Disclaimer on first page (first chapter).
Oh Dreaded Night!
Chapter Six
It was clear that James was not going to forgive Snape for the party blower incident. It was now well into November, just two weeks after Halloween, and James was still jumpy about it all. He was now the subject of party favour jokes all around the school, especially with underclassmen (the upperclassmen laughed a bit about it but decided it was too childish, after all). In addition, Snape had picked up on his "sore spot" and somehow convinced a good part of the Slytherin house to carry party blowers around the school. For the first day, James would jump when he heard one, and immediately speak after; just to be sure his normal tongue remained. A few days after that, while the joke still lingered, but just barely, he was more than annoyed with his tormentors and challenged quite a few duels. None of which were ever carried out, but came close.
Sirius, of course, stuck up for his friend; especially when it came to Snape. Just the look on his face was enough to send people away or to pocket their noisy favours (why didn't these things ever die out with such steady use?). It only resulted in more detention with Professor McGonagall in the end, for Sirius. He often commented that she should prepare to be with him every evening this year, as he wouldn't stop defending his friend and sending away "all the losers".
Once everyone lost interest Snape was the only one to focus on the group. He left Peter and Remus alone for the most part (although those looks he would throw Lupin's way every so often was enough to frustrate) but did not hesitate to blow on his blower or eat candy corn in front of the boys. Why none of the staff picked up on these "attacks" was a mystery to the four boys. All four were almost to the point that they wanted to tell some adult about it, but they knew it would only make matters worse. This was something that they had to handle on their own.
Lupin lost faith in Snape completely as a potential friend. He knew that as long as he was a friend with Sirius, James and Peter being friends with the other boy was not an option. This was true for the reverse. It was one or the other… and he really didn't have to give much thought about it. For one thing, these other three were his roommates. He would be around them twenty-four/seven. He needed to be friends with them. Being unfriendly was not a possibility. There was more to that, though. He had grown very fond of all three. They were close to him, as brothers might be. No, even closer than brothers, he convinced himself.
He liked watching Sirius go on about one thing or another. Mostly, he went on about things that weren't so important, but the way he mentioned them in conversation, you would think that they were the most important things on Earth. He seemed to be very passionate and intelligent and well spoken for his age. He seemed like the most selfish person in the world, but just when Lupin thought this might hold true, he would do something to disprove the fact. This was mostly true when it came to his friends.
James, although he was horrible moody at the moment, seemed to be the most honest person he knew. He could be brutally honest, but he was honest nonetheless. Lupin was envious that James seemed to care very little about his studies, but when it came time for demonstration or exams in class, he always knew what he was doing. He seemed ahead of the class, somehow. Perhaps it was because James seemed to live a balanced life. On the one hand he had his best friend Sirius and they would always get in trouble together. Oh, and Quidditch. He never saw anyone so obsessed with the game! James made a promise to himself (in front of his friends, though) that he would practice and try out for the team next year… as he was kicking himself for not trying out for the current season. On the other hand, he was just so bright and clever when it came to magic. And learning. His brain absorbed things like a great grey sponge. (Lupin laughed when he really thought about that image)
Last but not least, there was Peter. Lupin enjoyed time with Peter when the other two were not around the most. He had the feeling that Peter was very intimidated by James and Sirius and was not completely himself when around them. But once they left the room, or left them to the room because of their numerous detentions, Peter would come out of his shell. He told Lupin everything that would go on that day and sometimes if he was so bold, he would tell him what he really thought about James and Sirius always getting into trouble. From what Peter has told him so far, Peter didn't mind that they did it and actually enjoyed it most of the time… but had a feeling that it was a bad thing that they messed with Snape as much as they did.
Lupin had to agree. He felt that party favours were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to Snape. From the small conversations that they had, and from his observations of Snape in class, he was also very clever. He knew that Severus Snape knew more than a second-year should really know about magic. The conversation about his wand – that was enough to prove it, right? There was also maturity to Snape that exceeded a twelve year-old's. He wasn't sure what this was about, but left it to family matters and upbringing. Whatever they may be.
