A/N. Hey! I'm sorry it's been sooo long! I haven't updated this story since...December? Wow! I'm really sorry it took so long. Anyways, thank you for being patient with me. This chapter is pretty long, but I hope you like it. Okay, I'm not going to leave you guys hanging anymore...Enjoy! Don't forget to review and look at my profile page for more info on when the next chapter is going to be posted and stuff. As always, thanks to:
Moonfyre-Hey! Here's the udpate you've been waiting so long for. Enjoy. Sorry it's been so long.
Leela74-HEy! Here's your update. Also, have you started your story yet? Let me know, I want to read it! Probably will be better then mine...hehe...but yeah, this one is ending soon. I can't wait to write the sequel. It'll be loads better than this one. Anyways, review please and tell me what you think!
KLLRS-LOL I loved the little Remus italics too. Those were really fun to write lol. Have you heard of Crossfade? I like some of their songs. Anyways, here's the upate that is so long overdue. Review again please!
MissBlueAngel-yeah, the last chapter was kind of long, but I think this one is longer. Anyways, how's your cast? Have you gotten it off yet?
SLippersRfuzzy-Hey! I hope this chapter was worth the wait. It's been what...four months? Lol.
Thanks for all your reviews. Don't forget to send another one when your done with this chapter. Enjoy!
Looking back at me I see
That I never really got it right
I never stopped to think of you
I'm always wrapped up in
Things I cannot win
You are the antidote that gets me by
Something strong
Like a drug that gets me high
What I really meant to say
Is I'm sorry for the way I am
I never meant to be so cold
-Crossfade's 'Cold'
Chapter 27-No longer friends with you
Remus lay sprawled on his back. His tattered body made the three Marauders sick to their stomachs. His robes were torn, revealing gashes on his skin. No matter where he searched, James couldn't find skin on Remus's body that wasn't covered in blood.
James heart hammered against his chest as he looked at Snape, who was staring at Remus in disbelief.
"Bloody hell..Lupin…werewolf…near k-killed….have him expelled…" Snape was muttering incoherently, but James ears still perked up at the last three words.
He instantly felt panic. This was what he had been afraid of. Snape would tell everyone and Remus would be exposed…
In the corner of his eyes, he saw Sirius make sudden moment, as if to hit Snape. He never got the chance. Snape's next action shocked all three Marauders that were standing—if the situation hadn't been so serious, they would have been laughing.
Snape fainted.
James, Sirius, and Peter just stared at him for a moment. Peter leaned down and looked at Snape.
He then looked up at Sirius and James. "He's out cold."
James suddenly felt so relieved. He needed time to think…needed time to fix the mess Sirius had made.
Sirius.
James looked over at his best friend, who was staring at Remus, horrified and hiseyes looking glossy, as if he was trying to hold back tears. James knew him better—he would never let the tears fall. The horrified look on Sirius's face scared James, but he still couldn't stop the anger that was coming back to him.
"I'm sorry, Remus…" Sirius muttered, his voice sounding high pitched.
"You apologizing won't do anything for him now." James snapped.
Sirius looked up at James with the same horrified look on his face. "What have I done?" he asked hollowly.
James gritted his teeth. "Only ruined Remus's bloody life with your mistake. How could you tell Snape!"
Sirius looked away, he was at a lost for words.
James didn't care. His voice was rising with every word. "Neither Peter or me are going to tell Remus what happened. You don't seem to have a problem telling secrets—this should be bloody easy for you." The seriousness of the situation was finally, truly, starting to sink in, atnd it frustrated James. "Damnit, Sirius, do you have any idea what you just did!"
"I know, Prongs," Sirius said quietly, "I'm sorr—"
"That won't keep Remus from hating you." James snapped.
Sirius looked terrified at the thought.
James instantly felt bad. He knew Sirius—Snape must have done something to make Sirius that angry, but at that moment, he didn't care. Sirius had told Snape. If Snape told anyone….
'I won't let him.' James vowed.
"Well, maybe we could hide Snape in a closet and hope he's forgotten." Sirius said lightly.
James instantly felt angry again. "Sirius, this isn't a joke!" James shouted. "You have no idea how much trouble we're in! You nearly got a student killed—we could all be expelled from school!"
"It was only Snape." Sirius muttered stubbornly.
James looked at his best friend, a little shocked. This couldn't be Sirius talking—sure, he hated Snape, but he would never try to kill him…
Sirius glared at Snape.
Or would he?
"Come on, stop fighting." Peter said firmly, which was a bit out of character from him. "Look at Remus—we need to get him to the Hospital Wing before he loses anymore blood."
James glanced at Remus's body and instantly felt sick again. Sirius, however, just stared at his unconscious friend, regret written all over his features.
"I don't get it." Sirius spoke softly, as if afraid to wake Remus and face him at that very moment. "We didn't hurt him that bad. Why is he so beat up?"
Peter looked at him sadly. "Moony could tell you guys were coming this way. He tried getting out of the Shack but couldn't, so he turned and began attacking himself. At first I didn't understand why, but after you showed up, I understood why he was attacking himself."
"I did that to him…" Sirius muttered, self-hate evident in his voice.
"Yes, you did." James said coldly, then regretting saying those words seconds later. "But it doesn't matter. Help me get them back up to the castle. Remus is scaring me with all the blood he's losing."
Both Sirius and James took out their wands at muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa."
Sirius levitated Remus while James got Snape. James was secretly scared that Sirius would try to toss him in the lake. While walking, James glanced at the sky. They could see the sun just above the horizon. He was sure it was around six in the morning.
