Update at last!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sitting down to breakfast the next morning in the hubbub of the Great Hall, James began to wonder whether he had indeed dreamt up the events of the previous night. All around him, normality reigned: groups of students happily chattering over their toast and pumpkin juice; droopy-eyed individuals hunched over pots of coffee; post-owls swooping overhead, delivering papers and packages to the eager throng below. Yet James didn't feel like part of the crowd today; somehow they seemed a million miles apart. He didn't feel much like conversation either, and so had come down earlier to breakfast, thus avoiding Sirius and Peter who were late-risers.
Chewing passively on a piece of dry toast he let his mind once again turn over the happenings of the night before. But when, five minutes later, he had still not come to any real conclusion, he gave up on his half-hearted attempts at breakfast and, gulping down the rest of his tea, headed off to the hospital wing.
On reaching his destination, James decided on the spur of the moment, for appearances sake, he had better don his invisibility cloak. After all, it would look rather suspicious if he knew that Remus was in there before anyone had officially been informed. Secrecy seemed to be of the upmost importance for the present. So, whipping the cloak out of his pocket he flung it quickly over himself and slipped through the doors. As he crept down the ward, he noticed a couple of first years sleeping off what appeared to be some sort of potions accident (judging by the receding blue patches on their skin); and a seventh year Ravenclaw who had been involved in a nasty Quidditch accident – James noted that pieces of his broken broom were still embedded in his thigh.
At last, James caught sight of his friend; Remus was dozing in a bed at the very end of the ward, curtained off from the other invalids. Ducking through the curtains, James made certain that Madam Pomfrey was not in the vicinity, before throwing his cloak off and pocketing it.
"Psst - Remus," he whispered, "You awake?"
"Well if I wasn't, do you think I'd be answering you back?" His friend replied in sarcastic undertones, opening up first one, then both eyes. "I take it this isn't purely a social visit?" He continued, eyeing up James' tired eyes and dishevelled appearance. "You not sleep much either?"
"Well, since you ask – no!" James hissed, "After the evening I had last night?"
"Well it wasn't the best of nights for me either," Remus replied dryly, "And I'm fine, by the way – thanks for asking."
"Look – you said you'd explain – I want to know what's going on, Remus." James was in no mood to pussyfoot around the subject.
"Not now," the wry grin slid off Remus' face.
"You said you'd explain," James hissed in angry reply, "I've been going mad trying to figure out what in Merlin's name is going on – now are you going to tell me, or am I gonna have to-"
"Do what?" Remus hissed back, angry now too, "Hex me? Right here in the hospital wing? Even you with all your pigheadedness wouldn't attempt that – right under Madam Pomfrey's nose." He paused for breath but continued quickly when he saw that James was getting redder and redder with built up frustration. "Look," he lowered his tone and spoke more softly, "I promise that I will tell you what's going on – but not now. We both need some proper sleep, and I'm still not allowed out of here – I need to be somewhere where nobody can overhear us."
James looked down at him, and took a deep, calming breath, "Alright, so when are you gonna tell me then?"
"Meet me tonight at nine in that room you found me in last night – use the cloak – you mustn't be seen." He emphasised the last four words carefully, looking James straight in the eye. "You know how to find it alright?"
"Yeah, alright."
"Ok, well you better get outta here before Pomfrey finds you," Remus urged his friend to get moving as he saw a glimmer of movement at the other end of the ward, "Quick! You can't know I'm here."
Ducking back under the cloak, James beat a hasty retreat, but before he was quite out of earshot, he heard a quiet "thank-you" from Remus' bed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Hey JP, that was brilliant! It looked so natural – I mean - Jupiter's moons – I couldn't have done better!" James winced as an over zealous Sirius slapped him on the shoulder; he didn't even have the energy to bask in his friend's illegitimate praise.
