Chapter Twenty-Two: Laughter is the Best Medicine
Lily rested her head on the open tome in front of her. She felt like her brain was melting. The symbols had all started to blur together at this point. Marlene and Remus sat with her in a corner of the library. Despite the breezes blowing through the opened windows everything was hot and muggy. Two days and three exams stood between the sixth-year students and their summer break. Fortunately for the three Gryffindors they only had to sit two of those three exams as none of them had continued with Astronomy this year.
Marlene let out a sound of exasperation. She was working practice problems for Ancient Runes. "I can't keep my eyes straight. These translations don't make sense anymore. I'm done. There's nothing I'm going to learn between now and nine tomorrow morning that's going to make a difference."
She packed up her bag and told the other two she'd meet them back in the Common Room. Remus nodded goodbye to her and turned back to his own notes. Lily smiled at him. The new moon brought so much energy to him.
"Isn't this cute?" A fifth-year Slytherin named Griggs had exited the row of shelves to the right of the table. Grey and green eyes looked at him for a split second before turning back to texts. "Is Evans as good a shag as McKinnon, Lupin? I hear you've been spending an awful lot of time cozied up to each other."
"Ten points from Slytherin, now run along. Wouldn't want to fail that Transfiguration final tomorrow. McGonagall has been known to transfigure students who fail her OWL exam into ferrets."
Griggs sneered but left with the book he'd been looking for in the shelves. "Remus Lupin, you are so full of it. She does not."
Remus shrugged his shoulders and smirked. The dumb Slytherin didn't know that and he was willing to bet the kid was so sleep deprived worrying about his OWLs that it wouldn't surprise him if McGonagall did transfigure kids who failed.
"How long are you going to not talk to Sirius?" Lily asked, mostly out of curiousity. In all fairness, she didn't know how long she would hold a grudge over the boy for what he did.
A heavy sigh escaped Remus. He was still looking his text. "Well I haven't quite forgiven James for putting his life at risk so that's how long."
"Seriously, Remus!" Lily scowled when he quirked an eyebrow at her from over his book. "No. You don't get to say you're not talking to Sirius and then use that joke. I'm forbidding it. You should forgive James. Haven't you seen how much this is hurting him?"
Remus wanted to comment on how much this entire situation was hurting him but he really didn't want to openly admit that. Instead he decided to take the heat off himself. "Defending James? That's interesting, it was about this time last year where I wouldn't have put it past you to physically drown him in the lake."
"That's low, even for you Lupin." Lily tried to glare across the table at him but she couldn't hold it. "You're much harder to glare at than Potter is."
"Oh, back to Potter? I thought we were making such good progress." Remus snapped his finger in an aw shucks manner.
Lily propped her fists her hips. "Though I'm loathe to admit it, you and I both know that he's grown up. This time last year he would have been laughing alongside Sirius about what happened in May."
"Yes, he would have. And I wouldn't be studying for exams if he had." Remus and Lily let that sober them both some. "I'm grateful for his actions but I am still mad at them."
They sat silent for a while, trying to focus on their studying. Few students interrupted them in their corner, part of why they'd chosen it. A handful of their fellow prefects and older students that they were friends with said hello when they grabbed texts and tomes from shelves for their studying.
"Remus, would you want to be my date to my sister's wedding in August?" She had his attention fully. "Just think about it."
He said it so softly that if Lily hadn't been paying attention she would have missed it. "You really should take James. Parents love James."
Alice dipped her toes in the lake. She shrieked when Marlene came up behind her and pretended to push her in. "Marlene!" Alice flailed to regain her balance and grabbed onto the blonde girl to save herself from tumbling into the water. Unfortunately for Marlene, she wasn't prepared for the sudden pull forwards. Both girls fell into the water with a big splash.
"Bloody hell this water is freezing!" Alice screamed as she clamored out. Lily was rolling on the ground laughing at her friends. She knew better than to get anywhere near the water with these two fools around.
Marlene magicked her clothes dry and sat down next to Lily. "A little different than last year, isn't it?"