James glanced at Sirius, Peter, and Remus. He felt sick in his stomach. Someone was going to have to tell Remus—
No matter what happened, James couldn't shake off the feeling that this may be the end of the Marauders.
The three boys sighed in relief as they reached in Hospital Wing.
"Madame Pomfrey is going to have our heads for waking her up this early." Peter muttered.
"It doesn't matter." James said distractedly, "Open the doors for us, Wormtail. Hurry—Remus looks like he's getting paler."
Peter rushed toward the doors and pushed them open, causing a loud BANG was they slammed against the walls.
Sirius and James cringed at the loud noise it made, but Peter took no notice.
"Madame Pomfrey!" Peter called loudly. "MADAME POMFREY!"
Madame Pomfrey rushed out in her nightgown, looking canky and harassed.
"Mr. Pettigrew!" she cried, looking angry at being awaken from her nice slumber. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.
Peter didn't say a work. He merely looked at something other than her. Madame Pomfrey followed his gaze and gasped. Remus and Snape were levitated in the air by Sirius and James. Manadpe Pomfrey felt nauseous by looking at Remus. He was losing so much blood...
"Don't just stand there!" Madame Pomfrey cried, suddenly very scared for Remus's life and for Snape's. If Snape had been bitten...
"Put them both on separate beds-for goodness sakes-move, Black! Don't just stand there!" In a panicked frenzy, she began ordering the three Marauders around. They obediently listened. After setting them on the bed, James and Sirius back away, looking at Madame Pomfrey expectantly.
"He'll be okay, right, Poppy?" James asked. He looked so innocent and scared that Madame Pomfrey hadn't even yelled at him for the nickname he had given her.
Sirius looked at her. Aregretful and horrified look on his face.
"I don't know, Potter. Lupin could be in a critical state." she said sadly, looking at Remus. "Snape looks like he's merely in a state of shock but Lupin..." she could tell her voice was going to crack and quickly cleared it, looking stern. "I advise you boys to either wait outside or go to your dormitories. There's nothing else you can do."
Protests instantly met this statement.
"Are you mental? We're not leaving!"
"We have to stay!"
"You can't send us out!"
"Please!" Madame Pomfrey cried, frusterated. "I want you boys out now so I can attend to my patients."
The three boys looked and her stubbornly and defiantly. Madame Pomfrey sighed in irratation and frustration. "Fine." she snapped. "Stay if you like. But only until I do quick check up on Mr. Lupin."
She grabbed her wand and some potions and instantly began muttering some spells over Remus. When she was done, she set her wand down and a piece of parchment suddenly appeared in front of her. She grabbed it and quickly skimmed over it. From where James was standing, he would see her pale.
She looked at the Marauders. "I have a patient to attend to." she said, quite panicky. "I want you three boys out!"
"What's wrong with him?" Peter asked loudly.
Madame Pomfrey seemed a little scared and panicky. "Mr. Lupin is in acritical condition. If he is to remain alive, I have to work quickly butbutoh dear...I can't possibly...should send him to St. Mungo's-no, no...they'll know his secret-they'll want to know how he got this way..."
"What to you mean, 'if he was to remain alive?'" Peter asked quickly, since neither Sirius's or James voices appeared to be working.
Madame Pomfrey looked at him. "He did so much damage to himself. I'm surprised he survived the night. I need to get to work right away if I wish to save his life."
"But-"
"NO!" Madame Pomfrey cried, causing the three boys to jump. She looked the most scared they've ever seen her. Then, without warning, her voice softened and she looked a bit sympathetic at the boys. "Please go back to your dormitories or you may wait outside. I will get news to you as soon as I know how he is doing."
Realizing they weren't doing to get anywhere by arguing, the three boys nodded. Truthfully, James didn't want to stay. It was making him sick by just standing there and looking at Remus. Slowly, the three boys walked out, while Madame Pomfrey began frantically looking for potions or anything she knew of that would make the blood stop flowing. When she heard the door shut and knew the Marauders were out, she slumped on a bed next to Remus.
Frusterated, she stared at him. "What have you done to yourself now?" she asked to no one in particular.
Outside, James slowly shut the door behind him. Sirius was leaning on a wall, looking like he wanted to bash his head into it, whilePeter wandered around them both, looking a little lost.
"Why did you do it, Sirius?" James asked, no emotion in his voice whatsoever. "Why?"
"Leave it the bloody hell alone, James." Sirius said hollowing, not looking at him.
"I bloody won't!" James yelled, surprised by his sudden outburt, but he didn't lower his voice. "I want to bloody know what you were thinking when you told Snape about Remus."
"I didn't tell Snape about Remus's condition!" Sirius shouted, for the first time all night, looking incredibly angry.
"That's rubbish." James retorted.
"It bloody hell isn't! It's the truth!"
"Then how else would he know where to go?"
"Because I told him!"
"Exactly!"
Sirius ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "You're not listening to me! I didn't tell him exactly what Remus was, I told him to go the Whomping Willow and how to get by it. Snape found out on his own."
James stared at his best friend in disbelief. Was he trying tojustify what he did?
"You're mental." James muttered, almost in awe at his friend's stupidity.
"Wormtail, tell him I'm not." Sirius said.
Peter looked torn between both sides. He looked at each of his friends for awhile, then let out a sigh. "Sorry, Padfoot." he muttered. "Prongs is right, no matter how you look at it, you pretty much led Snape there, making you responsible. You may not have told him directly, but you still led him there."
