Shades of Gray: Year Two

Chapter Seven:

A Bludger to the Head and a Fist to the Jaw

by Potter Scar

It had been nearly two months since Quidditch tryouts.

Sirius had begun extra training with Wilson, who was pleased at his progress. However, Sirius didn't understand what progress there was to be pleased about. He could wandlessly summon, yes, but absolutely nothing else. He couldn't wandlessly banish, or wandlessly attack. He couldn't really do anything.

However, the Black was pleased with his progress in Quidditch. They had practice several times a week and Sirius loved it. James was right; it was awesome being able to expend pent up energy onto small destructive balls.

James had improved in Quidditch as well. Yes, he had natural talent as a Chaser, but the other, older Chasers were able to teach him tips and tricks that helped him get around pretty much any opponent.

However, the team had not prepared the new additions for the intensity of the week leading up to the first game.

It was the middle of October when Adrien Wood announced that they would be playing Slytherin that Saturday. Suddenly, the atmosphere at Hogwarts turned from peaceful to tense. Skirmishes between the players on both teams were frequent and violent. Adrien, Lucas Hart, and James all ended up in the Hospital Wing at various times. Sirius was ganged up on by a bunch of older Slytherins, but Professor Wilson managed to break it up before there were any serious injuries.

All players for both teams were good to play that Saturday, though Lucas still had a nasty scar near his left ear.

"Alright. First game." Adrien was pacing in front of them, clasping and unclasping his hands, and generally making the team nervous. He then proceeded to spend ten minutes going over the plays. The team, knowing pretty much everything Adrien was saying already, tuned him out. Sirius began to nod off.

"You guys are going to do great!" The captain's voice cut into everyone's musings and Sirius' nap. They stood, grabbed their brooms, and made their way out onto the field, chatting excitedly.

The Slytherin team happened to be emerging from their quarters as well. Sirius' eyes scanned over the team, looking for a familiar face. Bellatrix smirked back at him. He wondered faintly what position she played.

"You ready for this?" James' voice came from his left as the captains went to shake hands (or, rather, break hands). Sirius turned to him and let out a bark of laughter.

"No!"

Madam Hooch's whistle stopped any further conversation, and both boys raised into the air on their brooms. Sirius spinned his club in his hand, racing after a Bludger that was already careening towards Adrien.

"Thanks!" the older boy yelled back, before darting off. Sirius grinned, racing off as well in search of Bludgers to smack.

-

James hefted the red Quaffle from hand to hand, looking for another Chaser to pass it to. The match had been going on for nearly twenty minutes and Gryffindor was winning thirty to ten. James had scored one of the goals.

"Oi!" Alex Holstein cried, holding his arms up. James raised up to throw the Quaffle. Just as it left his hands, he heard a sharp whistling in his ears, and turned to see not only a Bludger but his dark-haired best friend racing towards them. Before he could react, Sirius had performed a crazy spin, putting himself between the Bludger and James, and smacked the Bludger towards his cousin, Bellatrix.

Sirius turned back to him. "What're you doing? Go!" he said, playfully nudging him. James heeded his advice, speeding off after Alex.

-

Gryffindor was ahead by a boatload. It was eighty to ten; James had scored three more goals, making him the highest scoring Chaser in the game. Not bad for his first time out, he mused silently.

Meanwhile, Sirius was having a blast, suddenly thankful to James for volunteering him for the team. He'd already caused one of the Slytherin Chasers to have to leave the game, and the other two, including Bellatrix, were sporting nasty bruises. He figured that they'd kick his ass for it later, but right now, he didn't care. He was the one with the bat.

Sirius silently wondered what Brandon Wheeler, their Seeker, was doing; the game had been going for nearly an hour and a half. He looked for the fair haired Seeker, and saw him diligently circling the field, his eyes peeled.

Suddenly, Brandon broke into a wild dive. The other Seeker saw him and sped after him, but there was no hope. Brandon's fist closed around the golden Snitch twenty feet from the ground.

Sirius grinned, so caught up in the moment that he didn't notice the Bludger speeding towards the side of his head until it was too late to move.

-

White. Lots and lots of white.

That's what Sirius saw when he opened his eyes. It was so white it hurt them. He "hmphed", disgruntled.

"Oi, Sirius. You alright?"

Sirius turned his head, which felt very heavy, to the voice. It sounded familiar…

"Guys! He's awake!"

The faces beside his bed were coming into focus. James was sitting next to Remus by his bedside, while Peter flitted nervously by the end of the bed. The rest of the team swarmed around the bed, angering Madam Pomfrey, though she did nothing about it.

"Hey, Black," Adrien said, casting him a half-smile. "Glad to see you in the land of the living."

