***Warning: Drinking and magical drug use. If this is a problem for you, let me know and I'll update you on all important plot events.
Disclaimer: I do NOT condone anything any character may or may not do. This is not me saying that these things are cool. Please be responsible and rational and don't let a fanfiction lead you down the wrong path. Stay safe, be smart.
Review since its been awhile: James got into a fight, with Snape and a few other Slytherins, that he lost. He ended up in the hospital in what many non-healers assumed to be a coma. Oh, and of course Lily took Snape's side because you gotta stick with your bestie, ya know? Enjoy. :D***
Chapter 28 of year 4: Listen to the Music
There were a few small changes in James that no one felt the need to point out. For instance, he was now either very sensitive to noises or incredibly jumpy. Whatever the reason, the boys were careful to not make any sudden unexpected noise by setting down their books on their bedside tables instead of tossing them to the side without care of where they landed.
They hadn't noticed it at first, because on the surface James was still the bright, cheerful, talkative, boy they had come to love but, he was also a bit quieter than usual. They noticed it that night, alone in their dormitory, Peter and Sirius were tossing a quaffle (that had mysteriously appeared in their mess), across the room to see who could make it bounce off the most strewn items and still make it into the bin. Their conversation meant nothing but it had an air of meaning everything. It was the kind of conversation James could easily integrate himself into but he hadn't. He had muttered a few yeahs and gave the occasional grunt of laughter but then slid easily into the background, completely unnoticed. Until it wasn't.
James was their rock, the glue that held their friendship together, so when conversations fell apart, he was there to pull it back because he meant everything. He was not supposed to place himself across the room, his head resting against his fourposter, his face void of emotion, his eyes forlorn and angry - that was Sirius's thing. James didn't get to curl himself into a ball, his hands tucked under his knees, looking small and fragile - that was Remus's thing.
So Peter did his thing. He crossed the room and sat next to him, quiet and present. James looked up, his face twitched into an almost smile. Sirius felt incredibly distant like he was watching them from the opposite end of a very long tunnel.
"I don't know what to do." James's voice came clear and easy, just like his yeahs.
"You don't have to do anything," Peter said, simply, like this was the answer to everything. James breathed loudly out of his nose, not turning to look at either of them.
"Do about what?" Sirius said finally. James looked up, his eyes searching, then, finally, he unfolded himself. He looked so much more like James now, untouchable and ever-present.
"If we wait, we look weak. If we don't then they stay," James said.
Sirius nodded his agreement. James had a frequent talent for putting his feelings into words, sometimes even before he recognised the feeling himself.
"It doesn't matter now. Remus gets out tomorrow, we'll talk about it then." James said decidedly. Sirius didn't think there was anything to talk about. Expelled or not, they simply could not appear to be afraid of them. They couldn't hide in Hogwarts forever.
"Why don't we sneak down to the kitchen? See if they have any leftover pudding?" Peter suggested, eager to change the conversation.
"I'm hungry anyway," James mumbled, grabbing his cloak.
Sirius was simply happy for the excuse to get out of the dormitory; it seemed like a rather small room all of the sudden. What was more, the house elves would know more about what the staff was planning on doing about all this. As Andy always said, 'the elves always know.'
They did not, however, make their way to the kitchen upon exiting their dormitory. They were too distracted by a loud noise issuing from a nearby room. They could feel the beat of the music underfoot as they approached. They almost collided with Adrian Longbottom as he was pushed out of the room wearing only pants and socks, one on his foot, the other on his hand.
"I got two! Three!" he shouted, grabbing the boys in turn by their shirt sleeves and throwing them into the cheering crowd.
"That was fast," someone muttered.
"What's going on?" James shouted at Adrian.
"A party!" Adrian shouted back, accepting a blue drink from an odd looking, bespeckled, Hufflepuff boy, fifth year. "What's this one do?" he asked the kid.
"It's a hallucinogenic. It has a small dose of Alihotsy," the Hufflepuff answered.
"And what does that mean in drunk and stupid?" Adrian asked. The Hufflepuff rolled his eyes and attempted to share a look with them.
"It'll take you to another planet," he answered.
"Aces," Adrian said then chugged the liquid down.
"Zack Seligmann," the Hufflepuff held out his hand to greet the three of them. Peter took it, probably because the moment was getting too awkward with Sirius and James staring at it like it carried dragon pox. Adrian fell, face first, into a beanbag chair. "What can I get for you gents?"
"Absolutely nothing," James said. There was an unspoken agreement between him and Sirius that this bloke was not to be trusted. What Sirius wondered was, who actually trusted him?
"Where's the host?" Sirius asked. Zack Seligmann shrugged then point toward the clearing in the centre of the room.
"Pevensie invited me. Said he and his mates were throwing a party and wanted to take things up a notch. I'd take you over there but, er, duty calls." Seligmann smirked and nodded toward a gang of giggling girls in the corner. "Ladies!"