Sirius looked away. He knew his friends were right. But he was scared at their reaction. Would they still be friends with them? He honestly didn't see how they would possibly forgive him after what he did.
"Padfoot," James spoke up, this time in an almost pleading voice, "You're my best mate. I know you wouldn't do anything like this unless Snape really provoked it. Tell me what happened."
Sirius looked away. "You wouldn't understand."
"Then make me!" James shouted. "Damnit, make me understand, Sirius! I want to believe you didn't do this because you hated Remus or wanted to get back at him for something. I want you to give me a reason not to hate you! Just tell me what happened!"
But Sirius wouldn't. He wouldn't bring up James parents in front of him again. James had just been getting over what had happened during the winter holidays.
"Would you believe I just lost my temper?" Sirius said testily.
James stared at his friend, torn between loyalty and anger. He knew Sirius was lying. ...Right?
Is it possible that this was a side of Sirius James didn't know about? Did he really want to cause Remus pain? James mind was reeling.
"Padfoot," Peter said quietly, "Remus is your friend-"
"Yeah, well," Siruis muttered nastily, instantly regretting the words that he spoke next, "Maybe I don't want to be friends with a werewolf anymore!"
Something inside James snapped. James tackled Sirius to the ground and punched him in the face, not caring that their shouts were loud enough to wake the whole entire castle.
"TAKE THAT BACK!" James bellowed.
He pulled his fist back and hit Sirius as hard as he could. Both boys were still soaking wet and sore, so James guessed he didn't hit Sirius too hard.
"Prongs! Padfoot!" Peter shouted, but couldn't go near the fight. He wasn't nearly as strong as the other two boysthere was nothing he could do.
"How could you betray Remus like that!" James shouted, on top of Sirius, pulling back his fist for another blow.
Sirius kicked James off him and tackled him to the ground. He now had the advantage.
"You don't understand, James!" Sirius shouted, red in the face and wet hair tousled. "You don't know what happened!"
The two rolled on the ground for a few moments. When James got the advantage back, he shouted, "You won't let me! You're too self-abosorbed to notice anything-"
"Don't give me that, you sodding prat!" Sirius yelled. He flipped James over and pinned his best friend to the ground, wanting mroe than anything to hit him. Anything, to make the guilt go away
But it wouldn't. And beating up James wouldn't solved anything. Midway from beating James head into the ground, Sirius let his arm drop numbly to his side. James took advantage of this and kicked Sirius off him, causing his best friend to groan on the ground quietly, holding his side. James stood up and wiped some blood from his mouth.
For a single moment, it looked as if they were going to fight again, but Peter stood between both of them.
"Come on," Peter said tiredly, "It's been a long night. Just give it a rest, eh? Save it for when we know what's happening with Moony."
Grudgingly, Sirius and James agreed. They both went to opposite sides of the corridors, not making eye contact. James leaned against the wall and instantly felt dizzy. It had been such a long night. He wanted more than anything to run up to fhe Gryffindor tower and fll alseep on his nice, warm bed...
'Changing clothes wouldn't be a bad idea, too.' James noted.
His wet clothes were sticking to him in an uncomfortable manner. James sighed and leaned against the wall.
'I'll close my eyes for a minute.' he thought, closing his eyes slightly. 'Just for five minutes...I'm so tired...'
James closed his eyes and in one moment, instantly felt himself leave reality. The last thing he remembered was hitting something very hard...
From where Sirius was standing, he looked up after hearing a loud 'thump.' He stared at his best friend who lay in a heap on the floor.
"He passed out." This was a question, not a statement.
"Should we wake him?" Peter asked.
Srius shook his head and rubbed his shoulder. "No. I fancy my arm too much."
Peter laughed nervously and Sirius leaned against the wall, hoping he could pass out and forget all his troubles, too...
"GET HIM AWAY FROM ME! GET HIM AWAY!"
James slowly stirred in his sleep, not wanting to wake up. 'Mmmm...shut up, Sirius.' he thought idly.
The yelling continued.
"I DON'T WANT HIM ANYWHERE NEAR ME! HE TRIED TO KILL ME! HIM AND BLACK BOTH!"
James eyes shot open. He knew that voice. It was Snape. He stood up quickly and realized Sirius and Peter had done the same. They, too, had fallen asleep on the floor moments ago. The three boys rushed toward the Hospital Wings doors. If Snape was awake, hopefully Remus would be, too...
James burst through the doors just and Snape bellowed, "YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, YOU MONSTER!"
James froze on the spot, with Sirius and Peter right behind him. He just stared at the scene in front of him.
Snape was on the edge of his bed, apparently trying to get as far awayfrom Remus as possible. He was pointing at him while yelling and was red in the face. Remus, on the other hand, lay in bed, looking genuinely confused, alarmed, and a little unsure of Snape's mental state at the moment.
Snape continued yelling frantically. "I'LL HAVE YOU EXPELLED FOR THIS, LUPIN! YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS! YOU TRIED TO BLOODY KILL ME!"
"Snape," Remus spoke up with a nervous chuckle, "What in Merlin's beard are you talking about?"
This just caused Snape to look even more livid. "YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU DID LAST NIGHT!"
Remus's eyes widened slightly. He knew last night what a full moon but...what was Snape going on about?
"Mr. Snape!" Madame Pomfrey cried. She had been at Snape's side for awhile, trying desperately to calm him down. "Please, you have to calm down"
"I CAN'T CALM DOWN WITH A MONSTER THREE FEET FROM ME!"