"It is," Lily looked up at the clouds that past overhead. There was more sunlight than cloud in the sky today, something the students were happy about. At least everyone but the seventh-years who were still in the middle of their NEWT examinations. "Do you remember when it happened?"
Marlene looked over at her friend, "When what happened?'
"When we stopped being kids." Lily lay down in the grass and breathed in its earthy smell. "I mean you shagged Remus and Alice has blossomed into a downright terror."
"I resent that. I am not a terror. A least not to you two. But those Death Eaters better watch themselves once I become an auror." Alice sat in the grass in front of Lily pulling dandelions from the ground. She started weaving a crown from the weed-flowers.
"You're not jealous that I shagged Remus are you?" Marlene looked at Lily sideways. "I know that you two have gotten close over the past month and I wouldn't be upset if you wanted to be with him."
Lily laughed, "I don't like Remus like that. He's a very good friend and we're happy just as we are. I meant more that this time last year we weren't thinking of anything past snogging a bloke and now one of us has gone and shagged one."
"Aww, Lily! Don't worry, you and Alice will shag a bloke eventually." Marlene giggled as Lily pushed her and she looked at Alice who was blushing to the roots of her har. "Alice! You didn't even tell us!"
Lily bolted up to a seated position and grabbed Alice's wrist. "When? Where? We know it was Frank!"
"Shhhhh!" Alice looked around at the other clusters of students who had made their way down to the clearing. "Not long after we came back from Easter. Beginning of May."
"Well I guess that settles it then." Marlene laughed and looked at Lily. "If we ever need to perform some black magic you get to be the sacrificial lamb, Lily!"
"I thought her patronus was a doe?" Remus had been making his way over to the girls. He settled on Lily's open side. "What's this about a lamb?"
Marlene cackled as Alice and Lily threw dirty looks at her. "Sorry Remus, I've been sworn to secrecy by the sisterhood. I can't tell you why Lily gets to be the sacrifice."
Remus rolled his eyes and extended his lanky legs in from him. He nudged Lily's foot. She shook her head and then rolled her eyes. Marlene started to giggle. Lily shot her a look. Alice presented her crown to the three. She grinned devilishly at Remus and then crawled over on her knees to place the crown atop his head. Lily and Marlene laughed at the boy with the flower crown.
"Super cute, Remus," Marlene was working on a matching bracelet to give to the boy.
They didn't miss the giggles from a group of fourth-year Ravenclaws close to the big oak tree. Lily nudged Remus and nodded her head at his admirers. He was not a Marauder for naught. Remus turned to look at the group of girls and bowed to them. The crown stayed in place. The cluster squealed with delight.
Peter and James came traipsing through the dandelions. Another round of giggles went through the gaggle of girls by the tree. The stopped a foot from Remus.
"Moony. We have decided that you do not get to shut us out any longer. We are officially ending this stalemate." James plopped down on to the ground beside Remus. Peter beside him.
Remus gave James a confused look. "You don't get to make that decision."
Lily nudged Remus's foot with hers. A gesture that James didn't miss. He would be lying if he didn't say he was jealous of how their relationship had developed over the past few weeks. He knew that they were friends, they spent enough time studying and patrolling together but this past month had blossomed something more than friendship.
Remus growled and then sighed. He tried to give Lily a look but she crossed her arms and raised her brow. She had only been trying to get him to accept James's apology since she had learned Remus told James he 'heard' the apology.
"Okay, fine. James, I accept your apology." Remus made a very grumpy old man face which cause the other five students to laugh as he was still wearing his crown.
The sun was starting to descend towards the hills around the castle when the six students made their way back up the hill. Remus, Marlene, and Alice were a little ahead debating a question from the Arithmancy exam. Lily had decided she'd rather walk with James than listen to that argument for the tenth time.
James cleared his throat. Peter made some lame excuse about wanting to know a little more about Arithmancy and trotted to catch up to the other three. "Smooth, Potter."
Lily kind of like the way he squirmed. Merlin did she want to be the one ruffling his hair the way he was right now. "I — Lily, I would like to write to you this summer. Would it be okay if I did that?" Lily stopped to look at him. Her green eyes seemed to look into his very soul. James shifted from left to right and gave another ruffle to the back of his already messy hair.
