Chapter Twenty One
Surprising Visit

James was helping Professor McGonagall rearrange her classroom for the New Year and set up a new seating order. He deliberately kept arranging it so that he and Sirius always ended up next to each other. Professor McGonagall finally gave in and let him arrange it in that order so she could actually finish before the New Year. Professor McGonagall had taken James's homework and was sitting at her desk grading it while James was supervising his wand to wash and polish all the desks until the were gleaming. He was sitting at his desk and had just placed the mirror back in his bag when something hit him. What was that thing on Remus's nose? He had not noticed it until he put his mirror away. He could not figure it out so he decided to ask when he saw Remus the next day.

"Potter?" Professor McGonagall said, not bothering to look up from James's essay. "Who were you just talking to?"

"Mo- um... Remus, professor," James answered, almost calling Remus by his nickname to the professor. That was not a smart thing to do.

"Oh... how is he feeling?"

"I dunno. I didn't ask... he just wanted to know if me and Sirius were coming to visit tomorrow. So I told him."

"Well the healer who has been keeping an eye on him for me told me that he collapsed outside of his room. I was worried, but I assume he's all right now. You can go now Potter, thank you for your help."

"Don't mention it Professor."

The next day Remus woke up very early, eager to see his friends after nearly a week. He was still using the breathing tube, which he found rather annoying and restraining because if he tried to lean forward he could not get that far. But he managed to work around it. He knew that the new year would be in a couple of days so he would not have much time to talk to them until he returned to school. James, Sirius and Peter would be busy with schoolwork and would not have a lot of free time to visit Remus at the hospital, so he was going to take advantage of this visit. Every time he heard footsteps outside of his door he hoped it would be his friends... but they were not. The first time it was a nurse bringing him his breakfast. Then it was Griemer coming to check on it him... but finally... it was James and Sirius.

They were being led in by Griemer and, to Remus's surprise, Professor Dumbledore. Griemer Let them in, nodded to Professor Dumbledore and left the ward. The three of them walked over to Remus and sat down on the three chairs Griemer had brought in while Remus was asleep.

"Good morning Remus," said Professor Dumbledore.

"Morning Professor," Remus answered, trying to sit up but failing. James and Sirius were being unusually quiet; apparently they were feeling a bit uncomfortable sitting with the Headmaster (after being in detention so many times).

"As you can see Remus, I've brought some visitors who I'm sure you were anxious to see." Professor Dumbledore gestured to James and Sirius, who smiled. "James, Sirius, say hullo for a change."

"Hi," they both said together, and rather quickly.

"Hi to you too," Remus said, a frown forming. They were acting really friendly today, Remus thought angrily. Maybe it was because he was breathing through a wand-powered respirator. Remus turned his head the other way and tried to pull it off, but Dumbledore grabbed his hand and yanked Remus's hand off it.

"That's not a very smart thing to do, Remus," Dumbledore said sternly. He let Remus's hand drop and excused himself to visit the restroom. Remus knew he did not have to go, he just wanted Remus to have some time with his friends. Dumbledore disappeared down the corridor and now it was just three of the four marauders.

"So," James said, looking down at his lap. "How's it going?"

"All right," Remus answered. "What about you guys?"

"Pretty good," Sirius answered. Then a mischievous smile formed on his face. "Its just too bad we don't have Snivelly at school to harass." Remus gave a minute laugh and then remembered that dream he had with Sirius and Snape singing together. He grinned.

"Well he'll be back at school soon," Remus said. "Then you can torture him all you want!" His friends laughed and they started concocting all these bizarre ways to humiliate Snape in front of the entire school. Funny though the ideas were, they knew they could never execute them. Professor McGonagall had never quite forgiven them for their prank last year. It involved a werewolf costume and Remus's cousin, funny at the moment but not so funny when Remus was being dragged to the hospital wing because he was hit with a Stunner. He and his friends talked and laughed and it felt like he was back at Hogwarts. They only stopped when Professor Dumbledore reentered the room. He took his seat and looked at the three boys.

"I was just talking to your healer, Remus," he said, his eyes glittering as he spoke. "I was trying to talk him into letting you leave the hospital and return to school where you could stay under Madam Pomfrey's care, which you'd prefer, wouldn't you?" Remus nodded; finally he was going to be able to leave. "Mr. Griemer said it would be perfectly alright, but he said that he was going to stop by frequently to drop in on you and make sure you're being treated the proper way. We've worked it all out and you can come home tonight-Remus keep that on your nose please-good now I'll get your things packed for you."

So in an hour's time all four of them were on the Hogwarts Express heading back to school. Professor Dumbledore was sitting in a separate compartment from the boys; he seemed to think that they were capable of looking after themselves. They drove for hours and hours trying to get to the school, driving through torrential downpour. James and Sirius had asked if they could use a portkey but Dumbledore said they could not because they had Remus with them. They had taken a portkey to get to the hospital.