"Mr. Snape!" Pomfrey cried angrily. "You need to calm down! You musn't strain yourself! Now, come to my office, if you please!"
But Snape wouldn't budge. With enormous strength that the Marauders didn't know she had, she took Snape and literally dragged him toward her office. She looked back at the Marauders sympathetically. James knew what she was saying. 'Tell Remus what happened...'
The last thing they heard Snape shout was, "I'LL HAVE YOU EXPELLED FOR THIS, LUPIN! I'LL EXPOSE YOU FOR WHAT YOU REALLY ARE!"
There was a thump...and then silence...
James looked at the door nervously. Madame Pomfrey probably put a Silencing Charm around the room.
James stared back at Remus, who was looking at the Marauders expectantly and a bit nervously. Slowly, Sirius, James, and Peter made their way to Remus's bedside.
Remus looked at this three best friends. "What was Snape going on about?" he asked.
James saw Sirius looked away and Peter look down at his shoes. James was even looking at the clock and was surprised to see that it was nearly noon.
"He called me a monster..." Remus put out slowly.
His statement was met with more silence.
"Tell me what the bloody hell is going on." Remus said firmly. He didn't shout, didn't raise his voice, just spoke firmly, which made James feel even worse.
James stayed true to his word and stayed silent. This was Sirius's mistake. He was going to have to tell Remus.
"Moony..." Sirius let out a shaky breath. "Snape knows. He knows about...your condition."
Remus's eyes widened. "How?" was all he could say.
"He found out where your went and chased after you. Prongs, Wormtail and I tranformed to try to keep you from...hurting him."
"Did I bite him?" Remus asked slowly, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
"No." Sirius shook his head hastily. "You didnt." Remus let out a sigh of relief. "But he does know."
Remus looked up at the ceiling, at a loss of words. Just then, Sirius blurted out, "I'm so sorry, Moony!"
Remus eyed his warily. "Why?" he asked. "It's not like you told Snape where to find me." Remus laughed at the thought. "You wouldn't do that to me..."
Sirius looked away. Remus looked at him, eyes widening.
"...Would you?" he asked slowly.
Sirius looked at the ground, unable to look up. "I'm sorry." he whispered.
Realization suddenly dawned on his face. Hurt and betrayal were evident on his features. "No." Remus whispered, shaking his head. "No. Padfoot...you wouldn't. You know better...you wouldn't do that to me..."
Sirius only murmured, "I'm sorry."
Remus's eyes suddenly grew hard. "Sorry!" He spoke loudly. "Sorry! That's all you can say! Sirius, what if Ihad bitten someone! How do you think I would have felt!"
Sirius opened his mouth, but Remus cut him off.
"How could you! I trused you!" he yelled. "You promised you'd never tell anyone! Snape's going to tell everyone! I'll have to leave!"
"No, you won't." Sirius said, in fake cheery voice. "I'll fix it, Moony-"
"You bloody hell won't!" Remus bellowed. Peter cringed slightly at how loud Remus's voice was getting. "This isn't something you can just 'fix', Padfoot! My life isn't something you can play around with-"
"I know that-"
"I don't think you do! If you had, you never would have done it in the first place!"
Remus was gripping his sheets so tight now, his face was getting paler, and his voice was shaking slightly. "You n-never would've...Oh, Padfoot...what did I ever do to you?"
Remus's eyes began to water, scaring James slightly. He had never seen him cry.
"Remus..." Sirius's own voice was getting a little shaky.
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Remus roared, causing James, Sirius, and Peter to jump. "YOU CAN'T JUSTIFY WHAT YOU DID! YOU BETRAYED ME! I HATE YOU!"
Sirius took a step back. Remus jumped out of bed. Tears were running down his cheeks, his face was red, and he looked livid.
"I HATE YOU! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DO TO WEREWOLVES! THEY PERSECUTE THEM! THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME, SIRIUS! I'M NEVER GOING TO COME BACK AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Peter stood there, mouth slightly open. James just stared at the scene in front of him with wide eyes.
"WHAT DID I EVER TO TO YOU! TELL ME WHAT I DID TO DESERVE IT! ISN'T IT BAD ENOUGH THAT I BECOME A MONSTER ONCE A MONTH! DOES EVERYONE ELSE HAVE TO KNOW, TOO! TELL ME WHAT I DID, SIRIUS! TELL ME WHAT I DID TO DESERVE THIS!"
"Nothing!" Sirius yelled out.
"SO YOU DID IT OUT OF PURE SPITE!" Remus bellowed, so close to Sirius that James thought he was going to strike him.
Sirius looked at the ground, unable to answer.
"I supposed your going to blame Snape for all of this?" Remus said scowled. "He provoked you into telling him?"
Sirius looked up, hopeful that maybe Remus woulder understand.
"You let your anger get the best of you. You didn't care how you did it, you just wanted to hurt Snape, am I right?" Remus continued.
Slowly, Sirius nodded.
"Once a Black, always a Black. It doesn't matter how different you are from your family. There's always going to be a bit of Slytherin in you." Remus said nastily.
Sirius was suddenly overcome with emotion. Knowing Remus wasn't going to listen, Sirius turned to the only person who he knew would believe him for sure. In a pleading voice, Sirius spoke to James, "James I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen like that. I lost my temper. I just wanted to scare him. I wasn't trying to kill him. James I wasn't trying to kill him. Please James! I'm not like them! I'm not. Please believe me James."