"Interesting," James said, watching Seligmann for a moment then blinked and turned toward the clearing. "Pevensie! What happened to my invitation?"
"Mate, you don't need an invitation," Pevensie smirked, waving a dramatic hand around the room, the girl in his lap almost toppled over. She shrieked and giggled as Gabe helped her straighten. "You're welcome anytime."
It was a strange group. Normally, Gabe surrounded himself with Gryffindors like his dorm mates and the Quidditch team, his girlfriend, and maybe a few Hufflepuffs. However, it seemed like Gabe had friends from everywhere. Persephone Machault from Slytherin was dancing with Mary Macdonald and a kid from Ravenclaw. Alice and Frank were very open about their relationship which seemed to be making another Ravenclaw very uncomfortable. Even Eilidh was there, sitting on a bed with Gabe's dorm mate Adam, laughing while he… read her palm? Sirius didn't really know how he felt about it. He did feel a little nauseous but that could have been from the heat of the room. She was just sitting there, on a bed, while some bloke held her hand and she laughed her arse off like whatever he had to say was the funniest thing in the world. And suddenly he was striding forward, feeling very purposeful but he had no idea what he was planning on doing.
"Oh, hey," she grinned when she saw him. "Did you know that Adam can read palms?"
"Can he?" Sirius glared at Adam until he chucked awkwardly and let go of her hand.
"Yup. He said I have an excellent heart line." Eilidh turned to grin at Adam.
"Your heart must be in outstanding condition. How 'bout I fix you two up with some drinks, huh?" Adam stood and clapped his hands together. "Any requests?"
"Surprise me," Eilidh smiled. Adam nodded and made a show of turning toward Sirius.
"I'm good," he said, giving a wry smile.
"Mate, relax. It's a party. Drink something. Disconnect from life for a bit," Adam told him, reaching to tousle his hair.
Sirius dodged him. "I'm good," he repeated, all pleasantries in his previous attitude out the window.
"Okay," Adam drawled, awkwardly, and sauntered away.
Eilidh looked at Sirius curiously. Sirius tried to look like he wasn't angry. He didn't think he should be angry. They were just talking. They could have been friends for he all he knew.
"Are you okay?" she asked in a concerned, almost panicked sort of way. "Did something happen?"
"Nah," Sirius shrugged, taking Adam's seat.
"James is alright?" she asked.
"He's… fine. Bit upset but -" Sirius was interrupted by a loud whooping from James. What he was cheering for was disrupted from the crowd but he looked happy which was nice to see given all the stress recently. "Nevermind."
"So, James is fine. You're fine. What is it then?" she asked.
"Nothing," he shrugged then looked down at her hand. "I mean, you might want to watch out for those seventh years. They're… you know, experienced."
"Experienced?" she said, bewildered, then she laughed. "Adam is Marlene's brother!"
"Adam McK- I feel like I should have known that," Sirius said, feeling especially foolish now.
"Yeah, well, now you do," she laughed.
"Still, he wouldn't have pointed out your outstanding heart line for nothing," Sirius said, feeling a little defensive.
"I-" Eilidh started to argued but sighed heavily instead and jumped to her feet.
"Where are you going?" Sirius asked quickly.
"To talk to someone who doesn't frustrate the hell out of me. I don't want to fight tonight, Sirius," she hissed, her words barely audible over the music.
"Well, you seemed to be having a great time with Adam McKinnon. It might be difficult to talk to him at the moment as his mouth is preoccupied," Sirius snarled, gesturing towards Adam snogging some unidentifiable girl in the corner of the room.
"That's okay. Evan Holland asked me to the ball a few weeks ago and I think I saw him here so -"
Sirius caught her just before she fell out of reach and spun her around.
"You know we're going to that together," he said, obviously. She was playing games with him and he didn't have the temperament for it.
"No, I didn't know that," she snarled, ripping her arm from his grasp. "How the fuck would I know that?"
"Because I - it's kind of obvious considering…." Sirius trailed off, unable to put his thoughts into words with the music pounding in his ears and the people rushing around him and Eilidh glaring at him.
"Considering what?" she challenged. Sirius grabbed her hand and pulled her back toward the bed where it less crowded.
"Considering I asked you out," he said, sternly.
"You asked me to Hogsmeade, which is completely different by the way, and then you act like nothing's changed. We're still just friends. We were even at Slughorn's party at the same time and you didn't speak to me all evening. But you danced with Lily, which is way more than you reading her palm! And then, you take James to the Hospital and you don't even tell me! I woke up to an empty room, a mattress completely gone, and then Peter comes running up barely able to speak. All he says is Hospital, over and over - do you know how scared I was?"
"Hang on, what exactly are you angry about?" Sirius's head was spinning trying to keep up with her. These were all very separate events for him, some of them he couldn't even remember precisely. Eilidh closed her eyes, took a deep breath, bit her lip, and then smiled at him.