He couldn't help but think that Snape was interesting, though. Maybe it didn't go as far as wanting to be his friend. But maybe it did? If he wasn't close to these three, would he go for a friendship with the Slytherin? He related to Snape somehow. Yes, that was it, he related to him. Not in his personality, no, he wasn't like him… but he had the feeling that if he wasn't friends with James and Sirius he would be that easy target to pick on just as Snape was. He was so easy to pick on! Lupin wanted to shake it out of the boy. If he wasn't going to be friends with Severus, at least couldn't the boy have decent friends? Couldn't he have any friends?
"Not a lot of people would be able to handle me as a friend. If you haven't noticed, I'm quite disagreeable… and not one to follow the herd with trends and the like."
"Merlin, you don't have to be to have friends!" Lupin said quite seriously, and quite loudly to his embarrassment. He looked at Peter, who was staring back at him, and the two laughed out of nervousness. "Sorry."
"Quite all right." Peter giggled. "Thinking out loud happens to all of us. Whom were you thinking about?"
"No one. I mean, a bit about myself, actually. I'm glad I have you all as friends. But… heh… I don't mean to get sappy."
Peter smiled. "I'm glad to have you as a friend, too, Lupin! I mean, it's nice to have someone to talk to in the library. Even though you really shouldn't be talking in the library. But… remember when we would sit together and not say anything? I wanted to say something for the longest time and now I can."
"Yes, that is a good thing."
"I know the other two don't talk about it a lot, but I think they're glad that we're all friends. I think they were trying for a long time to be your friend, but you just didn't acknowledge them." Peter added.
"Honestly, I didn't know if they were trying to be my friend or pick on me as they do poor Snape."
Peter laughed. The conversation fizzled out, and they continued their Potions assignment.
"Don't you think it's weird, Remus?" James walked with Lupin to the dining hall. They were a bit late getting to dinner. "I mean, you're living your life as a Muggle, no clue whatsoever to magic, and then when you're ten or eleven years old, you get a letter admitting you into Hogwarts School of Wizardry?"
"I never thought much about it."
"That must be mind blowing!" He scrunched his face as his choice of words. Seems he was still sore about the prank.
"That's… awfully random. We were just talking about Quidditch a moment ago. What made you think of it?"
James pointed ahead of them, at a bunch of Gryffindor girls. "Lily," he whispered. "Both her parents are Muggles." It was the first time that James had mentioned Lily in a more… complex way. Any mentions of her were very rare, and they would only be if he were mentioning the class in general. To see him focus in on her like this, it would only mean one thing. He fancied her. Lupin couldn't stop the smirk from forming on his face.
He couldn't blame James. Lupin happened to think that Lily was one of the more pretty girls in his class, if not all of Gryffindor. He liked to think it didn't go beyond that – thinking that she was pretty – but he often found himself looking at her and then trying to hide the fact that he was looking at her. And that only resulted in Lupin blushing and hiding his face away. The girl did not seem to notice this level of his shyness, as she did not hesitate to be friendly to him and say hello any time they would see each other outside of class.
The fact that Lily was Muggle-born was no secret. Status of family was often discussed at Hogwarts amongst the students. It just seemed entertaining to Lupin at this moment that James would bring this up as a topic. He could have right out said "I fancy her." But James was too cool to do that. He knew he was safe even hinting at it with Lupin, but he wouldn't dare mention it to Sirius. Sirius would torture him to no end about it.
"I suppose it must be difficult for her adjusting. But, she seems to be doing an okay job with it, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I think she does." James answered. "She could very well be the smartest in our class. Erm, the smartest girl, anyway. You'd get smartest boy, Lupin." He blushed at this compliment and wanted to squeal "Really?!" Instead, he tried to tone down his blush and thanked James. "Nah, really! You're really smart. I'd be doing much better if I were sitting next to you in classes, and not Sirius… or… Snivellus. You're good to let Peter sit with you. I've seen his improvement in classes."