James looked at his best friend sadly. He knew Sirius. He was telling the truth. He couldn't turn his back on his bet friend
"With a little practice, you could fit in with the Death Eaters" Remus growled.
"Oy!" James spoke up, coming between Remus and Sirius. "Listen, I know your upset, Moony, but that was below the belt-"
"SO WAS WHAT HE DID!" Remus exploded. Tears were once again falling down his cheeks, but he didn't care. He was hurt beyond belief. It was more than he could handle. "I trusted you, Sirius. I trusted you..."
His sobs filled the room. "Why would you do this to me, Sirius? Why? I thought we were best mates..."
Sirius looked away, not wanting them to see the tear that was now falling down his cheek. James stood there, torn between his two friends, while Peter stood there, mouth still slightly open.
"I hate you!" Remus shouted in agony. For the first time, James, Sirius, and Peter heard the pain in his voice. He was hurt, betrayed, and terrified beyond belief. And for the first time during the whole argument, it showed. "I hate you! I hate you!"
"Shut up, Moony!" Sirius shouted. He could deal with Remus saying it once, but he kept on repeating it. Sirius's heart broke into a million pieces everytime he said it. He just wanted it to end. He made a mistake and thanks to it, things would never be the same between the Marauders again...
"Moony..." James started gently. "Come on, now isn't the time for hard feelings. If we're going to figure a way out of this, we have to work together."
"No." Remus cried. "There's nothing you can do, nothing anyone can do! I knew you'd be on his side, James! You always are! But don't worry, I understand. After all, who would side with a monster?"
"Stop calling yourself that!" James yelled.
"It's true!" Remus shouted. "It's true and your all just too afraid to admit it!"
"I'm sorry!" Sirius blurted. "I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry I ruined your lifeI'll understand if you never want to talk to me again."
Remus stared at Sirius with an almost emotionless look on his face. "Right." he said, his voice rid of any emotion. "Then you won't mind if I ask to leave and not to come back."
James, Sirius, and Peter looked at Remus surprised. He was always the forgiving and logical onesurely he didn't mean he never wanted to see Sirius again?
"Moony..." James spoke up quietly, ready to knock some sense in him.
"Shut the bloody hell up, James." Remus snapped, causing James so shut up immediately. This wasn't the Remus he knew..what was going on? "If your going to take Sirius's side than I dont want to be friends with you either."
James just stared at him in shock. He was afraid this would happen. He couldn't deal with the loss of his dad and the end of the Marauders.
Remus faced Sirius. His voice was full of pain again and when he spoke, it was shaky. Tears were slowly falling down his face again. "See what you did, Sirius?" Remus smiled humorlessly. "You know I never liked it when I showed people I was weak. I thought you were my friend. If you were, you wouldn't hurt me so bad that I would be crying like a little girl."
The smile slid off his face, betrayal and pain were once again evident. "I didn't do anything, Sirius. I never did anything to deserve this."
Sirius spoke, his voice tight with guilt and emotion, "I know, Moony"
"WHAT HURTS THE MOST," Remus roared, "IS THAT YOU DID IT INTENTIONALLY! YOU KNEW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN AND YOU DID IT ANYWAYS! THAT, SIRIUS, IS WHY I HATE YOU! THAT'S WHY I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR SORRY LITTLE ARSE AGAIN!"
Remus turned away and kicked over a table, causing a candle to fall and break in half on the cold floor.
"JUST FORGET," Remus bellowed, "THAT WE WERE EVER FRIENDS! FORGET YOU EVER KNEW MEFORGET EVERYTHING WE EVER WENT THROUGH TOGETHER!"
Remus leaned down on the bed and let out choked sobs. "What hurts the most," Remus sobbed, "is that not only did you betray me, not only did you tell Snape, not only is everyone going to know..." Remus looked up at Remus, face wet with tears, "but I don't have one single friend that will help me through it."
His eyes flashed with anger. He stood up and looked at Sirius in the eye. "And that, Black, is why I hate you." Remus said venomously.
'This isn't right.' James thought. 'You're supposed to be mad at Snape, not Sirius. Snape found you, Snape is the one who is going to tell everyone, not Sirius.."
Sirius stared, shocked and hurt. James, still staring with wide eyes, and Peter, mouth still slightly open, looked at their friend in shock.
Remus turned around, turning his back on his once best friend. "Get out, Black." he muttered venomously. "Get out and don't ever come back."
Sirius took a small, nervous step forward. "Remus..."
Remus turned back around, eyes flashing angrily. "GET OUT!" he bellowed, cauing all three Marauders to jump.
James suddenly wished he could forget the look on Sirius's face when Remus shouted that. But for him, that image never went away. Looking heart broken, hurt, and looking like he wanted to throw himself off the Astronomy Tower, Sirius slowly turned, giving James and Peter once last hurt look, as if telling them he would understand if they never wanted to talk tohim as well.
But James couldn't do that. He would never do that. He wouldn't turned his back on his best friend. He wanted to say something to Sirius, tell him he would help him, but he felt Remus would need more comforting at the moment. James watched, sadly, as Sirius made his way to the door, opened it, and with one last look at his three friends, walked out, shutting the door quietly.
That was that, James reliazed. That was the moment the Marauders broke up. Six years of fun, laughter, and building trust. It was all gone in one, small moment.
Remus's sobs filled the room, causing James anger at himself that his best friends were the ones that had caused this. Slowly, James walked toward Remus, who had the sheets over him and was hiding him face in the pillow. James slowly reached out and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Moony.." James shook his shoulder slightly. "Come on, mate, talk to me."
