out!" With a quick grin, Sirius grabbed his bookbag and left, catching up quickly to the others.
"He looks awful." James said solemnly. Sirius nodded in agreement, as did Peter.
"Poor guy." Peter said. "We've only been here a few days, and he has to get that sick. Doesn't seem fair." Sirius agreed.
The three returned again to the Hospital Wing after dinner, to find Remus begging Madam Pomfrey to let him leave, and the matron trying to tell him he should stay another night. The other boys added to his pleas, and she finally relented.
"Very well." She said grudgingly. "I expect you to get some rest, though. And you three had better keep an eye on him, and tell me at once if he gets worse." They all agreed, and Remus was allowed to return to Gryffindor Tower. Sirius really didn't understand how Pomfrey could have agreed to let him leave; he was still in terrible shape.
As soon as they got back to the Common Room, Remus took up exactly where he had left off the night before. James and Sirius gave him their notes from the classes he had missed, and he groaned when he saw how much homework they had been assigned. All four boys set to work on their respective piles of homework. Peter fell asleep halfway through his Astronomy essay, and James and Sirius got distracted trying to practice their Transfiguration work, and ended up spending twenty minutes changing each others hair color to various unlikely shades.
At ten o'clock, Sirius shook himself out of the stupor that trying to read the assigned chapter in their History of Magic textbook had sent him into. James was writing furiously, now oblivious to the world around him. Remus sat curled in a huge armchair, studying their Defense text, looking half dead. Sirius went over and took the book out of Remus' hands; Remus didn't react for a second after the book disappeared, and then tried to grab it back from Sirius.
"Sirius, I need to study." Remus said.
"No, you don't. You need to go to bed. Look, you're years ahead of the rest of us in this, you don't need to stay up late studying when you've just gotten back from the Infirmary."
"Yes, I do." Remus said firmly. "I can't afford to fall behind or not do well."
"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you." Sirius assured him. "Besides, getting some sleep tonight will do more to help you do well than studying all night."
"I just need to-"
"Go to bed." Sirius ordered. "Before you die on us. " And he took all of Remus' books and papers and piled them on the table, out of his friend's reach, and sat on them. Remus looked exasperated, but walked to the stairs leading to their dorm and began to climb, under Sirius' watchful eye.
A/N: Many, many thanks to those who reviewed! You're wonderful people. Reviews make me so happy it's rather pathetic, actually. My muse also loves them, and thinks they're a good motivation for me; Heaven knows she needs something to make me work. I'm really enjoying writing this story, though, and I will be continuing for a long time, probably. Today's Welsh Word, Ymddiddan, means Conversations. Please leave reviews- I'll be eternally in your debt.