Lupin smiled. He felt like teasing James about Lily, but thought that it could wait for another time. They were now entering the dining hall and he had the feeling James didn't want Sirius to catch wind of their previous conversation. When they sat down, Sirius made a sarcastic comment on how nice it was for them to make it to dinner.
"Stuff it, Black." James smiled.
"You should have to go to bed without any supper. Both of you." Sirius remarked, smiling as he ripped into a chicken leg.
"Yeah. Right after you give us our spankings." James added. This made everyone within listening distance laugh.
"Don't joke, Potter. I'm not sure about Lupin here, but I'm sure you might like that sort of thing."
"Not as much as you'd like giving them." Everyone laughed even more. James' and Sirius' antics caused such a reaction, day to day. Lupin was surprised that by now they hadn't run out of things to say. But the words flowed so carelessly back and forth that if you hadn't known better you might have said it was scripted.
"Oh, so you admit you like it, then?"
"Ah, yes, you have me there." James sighed, dramatically. "Just like you had Severus Snape last night."
"No, no, you must have me confused with someone else. Yourself, perhaps?" The two couldn't go on any longer as they were laughing so hard, nearly choking on their food.
"Perhaps you two should consider a career in television." A girl's voice spoke. "I can see it now, The Sirius and James comedy hour. Starring Sirius Black and his sidekick James Potter." Everyone turned to see Lily spitting out her words, fork with uneaten food still in hand. James blushed, luckily everyone was too focused on Lily to notice, and Sirius looked disturbed.
"For one thing, Evans… I don't care for cheap Muggle entertainment. For another…"
"And I am not his sidekick!" James burst.
The girl laughed and shook her head. She continued eating her dinner, leaving the two boys speechless for the rest of the meal.
"The nerve of that girl!" Sirius finally let out, as they returned to their room.
James seemed a bit more upset than Sirius was, as he wasn't talking about it. James sat on his bed, pouting. Lupin knew it had to do with what they were speaking about earlier, and this just confirmed the fact that James did fancy Lily and she had in turn humiliated him.
"Who does she think she is, just… interrupting our back and forth as if it was any of her business. Surely we don't do it for her entertainment alone to have her comment?!"
"That was surprising coming from her." Lupin commented. "She always seemed like one of the more nicer girls in Gryffindor." It was true; he was surprised at what she had said. He had never been witness to such a thing coming from her mouth.
"Well, you can now strike her off that list, Lupin." Sirius spat. "If she tries something like that again I might have to ask Snape to let me in on his party favour hex."
James, surprisingly, snickered. "Ha! Can you imagine her with a party blower for a tongue?"
"I can!" Sirius shouted. "And it's quite amusing."
"You… wouldn't ask Snape, would you?" Peter asked curiously.
"Oh! No! No. I'd rather have a party blower for a tongue than speak to him on a friendly level."
"I have to agree, Sirius." James added. "I have, in fact, had a party blower for a tongue and can say honestly say I'd rather have that then to have to tolerate Snivellus Snape."
"Do you really think she thinks of me as Black's sidekick?" James was at it again. If Remus hadn't found it so entertaining, he would have found it incredibly annoying.
"I don't know. Seems like she was just trying to get your attention." This was the most likely, although he wasn't a hundred percent sure. Perhaps Lily was just mean.
"You think?" He frowned. "So, do you see me as Black's sidekick? Honestly?"
"I see you as complete individuals. Granted, you are best friends and nearly attached to the hip. All Lily sees of you two is the two of you together."
"That is true." James considered. James was lying on his bed, playing catch with a dirty rolled up sock. He had been tossing it at the high ceiling for a good part of the evening and caught it every single time it came down. After a while, he either lost his concentration or his interest because he finally let it drop to the floor. He didn't seem interested in picking it up. "But, if you weren't close friends with Black and I?" He continued. "Would you think of him or me as the sidekick?"
Lupin stifled his laugh. "Like I said, I see you as individuals. I even saw that before we all became close."
"I just wonder what made her choose me as the sidekick?"