James felt Remus's body shake from under his touch.
"Moony, we'll figure this out together."
Remus shook his head. "Prongs.." he started out shakily. His words were a bit muffled from his head being stuffed in the pillow, but James could still understand him. "I just want to be alone...please leave."
Taken aback that he had been so blunt, James nodded, gave him one last pat on the shoulder, and looked at Peter, giving him a pointed look. Peter nodded and turned around, getting ready to leave.
As the James got ready to turn around, Remus whispered sadly, "I'm all alone now."
James turned. "You're never alone, Moony."
A few seconds passed. When Remus didn't say anything, James took it that he wanted to him leave. James and Peter walked out, shutting the door behind them. The two of them stood there for a moment.
"What now?" Peter asked awkwardly.
James shrugged. "I don't know, Wormtail. I honestly don't have an idea."
Peter spoke up, timidly, "Well, I'm going to go down to lunch. Do you want to come?"
"Is food all you can think about, Wormtail?" James snapped.
Taken aback, Peter looked at him.
"Fine, go eat! I'll find a way to fix this myself!" James shouted, stalking off, leaving a very confused and hurt Peter behind.
James turned a corner, still fuming.
"You shouldn't have yelled at him like that, you know." a vioce spoke behind him, causing him to jump. James started, turned around quickly, and was relieved to see it was only Sirius.
"Padfoot," James let out a sigh of relief, "Don't jump out on people like that."
But Sirius was only staring at him oddly, his head tilted, his eyes a little glossy. Unnverved, James took a step closer to his friend. "Padfoot, mate, are you okay?" James asked uncertainly.
"You believe them." Sirius wehispered, voice cracking slightly. "You believed I did it on purpose, but Jamesplease believe me! I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't mean for it to go this farI only wanted to scare him!"
"Well, you did a damn good job of that. He nearly wet him pants when he saw Moony."
"B-but Moony hates me! James, please, don't believe it! I'm not like them, James! I'm not!"
James guessed he was talking about his family. This was definitely out of character for Sirius. He sounded like a lost puppy, whimpering and scared.
James sighed. "I know, Sirius. You're nothing like them."
"But Moony thinks so."
"Give him time, Padfoot. This was pretty overwhelming for him."
"I-I did it...I did that to him..Prongs...I want to take it all back. I shouldn't have let Snape get a rise out of me."
"Padfoot, what did he say? I know you wouldn't have just told Snape out of nowhere..."
But Sirius just shook his head and kept muttering, "All my fault..all my fault...shouldn't be heredon't belong here. Parents were rightI am just bloody annoyancea waste of oxygen-"
"Oy!" James grabbed hold of Sirius's shoulders. "Look at me, Sirius! Don't ever believe a thing your parents told you! You never did before, why would you start now?"
Sirius looked at him sadly. Being a little shorter than he, James looked up at him.
"I'm just like them, James." Sirius whispered. "I betrayed Remus."
"You're nothing like them!" James said hastily. "You're my best mate, a Gryffindor, and one of the most loyal people in this whole danm school! I know your scared and feeling guilty, hell, that's how I felt after that last Christmas. But Sirius-you're not alone on this. All of us-Wormtail and I-we all are guilty. We all somehow played a part in this. I should have been there to stop you, but I didn't."
"You couldn't have done anything."
All the anger he felt at his best friend moments ago was slowly vanishing. He couldn't leave Sirius like this. No matter what he did, he was his best mate. Still feelings like he was betraying Remus, James added, "Neither could you. Padfoot, we'll get through this. No matter what happens, I'll stay by you. Everything will be okay."
"They'll expel me." Sirius said bluntly.
"Well, then, the both of us could go to Durmstrang or the other schoolBaux..Baux..er...well, you know what I'm talking about." Jamse clapped his friend's shoulder, hoping he could lighten the mood. It seemed to work. Sirius smiled slightly.
"Whatever you say, Prongs. I just need some time alone... I'll see you later." Sirius then took off at the other end of the hall.
"Yeah. See you later." James said to no one in particular.
He sighed and decided to head down to lunch. He couldn't stay mad at Sirius, no matter what he did. He was paying the price all ready, with Remus hating him, James didn't want to cause anymore pain to his best mate. But then there was Remus...
James sighed. He didn't know if Remus would ever really forgive Sirius-. James knew that if it was him, he'd have some trouble with it.
'All Marauders pranks are going to have to go on hold for awhile.' James thought glumly.
He made his way into the Great Hall, alone, and sat on the far end of the table. He knew he was attracting many stares. Why would James Potter be sitting alone? James glanced up ant saw Peter, who was halfway down the table, giving him an odd look. James turned his attention back to his food. He suddenly felt someone's presence behind him.
"Oy, Potter, where are the rest of your sidekicks?" a voice asked.
"Sod off, Evans." James snapped.
Lily stared at him in surprise. Next to her, Emma raised her eyebrows.
"Potter, it was only a joke." Lily replied, starting to get a little angry.
"I'm not in the mood for one of your bloody jokes." James retorted.
"Er...James, what's happened? Is everything alright?" Emma asked uncertainly. James spun around and stood up, so that he was facing the two girls.
"No, everything is not alright." James snarled. "I'm sitting here trying to eat and two bloody annoying girls come up to me attempting to crack jokes in hopes that one daytheymight makethe circus."
Emma looked at him indignantly. "We aren't going to go into a circus."