"Nothing," she said.
"Ok, great, fantastic. I do want to go to that stupid ball with you. In fact, if it weren't for you I wouldn't even consider going to the stupid ball. Second, I didn't talk to you because I was drunk, I was with my family and no one wants to be dragged into that mess. I danced with Lily because, I don't remember why it had something to do with Lestrange. And you cannot fucking blame me for taking James to the Hospital. He was not waking up! I panicked. Then I got stuck with McGonagall and Dumbledore." Sirius stopped there, realising he was beginning to yell. Eilidh looked significantly calmer.
"Just yell my name the next time there's an emergency like that, okay," she said, looking a little sheepish. "And, God, if you think your family's a mess," she laughed.
"You remember meeting Andy, right?" he chuckled. At the reminder, her face fell and she tried to cover it up by tucking her hair behind her ear.
"At least your mum doesn't have any secret bastard children," she smirked.
"Oh, that would explain so much about me, though," Sirius laughed.
"King James!" James hollered, swinging on one of the four poster bedposts while a small crowd cheered. Great. He was drunk. It was probably not the best thing James could do in light of recent events. Eilidh shook her head and chuckled at him so it couldn't be too bad.
"We are going to that ball together, right?" Sirius asked, for the clarification that she obviously needed. Eilidh froze mid-laugh and looked up at him.
"I-I can't dance," she said.
"You can't -" someone stumbled past and pushed her into him. "Everyone can dance," he said, helping her regain her balance. She shook her head frantically.
"Look at those fuckers! It's so awkward it's adorable," James crooned, still hanging from the bedpost. Every head turned in their direction. Eilidh's fingers dug into his arm painfully.
"Aw, did Black get himself a girlfriend?" Pevensie cooed.
"They're practically married," James said.
"That's adorable," Gabe said, staggering ominously to his feet. "But you know what -"
"Eilidh, didn't we have to -" Sirius started, looking to her for assistance.
"Yes, absolutely!" Eilidh smiled and started for the door. Gabe caught them both by the back of their shirts.
"I think little Sirius needs some help in the romance department," Gabe smirked. The crowd cheered. And with little time to stop it, they were being roughly corralled into the wardrobe. The door slammed painfully against Sirius's outstretched hand.
They looked at each other by the sliver of light spilling in through the crack between the doors. Butterflies were nothing - they were child's play compared to this.
"At least they can't see us in here," Sirius smiled, attempting to ease his own tension as well as hers. Eilidh sucked in a deep breath and looked away.
"Lily is going to find out about this. She is going to be so pissed that I didn't tell her," she said.
"You haven't told her?" Sirius asked, incredulously. They had agreed to tell James and Lily separately, while things were good, which meant they had to do it as soon as possible. He was under the impression that that little piece of drama was already taken care of.
"Did you lock them in the closet?" Creswell giggled.
"We're helping," Gabe argued. "Right, Sirius?"
"Let us out," Sirius ordered, "or I'll help you right into an early grave!"
"I was nervous. I want her to like you," Eilidh whispered over Gabe's booming laugh. She still avoided his eye as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"We'll let you out when you two kiss!" James shouted.
"I am going to kill him," Eilidh muttered, a subtle blush tinting her cheeks, as the crowd started chanting for them to kiss. Sirius turned away, trying to hide his smirk as he didn't think it would help lift her mood at the moment.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Sirius is a gentleman. He needs to get married first," Gabe said. The crowd cheered in agreement.
"What an arse," Eilidh grumbled, leaning against the back of the wardrobe.
"He's better when he's sober," Sirius muttered though he couldn't help but agree. If Gabe was truly trying to help, he could have picked a more romantic setting than a wardrobe riddled with mothballs and stuffy coats.
"Cresswell, take it away," Gabe announced. Cresswell giggled, fell into the wardrobe, jostling them a bit, and cleared his throat.
"Dearly beloved, we'd be gathered here today on this day of holy matrimony. Because they're getting married in the closet."
"Skip to the end!" Sirius demanded.
"Do you - who's in there again?" Cresswell asked.
"I do! She does! We all do! Say I now pronounce you husband and wife," Sirius prompted.
"I, by the power vested in me by the Gryffindor Quidditch team Captain, that's me…. What was I saying?"
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Sirius grumbled. He attempted to kick the door open but Cresswell was laying on it. Eilidh sighed heavily.
"James!" she yelled. "How are you supposed to know if we kissed or not? We could just lie."
"You wouldn't do that Nicnevin. You're too good," James said.
"I would," Sirius argued.
"Oh, shit, yeah," James mumbled. "We let them out so they can kiss!"
As the crowd cheered, Eilidh took out her wand and pointed it at the door, prepared to hex the first person she saw.