They had just emerged from Slughorn's potions lesson and he was now one detention richer. Potions had never really been his strongest suit, and it didn't help that Slughorn spent nearly all of his time fawning over Lily Evans – his star pupil. He looked at her the way a hungry walrus stares at its fishy prize; James could tell he doted on her, and expected great things from the witch. He had nothing against Lily, but today she had been the one that had got him in trouble, and he was not at all impressed that Slughorn had scheduled his detention for that evening – he would be late meeting Remus.
"Yeah – how do you do it James? Wish I knew how to be so popular with girls – none of them really like me much." Peter Pettigrew was, as per usual, no more than a few feet behind Sirius; fawning upon him like a wheedling child.
Peter, like Sirius, obviously was under the impression that James had deliberately got himself into trouble for the sake of his image and their amusement. Usually, this wouldn't have been a problem – James generally accepted praise, well earned or otherwise, in the hope that one day, girls like Lily might just notice him. Remus never got involved, and Peter stayed on the sidelines, but Sirius was always on hand to help or hinder the process. The accident in potions was, however, entirely non-intentional. He had been staring into space, distracted by thoughts of Remus and his secret, when he had absent-mindedly slipped half a bottle of newts' eyes into his cauldron instead of the prescribed frogspawn. This had resulted in an almighty explosion that destroyed not only his, but the cauldrons, desks, and belongings of everyone within a three-metre radius. It wouldn't have been quite so bad, had it not been Severus Snape and Lily Evans that were caught up in the ensuing chaos; their inflating potions, being the only two that actually worked. Slughorn was soon seen to be escorting a queue of Slytherin's and Gryffindor's sporting and assortment of huge, bulbous noses, ears, hands and feet, to the hospital wing; shouting back down the corridor to James, the details of his detention.
Peter and Sirius thought it was hilarious – a seemingly planned exercise in flirtation with Lily gone horribly wrong.
"And to top it all off – that greasy-nosed – uh, I mean, BIG-nosed-" Sirius found himself helpless with laughter and unable to finish off his sentence.
James sighed and left them to it and jogged on up to the common room; he had a lot of work to get done and now he had no evening to do it in. 'Well who'd have thought I'd be taking a roll out of Remus' parchment?' he pondered to himself as, grabbing his books, he made off for the quiet of the library at a run.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Nine o'clock saw James hunched over a pile of dirty cauldrons in Slughorn's classroom; scrubbing them clean by hand, his wand being held hostage by the bulky professor behind the desk. He had been at it for just over three hours now, but he refused to show any sign of weakness, lest Slughorn extend this punishment further.
'Honestly – cleaning without magic?' it was just barbaric, James decided. But he kept at it, diligently scrubbing, rinsing and drying the last couple of cauldrons, his mind still running over Remus' great secret – he could not be distracted.
When at last he heard the chair scrape out from the desk, and the heavy goblet of wine set down with a 'kerchunk', James looked up from his work. Peering down at him, a slightly tipsy Slughorn inspected his work. With a brief 'hurumph' of satisfaction, he at last proffered the confiscated wand to James, who whipped it out of his hands, and was out of the door before Slughorn could rise again to stumble heavily in the direction of his chambers.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Within minutes, James found himself in that oddly quiet corridor on the third floor, racing towards the suit of armour belonging to the infamous Jodie the Jubilant. Practically toppling it for the second-night running in his haste to get past, he grabbed the falling figure just in time, and with a few flicks of his wand, had moved Jodie out of harms way.
Double checking that the corridor was indeed empty, James flicked his wand once more alongside a muttered "Alohomora" and pushed the great oaken door open.
With one last check for any signs of life in the corridor, James held his glowing wand aloft, and, with trepidation, slipped inside...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mwahaha – evil Valentine's Day cliffhanger for you there!
In other news though, I have at last worked out a plot for the rest of the story – and let me tell you this – it's so brilliant and intricate, I could indeed be Rowling in disguise (that is – if JKR ever wrote slash)...
R&R people!