1971
Remus Lupin was hunched over his History of Magic textbook, reading intently. He would never tell anyone this, of course, but he found the class dreadfully boring. He felt rather guilty—he was lucky to be at Hogwarts to begin with. Who was he to say goblin rebellions weren't interesting?
"Remus!"
Peter ran into the library, heading towards his friend and nearly tripping over his robes. Other students shot glares—the library was supposed to be quiet, after all.
"Peter," Remus hissed. "You can't yell in here, it's the library—"
"It's James and Sirius," Peter began, panting. "They're in trouble."
Remus sighed, rolling his eyes. "We've gone over this. If it's below a three, leave me be. Higher than an eight—"
"Come get your mate," Peter huffed. "And in between, best be keen, but Remus," Peter said worriedly. "This is at least a seven." This gave Remus some pause. Had it been Charms or Transfiguration, Remus would likely not budge. But with History of Magic…
"Alright, I'm coming."
Peter led Remus out of the library, the two hurrying down the corridor.
"So, they decided to raid the potions classroom, for the upcoming Snivellus Project," Peter paused to catch his breath, "But there was a jinx, and when Sirius opened the door to Slughorn's stores…his hand—"
"Is he hurt?" Remus asked, eyes wide as they descended down the stairs.
"Well, he says it hurts, but I'm not…Oh, you'll just have to see…"
Remus passed Peter on the stairs, sprinting into the potions classroom. James looked concerned, and Sirius, plopped on the floor, had a strange mix of embarrassment and discomfort on his face.
"Remus, glad to see you," Sirius said, gulping, clearly hiding his arm under his robes. "The door, it was jinxed—"
"I did tell you to check before you open things—"
"—well I got excited, Remy," Sirius explained. "I mean, we've been planning this for weeks—"
"Days," James corrected.
"—and I couldn't help myself," Sirius finished with a pout. He took his hand out from beneath his robe, and Remus couldn't tell whether to laugh or be concerned. Sirius' normally slender hand had swelled to about five times its size, as if bitten by a large wasp.
"Merlin's Beard, Sirius," Remus said, trying to keep his lips from quivering from the laughter inside. "Well, you've done it this time." He walked over, knelt down and held Sirius' hand, taking out his wand.
"Reducio," Remus said softly, and Sirius' hand began to turn back to roughly its normal size, albeit a bit swollen looking, as if someone had stepped on it. "Now, let's get back before…" Remus trailed off. He knew those footsteps.
"Before what, Mr. Lupin?"
Remus sighed. Professor McGonagall. He needed to think of something, and quick.
"Before the swelling gets worse," He lied. "We were down here, trying to find Sirius' potions book—"
"But when I went to check behind old Sluggy's desk," Sirius continued, "Peter—"
"Clumsy twat," James interjected.
"Hey!" Peter pouted.
"—Peter knocked into it, sending the desk against my hand—"
"—and causing a nasty bit of swelling," Remus finished. "You can see for yourself," He added for good measure. At any rate, Sirius' hand did seem to show signs of this whole story. The Head of Gryffindor seemed less impressed. But after a moment of consideration….
"Very well, Mr. Lupin. And you'll do well to remember that it's Professor Slughorn, Mr. Black." Her lips curled together tightly. Remus could tell she knew something was not quite right, but without any evidence… "You'd best be off to Madame Pomfrey, she'll want to examine your hand."
"Of course, Minnie," Sirius said with a grin. Professor McGonagall, unamused, left. James smiled.
"Thanks Remus, you'll really good at all this," He said. "The mischief, the lying—" Remus froze somewhat. They didn't...They didn't know he had been lying to them all this year, had they?
"Oi, Rem, it's not a bad thing," Sirius said, standing up. "It's brilliant. You're smart, studious, generally quiet—"
"Minus the snoring," Peter whispered,
"—and no one ever suspects you of anything," Sirius continued. "Bloody brilliant."
"Professor McGonagall did suspect something," Remus started, but James just laughed.
"She always suspects something with us, mate. The fact that she didn't give any one of us detention means we're in the clear."
Remus smiled. He had thought…but no matter. His friends didn't suspect anything. He was safe.
"Maybe I should consider changing the rhyme a bit…Below a three, leave me be…"
"Above a four, head out the door!" James finished with a grin.
"A four doesn't sound so bad," Sirius countered. "Maybe a six or above? This was a seven, in my honest opinion," Peter looked positively pleased.
"Above a six, drop the chick?" James asked. Remus shook his head.
"That's only a slant rhyme, it doesn't sound nearly as good—"
"—and Remus doesn't have a chick," Sirius retorted, much to Remus' chagrin.
"I know," Peter began, "Above a six, Remus has a fix." The boys looked over at Peter, pausing for a moment.
"Pete," James began, "This might be the first time I've ever told you this, and it may be the last…but that was brilliant."
"I like it, Pete," Remus said, drooping his arm around his friend's shoulder. "Now come on, we should get your hand checked out, we don't need McGonagall asking any more questions," Remus insisted.
The boys left the potions classroom, trotting up the stairs laughing and planning their next steps in the prank against Snivellus.