Lily glared. "What wrong with you, Potter? Upset because you didn't get your on millionth secret admirer letter for the day?"
"That doesn't even make sense, Evans!"
"Well neither does you snapping at us!"
They were starting to attract stares. It had been awhile since they had seen James Potter and Lily Evans fight.
"Sod off, Potter. Good luck getting your abnormally large ego through the doors!"
"Evans, shut the bloody hell up!"
"Don't tell me what do to, Potter!"
"I just did, Evans."
"Well, boss me around again and I swear I'll hex you!"
Lily took out her wand to emphasize her voice. James only laughed.
"Evans, I'm not going to duel with you. Not only would you be humiliated, but mocked by the entire school. I never lose a duel."
"Prove it, then." Lily spat through clenched teeth.
James knew he wasn't thinking right when he felt himself taking out his wand from his robe pocket.
"Fine." he said quietly. "I will."
If Remus was here, he would probably interfere and if Sirius was here, he'd probably be right by his side, telling him they don't duel with girls...
This thought only made him angrier.
"Potter, I think it's time someone showed you that youaren't the greatest." Lily snarled.
"Evans, shut up and let's duel." James scowled.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Protego!"
James quickly deflected Lily's spell and sent one right back at her. She dodged it, but it hit an innocent passerby, who instantly began growing a mustache.
"Lily! James!" Emma shrieked.
"Tell me that's not the best you can do, Potter!" Lily yelled.
"That's not even close!" James shouted. "You of all people should know that I can duel."
"You seem to be forgetting that I was fighting right by your side!"
"Talle-"
"POTTER! EVANS!" McGonagall screeched, descending down on the both of them. James looked up wearily, while Lily looked a little scared. Both had forgetten they were in the Great Hall, where all the teachers could see their duel. Lily shrunk back. She had never gotten in trouble before...
"YOU SHOULD BOTH BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!" McGonagall cried so loudly James knew he was going to go deaf. "How dare you take your pitiful arguements and play them out in the Great Hall! I will take fifty points from you each" The rest of the Gryffindors looked at her, appalled. "You will both serve detentions tonight in my office...now I want you both to leave at once and do not come back until dinnertime!"
Desperately wanting to get out for the sake of his ears, James rushed out of the Great Hall, stuffing his wand back into his pockets, with Lily right behind him.
Once they were out of eatshot, Lily instantly began yelling.
"Potter, what was that? Do you realize I got a detention? ME! I'm a prefect-how do you think that will look? I'm supposed to be making a good example for all the first years-"
"You're doing a brilliant job at that." James said, annoyed. "Running off and dueling with one of the best duelers in the school. Yes, Evans, brilliant example!"
Lily glared. daggers at him. "You know, Potter," she said angrily. "You never cease to amaze me. I actually thought that we could be-be friends! I thought you had actually changed. But apparently I was wrong. Ha, quite stupid of me, really." Lily laughed humorlessly. "Thinking that James Potter could ever change."
"Sod off, Evans." James shouted. He stalked off, leaving behind a fuming Lily. He made his way up to the Gryffindor Tower, knowing that when this mess with Sirius and Remus was over he was going to regret fighting with Lily. He still fancied her, but she picked the wrong time to pick a fight.
James reached the Gryffindor Tower and stomped into his dormitory, slamming the door behind him. He layed face down on his bed. He closed his eyes, trying to forget everything. He just wanting everything to go away. After this, the Marauders would never be the same. No more pranks, jokes, late night trips to the kitchens...
James suddenly cried out in pain, but his voice was muffled through his pillow. The pendant that he still wore around his neck began to grow hottoo hot for James to be comfortable with. Just then, images began flashing before his eyes.
He turned around to see his mum get hit with a spell. The ceiling on top of her was crumbling- it would fall on her any moment.
"MUM!" James screamed. He was about to run toward her when Sirius and Remus grabbed both of his arms.
"No! James, we need to get out of here! They'll be fine!" Sirius shouted.
"No! I need to help them! Let go!" James was screaming himself hoarse. Remus and Sirius dragged him to the fireplace.
"Potter Manor!" Remus bellowed. Last he saw, the ceiling on top of his mum collapsed. He turned and saw his dad's face with mingled fear, anger, and shock.
He slowly unwrapped it and gasped at what he saw. It was a pendant, a gold pendant with a lion in the front of it. On the bottom of the Pendant, there was a red flag, and on the flag were golden letters spelling out 'Gryffindor.'
"Mum...can this mean...I mean-does it-what does it mean?" James asked, slightly breathless.
"James Potter, you are the last Heir of Gryffindor." Mrs. Potter said quietly, but proudly.
The man put his mouth to James ear.
"Tell me," he whispered menacingly, "how does it feel to captured by the same man that murdered your father?"
"Jameshave to…help-" Sirius panted.
"Bloody hell," James laughed, patting his friend on the back, obviously not getting the fact that Sirius was, for once, serious. "You look horrible, mate! What happened to you?"
Sirius looked at James, eyes wide. James took a moment to study his friend. A chill was sent down his spine. He didn't like the look on his friend's face. For the first time in awhile, Sirius had a look of horror on his face. James let his hand fall to his side and looked at his friend, confused.
"Padfoot?" he asked slowly, "What's going on?"
"James! I-I didn't mean to! We have to help Moony before he finds out!" Sirius stuttered.
But Snape wouldn't budge. With enormous strength that the Marauders didn't know she had, she took Snape and literally dragged him toward her office. She looked back at the Marauders sympathetically. James knew what she was saying. 'Tell Remus what happened...'