James helped him drink some water by his bedside. "Wha' happened?" he mumbled thickly.

"Slytherin git hit a Bludger at you," James said. "Hooch suspended him from the team and Slughorn and McGonagall gave him a month of detention."

"Ex'lent…" Sirius mumbled in reply. "M' head hurts…"

"Ah, well," Lucas Hart said. "The Bludger did hit you in the head."

"Yeah, nice turban," James snickered. Sirius reached a hand up and felt the swathe of bandages around his head.

"T'rrific…" he sighed quietly.

"Alright, alright, all of you, out!" Pomfrey came over, shooing them away from the bed. "My patient needs his rest!"

-

A few nights later, Sirius still lay in the Hospital Wing. Pomfrey had yet to release him.

He was supposed to be sleeping, but as the sun set, he couldn't. He turned to reach for the Dreamless Sleep Potion when he heard a student enter. Peeking around his curtains, he saw Remus coming in. Curious, he thought about calling out to him, but Madam Pomfrey had already bustled over to him, put an arm around his shoulders, and left the Hospital Wing through another exit.

Still curious, Sirius lifted the potion and considered it for a second, before putting it down again. He wanted to see what was going on with Remus.

-

As the hours passed that night, Sirius could swear he heard howling and shrieks from the old shack down by Hogsmeade. He strained to see out the window from his bed, his eyes slightly blinded by the full moon.

Wait… the full moon?

Don't be stupid, Sirius, Sirius admonished himself. Remus couldn't be…

Could he?

Sirius sat there for a moment, before starting to quietly laugh. He was being ridiculous. Remus, a werewolf? What a stupid idea.

However, Sirius couldn't stop thinking back. Remus left school once a month, with some ailing relative needing him, usually a mother, aunt, or grandmother. Sirius had never really bothered to look, but was it at the full moon?

Sirius remembered one night last year, when they had Astronomy on a full moon night. Remus hadn't been there, he remembered.

Sirius shook his head to clear it, and suddenly regretted it as a sudden jolt of pain struck through it.

Once the pain had subsided, he began to chew on the inside of the cheek. Should he tell James his suspicions?

Remus isn't a werewolf.

But what if…?

-

Sirius jolted awake a few hours later to Madam Pomfrey clattering around.

"Well, Mr. Lupin, I must say you look better than last month." Sirius strained to see around the curtain. All he could really see was Remus sitting on a bed with a long scratch down his face.

Last month?

Several minutes and potions later, Remus was released, and Sirius waited for Pomfrey anxiously. A short while later, she made her way to check on Sirius, who was awake and waiting for her.

"Can I leave yet?" was the first thing from his mouth. "Ma'am," was the second.

She sighed, prodding his head and ignoring his whining. "Does it hurt?" she asked.

"It feels perfect!" He grinned earnestly.

She sighed again. "Fine, Black. Try not to fall on your head."

"I'll do my best," Sirius said, running out of the Hospital Wing as fast as he could, heading for the tower.

When he entered the dormitory, Remus was stretched out on his bed, staring at the ceiling, James was fawning over his broom, and Peter was squealing about something he dreamed about. "Potter. C'mere."

James and Remus both looked up. Peter's squealing ceased. "Hey, Sirius, you're out of the Wing," James said, grinning.

"Yeah, that's great, get your butt over here."

James frowned. "What…?"

"COME ON!"

Sirius grabbed him and proceeded to drag him from the room.

"What the hell, Sirius?" James demanded as Sirius dragged him down the stairs and out of the common room.

"Library. Now."

"The library?" James yelped. "Black, have you lost your mind?"

"I need to tell you something huge!" Sirius insisted, dragging him through the large double wooden doors. They went to the mustiest, most unpopular and unpopulated section of the library.

"All right, what are you freaked out about?" James asked, turning to him.

"Have you noticed anything weird about Remus?" Sirius asked.

"Well, he studies way too much – " James said, and Sirius interrupted him.

"No, no. He leaves all the time to go visit his sick relatives!"

"Uh, so? His family has a faulty immune system. Not his fault," James argued.

"No! Where did he tell you he was going last night?" Sirius demanded.

"To visit his grandmother. She broke her hip," James said. "Why?"

"Well," Sirius said, "I was in the Hospital Wing last night and Remus came in! Madam Pomfrey took him out of the Wing and when he came back in the morning he was all bruised up with this huge scratch on the side of his face."

"He has a violent cat," James argued. "What the hell are you insinuating?"

Sirius hesitated. "Well… I mean, last night was the full moon – "

He was cut off by a fuming James. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he said, giving him a hard shove. Sirius looked at him, startled.