"Er…" Lupin had no idea, but he had to get James to stop mulling it over somehow. "Your names, in alphabetical order. I think that's how one does it in 'show business'. I wouldn't really know, though. We don't have television at home."
"Mmm. Nor do I. Seems boring. I suppose to a Muggle it would be interesting, though. Did you know that they have still photographs?!" Lupin could not stifle his laugh this time. James followed through with a laugh of his own. "Sorry, I'll quit while I'm ahead."
"It's all right. I don't mind."
"You're easy to talk to." James admitted. "I know Sirius thinks so. Peter too." He sat up.
"You know you can talk to me. Whenever. For… whatever."
"Thanks." James smiled, but there was a pause and this lead Lupin to believe he was about to get into something serious. "You, um, feeling all right, lately?"
James had never confronted him about his illness. Sirius, really, was the only one who had, and that was only because he found that letter… but whenever Lupin thought of them asking questions about his "illness" he became anxious. He didn't like talking about it, obviously, but didn't want to completely exclude his friends. If he thought about it even more, he felt comfortable enough with James right now that he might actually tell him. But he knew that he wouldn't. There was always that fear.
"You just don't know how others are going to react, dear."
"But, Mum, what happens when people start figuring things out?"
"Let them think what ever else they want. They do not need to know. If they have any decency, they won't bother you about it. They can know you are ill, of course, but, you need to leave it vague."
"Yeah." He frowned. There were only five more days until the full moon. It was only this very day that he had begun to feel ill. He wondered if James could pick up on these sorts of things easily. "I mean I obviously feel better than I did then." He remarked on last month's full moon or "episode".
"Oh. All right. I just wanted to make sure." James looked down at the floor, perhaps feeling shameful about intruding. He picked up his dirty sock and studied it. "What to play 'catch the dirty sock'?" He said, cheerfully.
Lupin scrunched his nose and shook his head. "Some other time."
"Heh. I know, looks thrilling, right?" The two boys laughed.
"So, are you really going to try out for the Quidditch team next year?" Lupin asked, trying to get the conversation as far away from illness (or dirty socks) as he possibly could.
"Oh yeah! I figure I can get in some good practice over the summer break. I should be right-on come the start of the new term."
"You have someone to practice with?"
"Er, I don't know. You're not interested, are you? I know it's too far in advance to really plan, but should you ever want to visit during summer break you're welcome to. Sirius visited last summer; we had such a great time. I had to drag the poor boy out of my home when the time came for him to leave. He really didn't want to leave. You know how fond he is of his family. He'll probably visit next year, too. He'll want to help me with Quidditch, but he's much better talking about it than actually playing it. He'll tell you otherwise, so be careful." James laughed.
"I've never attempted to play. I think I'd be better at watching, to tell you the truth."
"Well think on coming, anyway. You can referee." James threw his dirty sock at Lupin. It bounced off his head. "Nice catch!"
"I can manage that, I think." he picked up James' sock off the floor and quickly threw it back at James. "Nice catch!" The sock bounced off James' head in nearly the same place it had hit Lupin.
"Do you realize this time next year we'll be able to go to Hogsmeade on the weekends with the upperclassmen?" James asked.
Sirius grinned. "I know." He spirits dampened quickly, though. "You say this as if it were happening tomorrow."
"I know. I just like having something to look forward to."
"You know what I'd like to see?" Sirius leaned in to the group as if he was about to say something very serious. When no one asked in return, he answered. "There's been strange goings-on at this abandoned house just outside Hogsmeade, nearest school grounds. People say that every month, on the full moon, if you listen you can hear screams coming from it." Lupin felt ill. He felt very ill. Sirius continued, without noticing Lupin's reaction. "You know what I say? I say we don't wait until next year to see it."
"What are you getting at?" James looked concerned, if not frightened.
"I'm saying this month at the full moon, we sneak out after lights out and head over to the shack Full moon's about four days away."
"Are you mad?!" Lupin roared. None of his friends could know his true feeling about it. He didn't want them going because that was where…
"Lupin's right!" Peter jumped in. "There could be werewolves out. With the full moon and all!"