The last thing they heard Snape shout was, "I'LL HAVE YOU EXPELLED FOR THIS, LUPIN! I'LL EXPOSE YOU FOR WHAT YOU REALLY ARE!"
"Moony..." James spoke up quietly, ready to knock some sense in him.
"Shut the bloody hell up, James." Remus snapped, causing James so shut up immediately. This wasn't the Remus he knew..what was going on? "If your going to take Sirius's side than I dont want to be friends with you either."
As the James got ready to turn around, Remus whispered sadly, "I'm all alone now."
James turned. "You're never alone, Moony."
"AARRGG!" James yelled out. All the painful memories were rushing backhe just wanted to forget, but here he was, the memories all coming back. Angrily, James took off the pendant.
"This is all your fault!" he shouted. He was livid, angry beyong belief. If he were thinking sensibly he would not have been yelling at a pendant, but right now, all senses had left him. He stood up and immediately began throwing books and paper around.
"This is all your fault!" he continued yelling at the pendant. "Why did I have to be the Heir of Gryffindor? If I wasn't, none of this would be happening to me!"
Angrily, he threw it at the wall, where it it with a loud 'thump' and fell to the ground. He picked up his school bag and immediately threw everything out of it, hoping that throwing things would somehow make the guilt go awa y.
In a blind rage, James continued yelling. "I wish I never found out! Why did it have to be me? I didn't want you! I don't need you! The moment I got you, my family and friends were stripped away from me! I give upI don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to fight, I don't want to hide things from my friends, and I definitely don't want to be the Heir of-"
"James?"
James started. He turned around and was surprised to find someone knocking on his dormitory door. His anger slipped away and panic began to take it's place. Had that person heard everything he said?
Another knock.
James stared, confused. It couldn't be one of his friendsthey never knocked. It was, after all, their dormitory, too.
"James?" a feminine voice called.
"Er..yes?" James andwered awkwardly.
The door opened to reveal Emma. She stared at the messy room, where torn papers, books, and bags lay.
"Er...having fun?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow.
Deciding to play it cool, he shrugged. "I was just about to clean up the mess. You should see the mess Sirius makes when he wakes up." he lied.
Emma stared at him, obviously not believing it. "Right."
James shifted uneasily. "Did you happen to hear any thing?"
Emma laughed. "I think there are a couple a first years two miles away that didn't hear you."
James stared.
"Don't worry, James. I heard yelling, but I couldn't make out what you were saying."
James sighed in relief. Feeling better, he sat down on his bed. "Did you come up here to talk to be about the fight Evans and me had?"
Emma shrugged. "The thought may have crossed my mind."
She grinned and walked it. She sat down on the bed across from him-which happened to be Siruis's-and looked at him thoughtfully.
"Er...you alright?" James asked, starting to get a little uneasy with her staring.
She cocked her head to the side. "I am, but you obviously aren't."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because McGonagall asked me to find you and tell you Dumbledore wants her in her office. And let me tell you, she looked the opposite of happy. The last time I saw her that serious was when your prank went wrong in first year and you ended up dumping pumkin juice on her head instead of Filch's."
james tried to laugh at the memory, but he only made a sort of odd grimace and frown. Emma sighed.
"Do you know what he wants?"
James shook his head.
"James, what's wrong?"
"What makes you think anything's wrong?" James retorted.
"Because I've never seen you get that mad at someoneespecially not Lily. The only person you ever fought with like that was Snape and Malfoy."
James shrugged. Emma sighed again .
"Everything will be okay, James."
This made him snort. Emma laughed a little.
"Really, everything's going to be okay. You just have to keep on going. It's not like you can randomly stop and say, 'Hey, thing's are getting too hard, so I think I'll hide from the world until it's over.'"
Now it was James turn to sigh.
For a moment, and awkward silence hovered over the two, until Emma broke it.
"Well, I think you should get to Dumbledore's office."
Emma and James both stood up.
"Emma?" She turned toward James.
"Yeah, James?"
"Er...thanks."
She grinned and hugged him. Taken by surprise, James hugged her back. Emma took a step back, grinned, and began walking toward the door. When she reached it, she turned back to James and added: "I think you should apologize to Lily, you know. She didn't deserve to get yelled at, she was only trying to make a joke because you looked so sad."
With that, Emma disappeared. James stood there for a few seconds, all the guilt coming back to him.He stared at the pendant on the floor, but didn't bother picking it up. He then made his way toward Dumbledore's office. He wish he didn't have to. This was a moment he wanted to avoid ever since the whole mess with Snape started. Dumbledore heard what happened and they were going to get their punishments. Secretly, James was worried that Sirius would get expelled. And Remus, for that matter. James let hsi thoughts wander, and before he knew it, he was in front of the two gargoyles. In a moment, he realized he didn't know the password.
"Er..." James said awkwardly.
The gargoyle scowled. "Yes, Potter, we got special orders to let you in."
With that said, the two gargoyles jumped out of the way, leaving James star ing at the door. Taking hugr breath, James turned toe door knob and opened the door. He entered. There were five seats in front of Dumbledore's desk, four occupied. James looked around. Remus, Sirius, Peter, and Snape stared at him, each with a different expression on his face.
"Mr. Potter, please come in." Dumbledore said, the twinkle in his eye gone. He looked quite serious. James nodded and shut the door. He made his way toward a chair, dreading what the outcome of this would be.
A/N. Review, please!