Completely pitch black outside, rain falling in sheets mixed with hail, thunder roaring in two minute intervals followed by a crack of lightening (their only source of light) they finally arrived at Hogsmeade station. Dumbledore conjured up an umbrella large enough to cover all four of them and Remus's trunk. There were no carriages to take them up to the castle so they had to walk, and quickly, to the castle without drowning in the rain first. The grass was so soggy and slippery that James, Sirius and Remus kept sliding on it, while Dumbledore walked perfectly upright, not seemingly disturbed by the tremendous weather. At long last they reached the giant oak double doors of the castle. Dumbledore walked ahead of the boys (accidentally taking the umbrella with him, causing them to get soaked from head to foot within one second) and pushed the door open for them.

They ran into the Entrance Hall, bringing puddles of rain with them, and began squeezing all the rain out of their robes, which were now sticking unpleasantly to their skin. Dumbledore followed, folded up his umbrella and watched as it vanished into a puff of gray smoke.

"Lovely weather we're having, aye?" James laughed. Sirius and Remus laughed and Dumbledore smiled pleasantly.

"Yes lovely weather Mr. Potter," he agreed. "Now that we're back, I think it is dinner time. Mr. Black, Mr. Potter why don't you head to the Great Hall while I take Remus up to the hospital wing?" James and Sirius nodded glanced at Remus, muttered that they would visit him later and dashed towards the Great Hall. "If you will follow me, Mr. Lupin." Remus nodded and followed Dumbledore up the steps and all the way to the seventh floor where the hospital wing was situated. Madam Pomfrey was tending to a Hufflepuff first year, who was attempting to vanish a little red ball, but ended up vanishing her whole right arm instead. Madam Pomfrey looked up as she heard the door open.

"Good evening Headmaster, Lupin," she said pleasantly. She turned back to the Hufflepuff, muttered a counter curse and watched as her arm slowly reappeared. The girl thanked Madam Pomfrey and ran out of the ward. Madam Pomfrey turned her attention back to Professor Dumbledore. She stuffed her wand in her pocket and walked to them.

"Back from St. Mungo's, I see," she said peering down at Remus. He nodded, peering up at her as well. "Well that's all for the better! I was starting to miss the company on a full moon."

"But I was only gone for one," Remus piped up. She smiled.

"Yes I know, but you still were good company. Well... I've heard that one of the healers faltered in the operation. I was simply furious! Honestly! Putting a beginner on this kind of operation! If it were me-"

"But it wasn't Poppy," Dumbledore cut in. "As you can see, Remus is perfectly fine and I'm sure you will take good care of him."

"Of course Headmaster. Remus is in perfect care, as always. I think you should be heading down to dinner, Professor." Dumbledore considered this for a moment then nodded. He patted Remus on the head and left the ward. Madam Pomfrey handed Remus a pair of pyjamas and told him to go change while she brewed him a sleeping potion so he could get to sleep easily, when he wanted to. Remus sat on his bed and drew the curtains around it. He changed out of his robes and into his pyjamas, withdrew the curtains and sat on his bed with his head resting on the palms of his hands. He was feeling pretty tired at the moment, but he wanted to stay up because James and Sirius said they would visit.

He was no longer breathing of that wand-powered respirator, so he was happy about that. It had gotten really annoying and when he talk he sounded like he had inhaled too much helium (a/n: which I think sounds really funny!). He leaned against the headboard and listened to Madam Pomfrey bustling about in her office trying to create a Sleeping Draught. He had drunken too many of those in the past few days and he getting really sick of them because they tasted horrible. The taste was a mixture of rotten eggs and old shoes, why did potions always have to taste so horrible? Well his tasted pretty bad too, he was never much of a potion brewer, the only subject he scraped by.

Madam Pomfrey returned a few minutes later carrying a smoking goblet. She set it down on Remus's nightstand and took a seat on the other bed. Strange, Remus thought.

"I heard all about the operation," she said quietly. "You know, they nearly killed you. I warned the Headmaster about incompetent healers in that building! Honestly, you're just a twelve year old!"

"Its all right, I'm fine," Remus said awkwardly. He was getting a little frightened. "Besides, they fixed it all. I really didn't care how it turned out." That was a lie, Remus wanted it to be successful and Madam Pomfrey seemed to see right through him because she said

"Yes... but I'm sure that deep down, you wanted it to be successful, didn't you?" Remus nodded. Madam Pomfrey smiled and left to go to her office. All of the sudden, Remus felt that he did not want to wait for James and Sirius. He was feeling tired and dizzy. He took the goblet from his nightstand and downed it in one gulp. He made a face at the taste, and immediately the potion began to work. He felt his head become cloudy, his eyes heavy and before he knew it, he fell onto his pillow and was sound asleep.