"James…"

"Don't 'James' me," James hissed. "Remus is our friend, how dare you accuse him of that!"

"Look, James, it's not like I said he's Voldemort's nephew or anything!" Sirius exclaimed indignantly.

"You may have well have!" James snapped back. "Remus is not a werewolf. Jackass." James stormed around the shelves and out of the library.

Sirius stood there, stunned, before running after him.

"James." No response. He continued to walk quickly away from the Black. "James. James!" Sirius scowled, picking up his pace. "Potter, you git!"

Sirius caught up, grabbed James, and spun him around.

"I was not insulting Remus!" he whispered furiously.

"Get off me," James snarled back.

"James!"

"I'm warning you, Sirius," James said, glaring at him.

"James…"

A hard fist collided with his jaw, and Sirius staggered back, dazed. James was rubbing his knuckles.

"Told you to get off me," he said coldly, before storming off. A few students stopped, staring at Sirius, who prodded his jaw. Not broken, just bruised, he determined, before slinking back to the common room.

-

"What the hell happened to you?"

Sirius sat on his bed, looking into a mirror at his jaw. It was turning black and blue. "Nothing," he mumbled.

"Looks like you got punched," Peter commented from across the room.

"Real observant, Pettigrew," he snarled, and Peter winced.

"Sirius," Remus scolded.

"Remus, where were you last night?" Sirius suddenly demanded, staring Remus right in the eyes.

"I… I, uh…" Remus stammered, but was cut off when the dormitory door opened with a BANG!

James walked in, noticed Sirius, and scowled, before storming off to the bathroom.

"Sirius… did James do that to your jaw?" Remus asked, suddenly thankful for the interruption from the previous topic of conversation.

"So what if he did?" Sirius sulked, looking back at his mirror.

"Why would James hit you?" Peter asked. Sirius gave a sullen shrug.

"I think one of my teeth is loose," he grumbled, poking his tongue around in his mouth.

"Sirius…"

"Look, Remus, just leave it!" Sirius said, turning away from his friend.

Remus sighed, giving up on Sirius and going to the bathroom. He knocked gently on the door. "James?"

The door opened after a minute, and Remus came in. James was sitting on the floor, sulking. It was remarkable how similar Sirius and James were.

"So, any reason why you punched Sirius?"

James glowered at the floor. "Because he's a prick," he mumbled.

"… and your best friend?" James snorted.

"He's a Black," James said disdainfully.

Remus' eyebrows shot up. "I thought you dropped that."

James scowled. "A leopard never changes its stripes," he muttered.

"Spots."

"What?"

"Spots, not stripes," Remus said. "And Sirius has no spots. He's a good guy."

James snorted. "Well, that's ironic."

"What's ironic?"

"Hmph," was all James said, turning and crossing his arms over his chest.

Remus sighed, shaking his head and getting up. "Idiots, the lot of you," he muttered, leaving the bathroom.

He reentered the bedroom only to see Sirius yelling at a cowering Peter.

"Sirius!" Remus yelled. Sirius looked up at him. "What are you yelling at Peter for?"

Sirius mumbled a few words that Remus couldn't understand. The brunette boy sighed.

"I don't know what's going on here," he said crossly, looking from the bathroom James had barricaded himself in to a fuming, red faced Sirius, "and I don't know what the hell you did to make James angry enough to punch you – "

"James is a git," Sirius interrupted sullenly.

Remus scowled. "You know what?" he said, going over and grabbing Sirius' arm roughly. He dragged him to the bathroom. "Work this out!" He threw open the door, shoved Sirius in, and closed it, casting a locking charm. "Idiots…" he muttered again.

-

Sirius stood at one end of the bathroom, and James at the other. Both refused to look at the other.

Remus had shoved Sirius in nearly ten minutes ago and a word hadn't been exchanged.

"I don't know what the hell is wrong with you," James finally said stiffly.

"Me?" Sirius said. "All I did was tell you what I thought might be happening, and then you blew up at me and punched me in the jaw!"

"You were insulting him."

"How so?" Sirius eyes glinted dangerously. "As I said before; I wasn't calling him Dark or anything. If he is a… you know… it doesn't mean anything. I mean, I'm a Black, but I'm not Dark," he said.

James mused over this in the corner. "We shouldn't confront him," he finally said. "Not yet. Not 'til we're sure."

"We?" Sirius said, his eyes flicking from the mirror, where he had been observing his bruised jaw.

"We."

-

Ah… eight months without a word from me. Yes, yes, I know, I know. Maybe I have no readers left. But maybe I do.

If you do read this, review?

I'm not making any promises. But I'm finally starting to love writing again. I guess we'll see what happens.

-Scar