"Eilidh they're our friends," Sirius reminded.
"Right now they're a bunch of drunken arseholes who locked us in a closet," she said through clenched teeth. Sirius was about to argue more but the door opened with only enough time for him to fling himself in front of her and push the first person he could get his hands on out of the way. He reached back to grab her hand and pulled her out into the hall.
"See. No need for magic," he smirked.
"You left James," Eilidh said, looking incredibly annoyed.
"Right." Sirius peaked his head back into the room, spotted James, and pulled him out.
"Hey!" James protested as he found his balance again. "I thought you wanted me to lighten up. I don't have to do anything, remember?"
"That wasn't me. Speaking of, where's Peter?" Sirius asked.
"That prat left. Said he was going to vomit," James said, trying to head back to the party.
"James," Eilidh said, gently placing her hand on his chest, "Peter needs you."
James blinked at her, looking confused for a second. "Okay." He slung an arm around her shoulder and lead her down the hall. "You should have kissed him," he whispered, loudly.
"Next time," Eilidh smiled. "Right now, we need to take you and Peter to see Madam Pomfrey again. Isn't that fun?"
"Why?" James pouted.
"Because if Peter's vomiting that means he drank too much. Or worse," Eilidh added under her breath.
"And you've been drinking who knows what right after you've had a brain injury," Sirius added.
"Z-man said it was good for the brain," James argued. "Said it spurts the energy."
"And how do you feel now?" Sirius asked.
"I want to take a nap," James said, starting to lay down right there on the floor taking Eilidh with him. "I'm gonna take a nap right here."
"Okay," Eilidh grumbled, working herself out from under his arms. "We need to see Pomfrey first."
"Nope. I'm not going out there. Slytherins everywhere with their wands and their magic." James rambled.
"Mate, you could have kicked all of their arses. You just needed a second to plant your feet," Sirius said.
"I didn't know any of it. I was useless. I could have died. I couldn't do anything," James breathed, staring unseeingly at the opposite wall, curled up on the ground looking very small and helpless indeed.
"We wouldn't have let you die, James," Eilidh whispered, combing his hair out of his eyes. James breathed heavily and sniffled.
"If you hadn't have come, I would have died," James said.
"Nah, man, you had it, I saw, I just wanted in on the action," Sirius said, hoping he sounded reassuring but in all honesty, James was scaring him. He had never seen anyone act like this, much less someone like James.
James sighed heavily and closed his eyes, a small tear falling out and running along the edge of his nose. "You two have to stop being weird so we can all stay friends."
"We're always going to be friends, you prat," Eilidh said, attempting to make him laugh. It didn't work.
"Alright, James, if we do this, you have to go to Pomfrey without complaining," Sirius said, kneeling on the floor in front of them. James sniffled and partially sat up.
"Do what?" he asked. Sirius sighed because this wasn't the way he wanted to do things. He was supposed to take her on a date first. It should have been a romantic setting. But then there she was.
He wanted to kiss her. Sirius had only once wanted - no, not wanted but longed to kiss anyone and it had been her then too. This time they were kneeling on the uncomfortably hard floor, comforting his best friend who was scared out of his wits for his life. Other than that it was exactly the same. Staring into her eyes. Her brown, dark, so very deep eyes. They seemed endless now and alive in the light of the candle's flame. He could hear his own heart beating. His throat was constricting. His stomach was in knots. Her eyes looked just as excited and bright as they had when she had whispered, kiss me. But this time he did it.
He was planning on just a gentle and quick peck but he lingered, drawn in by that floral scent she always wore. All of the sudden he was wondering why he had ever questioned this, why had they ever been anything other than what they were right there in that moment, with his knee digging into the hardwood floor, his hand cramping to keep his balance, and her hair tickling his cheek. She whimpered softly. It was a sound he couldn't get out of his head.
James laughed, it was a low and breathy chuckle but it was still a laugh. He smiled at Sirius, a rare genuine smile, and nodded in approval.
"We going to Pomfrey's now?" Eilidh asked, the threat of a smile on her lips.
"Yeah," James said, reaching into his pocket. "I've got my cloak."
"I don't think King James needs to hide under an Invisibility Cloak," Eilidh said. James made an odd breathy laugh, almost like he was embarrassed, then smiled proudly.
"Right," James said, tucking the cloak back in his pocket and using the wall to get to his feet. "James Potter doesn't need that cloak. Not with his friends by his side."
"You, my friend, are the worst kind of drunk," Sirius said, pulling James's arm over his shoulder, just in case.
"I'm not drunk. I'm high. On a potion made by a weird kid. Hey, we should remember him when we throw our parties," James said, leading the way down the stairs. "Z-man."
"Seligmann. And let's try not to take potions made by random beady-eyed blokes," Sirius said, cringing a little at how much he sounded like Remus.
"He won't be random if we got to know him," Eilidh said, unhelpfully.