"I would like that." Lily gave him a small smile and trotted to catch up to the others. She left James standing there in disbelief. His heart pounded in his ears. It took a few moments for him to register that she had said yes. A grin spread across his face. He had to find out what Moony had said to her.
That night in the dormitory Remus flicked the lights out. James immediately flicked them back on. "Moony, what did you say to Lily?"
Remus let out a very wolf-like growl and sat up in bed. He glared across the room at James who was sitting up as well. "You couldn't have done this before now, really?"
"Moony, she said I could write to her this summer. What have you two been doing for the past month?" James eyes were as big as saucers.
"We've been studying for exams." Remus leaned back and flicked the lights off. The lights flicked back on. Remus sat up to tell James to sod off but realized it was Sirius who had turned them back on. "Damnit, Sirius!"
"Remus, I'm tired of not talking to you! Merlin's beard you have no idea how sorry I am about what I did! Please talk to me!" Sirius was sitting cross legged at the end of his bed.
"Padfoot, you're begging." Peter muttered groggily from his bed. "We went over this."
"If I have to grovel at Moony's feet to get him to talk to me again I swear I'll do it."
That piqued Remus's interest. "Grovel, you say?" Remus swung his long legs out of bed and stood up. He crossed his arms on his chest and waited.
James burst out laughing. "Better get out of bed Padfoot and start groveling."
Sirius didn't even hesitate. He was so tired of being lonely. He had spent the last forty-seven days minus one Quidditch match in detention where he had plenty of time to think while doing menial labour. "Remus John Lupin, please forgive me for my actions. I did not mean for any harm to come anyone. You are superior to this lowly Animagus dog." Sirius had wrapped his arms and legs around Remus's legs and looked up at him.
To Remus's credit, he tried very very hard not to laugh. He laughed so hard he started crying. He missed this. They all missed this. The late night laughter that filled the dormitory. The wound to his heart was healing. There would always be a scar there but with time it would fade. He tried to shake Sirius off his legs. "Down boy! Heel!"
Sirius yapped a bark and tried to hold onto Remus's legs. Suddenly he was morphing into Padfoot and bounding around the room. James and Remus told him to stop barking. Someone pounded on their dormitory door. All three boys and dog froze. Padfoot crawled under Remus's bed.
Remus composed himself and crossed to the door. He opened it to find one Colin Smith who looked ready to burn their room to the ground. "Would you lot shut it! Some of us still have exams to take." He didn't wait for a response. Colin turned on his heel and returned to his own dorm.
"What a wanker." Sirius had transformed back and sat down on his bed. "I'm so glad Lily broke up with him."
"Erm, Padfoot, he broke up with Lily, remember?" Peter reminded him.
Sirius looked affronted. "How dare he do that to my Lilyflower!"
"Your Lilyflower?" James chucked a dirty shirt at him.
Sirius waggled his eyebrows, "Sorry, Prongsie. We were going to tell you, we just hadn't gotten around to it yet."
James chucked a pillow this time. Sirius dodged it and stuck his tongue out. "She said I could write to her this summer. Which takes me back to my original question. Moony! What have you been telling her?"
"Sorry, Prongs. I don't kiss and tell." Remus winked at his friend.
"Ooooooooo!" Sirius was now standing on his bed. "Remus kissed Lily! And now he's going to die."
Remus snorted. "As if Bambi over here could kill me."
"Her patronus is a doe! We. Are. Soul. Mates!" James launched himself at Remus, tackling him on to his bed. Sirius pretended to be a commentator and called the shots. Peter made appropriate oohs and aahs. Remus pinned James under him.
"I am the champion! The fair lady's heart is mine!" Remus puffed out his chest. He managed to keep James pinned underneath him.
"You're such a dork, Moony. Get off me!" James tried to topple his large friend. He was a lot more solid than he looked.
Their shenanigans went late into the night. Eventually Remus put a silencing spell on the room so that they wouldn't disturb the NEWT students further. He fell asleep with a smile on his face for the first time in weeks. The Marauders were back to being four boys strong and they all knew that they were stronger together.