James kept quiet, waiting for Sirius to react.
"Werewolves? Please! The place is haunted! Don't you want to listen to the wails of the ghosts trapped inside the house?"
"N-no!" Peter answered quickly.
"Well, if you don't want to go, you don't have to. Who else is going to freak out about a house? It's probably not even haunted. It's probably just some freak who lives there and is trying to scare away the locals."
"I don't care." Peter looked like he was about to leave the table. Lupin beat him to it, though. Without saying a word, he collected his things and dashed out of the dining hall before breakfast was even served.
He ran to the closest boys' washroom. He threw his bag down underneath a sink before he even reached it. When he came up at the sink, he looked up at the mirror and frowned. He looked down at the sink as quickly as he could. He couldn't even look at himself in the mirror. He felt like he was going to be sick. He felt like he wanted to pick a stall and hide in it for the remainder of the day.
People heard him. "People say that every month, on the full moon, if you listen you can hear screams coming from it." His screams. Screams he was so sure that no one else would hear. Screams that came as the wolf was ripping out of his body. He stood still. If he stood still enough he could feel it stirring inside of him already. He would burst open, for sure, before the full moon this time, wouldn't he? Why do you wait for the full moon, anyway? Why don't you just come out and tear my friends and I apart? That is what you want, isn't it?
"Isn't it?!!" He shouted. His voice echoed through the empty room.
Just as his voice vanished, the door to the washroom opened. Lupin turned around quickly to see Sirius coming towards him. "Any one else in here?"
"No." Lupin whispered, as if the scream had taken away his voice.
"Are you all right? I didn't just freak you out back there, did I?"
"No." He lied. "I mean. You're really not going to go there, are you?"
Sirius looked over his friend and stepped closer. "I won't, if you don't think it's a good idea."
"I just – I just have a bad feeling about that place."
"Okay. I was only half serious, anyway. Haunted places fascinate me. I can understand that a lot of people don't like them. A lot of people are sensitive to those types of things." Sirius commented, gently. "I can wait until next year, anyway, to see it in daylight. You'll come then, won't you?"
"Of course." Lupin attempted to smile.
"Good, then. You all right? Want to get back to have some breakfast? Maybe you just need some breakfast."
"That might be it." He felt calmed for the moment. He picked up his bag and followed Sirius back to the dining hall, although he really only wanted to stay in the washroom alone all day.
When they returned to their table, Peter and James watched him closely. "Is everything all right?" James asked, looking very worried.
Sirius quickly answered, "Lupin here just needs some food in his system, that's all."
His answer did not calm James' worried expression, though. He continually checked on Lupin throughout breakfast and the rest of the day by watching him for a moment and then turning away quickly as if he weren't looking at him in the first place. This made Lupin feel extremely nervous. James knew that something was going on. The boy, after all, was not dumb.
Reviewers: AffectedMangoO: Faithful as ever! I hope you continue to review/comment on my story. prosthetic.ballerina (the following applies to both you and Affected MangoO) They are in their second year, although I must admit they seem a bit mature for 12 year-olds. (Mr. Harry Potter seemed to be mature for his age as well as some other characters, so I'm going to go along with the idea that some students are more mature than others. Especially in a "magical" setting) I think that the only thing that really keeps true to their age is their continuing love of mischief. That will remain through out, I think, no matter how old they get to be. I plan on ending the story at some point in their second year… but I will continue a new story in their fifth or sixth year. I could go on to write each and every year, but I just don't have enough background on their middle years at Hogwarts and I might exhaust myself trying to come up with new things. I'm looking more forward to writing a more mature Remus, though. We can have lots of fun with that. As far as pairing with Remus goes, I don't plan to do any pairings in this story, as they're only 12! I know it seems that he and Sirius are close, and it could be considered pre-slash, but that's up to the reader, really. In the future? I dunno. I tend to think that there were some feelings between Remus and Sirius but that might not go beyond a very close friendship. Or does it? ;) Anyway, thank you for your reviews and please please continue reading!!