"Exactly. We need backup for your b - " James broke off to blink at something ahead of them. "Peter?"
"I hate firewhiskey," Peter groaned, shifting slightly from where he was curled up on the stairs. "I hate parties. Why do people do this? I don't feel good James."
"Did you throw up yet?" James asked, jumping into action. He climbed over Peter so he could sit in front of him and waved his finger so Peter would follow it around.
"No," Peter moaned, knocking James's hand away.
"Come on, Pete, we'll take you someplace to make you feel better," Eilidh said, taking hold of his arm and gesturing for James to do the same.
"No," Peter wriggled himself free of their grasps. "I want to stay here. I want to sleep. I want pizza. And breakfast. Pizza breakfast."
"Then we'll take you to the kitchen," Sirius said, nudging Eilidh to the side so he could take her place. "I'm sure the house elves will be happy to make you pizza breakfast."
"With scrambled eggs and bacon? Oh, and those things the French make with the -" Peter waved his hand around in a circle making whooshing noises. "Those look so good!" he chuckled.
"Mate, we can get you whatever you want, just walk," James said, struggling to adjust Peter's arm around his shoulder.
"James, please be careful. I don't want you hitting your head," Eilidh said.
"I'm not gonna -" James stumbled on the last step and used the wall to break his fall, thankfully not hitting his head.
Peter pulled himself away from both of them, slapped both of them in the chest, and smiled smugly. "I got this." He took two steps forward and tripped on thin air, falling over the back of the couch.
"You're an absolute mess, Pete," Sirius laughed. "Eilidh you take James, I'll take this shit show."
"I'm not a sh… I'm about to be a barf show," Peter laughed, looking a little dizzy as Sirius struggled to hold him upright.
"How much did you drink?" Sirius demanded.
"Two of those things you're supposed to drink really fast," Peter said, holding his fingers up so he could see the size of the glass. "It burned. It didn't taste like anything it just burned."
"Reckon that's why they call it firewhiskey," Sirius said.
"You reckon?" Peter asked like the idea had just come to him.
"They weren't drinking firewhiskey," Eilidh said.
"They weren't?" James said, shocked. Eilidh shook her head.
"Peter, what colour was the drink?" she asked.
"White. No, clear like water. But it didn't taste like water. It tasted like fire," Peter grimace.
"You're supposed to sip Daisyroot Draught and you're definitely not supposed to have two of them," Sirius said, amazed that Peter was still standing. He shuffled forward, needing to get to the hospital wing before Peter passed out.
"But it came in those little glasses," Peter argued, holding his fingers up again.
James hesitated at the portrait hole. Paranoia seemed to have taken hold of him as he glanced both ways before stepping out.
"James, do you know any songs?" Eilidh asked. James only blinked at her. "Songs. I want to hear you sing."
"I don't know any songs," James scoffed.
"What about the one they were just playing?" Eilidh pressed.
"That was a muggle song," James told her.
"But it was a good one and it reminded me of you," she said. "How did it go again? Come out Virginia don't let 'em wait," Eilidh started to sing. Peter laughed and joined in. James smirked at them.
"Sirius, you know this song," James said.
"I don't sing Ja-"
"Only the good die young!" Peter yelled in his ear.
"Alright!" Sirius growled then, despite his better judgment, joined in. Eventually, James joined in too, catching on to the chorus that they sang way too many times to actually be the song anymore, until they burst into the Hospital wing, claiming death at an old age, and startled Remus awake which jostled his tray of barely touched dinner.
"What happened to you lot?" Remus laughed after seeing that they were all generally okay.
"I drank-" Peter started but Sirius shushed him. Peter mocked him with a finger to his lips.
"We were having childish innocent fun, stealing leftover pudding, when the house elves poisoned us," Sirius said.
"With Daisyroot," Peter sniggered.
"We went to a Pevensie party," James whispered loudly, swooping down onto Remus's bed. "I didn't know he had them at school. Don't know how he gets away with it."
"Probably only invites people who know better than to talk about it in front of the school nurse," Eilidh said, pulling James to his feet again. "How are you, Remus?"
"Oh, I'm fine," he said. "Always a fun night when I get to rip out my own gullet." Remus chuckled at his joke but, when he saw Eilidh's face he quickly sobered. "It's just an expression. I had a sore throat."
"Right," Eilidh said.
"Where's Pomfrey?" Sirius asked quickly before Remus could make another unbelievable excuse.
"Staff meeting. You just missed her," he answered, glad of the distraction. Sirius groaned. He pulled Peter and James toward the cabinet he saw Pomfrey working out of when James was in here, hoping that the potion he needed was there and clearly marked.
"Why don't you stay here and tell him?" Sirius told Eilidh to stop her from following. "I don't know why you insist on keeping secrets."
"I'm not keeping secrets," Eilidh hissed as he walked away.
Sirius settled James and Peter onto a bed. They rested their heads together and started drifting off to sleep.
"Hey! Stay awake!" Sirius said, snapping his fingers.
"We are awake," Peter whined, pushing his hand away.
"Come on. If you fall asleep you won't get crepes," Sirius told him.
"Crepes!" Peter said, his eyes popping open startling James awake.
"Who has whipped cream for breakfast?" James scoffed.
"Awesome people," Peter whispered.
"It's no different than cinnamon rolls," Sirius argued, knowing that James had cinnamon rolls for breakfast every Christmas morning. He shifted through Pomfrey's potions, keeping an ear on the now bickering James and Peter. He never knew anyone to have such passionate opinions about food.
Sirius found what he was looking for on the top shelf in the far left corner. It was easy enough for a grown woman to reach but for a fourth year who had yet to have his growth spurt, it was a little difficult. He had just found a stool to stand on when he heard Pomfrey's voice.
"Remus!" she said, disapprovingly.
"It helps," Remus said, his voice sounding muffled. Sirius grabbed the potions, jumped down from the stool, and peered around the curtain that luckily happened to be covering them from view. Remus was in an uncomfortable position with his face pointing toward the mattress, his butt in the air, and one of his legs folded under his chest.
Peter had his finger to his lips again, sniggering nervously with James.
"Drink this, quickly," Sirius murmured, shoving the opened phials into their hands. As James and Peter drank, Sirius pulled the cloak from James's pocket and attempted to throw it over all of them as quietly as possible. Sirius stuffed the empty phials under the bed's pillow as James and Peter stood. They adjusted the cloak so it covered all of their feet and shuffled forward.
"You really need to get to bed now. It's after curfew," Pomfrey was telling Eilidh.
"Oh, is Remus going to be out tomorrow?" Eilidh asked, buying time. Unfortunately, there was no way to sneak between Pomfrey and the cart she was wheeling and remain unnoticed.
"We'll have to see how he is in the morning," Pomfrey said sternly.
"Remus, what do you think?" Eilidh asked.
"I should be fine, Eilidh, I feel pretty good," Remus said.
"Okay, erm, well don't forget to do those stretches every day. They'll really help with your joints and your blood flow and your breathing. My aunts own magic solution. Every time I complain about an ache she always asks if I did my stretches," Eilidh laughed nervously.
"I'll be sure to remember," Remus promised, waving a hand and pointing casually to where they were under the Invisibility Cloak. It was a risk but Sirius stuck the tip of his toe out from under the cloak so Eilidh would know they were in the clear.
"Good. I'll see you in the morning. Good night. Sleep well," Eilidh said backing so slowly out she was able to keep the door slightly ajar without Pomfrey noticing.
Madam Pomfrey sighed moodily and clear Remus's tray away.
"You're quite popular," she said conversationally.
"Not really, my friends are just pests," Remus smirked. Pomfrey hummed a noncommittal agreement.
"You sure you're feeling alright?" she asked, adjusting Remus's pillows.
"I feel great actually. Those stretches actually helped my back," Remus told her. "And my headache."
"I want you to be careful with those. We don't know how much your body can take," Pomfrey warned.
"I will be," Remus promised. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey."
"Good night then. If you need anything, don't be afraid to wake me," she said.
"Thank you. Good night," Remus said, settling convincingly into his pillows. They waited until the door to Pomfrey's office shut and clicked as the locks slid into place before taking off the cloak.
"Oh, my head," Peter groaned, holding his head in his hands. James patted his shoulder sympathetically but looked completely fine.
"She knows, doesn't she," Remus whispered, staring at the hospital's doors.
"She's a Nicnevin, mate. She probably knew before she met you," Sirius answered. "Did she not tell you?"
"Is that what you meant?" Remus asked him. "She didn't tell me. I don't think it was a secret thing though."
"Right. Sure it wasn't," Sirius said. Eilidh didn't tell Lily about him. She didn't tell Remus that she knew. Sirius didn't understand the reason for all the secrecy around her friends.
"You're not going to involve her in your plan right?" Remus asked all three of them.
"What plan?" James asked.
"The plan. The-" Remus checked that the office door was still tightly shut then whispered, "the animagus plan."
"No. Don't be ridiculous," James laughed. Remus relaxed. "You really should get some sleep," James told him, ushering Sirius and Peter to the door. "Hey did you actually rip your gulet out?"
Remus gave a small sheepish smile in response. "It was just a sore throat."
"Right," James scoffed. "Good night. If you're not well enough tomorrow, we'll visit you." James sounded almost threatening like he was daring Remus to even try to get out of bed. James stared him down until he nodded then he pushed Sirius and Peter out the doors and shut them tightly behind him.
Eilidh was leaning against the wall, biting off her fingernails, looking concerned and a little angry.
"Did he say animag-"
"Stupefy!" James whispered, shooting the spell at Eilidh. Sirius dove forward and caught her before she hit the ground.
"What the hell?" Sirius hissed.
"She can't know. I can only be the four of us," James said.
"Yeah, well, she knows!" Sirius whispered.
"Not if we obliviate her," James said. Sirius stared at him incredulously. "I'll do it so you don't have to."
"You don't know how to do it! And I'm the best at charms," Sirius argued, attempting to guard Eilidh with his shoulder.
"Do you really want to obliviate your girlfriend?" James asked, already knowing the answer.
"I don't want anyone to obliviate her. What has gotten into you?" Sirius breathed.
"We have no choice," James argued.
"Yes, we have, of course, we have!" Sirius said, his voice carrying.
"What choice? If she knows she'll either want to join us, which will put her right next to a transformed werewolf, or she'll just know. She's friends with Lily, who's friends with Snape. Do you really want this spreading? It's not worth the risk," James said.
"What risk?" Sirius challenged.
"Azkaban, Sirius, a one-way ticket to literal hell," James hissed. Sirius could already feel himself being swayed. He had unconsciously moved his guard over Eilidh. "We have no choice, mate."
Sirius, feeling disgusted with himself, incredibly guilty, and angry at this new side to James, nodded, because he could find no real reason to disagree.
"You'll have to hold her down. She has to be awake for this," James said which only made Sirius sicker. Peter twisted his hands together violently. Sirius found it difficult to meet his eye as he held Eilidh's arms down. "Ready?" James said, looking nervous but determined. "One. Two. Renovate."
Eilidh jolted awake as if from a bad dream, blinked at them for a second, then realisation hit.
"What the fuck!" she screamed, ripping her arms away from Sirius. He gripped tighter fearing that he was hurting her. "Potter get the fuck off of me!" she ordered as James loomed over her out of danger of her kicking feet. "What are you -?"
"Obliviate," James said, speaking sure and clear. Eilidh still fought against Sirius's hold on her but she was unable to speak and unable to break eye contact with James's twisting wand. He seemed to be pulling the memories out of her, the longer he twisted the more subdued she became until her fight halted, her breath came soft and slow, and her glare became a dreamy gaze. James pulled her to her feet. Sirius lurched forward to push him off.
He held her by the waist close to him, let her hold his hand in a death grip. She laughed nervously as she turned to look at him.
"Oh, hey," she smiled. "What are you doing?"
"I'm… walking you to your dormitory," Sirius answered, the lie gnawing at his stomach.
"That's impossible," Eilidh laughed.
"Not to mention a terrible idea," Sirius agreed, smiling what he hoped was an easy humour filled smile.
"Lily," she gasped. "Do you think she knows yet? Persephone probably told her. That snake."
"Persephone left early," Sirius lied without even thinking about it. It was amazing how easy it was. He found her behaviour harrowing. People's initial daze usually didn't last this long. James might have muddled it up a bit and this was her mind trying to fill the gaps.
"Oh, good. She won't know until morning," Eilidh said.
"Are you okay?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah. Why?" she said.
"You… just looked a little dizzy is all," Sirius said.
"Oh. Probably second-hand drunkenness. How are you Peter?" she asked, peering around Sirius to look at Peter.
"I- I'm erm, fine, Eilidh. I'm fine," Peter panted, his mouth twitching in an attempt to smile.
"He's a bit hungover," James said. Sirius gritted his teeth and glared the empty corridor ahead of him.
"Oh," Eilidh cooed. "You'll feel better in the morning. After you eat."
"I don't think I can eat anything," Peter mumbled, having to look away from her.
"Sleep will help, Petey, you'll see," Eilidh promised.
"Speaking of, how about we get you to bed?" Sirius said. Eilidh wined and grimace.
"I don't want to see Lily; we're going to fight again," she said.
"Maybe you should stay with us tonight. I've never seen anyone react like that," James said.
"No, really!" Sirius snarled.
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Eilidh mumbled, breaking free of Sirius's arms. "You're always so grumpy and intense, just relax. We had a party. Peter got shit faced. James got weird. I flirted with someone. It's fine."
"It's fine?" Sirius challenged, not liking the reminder of Adam McKinnon but it paled in comparison to the current situation. "We're standing in front of the hospital wing."
"It was just a precaution. You're going to make James freak out again," she said, sounding more like herself now. Sirius couldn't care less if James freaked out again, not after what he just pulled, but he calmed himself all the same.
"We'll all feel better with some sleep," Sirius said, reaching for her hand. She looked at him suspiciously but took his hand anyway.
"I can't stay in your dormitory again. I'll be known as the school slag," Eilidh said.
"Alice then," Sirius said.
"Alice?" Eilidh questioned.
"She's a prefect. She was at Pevensie's party. She's Marlene's friend. You'll be safe with Alice," Sirius said.
"I guess," she shrugged.
"I wonder how Remus is doing," James said, casually but loudly to be sure that Eilidh heard. Sirius glared at him.
"Didn't we just…" Eilidh trailed off, staring bewildered at the wall she had been leaning against.
"Yeah we saw him, I mean you stood guard so you didn't see him, but he said something about his gullet that was worrying," James said. Eilidh cocked her head to the side and blinked like she was trying to decode a secret message on the wall, then shook her head.
"I'm sure he's fine. Madam Pomfrey's got him and if she can bring you back from the dead she can do anything," she said, starting for the dormitory. Sirius fell behind and held James back, waiting until Peter was ahead of them.
"Stop fucking with her head," Sirius snarled.
"Mate she's fine," James said, pushing Sirius's hand away. "She's still the same old, constantly pissed off at you, Eilidh Nicnevin that we hate to love."
Sirius pushed him against the wall and stepped back, surprised by his own action.
"She trusted you. She trusted us. I can't believe I let you do this," Sirius said.
"She's better off not knowing. You saw the look on her face when she did know, look at her now. She's fine," James argued. "And she still trusts us."
"We don't deserve it," Sirius said.
"So, earn it back, you posh twit," James said, smirking a little.
"Great idea, I'll go tell her," Sirius said, resisting the urge to punch the smirk off his face.
"She can't know, Sirius," James protested, reaching out to touch him.
"Fuck off," Sirius said, loudly.
"Are you two fighting again!" Eilidh called, coming to a stop.
"Eilidh, I'll walk you to your dormitory. Let them kill each other if they want," Peter said, somewhat bitterly. Eilidh looked back at them. Sirius didn't know what his expression told her but whatever it was, she let Peter lead her away.
"It's us four with her on the side, Sirius. She's not a part of this," James argued.
"What if it was Lily?" Sirius growled. "What if it was Lily standing outside that door instead of Eilidh? Would you have held her down while I obliviated her? She was terrified, James! The funny thing is is that Eilidh actually likes you and Lily doesn't. Lily can't stand you."
James flared at his comment and gripped his still drawn wand tighter. He breathed to calm himself but the grip on his wand didn't slacken.
It was funny in the least humorous way possible that most of the time Eilidh seemed to prefer James over Sirius and yet he was the one defending her. It was funny that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't fight James. It hilarious that the one time he actually wanted to say I'm sorry to someone, he couldn't do it. The humour of the situation caused bile to rise in Sirius's throat.
"I didn't want to do that to Eilidh but, it's safer this way, for all of us. Eilidh included," James said. Sirius slumped, still angry but defeated. It was safer if Eilidh didn't know. It would keep her out of Azkaban. It provided a certainty for his friends. "It's the four of us, mate. You and I we're… we're friends till the end. Eilidh, I don't know, I feel like she's gonna disappear someday."
"What are you talking about?" Sirius demanded.
"She -she's wild. I feel like she's gonna pack up one day and move to Guam or something without telling anyone," James shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck.
"She's not going anywhere," Sirius said, certainly. Family meant something to her. That's been clear since day one. "She wouldn't leave us - she wouldn't leave her family behind. Stop being a prat. And you're not going to use magic on her again!"
James held up his hands in an indication of peace.
"It's wasn't planned, mate," James said.
"Promise me," Sirius implored angrily.
"What if-"
"Promise me!" Sirius yelled.
"Alright!" James said, flaring up again. "I promise I won't use magic on her. We'll have to do things the hard way. Are we done? Can we be friends now without you letting some girl come between us?"
"I'm not letting- I thought you wanted Eilidh and I to be together? I thought it made sure all five of us would stay friends," Sirius argued. He would have argued further with some choice insults but he didn't; there was something different in James's eye. Something more than fear and anger.
"Mate, I want you to be with her because she seems to make you happy. And yeah, I like being friends with her but not if it means we're going to be fighting like this. We're not supposed to fight each other. We're supposed to fight them. Us against the world. One for all and all for one. Remember?" James said and Sirius had the awful thought that James was trying to manipulate him.
"Yeah. Alright," Sirius said because that was all he could think to say. James looked relieved as he clapped a hand on Sirius's back and sauntered forward. That was desperation in James's eye. A scared, angry, and desperate James had obliviated Eilidh in a snap decision to keep her quiet. That was his impulse now. He wondered what else this new James was capable of.
***Don't you just love when a fanfic author disappears for months? It's so frustrating, right? (Yes, you should take that as my apology for I am truly and deeply sorry. I've moved. I've had school stuff to take care of. Life is a bitch. etc.)
Thank you to Snuffle's Bitch for taking such a strong interest in my story. I this chapter made the wait worth it.
All rights reserved to the proper owners. Check out the Doobie Brothers for the chapter title.
Thanks for reading. Hoped you liked it.
Until next time,
XO